Scumbag Lot 2 (Please Recommend)

The venue was even livelier than it had been three years ago. The stands were packed with people, and colorful flags fluttered in the breeze. In the competitors' area, familiar faces had gathered once again.

"Goku! Over here!" Krillin's bald head gleamed as he rushed over and gave Goku a bear hug. "Long time no see! You've gotten even taller!"

"Krillin! You've gotten a lot stronger, too!" Son Goku said with a smile, patting him on the back. Feeling the ki inside Krillin, several times denser than it had been three years ago, he felt a surge of relief.

Yamcha leaned against the wall with his arms crossed and a wry smile. "Hey, Goku. I heard you're going for your third consecutive championship this time?"

"Yeah! I'll give it everything I've got!" Son Goku nodded earnestly, unconsciously clenching his fists. This World Martial Arts Tournament... is when Chi-Chi and I get married in the original story. But this time, everything is different.

Tien Shinhan stood in a corner, all three eyes fixed on Son Goku, his gaze complicated. Three years had passed, and his ki was several times stronger than before, but when it came to Son Goku... he still couldn't gauge his strength.

"Tien," Son Goku said, walking over and holding out his hand. "Let's both do our best!"

Tien Shinhan looked at the outstretched hand. After a moment's silence, he finally shook it. "...I won't lose."

Chiaotzu sat nearby, a faint smile on his little face. Piccolo—now grown into a teenager and almost as tall as Son Goku—stood coldly at the farthest end of the room. His skin was green, he wore a white martial arts uniform, and his arms were crossed over his chest.

"Heh-heh, I'll be waiting!"

Chiaotzu sat nearby, a faint smile on his little face. Piccolo—now grown into a teenager and almost as tall as Son Goku—stood coldly at the farthest end of the room. His skin was green, he wore a white martial arts uniform, and his arms were crossed over his chest. The hatred in his eyes had faded since three years ago, replaced by something more complicated, something even he couldn't explain.

"Piccolo!" Son Goku called, waving to him.

Piccolo snorted and turned away. "Don't try to act friendly with me, Son Goku. I'm going to beat you today."

"Heh-heh, I'll be waiting!"

Just then, a clear voice came from the doorway:

"Goku!"

Everyone turned around.

A young woman stood at the entrance. She wore a traditional pink martial arts uniform, her long black hair tied into two playful buns, and a blue sash around her waist. She carried a small suitcase. Her cheeks were faintly flushed from hurrying, and her big eyes searched the crowd—until they finally settled on Son Goku.

Chi-Chi.

Son Goku's heart skipped a beat.

Chi-Chi...

In the original story, Chi-Chi waited all those years for me, only to end up with a husband who was hardly ever home—a fool who knew nothing but fighting and couldn't understand her feelings.

She kept the house running by herself, raised our child by herself, and worried by herself that I might die fighting somewhere out there. All she wanted was a home, but all I gave her was waiting.

This time... I won't let her live that way again.

"Goku!" Chi-Chi hurried over and stopped in front of him, looking up. Her eyes sparkled as if filled with stars, and her voice was full of delight... and a hint of unmistakable shyness. "You... you really came. I... I thought you'd forgotten..."

"Forgotten what?" Son Goku asked, pretending to be confused, though his heart had already twisted into a knot.

"It's... it's what you said when we were little..." Chi-Chi's face turned as red as a ripe apple. Her voice grew quieter and quieter as she twisted the hem of her clothes between her fingers. "You said you'd marry me when we grew up..."

The competitors' area fell utterly silent.

Krillin's jaw dropped with an exaggerated clack. Yamcha nearly choked on his own saliva and clutched his throat, coughing repeatedly. All three of Tien Shinhan's eyes widened, and even Piccolo, who always wore a cold expression, furrowed his brow as if to say, What is this guy up to?

"Oh! That!" Son Goku said, suddenly remembering. He nodded earnestly. "I remember. I came to keep my promise."

Chi-Chi's eyes lit up instantly, and her voice trembled as if she were about to cry. "Really?!"

"But..." Son Goku scratched his head, looking troubled, but he kept his eyes on her instead of looking away. "There's something I have to tell you first. It's important."

"What is it?"

"About Bulma..."

Chi-Chi understood at once. Her face went from red to white, from white to green, then turned a near-transparent shade of pale.

"You... you mean..." Her voice trembled like a leaf in the autumn wind. "You want to marry both of us?"

"Yeah..." Son Goku nodded honestly, his heart beating heavily in his chest. Here it comes. What's meant to happen will happen.

"Smack!"

The sharp slap rang out.

Son Goku's face turned slightly to the side, a faint red mark appearing on his cheek. But he didn't dodge or get angry. He simply looked at Chi-Chi, his eyes full of sorrow... and an almost humble plea.

"You... you womanizer!" Chi-Chi's eyes reddened. Tears brimmed in them, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall. "I waited for you for six years! Six years! I practiced martial arts every day, watched the road down the mountain every day, and every day... every day I wondered what my fiancé was doing. Was he getting stronger? Did he... still remember me?"

