Hello There! Here it is, about a year late. I did say I would plan to have this uploaded by mid-July last year, however a few things came up and I seriously had no time to edit this story. Anyway! I hope to be able to upload a few updated chapters at a time. Maybe 3-a-week…I will also be uploading updated versions of the first 8 Chapters of Saga 4.

If there are any new people reading this right now, if you haven't read Saga 1 or 2, then I strongly advise you do that first. There's no point starting this one until you have read the others.

If there are any new fans returning, there may be added moments…there may not. I was extremely proud of this story, so I don't really want to be changing too much.

Please no negative reviews, unless you are going to state a way for me to improve. I can't improve if you just tell me you don't like something. But I do welcome all other kinds of reviews, in fact…I encourage them.

No matter if this is your first time reading Saga 3 or you are coming back to see the updates…please Enjoy!

Last Time on DragonBall AG…

Noca's new life with the Z-fighters began and he had a fair few problems adjusting at first. Pan didn't like him. He struggled to keep his Saiyan Power hidden from everyone. His training was too easy with Gohan, but then extremely difficult with Vegeta. He eventually became friends with Pan and the two were closer than ever…but what will happen now. This time on DragonBall AG we get to see the best of the best fight against each other in the World Martial Arts Tournament…

Now…

Chapter 1: Am I Ready?

Monday 9th July Age 792

Everyone was walking past all the shops and stalls and they were taking in the new sights around Papaya Island. It had already been a huge tourist destination, especially when there was a tournament, but now it was just ridiculous. In the 8 years since the last tournament, things had definitely changed extensively. It was a city full of hundreds of thousands of people. It was almost impossible how many people had been added to that amount with the tournament taking place.

"Uh…does anyone remember where the stadium is?" Gohan asked awkwardly, as he lifted his hand to the back of his head and let out a little laugh.

"Of course," Krillin said confidently as he turned around and pointed, but he was soon surprised by what he saw, "it's right there…huh?"

It was a building that most of them knew so well, but what they saw was a huge sign in front of it. Gohan walked over to it and read it out loud.

"This will be the location for the preliminary rounds, which will once again be the punching machine. The actual tournament will take place at the new stadium." Gohan started scratching his head again and seemed very confused by this turn of events.

"They moved the location…well that's disappointing…" Krillin said, putting his hands in his pockets and looking to the ground, "This place holds so many memories…"

"Considering that this place has been rebuilt numerous times…I guess they just want to preserve it now," Bulma mentioned, shrugging her shoulders. None of them really knew why it had to be changed.

"Probably, but maybe we shouldn't waste any more time…sign-up is here as well," Goten spoke up, pointing over his shoulder at yet another sign that did indeed say that the sign-up was there as well. Gohan, Goten, Trunks, Noca, Pan and Vegeta all walked in the building to put their names down for the preliminary rounds.

They all wrote their names down one at a time. Vegeta went first. Then Trunks, Goten, Gohan, Pan and finally Noca. When the teen was writing his name down he saw another few names that he recognised.

"Omar…you're here. Oh Wow #17 is here. What is Holline doing here as well?" He carried on down the list, but stopped at a name that seemed familiar, but it didn't quite resonate immediately. "And…Uub?"

Noca walked out of the building and followed the others to the Capsule Corp. Hotel. He quickly caught up with Pan and spoke to her quietly.

"Hey. What was the name of the guy that Goku was training?" He asked, just as the idea of who's name that was started to come back to him.

"Huh? Oh…it was Uub. Why?" Pan questioned, not knowing why he would bring that up.

"I thought so. He's competing," Noca informed her. It seemed to be surprising because she stopped and turned to look at him. Noca just raised an eyebrow.

"What?! Does that mean…?" Pan looked down to the floor and seemed to be contemplating something. Noca just sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I know what you're thinking, but I didn't see his name…" He responded, sounding a bit disappointed that he couldn't tell her something that she really wanted to 's expression changed to one of pure disappointment. She really wanted to believe that if Uub was competing then maybe her Grandfather would've shown up as well. Noca moved closer to her and put his arm around her.

"Hey, I'm sure that he'll show up. He'll want to see his student compete…" Noca said, needing to think of something that could improve her mood.

"Yeah…I guess…" She replies, seemingly lightening up at this thought. She smiled a little and looked straight ahead. "We'll just have to wait and see."

