PART SEVEN: THE LUNCH BREAK WE'VE ALL WAITED FOR!

Chapter 33

Translated by Prince Vegeta

In the space of Universe 9, Kulilin, who was one of the participants in the last round of the first half, seemed rather calm. His presence and his wisdom were felt by the people around him, yet he was anxious. He talked to his friends a lot about the ups and downs about the tournament, and had described many of his former enemies.

In universe 8 stood Coola. In the past, Coola was a formidable opponent! Kulilin and his friends had somehow managed to defeat him, but were puzzled by the fact that he had a younger brother, Freeza, whom they had never heard of. But they were sure they could defeat Freiza. Terrible enemies overall!

"Fortunately, I had to fight Sauza..." thought Kulilin, lowering his head slightly. Beside him stood Tenshinhan, arms crossed. He hoped that he would face someone very soon, preferably Yamcha. He smiled when he met his friend's eyes, both thinking of the same thing. If they fought, it would be very interesting! If Tenshinhan did not get Yamcha, there would be many more worthy opponents, such a the highly advanced participants of universe 19, the Bojack Gang and the giant in universe 7. With Tenshinhan's brute force, endurance, and skill, he was surely superior to many fighters.

A table finally appeared from the ground, which indicated that their meal would arrive shortly. Yamcha, Kulilin, Tenshinhan and the other earthlings of their group settled there. Yamcha placed himself at the head of the table. They took the opportunity to talk to each other.

"Nice job against Sauza!" Yamcha said to his faithful friend. "It was awesome compared to the trouble he gave us last time!"

"Thanks!" he answered with a slightly aged voice. "But next round, I will fight this Tapion, and since he did not fight this round, I don't know anything about him."

Yamcha looked at the Kaioshin. The God of the Gods! He surely would be a challenge if anyone in his group fought him.

"I get it, Yamcha," said Tien while looking at him with his three eyes and a smile. "Always the first to rush into danger at full speed. We should really save our energy.

"Do what you want!" Yamcha replied. "I not going to fight under the radar. I want to shine!"

"You say this because you think you are stronger than Tenshinhan!" said Kulilin.

"That very well might be the case!"

"We haven't sparred for a very long time so far! You'll see lots of surprises from me!" said Tenshinhan.

"Eh..." said Yamcha. "I would prefer not to fight each other very soon, or get eliminated early. If we don't lose, the would be a bigger chance for our universe to win."

Nobody said a word. The matter was resolved. If Kulilin beat Tapion, he would surely face Cell, and after seeing his spectacular performance against Dabra, it would be very hard to defeat him. And maybe Freeza, and then Vegeta! The latter easily won his match, owning his counterpart Oozaru like it was nothing.

"I realized, that many people have conterparts," said Yamcha.

"Like Trunks from universe 12. He is identical to ours," said Tien.

"There are also two Trunks' in the 16 and 18," said Kulilin. "Do you think they are all sons of Bulma?"

"It would not be surprising," said Yamcha. "We would have to ask them."

"There are also two Videls in the 16 and 18, identical to ours," stated Kulilin.

"I wonder if they are participating," said Yamcha.

"Me too. That weird Saiyan that greeted me like a friend after my match was from universe 18. He was like a gentle Saiyan. Difficult to imagine," asked Kulilin.

The Vargas brought a variety of drinks and placed them on the large table. The trio of powerful warriors started eating with chopsticks, while the rest of the table used forks and spoons.

"You can always change their attitude over time... It feels just like it was yesterday that Tenshinhan was a complete asshole," started Yamcha.

Tenshinhan barely blinked and then finished his drink. Then he smiled.

"Aren't Trunks from our universe and universe 12 Trunks very alike?" asked Kulilin.

Yamcha was silent for a moment. He knew where his friend was going. Trunks of the 9 and Trunks of the 12 seen very similar, like brothers indeed, but with the same name. Universe had a visit from universe 12 Trunks, before the tournament, and had told that he was the son of Bulma too. Then they watched him defeat Coola like it was nothing.

"When Trunks of the 12 turned Super Saiyan, I was surprised. He was so nice, yet he was one of those terrible Saiyans!" said Tenshinhan.

Yamcha looked at Tien with a surprised face. Kulilin started laughing, but then choked on his meal so those laughs turned into a couple of coughs.

Yamcha suddenly clenched his fist and griited his teeth.

"If one of those monsters raped Bulma, I will kill him! So what if I break the rules!" screamed Yamcha.

"Calm down Yamcha, calm down. What if Bulma and this Saiyan liked each other? Bulma could like anyone. She has a big heart behind that nice pair of..." Kulilin ended.

"Cough, cough!" said a voice next to the old master.

"What is it Trunks? Are you choking on your food?"

"Could you stop talking nonsense, please Master Kulilin? Anyway, what happened in other universes is none of our our concern," replied Trunks.

"Yes, its better not to talk about it," said Videl who was sitting across from Trunks, thinking about her counterpart's expression when her competing daughter died.

Kulilin understood and became serious. They ate in silence until the conversation took on a new subject.

"Do you think Babidi himself is participating in the tournament?" Tenshinhan asked.

"Well, there is no risk," calmly replied Kulilin when Yamcha nodded.

Tenshinhan found himself gazing at Babidi, and examining Cell. Earlier, during his fight with Dabra, he had use the Taiyoken. How could he know it? Did he know other techniques that Tenshinhan invented? The question arose other competitors. The little girl killed by Bojack knew the Kamehameha, the favorite move of Muten Roshi, and now Kulilin...

Tenshinhan looked to his right. Universe 10 was empty, but there fight was still on, so Yamcha might win the first round without a fight! Then he looked at the eleventh, watching Babidi containing Buu.

Babidi and Buu ate on the same table, while Dabra was on the ground, dying. The sorcerer was ignoring the dying demon. He had lost, so now he was paying the consequences. Perhaps it would have been better if he had died immediately! Majin Buu was very cheerful. With his great spirit, Buu transformed all his foods into candy, as did his counterpart from the universe 4. Not only did the former transform his own food, but also that of his master! Babidi hated it. Despite his commands, Buu just turned every dish into sugary junk! It became a pile of sweets, and he always gobbled it up.

"Calm down or I will turn you into a cocoon!" shouted Babidi.

Buu calmed down immediately. He ate nothing, but scowled, pouted, crossed his arms, and turned red with anger. What a bratty child!

The doings of Buu amused Trunks of universe 12. He calmly ate his meal, while 16 was silent, just as usual, folded arms back, as if asleep. It's not like he did not like the presence of the android, but he wished if he could he with his friends of the universe 16, or the 18. There there was Goku, and his father Vegeta, though Vegetto felt very different from the two fusees.

Trunks had made his decision, and that he would eat dessert, with his friends of the 18, if they let him. Of course, Trunks knew they would not deny him a seat. His next fight was against his father. Their last real battle took place in the Room of Spirit and Time, before the Cell Games. Today, Trunks was ten years older, and his father was more than twenty years older. How strong could he be now? Trunks still had a surprise or two. But he also thought of Gohan, to return to his former mentor and his father would give himself pleasure. He thought it would not be the right time to greet his friends of the 16 because Gohan had lost his daughter... Trunks had to pass them to get to the 18th Universe.