Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Dragonball V: A World Both Familiar and Foreign ❯ Battle of the Munchkins ( Chapter 16 )

DragonBall V: A World Both Familiar and Foreign

Author's Note: Hmm I hadn't considered that with the ring destroyed that the tournament might be postponed a few times. But, I think three years is plenty of time to rebuild an arena. So, no canceled tournaments. Teehee. Ok, to give some history… we all know that it was Goku versus Demon Lord Piccolo in the 23rd Budoukai. In this AU since the tournaments continued, the 24th was Goku versus Krillin (Piccolo didn't compete that time) with Goku winning. The 25th took place during the time that Goku, Vegeta, and Krillin were on Namek or at least on their way there so no Goku that time and of course Yamcha, Tien, and Chaotzu were dead at this point. The final match was Shien (who apparently beat Yamcha but lost to Piccolo during the 23rd and that's all I know about him since I haven' seen those Dragonball episodes yet… sniff… sob) versus newcomer Shao Lee with Shao Lee as the winner. Mr. Satan tried to compete in this tournament but was eliminated in the qualifying rounds. This was right before his wife was killed by Kui, so that was one of the last things she saw was her husband failing in the tournament, hence his desire to do win the tournament in her memory. By the way, this is a long chapter, just to give you a warning. Well, longer than my other chapters anyway.

Required Disclaimer: I don't own the DB franchise, I've never worked for them, I'm not making any money off this, and I'm dead sexxy baby! Read and enjoy.

Chapter 16: Battle of the Munchkins

Gohan watched as Kerin and Tai took their places in the ring and faced each other. He felt a poke in his ribs and turned to look at Videl. "I don't know anything about Tai, but Kerin has never lost a single match. I've heard he's incredibly fast." Videl stated.

"Really? This should be interesting." Gohan said, his eyes widening in interest as the match started. Tai approached slowly with a low stance and suddenly moved forward with a palm strike at Kerin, but he sidestepped the attack and landed a punch into Mao Tai's ribs. Tai tried to counter with an elbow but the pain in his ribs made him have a spasm and he dropped to his knees before the blow connected. "Not bad." Gohan observed.

"I barely even saw that strike. I have to face him next if I win my match." Videl added with a frown.

Gohan smiled at her. "You'll do fine. Just don't leave yourself open like he did, and if you do expect to be hit and use it against him."

Videl smirked. "You must think you'll have a better chance if you face me rather than him."

Gohan chuckled. "No, you're a lot stronger than him."

Videl gave him a strange look since he hadn't seen her fight yet, but shrugged it off. Tai had recovered from the rib punch and landed a spinning kick into Kerin's stomach. They were both pretty winded by now, but the fight wasn't over. Kerin took the offensive and came at Tai with a series of punches and finished off with a kick, forcing Tai backwards until he lost his balance and fell out of the ring. "Tai let Kerin intimidate him. Ah well, I guess you'll know who you'll be facing next." Gohan stated.

Videl chuckled. "I have to win my match first, silly. But, I'm confident I'll win."

Gohan grinned. "Me too. Good luck anyway, though."

Videl smiled at Gohan as she walked out to her match and also nodded at Kerin as she passed him. She didn't notice the scowl he gave her, but Gohan did. 'I wonder what his problem is?' The young Saiyan thought. Videl faced her opponent, Phillips Gene, and bowed slightly before she assumed her fighting posture. 'Her form is flawless. She's perfectly balanced. Very nice, I wonder who her sensei is?'

The announcer called for the match to start and it did with an explosion of offense from Gene. Videl dodged and blocked most of the blows but took a left to the cheek and a knee in her side before she got pissed off. Gene rushed at her with what he hoped was a finishing punch but Videl sidestepped just in time and followed through with the motion to kick the boy in the back which just added to his own momentum. He barely stopped himself before he landed out of the ring, but as he turned to scowl at his opponent, she had already jumped up and kicked him and sent him crashing into the arena's wall. She landed gracefully and walked out of the ring without a backward glance. She sat back down next to Gohan and smiled as he congratulated her. "He underestimated me. He thought that offense would overwhelm me. But I'm no pushover." Videl said with an evil gleam in her eye.

