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.
A/N IMPORTANT!: I messed up the chapter listings in the previous chapters sorry if it confused by I'll fix it once I've finished the fic. From now on the chapter numbers will be correct!
Chapter 35: WMAT: And the World Champion is…
The amazing energy between the two fighters were impressive even by Kami's standards. As he watched and prayed for Rikku's survival he couldn't help but marvel at her achievement. She matched Piccolo blow for blow and took every opportunity she could get to land her fist in him. She remained composed even as she received punishing hits from Piccolo such as his antenna ray, and the free hit she allowed him after he had saved her from a previous blow. It was all stamina, Kami thought. The girl could take on such brutal punishment and yet still stand to meet the challenge.
Kami had pleaded with Rikku to let him help her defeat Piccolo. The woman wouldn't budge. She insisted that defeating Piccolo alone was a task she just had to do. She was, if anything, so honest and true. Kami wondered how such a pure heart grew up around battle and danger. She surpassed even him in strength and she was by far the purest human on the planet. With that knowledge Kami allowed her to continue with the fight so long as she exterminated Piccolo in the end.
She made brilliant moves to counter Piccolo's furious attacks. A rogue blast that seemed to follow her everywhere she went eventually ended up back in piccolo's face as Rikku lead it straight to him. A move that nearly left Piccolo at a disadvantage with a wounded arm. To the amazement and disgust of the viewers Piccolo pulled at the injured arm until it completely ripped off, The sounds of girly screams and groans of disgust was the motivation he needed to re-grow his arm leaving him in better fighting condition. Personally the move just made Rikku sick to her stomach.
From then on it was a survival test for Rikku as she fought to stay alive from Piccolo's ultimate attack that left the stadium and nearly the whole city around them in ruins. Thankfully Rikku's friends and the announcer managed to take shelter in a hole created by Tien. What was left of the ring was nothing but a large square like platform made of clay and dust. Rikku survived as well blocking most of the blast wave by using her own energy and her arms to block her face. Her skin smoked and she had to put out a small fire on the ends of her hair but she was alive none the less.
"You're going to have to be stronger than that to defeat me Junior." Rikku could see the fear all over Piccolo's face now. She beckoned him further wanting to continue the battle with the advantage she had on him. "You have used every dirty trick there is and yet I'm still standing. Face it Junior I've won!" With furious force she launched at him kicking and punching until he writhed. She shot a punch straight into his abdomen feeling as his insides pulled and flexed against her force. He fell to the floor and to finish it all off she jumped to the sky and sent a fierce Kamehameha taking out a corner of the ring with him.
When the dust and light vanished form her blow Rikku looked to examine the damage dealt. Piccolo laid in a crater made by her Kamehameha. Dust and debris covering bits and pieces of his body and he looked to be unconscious. Rikku landed with a smirk scratching the back of her leg with her bare foot. "Hey now might be a good time to start counting!"
The announcer crawled from his place in the hole. "Whoa- oh yes! Ahem! 1, 2, 3, 4,"
Chichi smiled big and made ready to hug Rikku when the announcer reached ten. All her friends took place in the count ready to deem her the winner. "5, 6, 7, and 8, 9-"
Rikku gasped feeling Piccolo's energy rise. She whirled around, turning her body just in time to get a beam shot through the right side of her chest. She landed screaming, the wound burning from being open to the wind and dust. Rikku coughed up blood clenching the wound above her breast. She had never experienced such tremendous pain before and it made her shake.
"Rikku!" Chichi and Krillen screamed in sync ready to jump in and protect their friend. Piccolo knelt in the dust panting heavily from Rikku's attacks on him. He saw her wriggling and he had to laugh. It was a sight he had been looking forward to for three years. Now she was at his mercy.
"Hanging on to the bitter end I see. Foolish girl." He stepped toward her. "For the crimes you have committed against King Piccolo it is my honor to serve justice!" He slammed his foot into Rikku's opened wound making her scream in agony. To make matters worse he grinded further into it loving as her blood gushed around his foot and dripped along her white skin.
"STOP IT!" Tien shouted and he, Krillen, and Yamcha all rushed up to help but were stopped in their tracks by a large beam that cracked the ground at their feet.
"This doesn't concern you! Stay out of it!"
Rikku got to her feet as Piccolo busied himself with scolding her friends. She staggered coughing up more blood. She sent a dry angry look to Piccolo showing him that the match wasn't over. She would fight until the end.
"Good thing you aim as bad as you fight. You missed my vital organs."
"Tch," Piccolo snorted clenching his fist as he faced her. "Doesn't matter victory will still be mine!"
He launched taking quick advantage of Rikku's open wound. He knocked her to the opposing side of the ring where she nearly fell off the edge. She groaned as she got up her wound stinging pain. She clenched it as if it would stop the bleeding or make the pain disappear. She wouldn't give up, she would rather die on the battle field than watch as the world crumbled around Piccolo's feet.
