Author's Note: Sorry this one took so long. Life kinda got in the way a bit and writing the fight between Goku and Nam was difficult since it's basically a copy & paste from the anime, meaning not original, or boring. I added some extra stuff in Krillin's fight and also decided to give Yamcha a bit more credit by making him smarter. Anyways, enjoy chapter 10!
Chapter 10: Semi-Finals
"Begin!"
"Ready or not, here I come!" Krillin shouted.
Krillin charged and leapt at Ranko, aiming for her face with fists raised. Ranko dodged by leaping backwards, but Krillin followed. He began a barrage of punches, working upwards like in his fight with Touya. Ranko dodged every blow but not as easily as her past opponents. Instead of her usual bored expression, her face was alert and was sweating a little. She was learning quickly that Krillin was a little to strong to be taken lightly. Krillin suddenly changed tac and kicked low, forcing her to step backwards uneasily to dodge. She wobbled slightly from being unbalanced.
"Now I've got you!" Krillin shouted as aimed a powerful punch at her face with his right hand. Unbalanced as she was, dodging now was impossible. With no other choice she finally took her hands from behind her back and with her left hand, blocked Krillin's fist. They seemed to be frozen, with his fist still caught in hers, but they did not pull away, but pushed against one another.
"Well, well" said Ranko in a strained voice; "You certainly do pack quite a bit of force in those punches, don't you little one? And you're very accurate."
"My master trained me well." Krillin responded practically grunting with effort as he continued to struggle against her.
Ranko gave a small smile before suddenly shoving his fist away and aiming a kick at his head. Krillin ducked, rolled away and once at a suitable distance, leapt up into a fighting stance. Ranko was about 15 feet away, also in a new fighting stance, not her usual pose with her hands behind her back. A sign that she was at last beginning to fight seriously.
"Incredible!" the MC yelled into the mic. "Krillin started out strong and forced miss Akane into the defensive. Akane, who has for most of this tournament always had her hands behind her back, was forced to use her hands to block Krillin's onslaught!"
"That loud, blond pompadour talks too much." Roshi snidely commented.
Ignoring him, Ranko smiled and while maintaining her stance, addressed Krillin. "Yes, you certainly do have power and accuracy. But let's just see if your speed is up to par!"
Krillin said nothing but kept his stance. Suddenly the woman in front of him turned into a blur and she was right in front of him. Before he could react or even think, her hand lashed out in another blur and struck Krillin in the face, sending him flying into the barrier by the entrance. The blow was fast, but not heavy enough to knock him out. This was both good and bad. It was good that he wasn't unconscious and was still in the fight. The bad was since he was still conscious he got to feel everything, the punch, and his body slamming into the brick wall behind him.
"What is this!?" the MC yelled in delight. "Miss Akane suddenly disappeared and then reappeared where Krillin used to be, and Krillin has crashed into the barrier behind him!"
Krillin got uneasily to his feet looking stunned. His nose was bleeding, and his left cheek was swelling. He held his face and stumbled before stammering, "Wha-what was that?"
"Come on Krillin, get up!"
Krillin looked up and saw Goku leaning over the top of the wall. "Look, she's fast. But you should be able to stop it. You've had the same training as me and I saw it."
"You saw it?" Krillin said in disbelief.
"Yeah, I did. So get back in there, you can do it!" Goku said pounding his fist in the air.
Krillin stared at Goku for a few seconds before smacking himself on both cheeks to psych himself up and marched towards Ranko. She watched him approach with a small smile playing at the end of her mouth.
"Well well, look who's back. Still conscious are we? Good. That was just a slow punch, next we'll try a fast one!" she said as she took a new stance.
"A fast one? Either she's bluffing or I'm in trouble!" Krillin thought as he took a new stance.
Ranko and Krillin stared each other down for a moment. Then suddenly Ranko dashed at such speed that she momentarily vanished from sight. This time Krillin was ready, and even though she was much faster this time, he could just barely follow her movements and vanished after her. Their sudden disappearance caused some confused murmuring from the audience before everyone gasped. Both fighters had reappeared at opposite ends of the arena in poses that suggested they had just landed after leaping in the air.
