Once she was out there, she stood defiantly, arms crossed, eyes focused on the Royal Box, staring at the King and Queen. Both watched her in return, and she felt them brush her mind with the limited telepathy that Saiyans could use with each other. She was surprised and flattered at both their unshakable faith in her. She hoped she could live up to it.
Her opponent strode into the ring, smiling confidently. He still wore that silly half cape, and was still looking cocky. She didn't smile, or allow herself to show any emotion, not yet. She did start to loosen up, stretching her arms and legs, even flexing her tail, just in case. He laughed at her, but she knew he was nervous, she could smell it on him, like an animal might. Well they were probably even then, since she was nervous as well. She noted that he wore only trunks under his armor with the full girds, and heavy boots, with weighted wrist braces. She frowned as she realized that the weighted braces would make his blows heavier too. Well, she felt it beneath her to dress as he was, she wanted to look graceful as well as protected.
The King stood, and the crowd fell silent. He looked at Raimi, and then bent his fierce gaze upon the hapless Potah.
"You are here to test your combat skills. You are not to break the rules of combat, namely; no eye gouging, no hits below the belt, no tail grabbing. This fight is not to the death unless both of you agree to make it so, either now or later in the fight. Now, prepare yourselves..." He lifted his arm, and both combatants dropped into their ready stances.
Raimi eyed Potah evenly; looking for any flaws in his posture, and tells in his gaze, as Kakarrot had instructed her. The King dropped his arm, and Potah leapt at her, not waiting for her to move first. She waited until he was in her face, then moved aside, punching at the side of his head. He ducked and punched her in the belly. Raimi winced, but he wasn't going all out yet, so it didn't hurt too badly. She countered by grabbing the back of his neck and slamming Potah's face into her raised knee. He growled as he spit out a mouthful of blood. She smiled slightly and jumped back. They faced each other again, and circled warily.
Potah was surprised by her show of force so soon. He liked to toy with his opponents, especially since he had gained so much power in the last year. He liked to throw his weight around, and loved to bully anyone he could. He remembered Raimi from her first day on Vegeta-sei, and had been eager to show her who was the boss. Now he found that she was the King's pet, and that she was stronger than he had thought. He could have sworn that her hair was a different color too, but that was hardly important now.
Raimi was looking for weaknesses in his style, and finding a few. She had no idea if she could exploit them yet, but it was better than nothing. He wasn't really all that great, but he did have years of experience on her. This meant a lot more than all her strength, and she was expected to show her fighting skills, not just blow him away.
He launched another attack just then, and they traded blows at hyper speed, making the lower class warriors wide-eyed with amazement. Potah kept aiming for her face, and she blocked these blows, but hardly bothered with the blows that landed on her body. Queen Vejita's armor protected her very well; she didn't really even feel the hits he did make. She leapt back and charged up a Ki ball and sent it at him, but he deflected it, only to realize that she had disappeared. He looked around; she appeared behind him and kicked his head. His jaws snapped shut as he stumbled forward. Raimi followed and sent a roundhouse kick at his rear.
Potah recovered faster than she expected, and grabbed her leg, pulling her off balance. Raimi planted her other foot in the soft floor, and using her momentum, swung him around her with her captured leg. He was startled by this unexpected move, and she was able to punch him square in the nose. He released her leg to grab his nose. Raimi stepped back, resettling herself to wait for his next move. Kakarrot nodded his approval from the Royal box, and she noticed that Nappa and the Brat had also joined the King and Queen. She moved her eyes back to the now furious Potah, and saw that he was going to be reckless because of his anger.
"Relax, Potah. You're useless if you get angry..." Raimi reminded him. He just got angrier, and came after her again. Raimi stopped hedging, and actively tried to get through his guard. She kicked at Potah's side, and he jumped back, and then closed in again. He swung at her jaw, and she blocked it, while blocking the blow to her belly at the same time. Showing amazing speed, he swept her feet out from under her, and she fell backward. He leapt onto her, but she kicked him over her head, and rolled to her knees.
Raimi powered up hard this time, her Ki showing as small blue-violet flames around her. Potah turned and watched as she readied a Ki attack. Potah arrogantly stood, arms crossed and waited for her to launch it. He only realized that he had made another mistake when the crowd oooohed in amazement at the readings Raimi's Ki was showing on various scouters. Raimi spread her arms, light glowing in her hands, then slammed her hands together with a dull sound like thunder rolling around the ring. With the heels of her hands touching, she called "Inazuma Shototsu!" and a huge beam of violet light leapt at Potah. The Saiyans scurried about behind him, fearing the worst from this bolt. Potah gulped and leaned forward trying to desperately block her attack, fearing the worst.
