Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z in any form. All characters and names relating to DBZ are copyright DBZ. However, there are characters belonging to me. So if I see you've stolen them, well…let's just say the problem will be resolved 'out of court'.
Author's Note: Enjoy! J
The sky above the Southern Islands were blue and empty except for the gulls that occasionally dropped from their sanctuary to catch food from the ocean below. The waves rolled gently onto shore as the men of the Tai clan pushed their boats to gather food for themselves. The older sons were with their fathers while their younger brothers and sisters helped the women in other tasks.
Everyone had something to do. Except for two men who appeared to be doing nothing. One was a resident of the islands; he had dark skin, black hair cut in a long mohawk and a skinny body. This was Ubuu, the strongest man of the Tai clan. His friend was not from the islands. He was white, which scared the clan at first. Their previous encounters with the white man had been unpleasant if not hostile. But when he proved to be an honorable man, they forgot the color. He did have the same black hair and eyes as most of the clan. He called himself Goku.
Goku promised Ubuu that he would train him and he set about it the first day. If Ubuu had to work in the fields, Goku made him do it with his hands. If Ubuu had to fish, no spear or net was to be used. Ubuu had to dive into the water and swim after the fish. At first, he caught many fish but as the weeks passed he eventually got enough fish that it sunk his boat. Fortunately, Goku was there to carry the boat back to shore. The tribe had a great feast that night.
The saiyan gave Ubuu moral support by helping the boy. He would fish and farm alongside his apprentice. When they had spare time, Goku taught Ubuu how to fly, to launch energy attacks and to sense the spiritual energies of other people. This morning and the previous night, Goku had been battling Ubuu on an astral plane. It was nearly ten when Ubuu suddenly gasped and rested on all fours.
Goku slowly opened his eyes. He looked approvingly at the boy. He had become far more powerful than Goku could have imagined in such a short time. He was ready for the next level.
"I did not believe I could last for so long." Ubuu said, panting.
"Very impressive." Goku said, nodding.
"I will have to train much harder if I wish to win." The boy continued.
"Funny you should mention that." Goku said, smirking. He stood up and left the hut. Ubuu remained sitting and then followed, giving into his curiosity. Goku had gone to his hut (which he had built himself in two minutes). He went in, leaving Ubuu to wait outside. When the saiyan came out he carried two wrist guards and two ankles braces. He placed them on the floor.
"Put them on." He said. Ubuu looked at them for a second, then lifted one of the wrist guards.
"It is heavy." The boy said, surprised by the weight.
"It weighs ten kilograms." Goku replied, "Or one basket of fish." Ubuu's eyes bulged.
"You want me to carry four baskets of fish?" Ubuu asked in disbelief.
"Even when you sleep." Goku said. Ubuu could only stare open-mouthed as his teacher walked past him towards the ocean. As he walked, Goku looked back.
"You want to do well in the tournament, right?" he asked. Ubuu closed his mouth and nodded. He put the wrist guard on and bent down to pick up the other.
Goten sighed in exasperation as another of his classmates slid down the rope, giving up after three feet. As the boy tried to shake the rope-burn off, Goten wished he were in chemistry class. He did not particularly enjoy that subject either, but it was more exciting than gym and that was the class Trunks was in.
A smile appeared on Goten's face as he remembered the time when he and Trunks had made a small explosion during the class. This had been the third time within a month. The school decided it would be safer if the two friends were not in the same chemistry class. Due to the switch, Goten only had two classes with Trunks: English and math. Goten was happy that Trunks was in his math class and Trunks was happy that Goten was in his English class.
