Disclaimer: I own nothing from the Dragonball Z universe and I also own nothing from the Hajime no Ippo series. I'm borrowing some elements to amuse myself.

"Are you ready for this?" the Coach asked just as Videl, Erasa and Gohan entered the changing room.

Sharpener was already standing, shifting weight from one leg to the other and doing some light shadowing, and looked up as they entered his room.

"Yeah, I'm ready." He answered his coach, before addressing his friends. "Hey guys, glad to see you. So, Nerd-boy, ready to see a boxing match up close?"

"Yeah," the timid teenager replied, "I heard a lot of good things about this, should be a good fight right?"

"Yeah and I'm anxious about it too." Sharpener said as his hands started flying again. "I have a bit of build up tension I want to get rid off and I'm looking forward to a KO. My last two matches were by decision, but I'm burning up for this one."

"Just don't burn yourself out in the first round hotshot." Videl said, smiling a bit. Ever since Gohan had told her a bit about her past in that café, almost a month ago now, she had returned mostly to normal. She still didn't like talking about what happened, she disliked motorcycles in general these days and she still hated the Commander, but at least she was mostly back to normal. And with the extra rest she now had because the police had only needed her twice in four weeks, she was looking a whole lot better as well.

"Well Sharpy, good luck! We're sitting on the front row behind your corner as always!" Erasa said, winking and waving at him as she left."

"Knock him out good ok? Don't disappoint us." Videl said, throwing a mock-glare at her blond friend as she left as well.

"Not gonna say anything encouraging?" Sharpener asked as Gohan didn't move. The black haired genius stood there for a second, before finally speaking up.

"Be careful, don't get too hurt?" the way Gohan said it made it obvious he wasn't sure what to say. Sharpener didn't say anything, instead he placed one gloved hand on Gohan's shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, if I win I'll hardly even feel the pain. And besides that, my opponent's pretty slow, I'll manage to evade or block most of his attacks. Just get ready to cheer me on good."

"Got it… and… good luck."

With that Gohan, following after Videl and Erasa, exited the door to take his seat near the ring, leaving Sharpener to warm up.

XxX

"So Gohan, seeing how you're the resident genius," Videl said as Gohan sat between her and Erasa, "what do you think the chances are for Sharpener to win?"

"Honestly, I can't say. I don't know much about Sharpener's boxing level, style and strength. And I know even less of his opponent's."

"Well, with brains like yours it shouldn't take you that long to put a good estimation in before long." Erasa said from his other side. "When do you think you'll be able to give your estimation?"

"Boxing rounds are three minutes a piece right?" Gohan asked. "I think I'll be able to make a estimation after the first round. That should be enough time to check out both their fighting styles."

"That's pretty fast, are you really so good at analyzing?" Videl asked with surprise.

"Well, like I told you I grew up watching fighters, so I'm used to quickly seeing who can grab the upper hand although, of course, everything can change with one or two good hits." Gohan explained, scratching the back of his head again, "But yeah, I'm pretty good at analyzing things, so I can always see flaws or strong points from theory pretty fast."

"Wanna hear some more about his opponent then, fix up your image a bit beforehand?" Videl offered, getting interested in Gohan's claims of prediction.

"No thanks, I have all the information I can get from hearing. Sharpener's a high level technical style boxer who can change styles and has a lot of different techniques. His opponent is a charging close-combat fighter with a pretty mean right and good defenses. Only seeing them now will help clear up the analyses."

Videl looked in silence at Gohan for a second, surprised by his sudden knowledge of the fighting styles and tactics, before speaking up.

"I thought you didn't like violence? Why are you sounding so eager to watch this then?"

"Well…" Gohan started, "I really hate violence, but I think that a fight can be a very good thing sometimes. It sounds odd I know, but its how I feel."

"Yeah, well I'm getting a bit used to a few weird things coming from you." Videl said, thought her tone was more friendly then it was biting.

Suddenly the lights dimmed a bit, and a spotlight turned towards one of the two athlete entrance-halls.

"It's beginning!" Squealed Erasa, just as the announcer's voice sounded through the speakers.

"Ladies and Gentlemeeeen! Welcome tonight to this all-exciting main event. The two semi-final bouts of the Middleweight A-rank boxing tournament!!"

The announcer fell silent for a bit, giving the audience a chance to applaud loudly before continuing.

"Tonight, we decide which of these four brave men will advance to the finals where they will fight for the tournament's prize money, the national rank of number one and most important of all: a fight with the ruling champion of the middleweight class! The first match will start momentarily, please welcome these two brave men that now move towards the ring!"

From the corner where the lights shone, Sharpener entered the hall. Immediately the audience broke loud applause, along with several shouts.

