As the semifinal match between Goku and Krillin heats up, the Saiyan starts to show some of his true potential! This one and the next should get us all the way to the end of the tournament. Who do you think will win?

New poll up on my profile, to give me an idea what you guys want to see in the vague, distant future.

Stuff:

elektralyte; I wouldn't have minded the human fighters taking a back seat to Goku and Vegeta- It's a staple of the genre that the hero and his rival be the strongest- but it sickened me that they just became basically background characters with no way of helping in the fights whatsoever (barring Tien's surprise attacks on Cell and Buu, which bought small amounts of time for the others and achieved nothing else.) So while I was relatively 'meh' about the main fight in 'Resurrection F',( mild spoilers) I loved the huge battle that preceded it, where everyone got to clear out the mooks.

...

Krillin closed his jaw with a snap, shaking his head slightly as he stared at Goku. "So, um, I guess you figured it out." he offered lamely.

Goku gave a tired grin as he hung in place just above the grass, jerkily levitating himself back onto the ring. "Yeah, Yamcha helped me practice! It's a lot harder than I thought, though..."

Krillin glanced briefly at the unapologetic bandit before turning back to the battle with a pair of quick ki blasts. "So, you ready to keep going?"

"Yeah!" the boy cheered, ducking between the glowing orbs as he threw a punch at Krillin's face, which was knocked to one side as he followed up with a kick. "This is great!" he laughed, even as Krillin grabbed his leg to toss him away.

"Have it your way," Krillin smirked, bringing his power closer to his maximum, charging up an energy sphere in each hand. "Try my Scatter Kamehameha!" he cried, crashing them together and firing the resultant energy ball in Goku's direction.

The saiyan snapped his hands up into a block as the blast approached, only for it to veer upwards before reaching him. His second of surprise cost him, as the follow-up part of the attack triggered, the ball splitting into a barrage of small bullets to rain down on Goku.

Krillin kept his hands out, waiting for the smoke to clear as he sensed out his opponent's energy. "I know you're still oka- Whoa!" he ducked to the side as Goku lashed out with a kick, practically jumping past the monk with the force of the blow, even as Krillin shot out a hand to grab him-

Goku collapsed bonelessly to the ground as his tail was caught firmly in Krillin's grasp, groaning weakly. "Oh, hey, my tail's back..." he managed to mutter, before Krillin released him and stepped back, giving his opponent a minute to recover.

"Heh, now that I got my tail back, I'm stronger than ever!" Goku cheered as he renewed his attack, Krillin deftly deflecting the powerful strikes, with a bead of sweat running down the monk's face as he managed to land a punch against Goku's chest, pressing his attack.

'If I let him keep the initiative, he might push me into a ring out, but he's used up a lot more energy than I have, so I think I can do this now.' he thought, ducking down to throw a headbutt at Goku's torso, knocking the spiky-haired fighter into the air, before leaping up to land a kick into Goku's chest before he could muster a defence.

'That just might do it...' Krillin thought, satisfied, before sensing Goku's energy spiking yet again. 'Seriously? I was sure I heard a rib crack there, not that it would really do anything to Goku...' he continued, as Goku launched himself back into the ring with a relatively weak Kamehameha.

"I'm not finished yet, Krillin," the boy panted, ducking back as Krillin made the first move, only to block Krillin's punch with one of his own. "Rock!" He pressed forwards, jabbing his fingers into Krillin's eyes. "Scissors!" To finish the combo, he threw his palm forwards with his power focused into it. "Pape-"

"Nope," Krillin grunted out, driving his arm down to block Goku's, the force of both strikes hitting the ground and sending huge cracks through the stonework, pebbles flying in all directions. "I'm finshing it now! HYAAAAA!" he cried, bombarding Goku with an incredibly powerful shockwave to send him skidding back, and knocking him even further with a burst of luminous yellow ki.

