Chapter 9: The Junior Tournament Goes On
Usagi and her group watched as Idasam and Bulma finally stopped their staring contest. Two fights ended uneventfully as one was a victory of a sumo fighter over a small kid. The other was a win for a small karate fighter over a much larger opponent. The group could care less at the time because of the two women with boisterous personalities.
Fight number fourteen was up and it was Goten Son vs. Makeshiro Taketo. Goten never seen the young man, but he looked somewhat like the bully that tried to attack Goten the first trip to school. The much older boy tried to give a mean look toward the small boy, but he was too busy looking around the stadium. Before the two took the first step into the ring, the teen had gotten real close to Goten's face.
"Hey brat, you don't have that giant girl to protect you now," sneered the kid.
"Hmm..." Goten said with a blank expression.
"You are going to pay for my brother's humiliation!" threatened the teenager.
"Umm..." Goten replied, not really getting what the opponent was saying.
Meanwhile, Usagi stood up and started cheering for the youngest of the Son family. The others joined in except for Bulma for basically the same reason that Chichi didn't cheer for Trunks.
"You got this Goten!" cheered Usagi.
"Beat him Good!" shouted Minako.
"You got this!" shouted Ami.
Chichi couldn't help but have tears well up because those girls were supporting her youngest son. The Son matriarch, along with Ikuko, began their own individual cheers for the little boy.
"Kick his butt son!" Chichi shouted.
"Go Goten!" Ikuko cheered.
Shingo couldn't believe that another boy younger than him was being supported in this fight. Bulma saw his lack of participation and decided to strike up a conversation with young Shingo.
"You seem quiet," Bulma told the young boy.
"Well….I really know nothing about either of those fighters…." Shingo told the lady politely.
"Well the smaller one with the wild hair...he's Gohan's little brother," Bulma told him.
"Huh….ooh. Gohan did mention having a brother younger than me," Shingo said.
"Well Shingo, he's a lot like my son Trunks," Bulma responded.
"Huh...oh so he's really good at fighting too," Shingo replied.
"Yes. Gohan and Chichi have taught him how to fight. You'll see here in a few moments," Bulma told the boy.
Goten and Makeshiro took to their respective sides of the ring. The larger boy went into a fighting stance, while the smaller one just stood there with the same blank expression he had the whole time. The older Taketo brother seemed like he wanted to charge, while Goten stood there not showing any signs of aggression.
The gong sounded and the larger boy sprinted toward the youngest Son. The boy threw a powerful straight punch, only to get blocked by Goten's comparatively tiny hand. The large boy then threw a few more punches, this time of varying punching techniques of hooks, straights and single uppercut. Goten skillfully dodge each winding punch, even backflipping away from the uppercut.
Taketo then ran at Goten to close the distance. Four steps later, Goten sprinted forward instantaneously and planted his fist onto the bigger boy's stomach. The larger fighter felt the air leave his lungs as if the little fist hit him with unrelenting force. The boy was uprooted by the strike and landed on his feet. The teen dropped to his knees and then his forehead was touching the ring. Taketo couldn't even yell as the sharp pain travelled throughout his midsection. He tried to get up, but just wound up on his butt. All Makeshiro could do was sit there and wheeze as the announcer began the ten count.
"That little…." was all he could muster, as though he was still conscious, the ref reached his count of ten as the beaten Taketo stumbled around the ring.
"Your winner is Goten Son!" shouted the announcer.
Goten smiled happily and waved to the crowd as he walked back to the area. Taketo, on the other hand, was helped to his feet by one of the monks. The two walked to the back, the crowd cheering for the larger fighters effort.
Usagi smiled as most of her small group cheered. Bulma smiled and Shingo stood there motionless. The boy then decided to join the group in cheering Goten. Usagi couldn't help but notice her little brother getting into the spirit.
"Go Gohan's little brother!" shouted the nine year old.
Marron, who had been quiet this whole time, watched as most of the group cheered Goten's victory. The little girl raised her arms up toward Chichi, who happened to see her at that time. The Son Matriarch lifted her up and handed her to Usagi. The teenage girl, since she was physically much stronger than before, let the girl sit on her shoulders. Little Marron giggled as she waved her hands around the air, causing the other two senshi to go 'aww' at the two.
