Dragon Ball: Legacy Chapter 8 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you a new chapter! The eight months of training is over! How much stronger have the three disciples become after a month with an even HEAVIER turtle shell? We’ll find out, because it’s time to head for Papaya Island and the Tenka’ichi Budokai! Who will be there? Can our three disciples make it through the preliminaries? Master Roshi didn’t teach them any new techniques after all.

If you’d like to become a patron and get access to these chapters earlier, just head on over to Pat re on and add a /Kairomaru after the com.

Make sure to thank the patrons that make these stories possible by checking out the Patron Plaque on my profile!

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 8 – 21st Tenka’ichi Budokai Begins

It was the day that officially ended the eight months of training. Goku, Bulma, and Krillin stood before Master Roshi, who was in a black suit and standing next to a car. Launch (currently blue-haired) stood off to the side with a smile, happy that the three disciples had made it through and were about to receive their reward.

“Well, my disciples, it looks like it’s time to head for the southern metropolis.” Roshi nodded to the three of them with a small grin. Papaya Island was within the sphere of governance of South City. So, it would be easiest to get there by flying to South City, and then taking a ferry to the large island. “You can come out of your shells now.” He nodded to the turtle shells on their backs.

“Thank you, Master.” Krillin bowed slightly to Roshi. “It would’ve been a little embarrassing.” Wearing a turtle shell to the Budokai would’ve probably gotten them laughed at.

“Phew…” Goku dropped his shell to the ground with a sigh.

Krillin rolled his shoulders after taking off his shell, but looked confused as he moved his arms in wide circles to stretch them. “Wha-?”

“This is…?” Bulma twisted at the waist before moving both of her feet, lifting one into the air, putting it back down, and then repeating with the opposite leg.

“Hey!” Goku bounced on his heels, lifting off the ground a dozen centimeters or so just from the simple motion. “My body is so light, that I can’t feel my own weight!”

“Try jumping as high as you can.” Roshi instructed the three.

“Huh?” All three disciples blinked at the old man before giving it a try. Bending their knees, all three leapt with all of their strength. Launch watched in amazement as the three rocketed high into the air, having to crane her neck to keep sight of them.

“Ack!” Krillin seemed stunned by how high up they were.

“Whoa!” Goku nearly gaped as they’d easily cleared the height of Kame House multiple times over.

“Eh?!” Bulma goggled at their height. She quickly took in Kame House and then their own height as they hung in the air for a second. Her genius brain easily did the math as they descended and landed back on the ground without issue.

“WOW!!!” Goku and Krillin exclaimed loudly, looking at each other in amazement.

“We just cleared thirty meters…” Bulma marveled at the seemingly impossible jump height. It hadn’t even been difficult!

“Ho ho ho.” Roshi chuckled as the three discovered the fruits of his training.

“Woohoo! Lookit me run!” Goku took off in a blur, far faster than he’d been at the start of their training and the One-Hundred-Meter Dash!

“I’m right behind ya!” Krillin laughed, moving faster than he’d ever thought possible and not even getting winded at all.

“This is awesome!” Bulma cheered loudly, her ponytail flying behind her as she covered distance in the blink of an eye!

“Hey! If you don’t hurry up, we’ll miss our plane!” Roshi called out to the three excited youngsters. He handed the three boxes and told them to hurry up and change.

“You look funny.” Goku laughed at Krillin in a suit and hat.

Krillin lightly punched him in the arm with a grin. “Look in a mirror.” Goku wearing a suit was just odd, not to mention hi spiky hair barely fit beneath the hat.

“Not my usual choice.” Bulma looked herself over, wearing a suit that might’ve been just slightly too small, given how it hugged her curves. She left the jacket undone, letting the black tie hang down over the swell of her breasts in the white button-up shirt. The pants were just shy of being skin tight, emphasizing her legs and butt.

“You all look fine.” Roshi assured his disciples, though behind his shades his eyes roamed over Bulma in a suit. ‘Definitely the right choice to go a little smaller.’ He held back a grin at his idea working out so wonderfully. “Come along, come along!” He put his staff in the trunk of the car and closed it with a thump.

Bomf

Kame House disappeared in a cloud of smoke as Launch capsulized it. With a smile the kind, blue-haired woman picked up the capsule and brought it over to Master Roshi. She was dressed in a white t-shirt and black pants, with low-heeled sandals on her feet.

“Thank you, my dear.” Roshi accepted the capsule from her and put it into his case. “Everybody in!” He got into the driver’s seat of the car.

“Shotgun!” Krillin called out quickly. The former monk grinned as he hopped into the front passenger seat.

Bulma, Goku, and Launch slid into the backseat, with Bulma in the middle, Goku on her right, and Launch on her left. Roshi started the car once everyone was buckled in, and the group drove down the road towards the only airport on the island.

-Plane-

“Huh…this thing is slower than Nimbus.” Goku mentioned while looking out the window.

“At least it isn’t picky about who can ride it.” Krillin rolled his eyes at the mention of the magical cloud. He returned to the newspaper that he was reading.

Master Roshi reached for the behind of the stewardess, looking to cop a feel. “Aiiiee!” Only to retract his hand in pain while Bulma glared at him.

“Keep your hands to yourself, you old lech!” Bulma had slapped his hand away from the woman as soon as she saw it move.

