Things have become tense since the last chapter. I'm sure everyone wants to see how this emotionally charged arc continues. And well, it is my duty as an author to continue with the story hehe. Let's start again.
Bubble Guppies Fanfic
Bubble Guppies Adult Years
Chapter 25: Tournament of Honor (Part 3)
No one would imagine that an event where respect, fair play and honor should be paramount could end with unpleasant results. Martial arts are a great discipline where self-control, skill and honor should be demonstrated above all. But this event ended in a very painful way. Our protagonist girls Oona and Molly proved to be great fighters by reaching the semifinals of the Martial Arts Tournament. While Oona managed to defeat Kai, a member of the fearsome Black Scorpions, becoming the first finalist, the second fight did not end as we expected. Molly had been defeated by Yoko, the best fighter of the Black Scorpions. But it was not enough to just defeat her, Yoko wanted to humiliate her and destroy her physically and emotionally. All to scare her younger cousin. The worst of all? She made it. Molly fell from a brutal beating and Oona was horrified. It was so brutal that Yoko ended up breaking her arm.
With the context clear, we can see how the guppies were outside the medical care room. The most distressed was Gil. He was worried to the extreme and we can also deduce that he felt anger for what Yoko did to his beloved wife. Meanwhile, Goby, Deema, Nonny, Zooli and Urchin were waiting for some news on the health status of the leader of the Bubble Guppies. They also consoled Gil. Toki, Sakura Leaf's sensei, was also with them. Well, he was worried about his niece's friend. Everyone seemed worried and very discouraged.
"Guys! I came as fast as I could. How is Molly?" Mr. Grouper arrived immediately. He tried to get there quickly as soon as he had the time.
"We don't know anything yet. The doctors are still treating her" Goby was one of the few guppies who tried to be strong and calm.
"I have to assume that the tournament will be suspended" Zooli dedicated it.
"Even though it sounds incredible...The final will be in a couple of hours" Mr. Grouper sighed.
"Wh-What?!" The guppies said surprisedly.
"I hope it's not a joke! How dare they continue the tournament after this?!" Deema said bothered.
"Especially because Yoko should be disqualified. She did this treacherously!" Gil said angrily. He tried to contain his rage clenching his fists.
"Unfortunately, the tournament must continue. There are many things at stake. I have to assume that the Black Scorpions had to make a play to avoid the cancellation of the event...Knowing Sasaki well…" Toki deduced his own conclusions.
"If so...Then...The final will be Oona vs. Yoko" Urchin added.
"Now that you mention it...Where is Oona?" Nonny asked quietly.
"We haven't seen her since Molly's fight..." Goby noticed it.
"I think we were so scared for Molly that we didn't pay attention to Oona...Panic overcame us all" Deema commented.
"Unfortunately, that panic must have overcome Oona...I know my niece...Yoko did what she wanted: Defeat Molly overwhelmingly to instill terror in Oona. (sigh) And I'm afraid she got what she wanted" Oonas uncle said. Nonny was worried. He had to find her now. Nonny felt someone approach him.
"Nonny….Find Oona. I know she needs you more than anyone else" It was Urchin.
"But….Molly needs us too…Including me" Nonny said worriedly.
"Don't worry. Molly has us now...Go get Oona. You are the one who can find her" The wheeled guppy advised him. Nonny knew that his priority was his fiancée. So he decided to find her as soon as possible. He didn't want her to be alone, much less in a vulnerable emotional state.
Not far from the event room (where the tournament was taking place), we saw that Oona was sitting under a tree in an Asian-themed park. She was catching her breath after panicking as she witnessed her cousin's fury unleashed on her victim: Molly. She had contemplated what Yoko was capable of doing to her in the grand final duel. Plus, she knew her cousin: Yoko would fight mercilessly, just like she did with Molly. That filled our girl with purple pigtails with stress, anxiety and even terror. The only thing that calmed her was the calm lake and the little nature that was in the park.
"I...I should have known...Yoko is too strong...I could never beat her...And I never will...I should have known from the start...Poor Molly...It's all my fault" Oona said scaredly. Although she managed to calm down a bit, it was inevitable not to be scared by what Yoko did. In that moment of great stress, someone finally approached her.
"Here you are...We were all worried about you" Nonny had found her after a long time of searching for her. Oona didn't say a single word at first. He knew her well and he simply decided to sit next to her in silence. Both of them sat under the base of a tree. There was no need for Nonny to ask his fiancée if she was okay, because she obviously wasn't. All he wanted was to be there for her. The boy was smart enough to know when to act and when not to. He waited for the right moment so as not to pressure her.