Another fight took place where a little boxer lost to a small wrestler. The wrestler threw the boxer out of the ring with an overhead belly-to-belly throw. The crowd cheered for that throw came suddenly. Usagi and their group didn't really react, but did clap for the wrestler.
The last fight of the first round was coming up. Idasa, the sandy haired kickboxer, walked side by side with Rei Hino. The much smaller girl didn't even look at the young man, since she considered him rather boorish. Idasa sneered at the young girl regardless of her indifferent mood.
In the stands, the portly Idasam turned her cheers for her son into overdrive. Usagi and the group were rather annoyed at the chunky woman. Having Marron go to Ikuko, Usagi went into her own cheers afterwards.
"Go Rei, kick his butt!" shouted Usagi.
"You got this!" Ami shouted.
"C'mon Rei, do it!" cheered Minako.
"You got this Rei!" Bulma screamed.
"Kick his butt!" shouted Chichi.
"Woohoo!" shouted both Marron and Shingo.
"C'mon! Beat that boy senseless!" Ikuko shouted, causing the entire group to pause.
Idasam heard Ikuko and sprung out of her chair. The short woman tried to intimidate Ikuko with her sneer. Her efforts were in vain however, as Ms. Tsukino returned the mean look with a glare of her own.
"What was that!" shouted Idasam.
"I merely cheered for my daughters friend, you seem to be offended," Ikuko replied calmly.
"I oughta thrash you bitch!" rebounded Idasam.
Chichi had heard enough of this woman and got between them. The Son matriarch glared daggers at the fat woman. She folded her arms and looked as if she wanted Idasam to charge.
"Out of my way!" shouted Idasam.
"Can't you see she has a small child with her! I thought you being a mother would understand, but I guess you don't!" shouted Chichi.
Idasam at first tried to reply, but she felt as if an icy chill went down her backside. A part of her felt the aura of Chichi and instinctually knew that she would not fare well against her. Growling a bit to save face, the fat woman sat down with a little degree of shame for her actions.
Idasa took his side of the ring and glared at Rei. The girl returned a look of pure disdain in return, as if Idasa was nothing more than the dirt on her shoe. Idasa started bouncing on his feet, not really caring about how the girl looked at him. A smirk formed on his lips as he continued to bounce, showing that he was light on his feet.
"I'm gunna show ye why girls don't belong in the rang!" taunted Idasa.
"It's pronounced "Ring" you simpleton," corrected Rei.
"Gotdangit! Shut up woman!" replied Idasa.
Then Idasa got an awful idea that he thought would be brilliant. The boy's smirk turned into a wicked smile, as if he thought that what he was about to say was the best thing in the world. Just before the gong was to ring, these words spilled out of his mouth.
"Maybe after I win….I can be your boyfriend. Whatdoya say woman!" Idasa shouted.
Rei heard that and it was as if she had heard the dumbest thing in the world. Her lip tensed, as if she felt the feeling of ultimate offense. To her, this 'yokel' had said something so vile that she had to respond with something that truly conveyed her disgust. The girl said nothing and showed no emotion, though she did feel as if her skin was crawling with revolting insects at the mere thought of his statement.
The gong sounded and a split second later, Rei zoomed her way toward Idasa. The boy couldn't even respond as she swept the leg of the boy. Time slowed to a crawl for the two of them it seemed, but in truth, it wasn't even two seconds later that Rei shot him into the air with her leg. The boy seemed to go into the air around 15 feet. As the boy went into free fall, screaming all the way down, Rei held an open hand in the air to catch the boy. The midsection landed on the palm of Rei's hand, causing all of the wind to come out of the boy. The crowd was awestruck as Rei gently sat down the unconscious boy onto the ring floor.
"Oh look, Idasa is knocked out. No need for the 10 count. The winner is Rei Hino!" the announcer said, causing raucous cheers throughout the crowd.
Usagi and the crew were elated at Rei's victory. The cheers from the young women were really loud and the older women amongst them matched that intensity. Shingo cheered and Marron was waving her hands in the air.
