Recap!: Meece has been raised by Piccolo faithfully since he recovered her. She now can 'hear' with the aid of her chi training and lip reading, and also can speak despite being deaf. Meece occasionally will lisp due to the fact she can't actually hear herself speak, but it's a rare incidence. Marron, Bra, and Pan are roughly 21-16. And Nail and Kami are still acting as Piccolo's 'shoulder angels'….his very annoying shoulder angels, daa…
Piccolo: I hear you are ending the story this chapter…
Kit: I'm trying!
Meece: No more story?
Kit: ::smirk:: I didn't say that…
Kami: You are a bad, bad monkey!
Kit: DAA!…hey! Hey Piccolo, leggo my leg! No! Don't throw me out the…AAA!!
(P.S: Please excuse the Invader Zim comments in here, or I will probably burst into giggles. And I am SO sorry about the delay. You may all boo me now. ::hangs head in shame:: I am a bad… bad monkey. OH! And fan art coming soon, posted at my webpage. There WILL be fan art.)
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Touch Tones
Chapter 9: Who's in the mood for a fight?
There comes a time in every child's--and parent's--life where they have to get ready to let go and truly fly on their own. For humans, that time usually happens in the late teens, while the child is still in school and testing the limits of their freedom. For nameks, it comes after 7 years, since that is when their bodies are fully-grown. But for Meece, that day still hadn't come yet.
"PAPA!" Meece said, aghast. Piccolo was currently carrying a large box to the edge of Dende's Lookout. It was packed with clothes, or lack thereof. "Those are Meece's clothes! You can't just throw them out!"
Piccolo growled. "Clothes?! Clothes are supposed to cover! Look at this!" He reached into the box and pulled out something that wouldn't do as an eyepatch for him. "What is this?!"
"It's a BRA!" Meece shouted, face blushing. "Meece has been wearing them since… since…," Her blush grew more pronounced. "Human need to wear them or they…um… bounce." She found the best way to prove this point was to make 'rolling' hand motions. Piccolo quirked an eyeridge, causing one antenna to twitch and adopted a look of terror.
*…like Baywatch!* Nail shouted.
*Nail… that probably wasn't the best comment at the time.* Kami rubbed his head.
Piccolo dropped the box, letting it clatter to the ground dangerously near the edge of the tower. "Fine, but there is now way you are going out in a skirt that short!" He jabbed an accusing finger at Meece's skirt, which came to mid-thigh.
There was a pause in Piccolo's 'roommates' conversation. *Hey, Nail. Why didn't you sing the 'Squirrel Salami' song? He is being a paranoid father.* Kami asked.
*Because, I'm SICK of that song! I've sung it nearly EVERY day for the past two years! I can't sing it anymore without ripping my own antenna off!* Nail cried, sounding on the verge of hysteria.
Apparently, Piccolo always had half an ear turned into the two nameks conversation, because at that moment he began to sing mentally, 'Ohhh,-there-was-a-squirrel-and-it-ran-across-the-street-and-didn't-get-hit-by-a-car-and-went….' And then he trailed off at the most annoying part… the 'weee'.
*AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!* Nail screamed, attempting to pull his astral antenna off, without success. Piccolo's mood had gone from frustrated and overprotective, to calm and happy just by torturing Nail.
*You two… you are a bunch of children.* Kami sighed. *And speaking of children… where is Meece?* Piccolo whipped around, his cape swirling over the ground. Meece was storming back to her room with her box of clothes. With a small burst of speed, Piccolo vanished from where he was standing…
…And appeared right in front of Meece. Neither said a word, and for the first time, Meece actually had a defying look in her eye. She didn't send any telepathic messages or speak; her mouth was pursed into a thin line and her forehead was wrinkled as her brows drew downwards. And then without a single word, she stormed past him.
"Meece cannot work under these conditions! Meece need to be free! Have a life! Have fun!" She shouted, generating a surprising amount of volume for a girl who had been deaf her whole life. At that moment, Piccolo thought she sounded rather like Bulma or Bra on one of their rants. As the thick wooden door of Meece's chamber slammed shut, doubts and thoughts began niggling through Piccolo's head.
What more could he do to 'free' her? He let Meece make friends with who she chose, train when she wanted, and develop her own personality. What did she want?
*Um, it could be that she is referring to your constant shadow falling over her.* Nail suggested with a shrug. *Maybe she feels over shadowed, and needs a chance to prove her strength.* It didn't sound fully plausible, but Piccolo still gave it thought. Meece was unlike any human or saiyajin who roamed the planet. She didn't enjoy fighting, nor did she like showing off her Guardian skills, and flirting was just plain out of the question for her. Perhaps Meece felt that she had no area of specialty.
*Send her to college. Let her pick up art or a hobby. Or even, as strange as it may sound, make Meece spar among the humans. Let her know she's good at something and vent this frustration.* Kami said in his raspy voice.
"Hm, all-in-all, old man, that's not a bad idea." Piccolo quirked an antenna. There was a budoukai coming up, and it may be what Meece needed to vent on.
