- 13 -
Father-Son Duel
Why she wasn't in said shade was because of the company currently with the group. She eyed Master Roshi warily as he sat on the ground with Oolong, rubbing his burnt chin. There was no way she was going to go near him anytime soon, which forced her out into the sun multiple yards away next to the unruly Saiyan who was now glaring daggers at the back of her head. He was standing three feet away... if that... and just a hair behind her, not even acknowledging her when she decided to stand by him just a few minutes ago. She didn't care... okay so she did. It hurt her feelings a little. But given they just fought and she basically won, then she teased him with his title... No wonder he hated her.
Off the emotional high she had before when having that little contest with Goku and Bardock, her mind grew increasingly troubled with what she had done as they flew here. She still couldn't believe she provoked him like that... If the whole thing with Roshi proved anything, it was that she had a really bad temper, but she never ever started a fight if she could avoid it. Sighing, she rubbed her brow, really tired. She had been sore before chasing after the disgusting pervert, but now she was really paying for it. Maybe she could stretch a little... no... that would just be weird.
"Hey Bulma..." Oolong called out sarcastically, "How's the tan coming?"
She didn't look over at him as she watched Goku and Bardock walk to the center of the field. He could goat her all he wanted, but her mind was elsewhere... Not even hearing him suddenly get whacked in the head by ChiChi's frying pan that appeared seemingly from nowhere. Even the others laughing couldn't draw her out. How was she supposed to help him if he hated her? She really didn't like being hated; it made her gut clench and feel like she was in high school all over again. He thought she was controlling him? It really hadn't been her intention to make him feel like that. But then wasn't that was she was doing? She was forcing him to behave, not kill... which wasn't really her fault given he had no ki... but even if he did she would make sure he didn't. Killing innocents was wrong. But he didn't think that and had killed many in the past. It would be hard not to force her views on him... she really didn't see anything wrong with that either. It was a problem. She wanted to understand him fully. Sure, she had a few tells from his tail, but most of it was just gut instinct... She didn't really know what he was thinking. And how was she supposed to help him if she didn't know that?
Vegeta glared at the woman. He knew why she wasn't with the others, but wondered why of all places she had to stand next to him. He wasn't about to move. He had been there first, but that didn't mean he liked her being there. Her scent surrounded him, irritating him. She was upset again. Why? He didn't have the foggiest idea. But whatever she was thinking was troubling her and it was giving him a headache. When it looked like she wasn't going anywhere his gaze went to Goku and Bardock who just finished talking about rules before separating. From what he heard there weren't any really, other than they were going to try and keep this a ground fight, but if it did become an air fight it didn't matter really. It was mostly so the others could watch and should make things interesting... He didn't care. He just wanted to see what the third class clown had.
The two fighters got into their stances. At least Kakarot has been trained the basics... He thought sarcastically as he took in his stance. It was relaxed, but from what he could tell he could easily block most attacks. But that remained to be seen. Vegeta would hold off his judgment until later... When his eyes switched to Bardock he once again got the tightening in his chest that he always got seeing him. One of pride. His Saiyan fighting stance was flawless. Never had he seen one as good as his... It wasn't a huge surprise though. He worked harder than anyone to overcome his class standing, perfecting every fighting style his people had.
Vegeta's stance was a far cry from the original one he learned as a child. Over the years he added other fighting styles into his base until it became a bastardized version of the basic Saiyan fighting stance. In reality he used whatever allowed him to survive and over the years, not having known everything about his people's own fighting styles, he had grown so accustomed to his own twisted style he couldn't learn or even use anything else unless there was a need his own style didn't have. Bardock had learned that the hard way, having spent hours upon hours trying to drill into him the proper technique only to have him always slip back into his natural style in the heat of battle. Over time he just gave up getting him to stick to it and instead just showed him it and let him pick anything he might need...
"Don't hold back, Bardock." Goku's voice drew Vegeta out of his thoughts. Is he mad? The old man would kill him.
Bardock studied him, wondering what his ploy was. "Are you sure, Goku? The highest reading..."
The younger Saiyan grinned foolishly as he shrugged carelessly. "I can feel your power. I know what I'm asking."
"Fine..." Bardock answered, lowering in his stance more.
