Yo! Son Goku and friends! Saiyan Saga (Chapter 27)
Krillin
Krillin awoke to the sun's rays spilling into his apartment through the uncurtained glass. He shielded his groggy eyes with his right hand before yawning wide and waffling around for his phone. The time: 7:51 A.M. The date: May 7th
Krillin rubbed at his eyes one final time before posturing up and pondering.
"Ahh, might as well. I don't think I'll compete, I woke up incredibly late as it is. But I don't really feel like missing my friends duke it out with prize money on the line." Krillin sat up and looked down at the coffee table, immaculately clean, spotless, no stains nor any mess in his Capsule apartment. Charging himself up with bobs, he finally left the soft.
The turtle student hopped over the couch and grabbed some water from the fridge as well as a firm blue book. Hundreds of pages were packed between the heavy hardback or would be heavy for the average individual. Krillin walked around to the closet and picked out his navy blue classic suit, a reminder of an older era. He grabbed a red tie from the cubby hole near the bottom and was out of the apartment in a flash, fixing his tie before he flew off into the aether.
It felt like he was flying for a long time but it was really only because Krillin's mind wandered, conjuring up all sorts of scenarios and what-if matches, unable to stop thinking about it on the way. Soon enough the bald but well suited man flew above the stands, checking his watch.
7:59
"Nice!"
"Ladies and Gentlemennnn!" The announcer roared. "I think it's just about time for us to introduce our fighters!"
Yamcha, Tien, Raditz, A girl with two buns on each side of her head, a large bear with a matching sword, a girl with her hair tied in a bow, a humble looking brown man with a white gi and a mysterious hulk of a figure also wearing a navy suit stood behind the archway leading to the stadium.
Tien noticed first, flashing a smile to Krillin from their far distance.
"Damn Tien's vision is insane, that man can see me from here?"
Tien shook his fist in a declaration and Krillin nodded back down with a smile.
"Now thanks to Capsule Corp. we here at The Tenkaichi Budokai can now measure the power of our combatants! We've used this excellently crafted technology many times today but just for you folks we made sure to put it in the right spot!"
The crowd jumped to their feet, rumbling the colosseum with equal parts enthusiasm and 'modest' bloodthirst. Mic's white teeth gleamed in the sunshine and adoration, hollywood moviestar style.
"Alright folks get ready for our first matchup! We've got someone who's been here quite a few times if you recall and he's got quite the unique calling card! The one~ the only~"
Yamcha walked dramatically through the archway, the giant screen atop the tournament ring displaying a whopping 7,421 points.
"YAMCHA! Now I don't know if you guys follow your sports but this powerful fighter has played baseball with the Titans for over two years! Give our multi-talent a warm welcoooome!"
Yamcha vanished from the brick walkway and right in front of the annoncer, building up to a war cry of some kind before belting out into a howl.
"AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO~"
"AYYY! YAAAHHH! AWOO~"
Most assuredly a mixed reaction, but the volume of his supporters far outweighed the hesitancy of his detractors and Yamcha waved to them before heading to the opposite side of the ring.
Krillin scanned the massive arena for a while before he finally found Goku and Piccolo using his Ki Sensing. They were standing on an overhang in the back of the arena, looming over some of the crowd, with a picture perfect view of the tiled ring below. Goku watched on, juggling a bit of excitement and disappointment as he leaned his arms onto the railing. Piccolo, cool as ever, stood with stoicism, arms crossed defiantly. The young father's attention was stolen by Krillin as he flew closer, drawing him in with an excited wave of his left hand.
"Hey! Get over here!"
His infectious enthusiasm not taking any time at all to seep in.
"How's it goin'?" Krillin responded as he touched down.
"Pretty good."
"Pretty good?" He raised a brow and smiled with an attitude. "Usually you answer with awesome or fantastic."
"Well…" He leaned back over the railing. "I didn't realise what Bulma meant when she said we were gonna do an exhibition. I thought I'd still be entering the tournament but I'm banned this year cause I gotta fight Piccolo." Goku slumped onto his hands with a melancholic but still distinctly silly look about him.
"You're not banned, Son Goku, it's called a contractual agreement. Being banned would be like if you killed someone during the tournament. You should have looked over that paper Bulma gave you, numbskull."
Krillin just looked back at Piccolo, waving with only a pinch of spirit.
"Mongrel."
"Figures."
"Hmph."
The trio all stared daggers at the arena from the railing, Krillin jumping up and standing over top of the metal ridge like a superhero.
"And our next contestant is a strange one! If you remember from The 21st and The 22nd Budokais, our hero Goku had a tail during those tournaments! And it was just like this new mysterious fighter's!"
Raditz walked through the machine archway and the number on screen shocked the audience.
Battle Power
8,029
"Can you believe the power he holds!? If you remember, our strongest contestant in the Non-Supernatural category was 65! These fighters are out of control! Please raise a round of applause for our new tailed fighter: RAAAHDITS!"
The crowd rained down applause and the Saiyan just stood there, dumbstruck. His head started on a slow swivel, but then spun around, the sheer noise of it all cut across and his breath was stolen if even for just a moment.
"Wow…" He thought. "They're doing this for me..?"
Raditz strolled along the brick path and the three steps it took to enter the ring felt monumental, each stone lift gnawing away at his being before he stood on the tile.
"Around 600 points separate our fighters! I wonder if that hurdle will prove difficult for our Ex-Titan to overcome!"
Kami floated in from overhead, touching down right behind the trio.
"Kami!"
"Hello! Young Goku, Krillin, Piccolo."
"You're just in time old man, you get to see me beat this Mongrel's ass in the runback."
