DBZR ½
Chapter 22: Resurrection wtF?
In Nerima...
Night had finally arrived. In response, crickets chirped, singing their lonely tale of wanton desire and endless hope that this song they sing will allow them to partake of this desire...
...in some other part of Nerima. Where it was significantly less noisy. Crickets can't sing in a park that's full of humans. They're just the worst date blockers on the planet. Just ask any cricket, they'd confirm it.
However, the unfortunate dating situation of crickets wasn't even on the radar of Nabiki, Trunks or Goten as they wound their way to one of the parks in Nerima. A small crowd had gathered within said park, chanting and cheering their chosen fighter as they went at each other. The three of them stopped at the top of a landscaped rise, content to watch for the moment.
"Eh, this seems kind of dull. They're not that good, or even that strong." Trunks grumbled, leaning on the railing in front of him and holding up his head in a dejected manner.
"Yea, these guys are lame." Goten confirmed, wrapping his arms around the railing to watch. "I thought you said there'd be strong guys?"
Nabiki shrugged, giving the fighters a critical look and finding them to be as wanting as the boys did. She didn't fight, of course. That was the purview of her sister after all. That didn't mean she didn't retain her knowledge of the Art, or how to recognize good fighters from bad. This group was solidly in the bad category. "These are probably just the ones they start with. Can't always go with the strong first. You have to build up the crowd first."
"Huh?" Trunks looked to her, blankly, before realization set in. "Oh, I see. The good ones are waiting to see who's worth the effort. That makes sense." She nodded in approval, and then gestured to the scene as a whole.
"And if you look around, you'll see several others doing the same thing we are."
The boys turned their gazes to the crowd, noting several folks were also standing around the edges. Some looked physically strong, dressed in loose, and sleeveless attire. At least one had on a rumpled suit, clearly not caring about his appearance this late at night. A couple other groups of people were nearby, their expressions bored, but their body languages suggesting attentiveness to the fighting in the center of the park. A young girl with long light purple hair in a kimono, with a bokken in hand, stood on a park bench near a tall, dark skinned man, both watching rather intently. Finally, there were a group of school girls, most of which were dressed in yellow jumpers and dark skirts with knee-socks, sans one robustly buxom girl in a purple dress, watching from the sidelines. One was an especially tall, easily head and (nearly) shoulders above the rest, well built young woman. She stood in the center of the group with short red hair wafting in the night breeze, watching with an air of middling interest.
"Huh, that one kind of reminds me of Ranma's other form." Goten mused as he pointed, only to be smacked in the back of the head by Trunks. "Hey, whaddiya do that for?" He glowered at his friend.
Trunks crossed his arms and went back to leaning on the railing. "It's not polite to point, idiot."
A series of loud impacts and cries of pain interrupted their discussion on manners, and one of the fighters dropped to the ground, clutching at what appeared to be a badly injured, possibly broken leg. The other fighter smirked, and then turned away from his opponent, calling out to the crowd. "Who'd like to take me on?!"
Both boys snorted derisively and ignored the challenge. "Meh, not worth it." Trunks muttered, waving a hand in dismissal. By the looks of many in the crowd, most of them were of a similar opinion. The fighter misinterpreted their derision for hesitation.
"Hah, you're all afraid of me! Bunch of weaklings! I am the strongest there is!"
"Oh shut up and leave already!" Trunks yelled, prompting everyone to look in the lavender haired boys direction.
The fighter sneered and pointed. "You've got a big mouth, kid. Why don't you try to make me leave?"
Trunks sighed. "Fine, but you'll regret it." He pulled himself up to a handstand on the railing, and then allowed himself to fall towards the field, releasing and tucking into a roll to rise up to his feet with well practiced ease.
Nabiki's camera had somehow summoned itself into her hand before he had completed the roll. Goten blinked up at her. "Where do you keep that?"
"You don't ask such things of a lady." She hushed him, clicking away.
Trunks strolled through the crowd, arms crossed over his chest before coming to a stop just short of the fighter, affecting a look of boredom that was...actually fairly accurate. The fighter's sneer grew larger as he rolled his shoulders. "You're practically a baby, kid. But you gotta learn sometime to show respect to your elders!"