“No respect for your Master!” Roshi grumbled, but Bulma’s glare didn’t lessen at all.

“Oh my…” Launch shook her head at the old man’s antics.

-South City-

“Wow! It’s just like where you live, Bulma!” Goku marveled at the metropolis as they left the airport and headed for the ferry that would take them to Papaya Island.

“Pretty much.” Bulma agreed with a little laugh. “South City, West City, North City, and East City are the four largest cities in the world after all.”

“It’s been a while since I was in a city.” Launch smiled at all of the activity and people. She’d taken to living in more rural areas to try and stymy her violent side’s criminal ways. It hadn’t helped much, but at least far less people got involved in any high-speed pursuits.

“I’ve only been once.” Krillin mentioned, making sure to stay out of the way of some of the people walking about. “The monks of Orin Temple went to East City once for a small tournament with a fellow Martial Arts temple.”

“The ferry should be this way.” Roshi looked at the signs and pointed with his staff towards the right.

-Papaya Island-

“To the Budokai arena, please!” Roshi smiled at the cab driver as they all piled into the taxi. He took the front passenger seat, while the other squeezed into the backseat.

“Sure thing.” The bearded man chuckled, seeing four people in the back seat. The black-haired guy was lucky to have the blue-haired hottie in the suit sitting in his lap like that.

-Tenka’ichi Budokai Temple-

“Whoa!” Goku exclaimed, seeing the old temple and all of the carved faces of fanged monsters. Or they looked like monsters to him, at any rate.

“There are a ton of people.” Bulma looked at the crowd around the temple, many of them heading inside to get seats close to the main arena where the eight fighters would be once the tournament got that far.

“I hope we’ll be able to get good seats.” Launch looked at all of the people coming to watch the tournament with a little concern.

“Startin’ to get a little nervous, now…” Krillin gulped, seeing quite a few contestants heading into the temple grounds as well. Most of them were A LOT bigger than he was.

“…But you don’t understand. They’re not spectators. These three are contestants.” Roshi patiently explained to the monk at the registration table.

“What?! You mean these three kids?” The monk looked at Goku, Krillin, and Bulma with wide eyes. Only two of them looked like teenagers; and the short, bald one was clearly a young boy.

“You think there’s a lot of contestants?” Goku looked around at the large crowd, wondering if all of them were going to fight.

“I’m sure there will be p-plenty…” Krillin’s nerves were getting to him a little, now that he was actually here.

“Now don’t get lost in rubbernecking!” Roshi got the two boys’ attention. “We’ve got to find the qualifying matches.” With some luck, a monk for the temple, that had a megaphone, called out a moment later.

“Attention! All contestants participating in the tournament! Qualifying rounds will soon begin in the Competition Hall!” The monk informed the crowd and any competitors that had yet to make their way towards the preliminaries.

“Over there, huh?” Roshi looked towards where the monk was pointing.

The five stopped just before the entrance to the competition hall. Roshi looked over his three disciples with a small amount of pride in their progress. Launch smiled happily at the three for their hard work paying off, eager to see them on the main stage.

“This is as far as we can accompany you.” Roshi nodded to the three of them. “Just go out and try your best.”

“Yes, sir!” Goku, Krillin, and Bulma replied to their Master. “Oh, I almost forgot. It’ll be difficult to fight in those suits, so…” He laid down the suitcase that he’d carried with him and opened it. Roshi pulled out three orange gi, each with a black belt, two blue wristbands, and blue kung fu shoes. He handed them to his disciples with a smile.

“Awesome!” Goku beamed at getting a proper gi as Master Roshi’s student.

“I-It’s the real thing… I gotta be worthy of it.” Krillin looked at the gi reverently.

“Hmm, not bad.” Bulma agreed, looking at the kanji for ‘Kame’ on the left breast of the gi. She flipped it over and saw a larger version of the same emblem on the back.

The three didn’t even bother finding a private area to change. Goku and Krillin quickly took off their hats and jackets, undid their belts, unbuttoned the white button-up shirts and pulled off their ties. Kicking off the dress shoes, left both boys in their boxers. They quickly pulled on the orange pants, put the gi top on, and then tied the black belts around their waists properly. Slipping on the kung fu shoes and the blue wristbands finished the clothing swap.

Bulma undid her tie, shrugged off her jacket, and undid her belt while kicking off her shoes. She unbuttoned the white button-up shirt and then pulled it open, before letting it slide off her arms. This revealed a black sports bra to the gaze of everyone that was watching, which was mainly Roshi, Goku, and a few of the spectators that happened to see Bulma start to change her clothes. She shimmied out of her pants, revealing matching black spats, before taking the orange pants and slipping them on. The gi top went on next and then the black belt. She slipped her feet into the new kung fu shoes and finished off with the blue wristbands.

“I’m impressed.” Bulma patted down the gi with a grin. “You even remembered a hole for our tails.” Her brown-furred tail swung behind her, just like Goku’s was doing behind him.

“Hehehe…ahem…I mean, of course I did!” Roshi cleared his throat to stop his giggles at watching Bulma change. Sure, he hadn’t gotten a peek, but it was still a show! He straightened up and looked at his three students. “The eight entrants that make it through the qualifier will fight in front of the audience! I’ll be watching, so if I get to see you, then I’ll have no complaints.”

