Chapter 20
The maintenance men had gotten the ring repairs down to a science now. So even though Vegeta and Uubu had left the ring almost as destroyed as Akira had, it still looked as good as new and ready for the finals with plenty of time to spare.
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"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the fight we've all been waiting for! The match between Akira and Vegeta will determine who the strongest fighter in the world is! Now that our ring has once again been repaired, let's have our two finalists come on out."
Vegeta walked to the ring with a smug look of confidence on his face; Akira, looking nearly the exact opposite, followed him. They climbed the stairs into the ring and walked to their lines.
"Don't look so nervous boy, it'll all be over soon," Vegeta taunted playfully, Akira didn't respond.
The bell sounded and Vegeta attacked Akira head on. The young man blocked most of the punches and kicks but still came away from the encounter with blood trickling down the side of his mouth.
Vegeta looked at him in confusion, shrugged, and then flew straight at Akira again. However, at the last second he threw a small ki blast at the ground and the attacked Akira from the side under the cover of dust. The boy did little in the way of defending himself again, and by the time Vegeta backed away, Akira was lying on the ring floor, bruised and bloodied.
"Alright, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Vegeta asked hotly as Akira pulled himself to his feet. "I expected you to offer some sort of challenge, instead you're just sitting there letting me beat the crap out of you."
"I just... I don't want to hurt you." Akira said, breathing heavily.
"You? Hurt me? Please." Vegeta laughed mockingly. "Oh, I get it. You're still thinking about that last match, worrying that you might go overboard again. Ha! It makes me ashamed that I even thought you might be a Saiyan." Vegeta's smile faded and his eyes grew cold. "You're nothing but a coward. If there is even one drop of Saiyan blood in your veins it would shame the whole race. A real Saiyan would know that dwelling on the past will only get you one thing: a quick ass kicking!" Vegeta threw his arm forward and fired a massive energy blast at Akira, tossing the boy to the other side of the ring like a rag doll. The Saiyan prince rushed forward and kicked the young man as he was pulling himself up. "Fight me Coward!" He punched Akira in the face, "Fight me!"
Akira's fist smashed into Vegeta's chest, knocking the powerful warrior back and winding him. Vegeta smiled in spite of the pain, "There, that's more like it; I knew you weren't as pathetic as you look."
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"What's Vegeta doing dad?" Pan asked as she watched the fight. "He's trying to help Akira the only way he knows how," Gohan smiled. "Vegeta isn't one to coddle a person when they're down, he forces them to respond, to fight back. I guess he figures if a person can fight then they must be okay."
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By Vegeta's standards, Akira was definitely okay. He surged forward, hammering Vegeta with blow after blow. The older man's eyes were dancing with the joy of battle; it was the happiest Akira had ever seen him.
Vegeta dodged an off target punch from the boy and drove his knee into Akira's stomach, then spun and backhanded him across the face. The punch spun Akira around, but as he turned, he used the momentum to deliver a vicious heel kick to the side of Vegeta's head.
The Saiyan prince stumbled back, Akira lunged forward ready to deliver a follow up blow, but his hand passed right through Vegeta's after-image. The young fighter straightened up, half closed his eyes and smiled. In a sudden flurry of motion, he blocked several kicks and punches that seemed to come out of nowhere, and then his fist shot straight out and hit Vegeta just as he materialized to the boy's left. The short warrior flipped in the air and landed a short distance from Akira.
"Now that's more like it! I hate beating people when they aren't putting up their best."
"Speaking of which, when are we going to stop with the warm-ups and get to the real fighting?" Akira asked.
Vegeta smirked, "I thought you'd never ask!" Golden light erupted around him as he transformed. His hands clenched into fists and he screamed, the light swirled faster, bolts of lightening flashed around his body; his power shot past the first stage of Super Saiyan and into the upper reaches of the second. "And now child, we shall see what you are really made of," Vegeta said, firing a ki blast at Akira.
