A New Friend, A New Foe
AU: (Post-Buu) After years of training in secret, a mysterious warrior will appear at the World Martial Arts Tournament. But what happens when she runs into a band of the Earth's greatest fighters? What demons await her as she discovers her unknown heritage?
Dragonball GT and thereafter, Uub, the Black Star Dragonballs etc. are treated as nonexistent.
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z. It belongs to Funimation, Toei Animation, Fuji TV and Akira Toriyama. I merely own all original characters, events and moves created by said characters.
Author's Notes:
There are three major reasons for the existence of this story.
The first was the sheer need to finish a piece of writing. I wanted to create something worthwhile in a genre that is filled to the brim with mediocre fluff and rambling fantasies that never truly flourish. Fanfiction in and of itself is a complicated art (that is, if the writer seeks to create something of substance, rather than just mindless Yaoi, or something of the sort.) There's canon, and you need to understand the characters deeply enough to make it tangible. You will hopefully find no spelling or grammatical errors in this story. If you do find any, please tell me!
The second reason was my love for Dragonball Z. I adore everything about it, down to the smallest subtleties; the massive fight scenes, the gripping tension between characters, all of it is remarkably brilliant and masterful. Yes, I even love the ever-present loophole of the Dragonballs, and the fact that nothing has a consequence. The way Akira Toriyama developed the characters and plot blew me away from Episode One. Vegeta is a particular favorite of mine. His battle between his light and shadow within himself always intrigued me. Trunks, of course, is another favorite. He isn't as developed in the Anime/Manga as I would like him to be, but the fact that he isn't enables tremendous extrapolation of his traits, which I take full advantage of.
The thing that's so great about DBZ is that anything can happen as long as you can provide a somewhat believable backdrop, (I mean come on… the entire Majin Buu ordeal popped out of nowhere) which brings me to my third reason. The only thing I ever found missing in this masterpiece of a show was a strong female. Yeah, Android 18, Pan and Videl kind of fit the bill at times, but none of them can keep up with the big dogs. In enters my OC, Aria. Aria is the first actual female that packs a Saiyan punch, but she has a few other roles in this story as well. Too many times has a Mary Sue waltzed into a story as Trunks' love interest, so I wanted to depart from that as much as possible.
This story has been a labor of pure, unadulterated love. I knew full well that this would not reach a great deal of viewers or readers, and that was never the intention to begin with. All I can hope is that you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
It was a bright and sunny day in May on the first afternoon of the World Martial Arts Tournament. Her long, thick black hair swished lightly over her gaunt cheeks and slender frame in the light breeze. Thousands of people lined the boardwalk, twittering away about the results of the preliminaries. A few stopped and stared at her, but they quickly scurried off after she shot them a curt glance. She looked down at her hands, examining them. Her black leather gloves were worn from training, and still had specks of interplanetary dust on the knuckles.
For reasons she couldn't understand, she smiled fondly at her ring, a trinket she'd possessed since her infancy. The metallic Dragon's sapphires glinted in the sunlight, matching her deep blue eyes. She never knew where it had come from, or why she had it, but it gripped at her heart with familial energy. For that, she never removed it.
Mr. Satan paraphernalia was everywhere on the strip, his face grinning smugly from the banners and t-shirts. She couldn't help but chuckle.
As she walked, she gazed wistfully at the clouds. Her parents would be arriving on their new planet in the Rention system soon. She smiled at the thought. Nothing was holding her back now.
She approached the Finalists registration, a newfound resolve in her chest.
"Excuse me,"
The official looked up from the table, adjusting his glasses.
"Er, yes, can I help you?"
"I'm here to sign in."
He blinked twice in surprise.
"Name?"
"Aria White."
He fumbled through his papers, eyes darting about the parchment.
"Ah yes, here."
With a swift gesture, he flicked his book open and scrawled her name down.
"Go on then."
With a nod, Aria entered the Finalists Pagoda.
It was quite lavish. Each wall was lined with fresh spring grass and intricately planted shrubbery. The freshly polished white tile glinted in the sun, with a few scuffmarks barely visible from recent training. She extended her senses to scan the courtyard.
A few tiny power levels were scattered across the foyer; the amateurs. One was on her hind left, a fat, balding man with a gorilla-like grunt. Another was closer to the back of the courtyard, surrounded by other miniscule levels. This one was a tall, well-built fighter, flanked by two kinky women on each side.
The last of the small levels was to her right, behind the wall. She could almost hear his cocky laughter. It must be Mr. Satan.
Aria giggled. She took great pleasure at imagining all of the ways she would humiliate him in the Finals.
She looked back over her shoulder, staring intently at the entrance to the pagoda.
Where are they?
A small, shorthaired girl was running freely up the road, happily holding an ice cream cone. She whooshed past the bystanders, approaching the arms of a tall, muscular man.
"Grandpa! Grandpa!"
The girl flew into his arms, giggling as he scooped her up.
"Hey, Pan," he said softly.
"Grandma says I can fight, as long as I'm good," she chirped.
Goku flashed his trademark grin.
"All right!"
The Z fighters strode side by side up the road, taking in the sights of the tournament.
At the front of the pack were two boys, each in their late teens. One had scruffy black hair and coal eyes, and was gleefully enjoying some French fries. The other was topped with lavender locks, and an uneasy smile.
The purple-haired boy glanced backward.
"I don't know about this, Goten," he murmured.
