Previously in Apex AZ:

Tenchi took everyone in the MAGI school who was interested in competing in the tournament, as well as Sasami, Ryoko and Aki, down to a nearby beach on Kormanet, where he trained them for the next two weeks. After entering it, they all took the qualifying test. It was mostly Saiyans that got in, but that just made for a more interesting championship. The first round of fights started, removing the weaker opponents, and the quarterfinals were about to begin. Well, at least we're getting closer to the end. If you can't follow the tournament match-ups, there isn't really any hope of understanding what happens. I suppose you can follow the final fight anyway, because it's the one we all expected from the start. How original.

Apex AZ, Part IX – Towards the Finals

"Ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer said. He stood in the centre of the arena floor, looking round at the audience. "The second round of the tournament is about to start. Will those of you who have gone for a snack or something please return calmly to your seats? We don't want any accidents here. The next fight is between Saifer, who claims to be the strongest fighter at the Masaki Academy for Gifted Individuals, and Tenchi Masaki, cofounder of that Academy and whose job description is down as God. Will the two fighters please come to the ring?"

"Shoot, that's me," Tenchi said, standing up. He quickly drank the last of his drink, having found another drinks machine nearby, and went towards the door. "See you later, guys. I think you others had better get down to the waiting area," he told the fighters, before leaving the room and hurrying down to the ring.

"We're still waiting for Tenchi Masaki," the announcer said. "His opponent is getting impatient. Is he putting on a show for us, or has he just forgotten that there's a second round to this thing?" He lowered the microphone and spoke quietly into the mobile communicator to the leading member of staff there. "Hey, John? Go send someone to check the toilets, okay?"

Tenchi ran outside and on to the arena, catching his breath. "Sorry I'm late," he said. "I lost track of time."

"Well, that's okay, then," the announcer replied. "Ladies and gentlemen! The next fight is about to start. Let me just leave the area first."

The fight started.

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"Tenchi, I hope this is a good fight," Saifer said across the arena. "Our last little bout didn't go too well for me, but I've improved since then."

"We'll see," Tenchi replied. "And to make it fair, I'm only going to use the same amount of energy you use."

"Okay then, but it's still going to be a lot," Saifer said, getting ready to power up.

"Oh yes," Tenchi replied. "'Strongest fighter at MAGI'? That's a bit far to go, especially since you aren't."

"What?" Saifer said, caught off guard. "Who's stronger?"

"For one, Aki," Tenchi said. "But it takes more than strength to win a fight. It takes speed, strategy and skill as well."

"I think I'll do fine, especially as you aren't going to use your full power, apparently," Saifer said. "Let's start this, then. The crowd is getting restless."

Saifer began to power up, quickly becoming a Saiyan, and soon reaching his maximum energy of about 3.3 million. Tenchi just watched him, not changing his power level of 100 at all.

Saifer charged at Tenchi across the arena, predictably swinging his fist at him. Tenchi watched him approach, and suddenly disappeared, split seconds before being hit. He reappeared beside Saifer to hit him, only to disappear again and hit him back even further from a different place. Saifer was brought to the edge of the arena, and would have gone over, were it not for Tenchi stopping the Saiyan's movement. Tenchi stood watching him as Saifer picked himself up and looked at him. He then winced in pain as the punches to his stomach caught up with him.

"I'll take care of that afterwards for you, if you want," Tenchi said.

"How are you so fast?" Saifer gasped.

"I'm just putting all the energy you're using into my speed instead of my strength," Tenchi replied. "Best performance is an equilibrium between the two. Just remember that."

"Really." Saifer unclenched his fists. Tenchi could sense his energy diminishing. "Better?"

"Pretty much," Tenchi replied. "But watch out for special techniques. Try to move."

Saifer frowned in puzzlement, and then gasped when he discovered he couldn't move anything below his neck. "Wha, what did you do?"

"Restrict, it's called," Tenchi said. "It's something you can learn, but you just haven't heard about it."

"No fair."

"Okay," Tenchi relented. "Have your movement back."

Saifer immediately darted forwards in a blur and punched Tenchi back towards the middle of the arena. As Tenchi flew back, Safier followed him, encouraging him with a few more hits. Tenchi faded into an afterimage as he appeared behind Saifer. Saifer disappeared and re-emerged behind Tenchi. Tenchi disappeared and didn't come back.

From the sidelines, Aki watched Tenchi's movements. "He's masking his appearance," he said to himself. "But I can still sense his power level, even through Saifer's. But I don't think Saifer will be able to."

Sure enough, Saifer was looking round, trying to locate his opponent.

"Strength isn't always best," Tenchi whispered into his ear. Saifer jumped back and looked at the air Tenchi had whispered from, still invisible. "You can't tell one thing from another, can you?" Another whisper, in the other ear. Saifer swung round, but hit nothing. "Can't you find me? Too bad."

