Chapter Five: There's a tournament at the Islands! Find the Dragonballs or Fight?
Warning: Language, Violence, Sexual References
Kakarott hovered high above the sea, enjoying the now familiar salty
smell in the air and the warmth of the sun on his back. He watched Kuririn
down below, playing with a giant squid that had come too close to Kame
Island. It was hard to believe he'd been there a year - and it constantly
amazed him how much he'd learnt in that year. Kamesennin - or Master Roshi,
as he had told the boys to call him - was a very good fighter, and a good
teacher as well. He had so many odd and interesting ideas that Kakarott
was sure he hadn't learnt even half of what the old hermit knew. It wasn't
all Ki techniques though. Kakarott had started to learn about meditation
and falling - imagine, practicing falling - and other things he
hadn't ever thought would have an impact on the way he fought. The training
had made fighting even more fun then it had been before - and fighting
had always been what Kakarott loved best!
He heard a shout below and grinned down at his bald friend. Kuririn had finished off the squid and was calling him down to help drag it home. Seafood, now that was another nice thing about living at Kame Island. Kakarott had been thinking about that, actually. Food seemed to be different everywhere, so one day maybe he should travel around and try all the different types. Right now, though, there was squid to be dragged home, so Kakarott flew down and helped Kuririn cart the unwieldy mass back to the Island.
"Ah, you boys are earning your keep, hmm?" Kamesennin greeted them.
"Well, with Kakarott here, I doubt this'll last us till tomorrow," Kuririn grinned.
"Yes, but before you decide that's your hunting for the day, I've picked up someone who seems to be approaching the island. It's a weak Ki off that way," Kamesennin pointed towards the mainland. "I want you two to go find out who it is, okay? Invite them for dinner, perhaps."
"Okay!" Kuririn said, jumping into the air.
"But if we have a few extra hours, shouldn't we be doing training exercises?" Kakarott asked hopefully.
"You can train all you want when you get back. This shouldn't take you boys long," Kamesennin said, sitting down on the sand near his pet turtle.
"Okay," Kakarott shrugged, and flew up after Kuririn. He briefly wondered whether Master Roshi was trying to teach them something new. Some of the things he'd gotten them to do hadn't made any sense until later, and checking out a possible visitor didn't seem very important to the Saiyan.
Kakarott knew he'd been getting more powerful during the past months. Kuririn had been too, probably since Kakarott had been considerably stronger when they'd first arrived, and he'd had to train harder then Kakarott - first to catch up and then to keep up. He still hadn't caught up in terms of raw power. Kuririn had had to bone up on his tactics instead, to keep Kakarott guessing. Kakarott was intrigued at the way the other boy could come up with new techniques so readily. The one where he'd lowered his Ki till Kakarott had had to sense very carefully for his Ki's uniqueness to pick him up at all was one of the few abilities Kakarott hadn't been able to master immediately. Master Roshi said it was because Saiyans respect strength too much to want to hide how strong they were. It still was annoying when Kuririn suddenly disappeared in a match, only to catch Kakarott completely off-guard.
"Hey, Kakarott, are you awake?" Kuririn said, waving a hand in front of the other boy's face.
"Huh?" Kakarott blinked.
"I said, 'Have you ever seen a boat like that?'," Kuririn repeated, pointed down.
"No," Kakarott said after a second. He hadn't seen many boats at all, but the one below them was the oddest he'd ever seen. There weren't any sides to keep the water out - it was just a flat rectangle with a pole rising from each corner. A rail of some sort stretched around all the poles. The lone occupant sat in the middle, with no apparent baggage.
"Let's check it out," Kakarott said, his curiosity aroused.
"I'm already there," Kuririn said, rocketing downwards. Kakarott wasted no time at all in speeding after him.
The girl in the boat looked up as they were almost beside it and screamed once. Both boys halted in their tracks, surprised by the sudden noise.
"Hey, is that you, Kakarott?" She called up after a second.
"Uh, yeah," He replied, scratching his head. "Who are you?"
"What do you mean, 'Who am I?'?" The girl yelled, sounded very annoyed. "It's me! Bra! Don't tell me you've forgotten me!!"
"Oh yeah, the girl with the dragonballs!" Kuririn said, floating down and keeping pace with her boat-thing.
