My Life's stranger Than Yours

(A/N: I can't believe I wrote 50 Chapters of this nonsense, and for over 4 years going on 5!)

Stronger Than They Look; The Z-Warriors' True Power

Ranma took the initiative in the fight, launching himself forward and throwing a straight punch at Krillin. The minuscule marital artist merely smirked and stood firm. When Ranma was within striking range, Krillin merely swayed aside, dodging Ranma's attack when everything froze.

The two held their position, staying stone still until Krillin let out an impressed whistle. "Wow kid, you're better than I thought."

When Ranma launched his attack, Krillin subtly launched his own counterattack, aiming a punch right to Ranma's gut. To the Kame Student's surprise, Ranma managed to catch Krillin's fist, though only barely as Ranma could feel the stinging in his palm.

"You didn't think I'd go down that easily, did you?" Ranma taunted. Releasing his grip on Krillin's hand, Ranma vaulted himself backwards, reengaging his combat stance.

"Looks like I may have to get a little serious after all," grinned Krillin.

[]

A brilliant light shone from the village causing many lookers to scamper away. They were all familiar with this scene and likewise, didn't want to risk anyone getting hurt in the process. When the light finally died, the tatters remain of a tent fluttered in the wind as Rouge in Asura form stood before a casual Trunks who, after shielding his eyes gazed upon Rouge's curse.

"Are you the one who awakened me from my rest, child!?" she demanded.

Fully regaining his sight, Trunks could only look at Rouge in a look of astonishment. "Whoa! You have six arms and three heads!? That's awesome!"

"Are you blind boy!? I've only one head! I have three faces!" Rouge corrected.

Invading Rouge's personal space, Trunks floated up to the War Goddess and inspected her up-close. "Oh, you're right. That's still really cool."

Rouge crossed two of her arms and huffed. "Flattery won't save you boy. If you wish not to be punished for waking me, I suggest you leave now!"

Trunks let out his own huff as he landed. "Alright fine. Geeze, I just wanted to see if that water curse thing was true."

"You speak of the Springs of Jusenkyo?"

"I dunno what it's called, I just heard my friend talk about a boy who became a girl when he got wet and Videl told me you had something similar."

"Yes, I recall…that one boy who, in my time of need was able to restore my waning strength and assist me in defeating a horribly wretched thief."

"Waning strength?" Trunks raised a curious eyebrow. "Hey lady, how strong are you?"

"Strong enough to reign chaos and destruction on all those who wrong me!"

Trunks' inquisitive look, quickly turned to one of childlike intrigue. "Sweet! Hey, you wanna have a match with me!?"

Rouge broke out into a haughty, nigh condescending laugh. "I'm flattered in your high perception of me, but even I'm not merciless enough to bring my full power down on a mere child."

"Didn't you threaten to punish me earlier?"

"I was merely going to give you a spanking. Though with three arms, it certainly would've been a harsh enough punishment."

Trunks instinctively grabbed his backside and winced as the image of himself bent over Rouge's knee formed in his mind.

"I've enjoyed our chat boy, but I suggest you leave now before I decide to incite that punishment for real," Rouge threatened.

"I ain't scared of you lady," Trunks dismissively replied.

"What?"

"While it is cool that you can turn into a six-armed monster, I like my transformation a whole lot better," he boasted.

Rouge's eyes widened. "Transformation? Have you been cursed by the springs as well?"

Trunks nodded with a smirk. "Nope. This is all natural." Taking a deep breath, Trunks let out a yell and let his energy rise. Yet another brilliant flash shone from the tent followed by an intense burst of air blasting it away.

Despite the Asura's own intimidating air, she gawked wide-eyed at the child before her, his previously lavender hair now blonde and standing sharply straight up while his whole body was bathed in a golden light.

"What in…!?"

Trunks eased his aura and grinned at the cursed girl. "Whadaya think?"

"Visually, your appearance leaves much to be desired…but I can sense an incredible aura about you."

Trunks rubbed his nose and replied. "Still think I can't handle you in a match?"

Rouge stared at Trunks. For all intents and purposes, she should decline. He was a child and she didn't want to hurt him, yet at the same time, the energy she could feel from him was far beyond what a child should reasonably possess, and that was worrying.

