Chapter 075 - Day Of The Budokai

Once Videl had left in her single-seated jet, Corset and Trunks returned indoors to grab some food. As mentioned by Trunks, their grandmother had cakes and other snacks readily prepared for them though Corset didn't pick too much at these, preferring to eat something more substantial and healthier than cake! As the two ate, Corset explained the story to her brother about her latest year at school. Though clearly more eager to stuff in as much food as he could, Trunks listened until finally his sister was done.

"Oh... so that's the girl who blackmailed Gohan?" Trunks gave a big nod of realisation, swallowing a mouthful of drink before grabbing onto one of the sandwiches left by his sister. "She looked like a grouchy, mean girl! Why didn't you beat her up?"

"I'm more civilised than that," Corset replied wryly rolling her eyes at her brother's suggestion; all his suggestions seemed to revolve around beating people up. "Beating up someone isn't the answer to everything – no matter what dad tells you! As it is she now knows about my powers so we're gonna have to be careful training if she comes over again..." She noticed the unsure look on her brother's face, "... what I mean is no Super Saiyan. We don't want Videl to find out about that."

Trunks frowned looking as if he'd been forbidden to play with one of his toys, "Fine... but I still think you should-"

"No! I'm not beating anyone up!"

Training continued and soon Vegeta took over Trunks' training, deciding the boy needed a 'more experienced' teacher as opposed to a 'lenient, soppy and soft' teacher! Though initially annoyed over her father's inconsiderate choice of words, this left Corset to continue her training alone, allowing her to become more intense and use more energy. She trained every day for as long as possible, spending a day off a week to rest and relax. Unlike Gohan, Corset had been forced to keep up her training, mainly because of her father but also because at the end of the day it helped her to stay strong and keep fit. It allowed her to vent out any of her frustrations gathered from school or socialising and allowed her to continue developing her skills as a fighter. Without it she doubted she'd be where she was now.

She didn't visit anyone, not wanting to disrupt their training. Often she'd stay in the gravity room under as much gravity as Trunks was whilst he trained alongside their father. Other days she'd venture off to different locations when things were getting too stressful, allowing her muscles a chance to relax under normal gravity. As the day grew closer and closer, she intensified her training, then finally stopped it all a couple of days before the deadline in order to relax and rest her body.

Soon the day arrived.

The group were to gather in three stages, starting with those at Capsule Corp rising early to collect the others. Yamcha, Puar and Oolong had all met the Brief family prior to leaving. The sun was barely peering over the smaller buildings of the city as the large carrier slowly ascended and moved onwards in an easternly direction. Corset'd sat herself on one of the many comfortable seats her mother and grandfather had installed the night before to keep the many passengers as cosy as possible. The scenery around them changed slowly, at one point she felt her body jolt and realised she'd started to dose off! Early morning starts weren't her best, she just hoped she wouldn't fall asleep in the tournament itself.

Soon the ship made its first landing outside Mount Paozu. Trunks was pleased to see Goten boarding; the two seating themselves away from the adults both peering out the window. Whilst Gyu Mao found himself a seat at the back, Corset scooted over for Chichi and Gohan to settle themselves down, choosing to stare out the window. Soon the grassy field fell below them, the tops of the trees soon following as the now slightly larger group headed in a south-south-west direction to pick up the final members of their group. The world below them changed from forests growing across mountains to more open, grassy plains, eventually giving way to the large ocean below. A quick stop off at Kame House meant that finally the gang could head to their destination. The island where the Tenkaichi Budokai was being held.

"Is Goku really coming?" Bulma asked, peering over her shoulder as she piloted the large plane.

"Of course he is!" Gohan nodded.

"I can't wait!" Master Roshi grinned anticipating seeing his ex-pupil once more.

"Aren't you going to be competing Yamcha?" Chichi asked noticing the fighter didn't seem dressed for battle, nor did he seem to have any luggage.

Yamcha chuckled and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, "Nah, I'll just embarrass myself!"

