Chapter 10 – Day Off from Death
The entire island was packed full of people as far as the eye could see. Chiri kept her eyes peeled for any signs of her father or the others; Piccolo hadn't travelled with the group to the tournament grounds after all, nor had Tenshinhan or Chaozu. Who knew, perhaps they'd appear as well. It'd been a long time since the last time Chiri'd seen either of them, possibly Krillin's wedding four years ago…
"Gosh it's busy," Goten quietly noted, sticking close to his mother's side. "Do you really think they'll be able to fit everyone into the tournament? So many people…"
"Of course they will," Trunks snorted, a head taller than the miniature-Goku. His demeanour was one of confidence and excitement, more outgoing than his childhood friend and much a stark difference compared to his future timeline counterpart. Apparently this is what happened when Vegeta lived and continued to live at Capsule Corp. His confidence was contagious apparently.
"So far, no sign of Goku," Bulma frowned, barging past a particularly rude group. "I hate crowds."
"It's a lot bigger and busier here than it used to be at the Budokai," Krillin mused looking rather alarmed. "I wonder what else might have changed in almost twenty years..."
"Look!" Goten called above the holler of the crowds. "Gohan, it's Piccolo! Over there!"
Indeed Piccolo was stood under the shade of a tall palm tree, hidden well away from prying eyes and minding his own business. His eyes snapped open as the group approached him, expression indifferent to their arrival… until his eyes fell upon his former student. "… Are you really going to participate in that?"
"Apparently," Chiri dryly sighed. Piccolo was of course referring to the clothes Gohan wore. For some reason he figured dressing up as the Great Saiyaman or whatever he called himself was a good idea and would protect his identity. Fat chance, Chiri thought. His voice was a dead giveaway to anyone who knew him, not to mention how much the costume seemed to magnify his nerdiness. Chiri had no issues with intelligent people in general but she did have an issue with her brother looking like a child dressing up for a costume party.
"What? It's stylish," Gohan's expression brought to mind the phrase water off a duck's back to Chiri; he seemed indifferent and unfazed by the suggestive comment. To be fair he had been getting a lot of concerned looks from them all since he'd started up this Great Saiyaman business. No one could quite believe that Bulma was the designer of his outfit and had questioned just how serious she'd been when designing it. Chiri was convinced Bulma's anticipated it being a joke and so hadn't bothered in making him look cool because she'd thought he'd never wear it. How wrong she was.
Over the loud system, the fighters were called towards the registration desk to sign up within the next fifteen minutes. The group continued on. It wasn't long before they reached the gates, watching the vast majority of people passing through the spectators gates towards the stands, with a small group of burly fighters signing up as spectators.
"He's still not here," Chichi was growing concerned. "Come on Goku, you're going to miss signing up at this rate."
"He'll be here," Bulma reassured her with a hand on the shoulder. "He's never let us down before and he wouldn't miss this for anything."
As if on que, Goku's energy burst rudely into their heads. Chiri whirled her head around, almost snapping it clean from her neck as her eyes set upon him. There he stood a few feet from the group, Baba floating menacingly beside him. His eyes, they hadn't changed. His face, his mouth, that smile of his, his posture, his demeanour, his essense. It was still the same as ever, unaffected by the effects of death and having been on the other side for around seven years. He was here standing amongst them.
She didn't know what to do. She felt numb. What was wrong? Why wasn't she feeling anything? Why wasn't she happy, or sad, or angry? As her family and friends rushed the dead man, she stood aside close to Trunks, unsure whether or not she ought to be joining in. Her brother was overjoyed to see their father, her mother was shedding tears of joy, her little brother hiding meekly behind her leg. Chiri could understand why Goten didn't seem so enthusiastic about their father's appearance but she didn't understand her own dulled response.
It seemed that Goku had noticed Goten hiding behind their mother's leg. He approached the small child, coming down to his level and greeting him. Goten looked uncertain at first and Chiri couldn't blame him for not being sure what to do. The only fathers that were in his life were Krillin - who was a pretty decent, caring father towards Marron – and then there was Vegeta and how he responded to Trunks…
"Daddy!" The little child suddenly rushed fearlessly past his mother and threw himself into his father's open arms. Goku rose back to full height and settled Goten upon his shoulder, "Whoa, you're a tough little guy aren't you? How old are you, Goten?"
"Seven," Goten replied with a bashful smile.
"We'd better keep on moving if we want to enter this tournament," Piccolo cut in.
So the group continued on, soon having to split into its two parties; participants and spectators. Chiri received a kiss on the cheek from her mother as she wished her and her brothers and fathers luck in the tournament before leaving with the rest of those not taking part, quickly vanishing into the crowds. Quickly Gohan vanished off elsewhere, Chiri assuming he'd spotted Videl or something. She wasn't happy with his departure because she'd been hoping to tag onto him and stick close to her older brother without having to talk to her dad so much. With Gohan gone, she was left uncertain who she could spend that much time talking to without having her father butt his nose in. Why she suddenly felt so hostile to him was a mystery to her but she refused to think too much over it. She had a tournament to enter.