"You know, we were all taken by surprise by Yoko's true strength. You're not the only one who was scared" Nonny told her.
"That wasn't strength... It was just pure cruelty. I know her well. She did it on purpose. She enjoyed it" Oona said quietly.
"I think I noticed that too. I think she did it to intimidate you" The ginger haired guppy deduced it.
"Not only that. She wanted to scare me. She wants to terrify me and overwhelm me. She wants to continue to traumatize me…" The Asian girl commented nervously.
"So...This wasn't the first time...Oona, what happened between you and Yoko?" Nonny asked curiously. He had easily deduced that there was something going on between Oona and her cousin Yoko. It was obvious that this wasn't the first time her cousin had done something horrible to someone else, and Oona knew that better than anyone. The purple-haired guppy didn't want to talk at first, but she felt like she could tell her fiancé. After all, she felt like she needed to let off some steam.
"...(sigh) It's a long story. It's not something I've told anyone other than my family...It happened some time after the Bubble Guppies split up in kindergarten…."
Flashback. Many years ago
Oonas P.O.V
I didn't know that these years would be difficult for me. My life was just beginning when I received a very hard blow: My best friends would not be in the same school with me after we finished kindergarten. I would not see Molly, Gil, Goby, Deema...not even Nonny. The news got worse for me when Mom had the idea that we move to Japan. I guess my mom wanted us to spend more time with my mother's family. After all, that's where we would be most welcomed and supported. Yes, I spent part of my childhood in the Japanese land of my ancestors. On one hand, it was sad to leave everything I knew and loved to go to a totally new place. It's true that sometimes we went to Japan to visit family for important celebrations. But temporary visits were one thing and literally staying there permanently is another thing. On the other hand, I was not alone. My mom and Ichiro, my older brother, would be together. Also, my maternal family loved us very much and were going to treat us very well... Well, except for one of my older cousins. But I will talk about her later.
My mom had a very wise older brother. His name was Toki Shaskan (or as I know him, Uncle Toki). He had founded his own martial arts dojo called "Sakura Leaf", as the leaf is an important symbol, both for the family and for our culture. My uncle created the dojo, with the foundations of the discipline of our ancestors. Not many days had passed since we moved when my uncle offered me and Ichiro to be part of his dojo. My brother did not hesitate for a second and joined. However I was very hesitant at first. I thought that martial arts was just an excuse to fight other people and that was unacceptable to me. I do not like to hurt anyone. However, Ichiro and my uncle convinced me. Since martial arts was not only for fighting, but for having discipline and defending yourself. My uncle wanted me to train to keep me busy and to stop missing my old home. That is why I accepted.
The rest of my childhood I was able to enjoy as a normal girl. Although during those years, I trained hard at my uncle's dojo. Every day I improved and the discipline helped me to concentrate on many things. I felt a lot of support from Uncle Toki and Ichiro in those years. In fact, my family and my fellow dojo members loved me very much. And they were happy about my achievements. Sometimes there were friendly local tournaments and I used to win.
"Oona 3 - Haru 1! Oona is the winner!"
"Easy win for Oona!"
"Oona Shaskan is the champion of the friendly tournament!"
"Oona! Oona! Oona!"
Yeeeah….I won some friendly tournaments. Although there were others that I lost. But that didn't matter to me. No matter the result, I had a lot of fun. Because Uncle Toki, Ichiro and Sakura Leaf made martial arts fun and very calm. They showed me that the idea that martial arts is only for violent people is nothing but a myth and a misconception. Well, at least I wanted it to be that way.
This is where my cousin Yoko Shaskan comes in. She is my uncle's only daughter. We never met her mother, as according to my family, she died from complications in childbirth. Yoko was the best at the Sakura Leaf dojo, I always admired her. But ever since I arrived, she never liked me. She always tried to verbally bother me, with bad jokes and even trying to provoke me or distract me during training duels. I never understood why she did that. It seems like she really hates me. I always tried to be nice to her. I even used everything I learned from Mr. Grouper to sympathize with her. But it seems that nothing worked. I never understood her level of hatred until "that day" came.
I thought it would be a normal day at the Sakura Leaf dojo. The routine was warm-up and then practice matches to learn new techniques and improve the ones already learned. Normally, the matches were controlled and no one got hurt. However, one day something terrible happened. As we were getting ready to start practice, Yoko approached me, asking for a practice match. I accepted, naively thinking that maybe it would be a way to improve our relationship (sigh). It was one of the biggest mistakes of my life.
