When Goku arrived at the Capsule Corp. building with Usagi, he pretty much let himself in. Bulma had been expecting him and left the door unlocked. She knew that Vejita didn't want to be bothered with opening doors. Especially if it was to let Goku in. She would have let him in, but she was swamped with her Saiyan patients.
Usagi grabbed her father's hand as she walked down the hall with him. She could feel herself becoming more and more nervous about seeing her brothers with each step that she took. She leaned into his leg as she thought about the 'virus'. She hoped that she couldn't get it. That was a big worry of hers.
Goku stopped in front of the door and looked down at his daughter. "Usagi, you haven't really seen your brothers in a while. I don't want you to freak out when you see them all right? They wouldn't want you to do that. Try not to get emotional either." Goku knew that by telling her not to be emotional, he was basically telling her not to be herself. He knew that she probably would end up getting upset, but he had to try to keep her in line. If Gohan and Goten saw her crying over them, they too would be heart broken.
Usagi nodded. "K. I'll try." Usagi watched as her father opened the door. She walked in before him, being careful not to be too loud just in case someone was trying to sleep.
The sound of the door closing startled Bulma. "Who's there?" She turned around and smiled when she saw that it was just Goku and Usagi. "Hi you guys." She said as she stood up and looked over to Goten, Gohan, and Pan. "It looks like Pan and Goten are asleep right now."
Usagi looked over the three Saiyans. They didn't look bad, yet at the same time, they didn't look great either. She walked up to Gohan and grabbed his hand while her father stood behind her. Gohan looked up and smiled. He was happy to have visitors. Videl had dropped by earlier and had already left. "Hey you guys. How's goin?"
"Well, things are going ok for us. Guess I can't say the same about you can I?" Goku pulled up a chair and sat by the bed that his son lay in.
Usagi hopped up onto her father's lap. "Are you feeling any better Gohan?"
"Not really. Bulma says our conditions seem to be stabilizing a bit. That's good news, I guess."
"What does Stay-ba-li-zing mean?"
Gohan laughed. He remembered what it was like to always have to ask questions about words. Always being in the dark when it came to what was going on in the world around him. "Well, it means it's staying the same. Or even getting a little better."
"Oh. Mamma says that she loves you and wishes that she could be here." Usagi looked to Pan when she heard a noise in her direction.
Pan sat up when she heard voices. She looked over to her father and grandfather. "Hi guys, what's up." She immediately grabbed her head and lay back down. "Oh my head."
Goku put Usagi back on the ground and stood up. "Pan? What's wrong?"
"It's my head. Whenever I'm not lying down, it starts to throb."
Usagi looked up at her father. "Daddy, why haven't you and Vejita gotten sick again? And why haven't I gotten sick at all?"
Goku wished that he had the answers for his daughter's questions. If he would have known them, he would have done something about it though. He wouldn't just be standing around and watching his family and friends deteriorate before his eyes. "I don't know sweetie. We are keeping and eye on the situation though. Bulma, have you found out anything yet?"
"No, I have done multiple tests on these guys, but they always show the same results. That nothing is in them. Whatever is making them sick is really tricky and well hidden. I just don't know how it could go undetected for so long. I'm really stumped on this one you guys. And what's worse is my Trunks has come down with the same thing as the rest of the group."
"What? When did this happen." Goku looked back at Trunks, who was sound asleep.
"About noon today." Bulma looked to Pan. "Now the only one left to get really sick is Pan. Let's just pray that that doesn't happen." She looked back up at Goku. "I hope you guys don't get sick again. And I really hope that this thing skips you, Usagi."
Goku put his hand on Usagi's shoulder. He didn't want to think about his daughter getting sick. "This has got to be the strangest thing that has ever happened."
"Yeah no kidding dad. And we've been through some pretty strange things in our lives. Most which were hard on us. But, like you always say. We will pull through. We have never lost before. There have been many times when things look for the worst, but turn around and turn into something for the best." Gohan closed his eyes and put his arms behind his head.
Goku nodded his head in aggreeance. "And I still stand by those words, too."
~*~*~
Tuesday of the next week. Gotta speed things up a bit.
Kiro looked at his watch. "20 Minutes." He looked up to his partner, Taku. "Is everything set up for our departure?"
"Yes."
"What about the Saiyan child?"
"There is none. We think that the Saiyan may have adopted. Okori and Tarupa were investigating the situation and found that the brown haired child held no Saiyan genes. We didn't even bother to check the golden hair children since Saiyan's only give birth to dark haired offspring. Just to be on the safe side, Okori checked them both for tails. Both of them had no tail."
"So what you are telling me is that we have located all of the Saiyans on this planet, right?"
"Right. We are ready to leave as soon as you are ready sir."
"Great. Finally, we can rid the universe of the Saiyan race. The prophecy may have come true a little too late, but it still came true. But, we will stop it before all of it comes true. Come Tarupa, it is time. Say goodbye to the earth. We shall die protecting it, along with our brothers. Our deaths shall not be in vain." Kiro shook the hand of Taku. "I shall see you in the afterlife."
"Goodbye my friend. If anything goes wrong, I will see you before."
Kiro and Taku took off into separate directions after they said their good-byes to each other, pretty sure that they would never see each other again. Kiro headed to the mountains, while Taku headed deeper into the city then they he already was to carry out his plans as advised.