Idasam however growled as she clenched her fists. The growing chants for Rei were like someone poking on her nerves. Anger swelled in the heavy built woman as those cheers got louder. The fat woman contemplated just leaving the area altogether. She happened to look over and saw Ikuko cheer for Rei and her anger got the better of her. She didn't care that Ikuko had a small child with her as she lunged.
Chichi leapt to her feet and came in front of Ikuko. Along with her quick movement, the Son Matriarch threw a straight right punch at the fat woman. The fist struck true on Idasam's first chin, causing her to drop onto the concrete. A small cheer came from the surrounding area as Chichi dusted her hands off.
"Where did ya think Goten learned how to fight?" Chichi asked.
A section of the crowd was set aside, at the other end from where Usagi and her crew sat. The small part was roped off and surrounded by security. A few signs surrounded them, saying "fighters section" to denote that it was deemed for the adult fighters of the World Tournament.
Goku, Vegeta, 18, Krillin, and Piccolo sat there and watched most of the first round. The fighters were bored by the fights that didn't involve the two senshi or the two saiyans. Krillin laid back and yawned as he looked toward Goku.
"Those fights sure were boring. I guess we are going to have to wait till the finals for the real fighting to begin," Krillin pointed out.
"Not necessarily," Piccolo replied.
"What do you mean?" Krillen asked.
The four others turned their attention to listen to the Namekian's point.
"Trunks is going to have the easier road. Goten however will have a couple of harder fights according to the brackets. Though I'm sure he will triumph, it will be a good test to see how far Rei and Makoto are in their training,"Piccolo pointed out.
"Well, he's my son, so I'm sure he'll do good. If he's anythin' like Gohan he'll probably whoop Trunks's ass too!" Goku replied.
"Don't get ahead of yourself Kakarot!" Vegeta interjected.
"What do ya mean," Goku rebounded.
"Trunks is going to thrash that little brat of yours, it's that simple," Vegeta said proudly.
"If you say so," Goku replied.
"Looks like I came in at a good time," said a male voice.
The five fighters looked over and saw that Gohan and Videl had arrived. Krillen looked over and was happy to see the teenager. The short fighter however noticed Videl with him and couldn't help but feel nervous. Eighteen also saw her and couldn't help but glare at the two.
"Hey Miss..." Krillen said while conveying that he truly didn't know her name.
"Videl," she filled in.
"Oh yes, Videl...you mind if I talk to Gohan for a minute?" Krillen requested.
"Hmm...sure," Videl said.
The teenage girl walked off from her friend. Krillen gestured Gohan to sit beside him. The young teen saiyan took the invitation and placed himself beside the man he considered an uncle. The noseless monk looked over at the young man and couldn't help but drop his mask of hospitality as he wanted to ask Gohan a serious question.
"Is that girl just a friend?" Krillen asked.
"Yes, she's a friend of both Usagi and me, why?" Gohan pointed out.
"Well Gohan...just be careful. You'll have some people thinking that you two are going out," Krillen added.
"Oh c'mon Krillen, Usagi is my girlfriend! I'm not going to two time her!" Gohan said defensively.
"I know you won't Gohan! I'm just saying be careful. Girls can get the wrong idea the same as boys can," Krillen pointed out.
It was then that 18 decided to put her head over her husband's shoulder. The cyborg stared at Gohan, who raised his eyebrows slightly at her in response. The teen instinctually knew that the blond woman was about to make a point to him and really wanted him to hear what she had to say.
"If you did...I would rip off your testicles," threatened the cyborg.
"Umm….yes ma'am," Gohan said as if it was his only reply.
Goku couldn't help but laugh a little and Vegeta giggled with bass at the threat. The prince thought it was one of life's simple pleasures when he saw Gohan nervous in a social situation.
Trunks, Makoto, Goten and Rei all had an easy second round. Trunks ko'ed his karate opponent with a quick tap to the chin. Makoto had a girl tap to a full nelson. Goten flicked a kid wearing a wrestling singlet out of the ring and into the crowd. Rei rounded out the Sailor Senshi/ Z Fighter contingent by catching the fist of a smaller wrestler and knocking him out with a quick backhand to the temple.
The third round started with Trunks beating a kid in a traditional chinese kung-fu outfit with a gut punch ko. Makoto caught the open palm strike of a much larger Turkish kid, and with a flick of her wrist, had the boy spinning out of the ring to collide with the wall protecting the audience.