“We’ll do our best, Master!” Krillin promised with a bright smile. Bulma and Goku smiled as well before all three bowed to Master Roshi respectfully. They hurried inside to make sure they weren’t late, and to take in the competition.

“Should we try and get seats now?” Launch smiled at Roshi while he picked up the discarded suits and stuffed them into the suitcase that he was carrying.

“Yes, the preliminaries will start soon and the seating at the Budokai is always first come, first served.” Roshi nodded as he closed the suitcase. “The area around the wall is the closest spot to the ring. It’s a real ‘Move your feet, lose your seat’ type of deal.”

The two headed off to the ring a little early, but were still surprised at how many people were already surrounding the wall closest to the ring.

“Hey now!” Roshi moved around the crowd, leading Launch through the moving people.

“So many already!” Launch followed after Roshi.

“Not to worry, my dear!” Roshi declared as they slipped between two groups of people and ended up right at the edge of the wall facing the ring. “Haha! I’ve been here multiple times before! I know how to get to the ring!”

“Oh my!” Launch beamed at the up-close view they’d have of the matches. “You’re so knowledgeable, sir.”

“Hehehe… Just comes with experience!” Roshi laughed, loving the praise of the young woman. “There’s quite a few more people here than the last time I was at the Budokai.” He eyed the large crowds that were quickly filling up the areas around the wall nearest to the ring.

“I better write my other self a note about what’s going on, just to be safe.” Launch pulled out a notepad and a pen, writing down where they were and why for her other self in case she sneezed.

“Hmm…” Roshi put his hand on his stomach. “I don’t think that airline food is staying with me.” The old man grumbled. “After getting to eat your delicious cooking for months, that other stuff is just moving right through me.”

“But if you leave, you’ll lose your spot.” Launch worried for him.

“No need to worry, my dear.” Roshi waved off. “If I have to watch from the back or even climb the roof to see my students’ fight, then I will!” He chuckled before grimacing. “Oh boy, shouldn’t laugh right now.” He looked around. “With this many people the lines at the restrooms are going to be huge… Maybe I’ll pull the ‘old man’ card on them and jump ahead a little?” Roshi snickered before looking at Launch again. “If you see the others before I do, let them know I’ll be watching.”

“Of course, you better hurry though.” Launch agreed with a sweet smile.

“The preliminaries haven’t even started yet, I should be able to get back to watch before the tournament really starts, even with a line.” Roshi rushed off, ducking and weaving through the dense crowd.

-Preliminaries-

“Wow! Are these all the other contestants?” Goku looked around all of the fighters in the huge Competition Hall.

Krillin was visibly nervous as he saw so many fighters, many of which were huge, hulking men three or four times his size. “I’m startin’ to think we might’ve rushed this…”

“Don’t chicken out before you even try, baldy.” Bulma nudged him with her elbow, a challenging grin on her face. “I thought you weren’t such a wimp anymore?”

“Hey!” Krillin narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m not scared! …I’m just a little nervous, is all.”

An old man, likely one of the elders of the temple, stood on one of the platforms. He cleared his throat before speaking into a microphone. “Greetings, contestants, for five years you’ve waited and trained for this opportunity to compete for the title of ‘Strongest Under the Heavens’! You have journeyed here from all corners of the Earth. We are blessed today to have one-hundred-thirty-seven Masters from around the world, from whom only eight will be allowed to enter the final rounds. This year will truly be honored by fierce competition indeed.”

“One… One-hundred-thirty-seven?!” Krillin gaped at the number of contestants. The fact that only eight of them would make it through drilled into his nervousness a bit harder.

“Listen well. I will explain the rules of the competition.” The old monk continued. “All contestants will fight atop these mats. Should you fall off, lose consciousness, plead ‘Mercy’, or cry, you lose.” He started with what counted as a loss. “However, you may NOT kill your opponent! Nor may you use weapons! The qualifying matches will last only one minute; if the match has not been settled in that time, victory will be decided upon by the judges.” Seeing that all of the competitors were nodding in agreement, the elder continued on. “Due to the great number of contestants, the qualifying rounds have been divided into eight brackets, separated into four blocks. The victor from each bracket will be declared an entrant in the main tournament. One by one, please draw a slip of paper, compare the number on it to the chart, and proceed to your block.” He motioned to a pair of monks with a box that had a hole cut into it.

The fighters all lined up, taking slips of paper one by one until everyone had a slip and knew which block to go to. It was a rather swift process, as every fighter wanted to get the matches started quickly.

“I got ninety-three! What numbers did you two get?” Krillin asked his fellow disciples.

“Hmm… seven…zero…seventy!” Goku smiled at his paper. Bulma’s teaching over the last eight months had really helped him learn a lot of the things that he’d missed growing up in the deep wilderness.

“I’ve got one-hundred-nineteen.” Bulma replied as she looked at the board with all of the brackets on it. “Looks like I’m in block four.”

“Wah!” Krillin gaped as he found his number in block three, but saw that Goku’s number was in it too. “We’re both in block three, I don’t want to fight you, Goku!”

“Yeah, but our numbers are far apart.” Goku pointed out the brackets. “I think we’re in different bracket things.”

“Whew…” Krillin exhaled in relief. “I’m glad that I won’t have to fight you right away, Goku. Now, I just have to not get knocked out in the first round.”

