Post by Shira on Mar 26, 2017 3:55:27 GMT -5
Recap of Chapter 1
Shira stood in the ring awaiting his opponent. The boy’s stance was rather basic, as his arms were half extended outward at the level of his torso, his hands curled up into tight fists. His feet were spread apart, his left foot in front of the other. He was ready for whatever fighter was coming to face him. This was what he had been training for. “Alright, bring out whoever you’ve got!” the teenager cried with confidence. Out across the way from the opposite side of the room lay a statue built into the wall where the inside resembled a room. It appeared that was the stage where the fighters watched and waited for him, though he could not see them from his side. Charging his blue ki as an aura surrounded itself in a shimmering glow, the young boy waited for the competitor. "I was instructed not to take off my weights no matter what," Shira recalled to himself.
From the arena the first fighter appeared. He had an eyepatch over one eye, which was the first noticeable trait that Shira noticed. It appeared to be a demon; wearing a leather jacket with a black open-collar shirt over it, and two large black wings protruding from the back of it. He wore black pants and black shoes, with a brown pincher attached to his left arm. Shira wish he knew that weapons were going to be involved in this, but then again this wasn’t any other tournament. “I am Raisen,” the Demon bellowed in a low growl as he made his way onto the stone tournament floor.
Shira couldn’t help but smile. “And I’m Shira,” he called back jokingly in a more upbeat tone. This guy definitely wasn’t friendly. The old woman made her way floating on over and began to explain the rules. “This fight ends when one person cannot fight any longer or gives up. You may use anything you wish to fight. There are three challengers and you will be given time to rest in between matches. Is that understood, Shira?” The Earthling Warrior turned to the lady and nodded - a sign that he understood. Turning his eyes back on the Demon - she began the fight with a whistle. The Demon was spry, disappearing before mortal eyes like it was nothing. “Shit he’s fast!” the Earthling thought in worry as the man appeared right behind him raising his knee and extending a leg. Doing a backflip and using his flight to swing his legs back up - Shira attempted to land a clean kick upside the head as both an evasion and a subsequent counter.
It was a clean hit and so the Demon found himself swung violently - gasping as he fell forward from the head trauma. “That wasn’t enough to take him down,” Shira thought to himself as his feet touched the ground once more. The Demon groaned as he got up once more, turning back around to face his opponent. “You’ll pay for that,” he said rather quietly. This guy really spoke few words, and yet he still managed to find a way to sound so intimidating and cool!
“Maybe I will. Maybe I won’t,” he said with a smile. Then the two charged at each other at full speed. Shira launched a barrage of jabs in an intensive assault on his chest- forcing the demon on the defensive as he caught each punch with swift precision. Finally catching the final and sixth punch of Shira’s assault with ease, Raisen launched a punch of his own that collided right into the Earthling’s face. Stumbling a step or two back from the impact - Shira found himself amazed by the force of the blow. This guy wasn’t going to be easy to take down - especially with his weighted training clothes on and his power level suppressed to fifty-percent.
As he stumbled back the Human turned and launched a kick from his side - successfully colliding his foot into Raisen’s face- knocking him back. The demon grunted yet again as the blow was sufficient to do decent damage (despite his suppressed form). Shira was at approximately “two hundred and fifty” if he was to be scanned by a scouter in this current suppressed state. The two chased after each other and locked their hands together in a firm grip. Headbutting each other hard as they were trapped in a lock. It was a test of endurance, but unfortunately for Raisen he was going to lose. After the third subsequent headbutt the Demon found himself overwhelmed. It was difficult for Shira to maintain his power in a constant struggle such as that, and so on the final headbut his power increased just a little putting him at three hundred. “Huh. Guess you’re the weakest fighter they have,” Shira muttered before ending the fight. Disappearing in an instant - the Demon losing complete sight of where Shira could be - the Earthling Warrior appeared behind Raisen and launched a flying side kick with enough force to break the man’s spine. Falling flat unconscious onto the floor with a loud thud- Raisen was KO'd leaving Shira as the victor.
“Would you like a quick rest before the next match?” the woman asked him. Shira smiled with a smirk and shook his head. “Nah I think I’ll be okay,” he replied as he wiped the tiny scratch of blood from his forehead. He was ready for the next fighter (whoever that was).
Out from the entrance came the next fighter. He was a rather large man compared to the short Shira, he possessed tan-skinned and a full beard of facial hair. He had short, spiky brown hair and black pupils. He wore a black t-shirt with an open v going down the top exposing some of his chest hair. He wore baggy brown pants and black boots. He weighed at least two hundred pounds by the Human’s estimate. This - was kind of intimidating. “Size doesn’t mean anything though, Shira,” he thought to himself. It was always like Duan Yuan had said to him. He couldn’t let himself be intimidated. If he utilized his ki properly he could topple foes much bigger than himself. The Earthling warrior bowed.
