Chapter 37: Old Friends and Loose Ends

Monday 18th July Age 797

All fighters were required to arrive at the Arena before Nine in the morning, and so they did. All Sixty-Four of them were there, ready to get things underway. The only people that would be spectating today's matches were the fighters themselves, and the referees. This round was closed to the public, but so not to lose any sort of revenue or publicity, it would be streamed live on the official WMAT website. Exciting times.

The draw for the preliminary round had been done overnight, so the competitors would have no idea who they were facing until they saw the board go up. There was a large group of fighters hoping they wouldn't have to come up against one another this early on, that would be doing the crowd a disservice. They would miss out on some solid fighting.

While they waited for the board to go up, Noca, Pan and Holline scouted over the rest of the group to see who had shown up to fight, and if they recognised anyone. Tien was there with Torai. Uub had entered, of course. He had come with Majin Buu. Pan had to stop herself from making a scene when she noticed that Bra's ex-boyfriend Kareshi was there. Noca made sure to keep her back, even though he would love to get at him, show him what for… again. Noca also noticed that Billy was there too, another guy that went to his school. He and Kareshi seemed to be friendly to one another, so there was that. They weren't going to be any sort of worry though.

Other than those, there weren't any other familiar faces in the crowd. A lot of newbies this time around, but they all looked raring to go. There appeared to be a young couple standing together, trying to get each other pumped up and ready. A group of three stood far from the rest, the youngest of the group, a teenage boy, seemed to be really nervous, but the other two he was with seemed to hold themselves. A myriad of people had shown up for this World-famous competition.

It was a little past nine-fifteen when Mr Satan and the Announcer stepped out, ready to reveal the preliminary fights.

"Welcome to the 30th World Martial Arts Tournament!" The announcer called out, a smile on his face. "I'm so happy to see a huge turn-out. All of you fighters look like you are itching to get going and I know you'll put on a great show for everyone watching."

"Before we get started, I wanted to say a few words," Mr Satan said, standing up to the microphone and looking over the crowd. There were a few cheers from some of the fighters who may have idolised Mr Satan, and still believed in him as their hero, even though it was a very long time ago now. "I just wanted to say, give it your all and make this your moment!"

Everyone clapped at that, aside from people like Vegeta. Majin Buu was cheering with happiness at Mr Satan's enthusiasm. He still harboured a lot of love and care for his old human friend. The announcer stepped up again.

"If you would turn your attentions to the big screen, you will see the complete draw."

Everyone looked up at the screen as the screen popped up and everyone saw who their first opponent would be.

"Oh wow, I'm up against Kareshi," Pan said, cracking her knuckles and looking over at him. Kareshi was looking her way, but quickly looked away again. Pan chuckled and looked to Noca. "Who you got?"

"#17," Noca said, a smirk on his face. "That could be interesting."

"Yeah, and if you beat him and I win my fight, you're up against me," A voice said from behind. Noca turned to see it was Gohan.

"That's actually a bit of a shame, one of us won't make it to the final Sixteen," Noca said, seeming a little disappointed.

"Well, we'll both have to give it our all then," Gohan said, patting Noca on the back and walking off chuckling.

"Holline, who you against?" Noca asked his red-head friend.

"Some girl called Josie," she said as she looked around to try and spot who it might be. "I hope I get a challenge."

"I'm sure you'll do great no matter who it is," Noca assured her, his attention was soon gripped by Pan again. "What is it?"

"Uub is up against Buu, and Krillin versus Tien," Pan said. Noca smirked and looked around at everyone again. "This really is going to be interesting."

As everyone gathered and spoke to each other about the draw and who they would be fighting the announcer stepped out and grabbed all of their attentions again. He informed them that the fights would all essentially happen at the same time on smaller stages. Some indoors and some outdoors in the main area. This was so they could work through this round and bring it down to the main sixteen rather quickly. Even though Round One wouldn't take place until the next day. The fights would begin at Ten o'clock. Everyone had about half an hour to prepare, and they all knew they would need that time, so they used it wisely.

Noca went to Vegeta for some last-minute confidence boosting, even though that wasn't what Vegeta was good at. The Prince seemed to be pretty disinterested at this tournament and was stood away at the wall alone. He just wanted a big challenge and he knew he wasn't getting it until the main tournament started. He knew he would get to the last sixteen and was just waiting for that moment.

"Yo, Vegeta, what do you think about the draw?"

"Good to see that you have a challenge today. Both #17 and Gohan, you better be at your best if you want to beat them both. You can't let your focus slip," Vegeta said. Harsh and straight to the point, as Vegeta always was.