Goku, who had apparently been able to follow the whole high speed exchange simply said, "Whoa…"
"Well, I'll be damned, you blocked it." Ranko said turning to face him, "I'm impressed! It's rare that I find an opponent that can keep up with my speed."
"Thanks." Krillin said turning around and taking a new fight stance. "I was trained by the best! I had two excellent teachers."
Ranko allowed herself a satisfied smile. "Well then, let's just see how much your teachers prepared you for, let's go again!"
And with that word she charged again, and Krillin charged to meet her. Again they vanished, and again after a few moments they reappeared in a stance that suggested they just landed. After a few seconds, Krillin fell face first to the ground.
"Oh no, Krillin!" Goku said in dismay.
"He's down!" Yamcha shouted.
"Incredible! Krillin is down!" the MC shouted. "I'll begin the countdown! 1…2…3…4!"
As the MC counted, Krillin began to struggle to his knees. "5…6…7!" Krillin managed to get up to one knee.
"He won't make it. Roshi whispered. Ranko said nothing but stared at Krillin struggling.
"8…9!" Krillin managed to get up on both feet just as the MC shouted, "And 10! Amazing! Krillin just barely beat the countdown! What a fighter!"
As Krillin stood up he placed both hands on the back of his head and rubbed a sore spot with a pained expression. Ranko didn't look disappointed at all. In fact she looked pleased, as though Krillin had risen beyond her expectations, which was true. She was about to resume her fighting stance when the MC's microphone was suddenly held up to her face. She looked at it in puzzlement and then at the MC.
"Excuse me Miss Akane, sorry to interrupt the fight but you and Krillin moved so quickly in those exchanges neither I nor the audience have any idea what happened. Would you mind taking a moment to show us what happened in that exchange just now?"
Ranko smiled. "I suppose we should. After all the people here paid good money for their seats, it's only fair to show them what they missed." She looked at Krillin who was still rubbing the back of his head but seemed to have mostly recovered. "How about it lad? Care for a demonstration?"
"Huh? Oh, sure! I guess that's alright." Krillin said snapping out of his treatment of the back of his head.
Krillin and Ranko went to opposite ends of the ring, taking the positions they had before the second exchange and faced each other.
"First I attacked like this." Ranko said, charging in slow motion. "And Krillin charged to meet me." Krillin slowly moved forward as well.
"Then, I attempted a kick." She said raising her right leg and kicking out slowly towards Krillin.
"But I saw the kick coming, so I dodged underneath it!" piped up Krillin ducking under her leg. "And I tried to counter with a punch to her face!" He moved in close and slowly extended his fist towards her.
Her right leg still in the air, she then unclasped the upper buttons of her shirt exposing some cleavage as Krillin got close.
"That's when she flashed in an attempt to distract me!" said Krillin turning tomato red. "I was admittedly flustered so I pulled back my punch."
"While he was busy being a perv, I came at him with a left punch, likes so." She explained extending her left arm while bringing her right leg down. (Krillin seemed to resent this comment considering she flashed him).
Krillin then closed his eyes and blocked the punch with his palm.
"But Krillin, regaining his composure, stopped my punch and I had to back off. It was then that I thought I would have to change tac and after a moment, I had an idea." She then extended a closed fist to Krillin and said, "Rock, Paper, Scissors!"
"And I was like, "Huh? No way", but in the end I agreed, I don't know why." Krillin said.
"1..2…3…shoot!" Both Krillin and Ranko extended their hands, Ranko had scissors, Krillin had paper.
"Ha, I win!" Ranko jeered.
"Best two out of three!" Krillin said.
"But little did Krillin know that the little game was just a distraction." Ranko explained. She then looked up at the MC. "I'll need your help for this part, lift me up!"
The MC flushed slightly. "L-lift you? Um, sure, I can do that!" He stepped forward and standing behind her, grabbed her by the waist and lifted her up slowly.
"After the game, I then leapt up, spun, and kicked him in the back of the head." She continued as the MC attempted to navigate her body in the air as she directed. At one point she squeaked and giggled, and he blushed hard while muttering apologies.
