Disclaimer: All rights to the name "Ranma" belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi. All rights to "Dragonball" belong solely to Akira Toriyama. Any events that are to be taken place in this story is fictional and in no way canon.
Author's Note: This is the re-written part. Not much difference really but some minor errors cleaned up here and there. I hope this is a somewhat better version. Hope you all enjoy!
--
Ranma sighed as he effortlessly dodged yet another one of his father's attacks during their routine sparring at the crack of a summer dawn at the Tendo's rooftop. The father, Genma Saotome, noticed this sign of boredom and did not take to it lightly as he immediately began a verbal barrage.
"Stupid boy, what do you think you're gaining by mocking me? If it is because you think you're better than me than I'll ju-umph!" Genma Saotome did not finish as Ranma easily dodged a jab his father made and retaliated with a strong kick to the midsection of the older man. Genma fell straight down and landed in the koi pond with a giant splash. Immediately, Ranma's father jumped out of the water and as a panda, aimed a flying kick to Ranma while holding a sign that said, "That was a lucky shot!" Ranma snorted at this remark.
"C'mon pop, you know that I'm WAY better than you are." bragged Ranma as he dodged his father's kick, grabbed the panda's right arm and swung down with all his might, letting the panda go at the edge of the rooftop, causing Genma Saotome to fall down about twelve feet down before landing with a resounding "thud." Ranma winced as he witnessed his father land on the hard ground, causing a small crater form from his impact.
"Maybe I went a little too hard on him." thought Ranma as he jumped down the roof and raced over to the crater. As soon as he got there, Ranma peered in to see an unconcious panda with his eyes going in little cyclones and holding up a sign that said "I'm alright." Ranma bent down and took his father back to the house to get tended to.
--
Later that day, Ranma was making his way over to the grocery store to pick up a few items from Kasumi. He hadn't even gone out a block when heard the ring of a bicycle bell. Knowing who it was, Ranma turned and gracefully dodged the bicycle that was about to ram him. Immediately afterwards, Ranma felt lithe arms embrace him and the smell of soft lilac as he was drawn in by none other than Shampoo.
"Nihao, Ranma! You come to see Shampoo, yes?" asked Shampoo as she gripped Ranma tight. For as long as Ranma has been living alongside Shampoo, he always wondered why he could never dodge her. Then again, getting hugged by someone who is completely enamored by you wasn't the worst thing in the world and Ranma then thought that maybe if it wasn't if could or could not dodge her embrace but whether if wanted to or not. Yet, here, he tried to play innocent.
"Uh, hi Shampoo. Could you, ah, let me go?" asked Ranma as he tried to pry himself away from Shampoo.
"You no want to stay with Shampoo? Is it because of stupid violent girl?" asked Shampoo furiously as she was filled with hallucinations of Ranma's food getting laced with some love potion concocted by an evil, cackling, Akane.
"N-No, it has nothing to do with Akane. It's just tha-" A knife whizzed towards Ranma at high speed. Immediately, Ranma caught it between two fingers.
"RANMA SAOTOME. LET GO OF MY SHAMPOO RIGHT NOW!!!!!" roared an enraged Mousse as he threw another knife, again caught by Ranma. Shampoo, at this point, got up and was fuming.
"Mousse, go away! You no see that Ranma and Shampoo are busy?"
"I can't let you fall for this scoundrel Shampoo. I will defeat him here and now and you'll soon be married to me!" cried Mousse as he started to unleash a menagerie of weapons at Ranma. Ranma dodged with ease as he moved to and fro, avoiding lethal knives and spears and clubs as he tried to reason with Mousse.
"Hey man, I wasn't doing nuthing." said Ranma in his defense as he shattered a wooden pole that was thrown at him.
"You lie! Even now, you have contracted Shampoo's scent on your foul person. How dare you! You will die by my hand today!" roared Mousse in fury as he raised his battle aura to its limit.
"Man, he looks like he's really being serious here but something's not right. For some reason, his battle aura is not as high as it used to. Did he get weaker? Is he neglecting his training? If he is, then he has no hope in defeating me!" thought Ranma as Mousse made his way to him at top speed. But to Ranma, it was slow, very slow. Mousse was about to unleash everything from his sleeves but was suddenly stopped by a forceful blow. Ranma, with insane speed, rushed to Mousse and punched Mousse's stomach...hard. Very hard. Blood came out of Mousse's mouth as he slumped to the floor, unconscious.