The group shortly arrived at the hotel and were given their room numbers. Pan, Bra and Kiera all shared one room whilst Noca had his own. Being a boy obviously had one disadvantage like that. Bulma had assumed that the girls would want privacy, but Pan was honestly disappointed that she wouldn't be staying with Noca. It wasn't like she wouldn't get to see him though.

It was getting late in the evening and everyone was sitting around in the main living room. Noca was sitting with the girls as they were discussing his and Pan's chances in the tournament. Outside though, a figure wearing a white Gi was standing on top of a tall building and looking towards the Hotel. The figure was soon joined by another. This one was wearing a Purple Gi with a white cape and a turban. He also had green skin.

"So you made it on time Goku," The green fighter, we all know to be Piccolo, said with a slight smirk.

"I almost didn't…" Goku said in a normal cheery tone. "I was there 2 minutes before they closed…"

"Well then you sure were lucky," Piccolo just nodded, but kept his eyes fixed on the hotel. Piccolo didn't leave his side, but he knew that if any of them spotted him then they would immediately question it.

"Uh hey, I was just wondering what name you used?" Goku said, turning to face him with a raised eyebrow.

"I used Junior again…none of them know I'm here at the moment…" The Namekian responded. Goku just nodded once more.

Noca was sitting up in his room and was just lying on the bed and playing some dumb game on his phone. He never had much technology in his village, but he had enough knowledge of it all and was pretty much already bored of most of it. He locked the phone and just dropped it on the bed-side table. He didn't feel tired enough to go to sleep now, but there wasn't anything else to do, until…

Knock, knock.

The boy sat up and looked to the door. He tried to focus his senses to figure out who it was, but there wasn't enough focus there right now.

"Come in…" He uttered, just loud enough for the person to hear him. The door slowly opened and it was Bra on the other side.

"Hey Noca…us three are going for a walk to see the sights. Wanna come?" She asked, seeming just as bubbly as Bra was. Noca knew it would help him right now. He needed to get out of the room and this was the best way to do so.

"Of course," He answered instantly, earning him a giggle of a response from Bra. He just smirked and then hopped off of the bed and followed Bra down to the living room. The four of them all walked out and headed straight to the market place, which was still pretty busy. The group had no idea what they wanted to do, but they were really just trying to waste some time. The girls were pointing at lots of different things that they thought looked cool or attractive. Well that was mainly Bra and Kiera whilst Pan just went along with whatever they said and Noca's thoughts were stuck on the tournament.

His nerves were starting to vanish, but he was still concerned about whether or not he would be ready for it. That was all that worried him. Pan could see that something was bothering him. Bra and Kiera wandered over to a store alone whilst Noca sat on a bench and Pan walked over to him.

"You ok?" She asked, sitting down next to him. Noca just looked up and smirked weakly.

"Yeah…I'm just a little nervous I guess…" He replied whilst looking down to the ground as the smirk slowly vanished.

"Don't be. You'll be fine. You're a Saiyan remember," Pan tried saying the first thing that she thought would help reassure him.

"Yeah I know…it's just…I don't know if I'll be able to stand a chance against Vegeta or your Dad," Noca responded. He really was concerned about this. Gohan and Vegeta were far more experienced than he was and it would make things really difficult.

"We'll just have to wait and see. I'm competing as well remember," Pan said to him with a little wink.

"I guess…" Noca replied, looking back at the girl next to him and smiling, "thanks for the support..."

He then sat back on the bench rather than leaning forward and looking down. When he did, Pan leaned over and put her head on Noca's shoulder. She hadn't been friends with him for a long time, but she felt comfortable with him all the time now. They were sat in silence for a few minutes whilst they just watched all the people walking around. Bra and Kiera had gone off somewhere completely different and probably didn't even realise that Pan and Noca had disappeared. The two were in complete comfort at the moment and Pan didn't want anything to disturb them, but she didn't get her wish as a voice interrupted their silence.

"Noca…is that you?!"

Noca turned around to see where the voice had come from. It was a female voice that he could honestly say he recognised and not only that, but once he turned around he could see a lot of bright red hair in front of him. It took him no time at all to realise that it was his old friend Holline.

"Oh Holline! It's so good to see you!" Noca exclaimed in surprise as hestood up and Holline immediately threw her arms around him in a tight embrace. Pan frowned a little at how she was hugging him, but in her mind she knew that there must be a reason. She saw a smile on Noca's face that she knew was unfamiliar. She had never seem him so happy before.