“Stop worrying so much.” Bulma rolled her eyes at Krillin. “We trained like hell for this, have some confidence.”

“But the Master didn’t teach us any real fighting moves…” Krillin reminded her with a grimace.

“We did everything Master Roshi said, I’m sure we’ll do fine.” Goku reassured his buddy with a smile.

“I’ll see you guys when we’re all waiting for the finals.” Bulma smiled at her fellow disciples. She and Goku shared a quick hug before Bulma headed over to block four.

A few moments after Goku and Krillin arrived at block three, the referee on top of the mat looked at his clipboard. “Okay! Let’s get block three’s matches started! Numbers sixty-nine and seventy, up on the mat!”

“I gotta start, huh?” Goku hopped up on to the mat easily.

“Good luck, Goku!” Krillin cheered his friend on.

The thoughts of the rest of block three’s competitors were quite different, however.

“That kid is hoping to qualify?” One man commented of Goku’s age. He looked rather similar to Bruce Lee.

“Sixty-nine must be someone’s lucky number.” Another man laughed at what he perceived to be an easy opponent. He was dark-skinned and had his fists wrapped up like a boxer.

“Whot ees this?!” A massive wrestler of a man stood across from Goku. “There ees no joy een croshing soch an ant!” His accent was rather thick, like the handlebar mustache on his face.

“Oh yeah?” Goku took his stance, ready to face the large man. The bear bandit he’d killed back when he met Turtle was bigger than this guy!

“One minute! Begin!” The referee started the match.

Goku blurred forward, slide between the towering wrestler’s legs, and then popped back up to his feet behind his opponent.

“Whot?! He vanishes?!” The wrestler blinked, looking for his opponent.

“Right here.” Goku slapped the wrestler’s back and the man careened off the edge of the mat with a cry of pain. “Huh?” He blinked at his palm and the wrestler on the floor.

“V-Victory! Number seventy!” The referee took a second to realize the match was over already.

“What…just happened?” A man dressed as an ascetic monk questioned aloud.

“Man’s a fool.” The black boxer scoffed at the wrestler as the mustached man moved aside and Goku left the mat. “He didn’t see the kid slip behind him, then got startled and fell off the mat.”

“Y-Yeah…” The Bruce Lee lookalike agreed after a second. “Size isn’t everything in Martial Arts.”

“Was that luck or what?” Krillin smiled at Goku. “That big guy fell right off the mat!”

“I don’t think so…?” Goku looked at his hand as he figured out what had happened. “Krillin, unless your opponent is really strong, don’t put your full strength behind your moves!”

“Huh? What’re you talking about, Goku?” Krillin blinked at his friend. Why wouldn’t he give it his all hen they were competing in the Tenka’ichi Budokai?

“Well, well!” A man spoke up from behind Krillin. He was tall and lanky, with an unfriendly look on his face. “If it isn’t Krillin!”

“It’s you alright. Heh heh!” A second man chuckled. This one shorter and heavier than the first with a thin mustache.

Both of the men wore the same outfit that Krillin had worn at Master Roshi’s. The monk attire of the Orin Temple. This was further reinforced by the fact that both men were shaved bald and had the same six moxibustion burn scars on their foreheads as Krillin did.

“How long’s it been since you ran away bawling from Orin Temple?” The tall and lanky of the two men questioned mockingly.

“Gleep…” Krillin made an odd noise and swallowed heavily.

“So, what’re you doing here, crybaby?” The short and round monk questioned Krillin.

“Don’t tell me that you’re trying to compete in the Tenka’ichi Budokai?” The tall one snorted, mockingly patting Krillin’s head.

“W-Well… I just figured…” Krillin was clearly regressing back t before his training with Master Roshi.

“What a joke!” The man laughed. “I guess I didn’t get it through your head that you have NO potential?”

“What’s your number, little boy?” The squat monk mocked.

“N-Ninety-three…” Krillin answered, looking down at the floor.

What luck!” The tall monk brightened up. “You’re my opponent! I can hardly wait!”

“What?!” Krillin flinched at the news.

“Just promise that you won’t hurt me, Krillin!” The lanky monk chortled as he walked away.

“Wahahaha!” The round monk laughed at his friend’s joke.

“Those guys didn’t seem very nice.” Goku mentioned, not liking that they’d talked down to his friend like that.

“They were always bullying me back at Orin Temple… I don’t stand a chance… Maybe I should just go home?” Krillin was completely down on himself after being confronted by his old bullies.

“You’re crazy!” Goku grinned at Krillin. “Hit him with all you’ve got!”

“But…didn’t you just tell me not to do that?” Krillin wondered where that request had disappeared to.

“Forget I said that! Just punch him one good time!” Goku encouraged Krillin with a smile.

“Next up, ninety-three and ninety four!” The referee called out; multiple matches having already taken place during the confrontation with Krillin’s old bullies.

“H-Here it comes…” Krillin gulped before getting onto the mat.

“Heh heh heh! Too bad that you don’t get a real opponent!” The short and squat monk chuckled.

“At least I get to play with my little friend again.” The tall monk grinned as he got onto the mat.

“Just give him one good shot!” Goku encouraged Krillin.

“Begin!” The referee started the match.

“Hyaaah!” The lanky monk lunged forward with a punch towards Krillin’s face. The same punch he’d nailed the short boy with over and over again back at Orin Temple.

