"Dragonball AS: 32nd Budokai Saga"

Chapter 38- "Semi-Finals Begin"

By- Tiny

The repairs that were quite extensive to the Budokai stadium, taking close to three hours to finish, but everything was back in order and the people were anxious to begin the semi-final matches. Nobody, however, was more excited to get the action started than the four contenders that waited anxiously in the waiting area. Despite Medon's ascension and the power it had brought with it, none of the other three Saiya-jin seemed worried about what was to come. Rather, all four of the young fighters were quite excited about their matches and couldn't wait to step back in the arena.

"Well ladies and gentlemen, now that the repairs to the stadium are completed we can begin the first round of the semi-finals of this years Junior Division!" Bardock spoke into the microphone, earning a cheer from the crowd, "For our first match we have the five year old Boxer facing eight year old Goken. Let's hear it for these great young fighters!"

The two fighters walked out of the waiting area and headed towards the ring anxiously to the deafening cheers of the crowd, both more than eager to begin their match. Goken had decided it would be best to change his gi before fighting on any and was now in a fresh uniform, still just like his grandfather's. Boxer was also wearing a new battle uniform although his was not the same as before, as he was now wearing a pair of dark blue jeans and a black shirt with the word "BRAT" across the chest.

Bra, Ubuu, Goten, and Paresu all sat on the edge of their seats as they watched the two boys step into the ring, facing each other down like men on the hunt, with each other as the prey. The energy that was slowly building up around the two boys was tremendous, causing the ring to tremble a little bit as little bolts passed between the boy's bodies. Slowly and ever so fluidly, the two boy's moved into their fighting stances, the slight tremble that had shook the ring only seconds before now a tremendous roar as the stands began to rock back and forth.

"This should prove an interesting match, eh Kakarot?" Vegeta smirked, "My grandson against yours to see who goes to the finals."

"Interesting is an understatement, my old friend," Goku smiled happily, "With those two facing each other in the ring, things are going to get intense!"

"Alright boys, I want a nice clean match," Bardock whispered, "Ready.......FIGHT!!!"

In a flash of golden light and a subsequent sonic boom, the two boy's converged in the center of the ring in a test of skill and stamina. Goken threw a fist right at Boxer's nose, missing by bare inches as the younger Saiya-jin ducked down, kneeing Goken right in the stomach. Goken stumbled a few steps, but quickly recovered and slammed an elbow into the side of his opponent's head, knocking Boxer off to the side. The young fighter stopped himself in midair, surprising his older opponent, and fired off a medium sized ki blast right at Goken.

Completely expecting the move, Goken slapped the beam into the air and went to stare down Boxer, only to see that the younger boy had disappeared. As the eight year old Saiya-jin stretched out his senses to try and detect Boxer only to be greeted by a foot in the face, knocking him down. Boxer smirked with satisfaction as he descended down upon his victim, sending blow after blow into the older boy's middle.

Goken rocked back in pain as Boxer connected each blow with his unguarded middle, but the Saiya-jin boy wasn't about to lose the match so easily. As Boxer drew back to land another blow on the older boy's body, Goken phased out of view, leaving empty air for the grandson of Vegeta to hit. Boxer growled with frustration at his opponent's evasive maneuver, but didn't have long to sulk as he sensed Goken appear behind him.

"There you are!" the younger boy smirked, charging at Goken, "I've got you now!"

"I don't think so, Boxer," Goken chuckled, "KAIO-KEN!!!"

Boxer halted in his charge as red mingled with the golden color of Goken's aura and the older boy's power spiked. The young boy was frozen in place for a few seconds, just long enough for Goken to put his fist into the younger boy's face, dislocating the jaw. Boxer soared back through the air just as Goken delivered a kick to the boy's chest from above, knocking him into the arena floor. Chunks of tile and concrete flew up into the air as Goken landed in front of his homemade crater, a confident smirk plastered on his features.

If Bra and Ubuu had been nervous before, then the two were absolutely frantic now that their son was down in a crater somewhere, not even putting off an energy signature. They feared the worst and Goken had even begun to worry that he had inadvertently killed his friend, but those fears were put to rest when the floor behind Goken exploded from below and a foot slammed into the boy's side. Goken hit the floor hard, bouncing off like a ball of some kind, before finally correcting himself and staring down his opponent.

"How did you do that?" Goken growled, "We couldn't sense your energy!"

"A little trick that I learned from Grandpa about a year ago," Boxer smirked, "Pretty effective against someone who can sense ki, wouldn't you say?"

