Chap. 4
What a fool, was Vegeta's first thought. The human he was supposed to battle was, well, human, mostly. He wore a traditional Chinese clothing, specifically, a button shirt and long pants with thin-soled shoes. His blond hair was short and smoothed back on his head. All in all, by human standards, he looked somewhat handsome. Girls in the crowd were screaming and shrieking things like "Ooooo, Peter!" and such nonsense. Peter blew a kiss to some of the girls. With a sigh, they all fainted. He's obviously a ladies' man. Pah, I think I'll play with him for a while, just to humiliate him. Peter put his hands together and bowed to Vegeta. Vegeta merely snorted in response. Peter shrugged it off and got into a stance. Vegeta crossed his arms the usual way and waited.
"FIGHT!" the announcer shouted. Almost immediately, Peter threw himself at Vegeta. Vegeta simply stepped to the left and watched the human whiz past him. Automatically, Peter recovered and, once again, attacked the Saiya-jin prince head on. Once again, Vegeta avoided him easily. They continued like that for almost half an hour. By this point, Peter was panting and wheezing. Vegeta, on the other hand, was barely even working up a sweat; the only reason he was sweating a bit was because the temperature outside was rather high.
"Had enough?" he asked the tired human. Peter merely growled and gritted his teeth in response. I don't think this human gets it. I've been dodging him for the past half hour and he still keeps on attacking me in the exact same manner. Do these humans ever learn? This is pathetic. Maybe I shouldn't have competed this year. There's no one to compete against. I could have spent this time training in the gravity room. Humph. Vegeta was already beginning to make himself upset, and this human wasn't helping any! The human just stood there, probably imagining what he would do if he ever caught the Saiya-jin, of course, never knowing that he was a Saiya-jin. This was getting boring; he should just end this and get it over with. Vegeta immediately disappeared from the human's sight, since human eyes could only go so fast. Peter's mouth dropped. Suddenly he felt an extremely hard blow centered on one of his shoulders. He barely had time to yell before he felt the wall that started the audience's seating place against his back. Then he slid toward the ground, unconscious.
"Uh, and Mr. Vegeta wins!" the announcer said. Vegeta simply walked off the arena and into the hut where everyone else was.
"Boy, that was a slow fight," Trunks commented. "You didn't have to play with him that long." Vegeta merely snorted and crossed his arms. Ticco sent a simple message to him.
Not bad, he thought. You certainly made a show of him. Ticco seemed to be laughing silently in his mind.
These humans are all so weak, Vegeta grumbled. I shouldn't have competed this year; there's no worthy competition.
Yes, but then you wouldn't be able to see how much your son has improved from last fight, now would you?
True. He did have a point there. But he still had one question. Who exactly are you?
I am Ticco, he answered. Vegeta was about to ask a more precise question, but at that moment, the next fight was announced.
"The next fight is Trunks vs., uh, what's his name again? Oh, yeah, vs. Tomio!" As usual, a great cheer went up when the two fighters came out. Tomio was a big, huge, fat sumo wrestler. All of the gamblers began to make bets against the tall, muscular, purple-haired youth. Trunks overheard two gamblers' conversation.
"I think that that Tomio wrestler guy is gonna win," he cackled. "Just lookit that other skinny pretty boy! He's gonna get creamed!"
"I think that there's more than meets the eye on that purple-haired boy," the other said. "He looks pretty strong, too, and besides, he survived the elimination process." They continued to argue. Trunks shrugged. He would be happy to put the first gambler in his place.
"FIGHT!" the announcer screamed. Instantly, Tomio got into a crouching position, like all sumo wrestlers do in the beginning. Trunks, well, he just shrugged and stood there, watching the sumo wrestler. Then, Tomio threw his whole body at the half Saiya-jin. He grabbed Trunks into a bear hug and attempted to shove him out of the ring. Trunks dug his feet into the ground and didn't budge. The 600-pound sumo wrestler strained with all of his great might, but Trunks refused to give even an inch.
