Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball.
Betaed by:Zim'smostloyalservant & my best friend.
Last time on Dragon Ball IJ:
Training day kicked off, and Roshi showed it takes a lot more than a hop, skip and a jump to reach his standards. After a nap, Goku and the other kids had to hit the books, and Roshi laid down the law to Launch.
After donning hard hats for more unorthodox training, it was time to cool down with some swimming, though a certain shark had other ideas. Finally, after a game of tag with some bees, Roshi laid down a goal for his students if they want to learn his legendary techniques.
With a final turtle shell-shaped twist, a routine has been set or our heroes. And they'd better not slack; Roshi has set his eyes on the famed Tenkaichi Budokai in a mere ten months!
Chapter 6
And so a routine formed, one of hard work and turtle shells. The Muten Roshi swiftly going from a story the locals told the younger generations of how he used to train students on this very island, into a sight often seen by most as they went about their day. Even if it was something as casual as buying groceries in the market or trying to sell a dinosaur pelt and bones. And the students quickly gained some notoriety, the orange turtle shells they wore making them stand out.
The first change in the routine would come in less than a week.
Goku paused as he dried the dinner dishes while Chichi washed.
"Your stomach is growling again," Goku said.
"Girls' stomachs don't growl, Goku. You shouldn't say such things!" the Frypan Princess objected.
"I heard it too. You saying this happens after she eats, Goku?" Launch asked, stepping back from the fridge, writing a list on a notepad.
"Uh-huh. Which is weird, it's supposed to happen when you're hungry."
"Which is fine, because it didn't happen," Chichi insisted, getting red in the face.
"What's all this?" Roshi asked, sticking his head in, "If you are going to jabber rather than work, I'm sure Krillin would appreciate some help outside."
"Chichi's tummy is loud, Master Roshi," Goku said.
"Hmm, you allergic to something? That could be serious," Roshi said, entering the kitchen fully.
"It's not a problem," Chichi insisted, snapping the plate she was washing.
"Maybe she's not eating enough?" Goku said.
"Goku, she eats plenty," Roshi pointed out.
"Not nearly as much as him, and they've both got tails. In fact, she eats more like you than me and Krillin," Launch said, frowning at Chichi. In particular, she noticed the girl's tail trying to tuck between her legs.
"That it, kid? You not eating yer fill?!" Launch snapped. Chichi nearly fell off the stool she was using in surprise, Goku grabbing her with his tail to steady her, not stopping his drying.
"Should we take that as a yes?" Roshi said, his tone shifting from concern to annoyance.
"…I'm not a boy, a girl has to watch what she eats," Chichi said.
"Says who?" Launch pressed, planting an elbow on the counter so she could lean into Chichi's space.
"Well, everyone, right!? Men can have big appetites, but girls aren't supposed to eat much or they get fat and ugly. I haven't eaten…" Chichi cut off, looking away. Launch nodded.
"Lemme guess, you haven't eaten your fill in years because someone told ya no boy wants to kiss girls that clean their plate?" Launch guessed.
"I clean my plate, I just told Daddy to make them smaller," Chichi insisted.
"Good grief, girl, you're being thicker than Goku," Roshi said.
"Hey," Chichi protested while Goku, having run out of stuff to dry, just took a seat on the stool.
"Listen girl, a good diet is one thing, avoiding overeating is one thing, but you shouldn't deny yourself food for such shallow reasons. A hearty diet isn't a problem if you have an active lifestyle, which you did even before starting out training here, I can tell. And the problem often with diets these days is how unhealthy the food is, and I make sure the greater portion of the food you get here is beneficial to your training. You're here to build strength and skill, not be some magazine covergirl who faints at the thought of eating a hamburger," Roshi pressed.
"The old timer is actually making good a point, kid. You're burning through so much now, the only weight you could possibly put on is muscle. So," Launch bonked Chichi on the head hard enough for the girl to cry out, but not come close to falling off, "I'll have my eye on ya, you eat up until your stomach says stop, and I'll tell ya if you're getting pudgy or something."
