Disclaimer: I own even less due to my absence...wow.
Wow, its' amazing. I first began this fanfic on November 28th, 2001. Now here I am, over a year later, and I've yet to finish it. I never believed I'd get this far, though, so my slight tenacity has impressed me thus far. I'm sorry for waiting so long to continue my tale, however. It is truly unfair to the people who have been devotedly waiting and reading my story. I'm truly sorry for not adding to the fanfic sooner. Things have been hard, but I think I'm finally back on track. I have this chapter finished and two pages of Chapter 24 in the works. This is my first step towards the end of this fanfic, and I hope you'll join me for the journey. Thank you.
Chapter 23
Watching the Competition
Once Bulma found her way back through the hallways, an ecstatic Bruvo met her back at the refreshment area. "Kami, that was amazing! How did you do that?" Bulma simply smiled and shrugged. "It must have been a fluke..." and then she threw her head back and laughed, for they both knew it wasn't true. "Yeah, fluke this!" Bruvo said, and threw a punch at the middle of her chest. Before he saw it, though, Bulma's hand was there, blocking the blow merely inches from its target. Although Bruvo had meant the attack in jest, the speed of her rebuttal surprised him. "Whoa, tiger. Slow down...I was just playing around." He gave her an odd look. Bulma faked a laugh weakly. "Oh, uh...yeah. Me too. I guess it's just my instincts." She smiled up at him, hoping he wouldn't continue to question her.
"Ahem...", Bruvo cleared his throat, "If you say so. You are the pro." He smiled again, and Bulma laughed. "I'm the pro now? Amazing what can change in five minutes." Bruvo had a face of mock surprise, and he said, "Are you insinuating that I doubted you?" Bulma playfully scoffed, "Now why would I think that? Come on, I'm thirsty again." Together, they walked back to the lounge.
Bulma could hear the noise of the conversing contenders halfway to the lounge, but when she entered the room, the chatter died quickly. Bulma felt the weight of their eyes on her. She scanned the room and counted seven men. She stood as they gawked at her, trance-like in manner. Bulma wanted to laugh out loud at her success. It was obvious that they no longer regarded her as inferior. Instead she cleared her throat loudly and smirked as they all quickly averted their eyes, embarrassed to be caught. She threw a smile at Bruvo, who smiled back at the blue-haired warrior, shaking his head. "Come on," he said, "don't give them a heart attack, now. You've proved your point, and if you continue to fight like you just did, you'll prove it a few more times before the day is done." Bulma chuckled and said, "You can bet on it."
They walked through the room, Bulma confidant as the other fighters snuck glances at her, trying to summarize her should any of them have to face her. She found a table by the coffee stand in the lounge. "Now what?", she asked Bruvo as he sat across from her. "It looks like I'm the most popular man in the room," he answered.
"What?"
Bruvo laughed. "Everyone keeps looking at you...then they look at me. Imagine their jealousy. Must be somewhat close to mine."
"Who are you jealous of?"
"Your 'friend' in the crowd."
Bulma smiled again and looked away. "Come on, now, Bruvo..."
"Don't worry. I'm not proposing. I'm just throwing my towel in, should your friend in the audience ever become less friendly." He winked at her as she blushed. "Anyway," he continued, "why don't we watch the match?" Bulma turned towards the television, where they saw that fighter 81 and fighter 183 were deep in the midst of battle. They were facing each other, arms on shoulders, pushing with all their might. Both men were of a similar shape; tall, muscularly built. Suddenly, number 81 dropped his one hand to the other fighter's stomach and lifted him high into the air. "See now," Bulma said, "183 could have blocked that. He's going to lose now."
"Can you be so sure?" Bruvo said, still watching the screen as 81 threw 183 halfway across the arena. "Watch," Bulma said, "he'll be out before he hits the ground."
Sure enough, fighter 183 didn't move after he hit the ground. "You were right," Bruvo said, adding, "How did you know?" Bulma answered, "Did you see the speed that 81's hand flew into 183's stomach?"
