Everyone was captivated by the seemingly impossible feat performed before them, by an old man no less. They all waited in eager anticipation for what the announcer would say next.
"I can't believe it! I don't know how but Jackie Chun was able to harness the power of the wind to push his opponent from the ring! When I first met this man he called himself legendary, a title I believed just for show, but he has proven me wrong, he is truly one of the greatest contestants to ever grace this ring! Please give him some applause ladies and gentlemen!" The crowd erupted into a mass of cheers and whistles all with a resounding love for the elderly man who seemed to defy reality by harnessing the elements around him.
Yamcha, who was laying outside the ring, was dazed by his opponent's incredible attack and laid there caressing the back of his head which hit the ground first. He rolled over and pushed himself up, somehow finding the strength to walk outside of the arena and make his way back into the entrance to the main hall. Although he lost, he took solace in knowing that the skill and technique of his opponent were far above anything anyone could have anticipated. He greeted Goku, Gohan, and Krillin who saw his approach and fell from the wall to greet him as he entered.
"Hey, guys." He paused as he began to fall over; Goku quickly propped him up in time for Yamcha to steady himself "That is NOT what I meant by 'let me show you how it's done'". He decided it was probably better to sit down than to risk falling over, so he propped himself up against the arena perimeter wall and let himself slide to the floor. "That guy was incredible, I trained for months in the harsh wilderness to prepare for this tournament and I couldn't lay a finger on him. Whichever one of you gets him as an opponent I hope you do better me"
Yamcha heard the familiar elderly tone. "You did just fine. Especially for someone who has had no formal training." He looked up and saw Chun as he walked to the boys who had gathered around Yamcha. "Yes, I'd say that Master Roshi you were talking about would be happy to have a student as naturally gifted as you."
Gohan smiled and rolled his eyes as everyone gasped at the idea of Yamcha training with Master Roshi.
Yamcha gratefully replied, "Thanks, that means a lot especially coming from the guy who blew me from the ring without laying a finger on me. Where'd you learn to do that anyway?"
Chun stroked his beard "You learn a great many things when you travel the world learning about all the various forms and cultures surrounding the martial arts." He sweat a little hoping to try and cover his mystique with a little humor. "Of course, sometimes you can't always train with the best! I mean compared to that handsome devil Master Roshi, boy I don't think I'd stand a chance!" He grew slightly nervous as his attempt at humor fell flat with his audience of three.
Goku interjected, "Speaking of Master Roshi, has anybody seen him? When I was in my match with Giren I looked around and I didn't see him anywhere."
Gohan quickly came up with a cover story "When I wasn't feeling well I went outside of the tournament grounds and I think Master Roshi was shopping around for gifts or something. Maybe getting presents for you guys for after the tournament."
Krillin laughed. "Yeah, that or dirty magazines."
Roshi gave a silent nod to Gohan signifying his thanks, the boy smiled and nodded back.
"Why would he want those? If they're dirty then just go get nicer ones. I'm sure someone in the city will give him some nice magazines." Goku confusedly said.
"That's not what I meant Goku." Krillin said. He could see Goku's curiosity lessen as the topic didn't interest him.
"Do you guys know when the next fight will be? I'm super excited! It's just me, Jack, and you mister Chun right?" Goku asked.
Roshi grinned, happy to see his pupil so excited for the next match. "I do believe that you and Jack are up next and then it's Krillin and me." Roshi saw as the blood drained from Krillin's face, but was quickly distracted by the excited giggling of Goku who relished the challenge of fighting 'Jack'.
Gohan had not counted on this. The day had been so hectic he hadn't considered the possibility he would make it far enough to where he would have to fight his father. He began thinking through the possible outcomes of the fight: What if he hit him too hard? What if he didn't hit him hard enough, causing more suspicion? He tried to calm himself...
It's okay as long as I have the senzu beans nothing I could do could really hurt him. I hope...
"Isn't that exciting Jack?"
Gohan dialed back in, he glanced over to Goku who seemed to be waiting for a response "I'm sorry what?"
"I said our match should be starting any time now isn't that exciting!?" Goku grabbed Gohan's shoulders and shook him a little.
Gohan felt comforted seeing how excited his father was for the match. He reaffirmed in himself that he had enough control over his ki to where his attacks would only slightly bruise his brittle father. He tried to look as happy as he possibly could. "Yeah, Goku it'll be great."
The short time between matches passed, and before they knew it, Goku and Gohan were walking out together onto the stage. The announcer saw the two stand next to each other and hadn't noticed how similar they looked before. He hadn't seen the two together yet, he would have found it difficult to tell which is which except for the significantly crazier mess of hair that sat on Goku's head and of course the different outfits. He led the two on stage and decided to interview them in front of the crowd. He held the microphone up to Goku's face.