"Where are you, Tenchi?" Saifer demanded. "Show yourself."

"Will he get it?" Aki wondered. "Possibly."

"Appearances can be deceiving, Saifer," Tenchi called from somewhere in the arena. "I appear to be invisible, don't I?"

Saifer caught on. He slowly lowered his power level, trying to sense Tenchi's energy signal. As his power lowered, the masking effect of the energy also went down, allowing more things to be visible to him.

Saifer swung round in the air and hit Tenchi. Tenchi glided back through the air, becoming visible again, and slid to a halt near the edge of the arena. He picked himself up and smiled at his opponent.

"Very good, Saifer," Tenchi commended. "You're beginning to understand that strength isn't the most important aspect in a battle."

"Can we finish this now?" Saifer asked. "This is becoming boring very quickly."

"As you wish." Tenchi powered up, but didn't become a Saiyan. His power level was around a million, which offered him advanced speed, but comparatively not much strength. Saifer powered back up to about 2 million, taking Tenchi's advice not to go too high. He could sense that he was already twice as strong as Tenchi, anyway.

Tenchi darted forwards at Saifer, hopping around all over the arena, his movements blurred but still visible. Saifer followed his movements, trying to discern a pattern. He disappeared and swung at the air Tenchi was going to be in. But he wasn't. Saifer, caught off balance, toppled his way towards the edge of the arena.

Tenchi appeared behind him, and nudged him closer with his foot. "You wanted to end this," he said. "Here it is."

Saifer quickly jumped up and threw a punch at Tenchi. Tenchi ducked and grabbed his arm, throwing Saifer across to the other side of the arena. He then disappeared and reappeared above Saifer, flying over the side of the arena. Tenchi dropped down, sending Saifer into the ground, while hopping off him back onto the arena floor.

Tenchi hopped down and shook Saifer's hand.

"You know, Tenchi, I'm surprised I didn't put up a better fight," Saifer said.

"I know," Tenchi agreed. "I guess you just weren't motivated by such a little challenge. Only by really pushing yourself can you get a lot better."

They walked back to the waiting arena, where the others were waiting for them, and their next fights.

"I'll be off, you guys," Saifer said. "I'll be rooting for you, Tenchi."

"What about your teacher?" Tenchi asked.

"You're both my teachers," Saifer replied.

"You enjoy the rest of the tournament now, Saifer," Aki said. "We'll see you later."

Saifer walked away to get a drink, and then to join the crowd.

"What a fight!" the announcer shouted into his microphone. "This next match-up needs to do a lot to compare. Can we have our next two competitors, please? Taurit, the beautiful Tchimenian wonder, will be facing Ryoko, demoness and good friends with Tenchi Masaki."

"I guess that's me," Ryoko said, getting up. "I'll see you guys later, okay?"

"Good luck, Ryoko," Aki called after her.

"Good luck to you, Taurit," Tenchi wished the other fighter as she passed him.

"Thanks, but I don't need luck," Taurit replied. "It's already been proven that I'm far stronger than my opponent is."

"Just don't go overboard, please," Tenchi said. "I still want a friend afterwards."

"I'll try," Taurit said. She continued to the arena.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the announcer said. "The next fight is about to start."

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"It should be interesting to compete with a demigoddess," Taurit said, positioning herself in a fighting stance.

"How do you know that I'm a demigoddess?" Ryoko asked. "Wow, I am. I hadn't thought about that."

Taurit charged forwards, her tails whipping around behind her. She fired a few energy shots at the ground near Ryoko, and flew around behind her, wrapping her with her tails. Ryoko struggled against the hold, and fired a few energy blasts at the tails. They let go, and Ryoko quickly flew to safety.

"That's some good fighting you have there," Ryoko said. "But I've got the upper hand." She formed her energy sword in her hand, and flew forwards at Taurit. Taurit moved out of the way, only narrowly avoiding being cut by the sword. Ryoko flew immediately after her, not giving her a chance to regain herself for an attack.

Taurit disappeared, preparing to bind Ryoko with her tails again. But this time Ryoko was ready for her. She turned round and swiped her sword around at Taurit reappeared. Taurit yelped and fell forwards. Her tails, severed near the bases, fell to the ground.

"How will you do without your main weapon?" Ryoko asked. Taurit was holding the stumps of her tails delicately, gasping at the pain. She narrowed her eyes and glared at Ryoko.

"You bitch," she whispered. Before she knew it, Ryoko was punched in the stomach by a very fast fist attached to Taurit's arm. Ryoko keeled over backwards.

Taurit stood over Ryoko, a mean look on her face. "Those were my tails," she said coldly. "They're not going to grow back. I hate you." She kicked Ryoko several times in the chest and back. Ryoko called out in pain with each hit. "Don't join the big league if you can't handle the pain," Taurit said. She kicked Ryoko hard, sending her skidding over to the side of the arena. Taurit followed her. "And now you're finished."