There was a small table with a rather large man settled behind it, wearing what appeared to be staff uniform. Chiri'd seen a few men and women dressed similarly to this man amongst the crowds and at the gates. The group approached, Goten and Trunks taking the lead and reaching the desk first.
"Two contestants for the Junior Division," The man smiled, taking his pen and rearranging his papers.
"Junior Division?" Trunks repeated sounding alarmed. "No thanks, we're gonna compete with the adults!"
"I'm sorry but you can't enter the Senior Division if you're under the age of sixteen," The man frowned sternly. "If you want to take part, you will have to do so in the Junior Division. Those are the rules."
'Under sixteen?' Chiri's eyes widened in horror. 'You've got to be joking!' Quickly she snuck over to Krillin and bent down a little to his height. "I don't remember you saying anything about there being two different divisions!" She hissed quietly.
But Krillin looked just as flabbergasted as she did. "This is news to us too. We never had a Junior Division in our day."
What was she going to do? Chiri refused to beat up on the kids younger than her, there was no interest in that for her. Even if she did end up fighting kids between her age and fifteen, she knew how it'd end. Even if she ended up facing off against Goten or Trunks, neither of them were a decent match. They were challenging but it wasn't the same as getting to face off against someone like Gohan or Piccolo or Vegeta or her dad. There had to be a way she could somehow enter the Senior Divison.
Perhaps her ridiculous growth spurt would finally have a positive use…
"Son… Goten… Junior Division," The gentleman behind the table had finished writing down her younger brother's name. "Who's next?"
Whilst the other adults stepped forward, she began to pump herself up ready for what she was about to do. Inside there was something sharp and loud but she chose to ignore it as best she could; she knew what she was about to do was dishonest but if it didn't work and she was found out, she couldn't imagine going forward with entering the Junior Divison. Finally it was her turn. She stepped forward silently, not uttering a word. The man the other side of the desk smiled in a friendly manner and rearranged the papers upon his desk. "Name?"
Chiri swallowed the lump in her throat. "S-Son Chiri." She answered.
The man kept his eyes on her a little more than she was comfortable with. Had he sussed her out? Her heart thumped loudly in her chest, she could feel the blood seeping up her neck.
"Son…. Chiri…" The man had now glanced down back at the papers. She couldn't quite see what division she was being entered into and didn't want to look too suspicious as she leant forward. Annoyingly the man's other hand was covering the top of the paper, likely where her answer would have been written. She leant back abruptly as the man's head turned back up to face her. "Right. Next please."
"Sorry, which division have I been placed under?" Chiri asked. "You didn't say."
The man looked at her perplexed. "… The Senior Division. Isn't that obvious?" He asked.
Inwardly she was cheering and jumping for joy. Outwardly a small smile crept across her face. "Good. I was worried you'd think I was too young to enter the Senior Division." And with that she skipped away happily before the man could question her further.
Soon everyone had been signed up to their tournament divisions – Piccolo having chosen to go under an alias; Ma Junior. The group made their way through the gates and into the competitors' area.
"All contestants for the Junior Division, please make your way over," An official's voice called out over a loud speaker.
"Good luck, kids," Krillin grinned as a disgruntled looking Trunks and Goten slowly made their way off towards the official. Chiri couldn't blame them for looking so downtrodden. She wouldn't have been pleased to find out she'd have to face off against other kids… especially knowing that none of those kids would be able to cause them any harm.
"Hey, where's Gohan?" Goku asked, having finally noticed his eldest was missing from the group.
"He went off to find a friend," Chiri answered, immediately regretting it. Now it meant conversation between them was open. But to her mercy, her father seemed happy with that answer and didn't ask her anything else.
"All Senior Division contestants, this way please," Another official's voice was calling through the loud speaker just ahead of them. "This way to register a score!"
"A score?" Krillin repeated. "What are they talking about now?"
"So much has changed," Goku mused. "The grounds feel more busier than before. I wonder if they're gonna get us to have pre-match fights like they used to."
But it wasn't as the old-school competitors had remembered. There were only sixteen spots for the tournament – Krillin told Chiri that it'd doubled since their day when there'd only been eight spaced – and to work out who the sixteen competitors were, they wouldn't fight one another. Instead, they'd punch a strange-looking machine to try and get the biggest score possible. The reigning champion Mr Satan would automatically score a place to defend his title, leaving fifteen spots to fight for.
"Oh!" A gentleman with blond hair, wearing a dark suit with dark shades suddenly approached the group at a jog. "It's you guys!"
"Hey!" Goku and Krillin grinned back at him.
"It's been so long since you guys have entered!" The man exclaimed looking overjoyed. Chiri had no idea who he was but couldn't help notice the notepad in his hand. She didn't get the impression that he was a fighter with his stature and lack of muscle. Besides, why would a fighter come wearing a suit? He had to be something else.