"DO IT PENCIL, GO FOR THE BELT!" "I DON'T CARE HOW, JUST KO THE DAMN BASTARD!" "KILL HIM! SHOW YOUR SUPERIORITY!"

"Entering the hall first, under heavy applause from the crowd, is the nation's new boxing hope! Hailing from the amateur department, this young man has entered the Pro circuit as soon as possible and in the last year advanced himself spectacularly. He now holds the title of All-Japan Rookie King, he conquered two matches before joining this A-class tournament. With a record of 9 matches, 9 wins, 7 KO's he is an undefeated, unmatched technical boxer considered the best talent that Japan has created in almost two decades. Trained in the boxing gym of Orange Star High weighing in at 70.5 kilograms, currently ranked sixth in the nation: SHARPENER PENCIIIIIIL!"

As Sharpener entered, his arms raised above his head in greeting to the crowd, the entire hallway applauded loudly again, but the lights change to the other entry-hall.

"And entering from the other corner is Pencil's opponent. With a record of 12 matches, 10 wins, 9 KO's almost all of his matches have ended with a KO. His defense is top-rate, and his pride is his endurance to attacks. Rank four of Japan, from Satan Boxing Gym, weighing in at 72.0 kilograms: ICHITA MIYAROU!"

As Ichita entered the hall, he too was greeted with a lot of applause and shouts from his fans.

"DON'T LOSE TO THIS PRETTY-BOY!" "HE'S A WUSS, JUST CLOBBER HIM GOOD!" "SHOW HIM THE STRENGTH OF THE SATAN GYMS!"

"Wow, he's in your gym?" Gohan asked with surprise as he turned to Videl. "You never said that, no wonder he's popular if he's trained by your father."

"Not quite." Videl said with a sigh. 'Really, sometimes this guy is just too naive.'

"My dad has started various schools of fighting, covering just about any none-weapons form of fighting. Those schools are gathered around the world and are one of the main sources of our income. They're also linked to the Satan Foundation, which gives funds to sporting activities. With that talented people with no money can have a go at their sport anyway, even if it's not fighting. Or a sporting area can be built in an area where the people don't have one, so they can do sports if they want to. Good luck finding a gym or sport area in this nation that isn't linked to my father's foundation."

"Really? I didn't know that. I mean I knew about the Satan Foundation and that it existed to give people around the world a chance to try sports, no mater where they come from, but I didn't know about them actually supporting entire gyms and dojo's and stuff." Gohan admitted. 'I guess Hercule really must have done a lot for sports in general ever since the Cell Games. He really is more then a big mouth show-off…'

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, your attention on the ring please, as this duel begins. Don't remove your eyes from this match, it promises to be a match that will boil your blood!" the announcer's voice sounded from the boxes again.

In the ring, Sharpener and Miyarou gathered in the centre, sizing each other up for a bit before returning to their corners.

'Hmm. Sharpener's got the advantage of his height, he's at least fifteen centimeters taller than his opponent.' Gohan thought, his mind already spinning in analyses. Without even knowing it, his habit of resting his head on one of his fists activated.

'Judging from their muscles, Sharpener will be more agile, but Miyarou will be able to absorb a lot of hits by using his legs as springs. That still doesn't tell me anything I didn't know, but… the muscle mass on their shoulders and back… compared to Miyarou, it really looks like Sharpener has almost no muscles on his arms.'

-ding-

As soon as the gong ringed, Sharpener moved away from his corner, while Miyarou dashed at him with full force. Sending out a barrage of jabs with his lefts, Sharpener tried to gain some distance and keep the pace, but Miyarou moved through them as if he didn't even feel them. As soon as he closed the range, Miyarou send out jabs of his own, but Sharpener's feet were too fast; he had moved aside with great ease and was now sending out jabs from Miyarou's left side, to the face.

"And an explosive opening to this match! Miyarou steps out aggressively, attempting to take the pace, but Pencil shows his incredible footwork and easily prevents it. He rains down the jabs with practiced ease. How will Miyarou stop Pencil from evading his attacks?"

Again Miyarou didn't seem to feel the jabs at all, instead simply turning and rushing again. This time Sharpener moved to Miyarou's right, sending out jabs to the head all the while. As soon as Sharpener had stepped, however, Miyarou had send out his right in a hook to catch Sharpener.

"Ooh, and Pencil makes a dangerous maneuver, straight into the range if Miyarou's right! Will this be a chance for Miyarou to chance the – NO! Pencil brilliantly ducks under the hook and counterattacks Miyarou's body with his right! This is the first clean hit of the match and it's one that counts!"