"I give up," Ryoko gasped.

"What?"

"I give up," Ryoko repeated. "You win." She rolled over to the side and lowered herself to the ground. "Good fight. I still have a lot to learn."

"How dare you just quit like that?" Taurit exclaimed. "This should have been a fight, not a de-tailing and run."

"I think Tenchi can take care of that," Ryoko said through the pain. "Ask him nicely, though. He doesn't like nasty people. Why d'you think I changed? I like me better now, anyway. You should try it."

"Ryoko, are you okay?" Tenchi called, running up to her. "How much does it hurt?"

"Quite a bit, but I'm fine," Ryoko said. "I think she's got something to ask, though."

Tenchi looked up at Taurit, puzzled. "What is it?" he asked.

"This... demon... cut off my tails," Taurit said, her teeth gritted. "I want them reattached now."

"Heh," Ryoko said, putting her arm around Aki for support, who had also run up. "Not with that attitude."

Taurit growled under her breath. "Could you please reattach my tails, Mr Masaki? It would mean a lot to me."

"Course I will," Tenchi replied, using his energy to bring the dismembered tails to his hand from across the arena. "I know how much they mean to you. Here, get down and turn around."

Taurit did as he said. Tenchi positioned the tails in place and wrapped his hands around the joins. Taurit gasped at the firmness of it, but very soon the pain faded and disappeared. Her tails had been reattached.

Taurit looked at them, waving them round experimentally. They seemed to be fine. She looked up at Tenchi, blushing slightly. "I thank you, Mr Masaki," she said, bowing.

"The name's Tenchi," Tenchi replied. "That's what everyone else calls me, anyway. And you're welcome. I'm going to look forward to our match later."

Aki passed Ryoko over to Tenchi, who hauled her up onto his back. "Let's go take care of her," he said.

"Sure," Tenchi replied.

As Tenchi carried Ryoko away, followed by Taurit and Aki, the announcer stepped up onto the arena.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he called. "A quick victory for Taurit, and thanks to Tenchi, our medical team still has nothing to do. While they sit around, let's have our next fight. It's Lethena, the pink haired bucket of power from MAGI, versus Sasami, second Crown Princess of Jurai and apparently the third Super Saiyan. Maybe we'll see that now, then. Sasami's opponent in the last round forfeited, if you remember. Still, this should be a good match. Can the fighters please come out to the arena to start the match?"

Sasami and Lethena walked out, trailing behind them calls of hope and good luck from the others. They approached the arena floor and took their positions, getting in their stances.

"Let the match begin," the announcer called. "Go!"

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Both Lethena and Sasami began to power up. Their hair raised up and turned black as they became Saiyans. Lethena stopped at a level of nearly 3 million, and Sasami came to a halt at just over 4 million. They both adopted fighting stances, waiting for the other to attack.

After a few moments, neither had attacked. Sasami's arms sagged down and she straightened up, realising that Lethena wasn't going to attack her. "Lethena, what are you waiting for?" she called over. "The fight has started, you know."

"I know," Lethena said. "I'm just getting ready."

"You had half an hour to get ready," Sasami muttered. Realising that she still wasn't going to attack, Sasami lowered her defences and walked over to her opponent.

Lethena remained still as Sasami approached, choosing the time to strike. Her power level was lowering slightly, but she was keeping it topped up.

Sasami reached Lethena and sighed, crouching down and watching her, waiting for her to strike. Lethena still remained perfectly still, contemplating the fight.

"Sasami?"

Sasami looked up. "Huh? What?"

Lethena looked at her. "Everyone's heard the stories," she said. "We don't know if you really are a Super Saiyan, but we do know that you're a lot stronger than the rest of us."

"So what is it?" Sasami asked.

"Can you promise me you won't hurt me too much?" Lethena asked.

Sasami looked surprised. "Why do you want me to do that? Of course I won't hurt you too much."

Lethena smiled. "That's good," she said, sounding very relieved. "We can't back out of our matches before they start now, so I'll have to fight. I was just worried that I was going to get really hurt."

"Well, Ryoko jumped out of the ring," Sasami said. "I don't think that counts as forfeiting the match, does it?"

"Apparently not," Lethena replied. "But, can I just let you win? I know I'm not going to get through."

"You could win," Sasami said. "You never know until you try."

"But I can tell that you're a lot faster and stronger than me," Lethena said. "I'd never last."

"So you're quitting, then?" Sasami asked, before keeling back due to a punch to her stomach.

"Of course not," Lethena said. "Although I do feel guilty about fighting a little girl, I do want to win. Now, prepare to lose."

Lethena picked Sasami up and threw her over the edge of the arena. Sasami stopped moving through the air and flew back onto the raised area.

"Lethena, I thought you were going to quit?" she said.

"Haven't you ever heard of reverse psychology?" the formerly pink-haired woman asked. "It's to get you off your guard."