"Yeh~…you are going to make Meece fight?!" Dende's shocked voice came from beside him. Piccolo had been so wrapped up in figuring what was wrong with his surrogate daughter, he hadn't even noticed that the Kami of earth had been sitting beside him the whole time.
Dashing away the fact he'd be a little startled by Dende's voice, Piccolo straightened his back. "Meece would easily defeat those humans, probably even be able to match the saiya-jins for a bit. I know she can." He growled. The look on the young Kami's face clearly said he did not approve. But under Piccolo's scowl, he quickly adopted a more acquiescent look.
"Ah, but you do know it's set up in 'team-style' right Piccolo-san?" A familiar voice chatted from Piccolo's left. Whipping around, heart attempting to escape through his ribs, Piccolo was face to face with Son Gohan. The young man kept his hair in a similar cut as he did in his teenage days. And even after all these years, he still called his old sensei, 'Piccolo-san'.
*Two-for-two! Let's play, 'Scare Piccolo'!* Nail chanted. *First one to five wins!*
*Nail, you know he's simply worried for Meece, or else he wouldn't have…spooked, so easily.* Kami said gently.
*Here's something that'll scare him. COLLEGE TUITION! MEECE'S FIRST CAR! Wait…here's the winner, MEECE GETTING MARRIED!* Nail taunted.
And the last jab, indeed, had an effect. Piccolo's eyes bugged out. "WHAAT?! NO! NO WAY! MEECE IS NOT MARRYING!" He roared, his voice causing Gohan and Dende to jump back in panic. Hence began a very loud, seemingly one sided, yelling contest between Piccolo and an 'unheard' voice.
"Does this happen often?" Gohan scratched the back of his head, looking over at the sweatdropping Kami.
"Fridays usually, between the hours of 5-8pm, or after Nail watches some TV or something." Dende sighed. "Louder if Meece is involved."
Speaking of the subject, Meece's door slammed open and she stormed out, looking every inch the irritated teenager she was suppose to be. "Papa! Nail-san! Please be quiet! If Meece weren't already deaf, she'd go insane from your yelling!" She snorted, a rather familiar smirk teasing her lips. She was perfecting the 'Piccolo-smirk'.
"Wh-what?" Piccolo actually looked submissive, his face bewildered.
Meece's outburst an hour ago quickly faded as she began to giggle, covering her mouth with the tips of her fingers. 'Oh, Papa. You look so silly.' The smirk twisted on her face, appearing again. 'And please, Meece is in no way ready to even think about getting married.' Piccolo let out an unwitting sigh. 'But… the fight…the budoukai, Meece thinks it's a very good idea!'
"You do?" Piccolo blinked.
"She does?" Dende and Gohan echoed.
*Yee-s! Five points to Nail! Five points to Kami!* Nail hooted.
*No more TV for you.* Kami sighed.
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The past few days were nothing short of hectic. Piccolo had managed to gather information on the budoukai from the other fighters and Meece went on her own little quest. She was setting up a team, and not just any team, but a team of girls to counter the guys. The battle would involve teams of four, and one of the four acting as team leader. Meece assumed the role as leader, agreeing to use her Guardian skills to aid the others. The others were none other than her friends, Bra, Marron, and Pan. Bra's superior saiya-jin strength made her probably the most formidable. Marron had been trained by Krillin, her style unbeatable (at least to humans), and was only a test away from being declared the world's strongest human. Pan, despite her youth, had speed to help the group, thus bringing the team of four to a strong finish.
Meece was not the only one searching for teammates too, Trunks and Goten were intent on making the 'counter-team' to Meece's girl team. The two demi-saiya-jins were equal in strength, speed, and power, but Trunks assumed the roll of team leader. They selected Lenchi, hoping to rely on his telepathy to tell what their opponent's next move would be. And finally they asked Ubuu, Buu's reincarnation, to fight with them. They shy boy agreed, a confused expression on his face.
Each team was open competitive, challenging the other daily. But to all the youth's surprise, none of their parents would be competing. No Goku, no Vegeta, no Piccolo, no Krillin, and not even Tien. The strongest fighters in the universe were stepping down and letting their kids have a shot. Now, knowing that they stood a chance of taking gold, the teams began to train even harder.
'Marron, Bra, Pan!' Meece sent out telepathically, 'Meece has news on team 'Underwear'.' She reported, brushing her long green bangs out of her face. She had recently had her hair cut, cropped short in the back but leaving her bangs a good four inches longer than the rest of the cut. Team Underwear was the pet name the girl's gave the boy's team. Marron paused in her kata training, lowering her fists and Pan and Bra broke up their sparring.
"Spying or general knowledge?" Bra asked, panting lightly.
'A little of both.' Meece smirked. 'They are staring at us right now wearing silly, slack-jawed expressions. Meece thinks they are surprised at our clothes.' The four teenage men were leaning over the roof of the house, trying to hide, and indeed staring. The girls had all donned tighter fitting clothes, mostly to eliminate handholds. But by doing so, it showed off assets they had not yet begun to exploit.