The big man said nothing. He was clearly the strong and silent type. That was a refresher at least. Raisen had been an annoying talker. After the two bowed, the fight was on. The man rushed at him with a large fist and swiped at a downward angle hoping to smash the boy’s head into the arena floor. Doing a frontflip over the man however to evade, the big man’s fist shook the arena with his brute strength. The young lad’s eyes widened in shock as they both turned around to face each other. How could one person generate so much force? Was he trying to destroy the arena? I mean it wasn’t really a big deal if he did (at least to Shira as he could fly), but that was still quite something to him nonetheless. Shira moved in for a barrage of punchs against the guy’s stomach, but he seemed to absorb them with no trouble at all. This guy was tougher than any normal weak human could dare hope to crack. Countering Shira’s assault with a large hook punch, Shira went flying against the arena and straight into the wall of the massive underground fighting ring, leading him into the spectator room.
Shira was peeved. This guy had hit him hard. Nonetheless it proved to Shira that if he was going to hurt this guy… he was going to have to get serious. Shira smiled to himself. Shira began to power up, a whiteish aura beginning to surround him as he let out a battle cry. Letting out his suppressed power - Shira found himself loving it. He had to suppress his power so long every day and be careful. Be careful not to hurt someone in school or break utensils when he ate. He could just feel his power and fight.
It was invigorating. It broke the chains inside of him that kept him down for so long. He could be himself. Shira rushed in, the man attempting to launch a hook punch to the boy before he went disappearing from sight. Confused as he appeared behind the man’s back, Shira’s speed had proven to have increased substantially. Extending a single foot- Shira kicked the man forward across the arena with all of his strength. The large behemoth found himself face forward on the arena, grunting in pain from the force of the kick. Shira smiled. He waited for the man to get up, who looked at him with an annoyed look on his face. Clearly that ki-concentrated attack had damaged him quite a bit.
Clearly he was pissed off that the child had kicked his overgrown ass. “Alright, child. Time to get serious,” he muttered as he too began to power up. His muscles began to enlarge further as the massive behemoth suddenly became a bulked out hulk of a man. “That can’t be good for his body,” Shira thought to himself observantly. The increase in muscle mass would surely make him slower. However he didn’t really have the time to question it as he received a rather huge punch to the gut followed by a smashing downward punch to the hit knocking him face-first into the arena. Shira coughed up blood from the sheer force. This man was incredibly strong in this form. Kicking Shira’s head- launching him up in the air from the ground up toward the ceiling- Shira felt himself lose all breath in his body for a moment. This man’s strength was unchallenged. Shira couldn’t hope to compete with it. He had to be careful not to take too many of those hits.
The black-haired teen started falling to the ground. “I… have to get up. I have to bust his ass.” A thin outline of white filled the entirety of his body, allowing him to float in place as he continued to fall. The old woman looked at him with curiosity, clearly impressed by him. Shira smiled. “That was good. But now I’m annoyed.” Disappearing from view once more in front of the man; Shira launched a smashing straight punch straight through the man’s stomach. The burly man gasped for air as the force was intensive. Shira had concentrated his ki into this rush of an attack causing him to do massive damage. Pivoting on one foot with his hand curled into a fist working into a backhand smashing against his face. Making a complete spin around Shira launched a frontward kick sending the man flying.
Shira walked slowly over to the man who lay aching in pain from the attack, sweat rolling from the side of his face as he began to pant from the exhaustion. “You… are not bad, child,” the man muttered as he began to get up. Shira smiled. “You’re not so bad yourself, sir”. And thus they continued to go at it. The man launched another heavy smash attack meant to pulverize the small teen, but Shira ducked underneath it while extending his foot in a trip attack. The man fell over toppling over right in tandem with Shira’s rising uppercut colliding right with his chin. The man was launched up to the ceiling, the sheer might of the final blow was staggering. Falling down toward the acidic sludge below - Shira caught the unconscious behemoth before he could suffer such a fate. “Good match…,” he trailed off as he flew up giddily. Leaving the man on the arena he looked toward the lady.
“Can I have that rest real quick?” he said as blood continued to trickle from his head from the trauma of the previous match. The old woman chuckled - clearly amused with him. “Sure why not…,” she said. Shira walked over to the lounge. She handed him a soda and looked at him. “You’ll get ten minutes to prepare yourself for the next match,” she said with a grin. It was a little less than he might have liked, but he was grateful for it regardless. He bowed with a smile. Drinking the soda quickly to quench his thirst. Between journeying through the desert and fighting these intensive battles Shira found himself exhausted and dehydrated. This wouldn’t cure that but it would keep him focused for the last fight.