"It didn't look that fast to me."
"It was. Before 81 even threw183, he surprised him by knocking the air out of him. That way, when 183 hit the ground again, he'd never recover."
"Ah," Bruvo acknowledged. "Should I be taking notes?" Bulma smirked and said, "Hey, it couldn't hurt."
Bruvo and Bulma sat together through the next one and a half matches before Bruvo stood. "I'm going to go get ready for my match. I'll see you afterwards, okay?" He smiled confidently. Bulma laughed. "You better be! Everyone else here is too scared to talk to me." Bruvo laughed again, then turned to leave. Bulma looked around the room. It was nearly empty. Out of the 16 of them that qualified to fight, five were already gone. The majority of the other fighters were in the gym, trying to get that last bit of training in before their next matches. In the room with her were fighters 34, who had won the second match, and 24, who will fight eighth, after Bruno's match. Both fighters paid no attention to Bulma, though, so she left the table to sit on one of the couches that were closer to the television.
Bruvo's match was just about to start. She watched as the people cheered as he walked into the center of the arena. He was facing fighter 86. Watching carefully, she noticed that 86 looked a little nervous next to Bruvo. He was at least a foot shorter and not nearly as wide and muscular. "This should be interesting," she thought to herself. The battle began and Bruvo dropped into a fighting stance, wary and ready for any attack. 86 nervously clasped his hands together and raised them above his head. He closed his eyes and drew his hands apart. Between them, there was a weakly lit ball of power. "Wow," Bulma thought, "that human learned to channel his ki into an attack." It was a weak attack, but it would be strong enough to knock around even a strong human long enough to try to defeat or stun into disqualifying himself. Bruvo didn't look nervous, however. He watched as 86 launched the ki bomb at his chest, unmoved. Bulma watched closely. The ki bomb hit Bruvo in the center of his chest, and there was a great flash of light and dust flew everywhere. "Is this what we look like?" Bulma wondered as she watched the cloud clear. "All right! Go Bruvo!" Bulma jumped off the couch and thrust her fist into the air as the dust revealed Bruvo unharmed and in his same stance. The bomb hadn't affected him--a show of great strength on Bruvo's behalf.
The kid paled visibly and Bulma watched the television screen as his knees began to shake. "Poor kid, he's done for," Bulma thought as she watched Bruvo begin to lumber towards his frightened opponent. She watched as he mouthed the words, "I'm sorry to do this, but...," and he threw a well-placed fist into the kids abdomen. Bruvo looked unmoved as the kid doubled over, gasping, and crumpled to the ground. Bulma cheered as Bruvo walked out of the arena, not even waiting for the announcement of his victory. She jumped up and ran to the door to meet him as he came back to the lounge.
Bulma jogged through the hallways when all of a sudden, a rush of men ran around the corner. She jumped out of the way and let them pass. After they passed, she turned her head to continue on her way, only to look back again quickly. "One of them...looked really familiar...," she thought to herself, but shook her head. "Nah, it couldn't be..."
"Now who's the pro?" Bruvo exclaimed as he met up with her. Bulma smiled and said, "You were impressive. Was that sympathy I saw in your face out there?" Bruvo couldn't hide a small smile as he shrugged, replying, "What could I do? He hit me with an energy attack. You could tell by the look of him that that was the best he had. I wonder what stroke of luck let him in here in the first place."
"Good thing it wasn't a strong energy attack, then, huh?"
Bruvo laughed again. "A strong energy attack? There's no such thing. At least not since the years ago when those dark-haired men fought. Now those were great fights. No one has since been able to pull off a good energy attack since, though." Bulma looked at him. "Is that so?" she said coyly. "Didn't the kid I fought prove it?" Bruvo answered. Bulma shook her head, but smiled to herself.
The fight after Bruvo's victory was fight number 8--the last fight in the first round. On the television screen, the announcer recapped the victors of each fight by calling out the fighter's numbers. The second round then began.