'Meece does not think they can blink!' She giggled, trying to keep her semi-stoic look.
"Then…we can use this against them!" Bra whispered ferociously back. "I have a plan!" Dropping to the grass, Bra pulled out a PDA and began punching in keys. Bra could have used a panda's color against them, she was crafty and cunning like her mother (with a hint of her father's etiquette). Pan shrugged, inviting Meece to take the blue-haired demi's place in sparring. Meece carefully joined her in battle, more than a little jittery. She had been sparring since she was 3, but this was much different. Piccolo would let her win, Pan would allow no such privilege. Meece would now actually have to defeat the younger girl using only human strength.
Pan lunged forward, planning to catch Meece with a quick blow and then a low kick, but Meece easily read Pan's thoughts and dodged. The young guardian in training sent a wall of chi downwards, knocking Pan to the ground. With agility that only someone with saiya-jin blood can possess, Pan flipped to her feet and recovered with a back spring. Her next attack had a little more success, scoring hard across Meece's blocking arm. Both of the team's humans stood little chance of withstanding a saiya-jin's full strength, fortunately for them, Pan and Bra were no where near the strength of their kin. But each one of the demi's possessed more speed and agility than both Trunks and Goten combined.
Fifteen minutes passed, Pan was unable to get more than a weak, spontaneous punch in. But at the same time, most of Meece's attacks weren't enough to do more than put a dent in Pan's strength. Marron had halted her kata to cast the guys a suspicious look. They were all still there, and it was slowly getting on her nerves. Announcing out loud that she was thirsty, Marron made like she was heading inside. But once she reached the door, she suppressed her chi all the way down and began to sneak around to the back of the house.
The sparring wasn't going so well for Pan. Meece kept dodging her punches and putting painful little jabs along the exact same spot in her ribs. Jerking out of Meece's reach, the raven haired demi leveled out in the air, trying to do attacks before thinking about them. 'Pan-chan,' Meece sent, looking far too winded to actually speak. 'Meece's energy is dropping. Can we use real chi attacks, or stick with physical blows?' She asked, dodging one of Pan's hits like it was an incoming snail.
Pan sucked in air, "Why…not." She got out. She was getting winded as well, but unlike Meece, she had a great deal of energy left. Raising both of her hands, she quickly gathered her strength. "Masenko!" She used her father's signature attack, sending a ball of chi at the young guardian on the ground. Meece raised both her hands over her head and erected a chi shield, causing the attack to dissipate on contact. Both of the women were now glaring daggers at each other, blue eyes versus a molten green. There was no anger behind the glare, just a desire to win over the other. Meece was developing the desire of the saiya-jin.
"GOTCHA!" Marron hollered from behind the four men on the roof. Taken off guard, they all gave a yelp and pitched forward off the roof. Marron had snuck all the way around the house, waiting for them to pay close attention to the sparring before climbing up behind them. Caught in the act of spying, all four of them portrayed the very act of guiltiness.
"Ma-marron-san!" Ubuu stuttered out, a deep red blush across his cheeks. "We were…ah… just…," A dark lock of Ubuu's crest of hair fell over his face as he looked to the other guys for help. Goten and Lenchi were frozen in fear, like small rabbits in a face of a large, blond-haired wolf. Even Trunks quelled under the harsh look Marron sent at them.
"Ah…AAAHHh.." Lenchi's face scrunched up, lifting one hand to his nose. The others all panicked, Goten jamming a finger under Lenchi's nose to try to prevent the inevitable. And strangely, it worked. "….whew…that was a close on-AACHOOO!" The only good thing that can be said about this situation was Goten had managed to remove his hand before Lenchi sneezed all over it.
The sneeze had caught the sparring girl's attention, and even attracted Bra's gaze from her PDA. The cluster of guys formed a sloppy ring away from Lenchi, incase he lashed out with the temper he inherited from his mother. Marron broke out into a nervous sweat when Blue-haired Lenchi's submissive expression faded into Blond-Lenchi's immoral smirk. A true pervert grin.
Without wasting a beat, Lenchi turned in Meece's direction. "Meece-chan!" He called, eyes hooding as his leer broadened. Meece faltered, looking entirely like the naïve, innocent girl she was. Bra's eyes widened as she quickly hooked her arm with Meece's and began to drag her off.
"Come on, girls. Let's train where we won't be bothered." She said, shooting her brother a venomous glance. Meece made a confused noise, but had no choice to follow as Bra dragged her into the air. Marron quickly followed and Pan brought up the rear, equally as confused as Meece. "But the good news is, if my calculations are correct…those guys won't even know what hit them at the tournament." Bra's smirk was obviously something she had gotten from her father, for it would have probably made the devil himself kick his own ass in fear.
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Piccolo stood stiffly and waited for the tournament to begin. He had watched Meece drill routines over the week, watching as her physical strength was harnessed. Instead of training her himself, Piccolo had stepped back and taken a more passive role. That didn't mean he approved of her new choice of 'sparring clothes'.
