Even Match-ups Decided!! Let's Hurry and Hold the First Round

The Z Senshi watch as the two mysterious men walk away. Piccolo takes a step forward. "They aren't of Earth, those two." The small purple man smiles and holds out his hand to shake Son Goku's. Goku, "Nope." Piccolo, "I have no idea who they might be. Why would off-worlders be in a place like this?" Videl, "Huh?" She turns to Gohan. "Say, what does he mean? 'Arent of the Earth'?" Gohan, "Huh? Ah, that person..." He leans in and whispers to her. "...see, he's a little bit funny." Piccolo's ear twitches. Videl, "You're right. Come to think of it, he looks a little pale." Piccolo somehow manages to ignore the comments, though it seems to be difficult. Kuririn, "No matter, no matter, let's hurry! The Budokai's drawing is about to start!" Gohan, "Y-yeah."

A role of gauze drops to the floor as Satan bandages himself and digs through a first aid kit. "Damn. That kid Trunks, or whatever... I even told him how lightly to do it."

Trunks peers around a corner. He pauses, then quietly runs by, with Goten following more slowly. Several yards away, two Budokai attendants are smiling and talking. Trunks keeps running and jumps up on top of a wall. He looks around. "Huh?" He turns around. "Hey, Goten! Come look at this!" Goten stands on the ground behind Trunks, holding a can in both hands. "Hmm? What?" He joins Trunks on the wall. "Look at that guy! The one with the mask on!" Goten laughs. "That's a strange mask alright!" Out in the middle of an opening, a man in a dark green mask and cape stands with his arms crossed, his hands covered with yellow gloves, his feet with yellow boots. He's also wearing white clothes with a black belt. Trunks, "This area is one where only people who have qualified in the preliminaries can enter. That means he's one of them! How about it? Don't you think we can use him?" Goten looks from the masked man to Trunks. "Hm?" Trunks grins. "In that outfit, no one would know if we were inside! Probably." Goten, "How do you mean?" Trunks, "Don't you get it? Put simply, we give him a good chop, and while he's out, we take his clothes." He holds up his finger as he explains. "Then we pretend to be him, and participate in the matches!" Goten, "No way, we couldn't do something like that! You say such ridiculous things, Trunks-kun!" The man looks over his back at the wall. "Hmm?" Trunks and Goten quickly duck back out of sight.

"What's the matter? Don't you want to try matching up against the grown-ups?" Goten, "W-well, sure I'd like to try, but..." Trunks, "Don'cha!? Okay, it's settled then!" Trunks jumps over the wall and Goten jumps up behind him, leaning over the wall with a worried expression. "H-hold on!" Trunks runs up to the man. "Um..." The man turns to him. "What is it? You want an autograph, little boy?" Trunks points in the direction he came. "There's a pretty young lady over there who says she wants to talk to you." Man, "What!?" Trunks faces away, looking back and forth in that direction. "She's too embarrassed, so she asked me to come get you for her." Man, "R-really? Where is she?" Grabbing his hand, Trunks runs toward the "pretty young lady." "This way, this way." They slow to a stop. "Where, where? Is she really pretty?" He looks around for her. "Just so you know, I'm pretty fussy about that. Where, where?" Grinning, Trunks disappears and then reappears behind the man, hitting him hard in the back of the head. He collapses. "Alright!" Goten shows up next to him. "Trunks-kun..." Trunks smiles at him. "Give me a hand here, Goten.

Still sporting a stunned expression, the man is dragged away by Trunks, pulling him by the feet. Trunks, "We did it! We did it!" Goten, running alongside them, still doesn't look quite so sure. Trunks drags him back behind some bushes and grabs the mask/cape. "Hey, let's get his clothes off." Goten stares in silence. Then it skips ahead a couple seconds and suddenly there's commotion in the bushes with a cloud of dust around them and everything. "I put this on?" Trunks, "Yeah." Goten, "Yeah, but aren't I too small? Won't that give us away?" Trunks, "You're such a fool. Both of us wear it together! Both of us!" Goten stops and looks at Trunks. "Huh? Both of us? The dust clears from around them and now lying in the grass is a short, balding man wearing nothing but his underwear. Goten pulls on a boot, Trunks pulls on a glove. Trunks rides on Goten's shoulders as he prepares to cover them both. Goten looks up at him, still unsure. "You don't think anyone can tell like this?" Trunks, "Fool! There's no way anyone can tell!" He throws on the mask and cape and they're done. "Alright! This is perfect! There's no way anyone can tell!" Goten, "I don't know..."

