~*****~

I gazed at the group of adults in the eating area. My eyebrow was twitching violently at the disgusting slurping and chewing echoing out. Both Goku and Vegeta wouldn't know table manners if you hit them over the head with it. "Man, Goku, you sure eat a lot for a dead guy." I mention as I approach the table.

Vegeta's gaze flinched up immediately, his cheeks flushing just a little at the prospect of being caught with his mouth full. "Y'know, that's what King Kai always tell me!" Goku states with his mouth full. "But what can I say? I just love to eat!"

I groan. "I swear, if you weren't so cute, I probably would've told them to restrain your eating while at the championships."

"Cute?" Vegeta echoed irritably.

I hum and kiss Vegeta's head. "You should've seen your daughter fighting Goten-- She's just like you!" I chirp affectionately as I curl my arms around his neck.

Goku giggled. "Marble looks just like you, too-- It's basically like I've seen you smile!" Goku comments.

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH, KAKAROT!" Vegeta bellowed as his entire face lit up. Goku starts giggling happily at my husband as I lean forward more, pressing affectionate kisses to his cheek.

"By the way, how'd you get back here?" Piccolo questions.

I hum and lean back up with my hands digging into Vegeta's hair. "I paid for everything here." I mention. "And I'm also Co-Hosting the Adult Division of the World Championship this year. I cannot wait to see who comes out as the top dog."

"Hey, Gohan! How'd it go, guys?" Goku asked as his eldest son approached the table with Videl in tow.

"Oh, Auntie Mara!" She chirped before rounding the table to hug me.

"Auntie?!" The others exclaimed.

I chuckle. "Yeah, Miguel worked at Lush for a while as her husband was gaining his fanbase. Miguel had Videl while she worked at Lush, too." I explain.

Videl hummed in response as she cuddled into my side. Goku giggled before turning back to Gohan. "The match was pretty interesting! Mars beat Mr. Satan with one punch! But everyone thinks he threw the match to be a gentlemen."

"What a guy, huh?" I mock.

"Yeah," Krillen laughed. "He should win an academy award for that one!"

"And just what do you mean by that?" Videl questioned irritably.

Gohan immediately covered Krillen's mouth. "Oh, those two are always making jokes! Isn't that right?" Gohan questioned as his gaze flickered between us two. "You never know when to stop, do ya?"

"Gohan, honey-- the man insulted my company. I'll say what I want about him. But his adorable daughter is still welcome to grab any gear she needs for her fights!" I chirp as I pepper kisses on her head.

Videl hummed happily. "Hey, guys," Goku stopped me. "Sorry we started without you, pull up a chair! It's really good!"

"Goku, swallow your food before you speak. You're worse than my kids when it comes to table manners." I mention irritably.

"All right! Great! I'm famished!" Gohan cheered. The disgusting noises started back up. "Hey, Dad, we're outta pasta!" Gohan chirped.

"'Scuse me! More Spaghetti, please!" Goku called.

"And bring some more eggrolls while you're at it!" Vegeta barked.

"Good grief, you Saiyans are like bottomless pits, I swear." Krillen groaned.

"What's a Saiyan?" Videl questioned.

"Ooh-- I'm sorry!" Krillen barked and covered his mouth. "I'm just not gonna talk anymore, yep-- lips are sealed!"

Vegeta tugged me to his side after everyone had finished eating and glared at Goku as he stood a little too close to me. "Man, I'm so full! If I have to fight one of you guys, please don't punch me in the gut!" Goku exclaimed as he patted at his stomach.

"You didn't eat anything!" Gohan exclaimed to Videl. "You must be on a diet, or something!"

"This may come to a shock to you, Gohan, but most fighters don't stuff themselves full before a match. In fact, I've only known Goku to do that." I hum irritably.

"Hey, we should go check the draw, see who's fighting who." Eighteen suggested.

Vegeta snorted. "Well, if I have to fight Kakarot in the first round, the first thing I'm going to do is punch him in the gut!"

"Do you wanna be covered in puke?" I ask irritably. Vegeta let out a disgusted sound as Goku agreed with me.

We stopped in our tracks at the two strangely dressed men. "Good afternoon," The smaller one greeted us as he glided smoothly towards us. "You wouldn't happen to be Goku, would you?"

"Yeah, how did you know my name was Goku?" The tall Saiyan asked.