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Wow, its' amazing. I first began this fanfic on November 28th, 2001. Now here I am, over a year later, and I've yet to finish it. I never believed I'd get this far, though, so my slight tenacity has impressed me thus far. I'm sorry for waiting so long to continue my tale, however. It is truly unfair to the people who have been devotedly waiting and reading my story. I'm truly sorry for not adding to the fanfic sooner. Things have been hard, but I think I'm finally back on track. I have this chapter finished and two pages of Chapter 24 in the works. This is my first step towards the end of this fanfic, and I hope you'll join me for the journey. Thank you.
Watching the Competition
Once Bulma found her way back through the hallways, an ecstatic Bruvo met her back at the refreshment area. "Kami, that was amazing! How did you do that?" Bulma simply smiled and shrugged. "It must have been a fluke..." and then she threw her head back and laughed, for they both knew it wasn't true. "Yeah, fluke this!" Bruvo said, and threw a punch at the middle of her chest. Before he saw it, though, Bulma's hand was there, blocking the blow merely inches from its target. Although Bruvo had meant the attack in jest, the speed of her rebuttal surprised him. "Whoa, tiger. Slow down...I was just playing around." He gave her an odd look. Bulma faked a laugh weakly. "Oh, uh...yeah. Me too. I guess it's just my instincts." She smiled up at him, hoping he wouldn't continue to question her.
"Ahem...", Bruvo cleared his throat, "If you say so. You are the pro." He smiled again, and Bulma laughed. "I'm the pro now? Amazing what can change in five minutes." Bruvo had a face of mock surprise, and he said, "Are you insinuating that I doubted you?" Bulma playfully scoffed, "Now why would I think that? Come on, I'm thirsty again." Together, they walked back to the lounge.
Bulma could hear the noise of the conversing contenders halfway to the lounge, but when she entered the room, the chatter died quickly. Bulma felt the weight of their eyes on her. She scanned the room and counted seven men. She stood as they gawked at her, trance-like in manner. Bulma wanted to laugh out loud at her success. It was obvious that they no longer regarded her as inferior. Instead she cleared her throat loudly and smirked as they all quickly averted their eyes, embarrassed to be caught. She threw a smile at Bruvo, who smiled back at the blue-haired warrior, shaking his head. "Come on," he said, "don't give them a heart attack, now. You've proved your point, and if you continue to fight like you just did, you'll prove it a few more times before the day is done." Bulma chuckled and said, "You can bet on it."
They walked through the room, Bulma confidant as the other fighters snuck glances at her, trying to summarize her should any of them have to face her. She found a table by the coffee stand in the lounge. "Now what?", she asked Bruvo as he sat across from her. "It looks like I'm the most popular man in the room," he answered.
"What?"
Bruvo laughed. "Everyone keeps looking at you...then they look at me. Imagine their jealousy. Must be somewhat close to mine."
"Who are you jealous of?"
"Your 'friend' in the crowd."
Bulma smiled again and looked away. "Come on, now, Bruvo..."
"Don't worry. I'm not proposing. I'm just throwing my towel in, should your friend in the audience ever become less friendly." He winked at her as she blushed. "Anyway," he continued, "why don't we watch the match?" Bulma turned towards the television, where they saw that fighter 81 and fighter 183 were deep in the midst of battle. They were facing each other, arms on shoulders, pushing with all their might. Both men were of a similar shape; tall, muscularly built. Suddenly, number 81 dropped his one hand to the other fighter's stomach and lifted him high into the air. "See now," Bulma said, "183 could have blocked that. He's going to lose now."
"Can you be so sure?" Bruvo said, still watching the screen as 81 threw 183 halfway across the arena. "Watch," Bulma said, "he'll be out before he hits the ground."
Sure enough, fighter 183 didn't move after he hit the ground. "You were right," Bruvo said, adding, "How did you know?" Bulma answered, "Did you see the speed that 81's hand flew into 183's stomach?"
"It didn't look that fast to me."