Two attendants step out of a building, talking. One of them, "Huh?" He waves to Goten and Trunks. "The drawing is about to start!" Trunks, "Yes, I'm going now!" He looks down to Goten. "Right?" Goten, "Yeah." Trunks throws his hand up, pointing forward. "Alright, I'll be right back!" Then he starts to stumble back, losing his balance. "H-hey, the other way, the other way! Not this way!" He runs into a tree and falls over. Goten, "You know, I can't see in front of me!" Trunks, "So just poke some holes!" A finger appears once, then disappears and reappears a second later. Goten's eyes show through the holes in the clothing. "You're right!" Trunks, "Now we're perfect!"

Kuririn, "So there's sixteen contestants appearing? I wonder what kind of opponents there'll be. Oh well, I don't expect there will be anyone that great." They all stop together and the announcer, who was staring into a blue box, turns and waves to them. "Ah, you're here, you're here!" An attendant, the man holding the box, still looks into it. He looks up when the announcer greets them. Goku waves. "Yeah." He turns back to the attendant and a clipboard he's holding. "So, have all the entrants come together yet? Well then, let's call Mr. Satan in." Another attendant walks up and whispers into his hear, "Mr. Satan is having a rest. He said to have his drawing done for him." Announcer, "Really? Well, that's what we'll do then."

"Right, everyone, we will now hold the drawing to determine your match order! When your name is called, please come and draw one of these lots." Kuririn closes his eyes, folds his hands, and bows his head. "Kami-sama, I plead with you! Please don't let me face one of these guys in the first round!" Piccolo grins. "Kuririn, when you say Kami-sama, it's Dende!" Kuririn opens one eye and looks up at him. "Ah, that's right! But that's okay! Kami-sama! Dende-sama!" Son Goku takes a single step forward and looks around. "Hm?" He surveys his possible opponents. An enormous, dark-skinned man with his arms crossed. A smaller, light-skinned man with long blonde hair. A smiling muscular black man. Two muscular, very pale, almost pasty, men with veins popping out everywhere. The one whose face we can (partially) see has an "M" on his forehead. The strange couple from earlier. "Except for those two, there ain't anyone else all that seems all that great." The two pasty guys look up angrily and we can see that both of them have the "M" on their forehead. Goku looks at them, confused. "What's with them? Those two have a sinister look about them! It's like they've over-pumped-up!" He looks over at one last opponent. "Wha-?" A man in white clothes with a dark green mask/cape and yellow gloves and boots. He has trouble even keeping his balance. Goku looks at him in surprise and confusion. "T-that guy is a contestant? He sure does have an unusual build!"

Announcer, "So then, I will be calling you in Japanese alphabetical order." He looks down at his clipboard. "Um, Killa-san..." The muscular black man steps up and grunts. He reaches into the blue box and pulls out one of a number of green numbered balls. "Number 14." He hands it to the announcer, who with a smile takes a look at the ball. "Right, Killa-san is number 14." An attendant speaks into a cell phone, "Contestant Killa, number 14!" On a big board behind him, another attendant is writing down the order. Yet another attendant was on the other end of that phone call and turns to a final attendant who is standing at a board on the platform, writing down the order (I think it's a different guy from the first one who's writing the order down). The phone guy turns to the board guy and announces, "Contestant Killa, number 14!" The man then writes Killa's name under the number 14 slot. Man in the audience, "Oh! The match-ups for the first round are underway!" And the crowd, of course, cheers. The announcer looks down at his board. "Next is Contestant Kibit, if you please?" The large pink/purple man who was silent while his much smaller friend talked to Son Goku in the previous episode steps forward and reaches into the box. He hands his ball to the announcer, who looks down and reads off, "Um, number 7." Kibit turns and walks off without a word. Phone guy, "Contestant Kibit, number 7!" The crowd screams. "Next is Contestant Kuririn..." Kuririn, "Oh, me?" He looks around, then steps up. He chuckles as he reaches into the box and fishes out a ball. "Please let this be a good number." He removes his hand and reveals the number 1 ball. "Number 1! You mean my match is right off the bat?" Goku and Gohan are both smiled as the next name is read off. "Next, Contestant Great Saiyaman!" Gohan, "Right!" He steps up to the blue box. As Videl watches, he reaches in and pulls out a ball. "Number 8." The attendant at the board writes it down. "Ah, so that guy who just..." A closeup of the board shows the Great Saiyaman in the number 8 slot and Kibit in the number 7. Goku walks up to him and puts his hand on his shoulder. "You'd better not let your guard down. I don't think he's your average guy." Gohan looks back at his father. "Ah, right. He sure doesn't seem so."

