Are you ready?
Alluka wakes up with a start, seeing that she was alone in the cabin, Killua and Gon probably having let her sleep in while they did some warm ups and last minute training for the tournament. She sighed, sitting up and rubbing her head.
"...As I'll ever be…" She muttered.
Relax. You'll do fine. Just do as I say and all will be well.
Alluka attempted to shake off her guilt, knowing Nanika was right. "...Will they be mad at us?" She asks, her voice small.
Not if everything goes as planned. We are simply making sure that they truly wholly value us as individuals, rather than as a trump card.
Alluka nods pensively, beginning to change out of her pajamas.
This will ensure that we are never used again. With that kind of power, we can also protect them. Don't you want that?
Alluka hesitates, nodding. "...Yeah."
They love us. I never doubted that.
"I know." Alluka stood up, her soft blue eyes determined. "You're right….Let's do this."
She walked over to the Son home, smiling as Chi-Chi opened the door. "Good morning."
"Good morning dear." Chi-Chi smiled warmly. "Come in, breakfast is ready." She said, ushering Alluka in. SHe took notice of her somewhat solemn expression, making Chi-Chi raise a brow. "Everything alright?"
Alluka took a breath, trying to prepare herself to lie while holding back the guilt. "Oh…I just feel sad that We won't be able to see you guys again…"
It helped the fact that it wasn't an actual lie. She really would miss them, having grown attached to her new friends, especially to Chi-Chi. She then smiles, looking up at her bashfully when she silently realises that, due to their wish, they could visit whenever she wanted.
"We'll miss you too dear." Chi-Chi smiled. "We plan to take a photo with everyone in the group so you'll have something to remember us by. How does that sound?"
"Great!" Alluka chirped. "I'll do my best!"
"That's the spirit!" Chi-Chi nodded as they both sat down to eat.
As Alluka munched on meal, she looked around the room curiously. "...Where's Goten?"
"Out with his father…He got a little anxious for today, having to fight his brother, so he decided on some last minute training.." Chi-Chi said.
Alluka frowned a little. "...Am I lazy? Should I be training too?"
"Oh sweetheart no…" Chi-Chi smiled, shaking her head. "Just because the others do it doesn't mean you have to. Warming up is fine, but resting yourself before a big match is pretty smart too." Chi-Chi patted Alluka's shoulder. "Besides, I doubt they're doing anything too hard. Just stretching and sparring a bit."
"Oh. Ok…" Alluka smiled again, her worry gone. "I'll make sure to stretch before the match."
Chi-Chi nodded, and the two ate while chatting about random things.
Minutes later, the four boys returned. "Chi-Chi! We're back!" Goku shouted out.
"Welcome home boys!" Chi-Chi responded, smiling at all of them as she and Alluka washed the plates together.
Alluka rounded up on the boys as soon as she finished the last plate she had on hand. "Hello! Ready for today?" Alluka grinned at them.
They all nodded. "Yeah! I'm really looking forward to fighting Roshi." Gon chirped, Killua having his arm around his shoulder. "You okay sis?" Killua asked.
Alluka nodded, before turning to Goten. "I'm fine. Are you ready for your match with Gohan?"
"A bit nervous…" Goten smiled nervously. "But I'll do my best!"
"That's all that matters." Goku patted both of them on the head. "Give it everything you've got, but make sure to have fun too, okay?"
They all nodded at him, looking eager and nervous.
Eventually, they all packed up their things and took off, Chi-Chi being carried by Goku and Alluka flying on the nimbus next to Goten.
"So…We'll meet at Papaya island then?" Alluka asked, looking at Goku.
"Yup. We'll see everyone there." Goku smiled at her.
"I heard they have a cool village. Since we're gonna get there early, you guys wanna explore?" Goten asked, having heard the information from Trunks.
"Sure!" Gon nods. "Do you know what kinda stuff they have?"
"I think Trunks told me about a few games…" Goten pondered. "Arcades, some little candy stores, plenty of stuff."
"Can we go to the candy shop?!" Alluka squealed.
"Dude. Gon. Whoever wins more arcade games has to give half their ice cream to each other." Killua smirked.
"You're on!" Gon immediately responded.
They continued flying and chatting until eventually, they saw a small dot over the horizon. "Is that it?" Alluka asks Goten.
"Yup!" Goten nods next to her, before turning to Chi-Chi. "Mom? How early are we?" He asks.
