Spirit - Another Dragon Ball Fanfiction

Chapter 6: Yamcha's Big Break

"Time to show you my Wolf Fang Blowing Wind technique!" Yamcha said. Tien smirked. "Sounds interesting!" Yamcha took a new stance and his eyes narrowed. A wolf's howl echoed through the air, and Yamcha took a step forward. Then another. And another. He began to speed up until he was running at Tien, shouting in challenge. A wolf totem seemed to surround him, and Yamcha leaped towards Tien, determined to win.

Yamcha threw a basic clawing strike right towards Tien's face, which was blocked. He launched a kick. It was parried. Yamcha didn't stop. He kept attacking over and over, and Tien noticed that he was getting faster and faster with each passing moment. Tien jumped back for a moment, and Yamcha paused. They both stood at the ready. I didn't know anyone could get this strong! It looks like he's not all talk. Tien thought. Yamcha was thinking to himself as well: I'd better stay sharp or this will end with me losing, just like last time. After a few more moments, Tien charged forward, throwing the fastest punch he could- and Yamcha spun out of the way, kicking Tien in the spine. Tien stumbled forward, then whirled around only to get hit across the face by another clawing strike. Then, Yamcha reeled his fist back, following up with a hard punch to Tien's stomach.

Tien coughed, doubling over and staring at Yamcha's fist, which was now almost embedded into the spot directly underneath his ribs. He stumbled backward, trying to regain his breath, and Yamcha lowered his fist, arching his eyebrows. "Well? Are we gonna continue or what?" Tien clenched his teeth, but it quickly turned into a smirk. "Oh, I'm far from done!"

Tien positioned his hands as if about to serve a volleyball, and then he charged, but halfway he slid across the tile arena and hit Yamcha in the chin. "One!" Yamcha went flying backwards, and Tien appeared next to him, hitting him in the back. "Two!" Yamcha was sent hurtling into the air. "Whoaaa!" Tien appeared above Yamcha and slammed his clasped fists into Yamcha's chest, causing Yamcha to gasp and then fall towards the ground. However, right before he hit the ground, Yamcha flipped, landing on his hands and jumping away. He looked up to see Tien rushing down at him, attempting a kick, and Yamcha scoffed. He sidestepped, then grabbed Tien's leg and hurtled him forward.

Tien skidded to a halt, then turned to face Yamcha. "Not bad. But I should warn you right now: I'm just getting started." Yamcha laughed, then looked towards Tien. "Oh, yeah? Well in that case, I guess I should stop warming up and fight seriously." Tien snarled. "You'll lose that attitude soon enough!" He rushed forward and threw a punch at Yamcha's face, but Yamcha simply leaned out of the way. "Missed me." Tien swiped at him, and Yamcha ducked, punching Tien in the ribs. Tien winced, and Yamcha raised an eyebrow. "Try again." Tien growled in annoyance, then tried to knee Yamcha in the chin, but Yamcha arched back his head and Tien missed. Yamcha glanced down at Tien's knee. "Ooh, that one was a little closer, but you still missed." Tien shouted in frustration and tried to kick Yamcha with his other leg, but Yamcha just backflipped out of the way while Tien lost his balance and fell over.

Yamcha smirked. "Is that it? You're way too slow to keep up with me." Tien gritted his teeth. Too slow, huh? Fine, tough guy. How about this? He suddenly shot forward like a bullet and hit Yamcha in the jaw, sending Yamcha flying backwards and then crashing onto the tile floor. This time, Tien was the one to smirk. "How's that for 'too slow'?" Yamcha looked up, then wiped away some blood that was trailing from his mouth. He dusted himself off, then laughed, shaking his head. "Did Master Shen teach you bad comebacks, or are you just not good at one-liners?" Yamcha wiped away a bruise on his forehead. "I guess it's time to show it off." Tien peered at him. "Show what off?" Yamcha chuckled. "You'll see. I'm not really worried about this not working. That's not the reason I haven't used it up until now. It's just that I was planning to use this a little later on." He positioned his hands in a way that was all-too-familiar to him by now. "I guess you could say that I've been saving this one!" He brought his wrists together. "Ka..." He brought his hands to his side. "...me..." Tien grimaced. "Do it. At your own risk." Then, Tien brought his hands together and held up both thumbs and index fingers, clenching his teeth. His whole body was surrounded by a glowing outline. Yamcha continued to chant the syllables: "...ha..." He clenched his teeth, and his stance shifted just a little. "...me..." A blue ball of glowing energy appeared between his hands, which he then threw forward, yelling: "HAAA!" 

