Thanks for all of the recent reviews! I'm glad you're enjoying this! ^_^
******************Episode 10*******************
**Improve Your Own Skills; Everything On the Table**
Bardock held his breath as he tightened his grip. Tora was suspended in midair right above the deputy headmaster of the school! In the middle of the night!
Somewhere, off in the distance, Bardock could here the phrase: Third class soldiers should always submit to those more powerful then them. I am happy to be a third class soldier. I always want to be one. I am special because I am a third class.
It was something the teachers always repeated. Something Bardock had always spoken out against. Now, if he got caught, he wouldn't even speak for weeks from pain!
The room was large and spacious. However the only furniture in the room was a bed and a trunk with clothes. Sir Rubaru was fast asleep in the bed below, looking as surly in the Land of Nod as he did awake. He snorted, turned, and fell back into a deep slumber.
Tora tried to steady himself by moving his arms around. He could fly up because the ki would wake up the teacher. Still, without ki there wasn't much either could do. Bardock was only seven Earth years old and not very good with gripping. "Dammit, he's heavy!' he thought to himself.
Tora looked up/down at Bardock with wide eyes. "Pull me up!! Pull me up!!" he whispered harshly.
Bardock started to work his way on pulling him up, when Tora instead began to rasp. "No!!! Lower me down!! Lower me down!!!"
Shocked Bardock peered at his upside-down friend. "Nani?"
Tora was reaching for something. "Just a little lower," Tora instructed quietly.
Bardock lowered Tora a little to grab what he wanted. It looked like he was reaching for Rubaru's pajama pocket. There was something shiny sticking out of it that Bardock couldn't make out. Whatever it was, Tora was after it. There was a tense moment as he reached down; Bardock held his breath. As carefully as possible in such a situation, Tora slipped his stealthy fingers around the object and pulled it out.
Bardock breathed a sigh of relief, and in the process loosened his grip on the pant leg of Tora's pj's.
Without warning Tora slipped a few inches, and landed only centimeters right above the teacher's face. The boy's face broke into a sweat. "PULL ME UP!!!! PULL ME UP!!!" He whispered and screamed at the same time.
Too scared to think on his own, Bardock pulled with strength he had never known he had. His adrenaline was pumping and his heart was in his mouth with fear. If Rubaru caught them . . .
Before they knew it, Tora was safely in the vent, drenched with cold sweat. Both panted silently, recovering from the nerve-wrecking experience. Tora looked up at Bardock and signaled, "Let's get out of here!"
Bardock dropped from the air duct with a soft tap. His heart was still pounding in his ears. "What the Bloody Hell could have been so damn important that you had ta . . ." But he stopped as Tora held up his prize.
"Kami, I'm good," Tora crowed. "This, young one, is the master key card. See how its all silver and red? That means we now have access to any door in the school we want, and won't get caught!"
Bardock stared dumbly for a moment. Then he grinned from ear to ear. "Tora, I could kiss you!" he said.
Every night for the next week, Bardock and Tora would turn in a couple of hours early, then wake up late at night to go practice in the training hall. This was ideal; the hall was sound-proof so there was no way for anyone else to hear their progress. They'd spar until it was nearly time for morning roll call, then they would sneak back to their beds before anyone noticed.
Rubaru snapped at everyone who talked to him, but he didn't mention the key card. The boys guessed that he was too embarrassed at losing it. Still, Bardock remained Rubaru's main target of offence.
Bardock enjoyed the practices the most. Now that they got extra time, he could get some more advice from Tora on battle techniques he'd learned in his upper-level class. Bardock's goal was to win; nothing would stop him.
Tora, on the other hand, took a more laid back approach. He was excited about the extra practice time, but he noticed that the tournament was soon the only thing on Bardock's mind. Bardock worked for paper and pens, but instead of sending a letter, he would think up new moves and strategies. He didn't eat as much, he slept even less, and his sparring was more and more vigorous.
Tora had never seen a lower class fighter sink so far into his training. And it scared him. It was like Bardock was a different person. And if he kept up such a lifestyle, he'd lose out of fatigue.
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[Commercial Break]
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Bardock released a long barrage of kicks at Tora, who blocked them as best he could. Bardock phased out above Tora and tried to bring his elbow down hard. But Tora punched upward, and the length of Tora's arm exceeded Bardock's. The younger boy flew upward and landed in a heap a few feet away.
"Looks like your size may determine the matches," Tora commented jokingly.
But Bardock didn't find it funny in the least. "Your move was too easy to predict! I was just too tired to dodge it! That's all!"
Perfect! "Bardock," said Tora reproachfully, "I think your cracking up! The tournament is only the day after tomorrow. Your pushing yourself too much so close-"
"I am NOT pushing myself TOO MUCH," snapped Bardock, standing up and dusting himself off. "You just can't keep up!"
"Listen to yourself, baka," yelled Tora. "Your obsessed! You aren't sleeping as much as you should! You can't even think straight!"
"I'm fine," Bardock callously said. "There's nothin' wrong."