"I used the kick to his head as a kickoff to fly backwards." She continued as the MC slowly carried her towards the spot where she landed. "And I landed like so, but just before I landed, I rebuttoned my shirt." She said using one hand to close up her shirt. "And then I landed perfectly, like so" and the MC finally put her down.
"A little help over here!" Krillin said. He was still standing in an awkward position from her kick to the head.
"Oh, sorry!" the MC rushed over and picked up Krillin slowly so that he looked like he was flying.
"The kick sent me flying a short distance, but I managed to land on my feet." The MC carried Krillin to the spot where he fell before and set him down in the pose from before.
"My head hurt so bad I couldn't really see straight. I managed to stick the landing somehow but then I couldn't keep it together and I blacked out." Krillin finished.
"Wait, are you telling me that all this happened in the span of a few seconds?!" cried the MC.
Both Krillin and Ranko nodded.
"Can you believe it folks!?" the MC shouted to the audience. "What incredible speed and talent! Such fighters could only appear at the World Martial Arts Tournament!" The audience clapped and cheered in agreement and in appreciation of their demonstrations. "Sorry for the interruption, let's continue the fight!"
Krillin and Ranko quickly leaped to opposite ends and assumed fighting stances.
"Well now, how should I attack you next?" Ranko mused aloud.
Krillin scowled. "You don't have time to think! I have a few more tricks up my sleeve!" And with that he leapt at Ranko with his fists outstretched and moving so rapidly it seemed he had 10 hands.
"Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!"
"Ha! Well look at that! He's mastered that move as well!" Roshi commented admiringly.
Ranko grinned and just as Krillin was 2 feet away she delivered a swift vertical fist. The jab went straight through Krillin's outstretched arms and made contact with his face. He flew backwards and landed on his back completely stunned. He sat up and saw that she was grinning. He angrily got to his feet.
"Lucky shot, let's try that again!" Again he charged with arms flying. Instead of leaping at her he attacked from below. And just when he was mere feet away, *SLAM*. This time her foot had caught him in the stomach. Her blow hit him so hard his eyes bugged out and spit flew from his mouth. He flew back almost to the edge of the ring. The entire audience including Goku, Yamcha, and Aloe winced or said "ooooh".
"Wow! That looked painful!" said the MC also grimacing. "I'll begin the countdown! 1…2…3…4…5, wait! He's up!"
The crowd cheered as Krillin managed to struggle to his feet, wheezing and holding his gut. His eye was also swelling and turning black from where her fist had hit him earlier. After a few moments, he caught his breath and faced Ranko. She was waiting patiently with arms behind her back, looking expectantly at him.
"Okay, this time I won't hold back!" He charged again with arms flying. This time his arms were moving so fast it seemed he had 20 hands. Goku and Yamcha gasped in appreciation of Krillin's speed. Ranko just sighed in disappointment and took a stance. When he got close suddenly stopped, vanished, and reappeared on Ranko's right with arms flying. It seemed however that she was not fooled and had already repositioned herself to intercept him. At the last moment she stretched out her hands and the dozens of fists vanished.
Goku gasped from the sidelines, "Oh no!" Ranko had caught both of Krillin's hands, effectively stopping the Amaguriken and before Krillin could do much more than blanch at this unexpected counter, Ranko brought up her right knee and hit him hard in the chin, sending him 10 feet into the air. The audience gasped at this development and were completely silent with shock as Krillin hit the ground and did not move.
"In-Incredible!" the MC stammered into the microphone. "Despite a vanishing fake out, Miss Akane wasn't fooled, and not only did she stop Krillin's attack dead, but she also gave a powerful blow to the jaw as well! I'll countdown again, 1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9, wait, I don't believe it! He's up again!"
Krillin again struggled to his feet holding his jaw but otherwise fine. If anything he had an amazing power of recovery.
Ranko looked both impressed and exasperated. "You certainly have a future as a human sandbag or crash test dummy. But I suggest you quit now little one." The truth is that she had been pulling her punches so far, hoping he'd take the hint and realize he was outclassed, and she wouldn't have to hurt him. But now she was becoming impatient and knew she would have to come down hard this time.
Krillin met her gaze with defiance. "I still have one trick left, though I was hoping I wouldn't have to use it."