~*~*~
Usagi, Minako, and Makoto had been excited the whole day about the Budaki Tournament. They would be leaving directly after school so they could be there that night to watch the adult tournaments. Usagi still couldn't believe that she was going. For the longest time she couldn't figure out why her father would always say 'no' whenever she had asked. That didn't matter anymore though. None of it did. The next few days Usagi would try to forget all of her worries and just have a good time with her friends and father. That was the best thing for her right now anyways. She needed something to take her mind off everything that was happening. So far, she was lucky enough not to get caught by the 'virus'. Her father and Vejita had also been quite lucky. Neither of them had shown signs of getting sick. And those who were sick, seemed to get sick to a certain point, and then they pretty much stayed the same. Everyone was baffled by these events but life still went on. It had to. She looked up at the clock. "One minute to go. I can't wait."
Makoto sat on the edge of her chair, ready to fly out of her chair and shoot out the door as soon as that clock said 3:00. "I know, it's killing me. Why won't he just let out us now? I mean, one minute won't make a difference."
Minako pulled out her watch that counted the seconds. "Ok, in 7…6…5…4…3…2…1…we are outta here!"
The three girls ran out of the room like insane maniacs. They pushed through everyone that got in their way as they made their way to the bathroom so they could change. Usagi probably pushed the most. She didn't want to loose anytime. She pushed and pushed until she ran into something hard. She thought it was a wall until she looked up. "Mamoru! What do you want." Minako and Makoto stopped shortly behind.
Mamoru frowned. "Where are you going in such a hurry Odango?"
Haruka walked out from behind him with Michiru. "Yeah Monkey Girl. I thought we told you to stay away from us. Mamoru, I think you should show her what happens when someone like her sorry self crosses us."
Mamoru smirked. "Well, I would…but I think I'll wait for later. I actually want a challenge this time. You know, something you are not." He poked Usagi in the chest as he insulted her.
Makoto frowned. "Are you going to take this from that jerk Usagi?"
Usagi grinned. "Yeah, but that's just until the tournament. Once we are there I'm going to beat you worse then you could ever imagine. I've learned a few more tricks since we last met."
Mamoru raised his eyebrow a bit. "Oh really? You are going to be joining the tournament? I hope your Sensei entered you in the tournament for weaklings, because you suck big time."
Makoto clenched her hands into tight little fists. She wanted so badly to hit him, but knew it was no use. There were too many teachers around at the time and she didn't want to get suspended. "Why don't you shut your mouth? No one cares about what you have to say."
Usagi smiled. "Yeah, who DOES care? I for one don't." She walked passed Mamoru. "Oh yeah, Haruka, why don't you stop hiding behind Mamoru? Or are you afraid of me?" She laughed as she continued to walk down the hall.
Minako laughed as she passed the girl with short hair. "Yeah, you know we could beat you in a heart beat. You're just too chicken." Haruka went to punch Minako in the back as she walked further away. Minako had a pretty good feeling that she would try something like this. She turned around and caught Haruka's fist in her hand. With her free hand, she gave a little 'baby' punch to Haruka's shoulder.
Haruka grabbed her shoulder as she pulled her fist away from Minako. "Where did such a pipsqueak like you acquire so much freaking power?"
Minako evilly smiled. "Wouldn't you like to know." With that she turned around and joined her friends who had turned around and just seen what had happened. They were both cracking up and laughing as loud and as hard as they could.
Haruka turned back to Mamoru. "Why didn't you stop her?"
Mamoru turned around and began to walk away. "You need to lean to fight. Maybe my father could teach you."
~*~*~
Usagi was the first to go outside and wait for her father to arrive. He was running a little late. He was probably just getting a few things straightened up with her mother before they left. She didn't seem to happy when Usagi and her father told her mother about her having to miss school for the tournament. Usagi just figured that they were in a fight again. Although, they hadn't really argued with each other after the day the Usagi had gotten herself beaten up.
Usagi looked up at the sky. There was no sign of her father. "Where are you daddy?"
"Usagi!" Minako ran out of the school with Makoto. They were both soaking wet.
Usagi giggled. "I think I missed something good while I was out here."
"Yeah, you did. Me and Minako had a water fight in the bathroom. It was so funny." Makoto rang some water out of the skirt of her GI. "There we were, splashing water onto each other, and a teacher walks in. She's all like, 'What are you two girls doing in here?'"
"Yeah, and then we were all like, 'uh, nothing?' And the lady got all mad at us and started yelling at us. So Makoto put her finger over the faucet on the sprayed the water up into the ladies face." Minako tried to keep from laughing. "Then we ran out of the bathroom before we got caught."
Usagi laughed along with her friends. "I wish I could have been there. Who was the teacher?"
"Who knows. Some fourth grade teacher, I think." Makoto looked to the doors. Since they were glass, she could see someone running to them. She squinted her eyes so she could see the person better. "Uh oh you guys. I think she's coming right now. Let's split."
"But daddy hasn't gotten here yet."
Makoto jumped into the air. "Then you stay here. If me and Minako get caught, we are going to be in big trouble."
Usagi looked into the air and then back at the teacher who was approaching them at a rather uncomfortable fast rate. "Man, I guess we will have to go home first after all." She jumped into the air to join her friends just as the teacher reached where she was previously standing. "Come on you guys. Let's go to my house. If daddy comes here and doesn't see us, he will most likely go back home first."
The teacher looked up at the three fighters. She couldn't believe that they were flying. Although, she did remember a time when she watched others flying on TV when that character "Cell" was attacking earth. But Mr. Satan had told everyone it was a trick. Damn him Maybe it wasn't a trick after all. "You two get back here. I'm not finished with you."
Minako looked over her shoulder. "Sometimes being able to fly has some really good points about it."
~*~*~
"So what did you want Goku?" Piccolo stood in the family room of the Son house. Goku had called him over there for a reason that he would not say. Piccolo looked somewhat angry, like he needed to be somewhere. "I don't have time for this."
Goku sat in a chair. "Piccolo, you know about what's happening with the Saiyans don't you?"