"It's worse than those clothes off Baywatch!" Piccolo growled, remembering what Meece had shown him last night.
*Oh, it's not that bad, Picc…,* Nail froze in mid word. *Wait! How do you know what the girls on Baywatch wear unless YOU watch it!?* He drilled.
Growling, Piccolo thought back ardently. 'Because YOU keep tuning into it, pevert!' From beside Piccolo, Goku was nearly bouncing in his seat from anticipation. This was the first time that Goku declared that he wasn't fighting in a tournament when they had time. And without Goku's rivalry in the fight, the prince of Saiya-jins, Vegeta, also refused to fight. Currently Vegeta --sitting directly ahead of Goku-- looked like he was about to turn and plant his fist square in the gentle saiya-jin's face. Piccolo didn't blame him though. Even Goku's wife looked embarrassed at his behavior.
"Kakorotto… if you do not stop that infernal fidgeting, I'm going to beat you with your own legs!" Vegeta snarled, glaring at him over his shoulder.
Goku whined, "But 'Geta! It's almost started! The announcer is getting ready and everything." He suddenly grew serious. "I can feel their chi, they are preparing too." The 'they' he was referring to were the next generation; Trunks, Goten, Bra, Pan, Marron, Ubuu, Lenchi and Meece. Each child had a tie with a Z warrior, even if Meece wasn't Piccolo's biological daughter, she was still one of them. Four of the eight new fighters held saiya-jin blood, while the other four were a mix of powerful humans or magical reincarnations. This was a generation who would not be trifled with (even if Goten though a 'trifle' was something you could eat).
The crowd roared as the announcer began to speak. Gohan looked nervous, probably worried about Pan's abilities. Videl gave him an elbow in the side for his troubles and returned her attention to the fight. "Laa~adies and Gentlemen! I'd like to welcome you to the 30th Weee~st City Budoukai!" He rolled his sounds, which most of the crowd seemed to love. "And now, who better to start off the fight but than our own SaaaaAAA~ATAN-SAN!" This drew a mighty roar from everyone but the Z fighters.
Videl dropped her head into her hands. "Oh dad…" She moaned. Mr Satan strolled into the ring, flexing his muscles and grinning madly. He looked very much the same he did all those years ago during the cell games, only for the fact he was balding….badly. And he seemed to have developed a gut. But credit to his common sense (or lack thereof), Satan was not fighting in this battle. He had learned his lesson years ago when Juuhachigou swindled him for all he had. The android was smirking discreetly, looking not a day older than she was when Meece had met her.
The fighters came out in teams moments later. First team was a group of monks, all as bald as billiard balls and walking in a straight line. The next group out was a collection of beast people; a dog, a tiger, a large dinosaur-like man, and a boar-man. They looked rough, causing the crowd to gasp, but collectively they had an energy level of 14. Trunk's group came out next, all the men smiling politely (except for Lenchi, who was grinning ear to ear in blond form). A few more rather weak looking groups came out before Meece's group made their appearance. And the second they stepped onto the ring, the crowd nearly fainted.
Each of the girls were clad in Bra's 'secret weapon'. They were wearing custom designed spandex, something much tighter than what they had been training in. Bra was wearing a royal blue, short sleeved and long legged one-piece suit, strips of black swirling around her hips and each arm. The back was virtually non-existent, dipping down to her hips. Marron was wearing a spandex outfit in the form of Krillin and Goku's colors, orange with a blue trim around the low dipping neck and the arms. Pan's outfit was black with green slashes cutting over her bust and back, the whole thing covered as much as a swimsuit. Green leggings went nearly all the way up, but stopped to give everyone a glimpse of the flesh of her thighs. Meece seemed to be blushing a contrasting color as her suit. She had a deep green spandex suit with a large diamond hole over her stomach, showing her toned stomach to the world, as well as her bare arms and shoulders. The girls had shocked everyone into silence.
"THAT is what they are wearing?!" Chichi nearly fainted. Goku steadied his wife, looking on in bewilderment.
"Anou, Chichi, it is practical for fighting. No handholds." He informed her in his cluelessly confused fashion.
Gohan's face had frozen to utter shock, Videl kept petting his shoulder trying to drag him out of it. Piccolo growled, baring his teeth at the way people were staring at the girls (but mostly at his daughter). Nail and Kami were trying to keep him as calm as possible with their chattering. Yet to Piccolo's surprise, Vegeta and Bulma didn't look effected at all.
"At least she's not wearing the 'little red get-up." Bulma muttered, but looking proud of her daughter. Vegeta merely grunted.
When the announcer had regained his voice, he quickly began to ramble off the rules, deliberately keeping his back to the girls. "Well, …as, as you can see this years fighters are ready! The rules are the same as usual. Knocking someone out constitutes as a win, as does throwing someone outside of the ring. Killing is strict ground for dismissal. But in team battle, the leaders will start the fight matching their fighters against their opponents. The fight is over if someone on the team surrenders, or if everyone is knocked out." The explanation was simple enough, the girls and guys just had to watch out for each other, seeing no challenge in any other teams.
