Dragon Ball Z
Dragon Ball Z
Gohan: Protector of Earth
Chapter 11:
Gohan awoke early the next morning to start his training. After having a quick breakfast, he made his way outside and sat himself on a rug next to Chichi's garden. After many hours of deliberation the previous night, Gohan reached the conclusion that he should heed the advice of the legendary super saiyan. He would focus his training on the mind instead of the body. Gohan planned on only meditating for the following two weeks leading up to the tournament. He would go over every possible scenario in his head of the events that may transpire and the best course of action for each possibility. He would make sure that no matter what happened, he would be ready mentally to meet the challenge. Chichi, on the other hand, was busy planning with Bulma when everyone should meet up for the tournament. She was also busy sending away for college catalogues and imagining all she could do with the tournament prize money. Chichi had not given much thought to college the past seven years but with the promise of the tournament winnings, her dream seemed possible once again. All of Gohan and Chichi's planning left Goten alone, and bored.
"Hey Gohan, want to do some sparring?" yelled Goten as he ran towards the meditating Gohan.
"Sorry squirt, but I'm going to be meditating until the tournament. I don't plan on doing any sparring."
"Ah, but that's boring. What am I supposed to do until the tournament then if you are not going to spar with me?"
"Well you could do some training by yourself. All great martial artists at one point or another have trained by themselves in order to improve their abilities."
"Did dad ever train by himself?"
"Yea dad definitely did, especially as a kid. Before he met any of his friends all he used to do was train alone. One time he trained independently for three straight years in preparation for the World Martial Arts Tournament. The same one we will be entering in only a couple weeks."
"Wow, three years. That's a long time; I don't think I could do that. I get bored if I spend too much time by myself."
"You know, Goten, I think you should train by yourself until the start of the tournament. I think it will do you some good. You are incredibly strong, especially for your age, but you could use some mental discipline. And it is only a couple weeks so you shouldn't get too bored."
"Ok, I will train by myself then. Bye Gohan."
Goten ran off to train before turning back a second later to the garden.
"Uh Gohan."
"Yea Goten."
"How do I train by myself?"
"Well you should probably do a mix of a few things. First, start off with some meditation. Then mix in some physical training and endurance exercises. And last you should work on your energy attacks and controlling your super saiyan transformation."
"Ugh, that sounds like a lot to do."
"If you ever want to be as strong as dad you will have to do that kind of training eventually Goten."
"I could be as strong as dad was?"
"If you train hard enough you could even surpass him."
"Wow, I am going to train nonstop until the tournament then. Just like dad did."
Goten ran off to train leaving Gohan finally at peace for meditation.
I knew that would motivate him to train. Now with Goten busy for the next couple weeks, I shouldn't have anything to distract me from my meditation.
Before Gohan could even finish his thought, the tranquility of the environment was suddenly interrupted by the ever familiar sound of an engine. Videl's jet copter suddenly entered the area and landed within one hundred feet of the Son household, creating a wind that nearly tore apart Chichi's garden.
What could Videl be doing here? I thought I finished teaching her everything yesterday.
As Gohan watched Videl exit her jetcopter, he had the sense she was not in the best of moods. Her face was more serious than usual and her body seemed to be tense. In addition to that, Gohan noticed that she was pointing at him and yelling from a distance; this was never a good sign with women.
"Hey Videl, is everything all right?" asked Gohan nervously. He did not want to anger her anymore than she seemed to be already.
"I don't get it Gohan? I was here with you all of yesterday, yet I hear from your mom this morning that you have entered the World Martial Arts Tournament. Your mom seemed surprised that you didn't mention it to me yesterday when I was here."
"Oh uh, well I didn't really think about it until after you left."
"Well for your information I was already planning on entering since my father is the defending world champion. I guess I will see you there then, and you better be ready now that I know how to fly."
Videl was now in a more relaxed mood after letting out some of her frustrations. She was no longer upset at Gohan for not mentioning the tournament to her. In fact, Videl found it hard to ever be upset at Gohan. There was just something about his personality that made it hard for a person to be angry with him. Here she was, trying to yell at him for something and all he does is stand there with a goofy grin on his face.
