Disclaimer: Dragonball Z was created by Akira Toriyama. Akira Toriyama made all Characters in this story. (c) Akira Toriyama, Bird Studio, Toei Animation. Used without permission, please don't sue me; all you'll get is... nothing! :P

*.....* = thoughts
"....." = speaking

Work's been so hectic lately and I STILL have writer's block! Oh well... ;/



"Come on, you dumbasses! We're going to be late!", Bra yelled as she ran through the maze of halls. Goten and Trunks panted as they ran after her. The tournament was starting in fifteen minutes, but royalty was supposed to be there thirty minutes early. Why? The Prince and Princess didn't know. Something about keeping a good image.

"We're coming! Geez!", Trunks yelled back.

They all rounded a corner and darted out the doors. They stopped as all eyes in the courtyard were directed towards them. Goten and Trunks laughed nervously and Bra flipped them all the bird. The crowd quickly resumed their loud chatter.

Bra stalked towards the King and Queen's thrones that were moved outside so they could watch the fights. Goten and Trunks sat down and began stretching their muscles to prepare for the fights.

"Hi, daddy!", Bra said innocently and kissed her father on the cheek. "Hello, mother."

"Dear, you really shouldn't flick all of your subjects off.", Bulma scolded while running her fingers through her daughter's soft, blue tresses.

"Oh, mother, that's just my way of saying 'hello'.", Bra replied and waved her hand in dismissal. Vegeta smirked.

"That's my girl.", he laughed. Bulma glared at him which quickly shut him up. Bra watched the warriors warm up boredly. She felt a tap on her shoulder and she jerked around, prepared to blast the person who intruded her personal space. She raised her hand to point at his chest.

"Wait!", he yelled. Bra raised an eyebrow and her hand began to glow. Bulma and Vegeta looked on confused.

The boy, who looked fairly young, bravely leaned next to Bra's ear and whispered, "It's me! Pan!"

Bra immediately dropped her hand. "Wow! I didn't recognize you.. Malo!", she said after glancing at the list of the warriors who were competing. She had signed Pan up under the name of Malo.

"Yes, Princess, may I have a word with you?", Malo [Pan] asked after bowing. Bra nodded and stood. They walked off down the steps and behind a bush.

"Uh, Vegeta? I thought you said Bra liked Goten? She seemed awfully friendly with this guy.", Bulma asked Vegeta. He shrugged dismissively. "Oh, my goodness! Vegeta, Malo is in the Royalty/Mated section! He's not royalty or a noble; he's mated! Bra can't like someone who's mated!", she shrieked. Vegeta supressed the urge to cover his ears.

"Woman! Are you trying to break my eardrums?! Who cares! She'll be bored with him after a week anyway!", he stated matter-of-factly. Bulma realized he was right and smiled, assuring herself.

**********

"Hey, Goten, I bet you 20 yullis (dollars) that I can beat my opponents faster than you can beat yours!", Trunks boasted. Goten smirked.

"I'll take that bet!", he replied with equal arrogance. Then his face faultered. "Oh, wait. I don't have 20 yullis. How about just 10?" He grinned sheepishly.

Trunks rolled his eyes and agreed. They sparred lightly to further warm themselves up. Goten noticed Bra talking to a boy behind a bush. She was smiling and laughing. He growled and lost concentration. Trunks hammered him into the ground.

"Goten, hey! You okay?!", Trunks asked concerned as he shook his friend. Goten just continued growling and pointed towards Bra. Trunks followed his hand and gazed at the boy and Bra. Now, Bra had her hand on the boy's shoulder.

"I'll kill him!", Goten threatened and stood up and began storming over towards the two. Trunks grabbed his shoulder and shook his head.

"Just let it go, man. Let's go see which of us gets to kick his ass to hell.", Trunks laughed and dragged a still-pissed Goten with him towards the sign-up sheets.

They stopped next to the table. Trunks skimmed through the list of names.

"How do you know which is him?", Goten asked skeptically.

"Because I've never seen him and I've watched all of these on the list to see how they fight. The only one I don't know is Malo. He's in the mated section, so I guess I get to kick his ass. Sorry, bro.", Trunks replied. Goten scowled disappointed. He really wanted to teach that guy a thing or two. And what the hell was up with the gay, orange bandanna?

**********

"Bra, there's one thing we forgot. One serious thing! When I start fighting, you guys will recognize my ki! Trunks and them will know it's me!", Malo [Pan] said desperately.

