Tenka'ichi Budōkai

Tenshinhan was over by the audience wings after Chaotzu's defeat at the hands of Jackie Chun and the following tantrum his master had thrown. When the Tsuru-Sennin finally noticed his three-eyed pupil, he gave a displeased sneer.

"Tenshinhan," The crane hermit said with disturbing calmness. "You will kill your opponent the very next time you fight, is that understood?"

"Kill him?" Tenshinhan repeated. "What's Jackie Chun done?"

"It's the Kame-Sennin in disguise…" Tsuru-Sennin growled with a whisper. "I want him dead…"

"But he hasn't had anything to do with Tao Pai Pai's death," Tenshinhan retorted.

"Are you questioning my orders?" Tsuru-Sennin sharply snapped back. "Because if you hope to be an assassin like Tao Pai Pai, you mustn't question who you're supposed to kill, and carry out your task with no remorse. Do I make myself clear?"

Tenshinhan looked at his master, visibly unsettled but gave a small bow. "Yes, sir," Tenshinhan said flatly, withholding a sigh until he was out of earshot from his master.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen!" The announcer cried out. "We will now proceed to match number 3, between Contestant Son Gokū, and Contestant Kuririn!"

The crowd cheered as the Turtle Schoolers in question stepped forth, exchanging a small fist bump before taking to their ends of the ring.

"We all remember these two from the 21st Tenka'ichi Budōkai, folks! Contestant Kuririn made it to the semifinals last time with many tricks up his sleeve, while Contestant Son Gokū made it all the way to the finals, defeating the likes of Jackie Chun! This will surely prove to be an exciting match-up!"

"Try not to hold back on me, buddy," Kuririn requested with a formal bow. "I want to fight you at your best."

"So long as you can push me to it, I'll happily oblige," Gokū responded with a bow of his own before settling into his own stance, as well as wrapping his tail around his waist, a confident smirk plastered on his face. "Now we wait for the gong."

"And it'll mean lights out for you," Kuririn retorted, settling into a stance of his own, smirking back.

Slowly, the taiko drums began to ramp up into a trill.

GONG!

"You may begin!"

Kuririn opened up first with a swift kick which Gokū deftly parried with his forearm, and followed up with blocking a punch that was aimed at his gut. Switching to the offensive, Gokū delivered a jabbing kick which Kuririn was able to dodge with an arching sidestep, followed up with another kick. Gokū ducked underneath but saw Kuririn was pivoting to bring his other leg to kick and just blocked in time. Kuririn landed a short ways away from his opponent, who took the initiative to charge forward and deliver a swift forearm chop to the monk's face.

Kuririn performed several backflips to regain some distance and nurse the minor bruise on the side of his face. Looking around, Gokū had vanished, only to notice just in time a sudden change in air pressure behind him, sidestepping a flying kick that was aimed at his back. Gokū immediately followed up with several more kicks that Kuririn quickly parried, following up with several jabs of his own before springing backwards to gain some distance.

"You're as fast as ever!" Kuririn applauded with a heavy sigh. "Managed to get behind me after that chop!"

"Don't sell yourself short, buddy! Eh, no pun intended," Gokū applauded back, but immediately caught his words, eliciting a small chuckle from the monk despite the unintended pun. "You dodged that kick faster than I expected."

"Alright then!" Kuririn sighed as he began to adjust his stance slowly, prompting Gokū to be wary of what move the monk was going to pull, only for Kuririn to launch forward, elbow first and crash right into Gokū's face, sending him flying. Kuririn did not want to let up and followed up with a heavy kick that sent the Saiyan teenager flying. Pleased that he was pushing back his friend, Kuririn launched forward to deliver a punch, but missed when Gokū leapt into the air. Not wanting to be outpaced, he jumped up as well, preparing to take this fight to the sky. The monk soon noticed that there was not a cloud in the sky and the sun was shining. He smirked as he had formulated a plan, earning an inquisitive look from the higher altitude Gokū. Kuririn pivoted his head and suddenly the glare of the sun bounced off of his shaved head and into Gokū's eyes.

