CHAPTER 1: First Meeting

The wind was fierce on Papaya Island that afternoon. The waves lapped hungrily along the shore, only to be pushed back to start their quest over again. The palm trees swayed violently, their trunks working hard to keep them from toppling over. The beaches were empty, due to the sand that would spiral into small twisters before dispersing everywhere. Papaya was full of tourists this time of year, but only a few of them dared to venture outside. The residents didn't seem to mind so much, in fact it was almost nice to not have all the tourists out and about. Some had been here for weeks, others just a few days, all in anticipation for the 21st World Marital Arts Tournament. It was great revenue for the island, especially now that the tournament would be held every three years instead of five. But today, four days before the tournament preliminaries, not much revenue would be made due to the wind forcing people inside.

One small girl braved the wind though; she never minded it very much. Her black hair went down to her shoulders, her bangs overgrown and swooped lazily to the side. She was tall for only being ten, and her shoulders would be slumped forward due to her awkward height. Her eyes were light blue, large and round, and today they were glancing down at the swaying grass. Her light pink clothes were a size too large for her, and as she stretched the extra fabric flapped in the wind.

"Hey daddy," she called, her small voice being carried by the wind. Her father sat outside on a lawn chair, his baseball cap threatening to be blown away. He was a slim man, tall with wispy hair and blue eyes like his daughter. He was reading the paper, which was filled with information about the upcoming tournament.

"Yes?" he didn't even look up, sensing where his daughter's voice came from. He had once been a great martial artist, until a horrible back injury had forced him to stop his training, but he held on to his techniques, and vowed to never let them go.

"Do you think one day," she paused to push the hair out of her face, "That one day I could be in the Tournament?"

Her father's laugh rang out, and the girl's eyes narrowed into slits, feeling that he was mocking her. He lowered the newspaper to see the angry look on his daughter's face before gently pushing himself up and walking towards her. She glared up at him, her hands balled up at her sides while her pink clothes fluttered around her small frame.

"Keiko," he said gently, squatting down to be face to face with her, and placing his hands on her shoulders, "You can do anything you set your mind to."

Her eyes rolled, she was too young to grasp what he was saying, so instead of pushing it he simply chuckled. "Yes, Keiko, you could be in the Tournament," he said, causing her eyes to light up with joy. She latched onto him, hugging him tightly, even causing him slight pain due to her grip. "You could probably even win with that grip," he huffed, causing her to let go of him.

"Sorry daddy," she mumbled, knowing how she had to be gentle with him because of his back.

"It's okay sweetheart," he stood up, leaning back slightly until his back popped and then readjusting his posture, "You ready?"

"Of course," she set her heels down and took her fighting stance. Her father's face turned serious as he slowly entered his stance. He was about to make the first move, until her voice stopped him.

"Wait!" she called out, "Can we pretend we are in the Tournament?" she asked bashfully, feeling childish.

"And now fighting," her father's voice went an octave lower, causing Keiko to giggle, "Keiko and her opponent Haru!" he let his name ring out before settling back into his fighting stance.

It did not take long for Keiko to charge, her quickness causing her to end up behind her father before he could take notice. She was always training, always hoping to be as good as he was, but in reality she already was, and at such a young age too. She never thought her attacks through though, which would always give Haru the upper hand. He caught her small fist mid punch, and with one swift movement threw her the other direction. She managed to land on her feet, skidding a few inches back. Her face was set in stone, as much fun as sparring with her father was, she took it very seriously. The wind blew in her direction, causing her to stagger backwards due to the gust that smashed against her body. She reset her feet, before beginning another charge, not taking a moment to take a breath. Haru chuckled, his daughter was so quick to come at him, never thinking, only attacking. He dodged her attack easily, her fists flailing in the air as she came to a gentle landing on the swaying grass.

"Don't get angry, just concentrate," Haru said, seeing the frustration swelling in his daughters eyes. She let out a puff of air, letting her shoulders fall back to a relaxed position, and closing her eyes. She took in two deep breathes, her eyes still closed, and her small body not moving a muscle.

