Chapter 14
"Our second match of the Second Round will be Gohan versus Akira."
The two men stepped into the ring, shook hands, and then walked to their lines. As soon as the bell rang, Gohan flew at Akira; arm cocked and ready to strike. Akira looked shocked at Gohan's speed and stumbled back, causing Gohan's fist to just miss his face. The young man tripped over his own feet and fell as Gohan's foot sliced through the air where Akira's head had been. The young man landed on his butt, rolled backwards, brought his arms up and straightened his legs, bringing himself into a handstand and catching the charging Gohan under the chin.
The Saiyan stumbled back in surprise and—he had to admit—a little pain. Akira pushed off the ground and landed on his feet, he fell into his fighting stance as Gohan did the same.
~Is he that fast?~ Gohan thought. ~It looks like he's just getting lucky, but no one's this lucky...~ Gohan stared at the boy for a couple of seconds, trying to make up his mind. ~It's impossible to tell and I can't go full strength against him until I know for sure. Unless he's only pretending to be weak, I'd really hurt him; but at the same time, if its not luck...~
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"Holy cow!" exclaimed Yamcha as he watched the fight. "Akira's got to be the luckiest guy I've ever seen!"
Krillin, who had joined everyone in Bulma's suite since he was no longer in the tournament, was frowning, "I don't think so Yamcha... It looks like luck, but his movements are too smooth. Even when he 'fell' he never really looked like he was out of control."
Tien was just about to ask Krillin how he could be sure when the door to the room flew open and in rushed a very soggy and bruised Pan followed by an embarrassed looking Goten.
"I thought you were supposed to be keeping an eye on her, Goten," commented Valese.
"Well, I was and then I got a little hungry; so I went to get a snack out of the vending machine... but when I got back, she'd gotten out... uh, sorry?" Goten said meekly, his wife and sister-in-law glared at him.
"It's not his fault," Pan said, coming to his rescue, "I just wanted to watch dad and Akira's match. Besides, I was in there for about thirty minutes, I feel great."
Videl reached out and grabbed Pan's arm, the young Saiyan winced in pain. "Great, huh? Well, I guess I can understand you wanting to see this match, and it should be a pretty short one. However, the moment its finished, you are going back to the infirmary and staying in that tank until you are completely healed." Pan nodded and ran out to the balcony. A moment later the phone rang, Bulma picked it up.
"This is Dr. Briefs."
"Bulma, you need to turn on the Dimensional Shifter," said a familiar voice on the other end.
"Vegeta? What are you talking about?"
"This fight is not what it seems woman, now turn on the damn machine!" he yelled and then hung up.
"Jerk!" Bulma screamed into the receiver, but she immediately made the call down to the control room and had the L.A.D.P.S. turned on.
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Gohan had decided that he could not risk using anymore power until he was sure that the kid could take it, however, he also planned on finding out just what the kid could take as soon as possible. He rushed at Akira and threw another punch, Akira tried to side step, but the blow still glanced off the side of his head and he was caught by Gohan's follow-up kick to the stomach. Akira went flying and landed hard on his back, seemingly dazed. The announcer began the ten-count; when he was at eight, Akira gingerly pulled himself to his feet, shaking his head.
Gohan came at Akira again, but this time the young man dodged three consecutive blows and then bent down to wipe some dirt off his shoe as the Saiyan's fist sailed over head.
Gohan still wasn't sure what he was dealing with in the fight. He tried to reach out and sense Akira's power level, but the boy seemed so weak he was almost unreadable; Gohan frowned in confusion.
"Why are you holding back?" Akira asked.
"I don't want to hurt you too bad. I'm still trying to figure out if you beat Krillin by luck or if you're just playing games with me right now."
"Well, you don't need to hold back for my sake, I'll be fine."
~Did he just tell me to go all out against him?~ Gohan thought.
"Besides," Akira continued with a smile, "I've always found that the stronger my opponent is, the stronger I become."
The statement struck Gohan as somehow familiar, but he couldn't quite remember where he had heard it. Finally, he decided to give the boy what he seemed to want: he would fight at nearly full strength, but would not transform. Gohan settled into his fighting stance and powered up, a light blue aura surrounding his body; Akira also dropped into his fighting stance, however, no aura appeared around him.