"It's a sneaky trick," Sasami said, getting once again into a fighting stance. "Now I'm not going to go easy on you." She burst forwards, her body blurred almost to transparency. She threw a punch at her opponent, which was quickly blocked. She then threw a few energy blasts around, causing bits of floor tile to come loose. She concentrated and levitated the broken tiles. She sent them flying at Lethena, who quickly dodged out of the way, but was hit from behind as Sasami swung the tiles back round at her. Lethena stumbled forwards, only to be caught in the chest by a knee, which knocked her back towards the edge of the arena. Winded, Lethena tumbled over to the edge of the ring, a hand hanging over the edge.

Sasami flew over and kicked her to the floor. Lethena landed outside on her shoulder, and rolled onto her back. Sasami powered down and hopped outside.

"Not bad," Sasami said, hauling Lethena up. "But I don't like your way of fighting. A true fight shouldn't have any deception in it."

"Some people have different styles," Lethena replied, as they both walked back to the waiting area. They were met by the others. Tenchi offered to heal Lethena, but she refused, saying that, while she obviously respected him, she didn't want his help.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer shouted. "Yet another quick fight. This won't do at all. We want to see some long bouts, don't we? I can't hear you," he added, provoking the crowd to yell. "Anyway, the next fight is between Aki Masaki, sensei at the MAGI and apparently second strongest person in the universe, and Tarinia. Tarinia's strength is admirable, and were she not up against Aki now, she could quite easily win the tournament. But it's still anyone's game. And here they come."

Aki and Tarinia walked from the waiting area along the tiled path to the arena, which they walked onto and chose spots to stand, fairly close to each other.

"Go!"

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Tarinia stood still, as did Aki, neither raising their power levels at all. They just stood and watched each other, waiting for the first sign of movement or action, so that they could perform a countermeasure.

"Sensei?" Tarinia asked.

"It's Aki here," Aki replied. "We're not at the academy right now. What?"

"Aki, I've heard rumours that Lord Tenchi is suppressing his power to match his opponent," Tarinia said. "I was talking to Qeltor, Tenchi's first opponent, and that's what he told me. He said Tenchi was giving everyone else a chance to win."

"What's your point?" Aki asked. "It's kind of pointless, anyway. Everyone knows the only interesting match-up will be between me and him."

"Well, I was wondering if you could do the same," Tarinia said hopefully. "I know you've got strength twenty times greater than mine, and I don't think it would be fair."

"But life isn't fair," Aki replied. "It's just the way of reality. If you've got a problem with it, talk to Tenchi about it. I'm not the guy to sort it out for you."

"Oh, I didn't mean that," Tarinia said hastily. "I was just saying that since you are over thirty times stronger than me, you could give me a little break."

"Sorry," Aki replied. "But I guess I could start small, and just increase my strength from then on. I mean, come on. It wouldn't be much of a show if I just kick you out now, would it?" Aki suddenly caught on that the crowd watching them were calling for action. "Time for some fighting, I think. The audience is getting restless."

"Only if you don't kill me too much," Tarinia said. "But you'll have to catch me first." She vanished, moving rapidly and randomly around the arena. Aki tried to watch her move, but Tarinia was pushing herself, moving extremely fast and creating strong winds where she went. Her energy signal was streaking all over the place.

Instead of trying to follow her movements around the arena, Aki just stood still, masking the energy he was increasing. Obviously Tarinia had converted nearly all of her energy into speed, so physically she wasn't very strong. All Aki had to do was tap her relatively lightly, and that would send her flying.

Tenchi could tell exactly what was going on, though. Watching from the near distance, sitting on a bench and sipping a drink, his eyes closed as he enjoyed the juice, he knew exactly where Tarinia was, and what Aki was up to. At the same time, he was imagining dozens of different and effective ways for each of the fighters to win. That was the thing about being God: every tactic, every strategy and move was basic knowledge. And having foresight helped as well.

The other remaining fighters watched on from the archway to the middle of the stadium, trying to get a clearer picture of what was going on. Sasami in particular was concentrating hard. It was she who would have to fight one of these two in the next round. Sasami was being realistic; she would be facing Aki next.

Tarinia appeared behind Aki, a faint energy aura around her. She used her remaining speed, which was quickly decreasing as it was turned into strength, to swing a knee at his back. But Aki was quicker. He spun around and caught the knee, before twisting it round, forcing Tarinia to spin with it down to the ground. As Tarinia fell, her arm grabbed Aki's hand, making him fall as well. Aki pulled himself back up, and Tarinia, still hanging on, swung over him and somersaulted across the arena to the other end.

Aki darted after her, a sudden burst of energy showing he had become a Saiyan. Tarinia leapt high up and over the approaching Saiyan, shooting a small energy blast after him. It hit Aki, but he shrugged it off. The same energy blast, however, would have seriously hurt a normal human.