Her voice rose higher, all the hurt from six years of waiting spilling out at once:

"And now you're telling me that not only do you remember me, you've fallen for someone else?! You're telling me you want to split your heart in two, giving half to me and half to her?! Son Goku, what do you take me for?! Some... some country girl you made a casual promise to as a child, someone you can just brush off whenever you want?!"

"I'm sorry." Son Goku lowered his head, his voice hoarse.

"What good is sorry?!" Chi-Chi finally broke down. She crouched, wrapped her arms around her knees, and burst into tears like a child abandoned by the whole world. "I... I..."

Son Goku crouched down. He didn't touch her; he simply stayed there in front of her, letting his shadow fall over her like a silent shield.

"Chi-Chi, I'm sorry. I'm an idiot, and I don't know how to handle something like this. But I know that if I had to give you up, I'd regret it for the rest of my life. And if I had to give up Bulma, I'd regret that for the rest of my life, too."

He paused, his voice as gentle as if he were soothing a wounded little animal.

"Your cooking is delicious. Back when we were on Fire Mountain, that was the best food I'd ever eaten. I didn't understand then how a meal could make someone so happy. Later, I went off to train and fight, and ate so many different things... but nothing ever compared to the bowl of noodles you made."

Chi-Chi's sobs paused, and her shoulders trembled faintly.

"Bulma's smart. She can build all sorts of amazing machines to help me train. She makes me stronger. But you..." Son Goku looked at Chi-Chi earnestly. "You make me want to become stronger. Because I want to protect you, the meals you make for me, and the smile you had while waiting for me on Fire Mountain."

He slowly reached out and gently held Chi-Chi's clenched fist. Her hand was cold, yet trembling slightly.

"You two being with me... isn't because I'm greedy and want the best equipment and the best food. It's because..."

He raised his head, his eyes seeming to shine.

"You're both lights in my life. Bulma is the wings that let me fly far away, and you're the lamp that makes me want to come home. Without wings, I can't fly very far. Without that light..."

His voice suddenly caught, and his eyes really did redden a little.

"I wouldn't know... why I should fly back."

In the competitors' area, Krillin covered his face, a choked sob escaping between his fingers. Yamcha turned away, his shoulders trembling slightly. Even Tien Shinhan silently turned around, all three eyes looking out the window.

Chi-Chi slowly raised her head and looked at Son Goku through tear-blurred eyes.

She looked at the fool's utterly sincere expression, his reddened eyes, and the battle maniac who wouldn't even blink in the face of death, now as fragile as paper because he was afraid of losing her.

This fool...

He doesn't understand romance or sweet talk...

But every word he said came straight from his heart.

Six years... was this what I'd been waiting for?

No. I'd been waiting for him. This fool who couldn't even say "I love you," but could say, "Without you, I wouldn't know why I should fly back."

"You..." Her voice trembled, hoarse from crying. "Who proposes like that?"

"Chi-Chi?"

"I'll marry you," Chi-Chi said, standing up and wiping her tears fiercely with the back of her hand. Her eyes were still as red as a rabbit's, but the corners of her mouth lifted in a helpless smile. "But not because of those silly things you said. It's because..."

She looked at Son Goku, her eyes full of tenderness and a kind of fond resignation.

"Ever since you rescued me from the sky when we were kids on Fire Mountain, then ate my cooking with food all over your face... I knew I was destined to be wrapped around your little finger."

She paused, then suddenly reached out, grabbed Son Goku's ear, and twisted it hard.

"But! From now on, I'll make all the food at home, and you're not allowed to be picky! You have to come home on time! You have to spend time with me! And..." Her face suddenly turned bright red, and her voice became as quiet as a mosquito's buzz. "You... you have to treat me well."

"Yeah, yeah!" Son Goku nodded again and again, his smile so radiant that even the sunlight outside the window seemed dim. "I promise!"

Bulma walked in through the doorway, crossed her arms, and watched them. She sighed. "...Honestly, I can't believe I agreed to something this ridiculous."

She walked over to Chi-Chi and held out her hand. A complicated look flickered in her blue-violet eyes before giving way to a smile of acceptance. "From now on... I hope we get along, Chi-Chi."

Chi-Chi looked at Bulma and hesitated. She looked at the genius scientist, the beautiful, clever woman who could make Goku stronger... Then she took her hand and gave it a firm shake.

"I hope we get along... Big Sister Bulma."

"Little Sister Chi-Chi," Bulma replied with a smile, the tips of her ears turning faintly red. "I hope we get along."

The two girls met each other's eyes and suddenly laughed at the same time. One laughed heartily, the other helplessly, but neither let go of their joined hands.

Son Goku stood to the side, watching them, and felt a warmth unlike anything he'd ever known rise within him.

Thank goodness...

They... both stayed.

This time, no one will have to wait alone, and no one will have to cry alone.

This time, everything will be different.