Romance Evolving

(Note: For the sake of brevity, I will be skipping all the matches except the final one. If you guys are interested enough, I will go back and write the other matches)

As Trunks and Goten took their five-minute break, chatting eagerly with each other, Piccolo approached Goku and Vegeta, who were leaning against the wall of the fighters' ready room. "Hmph. You two think you're so clever," the Namekian said with a smirk.

"Whatcah talkin' about?" Goku asked, softly rubbing his jaw. It still ached from that last punch Trunks had landed on it.

"You know what I'm talking about. Neither of you should have lost those matches, at least not that easily. You threw those fights. Maybe none of the others noticed, but I did."

Vegeta grunted, wincing slightly from the pain in his stomach from the match-deciding kick Goten had sunk there. "We didn't have to try that hard. They each had a couple of genuine surprises."

Piccolo nodded. "I noticed that their fighting styles were largely both based on your own, but with a few twists I recognized as belong to their older brothers, a couple of sequences apparently completely of their own invention...and naturally, a large part of their repetoires were mirrors of one another. But that doesn't answer the question of why."

"We have our reasons."

Always less reticent, Goku spoke up. "Well, ya know...it's time for the next generations to really start taking their place as the defenders of the world, but they might never have been ready for it if they didn't get enough self-confidence by beating us."

Piccolo raised an eyebrow. This was surprisingly psychological for Goku.

"And anyway," he went on, "The two of us have decided our fights don't need somethin' big ridin' on them like a championship, we want our matches to be just for the sake of the match."

Vegeta opened up slightly. "Also, they need a good fight against each other. In pitched, life-or-death battle they're used to relying on each other, watching one another's backs. And while, over the years, I've come to appreciate the benefits of having someone fighting at your side, when it comes right down to it, you really have to know how to stand on your own, and take down even your closest ally if you have to."

"Ah," Piccolo murmured. He looked as if he was about to say something more, but then Goten and Trunks approached them, wide grins on their faces.

"The fight's just about to start," said Trunks.

"We wanted to see you real quick," said Goten.

"Well, this's definitely gonna be a fight to remember," said Goku, rummaging around inside his gi. "And let me give you something to help make sure of that...ah, here we go!" He pulled out a small brown bag, reached inside it, and pulled out two senzu beans, flipping one to each of the teenagers. "I got some of these from Karin just in case this was one of those tournaments that went bad, but so far everything is OK, so we want you guys to be at your best for this one!"

They smiled, thanked him, and chewed down the beans, just as the amplified voice of the Budokai Announcer called out, "If our two finalists would please re-enter the ring at this time...!"

"Well, it's time for us to get this done," said Goten.

"See ya as soon as the match is over with," said Trunks.

They turned to leave, but were brought up short by Vegeta.

"Boys...you know that rule about not going Super Saiyans at tournaments? Well, I think we can do away with that rule...say, starting now?" A quick smile flashed across his face, as fast as lightning, and the grins on the two demi-Saiyans' faces got even wider as they left. Their fathers and Piccolo watched them walk away in silence for a moment, until the latter spoke up again.

"And of course, we can't forget your last reason for them to fight...to see whose son is stronger." Goku and Vegeta said nothing. They didn't have to.

***

The Announcer raised his microphone to his mouth as the contestants took their positions and bowed to one another. "All right! It's time to get this started! Our finalists today are Son Goten and Trunks Briefs; their fathers are Son Goku and Vegeta Briefs, winners of the 23rd and 26th Tenkaichi Budokais respectively! Their brothers are Son Gohan and Mirai Briefs, each previous competitors! They each have a Junior Division win under their belts, and this will be their tie-breaker! Champions and sons of champions, each one! And not to mention, lifelong best friends! They've trained together, sparred together, fought together for over ten years! Now we shall see the ultimate match of their skills! I believe I've looked forward to this day, this one match, more than any other!"

He'd always been a natural at working a crowd. The spectators were on their feet, screaming their lungs out in exhiliration and joy. He backed out of the ring.

"Let the final round of the 28th Tenkaichi Budokai...BEGIN!"

***

For a full ten seconds, they simply stood there, looking at one another, apparently formulating whirlwind strategems and plans.

And then they were gone.

They met exactly in the midpoint between their starting positions, and thirty feet in the air. Each had thrown a punch, and each had blocked the other's punch with their free arm. They brought up their knees, which collided, causing a small boom that could be heard throughout the arena.

Trunks dropped and attempted to scythe Goten's legs out from under him with a sweeping kick. Goten dodged with a backflip, and aimed a striking kick of his own at Trunks's head, but this too was dodged, with a backwards hop. They reached for each other, their hands meeting and locking in the test-of-strength position. Their muscles flexed against each other, straining, and for long moments neither backed down an iota.

Suddenly they relaxed their grips, slowly drifting away, again studying each other intently. In an instant, they had raised their ki and charged at each other, colliding and sending one another flying at right angles all the way to the furthest reaches of the arena. As they righted themselves, Goten quickly charged a Kamehameha, and Trunks a Double Buster. They let their beams fly, and these, too, collided. The interface where the beams met crackled and coruscated with energy as each teenager poured more ki into them.

After several seconds, the meeting-place exploded with a bright flash, and the beams broke off. Before most of the spectators had even blinked the spots out of their eyes, the fighters were dueling again, throwing punches and kicks at a dazzling rate. Almost all were blocked, but here and there a couple would slip through, and both of their faces soon sported some light bruises. Finally, both Trunks and Goten landed one hard punch, knocking them back a few feet.