"…Goku, do you really not have a problem with a girl you eats like you? But with table manners?" she asked the tailed boy.
"What would be the problem?" Goku asked.
"Ha, good answer kid," Launch laughed.
From that day on, Chichi would fall short of Goku on eating, but firmly be ahead of Lunch, Launch, and Krillin. Roshi, for his part, ate the least and had to deal with an expanded grocery bill. So soon enough, he would add hunting and fishing for game to the chore wheel, while denying any financial motive.
The next change had less fanfare, coming in the third week of training.
X X X
Krillin had come in behind at every training event that day. That was unusual, as he usually avoided last place in at least one, and could second fairly often. But for whatever reason, it was an off day and he trailed.
The young monk waited without realizing, the dread in the pit of his stomach growing bit by bit. For some reason, Chichi even asked him if it was poor diet, because that's a bad idea when his food tasted bad at dinner from the pit in his stomach.
It didn't really hit him until he was up on the ladder checking the gutters – he'd basically failed that day, and no one seemed to care. There was no mockery from the other students, no mention of dumping extra chores on him because he clearly wasn't working hard enough. In fact, the closest thing to mockery this day was Lunch, Master Roshi, and Chichi being appalled by Goku's lack of understanding for seasoning; a case he hadn't helped by only seeing raw herbs and bugs as valid seasoning. He'd not joined in; he knew nothing was going to taste good, and just hadn't had the energy to do more than watch Lunch after dinner start giving Goku a box-by-box education on the contents of the spice and herb rack.
After getting down from the ladder, he pointed out his poor performance to the master, who was reading a magazine of manly culture on a lawn chair by the cliff.
"Hmm, yes you did. Probably just an off-day. If it persists, we'll need to see about doing something."
And that was that. The master monk at Orrin would either have told him to bring it up to his instructors or said how the problem must lie within him and meditate on his flaws. The instructors, Krillin had long learned never to bother, as special treatment like time and attention outside the temple's general training was for special students. By which they meant the best. If anything, they encouraged the bullying as either a way to motivate the lowly students into pushing themselves toward excellence, or to run them off and thus stop such failures from lowering the temple's reputation.
Krillin supposed they'd succeeded in running him off. The other students had only laughed off his parting declaration that he would find and train with the Invincible One and someday be able to beat every one of them singlehanded.
This wasn't Orrin Temple, though. The Kame School was strange, and its training far more nonsensical and dangerous than anything at the temple. But no one, from the master to his fellow students, saw this as a struggle where the weak and the failing needed to be put down. Last place here meant just that, a place someone had to occupy because that's just how it went.
He didn't share this with the others, not sure how to put his epiphany into words. And frankly, feeling embarrassed by it and not knowing how to begin unpacking that.
But moving forward, while he still saw the others – Goku in particular – as rivals, that term changed in meaning. From a competition that had to be won, to trying to impress and keep pace at least with people who you were starting to trust, and laughing along with them at your shortcomings more often than not, and doing the same for them.
Another moment came not long after it was revealed freshwater sharks are only mildly protected because of an oddly effective habitat reclamation project and breeding program.
X X X
Launch sat on the floor of the den, TV playing some old black and white cowboy movie on low volume, while she worked a press drill on her workplace, covered with a folded-out leather tarp.
"I had wondered what happened to that shark's teeth," Roshi said, walking by to take a seat on the couch. He had two beers in hand, and held one to Launch, who took it without even looking up from her task. Fiddling with the thin leather cord, she smiled and held up a shark tooth necklace.
"Hey, waste not want not, right? This jerk tried to eat us how many times?" She said, turning to face Roshi.
"Know it was that exact one, do ya?"
"Oh, I know!" she said, smiling like she'd just turned parts of an enemy corpse into jewelry. Roshi sweatdropped a bit as she put the necklaces aside and took up a pair made into earrings.
"So, going to sell those for some extra cash?" Rosh asked.
"The leftovers, yeah, but Chichi gets rights on the earrings and the boys also had to outswim this jerk, so they get to pick," Launch said, before putting a sharktooth necklace on herself.
