Welcome readers to the next chapter of my story. Now I hope that all of you are still enjoying this story. Honestly it is a bit weird to be writing something that isn't Naruto after so long but we will make it work.
Oh and I keep forgetting to say this every now and then but I don't own the shows that I write about.
Chapter 9
~Arena Stand~
As the first round continued on most of the students were watching quite happily as various fighting styles was used. And the fact that there were weapons actually allowed in this tournament made it even better.
"Woah I can't believe that someone could actually look so cool using a spear!" One of the students called out with those around him agreeing.
*sigh* "I agree that this thing would be cool if it didn't make Videl so depressed" Erasa muttered leaning on her arm.
"Ya this sucks. Why does Videl need to follow through with this stupid guys plans?" Sharpner asks annoyed.
"As caring as you are I don't think we can do anything to change Mr. Satan's mind. Not to mention that she is basically guaranteed to win being the second strongest person in the world.
"I know that is why this sucks! How dare some stupid price try to take my girl! I will just have to take her from him when she realizes just how much she misses my glorious self." Sharpner states with a smirk.
"And that is the Sharpner that I expected" Luke states with a small chuckle. "But seriously I hope this prince treats her well. Course if she is unhappy at least nothing can stop her leaving."
"Ya…but it still is horrible that Mr. Satan even forced his daughter to join this competition. But he has to have a good reason, right? I mean a man that was willing to risk his life to save us has to care for the people of this world; especially his only daughter at that." Destiny says.
"…he better…strongest man or not if MY friend is stuck with an unhappy life for no reason I will show him why they say 'hell has no furry like a women'" Erasa states with a glare.
"Wow who would have guessed that even Erasa has a dangerous side" Luke whispered to Sharpner.
"Heh, ya but it still feels more like a kitten glaring at you rather than anything dangerous." He adds then felt the woman's glare turn to him making him quickly look away from her with a cold sweat.
"Wait Videl's up next!" Destiny calls out seeing Videl walk confidently up to the stage. On the other side was a huge man with bulging muscles.
"Oy I thought that the best fighters of each kingdom were supposed to come here. Why do I have to fight this little lass?" the man asked annoyed ignoring the glare that Videl was giving him.
*ahem* "Mr….enhancer this is indeed your opponent. Like the brackets showed this is Mr. Satan's only daughter the mighty Videl Satan." The announcer tells the man awkwardly.
"Hahaha Mr. Satan's daughter or not she looks far from mighty." Enhancer states pointing a massive finger at Videl.
"Feh, We will see about that you overinflated sexist bastard" Videl growls out at the man who glares at her in return.
"I no longer feel like giving her the chance to escape a beat down. Start the match skinny man." Enhancer orders.
"Ah…um… let the match begin" the announcer calls out then got out of the way.
As soon as this was said Enhancer threw a punch at Videl that was easily evaded. He then tries several more times only to meet the same problem.
"Heh you are supposed to be one of the best fighters your home has and you are this bad. You are only a one trick pony." Videl taunted making her opponent visibly enraged.
"I will show you!" Enhancer yelled stomping the ground causing some cracks to form. "Little chicken can't do anything but run around."
In response to this Videl dodged past him trying to stomp on her and had his next punch push past her by the smallest of margins. She then took full advantage of his opening and hit him hard directly in the middle of his face. A hit that knocked his head back.
"How was that for just running around?" Videl asks not bothering to take advantage of the man holding his face in pain.
"You sneaky bitch. I am a mighty warrior how dare you!" the man called out only for a heavy blow to his chest in his solar plexus heavily winding him. She then kicks his head as soon as he leaned over knocking him out.
"A mighty warrior that isn't as tough as he thinks he is." Videl told the unconscious man and walked calmy off the stage as she was announced as the winner.
"Honestly you would think that there wouldn't be these stupid fighters who think they are good just because of testosterone supplements juicing them up. But I guess if its only a small kingdom then maybe this is just the best they truly could find willing to do this stupid tournament…not everyone could be as 'lucky' to have satan blood in their veins." Videl thinks. For while she is proud of what she has accomplished and of her father for killing Cell. What she hates is the fact that she was forced into this competition by the very same man who now is letting greed control his actions instead of being the hero he was. But she tried her best to push those thoughts out of her head as she went to rest for her next match.