But Miyarou only flinched for a second, and then pushed Sharpener towards the rope with his shoulder. He followed up with an upper from his left, aimed at Sharpener's chin, but like his previous attacks, the blond had already sidestepped. Again and again his left shot out, placing jabs all over Miyarou's face, but the smaller man didn't seem to care; he kept charging and pushing Sharpener into the ropes or corners. And every time Sharpener escaped without getting hit, landing numerous jabs and the occasional right on his opponent.

-ding-

"And there goes the gong! The first round is over, and Pencil has definitely dominated this round! Miyarou took a lot of hits, but his trademark resilience is showing! He walks towards his corner with no apparent problems."

"Well Gohan, did you get enough data for a good analyses yet?" Erasa asked with interest. Videl also leaned closer, attempting to hear Gohan's answer over the crowd's cheering.

"Yeah I did. I don't think Sharpener will get a KO win here. In fact, he might even lose." The black-haired boy said, to the shock of both girls.

"Why do you think that? Sharpy's totally won this round!" Erasa said.

"Yeah, he was leading this round for sure." Gohan admitted. "But he landed numerous hits on Miyarou and Miyarou didn't even look exhausted. He charged through every one of Sharpener's hits, except for the right-handed counter body blow. But from the looks of it, if he gets one or two good hits in with his right he'll be able to slow Sharpener down significantly and win this fight. Sharpener was easily evading his attacks this round, but the question is how long he can hold it up. His punches don't have enough power to KO this guy, it will be a full 6 rounds of evading and counterattacking."

"Wait a second, if Sharpy keeps counter-attacking him, won't he'll deal double the damage? Wasn't that how counters work?" Erasa asked. It was Videl, who understood what Gohan had meant, that answered.

"Yeah, counterattacks deal more damage because your opponent has no defenses ready and has his own weight returned with your attack power. But, performing counterattacks requires tremendous focus; it's not something you can do easily. One mistake and you're the one getting double the damage. It's one of the riskiest techniques in fighting there is."

-ding-

"And there goes the gong for round two!" the announcer said, "The last round was completely in favor of Pencil, can he keep this pace up to victory? Or will Miyarou be able to turn the tables with his powerful right? Don't move your eyes away from this fight!"

Again Miyarou rushed Sharpener and again Sharpener sidestepped with ease, maintaining enough distance between the two. Sharpener lowered his left arm, making his lower arm horizontal and started swinging it from left to right. His arm flew out quickly, smashed into Miyarou's face and returned to its former position almost instantly. Again and again Sharpener dodged the charges and punches of his opponent and rained down his Flicker Jabs, but like his normal jabs they didn't have all that much affect; Miyarou simply charged right through them and attempted to close the distance again.

"And it looks like a replay of the previous round, with Pencil easily dominating the pace. Miyarou tries to get closer, but to no avail: Pencil's feet are really alive and flying today! Just look at all those flickers he's raining down on Miyarou: there is no doubt that Pencil entered the ring in excellent condition today! This match is turning completely onesided!"

'Maybe,' Gohan thought as he listened to the comments of the announcer, 'but Sharpener's punches aren't hurting him at all. This could turn bad with a single hit from Miyarou.'

-ding-

"And there goes the gong for the second round. It was indeed a mirror of the first round, with Pencil obviously in pure domination of the battle. Is there any way for Miyarou to take down this fast opponent?"

A minute later, the gong rang again, and again Miyarou dashed out. This time, instead of backing away, Sharpener hit him straight on with a strange right punch: he had turned, from the tip of his toes to his fist, his entire body, resulting in a strange spin on his fist. He hitted the charging Miyarou straight on in the face and for the first time, the shorter man backed of in pain.

"Ooh! Pencil performs a perfect Corkscrew Blow to counter Miyarou's charge! This will hurt Miyarou, can he keep going with this damage? Or will Pencil win the match in this round?"

With Miyarou stepped back, Sharpener stepped forward, shifting his weight to the front of his feet. He sent out right and left hooks quickly, each one aimed for Miyarou's head. With his weight now behind the punches, it seemed that for the first time Sharpener's punches were really hurting Miyarou. But like before, Miyarou managed to push through Sharpener's barrage and attempted a jab of his own.

"And Miyarou attempts to counter Pencil's charge, will it work? No! Pencil quickly moves away from Miyarou's preferred range and creates a gap of distance between the two again."

Sharpener started jabbing again, his arm back to the normal position. But now he punched several times, mixing in hooks, jabs and uppers with his punches, before retracting his arm again.

"Ooh! And Pencil uses yet another high-level boxing jab! This time, it's the Swallow! Can the charging Miyarou do anything against this move that was designed to stop bull-charges?"