His fists rocketed towards the boy in a series of jabs and punches, the passage of his strikes causing Trunks's hair to flutter. However, not one single punch struck. "Hey, what gives?!" The fighter yelled, looking to his fists and then to Trunks.
The demi-Saiyan put on a show of yawning, prompting several onlookers to titter. "This is pretty sad. You should just leave before I make you."
"You little brat!" The fighter roared, and went in for a series of kicks, prompting Trunks to shift aside, hopping a few times to avoid the strikes, while still maintaining an air of boredom. At one point, he yawned in mid-air, covering his mouth as he did so.
"This is just sad." Trunks muttered as the fighter expended more energy, his attacks growing wild and sloppy. Finally, Trunks held up a finger, catching the fighter's fist on it. Tilting it to the side, he slipped up close, and performed a backhanded slap to the fighter's belly.
The man's air exploded from him as he flew back several feet, fell and rolled, the crowd quickly shifting aside in the process. He crashed against a park bench, wheezing and gasping as he attempted to regain his breath.
"Well, if he was the strongest, that would be very sad for this world." Trunks crossed his arms again, smirking. "Couldn't even 'handle' a kid."
The crowd tittered and openly laughed now as the fighter managed to stand, and quickly began to move away, tail tucked between his legs.
"I would agree." A new voice called out. Trunks turned, and locked onto the lavender haired girl, who smiled with challenge in her eyes. "The entertainment should end and we get to the real fighters." Cheers and yells of agreement followed from the crowd as she hopped down from her own park bench and started to approach Trunks, the big man beside her following with his arms in his pockets. The closer she got, the more details he picked up. The kimono was a light red with a flower pattern on it, with a blue skirt going up to her chest and a several wrappings of a deep red sash around her waist. All of it practically overflowed on her small frame, which he found strange, to say the least. He also noticed that her hair was a similar color to his, and had two antenna like strands prominently sticking from it. Her bokken rested lightly on her shoulder as she came to a stop, sizing him up with sharp, deep blue eyes. Inwardly, he had to admit she was kind of cute. Not that he paid attention to such things, of course.
She smiled, and his face grew warm at how it lit up her own. "You look pretty strong, kid." She observed, and his face blanched: kid?
"Yea, well, I'm stronger than everyone else here. And why you calling me kid?" He pointed at her. "You look in a mirror lately? You look younger than me."
The girl chuckled. "Looks can be deceiving."
Trunks groaned, rubbing his face in exasperation. "Oh man, not another one." He sighed. "Fine, let's get this over with then."
She blinked at him, and then shrugged, tossing the bokken back to her compatriot. "Hold this for me, would you, Bob?"
He caught the bokken easily and rested it on his shoulder. "Sure."
The crowd grew more animated, and money started to pass hands...hands that magically involved Nabiki's, who had moved up closer along with Goten.
The lavender haired boy took up a relaxed stance, while the girl did the same, still sizing each other up. Simultaneously, they hopped towards each other, and their hands and feet blurred at each other, impacting against their counterparts as they perfectly struck and countered. They appeared perfectly balanced when suddenly Trunks was rocked back several steps, his head tilted from a blow to the face.
"Ow!" He rubbed his cheek in surprise and gave the girl a more appraising look. For her part, she gazed back as relaxed and confident as before. His lips quirked into a smile. "Well...maybe this will be interesting after all."
"You're not bad at all yourself. Your technique isn't sloppy. Bit brutal, makes you lose energy in your attacks, but you're a lot stronger than most here, so you can afford the waste." She replied approvingly. "I'm not familiar with your style, but whoever has been teaching you is a good instructor."
His smile grew wider. "That'd be my dad."
"Your dad has taught you well. Maybe we should make things more interesting?" She turned and gestured. "Bob, how about you step in instead? He would be great training for you."
The big man shrugged. "Sure, I can do that. Although, I'd feel bad hitting a kid."
"You better not, or he'll knock your head off." She pointed out. "He's not really pushing himself. I sense enormous chi reserves to him, so you better take him serious."
Trunks laughed. "You know what you're doing. But let's make it more interesting." One of her tiny eyebrows lifted up in curiosity. In response, he added, "You, your friend there, me and my friend, and anyone else who wants in. Make it a nice big fight."
"Hmm...I'm not opposed to it." She turned to the crowd, who had all grown silent. "Anyone else want in on this?"