"Wee~eell! Let's get this fight on!" Mr. Satan roared, tearing his embarrassed stare from his granddaughter. The crowd cheered as the first fight began, Trunks' team vs a group of sumo wrestlers.
"Uhg, tell me when the real fight starts." Piccolo growled, turned on the arena and preparing to meditate.
"Same for me." Vegeta folded his arms, glaring down at the human fighters who had no clue what they were up against. When the bell rang, Trunks shrugged and pointed at the four sumo wrestlers. The guys looked a little guilty as they each approached their designated partner, and with one synchronized hit, knocked them all out. But, Dende, it seemed, had a sense of humor. For at that moment, Lenchi sneezed and transformed into Blue Haired Lenchi.
"Oh no! I was fighting again, did I hurt them? Was I restraining my strength?!" Lenchi began to panic, "I'm soooorry!" he howled. Eventually Lenchi was lead out of the ring by an embarrassed Ubuu. The crowds' jaw was hanging open, totally beside themselves that a fighter like Lenchi would be so… meek, after a battle. Trunks began to look (unsuccessfully) for some pepper.
The next two fights were humans vs humans or beast people, so Piccolo let his mind drift. *If I may say, Meece was awfully excited about this tournament this morning.* Kami offered conversation.
*Though, I've seen her more excited about going to see Bra.* Nail muttered.
*I've seen YOU excited about the new episode of Invader Zim!* Kami shot.
*Hey! He's green! He's got antenna! And an ego the size of Namek itself. I'm convinced Zim is Piccolo!* Nail argued. Once again, Piccolo was tempted to find the dragonballs and wish for a way to beat the living snot out of Nail.
Piccolo began to drift, his consciousness pulled from his body and shot to the only other source that drew him. He began to listen into Meece's thoughts.
'Gee, Trunks-kun's team is really strong. They have to hold back so much of their energy so they do not hurt their opponents…. Meece wonders if she put Papa through the same problem during training. That's probably why Papa didn't teach Meece like Gohan-san taught Pan.' Meece's mental voice was strong, the young woman wasn't bothering blocking her thoughts either. Piccolo felt a wave of sadness hit Meece as her thoughts continued. 'Pan and Gohan-san both like to train, so to Trunks and Vegeta-san… and Bra and Bulma have stuff in common too. Actually… all Meece's friends are like their parents. So… why does Meece have nothing in common with Papa?'
Piccolo pulled his voice through the long distance that separated them to speak to the confused, and potentially saddened girl. 'Have nothing in common, do we?' He asked, poking at her in his mind's eye.
'Papa?' Meece's voice was confused, as if she didn't know how he was talking to her. Apparently, she thought her barrier was up to keep others out.
'We have more in common than you know. Anything, anything at all that you like, I do as well.' Piccolo rested one large astral hand on her head.
Meece smiled. 'So, papa likes reading?' Piccolo nodded. He had started reading the thick, classic books Meece did shortly after she brought them home. 'And papa likes swimming?' This nod was a little slower. Piccolo never really liked the stripping down part, and whenever he swam, he'd leave his 'shoes' on (much to Meece's amusement). 'So then Papa must like Lenchi!'
"WHAAAAAT!?" Piccolo yelled, causing the saiya-jins and their mates to cast him strange looks.
'Papa is so easy to rile up!' Meece giggled. Piccolo opened his eyes and saw her sitting on the bench by the ring, grinning up at him.
'Meece,' He sent, calming from her unexpected joke, 'that's not all I like. Out of everything in the world, I like you the best.' The reaction was instantaneous. The jesting smile slipped right off her face and she looked shocked now. It was, by far, the closest he'd gotten to telling her out loud, how much he cared for his adopted daughter.
"The next fight! Would Meece's team step forward to fight Honora Ninja's team." The announcer shattered through the thick meditation Piccolo was using to speak to Meece. The green haired human didn't break her eye contact from her father though. A slow, gradual smile spread over her face as the words he had told her soaked in. Grinning happily, Meece lead her team into the ring to face off against the waiting team.
Using her telepathy and skills to rate chi force, Meece easily determined the strongest of the group. "Bra, you take their leader. Watch out for attacks from low to the ground. Pan, Marron, you two can take the two on the left, they both have cheated and reinforced their gi with armor plates so be careful." Meece whispered to the girls. She was going to take the physically weakest ninja, since her own fighting skills were below the other girls. They quickly squared off against their opponent, waiting for the bell.
"Heh, a bunch of girls." One of the ninjas smirked, his black mask ruffling with his words. "This will be easier than popping bubbles with a spoon." Pan looked disgusted, either at the bad analogy or at their self-confidence.
What happened next can only be described as a 'atomic-black underwear wedgie'. Marron and Pan had rushed forward, trying to get their opponent in a strangle hold. But Meece had been correct when she said the ninja team was fast. They two men barely avoided being grabbed, but Marron's hand snagged out and caught a hold of one of their waistbands. Trying to get back into a balanced position, she stood up and jerked her arms locked. The pants in her hand also came with, giving the fighter a rather painful wedgie. Pan had caught the ninja she was against on the rebound, smashing him into the ground with one kick.