"Crap, I did it again." thought Ranma as Shampoo rushed over to his side, jumping up and down in joy.
"See, stupid duck boy no match for airen! Ranma just too too strong for you!" yelled Shampoo at an unconscious Mousse. Ranma, though, could see that Mousse's condition was not trivial.
"Shampoo, stop that. I need you to take Mousse and have the old ghoul take a look at him." said Ranma sternly. Shampoo, willing to please Ranma, obliged.
"Ok Ranma. Me take Mousse to see elder but don't forget that Shampoo will be back." said Shampoo as she lifted Mousse and took him back to the Cat Cafe. Ranma turned away as he made his destination to the grocery store.
--
It was still a very peaceful day when Ranma emerged from the grocery store holding two brown bags to carry back to the Tendo household. As he strolled back home, Ranma was appreciating the peace and quiet yet he was still troubled from his last fight with Mousse.
"Man, it's not like Mousse was holding back or anything. I mean, he was fighting me for real and yet, his battle aura felt puny compared to the last time I fought him seriously. What happened to him? I really hoped he hasn't been neglecting his training cause if he is, then I'm never going to get Shampoo off my back. Still, the fight was too easy, just like this morning. Both him and my father used to always fight me evenly but as of late, I ended up injuring them both pretty seriously. What is going on here?" thought Ranma as he strolled down the street.
"Then again, this isn't the first time this has happened. Not too long ago, that Pantyhose dude came over to fight the old freak again and transformed into that bull riding whatchamacallit. I remember before having to fight for my life against that cursed form but now, it felt easy, even as a girl. Heck, I floored him in less than five minutes. Even Ryoga hasn't been that challenging as of late. The last time he was here, I only needed to land five hundred punches as opposed to over a thousand to floor him that time, and that was in what? three minutes? He didn't even have time to prepare a proper Shi-Shi-Hakodan."
"Maybe it's not them but me. After having fought the likes of Herb and Saffron, I guess I grew accustomed to fighting beings with inhuman strength and supernatural abilities. Having fought them makes fighting someone like Ryoga and Mousse a walk in the park now. Even the old freak ain't a match for me anymore. Sure, he can hold his own but his old age leaves him with little stamina. I guess this had to happen sometime."
So Ranma continued with his thoughts as he got home.
--
A week after the fight with Mousse, Ranma was informed that Mousse was going to be okay but that he was not going to work for a while. His father made a full recovery and insisted on continuing the morning spars but if those lasted longer than two minutes then it was two minutes too long. Normally Ranma would exploit the very first opening his father would make and deck him in one punch, thus ending the sparring for the morning.
During that week, Ryoga managed to show up and fought Ranma on three different occasions and lost all three fights in under five minutes. Even Mousse, injured as he was, attempted to take revenge for his injury and was knocked unconscious mid-sentence in his death threat.
--
So another month passed and soon, Ranma was getting very bored. Absolutely no one in Nerima with the exception of the Amazon Elder and Happosai could last longer than three minutes against him. Ranma began to neglect his training.
And It was not like he trained very diligently to begin with but now, he just competely stopped. He didn't even bother to spar with his father anymore, thinking that it was just the old man's excuse to make life miserable for him by waking him up at 5:00 AM. Ever since defeating a near deity like Saffron whipping up on the local competition had lost it luster because it was too easy, even for him. It was then that Ranma grew to realize one thing.
He was the best. At first he was jubilant, jumping up and down bragging but soon, it hit him. There was no one out there better than him. He no longer trained in the art because it bored him. If there was no one stronger than him, why bother training?
And it was not like Ranma did not try to find someone stronger. He roamed all over Japan, challenging entire dojos and defeating them with ease. He had Happosai cook up some super soupa and had Ryoga eat it. Ryoga ate it, not knowing what it was and soon, Ranma got him angry and they fought.
