Chapter 43: A Challenge and a Lesson

Goten sauntered up onto the stage and waved around confidently, and arrogantly. He was only putting on a show and the crowd seemed to get a kick out of it. Goten was reasonably known for being a finalist in the junior division when he was Seven-years-old, and also for being the best friend of Trunks, heir to the Capsule Corp. fortune. At least, people recognised his name. As for his opponent, yeah, nobody had a clue about that guy. He was just tall and tough looking. And his name was Joji. That's all the information they had.

Goten was pretty pumped up and ready to fight. He hopped on the spot a couple of times and punched and kicked the air. Joji stood on the other side, still, and facing his opponent. Goten eventually calmed down and turned to face Joji. He moved into a stance, showing the announcer he was ready. The announced looked to Joji who hadn't moved a muscle, nor did he look like talking, and he instantly assumed that they were both ready to go.

The announcer called it, the fight begins. Goten cracked his neck and charged forward, not moving at a blistering pace so that people couldn't see him, but not taking it slow. He halted in front of Joji and punched him a couple of times in the gut, then flipped back and charged in again, elbow forward. That quick attack apparently did nothing to Joji. Goten flipped back again, gaining some distance to re-assess a little bit. Joji still wore a blank expression and wasn't bothered about what Goten had done.

Goten moves again and jumps up, punching Joji square in the face before spinning and landing a kick against the side of his face. The kick did knock Joji's head to the side, so he was facing left away from the Saiyan, but he still wasn't affected. He turned back to look at Goten and made his own attempt to attack, but Goten backed off quickly. He landed back on the stage, but Joji charged forward. He tried to slam down on Goten, but the Saiyan rolled back and jumped up and over Joji. As he landed Joji turned around and slammed a fist directly into the back of Goten's head before he could turn.

Joji may be a larger man, but he proved too fast for Goten just then. Goten was flung forward but put his hands out and sprung himself up and around to face his opponent, who was already charging in again. Goten, who wasn't really taking things too seriously up to this point, focussed and narrowed his eyes as Joji came close. There was a click in his mind as he stepped to the left a little, bent down, and propelled his fist into Joji as he came within reach. The punch was strong, and it knocked Joji off-course. The man went stumbling to the side and had to drop down to a knee to steady himself.

Goten jumped and dropped down towards Joji with his fist aimed down on the opponent's head. He connected and Joji was knocked down a little but reacted quickly. He gripped Goten around the neck and stood up slowly. Goten struggled a little but wasn't given time to try and escape from it. Joji slammed Goten down into the ground and then punched him in the gut. Goten coughed up saliva. Joji wasn't interested in continuing much longer, he was told to make it quick. He threw Goten over his shoulder and stood up, not bothering to turn around and check on the Saiyan's landing. He went to step away but was hit in the back of the head by a Ki blast.

It took him by surprise and knocked him off balance a little. He remained still and then slowly turned around to see Goten hovering above the grass with his hand held up.

"I can fly, it'll take a lot more than that to get a ring out on me," Goten said, confidently. The crowd were cheering for him. Joji cracked his neck as Goten landed back on the stage, moving back into his stance.

"Perhaps we both underestimated one another," Joji said, he seemed remarkably calm for someone who looked so angry. Goten smirked and clenched his fists. He took a breath and his smirk faded. He was ready to get serious, as was Joji.

Goten waited for Joji to make the first move, and he did. The larger man charged forward, faster than before and threw a fist forward, Goten dodge out of the way and darted past Joji. He turned around to follow the Saiyan as he shot back in, straight for Joji's face, but the bigger fighter was ready with his defensive block. As soon as Goten hit the block Joji broke it and slammed his fist into Goten, knocking him back down to the ground. Goten rolled back but got back to his feet as Joji came running again.

At the very last moment, Goten threw his fist up into Joji's gut and as the large man bent over from the impact, he slammed his fists down on Goten's back. Goten was flattened on the ground and the large man then lifted up the Saiyan, brought him over his head, and then attempted to thrown him back down to the ground, head first. Goten powered up as he was on his way down and managed to somehow take control of the momentum and swung up into Joji's gut again, right before he hit the ground, and lifted the large man into the air. Goten continued to punch up a few times, lifting them higher and then rose above him, blasting Joji back to the ground with a Kamehameha.

Joji soared down and smashed into the stage with a crash. Goten let the attack go and was breathing a little heavily but managed to regain his energy. He had put a lot into that attack but couldn't quite do it the way he had planned. He wanted to knock Joji out of the stage, but it didn't work. Goten lowered down to the stage and Joji stood up.

"Good attempt…" He uttered, looking a little worked up, but not injured or anything. This was one tough customer. Goten calmed his senses and cleared his mind as he stared on at Joji.

"I'm gonna have to do this," Goten muttered to himself. He clenched his fists and his muscles bulged a little, then the energy around him started to react and pick up. There were a couple sparks and a small gust of wind. Finally, a flash, and Goten was Super Saiyan. "Hopefully this will be enough to take you down."

