Ki Links: Part 2
5 years later
"Funakosama!" Winter yelled outside the cave. She looked around, trying to find where Funakoshi was. She thought happily how impressed he would be when she showed him her new technique. He will be so pleased by my progress! she thought to herself. "Funakosama, where are you?" she yelled again, more irritated this time.
The old master sat down in the back of the small cave. He fingered the small scroll he held in his old hands. He winced slightly at the loud yell that echoed off the walls of the cave. Just like a normal child… he thought to himself. He set down the parchment and called out in a weary voice, "In here, Winterchan."
No sooner had he said this then the small white-haired child came running into the cave at top speed. She was wearing the simple temple robe he had given her the other day. It was a gift he had received from his father when he was her age and it was the only thing small enough to fit her. She jumped into his arms, knocking him backward on the ground. He coughed and she helped him up slowly. "Gomen, Funakosama."
Funakoshi smiled at Winter's respectful name she had given him. How long had she been living and growing here with him? Had it already been five years since he had discovered the small baby in that space pod? But behind that friendly exterior he knew was the warrior's blood and fighting instinct of a Saiyajin warrior. Had she not been different from the others, and had he not trained her to use her powers correctly, she probably would not be the kind soul she was.
Already he could tell that her strength was much more then even his at her young age. Despite her mental differentiation from her Saiyajin relatives, she still had the brawn and body of one. Winter looked up at him with her small bright blue eyes and smiled. "Funakosama, look what I have learned how to do," she insisted eagerly.
Winter backed up away from him and closed her eyes. Her body shook as she tried hard to concentrate and Funakoshi had to struggle not to start laughing. After about ten seconds, she started to float a foot…two meters…all the way to the top of the cave! She then opened her eyes and started zooming around near the ceiling, diving and darting through all corners of the cave.
After a few minutes of this, Winter flew back to Funakoshi. She ungracefully slammed headfirst into the small table he had been sitting at and sat up, rubbing her head. "Ouch…I need to work on landings."
"Hai, Winterchan…but it is quite impressive that you can already perform the bukujutsu technique so well. I remember when I first learned the technique from my father, and even then I was much older then you. Now in my old age I cannot do it much anymore."
She looked back up at him, her eyes uncertain. "Is it because I am a Saiyajin, Funakosama?" She would not deny the fact that she was different from the man, that she was bound to know differently and act on different instincts. Funakoshi was glad he had chosen to tell her about her heritage at her young stage in life, about how he had found her in that pod five years before and how she had come from a planet called Vegitasei. But he did not tell her of her father's order to have her killed and his heartless reaction to her birth…and he hoped she would never ask about it.
"Probably," he replied simply. He then went back to reading the scroll he had been studying.
Winter sat down next to him. "Hey what's that?" she inquired curiously.
Funakoshi turned to her and showed her the small ornate designs on the old scroll. There were painted pictures of fighters and weaponry of different sorts. The old fashioned Japanese writing was lettered in gold and in large letters read, "Tenkaichi Budokai: The Strongest Under the Heavens."
Winter's eyebrows furrowed as she read the scroll to herself. "What is a Tenkaichi Budokai? Some sort of game or something?"
Funakoshi closed his eyes for a moment. "No, it is a large tournament meant to show the world who is the greatest fighter on Earth. It takes place every three years now. I saw one when I was a boy, a little older then you. It was very brutal and many great warriors showed up for it. My father was in it, and so now it is time that I, too, took place in it. This will be the twenty-third tournament in history."
The small girl looked down at the scroll again. "Do you think you can win?" she asked him, her eyes wide, whether in fear or in wonder, Funakoshi could not tell which.
He looked down at the scroll again and even he could feel a sense of uncertainty in him. He finally smiled down at her. "Do you think I can win?" he asked her teasingly.
Winter seemed deep in thought for a moment. She then looked up at him with more adoration in her eyes then Funakoshi had ever seen. "I think you can do anything, Funakosama," she said quietly. She then broke into a wide grin and grabbed his arm. "But can I come with you?" she asked earnestly.
With the scroll to tell them how to get there, the two set off that afternoon. It took everything Funakoshi had to muster enough strength to fly the long trip while it barely phased Winter at all, even though it was farther away then she had ever been. Flying, it only took a few hours to reach the destination in the Papaya Islands.
Winter could barely contain her childish excitement. This was the first time she had gone into actual civilization. She had only heard stories from the old master on what it was like, but nothing had prepared her for this. The first thing she realized was how big it was. Different people of different ages, genders, and races lived throughout the islands and she watched them with a new curiosity. It made her small valley seem so tiny compared to this huge place. Everywhere they went Funakoshi constantly felt her tugging at his sleeve pointing at different things she had never seen before in the cities, wanting to know everything about this new curious place.