"Next is, er, Contestant Number 18." She steps up. "So, what is your name?" Juuhachigou, "Something like that doesn't really matter, does it?" She reaches in, pulls out a ball, takes a quick look at it herself, and tosses it to the announcer. Caught off guard, he tries to catch it, but fails. She says, "Number 9" and walks away. The announcer looks back down at his clipboard. "Contestant Shin!" The purple man opens his eyes. "Yes." Piccolo looks up to watch. Goku nods. Shin reaches into the box and pulls out a green ball. "Number 3." Goku, "Shin, huh? That's a name I've never heard before, alright."

--COMMERCIAL--

Shin joins Kibit as Goku and Piccolo scrutinize him. The announcer smiles. "We are continuing the drawing now. When your name is called, please come immediately." Trunks, "Hey, Goten, what was the name of this guy?" Goten, "Hm? I wouldn't know something like that!" Announcer, "Next, Contestant Spopovitch, if you please?" No response. He looks up. "Er... Contestant Spopovitch, if you would?" Trunks, "Hey, there's no answer! Could he be this Spopovitch?" Goten, "That's it, it has to be!" Trunks, "Hurry, let's go!" Goten, "Yeah." Announcer, "Spopovitch-san!" Trunks, "Yes! I'm coming now!" The two pasty men watch as Trunks and Goten run toward the blue box. We get a better view of them now. One of them is absolutely huge and is wearing a tight black suit that covers half his chest. The other is maybe 3/4 of his height and is wearing black pants with a purple sash and purple wristbands. Goten reaches into the box. "I wonder what I'll get..." The announcer jumps up beside him. "Hmm? You're Mighty Mask-san, aren't you?" Trunks looks up at him. "Eh?" A giant hand grabs Trunks by the head. "Move it!" It's the big, pasty guy. "I'm Spopovitch!" Trunks, "Ah, pardon." Spopovitch throws Mighty Mask out of the way. Trunks, "ow, ow, ow!" Spopovitch reaches into the blue box. Videl watches the very odd Mighty Mask. Trunks, "I-idiot! Now you've embarrassed us! What do you think you're doing?" Goten, "What do you mean? Trunks-kun, you said so, didn't you?"

Spopovitch fishes around in the box, searching for a ball. "Spopovitch-san, you've changed quite a bit from before. I didn't realize it was you." Spopovitch holds out his hand with a green ball in it and the announcer recoils slightly. "Eh, number 6." Spopovitch grunts. Trunks, "Damn. If only that abnormal-looking jerk had answered sooner!" A man writes Spopovitch's name in the number 6 slot. "Next is Contestant Jewel." The blonde guy reaches into the box and pulls out a green ball. He holds it up and shows it to the announcer. "Number 16." Announcer, "Right. Contestant Jewel is number 16." And the guy at the board on the platform writes it down. Man, "Oh, it's Jewel! He's the Chamipon from my city! He's really strong! He'll win for sure!" He's hit in the head by a can. Another man, "Fool! There's no way he can win against Mr. Satan!" Chichi stares at the board through binoculars. "Goku-san is still to come? He's just gotta be victorious for me, no matter what!" Gyuu Maou, "Well, victory's a matter of the luck of the moment. Vegeta an' Piccolo are here too, ya know." Chichi lowers her binoculars. "Pa! This is no time for you to be talkin' like that! Our whole livin' depends on it! Goten had his victory taken away from him by Trunks' dirty tricks!" Bulma looks up at her angrily, but remains silent. "That's why Goku-sa has to win at any cost, an' bring home that prize money!" She crosses her arms. "Our family's finances are already so hard up, our 'wheel of fire' is about to have a flat!"

