Disclaimer: Dragonball, DragonBall Z, and all characters therein are the exclusive property of Akira Toriyama, Bird Studios, and Toei Animation.
Chapter 1: Near-Do-Wells
It was the weekend. School was out, and for many elementary students that meant two days of fun, the key word being many. For the Crane School initiates, it meant one of the few unencumbered chances to train hard and stay sharp.
Since the end of summer vacation, Kato, Xin, Gen Si, and Den Sum had significantly less time to be trained by Chaotzu. Lately, the eternal child emperor spent his weekdays hanging around Kame Island with Oolong and his other friends. On the weekends however, he devoted himself to drilling the boys in preparatory exercises so that they would be ready for more advanced training when the time came.
At present Kato was attending the Northern Tournament with Mercenary Toa and Rolo Yeung, leaving just the three 'lower' initiates to Choatzu's stewardship. Regardless of what the ex-hit man said, Choatzu still believed that the other three boys had potential to be something. Granted of course that Kato's will power and inner strength were exceptional, the others had their own talents.
"Alright fellas! A few more kettlebell halos and then we'll move on to some more flutter-kicks!"
"We've….been doing this…for months," mouthed Xin in between breaths. "How about a change?"
"Yeah….." wheezed Gen Si Twan, his fat rolls giggling like some grotesque pot of heated peanut butter, "I'm dying…here!"
"You're always dying," giggled Den Sum. "Makes you wish you… were skinny like me, doesn't it?"
"At least….he isn't a fuckin puss!" shot Xin.
"Come on guys! Knock it off!" chided Choatzu. "Basics first just like your sifu said."
"You guys hear about the new school?" asked Xin.
"Pfft! As if they'd….. hold a candle to us!"
"Alright guys," started Choatzu, "Take a breather." The three boys dropped their respective bell weighs to the floor with a resounding 'clunk!' before falling on their rears.
"I Hope Kato is OK….," mused Gen Si.
"Worried about your butt-buddy flab-fairy?" asked Xin mockingly.
"Shut up!" snapped the obese nerd.
"Not this again," said Den Sum with an exasperated sigh. With Kato attending the tournament with Mercenary Toa and Yeung, Xin had to settle with harassing and picking fights with both Gen Si and himself.
As Saturday's session came to a close, the boys made their ways home. One of them, Den Sum, decided to take a shortcut through the bad parts of town.
During the day, the apartment slums didn't seem so uninviting. Granted of course the graffiti still made the place look like crap, it didn't seem so bad. Still, he was from an obscenely wealthy family though one couldn't tell with his Crane uniform and all.
Rounding a corner, the scrawny kid ran face-first into a much bigger kid. The larger kid fell back on his ass whereas the back of Den Sum's head collided with the hard concrete.
Cursing, the larger boy clutched his now bloodied nose fitfully.
"What happened?" demanded an even larger kid. He was followed by another boy, this one so chunky he looked like a shaved ape.
"Little fucker ran into me!" screeched the downed boy.
Nursing his head, Den Sum was screaming like a baby.
"What a pussy?" guffawed one of the three boys. The three older kids wore yellow monk uniforms emblazoned with the insignia of a river.
"Err…I am not!" pouted Den Sum.
"Hey!" chimed the chunky one, "Look at the get-up he's wearing. You dressed for a slumber party?"
"Check out the symbol," said the largest of the three. "He's from that other school across town!"
"Eww…..! Little titty sucker studies martial arts huh?"
Den Sum was scrambling backwards on his rear, doing everything he could to make some space between him and the three inbred meatheads. Unintentionally, he backed himself into a brick wall, cutting off his escape.
"What a joke!" crowed the hefty one. "My little sister looks manlier than you."
"Wanna teach em a lesson?"
"Let's shit-stomp em!" added the bloodied one.
Before Den Sum knew what hit him, a foot collided with the side of his face. The undersized boy wailed furiously as each larger boy took a turn stomping him in the gut and groin.
Den Sum curled into a fetal position, hoping it would guard him from his attackers. Face down on the concrete, his blood and tears stained the sidewalk.
"Grab him," commanded the largest one. Suddenly, Den-Sum found himself being yanked painfully off the ground by the hair. Hair was ripped out of the root as the crying boy was hurled into an alley just out of view.
"You busted my nose," growled the first aggressor. "Here's your victory dunk." Unbuckling his pants, the kid in question pissed all over Den Sum. The other two bullies stood watch at separate ends of the alley.
His work finished, the juvenile attacker grabbed Den Sum by the scruff of his shirt and tossed him face-first in a garbage can. Before the aggressor could do anything more, a shout rang through the alley….
