Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ A Light in the Darkness ❯ The Trials ( Chapter 80 )

A Light in the Darkness - Part 80: The Trials
by Mia Skywalker & Wataruo

 

PAIRING: None
RATING: PG-13
WARNINGS: none
C&C: Please! ^_^
DISCLAIMER: Neither of us owns any of the DBZ characters or anything about DBZ, but we both wish we owned the Saiyans. All of them. At least all of the ones with hair. And yes, we're including Yamcha and Ryouga in that, now you know. Dragonball Z and the associated characters are owned by Toei, Viz, Akira Toriyama, and FUNimation. Ranma 1/2 and the character of Ryouga Hibiki are owned by Viz, Rumiko Takahashi, and some Japanese studio I don't know the name of. We do own what we've written here, and our specific storyline, just not Dragonball or Ranma 1/2 themselves. We make no money off of any of these guys, nor off this fic. We just have fun writing it. Oh, I guess we do own Hakusai and Serori. But I doubt anyone cares. ^_~
SUMMARY: A small reunion between old friends
NOTES: The rest of this story is completely unbeta'd, as I can't seem to find a beta who will be as brutal or thorough as I like, and will get me chapters back in what I feel is a timely manner. I have, however, had training as an editor, and I've edited the remainder of this pretty thoroughly. I would simply like people to be aware that no one else has gone through it to catch any errors or inconsistencies, so it may be more flawed than I realize.

 

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Hakusai and Bulma continued to wander off, heading towards the stands. They sauntered along the line of fighters waiting to sign up, giggling whenever one of the bolder men gave them an interested look. Hakusai was surprised at how brazenly flirtatious Bulma got on occasion. It was obvious that she enjoyed men admiring her, even though she didn't speak to any of them, and didn't bring any of it on directly.

 

When they had gotten almost towards the beginning of the line, Bulma's face lit up. “Krillin!” she exclaimed in delight. “You must have gotten here really early!”

 

“Ohayo, Bulma-san,” the little monk greeted. “I've been in line for hours. These things sure have gotten popular over the last dozen years or so,” he commented as he looked around at the milling crowd. “But Marron wanted to get here early for good seats.” He smiled at the two women sheepishly.

 

“That was smart of her!” Bulma blinked at that statement. She didn't really think Marron was terribly bright, but maybe she was more astute than she had thought.

 

Bulma wasn't particularly concerned about seats. They had gotten there early enough that she knew she could pay and still get into the VIP box if she wanted. Besides, it wasn't to their benefit to actually have `seats'. They wanted to volunteer to help take care of the wounded, and that meant they would be amongst the fighters. That was the only way they were going to get the blood samples they would need in order to find Yamcha's brother. Bulma could only hope he would actually get hurt. If he didn't, then getting a blood sample would be very difficult.

 

“Well, I hope you do well, Krillin! Maybe we'll see Marron up in the seats!” Bulma waved at him, and started to head off again. She really hoped she wouldn't see the empty-headed girl, despite her words. She hadn't particularly enjoyed their encounter the previous day.

 

“So what exactly are we looking for?” Hakusai asked, watching the crowd and winking at a young man who waved at her. “Should we look for someone who looks like Yamcha? Or favors Ryouga? They may not be identical twins.”

 

Bulma shrugged. “That's hard to say. I'm not really figuring we'll get lucky enough to see him in line, although you never know. If we see someone who looks exactly like Yamcha or Ryouga, I'll just have to flirt with him while you take a blood sample.... Or you could overpower him, and I could take the blood sample....”

 

Her eyes twinkled mischievously as she looked at the other woman and giggled. “I'm sorry. Actually, I think we'll have to count on when they're fighting. You and I are going to volunteer to take care of the wounded. That way we'll have an excuse to take blood samples of anyone that we're helping. Yamcha, Ryouga, Serori, and Gohan each have an analyzer, but I'm not sure how they're going to be able to get away with getting blood samples. I think if they try, they might get in trouble. So it may be up to us. Hopefully he'll get hurt so we'll be able to do it....”

 

Hakusai arched a brow. “Great. If he fights anything like Yamcha or Ryouga I have doubts about him getting hurt.”

