For first-time readers, I've erased the last chapter of Dragonball,
starting over from "Ten years have passed". Other notes below.

Though it's "pure" DB, fanatic Ranma-non-readers might want to stay
away from this one, too. :)

                          -----dragonball-----
                         |                    |
                         |    NOT EVEN YOU    |
                         |                    |
                          ---------1----------

  Brushing the sweat from his brow, Gokuu extended a hand to his youngest
son, helping the boy to his feet. He smiled. "Well, Goten, I think it's
time to go home now."

  "Really?" Goten said excitedly. Without powerful enemies threathening
to destroy the planet, they just couldn't get any effective training on
Chikyuu, not even with the gravity rooms, and so, ten years ago, not long
after the defeat of Buu, they had left, and since then, they had
travelled the galaxy, visiting only the places with the most harsh
conditions.

  He started thinking of his mother ... his brother ... Trunks ... all
his friends at school... He hadn't seen them for ten years, and while his
father's friends where old enough not to change very much, his would
probably be very different, just as he had matured a lot in the past
ten years - he thought he had, anyway.

  "Yep," Gokuu said. "The Budokai is only a few weeks away, and besides,
you're almost as strong as me now."

  "Whaddya mean, almost?" Goten grinned at his father, knowing full well
that while he had improved a lot, he was still not as good as his father
or his brother, and unless a new treath decided to show up, he would
probably never be.

  Gokuu smiled back. "We'll visit an old friend of mine first. Take my
hand."

  As they linked, Gokuu sent his mind out through the universe. They were
far from home, but he should be able to find the Ki he sought...

                                   ^_^

  In an instant, the two appeared on a peaceful street somewhere in the
suburbs of Satan City, outside a typical two-story middle-class house.

  _So, he decided to move from Kame House,_ Gokuu mused, as he pushed the
doorbell.

  "Coming!" a male voice shouted, and they heard footsteps from inside.
Not long after, the door opened, and a short, middle-aged man, clad in
suit and tie, his hair greying slightly, smiled at them.

  Gokuu's jaw slowly extended, until it hung at least a foot below it's
usual level, and he stared, eyes wide open, at the man.

  Concerned, Goten waved a hand in front of his father's face, but wasn't
able to provoke any response from the stunned Sayajin.

  "Long time no see, old friend!" the man said, smiling as he motioned
for them to step inside. "Come on in."

  "Ku ... Kuririn?" Gokuu finally managed to say.

                                   ^_^

  "Don't recognize me, huh?" the ex-monk said as they sat down at the
table. "Well, I don't blame you. I've ... uh ... settled down a bit."
He chuckled. "You never change, though." Gokuu looked exactly like he did
when he left - even his gi was identical.

  When meeting for the first time in ten years, old friends always have
a lot to say and tell, even super-powered alien martial artists, and
before long, Gokuu and Kuririn were deeply engaged in conversation.

  "Well," Gokuu said after a while, patting his son's back, "at least I
think he's gonna be able to feed himself."

  "What?" Kuririn looked curiously at his old friend, not quite sure what
he was referring too.

  "Don't you remember?"

                                   ^_^

  Gokuu and Kuririn lay panting on the floor, both boys exhausted after
their latest training session. The large rocks were still in the same
place, but they both felt certain they'd soon be able to move them.

  "Heh. That was great."

  "Yeah."

  "You're my best friend." In fact, he was probably the only one who'd
ever treated the short little boy friendly.

  "You too." Not that Gokuu'd had many friends before, either.

  "Say, Gokuu..."

  "Mm?"

  "You know ... I wish we could we brothers or something."

  "Mm." He wasn't too sure what a brother was, but nodded anyway.

  Suddenly, a Kuririn's eyes lit up, as an idea struck him. "Hey, I know.
We can be family anyway. We could have our kids marry! Whaddya say?"

  "Sure." Gokuu grabbed the out-stretched hand and shook it. "It's a
promise." He wasn't sure he'd ever want to have any kids, but if he did,
it was good to know he'd have help feeding them.

                                   ^_^

  After the re-telling, Gokuu sat silent for a few moments. There was
something that wasn't quite right, but what?

  It struck them both at the same time.

  "Ah, now that I think of it, marriage didn't have anything at all to do
with food, did it? Well, a promise is a promise." He scratched the back
of his head. "Uh, if you still want to, that is."

  Goten looked up at his father in shock. This couldn't be happening.

  "I'd almost forgot that." Kuririn smiled widely. "Great! I'll tell
Marron right away!" Up until now, he'd been worried about his daughter's
future. He couldn't trust her with just any man, but this was the son of
his oldest friend, a great fighter and surely a fine boy in other
aspects, too.

                                   ^_^

  "Marron!" He stormed into her room excitedly.

  "What is it *now*, dad?" the girl asked tiredly. "Don't you know how to
knock?"

  He ignored the comment. "My old friend Son Gokuu has come, and he's
brought his son, Goten!"

  "So?" One of her father's boring old friends had showed up - big deal.

