Chapter Two - Qualifying
"Would you look at this place!" Krillin cried looking about. The entire arena had been completely rebuilt. Currently they were standing outside at the registration desk signing up but they could see past the walls and into the arena easily. Now there were rows and rows of stands around the ring which was noticeably larger. Of course, that was nothing next to the large crowd milling about.
"Yeah, it's a lot bigger this year." Goku said in awe.
Krillin turned and looked up at Yamcha. "So, Bulma say anything to you yet?"
"Not a word, but it's not her normal angry silence."
"Yeah, she told me what happened and I explained, I think she's actually trying to figure out how to appologize..."
"Bulma?" Yamcha asked shocked. "Well, if that can happen then anything is possible." The two warriors laughed as the man in front of them moved away from the desk. Goku stepped up and set Gohan, in a mini orange GI like his, down on the table.
"Oh, hello sir, would you like to sign up?" the monk asked Goku.
"Yeah, and Gohan wants to sign up too."
The Monk looked at him for a moment then looked down at Gohan. "Uh... are you sure about that?" he asked. "I mean, he's kind of young..."
"Ah, Gohan will be fine." Goku said.
"Well, alright then, names please."
"Goku and Gohan Son." Goku said with a grin.
The Monk froze. "Wait, you're thee Goku?" he asked wide eyed. "The winner of last years tournament?" Goku just grinned. The Monk filled out the sheet for the two of them and the rest signed up, each getting a number. That matter completed they made their way into the arena while Bulma and the others not competing went to find some good seats.
"Well, I don't see any sign of Piccolo yet, maybe he wont show." Krillin said looking around.
"Doubt it." Tien said, his eyes also scanning the crowd. "Piccolo will show, I don't think he's the kind to just back down."
Goku nodded. "Tien's right. He may not be here yet, but we'll see him during qualifying." The five of them made their way through the crowd and toward the small buffet that was set-up for the participants to snack on. "Aw man, there's not much food here..." Goku said looking up and down the length of the table.
"All qualifiers will be given a free meal." said a Monk behind the table. "An all you can eat buffet."
"Well, there goes all the food in the city." Yamcha said turning and scanning the crowd again. Suddenly he left out a whistle. "Man, that guy's huge!" he said. "Hey Krillin, looks like you aren't the shortest adult here. Check out the purple guy."
Krillin and the others turned to look as well and saw what Yamcha was talking about. Walking through the crowd was a tall gray man with black hair and beside him was a short purple man in a yellow jacket and a big green hat who was drinking from a flask. The four seasoned warriors stared on in shock as the short purple man suddenly floated up into the air and sat down on the others shoulder. "What the hell..." Yamcha said watching them. "If he can fly his KI should be more than high enough to pick him out in this crowd... but I can't"
A second later the tall man stopped and looked toward them turning his body. As he turned they all got a clear view of the purple man's outfit, and the red bowtie that he wore. "That HAS to be coincidence..." Krillin said spying the tie. "I mean, you took out the Red Ribbon Army years ago Goku. It has to be his initals..."
Goku just nodded. "This tournament could be interesting..." he said as a voice blared over the loud speakers.
"Attention competitors, the Budokai Qualifying Rounds are now beginning. Please report to the inside arena at once."
The five of them entered the Qualifying Arena inside the main building and checked out their placements. "We managed to do it again." Yamcha said looking over the wall. "None of us fight each other, or Piccolo, in the Qualifiers. So, I guess we'll see each other at the tournament then?"
"Yeah, good luck guys." Tien said walking off to the section he would be competing in.
Goku nodded as they split up and then bent down to Gohan. "We'll have to go different ways for now Gohan. You'll be doing the Qualifiers here," he turned and pointed to the ring to his right. "And I'll be over there. You'll do fine kiddo. You're already stronger than I was at the last Budokai."
"I'll be fine daddy." Gohan said adjusting his GI.
"Good boy." Goku got up and went over to his section.
Gohan worked his way through the crowd of people and up to the ring edge, he could barely see over it. "Hey kid, how'd you get back here?" a deep voice asked laughing.