The crowd looked at each other, expressions curious...except for the group of school girls. As one they all had turned to face their tallest member. The young woman gave a tiny smile, her eyes lit with a slow burning fire, and she proceeded to walk forward, catching the eyes of the rest of the crowd. Whispers followed her, as some recognized who she was, and the crowd receded away from the fight zone, providing more space.
Goten strolled forward, his hands behind his head as he did so. "Doesn't seem even with five of us. Not very fair for one person having to share."
"I agree!" A new voice called out. Everyone turned to face the source, and out stepped a barefooted, short young woman, dressed in a minor patched white gi with a long yellow hachimaki trailing from her neck. Her short brown hair was messy, shifting with her motions. Her grin was full of challenge. "I'll join in on this! This makes it even with three girls and three boys."
Trunks and Goten both blinked. "Oh, wait, you're a girl?" Goten mused, scratching his cheek.
"Shut up! Yes I'm a girl! Just look at me!" The girl glared and gestured to her chest, the partially open top giving a hint of a red sports bra and cleavage.
"I guess." Goten shrugged, and began to stretch out his legs.
"Yea, guess so. Makes me think of an uncute tomboy though." Trunks added, rolling his shoulder.
"Grrr…." The woman growled, clenching a fist. "...I don't care if you're a kid, I'll show you the error of your ways!"
Trunks shrugged. "Sure, I suppose you can try."
The young girl held up a hand. "Then let's have some introductions. I'll go first." Retaking her bokken from her friend, she took up a stance with one foot forward, the wooden blade at her side and ready to draw. "Maya Natsume, of the Natsume Goushin-Ryū."
The big man raised up his hands, taking up his own stance and began to weave side to side. "Bob Makihara, capoeira style."
Trunks and Goten took up their own respective stances, expressions turning expectant. "Trunks Brief…"
"...Goten Son…"
"...Fusion style!" They declared together.
The woman in the gi slammed a foot down, raising up one hand in an open grip in front of her chest, the other hand tightened into a fist at her side. "Makoto, of the Rindo-kan Karate school."
The last one simply looked to the other fighters. She didn't even take up any kind of stance, simply staring at each one with that slow burning fire in her eyes, and, after a long, pregnant pause, simply responded with, "Maki."
Nabiki was grinning from ear to ear, several cameras placed strategically around the park zone and already recording. "This was a brilliant decision!"
At the Lookout, next day...
Goku sat on the marble steps leading towards the Time Chamber, watching as Ranma and Akane, now dressed in whole, and properly fitted attire, did some light sparring with Gohan and Videl. Krillin and Tien had also taken up some training, if just to be used to their bodies for the time being; unfortunately, Tien kept getting candy-striped hair in his face, frustrating him to the point of attempting to rip it out, and Krillin was busy grumbling about how the bulging muscle was actually a major hindrance, making it impossible for him to perform even the basics. Meanwhile, Bulma and 18 were at a table nearby, deep in conversation of their own. By their gestures, it was apparent that the discussion was about their body shapes and how problematic it was for them, same as Tien and Krillin. Outside of the four teens and Goku, nobody seemed particularly happy with the situation they were currently stuck in.
Pogoing up to him, Cologne deftly hopped down from her staff and took a seat as well to watch, sipping from a cup of freshly brewed tea. "It seems as if we have been here for years, and yet not at the same time." She mused thoughtfully, giving the area a long look. "Not much changes up here. Would this be the nature of being at the home of your world's Kami?"
"Eh?" Goku looked to her, and then thought for a moment, scratching his cheek. "Maybe. I never thought to ask. We usually don't stay that long, but...I guess you're right. It's always sunny up here."
Cologne decided it best not to try to clarify for the Saiyan martial artist. He wasn't wrong, just...on a different path than what she was observing. "No matter." She mentally shrugged. "My granddaughter should be exiting the chamber soon. This should be quite interesting, if what Son-in-Law's results suggest."
"Yea, Vegeta is pretty tough to train with. I'm actually surprised he went along with it." Goku gave a light laugh and smiled wide, prompting the older woman to glance at him in curiosity.
"Oh? And why is that?"
"Well, when his son trained with him, they didn't really get along. I don't think they did any actual training together, they just happened to be in the chamber at the same time." Goku shrugged, adding, "Course, that was before Future Trunks was killed and brought back, so maybe that had something to do with his change of heart."