Krillin then pulled his head and arms inside of his shirt, so he looked like a turtle. Ranko and the audience looked puzzled and stared waiting to see what he was up to. Suddenly, his head and arms popped out and holding up his hands limp to look like an animal pawing he yelled, "MEOW!" In his shirt he had hidden a marker and drawn whiskers and a nose on his face.
Ranko's face drained of color so fast she looked blue. Her hair frazzled and she leapt in the air screaming. Krillin seized his chance and delivered a powerful kick, sending her flying out of the ring and high into the air.
"I DON'T BELIEVE IT! THAT LITTLE RAT!" she shouted coming back to herself and still flying higher and higher.
"Of all the stupid ways to lose a fight!" Yamcha said in disbelief. Next to him Aloe had smacked her forehead with her palm and was cursing in rapid mandarin.
"Kids these days! You just can't trust any of them!" Roshi said angrily.
Goku was laughing, "Alright! He did it!"
The MC looked confused but continued his commentary. "Well folks I don't know what just happened but from the looks of it Miss Akane may just be out of the tournament! She's far out of the ring and once she lands it's over!"
Meanwhile Ranko was still flying in the air but now gravity was beginning to take effect and she was starting to fall. She was panicking and flapping her arms wildly like a bird and yelling, "Crap, crap, crap, crap, craaaap!"
"Only one thing to do!" Roshi said bracingly.
Regaining her focus, Ranko took a deep breath and cupped her hands to her side. "Kaaa…meee…" an orb of light appeared in her hands and began to grow. "Haaa…meee…" the orb of light grew larger and spun rapidly. "HAAAAA!" She thrust her hands forward at the rapidly approaching ground and a beam of light struck out from her hands. The wave of energy hit the ground and propelled her back into the air. She twisted her arms to change her trajectory and suddenly she was in a controlled flight, hurtling back towards the arena, over the heads of the audience their mouths agape. Only then did she let the energy beam die out and let inertia carry her towards the ring where she did several backflips and landed neatly in the center of the ring with her arms in the air in the "ta-da" pose.
For several moments everyone was completely speechless. Then all at once the audience began cheering, whistling, and clapping. She waved to the audience with both hands and started blowing kisses to the audience while Goku, Yamcha, Krillin, and Bulma and co. just stared in disbelief.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have just witnessed a Kamehameha Wave!" the MC shouted excitedly. "For years it was thought that Master Roshi was the only one capable of this technique, but it seems that Miss Akane has mastered it as well! What else will these two fighters show us? The fight continues!"
Ranko stopped waving and blowing kisses and turned to Krillin. "That was a clever trick. If I had been anyone else, I would have lost. But I think it's about time we wrap this up."
Krillin looked understandably flabbergasted. After a moment he wiped the whiskers off his face and resumed a fighting stance looking worried but determined. Deciding there was nothing else for it, Krillin charged as fast as he could intending to fight tooth and nail to the end.
Roshi grunted. "A reckless charge. How foolish. He must finally be out of tricks."
Right before Krillin would hit her, Ranko's image flickered and became somewhat transparent. Krillin went right through her and the after image vanished.
"Krillin! Behind!" Goku shouted.
But it was too late, Ranko had reappeared behind him and chopped him on either side of the neck with both hands. Krillin's eyes rolled up into his head, and he collapsed.
"Incredible! Utilizing her amazing speed, Miss Akane left an after image for Krillin to attack! Leaving him vulnerable for her counter! I'll start the countdown, 1…2…3…4…5…6."
"Count to a thousand if you want, he's not waking up for a while." Roshi said. Ranko said nothing but twirled her long braided pigtail in boredom.
"7…8…9…10! That's it! Miss Akane wins the first round of the Semi Finals and will advance for a chance at the championship!"
Meeting Hall
A few minutes later Krillin had woken up and was sitting on a bench in the meeting hall. He was rubbing his neck while Goku and Yamcha stood beside him, trying to cheer him up while Ranko sat in front of him with a first aid kit open which she had insisted on helping with despite their confusion, as they knew her as Akane, and she was a stranger. Nam was meditating nearby with Aloe sitting next to him but was paying attention to the boy's conversation with Ranko and letting Nam have some peace as he was fighting next. Nam seemed to have given up trying to shirk her off.