Gohan turned and looked up at a very tall and muscular man standing over him. "I'm competing with my daddy and his friends." Gohan said grinning.
The large man laughed. "Sure thing kid."
"Would 87 and 94 please enter the ring." a Monk asked.
Gohan looked down at his number. "8... and 7. Hey, I'm 87!" he called climbing up onto the ring stage.
As he climbed up a number of the people gathered started laughing, including the guy across from him. But that all stopped when a single voice spoke up. "That GI!" Everyone stopped laughing and turned to look at the man who'd spoken. King Choppa. "Hey, kid, where'd you get that GI?"
Gohan beamed. "My daddy gave me one of his old ones!"
"Hey, King Choppa, what's up?" someone asked.
"That boy... he's Son Goku's kid!"
Everyone gathered began murmuring and talking excitedly. They'd all seen the last Budokai, and many of them had come to get a shot at the reigning champion, Son Goku. The man in the ring took a step back and then steadied himself. Suddenly he ran in at Gohan and pulled back his fist. Gohan wasn't paying attention yet and the man's swing slammed right into his face and did... absolutely nothing. The man's eyes widened and he took a step back again as Gohan turned to look at him. "Oh, are we starting now?" Gohan asked. The man shook his head and walked off the ring.
"Number 87 wins by forfeit!" the Monk declared.
In another portion of the building Yamcha was stepping into the ring for his first match of the qualifiers. Standing across from him was the large gray man from earlier. /What the hell... I can't sense anything from this guy at all!/ He shook it off and readied for the attack. When he realized the other guy wasn't going to do anything he ran across the length of the ring and prepared to attack. However, he never reached the gray man. One of his large arms shot out faster than Yamcha could see and knocked him backward into the wall.
The Qualifiers continued on for almost an hour before the beginning 204 competitors were reduced to only 8. Goku and the others regrouped in front of the soon to be posted tournament listings. Only the five of them were there. The other four who made it were missing. "I can't believe this." Yamcha sulked walking up. "That big gray guy knocked me out of the ring with a single punch!"
"Really?" Krillin asked. "A saw the little purple guy in the ring beside mine. None of them stood chance against the guy."
Just then the announcer walked up. "Hmmm, only the five of you here? Guess we have to wait for the oth..." he stopped as Piccolo floated down from the ceiling and landed several feet from the group. Everyone turned from Piccolo as a loud bang resounded and the short man floated into the room again smacking the door against the wall.
He looked up at the announcer. "13 and 14 said to draw for them." he said.
"Well, ah, right. Very well then, we'll make our drawings now. I'll draw for the two not present... We'll start with 13." He reached into the box the monk was holding and pulled out a small ball with the number. "And he's got, number 2."
13 was written on the board behind him as he pulled out a number for 14. "And we have... 8." He looked over to the purple man. "Okay, um, 15 right? Your draw." Goku and the others wondered what kind of names 13, 14, and 15 were as he held up a glowing finger and a ball floated out of the box. "I-ah-er-uh-15 drew number 4."
"Okay, would Gohan please come up and draw." He blinked a few times as the kid walked up to him then motioned for the Monk to lower the box. /Wow, he's even younger than Goku and Krillin were at the 21st Budokai./ "Let's see, Gohan drew number 1."
/Gohan's fighting this 13 person in the first round./ Goku thought watching 15 heading toward the exit. /I don't even know what this guy looks like yet... I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this tournament... At least I knew what I was up against with Piccolo./
The announcer looked over to Piccolo. "Your turn sir." Piccolo walked over and reached in pulling out his own number as the purple man left. "And Piccolo has number 5. Next up is Krillin please... number 7 for Krillin. Goku, would you draw... Goku drew number 3. That leaves Tien with number 6."
He waited until the Monk was gone and by that time Piccolo had vanished as well. "Ah, well, you can all go to the cafeteria for your free meal now... except you Yamcha, you'll have to go out to the stands."
"Good luck guys, I think you'll need it." Yamcha said walking off.