"Well, your reputation as a great fighter proceeds you." The strange man states. "I was actually hoping to have a chance to fight you during the tournament." We just stared at him. "It's not that I'm confident about beating you, not at all. It's just that I want to have the greatest challenge that I can think of. And I know that you're a man who understands that. Well then. It was a really pleasure. I'm honored. And I'm very much looking forward to today's competition. I've traveled very far for this opportunity to meet you in battle. You might even say that I'm one of your biggest fans. In any case, after meeting you, I'm certain that I won't be disappointed."

"Gosh, thanks!" Goku exclaimed.

"Goku, may I shake your hand?" The strange man asks. Goku complies and stares at him, as if he remembered something important. "You're as brave as everyone says you are. Good day."

My gaze followed after the strange little man. "Hey, wait a second! I didn't catch your name!" Goku cried.

"I don't like the feel of it. They're strong." Piccolo mentions.

"Yes, but..." I hum softly. "I don't sense any malice. That short one; he's powerful, yes, but I can feel a strange... kindness to him." I hum again and shrugged. "Anyway, you guys better get going. I have to go prepare the bracket." I explain. "Good luck everyone~"

~*****~

"Are we ready to begin?" I ask as I approach the commentator.

"Looks like it," He hums as he flips through the clipboard in his hands. "All right everyone! We're going to start the drawing!" The fighters for today's competition gazed over at us.

"Okay, Mr. Killa, you're up first!" I call out. The tall, black man approached the lot box and reached within. He pulled out the green ball and handed it over with a smirk. "Number fourteen goes to Killa. Next; Kibito." The taller man from earlier approached the lot box and retrieved his number. He handed it over silently. "Number seven goes to Kibito. Krillen, you're next."

"I hope it's not too late in the first round." Krillen hums as he retrieves a ball. He grimaces after gazing at it. "What in the world did I do to deserve this?" He whines.

I took the ball from him and tossed it overhead. "The number one spot goes to Krillen." I state firmly. "Next, Great Saiyaman, if you will." Gohan approaches and reaches into the lot box. After shuffling it around a little, he produces his ball. "The Great Saiyaman is at spot eight."

"That puts me with... Kibito." Gohan hummed.

"He's a big guy," Goku hummed as he clasps his sons shoulder. "But remember, a true warrior fights with his mind."

"Right... with the mind." Gohan nods.

I snap my fingers. "Hey, quit the chatter," I order. Gohan and Goku both flinch and cower into each other. "Eighteen, you're up next."

The blonde android saunters up to the lot box and pulls out her ball. "Is Number Eighteen your real name?" The commentator questioned.

"My father was kinda dull," She mentioned before tossing her ball at him. "Now I'm number nine."

I chuckle before gazing back down at my clipboard. "Shin, you're up next." I call out.

"I'm ready." The strange man from earlier spoke. He stepped up to the box and produced a ball. "I'm number three."

I nod. "Shin is at number three." I recite as he hands me the ball. I toss it overhead. "Next is... Spopavitch!" I recite. "Excuse me!" I call a little louder. "Spopavitch! I'm not going to keep calling your name! Either come get your number or you forfeit!"

"Coming!" A strange, but familiar voice rings out. I gaze at the strange looking fighter running towards us. His face barely fit in his mask, but I swear I'd seen those eyes before.

"Excuse me," The announcer hummed as he peered closer to the cloaked man. "But aren't you the one they call the Mighty Mask?"

"OUTTA MY WAY, YOU WORM! I AM SPOPAVITCH!" A large, muscled man shouted as he lifted the Mighty Mask by his head.

"U-Uh, yeah--" The Might Mask hummed.

Spopavitch tossed him over head before rummaging around in the box. He roughly slammed the ball into my outstretched hand. "Spopavitch is at number six." I call before tossing it over my head. "Next time you're being called during this competition, you will answer punctually, got it?" I snap at him. Spopavitch ignores me. I growl irritably. "Next is Juul!" I snap angrily.

The blond man approached the box and withdrew a ball. "I'm number sixteen. But my actual number is--"

"Don't even try it." I quickly snap. "I'm happily married with one of the fighters, if you wanna take it up with him." I take the ball as Vegeta glances up from his position on the ground, his eyes narrowing at the blond man. "Juul is at Number Sixteen!" I call. "Goku! You're up next." I chime in a friendlier tone. I chuckled as the man began to stretch. "Whoa, easy there, don't work too hard."

"Sorry!" Goku exclaims with a laugh before bouncing up to me and dug around the box. He withdrew a number and held it up for me.

"Goku has number eleven!" I call.

"Wonder who I'll be fighting... I guess only time will tell." Goku hummed.