While she was still pondering a course of action, the pair was approached by Yamcha, who'd been summoned by the villagers following the light show.

"Yo, what's goin' on over here?"

"Hey Yamcha, Rouge and I were just about to fight!"

"Huh?"

"Hold your tongue boy, I didn't agree to that."

"Aww come on, don't tell me the crazy, six-armed, fire breathing lady is scared to fight a little kid."

"Whoa Trunks," Yamcha intervened. "I think it might be best if we take a second and…."

"I don't fear you child!" Rouge interjected.

"Then why don't you prove it, unless you're actually not that strong after all?"

Rouge clenched her six fists. "It seems this child needs a harsh punishment after all. I shall teach you not to pick fights you can't win!"

"Except I'm gonna beat ya!" Trunks countered.

"Hold on you two-!" Yamcha's request fell on deaf ears as both Trunks and Rouge let their aura's flare before shooting up into the sky. Yamcha could only watch on dumbfounded as a gold streak zipped around a fiery sphere.

"I could probably handle this myself…but then again…maybe I should get Tien…."

[]

Ranma continued his offense, keeping a calm, and collected Krillin on the defensive. Still, with his superior skill, Krillin was more than capable of slipping in his own counterattacks. Though Ranma could defend against them just as easily, he took note of just how hard he had to steel himself against Krillin's attacks.

Every caught punch would need a lot of strength to keep him at bay, while every blocked punch left his wrist stinging. Ranma expected Krillin to be good, but despite the stalemate, he could tell he was holding back a great deal.

Flipping over his heel, Ranma brought his foot down upon Krillin in a fierce axe kick. The small fighter raised both forearms to defend himself and shoved Ranma back, causing him to backflip onto proper footing.

"Guess it's my turn now," Krillin smugly replied.

"Bring it on short-stuff!" Ranma taunted.

Shooting him a sharp smirk, Krillin brought both arms back at his sides and thrust them forward unleashing a slow wave of energy that Ranma casually swayed away from.

"Ummmm…was that supposed to be the Turtle Destroyer Wave or whatever?" asked a confused, neutral Ranma.

"Wait for it!"

Krillin raised his hands and the sky lit up. Ranma glanced upwards to see that Krillin's attack hadn't dissipated after missing its mark, he was guiding it upwards.

'Wait, you can do that!?' Ranma marveled.

"Hyyyyyagh-!"

Krillin slammed both arms down and the blast separated into multiple smaller waves that appeared to be homing right in on a now panicked Ranma.

"Oh crap…!"

Immediately taking evasive action, Ranma dashed away from one wave before somersaulting away from the next. With barely time to recover, he back flipped away from a third before finally getting caught off guard by the fourth blast exploding right behind him. Rolling away, Ranma vaulted back to his feet to zip away from the remainder of the attack. Though he managed to avoid any direct hits, he didn't come out unscathed as the impact of the blasts left him scorched.

Krillin eased out of his stance as Ranma's form was concealed beneath a veil of dust. Though he couldn't see Ranma, he expected him to launch his own counterattack when the dust cleared, so he kept his guard up. As the cloud began to dissipate, Ranma's silhouette gradually became clearer to the former Kame Student. Deciding to maintain his offensive, Krillin dashed in and launched a midair side-kick at Ranma. To his surprise however, Ranma's silhouette took on a ghostlike stance and Krillin wound up hitting air as he burst through the cloud.

"Huh?"

Not only had Krillin's attack missed, Ranma was nowhere to be seen. The dust had fully cleared up when Krillin flew into it, so even if Ranma had managed to avoid the attack, he still should've been visible. As Krillin scanned the surrounding area attempting to find his young opponent, a spectating Roshi wore an intrigued look as he made a starting discovery about his newest student.

'I didn't know the boy was capable of something on that level.'

"Where did he get to?" Krillin pondered.

Left, right, front, back, and above. No matter where Krillin looked, Ranma was nowhere to be seen. It was then Krillin had a horrible thought. Did he accidently use too much energy and scorch the kid to death? The moment the thought crossed his mind however, an intense, malicious aura made itself known right behind Krillin. Before he could turn to face it, he was bombarded with a large assault of attacks.

