Why Can't I

I want to thank everyone who's commented on this story. I was very skeptical about doing this considering how long in time I have to cover.

Again if you have any questions, comments, or requests don't hesitate to leave a comment or E mail me! Thanks again for reading!

NOTICE: I just would like to say that if you're a DBZ fan and you haven't watched the original Dragon Ball yet you SHOULD! It's hysterical and just as adventure packed as DBZ.

Chapter 30: Four face of Tien, Kami's folly

Rikku watched bewitched by the sight in front of her. Tien's aura split into four and began to separate from his body. When her eyes focused on his body she jolted seeing Tien split himself into four separate beings. "Whoa."

The four Tien's laughed simultaneously. The sight of them weirding out spectator's of the battle. Piccolo stood above the wall laughing at the stroke of entertainment.

"Tien Shinhan seems to have split into four different people. From the looks of it he has used the ever useful After Image Technique."

Rikku narrowed her eyes as the Tien's launched for her. She tried to determine which were real and fake but found herself being caught by real punches and kicks over and over. "They.. They all feel real." The Tien's lined up in front of her. "Images can't hurt you."

"That's right," they all said. "This is my ultimate technique, Quadruplication!"

"You actually split into four different beings?" She nursed her stomach rubbing it gently. "How is that possible?"

"What you're really thinking is, "How am I going to handle Four Tiens?" The answer is…" the four ran forward. "You're not!"

Rikku jerked in surprise and put up her guard. Her senses locked onto the four beings surrounding her trying to keep up with their attacks but found it a little more difficult than she originally thought. They overwhelmed her using her shock and confusion against her.

"Judging from this announcer's viewpoint it seems four Tien's are better than one! Rikku is on her knees not quite ready to get up and face the fearsome foursome!"

Rikku winced getting to her feet. She felt the burn of being skidded across the ring floor and she hissed in a breath nursing her sore rump.

"Incredible! Rikku has gotten back on her feet!"

Taking a deep breath Rikku crouched back down in a defensive position. The Tien's took the hint and launched forward in attack. She quickly disappeared from their sight catching them off guard long enough toe appear around them and kicking them down in a domino effect. Proud of herself Rikku grinned and stretched out her body ready for more.

"That was a clever move Rikku. However you can't hide from all of us at the same time!" In a peculiar move all four Tien's spread themselves to each of the four corners of the ring. Channeling their energies the Tien's shot energy balls straight at Rikku leaving her no where to go but up. The explosion left behind gave her enough cover to hide from their sight but she was quickly found again. All tien's focused energy from their eyes shooting her. Her surprised yelp was soon followed by the sight of her body smoking and falling down to the ground.

Chichi gasped and cried out to her. "Rikku! No!"

"How did Tien find Rikku in all those clouds? Tien's perception must be super human."

Yamcha took a loud gulp. "Let's hope the same goes for Rikku's body. She's gonna hit that ring pretty hard."

Rikku landed chest first gasping as the sound of the tiles cracking made everyone cringe. Chichi wailed and hid her face in Yamcha's chest. Rikku herself felt the wind knocked from her lungs and she laid there on her stomach. It was an impressive technique, she admitted. The effect would have been damaging had she not sensed everything that Tien was planning. She allowed herself to stay down a few more seconds her mind thinking of ways to expose the weaknesses in it. She grinned secretly and began to rub her feet against each other. She could hear the relieving sighs of her friends as she suddenly jumped back to life. She turned to meet the Tien's who were shocked at her fast recovery.

"Nice one Tien. I'm a little sore."

"A little sore?" Tien murmured. It just figured. He could probably drop the entire arena on him and all she would get is a bad head ache. "Be careful. Next time you won't be so lucky."

An opening, Rikku thought and smiled. "There won't be a next time. You won't use the same technique again."

"Oh no?" Tien grunted his pride hurt a little at the comment. "You sure?"

Rikku stretched ignoring his question. Her face happy and calm and completely confident. She heard Tien growl and stopped grinning fully ticking him off even more.

"You're playing with fire Rikku! I'm trying to tell you that you're in danger. If you stay in this fight I will hurt you or worse."

"I've already found two weak spots in your strategy Tien. Trust me I'm not worried."

