A/N: Good morning/afternoon/evening! Thank you to those who have read, favorited, and followed. It means SO much to me and I love seeing that people are at least viewing this unnecessary fic. Anyways, let's get to the chapter! This one's longer than the last three.

Disclaimer: Still don't own it.

Chapter 4: The Girlfriend-Finding Competition!

Trunks was extremely uncomfortable. Squirming a little in his seat, he tried to pay attention to what the girl across from him was saying. It was proving to be a difficult task.

Wanting to see how the other two "judges" were faring, he glanced around the room until he found Bulma and Goten at their own tables. Bulma seemed very interested in what the girl was explaining and Goten was laughing with his current charge.

Damn it.

"– Like animals too?" Trunks snapped back to attention before nodding. "Um, yeah?"

The pigtailed girl beamed. "That's so great! We're already connecting!"

Trunks just flashed her a weak smile and gritted out, "Sure."

The ecstatic girl, taking that as a good sign, continued to speak about herself as Trunks spaced out once again. Glancing at the timer for the umpteenth time, he inwardly groaned. She still had around a minute before they rotated.

It was a fairly simple process. The contestants would meet with Bulma for she was the mother of the wanted mini-bachelor. Then after two minutes, they would move on to the best friend of said mini-bachelor (Goten), before finally getting to Trunks, the mini-bachelor. Then after the whole thing, the three judges would get together and figure out who would be his girlfriend. He still couldn't believe how unnecessary it all was.

The timer sounded and the girl let out a disappointed groan. She still had so much to tell him!

Trunks gave her what he hoped to be a sympathetic smile and reached out to respectfully shake her hand. Though the girl had other plans because she grasped his hand and pulled him over the table to hug him fiercely.

The boy felt like choking, not only from the surprisingly strong hold she had on him, but from the overwhelming odor of her perfume.

This was not the first time this had happened to him.

And this was definitely not the worst thing that had happened to him.

The pigtailed contestant pulled back with a satisfied sigh as Trunks heard some of the other girls mutter insults at her from behind him.

"I hope we get to learn more about each other in the future," she said hopefully. Someone yelled for her to move it.

Trunks just gave a small nod. "That would be cool." The girl gave him a sweet smile and skipped to the waiting area that had refreshments. But not before she threw him a wink over her shoulder.

The mutters behind him grew louder and angrier.

Trunks ran a hand down his face. That girl was nice and all but he still didn't want a girlfriend. He was going to have to reject every single girl in this room and he wasn't looking forward to it.

After the next rotation, they would take a ten-minute break in order for the three judges to get together and talk about who they liked so far. During that break, he would have to come up with a plan to efficiently end this whole contest. It would have to be a good plan.

A girl with pale skin and dark hair highlighted with purple streaks sat in front of him. What the heck was Goten laughing at when he met with this girl?

"Um… hi? I'm Trunks," he said nervously.

The girl leaned over the table with a smile enhanced by her purple lipstick. "I know."

Trunks swallowed a gulp. This one was going to be long.

Goten really liked his job. He never usually had the chance to interact with people his age other than Trunks. It was a nice change to talk about his best friend and listen to them talk about themselves. It felt more casual than a competition.

There were more to the girls than met the eye. Some who seemed really mean were actually very sweet and some who seemed boring were actually funny and interesting. In fact, he had just met a girl named Ami who looked pretty quiet and emo, but she had been able to make him laugh.

Trunks would like her.

Saying goodbye to a girl that seemed fun to be around, he scanned the room for his friend. Trunks didn't seem to be having as good a time as he was. That was a shame because most of these girls really liked Trunks.

Goten turned back to greet the next girl, but a clinking noise sounded throughout the room. Bulma was standing atop a table, tapping a spoon against a glass like she was about to make a toast.

"Hello everyone! I hope we're having fun!" A cheer sounded from the crowd and Goten smiled. Trunks pouted.

Bulma continued, "We're going to take a quick ten-minute break so you could use the bathrooms, snack on something, or, you know, figure out how to win my son's heart." She winked as the girls giggled and Goten could faintly hear Trunks' groan.

The chatter started up again as the girls took up on Bulma's suggestions. Before Goten could do anything else, someone grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the room. He was about to protest until he saw the face of his supposed kidnapper.

"Trunks, what the heck?" The lavender-haired preteen quickly shushed him and glanced warily around at the hallway even though they were completely alone.

"We need a plan," he whispered. "And we need it now."

Goten shook his head. "Aren't we supposed to be meeting up with Bulma to talk about – "

"No, we don't because I'm not deciding on anything!"

The Son boy sighed and said, "These girls are actually really nice once you get to know them."

Trunks stared at him in disbelief. "Again, who's side are you on?!"

Goten was about to answer when they heard footsteps behind them. Trunks stiffened and looked like he was ready to bolt right then, but relaxed after seeing it was just Gohan.

The older Saiyan looked between the two and asked, "What's going on?"

Trunks answered, "I'm trying to come up with a plan to end this whole thing."

Gohan raised an eyebrow. "It's that bad?"

"It really isn't," Goten responded but Trunks ignored him.

"Yeah, it is that bad. It's just so weird and awkward and unnecessary and I just can't take it anymore!"

Gohan turned to Goten and Goten shrugged. "If you ask me, they're more friend-material than girlfriend-material. They're all really nice."

Gohan smiled at his little brother. Leave it to Goten to make the best out of a situation. Trunks thought differently.

"Seriously, Goten?"

Gohan rolled his eyes. "Then what do you want to do, Trunks?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out!"

The elder Son boy rubbed his chin in thought. "Well if you really don't want this – "

"I very much do not."

"– Then try to think of something those girls would want more than you. You can't just break all their hearts by canceling the contest."