Krillin was ultimately knocked down, clutching his head and back in pain before a smug Ranma appeared from seemingly nowhere, posed triumphantly behind him.

"What the Hell was that?" Krillin asked as he got back to his feet.

"A Saotome School Secret Technique," Ranma proudly proclaimed.

"Okay, but what did you do?"

"Sorry pal, family secret. In actuality, I didn't want to use that technique, but you were startin' to force my hand."

A mischievous smirk grew onto Krillin's face as he got to his feet. "Well, glad to know I'm worth it kid, but if I'm forcin' your hand, then I guess it's best if I return it in kind!" Steeling himself, he took a familiar pose with his hands cupped to his side.

"That's the move Gohan and his brother used!" Ranma realized. Returning the expression, Ranma took his own charging pose, thrusting his hands out together. "So I finally get a chance to face this technique head-on!"

"Ka-me-ha-me...!"

Balls of light illuminated the hands of both fighters as they charged their respective attacks, steeling themselves as the ground beneath was blown away by their energy.

"Moko…Takabisha!"

"Haaaaaaa!"

A collision of yellow and blue light illuminated the fields before erupting in a blinding gleam.

[]

Not long before, Tien had pulled Akane and Videl aside to continue their evaluation. Specifically Videl's. Now that she was well rested and warmed up from the work in the village, she felt well enough to proceed.

Videl's test was extremely similar to Akane's, with Tien playing defense for the most of the fight. Blocking every attack Videl threw, Tien countered with open palm strikes before taking to the sky. Videl quickly followed him and struck with a point of impact punch, forcing a blocking Tien to recoil, though he easily recovered.

He knew Videl had learned ki control and flight from Gohan, but that was a new trick he'd yet to see. He recalled how the girls mentioned that Videl had trained with a new teacher and became intrigued. What else had she learned since they last met?

Signaling to stop, Tien and Videl both descended. "Okay girls. This time, I want both of you to come at me together." He ordered.

While Videl took a moment to stretch, Akane quickly joined her before taking a stance. Once both girls were prepared, the two of them rushed Tien who dodged them easily. As the match proceeded, Tien made numerous observations about both girls. Every blocked and avoided attack told him something new. From what he could discern, Videl's power level was significantly higher than Akane's, but Akane's physical condition was better than Videl's. While Videl had more agility with her flight capabilities, Akane had faster reflexes. An interesting contrast between the two to be sure, but certainly something he could work with. Both girls still had plenty room to grow beyond just learning the Mafuba and Tien couldn't help but wonder if he should be the one to bring them to those heights.

When the girls closed in on him, Tien let his energy flare, blowing the two back. Though they were able to keep themselves steady, they weren't ready to surrender yet. Before the match could resume though, Tien's attention was drawn to a sudden spike in energy.

"What the-?"

Jarring the thought, the sky would be illuminated a familiar reddish orange catching the girls' attention as well.

"What was that?"

"Umm Tien?"

The trio turned to find none other than Chiaoutzu standing casually before them. "We have a little problem."

"Don't tell me that Rouge…."

"Again? Seriously!?" Videl exasperated.

"Anyone else starting to get sick of this bit?" asked Akane.

The trio darted off after Chiaoutzu, asking questions about the situation. "What the Hell is Rouge doing now?" asked Tien.

"Its not just Rouge, it's Rouge and Trunks," Chiaoutzu answered.

"Should've figured that kid would be up to this!" Videl exclaimed. "I'll make sure Bulma puts that kid in lockdown!"

"Wait a second," Akane intervened. "No matter what Trunks did, he is just a child. There's no way Rouge would cause that big of a ruckus from a little kid fooling around, right?"

"You tell us, you're the one who dealt with her before," Videl snarked.

Seconds later, they returned to the village to find the villagers all staring awestruck at a giant ball of fire in the sky chasing after a small blur of light, both sides launching bright projectiles at each other. Contrary to expectations, despite the imminent danger, the villagers didn't seem to be panicking this time.

"What the hell?"

"Oh, you guys are back already?" greeted Launch.

"Launch? What happened?"