"Didn't peg you as the gift giver," Roshi said.
"Who said I am!? I ain't running a charity, those kids earned a bit of swag after a sadist like you made 'em swim through shark-infested waters."
While Krillin thought they were cool, Goku would be confused, Chichi would take the necklace but keep the earrings for later, as her ears weren't pierced. As it was, only Launch would take to wearing them daily, and Roshi would note she never did get around to selling the extras.
Three Months into The Training:
Lunch blocked Roshi's blow, and rather than pressing, he stepped back lightly and formed the seal of reconciliation. Surprised, Lunch returned the gesture.
"Isn't there more time?" she asked, glancing at the sun. There were more clouds out than normal today, but she could still tell enough by the sun that she was almost sure the remedial training was not quite done.
"There is, but if you only spar against one opponent at this stage in your training, you'll start to pick up bad habits. Ask Chichi or Krillin to take a break from their studies to spar with you for the rest of the study period. I will observe."
"No Goku?" Lunch asked.
"Of course not, he needs book learning more than anyone his age should. If he complains, just tell him to study harder and I might change my mind."
Month Four:
"You kids, I can't believe this," Roshi muttered, sitting with his students in the small office of the island branch RH, Royal Hound, Bank.
"You never told us to deposit money from the construction work, master," Krillin pointed out.
"No lip boy, it should go without saying. With me covering your room and board, this is a perfect time to start building savings for the future. And Chichi, I know your father is rich, but that's no excuse to not start filling a pot of your own."
"Wow, you know, I've never actually been inside a bank I think that hasn't just been robbed," Lunch said.
That got the bankers' attention. Roshi laughed too loudly, waving his hand.
"Ah, kids these days say the darndest things. Anyway, so that will be four savings accounts. You all have the cash?"
Everyone produced, except for Goku.
"Goku, I told you to gather up all the money you stashed."
"Couldn't. Spent it all on food."
Facefaults from everyone but him and the banker.
"So, that will be three accounts, then?" the confused well-dressed man asked.
X X X
"Heh, guess you are at that age," Launch chuckled in the Kame House bedroom, as Chichi in her pajamas scowled at three sets of clothes spread out on the made bed.
"How can nothing fit?" Chichi demanded. Frowning, she pulled her pajama shirt up, affirming her stomach was nice and flat. Launch smacked her lightly over the head.
"Not that again, shrimp! They're tight and short on ya. Yer having a growth spurt. Heh, at this rate maybe you'll end up taller than Goku; you're descended from giants, aren't ya?" the blonde laughed. Chichi's tail went rigid, while her face reddened.
"Don't say such things or I'll throw pepper in yer face! No man wants a girl he has to stand on tiptoes to kiss!"
"Meh, guys can be into all kinds of kinky crap. Old man Roshi would probably like a girl who could pick him up under her arm like a battleball, so long as she had a body big in the right places," Launch snickered. Her grin widened as Chichi's embarrassed blush spread to the girl's neck, no doubt imagining herself doing just that as some muscly Amazon.
"You're not nice!"
X X X
"Clothes shopping?" Lunch asked that evening, as Chichi studied her making dinner, notepad in hand.
"Yes. I kind of need it," Chichi admitted, not meeting the bluenette's eyes.
"Well, I guess growth spurts are-"
"No they aren't!" Chichi shouted, then dropped the notepad to cover her mouth.
"A thousand pardons, Miss Lunch!" Chichi said, before fleeing the room.
"What?" Lunch wondered, raising an eyebrow while stirring the stew.
Month Five:
As they walked through the village to get breakfast, Goku frowned, looking around. The lack of his usual eagerness did not go unnoticed.
"What's wrong, Goku, don't tell me you've lost your appetite?" Krillin said.
"You're not feeling sick, are you!?" Chichi cried, stepping over to put her hand on his forehead.
"Nah, it's just a smell," Goku said, gently pushing the hand away as he stopped to look around.
"Oh my, well I guess deodorant can only do so much," Lunch said, trying to stealthily sniff an armpit.
