Hmm, the tournament chapter. In all seriousness, I don't want to write this because we know what happens, lol. So, it's going to run through fairly quickly and will only touch upon the events that are known about. Don't worry guys; this is about Mirai and Trunks, not Goku and Uub. Also, I'm using the English versions for the names of the fighters. I mean, they're not really that important after this so… yeah.
BY THE WAY, Has anyone seen the 2008 special, "Yo!" Son Goku and His Friends Return!"? I seriously just discovered it like three days ago (well, another reason for my lack of updates was a resulting loss of interest in the series, so I wasn't really actively looking beforehand, haha). I'm at loss for words, lol.
Containing Thy Self- Chapter Ten
World Tournament- Lobby Hall for Participants- 11:25 AM
The announcer stood on the fighting platform, speaking to the audience about the upcoming battles and what to expect. While Bulma and company were seated upstairs, Mirai and the rest of the partakers were standing among themselves in the large lobby, either gathered by the arch-shaped entry way or one of the several gaping oval windows to watch.
"Pan!" Goten called out, walking over to his incredibly young niece. "Are you ready for your first fight?"
"Yep!" The tiny girl nodded, her fists clenched in anticipation. "I'm ready to win!"
The dark-haired teen chuckled, raising a hand to pat her on the head. "Woo, good to hear! If we fight, go easy on me, okay?"
She pouted. "But Uncle Goten, I have to do my best!"
"Ah, right." He rubbed his chin slowly. "Well, then try not to beat me up too badly, ah?"
"Yes!"
Mirai smiled from his position by one of the windows, enjoying the light-hearted scene. It stung him a little to realize that they don't exist in his timeline, but he reminded himself that it was because of him that they are here now. The cue made him feel better, as he mulled over the brief memories of his actions. While it's rough and a little painful, not to mention taxing on both the physical and mental state, time travel certainly did wonders for this world; if he was given the choice of going or not again, he would be in Hope in a flash (literally), no questions asked.
"This is… so very strange." Mirai mumbles, as he gazed around the lobby area, watching as the various competitors started stretching, preparing themselves. He looked up, noticing a high, concave ceiling and then straight ahead, down the stoned hallway. Turning around, he spotted Goten and Trunks leaning against a wooden stand that was propped in the entry way, with Vegeta and Pan by the door frame.
"You look lost." Blinking, Mirai curved his head to the side, only to come across his chosen opponent Narig leaning against the stone wall with hands in his pockets, who watched him in amusement.
"Um…" The purple-haired man paused, debating over his words. "This is the first time I've been to this sort of thing, so it's just… peculiar." He groaned internally at the word. Peculiar? Do people even use that word anymore?
The blonde chuckled. "Haven't heard that one yet. Your first time, you say?" He raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Your friends seem to be well-adapted."
"Ah, yes." He scratched the back of his head nervously, silently pleading that someone would come over and help him out. "I, uh… never been interested in it before and so… umm, I got suckered into coming around this time."
"Hey, Trunks is talking to that pretty boy." Goten whispered, feeling his ears perk up at the sounds of the voices behind them. "Trunks sounds nervous."
"Leave them be. I want to see how he socializes with outsiders." Trunks quickly replied, while keeping a cool stare, the black-haired teen could see the curiosity in his cobalt blue eyes.
"Outsiders?" Goten griped, raising an eyebrow at the word. "Nice."
Trunks snorted.
Narig frowned. "You have fought before though, right?"
"Yes!" Mirai blushed, stuttering a bit. "I mean, I train but I never came to a tournament like this before. I don't…. I mean, fighting in front of a large audience is… unusual for me, I guess you could say." He fidgeted with his hands a bit, trying to keep them in his pockets. "I'm not a very social person, really."
"You seem to be doing all right." The blonde glanced towards the entryway. "I take it you and the other purple-haired boy are related?"
Eyebrows rose at the suggestion, Mirai nodded affirmatively. "Yes, we are brothers."
From their position, Trunks quirked an eyebrow, while Goten stifled his laughter.
The blond-haired boy stared contemplatively for a moment; the purple-haired man briefly wondered if, no matter how reasonable it sounded, maybe this guy could see through his lie; although adding on 'twins' would be more sensible, Mirai didn't want to go overboard with it. "You are…" Narig paused again. "The older one, right?"
The time traveler blinked, not expecting that sort of guess. "How do you figure?"