"I'm not really sure. I just remember a flash of light and then Rouge and Trunks were fighting."

"Where's Yamcha?" asked Videl.

Launch merely pointed upwards and the gang laid eyes on Yamcha casually floating away from the inferno in the sky, spectating the unfolding chaos.

"Wait here." Said Tien as he floated to Yamcha. "Yamcha!"

"Yo, you guys back already?" greeted Yamcha. "How's the training going?"

"Forget that Yamcha, what happened with Trunks and Rouge?"

"I don't know the full story, I just know that Trunks said some things, Rouge said some things, and here we are. I did consider stepping in to break them up, but I thought maybe it'd just be best to let them get it out of their system. But don't worry, I'm here to make sure things don't get out of hand!" Yamcha gave a half-hearted thumbs up.

Tien rubbed his temple. "Okay, enough, I'm ending this!" Tien floated forward into the fray, but was halted by Yamcha. "What are you doing?"

"I think it might be best to let this play out."

All three of Tien's eyes narrowed. "Yamcha, surely you realize the risks of letting them fight like this, right? If things get out of hand, they could wipe out what's left of the village before we even get a chance to rebuild."

"Dude, I told you, that's why I'm here!" Yamcha emphasized. "I know Trunks can be rowdy, but I think I can handle him, even if he is a Super Saiyan and we both know I can handle Rouge. Besides…" Yamcha reached into his pant pocket and pulled out a capsule. "Got a kettle full of water, right here."

"Even so…."

"Like I said before. It's probably best we just let them finish up now, so then we won't have to deal with it again going forward. If something else does happen in the village, better it breaks now rather than when we're almost done, right."

Pressing his fingers between his main eyes, Tien let out a sigh. He didn't like it, but he knew Yamcha had a point. Still, he wasn't about to let these two put the villagers in jeopardy again. "Wait here."

"Tien…."

"Don't worry, I won't stop them…completely." Floating between the fiery sphere and the smoky blur, Tien put his hands to the sides of his face. "Solar Flare!"

The resulting light was bright enough to outshine even Rouge's flames as she, Trunks, and many spectators shielded their eyes. When the light finally died down, Rouge turned an irritated gaze to Tien.

"You! How dare you…!"

"Save it," he dismissed. "Whatever beef you guys have I won't interfere with it. All I'm asking is that you take this fight somewhere else. With both of you throwing around so much raw power, sooner or later, someone uninvolved is going to get hurt," Tien admonished.

"Oh, is that it? That's fine by me," Trunks agreed. "I was about to finish things up here anyway."

"Surely you jest boy!" Rouge declared. "I admit you've shown remarkable power, but you're a fool to think your ki outmatch my own!"

Flipping Rouge off with a bratty smirk, Trunks snapped out, "Then put your money where your mouths are lady." before jetting off in the direction of the lake. "Catch me if you can!"

"You disrespectful little…!" Rouge let out an annoyed growl before pursuing the young hybrid.

With the pair out of sight, Tien released a calming breath before descending to the ground, accompanied by Yamcha. As much as he didn't like the risks of letting the battle continue, at the very least, it was now mitigated. Once he was back on the ground, he turned towards the girls. "Okay. Now that that's taken care of, for now at least, let's pick up where we left off, shall we?"

"Taken care of? You're just letting Rouge attack a little boy!?" Akane protested.

"It does sound bad when you put it that way, but trust me when I say, Trunks can more than handle himself against someone like her."

"He's a child!" Akane emphasized. "Having him fight an older kid is one thing, but Rouge in Asura form!? That's just insane! It took Ranma and Pantyhose Taro working together to even touch Rouge when they fought her before, and they're two of the strongest people I know!"

Tien's expression remained firm, but more relaxed. "Your concern is greatly appreciated, but ultimately not that warranted, at least as far as Trunks' wellbeing."

"How can you say that!?" Snapped Akane.

"Let's just say, Trunks isn't exactly your average kid, though I'm sure you've already noticed."

"If you're talking about him being able to fly, then that just means he learned an advanced technique, right?"

"It's more than just flight," Tien replied. "You've met Gohan's brother, right? I'm sure you've noticed that he's…special. In a sense, Trunks is the same."