After the ten minutes Shira felt a little more relaxed. His ki was back in alignment and he was ready for the final opponent. He smiled as he stood once more in the ring. His final opponent was a man with a black-and-red tiger mask over his face though he wore a baggy pants, combat boots, and no shirt. It was kind of interesting to the child. He looked like his dad’s age and build. Shira tried sensing his ki, but it was being suppressed perfectly. Whoever this man was… he had perfect control of his ki. That made Shira nervous. “Good luck,” Shira said sincerely with a polite bow. The man made no motion, he said no words. He was even ruder than the previous man. Sighing to himself - Shira rushed at the man with a straight punch to the face. The man however ducked underneath him and attempted a tripping attack similar to what Shira had done to the bigger man in the previous match!
Shira leapt in the air with one foot while rising his opposite leg up to kick the man in his chin, but the masked man simply blocked it with his arms. This guy had a similar fighting style to him. This was going to be so much harder than the other matches. Maneuvering in mid-air with his flight Shira distanced himself. The first exchange didn’t go his way at all. Shira rushed in with a barrage of punches hoping to land even one against the fearsome foe. The masked man however retreated while he shifted from side to side evading each one with ease. The man was exceptionally powerful able to evade all of Shira’s attacks with ease. Was he a Saiyan? A Demon? Or some other race Shira had never heard of? It puzzled him how one could be so strong. The man finally countered by the twentieth punch, lifting up his leg for a straight kick knocking Shira back. It had great force much like the previous fighter but also great speed. Shira couldn’t even believe it as he was knocked back. He felt like one of his ribs was broken.
“What are you? Who are you?" He asked the man with a raised eyebrow. As he clutched his torso. The man still said nothing. He then charged at Shira preparing another powerful shot (this time a swiping left hook to the face), but Shira leapt up in the air resorting to his flight technique to keep the man away. That too was a useless measure. The masked man took off surrounded by red ki as he charged after Shira with intense wrath. He wanted to beat Shira down...Who was he?
Shira could do nothing but block the next attack as the man went for a powerful straight punch towards Shira’s torso. Using his forearm to absorb the impact, Shira winced in pain as he still took some damage. But seeing an opportunity Shira went for a roundhouse kick to the man’s side. Shira couldn’t tell if the man felt the pain of the kick or not, but it did connect sending him to his side a few paces. Shira took advantage of the opportunity to go for a punch to the nose, but he was dodged as the man recovered and backed up to avoid his reach.
He had finally hit and yet he still felt like he was losing. “Well… time to up the stakes,” he muttered to himself as he put his hands in front of him. Charging energy in his hands- Shira unleashed a barrage of energy blasts in an attempt to hit this man with his energy. However it was to no avail as he simply unleashed a barrier of his own energy to perfectly counter the boy’s attack. He grunted. “WHO ARE YOU!?” he said. He was getting angry and losing his cool. Shira rushed in blindly going for a left hook punch to the man’s ribs followed with a rising knee to the man’s face, but they were simply blocked with the man’s forearm and the man’s own rising leg intercepting the knee. Shira was grabbed by the man’s other arm around his shirt. He could feel the man’s strength. Punch after punch collided with his stomach as Shira was helpless. He couldn’t dodge. Thrown aside after a while back onto the arena floor to struggle and wither in pain Shira was.
He didn’t think he could win this one. Maybe it would just be best if he gave up. “I…. I gi-,” he began to mutter before the man kicked him in the kidney while he was down on the floor. Shira couldn’t finish the sentence as he coughed up blood. “You’re pathetic, kid,” a low, growly voice. It.. didn’t sound natural. It was almost as if he was intentionally trying to mask his voice. “If I murdered your mother- would that help grow you a pair of balls?” the man threatened. Shira didn’t understand. What did his mother have to do with anything of this? “Were you really just about to give up? While you’ve still got power locked away? While you’re still holding BACK!?” he said. He lifted Shira up by his arm, the strange eyes of the tiger mask staring at him. He couldn’t see the man’s face, and yet it was as if he was looking at him with pure disappointment. He let Shira go. The boy couldn’t stand and so he just continued to fall toward the floor before the man shoved him onto his back.
“Is he right? Is there power I’m not using? Am I holding back?” he thought to himself. He liked to fight. So why was he holding back? He slowly got on his feet. His body was broken down. He had multiple bruised ribs. That head trauma from earlier had obviously given him a concussion on top of leaking a little bit of blood. He was fucked up beyond repair. His medical bills were going to be expensive after this one. Clutching his bloodied fists tightly. Shira began to chant to himself as he powered up. He.. could feel it. Tapping into inner reservoirs of strength - Shira began to power up shaking the arena. The masked man stood and waited for Shira as he began to access the power he had been holding back this entire time. Shira was amazed at the power he felt echoing through him. Was he really this strong? He felt several times more powerful than he had before… his ki was working with him. Shira smiled. He had been hiding his power for so long… perhaps he didn’t know the true limits of his strength.
