Post by Emperor Ninjin Hattori on Jan 23, 2015 17:56:33 GMT -5
Ninjin Hattori stood on a hillside overlooking a large verdant valley that sprawled out in front of him. A river snaked its way lazily through the valley and down until Ninjin lost sight of it as it met up with a mountain range and snaked its way through there. Was it… was it travelling upwards? Gravity seemed to hold what it chose here in Heaven. What’s more, was there anything beyond those mountains? This was Heaven, was anything definite? Ninjin still didn’t know the rules to everything up here, and doubted he would ever learn them fully.
What had drawn his attention from his meditation had been a ruckus. Or rather, he had been trying to meditate, but found that he instead greatly wished that he could spar against someone. That’s when the ruckus had started. Curiously he had crested the hill only to be surprised by what he found. Set up in the valley was a large… The best word that Ninjin could think of to describe it as was an arena. There must have been thousands of souls gathered around cheering at the spectacle of the two ancient-or-not-so-ancient heroes locked in martial combat. There was obviously no malice in any of the fighters. This was Heaven after all. Ninjin smiled as he looked down upon the combat. Finally! There were some truly strong heroes down there. He wondered what they were competing for, if anything. Maybe it was just for martial pride.
Heroes great and small cheered as he entered the campsite and raised a glass for him. It didn’t seem to matter whether they knew him or not. All of them seemed to be getting ready to compete. There wasn’t a place he could look where a hero wasn’t readying some weaponry. Some of it looked truly advanced, far beyond Ninjin’s knowledge, still others seemed primitive and crude. Those holding the weaponry were as varied as the instruments themselves. Heroes that stood stories high mingled with heroes that flitted about here and there, some no bigger than an Earthen fly. They came in every shape and size. Some were fearsome looking alien warriors. Others looked mostly human, aside from animal features and parts. Others… defied explanation. There was no anger anywhere he looked though, everywhere warriors seemed to be joking and drinking and getting along. Truthfully the Saiyan found their comradery heartening.
A man in a fur vest looked up from his paperwork on the table in front of him as the Saiyan made his way down the winding main road of the camp. What had caused him to look up was the Saiyan’s power. It was damned impressive, and sure to put on a good show for the good people of Heaven if he had any interest in the tournament. If not? Well this was Heaven, the Saiyan wouldn’t be made to do anything he wasn’t comfortable with, but his look and his power screamed warrior. The man’s teeth caught the light from the nonexistent sun and glinted with a handsome shine as he smiled. It was contagious, and when Ninjin caught his eye he found himself smiling as well.
“Greetings brave warrior. Our glorious fair and feast seems to have caught your eye. Welcome to our merriment and revelry. Tell us warrior, have you any interest in the Eternal Tournament?” He said the words tantalizingly and they immediately caught Ninjin’s attention. He approached the table and the blonde man in the fur vest. To the side of him sat a man seemingly composed out of crystals. Eternal Tournament? Tournaments he had done before, he had even competed in the Galactic tournament that Conri Lane had won, but what exactly made this one “eternal”. This was Heaven and no doubt time meant nothing here, but the Saiyan was left confused nonetheless. The man in the fur vest seemed to catch that from the look on Ninjin’s face.
“Don’t worry sir, you won’t be stuck competing in a tournament for the rest of eternity if you sign up, this is Heaven not Hell. Competitors are free to come and go as they like, competing in matches for the entertainment of all and the glory of a victory. Tournament’s probably a bad word for it, but that’s what it has always been called. There are no real prizes other than pride, and if you lose well you’re in the best place for some cheering up! Heroes up here a long while ago began itching for combat. There’s no driving the warrior out of some of these heroes though, regardless of how good their hearts. Though there’s no worry of killing or anything of the like, as well…” He smiled as he added the last bit, gesticulating around him and then laughing. The crystal man next to him seemed to vibrate and give off a pleasant warmth. Ninjin cocked an eyebrow.
“That’s what happens when Rammy laughs or is happy in general. Good humor on this one. Well what do you say mysterious crimson warrior, will you enter the Eternal Tournament? If only for a couple of rounds?”