"Heh-heh-heh. As much as you change you still remain the same."
"I hope that dog eared mutt wins the whole thing so I can make him look like the Mongrel he really is. Howling like a wolf…" Piccolo shook his head and chuckled.
"I don't know Piccolo, I think you're starting to really like us."
"You don't know what you're talking about, Son Goku."
"You're smiling. You were smiling when you were talking about Yamcha." Goku leaned his back against the railing and provided his unavoidable fatherly glare.
You didn't have to be his kid to get caught in the trap. There was just something about it.
"Tch. As if."
Goku smiled wide too, waving hello to one of his previous teachers.
"What brings you here, Kami?"
"Oh, well, you see-" The Guardian of Earth stood next to Goku, pointing at The Wolf from the railing with his staff. "That dog eared mutt and that blue haired lass asked me to reinforce the stadium tiles with my magic so that things are not too hectic."
"Great idea!"
"Well, I think it was more about the money and less about the sanctity of competition if you know what I mean."
"Hee-hee-haugh-haugh! Sounds like Bulma!"
"Heh-heh."
Krillin shot a quick glance at the green God, issuing a nod and then turning back around to face the fighters staring each other down in the ring. Yamcha got in low and stretched out his legs with pistol squats for each one. Raditz rotated his shoulders and core before hiking up his knees back to back, going ham on an invisible stairmaster.
Raditz VS Yamcha
Objective: Keep hold over the bragging rights!
The Saiyan wore a mint chocolate colour scheme, a light and bright green open hawaiian shirt adorned with all manner of wacky shapes. He completed the bummy surfer look with deep brown khaki shorts and thin sandals. Yamcha wore a green jacket that only went down halfway, the Capsule Corp. logo on the left shoulder. Underneath the stylish jacket he wore a white tank top and below that he wore orange distressed jeans, mirroring his bandit colour scheme from times gone by and reinforcing that image by wearing blue semi-high converse sneakers.
The Wolf and The Saiyan finished their stretches and had a staredown as they prowled in a clockwise motion around the ring.
"You know the rules! Fight until knockout, surrender, or ring-out! I've got the feeling neither of these fighters want it to end in a ring-out but we'll just have to wait and see! Let the first match of The 24th Tenkaichi Budokai… BEGIN!"
Mic scurried out of the arena like his life depended on it but the two fighters did not start combat, instead they just walked towards each other and to the center of the ring with high tension.
"A diplomatic approach!"
"I'm 4 for 4, Saiyan, good luck trying to get past me. You seemed to have a lot of trouble last time." Yamcha declared as he moseyed on over to the centre of the ring, pointing his index onto Raditz' bare chest in a dominant display.
"This time it matters, Yamcha, this one's going on your tournament record."
"Win or lose you still have to call me by my name, Saiyan." Yamcha chuckled, backpedaling.
"Why don't we run that back? If you're so confident you'll win then there's no reason to be afraid of losing your bragging rights."
"You'd like that wouldn't you?"
Raditz eyed The Wolf as he got back to his starting position and leaned low into Wasteland Stance, letting out a laugh-breath through his nostrils.
"I'm waiting."
Yamcha smiled and looked to the bright sun overhead, his right claw a visor for his sharp predatory eyes.
"Fine, since it matters to you so much, Saiyan."
"Excellent. I'll make you regret your words, Earthling."
"You're on."
"Enjoy your 4 for 5, dumbass."
Before he knew it, Yamcha had already hit him in the nape with the characteristic vanishing roundhouse. Raditz was launched forward harshly but The Saiyan caught himself in a front handspring and skidded on his sandals.
"Alright! Nice one, Raditz! Good recovery!"
Piccolo just shook his head, a sly smile creeping across his face.
Yamcha vanished again and came from above, eclipsing the sun from The Saiyan's point of view. Raditz backdashed the right axe kick just in time, his right foot blasting off the tile as soon as he landed so as to try and punish the attempted offence. Yamcha hit his own series of back handsprings, his first evading Raditz' right hook clean. The Saiyan fired off a series of blows but the impressive evasive maneuvers led The Wolf just out of range each time. On the last one The Wolf fired off like a bullet and landed a heavy palm strike on Raditz' jaw, sending him flying through the air.
"Nice one, Wolf!"
Yulin glared at Tien with malice, the girl beside her baked with a worried expression on her face.
"Our Ex-Titan isn't gonna give up easily! Those 600 points don't mean anything!"
Yamcha skipped off the tile three times with intimidating momentum. Winds clapped and kicked up at each interval. And with each clap came a squeak as his sneakers scuffed and smeared across, leaving smudges as they went.
Fsh! Wish! VSH!
Raditz prepared a small pink orb of Ki in his off hand, clenching his fist tight to hide it and presented a counter-hitting left elbow. Yamcha disappeared, jumping right over him with great speed. This is what Raditz prepared for however, launching the bolt of Ki right where he had predicted The Wolf would be. The energy blast missed by an absolute fraction as Yamcha limboed under it. Raditz pressured The Wolf's dodge immediately, dashing backwards and grabbing his left ankle. Yamcha's eyes widened as his Saiyan adversary made contact.
Wasting no time, Raditz flung The Wolf face down into the tile only to have him catch it with his palms.
"Oh!"
Yamcha grit his teeth and tucked in his legs tight, using Ki and flight to fling Raditz over the top like it were a piston locking into place. Raditz flew far off and Yamcha landed on his back, taking in a long breath before he kipped up.
"One!"
The Wolf stood and shot a glance at Mic that said all he needed to say.
"Sorry! Them's the rules! I can't just not count when your back's on the ground!"