"Actually Videl, I did want to talk to you about the tournament. Would you like to come in and have something to eat?"
"No I already ate. What is it you want to tell me?"
"Oh, well I was thinking that maybe it would be for the best if you didn't compete this year in the World Martial Arts Tournament."
"Listen Gohan, I know you're an alien and all with these crazy powers but that doesn't change anything. I have to compete. If I lose I lose, but I want to test myself against the strongest fighters in the world and the only way I can do that is by entering the World Martial Arts Tournament."
"I understand that but I think it may be dangerous there. I'd feel better if you were not competing and were just spectating."
"Gohan, I have been entering tournaments and fighting crime, long before I ever met you. I know what the risks are but it's just not within my personality to back down. I live to fight and not you or anybody else can stop me from doing it. As long as my body allows me to fight, that is what I will do."
Gohan had to respect Videl for her toughness and willingness not to step down. She really was nothing like her father, who fought for all the wrong reasons. She genuinely cared for the competitiveness and honor that went along with being a martial artist.
"Okay Videl, but please promise me that you will be careful. I don't want you to get hurt."
"Okay but I can say the same for you, especially if we are matched up," said Videl jokingly. "Well not to change topics but how are you going to prepare for the tournament? Are you going to do any special training exercises?"
"Actually I was planning on just meditating, preparing my mind as I would normally prepare my body for an important fight."
"Huh, I have never really been one to meditate. I'll take the action of a fight any day."
"Well you are free to join me."
"Okay, I guess I can give it a shot."
Gohan then reassumed his meditation position as Videl sat herself a couple feet away from Gohan. For the rest of the day the two of them sat there in utter silence meditating, only taking a couple short breaks to eat and talk. The next couple weeks wore on in the same manner. Videl would come over in the afternoon and join Gohan in his meditation area. Gohan found Videl's presence to be relaxing; it lessened his worries of the events to come and helped him concentrate. Chichi would occasionally look out at the two of them and stare in amazement. She was surprised at how much at ease the two were with each other, to be able to spend so much time together without even speaking. It was a kind of comfort level that was difficult to find in people that have not been married for many years.
"Videl must really care for Gohan," Chichi thought to herself. "She could just as easily meditate at home but instead she decides to spend hours flying out here just so she can meditate next to Gohan. I don't even think they realize how perfect they are for each other. Oh what it's like to be young and in love. How I miss those days."
The next two weeks passed quickly it seemed. Everyone in the Son household had been so busy in preparation for the tournament that they were surprised when the actual day of the tournament arrived. If it weren't for Chichi, Gohan would have spent another day just meditating.
"Gohan! Are you ready to go?" yelled Chichi as she stood outside of the house, waiting for everyone to come out. She was wearing her fancy yellow and blue dress and had put her hair in a bun for this special occasion.
Videl and Gohan exited the house after finishing breakfast. Gohan was wearing his Gold Fighter outfit minus the sunglasses and Videl was in her white dress and black spandex shorts. She had also recently cut her hair short, at the urging of Gohan. He said it would help her when she fights but in truth he thought she would be more attractive with the new look. Videl sensed that and was quick to change her hair style.
"Yea mom, I'm ready? So how do you want to get there?"
"Well I don't want to go on that cloud, I know that," commented Chichi.
"We could go in my jet copter I suppose. It has enough room for four people," said Videl.
"I don't know if Grandpa would be able to fit in that though. He is a rather large man."
"Actually your grandfather won't be able to make it to the tournament. There is some political unrest in the area and he can't leave until it is resolved. He did tell me though that he wishes you the best and that he'll be rooting for you in all of your matches."
"Ok, well I guess we can all go in the copter then. It's a shame he can't make it though."
As Gohan, Videl, and Chichi made their way into the copter, they were about to leave before Videl realized that someone was missing.
"Where's Goten?" asked Videl.
"I don't know. I haven't seen the squirt in a while."
"I'll go get him," said Chichi.
"Goten!" yelled Chichi at the top of her lungs. "Get out here now or we're leaving without you."
