"Say," Goku spoke up while stretching and warming up for his upcoming match. "How come you got weaker after Nam grabbed your tail?"

Goku's own tail appeared to be waggling about by his side, Chayote did not see it grow back but it must have happened at some point during his match because she had barely interacted with the Saiyan boy after that match. What a useless thing fate was, just when Muten Roshi clarified things for her, Son Goku's tail chose to grow back…

It would have spared her a whole lot of confusion had it done so earlier!

"I already told you," Chayote grumbled, feeling a bit peeved that Goku would decide he wanted to hear the truth now of all times. Then again, given how there were no more doubts about his Saiyan heritage, Chayote may as well have spilled the beans. "I'm a Saiyan, just like you."

"Oh yeah, I think I do recall you saying that…" Goku wondered, breaking his concentration just to ponder like a toddler trying to work out an elementary math problem.

"You're going to need to be a bit more precise about terms like that with Goku." Krillin nudged his friend while cheeking and squinting at him at the same time. "He thinks everything new he hears about is a kind of food…"

"Chayote said these Saiyans are like her and me, I don't think I'm food." Goku pouted his cheeks, getting a bit offended by Krillin's friendly jab.

"The Saiyans are a warrior race that lives on Planet Vegeta. Their worth and social status is determined at birth. Their destiny is guided by King Vegeta and his advisors. Those with low power level are sent out to distant planets, to conquer them and grow stronger at the same time, so that they can one day rejoin their Saiyan brethren and strengthen the might of the Saiyan army. Our standing and purpose have changed a bit over the years but… Our way of life remains mostly the same." Chayote explained. Talking about Planet Vegeta was beginning to feel like a distant fever dream at this point. It kept inviting uncomfortable memories, dying would do that to someone…

"So… You mean Saiyans aren't some distant tribe but a whole different alien race!?" Yamcha freaked out. "That means… Goku's an alien!?"

"He turns into a Great…" Chayote was about to question Yamcha's foolish grip to the dream that Goku was human while he defied every rule of normal human behavior before Yamcha jumped in to press his hand against Chayote's mouth.

The Saiyan blushed a little, Yamcha was sluggish in his charge and she could have dodged him a thousand times over but she was so intrigued by his movement and the intent that fueled them that she let him cover her mouth. The poor dolt took some extra time to realize he was touching the mouth of a young woman which made him shriek out and jump back, his face redder than his headband.

Goku erupted in wild laughter, holding his belly with both his hands in excitement to keep himself from tearing. "Yamcha touched a girl," he cheered before recalling what Chayote had said to make Yamcha this nervous. That recollection appeared to bust his childish glee from the bottom up.

"Wait… You mean… I'm an alien!?" Goku freaked out, his eyes bulged out wide and his mouth dropped down in an uneven balance between the two sides of his jaw. "Oh well…" the kid then shrugged and resumed his warm-up as if nothing that had just shaken his worldview had transpired.

"Leave it to Goku to completely brush it off…" Krillin squinted at his friend, looking not too surprised of what he had just heard. This did not seem all that out of the ordinary, it may have been that after training together Krillin had noticed leagues of things that seemed like out of this world to him about Goku and he had not yet had an overly deep bond with the child Saiyan for it to be shaken too much after hearing this news.

"So… You're here to conquer Earth then? Both of you?" Yamcha leaned in to Chayote, looking grim but choosing to keep his words away from Goku with a whisper. He must have taken Chayote's cold awareness of her own upbringing as a more favorable element to reason with rather than Goku's gentle buffoonery.

"I don't know what Goku's doing here." Chayote grumbled. "This name… Goku… It bothers me. It's not a Saiyan name and a Saiyan is disgraced by being called something dumb like that."

"So then you're here to conquer Earth?" Krillin pointed at Chayote with fearful eyes and a complete lack of restraint from having Goku hear everything being discussed.

"No. Well… I was not sent here to conquer Earth. I am busy conquering it though." Chayote shrugged. "Right now I'm in the process of wiping its inhabitants clean, all the evil people first."

"So you're a good person then?" Goku turned to Chayote with a questioning glare.

"Why are you asking? You can usually tell a lot about people by smelling them…" Yamcha wondered, recalling this uncanny ability of Goku's.

"Yeah but… Chayote smells weird. She doesn't feel bad but… Not really good either. Not like anybody though it's just… I don't really know which she smells like more." Goku shrugged before resuming his warm-ups.

Krillin and Yamcha both looked at each other. Chayote could tell that both of them felt uncomfortable standing around a youth who had just declared she was going to kill everyone and take over their home planet. Very few Earthlings in Chayote's experience even had their awareness expand farther than their home planet which made them put too much value on this cozy space rock.

The gong went off, calling all of the audience members that have left for the restroom or for snacks to return, also, calling all of the remaining contestants as well as the eliminated contestants that have decided to become spectators back to their places.

"Thank you for your patience, ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer yelled out. "It is now time for the semi-finals of the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament to resume!"