Bra was calmly blocking the fury of kicks and punches aimed at her, yawning dramatically to show her level of interest. This only infuriated the ninja more. He tried to sweep her feet out from under her, like Meece had warned, and failed when Bra took to the air. Disbelieving, the ninja looked up to try to spot his opponent, only to have a boot smash down into his face, knocking him out. Meece had an easier time than any of the others. She had squared off near the edge of the ring, and concluded that the fighter was going to charge at her for his first attack. So with the skill that would have made a bullfighter proud, she simply stepped to the side and let him charge right out of the ring, thus ending the fight.
Vegeta snorted, shaking his head at the easy win. Piccolo had found it mildly interesting, but only because all of Meece's predictions had been right. He almost felt like gloating, if the opponent hadn't been pathetically weak.
*Oh, come on! Meece's predictions haven't been wrong yet. That's worth some gloating.* Nail pressed.
Kami had another plan however. *I vote we simply admire her skills quietly.*
'Whaddya think this is, a democracy? I'M in charge, you are just freeloaders!' Piccolo snorted.
*Freeloaders? Why never! Without our advice, Meece would never have grown into the mature young woman she is today!* Kami retorted.
Nail heaved a sigh. *Yeah, she's really grown up, but truthfully, I miss the days when Meece would cling to Piccolo's leg and color on the Tower's floor with crayons.* He said, trying not to come of as a wuss. Piccolo watched as Meece spoke, physically talked, with her other teammates. Something normal humans took for granted, Meece had to fight to achieve. And fight she had, fighting until she mastered the art of mind reading and chi-detecting. It made Piccolo's chest swell with pride that one so small and dependent on him could become the future Guardian of Earth.
*Ah… Piccolo-san, about that…* Kami slowly bit out. *You know that we nameks live for a very, very long time.*
'Of course I do! I have all the knowledge that the both of you do.' Piccolo snapped, thinking Kami meant his statement as another case of nagging.
*That's not how I meant it. I mean… well… Dende will be around for a very long time probably longer than Meece will live.* Kami's words quickly froze Piccolo's insides. *If she really wants to be a Guardian, she'll probably have to do it on another planet who needs one. Or just always remain a 'Guardian in training'.* The old God was bringing up a new, horribly unplanned for point. Why had Dende been training Meece if she was just going to be sent away from Earth to begin with?!
'It is Meece's decision, whether she goes or stays.' Piccolo grit out. The two voices in his head rose to say something but were violently crushed down when Piccolo fully came back to the physical world. Her decision could tear her from everything she had ever known, just for the sake of duty. For once, Piccolo hoped Meece would make the wrong choice.
Trunks' team had approached the ring again, this time for the semi finals. Meece's team had made it as well, but as long as both teams won their fights, they would get to the fight Piccolo had been waiting for. With almost a frightening precision, Trunks let Lenchi take out the entire opposing team, using his third eye to send out a chi attack that slowed them down. None of the guys looked at all injured, although Trunks hair had taken a beating from a close cut by a dinosaurian fighter.
Advancing with ease, Meece's team also made it to the finals. Their team had been a group of haughty amazons. A little less than spectacular, every amazon fighter was thrown from the ring, literally. A telepathic command from Meece allowed them to choreograph their movements for an effect that got the audience to roar. Or maybe it was the fact all the girls were wearing such tight clothing, but it got people jumping out of their seats in a frenzy.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! The final round, a fight that probably many of you have seen coming!" The announcer shouted into the microphone.
"Duh." Most of the Z fighters snorted.
"On our left, without a single member of team his defeated, team leader Trunks!" Many girls in the crowd swooned, mothers covered their daughter's eyes and small boys wished to be them. Smirking in a way that made Vegeta proud, Trunks lead the group into the ring.
"And on my right, a group that speaks for themselves in introductions, Meece's team!" Guys howled and whistled as the girls reached the ring, men silently drooled and wives smacked them over the heads, and young girls tossed out their Barbie dolls while begging for dolls of these fighters. Meece was blushing in embarrassment again, letting Bra do most of the waving, smirking, and crowd rousing. Pan was wearing an expression that vouched for their victory. Marron's face was almost unreadable as she finalized one last meditation to prepare for their fight.
While the crowd was still cheering their arrival, Meece and Lenchi quickly locked minds and began their telepathic battle of wills. Meece was able to cover her friend's abilities and current status with her Guardian skills, but Lenchi was also hindering the process with his third eye abilities. Soon they were in a full out glare match, Meece shoving on Lenchi's wall and the blue haired fighter trying to hold it up. The announcer seemed to sense the tension that settled over the ring and quickly dove to the safety of the grass.