The match was intense for a while as Ryoga's already inhuman strength now was off the charts. Still, Ryoga's speed had not increased at all though Ranma was having to dodge vehicles and lamp posts being thrown at him.
But, in the end, Ranma managed to catch Ryoga in the Hiryū Shoten Ha and won the match, though barely. Even so, Ryoga soon found out about the soup and was dismayed that he lost to Ranma, even with the advantage that he had. He left, claiming that he was going to "train in the mountains" and had not been seen since.
Then there were the fights with both Cologne and Happosai. For the first few minutes, the matches he had with these two old masters would be intense. As a matter of fact, they always were able to out do him for the first five minutes or so. Ranma relished these fights with them as he could go all out and know that he could still lose.
But old age would catch up with them and after a while, they simply could not keep up. After about ten minutes, if they were not able to beat Ranma decisevely, both would throw the fight, knowing that to fight Ranma any longer would be pointless.
So, in the end, Ranma could conclude that the only possible way for him to lose was if both Cologne and Happosai were to team up against him or that they finish him off when they still had steam but in either case, the old freak was never around due to his panty raids and Cologne was usually too busy to be sparring with him.
As such, Ranma was usually very bored.
--
It was the second month and school was near the corner already. It was a nice day and Ranma decided to go and take walk. Lately, he had been walking alot since he no longer trained but still, he tried to think of ways to have someone beat him in combat.
"Maybe I should have Akane wear the super-suit and eat the super soupa and have her challenge me. I'm pretty sure that with those advantages, she COULD beat me, even if she has sloppy form." thought Ranma as he was walking downtown.
"I think not. She would be no match for you." said a voice in Ranma's head that did not belong to him.
"Who's there? W-Who are you?" asked Ranma out loud as he got into battle position, ready for anything.
"Such spunk you have young one. Yes, I sense great power coming from you and judging from your voice, you seem troubled." Ranma shook his, trying to get the voice out of his head but to no avail.
"Show yourself! Stop playing these games, I'm serious!" said Ranma as he began to raise his battle aura. The voice just chuckled.
"You want to see me. Fine, just step into my shop." said the voice before fading away. Ranma shook his head, wondering as to what he heard and then turned to see an old shop right in front of him. It said:
Chou's Shop of Stuff
You need it we got it!
"Funny, never seen this place before?" thought Ranma as he entered. He was met with a dark room filled with all sorts of collegnous junk. Broken chairs hung over piles of old frames and vases. There was a damp, musty smell coming from the place.
"Man, what freaking dump. Why am I wasting my time here anyway?"
"Because you want to get your wish granted." replied the voice. Ranma was about to tell the voice to get out of his head when he realized that the voice was external and that it came from the room he was in.
"Where are you?" asked Ranma as he tried to look for the mystery person.
"Right here!" said the voice and on top, Ranma could see a short, old man sitting on a rocking chair on top of three broken washing machines. The old man leaped down and landed in front of Ranma. He had a long beard with bright blue eyes and looked somewhat foreign. The old man bowed quickly before offering his hand.
"Chou's the name and who might you be?" asked the old man.
"Ranma Saotome!" answered Ranma as he took the hand and shook it firmly.
"Nice to see ya. I managed to hear your thoughts not too long ago and it seems that you are in bit of a predicament." said the old man.
"Wait a sec. YOU can read thoughts?" asked a stunned Ranma.
"Why, yes I can. Been able to do it since as long as I can remember. Useful though annoying as there are so many thoughts floating around that its a mess trying to sort them out." replied the old man.
"Then how did you pick my thoughts up when there must be hundreds of people walking around here?" asked Ranma.
"Simple, your thoughts projected much clearer than the others. It seems that when a person seems to have a nagging desire, their thoughts grow stronger and clearer. Your desire to find someone who can beat you in combat is very high indeed and I can help you with that!" said the old man with a smile.
"R-Really! You can find me a strong opponent to fight?" asked Ranma in excitement.
"Well yes, with this!" The old man reached deep in his pockets and produced what looked like a small TV. Ranma frowned as soon as he saw it.
"And how is THAT piece of junk going to help me?" asked Ranma mockingly.