Raditz stopped his momentum mid-way using his own flight, the trajectory of which had him stalled upside down in the air above the ring, his massive mountain of hair hanging, swaying like tree leaves.
"Wolf Hurricane!"
Yamcha pressured this choice, leaping wildly into the air and spinning into a tornado roundhouse that swung three times. Yamcha missed the starting left roundhouse, Raditz parried the follow-up spinning right hook kick, and then caught the last left roundhouse raw.
Yamcha panicked as Raditz kicked the moon and sent him crashing down onto the tile. The Wolf caught it at the last moment and back handsprung to the edge of the arena, landing in a clean flourish into Wasteland Stance. The Saiyan touched ground, cracking his neck before taking on his own stance, left knee bobbing up and down, high spirits.
"Whoo~hoo! Nice one, Raditz!"
"Come on, keep it up, Champ! We gotta represent Earth!"
Yamcha smiled at the comment.
POKK! Vsh!
Out of nowhere Raditz shot a potent Kiai, Yamcha only barely getting out of the way in time with a prancing side-step. They resumed combat, The Wolf dashing in and closing the distance without delay.
As Yamcha pounced in from the front he mimed and waved his claws in a mesmerising way and before long a series of Yamchas appeared before The Saiyan. Raditz closed his eyes and searched for the right one using his Ki Sensing, pink scanlines and a whispering of the soul alluded to the real one coming in from above.
"Wolf Arrow!"
Raditz brought back his left hand and shot out a gout of pink Ki.
ZYUUUUUUUUUUU~
Yamcha barely limboed it backwards once more and landed awkwardly in a kind of crab walk way. Raditz came in low, preparing to smash The Wolf in a drive-by right uppercut. Using his right hand for leverage Yamcha parried the adversarial right hand with his right foot and slammed his left shin into The Saiyan's temple.
WHOKK!
"Man! The Ex-Titan's player's reactions are proving time and time again to be too fast!"
Yamcha sprung to his feet and backpedaled using his characteristic high speed to set the distance. Raditz rubbed the red mark on his head and sighed.
"Hehhh…"
Yamcha took on Wasteland Stance and dashed back in. Raditz tried once more to preemptively strike only to come up short again, his left straight pulverising the After-Image into mist. The Wolf came in from behind, slashing in a pseudo uppercut with his left claw, tearing Raditz' hair out of the way, following through with a right claw back down the same path, slashing the green shirt this time. Yamcha hadn't made true contact yet so endeavored to make this next winding left hook slash count, but Raditz turned around just in time, running right into the claw with his face but ignoring the pain to deliver a 180 flooring overhand left. His right cheek opened from the tiny scythes housed in The Wolf's claw, but Raditz pushed through, bouncing Yamcha's ass off the tile.
Yamcha's eyes whited out for a moment under the immense contact and was floored immediately.
"Ohhh! One!"
Raditz reared back another showstopper, this time on his right side but Goku yelled from aloft.
"Raditz!"
The older brother snapped his neck upwards, his younger sibling's silhouette leaning over the top box of the arena.
"You're supposed to leave them alone when the count starts!"
Dumbfounded, Raditz scratched at his reddened temple and backed away.
"Two!"
The Saiyan walked around and settled on waiting in the middle of the ring, squatting down and placing his elbows on his knees, his tail jiving back and forth, not sparing a care in the world for his now bleeding cheek.
"Three! Will our hero be able to stand back on his own two feet!? Four!"
Yamcha blinked rapidly and the colour came back to his eyes.
"Whuh~" He sat up, blearily looking over at the muscular freight train before him.
"Five!"
He raised a brow and sat there mystified until he realised.
"Six!"
"OH CRAP!"
The Wolf struggled to his feet at the count of 7 and the announcer waved it off.
"Fight!"
Raditz pressured the same way as before, sending an unexpected Kiai from across the way. Due to his state Yamcha had great difficulty ducking under the blast and hobbled away on all fours in a scamper. Raditz didn't let it go and bounded all the way there in a flash. Yamcha dodged the ensuing left roundhouse by a hair.
Wuuuuush-VSH!
The Wolf got around under his foe's leg and at his back. Raditz prepared for this and leaped backwards, trying to jam either of his flared elbows into his foe in the process. Yamcha reacted promptly once more, jumping up into the air and kicking off Raditz' hair like a wall, landing onto the ground in a sideways combat roll. Raditz' eyes sharked wildly for the position of his opponent as he whiffed, Yamcha properly running away to establish the positioning again.
"It looks like Yamcha is on the back foot! He's up and he's moving! But it doesn't look like the Ex-Titan has recovered the damage!"
Raditz grit his teeth and dashed madly.
Tmp. Tmp. Dm. Dmp. Tum. Pmm. Dmp. Dmt.
The Saiyan was just out of range as The Wolf jived and juked on the ground, making it practically impossible to line up a shot that would strike true. Raditz dove in deep, trying to lay down a trap in the way of Yamcha's footwork to trip him up. The Wolf jumped into the air, spinning in a cartwheel as he reared back his palms and slammed them into Raditz' chest. The Saiyan was stunned and The Wolf continued his pressure, dashing off his foot as soon as he made contact with the tile, jamming the back of his left hand onto the bottom of The Saiyan's chin.
Raditz winced and Yamcha geared up.
"Okay~ Wolf Fang Fist!"
Raditz' eyes widened and he forcibly reigned it in, much to his own distress.
"Dynamite Monday!"
Raditz launched his own flurry of blows as Yamcha rained down the first three strikes from both competitors clashed in the middle, sending out little sonic booms and providing a wondrous sight to see, the sound echoing throughout the entire arena.
