Chapter 8: The Junior Division.
Gohan and the group had signed up for the tournament and walked toward the preliminary area. The teen wondered what test the crew would have to pass to enter the main part of the Tenkaichi Budokai. Vegeta was stoic as usual, though he did look forward to the fights against Goku and Gohan respectively. Goku, on the other hand, was genuinely excited to see how his son had grown and if Vegeta had improved like he had figured. Piccolo was wanting to test himself as well, as him and Gohan did train together on occasion. Eighteen just wondered how much prize money she was going to get and Krillen just decided mentally to enjoy the moment.
The four fighters for the junior division were with the main group. Makoto smiled as she looked forward to seeing if anyone was as strong as her. Rei stayed her stoic self, though she felt ready to take on any challenger. Goten was just happy to be there and getting to fight. Trunks hoped that at least someone would make sure that the Junior Division wasn't too boring. After all, being Vegeta's son, he felt that he was the strongest in that part of the tournament.
"Those that are part of the Junior Division, please join me," one of the monks shouted near the group.
The group stopped and the six fighters in the main tournament faced the four that were going to the monk. Gohan looked over at the four of them and gave a small nod of approval as he gazed onto the four.
"Remember, most of these kids don't have our abilities. Control your power as much as you can, and you should do fine. Good luck to all of you," Gohan said.
The two saiyans and the two fourteen year old girls broke away from the group and ran to join the man. Gohan wasted no more time as he and the other five fighters in their troupe walked their way to a small building. Aroma's hit their noses as it seemed like it was a place for the fighters to eat a good meal prior to and after the fighting.
The three saiyans, one human, one android and one namekian sat at one of the tables. The monks sent various dishes to the fighters and Goku, for one, couldn't wait since he hadn't had Earth's food for a long time. Goku always felt that the food in heaven was adequate, but Earth's dishes couldn't be beat. Krillen elected not to eat, as his human physiology doesn't do well being full of food prior to any kind of matches. Android 18 didn't feel like eating, and Piccolo didn't need food.
The three saiyans dug into the food with their usual fervor. Goku was slurping a serving bowl size of Pork Cutlet Ramen, Vegeta consuming a great deal of big drumsticks, and Gohan attacked his huge bowl of mini-dumplings. The saiyans often switched to other dishes as they were being consumed, causing Android 18 and Piccolo to sit in boredom and mild disgust. In no time at all, their were several large piles of dishes and the monks in that little restaurant were making several trips to clear the table.
"Hey Dad, we're out of Ramen!" Gohan pointed out.
"Good point, more Ramen please!" shouted Goku.
The saiyans had their last few courses, much to the relief and disgust of everyone else, and left the restaurant with their bellies full. Goku patted his stomach and exhaled, exclaiming how full of food he was.
"How about nobody punch me in the gut please," Goku joked.
"That's the first place I'm punching Kakarot!" smirked Vegeta.
"Damn Vegeta, no mercy from you," Goku whined in a playful manner.
"I can't see how you saiyans do anything on a full stomach like that. I get sluggish if I eat like you three before I fight," Krillen exclaimed.
"Well I guess we better get to the preliminary grounds. I wonder what we have to do to get in. Knowing Mr. Satan it'll be something ridiculous," Gohan pointed out.
Goten made his way to the small building that enters out into the arena. Trunks, Makoto and Rei were also there, as well as the other competitors in the Junior Division. The group looked around and saw many more child fighters. Some of the kids were stretching, a couple were hitting mitts, a few were doing simple exercises. One little sumo was doing body weight squats, while a tall kickboxer with sandy blond hair and fists wrapped in tape was doing shadow boxing.
"Looks like we have a few kids. Though it is less than I thought would show up," Rei said to the other three.
"Looks to be….I want to say thirty," Makoto replied.
"Is that a lot?" Goten asked.
"Hmm...I guess," Trunks shrugged, not really caring.
"It's thirty-two you stupid girl!" shouted a boy.
Makoto looked over to the voices direction and there was another kickboxer. The boy looked similar to the blond-headed kickboxer, but he was a few inches shorter and had dark brown hair. The boy stepped to Makoto and the girl didn't back down.