"Fool! This is no junk. What you are seeing is a dimensional transporter. In this universe there are several different dimensions. Some are more dangerous than others. Some are full of life while others have none at all. There are infinite possibilities. Here on this knob." The old man pointed to a knob on the small "TV." "You can adjust the transporter to show you a vision of a certain dimension when you twist it. For example, lets turn the knob to show us channel 32243."
The old man turned the knob around as green digital numbers blurred on the black space above. The numbers stopped on "channel" 32243 and there on the screen was Akane helping Kasumi with some clothes. The screen flashed and it showed Ryoga using his Bakusai Tenketsu on some giant boulders in a mountain range. The screen flashed once more and it showed Mousse trying to please Shampoo to no success. Soon, the images stopped as the old man pressed down on the knob.
"So you see young fellow. Channel 32243 is our dimension. What you just saw were no doubt some of your friends and such."
"How do I know that you aren't pulling a fast one on me? You might just be filming all of us like some sick old pervert or something!" accused Ranma. The old man growled at him, his beard rustling.
"Imbecile! I'm not an old pervert and I am not recording anyone. Go ahead, choose a channel and I gurantee that it will show you another dimension." Ranma grabbed the "TV" from the old man and began twisting the knob. The screen went into one of those white noise scenes as Ranma twisted the dial. Soon, he got to where he was looking for. The numbers on the screen read 000000000 for about another twenty digits.
"There old man, let's see what zero has to offer us!" said Ranma. The screen began to go hazy and then, a loud piercing noise came from the room. The "TV" started to shake as it was bouncing up and down.
"Change it, change it! The TV only does that if it finds a dimension that would be far too perlious for you. It has sensed your power and it is telling you that the powers that be in this dimension surpass yours. It is too risky! We must find another channel!" shouted the old man, trying to get his voice over the noise.
"No way old man! If this place is so dangerous, then I want to see what I got then!" said Ranma.
"I said no! You can't! It's too dangerous!"
"Just shaddup ya old man and tell me how to get to this dimension!" The old man looked at Ranma and saw a face of grim determination. He could sense the restlessness from Ranma's being. He could feel that Ranma wanted this, that he wanted to be challenged. He could not turn him down.
"Ok, fine, I'll show you. You see there on the side? There are two buttons. One is green to go in and one is red to get out. Once you enter this dimension, you must guard this item with your life. If you lose it, you'll be stranded. Just make me this promise kid. If things get too dangerous, just press the red button and get back here. Don't try to be a hero, you understand?" said the old man.
"Sure, sure. So, this button, right?" asked Ranma as he pointed to the large green button on the left side of the "TV."
"Yes."
"Well, I'm off then!" said Ranma as he pressed it and vanished into thin air in front of the old man's eyes.
"I really hope that I made the right decision by letting him do that." said the old man before he propped himself back on his rocking chair and fell asleep.
--
The skies turned a dark grey as she pulled an umbrella out to shield her from the incoming rain. She was a young woman, not much older than twenty and had short, teal colored hair that barely touched her shoulders. She wore a blue one piece that ended with a skirt that ended just above her knees. A rather attractive woman, or a rare beauty as she would call herself.
Her name was Bulma Briefs, daughter of the famous Dr. Briefs who was a great renowned scientist. So here she was, waiting in front of what would be the site of the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament as she awaited friends that she had not seen in over three years. Next to her was a table with two men garbed in robes similar to that of monks. There they awaited the registration of the fighters.
"Only twenty more minutes before registration closes." announced of the men. Bulma sighed.
"Gosh, where can they be? If they don't hurry soon, they'll miss out on the registration." thought Bulma. As the poured down harder she saw a taxi suddenly stop in front of her. She gasped in joyful anticipation, hoping to see one of her friends. No such luck. Out of the taxi came out an old man with shades, a talking pig and a flying cat. Bulma's frowned a bit in disappointment but suddenly perked up again.
"Hey guys! Over here!" said Bulma as she waved at them. The old man, the pig and the cat ambled on towards her. As soon as they got there, the old man's face suddenly turned red as he saw the woman in front of him.
"My Bulma, you have really grown. Do mind if I-" The old man attempted to grab one of Bulma's breasts but she smacked him hard with her hand-bag, stopping him.