"And I see you've brought some others with you?" The man craned his neck around Krillin's head and observed the rest of the group. "That's fantastic. No doubt we'll be expecting something special from you guys. Just try not to destroy the ring this time."
"We'll try," Piccolo responded looking bizarrely friendly towards the man, which Chiri found highly disturbing. Destroying the ring? Could it be that this man had seen her father and his friends fighting in the tournament during the old days, before she was born? Well, that would be a surprise if it turned out to be true. Chiri didn't have time to ask because someone was once again hollering over the loud speakers, announcing that the qualifying round was now beginning. The crowds suddenly surged towards the machine, Chiri unable to see who was talking amongst the large crowd of burly fighters.
"Each contestant will be asked to draw a number and line up in accordance to the number you have selected," The voice instructed. "When your number is called, please step forward to the punching device and strike the machine on the padded weight. We will then be given a number – this is the score you have achieved. Once you have collected your score, keep hold of your number and wait for the results over to the right. Once all contestants have placed a score, we will take a small amount of time before reading out the results on the loud speaker."
"This is nuts," Krillin mused. "A punch machine? We've gotta get this right."
"To show you a demonstration, we are lucky to be able to announce that the current champion, Mr Satan, has agreed to be our demonstrator. So please put your hands together for the reigning Tenkaichi Budokai champion – Mr Satan!"
As expected, there was a lot of hooting and cheering amongst the crowds, Chiri covering her ears from the sudden roar. A tap on her shoulder made her whirl around, surprised to see her brother and Videl standing beside her. She couldn't hear Gohan over the roar of the crowds and ended up having to compete amongst the noise, "What?"
"I said," Gohan leaned in closer, "I'm surprised to see you here!"
Chiri flushed. "I didn't say anything, he just assumed!" She yelled back, worried not to say too much in case someone ratted her out.
The crowds roar died down instantly as the champion began spewing out his usual, daring anyone to get a better score than him and to meet him in the ring. It was around this point Chiri began blocking him out, not really aware of what was going on even after the crowd roared again when Mr Satan had demonstrated a gained a score of one hundred and thirty seven. The crowds began to merge into a line; the group joined somewhere amongst the middle. Chiri stayed close to the others, unsure where Gohan and Videl had vanished to but not particularly caring either. Slowly they shuffled forward until she picked up her number. Ninety one. She joined behind Vegeta in the line, not paying too much more attention to the machine until finally it was the first of their group's turn. Eighteen had stepped forward, Krillin mumbling something Chiri couldn't hear before she told him rather gruffly that she knew. The blonde raised one arm and flicked the back of her hand lightly against the machine. It bleeped into life and gave a score.
"Seven hundred and seventy four!" The stubby official gaped in horror. The crowd reflected the shock and surprise, many gasps and mumbles echoing through the cordoned off area.
"That's what you call taking it easy?" Krillin raised an unimpressed eyebrow and was gruffly told to shut up by his wife. Chiri snorted quietly to herself in amusement.
"There seems to have been a malfunction, sorry about that," The man seemed to have recovered. Another official started to fidget around with the machine for a couple of minutes before stepping back. "Alright, try again."
Eighteen indeed tried again. It was hard to tell given that she didn't give off life energy but Chiri assumed she'd be holding back even further than before. A score of two hundred and three rang out, the officials still looking horrified but resigning themselves to the fact that a score higher than the current champion's had just come up. Krillin was next and scored one hundred and ninety two. Her dad gained one hundred and eighty six points. Piccolo stepped forward; Vegeta was next and then it would be her turn. Piccolo scored two hundred and ten points. With each score the group recorded came a wounded cry from the stunned crowds. Chiri began to focus her energy, suppressing it as much as possible whilst making sure she wasn't going to be accidentally outdone.
"There seems to be a malfunction with the machine, send someone down to have another look at it while we bring in the spare," One of the officials mumbled as Vegeta stepped forward, Chiri swallowing hard knowing she was next.
The machine shattered into hundreds of pieces across the wall, slamming hard against the brick which buckled under the force. With an almighty crash the wall collapsed over the wrangled punching device, covered with a loose dusting of dirt and smoke. Everyone's eyes were pinned to the rubble, wide in horror. Chiri's jaw had dropped slightly, stunned with a mixture of disbelief and anger.
"Um… stand-by while we collect the other back-up machine," One of the officials weakly spoke up.
Chiri looked at the others of their group who'd already gained their scores, wishing that somehow she could go back through time to make sure she wasn't behind Vegeta in the line. She would give anything to not be the one stuck here waiting for her turn, having to wait with her brother and his unofficial girlfriend amongst the other disappointingly weak fighters.
"Hey, we're going to go and watch the boys in the Junior Division," Goku's words barely passed into her consciousness. "You gonna be alright waiting here with Gohan?"
It took her another few seconds to answer. "…Yeah, sure… If you decide to get any food, make sure Vegeta's food gets burned to a crisp."