"HEY! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU BRATS DOING!" screamed a large dog from atop a fire escape.
"Shit! Let's get outta here!" The three offending boys scampered away as fast as their feet would carry them.
"I'M CALLIN THE FUCKIN COPS!" came another scream. Reaching street level, the dog, an anthromorph like Oolong and Puar, grabbed Den Sum by the waist and pulled the battered youth from the trash bin.
"You OK son?" asked the canine.
Finding his voice, Den Sum squeaked "Yes…"
"The hell you are! Let's get you outta here." Grabbing the frightened boy by the wrist, the dog brought him along.
The next day at the Crane School, Gen Si and Xin did their pre-exercise stretches.
"Where is Den Sum?" asked Choatzu puzzled. "He's a little late."
As if on Q, the door squeaked open and in came the little boy in question.
"Den Sum you're…." Choatzu started. The eternal child stopped himself short upon seeing the kid. Bruises, cuts, and bloodied marks were all over his face, arms, and had he not been wearing a shirt, he'd sport a collection there.
"What happened?" asked Gen Si obviously concerned.
Falling back in a nearby chair, the kid buried his messed up face in his hands. All that could be heard in the room were Den Sum's sniffles. "They hurt me…."
"Who? Who hurt you?" demanded Choatzu.
"Who cares?" said Xin nonchalantly before Den Sum could say anything. He was silenced however when Choatzu threw a glare his way.
"Boys in yellow," whimpered the squalling child.
"Yellow?"
"Did they have a river mark?" asked Xin, suddenly a little curious.
"Yes…," mouthed the kid.
"What does it mean?" asked Choatzu.
"They're members of the new dojo that opened across town," answered the young roughneck.
"Those bastards!" cursed Gen Si.
"Don't see why you're getting so worked up over it," said Xin with a shrug.
"Yeah," agreed Choatzu, "We'll just call the police and have them do something about it. That way, we should know something real soon."
"No, that's not what I meant," Xin countered. "Den Sum got beat up because he was too weak and cowardly to do anything. He deserves what he gets."
"Hey! That's not right Xin!" Choatzu scolded. However, before he could finish, Gen Si interrupted.
"Yeah! Instructor Choatzu is right!" said Gen Si in a very preachy tone, "This is an affront to our school!"
"Wait that's not-"
"We need to teach those Yellow River yellow bellies a lesson!" declared Gen Si.
"Now that's what I like to hear," growled Xin menacingly. "Where you been hiding this side of yourself Lard-Ass?"
"Where I keep pictures of your mother," replied the chubby sarcastically. "Let's kick some butt!"
"Hey, wait! Stop!" commanded Choatzu. "Oh no….."
Both boys darted for the door. On the way out, Gen Si grabbed Den Sum and proceeded to drag him along.
"Aww crap!" the eternal child huffed. He quickly trudged after the riled up youths.
Elsewhere in town, nefarious characters met in a smoke-filled room to plot their next move. The layout of the place was similar to what one might find in a corporate boardroom, albeit a little tasteless. Overhead, a projector light flickered on and off, providing sporadic lighting in an otherwise darkened setting.
"It's good to have you here gentlemen," a fairly obese man drawled. The shady fellow wore a striped business suit with matching fedora. In his teeth he gnashed down on a massive Papaya Island cigar. His cheeks dropped with fat such that it gave him the appearance of a hairless bulldog.
Across from him, an assortment of various representatives from several far-flung chapters of both the Yakuza and the notorious Axe Gang settled around a spacious fold-out table. The men in question were all vetted scumbags of the worst kind: Human traffickers, professional killers, money launderers, smack dealers, counterfeiters, and larcenists.
"Enough with the pleasantries!" snapped another from across the room. "I can't stay away from my dealings for long. What's this all about?"
"Yesss…." hissed another, this one an anthromorphic snake. "I have a target on Ssssouth Island due in five daysss… My client won't wait."
Clearing his throat, the overweight gangster cut straight to the chase. "I'm sure you all remember the debacle in Nikki Town."
"How could we not?" sighed a tall black man in sunglasses, "We lost some serious scratch in that sinkhole! Some of the best crack crankers in the business thrown away like trash."
"From what I heard, their bodies are still gathering flies in some apartment complex," added yet another, this one an older Chinese male with more blotches than Botox.
"Yes, well I've sent the best in the business to tie up that loose end." The flabby crime boss added with a shit-eating grin. "I assure you that Rolo Yeung will pay for what his meddling cost us! We should be getting some feedback on this endeavor shortly."
