Chapter 41: Pan's Skills

Trunks was going to be fine, he was only a little tired, and would probably have a few bruises thanks to Vegeta, but that was nothing too bad. Vegeta didn't seem to be worried, neither did anyone else. There were only two people with anything resembling worries on their minds: Noca and Pan. Pan's match was next. She was up against Shai. A rematch against an opponent who had once given her a tough time. Pan wasn't feeling bad about herself, she was just nervous to see what kind of secret power Shai might have under his belt this time. Noca, was worried for Pan, but only that she might not focus on the fight properly due to her worries. He had complete faith in her abilities and was certain of her victory, but he didn't want Pan to start doubting herself.

She stood nervously by the door, waiting for her name to be called. Noca walked over to her and took her hand in his own. He stood in front of her, she looked up at him.

"Don't think about the past, that fight was under very different circumstances," Noca started, attempting to assure her and boost her confidence. "You're a remarkable fighter and you can beat him, no problem."

"Thanks…" Pan replied, seeming to be rather distant, deep in thought. Noca could tell she was distracted. He looked deep into her eyes and then kissed her on the forehead.

"Try to focus," He said, attempting one last assurance. He put a hand on her cheek and smiled at her, she nodded and smiled back weakly. Noca walked back to Holline but felt that he hadn't done his best and Pan might struggle here. As Noca walked he passed Shai. The large fighter looked down on Noca and scoffed to himself. Noca didn't pay him any attention, he was just sensing his energy. It was above average, he was a skilled fighter, that's for sure. He may even have some Ki control and more power hidden, but it would still be nowhere near Pan's. He was certain.

Noca sat down next to Holline and sighed as he kept his eyes fixed upon Pan. Holline put an arm around him.

"She'll be fine," The red-head said, knowing it was her turn to try some assurance. Noca smiled weakly and looked at the girl.

"I don't doubt that," Noca said, looking back at Pan, "But she does."

Shai made it to the door, he stood next to Pan and didn't bother looking down at her. She didn't pay him the attention either. They both stood looking forward, in silence, until…

"I'm surprised you haven't run away at the sight of me," Shai said, chuckling. Pan paid him no attention. She remained silent and kept her eyes forward. The announcer did his last bit of warming-up for the crowd and called their names. Pan and Shai stepped out and walked up to the stage. Both immediately went to opposite sides of the stage, not bothering to walk up the middle together, there was not going to be any sort of 'good sportsmanship' between these two. Pan moved into her stance and immediately focussed.

Her eyes narrowed, and everything else around her had essentially blurred out. There were plenty of cheers coming from the crowd, everyone was supporting Pan here. Granddaughter of the champ, it was expected, but Pan drowned that out and completely fixed her attention upon Shai and the coming fight. Shai smirked and moved into his own stance, it was a weak stance, but Pan wasn't going to be fooled. Shai was still strong, she had to be on-guard throughout the whole fight to ensure that everything went smoothly.

They were both ready, the crowd was ready, the announcer gave the signal. Time for another fight.

Shai started to walk forwards towards Pan, he wasn't moving quickly or blasting towards her, he just walked across the stage casually. This was supposed to be intimidating and Pan knew that, so she didn't move. She stood her ground and waited for him. Shai chuckled and cracked his knuckles as he walked forward.

"Confident, are we?" Shai uttered, Pan didn't need to dignify that with a response. Shai got closer, Pan remained perfectly still, making sure her breathing was regulated and her emotions were all in check. She had no need to fly off the handle yet. Her Saiyan instinct was kicking in and telling her to fight, but she was also telling herself to play it cool, remain composed, then she would have control of the fight.

Shai was right in front of her and he reeled back his arm and punched down towards Pan. The girl switched on and flipped backwards, kicking Shai up in the face and gaining distance again. She flipped a few times across the stage and landed on her feet, a safe distance away again, and then dropped back into her stance. Shai remained in position and put a hand to his face. He shook it off and laughed. He started walking forward again. Pan remained composed.

