Chapter 1 - A Feud And A Crush

Author's Notes: The world of "Children of Kismet" is set 500 years after the end of Dragonball Z. In this world, the events of Dragonball GT never took place. The story begins a lot like the original Dragonball begins, with everybody fairly weak by DBZ standards. At this point they have the power of normal humans trained in the martial arts in the REAL WORLD. Don't worry though, because the more the story progresses, the more it'll become like the DBZ we all know and love! For comments, questions, praise or put-down, please send email to ghasti35@cybertrails.com.


Long, long ago, in a deep, dark, forest far from civilization, beyond a towering range of...well, you get the idea. It's the kind of place a story like this has to begin...

In this forest there was a boy. He was concentrating hard, his eyebrows furrowed down over his sparkling black eyes. His breath was deep and even, and little streams of sweat ran down the sides of his head. His arms were held in a fighting stance, and his legs were posed to move at a moment's notice. The boy was making a deep sound in his throat. "Hnnnnnn..." His muscles tensed and he shouted right before he sprang forward, "Prepare to DIE!"

"Nyah!" The boy's fist flew forward right at the face of a slightly shorter, blond-haired boy. The attacker's name was Suzushii, and his fist just barely missed Atsui's freckled nose. Atsui fell to his left and his right leg came up at Suzushii's head. With a skillful block, Suzushii swung his own right foot straight at Atsui. Block after block, punch after punch after kick, the two boys went at it.

Suzushii was taller than the blond-boy, and his spiky, short, black hair clashed stylishly with Atsui's carefully kept blond cap. He looked to be about fourteen years old and he wore a red shirt and black, baggy pants. The white tennis shoes he wore were cheap and dirty. In fact, the boy's whole image was in contrast with his opponent. Atsui wore an expensive and ornate gi, with Japanese characters adorning the chest and back. He looked about the same age as Suzushii, but there was an air of responsibility that made him seem older. While the black-haired boy had a determined look of confidence in his face, the blond-haired boy wore a sneer of confident contempt.

Sweat beaded on both of their foreheads, and every time a blow struck home the sweat fell, sparkling down to the forest floor. Their fight was viscous, like a blood feud between two brothers. Blood trickled down from their mouths and noses and their eyes had begun to swell shut from the beating each had taken. Only when they stood, huffing and puffing, barely able to keep from collapsing, did they quit fighting.

Despite the fact his knees were shaking and his breath was deep and ragged, Atsui sighed with contentment and sneered down at Suzushii. A chuckle emerged from his bleeding lips, and he turned and limped off, his posture screaming 'I've defeated you, gutter trash!' In reality he said, "Next time I'll put my heart in it. Enjoy your 'victory'." Atsui barked a laugh and made his way out of the clearing where they had just fought and into the trees beyond.

Suzushii just clenched his fists and teeth and tried to remember his honor. He could barely keep himself from rushing the rich brat while his back was turned, but Suzushii's dignity stopped him. Petty rivalries were not worth tarnishing your family's name.

Suzushii turned around and limped in the opposite direction from Atsui as a breeze blew through the leaves of the tall, thick pine and oak trees that made up the forest. To Suzushii it sounded like the trees were applauding the great fight he had just fought. Stopping, he grinned at the thought of what was going to happen when he got home the next day. 'Maybe I can sneak home before everyone is up and steal my sister's makeup so I don't look so bad....' No, that wouldn't work, and he knew it. 'Well, at least Aisu will have fun listening about how I beat the snot out of Atsui.' Suzushii laughed at the thought of his little nerdy brother watching in awe as every punch and kick was recounted in details of heroic glory. His mother wouldn't see the humor.

Around the trunk of a large tree, not far from where the two boys fought, was a bundle of firewood. Their task had been to gather wood in the forest, but whenever Suzushii and Atsui did something together they always ended up fighting. Suzushii was sure their sensei enjoyed them coming back bloody and bruised, because he always seemed to send them on errands together.

Suzushii had gathered his own firewood, as had Atsui, but all it took was for them to run into each other in a nice clearing for the fight to break out. That was hardly the worst of it. The problem was that they had driven to the forest in a single car...and if either of them wanted to make it back to Helmstead within the next year, they had to drive back together. 'Joy of all joys,' thought Suzushii, 'we haven't even decided who's going to drive home yet.'

