Papaya Island, Tenka'ichi Budōkai Green Room

Kuririn was sitting at the bench with a nervous yet focused look on his face, likely steeling himself for the match coming up next. After the previous fight with Gokū and Tenshinhan displaying untold feats of strength, speed, and reflexes, he was now starting to feel like he was coming up short - pun not intended. The monk took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves, and decided to recite an old mantra from the Orin Temple that helped him calm himself down.

"Nervous I take it?" Gokū asked as he sat down next to his shorter friend.

"Pfft! That's a bit of an understatement after what I saw you do a few minutes ago," Kuririn chuckled mirthlessly.

"Hey, you've got more ways to dupe your opponent than I do, that's for sure," Gokū reassured him. "Even so, you should be careful. I'm getting this vibe from Ma Junior that he won't play nice."

"Well, I'll take what I can get," Kuririn sighed as he stood up. "Welp, time to face the music."

"Kick his ass, buddy!" Gokū cheered as Kuririn stood at the exit of the green room. "And try to get the first hit in, yeah?"

Kuririn simply nodded, liking that idea. If this 'Ma Junior' was going to win, he was gonna deny that green punk the first hit! Of course that would be 'if" he wins. No battle is guaranteed, and Gokū was correct that Kuririn had several tricks to pull to score a victory. By the edge of the wall separating the arena from the green room, the masked woman watched with mild apprehension, or at least what could be discerned from the okami mask she was wearing.

Tenka'ichi Budōkai Arena

"Aaaaaaalright, folks!" The announcer shouted over his microphone. "Who here is ready for the second match of the tournament?!"

The crowd cheered with jubilation to answer the announcer's question. All he needed to hear.

"I thought so! I know I am! Let's have the competitors step forward! Contestant Kuririn, Contestant Ma Junior, step forward please!"

Kuririn walked out of the green room and took his place in the arena, but was wondering where 'Ma Junior' was hiding. The man in question dropped from the air and landed opposite of him with a cocky smirk on his green face.

"Showoff," Kuririn muttered. The green man's pointed ears twitched ever so slightly, and his grin deepened as if he was amused by Kuririn's almost inaudible comment. 'I wonder why this guy only has 4 fingers. Maybe he had a run-in with the Yakuza? Ah well. No use wondering.'

"Let's see what you've got you little bug," Ma Junior jeered, earning a small twitch of the eye from Kuririn.

"You seem confident to be calling me 'bug,' bub," Kuririn retorted. "If that's the case, I won't be holding back."

"I can already feel the tension between our competitors, folks!" The announcer called out. "Those who have witnessed the past 2 tournaments will remember Contestant Kuririn's tenacity and skill as a semifinalist! His opponent, Ma Junior, is a virtual unknown, but he looks keen to put Kuririn in his place! The question remains: Who will be the victor here?! Fighters, take your places!"

The announcer hopped out of the arena and heard the familiar roll of taiko drums ramping up. Neither fighter had assumed a stance yet, so this could be interesting.

GONG!

"BEGIN!"

"Your move," 'Ma Junior' chuckled, still just staring down his opponent.

"Alright," Kuririn sighed as he outstretched his arms, clenched his palms, and tucked his arms back in for a squatted stance. "At least I'll get the first hit in."

Piccolo's smirk faded, as he was curious as to what Kuririn was about to do. Quick as a bullet, Kuririn thrust his palms out and two brilliant yellow beams of ki shot forth, whistling towards their target.

"Tch! You must be joking!" Piccolo clicked his tongue with disdain as he deftly leapt over the two blasts "What was that basic technique supposed to do?!"

Kuririn said nothing but smirked as the two blasts arched upwards, still locked onto 'Ma Junior.' This caught the reincarnated demon by surprise. Thinking quickly, he fired his eye beams, each eye destroying the respective blast. Piccolo smirked at how he had nullified the attack, but was brought out of his reverie when his mind's eye noticed someone dangerously close.

"Gotcha!" Kuririn shouted as he delivered a powerful right hook that knocked Piccolo back. The monk flipped back and landed back onto the arena while Piccolo simply halted his descent and floated in mid-air.

"Now that's more like it!" Gokū cheered from the green room. "First hit goes to Kuririn!"

"Now let's see if he can keep up that momentum!" Caulifla nodded along, impressed by her friend's creativity.

"Whoa!" The announcer called out. "Ma Junior has stopped himself in mid-air! If we're gonna be seeing more of this, I hope for our competitor's sakes that the old Tsuru-Sennin hasn't patented Bukujutsu, or there'll be some legal trouble!"