Thankfully for her she wasn't the only one who was injured. Piccolo was still breathing heavy from her attack and was spent from his wasteful use of energy. Her vision blurred as she tried to focus on her target and she shook her head. The beating pain in her skull adding on to the strain on her body.
"The amount of effort that I put to clear this place of civilization the least you could do is stop leaking on my floor." Piccolo scolded.
Rikku looked down at the pool of blood that was beginning to form. She had to end this soon or she would bleed to death.
"RIKKU WATCH OUT!" At chichi's voice Rikku's head shot up. Piccolo's elbow pushing past her hand to pierce into her wound making her wail. She fell to the ground again Piccolo beating her down by thrusting his knees down onto her ankles shattering them. She screamed again her body so full of pain she began to feel numb to the rest of the world. Her vision dazed and her hearing muffled she laid on the ground struggling to find the strength to get up.
"Watching you writhing in pain is so satisfying you can hardly even imagine." Piccolo pointed his finger at her arm a yellow beam coming out and burn at the skin and she screamed. She couldn't even find the strength to move and pull away from the beam. She took it all with no way to numb the torture. "Hmm no." Piccolo suddenly stopped. "I won't take your arm. I tire of this game between us. I shall rid you of your life."
Piccolo rose to the air a bellowing chuckle escaping from his lips. Rising high he aimed his hands at the speck that was Rikku's body and channeled a good portion of his strength left into a blast that would vaporize her. Rikku's friends could only watch and wait for the end of the world to come upon them as he released that energy blowing away the corner of the ring that Rikku's body laid upon. The light emitted blinding all the viewers from the contact however Piccolo imagined a yummy crumble of bones as Rikku would be crushed under the weight of his blast then burned to a crisp.
The light subsided and he landed looking for any trace of her. With no sign of life he began to laugh maniacally. "HAHAHA It's done! Too bad I wanted to keep her head as a souvenir but it looks like there's nothing left!"
Chichi wailed out collapsing to her knees. Yamcha and Bulma cradled her with tears of their own drizzling down their face. Krillen stared at the ring in pure denial. It didn't feel right. It didn't feel like she was gone. She couldn't be.
"There's no need to grieve. You'll be joining her soon." Piccolo declared turning to his new victims. Tien, Yamcha, and Krillen crouched in defensive poses all ready to fight for their life. Krillen narrowed his eyes as something caught his attention behind Piccolo. A black and orange dot in the sky shooting straight toward them. He gave a soft gasp.
"Up above. Isn't that Rikku?"
"Rikku?" Chichi heard looking in the same direction then smiling. It was Rikku. She was Bloody and bruised all over with her previous wound but there were no signs of damage from Piccolo's attack. Blood dripped from her as she soared at Piccolo head first. Piccolo turned and managed a scream before Rikku's hard head landed in his sides cracking ribs and knocking the wind out of him as well as knocking him outside the platform.
Piccolo laid unmoving in the ground and Rikku laughed a little now face down in the dirt. She couldn't move anymore but she managed a weak smile. "Is he out? Is he outside the ring?"
The announcer bounced up looking dramatized by the whole ordeal. "there's not much left but uh… yes it appears that Junior has been knocked out of the ring. The winner of the twenty third martial arts tournament is Rikku!"
Rikku grinned widely at the sounds she had been dying to hear all day. She won! She defeated Piccolo once again. She could hear the cheers of her friends as they swarm to gather around her. Krillen and Chichi knelt down beside her smiling as big as she was. "You did it, but you sure took a big hit. How do you feel?"
"Well, my body is numb, and there's this annoying pounding in my head but other than that... I'm great." Rikku's eyes look to Master Roshi and Kami as they examined Junior's body. The last blow had finally knocked the villain unconscious and she sighed gratefully.
"Do you have any plans for Junior?" Rikku heard the familiar voice of Yajirobe and she turned her head and smiled.
"Yajirobe. It's you. What about your beans?"
"I want some real food." Yajirobe said digging through the brown cloth pouch. "You want beans then here." He knelt down feeding it to her.
"Thanks," she said before crunching down on the bean. The bean's powers going instantly to work filling her body with strength and healing her bleeding wounds. She jumped to her feet catching her friends off guard as she giggled and jumped high to the air celebrating her victory with a dance in the sky. "I WON I WON I AM THE CHAMPION! WOO HOO!"
It felt so good to finally win. The two previous years she had participated in the finals and lost were exciting and fun but the feeling to actually win was beyond comparison. She felt so light and happy and nearly invincible.
Down on the ground Kami growled sticking his hand over Junior's body ready to rid the world of him. Rikku caught the movement and gasped. "NO KAMI!" She zoomed down from the sky getting between Kami and Piccolo. "Don't!"
"Get out of my way Rikku!"
"No!"
"He needs to be destroyed!" Kami shouted unable to grasp Rikku's methods for wanting the monster kept alive. "This world will never be safe until he stops breathing."
"If you kill him you will also die. There has to be another option."
"I've already told you. You can wish me back with the dragon balls." Kami explained but Rikku's eyes narrowed. The tone in which Kami took told Rikku he was hiding the truth.
