"Time's a-wasting! Let's get right to the first match – Kuririn vs Punta!"
At the announcer's shout, Kuririn glanced up.
"That's my cue," he said happily, cracking his knuckles.
Punta came waddling towards Kuririn, grinning nastily. "Ready to die, leetle man?"
"Ah, you must be my opponent," Kuririn said.
"And you must be...well, you will not be much after I am through with you!" the massive man replied, grinning.
"Rude!" Chiyo said indignantly, glaring at the giant man. "Ever heard of good sportsmanship?"
"You should not talk, leetle girl," Punta replied, grinning widely at her. "You're next - once I beat this one here."
"Come on out, Kuririn and Punta!"
Kuririn waved to his friends. "Hey, wish me luck."
"Break a leg," Goku said, grinning.
"Sure, so long as it's not one of mine."
Kuririn and Punta left the waiting area and began to walk down the path leading to the arena. Punta used his bulk to shove past Kuririn, moving with surprising quickness up the steps into the arena with the announcer.
Chiyo sat on top of the wooden screen covering the doorway to watch the match. Budoukai officials lined up around the ring began to pound their drums as the announcer spoke briefly to Kuririn and Punta before leaping out of the ring.
"Let the match begin!"
Chiyo watched in anticipation, waiting for something exciting to happen. It didn't. Punta pointed at Kuririn, saying something she couldn't hear, and then began to do a lot of flashy leaps around the ring.
"What the heck is he doing?" she said out loud, as the massive man throw his bulk around. Really, back flips and somersaults did nothing useful except waste energy needed for the fight, and it wasn't as if Kuririn was moving at all...
Then it happened. One moment Punta was standing over the little fighter, laughing; the next he was rolling off the ring onto the ground, eyes popping. Kuririn had buried his fist in the man's solar plexus faster than most of the audience could see.
Kuririn held up his fist in bored triumph and left the ring.
"Uh...you sure did hit him hard," Chiyo said, peering over her shoulder as the medics struggled to lift the huge man onto a stretcher.
"Well, he was annoying me," Kuririn replied apologetically. "He'll be fine. Nothing a good few hours' rest won't cure."
She laughed. "Let's hope it cures his big mouth too."
"Now onto match two," the announcer called, "Shin vs Demon Jr!"
Piccolo appeared behind Chiyo.
"Good luck," she told him, but he just grunted. She noticed with curiosity that he was sweating, and wondered what his issue was. Surely he couldn't be nervous?
Piccolo and Shin entered the ring to the cheers of the crowd. Chiyo watched them carefully; she noticed Piccolo seemed overly stiff, as if he were afraid but trying not to show it.
For all the years Chiyo had known Piccolo, she had never seen him like this - and it frightened her all of a sudden. She took a deep breath and kept her eyes on the arena.
"I don't understand," Kuririn muttered. "Is this Shin really that interesting?"
"Yeah, kinda," Goku said.
"Why? He doesn't look all that powerful to me."
"Fighters, let the third match begin!" the announcer called.
Long seconds passed, in which Piccolo and Shin stood in the same place and stared at each other. They seemed to be talking.
The cheer of the crowd gradually faded away into silence, then boos.
"What's wrong with Piccolo?" Gohan asked, frowning. "Why won't he fight?"
Then the announcer spoke.
"Forfeit? You mean…you're not going to fight?"
"What?" Gohan said. "Why's he forfeiting?"
Goku said nothing, but his face darkened.
"Well..." the announcer spoke into the microphone hesitantly."Demon Jr has forfeited. Shin is the winner!"
Piccolo turned and walked back into the building. His face was set into a hard expression.
"Was it that bad, Piccolo?" Goku said.
"Yes." The Namekian didn't look at his old friend. "He is…a different order of being."
Chiyo, Gohan, Kuririn and Goku stared at Piccolo as he walked away.
A different order of being...
Piccolo's words echoed in Chiyo's head. At the sound of the announcer talking into his microphone, she ignored her churning stomach and turned towards the arena.
"...the third match, Videl vs. Spopovich!"
At the mention of Videl's name, the crowd roared its approval.
"Wow, you're really popular!" Gohan said, grinning. "Good luck!"
Chiyo turned to look at Videl's opponent, who was pushing his hulking form past Killa, and not for the first time she wondered what was wrong with him.
"I hope Videl will be okay," she said out loud, and Goku murmured his agreement.
"Welcome Videl, daughter of the famous Hercule, champion of justice, captor of criminals, and winner of the youth division at our last tournament!" the announcer shouted over the crowd's cheers.