Akane considered Tien's words. What exactly did he mean by special? Though she mostly only brought it up to keep Ranma in check, she still remembered the match he had with Goten. Goten may not have been taking things seriously, but the degree of power he showed was staggering. Still, that was against Ranma, a strong but reasonably normal guy. Was Tien suggesting that Trunks could match Rouge in Asura form? There's no way that could be true. Steeling herself, Akane dashed into Launch's capsule house. Seconds later, she returned with a kettle in hand. Zipping past the others, she headed towards the woods.

"Where are you going?"

"I don't know what you guys think or know what Trunks is capable of, but I won't just sit here and leave a little boy alone with someone that dangerous!" With resolve in her eye, Akane dashed into the woods.

"That girl's a stubborn one, but at least her intentions are noble," Tien noted.

Yamcha and Chiaoutzu nodded in agreement. Tien proceeded to instruct the two to resume the reconstruction with the villagers while he and Videl went after Akane. The girl in question however was briefly left behind with an inquisitive look on her face. After Akane's insistent to chase after Trunks and Rouge, a certain thought had crossed the young girl's mind, 'I know Gohan used to say I was stubborn too, but did he used to think of me like that?'

[]

Back in the field, a massive cloud of dust died down unveiling the form of Krillin and Ranma still in their firing poses, though the latter was covered in a layer of soot. A beat later, the young martial artist toppled over and crashed onto the ground, coughing out a puff of smoke.

"Welp, I guess that's that," Krillin triumphantly beamed.

Ranma sat up and dusted himself up before being extended a hand from his opponent. Begrudgingly, Ranma accepted it and let Krillin help him up.

"Well, that was quite the explosive finish," noted an approaching Roshi. "I have to say, every time I think I have a lock on your level, you still manage to surprise me boy."

"I could say the same thing about him," Ranma turned to Krillin as he dusted himself off. "I figured you'd be pretty strong being a former student of the old man here, but I didn't think you'd just completely overthrow my attack like that."

Krillin chuckled. "I may have taken a hiatus, but I still got it."

"Whatcha mean hiatus?"

"Ehhh, haven't been fighting much since 18 and I got married, but that's neither here nor there," Krillin dismissively replied. "But, back in the present, level with me. How did you disappear like that earlier."

Ranma glanced aside with a contemplative hum. "I can't give any specifics because again, it's a family secret, but in a nutshell, it's a technique that can erase the user's presence."

"Wait seriously?"

"Of course, Krillin. Don't tell me you didn't realize Ranma's energy disappeared," Roshi admonished.

"Huh…" Krillin put a finger to his chin, recalling the exchange. "Now that you mention it, I guess I did kind of miss that. I may be rustier than I thought."

"That's a bit disappointing to hear, but don't beat yourself up too much. We're both shaking off a bit of rust," said Roshi.

"I guess."

"In spite of that, it's nice to see you haven't lost a step." Roshi chuckled.

"Okay so what now Gramps?" asked Ranma.

"Right now, we call it a day. So far you've performed well…a little to well in fact. I think I need to reevaluate your regimen a little if this was too easy for you. Also, don't think I forgot about your lesson in Ki Sensing. We'll work on that first thing tomorrow."

"Sounds good to me," Ranma concurred.

"In the meantime…." Roshi picked up a cup and a pitcher. Pouring the latter's contents into the former, he then thrust it at Ranma, splashing the young fighter and forcing his transformation.

"Hey, what'd you do that for!?" she shrieked.

"Training's over for today. This was part of the deal."

"Couldn't you have waited until we got back home at least?" asked Krillin.

"A deal's a deal, so deal with it!" Roshi snapped.

Ranma sighed. 'Sad thing is, I'd still rather him than the freak.'

Once everything was packed up, Roshi and Ranma took off in the jet car while Krillin followed beside them. An absentminded Ranma stared at the airborne fighter before asking, "Hey Gramps, any chance you could teach me how to fly too? I asked Videl once and even though she said yes, we both kept forgetting about it."

Roshi stiffened. "Sorry kid, but if you wanna learn to fly, it won't be from me. I'm sure Krillin will show you if you really want, but personally, I'm not a fan."