DOOM! BOOM! KOMM! Fshfshwushwshvshfshwushwshfshshushfshvshvshwsh!
Yamcha dodged every blow, skillfully ducking under and around the glowing pink arms and legs, tagging Raditz like he was going for points.
DUMM!
They clashed again, Raditz' left foot against his right wrist. They clashed another time right after that, empty clawed left palm versus Raditz right straight.
BOOM!
Just after that, Raditz threw another bomb, this time aimed at The Wolf's chest. He didn't duck. Yamcha leaned all the way into Wasteland Stance, his left leg sliding along as he lowered and skillfully evaded the strike. His legs locked up and sprung like lever action, slamming the back of his wolf claw right into Raditz' nose, blood flying up from the attack. The Wolf disappeared again, warping at Raditz' backside once more to slam another roundhouse at the neck, forcibly shoving The Saiyan forward in a ping-pong. Yamcha turned it up a notch and whirlwinded back in front of The Saiyan, slamming a lariat right hook claw, throwing Raditz onto the tile in a frenzy.
Whap! WHOKK! SCCING!
The Saiyan tumbled over, landing on his back and then flipping over onto his stomach before lying limp on the ground. Yamcha let out a loose breath and wiped at the hair in front of his eyes.
"One! Two! What a dramatic turn of events, I thought for sure the Ex-Titan was going to eat another down, Three! But it looks like I was wholly mistaken! Four!"
"Yeah, tell em, Champ!"
"Good shit, Wolf!"
Yamcha flashed a cheesy smile and a thumbs up at his friends as he let out some more heavy breaths. Raditz shook out the damage, his black mane shimmering in the bright sunlight.
"Five! Ohp~ Looks like our new challenger isn't happy! Six!"
"I CAN FIGHT! Stop the count!"
"You heard the man! Fight!"
Raditz winced as he put his palm against his temple, gritting his teeth. Yamcha didn't let up, leaping right on him and forcing his guard up.
"I don't know if you caught that ladies and gentlemen but Raditz got up before the 7 count! A full second before his opponent Yamcha's last down! Is that a statement from our new challenger!?"
Raditz backpedaled as The Wolf piled on the pressure, his claws tearing and slicing through the air like miniature blades. The damage the down caused showed, his footwork not fast enough to rid him of Yamcha's claws, his top much more resembling the aftermath of a paper shredder rather than a button up. The mint green fabric tore off into many different chunks, only the shirt sleeves hanging on by threads until Yamcha turned and delivered a swift thrust kick, launching Raditz far away.
The Saiyan grit his teeth and expended a great deal of energy to stop his momentum, only inches away from the arena walls.
"WHUOOOOAHHH!"
Mic almost fell over as the roaring winds bellowed out in all directions. The straw roofing of the main hall and the streamers flowing in the breeze had a field day not uprooting at the seams. They cheered on as Raditz caught himself, but Yamcha wasn't done, flying right in range and throwing a spinning right roundhouse.
SWUFF!
The air cut sharply around his leg and The Saiyan dipped out on the right side, the left of his torso now facing the tournament goers. They cheered on as Yamcha and Raditz flew around, dangerously close to a ring out. Yamcha let loose a flurry of blows and Raditz grit his teeth, looking for the right moment. He snatched a hasty leg The Wolf threw for a roundhouse and aimed it at the wall. Yamcha's eyes widened and he swan dived backwards using his flight, absolutely barely preventing a ring out.
As he was winding back from his maneuver Raditz went all in, sparking a massive blast of energy in his left hand. The crowd ooed and awed in response.
"SHINING FRIDAY!" He roared, the hot pink electricity crackling as it shot forward.
The wave was intense and large, Goku's eyes widened as did Kami's. The younger brother launched with great force from the balcony, landing on the grass opposite his brother. The Ki wave only built as it went along in its tidal surge. Yamcha flew as high as he could in the little time that he had but it didn't matter and small streams of energy peeled off his frame as he tensed up his body with passive Ki Blast Parries. Goku received the massive cacophony of Ki and screamed his heart out, parrying the enormous blast towards the clouds. The lashback was intense, thrusting the younger brother harshly into the stadium wall.
SVYUUUUuuuuuuuuuuu~ WHUMP!
"Oof. Eh-heh-heh." He laughed out dumbly before coming to his senses.
Yamcha touched down on the ground, his tank top and green jacket blown to cinders, his orange jeans and blue sneakers somehow pretty good to go. The Wolf winced as he felt the damage of his new bleeding wounds, burn marks and singes all around. Raditz breathed out heavily, lines of sweat drawing his massive frame as he made his way back into the ring.
"Wow! I'm not going to lie folks, I think that blast could have done some redecorating! We're lucky Goku is here to help out! Everyone give our hero a~"
Goku interjected harshly with a loud and assertive tone.
"Raditz! Cut that out! I know you want to win but you can't throw that level of power near the audience! Do that towards the air next time!" Goku showed a frown as he flew back towards the railing the others were residing.
Raditz returned the frown but ultimately nodded and aimed his sights at the ground for a moment. Yamcha leaned back into his stance and huffed out a held breath.
Goku was met half-way by Krillin, offering a fist bump.
"Nice thinking, I wasn't even half way down there by the time it mattered."
He met his friend's fist bump and looked back at the pair.
"I just hope he doesn't hurt anyone on accident."
Goku and Krillin gracefully landed near Kami and Piccolo as the match continued.
Yamcha's eyes glazed over with seriousness and animal-like intent before he shot off like a bullet, already striking from Raditz' left side after dashing across the entire arena in two steps. Raditz barely even registered Yamcha's disappearance from his original spot and was woefully unprepared for the attack and as such it thrust him near the steps and brick road leading out of the ring.