"Eerrrrrrrrghhhh!" he labored. He bellowed. He squealed. He screamed. He shrieked. But Trunks just wouldn't move. Finally, the sumo wrestler backed away, panting and wheezing his lungs out. Trunks just eyed him, like a dog would eye a big, juicy steak.
"Heh, I guess it's my turn, now," he said. Then he ran toward the tired Tomio. Tomio, unable to move, merely stood there. Suddenly, Trunks stepped on his brakes, his nose a few inches away from Tomio's nose. Actually, to be more precise, it was more of Tomio's hair that was in a bun on top of his head. Tomio was just bent over, too exhausted to stand up straight. To be merciful, Trunks just tapped his shoulder, a bit hard, but he just tapped him. Tomio instantly was flung out of the ring, almost crashing into the audience behind him. They shrieked and scrambled away as the sumo wrestler almost landed on them. Everyone gaped at Trunks.
"Uuuuuuhhhhhhhhhh, okay…then Trunks wins," the announcer said hesitantly. At first, all was silent, then slowly people began clap. Many of the gamblers found that they were in dire debt. Trunks, like his father, shrugged nonchalantly and walked to his dad.
"Dad, you were right," he admitted. "There is absolutely no competition here except each other. This is really sad. I thought it would be so much more fun."
"Well," Vegeta said. "The only good thing about this is I'm going to see how much you have improved, or reverted, behind my back." Trunks, used to this kind of talk from his father, just grinned. Then he felt a presence behind him.
"Not bad," Ticco's voice was heard. "Not bad at all. I must say I'm impressed." Trunks turned around to face him.
"Uh, gee, thanks, maybe I'll get to fight you," he said, scratching the back of his head in an embarrassed way.
"Mmm, maybe," Ticco answered. There was absolute silence. Trunks, becoming uncomfortable, tried to start up conversation.
"Uh, so, um, is there any particular way that you were blinded?"
"Well, if you count getting hit in the back of the head extremely hard when you were a child particular, then, yes." Trunks was horrified.
"Why would anyone want to do that?" he said.
"My own father. He thought I would grow up useless and tried to safe his time that he would have used to train me to be stronger," Ticco answered, with the hint of a growl in the back of his voice. The way his voice sounded seemed to close the topic.
"Gosh, isn't that sort of cruel?" Trunks asked. Ticco shrugged.
"No, not really, it has merely made me a better fighter, and so I don't rely on my eyes like many others do," he replied simply. He crossed his arms.
Wow, he kinda reminds me of my dad when he does that, Trunks thought.
Why, thank you, and answer was heard in his head, I consider that a compliment. Trunks' eyes went wide, and his mouth dropped.
Did you just, I mean, did you do that?
No, it was your fairy godmother. Of course I thought that, you bimbo!
Oh, well excuse me for not being telepathic.
You're excused.
You realize I was being sarcastic, right?
Of course, but I excuse you all the same.
Do you like to annoy people, or does it come naturally? Trunks was getting angry with the stranger. They barely knew each other, and they were fighting like his family!
To some, I have to try, to others, like you, it's very easy. You people can get annoyed at almost anything. Trunks saw visibly that Ticco's eyes looked like eyes if someone was grinning at you, except that they were sort of foggy. Keep your temper in check, he reminded himself.
So this is how you were able to talk to my dad?
Very observant. Tell the boy what he's won, Johnny.
"And the winner, Mr. Sinter!" the announcer was suddenly heard. Trunks whipped around.
"Huh? What just happened?" he asked, confused. Ticco cleared his throat.
"If you hadn't noticed, the fifth fight was going on while we were having our 'intellectual' conversation," he answered. Then he walked away. Trunks raised an eyebrow.
"Dad, that guy's creepy," he whispered to Vegeta. Vegeta shrugged.
"Well, to many humans, so am I," he answered.
"Yeah, well…" Trunks started. But then the next fight was announced.
"The next fight will be Mr. Ticco versus Mr. Majin Boo!" the announcer said.
I wonder who's gonna win, Trunks chuckled in his mind as he walked to the empty spot beside his father to watch.