A few short seconds later, Goten ran out of the house in only his underwear and with a toothbrush sticking out of his mouth.
"Mom, I was getting dressed. Can you wait a couple minutes?"
"No Goten, we can't be late. I'll just have to buy you some new clothes when we get there."
"Mom it's not a big deal. He can go in and change," said Gohan.
"No Gohan, this is very important. Our family needs that prize money and we will not be late for anything. So Videl, if you don't mind I think we should take off now."
"Ok, next stop the world tournament," said Videl who was trying to keep a straight face despite the presence of a half naked seven-year-old saiyan sitting in the back.
The jet copter took off and in less than an hour the four of them arrived on the island. The island was bustling with anxious fans and vendors, all anticipating the seldom held tournament. The island was packed with people from the casual fan to the oversized, dimwitted fighter who thought he would be the one to defeat Mr. Satan and become world champion. All across the island were booths ranging from those selling merchandise to those holding carnival like games offering flimsy and sometimes broken prizes. This was not the tournament of old but a commercialized revamping of the tournament in order to draw more revenue at the expense of tradition. This was no longer a place where true martial artists competed to better their skills and challenge new opponents; instead the competitors here mostly cared for money and fame. A shining example of this was Hercule Satan, World Champion, and embodiment of what the World Martial Arts Tournament had become.
"This looks nothing like what I remember. There are so many more people than there used to be," said a surprised Chichi.
"Has your father arrived here yet," asked Gohan.
"No, when he gets here you will know it. He will arrive on his large private helicopter and there will be hundreds of reporters crowding around waiting for an interview. That is one of the reasons I wanted to go with you guys. I just can't stand the attention that he brings with him."
"Yea, but all that attention also helped pay for everything you have including your jet copter," said Gohan.
"Which, I won't need any more now that you have taught me how to fly."
"Good point," responded Gohan with a smile. "So mom, do you know where we are supposed to meet up with everyone."
"Well this is where I told Bulma to meet us. Everyone should be here pretty soon."
"Mom, I'm naked! I need clothes!" cried out Goten.
"Oh Goten, I'm sorry I forgot. Okay here's a couple zeni, go and find a booth and buy some clothes."
"Okay, thanks mom," whimpered Goten before walking off.
After about ten minutes of just standing around, Gohan could feel a group of large ki's approaching their position.
"I think everyone's here," said Gohan.
"Really, where at?" asked Goten who was now fully clothed and much more comfortable because of it. The vendor had felt so sorry for Goten when he walked up to the booth that he offered Goten a free fighting gi. Goten thanked the man and then went off to buy some chocolate with the money Chichi had given him for clothing.
"Over there," said Gohan pointing.
Coming from the end of a walk way was the familiar group headed in the front by Bulma. To her sides were Trunks and Vegeta and behind her was a group including the likes of Krillen, 18, Marron, Master Roshi, Yamcha, Puar, and Oolong.
"Hey everybody, over here," yelled Gohan.
"There you all are. It is good to see you guys again. Oh, I don't believe we have met," said Bulma looking at Videl.
"Oh, this is Videl," said Gohan.
"Hi, it's nice to meet all of you. Gohan has told me so much about you guys."
"So Gohan, how long have you and Videl been going out for?" asked Krillen with a devious smirk.
"No, it's not like that really. We are just friends."
"Well she's a girl and she's your friend, so that should make her your girlfriend."
"And what a looker she is too. Good job Gohan!" yelled Master Roshi right before being hit upside the head by Bulma's purse.
"Obnoxious old man! Don't pay attention to what he says Videl, he's very old."
"I am not that old dagnabbit!"
"So Videl, are you entering the tournament with us?" asked Trunks.
"Yea, Gohan and I are both entering the tournament."
"Ha!" said a smirking Vegeta. "I hope for your sake you're not paired against me. I'd hate to hospitalize Gohan's first girlfriend."
"That's enough Vegeta," said Bulma.
"No it's alright. I deal with chauvinistic men all the time. I'm sure he won't be laughing when I knock him on his butt."
"Hmm, we'll see about that," said Vegeta coolly.