"I guess some things NEVER change, do they Master Roshi!" roared the angry Bulma as the old man named Master Roshi slumped to the ground, getting wet in the process. Bulma turned to see both the pig and the flying cat shaking their heads in disappointment.
"Hey there Oolong and Puar, how's it going?" asked Bulma cheerfully.
"Oh nothing, just here to watch the tournament is all." replied the pig, Oolong. The flying cat, Puar started to look side to side, as if she were looking for something.
"Have you seen Yamcha yet?" asked Puar in a squeaky voice.
"No, I haven't seen him three years. I bet he's not even training. Probably jilting me." replied Bulma in anger. The old man, Roshi, recovered from his slight coma and righted himself.
"Oh pooey, my clothes are all wet." he said with a pout.
"I wonder who's fault THAT is, huh?" asked Oolong sarcastically.
"So, Bulma, you have not seen anyone come in yet?" asked Roshi seriously this time.
"No, not anyone. I hope they are not too late. I would hate to see them come and find out that their training was for nothing 'cause they could not register in time." said Bulma somewhat sadly.
"Don't worry, I'm confident that they'll be here." said Roshi reassuringly.
"I hope so." said Bulma before she suddenly felt herself collide with an object and fall to the wet pavement.
--
As soon as he pressed the green button, all Ranma saw was a blinding flash of light before darkness consumed him. He woke up when he felt the dreaded pitter-patter of cold water on him.
"Oh crap, it's raining. Gotta get up and hide before I change into a girl." thought Ranma as he lifted himself from the ground. "Where to hide, where to hide?" thought Ranma as he started to run around frantically to get out of the rain. It was no use. The rain came down hard and Ranma felt himself change into a a busty, red headed girl.
"Wonderful. Just wonderful. I guess now that I'm a girl, I could look around and see what's up here." thought Ranma as she started to traverse the streets. As she did so, Ranma could not help but feel as if the old man was exaggerating the whole time about this dimension being so dangerous.
"This place looks normal. Heck, almost too normal." thought Ranma as she saw people just walking around in their umbrellas, minding their own business. No sign of purple haired girls wanting to hug her, no sign of terminally depressed guys trying to kill her, no sign of unsightly tomboys wanting to smack her. Ranma could not help but sigh in dissapointment. Here she wanted to test the limits of her own strength, to give her a reason to train in the art again. But all she saw were normal people doing normal things.
As Ranma got the dimensional "TV" out to go back to her own world, she suddenly felt a strong, no, powerful battle aura coming from down the street. The battle aura felt similar to Happosai's in both texture and power.
"Ok, maybe there might be SOME good fighters here. I gotta take a look." said Ranma as she sprinted towards the location of the power. As she got closer, she noticed a huge wall surrounding what looked like an arena of some sort. Interested, Ranma followed it and ran into a teal haired woman as she did so. Both fell with an "omph" from both their parts. Ranma immediately got up to start apologizing.
"I-I'm so sorry ma'm. I should have looked where I was going." stammered Ranma as he tried to help the teal haired woman up.
"Geez you bozo, watch where you're-" Bulma paused. She looked up, surprised to hear a feminine voice. She expected it was some man who wanted to cop a feel from her but saw instead a cute, red-headed girl standing right in front of her. The girl looked geniuenly concerned for bumping into her and had sympathetic eyes as she held out her hand in a gesture of assistance.
"It's nothing. Sorry for shouting at you." said Bulma as she took Ranma's hand and heaved herself up.
"I deserve it. I should have looked where I was going." said Ranma rather solemnly. Then, she felt a familiar pair of hands grab her bosom and suddenly turned and floored the old man in one punch while shouting.
"I told you ya old freak to stop doing that!" she roared at the unconscious old man before her. Ranma then gasped to find out that it wasn't the old freak Happosai that grabbed her.
"I'm so sorry. I just thought tha-"
"It's okay. He does that all the time. Had you not hit him, I would have done so myself. That's what he gets the old pervert." growled Bulma. She seethed a bit before she turned to Ranma.
"Say, what's your name anyway?" she asked kindly.
"The name is Ranma, Ranma Saotome."