 

Bulma sighed. “I was thinking the same thing. Well, at the very least, we know that Goku and Vegeta won't go easy on him, if he's in the adult section, and Gohan won't go easy on him if he faces him in the children's. He'll get hurt by someone, even if it's one of our friends. Hopefully they won't hurt him too badly, though.”

 

“Goku wouldn't deliberately hurt anyone. Vegeta on the other hand....” Hakusai grinned. “He may be tempted to beat someone up for the sake of beating him up.”

 

Bulma arched an eyebrow at Hakusai. Her friend hadn't known Goku as long as she had. While Goku would never hurt someone if there was an alternative, at the same time, sometimes it didn't occur to him that he was hurting someone. And he would hurt someone if it was absolutely necessary. She had seen him do it before, back when he was very young. She suspected that not all that much had changed. He had been willing to do more than hurt Radditz, after all. And he had deliberately broken Nappa's back.

 

“I don't think Goku is as innocent as you think he is,” she said simply. “Come on, here's the information booth. We're going to volunteer here.”

 

“Great,” Hakusai muttered as she followed Bulma along. “Just what I always wanted to do, play nursemaid for sweaty guys.” She grinned suddenly. “Actually, that might not be a bad way to ogle some muscles. “

 

Bulma giggled as they approached the booth. The attendant got their information, and was very surprised when he saw her name. He was dying of curiosity to ask why the richest woman in the world was here at the Budokai and wanting to play doctor, but he managed to rein it in. After the two were approved, they were led to a back room, and shown how to use the instruments and the basics of first aid, as well as watch a short video that instructed them on injuries and bandages. Both women already knew how to apply field dressings, but had to watch it anyway, so that the officials knew that they knew what they were doing.

 

After the short, forty five minute class, the two were allowed to leave for several hours while sign-ups were still taking place. “Well,” Bulma sighed as they headed out into the bright morning sunlight again. “Let's get something to drink.”

 

“Good idea.” Hakusai walked out behind Bulma and sighed. “That guy must've thought we were morons.” She rolled her eyes.

 

Bulma shrugged. “No, he just had to be sure we knew what we were doing. Most of the volunteers here don't have any idea how to apply a bandage. Would you want someone working on you who didn't even know when to apply iodine or disinfectant? He would probably put cold packs on your scrapes, and iodine on your bruises!” She laughed at the thought.

 

Hakusai grinned. “That is true.” She watched the line of fighters thin out. “I'd rather be in there competing than playing nursemaid.”

 

Bulma watched the fighters - mostly men, but with some women - fill out applications and go inside for the try-outs - and shrugged. “I've never understood that,” she admitted. “Most of them are very handsome, but if anything happened to my face....” She touched the soft skin on her cheek. “Yamcha got his scars in a fight. What if something like that happened to me?”

 

Hakusai chuckled. “I don't think Vegeta would care if you weighed 500 pounds.” She folded her arms over her chest to watch the fighters. “But I wasn't always a fighter, either. For a long time I was a freighter pilot. It was only recently that I became a mercenary.”

 

Bulma looked carefully at the Saiyan woman. Hakusai was pretty - no, that wasn't the right word. She was attractive in a healthy sort of way. She was strong, capable, and had an open and honest face, beautiful in a wholesome and natural manner. She was also able to fight and stand up for herself with her strength and her skills as a fighter. People weren't going to push her around, not if they expected to stay alive.

 

Unlike Hakusai, Bulma couldn't fight physically. She had to use her brains - and yes, her looks - to get what she wanted. That was one reason she was afraid that she was losing them, because then she would have more difficulty achieving her goals and fighting for what she wanted. She suspected, though, that Hakusai would never be able to understand this. Bulma had the feeling that even if Hakusai got a few scars, they wouldn't detract from her looks at all. Bulma's looks, on the other hand, were more delicate. A scar would mar them and she knew it.

 

Bulma simply shook her head. “I wouldn't fight. Come on, the refreshment stand is over there,” she said, as she made her way towards another of the numerous temporary refreshment stands that had popped up all over the place for the duration of the Budokai.

 

Hakusai smiled at Bulma as they made there way to the refreshment stand. “Oh, I don't know, Bulma,” she remarked as they sipped their cold drinks. “With the right motivation, I bet you could learn how to fight. At least the basics. With your intelligence, you'd make a hell of a strategist. I'll teach you, if you like.”