"Well I think we should all sign up now before the booth closes," said Gohan. "So let's see whose entering; it should be me, Videl, Goten, Trunks, Vegeta, Krillen, 18, and Yamcha."
"Actually Gohan, I'm just going to be watching this year. I haven't been training much these past years and I don't want to embarrass myself against you guys. I'd rather just watch you guys from the stands."
"Uh okay, if that's what you want Yamcha. Well the rest of us should get going then."
The group then split in two, those who were entering made their way towards the registration area while everyone else went to the stadium in hopes of finding good seats. As the fighters made their way to the registration booth, Gohan could see a large figure standing in front of one of the officials.
"About time you guys made it," exclaimed Piccolo.
"Hey Piccolo, glad you could make it. Did Dende come with you?" asked Gohan.
"He decided it was best to stay on top of the lookout. It is the guardian's duty to remain on the lookout at all times except in extreme circumstances."
"Huh, I guess I will have to pay him a visit later then and let him know how everyone did. So did you find out how they are going to work the preliminaries?"
"Instead of a bracket system to determine the finalists they are going to use a punching machine. Those with the strongest punch make it to the finals. This is the first time they are using the punching machine."
"Well that's great!" exclaimed Gohan. "All of us should make it to the finals then no problem."
"Finals or prelims, it doesn't really matter. However it ends up Gohan and I will face each other in the finals. Then we will see who the strongest truly is."
"You were just as cocky the last time we fought and I beat you Vegeta," said 18 smirking. "You shouldn't be so quick to dismiss others before you even fight."
Everyone except for Vegeta had a good laugh at that last comment. Vegeta just ignored the comment, knowing that although at one time 18 was stronger than him, currently she did not pose a threat. Gohan, although finding 18's comment humorous, could not help but feel that she may be more correct than anyone gave her credit for. From what Gohan had been told, there was a good possibility that someone of extraordinary strength would show themselves at the tournament. Although he was trying to have a good time around everyone once again, Gohan could not help but feel a bit anxious as the group registered and made their way towards the main area where all the fighters waited in anticipation. Gohan tried to feel out any unusual ki's among the group of competitors but could not discern anything unusual. The only strong ki's were among the group and then the next highest was around Mr. Satan's level, that of a typical human being. Gohan did not feel too much better, knowing how easy it was for someone to possibly hide their ki. From the looks of the fighters, nobody seemed unusual either. Gohan would have a better idea of what he was up against though once the finalists were determined.
After another ten minutes of everyone standing around and waiting, eventually one of the tournament referees came out to address the group of competitors.
"Welcome to the World Martial Arts Tournament everyone. It is great to see such a large field of competitors vying for the World Championship Belt. This year there is a record 156 of you entering for a chance to become world champion. Since there are so many of you, we can no longer hold preliminary fights but are forced to use other means for determining the finalists. For the first time this year we will be using a punching machine to determine the finalists. The top 15 scores on the punching machine will determine the fifteen finalists competing this year in the tournament. Our defending champion Mr. Satan is already guaranteed a spot in the finals making for a field of 16 fighters. So if everyone could now line up and wait your turn to hit the machine, we will be bringing it out shortly."
"Hey everyone, I was thinking we shouldn't hit the machine too hard. It will draw unnecessary suspicion and it will also take a long time if we each break the machine on our turn."
Everyone agreed with Gohan's suggestion except Vegeta who just grunted in annoyance.
Soon two more officials made there way out dragging the punching machine. Behind the punching machine emerged World Champion Hercule Satan.
"And now everyone please welcome the defending World Champion Hercule Satan!" exclaimed the head official.
"How is everyone doing out there?" said the champion in his usually boisterous voice. "How many of you out there want a shot at this, my championship belt?"
As Mr. Satan held his belt high in the air, the field of competitors went into a frenzy screaming, each one proclaiming to be the future champion of the world.
"How ridiculous, and these people eat it up" said Krillen.
"Hey Krillen, try not to say anything bad about Mr. Satan. He is Videl's father after all," said Gohan.
"Okay, I won't say anything. But if I get paired up with him don't expect me to let him win or even go easy on him. I'll knock him on his pompous butt the first chance I get."