'If this guy's getting into legal trouble for just floating, imagine the legal bullcrap Gokū and Caulifla would have to go through…' Kuririn chuckled mentally to himself.

"Not bad," Piccolo chuckled as he wiped his sheek with his wrist. "Seems my initial assessment was a bit off."

'Ma Junior' gently descended back down to the ring to face off against Kuririn. The bald monk was perturbed by how his opponent was not shook by that last blow, but tried to keep his cool. Kuririn launched himself again, only for Piccolo to swiftly side-step the attack. The monk saw this coming and quickly redirected his momentum to follow suit. Piccolo was surprised to see this maneuver and had to resort to blocking a myriad of punches launched by his diminutive opponent. The demon sprung upwards, only for Kuririn to keep up pursuit. This was now getting on Piccolo's nerves.

"You're persistent, for a bug!" Piccolo snarled as he rolled his leg back and delivered a powerful kick to Kuririn's jaw, sending him flying away from the arena. The demon could not help but grin. "This match is over!"

"No it isn't!" Kuririn shouted as his downward descent had stopped. Anyone watching would be hard-pressed to not mentally hear a tire screech as he stopped. Kuririn rolled back and chuckled as he wiped a small dribble of blood from the corner of his mouth. "Heh, if ring-outs won't work on you, then they won't work on me either!"

"Amazing!" The announcer cheered as the two fighters returned to ground level. "At this point, I really do hope old Tsuru-Sennin forgot to visit the patent office!"

"I can confirm that!" Tenshinhan deadpanned aloud from the green room, earning a small laugh from the crowd, the loudest from Rōshi.

"Alright, you've surprised me," 'Ma Junior' chuckled. "Not by your flight, but by your durability and speed. I will confess that you are more than just a bug. To make up for that, I'll give you a little preview."

"preview?" Kuririn echoed, wondering what his opponent was planning. "So you're gonna come full force at me now?"

"More force than I was using previously," Piccolo answered. "A glimpse of Ma Junior's true power…!"

"True power, eh?" Kuririn chuckled. "Now you've got me curious. Let's see what you've got."

"Kuririn knows he's bluffing," Lunch declared with a nod.

"So you can tell also?" Caulifla inquired, turning to her green-haired friend.

"Tien taught me how to gauge the disparity between 2 fighters once they get going," Lunch elaborated. "Sure, cueball's not too tuckered out, but Big Green over there isn't winded in the slightest."

"In broad strokes, that's pretty much it," The masked lady added, observing the fight, as well as earning Caulifla and Lunch's respective attentions. "If your mind's eye is well trained, you can see the disparity before they even fight."

"Assuming one or both fighters haven't learned how to pull the wool over," Caulifla added, now confusing Lunch. Caulifla took note of this and returned her attention back to Lunch. "Key principles to Kami's training. Gokū and I'll explain to you and Tien sometime after the tournament."

"I hope you're ready," Ma Junior declared as he settled into a relaxed stance.

"Heh, As if you'd wait," Kuririn chuckled. "Show me what you got."

"Like I said, a preview. I'm not planning on killing you." 'At least not yet. You among others will be standing in the way of my goals of domination…'

Kuririn said nothing in response and kept his guard up, waiting to see what 'Ma Junior' was going to do. The reborn demon pulled his fist back, and then slung it forth. To everyone's surprise, Kuririn especially, his arm extended outward like a bungee cord. The extended hand grabbed the startled Kuririn by the ankle and proceeded to pull him back. Piccolo, meanwhile, primed his other fist, ready to deliver some hurt to this diminutive monk. Once in range, the demon delivered a massive right hook to Kuririn's jaw, sending him flying, but he was quick to rebound off the only wall of the arena and spring right back to return the favor. Piccolo feinted back and delivered a double kick to send Kuririn flying upward while also knocking the wind out of his lungs. Ma Junior sprang upward in pursuit, intending to keep up the pressure.

"Gh! I've got one shot at this…!" Kuririn grunted as he cupped his hands together. "Ka… Me… Ha… Me…"

"You lose, shrimp!" Piccolo shouted as he charged forth.

"HAAAA!"

A massive blue beam of ki enveloped Piccolo, but felt no resistance from its target. It was only after the attack was fired that the form of Ma Junior began to fade away like a ghost.

"A Zanzoken?!" Kuririn exclaimed, seeing his attack hit nothing but an after-image.

"And you were so close!"

