Chapter 52: Joji vs. Uub
The two fighters stepped out into the arena and walked up to the stage. From what everyone could see it was just going to be the traditional tournament stage. Just a big square. The stage didn't matter to either of the fighters, they both just wanted to get on with it. They stepped up and stood on either side. Once they were up on the stage the announcer continued to speak, revealing that the stage for this match was original supposed to be the same as the previous match, but it was unfortunately damaged beyond repair by Noca and Sofia. It wasn't a huge disappointment for the fighters. Both Uub and Joji didn't really care what stage they were fighting on. The announcer did go on to say that the stage would be raised like the previous one but there just wouldn't be the obstacles, the towers or the opening panels. This suited the fighters just fine.
The stage started to rise up until reaching the same height it had been the other time it had been raised. Uub moved into his stance to indicate his readiness. Joji didn't need a stance and stood straight, eyes forward on Uub. He did crack his knuckles but that was the only movement he made while they both waited for the announcer to start the match. In the seconds before the announcer called for it to start, Uub decided to close his eyes and drop his mind into another brief meditative stance. Joji wasn't sure what this was to prove, but he was ready to take advantage of it.
The announcer started the fight and Joji immediately started running towards Uub. He was prepared to take Uub's lack of focus in this moment as his own advantage and control the fight. However, Uub definitely didn't lose any focus, in fact, he had refined it one last time and was finally ready. Uub opened his eyes just as Joji stepped in front of him and he phased instantly. Joji ran into nothing and had to stop himself, stumbling slightly. He swiftly turned around, looking all around, desperately trying to pinpoint where Uub would decide to show up. Uub appeared right in front of Joji and smashed a right jab into his face. There was a lot of power in the attack and Joji was flung backwards, flying towards the edge of the stage. He hit the ground right before the edge and managed to slow himself down. Joji was shocked. He didn't expect to come that close to falling out already.
He stood up as Uub shot back in. Joji jumped and rolled forward to avoid Uub's attack. Uub hit the stage but immediately bounced back off and flew towards Joji. Joji had turned around to try and defend Uub's oncoming attack. Uub was going for a left hook by the looks of things so Joji went to block it, but at the last second Uub performed a feint and dropped back down and shot in with a strong gut punch. Joji bent over slightly and then Uub pulled back and flipped over Joji and kicked him in the back of the head, smashing him down into the stage.
After that swift attack Uub dropped back and powered up a Ki blast. Joji stood up and turned around as Uub unleashed the blast. The energy soared right towards him and Joji could only put his arms up to block in the last second. The blast exploded and Joji was knocked back, hitting the ground. He slowly got back up as Uub flew through the smoke cloud and sent his knee crashing into Joji's face. He then dropped back and shot in again, firing a quick one-two into Joji's gut and followed up with an uppercut, then a spinning kick to knock Joji back again.
The big strong fighter stumbled backwards and did his best to shake off that last attack, but Uub truly meant business. He wasn't about to give in and have an enjoyable fight. He wanted to win and get to the final, no matter what. Joji couldn't even find an opening and he was beginning to get very frustrated with himself. Uub darted in again, sliding down and taking Joji's legs out from under him, the brown-skinned fighter then moved swiftly to get under Joji before he hit the ground and kicked him up into the air. Joji flew up, rolling as he ascended, and Uub blasted up to follow him. He got above him and hammered the large fighter's body down towards the stage again. Joji smashed down and was rapidly followed by a blast that Uub had shot immediately afterwards. The blast crashed down and exploded in front of Joji and threw him back towards the edge of the stage again. Joji slowly stood up and looked up as Uub was dropping down for another attack. Uub flew right into Joji and smashed a strong fist into Joji's gut, and while he did feel the pain from that attack, he wasn't knocked off of his feet like Uub had expected.
Joji had managed to hold his ground and finally get his strength into the fight. He looked up at Uub and grabbed onto the smaller fighter's arm. He pushed back, still gripping the arm and swung a strong fist, striking Uub in the face and throwing off his focus slightly. Uub stepped back as Joji started to come forward, ready for an attack. He went with a right jab down towards Uub, but the experienced fighter flipped to the left to avoid it and the jumped back in for his own attack. Uub struck a punch against Joji's face but the large fighter quickly swung out his arm and knocked Uub away again.