 

Bulma shook her head. “I didn't say couldn't learn to fight, I said I wouldn't. You won't catch me jumping in and acting like that!” She shuddered involuntarily. Bulma had always disliked pain, and fighting meant you would have to experience it. Not something she would go and deliberately seek out. She shrugged. “I can defend myself if I need to, but I wouldn't do it voluntarily.”

 

She was looking into the stands as though looking for someone, although Hakusai had no idea whom. It was as they were walking past some of the crowds that they heard Bulma's name being called out. “Bulma!”

 

The blue-haired woman swiftly turned towards the source of the shout, and smiled when she saw a very pretty dark-haired girl waving at her. “Lunch!” she called back, and wove her way through the crowd, until they got to the other woman. She gave her a brief hug, and smiled. “How is everything, Lunch? I saw Tenshinhan and Chaotzu in line earlier. Are you with them?”

 

Lunch blushed faintly and nodded. “Uh huh.” She smiled, thinking of Tenshinhan. “He's going to win, I know it!”

 

Bulma smiled gently. She knew Tenshinhan didn't stand a chance, not with Goku and Vegeta in the tournament, but she wasn't going to disillusion the other woman. “Lunch, this is Hakusai. She's Yamcha's wife. We're going to go down and help out with the injured during the Budokai.”

 

“Oh!” The dark-haired woman looked at them curiously, but didn't ask them anything more.

 

“Recently married,” Hakusai said winking at the woman. “Bulma is my sister-in-law, so technically my husband is her brother-in-law. Pretty confusing, isn't it?”

 

“Oh!” Lunch looked at both of them in confusion. She had no idea how that would make them sisters-in-law, but then, she never understood much about that sort of thing. The three women chatted for a while as the number of contestants in line slowly decreased. Several times Hakusai got up to get something to eat, while Lunch and Bulma spoke about old times and common acquaintances. Hakusai got to learn a little about their pasts and their pasts with the various men, and then they all saw Yamcha, Vegeta, Tenshinhan, and the others exiting from the trials.