"Next, Son Goku-san!" Goku takes a step forward. "So, it's my turn! Alright!" He does a few quick stretches, then walks up to the box. He reaches in. "I wonder what number it'll be..." And he pulls out a green ball. He shows it to the announcer, who reads off, "Number 11." Goku turns eagerly to the board, only to find that the number 12 slot is still open. "My opponent ain't been decided yet, huh? Wonder who it'll be." Announcer, "Next, Videl-san!" She jumps up. "Yes!" And walks up to the box. She reaches in, and as she searches for a ball, she looks up at the announcer. "What's the matter with Papa?" Announcer, "Er, Mr. Satan is having a rest." Videl, "Hmm." She finally pulls out a ball. "Number 5!" Son Goku turns to Gohan. "H-hey, when she says Papa, you mean she's Mr. Satan's daughter?" Gohan, "Y-yeah, that's right." Kuririn, "Oh? I'd heard stories about him having a daughter, but they look nothing alike." He rubs his chin. "She's pretty cute, after all." Juuhachigou just stares at him as he talks. Gohan scratches his cheek, blushing. "W-well, I guess so." Kuririn walks up to him. "If you thrill her just a little bit, I bet you could get her to marry you in a second, Gohan!" He waves his arms around. "H-how could you!? We're not even really seeing each other!" Kuririn waves him off. "Well, not to worry, not to worry..."

"Contestant Punter, number 2." Kuririn looks up. "Huh?" A look of happiness washes over him. "Alright! He's going to be my opponent!" The ground shakes as the giant dark skinned man steps up to Kuririn. "Are you this Kuririn guy?" Kuririn, "Oh, yeah I am." Punter leans over and points right in his face. His hand is as big as Kuririn's head. "I don't show any mercy, even to refuse like you! I'm gonna pound you to a soft pulp!" Kuririn turns away, smiling, his eyes shut. "Ah, what a shame! Any way you look at it, that's just the line of a weak guy posing as a strong one." He waves him off. "Your abilities are already obvious." Punter stands up, angry. "W-what did you say!? Why you... You're likely going to die! Better write out a will now, while you still can! Better prepare a coffin, too! I'm going to make yours a flashy funeral!" Kuririn looks exasperated. "Next, Contestant Vegeta." Vegeta, who was sitting against a wall, opens his eyes. He walks up to the box and reaches in. He pulls out a ball and grins when he sees it. Not even telling the announcer, he immediately turns around and shows his number 12 ball to Son Goku. Goku, "Hm?" The announcer leans around to see it and reads off "Number 12." Piccolo seems shaken for some reason. "Vegeta is number 12!?" Attendant, "Number 12, Contestant Vegeta!" Son Goku and Vegeta's names are written side by side on the board. Kuririn, "H-hey! Goku and Vegeta right from the get-go!?" Goku grins. "Vegeta, huh?" Vegeta, "Alright! Kakkarotto is my opponent! I've been waiting for this! How I've waited for this moment! The day I am victorious over Kakkarotto!" Trunks, "Hey! Both our dads are in the same fight together! Which do you think will win?" Goten, "My father is going to win, for sure!" Trunks, "Fool! My Papa is a sure thing! And your dad's dead, isn't he?" Goten, "He might be dead, but Big Brother says he's been training in the Other World."