Cologne's eyebrows had gone sky high. This was a very strange world indeed. "Then again, if we had access to a mythical creature that could grant any wish, perhaps we would be a little unconcerned with the permanence of death ourselves."
"Hah!" Ranma cried with a grin, connecting with a kick that sent Gohan flying away to crash into Videl. The two teens managed to disentangle themselves in mid-air and flipped onto their feet, giving the Nerima teens predatory grins.
"Nice hit, Ranma. Snuck that right in." Gohan chuckled, rolling his neck.
Akane pouted at her fiance. "I wasn't done sparring with her! I'm barely warmed up, thanks to you. Idiot." There was little heat in the insult, especially compared her past usage.
"Aw, come on Akane, it was too good to pass up!" The pig-tailed teen retorted, straightening up and adjusting the sleeves of his shirt. "You know, maybe I should go sleeveless from now on. Easier to move my arms without them."
Akane nodded, looking to the sleeves of her restored gi. "Yea, I kinda miss the lack of sleeves. These things just get in the way now. Maybe I'll get them cut off."
Videl looked to Gohan. "Maybe we should take a turn in the chamber ourselves." A look of pure panic suddenly crossed Gohan's face, as the look his girlfriend was giving him was not merely in anticipating of a year long period of training. It was, in fact predatory. More than that, it was hungry, with a capital 'hung.'
"Aaaah, lets-lets get this straightened out first...eh eh…"
Before Videl could respond, Dende, from the doorway behind Goku and Cologne, called out, "They're about to exit the Chamber!"
In a repeat of the events of the day before, they all rushed to the Chamber, awaiting the return of the other half of the present Wrecking Crew.
"Whaddya think? I bet Ryoga will be a lot stronger." Ranma grinned in anticipation, rubbing his hands together.
"I'm looking forward to seeing what progress little miss Kitty has made." Akane agreed, crossing her arms under her bust. "She made a pretty big promise. She better back it up."
At that moment, the handle to the door twisted, and the door slowly creaked open with an exhausted sigh. Great white light spilled out, blinding them and causing them to shield their eyes for a bit, even as a shadow appeared in the doorway. Bare feet slowly padded across the tile, shuffling in a dazed, awkwardly confused stride.
As their eyes adjusted, shock and surprise crossed all of their faces, tinged with a significant amount of concern. Some might even describe the expressions made as being that of the term 'horrorified.' Ryoga shambled out, eyes glazed over in his lean face, his torso hunched as he moved slowly out of the chamber, as if he had become one of the walking dead. Even so, his posture didn't change the fact that he had become as powerfully built as Ranma had, veins standing starkly out from his skin on his thick arms. His shirt had also been destroyed much as Ranma's had, his pants torn in many places, with several blackened spots dotting his body. His mop of dark hair was as thick as ever, and brushed along his shoulders, held back from his eyes by one of his ever present bandanas.
Shampoo shortly followed, shambling as slowly and awkwardly as The Lost Boy, her beautiful face looking haggard and drawn. Unlike Ryoga, she had apparently retained some sense of decency...or perhaps it was pragmatism, as her pants had been cut down into a pair of worn shorts hugging more pronounced hips and thighs, and her top had lost their sleeves and was practically molded now to her broader shoulders and slightly increased bust. The midriff had been cleanly removed, exposing a tight abdomen with gentle tone lines. Her arms where thicker, yet retained their slender, supple tone, and her hair…
...her long purple hair, while not a source of particular pride for her, had always been well maintained and cared for, and had survived through countless battles in Nerima and elsewhere without so much as a split end.
At some point in their ordeal, her hair had begged for mercy and had still taken a hit, cut down in the prime of its life. Or at least, had been cut and made shorter at some point, as it was now just above her tight waist, the ends shriveled and crisped, along with a multitude of strands sticking out in all directions. The fringes had also taken a hit, with one of the ties now missing, and were only brushing her shoulders as she shambled.
Vegeta followed after them, his arms crossed in front him, his attire somewhat damaged but otherwise unharmed, expression as stony and dour as ever.
"Hey guys, looking good! You definitely got stronger!" Ranma called, holding up a hand in greeting as Goku came up alongside and appraised them.
