Season 1: Chapter 5- Hero vs Yamcha

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z except my own characters

Chemistry-Deaf: Ma Sax's first year with Piccolo!

Ma Sax was disgusted not to mention annoyed by Hero's doubt and judgement against Ma Jr throughout his conversation with him. He gathered that Hero somehow knew of Ma Jr's true origins and figured that this human was probably more observant than most of the population. Hero was about to say more, probably to Ma Sax's lack of judgement or wasted effort, when Ma Jr showed up. He noticed Hero's reluctant to continue and his immediate match coming up and watched him walked to the entrance. One thing he was grateful was that he finished his meal before talking to him. If he didn't, he didn't feel like finishing it.

Even though he placed Hero's judgement on the human's overall population response to King Piccolo, he couldn't shake the feeling that it was deeper than that. There was something wrong with that picture. Sitting around will only make his head go in circles, so he got up ignoring the splinters falling through his fingers. "I'm going to watch his match." It had been his habit to notify Ma Jr what he's doing like it was his habit to place a comforting hand to his shoulder whenever he felt unease from Ma Jr. "You can do whatever you want." Ma Jr understood the limits to that. Giving a gentle squeeze, Ma Sax walked out of the building; he could feel Ma Jr's gaze and briefly wondered the purpose.

He ignored Goku's friends telling Yamcha how apparently easy his opponent seems to be. His guts told him otherwise and he intend to find out why. Once Yamcha stepped onto the arena, they noticed his presence as he jumped to the wall and sat on it. If the wall crumbled, he could get himself off of it. He glanced at their reaction to his presence. There was a mix response.

Goku and Krillin were content at staying by the entrance to the arena while Tien have questions. He floated down and walked over to where Ma Sax seated himself and floated to his level. "I didn't think this fight would interest you. I thought the last fight would have you here."

"I was going to watch, but something came up and you're right, this wouldn't interest me, but my suspicions were alerted and I may as well watch to see who will fight Ma Jr."

"What suspicions?"

"Just watch. Let's see if you get surprised by how it ended." They watched Hero bowing to Yamcha and hoping for a fair match. Ma Sax caught word of Goku's suspicion as well. Tien and Krillin remained blissfully clueless of Ma Sax and Goku's curiosity over Hero. Their confusion were interrupted by the start of the fourth match.

Yamcha got his fighting pose ready and had to restrain a giggle at Hero's odd fighting stance.

"That's an interesting technique you got there. Feel free to attack whenever you're ready."

"Really? Thanks for your kindness."

"No problem."

Everyone watch Hero making a fool of himself making monkey noises and the strange dance along with it. Yamcha followed his movement fine as the audience chuckle from Hero's antiques. Ma Sax failed to find Hero funny nor was he annoyed by his act. He was trying to figure out the purpose of this deception and didn't wait long. Hero attacked with a loud whooping noise and a chopping motion which Yamcha avoided easily. Hero lost his balance and clumsily fell. Yamcha failed to notice a stray kick from the waving Hero on his side. He screamed in pain from the kick. Ma Sax was at the right side to see it all. One side of his mouth tugged upward, forming a half smile. The audience roared with laughter a second later.

Yamcha chuckled despite the pain and said, "For someone who can't fight, you're doing pretty good."

"Ah, yes, thank you! Sorry about that. I fell in public; I'm very embarrassed," Hero responded while bowing a few times and scratching his head in an embarrassment.

"Listen Hero, you seem like a nice guy, but this is a match, so why don't we get back to it? Let's save the laughter till after the fight. It'll be all over soon, I promise." Hero quickly went back to his odd stance as Yamcha decided to kick him out. Hero freaked out about Yamcha's leaping to him that he protected his head. There was a collective gasp from the audience and Ma Sax could only gape at the pure idiocy he was seeing. Yamcha's gasps of pain was the only thing that sounded in the arena before laughter erupted again. It was below the belt, but it was an accident, so the audience waits in laughter for Yamcha to get up.

Ma Sax became convinced that Hero wasn't ordinary. Those seemingly accidental hits felt planned to him. If their purpose was to make Yamcha lose control and his guard, it's succeeding. Yamcha's anger and humiliation forced him up and he got applause for his efforts, not that he was pleased for. Hero apologized for his pain and suggest some pointers before winning the match. Yamcha was quick to claim his body was trained well and disbelieved Hero's chances at winning. It seemed that only two at that moment did. Ma Sax and Goku waited for Hero to show his real moves.

After they agreed on fighting seriously, Hero instantly elbowed Yamcha's face. The unsuspecting audience and Yamcha didn't see this one coming. Hero reveled that he was deceiving Yamcha and that caused him not to see subtle warnings or clues. Yamcha didn't believe in deception as a tool and fights his own battle the way he wanted. He was pissed at Hero's claim that he will win. Hero decided to teach Yamcha some lessons before winning.

Since confirming who will win, the battle became slightly boring to Ma Sax. He noticed the lessons Hero was trying to give to Yamcha without luck and remembered his own troubles. The first year was the hardest compared to the rest of the three years. There was trouble, after trouble, and more troubles with Piccolo Junior.

Since Piccolo Jr claimed to be the reincarnation of King Piccolo, he resisted Saxophone's help. The most common way for a child to do that was by running away. He was good at that, and they mostly happened at night. The first time he was found quickly. Saxophone was quick in discovering his absence and found a dog chasing Piccolo. The dog ran into him as Piccolo tripped. Piccolo turned and saw the dog whimper in fear from the angry demon in his way. He sighed a relief when the dog turn tail and ran. He jumped when Saxophone grabbed him and carried him back to their temporary hideout. The scolding didn't deter him for long.