"Agh crap!" Gokū cried out as he immediately shut his eyes. This was what Kuririn was banking on, as his altitude surpassed Gokū's, who saw the monk too late as he delivered a swift axe kick, sending the monkey boy to the ground.

"Ha! Call me a bowling ball after that one!" Kuririn boasted as he watched Gokū plummet to the earth. "Try landing after-"

Gokū swiftly pivoted himself and landed with a resounding thud on his feed, leaving the bald monk perplexed. Gravity began to take its hold on Kuririn and he began to enter free-fall.

"Whoa!" The announcer cried out. "Contestant Kuririn seems to have made a slight error in his maneuver! He tried to slam Contestant Son Gokū into the ground, but seeing as he took the fall so easily, Kuririn is the easy target now!"

"Sorry, Kuririn!" Gokū apologized as he crouched, ready to jump upward. "Looks like I win!"

"We'll see about that!" Kuririn retorted. "I ain't going down that easy!"

Gokū sprung forward to deliver an uppercut kick at the free-falling bald teenager, but suddenly his descent stopped abruptly, causing Gokū to overshoot his kick and halt his momentum mid air as well. Kuririn then landed gently back onto the arena as Gokū gently floated back down as well, smiling at what his bald friend had done.

"Nice one!" Gokū cheered. "I didin't expect you to pull off flight like that as well!"

"Hey, you figured it out from watching me, so I get to figure stuff out too!" Kuririn boasted. "Of course I can't say I have the same finesse as you do. I just needed to get out of your attack path."

"Progress is progress though," Gokū responded with a wide smile. "This is getting exciting! Let's keep going!"

"You're not scared?" Kuririn retorted, smirking in spite of his predicament. "Because I'll be honest, I'm terrified."

"Ah, relax, buddy! I'm not out for blood!"

"I thought I told you to not hold back!"

"And I said I wouldn't if you can push me there!"

"Eh, fair enough."

The two teenagers took a moment of pause, deciding on how best to approach this fight. Gokū's gaze harshened as he began to charge forward, chanting a familiar incantation as he rushed forward.

"Ka, Me, Ha, Me…" Gokū chanted, but before adding the 5th and final syllable, jumped up and cupped his hands together, aimed in the complete opposite direction of his target. "HA!"

A blue beam of ki shot from Gokū's hands, rocketing him towards Kuririn, who ate a fresh knuckle sandwich that sent him flying. Once Gokū landed, he jumped above Kuririn's path of flight and brought a knee right onto the monk's solar plexus, pinning him to the ground and leaving Kuririn motionless.

"Impressive," Tenshinhan muttered, having watched Gokū's display with clarity. "That kid is no joke."

"He is an impressive one, isn't he?" Jackie Chun commented as he walked up to Tenshinhan's side, causing the triclops to glare at the older master.

"Don't expect me to be so merciful when we fight, Muten Rōshi," Tenshinhan spoke to the disguised Kame-Sennin, who mildly flinched but simply smiled underneath his beard.

"I may need a new disguise," Jackie Chun sighed. "I do have my reasons for it though."

"Contestant Kuririn is down!" The announcer called out. "I'll begin the 10 count! One! Two! Three-"

Before the announcer could say 'Four,' Kuririn hopped back onto his feet and nursed where he was punched and kneed.

"Jeez, that smarts!" Kuririn whined. "Couldn't've launched yourself with your flight technique?"

"Aw come on!" Gokū playfully whined. "Launching myself via Kamehameha has more oomph. Still, I'm surprised you're still standing after that."

"Well, you had your fun, pal!" Kuririn boasted. "Now it's my turn!"

Immediately, Kuririn charged forward, but despite his impressive speed, Gokū's was more so as well as his reaction time, and easily sidestepped the charge and delivered a swift chop to the back of the monk's cranium, causing him to stumble forward and clutch his head in irritation and pain. Before Gokū could consider following up, Kuririn skittered to the opposite side of the arena to conjure a new game plan. The fatigue of battle was starting to get to him, as he was now short of breath. Gokū, on the other hand, hasn't broken a sweat.