WHAKK!
Yamcha followed up, leaping into the air to pressure Raditz' stalled flight. The Saiyan rose into the air in kind, eking out of the way in time. He locked in his left arm and fired it in a chamber punch of Kiai.
POKK! Kwuffkle~
The brick road upheaved in an explosive display as Yamcha flew back to the ring. Kami waved his staff and a turquoise glow magiced the bricks back together as Raditz likewise landed on the tile. The Wolf was ready for his reentry and pressured with back to back claws. Raditz stumbled under the attack, trying to think through the problem.
"Dah~ Those receptionists said we'd be doing multiple fights a day? That's ludacris, how am I supposed to save up my Ki? I've used about half a tank just trying to put this fucker down!"
Raditz banked on it and slammed a left elbow into The Wolf's jaw, stunning him utterly and stopping his advance, shaky knees as he struggled to keep a stance. The older brother went for it, grabbing the hair atop Yamcha's crown and threw him down forcefully into a banger of a knee strike.
"DAH!"
"RRRRRRrrrrrrACK!"
Raditz followed through, slamming his boot on the ground in a dominating display as Yamcha flew off and skidded along the tile. There was a lull in the action as he geared up Ki Sourcing in his thighs, preparing to dash. The Saiyan hauled ass like nothing before and fully committed to slamming Yamcha's head into the tile with his left palm. Yamcha saw the sun for a moment and then everything went blank. Raditz broke and upheaved almost the whole top layer of the ring with his face slam and the arena fell silent as The Wolf laid dormant in the newly formed crater.
"What a stunning display of force! This new contestant is no slouch! One! Two!"
The count continued, each second building on the last. Stunned faces, cheers, boos, and everything in between as Mic pointed down at The Wolf at each interval. The Announcer skipped up onto the broken and beaten platform, getting close to the downed man.
"Seven! Oh wow folks, this doesn't look good! He hasn't moved a muscle! Eight!"
There was a dramatic pause as if Mic was giving him extra time.
"And Nine!"
Yamcha still laid motionless. Mic gave it a final glance and a bit of time before he ran out into the arena, waving his right arm dramatically.
"And TEN! That's all she wrote! This marks the fourth Budokai in a row that Yamcha lost in the quarter finals! That's too bad but there's always next time! Let's have a round of applause for our new contestant!"
The wash of cheers and pop of the crowd rained onto Raditz and he looked lost, as if he didn't belong, but more importantly, like it wasn't real. A dream.
"Great job, bro!" Goku jumped off and dashed along the grass until he made it on stage. "I knew you had it in you!" He forcefully hugged Raditz tight.
"Dah, you ever think you might be too touchy, brother?" Raditz posited as he swung his arm over.
"Not at all."
"Of course you don't."
Mic motioned for someone to come and grab Yamcha only for Piccolo's long arm to stretch across the entire arena and snatch The Wolf by his pants.
"Ohp~"
As Yamcha daintily floated back towards the overhang Kami waved his staff, fixing the tile back in place for the next match, correcting cracks, refitting squares, and removing some of the chalky dust littering the grass outside the ring.
"I don't know who's fixing our arena for us but thanks a million! That makes things easier on us to move onto the next match! For this one we have one familiar contestant and another newcomer! If you attended The 21st Budokai you might remember him! His large frame and distinguished features are hard to forget!"
The trenchcoated behemoth walked through the archway, the number at the top displaying 387.
"Impressive! Let's see how far the 300s can get our old fighter! Give it up for GIIIRANN!"
The blue dragon tore off his trench coat in an intimidating display, leaping into the air and crash landing next to Mic, throwing him off balance.
"Duyuyuagh!" The Announcer belted involuntarily as he fell over.
Giran forcibly removed the microphone from the blonde man's hand, tapping on it to check its usage.
Twang~twong!
"I aim to win." Is all his harsh voice said before executing a mic drop.
The crowd came into its own for the entry of the dragon. Giran flexed and smiled with his wide maw, smirking and oozing confidence.
"Who's winning this thing?" Krillin asked everyone as Piccolo finally dropped The Wolf behind the trio.
"Who knows?" Goku posited, all smiles.
"Hard to say." Kami shrugged his shoulders, in agreeance with the younger brother.
"Tien, easily. He's already got Raditz' number and these other Mongrels can't put a dent to him on his way there. Not to mention the fact that Raditz is weak from having to fight an actual match up while Tien gets the easy pickings."
"Anything could happen." Goku pouted while looking at The Demon.
"Your foolishness knows no bounds, Son Goku."
"Hmm!" Goku disagreed in a child-like manner, averting his attention back to the ring.
"Your thoughts?"
Krillin blinked a few times.
"You care what I think, Piccolo?"
"Heh. Forget I asked."
The turtle student had a grin weasel its way onto his lip and he answered.
"Yeah, it's a really tough hurdle for Raditz. Can't see Tien losing this one. He'll have two Budokais under his belt at this rate."
Piccolo shot a cocky smile at Goku but he didn't have it, whistling a happy tune as he watched the new contestant enter the fray.
"She's small, she's cute, but most importantly our new fighter on the main stage is strong! Please welcome PAO-PAO!"
Krillin's brow furrowed as the woman launched from the archway, spinning wildly in a flourish of back to back front flips until she landed in a starfish, arms out towards the heavens and feet planted firmly on the ground. She wore a cheery smile that lit up the room as the crowd exploded with applause.
Battle Power
361
"No way…" Krillin thought aloud, his eyes wide.
"What's up?"
"I think I know that girl down there."