Shai got close to her again and this time he attempted to stomp down on Pan, but the girl simply hopped back a step, but Shai followed up, punching down like he had done before. This time, Pan dived forward and managed to roll underneath Shai. Once on the other side she jumped up and kicked twice into Shai's back, using it to inflict an attack as well as spring herself away to a safe distance again. Shai was down on one knee and slowly stood back up, turning around and smirking. He was impressed by Pan, so far, but he hadn't kicked into second gear yet. Pan was yet to see what Shai could really do, and she knew that.

Pan had already tuned them out, so she couldn't notice that the crowd had fallen dead silent. They were too engrossed by the tension of this fight, even though they didn't even know the context for their conflict, but it was turning out to be the most interesting fight so far, as far as they were concerned. In the executive box, Gohan and Videl were very proud of their girl, and Rei was making some noise to show he was enjoying himself.

Noca was standing at the door of the waiting area and he couldn't take his eyes off of the conflict, wanting to see just how much Pan had to show. Holline was standing with him, but she was more interested in Noca's reaction to everything, it both intrigued and amused her. That's not to say that she didn't care about Pan's fight.

Shai started moving towards Pan again, this time he was moving fast, he even broke into a bit of a run. He was ready to charge into Pan and attempt an attack that way. Pan knew what was coming and knew she could deal with it. As Shai came within touching distance Pan cartwheeled to the left and managed to move out of the way. Shai tried to turn quickly and threw out an arm, hoping to catch Pan, but he lost his balance and slipped, having to steady himself. He managed it and continued running for Pan again.

She jumped up over him as he ran at her and she kicked back, hitting him in the head. He swung around trying to connect with her, but Pan avoided it as she dropped back towards the ground. Just as she touched down, Shai was already turning around and facing her, and he was attempting to stomp down on her again. Pan dodged from side to side as Shai attempted a few stomps and she avoided all of them, gracefully. She wasn't just taking advantage of her small size and speed compared to Shai, but she seemed to be moving like a gymnast. The time Noca had been away had been good for Pan, especially where her training was concerned. She had improved an incredible amount.

Pan flipped and rolled to gain a bit of distance again. Shai stopped and composed himself, cracking his neck and turning to face Pan again. He didn't appear to like being shown up. He started walking towards Pan again as the girl moved back into her stance, ready for whatever came next. Shai smashed a fist down towards her again, but once more, Pan hopped back to avoid it and then jumped off the ground, towards Shai again. She hit him in the face with her knee and then flipped back again. She landed down and pounced forward, elbowing Shai in the gut.

He bent over from the impact, but he wasn't too badly affected by that hit. He now had a chance. He grabbed Pan by the side with both hands and pulled her towards him, crashing his head into her face. He let go at the same time and Pan was thrown back by the force. She dropped onto her back, but quickly flipped, only narrowly avoiding another attempted stomp.

"Looks like you weren't paying too much attention," Shai teased, as he started moving towards her again. Pan shook off the pain and kept her eyes fixed on him. The moment she went in for an attack she lost focus. She cursed herself for letting that happen, but knew it was her own fault and that she needed to be better in that scenario.

Shai charged towards her again, Pan hadn't expected the sudden burst of pace. She leapt into the air as he smashed both of his fists down on the ground where Pan had been. She twisted through the air and landed on the opposite side, behind Shai. He turned around and charged again and did the same thing, but only with one hand. Pan leapt up again, but Shai grabbed her leg and slammed her into the ground. He went to follow up with a fist towards her face, but Pan fired a quick Ki blast up into Shai's face, distracting him and managing to move away. Shai swatted through the air and was temporarily blinded.

