Chapter 8
"Our third match is will be between Krillin and Akira!" The announcer's voice rang out over the crowd. "Krillin is one of the most experienced fighters competing today. He's been participating in the Tenkaichi Budoukia off and on since he was a young boy. He's made t as far as the semifinals on a couple of occasions, but has never one the whole thing, perhaps this year will be his year.
"Akira is a first time fighter, but already has shown amazing skill in the Elimination Round. Unfortunately the back round section of his registration wasn't filled out, but I was able to learn that he attends Orange Star High School with Pan. Who knows, we may see school mates clash later on today if he manages to advance!"
As soon as the two fighters entered the ring, Akira turned to Krillin and shook his hand. "It's an honor to fight a warrior such as your self, Krillin."
"Um, thanks kid," Krillin said, smiling at the compliment.
"Before we get started, I was wondering if you would do me another honor."
"Well, it depends on what you want me to do, I guess."
"It's nothing big, I just don't want you to be holding back when we fight," Akira explained.
"Uh, are you sure?" Krillin asked, looking a bit shocked. "I mean, I could really hurt you...and then Pan would really hurt me, or at least Chi-chi and Videl would."
"I entered this tournament to see how I matched up against the greatest warriors in the world; if you hold back, I'll never know how strong I truly am."
Krillin still looked uncertain, but he nodded his head and walked slowly to his mark. ~Pan's going to kill me, but I can't say 'no' to a request like that,~ he thought with a sigh.
The bell rang and both fighters settled into their fighting stances. Suddenly Krillin seemed to disappear; a half-second later he reappeared right in front of Akira's stunned face. The former monk almost looked sad as his fist slammed into the young fighter's jaw.
Akira staggered back a few paces, but Krillin was already behind him. A second later Akira was flying forward, courtesy of a roundhouse kick to the back, and then stopped in midair as Krillin's elbow suddenly materialized in his stomach.
"Look kid, I respect you for wanting to see what you're made of, but why don't you quit now before you get hurt, huh?" the short man asked softly as Akira sank to his knees, gasping for air.
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Everyone in Bulma's executive suite was watching the fight closely. The spacious room was equipped with a full sized kitchen and stocked refrigerator, a bedroom, two bathrooms, and a huge balcony that provided the best possible view of the ring. Master Roshi, Yamcha, 18, and Chiaotzu were critiquing Krillin's form and wondering why he hadn't ended the fight right away; Chi-chi and Videl were praying that he wouldn't maim Pan's soon- to-be husband; and Bulma and Launch were making drinks for everyone. Bra and Marron had watched Pan's fight, but decided that the rest of the first round would be boring until Vegeta and Goten fought, so they had taken Puar and Oolong and wandered off.
"Ugh! I wish Krillin would stop moving so fast! I can't even see what he's doing to Pan's future husband," Chi-chi cried in annoyance.
"Just watch it on the Jumbo-screen," Bulma said, bring over the drinks and sitting down next to Videl. "Not that it looks like there's much to watch now. You see; I knew that sooner or later there'd be a fight that no normal person could keep up with. So I had some of our engineers at Capsule Corp design cameras that were able to follow the action and then show us the important stuff, like punches or kicks that actually connect, on the Jumbo-screen. Only when it shows those moments, they're in supper slow motion, so it looks like its happening at a some-what normal speed."
There were several seconds of stunned silence, then Videl exclaimed, "That's an amazing idea Bulma! You really out did yourself with this tournament didn't you?"
"Yeah... Actually I had Capsule Corp buy the rights to this tournament just to get Vegeta and Trunks to stop mopping around, they get so unhappy when they don't have anything to beat up," Chi-chi and Videl nodded in understanding. "But looking at it, I found that we could just add a couple of new features and really make some money off this thing. Plus, we own all the new technology that is developed for it and a lot of it can be used in areas that don't involve violence... Oh, looks like this one is about to end—"
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Krillin was still standing over Akira while the young man caught his breath, hoping the boy would give up. But after he'd been on his knees for almost a full minute, Akira suddenly rose to his feet and fell back into this fighting stance, waiting for Krillin to make a move.
The short man shook his head sadly. "I really wish you'd just give up, but we can keep doing this, if you're sure it's what you want." A lopsided smile spread across Akira's face and he nodded. Krillin sighed and then threw a left hook at the young man's head; Akira ducked, and then easily swatted away the right uppercut that followed it. Krillin's eyes grew wide and he stepped back in shock; he stared at the boy for several seconds, and then went back on the offensive. He flew at Akira, throwing punches and kicks with such speed that his arms and legs became a blur of motion, driving the young fighter back. However, he was not able to land a single blow.
