Chapter Nine
"...So, that's pretty much the whole thing in a nutshell," said Kinira, standing in the middle of Hercule's living room, Videl unconcious on the couch, Hercule shaking violently with that stupid scarred expression he always gets on his face (the one with snot dripping out of his nose), and reporters all around the room, for no apparent reason. She smirked, "I trust, Hercule, that you still remember me?" Hercule gasped; Kinira smirked. "That's right--after seven years of your fanfare, I've come back for my revenge. Haha--y'know, if there's one thing that I can't stand, it's dishonesty, and you've lied to the public enough, Hercule; I'm really sick of it. It's time to let them know what really happened those seven years ago, don't you think so?"
Hercule said nothing, just stared with that stupid expression on his face. This is impossible...! he thought. No way... This kid looks just like that little shrimpy twirp from the Cell Games--but there's no way she'd be alive, or at least looking for me!
"May I?" The spiky-haired girl snapped Hercule out of his thoughts with those words, gesturing to the very expensive sofa.
"Oh..." said Hercule. "Y-Yeah--sure--why not?--go...a-ahead..." She sat down and crossed her legs, smirking all the time. I can't believe it! Can this kid really be the shrimp from the Cell Games...? Oh--please don't let it be her--she was the one who defeated Cell; her and that other blonde kid... The one wh-who used those f-fancy light tricks...
Suddenly a reporter with curly blonde hair jumped in with a microphone and a camera man, "So, tell me about yourself! Now, we've looked over that DVD of the Cell Games that we got from you--it was you who gave it to us, wasn't it?"
"That's right, it was me. Did you like it?" she asked politely, ignoring Hercule.
"Oh--very much so--thank you!" The reporter sat down next to Kinira. "Since we have looked at that DVD, we've noticed that there's quite a similarity between you and that adorable little spiky-haired girl that fought in the Cell Games--the one who really defeated Cell?"(The word 'really' was said in a sneer towards Hercule.) "Isn't it true that the little girl was actually you seven years ago?"
Kinira nodded, "Yes, it is. That little girl was me."
A silence broke across the room, but was quickly interrupted by the sound of reporters muttering. Another reporter pushed the blonde aside and asked, "So, after all these years you've come back for revenge on the one who stole your glory after all these years!" he said in a very dramatic, theater like voice. "Tell me, what were those bright lights that you had? Hercule told us all that they were nothing but tricks, but let's hear the real story, eh?"
Kinira smiled, "Sure--and for the record, no, they weren't light tricks. Spawn--er--Videl had to figure it out for herself, apparently."
The brown-haired reporter took out a notepad as the camera man zoomed in. "So, what were they, exactly?"
"It was just our energy." When she got no response from this, she continued. "Uh... Well, think of it this way--every living thing has energy, and they use it in different ways--for example, you use it to deliver the truth to the naive public(^v^). Those lights weren't really lights at all--it was just us controlling our energy and forcing it into big ki blasts that--if we wanted to--have the strength to destroy planets, and even galaxies if we had enough. Anybody can do it, really--but, then again, we've climed the evolution ladder so much that ki blasts are practically child's play for us. Here, I'll show you!"
She held up her left hand. "It's easy. All you have to do is just concentrate on your energy and find your center. Focus on it untill you feel a pull, and just will it to come out, like this!" A little sphere of gold light slowly appeared in the air above her palm, glowing with a warm light. "See? Totally simple," she said. "Flying is pretty much like this, too, but instead of in front of you, you just force the energy to stay right in your center, and bring it up--you'll just come up with it," she said, repeating what her mother had said when she was first teaching her how to fly. She closed her palm, making the little bit of energy disappear.
"This is amazing--can all people do that?" asked another reporter.
"How long would it take for someone like me to do something like that?" asked another.
"How long would it take for an average person to fly and control energy?"
"What about you? How lond did it take you to learn this?"