'Okay, Brute strength ain't gonna cut it,' Kuririn thought. 'No way I can take him fair and square. Guess I'll have to break out my trump card…'

"Alright, Gokū!" Kuririn shouted. "It's lights out for you! Kaaa… Meee..."

Kuririn began to mutter the Kamehameha incantation as well as perform the motions.

"That's not gonna work!" Gokū retorted, holding up a hand in the direction of where the beam was going to fire. "You'll just be burning away your ki!"

"Haaa… Meee…" Kuririn continued the incantation as the bright blue sphere formed within his palms.

"HA!"

Gokū sighed and gave a disappointed look as he braced his hand for the oncoming blast. To his expectations, he shrugged off the blast like it was nothing. When the light died down, he was completely unfazed.

"Told ya!" Gokū cheered, but his sudden cocky nature turned to one of confusion. "Where'd he-"

"Right here!"

Kuririn appeared right behind Gokū and pulled his tail from the wrap it maintained around his waist. "And just like that, I got your weak spot at my mercy!"

The monk gave the tail a quick squeeze, causing Gokū to jolt and then woozily collapse to the ground.

"Contestant Son Gokū has collapsed to the ground!" The announcer called out. "I'll begin the ten count! One! Two! Three!"

"Well now!" Jackie Chun whistled. "Looks like Kuririn has this match won."

"Hmph," Tenshinhan sighed with a smirk. "Even a skilled kid like him has an Achilles Heel. Or, tail."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Caulifla added, earning several confused looks her way. "Watch and see.

"Seven! Eight! Nine!"

"I win!" Kuririn cheered.

"Nope!"

Gokū suddenly hopped upward and behind Kuririn. With a quick pivot of his tail, he swung the monk up into the air and slammed him onto the ground, backside first.

"Gotcha!" Gokū laughed as Kuririn got up to his feet, knowing he would feel that in the morning.

"How?!" Kuririn gasped. "I thought if you had your tail squeezed you lose your strength!"

"3 years ago that'd be the case!" Gokū clarified proudly, squeezing the end of his tail to showcase his newfound resilience. "But I've been training for that! Doesn't hurt that my moon training doubles as tail training as well."

"Y-You're kidding!" Kuririn stammered in disbelief, his one ace in the hole, thwarted.

"It wasn't easy, toughening up my tail, I'll tell you that much," Gokū said, allowing his furred tail to wrap back around his waist.

"What'd I tell ya?" Caulifla said with prideful glee. "The same trick won't work on me either, so you might wanna throw that sleeved ace away, Mountain Princess."

"I don't need to exploit that stupid gimmick to finish you!" Chi-Chi snapped back. "You'll get yours!"

"Calm down, Chi-Chi," Tenshinhan pleaded, placing a hand on Chi-Chi's shoulder, which she promptly shrugged off. "You'll get your fight very soon."

"And I intend to make it count…"

'Crap, crap crap!' Kuririn panicked mentally. 'That was my one ticket of winning this fight, and it's gone! Well, If I'm gonna fight desperately, might as well put on a brave face while I can…'

"Oi! What's that over there?!"

"Huh?" Gokū turned to see where Kuririn was pointing, only to receive a swift elbow to his face. "Oh, so we're going for cheap shots now?!"

"All's fair in love and war, Gokū!" Kuririn retorted.

"Alright then," Gokū smirked, removing his hand from his face, showing a mild bruise. "Since Jackie Chun finished the last match in a boring way, I'll try and up the ante!"

"'Up the ante?'" Kuririn repeated. "Up the ante of what?!"

Suddenly, Gokū vanished, causing Kuririn to quickly check his surroundings to find his opponent. He was not coming from behind or at his sides. He was not coming from above, and certainly was not coming from below. A new sound assaulted Kuririn's ears - a very frequent tapping sound, coming at him from all angles.

"What in the world?!" The announcer cried out. "Or should I say, what not in the world! Contestant Son Gokū has vanished, and I can only hear a tapping sound in his place!"