‘He’s…so slow?’ Krillin couldn’t believe how easy it was to see every motion of the punch coming at him. He sidestepped it easily and then snapped off a powerful sidekick into his old bullies’ stomach.

“Gekh!” The tall monk hacked out before being launched across the Competition Hall and through the stone wall!

“EH?!” Every competitor that saw it happen exclaimed all at once.

“Uh…um…v-victory…to n-number ninety-three…” The referee declared, stumbling over his words in shock.

“See? Thanks to Master Roshi’s training, we’ve become really strong without even knowing it!” Goku laughed at Krillin’s shocked face.

“No kidding…” Krillin was looking himself over like he’d never seen his own body before.

-Block Four-

“Looks like Goku and Krillin have won their first matches.” Bulma chuckled as she saw a guy go flying through the wall.

“Numbers one-hundred-nineteen and one-hundred-twenty! You’re up!” The referee called out.

“My turn then.” Bulma grinned as she hoped up onto the mat.

Her opponent was a Pterosaur Beastman with green and blue scales, large wings on his back and a thick tail dragging behind him. “Heh…this should be easy.” The Beastman laughed, clearly underestimating Bulma.

“Begin!” The referee started the match.

WHAM

Bulma had blurred forward into the Pterosaur’s guard and socked him with a right hook to the face. The force of the blow lifted the heavy Beastman off his feet and sent him crashing to the floor outside of the ring almost too fast for the spectators to see.

“You were right… That was easy.” Bulma looked down at the unconscious Pterosaur man.

“V-Victory! Number one-hundred-nineteen!” The referee snapped out of his shock a moment later.

“YOU REEK!!!” A female voice cried out before a large man in black briefs and black books went flying into the air, only to come crashing down with a loud thud.

“Huh… Looks like someone strong is in block two.” Bulma figured out the strength required to send a man that size flying and wondered who the opponent had been.

The rest of the preliminary matches went by rather quickly. Krillin, Goku, and Bulma defeating all of their opponents with a single solid hit each time. Occasionally, a match in block one and block two caught the nearby spectators’ attention, drawing loud gasps that could be heard throughout the Competition Hall.

-Main Ring-

“Launch! We did it!” Goku laughed as he, Bulma, and Krillin ran over to the blue-haired woman.

“That’s fantastic!” Launch beamed at the three of them happily.

“Where’s Master Roshi?” Krillin looked around for their Master.

“Probably perving on some women somewhere.” Bulma rolled her eyes.

Launch shook her head though, confusing Bulma. “He went to the restroom. Something about the plane food not sitting well with him. With so many people, the lines are probably really long.”

“Oh, well, color me surprised.” Bulma shrugged at being proven wrong.

“What color is ‘surprised’?” Goku asked Bulma confused. “Why would you want to be colored that way?”

“It’s a turn of phrase, Goku.” Bulma giggled at his confusion.

“Oh.” Goku realized that it was simply another expression that he’d never heard before.

“I’m back!” Roshi called out, fighting against the crowd a bit to get close enough to the group. His suit was messed up a little and his hat was slightly askew, but the old man looked expectantly at his three disciples. “So… How was it? Did you qualify?”

“Yup! All three of us!” Goku smiled brightly at Roshi.

“Very good!” Roshi praised them with a smile that moved his mustache and beard. “I’m very proud of you three.” He nodded to each of them.

“The Tenka’ichi Budokai will begin shortly!” A voice called out over the loudspeakers. “All eight finalists, please assemble in the Main Martial Arts Hall!”

“They’re calling for you!” Launch spoke with a giggle. “You three better hurry!”

“Right! We’ll see you soon!” Krillin waved as the three of them hopped over the wall and rushed towards the Martial Arts Hall that was behind the main arena.

“Ahem…” Roshi lightly cleared his throat before exhaling just strong enough to make Launch’s long hair brush across her face.

“Ah…ah...achoo!” Launch sneezed, her hair turning blonde and her eyes turning green. Looking around, finding herself leaning against a wall in front of a square ring, while surrounded by a huge crowd of people, she quickly reached into her pants pocket and pulled out the notepad there. “Tenka’ichi Budokai… Watching Goku, Bulma, and Krillin participate…” She read off what the ‘other’ her had written down. “Right, the tournament.” Launch nodded to herself as she stashed the notepad away again. “They got me a damn good seat.” She smirked and settled in to watch her friends beat the snot outta the competition.

Roshi was gone before she’d even changed. The two sides not sharing memories played out in his favor right now.

-Main Martial Arts Hall-

Eight people waited in the Main Hall in varying states of patience. Four men and four women, for the first time in a long time for the Tenka’ichi Budokai. Most of the time when a female made it to the main tournament, it was one woman to seven men. In the past there had only been two instances where there had been more women than men, and an even split was almost as rare.

A blonde man wearing a black suit and sunglasses moved to the front of the hall, followed by two monks. “All finalists, please assemble!” He called out, getting the attention of the eight waiting fighters. Once all eight were gathered around, he continued. “We will now draw lots to determine the matches and the fight schedule!” He tapped a large paper that was posted up with a bracket on it. There were eight spots along the bottom, all numbered. “When your name is called, please come forward!”

“Ahem…” An elderly man with white hair and a matching beard and mustache got the referees attention.

“Yes, sir?” The blonde man looked at the elder.