"Whoa-whoa-whoa! Slow down here," said Kinira, holding her hands up in defense. "Firstly, ma'am, you've got a small power level, so I'm not really sure. Secondly, almost all of the human populous are weak, and I have no idea if they have the dedication to work with their naturally weak body systems and structures. And thirdly, I've been doing ki blasts since I was two."
"But how long would it take the average person to do it?" asked the same curly haired blonde.
"Apples and oranges, baby. I'm gifted--you can't compare me to them! However, if I had to guess, I'd say many, many years for all humans to be able to fly like I do. They need to have studied martial arts for years before you could fly! It's just in the blood of my race."
The reporter opened her mouth to ask another question, but was cut off by Kinira standing up and saying "Well, I'd love to stay--I really would--but it's passed my bedtime--and if my Dad caught me out of bed, he'd have my head for sure! Hahaha! But, seriously, it was nice meeting you, and I'll see you at the WMAT!"
Kinira, too, was looking forward to seeing Goku, but not for the same reasons that Vegeta was. She wanted to see him just for the sake of seeing him--Kinira actually liked Goku, and it drove Vegeta crazy most of the time. But who wouldn't like him?(We know, we know--Vegeta!). All she knew was that she couldn't wait to get to the WMAT--it was what she had been waiting for all year.
Once they arrived there with Krillin's family, the Son family, Yamcha and Puar, Master Roshi, Piccolo, Bulma, and Oolong, they were all immidiately swept into a sea of people, tourists and fighters alike. They wouldn't be any of a threat, though--the only threats they had were their friends, and Goku when he showed up.
"Where do you think Goku is?" asked Bulma to everyone.
"He should be here by now; I wonder if he's already registered...?" said Yamcha.
"Nah," said Gohan, adjusting his black sunglasses so that no one would see his eyes. "I doubt that he'd register without us."
"I can't wait to see him, again!" said Kinira honestly, seeing Vegeta roll his eyes out of the corner of her eye. "It's been so long--d'ya think he changed at all?"
"I highly doubt that," said Oolong. "Far as I'm concerned, the only thing that ever changes about him is his power level."
"And I'm sure that his love for food won't ever change!" joked Krillin, making everyone but Vegeta laugh.
"Hey--there you guys are!" came a familiar voice from behind them. They all turned around to see Baba sitting on her floating crystal ball, right next to the goofy and carefree Saiyan they had for so long called their own.
Everyone's mouth dropped. "Whoa! No way--Goku...!" said Yamcha unbelieving.
"Hahaha--Dad, you're...back!" said Gohan, tears almost forming behind his dark glasses.
Krillin was on the verge of tears, biting his lip. "Goku..."
"Oh, Goku, I can't believe you're here...!" said Kinira, clenching her fists in excitement, also close to tears.
"Well?" asked Goku, almost laughing. "Are you just gonna stand and gawk at me all day?"
"Goku!!!" everyone yelled as they all sprinted up to him, all getting a hug in here and there.
Goku saw the change in his son from the last time he saw him almost immediately. The once small boy was now a tall teenager wearing that rediculous green tunic thing. "Wow--would ya look at you guys? Gohan, you're giant!"
Gohan laughed slightly at the remark. "Yeah, guess I am..."
The next person Goku noticed was a short little man with straight black hair, "Krillin??? No way!"
Krillin laughed heartily. "Yup, it's me, alright! Hey--I know I've changed, but look at who else has changed," he said, gesturing to a skinny girl with long black spiky hair. She wore a pair of worn blue jeans, a light blue halter-top patterned with big checks, and a red ribbong tying back her hair in a pony-tail that made it spike out like a porcupine--even then it was long enough to fall to her waist, a yellow duffle bag hanging over her shoulder. Goku knew that he knew this girl, but just couldn't place who she was; that is, until he saw the shoes she was wearing--black combat boots.
"No way!" he shouted in disbelief. "Kinira--is that really you?"
"Sure is!" she said proudly. "Didn't recognize me, did you?"