But again, Miyarou didn't even try to evade the Swallow-jabs. Instead he covered his head with his arms and rushed forward again. but again and again Sharpener managed to evade him before he even got close.

-ding-

"And there goes the gong for the third round. Pencil has yet to take a hit, showing his incredible level of concentration. He had some really good hits on Miyarou in this round, will the damage carry over to the next round?"

-ding-

But in the next round Miyarou still didn't show any damage. This time, Sharpener used yet anther jab, his left lower arm spinning while jabbing, something the announcer had caller 'the Bullet,' but still to no avail.

-ding-

Another break, but still Gohan could see no sign of damage to Miyarou's body. There was a slight dragging of his feet, but nothing besides that. Still Sharpener was not hit or hurt at all, although he was beginning to show frustration on his face.

-ding-

As the fifth round started, Miyarou went for a different approach at last. Instead of charging at Sharpener, he slowly stepped forward, attempting to pressure him into a corner. But Sharpener didn't give in to the pressure, instead keeping up a constant barrage of jabs onto the tight guard. When that didn't work, he moved stepped in with a punch mid-way between a hook and a jab, which the announcer called 'the Smash.'

The Smash moved right trough Miyarou's block, allowing Sharpener to follow up with his right for a straight to the face. But that was obviously the chance Miyarou was waiting for; the moment Sharpener closed in, he gave a powerful hook to the body with his right.

"OOH! This can be the turnaround that Miyarou has been waiting for the entire match! Can he stop Pencil's legs with his powerful right? NO! Pencil takes the right and backs off! Miyarou may have just lost his one chance for victory!"

A millisecond before Miyarou's punch had hit Sharpener's body, the blond had increased the tension in his abdominal muscles. He slowed down a bit, but there was no real damage done.

Just as Miyarou attempted to charge again Sharpener sent out another Corkscrew Blow; this time Miyarou was ready for it and blocked the punch. He rushed through, but Sharpener was already moving away, firing jab after jab.

-ding-

"And there goes the gong for the fifth round. This match has made it all the way to the final round without a single down! But it could not be clearer that Pencil is in an obvious point-lead. Miyarou's only chance for victory right now is a KO, but can he close down on this incredibly fast-moving opponent?"

-ding-

Just like the five rounds before, the sixth round was nothing but Miyarou desperately attempting to rush Sharpener into a corner, while Sharpener calmly maintained his distance and fired jab after jab. He had returned to using his normal jabs this round, mixed up with the occasional one-two when he could. But neither fighter could land any finishing blows until, finally, the last gong sounded,

-ding- -ding- -ding-

"And with that, this match is over. Please wait a few moments while the referee's conclude the points for this long match."

"Ah man…" Videl said as she sat down. She had been shouting encouragements and advice to Sharpener every chance possible, just like everyone else in the hall, but this was the first time she spoke up to the others. "I was hoping he would win with KO. Those are the only real wins in my book."

"Yeah, it's too bad he didn't; he was so looking forward to a KO." Erasa agreed. Like Videl, she too had been shouting out at her long-time friend. In fact, it seemed like Gohan was the only one in the hall that managed to keep his reserve and didn't shout or stand up during the match.

"Wait a second…" Erasa suddenly said, looking at Gohan. "You were right! Everything went like you said it would! Sharpy didn't get a KO, he'll win by points and he hardly ever landed any clean hits and only got hit once."

Videl looked from Erasa to Gohan, realizing that the blonde was right, but before she could speak up the ring announcer's voice echoed through the hall.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! We will now give you the final score of tonight's fight. Winner, by judge decision… from Orange Star High Gym… Sharpener Pencil!" instantly the crowd broke into applause and after a second the announcer continued.

"And Ichita Miyarou leaves the ring in defeat, but he has shown us a good fight. His resilience to attacks and spirit were truly frightening, taking so many hits and never once taking a down. We look forward to his next match. And the winner of tonight, Sharpener Pencil, leaves the arena with the cheers from his fans sounding through the hall. He will advance to the finals and face the winner of this next match there."

"Come on, let's go speak to him." Erasa said as she stood up, dragging Gohan with her. Videl quickly followed suit, and the trio left the boxing hall to go to the changing room and congratulate their friend on a fight well fought.

A/N: my apologies to anyone who reads this and has actual knowledge of boxing if I made any mistakes. My only knowledge about boxing is from the anime/manga series Hajime no Ippo (also known as Fighting Spirit) and I'll base a lot of the boxing in this story on the matches there.

Many thanks to Zephyr-Tai-Ji and mirrors of illusion for helping out with the beta of this chapter.

As always, please review and tell me what you think.