"So, Goku, you never told us you joined the tournament with your little brother, were you planning on keeping it a surprise on the off chance you would be set in a match like this?"
Goku looked at the small metallic hatch-crossed ball sitting atop a black cone. "What is this? Is it for me?"
Gohan whispered into Goku's ear explaining what the strange object was.
"Oh okay!" He spoke into the microphone "This is Jack he's just my friend. I um..." He scratched his head "I don't think I have any brothers."
"Well, that certainly is interesting considering how similar you guys look. I suppose I could ask about a more pressing question, Goku what's with the tail?" He pointed downwards attracting much attention from the audience who was just as curious as their charismatic host. "Is it real?"
"My tail? Well, how about I just show you." He began untying his belt.
Gohan blushed and grabbed onto Goku's waist just before he tried to slide his pants down. "Goku! Bad idea! Keep your pants on." He was incredibly embarrassed that his father was this clueless at his age.
"Why? They just want to see my tail." His comment was met with nervous laughter from the people in the stands, along with one loud disappointed sigh from Bulma that seemed to break out from the other noise of the crowd.
The announcer seconded Gohan's opinion. "Yeah that's okay, I think we'll just take your word for it. We don't need any complaints filed for public indecency, we already get enough heat from the law for letting kids participate in the tournament, I don't think we need a lawsuit." He waited for Goku to retie his belt. "All right, well I think that's enough interviewing are you two ready to fight?"
Goku could hardly contain himself. "Yeah! I'll go to my spot." He moved as fast as possible into the opposite corner of the arena. He waited impatiently as Gohan made his way to his. Goku was eager for the words he had been waiting to hear the entire time he was on stage.
"Alright, you may begin!"
Goku sprung as soon as the announcer had finished, opening the fight with a spread of different kicks and punches aimed at his opponent's center. Gohan blocked every one of them with ease being as gentle as he could with each counter he made. He felt like he could stay in this moment forever, he loved to see just how happy his father was. He could see the expression of pure ecstasy as they continued to jump, kick and throw punches at each other. The glimmer in his eyes seemed to grow brighter and brighter as the fight continued which made Gohan more hesitant to fight back. He decided after blocking the first couple of attacks that he at least had to make one of his own, he gave a light kick to Goku's legs which unintentionally floored him.
Gohan could visibly see Goku's exhaustion as he slowly stood up; his shoulders drooped a little as he tried to catch his breath. Gohan tried to emulate the exhaustion but he had always been a terrible actor, good thing he knew Goku wasn't too observant otherwise he would have caught on to the scheme.
"You're really good! But I thought of a new move while we were fighting!"
Gohan smiled, excited to see that his father still came up with moves on the fly just like he did whenever he got to see him fight. He thought back to Namek and remembered sensing the underwater double kamehama trick his father used to distract Frieza long enough to plant his feet right into his smug face, his father's resourcefulness always amazed him.
He tried to sound as breathless as possible "Really? What's it called?"
"Tornado!"
Gohan looked as Goku began to spin himself around becoming so fast that he blurred into a mess of black and orange. He immediately jumped back and got into a defensive stance. He silently acknowledged his father's ingenuity; spinning is a good trick. Spinning made Goku impossible to hit unless he targeted his head and made getting close dangerous unless he wanted to get smacked by his rotating arms. However, it would only be a brief moment before Goku would get dizzy and be incapable of blocking any kind of attack. Gohan took this opportunity to lower his ki and intentionally lose the match. Besides the fact that he couldn't risk hurting him to the point where he would be unable to face Master Roshi, Gohan found it incredibly difficult to find the nerve to hit Goku. He had already killed him once he couldn't risk do it again.
He made a slow and lazy attempt to dodge as the tornado quickly made its way over. He lowered his energy as far as he could, preparing himself for each hit that connected to feel like a blunt club bashing his arms, stomach, and face.
Master Roshi looked in from the sidelines, he felt the fluctuation of emotions throughout the entire match and stood, baffled by how willing Gohan was to be pummeled by an otherwise avoidable attack.
All that guilt, surfacing once again. Poor boy, I wonder what happened. What would make you so willing to be beaten just to avoid throwing a punch at your father?
Gohan was flung back off the stage by the force of the attack; but, before he could raise his defenses again, the back of his head smashed into the wall which crumbled as he connected with it. He was dizzy and nearly unconscious but was overjoyed he wouldn't have to be in the ring anymore. No more stressing over the tournament, now he could just sit back and enjoy without the worry of hurting anyone in any more unnecessary fights.
Goku stopped spinning, he was a little dizzy but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. He was more worried over the fact he just sent Jack flying from the ring. The crowd initially cheered but grew quiet as he ran over to check on his friend which laid under broken bricks, he turned a bleach-like white.