Goku and Ranfan walked out of the waiting room and into the arena, right in front of one another. Goku stood in an open and honest stance of his arms hanging by his side, relaxed and his legs extended to the sides. He was trying to mirror Chayote's stance and, the female Saiyan had to admit, he was doing a fine job at it.

"Contestants Son Goku and Ranfan are already in the ring!" the announcer declared while raising both of his arms up.

"Don't get too rough with me, cutie!" Ranfan leaned forward, it seemed like an odd choice of stance to Chayote as it exposed both her face and her chest – two of the areas one must have protected at all costs during battle.

"Why, are you some kind of weakling?" Goku wondered, looking genuinely curious.

"Don't fall for it, Goku! She's trying to lure you into dropping your guard!" Yamcha warned his friend.

"Like she did with you?" Krillin leaned to Yamcha's side and mumbled to him.

"Well… Yes…" Yamcha looked flustered as he wrapped his arms over his chest and looked away for a second.

The gong declared the beginning of the match and without waiting for an extra request to kick things off, Ranfan fired off as if unchaining herself. It was the female competitor of the World Martial Arts Tournament to have gone all out, after all.

Goku hopped aside without minding Ranfan's flying kick too much. Even more, the Saiyan swept at his opponent's feet with his other foot, bending his body like a monkey to pull it off. Fumbling without any sense of balance, Ranfan fell on her behind and screamed out in shock and discomfort. Goku charged at the fallen competitor with full intent on continuing his relentless attack and exploiting the opening he had created but Ranfan just shrieked out, covering her face with both arms in a highly questionable manner.

"Huh? What are you doing?" Goku wondered, pointing his finger at his opponent who then promptly crossed her knees with a blush and bit her nail, assuming a seductive pose.

Ranfan appeared right behind Goku, shocking everybody in the audience of the full extent of her speed. With a thunderous thud, the female competitor delivered a crushing double ax handle strike to the back of Goku's head, forcing the Saiyan eyes to blank out while he roared a painful grunt and collapsed on his face.

"Begin the count!" Ranfan prompted the announcer, wanting the man to hurry up and rush her victory count.

"Ummm… Very well… One!" the announcer started counting but then stopped while Goku sat up, rubbing the back of his head with a pain-ridden expression and a bunch of whines of a pathetic excuse for a warrior who had dropped his guard just because he did not understand the tactics of his opponent.

"She's formidable." Chayote stated. "She would have been on par with Yamcha even if she did not exploit his weakness."

"Yeah, she might be a dirty tease but her power is still nothing to sneeze at." Krillin nodded.

"Damn it!" Ranfan lost her cool, dashing at Goku at full speed with a long-reaching kick that she aimed straight for Goku's jaw.

The dazed Saiyan boy rolled back like a football after Ranfan decked him straight where she had intended. Goku sprawled out by the edge of the arena, his head bobbing down from the ring. The mistake of being caught by Ranfan's oddball strategy may have just cost Goku the match. It was not that much of an inconvenience, Chayote had few reservations about fighting Ranfan in the finals, even if she would have preferred Goku. There would still be ample time for training with the only Saiyan in this remote corner of the galaxy.

Ranfan leaped into the air, hoping to crush Goku with a landing knee dive but Goku raised his head at the very last moment, a trick that appeared to nearly drive Ranfan to a heart attack that would have resulted in the Saiyan getting disqualified. Winning the tournament this way would have come as a shock to be certain.

While Ranfan crawled back in fear of Goku's retaliation, Goku jumped back to his feet and gave the fleeing opponent a peace sign with a wide, monkey-like grin on his face.

"This is over." Chayote breathed out the gulp of bitter breath that was rotting inside her for a short while. A breath of doubt and uncertainty about the winner of this match. "It is true that Ranfan's antics can help her in taking on stronger opponents than her in terms of power level but she cannot hope to compensate for this kind of difference with mere winks."

"Alright, you better get ready!" Goku entered his fighting stance. "I'm gonna attack you for real now!"

Ranfan took a wary step back and then collapsed to her knees, burying her face in her hands while she whined out loud. Crying and begging for one's life seemed like such a pathetic ploy to Chayote, now she was beginning to sort of want to face this woman who was making a mockery of martial arts in the finals. Whoever won this, Chayote felt content with her opponent for the finals.

"For real!? Oh no, you're such a meanie!" Ranfan cried out.

"Mean?" Goku lost his composure again and broke his stance, "How am I mean? I haven't even attacked you yet?"

Ranfan disappeared again, flying at Goku with a wicked blow to his jaw, likely she threw this punch as a mean of targeting the opponent's abdomen but with her opponent being this short she had to adapt. Goku's image faded away, leaving everybody in the audience and the spectators gawking at the flawless display of the Afterimage technique but Ranfan the most baffled out of everybody else.

With a triumphant battle cry, Goku kicked Ranfan in her back. The female competitor fumbled forward, stunned by the blow and then fell over. She appeared lifeless for the longest time.

