The Budoukai Rages On! The Limits of Willpower!
There was a short respite between the quarterfinals and the semifinals. During that time, Krillin and Goku were pleasantly surprised to find that Master Roshi had come to speak with them.
"I'm very proud of how you've both done," he told them with a warm smile. "But I don't want either of you holding back now, do you understand?" They both nodded enthusiastically and he nodded back while keeping one hand on his hat to keep the wig from showing. If he ripped it off, that would just leave red marks on his scalp that he'd have to hide anyway and if the glue didn't dry when he put the wig back on before his fight with Namu, well, that'd be the end of the whole game, wouldn't it? "And whichever of you loses, I don't want it to ruin your friendship or your interest in martial artes. It's the way of the world, there's always someone better out there. All you can do is keep trying and keep working so that you can get better yourself!"
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Ken shouted into the microphone from outside. "The semifinals are about to begin!" Roshi smiled at his students and bowed to them.
"Guess you two'd better get goin'," he said as they bowed in response and hurried outside. He chuckled and shook his head as he watched them run with exuberance. 'Gohan and the Ox King used to be like that,' he thought wistfully. Then he sighed and looked away sadly. 'Shen and I used to be like that.'
As the two young warriors got into their fighting stances, Ken the announcer ran out between them. They relaxed their stances and looked more than a little confused. Weren't they supposed to be fighting?
"Now before we begin, guys," Ken said, "I think the audience would like to hear a bit more about the two of you! You're the youngest people to have ever made it this far in the history of the tournament and the skill you've displayed is quite frankly astounding. So please, if you wouldn't mind, come to the center of the ring and talk to these fine people!" Goku and Krillin shrugged and made their way over towards Ken. "Let's give them a big hand, everyone!" The crowd cheered and clapped for the young fighters.
"Come on, Goku!" Bulma shouted as she waved her arms. "You can go all the way, kid!" Blue-Haired Launch frowned at Bulma before cupping her hands to her mouth and shouting herself.
"C-c'mon, Krillin!" she cheered. She didn't really want one of them to win or the other but it didn't feel fair to her that Bulma was screaming her head off for Goku and decided that Krillin could use some encouragement, too.
"Now first off," Ken said while slightly bent to look at the two, "How old are you?" He brought the mic down to them and Goku just stared at it. "Y... you talk into it," Ken explained awkwardly, "It makes your voice louder." Krillin groaned and pulled the microphone over to himself.
"I'm thirteen," he said before Goku took the mic back. Now she got it!
"I'm twelve!" she shouted eagerly which made Krillin smirk.
"Ha! I'm older than you!" he teased. Goku just shrugged.
"Yeah, but I'm taller." Krillin fumed and the crowd laughed. Ken cleared his throat to try and regain control of the conversation.
"I see you two are wearing the same outfit with those orange gi," he pointed out. "Tell us, who is your teacher?" The two grinned before they answered in unison.
"The Turtle Hermit, Muten Roshi!" This drew a collective gasp of surprise from the audience along with some murmurs that seemed to agree that the children's' abilities made sense now. Even Ken was stunned.
"Th-the Invincible Old Master is your teacher?!" he exclaimed. "Absolutely incredible! Who knew he was taking on new students? Who even knew he was still alive?" Somewhere in the back, Jackie Chun facepalmed. "So would you say the two of you have gotten close during your training?" Krillin was about to ask Ken what kind of question was that when Goku butted in.
"Yeah!" she said cheerfully while Krillin resigned himself to putting his head in his hands. "Krillin's my best friend!" this drew laughter and "Awws" from the crowd as Krillin just wanted to sink into the earth.
"Well, let's hope that whatever else comes from this tournament, the both of you will continue to be friends," Ken said playfully. "But I think that's quite enough for right now. If you two will go back to your places, it's time to begin the semifinals!" Goku hopped back over to where she'd been without a care in the world. Krillin stomped back to his position while muttering under his breath. "Fighters ready?" Ken asked from a safe distance away from the ring. "Begin!"
They charged at each other and met in the center of the ring, each throwing a high kick that blocked the other. To the audience, at one moment the pair had been at the opposite ends of the ring and then the next they weren't. Goku pivoted her hips to throw a roundhouse kick that Krillin jumped back to avoid. He rolled forward and then sprung up with his hands to try and hit Goku from beneath with a headbutt but she spun to the left to avoid it. Goku threw out a quick jab that Krillin blocked with both hands though the impact sent him skidding across the ring. Once again, this was nothing more than a blur of movement to the fans.