Aki stopped, looking at his opponent. She had been taught by both him and Tenchi, and while Aki had taught her the basics, Tenchi had certainly played a big hand with her later training. Not so much about the offence now, as Aki had unwittingly taught his students to lean towards that ideal, but now more emphasis was on evasion and dexterity. Tarinia had known that her energy blast wouldn't have hurt Aki at all, so it was obviously not meant as an actual attack.

Tarinia looked back at her sensei. While she had utmost respect for him, and was certainly one of his friends, she still wanted to fight and win. With this in mind, back when Tenchi had started training everyone, Tarinia had asked him something.

Tenchi was interested now, and was standing in the archway, watching Aki, who was about to realise what had happened. He smiled slightly.

Aki began to power up, planning to show everyone the Super Saiyan form at least once before the finals. He coughed.

Tarinia lowered herself to a spot close to her master. "Aki, anything the matter?" she asked with a seemingly innocent tone.

"No, not really," Aki replied. He coughed again.

"Oh," Tarinia replied. "Because it seems to me like you can't power up any more. Is that right?"

"What are you talking about?"

Tenchi focussed on the two as Tarinia continued, smiling a bit more.

"That energy blast I shot you with?" Tarinia said. "Not just something you shrugged off. It's actually a special technique Tenchi taught me, just for this fight. It's the power limiter technique. It prevents you from increasing your energy any more." Tarinia leaned back slightly, as if looking at Aki in a different way. "I suppose now we're even," she said. She powered up to a Saiyan, reaching an energy level similar to Aki's, about 3 million.

Aki glanced over at Tenchi, who smiled and waved back. Aki had that look in his eyes, the look that said, "if I ever wanted to get you, it's quite probably now".

"Just get on with it," Tenchi's voice came into his mind. "I can reverse it later. But you've got a fight now, and I fully expect you to win."

"Why's that?" Aki thought back.

"I have my reasons."

Instead of arguing, Aki jumped forwards into a flurry of fists and legs, all the time trying to figure out what he could still do. He broke away and flew as fast as he could around the arena. He was fine.

"It limits power, Aki, not speed," Tenchi's voice said again. "You can't be stronger than that, but you can still use the rest of your energy for other things."

Aki grinned, once again looking over at Tenchi. He raised a thumbs up as he flew, far too fast to be seen by anyone but him. Tenchi responded with the same.

Aki flew straight at Tarinia and sent her flying before she could catch on. Several hits sent her to the edge of the arena and straight over the end, to the end of the fight. Unable to focus, Tarinia dropped to the ground, out of the arena and tournament. Aki landed beside her and pulled her up.

"Good fight, Tar," Aki said, resting an arm on her shoulder as they walked back to the waiting area. "Very clever. I didn't know you were getting special training from him over there."

"You never asked," Tarinia replied, smiling. "It was fun, while it lasted."

"Good fight," Tenchi said as they arrived. "Tarinia, great use of our little secret. You've learned it amazingly quickly."

"I had an amazing teacher," Tarinia replied, blushing slightly.

"No, no, you did a good job," Aki agreed. "Now I just need to get my power back. Tenchi?"

Tenchi raised an arm and pointed his finger straight at Aki's forehead. "Do you trust me?" he asked.

"Of course not," Aki replied.

"Good." Tenchi sent a small purple spark form his finger at Aki. As it hit, more purple streaks zapped from his body to the ground. "You're discharged now," Tenchi said. "Your power's back."

Aki didn't have to try it. He trusted him. "You knew that was going to happen, didn't you?" Aki asked, looking at his brother. "That us two would get paired up. That's why you taught Tar that move."

"Wouldn't be much of a God if I didn't see that coming," Tenchi replied. "But I believe we've got another half hour break before the semi-finals. And then, me versus Taurit, and you versus Sasami. Want a drink?"

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They did have the break, so Tenchi, Sasami and Aki went back again to the private room and the others. Ryoko was already there.

Tenchi had stayed behind for a moment to get another drink, and nearly bumped into someone walking out of a door as he returned to his room.

"Nearly spilled my drink there," Tenchi said, steadying the cup and holding out his right hand. "Hi, I'm Tenchi. How are you?"

"Sorry," the man he nearly bumped into replied. "Hey, you're Tenchi Masaki, aren't you?"

"I suppose I am," Tenchi replied, his hand still offered. The man noticed and shook it.

"Hi," the man said. "I'm Katari. Katari Midomo."

"Hey," Tenchi said. "Katari... You're not the Katari, are you? Katari, the tournament champion?"

"Um, that's right," Katari said.

"You've got to fight the winner of the tournament after, don't you?" Tenchi asked. "Well, good luck with that. I hope you'll win."

"Why? Do you know something we don't?"

"Lots of things," Tenchi smiled. "But don't let that upset you. It was nice meeting you, but I should get back to my friends."

"And you. Will I see you later?"

"I think so."

