Jan-ken PUNCH!

By Reid M. Haynes

Disclaimer: Dragon Ball/Dr. Slump and all characters within are the properties of Akira Toriyama, TOEI ANIMATION, and various other companies. I am using them without permission, and I am making no money off of them.

Legend:
( ) Denotes thoughts.
{ } Denotes sound effects.

Tale 5: Go, Go, Goku! Arale-chan Too! Part 3

*****

Wind and smog slicing through his hair, Goku tore down through the urban canyons after Arale, both of them free-falling to the dingy slums below. Keeping an aerodynamic shape, he did his best to catch up to his fallen partner, who flailed her arms wildly in a attempt to somehow fly back up to the highway. The rushing air stung his eyes, and the sickly chemical haze made a few tears scorch out of his eyes to wash away behind him. Yet there was no way he could close them, not when there was a rescue to be attempted.

Goku had dove for Arale almost immediately after the rocket had detonated, his form cutting through the even-now dissipating smoke. His hands still held Nyoibo, in case it might be of use in helping the girl. For a moment, he thought about using it to deal revenge blow for the biker that held the bazooka, but decided not to waste time on that. Probably a good thing too, for the biker had been disposed of on his own accord, to busy laughing at his target to pay attention to where he was riding.

He continued to bullet downwards, the skyscrapers and buildings making a rushing noise that clogged his ears. Goku was slowly "gaining ground" on the other, having achieved a higher velocity due to his diving shape. Still, they were getting closer and closer to the streets below, and he wasn’t nearly fast enough to really catch up to an arm’s length.

He wasn’t going to make it.

Goku waited a moment more, hoping he could somehow catch up before Arale hit the pavement, then sighed in disappointment. There was no other choice than to reveal his trump card, the one he saved just in case of occasions like this. Of course, if he used it now, he would forgo the training mission the Old Timer had sent him on. But, by the looks of the situation, he didn’t have any other method foolproof enough to be relied on.

Goku’s resolve wavered for a moment more, as if hoping for some other way. Then, with a heavy heart, he took a deep breath of the cutting wind, and called for his cloud as loud as he could.

"KINTO’UUUNNNNN!!!"

*****

"Hoyoyo, this doesn't look like much fun..."

These were the words coming out of Arale’s mouth as she fell to her imminent death on the cold concrete of the Western Capital, probably to burst into a thousand gears and bolts. Her hair and clothes whipped in the opposite direction of her descent, a few stands agitated her wide, confused eyes. Somehow, the winged "ARALE" cap managed to stay on her head, thanks to the hand holding it down. Though why someone would be so concerned about an article of clothing when propelling to certain doom is beyond me, let me tell you.

The streets below were getting closer and closer, and Arale was actually starting to get a bit worried. What would she say to Midori, Turbo, and the Gatchans if her bones were crushed into the concrete? She was sure the doc would get mad when he’d discover the crater that her landing would cause. That is, if he didn’t get kidnapped...

By now, Arale was that much closer to hitting ground zero, having only five stories left before she would reach the bottom of the buildings. She pondered what to do for a moment, and decided that the best thing she could do was to cover her head, and hope that her head wouldn’t get knocked off.

Arale squinted her eyelids, and prepared for impact.

{HYUUNNN!!!} ...then, all of a sudden, the girl was swept from her fall by a light, intangible form, moving in a rising streak towards the sky. She suddenly felt a soft, puffy substance below her rear, like a cotton candy ream torn off it’s cone. Arale looked up from the strange object to find Son Goku sitting across from her, with knees tucked in and a somewhat forlorn expression on his face. And below him, below both of them, was the green/yellow cumulus that the boy had first sailed into Penguin Village on.

"Yay!" she cheered, throwing her hands down on Kinto‘un. "It’s the cloudy cloud!"

"Yay," Goku moaned, a touch of sarcasm behind his voice. "It’s the ’good bye to my training’ cloud."

By now, Goku and Arale were far above their pursuers, who were dwindling rapidly in number. Since the copters had all been swatted away by the Nyoibo, the only opponents left were a few stray bikers, who were empty-handed at coming up with a method to attack their high-flying foes. Kinto’un, cruising at only a low speed, easily matched their cycles’ pace and stayed ahead a good quarter of a kilometer. Furthermore, at the altitude it was, it was relatively impossible for any of the RRs’ weaponry to reach, having not been designed for anti-aircraft tasks.

Goku stared ahead at the mountains beyond the city, and then turned back to Arale, who was happily snuggling into the soft folds of the Kinto cloud. "We’d better get out of here," he recommended, a serious expression on his face. "Those guys ‘re prob’ly gonna come back after a while, and I don’t feel like fighting them...right now." He tacked the last bit onto his sentence, knowing how much he liked fighting normally.

Arale gave a cheery nod, and the boy looked back towards the horizon. He clutched onto the cloud, bracing his body...

Then {D-KOOOON!!!} the two tore off in a saffron streak towards the fields just outside of the town. Leaving the astonished Red Ribbon soldiers, the buildings and lampposts, and the bright lights and glitz of the Western Capital far, far behind...

