~Reunions~
Two days later, after their little adventure in the haunted mansion away from the city, Lucia, Hanon and Rina have gathered up in the living room with Nicole and Madame Taki to discuss with the owner of the restaurant Maki about his upcoming event after his successful night with the fireworks. As for Lucia, she was always blushing whenever she thought about the night that she and Goku kissed, which Hanon and Rina teased her every time, much to Lucia's annoyance. But she put those thoughts aside for the moment as they listened intently on what Maki had to say. He said that there is an upcoming mermaid competition that he was organizing as a finishing touch to his business opening of the beach restaurant.
"A mermaid competition?" Nicole asked, having a small blush on her face. It was no secret to the other mermaids that she has taken a liking to Maki, thought Nicole denied that notion every time they mention it. But the girls knew better, especially Hanon as she was always very perceptive when it comes to love and Nicole definitely likes Maki, something that she supports with Lucia and Rina. But at the moment, they too were rather interested in this event that Maki is organizing.
"That's right. It's basically a contest for Miss. Beach, to put it simply." Maki explained.
"I see. So you came to us so we can help you find the participants, is that right?" Madame Taki smiled, making Maki chuckle light-heartedly by her lucky guess.
"You are as perceptive as ever Madame Taki. Yes, even though I am organizing the competition, I will need your help, so i could be sure it will be a real hit." Maki said.
"In that case, then I have no choice but to participate as well." Taki smiled. The others looked at the fortuneteller with confused expressions, wondering if she was either joking or was being dead serious.
"What?" Maki said in surprise.
"What kind of contest would that be without me in it?" Taki said, clearly revealing that she wasn't joking, or so it seemed.
"Your enthusiasm is admirable, but don't you think that the participants should be a little younger?" Hanon chuckled nervously by her bizzare suggestion, hoping she won't offend Taki with those words. But Taki radiated with red aura and got a purple tint around her body in a rather scary fashion.
"What are you talking about? Are you saying that I'm not young?" Taki said with a slightly angry tone. Maki also sweat-dropped nervously from her scary aura, seeing that she was serious about joining in this event.
"No no, you would usually be in the first place Madame Taki, but this event is organized for a lot younger participants." Maki said nervously, raising his hands slightly to calm her down. But Taki was not calmed down as even her eyes started to glow red.
"What do you mean, a lot younger?!" Madame Taki said in an angry tone, now starting to scare everyone present with her sudden crazy attitude, trying to calm her down. But she quickly put her crystal ball down on the table, immediately returning to her normal self.
"Relax, I'm just playing." Taki smiled. Maki and others sighed in relief slightly, they thought she was about to go ballistic, but fortunately she was only fooling around. "Lucia, Hanon, Rina, the three of you will participate in this event, so you can help Maki out. Got it?"
"Yes." Lucia and Hanon said cheerfully at the same time, eager to show what they got, but Rina was not very excited for this contest, nor has any interest in going there to begin with.
"Why do I have to go?" Rina asked in annoyed tone.
"Oh, I forgot to mention that the winner of this event will receive a wall mount plasma TV." Maki said. This kind of reward was a music to Rina's ears, flipping her interest towards the competition upside down, grinning at the prospect of victory and the prize that awaits her.
"Huh, I'll win." Rina thought confidently.
"If it will help, then it will be an honor if I participate as well." Nicole blushed, all too willing to help Maki in any way she can, even entering in his event to make it more popular. Maki for one was thrilled to have her on the stage.
"Of course, I wouldn't have it any other way." Maki smiled, making Nicole blush even more. Maki also has feelings towards Nicole, which was somewhat noticeable by the mermaids, though they couldn't confirm it just yet. But as for Maki, he couldn't think of anything better but for Nicole to be there to be a part of his event. Sometime later, after everything was said and done, he departed to finish preparations, while the four mermaids readied themselves to give the audience quite a show.
Sometime later that day, Maki is inspecting the current progress of the stage that is being constructed for the contest. But not far from the stage, Goku was passing by, on his way to the market to refill his fridge and buy himself an abundant lunch to restore his energy after all the intense training he did. Out of curiosity, he went down to the beach to see what it was all about, remembering that Maki mentioned some time ago about organizing some competition. As he went to the front of the stage, he noticed a billboard that was lifted above him.
"A mermaid competition?" Goku said to himself.
"Hi Goku." Maki smiled as he walked towards him, prompting the young warrior to see who was calling for him.
"Oh hi Maki, how are you?" Goku said cheerfully.
"Great actually, the preparations for the Mermaid competition are nearly set. I don't know if they told you yet, but Lucia, Hanon and Rina will participate as well." Maki smiled.
"They will? Really?" Goku asked in surprise.
"Yes. I think they would appreciate it if you were to come to cheer them on, considering you hang out together." Maki suggested. Goku thought about it for a second before he decided that he will come. He needed some rest after all the training, so being a spectator of this event will do him some good.
"Sure, that works for me." Goku nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, far away from the beach, Eril was overseeing the construction of the stage from the distance using her binoculars, interested by these turn of events.
"What is this? It must be some kind of contest. Hmm, maybe the mermaid princesses will appear there." Eril said before she she smirked. "Good, then that means once they arrive, I can capture them all at once! I m so smart, this watch duty turned out to be beneficial after all!" sShe said cheerfully before immediately departing back to Gaito's castle to inform the other water demons of the mermaids' whereabouts.
While Maki is overseeing preparations for his big event, back in the Pearl Hotel, Lucia and Hanon discussed on what exactly to wear on this contest.
"So, do you think we should wear bathing suits in this contest?" Lucia asked.
"Of course, silly." Hanon said light-heartedly.
"Then what bathing suits should we wear?" Lucia asked curiously.
"Well, since this will be the mermaid competition, we should wear something sparkly, mermaid-like bathing suit." Hanon said. Lucia was slightly confused from her suggestion.
"Mermaid-like bathing suit? How does it even look like?" Lucia asked.
"Well it's like... uhh.." Now Hanon was put in a corner as she didn't had a clue on how a bathing suit like that looks like, throwing that idea out the window as she just decided to remain silent about it, a little embarrassed for even suggesting something like that.
"Why should we even bother about it when we are an actual mermaids?" Lucia asked.
"No matter, i'm sure any kind of bathing suit will do as long as it's not too suggestive." Hanon shrugged with a smile.
"So, what bathing suit do you think Rina will wear?" Lucia asked.
"She seems totally uninterested, but if she were to enter, I bet it would be something provocative." Hanon guessed.
While the two mermaids were brainstorming of the perfect bathing suit, in Rina's apartment, the green mermaid princess was looking in the closet for bathing suit of her own.
"Even for the brand new plasma TV…" She said before she pulled out a very tight bikini. "… this bikini seems way too much." She said. She wants to win that TV at the contest, but she is not so desperate for it as to wear something like this, it's simply not her thing to wear lecherous clothing like that.
At the same time, in the city district, Goku is making his way to the nearby supermarket, where he will resupply himself before the mermaid competition begins.
"Alright, time to see what im in the mood for today." Goku said to himself cheerfully as he entered the market. He found it to be quite massive, which was perfect as he needed a lot of food to restore the energy he lost from his previous training. He then took a very large shopping cart and stood on it while pushing forward like a scooter, laughing along the way childishly and quickly picking up the food he wanted. He wasn't very picky as he took massive quantity of food, consisting of large variation of vegetables, fruits, meat, frozen food, along with a few sweets, like cakes. It didn't take him long to pile up his cart to the brim, the food stack as enormous as large boulder. The cash girl sweat-dropped at the sight of such a large food stack, it looked like a mountain from where she stood. Then the girl composed herself and frowned slightly.
"Umm sir, do you have money to pay for all this?" She asked skeptically, doubting that he had the funds to pay for what looked like half of the supermarket he brought to the cash register.
"Yeah, of course." Goku said with a toothy grin before pulling out the money he saved from the pie contest he earned. The cash lady was a little blue on the face as she couldn't believe that he could eat all that.
"Sir, why don't you get the food you need for today and come back tomorrow for more? Don't worry, this food won't go anywhere." The girl said nervously.
"Nah, I'm good, this will be just enough for a good lunch." Goku said casually while flashing his signature toothy grin. But the cash lady's face was blue again as she looked at him with shocked expression, not uttering a sound, sweating nervously from his blunt statement. She took him to the register away from other people, so it wouldn't end in an enormous row of people waiting for Goku to finish. Then after a good while of picking food and scanning it on cash register, he gave the money and carried the load on his back without a problem. Seeing that he was apparently struggling, the cash lady and two more colleagues went out to help him out.
"Sir, would you like a truck or something to help you with that?" She asked, a little concerned that he will snap his back carrying all that food.
"No, thanks. I'll just carry this home, it's a lot faster." He The three workers sweat-dropped nervously and their faces were blue in shock as they watched him depart, thinking he was some kind of monster. No mere human could even lift that massive pile of food, let alone carry it so casually like he can. They soon got back inside the marked with dumbfounded expressions.
As soon as Goku made some distance, he realized he will get home a lot faster if he used his faithful cloud.
"FLYING NIMBUS!" Goku called out to the skies. Almost on cue, the Nimbus cloud descended from the sky and landed in front of Goku. The young fighter jumped on the cloud as soon as it landed and made his way home. It took him a few minutes to reach home, but he finally arrived. Fortunately for Goku, Bulma remembered to construct a basement beneath the house, where several enormous freezers and fridges were piled up for him, knowing how ravenous his appetite was. Even as a child, he was capable of eating 57 full-course meals after his match with Jackie Chun and now that he is a young man, his appetite increased tenfold, which was something she counted on. Besides the fridges and freezers, there were also training stuff piled up in there for rainy days, but Goku didn't bother a little training on the rain as he did that in the past back home in Mount Paozu.
He put down the massive food bag and placed it on the ground. He took what he needed to eat inside on the table and piled up the rest in the fridges and freezers for later. Then he wasted no time as he immediately gorged on his lunch, savoring every delicious bite, not pausing for a second to catch his breath as he devoured meat, vegetables and fruits alike.
After half an hour of pure delight, he rubbed his stomach in satisfaction, burping loudly.
"Man, that was great!" Goku said cheerfully as he got up slowly and stretched his arms wide.
He then departed in the balcony overlooking the city to catch his breath. Moments later he leaned on the fence, pondering on Maki's suggestion to come along for the contest he is organizing. He initially thought about continuing his training and amp it up a notch or two, but when he told him that Lucia and her friends will also participate, he actually thought about going there to cheer her on. Goku smiled in thought as he knew that it would make her immensely happy if he came, especially now, considering in the past few days after she flew with him on his Flying Nimbus to many beautiful places that he visited, she was beaming with joy every time they were hanging out in school. But there was still two hours left before it started, so he decided to take a nap after an abundant meal and get some rest.
Meanwhile, deep beneath the ocean in Gaito's domain, Eril informed her comrades about recent events that are occurring on the surface.
"Listen up, everyone! The humans are organizing a contest for the most beautiful mermaid." Eril informed.