'Guys?' Meece mental voice was weak, all her astral energy pouring into breaking down Lenchi's defenses without hurting him. 'It looks like Goten had a weak spot. He has a bruise on his left arm. Speed, you need to be fast.' She quickly snapped her attention to the others after a particularly vicious shove of mental powers on Lenchi's wall. 'Pan you need to fight Ubuu, no wait, fight Trunks. He's stronger, but he's not expecting us to switch. Bra, take Pan's place, and Marron, you fight Ubuu after the switch. Meece is fighting Lenchi.' Meece sent, eyes narrowing. Switching was not an uncommon occurrence for this battle, but none of the girls had needed to so far.
Lenchi was doing the same thing Meece was, only with far less success. 'Dang it!' Blue hair Lenchi growled softly where Blond Lenchi would have bawled out swear words. 'Trunks, Meece is cloaking the other's current levels. As far as I can tell, she's fighting against me for the whole thing, but… I think the girls are planning to switch during the battle.' He sent. Trunk nodded slightly, and to the crowd it seemed as if it was just the wind blowing through his hair.
"Um… you can fight whenever you are ready." The announcer prodded softly, not wanting to be punched in the head by any fighters. Bra's eyes flashed, fingers itching to fight. Meece rolled one chocolate eye back to look at her friends and then slowly blinked. It was their sign. The fight started.
"Good lord!" Piccolo choked, watching in disbelief as the girls moved forward like a wolf pack…if they could travel faster than the eye could see. The battle was choreographed with skill that Piccolo had only seen Saiya-jins commit to, and it was organized by Meece. Pan and Bra and double-teamed up on Trunks for the initial punch, driving the air from his lungs before splitting apart again, Bra swinging at Ubuu. Marron charged Goten, her feet screeching to a halt on the stone ring right before she reached him and dropped to the ground to sweep his legs out from under him. Her attack failed, but Ubuu now had his side unguarded and Marron took advantage of it. Meece and Lenchi, instead of charging each other, both summoned up chi attacks. Meece danced to the side of the ring, dodging his attack with grace that only a dancer would possess.
Jab, jab, swing, chi blast, dodge. Bra grinned maniacally as Ubuu was unable to land a hit. "What's wrong, Uuo-chan? Can't hit girls?" She teased, fist grazing over his chin. Her response was him catching on her arm and throwing her across the ring. Bra barely caught herself in midair, floating to a gentle halt.
"No, but I can throw them." He responded, still sounding very much the polite teen he was. At that moment, Marron collided with him, sending him crashing to the edge of the ring. He flipped into the air with one arm, using the other to charge a chi ball. Now that Marron had 'taken' Ubuu, she used her secret weapon to her advantage. She struck a pose. Ubuu's face flushed bright red and his arms hung limply by his sides as he stared. The chi ball he had been holding fell to the ground and fizzled out.
Bra smirked as Marron 'disabled' her opponent, but quickly joined up with Goten in battle. "Ah, I thought I'd be lucky enough to get to fight with you." He smiled with that goofy Son grin his family was known for. Bra tossed her hair back, her father's smirk spreading over her face. Then their battle began. Goten was going for disabling hits while Bra was attempting to pin him.
'It seemed to be more of a strange, flirtatious ballet than a battle, but hell, they are saiya-jins so what does Meece know.' Meece thought.
'You said 'hell'!' Lenchi exclaimed in her mind, grabbing on of her fists before it could hit him. 'You've been hanging around us too long, you're becoming corrupted.'
Meece snorted, a chuckle teasing her throat. "Meece was raised by the son of the great Demon King! Meece was born bad!" She snickered, kicking out with her knee. Lenchi countered with his own knee. It was almost as if two mirrors were fighting, neither getting the upper hand on the other. Meece slapped up an astral wall and Lenchi slammed face first into it.
Rubbing his nose in pain, he shook his head to clear his blurry vision. Meece dashed forward, wrapping her arms under his and then behind his head in a modified choke hold. But this caused Lenchi's long hair to brush against his nose, which triggered a sneeze.
"Ahhh…AHHH…HAAA-CHOOO!"
.
o.O !!!
"Ahh, L-lenchi? Can you let go of Meece's butt?" Blond Lenchi had a firm grip on Meece's posterior, his hands had flung out and searched for somewhere to grab during the sneeze. Now that he was in 'blond' form, he found his handhold to be rather amusing. After a very long moment, Lenchi removed his hands and Meece quickly broke the hold on him to retreat to a safe distance.
"Did I ever tell you, how I think green in your color?" Lenchi smiled slyly. "And how about…how your dad is probably going to kill me for that little stunt I just pulled." He jabbed his chin in the direction of the stands.
"DAMN RIGHT I WILL!" Piccolo roared, his sensitive ears able to hear Lenchi's words. Goku had to forcibly restrain the angry namek from entering the ring. Vegeta was nearly falling out of his seat with laughter. Tien rubbed his forehead above his third eye, wishing for just a moment that Lenchi had inherited a little more of his personality. Blue haired Lunch watched as her son battled, her small hands clasped to her mouth in shock and horror.