Gohan laughed nervously and agreed, before looking up at the next match. It was Stoner Eric versus Lucy Rivers this time. As their match started, Videl noticed Kerin giving her a dirty look. "Something I can help you with?" Videl asked politely.

Kerin sniffed and gave her a haughty glare. "I won't lose to an amateur like you. You might as well give up, because I'll crush you into the ground if you face me."

Videl scowled and waved her hand dismissively, turning her gaze back to the match. "Save it for the ring, tough guy. I'll let my actions speak for me." Kerin gave her a disgusted look and sat down on the opposite wall, not even watching the match going on.

Eric and Lucy were trading some fast and furious blows, with Lucy using flashier techniques that were throwing Eric off. As he came at her with a punch she suddenly flipped backwards and caught him in the chin with a kick, making the boy dizzy. She moved forward and hit Eric with a number of cobra strikes against his ribs, but was too close as his arm shot out and caught her in the temple. She stumbled back and lost her balance, landing hard on her backside. Eric jumped forward and did a spinning heel kick into the side of her head, knocking her out. Even though she was out he jumped up and landed on her sternum with his knee, chuckling when blood dripped out of the side of her mouth. He walked out as medics rushed out to carry her away and he was announced the winner. He ignored the boos and sat back down to await his next match.

"What the hell is your problem?" Gohan asked, scowling at the boy.

"Just winning my match." Eric replied with a bored yawn.

"That was excessive force and you know it!" Videl spat out, disgusted.

She was ignored so she huffed in exasperation and turned to watch the next match which was Gerrick Julien versus Emerson Waldo. As the match started, Waldo threw a punch that Julien caught and took him down onto the ground and pressed his knee into the other boy's elbow, earning a quick submission. Julien helped him up and asked him if he was all right and they left the ring together without any hard feelings between them. "Damn, that was fast. I'll have to watch out for that if I face him." Videl observed.

Eric scoffed. "I'll crush him just like I did that little bitch."

Julien shot the other boy a dirty look but remained silent as the next match started, this one between Matthews Robert and Lee Chow. Robert attacked as soon as the announcer yelled for the fight to start but his wild swing met air as Chow ducked and swept him. He rolled over and chopped Robert just under the neck to knock the breath out of him then stood up and backed away a bit, hopping from one foot to the other waiting for the other boy to stand back up. Robert slowly got to his feet and shook his head to clear it and came at Chow a little more carefully this time, throwing short punches and knees. Chow hopped out of the way and dodged all the attacks then suddenly kicked Robert several times in a row in the chest then spun in the air to deliver a reverse spin kick into the other boy's upper chest, knocking him out of the ring and out of consciousness. Chow strolled back into the waiting area after showing off a few moves and sat down. "Pretty impressive." Videl observed, earning a nod and a smile from the boy.

Gohan grinned and stood up. "Looks like I'm next. See ya in a minute or two."

"Good luck, Gohan!" Videl called, earning a wave from the Saiyan.

Gohan entered the ring and heard the announcer. "This match is between newcomer Son Gohan, the son of Tenkaichi Budoukai great Son Goku, and Moore Michael, son of sensei Moore Adam! Begin!"

Gohan put his hand out like he had the last time, but instead of shaking it Michael used the opportunity to kick Gohan in the face, knocking the Saiyan back a meter. Gohan scowled. "So that's how you want to me, huh? Ok, let's get this started." Gohan threw a punch that Michael caught in both hands, but when he tried to twist and take Gohan down for a submission move, Gohan held firm then suddenly lifted up and slammed Michael into the arena floor. Gohan backed up, checking to make sure he wasn't bleeding anywhere as the announcer counted the boy out. He got up at the nine count, still looking dazed. 'He's lucky I'm not using my full strength… punk.'

Gohan paused as he heard Piccolo's voice in his head. 'Calm down, kiddo. He taught you a lesson. It's ok to be courteous but don't let your guard down.'