'He hasn't vanished!' Tenshinhan exclaimed mentally. 'He's simply moving too fast to be seen. That tapping is him kicking off the ground. Even I can't keep up with him…!'

"Boo!" Gokū suddenly appeared in front of kuririn, making a silly face, easily startling the bald teenager. Gokū followed up with several swift jabs, but delivered a much slower sweep of the legs and a swift uppercut followed by a sledgehammer blow that landed Kuririn out of bounds.

"C-Contestant Kuririn is out of bounds!" The announcer stammered. "Son Gokū is the winner!"

The crowd cheered for the victory, pleased with the finale to this battle, though some spectators had complaints.

"That was awesome! That punch upward and slam down!"

"Gokū had Kuririn on the ropes!"

"That combo was cheap! I've seen it in video games before!"

"Oh stop being a spoilsport!"

"Of course he pulled those last few punches," Caulifla sighed with a smile. "The audience couldn't follow his speed, so he slowed down to give a little extra fanfare. Makes up for your sleepy time victory, Mr. Chun."

"I'll say," Jackie Chun nodded. "I couldn't tell where he went after he vanished."

Gokū gave a small bow before he walked over to the arena edge and helped up Kuririn with a smile on his face.

"Sorry about that, buddy," Gokū apologized. "You had some cool moves though!"

"Sheesh," Kuririn sighed. "I knew you were strong, but that was absurd! How'd you disappear like that?"

"I'll show you later," Gokū shrugged, his cheery expression subsiding ever so slightly. "I got an odd feeling about Caulifla's fight though."

"What do you mean?"

"I dunno. I'm feeling a bit worried."

"I don't think it's anything to be a worrywort about. If Caulifla's as strong as you, that Chi-Chi girl doesn't stand a chance!"

The two Turtle Schoolers entered the green room and Gokū was greeted by Caulifla, who had a goofy grin on her face.

"Awesome fight out there, Gokū!" Caulifla applauded. Gokū simply nodded, a look of concern visible on his face. "You alright?"

"I dunno," Gokū answered honestly. "I just got this feeling. I think you should keep on your toes for this fight."

Gokū's tone was serious, something Caulifla doesn't hear often. "I'll take heed to that," she nodded, earning a nod from Gokū back.

"Alright ladies and Gentlemen!" The announcer called out over his microphone. We are now ready to move onto the 4th round before the semifinals! Contestants Caulifla and Chi-Chi, please step forward!"

Over by the Spectator wings, Gyūmaō was excited to finally see his daughter fight. When he finally saw her however, his excitement was replaced with confusion, as Chi-Chi was adorned in the same green and yellow qipao as the other Crane Schoolers, even including the '鶴' kanji on the front.

"Contestant Caulifla is one we should all remember, folks!" The announcer explained. "She was the one who took home the gold last time! Her opponent, Contestant Chi-Chi, is a new face to this competition, The daughter of Gyūmaō - a contestant from the 16th Tenka'ichi Budōkai - has appeared to opt for the Crane School, and looks ready to take the title for herself!"

"The Crane School?!" Gyūmaō exclaimed.

Chi-Chi noticed her father in the spectator wings, but paid no mind to his misgivings. She was here for one reason. She and Caulifla took to opposite ends of the ring, the latter offering a small bow, earning a scowl from the mountain princess. The two female warriors settled into their respective fighting stances.

"We didn't finish our fight last time," Chi-Chi calmly spoke. "I intend to finish it…"

"You really have a grudge issue, you know that?" Caulifla retorted.

The taiko drums began to thunder and ramp up in tempo until it became a trill.

GONG!

"Begin!"

"HA!" Chi-Chi began with a mighty shout, thrusting her palm forward, sending a swift kiai in the direction of Caulifla, who swiftly rolled out of the way. The Frypan princess followed up with several more rapid-fire gusts that built up on each other, amplifying their combined strength. Caulifla ducked under the barrage and launched herself forward, fist primed. She aimed for the princess's face, but was met with an open palm. The two were locked in a fierce exchange of limbs before Chi-Chi pulled her head back and delivered a swift headbutt to Caulifla's forehead, causing her to stumble back a few steps. She was able to quickly recover and begin parrying Chi-Chi's counter-offensive with relative ease. Eventually, the two sprung back to opposite ends of the ring, settling back into their respective stances.