If that was what he wanted, Bardock wasn't going to hold back, but he knew he had enough control over his strength not to kill him. With that they stared at each other, both waiting for the other to attack first. But when it became apparent he wasn't going to, he tensed his muscles, preparing to launch himself only to blink, surprised. His son had completely disappeared, even his ki reading from his scouter. Then it suddenly beeped to his right, but it was too late as not even a second later Bardock felt Goku's leg dig into his side, sending him flying. He swiftly righted himself with a handspring, searching, but his scouter had gone silent again.
Frustrated, he realized easily what was going on... Goku was using his limitation of not sensing ki and concealing it to his advantage. Bardock's scouter was practically worthless. So maybe his son wasn't the idiot he pretended to be... though it wasn't that much of a leap in logic to know if you had those abilities and your opponent didn't that you could effectively use them. Hiding your ki until just a second before impact... Gritting his teeth, Bardock switched into a different stance, one that was used mostly for defensive than balanced between offence and defense. He had to figure out how to effectively block that...
Another beep told him that his son was behind him. He turned, only to see the kick coming, unable to bring his hands up in time. Righting himself again, his teeth snapped with anger. He wasn't about to be showed up by him, son or not. The warrior in him roared, not willing to let his pride falter. When he was his age he had already reached the middle ranks of second class, earning even the king's praise. And while he now looked back and regretted the innocent lives he had taken with his own hand, he still nonetheless carried it with him and had at one point even been proud, delusional exactly like the rest of his people. It was this man that fought... not the one who saw visions or was tormented by the blood on his hands, but the proud warrior who would never back down, who would never waver.
So when the third beep sounded in his ear, alerting him that the attack was coming to the left he swiftly dropped down low before looking at his attacker as the kick went over head. It was strange seeing his own face looking so serious one second then eyes widening, realizing what was happening. Bardock grinned wolfishly with delight, flashing his canines as he quickly swept Goku's leg out from under him before digging his elbow into his gut. His son groaned in pain after getting the air back in his lungs before rolling over and slowly getting to his feet, still bent over holding his stomach. All the while thinking, Dang he hits hard...
Having stood already, Bardock went back into his defensive stance a few yards away. "Nice try cub. What other tricks do you have?"
Goku chuckled as he straightened, "I was hoping it would take you longer to work that out."
The older Saiyan growled, surprising his son. "I was fighting a long time before you or your brother were born, so don't insult me thinking I cannot evolve quickly in battle."
Goku blinked, stunned by the harshness from the normally tranquil and even nice Saiyan. "Hehe... sorry." Shrugging off the pain in his gut, he returned to his stance, his face remaining the same goofy grin but his tone suddenly serious, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."
With that he pushed himself off the ground, heading right for his father but then hid his power again just after leaving behind an afterimage of himself as he -unknowing to Bardock- flipped over his head. As Bardock went to attack his image Goku landed silently behind him and went to punch him in the back, releasing his power at the last second, but as he expected his father reacted quickly to the beep, forgetting the afterimage and lashing out with a back kick. Goku quickly blocked it, and even though the force jarred him, he was able to land his punch before jumping back. He didn't wait for Bardock to gain his feet though as he ran in a circle around him, leaving many afterimages in his wake, each time flashing his ki to make them. As a child he used to love this move, but now he felt a little like a coward. But he knew there was no way he could even stand a chance against his father if he met him head-to-head.
Which left him to trickery. When he was younger he had loved to irritate his enemy. He wasn't sure, though, if he wanted to irritate Bardock, especially after seeing that look of his when he caught him in his game. But then again he was never one to hold back on anything and that included his sense of amusement. Which was why, lingering among the images of him in his fighting stance, there were others making funny faces and waving jokingly. It was also how he hid himself, deciding he would pick one of the more serious ones. Yet as his father lashed out angrily at the funny ones, Goku realized maybe Bardock knew him more than he realized. When the older Saiyan got close, Goku attacked, trying to plan what he would do as he threw a punch. As he expected he blocked it, but sensing he still wasn't ready for a full-on attack he sent a barrage of kicks and punches, hitting him in any open spots he detected.