Ninjin smiled at the man. Finally there was something exciting to do in heaven. Testing himself against ancient warriors of species that had possibly died out eons ago seemed like something that Ninjin could really get behind. His last fight… well it hadn’t really gone so well. And it seemed like every major fight of his life he had been on the receiving end of an ass whopping. Against Aer Nin the only chance he had had had been being able to charge attacks. It was the same with Invictus. Sure it was a viable strategy, but Ninjin hated feeling weak, and when it came to physical blows both cardinals had been able to shut him down and put some serious damage on him whilst they laughed off his blows. Every injury Ninjin had sustained; Tail sliced off. Dozens of bones broken. How much blood had he lost in his entire life? Gallons. He had once even died because of a mutated strain of an earthen disease called Ebola, and had been saved by the use of a very well timed senzu bean. He had been tortured and broken. Battered and bruised. Bloodied in every-way imaginable. It would be nice to spar without the worry of all of that once again. It had been a long time.
He nodded at the man in the fur vest and wrote his name on the line. The man smiled and the crystal vibrated and once again emitted the warmth of an early summer’s day. They ushered Ninjin into the large tent they were sitting in front of. Large could barely describe the massive tented structure. It was bigger than many buildings that Ninjin had been in during his life. It was bigger than the former palace on New Vegeta, and that was saying something. Once inside he was led by what he could only believe to be a fairy into a waiting room of sorts. Other heroes were situated in various locations doing various tasks. Some mulled about in conversation. Others sharpened various weaponry or cleaned high-tech looking guns. Some looked up and nodded at the Crimson Saiyan as he entered. Others did not, but they did not seem to do so with malice, but rather were deeply enthralled with their tasks.
A hand clap Ninjin on the back causing him to jump and spin in surprise, only to find Vil standing there. Dressed in full Saiyan armor.
“The allure drew you as well? The Eternal Tournament is a difficult thing to pass up for a warrior in Heaven. Especailly for us Saiyans. Some say it was a Saiyan eons ago who started the Eternal Tournament, but that may have sprouted due to our well known ancient bloodlust… Still it’s great fun and a good test of your skills. Stay humble though Ninjin, despite the power of some of these guys they’ve been warriors for a whole lot longer than you have. You may overpower your opponent, but if they outthink you they’ll beat you all the same. Power isn’t everything.”
Ninjin smiled and listened to the advice in a manner unusual for the Ninjin that Vil knew in life. The bald Saiyan smiled.
“Listen to me blabber on. You’re not the Ninjin I had to bodyguard and babysit in life anymore. You’re a Super Saiyan. If anything I should be asking you for pointers. Matches can occur simultaneously, so if I don’t get to see your fight, good luck Nin.” Vil ruffled Ninjin’s hair, much like he used to when the crimson Saiyan had been a child.
NINJIN HATTORI VS. UA.
The words appeared and hung in the air in front of them for a long moment before Ninjin realized that everything was fading away in front of him. It did not come with a feeling of panic though, as almost instantly the next thing he knew he was standing on the slate arena that he had been looking down at from the hilltop. It was very reminiscent of an old arena that had once been fought at on Earth, created by some villain if Ninjin recalled correctly. Heaven must have liked the design, or at least whomever founded the Eternal Tournament.
The crowd materialized seconds later, surrounding the arena with massive stands. There didn’t seem to be an end to the number of those gathered to watch. It almost made the Saiyan sick to look out in the seemingly infinite direction of the stands, but this was Heaven so something fixed the feeling. Odd how things like that worked here.
He was Ninjin Hattori, so where in the world was this Ua character? The more and more that he thought about the Eternal Tournament the more excited he got. This was a chance to train himself with some of the best heroes that the universe had ever seen. This was a chance to see how good of a warrior Ninjin Hattori really was. Invictus had humbled him. Up until that point the strongest beings that Ninjin had ever fought had been Aer Nin, Conri Lane, and his sister. Invictus would have laughed off any of Aer Nin’s blows as if they were less than nothing. She had had a tenth of his power. The suit of armor empowered by Aon had fought off both he and the universal champion at once. Perhaps the heroes of Heaven could show him his mistakes.
With a thought Ninjin activated his Heavy armor. It weighed him down exactly as much as his old heavy weights used to, but his armor could be summoned and dismissed with a thought. It was a handy trick to have, even if the armor did tend to get destroyed. It always seemed to come back full repaired later when he summoned it again.