"Was that opening supposed to be witty irony for what I pulled before?~" Caulifla commented with a smirk. "I'll give you kudos for the rapid-fire bit. Makes it stronger at long range."

"I don't want you singing praises after you stole Gokū from me!" Chi-Chi retorted.

"You're still on about that?" Caulifla sighed with an eyeroll. "He made a mistake a brick of lead would've made back then! You shouldn't hold him to that!"

"And then there's you!" Chi-Chi spat, a fiery rage building in her eyes. "You made him break his promise!"

"Alright, I've heard enough from the spoiled princess brat of Frypan," Caulifla sighed.

The Saiyan girl charged forward with a battle cry and delivered a swift volley of punches and kicks, only a few of which hit home. Eventually, Chi-Chi took to the air and hovered. Caulifla simply rolled her eyes and did the same, renewing their fight in the sky.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I may need to make an appointment with a chiropractor after this!" The announcer joked as he tilted his head upward to watch the fight. "Contestants Chi-Chi and Caulifla have taken this fight airborne, while seemingly paying no heed to Gravity!"

Caulifla batted away a knife-hand jab that was aimed at her sternum and was able to get a clear shot at Chi-Chi's back, which she capitalized on with a double axe handle, sending her plummeting to the ground, but she landed deftly. Caulifla simply floated down and assumed her stance once more.

"Got any tricks up your sleeve?" Caulifla asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Oh, you have no idea," Chi-Chi snarled. "DODONPA!"

Chi-Chi immediately fired several of the Crane School's specialty ki attack at Caulifla, who deftly dodged each and every blast with ease. Some of the beams began to arch and come around, prompting Caulifla to backhand them away, leaving wafts of steam where they hit.

"Projectile manipulation! Nice!" Caulifla commented as she rubbed her hands to ease the tingling sensation from her parries. "I'm also glad you're wearing something that's more sensible."

"I said I didn't want compliments, you Thistle-headed freak!" Chi-Chi screamed, her temper flaring. "Least of all from you, you thistle-headed hussy!"

The crowd gasped at Chi-Chi's words, while Caulifla's eye twitched ever so slightly.

"I'm the hussy?!" Caulifla repeated, now visibly and audibly annoyed. "I'm sorry, who was the 12-year-old bikini-wearing mountain brat that jumped at the first opportunity to marry an idiot?!"

"You leave my wardrobe out of this!" Chi-Chi snapped back.

"Then stow the crazy screaming and prove to me that you're not some spoiled brat that's getting pissy because she's not getting what she wanted!"

"Well I'd rather be a spoiled brat than a monstrous murderer!" Chi-Chi spat back, causing the crowd collectively to gasp, and Caulifla's eyes to widen.

"What… did you just... say…?" Caulifla muttered in an almost whisper.

"I've heard the stories of Menra Village!" Chi-Chi answered, her glare deepening. Jackie Chun gave a quiet gasp, while Gokū was realizing he was right to worry. Chi-Chi continued. "I've heard about how once upon a time, this once happy village founded by the legendary Ramen-Sennin took in a girl with a monkey's tail. Just. Like. You."

"Shut up…" Caulifla muttered, her body now trembling.

"Oh but she was told never to go outside at night!" Chi-Chi continued, adding more and more venom to her words. "Especially on nights of the full moon! Otherwise, terrible monsters would come for her the village!"

"S-Shut up…!" Caulifla croaked, tears now rolling down her face.

Chi-Chi launched a flurry of punches that hit home, Caulifla too shook to bother to put up her guard. Gokū was growing more worried by the second, and also more angry as Chi-Chi spat the story out for all to hear.

"But one night, she ignored that rule, and woke up in the morning to see the village destroyed!" Chi-Chi began to scream the story with pent up fury as she pummeled the paralyzed Caulifla. "All of her friends and family killed by the monsters she was told about! It was there she discovered that she was the monster all along!"