The Kamehameha rocketed towards Tien, but right before it hit him in the face, the blue wave of energy seemed to hit a barrier. It warped and shifted, and Tien gave a yell. Then, the Kamehameha shot back at Yamcha. But instead of jumping to avoid it, or leaning out of the way, he simply stood and watched. 

Goku's eyes widened. "Yamcha! What are you doing?! Move!" Krillin began to shout at him as well. "Yamcha! Get away from the blast! You could die!" Even Tien looked confused. Why isn't he moving? Does he want to get hit by his own attack? The energy blast continued to rocket towards Yamcha, until finally it seemed to hit him, and everyone closed their eyes. "Yamcha!" Goku shouted. Krillin covered his eyes and squeezed them shut tighter. The first person to open their eyes was Jackie Chun, and what he saw shocked him so much he wondered if he was dreaming. "What?" Everyone else looked, and Tien took a step back in surprise. "Huh?!" The Kamehameha was no longer an energy beam- it was back to being a round ball of energy instead. Yamcha still stood in its path, but he had changed his stance. His feet were spread and his hands... had caught the Kamehameha. 

Have you ever caught a basketball? It's easy, right? Well, if you have, imagine catching a basketball- except it's not a basketball, it's a malleable ball that's about to explode like a bomb, and the only thing that's stopping it is you. Your willpower. Your strength. And if the energy is released, it will be your fault. Not so easy now, is it? Yeah. That's the pressure put on my shoulders when I caught my own Kamehameha blast. I caught it and right away, it began to push me back. I could feel the tiles under my feet being ripped apart. But I clenched my jaw and planted my feet into the fighting stage, and then I began to squeeze the Kamehameha. It took every bit of focus I had, but eventually the blast fizzled out. Tien was stunned. "H-how-" I dashed forward and punched him in the face. He went flying, but soon he recovered. 

Tien finally convinced himself that he had to use something he hoped he wouldn't have to resort to- he stopped panting and looked at Yamcha. "I'll warn you right now- if you don't want to die, get out of the way." Then, Tien jumped high into the air, forming a triangle with his hands. He focused, taking a deep breath and looking down at the arena. "My target... is the fighting ring! Tri-Beam..." Yamcha's eyes widened. This is not good! I'd better think of something fast... A lightbulb seemed to go off in his head, and Yamcha grinned. Maybe it's time I copy off of Goku a little bit. 

Tien's grimace deepened, and then he screamed "HA!" A triangular beam of pure energy shot down and hit the ring, blinding everyone. When the smoke cleared, the ring was gone, replaced by a crater- and Yamcha was nowhere to be found. "Yamcha! No, no, no!" Goku shouted. Krillin placed his hands on the sides of his head, blinking in shock. Bulma and Puar were both horrified, and Master Roshi was upset, too, along with Launch and Oolong. But Tien narrowed his eyes, seeming puzzled. "Where is he? If he's dead, there should be a body..." All three eyes widened, and Tien whirled around, looking up into the sky. "He's in the air!" 

Yamcha fell through the sky like a feather, hovering down until he could see the whole tournament area again, along with a shocked Tien Shinhan. Yamcha smirked. "Miss me?" he shouted. Then, once he was almost at eye-level with Tien, he cupped his hands at his side. "Ka... me... ha... me..." Tien prepared another energy shield. "That attack doesn't work on me, remember?" Yamcha grinned. "I know." Then, he vanished. Tien looked around, surprised. "What the- Where did he-" "Over here!" Tien whirled around, lowering his energy shield in the process, and Yamcha turned his back to Tien, then fired the Kamehameha. "HAAAA!" As he rushed towards Tien, he spun in midair and was surrounded by a wolf totem. "Wolf Fang Fist!" He punched Tien in the face and they both tumbled towards the ground below. 

Tien landed on the asphalt a split second earlier than Yamcha, and the announcer began to speak: "The winner of this round is Y-" "Wait a second!" Everyone fell silent as Yamcha spoke up: "I... I don't know if I can go on, honestly. Tien can take my place in the tournament." Tien's eyes shot open. "What? Wait... You're serious?!" Yamcha nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I am. Have fun in the tournament, and thanks for the great match!" Then, Yamcha hopped off the fighting stage and walked away.