"You didn't even want to enter until you heard that Nipper fights in it every zural! Is your hatred for that stupid bully so great that you would risk your sanity?!"
Bardock's eyes were cast in shadow. "Its not only Nipper," he rasped.
Tora gave him a blank look. "Nani?"
Bardock was silent for a minute, then finally, "I'm riskin' more then you can imagine. More then my life's worth. I'm riskin' my honor.
"You can't understand what its like to be sneered at all of your life, just because of somethin' you couldn't help. I didn't want to be born a third class Sayin. I wish I wasn't even born a Sayin! But people still look at me as if I meant to be weak and shame our race! Well, I'm gonna show them! When I win that tournament, I'll show them I'm not a disgrace! I'll win! I swear it!"
His eyes lifted upward, so the shadows cast an eerie accent to his eyes. "Every student in the school is my enemy. They won't stop laughing at me until I show them who's boss! I'll show them I'm the strongest!"
Tora's mouth stayed open a long time. "This isn't the Bardock I befriended," he murmured.
"I know," said Bardock, in a whisper that sounded unlike his real, jovial, happy voice. "I'm not the pathetic pee-on you saved in that classroom. I'm better then that now."
'I have to make him snap out of it,' thought Tora. "You know, if all of the kids in the tourny are your enemy, why do you spar with me?" He turned around to go. "If I'm your enemy too, I'll just leave." He opened the lock.
"OY! You'd better not tell anyone what we've been doing!"
Tora smirked. "What, and get caught too?" 'Kuso, he's not going to come with me! Damn kid!'
Bardock pushed Tora from behind. "Oy! I mean it, Squealer! If you do, I'll tell Rubaru that you were the one who stole the key!"
"You wouldn't!"
"I MEAN IT!!!"
Tora glared at his junior companion. "Throw away you life for all I care, bakayaro*! You keep pushing people's buttons like this and you'll get hurt! Good luck in the tournament. The Great Being knows I won't be rooting for you!" That said, he went out and closed the doors behind him.
Bardock stood still. "That's your choice, Tora. Take the easy way. I'm in this to win!" He held up the key card he had pick-pocketed from Tora when he pushed him. "No turning back for me!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
* - bakayaro - means "filthy-son-of-a-whore"
Heya! I'm Tora!
So much for enduring friendship! Bardock won't even talk to me anymore, and its killing both of us! Will his desire to be accepted in our society drive him crazy, or only break up our bond? But we can't focus on that now.
The preliminary matches start next time on DragonballBC: All Out Battle Royal! By Myself
******************Episode 10*******************
**Improve Your Own Skills; Everything On the Table**
Bardock held his breath as he tightened his grip. Tora was suspended in midair right above the deputy headmaster of the school! In the middle of the night!
Somewhere, off in the distance, Bardock could here the phrase: Third class soldiers should always submit to those more powerful then them. I am happy to be a third class soldier. I always want to be one. I am special because I am a third class.
It was something the teachers always repeated. Something Bardock had always spoken out against. Now, if he got caught, he wouldn't even speak for weeks from pain!
The room was large and spacious. However the only furniture in the room was a bed and a trunk with clothes. Sir Rubaru was fast asleep in the bed below, looking as surly in the Land of Nod as he did awake. He snorted, turned, and fell back into a deep slumber.
Tora tried to steady himself by moving his arms around. He could fly up because the ki would wake up the teacher. Still, without ki there wasn't much either could do. Bardock was only seven Earth years old and not very good with gripping. "Dammit, he's heavy!' he thought to himself.
Tora looked up/down at Bardock with wide eyes. "Pull me up!! Pull me up!!" he whispered harshly.
Bardock started to work his way on pulling him up, when Tora instead began to rasp. "No!!! Lower me down!! Lower me down!!!"
Shocked Bardock peered at his upside-down friend. "Nani?"
Tora was reaching for something. "Just a little lower," Tora instructed quietly.
Bardock lowered Tora a little to grab what he wanted. It looked like he was reaching for Rubaru's pajama pocket. There was something shiny sticking out of it that Bardock couldn't make out. Whatever it was, Tora was after it. There was a tense moment as he reached down; Bardock held his breath. As carefully as possible in such a situation, Tora slipped his stealthy fingers around the object and pulled it out.
Bardock breathed a sigh of relief, and in the process loosened his grip on the pant leg of Tora's pj's.
Without warning Tora slipped a few inches, and landed only centimeters right above the teacher's face. The boy's face broke into a sweat. "PULL ME UP!!!! PULL ME UP!!!" He whispered and screamed at the same time.
Too scared to think on his own, Bardock pulled with strength he had never known he had. His adrenaline was pumping and his heart was in his mouth with fear. If Rubaru caught them . . .
Before they knew it, Tora was safely in the vent, drenched with cold sweat. Both panted silently, recovering from the nerve-wrecking experience. Tora looked up at Bardock and signaled, "Let's get out of here!"