Then Ua materialized in front of the Saiyan. He was nothing that Ninjin would have been prepared for. The creature that appeared was ten feet tall and thick with muscle. A red war painted mask with a thick feathered headdress covered the face and tusks of a creature that distinctly reminded Ninjin of an Earthen elephant. Its mouth was pulled back into a smile. Two muscular arms were on either side of the creature’s torso. Three were empty, but in one was a large curved blade. Glowing tattoos covered the majority of the creature’s arms and chests. The tattoos snaked all the way down his arms into his palms. At each of his palms the snaking lines and swirls met and formed into glowing eye tattoos. His torso was bare aside from the tattoos and the many golden bits of jewelry that covered him. Golden bangles were clasped around his many upper arms and wrists. Some were large and fat with glowing crystals, others were small and thin, simply wires made of gold. Its bottom half was covered with many layers of a thick cloth synched around the waist by a thick leather belt, encrusted with more glowing crystals. The creature’s power was unreadable, a design of the Eternal Tournament. This was about skill, not about power.
Ua and Ninjin stared each other down for a good long while, the cheers of the crowd pouring down upon them. Who in the crowd knew the Saiyan prince? Who in the crowd knew Ninjin Hattori? Who in the crowd knew Ua? With the numbers be infinite the likelihood of that even one percent of the audience knowing either was slim, so it came down to the fact that they simply wanted to see a good bout of combat. They were in for that for sure.
“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN WELCOME TO ANOTHER EXCITING ROUND OF THE ETERNAL TOURNAMENT! THE FOLLOWING CONTEST IS BETWEEN NINJIN HATTORI OF NEW VEGETA: MILKY WAY AND UA: BLESSED MAKAIO OF REDEMPTION.”
A bell rang from nowhere and Ua squatted lower, further lowering his center of gravity. His stance was perfect, beautifully balanced and Ninjin found he could detect no weak-spots by looking at it. The creature in front of him was surely an experienced warrior. One of Ua’s free hands came up and made a “bring-it-on” motion. Ninjin smiled. This was going to be fun. And best of all he had no possible chance of dying. It was very rare to find a good Makaio. No doubt even more rare to find one in Heaven. Rare, but not impossible. There were legends of a demon king that once found his way to the very same paradise. Ninjin had heard of the tale during his time in Heaven so far, but had had little faith in it until his opponent had appeared. Ua was not that demon king… correct?
Ninjin wasted no time and rushed at the creature. There would be no getting around those four powerful arms, and even though this was Heaven Ninjin had no desire to be on the other side of that wicked blade Ua was carrying. The blade curved clean through the after-image Ninjin had left. Ninjin’s leg collided with the elephantine Makaio, just not as he had planned. One of Ua’s free arms had come up to block, as if he knew what was about to occur. His two other arms came together and collided with Ninjin’s ribs. His other free hand, the one that had blocked, grabbed the Saiyan around his ankle and threw him away like a rag-doll. The crowd cheered loudly.
Ninjin shook his head and tried to clear it. His ribs had hurt momentarily, but this was heaven. It seemed that they had healed quickly. A large massive grey hand appeared in his face. Ninjin took it and was hoisted to his feet almost immediately by the strong elephantine.
“Not bad little monkey. You take hit well.” Ua’s voice was nothing like Ninjin had been expecting. It was thick and heavy. It sounded like some Earth accents he had heard before. The Makaio smiled, if you could call it that with his tusks and trunk in the way. The crowd cheered and the duo parted, walking away from each other a short distance and then turning back around.
This time Ua charged. The crowd continued to cheer for both men. If anything the crowd seemed to be cheering for the excitement of the match rather than the two fighters in particular.
Three more blades materialized mid-strike in Ua’s hands, and Ninjin jumped backwards with a surprised yelp. A few strands of black hair floated to the ground. This demon-turned-good had the ability to materialize blades out of nothing. Suddenly the back of his legs hit something hard and he flipped over backwards. As he looked up Ua’s elephantidae foot collided with his face. His body skipped and flopped over the stone flooring of the arena and skidded to a stop. That one hurt.
Ninjin groaned and rolled over to his hands and feet. Ua was a tough and talented fighter. No wonder he was a legendary hero. It wasn’t even very long into their bout and Ninjin felt like a small child being taught a lesson. Ua smiled as he looked down at Ninjin on the ground. The Saiyan had yet to lay a hand on him. Once again Ninjin seemed to be on the ass end of an ass-beating. The crowd, however, was loving it. With a roar the dead Saiyan sprung forward. Once again at the last minute he vanished, appearing behind Ua. He activated his ki fists and thrust a flurry of blows at the Elephantine demon.