She then took a glance over at her friends with a small smile on her face. Erasa was clearly trying her best to remain positive even knowing the situation. Meanwhile Destiny fell into the same boat as Erasa basically. Luke and Sharpner were apparently arguing over something; and finally, Gohan and his group seemed to be rather bored. Still, she couldn't look over at them for too long without feeling... strange. So, not wanting to look anymore she went to the resting area to wait for her next match. After all there was a lot kingdoms on this planet to get through.
AN: I'll be honest here…I managed to forget poor Mira and Mel for the last chapter. Guess its been truly way too long since I did a chapter of this. Granted a lot of it can be solved just by saying "oh well it was just focused on those in the relationship…but I'll be honest about it. I just hope I don't manage to do it again.
~Stands~
"Ya know I have to give it to her each time I see her fight. She might be an untrained human and that oaf's daughter but she can actually fight." Mira whispers to the group after making sure that Videl's friends weren't paying attention.
"Yes…I still don't want to have to deal with giving her the secrets of our group though…I mean she blew up already with just a simple misunderstanding." Mel complains with a small frown.
"Woah gal. I thought that we were already past that moment of stupidity. Let's give her at least a chance to be decent now that she has hopefully learned her lesson." Lime stated willing to give her another chance. Partially because of the lack of choice though if she was honest.
*sigh* "I'll be honest I am a bit on the edge of both ideas…but there is no harm in giving the 'easy' way a chance before forcing use of the dragon balls." Bri adds.
"Sis, we are supposed to be keeping those for emergencies only." Mira states getting a shrug from his sister.
"Hey with all the world saving this group has done I think we deserve to be greedy ever now and then." She states choosing to ignore her brothers annoyed look.
"Hey what are all of you guys talking about?" Erasa asks finally noticing the group having a separate conversation than they were.
"Oh you know just discussing Videls match while you guys were having your fun." Bri casually lies to Erasa who pouts.
"Bah come on Bri usually you of all people at least take the effort to talk about normal girl stuff like me instead of focusing on fighting like most of the group." Erasa complains.
"Oy we aren't that bad Erasa. You just can't stand if the conversation can't be about some sort of gossip that you know about." Sharpner states getting a punch on the shoulder from her in response. Something that of course did nothing but amuse him further annoying her.
"…well ignoring their weird flirting, I guess we can either wait here till Videl is back out or go do something else." Luke tells the group.
"Oh I am all for doing something else. I like watching Videl fight but all of this macho stuff is boring for me otherwise." Destiny adds.
"I'm gonna stay and watch you guys can go on." Gohan states trying to hide his boredom. Afterall while they didn't outright say it he knew that he should be present for the entire thing even with his identity being hidden still.
"…good luck with your boredom…Sure let'g go check out some of the cool stuff they have in the castle again while we have the chance." Lime says whispering the first part before talking to the rest of the group. After this most of the group left to go find fun leaving only Gohan and Mira sitting there.
"You can go too you know? I can handle keeping track of this 'excitement' by myself." Gohan states with a sigh as he rest his head on an arm.
"I know but I figured you would at least enjoy some company for a bit" Mira tells him getting a warm smile in return before they both looked down at the boring fight going on; Well boring for them.
+Meanwhile in a dojo+
"Man this sucks. There is a tournament going on that we could bust into and show off our powers! I mean the Ox kingdom is the most accepting of newer fighting styles. I mean look at this competition." A man called out raising the volume on a tv.
"Ya ya but you know that this place is important for us to keep going. Not only does it let us scout for new people but it also gives us some more income to use." Another man states but had his feet up on the desk reading a newspaper.
"Phe then the weaker members like you should be the ones that are stuck here. But yet here I am waiting for my class time to come up."
"Yea yea but what if they surprise you by saying that you actually are right. The weaker guys are left here to do the day jobs." The second man stated uncaringly then turned the page.
"Gah…it can't be…but honestly doesn't that idea bother you at all?"
"Nope"
"How? I mean we got to learn all this cool stuff exists but yet you don't wanna grab it while you have the chance?"
*sigh* "Listen yes all this stuff is cool and all but I have already reached my goal." The second man stated setting the paper down and looking right at his partner. "I agreed to joining for two reasons alone. One to have no fears of someone being able to make me 'vanish' just for my money. And two, to live a good life with money. I am already strong enough that it will take more than a single bullet to end my life in most cases. As for money while I still have to work, I am actually making quite a lot both in legal and illegal methods. Plus, the boss is more than happy to let me launder my money through the business as long as I pay the fees and a small cut." He explains.
