This is actually by a friend of mine, penname also Katsuko. She doesn't have her own account, so I'm just posting and betaing it for her. Please read and review, I had to prod her into even posting this in the first place!!

Dragon Ball Z (Kat's Version)

Chapter 1:

Gohan flopped onto the grass, Goten following after. The sun was starting to lower into the horizon, the pinks and oranges melting into one another. Their day of training was over.

Goten stared up at the clouds and gave a happy sigh. "I bet Daddy's up there training, too. Do you think so, Gohan?"

Gohan smiled wistfully and said. "Yeah. Him and Kat are probably training real hard."

Goten got up on his elbow with a puzzled expression on his face. "Kat? Who's Kat?"

Gohan facefaulted. "'Who's Kat?' You mean you don't know?"

Goten flopped back down and put his hands behind his head for a pillow. "I don't think so. Is this a friend of Dad's, or something?"

Gohan shook his head in disbelief. "Not really." He paused, and then added, "She's my twin sister, Goten."

Finally Goten's light bulb went off. His face lit up. "I remember, now! Cell killed her the same day Dad died!"

"Yep. That's her. I was afraid for a second that you had never heard of her."

"Mom told me about Kat when I was little, but I kinda forgot." Goten rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, then looked up at his brother. "We don't talk about her much."

"Yeah, Mom used to get teary-eyed everytime her name came up. When we were going to wish her and Dad back with the Dragonballs, she told us telepathically that we shouldn't waste a wish on her; that we should use it for a better cause. And we shouldn't worry because we would meet again, anyway. She also said that she could use the hyperbolic time chamber then, because Mom wouldn't be up there to tell her no!" Gohan smiled and looked at Goten who was staring at the clouds.

Goten spoke. "I think she was a good enough cause."

Gohan put an arm around his kid brother's shoulder. "Yeah. I think she was, too."

Just then, breaking the silence, Chi Chi yelled, "Dinner!" They were in the kitchen before she finished the word.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Goku threw a punch at Katsuko, just missing her face. She grinned and started to punch at him with lightning speed. He dodged each of her blows, but he was amazed at the accuracy of them. Just then Katsuko punched him in the gut, sending him backwards. Even after the attack, she stayed alert to his movements.

Goku stared at her aghast, then grinned. Katsuko phased out and reappeared behind him, ready to set a headlock. Goku had anticipated her movements, and flung his arms behind him to grab her. He swung her over his shoulders and threw her across the chamber. Katsuko hit one of the pillars, and slid down headfirst. She landed on her back with a thud. The pillar cracked, then crumbled to the ground around Katsuko's prone body.

Katsuko lay there breathless. She should have expected that move from Goku, but she just hadn't thought about it at the time. Goku stood over her and held out a hand. "Hey, maybe we should take a break now, okay?"

Katsuko looked up at him. She smiled and grabbed his strong hand. "Sounds good to me!" As he pulled her off the ground, Katsuko glanced at the pile of rubble that used to be a pillar. She turned and looked at her dad, grinning, and pointed behind her shoulder. "How many times have they had to fix that thing?"

Goku thought a bit and said, "I think this is the seventh time."

"We demolish it every year."

"Yeah. Kat, how 'bout we clean ourselves up and get a bite to eat?"

Kat's eyes widened. She was so hungry. "Yeah. I'm starved. But first I think I need to take a bath."

"You go ahead. I'll make us some sandwiches."

"Make sure that they're the kind that would make Dagwood proud, 'k?"

Goku smiled that well-known smile of his. "OK."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kat eased her body into the steaming tub. She relaxed a bit then started scrubbing. She winced as the soap seeped through the cuts on her body. Then the hot water started to make her muscles ache.

'Man!' she thought, 'My muscles are so sore! I've been training harder than I ever have before. I guess that's because the tournament's coming up. I can't even go, because Baba can only bring back one person at a time. This really sucks! But Dad really deserves to go back instead of me. He'd win for sure. I still wish there was a way for me to go. I am so ready! Oh, well. I guess there'll be other tournaments.'

She leaned back in the tub, letting the bubbles drift off her. As she rested her head on the edge, she felt a sharp pang down her neck and back.

'Itai! Dad sure threw me hard! I can't be a baby about it, though. I told him not to go easy on me 'cause I'm his daughter -- not like he would anyway. At least I know that he has a few cuts and bruises of his own!'