"Well…" Narig crossed his arms, shifting his eyes towards the other Trunks' back. "The two of you look pretty much identical, but…" His eyes returned to Mirai. "You appear much older… more mature, the way you look and act." Then a sly smile appeared. "Or maybe the other one just seems so much more… childish."
With a loud crack and a yelp, the wooden stand in the entryway was laying on the ground, broken in half. Goten grabbed the older teenager by the shoulders, yelling at him to calm down.
Narig and Mirai watched for a moment, the purple-haired man taken aback, before the blonde spoke up again. "Seems I was overheard. Anyways, I'm going to run to the bathroom so I will speak to you later."
"Ah, yes." Mirai nodded, granting the other man a small smile. "It was nice speaking to you."
"Likewise." He walked down the hallway quickly, disappearing around the corner.
"That son of a bitch!" Trunks growled, struggling against Goten's grip. "Who's he's calling childish! I'll pound that pretty face of his!"
"Come on Trunks!" The black-haired teen complained, squeezing his hold. "Forget it, you said he was just an 'outsider' anyways, so why let it bother you?"
"Fuck that! Nobody calls me childish and gets away with it!"
"Then stop acting like it." Vegeta's deep voice cut in, his younger son freezing in his struggles, as he momentarily forgot about his presence and immediately blushed in humiliation. Brushing off his friend's hands from his shoulder, he moved rigidly into the hallway more to lean against the inside stone wall next to an open window, arms crossed though his cheeks were still glowing with a slight crimson color. Goten, feeling sorry for his buddy, immediately moved to his side, leaning on top of the windowsill that was right at the height of his torso.
Mirai wondered briefly if he should have spoken up, but promptly decided that his words probably wouldn't have had any effect to anyone. Instead, as he chewed on his bottom lip, he took a couple steps forward, to lean against the door frame opposite of his father, though careful to keep his view anywhere but near him.
Although he really wanted to ask him about what happened in the gravity chamber.
'He would go off on some tangent about being weak again.' Mirai thought, frowning a bit.
The announcer finished his speech, naming the first two participants; Pan and Wild Tiger.
"Good luck Pan!" "Go easy on him!" "You can do it!" All the calls came from above, in which Mirai leaned forward a bit to take a look. He saw Chi-Chi practically leaning half-way out the window with her father holding onto her desperately.
"GO PAN! BEAT HIM UP!"
He sweatdropped at the yell, returning to his original position. The fight started and Pan promptly beat her opponent in two blows. The audience was in shock.
"YEAH, THAT'S MY GIRL!"
Goku laughed, in which Mirai turned around to see him at the window closest to the entrance. "No mercy, huh?" Pan jumped up and flew through the window to hug her grandfather, in which he reached up and wrapped his arms around her small body. "Good job, Pan. You did well!"
She beamed brightly. "Thanks Grandpa!"
While he wasn't fully against the idea, he still wondered as to why they were here. Considering how Vegeta knocked out his younger opponent during the selection process and Pan, a tiny 5 year old child, defeated her monstrous opponent in seconds, the purple-haired man failed to see the apparent amusement of fighting against humans. He thought about how pleasant Narig was to him, who returned from the restrooms and was standing at another window. Mirai wasn't exactly sure, but he was pretty certain he could see some uneasiness in the blonde's expression.
How exactly is this supposed to be fun for him? His purpose in life is to protect the humans, not fight them.
"Whoa!" He heard Goten suck in a breath in surprise. Mirai looked outside to see Goku already fighting against his opponent named Uub, who was brawling back shockingly well. The time traveler wondered if the boy wasn't human. He looked human enough, but then again, so do Saiyans.
"So this was what Kakarot was talking about." The purple-haired man glanced over at his alternate timeline father, who was mumbling under his breath while his dark eyes were glued to the battle.
After some time, Goku stopped and said a few things to the dark-skinned, skinny boy, who looked fairly hesitant. Then the boy was suddenly on Goku's back, who flew over to all them.
"Well, Uub and I are going to go train."
It was Gohan's turn to lean out the window. "Wait, Father, what are you talking about? Are you leaving now?"
"Yep! Pan, work hard for me, okay?"
The little girl suddenly understood what her grandfather was saying and her eyes watered. "Are you leaving forever, Grandpa?"
Goku lifted a hand to pat his granddaughter on the head, and then giving her cheek a pinch. "I'll be back, don't worry. I don't know when but you'll definitely see me again."
"Dad?" Goten walked to the entrance, stepping outside. "Seriously?"
The dark-haired man nodded, placing a hand on his younger son's shoulder, giving it a squeeze.