The tusked warrior blocked every one of the blows, but the grimace on his face each time indicated the pain he felt. Ninjin’s ki-infused fists were nothing to sneeze at. Still Ua blocked each and every one, and when Ninjin was finished the elephant man grabbed his wrists and booted him in the chest. His other two hands were clenched in fists and came down on his collarbones. The Saiyan braced himself for the impact but his collarbones held intact. The last time something like that had happened Invictus had cleaved right through the bone in his shoulder with nothing more than locked hands. Ninjin kicked out at the elephant man in the shin. Ua grimaced as he blocked it.
“Show me.” He whispered as the Saiyan squirmed under his grip.
The way he said it shocked Ninjin. What was he talking about? Surely it couldn’t be… He wanted to see Ninjin transform into a Super Saiyan. Ninjin looked around at the crowd. Was that what everyone was thinking? Were they all waiting to see Ninjin turn into the legendary Super Saiyan? As far as Ninjin knew one hadn’t been seen in the galaxy for a long long time. Heroes all around looked down at the fight. Ua was trouncing Ninjin, but there was power yet hidden in the young Saiyan. Ua released with two hands, though he held the Saiyan by the wrists with two others. It vaguely reminded him of fighting Invictus. Constricted, held against his will, and being beaten.
Still though, this was Heaven. The dead Saiyan found himself happy despite getting his ass kicked. Ua’s free fists collided with the Saiyan’s ribs as he held him aloft in front of himself.
“I not mean to anger you Ninjin Hattori. Also not mean to embarrass. Super Saiyan not been seen in quite some time. Four now in galaxy. Ua could not resist opportunity to see himself. Even in Heaven cannot ignore signs of what means for universe. Last time so many Super Saiyans in universe, time of great turmoil. Perhaps what again means.”
Ninjin could not ignore the truth to the demon’s words. So many Super Saiyans hadn’t been in the galaxy since before the Saiyans had died out altogether and had been brought back. Ninjin had heard many varied tales of the last time so many Super Saiyans were gathered, but nearly all of them were gathered against some great evil. Perhaps that was what was occurring now. The thought hadn’t occurred to the crimson warrior. It that was true… But then, the Super Saiyans that he knew of were he, Conri, and Akassa. Who was the mysterious fourth? It also left Ninjin with an uneasy feeling. Akassa certainly could not be called a hero. If the Super Saiyans were being brought forth to deal with an encroaching and terrible evil… Perhaps it was she herself?
Ninjin activated his True Power and brought both knees up to his chest to build up kinetic energy. Then he shot them out at Ua, breaking the elephant man’s hold on his wrists. Ua’s other two hands came up and rubbed his wrists gently. The Saiyan flipped in a surprisingly graceful arc and landed in a three point stance away from Ua. The crowd cheered and Ninjin realized that this time it was for him!
“Yes is better. Ua is thinking is not all though.”
It was true. What Ninjin referred to as his “True Power” was only a fraction of the power of his Super Saiyan form. Still it had been enough to break Ua’s hold on his wrists. Had it been surprise in the sudden change of strength? Or had Ninjin truly overpowered the elephant demon? Perhaps it would be enough to take down the four-armed demon. It had served him faithfully for his entire life. There was another nagging question in the back of his mind. Would he even be able to access the Super Saiyan form if he needed to?
They rushed each other once more. Ninjin leapt into the air when Ua began summoning things directly in his path. It had started off small, first a book, then a potted plant, then a chair, then a couch, then a desk, the objects kept growing until he decided to take the fight into the air. Ua frowned up at him.
“Not all know how to fly, Monkey.” He called out and then laughed a deep, guttural, and boisterous laugh. Ninjin and the crowd found it infectious. Ninjin soon found himself laughing uncontrollably, his sides began to ache dully with the unceasing nature of it, but it was not at all unpleasant. Before he knew it he was floating to the ground, unable to focus on anything but the laughter spilling out of himself. There was no panic behind it, with every laugh he felt renewed and refreshed him. He was not healed, but there was something truly calming behind it. When the Saiyan looked up Ua had stopped laughing. Through his tears he could see the Elephantine standing only an arm’s length away.
“There Is better?” The elephantine smiled at Ninjin and then once again fell into his perfect fighting stance. Apparently Ua had some sort of technique that made others burst into good-feeling uncontrollable laughter. It was an odd technique, as it had no practical combat usage, but Ninjin found that it was certainly distracting. The Saiyan adopted his own fighting stance. This was just getting interesting.