"Would you look at this place!" Krillin cried looking about. The entire arena had been completely rebuilt. Currently they were standing outside at the registration desk signing up but they could see past the walls and into the arena easily. Now there were rows and rows of stands around the ring which was noticeably larger. Of course, that was nothing next to the large crowd milling about.
"Yeah, it's a lot bigger this year." Goku said in awe.
Krillin turned and looked up at Yamcha. "So, Bulma say anything to you yet?"
"Not a word, but it's not her normal angry silence."
"Yeah, she told me what happened and I explained, I think she's actually trying to figure out how to appologize..."
"Bulma?" Yamcha asked shocked. "Well, if that can happen then anything is possible." The two warriors laughed as the man in front of them moved away from the desk. Goku stepped up and set Gohan, in a mini orange GI like his, down on the table.
"Oh, hello sir, would you like to sign up?" the monk asked Goku.
"Yeah, and Gohan wants to sign up too."
The Monk looked at him for a moment then looked down at Gohan. "Uh... are you sure about that?" he asked. "I mean, he's kind of young..."
"Ah, Gohan will be fine." Goku said.
"Well, alright then, names please."
"Goku and Gohan Son." Goku said with a grin.
The Monk froze. "Wait, you're thee Goku?" he asked wide eyed. "The winner of last years tournament?" Goku just grinned. The Monk filled out the sheet for the two of them and the rest signed up, each getting a number. That matter completed they made their way into the arena while Bulma and the others not competing went to find some good seats.
"Well, I don't see any sign of Piccolo yet, maybe he wont show." Krillin said looking around.
"Doubt it." Tien said, his eyes also scanning the crowd. "Piccolo will show, I don't think he's the kind to just back down."
Goku nodded. "Tien's right. He may not be here yet, but we'll see him during qualifying." The five of them made their way through the crowd and toward the small buffet that was set-up for the participants to snack on. "Aw man, there's not much food here..." Goku said looking up and down the length of the table.
"All qualifiers will be given a free meal." said a Monk behind the table. "An all you can eat buffet."
"Well, there goes all the food in the city." Yamcha said turning and scanning the crowd again. Suddenly he left out a whistle. "Man, that guy's huge!" he said. "Hey Krillin, looks like you aren't the shortest adult here. Check out the purple guy."
Krillin and the others turned to look as well and saw what Yamcha was talking about. Walking through the crowd was a tall gray man with black hair and beside him was a short purple man in a yellow jacket and a big green hat who was drinking from a flask. The four seasoned warriors stared on in shock as the short purple man suddenly floated up into the air and sat down on the others shoulder. "What the hell..." Yamcha said watching them. "If he can fly his KI should be more than high enough to pick him out in this crowd... but I can't"
A second later the tall man stopped and looked toward them turning his body. As he turned they all got a clear view of the purple man's outfit, and the red bowtie that he wore. "That HAS to be coincidence..." Krillin said spying the tie. "I mean, you took out the Red Ribbon Army years ago Goku. It has to be his initals..."
Goku just nodded. "This tournament could be interesting..." he said as a voice blared over the loud speakers.
"Attention competitors, the Budokai Qualifying Rounds are now beginning. Please report to the inside arena at once."
The five of them entered the Qualifying Arena inside the main building and checked out their placements. "We managed to do it again." Yamcha said looking over the wall. "None of us fight each other, or Piccolo, in the Qualifiers. So, I guess we'll see each other at the tournament then?"
"Yeah, good luck guys." Tien said walking off to the section he would be competing in.
Goku nodded as they split up and then bent down to Gohan. "We'll have to go different ways for now Gohan. You'll be doing the Qualifiers here," he turned and pointed to the ring to his right. "And I'll be over there. You'll do fine kiddo. You're already stronger than I was at the last Budokai."
"I'll be fine daddy." Gohan said adjusting his GI.
"Good boy." Goku got up and went over to his section.
Gohan worked his way through the crowd of people and up to the ring edge, he could barely see over it. "Hey kid, how'd you get back here?" a deep voice asked laughing.