“Alright… I’m ready for you, WHOEVER YOU ARE!” Shira exclaimed as he disappeared. This was going to be easy now. Disappearing behind the masked man Shira punched the man right in his back. The masked man cried out in pain as Shira hit him crazy hard. “Now- what was that you had said about my mother?” he said with a serious expression. Shira grabbed the man with both of his arms, grasping his arms in a tight lock around the man’s throat as he began to choke him out. Kicking the man in the back several times in rapid succession out of his frustration. The man continued to cry out with each violent blow as Shira really let loose on him. Shira let him go before he took it too far - allowing the man to breathe as he fell onto his knees.
Pacing around the man with a glare the boy began to circle around him like a hawk about to swoop down on its prey. “Why the hell do you care so much about my power? Why go to such extremes? TELL ME WHO YOU ARE!” he said in frustration.
“I’m… your father,” Duan Yuan admitted underneath the mask. Shira’s eyes widened incredulously as he was confused. His father had sent him here to fight.. Himself? What was the point? “Why would you go this far? This is a pretty shitty lesson plan, dad!” he cried out intensely. He was angry. Taking off the mask while gazing toward the old woman who introduced herself earlier - he bowed on the floor in front of his son. “Forgive me, Shira. This was merely a trial to help you awaken your powers. I have been teaching you to hide your power for so long to keep your safe from the people on our planet’s judgment,” he began to explain. Shira sighed to himself and begin to sit down in a criss-cross position with his father who sat up. “But it was time for you to understand just what you’re capable of. You’re a great fighter and you have potential. Someday you may have to be one of the Champions to protect this planet from the evil forces that I can sense are out there. They need someone like you to help fight them. I wasn’t half as strong as you are in my life. You have a gift that I wish I had… you’re much more like your grandfather than you are like me….” his father trailed off.
Shira had never heard his father speak of his grandfather. Now that he thought about it… he didn’t know much about his grandfather. “It was time for you to learn how powerful you are - Shira. You have a long way to go, but if you continue your training… you could become a light for the rest of us. There are so many humans who are fearful, Shira. We spend our lives cowering to aliens from other planets who come here and rely on them to protect us. And though many of those aliens are good-hearted and do serve the Planet Earth… there still needs to be someone among us who carries the burden. Someone we can look up too.. So we don’t have to believe that we’re a worthless sub-species in the galaxy.
So that we can accept that we are just human… and be okay with that,” his father finished explaining to him. Shira’s face softened in response to all of this. He had never heard his father speak so passionately before. They had always trained together, but his father had never explained why before. He had to admit… it made sense to him. He had always envied the Saiyans, and the bastards they produced with half of their genes with the earthlings on this planet. Their power came so naturally to them. He thought of Suusao who radiated a power unlike anything he had ever sensed before. “Alright… dad,” he muttered. He took his father by the hand and lifted him up. “I never thought I was this strong. I wonder what would have happened if I had taken off your weights” he said to his father. It kind of amazed him. He wondered how strong he could become if he really pushed his training. His father looked at him with a grin. “Yeah. You sure as hell kicked my ass even without them, haha,” his father laughed aloud. Shira smiled, though he was a bit embarrassed. Many sons wouldn’t have to say they kicked the shit out of their fathers. He wondered if that was a bad sign. Shira looked over to the old woman who walked slowly toward him. “And you are?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. She smiled. “My son is clearly still a little shit. I still can’t believe he never mentioned your grandmother to you…,” she trailed off with a wide smile. Shira’s eyes widened. “Gr-Grandma? I have a grandma?” She nodded. He rushed up to her giving her a hug, a wide smile on his face.
“Wait.. so are you actually a fortuneteller?” he asked with a nervous laugh. She nodded. “I’m much more than that, child. Your grandfather was a well-established martial artist, but I’m a retired sorceror. I dabbled in the magic arts. I actually have an apprentice who I’ll have you meet sometime… she’s around your age,” she said with a haughty smile. He was kind of amazed at that. “So… what’s my fortune?” he said with a laugh. She had promised him a glimpse into his future, after all. She smiled. “I saw your future before you even got here. You are destined for adventure.. And you will grow much stronger very soon with the help of others. But there is a darkness coming, Shira. A darkness is coming for this planet and if you are not ready… your death will be imminent,” she said with a frown. He too frowned.
“Well then, Grandma. Guess I better get back to training,” he said with a light smile. “After I get these wounds patched of course; if mom says me like this I may actually die. And nothing in this universe will save us from that!” he said seriously.. Sweat rolling down the side of his face.
They all laughed. But this was the start of a new chapter for the boy. He was excited.