The two boys had begun training in the martial arts under Master Hana Shukketsu Suru, or Suru-sensei for short, almost one year ago. A total of ten kids became Suru-sensei's students on that fateful day, but for some reason Suzushii and Atsui were the only ones to ever come back beaten to a pulp whenever they were sent on an errand. The other students had great fun teasing the two boys for always "getting beaten up by the fishes" when they went to get water.

Suzushii was musing on these thoughts, "Fish nothing! Atsui's fist hits harder than a trout, but I give as good as I get!" Suzushii was not sure whether it was lamer that he could never do anything with Atsui without getting into a fight or that he knew from experience how hard a trout hits.

Suzushii had gathered enough wood, so he headed out of the forest. As soon as he cleared the trees he saw Atsui heading straight for the small hover car. The two boys stopped dead in their tracks as soon as they noticed each other. A big evil grin sprouted on Atsui's face, and he used his head to motion toward the car. It was a challenge. He was saying, 'I can get there first, and I'll get to drive us back.'

'In your dreams, Blondie,' thought Suzushii. They both took off at a sprint for the car. It was going to be an interesting ride home.

The two boys found themselves scrubbing floors in the two small huts that the students stayed in. Although they hadn't crashed the car, it had not come away from the return trip unscathed. Master Suru only grinned and laughed when he saw their injuries of war, but his face turned grave when he saw the car.

The price of a banged up car was the shameful work of cleaning the floor. Suru showed some mercy on the two boys and made them clean each hut separately. It would take longer to clean, but at least they couldn't get into a fight in the process of scrubbing and end up dripping new blood on the freshly cleaned floors.

Atsui was steaming as he scrubbed the girls' hut. The very thought of cleaning the hut at all burned him to no end; not even counting that it was the girls'. But no matter how hard he tried to be mad at Suzushii for what he was doing, the only thing he could think about was how his parents would react when they saw his bruises. Just once he wanted them to understand. He just wanted them to see how much he enjoyed fighting and how much learning the martial arts meant to him. They wouldn't, and that angered Atsui more than scrubbing the floors on his hands and knees.

Suzushii was steaming just as much as Atsui. Suru Sensei was bothering him to no end because he continually paired the two rivals together. Tsurara, Suzushii's mother, was bothering him because she couldn't be more like Suru Sensei and see that coming home with swollen eyes was just part of being a boy. Of course, scrubbing floors because of Atsui didn't make him too happy either.

Half of the boys' feud stemmed from Suru Sensei himself. Once every three years a tournament was held to find the strongest fighter under the heavens. Although the tournament did not ban anybody from trying to qualify, Suru Sensei did. Every three years he would chose one student to represent his class in the Tenkaichi Budoukai and every time the tournament came around Suru Sensei had a hard decision to make, but this year it was going to be almost impossible to decide between his two best students. 

Because of their nearly identical level of fighting ability, the only thing on either boy's mind was to somehow get a rung above the other on their Sensei's ladder of approval. The two boys grumbled and cursed about scrubbing the floors, but what was most disturbing about it was that they were missing a practice session. Every time they missed one, they felt that the other one was somehow getting ahead and becoming a better fighter, even when they both missed out. But this time Suru Sensei was delivering something a lot more important than a simple training session.

Shiryoku stood at attention before Suru Sensei, just like all the other students. They were all nervous, but most of them were anxious for themselves. Shiryoku, however, was nervous for Suzushii.

'Oh! You dimwitted hunk of fighting machine! Why did you have to get into trouble, today of all days?' Shiryoku had straight brown hair that shined like metal and curved in at her neckline, which made a nice frame for her face. Her features were round and punctuated by two magnificent, big brown eyes. Those eyes were striking by themselves, but the magnifying power of a pair coke-bottle glasses made them utterly terrifying. They startled many people the first time they met her, and lots of people were uncomfortable for years after whenever those round spheres locked on to them.

Suru Sensei was quite something to look at as well. The multitude of wrinkles on his round face could testify to his age. The silver hair on top of his head apparently lost the Battle of Combover Hill and had retreated to the back of his skull. Suru had a very small mouth and nose, but his gray eyes were as big and round as Shiryoku's, even if they weren't as pretty. The man wore baggy clothes that hid his withered body. His age did not seem to hamper his physical ability, as the old badger was as quick and agile as a cat in a pinch.

