Battles Against Impossible Odds!
There was a small interlude between the Quarterfinals and the Semifinals to allow the fighters a moment of rest before continuing their battles. As the others gave Tenshinhan words of encouragement, Yamcha's gaze kept drifting over to Chi-Chi. The young woman just looked so miserable and alone although he could hardly blame her. His heart went out to the girl. While the others talked, Yamcha slunk away to find Pilaf and, three hundred zeni later, returned with two drinks. He sat down beside Chi-Chi and held one out to her. She gave him only the briefest of glances before looking back down at her feet. She did, however, take the drink from his hand.
"So," Yamcha said, "You wanna talk?" Chi-Chi shook her head sullenly and Yamcha just shrugged. He didn't leave. Meanwhile, Krillin looked away from the conversations the others were having when something glinted and caught his eye. Krillin looked up to the sky and saw a handful of shining spheres no bigger than his fist zipping around the ring and occasionally stopping to fidget in the air before moving again.
"The heck are those?" he murmured.
"Funny you should ask," Ken said, appearing at Krillin's side out of nowhere like a genie and giving Krillin a start. "Those are the newest high-speed remote cameras from Capsule Corp. After the last two tournaments, I was able to convince the Budoukai committee to spend the money to increase our coverage. People have to see this stuff, ya know? Each camera is even equipped with a self-contained generator and antennae to keep connection with the satellite. So if, for whatever reason, we lost connection with the power, like if the arena was destroyed, we wouldn't lost the broadcast. But what're the odds of that?" He chuckled but it died when he realized that Krillin wasn't laughing at the notion. He tugged nervously at his collar and wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. "A-anyway," he said, "I'm glad you guys showed up to justify the money spent on these things. If this tournament had been boring, I'd probably have lost my job."
OoOoOoO
Tenshinhan steeled himself for a moment as Piccolo walked past him to the ring. Krillin and Suno gave him encouraging words and Launch gave him another hug. Their words were genuinely meant but he could feel the doubt behind them. He looked to Goku before he walked to the ring and she gave him a wordless, slow nod. Tenshinhan nodded back to her and marched towards the ring. Goku, Ten had realized in the short time he'd known her, did not have the capacity for deception. She knew his chances were slim as well as he did. As Ten climbed the steps into the ring and stood across from Piccolo, he reflected that he was in a similar position to Muten Roshi three years ago. Piccolo was certainly more powerful than him and all Ten had was his bag of tricks.
"Dodonpa!" Ten cried as he threw his arm out as swiftly and as seamlessly as a serpent's strike and the yellow beam shot from his finger as true as an arrow. Piccolo's hand went out even faster and grabbed the Dodonpa out of the air. He pivoted on his feet and tossed the beam back at Ten like a javelin and Ten leaped to the side to avoid being struck. 'Well,' Ten thought as he and Piccolo circled each other tensely, 'At least I know where I stand.' Ten burst forward and leaped into the air to attack Piccolo with a flying kick, knowing that his only advantage was to press the attack and keep the reincarnated demon on the defensive. Piccolo vanished and reappeared behind Ten as soon as he touched down and went for a blow aimed for the triclops' neck. He ducked to avoid the blow and threw his elbow back into Piccolo's stomach with the impact making him double over and cough up spit. Ten spun around and on his feet and held his hands up in front of Piccolo's face. "Taiyoken!" he roared and the blinding light blasted Piccolo in the face. Ten went for a crushing uppercut but was shocked when Piccolo grabbed his wrist. The demon smirked and chuckled derisively as he opened his eyes.
"Did you think I would not remember that technique?" Piccolo asked before he spun around and slammed Ten down hard into the ring before he tossed him high into the air. Ten caught himself in the air and hovered high above the ring, neither caring about or noticing the cameras that flew up to follow him.