Kuririn could not turn around in time as Piccolo delivered a merciless sledgehammer to Kuririn's bald head, sending him plummeting down to the arena, the speed easily breaking the sound barrier. No one could see the monk impact the arena, but when he did, his impact pulverized the tile he landed on and he bounced up ever so slightly from the impact. When Kuririn settled, he was not getting up, leaving everyone watching unsettled. Even Piccolo as he returned to arena level was off-put by what he had done.

"Tch, Damnit…" Piccolo growled with a click of his tongue. "A little too much power and I killed him. At least it was fun while it lasted."

Before Piccolo could depart the ring, Kuririn suddenly groaned as he pushed himself up, clearly looking worse for wear. Everyone was again surprised but now at the fact Kuririn was standing after such a brutal pummeling. The bald monk then fell back onto his backside and breathed a very tired sigh.

"I concede," Kuririn sighed as he relaxed.

"C-Contestant Kuririn has forfeited the match!" The announcer called out. "Not that I blame him! I'd probably not move for a few weeks after what he went through! Contestant Ma Junior is the winner!"

'Robust little imp, I'll give him that,' Piccolo mused mentally as he walked off-stage. 'World conquest won't come as easily as I thought, not with warriors like him. Still, at least it won't be boring…'

"Awesome job out there, buddy!" Gokū congratulated his friend as he and Caulifla helped him up.

"No kidding!" Caulifla added. "Definitely threw him for a few loops there!"

"Yeah," Kuririn sighed, smiling regardless of how dejected he felt. "I still lost though."

Ah, come on!" Gokū playfully whined in retort. "You got the first hit in! Gotta look for that silver lining, right?"

"Good point," Kuririn nodded with a chuckle. He then looked around the green room. "Hey, where'd my satchel go?"

"Right here, Kuririn," Tenshinhan answered, holding a small leather bag tied up by a small rope. "I thought it best that I hold onto the Senzu stash, since I'm already out."

"Oh right, I forgot you guys trained with Master Karin," Gokū added. "Hopefully they won't ruin your appetites once the first 4 matches are done though.~"

"...You know what? Hold onto those beans, Tien," Kuririn said as he put the bean he was just about to eat back into the bag.

"Fair enough," Tenshinhan responded with a shrug.

"You fought marvelously," The masked woman congratulated the monk, somewhat perplexing Kuririn that this stranger suddenly started singing his praises.

"Uh, thanks," Kuririn nodded sheepishly.

"No, truly," The masked woman implored. "That 'Ma Junior' character was no mere foe, and to stand toe to toe with him and come out as you did is quite a merit to your strength and skill."

"Well, when you put it that way," Kuririn chuckled in response.

"Contestants Caulifla and Anonymous, please step forth!" The announcer called out over his microphone.

"And that's our cue," Caulifla sighed, rolling her arms to loosen up.

"Go get 'em, Cauli!" Gokū cheered.

"...Cauli?" Caulifla echoed, somewhat perplexed.

"You know, short for Caulifla," Gokū clarified.

"You and your nicknames," Caulifla chuckled while shaking her head. "I kinda like it though."

With that, the two combatants walked out onto the ring and took their places. Caulifla was the first to offer a small bow, and the masked woman responded in kind.

"Contestant Caulifla is one we all remember, folks!" The announcer began. "She has shown to be a fierce fighter during the 21st Tenka'ichi Budōkai, enough so to take home the gold, and as strong as she was for the 22nd, had her chance foiled by Chi-Chi! Her opponent, opting to remain anonymous, is, well, anonymous! Who knows what techniques this mystery woman possesses!"

'I doubt you've been sitting on your hands all this time,' Caulifla mused mentally. 'This should be good.'

With that, the announcer hopped off the arena and awaited the taiko drums. With that, the two fighters settled into their respective fighting stances. Caulifla additionally wrapped her tail around her waist and steeled herself.

GONG!

"BEGIN!"

Immediately the two fighters charged forth. The masked woman feinted back with grace and slid under the left hook Caulifla threw. This was not enough to throw the Saiyan woman off and redirected her momentum to sweep her opponent's legs. The mystery woman, on the other hand, was indeed thrown off but hopped up just in time to avoid being tripped up. This proved to be her undoing as Caulifla quickly unraveled her tail and smacked it into the side of the mystery woman, sending her flying back a bit. Just as quickly as the tail was deployed, it was wrapped right back around her waist. When the masked woman skidded to a halt, Caulifla began charging forth again, not wanting to let up the pressure. Another jab was about to hit home, but instead phazed right through the mystery woman before completely vanishing.