Gohan glanced at Piccolo and nodded at him, making Bulma, Krillin, and Chi-Chi look at the green man in confusion. Gohan assumed a fighting stance and waited for Michael to come at him. When he did he sidestepped the punch even though it was a feint and hit a rabid succession of three punches to the other boy's stomach before blocking the leg that had been the real attack. After doing so he punched both of his fists into Michael's chest and sent him backpedaling out of the ring where he landed on his butt on the grass. Gohan walked over and offered the boy his hand to help him up, which he took with a slight frown. "Sorry I took a cheap shot. My dad would kill me if I hadn't." Michael said softly.

Gohan shrugged. "It's ok. I won't take it easy on you if you do something like that to me again, though." Gohan sat down next to Videl who had been cheering for him during his match. Gohan blushed a bit and grinned at her as the next match was announced. This time it was Erin Stoner, the twin sister of Eric, and Conner Tao. "I wonder if she's as mean as Eric is." Gohan wondered aloud.

Videl giggled as she noticed Eric make a rude gesture at Gohan, which Gohan didn't notice or rather he didn't let on that he noticed. The match started and both combatants approached each other warily. Erin tried a short kick but Tao backed away and came back at her with a punch to the face. Erin shook her head to clear it and began an offensive barrage on Tao which he was able to keep up with using blocks and counters. The other fighters edged a bit closer and watched the match with interest as the flurry of attacks dragged on past the two minute mark. They both backed away at the same time and struggled to catch their breaths. Tao growled in frustration and suddenly jumped at Erin, knocking her onto her back. He sat on her chest to pin her arms down and started pummeling her in the face repeatedly, having lost his temper.

Gohan stood up and growled. "What the hell is he doing?! He can get up and let her be counted out!"

Eric started moving towards the ring but was held back by Kerin who smirked at him. "Let me go, damn it!" Eric shouted.

Tao finally got up and laughed softly before he kicked the unconscious girl in the ribs as hard as he could and walked over to the edge of the ring to wait for the ten count to finish. The crowd was booing but it didn't matter, as technically Tao had committed no fouls. With the ten count finished, he walked back into the waiting area where Eric jumped on him and started bashing his head down into the ground and screaming at him. Officials ran in and physically separated the two, forcing them to calm down or be disqualified for misconduct.

"We have some aggressive people here today." Videl observed quietly to Gohan, who nodded, still stunned by everything that had happened.

"Whatever happened to the peaceful testing of skill? These people are acting like they're in a dark arena." Gohan growled out. [AN: Dark arena is a non-sanctioned one where fights are more 'hardcore' and often end in permanent injury or death for the losers. Basically an underworld arena.]

Videl nodded and frowned, watching the girl carried off on a stretcher. She had been a very pretty girl, but that might have changed after her beating. Videl unconsciously brought a hand up to her own face, wondering if she would ever get beaten that badly and how marred her face would be afterwards. Gohan caught the gesture but chose not to comment, not wanting to embarrass her.

The final match started a few minutes later, between Mai Te Lei and Gonzales Carlos. Mai was slightly distracted from the beating that the other girl had received, which Carlos took advantage of, leaping forward to kick Mai in the chest and send her sprawling. She quickly got to her feet and hissed in frustration that she had let her guard down, casting a quick glance at her sensei before moving forward and resuming her stance, this time focused on the match. Carlos took a few steps forward then took a swing with his fist which Mai dodged but she was surprised when Carlos bent his arm to catch her with his elbow instead. She instinctively brought the flat of her hand up in an arc and caught Carlos in the side of the neck as she backed off. They faced each other again and both were more careful this time. Carlos stepped forward and swung his leg around for a kick but Mai's foot shot out and kicked down on his shin then up as quick as a whip to connect with his side. Carlos grunted and backed off, limping because of his bruised shin. Mai brought both of her arms up and lowered herself a bit in the classic crane posture, frowning in concentration. Carlos moved forward to try to grab her but a few lightning fast strikes from her hands followed by a kick under his chin and Carlos was on the ground seeing stars. Mai backed away to let the announcer count, maintaining her fighting posture in case he stood up, which he didn't.

Gohan grunted in interest. "Hmm… Phoenix style kung fu. Strange to see a form that perfect in one so young."

Videl scratched her head. "Is that what it is? I've never seen it. You seem to know a lot about different styles." Videl observed.

Gohan blushed in embarrassment. "Well, I have two good teachers and I've studied quite a bit on my own. You can't study math and history all day, after all."