"What?! Seriously?!" Izure exclaimed in surprise.
"Yup, it is the information you receive from yours truly. I'm certain that the mermaid princesses will appear there." Eril said.
"I don't know. It's probably just called like that, but it's actually a Miss contest." Maria said, with Yuri nodding in confirmation.
"And how would you know that Maria? All you do is sit here all day, withering away." Eril taunted.
"What did you say?" Maria frowned as she resented that remark., prompting Izure to step forward towards Maria.
"So, do you really think that the mermaid princesses will appear in this contest?" Izure asked.
"That's hardly going to happen, Izure." Maria said bluntly. Even Izure was skeptical, as humans tend to give outlandish names for events that they usually organize, especially this one. Just because it's named Mermaid competition, doesn't necessarily mean that they would appear there.
Eril assumed her menacing persona at Maria's blunt remark.
"Aren't you an insolent one. I give you a valuable information and you throw it back right in the face." Eril said, though the others already got used to her switching personas and her failures make her less menacing than usual.
"Now now, there is no need for insults." Yuri said.
"Fine then, I will participate in this event and not only capture the mermaids, but also come back with a trophy." Eril said before switching back to her other persona. "The three of you wouldn't even pass the preliminaries anyway. You are all fat and wrinkly to begin with, while I am the most beautiful of the four of us." Eril said proudly, but her ridiculous statements only got on the water demon's nerves as they growled at her.
"Okay, now you have done it Eril!" Yuri exclaimed.
"I'm just being realistic." Eril said casually.
"Just so you know that there is a higher chance for more mature ladies, so there." Izure retorted.
"Your wild appearance is totally out Eril." Maria also retorted. But seeing that their bickering won't lead them anywhere, Yuri decided to break the fight.
"Okay, that's enough. We will all enter this competition and settle this dilemma." Yuri said, with other three water demons nodding in agreement. All four of them had fire in their eyes as they were now pumped to win this contest, completely forgetting about the task of capturing the mermaids, adamant in their resolve to win.
Two hours later, all the preparations were complete and the competition preliminaries has commenced.
"All the participants for the Mermaid competition please sign up at the backstage and wait at the changing room." The announcer said.
Among many girls that entered the contest, all four of the water demons also went to the sign up table, already in their bathing suits.
"Thank you for participating. I see that you are already dressed, you are quite prepared for this, aren't you?" The man at the table said, with the four girls The four girls nodding in confirmation. "Let's see, Izurilla, Eli, Lili and Mari, is that right?" The man said, wanting to confirm their names, which were their fake aliases. The four of them again nodded in confirmation. "Great. The contestants will have to make a short speech and showcase one of their talents, so I suggest you prepare yourselves beforehand." The maid said.
"What, a talent in mermaid competition?" Yuri asked as she blinked in confusion, with man nodding in confirmation. These news were rather surprising for the four water demons. Izure, Eril and Maria already had tricks of their own to showcase using their magic, while Yuri will have to come up with something more creative and less explosive.
Meanwhile, Lucia, Hanon and Rina have already arrived, waiting at the changing room to put on their bathing suits. Nicole also entered, already in her violet bathing suit.
"So, what do you think? Not bad, right?" Nicole smiled, making a few poses to show off her curvy figure, along with her bathing suit.
"Are you really going to enter the contest, sister?" Lucia said, a little confused that Nicole would also participate.
"Well, of course." Nicole smiled, eager to get things started.
"Wow, she is very ambitious, it seems that she is going for the win." Hanon laughed slightly, a little surprised, but still respected Nicole's sportsmanship. Rina, on the other hand, looked around the changing room.
"Well, with these many contestants, even changing in bathing suit will be a challenge." Rina said, realizing the number of girls that signed up and all gathered in one place. Then Hanon noticed four more competitors that are entering the room.
"Wow, look at those four girls, they look really cute." Hanon pointed at the four girls, with Lucia and Rina facing them curiously. Lucia also admitted that they looked stunning in those bathing suits, but little did they know that the four contestants were actually water demons in disguise. But with their physical features slightly altered, it was difficult for the mermaids to realize that they were actually their enemies, even for someone as perceptive as Rina. Even Nicole was oblivious to this as she merely thought that they were just four among many other participants who came to win.
"They must be serious if they already appeared in their bathing suits." Rina said.
"That's good. It will make this contest all the more interesting." Nicole smirked, relishing in the challenge that this event promises, since many beautiful girls signed up. With no time to waste and more girls lining up to change their clothes, Lucia, Hanon and Rina also took place in the row, so they could finally enter and get on with the show.
At the same time, not far from the changing room, a certain old man was walking nearby, wearing black suit with hat, sunglasses and walking stick. . He came to visit South City after he was bored of staying home all the time and decided to see what the city has to offer. Then he noticed a couple of beautiful ladies walking inside, he drooled as he watched their pretty faces and curvy bodies, most notably their breasts.
"Oh ho ho, this city's youth is abundant. I might need to… help them change their clothes." The old man said lecherously. With curiosity overtaking him, he peeped through the plastic window above the curtains, watching many girls in bathing suits, laughing lecherously as he thoroughly enjoyed the view, even having a small nosebleed from the sight, immediately taking handkerchief to clean his nose.. They were all beautiful, some had big breasts, some had big butts, and some have both.
"Oh yeah, baby! Look at all the beauuutiful ladies." the old man grinning widely, having a vivid imagination in his head, illustrating it with his hands as he imagined motor-boating one woman's large breasts. He continued to enjoy the view until a very large, scary looking woman approached him.
"Hey! What do you think you are doing, old man?!" The woman said in a loud and threatening voice, making the old man flinch and yelp in fear at the sight.
"Oh, nothing., I was just cheering for my… granddaughter! Yeah, I'm here as a moral support." He laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head, but the woman was not buying his story at all.
"You came to cheer her on in a changing room?" She said in a low voice full of threat. The old man started to back up a little, not realizing that he wasn't standing next to the curtains and slowly entering the changing room.
"Yes! I mean no. What I mean to say was…" He was trying to finish his sentence while also wanting to lean against a wall, but much to his misfortune, he grabbed a girl's breast by accident, making him turn around slowly, seeing a girl with embarrassed expression.
Meanwhile, it was finally Lucia's turn to change into her bathing suit as she entered the cabinet and closed the curtains, so no one could watch her change.
"Man, who would have thought that it would take an eternity just to change your clothes?" Rina thought loudly as she scratched her cheek. She understood that there are many girls here who want to win, but it really doesn't take that long to change in bathing suit.
"YOU PERVERT!" The girl screamed, giving the old man a loud slap to the face, knocking him off balance, his face pressed between the breasts of another girl. The other girl also screamed as she covered her breasts, but not before she sent a painful slap of her own.
"It was an accident, I swear!" The old man tried to come up with an excuse, but with so many girls inside, he kept bumping his face on their breasts or trying to recover by grabbing onto something, though his hand, against his will, always found its way to another girl's breast or butt. He kept receiving one painful slap after another, soon seeing stars on his face. He was walking wobbly, trying to compose himself and stay on his feet, but he fell off balance and grabbed on a curtain which was, by chance, Lucia's changing cabinet.
"Darn it. This youth today, no proper respect." He said in pain as he rubbed his face for the painful slaps to subside. But then he looked behind him to find a beautiful blonde girl who was going to change her clothes.
"Hey! What's the big idea, old man?! What do you think you're doing here?!" Lucia said angrily, but the old man feared of another painful slap as he immediately sprinted outside. "COME BACK HERE!" Lucia shouted, putting on her clothes and chasing after him, with Rina and Hanon following suit.
Meanwhile, after a good nap, Goku made his way to the contest to cheer Lucia on.
"This contest should be interesting. I can't wait to see how Lucia will perform, I bet it would be awesome!" Goku said to himself. Even though he knew this won't be a contest in martial arts, he was still ecstatic to see how Lucia and her friends will fare when they step on the stage. But as he was about to turn right, he didn't expect that the old man was sprinting to run away from the angry trio, about to collide with him. Goku yelped as he was caught completely by surprise.
*SLAM!*
Goku and the old man slammed into each other full force, both of them whining as they were rubbing theirs heads in pain.
"Ouch!" Goku whined before he frowned at the unknown person. "Watch where you're going, that hurt, you know!" He shouted in frustration.
"I could say the same thing to you!" The old man shouted. But then, both Goku and the old man were caught in complete surprise as they looked at each other's familiar faces. Goku was more surprised of the two as he couldn't believe that he would bump on his old master of all people.
"Master Roshi?!" Goku exclaimed, his eyes wide in surprise. It couldn't be anyone but Roshi as he had that trademark white beard and sunglasses and black suit that he was wearing in both martial arts tournaments when he was watching them.
"Master?" Roshi said, confused at this young man calling him master. But he looked extremely familiar, especially when he was wearing his uniform and having that spiky hair. Goku smiled widely and laughed childishly at seeing Roshi again, immeasurably happy to see him alive again.
"It is you!" Goku shouted cheerfully as he helped him get up. "Man, I'm so happy to see you again, Master Roshi!"
It took Roshi a few moments to put together the missing pieces, but then his face was filled with shock as he recognized the young man.
"Goku! Is that really you?!" Roshi exclaimed in complete shocked that this tall, young man could be him.
"Of course it's me, who else would I be?" Goku laughed light-heartedly.
"Wow, I don't believe it, you have completely changed. I swear, if you didn't had that wild hair, I would have thought you were someone else entirely." Roshi said in baffled tone, making Goku laugh again at the truth. It was the only thing he could do, as he was immensely happy to see him again.
"Yeah, I guess so." He said while rubbing the back of his head. It was truly a joyous day to see him alive, as he heard from Korin that King Piccolo killed him in the past, much to his dismay. He figured that his friends would use the Dragon Balls to revive him and all of his friends killed by King Piccolo, but still, seeing him alive and well in person brought great joy to him.
"Hold it right there!" Lucia suddenly shouted from behind. Roshi's face was blue as he watched them charging at him like a freight train, taking a few steps back, but Goku was oblivious at what happened moments ago.
"Oh hi Lucia." Goku smiled widely before he looked at them innocently. "What's wrong, are you guys chasing someone?"
As soon as Lucia noticed Goku, she came to a screeching halt as she looked at the same old man behind him. She wanted to strangle him for being such a pervert back there, but since Goku was around, that would be bad for her, so she decided to play dumb.
"No one Goku. We were just in a rush, that's all." Lucia laughed nervously, waving her hands in front of him while Hanon and Rina looked at each other in confusion to her mood flip. "Who is this old man behind you? Is he a friend of yours?" Lucia asked politely, trying to be as nice as possible without Goku thinking she was crazy or something. Roshi was also confused as for a moment there, he thought he was a goner, but thanks to Goku, that wasn't the case. Goku on the other hand was more than glad to introduce his old master.