They charged at each other and Ninjin brought up his forearm to block a blow from a hand that was as big. The jarring sensation of the impact traveled up the Saiyans arm and to his shoulder. With his other arm he pressed against his forearm, trying to out-strength Ua. It just wasn’t happening. The elephantine demon’s other arms came up and batted the crimson warrior in the sides hard. It momentarily knocked the wind from the Saiyan. Ninjin released the guard and rolled low under another round of swings. Four-armed creatures were difficult to combat Ninjin was finding. It wasn’t something that he was used to, and being able to still punch even while blocked was hard to overcome.
But how would Ua like energy attacks? Ninjin brought his hands to his side and began to gather ki. Thus far the fight had been purely physical, aside from Ua’s magical item summoning. Ninjin’s shirishiri cannon began to glow golden between his gathered hands at his side. Ua’s eyes flicked from the Saiyan to the gathered energy.
“The Monkey grows more and more interesting.” Ua said with a smile and then the blades disappeared in puffs of white smoke.
“Monkey is not only one with tricks.”
Both sets of arms came to Ua’s side, between both of the sets of hands glowing white discs appeared. Ninjin had seen this technique before. The Kienzan disc. It was said to cut through anything. Anything probably included him.
The Shirishiri cannon was fired at the same time as the Kienzan discs. Both discs cut through the full powered energy wave and the explosion filled the center of the arena. Ninjin brought his cape over his face and braced himself against the force of the explosion. Suddenly a hot pain in his upper arm caught his attention. One of the discs had survived the explosion and had sliced deep into his right arm. It had cut his cloak right in half and had cut deep through his armor. The pain was hot but no blood spilled from the wound. Ninjin wondered if that was a Heaven thing or if it was because of his Iblisian powers.
One way to find out.
Ninjin tried to bring the blood out of the wound, and soon he found a streak of his own red flowing through the air to collect around his fists. The look on his face implied that Ua nearly shit himself. His eyes had grown wide.
“The Monkey has even more surprises. Who would think is also part vampire? Is not only supposed Super Saiyan, is also vampire.”
A blood gauntlet covered his left arm, and his right arm began to glow with solar power. This was the Eternal Tournament, he was in Heaven, why hold anything back? The crowd was on the edge of their seats. The elephant man smiled and nodded at Ninjin.
“You have many interesting tricks little Monkey.”
A large whistling sound came from above Ninjin, and he looked up to see a bowing 747 baring down upon him. Right. Item Summoning. That was damned impressive. It appeared that Ua was quite good at his trade. Ninjin pulled his arm back and shot his solar lash straight at the massive falling plane. At the same time he spun downwards to his knees and shot the blood that had been collecting at the elephant man. The lash of solar energy collided with the front of the plane and enveloped the front in fire. The metal began to melt and peel away from the front of the plane exposing the wire frame underneath.
The solar lash hit the fuselage and the explosion rocked the arena and both combatants as the blood spears hit Ua. They cut deep into the Demon’s skin and a golden ichor began to flow from the wounds. Finally Ninjin had done something to gain an advantage. So far this had been one of the most one sided fights he had been a part of. Ua looked from his wounds towards Ninjin, and then smiled. The demon adopted a three point stance and then charged, a loud trumpet bellowing from his trunk. The demon moved much faster than Ninjin had been expecting. He leapt over his charging opponent and launched a solar lash at him. It caught the demon across the back and caused him to stumble forwards, though he caught himself with three of his arms.
A white smoke began to billow off of the skin of Ua, and his muscles began to bulge. When he turned to face Ninjin once again, he was even more massive than he had been. He was at least twice as wide and had gained at least five feet in height. His power had no doubt gone up as well, but it was impossible for Ninjin to tell. Though if the muscle and height increase meant anything… well this fight had started off one sided hadn’t it? It was probably about to become so again. Ninjin floated to the ground and set his power-level as high as it would go.
This was only the first match that Ninjin was competing in in the Eternal Tournament. What other heroes were waiting in the wings? How many of them were stronger than Ua? This… this really was Heaven! Despite the ass beating that was sure to come his way due to Ua’s transformation, Ninjin found himself smiling. If he had to spend the rest of eternity doing anything fighting against the legends of old, many he had never heard of, was high on his list of things to do. If they proved to be as worthy opponents as Ua, he would find himself never running out of things to do whilst in Heaven. After all he was here for an Eternity wasn’t he?
Ua’s massive new size, dwarfing his previous massive size, meant interesting things for this competition. It also meant interesting things for Ninjin. The Saiyan smirked and scoffed.