"Don't feel bad, Krillin. You tried." Goku said.
"He certainly did" said Akane in huff as she placed a bandage over his eye. "Silly boy, you should have quit earlier, just look at you!" Krillin seemed to blush a little but didn't argue with her.
"Okay, MOM. Let's dial it down a bit." Roshi said with a hint of a laugh in his voice.
After a moment Krillin piped up. "Miss Akane, I got to know. The Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken, how did you counter it so easily? Have you seen it before?"
"Well…" she started before licking her thumb and wiping off a bit of blood from his face which made him blush harder. "That technique isn't completely unknown. It has many variations in different forms of martial arts, but in general most of them share similar weaknesses. Can you guess what they are? No? Here's a hint, there are three in this case, and two of them exist because you were the user."
"The move was weak…because I was the user?" Krillin said in wonder.
Yamcha cleared his throat. "I think I can name them, if it's alright that I answer."
"Go ahead" she replied.
Yamcha nodded and began. "The first time she countered with the jab worked because she had superior range. You're arms are short, allowing her fist to reach you first no matter how fast you were. When she countered the second time she hit you in the stomach. Since you were using both arms to attack, you had no guard below and again shorter reach. And lastly, the third counter probably highlights the shared weakness among different variations. No matter how fast your arms move it's not like you have extra arms. If you're able to stop the movement of both arms then the user is helpless."
Goku and Krillin stared at him, Akane however, clapped and said, "Bravo! Right on all counts. I took advantage of your shorter reach on the first two attacks, and on the last one I was simply faster than you. You've got a bit of growing to do in both the physical and metaphorical sense." She closed the first aid kit with a snap, stood up, and looked at Goku. "Good luck in your fight, Goku." She then walked away with the kit to return it to the monk at edge of the room. As she walked away, Krillin looked at her in wonder.
"You know Goku, the more I interact with Akane, the more I'm reminded of Miss Ranko." Krillin said turning to Goku. "Her playfulness, the way she seems to smother us, and that heavy eye shadow that was Miss Ranko's trademark look."
Goku nodded before answering. "I know what you mean. She not only looks similar, but also the way she moves and talks seems similar as well." Goku then sniffed the air like a blood hound. "I could believe that she's Miss Ranko in disguise, but she smells too…old."
Both Yamcha and Krillin knew Goku well enough not to doubt his nose, so they put the possibility of them being the same person out of their minds.
Yamcha then spoke to Goku, "When you were telling me about your training the other night, you told me all about Ranko. She said she was Roshi's last blood relative, but what if Ranko herself has other relatives on her other side of the family. If Roshi taught Ranko the basics, and she in turn taught them to another family member…" he let the thought hang in the air as they considered.
"It's possible" Krillin said. "But anyone on that side of her family wouldn't have any reason to fight us so seriously. After all, the entire time I was fighting her it seemed like she was testing me, she could've beat me whenever she wanted too. And then there was the thing just now with the first aid kit, Miss Akane was extremely caring to be a complete stranger."
The three boys fell silent as they pondered this mystery. Aloe who was nearby had listened to the conversation with interest and was also pondering the mystery of a younger Ranko as she had only met the current middle aged version here at the tournament.
The MC's voice suddenly rang out. "The second round of the Semi Finals will now begin! Will Nam and Goku please step into the ring!"
Nam opened his eyes and stood up and left the room with a determined air. "Good luck, Airen! (beloved)" Aloe called out. Nam's step faltered slightly but continued as if he hadn't heard it. Goku then bounded after him grinning. He stopped and turned around, "Cheer for me on the sidelines!" he called and ran off to the arena.
The Arena
Nam and Goku both strode out into the ring. Nam stood on one end completely rigid with eyes closed and with his right hand in front of him as though in prayer. On the other end Goku was waving to the audience and having the time of his life. It was a bit unfortunate Roshi thought, that this was such a solemn occasion for Nam who had the lives of his people on his shoulders. Whereas Goku was just here to have fun.