"How come?"

"…My school has its signature techniques, Crane's school has its own."

Ranma remained silent before finally letting out an understanding "Ohhh…."

[]

After an intense dash, Akane arrived back at the lake and was instantly blinded by the resulting gleam of Rouge's flames reflecting off the surface of the lake. When she managed to see through the light, she was quickly met with a stray ki blast. Leaping away from the bright projectile, another quickly hurled right towards her. This time, it'd be deflected by Tien who appeared shortly after.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah."

"Come on, let's get a better vantage point."

Taking Akane in his arms, Tien floated upwards, away from the battle but still in clear view. The two were quickly joined by Videl and Yamcha who, after powering through the illumination, also began spectating the battle.

"Glad you guys are here. Think one of you can fly over and dump this over Rouge?" she asked holding the kettle.

"Maybe, but I don't think we're gonna, right?" Yamcha asked.

"You could've asked a bit more tactfully, but yeah," Tien concurred.

"What's wrong with you guys!? If we don't do something Trunks is going to get hurt."

"Against this chick, doubtful," said Yamcha.

"Akane, just watch. I understand how it may be hard for you to believe, but Trunks really is more than capable of handing an opponent like Rouge."

"You…can't be serious…right."

"It's true Akane," Videl finally added. "You're not wrong when you say Trunks could get hurt, but it won't be anywhere near as bad as what you're probably thinking."

"Videl…."

"Actually, consider watching this battle to be part of your training. A demonstration if you will," started Tien. "Trunks is something of a special case, but with enough time and effort…well…you'll see."

Akane followed along and watched the battle unfold. It was all she could do at this point, having all of her concerns basically ignored. She still had her doubts, but Videl's words were something she trusted. How Tien considered this training however, was beyond her. As she watched Rouge and Trunks exchange projectiles, she finally noticed something peculiar.

While watching the fight from ground level, she remembered seeing a gold blur whizz around Rouge. She assumed it was a ki blast or technique, but now looking this close up, she could see the silhouette of a person amidst the bright light, a very small person. Squinting her eyes, she gasped as she recognized the outfit Trunks was wearing.

'That gold thing was Trunks? Why is he glowing!?'

[]

"Furious Comet Blasts!"

Rouge and Trunks traded shot after shot with the former throwing literal great balls of fire and Trunks with a barrage of ki blasts. Many shots collided in the air, bursting on impact while the shots that got through the barrage merely got brushed away by bth fighters' intense aura.

Both fighters unleashed a single giant sphere of their power once again, they exploded on impact, illuminating the sky and throwing both fighters back. Rouge began panting. This battle had been going on for quite a while and it was beginning to take its toll. Trunks on the other hand seemed just as spry as he was at the start of the fight.

'How can this child keep pace with me…at this level? Does it have anything to do with his golden glow?' she pondered.

"Hey lady, you have any cooler moves? This was fun but you're starting to bore me," Trunks replied.

Rouge's response was a torrent of flame from all three mouths. Trunks simply yelled and let his energy dispel the fire.

"C'mon, I've seen the fire breath already. Show me somethin' BIG!"

Rouge clenched her fists at Trunks' provocation. Somewhere in her mind she still didn't want to unleash her full power on a child but Trunks had proven himself throughout their entire bout to be a match for her so her reservations were quickly dwindling. Ultimately, she made her choice.

"Very well boy. You want big, I'll give it to you!"

Trunks put his hands on his hips and watched intrigued as Rouge spread all six of her arms and began to wave them. Her hands started sparking with energy and with an intense twist of her body, she unleashed a volley of lightning bolts.

"Flames of the Storm!"

"Wait, why's it called that if you're shooting light-!"

BZZZZZZZZT!

With a yelp, Trunks zipped away from the falling voltage. Rouge began to spin faster launching out more bolts of lightning that Trunks continued to evade. He silently praised himself for going Super Saiyan earlier. Without the extra boost, he'd have probably gotten struck by one of the bolts by now.