"Yeah, this is Master Roshi. He was my first teacher besides my grandpa, I trained with him when I was a kid years ago." Goku said cheerfully, proud to have such a powerful fighter as his teacher. Lucia's eyes went wide in shock that this lecherous old man was actually his teacher.
"Who would have thought that this pervert is actually a martial arts master?" Rina thought, about as baffled as Lucia and Hanon. She was still rather confused by Lucia's sudden change of attitude, but then again, she always mellows down whenever Goku is around.
"It's pleasure to meet you, young ladies. I assume you are Goku's friends?" Roshi smiled, though with genuine smile and not the lecherous one this time.
"Yes. My name is Lucia Nanami." She then gestured to her best friends. "And these are my friends, Hanon and Rina. It's nice to meet you." Lucia said. Though in Rina's and Hanon's minds, they weren't really glad to meet him at the moment, considering he was ogling at girls changing in bathing suits.
"Likewise." Roshi nodded with a smile.
Then Lucia looked lovingly at Goku, with the young fighter returning the gesture with bright, happy smile. Roshi raised his eyebrow in interest and pleasant surprise, glancing at Lucia and Goku as he knew those looks all too well. He wasn't surprised in Lucia's case, but he was rather surprised to notice that similar look on Goku's face.
He never expected these turn of events. He had known Goku ever since he was but a small child, who was always known for his cheerful personality and his positive attitude towards everything, especially in fighting. But that particular look was new to him, at least when it comes to Goku. It was that look that wasn't as usual as the one he gives to all of his friends that he met. It was that special, genuine smile, which only indicated that he actually cares about this girl. And it was the smile that came from heart, indicating that he at long last found a girl whom he legitimately likes, or dare say even loves.
After a few minutes, Goku and Roshi went for a walk to make some distance from the noise that was coming from the stage, wanting to catch up for lost time. There were many contestants that are going on stage before Lucia, so Goku has time to spare with his old master.
"Well Goku, I did not expect to find you here of all places. I thought that you were still training with Kami." Roshi said while staring at the sea.
"How do you know that I was training with Kami?" Goku asked in slight surprise.
"Bulma told me after she used the Dragon Balls to revive me and everyone else that was killed by King Piccolo." Roshi then turned towards Goku. "By the way, I can't thank you enough for reviving me, Goku. You truly are the best pupil and friend a master could ever have." Roshi thanked Goku from the bottom of his heart.
"I'm just glad to see you alive again, Master Roshi." Goku smiled before he remembered something else. "Oh, what about Krillin? Was he brought back to life too?" He asked, wanting to know the answer. Roshi smiled and nodded in confirmation.
"Yep, Krillin is alive as well. After he was resurrected, he went to travel the world to train and get stronger, along with Yamcha, Tien and Chiaotzu." Roshi explained.
"Really?! That's awesome, I can't wait to meet them at the tournament again and see how strong they have become!" Goku smiled brightly, pumped up and eager to fight them, thrilled to find out what they have learned all this time.
"About that, I thought you were going to stay with Kami to train with him until the tournament begins. What brings you here in South City?" Roshi asked curiously.
"Well, turns out I finished my training with Kami a lot sooner. I learned all that I could from him and Mr. Popo and decided to continue my training back on Earth until the tournament starts." Goku explained.
"I understand, but why here of all places? If that was the case, my first guess would have been in Mount Paozu where Gohan lived." Roshi said.
"Well, I would have trained there too, but Bulma told me she gave me a fancy house as a gift for saving her so many times when we were hunting the Dragon Balls." Goku said before he folded his arms and pouted childishly. "But I never would have guessed that she would sign me up in boring school." He complained. Though in the back of his head, he was glad that she did. If it was the opposite, then he never would have met Lucia and all of his friends in class.
"Bulma enrolled you in school?" Roshi asked in surprise, now starting to have the urge to laugh at the very notion of Goku going to school.
"Yeah. She was really mad that day, she told me that the reason why she did is because I couldn't tell a boy from a girl without touching their private areas." He complained before Roshi got a good laugh from that.
"I see that Gohan never taught you the difference. You must have been in a whole lot of trouble if you had to make a difference in such manner." Roshi joked on Goku's account. He felt slightly bad though because he was his pupil, but that's just hilarious.
"No, he never did, Bulma was the first girl I ever met in person. Grandpa told me about the girls and to be as polite as possible with them, but I never met a girl before she came along." Goku said as he looked towards the sea.
"Speaking of girls, what do you think about that blonde girl, Lucia?" Roshi smiled.
"Huh? What about her, Master Roshi?" Goku asked innocently as he looked at his teacher in confusion.
"She seems to be quite interested in you. Are you sure that you and her are friends?" Roshi smirked in tease.
"Oh come on, not you too! We are just friends!" Goku whined childishly. It was bad enough that Bulma constantly teased him about Lucia, but now Roshi had to tag along too. Roshi again laughed in amusement because he knew better.
"If you say so Goku. By the way, she should be appearing on stage by now, I think you should go and cheer her on." Roshi said before looking at the sea again. "I'm going to stay here a little while, I'll join you soon."
"Okay. See ya later." Goku waved goodbye before he departed, leaving the turtle hermit alone.
Then Roshi frowned slightly as he had flashback about Lucia girl that he met. It wasn't the first time that he encountered her. In fact, the first time he saw her was early in the morning.
While he was strolling along the beach, as he was usually doing before the sunrise to take in the scenery of the horizon towards the sea, he noticed a certain blonde girl standing on the rock, wondering what could she be doing this early.
"What a beautiful morning. I might even go for a swim." Lucia said cheerfully.
She turned to see if there was anyone around, with Roshi hiding from sight for the time being. What surprised him the most is that after she jumped in the water with her clothes on, her appearance completely changed. Her hair color was brighter and had two long pigtails. And when she dived in the water, he was more surprised to discover that the girl was actually a mermaid, fins and all.
He had seen several mermaids over his long lifespan, besides the one that Goku brought to him for a stroll around the island, but he also knew of the hitch that comes with their human identities. For that reason, he was pondering on whether he should tell Goku about that or let him discover by himself. He guessed that Goku hasn't figured it out yet, knowing how dense he can be, so for the time being, he decided to let things play out by itself until he decides otherwise.
A few minutes later, Goku arrived just in time for the next contestant to appear. Turns out that it was Hanon who stepped on the stage to show what she got. She was Lucia's best friend, so he cheered her on as well, along with Madame Taki and Maki, who were standing next to him.
"Hello. I am Hanon Hosho, number 35. I am going to illustrate… real aikido martial arts." Hanon said.
Goku was rather surprised to hear that. He didn't know that people can actually fight in this contest, which raised his interest towards the competition higher than before. Also, he never knew that Hanon was proficient in martial arts, so he watched her illustrate her skills with great interest and excitement. Though it was a short demonstration as Hanon thrashed the other two aikido fighters around, showing what she could do. It lasted for about a minute before they stopped and bow to the audience.
"Umm, that doesn't look like Aikido to me." Lucia said, sweat-dropping from her awkward performance as she had seen Goku doing a bit of that during his training, so that's why she could slightly tell.
"She must have learned it from some fighting club that practice on the beach." Hippo added.
Among the crowd, Goku was thoroughly disappointed that it lasted for an extremely short time.
"Aww, that's it? I thought it would last a lot longer." Goku pouted in disappointment before Maki laughed light-heartedly from his statement.
"This is not about fighting Goku. This is merely a Miss. Contest, a show to determine which girl is prettier. Also, judges determine their performance as well when they show off their talents." Maki explained, making things much clearer for Goku.
"Oohhh, that makes sense." Goku smiled before looking back at the stage.
"And now, next contestant, please!" The announcer said.
"Oh, that's me." Lucia said before taking Hippo with her, much to the penguin's surprise. "Hippo, I'm going to need your help."
"Wait, what?" Hippo said in surprise, but before he could do anything to free himself, the two of them were already on the stage.
"Do your best Lucia!" Goku cheered her on, making her blush slightly as she immediately noticed him with that goofy smile on his face. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw him and her heart warmed immensely. He actually came to cheer her on. What she is about to show may not be impressive, but she promised to herself that she will not fail Goku, giving her a confidence boost to win this contest.
"Hello everyone, i am Lucia Nanami, number 36. I am going to talk with my mouth closed." Lucia smiled before she leaned subtly near Hippo. "Alright, im going to close my mouth and you are going to say something, okay? We can win this." Lucia said to Hippo, but not loud enough for audience to hear.
"What? You could have told me sooner, you know." Hippo said in a low voice.
"Hello. I am little Hippo." Lucia said, already making the audience doubt about her performance.
"Hey, your mouth is moving!" One in the audience said. Hippo is starting to get more nervous from this embarrassing predicament.
"It won't work, please let me go." Hippo said desperately, begging for Lucia to let him go and save whats left of his pride as he started to move about.
"Stop squirming around, Hippo." Lucia said. But, much to their surprise, the audience actually bought her second grade acting.
"You are great, it's like that penguin is really talking." Another man in the audience complimented, resulting in applause from everyone else. Both Lucia and Hippo were really surprised that their little stunt actually worked.
"Look, Miss. Lucia. They love you." Hippo said, much to Lucia's joy. In the audience, Goku laughed nervously and sweat-dropped at the result of her silly display. He was glad that she got positive results, but it was in a rather strange way.
The contest proceeded with everyone showcasing their own talents. Rina came up with something simple, like talking about a joke about sprinting mermaid or a mermaid who is actually a girl half devoured by giant fish.
Then it was Nicole's turn to show off some of her cooking skills, much to Goku's surprise.
"Hello, I am Nicole, number 38. I am going to show you how to cook a 3 minute recipe for blue eggplant pie. It's perfect for stimulating nutrients in hot days and also for those who don't have patience to wait." Nicole said as she already finished with her eggplant pie. "Here we go." Nicole smiled, with the audience applauding in turn. Goku started to drool at the sight of a pie as he could smell it all the way from the front row.
"Oh boy, It smells delicious. I wouldn't mind having a pie or two right now." Goku said, his stomach starting to growl at the sight of tasty food in front of him. But from the corner of the stage, he noticed Lucia pouting angrily at Goku, making him wince and having shade of blue on his face. He then laughed nervously while rubbing the back of his head. Lucia couldn't help but shake her head in slight amusement as she got used to his typical and rather gluttonous hunger for food.
From the other side of the stage, the water demons were not impressed from the display so far.
"Wow, they really came prepared, didn't they?" Izure said sarcastically.
"Truthfully, out of all of us, I have the biggest chance of winning this contest." Eril said, but that statement went over Izure's and Yuri's heads.
"Pff, speak for yourself." Yuri said while Maria sweat-dropped by their behavior.
"I don't know why are you taking this contest so seriously. We are here to hunt down the mermaids, not cosplay in front of the humans, remember?" Maria said. But her words were ignored completely as the other three water demons were solely focused on winning.
It was now Izure's turn to enter the stage. At first glance, Goku noticed that she looks very familiar. Her long, red hair and her somewhat familiar face.