What a fool, was Vegeta's first thought. The human he was supposed to battle was, well, human, mostly. He wore a traditional Chinese clothing, specifically, a button shirt and long pants with thin-soled shoes. His blond hair was short and smoothed back on his head. All in all, by human standards, he looked somewhat handsome. Girls in the crowd were screaming and shrieking things like "Ooooo, Peter!" and such nonsense. Peter blew a kiss to some of the girls. With a sigh, they all fainted. He's obviously a ladies' man. Pah, I think I'll play with him for a while, just to humiliate him. Peter put his hands together and bowed to Vegeta. Vegeta merely snorted in response. Peter shrugged it off and got into a stance. Vegeta crossed his arms the usual way and waited.
"FIGHT!" the announcer shouted. Almost immediately, Peter threw himself at Vegeta. Vegeta simply stepped to the left and watched the human whiz past him. Automatically, Peter recovered and, once again, attacked the Saiya-jin prince head on. Once again, Vegeta avoided him easily. They continued like that for almost half an hour. By this point, Peter was panting and wheezing. Vegeta, on the other hand, was barely even working up a sweat; the only reason he was sweating a bit was because the temperature outside was rather high.
"Had enough?" he asked the tired human. Peter merely growled and gritted his teeth in response. I don't think this human gets it. I've been dodging him for the past half hour and he still keeps on attacking me in the exact same manner. Do these humans ever learn? This is pathetic. Maybe I shouldn't have competed this year. There's no one to compete against. I could have spent this time training in the gravity room. Humph. Vegeta was already beginning to make himself upset, and this human wasn't helping any! The human just stood there, probably imagining what he would do if he ever caught the Saiya-jin, of course, never knowing that he was a Saiya-jin. This was getting boring; he should just end this and get it over with. Vegeta immediately disappeared from the human's sight, since human eyes could only go so fast. Peter's mouth dropped. Suddenly he felt an extremely hard blow centered on one of his shoulders. He barely had time to yell before he felt the wall that started the audience's seating place against his back. Then he slid toward the ground, unconscious.
"Uh, and Mr. Vegeta wins!" the announcer said. Vegeta simply walked off the arena and into the hut where everyone else was.
"Boy, that was a slow fight," Trunks commented. "You didn't have to play with him that long." Vegeta merely snorted and crossed his arms. Ticco sent a simple message to him.
Not bad, he thought. You certainly made a show of him. Ticco seemed to be laughing silently in his mind.
These humans are all so weak, Vegeta grumbled. I shouldn't have competed this year; there's no worthy competition.
Yes, but then you wouldn't be able to see how much your son has improved from last fight, now would you?
True. He did have a point there. But he still had one question. Who exactly are you?
I am Ticco, he answered. Vegeta was about to ask a more precise question, but at that moment, the next fight was announced.
"The next fight is Trunks vs., uh, what's his name again? Oh, yeah, vs. Tomio!" As usual, a great cheer went up when the two fighters came out. Tomio was a big, huge, fat sumo wrestler. All of the gamblers began to make bets against the tall, muscular, purple-haired youth. Trunks overheard two gamblers' conversation.
"I think that that Tomio wrestler guy is gonna win," he cackled. "Just lookit that other skinny pretty boy! He's gonna get creamed!"
"I think that there's more than meets the eye on that purple-haired boy," the other said. "He looks pretty strong, too, and besides, he survived the elimination process." They continued to argue. Trunks shrugged. He would be happy to put the first gambler in his place.
"FIGHT!" the announcer screamed. Instantly, Tomio got into a crouching position, like all sumo wrestlers do in the beginning. Trunks, well, he just shrugged and stood there, watching the sumo wrestler. Then, Tomio threw his whole body at the half Saiya-jin. He grabbed Trunks into a bear hug and attempted to shove him out of the ring. Trunks dug his feet into the ground and didn't budge. The 600-pound sumo wrestler strained with all of his great might, but Trunks refused to give even an inch.
