Spirit - Another Dragon Ball Fanfiction

Chapter 60: Danger At The Dojo!

So you're probably wondering: how was yours truly feeling about participating in the Tournament Of Power? Well... in my first life, Universe 7 (my universe) had won. But this time, instead of ten team members, we needed twelve. Which meant all the other competing universes had twelve members as well. A random change? Maybe. But if that was the case, I was starting to wonder whether or not I had just gotten lucky all those other times... But there wasn't any time to drive myself crazy with thoughts like that, thankfully. As to how I was feeling, I was... I was scared. Yep, I admit it. I really was scared. But I was also kind of excited. This was a chance to test my limits and hopefully surpass them again, after all. Wait, shoot, was Goku's personality finally starting to rub off on me? Oh, whatever. Anyway, before the whole tournament business, the recruitment of the other team members had to be seen through to the end first. 

Tien led the others to... a rock, next to where his students were practicing. Goku looked embarrassed. "I can't believe I didn't notice earlier!" Yamcha clapped his friend's shoulder. "Hey, buddy, we all have our bad days." Then, Yamcha walked up to his sleeping teacher and shouted in the Turtle Hermit's ear: "MASTER ROSHI!" The old instructor jumped a good ten feet, then landed on the ground in front of the rock he had been sleeping on. "I-I'm awake! I'm awake! What..." He rubbed his eyes and opened them, then noticed Yamcha and the others. "Oh? Yamcha! Goku! What are you doing here?" Goku grinned. "Well..." He was about to explain when Tien told all his students to take a break. Suddenly, Chiaotzu floated up to Tien. "Tien! A new student is here." Tien glanced over his shoulder, and the others headed up to him. Yamcha studied the newcomer- a young girl with dark green hair arranged in two bows, round, large eyes, and a blue dress. 

She looked up at Tien, sweat running down her face. "Uh... Um... Hello." Tien looked like he was about to respond when suddenly Master Roshi noticed her and exclaimed "At last!" His dirty side took control and he ran forward, but Yamcha restrained him. "Whoa, whoa, Master Roshi! Just calm down for a second!" Master Roshi struggled, but Yamcha held firm and eventually the old man stopped. Yamcha laughed nervously. "Ah ha ha ha... Sorry about that. He can be a bit of a- Urgh! -rascal." The girl shyly averted Yamcha's gaze, instead focusing on Tien. "That's OK." Tien narrowed all three of his eyes. "Why do you seek the path of the martial artist?" The girl looked surprised, like she wasn't expecting him to ask that. But right before she replied, Goku interrupted: "Wait! Don't tell me: you want to get really strong, don't you?" The girl blinked in surprise, but then nodded frantically. "Yes! Yes, that's it." Goku beamed. "I knew it!" Tien paused for a moment, then nodded. "Very well, then." Marorizu put a hand on Yurin's shoulder. "Alright, let's go get you into some more battle-appropriate clothes." They walked away. "Mom, wait for me!" Pine said, and she scurried after them.

While the girls were off on their own, Goku, Yamcha, and Tien sat down to talk while Master Roshi went off to "go check on the ladies". Although they knew what he really meant, Yamcha released him and let him go, knowing that he'd probably get kicked out really fast anyway. Tien asked a question to Goku: "This Tournament Of Power... how many other members have you gathered for our team?" Goku counted on his fingers while listing everyone off. "Uh... Let's see... Vegeta, Krillin, 18, 17, Piccolo, Gohan, and Buu have all joined. Yamcha and Marorizu have as well." Tien looked a little rattled as he turned towards Yamcha. "Yamcha... Are you sure you're OK with letting Marorizu fight, too?" Yamcha laughed nervously, then leaned forward and lowered his voice. "Even if I refused, she'd beat me up and force me to say yes, and don't forget: she's still a Saiyan. She wanted to fight, so I said yes." Tien smirked. "I see." His expression became serious again as he faced Goku. "Well, is there any type of reward if we win?" Goku opened his mouth to bluff so that Tien wouldn't get worried, but Yamcha held up a hand. "Goku..." he warned. Goku frowned nervously. "Yamcha, I just don't want to-" Yamcha placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Goku. Tien deserves to know." "Huh?" Tien asked. Yamcha took a deep breath as he looked towards Tien. "Alright, we'll tell you. But you gotta promise us you won't freak." Tien nodded. "OK, I promise." Yamcha inhaled, then spoke the truth, which Goku had told him and Marorizu as they flew on their way to Tien's dojo. 

"Wait... the price of losing is erasure? For the entire universe?" Tien exclaimed with wide eyes. Goku and Yamcha both nodded grimly, and Tien looked at the former in disbelief. "Goku, how could you do something so reckless?!" Goku raised his hands in surrender. "I didn't know that that's what Lord Zen-Oh had in mind! Honestly!" Yamcha nodded and chimed in: "And besides, from what the Grand Priest said, Lord Zen-Oh was going to erase all the weaker universes anyway- including ours. This tournament doesn't just involve a high risk of erasure. It's also technically a chance to survive." Tien grimaced, unsure of what to say, and Yamcha kept going: "Tien, we can't let the others know about this." Tien looked up, shocked. "Yamcha-" "Please, man! If word of this gets out, everyone's gonna panic! Is that what you want?" Tien closed his eyes and sighed. "Alright... I understand. I'll join the team." Yamcha smiled in relief. "OK. Thanks, buddy. I owe you one." Tien chuckled, though it was a little sour. "No, it's fine." They were suddenly interrupted when an explosion went up from the village nearby. "What the-?!" Tien shouted as he stood up and flew towards the smoke. Yamcha and Goku followed closely behind. 

What they found were all of Tien's students glowing purple, with yellow-and-red pieces of paper attached to their foreheads. The aspiring martial artists marched around like zombies, destroying anything they could break. On a nearby rooftop stood the new girl, now in a new outfit, facing the opposite direction. Then, she perked up when she heard the footsteps of Yamcha, Goku, and Tien, and she turned around, her arms folded and a smirk on her face. Tien clenched his teeth. "Did... did you do all of this?!" The girl closed her eyes and raised her head proudly. "Yes! As a matter of fact, I did!" Suddenly, Marorizu, Pine, and Master Roshi ran up to Yamcha, Goku, and Tien. "Dad! She started placing those paper things on all of those guys, and now she's controlling them!" Pine exclaimed. Marorizu nodded. "We've got to stop her." Master Roshi smiled. "Oh, you leave that naughty girl to me. Why don't you go help out the villagers?" Marorizu scowled at him. "This really isn't the time for you to let your bad side take over, you old-" Yamcha cupped a hand over his wife's mouth, and while she protested, her words were muffled. "Shhh. Just calm down. We're gonna fix this." Yamcha said in the most soothing tone he could muster. Marorizu eventually lost the angry light in her eyes, and Yamcha removed his hand from her mouth. He faced his family and friends. "Well, then. Let's get to work!"