  "We've decided to engage you two!" Kuririn said happily, not noticing
the dangerously reddish color his daughter's skin was slowly assuming.
"He's such a fine boy," he added, his minds somewhere in the clouds. "I'm
sure you'll like him. Reputably and trustworthy like his father, not like
most young boys these days."

  Marron's twin braids stood on end as her Ki manifested itself in her
hands. "BAAAKAAA!" she screamed, as she struck down with the enourmous
mallet, almost as large as the small girl, reducing her father to a heap
on the floor.

  "Urrk," he said, not quite capable of anything more advanced.

  #18 shook her head has she entered the room. "It *is* stupid, Marron,
but you still have to do as your father says."

  "Hmph." The girl snorted as she walked out of the room.

  Her mother sighed, giving her husband a senzu seed. "Didn't Senpyou ask
you to try avoid making her mad, dear? Someone else might need the seeds,
too."

                                   ^_^

  Marron sighed as she walked down the stairs. If her father said it was
a fine boy, he was probably both boring and ugly. Sure, the old man might
want her best, but sometimes, he was so stupid...

  She stopped dead in her tracks as she entered the living room. The boy
was ... was ... was not cute. Definitely not. No way. Her father could
*not* be right about anything.

  Goten recognized her. Altough she'd grown a bit, Marron looked pretty
much the same she'd done ten years ago. Same hairstyle, same babylike
face. "I am not," he said, saving her from further self-denial, "not
gonna marry no little girl."

  That proved to be the wrong thing to say, as Marron, just like her
father in his youth, was tired of being teased about her height. Once
again, she blazed with anger, and once again she formed a mallet out of
thin air, pounding a surprised Goten to the floor. "I'M NO LITTLE GIRL!"
she shouted defiantly as she stomped off again.

  "Impressive Ki-level, and she reached it very fast," Gokuu commented,
intrigued. "She must've invented that technique herself, too. This's
gonna be great, son!" He patted the badly deformed body on the floor
heartily.

  "Urrk," Goten objected.

  "Sorry 'bout that," #18 said, tossing them a senzu as she entered. "The
boys at her school used to bother her every morning, before she sent them
all to hospital with an energy blast. It's made her a bit temperamental."

                                   ^_^

  "So, where've you been?" #18 asked as they sat at the dinner-table that
evening.

  "Here'n there," Gokuu answered, barely comprehendable through a
mouthful of food. "Training for the Budokai."

  "Budokai?" Marron piped up, suddenly interested.

  "The Tenkaichi Budokai," her father explained, a nostalgic look on his
face. "Used to have 'em every three years, but they decided to wait
longer after some ... confusion at the last one. The best martial artists
in the world compete to decide who's number one."

  "Cool!" the girl said. "I wanna go there, too!"

  "Hmph," Goten snorted derisively. "Didn't you hear him? The best
martial artists in the world. Nothing for a little girl like you."

  "I'm no little girl!" Marron retorted, staring angrily at him. "I bet
I can kick your ass any day!"

  "Sure you can," he chuckled, increasing her anger and determination
further.

  "Want me to prove it?" she said, waving her fists at him. "Let's spar!

                                   ^_^

  Once outside, Marron and Goten both sank to a low, almost squatting,
stance, arms ready. It was apparent they were both second generation
turtle-master-students.

  The small girl was first to act. She leaped towards the confidently
smiling Goten, bringing out her fist before he had time to react. The
force of the blow made him stagger backwards.

  The grin stayed on his face. It was more than he'd expected from the
weak-looking little girl, but still, no big deal. If that was all she
had, she wouldn't last five minutes at the Budokai.

  Marron didn't loose her confidence, either. If that blow made him
stagger, her father must've been grossly mistaken when he called the boy
"a great fighter". Especially if he'd been training for ten years!

  In swift succession, Goten threw two kicks with his right leg towards
her midsection, but neither was more than half-serious, and to his
surprise, she easily blocked both, catching the astonished boy in return
with a fierce front kick which sent him flying backwards.

  When Goten jumped to his feet, the confident grin had shifted to
Marron's face, and he assumed a defensive pose. This time, he spotted the
fist travelling towards his face, and grabbed the arm long before it had
time to connect. He quickly threw two light punches to her gut before he
threw her towards the wall.

  "What'd I say?" he smiled as she extracted herself from the damaged
wall and brushed the dust off.

  The girl didn't answer, just stared at him angrily, her eyes like thin
lines. She crackled with energy as her braids slowly began to point in a
straight angle from her head. _How dare he!_ she thought as she once
again launched herself at the boy, striking out with a series of punches.

  This time, Goten had to concentrate hard to keep up, slowly beginning
to glow with energy himself as he blocked punch after punch. Still, a
few slipped through, impacting heavily with his torso, and when Marron
finished the sequence with a fierce round-house kick, he could not avoid
being sent to the ground for a second time.

  "You suck," she said tauntingly, as he wearily rose again.

  This time it was his turn not to answer. _Guess I underestimated her,_
he thought, concentrating again. After a few moments, the energy that had
accumulated burst out, and an intense aura surrounded him as his hair
turned golden blonde, standing on end.