Chiyo leaned against the door frame and watched Spopovich and Videl climb into the ring. She couldn't stop remembering Spopovich's snarl of fury when he saw her just staring at him. What would he do if Videl fought him?
The back of Chiyo's neck prickled, and she glanced over her shoulder. Shin was approaching her, his black eyes fixed on the ring. As he passed they flicked toward her; eyes of the same colour met.
Chiyo held his gaze for a few seconds before he turned away, the flicker of a smile showing on his face. She turned back to the ring, distinctly unnerved, but not knowing why.
Suddenly Videl attacked her opponent - the match was on. She was an aggressive fighter, Chiyo noted, powerful and with a style she guessed was Hercule's.
Spopovich hit the ground, his massive bulk crumpling under Videl's attack.
"Spopovich is down!" the announcer shouted, and the crowd bellowed. "But Spopovich isn't beaten! He's built like a tank!"
Sure enough, Spopovich was on his feet again. Videl attacked again, and with a well-placed kick Spopovich crashed to the ground again within two minutes.
"Spopovich is down again! But - oh, now he's getting back up...! How does he do it?!"
"How is she?" Goku said, appearing behind Chiyo and Kuririn, who was also watching.
"Pretty good!" Kuririn replied, grinning.
"Way more talented than this guy," Gohan said proudly. "All her blows are connecting!"
Even from the doorway Chiyo could see Videl's forehead wrinkle in frustration and a little puzzlement.
"Go Videl!" she called out encouragingly, and saw Videl flash her a thumbs up before delivering a hard punch to Spopovich's face. The big man staggered, then righted himself and made a clumsy move to trip Videl. She leapt away easily and delivered a blow that put Spopovich on the ground for the third time.
"She's done it!" cried Gohan.
But Spopovich didn't stay down; instead, he climbed to his feet. What was worse, he seemed relatively unharmed. Though Videl had apparently been a strong fighter before Gohan had taught her to fly, but the usage of her chi would only make her stronger. This didn't seem to make sense. Then again, there was something really weird about Spopovich.
"No, no, that's not right," she said suddenly.
"What?" Gohan said, glancing at her. "What are you talking about? He's just a tough opponent, that's all. Videl is winning."
"He's down again!" the announcer shouted, as Spopovich fell for the fourth time. "This time, Videl may have just won this one! I - uh...oh."
Spopovich climbed to his feet, but this time, something different showed in his face. The unexplainable fury in his expression made her chest tighten.
"I...I think Videl should give up," Chiyo blurted suddenly.
"What? Why?" Gohan demanded.
"I agree," Goku said, frowning. "There's something weird about him."
"Forfeit, why?" Kuririn asked. "She's got the advantage."
Chiyo turned back to the match. Videl was attacking again, and this time her frustration and anger were apparent.
But Spopovich didn't seem to be too affected by her blows. His expression showed naked fury, and when he finally got through her defense and delivered a punch to her face, his smile was sadistic.
Videl flipped backwards to avoid the follow-up blow that would come after, and touched her cheek gingerly. It was a hard blow, but she was a fighter and didn't make a fuss over just one hit. Chiyo found herself beginning to really like Videl, although the timing was a little strange.
Spopovich was on the attack now; he again broke through Videl's defense and kicked her hard. Videl flew over the boundary of the ring - but before she could hit the ground, she began to float.
"Yeah!" Gohan shouted. "I taught her that!"
"It might've been better if she had fallen," Goku said grimly. "Something's wrong about this Spopovich. He's way too unfazed for the damage he's taken."
"But what does it mean?" Chiyo said softly.
Videl landed back in the ring and attacked again. This time Spopovich actually fought back, but his opponent was quicker and lighter. After dodging two punches, Videl lashed out with her foot and delivered a hard kick to his neck.
CRACK.
Chiyo had seen many frightening things in her life, but even the breaking of Spopovich's neck disturbed her. She could almost see in slow motion the head snapping around, muscles stretching unnaturally, and the suddenly lifeless body crumpling to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
There was a sudden silence, except for the wind and the occasional murmur or gasp in the crowd.
"W-well, that's it," the announcer said shakily into his microphone. "V-Videl has been disqualified f-for using excessive f-force..."
Videl straightened up; it was impossible to tell what she was thinking from the stony expression on her face.
Then the body moved.
Kuririn was the first to notice. He leant forward with a muttered curse.
"Wow, this guy really isn't normal," he said. "Wouldya look at that!"