"Alright! Both fighters are now present! Let's get the second match of the Semi Finals started!" the MC yelled excitedly.
Goku and Nam both took fighting stances as the drums began again. Nam looked grim and focused, Goku was also focused but there was a slight smile on his face. The drums suddenly stopped and a gong rang.
"Begin!"
At first neither Nam nor Goku moved. Both were wary of the other's abilities. Nam knew the boy's amazing physical prowess and Goku had watched Nam's fight with Aloe and knew he was extremely skilled. Suddenly Goku smiled and his image rippled and became slightly translucent, it was the same afterimage technique that Ranko had used in the previous match. Nam however didn't panic, his encounter with the "Splitting Cat Hairs Technique" prepared him for this. He closed his eyes and focused his senses. Nam then leapt int the air dodging Goku's kick from behind. Nam spun in the air and brought his leg down in an axe kick. Goku quickly dodged it and returned to his original position, as did Nam.
"Did you see what Goku did!" Yamcha said in disbelief.
"Yeah! It's the same technique you used against me, Miss Akane!" Krillin said amazed.
"Indeed" said Ranko. "For Goku to be able to imitate the technique after seeing it only once is amazing! But even more incredible is that Nam was able to see through it and counterattack!"
"This Nam is astounding!" said Roshi. "By rights he would probably be this tournament's natural victor if the rest of us hadn't participated this year. Who knows, he is disciplined and determined. He may just win this fight yet."
As Roshi thought this, Nam had taken the initiative in the battle and resumed the attack. Charging Goku, he unleashed a flurry of punches. Goku managed to block every blow, albeit unsteadily. Goku then countered with a flurry of his own, which was also blocked. Nam then unleashed a kick that connected but wasn't that powerful as Nam was unbalanced. Still the blow knocked Goku back slightly, but he recovered and ducking down, he swept Nam's feet with his right leg. Nam managed to stay up but was now very unbalanced, Goku seized his chance and delivered a powerful punch to the stomach, sending him flying towards the wall.
Nam however recovered mid-air, and using the wall as rebound, flew at Goku. Goku didn't expect Nam to recover so quickly and was caught off guard and wasn't able to block the incoming attack. Nam delivered a powerful chop to Goku's neck, knocking him down and holding the spot where he was struck. Nam then seized his chance with Goku on the ground and came up behind him. Goku however lashed out with his tail and seized Nam's ankle and lifting it, causing Nam to fall on his back. Goku used the opportunity to scramble away.
"Amazing! Once again Goku has saved himself through the use of his tail!" the MC said excitedly. "This fight has been back and forth since the word go! What will these fighters do next!"
In fact both fighters were now pondering that very question, what now? After a moment of pondering Goku seemed to find an answer.
"I just thought of a technique you'll really like!" Goku said. Nam looked puzzled as Goku stood up straight and spread his arms out. "Tornado!" he yelled. Then as the name suggested he began spinning rapidly until he was a spinning blur. He then started approaching Nam while maintaining his speed. Nam tried to strike but was beaten back by the rotation. It quickly became apparent to Nam that there was no way to counter and the only thing to do was to evade.
Over and over again Goku approached, and Nam backed away. This repeated until Nam's feet met the edge of the ring and had nowhere to go. Nam closed his eyes, bracing himself for the blow, inwardly lamenting his failure to save his village. The blow, however, never came. He opened his eyes and saw that inches away from him Goku had stopped, and his spinning had slowed down to a halt.
"Ugh, I'm dizzy..." And Goku fell flat on his back.
Nam was so shocked he almost fell from the ring. Recovering himself and his wits he stood over Goku looking down. "That was a very impressive attack young lad, but it was the source of your own downfall."
"Fate has given me a rare second chance for victory and I shall not waste it!" he thought to himself. "I must end this fight now, but that tail is deadlier then a cobra. Yes…it is the only choice." "The Aerial Attack!" he said aloud. Crouching down, he then lifted off, shooting like a rocket into the air.
"Amazing! Nam has launched himself into the air!" the MC said excitedly. "He must be at least 4 stories high!"