"Sit back and relax," I retort. "Videl, you're next!"

She ambles up to the box and begins digging through it. "Do you know where my dad is?" She asks me.

"Do I look like Mr. Satan's assistant or something?" I ask irritably. "You gonna draw the lot or not?"

She flushes and produces the ball. "Cool, fifteen." Videl recited.

"HOLD IT!" Goku exclaims as I take the ball from her. "Did she just say Mr. Satan is Videl's father?!"

"Videl is at fifteen!" I recite. "Yes, she's been plagued with his idiotic genetics." I gaze back at the clipboard. "Pintar, you're up next." The largest man approaches the lot box and roots through it for a moment before producing a ball. "All right, Pintar is at number two!"

"That's my opponent! And to think I was worried!" Krillen exclaims.

The large man ambles towards Krillen, and I snap my fingers again. "You two better zip it!" I snap quickly. Goku flinches and hides behind his son. "We're in the middle of setting the matches, and I will not talk over you! Take your showboating to a whisper, do I make myself clear!"

"Y-Yes ma'am..." Krillen stammered as he stared at the ground like a scolded child.

I blew out a soft breath before gazing back down at my clipboard. I hummed affectionately and smiled brightly. "Vegeta~ You're up next!" I chirp. Vegeta got up from his spot and approached us with an irritated expression. He pulls out a ball and holds it up for me. "Wow, just your luck, huh?" I laugh. "Vegeta is at number twelve!"

"Not-- the two of them!" Piccolo groans.

"We're in for a looong match..." I sigh out as I palm at my face. "I wonder who'll come out on top?" I start chuckling before waving Vegeta off. "Mighty Mask, you're up next!" I call out. The masked figure runs towards us, and I finally recognize where I'd seen those eyes before. And judging from the height, I assumed either Goten or Marble were under that outfit holding him up. I vaguely wonder where the real Mighty Mask had gone. "Number thirteen? I hum as he holds up the ball. "Put Mighty Mask on thirteen!" I chirp. "M'Junior is up next!"

Piccolo hums and approaches us. He doesn't shuffle the lots around and pulls out the number four ball.

"M'Junior is at Number Four!" I recite. I tug my sleeve up as I reach into the lot box with an irritated grumble. "He coulda came and grabbed his own damn ball." I snort irritably. I gaze down at the ball. "Mr. Satan is at number ten! That would make Yamu.... at Number fifteen."

"There!" The announcer hummed as he placed the last of the names on the board. "We have a full board of fighters!"

"The matches are as follows," I hum. "First match is Krillen Vs. Pintar. Second, Shin Vs. M'Junior. Third, Videl Vs. Spopavitch. Fourth, Kibito Vs. The Great Saiyaman. Five, Eighteen Vs. Mr. Satan. Six, Goku Vs. Vegeta. Seven, Mighty mask Vs. Killa And the eighth match is Yamu Vs. Juul. The fighting will commence immediately." I explain. "I will make my way to the arena while our commentator will show you to the waiting room. I'm sure you all know the rules by now, but if you do not, please do not hesitate to ask either of us." I hum before glancing down at my watch. "Good luck everyone!"

~*****~

"Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready?!" I shout loudly as I enter the arena. "Let the World Martial Arts Championship, being!"

Cheers erupt from the stands. "As usual, you will have me commenting on these matches, but this year, our gracious sponsor of Lush Corp has agreed to join us this year, so why don't we all give her a round of applause for making all this possible!"

I laugh. "How about we skip the applause and get straight to the first match!" I laugh. The crowd cheers in response. "Let's get Krillen and Pintar onto the ring!" The commentator and I leapt off of the side of the ring as the fighters entered the ring. "Krillen is quite the accomplished fighter, but it's been many years since he's been in the martial arts tournament! I must say, I'm excited to see Krillen in action once again!"

"Pintar's fighting at the last championship proves he has stamina. He may have lost in the semi-finals, but he's back today to change his luck!" The commentator adds.

The crowd begins murmuring about the size difference. "Let's not forget, ladies and gentlemen, the size of the competitor has no place in the ring! Even the smallest of competitors can win a match if he has the skill and determination to win!" It took one punch to send Pintar out of the room. "Pintar has landed out of the ring! Which makes Krillen the winner!"

"Now, for match number two!" The commentator called. "And we guarantee you this will be another colossal brawl! M'Junior Vs. Shin!"