Corset was now sat beside Master Roshi much to her discomfort, still glancing out the window at the sea below. It was an old habit of hers from her younger days; whenever her mother would take her somewhere in any of her jet planes, Corset would watch the scenery change below them. She paid little mind to the conversation going on around them although she paid a decent amount of attention to the pervert sitting next to her, in case he tried anything!

"... By the way Vegeta – and this includes Goten and Trunks and Corset..." the mention of her name caught her attention and she looked over to Gohan. "Could we go without being Super Saiyans for the tournament?"

"Why?" Vegeta asked.

"Think about it," Bulma explained, "You were on the television during the Cell Games; they might recognise you if you transform. They'd get your name and address from the roster and then the media would be all over my front yard!"

"Then you'd know what I have to go through at High School," Gohan chuckled.

'Not that you didn't bring it upon yourself Mr Saiyaman,' Corset muttered in her mind.

"I don't see what the problem is," Vegeta muttered. "When those reporters come I'll just rip their heads off!"

"Not your best idea, Dad," Corset snorted, chin resting on her hand as she stared back out the window again.

"Fine, whatever." Vegeta responded, "If nobody's a Super Saiyan we'll be on equal terms. Of course I'll still hold the advantage!"

"That's fine with us," Trunks agreed, Goten silently nodding with his usual smile.

"Well that's a relief. I might even stand a chance!" Krillin sighed with relief. "You know fighting a Super Saiyan's like trying to fight a steam roller with your hands tied behind your back!"

"Pipe down!" Vegeta barked.

"Hey, look guys," Bulma smiled ignoring Vegeta's outburst, "There's the island the tournament's being held on."

"Come to think of it... didn't you say you were going to make yourself a costume?" Gohan asked Corset, finally noticing she was still wearing casual clothes.

"Yeah," Corset nodded. "Don't worry, I have something..."She pointed to the small bag at her feet resting against the wall of the craft.

Soon the plane started to descend upon the island, the small child in Android Eighteen's arms babbling something Corset couldn't quite make out as the craft finally struck the ground with a jolt. The engines were shut off and Bulma opened up the rear door for everyone to disembark. Once the plane had been returned to its capsule state, the large group started to make their way through the ever growing crowds, passing through the main gates of the tournament arena.

Corset had considered the fact that as this was the world martial arts tournament there would be a fair number of people here. She wasn't expecting the crowds they were currently facing - and this was just inside the large gates shutting off the grounds to the rest of the island! They weren't even in the proper stadium yet, just how busy was today going to be?

"I can't stand crowds..." Bulma muttered.

"There sure are a lot of people here," Krillin agreed.

"I wonder if Goku's here yet..." Yamcha mused.

Corset glanced around as she heard a crowd to her left start screaming. Barely able to see over the heads, she spotted a large jet plane with what appeared to be the word Satan written on it. It looked as if Mr Satan and Videl had arrived judging by the hoards of people rushing over towards the area screaming his name and running as fast as possible!

"Mr Satan huh? The hero of Earth!" Krillin chuckled.

"Why is he so popular?" Bulma asked rhetorically.

Corset zoned out from the screaming crowds and continued to look around, peering for any signs of Piccolo or Goku. Piccolo had mentioned to Corset he'd make his own way to the tournament when she'd visited him and the others on Kame's lookout. She couldn't see either he or Goku amongst the packed swarm of hysterical people. The wind gently brushed past her, her hair which had been tied back into a ponytail tickling her neck a little, much to her annoyance. She'd gotten into part of her costume just before they'd landed; it wasn't anything that stood out like Gohan's Great Saiyaman clothes but she hoped it would do the trick! She'd tied her hair back into a ponytail and placed a turquoise bandana over her head, brushing some strands of her fringe together to give herself a slightly different look. She'd change into the rest of her outfit once they'd arrived. She hoped it would be enough!

"Gohan, it's Piccolo!" Goten cried. His voice brought Corset back to reality and she turned to spot the Namekian standing under the shade of some trees. She and Gohan approached their former mentor.

"Hey Piccolo, you look well," she smiled pleased to see him.

"Have you seen my dad?" Gohan asked.

