While the two best friends chatted in the corner, talking about a couple of new moves they were currently developing for their arsenal, the pair was unknowingly being watched by the same hooded figure from before.
Brown cloak with a ruffled collar covering their face, the figure had their arms crossed and eyes fixed firmly upon Gohan. When they saw the boy laugh at a funny retelling from his companion, the youngster in the hood sneered angrily and their fingers tightened against their arm.
Soon enough, after about twenty minutes had ticked by, the ring announcer's voice blared into life over the speakers. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience! Welcome to the 25thWorld Martial Arts Tournament! I'm sure you're all looking forward to some action, so why don't we kick things off with the Junior Competition!" The man's exclamations drew a loud cheer and applause from the massive crowds outside, alerting the youngsters to the start of the main events.
Looking up from their spots, Gohan and Videl saw an official waving them towards the arena doorway and begin ushering the young fighters scattered across the room through the barricade. Doing as instructed, all of the children marched in a single file out of the room and onto the ring to be introduced to the audience they would be performing for.
As the announcer, a blonde man in a suit and sunglasses, continued to read out his lines to the excited spectators, the children formed into a row behind him, all of whom stood upright before their supporters. "Unlike the Adult Division, there is no qualifying round! All thirty five of these young fighters are going to test their might in the ring. The rules of course are the same as the big leagues. Whoever gives up, lands out of bounds, stays down for ten counts, or loses consciousness, will lose it all!" The speaker then gestured to the group of eager looking kids behind him."Let's give it up for all our contestants and wish them the best of luck!"
Another rain of cheers cascaded down upon the pitch, drowning out all other sounds and swelling the kids' hearts with pride. Gohan and Videl were looking especially excited, the two of them taking it all in before they were then lead back into the waiting room. On their way down the steps, they sensed around to see whether or not Piccolo and Zangya were out there.
It didn't take them long to spot the two aliens standing up on the walkway at the very top of the square-shaped stadium, whom they waved towards in greeting. They received a wave from Zangya, but the Namekian maintained his composure and merely smiled their way.
A few short minutes after that, the Junior Division began.
OOO
The first couple rounds of the competition went by incredibly fast. As it turns out, Videl was right on the mark about this whole stage being a sort of sideshow. The audience didn't take the Junior Division seriously at all as one after the other, they watched kids step into the ring and start something akin to a routine circus performance.
Despite the variety of practitioners amongst the children, none of them had the experience, strength or maturity to truly call themselves fighters. Sure, it was fun watching a few of the kids try to pound the stuffing out of each other, with many older kids taking pity on the younger ones and quickly kicking them off of the platform, it was all just a pathetic sham really. While all the adults in the audience laughed their asses off, Gohan and Videl paid no attention to them whatsoever, whereas Piccolo and Zangya were just baffled by the sheer idiocy of it all.
"This is as entertaining as watching paint dry," the Hera remarked with a bored tone of voice after the fourth match had come and gone.
"Just wait a couple of minutes. I'm sure things will pick up by the time Gohan and Videl start their matches," Piccolo said, arms folded and eye twitching. Obviously he was the more composed of the two, but right now even he was having trouble keeping his cool through this joke of an opening.
As this was all going on, Gohan and Videl stood comfortably beside the back entrance, one with his hands on his hips and the other with her arms folded. They peered through the window as the next pair of youngsters, karate students, fought across the flat of concrete tiles with very unimpressed expressions in play.
"You're up next, right?" Gohan asked.
"Yep," the raven haired fighter replied with a yawn, "Against some older kid who practices kung fu. I'm sure his style is good, but his power will be sort of… lacking."
"Try not to hit him too hard then," the demi-Saiyan spoke in a firm tone, wisely reminding his student of her newly acquired strength. "Even though you were stronger than him before, you're now in a completely different league of martial arts. Just a tap to his forehead should be enough to get the job done. Just make sure not to crack his head open."