"Well," Ten muttered to himself as he caught his breath, "You definitely won't have seen this one yet." He held his hands out with his fingers splayed as a point of yellow light formed on each individual finger. Piccolo watched curiously from above and waited for Ten's move. "Dodon Danmaku!" Each finger fired burst after burst of ki down at the ring and Piccolo's eyes widened in a moment of surprise before he began to dart across the ring to avoid the attacks. He snarled as a few shots pierced his cape and crouched low before flying off in an aggressive burst of speed that sent spiderweb cracks through the ring and kicked up a mighty gust. Ten stopped firing and met Piccolo head-to-head and fist-to-fist. Piccolo struck with hate and venom to take his vengeance on one of the creatures that had been foolish enough to rise against him and had played a hand in his death. Ten fought back with every ounce of his strength and speed, boiling down all his skill and training into this moment. They flew apart and collided again and again with shockwaves visible in the air, bursting the clouds apart with a sound like cannonfire. Chi-Chi's curiosity got the better of her and she looked up to see what was going on, her mouth and eyes slowly widening as she tried to take stock of action moving too fast to see.
"Goodness," she muttered.
Tenshinhan took an opening when he ducked under Piccolo's attack and grabbed the other fighter's cape in both fists. He spun as fast as he could, round and round before letting go to send Piccolo hurtling to the ground so fast that the air sizzled around him before he smashed violently down into the ring. Ten landed in the ring across from him as Piccolo got to his feet. They both took a moment to collect themselves; Ten gasping for breath and Piccolo dizzy and disoriented. Ten took stock of the fight during his moment's respite and found about what he'd expected. While he was panting and bruised, Piccolo's breathing was even and while Ten knew his blows hand landed, the most damage seemed to have been done to Piccolo' clothes, which were dirtied and scratched.
"Come on," Piccolo taunted as he adjusted his turban, "You're not done already, are you?" Ten took a deep breath and brought his arms up as he bent into a low crouch.
"Hardly," he growled as he crossed his arms. Ten glared at Piccolo as he focused his energy. Piccolo waited and watched curiously as tendrils of energy rolled off of Tenshinhan's body. Goku watched as well, wondering what the heck Ten was doing. It kind of reminded her of the time Ten grew those arms out of his back but it was… different. More. Then, without warning, there was a Tenshinhan standing next to Tenshinhan. Then another standing next to him. And yet one more standing next to him! Four Tenshinhans, each crouched with their arms bent before they stood and uncrossed their arms in unison.
"WHAT?!" Suno, Krillin, Roshi, Bulma, and Yamcha cried out in shock.
"Neat!" Launch and Goku said with grins although for very different reasons and with very different grins. Piccolo gave a dismissive snort.
"Afterimages," he said as he walked towards the quartet. "That's all?" he drew back a fist and went to punch one of the Tens at an almost lethargic pace as if to make a point. Then, all at once, they punched him in the face and knocked Piccolo on his ass. Piccolo stared in gobsmacked disbelief as the Tenshinhans grinned and cracked their knuckles.
"You were saying?" they asked as one before swarming Piccolo to batter him with punches and kicks and stomps to try and keep him from getting to his feet. Piccolo snarled and roared as he threw his arms out to knock them away with a kiai. The four Tens flew high into the air and each took a corner of the ring to surround Piccolo. The demon chewed his lip in frustration. They were too far apart to attack all at once but as soon as he turned his attention to one, he knew that the others were all going to swarm on him.
"Really," Piccolo remarked, "Four on one is hardly fair." Each Ten responded by giving him the finger. Piccolo rolled his eyes as Launch snickered. Piccolo flew up and stretched out his arms to attack two of the Tenshinhans, his hands striking as swiftly as snakes, snapping and lashing out in the air, keeping the clones on the defensive. This still left the other two Tens unaccounted for and each flew to grab one of Piccolo's legs and yank him down to the ground. The other two grabbed Piccolo's arms before they could retract and yanked him back up to punch him in the face to send him down again.
"Go, Ten!" Launch cheered.
