AN. Sorry for the delay! We've had a bit of a disease outbreak on my ward at work and I've gotten infected too :| Less than great, super terrible. Feel a bit like death at the moment... So now we have the first tournament! Tien is now 13, the same age as Goku when he first entered the Tenkaichi Budokai. And Chiaotzu is...well, still 5. Enjoy :)

Chapter Sixteen

The crowd was oppressive, pressing forward, trying desperately to get the best seat. Shen had cleared a small area for them at the very front of the crowd but Chiaotzu still found himself clinging to the barrier, trying to fight his claustrophobia.

They were in an underground fighting tournament, one of many in this part of the city. Tien had turned thirteen (well, had his thirteenth anniversary in the Crane School anyway) and was now old enough in Shen's eyes to participate in tournaments. He had made it through the preliminaries with no problems, almost completely by ring-outs. The memory of helping to fix Chiaotzu's broken arm was clearly still fresh in his mind. Chiaotzu had not been allowed to enter this particular tournament. Although he had been with the Crane School for well over thirteen years, this underground fighting ring had standards and those included an age limit. One look at Chiaotzu's small white face and he'd been pushed unceremoniously away from the registration table, told to stand with the other brats in the audience.

His hands tightened on the guardrail, his white hands not showing the tension in his knuckles. He was aware that Shen had had words with Tien before the title fights, their master taking the triclops away for what seemed like an age, the door between them resolutely closed. Chiaotzu had been able to feel Tien's emotions though, their mental link holding despite the barriers Shen tried to set up. Tien had felt first shock, then shame, and now a steely determination that made Chiaotzu's stomach twist.

It was the quarterfinals now and Tien was facing a massive sumo wrestler, his bulk concealing formidable muscle. Tien's three eyes assessed the man before him, looking for weak points.

Tien had a natural gift for fighting. He could analyse weak points, consider strategies and plot attacks and defence in a split second. Chiaotzu wasn't sure if it was the third eye or some instinct the boy possessed but he seemed to see his opponents in slow motion, his speed far surpassing every other fighter he had faced.

The sumo wrestler was incredibly strong, far stronger than the teenager standing before him, but his bulk made him slow, his movements measured. Chiaotzu had no doubt that Tien would be victorious.

The starting gong sounded and the sumo wrestler moved forward, his hands snapping out in short flat-handed slaps. Tien moved smoothly into his fighting stance, his hands positioned defensively, and made no effort to move out of the way. As the sumo wrestler approached Tien's hand shot out and grabbed tightly to the large man's fingers. The crowd let out a gasp and Chiaotzu's mouth dropped open slightly, shocked at Tien's speed. Before the sumo could regain his momentum and pull free Tien quickly bent both hands away from him, hyperextending the wrestler's fingers and easily snapping both of his thick wrists.

The crowd fell silent, then half of the spectators started cheering and the other half groaned in disappointment. The sumo was clearly very disciplined because as Tien released his hands he simply pulled them back to him, cradling them against his chest. Tien slipped behind the large man and, despite having clearly won, kicked the backs of the wrestler's knees then darted away as the sumo crashed to the ground.

There was no announcer in this tournament, just a man who moved Tien's token up to the next fight on the board hanging next to the ring. The crowd erupted with a combination of cheers and jeers as the sumo wrestler was carried from the ring and Tien relaxed out of his fighting stance.

He walked out of the ring and stopped in front of Shen and Chiaotzu, bowing low.

"Did I do well, Master?"

"Yes, Tienshinhan. Continue like this. No more ring out nonsense."

Tien avoided meeting Chiaotzu's eyes, a smirk twisting his lips. The telepath's stomach fell at the sight, though his face remained blank. He didn't like seeing such a cruel expression on Tien's face, the familiar soft features just starting to mature and a glimpse of the man he would be becoming visible.

The other quarterfinals proceeded without note, and the semi finals in a similar vein. Tien at that point snapped a man's ankle without even flinching, and Chiaotzu bit hard on the inside of his cheeks to stop his despair from showing on his face. For the finals Tien was matched up against a huge hulking man named Taku, a champion of this tournament for the past six years running, who somehow lacked any real discipline. He had clearly relied on his sheer bulk to defeat his opponents; his strength overcoming all the opponents he faced.

Tien, though significantly taller than Chiaotzu, was about the third of the height of this giant man, tilting his head back and craning his neck to meet his eyes. Taku laughed a great booming laugh as he stared down at the small bald teenager with his slim frame and lean limbs. He must think this was a joke. He had clearly been too arrogant and sure of his own strength to bother watching the other matches. If he had he wouldn't be laughing.

Please, Tien, Chiaotzu thought, not sure if they were transmitting to the boy or not. Please don't…

The gong sounded. Taku didn't prepare himself in the slightest, clearly of the opinion that he would easily crush the child into submission. Tien stretched both hands above his head, then crouched into his fighting position, his hands positioned to carefully protect his weak points, his eyes narrowed. Taku swung one huge fist at the boy. Tien hopped into the air easily, landing on the man's broad forearm and running up. A swift kick across the face and Taku was downed, his eyes rolled up to whites and his breath releasing in a foul smelling whoosh. Tien leapt into the air, soaring higher than seemed possible, and then rocketed down to earth. His braced elbow connected with Taku's bent knee, shattering his patella with an audible crack.

The crowd went wild. Chiaotzu felt a bit queasy but was able to keep his face blank. Shen grinned widely, clearly pleased by his student's ruthlessness. Tien stood in the centre of the ring, looking down at the fallen man whose knee was already swelling to twice its normal size, a smug smirk on his face. What a debut to the world of tournaments.

AN. And so we have the makings of that smirking sarcastic dude we saw at the start of the Tenshinhan saga. Hopefully we'll see him evolve a bit more in the next few chapters. I think this is going to end around the time Tien decides being evil isn't really his thing. I shall see, I may get ongoing inspiration. Or I may take all that inspiration and put into all the other ideas I keep getting and writing down. Seriously, it's mental, y'all. Anyway, leave a review if you'd like, I enjoy getting them and it inspires me to write more! See you next time :)