"Grrr Ha!" Yoko started the duel very violently and I defended myself effectively. I thought that she was taking the duel to something more serious. She wanted to start using advanced techniques that I didn't know much about. I spent so much time avoiding and defending myself that I got tired and decided to hit her too hard to defend myself from her. It was so hard that she stepped back and her nose started bleeding. That scared me so much that I was paralyzed and my body started to tremble. With all the fear, I approached her to ask her about her physical condition.
"Y-Yoko…I'm sorry….Are you ok-?" I asked with great fear. When Yoko looked back at me, I saw only anger and hatred in her eyes.
"Now you'll see, little Oona!"
"Yoko….Sorry…It wasn't my…"
That was the last thing I could say before I received a powerful blow to my face. Yoko hit me with all her strength. I felt like she left me stunned. I wish that had been the only blow. Yoko decided to jump on me and started giving me a brutal beating. She used her best techniques like hitting me in many points, hitting me with her tail and basically not letting me react. All I could do was cry and beg for mercy, but Yoko just wanted to destroy me. I never thought she hated me so much. All those blows left me very badly injured and I think she broke some ribs. I was about to faint, and at that moment Ichiro and Toki arrived to stop everything. I saw Toki severely scolding Yoko and I started to see everything blurry and the last thing I remember was Ichiro screaming, saying that everything will be okay. And then I just closed my eyes.
Back to the present
"...I still remember the beatings, the screams of anger and hate, and all I could say to her was, "Please stop"...over and over again. I spent many days in the hospital and Mom and Ichiro never left my side. When I recovered from the beating, I realized that Yoko had left, abandoning her home. They never explained to me how or why. Those were the last days I saw Uncle Toki...and he was never the same. Then Mom decided that we should go back to BubbleTucky...Nonny...That's why I hate using my fighting skills. They remind me of that day. Both the moment I hurt Yoko and what she did to me...(sigh) Sometimes...there are nights that I have had the nightmare that she finishes what she started that day…" Oona managed to recount her story in detail, though she became shaky as she recalled the trauma.
"I'm really sorry. I didn't think you had such a horrible experience. I think I can now understand your rejection of violence…..And that's why you didn't want to participate in the tournament" Nonny apologized.
"Well, I guess it was something I couldn't help but avoid. It had to happen sooner or later. I was avoiding that trauma so much that I never thought about facing it. I thought that leaving the past behind was pretending that it didn't happen... but that's not the case…" The purple haired guppy said sadly.
"We all have to face the past at some point. But there are only two options: We run away from it or we face it...and we learn from it" The boy with glasses commented. Oona thought about her fiancé's words and he was right. She had hidden and repressed that memory for many years and thought of leaving it behind. But fate had established that she had to resolve this pending matter. Oona knew what she had to do. She had to apply the same advice she gave to her patients.
"You're right...But first...Where's Molly?" Our favorite Asian girl said with determination in her eyes and voice. She wanted to do something before
"Uggghhhh….Ughhhh…"
"It seems that someone is already waking up"
"Ughhhh Hmmmmm….(yawn)"
"Hehe…..Wake up, my Sleeping Beauty" Molly finally began to open her eyes.
"Hmmmmm…..Wh-What happened?" She asked confusedly.
"Molly! You're okay! You scared us so much!" Goby said in a relieved manner. The other guppies with Mr. Grouper entered the room where Molly was in bed. The girl began to compose herself a little and remembered what had happened. Although she noticed something strange on her left arm. It was covered by a cast that covered the entire forearm.
"(sigh) Let me guess...I lost the fight" Molly said sadly.
"Is that really what you care about? We were scared to death, thinking you'd lost your arm or something worse! And you care more about the tournament? Girl, you almost gave me a heart attack!" Deema complained.
"Even though Deema sounds upset, I agree with her" Zooli added.
"You guys don't understand...I...ugh...I promised Oona I would make it to the finals...and I let her down" Molly said disappointed.
"Come on, Molly...Don't worry about it...She won't be mad at you. She's worried like we are" Mr. Grouper calmed her a bit. Or at least, that was his intention.
"It's not about that. I wanted both of us to make it to the finals...That way we could guarantee the prize. At least Oona or I would have won it...I...I wanted to win" Molly admitted and she started to sob. Something that the rest were surprised about.
"Hey, it's not that bad...Oona can still win it..." Urchin tried to calm her.