"G-Goku!" Chi-Chi called out, distress all over her face. "But why?"
"I'm sorry Chi-Chi." Briefly, the older man had a look of sadness in his eyes, before flashing a Son smile. "So long everyone!"
With Uub still on his back, the hero and his apprentice flew into the sky, quickly disappearing from sight.
"This is bullshit." Goten muttered, stomping back inside. Trunks quickly placed an arm around his friend's shoulders. "I shouldn't be surprised, but still."
"I agree." The purple-haired teenager nodded, trying to offer comfort.
"Trunks." Mirai looked over to see Narig coming over to him. "I don't really understand what just happened but I'm assuming that you're at the same level as the others here."
Mirai was having a fleeting debate over whether to say something to Goten or not, but Narig proved to be a useful intervention. "Same level?"
"The older man punched his opponent and sent him flying without even looking during the drawing, a little girl defeats a fully grown man in two hits, and this guy steals his battle mate only to fly away… I'm fully aware of beings that are not human in this world but you guys… are something else. I can almost feel the intensity burning off of you." The blonde explained, shifting uncomfortably. "I don't know you or what you are but I know that if I enter in that arena with you, I won't last longer than a minute."
Blinking, the time traveler swallowed. "I… I suppose this is true. Truthfully, I was uneasy with entering because of the unfairness in the matches." Wringing his hands out of nervousness, Mirai looked at his companion. "I'm sorry."
Narig shrugged. "It's not like it's your fault or anything. Really, it's my decision on what I do." He politely held out his hand with a small smile. "Even though you're probably freakishly scary like the others, you seem like a good man. I'm to glad to have met you."
"Ah, yes!" Mirai grabbed his hand firmly, shaking it. "Even though it was brief, it was a pleasure talking with you."
"Agreed. Maybe we'll meet up again." He tossed a wink, strangely enough, and walked away. Mirai watched him disappear down the hallway, frowning as he felt a mix of emotions; there was a hint of pride in the recognition of his strength, but it was mostly guilt and shame due to the idea that he frightened someone for that strength.
"Wow Trunks." Mirai turned around to see Goten, who seemed to recover from his earlier bout of anger. "Like father, like son. You both 'defeat' your opponents before your matches even start."
"Apparently." He responded lightly, a scowl still remaining. He glanced around the lobby, noticing there was only one human opponent left, who more or less looked a little nervous. Otherwise, it was himself and the remaining members of the group. The reality of this was nothing short of irritating as Mirai felt himself growing more and more aggravated. "I'm sorry, I'm going to have to leave."
"Why? What's wrong?"
Trunks stepped up. "Mad that your new-found boyfriend left?" Goten frowned, elbowing him in the side.
"No, although I would much rather be around him than someone like yourself." Mirai shot back, his tolerance for the younger teenager reaching its limit.
"We're the same person, idiot." Trunks took another step forward, wanting nothing more than smashing his fist in this person who proclaims to be some time traveling war hero. "Getting rid of me would be getting rid of yourself. I'm so sorry that you find the both of us not up to par to your preferred company."
Suddenly, without warning, Trunks felt his back slam up against the stone wall, the structure cracking and crumbling behind him. Mirai had one hand fisted in the material of Trunks' tank top, knuckles pressing into his chest and a few sparks forming. His eyes blazed with anger as he leaned forward to the younger one's face, staring at him straight in the eye.
"We may be the same being in the biological sense, but I could never align myself at the same level with someone that has such a lazy disposition and arrogant, disgusting attitude." Trunks reached up to try pushing away, but yelped when a power surge struck his hand. "Ever since I arrived here, you've been nothing but whiny brat who bitched and moaned about the simple pleasures in life, complained that everything wasn't handed to you on a silver platter, and fretted over the idea that someone was trying to steal your honor, which you don't even deserve to have in the first place."
"Hey…" Goten walked up to the fighting duo slowly, hands raised in an act of self-defense. "Wait, Trunks… calm down."
"I spend my days watching innocents get their heads blown off and you get upset because maybe that one store defiled your pride by not having a certain color for a T-shirt." Trunks flinched, not so much because there was a slight truth in his accusation, but more at the sudden graphic image of murder. "All you really been these past few days, just like this so-called tournament game that should be an absolute delight for you to flaunt your self-obsessed image, was nothing, but a complete waste of my time." Releasing his iron-grip, Trunks staggered away some, staring at the taller look-alike edgily.
Goten gulped while Vegeta passively watched the events occurring from the back.