The scraggly haired boy chomped down on a fry.
"Trunks, come on. You may not even have to fight him."
"But what if I do?"
"He may hate it at first, but who knows? He might even be proud of you."
"You don't know that."
Trunks took another look behind him, catching another glimpse.
"You know how he is, Goten," he hissed.
Goten looked rearward with a frown, staring at the arrogant Saiyan that was Trunks' father.
Vegeta walked as proudly as ever, wearing his ever-present grimace and his arms loosely folded. His dark hair spiked upward, and a distinctive widows peak cut across his brow. A sharp twinge of annoyance made him tense up as Goten's eyes met his.
Goten quickly looked away, still feeling the burn of Vegeta's intense stare.
"I suppose it's too late to back out now."
Trunks sighed with a shrug.
They walked up to the registration kiosk.
Aria felt a pang as major power levels entered her field.
They're here.
She started towards the entrance, squinting for a glimpse at the newfound challengers.
A different sensation hit Aria when she saw them. She immediately felt a resonance, without knowing why. Suddenly, Trunks glanced in her direction, his light blue eyes meeting hers. She stood dazed for a moment; something was so familiar about him.
Get a grip, she scolded to herself. With a quick shake of her head, she was back in focus.
Trunks continued to stare, cocking his head to the side with curiosity.
"Who's that?" he murmured.
Goten looked up from the registration table, eyes darting about.
"Who, what?"
"Her," Trunks pointed toward the middle of the courtyard.
Goten peered at her.
"Hm, I don't know. I wonder what's she's doing in the Finalist's area? Maybe she's one of the maids?"
Trunks gave Goten a quizzical look.
"Yeah, with that fighting outfit she's got to be one of the maids."
Aria giggled as she watched them.
She quickly got back to work, carefully analyzing the power levels of the warriors.
The one she had made eye contact earlier was her closest match, their levels nearly identical at resting rate. Tapping into his deeper levels was surprisingly difficult, as she had never been confronted with someone as strong as herself. However, the kid next to him was considerably weaker, even at his inward levels of power.
Her eyes drifted towards the back of the pack. She gasped.
The tall man with the goofy grin holding the little girl was incredibly strong, much more so than the first two warriors. He had untouchable levels of power within his layers, surpassing her peak threefold. She almost reeled backward from the impact of his field.
Suddenly, something else caught her attention.
The little girl!
Her level was about a third of Aria's, and she was only a toddler!
Aria stepped back in surprise.
Could she be a finalist?
Another signal went off within the group, diverting her focus again.
The man with the widow's peak next to the tall one had increased his power level slightly. He was much shorter than the strong one, but his muscles were more defined, sharper. The man was far off Aria's range, and his maximum was much stronger than her own. She immediately sensed a regal presence in this one, a tough determination that the other warriors lacked.
Her skin tingled with excitement. What luck that five fighters of this caliber ended up in the same tournament. She took in a slow breath and began to advance apprehensively toward the new challengers, taking great care to suppress her ki, as to appear more docile.
"Look Trunks! She's coming this way," Goten taunted.
Trunks shot him an indignant look.
Aria greeted the pack with a confident smile.
"Hi! You must be the other finalists."
They all turned at once, searching the girl for a power level out of habit.
"Yeah, that's us. What's your name?" Goku asked cheerily.
"I'm Aria, I'm a finalist too."
"Really? Wow, you must be a great fighter."
Vegeta rolled his eyes.
"This is my first tournament. I can't believe I'm in the finals!" Aria said with mock enthusiasm. "So what do you guys go by?"
"Well, I'm Son Goku, and the grumpy one here is Vegeta."
Vegeta mumbled an unintelligible greeting under his breath.
"This one's my son, Goten." Goku gestured to the scruffy, black haired boy.
Goten shifted awkwardly.
"And this is Pan."
He propped the small toddler up on his hip. Pan hid behind Goku's shirt, occasionally peeking out at the new face.
"Hi, Pan."
The girl buried her head into Goku's chest.
"Aw, It's okay," Aria cooed, holding out her hand to the girl.
Pan shifted the shirt just below her eyes, and examined Aria's hand. She slowly reached out, allowing Aria to softly grasp it.
"Hi," the girl mumbled from beneath the cloth.
"And this is Trunks, Trunks Briefs," Goku grinned slyly.
Humor aside, the name struck a chord. She'd definitely heard it before.
"Trunks, huh. Strange…Have we met before?" she probed, her eyes fixed on his.
He stared, perplexed, scratching the back of his head.
"No, I don't think so."
"Oh."
Vegeta sniggered from the back, causing Trunks to turn a deep shade of scarlet.
"Well it was great to meet all of you," she chirped, "Hopefully I'll see you in a match!"
Aria looked at Trunks one last time and turned on her heel towards the stadium.
"Yeah! It was nice to meet you too," said Goku with a wave.
As soon as she was out of earshot, Vegeta broke into a cackle.
"Looks like you've become quite the ladies man," he jeered.
"Shut up," Trunks chuckled.
Goku was about to interject, when a sweet aroma caught his nose. He sniffed the air, catching traces of hotcake and deep fried rolls.
"Oh man! That smells great. I'm starving!"
Vegeta caught the scent next. Without a word, he immediately took off in the direction of the scent, followed by Goku hot on his heels.
"Wait up!" Goten chased after them.
Trunks followed at a lope, wondering what she'd meant.