"Ranma huh. Such a cute name." replied Bulma before continuing. "Let me introduce you to the others. This is Oolong, this is Puar, the old pervert on the ground is Master Roshi and I, the most beautiful specimen on this planet am Bulma, the one and only!"
"Gosh she has quite the ego." thought Ranma as he bowed in respect to Oolong, Puar, the recovering Master Roshi and Bulma. As Master Roshi righted himself, he was quite impressed with the power that Ranma possessed. He could not help but question.
"Young lady, that sure was impressive. I never thought a woman would be able to knock me down in just one blow with her bare hands. You must be a proficent martial artist, are you not?" asked Roshi. It was at this moment that Ranma could feel Master Roshi's battle aura. Even though he was old, she felt that he quite powerful, comparable to Happosai and Cologne. Ranma, at that moment, though, jumped at the question.
"Why yes I am trained in Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū or Anything Goes Martial Arts." said Ranma with a hint of pride. Master Roshi nodded a bit.
"In all my years of living, I have never heard of such a fighting style, but who knows. Do plan in participating in today's tournament?" asked Roshi. In a flash, Ranma's eyes went wide with excitement.
"Y-You mean that there is gonna be a martial arts tournament today?" stammered Ranma in excitement.
"Yes. The most powerful fighters in the world are coming to participate. If you think you can handle it, you should sign up." suggested Roshi. Ranma thought about this for a moment. Even though she was excited, she could not help but feel as if she was going to be disappointed. She turned to Roshi and asked.
"I sense you are quite strong Master. Will you be participating?" asked Ranma, eager to hear that yes, the old man would be participating. He looked strong and she wanted to fight him.
"No, I will not. My students will fight in this tournament. I am too old to participate." replied Roshi. At that, Ranma's face suddenly drooped in disappointment.
"I knew it was too good to be true. I know the old man is strong but if only his students are gonna participate, then why should I bother? I'll win no problem." thought Ranma rather sadly.
Roshi noticed the disappointment in Ranma's face. He could tell with his senses that the red-headed girl was strong, very strong. She was probably stronger than himself. Yet, when he told her that only his students would be participating, he saw the excitment fade. He could tell that she wanted to test her power to the limit.
"She probably thinks that I'm the strongest one here and is disappointed that only my students are participating. Maybe I should cheer her up." thought Roshi as he placed his hand on Ranma's shoulder and said.
"Don't look so disappointed. I admit, yes only my students are participating but they are strong. All three of them have surpassed me now and there are other fighters participating that can match them in skill and power."
The sun began to shine through the grey clouds as the rain stopped. Ranma suddenly shook with excitment as she heard these words.
"H-He has students that surpass him? And other fighters comparable to them as well? Man, that's me! Fighters even stronger than this old man, man I gotta enter!" thought Ranma with glee.
"Where do I enter?" asked Ranma. Before either Bulma, Puar, Oolong or Roshi could reply, her question was answered.
"Registration will end in ten minutes. Any one who wants to participate in the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, please sign in now." announced one of the men at the registration table. Ranma ran to the table and scribbled her name down at the sign in list. The man gave her a smile and as she finished registering, the man gave her a "Good Luck." saying before Ranma joined the others.
"There you go. Now you are signed in. Now if only the others were to come now." said Bulma. Ranma waited the group before she asked.
"Hey, Master. Do you happen to know all the people you talked about?"
"Yes. Three of them are my students and the rest are from other disciplines. They should be here soon...I hope."
"Well, I'm here." said a calm voice from behind them. The entire group turned to see a young man, about eighteen or nineteen years of age. He was well built, chisled in muscle and had what looked like a turban on his head. He was quite tall, taller than all of them and had a red gi on.
"Who are you?" asked Roshi as he approached the stranger. The stranger looked a bit confused as he heard this question.
"Why it's me, Master? Don't you recognize me?" asked the man.
"I'm sorry, but I don't ever remember training you." said Roshi. The mystery man looked somewhat desperate and turned to Bulma.
"Hey, Bulma. When did you get so short?" he asked. Bulma stuttered a bit, apparently shocked at how a total stranger knew her name yet offended at the same time at being called short.