"I almost didn't recognise you with your hair shorter...How have you been?" She asked, still looking him up and down, just trying to take in the sight of her long-time best friend.

"Great. My training's going great…I have to go to school," Noca said acting annoyed, but he then laughed. "But I have great friends."

Noca said this whilst gesturing towards Pan and she blushed when Noca did this. Holline looked at the girl and tried to determine who she may be. Pan could tell that the girl seemed curious, but she didn't like it for some reason. Holline made sure to stop acting so examining and smiled.

"Who's your friend?" Holline asked, glaring up at Noca in a joking fashion. "You're meant to introduce us Noca!"

"Oh…sorry about that," Noca said, acting very defensive right now. Both girls just found this to be a cute feature about him and smiled.

"Hi, I'm Pan," The raven-haired girl said, introducing herself and putting Noca out of his misery. Holline smiled back at her and held her hand out to shake Pan's

"Hello there. I'm Holline," She responded in a very friendly tone. Noca just stood there and watched them make their introductions

"I've told you about her before Pan…I just forgot to mention her name. This is my friend from when I was living in my village. She lived two villages over…" Noca explained to the other Quarter-Saiyan. Pan seemed to lighten up when she heard this.

"Oh, so you're his friend. It really is nice to meet you…Noca has mentioned you before," Pan said to the red-head in a very friendly manner. Holline glared at her best friend once again.

"Only mentioned? And I thought I was your best friend!"

Holline was obviously joking with Noca so he decided to laugh nervously. Holline then walked with Pan and Noca as she wanted to hear all about his journey after she left him as well as how his training went when he got to West City.

"How was it training with Goku?" This was one of Holline's first questions.

"Oh…well you see…I never actually got the chance to even meet Goku…you see he's training someone else," Noca explained to her, whilst shrugging his shoulders.

"Oh. Well that's disappointing…what did you do?" Holline continued with a follow-up question.

"Well I met Gohan. He's Goku's oldest son and that's how I met Pan. She's Gohan's daughter," Noca continued to answer her questions, but it seemed that every answer had the potential to bring up yet another question.

"Oh I see now…it makes sense," Holline mentioned subtly whilst looking between Noca and Pan. Noca felt the situation was becoming a little awkward and decided to take control with a question of his own.

"Now let me know about you. You're actually gonna compete?" Noca jumped in quite quickly with his question, surprisingly both girls a little.

"Yeah. I've been training with #17 and he said that I would be able to compete…he said it would be a great step for my training…" Holline replied, clenching her fists in a determined manner.

"It would be, but it will also be mighty tough…" Noca said, looking her in the eyes with a very serious expression. He feared that her abilities might not be good enough for her to enter. Holline raised an eyebrow in response to the boy and took on a defensive mode.

"Don't worry, he taught me a lot. Flight, some Ki energy and a lot of fight techniques," Holline replied, proudly.

"Well I look forward to seeing it," Noca said enthusiastically. As much as he worried, he was eager to see what she could was standing by watching Holline and Noca talk to each other and she was starting to get really jealous of the red haired girl.

"She's gonna take Noca away from me. They're already a lot closer that I am with him and he seems so happy with her. Damn her. She's gonna ruin our plans for after the tournament! Wait. Noca wouldn't betray his promise to me…at least I hope he wouldn't. Ah I'm so confused!"

Noca was listening to some of Holline's stories, but he could feel some conflicting emotions coming from Pan. Noca waited for Holline to finish for her story before turning his attention to Pan. Silence fell between the three and Noca turned to Pan.

"Pan are you ok?" He asked, starting to feel concerned for her silence since Holline arrived.

"Huh? Yeah of course…why do you ask?" Pan said to him in quite a defensive tone, not realising how much of attitude she had actually shown in that one sentence. Noca's brow furrowed. Why was she acting like this? He really didn't want to believe it had something to do with Holline.

"Your emotions are conflicting within you…I can feel it…" Noca explained to her. Pan stared at him and realised something she seemed to have forgotten about.

"He's still connected to my emotions…he must still care about me" Pan thought curiously.

"Yeah I'm ok…just thinking about tomorrow," She lied, wanting him to believe she was just a little nervous. Noca could tell that Pan was thinking about something important, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He decided that she most likely just needed some comfort from him.

Noca stayed near Pan and gently took a hold of her hand. She looked at him as he took her hand and she blushed. Holline noticed the interaction between the two of them and was pleased that Noca had found himself someone.