"I'm surprised you fell for that one!" The woman shouted as she reappeared right behind Caulifla, throwing a powerful chop right towards her neck, but no impact was felt as Caulifla vanished just as she did. The Saiyan reappeared to the masked woman's side and delivered a swift knee to the gut, knocking the wind out of the woman's lungs and through her okami mask.

"You sure about that?" Caulifla countered with a smirk. "You're definitely stronger than I first guessed, that's for sure."

"The same goes for you," The mystery woman retorted. "And you're still being slowed down by training weights."

"All in due time," Caulifla sighed as she settled into her stance once more. One moment she was staring down her opponent, the next she vanished into thin air. Only a few could keep up with her movements as the Saiyan woman moved faster than the average eye could track. Suddenly, several massive gusts of wind barreled towards the mystery woman, each with the force of a cannon ball. She was able to follow where the force was, but could not track her opponent. It was not until something fuzzy brushed against the back of the mystery woman's hand that she smirked underneath her mask, and grabbed Caulifla's tail from around her waist. Immediately she reappeared and grunted as the grip was tightened around her appendage. She did not falter as she would have 6 years ago, and swiftly pivoted her hips to swing the mystery woman away, dislodging her grip from her tail.

"H-How did she know about the tail weakness?!" Rōshi gasped in astonishment. The Kame-Sennin was relieved that his student had trained herself to power through such an Achilles Heel, but there were but a few who knew that weakness. Unless...

"I see you've trained your tail, young one," The masked woman applauded with a warm chuckle. "Of course wrapping it around your waist is a good defensive strategy as well."

"You went for my tail as if you knew it was a weak spot,~" Caulifla answered, her tone betraying any indication of shock.

"Perhaps," The masked woman responded with a shrug. "But I promise this next move may come as a shock."

The woman let out a deep sigh and held her fingertips together. As she hummed with focus, a faint white-gold aura glowed around her and coalesced where her fingertips connected. She then pulled them apart, and in between were bright white-gold threads of ki that rippled almost like ramen. Caulifla was mesmerized by the technique and readied herself for what would come next.

"It can't be…" Muten Rōshi gasped. "It's the-"

"RAMEN DENKI WANA!"

Immediately the threads shot forth and ensnared Caulifla, restricting her movement. To make matters worse, several volts of electricity were being funneled into the threads, setting the Saiyan woman's nerves ablaze. Caulifla screamed as she was being electrocuted by the technique.

"You should concede soon!" The woman warned, an err of care in her voice.

"I don't think so…!" Caulifla grunted as the threads continued to electrocute her. "Two can play at that game! DENKIKEN!"

Immediately, Caulifla's fists began to spark and arch with electricity, taking the voltage from the threads and funneling them into her hands, and then dispersing all around her into an electric aura. The threads were now no longer affecting her as her electric aura was siphoning the voltage for her own use.

"Return to sender!" Caulifla shouted with a smirk, as she began to amplify the Denkiken with her own power, sending the electrical current back down the threads and right towards the masked woman. It was in a split second, but now the mystery woman's nerves were shorted, and in response, she cut the threads before more damage could be dealt. Consequently, this released Caulifla, and she threw one more kiai at the stunned woman, knocking her off her feet and skidding towards the edge of the ring.

"Amazing!" The announcer cheered. "Contestant Anonymous ensnared Contestant Caulifla in a sort of electrified net, but it seems Contestant Caulifla was able to rebound the attack right back!"

The mystery woman groaned as she got to her feet, and over on the other side of the ring, Caulifla settled into another stance, ready to react. Behind her okami mask, the woman simply smiled and folded her hands behind her back. 'You have grown so much, my dear child,' the woman thought. 'I truly am proud of you.'

"I concede."

Caulifla's stance slackened at those words as they took her by surprise. Thinking for a moment, she then smiled and dropped her stance completely before giving a curt bow.

"Contestant Anonymous has forfeited the match!" The announcer called out. "Contestant Caulifla is the winner!"

"You are truly a formidable fighter," The mystery woman congratulated, offering a hand to Caulifla.

"And you didn't pull any punches either, Menra-Sensei."

"M-Menra?!" Rōshi gasped in shock.

"Ohohoo! So you've figured it out?" The woman chuckled heartedly. "Was it the hint I dropped when we met back in the prelims?"

"Oh yeah," Caulifla nodded. "I think you can ditch the mask at this point."

"Yes, perhaps I should," The woman now confirmed to be Menra nodded as she removed her mask. Her face had shown age, but held an elderly charm about it, which was emphasized by her rippling white hair. Her eyes were a vibrant auburn and held years of experience and kindness behind them. "I am quite impressed to see how strong you've become, Caulifla."