A break was announced so the remaining eight fighters went into the back for lunch. Gohan wolfed down food as quickly as he could grab it and the other fighters stared in awe before they realized that Gohan would eat it all if they didn't hurry up, so they began to eat as well. Afterwards they were treated to massage and ice packs if needed, but Gohan used the chance to meditate. He popped his eyes open when he felt someone sit next to him so he turned and saw Videl looking at him, a towel around her neck and with a change of clothes, he noticed, as she had just come out of the massage. "Hey." Videl said, giving him a teasing grin.

Gohan blinked in surprise. 'Ok… what's up with her? She's looking at me funny.' Aloud, he said simply "Hey."

Videl nodded at him as she asked "What's that you're doing?"

Gohan nearly fainted. "You've never seen anyone meditate before?!"

Videl shook her head. "I've just really trained myself and sparred with some of the people at the dojo my father likes to train at. I've never had an official teacher."

Gohan was shocked. "You've gotten as strong as you are by yourself!? Wow. That's amazing." Gohan frowned in thought. "You should really learn how to meditate though. It clears your mind and readies you mentally. There's no end to benefits from meditation."

Videl grinned. "Well, we have a little while before the matches start back up. The fans are having lunch and talking and whatever. Would it be a bother to give me some pointers before my next match starts?"

Gohan found himself blushing though he wasn't sure why. "Sure…" Over the next hour he explained meditation to her and watched her as she relaxed in a lotus position before nodding. "You've got it. Just keep doing that until your match, you'll be glad you did." He resumed his own meditation until they were called back to the ring.

The first quarter final match was Videl against Kerin. Gohan flashed Videl a smile as she walked out to take her place in the ring. Videl assumed her fighting stance and blinked in surprise. 'My mind is so clear. That meditation really did help! I'm going to have to start doing that every day.' The fight began and Videl approached the other fighter, a determined look on her face. She intended to shove the boy's words down his throat, along with his superior attitude. Kerin threw a punch which Videl easily dodged. 'Why is he attacking so slowly?' Videl wondered. She dodged a few other attacks and frowned because they were so pathetically slow she was getting angry. "Damn it, come at me! Why are you attacking so slow!?"

Kerin's mouth dropped open in shock. He had been attacking so fast that his moved blurred, and she was calling them slow!? He growled in frustration and attacked as fast as he could, throwing caution and defense to the wind. Videl still easily dodged the blows and finally got bored with them and ducked beneath one of his kicks and came up along side his leg and buried her fist into his abdomen, knocking him back two meters where he landed with a thud and was still.

Videl blinked in surprise and looked down at her fist for a moment before turning her gaze back on her opponent. She came back down into a fighting stance, waiting for Kerin to get back up to resume the fight. He didn't move, however, and he was counted out making Videl the victor. She shrugged and started walking back to the waiting area, not noticing until she sat back down next to Gohan that a stretcher was rushed out to take the boy away. "Wow… I didn't think I hit him that hard." Videl observed out loud.

Gohan chuckled. "That meditation made you a lot more focused. You'll have to take it easy when you attack so you don't put someone in the hospital." Gohan grinned at her. 'She's fighting at nearly her full ability now and she doesn't even realize it. She'll notice the change soon enough, I'll bet.'

The next match up was Eric versus Julien, and Eric was still fuming about the beating his twin sister had taken. As soon as the start was announced, Eric ran forward throwing a wild punch, intent on taking out his anger on Julien. Eric then found himself falling face first and his arm pulled backwards with Julien pressing one knee into the other boy's back for added pressure. "Go ahead and quit." Julien said calmly.

Eric was far too pissed off though and surprised Julien when he suddenly threw the other boy off him. He grimaced as his hyper-extended arm fell back down alongside his body and he moved it a bit to get the blood moving, wincing at the pain. He approached Julien more carefully now, trying to keep calm. He kicked at Julien's knee but Julien backed away before coming back to try to grab Eric around the waist for a take down. Eric slammed his elbow down into Julien's back before the other boy got a chance to take him down, disorienting the grappler. He didn't let go though and slammed Eric down on the ground, getting elbowed in the back of the head for his trouble. He grabbed back on to Eric's injured arm on instinct and pulled up on it with his leg wrapped around the shoulder to provide more pressure. He took a moment to smack Eric in the temple before grabbing the arm with both hands and pulling. Eric screamed in pain and cried for mercy, ending the fight. Julien immediately let go and put his hand out to help the other boy up but Eric climbed to his feet on his own, scowled at Julien, and walked out of the competitors area. Julien shrugged and retook his seat to watch the rest of the fights.