"Hahaha--Man, where've I been? All of you changed so much!"
"I've missed you, Goku..." said Chichi.
"... And I've missed you, Chichi," said Goku. He then noticed a little boy, "Hey, I think there's a little me behind your leg, Chichi."
"Uhm..." said the little boy. "I'm Goten."
Goku made his way passed the human wall that surrounded him, "And I'm Goku."
There was a long silence before Goten finally came out. "Daddy!" he yelled, running up into Goku's arms.
"Whoa, there!" He held Goten on his shoulder, "Hey, li'l fella; boy, you're a strong one, aren't ya? Ahahahahahaha!"
"Aww--how sweet," said Bulma.
"Good idea," said Kinira. She turned to Bulma and gave her a hug, "I'm outtie! Wish me luck, 'kay?"
"You make sure and cheer for your daddy, okay?" asked Krillin, tossling Marron's hair. "Yamcha, aren't you fighting, too?"
"Nah, I gave up fighting. Besides, you guys would kick my butt!" Everyone laughed. With those words, everyone else said their good byes and parted from their friends to go to the registration booth. It wasn't long before they reached it when Kinira was stopped by her friends.
"You guys go on ahead, I'll catch up in a sec," said Kinira. "So, what's up girls?"
"We just wanted to wish you luck," said Freya as she and the others pulled out what seemed to be flags and fans. "And there's one more thing we'd like to do..." They opened the white, red-dotted fans and waved flags that had little anime-ish drawings of Kinira on it.
"GO! GO! KINIRA, GO!!! KINIRA-KINIRA-GO-GO-GO!!!" everyone cheered, waving the flags and fans.
"HIP-HIP-HOORAY!!!" said San. "And the best part is: Jiji has press passes for all of us! We can get in just like you, and spend this super special day with you. Jiji's doing the field stuff, and Aki's managing the camera."
"And we are now rolling--smile for the camera, you guys!" said Aki, holding a big tv camera.
Jiji appeared in front of the camera, holding an old microphone. "Hello and welcome to our very first live broadcast for The Veritas! I'm Jiji Banks, and I'm here with our very own Kinira Sei, the only one in R.D.I. history to actually cause the whole remodel of the institute in one week. Now, she and our own Trunks Booldur are putting their strengths to the test here at the World Martial Arts Tournament! Kinira, do you have something to say?" Aki brought in a close-up of Kinira. "Come on, now, there must be something you wanna say to the whole school--and remember that this is live."
"Trunks is here?" she asked. That's right--I forgot that he'd be here! Oh...I hope that he won't run into my Dad. But--wait--his last name is Booldur...? ... ...That's a Saiyan name...!
"Hehehe... Kinira, this is live. Say something!"
Kinira laughed slightly, "Whatever, Jiji, I'll give you an interview later; promise. I've gotta go register--my Dad and the others just left without me! C'mon, you can see me sign up."
"By the way, your aunt told me to give you this. Said she completely forgot about it," said Jiji, handing Kinira a pretty wrapped package with purple ribbon.
"Uh... Cool, but what's it for? Ah--never mind, I'll just put it in my bag," and she did just that. "C'mon, let's go sign up!" Kinira ran up to the registration booth.
"B-But, Kinira--aren't you going to--?"
She ran to the registration booth and slammed her hand down on the desk, "My name is Kinira Sei--I'll be the winner of this tournament!"
"Uh... Well, that may be, Miss, but you'll have to fill this out before we can let you go any further."
"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure. Let's see... Name: Kinira Sei...age fifteen...occupation student-slash-singer-slash-fighter..."
"Kinira--would you listen, already?" asked Rochelle.
"Not now, Rochelle, you can tell me later!" She turned back to the registers, "Sorry 'bout that, here's my form."
"Thank you, Miss Sei. Hmm... Everything appears to be in order... Well, one more for the Junior Division."
"... Excuse me?" asked Kinira.