"Maybe, but it won't work next time," Goken snarled, "I don't fall for the same trick twice, not even one that good."

"We'll see about that," Boxer laughed, "Won't we?"

Before Goken had time to answer Boxer phased out of sight, his energy signature impossible to detect, but Goken still whipped around and connected his fist with the younger boy's face. Boxer soared back toward the edge of the ring and looked like he might fall out of the ring, if it weren't for the fact that he could fly. The young boy darted up into the air over Goken faster than was thought he could manage, a look of pure rage plastered on his face at his techniques failure.

"How is this possible!?!" Boxer growled, "You couldn't have sensed my energy...so how in the world...?"

"I couldn't sense your energy, but I could hear your breathing," Goken smiled innocently, "I told you it wasn't going to work twice."

"Maybe it wouldn't, but I guarantee that this will finish you off!" Boxer chuckled, moving into a strange stance, "I hope you can handle the Galic Gun, Goken."

"Oh crap, he'll kill everyone!" Goken gasped, "Ka....me...."

"Galic..."

"Ha....me...."

"Gun...."

"HA!!!!

"FIRE!!!!"

The two beams raced towards each other a pace most people wouldn't have seen without Bulma's special screens, colliding hard enough to knock a few chunks of tile loose from the ring's edge. Both boy's were putting all they had into the beams, but for reason's unknown to all those in the ring except for one Boxer had the upper hand in the struggle.

"I can't let him win, I just can't!" Goken struggled, "Need...more...power...."

Boxer watched with a smirk on his face as Goken's aura took on that familiar reddish hue, only with more intensity than before. The older boy was getting desperate and Boxer knew it, and that brought him a great sense of satisfaction as his smirk widened to almost cover his whole face.

"The fool," Vegeta's grandson laughed, "He fell right into my trap!"

"KAIO-KEN....TIME TWO!!!!!"

Everyone in the stadium looked on in shock as Goken's aura shot out around his body, his power level shooting through the roof as his attack nearly quadrupled in size. Boxer's beam didn't stand a chance against the increased power of Goken's KameHameHa, easily being overrun by the blue beam in a matter of seconds. As Goken held the attack on course, however, Boxer disappeared from behind his beam and darted down to the ground below without anyone noticing.

Goken, satisfied that he had beaten his opponent, let go of the energy attack and fell down to his knees, dropping all the way back down to his base power level. The son of Goten was happy for a few moments, but that all came to an end when he opened his eyes and saw a brilliant blue ball of energy in his face, Boxer standing behind it.

"I win," the younger boy chuckled, "BIG BANG ATTACK!!!"

Goken was too weak to even put up a resistance and was knocked rapidly back into the stadium wall, falling to the grassy ground almost instantly afterwards. The young boy was bleeding in several places, bruised in others, and needed to get to a healing tank immediately, which the medics made sure of right away, a very worried Paresu right on their heels. Boxer felt sorry for the older boy, as he hadn't meant to hurt him that bad, but was still glad that he would be going on to the next round.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!" Bardock cheered, "Boxer is going on to face the winner of our next match in the finals of our Junior Division! Give him a hand folks."

Boxer raised his arm nervously into the air, waving at the crowd as he walked back into the waiting area, heading right for the medical wing. No sooner had he disappeared through the archway then two more children stepped through and headed towards the Budokai ring. One was clad in a blue and red gi, the other in a pair of black pants and a white t-shirt, and both with looks of sheer determination on their faces.

"Now for the deciding match of the semi-finals, Medon versus Kimuchi," Bardock continued on, "Let's hear it for these two young warriors!"

The crowd cheered excitedly as the two young boy's fell into near identical stances, staring each other down like a wolf watches it's unsuspecting victim. A soft breeze blew through the stadium just then, ruffling the two boy's outfits as Bardock jumped down out of the ring to watch the fight. The tension was so thick by then that you could cut it with a knife, adding to the excitement of what everyone knew was about to ensue.

"Let's get this match underway!" Bardock smirked, "Ready....FIGHT!!!!"

NEXT TIME: Boxer has overwhelmed the older Goken, despite the use of the Kaio-Ken technique, and earned his place in the finals. Medon is the odds on favorite to win his match against his younger cousin, but Kimuchi is determined to win and face Boxer in the final round. Which of these two fighters will move on and, more importantly, will there even be a decent fight coming from the son of Raditz? Find out in the next installment of Dragonball AS!!!!!