"Awesome! Cheer her on! Let's go, PaoPao!" Goku raised his right arm spiritedly, his loud shout carrying across the arena with ease and drawing the woman's attention upward.
"Hmm." PaoPao pondered. "I wonda who could be cheerin for me?"
"Pao's got suitors, huh?" Yulin chuckled to herself as she checked her nails.
Giran scoffed, slamming his large tail like a whip on the tile.
"I'm not gonna get punked out like last time, you better be ready, lady!"
"I'm always uready."
Giran smirked cockily, taking on a wide stance. His front half was a khaki colour and his back half, along with his wings were a deep royal blue. A solitary ivory horn sat atop his nose, it sparkled under the light of the sun. PaoPao was wearing a traditional chinese garb, a sharp yellow vest that hung down low, bisected by her green belt in the middle and hanging down like a banner on each side. Underneath her vest was a brown long sleeve kung fu shirt and matching poofy kung fu pants. She completed the look with intensely thin forest green kung fu shoes, matching her belt and cuffs.
The blue dragon cracked his tail like a whip on the ground once more, huffing out a billow of smoke through his nostrils. PaoPao got low, rooting herself in her stance: her left hand out in a flat palm and her right hand tucked at her side.
Krillin looked on with a bit of nervousness firing through his jittery fingertips and an enormous amount of intrigue forcing his eyes to focus up.
"She's gotten really strong just by herself." He thought as the pair stared down.
"Let's begin!" Mic yelled loudly and proudly before scampering out of the ring.
PaoPao VS Giran
Objective: Should be pretty obvious!
PaoPao took a deep breath.
"You've got to breathe." She didn't mind letting out loud as she shook out the butterflies with fluttering hands.
"Bad move!" Giran growled loudly as he stampeded forward, stomping on the tile with great speed.
"He's faster than he looks, folks! Looks like he's been training since last time!"
With one final stomp the blue dragon closed the gap, shaking the foundation around the small woman.
"GRAHH!" He roared, swinging around in a full 360 sweep with his hulking tail.
"I can't look…' Krillin winced.
PaoPao opened her eyes just in time, backflipping in place gracefully over the tail.
"My oh my!"
As soon as she touched the tile she launched off right away, slamming her left fist into the meaty stomach of the beast. Her eyes widened as she realised there was impact, but little feedback. Giran smiled and reared back his left hand. PaoPao dodged with a backdash only to be caught lacking by the snap of his tail, sending her careening off the stage and near the grass.
"Damn!" Krillin preemptively cried, grabbing onto the railing with ferocious intent.
Just in the nick of time PaoPao conjured a searing red Ki blast from her palms and prevented an early elimination, blasting herself back on stage.
Bvyuuuuu~womp!
She breathed out a harsh breath through her rosy cheeks and focused her attention back onto the beast.
At this point in her martial arts career, PaoPao could not fly.
"I cannot believe it folks, it looks like PaoPao has a serious understanding of her energy! It's not just Goku and his friends who know what's up around here!"
Before he knew it Krillin leaped into the air with a cheer. The crowd also reinforced his notions with cheers of their own.
"Nice one!"
"What does this new blood have to offer!?"
PaoPao tightened into her stance before sidling around and getting a good look at Giran. Giran did the same, only edging closer to her deliberately as he prowled.
VOMPP!
Giran lunged forward menacingly, stopping just short and quaking the ground with his landing. PaoPao backed up preemptively much to Giran's delight.
"I've been saving this one!" Giran howled as he shot out a pulse of Kiai with his left claw.
POKK!
It hit PaoPao hard, drawing blood from her left eyebrow immediately. Her base was shot, the blast hit its mark and forced her left leg up, only supporting her weight with one foot.
"HaHaHa!"
"Rrr…" She let out in a low whimper.
The blue dragon leaped forward to finish it, his right arm brought back for a lariat. The woman saw her moment, lunging past in a low dash and kipping off the ground in a twirl with her hands, so as to continue facing her adversary.
"Never turn your back against your opponent…" She ruminated the words like a chant.
Giran shifted his big maw slightly, his brows furrowed downward.
"GAH!" He shouted, shooting another shockwave of energy out of his palm.
PaoPao barely dipped under in time, her right shoulder impacted in a near miss, that bit of clothing tearing under the pressure of the winds. The woman darted with great speed, zigzagging on the tile before presenting her offence. She jumped into the air only to split off into three versions of herself, each with distinct lines through her form.
"That damn..!" Giran let out in a grunt just before PaoPao landed down with a chop on his nose.
WHUMP!
Giran wasn't hurt so much as he was pissed, gritting his teeth as the little human touched ground in front of him.
"That's it…" He spoke through clenched teeth, fire drawing out of his maw. "Fwaaaaaaagh~"
The fire lit ablaze out of his mouth and PaoPao backpedaled.
"Good movement! Keep on your feet, Pao!"
Her brow twitched upon hearing Krillin's callout, her back foot stalled on the edge of the ring.
"What was..?"
Giran halted the flames and gathered another mass of energy in his throat, this time sending out a gunky mass of pink putty.
"Merry-Go-Round-Gum!"
Pao noticed at the last moment, jumping up high to avoid the possible danger of the gummy substance. Giran smiled once more, launching into the air with a heavy flap of his wings, appearing right before her and slamming her down with the hand of God and a double axe handle smash.
WHOKK!
"Tch. Damn…" Yulin smacked her lips as PaoPao shot down to the grass line.
Once again PaoPao shot out a beam just in time, stalling dramatically and then launching towards her chunky opponent.
"GuwoooHhhh~" He groaned as she dug in deep with her crown, red Ki still trailing off her palms as she flew Giran across the arena towards the entrance.