"I ssstill think we ssshould have let sssleeping dogsss lie," drawled the snake. "Ssseriously, Mr. Hacchi! The boy issss not a viable threat any more. Mercenary Toa will not take thisss lying down!"
"I don't think Mercenary Toa knows about our involvement. He's been too far removed from things for too long. Believe me when I say that this'll never get back to us."
"In any case," began another, "Why are you opening another operation in this city? This town seems a little unimportant, money-wise anyway. It's been going downhill for years."
"Exactly!" stated Hacchi. "Crime has gone up incrementally in past decades! It's a perfect opportunity to make back what we lost in Nikki Town and allow us to recruit some fresh hoods into our ranks."
"You do realize this is the same berg that Mercenary Toa has set up shop in?" pressed the black man cocking an eyebrow. "There's more to this, isn't there?"
"Very astute." The oversized crime lord swiveled in his chair for effect. "If The Iron Bullet fails in killing Yeung at the Northern Budokai, I want somewhere close from where we can strike in the future."
"A fine strategic initiative Hacchi!" praised a balding man in the corner, this one wearing suspenders. His voice carried a thick Irish accent.
"Ya got that right Paddywhack!" The grotesque grin the flabby crime lord wore stretched even further.
Suddenly, Mr. Hacchi's cell phone went off. This had the comical effect of causing half the room to jump.
"Hello?" he greeted. "What? WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S DEAD!"
Mr. Hacchi in his frustration bit down on his cigar so hard that the thing snapped in half. "Where are you?"
Hanging up, the oversized mob boss rubbed his temples.
"I take it that was your contact in North Metro?" the Ax Gang head Mr. Ho inquired.
"It seems our young nuisance has managed to bump off The Iron Bullet," Hacchi explained. "This changes things! I want all our boys in this town to hit up the Crane School! Tell em to kill whoever's there!"
Elsewhere, the three Crane Students, followed closely by their instructor arrived at their destination. The Yellow River Dojo was very elaborate in its' architecture, not classical in its' design in any sense.
"You think we should knock?" asked Gen Si.
"Look guys! We're just here to talk to the head instructor about what happened."
Stepping up to the front door, the eternal child emperor stepped inside.
Once inside, the three Crane initiates made themselves somewhat comfortable. The layout of the lobby was somewhat more lavish than that of their own dojo, with lounge chairs in a well air conditioned setting.
Choatzu approached the front desk, behind which sat a gorgeous blonde woman in her mid to late twenties.
"Hello, there," greeted the attendant.
"Umm…hi," Chaotzu returned, "I'd like to file a complaint with whoever's in charge here."
"What kind of a complaint?"
"There was an attack upon one of my students by a few guys from this school," answered Choatzu. Suddenly, a loud yell rang through the lobby….
"THAT'S BULLSHIT!" came a cry.
Xin, Gen Si, and Den Sum jumped from their seats and Choatzu twirled around to see a group of large boys, students bearing the insignia of the Yellow River Temple gathered in an open causeway. They had looks that could kill and their body language was tense. These dudes were looking for an excuse to get into a tussle. Among them were two of the boys that attacked Den Sum the day before.
Upon noticing the two hoodlums, Den Sum cringed behind Choatzu and the others. This wasn't lost on Choatzu who cast a cold glare at the group of Yellow River students.
"Where do you get off coming in here making such blatant accusations?" the lead student snidely inquired. The eternal child ruler's eyebrows shot to the ceiling.
"Now hold on here! I just wanted to file a complaint!" snapped the little pale psychic.
"Check out their logos," motioned one of the other Yellow River pupils, this one being one of three who assaulted Den Sum. "These guys are from the other school across town!"
"I noticed," answered the head grunt. "Tell you guys what! You point out the dudes that committed the assault and I'll kick their asses myself. I can't have my juniors going to juvenile over horseshit!"
"No, it's a little more serious than that I'm afraid," mouthed Choatzu. "One of my students got beat up and suffered ritual humiliation."
"Look shorty," pressed the other fella, his hand snaking around Choatzu's back. "I'm sure we can work something out." Choatzu felt the man slip a hand in his pocket. Reaching in, Choatzu fished out 50 zenni.
Outward, the pale-skinned emperor showed no signs of emotion. Inside however, he was a sea of rage. He tore the monetary note in half and tossed it back in the older grunt's face. The Yellow River students looked like they wanted to eat the pale midget Z- Senshi for breakfast.
"I'm calling the cops," said Choatzu as he did a roundabout for the exit.
"Oh contrar," growled the leader of the grunts, "You're gonna stay and we're gonna kick your ass!"