"Me...I just wanted to win the prize...so I could give it to Oona! I entered because I thought Oona wasn't going to participate. And when we both entered the tournament, I set out to win the tournament in case Oona lost. I wanted to win that prize so I could give Oona and Nonny that free trip to Japan for their wedding. Nonny gave Gil and I the trip for our honeymoon. I just wanted to return the favor out of gratitude. And yet...I failed! I failed as a friend!" She hit the stretcher in frustration, but what she forgot was that she hit it with her left hand, the one with the cast "AUCH!"
"Molly! Molly! Be careful, love...I don't want you to hurt yourself anymore...Molly...calm down" Gil comforted her. Molly could only resign herself and rubbed her arm in pain. Although she continued to sob over her supposed failure.
"That's not true, Molly"
"Huh?" The others were shocked to hear that voice. Oona had arrived at the medical room with Nonny. She simply approached her injured friend.
"Of course you didn't let me down. I heard it all. You're simply one of my best friends and knowing that you entered the tournament to win that prize for me and Nonny...it speaks volumes about you. Molly, don't worry...you'll always be our best friend" Oona smiled at her. Oona walked over to Molly and noticed her arm in a cast "Hmmmm….Molly ... .Now leave the rest to me. I'll win the final...and Yoko will pay for what she did to you" She changed her tone of voice. Now she was serious. Not angry, but serious. And that surprised some of the guppies. Nonny was not one of them, he knew exactly what she had to do.
"Are you sure, Oona? Do you still want to face Yoko in the finals?" Toki Shaskan asked his niece.
"Yeah, uncle...I'm ready to face her. I'm not running away from this...Not again" Oona was determined to finish the tournament with a cold head.
"Hmmmm I see…..So let's get ready quickly...According to the organizers, we will start in 30 minutes" The sensei communicated. The moment we have been waiting for has arrived.
The martial arts tournament had resumed. The audience had recovered from the incident and were eager to see the outcome of the final duel. The presenters returned to their positions to continue with the program. Some members of other dojos decided to stay to watch how it all ended.
"And we're back after this unexpected break. It looks like we'll be starting the Grand Finals duel of the Martial Arts Tournament! The Final Battle of this tournament will be Oona from the Sakura Leaf dojo vs. Yoko from the Black Scorpions dojo! Both have proven to be the best fighters in the competition. But only one will lift the trophy and take home the prize" William Starman narrated the introduction to the tournament finals. There was a lot of applause as Oona entered the fighting arena. When Yoko entered, there was applause, but there were also some boos from the audience.
"It seems that Yoko is not so popular with the public due to her duel in the semi-final. The controversy after her victory over Molly left a lot to talk about" Mr. Grouper added this comment.
"It was to be expected coming from the Black Scorpions. However, whoever is left standing wins, that's the rules. Oona will have to take care if she doesn't want to get hurt like her teammate" The starfish commented. Finally, Oona and Yoko were able to see each other face to face. Both of them are in the combat arena. The older cousin only looked at her opponent with an arrogant smile.
"I've been wanting this duel for years, Oona" Yoko said evilly.
"Don't be overconfident, Yoko" Oona just answered in a distant way.
"It's obvious that there's tension between the two of them. Of course, they're from the same family! It seems that we'll see a very interesting battle here with family problems included" William Starman said excitedly.
"Let's just hope we see a fair fight. After all, it's the grand finale" Mr. Grouper said calmly. He was a bit nervous inside. Both girls took their protocol bow and did their battle poses to start.
"Begin!" The referee said before starting the most important fight of this tournament.
Oona vs. Yoko! The long-awaited battle had begun! Yoko began to attack very quickly. Oona had studied her cousin's movements well by watching her fights throughout the tournament. Yoko's fighting style was very different from Oona's. While the purple-haired girl preferred defense and counterattack, the older cousin's style was very offensive. She always launched attacks. Thanks to that, Oona knew the moment to be able to return some blows. However, Yoko was quite unpredictable, so she managed to return some attacks with twice the force. Which hurt Oona. In the first duel, she could not withstand Yoko's counterattacks.
"Ughhh" Oona had fallen to the ground outside the arena. Yoko wanted to continue hitting her, but the referee stopped her.
"Oona 0 - Yoko 1! Yoko's overwhelming attack strategy was able to destroy Oona's weak defense" William Starman said.
"Oona will have to rethink her moves if she wants to have a chance" Mr. Grouper narrated.
"Focus, Oona. You still have a chance" Toki advised her.
"Come on, Oona!" The present guppies (Goby, Deema, Nonny, Zooli and Urchin) supported her. Molly and Gil also supported their friend, but they watched the fight thanks to a video call made by one of the guppies. Oona regained her strength and stood up to prepare for the second round.