"What was that?" Makoto questioned, matching the boy's ill intent.
"I said thirty-two, you stupid giant bitch!" mouthed off the boy, who was actually dead even with her in terms of height.
Makoto cracked her knuckles, ready to punch the boy. As the two of them stared at each other, Goten couldn't help but be mad at the boy. Trunks sat back, knowing that Makoto could take care of herself against most anyone on Earth. Rei, on the other hand, took it upon herself to place a hand on her friend.
"Calm down Makoto, save it for the arena," Rei told her quietly.
It was at that moment the taller of the junior kickboxers left his spot and stood beside the other. Both kickboxers smirked as they glared at the two girls in Piccolo style gear with no capes. Goten couldn't take it anymore, but before he said anything a monk stepped in.
"Any fighting outside of the official ring will result in a disqualification. Back off all of you!" ordered the monk.
"C'mon Ikose, we'll kick their asses later," the older boy told the smaller one.
"Yeah, yeah Idasa," Ikose said before the two of them walked off.
Trunks just rolled his eyes as the two fighters walked off. The lavender haired boy didn't seem the least bit interested in anything those two wanted. Goten just eyed the two of them with a blank expression. Makoto was a little angry at the two boys, while Rei kept an eye on her.
"Those two jerks, who do they think they are?" questioned Makoto.
"Save it for the ring. You might meet one of them at some point in the tournament and silence him," Rei told the tall girl.
"Or I might get one of them," Goten chimed in.
"I don't know which would be worse for either of those boys to be honest," Rei said.
"Do you really care?" Trunks asked Rei bluntly.
"No, not really," Rei admitted.
The foursome went into warmups and awaited when they would be called out to the arena.
Gohan and the other fighters made it to the preliminary area. Goku looked over and saw the building where the prelims of the tournament happened. The visiting, dead saiyan smiled as he started to remember his time in there as a small boy, with his best friend Krillen.
"You remember how shocked everybody was when we first went through the qualifying rounds? Heck I even got to beat some sense into my old bullies from the temple," Krillen said with a hint of pride.
"Yeah, we sure gave them what for," Goku said with a laugh.
Gohan watched his father and his non-related uncle laugh. Another person caught Gohan's eye however, as there were many photographers all around the preliminary area. The teenage saiyan was able to see one out of the many picture takers that surrounded the many adult fighters. The man he saw was a familiar one, with black hair and glasses. One could say that the man was in more casual attire than what Gohan was used to seeing wearing.
"Gohan," Piccolo said to get his attention.
"Yes Piccolo," Gohan replied.
"Why are you looking at that photographer? You know him by any chance?" Piccolo questioned.
"Yes Piccolo, I think that's Usagi's dad," Gohan replied.
"Oh great! His girlfriend's dad is some nosy photographer. I guess she wouldn't be too happy if we did something to his camera," Android 18 said while groaning.
"I wonder if he's strong like her?" Goku questioned.
"Actually dad, I think he is just a normal human," Gohan answered.
"Hmph! Just another weakling," Vegeta added, much to Gohan's chagrin.
Gohan couldn't help but groan at Vegeta's statement. However, he had no time to dwell on anything as a couple of monks accompanied a short, fat man with glasses. The rotund man called all of the adult fighters to attention.
"Well, well, we certainly have a lot of fighters here today. The World Martial Arts Tournament committee sees that there are too many fighters to fit in our little building for the traditional preliminary rounds. Luckily, our World Champion Mr. Satan came up with a way to solve this problem in case this instance were to happen," the fat man said.
A few monks pushed out a large machine with it's own wheels. The machine had a large, leather pad with a huge, metal spring behind it. The pad and spring were supported by a sturdy, steel base. The monks put the brake on the machine and flipped a switch. The large screen on the right side flickered numbers before going onto zero.
"Behold, the punching machine. If you are going to be a martial artist of the highest level, then you have to learn to his really hard. The best fifteen scores on this machine will move on into the tournament and have a chance to compete for the World Martial Arts Championship, along with our great champion.
Mr. Mark Satan!" shouted the fat announcer.