"You've got him!" Krillin encouraged.
"Don't let up!" Suno added. Goku only watched silently and waited. It looked like Ten had the advantage but something was definitely up. Piccolo groaned and stood slowly before cracking his neck as the four Tens surrounded him again.
"I have to say," Piccolo said, "That is quite an interesting technique. Except that I've figured out your weakness." He smirked and folded his arms confidently. "To split your body like this, you have to split your power as well. It's hard to notice the difference when you attack me at once but, the moment you split up, I notice that you're even weaker than usual." One of the Tens gave a shrug.
"Then I guess we'll just have to keep attacking you all at once," he said as they drew back their fists and Piccolo braced himself. Then the four Tens fired ki beams from their third eyes and blasted Piccolo, the fists having only been feints. The blasts caught Piccolo squarely in chest, sides, and the base of his neck. He grunted in pain and fell to a knee as the Tens walked towards him and kept pouring on their beams, bearing down on him and taking him down to both knees. Piccolo fell forward under the force of the blasts and had to throw out his hands to stop himself from falling onto his face.
'This is insane!' Piccolo thought indignantly. 'I will not be brought low by one of these rodents! I have a destiny to fulfill! A vengeance to claim!' Piccolo roared and sent the Tenshinhans flying with another kiai. He stood slowly and his eyes flashed red. Two thin beams of light pierced one of the Tenshinhans where his heart would be and he faded away like smoke, revealing that he was one of the body doubles. Piccolo launched himself to the side at one of the Tenshinhans and drove his elbow under his chin with enough force to snap his neck, that one fading away as well. Then he turned his attention on the other Tenshinhan in the ring and was on him in the blink of an eye with a hand on his throat and hoisted him off the ground. "Now," he said, "This looks familiar." Despite his predicament, Ten chuckled.
"Don't you know how to count?" Tenshinhan asked with a strained smirk. Piccolo blinked in confusion and the remark didn't register until he felt an arm from behind wrapping around his throat. He'd forgotten the other one! The Ten with the arm around his throat yanked him away from the other before rocketing into the sky and pivoting and launching Piccolo even higher into the sky by his neck. The Tenshinhan in the sky flew past Piccolo as fast as he could, bringing his hands into a triangle in front of him and straining as the Tenshinhan on the ground threw out a fist. "Chou Dodonpa!" "Shin Kikouhou!" The blasts sandwiched Piccolo in a burst of yellow light that outshone the sun itself. The Ten in the sky faded away as the light dimmed. There was no sign of Piccolo. Instead, there was just his cape, falling out of the sky faster than a cape ought to. Ten bent forward and gripped his knees with desperate breaths, his body drenched in sweat. He couldn't remember being so exhausted in his life. That was his best–
Piccolo landed in front Tenshinhan as if appearing from nowhere. Ten stared with his mouth agape as Piccolo smirked and began stalking toward him. Tenshinhan scowled as Piccolo stalked towards him and, despite every fiber of his fighter's spirit telling him not to, Ten knew that there were no other options.
"I concede," Tenshinhan declared, glaring at Piccolo, defiant even in defeat. Piccolo came to a stop inches from Tenshinhan and his body seemed to burn with frustration. That gave Ten some measure of satisfaction as he staggered back to the fighters' area.
"Tenshinhan submits!" Ken declared. "Majunior is the winner!" Piccolo ground his teeth and wanted to scream. That… that wasn't fair! He wanted his triumph! He wanted to destroy Earth's champions, one-by-one, before the entire world to cement his throne again. How could he just… give up?! How could he do that to him? It was so… so selfish!
'I suppose it doesn't matter,' Piccolo admitted to himself, 'They will all die one way or the other.' Piccolo frowned in thought as he leaped from the ring to the fighters' area, landing past Goku and her sycophants. 'However, if I hadn't dropped my cape to increase my speed, I wouldn't have been able to avoid that attack. It wouldn't have killed me, of course, but it would have hurt. Beings such as him will could be a problem when I am king again.'