Gohan struck first, throwing a quick jump kick at the young fighter. Akira side stepped, and then ducked under a right hook; he tried to sweep Gohan's legs out from under him but the Saiyan jumped back a short distance and then charged again. Akira turned to meet the speeding warrior and the two fighters became a blur of motion, punching, kicking and blocking so fast no humane eye could keep up with it. Gohan was putting almost everything he had into it, but as the two fighters moved about the ring, he began to notice that Akira's movements seemed casual, almost bored. He pushed away from Akira and the two separated once again.
"Now its you that is holding back against me Akira."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"I doubt that." Gohan transformed, his golden aura exploded out from him and slammed against Akira, the boy didn't move an inch. "Unless you start fighting for real, you're about to feel some serious pain." He powered up a ki blast and shot it at the teenager, praying that he hadn't misjudged the situation.
Akira held out his hand and deflected the shot up and over his head. "Alright," he smiled, "for real it is then."
Gohan was instantly in front of him, his arm already swinging forward, it passed easily through Akira's face, which blurred and then faded away. An after-image? Gohan thought, then spun and brought up his arms instinctively, blocking Akira's kick. Then the two warriors seemed to disappear as their battle began to rage at super speed.
For anyone not watching the Jumbo-Screen, the next ten minutes of the fight would have been very boring; the two were impossible to see for all but a few seconds, during which they would appear, punch or kick each other and then vanish again. Those watching the Jumbo-Screen, however, were treated to an amazing battle between two impossibly strong fighters.
After several minutes of fighting all around the ring and through the air, the two warriors landed on opposite sides of the ring and stared at each other.
"You still aren't giving me all you've got Gohan. I'm starting to feel a little insulted," Akira said.
"Why are you so anxious to see me at full power?" Gohan asked, breathing a little heavily. "My Super Saiyan 1 form isn't good enough for you?"
Akira flashed a mischievious smile and shook his head, "If this is all the power that it gives you then I guess not. Come on now, let's stop messing around and get to the good stuff."
The only answer Akira received was the blue bolts of electricity that suddenly began crackling around Gohan's golden aura. A moment later Gohan gave a primal scream and his energy exploded around him, cracking the ring floor. Akira stood firm in the midst of the golden storm; the only thing moved by the sudden burst of energy was his hair which was waving about wildly.
"Well Akira, you've got your wish," Gohan said with a smile, "I hope you don't regret it."
"Our second match of the Second Round will be Gohan versus Akira."
The two men stepped into the ring, shook hands, and then walked to their lines. As soon as the bell rang, Gohan flew at Akira; arm cocked and ready to strike. Akira looked shocked at Gohan's speed and stumbled back, causing Gohan's fist to just miss his face. The young man tripped over his own feet and fell as Gohan's foot sliced through the air where Akira's head had been. The young man landed on his butt, rolled backwards, brought his arms up and straightened his legs, bringing himself into a handstand and catching the charging Gohan under the chin.
The Saiyan stumbled back in surprise and—he had to admit—a little pain. Akira pushed off the ground and landed on his feet, he fell into his fighting stance as Gohan did the same.
~Is he that fast?~ Gohan thought. ~It looks like he's just getting lucky, but no one's this lucky...~ Gohan stared at the boy for a couple of seconds, trying to make up his mind. ~It's impossible to tell and I can't go full strength against him until I know for sure. Unless he's only pretending to be weak, I'd really hurt him; but at the same time, if its not luck...~
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"Holy cow!" exclaimed Yamcha as he watched the fight. "Akira's got to be the luckiest guy I've ever seen!"
Krillin, who had joined everyone in Bulma's suite since he was no longer in the tournament, was frowning, "I don't think so Yamcha... It looks like luck, but his movements are too smooth. Even when he 'fell' he never really looked like he was out of control."
Tien was just about to ask Krillin how he could be sure when the door to the room flew open and in rushed a very soggy and bruised Pan followed by an embarrassed looking Goten.
"I thought you were supposed to be keeping an eye on her, Goten," commented Valese.
"Well, I was and then I got a little hungry; so I went to get a snack out of the vending machine... but when I got back, she'd gotten out... uh, sorry?" Goten said meekly, his wife and sister-in-law glared at him.
"It's not his fault," Pan said, coming to his rescue, "I just wanted to watch dad and Akira's match. Besides, I was in there for about thirty minutes, I feel great."
Videl reached out and grabbed Pan's arm, the young Saiyan winced in pain. "Great, huh? Well, I guess I can understand you wanting to see this match, and it should be a pretty short one. However, the moment its finished, you are going back to the infirmary and staying in that tank until you are completely healed." Pan nodded and ran out to the balcony. A moment later the phone rang, Bulma picked it up.