Uub recovered from the hit quickly, stopping himself mid-air, but he needed to keep his focus and avoid another oncoming attack from Joji. Uub dodged around him and dropped down to the ground, gaining some distance so that he could build up a chance to take back control. Joji dropped down and ran towards Uub. There was quite a bit of pace in the movement from such a larger man. Uub dropped down and moved to the left, sliding across the stage. Joji had to stop and turned around ready for another attack, but Uub was already moving back in and planted a kick against Joji's jaw. The large fighter wobbled on his feet slightly and was losing his balance. Uub dropped down in front of him and then pounced up again, hitting Joji with an uppercut. He then dropped to his feet again and threw out his hands, blasting a Ki attack into Joji's torso.
The blast knocked Joji all the way to the edge of the stage, but the fighter was lucky to land right before falling out and got back to his feet, rapidly, showing he wouldn't go down that easily. He was very aware of Uub's urgency and hopes to end this fight as soon as, but Joji wanted to get to the final and he wasn't letting anybody stand in the way of that. He tensed up and yelled out as he rushed towards Uub again. This time he unleashed a Ki blast directly for the experienced fighter. Uub was equal to it and jumped up, easily avoiding any sort of impact. Joji only intended for it to be a distraction and leapt up towards Uub.
Uub managed to move and dodge the rising Joji, but once the large fighter was above Uub he moved and directed himself forward. He dropped down towards Uub, taking the fighter by surprise. Joji grabbed onto Uub's head and continued on towards the ground, dropping with some pace. He smashed the experienced fighter in the ground, cracking the stage. Joji let go and drew his arm back and smashed a strong punch down on Uub's head, cracking into the stage some more. Uub groaned in pain as Joji's attack had been tough. Joji stood up and grabbed onto Uub's leg and swung him overhead, preparing to bring him crashing down on the stage again. As Uub went over the top of Joji's head he shot a Ki blast straight down, striking his opponent and freeing himself from that grip.
Uub rolled through air and landed down on his feet as Joji had just finished shaking off that last attack. Uub wasted no time and darted forward again, smashing a strong right hook down on Joji's face. He followed it up by performing a front flip and striking a kick down on Joji's head. While the larger fighter started to shake off the hit Uub had rolled past him and jumped up, kicking his opponent in the back and then used his other leg to push himself off and gain more distance. As Uub began to move away higher he threw down a barrage of Ki blasts that exploded down around and on Joji. Uub stopped in the air and threw down a single, larger Ki blast and shot it right towards Joji.
The large fighter was able to turn around and, despite the barrage of Ki blasts that had distracted him, Joji was equal to the large Ki blast and swatted it away with ease. Once clear from harm Joji leapt up into the air, getting above Uub and came down with a strong hammer aimed for his opponent. Uub managed to throw his arms up in a block but that hammering attack from Joji was enough to break that block and then the fighter followed up by throwing a strong punch right down on Uub, knocking him back towards the ground.
Uub flipped around and landed down with Joji throwing a Ki blast down, but narrowly missing him. Joji yelled as he dropped down, attempted to kick down on Uub, but he was quick to get out of the way with Joji striking the stage. Uub flipped away and gained distance so he could reassess and come back with a new and more effective attack. Joji looked up and grunted. His fists clenched, his muscles appeared to tense up, and he yelled, bursting forward in a thunderous charge. Uub took a breath and as Joji came within touching distance he leapt over the running man and flipped landing facing Joji. The large fighter had to stop himself and awkwardly turned around to try and attack again, swinging his arm hoping to hit Uub, but he had ducked under the arm and kicked up.
Uub smashed his foot into Joji's chin and then darted forward, slamming his elbow into Joji's gut. The bigger man hunched over slightly, but Uub shot his arm up, striking another uppercut into Joji's face and completely created an opening to Joji's torso. Uub dropped away and shot a Ki blast into Joji's gut which exploded and threw Joji back. Fortunately for Joji, he was relatively unscathed by the attempt from Uub, but he was in no way pleased. He leapt towards his opponent again and dropped down, hoping to smash down on Uub, but Uub was very pacey and moved with complete ease, avoiding Joji's hands as they smashed down on the hard ground. Joji looked up, rage in his eyes and threw two Ki blasts, one after the other.
Uub narrowed his eyes as the soared towards him and he leapt up, spinning and dodging both as they passed by his body. While Uub was still in the air avoiding those blasts Joji was preparing a bigger one that he fired as soon as Uub touched back down on the ground. The blast barrelled towards Uub but he dropped back and kicked it up into the air where it exploded, far away from causing any harm. Joji screamed out in anger and ran forward firing blast after blast as he moved. He had no aim, no target, and was just throwing the blasts around in an erratic fashion. Uub noticed that this could end up causing more harm and damage to everything else and he wanted to ensure that didn't happen. He focussed his senses and energy, and moved faster than he had the whole fight, flying around to every blast and knocking them up into the air, away from the stage, the crowd, and any onlookers.