The young warrior swatted the blast away, but in his moment of distraction, Vegeta was upon him. The two super powers locked in hand-to-hand combat in the center of the ring, pounding each other ruthlessly. Akira was holding his own, but could feel himself tiring, he knew that he couldn't keep up with the relentless assault of Vegeta. He fired a medium energy blast into the warrior's face and then took to the air, hoping for a moment of rest. The Saiyan prince did not allow it. After only a few seconds of shaking the cobwebs from his head, he was again on the attack.
Akira and Vegeta were now firing and dodging ki blasts, punches, and kicks as quickly as they could. Neither was willing to give into the fatigue that they were both obviously beginning to feel. Finally, Vegeta managed to catch Akira with a crushing blow that sent the young man plummeting to the ring floor.
~I can't beat him like this; he's just too strong. If I don't transform I'll lose, but what if—No! I can't think like that. Vegeta was right, I can't dwell on the past, I just have to deal with it.~ Akira pulled himself to his feet, standing in the middle of the large crater his landing had created. He reached inside himself and willed the power to come forth; his eyes turned green and his hair became gold and spiky; an immense golden aura surrounded him. He could feel his anger boiling inside of him, but this time it was different; this time he was more in control. He smiled to himself and then shot out of the crater like a golden comet.
Vegeta nearly fell out of the sky in surprise when Akira suddenly materialized in front of him. The young man delivered a quick uppercut, then appeared above the dazed fighter and, with a powerful kick, sent Vegeta crashing to the floor.
Akira landed near the furthest corner from the new crater and waited for the Saiyan warrior. An instant later, Vegeta jumped out of the hole and the two Super Saiyans stared at each other from across the ring. They both moved at nearly the same moment, rocketing towards each other with amazing speed. They met and launched a brutal barrage of punches and kicks, both landing numerous painful blows, neither giving as inch. Dust began to kick up around them as the ring literally disintegrated under their feet. Soon, they were hovering in the middle of a dense cloud of dust and debris, never ceasing the onslaught.
The two flew at one another again and again, exchanging blow after blow. Vegeta's energy was beginning to wane ever so slightly, but Akira's seemed to grow with each attack. The Saiyan Prince knew that the inevitable was coming, Akira had become too strong and too fast. It was only a matter of time. But perhaps, if the boy grew careless just for a moment, there might still be a way to emerge victorious. His moment would come sooner than he expected.
The warriors charged each other again, but this time, right before Akira threw his punch, he sensed an enormous and unfamiliar something or someone. He took his eyes off Vegeta for a millisecond as he tried to focus on the power.
The Saiyan Prince knew his one chance had arrived, he threw a quick ki blast into Akira's face, catching the young man off guard. Then he rammed his knee into Akira's stomach, doubling him over. Vegeta could taste his victory, he summoned up all his might and sent his fist whistling through the air at Akira's head, but then the boy did something completely unexpected. He dodged, bending and twisting so fast that Vegeta wasn't even sure what he did. When he was done his hands were right in front of Vegeta's chest.
"Sei Kaze!"
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The crowd began to grow restless as the dust obscured their vision of the action. The Jumbo-screen had switched through several different angles of the fight, trying to get a good picture of the action, but no angle remained good for very long. Suddenly a golden object shot out of the cloud, struck a sidewall, and slid limply to the ground. As the dust settled, Vegeta could be clearly seen shaking his head as he leaned against the cracked wall.
"Akira is your Champion!" the announcer called out in excitement and the crowd roared its approval.
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Akira powered down and hurried to the slumped over Vegeta, but before he got more than a few paces, the proud warrior was on his feet.
"I should have finished you while you were still moping around. I must be getting soft," Vegeta grumbled.
Akira smiled, "Thanks for helping me in there, it meant a lot to me."
Vegeta scowled, "Idiot, I didn't do it for you, I just didn't want to win because you didn't have the balls to fight anymore. You're just lucky you weren't fighting in a real battle or you would have been dead in the first five minutes. Now, unless you need someone to hold your hand through the crowning ceremony, I am going to the cafeteria." Akira nodded, still smiling and Vegeta stormed off to harass some foodservice personnel.