The three met up with Kiera and Bra who had been looking for Pan and Noca. Holline was then introduced to the others. By this time Pan and Noca had stopped holding each other's hands as they didn't want the others to know about them being that close. As it was getting late Noca and the others said goodnight to Holline and said they would see her at the tournament. The group then headed back to the hotel, but all the while they were being monitored by the strange figure again.

"I can feel it…they have a slight bond…but…there's something else…something…extremely powerful…it's buried deep in Noca's emotions…but it also has a bond. This is really strange…" Goku said to himself, not really understanding all this emotional power he was the experienced Saiyan heard a recognisable voice in his head.

"Yes Goku. It is strange, but true. You are right. You can sense two different bonds between the two and one is indeed the Saiyan Bond, but…the other one…not even I know what it is…"

"Huh? Supreme Kai…you don't know?" Goku questioned, whilst scratching his head.

"No Goku I don't…but I guess it's just another mystery that we'll likely find out one day" The voice of the Supreme Kai replied.

"I hope so. I hate not knowing things!" Goku's conversation with the Supreme Kai ended and Goku decided not to pay it anymore thought and instead returned to the Hotel that he was going to be staying in. He was looking forward to the Preliminary and the draw the next day.

Tuesday 10th July Age 792

The next morning, Noca and the others were all up and ready to go through the preliminaries. They were all annoyed that the ridiculous punching machine was in place, but if they had the old system then they probably wouldn't all make it to the actual tournament itself. The group were all on their way to the old tournament arena to take on the punching machine, but they realised that they hadn't even looked for the new stadium yet. It turned out that the stadium was on the other side of the city, so there was a reason they couldn't see it yet.

Once the group arrived at the old arena they showed the IDs that the tournament people had given them so that they could prove that they were in fact competing. There weren't any problems getting through and to be perfectly honest, it didn't seem as if that many people had turned up.

The Announcer tapped his mic to get the attention of all the hopeful participants and he started to call out his introductory speech.

"Hello everyone. Welcome to the 29th World Martial Arts Tournament. I'd like to inform you that a total of 83 people have showed up for this tournament, but only 16 of you will make it through to the actual competition. We apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause any people who have showed up hoping to fight."

A few people in the crowd groaned once they had got a good look at the fighters. Noca decided he would try and sense out for the strongest power levels. He could feel the Saiyan's energies pretty clearly, but he already knew their power's. He felt out for a few challenging levels, but didn't really find anything pleasing.

He managed to sense Holline's power level and was sure it was close to what Omar's had been when they fought in the beginning of his journey. As he scouted around a bit more he found a level close to Holline's, but it was slightly stronger. The teen Saiyan followed it and was surprised to see that it was in fact Omar.

"It'll be great to show him my progress" Noca thought excitedly.

He carried on looking through and found something that he was sure was close to Pan's power, but this power felt supressed. He looked for the owner and found a young adult with a black Mohawk and he was wearing a light blue Gi. Noca was curious as he was sure he recognised the power somehow.

He managed to spot someone that he was sure was Piccolo after he had seen some pictures. He could see Majin Buu standing there looking really happy as usual. It seemed strange that he was competing. No one else really seemed much of a challenge, but that was until he saw that Android #17 was standing towards the back of the group.

"Wait why didn't I feel his power? Oh right…he's an android. Doesn't give off a power level"

As he was about to return his attention to the announcer he noticed two fighters that seemed intimidating, but only one of them had a higher power level. One was a very large and bulky fighter. He wore quite a vacant expression, but there was a strong determination about him. He had short, flat brunette hair. He was wearing a black tank top and some white Gi trousers. Noca got no power reading from him. This fighter had glanced in Noca's direction for some reason.

The second of the two was a smaller man, in comparison to that other fighter. He was pretty tall though. About the same height as Gohan. He was wearing a white Gi and for some reason a black mask. Noca got a very recognisable power reading from him, but the level once again seemed supressed, but even then it was about the same as his.

"That guy may be dangerous. I wonder who he is."

The Announcer regained everyone's attention and prepared for the next important introduction.

"Ok! So we will get on with the punching machine immediately and to introduce his successor, we have the world champ himself! HERCULE SATAN!" The aging blond-haired man called out as he directed the attention towards yet another aging man.