[TWC: 4330]
[Get Medium Weighted Clothing bonus which is a bonus 50% to gains. Requesting PL]
Grade PLZ <3
Shira stood in the ring awaiting his opponent. The boy’s stance was rather basic, as his arms were half extended outward at the level of his torso, his hands curled up into tight fists. His feet were spread apart, his left foot in front of the other. He was ready for whatever fighter was coming to face him. This was what he had been training for. “Alright, bring out whoever you’ve got!” the teenager cried with confidence. Out across the way from the opposite side of the room lay a statue built into the wall where the inside resembled a room. It appeared that was the stage where the fighters watched and waited for him, though he could not see them from his side. Charging his blue ki as an aura surrounded itself in a shimmering glow, the young boy waited for the competitor. "I was instructed not to take off my weights no matter what," Shira recalled to himself.
From the arena the first fighter appeared. He had an eyepatch over one eye, which was the first noticeable trait that Shira noticed. It appeared to be a demon; wearing a leather jacket with a black open-collar shirt over it, and two large black wings protruding from the back of it. He wore black pants and black shoes, with a brown pincher attached to his left arm. Shira wish he knew that weapons were going to be involved in this, but then again this wasn’t any other tournament. “I am Raisen,” the Demon bellowed in a low growl as he made his way onto the stone tournament floor.
Shira couldn’t help but smile. “And I’m Shira,” he called back jokingly in a more upbeat tone. This guy definitely wasn’t friendly. The old woman made her way floating on over and began to explain the rules. “This fight ends when one person cannot fight any longer or gives up. You may use anything you wish to fight. There are three challengers and you will be given time to rest in between matches. Is that understood, Shira?” The Earthling Warrior turned to the lady and nodded - a sign that he understood. Turning his eyes back on the Demon - she began the fight with a whistle. The Demon was spry, disappearing before mortal eyes like it was nothing. “Shit he’s fast!” the Earthling thought in worry as the man appeared right behind him raising his knee and extending a leg. Doing a backflip and using his flight to swing his legs back up - Shira attempted to land a clean kick upside the head as both an evasion and a subsequent counter.
It was a clean hit and so the Demon found himself swung violently - gasping as he fell forward from the head trauma. “That wasn’t enough to take him down,” Shira thought to himself as his feet touched the ground once more. The Demon groaned as he got up once more, turning back around to face his opponent. “You’ll pay for that,” he said rather quietly. This guy really spoke few words, and yet he still managed to find a way to sound so intimidating and cool!
“Maybe I will. Maybe I won’t,” he said with a smile. Then the two charged at each other at full speed. Shira launched a barrage of jabs in an intensive assault on his chest- forcing the demon on the defensive as he caught each punch with swift precision. Finally catching the final and sixth punch of Shira’s assault with ease, Raisen launched a punch of his own that collided right into the Earthling’s face. Stumbling a step or two back from the impact - Shira found himself amazed by the force of the blow. This guy wasn’t going to be easy to take down - especially with his weighted training clothes on and his power level suppressed to fifty-percent.
As he stumbled back the Human turned and launched a kick from his side - successfully colliding his foot into Raisen’s face- knocking him back. The demon grunted yet again as the blow was sufficient to do decent damage (despite his suppressed form). Shira was at approximately “two hundred and fifty” if he was to be scanned by a scouter in this current suppressed state. The two chased after each other and locked their hands together in a firm grip. Headbutting each other hard as they were trapped in a lock. It was a test of endurance, but unfortunately for Raisen he was going to lose. After the third subsequent headbutt the Demon found himself overwhelmed. It was difficult for Shira to maintain his power in a constant struggle such as that, and so on the final headbut his power increased just a little putting him at three hundred. “Huh. Guess you’re the weakest fighter they have,” Shira muttered before ending the fight. Disappearing in an instant - the Demon losing complete sight of where Shira could be - the Earthling Warrior appeared behind Raisen and launched a flying side kick with enough force to break the man’s spine. Falling flat unconscious onto the floor with a loud thud- Raisen was KO'd leaving Shira as the victor.
“Would you like a quick rest before the next match?” the woman asked him. Shira smiled with a smirk and shook his head. “Nah I think I’ll be okay,” he replied as he wiped the tiny scratch of blood from his forehead. He was ready for the next fighter (whoever that was).
Out from the entrance came the next fighter. He was a rather large man compared to the short Shira, he possessed tan-skinned and a full beard of facial hair. He had short, spiky brown hair and black pupils. He wore a black t-shirt with an open v going down the top exposing some of his chest hair. He wore baggy brown pants and black boots. He weighed at least two hundred pounds by the Human’s estimate. This - was kind of intimidating. “Size doesn’t mean anything though, Shira,” he thought to himself. It was always like Duan Yuan had said to him. He couldn’t let himself be intimidated. If he utilized his ki properly he could topple foes much bigger than himself. The Earthling warrior bowed.