The maintenance men had gotten the ring repairs down to a science now. So even though Vegeta and Uubu had left the ring almost as destroyed as Akira had, it still looked as good as new and ready for the finals with plenty of time to spare.
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"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the fight we've all been waiting for! The match between Akira and Vegeta will determine who the strongest fighter in the world is! Now that our ring has once again been repaired, let's have our two finalists come on out."
Vegeta walked to the ring with a smug look of confidence on his face; Akira, looking nearly the exact opposite, followed him. They climbed the stairs into the ring and walked to their lines.
"Don't look so nervous boy, it'll all be over soon," Vegeta taunted playfully, Akira didn't respond.
The bell sounded and Vegeta attacked Akira head on. The young man blocked most of the punches and kicks but still came away from the encounter with blood trickling down the side of his mouth.
Vegeta looked at him in confusion, shrugged, and then flew straight at Akira again. However, at the last second he threw a small ki blast at the ground and the attacked Akira from the side under the cover of dust. The boy did little in the way of defending himself again, and by the time Vegeta backed away, Akira was lying on the ring floor, bruised and bloodied.
"Alright, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Vegeta asked hotly as Akira pulled himself to his feet. "I expected you to offer some sort of challenge, instead you're just sitting there letting me beat the crap out of you."
"I just... I don't want to hurt you." Akira said, breathing heavily.
"You? Hurt me? Please." Vegeta laughed mockingly. "Oh, I get it. You're still thinking about that last match, worrying that you might go overboard again. Ha! It makes me ashamed that I even thought you might be a Saiyan." Vegeta's smile faded and his eyes grew cold. "You're nothing but a coward. If there is even one drop of Saiyan blood in your veins it would shame the whole race. A real Saiyan would know that dwelling on the past will only get you one thing: a quick ass kicking!" Vegeta threw his arm forward and fired a massive energy blast at Akira, tossing the boy to the other side of the ring like a rag doll. The Saiyan prince rushed forward and kicked the young man as he was pulling himself up. "Fight me Coward!" He punched Akira in the face, "Fight me!"
Akira's fist smashed into Vegeta's chest, knocking the powerful warrior back and winding him. Vegeta smiled in spite of the pain, "There, that's more like it; I knew you weren't as pathetic as you look."
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"What's Vegeta doing dad?" Pan asked as she watched the fight. "He's trying to help Akira the only way he knows how," Gohan smiled. "Vegeta isn't one to coddle a person when they're down, he forces them to respond, to fight back. I guess he figures if a person can fight then they must be okay."
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By Vegeta's standards, Akira was definitely okay. He surged forward, hammering Vegeta with blow after blow. The older man's eyes were dancing with the joy of battle; it was the happiest Akira had ever seen him.
Vegeta dodged an off target punch from the boy and drove his knee into Akira's stomach, then spun and backhanded him across the face. The punch spun Akira around, but as he turned, he used the momentum to deliver a vicious heel kick to the side of Vegeta's head.
The Saiyan prince stumbled back, Akira lunged forward ready to deliver a follow up blow, but his hand passed right through Vegeta's after-image. The young fighter straightened up, half closed his eyes and smiled. In a sudden flurry of motion, he blocked several kicks and punches that seemed to come out of nowhere, and then his fist shot straight out and hit Vegeta just as he materialized to the boy's left. The short warrior flipped in the air and landed a short distance from Akira.
"Now that's more like it! I hate beating people when they aren't putting up their best."
"Speaking of which, when are we going to stop with the warm-ups and get to the real fighting?" Akira asked.
Vegeta smirked, "I thought you'd never ask!" Golden light erupted around him as he transformed. His hands clenched into fists and he screamed, the light swirled faster, bolts of lightening flashed around his body; his power shot past the first stage of Super Saiyan and into the upper reaches of the second. "And now child, we shall see what you are really made of," Vegeta said, firing a ki blast at Akira.