"Ah, I remember you. You're that nice, bald kid that cut me loose from that tree," Bra said.
"Yeah," Kuririn nodded.
"I'm afraid your name escapes me," Bra said diplomatically.
"It's Kuririn," Kuririn reminded her, "and I'm not bald. I shave my head. It's a tradition of the warriors in my kingdom."
"How come you're here, Bra?" Kakarott asked, flying down beside Kuririn.
"I'm gathering the dragonballs again," She smiled. Suddenly her eyes widened. "Hey, if you're here, does that mean Prince Vegeta is here too?"
"No, I haven't seen him since last year," Kakarott said, shaking his head.
"Last year?" Bra raised an eyebrow. "Did you get lost again?"
"No!" Kakarott yelped.
"He's been training with me," Kuririn explained. "You know, Prince Vegeta just told him to..."
"Hurry up," Bra interrupted. "My, aren't you quick? I guess that explains why you aren't wearing armour. He he he, I knew he wouldn't be able to get that amulet working again!"
"Huh?" Kakarott asked.
"Oh, the dragonball amulet I gave him last year. I thought he was going to take it," Bra giggled. "I made sure it wouldn't work. After all, even if he hadn't demanded it, I was planning on making a new and improved one."
"Oh," Kakarott said, looking at her warily. "I don't think he'll be happy."
"No, I shouldn't expect him to be," Bra said airily, "but as long as he's nowhere near me, I couldn't care less."
Kakarott shifted in the air.
Bra glanced at the island that was getting bigger by the second. "Is that old pervert still around?"
"Uh, yeah, he's been training us," Kuririn said.
"Oh, I knew that," Bra nodded, then scowled angrily. "Hey, if he tries peeking on me, I expect the two of you to bash him up for me."
"Yeah right!" Kuririn exclaimed. "He could take probably take us both on and walk away victorious."
"Yeah, he's so sneaky," Kakarott nodded.
"Speaking of old perverts," Bra muttered, noticing how close they were to the beach. Kamesennin stood very visibly at the water's edge. The black-haired girl stood up and began to mutter odd syllables under her breath. Her boat suddenly rose up and Kakarott realized it had been flying all the time - no wonder it hadn't been rocking or getting water in it. The contraption flew itself over and set down on the sand, and Bra jumped gracefully over the rails.
"Ah, hello Bra!" Kamesennin greeted her, shuffling up with a big smile on his face. Bra narrowed her eyes warily. "How nice to see you again," He continued. "That lovely Ranchi isn't with you this time?"
"No, she's not," Bra sniffed, pulling an amulet out of her tunic. It looked just like the other dragonball amulet. She started tapping the sides and surface.
"Is that a table?" He asked, pointing to the strange craft behind her.
"It was once," Bra said absently. "It's a flying table now."
"Right, and a nice table too," Kamesennin mumbled. "Are you hunting down the dragonballs again? Surely a pretty girl like you has other things to do then running around the world."
"Yes, I am hunting them again, since Kashumi made the wish last year. Besides, this year I'm prepared better," Bra grinned nastily. "Now, please leave me alone. I have to figure out where this dragonball is."
"There's one around here?" Kamesennin asked.
"Yes."
"Well, it's probably underwater then," The old man told her.
"That's no problem," Bra said. "I have an underwater cape."
"Oh," Kamesennin nodded.
"An underwater cape?" Kuririn asked.
"It's a cape with a spell on it, that lets you breathe and talk underwater," Bra explained, reaching into one of her four pouches. She pulled out a short, gray half-length cape.
"Wow, can I try it?" Kuririn asked, reaching for it.
"I guess so," Bra handed it to him. "But don't tear it! If you damage it, it won't work anymore."
"Okay!" Kuririn said, tying it on and flying off towards deeper water.
"You know, you should probably start diving tomorrow morning," Kamesennin said. "After all, you want as much time as you can get."
"I suppose I'd have to stay here the night anyway," Bra scowled.
"Yep," Kamesennin agreed a little too quickly. "Besides, you can take the boys with you tomorrow. I think I've got a couple of those capes around here somewhere."
"You do?" Kakarott asked.