"H-H-How do you know me? I don't know you? And besides, I'm not that short!" said Bulma, annoyed. The mystery man seemed beat, that it, until he saw Ranma.
"And who might you be?" he asked. Ranma, suddenly on the defensive. She did not know who this man was but whoever he was, he was talking to the wrong crowd.
"Why don't you tell us who YOU are first." said Ranma defensively.
The man looked hard pressed at this point and as he tried to scratch his head, he suddenly realized why the group could not recognize him.
"Oh, I guess this is in the way. I'm Goku, see." replied the man as the turban unraveled to reveal black, spiky hair pointed out in different directions. In a second, Ranma could see the faces of Oolong, Puar, Master Roshi and Bulma suddenly beam with excitment and joy as all of them made for the man at once, all surrounding him and hugging him.
"Why, Goku, it has been so long! My have you grown!" said Bulma as she eyed Goku up and down, not believing that this was the same kid that she picked up years ago.
"Goku has become a man now." said Roshi with pride.
"Indeed he has." said Oolong.
"So, have Tien, Yamcha and Krillen come yet?" asked Goku. Immediately, the joyous faces turned downcast. It was Bulma who stepped forward to answer.
"No they haven't. I hope they are not late." she said.
"I'm sure that they'll come. They haven't gone out to train for three years for nothing!" said Goku confidently.
"I hope you're right. You should register." said Bulma as she took Goku to get him registered. When they did that, Goku and Bulma joined the rest of the group as the awaited the last fighters.
During the wait, Ranma began to study Goku a bit. According to the old man, this Goku was once his disciple. Yet, Ranma could not get a firm reading from him. The battle aura he was putting out was puny but Ranma had the distinct feeling that this Goku was concealing most of it. To do something like that would require years upon years of mental training.
"I guess I'll have to wait until he gets into the ring." thought Ranma as she waited with the others. It was at this time that she saw the man, Goku, make his way towards her.
"Hey there, I still haven't got your name." asked Goku politely.
"Oh, the name's Saotome, Ranma Saotome."
"Glad to meet you, Ranma Saotome. From what Bulma told me, you registered to participate. That makes me happy for I sense a great power coming from you. I look forward to fighting you." said Goku as he extended his hand. Ranma took it and gripped firmly as she shook it.
"I look forward to it too." said Ranma, yet as she shook Goku's hand, she felt for a split second, the amount of power that Goku was conserving. Ranma almost buckled and fell to her knees when she felt it. As they let go, Ranma felt her heart pumping rapidly.
"H-His power. It's unimaginable. I can't believe it. Is this guy even human?" thought Ranma as she started to shake again, but not from fear. It was pure, utter excitement. "H-He could actually beat me. No, maybe he might even slaughter me! Fighting a man like that will surely take me to my limit!"
"Registration will close in one minute. All those who wish to participate must do so now." announced one of the men at the registration table.
Goku and the others winced when they heard this.
"What's taking them so long. They have to be here or all their training will be worth nothing." thought Goku. Ranma, the only one not in suspended agony, wondered as to why they were waiting for these other guys.
"Registration will close in 10, 9, 8"
"Surely none of these other guys are as strong as this Goku person. They would only be wasting their and my time. Let the small fries just stay outta of the way an-" Ranma's thoughts were suddenly interrupted as she felt a one, no four strong battle auras making their way towards them.
"It's them! They're coming!" shouted Goku as the rest of the group watched the end of the street in anticipation.
"7,6,5,4"
"They'll never make it in time." thought Ranma. The others in the crowd, however, were cheering for these people to hurry, even though, from what Ranma could tell, they were still at least a mile away.
"3,2"
Suddenly, a whirlwind flashed past the entire group. Ranma was nearly knocked down as dust covered the entire place. When the dust cleared, Ranma could only stare in shock and disbelief at the sight before her.
There stood a short bald man with incense marks on his forehead, a tall man with long black hair and a scar on his cheek, a small, pale child that seemed to be floating and a tall, bald man with three eyes and a white shirt.
Yamcha, Chaoutzu, Krillen and Tien have all finally arrived and at the nick of time."
--
Author's Note: Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this one. Anyway, have a good day!