"No, I'm calling the cops!" asserted Choatzu.
Just as the man in question was about to lay a hand on Choatzu, the eternal emperor let loose with a powerful nerve strike to the offenders' elbow. It was like a gust of wind. No one saw it.
Screeching in pain, the Yellow River heckler clutched his right arm fitfully. Soon, Choatzu and his three charges found themselves surrounded by the thuggish pupils of the temple. Several more poured into the room to see what the commotion was.
"What the fuck is going on out here?" demanded one of the newcomers.
"These jackasses are making trouble!" answered another over the screaming.
"Let's get em!"
Choatzu monitored the group of students surrounding him and the others. In his mind's eye, he felt no fighting energy of note. All of them were average martial artists. Stretching out his senses however, he detected two powers in the back of the building, each far exceeding the gaggle of goons in the room.
Choatzu thought for a split second about his course of action. The problem with fighting these guys is that he had to restrain himself so damned much to keep from accidently killing the lot of them. Training under King Kai and later for Dr. Gero's cyborgs would do that to ya. The boys had come far in their training. Though younger than most of the Yellow River students in the room, they had over eight months in experience in Crane initiate training. They had more power than they were aware of. That settled things…
"Guys!" exclaimed Choatzu. The three boys whipped around to pow-wow with their instructor.
"How are we gonna get outta this one?" asked Gen Si.
"You mean 'How are you guys gonna get outta this one?'" Choatzu corrected. The reaction on the boys' faces was a mix of emotions ranging from 'WTF?' to 'Oh fuck no!'
"Use this as just another training exercise," explained the eternal child. "If you beat these guys, your sifu Toa will likely let you advance in your training." With that, Choatzu phased out in a rush of ki-powered super speed that left the Yellow River grunts scratching their heads in bewilderment.
"OH, YOU 'VE GOT TO BE KIDDIN ME!" screeched a panicked Den Sum.
"I prefer it this way," spoke Xin calmly. The young roughneck cracked his knuckles furiously and stepped up to a group of opposing students.
"First I get dropped from a cliff and now this," muttered Gen Si crouching into a stance. "Should'a joined the scouts!"
"Why are you whining?" asked Xin. "This was your idea!"
"Let's have a free-for-all!" cheered Xin enthusiastically before dashing into the fray. Drawing back, the burly youth let loose with a hard right that bowled over five of the Yellow River students.
This triumph was short-lived however, as more Yellow River peeps jumped out from behind the pile of walloped students. For the most part, these students gave up all pretense of style and started to dog pile, grabing whatever they could, choking and pulling on Xin.
On the opposite side of the room, Gen Si had one of the Yellow River pupils pinned under his big, cushy butt. Bending over, the chubby Crane initiate began to frog the hapless River student in the ear until he started to cry.
Den Sum wasn't faring so well. The scrawny boy was being chased around the room by two of the boys who had beaten him the day before. Too scared to fight back, the youth flailed and screamed furiously.
"A little help?" whined Den Sum. Just as one of his attackers made a dive for him, the kid jumped out of reach.
"Oh, for the love of-," began Gen Si but before he could finish, his face caught the back of a wooden chair. It was hard enough having to fight off so many attackers from so several directions, let alone having to worry about protecting someone else while doing it.
There was no organized fighting or style, only a crazy schoolyard tussle. None of the three boys were using martial arts in their efforts at flummoxing the Yellow River grunts.
Floating high above the melee, Choatzu face-palmed. The past eight months he had spent with the boys had been relegated to bulking them up. As far as technique went however, he hadn't spent more than two weeks drilling them. Granted of course that their opponents were fresh meat as well but still….
Xin and to a lesser extent Gen Si Twan used their advanced power training to throw around their opponents like ragdolls. By this point in their strength training, they were already far stronger than a normal human so the Yellow River folks barely qualified as a workout. The problem was that they were outnumbered ten to one. On top of that, Den Sum was running around like a teenage girl in a horror flick. The scene was comical to say the least.
"HELP!" the small boy wailed frantically.
Surging up from the floor, Gen Si dragged at least five of his assailants with him. "Darn it Tang! Do something already!"
And do something he did. Den Sum made a dive under the couch and curled up towards the wall, leaving his pursuers scrambling back and forth trying to grab him from both sides. After a few moments, the two boys gave up and rejoined the other River students in bum-rushing Xin and Gen Si.
Xin grabbed the grunt who had attempted to bribe Choatzu before and put the older teen in a crushing headlock. The other Yellow River students had given up on trying to tackle Xin and were making half-hearted dives at his feet in an effort to knock the Crane student off balance.