His crinkled old voice was raised in a glorious lecture at that very moment. "My students, today is very important! In one week one of you will depart from here to go qualify for the Tenkaichi Budoukai. Nobody knows who that student will be until the day before he, or she, leaves for the tournament...not even I will know until then. Many factors go into my decision, and anything could change my mind at any time." Their old Master let those words sink in to his eight students, each of whom would give their left arm to fight in the tournament. Only a few of them even considered having a chance, but they all noticed that the two students furthest in the running for the tournament were not present for this very special, and unlooked for, lecture. Ah, the bloom of new hope!

"Because of my inability to decide this year, I will be holding a special event over the course of the next week." The old sensei's eyes crinkled in the corners. He so enjoyed springing surprises on his students. He lifted a few papers that were sitting on a stool and passed them out to all of the aspiring martial artists. "These sheets list the things you need to collect. Yes, it's a scavenger hunt! The rules are simple. One, you can get the items in any way you want, so long as its legal." Oh yes, that was in important rule. "Two, you can get them in any order, but you only get the next clue when you bring me the next one on the list. And most importantly..." all the students jumped because he almost yelled the last two words, "...only the people who complete the hunt within the next week will have a chance to go to the Tenka'ichi Budokai. Don't bother coming to class this week, the hunt is your training! Now go!"

Almost before the old Sensei's last word were out of his mouth, the students sped like raging buffalo out of the room and into the world beyond. When the dust settled from their stampeding feet, Suru Sensei could see that one student had not departed.

"Yes, Shiryoku?" The old man's voice was kindly and polite. He cared for each of his students. 

"Um, yes sir, um, I was just wondering if I could take Suzushii...and Atsui...their scavenger hunt lists?" The two pieces of paper had never left the stool.

"Oh ho! No, no! I'm afraid not. Those two have earned their reward. If they can't learn to get along, then they're going to have to pay the price. They've got enough work to last them the rest of the day, so they'll just have to deal with lagging behind." The old man grinned and laughed amusedly.

Shiryoku's face fell. She really didn't want Suzushii falling behind everyone else. She did not really care about Atsui; she just mentioned him so she would not seem completely biased. "Oh, okay Suru Sensei. Thank you!" She bowed respectfully, but her heart was not in it.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about it, young miss. Just go have fun hunting those things this week!" He gave her a smile and a nod. Shiryoku walked out the door; her shoulders slumped in disappointment.

Shiryoku went just out of sight of the main building where most of the training was held. The three martial arts buildings were set in a nice little wooded area just an hour on foot from the small town of Helmstead, so the trees gave some nice hiding spots around the buildings. As soon as Shiryoku was sure Suru Sensei could not see her she chuckled evilly and began sneaking back to the huts in a roundabout way. She finally came to the boys' hut. Besides Suzushii all the other boys had gone scavenger hunting for the week, so she was not going to get yelled at for coming inside.

She entered the doorway and found Suzushii facing the opposite direction, on hands and knees scrubbing the floor. "Psst! Suzushii!" The boy jumped a little and turned around like a snake had bit him.

"Wah! Oh, phew, it's only you, Shiryoku." He smiled at her with relief showing all over his battered face. "I thought you might have been Suru Sensei." His right eye was swelling shut, which made him look rather funny as he smiled at the girl.

"Quiet! I'm not supposed to be here! Suru Sensei has done something important, and you need to know! Only he wouldn't let me tell you!"

"Wait, slow down a bit, what did he say that was so important?"

Shiryoku related to Suzushii everything Suru Sensei had said. After quickly conversing about the items on the page Suzushii thanked her, and she left, pleased that she could help Suzushii.

Suru Sensei watched just around the windowsill as Shiryoku sneaked out. He smiled, pleased with himself. She was going to be a great fighter, as well as a good person. Suzushii and Shiryoku would do well together. They were only one year apart in age, and he was certain Shiryoku had a crush on the poor boy. Yes, they would do well together.

Suzushii worked like mad for the rest of the day and left for the scavenger hunt two hours before Atsui had a hope of finishing.


This story and all characters that are not in Dragonball are (c) 2001 to Lannon the Wizard - ghasti35@cybertrails.com