A man with a large, curly hairdoo came out in his brown gi with white pants and black boots. The man walked up to the punching machine, many of the various fighters whispering amongst themselves. The champion stood in front of the machine and went into his stance.
"I'm gonna show everybody how it's done!" proclaimed Mark as he got into position.
The man threw a punch and it landed solid on the leather pad, the metal spring bouncing back a ways before going back to true. The big LCD screen calculated the number and it showed as "137."
"137, the highest score yet!" shouted the announcer.
Most of the fighters cheered, though Gohan and his group had no idea why. Krillen laughed a little, along with Goku. Vegeta and 18 really didn't care and Piccolo just groaned at the scene. Gohan just took it all in as part of the spectacle.
"He knows how to put on a show, doesn't he," a voice said behind Gohan.
Gohan turned around and saw Videl, now sporting short hair for some reason. The saiyan smiled at his friend, though he knew in the back of his mind that she would be here. The girl smiled at Gohan.
"Why did you cut your hair?" Gohan asked.
"Well, one of my training partners kept grabbing it...so I thought it would be better if I cut it short. Besides, I think I like it better," Videl pointed out.
"Well I think it looks nice," Gohan complemented.
"Why thank you Gohan," Videl said, not expecting the compliment.
The two teens were talking some to pass the time while they were waiting for their turn on the punching machine. It would be a while before anyone in the Z-fighters would get their turn.
Meanwhile, Kenji was taking pictures and saw Gohan talking to Videl. The photographer zoomed in on the Saiyan and focused on him for a bit. The short hair on Videl did throw Kenji off a bit, but he could recognize her after a moment. The fact that Gohan was speaking to Ms. Satan wasn't what concerned him at the moment. Mr. Tsukino couldn't help but be proud of his daughter's boyfriend as he was competing in the tournament.
'So you are following in your father's footsteps after all. I think you will go far,' Kenji thought as he took the picture.
His thoughts did go back to him talking to Videl. His fatherly instincts were about to kick in, but one thought of reason stopped him from doing so.
'He must be picking her brain on how to far in the tournament. If he is, he's a smart man,' Kenji thought as he took his camera away from the two and got a good look at Goku. He shook it off as just coincidence that the fighter looked just like Goku as he snapped his picture and moved on to the rest of the crowd.
Usagi was in the crowd with her family, a billionaire heiress, her boyfriend's mom, a baseball player, and an old man with sunglasses. Not to mention two animal people who she had no idea could shape shift. She noticed that her little brother Shingo was rather quiet for some reason, while Ikuko had her usual demeanor of a welcoming housewife. Usagi felt that she couldn't look those two in the eye, but a little nudge from Minako encouraged the young girl to talk to her family.
"Shingo, I didn't mean to scare you," Usagi said sadly.
"Scare me...I'm not scared….not scared at all," Shingo said hurriedly.
"Shingo, I.." Usagi said.
"And besides, now I think about it…..that actually was kind of cool," Shingo said as he swallowed his fear for the moment.
"It is..." Usagi replied.
"Yeah," Shingo said with honesty.
Ikuko was surprised at the behavior of her son. Usually she would have to endure their usual fighting for a bit before she would scream at them. The mother of Shingo and Usagi couldn't help but feel happy that those two weren't at each other's throats.
"Shingo, thank you," Usagi said.
"You're welcome Usagi. Just don't let it go to your head," Shingo said as he went back to his usual bravado.
"You know what kid...I'll let you have that one," Usagi said as she sat down, her nervousness about her power display now leaving her.
The group had no more time to talk as a man with a black suit, balding blond hair, and sunglasses stood center ring. The man did a mic check to make sure that his mic was working. Everything checked out and the announcer went into his speech.
"Hello and welcome to the Tenkaichi Budokai, otherwise known as the World Martial Arts Tournament. This is the second time in the history of this illustrious tournament that we will have a junior division. I hope that all you fight fans are ready for the intense action and thrilling fights that the Budokai has to offer. The Junior Division of the Tenkaichi Budokai will start….now!
Will Benjamin Crowley and Makumo Ogebede please take center ring," said the announcer.