"Yes--all participants from ages five to fifteen are in the Junior Division of the Tournament. The participants of ages sixteen and up compete in the Adult Division."
"Uh... Thanks, but I'll take the Adult Division," she said, now getting annoyed.
The worker adjusted his black cap, "I'm afraid that we can't do that, Miss Sei. It would be against the Tournament policy."
"WHAT?!!!" screamed Kinira. "Look, pal--I DEMAND THAT YOU PUT ME IN THE ADULT DIVISION, AND I AM NOT LEAVING UNTILL YOU DO!!!"
"B-But--I'm afraid that we can't--Wait!"
"What is it?" asked Kinira.
"According to this, today is your sixteenth birthday! Well--that means you can compete in the Adult division!"
"WHAT?!" Kinira snatched the form back. "Oh my Kame..."
"Uh--Miss--I need that back."
"That's what we were trying to tell you, Kinira," said Rochelle. "Don't tell me you forgot your own birthday!"
"Uh... I guess I can compete with the adults after all..."
She found the Z team easily. "Hey, sorry I'm late!" she said. "What's this big long line for?"
Before anyone could answer, Hercule came out and began doing some fancy poses for the crowd("Our hero!" said Krillin in fake awe, making everyone laugh.). Hercule punched the 'Strength Recording Machine' and got a mark of 118. He threw his head back and laughed, "I hope that some of you will get at least over a hundred so we can have a decent match! Ahahahahaha!" He caught sight of Kinira and suddenly froze like he always did("Aki, please tell me you're getting this!!!" whispered Jiji in excitement.); he shuffled off with that same expression locked on his face, leaving the crowd in silence.
"Tch--what a loser." Kinira heard a familiar voice mutter in the crowd. She looked over her shoulder and saw Trunks in the crowd, staring right at where Hercule had been. The way his soft lavender hair blew in the breeze, the way his striking blue eyes looked so intense like that, wearing that blue Capsule Corp. jacket, tight black shirt, black pants and orange boots--he looked so incredably handsome!
Man, he has never looked more attractive than he does now! Oh, boy, if my father wasn't standing right behind me I'd... She was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of names being called off. Aahh! Impure thoughts!!! ...Ah, what am I thinking? Dad's always looking over my shoulder--but at least he's the coolest Dad in the Universe. Oh--except for when he grounds me, and especially with that blindfolded training thingy--that was baaaaaaad!!! Eh, at least I'm stronger. ...Now I'm even starting to sound like Dad! Wow--that's creepy!
"Miss...Eighteen," called off a worker.
"Now, remember, take it easy!" whispered Krillin as Eighteen made her way up to the Punching machine. She tapped it lightly with the back of her hand.
"Er..." muttered a worker. "Strength level of...763...? ... ...Uh, perhaps the pressure is all wrong--would you like to try again, Miss?"
"You call that taking it easy?!" whispered Krillin in anger.
Eighteen growled under her breath. "It's not my fault that these people are weaklings," she whispered back. She tapped it again, leaving the score at a still high 287 points.
"Er... Well, I suppose that we can continue. Next, please!" The workers continued to call off names, who all had low scores around 80 or 95, not many above 100. They then called up Krillin, who easily got a score of 218 with a small punch. Piccolo went next, then Goku, and soon it was Kinira's turn. She proudly sauntered up to the machine and flicked it as if shooing off a fly. The machine almost went haywire, but then finally turned to the score, 1075.
"Kinira!" Krillin whispered from the crowd. "We all agreed to take it easy!"
"I barely touched it!" she whispered back, proudly walking back to the crowd, everyone silent. They continued calling up fighters after a long moment of awe/surprise/shock, and then they called up someone named Trunks Booldur.
"Trunks!" Kinira whispered from the crowd as he made his way towards the Punching Machine. She winked and blew him a kiss; he smiled back and clenched his fist in the air as if catching the kiss and putting it in his pocket.