While performing this heroic act, Uub didn't notice what Joji was doing. He had flown up to greet Uub, grabbing him around the throat almost out of nowhere and he turned around to charge them both down towards the ground. Joji was punching Uub in the face, over-and-over, as they dropped closer to the stage. Joji crashed down into the stage, Uub first, creating a crack the size of Uub's head and he punched a couple more times before pulling his arm back. He powered up a strong Ki blast and prepared to smash it down on Uub. He knew that blast would likely obliterate the stage and Uub wasn't going to lose. He kicked up, knocking Joji's arm away and forcing him to fire the blast instantly.
This had proven to be a poor choice as the blast was now soaring towards the crowd. Uub had to move and think very quickly if he were to stop that blast from hitting anyone. He lifted both legs and wrapped them around the arm that Joji was using to hold Uub down. He twisted and threw Joji down into the ground before darting towards the blast, basically phasing in front of it and taking the full brunt of it. The blast exploded against Uub and the smoke cleared to show the fighter floating there. His Gi was damaged and he was breathing heavily. He didn't have enough time to power up a defence or even redirect the blast, so he just took the attack. It hurt, but not enough to put him out of the fight. Uub moved forward and landed down on the stage, wobbling on his legs a little but managed to stay up. Joji was laughing as he stepped forward.
"You've just handed this fight to me, all I gotta do now is knock you down," Joji said, confidently. He continued to walk towards Uub, no urgency in his movement now, he was so sure he had won it. Uub was breathing heavily and could barely stay on his feet, what more confirmation did he need?
Uub glared at Joji and closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath and focussing his mind. His aura started to glow a little but just barely. Joji clearly didn't notice it as he continued to laugh while walking forward. Uub breathed out and opened his eyes. They were glowing pink. Joji noticed this and stopped, unsure of what he was seeing. That's when Uub's aura burst out, also glowing pink. Uub rose off of his feet a little, hovering just above the stage. He darted towards Joji, stopping just in front of him, not hitting him. Joji reacted and went to punch but Uub caught the fist and twisted Joji's arm, striking a punch of his own down on Joji's face. He then dropped down and slammed a jab into Joji's gut and swiftly moved behind him. He punched Joji in the back of head and the large fighter was laid out, flat on the stage. A few seconds past and he didn't attempt to get up. The announcer slowly poked his head out of the commentator's box and rushed up to the stage. He looked down on Joji and then up to Uub. He grabbed his mic and stood up straight.
"Joji has been knocked out. Uub progresses to the final!" The announcer yelled to cheers from the crowd. Uub nodded at the announcer and stepped off of the stage, walking away back into the waiting area where Noca sat. He was just watching Uub, trying to get some read on him and the new power he showed when out there. It was intriguing and he knew he would be getting a taste of that in their fight.
Uub didn't hang around for long and immediately left, sparring Noca a casual glance as he passed by the Saiyan. Noca still didn't understand but hoped that he would come their fight. The announcer continued to spout on about what would happen the next day. There would be only one fight and it would take place at about midday. Noca listened but realised he didn't need to hang about and went off to find Pan and the others. It was their last night to just chill out before the big day and whatever came after the final.
Noca knew he didn't want to dwell too much on what would happen after the final, whether he won or not. He just wanted to get some rest and then fight Uub. He intended to win, and he knew it wouldn't be easy, so there was no sense in plaguing his mind with thoughts on the aftermath.
That night, the group all hung out together and got dinner but Noca took some time later on to be alone with his thoughts and focus on some meditation before the fight. He didn't speak to anyone else before bed, except for Dom when he came back to their room, and even then, it was only to say good night. Pan understood the importance of this to Noca and opted not to disturb him.
Although, the last thing Noca saw before he finally drifted off to sleep was a text message from Pan.
"Good night. I love you xxxx" is what it read. Noca smiled as he turned around and went to sleep.
Sorry the chapter was later than expected. Been struggling with finding the appropriate amount of time to work on this at the moment. Hopefully it'll build back up soon! Either way, hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will be taking another short break before uploading the final fight. The end of this story is in sight and I'm shocked by how long it took me to get here.
Next Time... Chapter 53: The Final