Krillin caught Tenshinhan as he started to fall and sat him down down on a bench before Launch sat down beside him. He groaned and Goku already had a cup of water for him. He took it weakly and nodded appreciatively. Goku smiled and patted Ten on the shoulder.
"Just don't lose," Ten muttered before he sipped his water. Goku nodded resolutely.
"You got it."
OoOoOoO
Suno and Goku stood apart from each other on opposite sides of the ring. Despite knowing that her chances of winning were basically zero, Suno could help but feel excited as her pulse started to rise. Standing in front of a large crowd on national television and showing the whole world just what she could do was so far away from where she had started six years ago that it was like she was in a dream.
"Contestants Son Goku and Suno, are you ready? Begin!" Ken called out.
Goku and Suno charged and immediately launched into a complex series of interlocking punches and kicks. It was pretty clear to Suno that Goku had, at some point, memorized most of the finer points of her Odori style and was now using it and supplementing it with all the other styles she had learned over the years. Not like it terribly mattered to her. Something also obvious to other fighters and even Ken was that, despite the speed and precision of their blows, neither of them were really trying.
"Hey, Goku?" Suno spoke up after a few seconds.
"Yu-huh?" Goku replied, her attention clearly on Suno's words rather than the "fight".
"I was wondering what you were planning on doing after the Budoukai."
"Hmm… I dunno. I never really thought about it. Kami says I've learned all I can from him so I doubt I'll go back to the Lookout. I still need to get my Grandpa's Dragon Ball back but, after that, I dunno. Why?"
"Well, if you don't have anything better to do, I thought I'd offer to let you stay at my place."
"You mean live with you in Jingle Village?"
"No, actually. I live by myself in a small town a few hours away from East City now. After seeing so much of the world with you, I decided I wanted to live someplace a bit more central."
"Hmm… Okay! On one condition."
"Oh? What's that?" Suno could barely contain her excitement.
"I want you to go all out during this fight!"
Suno chuckled, "Okay, I think I can do that."
The fighters sprang away from each other and slid into their guard stances. They locked their gazes on each other and the air stilled as it was filled with tension. Even those watching on their televisions or listening to Ken's announcements over the radio could tell that this was an explosive situation of the highest caliber. The slightest twitch, the shallowest breath, the smallest opening would set them off. Every member of the audience waited with baited breath for the fight to start in earnest.
After an eternity, it finally happened. Suno's back foot shifted ever so slightly and she and Goku disappeared into a blur of movement. What followed was a clash at speeds even greater than the previous fight; only Tenshinhan and Piccolo could fully see what they were doing. Again, their blows clashed and flowed around each other like before but the difference was like that of night and day. Each blow was launched with enough force to at least stun, if not injure, and their focus was fully on each other and nothing else.
The situation changed when Goku blocked one of Suno's high kicks instead of dodging. She then quickly threw out a sharp jab that came just short of hitting Suno's chest but the wind was enough to launch the off balance Suno backwards. Suno was outside of the ring before she could fully react and was forced to use a full body kiai to launch herself back to the ring in order to prevent a ring out. Of course, Goku saw this coming and was preparing a pointblank kiai that would undoubtedly ring her out. With no time for subtlety, Suno pushed her ki into her legs and used a full power kiai from her feet to launch herself high into the air and flip over Goku. Goku quickly gave chase and was forced to block a twirling kick aimed at her head that left Suno parallel to the ground. Suno immediately followed up with a double kiai that not only pushed her away but also forced Goku to release the grip she had on her leg. To her astonishment, Goku managed to not only react in time but also managed to redirect Suno's kiai towards the ground with her own.