With only a slight flick of his wrist, the machine went even crazier than it did with Kinira's hit. Finally, after much sparking and smoking, the machine read 2785 before blowing a fuse. There was a long silence before a worker saying, "Uh... 2785... Er... Well, we do have an extra machine, would you like to try it again?"
Trunks smirked, "I flicked it, it read a high score; do the math, pal." He put his hands in his pockets and then walked off, everyone parting in the crowd to make way for the one who was so strong. Even the Z fighters were surprised, but they were all far more intrigued than scared. Kinira wasn't really surprised--at least she didn't look it--she looked just like every other teenage girl when they see a cute boy; gawked and drooled like an idiot.
"I swear--he has never looked hunkier!!!" she practically screamed.
"And here we see our own Kinira 'the Cannonball' Sei, live on the scene where she and her other half of the voted 'Cutest Couple', Trunks Booldur has just displayed an incredible feat of strength by actually blowing up the strength measuring machine with a single punch! Perhaps this is what has drawn these two fighters together in the battlefield of love--"
"WAAHHH!!! Shut up, you idiot!!!" yelled Kinira, throwing her hands over Jiji's mouth. "If my father kndew that I had a kinda-sorta boyfriend he'd kill me!!!" she whispered. "Are you aware that he's standing right behind us???" she growled through her teeth.
"Apparently not," came the sound of Vegeta's voice behind them both.
She nervously turned around to see her father glaring at her, his arms crossed over his chest. "Hehehe..." she laughed nervoulsy. "Hehehehehe... Oh--yeah... Uh... Well, Daddy--you see--it's quite a funny story, actually--hehehe..."
"Kinira Diarre` Rinalldi Mosetta Sei, you've got some major explaining to do." Uh oh, Kinira thought. Middle names... He's definately pisssed...! Out of nowhere, he locked Kinira in a headlock, which he only did when he was either pissed or proud and wasn't about to let her get away very easily. "Now, first of all--"
"Heeeey--Mr. S!" San came out of nowhere and stood right in between Kinira and Vegeta. She smiled seductivley (*shudder, shudder*) at him, "Mr. S, too pumped to be Dad, too cute to be single!"
"Too...cute...!" Vegeta said, taken back.
Kinira gave her trademark eyebrow raise. "Why are you sucking up to my Dad?" asked the young Saiyan Princess, still in her father's head lock.
"Hey! Have you seen my Dad???" San retorted.
"Hah--yeah, guess you're right. ...Wait a sec--that's my Dad! You are so gross, San!"
San lowered her voice to a whisper. "What can I say?" she asked. "The alien charm of a Saiyan is irresistable!"
"You're sick," Kinira whispered back.
"Vegeta Sei!" called a worker.
"I'll be back," he told Kinira, finally letting her go and walking over to the punching machine.
"Hey--Aki!" said Kinira. "C'mere; turn that camera over here--I want all of R.D.I. to see how cool my family is!"
Aki nodded. "Okay--I've got him in shot."
Kinira appeared in front of the camera. "Hey, everyone! Thought I was strong? Well--you're right! But check out my Dad; he so rocks!" She then moved away from the camera and looked at Vegeta as he proudly walked up to the punching machine. With one swift punch, he sent the entire machine flying back into and through the wall.
"WHOO-HOO!!!" shouted Kinira and her friends. "You show 'em, Dad!!!" Kinira yelled in addition. Goku groaned and slapped his forehead, and everyone else--besides the ones in the Z team, of course--froze with fear. Kinira turned to a fighter who had thought she was nothing but a little pipsweak, and that her father was weaker than he was. "See? I told ya we would kick your ass!"
"Names, please?" asked another one of the orange-robed workers, holding a clipboard.
"I'm Goku," he said, slightly leaning on his knees.
"The name is Krillin," he said with a smile.
"The Great Saiyaman!" Gohan said, striking a slight pose.
"Number 18,"she said flatly.
"I'm Videl."