Finally, he kicked Akira so hard that even though the blow was blocked, Akira was still knocked back several feet. Krillin quickly charged a ki blast and fired it at Akira who simply watched it come. At the last possible second, the boy's hand shot out and slapped the blast right back at the short man. Krillin barely managed to get his arms up in time to protect himself from the explosion.
As the smoke cleared, he looked up at Akira in amazement, but the young man was no longer standing there. Krillin didn't even have a chance to look surprised before Akira's fist smashed into his face. The short warrior took a couple of steps back and appeared to be dazed, Akira did not allow him the time to recover. He stayed right with Krillin, delivering numerous punches and kicks, all of which found their mark.
Realizing that he needed space and time so he could regain his bearings, Krillin suddenly brought his hands to the sides of his face and shouted, "Solar Flare!"
Brilliant, white light seemed to explode from Krillin's body and Akira fell back, rubbing his eyes in pain. The former monk immediately took to the sky, eyes closed tight as he waited for the blinding light to dissipate. A couple of seconds later, he opened his eyes and looked down. Akira seemed to have recovered and was standing in the center of the ring, watching Krillin with interest.
Krillin continued to hover, wondering why Akira wasn't doing anything, and then it hit him: ~He can't fly!~ Krillin was just starting to form a plan on how to use his new found advantage when Akira slowly began to bring both hands in front of him. With a yell he fired a large, fast moving ki blast at the floating fighter. Krillin sensed immediately that despite its impressive size, the blast had very little power in it. ~He's trying to get me to move lower when I dodge it,~ he thought with a smile, ~Well, he'll have to think of another way to get me out of the air, cause nothing that weak is going to get me to move.~ He brought his hands up, planning on swatting the attack away, but the moment the blast hit him, he was thrown to the ground.
"Akira wins!" Cried the announcer as the crowd roared its appreciation for the fight. Akira hopped over the edge of the ring and ran to Krillin as the small fighter sat up.
"Are you alright Krillin?" Akira asked, extending a hand to help him up.
"Yeah, I think so," Krillin took the hand and climbed to his feet. "Man, where did you learn to fight like that?"
"Oh, I've picked it up here and there," Akira said, putting a hand behind his head and laughing.
Krillin gave him a quizzical look and then started laughing also as the two fighters headed back to the waiting area.
A/N: The action-capturing Jumbo-Screen idea is from Dragon Ball Next.
"Our third match is will be between Krillin and Akira!" The announcer's voice rang out over the crowd. "Krillin is one of the most experienced fighters competing today. He's been participating in the Tenkaichi Budoukia off and on since he was a young boy. He's made t as far as the semifinals on a couple of occasions, but has never one the whole thing, perhaps this year will be his year.
"Akira is a first time fighter, but already has shown amazing skill in the Elimination Round. Unfortunately the back round section of his registration wasn't filled out, but I was able to learn that he attends Orange Star High School with Pan. Who knows, we may see school mates clash later on today if he manages to advance!"
As soon as the two fighters entered the ring, Akira turned to Krillin and shook his hand. "It's an honor to fight a warrior such as your self, Krillin."
"Um, thanks kid," Krillin said, smiling at the compliment.
"Before we get started, I was wondering if you would do me another honor."
"Well, it depends on what you want me to do, I guess."
"It's nothing big, I just don't want you to be holding back when we fight," Akira explained.
"Uh, are you sure?" Krillin asked, looking a bit shocked. "I mean, I could really hurt you...and then Pan would really hurt me, or at least Chi-chi and Videl would."
"I entered this tournament to see how I matched up against the greatest warriors in the world; if you hold back, I'll never know how strong I truly am."
Krillin still looked uncertain, but he nodded his head and walked slowly to his mark. ~Pan's going to kill me, but I can't say 'no' to a request like that,~ he thought with a sigh.
The bell rang and both fighters settled into their fighting stances. Suddenly Krillin seemed to disappear; a half-second later he reappeared right in front of Akira's stunned face. The former monk almost looked sad as his fist slammed into the young fighter's jaw.
Akira staggered back a few paces, but Krillin was already behind him. A second later Akira was flying forward, courtesy of a roundhouse kick to the back, and then stopped in midair as Krillin's elbow suddenly materialized in his stomach.
"Look kid, I respect you for wanting to see what you're made of, but why don't you quit now before you get hurt, huh?" the short man asked softly as Akira sank to his knees, gasping for air.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------
Everyone in Bulma's executive suite was watching the fight closely. The spacious room was equipped with a full sized kitchen and stocked refrigerator, a bedroom, two bathrooms, and a huge balcony that provided the best possible view of the ring. Master Roshi, Yamcha, 18, and Chiaotzu were critiquing Krillin's form and wondering why he hadn't ended the fight right away; Chi-chi and Videl were praying that he wouldn't maim Pan's soon- to-be husband; and Bulma and Launch were making drinks for everyone. Bra and Marron had watched Pan's fight, but decided that the rest of the first round would be boring until Vegeta and Goten fought, so they had taken Puar and Oolong and wandered off.