Tenchi returned to his room, while Katari walked off somewhere, his knees almost keeping him up.

"Hi, Tenchi," Ayeka greeted. "How was your fight?"

"Fine," Tenchi replied. "How's life up here? It seems okay to me, but you've been up here for the past couple of hours. You can always go somewhere else if you want."

"That's okay," Washu replied. "We're fine. So what are your thoughts on the next few fights?"

"You don't want to know," Tenchi replied. "It'd just spoil the surprise," he added as he saw their faces.

"A surprise?" Nobuyuki said. "So you're not going to win, or something?"

"What I mean is, the future is always a surprise," Tenchi said. "I'd just ruin what you're going to see by telling you. Besides, what makes you think I've looked into the future anyway?"

"You saw my fight against Tarinia," Aki was quick to say.

"Doesn't mean I've looked at everything else that happens today," Tenchi said, walking over to the window and sitting on the frame. The windows had no glass, because the only times they would be looked out of would be a fine day to hold the tournaments. Fighters couldn't fight in a drizzle, could they? And what would the audience be like?

"I must say, Tenchi," Nobuyuki said. "I'm very impressed that you managed to get this far, even without using all your fancy powers."

"Thanks, dad," Tenchi replied. His eyes flicked to a spot in the air near him, and smiled slightly, before paying attention to the rest of the room again.

Sasami was busy playing with Ryo-Ohki, who was scampering around the floor, trying not to be tapped by the quick little princess. Aki was sitting down, his eyes closed, relaxing or meditating, whichever was uncertain. Yosho and Nobuyuki were drinking some tea they had found, after several minutes of searching this and the adjacent rooms. Ayeka and Ryoko were hovering around Tenchi, waiting for him to pay attention to them.

"Sorry, girls," Tenchi said, realising they were there. "What do you want?"

Just to be with him, apparently. And so here, sitting holding a woman in each arm, surrounded by his family and friends, Tenchi Masaki was just another person. Nowhere else would he get such treatment. Only with these people was he not special, not someone to worship or idolise or whisper about, or to be placed on a completely different level to the rest of the universe.

Yes, Tenchi quite liked it here.

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"Ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer called yet again. "The semi-finals are about to take place! Settle down, now, so we can start the first of the two bouts. This one is between Tenchi Masaki and Taurit Fi. Would the two fighters come to the arena, please?"

Tenchi was ready this time, and was already in the waiting area, as was his opponent Taurit. It seemed like Taurit hadn't actually moved for the half-hour. But now she stood up and walked outside to the raised paved area. Tenchi followed her, watching her not with suspicion or apprehension, but with curiosity. Knowing everything hadn't made him less interested in things, things he could just think about whenever he wanted; quite the opposite, it made him completely fascinated with everything around him. He could appreciate the fineness of the construction of an atom, could see the harmonics of a molecule, and there were quite a few of those around. He was watching the way she was walking, her tails swishing slightly with the steps, curling round lazily.

"Now for a few words with our fighters," the announcer said. "Miss Fi, what made you decide to enter this tournament?"

"Nothing made me enter," Taurit replied curtly. "I felt like it."

"Right. And what do you plan to do with the prize money, should you win?"

"I plan to spend it how I want," Taurit said. She looked at the announcer for a second, and turned and walked to a spot on the arena floor.

The announcer turned to Tenchi. "Mr Masaki, how did you come to enter?" he asked.

"Please, call me Tenchi," Tenchi replied. "It's my name, after all. And I entered because my brother Aki mentioned it, and it sounded fun, so I entered."

"And what will you do with the prize money if you win?"

"I don't know," Tenchi replied. "I hadn't thought about it. I'm just here for some fun."

"But the prize is twenty million Jurai-coin," the announcer said, his voice quivering slightly. "That's what everyone enters for. It's a lot of money."

"So I've heard," Tenchi said. "But like I said, I don't really care. I'd probably just donate it or something."

"All of it?" The announcer's voice was really quivering now. He, like everyone else there, had grown up knowing exactly how valuable the Jurai-coin was, and here was Tenchi, just breezing it aside.

Assuming the questions were over, Tenchi walked over to another spot on the arena. He thought it was a nice spot, and if he looked up slightly he could see all his friends in the private room. After giving them a little wave, Tenchi looked once again at his opponent. Her long chestnut hair, draped over her shoulders and tied with red ribbons, was billowing slightly in the breeze. Her matching brown eyes observed Tenchi's every movement, and her slim figure was positioned in such a way as to enhance her appearance, while still being an excellent starting form.

"Have a nice fight," Tenchi called. He got no reply. Her attitude, unfortunately, at least, the one Tenchi had encountered, was not as good as her figure. Tenchi wasn't attracted to her, though. He had two fiancées, both of whom were Tenchi's true loves. The wedding hadn't been planned for any actual time, though; they really would have to start organising things soon.

And the fight started.