Piccolo nodded. "What does this have to do with me being here?"
Goku slouched in his chair. He let his arms hang over the armrests. "Well, I can feel something coming on. I felt it not too long ago. Like my body is becoming sick. Like before. Only this time, I fear that it will be worse. I was supposed to pick Usagi and her friends up at school about fifteen minutes ago so we could go to the Budaki Tournament."
"Where do I come into play?" Piccolo pretty much knew what the answer was going to be. Although he didn't really want to do it. He had other plans for the rest of the week.
Goku coughed. "See what I mean? It's happening already. What I need you to do, is go to the school, pick Usagi up, and take her to the tournament."
"What?! Why me?"
"Please Piccolo? I can't pick someone else. You are the only one that I would trust with her. I know you. You pretty much took care of Gohan when I wasn't able to."
Piccolo crossed his arms. What Goku was asking him to do was outrageous. Piccolo couldn't drop his plans. "I can't do it Goku. Usagi is old enough to go alone without the judges questioning her."
"She doesn't know what she's doing. She has never been there before. If you don't take her, I don't know who else I can get." Goku's head was beginning to throb.
Piccolo sighed. Goku was right. Usagi wouldn't know what she was doing. She wouldn't be able to handle the responsibility of looking after herself. "I just want you to know that this is a real stretch for me. You owe me BIG time."
Goku leaned his head against the back of the chair. "Thank you Piccolo." Goku was startled by the sound of his front door being thrown against the wall. He looked up and saw his daughter standing in the doorway. "Usagi, what are you doing here?!" 'What the…I didn't even sense her coming. Nor did I sense Minako and Makoto.'
Usagi looked at her father and then at Piccolo. Once again, she was confused. "I thought you were taking us to the tournament daddy. Why is Piccolo here?"
Goku sighed. He didn't want her to be here. "Usagi, I can't take you. I'm getting sick again. I don't want you to be around me, otherwise, you might get sick too. So I've asked Piccolo to take you guys."
Usagi didn't know what to make of what she just heard her father say. Piccolo wasn't supposed to take them, her father was. "Sick!? You can't be sick! And Piccolo can't take me. I don't even know him." Usagi had been a little bit afraid of Piccolo anyways. He pretty much ignored her and when they did talk, he always had something rude to say to her.
Goku frowned. "Usagi, don't argue with me. I'm putting my foot down on this one. You are going with him and that's final."
Usagi frowned. "I'm not going without you and THAT'S final." She put her bag down on the ground and ran to her room.
Goku looked up to Piccolo as he stood up. "I'm sorry she's being so rude. I'll go get her." He walked back to his daughter's room.
Piccolo didn't think he should have to take her. He didn't want to take her. The only reason why he was doing it because Goku had asked him to. She was acting like a brat. That's one of the reasons why he didn't really like her. She was too whiny.
~*~*~
Goku stood in front of his daughter's room and knocked on the door. "Usagi! Come on, I don't care what you want. You are going!"
Usagi sat in the dark holding her pillow. "I don't care. I'm not going with Piccolo and you can't make me. I'll go if you go."
"Usagi I'm not going. I can't go. I'm getting sick. Do you want to get sick because you were around me? That's what is going to happen. Now get out here before I come in there after you." Goku didn't normally just bust into her room. He respected the fact that she wanted her privacy and would wait for her to say that she was ready. But for occasions like this, he would have to just go in.
Usagi didn't believe him. "Then I'm not going either."
"Minako and Makoto want to go."
"Then let them go." Usagi was lucky that her mother wasn't home. If she would have acted like that around her mother, she would have been in so much trouble.
"Stop acting like a baby."
"I am a baby."
"No you aren't. Now I'm going to give you one more chance. Get out here NOW!" Usagi didn't reply. She didn't believe that he would make her. He rarely ever made her do anything that she didn't want to do. "Usagi, that's it, I'm coming in after you." He grabbed the handle and opened the door, letting it slam against the wall. He looked to Usagi, who was now grabbing on to one of her bedposts. "That's not going to help you." He walked over to her and wrapped one of his hands around her chest, and his other around her stomach.
"No! I'm not going. Leave me alone!" She grabbed on as tightly as she could as her father tugged on her.
Goku frowned. "You ARE going and you are going to lean from it. I didn't enter you in it for fun. Now let's go. Let go." He let go of her stomach and started to peel her fingers off of her bedpost. "Let go."
"No!"
"Usagi, let go." Once he would get one hand off he would go to the next. And once he did that, Usagi immediately put her hand back on. "Usagi, I'm getting angry. Now stop playing games!" Goku thought that her fit days were over once she started fighting. But he was wrong. 'I guess girls stay the same no matter what.' That was another thing that Vejita had been right about. He could have just yanked her off with no problem, but he didn't want to hurt her so he didn't. "Usagi…" He gave up on trying to pull her hands off and went back to tugging on her.
"Let go daddy!"
"Not until you stop this stupid attitude of yours. You should consider yourself lucky to be able to go with Piccolo. He is a great fighter."
"I don't care! He's mean to me!"
"No…he's…not!" Goku let Usagi go. "Fine, if you want to stop your training right here, then you don't have to go to the tournament." Goku turned around and sneezed. He could feel the pressure building up in his temples. This thing with Usagi was not helping it either.
Usagi looked up at her father. "But…that's not fair. Just because I don't do this?" Goku nodded. "But I want to fight better."
"Then go to the tournament." Goku could see the disappointment in his daughter's face. "You have to learn to do things that you don't want to do. Now let's get you ready to go. I don't want anymore of that whining from you."
