Chapter 074 - Round Up For The Budokai
"So you're entering the upcoming Budokai?" Bulma blinked taken aback. "... I have to admit I'm a little surprised Gohan, why'd you wanna enter it?"
Indeed Gohan had returned to Capsule Corp alongside Corset in order to seek Bulma's help. The three - and Trunks who'd tagged along again - stood amongst themselves in the small lab holding all the faulty machinery and transport, mostly hover-bikes and hover-cars.
"There's a classmate of mine who's blackmailed me into entering the Budokai," Gohan explained.
"Mr Satan's daughter found out Gohan was the Great Saiyaman," Corset added exasperated.
"Oh, I remember you saying something about his daughter being in your class this year... So she found out, huh?" Bulma mused, "The daughter of a 'martial arts champion'?"
"She's a nice girl," Gohan nodded indifferent to Bulma's ponderings. "She helps to fight crime in Satan City and defend the people just like me. Only thing is she saw through my disguise and because of this," he pointed to the scratch on his face, "She said if I don't compete she'll blow my cover."
"... You know you're very different from your father in some ways but just as dumb!" Bulma giggled. "Alright, so what do you wanna do?"
"Well I can't enter the tournament with any protection so I need something to replace the helmet," Gohan explained.
"I see... we want something that will cover your face, right?" Bulma asked. "I think I know just the thing!"
Corset and Trunks both stared at each other concerned for what was going through their mother's minds. The trio watched as Bulma scooted off in search for some materials, muttering something about concealing eyes. They weren't kept waiting long as soon Bulma returned with her solution, passing over what appeared to be a scarf and a pair of sunglasses over to the intrigued Gohan...
Corset's face dropped as Gohan exclaimed how happy he was. He looked even more ridiculous without the helmet! Sure this was far more cost-effective and much simpler but even so, Gohan still looked ridiculous to her!
"What do you think Trunks? Pretty cool huh?" Gohan asked pleased with his alternate super-hero look.
"... No comment..." Trunks mumbled, dropping his half-full can of juice without realising.
"How about you? Think it's cool?" Gohan turned to Corset.
"Uh... I guess if you think it's cool then who cares!" Corset squirmed. 'It looks awful Gohan! I can't believe you're gonna go out in public like that!'
"It must be pretty boring knowing you'll win that tournament easily," Bulma mused. "Hey Corset, why don't you enter as well?"
Corset's head whirled at the thought, "I dunno, it does sound like fun but what about school?" she asked, not quite believing the words that had come from her mouth! Since when had she chosen school over fighting?
"Who says either of them would win?"
The group's heads all spun around in surprise as Vegeta strode into the room.
"Who could possibly beat either of them – besides themselves?" Bulma asked confused.
"Yours truly!" Vegeta retaliated confidently. "If they'll enter then I'll enter too! The boy was a lot stronger than me when we fought Cell but how about now? While you've been busy going to the library and going out on dates, I've been doing nothing but severe training the entire time!"
Corset rolled her eyes; she couldn't deny any of her father's accusations! He did indeed spend all of his time training and doing nothing else except tending to his everyday needs. She'd never once seen him slouched out in front of the television, aside from the brief time immediately after the Cell Games. Gohan on the other hand didn't seem to train at all. He'd been into sparring with Corset every-so-often for the first couple of months after the battle with Cell, then after that he just seemed to lose focus and interest. She was interested to see how his severe lack-of-training had affected his fighting-style and power...
"...Why is it Saiyans can train all day but can't mow the lawn or take out the trash?" Bulma grunted more to herself than anyone else.
"Cool! Gohan, Corset and Dad are gonna fight!" Trunks exclaimed excitedly.
"Whoa, I never said I was entering!" Corset butted in.
"Of course you are!" Vegeta snapped, "While he's been frolicking in peace, Corset's been training hard getting stronger! Of course she'd be far stronger if she didn't insist on going to that damn school and spent more time training!"
"It's the law, Vegeta," Bulma spat back. "She has to go to High School! You never listen."
"It'll be like old times," Gohan smiled, "Hey, we may end up fighting each other."
"Old times? We never entered a tournament!" Corset responded wryly.
"Aww come on Sis, enter!" Trunks grinned with anticipation.
"Fine, I'll enter..." Corset sighed. "... I might need a costume though; I don't want Videl knowing I've entered."
Bulma was quick to respond, "Hey I could-"
"I'll make something for myself, Mama." Corset quickly answered knowing what was coming.
"I'll go too!"
The sudden interference of a familiar voice caught them all by surprise. Corset stopped and blinked baffled looking around at their surroundings, not entirely sure where to look. She recognised that voice. It had made everyone stop in their tracks, all the members of the room – minus Trunks – knew who it belonged to yet couldn't believe they'd heard it!