 

~~~*~~~

 

As he waited in the exhibit hall to demonstrate his skills, in order to be accepted into the tournament, Tenshinhan studied the entry to the room tensely. Tenshinhan watched balefully as the Saiyan no Ouji first came into view. That murdering bastard! His third eye seemed to waver slightly at the thought of the arrogant Prince. To his pleasant surprise, next came the welcome visage of Goku. He frowned slightly as Yamcha came into view. Yamcha seemed different to him, but he couldn't pinpoint how exactly.

 

Goku followed Vegeta and Yamcha as he listened to Gohan and Serori chattering away about who would win, or whose techniques were more impressive. Then he caught sight of a man he had not seen in a while. The big man beamed and approached Tenshinhan.

 

“Tenshinhan, how are you? I haven't seen you in a while! Is Chaotzu with you?”

 

Tenshinhan grinned. “Hello, Goku! Yes, Chaotzu is here as well. Kami! It's so good to see you!” He reached and grabbed the Goku's upper arm in a clasp, which Goku returned in a gesture of friendship. “I'm glad you could make it! It's like old times, ne?”

 

Goku nodded his agreement. “Except I don't remember the crowd being this big. A lot more people enter this now, don't they?” Goku looked around, studying the fighters to see if their ki was at all similar to Yamcha's or Ryouga's. “There are a lot of fighters here. We'll have a lot more competition.”

 

Tenshinhan nodded. “Yes, Goku, but that has never been a problem for you.”

 

It was then that Tenshinhan spotted little Gohan and Serori in conversation. Both young people seemed very animated in their conversation, the young girl's red curls of hair flashing as she moved. ::We have missed a great deal, Chaotzu, you and I being a bit remote from others,:: he thought at his friend as he continued to study them.

 

Goku followed his gaze. “That's Serori, Hakusai's and Vegeta's half-sister,” Goku explained. “She moved here with Hakusai a few days ago.”

 

Tenshinhan glared a bit at the girl with the mention of `Vegeta' and `half-sister'. “They are... are... Saiyan, Goku?” Tenshinhan felt unnerved. A whole host of Saiyans seemed to be descending upon them.

 

“Yes.” Goku shrugged, and Serori looked over when her name was mentioned. “Goku-san?” she asked leaving Gohan for a moment and looking up at Tenshinhan. “Who's your friend?”

 

“This is Tenshinhan. He beat me once,” Goku said.

 

Serori's eyes widened. “Wow, you must be really strong. My sister says that Goku is the strongest fighter in the universe.”

 

Tenshinhan frowned. “Hmpf. I train hard. Goku is also a phenomenal fighter. I just happened to luck out that day.”

 

Gohan had followed Serori. “Tenshinhan!” he shouted happily. “Did you meet my new friend Serori?”

 

Tenshinhan nodded solemnly. “Yes, just now, Gohan. You must have been training. You look a bit stronger!” He quickly tried to divert the subject. He wasn't sure of his feelings for this half-Saiyan child. If Gohan and Goku trusted her she could not be all that bad, but still... it left him with a slightly uneasy feeling.

 

Gohan beamed at him, then promptly dragged Serori off. They grabbed Ryouga and headed into another room. The trials for those that were underage were in a different room from the adults, and he wanted to get a good position in the trials.

 

Yamcha scratched his head, watching them run off, then shrugged and walked over to Tenshinhan and Goku. He noticed Vegeta standing somewhat off by himself, scowling indiscriminately at everyone. He wanted to talk to his old friend for a minute, but for some strange reason it felt... odd, leaving Vegeta by himself that way. He didn't understand why he felt that way. It didn't make any sense.

 

“Hi, Tenshinhan!” He smiled openly at the three-eyed man. He blinked when he realized he was now towering over him. “How've you and Chaotzu been doing?”

 

Tenshinhan looked to his old friend and blinked rather quickly. “Yamcha? Chaotzu and I are fine, and from the looks of it you seem to be more than fine! What happened, Yamcha?”

 

Yamcha blushed, and placed one hand behind his head in embarrassment. “Well... I was fighting with Vegeta over Bulma, and he hurt me really badly so I had to be put into Bulma's regeneration tank, although the first time we fought, I hurt him and he had to be put into the tank, and then when I got out, I had a tail so we thought that Bulma had accidentally put in some of Vegeta's DNA, but it turned out she hadn't and....” He stopped, blinking, when he realized that Tenshinhan looked completely confused. “Ah... I think we should start from the beginning.”

 

Tenshinhan could only stare at this quick speech of Yamcha's. DNA? Tail? “Yamcha, what is going on?”

 

“Ah... well... you see.... It turns out that I'm a Saiyan.” Yamcha looked down at the ground, his blush deepening. He had the feeling he was going to get hell from Tenshinhan over this, and he just hoped his friend wouldn't hate him.

 

Tenshinhan blinked once. Then he blinked again. “YOU ARE WHAT?”

 

“A Saiyan.” Yamcha looked around nervously, as people started staring at them. “Hold it down, Tenshinhan,” he said softly. “It's not like I knew or anything. My mother suppressed that part of my DNA when I was a baby. If I hadn't been put into Bulma's tank, I never would have known.” He sighed. “I'm sorry, Tenshinhan,” he said despondently.

 

Tenshinhan only frowned. “No, Yamcha. Don't be sorry. You know what Vegeta has done in the past. I trust Goku and Gohan, though. Have you found out anything else? Who are your parents?”

 

Yamcha looked into his face earnestly. It still struck him as odd that he towered over both Tenshinhan and Goku. He wasn't used to this at all. “I know what Vegeta has done. But he's not really all that bad anymore. I mean, he and I fought, but it was a misunderstanding.” His face clouded in confusion. “I mean... I don't mean it was just that. I mean, he tried to kill us and everything - he did kill us - but there were reasons for what he did. He's not all that bad, really....” He trailed off, when he realized he was defending Vegeta. Vegeta? Defending him? Didn't he hate the smaller Saiyan?

 

He glanced over at the Saiyan Prince, still standing by himself, scowling at everyone and everything around him. Suddenly it struck him that he understood what had attracted Bulma to Vegeta. She had told him that she had noticed Vegeta was lonely, and suddenly Yamcha could see what she meant. Although Vegeta was surrounded by hundreds of other people, somehow he seemed... alone. He shook his head again, his eyes not leaving Vegeta.

 

“He's really not all that bad,” he repeated to Tenshinhan. “I mean, otherwise why would Bulma like him?”

 

Goku nodded, looking over at the scowling Saiyan prince. “Yeah. He just needs time to change. You and Yamcha changed after I met you. I think all he really needs is a chance. “

 

“And a facelift,” a small voice spoke up. They looked down to see that Serori had linked her hand into Yamcha's. “If he keeps scowling like that, my brother's face will stay that way.”

 

Tenshinhan could only look in disbelief at what was said. He was not an unreasonable person but this was going to take time to digest. “Look, I understand that people change, Goku. I trust you and Yamcha, it's just this is going to take me a bit to get used to. I don't like Vegeta, but I'm not above giving someone a chance. I do this for you, Goku, because you did that for me.”

 

Yamcha scratched the back of his head in thought. “I guess we can't expect anything else. I know what Vegeta's done to all of us.” His gaze hadn't really wavered from the small Saiyan Prince. “But I think I'd better go over there. I'll catch you guys later!” He headed over towards Vegeta, waving at them as he trotted away.

 

Goku shook his head. “Vegeta isn't the only one who has changed.” He watched as Yamcha greeted Vegeta. “Yamcha has... matured.”

 

Tenshinhan could only look at them with a bit of disbelief at the whole fantastic tale. “I hope you're right about this one, Goku. I really do.”

 