Joji remained serious, but he wanted to get this over and done with as soon as. Joji clenched his fists and he started to walk towards Goten. The Saiyan steadied himself and kept his focus, he was still letting Joji come to him, letting him lead. He hoped to find some sort of opening or weakness soon. Joji charged forward and slammed down, but Goten phased away, avoiding the hit. Joji hit the ground as Goten came in from the right and smashed a knee against his head.

Joji wasn't really affected badly by the attack, but he did react angrily. He grabbed Goten's leg and swung him around, smashing him down on the ground again. He did feel the pain of the hit but managed to power out of it and move away to gain some distance. Joji moved quickly again to catch up to Goten, but the Saiyan moved fast enough to avoid being grabbed or hit again. He landed behind Joji and as the large man swung around, Goten charged in with an uppercut. Creating the new opening Goten powered a left jab into Joji's gut before reeling back and powering up another left jab and smashing it in.

Joji was knocked stumbling back and Goten jumped up, moving in to drop down with another punch, Joji reacted quickly and caught Goten's fist, pulled him and smashed a jabbed punched into Goten's head. He was still holding onto Goten though and threw in another punch. After that one Goten powered out his aura, breaking free of the grip and gaining some more distance. He fired some blasts down on Joji, but the man jumped up through the blasts and slammed his fists down on Goten again, knocking him into the ground again.

He prepared to land down on him, foot first, but Goten moved back out of the way on time. He wasn't feeling too good though. He couldn't find the best way to take Joji down. He had to give it his all with a big attack. He proceeded to gain some more distance and began to power up another Kamehameha. There was more going into this one and Joji could tell. He wanted to judge this attack and waited for Goten to do what he needed.

The energy was gathered and Goten fired it in, quickly. Joji stood and waited for the blast to reach him and as it did, he gathered the energy around in his hands, building it into a large ball. He then threw it back at Goten, and the Saiyan wasn't given enough time to react. The blast hit him and there was a small explosion as Goten was flung through the air, hitting against the lower part of the stands and landing on the ground, outside the stage. Goten lost. Joji cracked his neck and walked away, back into the waiting area. The announcer called out the result as Goten returned to his feet and gingerly walked back to the waiting room. Noca and Pan had come out to help him back.

"That was match five, we have three more left today! The next fight will be brought to you shortly," The announcer called out. Everyone was back in the waiting room and Goten seemed annoyed.

"I made a few mistakes… I didn't use Super Saiyan to my advantage, but he was pretty tough," Goten said, glancing over to the trio. Yaiko was still unconscious. Sofia sat with him but facing Joji. "We shouldn't underestimate those guys."

Over with the mysterious trio.

"They are definitely strong fighters, we shouldn't treat them any less," Joji explained to Sofia. Sofia watched them all and smirked.

"Then we get a challenge, that's a good thing, Joji," Sofia answered, looking back at her ally and then to Yaiko. "It's a shame the two of us had to get matched up early. He didn't get a chance to prove himself."

"He's weak," Joji said, but Sofia stood up and glared at her ally.

"No, he isn't… he's just… timid," She said, not really sure what came over her.

"Why are you defending him?" Joji said, Sofia just say back down, not dignifying him with a response. The trio all fell silent and focus was drawn back to the stage as the next fighters were called to be ready. Torai and Krillin.

Both fighters were eager and ready to get on with things. They made their way to the exit and stood side-by-side, ready to enter the stage. Krillin turned to Torai, the young man being slightly taller than him. Krillin gently nudged him, Torai turned to face the older man.

"Good luck out there, kid," Krillin said with a smirk, "It can be nerve-wracking on your first time in front of the crowd but try and keep your mind focussed on the fight."

Torai nodded and looked forward.

"Don't worry, I am completely focussed," the young man uttered, remaining completely serious. Krillin chuckled and looked forward again.

"You definitely learned how to be stoic like Tien," Krillin chuckled again, this time at his own poor attempt at a joke. Torai remained focussed. Krillin liked that, it showed control. They both stepped out and walked up to the stage, stood apart and waited for their time to start. The announcer called it, and the fight began.

Krillin went straight for the offensive, firing a blast towards Torai. It was quick and unexpected for Torai, he had little time to react and dodged to the side, but as he did so the blast shot right up into the sky. Torai followed it but felt something was out of place. He looked down to see Krillin charging right at him. He reacted quickly and blocked a punch from the bald man. Torai felt a fair amount of strength in the attack and he smirked.

"Nice little distraction there, but you underestimate me," Torai muttered, his eyes fixed on Krillin. The older fighter chuckled. "It was very obvious."

"There's always a little more than what's on the surface," Krillin said, leaping back from Torai and swiping his hands down towards the ground. Torai's brow furrowed, but it didn't take long for it to click. He looked up in the air as a few blasts started dropping down towards the ground. Torai had to start avoiding them, and he did very well for the most part, but the last few came down very close together and the very last two struck Torai, leaving him temporarily dazed. Krillin took this as his chance to charge in a go on a barrage of attacks.