When both fighters touched down, they immediately went back at it. Suno weaved around one of Goku's jabs only to find her palm strike sailing through Goku's afterimage. Goku appeared behind and launched a roundhouse kick aimed at her floating rib only for her attack to pass through Suno's afterimage. Suno appeared off to Goku's side and was completely unsurprised when her kidney punch only broke through another afterimage. Back and forth this went, with each fighter's strikes only succeeding in dispelling yet another afterimage, until, after the fifteenth reversal, Suno turned the momentum from her left hook that phased through the afterimage into a spinning kick aimed at where she knew Goku would be appearing behind her only to be surprised when that Goku turned out to be an afterimage too.
Suno's instincts screamed at her and she dove forward into a roll just as Goku came down onto the stop she had been standing not an instant before. Suno rose to her feet and charged forward with a kiai-enhanced palm strike only to be surprised again as Goku evidently had the same idea. Their palms stopped just a fraction of an inch away from each other as the kiai negated each other and the recoil blasted their arms backward. Both of them saw this as the perfect opening and simultaneously launched another kiai-enhanced palm strike only for the result to be the same. Neither of them let up as they unleashed a barrage of kiai at each other, each strike being met head on by its twin. The air behind them was whipped up in a veritable maelstrom that tugged at their hair and tore at their clothes but it spoke highly of their skill that the wind reaching the spectators was a mere breeze.
The situation changed when Suno put a little less power into her strike and made the angle slightly off. Instead of countering Goku's strike, she decreased is force and angled it so that the kiai would shift her back just enough for her next move. The instant the blow came and she was pushed back, she launched a kiai from the back of her legs to sweep them out from under her and launched another from her shoulders to put herself into a baseball slide between Goku's legs. As she passed, she hooked her arms around Goku's ankles and used another kiai to give herself the speed needed to pull Goku's feet out from under her. As Goku fell, Suno used another series of kiai to bring herself to a stop and launch herself into the air and back down towards Goku. Goku caught herself with her hands before her face hit the ground and immediately rolled out of the way as Suno's kiai-enhanced palm strike slammed into the ground where her back had been, the force of the blow creating a sizable crater in the ring. Goku rose up with a spinning kick that forced Suno to drop to the ground then roll out of the way of the follow up stomp. Both fighters jumped backwards and once again found themselves facing each other down at the edge of the area.
"Wow, Suno! You're amazing! You've gotten a lot stronger since the last time we met!"
Suno chuckled, a light blush dusting her cheeks, "Thank you. I'd say the same but, given who you were training with, I think it'd have been even more amazing if you didn't get a lot stronger."
"Hey, do you mind if we take a break for a minute? I wanna go all out against you and I need a bit to get ready."
"So you've been holding back? I guess that's only fair. I haven't been going all out, either. I spent most of the last three years learning the secret technique of the Odori style and I've yet to use it."
Goku got all starry-eyed at this, "Oh, really? Is it a new attack?"
Suno smirked, "Maybe. Only one way to find out."
Goku laughed, "Okay! Just one sec." Just like that, Goku pulled down the top of her gi and started to take off her blue undershirt with much effort. "Aw jeez. I hate taking this thing off."
The entire audience was shocked silent with Suno even dropping her guard as they stared at Goku with bewilderment.
"C-Contestant Son Goku appears to be remover her shirt!" Ken announced. "While she's- it's certainly hot enough, I can't help but wonder if Goku is using the tactics of Ranfan who she fought back at the 21st Budoukai!"
"Uh… G-Goku, uh…" Suno chuckled nervously, "Wha-what are you doing?" Goku grunted as she finally got the undershirt over her head and it crashed to the ground with a rather resounding "thud." Suno- along with quite a few others- were grateful that she was wearing a cloth wrapping that completely covered her breasts.
"I'm taking off my weighted clothing. I can't go all out if I'm still wearing it. You trained pretty hard to master that technique, right?" Goku put her shirt back on and removed her wristbands which also crash to the ground before sitting down to remover her boots.
"Yeah," Suno said muttered, "I trained pretty girl. Hard! Hard. I trained… pretty hard."