"Mm hmm. Don't look so surprised. You and Kuririn may be able to hold your breath for long periods of time, but when you aren't here I have to fish for myself, and I'm too old to be messing around," Kamesennin said, adjusting the odd 'sunglasses' he always wore over his eyes. He'd named them once when Kuririn asked what they were, and said they were a present from his sister.
"Fine then," Bra decided, reaching into a pouch. She withdrew a short
stick. "I'll stay the night. I better not catch you trying to peek at me,
though, old man," She warned, pressing a small blue spot on the side of
the stick. A wave of lightning crackled over the device, indicating it
was more then just a simple stick. "Otherwise you will meet my lightning
wand in a very personal way."
After breakfast the next morning Kamesennin dug out two more underwater capes, and the small party of three set out - Bra on her flying table, the boys flying beside her. They circled around for a while until Bra decided they were pretty much exactly over the dragonball. Securing the table in the air, she pulled the cape out of her pouch and flipped off her tunic top and pants, revealing a band of purple cloth around her chest and a matching pair of short pants.
Kuririn stared at her, his mouth slightly ajar.
Bra scowled at the water, and fastened the cape around her neck. She held up her amulet and turned it on, then put a foot up onto one of the rails and jumped up and into the water. She disappeared with a splash, and didn't resurface.
"Hey, Kuririn, do you want this cape or not?" Kakarott asked, waving one of Kamesennin's capes in the Human's face. The Saiyan was already wearing the other.
"Kakarott! Did you see her?! She was only wearing those funny little clothes," Kuririn stared at the water where Bra had jumped in.
"So?"
"She was practically naked!"
"Haven't you ever seen a naked girl?" Kakarott asked, cocking his head to the side.
"No... WHAT??!! Have you?!" Kuririn spluttered in shock as he spun to face the Saiyan.
"Yeah," Kakarott said.
"... And you just say 'Yeah'?!" Kuririn's voice came out at an unusually high pitch.
Kakarott offered him the cape again. "So she's not wearing any clothes. So what?"
Kuririn suddenly plummeted into the water, sending up a huge splash that managed to drench his friend.
Kuririn broke the surface, splashing his arms around before finally levitating back up.
"You forgot to put on the cape..." Kakarott began to scold him.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'SO WHAT'?! She's naked! That's what!" Kuririn shouted.
"No, Bra wasn't naked," Kakarott corrected.
Kuririn narrowed his eyes. "Just where exactly did you see a naked girl?" He asked suspiciously.
"I was Tabelu's guard for a few years. She used to take baths sometimes when she said she couldn't wait for the rainy season," Kakarott told him.
"And how old is this Tabelu?"
"Um, about a year older than me. I think," Kakarott shrugged, indicating a distinct lack of concern.
"Oh, well, I guess if she's a fighter - and what Saiyan isn't? - she probably wasn't all that well developed, being so young and all...," Kuririn trailed off, shaking his head. "Still, Bra looks like she's got bust to spare."
"'Bust'?" Kakarott asked.
"Breasts. You know, those things on women's chests?" Kuririn made a few gestures.
"Oh," Kakarott said. He held out the cape again. "Are you going to put this on or not?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Kuririn sighed, taking the cape and fastening it on. "I can't believe you don't care about seeing a girl almost naked. Don't you know?" He asked.
"Know what?" Kakarott asked, starting to look impatient.
"Never mind," Kuririn sighed, letting himself drop into the water.
Kakarott followed him down, suppressing a familiar twinge of unease at the huge amount of water he was voluntarily lowering himself into. Kuririn waited for him to catch up, remembering that Kakarott wasn't a very good swimmer.
"Can you sense her?" Kuririn asked.
Kakarott opened and closed his mouth a few times, getting used to the idea that it wasn't going to fill with water. "Yeah, she's down that way," The Saiyan said, pointing. Kuririn nodded and swam down after her, Kakarott sticking close by.
The underwater scenery was beautiful, small fish hovering around the odd plants that grew on the rocky, uneven surfaces where there was enough light. They went deep to where the water began to get cold before noticing Bra waiting for them, treading water near a large pink coral.
"I was wondering whether you'd decided to skip out on me," Bra said, annoyed. "Come on, I've found a cave, and I'm sure the dragonball is in there!"