"Shimatta! You're right! Well, come on. My mom's an inventor, you know, so she should have something to help that.", Bra replied. Pan nodded in slight relief and followed Bra to her mom's personal lab.

Bra and Pan searched frantically for anything that would help Pan's 'ki problem'. So far, they hadn't found anything useful.

"Pan, this is hopeless!", Bra called out, giving up. She slumped down in a chair and waited for Pan to emerge from the closet she was looking through.

"AHA!", she heard Pan yell. She skipped out of the closet and smirked. She pulled a little contraption out from behind her back. "It was in a drawer entitled 'ki disguisers'. Pretty snappy, eh?"

Bra nodded impatiently. "Hurry up and put it on! The tournament should be starting any minute now and royalty and mated fight first."

Pan face-faulted and quickly attached the tiny, square-shaped machine underneath her armor. They ran out of the room.

**********

Everyone was silent in the stands as King Vegeta stood from his throne.

"To start off the tournament, my son, Prince Trunks, will be fighting Tafegh, an elite-class noble!", Vegeta announced to the crowd. There were cheers as Trunks walked gracefully, head held high, onto the fighting arena. A few minutes after, Tafegh stepped onto the fighting arena, as well. There were a few "boo"'s from lower class warriors who despised warriors from higher classes. The tournament also gave the low-class warriors a chance to prove their skills and move up in rank if the King saw fit.

Bra slipped onto her throne silently while Malo (Pan) went to the sidelines to wait for her turn to fight.

Tafegh circled Trunks, sizing him up. Trunks stood face-masked with his arms crossed over his chest and his legs apart. Out of nowhere, Tafegh charged at Trunks with his fist raised in the air. Trunks had watched Tafegh and knew this trick all too well. He stood and waited. Just as he'd believed, "Tafegh" went right through him. Trunks knew it was only his ki, so he calmly turned around and punched into the air. The crowd murmured and some laughed at "what an idiot the Prince was". They all shut up as Tafegh appeared into view on the ground holding his stomach. Trunks kicked him in the side, forcing him to spew blood out of his mouth. He smirked and calmly walked away once he was sure Tafegh was unconscious.

*What a weakling. And he's supposed to be an elite?*, Trunks thought. The announcer declared Trunks the obvious winner.

A few more fights went by and finally it was Malo (Pan)'s turn to fight. She walked onto the fighting arena and checked her bandanna to make sure her shoulder-length hair was still hidden underneath it.

"Bra, what rank is this Malo in?", Bulma asked her daughter.

"He's a first-class, mother.", she replied.

"How come I've never seen him?! Who is he mated to?!", Vegeta asked impatiently.

*Shit.* "Um, some second-class. I'm not sure who, daddy.", Bra answered quickly. She silently prayed that the questions would stop. Fate didn't seem to be on her side, for they didn't.

"Where's Pan today?", Bulma asked while watching the fight that had just begun between Malo (Pan) and Bardock. Bardock was a third-class warrior and a genius scientist. He had two sons; one whom was sent to Chikyuu-sei as an infant, the other who was also a third-class warrior. Bulma had found out when she first came to Vegeta-sei that Bardock was her good friend, Goku's, father. They had gotten along pretty well after that.

"She probably slept in. She was pretty tired after a beating I gave her last night."

Bulma looked at her suspisciously, but seemed to at least halfway believe Bra's story.

Malo (Pan) blasted Bardock in the chest and he plummetted to the ground. He stood up, panting for air. He floated up level with his opponent. He flew towards Malo (Pan) with fairly-decent speed, but was not fast enough for Malo (Pan). Bardock punched out, but his attack was easily blocked as he was elbowed on top of the head and rendered unconscious. Malo (Pan) was declared the winner.

The rest of Trunks' and Malo (Pan)'s matches were easily won by them and soon it was time for the final battle. Trunks vs. Malo (Pan).

They circled each other in the arena, fierce battle in their eyes. Trunks glanced up towards the thrones and frowned when he didn't see Pan up there watching him. She hadn't been there all day. Oh well, he'd pay her back tonight. He smirked with lust in his eyes.


NEXT CHAPTER OF DISCOVERIES OF LOVE: Trunks and Malo (Pan) battle it out. Who will win?


That's it for this chapter. Not that long, but hey, it's good enough until the next chapter! Ja! ~_^