There were a few rapid punches into Torai's mid-section, before a knee up and then a hammer down towards the ground, but with the hammer down Torai managed to get an arm above his head and block, albeit, a weak block. Torai winced slight and pushed back on Krillin, but the two were putting the same amount of energy into it. Krillin had committed to the hammer down with both hands, and Torai had only used the one arm for a block, so there was an opening for his free hand. Torai put his hand forward and opened it up, blasting Krillin back, just to create some distance.

Krillin is left slightly unsettled as Torai charged forward with a heavy punch into Krillin's face, followed up by a spinning kick into the side. Krillin was knocked to the side and flipped back, landing gently on his feet. The bald fighter shook his head, slightly disoriented, but not given the time to regain his focus as Torai darted in again and slammed another kick against Krillin's head. Krillin bounced away and landed down on one knee. He started rubbing the side of his head and cursing quietly to himself. Torai wasn't about to waste more time. He phased towards Krillin, but as he attempted to slam his hand down on the bald man, he noticed that his hand went through an afterimage. Torai clenched his fists and turned around as Krillin appeared and held his hands up by his eyes.

"Taiyō-ken!" Krillin yelled as a blinding flash of light hit Torai, impairing his vision, temporarily. Unfortunately, some of the crowd were affected as well, so there were some annoyed grumbles around them. Krillin didn't care, but the extra noise did make things difficult for Torai. He was trying his best to feel out for Krillin's movements, but he couldn't do it. While Torai's vision was impaired he felt a massive hit in his gut as he lifted off of the ground and slammed down on the hard stage again. He slowly started to get up as his vision gradually repaired itself. He began to notice that the ground in front of him appeared to be green. For a moment, he was sure it was his vision playing tricks on him, but it took him a second to realise it was the ground outside the stage and he was right at the edge. He quickly jumped up and rushed towards the middle of the stage.

Torai was looking around, still in a daze, but couldn't spot Krillin anywhere in the moment, but then a voice came to him.

"You need to be aware of how to defend against all techniques, even ones that you believe to be your own," Krillin instructed Torai, but the young man acted on impulse, swinging around and firing a Dodonpa directly for his opponent. Krillin managed to avoid the attack, and came in from Torai's side, hitting him in the ribs and knocking him back across the stage. Torai went sliding across, but managed to push up to his feet quickly, before being hit by a sudden wave of tiredness and dropped down to his knee. He was breathing heavily and realised his own mistake, immediately.

"You put too much emotion into that attack, therefore lost focus on your energy levels, you tired yourself out a little," Krillin explained, knowing that Torai already knew and this would just frustrate him further. Torai grunted and stood up again.

"It doesn't matter to me, this only makes me stronger," The young man said. Torai loosens up, stands straight, but oddly relaxed. He closes his eyes and starts regulating his breathing. Krillin watches, a smirk on his face. Torai's energy levels seem to fluctuate a little, almost as if they were rising, despite that attack. Torai then opened his eyes and charged forward for Krillin. The older fighter wasn't ready for that and put a block up, but Torai punched hard enough to get Krillin to break his block. This gave a new opening and Torai dropped to his feet before kicking out into Krillin's face. The bald man is knocked off of his feet, but Torai quickly rose above him and then slammed Krillin back down into the ground.

When Krillin landed down he managed to get his hands down and spring back just as Torai slammed a foot down on the stage. Krillin continued to flip away to gain some distance, but Torai followed. Krillin remained just out of reach for the most part, but Torai wasn't stopping just yet. Krillin knew he wouldn't be able to keep this up and came to a sudden halt, throwing Torai off a little and he instantly went defensive and stood there with his arms up. Krillin breathed a sigh of relief and wiped a little bit of sweat from his brow.

"You know what, I think you'll do fine in this tournament," Krillin stated, a clear smirk on his face. Torai was confused and looked around. He was half expecting a sudden attack from nowhere, but nothing. "I'm an old man now, but I had my fun on this trip down memory lane. I concede to you, Torai."

Torai was clearly surprised by this sudden turn of events. Krillin turned around, winked at the announcer and stepped down from the stage. He waved to the crowd as he returned to the waiting area. The announcer did his bit as Torai slowly stepped down and followed in.

"Hey," Torai called out, "Mr. Krillin!"

Torai caught up to the shorter, bald man.

"Why did you do that?" Torai asked. Krillin smirked.

"I told you, I think you can manage this tournament just as you are, sure, you have more to learn, but this tournament will teach you a lot. It did that for me when I was younger, it's how I managed to compete in two semi-finals."

Torai and Krillin continued to talk for a little bit while the stage was prepared for the next match.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you have something you specifically liked then please let me know! Either via a review or a private message. You can also head over to Facebook and like the Dragon Ball AG - FanFiction page to keep an eye on updates. And if you want to speak to me directly and more efficiently, head over to my Twitter account ConnorJN_AG15.

Thank you for reading.

Next Time... Chapter 44: Round One Wraps Up