"This is the first year Shin has participated in the tournament. He's a man of few words, so we know little about him! It could spell trouble for our other competitor M'Junior. But, uh, let's leave the stadium in tact this time, okay?" I hum to Piccolo. "Fighters! Let the second match, begin!"

Piccolo didn't even make a move. My stomach roiled as a strange energy began billowing off of Shin. I swallowed the knot forming in my throat as I gazed at the purple man. "M'Junior." The commentator called out.

"I'm sorry." Piccolo hums. "I can't."

"Does this mean-- you're withdrawing from the match?" The commentator asked in shock.

"Yes. It does." Piccolo simply stated.

I swallowed again as Shin passed me, and it felt as if I were going to collapse under the intense power he held. "Well, you heard it! M'Junior has withdrawn from the match! That makes Shin the winner by default!"

I shook my head to dispel the shaky nerves. "Let's get on with the third match!" I call out. "Videl Vs. Spopavitch!" A literal fanfare went off for her. "I'm sure that you all know that Videl is the daughter of our champion. Seven years ago, she succeeded at becoming champion in the junior division, and since then, she's put her best foot forward to help our boys in blue go after evil villains all across the city! As for her rival today, Spopavitch is here to redeem himself for a loss he suffered in the first round of the tournament! He's trained hard, and buffed up! I'm sure he'll be a mighty challenge for our cities daughter!" I recite. I gave a shaky gasp as my stomach tightened up, a gag forcing it's way through after I'd pulled my mic away from me. "I'm-- I'm sorry, I need to get inside." I mention to the commentator.

"Oh, no problem," He chirped as he helped me inside. "Hey, can you go grab some water for Mara?" He asks one of the workers. He nods quickly and runs in before us.

Once I'm inside, I sigh in relief as the A/C wafts over my overheated face. "What's wrong, Mara?" Krillen asks as I lean against the wall.

I shake my head and rub at my stomach. "A few of the competitors have a strange feeling... energy inside them." My throat locks up again as I shove past him and into the bathroom. I slam the door shut behind me as I throw up the contents of my breakfast.

"Mara--" Vegeta's voice breaks through my gagging as he shunts the door open. I can hear the others murmuring outside but the blood begins rushing in my ears. I grip onto the toilet as if my life depended on it. "You shouldn't be down there with all the action." He mentions as he rubs at my back and tugs my hair from my face. "You're going to be more sensitive to the others energy levels now that you're pregnant."

I shook my head. "I didn't have a problem with Mars, or Marble..." I whimper.

Vegeta clicked his tongue and helped me stand. Propping me onto the counter, he sets to cleaning me up. "Yes, but at that time, the threats were either far away, or had just been dealt with. Your body is kicking into a survival state. You need to sit in the audience."

I shake my head again and lean against him. "I'm not going to do that... I have a job here, you know..." I explain softly. "Besides, don't I have you here to protect me?"

Vegeta grumbles irritably and reaches up to rub at my hair. "Yeah, you do." Once I'm on the ground, Vegeta opens the door and leads me out. "I'm going to find that fool who's supposed to get your water."

I nod and sit on the chair Krillen had brought me. Shin approaches me with a friendly smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were an Empathian." My gaze flew up to him, my brows furrowing in confusion. "I would've dialed it down a little out on the ring if I had known."

"How did you.... Who are you?" I ask meekly.

"I'm someone who knows your race had suffered a great deal. If you don't mind, those two are in distress, I might be able to calm them." Shin mentions as my eyes widen.

"Th-Them?" I stammer.

Before I can say anything, Shin presses his palm against the slight pudge in my belly, and closes his eyes. A strange warm feeling spreads through my body, and the roiling in my stomach stops. My shoulders sag as I sigh in relief. "There! They're content!"

"Get your filthy hands off of my wife." Vegeta growls out as Shin's hand is ripped from my body.

"It's okay," I hum to Vegeta as Shin offers him a smile before trailing off towards Kibito. "He was just being friendly."

"I don't care," He hums gruffly as he hands me a bottle of water. "I don't want anyone touching my mate. Especially now."

I give him a smile before standing up and looping my arms around his torso. "Thank you for the water." I hum affectionately before releasing him and going to exit the waiting area. "I need to go back out there."

"You're forgetting something." Vegeta mentions lightly. I turn to him and chuckle. He's flushing as if he's waiting.

"What'd she forget?" Goku hums, seemingly joining the conversation.

"Nothing!" Vegeta quickly barks at the taller male who cowers behind me. The angry Saiyan stomps off while muttering curses.