"So, that's them?" A brown-skinned woman jerked her neck to the window of the small, corner tea shop.
Despite being small and a bit hidden away, the shop was completely full today, two servers bustling around frantically, working with a full clientele that they'd normally never have to deal with.
But that was just how big today was. The day of the 20th Pentannual World Martial Arts Tournament.
The woman uncrossed her legs, looking out the window, as she pointedly ignored the fact that every guy in the shop was openly staring at her.
The woman had long, black hair, braided down her back with a single, flashy red and silver ribbon, and the clothing she wore was… skimpy at best. Simply a tan-colored wrap that flowed around her chest, down her side and part of her back, and around her waist, acting as a skirt.
And with how incredibly mature her body was, it was no surprise that everyone was staring. But nobody approached.
"Yeah. That's them." Across the table from her, the deep voice belonging to the reason that nobody approached the uncommonly beautiful woman gave a clipped grunt in confirmation, the only male in the room not looking at the dark-skinned beauty, his eyes glued to the scene outside the window in silence.
A barely-teenaged boy with short, spiky bleach-blonde hair, rippling muscles, and a brown tail wrapped around his waist was giving a piggyback ride to a girl with a princess braid and a tail, who was enthusiastically calling out "To the pretzels!" As she held a cone of cotton candy above their heads like a sword.
Meanwhile, a young woman nearly as beautiful as the dark-skinned woman, with incredibly straight, long black hair followed the duo with an amused look on her face, trailed by a tall teenage boy.
"They know you're here, don't they?"
"Yeah."
"They didn't even look this way." She noted.
"Nope." It didn't surprise Tater that they didn't want to acknowledge him. He'd known Tarble's position, and he'd known that Lynn and Tommy (who wasn't here), to back their leader's decision.
But, with how childish and emotional Pepper could be, Tater had half-expected to see her sneak a peek. Strangely, it hurt a bit, to see the sweet little girl smiling and laughing, seemingly not at all tormented by the fact that her lost teammate was right inside the coffee shop.
Tater had changed a lot in the last four years or so. That was inevitable, when you were beaten around 90% to death and left in the center of one of the world's largest deserts.
He'd barely survived the ordeal, managing to make it to a village before passing out for several days. Upon waking up, the kind desert villagers (including the woman in front of him, Cynthia, who'd been only 15 at the time) had to feed him pre-crushed food through a straw for several weeks.
For that time, even Tater worried that he'd end up with permanent damage.
Instead, he'd gotten a massive Zenkai boost. Once healed enough to leave the village, Tater had, at Cynthia's request, reluctantly taken the girl to travel the world.
Now, almost four years after his fateful battle with Tarble, Tater found himself in the same city as the family he'd left behind. Pepper had grown a bit. Lynn was officially an adult now, and Tater was a hulking behemoth, around seven feet tall, having shed his portly, child-like appearance and gained muscles bigger than most watermelons.
But Tarble… His 'Super Saiyan Primal' form hadn't changed a bit.
"Do you want to go back?" Cynthia asked her large companion. He didn't respond, his eyes returning to her seductive form as Tarble and the others disappeared from view, down the street.
"Somehow, I knew that he'd know about this tournament… That he'd be here."
"It's been almost four years, Tater. Get over it." Cynthia told him, annoyed.
"When you put on some clothes. You left the world's hottest pit of dust three years ago, Cynth. Acclimate."
"And your birth planet blew up even earlier than that, Tater. You acclimate, dumbass." She replied sharply.
"...The preliminaries start in less than an hour. We don't have time to sneak off."
"...Dammit." She clicked her tongue, "I'll wait near the building. Don't get knocked out in one blow like you were by that creepy blonde guy."
"Oh, screw you." Tater muttered. Knowing how he was, Cynthia simply rolled her eyes, ignoring his words.