"The next match up is Lee Chow against Son Gohan! Let's give them a cheer, folks!" The announcer yelled.

Gohan stood up and began walking out to the ring, hearing Videl call out "Go, Gohan!"

Gohan blushed and waved to his mother and friends when he got out, wincing as their cheers became deafening. He took his mark and assumed a fighting stance. Chow did a couple of flashy kicks then took his own stance, grinning over at the Saiyan trying to intimidate him. Gohan rolled his eyes and waited until the match start was called before moving forward slowly. As he anticipated, Chow opened up with a flurry of kicks and punches which Gohan knocked aside easily before elbowing the thin boy in the gut. Chow backed up and shook off the attack, coming at Gohan even faster. Gohan grinned that the boy was actually putting up a decent fight and blocked the attacks as they came, looking for an opening to counter. The chance came as Chow overextended a kick, so Gohan swept at the balance leg and rolled over to swing his hand into the forehead of the other boy, smacking him soundly. Chow was dazed, but still conscious. 'Hmm, I held back because I didn't want to split his skull but he's still going. I'll have to turn it up a notch.' Gohan thought as he backed off. Chow jumped up and charged at Gohan, but he was still seeing double and attacked the wrong one. Gohan used the opportunity to kick him in the back and sent him stumbling out of the ring. Gohan walked over to him and helped him up. "Good fight." Gohan said with a smile. Chow nodded, still shaken up that Gohan had outdone his speed.

Gohan sat down next to Videl again and grinned shyly when she complimented him. "That was a great fight, Gohan! You should be proud of yourself!"

Gohan blushed and slouched down a bit. "Gosh… thanks Videl."

She beamed a smile at him then turned to look back at the ring where the last junior division fight for the day was about to start, Conner Tao versus Mai Te Lei. Mai looked a bit nervous to be in the ring against the volatile Tao, but that didn't stop her from fixing him with a determined look of challenge. The match started and Tao immediately rushed forward to try to take Mai down, but she was too quick for him. Sidestepping his tackle, she shot her hands out and connected twice with stiff jabs into the boy's back. He spun around and backhanded the girl, knocking her onto her backside. He jumped on her and started pummeling her face the same way he had on Erin, but he only connected twice before she was able to kick him off. She stood up and backed away, a little unsteady on her feet. She scowled and lowered her stance, bringing her arms up. Tao hesitated for a moment then moved forward to punch at her face, but Mai used the opening to jab him several times in the chest and once in the neck beneath his defense before backing up, awaiting his next attack. He growled and swung his leg forward in an arc but her own leg came up to block it then used the momentum from his kick on her leg to snap kick the boy's other leg at an angle to knock him down rather than break the bone. She backed up again, her stance still low.

Tao rolled up onto his feet and growled before charging forward again, trying for a low tackling take down, but she sidestepped and tripped him, making him land face first on the hard clay tile. He got up slowly and came back at her, more carefully this time, but the result was the same. Her lightning fast jabs were wearing him down and he couldn't land a hit. "He's going at her all wrong." Gohan observed. At Videl's questioning gaze, he added "Not that I want to see the bastard win, I'm just stating a fact."

Videl nodded. "I hope she kicks his ass."

Gohan agreed mentally. If he fought that boy, he wasn't sure he could control his anger. The fight continued that way until Tao finally dropped to the ring's floor in exhaustion, bleeding from multiple cuts from Mai's nails, and out of breath. The announcer counted him out, ending the matches for the day. "This concludes today's Junior championship matches! There will be another short break and then the adult league qualifying matches will begin. Stick around, folks! And be sure to come back tomorrow for the semi-finals and the final matches!"

Gohan got up and stretched and started walking away to rejoin his mother and friends when Videl stopped him. "Hey, where are you heading off to?" She asked.