The young warrior swatted the blast away, but in his moment of distraction, Vegeta was upon him. The two super powers locked in hand-to-hand combat in the center of the ring, pounding each other ruthlessly. Akira was holding his own, but could feel himself tiring, he knew that he couldn't keep up with the relentless assault of Vegeta. He fired a medium energy blast into the warrior's face and then took to the air, hoping for a moment of rest. The Saiyan prince did not allow it. After only a few seconds of shaking the cobwebs from his head, he was again on the attack.
Akira and Vegeta were now firing and dodging ki blasts, punches, and kicks as quickly as they could. Neither was willing to give into the fatigue that they were both obviously beginning to feel. Finally, Vegeta managed to catch Akira with a crushing blow that sent the young man plummeting to the ring floor.
~I can't beat him like this; he's just too strong. If I don't transform I'll lose, but what if—No! I can't think like that. Vegeta was right, I can't dwell on the past, I just have to deal with it.~ Akira pulled himself to his feet, standing in the middle of the large crater his landing had created. He reached inside himself and willed the power to come forth; his eyes turned green and his hair became gold and spiky; an immense golden aura surrounded him. He could feel his anger boiling inside of him, but this time it was different; this time he was more in control. He smiled to himself and then shot out of the crater like a golden comet.
Vegeta nearly fell out of the sky in surprise when Akira suddenly materialized in front of him. The young man delivered a quick uppercut, then appeared above the dazed fighter and, with a powerful kick, sent Vegeta crashing to the floor.
Akira landed near the furthest corner from the new crater and waited for the Saiyan warrior. An instant later, Vegeta jumped out of the hole and the two Super Saiyans stared at each other from across the ring. They both moved at nearly the same moment, rocketing towards each other with amazing speed. They met and launched a brutal barrage of punches and kicks, both landing numerous painful blows, neither giving as inch. Dust began to kick up around them as the ring literally disintegrated under their feet. Soon, they were hovering in the middle of a dense cloud of dust and debris, never ceasing the onslaught.
The two flew at one another again and again, exchanging blow after blow. Vegeta's energy was beginning to wane ever so slightly, but Akira's seemed to grow with each attack. The Saiyan Prince knew that the inevitable was coming, Akira had become too strong and too fast. It was only a matter of time. But perhaps, if the boy grew careless just for a moment, there might still be a way to emerge victorious. His moment would come sooner than he expected.
The warriors charged each other again, but this time, right before Akira threw his punch, he sensed an enormous and unfamiliar something or someone. He took his eyes off Vegeta for a millisecond as he tried to focus on the power.
The Saiyan Prince knew his one chance had arrived, he threw a quick ki blast into Akira's face, catching the young man off guard. Then he rammed his knee into Akira's stomach, doubling him over. Vegeta could taste his victory, he summoned up all his might and sent his fist whistling through the air at Akira's head, but then the boy did something completely unexpected. He dodged, bending and twisting so fast that Vegeta wasn't even sure what he did. When he was done his hands were right in front of Vegeta's chest.
"Sei Kaze!"
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The crowd began to grow restless as the dust obscured their vision of the action. The Jumbo-screen had switched through several different angles of the fight, trying to get a good picture of the action, but no angle remained good for very long. Suddenly a golden object shot out of the cloud, struck a sidewall, and slid limply to the ground. As the dust settled, Vegeta could be clearly seen shaking his head as he leaned against the cracked wall.
"Akira is your Champion!" the announcer called out in excitement and the crowd roared its approval.
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Akira powered down and hurried to the slumped over Vegeta, but before he got more than a few paces, the proud warrior was on his feet.
"I should have finished you while you were still moping around. I must be getting soft," Vegeta grumbled.
Akira smiled, "Thanks for helping me in there, it meant a lot to me."
Vegeta scowled, "Idiot, I didn't do it for you, I just didn't want to win because you didn't have the balls to fight anymore. You're just lucky you weren't fighting in a real battle or you would have been dead in the first five minutes. Now, unless you need someone to hold your hand through the crowning ceremony, I am going to the cafeteria." Akira nodded, still smiling and Vegeta stormed off to harass some foodservice personnel.