Gohan turned and looked up at a very tall and muscular man standing over him. "I'm competing with my daddy and his friends." Gohan said grinning.
The large man laughed. "Sure thing kid."
"Would 87 and 94 please enter the ring." a Monk asked.
Gohan looked down at his number. "8... and 7. Hey, I'm 87!" he called climbing up onto the ring stage.
As he climbed up a number of the people gathered started laughing, including the guy across from him. But that all stopped when a single voice spoke up. "That GI!" Everyone stopped laughing and turned to look at the man who'd spoken. King Choppa. "Hey, kid, where'd you get that GI?"
Gohan beamed. "My daddy gave me one of his old ones!"
"Hey, King Choppa, what's up?" someone asked.
"That boy... he's Son Goku's kid!"
Everyone gathered began murmuring and talking excitedly. They'd all seen the last Budokai, and many of them had come to get a shot at the reigning champion, Son Goku. The man in the ring took a step back and then steadied himself. Suddenly he ran in at Gohan and pulled back his fist. Gohan wasn't paying attention yet and the man's swing slammed right into his face and did... absolutely nothing. The man's eyes widened and he took a step back again as Gohan turned to look at him. "Oh, are we starting now?" Gohan asked. The man shook his head and walked off the ring.
"Number 87 wins by forfeit!" the Monk declared.
In another portion of the building Yamcha was stepping into the ring for his first match of the qualifiers. Standing across from him was the large gray man from earlier. /What the hell... I can't sense anything from this guy at all!/ He shook it off and readied for the attack. When he realized the other guy wasn't going to do anything he ran across the length of the ring and prepared to attack. However, he never reached the gray man. One of his large arms shot out faster than Yamcha could see and knocked him backward into the wall.
The Qualifiers continued on for almost an hour before the beginning 204 competitors were reduced to only 8. Goku and the others regrouped in front of the soon to be posted tournament listings. Only the five of them were there. The other four who made it were missing. "I can't believe this." Yamcha sulked walking up. "That big gray guy knocked me out of the ring with a single punch!"
"Really?" Krillin asked. "A saw the little purple guy in the ring beside mine. None of them stood chance against the guy."
Just then the announcer walked up. "Hmmm, only the five of you here? Guess we have to wait for the oth..." he stopped as Piccolo floated down from the ceiling and landed several feet from the group. Everyone turned from Piccolo as a loud bang resounded and the short man floated into the room again smacking the door against the wall.
He looked up at the announcer. "13 and 14 said to draw for them." he said.
"Well, ah, right. Very well then, we'll make our drawings now. I'll draw for the two not present... We'll start with 13." He reached into the box the monk was holding and pulled out a small ball with the number. "And he's got, number 2."
13 was written on the board behind him as he pulled out a number for 14. "And we have... 8." He looked over to the purple man. "Okay, um, 15 right? Your draw." Goku and the others wondered what kind of names 13, 14, and 15 were as he held up a glowing finger and a ball floated out of the box. "I-ah-er-uh-15 drew number 4."
"Okay, would Gohan please come up and draw." He blinked a few times as the kid walked up to him then motioned for the Monk to lower the box. /Wow, he's even younger than Goku and Krillin were at the 21st Budokai./ "Let's see, Gohan drew number 1."
/Gohan's fighting this 13 person in the first round./ Goku thought watching 15 heading toward the exit. /I don't even know what this guy looks like yet... I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this tournament... At least I knew what I was up against with Piccolo./
The announcer looked over to Piccolo. "Your turn sir." Piccolo walked over and reached in pulling out his own number as the purple man left. "And Piccolo has number 5. Next up is Krillin please... number 7 for Krillin. Goku, would you draw... Goku drew number 3. That leaves Tien with number 6."
He waited until the Monk was gone and by that time Piccolo had vanished as well. "Ah, well, you can all go to the cafeteria for your free meal now... except you Yamcha, you'll have to go out to the stands."
"Good luck guys, I think you'll need it." Yamcha said walking off.