"Thanks. I won't let you down, boss," Noca did a fake salute as he walked away chuckling to himself. His confidence wasn't an issue, that was for sure. Vegeta watched as Noca walked off.

"I want to see great things from you at this tournament, boy," Vegeta thought to himself as he closed his eyes and went back to waiting.

As Noca was wandering back to Pan so he could kill a bit more time before his fight with #17, he bumped into Uub. Literally. It was a complete accident on Noca's part, but he bumped into him, nonetheless.

"Oops, sorry… oh Uub, it's you," Noca settled his balance and put a hand out to make sure Uub was alright. "You good? Haven't see you in some time."

"I'm fine," Uub said, rather bluntly. Noca didn't seem to pick up on the tone and just smiled and patted him on the back.

"Good luck, hope we get a rematch," Noca said as he walked off. Uub nodded and walked off to do his own thing. Noca started to pick up on something a bit strange with him, but ignored it. It wasn't important enough to get caught up with right now. The fights would be starting soon and Noca wanted to ensure he was ready to get it over and done with quickly. He wanted #17 to see the amazing progress he had made. Before he could get on with his fight though, Noca went up to Pan. She wasn't facing him as she and Holline were chatting and looking into the crowd, so Pan was unaware of Noca's approach.

He took her by the waist and spun her around to face him. He kissed her on the forehead and put an arm around her. "Just wanted to say good luck to you," He said, smiling.

"I don't need luck," Pan said, removing his arm from around her and putting it back by his side. "And I certainly don't need your distractions."

She hit him on the arm and turned away, pouting, but it was all a joke really. Holline shook her head with a smirk on her face and looked away too.

"Well… ok," Noca said. He stood staring at Pan and could tell she was looking at him out of the corner of her eye, but she was trying her best not to. Noca got closer, still smiling.

"Would you stop it," Pan said, unable to keep control. She pushed him back, causing Noca to laugh at her failure to ignore him. "What's gotten into you?"

"Nothing, I'm just looking forward to this tournament. That's all," Noca said, as he looked up at the clock. "Nearly time. I better go to my stage. See you girls later."

Noca waved and walked off to go and get ready for his fight, leaving the two girls alone. They needed to go off too. Their fights would be starting and Pan needed to ensure that she was calm for the fight with Kareshi. Luckily, she was in a good mood thanks to Noca. Holline left her as she had to head in the same direction as Noca.

She caught up to Noca and grabbed his shoulder.

"Hey, what was all that about just then?" Holline asked her oldest friend. Noca just scoffed, but his smirk faded a bit.

"Pan was just as angry as I was with the whole thing with Kareshi. I wanted to ensure that her mind was full of positive thoughts before going up against him," Noca explained. Holline didn't get it right away.

"But Pan was never going to have a hard time in that fight…" Holline said, not making sense of Noca's point.

"I know, but I also don't want Pan to do any real damage to him," Noca continued. Holline seemed to get it then. The realisation was on her face as she nodded. "Now you get it? It's not in Pan's nature to cause anyone too much pain, so I didn't want that to be on the forefront of her mind before she went up there."

"You're a good boyfriend, you know that?" Holline said, hitting him on the arm. Noca smirked and motioned towards one of the stages. Holline turned and noticed it was where she would be fighting. "Oh yeah… that's me. Good luck with #17."

"Good luck to you too," Noca said to his friend as they parted ways and went to their respective stages. It was time.

Noca made it to his stage and saw that #17 was already there. He was just standing there, arms folded, facing straight ahead of him. He was ready to go whenever, due to being part android. He was wearing some sort of green sweater with some black gloves and some blue trousers. It seemed like casual wear, not fighting clothes. Noca was wearing his blue Gi with the black belt and wristbands. He stepped up to the stage and was now standing about ten feet in front of #17. The android smirked and dropped his arms.

"Ready?" #17 asked, getting straight to the point. No small talk here. Noca scoffed and cracked his neck, taking a quick break and moved into his stance.

"Ready," the Saiyan uttered. #17 nodded. They waited for the referee to give them the signal.

*DING*

Both leapt forward at the same time, clashing and bouncing back immediately. They landed for less than a second before pouncing forward again. This time Noca put more strength into going forward, driving a fist towards #17's face. The android ducked down and kicked up, catching Noca in the gut. The Saiyan used the momentum from #17's kick to lift himself over and land down on his feet. He swivelled around and went with a kick for the android's side, but #17 caught Noca's leg and twisted him. Noca was off the ground and #17 jumped up and went to throw Noca down on the ground. Noca used his Ki to take control again and instead, #17 was the one crashing into the stage.