“You think that’s big? Mines bigger.”
A glowing orb of energy appeared in Ninjin’s hand, and he shot it up into the sky. It wasn’t long until he felt the familiar rays began to dance and bounce off of his skin. Rapidly the Saiyan began changing into a creature of legend. A legendary creature of destruction. One that had been known to destroy cities and populations. The crowd gasped. Many of them had never seen an Oozaru before. The Saiyan’s armor disappeared, though a modest bit was left over as shorts.
Ninjin now dwarfed Ua, the Elehpantine man was nothing to sneeze at, at least five feet wide and fifteen feet tall. Ninjin, however, in his Oozaru form stood at five times his pervious height, and dwarfed the elephant by over half of his own size. It had been a while since Ninjin had adopted the massive ape-like form, but it was like riding a bicycle, one never forgot. The former prince found that the transformation fit like an old favorite glove that hadn’t been worn in a while. Perfectly, but strange. He was much more powerful than the last time he had become Oozaru. The massive ape let out a guttural roar at the Elephant. Ua gritted his teeth and charged.
They collided, or rather, Ua collided with Ninjin’s legs. The elephant demon still had a lot of strength left in him. The only damage Ninjin had really done in the entire bout were the blood spears that had grazed the demon, and the solar lash that had collided with his back. It would no doubt take much more than that to stop Ua. Meanwhile Ua had been beating the crap out of Ninjin. Still the former prince could take more punishment than just about anyone that he knew.
“Tell me… Giant monkey.” Ua’s words came out straining with the effort of trying to lift the Oozaru. “What… caused… Super Saiyan?!” He said the last bit just as he was lifting one of Ninjin’s massive ape legs off of the ground. The other came up and booted the demon hard. Ua flipped through the air and landed in a pile, but sprang to his feet rapidly.
“Aon.” It was the very least he could say, but Ninjin had never been one for talking too much whilst in Oozaru form. The words felt heavy and awkward in his snout. The words themselves were muttered with more than a little bit of loathing. Aon would forever be an enemy of Ninjin Hattori. The vile god had been there at the moment of his death, and it no doubt had caused him great joy. This utterance, however, caused the crowd to gasp. Ua, too, looked surprised. For a moment the demon dropped his fighting stance.
“Aon…” He said the words as if tasting them anew. He spat them out onto the floor of the arena.
“Out of all of deities, am not surprised he trigger transformation. Many gods in our universe. Many who claim title. Aon however is, at very least, true god. If one filled with hate…”
The dead king got the feeling that Ua was hiding much more about Aon, but he did not feel the need to pry any further. He and Ua, and any of the other heroes, had an eternity to discuss well everything! No doubt Aon and the UCOO would be a common topic for Ninjin. They had been such a large part of his life for such a long time. It felt like a giant weight coming off of him to think that he would never have to deal with any members of the church again.
“Aon and I are old enemies... Even older friends. Eons ago fought many battles together. Then came civil war between Heaven and Hell. Yin and Yang fought. Everyone forced to choose sides. Many surprised I chose fight on side of Heaven. Ua could no longer sit back and watch. Not many survive. Ua did. Was given title Makaio of Redemption, allowed to stay in Heaven.”
Civil War? Yin and Yang? Everything that the demon was throwing at him was a lot of information. Perhaps after the fight was over they could sit together and Ninjin could learn the history of the Heavens. They had an eternity after all, it wouldn’t be too hard to fill the dead Saiyan king in on everything. Ninjin tried to shake the burden of all the new information off. There would be time for that later. He was still in the middle of a fight.
Ua nodded as their eyes met. This conversation would be concluded later. For now, they had a show to put on to those gathered. They were doing a hell of a job thus far.
Once again the giants clashed, a literal wave of force shot out as they collided. For all his size disadvantage Ua seemed not to be lacking in the strength department. The two strained with all their might trying to gain the upper hand against their opponent. Ninjin kicked out, but Ua jumped over and punched him with two fists in the thigh. A cramp built up there. It stung, but it wasn’t going to stop him. A massive Oozaru backhand caught the elephant before he hit the ground and sent him hurtling off into the distance. He was caught just before he fell out of sight by an invisible barrier at the edge of the arena. The crowd cheered loudly.