"Yea, look at you. You might actually back up your promise, Miss Kitty." Akane taunted, grinning in challenge.
The sound of a voice different from their own or Vegeta's seemed to stir them from their stupor, and they bleakly looked at each person in turn, recognition slow in coming. Suddenly, Ryoga's face blanched as his bloodshot, wild eyes locked onto one person, the only one in all of the several realms that he would recognize as his mortal enemy. His body straightened, giving a better idea of the increased height he had gained as a powerful aura manifested itself around him, prompting him to thrust an accusing finger at his target. "You! Because of you, I've seen hell!"
Beside him, the Chinese Amazon also straightened, her eyes taking on a purple-ish glow as her own battle aura flowed from her figure: both teens auras were equal in strength, powerful and more than a little wild. Her glowing gaze locked onto their target, and an enraged Shampoo drew her chúi with lethal intent in her eyes.
With a low growl, her slightly lower voice rumbled deep in her chest. "Shampoo…...Kiiiilll….!"
"Die!" Ryoga bellowed, and the two teens blasted forward, dust billowing from their forms as they closed in on their target. There was about to be a murder of a most vicious sort, and they were not going to be denied.
Today…
...A Saiyan must die.
Goku blinked in confusion, and then cried out in surprise, turning and running back the way he had come while the others scattered away, blown back by the powerful energy wash of the two enraged teens. "Awww, come on! It wasn't that bad, was it?!"
"Shut up and die you son of a donkey fornicator!" Ryoga roared, already rapidly throwing his razor sharp bandanas.
Goku yelped, dodging the lethal weapons with flickers of pseudomotion before reaching open space and shot up into the sky. The teens followed, undeterred by the sudden change in battle location. They closed in and a furious battle began, impacts crashing and ringing through the air.
The others followed, staring up at the battle with a mixture of awe and, understandably, concern.
"What the hell happened in there?! And when did he learn the word 'fornicator?'" Ranma asked, shielding his eyes to watch before looking over at Vegeta. The Saiyan Prince shrugged, smiling to himself.
"I trained them." He replied, before raising his voice. "Show no mercy!"
"No, seriously, what happened? Why did they shamble out like that before making an attempt to turn Master Goku into sashimi?" Ranma asked again, deeply curious.
"They found the training rather rigorous." Vegeta retorted, before pausing and rubbing his chin in thought. "Although about halfway through the boy seemed to become incredibly down, and then he got lost." He snorted, shaking his head. "I have no idea how he managed that, there's nothing else in there."
"He did what?!"
"I didn't stutter." Vegeta growled, not turning his gaze away from the fight above. "When he came back three weeks later he was much stronger, but continued to shamble about like someone had killed his family in front of him. Happened several times, and while it didn't stop him from training, it did become rather frustrating. Still not sure where he found the rocks he attempted to use to brain m with."
Realization dawned on Ranma's face. "Ooooh, he's depressed! That explains it. He's full of really heavy energy." The comment about how Ryoga had gotten lost multiple times was ignored: unlike Vegeta, they were well inured to his unfortunate family curse by this point. He looked back up just in time to see Ryoga and Shampoo both being knocked back as Goku took the initiative. The teens fell back, just long enough for them to take up stances. Ryoga quickly drew a fan of bandanas as Shampoo hid one of her chúi away and then clawed her open hand, giving a short scream. A disk of energy flowed from around her arm and then above her hand, tendrils of power crackling at the hollow disk before she took hold of it and flung it. At the same time, Ryoga flung his bandanas, yelling out, "Iron Tenketsu!"
The bandanas exploded as they approached Goku; although, not because of any actions on his part. At the same time, the disk Shampoo had thrown deftly slipped between the explosions, and cut through Goku's middle.
"Goku!" Several people screamed, only to relax as his image suddenly faded and he appeared several feet away, his expression now hard.
"Ok, that's enough! Ha!" He powered up to Super Saiyan, his aura washing over the two teens before he spun and caught the energy disk in his hand. Shampoo froze in her motions, grunting in frustration as she tried to move it.
"You die!" She screamed as Ryoga took aim with a hand in the shape of a gun. Energy formed at the tip of his finger as he called out, "Hokodan Gun!"and blasted out in a rapid burst of dark power. Goku spun back around, crushing the disk into a ball before stretching it back out into a shield and caught every one of Ryoga's blasts.