A lot of the fighters were clapping enthusiastically whilst the Z-group merely stood the same as they were. Noca understood the reasoning behind this and he really wasn't impressed by the man. In fact he just frustrated Noca. Even Pan found him increasingly annoying, but then again he was her grandfather.

The champ came out from the old fighters waiting area and waved to the crowd. The Z-fighters had to give him one thing; he wasn't as eccentric as he used to be. Whilst he still loved all the attention he didn't crave the crowd approval like he used to.

"Hey there fighters! I'm so happy to see that so many of the best have shown up to take this title from me," The man looked over the crowd and saw hardly anyone he recognised, aside from the Z-fighters. "I'm so happy to see so many familiar faces. I hope I see one of the best tournaments ever! Are you all ready?!"

Everyone cheered loudly as Hercule's fist rose to the air.

"Then I'd like to introduce you all to my successor and top student," Satan turned to the side and directed the attention back to the entrance to the waiting area and out stood another man, "Shell!"

A few people in the crowd applauded as they had actually heard of the fighter, but none of the Z-fighters knew who he was and to be honest they didn't care.

"Shell will be the first to hit the punching machine, so Shell if you come over to the machine and you know what to do," The announcer instructed the young adult was an average sized fighter. He had shoulder length, spiky blue hair and he wore a brown fighting Gi that was sort of similar to the one worn by Hercule himself. He stood in front of the machine and threw his fist as hard as he could. It struck the machine and the numbers rose.

"And Shell hits a…99. That is a great way to start off this preliminary so now if contestant number 22 would like to come over!"

It appeared as if the preliminaries would be done at random so Noca would just have to wait until his number was called.

As people were called up one-by-one it seemed as if they were all very average and nowhere near comparison to the others. The first of the Z-fighters to be called up was Trunks. That was the first shock to everyone as he hit a 203, but Noca could tell that he held back. He was then informed that he should do the same so not to draw too much attention.

As it went on, a few more Z-fighters had got the calls ups. Goten went up and hit a 203. Gohan hit 287. Pan went up soon after and managed a 210. When #17 was called up the Z-fighters paid attention as he hit 173. He was definitely holding back.

There were a few more unknown fighters after him, but only one managed to get above Shell. It was a guy named Coral who hit a 101. Soon after him was Omar and he got a 104, but it didn't seem like he was holding back. Noca was sure that Omar was stronger than that, but then again Noca had no experience then.

Majin Buu ran up soon after and struck 200. Straight after him was Holline and Noca was truly curious to see how she had improved. Bearing in mind it seemed as if she had a power close to Omar's. She managed to hit 132. Noca was pleasantly surprised by that and gave his old friend a thumbs up as she returned to stand next to #17 as he simply nodded to her. Pan saw Noca's gesture and felt jealous.

Vegeta was excited when he got his turn as he really wanted to show how strong he was as he threw one of the hardest punches he could. As usual the machine just crumpled into nothing and everyone was shocked whilst Gohan just put his head in his hands.

"Uh…we'll have to take a short break whilst we get the other machine set up…it will take about half an hour to be sure to have some food or something to drink…" The announcer suggested as he sighed and turned to help move the damaged machine.

Everyone just sat about for a bit whilst they went off to get the next machine. This would surely put a delay on the tournament and considering it was already 12:45, it didn't seem as it the first round would be starting today. That kind of disappointed Noca because he was feeling ready, but he guess it couldn't hurt to find out his opponent and then get some last minute training in.

When they eventually returned with the next machine they asked Vegeta to try again, but this time he held back significantly and managed a 294. After the Saiyan Prince it was the turn of Piccolo who was using the name Junior. Noca didn't understand why, but it didn't seem important to bother asking anyone. He managed to hit a 256. Soon Uub was called up and hit a high 281. Noca started to believe he would probably be last as there weren't many people left.

The guy in the white Gi and black mask was called up. Apparently his name was Chow. This mysterious fighter hit 300. Next was the fighter that Noca had written off after not begin able to sense any power level from him. He surprised them all as he hit 301. It turned out that his name was Wun.

Finally it was Noca's turn and he stood up in front of them all and thought about how hard he should hit the machine. He held back his power a lot and threw his fist quite lightly, but felt like it was too little. He was wrong as, not only being the last, but he managed to hit the highest number. 302 flashed on the screen and Noca exhaled.

"Ok so everyone has hit their numbers and we will soon have the top 16 written up on the board for you to see!"