"Not yet," Piccolo shook his head, almost double-taking as he set eyes on Gohan "... Are you really going to wear that?"

"Yeah, of course!" Gohan nodded, "Piccolo I'm telling you this is the pinnacle of cool, right Corset?"

"Uh... right!" Corset nervously laughed.

That familiar ki suddenly flared up into her head. Corset's head spun around - as did several others - as Goku landed on his feet before them, Fortune-teller Baba beside him sitting upon her crystal ball.

"Hey guys! I'm back!" The Saiyan greeted his stunned friends with his usual warm smile.

It was him! Corset felt so strange seeing Goku standing before her and the others. She suddenly felt overemotional, feeling her eyes beginning to sting. It was as if what had happened seven years ago at the Cell Games had come back again; the halo above Goku's head being a reminder that his soul belonged to the dead now.

"Wow, you've all changed a lot in seven years!" Goku grinned. "How've you all been? ... Are you all just gonna stand there like statues?"

"...Goku!"

Several people including Gohan and Krillin had rushed forwards to hug the dead warrior, Corset simply standing beside Piccolo and wiping a lose tear away, cursing herself a little for letting it slip in public. Still she was happy to see the former protector of Earth, even if there was a halo above his head.

"I missed you, Goku!" Chichi sniffed unable to get to her husband as currently he was being swamped by Gohan, Krillin and Yamcha!

"I missed you too, Chichi." Goku replied, smile dropping to a curious look as he spotted Goten hiding behind Chichi's leg. "H-Hey, I think there's a little-me standing behind your leg, Chichi!"

Corset giggled in adoration as a shy, bashful Goten peered around from behind his mother cautiously and introduced himself, "... I'm Goten."

Goku made his way over towards his wife and second son, smiling and standing a couple of feet away as he squatted down to Goten's level. "My name's Goku. Hi there." He greeted the unsure child. For a moment neither father nor son did anything until finally Goten broke free and rushed with open arms towards the man before him.

"Daddy!"

Goku embraced his son and picked him up, placing him on his shoulder, "Whoa, you're a strong one aint ya?" For a moment he and Goten began to play airplane, Goku gently moving his son around in the air as the others admired the scene. Corset felt so happy for Gohan, Goten and Chichi, particularly Goten since it was the first time he'd ever seen his dad. It was definitely a touching scene and she was glad to be a part of it.

"Remember Goku, you have twenty-four hours," Baba instructed not really wanting to hang around for long.

"Right. Thank you, Baba!" Goku waved as Baba floated away.

The gang soon had to move on towards the registration desks so the fighters could register for the tournament. The queue here wasn't too long though Bulma'd mentioned usually the desks were open for a few hours before the tournament started.

"The Great what...?" One of the officials sitting behind the desk spluttered unsure he'd heard the name correctly, eyeing up the costume before him.

"The Great Saiyaman," Gohan repeated.

"... Hey, what's with the name and the costume?" Goku asked.

"It's my super hero name; I'm entering as the Great Saiyaman to hide my identity," Gohan explained. "Pretty cool huh?"

"Uh, sure!" Goku grinned.

Corset stepped forward to the desk to register her name once Gohan had cleared the line. "Name please?" The man at the desk asked.

"Yuu," Corset answered.

Goku and Gohan both turned around confused.

"Thank you, Yuu," the man wrote down the name snorting to himself at the small joke he'd made in his mind. "Next!"

"Yuu?" Gohan repeated as Corset stepped to the side and joined them. "Is that your alias?"

"Yeah," Corset nodded, "I got the name out of a book I was reading; I couldn't think of anything else to do!"

"Are you sure that's gonna be enough to hide your identity?" Gohan asked unsure. "You're not exactly hiding your face either. Don't you have any glasses?"

"I'm not trying to be secretive, just trying to give the impression I'm someone else!" Corset folded her arms, "You're being a super hero; I'm just being a regular eighteen-year-old martial artist! It would be suspicious if I hid my face like you."

"What?" An exclamation of horror from her brother caught her attention. "Hey Goten, kids under fifteen don't compete with the adults!"