As Nam began to reach his peak height he said a silent prayer. "Forgive me young warrior, I bare you no ill will. But while you came for fun and glory, I am not afforded the luxury of failure, they are all counting on me!" He twisted in the air and shot straight down straight and rigid like an arrow, his arms in an X in front of him.
"Goku, move!" Bulma wailed from the audience.
"Get out of there kid!" Oolong cried.
"Oh no!" Puar cried horrified covering her eyes with her paws.
Aloe, who had been swooning the entire time, had clapped both hands over her mouth as she realized what was about to happen. Krillin and Yamcha both shouted Goku's name in desperation. Ranko watched in horror and gritted teeth, knowing what was about to happen. On the ground, Goku seemed to be stirring and opened his eyes.
"It is too late!" Nam shouted!
And indeed it was, Nam shot down like a thunderbolt and his arms struck Goku just below the neck. Goku cried out in a gasp, retching sound for a moment, then his eyes rolled into the back of his head and passed out. Nam then slowly stood up and closing his eyes and placing his hands in front of him, he gave a prayer. "Forgive me."
The audience looked on in shock as the MC attempted to gather his wits and stammered, "Holy…is he alright?"
"I believe it's time for you to count" Nam said calmly.
"O-oh, right!" The MC hurriedly entered the ring and began counting. "1…2…3…"
"Not much point in counting, no one could get up after that kind of assault!" Ranko said torn between awe and anger.
As he counted Nam spoke to Goku's unconscious form, "It is against my ways to harm any living creature, you will regain consciousness in 8 to 10 days".
"7…8…9…10-huh?"
Just as the MC was about to end the countdown, Goku suddenly leapt to his feet holding his throat coughing and retching. "Ow!" he managed to spit out. "That hurt!"
"Impossible!" Nam shouted. No one heard him say this as the audience had gone wild at this new development. The MC had to shout into the microphone for his commentary to be heard.
"I don't believe what I'm seeing folks! After taking a blow from over 4 stories high, Goku is somehow back on his feet and ready for more!"
"That boy, how does he do it?" Ranko stammered.
"Is it possible I made an error in my execution? It must be a fluke!" Nam thought as he watched Goku do some neck exercises. "My next attack must be perfect! There is too much at stake to lose now!"
At the end of that thought Nam leapt into the air again, much, much higher than before. 5 stories, 6…7…8…and so on. Up he soared until he was a speck in the sky,
"Wow!" said Goku as he craned his neck watching him soar higher and higher. "Well, here goes!" Goku crouched and took off like a rocket into the air after Nam.
As he flew upwards, Nam was already coming down like an arrow. Goku shot right past Nam and kept going. Completely shocked, Nam twisted in the air to look up at Goku, who was now rocketing downwards towards Nam. When he was level with Nam he spread out his arms and legs to halt his descent. Nam swam through the air towards Goku, and both took a fighting stance while still falling. Nam aimed a punch that Goku ducked and sped towards the ground again. Nam followed thinking that it was perfect as he would land first, and he could execute his aerial attack. He soared after Goku in his arrow pose again.
Just before Goku hit the ground he flipped over, landed on his feet, leapt backwards, and immediately jumped into a flying kick towards the spot where Nam would be in a moment. Nam saw the trap and knew that it was no good. He was falling to fast to stop, and he had no way to counter in mid-air. He twisted in vein to face Goku's oncoming kick. When Nam was barely 10 feet from the ground, Goku kicked Nam in the chest, sending him flying backwards out of the ring where he crashed into the barrier separating the audience and landed in the soft grass below.
"Ring Out!" the MC shouted in delight. "Nam has landed out of the ring! Goku will advance to the finals!"
The audience again cheered and whistled as Goku waved to them smiling happily.
Nam stood up and approached Goku. He had a serious expression that turned to a smile. He held out his hand to Goku, "Good match". Goku took his hand and shook it as the crowd cheered.
As Yamcha and Krillin cheered next to her, Ranko stared at Goku with a dark look. "To think it came to this, my love" she thought.
"I know, his accomplishments for his age are incredible! I'm beginning to wonder if even I can beat him." Roshi said.
Ranko sniffed. "He's strong but still extremely unrefined. I'll take care of him my love, don't you worry."
End of Chapter 10