Trunks stared in confusion. "What could they possibly want more than me? Money?"

Gohan shook his head, "I'm pretty sure there are better things than that."

"And they are here because they want a boyfriend," Goten cut in.

Gohan nodded. "So try thinking about what girls your age would want more."

Trunks racked his brain for a solution. Girls were here because they wanted him. And that was because he was cute, smart, and rich.

If only he could find a guy that was cute, smart, rich… He glanced at Gohan and a smirk grew on his face.

… And older.

Gohan didn't like the look Trunks had on his face as he studied him. "Whatever you're thinking, stop thinking it."

Trunks just shook his head and said, "I can't. It's too good. But I'll need your help."

Gohan knew he was going to regret this but he asked out of pure curiosity. "How?"

Trunks just smiled. He had him.

Bulma cursed as she circled the hall a fifth time. Where were those boys?

They better not have bailed on this, she thought bitterly. She had met some very interesting girls and had been really excited to share her thoughts with her other two judges. Now she couldn't even find them. Unbelievable.

The ten minutes were up and the girls started to get back to their original places, having come up with a way to win Trunks' heart. Bulma began to panic. They wouldn't have bailed… Right?!

She let out a sigh of relief when she saw Goten enter the room. If he was here, Trunks had to be nearby. They were still in trouble because they had forgone the original plan.

But that was an issue for later.

Goten didn't like the plan at all. He wasn't even sure if it would work the way they wanted it to work. If it didn't, what would they do then?

The boy gulped when he saw Bulma heading towards him because he knew exactly what she wanted to ask.

"Where's Trunks?" the blue-haired woman inquired suspiciously.

"Oh, um, h-he said he wanted to use the bathroom and, um, freshen up for, uh, the rest of the meetings!" He plastered a fake smile on his face, hoping it would keep her suspicion from rising.

It seemed to work.

"Well, he better come back soon. Break time's up." And with a shake of her head, she walked off to go speak with a group of excited girls. Goten breathed a sigh of relief. Now all he had to do was complete his part of the plan.

Gohan entered the room looking highly uncomfortable even though he was trying hard not to show it. He was already gathering attention from the girls closest to him.

That was Goten's cue.

The youngest Son boy scanned the area for the girl that he thought would be able to do the job efficiently. A girl that he had met earlier, Cara he believed, was flashing looks at Gohan while giggling with her friends. She was perfect.

Pushing his way through the crowd, he made his way to the group and prayed that everything would go as planned.

Cara noticed him and smiled. "Hi, Goten!"

Goten smiled back and greeted, "Hey, Cara! You met with Trunks, right?"

"Yep! He's so cute!" As she said this, she glanced at Gohan once again, who was speaking with Bulma. Goten pretended to follow her line of sight.

"If you're wondering, that's my older brother." This seemed to capture the attention of most of the girls around him.

"That's your brother? Wow…"

"He's sooo cute!"

"How old is he? Can I talk to him?"

The plan was working. Goten decided to kick it up a notch.

"Yeah, his name's Gohan. He's actually been feeling kinda sad lately."

It was amazing how the mood became somber as soon as he uttered those words.

Cara pouted and asked worriedly, "Why?"

Goten hated to lie, especially to these really nice girls, but it had to be done. Trunks should've been the one to do this.

"Uh, his girlfriend… um… broke up with him recently! Yeah, he's been really down about it." By now, a significant number of girls had crowded around him and they all exclaimed an, "AAAAWWWW!"

Goten just nodded. "He told me that he's ready to move on because he wants a girl's company." The girls started to glance at each other while simultaneously eyeing Gohan.

Goten kicked it up a higher notch.

"He even told me outside that he was jealous of Trunks." Goten cringed inwardly before continuing. "Seeing all of you girls here, and only for Trunks, made him feel very, um, lonely…"

That did it.

Cara smiled and haughtily said, "I could keep him company." By now, over half the contestants had surrounded Goten and Cara's group. Whispers began to travel around the hall as girls squealed and pointed at Gohan.

"No, I'll keep him company!"

"Why would he want you to be around him? I'm a much better choice!"

"I'm older and prettier! He wouldn't want little shrimps like you people!"

And many more statements like these were thrown around. Goten managed to sneak a look at his older brother who had no doubt heard these comments and was running a hand down his face.

Goten flashed him thumbs up, a sign, and he could almost hear Gohan's exasperated groan before he exited the hall.

The whispers became louder and Goten threw in what he hoped to be the last comment:

"He probably went to go find another girl to spend his time with." He silently apologized to Videl.

Goten watched in amazement as heaps upon heaps of the now ex-contestants tried to fight their way out the door.

It worked! It actually worked!

The hall began to empty and Bulma looked on in utter confusion before she followed them out, trying to see what the problem was. Goten just slumped over in relief, glad it was over.

Once the hall was nearly emptied, he watched as Trunks entered through the emergency exit, beaming in happiness.

He caught up to Goten and high-fived him. "I can't believe it worked! Everyone's leaving!"

Goten just nodded. "Wow, they must really like Gohan." The hall was vacant now, save for a few shocked workers.

Goten turned to Trunks. "So what do we do now?"

Trunks just smirked. "We celebrate another victory," he said, starting to make his way to the door.

Goten opened his mouth to respond when a soft voice startled them from their thoughts.

"Does that mean the contest is over or…?"

The two boys whipped their heads around to stare in shock at a blond-haired girl who looked just as confused.

A/N: Looks like their plan didn't completely work after all… Who's this chick and why is she here rather than going after the handsome (and apparently lonely) Gohan? *shrugs shoulder*

Sorry for taking a while to update, I hope people haven't forgotten about this…yet.

Please review and criticize, it would mean the world to me!