A young, coffee skinned man, around 11 or 12, had on a traditional gi with the British flag on the back. The other fighter, around 13 or so, was a darker shade of black, had on a green tank top, black shorts and the Nigerian Flag on his right hip. The two fighters stood a respectful distance from each other. The two bowed to each other and within a second or two, the tournament gong sounded.
The two fighters charged at each other. The bald, British fighter threw several strikes, only for the Nigerian to block each one. A few seconds later, Makumo catches the kick of Benjamin and drives himself forward. At that moment, the Karate fighter was taken down and in seemingly no time at all was mounted. Ogebede threw down a few strikes that landed before taking the arm of young Mr. Crowley. Crossing his legs, the Nigerian outstretched the captured arm almost to the point of breaking it. Crowley tapped the leg of his opponent, conveying his submission.
"That was quick," Bulma said. The group nodded in agreement.
"The winner is Makumo Ogebede from Nigeria!" the announcer said as the referee raised his hand.
The two fighters shake hands and went back to the fighters building from which they entered the arena. One was smiling and victorious while the other was holding his arm, thanking his lucky stars it wasn't broken.
Around five fights happened afterwards. One was ended when a little sumo pushed a judo kid to the edge. One surprise Judo hip toss later and the rotund fighter with the oversized belt was out of the ring. The second fight ended in lackluster fashion when a bald-headed kid got punched on the nose by a much larger kid with black hair. The little boy cried his eyes out as he held his nose, blood coming out. The third fight was more entertaining as it was two boys about the same age and size throwing hands like it was nothing more than a brawl. That fight ended when the two broke up toward the edge, and the blond-headed boy charged in too recklessly and the slightly smaller red headed boy leapt up and put his hands on the other fighters shoulders and his feet into his midsection. One fall backwards and kick up later and the blond fighter was monkey flipped out of the ring. The fourth fight ended before it began when a fat bully scared a much smaller fighter to the point of urinating on himself. One stomach kick later, and the little one cried in the fetal position. The fifth contest was almost a double knockout, but one of them got up at eight while the other dropped.
Here came fight number seven. Trunks and a kid named Patricio Moretti was announced. The much larger Moretti had a smirk on his face as he looked down at his much smaller opponent. The lavender haired boy wasn't fazed by the confidence of the black-haired Italian kid. The little half-saiyan simply walked out to the ring as if it was just another day, while Moretti tried to give his best mean look toward him.
While this was going on, Bulma was cheering her son on. Usagi and Makoto decided to jump in with the cheers and even Ami joined. Yamcha didn't even bother, as if to say he already knows what's going to happen. The two shapeshifters also sat back with Roshi, while Ikuko and Chichi were silent. Chichi smiled at her family friend and the girls, as she knew the pride Bulma carried for the boy.
"You know the big kid is going to kick his butt, right?" Shingo asked.
Bulma was about to give Shingo what for, but Usagi stopped cheering for a moment and stepped in herself. Usagi gave her full attention to the little boy and looked down to him.
"Shingo, I've seen what Trunks can do. You will be surprised, trust me," Usagi said pridefully without anger.
"Eh ok then, we'll see," Shingo replied.
Trunks and Patricio stood across from each other. The lavender-haired boy stood there with the same bored expression, causing Patricio to get angry. Time seemingly stood still for the two boys as the Italian seethed and the saiyan could care less.
"I'ma going to kick your ass!" shouted Moretti in Italian
"What did he say?" Trunks said, as he didn't understand the language.
The gong sounded off and the angry Italian charged at Trunks. The lavender haired boy's short stature came into play as he did a one foot sliding sweep,taking the feet out of the charging Moretti. The Italian smashed his face onto the hard ring surface and landed close to the edge. A ring out would not come however, as the impact of his face hitting the ring caused the much larger boy to go unconscious.
The announcer did not count, for there was no need as Trunks was declared the winner. Medics came in and put the boy on the stretcher. Various groans were heard by Moretti as he was taken away.
Shingo was flabbergasted by what happened, while Usagi grinned at her brother. Usagi even took it upon herself to close the mouth of her sibling. Bulma cheered for her kid with the other two girls while Usagi had her attention on Shingo.