The mangled body of Spopovich got to his feet. Seizing the head in both hands, he pulled and twisted. The greyish skin stretched like a grotesque balloon and the bones cracked back into place. Only Chiyo's years of hard training kept her from being sick on the spot. Some members of the audience weren't so lucky, and sounds of retching reached her ears.
"Guh...guh...I don't know how to explain this," the announcer stuttered, "but somehow...Spopovich has put it back..!"
He waved away the medics that had appeared by the ring and said, "Okay, well, let the match recommence!"
Immediately Spopovich's enormous knee shot out, smashing Videl in the nose and knocking her backwards. The frustration on her face was replaced by fear.
Videl, give up now! Chiyo thought, glaring at Spopovich's animated face. Don't you see what he's doing?
Videl shot into the air, high above the ring. There she floated, trying to stem the flow of blood from her broken nose.
"That's it!" Gohan shouted up at her. "Escape into the sky and catch your breath!"
Spopovich's gaze travelled upwards, and his face split into a grin.
Then his feet left the ground.
Kuririn and Gohan let out a collective gasp. Goku, Chiyo and Vegeta stayed silent, their eyes fixed on the two figures high above the ring.
Spopovich flew above Videl and his hand stretched towards her. Purple chi gathered in his palm.
"Videl, move!" Chiyo screamed.
But Videl wasn't fast enough to dodge the chi blast. It knocked her out of the air, tumbling over and over, and hit the ground on her hands and knees.
"You dirty...!"
Chiyo could barely restrain herself from leaping into the ring and grinding Spopovich's face into the ground. But experience had taught her (the hard way) that running off half-cocked wasn't a good idea. Still, the idea of pounding Spopovich was starting to sound appealing.
"That was a chi blast – but without much power," Kuririn said angrily.
"No," Vegeta said. "He weakened it on purpose…because he'd lose if he killed her!"
"He has powers beyond his natural abilities," Goku said suddenly. His face was dark with anger.
"What d'you mean?" Gohan said, but his father didn't reply.
Videl attacked Spopovich again, but her energy was beginning to wear out. The massive man headbutted her, kicked her in the gut and then swept her legs out from under her. Videl hit the ground hard.
"Videl is struggling to get back into the fight!" the announcer shouted. "What determination!"
Videl was back up within a few seconds and driving a hard blow into Spopovich's face. Like before, he seemed unfazed. He simply elbowed her in the gut, then dragged her upwards by her hair and began to punch her.
Chiyo looked away. The fear she had felt during the match was being replaced by anger, a slow, boiling rage that began in her stomach.
"Now he's just playing with her," Kuririn muttered, glaring at him.
"It appears Videl could be down for the count!" The announcer said promptly as a thud reached Chiyo's ears. "She's not moving at all...!"
But Videl was tougher than she looked. She began to get to her feet, to the protests of Gohan and Kuririn.
"Give up, Videl!" Gohan shouted. "You've done all you can!"
Videl could hardly stand properly by now, and it was clear this was no fair match. Spopovich had all but won the fight, but he was playing with her. Chiyo watched stonily as the massive man smashed his fist into Videl's already battered face. There was a roaring in her ears that blocked out the noise around her, and she felt terribly cold.
"Why's she being so stubborn?" Gohan cried as Videl went flying. "She'll get killed! That jerk doesn't care that she's a girl!"
"Being a girl's got nothing to do with it," Chiyo said darkly.
The announcer bent over the prone form of Videl and seemed to be conferring with her. After a moment Videl shook her head and climbed to her feet on wobbly legs.
And despite her anger, Chiyo had to admire Videl's bravery and perseverance. She didn't know much about girls, especially not ones closer to her age. If they were all like Videl, she needed more female friends in her life.
Screams cut through Chiyo's reverie. To her horror she saw Videl on the ground with her head under Spopovich's boot.
"This is sick!" she cried.
Gohan's chi flared.
"You're right," he said between clenched teeth. "This has gone on long enough!"
A golden aura exploded around him and his bandanna disintegrated.
"Bad idea!" Kuririn exclaimed. "Calm down!"
Chiyo repressed a shiver at the look on her brother's face. Gohan rarely meant business, but when he did even she would be reluctant to get in his way.
"Enough fooling around! End it there, Spopovich!"
Yam appeared suddenly by the ring, glaring at his companion.
"This isn't what we set out to do," he snapped. "Just get the win over with."
Spopovich kicked Videl off the platform, scowling. Almost immediately Gohan was at her side, followed closely by Chiyo.
"We'll get a stretcher!" the announcer said.
"No! I'll carry her," Gohan replied. "And Spopovich! In the next round, it's you and me."