He jumped up quickly and backed to the edge of the ring, giving himself space. Noca stopped and stood facing #17. A smirk crawled across the Saiyan's face. #17 scoffed.

"I think you've improved over the years," he said, clearly impressed.

"You're not surprised about that, are you?" Noca questioned, amused. #17 shook his head and clenched his fists. The android didn't have another word to say and charged forward again. He threw a few punches, but Noca avoided them with ease. Noca starts to smirk, seeing how #17 is struggling to land a hit. The android saw that look and started to put more in. He wasn't about to be upstaged by a kid, even if he was a Saiyan.

#17 dropped down and attempted to swipe Noca's legs out from under him. The young Saiyan jumped up to avoid it, but #17 used this moment. He rolled forward just as Noca touched down and he kicked back, managing to cause Noca to lose his footing as he landed and this sent him falling back. Noca managed to get his hands down and pushed himself back up and landed again, but as he did #17 came charging in. Noca grabbed both of the android's arms and held him back, but #17 was putting in some good work. He used his strength to pull Noca's arms to the side and then sent his head into Noca's face.

Noca grunted, but didn't let up in trying to hold #17 back. He wasn't going to be overpowered that easily. Noca sent his own head forward and connected with #17's face. The android pulled his head back and grunted too, but he started chuckling. He slowly looked back at Noca and started to push more of his strength onto the Saiyan. Noca could feel one of his feet slipping a little, but not enough to worry about it. He kept his feet planted, and remained strong. #17, still pushing, opened his hands and sent an energy blast towards Noca's face. Noca had to move his head out of the way of it, but as he did it affected his concentration slightly and #17 gained another upper hand.

Noca let his grip on #17's arms slip a little and that gave the android a chance to get free. Noca realised the mistake he made and was about to move into an attack, but #17 reacted quicker and got a flat-footed kick away, striking Noca in the chest and knocking him back. Noca used his Ki to stop himself before going too far and charged back in, dropping towards #17. The android prepared to block a hit, but Noca phased quickly and kicked #17 in the head. The android rolled away, but Noca dropped in with a punch aimed down. #17 was struck in the side of the face and dropped to his knees, but as he did Noca kicked him in the face knocking him up. Noca twisted and landed his own kick in #17's chest, knocking the android back again.

#17 managed to steady himself and stood still. Noca remained still too. They both stood eyeing the other up. Noca smirked, but #17 realised he would have to take things a lot more seriously if he actually wanted to compete. Noca wasn't even going Super Saiyan and was causing him so many issues. Noca wasn't breaking a sweat, but he also wasn't taking this too seriously. #17 wasn't either, but Noca had much more in terms of reserves. The android took a breath and closed his eyes. He stood still with his arms by his side. Noca watched, making sure that he didn't try to pull anything too clever.

#17 opened his eyes and ran towards Noca. He wasn't using his energy to boost his pace, he was just running at a normal speed. Noca stood there waiting to see what would happen. As #17 got closer he prepared to throw a punch, at the last second Noca phased, avoiding the punch and prepared an attack from behind. He appeared in position, but #17 was too quick this time. He turned around and blasted Noca at point blank range. The blast exploded and filled the air with smoke, covering the entire stage.

When it dissipated, Noca and #17 were revealed, standing there, face to face. Neither of them looked like they had been injured by that attack. #17 smirked and chuckled.

"I knew you'd get stronger, but this is something else," #17 said. Noca scoffed. "I guess I should give it my all?"

#17 moved and tried to strike Noca in the face, but the Saiyan simply grabbed the android's arm and twisted it around behind his back. #17 grunted as Noca pulled on the arm a little and made sure to hold #17 tight in position so any movement would be painful. #17 was actually a little surprised by this approach from Noca. This wouldn't be too easier to get out of. Noca's grip was too tight, if the android did anything to knock Noca away then it could likely end with his arm breaking, and he didn't want that.

The android had to think of something, and quickly. Noca didn't appear to want to give him that chance though. The grip tightened and #17 could feel a shift in the Saiyan's positioning. The android tried to get a better read on the movement and see if he could make something of it, but that wouldn't be too easy. Noca turned #17 around quickly and pushed a lot of force into the next move he did. He put his hand out, flat into #17's chest and knocked the android off of his feet, but it was done with such raw energy and pace that it knocked #17 all the way out off of the stage. The android hit the floor, on his back, and stayed there. He just stared up at the open sky.

Noca stepped down off of the stage and walked over to #17. The android started laughing as he sat up and looked at the young Saiyan.

"Didn't even give me a chance there," #17 said, standing up. Noca chuckled.