"I told ya, Shingo," Usagi said.
Ikuko couldn't help but smile at the scene. The woman was glad that the two of them weren't at each other's throats for the moment. Though the housewife couldn't help but wonder if Usagi's little display earlier had anything to do with this dynamic.
Chichi however, just watched as Trunks left the ring and the other boy was carried out. She was happy that Trunks won, but she was here more for Goten, Gohan and Goku. She felt that the rest of the crowd made up for her lack of cheering.
After a few more fights…
"The next match will pit Makoto Kino vs. Ikose," the announcer said.
Makoto walked side by side with the brown haired boy she had the spat with before the tournament began. The mullet wearing fighter smirked at Miss Kino with confidence. Makoto on the other hand kept a mean face, not wanting to give the boy any indication of weakness.
While the two walked to their positions, the three senshi not participating in the tournament stood up. Usagi lifted up a cheering megaphone and put it to her mouth. She wanted as many people as possible to hear her voice for her friend.
"Makoto, you can do it! Kick his butt!" shouted Usagi.
"Go Makoto!" shouted Minako.
"Makoto! Beat that boy senseless!" shouted Ami, much to everyone's surprise.
"I guess the spirit got into me..." Ami said meekly.
"Ami, no need to explain. Now how about we cheer Makoto on until we can't cheer anymore!" Usagi exclaimed.
With that the girls shouted various cheers toward their fellow senshi. Chichi looked on at her employee and couldn't help but feel proud of her. Bulma saw their spirit and though she wasn't Trunks, she knew that the girl had talent. Bulma looked over at Chichi. Chichi returned the look. The two nodded their heads and joined the girls in their cheering on of Makoto.
"Makoto! Kick his ass!" shouted Bulma.
"You can do it Makoto!" shouted Chichi.
The girls smiled and then the five females shouted even more cheers toward the fighter. Ikuko even joined in as the sixth female to show solidarity. To all of them, Makoto is fighting in a man's world as far as the tournament and they wanted to show support. However, the row in front had a short, curly haired woman who was rather rotund named Idasam.
"C'mon Ikose, beat that girl senseless!" shouted the fat woman in glasses.
All six females glared at Idasam. The fat woman took notice and turned around to sneer at the group. A little laugh came out of the mouth of the older woman as she continued smirking at them.
"My little Ikose is going to whip that girl. She's going to learn a lesson," Idasam said.
"Oh yeah, I haven't met anyone Makoto couldn't beat!" Usagi said.
"You really have a big mouth girl!" Idasam replied.
"And you have a big everything else!" Usagi replied.
"What was that!" Idasam replied.
The woman and the girl glared at each other for a moment. The two then just decided to turn up their noses at each other and cheered on their respective fighters.
Ikose went into his karate stance and still wore a smirk on his face. Makoto stood still, extending her senses. The girl wanted to make sure her ears heard the gong, her eyes were kept on her opponent, and to make sure she didn't kill the boy with all of the increases she had with Piccolo's training. The dark haired mullet fighter was still poised, as he had no clue what the girl had went through to reach her level of strength.
The gong sounded and the boy inched slowly toward Makoto at first. The girl stood perfectly still, her eyes not leaving the fighter. Ikose reasoned that Makoto wasn't going to make the first move, so he stopped his slow movement and charged at the girl. The boy threw punches in all different spots, trying to get a hit on Makoto. The brunette however, was able to parry every single punch he threw. Ikose even tried to throw in some kicks, but to no avail. He paused for a second and went back to throwing strikes, though Makoto decided to alternate between parrying and head movement.
Soon Ikose had started to pant. Five straight minutes of strikes whiffing can wear on most fighters and Ikose is no exception. The boy breathed heavily for a few moments, feeling what one could call an adrenaline dump.
"Don't tell me your tired already," Makoto taunted.
"S-Shut up Girl!" Ikose stuttered, his confidence now waning.