"Mighty Mask-san! Mighty Mask-san! I've been calling for some time." Mighty Mask runs forward. Trunks, "Ah, pardon me!" He reaches in. Announcer, "Please, hurry and draw." Trunks, "Right." He pulls out a ball and announces, "Number 13." Announcer, "Has Mighty Mask always been so high-torsoed?" Mighty Mask stumbles around in the background. "Next, Contestant Ma Junior." Piccolo steps forward and reaches in, pulls out a ball, and shows it to the announcer. "Number 4." He looks over to the board and sees the empty number 4 slot next to Shin's number 3. Shin smiles. Piccolo, "I'm against him. Fine. Maybe I can find out something about who he is." Announcer, "Next is the Champion, Mr. Satan's turn. Owing to his instructions, I will draw his lot in his place." He reaches in and pulls out a ball. "Mr. Satan is number 10!" And he's written up on the board next to Number 18. Kuririn, "Hey, they said your opponent is Mr. Satan!" Juuhachigou, "Who is Mr. Satan?" Videl, "This isn't your dai, is it? For you to be up against Papa right away..." Juuhachigou is silent. "Finally, Contestant Yamu." The second pasty guy reaches in and pulls out the final ball. Announcer, "Right! As expected, number 15. Alright! This is how it's been decided!" He motions toward the now-full board. "The first match will be Contestant Kuririn vs. Contestant Punter." In the upper left corner of the screen, Kuririn is pictured against an orange background, and in the lower right, an angry Punter against a yellow background. "The second match will be Contestant Shin vs. Contestant Ma Junior." This time, the screen is split vertically. On the left side, against an off-white background, Shin. On the other side, against a light blue background, a very serious looking Piccolo. "The third match will be Contestant Videl vs. Contestant Spopovitch." On a horizontal spilt, Videl is on top with a pink background and Spopovitch is on the bottom with a light gray/blue background. "The fourth match will be Contestant Kibit vs. Contestant Great Saiyaman." Split diagonally going from top left to bottom right, but from the middle of the screen instead of the corners, Kibit is on the left with a purple background and Gohan is on the right with a light pink background. "The fifth match will be Contestant Number 18 vs. Contestant Mr. Satan." Split vertically with a zig-zag, Juuhachigou is on the left with her arms crossed on a light purple background, and Satan is on the right with a light blue background and a stupid smile on his face. "The sixth match will be Contestant Son Goku vs. Contestant Vegeta." Split diagonally bottom left to top right in the corners, Goku is on the left with a pink background and Vegeta is on the right with a blue background. Both are smiling. "The seventh match will be Contestant Mighty Mask vs. Contestant Killa." Mighty Mask is on the left with an orange background, and on the other side of a plain vertical split is Killa with a yellow background. "The eighth match will be Contestant Yamu vs. Contestant Jewel." Yamu is on top of a regular horizontal split with a light blue/gray background, and Jewel is on the bottom with a light green/blue background.

"The matches will begin right away. I will lead you from here into the waiting room." He carries his clipboard under his left arm as he walks. He stops and turns around. "Everyone knows the rules, I'm sure. "Giving up, going down and having ten counted, falling out of the ring, calling the Bubutai, and killing your opponent will result in defeat." Each of the Z Senshi listen with...varying degrees of damn-giving. Gohan, for example, appears to give a damn. Vegeta does not. Goku, Videl, and Kuririn all do. Juuhachigou and Piccolo do not. You understand. "Also, since we are holding so many matches..." Now we see the level of damn-giving among the non Z Senshi. Everyone is attentive, but Yamu and Spopovitch seem as though they could care less about the rules. "...there is a 30-minute time limit on each match. If after thirty minutes has passed and the match has yet to be decided, a judgement will be imposed by the referee." Kuririn, "So now there's a time limit." Punter laughs and points at Kuririn. "For you, just ten seconds will be plenty!" Kuririn closes his eyes, annoyed. "I know, I know..."

Satan lies in bed, his head bandaged. "Hmm, the fifth match, huh? Who's my opponent?" An attendant standing next to the bed reports, "I don't know anything about her, but she's a sharp-looking woman!" Satan bolts up in bed and his bandages all fall off. He's got a stupid smile on his face. Outside, the announcer says, "Alright, ladies and gentlemen, we apologize terribly for the delay." The crowd cheers and shouts encouragement to the fighters. First we see Gyuu Maou, Yamucha, Puar, Muten Roshi, Marron, Chichi, Bulma, and Oolong. Then Sharpener and Eliza. Then, Punter going at it with a punching bag while Kuririn stretches in the background. Piccolo stands against a wall with his arms crossed, Juuhachigou has her head cocked and watches Kuririn with her own arms crossed, and Goku peers out around the partition in the doorway with Gohan and Videl. All three are smiling. Vegeta stands off alone. Yamu and Spopovitch are together, as are Shin and Kibit and Jeweler and Killa. Mighty Mask stumbles around randomly. Kuririn pushes himself up and stands. "It's been too long! So, shall we get slightly rowdy?" Announcer, "And so, we're ready to convene the Tenkaichi Budokai!" The crowd cheers.