Ua made his way back over to the center of the arena before flipping sideways in the air in a very acrobatic and dancer like way. As he turned, scimitar blades seemed to fly off of him and at the giant Oozaru standing in front of him. Ninjin batted the blades away, and even the ones that bit into his flesh didn’t seem to bother him. With a roar he opened his mouth and launched a blast of ki at the elephant. It caught him in the chest and once again he was smashed into the wall.
Even from the great distance between the two Ninjin could hear Ua begin to chuckle. The demon peeled himself off of where he had smashed into the floor after hitting the barrier. Ninjin pounced and smashed down hard on the demon. Ninjin stepped out of the crater he had made to find Ua underneath. Then the Saiyan heard an unusual sound.
“Train…?”
A single steam engine smashed into the Oozaru and caused him to stumble backwards. When he finally finished stumbling backwards he turned to see Ua slowly making his way to his feet within the crater. There was a smile behind the eyes of the masked and bloodied elephant demon.
“Is damn impressive. Methinks is still not Super Saiyan.”
The smoke began billowing off of Ua in greater quantities. It did nothing to obscure the area in front of the elephant, but behind him was hard to see through. It was no doubt a non-combat technique, if it was a technique at all. It seemed useful nonetheless. Once again the elephant man grew wider and even thicker with muscle, if it was possible. His tusks elongated and grew even sharper points, two tusks now grew from each hole instead of just one. His height, however, stayed the same.
Ninjin’s massive fist shot out at Ua, but to the elephant the giant monkey seemed to be moving slowly. He simply stood to the side and let the fist sail right past him. Ninjin blinked. Where Ua had once been standing…. There was now a crater in the floor of the arena. No sign of the demon however. Ninjin felt a tap on his back, and turned around to see Ua standing there.
“Enough Tell. Show.”
Ua’s leg reverberated hard off of Ninjin’s massive monkey shin and sent painful shockwaves through the Saiyan’s entire thirty-five foot tall body. Ua’s new form might not have been as large as that of Ninjin’s Oozaru, but even without his advanced ki-sensing Ninjin realized he was in for a different fight now.
This time it was Ua who gabbed Ninjin and tossed him into the barrier as if he was nothing. The crimsons Saiyan’s body bounced off of the invisible wall and landed in a heap, back into his humanoid form. He grunted with the effort of regaining his footing. How long had this match lasted? Was that even a thing that he could ask up here in Heaven? The prince still wasn’t sure how time worked up here. When he looked around he found that the elephantine demon was nowhere to be seen. Then suddenly he was right beside the Saiyan.
Roughly he grabbed the Saiyan’s head and shoved him face first into the invisible barrier. It popped and singed with heat as it burnt the Saiyan’s flesh, the friction between the barrier trying to throw him backwards and Ua trying to force him forwards literally burning the flesh of his skin. The Saiyan warrior did not cry out in pain however. Instead he grit his teeth in focus.
Ninjin began to gather his energy into himself, building up his power until he could no longer contain the scream that had been building. As he released it his aura flared up and if Ua could somehow sense power through the Eternal Tournaments enchantments, then perhaps he would notice Ninjin’s power rising. His hair began to rise slowly, as if his aura was pushing it up against gravity. It began to flash golden yellow and then black and back and forth and back and forth. The crowd had fallen into a hush, but everything else was lost to Ninjin Hattori.
His scream finally died away as his hair remained golden yellow. A part of him wondered if it ever got any easier to ascend to the state of Super Saiyan, or if he would need to be under extreme duress every time. It did seem to be easier, if even slightly that time. He was, after all, in Heaven, but his burning face couldn’t tell the difference. A hand came up and slowly peeled Ua’s own away from Ninjin’s head, as if bending a paper-clip. The skin around Ninjin’s face sizzled slightly as he removed it from the barrier. This was Heaven though, and so the aesthetic damage quickly healed. The crowd’s eyes never left the Super Saiyan. This was the first time in a very long time that many of them had seen such a being, and for many it was the first. The legends had not died in Heaven, despite the last of the Super Saiyans vanishing some time ago. Still, to see one in the flesh right before one’s eyes.
Despite the angle of his wrist Ua too stared in wonder at Ninjin. The Super Saiyan’s blue eyes flicked from Ua to the elephant’s wrist. Despite being in Heaven, a rage tormented him from within. It was the rage of eons of his race. Still, the will of Ninjin Hattori was not so weak as to lose himself completely. Ua’s mouth opened slightly in awe. This was the power that he had been asking to see. This was the omen he had been begging for. If this truly was a portent of doom… Well then it spelled terrible things for the rest of the universe. There were three others of similar power who had already emerged. Ninjin Hattori had gone to Heaven, he was not a concern. The others? Who knew what truly lay in their hearts?