Goku rolled back, stunned, only to find himself unable to stand, his legs unable to support his weight. He concentrated on his energy, trying to levitate up from the ground, before a chop to the back of his head sent his eyes rolling back as he lapsed into unconsciousness...

OoOoO

The saiyan groaned as he felt someone shaking him. "What happened?"

"They made the count," Krillin offered sheepishly, helping the younger fighter to his feet. "I won this one."

"Darn it," the Saiyan breathed, though his voice was still cheery. "I thought for sure I had you beat there. I'll win next time, though!"

"Yeah, probably..." the human warrior muttered in a low tone, before turning his attention back to the somewhat stunned crowd.

The announcer regained his composure after a few seconds. "A-and after that incredible display from both fighters, Krillin will move on to the final match! Now, once again, please give another round of applause for our fine competitors! In a few moments, we'll have the second semi-final match, between Yamcha and Jackie Chun, just as soon as the arena is cleaned up a bit..." he informed the crowd, as he looked pointedly at the craters and cracks sprinkled across the stone tiles.

Krillin looped Goku's arm around his shoulder, helping the saiyan back to the waiting area, Yamcha flickering into existence beside them after a second of focus. Krillin suppressed a jolt of surprise- because unlike high-speed movement, his ki senses couldn't follow Yamcha's technique, he was just suddenly there. "Did you really have to teleport? You were like twenty feet away."

The bandit shrugged. "It never gets old."

"That was very impressive," came a new voice, as Master Roshi came up to the trio. "I'm proud to call you my students."

Yamcha blinked, taking in the cane, sunglasses and bald head. "Wait, Master Roshi? What-?"

"Ah, you're wondering where Jackie Chun went? He's an old friend, and he told me he's leaving to find something new, seeing as how martial arts are a young man's game. He seemed happy, though, now that he knows the future of the tournament is in good hands." the old man smiled, turning to leave before any of them could formulate a reply.

"Huh," was the eloquent response, as Yamcha gave a very Goku-like look of confusion. "How 'bout that. Hang on a second," he said to Krillin, abruptly vanishing and reappearing seconds later. "Fixed it."

"Fixed what? Yamcha, do you remember what happened last time you tried to fix something?" Krillin frowned, as Goku stumbled over to grab some of the food provided for them.

The bandit winced. "Yeah, okay, but that tractor was a lost cause even before I went at the engine."

"I was talking about the Wish." There was no mistaking the capitalisation, or the not-so-subtle jab behind it.

"Right. Still working on that one. Anyway, we better get something to eat before Goku inhales it all. I got them to put the finals back for a while."

"Why?"

"Eh, I want this to be a good fight for both of us. I know you're stronger, but I still don't want any unfair advantage just because my fights were easier." Yamcha said, a wry smile on his face once again.

"Alright. Let's have a good match, Yamcha!" the monk grinned, holding out a hand, and the duo shared a high-five before breaking off to rescue the last remnants of food from their saiyan friend.

OoOoO

"After our brief intermission, I am happy to announce the final match of the twenty-first Tenkaichi Budokai! Yamcha and Krillin, both of whom are students of the legendary Turtle Hermit. No matter which of them wins today, they will become the youngest winner in the history of our competition!"

The two friends nodded, smiling wildly in their excitement. Yamcha sent a brief telepathic burst towards the monk. 'Remember, no holding back.'

'I'll hold you to that.' came the confident reply as they surged their power.

"Begin!"

...

And next round will see our two finalists face off for the title of 'World's Strongest'. Taking all bets, guys!

Expect updates to slow for a month or so while exams and Christmas are happening. I have a small buffer in place, so I should have at least one chapter for both stories to upload if I remember to do so.

Power Levels;

Goku(tiring); 124 (135 with tail, 162 with tail max)

Krillin(tiring); 137 (193 Scatter Kamehameha)

No one else fought this chapter, but next chapter I'm going to try to fit in the entire Yamcha vs Krillin fight.

See you then!