[]

The resulting flash caused the spectators to shield their eyes. Taking caution, they all distanced themselves further from the battlefield. When they could all see again, the Z-Fighters watched with mild intrigue while Akane could only look in pure bewilderment. Though further away, she could still make out the golden streak that was Trunks flying and avoiding every single attack Rouge threw at him.

'How is he…keeping up?'

[]

"On second thought, maybe this is a little much," Trunks muttered.

Trunks finally halted and took aim at Rouge, but was forced on the move again by the relentless lightning. Not granted a moment to stop, Trunks resumed firing smaller ki blasts at Rouge. His efforts would be in vain as his attacks would be blocked by the nigh endless downpour of lightning.

"Maybe I should use something stronger!" Flying up above Rouge, Trunks raised his hands up to the side of his neck in a peculiar pose. Before he could make his next move however, he was blindsided by a stray lightning bolt, zapping him downwards.

[]

Akane shrieked in fear as Trunks was blasted seemingly out of the sky, but still the others seemed unfazed. Videl did look like she had a moniker of concern for the boy, but seemed similarly as dismissive as Yamcha and Tien. Their eased state would be proven fruitful as Rouge's lightning storm seemed to fade and a familiar golden glow streaked back towards her.

[]

"Now do you see child, the consequences of what happens when you trifle with an Asu-!" Rouge cut herself off with a gasp. Slowly, the funnel began to dissipate as her movements began to slow down. 'No…dammit…my power's fading…!' "But why?" Reaching to her back, Rouge felt around before letting out a distressed gasp. "No…they must've fallen off during my last attack! I need to retreat!" Rouge wouldn't be granted much retrieve as Trunks swiftly reappeared in front of her. "What?"

"How…how are you still up after that?"

"Okay, that was cool, but now it's my turn!" Trunks replied.

'Shit…I need to recharge…!' Rouge inwardly muttered. "Asura Flash!"

Rouge let her energy flare blinding a stunned Trunks (as well as the spectators) before flying back towards the village.

After regaining his eyesight, Trunks noted Rouge's retreating form. "Hey! Get back here!" Flaring his energy, the young Super Saiyan shot off after her, catching up to her in a flash and blocking her path.

"How-?"

"You didn't really think you could escape, did you?" Trunks cockily brandished. "But now, I'll show you what I can do!"

Taking the same position, Trunks set his hands aside his neck and they began glowing with purple energy. "Here's what my Dad showed me, Galick Gun!"

Thrusting his hands forward, Trunks released a violet beam of pure energy at a stunned Rouge. In her sluggish state, she was unable to dodge Trunks' blast and took it head on with a shrill scream. Purple light illuminated the sky as Rouge crashed into parts unknown. After firing, Trunks flashed a triumphant grin before striking a victorious pose and powering down out of Super Saiyan.

[]

Akane was once again left speechless at Trunks' final attack. Visually it wasn't anything too spectacular, but seeing a move like that come from a child for a second time was just too much. The whole battle left Akane with more questions than she knew how to ask. The others seemed to take the whoe event in stride remaining mostly neutral.

"Phew, glad that's over," sighed Yamcha.

"Well, I guess that's that," said Tien.

"How…what?"

"Have something to add Akane?"

"

"How did Trunks take Rouge's attack? How was he able to fire that blast? Why was he glowing gold!? And HOW THE HELL DID A LITTLE KID JUST BEAT ROUGE!?"

Yamcha casually shrugged. "What can we say. Even as kids, Saiyans are just built different."

Missin Videl's panicked expression, Akane raised an eyebrow. There was that word again. Videl said before that she shoud ask Gohan, but since it seemed like these two also knew, she decided to ask again. "Okay seriously, what the Hell is a Saiyan?"

Following Akane's question, Yamcha realized his mistake. "Oh wait, was that supposed to be a secret?"

"Yamcha!"

"Wait, so you do know what it means?" Akane turned to Videl.

Videl gave a relenting sigh and replied "Fine, I do. But still, it isn't our place to talk about it, Yamcha." The former bandit bashfully turned away as Videl continued. "Again, if you really want to know, you should ask Gohan because it's his secret to tell. All I can say is…it involves both his family and Trunks' family."

Akane's ire began to recede since she was no stranger to keeping another person's secret (even if said person seemed to abandon the secret over time). Still, her intrigue only increased as to what it could mean and how it affected Trunks' power.