Without waiting for an answer she turned and swam past the pink coral and disappeared from sight. The boys followed, easily finding the opening she'd gone into. It was a small, narrow rock tunnel that led them down and down, and then, surprisingly, up. Kakarott waited patiently as Kuririn paused ahead of him before disappearing. Kakarott swam upwards and found his head surrounded by air. Kuririn stood nearby, a small Ki globe in his hand casting eerie lighting over the small cave they'd surfaced in. Kakarott eagerly climbed up onto the damp rocks, glad to be out of the water.
"Wow, how is this possible?" Kuririn asked. "We're underwater. Shouldn't this be all full of water too?"
"No, the water has trapped a pocket of air here. You see, air has mass, just like water, and like everything else in the world, so the water can't compress it any more," Bra said authoritatively.
Kuririn blinked. "Okay, I'll just take your word for it," He said.
Bra scowled. "I knew I should have brought my pouches. I thought the dragonball would be sitting on the seabed, not in some weird cave."
Kakarott created his own spherical Ki light, and pushed carefully past Kuririn and Bra. "I think there's more tunnel here," He said, finding himself very curious.
"Well then, lets not waste anymore time!" Bra declared. "Kakarott, you take point, and Kuririn can bring up the rear, since I don't have a light and I don't want to trip on anything. Move out!"
"Yes ma'am!" Kuririn said, eyeing the wet clothing clinging to her body. He sighed, glad he was behind her so she couldn't see him ogling her.
The small party, already in position, proceeded forward. The corridor continued up with a gradual slope, and then down again and started to widen. The air was moist and cloying and chilly, and Kuririn began using his Ki to heat the air when Bra began to shiver visibly. The entire journey only took a few minutes before they reached a fork. Bra glanced at her amulet.
"Okay, I think the dragonball is this way," She said, pointing to the right.
"But what's that way?" Kakarott asked, pointing to the left passage.
"Who cares?" Bra snapped.
"Can't we take a quick look?" Kakarott asked.
"Sure you can," Bra said, "as long as Kuririn stays with me."
Kakarott looked at Kuririn, who nodded acceptance of the terms. Kakarott flashed him a smile then started briskly down the left hand corridor. After about a minute of walking he found himself staring at a large lake that barred his way. It didn't appear to have a shallow area - the floor of the lake had simply dropped out.
"I wonder if this is a way out," Kakarott mused, trying to remember what the water he'd crawled out of earlier had looked like. "I guess it can't hurt to look!" He decided, checking the cape. It was secure, so he jumped in.
The water was surprisingly warm. The Saiyan created a small Ki ball in his hand for light and began to venture down, looking for an underwater tunnel. Kakarott yelped in surprise as something smooth brushed his leg. He jerked around, and almost exploded his Ki sphere as the water impeded his movements, momentarily confusing him. Calming down, he looked around quickly in case it was some sort of horrible creature. Instead, he found himself admiring an incredibly bright pink plant made almost entirely of vine-like appendages that had begun to move due to his own motion.
Something curled around his knee.
Kakarott screamed, a cry of surprise that quickly changed to anger as he reminded himself not to be scared. Kicking upwards with his legs, he turned to peer over his shoulder, increasing the size, and therefore illumination, from his Ki ball. He regarded sternly the red and white stripped thin thing that was hugging his leg, straining against his kicking. The thing tightened its grip and suddenly the skin underneath it's grasp began to burn.
With a cry of pain Kakarott launched a Ki blast at the thing, aiming beneath himself. The blast exploded, breaking the thing into two bits. Grasping the bit still attached to his leg he quickly yanked it off, gritting his teeth. Throwing the piece away - he still wasn't sure whether it was a plant or some type of animal - he examined his knee. The skin was red and blistered and ached in the salty water.
Kakarott noticed two more of the vine creatures coming upwards, weaving towards him. Ignoring the pain, he swam past them and forward, pushing his Ki ball in front to light his passage. A few more things reared their ends and where blasted into an incredibly fast retreat. Finally Kakarott ran into another rock face. Looking up he was surprised to see a light that didn't come from his Ki. Wondering what could possibly be causing it, he swam upwards, quietly breaking the water's surface and letting his Ki light fade away.