It took them another 10 minutes to write up the rest of the numbers and with a look at the time, the fighters saw that it was 1:30pm. All the names were up and the fighters all gathered to see.

The 16 finalists were:

Shell – 99

Coral – 101

Omar – 104

Holline – 132

#17 – 173

Mr Buu – 200

Goten – 203

Trunks – 203

Pan – 210

Piccolo – 256

Uub – 281

Gohan – 287

Vegeta – 294

Chow – 300

Wun – 301

Noca – 302

The rest of the fighters all walked off disappointedly as those 16 fighters remained in the arena so that they could prepare for the draw to find out who they were fighting against. The announce took to the centre of the arena once more and held up his microphone to get the attentions of the fighters standing in front of him. This was one of his favourite moments.

"Ok! So we are going to go right ahead and start the draw. You will all be called up to pick a number from this box and that will be your position on the table," The announce briefly explained as he looked over all the fighters to make sure they understood. "We'll start with the lowest and work our way up to the highest. So Shell you're up first again."

Shell walked up and put his hand in the box before pulling out the number for his match.

"Ok so you are Number 12. You will be fighting in the 6th match," The Announce told the man and the crowd as the man at the board wrote Shell's name in the correct position. The Announce then called out for Coral.

"Number 10. 5th match."

Omar's turn.

"Number 3. Match 2."

Holline was next.

"Number 6. So that's match 3."

#17 was called up.

"You are number 13. That is the 7th fight."

Majin Buu was number 9 so he would be in match 5 against Coral. Goten had number 7 which meant match 4. Trunks was number 1. So he would be in the first fight. Pan picked number 5. Which meant match 3 against Holline. Piccolo got 14. So he would face off against #17 in the 7th fight. Uub picked 11 which meant he would be against Shell in the 6th match. Gohan picked number 8 so he would be facing off against his younger brother, Goten, in the 4th match. Vegeta was 2. So he would get the chance to battle against Trunks in the first match. Chow, who we know is actually Goku, picked number 15. So just like his first tournament, he would be in the last fight. Wun was the second to last fighter so he only had two numbers to choose. He got 4. That meant match number 2 against Omar.

So with Noca the last one, he didn't need to draw his number. He would be number 16 so he would be in the final match of the round.

So the fights are:

Trunks V Vegeta

Omar V Wun

Pan V Holline

Goten V Gohan

Mr Buu V Coral

Uub V Shell

#17 V Piccolo

Chow V Noca

"Oh right! I get to fight that kid in the first round. I can't wait!" Goku thought very enthusiastically.

"Pan against Holline. I hope Pan doesn't go too hard on her" Noca thought with concern.

"Our matches have been decided!" The Announcer yelled out, drawing everyone from the thoughts and back to the present. "We will start off tomorrow in the main Stadium at 11am with Trunks against Vegeta. See you 16 great fighters tomorrow!"

The group left the arena and all went back to their accommodation. Noca tried to get to #17 to speak with him, but the android managed to get away quickly. It concerned Noca, but he felt some relief about something else when he saw Pan and Holline talking to each other. He smiled before walking over to the two of them. As he got closer he could hear what the two of them were saying to each other.

"I'd just like to say good luck," Holline said, with a friendly smile etched onto her face, "I'm not really experienced so to be drawn against a Saiyan in the first round isn't what I was hoping for."

"Hey don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll do fine," Pan assured the red-head as she didn't want to be going up against a fighter that wouldn't be confident and therefore may lack concentration.

"Great to see that you guys are talking," Noca spoke up, alerting the girls to his presence.

"Oh hey there Noca," Holline said in slight surprise. She had a smile on her face still, but that slowly vanished as she thought on what Noca said. "why wouldn't we be talking?"

"No reason," Noca gave Pan a knowing look, but also smiled at her to show that he wasn't bothered about the way she was thinking.

"He knows what I was thinking about…" Pan thought to herself worriedly. Holline managed to interrupt these thoughts though.

"Well I can't wait to see just how much you've improved and you may even end up fighting #17 in the Quarter-final."

"Possibly," Noca uttered simply, thinking about the chance of showing off the results of his training, "…and speaking of which, why did he rush off? What's up with him?"

"He's been worried about something recently…I'm not sure what, but he said that it could involve the tournament, plus he said he doesn't want to accidently bump into his sister after so long…" Holline explained, although it didn't really clarify too much for Noca. What was #17 worried about? Could it affect the outcome of the tournament? Could it affect the people at the tournament? Could it have anything to do with his last dream?