Usagi sighed and let go of her bedpost. She climbed off her bed and stood by her father. "What if something happens?"
"Nothing is going to happen. Now out of this room." He made sure she left the room before him so she wouldn't try to fly out the window or anything.
~*~*~
Piccolo glared at Usagi when she walked out of the hallway with Goku behind her. He also looked somewhat angry. "Are you done whining?"
Usagi frowned. "I wasn't whining." She walked passed him to stand with Minako and Makoto who had pretty much just given Piccolo the third degree. "I guess we have to go with him." Minako and Makoto didn't have a problem with that. They found that he wasn't all that bad of a guy and didn't see what Usagi was complaining about.
Goku let himself fall down into his chair again. He was beginning to feel more and more sick by the minute. He would wait until Chi-Chi returned home to go to Bulma's. He didn't want her to think that he was with Usagi, and then find out that he was at Bulma's. He knew what would happen then. She would end up yelling at him for about and hour at least. He grabbed his forehead. "Usagi, don't sound so unenthusiastic about it."
Usagi looked to her father. "Daddy, you know I don't know big words like that."
"It means, don't sound so unhappy about it."
"Oh, why didn't you just say so?" Usagi looked up at Piccolo. "Are we going to leave or just sit around?"
Piccolo looked down at the blonde Saiyan and frowned. 'This is going to be a long tournament. I have to baby-sit three first grade girls.' "Yes we are going." He walked to the door and waved for the girls to follow him.
Usagi watched her friends leave with Piccolo and then walked back to her father. He had his face in his hand. "Bye daddy."
Goku looked up. "Good bye Usagi. Don't act up for Piccolo please. He's not bad. Give him a chance."
"I'll try."
"You will do more than try. If I hear that you didn't behave, then you will be in trouble. I'm serious about this one."
Usagi didn't ever doubt that he wasn't. She knew that he rarely ever said that and when he did, he usually did mean it. "I won't."
"You should probably leave now without getting too close to me. I don't want you getting sick."
"USAGI! GET OUT HERE IF YOU WANT TO GO!"
"Coming Piccolo. Bye daddy. See you in a few days." Usagi turned around and ran out the door.
"Goody bye. Good luck!" Goku leaned his head back into the chair. He was finally alone. Not that he didn't like his daughter being around, he just had a splitting headache and wanted peace and quiet. He could feel his heart beating in his head. "Great, just great."
~*~*~
Piccolo glared at Usagi. "I don't want to have any trouble from you. I don't think I'll have a problem from your friends but I'm not sure about you."
"I won't be a problem. I'm sorry about the way I acted." Usagi jumped into the air.
Piccolo was pretty sure that Goku had told her to say that. 'I can't believe that she's Gohan's sister. She acts so different then he did when he was that age.' "I'm just making sure."
~*~*~
This year, the Budaki Tournament was being held in Tokyo. That's why Piccolo had to take them. They were going to be staying in a hotel. Piccolo looked back to make sure that the girls still followed him and to make sure that none of them were lagging behind. "Hurry up you guys."
"You're going way to fast Piccolo." Makoto was already going her fullest speed.
"No I'm not. You guys are just slacking. Just because you are human doesn't mean anything either. I've seen what humans can do." Piccolo didn't decrease his speed. The way he saw it, either they would keep up with him, or they would find their own way to the tournament.
Minako looked below her. "Are we in Tokyo yet?"
"Yes, the tournament isn't too far from here. We are staying about one mile away from it." Piccolo spotted a crowd of people below him. "We must be near. Follow me." Piccolo descended. He decided that they would walk the rest of the way.
The girls followed as they were told. Usagi kept her distance from Piccolo. She could tell that he didn't like her. Just by the way he talked to her and the way he was always glaring at her. She walked behind him with Minako and Makoto as she looked around to all the different places. "This is cool."
Piccolo stopped and turned around. "I know that I'm not walking to fast for you. Why do you insist on walking so far behind me?"
Usagi looked to her friends. "Well…" She sighed. "I don't know." She knew that it was impossible to argue with him. "Fine, we can walk up with you."
"I don't know why you have to be afraid of me. I'm not going to bite. I've put those days behind me."
Makoto looked up to Piccolo. She didn't know much about him and definitely didn't know what he had meant by that. "What is that supposed to mean."
"Yeah Piccolo."
Piccolo looked over to Usagi. He had at least hoped that she would know about him. She was Goku's daughter. "Hasn't your father or brother told you anything about me Usagi?" She shook her head.
"Why don't you tell us?" Minako grabbed Piccolo's arm.
'It's happening again. Why do I always make kids like me so much?' He thought as he looked down at Minako. He wanted to pull his arm away, but didn't want to seem rude. "To make a long story short, I once tried to kill Goku and rule the world. Then I met Usagi's brother, Gohan, when he was four. I trained him for a year. In that year, I realized what a true friend was. That's what I mean by biting. If I hadn't met Gohan, I probably would still be trying to kill Goku."
Usagi looked forward. "Oh. Ok! Ooh, ooh, ooh, is that the hotel we are staying at?" Usagi jumped up and down as she pointed to a building.
Piccolo looked at the building that Usagi pointed to. It was a tall pale pink building decorated with rainbow colored flowers all around it. "I think so. It's on the right street."
"It's so cute!" Minako burst into a run. She wanted to see the inside of the building. "Come on you guys. We gotta go. Come on. Come on."
Usagi laughed as she ran to join her friend. "This is cool!"
He watched as the two girls ran to the hotel. 'Those two are too alike for me.' He looked down at Makoto who was still walking at his side. "Aren't you going to obsess over that building, too?"