Chi-Chi checks her watch before looking back up at him. "We have at least two hours, so more than enough time for you to play a little. Call if you get lost and remember to sense my or your father's energy!"
"Kay!" They all nodded.
Minutes later, they touch down, Goten and Alluka hopping off the nimbus while Goku let Chi-Chi down. "Alright guys, I'll stay here and wait for everyone else to come. You all be careful. Please try not to run into anyone." She said as they stood in the clear almost empty streets.
All of them nodded and ran off to do their own thing.
Alluka and Goten went to go get Ice cream, sitting on a bench happily eating and talking about whatever came to mind.
Gon and Killua sat inside an arcade shooter, competitively trying to see who could mow down the most enemies for the sake of Ice cream.
Goku meanwhile, went off on his own to meditate, bringing his cell phone along so that Chi-Chi could call him in case the rest of the group arrived.
Eventually, a small jet flew by and landed, just a few feet away from her. Out came Trunks, running to her as his mother and father leapt off the copter as well.
"Yo, Miss Chi-Chi!" The child greeted her.
"Hello Trunks." She smiled politely. "Goten and Alluka are off eating ice cream by that shop there."
"Thanks!" Trunks grinned, running off to be with them.
"Trunks! Don't go too far, okay?" Bulma yelled out.
"Okaaaaay!" Turns drawled out, childishly rolling his eyes.
Bulma and Vegeta then turn to Chi-Chi. "Hello! Thanks for coming early. Trunks really wanted to goof off with Goten and Alluka." Bulma said, Vegeta next to her stone faced as always.
"No problem!" Chi-Chi smiles amicably. "By the way, Vegeta…" Chi-Chi looks at him. She knows what he wants. "Goku went off to meditate."
He grunts, nodding and blasting off to go train on his own. "Men…" Bulma sighed.
"Saiyans." Chi-Chi smiled, correcting her.
One by one, everyone began to arrive. First came Videl, Gohan, and Mr. Satan on his jet giving the Ox King a ride while the other two had flown naturally.
Next came the residents of Kame house, Tien Shinhan, and lastly, Piccolo.
Chi-Chi had them line up to do a headcount. "...Okay, Looks like we're all here. The announcer should be there by now, right Hercule?" She asks.
He nods. "Yup. Called me on the jet about 20 minutes ago, said he already set everything up." he scratches his beard.
"Oh...Well that case…" Chi-Chi pulls out her phone, calling her husband. "Dear, everyone's arrived. Can you go pick them up? ...Thanks."
Minutes later, Goku teleports in with the five children. All of them greeted the others happily as they began speaking to one another. In the corner, Gon looked ticked while Killua happily ate his ice cream, filled with some of Gon's.
"Be careful, all of you…" Chi-Chi smiled at them, her father beside her.
"Don't be too reckless!" Bulma winked at all of the fighters.
"O-oh! Um…" Alluka peeped. "C-could I just….See, the Dragon Balls? Just this once? I…I really wanna see what they look like…" She begged, making Gon and Killua nod beside her.
"I was gonna show you after the tournament… eh, what the heck." Bulma smiles slyly. "The rest of you go get ready. We'll be right back." She said, having Alluka, Killua and Gon follow her.
Bulma goes into a small little hut located in a larger garden behind the food court, removes a blanket, and shows them the glass holding the dragonballs, sitting on a magenta pillow.
Their orange glow immediately intoxicated the young children, looking at them with curiosity.
"Pretty…." Alluka whispered.
"Yeah…" Gon looked at Killua. "Hey….Can you sense it too? It feels like…"
"Yeah." Killua nods. "It's…It feels like a conditional nen…But with ki instead…"
"...Can they really grant any wish?" Alluka muttered.
"Yup. Cept for killing someone stronger than the creator." Bulma said.
"Dende?" They all ask.
Bulma nodded. "Anywho, let's get going! I gotta go tell the cooks to prepare some stage food for the others and you need to get ready! Let's go ! Don't lag behind…" She laughs, pushing them towards the stadium.
The four of them make their way out and separate, Alluka, Gon, and Killua making their way towards the changing rooms.
"Did you guys notice how the stars looked the same? No matter what angle?" Gon asked, smiling excitedly.
"Yeah…" Killua nodded, a fascinated look on his face.
"Were they moving too?" Alluka looked up at them. Gon shook his head.
"No. I'm saying that they look the same no matter what angle, even if two People look at them from different angles."
"Kinda like that mouse you saw in that cartoon once." Killua chimed in.
"Oooohhh!" Alluka nodded. "Yeah! Just like him."