"Tsk you learn all about this godly power are able to gain and yet you are happy to stagnate just for cash." The first man states in disgust.
"Uh huh…and you wonder why I don't talk to the rest of the group that much. All of you have big dreams and all that jazz. But me, I am a realist. Why fight for lofty goals that might never happen when you can live a wonderful life from the first few steps of the process alone?" the second man asks.
"Whatever I am going to go train some more before my class." The other man told him grumpily.
"You do that." The second man tells him before grabbing the paper again. "And this is why I get to make sure that the businesses are going as smooth as possible. My 'sempais' just don't care about anything other than power." He muttered to himself.
=Ox kingdom=
After leaving Gohan watching the tournament Lime, Bri, and Mel originally were milling around the areas that the students were allowed in. But one of the castle workers came over to the group thankfully trying to keep themselves as unnoticed as possible. After all they don't want to be too close to them even if it could be expected to be talked to by the staff as students.
"My lady Lord Oxford requests your presence in the royal family's personal quarters." The man calmly tells her making Mel growl a small bit.
(AN: for those that forgot I have given the Ox king a name to not deal with "ox king" all the time. He is Mathew Oxford)
"Doesn't gramps remember we aren't supposed to be related for this trip. Oh whatever I'll go now." Mel says walking away from the group.
After only a few minutes of walking Mel reached the spot they designated as the family quarters ages ago. In this area they wanted to basically make it so they can live as if they are a 'normal' family and therefore denied entry of the staff other than for emergencies. For a while they even fought to have the task of cleaning the area be on themselves but after a long discussion the maids were allowed to clean it once a week for them when none of them were around. As much as they wanted to live as if it was a separate life; they couldn't deny that it would be bad press for it to come out that the royal family were made to do house chores. Course a good portion of the argument was just that they were too loved by their people and too nice to put their foot down on orders most the time.
"Gramps?" Mel called out.
"I'm in the den." Mathew. She then walked into the room and saw the Ox king playing a game while having the tournament on the tv beside him.
"What do ya need grandpa?" Mel asked curious and he turns to her after pausing his game.
"Ya honey. Sorry for bothering you but I just wanted to talk to you about your friend there. I mean I know that you have told her about me already but what about your own opinion here? After that match I wonder if she will be able to meld with our group. It seems like she loves fighting like the best of us but isn't she known to be stuck in her pride of her father? Do you think if she wins, she will be able to deal with the truth?" He asks in quick succession.
*Sigh* "Gramps you know that I have already talked to you about this before, right? You even have personally talked to her seeing as we all know she is most likely to win." Mel asks.
"I know…but I just can't help but have various questions now that the event is actually going on…and games can only distract me so much." He states rubbing his head a bit as he awkwardly laughs.
"You care too much sometimes you know." Mel states with a smile. For while he was the king and had to do things for the kingdom that he would rather prefer he not have to do. He still made a strong point to be as good of a grandfather as he could be to them…and even to their friends as if they were extended family. She was sure that he was hoping that he wouldn't cause Gohan a headache by having trouble with his forced wife even though it was for the good of the kingdom. Now if only the world would be able to know that while he was a great king and a warrior, he also was a big old softie on the inside. She then sat down next to her grandfather in the small space he left on the couch.
"As I told you before I don't really know completely how Videl is gonna react honestly. A lot of her life is built around her father and trying to live up to his 'greatness'. But at the same time, she seems to be starting to question a lot of the inconsistencies her father has spent no effort hiding. So, I'd have to say we have a fair chance of explaining everything to her without her freaking out if we just go gradually and let her acclimate. Not to mention the fact that she already seems to have somehow managed to build an interest in my clueless brother in the small time that they have known each other. That hopefully will make her more excepting seeing as it is part of the guy she likes. Besides I agree with bro, Bri, and Lime in the fact that she is the most likely of all the possibilities to accept our secrets." Mel tells him.
"Ya it makes sense just as you said before…I just wish that I didn't have to force a wife onto him though. Sometimes I really wish I just left all of this 'king' stuff in the dust when they thought that I was dead from master Roshi 'helping' me. Then we wouldn't have to worry about those old helpers throwing a fuss over 'proper edict'." Mathew complains.