"What?" Goten gasped.

"That's new," Bulma peered over the two boys, "So you'll be in the youth division?"

Trunks turned to the man at the desk, "No thanks, we wanna fight with the adults!" He protested.

"No can do, rules are rules," the man sternly answered leaning forward a little in his seat.

Corset giggled to herself as her brother and Goten both pouted. She was glad she wasn't a kid; being faced up to the normal kids would be incredibly dull.

Eventually everyone competing had signed up; Goku, Gohan, Goten, Piccolo, Krillin, Eighteen, Corset, Trunks, and Vegeta were all signed up and ready to compete. It was time to bid their family and friends farewell.

"Good luck Trunks, do your best in the junior division," Bulma patted her son on the head before turning to her daughter, "Make sure you're careful fighting anyone other than our friends!"

"I'll be ok," Corset responded. "Just gotta hope that Dad doesn't use an inappropriate amount of strength against the regulars!"

"See you later!" Gohan waved as the fighters began to leave.

"Don't hurt yourselves!" Bulma called.

The walk to the stadium wasn't too far; Goku was asking Krillin about his recently grown hair. Piccolo and Vegeta were leading the group. Corset walked a little further back by herself just in front of Eighteen, lost in her own thoughts. The nerves were starting to get to her. She was about to fight against other people, potentially her friends, in front of what she anticipated to be a very large crowd. That alone was daunting but the fact she also held super-human strength and powers just made it all the more nerve-wracking. She knew she couldn't transform into a Super Saiyan no matter what. Yet how much strength should she use if she came up against one of her friends? Were ki blasts allowed? What if her disguise came loose and people could see who she really was? Would there be TV crews around?

"Hi! Where are you from?"

Corset looked up and gulped; a television reporter and her camera man stood before Goku, Krillin and Gohan. So there would be television broadcasts of the tournament.

"I'm from the afterlife," Goku answered, pointing to the sky... or to his halo; either way Corset began to panic!

The reporter stared and began to nervously laugh, "Y-You're funny! ... So tell me, what's that fashion accessory over your head?"

"It's not an accessory," Goku explained, "You get it when you die. See-"

Suddenly the camera exploded causing both reporter and camera-man to shriek! Corset's eyes glanced over to Piccolo; she'd sensed the slight fluctuation in his ki and quickly caught on, flashing him a smile and breathing a sigh of relief. That was one camera which wouldn't get her on TV.

She joined the others as they wandered past the reporter and camera-man, Corset glancing over as the reporter shouted angrily, blaming him for their loss of recording!

They quickly reached the changing rooms, one official warning them of the shortage of time they had. Hurriedly Corset found a secluded area and quickly changed into her fighting clothes; a blue sleeveless top and matching trousers as always, with light blue wrist bands and sash around her stomach, fully wrapped around, and Saiyan boots mimicking those of her father's. She kept the bandana on and her hair tied back, making sure her fringe looked slightly different from usual before rushing out to meet the others.

Once Krillin, Trunks and her father emerged the group continued on, reaching the preliminary grounds. Corset's jaw dropped as she glanced around, seeing all the potential competitors. Most of them were human; a couple dozen humanoid animal martial artists also present. Naturally they were nothing compared to her and her friends.

"Oh! It's you!"

Corset turned to see a blond man wearing a suit and glasses rushing over to them; she had no idea who he was but both Goku and Krillin greeted him like a friend.

"This is a great day, I never thought I'd see you guys again!" The man spoke with enthusiasm, "It's been so many years! Tell me, it was you who beat Cell, not that Mr Satan? Right, Goku?"

Corset smiled; he seemed to be one of the few humans who actually had a brain between those ears! Judging by how he, Goku and Krillin were conversing with one another she guessed he'd worked here when Goku and the others had participated in the Budokai when they were younger. She'd have to run this by the others later just to make sure.

"It's been miserable without you!" The man continued. "The tournament had been nothing but capital B boring! There's been nothing like the competition you guys showed us!" he glanced around at the others, "... so are these all friends of yours?"