Bardock dropped from the air duct with a soft tap. His heart was still pounding in his ears. "What the Bloody Hell could have been so damn important that you had ta . . ." But he stopped as Tora held up his prize.
"Kami, I'm good," Tora crowed. "This, young one, is the master key card. See how its all silver and red? That means we now have access to any door in the school we want, and won't get caught!"
Bardock stared dumbly for a moment. Then he grinned from ear to ear. "Tora, I could kiss you!" he said.
Every night for the next week, Bardock and Tora would turn in a couple of hours early, then wake up late at night to go practice in the training hall. This was ideal; the hall was sound-proof so there was no way for anyone else to hear their progress. They'd spar until it was nearly time for morning roll call, then they would sneak back to their beds before anyone noticed.
Rubaru snapped at everyone who talked to him, but he didn't mention the key card. The boys guessed that he was too embarrassed at losing it. Still, Bardock remained Rubaru's main target of offence.
Bardock enjoyed the practices the most. Now that they got extra time, he could get some more advice from Tora on battle techniques he'd learned in his upper-level class. Bardock's goal was to win; nothing would stop him.
Tora, on the other hand, took a more laid back approach. He was excited about the extra practice time, but he noticed that the tournament was soon the only thing on Bardock's mind. Bardock worked for paper and pens, but instead of sending a letter, he would think up new moves and strategies. He didn't eat as much, he slept even less, and his sparring was more and more vigorous.
Tora had never seen a lower class fighter sink so far into his training. And it scared him. It was like Bardock was a different person. And if he kept up such a lifestyle, he'd lose out of fatigue.
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[Commercial Break]
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Bardock released a long barrage of kicks at Tora, who blocked them as best he could. Bardock phased out above Tora and tried to bring his elbow down hard. But Tora punched upward, and the length of Tora's arm exceeded Bardock's. The younger boy flew upward and landed in a heap a few feet away.
"Looks like your size may determine the matches," Tora commented jokingly.
But Bardock didn't find it funny in the least. "Your move was too easy to predict! I was just too tired to dodge it! That's all!"
Perfect! "Bardock," said Tora reproachfully, "I think your cracking up! The tournament is only the day after tomorrow. Your pushing yourself too much so close-"
"I am NOT pushing myself TOO MUCH," snapped Bardock, standing up and dusting himself off. "You just can't keep up!"
"Listen to yourself, baka," yelled Tora. "Your obsessed! You aren't sleeping as much as you should! You can't even think straight!"
"I'm fine," Bardock callously said. "There's nothin' wrong."
"You didn't even want to enter until you heard that Nipper fights in it every zural! Is your hatred for that stupid bully so great that you would risk your sanity?!"
Bardock's eyes were cast in shadow. "Its not only Nipper," he rasped.
Tora gave him a blank look. "Nani?"
Bardock was silent for a minute, then finally, "I'm riskin' more then you can imagine. More then my life's worth. I'm riskin' my honor.
"You can't understand what its like to be sneered at all of your life, just because of somethin' you couldn't help. I didn't want to be born a third class Sayin. I wish I wasn't even born a Sayin! But people still look at me as if I meant to be weak and shame our race! Well, I'm gonna show them! When I win that tournament, I'll show them I'm not a disgrace! I'll win! I swear it!"
His eyes lifted upward, so the shadows cast an eerie accent to his eyes. "Every student in the school is my enemy. They won't stop laughing at me until I show them who's boss! I'll show them I'm the strongest!"
Tora's mouth stayed open a long time. "This isn't the Bardock I befriended," he murmured.
"I know," said Bardock, in a whisper that sounded unlike his real, jovial, happy voice. "I'm not the pathetic pee-on you saved in that classroom. I'm better then that now."
'I have to make him snap out of it,' thought Tora. "You know, if all of the kids in the tourny are your enemy, why do you spar with me?" He turned around to go. "If I'm your enemy too, I'll just leave." He opened the lock.
"OY! You'd better not tell anyone what we've been doing!"
Tora smirked. "What, and get caught too?" 'Kuso, he's not going to come with me! Damn kid!'
Bardock pushed Tora from behind. "Oy! I mean it, Squealer! If you do, I'll tell Rubaru that you were the one who stole the key!"
"You wouldn't!"
"I MEAN IT!!!"
Tora glared at his junior companion. "Throw away you life for all I care, bakayaro*! You keep pushing people's buttons like this and you'll get hurt! Good luck in the tournament. The Great Being knows I won't be rooting for you!" That said, he went out and closed the doors behind him.
Bardock stood still. "That's your choice, Tora. Take the easy way. I'm in this to win!" He held up the key card he had pick-pocketed from Tora when he pushed him. "No turning back for me!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
* - bakayaro - means "filthy-son-of-a-whore"
Heya! I'm Tora!
So much for enduring friendship! Bardock won't even talk to me anymore, and its killing both of us! Will his desire to be accepted in our society drive him crazy, or only break up our bond? But we can't focus on that now.
The preliminary matches start next time on DragonballBC: All Out Battle Royal! By Myself