Noca didn't know what to think, but he just passed it off and smiled at the girls telling them there isn't a point in worrying about anything just now. Holline said that she best get back to #17 whilst Noca and Pan returned to their friends and family.

All the way back to their hotel, Noca was silent and this worried Pan. She slowly moved towards him and gave him the tiniest playful shove. It definitely got Noca's attention.

"That was very unlike you…" He uttered in with a slight smirk forming on his face.

"Heh I know, just felt like it." Pan said with a half awkward smile. "Something seems to be worrying you?

"I'm just thinking on what Holline said…" Noca responded, but this didn't seem to be a response that Pan was too keen on hearing.

"Her again" Pan thought in annoyance.

"There it is…conflicting emotions again…" Noca finally needed to know exactly what was going on with the Raven-Haired teen right now. "What is going on with you Pan?"

"Huh…nothing…why?" Pan tried to get herself out of the situation, but she couldn't have made it more obvious that something was really bothering her.

"Do you really have to ask why? Your emotions have been all over the place since…" Noca stopped and thought back, but he knew exactly when it had started. "Since you first met Holline. What is it that has you…annoyed with her?"

"It's nothing…just…" It was petty. Pan was convinced she was being petty. "You seem really close with her…"

"Of course I do…she was my only real friend for years. I visited her at least 4 times a week every week. She's my best friend. You would be concerned if I had a problem with Bra as your best friend…" Noca explained seeming to take some annoyance with what Pan was assuming about he and Holline.

"Yeah of course, but I don't think you have to worry about Bra trying to steal me away…" Pan stopped after realising what she had said, but then she saw the look of sympathy on Noca's face.

"You're worried that Holline is going to take me away from you?" He questioned, realising that Pan saw this as a genuine issue.

Pan could feel tears approaching, but she didn't know why. She hardly even knew Noca. Yes he had revealed pretty much everything about himself to her, but she still only met him 6 months ago. She felt like she wanted him to be in her life forever, but she didn't know why. She couldn't understand her feelings.

"There's no chance of that happening…I love Holline, but we agreed ages ago that she was like a younger sister…I have always wanted to protect her, ever since I saved her life…" Noca explained. He needed to put Pan's concerns at ease, but it just left room for more questions. Such as…

"You saved her life?"

"Yes…when I was 5. She was off picking flowers for her mother's birthday and slipped and fell down a mountain slope. I heard the screams and…well…that was the first time my Saiyan powers had awoken. I jumped and caught her before she hit any sharp rocks…"

Pan was amazed at the story, but it wasn't the most heroic story she had ever heard. Maybe it was his age at the time. Maybe it was because it showed his emotions…or maybe…it was because of her feeling towards him…she still wasn't sure.

"Ok…I guess I understand your relationship with her now…kinda…"

"Good," Noca smiled at the black haired girl and held out his hand for her. She took a hold of it and the two walked back to their hotel was still concerned about her feelings though. She was sure she wasn't in love with Noca. She assumed she was too young for that. But then again she had heard brief stuff about the Saiyan bond that couples involving any Saiyans could have. She would perhaps need to talk to her mother, grandmother and Bulma about it. Even Valese and Marron could help.

Noca kept his eyes on Pan as he was too thinking about his feelings for her. He knew he had a crush on her. In his opinion she was the most attractive girl he knew and he loved her fighting spirit, plus the emotional connection intrigued him. Maybe his feelings were deeper, but he would have to keep it all in mind for when he and Pan talk about it after the tournament.

As they arrived at the hotel Noca could feel a presence behind them. He turned to see that the fighter known as Chow was standing there. He was still wearing his Gi and the black mask. Pan turned to see what Noca was looking at and noticed the fighter.

"Go inside Pan…I'll be inside in a sec," Pan walked in as Noca walked over to the fighter. "Before you say anything…I just wanna say that I hope we can have a great fight tomorrow. I can feel your energy and I know that you're strong…so I hope we can have the best fight."

The fighter nodded to Noca. He would speak, but he needed to maintain the disguise he was using. The fighter bowed and Noca did the same in return. He then walked off. Noca was left standing there confused as a single gust of wind blew past.

"I hope I'm ready…"

Please REVIEW!

I'll answer all appropriate questions, unless you review as a guest!