~~~*~~~

 

Vegeta, though he was pretending not to be interested in the other conversation, heard everything that was being said. Damn, had he become that transparent? He was surprised and a little uncomfortable at Yamcha's abrupt approach.

 

“Did you want something?” he growled.

 

Yamcha smiled a little in embarrassment. “Well... I just thought maybe you'd need some company. I don't know, I just thought... I just thought I should be here.”

 

“Do I look like I want company?” he asked, arching a brow at him. What was with these people? First Yamcha wants him dead, now he wants... Vegeta frowned. What did he want? He was never going to understand these people. He snorted then glanced over at the crowd. “I have not sensed anyone like you or your half brother.” Vegeta continued his survey of the crowd. “I doubt if my sister or Bulma have had any luck either.”

 

“Oh.” That hadn't really been why Yamcha had gone over there, and he shrugged. “Well, Bulma will manage to find him. She can do anything.” He studied the crowd as well, wondering which one might be his brother. Then he realized that his brother would be with Ryouga and the other younger contestants, and they probably wouldn't see them in here. “We'll just have to wait.”

 

He sighed, and didn't move from Vegeta's side. Somehow it felt... right, being here. He didn't really understand why, and he wasn't up to questioning it at the moment. Maybe one time he had hated Vegeta, but he didn't feel that way anymore, and he wasn't going to worry about it.

 

For a time, the two Saiyans stood in silence, watching the crowds and the preliminary rounds. Every now and then, Vegeta would snort at a winner's ability and wonder aloud why such pathetic fighters would want to embarrass themselves in that manner.

 

“This is giving me a headache,” he complained.

 

Yamcha looked curiously down at Vegeta. He didn't think the Saiyan wanted to take an aspirin or anything. He said nothing until they finally heard Goku's name called, and both of them sighed in relief; Vegeta silently and Yamcha audibly. They knew that if Goku was up, they were close behind. They were right; Goku made the cut easily and Vegeta was next. Yamcha smiled as the Saiyan made mincemeat of his trial opponent and was passed without question. Then it was his turn, and he passed more easily than he had expected.

 

The four men glanced at each other in relief, and it was Yamcha that spoke first. “Maybe we should go and see Bulma and Hakusai now?”

 

Goku smiled. “And maybe we should grab something to eat while we are at it?”

 

“Not a bad idea,” Vegeta said, secretly glad that Yamcha had mentioned it. He knew that Yamcha was probably feeling a little lost without his mate. Vegeta himself was beginning to want to hear as well as see Bulma. “Let's get going before they get into trouble.”

 

 

To be continued.....

 

~~~~~*~~~~~

 

And in the next exciting episode of DragonBall Z: A Light in the Darkness... Ryouga encounters an old enemy.