Pan had another opening. She jumped towards him, twisting and landing a strong kick against his face. She dropped to the ground and rolled away, but upon stopping on her feet she pounced back towards Shai. That time, she punched him in the face, dropped right next to him and kicked up into his chin. Shai stumbled back, still swatting through the air. Pan ran towards him, ducking under an arm as it came close and she placed a foot on his bent knee and used that to jump up and then dropped in with another punch into his face. Shai dropped to a knee when that happened and had one hand on the ground too.

As soon as Pan touched the ground, Shai reacted, grabbing her in a bear-hug and started to tighten that grip. Shai couldn't even see, so Pan had underestimated him and now she realised that. She couldn't move for a bit, but powered out her Ki, surrounding herself in a white aura and pushing Shai away. Noca took a step out of the area when he saw the power-up. It was only for a second as the aura dissipated, but he noticed it, and recognised it. Holline wasn't sure what Noca had noticed, but she sensed a significant rise in his emotions. Noca was excited.

Pan was angry, but with herself. That was twice in the fight she had let herself get sloppy and that frustrated her. She wouldn't let it happen again. Shai shook his head and looked up to see Pan standing there with clenched fists by her sides. No stance. Shai smirked and stood up. He clenched his own fists, his muscles bulging and then he charged again. His pace seemed to have increased and Pan noticed this. Pan waited for the last second and leaned to the right, bending that leg almost all of the way and then sprung back at Shai, smashing her fist into his face and knocking him off his feet.

Shai hit the ground and slid away, but quickly got up and jumped for Pan. His jump seemed to make him quicker and he must have leapt about Fifteen feet off of the ground. He dropped to Pan, but she flipped back out of the way. Shai's landing shook the stage and Pan's footing was weakened. She almost slipped and that gave Shai a slight advantage as he charged towards the girl. She reacted in the absolute last instant to slide underneath him, but the slide was so sloppy that she didn't get back up right away. Shai had turned and managed to smash a fist right into Pan's face and she was propelled to the other side of the stage, managing to stop herself from falling off, but using her energy to hover there. She barely touched the stage again before charging back at Shai.

Pan rushed in from Shai's left, smashing a right hook against his face and dropping to his right side, then she jumped up, punching him in the right side with her left, and once in the air above him she twisted back, kicking him in the back of the head. Shai dropped down to his knees and Pan dropped in front of him, swinging around and kicking him in the head again. Shai was knocked to the side, crashing into the ground. Pan set down again and moved into her stance, waiting for his next move. He slowly pushed up and turned to face her. He was resilient, but he was significantly struggling to actually land any attacks on her, aside for the couple he already had.

Pan's pace and movement was proving to be much too tricky for him to handle. She was just frustrated that it appeared Shai wasn't going to stay down anytime soon. She really had to hit him hard to make that happen, unless she went for a ring-out. Shai cracked his back and leapt towards Pan again. She dodged back, but his movement was quicker this time. He moved forward to grab her again and got her leg, but as he brought her over to slam her down again, she shot a blast towards his face. It hit him and he let go, but immediately jumped up towards her. She hadn't expected that but was able to dodge out of the way. Lucky for her, he couldn't fly and missed, so he would fall back to the ground.

He did, but immediately jumped up again, but was quicker. Pan didn't move in time and was grabbed. He went back towards the ground with her in his grip and slammed her down. He was on top and brought his fist down again. Pan burst out of his grip and charged him up towards the sky, punching up on the way. She got around and above him and blasted him in the back. That sent Shai barrelling towards the ground at a high pace. He crashed down, cracking the stage and Pan followed up. She landed a kick in his gut, but he closed around her, grabbing her leg and swinging her around in a circle. He launched her towards the edge of the stage.

Pan landed before the end and pounced towards Shai once again. She kicked him in the face, he bent down to the side and Pan dropped in front of him and moved with an uppercut into his face. She leapt up with an uppercut and when in the air she rolled forward and landed with her foot right in his face. Shai dropped on his hands and knees and Pan dropped back away from him. As he stood up straight and prepared for a run Pan moved in and sent a barrage of punches smashing into his gut. She leapt up to his face again and smashed with a right hook and used her momentum to follow up with a roundhouse kick with her left. Continuing with that momentum she followed up with a right footed kick to the face and continued this spinning double kick action a few times before jumping back and watching a dizzy Shai stumble forward a little.