"... Dad? Is that you?" Gohan slowly spoke, a hint of disbelief in his voice. "Please tell me that was you!"
"Kakarrot?" Vegeta glanced up to the ceiling.
"Hi everyone! How've you all been?"
Corset felt something tug on her shirt and looked down to see Trunks. "What's going on?" He asked. "Who's talking?"
"Um... I'll tell you later, just let me listen to this," Corset replied turning back to stare at the ceiling.
"Dad, how've you been?" Gohan asked loudly, clearly excited at getting to speak to his dad again.
"Pretty good, still dead though!" Goku's voice replied.
"Is it true you're really coming back for the Budokai?" Gohan asked.
"Yeah, I get one day to come back to visit the living so I'll make sure that's the day! If all three of you are fighting, I wanna be in on it too!"
"Alright! Yeah!" Gohan cheered pumping both fists into the air triumphantly.
"I'll look forward to it but will you?" Vegeta jeered, "I've grown far stronger than before."
"That goes for me too! Well I'll see you guys at the Budokai!"
"... Who was that?" Trunks raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"That was Gohan's dad," Corset answered. "He was talking from the otherworld."
"Gohan, you should let Krillin and your mum know about this," Bulma smiled, "This is great news!"
"Yeah, good call," Gohan nodded.
"This is getting interesting!" Vegeta chuckled confidently.
"Oh, Vegeta – and I guess this should go for you too Corset..." Gohan mumbled, "Maybe you guys should consider wearing a costume so they can't tell who you are."
"Yeah, I said I'd do that," Corset nodded anxiously.
"A costume?" Vegeta barked frazzled. "I don't care if they find out!"
Gohan soon left pleased with his alternate Saiyaman costume and with the news his father would be returning for the Budokai. This news had also left Corset in high spirits and she decided to head back into the gravity room for some more training. Her father'd been right about one thing: if she was going to consider entering then she'd need to get all the training she could! However she needed to run something past her mother before any training could take place. Once Vegeta had dragged Trunks back to the gravity room, Corset nervously approached her mother.
"Mama... would it be ok if I didn't go to High School for a little while?"
"What?" Bulma's short hair swayed as her head spun around in alarm, "Why?"
"Well if I'm gonna be entering then isn't it important I train as much as I can?" Corset suggested. "Gohan says there's prize money given out to the top five competitors; first place gets ten million zeni..."
"The money would be nice but we've got plenty of that anyway," Bulma turned back to her work. "I take it your dad put you up to this?"
"... Kinda... but I was gonna ask anyway!" Corset sheepishly giggled deciding her father could take the brunt of the blame; he often complained about her not training enough! "I just think school's gonna make it difficult for me to focus."
"Alright, you can take time off of High School. You just make sure you catch up after the Budokai."
"Thanks Mama!"
A couple of days passed and training got underway. To her surprise Trunks decided he too wanted to enter as Goten had been allowed to. Although she hadn't physically seen it, the sudden surge and that oh-so-familiar tint of Super Saiyan to his ki left her speechless! She'd dashed from her bedroom and barged through the gravity chamber door, unintentionally shutting off the gravity simulation when opening the door; a safety device her mother had installed to stop any accidents from happening.
"What are you doing?" Vegeta snapped, grunting and walking back over to the gravity simulator to reset the gravity.
Corset's eyes widened in shock and disbelief, jaw dropping as she saw her blonde brother. "... I knew it!"
"Knew what?" Trunks smiled smug, folding his arms in a similar fashion to his father's. "That I'm a Super Saiyan? Goten's one too ya know!"
"WHAT?" Corset shrieked. "... But... But... How? You mean you just woke up one day and you magically transformed?"
"Yeah," Trunks nodded, "Well actually I was pretty angry that day... or I think I was!"
"Did you know about this?" Corset turned to her father.
"Dad looked surprised, not as surprised as you though sis!" Trunks replied before Vegeta could.
"... Wow... and I thought Gohan and I were lucky to reach it at our ages..." Corset mumbled in awe, an idea popping into her head. "...Hey Trunks, how about a sparring session?"
"Uh... ok then," Trunks answered with an unsure nod. "Can I stay as a Super Saiyan?"
"Sure," Corset nodded, "Tell ya what, I won't transform, ok?"
"You sure? Aren't you gonna get beaten up by me if you don't transform?" Trunks asked.
"I'll be fine," Corset smiled a little bothered by her brother's overconfidence. "Come at me!"
"... Alright!" Trunks nodded as Corset put up her guard.