This very same round however, became the first fight between a Sailor Senshi and a Z fighter as Rei Hino and Goten Son were introduced by the announcer. The two black haired fighters made their way to the concrete ring. Goten had a grin on his face, while Rei walked out showing no emotion. Crowd was mixed as some were cheering for the little boy, while some were cheering for the girl twice his age.
Usagi stood still while Minako and Ami were cheering on Rei. The odango-haired girl couldn't choose between Gohan's little brother and the girl who had the powers of a fellow Sailor Senshi at one time. She watched without a single yell as Rei and Goten took their positions.
Her lack of noise did not go unnoticed by her fellow blonde Minako. The girl and Ami stopped their cheering and both leaned their head toward Usagi. Both girls then stopped for a second and looked toward the ring.
"How come you won't cheer for Rei?" Minako asked.
At first Usagi didn't answer, only cast her eyes to her right side where Minako stood. The answer was not going to come from her immediately. A part of the odango haired girl felt that the reason was all too obvious. As Usagi tried to come up with an answer, Ami decided to bring in her guess at the situation.
"Because Goten is Gohan's little brother," Ami answered.
"What do you mean Ami?" Minako reacted.
"Think about it Minako, Rei is our fellow Sailor Soldier that is true. But Goten...he's her boyfriend's little brother," Ami said with logic in mind.
"Ami that is...oooohhhh!" Minako said as what Ami said had sunk in.
Usagi turned her head toward Minako. The girl who became Sailor Moon watched as her fellow blonde learned about her situation. Minako smiled slightly at Usagi, as she felt that what she had said a few minutes ago was totally wrong.
"Usagi...I'm sorry. I forgot about Goten being Gohan's little brother," Minako said.
"It's okay. I figured you and Ami just cheered because she's one of us. It's hard for me too because I love Gochan so much," Usagi replied with a bit of a sad smile.
"You know what...I have an idea follow my lead," Minako said just before she took a deep breath.
Before either Ami and Usagi could do anything…
"Go Rei! Go Goten! Go Rei! Go Goten!" Minako chanted.
Both Usagi and Ami followed suit after a few moments following the two doing a shoulder shrug. The two other senshi decided that it was best not to question Minako for the time being.
"Go! Rei! Go Goten! Go Rei! Go Goten!" the three cheered, causing a sweat drop from Chichi, Bulma, Yamcha, Ikuko, Marron, Roshi and Shingo.
Rei and Goten stood across from each other. The girl went into her wide stance, ready for the fight to begin. Goten, instead of just standing there like he had his past two fights, actually went into a sideway stance with a smirk on his face.
'That cocky little brat,' Rei mentally grimaced at Goten's unusual demeanor.
Not much time could be had in wondering about the boy's attitude. The Gong sounded off and the fight had begun. Both fighters stood for a bit, trying to guess each other's first move. After a few minutes of standing still, Goten made the first move. The boy threw a straight punch that Rei was able to block. The impact of the punch however knocked her back a couple of feet and though she stood straight up, pain could be felt in both arms from the impact. Discomfort was at the bottom of her feet for dragging on the ring.
'Goten hits like a truck, i'd better be careful,' Rei thought as she recovered from the shock of the hit.
Goten still had a smirk on his face and started bouncing on his feet. Rei glared at the saiyan, her anger starting to rise. The little half-saiyan then asked a question that would get on any fighter's nerves.
"Is this fight going to be fun?" Goten asked, dropping the smirk for his usual childish demeanor.
Rei heard that question as if it was the worst kind of taunt imaginable. Her temper rose to the point where she just couldn't take it anymore. The normally calm miko growled in fury worthy of her name as a Sailor Senshi. A fiery aura shot out of the young woman as more of her power came to bare.
"Fun! I'm going to show you fun! You stupid brat!" Rei said as she charged at the little saiyan at inhuman speed.
The woman gave Goten a bit of a shock as her fist collided with his face. The boy flew back a bit before landing on his feet. The boy swore he felt a little pain from her hit, but shrugged it off. Rei came at Goten again before he could get set and was about to throw a kick. Goten threw up a block and was able to stop the kick. The move knocked him back a little and caused a sensation on his forearm.