"Say uncle!"
"Unnncclee…." gagged the assailed instructor before promptly blacking out. Xin hefted the teen over his shoulder and flung him into a charging horde of other combatants.
Three River students managed to pry Den Sum out from under the couch and two of them were holding each arm while the third was preparing to land a punch to the kid's face. Den Sum flinched violently at the prospect of having his face smashed like a piñata. Survival instincts finally won out, and the scrawny boy's rage erupted.
Den Sum's arms wrenched from the grip of his three assailants. Reaching forward, the boy of wealthy upbringing seized one of the Yellow River grunts and jerked him off the floor by the collar of his monk's uniform before unceremoniously hurling the older boy right into the lounge secretary's desk.
The other kids that had been attacking him were so stunned that they darted out of the room like scalded dogs. Those who had engaged Xin and Gen Si however, did more limping than darting.
"At least that's over," sighed Gen Si wiping sweat from his brow. The chubby fella's glasses were twisted and broken on the floor.
Stepping up beside him Xin remarked, "And here I was thinking I was gonna get some exercise." He continued to crack his knuckles menacingly.
"Can we just go home now?" pleaded Den Sum. Choatzu floated down right next to his three charges.
"So…, how'd we do coach?" asked Gen Si.
"I give you a six outta ten," Chaotzu answered flatly.
"Huh? Come on!" chided Xin. "That was at least an eight!"
"I wouldn't get so cocky if I were you boys!" boomed a voice.
All four spun around to meet its' owner. From around the corner an elderly man wearing a heavily worn monk's robe stepped into the room. The man sported a foo-manchu beard, a massive necklace of rosary beads around his neck, and a green sash that draped across his shoulder and around his torso. He bore a peerless gaze that seemed to border between empty and farseeing, like he was looking not at them but past them.
Choatzu matched this elderly man's gaze with one of his own. He could tell that this old man bore one of two of the stronger ki signatures from earlier.
"Why have you done this?" demanded the elder male hotly.
"There was a misunderstanding," Choatzu replied calmly.
"What kind of misunderstanding warrants such delinquency!"
Choatzu held up his hands in a placating gesture. "Give me a moment! I can explain!"
"Hmph!" The old man walked over to the secretary's desk and picked up a mobile phone. Opening the phone, he turned back to Choatzu and the others. "You have five minutes."
"One of my students," began Choatzu motioning to Den Sum, "was assaulted yesterday by members of this school. We've already talked to the police on the matter, and we've come here to file a complaint with your dojo."
"A complaint?" repeated the old male. Reaching out with a hand, he gestured to all the River students laid out on the floor, "You call this a complaint?"
"They started trouble," said Choatzu. "It was in self-defense!"
"I see….," drawled the elder monk. Turning back to Choatzu, the old man bore a grin of amusement. "Granted you boys were heavily outnumbered, I must say I'm a little impressed."
"If you call a schoolyard scuffle impressive," Choatzu retorted.
"I'll tell you what! You four boys fight me," offered the old man. "If you win, I won't call the authorities."
"So…., you're telling me that if these three boys win, you'll drop the whole thing?"
"Just those three?" The man's eyebrows shot to the ceiling. "Are you sure they'll be sufficient?"
"Yeah…., I'm only here to watch over em."
"A babysitter?" The elderly man didn't seem impressed.
"No! Their martial arts instructor," Choatzu corrected.
"Hmm…., the man who sponsored the opening of this dojo told me we had staunch competition in this town but still…." The older man's shit-eatting grin became more ferel, …..more sly.
"If you're going to do this, can we at least step outside?" asked Choatzu. From behind him stepped Gen Si.
"What's your name old man?"
"Ah, certainly! Where are my manners?" The ancient looking man bowed graciously to his soon-to-be opponents. "Perhaps it is best that I formally introduce myself. I am Zool Uhn, head instructor of this dojo."
"I'm Gen Si," greeted the obese boy. "This is Xin and that over there is Den Sum."
"From the Tang family?"
"You know him?" asked Choatzu, his curiosity suddenly piqued.
"Who doesn't know about his mother? Den Sum's family has been wealthy for centuries." Turning towards the door, the aged instructor motioned for the others to follow him.
Author's Note: Yes, I understand that with the exception of Choatzu and references to the Crane School this story has relatively little to do with anything Dragonball. It's a sub-arc that ties into my other fan fiction, Rise of Man. More importantly, it and the quarterfinals fight between Yeung and Rat in Rise of Man set the stage for one of the primary plots in the sequel to Rise of Man.