He moved faster than she expected; Corset only just managed to raise her arm to stop his punch from striking her face. Trunks' attacks were rapid and blurry, Corset blocking and dodging the speedy moves with difficulty; she couldn't believe what she was now dealing with! Trunks lashed out with a kick, Corset stepping back to dodge, lunging forwards and turning from defensive to offensive.
To add to her already mounting surprise Trunks wasn't doing too bad dodging her attacks! She increased her speed little by little, Trunks matching her blow-for-blow. A strike to her face almost knocked her backwards but then Trunks kept on hitting, Corset struggling to catch up to his speed and anticipate in time. She was knocked a couple of steps back as Trunks' moves increased in speed, a more confident smile slowly appearing on the Super Saiyan's face. That sent a mixed feeling of pride and anger through her.
Corset's annoyance was rising; this boy was starting to become too cocky! She couldn't catch him out at this pace-
Trunks gasped as his sister transformed, dodged and sent him crashing onto his butt with a controlled punch to the stomach. He winced and grumbled as he held his painful gut, "... No fair... You transformed!"
"Yeah, sorry about that," Corset apologised, wiping the blood dripping from her throbbing nose. "... Guess I wasn't expecting to have that much trouble against you! I should give you more credit!" She reached down and held out her hand, Trunks grabbing it as she pulled him back onto his feet. "I could have hit you harder you know."
"Yeah... I'm ok!" Trunks hurriedly let go of her hand and put up his guard; Corset had a feeling he was trying to act so tough because their dad was present, something she no longer felt a need to do.
"You wanna go again?" Corset smiled, "Alright then but don't expect to find it as easy as earlier!"
A couple more days passed and the training continued. By now Gohan had let Krillin and Piccolo both know about the upcoming tournament, both of whom had agreed to participate. For most of the time Corset sparred with Trunks and occasionally her father, although their sessions didn't last too long as Vegeta was still under the impression training was most efficient when done alone. This didn't bother Corset too much; her dad had a tendency not to hold back against her anymore and she needed the time for her wounds to heal!
"Alright Trunks, let's try this again," Corset decided, standing opposite her younger brother. The siblings had decided to train in a mountainous area not too far from West City where they could fight freely outside without causing much harm.
"Ok," Trunks drew back his hands concentrating his ki, Corset doing the same only clenching her fists. With a yell Trunks began to fire off energy attacks as fast as possible, Corset deflecting or dodging them from where she stood, although deflecting was the main aim. It was good practice for her reflexes and strength and also good practice for Trunks building up his stamina. After a couple of minutes Trunks stopped, sitting down to rest and catch his breath.
Corset walked over and joined him. "I think we'd better go to get some lunch soon, I dunno about you but I'm getting hungry. Nice shots by the way; I think you're really starting to improve!"
"Thanks sis..." Trunks smiled. "Hey, when we come back in the afternoon, can you fire shots at me and I deflect and dodge?"
"Sure," Corset nodded.
Home thankfully wasn't too far away from where they'd been training, quickly coming into view as the two landed outside the front of the large building. A surprised and horrified look came over Corset's face as she sensed a familiar ki inside of the building.
"What's wrong?" Trunks asked noticing the worried look on her face, unnerving him a little. "... Sis?" He repeated.
"... I have a horrible feeling someone's looking for me," Corset answered slowly, keeping half an eye on the familiar ki coming from inside the building. "Go get some lunch Trunks, I'll be with you later. I've gotta go find someone."
"...Ok then," Trunks trotted on ahead as both siblings walked through the entrance. Sure enough there she was sitting on one of the many sofas dotted around the reception desk for those waiting for appointments.
Videl was here... although she didn't look like Videl anymore!
"I thought you'd be here," the short-haired girl stood up and wandered over, arms folded. "So what's the deal? You suddenly stop coming to school ironically at the same time as Gohan? Why, are you ill?"
"... How did you find out I live here?" Corset asked suspiciously; inside she was absolutely horrified! She couldn't deal with Videl right now and could not work out how she'd found out her address. This was very bad. More to the point Videl still didn't know about Corset's abilities! 'If Gohan's ratted me out... She grumbled to herself in her mind.
"The student roster," Videl answered, one finger tapping on her arm, "the same way I found where Gohan lived! So what's the deal? Care to tell me why you're taking time off school?"
"...I'm helping my mama out with this big project she's doing at the moment," Corset spluttered.
"Stop. Don't even think about lying to me..." Videl smirked smug, "You knew all along didn't you? You knew about Gohan!"
"What about him?" Corset asked suspiciously.
"Gohan's teaching me how to fly and is teaching me how to control my ki," Videl continued. "You knew he was the Great Saiyaman! You're in on it, I know you are!"