The sphere quickly faded, and then collapsed completely under the assault. Still, it had bought Goku time, and he used it. Yelling out in challenge, he unleashed his own fusilade of energy blasts, intercepting Ryoga's shots and then quickly overwhelming the Lost Boy and knocking him to the tile of the Lookout.
At that moment, Shampoo appeared behind the Saiyan, holding up a fist and throwing it forward. As she did so, an energy blade formed, and had it not made noise, she may have succeeded in skewering him. As it was, he shifted aside, and her thrust overextended her form, shooting past his torso. He took hold of the arm with his right while slamming his left elbow into the side of her head. Her aura faded as she lost consciousness, and she collapsed, falling towards the Lookout before he wrapped his free arm around her waist and floated back down at a much gentler rate.
Ryoga had lifted himself up from where he had crashed, hunched over, and muttering. "Too much...it's all too much...it all must end…" Dark, smokey tendrils floated up to the sky, and then, as he thrust a hand up, a massive sphere of the same color quickly formed high above them.
"You fool!" Cologne began to pogo towards the boy, knowing she'd never make it in time to stop his insane attack.
"No, don't do it!" Ranma cried out. "Ryoga!" Akane screamed as both she and Ranma flared their energy about themselves. The others were in too much shock at the density of the sphere in the sky, bolts of black lightning lashing out from it as it tightened.
Vegeta simply watched, his smile having turned to a frown of disapproval.
Goku set Shampoo down beside himself, and then cupped his hands to his side. "Kaaaa….meeeee…..Haaaaa….meeee…."
Ryoga threw his hand down as he screamed, "Shin Shishi Hōkōdan!" The sphere of power, easily powerful enough to destroy the Lookout if it connected, shot towards where Goku stood.
"Haaaa!" Goku responded at the same time, thrusting his hands up to the sphere and unleashing a wave of blue energy. It intercepted the sphere, and a power struggle ensued, the energy wave crashing mightily against the heavy depression laden energy sphere of Ryoga. After several long, tense moments, the sphere started to crack, and then it shattered as the energy wave drilled through, sending the remnants flying away in all directions and fading into smoke.
Ryoga, his best attack thwarted and his emotional energy temporarily spent, blinked and straightened up in confusion. "Wait...how did I get out here?"
His gaze fell on the group of onlookers, and locked onto Akane, who had warily relaxed. His expression turned joyful. "Oh. Oh! We're free! FREE! My dear sweet, sexy Akane!" Ryoga cried out, eyes closing and filling with tears as he took off at a run-
-and promptly ran off the edge of the Lookout. His last words echoed behind him. "I missed you sooooo…"
As a whole, the group stood there, not sure how exactly to immediately respond. Finally, Ranma snorted, and then laughed. "Yup, he's fine. Give him a minute, he'll somehow end up here again."
"That was too close." Akane breathed, brushing the worried sweat from her brow. Goku approached, powered down, with a still unconscious Shampoo now cradled in his arms.
Vegeta snorted. "He tried that attack on me several times. Didn't seem to restore him quite like that though."
"I see. And what of my granddaughter, Master Vegeta?" Cologne asked, poking at Shampoo lightly and gazing at her chi. The young woman had certainly toughened up, her aura being proof of that, but the deathly focus was just a wee bit more aggressive than what she expected of an Amazon.
"Perhaps being separated from Son-in-Law had made her heart grow fonder, and somewhat bitter?" She considered, and then took in the girl's figure, and reevaluated. "Or perhaps she just needs sex. Ah, to be young and full of pep like that once again."
Vegeta shrugged. "The girl has strong potential, and took to the training well. Though she too began to become withdrawn. Still, her technique improved, and she has become much stronger. I call it a success. Now if she would have just mated with the boy, she wouldn't have been so distracted."
Cologne picked herself up the floor, along with Ranma and Akane, their stunned expressions mirrored in each other. "E-excuse me?"
He glared at her. "With the amount of tension they gave off, they should have been going at each other. But they didn't, and they didn't mesh as a team. Unless it was to fight against me." He looked over to Goku, eyes narrowed. "I presume you had no such trouble with your students, Kakarot."