"Fair enough," laughed Gohan.
"And now if I can have everyone's attention, we will have Mr. Satan be the first to use the punching machine. His score will set the standard for the rest of you competitors. Now Mr. Satan, if you would be so kind."
"Ok, here I go," proclaimed Mr. Satan.
After a long preparation and a series of breathing techniques, Mr. Satan put everything he had into his punch, clocking the machine and registering a score of 142.
"Excellent score Mr. Satan, thank you for the demonstration."
"No problem. Now I hope a few of you can at least break 100. We need to give the fans a show; they paid good money for their seats after all."
After finishing his demonstration, Mr. Satan left the area and returned to his dressing room. The preliminaries were going to take a fairly long time and Mr. Satan did not feel the need to spend any time scouting his competition. After all, he was the world champion and to his knowledge there was nobody that posed him any challenge.
An hour passed before it was Gohan's turn to hit the machine. Up to this point the highest score had been Mr. Satan's initial hit that clocked in at 142. The next best came from a man named Jewel who was able to register a score of 126.
"Ok, I've got to hit this just right so that it's higher than 142 but not over 200," thought Gohan.
Gohan placed his fist about two feet from the machine and with the back of his hand gave a half punch making sure to not hit the machine directly. A score of 176 quickly popped up on the screen to the surprise of all the competitors, save the z-fighters. Following Gohan was Piccolo, Krillen, 18, Goten, Trunks, and Videl. Each of them registered a score between 160 and 220, the 160 belonging to Videl. The competitors and officials alike stood in shock as this strange group of people registered these amazing scores, all of which were higher than the world champions. There was not too much surprise that Videl was able to manufacture such a high score, given that she was the champion's daughter but everyone was shocked when two boys not even ten years in age each produced a score of 200. The officials were so surprised they made Goten and Trunks do it again to make sure there was not some sort of malfunction with the machine. Vegeta was the last to go of the group and to nobody's surprise did not follow Gohan's advice. When it was his turn to hit the machine, he punched it with enough force to send the machine crashing against the wall, busting it in two. The crowd of competitors stood in shock looking at the destroyed machine, timidly backing away from Vegeta. The referees gave Vegeta a score of 999 while looking with nervous amazement at the spiked hair fighter.
"I told you to take it easy on the machine Vegeta," whispered Gohan.
"I did, it's not my fault this machine was so poorly made."
The preliminaries took a total time of three hours before the field of competitors was narrowed down to only 16. At least an hour of the time was spent replacing the machine that Vegeta effectively destroyed. The 16 finalists soon after made their way into the special reserved waiting area, where they waited for the draw to be determined.
"Well this is great, we all made it to the finals," said Gohan happily.
"Ha, like there was any doubt. There's nobody on this planet with any ability outside of this little group," said Vegeta.
"Yea, now I only have to hope that I get lucky with the draw and maybe I can make it to the finals," said Krillen.
"You better hope so," responded 18. "If you don't make it to at least the semifinals then you're going to have to make your own dinner from now on."
"Oh come on honey. You know I can't cook."
As the group continued to talk cheerfully amongst themselves, they were soon interrupted as somebody walked up to Gohan, tapping him on his shoulder.
"Well hello there," said the mysterious person standing behind Gohan.
Gohan turned around to greet the person standing behind him. Suddenly Gohan's heart started to beat heavily, increasing in repetition at an alarming rate. The person was unfamiliar to Gohan yet somehow, there was a sense of déjà vu. There was something unsettling to say the least about this situation but Gohan did not want to show any weakness. As if nothing was the matter, Gohan responded nonchalantly to his fellow finalist.
"Hello, my name is Gohan. And you are?"
/
Well my surgery was successful, although far more painful than I had expected so I haven't been able to write the last few weeks. I was glad to get so many reviews for my last chapter, it was really a pleasure to read. If you're wondering where the story is at now, this marks the second chapter in the third arc or the World Martial Arts Tournament Arc. Expect it to be longer and more important than the anime made it. On another note, if you're wondering, Gohan never did kiss Videl, he fainted before he could unfortunately.