Krillin ran at Goku and jumped in the air to try and knock her down with a spin kick but she caught his ankle and threw him hard. It was only by digging his fingernails into the stone and splaying himself flat that he was able to keep himself from getting eliminated. He swallowed as he dusted himself off and got to his feet.
'Gosh,' he thought, 'I never noticed how strong she was before!' He got himself back into a fighting stance and steeled himself with a serious face. 'I'll have to fight smart here.' Goku hopped eagerly from foot to foot while she waited for Krillin to make his next move. Krillin leaped into the air and dove at Goku with both fists. She put up her arms to block which was exactly what Krillin had planned on. He opened his hands and grabbed her forearms to flip behind her and slam her into the ground. He went to drive a chop into her back while she was recovering but she rolled away just in time and came up to her feet to throw a powerful palm strike into his stomach. Krillin staggered back both from the blow and the huge crack he saw in the ring where Goku's face had hit it. She rubbed her head and frowned.
'That kinda hurt,' Goku thought to herself before breaking out into a big grin, 'But this is fun!' She jumped at Krillin with a flying kick that he ducked under but she landed perfectly on the kicking foot and swung around with a heel kick that caught Krillin as he turned around. He staggered back and she followed up with a pair of quick punches and an uppercut that sent him sailing into the air before he crashed to the ground. Goku watched as he slowly picked himself up. Then something weird happened. Krillin smiled. "Aaaaare you okay?" Goku asked with her head cock to the side. Krillin chuckled and nodded.
"Oh, yeah," he said, "Because now that I know how strong you are…" he adopted a wide-legged stance with his arms outstretched and his palms facing towards her "I'm going to win." Goku blinked.
"... How?" she asked rather bluntly. It was all Krillin could do not to groan. She could be pretty rude sometimes without meaning to but he wasn't going to explain his plan to her, because then she'd just figure out a way to beat him. When he said nothing and didn't move Goku eventually got bored and charged at him. Just as Krillin expected. She threw a powerful punch that Krillin just barely saw and wouldn't have time to block. Krillin didn't have to block, though. He put his palms to her arm and guided her face-first hard into the stone. He'd let her own momentum do all the work so that the force of impact was much stronger than if he'd tried to do it himself. Goku sprang up quickly again and went to grab at Krillin. However, just before she reached him, he threw himself onto his back and kicked up his legs. Using the soles of his feet, he once again guided her momentum to send her in the direction he wanted. Which was to say, the ground.
Krillin rolled up onto his feet and got back into his stance as he waited for Goku to pick herself back up. They'd sparred each other far too often for Krillin to use any of his regular techniques against her but when Krillin entered Master Roshi's tutelage, he'd tried to be a clean slate to open himself to all of the Turtle Hermit's teachings. For eight years of his young life, however, Krillin had worked at a different form of martial arts. This style that he was implementing now was the way of the Orin Temple. The ultimate defensive martial art, relying entirely on using your opponent's strength and momentum and with someone as strong and as fast as Goku, it was even more effective. He couldn't lose.
Goku was getting frustrated now and that just played even more into Krillin's hand. Why wasn't she hitting him? He wasn't even doing anything, he was just pushing her! She flew at him with a dropkick but he ducked down and put up his hands under her legs to push her through the air. She wildly waved her arms before she slammed into the ring with a groan. She was way too close to the edge! She got up again and Krillin waited. She furrowed her brow and balled up her fists.
"Stop that!" she yelled and something pushed Krillin back. Not the shockwaves from her screen or being startled or anything like that. Something physical hit Krillin in the chest. Watching from the fighter's area Jackie Chun's mouth dropped in disbelief.
'Did… did she figure out how to use kiai just by watching me?' he wondered. 'Just like with the Kamehameha. What is this girl?' Luckily for Krillin, Goku hadn't actually figured out kiai, she'd more just stumbled into it blindly. However, the hit still left him open and Goku shot towards him like a rocket with her shoulder. It was only with harshly-drilled instinct that Krillin was able to redirect her momentum. He was pushing her back towards the edge of the ring. She couldn't stop her momentum! She was going to lose!
There was a soft "pop" and the tearing of fabric. Krillin felt something as strong as a steel cable wrap around his arm and he was jerked forward with Goku's momentum. They both hit the floor with a thud, Krillin acting as an anchor for Goku to stop herself from ringing out. Her hair bobbed inches from the grass and she let out a sigh of relief.
"H-hold on a second!" Ken shouted as Goku and Krillin stood up, "Goku, I'm sorry, but the tournament specifically prohibits the use of outside tools and weapons!" Goku looked up at him and turned her head to the side.