Shai had one more charge in him. He thundered towards Pan, but as he did Pan flipped back on to her hands and kicked up into Shai's face when he came close enough, but she hit with both feet. That stopped him in his tracks, giving Pan one last perfect opening. She flipped back to her feet and reeled back a quick Kamehameha and shot him back across the stage. He landed hard on his back and slid to the edge of stage. Pan was breathing heavily, but not really from exhaustion, from letting her adrenaline go through her. She was excited, but she returned to focus once Shai started moving. He really was a sponge. He slowly returned to his feet, but Pan couldn't be bothered any longer. She charged forward and leapt into the air again dropping down towards him with her spinning kick, smashing him in the face and knocking him unconscious, and off of the stage. He hit the grass and the crowd erupted into cheers for Pan. She returned to her feet and smiled as she looked around the arena. She really absorbed it all.

Back at the waiting area, Noca was still stood staring in awe at how Pan had a handle that. Holline looked at him and tried to get his attention.

"Hey, Earth to Noca, the fight's over," She said, clicking in front of his eyes. Noca didn't turn to look at her.

"I know… and she's amazing," Noca uttered, quietly. Holline chuckled.

"You just realising that your girlfriend knows how to fight," She laughed, but it stopped when she started sensing his emotions again, it was almost as if he was really worked up and excited. It was strange, but it seemed like the more Pan got into the fight the more Noca's energy kicked into gear, like he was fighting too. Holline passed it off.

"I knew she was a great fighter, but she's improved an incredible amount, and the way she moved," Noca was starting to babble a little bit, but he stopped when Pan stepped down off the stage and walked over to the waiting area. She was waving to the crowd as she rushed along. She basically ran into Noca's arms when she got in there and the two of them locked in an intense kiss. Holline was taken aback by that. It seemed like both of them felt each other's adrenaline. Noca broke the kiss and looked down at her.

"That was incredible," Pan said, laughing. Noca smiled down at her.

"It really was," He just muttered as they kissed again. But their kissing would be interrupted.

"Uh, lovers," It was Goten. They both stopped and turned to see him standing there next to a bewildered Holline. "Maybe not here, yeah?"

They both looked around, no one was really paying attention, but they knew it wasn't an appropriate place. The two of them looked at each other and blushed, but also laughed. They held hands as they returned to sitting down. Both of them watched as Shai pushed the medics away from him and walked towards the door in a huff. He passed a glance to Noca and Pan, but even though he had a naturally angry face, both the young couple noticed that he feared them.

They were drawn away from Shai when Goten and Trunks started teasing them, along with Holline.

Before Shai could step out of the door, Sofia stepped up to him and held up a card.

"You could do with one of these," She said, looking him dead in the eyes. Shai was ready to carry on, ignoring her, but she stepped completely in front of him and Shai didn't feel like losing to another girl. He grunted and took the card. Sofia stepped aside and he left.

Sofia watched him leave, but then Joji walked up behind her.

"You and Yaiko are next," He said as they both looked over to Yaiko. He was leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets and his headphones on. He was either getting in the zone, or just didn't want to be there. Sofia scoffed and looked up at Joji.

"Let's see if I can finally get him to use that power," She said, subtly. Joji scoffed as they walked back to their young ally.

Hey, new chapter, hope you enjoy it as the tournament really starts to get going.

I haven't had any reviews, questions, pms, or comments for a very long time from any of you out there that are still reading. I do like to read what people have to say and answer almost any questions you may have, so don't be afraid to say anything.

Thanks again.

Next Time... Chapter 42: The Silent Boy