After about a half-hour of walking, the two eventually found the open arena where the Tenkaichi Budokai would take place. Different types of fighters walked around the arena, talking and milling about in their different divisions. Funakoshi walked up to registration and signed in quickly. They gave him a small certificate saying his name and division and, holding Winter's hand so she would not get lost in the crowd, they walked over to a group of people who were also in the group, Division Six.
Winter looked up at the different people who were in their division. "They sure look funny," she said to herself as she looked from one to the next. There was one female warrior in the whole group. Her certificate read that her name was Chi-Chi. She looked down at Winter and smiled. Wow, I wonder if Funakosama will have to fight her, she thought to herself as she smiled back. I hope when I get older I can be as good a warrior as her.
There were also two men standing beside her. One was tall with shaggy black hair falling down his back. At his shoulder was a funny looking blue creature that was floating about looking at the other fighters. No way could that thing be fighting! The man was named Yamucha. He looked pretty strong, and Winter began to doubt if the old master could beat these young, stronger looking people.
Next to Yamucha was a man that looked about the same age, called Tenshinhan. Winter gasped a little when she saw that this man had three eyes, an extra one planted in his forehead. Scary, she thought to herself. Standing at his side was a short man, just about her height. He did not have a certificate, but he was white in color and resembled almost like some sort of doll. "And I thought Funakosama and I looked strange around here…" she muttered to herself.
There was also a large, muscular lizard looking fighter. "Ma Junior," she read to herself. Winter reached out impulsively with her aura and felt something dark about this particular warrior. There was something about him that seemed wrong, almost like a shadowy presence in him. She backed up and walked to the other side of Funakoshi, trying to get as far away from this…creature as she could.
There were also two teenage looking boys standing and talking casually to each other. One was tall and kind of goofy looking. His certificate read, "Son Goku." But at the same time, further beyond his kid-like exterior, Winter felt some sort of strange kinship to this one. Almost like they were the same in a way.
Then she broke out into a small giggle when she saw the man next to him. He was short, only about half the size of his friend. His name was Kuririn. But what struck her funny was that he was most definitely bald. He reminded her of a small toy she had found in the woods, one Funakosama had called a "pachinko ball."
Kuririn looked over and noticed her staring at him humorously. He looked down at her irritably. "Can I help you with something?"
Winter shook her head. "I was just thinking how much you reminded me of my toy pachinko ball. Your head is rather shiny, you know." She continued laughing to herself.
Kuririn immediately began turning red and his body shook in rage. "Listen here, kid…I could probably kick that white-haired tail of yours to the Kami House and back, so I'd watch that mouth of yours."
Winter laughed a bit and walked out in front of Kuririn, taking a small fighting stance she had acquired. "I doubt that, pachinko atama. But you can try if you want."
Kuririn moved forward, but his friend put his hand on his shoulder. "Relax, Kuririn. She's just a kid."
He looked back up at him angrily, then crossed his arms and turned away from her. "Eh, little pest ain't worth my trouble anyway…hey you here to fight in the tournament, kid?"
Winter puffed out her chest proudly and jerked her thumb at the man behind her. "Nope, but Funakosama is, and he is really good. I bet he can beat even you, pachinko atama."
Kuririn smiled smugly and looked at the old master. "Yeah, right…hear that, Goku? We're gonna get demolished by this ojiisan!" He then started laughing at his witty comment. Goku just stood and looked down at him.
Before anyone else could say anything, the announcement sounded loud and clear over the whole arena. "Welcome, fighters, to the greatest tournament in all the Four Corners of the earth! Welcome to the Twenty-third Tenkaichi Budokai!"
With this, a loud cheer rang out through the whole area. Winter covered her ears. Man, these people are so loud! she thought to herself. Everyone else seemed unaffected by the loud noise though. There was a brief period for the people to calm down and then the announcements continued. "As each pair of fighters takes part in the tournament, the winner will be allowed to fight in future rounds against other fighters. Through a process of elimination, we will eventually come to one winner. A fighter loses if he surrenders, is knocked out of the ring, or is down for the count of ten. And now, for the first fight, from Division Six, Haruka Funakoshi!"
There was a loud applause as Funakoshi walked through the crowd and to the center of the large ring. He stood for a moment and breathed deeply, concentrating all his energy. "And from Division Ten, Ramen Okazaki!"