"Nope. I've seen better. I mean, it's cute, but I've seen cuter. Have you ever seen the…"
Piccolo looked up as he tuned Makoto out. 'Why did I even ask?'
(K! That's it for this part. What do you think? Please review.)
Usagi grabbed her father's hand as she walked down the hall with him. She could feel herself becoming more and more nervous about seeing her brothers with each step that she took. She leaned into his leg as she thought about the 'virus'. She hoped that she couldn't get it. That was a big worry of hers.
Goku stopped in front of the door and looked down at his daughter. "Usagi, you haven't really seen your brothers in a while. I don't want you to freak out when you see them all right? They wouldn't want you to do that. Try not to get emotional either." Goku knew that by telling her not to be emotional, he was basically telling her not to be herself. He knew that she probably would end up getting upset, but he had to try to keep her in line. If Gohan and Goten saw her crying over them, they too would be heart broken.
Usagi nodded. "K. I'll try." Usagi watched as her father opened the door. She walked in before him, being careful not to be too loud just in case someone was trying to sleep.
The sound of the door closing startled Bulma. "Who's there?" She turned around and smiled when she saw that it was just Goku and Usagi. "Hi you guys." She said as she stood up and looked over to Goten, Gohan, and Pan. "It looks like Pan and Goten are asleep right now."
Usagi looked over the three Saiyans. They didn't look bad, yet at the same time, they didn't look great either. She walked up to Gohan and grabbed his hand while her father stood behind her. Gohan looked up and smiled. He was happy to have visitors. Videl had dropped by earlier and had already left. "Hey you guys. How's goin?"
"Well, things are going ok for us. Guess I can't say the same about you can I?" Goku pulled up a chair and sat by the bed that his son lay in.
Usagi hopped up onto her father's lap. "Are you feeling any better Gohan?"
"Not really. Bulma says our conditions seem to be stabilizing a bit. That's good news, I guess."
"What does Stay-ba-li-zing mean?"
Gohan laughed. He remembered what it was like to always have to ask questions about words. Always being in the dark when it came to what was going on in the world around him. "Well, it means it's staying the same. Or even getting a little better."
"Oh. Mamma says that she loves you and wishes that she could be here." Usagi looked to Pan when she heard a noise in her direction.
Pan sat up when she heard voices. She looked over to her father and grandfather. "Hi guys, what's up." She immediately grabbed her head and lay back down. "Oh my head."
Goku put Usagi back on the ground and stood up. "Pan? What's wrong?"
"It's my head. Whenever I'm not lying down, it starts to throb."
Usagi looked up at her father. "Daddy, why haven't you and Vejita gotten sick again? And why haven't I gotten sick at all?"
Goku wished that he had the answers for his daughter's questions. If he would have known them, he would have done something about it though. He wouldn't just be standing around and watching his family and friends deteriorate before his eyes. "I don't know sweetie. We are keeping and eye on the situation though. Bulma, have you found out anything yet?"
"No, I have done multiple tests on these guys, but they always show the same results. That nothing is in them. Whatever is making them sick is really tricky and well hidden. I just don't know how it could go undetected for so long. I'm really stumped on this one you guys. And what's worse is my Trunks has come down with the same thing as the rest of the group."
"What? When did this happen." Goku looked back at Trunks, who was sound asleep.
"About noon today." Bulma looked to Pan. "Now the only one left to get really sick is Pan. Let's just pray that that doesn't happen." She looked back up at Goku. "I hope you guys don't get sick again. And I really hope that this thing skips you, Usagi."
Goku put his hand on Usagi's shoulder. He didn't want to think about his daughter getting sick. "This has got to be the strangest thing that has ever happened."
"Yeah no kidding dad. And we've been through some pretty strange things in our lives. Most which were hard on us. But, like you always say. We will pull through. We have never lost before. There have been many times when things look for the worst, but turn around and turn into something for the best." Gohan closed his eyes and put his arms behind his head.
Goku nodded his head in aggreeance. "And I still stand by those words, too."
~*~*~
Tuesday of the next week. Gotta speed things up a bit.
Kiro looked at his watch. "20 Minutes." He looked up to his partner, Taku. "Is everything set up for our departure?"
"Yes."
"What about the Saiyan child?"
"There is none. We think that the Saiyan may have adopted. Okori and Tarupa were investigating the situation and found that the brown haired child held no Saiyan genes. We didn't even bother to check the golden hair children since Saiyan's only give birth to dark haired offspring. Just to be on the safe side, Okori checked them both for tails. Both of them had no tail."
"So what you are telling me is that we have located all of the Saiyans on this planet, right?"
"Right. We are ready to leave as soon as you are ready sir."
"Great. Finally, we can rid the universe of the Saiyan race. The prophecy may have come true a little too late, but it still came true. But, we will stop it before all of it comes true. Come Tarupa, it is time. Say goodbye to the earth. We shall die protecting it, along with our brothers. Our deaths shall not be in vain." Kiro shook the hand of Taku. "I shall see you in the afterlife."
"Goodbye my friend. If anything goes wrong, I will see you before."
Kiro and Taku took off into separate directions after they said their good-byes to each other, pretty sure that they would never see each other again. Kiro headed to the mountains, while Taku headed deeper into the city then they he already was to carry out his plans as advised.
~*~*~
Usagi, Minako, and Makoto had been excited the whole day about the Budaki Tournament. They would be leaving directly after school so they could be there that night to watch the adult tournaments. Usagi still couldn't believe that she was going. For the longest time she couldn't figure out why her father would always say 'no' whenever she had asked. That didn't matter anymore though. None of it did. The next few days Usagi would try to forget all of her worries and just have a good time with her friends and father. That was the best thing for her right now anyways. She needed something to take her mind off everything that was happening. So far, she was lucky enough not to get caught by the 'virus'. Her father and Vejita had also been quite lucky. Neither of them had shown signs of getting sick. And those who were sick, seemed to get sick to a certain point, and then they pretty much stayed the same. Everyone was baffled by these events but life still went on. It had to. She looked up at the clock. "One minute to go. I can't wait."