They just hovered there, and grinned at each other.

***

Not long after the fight had started, Gohan and Mirai had made their way to their fathers, to watch with them. As they looked up at Goten and Trunks, a sudden wave of bittersweet emotion ran through all four of them. Their younger brothers, their sons, had truly come into their own. They had each adapted their own fighting styles, and while there was still much they could learn from their families, when it came to the basics, to the essentials, to the most important lessons, they were masters.

The Wonder Boys had grown up.

***

The crowd was on their feet, thrilled by this display of speed and strength and skill. Piccolo ignored them; he was too focused on the fight. To his trained, knowledgable eye, it was obvious that they had fought together so much for so many years that they could predict practically every move each other amde. They were developing, in heartbeats, plans and strategems that would have made chess grandmasters blink, but since they knew each other so well, they were immediately, almost instinctively, countering one another's ideas.

If either of them was able to come up with something the other couldn't predict, that would almost certainly decide the match.

***

The two of them smiled again; they were having the time of their lives.

"Well, this has been fun," Trunks said.

"A pretty good warm-up," Goten agreed. "Ready to get the real match going?"

"Ready...let's give them a show!"

They reached into their deep reservoirs of ki, and brought much of it out, molding it. Their hair flared gold, their irises turning a bright shade of teal. They threw themselves at each other again, in another flurry of blows, each one now much faster and stronger.

***

Vegeta snorted softly. The sheer joy that the two of them were feeling by fighting one another was palpable in their ki, radiating from them in waves, amplified in their Super Saiyan states.

"It's still just a game to them..." he muttered to himself. "It's always just been one big game to them..." Then he frowned. He thought he'd sensed some other feeling in their moods beneath the pleasure of fighting, some deeper joy still.

He shook his head. He was starting to imagine things.

***

It was as much a dance as a duel now, a well-choreographed three-dimensional ballet ranging from the surface of the ring to several feet above the highest bleacher and every point inbetween. Every blocked punch, every dodged kick, every deflected ki bolt was another step in this performance. It was a fight quite unlike any other in the history of the Tenkaichi Budokai, and the spectators were eating it up. The Announcer was almost crying tears of joy from the sheer beauty of it.

After long minutes, they landed back in the ring, finally starting to show some signs of fatigue, but nevertheless enjoying every second.

"OK Trunks...ready to show off to one another what we've been working on these last two weeks?" asked Goten. He seemed as anxious as a child on Christmas morning.

"Sure am," Trunks replied, just as eager. "And as well as we know each other, I bet they're similar, mm?"

They grinned.

Trunks raised his hands and began to grip apparently empty air, resting one hand on top of the other. Suddenly, his ki dropped, and inside his hands formed a shape that would be very familiar to his family.

***

"My sword!" gasped Mirai. It was a uniform, shimmering golden from blade to hilt, formed as it was out of pure energy, but there was no mistaking it.

***

At the same time, Goten had moved his hands down to his sides and took a similar grip on thin air. His ki fell as well, and another shape took form in his grasp, one his own family would recognize.

***

"The Nyoibo!" breathed out Gohan. It, too, was bright gold, but clearly recognizable.

***

Even as the roar of the crowd hit a new peak, the teenage finalists laughed softly. They twirled and flourished their ki weapons and looked into each other's eyes.

They silently mouthed, "I love you."

And then, with delighted yells that momentarily rose above even the noise of the audience, they charged.

***

Goku and Vegeta stared in mingled pride and shock. The only time they'd come even close to something like that was when they were fused as Vegetto, and formed a thin blade of ki to slice through Majin Buu. But these weapons were beyond that, and neither of them had ever instructed the boys on anything like this. They had come up with it all by themselves.

In this area, at least, their sons had surpassed them.

The other warriors of Earth were on their feet, cheering with the rest of the crowd, awestruck by the sudden display of skill. Bulma and Chi-Chi were experiencing the same mixed emotions as their husbands. The Announcer nearly applauded before he caught himself just in time. Part of him had always wanted to see weapon masters take part in the tournament, and now these two finalists had found an ingenious loophole.

***

Sword and staff clashed again and again, but this time more blows were actually landed. As they hadn't fought with weapons before, there was much more uncertainty as to one another's next move. They struck numerous times, leaving masses of large dark bruises and instantly cauterized cuts.

They raised their ki weapons again--

"TIME!"

The staff and sword sizzled against each other. Half-an-hour? Had that really been half-an-hour?

"The full thirty minutes have elapsed," said the Announcer, "In one of the best final rounds it has ever been my pleasure to see! And per the rules, with no winner, our judges shall now meet and decide the champion!"

As the judges met and started hurriedly conferring, Goten and Trunks let their weapons vanish, and dropped out of Super Saiyan. They smiled, and started to shuffle around anxiously as the discussion dragged on. Finally, one of the judges ran to the Announcer and whispered hurriedly in his ear.

"Really? Really? Well...!" He raised his microphone again. "Ladies and gentlemen, this has been an amazing day with incredible fights, but this might perhaps be the single most incredible moment of the tournament! For the first time in the history of the Tenkaichi Budokai...the judges feel they have no choice but to declare a tie! Give a round of applause to our dual champions, Trunks Briefs and Son Goten!"

Stunned and grinning, the newly-crowned winners embraced one another in a tight hug. And then, lost in the sheer excitement of the moment, the emotion of the madly cheering crowds, they briefly forgot about the entire rest of the world except each other.

They kissed, deeply.

Silence began to reign.