"But we aren't after your treasure!" Bra's screams immediately drew his attention. Kakarott grabbed the edge of the rock and pulled himself halfway out of the water and looked around. He was in a lake in the corner of a large cavern filled with treasure - gold coins, gold objects, gems, jewelry. Flickering torches illuminated the room, glinting off the gathered loot and leaving deep shadows to hang around the edges of the cavern. The object in the center was what drew Kakarott's attention.
There, atop a marble column, on a red velvet pillow, sat the dragonball.
"Fools! All intruders to this place must be killed!"
Kakarott's head jerked towards the noise. Six muscular, pale figures were slowly striding towards Kuririn and Bra, who were standing in the mouth of a cave.
"Hey, don't come any closer!" Kuririn yelled, stepping forward and settling into a defensive stance.
"Yeah, or he'll kick your asses!" Bra waved a fist menacingly.
Kakarott quietly pulled himself the rest of the way out of the water and snuck forward as the figures laughed. He was pleased to find that his knee was only painful, not wounded in a way that would hamper him.
"We're guarding this treasure till our Captain returns!" One of the figures declared.
"Who the hell are you, anyway? I didn't know anyone was living near Kame Island," Kuririn asked. Kakarott could sense him powering up. The Saiyan continued his careful approach, quietly climbing over the loosely piled riches.
"Oh, nobody's living near your Island," One of the pirates sneered.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!! You're ghosts!" Bra screamed, backing up further.
"Smart little lady," The pirate nodded.
Kakarott's foot slipped and he crashed to his good knee. The pirates turned.
"Hey! Thief!" One of them yelled.
Four of them immediately turned and charged him. Kakarott jumped back to his feet and shouted a battle cry, lunging towards one of them. Kakarott ducked the sweep of a ghostly scimitar, then launched a fist into the stomach of the pirate.
The fist went through him.
As did Kakarott's arm, and finally the boy himself as his momentum carried him forward. Kakarott landed flat on his face and quickly rolled to the side, just missing being skewered.
A second pirate sent a kick at the Saiyan's chin as he started to get up. The kick landed very solidly indeed, and sent Kakarott staggering backwards.
Kakarott narrowed his eyes and wiped the blood off his face. The pirates began to attack in earnest, and he used all his training to avoid the blows of four fanatical attackers.
"Shimatta! I can't win if I'm not attacking," Kakarott muttered to himself. He shot a Ki blast a one of them, but it went through and the ghost laughed mockingly.
Another pirate punched at his face and Kakarott instinctively brought up an arm to guard. For an instant, he guarded successfully, then the pirate's fist went through his arm and Kakarott leapt sideways, carefully dodging a sword swing as he passed through one of the other pirates.
He didn't see the third pirate until it was almost too late to dodge the sword blow. Kakarott wound up with a slice across his upper arm instead of a quick amputation job, and he snarled at the pirate.
"Ha ha ha!" The pirate chortled. "The living are no danger to us! We can hit you, but your bodies pass right through us!"
Kakarott narrowed his eyes, then dropped his hands. "Yeah, I guess you're right," He said dejectedly, noting Kuririn and Bra dodging blows from the other two pirates out of the corner of his eye.
"Ha ha ha!" The pirate laughed again. "Dieeeeeeeeeeee!"
With a scream the ghost lunged at Kakarott, his scimitar jabbing forward. Kakarott threw himself to the side at the last possible moment, simultaneously releasing a stream of Ki from one hand. The ghost screamed as he looked in horror at the hole in his chest. The other five pirates paused in their attack, looking on in shock. The ghost screamed once more as it dissipated, fizzling away into nothing.
Kakarott grinned and ran at a second pirate. The ghost growled and swung his sword. Kakarott twisted, smashing a fist into the pirate's hand just as the blow was about to hit him. It connected. The scimitar left the ghost's hand and disappeared.
"You little thief!" The pirate yelled. The scimitar faded, but to Kakarott's surprise the ghost pulled it out of his sheath and sneered.
"You can't disarm a ghost!" It yelled.
"Kuririn! Attack as they're about to hit you! They go solid for a moment!" Kakarott shouted.
"What?" Kuririn shouted, busily jumping over a kick. Frowning, the boy created a small Kienzen attack, then waited for his kick-happy opponent to make another move. The pirate ghost launched a roundhouse kick at the boy's head, and was shocked to find his head half sliced off. The ghost screamed and faded away.