"It's not a bad smell. It's familiar, though," Goku said, smelling the air.
"Really?" Chichi asked, tipping her nose up, joining him.
"Well, it will have to wait, we're not derailing the training regimen for a little scent. You can come back and look into it after training is done for the day," Roshi declared, getting them moving.
Entering the restaurant, Goku's eyes widened and he smiled, locking onto a blue-haired girl sitting at a table with a small pile of empty plates.
"Bulma!" Goku cheered
"Bulma?" Chichi said.
"Ehhh?" Roshi leered.
"Who?" Lunch asked, with Krillin just blinking.
Soon enough, they were seated at Bulma's table, the bluenette having offered to pay for their meal.
"So, Bulma, you've been looking for us?" Roshi asked as they waited for their food to arrive. Bulma still wore her hair in a braid, but seemed to be trying a new look, letting spiky bangs frame her brow.
"That's right. After the hardships of my quest, I'd forgotten how dull the city life can be. Between school being boring and my parents being so, ugh, I needed to liven things up some. So, I decided to take some time off to track down you guys. And I was certain I'd find your island, but there was no house there."
"Well, of course. My island may be good for personal training to keep things polished, but it's nowhere near big enough or varied enough for my famous training."
"I figured it was something like that. When I found the access latch for your septic tank and water pump, I knew you had to have capsuled the house. Bit surprised an old hermit would get the capsule treatment for his house."
"I'm a bit old-fashioned, but that doesn't mean I'm not open to useful innovations. In the old days, I had to pick the whole place up and swim."
"Hah, yeah right," Bulma laughed. No one else laughed.
"Uh, can he do that?" Bulma asked Krillin, leaning over Goku.
"I would only be mildly surprised at this point," Krillin admitted.
"…So I know Goku and Chichi, but who are you guys? This pervert's grandkids?" Bulma asked.
"Well, I'm Krillin, I came from the Orrin Temple in the east to study under the great master," Krillin said, puffing himself up.
"Must have been quite the letdown," Bulma noted. Roshi and Krillin both faulted a bit at that.
"My name is Lunch. It's so nice to meet you, Chichi had mentioned you before, but it must have slipped my mind. You dress far more modestly than she said."
"I'm sure," Bulma ground out, glaring at Chichi, who slowly raised a menu, hiding herself from sight.
"Well, as for me, Launch and I were recruited by Goku and Krillin, and we've been training here ever since."
"Who's Launch?" Bulma asked.
"My twin, sort of."
"Sort of?" Bulma blinked.
"Bulma! Your tail's gone!" Goku shouted, pointing at her blue jean-clad behind from his spot next to her.
"Of course it is! First thing I did after getting home was have my dad schedule a surgery to get rid of that thing," Bulma fumed, punching down on Goku's head.
"Ahh, but you wasted half my wish," Goku whined, rubbing his head while Bulma shook her hand.
"No, I fixed half your wish. I could have infinite strawberries right now, you know," Bulma huffed.
"Is Yamcha not with you?" Chichi asked, looking around.
"No, he's not!"
"Yamcha? Got yourself a boyfriend?" Roshi remarked. Krillin's face fell at that tidbit.
"Not for long, at the rate he's going. Bad enough he's going to school voluntarily, he's got it in his head to enter that Budokai, so time that should be spent on me is going to training. Well, I can play that game too; I've joined my school's kickboxing team, it's the closest thing to not being bored there."
"Oho, I thought you'd been doing some training," Roshi chortled.
"Are you going to enter the tournament too?" Goku asked.
"Of course not, this is just a hobby and because that overpaid so-called doctor my parents sent me too said I have to channel aggression somewhere. Aggression! I'm one of the calmest, most collected people I know!" Bulma huffed.
Then their food arrived, and Bulma, despite having clearly eaten earlier, joined in with gusto rivaling Goku and Chichi.
After the meal, Roshi offered her to join them back at Kame House.