"Hi, my artist name is Izurilla and I perform some of the water tricks." She said. Then she conjured small water dragons in her arms and making poses while doing it. The moment she conjured her small water dragons put Goku in further doubt of her.
"Hmm, she does look very familiar. And those water dragons look extremely familiar too." Goku frowned in thought. Just so he could be sure and she wasn't the one who he thinks she was, he started to sense her energy. Much to his shock, her energy signature is the one from that water demon, Izure.
"What? What is she doing here?" Goku thought in shock. Then he sensed three more power levels at the back of the stage, which were the remaining water demons. "Great, it seems they appear just about everywhere. What are they up to this time?" He thought seriously. He knew they pose no threat to him, but if they turn on the crowd, then it would mean a lot of trouble. But seeing that they are not attacking at the moment, he decided to remain passive for the time being and not cause panic.
Soon enough, it was Eril's turn to show her own skills, which were just making face grimaces while switching between her personas. Maria stepped in afterwards, conjuring small ice balls and joggled with them. Afterwards it was Yuri's turn to go. Since she didn't think of anything original, she had the idea of quoting the mermaid princesses' lines from their battles.
"How about an encore?" Yuri said. The crowd merely looked silently in confusion, possibly looking at one of the awful performances so far. Yuri sweat-dropped at this awkward situation.
"Strange. Maybe they don't know the mermaids well enough. Okay, how about this?" Yuri thought, continuing with her quoting.
"Loving power of the mermaids!" Yuri quoted, making another pose. Still nothing as the audience were gravely silent.
At the backstage, Lucia, Hanon and Rina also sweat-dropped by her terrible performance, but what caught their attention the most is her lines which they often use in their battles against the water demons.
"How does she even know all that?" Lucia asked curiously to Hanon and Rina.
"Don't tell me she is…" Hanon stopped mid-sentence.
"A water demon." Rina finished.
"What could she be possibly doing here?" Lucia asked again.
"Impossible!" Rina exclaimed, making Hanon and Lucia turn to her in slight surprise. "I don't believe it, she wants the reward too." She said bluntly.
"Ignoring, ignoring, ignoring." Lucia said repeatedly, trying to reject Rina's ridiculous statement from her head while Hanon facepalmed herself in nauseating disbelief.
Later that day, after everyone illustrated what they can do at the stage, by the decision of the judges the number of competitors was narrowed down to nine contestants, consisting of Lucia, Hanon, Rina, Nicole, all four of the water demons and an unknown, but beautiful girl with long purple hair with yellow bathing suit.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience. And now, let's see which one among these nine beautiful finalists will be wearing the victor's crown." The announcer said.
"The girls behind us are all pretty, I can see why are they all so eager for first place." Nicole said sincerely, but Lucia merely nodded and sweat-dropped a bit from her naivety.
"If only she knew they are the water demons." Lucia thought nervously. Ever since their discovery, all three of them were on high alert for any subtle action that the four might make. Even Goku was at the ready as well within the crowd the moment he discovered their true identities. Even at this very moment, he dreaded that they wouldn't turn on all the innocent people in the audience, more so if they turn their malicious powers at Lucia and her friends on stage.
"What are they up to?" Hanon frowned in thought as she glanced at Maria.
"There is no way I'm letting her steal my TV." Rina also frowned in thought as she looked Yuri.
But as for Izure, she growled loudly and was seething with rage as she noticed Roshi flirting with stage attendant girl from her left side. She, along with Maria, was one of the unfortunate girls in the changing room whom their breasts were grabbed by Roshi during his little show. She was restrained that time so she wouldn't blow her cover, along with her comrades, but now she didn't care anymore as her rage was overflowing.
"YOU ARE DEAD, OLD MAN!" Izure screamed furiously while pointing at old master. Roshi's face was blue as he winced and stepped back a few steps.
Goku immediately looked to the right to notice his teacher standing there.
"Roshi?" Goku said in surprise before he frowned seriously as he noticed all four of the water demons charging at Roshi. The turtle hermit immediately started to run away to avoid their wrath, believing that they were just normal girls with unbridled fury. He was always afraid that his shenanigans will get him killed and it seems that day has come.
"Come back here!" Maria shouted as she was chasing after the old man.
Goku knew that Roshi was a powerful fighter and that he could easily deal with all four of those Dark Lovers, judging by their power levels, but still he didn't want to take any chances as he rushed to the other side of the stage away from people, so he could call for his Flying Nimbus and help him out. As for Lucia, Hanon and Rina, they wasted no time as they nodded to each other and immediately followed suit, running as fast as they can to catch up with Goku's teacher and their enemies, the Dark Lovers.
The water demons still chased Roshi before they finally cornered him near the stone passage leading to the sea.
"Now now ladies, how about I treat you with some delicacies, like Sponge cake maybe?" Roshi said nervously, backing up step by step as the four wicked and angry women approach him slowly, but his offer didn't even faze them. "Umm, Cheese cake maybe?" He laughed nervously.
But as they were getting closer, he was on very edge to fall on water. Without even noticing it, he lost balance and fell in the sea. The water demons grinned maliciously as they have him right where they want him before all four of them jumped in the water to finish the job.
"Now you are going to get it, old man! Take this!" Izure exclaimed, being the first one to attack as she unleashed her water dragons. But Roshi managed to compose himself as he narrowly dodged her attacks, much to their surprise. Izure continued with her assault, but Roshi managed to dodge her dragons effortlessly, realizing that these girls are not ordinary human beings. Just as he was about to propel himself at them, Eril managed to immobilize him with her enchanted seaweed.
"Not bad old man, but it would take a lot more than that to beat us." Maria said before sending ice blasts that made him lose his breath with every hit.
"And now, for the finishing move!" Yuri exclaimed, with Eril joining her and sending a combined shockwave with enough force to send him flying backwards, making him lose what little breath he held and slowly losing his consciousness due to the lack of oxygen. But before he passed out, a blonde mermaid caught him from behind, giving him a genuine smile.
"What? It's that…" He thought, but before he could finish that sentence, everything went dark as he passed out on the spot.
He woke up quickly afterwards as the mermaid immediately brought him back to the shore, but closed his eyes still as he could sense the mermaid's energy near him. In a similar fashion like he did with Nam years ago at the World Martial Arts Tournament, he decided to read her mind and discover if his claims were true, not wanting to waste this opportunity. And what he had seen surprised him the most. With his enhanced mind reading, he was able to see till the point where she and Goku met the first time seven years ago. He didn't know that the mermaid that Goku talked about saving him was actually her. Then he saw the day at the beach where she and Goku first met years later and everything else that followed. Her moments with Goku on dates, her feelings towards him, her battles against evil beings called the water demons, of a great battle between Goku and one called Gaito and every bit of information regarding Goku.
"I see." Roshi thought in perfect clarity before he finished with his technique and opened his eyes slowly.
"Sir, are you alright? Say something." The mermaid asked worryingly, but Roshi didn't have a scratch on him from that assault, he merely forgot to control his breathing and lost breath underwater quickly.
"Lucia, hurry! Rina is all alone against the water demons!" Hanon exclaimed, urging Lucia to quickly go to Rina's aid, though not realizing that Roshi was conscious enough to hear the mermaid's name.
"Lucia?" Roshi said as he looked at the mermaids while they were diving in the water. His claims were confirmed after all, Goku's friend Lucia and that mermaid are one and the same. But before he could ponder on it any further…
"Master Roshi!" Goku called out from his Flying Nimbus in the sky and immediately jumped down near him. "What happened, are you alright?" he asked worryingly.
"Oh it's nothing, I just had a little swim in the water." Roshi played dumb, cleaning his sunglasses and squeezing some water from his clothing, thought Goku was not entirely convinced, knowing how cunning those Dark Lovers can be.
"Are you positive?" Goku asked.
"Of course, I jumped in the water to escape that angry mob and as soon as they left, I got out." He lied, though it was kinda obvious to Goku. He fought those witches before and they had some tricky techniques up their sleeve. But seeing Roshi without a scratch only meant that he probably beat them and decided to remain silent, believing that he was too modest to talk about it. In the end Goku dropped the subject and smiled, relieved that he wasn't hurt, though he didn't doubt in his former master's abilities.
"Now what do you say we head back to the contest and see who is the winner?" Roshi suggested.
"Sure." Goku nodded, following Roshi back to the stage, though not before he scanned his near surroundings for any sign of those water demons ambushing. Little did he know that they, along with mermaids, have made some distance so far, so that's why he didn't even bother to sense further away than his current position.
As for Roshi, he decided not to reveal Lucia's identity to Goku after all, knowing of the repercussions that come with it, though he will have a little talk with Lucia when she comes back.
Meanwhile, Lucia, Hanon and Rina were ready to confront the Dark Lovers as one.
"So, all three of you have finally shown up." Izure frowned.
"You will not beat us this time." Maria said.
"Well, you sure are numerous today." Hanon said, noticing that all four of them decided to fight as one for once.
"What even made you enter this contest anyway?" Lucia asked curiously.
"It was because we were certain you would show up. Did you really think that we signed up for contest alone?" Eril said. Izure, Maria and Yuri narrowed their eyes and looked at Eril in sarcastic way. Just a while ago, she was bragging about winning and now she claims she did it to capture the mermaids.
"Just because we are the mermaids, doesn't mean we need to show up at something like mermaid competition." Hanon smiled.
"And yet, we did." Rina said as a matter of factly while narrowing her eyes slightly. Lucia and Hanon sweat-dropped from Rina's statement, making them laugh nervously.
"Okay, I guess that slipped right out." Lucia said before all three of the mermaids frowned in seriousness and started to assume their Idol Forms.
"Voice of the Pink Pearl!"
"Voice of the Blue Pearl!"
"Voice of the Green Pearl!"
The Dark Lovers, unfortunately, didn't come up with any special tactic, relying on their usual abilities to beat them.
"All four of you will now learn to respect your elders." Lucia said.
"Live for you, Mermaid Voice!" The three mermaids said simultaneously, starting to sing a song called Starlight.
"The stars are shining
my hidden wishes
The more of you are there,
easier for them to hear of me"
The four water demons were petrified in place, their powers nullified and writhing in pain from their singing. They cursed themselves for not attacking immediately instead of blabbering like idiots.
"When the storm is brewing for hours
When rain is not ceasing for many days
Hold my hand and then a miracle will happen."
"Come and see what i am capable of
Light and the darkness hide words with skill
All the love im giving now to you
Gives me the will to be ready for a new day."
"Loving power of the mermaids!" The three mermaids said simultaneously as they pointed at the water demons, signifying their finishing move and sending an immense amount of pain to them, knocking them back a few yards. "How about an encore?"
The three water demons retreated to Gaito's castle, while Yuri stayed behind, trying to imitate the mermaid's poses, much to their utter confusion.
"Live for you, Mermaid Voice. Loving power of the mermaids!" Yuri quoted their lines and gestured their moves in almost a mocking manner. The three mermaids could only stare at her in confusion before moments later Lucia and Hanon cringed as they looked at each other, stupefied by her utterly terrible, but not inaccurate impression.