"Zero effort. Got it," Videl nodded in understanding. As she continued to stand there with her eyes forward, the pair then became aware of a 'hissing' sound and looked over their shoulders. When they did, the pair saw Hercule Satan peeking around the doorway and smiling at them. The sight of the big man had the girl smile, "Oh. Hi daddy. What are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here? Well, I just wanted to see how my daughter was doing and came down here to wish her luck," the afro man replied quietly, being sure not to draw attention while approaching his little girl. Kneeling down beside her, the current world champion beamed at his great treasure, taking in her orange and blue gi while reaching up to pat her on the head. "You're fighting in the next round, right?"
"Uh-huh."
"Good. I know you're going to do well, sweet pea," the Champ exclaimed, grinning brightly before lowering his hand back to his side. One last look over drew a nod from the wrestling legend, "I'm so proud of you."
Videl's eyes sparkled at her father's words, "Thanks, dad."
Chuckling, Hercule then set his gaze upon Gohan. Not at all surprised to see him here, the man beamed at the young warrior and nodded to him respectfully. "Good luck in your matches too, Gohan. I hope to see you in the finals."
"Count on it, Mr. Satan," the half-Saiyan said with a smile of his own.
Acknowledging his words of confidence, the man in the white cape and brown gi then cleared his throat and rose up to full height. Upon which he quietly backed through the entrance and spared the duo one last wave. "I'll be watching your fights from the upper floor window. Good luck to both of you." And with that he disappeared, successfully managing to stealthily pass on his best wishes to his favorite little girl and her friend.
"And now for the next match: Videl Satan versus Lee Shen!"
"Finally. My turn," the raven haired girl chirped, slapping her cheeks lightly and making her way forward. She grinned over her shoulder at her partner, "Cheer for me, alright."
"Will do," Gohan gave her a thumbs-up.
Following her to the exit, the demi-Saiyan watched as Videl and her opponent, a tall boy wearing only a pair of gi pants and a belt, marched their way down the catwalk to the stage. Under the wild cheers and applause from the crowd, the pair ascended the stairway and took to the center, with the announcer being sure to blurt out their introductions.
"I'm sure we're in for a treat, folks! After months of rigorous training, last year's Junior Division champion Videl Satan is back in the ring and ready to make her climb to the top. And it looks like she's sporting some new colors too!" Sunglasses flashing when the man recognized the garb she was wearing, he then gestured to her opponent as the pair split up and faced each other in the middle. "Her opponent Lee Shen is also a returning contestant. This young go-getter put on quite a show for us at the last tournament, but lost it out to Mudo in the quarter final match. Let's see how far he's come since then!"
With one last cheer from the crowd, the two youngsters squared off, with the raven haired boy looking raring to go whereas Videl simply stood there appearing passive as usual. Her unchanging expression had the fierce looking practitioner glare.
"I don't care if you are the Champ's daughter. You're still going down!"
Videl threw a bored look back at him. "Whatever."
Spinning his microphone, the excited announcer raised his hand and brought it down in a clean chopping motion, "NOW… LET THE MATCH BEGIN!" He then backed off, giving the pair enough space to have at it.
"I'm going to kick your ass!" No sooner had the bell been sounded, the young Lee rushed forward and lunged down at the girl with a swinging right.
The second his punch was loose, Videl watched it approach her in bullet time, her expression remaining completely calm as she casually lifted her left and stopped it with her finger. Stunning the boy at her block, the girl then wasted no time in bringing her free hand up and, loading her index finger, flicked him in the forehead. With the sound of a 'slap', Lee was knocked tumbling across his entire half of the ring before eventually rolling over the side and hitting the ground with a dull thud.
When the dust cleared, it revealed the boy lying there with a red welt on his forehead and swirly eyes. "Ooh… mummy…?"
"R-Ring out!" the announcer exclaimed in surprise, a grin slowly forming on his face as he then watched Videl stroll off of the ring. "There you have it folks! The match is over! Let's give it up for Videl!" When the crowd eventually got over the shock of the startling win, they quickly rolled with it and honored the victor with a round of applause.
As the washes of praise passed over him, the blonde haired announcer grinned at the retreating girl's back. "Yes! I knew those colors looked familiar! She's wearing a uniform similar to the one Son Goku wore at his last tournament! This is amazing!" He then clenched his fists and pumped one discreetly. "Finally, the fighters I've been waiting for! They're coming back!"
His enthusiasm burning, the man knew right then and there he was bound to get something out of this tournament yet!
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