> 🚨 Want to read more?
The next 10+ chapters are already available on my Patreon!
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First match should be starting now." Oolong mentioned to a worried Bulma while he tried his hand at a vendor game.
"I just hope they get through it in one piece." She replied, her thoughts wondering towards her friends and the one she cared most about up against so many strange and scary fighters from all over the world. Over a hundred of them against her four friends, so many odds to get through, especially for Yamcha despite her confidence in him.
"Don't worry Bulma, Yamcha and the others will be just fine. They know what they are doing, honest!" Puar reassured, holding a drink as big as her.
"I sure hope you're right." Bulma sighed.
The gang had stopped by the food court to get something to eat while they waited for the preliminaries to finish up. Gine sat down with Gohan beside her and tried to focus on eating the strange food before her to take her mind off of the masses of humanity around her. That and her lack of good sleep from the night before had her on edge.
She bit into a piece of breaded sausage she had never seen before, the acidic taste of quickly cooked meat mixed with preserved sauces took her aback after that one bite, almost gagging. While the smell of cooked food was enough to make her hungry, the subtle things her sensitive Saiyan senses detected in the scent of these foods made her question the wisdom of consuming more of it.
"What is this again?" She asked aloud.
"A hot dog." Replied Launch in her blonde form, she looked bored out of her mind from just waiting there. "Ya never had one before?"
"No, I haven't." Gine replied honestly, making a face at the meat sandwich she held.
Launch stared at her for moment longer as if studying her. "Huh, first time for everything I guess." She said and went back into staring off into the distance.
Gine tried to keep eating, trying not to embarrass herself for not knowing what these things were, along with all the other Earthling customs she was trying to learn. Sure, these people were her son's friends, but Kakarot and her were not like them at all and garnered strange looks every now and then. Launch seemed like a nice girl, when she was her docile self and not her "blonde" self as everyone said to her clandestinely.
She forced herself to finish the hot dog, trying to keep it down after she was done. The processed food here couldn't even be called 'food' at all, compared to what she grew and cooked back home. Not even the rawest of meats she used to butcher back on her home planet were as distasteful as the stuff these humans ate here in the cities, which Gine could still not get over just how there could be so many people around.
Trying to stay occupied less she be overstimulated by the constant drone of the people; she took in the surroundings. She had to admit that the change in scenery from vast unending forests and mountains to a very festive gathering of harmless humans seems to have some charm to it. But still...
"A little overwhelming, isn't it?" Gohan asked her.
Gine could only nod as if he had read her thoughts. She had been on edge ever since they got here. "I can see just one thing that's enough to drive anyone out into the mountains." She said dryly.
Gohan nodded in agreement. "Though the World Martial Arts Tournament is a grand event to test out your skills in combat, the crowds can definitely get to you as they come from the world of non-fighters. They are just here for the entertainment rather than to learn. If it was just to be with like-minded folks, then it would be more bearable."
Gine surveyed the crowd, seeing children begging parents for sweets, overly fat men stuffing their faces with the barely edible 'food', and rowdy types getting drunk on whatever humans pass here for alcohol. "I can definitely see why, too."
"So, where did that imbecile Turtle Hermit run off to?" Cackled a familiar voice approaching them.
Gine groaned inwardly. It was that impudent little old man who called himself Master Shen, or Crane, but came off as nothing more than an agitating nuisance rather than a Master of Martial Arts.
"In the ocean." Bulma shot at him. "Why don't you go jump in and find him?"
"Hmph." Crane scoffed. "Knowing him, he probably ran back home too embarrassed to watch his ill-advised pupils get crushed in the tournament."
"Oh, shut up!" Bulma demanded angrily.
Crane stepped closer to her. "It's common knowledge. Roshi's boys can be beaten with one pinky."
Oolong and Puar gawked at him, in amazement and a twinge of fear as if they believed him. Gine didn't, if anything she felt no respect for the man whatsoever.
Bulma stood her ground, "You're misinformed. Now please, leave me alone. Go!"
Crane ignored her. "I can tell by your posture that you're upset. It's tough to back a loser. Cheer up! You don't have to stay with Roshi's team. I could use someone like you."
Gine's tail twitched under her skirt, she thought she couldn't get any more revolted from him, but it appeared that she was wrong. He reminded her all too well of the Saiyan Elites back on Planet Vegeta that acted just like him, complete bullies that pushed around everyone and anyone, especially those below their ranks like her.
But this wasn't Planet Vegeta. This man had no right to harass her and her friends in such a way. And she wasn't going to let him dish out anymore verbal abuse to them. Gine knew she was far stronger than anybody present, and her Saiyan instincts were beginning to tell her to grind this insolent little Crane into a bloody smear on the ground to teach him some manners. And that thought was getting more tempting by the moment...
Gohan suddenly put a hand on hers. She snapped out of her dark thought and looked at him. Without realizing it Gine had risen from her seat, but was stopped by his contact with her and Gohan shook his head discreetly to tell her to not act out.
"I can't believe I'm listening to you. You're wearing a crane!" Bulma continued to argue, her voice laced with disgust.
Crane feigned offense. "What?! What?! I can't believe you're mocking me. This happens to show the status of my power!"
Gine didn't know what to feel at that moment, anger at Gohan for stopping her from defending their friends or grateful for him preventing her from making a scene. Either way, she hesitantly let it go and sat back down.
"Sorry." She whispered as softly as she could to him. He squeezed her hand gently in acknowledgement. Gine mentally tried some breathing exercises Gohan had taught her to help herself calm down.
Crane looked over Gine, not giving her a moment's thought, and looked at Launch who seemed to have dozed off.
"Hey lady! Are you awake or what?!"
She didn't respond, but Gine noticed how the old man stared at Launch's breasts.
"Ma'am? Hello?!" Crane repeated.
Launch suddenly opened her eyes, enraged and somehow wielding a submachine gun.
"CAN'T A GIRL GET A MOMENTS REST?!" She yelled and fired at Crane. It took a few seconds to empty the clip, but Crane's arms flew into a blur as he caught every single bullet effortlessly.
Launch starred him down still fearless. Gine and Gohan could do feats like this and were unimpressed. But everyone else looked at him slack-jawed in disbelief.
"Give Master Roshi this message..." Crane arrogantly ordered as he dropped the bullets he caught to drive his point home. "He can best help his pupils by preparing for their funerals!" He then turned and walked away without another word.
They all sat there, unsure of what just happened.
"And I thought Roshi was bad!" Bulma broke the silence.
Gohan frowned at her. "My master may be a bit perverse
but never treated people with disrespect and threats."
"True that." Turtle spoke up.
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🚨 Want to read more?
The next 10+ chapters are already available on my Patreon!
By joining, you'll get:
📖 Early access to future chapters
🗳️ Polls to shape the story
🎁 Exclusive content for Patrons
🔥 Bonus adult-themed pictures & scenes you won't find anywhere else(adult only 😉)
Don't fall behind—others are already ahead! 👀
👉 Patreon.com/c/FanfictionTakashi
( please search this link on Google Chrome)