"Jack are you okay?" He moved the debris off of him and lifted his head, clearing the dust from his eyes and cheeks.
He coughed "I'm fine..."
Goku was relieved to see he hadn't hurt him too badly, he lifted Gohan and hugged him
"Jeez, I thought I really hurt you. I'm sorry."
Gohan was still disoriented and not completely aware of where he was. He put his hand on his father's chest feeling around for his shoulders. He felt tired, he felt overwhelmingly tired. It had reminded him of all the times Goku picked him up and carried him home after a long and exhausting day of training for the arrival of the androids. His memories seemed to blend and mix with reality, he was convinced he was that innocent seven-year-old boy again and he really was being held by his father at the end of an eternally long training day.
His voice was strained but he sounded particularly pleased "That's okay Daddy, I'm sure mom won't be too mad; I'll just say I got hurt on one of our hikes. Can Mister Piccolo head to the lookout a little early? I don't think I can train anymore today." He let out a small grin "Can we can go home?". After some searching, he was able to find Goku's shoulders, and he wrapped his arms around them and his legs around his torso, expecting him to pick him up as easily as he usually could. "I'm so tired Daddy... c-could you carry me?"
Goku frowned, he worried that he did do some real damage "What?"
Gohan felt some clarity as he heard his prepubescent father's voice, his eyes opened and the dizziness faded a little. He quickly released his hold, standing up and struggling to keep his balance. He moved his hand to the back of his head which throbbed and ached in waves as he touched it.
"Sorry Goku, I think you hit me harder than I thought." His strength suddenly deserted him and he collapsed back into Goku's arms falling unconscious shortly after.
The crowd cheered and clapped for the two, touched to see friendship in a competition where so many people were eager to tear each other apart. As Goku walked back carrying Gohan he felt more and more conflicted. He felt as if when Gohan was talking, he was talking directly to him. The tone and the warmth in Gohan's voice just felt aimed towards him rather than whoever Goku imagined he was speaking to.
As he made his way to the entrance he could see Yamcha, Krillin and Chun gather around as he led Gohan into the Main Hall. The tournament was always very courteous to their finalists and the Main Hall was no exception. Its architecture resembled that of many eastern religious buildings but was furnished with extravagant velvet couches and seats for contestants as they waited for their match. Goku laid Gohan down on one of the particularly spongy red sofas.
Krillin surprisingly was the first to say anything.
"Wow Goku, you see what I mean when I worry you're too strong for your own good."
Goku answered in a voice riddled with guilt. "Yeah I see what you mean, but there was no way that attack should have hurt him this badly. I know he was nowhere near as tired as I was, there's just no way one attack like that could hurt him this much. It doesn't make any sense."
Roshi was quick to cover up any suspicion. "Ah you see Goku, he was distracted. The sunlight blinded him making him vulnerable to your attacks."
Goku seemed unsatisfied, "But even still, I would have figured he'd jump back at least. I would never mean to hurt him this bad."
Yamcha chimed in trying to lighten the mood. "Yeah well now he knows how I felt."
Gohan slowly awoke, he opened his eyes and looked up into the concerned faces of Goku, Yamcha, Krillin, and Jackie Chun.
"Hey guys, sorry to scare you like that. I hit my head really hard" He struggled to stay awake as he extended his hand toward Goku.
Goku grabbed onto it, trying to help the boy sit up. After finding that sitting up made the dizziness much worse, Gohan decided to lay back down. Goku quickly let go of his hand as soon as he could, feeling incredibly guilty for hurting Gohan that much.
"I think I'm alright, although I definitely won't be fighting for a while." Just saying that made him feel better. The fact that there would be no more worrying over not showing too much strength but not showing too little, relaxed him. "I think I'll stick to spectating from here on out" He laughed which served to intensify his headache, causing him to rub his wounded head softly.
Goku shifted himself around the sofa to be behind Gohan he propped the back of his head up to inspect it. "Are you okay Jack? I'm sorry I hit you that hard. I didn't mean t-"
"Hey, it's okay." He reached behind himself to rub Goku's shoulder. "Don't worry about it, it's a competition remember?"
Goku smiled and was relieved to see Gohan wasn't angry with him. "Yeah...I guess so."
Gohan was eager to see his father fight Master Roshi and hurried the conversation along.
"Speaking of competition, when's the next match?"
Krillin gulped "It's me against Jackie Chun."
Goku tried to encourage Krillin "Hey it's okay Krillin, during your fight with that really smelly guy you moved way faster than Yamcha did so I think you'll do great"
Yamcha didn't appreciate the unintended insult. "Gee, thanks Goku. You do know I haven't gotten the opportunity for special training like you two, I'd like to see just how far you'd make it on your own."
He laughed "Sorry Yamcha! I didn't mean it like that."