Makoto knew that she could end it at any time. When Ikose tried to go back on the offensive, Makoto flicked her arm lightly. The small strike tapped Ikose's chin. The boy felt nothing for a fraction of a second. Then the hit registered into his brain, because his head and neck became stiff. The boy felt as if all his joints were locking on him. After a few seconds, Ikose fell back as his body hit the ring with a thud. The boy lost consciousness and the announcer could tell that he didn't need to initiate the 10 count.
"The winner of this match, by Knockout! Makoto Kino!" screamed the man in the sunglasses.
The crowd cheered, none more so than the three Sailor Senshi and the older three women accompanying them. The six cheered so much, that it drowned out the seething anger of Ms. Idasam in front of them. The fat woman gripped the program she had in her hands as if it were a stress ball. The short, dumpy lady couldn't believe that a girl defeated her son.
"That was a lucky punch!" shouted the tubby one.
"Lucky my ass, she caught him good!" taunted Bulma.
"Oh you'll see, my Idasa will tear through the tournament and win his poor mother that money!" replied Idasam. The females of the group watched with a tinge of embarrassment as the CEO of Capsule Corp engaged in a standoff with the red headed, obese woman in glasses.
Meanwhile, as the junior division went along.
The group was waiting as the other fighters punched the machine. All the numbers were below the score of Mr. Satan, showing indeed that though he might not be the power of Krillen or even Yamcha, amongst normal humans the man was indeed strong. After the 23rd fighter punched the machine, the first of the Z fighters stepped up.
The fighter was Android 18 and the girl stood in front of the machine. The girl threw a light jab at the machine, though perhaps she put too much force onto the blow. The machine lit up and shone the score to be a much larger number than Mr. Satan. The digits were shown as 774. Many of the tournament officials were speechless, though one decided to look over the machine after the strike.
"It must be a malfunction, we'll have to look at it," the official said.
The group looked up and down the machine for only a few minutes. Eighteen however, felt that it was much longer as her impatience began to show. Nothing came of it however as the machine was proven to be in working order and the cyborg didn't have to scream at them or worse. The woman then tapped the pad the lightest that she could, with the middle joints of her pointer and middle finger. The machine then lit up a much lower score, though it did still beat 's by a noticeable amount.
"205," the portly official said in disbelief.
"193." was said after Krillin struck with a jab.
"246," the scored showed as Piccolo mirrored 18's method.
"189," the official announced with the same disbelief as the other three as Goku jabbed the pad.
Vegeta stepped up to the pad next. The Saiyan Prince looked at the machine and did not show any outward emotion. Caring what humans thought was not a strong suit of his, as a part of him detested the idea of this machine. Vegeta made up his mind, and the prince cocked his fist back. Gohan saw this and knew that nothing good was going to come with what Vegeta was about to do. The fact that he was right behind Vegeta made the young teen curse his luck.
The Prince of Saiyans landed a powerful punch onto the pad. The display never showed as it had shattered from the force of the blow. Nuts, bolts and chips flew everywhere as the mangled remains of the machine flew towards the wall and crashed. Smoke rose from the machine as Vegeta walked away, knowing that indeed he did qualify.
Most of the other fighters parted way for the five foot two inch fighter, for they truly feared what they saw. Videl's eyes looked like they were about to come out of her head at the display, not to mention the scores of the others in Gohan's group. Gohan however audibly groaned at Vegeta's stunt.
The officials took away the mangled machine and had to bring another one. Cleanup took some time as the monks and cleanup crew had to get up every nut and bolt of the destroyed device. As this went on, Gohan took a deep breath. The boy knew that once this machine was up that he would qualify for sure, but he was not liking Vegeta for what he felt was an unnecessary stunt.
'I guess I'll miss Goten's first round fight,' Gohan lamented in his mind as he watched the crew do their jobs. Luck sometimes doesn't go one's way, even if one was a hero and a good soul like the eldest son of Goku.
A/N: Another chapter done. Next chapter will have the last half of the first round as Goten and Rei have their first round battles. I will try to get it out as quick as I can, but I make no promises. Please Read, Review, Follow and Favorite. Thank you.
Yes, I know the scores were different on the original DBZ episode and in the manga. I didn't want to mirror the chapter exactly. Thank you for understanding.