"No thanks, I get enough of training at home with Yamcha. Since you all seem to be doing well and also have no time to get off this island and have fun, I guess we'll all meet up at the Budokai. I'll treat you all to a nice meal and then we can do something fun," Bulma said as they walked down the village street.
"Oh boy, a feast?" Goku asked.
"Hey, my parents are good for it," Bulma shrugged.
"Must be nice," Roshi grumbled, visions of food bills playing through his head.
One Month to the Budokai:
Roshi sat by the sea, enjoying a bowl of vanilla ice cream with Krillin, still practically steaming from his last chores.
Launch stood by the sea cliff, a wooden frame holding a pair of massive fish with big teeth set up before her as she pulled guts from them and put them in the bucket Chichi was holding. Both were wearing swimsuits and thick aprons.
"Hmm, Goku should be back by now with the supply run," Roshi observed.
"Maybe he got distracted by a new flavor of ramen, again," Krillin said. The wind shifted, and Chichi's resigned expression as Launch moved onto scaling the fish shifted to a smile as she sniffed the air. Launch quirked an eyebrow.
"Even elbow-deep in guts, you can smell him coming?" Launch asked.
"Love is stronger than fish," Chichi told her.
"…Someone oughta put that on a bumper sticker. Go ahead then, I got this."
Chichi ran off, happily throwing her apron off. Launch allowed herself a small smile, before scowling.
"Hey, cueball, get over here! You want fish for dinner or what? I ain't youse guys' maid, remember!?"
"Why me?" Krillin grumbled without vigor.
"If you wanna be around beautiful women, you need to be ready to be bossed around by them, boy. That's the balance of the cosmos," Roshi declared.
Goku ran around Kame House, Chichi close behind.
"Master Roshi! Everyone! You gotta come see!"
"Eh?" Roshi and Krillin went.
"I'm working on the fish, half-pint," Launch dismissed, waving the tools at Goku dismissively.
"This is more important!" Goku said, beaming.
"…Goku ignored food?" Launch said, as Roshi and Krillin reached the same realization.
"Show us," Roshi said, setting the ice cream bowl on the grass and getting to his feet.
Soon:
Roshi took a moment to gather his thoughts, taking a look over his students. They'd all gotten a good tan from the training, and their tones had improved visibly. Not like bodybuilders' muscles, but muscles born from practical acts taken to extreme levels. Launch had, along with Lunch, started wearing her hair back in a double-banded braid, resting on her upper back, leaving the bangs free. Chichi had gone from maybe a little bit taller than Goku to being more than a head over him as her growth spurt continued.
The way they moved, the way they held themselves, told a tale, and he truly wished he'd taken picture at the start to do a before and after like the commercials. Ah well. They'd find for themselves.
And it wasn't just the physical stuff. Krillin had long since stopped his brown-nosing, and while he didn't like losing a bit too much, he recovered quick and didn't let success go to his head as much as before. Chichi was filling her eyes less with Goku and actually spending time with not only Lunch but the other two of her own accord. Lunch was pursuing power on her own initiative, requiring hardly any prodding to push herself. And Roshi could send Launch to the market and she nowadays didn't steal much more than palming a piece of fruit.
And now this. Sweating a bit, he knelt to rub some of the loosened dirt between two fingers.
The mighty boulder jutting from the ground by the lake he had set as a hurdle more than half a year ago. Goku had shifted it once, and done it again before their very eyes.
"Well done, Goku. You surpass your teacher's expectations. Anyone else care to try?" Roshi managed
"Won't it be easier after it's been moved?" Chichi asked.
"Not so much as to make a difference for this test," Roshi told them truthfully.
And they did it. Chichi had the hardest time, perhaps due to footing more than anything else, and Launch moved it the shortest distance, but they did it.
"So, you going to dish out the goods now, gramps?" Launch asked, brushing off her hands.
"…I'm not, actually," he admitted, to their shock. The wind blew over them all as Roshi adjusted his glasses, "Perhaps it's been too long since I taught, after all. You've all grown by great bounds, and it seems I hardly noticed. Truth is, there's not much more I can offer you four beyond the path you are on now."