She'd got her pinned. "... Ok, so what if I knew?" Corset asked, voice more stern and expression more serious. "I'm not gonna give away his identity! You know, if all you came over here to do was just to ask me questions about Gohan then you're wasting both your and my time, I've gotta help my mama out-"
"That's not all I'm here for. I know about your past, why you probably didn't go to West City High School, all the rumours." Videl butted in. "I'll bet you have the same powers as Gohan, don't you? You can fly and shoot off all those weird ki things, can't you? Don't even try to deny it; there have been stories of things that happened in the schools you went to in West city, like you getting outstanding grades in PE and weird incidents occurring around you! I went to those schools to find out more about you; travelling from West City to Satan City to go to High School sounds far too dedicated for any normal student, plus it would take at least a couple of hours commute either way!"
"... Are you stalking me or something?" Corset protested. "Look, whatever you've heard about me is just rumours, Videl! If you came to stir up trouble then I'm sorry but you're not gonna find it here!"
"You're planning to enter the Budokai, aren't you?" Videl muttered ignoring her for the most part. She had all the information she needed. A small smirk slipped across her face, "Gohan told me. In fact, it's thanks to him I even found your address! He let it slip. I just had to confirm it on the student rosters to make sure he was telling the truth!"
'That idiot!' Corset could have sworn she felt a nerve burst. 'Note to self; remember to kill Gohan when you next see him!' She glared back at the blue-eyed girl, not choosing to speak for quite some time. "Fine, so what if I am? What's it to you?"
"Nothing, it just means there's one more opponent who will be there who will give me a decent fight!" Videl smiled. "You're pretty good you know, it took me a while to find out anything about your past and you're right, a lot of the teachers who were there when you were did say they thought it was rumours! I didn't even realise you were the daughter of the heir to Capsule Corp! Why the cover-up? Was it the rumours or something else?"
"I don't really like people knowing," Corset frowned. "I don't want all the attention you get just because you're rich and famous. Surely you of all people can understand that."
"Yeah, I can..." Videl smirked. "... Well as long as you don't pull out of the tournament, no one will find out!"
Corset glared suspiciously at the girl, a bemused smirk on her face, "... Excuse me? You think I'd pull out of the tournament? I can't imagine why you'd think that!"
"Well since we're gonna be fighting in front of tens of thousands of people, I thought you might be a little worried about your identity." Videl replied. "Gohan certainly seemed to be."
"Don't worry, I've got it covered," Corset spoke. "So is this all you came over for?"
"It's one reason," Videl nodded, "I also came over because I didn't realise we had so much in common. It feels like I'm meeting the real you for the first time."
"Yeah well I knew you'd be on my back if you ever found out about me so I tried to keep away from you; just remind me to thank Gohan for opening his big and idiotic mouth!" Corset rolled her eyes.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Videl narrowed her eyes. "I'd be on your back?"
"I mean you'd do exactly what you've just done and tracked me down because of how suspicious my past is," Corset explained. "I'm not stupid and I know what you're like. I'm not as naive as Gohan is."
"Hey Sis, Grandma wants to know if you wanted any cake?" Trunks reappeared, noticing Videl and raising an eyebrow. Even he could sense the tension between the two dark-haired girls and began to wonder whether he'd walked in at the wrong time.
"I'll go and find her," Corset answered her brother, "I'll be a little while yet."
"... Is he your little brother?" Videl asked after Trunks vanished again. "He looks familiar to me..."
"That's Trunks," Corset nodded, "He's friends with Gohan's little brother."
"Oh? I think Goten mentioned him," Videl realised. "Listen, I know we've had our differences in the past and haven't really hung out together, but maybe we should do that at some point after the tournament is over."
"Yeah, I guess so," Corset agreed reluctantly. "So you said Gohan's teaching you how to fly?"
"Yeah, he has to teach me how to fly otherwise I'll tell everyone he's the Great Saiyaman." Videl grinned. "Just out of interest, is he the golden warrior too?"
"Nope, just the Great Saiyaman," Corset lied.
"... Alright then, if you say so... I'll leave you to you 'helping your mum out'," Videl waved, heading for the entrance.
"Oh, before you go..." Corset interrupted, "... just out of curiosity, why'd you cut your hair? It suits you!"
"Thanks... I cut it so no one could pull on my hair and so it doesn't get in my eyes for the Budokai," Videl replied before turning to leave the building.
Corset wandered outside and watched as Videl took out her capsule and revealed her plane. As the engines roared into life Corset gave a wave and watched as she vanished. She breathed a small sigh of relief.
"... So who was that?" Trunks asked, startling his sister! She hadn't been expecting him to be standing beside her.
"I'll tell you later," Corset answered. "... Things just got a little more complicated."