A month followed as Piccolo attempted to learn to control his ki and his talking skills. He was frustrated by his lack of progress and Saxophone's lack of disappointment with him. That evening, he was successful for getting away longer than half a night.

Saxophone was both angry and worried after discovering his escape and his fruitless search. Piccolo was doing a great job of hiding his ki and keeping a distance from him. He managed to calm himself down the night of his first day of search and found some clues to Piccolo's location. He tracked Piccolo quietly. It had been nearly two whole days.

His luck improved during the afternoon of the second day. Piccolo had used his ki, and it was close. He quickly and quietly reached to the area he felt the ki and saw a dead bear. He hid when sounds of footsteps approached. The dead bear had attracted park rangers. Saxophone quickly scanned for Piccolo's ki and found him. He wasn't hiding it well.

Saxophone changed from sneaking on the ground to moving through the trees. He found Piccolo confronted by the park rangers and dropped next to them. His presence startled the rangers and Piccolo.

"Where did you come from?!" one of them addressed him.

"From the trees. Is there any trouble?" Saxophone asked them.

"N-no trouble! Just warning this young man about potential poachers," the other responded. Saxophone noticed with some amusement that the "poacher" they're looking for was the young man.

"I see." Saxophone walked up to Piccolo and picked him up. Piccolo disliked this, but Saxophone told him through telegraphic message that it's for appearance sake. "I'm sorry about my son running off. He tend to do that when frustrated. We'll keep a look out for any poachers around."

"A-alright then, keep safe, and keep a closer eye on that son of yours."

"Give us a shout when you do find him!"

"We will," Saxophone responded and waved as the rangers ran off. "Not likely. Now, you, young man, are in big trouble for running off like that and scaring me in the process!" Piccolo squealed from getting tickled.

Those two were the ones that started the whole thing. The rest varied over the course of the first year. The eight and ninth months were the ones where Piccolo ran off often. Saxophone noticed his struggle, but Piccolo refused to tell him anything. It was around the time that Piccolo could talk without the need for telegraphic connection. It was wearing Saxophone's patience thin.

This one he remembered all too well, and it was the final time Piccolo ran off. As with most of Piccolo's runaways, it was night. What made this one special was a thunderstorm. Piccolo usually don't run away during the thunderstorm and tend to wait till after it was over. Another change was Piccolo was intentionally hiding his ki and whatever noise he made was hidden by the strong rain and thunder. Saxophone waited in the cave for the storm to pass.

The light glowed the wet forest as Saxophone hunted down Piccolo. A glimmer of color unnatural to the forest caught his attention. Piccolo's clothes were discarded in a bush. There were places of tear and mud as Saxophone picked it up.

Time passed and the sun risen as Saxophone trudged through the drying forest. His ears strained for any noise besides the forest's voice. His ears were graced by the sound of shivering. He couldn't see Piccolo due to his green skin camouflaging with the forest, but his guts told him Piccolo was close. "Piccolo! Where do you think you're planning on going?" Saxophone shouted. A startled gasp answered back. "Or would you prefer that I called you demon child?"

"No! Don't! I just wanted to get away from you!" That ticked Saxophone off, but he now knows his location. He blasted the overgrown hiding Piccolo right off, exposing his back. Piccolo felt a cold, wet, muddy material slapped his cold wet skin before sliding off. He slowly uncurled himself to stare in shock on his clothes. He was surprised that Sax even bothered to pick them up. All torn up.

"So, what do you hope to accomplish escaping me like that?"

"I am the reincarnation. I will destroy Goku and rule the world. I can't let these ... feelings get in the way! I will continue his legacy he gave me!" Piccolo had reached his full height as he confronted Saxophone.

"Really? You think you can get stronger by yourself?" Sax knocked Piccolo down on his back and planted his foot on his stomach. Piccolo got a good look at what Sax is wearing. He was bare foot with his pants rolled up. His open jacket was left behind so he was only wearing a tank top. His turban was also off. "I'll have you know that I am physically stronger than you right now. Do you think you can get stronger by yourself? I could kill you in a heartbeat, and no one will be wiser." Sax had his hand wrapped around Piccolo's neck to prove his point. Piccolo was terrified and yet Saxophone have his complete attention. "If I so desired, I could have done away with world domination with or without your help! You talk about your feelings getting in your way. If I didn't have strong desire to watch over you and help you out, where would you think you'll be? Alone, dead, or worse!"

Saxophone released Piccolo's neck and lifted his foot off. Piccolo was still terrified, but the new information lodged itself in his head. He barely caught the soft voice Saxophone used. "I want to help you with your goals; I can't do that if you won't let me." Piccolo couldn't stop the warm feeling spreading. Still, doubt crept back.

"Why? Why help me?"

"You are young, but I do believe that you will grow up to be a skilled fighter. With training, meditation, and spars, you can become better than King Piccolo. If your training progress well, I could teach you a different type of ki." Piccolo seriously thought he cry hearing this. Saxophone had knelt down to his level during the conversation. Trembling, Piccolo had jumped on Saxophone's chest and held tightly. Piccolo didn't understand his actions, but Saxophone didn't push him off. Instead, Saxophone embraced him and got up while picking up his clothes. He walked back to their hideout.

A/N: Wow, that was fun. Next chapter will be the conclusion of Hero vs Yamcha!