"Now I know, watch this. 'How about an encore?'" Yuri said while gesturing her hand forward. The three mermaids asked themselves inwardly if one of them have finally lost their minds from all that beating.
"Excuse me?" Lucia said in confusion, not knowing exactly what to say to… whatever Yuri is doing at the moment.
"The next we meet, you will going to suffer. Until next time." Yuri said before she too departed, making the three mermaids sweat drop from her not so serious statement after her little stunt.
"I bet it's pretty popular for them to imitate the mermaids." Rina said bluntly while folding her hands.
"I really hope it isn't." Lucia and Hanon said simultaneously, both sharing the same sentiment. It would be rather weird to fight them in the future if they are going to repeat their quotes in battle. With nothing left to do and wanting to just forget about these few minutes of pure awkwardness, they departed to meet back with Goku and Roshi.
Meanwhile, even though Lucia and her friends were not there, much to his surprise, only two competitors remained, due to the Dark Lovers going rampant on Roshi and unknown to him, the mermaids followed suit.
"Unfortunately, due to the recent events, there has been a delay in declaring the winner. But it is my pleasure to announce that the winner is number 26!" The announcer said. The purple-haired girl won first place, putting on the victor's crown and robe and holding the plasma TV. As for Nicole she won the second place, much to her disappointment.
"So Nicole, what did you get for second place?" Madame Taki smiled.
"Well… A bag of dried shitaki mushrooms." Nicole said.
"How delightful." Madame Taki smiled before both of them two departed back to the hotel.
At the same time, Goku and Roshi also departed as soon as the contest ended.
"I wonder where did Lucia, Hanon and Rina go, It's strange that they disappeared like that." Goku said in confusion as to why they left at the eve of the competition.
"Yes, it is strange, isn't it?" Roshi added, knowing the answer to his question. Goku looked at him in confusion and wondered where he is going with that question.
"Goku!" a familiar voice called out to him in. Goku looked in front of him and smiled brightly when he immediately recognized the person calling out to him.
"Hey Lucia!" Goku smiled as the three mermaids closed in. "Where did you all go? I thought you were going to stay until the end on the contest." Goku asked curiously as he looked at them innocently.
"Well, we had a little emergency and we had to go, sorry." Lucia said nervously, trying to conceal their recent fight against the water demons. But Roshi was not so naïve as he knew fully well of what happened.
"Can I have a word with you in private, young lady?" Roshi asked Lucia in slightly serious tone. The three mermaids glanced at each other in confusion to his sudden question, but since this is Roshi, he is trustworthy enough to have a conversation with alone.
"Umm, sure." Lucia nodded before following the old master. Goku, Hanon and Rina also looked at him curiously, asking themselves on what could Roshi want with Lucia all of a sudden.
Roshi and Lucia made some distance from the three so they wouldn't hear them. Then they stopped as Roshi turned towards Lucia.
"Is something wrong, sir?" Lucia asked innocently, worried that she didn't do something wrong.
"Not really, I just wanted to talk to you about something, specifically about Goku." Roshi said, making Lucia blush slightly at the mention of his name.
"Huh? W-what about Goku?" Lucia asked nervously. Roshi couldn't help but smile by her reaction to the subject.
"Listen child, I may not be expert when it comes to romance, but I notice that you see Goku as more than just a friend. You like him, don't you?" Roshi smiled.
"What?!" Lucia squealed girlishly in embarrassment as she blushed even more, while Roshi laughed light-heartedly from her reaction.
"Your face says it all. Nothing to be embarrassed about, it's completely natural." Roshi smiled before his face was somewhat serious. "However, that is no excuse for you to reveal your identity to anyone, even Goku." Roshi warned.
"My... my identity?" Lucia asked reluctantly, her heart skipping a beat as she is already guessing that he knows of her true identity.
"Yes, I know that you are a mermaid under a human disguise, fighting evil forces beneath the sea along with your friends over there, Hanon and Rina." Roshi revealed.
"But how?! How do you know all that?!" Lucia shouted in utter shock, dumbfounded that this old man knows so much.
"Pure minds are like an open book Lucia. They are easy to read if you know how." Roshi smirked, but Lucia's face went blue as she feared the worst.
"Please sir, don't tell Goku any of this! Then I will…"
"Turn into a sea foam." Roshi cut Lucia's desperate plea mid-sentence. "Yes, I know of the hitch that comes along the human disguises for the mermaids. But I don't think that rule applies if they find out for themselves, like I did." Then Roshi smiled. "But don't worry, your secret is safe with me." He said, making Lucia sigh in relief. "I have to say, you and Goku share many similar qualities, you two would made a perfect couple." Roshi smiled, making Lucia blush immensely as she was silently tapping her index fingers. Roshi was glad that Goku has a potential possible girlfriend like her with untainted mind and heart.
"Yes, I have known Goku even since he was but a small child, always so energetic and carefree. He has been like this since the first time I met him and till this day, aside from his physical appearance, he hasn't changed at all." Roshi smiled as he looked at Goku who is talking to Hanon and Rina and laughing. "And aside from that, he is truly an extraordinary person. His power is unbelievable. Even I had difficulty fighting him when he first entered the World Martial Arts Tournament years ago." He said, remembering his fight with Goku under the guise of Jackie Chun.
"Really? You fought him in the tournament?" Lucia asked in surprise.
"Yes, but I'd like for you to keep that little detail a secret from him, because I was fighting him in disguise." Roshi explained.
"Ooohh." Lucia said in clarity.
"But then again, I don't have to tell you, since you have seen for yourself how powerful he has become and what a special person he truly is." Roshi said. Lucia smiled gently and looked at Goku lovingly, which confirmed Roshi's claims.
Roshi had a point, since she witnesses his power in battle firsthand, demonstrating higher levels of power with every fight. She was especially amazed at his fighting abilities when he fought Gaito in her kingdom, completely dominating the self-proclaimed king of Panthalassa until the latter used his curse to weaken Goku. But during the battle, he managed to get back into the fight and defeat him.
But it wasn't his power or fighting skills that attracted her to Goku, it was his personality. He is like a gentle giant that wouldn't hurt a fly. He only fights to protect those he cares about and he always looks things from positive side of view. She loves how he always tries to cheer her up and see her smile, he either mellows down when she is sad or when she is angry he always looked so nervous and tries to calm her down, making him look adorable in both cases, despite his obvious naivety and being dense for most things, especially for romance.
"As I said, I'm a fighter just like Goku, but in all my years of knowing the boy I have never seen him this happy. It's like he is a different person. And as far as I noticed, he is like this whenever he is around you." Roshi said as he looked at Goku.
"Really?" Lucia said in big surprise, filling her heart with hope that Goku was not as dense as she thought.
"Oh yes, this is a change that I never expected from him, because he never showed any sign of love towards any girl until now. Though it's understandable, he was but a child, completely innocent and devoid of any negative thoughts." Roshi smiled before he looked at Lucia. "Still, even though he has grown into a young man, somehow you managed to stir his emotions, he simply beams with joy whenever he hangs out with you." He said before looking at Goku again, with Lucia doing the same. "It's too soon to say that he fell in love with you, but he is definitely treading on that path. In other words, he likes you too."
Lucia's happiness skyrocketed as even tears of joy started to form in her eyes, staring lovingly at the love of her life, with Roshi every single word boosting her confidence and belief that they might be together sooner than she expected.
"Goku." Lucia thought in immense hope.
"But…" Roshi interrupted her trail of thought, making her look at Roshi innocently. "I don't want you to tell him that. Right now, he is conflicting with his own emotions and you telling him that will only makes things worse, not better." He frowned before he smiled afterwards. "When it comes to Goku, you can only let time take its course. Keep doing what you have done so far, throw subtle hints to him and he will realize it eventually."
"Thank you sir for your support, it means so much to me." Lucia smiled gratefully as she bowed in respect.
"Im glad I helped. Now how about we head back to the others? They are probably getting impatient by now." Roshi smiled, with Lucia nodding in agreement. She never expected that a lecherous old man like him would be so kind and wise, aside from being a fighter like Goku. But she was thankful to him for giving her confidence to keep trying to get through Goku's thick skull and make him realize that she is the mermaid he likes.
The rest of the day passed quickly. The mermaids returned to their hotel, getting to know Roshi better before two fighters escorted the mermaids to the Pearl Hotel, with Roshi going to Goku's house to talk about all the adventures before the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament.
The morning that followed, Goku and Lucia escorted Roshi to the ship at the docks.
"It wasn't really necessary to escort me Goku, you know you can always come visit me on my island." Roshi smiled.
"Yeah I know, but school will start in an hour, so why not?" Goku smiled. The word 'school' was like a comedy joke of a sort for Roshi, at least in Goku's case, especially when he was wearing that uniform.
"Looking sharp in that uniform Goku." Roshi laughed as he got used to always seeing Goku in his fighting uniform, so it's funny to see him in school uniform.
"I wish I could wear my own clothes, this shirt is so uncomfortable." Goku whined childishly as he loosened his collar in annoyance, while Lucia giggled a bit from his whining.
"I think you look handsome in that uniform." Lucia smiled cutely while leaning playfully towards Goku.
"You think so? Thanks." Goku laughed nervously while rubbing the back of his head. Roshi smiled at seeing that these two will definitely go far.
"Well, It's time for me to go. I'll be seeing you at the tournament Goku, so train hard until then." Roshi smiled.
"Sure." Goku said as he nodded confidently.
"It was nice to meet you Lucia, take care of this big goof for me." Roshi joked, making all three of them laugh in unison from Roshi's silly statement.
"Of course." Lucia smiled at the thought as that was a promise that she intends to keep. Even though Goku is vastly superior in strength and skill, she will still look after him in any way she can.
Soon Roshi entered the ship before it eventually sailed towards the sea.
"See ya Master Roshi!" Goku shouted cheerfully as he waved goodbye to him.
"Bye!" Lucia said as she waved her hands in the air. After the ship made some distance, the two of them departed to school.
"Well, he is a really nice person." Lucia smiled as she looked at Goku.
"Yeah, kinda goofy, but he is great teacher." Goku smiled before he turned to Lucia. "Did you know that he also trained my grandpa?"
"Seriously?" Lucia said in amazement.
"Yeah. Along with the Ox King and boy was he…"
Goku and Lucia continued with their conversation all the way to the school, not much in a rush as they took a slow, relaxing walk, with Goku and Lucia talking and laughing along the way.
It took the couple less than an hour to reach school grounds. At the same time, Hanon and Rina have already arrived a little ahead of Goku and Lucia.
"Hanon, Rina, good morning!" Lucia shouted cheerfully as she waved to them.
"Good morning guys, how's it going?" Hanon asked as she and Rina stopped to greet them.
"Well, we went to the docks to escort Mr. Roshi and then we went together to school." Lucia said, with Goku nodding in confirmation. Then his stomach started to growl, scratching his chin in embarrassment and making Lucia giggle cutely.