Piccolo smirked when he heard this. "You see his weaknesses Rikku and I see yours." One of her weaknesses was the way she battled. She would wait, watching her opponents techniques and fighting strategy before giving them the final blow. It was that strategy that would cost her big, and the second would cost her her life.

"My technique is perfect." Tien assured narrowing his eyes. What possible weakness did he have that he hadn't seen? "You're delusional."

"If you're so certain than try that trick again."

"Oh we will. However, this time we will use our full power!" Repeating the gestures from before the four Tien's split to separate sides of the rings, channeled their energies and fired straight to Rikku. Instead of a worried expression Rikku remained calm using the smoke as a cover as she had before. She took to the clouds. Following her movements the Tien's fired their eye beams straight for her. With all twelve eyes on her Rikku took this time to expose his first weakness.

"Sorry to disappoint you Tien. My future looks bright from up here. SOLAR FLARE!" As the clouds parted the light from the sun increased and because all twelve of Tien's eyes had been on her he got the full blast of her counterattack.

The four Tien's stood crippled from the blinding sun as Rikku landed perfectly fine. "This is weak spot number one. Your eyesight's a little too good."

"I thought I was the only master of the Solar Flare technique."

Barely able to see Tien made an attempt to attack Rikku but failed to keep her in sight. "This was a bad move Rikku. You have to rely on your eyes as well."

"I wouldn't say that. There are two of you behind me right? One of them is planning a knife hand attack while the other is preparing a round house kick."

"You guessed." Tien said not willing to face the truth.

"Nope training. I won't bore you with the details." Rikku let down the solar flare everyone's vision returning. "I'm guessing you all can se clearly again? Good, now for weak spot number two. This mistake will cost you the match."

"Do tell!" The Tien's surrounded her ready to attack.

"You made the first one worse by breaking up into four!" In a swift barrage of movements Rikku took down the Tien's one by one throwing them all out of the ring. Slowly each one sunk back into Tien's original body leaving a bruised original on the grass. The audience around her all awed at the sudden splurge of power shown on Rikku's part. Tien who had looked like he was dominating most of the match had lost what advantage he had in mere seconds. "That was an interesting technique but I don't think it works in a fight like this. Not only were you split into fourth's but so were your strengths."

"I see. Good to see you've been sharpening more than just your fighting skills Rikku." Master Roshi murmured to himself in the crowd. Tien and Rikku locked hands and she pulled him back to the ring shaking it firmly.

"It's official. Tien landed out of the ring claiming Rikku the winner! She will go on to the finals for the third time in her career as a fighter!"

A few minutes later Rikku heard the announcing of the next battle. Her eyes clear on Hiro as he stood and faced her. "That's me."

"Is it you Kami?" They were alone everyone else getting their spots to watch the next fight. Kami merely looked at her and said her name once. She knew for certain now. "That's a good disguise. I didn't recognize you at first."

"That was the point. This human masquerade worked well."

"You're here… to defeat Junior aren't you? Why are you so interested in him?"

Kami side-glance at her his face solemn. "Because he must be defeated and you can't do it."

"Huh? What are you talking about? This is what you've been training me for."

"You have the skill maybe but you're heart is too pure to take his life. For it is connected to mine. Popo told you this right?" With Rikku's somber nod Kami sighed.

"I told him to keep it secret. I do not want the Earth to suffer because of my liability."

"He was trying to protect you Kami. I'm glad he did for now I know the truth. I had a feeling you were keeping something from me and when Popo told me I knew why you hid it from me."

"Now that you know can you honestly say you will complete the deed when the time comes?" Rikku bowed her head and clenched her fists.

"I…I can stop Junior without ending his life!"

"You cannot deny who you are Rikku. Your love of life and living creatures is a weakness Piccolo knows you have and he will use it against you. Your honor is his greatest weapon. This is bigger than just you and him. This concerns the fate of you entire race."

"Hello is this microphone on? Hiro we need you in the ring!" The announcer's voice rings through the speakers inside the preliminary hall.

"That's my cue. On the unlikely chance I fail you will be the only hope this planet has. Remember that."

Quick chapter I know but there's a certain way I want to relay these chapters. So Kami is to take on Piccolo, can he stop him or will Rikku have to get over her soft heart and defeat him in the championship round? Find out in the next chapter… "Kami's plan, Piccolo's power."