Haru heard a small rustle in the grass, and as he looked over he saw two boys off in the distance, watching them. They wore bright orange suits, which stood out against the green of the surroundings. He turned his attention back to his daughter, whose eyes were still closed. He figured he had given her enough time, so in a moment he began rushing towards her. He knew that she should know better than to let her guard down, and she did. She maneuvered her way around his attack, landing a swift kick to his legs, causing him to stumble. If she had kicked a little harder he would have come fallen down, but she knew to never be too rough, because of his back. Haru let out a laugh as he caught his balance, turning over his shoulder to see his little girl smiling.

"You win this one Keiko," his back was beginning to hurt, so he decided to call it a match. He glanced over towards the window to see his wife washing dishes, eyeing him carefully, as if saying 'don't hurt yourself'. He gave her a small smile, which she returned, and then continued with the dishes.

"Woah!" a small voice rang through the area, causing Keiko to snap her head to see who had been watching her fight. Haru knew who it must have been though, one of the little boys who had been watching them. Keiko looked back at her father, wide-eyed, and confused as to where the voice had come from, her hair blocking her vision as it was blown about.

"Over there," he said, before pointing towards the two boys, both who were now sprinting towards them. She took a step backwards, taking quick glances between her father and the two approaching boys, frantically pushing the hair out of her face. She had never been good with other children, always much too shy and awkward for her own good.

She looked at the window, her beautiful mother still washing dishes. Keiko could only wish to be as pretty as her mom, Kaya. Kaya had long black hair, with pure chocolate eyes. She was short, slender, and had grace beyond measure, and was never shy. She had the confidence Keiko wanted, and right now all Keiko wanted to do was run inside the house to avoid the strangers heading their way. Her feet began moving backwards, slowly heading towards the small yellow house, but it was too late.

"That was great, are you two martial artists?"

Keiko looked to see a boy standing right in front of her father. His eyes were large, bright, brown, and vibrant. His hair looked as if he had just rolled out of bed, black and sticking up and swaying along with the win. He was shorter than her, wearing an orange gi, tied with a black belt. Soon another boy ran up, out of breath, and placing his hands on his knees.

"Goku!" he was huffing and puffing, so different from the spiky haired boy, "You're being rude!" This boy was bald, slightly shorter than the first boy, but wearing the same outfit. "Sorry sir," he was now talking to Haru, and took a bow while the first followed suit, "You have to excuse my friend, he…"

Keiko stopped hearing what the bald boy was saying, as she turned around to gaze at her mom through the window. She began debating whether she should still try to get away, or just stay here with her father. She looked forward again, and turned her eyes towards her small hands. Even though the boys were shorter than her, she knew they must be older by the way they acted. She was...ten, so she wiggled all ten of her fingers. So they were probably at least a year older than her, probably two, she glanced back up at them, before looking back down at her hands. She wondered where they came from, and why they were now standing on her front yard.

"Hello!" his voice startled her, causing her to jump, and her face to redden.

"Hi," she whispered, looking at the boy with the black hair.

"I'm Goku," a silly grin appeared on his face, which caused Keiko's face to redden even more.

"I'm Keiko," her voice had gotten smaller; she was surprised they even heard her.

"Hello Keiko, my name is Krillin, nice to meet you," the bald one stuck his hand out, much more polite than Goku. She shook it loosely, before pulling her hand back and looking up at her father.

"Who do we have here?" Kaya's mellifluous voice flew through the wind, and relief washed over Keiko. She always felt better when she had her mom around to talk for her.

Both boys straightened up, before taking a small bow, and introducing themselves. Keiko's mother smiled, the wind causing her long dress to billow. She looked so confident, beautiful, everything Keiko wanted to be. Keiko awkwardly tugged at her pink outfit, now realizing how it hung on her. She let out a sigh, realizing it wasn't going to get any better, and looked up to see Goku staring at her. Her face flushed, and she looked down immediately.