"Does whatever a 'Saiyan' is have anything to do with Trunks glowing before?"

Videl only gave a small nod as Trunks approached them, grinning about his recent victory.

"Okay Trunks, have you had your fun?" asked Tien.

"Yeah, I guess. Rouge was pretty good, but I'm just better," he boasted.

"Speaking of, shouldn't we go see if Rouge is okay?" said Videl.

"Good call, but…where did she land?" asked Yamcha.

"Tien!"

Tien gasped as Chiaoutzu's voice shouted in his mind. "Chiaoutzu?"

"You guys need to get back to the village now!"

"How co-!?" "Wait a second…."

"Tien? What's wrong?"

Tien's eyes narrowed as realization began to form. "Follow me you guys,"

The others were confused but followed as Tien flew away, Akane in his arms. Tien lead the flight back to the village where everyone was gathered around a giant crater. Fortunately from what could be gathered, nobody was hurt but there was one more thing to fix in the village/ Floating above the huge indentation, the group laid their eyes on the flattened, buried form of a scorched Rouge.

"Trunks, you may have cut a bit too loose back there," said Tien.

The young boy chuckled bashfully and replied, "My bad."

[]

Moments later, Yamcha watched over a now human Rouge who rested after reapplying a new set of massage magnets to her back and giving a brief explanation on how her power diminished before Trunks' last attack hit (six arms can tire a girl out).

Trunks made his leave per Tien's request, and the young saiyan was happy to oblige. After all, he had to call Goten ASAP. Tien took the girls to resume their work on rebuilding, but assured them that the coming days would be much more straightforward.

Videl seemed to take it all in stride, but Akane remained lost deep in though. She still had too many questions about Trunks and by extension Gohan and his family. It may not have been her place to know, but after watching a little boy make child's play out of one of the most dangerous Jusenkyo curses, she couldn't not know. Videl told her to ask Gohan, but given the current situation, that seemed likely to not happen anytime soon.

'Oh well. Whatever the hell a Saiyan is, it can't be any weirder than the stuff I've dealt with.'

[]

Out there in the world, two sets of fathers and sons all unknowingly sneezed simultaneously.

(A/N: Another chapter, another mishap with Rouge. Though to be fair, it wasn't her fault this time. Not much to say except I hope you enjoy the brief little battles and shenanigans. There may be some discourse about Trunks going Super Saiyan after Rouge transformed, but I'm just going to be completely straight here and say he was just showing off. We all know he didn't need to go Super Saiyan to tango with Rouge, he just wanted to play the Transformation game with her. Conversely, it gives Akane something to think about. If Trunks could beat cursed Rouge, then what does that really say about Goten beating Ranma? Maybe she'll find out, maybe she won't. For now, training continues for Ranma and the girls.)

[PS. To that one asshole who felt compelled to comment on most of my Chapters at once, I'm only going to say this: If you were so bored of the story why the F**K DID YOU KEEP READING IT!? Not liking the story is one thing but continuing to read just to trash on it is some high tier dickery. This next part goes out to everyone. Not necessarily anyone who's been enjoying this story but to any newcomers who happen to make it this far; The goal of this story isn't to do anything deep, it's supposed to be a miscellaneous collection of adventures with Akane and Videl bonding over being similar in various ways thus merging the aspects of Ranma ½ and Dragon Ball together. Character interactions are the key to everything and the drive that keeps me writing. Any fights that happen (because they are still a necessity) will be low stakes because Ranma isn't as high scale as Dragon Ball and the Dragon Ball character being focused on is NOT one of the powerful ones (back to that one prick, as for your gripes with me trying to be funny, the first arc of Dragon Ball ended with a wish for underwear and Ranma ½ was, is, and always WILL be a comedy series, no matter how many fights happen). I can't believe I have to explain this 50 chapters in, but fine. To anyone looking for a massive all-out brawl type story, go somewhere else because you're not likely to find it here. To anyone who understands this, and has stuck around for all these years and chapters, thank you and I hope you'll continue to tune in. I may not know how I'll get to the end of this story, but I do know what the ending will be.)