Giran pulled himself together and grappled onto her hips from both sides with his massive claws, choking out the last of her jetpack-beam and lifting her above his head. Another harsh gust of wind bellowed out into the stands as Giran flapped his mighty wings and flew with her down into the tile in a piledriver
The sound that played out as she made contact on the tile didn't sound healthy.
"Oh! You hate to see it!" Mic shouted with the brightest smile ever. "One!"
Giran backed up with two heavy waddles as PaoPao laid limp on the tile.
"Two!"
Krillin looked on in horror, his teeth would have cracked if he went any harder grinding them anxiously.
"Three!"
PaoPao's left shoulder twitched and Tien looked on with surprise.
"That girl's tough."
Yulin shot him another malicious glance, this time totally sniped out by The Crane.
"Four!"
"Do I know this girl?" The Three Eyed Man ruminated, raising a brow before turning his attention back to the fight.
"I don't know about this one folks, it may be all over! Five!"
PaoPao twitched again, opening her eyes groggily.
"Ooowh~" She breathed out in a cutesy manner. "That hurt…"
"Six! She rises from the grave! But can she stand!?"
PaoPao put her palms on the tile, the blood from her eyebrow slipping and pooling out onto the ring in a glistening manner. She struggled to her left knee.
"Seven! Hold on, we may have a fight on our hands!"
PaoPao attempted to stand but failed, sinking back to her knee.
"Eight! Can she make it!?"
PaoPao breathed out harshly before grinding it out like it were the last rep of her superset.
"Nine! Come on!"
The audience erupted with furious fervor, you could hear it, the women completely overshadowed the men in the audience, hollering high pitches hit like crazy as PaoPao stood on her feet and took on her stance.
"Yesss! Let's go bestie!" A girl from the audience screeched like no tomorrow.
"Come on queen, show him!"
"That's-what-girl-bosses-do!" Another cheered loudly, clapping her hands in between each word.
None of these girls knew her but the sentiment was shared all the same and a second wind impacted PaoPao upon the reaction of the crowd.
"Hee~" She smiled dumbly, flexing her left hand and cracking her knuckles.
"Begin!"
"You shoulda' stayed down!"
Giran launched at her like there was only one second left on the microwave and his parents were asleep. Pao ducked his right hook just in time and slammed her palm strike into his stomach yet again, right on the red mark she made with her headbutt. His scowl showed obvious signs of pain but his heavy body didn't move an inch. He shot his right elbow high and thrusted it back down, looking to dome the top of her head. She reared her left hand back and sent it up, palming and then thrusting the attacking elbow skyward.
"Eii-Yahh!" She yelled ferociously in time with her parry.
PaoPao doubled down after her defensive maneuver, slamming a closed right into the midsection again, causing Giran to properly wince this time.
"Eeeeehuh~" He groaned as the second strike landed.
She chambered her left and then walked him back with two chamber punches, very eastern style martial arts with a kata style flair to them, each with a corresponding war cry to bolster her confidence. She finished the three piece with a left palm strike.
"Aie-Aie-AIE!" Whump~fwomp~DMM!
She struck a pose as her last attack connected. Her right hand jazzing slightly above her right eyebrow and left hand still outstretched.
Giran closed his eyes from the pain and stumbled backwards, breathing out in gasps, he couldn't stand it anymore and fell on his ass.
"Uofff~"
"One!"
"Whuh?" He opened his eyes in a daze.
Giran blinked for a moment as his left claw stuck to his red belly like a band-aid.
"Hold on a minute, that was just a slip!"
"Two!" Mic smiled like a goon.
"Gah!" Giran growled. "There, I'm up, I'm up! That didn't do nothin'!"
"What do you think about the new rules, Goku?"
"You never cared much for the rules, don't know why you're asking now." Goku answered with a sly smile, leaning his back against the rails once again.
Piccolo rolled his eyes.
"I don't really know. Four downs being a KO doesn't seem all that likely when you can ring out. I say as many downs as you need but it's not my tournament."
"Krillin?"
Krillin was too lost in the sauce, totally sucked in by the action in front of him.
"Tcheh." Piccolo scoffed with a smile, shaking his head.
"Let's go PaoPao!" Goku yelled exuberantly, hopping in place with his hands clasped around his mouth.
Giran settled into his stance again and furrowed his brow. PaoPao breathed in deep and dashed in.
"She looks confident! Can Giran hold off our heroine long enough to secure his win!?"
She separated into multiple mirages once again, Giran cursing himself as he saw the thin apparitions.
"Her technique's not even good…" He scowled. "She's just hard to see, that's all."
The woman appeared right behind him, gathering a mass of yellow Ki in her right hand and firing it off.
KA-KOOMM!
It impacted the back of Giran's spiky shark-fin-like head and thrust him forward. She landed in a hurry, dashing off the tile to pursue her advantage. The blue dragon wouldn't have it though, sharply whirling around, his tail coming through like a sledgehammer. Pao jumped over it just in time, catching the ground in a front roll. As she landed Giran shot out another attack, his Kiai impacting her right temple and causing her to skid along the tile. She skipped onto her feet quickly and rounded the edge of the stage with a pattering run.
Tt. Tmp. Tup. Whp. Tut. Tmp. Tmp. Pt. Tp.
She faked all-in, rearing back her hand. Giran caught the bait, throwing his arms forward for a bear hug.
"Sometimes the enemy makes youa' openins for you…" She thought to herself in much the same way as before as Giran's claws whiffed big time.
She conjured the energies for a massive red beam,
"Chitterin uRose!" She chanted loudly.