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Gohan and Goten were sitting at the table, stuffing their faces with rice. Chi Chi stared at them, holding her chopsticks in midair. She still couldn't figure out how Saiyans could eat so much and so fast.

Finally they stopped and sat there, holding their stomachs with happy little smiles on their faces. "That was some good eats, Mom!" Gohan said.

"Yeah, real good," Goten added.

Chi Chi smiled at them. "Well, I'm glad you like it. For a second there, I thought you were going to burst!"

"No Mama. We could never do that. 'Cause you said that our stomachs are bottomless pits!" Goten recited, still grinning goofily.

"Well, that I know for a fact," Chi Chi replied as she took a bite of rice.

Goten sat there, watching her eat. Finally he asked, "Mom, when are Dad and Kat coming for the tournament?"

Chi Chi stopped eating. She knew he was going to ask this. Ever since Gohan had told him about Katsuko earlier that day, he had wanted to meet her. Even when he didn't think about her, she knew that deep down in his heart that he wanted to. It was the same thing about his dad, because he never got to meet him, either.

She sat down her chopsticks and looked at her son, then spoke. "She's not going to the tournament, Goten."

Goten's eyes widened. "But, why? Was she bad?"

Chi Chi smiled and shook her head. "No. Not that I know of. You forget, though, that Baba can only bring one person back at a time. I bet she really wants to meet you, though."

"Oh, yeah. Forgot." Goten looked down at his empty plate with a sad look on his face.

Gohan saw this and said, "Cheer up, bud. I'll bet you'll get to see her next year at the tournament. Maybe even someday our whole family can be together."

Goten's face brightened. "Do you really think so?"

"Yeah, I do. Anyway, you get to meet Dad, right?"

"Right!"

Both of them smiled and nodded, turned to their mother, and asked, "Are you going to eat that?"

Chi Chi looked at them and dropped her head in her hands.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Goku and Kat were packing their things, about to leave the Time Chamber. After Kat finished packing her clothes, she took out a little pouch from one of the pockets in her backpack. In it she had her most prized possessions: a friendship bracelet that Gohan had made for her when they were kids, some fortunes that she had gotten from fortune cookies, a sensu bean that Vegeta had thrown out, a pocketknife, her fingerless gloves, a blackbelt, and, her most precious and valuable item, a glass Dragonball with four stars on it. Mr. Popo had made it for her when she told him how much she missed the real Dragonballs. It was the closest thing she had to a "great-grandfather" while in Otherworld.

She took the bracelet, gloves, and blackbelt out of the pouch and put them on. Then she tied the pouch to her waist. She turned to her father, who was standing at the door.

"Ready to go?" Goku asked.

Kat picked up her backpack and swung it over her shoulders. "Yeah, I'm ready." She walked over to Goku and gave a weak smile.

Goku looked at her with worried eyes and asked, "Hey, Kitten, something wrong?"

"Hm? Oh, no, not really." She paused. "Well, I just feel kinda stupid for that move I made earlier."

Goku grinned and patted her shoulder. "Kat, it wasn't stupid. You just didn't think is all. It was a mistake. That's what training is for, isn't it? To find your weaknesses and fix 'em, right?"

Kat nodded. "Right."

"Kitten, there's still something wrong, isn't there?"

"No." She looked away.

"It's the tournament, isn't it?"

Kat looked up at her father. 'How does he do that?' she thought. 'Well, I guess being with him 24/7 for seven years would do the trick.' She looked away from his eyes. "Yeah, but I'm fine. Really."

"Are you sure? If you..."

"Sure I'm sure. I mean, I can't get my way all the time. Anyway, I want you to meet Goten first. And I mean that, too." She grinned and turned toward the door. "C'mon, Dad. Let's go. Dende and Popo are probably waiting for us." The door opened and she walked out.

Goku stood there a moment, thinking. "I know she wants to go to the tournament badly. She should go. She's been training hard. I'll just have to figure it out one way or another."

He heard a voice from outside. "Hey, Dad! Are ya comin' or do you want to stay in there for another year?"

Goku smiled. "Yeah. I'm comin'." He walked out of the chamber, and the door slammed behind him.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more chapters as soon as both this site and Kat's creative juices are running! Send comments, critisms, and as many ideas as you can to kpeng1@yahoo.com -- I'll make sure Kat gets them. Oh, and no need to sugarcoat the reviews -- she can handle it.