They arrive at the locker room and see Goten and Trunks running up to them all ready dressed in full Gi.
"What do you think?" Goten asked them.
"They were pretty neat right?" Trunks smirked.
"Yeah!" Gon, exclaims, the other two nodding beside him.
"You really have to wait a year just to use them?" Alluka asks.
Both boys nod at them. "Yeah. We don't really use them often though. We try to save them for emergencies." Trunks says.
"We appreaciate you using them for us." Killua nods appreaciatevly, making Gon and Alluka voice their own gratitude.
"No problem!" Goten chirped. "We'll miss you guys."
The three then dressed up and joined the others, lining up in front of the announcer to hear out his opening speech.
"Welcome! Ladies and gentlemen!" He cried out, positioning his glasses. "To our special private tournament between close friend!" He pumped his fist up, before grabbing a covered whit board and pulling it to him.
"Now….Let's do a quick recap and go over the rules." He said, holding up his fingers per rule.
"Rule number 1: No hitting below the waist or in the eyes!
Rule number 2: No killing allowed!
Rule number 3: You get pushed off the ring or you give up, you lose. Remember, knock outs will not be allowed.
And Rule number 4: No transformations allowed."
He puts the paper away. "Any questions?" He asks. All of them shake their heads, causing the announcer to smile. "All right! Let's get started then!" He walks out to the stage, gazing up at the small number of people in them, only being the group of friends. Aside from that, the stadium was empty.
Alluka looks over at Videl and smiles shyly. "...G-good luck."
"Yeah." Videl grins, rubbing her head while winking. "May the best gal win!"
Each fighter gave compliments to the other, as the announcer continued talking to the group of spectators.
"Good luck, Gohan." Goten smiled at his brother.
"You too, squirt." Gohan grinned, the brothers fist bumping eachother.
"For our first match, it seems it's going to be a blood battle in a very literal sense…" The announcer called out. "First, we have the studious, yet ever kind and diligent son of Goku and Chi-Chi, the defeater of Cell, Son Gohan!"
Gohan walks out, blushing at the over excited cheers of his mother and wife.
"And his opponent, the youngest son of Goku, practically an image of his younger self, Gohan's younger brother, the kind hearted Son Goten!"
Goten walked out as well, also blushing from the cheers.
"Are you both ready?" The announcer asked, making both of the brothers while they looked at each other with respect.
Goten and Gohan stood on opposite ends, each bowing to each other as the announcer continued. "Alright boys, remember the rules, and have fun as well. Give it your all and give us a good show!"
The drums began to slowly be hit, escalating in speed, hushing the audience as they looked on in fascination.
Both brothers finish bowing, and get into a fighting stance. Gohan's resembles Piccolo's, while Goten's resembles their father's.
The bell rings, and the two disappear from sight, dust flying everywhere as the speed around the stadium at speeds only the fighters were able to follow.
As they watched the brothers go at it, Alluka heard Nanika whisper in the back of her head.
Do you remember the plan?
'Yeah….' Alluka nodded, trying to keep track of the two boys fighting. '...Wait for my match then get the Dragon Balls….But why though? Can't we just get them now?' Alluka thinks back to Nanika.
You wanted to test your skills, didn't you?
'O-oh…' Alluka's eyes widen, smiling. '...Thanks, Nanika. I appreciate the wait'
Anything for you, sister.
Back to the fight, Gohan is clearly way more skilled in strength, speed, and skill, forcing Goten to play keep away and stay on the defensive, attempting to use his size to his advantage and make Gohan miss by alternating his position on both land and air. Gohan easily defended himself however, allowing Goten to get no hits whatsoever.
Goten began shooting out ki blasts of various sizes while backing off, attempting to put Gohan at a distance.
The older brother barely dodges and swats the energy bullets away from him before beginning to shoot out his own.
The ring explodes with dust as their energy balls collide, creating a storm full of rubble. Goten then proceeds to attempt to hide his presence, sneaking behind Gihan before attempting a kick.
Gohan back flips over Goten and closes the distance, performing a spin kick which Goten narrowly ducks under. He uses his hands to bounce upwards and attempts his own kick.
Gohan turns around and grabs Goten's kick, spinning him around before throwing him into the air.
Goten charges himself with ki, shooting out more ki blasts which Gohan begins to dodge once more, the battlefield thankfully okay due to having been made of a stronger material.