"Oh dear! I hope Lenchi doesn't get hurt. I hope he doesn't hurt that nice Meece-girl either." Lunch buried her head in her husband's arm, wince as Lenchi dodged a fairly vicious swing from Bra (who 'happened' to be passing by their battle). Tien awkwardly pat his wife's shoulder, trying to keep his attention on the battle.
Trunks was easily blocking all of Pan's punches now, a smug expression of her face while Pan's bore one of intense concentration. "What? Is this all you got?" He smirked. The young demi-saiyajin girl was marked with many small forming bruises and her chi level was dropping quickly. It was time for drastic measures. Pan growled and ran straight at him, colliding with his chest. Her momentum carried both of them to the edge of the stone ring, and then, in a moment of breathless shock, they both hit the grass below.
Bra watched in open mouthed shock as both her brother and Pan were disqualified. "I'm surrounded by… IMBECILS!" She shouted, fisting large strands of her blue hair. "My own brother!" Bra shook her head furiously. And then she got dramatic. Marron, still battling with Ubuu, suddenly backed into Bra. Bra gave a shriek and toppled backwards, landing out of the ring and crushing down on the other two disqualified demi saiya-jins.
This lead to a very open mouthed Goten and Ubuu. "This… ever happened before in a tournament?" Ubuu asked. Goten shook his head, staring as Bra jumped to her feet and glowered.
But their distraction proved to be their fatal downflaw. "GOTCHA!" Marron shouted, pouncing at Ubuu. The dark skinned fighter was sent wobbling at Goten, who was still staring at Bra. And thus began yet another domino effect. Goten was knocked out of the ring much like those suspended 'clacky' balls were, the collision propelling him off the ring. But Marron's attack had pressed a portion of her chest against Ubuu's face. The two of them stood froze in absolute shock.
And then Ubuu developed a nosebleed and passed out.
"What is WRONG with this fight?!" Vegeta tugged on his dark hair, frustration set into every line on his face. "Is gravity obscenely strong today, or aren't ANY of them paying attention!"
Of the three left, Lenchi and Meece, had developed a case of sweatdrops as their teams suffered from a very embarrassing loss. Marron was in a state of gloating and embarrassment. Both of the girls snapped out of their stupor and quickly dropped into battle poses. Before Lenchi could react, he was now blocking double the amount of fists.
"Two, against… one. Hardly fair." Lenchi panted, jerking his face out of punching range. "So… I guess, I'll just have to…" He smirked, sucking in a lung full of air.
Meece's eye widened and then snapped shut a split second later. "Close your eyes, Marron!" she commanded, but her order went unheeded.
"SOLAR FLARE!" Lenchi's attack caught Marron totally off guard, and she slapped her hands to her eyes to rub at the abused orbs. Lenchi, a smirk fixed to his face, raised one finger and pushed her off the end of the ring they had been fighting so precariously close too. Vegeta was now cursing Dende for making this such a 'crappy' fight. But Goku and Tien had to admit, it was a good tactic, if a bit sneaky.
Meece threw her weight at Lenchi, her elbow driving into his chest. Air expelled from his lungs as he toppled over on the stone ring. Meece had used her leg to trip him over, and then followed him down and her arms formed a low stranglehold on his neck. Almost two feet from the edge of the ring, Meece couldn't find the strength to throw him, and Lenchi didn't have the leverage to toss her off. The small, green-haired girl racked her brains for a plan, all while keeping her mental shield up. She didn't have much strength left, but she did have one last tricky idea.
'Lenchi.' Meece prodded at his mind, letting up on the chokehold just a little. His third eye, flecked with bits of gold among the green, was trained on her every move. 'Meece just wanted to you to know…you really do have a cute butt.' And with that, she pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.
The tri-clopse stiffened, eyes widening to impossible levels. His brain froze, and words were unable to retort back. When Meece pulled away, he barely had time to note the slight smirk on her face before the flurry of movement that followed. Meece rolled them over onto her back, and then used the momentum to keep going. With a final roll, Meece pushed Lenchi out of the ring.
"Laaaa~dies and Gentlemen! We have a winner!!" The announcer shouted into the microphone. The crowd burst into cheers and hoots and Meece stood up and dusted herself off. "Meece's team has won, thanks to a spectacular group effort and excellent leadership!" The human with the loud voice continued to ramble on, but it all became a blur to Piccolo.
*Piccolo?* Kami ventured, wondering why there was no response from the 'body'. *It… it was just a ploy, you know? Meece's last defense, right?*
No answer.
*Hey, Kami, is this bad?* Nail asked.
Piccolo exhaled softly, almost a chuckle. 'You know, of all the humans on this planet, the weaklings Meece could have chosen, she really did get the best of them.'
*What? The best loser, or the best human?* Nail asked.
'Hey, Nail.' Piccolo thought to himself, his antenna twitching with irritation. 'Ooooohhh, there-was-a-squirrel-and-he-ran-across-the-street-and-didn't-get-hit-by-a-car-and-went….'.
*NOOO!!* Nail wailed, but then was forced by the horrible addicting ability of the song to continue. *WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! Oh, Dende, why me? WHY ME?!*