"Thank you," Caulifla nodded, before slightly receding back and twiddling her fingers. "Um, Also, no hard feelings, right? About the full moon?"

"None at all, dear," Menra answered with a warm smile. "I knew the risks when I found out. Why you came to me should not matter. What should matter is what you do going forward."

Caulifla remembered hearing Gokū say something very similar after she had learned of her heritage. The memory threatened to water her eyes, but she smiled, and knelt down to give Menra a hug.

"I'm glad we got to clear things up," Caulifla choked out as Menra patted her back. "Thanks for showing up."

"Oh don't thank me. Thank Son Gohan for giving me the heads-up!" Menra responded cheerfully.

"I had a feeling that's why you showed up," Caulifla chuckled as she broke away from the hug.
"Uranai Baba around?"

"Sadly no. She just dropped me off here for the day."

"Right. Also, not to ruin the reunion, but we should probably clear off the ring."

"Oh! Right! Sorry about that!" Menra chuckled sheepishly as the two fighters departed the ring. "Carry on, Mr. Announcer!"

"Uh-Oh, right!" The announcer stammered with a sniffle, enraptured by the heartwarming moment. "We'll take 5 minutes before proceeding to match 4! I need a moment…"

The announcer ran off and pulled out a tissue and began to blow his nose away from the microphone. As Caulifla and Menra walked back over to the green room, they were surprised to see Muten Rōshi waiting there.

"Menra…" Rōshi muttered in an almost whisper. "Is it… Is it really you?"

"Of course it is, Michelangelo," Menra answered warmly.

"Miche-what?" Gokū tried to echo, but failed to catch the pronunciation.

"An old nickname I had back when we trained under Mutaito, lad," Rōshi explained. "Seriously, you should read more."

"Wait, is that a reference to-"

"Yes it is, Kuririn," Rōshi interrupted with a deadpan sigh. The Turtle Hermit then saw the looks his students gave him. "What?! You thought I just read those types of books?!"

"Yep."

"Uh-huh."

"Exclusively."

Rōshi simply gave a tired sigh at Caulifla, Kuririn, and Lunch's respective answers, and then nervously chuckled when he saw a bemused look from Menra. "I-uh, may have picked up some… habits, after Piccolo Daimao was sealed away. I thought you died during that conflict."

"Some things never change," Menra shrugged. "I suppose there are worse ways to mourn. I'm guessing you've been working on breaking your habits?"

"Well, at least in public," Rōshi answered in a nervous matter-of-fact tone. "Hands are being kept to myself, But I've been working on it."

"Progress is progress," Menra nodded before turning her attention to Gokū and gave a most inquisitive glare. "So you're engaged with Caulifla?"

"Uh yeah," Gokū answered nervously as he scratched the back of his head. "I hope there's no problem with that."

"Not at all, lad!~" Menra responded, shifting her tone just to watch Gokū fall back comically. "If anything, I think you two would make beautiful children.~"

"C-Could you please not?!" Caulifla stammered as her face turned beet red.

"Sorry! Had to see your reaction there!" The Ramen-Sennin laughed. She returned her attention to Gokū. "Also, Son Gohan says 'Hello.'"

"Oh, cool," Gokū smiled. "If you get the chance, could you tell him I said 'Hi' back?"

"Certainly," Menra nodded.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm gonna wait by the door," Lunch stated as she did a few stretches. "I'm gonna open up a 6-pack of whoop-ass in the arena."

"Don't down it too fast lest you stumble out yourself~," Caulifla cheekily warned.

"See, that's why I like you," Lunch said with a grin. "You've got wit that I wish I had."

"In all seriousness, don't take this fight lightly," Caulifla warned, her tone serious now. "I can already Tell Chi-Chi is going to be one Hell of a fight going in."

"I know," Lunch nodded, her tone now equally serious. "Time to put Tien's training to the test."

A/N: First off, I am terribly sorry for not updating in over a month. Kinda hit a mental roadblock along with some other real-world nonsense, so I do apologize for that. This must be how LastationLover5000 feels. :P Secondly, Holy crap! Over 1,000 follows and almost 1,000 faves! Thank you folks for sticking around. I honestly wasn't expecting these sorts of numbers at first, but yeah. Anyways, mushy gushy thank ye's out of the way, onto the story!

Kuririn gets knocked out by Big Green. Nothing special there, but Menra lives! At least for 24 hours. Kinda had to get creative with the techniques given her motif, but I think I got something that works. Also, why was Rōshi's nickname Michelangelo? I wonder...~ Alright, Ima stop being all vague and cheeky. Hopefully this was a good read. :)