“I’d like to fight this young lady.” The elder man pulled a purple-haired young woman beside him. She was quite pretty, with wild, curly purple hair, a cute face, blue t-shirt, and green pants.

“We do not take requests…sir.” The sunglass-wearing referee denied the old man in the most deadpan tone possible. “If we can begin?” He shooed the elder man away while the young woman pulled herself away from him with narrowed eyes. “I’ll start…Nam?”

“Here.” Nam was a fairly tall man with brown skin, a long face, small beady eyes, and a small red dot on his forehead known as a bindi. He wore a white turban and an orange and maroon robe and his feet were bare. Nam placed his hand into the box and pulled out a slip of paper. “Number six.” He spoke, showing the paper to the referee.

“That would be match three.” The referee wrote down Nam’s name in the correct spot. “Bulma?”

“Right here.” Bulma stepped up and put her hand into the box. “Number two.”

“That’s the first match.” The referee wrote Bulma’s name down. “Jackie Chun?”

“Yup.” The elderly man stepped forward and pulled a slip of paper from the box. “Number four.”

“Match two then.” The sunglass-wearing man wrote it down. “Ran Fan?”

“Hiya!” The purple-haired woman winked at him. “Number five~” She looked over at Nam and grinned invitingly, making the man look away, flustered.

“Third match, against Nam.” The referee nodded, writing down her name. “Krillin?”

“H-Here, sir!” Krillin walked forward, but due to his height had to have the box lowered for him to reach in and grab a paper. “Number three!”

“Second match, versus Jackie Chun.” The referee wrote his name next to the elderly man’s.

“Oh boy…” Krillin looked over at the old man with some nervousness. Something was telling him that the old man wasn’t to be taken lightly.

“Caul…lifla? Caulifla?” The referee apparently had a hard time reading the name.

“About time!” A girl with spiky black hair, even a bit wilder than Goku’s, and a slender, but slightly curvy figure, walked forward. She wore a pink tube top across her chest, stretched out a bit by her tits, and purple harem pants, dark gray wristbands that covered almost half her forearms, and matching dark gray shoes. Caulifla wasted no time in snatching a paper from the box. “Eight.” She grimaced at going last.

“Match four.” The referee wrote her name down quickly. “Kale?”

“R-Right here.” The girl that was with Caulifla stepped forward, not looking very confident, despite having made it to the finals. Kale also had a slender frame and was about average in height, though slightly taller than Caulifla without counting the other girl’s hair. She had tanned skin with downcast eyes and gray irises. Kale had shaggy black hair worn in a high ponytail, while a bang hung over the left side of her face. She wore a red cropped shirt exposing her midriff a matching red skirt with a brown belt that had a silver circular buckle and a pair of black compression shorts underneath. On her feet were a pair of golden boots with red tips, and she had golden bracelets that cover her wrists and most of her forearms, and a pair of small, golden hoop earrings. She pulled out a piece of paper and sighed. “Number one.”

“First match, against Bulma.” The referee marked her name down.

“What’s she looking so worried about?” Bulma wondered as she watched Caulifla say something in hushed tones to Kale.

“It’s a little irrelevant, but Song Oku?” The referee called out the last name. Getting only blank looks back, he tried again. “Song Oku?”

“Do you mean Son Goku, maybe?” Bulma spoke up.

“Uh…oh!” The referee looked down at the name again and scratched the back of his head sheepishly for misreading the handwriting. “Son Goku!”

“Here!” Goku stepped forward with a big grin as he took the last paper from the box. “Number seven!”

“Fourth match, versus Caulifla.” The referee marked it down, completing the tournament bracket.

Caulifla locked eyes with Goku, both of them staring each other down for a long moment. Caulifla smirked at him challengingly. Goku smiled back, the challenge in his eyes only increasing Caulifla’s grin further.

“Alright! This is the fight schedule!” The referee motioned to the bracket for everyone to look it over.

Match 1 – Kale versus Bulma

Match 2 – Krillin versus Jackie Chun

Match 3 – Ranfan versus Nam

Match 4 – Son Goku versus Caulifla

“Now, the rules state that you lose if you: fall off the ring, cry ‘Mercy’, or stay down for a full ten-count.” The referee explained to the eight competitors. “Also, attacking the eyes, or the ‘vulnerables’ is against the rules and will see you disqualified!” He pointed at his own eyes, and then below the belt.

“Vulnerables?” Goku blinked, but Bulma leaned over to whisper the meaning to him. “Oh! Okay!” He nodded and Bulma rolled her eyes playfully at him.

“Anyway…” The referee looked over the fighters. “The matches will begin shortly, at the start of the next hour, so please, wait here patiently until then.

“Hey! What about lunch?!” Goku and Caulifla asked at the same time. The two looked at each other and blinked.

“Huh?” The referee looked between both of them. “You two want to eat right before a match?” They had time to eat, sure, but he’d never seen a fighter that wanted to have a meal on their stomach when they fought. “Wouldn’t you prefer to wait until after…”

“I wanna eat!” Caulifla and Goku spoke in unison again.

“Hey!” Caulifla narrowed her eyes at Goku. “Stop that!”

“Hehehe, sorry!” Goku laughed it off, amused by the situation.

“W-Well then…” The referee turned to look at one of the monks. “Please, prepare food for anyone that wants to eat.”