"Here, let me get these out of the way for you," Launch said as she walked into the ring. She went to pick up Goku's undershirt only to find herself struggling to do so. "Good lord, Goku! How much does this thing weigh?!"
"Um… The boots are forty pounds each, the wristbands are twenty each, and the shirt is one hundred pounds."
"Two hundred twenty pounds?! Are you crazy, Goku?!" Launch shouted. "Hey, Yamcha! Come give me a hand with this!"
After Launch and Yamcha managed to get Goku's weighted clothing out of the ring, Goku turned her attention back to Suno while stretching, "So, are you going to show me this secret technique?"
Suno nodded as she calmed her breathing and began focusing her ki. An aura of pale translucence surrounded her, creating a weak updraft that moved her hair. This technique required very precise ki manipulation and it took her the better part of two years before she mastered it. Now it was time to see if the effort had been worth it.
"Fubuki Odori!" There was a small pulse of energy as the updraft stopped and the aura vanished. Suno's appearance was completely unchanged and this seemingly complete lack of change caused Goku to cock her head in confusion.
"You don't look any different but your ki certainly feels different. What did you do?"
Suno slid into her guard stance, "Only one way to find out."
Goku nodded and did the same, "Right!"
Goku and Suno's forms blurred and wavered with motion before coming to a stop. The only way everyone other than Piccolo knew that they even fought was the slight change in their positions.
"Did- Did you guys see that?" Krillin asked weakly.
"Nope. How about you, Ten?" Yamcha asked.
At that moment, Tenshinhan's skin color could have given Chaozu's a run for his money.
"Oh, wow!" Goku was all starry eyed yet again. "So that's your secret technique? You actually managed to keep up with me and I wasn't holding anything back!" Suno smiled. This was actually going far better than expected. "It's got a major flaw though. You have all that speed but you've sacrificed most of your power to get it."
Suno grimaced but wasn't really surprised. Indeed, the Fubuki Odori granted her immense speed but, in order to get it, she had to channel the ki that normally bolstered her strength into her speed. As a result, the speed gain was directly proportional to her strength loss. Regardless, she had to remain confident. "So you figured it out. Do you think knowing the technique's weakness will be enough to let you defeat it?"
"Maybe. Only one way to find out."
Suno chuckled to herself, "Right!"
The clashed in a blur of motion once more. With her weakness revealed, Suno was forced to dodge all of Goku's attacks rather than trying to block them. She was positive that Goku had the strength to blow through her guard and even a single hit would spell the end of this fight. The two found themselves constantly switching between giving and taking ground; the line between being on the offensive and defensive so blurred that they may as well have been one in the same. Their attacks flowed and linked together like never before and the result was that it looked more like they were literally dancing around the arena rather than fighting. As it was, their speed was so great that it appeared as if eight Sunos and Gokus were fighting each other and only Piccolo could tell where the real ones were.
An opening was made when Suno changed the paradigm. Instead of dodging Goku's crane strike, she took a page from Krillin's book and redirected it. Goku's surprise only lasted for an instant but that was all Suno needed. She lashed out with a backhand that caught Goku right in the solar plexus. Goku's guard broke further and Suno launched an all out offensive. She poured on the attacks, striking Goku from every conceivable angle, and pushed her speed to her utmost limits. With each strike, Goku was getting pushed towards the edge little by little. It was taking everything out of her but, if she could keep up her barrage, victory was within her reach.
At last, the time was right and Suno put everything in one last strike. With a mighty yell, she slammed her palm into Goku's chest and sent her flying with a kiai. She went sailing over the edge and Suno and the others watched seemingly in slow motion as Goku fell towards the ground outside the ring. Closer and closer she got, just one more instant and it'd be over.
Then Goku stopped. She floated in mid air a mere few inches above the ground- Ken actually having to get on the ground to make sure that she, indeed, wasn't touching it- before floating upwards and landing back inside the ring. Suno quickly retreated to the other side of the ring as she tried to not let her disappointment show.