There was a louder roar as the dark-skinned young man walked proudly up the steps to the ring. He wore only a pair of long, black pants and his muscular chest was a wave of large muscles and tendons. He raised one hand in a friendly wave to the crowd, then proceeded to crack his back and knuckles. He smirked at Funakoshi and spoke in a deep voice, heavily accented, "Don't worry old man, I'll go easy on you."
Funakoshi made no reply, only bowed respectfully and stepped back into a deep cat stance. An M.C. quickly hit a large gold gong and commanded the fight begin. Okazaki attacked first with a fury of punches directly toward Funakoshi with such power the air sang with their sound and barely anyone in the arena could catch sight of them. Funakoshi did not bother looking at the punches themselves; he need only distribute the correctly matching energy to block them and he did not have to worry.
Okazaki jumped back. His body now glistened with a light sweat and he growled. "Are you mocking me? Why do you not attack?"
Funakoshi only smiled and returned to his stance. His father's words echoed through his mind as he felt Okazaki's ki rise sharply with anger. Best to let your opponent drain himself before actually attacking. All he had to do was exploit his opponent's own power…
Okazaki suddenly smiled sardonically. "I really hate to resort to this trick but in your case, old man, I think I'll make an exception." He thrust both his fists to the right side of his body and slowly began to form a large ki blast around them. Funakoshi could feel his already high ki raise even higher with the charge.
"Kiiiiiiyaaaaaa!" he yelled suddenly, letting it go.
Funakoshi could feel the power of the blast as soon as it was released from the man's hands. It did not move with incredible speed, but its strength was almost unbearable. It only took less than a few seconds for Funakoshi to calculate the size of the fire, the distance allowed between himself and the edge of the ring, and the amount of speed he would have to make. He smiled again and simply jumped a few feet to the side nimbly, missing the blast entirely.
Okazaki stood for a moment, his energy almost drained of all energy. "How…how could you, an old man who doesn't even have any ki powers, possibly defeat me?! I cannot lose!"
Okazaki launched his first strained attack, a hard jab to his kidney area. Funakoshi decided that now he should attack, and he easily sidestepped and delivered a thrust kick to the man's side. Okizaki quickly jumped, bringing his knees up and throwing a harsh heel-step into the side of Funakoshi's head.
Funakoshi sensed the force of the attack and reached his palm up to grab hold of the foot as it flew by. Time for this fight to end. He used his other fist and drove a hard punch into the man's gut. In less then two seconds, he had the man firmly pinned to the ground. He quickly stamped his toe onto one point on the man's neck, directly on his jugular vein. Okazaki was unconscious within the minute.
After the actually useless count of ten, Funakoshi immediately pulled the man up to his feet and tossed him outside the ring. The M.C. came out and held his arm in the air. "The winner, Haruka Funakoshi!"
Winter ran up to Funakoshi and held his hand as he made his way back to the division. "Funakosama! You won!" She smiled up at him. "I knew you could do it!"
Funakoshi smiled. "Thank you, Winterchan," he managed, then started coughing and panting heavily.
Winter looked at him with sudden concern. "Are you okay, Funakosama?"
"Hai, hai," he said, running his fingers through her hair. "Of course I am. Do you think one fight is gonna take everything out of me, baka?" he asked teasingly.
As the fights progressed, it did start to take their toll on the old man. He won every fight he was given, but it was increasingly more difficult as the hours went by. Despite how well he had been trained, his age was slowing him down quickly. Winter could feel his draining strength and weak aura, and she started begging him to stop. "Please, Funakosama…you aren't well enough to go on!"
Funakoshi would just brush her off, assuring her that he was fine. "I haven't lost yet, have I?" he asked her continuously after each fight. "Don't worry about me."
Suddenly the next fight was called. "From Division Six, the undefeated Haruka Funakoshi!"
Funakoshi once again staggered to the ring, finally feeling everything wearing out of him. He struggled to keep his ki up and stood preparing himself in the ring. His mind suddenly flashed with images of his father when he fought…and when he finally lost in the tournament. He remembered the grim determination in his eyes when he entered the ring the last time. Father…Father, was this how you felt before your last fight? he thought to himself. Then I will also be ready. He pushed his body to a ready stance and listened as the announcer rang out the challenger. "From Division Six, the also undefeated, Ma Junior!"
Winter darted her eyes back and forth from Ma to the now weak Funakoshi. Her breath caught in her throat and she restrained herself from calling out. Could he possibly beat that creature? She watched fearfully as the other walked confidently toward the ring. She bit down on her lower lip as the gong sounded and the fight began again.