Makoto sat on the edge of her chair, ready to fly out of her chair and shoot out the door as soon as that clock said 3:00. "I know, it's killing me. Why won't he just let out us now? I mean, one minute won't make a difference."
Minako pulled out her watch that counted the seconds. "Ok, in 7…6…5…4…3…2…1…we are outta here!"
The three girls ran out of the room like insane maniacs. They pushed through everyone that got in their way as they made their way to the bathroom so they could change. Usagi probably pushed the most. She didn't want to loose anytime. She pushed and pushed until she ran into something hard. She thought it was a wall until she looked up. "Mamoru! What do you want." Minako and Makoto stopped shortly behind.
Mamoru frowned. "Where are you going in such a hurry Odango?"
Haruka walked out from behind him with Michiru. "Yeah Monkey Girl. I thought we told you to stay away from us. Mamoru, I think you should show her what happens when someone like her sorry self crosses us."
Mamoru smirked. "Well, I would…but I think I'll wait for later. I actually want a challenge this time. You know, something you are not." He poked Usagi in the chest as he insulted her.
Makoto frowned. "Are you going to take this from that jerk Usagi?"
Usagi grinned. "Yeah, but that's just until the tournament. Once we are there I'm going to beat you worse then you could ever imagine. I've learned a few more tricks since we last met."
Mamoru raised his eyebrow a bit. "Oh really? You are going to be joining the tournament? I hope your Sensei entered you in the tournament for weaklings, because you suck big time."
Makoto clenched her hands into tight little fists. She wanted so badly to hit him, but knew it was no use. There were too many teachers around at the time and she didn't want to get suspended. "Why don't you shut your mouth? No one cares about what you have to say."
Usagi smiled. "Yeah, who DOES care? I for one don't." She walked passed Mamoru. "Oh yeah, Haruka, why don't you stop hiding behind Mamoru? Or are you afraid of me?" She laughed as she continued to walk down the hall.
Minako laughed as she passed the girl with short hair. "Yeah, you know we could beat you in a heart beat. You're just too chicken." Haruka went to punch Minako in the back as she walked further away. Minako had a pretty good feeling that she would try something like this. She turned around and caught Haruka's fist in her hand. With her free hand, she gave a little 'baby' punch to Haruka's shoulder.
Haruka grabbed her shoulder as she pulled her fist away from Minako. "Where did such a pipsqueak like you acquire so much freaking power?"
Minako evilly smiled. "Wouldn't you like to know." With that she turned around and joined her friends who had turned around and just seen what had happened. They were both cracking up and laughing as loud and as hard as they could.
Haruka turned back to Mamoru. "Why didn't you stop her?"
Mamoru turned around and began to walk away. "You need to lean to fight. Maybe my father could teach you."
~*~*~
Usagi was the first to go outside and wait for her father to arrive. He was running a little late. He was probably just getting a few things straightened up with her mother before they left. She didn't seem to happy when Usagi and her father told her mother about her having to miss school for the tournament. Usagi just figured that they were in a fight again. Although, they hadn't really argued with each other after the day the Usagi had gotten herself beaten up.
Usagi looked up at the sky. There was no sign of her father. "Where are you daddy?"
"Usagi!" Minako ran out of the school with Makoto. They were both soaking wet.
Usagi giggled. "I think I missed something good while I was out here."
"Yeah, you did. Me and Minako had a water fight in the bathroom. It was so funny." Makoto rang some water out of the skirt of her GI. "There we were, splashing water onto each other, and a teacher walks in. She's all like, 'What are you two girls doing in here?'"
"Yeah, and then we were all like, 'uh, nothing?' And the lady got all mad at us and started yelling at us. So Makoto put her finger over the faucet on the sprayed the water up into the ladies face." Minako tried to keep from laughing. "Then we ran out of the bathroom before we got caught."
Usagi laughed along with her friends. "I wish I could have been there. Who was the teacher?"
"Who knows. Some fourth grade teacher, I think." Makoto looked to the doors. Since they were glass, she could see someone running to them. She squinted her eyes so she could see the person better. "Uh oh you guys. I think she's coming right now. Let's split."
"But daddy hasn't gotten here yet."
Makoto jumped into the air. "Then you stay here. If me and Minako get caught, we are going to be in big trouble."
Usagi looked into the air and then back at the teacher who was approaching them at a rather uncomfortable fast rate. "Man, I guess we will have to go home first after all." She jumped into the air to join her friends just as the teacher reached where she was previously standing. "Come on you guys. Let's go to my house. If daddy comes here and doesn't see us, he will most likely go back home first."
The teacher looked up at the three fighters. She couldn't believe that they were flying. Although, she did remember a time when she watched others flying on TV when that character "Cell" was attacking earth. But Mr. Satan had told everyone it was a trick. Damn him Maybe it wasn't a trick after all. "You two get back here. I'm not finished with you."
Minako looked over her shoulder. "Sometimes being able to fly has some really good points about it."
~*~*~
"So what did you want Goku?" Piccolo stood in the family room of the Son house. Goku had called him over there for a reason that he would not say. Piccolo looked somewhat angry, like he needed to be somewhere. "I don't have time for this."
Goku sat in a chair. "Piccolo, you know about what's happening with the Saiyans don't you?"
Piccolo nodded. "What does this have to do with me being here?"