"All right!" Kuririn whooped. "Hey! Stop picking on girls!" He yelled at the pirate trying to take Bra's head off. The ghost turned and lunged at Kuririn, trying to run him through, but Kuririn was expecting an attack and jumped over it. The follow-up punch, however, sent him staggering backwards. Growling, he dodged another sword swipe, letting lose with a Ki blast that went through the ghost.
Laughing maniacally, the ghost took another swipe at him, only to collapse forward onto it's face as Bra smashed a gold goblet into the back of it's head.
"Ha!" She yelled triumphantly. "Don't you ever make comments about my clothes again!"
"Yes ma'am!" Kuririn yelled immediately.
"Huh?" Bra looked at him bewildered. Kuririn coloured as he realized she had been speaking to the ghost, and the boy gave himself a mental kick.
"Gotta help Kakarott!" Kuririn said quickly, and raced off towards the Saiyan.
Kakarott was down to two pirates, but they had wised up to his tactics and were only attacking with their swords, feigning attacks and trading off between them to keep him from hitting at the crucial moment.
Snarling, the Saiyan dodged another sword blow, his retaliating Ki blast coming a bit too late to connect. Kakarott sidestepped an attack from behind, and was pleasantly surprised to hear the pirate scream in anguish as a Kienzen passed him. He turned to watch it disintegrate, throwing a grin to Kuririn. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the remaining ghost ready a desperate last attack.
With a cry the pirate lunged. Kakarott yelled his own battle cry, jumping forward. Time seemed to slow down as he watched the scimitar come closer, and at the last moment Kakarott used his flight technique to move himself just right of the blade, lifting his arm upwards so the sword would pass between them, and free hand he sent a Ki blast at the ghost's head.
Without a cry the ghost vanished.
"Ha!" Kakarott yelled.
"Good riddance," Bra scowled. "What stupid things! They're dead so why are they still protecting their stupid treasure?"
"Stupid it may be, but treasure it still is," Kuririn said happily, inspecting several gold coins before shoving them in his gi and going back for more.
"Whatever," Bra sniffed. She walked over to the pillar and inspected the dragonball. "Hmm, these things seem to be more and more trouble every year."
"How many years have you been after them?" Kakarott asked, walking up beside her.
"Well, this is the second year, but last time I had three before I started running into problems and weirdos," Bra mused.
She picked up the dragonball.
The cave shuddered.
"What the hell was that?" Bra shrieked.
There was a low rumble, and the cavern began shaking. Small pebbles dropped from the ceiling, then larger rocks.
"I think the cave is collapsing!" Kuririn yelled.
"Oh my Kami!! Kuso!" Bra swore. "We've gotta move it!"
She took one step towards the entrance then stopped. "Oh no! The labyrinth! We'll never get out in time! We're doomed! I'm gonna be buried alive! My parents will never forgive me! Damn it! I'm too pretty to die so young!"
"Um, Bra? We can get out this way!" Kakarott ignored her tirade, grabbing her wrist and pulling her towards the watery tunnel he'd come through. Kuririn dodged several falling rocks as he made his way after them. Kakarott pushed Bra into the narrow watery opening and was about to follow when there was a huge roar.
The trio turned to see the entrance to the labyrinth completely full of boulders. The shaking stopped.
"Huh? Is that it?" Bra asked, looking around.
"Gosh, I'm glad we didn't try and get out that way," Kuririn said.
"I guess they didn't know about the underwater tunnel," Kakarott said.
"They got that booby trap for the dragonball rigged up in a year?" Bra said angrily. "I don't believe it."
"Maybe they knew how special dragonballs are," Kuririn scratched his eyebrow.
"Hmph," Bra snorted. "Okay, Kakarott. This puddle here is a tunnel, huh?"
"That's right," Kakarott nodded.
"Good. Let's go," Bra said, grabbing the edge to push herself down.
"But we haven't looted yet!" Kuririn protested.
"And my cape has a tear in it," Kakarott said.
Bra sighed and began to pull herself out of the water. "Kuririn, you
have until I fix his cape."
Bra didn't actually leave until the next day. It was early morning, the sun still low on the horizon as Kamesennin, his turtle, and the boys saw her off.
"Are you sure you won't come?" Bra asked one more time. "What if I run into more idiots who are trying to kill me? I'll need two brave warriors!"