Funakoshi watched as his opponent flew over the crowd straight to the opposite side of the ring. He made no action to the crowd, nor cared what they thought of him. He also seemed indifferent to Funakoshi himself…fighting him today in this tournament seemed like a normal chore. He neither showed fear or over-arrogance. Funakoshi looked at him from head to toe. He was clad in an almost Arabic attire, but he knew that the large shoulder pads and under-garment were intended for weight training. He was a green creature, with piercing eyes and a reptilian appearance. Two antennae protruded from his turban-covered bald skull.
Funakoshi circled around the ring, sizing up this new fighter. He was unlike the others, something in his aura felt amiss. He was stronger…powered by something darker. He did not have time to further think this over when he was suddenly caught in an onslaught of combined ki and body attacks from the extremely fast opponent. His reeling head could not have time to calculate time nor distance, and he was constantly hit by the varying blows. He was totally knocked back by this man's extreme power.
Eventually, his opponent decided to turn to normal attacks. First, Ma faked him with two quick jabs, then hit him full force with a harsh kick to the stomach. Funakoshi could already tell that this would be a one-sided fight; he could not manage a single attack on this unnaturally strong fighter. But he would not surrender…ever. Fighting back the pain in his stomach…no, in his whole body…he descended back to his stance. He shook his head to clear it, to stop the spinning. If I can just get behind him…maybe I can force him forward out of the ring, he thought desperately. No way could he overpower him, if he could just outsmart him…
He focused all his energy on his legs. It would take everything he had and then some to get over the tall man and force him out fast enough not to get pummeled in the process. With a loud yell, faster then anyone could see, he flew over his head with his knees tucked under him. That's it…come on, he focused everything in throwing just one punch straight in Ma's back…
Before he could realize it, Funakoshi found his fist had been grabbed by one of the creature's clawed hands. He pulled back unsuccessfully and found that his other arm had also been grabbed. "What in…?" he managed. How could he have managed that?! He looked at the alien's body; he had the ability to extend his limbs!
Ma Junior looked back over his shoulder. He spoke in a cold, unforgiving voice and whispered quietly, "Sorry, old timer…this will be the last mistake you'll be making. That is, beside thinking you could win against me." As he finished this statement, he brought both of his arms back in front of him, throwing Funakoshi full force into the ground.
Winter felt something tear in her as she watched the final attack. "Funakosama!" she yelled as she propelled herself above the crowd and into the ring. She ran to the old man's side and grabbed onto his hand. "Please, Funakosama, wake up!"
The old master was a mess, broken and bleeding. His mind swirled in painful disarray and he struggled to grasp consciousness. His mind was suddenly flashed with images… his father's final battle, his defeated look after he was crippled by his opponent's victory. He would not allow himself to look so desperate. Then he saw that Saiyajin pod, that young girl who grew up normally. He only hoped she would be okay…with him gone…
His eyes fluttered open and he looked at her. He managed a small smile as he reached up painfully and ran his fingers through her hair one last time. He tried to look brave for her…but it was just so hard…"Winterchan…ever since I found you…you have been like a daughter to me…even though you were never actually…my own. Please carry on…for me."
He coughed roughly before his eyes closed one last time. Winter reached out with everything she had, but she felt his aura diminish and fade into nothing. Her eyes welled up in tears and she broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. She cried out in anguish, "No! Funakosama…how? I can't…"
She barely heard anything as the winner of the round, Ma Junior, demanded excuses on why he could not be disqualified. "I cannot be held responsible for the man's death. He knew the risks when he entered the tournament. I guess he just couldn't handle it. Besides he was already half gone before the fight and I cannot be blamed"
Winter jumped up from where she lay huddled over the old master. The mere sight of the monster pulled at something inside her. She looked up at him and felt her body become afire with the strength she had always held inside. The gift she had been born with yet had never actually released. It was overpowering in her and she reached out to unleash it on this…this…
Suddenly Winter felt a touch on her shoulder. She darted her eyes back behind her. It was that young man she had seen earlier with Kuririn…that Son Goku. She looked into his now downcast eyes as he knelt beside her. She heard his voice over all the noise and commotion, above the rush of power that was practically burning in her ears. It was only a simple statement, but Winter could feel it touch deep inside her. "I know what it feels like…to lose someone so close."
Winter felt herself calm down. She fell into the man's arms and cried despairingly, over and over until she had nothing left inside her. He could hear him asking her questions, but she could not respond. Finally, she turned away from him and walked solemnly over to the body of her old friend. She picked him up easily, almost like he had always done to her since she was a baby. She glanced back at Goku, who still had not moved and regarded him weakly. "Thank you."
She turned slowly and, leaving the civilization she had just a few hours ago been so curious about and that had seemed so wonderful, flew back to her home in the valley.