Mirai pointed at Trunks with a gleam of threat flashing in his cobalt blue eyes. "Stay the hell away from me unless you decide to redeem yourself." He lowered his hand, turning around. "I'm leaving." He stalked off to the closest window, placing one foot on the windowsill and pushed himself out to fly off.
Goten felt a tug on his pants, in which he looked down to see his young niece. "Uncle Goten." Her eyes watered once more and her hand was a little shaky. "What's going on?"
"Oh Pan." He knelt down to scoop her up into his broad arms. "Sorry hon, things are just getting… difficult, I think. Hard to say."
Trunks rubbed at his chest, noticing the tears in the cloth material as well as a few burn marks along the skin from energy sparks. He was speechless, as well as humiliated. His pride was hurting, because although the older man may have had some truth to his choice words, it was unnecessary and Trunks felt completely undeserving of the allegation. His eyes glanced at Goten soothing the young girl, and then landed on his father.
Vegeta was expressionless, as usual, although his eyes that now faced the ground, has hardened. Unexpectedly, he pushed himself away from the door frame, arms still crossed as he faced the outside. "I don't care what you decide to do." Trunks blinked, staring at his father. "You can stay or go. I will be making my leave." With that and a small blast of energy, he too, shot into the air.
A few yelps and a loud 'VEGETA' was heard from above, along with some stomping around. Trunks rested his gaze on Goten once more, frowning. "I guess… we don't have to stick around."
The black-haired boy nodded, biting his bottom lip. "Yeah, but… I dunno, should we stay? I feel bad that half the fighters left and the audience is waiting for a somethi-"
"I don't care about the fucking tournament!"
Goten jumped back, one hand covering Pan's one ear while pressing the other side against his chest. "Really now? Could you please try to control your mouth?"
"She'll learn it eventually anyways!" Trunks stopped, taking a deep breath. "Alright, forget it, I just… don't really care anymore."
"Are you leaving?"
"Yeah." His handsome features contorting into a grimace. "Trunks is right about one thing; this tournament being a huge waste of time."
"B-But what about me?"
Trunks turned around, waving a hand. "Do whatever you want."
"Wait, Trunks!" It was too late though, as Trunks disappeared through the doorway. Suddenly, pounding could be heard as the entire company of his friends that were upstairs appeared at the other end of the lobby hall, running towards the dark-haired teenager and Pan.
"Goten!" Chi-Chi exclaimed loudly, taking a glance around. "What's going on? Why did everyone leave?"
"Well…" Goten handed Pan to her mother, Videl while using his other hand to scratch the back of his head. "I got mad when Dad left, then older Trunks' opponent dropped out, and then both of the Trunks got in a fight." He glanced at Bulma, who gasped and raised a slim hand to her mouth. "Well, it was more older Trunks telling our Trunks that he sucks, then older Trunks left through the window. Vegeta got all worked up and left. Then I was trying to comfort Pan and our Trunks got mad, leaving as well. And… well, then you guys showed up."
"Why did Trunks get mad with our Trunks?" Gohan asked, taking off his glasses to focus on his brother. "Goten, what's going on?"
The teenager fidgeted a little, feeling a mix of guilt and confusion. "Well, I don't really get what's going on… our Trunks doesn't like older Trunks because… I dunno, he's 'in the way' or something. Older Trunks just kind… ripped him apart. Err, figuratively, I mean!" He cried out, seeing some eyes widen in shock. "I mean, older Trunks just uh…" He gestured over to the impressively large cracking dent in the stone wall. "He got mad, slammed our Trunks into the wall, said some things and then left."
"Why was he mad?" Bulma asked quietly, crossing her arms.
"Um… our Trunks just… says stupid things. I don't think older Trunks felt like dealing with him anymore." Goten frowned as his gaze shifted to the floor. "Our Trunks is hard to deal with lately… I don't get where this hate is coming from. I understand the competitive part, but there's something else. I dunno what it is though."
Temper, temper. Well, hopefully this made up for the boring chapter I posted before. Things are getting EXCITING! Take note that action and dialogue are different from what was read in the manga or seen in the anime. I'm not going to copy word-for-word what Goku said in his farewell. Therefore, I made up my own version of this, so I hope you guys didn't mind it too much.
Also, question regarding the rating. It's rated T but I'm wondering if maybe I should up it to M for language? I don't think it's too bad but I don't wish to offend anyone. Let me know what you think!
Again, please review if you liked it! Or if you have any criticism. I am open to all comments!