"Heh, you know you love the people too much to do that. And sadly, even as a royal family there are some rules that we must follow to keep everything flowing smoothy. We all know that and don't hold it against you." She told him patting her grandfather on the back.
"Oh thanks Mel. You always know how to make me feel better." Mathew tells giving a quick hug. "And don't worry the Brief family is more than powerful enough to use our first princess on as well…and after that the other kids should be fine to do whatever they want…I think." He adds with a knowing smile as she turns red.
"I-I don't know what you mean" She tells him looking away.
"Uh huh. And I am not the Ox King" he tells her laughing at her.
"W-whatever" Mel says crossing her arms with her blush still present.
=Tournament ground=
While everyone was doing other things the first round of the tournament continued on. With so many kingdoms of various participating the first round was lasting quite a while. Each person there had varying levels of skills causing both good and bad matches to be viewed by those in the stands. But eventually everyone went and the second round could begin.
"What!? I have to fight again? I just worked my ass off like an hour ago and you want me to just deal with that and fight again. I am no where near my top shape anymore." One of the fighters complained pointing at a bandaged wound on the side of his chest.
"I-I am sorry sir but there is still far too many here. To keep in schedule with the tournament we have to shrink the numbers even further today if we are to ever have a grand finale in two more days." One of the tournament workers explained.
"Pheh I am not going to listen to you bastards that don't even know what you are talking about." The man continues going to grab the intimidated worker but was stopped by two other workers that appeared out of seemingly nowhere. "Who the hell are you two bastards?"
"We 'bastards' are part of the Ox Kingdom's warriors. And while it is this guy's job to keep you guys going smoothly, he doesn't deserve to be treated like that by the likes of you. He might not be as strong as us warriors but he is still a proud member of the Ox Kingdom. So, you can either leave him alone or we can make you." The warrior orders firmly.
These two were part of the soldiers of the kingdom. But they long ago decided to be called warriors instead seeing as they have been trained to the limits and beyond of what they thought humans to be capable of. Some of them even gained the ability to use their Ki but were quickly sworn to secrecy. For even if they could easily disprove a good portion of what Mr. Satan said it would do nothing but cause the kingdom trouble. Still all of the warriors were told to make sure to keep all the residents safe at all costs and they were more than willing to do that.
"Y-you can't do that to me. I am a general from the Haryl kingdom. Do you really want to have to deal with the brunt of our kingdom's ire?" the man asks confidently pointing a sword at one of the warriors.
The warrior instead of saying anything right away simply grabbed the blade and snapped it as if it was a dry piece of wood surprising those around them.
"If we have to, I am sure we will be able to handle the situation properly." The warriors told him with a small smirk as he crushed the piece he had in his hand into small pieces.
"I..I…tsk whatever. Let's just get this next round going." The man said clearly flustered by the sudden show. "I know that the world's rumor mill always said that the Ox kingdom's army was made of monsters but I never believed it…Now I see why most people go out of their way to make sure that they don't agitate the Ox Kingdom. These two are way above my ability and they aren't even the top brass. Though now that I can see that this seemingly ridiculous rumor was true then I wonder if guns are truly useless against them as well" The general thought as he wandered off out of the sight of the crowd that formed. Needless to say, all but one of the people watching this event realized just why they were bothering with this tournament.
"Jeez I know that the Ox kingdom is rumored to have some of the strongest people in the world but I never expected the difference to be that dramatic. I don't think I have EVER seen someone break a weapon like that…and the Ox king is rumored to be even stronger than them. Hard to believe that friendly big guy could outperform those guys supposedly…wonder if the prince is at least gonna be decently strong." Videl thought as she rested. Unlike a lot of the people around her she was far from intimidated by the superhuman stunt. For she fought people bigger and stronger than her almost every other week helping the cops and still managed to take them down.
"Will the next two fighters please come to the arena?" a worker called out and Videl wordlessly got off of her seat and walked towards the door while doing some final stretches. Her opponent this time ended up being a man holding a short sword and a dagger.
"Videl Satan I have to say that it is quite the honor to fight against someone of your bloodline. But I am afraid I can't make this a fair fight for you with my kingdom's wishes on my shoulders." The man stated kindly.
"It is no problem I've spent my entire life fighting people with weapons a lot more dangerous than some blades. But it is nice to see a fighter that isn't full of themselves for once." Videl told the man with a small smile as she got in her stance.