"What outside tool?" she asked in confusion. The heck was he talking about?
"That!" Ken explained while pointing at her tail. "Are you trying to tell me that's not an outside tool?" Goku responded to this question by pulling down her pants. The crowd shrieked and laughed as she turned her butt to the crowd to show that, yes, the tail was attached to the rest of her body.
"See?" she asked as Krillin's face turned redder than red. "It's my tail!"
"Okay, okay!" Ken hurriedly muttered. "Put your pants back on!" Goku shrugged and pulled her pants back up. Ken got out of the ring as they got ready to face off again.
'Okay,' Krillin thought, 'So she has a tail. No problem! This shouldn't change my- Oh jeez!' Krillin's train of thought was interrupted as Goku charged forwards at him. He brought up his hands to push her aside the same as before. Clearly Goku had other plans as her fist hit him right in the face. Krillin stumbled backwards with his eyes wide in shock. How did she get so fast? And was she even stronger?! Goku grinned as she hopped on the balls of her feet.
"I'm always stronger when I've got my tail!" she explained as if she could read his mind. She hopped into the air and balanced on her tail, grinning wider. Krillin frowned at that. Was she showing off? He charged while she had her guard down with a flurry of wild punches and kicks. He wouldn't lose! He was just as good a martial artist as her! That was the last thing he told himself before he was suddenly kicked under the chin. The force of the kick sent him flying in a huge arc out of the ring and into the first row, where he landed in Launch's arms. Bulma snickered as they looked at each other flustered.
"Hey, Launch!" she teased, "Looks like you caught a prize!" Launch said nothing as she let Krillin gently down onto the grass.
"And Goku wins by ring-out!" Ken shouted although that was obvious before Krillin touched the grass. Goku ran out of the ring to check on her friend. She hoped he wasn't mad at her.
"Are you okay?" she asked Krillin. He shrugged. It wasn't fair! He'd tried so hard, he'd worked just as hard as her, he'd used his secret weapon. So why did she win? Just because she was a weirdo with a tail? That wasn't fair! Goku grabbed Krillin suddenly in a big hug. "I'm sorry," she said sincerely, "We were just trying to win, right? Are you mad?" Krillin sighed.
"No," he promised her as he patted her on the shoulder, "I'm fine." How could he be mad? She didn't cheat. It wasn't like she planned on growing her tail. And It was just a tournament. No big deal. He'd just have to try harder next year. "Why didn't you tell me you had a tail?" he asked as she let him go. Goku shrugged with a grin.
"You never asked!" The both of them laughed as Bulma looked down at them with that same big smile. She just really hoped the tournament was over before nightfall.
OoOoOoO
Namu and Jackie Chun stared at each other from across the ring with icy expressions. The tension was palpable as they waited for each other to make the first move.
"I've seen inside your mind, boy," Jackie said calmly. "You're fighting for a good cause, I admit, but you should bow out now before you get hurt." Namu furrowed his brow and clenched his jaw. Whoever this strange man was, he had no right to insult Namu's honor like this.
"If you have seen inside my mind," Namu told him as he subtly shifted his body forward, "Then you know that is not an option!" He sprinted forward suddenly and attacked Jackie with a spinning hammerfist. Jackie leaned backwards as the younger man's strike harmlessly passed in front of him. Namu ground his teeth in anger before he jumped at Jackie with a high kick to his face that, again, the old master easily evaded with a backstep. Jackie swung with a chop that missed Namu by inches. What didn't miss was the kiai that made him stagger back. A bead of sweat dripped down Namu's forehead as he seethed with frustration. Jackie shrugged and rubbed his nose.
"Don't get too worked up about it," he said in a jovial tone, "Give it three hundred years, you'll get this good." Namu's anger rose as this man mocked him. He went to attack again but stopped himself. He realized he was playing into the other man's hand. He closed his eyes and brought his hands to his sides. He breathed in slowly. Breathing in his frustration, his fear of failure, breathing in the anger and responsibility weighing him down. He held it in. Then he breathed it all out. He opened his eyes and his spirit felt as clear as a crystal spring of water. He could do this. He would succeed. From Jackie's perspective, things were very different. He could feel, to his surprise, Namu's ki rising. 'That doesn't make any sense,' he thought. How could he raise his battle power so calmly? Namu bowed to Jackie.