Goku slouched in his chair. He let his arms hang over the armrests. "Well, I can feel something coming on. I felt it not too long ago. Like my body is becoming sick. Like before. Only this time, I fear that it will be worse. I was supposed to pick Usagi and her friends up at school about fifteen minutes ago so we could go to the Budaki Tournament."
"Where do I come into play?" Piccolo pretty much knew what the answer was going to be. Although he didn't really want to do it. He had other plans for the rest of the week.
Goku coughed. "See what I mean? It's happening already. What I need you to do, is go to the school, pick Usagi up, and take her to the tournament."
"What?! Why me?"
"Please Piccolo? I can't pick someone else. You are the only one that I would trust with her. I know you. You pretty much took care of Gohan when I wasn't able to."
Piccolo crossed his arms. What Goku was asking him to do was outrageous. Piccolo couldn't drop his plans. "I can't do it Goku. Usagi is old enough to go alone without the judges questioning her."
"She doesn't know what she's doing. She has never been there before. If you don't take her, I don't know who else I can get." Goku's head was beginning to throb.
Piccolo sighed. Goku was right. Usagi wouldn't know what she was doing. She wouldn't be able to handle the responsibility of looking after herself. "I just want you to know that this is a real stretch for me. You owe me BIG time."
Goku leaned his head against the back of the chair. "Thank you Piccolo." Goku was startled by the sound of his front door being thrown against the wall. He looked up and saw his daughter standing in the doorway. "Usagi, what are you doing here?!" 'What the…I didn't even sense her coming. Nor did I sense Minako and Makoto.'
Usagi looked at her father and then at Piccolo. Once again, she was confused. "I thought you were taking us to the tournament daddy. Why is Piccolo here?"
Goku sighed. He didn't want her to be here. "Usagi, I can't take you. I'm getting sick again. I don't want you to be around me, otherwise, you might get sick too. So I've asked Piccolo to take you guys."
Usagi didn't know what to make of what she just heard her father say. Piccolo wasn't supposed to take them, her father was. "Sick!? You can't be sick! And Piccolo can't take me. I don't even know him." Usagi had been a little bit afraid of Piccolo anyways. He pretty much ignored her and when they did talk, he always had something rude to say to her.
Goku frowned. "Usagi, don't argue with me. I'm putting my foot down on this one. You are going with him and that's final."
Usagi frowned. "I'm not going without you and THAT'S final." She put her bag down on the ground and ran to her room.
Goku looked up to Piccolo as he stood up. "I'm sorry she's being so rude. I'll go get her." He walked back to his daughter's room.
Piccolo didn't think he should have to take her. He didn't want to take her. The only reason why he was doing it because Goku had asked him to. She was acting like a brat. That's one of the reasons why he didn't really like her. She was too whiny.
~*~*~
Goku stood in front of his daughter's room and knocked on the door. "Usagi! Come on, I don't care what you want. You are going!"
Usagi sat in the dark holding her pillow. "I don't care. I'm not going with Piccolo and you can't make me. I'll go if you go."
"Usagi I'm not going. I can't go. I'm getting sick. Do you want to get sick because you were around me? That's what is going to happen. Now get out here before I come in there after you." Goku didn't normally just bust into her room. He respected the fact that she wanted her privacy and would wait for her to say that she was ready. But for occasions like this, he would have to just go in.
Usagi didn't believe him. "Then I'm not going either."
"Minako and Makoto want to go."
"Then let them go." Usagi was lucky that her mother wasn't home. If she would have acted like that around her mother, she would have been in so much trouble.
"Stop acting like a baby."
"I am a baby."
"No you aren't. Now I'm going to give you one more chance. Get out here NOW!" Usagi didn't reply. She didn't believe that he would make her. He rarely ever made her do anything that she didn't want to do. "Usagi, that's it, I'm coming in after you." He grabbed the handle and opened the door, letting it slam against the wall. He looked to Usagi, who was now grabbing on to one of her bedposts. "That's not going to help you." He walked over to her and wrapped one of his hands around her chest, and his other around her stomach.
"No! I'm not going. Leave me alone!" She grabbed on as tightly as she could as her father tugged on her.
Goku frowned. "You ARE going and you are going to lean from it. I didn't enter you in it for fun. Now let's go. Let go." He let go of her stomach and started to peel her fingers off of her bedpost. "Let go."
"No!"
"Usagi, let go." Once he would get one hand off he would go to the next. And once he did that, Usagi immediately put her hand back on. "Usagi, I'm getting angry. Now stop playing games!" Goku thought that her fit days were over once she started fighting. But he was wrong. 'I guess girls stay the same no matter what.' That was another thing that Vejita had been right about. He could have just yanked her off with no problem, but he didn't want to hurt her so he didn't. "Usagi…" He gave up on trying to pull her hands off and went back to tugging on her.
"Let go daddy!"
"Not until you stop this stupid attitude of yours. You should consider yourself lucky to be able to go with Piccolo. He is a great fighter."
"I don't care! He's mean to me!"
"No…he's…not!" Goku let Usagi go. "Fine, if you want to stop your training right here, then you don't have to go to the tournament." Goku turned around and sneezed. He could feel the pressure building up in his temples. This thing with Usagi was not helping it either.
Usagi looked up at her father. "But…that's not fair. Just because I don't do this?" Goku nodded. "But I want to fight better."
"Then go to the tournament." Goku could see the disappointment in his daughter's face. "You have to learn to do things that you don't want to do. Now let's get you ready to go. I don't want anymore of that whining from you."
Usagi sighed and let go of her bedpost. She climbed off her bed and stood by her father. "What if something happens?"
"Nothing is going to happen. Now out of this room." He made sure she left the room before him so she wouldn't try to fly out the window or anything.