"Not all of us train just to think we are better than others. There is still a lot of us proud of our crafts." He tells her knowing quite well how power went to many people's heads. After this small conversation the match was started and both refocused on fighting.
The swordsman wasted no time slashing at Videl who was able to weave through and tried to land her own blow only to find a dagger filling the gaps she tried to take. She then does various feints and tries her hardest to weave around to the side of her opponent only to find his defense to be solid.
"Tsk" Videl clicked her teeth in annoyance but quickly gets rid of her anger and came up with a plan. She then went into a full-on attack not giving any time for either of them to take a breather even though they continued their stalemate. But thanks to the heavy metal in his hands her opponent eventually seemed to be running out faster than her.
Something she took advantage of and quickly stepped to his side forcing him to swing his blade wide to block her. And as soon as she saw this, she quickly pushed forward into him and launched a heavy blow to his chest. Due to exhaustion her opponent was not able to bring his sword back and her attack was allowed to connect causing him to slide back. True to his ability the man tried to recover from being winded in a rough stance but before he could force his body to work the way he wanted she closed back in and quickly hit the weapons out of his hands.
Not even sparing a glance at his lost weapons the man got into the best bare-handed stance he could manage as his chest and arms were roaring in pain. Sadly, even with his valiant effort he found his consciousness fading after only a few more minutes ending the match. As the announcer declares her the winner, she gives a respectful bow towards her opponent.
"We may have been enemies but I truly appreciate the fact that I got to face a true fighter today. It has been far too long since I got to fight with someone who wasn't just throwing around their power. At least some good matches have come from this horrible tournament." Videl thought as she walked away from the arena. She then had a quick talk with one of the workers about what time she had to return the next day and left to get a well-deserved shower.
+20 minutes later+
After a quick shower Videl changed into a fresh pair of clothes and began to look around for her friends eventually finding the girls sitting around a tv. As she walked towards them Erasa was the first to notice her arrival and quickly got up and gave her best friend a hug.
"Videl! We saw your last fight; you were amazing! I don't know how you could face those swords without any fear." Erasa starts happily congratulating her.
"Erasa I fight people with guns on a regular basis." Videl reminds the bubbly girl who didn't seem to care.
"Well yea but it can't make punching towards sharp objects any less scary." She says making Videl smile and sit down in the group.
"Anyways what are you girls up to?" Videl asks helping herself to some snacks they had close by.
"Well after we finished watching your second match we came back here and restarted our marathon of watching reruns of the 'got talent' seasons. But the boys got bored pretty fast when we started last time so last I knew they went to the gym." Mel explains simply.
"Hmm, well normally I would join the boys in this opinion but after that fight I want nothing more than to watch some mind-numbing tv instead."
"Heh, well we can certainly help with that." Desinty tells her with a smile. "I am sure that you are exhausted after all of that."
"Ya, that was a crazy match to see. We never get to really see you fight in your prime and it was truly amazing!" Erasa told her with a large smile.
"It was a good fight…but now I just want some rest." Videl states honestly and they all respect that and spent the rest of the day simply enjoying various ways to relax as a small group. Thus ending Videl's first day of the tournament on a positive note.
So for those that question some parts of this chapter I want to explain it a bit here so as to not use a bunch of ANs.
In this world while there is one earth ruler that sets a basic law there is FAR too much for only one kingdom to keep full control of. So under the world leader many other kingdoms were made to deal with various areas of the world while still being under the control of the earth ruler. But due to greed there are fights between various kingdoms over resources and land leading to armies being needed. And these disputes are overlooked seeing as long as they don't go too crazy.
The Ox kingdom is one of the stronger kingdoms even though they aren't trying to be greedy. It is simply known that while there are those that are 'normal' in the kingdom many of the protectors have been trained to the limits and some past them. These soldiers were ended up called warriors instead seeing as they were trained in martial arts and refined to the limit so they enjoyed being felt as different from the rest of the armies. Even those trained to the limit but unable to use Ki are at a level that their bodies naturally block bullets but are NOT bullet proof like the DBZ gang. Depending on their levels they still can be killed by a strong enough weapon but this is a fact that isn't kept in the rumor mill. For it is far more scary and rememberable when bullets are seen bouncing off someone. So, they are considered inhuman thanks to this…but due to it protecting the people the don't care. Also the army is made sure to keep the people's safety in mind. Those that don't are kicked off of the force and some are even kept under watch to make sure they don't misuse the power they gained.