"I was trained to take my fights seriously, I could have ended it earlier, but I guess I let my instincts get the better of me for a second," Noca explained, "Plus I wanted to see if you would actually pose some sort of challenge."

The two of them laughed together. #17 was going to stick around for the rest of the tournament now that he had been disqualified. He said he wanted to spend some more time with his sister before heading back to see his family. That's right! Turns out #17 had a family now. He had settled into the village where Holline had come from and met a woman, with whom he now had a child. Noca was surprised by that development, but #17 was an old friend, so he was obviously happy for him.

While Noca was fighting with #17 there were other fights happening. Pan was coming up against Kareshi in what would be a fight filled to the brim with emotion for the young lady. She had a lot of reason to be angry with Kareshi and hate him, but she knew that her Father had instilled a lot of patience and control in her when they were training. She had been known to fly off the handle when angry before, but now she had learned restraint. Plus, Noca going out of his way to make Pan feel really upbeat and special before the fight had put her in too good a mood. She wasn't prepared to let anything spoil that mood.

She planned to end the fight as quickly as she possibly could. Pan stepped up onto the stage and closed her eyes, aiming to concentrate her emotions and put them to good use rather than letting them fuel her moves in this fight. She used this time to get a read on Kareshi and his power level. She was pleasantly surprised that when compared to hers it felt like nothing. She opened her eyes with a smirk on her face.

Kareshi was standing there with his own amused expression.

"I was hoping for a challenge in this tournament, and I'm up against you," Kareshi said, laughing out loud. Pan's smile faded and she shook her head. Kareshi continued laughing. "I mean, I don't want to hurt a girl."

"That would be a first," Pan said, not taking the time to think about what she was going to say. She silently cursed herself for engaging.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kareshi asked. Pan looked down took a breath and thought about how bad Bra had been and how the girl hadn't been able to face her best friend because of what had happened.

"You're a pathetic excuse for a human being," Pan said, finally composing herself. Sure, she didn't want to engage, but the fight hadn't started yet. She didn't know what would happen once she was given the chance to actually hit him. She would have to be very careful not to cause too much pain or damage. Pan looked to the referee and nodded. Kareshi did the same.

Pan took the bit of cloth she had tied around her right wrist and tied it around her head. It was Noca's old head-band that she had used to tie her hair back in the past, but since she had her hair cut shorter it wasn't needed. The headband was just so she could keep a part of Noca with her while she fought. Kareshi scoffed and moved into a stance. Pan looked over the stance and noticed that there was something resembling technique there. He had actually been training. She was impressed that some effort had gone into this one short fight. Pan clenched her fists and moved into her own stance.

The referee gave them the go ahead and Kareshi beckoned for Pan to make the first move. The girl shook her head and moved forward with intense pace. Stopping short of punching Kareshi in the face. He stumbled back as a result of flinching from Pan's movement. He had not expected that. He shook it off and attempted to hit at Pan, but she simply swatted his arm away and backhanded him across the face. Kareshi stumbled to the left and turned around, attempted to punch her in the face. She ducked underneath him and delivered a simple punch to his gut. Kareshi let out a small cry of pain and dropped to one knee.

Pan, of course, wasn't using a lot of power here, Kareshi just wasn't used to fight someone this naturally strong. He groaned as he stood up and tried to stay strong in his stance. Pan just looked him dead in the eyes and flipped back, kicking up into Kareshi's chin as she did. That kick caused him to stumble back. When Pan got back to her feet she charged forward and delivered a punch to his gut again. Kareshi balled up and dropped to both knees. He started coughing, clearly feeling the pain.

She looked at Kareshi and realised he wasn't going to cause her any sort of trouble, nor was he going to make this fight entertaining in any way.

"Hey, look at me," Pan said down to him as she stood over him. Kareshi slowly looked up to Pan giving him a glare. "This is for hurting Bra."

Pan delivered one punch to Kareshi's face and knocked him out. His body went flat on the stage and he was completely out. Pan cracked her knuckles and walked off of the stage. A medic came and removed Kareshi from the stage. He was going to be fine. Pan hadn't hit him too hard. Just enough to knock him out.

She was pleased with how she handled the situation and was ready for her next fight, which she hoped would be easy enough so she could get to the last 16 and then experience the real challenge.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Finally getting some action in there, even if it wasn't on a large scale. This tournament is going to get more intense as it goes along.

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season and has a happy new year! I'll be back with the next chapter in 2019!

If you have anything to say or ask, drop a review or even PM me. I'm always open for a chat. Thank you.

Next Time... Chapter 38: Thin the Herd