"Yeah, more or less," Goku nodded.

"Great! This'll be fantastic!" The man grinned, head tilting up to glance at Piccolo. "Just try not to destroy the ring this time, ok?"

"We'll try," Piccolo replied with a slight smirk.

"I've gotta ask you something though... what's that ring above your head?" The man asked referring to the halo above Goku's head.

"Oh, I got this because I died in the battle against Cell but I'm allowed to come back for one day," Goku explained.

The man seemed mystified for a moment before laughing and raising his hands, "Well that sounds weird but knowing you guys I'll believe anything! If you say you're dead then you're dead! I'd be a fool to start doubting you now!"

'I think I'm starting to like this guy!' Corset mused to herself; it was incredibly rare for her to meet a regular human who knew her friends and would happily accept what they told them – the truth! Why couldn't more humans be like this?

"Your attention please: the preliminaries are about to begin." A voice over the loudspeaker announced. "There are one-hundred-and-ninety-four participants in this year's adult's division; only sixteen can compete. The reigning champion Mr Satan is automatically seeded so that leaves fifteen available spots."

"Well listen, I've gotta run," the blonde man waved, "I'll see you all in the ring."

A small, pudgy official was at the front of the crowd with a microphone. "Attention all competitors; the slot placements will be allocated through display of strength. Participants will line up and demonstrate this through the use of a punch machine. The highest scorers will pass through to the competition."

"Punch machine?" Krillin repeated surprised and a little worried. "That's new…"

"To demonstrate the kind of strength you'll be up against, our current world champion Mr Satan will give us a demonstration," The official continued. "Mr Satan, come in please."

Dry ice was suddenly sprayed across one of the many entrances; Mr Satan jumping out and cheering as the fighters began to cheer and clap. "Is there any man here who can beat me?" The tall moustached man jeered confidently, causing a large roar to come up from the crowds.

"There's a whole group of us here..." Krillin muttered under his breath.

It was incredible. As soon as Mr Satan had stepped up to the strange-looking punch machine, every man, woman and beast had whipped out a camera! Corset raised an eyebrow unimpressed as the world champion began to pose as the barrage of camera flashes went off. It was sickening; this guy was such a poser!

Without warning the cameras all exploded, smoke pouring out of them as the bewildered spectators looked dumbfounded at their destroyed cameras! She had her suspicions. Corset looked over as Gohan questioned Piccolo.

"I've destroyed every camera in the arena," Piccolo answered. "Now you can fight freely without anyone knowing your identity, even if your disguises fail."

"I see. Thanks, Piccolo." Gohan smiled.

"Thank you, Piccolo," Corset nodded relieved.

"Hey, I'm gonna go find Videl," Gohan whispered, "She's probably around here somewhere so I'll let her know we're here too."

"Alright," Corset smirked smug, "Go find Videl. Just behave yourself, alright Gohan?"

"Um... what?" Gohan stared clueless at her, "... of course I'll behave... what did you think I was gonna do? I'm a hero of justice!" He walked over to his father to tell him where he was going before dashing off into the crowds.

Corset giggled to herself; Gohan was so dense and naive! She could see what was happening between the two of them. She knew Gohan better than he seemed to know himself!

Despite the loss of cameras to take pictures and record his oncoming punch, Mr Satan took his stance, legs apart and arms by his side. He began to hum lowly, Corset watched patiently as she felt his ki begin to surge, although it was nothing like what she was used to feeling. With a loud roar the man stepped forwards and punched the cushioned part of the strange contraption. The small display on top began to beep, numbers flashing wildly until finally it settled on one-hundred-and-thirty-seven.

"Incredible! Mr Satan has scored one-hundred-and-thirty-seven points!" The chubby official cried enthusiastically.

'One-hundred-and-thirty-seven... I'm gonna have to restrain myself a lot if I'm not gonna stand out too much against his score...' Corset noted to herself. The crowd around her were going wild for their champion as he made his way back towards the building.

"Best of luck to you all!" Mr Satan cheered. "I hope one of you can at least make me sweat!"