"Ugh! I wish Krillin would stop moving so fast! I can't even see what he's doing to Pan's future husband," Chi-chi cried in annoyance.
"Just watch it on the Jumbo-screen," Bulma said, bring over the drinks and sitting down next to Videl. "Not that it looks like there's much to watch now. You see; I knew that sooner or later there'd be a fight that no normal person could keep up with. So I had some of our engineers at Capsule Corp design cameras that were able to follow the action and then show us the important stuff, like punches or kicks that actually connect, on the Jumbo-screen. Only when it shows those moments, they're in supper slow motion, so it looks like its happening at a some-what normal speed."
There were several seconds of stunned silence, then Videl exclaimed, "That's an amazing idea Bulma! You really out did yourself with this tournament didn't you?"
"Yeah... Actually I had Capsule Corp buy the rights to this tournament just to get Vegeta and Trunks to stop mopping around, they get so unhappy when they don't have anything to beat up," Chi-chi and Videl nodded in understanding. "But looking at it, I found that we could just add a couple of new features and really make some money off this thing. Plus, we own all the new technology that is developed for it and a lot of it can be used in areas that don't involve violence... Oh, looks like this one is about to end—"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------
Krillin was still standing over Akira while the young man caught his breath, hoping the boy would give up. But after he'd been on his knees for almost a full minute, Akira suddenly rose to his feet and fell back into this fighting stance, waiting for Krillin to make a move.
The short man shook his head sadly. "I really wish you'd just give up, but we can keep doing this, if you're sure it's what you want." A lopsided smile spread across Akira's face and he nodded. Krillin sighed and then threw a left hook at the young man's head; Akira ducked, and then easily swatted away the right uppercut that followed it. Krillin's eyes grew wide and he stepped back in shock; he stared at the boy for several seconds, and then went back on the offensive. He flew at Akira, throwing punches and kicks with such speed that his arms and legs became a blur of motion, driving the young fighter back. However, he was not able to land a single blow.
Finally, he kicked Akira so hard that even though the blow was blocked, Akira was still knocked back several feet. Krillin quickly charged a ki blast and fired it at Akira who simply watched it come. At the last possible second, the boy's hand shot out and slapped the blast right back at the short man. Krillin barely managed to get his arms up in time to protect himself from the explosion.
As the smoke cleared, he looked up at Akira in amazement, but the young man was no longer standing there. Krillin didn't even have a chance to look surprised before Akira's fist smashed into his face. The short warrior took a couple of steps back and appeared to be dazed, Akira did not allow him the time to recover. He stayed right with Krillin, delivering numerous punches and kicks, all of which found their mark.
Realizing that he needed space and time so he could regain his bearings, Krillin suddenly brought his hands to the sides of his face and shouted, "Solar Flare!"
Brilliant, white light seemed to explode from Krillin's body and Akira fell back, rubbing his eyes in pain. The former monk immediately took to the sky, eyes closed tight as he waited for the blinding light to dissipate. A couple of seconds later, he opened his eyes and looked down. Akira seemed to have recovered and was standing in the center of the ring, watching Krillin with interest.
Krillin continued to hover, wondering why Akira wasn't doing anything, and then it hit him: ~He can't fly!~ Krillin was just starting to form a plan on how to use his new found advantage when Akira slowly began to bring both hands in front of him. With a yell he fired a large, fast moving ki blast at the floating fighter. Krillin sensed immediately that despite its impressive size, the blast had very little power in it. ~He's trying to get me to move lower when I dodge it,~ he thought with a smile, ~Well, he'll have to think of another way to get me out of the air, cause nothing that weak is going to get me to move.~ He brought his hands up, planning on swatting the attack away, but the moment the blast hit him, he was thrown to the ground.
"Akira wins!" Cried the announcer as the crowd roared its appreciation for the fight. Akira hopped over the edge of the ring and ran to Krillin as the small fighter sat up.
"Are you alright Krillin?" Akira asked, extending a hand to help him up.
"Yeah, I think so," Krillin took the hand and climbed to his feet. "Man, where did you learn to fight like that?"
"Oh, I've picked it up here and there," Akira said, putting a hand behind his head and laughing.
Krillin gave him a quizzical look and then started laughing also as the two fighters headed back to the waiting area.
A/N: The action-capturing Jumbo-Screen idea is from Dragon Ball Next.