Goku gave a nervous laugh and held up his hands. "Ehehehe...they, uh, didn't need to do that. They were a good team without that. Really!"
"Hmph." Vegeta snorted, turning away. "Humans. They get hung up on the dumbest things. Just look at Gohan and his woman. Claim your mate and be done with it already." Gohan and Videl both flushed furiously, while the other ambulatory teens looked both shocked and angered.
"We're not like that!" Ranma declared, Akane following, "Yea! I wouldn't want to mate with this jerk anyway."
Ranma spun about, expression startled, and then annoyed, even slightly hurt. "Wait, what? Well fine! I see you're still an uncute tomboy. That much hasn't changed, so I wouldn't want to mate with you either!" He crossed his arms and looked away.
He wasn't sure he felt the impact of the hammer, but the view of the planet below was really quite astonishing from up here.
Akane huffed once, and tucked her well used hammer away as the others followed Ranma's trajectory. "Wow, she's got a good arm." Krillin mused, holding a hand above his eyes.
"He's still a jerk." Akane groused, walking away, while Goku gave a bemused chuckle. There was still much that they had to work out on their own.
"Now that they are trained, what's next?" Tien posited from his seat near a flower bed. "If what you said is true, the barrier is in place and so Toltir won't be able to mess with us any further."
"Well, I figure I should take them home. At least once the other two get back here." Goku looked to the edge, seeing Ranma was already quickly flying back towards them.
The patter of feet from within the Lookout didn't catch their attention, but the cry of, "Oh my sweet Akane!" certainly did. As one, they looked towards one of the entrances and saw Ryoga come rushing out, his face as joyful as it had ever been. Before anyone could react, he jumped forward, and promptly glomped the teen, much to her shock.
"Ryoga!? What are you doing?" She cried, face flushing scarlet.
Gohan looked back the direction the young man had come from, curious. "Didn't he fall off the edge earlier?"
"I missed you so much, it was hell in there with that monster! But now I'm free from that torture, my wish granted to see you again!" He cried happily, not paying any attention to anyone around him, much less to the fact that his head was up against her bosum, much to her chagrin and growing annoyance, a vein beginning to throb in her temple.
She opened her mouth to admonish him when Ranma's angry voice called out, "Hey, lay off!"
Ryoga's eyes instantly opened, and he picked up a couple of facts.
First: Ranma was nearby, and he sounded angry?
Second: Akane felt really strong and dense, except against the side of his hea-
He pulled back and looked straight at her, her bust suddenly filling his gaze as he did so. The Lost Boy's face suddenly turned an overwhelming shade of red, and he jumped back several feet before blood burst from his nostrils in a close approximation of a geyser.
Ranma landed nearby, gazing at the now prostate and bloody faced Ryoga with a fierce expression. "You just keep your hands to yourself, ya hear?!"
"R-Ranma?" Shampoo's voice called softly as she slowly regained consciousness. Her eyes blearily opened, and she caught sight of the pig-tailed martial artist. With a joyful expression as great as Ryoga's, she launched herself at the unsuspecting young man.
From fifty feet away.
The glomp was heard round the world as the two teens crashed through at least two walls before coming to a stop, her body tightly wrapped around his. "Gerroffame!" He pushed at her shoulders, while she snuggled her face into his chest.
Vegeta nodded, realization crossing his face. "Ah, so that's what the tension was about. Should have known. And here I thought she would have gotten over that after a year."
"Hmm...it would appear that absence really does make the heart grow fonder." Cologne mused with a chuckle, rubbing at her chin, before looking to Goku. "So, Master Goku, I am curious about something."
The Saiyan looked to her, curious. "Yea?"
"That creature we saw when we arrived. You had said it will grant any wish. Could it do so now?"
Goku scratched the side of his face, thinking it over. "Well…not immediately. We only used one of the three wishes, so that means the Dragonballs won't be available for four months. But after that, he'll be available."
"Two." Bulma corrected, prompting him to look to her. "We used two, he only had one left."
"Huh, I could have sworn we only used one...did you guys use one before we arrived?" He looked at each of them, and they mostly shook their heads. Bulma, however, nodded and continued.
"We did. We asked him to return us to normal, which he said he couldn't do after he talked to Toltir."