Gohan turned and scratched the back of his head. "I'm going to sit with my mom and my friends until the adult matches are over. How about you?"

Videl shrugged. "The same. My dad is competing so I want to watch him fight. I don't have any friends to sit with, though. Would it be all right if I sat with you and your friends?"

Gohan blushed nervously, sweating a bit. "Um… sure. Follow me." Videl grinned and followed Gohan into the stands and sat down next to him. "Everyone, this is Videl." Gohan said, introducing the girl. "This is my mom, Bulma, Krillin, and my sensei Piccolo. I mean Ma Junior."

Piccolo grinned. "It's ok, Gohan. You can call me Piccolo around your little friend."

Chi-Chi smiled at the girl. "You did pretty well, Videl. Aren't you here with your parents, though?"

Videl's expression darkened and she glanced away for a moment before looking back and responding. "My mom died a few years ago to a mugger. My dad is competing, too, so I'm alone. That's why I asked to sit with you all and Gohan. I hope it's all right with you?"

Bulma giggled and whispered in Chi-Chi's ear. Chi-Chi giggled as well and nodded. "Of course, Videl."

Krillin whispered into Gohan's ear, about the same thing that Bulma had said to Chi-Chi. "Heya, Gohan! You stud, you! You sure start early. I'm proud of you!"

Gohan nearly passed out. "Krillin! That's gross!"

Krillin laughed at Videl's quizzical expression then whispered, "You won't think so in a couple years, Gohan. Trust me." Then aloud to Videl, "So which one of those fighters is your dad, Videl?"

Videl pointed out her father. "Hercule Satan."

Krillin chuckled. "Well, he looks kind of goofy but most of the guys up there are new to me so I'll cheer for him if you like."

Videl looked at Krillin, a realization dawning on her. "You're Krillin, the student of the turtle hermit Roshi, aren't you!?"

Krillin grinned. "Yep, that's me. Roshi passed away a few years ago, though, Kami bless him."

Videl grinned. "You placed third in the 21s and 22nd Budoukai! You didn't do too well in the 23rd one though."

Krillin laughed nervously. "Yeah, well… that's because I was up against this guy right here." Krillin indicated Piccolo. "He placed second in that one, barely losing to Goku, Gohan's dad. I was second in the 24th also, in case you forgot. I lost to Goku of course."

Videl nodded. "Why didn't either of you compete in the last one? Or this one, for that matter?"

Krillin shrugged. "To be honest, I just didn't feel like it. I was too busy the last time around and this time, well, I just don't feel like it. If some of my friends were competing, I'd be out there in a heartbeat, but without them it's just not the same."

"That's because we're the only ones that would give you any real competition." Piccolo said gruffly.

Videl looked at Piccolo, offense at the slight towards her father playing across her features. Gohan quickly covered for him. "Well, Piccolo, you haven't seen some of these guys fight yet. You never know, one of them might be a great fighter." Gohan laughed nervously, happy to see that Videl didn't follow through with her comment towards his mentor. They all watched the adult league fights, cheering for Mr. Satan for Videl [AN: AHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!! Sorry… just too funny!] who did rather well, for a "weakling". The matches ended and Gohan waved goodbye to his new friend, until he saw her the next day for the rest of the tournament.

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Looong chapter with mostly descriptions of each fight, I know. But the beginning friendship between Gohan and Videl is playing out, so bear with me. I want to make a quick comment about a review I got, and the spirit of some other reviews… You all have to remember this is an Alternate Universe fic. The fight against Cell [and yes he will show up later] will not go the same way as it did in the show. I think you'll like it anyway, but don't freak out about Gohan not being the most powerful warrior in the universe before he hits puberty, he's still fairly powerful but he's afraid of his power and the pacifist of him is still pretty strong. That's not to say that he won't get motivation from a certain blue-eyed beauty to train harder, though. The whole purpose behind all that will be revealed, just be patient. I never claimed that this story would only be like 20 chapters long, it'll take a good long while to tell. Enjoy the ride. Next chapter: The semi-finals and finals of the Budoukai and Goku and Vegeta will make an appearance as well. Review and tell me how much you hate me! I mean… love me! hehe