For almost a whole minute he had him on the defensive, not letting him regain control of the situation. But Bardock rapidly overpowered him in both speed and power shortly after that, forcing him on the defensive. Not to mention the way the older Saiyan attacked him was so foreign. He would leave gaps open as if daring him to take them only for Goku to get hit hard when he actually went for it. There had to be a way to see the fake gaps from the real ones because no one was completely guarded, but he was having difficulty even thinking about it as he tried desperately to block him. If he didn't think of something soon though he knew Bardock was going to plow him into the ground... not only because of his power, but just his technique alone would give him problems.
Yet what other tricks could he do? Goku mentally slapped himself. That would work; problem was positioning him... and then getting a small break in the fighting. The first part was somewhat easy... the second not so much. That would require Goku to actually hit him, and ever since Bardock took control of the fighting he hadn't been able to. Then he saw it, the opening he needed. What surprised him, thought, was that it was dead center of his chest, the part most fighters protected. Given his speed he normally wouldn't have had to worry, but Goku was determined not to be defeated...
Kind of like Rocky. Winning would be great, but that was past impossible so he would settle for never quitting. Pretending to go for his fake opening, Goku abruptly at the last moment pulled the punch back and brought his foot up, kicking him in the chest. It made him stumble back, somewhat surprised... Goku brought his hands to his face and closed his eyes.
"Solar Flare," Goku yelled, using Tien's move to momentarily blind his father.
A range of alien curses fell from Bardock's lips as Goku jumped back to catch his breath. What did he want to do? If the young Earth Saiyan didn't tire him or something he wasn't going to last much longer. As it was he was already starting to feel the strain. Sliding his back foot back, he cupped his hands, powering up his most noted move. It was risky, but they hadn't said anything on ki blasts and Goku knew he was most likely opening up a can of worms. Yet he just couldn't think of anything else.
"Kaaa... mahhhhh..." The blue light glowed in his hands, pushing as much ki as he was willing to into it, knowing full well the others were around and could get hurt. "Hahhhhhh... maahhhh..."
Bardock heard his son's voice, could feel the shift in the air around him. Blinking, he finally managed to clear his eyes, yet he was still seeing spots. His eyes widened as his scouter read 2,600 and rising. The concentrating of ki and slowly adding onto it as it replenished itself would explain the jump in energy... but then what about the pool? Bardock remained where he stood, pretending like he hadn't gained his sight back as he waited. He wasn't worried... the attack would maybe leave a minor burn if he only used his minor ki barrier, but he had another surprise for his son.
"Haaaaa..." Goku yelled, releasing it at him.
At the last second, the older warrior powered up and diverted the blue blast into the sky only moving his arm. Then in a blink of an eye he was on him, kneeing him in the gut before slamming him into the ground. Bending his legs he jumped high in the sky, yet still not using his flying ability as he powered up and fired a blast at him, calling out the name of it in Saiyan. Goku just barely rolled out of the radius of the bluish blast that reminded him of his own ability, ending on his feet hunched down. Through the dirt his eyes remained on his father as he let gravity take him back to the ground. Goku could feel the heat of the blast radiated out as the last of it hit. Knowing he could not see him through the dirt, he used it to his advantage, firing short orange blasts where he would be when he landed, then moved, rushing out.
Just as he predicted his father stopped his descent only a few inches from the blast, hovering in the sky. He appeared at his side, landing a kick in his stomach. Having a feeling he would grab hold of it he arched his back backwards as if he was doing a flip on the ground, using his ki to give him enough to accomplish the same effect. Bardock having not expected it went with him only to get the other foot slammed into the side of his face that didn't hold the scouter, forcing him to let go and thrusting him into the ground. Goku set down a few yards away, going back into his fighting stance, waiting for him to get up.
Bardock picked himself out of the dirt swiftly and stood wiping the blood from his cut lip a small grin on his lips. Though he was significantly weaker, his son was managing to put up a good fight. Raditz had never been this much fun... always complaining and whining. He fell back into his own stance, yet this one was different than the other two, being it was offensive... It was time to give the pup what he wanted. No holding back. Bardock was satisfied now that he knew Goku could take a little more of a beating and that it wasn't all tricks. If he wanted to truly fight a Saiyan warrior then that's what he was going to get.
~~~~ .~-~. ~~~~
Beta'd by LPphreek
No comments:
Post a Comment