Want to read more?
The next 10+ chapters are already available on my Patreon!
By joining, you'll get:
📖 Early access to future chapters
🗳️ Polls to shape the story
🎁 Exclusive content for Patrons
🔥 Bonus scenes & content you won't find anywhere else
👀 Don't fall behind—others are already ahead!
👉 patreon.com/FanfictionTakashi
(If link doesn't show, just search on Google: FanfictionTakashi Patreon)
------------
"It's a first alright. And could be their last if they are not careful." Oolong confirmed. "Who do you think is gonna win?"
Nobody answered, an uncomfortable air hung over them. How do you choose between two friends to fight each other to face Tien? It almost felt like sacrilege.
"It's going to be Kakarot." Gine said plainly.
"Well, that goes without saying since you're his mom and all." Oolong remarked.
"Well, there's more to it than that, you know." Gine chuckled.
At that moment, Kakarot and Krillin entered the ring together as the audience cheered in anticipation. The rest of the gang betted it will be a draw but was broken by Blonde Launch and Chi-Chi.
"It's gonna be Kakarot, alright." They both said, while Chi-Chi added, "No one can beat my handsome hero!"
Gine groaned at how dreamily Chi-Chi sounded but smiled at how much faith this girl had in her son.
The boys faced each other, and their looks showed that they now saw themselves as opponents rather than friends.
"Good luck to you, Krillin." Kakarot said sincerely.
Krillin grinned something fierce. "You too, Kakarot. Cuz' you're gonna need it!"
"Hmph, we'll see!" Kakarot retorted.
The two entered a long and eager stare down before the gong rang.
"And begin!"
They held their stances for a long while, dragging the tension that fell on them from the audiences' silence.
"KYAAA!" Krillin made the first charge and met Kakarot in the middle of the ring, the shock of their fists colliding resounding through the air. Then their limbs became a blur, and they bounced around the arena.
They traded punches for kicks evenly, both of them matching each other's moves. Both blocking and attacking and making no headway as they moved around the ring at increasingly fast speeds only trained eyes could keep up with.
"I'm getting dizzy, who's winning?" Oolong asked.
In the flurry of fists and feet, Kakarot phased behind Krillin and landed the first blow to his back. The bald boy stumbled but recovered quickly and he leapt into the air. Kakarot followed with a high jump to meet him, and then the flurry of limbs continued all the down until they landed apart from one another.
"An attack from behind, didn't sense you." Krillin complemented.
Kakarot did the same. "Thanks! And the way you dodged was good!"
Gine smiled at that. Even though she had seen this style of fighting countless times training with Gohan and Kakarot, it never made her feel happy to see fighting taken as a civil sport rather than a fight to the death.
Krillin tightened up his stance, and suddenly the low angle of the sun's rays on his head shined right into Kakarot's eyes. He blinked rapidly at the blinding light, but it was already a big mistake as Krillin used that distraction to pounce. He landed a kick into Kakarot's face and another on top of him to drive him into the ground.
"Didn't miss anything I hope!" Came Roshi's voice from behind Gine. She broke away from the action to see he had joined the gang again.
"Where've you been?" She asked.
Roshi turned to her, his voice lowered so only the three of them could hear. "I ran into Tien Shinhan backstage after changing back into myself."
"Did you two take the fight there?" She asked.
"No. We merely talked about why I gave up the match."
Gine had to ask, "About that, why did you do it?"
Roshi answered without skipping a beat. "Because I sensed something within that young man."
Gine and Gohan looked confused, Gine more so. As if Roshi had just spoken gibberish AND forgot about what happened the previous evening.
"What could you have possibly seen in him? He's in league with Crane! He's after our blood as much as his master!" She demanded.
"I know it seems that way, even if he says as much. But I can tell you that he's not the cold-blooded killer we think he is." Roshi explained.
Gine scoffed in disbelief. "What makes you think that? He break's people's legs for no reason and makes threats against our lives. Sounds like a killer to me."
Roshi looked irritated that Gine would jump to such conclusions, but he stated his observations calmly.
"He's in complete denial that he isn't as callous as Mercenary Tao and never will be." Then he added, "He's a lot like you in many ways, Gine. He may come across as a protégée who will gleefully follow his master orders, but he must hate it on some level."
Gine was offended at the comparison and was about to retort, but Roshi went on.
"I know it may seem strange to see someone else do something you used to do. To put on an act while actually wasting his true potential as a good fighter. He has that capacity, but he just needs to see that path."
Gohan decided to weigh in too. "Like I used to say, we show those that follow a path of evil that there is always a better way through forgiveness and mercy."
Gine rolled her eyes at that.
"Yeah? Well, I don't entirely believe that truly evil people could just turn good like that." She ranted. "It's just a fantasy. After all the horrible things they've done, would you really think they deserve forgiveness?"
Roshi and Gohan were silent at her remarks, until Gohan asked, "Well, how about you, my dear? You were never truly evil, were you?"
"What? No!" Gine wheeled around him vehemently. Were they really going to talk about this right here in front of everyone?!
"I never! Even after all the things I've don-"
She caught herself, her own words replaying in her head...
After all the horrible things they've done, would you really think they deserve forgiveness?
Gohan and Roshi looked at her as if she had answered her own question.
Gine crossed her arms and looked away in embarrassment. No, she wasn't evil. She never was. She killed so many innocents, but under orders and threats of execution if she didn't comply. And with that thought, Gine wondered of Crane, then of Tien. Could they really be just like her in some similar way?
"He'll turn around hopefully." Said Roshi. "The circumstances may not be the same as yours, but people who have it in their hearts to better themselves will do so eventually."
Gine looked back at Roshi as if he had discovered some sort of truth to the mystery of the universe. Could people really have that capacity after all? No matter what they've done?
But she then shook her head, remembering the name of a certain galactic tyrant that would pose a problem with this argument. No, there were some people who were just unforgivable.
"Hey! You guys are missing the action!" Bulma said to them over her shoulder.
The three snapped out of their little debate and looked toward the ring. From the look of it, the fight was still going on as Kakarot was about to attack a freefalling Krillin who somehow ended up way in the air. Gine cursed herself for ignoring her duty to cheer on her son.
Krillin was wide open on his fall, and Kakarot jumped to finish him off. Krillin suddenly inflated like a balloon! Whatever that was, it delayed his fall enough for Kakarot to miss a kick.
"Sorry, we were distracted." Gine said aloud. "What did we miss?"
"They're neck-and-neck, so far." Bulma told her.
Gine took a good look at the boys as they stared each other down. She immediately saw that Kakarot was holding back. He wasn't sweating or exhausted, but just toying with Krillin.
Kakarot ran to the side, away from Krillin.
"What's he doing?" Gine asked.
"Kaaa...meee..." Kakarot chanted, cupping his hands as he ran. "...haaa...meee..." He then jumped into the air and pointed his hands away from Krillin.
"HAAAAA!" He fired the wave. In a flash, Kakarot used the attack to rocket towards Krillin with a drop kick. Krillin had no time to react as Kakarot's foot landed on his head and the boy was slammed into the ground. Ev
eryone flinched at the force that Krillin was struck with as he had the wind knocked out of him, and didn't get back up.
------------
Want to read more?
The next 10+ chapters are already available on my Patreon!
By joining, you'll get:
📖 Early access to future chapters
🗳️ Polls to shape the story
🎁 Exclusive content for Patrons
🔥 Bonus scenes & content you won't find anywhere else
👀 Don't fall behind—others are already ahead!
👉 patreon.com/FanfictionTakashi
(If link doesn't show, just search on Google: FanfictionTakashi Patreon)