"Shall we continue?" he asked before returning to his stance. Jackie nodded and Namu leaped into the air to deliver a divekick. There was no idle dodging this time for Jackie, however. Namu's speed had drastically increased! He quickly brought up his forearm to block and grimaced as the impact made him step back. Namu landed lightly on his feet and charged forward with a hard chop with the edge of his hand. Jackie went to block the strike, though it wasn't a strike at all! It was a feint and Namu swung around his other hand to drive his palm into the side of the older man's head. Jackie staggered and left himself wide open for a front kick that caught him square in the chest. He was knocked through the air but landed on his feet. Now he was the one panting slightly while Namu was completely calm. "Perhaps I should make the same offer to you," Namu proposed with the vaguest hint of a smile, "before you are hurt." Jackie chuckled and cracked his knuckles.
"All right, then," he said as he rolled his neck and shoulders from side to side and loosened up. "I guess I need to get serious!" He ran at Namu with his arm pulled back for what would no doubt be a mighty punch but it was so telegraphed that Namu would be an idiot not to counterattack. He threw out his open hand with his fingers straight as iron. However, to his surprise, his fingertips went through the other man's face. Not viscerally, of course, but like smoke. As if the other man… weren't even there. The Jackie in front of him quickly faded from sight as his voice somehow came from behind Namu. "Not bad, huh?" Namu spun around to try and attack but caught an elbow in the ribs. He doubled over in pain before Jackie drove a palm up under his chin. Namu's head snapped back and Jackie swung a hard kick into Namu's side. He groaned in pain and leaned to the left holding where he'd been kicked. Jackie went for another chop but this time Namu was prepared. He leaped up, over the kiai and the chop, and landed behind Jackie. He threw a thrust kick into Jackie's back but it was just another afterimage. Jackie was in the air above Namu and brought down two chops onto Namu's shoulders. He winced as it felt like fire swept through his arms. He couldn't lose now!
Jackie landed on his feet in a fighting stance. Honestly, though, this fight was almost over. He'd hit the exact ligaments connecting Namu's shoulders to his torso. How much of a fight could a man put up with no arms? However, Namu apparently found a way to put up a fight by headbutting Jackie in the face. Namu surged forwards with a flurry of kicks that the older man dodged and ducked and jumped away from. He'd figured out Namu's rhythm fairly quickly so there was nothing he could do to hurt him. But then… Namu punched him in the face. That shouldn't have happened. Namu shouldn't be using his arms for another hour. But there he was. Sweat dripping down his face, jaw and eyes locked with concentration. Raising his arms.
Namu willed himself to fight. Willed his arms to move through the numbness and the pain. He flexed his fingers and clenched his fists. Not now. Not yet. He could not be defeated. There would be time for agony later. He drew his arms back and threw out both fists into Jackie's face with the force of a shotgun. The old man went down in a heap on his back.
'That should leave him stunned,' Namu thought, 'But I must not take chances. This old master has proven to be most formidable. I must finish him now.' And then Namu jumped. He sailed hundreds of feet into the air, higher and higher as if he were flying. 'No. Higher!' Somehow, Namu jumped higher, pushing off of the air itself. He locked his arms in a cross and turned his body downwards. He dropped like a rock, like a missile, his body glowing with power that looked like the fires of reentry. "Super Holy Cross!" he called out although he was far too high up for anyone to hear him. Reflex, possibly. He hoped this would not kill the older man.
In the ring far below Jackie Chun blinked and started to stir. He shook his head and tried to focus. 'What the heck hit me?' he thought to himself as he collected his thoughts. He squinted and saw Namu hurtling down at him with the force of a meteor. 'Ooh boy. If that strike of his could knock Yamcha out while he was on the ground, I don't wanna find out what that'll do to me from the air!' There was no time to hop to his feet and he couldn't rely on a kiai or even a regular ki blast. He needed to end this right here and now.
Jackie cupped his hands to his side and a blue light shone in his palms as he gathered up his power although he made sure to restrain himself a little bit not to kill the other man. With Namu less than fifty yards above him Jackie thrust out his hands.
"Kamehameha!" he called out as a brilliant beam of blue-white light rushed up to meet Namu in the air. There was a bright explosion when man and ki collided and in that blinding light, Jackie rolled backwards onto his feet. Namu hit the ground with a heavy thud as smoke and steam billowed off his body. Jackie bent down next to him and pressed two fingers to the man's neck. Good. Still breathing.
"T-ten! Jackie Chun is your winner!" There were no cheers as Jackie walked to the back, however. Everyone was just… too shocked. They'd never seen a Kamehameha in their lives. None of them… except for two.
"Huh?" Goku and Bulma muttered in unison. There was something fishy about this old man…