"Go!" With that shout, both girls began the second duel. Unlike other duels, Yoko didn't want to end the duel quickly, she wanted to inflict as much pain as possible on her cousin. Oona knew that Yoko wanted to do to her the same thing she did to Molly. Because of that, she preferred a strategy of thinking through her moves before she could catch her off guard. Yoko was still relentless, but she made mistakes in the second duel and Oona managed to make her fall outside the arena by accident.
"Oona 1 - Yoko 1!"
"Hmpt It was just a stroke of luck, little cousin" Yoko provoked her. Not a single word came out of Oona's mouth. She was simply focused on defeating her.
"Begin!" Yoko was still determined to destroy her opponent. But Oona was not going to be an easy opponent. The older cousin increased the intensity, but it still wouldn't be enough. Both blocked and took blows from each other. Until, due to Yoko's carelessness, Oona managed to use her tail to kick Yoko's tail, knocking her down. And as she fell, Oona managed to quickly get up to push her out of the arena with a powerful punch.
"AAAAHGGHHH!" Yoko fell to the ground outside the arena, losing another round in a row.
"Oona 2 - Yoko 1!" William Starman shouted excitedly.
"Oona! Oona! Oona!" The audience shouted happily.
"Come on! Loudly! OONA! OONA!" Deema shouted enthusiastically and encouraged the audience to support her friend.
"Nice done!" Zooli said happily.
"Oona can win simply if she wins the next duel" Mr. Grouper commented. Yoko was getting up, but her teacher approached her to give her some words.
"Yoko, don't lose focus! You're the best of the Black Scorpions...Show that you're better! Remember: No mercy. Show her that you're the best Shaskan and that you're better than Oona...Crush her like you've always wanted!" Master Sasaki said rudely. Yoko simply nodded and clenched her fists in anger. She finally stood up and approached Oona to begin the duel. If she lost again, it would be her defeat in the tournament.
"Begin!"
"GGGGRRRRAAAAAA!" Yoko was furious! She was going to stop playing games and start fighting with everything. She started to put pressure on Oona's defense without letting her breathe. The amount of blows was so much that it didn't take long for her to break the block, because Oona's arms that she used to defend herself turned purple after so many blows. Now Oona was defenseless and that was what Yoko wanted. She couldn't react in time before noticing that Yoko gave her a powerful blow to the stomach that left her without air.
"AHHHHH!" Oona screamed in pain. Yoko grabbed Oona's hair to forcibly lift her up, causing her pain, and whispered in her ear.
"My dear Oona...There are things that don't change..." And with that, she decided to give her one more beating so that Oona would suffer not only a defeat, but a humiliation. There were so many blows that Oona could no longer stand. To finish the beating, Yoko gave her a critical blow to the face, enough for Oona to be thrown out of the arena, covered in bruises and a little blood on her nose. And unlike other times, she did not get up. She began to see blurry and began to close her eyes as she heard screams, then murmurs and she began to close her eyes just to be able to hear her cousin's last words before she fell unconscious.
"Hahaha! I told you before and I'll tell you again...You will never be able to defeat me!"
So, we're done with another crushing defeat? Well, yes, however, this doesn't end here. For my part, I want to apologize for the delay. This time I spent more time than I should have and it's because of many personal responsibilities, but finally the chapter is here.
Leave your reviews to know your comments and opinions. I will immediately respond to the reviews.
Gojiraptor06: Hi, dude! Nice to see you here! It was really an ending that no one expected. We already got to see the past between Oona and Yoko. Unfortunately, our beloved guppy has been brutally defeated as well...but...this isn't over yet. You'll see in the next chapter.
PrimroseRaspberry: Hello, my friend! Nice to see you after a while. Yoko is a person without any mercy and she proved it again by defeating Oona without caring that she is her family. Molly is fine, but very hurt. I bet she can get better. Unfortunately, Oona has fallen against Yoko... can she recover to win the last round?
RainbowFoxy1987: Hi there! I love that you bring up Star Wars references. They were really interesting battles. We now know more about the story between Oona and Yoko and boy is it not a very pretty story. Molly will recover, but Oona will need to recover faster if she wants to beat Yoko and regain her honor. I see that you know well the danger of misusing martial arts and Yoko seems to enjoy abusing that strength. Let's hope that Oona gives her what she deserves.
Don't forget to follow me on my Deviantart page called: DarthWriter2021, where I will be posting news, dynamics and extra materials about Teen/Adult Years and more. I say goodbye for now and see you in the next chapter.