"Sorry, I haven't eaten anything since I woke up. I'm gonna go and get a bite to eat, so see ya later." Goku smiled before he darted towards the school building.
"See ya in the classroom Goku." Lucia smiled brightly. Now that there are three of them, Hanon immediately went to talk to her.
"Did you girls know that today we will get a new class senior that will replace Miss. Matsubaru?" Hanon said, thrilled to have a new class senior which will hopefully be Taro.
"So I've heard." Rina smiled.
"Oh, that's right. But does anyone know who will it be?" Lucia asked curiously as she remembered the topic that was the talk of the class.
"I'm not really sure, but I was praying hard last night and lit some love candles for a class senior to be Taro. It would be great to see him every day." Hanon said, having that awkward, but determined look on her face, praying with all her might that it will be no one but Taro. She even had illusion of blue fire surrounding her from the sheer magnitude of her wish.
"Umm, is she alright?" Rina asked in worry of her zeal.
"So that's why she was locked in her room, and here I thought she was doing something important." Lucia said a bit nervously from seeing Hanon in her current, zealous state.
A few minutes later, a school bell rang as the three mermaids attended the class, along with Goku after an abundant snack. Hanon was still praying with all her strength that Taro comes through that door while Goku tilted his head and looked at her blankly in confusion, wondering why she is praying so much, though Lucia and Rina share his sentiment.
"She is still thinking about it." Rina said bluntly.
"Yeah, its kinda creepy." Lucia said, using her handkerchief in nervous fashion. Then, against all odds, Taro actually entered the classroom with news that would most certainly satisfy Hanon.
"Good morning!" The entire classroom greeted.
"Good morning everyone, i am Taro Mitsuki. Since Miss. Matsubaru is in the hospital due to her pregnancy, from this day forward it was decided that I will be your class senior." Taro smiled.
"YES! My prayers have been answered and my wish has come true!" Hanon said as she was extremely thrilled by the news, having floating hearts and sparkling eyes in pure happiness.
"Ugh, never underestimate a woman's willpower." Rina facepalmed herself as she couldn't believe that this moment actually happened. Even Lucia was totally surprised by the outcome of all her prayers.
"Wow, it actually worked, I don't believe it." Lucia told to herself before she smiled at Hanon. "Well done Hanon, I need to ask her how she does that."
"Mr. Mitsuki!" Hanon called out.
"What is it Hanon?" Taro asked curiously.
"Well, if you would allow it, I would like to organize a welcoming party for you." Hanon said cheerfully.
"A welcoming party? For me?" Taro said in surprise, taken aback slightly from Hanon's suggestion. Then ball filled with shiny party papers fell down and a green writing board flipped to show a welcoming message for Taro.
"Great, thank you Hanon." Taro said nervously, using his handkerchief in nervous fashion. Seeing all this sudden surprise from Hanon made Goku also scratch his chin in confusion. He couldn't understand at all why she was so determined to have Taro as a class teacher, a question that he will probably never get the answer.
The rest of the day went on without any troubles. After school, Goku returned to his usual training routine, turning it up a notch as he intended. With a welcoming party that is being organized tomorrow by Hanon, Goku used the opportunity to train hard for whole day and gorge on all the meal that will be prepared tomorrow when he arrives.
The night came by in a flash and everyone returned to their homes. As for the mermaid princesses in the Pearl Hotel, they were all having delicious dinner, along with Nicole, Hippo and Madame Taki.
"Well, all done." Hanon said casually as she stood up.
"What? Already?" Lucia asked in surprise as Hanon barely ate half the plate of food.
"You should know to avoid abundant meals Lucia, unless you want to inflate like a balloon." Hanon pointed out.
"But you always eat two full plates, along with three slices of cake which you always say there is a room for." Lucia raised her eyebrow in confusion.
"What are you talking about? I'm always eating light." Hanon lied, something that was obvious to Lucia.
"Uhm, if that's what you call 'eating light', then you are really nuts." Lucia narrowed her eyes in annoyance. But if she were to compare Goku's eating habits with Hanon's, then Goku would definitely be on top.
"Watch your mouth!" Hanon exclaimed, offended by her blunt statement before she quickly calmed herself. "Tomorrow is Taro's welcoming party and I want to look as pretty as possible. Now i'm going to put on some skin lotion and sleep early, that should also do the trick." Hanon said before she departed.
Soon enough she was in her bedroom, lining up her clothes and deciding what to wear for tomorrow.
"I don't know what to wear, but it has to be something provocative. You never know, maybe we will have some alone time." Hanon said, having vivid imagination about Taro complimenting her and about to kiss her. Hanon blushed before she quickly composed herself, carrying on with choosing a fitting clothes for tomorrow.
At the same time, Lucia was taking a bath in her own bathroom, pondering on Hanon's commitment towards tomorrow's party and actually considering taking measures of her own while spinning a bubble pot.
"Gosh, seeing Hanon so determined for tomorrow makes me wanna dress up nicely too. Who knows, maybe Goku and I will finally have some alone time and it would be great opportunity to form a stronger bond with him." Lucia said, already having an imagination of her own.
"Lucia, you look so beautiful and attractive." Goku said as he was leaning closer and was about to touch Lucia's lips with his own.
"On no Goku, you are embarrassing me!" Lucia said in girlish squeal, not realizing that she was spinning a bubble pot fast enough to make her bath tub overflow with bubbles.
While the two mermaids were preparing themselves for tomorrow and having blissful imaginations while doing it, far away from the Pearl Hotel, Taro Mitsuki was practicing his composition on his piano, all the while having memories of his trip to the Indian Ocean. It was the night that he will always remember, as it was the night that he first saw an orange silhouette of the person he fell in love with, an orange mermaid. But, he also had an unpleasant flashback as he remembered her reaction when he told her he had to go. She looked at him departing, heartbroken, her eyes stained with tears. It was a memory that completely broke his concentration and will to continue as the pain was too great, slamming his hands on piano in frustration, trying to dampen the awful flashback in his mind.
"I never intended to inflict you any pain, my beautiful mermaid. But there was nothing I could do at that time." Taro said sadly before going to the balcony and pondering on the thought as he gazed at the moon in the sky. "I wonder how you think of me now, you probably hate me for what I have done." Then he closed his eyes. "But the truth is that I still have feelings for you." He said. But then he heard a splash in the water. Upon observation, he could have sworn that he noticed the same orange silhouette appearing in the distance. It could be his imagination, but then he noticed the same orange person who looks like a mermaid departing towards the open sea.
"Wait, is that you?! Please, answer me!" Taro called out, but there was no answer. He desperately looked around, trying to find her, even considering to jump in the water in the act, but it was all in vain as she disappeared in the depths of the sea. But he did not give up yet, because he had hope that she will appear sooner or later.
Meanwhile, in Goku's house overlooking the city, Goku finally finished with his training and took a shower before he went to sleep. After washing away the pain and fatigue from his body, he took a towel to dry his hair and exhaled deeply in relaxation.
"Phew! Now that's much better, I feel as good as new." Goku said cheerfully. After he dried up, he put on clean orange pants and black undershirt and fell on his bed, almost immediately conking into a deep slumber.
He was drifting peacefully in a realm of dreams, where he was gorging on a mountain of food and flying across the valleys of Mount Paozu with bright sun illuminating everything it touches with its rays of light. But soon, darkness enveloped the lands around him, soon covering him as well, closing his eyes as he tried to fight off the invisible force stopping him. Then he opened his eyes as he faced all four of the water demons again in some strange pink dome, with four sinister beings encircling around them. He was actually surprised to find his mermaid in royal garb behind him, completely forgetting that this was all a dream.
Unknown to Goku, this scene was replayed when he first entered Lucia's kingdom before he defeated the Dark Lovers and faced Gaito in battle.
Goku tried to evade the swirling vortex, but it quickly enveloped them both. Goku tried with all his might not to let go of the mermaid, but she was slowly slipping away from his grasp as the tornado's force grew in strength.
"Goku!" The mermaid shouted as she was pulled away by the tornado until she couldn't be seen anymore.
Goku looked away in shock before suddenly he shot open his eyes and panted slightly from the shock of the nightmare. After he eventually composed himse, he sighed slightly to relax himself.
"It was just a bad dream." He thought, not understanding the dramatic change in his dreams. It was all majestic and dandy until that scene suddenly appeared before him. In that moment, he felt like he had been there before and fought those Dark Lovers. But he was just too tired to think of that any further as he conked right back to sleep and snored blissfully like nothing had happened.
The next day, everyone gathered up in a large wooden house in the forest where Taro's piano play will be held. Also a barbecue has been set as already a large amount of meat has been prepared for the guests to feast upon. Goku, along with Lucia, Hanon and Rina arrived together, while the young warrior couldn't wait to feast on all the delicious meat that he can smell from the distance.
"Oh boy, something smells delicious, wow!" Goku said cheerfully as he sniffed the sweet scent of roasted meat of several variations.
"Goku, this is Taro's welcoming party, not yours." Hanon narrowed her eyes in annoyance, while Lucia giggled by his childish reaction. There was nothing she could say about his enormous appetite, because she already got used to it. She knew there will be a lot of food for everyone, so she wasn't worried.
"By the way, how will Mr. Mistuki play his piano all the way here?" Rina asked.
"Don't worry, we rented a big wooden house with piano for Taro to play. It's right over there, see?" Hanon smiled as she pointed at the house not far from the four.
"Wow, you really thought of everything, didn't you?" Lucia said in amazement by her initiative.
"Of course. Now let's eat before we enjoy in Taro's beautiful music." Hanon said as she made her way with Rina to the barbecue, leaving Lucia alone with Goku.
"She doesn't have to tell me twice!" Goku said to Lucia cheerfully with toothy grin before he immediately left where the food was. Lucia only shook her head silently in amusement. She thought about having another emotional moment with Goku, but with so much food around here, that's impossible, so the best solution for her was to feed that bottomless pit of his.
But suddenly, he looked to his right to find a purple-haired girl leaning against a tree with with a slighty serious look on her face, gazing upwards before she silently turned her attention towards Goku. He could only look at her with innocent expression, wondering why she is looking at him like that.
Lucia came towards Goku and turned to the direction he was facing to also notice a girl with purple hair.
"Who is she? She does look familiar." Lucia thought before she recognized her. "Now I remember, that was the girl that won in that mermaid competition."
With every second Goku was looking at her, the jealousy within Lucia grew, slowly believing that Goku is attracted to that girl.
"Goku, why don't we go and get something to eat?" Lucia smiled as she held onto Goku's hand, trying to make some distance from the girl before things escalate badly for her.
"Sure." Goku nodded with a smile before they both departed, but Goku couldn't help but return his attention to the purple-haired girl who locked her full gaze on him. He raised his eyebrow in confusion at her stare, believing she wants something from him. Then she slowly turned away and went into the forest, while Goku frowned slightly from that rather awkward moment. He didn't know why, but she seemed rather suspicious. But that thought was swiftly removed from his mind as his full attention was now turned to the barbecue, but not before greeting everyone. Immediately upon noticing Goku, the rest of the students took a full plate of food before Goku gets the chance to devour everything he sees.