"What about the Kamehameha?" Goku asked.
Roshi waved the question away.
"It took me fifty years to develop and master that technique. Only three of my students could ever master it. Your Grandfather, Son Gohan, mastered it in thirty-two years, making him the fastest to ever do so. The Budokai is in only a month; thinking you can master a new technique, much less one like that, in so little time is ridiculous," Roshi said. Krillin and Chichi nodded. Launch frowned, putting fists on her hips, but didn't argue. Goku pouted.
"I'd still like to try."
"Well, this once, please listen to your master. As I have told you, the tournament is not about winning or losing, it's about testing all you have achieved here, against new opponents from across this wide, wondrous world. Now is the time to draw strength from your achievements and stay the course for the final lap."
"So, just business as usual?" Krillin asked.
"Not quite. For the last month, you have earned the right to wear turtle shells that are twice as heavy!" Roshi declared.
He relished their stunned expressions. He shouldn't be the only one shocked today.
Four Days to Departure for Tournament:
"And that's it," Roshi said, as they left the construction site.
"What's it?" Launch asked, taking off the hard hat. The original project had wrapped up some time ago; their latest project had been a new barn, complete with top-of-the-line root cellar. All under the same foreman, though, who bowed deeply to them at the gate.
"Thank you for your excellent work. We could not have completed so much in so little time without your help. Please use me for a reference," he said.
"Wait, we're done? But we still have days before our flight for the tournament," Krillin spoke up.
"…Take 'em off," Roshi said. They looked at him like he'd said something silly.
"The shells, you fools!" Roshi clarified.
That brought nods of understanding, and they did. It was drawing a small crowd of the farmer's family and the workers on the other side of the fence. Well, an audience didn't hurt.
"What now?" Chichi asked, staring a bit.
"All of you please jump as high as you can."
The four bent their knees and despite the lack of signal jumped as one. And ascended higher than the roof of the barn that was nearly done, and kept going a bit besides. Goku was the winner in height, but the others weren't too far behind him.
They landed a tad awkwardly, but no injuries, the crowd stunned along with the students. Roshi laughed, beaming.
"Hahahaha! You see, you have done it, your barrier of humanity has been broken, you now can do things you once would have considered impossible, surpassing the limits of what others consider human potential."
"That was bit scary," Lunch said. Chichi nodded, but also smiled. Krillin was shocked, while Goku's surprise gave way to cheering.
"Forget the shells for now. Your final task is to train however you see fit to master that power of yours, unfettered by weight or routine. I will answer questions if you have them, but how much or how little you do these last days is on you. Well done," the invincible old master congratulated them, as the students paired off, celebrating by grabbing one another's hands in small dances of celebration.
"It's like something from a legend," the foreman said, awestruck. Roshi smiled, adjusting his shades.
"Maybe so, every legend has to start somewhere, after all," Roshi thought, looking at his students. And past them to a young Son Gohan and Gyo Mao, other students, some remembered in their own tales and others forgotten in the tide of years, and even Shen, Fanfan, and Master Mutaito.
"Blasted construction dust, always getting in your eye," Roshi griped.
X X X
Roshi, dressed to impress in a black suit with wide fedora hat, handed the key to a blue jean-wearing local man.
"Now, the tournament takes only one day, with travel and any errands in the city, I should be back in five days at most," Roshi told the middle-aged man.
"Yessir, all will be in good order when you return," the local promised. Roshi nodded and turned his attention to his students assembled by the car he had called.
"Is everyone ready?" Roshi asked.
"I can't wait," the boys went. Each had matching dark blue suits and hats on.
"I'm ready," Chichi declared.
"Oh my, the time does go by," Lunch said. They were wearing their own matching outfits, of dark blue ladies' business-wear, with half shin-length darker blue skirts. And matching hats as well, because there had been a sale.
"Then let's not delay. Your training period is over, now is the time for the 21st Tournament!" Roshi proclaimed holding his staff high.
Author's Notes:
That wraps up the training, now on to the tournament!
Thanks for sticking with this story. Long days and pleasant nights you all.