The announcer hides on the side within a small, specially made bunker as he looks on, it being way too dangerous to be anywhere near the ring. "Check it out, folks! They're giving us one heck of a light show!"
"Boys! Be careful!" Chi-Chi cried out worryingly to her children.
Gohan used the explosions as cover, sneaking up on Goten from behind. Gohan lands a clean kick which sends Goten flying to the arena floor. Thankfully, he manage to stop himself just in time before he touched the edge of the ring, jumping out of the way of Gohan's Ki blast.
Goten dashes around the arena, leaving behind after images to attempt to dissuade Gohan as he shot ki blast after ki blast towards his younger sibling.
"Goten! Be careful!" Alluka cries out, Trunks sitting next to her observing quietly.
Goten shoots out his own Ki blasts as he continues dodging, occasionally deflecting some Ki blasts back at Gohan.
Gohan is unaffected, weaving expertly through the counter shots while continuing his own. Eventually, his shots begin to overwhelm Goten, causing the younger brother to have to focus more on evading rather than attempting to counter…
One of the blasts catches him, and Goten holds up his arms as he defends himself from the fearsome barrage.
Gohan made sure to lower the power of each blast so as to not incinerate his younger brother. Eventually, he sped towards the dust, kicking Goten back. Goten didn't look very scathed, causing Gohan to smile.
"You managed to start deflecting them…Good reflexes, bro." He grins at the younger brother.
"Thanks…" Goten smiled, panting tiredly.
Gohan sped back towards Goten and began another barrage, making Goten barely able to defend himself as he tiredly blocked and dodged as many as he could.
Goten backed away, flying high into the air and began getting ready to transform until…
"Goten! Don't! You'll be disqualified, you dummy!" Trunks cried out, Alluka pushing her hands together worriedly next to Trunks.
Goten cursed, immediately cancelling out the golden energy that had nearly enveloped him just in time to block a punch from Gohan, "D-darn it!" Goten grunted.
'Here I thought I was gonna get an easy victory….Thanks, Trunks…" Gohan thought to himself jokingly, continuing his barrage of attacks on Goten.
Each of Gohan's attacks carried a strong weight making Goten barely able to block as his body was thrown around the battlefield like a rag doll. Goten cupped his hands together and shot out ki blasts in an attempt to keep Gohan away.
Gohan dodges all of them, and decides that now is the time to end the fight. He backs off at a speed almost unseen and quickly charges up his attack, electricty shooting off of him.
Masenko.
The yellow beam homes in on Goten at a rapid speed, making Goten quickly cup his hands as they illuminate a blue light. "Ka…Me…Ha…Me…"
Before he can finish, he sees the Masenko shoot up to the sky just before it reaches him, Gohan having redirected it.
"Wh-what the…" Goten mutters, before being interrupted by his brother kicking him from behind, sending Goten crashing to the floor outside of the ring.
"Goten has landed outside of the ring! The winner of the first match is Son Gohan!" The announcer cries out, making the small group in the stands cheer loudly for both boys
"Darn…." Goten muttered as he rubbed the dust from his eyes. Once he did, he found his older brother standing over the ledge holding his hand for Goten to take, smiling proudly.
"Sorry little brother. Better luck next time." He chuckled, making Goten smile.
"Yeah…." Goten smiled, taking Gohan's hand. "Better luck next time, huh?" Goten said, being pulled back into the ring.
"You did great sweetie! Both of you did!" Chi-Chi cried out, making both boys blush.
"...Mom..."Gohan and Goten whispered, embarassed.
The two walked back, Goku patting them both on the back. "Good job guys, you both really improved." He grinned, kneeling down to Goten. "You held out great, son. Be sure to train harder, okay?"
"Yeah dad!" Goten smiled, nodding as the other fighters congratulated the both of them.
"You did great!" Alluka cheered, hugging Goten as Gon patted his back, Killua at his side rubbing Goten's hair. In the background, Videl gave Gohan a peck on the cheek, making him blush as she grinned.
The fighters and audience then listened on as the Announce got back on the stage, commenting to the group of friends before moving on to announce the second match. "And now for the next match we have...KRILLIN! Student of the legendary turtle hermit, Master Roshi, vs the former world champ of the 22nd Budokai world tournament..." He paused dramatically. "TIENSHINHAN!"
A/N:
Hello everyone! This chapter took a bit longer to get out than I wanted. Sorry about that, I had a few things to take care of. Anyway, I hope you all liked the chapter and that you have a wonderful day.
See you in the next chapter of Dragon Hunter ZX!