"Eerrrrrrrrghhhh!" he labored. He bellowed. He squealed. He screamed. He shrieked. But Trunks just wouldn't move. Finally, the sumo wrestler backed away, panting and wheezing his lungs out. Trunks just eyed him, like a dog would eye a big, juicy steak.
"Heh, I guess it's my turn, now," he said. Then he ran toward the tired Tomio. Tomio, unable to move, merely stood there. Suddenly, Trunks stepped on his brakes, his nose a few inches away from Tomio's nose. Actually, to be more precise, it was more of Tomio's hair that was in a bun on top of his head. Tomio was just bent over, too exhausted to stand up straight. To be merciful, Trunks just tapped his shoulder, a bit hard, but he just tapped him. Tomio instantly was flung out of the ring, almost crashing into the audience behind him. They shrieked and scrambled away as the sumo wrestler almost landed on them. Everyone gaped at Trunks.
"Uuuuuuhhhhhhhhhh, okay…then Trunks wins," the announcer said hesitantly. At first, all was silent, then slowly people began clap. Many of the gamblers found that they were in dire debt. Trunks, like his father, shrugged nonchalantly and walked to his dad.
"Dad, you were right," he admitted. "There is absolutely no competition here except each other. This is really sad. I thought it would be so much more fun."
"Well," Vegeta said. "The only good thing about this is I'm going to see how much you have improved, or reverted, behind my back." Trunks, used to this kind of talk from his father, just grinned. Then he felt a presence behind him.
"Not bad," Ticco's voice was heard. "Not bad at all. I must say I'm impressed." Trunks turned around to face him.
"Uh, gee, thanks, maybe I'll get to fight you," he said, scratching the back of his head in an embarrassed way.
"Mmm, maybe," Ticco answered. There was absolute silence. Trunks, becoming uncomfortable, tried to start up conversation.
"Uh, so, um, is there any particular way that you were blinded?"
"Well, if you count getting hit in the back of the head extremely hard when you were a child particular, then, yes." Trunks was horrified.
"Why would anyone want to do that?" he said.
"My own father. He thought I would grow up useless and tried to safe his time that he would have used to train me to be stronger," Ticco answered, with the hint of a growl in the back of his voice. The way his voice sounded seemed to close the topic.
"Gosh, isn't that sort of cruel?" Trunks asked. Ticco shrugged.
"No, not really, it has merely made me a better fighter, and so I don't rely on my eyes like many others do," he replied simply. He crossed his arms.
Wow, he kinda reminds me of my dad when he does that, Trunks thought.
Why, thank you, and answer was heard in his head, I consider that a compliment. Trunks' eyes went wide, and his mouth dropped.
Did you just, I mean, did you do that?
No, it was your fairy godmother. Of course I thought that, you bimbo!
Oh, well excuse me for not being telepathic.
You're excused.
You realize I was being sarcastic, right?
Of course, but I excuse you all the same.
Do you like to annoy people, or does it come naturally? Trunks was getting angry with the stranger. They barely knew each other, and they were fighting like his family!
To some, I have to try, to others, like you, it's very easy. You people can get annoyed at almost anything. Trunks saw visibly that Ticco's eyes looked like eyes if someone was grinning at you, except that they were sort of foggy. Keep your temper in check, he reminded himself.
So this is how you were able to talk to my dad?
Very observant. Tell the boy what he's won, Johnny.
"And the winner, Mr. Sinter!" the announcer was suddenly heard. Trunks whipped around.
"Huh? What just happened?" he asked, confused. Ticco cleared his throat.
"If you hadn't noticed, the fifth fight was going on while we were having our 'intellectual' conversation," he answered. Then he walked away. Trunks raised an eyebrow.
"Dad, that guy's creepy," he whispered to Vegeta. Vegeta shrugged.
"Well, to many humans, so am I," he answered.
"Yeah, well…" Trunks started. But then the next fight was announced.
"The next fight will be Mr. Ticco versus Mr. Majin Boo!" the announcer said.
I wonder who's gonna win, Trunks chuckled in his mind as he walked to the empty spot beside his father to watch.