  Marron didn't allow herself to be impressed, and once again, she
approached him punching rapidly, but seemingly without trouble, he caught
every strike with his palms, intercepting them almost before she they
were thrown.

  Goten didn't even try to retaliate, and irritated, humiliated, she kept
punching, and punching, and punching. No way was he gonna be able to keep
that up for long. Sooner or later, one would slip through.

  Stretching herself to the very limit, she increased the pace even
further, and their arms seemed to blur, both combatants almost too fast
for the eye to follow.

  It didn't do any good, and after keeping up the barrage for almost a
minute, she had no choice but to sink exhausted to the ground, drowned
in sweat.

  Chuckling, Goten allowed the power to dissipate, his hair returning to
its normal black color as it fell down around his head. "Hey," he said,
cheerily, "I'm sorry I insulted you."

  He stretched out a hand to help Marron to her feet.

  "You're pretty good - for a little kid, anyway."

  "GOTEN NO BAKA!"

  The mallet struck his head hard, a feeling Goten was rapidly becoming
accostumed to.

  "Urrk," he observed, and lost consciousness.

                                   ^_^

  Meanwhile, Gokuu disappeared with a flash, instantly appearing again
in a familiar kitchen.

  "Darling!" Chi-Chi hugged him tight. "You're back!"

  He smiled happily, kissing her forehead lightly.

  "Isn't Goten with you?" she asked, suddenly concerned.

  "He's at Kuririn's place," Gokuu calmed her. "The training isn't
quite complete yet, and we'll be staying there for a while."

  "Oh, OK." She eyed him suspiciously. "He *is* going to school now that
you're back, I hope?"

  "Ano..." Gokuu scratched the back of his head. "Of course dear," he
said, sweating - for reasons no-one but Son Gokuu will ever be able to
understand.

  She smiled again, apparently satisfied with the answer. "Would you like
some food?"

  "Sorry, gotta go again. Oh, and by the way," he added as he raised his
middle- and index-fingers to his temple, "Kuririn and I decided to engage
Goten to his daughter."

  "WHAT?" Chi-Chi screamed in shock as her husband disappeared again.

                                   ^_^

  "But Pooooop ... I'm a martial artist. Why do I have to go to school?"

  Gokuu shrugged. "Dunno, I can't see any reasons why. Your mother
insisted, though."

  Goten's face hit the floor with a *thud*.

                                   ^_^

  After being gone for ten years, most students would probably be worried
they'd missed too much to be able to keep up. Not Goten. True, he didn't
understand much of what the teachers said, but then, he had spent most of
his single school year sleeping, and would probably have continued doing
so if his father hadn't taken him on the long training trip, so the
feeling wasn't unfamiliar, and it didn't bother him at all.

  He was relieved when the bell woke him, announcing lunch time. The
food, if he remembered correctly, was usually crap, but falling asleep
with all the babbling going on was hard work.

  The teacher who kept throwing chalks at him was especially hard to
ignore. Did the guy never give up?

                                   ^_^

  Goten was about to set down his tray when he spotted a face a few
tables away, one he thought he recognized. It'd been a long time, so it
was hard to be certain, and the boy looked a lot more orderly - both in
hair and clothing - than he did ten years ago - a change Goten most
certainly didn't like.

  Sensing for Ki as he approached the boy, Goten felt a passive level
markedly higher than most of the students, which confirmed his suspicion.

  "Yo, Trunks!" he said.

  "Whu-" The other boy turned his head, startled, but soon saw who it
was. "Hey, Goten, old bud!"

                                   ^_^

  "Say, father?" Trunks said, tossing off his shoes, "Do you know who I
met today at school?"

  "Goten?" Vegita guessed disinterestedly. "I felt two large Kis so I
figured they were back."

  The boy nodded, then chuckled as he thought of something. "Goten told
me his father and Kuririn decided to engage him to Marron." He chuckled
again, not noticing his father rising from the chair. "I mean, engaging
your children without even asking..."

  "KAKAROTTO!" Vegita shouted furiously as he rose from the ground.

                                   ^_^

AUTHOR'S NOTES
--------------
Marron's set at a higher power level here than in most fic. Her father is
the most powerful human around, and her mother is a cyborg with
supposedly endless energy, so why not? I've also aged her a year or
two.

I hope no one's upset that I prefer #18 to Juhachi-go. It is after all a
number, not a name.

In case there's any major differences between them, this is based on the
DB manga, *not* DBZ.

The title might change. For 25 points and a color radio, where'd I get
this one?

Please C&C, MST or comment in whatever way you prefer - thark@swipnet.se
if the header doesn't show that properly. Private mail preferred, but it
doesn't matter much.

My other stuff can, as always, be found at
"http://home1.swipnet.se/~w-10956/creative/fanfic/"

---
Ronny Hedin, thark@swipnet.se, http://home1.swipnet.se/~w-10956/
     "If you meet Buddha on the net, put him in your kill file."