Rei continued to attack with a few kicks, all that Goten was able to avoid. The female then closed the distance a little more and threw a punch. Goten leapt up and threw his tiny fist to her face, which landed clean. Rei flew to the air for a bit before landing butt first onto the hard ring.
The senshi in the crowd were worried about Rei. Chichi cheered for her son because of the clean punch landed. Bulma had a hand to her lips, thinking about something cosmetic that could happen with taking too many hits. Yamcha grimaced, Roshi remained neutral, and Marron had a smile on her face.
Ikuko and Shingo stood with their mouths agape. Their reaction was closest to the rest of the crowd, who couldn't believe the speed in which the fight was going. The two fighters seemingly go in and out of existence, at least to most untrained eyes.
"Hmm," Roshi said, causing the group to give their undivided attention to him.
"What do you think Master?" Yamcha asked.
"Well...Rei has seemed to have been taught well. The fact that she can keep up with Goten is remarkable," Roshi said.
"But….he's only seven..."Ikuko muttered.
"Don't let age fool you. That girl hasn't had the kind of training that Goten has gotten from Gohan. If she has, it couldn't be for as long as he's had it," Roshi said as he watched their fight continue.
Many of the fighters were at awe of the two in the ring. The Z fighters in the fighters section however, weren't the least bit surprised. Gohan watched the fight intently, while Videl stood there as she was as awestruck as the other fighters in the crowd. Gohan saw something in what Rei was doing that was giving him pause.
"You noticed it too?" Piccolo asked his ex pupil.
"Yeah, it was bound to happen," Gohan replied.
"What do you see?" a boxer asked.
"That girl is gitin' sloppy," Goku pointed out.
"Kakarot is right. She's letting her anger control her too much. It's affecting her form," Vegeta added.
Rei rubbed her lip before getting to her feet. The girl reset herself, but before she got to attack Goten flew toward her head first. Grabbing his head, Rei was being pushed toward the edge. The little saiyan flew the girl toward the side of the ring at great speed. The feet of the Miko were touching the edge when Goten all of the sudden swooped upwards, causing the girl to lose her balance. Rei was waving her arms frantically as she was desperate to keep her balance. The girl failed as she fell over the edge of the ring, down onto her backside. Rubbing her butt as she got up from the grass outside the ring, the girl took a deep breath in relief with a tinge of disappointment.
Goten landed inside the ring near the edge as he watched her stand up. The referee called the match in favor of the little boy via ringout. The boy smiled at the dejected girl, not once wanting to taunt her.
"That fight was fun Rei," proclaimed Goten.
Rei groaned at the boy, but all of the sudden was face to face with him. The little boy gave a bow to his opponent, much to her surprise. Her dejection was covered by her sudden laughter as she rubbed the boy's head and the two of them left the ring side by side.
"The winner is Goten Son!" shouted the announcer.
The crowd cheered at the intense, yet brief battle as many in the crowd thought that it was the best fight so far in the junior tournament. Both fighters had their share of cheers as they left the arena.
Usagi felt for Rei, but sort of liked it that Goten won. The girl, along with the senshi, couldn't bring herself to cheer however as the three of them were divided. Chichi however, cheered for Goten like there was no tomorrow. The rest of the group couldn't help but stare at the prideful mother.
"Ok look girls, I'm sorry your friend lost...but that's my son advancing in the tournament. And I'm going to support my babies," Chichi flat out said.
"I get it Ms. Chichi….I guess I would be this way even if Rei won," Usagi said.
Chichi softened her expression to Usagi at that statement. At that moment, she truly felt for Gohan's girlfriend as she got close to her. The two of them looked at each other for a moment before one of them decided to speak.
"When Gohan fights, we both are going to cheer like it's no tomorrow," Chichi said.
"On that, I agree," Usagi said.
Chichi returned to cheering on her son as he exited the arena with Rei. Usagi just watched as the quarter-finals came to a close.
A/N: Next chapter will be the semi-finals and the finals. It was tough going getting this chapter together as I thought I made a mistake with the tournament bracket. Then I remembered that life is unfair sometimes and so it reflected in the tournament. Please Read, Review, Follow and Favorite.