*****

The few beams of the early morning sunrise shot through the void with crystal clarity, a few drops of dew illuminating through the breeze. Blades of grass rustled off a ways, and dandelion tuffs soared about on a whistling wind. Off in the distance, a chain of maroon mountains stood just above the green hills that led up to him. And, just above the horizon, the waking sun beat a constant stream of light on our hero, heroine, and whiny tagalong, all in various states of distress.

"I can’t believe it," Bulma cried, leaning against the frame of her mo-ped. "Me, the daughter of the Western Capital, ran out like a crook!" She then turned a forceful glare towards the others around her. "Or a certain monkey boy and his friend," the girl growled, clenching her fists in anger.

"Aw, cool off Bulma," Goku snapped back, his legs dangling over the edge of his Kintoun. "I’m the one who got the sour end of this deal, anyway." He gripped Nyoibo in raging anger, practically snapping the staff in two. "It’s all ‘cause of those Red Ribbon guys that I had t’ ditch my trainin’ mission. I’ll get ‘em! I‘ll get ‘em good!"

"Hoyo?" Arale asked, walking up from where she was sitting to the boy‘s side. "But how’re gonna ‘get ‘em’ when they have those flashy boom-booms on their side?"

"Heh, you don’t worry about that!" he responded, pointing to himself in overblown bravado for one his side. "No one stops Son Goku!" He then hopped down from his cloud and turned to the girl. "I’m goin’ after them. What are you going to do, Arale-chan?"

"Don’t know," Arale answered honesty, shagging nonchalantly. "Prob’bly chase after th’ doc. With my glasses, I’ll be able t’ find him a bit easier." She put a hand to her chin, a thought coming to her head. "I wonder where he could be?" she mussed, looking off into the distance.

"Feh." A foreshadowing grin melted onto Goku face, his bangs shadowing his eyes with eerie after tones. "There’s only one group of men that could do such a dishonorable deed."

"Huh?" Both Arale and Bulma turned to face him, their faces expectant and eager. "Who are they?"

With a small "heh," Goku tiled his head, eyeing them with his jet black eyes. Then, he span around and gave his statement: "Bad guys!"

"Yeah!" Arale joined in, as Bulma facefaulted. "Bad guys!"

"No offence, Goku," the older teenager started, once she dragged herself off the ground. "But don’t you think that the Red Ribbon might be behind Dr. Norimaki’s abduction?"

"Oh yeah, them too," the boy nodded, accepting this info with enough casualness to engrain another sweatdrop on Bulma’s temple.

Goku walked over to Arale. "’Guess we’re fightin’ the same baddies,’ he said. "What say I tag along with you and help ya save this doc guy? I mean, my training mission’s shot anyway, and I’ll be able to teach you some Jan-ken stuff along the way." He extended his head. "That cool with you?"

Arale stared at the proffered hand for a moment, as if waiting for all the information to process fully within her brain. Then, with a bright smile, she clasped the hand within her own, gripping his enthusiastically. "Okie dokey, Goku-kun!"

They shook on it.

"Ahem," Both Goku and Arale turned back around, to find an antsy Bulma tapping her foot. "Aren’t you forgetting about someone?" She walked up to them with a feminine gait, probably a little put-on. "Remember, I’ve been run out of my home by the Red Ribbon, so I’ve got a stake in this too. I think I’ll tag with you guys until this whole mess is settled."

"Drat," Goku murmured, disappointed that he had to drag her around now. He kept his comment to himself, though; Bulma was the type that couldn’t take no for an answer. Oh well.

As the trio prepared to go, each of them looked toward the rising sun with a different feeling in their heart. Goku was determined and raring for a good challenge. Arale was happy to go on a new adventure and learn new things, though she was also a bit worried about her kidnapped creator and how he was doing. As for Bulma...well, she was worried how the stress she had undergone might contribute to premature wrinkles and other unsightly blemishes to a beauty such as herself. Such was the case, I suppose...

The sun inched up the mountains, peeking furtively at our intrepid explorers.

Then, Goku and Arale took off towards the fields, with Bulma trailing close behind.

"Let’s go," the two kids cheered, rushing towards the brand new adventure ahead. "Let’s give ‘em a Jan-ken PUNCH!!!"

{POW!!!}

*****

Additional Disclaimer(s): Both "Jiffy" and "Smuckers" are products used to make PB&J sandwiched. Though, unless the CEO of Jiffy or Smuckers reads Dragon Ball fanfics, I doubt much is gonna happen... ^_^}

Author’s Note: Whew, that took some work! And to think, I’m not even halfway done yet!

I’m going to leave this project on the backburner for awhile. As it stands, this story is only 1/4 of the way done, and I have a long way to go. I have a couple of other projects that I’m wanting to try, and I’m no good at balancing two ideas at once. And since I’m finally at a good stopping point, I believe it’s best to halt here, while I still have the option.

Thanks to all who gave me their reviews. It was great to hear such praise for such an obscure idea. See you later.

Oh yeah, here’s the "Next Episode" preview. ^_^

Arale: "N'cha! In the next chapter, me, Goku, and the cranky lady head out to the wide world lookin‘ for Doc! Cool!"

Goku: "Yeah, but the Red Ribbon is still on our tails...hey, who are these guys? Don‘t I know them from somewhere?"

Goku/Arale: (with arms around each other) "All this and more, in the next exciting chapter of 'Jan-ken PUNCH!'"

RisanF: "Until next time, ja ne! ^_^"





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