Dragon Ball ½
Chapter 1
By: Aarashi
Notes:
Disclaimer: DBZ belongs to Akira Toriyama (and some other dipshits, a.k.a. Funimation) and Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.
The Brochure
Chi-Chi was cleaning out some old papers in her house. She wandered over to a desk & pulled open a drawer, and pulled everything out. A pencil was left inside, so she reached her hand in to get it.
Her hand brushed against the pencil, making it roll away, but when she reached back for it, she felt a corner of paper.
"What's this?" Chi-Chi questioned the air, as she felt around the paper more.
After a short period of peeling the paper off the drawer bottom, she looked at the slightly worn paper.
It wasn't written in something she could understand, it was all in Chinese… Except for a word up at the top. She could understand only one word on what appeared to be a brochure of some kind.
"Jusenkyo?"
-----
After a little bit of translating, Chi-Chi had discovered that it was a brochure. She didn't bother translating all of it, but she did some of it, and it seemed like a brochure. She read the translated part over again.
The Cursed Springs of
Jusenkyo
Come and train!
There was still one part that confused her. How could a spring be cursed?
Chi-Chi glanced at the small picture of the springs again. They looked like ordinary pools of water, with ordinary bamboo poles. Why would it say they were cursed?
The door opened.
"Hey Chi-Chi! We're home!" Goku announced as he & Gohan walked in the door. "What's for dinner?"
Chi-Chi held up the Jusenkyo paper. "Look, I found a brochure when I was cleaning."
Goku walked over to her & looked at it. She told then what she had translated.
"The cursed springs? Are you sure?" Gohan questioned.
"That's what it says, Gohan!" Goku carelessly said. "Maybe they made a mistake?"
"Oh, I don't know. Let's just forget about it and eat dinner." Chi-Chi said, setting the paper down.
"I think it looks fun. I'll ask Vegeta to train with me tomorrow! Want to come with, Gohan?"
"Sure, dad…"
-------
Early the next morning, Goku woke Gohan up and they flew over to Capsule Corps.
"Hey Bulma, where's Vegeta?" Goku asked a slightly sleepy Bulma.
"Oooh, that man… Where else would he be? He's locked himself in the gravity room." Bulma replied, apparently slightly angry at the mention of the Saiya-jin prince.
"Gee, Bulma, thanks!" Thanked Goku, and he and Gohan headed to the gravity room.
Goku knocked on the door to the room. "Vegeta?"
No response.
Goku knocked again. "Vegeta, you answer me!"
Silence.
Then… "Vegeta, you answer me now or I'll bust this door down!"
A hesitated pause. "What do you want, Kakkorott?" Vegeta mumbled, opening the door & exiting the room.
"Want to train with Gohan and me? Chi-Chi found a brochure
to some training grounds in
"I don't want to go anywhere that demon woman found." Vegeta replied, in such a way that implied he was wasting his time.
"Aw, come on, Vegeta! Chi-Chi isn't that bad!"
Vegeta snorted. "Hn."
"So, do ya wanna come train with us?"
"All right, fine. Where is it again?"
"It's in
Walking away from the gravity room, they passed Bulma.
"Do you guys need anything?"
"No, Bulma, I think we're fine." Gohan replied.
"Okay, get lots of training in!" She waved, calling to the trio as they flew towards their destination.
-------
-Later, at the Jusenkyo grounds in
"THIS is what you call training grounds, Kakkorott?!" Vegeta's eyes looked like they might pop out of his head.
"What's wrong with it?"
"This is NOTHING! Nothing! It's a bunch of sticks in puddles of water! How is this challenging?!"
"I dunno! But on the brochure, they called it the 'Cursed Springs of Jusenkyo'."
Vegeta stopped his ranting. "Cursed?"
Goku nodded. "Uh-huh!"
"Who would do a stupid thing like that to attract visitors? I don't believe that even these stupid human weaklings would believe such nonsense."
Goku put a hand behind his head. "Gee, Vegeta, I've been wondering why they said 'cursed' myself!" He put on a classic Son smile and laughed a bit.
"Dad… I've been wondering that too. What if the water really is cursed?"
Vegeta smirked. "Even if that stupid lie is true, I'll prove that it wouldn't affect a saiya-jin!" He started walking towards the springs, but was interrupted.
"Sirs! What you doing here?!" Shouted the ever-present Jusenkyo guide, running towards Goku and Gohan.
"Uhh, well, you see, we're here to train!" A slightly confused Goku replied.
"Don't sirs know that curse springs dangerous?!"
"Well, no, not really… You mean they actually are cursed?"
The guide nodded feverently. "Unlucky is the sir who fall into cursed water of Jusenkyo."
Vegeta stayed silent, but Gohan spoke up.
"Is that why there's no one here?"
Again, the guide nodded. "Anyone who fall in curse spring take body of what drown there last."
"Whoa… So, that's the curse? You stay like that forever?" A fairly amazed Goku asked.
The guide shook his head no. "I is not telling sirs, for sirs what should be leaving right now."
Goku looked toward Vegeta. "What do you think, Vegeta? Should we go spar somewhere else?"
Vegeta crossed his arms and raised his nose a bit. "I don't know about you, but I'm the Prince of all Saiya-jins, and I'm not going to be afraid of any water!" The Prince said rather arrogantly. The guide stood there looking confused.
"Ve — Vegeta, you aren't gonna get in one of those springs… are you?" Goku asked, while Gohan stood there blinking.
"Of course I am, idiot. I'll prove that the stupid curse is all a lie." Vegeta started walking towards one of the springs again.
The guide recovered himself, and began to dash towards Vegeta. "No! No sir, you can't!" He stopped running when Vegeta stepped to the edge of the spring, and peeled off his shirt, gloves, and boots.
"Vegeta! Listen to him! Don't do that!" Gohan moved closer to the guide and Vegeta, Goku followed.
Vegeta turned away from the spring, smirked at them, and proceeded to move further into the masses of pools. He stopped at one closely surrounded by other springs. Goku, Gohan, and the guide cautiously followed him.
"Um… Vegeta? I really don't think you should…" Goku cautiously told the arrogant prince.
Vegeta turned towards them once again. "Oh, come one Kakkorott! Please don't tell me you believe that stupid fairy tale."
Goku remained silent.
"Sir… please do not get in spring!" The guide trembled a little.
Gohan bit his lip.
Vegeta smirked and them one more time, turned back to the spring, and – splash!
"OH NO!!" The guide moaned.
…Jusenkyo had claimed its first victim.
Note:
~Aarashi