The big man said nothing. He was clearly the strong and silent type. That was a refresher at least. Raisen had been an annoying talker. After the two bowed, the fight was on. The man rushed at him with a large fist and swiped at a downward angle hoping to smash the boy’s head into the arena floor. Doing a frontflip over the man however to evade, the big man’s fist shook the arena with his brute strength. The young lad’s eyes widened in shock as they both turned around to face each other. How could one person generate so much force? Was he trying to destroy the arena? I mean it wasn’t really a big deal if he did (at least to Shira as he could fly), but that was still quite something to him nonetheless. Shira moved in for a barrage of punchs against the guy’s stomach, but he seemed to absorb them with no trouble at all. This guy was tougher than any normal weak human could dare hope to crack. Countering Shira’s assault with a large hook punch, Shira went flying against the arena and straight into the wall of the massive underground fighting ring, leading him into the spectator room.
Shira was peeved. This guy had hit him hard. Nonetheless it proved to Shira that if he was going to hurt this guy… he was going to have to get serious. Shira smiled to himself. Shira began to power up, a whiteish aura beginning to surround him as he let out a battle cry. Letting out his suppressed power - Shira found himself loving it. He had to suppress his power so long every day and be careful. Be careful not to hurt someone in school or break utensils when he ate. He could just feel his power and fight.
It was invigorating. It broke the chains inside of him that kept him down for so long. He could be himself. Shira rushed in, the man attempting to launch a hook punch to the boy before he went disappearing from sight. Confused as he appeared behind the man’s back, Shira’s speed had proven to have increased substantially. Extending a single foot- Shira kicked the man forward across the arena with all of his strength. The large behemoth found himself face forward on the arena, grunting in pain from the force of the kick. Shira smiled. He waited for the man to get up, who looked at him with an annoyed look on his face. Clearly that ki-concentrated attack had damaged him quite a bit.
Clearly he was pissed off that the child had kicked his overgrown ass. “Alright, child. Time to get serious,” he muttered as he too began to power up. His muscles began to enlarge further as the massive behemoth suddenly became a bulked out hulk of a man. “That can’t be good for his body,” Shira thought to himself observantly. The increase in muscle mass would surely make him slower. However he didn’t really have the time to question it as he received a rather huge punch to the gut followed by a smashing downward punch to the hit knocking him face-first into the arena. Shira coughed up blood from the sheer force. This man was incredibly strong in this form. Kicking Shira’s head- launching him up in the air from the ground up toward the ceiling- Shira felt himself lose all breath in his body for a moment. This man’s strength was unchallenged. Shira couldn’t hope to compete with it. He had to be careful not to take too many of those hits.
The black-haired teen started falling to the ground. “I… have to get up. I have to bust his ass.” A thin outline of white filled the entirety of his body, allowing him to float in place as he continued to fall. The old woman looked at him with curiosity, clearly impressed by him. Shira smiled. “That was good. But now I’m annoyed.” Disappearing from view once more in front of the man; Shira launched a smashing straight punch straight through the man’s stomach. The burly man gasped for air as the force was intensive. Shira had concentrated his ki into this rush of an attack causing him to do massive damage. Pivoting on one foot with his hand curled into a fist working into a backhand smashing against his face. Making a complete spin around Shira launched a frontward kick sending the man flying.
Shira walked slowly over to the man who lay aching in pain from the attack, sweat rolling from the side of his face as he began to pant from the exhaustion. “You… are not bad, child,” the man muttered as he began to get up. Shira smiled. “You’re not so bad yourself, sir”. And thus they continued to go at it. The man launched another heavy smash attack meant to pulverize the small teen, but Shira ducked underneath it while extending his foot in a trip attack. The man fell over toppling over right in tandem with Shira’s rising uppercut colliding right with his chin. The man was launched up to the ceiling, the sheer might of the final blow was staggering. Falling down toward the acidic sludge below - Shira caught the unconscious behemoth before he could suffer such a fate. “Good match…,” he trailed off as he flew up giddily. Leaving the man on the arena he looked toward the lady.
“Can I have that rest real quick?” he said as blood continued to trickle from his head from the trauma of the previous match. The old woman chuckled - clearly amused with him. “Sure why not…,” she said. Shira walked over to the lounge. She handed him a soda and looked at him. “You’ll get ten minutes to prepare yourself for the next match,” she said with a grin. It was a little less than he might have liked, but he was grateful for it regardless. He bowed with a smile. Drinking the soda quickly to quench his thirst. Between journeying through the desert and fighting these intensive battles Shira found himself exhausted and dehydrated. This wouldn’t cure that but it would keep him focused for the last fight.