"You're the guardian of Earth. Are you capable of lying?"
"What do you mean?"
"You're the one who created the dragon balls Kami. If you die doesn't it make sense that the dragon balls will no longer exist?"
The news shocked her friends, Tien especially for Kami had tried to make Tien kill him before Piccolo's blast interrupted. Rikku stood firm staring into Kami's eyes and she saw the real truth. Kami, feeling the burden of his lie, turned away and walked a few feet. "Sometimes, even I will make a mistake. Lately I've had so many of them. I created Piccolo from the evil inside my heart and yet I was too blind to see that he would rise and surpass my power. My judgment has been blurred and now I truly don't feel worthy to govern this planet."
Roshi heard this and stepped forth. "How can you say such things when it was you who brought our world peace again?" Kami turned to the turtle hermit feeling confused by his words. "Without your training Rikku would never have become the fine warrior she is now, and if not for the dragon balls none of these warrior would have never met. I can't begin to tell you how many people owe their lives to these kids."
Kami's eyes widen in realization. His dragon balls had brought together the world's greatest strength? A simple need inside his body to create them protected the planet subconsciously.
"When their quest began they were just children. Their journeys allowed them to grow and become heroes. When the world needed saving eight kids answered the call. One ball, that's how it all started."
Kami smiled and turned to Rikku. "Rikku, you're so fortunate to have had such a marvelous teacher."
"Yep," Rikku agreed smiling affectionately at Master Roshi. "There's no one else like him."
Roshi blushed rubbing the back of his head. "Oh no I just taught her the basics. I would have never been able to raise her or the others so well without the assistance of you and Master Korin."
Rikku giggled and turned to Kami as he approached her. Kami slid his hand up in her face and with a quick silent incantation Rikku's tattered clothes reformed into her original uniform. "Wear the symbol of the turtle proudly Rikku. Never forget your upbringing."
"Thank you, and I sure won't." She rubbed the fine material and then looked to Yajirobe holding up a hand. "Hey can I get another sensu bean, Yajirobe?"
Yajirobe blinked in confusion before tossing her another bean. "You keep eating like this you're gonna get fat."
"Thanks," snatching the bean from the air Rikku jogged over to Piccolo kneeling at his side. Popping the bean in his opened mouth she smiled. "Eat up Junior." Rikku ignored the screams and gasps behind her as everyone stepped away from Piccolo's body as he began to come to. The villain's eyes shot open and he bounced away cautiously. "Welcome back. Have a nice nap?"
"Are you some kind of fool?" Piccolo asked hiding the chuckle in his throat.
"I need a rival, a reason for me to continue my training. You seem to fit the bill quite nicely." Her explanation quick, and clean.
"You're a moron if you think this changes anything. When the day that I rise to superior strength comes I will return to settle the score." Piccolo rose to the air laughing. "See you real soon and until then I'll see you in your nightmares!"
"Hope he won't be too disappointed when I beat him again." Rikku laughed happily stretching her muscles out. She turned only to be tackled by Chichi. "Whoa! Easy Chichi!"
"You really did it! You're so brave! If you were a man I'd kiss you!"
"Kiss?" She blinked and stood up. "Oh! You mean this?" Rikku leaned in kissing Chichi's cheek making her blush and Krillen to turn beat red. "Why do I have to be a guy for you to do that?" (WMAT FINALS: Rikku VS Tien)
Kami's laugh turned her attention and she looked to him. "Your pure heart is admirable, Rikku. In fact I would like to offer you my job."
"WHAT?" Rikku's eyes widen "Me? Are you serious?"
"Yes I have the utmost confidence that you would be a superb guardian. You're the only one I can trust."
"No, no, no it's your job keep it."
"Don't be too hasty. Think of all the good you could do with that power." Rikku did think about it. For two seconds she paused then grinned and stuck out her tongue in a raspberry motion. Kami gasped and backed away from Rikku as she called for her Nimbus cloud.
"Let's get out of here Chichi!" Grabbing Chichi's hand she took off on Nimbus waving to the others below. "Sorry Kami, but life doesn't get much better than this!"
"Rikku!" Bulma shouted. "Come to West City sometime and we'll celebrate your victory!"
"WILL DO!" Rikku shouted back taking a seat on nimbus Chichi right behind her. "Where to? Your castle?"
"Yeah, I was actually trying to tell you this earlier, but I got distracted. I actually joined the tournament per papa's request. He knew you would be there and asked me to offer you a place to stay with us."
"Live with you and the Ox King huh?" Rikku thought about it. She liked the Ox King and Chichi. Their kingdom was wide, and green along the mountain side and the villagers were all so kind. "Yeah I would like that."
Weee! Almost done only two chapters to go then I can start the sequel! What will Rikku's life be like at Ox King's castle and what sort of surprises are in store for Rikku's future? Find out next on… "Life Changing Experience."
A/N: I left some news on my profile page for all my readers. If you have the time please read my notices there! Thanks a bunch and Please Comment!