“Of course,” The monk bowed. “Please follow me, if you wish to eat.”

“Krillin, you hungry?” Goku looked at his friend.

Krillin shook his head. “Y-You’ve gotta be kidding… I’m too nervous to be hungry.”

Goku, Caulifla, Bulma, and Kale followed after the monk to get some lunch.

-Dining Hall-

“Smells great!” Goku beamed at the meal that was placed in front of him. His tail unwound from his waist and started wagging happily.

“It does.” Bulma agreed, relaxing her own tail, letting it sway behind her, occasionally brushing against Goku’s.

“SPHHHAAWWWSSHH!!!” Caulifla spat out her first mouthful of food in shock.

Kale wasn’t any better, the grilled fish that she’d picked up with her chopsticks falling back onto the plate as she stared at the two brown-furred tails.

“What’s up?” Goku blinked at the sudden reactions.

“Why do you two have tails?!” Caulifla demanded, pointing at both of them. Kale nodded beside her, but didn’t vocalize her own curiosity.

“Because we’re Saiyans.” Bulma answered simply.

“All Saiyans have tails.” Goku waved his tail at them with a chuckle.

“We…we know that.” Kale spoke up shyly, and now both Goku and Bulma stared wide-eyed as a brown-furred tail unwound from Kale’s waist, where it had been hidden by her brown belt.

Caulifla’s tail wiggled out of a small hole at the back of her purple harem pants, the reason for the baggy garment now clear. “We didn’t know any others existed on this planet!”

“We didn’t either…” Bulma nearly gaped at meeting two more Saiyans on Earth. “Do you two know any others?”

“No…” Kale shook her head, looking down at her food. “We grew up here, and we only have base knowledge of our people.”

“Kale and I have no idea why we’re on this planet, only that we were found and raised by humans when we were too young to care for ourselves.” Caulifla explained with a shrug. “Not that we’re complaining or anything. We’ve had each other since we can remember. So, we were never alone at least.”

“That’s nice.” Goku smiled at the two of them. “I lived with my grandpa since I got to this planet, but I don’t know why I was sent either.” He took a bite of his food and swallowed it. “Then grandpa died and I was alone for a couple of years.” He smiled at Bulma. “But then Bulma came along and we became friends!” Bulma smiled back at him warmly as she took her first bite of food.

“A bunch of exiles…probably.” Kale murmured under her breath, but the three around her still heard it clearly.

“If that’s the case, then fuck those guys!” Caulifla wrapped one arm around Kale’s shoulders. “We’ll just live here and get stronger than them, so that if they ever come back, we can kick their asses!”

“Y-yes…Caulifla...” Kale blushed at the language and Caulifla’s attitude. She always found it reassuring, ever since they were both little.

“You gonna eat that?” Goku pointed at the food in front of Caulifla.

“Yes!” Caulifla quickly started eating, which prompted Kale to eat as well.

The four Saiyans began to chat, talking about their pasts as they ate. Bulma revealed that she’d been made a Saiyan through the Dragon Balls; making Kale and Caulifla go wide-eyed that there was a real, magical, wish-granting Dragon God. The eating continued with seconds being called for by each of the four Saiyans. Goku and Bulma learned that Kale and Caulifla had grown up in a rural farming village after being found on the edge of the nearby forest, both still wrapped up in blankets. Both had slowly assimilated the knowledge that had been implanted into their minds by the Saiyan technology as they grew up. But there was no reason among it for why they were on Earth. Only that they were Saiyans and the basics of their physiology; along with the warning not to look at a full moon unless they needed to transform into Oozaru.

“It sounds the same as me.” Goku mentioned after swallowing another mouthful of food. “No reason for being here, just basic knowledge.”

“It’s weird though.” Kale mentioned, enjoying the food and having someone else to be able to talk to about this besides Caulifla. “Why three of us for seemingly no reason?”

“It is curious.” Bulma had to agree with Kale, smiling at the girl. “But if that’s how it is, there’s not much we can do about it except live, right?” She’d not mention that her genius mind had come up with a hypothesis already. But without any proof, telling the three that they might’ve been sent here in an effort to avoid a possible extinction event of the Saiyan race would only burden them.

Caulifla finished the leg of meat she was eating and tossed the bone onto a finished plate. “I don’t much care.” She drank down a full glass of water. “I just want to get stronger.” She drained a glass of water in one go. “Kale and I got as strong as we are by fighting each other pretty much every day since we could move properly.”

“So, you two just fought each other for years and years?” Bulma hummed in thought. “With Saiyan physiology, you’d undoubtedly get stronger, but it’s definitely not the best training out there.” She looked at Goku and then patted the Turtle emblem over her left breast. “I wanted to get stronger as soon as I became a Saiyan; that’s why I joined Goku in his training with Master Roshi.” She laughed warmly. “Can confirm that wanting to get stronger is definitely a Saiyan thing.”

“Yep!” Goku laughed, picking up a bowl of noodles. “As long as I can train and get stronger, have my friends, and eat good food, then I’m pretty happy!” He started slurping the noodles down.

“That…does sound nice.” Kale admitted with a small smile. She finished off the last of the steamed meat buns that had been brought with the second wave of food.

“Can we have thirds, please?” Bulma asked the monk that had come to collect the used dishware.