"Man, that was a close one! You almost had me there!" Suno didn't say anything in response. It wasn't that she didn't want to say anything but more like she couldn't say anything. She had put everything into that last push and, as a result, her breath was labored and sweat was pouring down her body. Goku, on the other hand, was still breathing normally and hadn't even broken a sweat. "Oh, one more thing. You said you wanted me to live with you, right? Does that mean you want me to marry you?"
Suno's arms fell to her side as her face turned blood red, "M-m-married?" Before she could so much as begin to get her mind back in order; there was a rush of movement, a sharp pain in her chest, and she found herself laying on her back outside the ring.
"Ring out! Son Goku is the winner!" Ken announced as the audience cheered. Suno barely even registered the fact that she had lost. Instead, she was too consumed by what just happened. 'Did Goku just- No, she isn't capable of that. ...Is she?' Just then, the object of her concern appeared upside down in her face.
"Hey, you okay?" Goku asked. "Sorry about that. You dropped your guard and I just took the chance without really thinking." Suno smiled and shook her head as she got up. No. No she wasn't.
"I'm fine. It's okay."
"Good! So, are you going to answer me?"
"Huh?" Suno turned beet red again. "Y-you mean about us getting m-married?"
"Yu-huh."
Suno chewed on her lip. On one hand, she really did want to marry Goku but, on the other hand, Goku clearly didn't fully understand what marriage was and Krillin's explanation was rather lacking. Given Goku's personality, it was clear that she'd say "Yes" if she asked but she's probably also agree if Krillin, Yamcha, or even Bulma asked. Would it be right for her to take advantage of her like that? No. No it wouldn't.
"M-maybe later. It takes a while to get married and you'd be too busy getting settled in. We'll talk about it after that, okay?"
"Hmm. Okay!" Goku grinned and watched Suno head back to the fighters' area. She noticed, though, that Krillin looked… really sad. Before she could go over and ask him, Piccolo walked brusquely past them and clapped slowly as he came closer to the ring.
"What a nice moment," Piccolo told her with a voice positively drenched in sarcasm, "But I'm afraid there won't be a later." He stepped into the ring and walked to the side opposite from Goku and got into his guard. "Prepare for a pain worse than hell itself, Son Goku. I am going to give you a lesson in humility. A painful, fatal lesson." Goku smirked and cracked her neck before she got into her guard.
"We'll see," Goku shot back, "But I'll warn you, I can be a pretty slow learner!" Piccolo tossed off his turban and they charged.
A/N: Time to let you guys in on a little behind-the-scenes stuff. Like we said last time, we're going to be talking a bit about Chi-Chi and what led to our decision as to who Goku would end up with. We aren't trying to justify our decision- if you hate it and want to stop reading then that's cool- we're just explaining our thought process to you. For starters, some of you are probably wondering why our Chi-Chi seems to be really different from canon Chi-Chi. Well, appearance aside, we'll be explaining that in the story in a few chapters so you'l have to wait on that one. The only thing we'll say is that our Chi-Chi may not be as different as you think. Now for the big question: Why Suno? Well, that actually wasn't the plan from the start. The original plan was that Goku would still end up with Chi-Chi and that we'd have Chi-Chi decide to tag along with Goku to make their relationship better but that really didn't work out. For starters, there's absolutely nothing Chi-Chi could do during the Pilaf Saga even if we had her join at the earliest possible moment (after meeting Roshi) and she would have no reason to join Goku in training with Roshi (besides, that'd take away from developing Krillin). We also couldn't find a good moment to reintroduce her during the RRA Saga where she'd still be rather useless (perhaps even more so than Suno). Likewise, there was even less of a place to reintroduce her during the Piccolo Daimaou Saga. Then we had other issues with even getting her to the Budoukai but those are irrelevant. In the end, we decided we just couldn't really make it work. Goku didn't agree to marry Chi-Chi because she never promised to do so.