"This is Dr. Briefs."
"Bulma, you need to turn on the Dimensional Shifter," said a familiar voice on the other end.
"Vegeta? What are you talking about?"
"This fight is not what it seems woman, now turn on the damn machine!" he yelled and then hung up.
"Jerk!" Bulma screamed into the receiver, but she immediately made the call down to the control room and had the L.A.D.P.S. turned on.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------
Gohan had decided that he could not risk using anymore power until he was sure that the kid could take it, however, he also planned on finding out just what the kid could take as soon as possible. He rushed at Akira and threw another punch, Akira tried to side step, but the blow still glanced off the side of his head and he was caught by Gohan's follow-up kick to the stomach. Akira went flying and landed hard on his back, seemingly dazed. The announcer began the ten-count; when he was at eight, Akira gingerly pulled himself to his feet, shaking his head.
Gohan came at Akira again, but this time the young man dodged three consecutive blows and then bent down to wipe some dirt off his shoe as the Saiyan's fist sailed over head.
Gohan still wasn't sure what he was dealing with in the fight. He tried to reach out and sense Akira's power level, but the boy seemed so weak he was almost unreadable; Gohan frowned in confusion.
"Why are you holding back?" Akira asked.
"I don't want to hurt you too bad. I'm still trying to figure out if you beat Krillin by luck or if you're just playing games with me right now."
"Well, you don't need to hold back for my sake, I'll be fine."
~Did he just tell me to go all out against him?~ Gohan thought.
"Besides," Akira continued with a smile, "I've always found that the stronger my opponent is, the stronger I become."
The statement struck Gohan as somehow familiar, but he couldn't quite remember where he had heard it. Finally, he decided to give the boy what he seemed to want: he would fight at nearly full strength, but would not transform. Gohan settled into his fighting stance and powered up, a light blue aura surrounding his body; Akira also dropped into his fighting stance, however, no aura appeared around him.
Gohan struck first, throwing a quick jump kick at the young fighter. Akira side stepped, and then ducked under a right hook; he tried to sweep Gohan's legs out from under him but the Saiyan jumped back a short distance and then charged again. Akira turned to meet the speeding warrior and the two fighters became a blur of motion, punching, kicking and blocking so fast no humane eye could keep up with it. Gohan was putting almost everything he had into it, but as the two fighters moved about the ring, he began to notice that Akira's movements seemed casual, almost bored. He pushed away from Akira and the two separated once again.
"Now its you that is holding back against me Akira."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"I doubt that." Gohan transformed, his golden aura exploded out from him and slammed against Akira, the boy didn't move an inch. "Unless you start fighting for real, you're about to feel some serious pain." He powered up a ki blast and shot it at the teenager, praying that he hadn't misjudged the situation.
Akira held out his hand and deflected the shot up and over his head. "Alright," he smiled, "for real it is then."
Gohan was instantly in front of him, his arm already swinging forward, it passed easily through Akira's face, which blurred and then faded away. An after-image? Gohan thought, then spun and brought up his arms instinctively, blocking Akira's kick. Then the two warriors seemed to disappear as their battle began to rage at super speed.
For anyone not watching the Jumbo-Screen, the next ten minutes of the fight would have been very boring; the two were impossible to see for all but a few seconds, during which they would appear, punch or kick each other and then vanish again. Those watching the Jumbo-Screen, however, were treated to an amazing battle between two impossibly strong fighters.
After several minutes of fighting all around the ring and through the air, the two warriors landed on opposite sides of the ring and stared at each other.
"You still aren't giving me all you've got Gohan. I'm starting to feel a little insulted," Akira said.
"Why are you so anxious to see me at full power?" Gohan asked, breathing a little heavily. "My Super Saiyan 1 form isn't good enough for you?"
Akira flashed a mischievious smile and shook his head, "If this is all the power that it gives you then I guess not. Come on now, let's stop messing around and get to the good stuff."
The only answer Akira received was the blue bolts of electricity that suddenly began crackling around Gohan's golden aura. A moment later Gohan gave a primal scream and his energy exploded around him, cracking the ring floor. Akira stood firm in the midst of the golden storm; the only thing moved by the sudden burst of energy was his hair which was waving about wildly.
"Well Akira, you've got your wish," Gohan said with a smile, "I hope you don't regret it."