“Oh, yes, right away, Miss.” The monk agreed and took the used dishware into the kitchen to relay the request. He was too polite to mention that the four of them had already eaten enough for twelve grown men.

“Hmm, just realized something.” Caulifla ate an entire bowl of rice in moments. “Me and Kale always thought we were the only Saiyans here.” She moved on to a plate of chicken. “But Goku means there’s a male too.”

Kale flushed, having an idea of what Caulifla was about to bring up. “Sis!” She used the affectionate nickname that Caulifla allowed her to call her by.

“What? I know you’ve thought about it before.” Caulifla laughed after finishing off the chicken.

“Thought about it?” Goku scarfed down his own bowl of rice. “Oh! That…” He took a moment, but what Caulifla was hinting at had been part of what Bulma had taught him over the last eight months.

“There’s no real rush.” Bulma waved the topic off, finishing off a plate of chashu pork. “You two are probably Goku’s age, right?”

“I’m fourteen.” Kale informed, not making eye contact with any of them as she ate quickly. It was still easy to see the red tint on her tanned cheeks though.

“Same here, though we don’t know our exact birthdates.” Caulifla poured some soy sauce on a plate of steamed vegetables before chowing down.

Goku drank down a glass of water. “Aaahh, nice!” He looked at Bulma, then Kale, and finally Caulifla. “But if there’s only one of me, then only one generation after us, right Bulma?” He recalled her lessons on biology, though he’d admit to not remembering a lot of it.

“We’ll figure it out when we’re a bit older, Goku.” Bulma felt her cheeks heat up, even as her tail and Goku’s wrapped around each other without them even noticing. “Like I said, there’s no rush.”

“I think Kale would make a great mom.” Caulifla mentioned with a snickering laugh.

“Caulifla!” Kale squealed and covered her face with her hands.

“Hahaha!” Caulifla burst into laughter, smacking the table lightly (by her standards) even as Kale pouted. She noticed Goku looking between her and Kale a few times while he was eating. “What? See something you like, Goku?” She teasingly tugged at the top of her magenta tube top with a grin.

“I think so?” Goku wasn’t the most adept when it came to desires and feelings. Hell, he wouldn’t even really know about them if it wasn’t for Bulma. “I’m just happy that there’s more of us.”

“Same… I guess.” Caulifla let out a laugh. “I don’t get interested in weaklings though.” She shot him a challenging look.

“I think I’m stronger than you though?” Goku didn’t brag or say it mockingly. He was honestly curious to find out if he was or not.

“We’ll see about that!” Caulifla declared as she leaned over the table and pointed at Goku; and then snatched the chashu pork he was about to eat from his chopsticks, shoving it in her mouth with a triumphant smirk.

“Hey! That was mine!” Goku leaned over the table, but Bulma’s tail wrapped around his pulled him back down into the seat.

“Hehehe…” Caulifla grinned as she swallowed his food.

“Sis…be nice.” Kale nudged Caulifla with her elbow. She continued her meal, but for the first time in a while, Caulifla saw a happy smile on Kale’s face just from being around others. It wasn’t easy being the only two of your kind in the world. At the very least, they’d always had each other though.

Goku snatched the leg of meat that Caulifla was about to take and chomped down on it while looking her in the eyes.

“That was mine, Goku!” Caulifla growled at him, her fist raised in front of her.

Goku swallowed the first large bite with a grin. “You hadn’t picked it up yet, so it wasn’t yours.” Simple, childish, logic…but technically sound.

“You little…” Caulifla glared at him for a bit longer. “You just wait until we fight! I’ll make you pay for taking my food!”

“Um…we…we have more.” Three monks stood off to the side of the table with trays of food.

“Just set it down…” Bulma sighed at Goku and Caulifla’s antics.

“I’m so sorry about her…” Kale apologized as Caulifla quickly took a large plate meant for the table all for herself.

Bulma smiled at Kale warmly. “I’ve never seen Goku like this.” She motioned with her head at the smiling face of Goku even as he and Caulifla continued to snatch food from each other. “I think it might be a good thing.”

Kale couldn’t help but return the smile, even if she did so a little hesitantly. “Maybe?” It wasn’t very convincing, but the girl’s tone was noticeably happier as she spoke.

“The Tenka’ichi Budokai Finals will begin in ten minutes! All competitors, please make your way back to the Main Martial Arts Hall!” The referee’s voice came over the loudspeakers outside. Easily heard by Saiyan ears, even from a distance.

“Gotta hurry!” Goku, Caulifla, Kale, and Bulma all said in unison as they quickly started finishing off the food that had just been brought out a short time ago.

Saiyans would never leave a table with food on it if they had any choice in the matter.

-End Chapter-

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The preliminaries are just as easy as they were in Canon! No one stops the Turtle School disciples! Kek!

But now two new players have appeared!

Caulifla and Kale are here! Two more Saiyans that have no idea WHY they’re on Earth, but have only had each other to lean on their whole lives.

They’ve both found Goku and Bulma now though! Good news! And it brings a smile to both of the girls’ faces too.

It’s lonely…being the only one…

How do the upcoming matches paly out, both Canon and not?

Keep reading to find out!

Power Levels

Goku – 126

Bulma – 109

Krillin – 108

Roshi – 139

Launch – 5

Caulifla – 78

Kale - 83

Until I get your reviews, later!