"Oh." Goku held his chin in thought. "Huh. Guess he counted the communication as an attempt then." Shrugging, he turned back to Cologne. "Anyway, in four months, sure. That will at least provide one wish. Or you can wait a year and that will have restored the remaining wishes."
"Hmm. I see." Cologne's eyes narrowed, prompting a suspicious Akane to glare at her.
"What are you plotting?"
The older woman brushed off Akane's suspicious glare. "Nothing to concern yourself with."
Akane, for her part, didn't believe it for a minute, signified by her crossing her arms and looking away with a snort. Ranma, having finally extracted himself from a still ecstatic Shampoo, sighed as he approached. "Well, too bad it's not available. Maybe we could have wished to have the curses removed. That would make my day."
Goku looked up to the sky for a moment, thinking the situation over, and then smiled, snapping his fingers. "I've got it. We'll go to New Namek and use their Dragonballs!"
Several pairs of eyes suddenly locked onto the Saiyan, all filled with a mixture of disbelief, surging hope, calculation, and want. "Waaait….you mean to say you have more than one set of these things?" Ranma leaned forward, pointing at him. "And you didn't tell us?"
"Well, no, we don't. We just have the one set." Goku replied, while Dende and Piccolo both looked nonchalantly away, becoming quite interested in something, anything else right that moment. The Saiyan continued, "We'd have to go to another planet, where they have a set that summons Porunga. That's their dragon."
The pig-tailed martial artist sighed and straightened. "Ya know, had ya said this a year ago, I probably would have been shocked that you travel to other planets, but at this point…"
"Yea, it's hard to be surprised by anything. I wouldn't be shocked if you said you hang out and fight gods or something." Akane added.
Dende and Piccolo both managed to look as if they were incredibly interested in the palm trees. "That one needs some fronds removed." The older Namekian pointed out, and the younger one nodded.
"Yes, I should see to that."
Shampoo walked through the hole she and Ranma had left behind and crossed her arms under her bust. "So I could have curse removed? I could be free of it?" Her eyes went wide and filled with joyful tears. "That would be so-so great! I am tired of transforming and dealing with wet fur!"
Akane looked to the purple-haired teen curiously. "Huh. Your grasp of the language has improved."
Said Amazon gave her rival a confident grin. "That not all that has improved. I am ready to fight any time you are." The statement prompted Akane to grin in return.
"Alright...how about you get something better fitted, and then we'll settle this. I'm ready to see what you can do."
"Now hold on you two!" Goku held his hands out as he stepped between them. "If you want to have some wishes granted, we should get that out of the way first, right?"
"It not take long." Shampoo gave a brief, angry glare to the Saiyan before the murderous intent cleared and she looked back at Akane. "We be done in no time."
"Agreed. After that, whatever. I'm ready to go home myself."
"Hmm." Cologne rubbed her chin, and then looked up at Goku. "Perhaps we should let them have their fight. Otherwise, we may have a problem when we do return home." At the others curious looks, she added, "They'll be itching to have that fight and may start it when it's least convenient, or safe. Here, it's both."
"And I'll also get to gauge how much of a difference in strength and skill that they both have gained." She thought to herself as the rest turned thoughtful.
"Alright. We'll do it." Goku looked to Piccolo, who was now working with Dende closely as they intensively reviewed the palm trees status. "Hey, Dende, Piccolo?"
They turned towards him and he smiled. "Can we get some new clothes for Shampoo? We've got a fight to see!"
TBC….
It has been long in coming, and to be honest, the reason for the delay was that I simply lost interest and motivation for a long time. That and working full time in a job that was sapping my energy didn't help matters. Things have improved though, and with some prompting by interested parties, ye ol inspiration started to return. So here we are. Ten years later...oops.
Hopefully though, these roughly 16 pages will make up for that massive delay.
I don't promise to make updates regularly, because inspiration, motivation and available time change on a daily basis, but I will at least work to add a new chapter much more quickly than every ten years.
Next time on DBZR ½, multiple battles will take place! Who is this mysterious Maya and Maki? And Bob? Also what's going on with Toltir and the rapidly growing clone? And Shiaku?
...let's face it, you really don't care about those guys, you're here for the Wrecking Crew upping their Wreckage levels. Have no fear, the whole crew will find ways to do that...but you'll have to wait to find out.
Until next time…
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