~*~*~
Piccolo glared at Usagi when she walked out of the hallway with Goku behind her. He also looked somewhat angry. "Are you done whining?"
Usagi frowned. "I wasn't whining." She walked passed him to stand with Minako and Makoto who had pretty much just given Piccolo the third degree. "I guess we have to go with him." Minako and Makoto didn't have a problem with that. They found that he wasn't all that bad of a guy and didn't see what Usagi was complaining about.
Goku let himself fall down into his chair again. He was beginning to feel more and more sick by the minute. He would wait until Chi-Chi returned home to go to Bulma's. He didn't want her to think that he was with Usagi, and then find out that he was at Bulma's. He knew what would happen then. She would end up yelling at him for about and hour at least. He grabbed his forehead. "Usagi, don't sound so unenthusiastic about it."
Usagi looked to her father. "Daddy, you know I don't know big words like that."
"It means, don't sound so unhappy about it."
"Oh, why didn't you just say so?" Usagi looked up at Piccolo. "Are we going to leave or just sit around?"
Piccolo looked down at the blonde Saiyan and frowned. 'This is going to be a long tournament. I have to baby-sit three first grade girls.' "Yes we are going." He walked to the door and waved for the girls to follow him.
Usagi watched her friends leave with Piccolo and then walked back to her father. He had his face in his hand. "Bye daddy."
Goku looked up. "Good bye Usagi. Don't act up for Piccolo please. He's not bad. Give him a chance."
"I'll try."
"You will do more than try. If I hear that you didn't behave, then you will be in trouble. I'm serious about this one."
Usagi didn't ever doubt that he wasn't. She knew that he rarely ever said that and when he did, he usually did mean it. "I won't."
"You should probably leave now without getting too close to me. I don't want you getting sick."
"USAGI! GET OUT HERE IF YOU WANT TO GO!"
"Coming Piccolo. Bye daddy. See you in a few days." Usagi turned around and ran out the door.
"Goody bye. Good luck!" Goku leaned his head back into the chair. He was finally alone. Not that he didn't like his daughter being around, he just had a splitting headache and wanted peace and quiet. He could feel his heart beating in his head. "Great, just great."
~*~*~
Piccolo glared at Usagi. "I don't want to have any trouble from you. I don't think I'll have a problem from your friends but I'm not sure about you."
"I won't be a problem. I'm sorry about the way I acted." Usagi jumped into the air.
Piccolo was pretty sure that Goku had told her to say that. 'I can't believe that she's Gohan's sister. She acts so different then he did when he was that age.' "I'm just making sure."
~*~*~
This year, the Budaki Tournament was being held in Tokyo. That's why Piccolo had to take them. They were going to be staying in a hotel. Piccolo looked back to make sure that the girls still followed him and to make sure that none of them were lagging behind. "Hurry up you guys."
"You're going way to fast Piccolo." Makoto was already going her fullest speed.
"No I'm not. You guys are just slacking. Just because you are human doesn't mean anything either. I've seen what humans can do." Piccolo didn't decrease his speed. The way he saw it, either they would keep up with him, or they would find their own way to the tournament.
Minako looked below her. "Are we in Tokyo yet?"
"Yes, the tournament isn't too far from here. We are staying about one mile away from it." Piccolo spotted a crowd of people below him. "We must be near. Follow me." Piccolo descended. He decided that they would walk the rest of the way.
The girls followed as they were told. Usagi kept her distance from Piccolo. She could tell that he didn't like her. Just by the way he talked to her and the way he was always glaring at her. She walked behind him with Minako and Makoto as she looked around to all the different places. "This is cool."
Piccolo stopped and turned around. "I know that I'm not walking to fast for you. Why do you insist on walking so far behind me?"
Usagi looked to her friends. "Well…" She sighed. "I don't know." She knew that it was impossible to argue with him. "Fine, we can walk up with you."
"I don't know why you have to be afraid of me. I'm not going to bite. I've put those days behind me."
Makoto looked up to Piccolo. She didn't know much about him and definitely didn't know what he had meant by that. "What is that supposed to mean."
"Yeah Piccolo."
Piccolo looked over to Usagi. He had at least hoped that she would know about him. She was Goku's daughter. "Hasn't your father or brother told you anything about me Usagi?" She shook her head.
"Why don't you tell us?" Minako grabbed Piccolo's arm.
'It's happening again. Why do I always make kids like me so much?' He thought as he looked down at Minako. He wanted to pull his arm away, but didn't want to seem rude. "To make a long story short, I once tried to kill Goku and rule the world. Then I met Usagi's brother, Gohan, when he was four. I trained him for a year. In that year, I realized what a true friend was. That's what I mean by biting. If I hadn't met Gohan, I probably would still be trying to kill Goku."
Usagi looked forward. "Oh. Ok! Ooh, ooh, ooh, is that the hotel we are staying at?" Usagi jumped up and down as she pointed to a building.
Piccolo looked at the building that Usagi pointed to. It was a tall pale pink building decorated with rainbow colored flowers all around it. "I think so. It's on the right street."
"It's so cute!" Minako burst into a run. She wanted to see the inside of the building. "Come on you guys. We gotta go. Come on. Come on."
Usagi laughed as she ran to join her friend. "This is cool!"
He watched as the two girls ran to the hotel. 'Those two are too alike for me.' He looked down at Makoto who was still walking at his side. "Aren't you going to obsess over that building, too?"
"Nope. I've seen better. I mean, it's cute, but I've seen cuter. Have you ever seen the…"
Piccolo looked up as he tuned Makoto out. 'Why did I even ask?'
(K! That's it for this part. What do you think? Please review.)