"Goten!" the gym yelled. "If you think this is funny, see if you can't do better than Rick." The smile faded as he heard that name. Rick. He could not stand to hear anything about him let alone see him. Rick was the school's quarterback and that made him quite popular amongst the girls. Everywhere he went, he would hear the beautiful and snobby girls talking about him. Goten never paid attention to what they said about Rick, but he always heard what they said about him. That he was pathetic because he preferred humor and intelligence to sports and stupidity. He said nothing back, which is why Rick enjoyed pestering him with his taunts and his shoves. Trunks was also on Rick's "To bully" list. Though one of them could kill the quarterback with one blow, it was for that very reason that the both of them refused to fight back.
But whenever Goten had a chance to wipe that smirk off of Rick's face, he went for it. This was one of them. The rope thirty feet long and Rick climbed it in fifteen seconds. Goten smiled again as he stepped up to the rope. The teacher clicked his watch. Goten jumped up the first five feet. For the next ten feet, Goten easily but slowly climbed up hand over hand, letting his feet dangle. When he was halfway up, Rick decided to open his mouth.
"Don't fall Shorty!" he said. Goten glared at him, bearing his teeth. If there was anything in the world that Goten hated more than being called 'Shorty', he had not encountered it yet. He was in fact the shortest in his grade. But he detested when they made fun of his height. Trunks called him by that name once. A bloody nose put an end to that. And to add insult to injury, Rick was the one saying it.
Goten had a vision of himself letting go of the rope and tackling Rick. But someone else told him to keep going. He turned back to the rope and climbed the rope faster, possibly faster than a normal human should.
"Twenty-five seconds." The teacher announced as Goten climbed back down. Now, he was furious. Rick had humiliated him more than he could imagine. The bell rang. As the class left the gym, Rick elbowed Goten as he walked past.
"So long Shorty." He said. Goten growled and turned his hands into fists. A hand on his shoulder doused the fire.
"Cool it." A girl said, "You're just feeding his ego." Goten looked at the pretty brunette behind him.
"Hard not to." He said.
"He's a predator." She said, taking her hand off Goten's shoulder, "And a good one at that. But you're smarter so he shouldn't be able to get to you." Goten smiled.
"As always Jessica, you are right." She smiled back. Goten offered his arm. She linked her arm around his and they walked out together.
At the end of the day, Goten and Jessica were waiting by the front of the school. Rick passed by them, but Goten turned his back to them, ignoring their taunts. Once he had left, another voice called him.
" About time." He said to the newcomer.
"Sorry," a white-haired, blue-eyed boy said, "History teacher had to give us a little extra work just because it was the week-end."
"That's a shame." Goten said mockingly.
"Shut up."
"Trunks," Jessica spoke up, "Where's Sasha?"
"She wanted to ask Mr. Brooks about something." He replied, "She also has a physics test to do. She doesn't want us to wait up for her."
"Good, then we can get home sooner." A gruff voice said. They turned and saw a man with a loose fitting t-shirt, blue jeans, and black hair that stood straight up.
"Why?" Trunks asked his father.
"Forgetting your little sister's ballet show?" Vegita asked. Trunks jaw dropped. Goten started to laugh.
"Are you serious?" Trunks asked, shocked, "We have to go to that?"
"Quit your whining, I don't like it anymore than you do." He looked at Goten. "And stop laughing kid. Your niece is in it too, so your mother is probably dragging you along."
"Nope," Goten said with a smile on his face, "Already bought my way out of it. I don't have to go so long as I do all the dishes tomorrow." He started to laugh again. Trunks and Vegita growled and glared at him.
"Shut up!" they yelled at him in unison. Goten continued to laugh.
"That's it!" Vegita said, "I'll make sure that you get into the tournament and fight me." Goten stopped laughing instantly.
"You mean the World Fighting Tournament?" Goten asked. Vegita nodded. The boy was about to forgive himself when Jessica made him forget that.
"I heard Rick was going to be in that."
"Your sure of this." Trunks asked, his eyes lighting up. Jessica nodded.
"I'm in." Goten quickly said.
"Same here."
"I like this Rick kid." Vegita said. Then he saw the looks Goten and Trunks gave him, "Not for long apparently."