Visions of rose petals flooded the surrounding of the thick red beam and the energy blasted into Giran's forearms as he put up the best defence he could. The blue beast skidded across the whole length of the ring, dangerously close to the grass until he stopped it with a flap of his wings, flying to the outside and causing the rest of the red energy to crash into the wall of the stadium.
"Whoooaaa! Whoever fixed our tile is gonna have a field day with that one, we're lucky no one was hurt!"
Kami waved his staff and grey stone blocks conjured, shifting in place to match the damage. They stood out pretty obviously against the browns and oranges of the stadium but it was fixed.
Giran landed in a huff, Pao in a huff too.
"I will not lose here." She tightened up, heavy breaths notwithstanding.
"Great beam, Pao!" Krillin roared as loud as he could, drawing her attention.
She furrowed her brow for a moment, staring intently at the stranger nearly eclipsing the sun, almost impossible to see.
"Who is dat? Why do I~"
Giran charged forward once more, shaking the arena with his weight, stealing PaoPao's attention.
"Here we go! I gotta feeling we're gonna see the end of this match soon folks!"
"Dang." She stated matter-of-factly as Giran swung down with a weighty left claw.
The blue dragon's hand crashed into the tile, flinging debris all around from the heavy hit.
"Punish as hard as you can…" She thought to herself one last time as she pounced onto his shoulder, landing and rocking him with a strong right fist.
Giran stumbled towards the edge of the ring and Pao screamed at the top of her lungs, charging and firing a pulse of explosive red plasma, sending him crashing into the grass in a bombastic display.
"There it is! Giran is downnnn! Give it up for the new babyface!"
She stood there somewhat in disbelief as Giran grunted and pounded his fist into the unrooted earth. The crowd roared for their new heroine.
"Yesss! Step on my throat, bitch, end my shit!"
"Spit on me, queen!"
"Wat?" She asked plainly, her voice drowned out by the totality of the noise, blushing from the vulgar words of the crowd who seemed all too eager to throw out, her face a mess and already red from the blood streaming out from her eyebrow.
Krillin leaped down from the heavens, landing right next to Giran.
"Hold on now folks! Do my eyes deceive me!? If I'm not mistaken, that's Krillin! Semi-finalist of The 21st and 22nd! What's he doing here!?"
"Krirrin!?" She questioned loudly, eyebrows raised.
"Hey." His deep voice shot straight through the white noise.
"Krirrin!" She shouted again, her eyes lighting up in remembrance.
Before he knew it she jumped on him, hugging him tight.
"Whoa!" He blushed. "Easy now."
"Hee-hee!" She giggled with glee.
Giran scowled and walked off the premises past the two reminiscers.
"It looks like these two know each other! I'm sorry, Pao-Pao, but you and your friend are gonna have to leave! Next match is gonna start right away!"
PaoPao had her attention stolen by Mic but quickly turned back around.
"Where should we talk?"
Krillin pointed at the box up above.
"Can you fly?"
"Fry?"
Krillin smiled, taking her by the hand and soaring up into the air with grace.
"You can~" Her eyes wide.
The turtle student flashed his pearly whites just before they touched down.
"Hiya!" Goku greeted cheerily as they landed.
"Hi…" She bowed to Goku. "It's an honour to meet you, Son G-"
"Ah please, don't mention it." Goku swatted her praise away in an instant. "I'm just some dude, you fought amazingly down there. It's an honour to meet you." Goku pressed on her shoulder harshly with a pointer finger.
PaoPao smiled as Krillin took out the handkerchief from his blazer pocket.
"Hey!" Yulin made sure to holler with great presence.
Tien looked over and raised a brow.
"Did you forget who I am!?"
Tien thought about it for a long time, seemingly something was tearing at the edges of his mind but he wasn't quite sure.
"Our next fighter is another doozy! And he's new as well, both of our contestants for this bout are! Please welcome our mysterious and shapely...MURAAAA~MAHSSSSS!"
Muramasse stepped through the walkway, revealing a potent 422 on the big monitor atop the stadium.
"He's not just a fighter, but a samurai! Unfortunately for this contest he's not allowed to brandish his weapon of choice! Sorry about that big guy!"
Krillin dabbed at the blood on Pao's eyebrow with his pocket square, much to her dismay.
"Your suit looks expensive."
"Nah." He spoke plainly as he wiped the rest of it away. "It's just a piece of cotton."
She laughed nervously before she studied his form more astutely.
"Why are you wearin it like dat?" She joked, prodding at his suit and flapping on the left sleeve.
Krillin somberly took off his blazer, revealing the royal blue vest and white button up underneath. He undid the vest quickly as well as the button up.
Muramasse sat criss-cross meditatively at the center of the ring.
"I know who you are, Tien, and I'll expose your true nature in the next round!"
"Oh shit." Raditz laughed loudly, turning Yulin's attention to him. "I'm sorry to say girlie but you're not even one fifth of Tien's strength, there's no way you can even hope of stepping to him."
"And here's our next fighter! Also of mysterious origins is YUUUUU-LINNN!"
Yulin shot a furious look at Raditz before passing through the arch in a hurry, stealing the mic from Mic as the numbers displayed on screen.
Battle Power
392
"It's pronounced, Yu-rin." She spoke with intensity as she stared back at both of The Z Fighters.
"Well, Yu-rin, sorry for the pronunciation but uhh why is it spelled like that!?"
Yulin neglected to answer, walking away from The Announcer coldly.
"Alright folks! I know Yu-Rin is raring to go so let's start this bout before she cools off! I bet she's the type that thrives off intensity! Let's begin!"
PaoPao looked down at Krillin's body only to see a non-existent left arm.
"Krirrin…"