After the ten minutes Shira felt a little more relaxed. His ki was back in alignment and he was ready for the final opponent. He smiled as he stood once more in the ring. His final opponent was a man with a black-and-red tiger mask over his face though he wore a baggy pants, combat boots, and no shirt. It was kind of interesting to the child. He looked like his dad’s age and build. Shira tried sensing his ki, but it was being suppressed perfectly. Whoever this man was… he had perfect control of his ki. That made Shira nervous. “Good luck,” Shira said sincerely with a polite bow. The man made no motion, he said no words. He was even ruder than the previous man. Sighing to himself - Shira rushed at the man with a straight punch to the face. The man however ducked underneath him and attempted a tripping attack similar to what Shira had done to the bigger man in the previous match!
Shira leapt in the air with one foot while rising his opposite leg up to kick the man in his chin, but the masked man simply blocked it with his arms. This guy had a similar fighting style to him. This was going to be so much harder than the other matches. Maneuvering in mid-air with his flight Shira distanced himself. The first exchange didn’t go his way at all. Shira rushed in with a barrage of punches hoping to land even one against the fearsome foe. The masked man however retreated while he shifted from side to side evading each one with ease. The man was exceptionally powerful able to evade all of Shira’s attacks with ease. Was he a Saiyan? A Demon? Or some other race Shira had never heard of? It puzzled him how one could be so strong. The man finally countered by the twentieth punch, lifting up his leg for a straight kick knocking Shira back. It had great force much like the previous fighter but also great speed. Shira couldn’t even believe it as he was knocked back. He felt like one of his ribs was broken.
“What are you? Who are you?" He asked the man with a raised eyebrow. As he clutched his torso. The man still said nothing. He then charged at Shira preparing another powerful shot (this time a swiping left hook to the face), but Shira leapt up in the air resorting to his flight technique to keep the man away. That too was a useless measure. The masked man took off surrounded by red ki as he charged after Shira with intense wrath. He wanted to beat Shira down...Who was he?
Shira could do nothing but block the next attack as the man went for a powerful straight punch towards Shira’s torso. Using his forearm to absorb the impact, Shira winced in pain as he still took some damage. But seeing an opportunity Shira went for a roundhouse kick to the man’s side. Shira couldn’t tell if the man felt the pain of the kick or not, but it did connect sending him to his side a few paces. Shira took advantage of the opportunity to go for a punch to the nose, but he was dodged as the man recovered and backed up to avoid his reach.
He had finally hit and yet he still felt like he was losing. “Well… time to up the stakes,” he muttered to himself as he put his hands in front of him. Charging energy in his hands- Shira unleashed a barrage of energy blasts in an attempt to hit this man with his energy. However it was to no avail as he simply unleashed a barrier of his own energy to perfectly counter the boy’s attack. He grunted. “WHO ARE YOU!?” he said. He was getting angry and losing his cool. Shira rushed in blindly going for a left hook punch to the man’s ribs followed with a rising knee to the man’s face, but they were simply blocked with the man’s forearm and the man’s own rising leg intercepting the knee. Shira was grabbed by the man’s other arm around his shirt. He could feel the man’s strength. Punch after punch collided with his stomach as Shira was helpless. He couldn’t dodge. Thrown aside after a while back onto the arena floor to struggle and wither in pain Shira was.
He didn’t think he could win this one. Maybe it would just be best if he gave up. “I…. I gi-,” he began to mutter before the man kicked him in the kidney while he was down on the floor. Shira couldn’t finish the sentence as he coughed up blood. “You’re pathetic, kid,” a low, growly voice. It.. didn’t sound natural. It was almost as if he was intentionally trying to mask his voice. “If I murdered your mother- would that help grow you a pair of balls?” the man threatened. Shira didn’t understand. What did his mother have to do with anything of this? “Were you really just about to give up? While you’ve still got power locked away? While you’re still holding BACK!?” he said. He lifted Shira up by his arm, the strange eyes of the tiger mask staring at him. He couldn’t see the man’s face, and yet it was as if he was looking at him with pure disappointment. He let Shira go. The boy couldn’t stand and so he just continued to fall toward the floor before the man shoved him onto his back.
“Is he right? Is there power I’m not using? Am I holding back?” he thought to himself. He liked to fight. So why was he holding back? He slowly got on his feet. His body was broken down. He had multiple bruised ribs. That head trauma from earlier had obviously given him a concussion on top of leaking a little bit of blood. He was fucked up beyond repair. His medical bills were going to be expensive after this one. Clutching his bloodied fists tightly. Shira began to chant to himself as he powered up. He.. could feel it. Tapping into inner reservoirs of strength - Shira began to power up shaking the arena. The masked man stood and waited for Shira as he began to access the power he had been holding back this entire time. Shira was amazed at the power he felt echoing through him. Was he really this strong? He felt several times more powerful than he had before… his ki was working with him. Shira smiled. He had been hiding his power for so long… perhaps he didn’t know the true limits of his strength.