--------------------

Taurit ran quickly across the arena at Tenchi, who just stood there, still thinking about the coming wedding. One ceremony or two, was the question. He'd ask them later. So it came as quite a surprise when, his mind completely thinking about something else, he was hit in the face. The punch sent him reeling back, and he fell to the ground before he came back to his senses.

A drop of blood splattered on the ground. It had come from Tenchi's nose. Tenchi sniffed and wiped the other blood trickling from his nostril. But he very quickly had no time to worry about a bloody nose, because Taurit had Tenchi trapped, bound by her tails, the tails he had reattached. One tail was wrapping his arms and throat, while the other had trapped his legs. Tenchi choked as the grip around his neck tightened.

"Thanks for giving me my tails back," Taurit whispered in his ear. "I doubt you can concentrate enough to do anything with your energy while I've got you like this."

Indeed Tenchi couldn't. The surging headache, which was already throbbing painfully, was stopping him thinking enough about anything else to escape. If he could just get an arm free...

But he couldn't. He was quickly approaching unconsciousness, and he couldn't do a thing about it. Already the noise around him was getting quieter, more distant. His eyes were closed in an attempt to concentrate more.

In the audience, and especially in the private room with Tenchi's friends, there was uproar. How could this person be strangling God like this?

"Tenchi!" Ryoko and Ayeka were shouting, while the others were trying to stop them flying through the window.

"You let him go now!" Ayeka shouted, forgetting everything about being a princess. "Don't you dare hurt my Tenchi any more!"

Ryoko was shouting similar things. The others in the room were holding those two back, except for Yosho. Yosho was sitting in a chair, watching the fight. Sure, he was worried, but he also knew that Tenchi wouldn't be beaten so easily.

Aki and Sasami were also watching from the waiting area. They couldn't tell how Tenchi was doing, but it didn't look good. They were only just managing to restrain themselves from flying straight over and beating up Taurit.

But back on the arena, Tenchi appeared, just behind Taurit, and tapped her on her shoulder.

"Please don't do that," he said calmly.

Taurit looked back at her tails, which were still wrapped around Tenchi. And yet here was another Tenchi, asking her to let go.

"Wha... what?" Taurit stammered, really not getting what was going on. Her grip on Tenchi loosened, allowing the new Tenchi to twist her tails off him and carry him away a bit. The released Tenchi looked up at the other and smiled.

"Thanks," he said, sitting up and rubbing his nose. They both looked at Taurit, who herself was looking very disorientated.

"What's going on?" she asked the two, her question showing her state of mind.

"Never heard of the Multiform technique?" the released Tenchi asked.

"We split just after the bout started," the other Tenchi said. "I just hid for a while."

"You planned this?" Taurit asked.

"Not as such," the other Tenchi said. "It was just a precaution, you know? Seems to have paid off, though."

"Can we carry on?" the released Tenchi asked, standing up. "Fusion."

"Ha!" they both called. They both glowed a bright blue and merged, fusing back together, before the glowing faded.

"Shall we continue?" Tenchi asked, before instantly disappearing. Invisible punches rained down on Taurit, sending her reeling across the arena. Tenchi appeared, grabbed her and disappeared with her. Taurit reappeared just above the ground outside the arena, and promptly fell, hitting the ground with a small thud. Tenchi appeared on the arena, standing at the edge, before hopping off and helping his opponent up.

"Good fight," Tenchi said, rubbing her stomach to alleviate her pain. "If I hadn't split, you'd have won."

"I'd say that's cheating," Taurit replied as they both walked towards the waiting area. "But I know better than to argue with God."

"It's not cheating, anyway," Tenchi said. "There's nothing in the rules about not being allowed to use that technique. In fact, there's pretty much no rules, apart from how a person wins, remember? Anything goes."

"At least it was a good fight," Taurit said, "even though it was a bit short."

"Well," Tenchi replied as they reached the waiting area. "The outcome of pretty much every fight is chosen before it starts, because of differences in strength and strategy and all that. The actual fight then doesn't last long at all."

"Figures," Taurit said. "Hey, now you're in the finals. Good luck with that. I'll stick around and watch, okay?"

"Sure," Tenchi replied.

"Tenchi what was that?" Aki asked. "I didn't sense you do anything. How did you use Multiform?"

"I can mask my energy really well," Tenchi replied. "I can also mask my appearance, making me invisible. It's a bit tricky, but I did it. Had you fooled, didn't I?"

"I'll say," Sasami said. "We were all worried about you, Tenchi. Are you okay now?"

"I'm fine, thanks," Tenchi replied, resting a hand on the young girl's head. "But now it's your turn. Go and beat up this guy."

"Not likely," Aki said as he turned and walked to the arena. "You just watch."

"Have fun," Tenchi called after them. He sat down on a nearby bench and sat to watch the fight.

"So, Aki Masaki," the announcer was saying to Aki, "what made you decide to enter this tournament?"

