My One True Love, Trunks Briefs

Chapter Forty-Five

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the 28th World Martial Arts Tournament will begin shortly! All contestants come to center stage for opponent assignments!" The intercom system clicked off when the announcer was done speaking. Grinning, I started for the door.

"C'mon, guys! Let's kick some ass!" Hoots and hollers respond to my comment as our large group filed out of Hercule's hut.

"Good luck to you all!" Tarble says to everyone. "I look forward to this greatly!"

"As do I," Ares agrees. Both Saiyans had a smile on their faces.

"I guess this is where we part ways," Videl says, looking at us. Mom, Bulma, Kansas, Gure and Grandpa all nodded in agreement. Since she was pregnant, Videl had decided to not enter in the tournament. Not that I blamed her or anything. It was a smart thing to do.

The small group of five gave hugs all around, wishing us all the best of luck. Kisses were exchanged between Gohan and Videl, Mom and Dad, Vegeta and Bulma, and Tarble and Gure. I smiled. When they were all done, those who weren't fighting went to get seats in the bleachers.

The rest of us made our way to the arena stage, like the announcer had said over the intercom. There were already six people there, one of which was very familiar.

"Hey guys, look! It's Buu!" Gaea says, smiling and waving at our chubby pink friend. He immediately perked up when he saw us, bouncing up and down.

"Don't you think it's weird you're suddenly friends with one of the greatest enemies you've ever faced?" Nate asked, studying Buu curiously. I glanced over at 18 then over to Vegeta.

"Oh yeah, sooooo weird," I replied sarcastically, rolling my eyes. Nate frowned.

As we waited, I looked around at the other contestants. There were five in total, meaning either a lot of people didn't sign up, or my group was so large that most of the spots were taken. Of the five, only one was a boy. He honestly didn't look up older than a middle schooler, but boy did he already have some muscles. His black spiky hair reminded me of my brothers', but that's about as far as the resemblance went. Analytical, blood-red eyes scanned over everything around him, but he seemed calm.

Must be scoping out the competition, I thought.

The kid had on a dark blue T-shirt, black jeans and a headband that matched his eyes. His dark arms were crossed over his chest, giving him a more mature look. When his eyes passed over me, he paused long enough to nod in acknowledgment before they moved on.

Standing behind the boy were two of the girls. They were talking to each other, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. One of them had sky-blue hair that came to about her shoulders while the other had hair that was long and blond. In a way, they reminded me of Bulla and Mar who were standing near Goten and talking excitedly about different things. Both looked to be about the same age as myself.

Blondie had crystal blue eyes that stood out against all the dark colors that she wore. A black leather vest covered what looked like a gray tank top with a blue and black tie hanging around her neck. She had on a skirt that matched the tie. Around her head, just like the boy, she had a headband. Except hers was black with a black flower.

The girl she was talking with - the one with blue hair - wore something along the same lines as me: a black, mid thigh ao dai with blue tights that matched her hair. The only differences are she wore black boots sorta like Dad's and I was barefoot, and she had a pretty leaf design on her ao dai and I didn't. Her eyes were a vibrant pink.

The other two girls were spread apart. The one closest to us had her white hair pulled back into a short pony tail. Her clothes were simple; a white tank top over a long-sleeved black shirt with black tights and black and white sneakers. Looking at her, I realized the only part of her that wasn't black and white in someway were her purple eyes. She too looked to be around my age.

Finally, the last of the girls also had purple eyes. And purple hair, darker than Trunks' and long, confined to a pony tail for when she would fight. Her arms were folded across her chest but I could still see a hint of what looked like a giant red X over her black shirt, which went down almost to her knees. Like the boy, she wore jeans. But hers were blue with many rips in them. She honestly looked like one of those stereotypical emo kids you see in movies.

"Great! Looks like everyone is here!" I looked away from the other fighters to where the announcer had suddenly appeared with one of the arena workers with him. He carried a box under his arm while the worker carried his microphone and a clipboard with paper - probably to write down our names and who we're gonna be facing.. A large grin was spread across the announcer's face.

"What's with the box?" the girl with the plaid tie asked, cutting to the chase.

"Inside are eleven sets of colored ping-pong balls. You'll take turns picking one here and whoever has the same color as you will the person you face in the preliminary round! They also have numbers on them, so we know the order you and your partner will fight!"

The announcer shook the box around, mixing up the balls. "Alright! Who goes first?"

"I will." I turn, watching as the boy with red eyes walks forward.

"Awesome!" The announcer takes the lid off the box, holding it out to the boy. "Just reach on in there, Gamma! Oh, and keep ahold of the ball until we're all done here!"

The boy - Gamma - nodded, sticking a hand in the box. When he pulled it back out, he had a green ball in hand. When he turned it around I saw a white number 10 painted on it. The guy with the clipboard wrote something down as Gamma stepped back from the box, returning to where he had been standing before hand.

"Alright! So who's next?" the announcer asked, looking around at the rest of us.

It didn't take long for all of us pick out our colored ball from the box. In the end, the pairings for this first qualifying round would be Mar vs Reona - the chick with purple hair; Nate vs 18; Lilith - the one that had reminded me of Mar with her blond hair and blue eyes - vs Tarble; Dad vs Gaea; Goten vs Trunks; Bulla vs Krillin; Me vs Ares; Buu vs Piccolo; Gohan vs Mikan - the girl wearing the ao dai; Kimiko - the chick with white hair - vs Gamma; and Vegeta vs Uub. Once we were all paired up, the announcer took his mic from the worker dude, turning it on.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Thanks for waiting! We've finished the opponent assignments and we're ready to begin! So take your seats and get comfortable! Because today's gonna be wild one!" The crowd burst into cheers as they clapped, some standing up and waving around flags or signs with different things printed on them.

The announcer turned to us, turning off the mic for a moment.

"You all ready?"

Some of us nodded while others voiced their answers. But, for the most part, we all had a giant smile on our faces.

"Great! Everyone except Marron and Reona can go sit in the building over there," he says, gesturing behind him. I nodded, already knowing the way it went. We would wait there until our turn came up.

Quickly, my group gathered around Mar. I hugged her tightly.

"Good luck! I know you'll do awesome!" I tell her as I pull away. She smiles brightly.

"Thanks, Moon." I grinned, hugging her again real quick before I moved away.

Krillin and 18 stepped up, both smiling at her. They said a few words of encouragement, followed by Nate doing the same and kissing her.

"We all good now?" the announcer asked as Nate and Mar separated. We all nodded.

"Good! Let's get this show on the road!" Chuckling, my group nodded again before heading to the waiting area.

"In this first match, we have fifteen-year-old Marron against seventeen-year-old Reona!" the announcer starts, causing the crowd to go silent. "Reona is a returning victor while this is Marron's first tournament! Contestants, shake hands and get into position!" We watched as Mar and Reona shook hands with each other before going to opposite sides of the arena, both taking up different stances. I saw the look of determination on Mar's face and smirked.

"On your mark! Get set! FIGHT!"