"Sorry, Bra, but you'll have you use your lightning wand," Kakarott said. "Kuririn and I have been training for this tournament for almost a year now."
"Yeah, we have to go and show them how good we are," Kuririn nodded.
"Fine, but if I die, I'm coming back to haunt you," Bra said crossly.
"Oh no!" Kakarott made a face.
"Are you mocking me?" Bra rounded on him.
"No, I'm really scared!" Kakarott said, holding both of his hands up in a gesture of peace.
"Sure you are," Bra scowled. "Well then. Good luck, I suppose."
"Hey Bra?" Kuririn stepped forward.
"What?" She asked.
"Can I, um, have a scarf or something of yours?" Kuririn said, blushing slightly.
"Huh? You want to fight wearing my colours?" Bra giggled.
"Yeah," Kuririn said, going a brighter shade of red.
"Okay," She smiled, reaching into a pouch. She pulled out a light blue piece of shiny cloth. "Here you are!" She said, tucking it into his gi.
"Th..thanks!" He stuttered.
"Hmm, maybe I'll invite you guys to my wedding. It won't be for a few more years, of course, he he," Bra laughed, all smiles.
"Good hunting, Bra," Kamesennin bid her.
"Thanks, old man," Bra waved, then vaulted onto her table.
"Hmph," Kamesennin snorted.
"Bye, Bra!" Kakarott called, waving as the table took off and began it's careful voyage back across the sea.
"Bye, Bra!" Kuririn joined him.
"Bye guys!" Bra yelled back.
The boys would have watched until she was out of sight, but Kamesennin
called them to their exercises.
Two days later, Kakarott and Kuririn returned from hunting to find they had some more visitors. Vegeta and Radditz stood on the beach, watching the two come in, while Kamesennin stood behind them, visibly annoyed.
"Well, Kakarott, your fight seems to be taking quite some time," Vegeta greeted them.
"Um, hi, Vegeta-sama. Hi, Radditz," Kakarott said, dropping the fish he was carrying onto the beach.
"Do you have any idea how long it's taken us to track you down?" Radditz asked crossly.
"Where does your little bitch friend live?" Vegeta asked before Kakarott could answer. He held up Bra's old amulet. "This doesn't seem to be working."
"I don't know where Bra lives," Kakarott shrugged.
Vegeta growled. "You don't even know what kingdom she's from?"
"Oh, she's from Capsule Kingdom," Kakarott said.
"Figures. Meddling sorcerers. The one kingdom Father thinks it's worth not agitating," Vegeta grumbled. "Still, did she just give up on her quest? She's not at all interested in getting this back?" He bounced the amulet on it's cord.
Kakarott and Kuririn exchanged glances.
"What?" Vegeta demanded, noticing them.
"Bra made a new amulet, Vegeta-sama," Kakarott sighed. "You missed her, she came by two days ago."
"WHAT?!"
"There was a dragonball underwater near the island," Kuririn said.
"That bitch tricked me!" Vegeta roared.
"I'd say so, young Prince," Kamesennin interrupted. "But there's not much point getting so worked up about it."
Vegeta spun around and sent a Ki blast at Kamesennin's head. The old hermit knocked it aside easily.
"Who the hell are you anyway?" Vegeta snapped.
"I'm Kamesennin," He introduced himself.
"Hmph," Vegeta blinked, somewhat surprised that the old geezer was a living legend. An old living legend. "Well, come on, Kakarott."
"Where?" The younger boy asked.
"We're going to track down that girl," Vegeta declared hotly.
"What about the tournament?" Kakarott complained.
"Tournament?" Vegeta snarled.
"The Island tournament. It's on every five years on the islands south of here. Kuririn and I were going to participate," Kakarott explained.
"Yeah, the dragonballs can be used every year, but this fight only comes once every five," Kuririn pointed out.
"Every year?" Vegeta raised an eyebrow. He subsided a bit, his fist leaning against his chin as he thought. "Fine," He declared. "We'll fight in the tournament, then go after her."
"We?" Kamesennin asked.
"Of course. I'm going to fight in the tournament as well," Vegeta sneered.
"Great," Kamesennin sighed. "Well, you made it in good time. We're leaving
for the islands tomorrow."
- Finis Chapter 5 -
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