"I just felt like it," Aki replied. "And I also want another chance to fight Tenchi." He grinned, looking over at his brother, who raised a thumb up at him and smiled back.

"Yes, because if you remember," the announcer said, now addressing the audience, "the story goes that Aki and Tenchi first met as rivals, and they fought, during which Aki lost, despite having drained his opponent of all his energy."

"Don't rub it in," Aki whispered, before turning and walking past Sasami to the middle of the arena. Sasami stepped forwards.

"Ah, Princess Sasami," the announcer greeted. "And what made you decide to enter today?"

"Well, I knew it was on, and Tenchi has been training me," Sasami said. "He's a great teacher. He suggested that I enter the tournament to see how good I've become."

"Tenchi trained you?" the announcer asked. "Well, it makes sense. He should know everything there is to know about the art of fighting. It wouldn't surprise me that he's a good teacher."

"He's the best," Sasami said. After a pause, she turned around and walked over to a spot near Aki.

And the gong sounded, signalling the start of the fight.

--------------------

Both fighters began to power up, reaching the Saiyan form quickly. They stopped and charged at each other, disappearing just before they collided. Afterimages of the two appeared all around the arena as they moved frantically, punching, kicking and blocking the other. After a while, explosions started appearing around the sky and ground. They had both started to use energy attacks.

They both landed, on opposite sides of the arena, arms at their sides, hands cupping the air.

"Kah meh hah meh haa!" they both yelled, throwing the attacks they were forming at each other. The blasts shot towards each other, colliding in the centre of the ring, where a large ball of energy, similar to the one Tenchi and Aki were fighting over at the end of their first fight, just before Tenchi first became Supreme Saiyan. Instead of staying stable, the ball exploded after a few seconds of being formed, the explosion filling the middle half of the ring.

Aki looked sideways at Tenchi, who was containing the explosion. He didn't appear to be doing much, but he was stopping the kameya-meya blasts destroying the planet, which they easily would have done if Tenchi wasn't there.

Sasami flew through the explosion, ready to swing a punch at Aki, which she did. Aki flew back, recoiling from the hit, and disappeared. Sasami too vanished.

As the explosion dissipated, streaks of lightning could be seen flashing around the arena. The two fighters were moving even faster now. A few shockwaves appeared around the sky, and then, in one place, a flash of gold. One of the fighters had transformed to a Super Saiyan.

A second later, a crater appeared just outside the arena on the ground. Sasami appeared, rebounding from the collision, and fell on the ground, lying quite still.

A few seconds after that, Aki appeared at the edge of the arena, standing watching the princess. Then he hopped down and pulled Sasami up, hoisting her onto his back, before flying over to Tenchi, to the sound of cheering, hissing, and "Aki is the winner!" by the announcer.

Sasami was lowered into a chair, and Tenchi placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, beginning to heal her wounds. She had a cracked rib and gashes and cuts across her body. Tenchi healed them all, and redid her clothes at the same time, making them appear new again. He then tapped her on her cheek.

"Wake up, you," Tenchi said softly.

Sasami slowly opened an eye and looked at Tenchi. "I didn't win, did I?" she asked.

"Not just then, no," Tenchi replied, smiling.

Sasami lifted herself onto her feet. "Oh well," she said. "Maybe next time I won't lose."

"Come on," Tenchi said. "Let's go find the others."

And so they set off for the private room. The people inside asked how Sasami was, and after she insisted that she was okay, Nobuyuki spoke.

"So I guess this means you and Tenchi are fighting in the finals, then," he said to Aki.

"Looks that way," Aki replied, looking at Tenchi.

"At least we're wearing different clothes," Tenchi replied. "But with the amount of energy we'll probably be using, I don't think the planet will be too safe, do you?"

"You could just contain it, couldn't you?" Aki asked. "Like you did with the kameya-meyas just now?"

"I could," Tenchi replied. "But I wasn't busy fighting before. I may not be able to hold it."

Everyone looked shocked, as they suddenly realised that they could all be vaporised by the next fight, along with everyone else on the planet.

"But... but you're God," Ayeka stuttered. "You can't contain that kind of energy?"

Tenchi's serious face remained for a few seconds, and then a smile appeared. "Course I can," he replied. "Just having you on. But I wouldn't do too many big blasts, Aki. If I beat you while containing all those explosions at the same time, you wouldn't really look great."

"But that's if you beat me," Aki replied.

Everyone else in the room looked sceptical. In their minds there wasn't a doubt who was going to win. But as Tenchi had said, he was holding back his power to match his opponent, to give them a chance. Perhaps Aki could win after all.

In the next episode of Apex AZ:

Aki fights Tenchi in the finals, and the winner goes on to fight Katari Midomo, the current Galactic Champion. Afterwards, Tenchi talks with Yosho, and the inevitable happens.

All this and more in the next episode of Apex AZ: "The End...".