“Alright… I’m ready for you, WHOEVER YOU ARE!” Shira exclaimed as he disappeared. This was going to be easy now. Disappearing behind the masked man Shira punched the man right in his back. The masked man cried out in pain as Shira hit him crazy hard. “Now- what was that you had said about my mother?” he said with a serious expression. Shira grabbed the man with both of his arms, grasping his arms in a tight lock around the man’s throat as he began to choke him out. Kicking the man in the back several times in rapid succession out of his frustration. The man continued to cry out with each violent blow as Shira really let loose on him. Shira let him go before he took it too far - allowing the man to breathe as he fell onto his knees.
Pacing around the man with a glare the boy began to circle around him like a hawk about to swoop down on its prey. “Why the hell do you care so much about my power? Why go to such extremes? TELL ME WHO YOU ARE!” he said in frustration.
“I’m… your father,” Duan Yuan admitted underneath the mask. Shira’s eyes widened incredulously as he was confused. His father had sent him here to fight.. Himself? What was the point? “Why would you go this far? This is a pretty shitty lesson plan, dad!” he cried out intensely. He was angry. Taking off the mask while gazing toward the old woman who introduced herself earlier - he bowed on the floor in front of his son. “Forgive me, Shira. This was merely a trial to help you awaken your powers. I have been teaching you to hide your power for so long to keep your safe from the people on our planet’s judgment,” he began to explain. Shira sighed to himself and begin to sit down in a criss-cross position with his father who sat up. “But it was time for you to understand just what you’re capable of. You’re a great fighter and you have potential. Someday you may have to be one of the Champions to protect this planet from the evil forces that I can sense are out there. They need someone like you to help fight them. I wasn’t half as strong as you are in my life. You have a gift that I wish I had… you’re much more like your grandfather than you are like me….” his father trailed off.
Shira had never heard his father speak of his grandfather. Now that he thought about it… he didn’t know much about his grandfather. “It was time for you to learn how powerful you are - Shira. You have a long way to go, but if you continue your training… you could become a light for the rest of us. There are so many humans who are fearful, Shira. We spend our lives cowering to aliens from other planets who come here and rely on them to protect us. And though many of those aliens are good-hearted and do serve the Planet Earth… there still needs to be someone among us who carries the burden. Someone we can look up too.. So we don’t have to believe that we’re a worthless sub-species in the galaxy.
So that we can accept that we are just human… and be okay with that,” his father finished explaining to him. Shira’s face softened in response to all of this. He had never heard his father speak so passionately before. They had always trained together, but his father had never explained why before. He had to admit… it made sense to him. He had always envied the Saiyans, and the bastards they produced with half of their genes with the earthlings on this planet. Their power came so naturally to them. He thought of Suusao who radiated a power unlike anything he had ever sensed before. “Alright… dad,” he muttered. He took his father by the hand and lifted him up. “I never thought I was this strong. I wonder what would have happened if I had taken off your weights” he said to his father. It kind of amazed him. He wondered how strong he could become if he really pushed his training. His father looked at him with a grin. “Yeah. You sure as hell kicked my ass even without them, haha,” his father laughed aloud. Shira smiled, though he was a bit embarrassed. Many sons wouldn’t have to say they kicked the shit out of their fathers. He wondered if that was a bad sign. Shira looked over to the old woman who walked slowly toward him. “And you are?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. She smiled. “My son is clearly still a little shit. I still can’t believe he never mentioned your grandmother to you…,” she trailed off with a wide smile. Shira’s eyes widened. “Gr-Grandma? I have a grandma?” She nodded. He rushed up to her giving her a hug, a wide smile on his face.
“Wait.. so are you actually a fortuneteller?” he asked with a nervous laugh. She nodded. “I’m much more than that, child. Your grandfather was a well-established martial artist, but I’m a retired sorceror. I dabbled in the magic arts. I actually have an apprentice who I’ll have you meet sometime… she’s around your age,” she said with a haughty smile. He was kind of amazed at that. “So… what’s my fortune?” he said with a laugh. She had promised him a glimpse into his future, after all. She smiled. “I saw your future before you even got here. You are destined for adventure.. And you will grow much stronger very soon with the help of others. But there is a darkness coming, Shira. A darkness is coming for this planet and if you are not ready… your death will be imminent,” she said with a frown. He too frowned.
“Well then, Grandma. Guess I better get back to training,” he said with a light smile. “After I get these wounds patched of course; if mom says me like this I may actually die. And nothing in this universe will save us from that!” he said seriously.. Sweat rolling down the side of his face.
They all laughed. But this was the start of a new chapter for the boy. He was excited.
[TWC: 4330]
[Get Medium Weighted Clothing bonus which is a bonus 50% to gains. Requesting PL]
Grade PLZ <3