"His follow-up was flawed." Chayote stated, "He performed the setup even better than I did after just seeing it done once, yet he lost so much of his potential strength in the follow-up attack."

"That's what you get for studying on the battlefield…" Yamcha stated with a grim expression.

"Ranfan may have been just crying wolf but… That kick really was mean…" Krillin leaned back, showing hesitation and distaste of what he was seeing in the arena.

"It is underestimating like this that leads to losing to this woman. It's what she's counting on." Yamcha scolded his recently met friend for not having learned a thing from Yamcha's mistake as well as what he had been observing to this point on.

"Hmmm? Aren't you going to start counting?" Goku turned to the announcer.

"O-Oh! That's right!" the announcer got to his senses and began counting. "One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Six! Seven! Eight…"

Ranfan whined out in pain, her arms trembled but she stood back up. It was to be expected after Goku wasted this much of his strength on the follow-up strike. Pulling off the Afterimage Technique was one thing, following it up with an attack may have been another technique of its own entirely.

"Golly, it seems like there's no other choice but to use my Ultimate Move!" Ranfan smirked. Her face dirtied by her less than gracious landing.

"Really, really!? What kind of a move is it!?" Goku looked like he could hardly wait. He may not have been this excited this entire match.

Ranfan giggled as she removed her top and slid off her trousers with a careless flick of her wrist. Ranfan dangled her shirt in the wind, standing in just her underwear, before dropping it to the ground nearby her trousers. Ranfan placed her hands onto her hips, bouncing her bottom around to accentuate her partial nudity. With a self-confident stroll, the female contestant approached Goku.

"Whatsa matter? Doncha wanna hit me?" she barked with oozing seductive undertones.

"Hmmm? I don't get it…" Goku mumbled. "Missy, where's your secret technique?"

"What are you, some kind of an imbecile!?" Ranfan threw a fit before bouncing her assets about to strengthen the effect of her ultimate move.

"Ummm… Contestant Ranfan… Contestant Goku is just a child. Contestant Goku, how old are you?" the announcer wondered, crawling back on stage and extending his microphone for Goku.

"Huh? Why are you giving me this? I thought I was forbidden to use any weapons…" Goku said before the boy noticed that his voice was enhanced by the gadget that the announcer held in his hand and extended toward him.

"Ummm… Let's see… Nine… Ten… Eleven…" Goku kept counting. "I'm twelve!" he concluded.

"Twelve!" Krillin flipped out from where he was spectating the match from. "But you said you were fourteen when we were training with Muten Roshi!"

"So I did…" Goku laughed out and leaned back on his arms crossed behind his back. "I didn't know how to count right then."

Everyone was blown off their feet by how boldly Goku stated that fact. Ranfan picked up her shirt and used it to cover up her ultimate assets with an embarrassed look on her face. She realized just how screwed it was now that her ultimate technique, the one ace she held hidden under her sleeve this whole time proved to be completely inefficient against Goku.

"Humph. Even if Goku was older, I bet he would remain oblivious to Ranfan's techniques given how numb-skulled he is…" Krillin squinted at Yamcha with a jesting tone.

"True. Ranfan breezed through this Tournament by having the upper hand on everyone. It is just right that she hits a wall against an opponent she absolutely cannot defeat. One that is immune to her techniques and one that she is in a vast disadvantage against." Yamcha nodded.

"Hmph… Whatever. I give!" Ranfan slipped into her shirt and picked her trousers back up off the ground while making a less than dignified escape from the arena. As expected, even if a formidable martial artist in her own right, once her mightiest trump card proved itself ineffective, Ranfan conceded.

Chayote had been at complete awe spectating the different matches of the tournament, seeing how different techniques and fighting styles may have helped compensate for differences in battle power but this match also taught to be wary of sheer gimmicks as they would never carry her the entire way to the end of the road. There were always opponents out there that were so far ahead that mere gimmicks may not have helped compensate the gap in power.

"And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen! We've got ourselves a final bout! Contestant Son Goku against Contestant Chayote for the final match!" the announcer declared. Goku turned to Chayote and straightened his body. The two shared stares with one another.

This match to come was important. It must have served as a connector between the two, Son Goku was of paramount importance to Chayote's purpose on Earth. He was someone she may have used to train more effectively, he could have been her ally if she ever managed to take off to space. They had already established contact and, without a doubt, the kid already considered her a friend, as she was sort of growing tolerant of his bumbling existence, but Saiyans only truly connected through sharing their fists with one another and them clashing was inevitable since the moment they first exchanged stares with one another.

From the way Goku had been moving up until now, Chayote surmised she was stronger than Goku by a decent margin but if she's seen anything in this tournament, it was that mere power level was by no means a definitive factor. Goku's movements were crafty and weird, it appeared as if his fighting style had been invented by watching animals he lived around. That very style may have held some surprises of its own…

Only the final match will tell for sure.