Chi-Chi pulled her fist back to deliver one final punch, but as she sent it forth, it was caught by a trembling hand. Caulifla's face was warped into a fierce scowl, and her irises, which were as black as midnight, were now an eerie shade of yellow.

"I… Said… SHUT UUUUUP!"

Caulifla roared at the top of her lungs, causing a massive torrent of wind to swirl around her. A faint orange aura began to halo around her form and her muscle mass began to swell by a small margin. Even her hair began to grow wilder than it usually was. With a swift toss of her arm, she threw Chi-Chi into the air, who righted herself with her own ki, simultaneously mortified at what was happening, but also ecstatic that her opportunity was coming.

"YOU THINK I'M A MONSTER?!" Caulifla screamed with unheard of fury, tears rolling down her face. "I'LL SHOW YOU A MONSTER YOU CALLOUS BITCH!"

Caulifla clawed her index and middle fingers and prepared a Kamebāsuto, not even bothering with the incantation. The red sphere built up and crackled with arcs of electricity, indicating how unstable it was. With a mighty roar, the Saiyan girl thrust her hands forward and launched the red sphere directly at Chi-Chi, who simply smirked. The mountain princess splayed her hands at both sides of her face and waited.

"TAIYOKEN!"

Suddenly, a bright flash of light emitted from Chi-Chi's being, prompting everyone except for those wearing sunglasses to shield their eyes, including Caulifla. This was what Chi-Chi was counting on, as Caulifla pulled her arms apart, causing the Kamebāsuto to detonate prematurely and catch her in the wake of her own explosion. Chi-Chi did not bother to wait for the smoke to clear and launched a kiai at the smokescreen to reveal a badly singed Caulifla, eyes still squinting from the assault on her retinae and the yellow glow in her irises faded. The mountain princess launched herself downward and delivered a swift punch to Caulifla's gut, causing her to gasp with pain as all the air in her lungs was forced out. Chi-Chi then moved in for a whisper.

"I'll make sure you never have him, you thistle-headed whore…"

Before Caulifla could give any response, Chi-Chi swiftly kicked the Saiyan girl in the ribs that sent her out of the arena and onto the grassy turf.

"Uh, C-Contestant Caulifla i-is out of bounds," The announcer stammered, shaken up by the brutal display by Chi-Chi. "C-Contestant Chi-Chi is the winner."

But Chi-Chi was not done yet. She held up her index finger, which built up a pulsating orange sphere of ki, and pointed it directly at the downed Caulifla, staring icily at her target.

"DODONPA!"

The orange beam shrieked across the distance between Chi-Chi's fingertip and Caulifla, intent on killing the Saiyan girl where she was.

But this was not to be.

With a resounding crack, the blast was batted skywards as a third person stood between Chi-Chi and Caulifla. Son Gokū had stepped in, glaring furiously at Chi-Chi and having a small waft of steam emit from the back of his palm.

"You crossed the line, Chi-Chi," Gokū growled, absolutely furious with what the mountain princess had attempted. She might have been seeing things, but it almost looked as if Gokū's irises shimmered yellow for a brief moment. "I'm putting an end to this madness once we fight…"

Taiyoken - Solar Flare

A/N: And consider these nerves touched! The fight between Goku and Kuririn wasn't anything to write home about. Battle starts off even, throw in whatever tricks they got, Goku ramps up the power, Goku wins. It was the fight between Chi-Chi and Caulifla, however short it may be, that I wanted to write, as I had this encounter plotted out for a while. I was actually half-tempted to bring it right before the Red Ribbon arc, but hindsight now tells me I was right to save it for here. I also initially planned to have Caulifla snap after Chi-Chi mutters something that caught her ear, but I figured this approach would be better in the end. Also, welcome back, dub discrepancy key! :)

On a side note, holy crap, I have over 500 follows on this story, and a little under 500 faves! Thank you very much for sticking around. I honestly didn't expect that, and I just recently noticed. Okay, audience thank-you pandering aside, I hope this was a fun read, and do leave a review sharing your thoughts. :)