"It was. Before 81 even threw183, he surprised him by knocking the air out of him. That way, when 183 hit the ground again, he'd never recover."
"Ah," Bruvo acknowledged. "Should I be taking notes?" Bulma smirked and said, "Hey, it couldn't hurt."
Bruvo and Bulma sat together through the next one and a half matches before Bruvo stood. "I'm going to go get ready for my match. I'll see you afterwards, okay?" He smiled confidently. Bulma laughed. "You better be! Everyone else here is too scared to talk to me." Bruvo laughed again, then turned to leave. Bulma looked around the room. It was nearly empty. Out of the 16 of them that qualified to fight, five were already gone. The majority of the other fighters were in the gym, trying to get that last bit of training in before their next matches. In the room with her were fighters 34, who had won the second match, and 24, who will fight eighth, after Bruno's match. Both fighters paid no attention to Bulma, though, so she left the table to sit on one of the couches that were closer to the television.
Bruvo's match was just about to start. She watched as the people cheered as he walked into the center of the arena. He was facing fighter 86. Watching carefully, she noticed that 86 looked a little nervous next to Bruvo. He was at least a foot shorter and not nearly as wide and muscular. "This should be interesting," she thought to herself. The battle began and Bruvo dropped into a fighting stance, wary and ready for any attack. 86 nervously clasped his hands together and raised them above his head. He closed his eyes and drew his hands apart. Between them, there was a weakly lit ball of power. "Wow," Bulma thought, "that human learned to channel his ki into an attack." It was a weak attack, but it would be strong enough to knock around even a strong human long enough to try to defeat or stun into disqualifying himself. Bruvo didn't look nervous, however. He watched as 86 launched the ki bomb at his chest, unmoved. Bulma watched closely. The ki bomb hit Bruvo in the center of his chest, and there was a great flash of light and dust flew everywhere. "Is this what we look like?" Bulma wondered as she watched the cloud clear. "All right! Go Bruvo!" Bulma jumped off the couch and thrust her fist into the air as the dust revealed Bruvo unharmed and in his same stance. The bomb hadn't affected him--a show of great strength on Bruvo's behalf.
The kid paled visibly and Bulma watched the television screen as his knees began to shake. "Poor kid, he's done for," Bulma thought as she watched Bruvo begin to lumber towards his frightened opponent. She watched as he mouthed the words, "I'm sorry to do this, but...," and he threw a well-placed fist into the kids abdomen. Bruvo looked unmoved as the kid doubled over, gasping, and crumpled to the ground. Bulma cheered as Bruvo walked out of the arena, not even waiting for the announcement of his victory. She jumped up and ran to the door to meet him as he came back to the lounge.
Bulma jogged through the hallways when all of a sudden, a rush of men ran around the corner. She jumped out of the way and let them pass. After they passed, she turned her head to continue on her way, only to look back again quickly. "One of them...looked really familiar...," she thought to herself, but shook her head. "Nah, it couldn't be..."
"Now who's the pro?" Bruvo exclaimed as he met up with her. Bulma smiled and said, "You were impressive. Was that sympathy I saw in your face out there?" Bruvo couldn't hide a small smile as he shrugged, replying, "What could I do? He hit me with an energy attack. You could tell by the look of him that that was the best he had. I wonder what stroke of luck let him in here in the first place."
"Good thing it wasn't a strong energy attack, then, huh?"
Bruvo laughed again. "A strong energy attack? There's no such thing. At least not since the years ago when those dark-haired men fought. Now those were great fights. No one has since been able to pull off a good energy attack since, though." Bulma looked at him. "Is that so?" she said coyly. "Didn't the kid I fought prove it?" Bruvo answered. Bulma shook her head, but smiled to herself.
The fight after Bruvo's victory was fight number 8--the last fight in the first round. On the television screen, the announcer recapped the victors of each fight by calling out the fighter's numbers. The second round then began.
Join my mailing list!
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B. Leave your e-mail address in a review.
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