Hanon carried a plate of food filled to the brim to Taro, along with Lucia who carried the same amount to Goku. Taro had difficulty eating that much, but it was polar opposite for Goku as he chewed on the meat with great delight with no sign of slowing down whatsoever. Then he stopped as he noticed Lucia didn't get a bite at all.
"Why are you not eaing? Thif taftf dewifiouf." Goku asked with his mouth full.
"Nah, I carried all of this for you Goku." Lucia smiled brightly, finding it cute for her to feed that goofball like he was a child, though she wasn't far from the truth. Then Goku swallowed the food before he was about to talk again.
"But there is plenty of food around here, take a bite." Goku offered.
"Thanks, but I'll eat later, so feast till your heart's content." Lucia smiled.
"Oh, ok." Goku said before he chomped on more food from the plate.
After bringing him five plates of food filled to the brim, Goku ate all of it in almost a record time, not catching his breath for a second as he ate without a care in the world. Lucia smiled as she watched him eat all the food she brought him, glad that she was the one doing it, though she did not forgot to leave some food for her and her friends, Hanon and Rina.
"Ahh, now that hit the spot." Goku said cheerfully, rubbing his stomach in delight and licking his mouth to savor the taste of meat that he ate. Then he noticed that girl with purple hair again from the corner of his eye. She was staring at him again with a slightly serious expression, still not knowing what she wants from him. After a few moments she again turned and went into the forest, but this time Goku was starting to grow suspicious of her. He sensed her power level, but to his surprise, her energy was not as dark as the one with water demons. Still, he decided to find out the truth of why she was so interested in him, though he did not want to worry Lucia.
"I'm going to have a little walk, I'll be right back." Goku smiled before he left, though Lucia could see that he was going to chase after that girl that she saw as well. She looked at him sadly as he was slowly distancing from her, her jealousy growing rapidly before she decided to follow them. Noticing Lucia suddenly departing into the forest, Hanon and Rina also decided to follow her.
Meanwhile, deep beneath the ocean, the Dark Lovers yet again proved a failure to Gaito. These four nitwits were really testing his patience as his quest for dominance will not be delayed due to their incompetence. They tried to relax him in vain, with hope that they will gain his favor, but with every failed attempt of capturing the mermaid princesses, that chance grew more and more dim.
"Leave everything to me, master Gaito. I will capture the mermaids and bring them to you very soon" Maria declared, but that statement went over Gaito's head for a reason.
"Bah, all talk and no results!" He growled before he stood up and left to his quarters. "Enough with your blabbering and bring me the mermaid princesses!" He shouted in anger before he left, leaving the four water demons sulking again. They are really trying to capture the mermaids, but they proved to be a bigger nuisance with each passing day, especially when they have three mermaids to contend with at once, not to mention that human warrior Goku who keeps standing in their way. But as for Maria, she will not give up so easily as she immediately departed to the surface and come up with a plan to fulfill her mission.
Within Gaito's chambers, his anger was slowly rising because of their ineptitude to complete their only task.
"I'm surrounded by incompetent idiots and nitwits." Gaito grumbled, biting his fingernails in utter frustration. But then, an unknown person came to calm him down.
"You shouldn't be doing that, you will only ruin your pretty fingernails." An unknown woman said while resting her hand on Gaito's. This woman was wearing a white dress and long white shroud covering her eyes and hair, only revealing her mouth and nose, along with two orange earrings.
"I understand your anger, but it's not your fault. These servants of yours are to be blamed for being incompetent to fulfill your orders. But don't worry, I promise that very soon, someone worthy of you will rise." The woman comforted Gaito, but it only helped him relax slightly.
"I'm not so sure." Gaito said, being in doubt of that statement with each passing defeat.
"Oh he will, he will." The woman reassured, resting her head on his. This gesture made him relax his mind and rested his head as well on her shoulders, with woman's hand resting on his cheek.
Back on the surface, a girl with purple hair was going deeper into the forest until suddenly she dropped a pendant in the river. She picked it up, only for it to glow with purple rays of light.
Goku followed her slowly until he sensed a powerful force emanating near that unknown person.
"What is that surge of energy? It's almost intense." He thought, frowning seriously as he knew that she may not be evil, but she definitely looked suspicious, for no normal girl would emanate with so much power. Upon closer observation, strangely enough, the energy source was coming from that pendant. It had the shape of a winged seashell, like Lucia's and that of her friends Hanon and Rina. The girl then continued to walk further into the forest, but Goku decided to catch up with her and have a little talk.
Meanwhile, Lucia, Hanon and Rina have been following Goku to see where he is going.
"Lucia, why are you following him?" Hanon asked curiously.
"He suddenly started to follow that girl with purple hair in the forest, I need to know why." Lucia said, nervous a bit that they are not having secret affair by any chance.
"Maybe Goku fell in love with that girl and decided to kiss with her where no one could see them." Hanon teased, knowing Lucia's reaction in the matter.
"What?! No way, I refuse to accept that!" Lucia shouted with girlish scream filled with jealousy.
"Calm down Lucia, Hanon was just joking." Rina tried to calm her down, but she was already becoming paranoid of that possible scenario as she imagined them kissing on the lips.
"Goku!" Lucia shouted as she ran in the forest to immediately confront them. Rina frowned in frustration at Hanon, elbowing her to calm her giggling.
"Hanon, you are so evil, why did you do that?" Rina scolded her, but Hanon was not fazed by it.
"Come on Rina, I know fully well that Goku is not a cheater, all he thinks about is training and food." Hanon smiled.
"Well, Lucia is not completely aware of that. Now let's go and stop her before she does anything stupid." Rina said before she left, with Hanon immediately following suit.
Back at the wooden house with the rest of the class, everyone looked around to find that one of their classmates are gone.
"Hey, do you know where Lucia is?" One girl asked.
"No idea." The other girl said before she turned to Kaito "Have you seen Lucia?"
"No, I haven't." Kaito shook his head.
"Strange, even Goku has gone missing." She said while the first girl rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"Good riddance, that guy is not normal, he would eat this entire house along with all the meat around here." She said.
"Yes, but he is pretty dreamy, isn't he?" The other girl said, having imagination of kissing with Goku.
"Maybe, but remember that you would have to deal with that bottomless pit of his stomach every day." The first girl said, making them both laugh at Goku's expense.
As for Kaito, he frowned as he grew slightly worried about Lucia. Soon after, he decided to search for her in the woods.
At the same time in the said forest...
"Hey, lady! Who are you?" Goku asked before the girl looked at him from the corner of her eye.
"Me? What do you want from me?" She asked rudely. Goku frowned slightly as he dropped his gentlemen side.
"I should ask you that. You were staring at me behind the tree as if you wanted something from me. So who are you?" Goku asked bluntly before the girl turned towards Goku.
"This is the first time I see you in my life, why would I need anything from you?" The girl frowned angrily as Goku got closer to her.
"If so, then why were you hiding from me behind the tree?" Goku said rudely.
"Look, I don't know you, so leave me alone, alright?" She said in frustration as the two locked their gazes at each other with with a serious looks on their faces. Goku tried to sense any sinister intent behind her gaze, but strangely enough, found nothing.
"I don't sense an ounce of evil in her stare. If she is not here to fight me, then who is she?" Goku thought curiouly.
Suddenly their unpleasant conversation was interrupted by an ice blast that suddenly zipped between the two and hit the tree.
"What?" Goku gritted his teeth as he was immediately on guard from an ambush. He guessed that it was this girl's doing, but judging by her unease at the situation, that idea was immediately erased. Unknown to the two at the moment, it was the ice blast of the Dark Lover Maria.
"I heard irritating sounds of the mermaid's pearl somewhere around here. A mermaid princess must be nearby, but where?" Maria said to herself before began to fire rapid potshots in every direction, hoping at least one of them will strike it's mark.
As she did, Goku picked the girl up and carried her in safe distance before the blasts hit them. Then he turned his head to the direction the ice blasts came and sensed a dark power level in turn. He frowned seriously as he immediately guessed who it was.
"It's that Dark lover girl Maria. Great, now what she's up to? Better not wait to find out." Goku thought before he let go of the girl. "Listen, I need you to get out of here, it's too dangerous to be here." Goku urged. The girl merely looked at him in silence, slightly worried about him after he rescued her from the attack, but Goku was too focused on his opponent to notice.
"Go!" He shouted before he went to confront Maria. The girl reluctantly did as he asked and retreated into the forest.
"Come out, come out wherever you are! I'm waiting!" Maria said as she continued to fire her ice blasts, but not long after after Goku jumped high in the sky and landed behind Maria.
"Stop that right now!" Goku demanded. Maria immediately turned to find not mermaid princesses, but that meddling human instead.
Meanwhile, Lucia finally caught up with Goku, only to find him standing against Maria, one of the Dark Lovers, immediately hiding behind the bushes so she couldn't be seen. Hanon and Rina caught up soon after, but found Lucia hiding for some reason.
"Lucia, why are you hiding behind the bushes?" Rina asked, but Lucia immediately shushed them both.
"Shh, come here." Lucia gestured them to crouch and hide as well, which they reluctantly agreed. But to their surprise, they found Maria facing Goku.
"Great, what is she doing here in the middle of the forest?" Hanon frowned seriously.
"Probably looking for us, but it seems that Goku caught up with her." Rina said seriously.
"Then it shouldn't be a problem for him if she is his only opponent. This will be interesting to watch." Hanon grinned. If he was able to defeat Gaito in battle, then Maria will be no threat in the slightest for Goku. As for Lucia, even though she agrees with Hanon that he will win, she was still worried for his wellbeing.
As for Goku, he realized that she will be his only adversary as he stood upright from his fighting position, knowing she won't be a threat if she fights him alone.
"What are you doing here? Causing trouble again?" Goku frowned sternly.
"I am here on a mission, human." Maria growled before she grinned. "But now that you are here, you will make an excellent prize for my master." Maria said, but knowing of the outcome of this battle all too well, Goku decided to make a more diplomatic approach and return to Lucia and the others back at the barbecue.
"Look, I don't want to fight you, but I will if I have to, so I will give you one chance to leave." Goku frowned without any intent on insulting her before he turned sideways. "Go back wherever you came from and leave these people alone, otherwise you will have to face me." He warned before he started to walk away. Maria growled furiously by his insolence, having a tick mark on her head as her anger started to boil, believing that human was deliberately mocking her.
"Don't you dare turn you back on me!" Maria shouted before she fired her ice blasts at him.
Goku flipped backwards behind her, but she retaliated with ice spikes erupting from the ground, which Goku also dodged by flipping on his right side. Maria did not give up as she continued to fire her ice spikes at him to which he dodged effortlessly. The he caught one of the shards going right for his face, not even fazing, much to Maria's shock. Then he shattered it in his hand with slightest of ease, making Maria back up a bit from seeing him so serious. Even the mermaids behind the bushes were surprised by his reaction, but they knew that Maria was done for this time. Fortunately for the said water demon, Goku was calm from the inside, but her futile efforts were rather annoying.