"Would you boys like to join us for some lunch?" Kaya asked, and both of the boy's eyes lit up, shaking their head 'yes', causing another smile to come to Kaya's face.

Keiko's stomach churned as she watched the boys follow her mother into their small house. She looked up at her father as if to say 'can we please just stay out here?'. "C'mon," her father said, placing his hand on her shoulder and pushing her towards the house. A million thoughts ran through her head, like what would they all talk about? What did they think of her? Why couldn't she just relax and not be so shy? Keiko let out another long breath of air, her palms getting sweaty and her face still flushed.

"So what are you boys doing out here in this weather?" Kaya asked, as she worked over the stove. Haru went to sit at the table next to the boys, leaving Keiko standing awkwardly by the door.

"We are out training for the tournament," Krillin lifted his head proudly, his hands folded neatly on the table. Keiko's eyes went wide and she rushed to the table, throwing her hands down on the hard wood.

"You two are going to be in the tournament?" Amazement flooded her voice as she looked at the two boys seated at her table. They only looked to be a couple of years older than her, how could they possibly be fighting in the tournament?

"Yup!" Krillin grinned, "If we get through the preliminaries," his grin softened, and he looked down, the confidence slightly fading.

"We trained with Master Roshi," Goku chimed in, his eyes switching between Keiko and the stove. Haru's mouth slightly dropped when he heard this, and Keiko rushed to sit in the chair next to her father.

"Do you know who that is Daddy?"

"You two trained with the legendary Master Roshi?" he asked, and both boys nodded. "Well then I am sure both of you will make it through the preliminaries," he smiled, causing both of the boys to look at each other and smile.

"Are you a Master, Mister?" Goku asked, raising his head to look up at Haru, who let out a hearty chuckle.

"Oh no," he continued laughing, "No, I used to train in martial arts, but I hurt my back," his laughter stopped as the dull pain radiated through his back. Goku's mouth formed a small 'o', as Keiko turned her head away to look at her mom. She hated how much pain her father was in, and how he could not do what he loved most –train. Even at this young age, she knew that he was living through her, that he had wanted a son to train, and this was why she tried so hard. She would live up his expectations, and make him proud, she just simply had to.

"You were pretty impressive out there though," Krillin said, causing the smile to reappear on Haru's face.

"Yeah, I wish we could spar with you!" Goku's eyes went wide at the idea, and Kaya turned around to see what her husband would say.

"I'm sorry boys, but I'm in no shape for that, but perhaps my daughter would like to spar with you."

Keiko's head snapped to look up at her father, a smug grin on his face. Her face went instantly red, and she motioned him to come closer. "No," is all she whispered in his ear. He moved away from her before nodding his head 'yes' and ruffling her hair.

"I don't know," Goku said, sinking down in his chair.

"Why?" Haru inquired.

"She's a," he paused, shifting his gaze, "A girl."

"What?" Keiko's small voice rose as she stood up on the wooden chair. "Just cause I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't fight!" she whined, causing both Goku and Krillin to lean away from her.

"But I don't want to hurt you," Goku said, causing Keiko to roll her eyes dramatically.

"Just cause you're a boy does not mean you are stronger than me," she sat back down and folded her arms. She hated how people thought she couldn't fight because she was a girl. The other girls would make fun of her for it, saying how she should just be a boy.

"Okay children," Kaya turned around, holding a large, steaming pot of rice, "We can talking about fighting after lunch," she walked to the table, placing the heavy pot gently in the center of the table. "Let me go get the chicken, and you all can start serving yourselves."

As soon as those words left her mouth, Goku and Krillin attacked the bowl, dumping spoonful's onto their plate, repeating their gratitude over and over again. Keiko's eyes went wide as she watched the two boys shovel food into their mouths. She couldn't stop watching them as she delicately ate, she had never met anyone like these two boys, and in a way she knew she never would.

Author's Note: This is my first DBZ fanfiction! This chapter takes place during Dragonball, and in a way the story will follow the series into Dragonball Z. I'm not sure how much this will follow the DBZ storyline, only time will tell.