The blast hit him on his crossed arms, and exploded, the light blocking him from view for a moment. Raimi knew he'd be alive, and mostly unhurt because she had held back on her power to prevent him from being harmed too badly. Sure enough, he was there, much weaker, and a little toasted, but OK. His arms dropped, and he looked at her a little fearfully. He knew Raimi had been toying with him, and it made him angry and scared. Raimi suddenly ran over to him and he swung at her, missing her jaw by a mile in his nervousness.
Raimi was feeling great. She was trying to extend the fight as long as possible, but hadn't counted on how strong battle-lust would make her. She grabbed his left arm, breaking it as she tossed him across the ring with it. Potah didn't make a sound; he just cradled his arm to his belly and got to his feet. Raimi looked up to the crowd, and saw that all the women were in a small group together, warriors and civilians alike. Cali was there, along with other women from the market, and they watched her with dark solemn eyes. They were rooting for her, but quietly, with great dignity. The Queen was just as reserved, but Raimi could feel her encouragement. Raimi smiled and turned to Potah. He waited for her to make the next move, and she did just that.
Potah braced himself as she spread her feet far apart and loosened her neck, and then flexed her arms. Loosened up, she strode forward casually. Potah was baffled, until she sprinted at him, and blurred out. He turned, sure she would be behind him, but Raimi reappeared where he had been facing, and got him in a chokehold. He flailed, with his good arm, growling like an angry beast. Raimi slowly levitated upwards, until only Potah's toes touched the ground, his weight against her arm cutting off his air. She suddenly heard the crowd; she had not even heard the roar, too focused on the fight to notice. Now she saw the women were screaming at her to end this properly. In other words, the crowd wanted her to kill him. She rested her head against his, her lips by his ear.
"Potah, will you yield?" She purred softly. He gasped, his arm trying to reach her head somehow. Raimi unfurled her tail, and wrapped it around his broken arm, ruthlessly pulling on it. He whimpered in pain, valiantly holding in a scream. Raimi winced with him, not liking hurting him like this; but she was hoping he'd give in so she wouldn't have to kill him. To her dismay, he shook his head violently, drawing the crowd's attention. It wasn't hard for them to figure out what was going on, or what they were saying to each other.
"Kill him! Do it!" She heard all around. She looked up at the King and her Sensei, side by side in the box. The King was smiling, not giving her any idea of what he wished her to do. Kakarrot looked pleased, not realizing the battle that raged in his Seito. She closed her eyes, feeling her Human soul battling with her Saiyan nature. She knew what she had to do, what she would be ordered to do, but didn't know if she was capable of doing it. The King finally stood, and stared at her intently.
"Potah, will you yield to your opponent? You have been bested in the ring, and are entitled to a rematch when you recover from your injuries." He asked formally. Potah shook his head no. He tried to slam his elbow into Raimi's ribs, but she used her tail again, pulling his arm out and back, holding him nearly helpless. He choked again, and tried to kick her, then tried to use his Ki to move with her when that failed. Maybe he was trying to slam her into a wall or something, but here her power was more than useful. He couldn't move her at all, and his groans told her that he realized his mistake in underestimating her. He looked at the King and spat, shaking his head again.
Predictably, the King ignited into righteous fury. He drew his fingers across his throat in the Universal "kill" gesture. Raimi swallowed convulsively, and dug deep for the courage to do what she must. If she disobeyed she'd be killed, and Potah too. Her year here would be wasted, and she couldn't help her friends back on Chikyu-sei if she was dead. She took a deep breath, and jerked on his neck, snapping it cleanly, dropping him at her feet. She couldn't look at Potah's body, and she fought to keep from trembling. The King smiled and spread his arms.
"My Seito wins! Take the loser away." Raimi swallowed convulsively, looking away from the corpse as two lackeys took it away. The women in the crowd rushed over the rails, and surrounded her, clasping her in a group embrace.
"Thank you, Raimi-san! You don't know what this means to the female warriors!" Cali whispered in her ear. Raimi looked up at her, and wished she shared their pleasure at her victory.