"Vegeta Sei--"
"And Kinira Sei!(^v^)"
"Majunior," said Piccolo.
Goku turned around, "Wha...? Majunior?"
"I figured I'd enter under a different name; y'know, protect my identity a little," he said.
"Ah, I see," said Goku. "Smart idea."
"Go on in," said the worker.
The Rec. Center was filled with fighters of all shapes and sizes, including the Shin character they had just met, along with his red-faced accomplice, Kabito. She easily followed along with the order of fighters:
The first match would be between Krillin and Quintar, the second one was between Piccolo and Shin, the third was between Videl and a big guy named Spopovitch, the fourth was Gohan--er--the Great Saiyaman and Kabito, the fifth was between (dun-dun-DUN!) Goku and her father, the sixth between Eighteen and Baka-boy(as she referred to him), the seventh between Trunks and Yamuh, and Kinira was in the final round with a pretty-boy named Jewel. Since Kinira wasn't to keen on waiting for her own match, she and the girls decided to just celebrate her birthday in the locker rooms, and come out for the remaining matches.
Kinira sniffed the air, "Mmm, do I smell food?" she asked, hopefully, sitting together in a circle with her friends.
Aki reached into her dark blue backpack and pulled out big take-out boxes. "Sure did--and since you've already eaten, I only had to buy out two restaraunts!" she said, placing them all in the center of the circle.
Jiji reached into her cloth tote bag, "And I picked out the cake."
"You remembered the buttercream frosting--sweet! And--let's see--two, four, six, seven layers! Even better!!!"
"So? What are we waiting for?" asked San. "Let's get this party started!!!" Not too long afterward, they were laughing, eating, opening presents, and having a really fab time. *sigh* A perfect party for a Saiyan teenager--and the best part was, Freya was taping it all on her DigiCam.
"Hey, what's this?" asked Rochelle, picking up an envelope poking out of the bottom of a locker. She examined the front. "... ... ... Wha...? I can't read this."
"Let me see that," said Jiji. "Hmm... Kinira, this looks like the same caligraphy style as the kind on those Saiyan books your dad gave you."
"What's it say?" asked Freya, zooming in on Kinira's face.
"... It's from my Mom..."
("Dammit!" she said to herself, chewing on her right thumb, holding the letter in her left. "Wow..." said San. "A mother does know best!" "Shut up--I wanna hear the rest of this!" said Freya. "This whole betrothed thing is way great for the camera!" "Hey--can I read?" Kinira asked impatiently, not chewing on her thumb any more. "Sure, sure, just get on with it!!!" said Rochelle.)
Well, what ever the case may be, you have a right to know that you've been betrothed since the day you were born. Brolli is strong, Kinira. He reached the Super Saiyan level not long after your father left. You can only imagine how strong he is right now--I know he will be a good husband, Kinira. He's just as competitive as you are, at least at the moment--then again, you're currently five and he nine. All boys are competitive at nine. By the time you read this he'll be twenty. If all goes well, you should meet him very soon.
Love, Mama
Kinira was speechless, so was everyone else. "Wow..." breathed Aki, her eyes cast downward. "I can't beleive that you've been married all this time..." She suddenly gasped. "What'll Trunks think?"
Kinira sniffled. "Well... Maybe Brolli will be a nice guy...*sniff-sniff*"
Rochelle leaned over and hugged Kinira in comfort. "It'll be okay, really."
"No..." said Kinira. "It'll never be the same, or okay."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hey! Sorry it took so long for this chapter. Y'know, I didn't even expect for it to be this way! I'm not really even sure how old Brolli is, but I thought I'd shake it up a bit! I hear that I've got some complaints about what Kinira's got against Hercule--just scroll up to the top of the page and look at Kinira's first quote. It basically says it all. BTW, sorry 'bout all the drama in this one! So? Please help your poor and pathetic author!!! I need some suggestions for my next chapter. My e-mail is Lilwitchiegrl@aol.com. PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!! Hee hee, thanx!
Kayli