"You can't beat me with your usual fighting techniques. Now, give up." Goku said seriously. Maria realized that he was right, but she had one more trick up her sleeve.
"No, not yet. It's over when I say it's over." Maria grinned wickedly.
Then Maria started to conjure a large ice ball that floated slowly like a small blizzard and fired it at young fighter was not impressed as he took his fighting position and clenched his right fist.
"Haaaaa!" He shouted as he punched the ball, making it explode violently. Maria smirked arrogantly as the shattered ball started to slowly freeze everything in the vicinity.
"What?" Goku said in surprise surprise as his hand started to freeze, along with the entire body. Maria watched in delight as she may have finally captured that human. At last, her opportunity to prove herself in front of her master is at hand.
The mermaids looked in surprise and shock as Goku was seemingly imprisoned now.
"Oh no, Goku." Lucia said worryingly. She was about to go and help him, but was stopped by Hanon and Rina.
"Wait Lucia, the fight is not over yet." Rina said seriously
"What do you mean, it's not over? Goku is in trouble, we have to help him." Lucia said worringly, desperate to go out there immediately and save her loved one.
"Goku has been in worse situations then this, like when he fought Gaito. Let's wait a little longer and see what happens." Rina said before she looked at Goku. Like Lucia and Hanon, the green mermaid princess witnessed Goku's power firsthand when he fought the king of Panthalassa and she knew that Goku hasn't even begun to unleash his full power. Lucia looked worryingly at Hanon, who gave her a reassuring nod. Then she looked at Goku while holding onto her beating heart in immense worry.
Maria stepped closer towards Goku, who couldn't even move a muscle because entire body was frozen, except for his head.
"What's wrong, human? Not winning as easily as you thought?" Maria taunted while Goku gritted his teeth as he tried to break free, but to no avail.
"I never said this would be easy." Goku growled.
"But you were thinking that it would be, weren't you? Well too bad, you are mine now." Maria smirked before she looked at him with killing intent. "You have caused us enough trouble, you miserable human scum! Always standing in our way and our master's glory. Well no more! You will now be nothing but small shards of ice for your interference, to be decorated in my master's throne room." She said before she extended her arms as her hands were encircled with ice.
"Goodbye, Goku!" Maria said spitefully.
But Goku will not give up as he started to growl loudly, increasing his power level that he suppressed from the start. Then he started to slowly break free, the ice starting to crack from the magnitude of his strength. Maria looked at him in shock and couldn't believe what is happening.
"What?!" Maria exclaimed in shock.
Then Goku shouted as he shattered the ice around him, spreading his clenched fists high in the air while the ice shards darted in every direction. Goku sighed slightly to relax before he focused his attention back to Maria.
"Impossible. How did you manage to break free?" Maria said in shock as she backed up a little. But Goku did not listen as he immediately disappeared and reappeared in front of Maria, sending a light jab on her stomach, but it was strong enough for her to almost lose her breath completely and kneel in pain. Goku stood upright again and frowned sternly at her, ready for anything else she might throw at him.
Maria growled angrily as she glared at him in defeat. She knew she stood no chance against him, so in the end she was forced to retreat back to Gaito's castle. Or so it seemed.
From behind the bushes, Lucia, Hanon and Rina sighed slightly in relief.
"See?" Rina smiled. Hanon and Lucia smiled brightly at each other, happy that Goku won, though neither of them had even a slightest doubt in his abilities.
Unknown to the four of them, Kaito was also looking for Lucia and her two friends, worried that they might have lost themselves, especially Lucia.
"Where in the world have those three disappeared?" Kaito said, rubbing the back of his head as he jumped on the rock near the waterfall.
In his vicinity, the defeated Maria appeared. She growled angrily as she was once again easily beaten by that human, cursing herself for letting her guard down and succumbing to her fear. Then she looked at the orange-haired boy standing next to the waterfalls and glared at him.
"I don't care if he's a human, I will have my satisfaction." Maria said angrily before she conjured her ice blasts at the waterfall, creating enormous ice balls that were falling above Kaito.
Goku suddenly sensed Maria's energy from behind him, immediately using his immense speed to reach the waterfalls. This sudden course of action made the mermaids immediately follow him, barely being able to tell the direction that he headed.
But before he could locate Maria, much to his shock, Kaito was in danger as the ice balls were falling on him, threatening to crush the life out of him from above.
"Kaito, look out!" Goku called out to him, but Kaito was paralyzed in place as he watched his impending doom approaching. To Goku's surprise, Kaito shouted as suddenly a strange glowing symbol appeared on Kaito's forehead, radiating in massive dome of light that evaporated the ice balls and enveloping himself in bright burst of light, forcing Goku to shield his eyes from intense rays. But as soon as the light died down, the symbol disappeared and Kaito fell down unconscious.
"Whoah, what was that? Kaito's power level just skyrocketed." Goku thought in amazement before he rushed to Kaito's side to check on him. As he did, he was relieved inwardly that Kaito was alright, but it seemed that sudden burst of energy drained almost all of his strength.
"Strange, that mark on his head disappeared. But for him to unleash such an enormous amount of energy at once is unheard of." Goku thought seriously before he glanced from Kaito's forehead to his closed eyes. "Amazing, his power in that moment was greater than all four of the Dark Lovers combined. Who is he?"
But before he could ponder on it any further, he inspected the area around him to find Maria, but he couldn't find her at all as her energy completely disappeared. She must have escaped again after she had seen him coming. Then Kaito slowly started to wake up, opening his eyes to find Goku sitting next to him.
"Goku? There you are." Kaito said.
"Yup. But what happened to you?" Goku said with innocent expression, pretending like nothing happened as Kaito slowly got up.
"No idea." Kaito said before he looked up. "For a second I thought I saw some ice balls falling down at me and then everything went blurry." Kaito explained.
"Don't be silly Kaito, it's not like we are in snowy lands or something." Goku laughed light-heartedly as he scratched his chin, even though he knew he was telling the truth.
"Goku!" Lucia called out for him as the three mermaids finally caught up with them, while Goku and Kaito stood up to greet them.
"There you are. Where were you three? Everyone was worried that you disappeared." Kaito frowned in frustration.
"Well, Goku wanted to bring us to this beautiful waterfall, that's why we left." Lucia said nervously, trying to conceal the part where they watched Goku's brief skirmish with Maria. Goku looked at her blankly before moments later he just decided to play along, since he got a little hungry from that fight.
"Well, we should all go back and have a feast before Mr. Mitsuki starts playing his piano, what do you say?" Goku suggested.
"Okay." Kaito and the mermaids nodded before they departed back to the others.
Far above the group, Maria was dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events.
"How is this possible? How did that human manage to unleash that intense ray of light?" Maria frowned angrily. Then it hit her as she made a comparison between him and Gaito. "Now that I think about it, it couldn't be a coincidence. His power and his facial features…" She said to herself as he looked nearly identical to Gaito. "There has to be something more than that, I'm sure of it."
With no time to waste, she departed back to Gaito's castle. Risking utter annihilation for yet another failure, Maria decided to take the risk and inform him of her discovery.
"Master Gaito, I humbly return from my mission." Maria said as she knelt before her master.
"Well, did you bring my trophy to me? A mermaid princess?" Gaito asked. But seeing the expression on her face, he had doubts about her success, though he wanted to hear it from her.
"Im afraid that…" Maria stopped mid-sentence in embarrassment, but Gaito immediately guessed her answer.
"So you have failed me yet again? In that case, I have no use of you. Begone!" Gaito frowned in disappointment, not wanting to hear more excuses of her defeat. But Maria would not give up so easily this time as she cannot waste this opportunity.
"But please master, there is something else that you need to know." Maria urged. Gaito was slightly intrigued to hear her out, but only temporarily.
"And what might that be, Maria?" Gaito asked.
"I have discovered that there is a boy who possesses a truly great power within him, an individual who can emanate a powerful surge of light." Maria said.
"A boy?" Gaito raised his eyebrow in interest.
"Yes. And more importantly, he looked so much like you, my lord." Maria said. But after a few moments, Gaito knew fully well of whom she is talking about and decided to immediately break the subject.
"Enough! I will hear no more of it!" Gaito suddenly shouted sternly, startling Maria. "I know of that already, so don't mention something like that ever again."
"Forgive me, my lord." Maria apologized.
Gaito then stood up from his throne and departed to his private chambers, sitting on his sofa and pondered on her discovery. He couldn't believe that his nitwit servants would finally bump up on him. But moments later, a shrouded woman appeared again next to him.
"What's wrong Gaito? You seem ill of a mood." The woman said.
"He has finally appeared. My other me, the light that was separated from me." Gaito frowned.
"I understand, but what could be done? There is no light without darkness, the shadows are stronger and greater in the presence of the light, you know that." Then the woman smiled. "But there is nothing to be worried about Gaito. It is still you, an irreplaceable ruler who will one day shame the very sun." She reassured, but Gaito knew that the task would not be so easy. If he was to attain absolute power, he must fuse the darkness with the light, his power to fuse with his other self.
Meanwhile, back in the wooden house in the forest, Taro was finally ready to begin.
"The recital that I will play today is in the memory of the mermaid that I met a long time ago." Taro said before he started to play his notes. Hanon cupped her hands in amazement of listening to his beautiful music.
"My Taro, he is so talented." Hanon said blissfully. Lucia smiled and turned her attention towards Goku, but she noticed that he was snoring silently like a little baby, making her pout childishly as she elbowed him on his chest.
"Goku. We are here to listen to Taro's music, not to take a nap." Lucia frowned slightly.
"I'm sorry, but I'm always so sleepy whenever I'm full." Goku whined groggily as he rubbed his right eye from rude awakening.
"You are impossible." Lucia teased, making Goku scratch his chin nervously.
But while Taro was playing his composition, he had flashbacks of his moments with the beautiful mermaid from long ago. But he also remembered her sad and teary face, a dreadful moment that haunts him till this day.
"Her sad look on her face will forever be carved in my memories. But I did the only thing that I could have done at the time. If only I could see her again, but I doubt she will appear in front of me ever again." He thought sadly.
Lucia and Rina were listening intently to Taro's music, Hanon more so, even to the point of shedding tears of joy, simply being touched to the soul by his amazing work.
While the others were listening to their teacher's piano notes, Goku looked towards Kaito and frowned slightly in seriousness. He still couldn't forget about that sudden, massive burst of energy that he unleashed in that moment. At first he thought he was a goner, until he managed to save himself either by chance or pure luck. He knew that he had no control over his power, because he had never seen him using it before and it sapped all of his strength the first time he used it, making him fall unconscious. There was something else about Kaito and Goku knows it. He knew that he wasn't evil, judging by his energy signature, but there was something more to him then he thought.
But for now, only time will tell, though today, Goku got a whole different perspective on Kaito after his display of power and he can no longer consider him an ordinary person.