Ninjin’s knee slammed hard into Ua’s stomach, causing the fifteen foot elephant man to double over, all four arms grabbing at his stomach. Golden Ichor slowly trickled down out of the corner of his mouth. Ninjin’s elbow came down and barely seemed to connect with the demon’s back, but Ua quickly found himself in a crater staring up at the golden-glowing crimson Saiyan. Ninjin brought his hands to his side, and a ball of ki began to grown. Blood trickled out from his wound and into the ball as it grew. Then it began to glow with golden solar energy. Ninjin turned his head towards Ua.
The demon nodded in the crater. This fight was over. The victor was the Super-Saiyan.
“HERE IS YOUR WINNER! NINJIN HATTORI!”
Ninjin released the ball of energy and let all of it dissipate harmlessly. His blood that had been collecting in the ball fell and splattered noisily against the ground of the arena. Ninjin felt the rage that came along with the Super Saiyan form abate as the form faded away from him. Ua shrank back down to his ten foot height in the crater and began to slowly lift himself from it.
“Is most impressive. Am glad you are in Heaven. Need power like that for side of good.”
Ninjin reached out his hand and offered it to Ua, who gladly took it with one of his large hands and hoisted himself up with the help of the Saiyan. Two hands slapped the Saiyan roughly in the back. Suddenly the scene faded away from in front of him…
…And he and Ua were back standing in front of the check in registration. The man in the fur vest stared at Ninjin in a much different way than when Ninjin had first approached the check in desk. The crystal man too, seemed to be staring at Ninjin in a different way. Ninjin nodded at both men. They nodded back hurriedly with a new level of respect. Ua smiled as he looked down at the Saiyan.
“Much more powerful than Ua originally thought. Come Ninjin, we talk.”
Ua led Ninjin away from the check in table and towards a very loud tent. Those that Ninjin passed seemed to look at him a different way than when he had first wandered into the camp that housed the tournament. They took a table in the back of the tent that they entered. It was clearly set up to provide entertainment to the warriors that weren’t currently taking part of the tournament. Screens hung above each table. They seemed to simply float in the air, not housed or projected by any machine.
“Ua not say lightly. Super Saiyan is impressive. Portent of doom? Perhaps. Still it bodes well that you are in Heaven. Ua impressed by skill of fighting. Long time since Ua had challenge like that.”
Suddenly Ninjin felt a big hand slap him on the shoulder and he turned to see Vil standing behind him smiling a wide and very proud grin. Ninjin smiled a beaming smile back at the man in thanks.
“What did I tell you Ua, is our boy impressive or what?”
Vil’s words took Ninjin by surprise momentarily. Vil and Ua knew each other? How in the world was that possible? Then again this was Heaven he was in, he supposed that anything was possible.
“You know each other? I shouldn’t be surprised though, you’re both ungodly tall.”
This drew a laugh guttural laugh from both massive men. Ua laughed so hard that he trumpeted out of his trunk. This caused the others in the bar to begin laughing with them and soon everyone was in jolly hysterics. Ninjin wondered if the atmosphere and mood was because they were in Heaven, or because everyone was at that moment genuinely happy.
“Ua and I met some time ago in a bout in the tournament. He put me down pretty quickly, but he was very nice about It. We’ve been training together ever since. Fights like a demon, which is damned understandable considering he is one.
Ua held up a hand as Vil joined them at the table. Ninjin still could not believe that he once again got to be in the company of his long-dead body-guard. It truly was Heaven. Ua explained the reason for the raised hand.
“Am not “Demon”. Am Makaio. Ua made choice not be demon. Was not particularly hard choice.”
He and Vil both laughed deeply at the joke, but it seemed to go over Ninjin’s head. Vil barked loudly for more beer and then suddenly it was on the table in front of them. Heaven certainly was something. Then he felt two more hands fall on his shoulders. For a moment the young Saiyan was greatly confused. Who else could he know in Heaven? When he turned around his face lit up.
It was Shiitake and Kabocha. They both grinned down at him mischievously, but their faces softened when they saw the genuine pleasure in their friend’s eyes at seeing them. Ninjin stood and quickly embraced his friends. A tear slipped from his eye despite himself. His friends had died during the explosions in the space port during the attack on New Vegeta. Ninjin had never gotten a chance to say goodbye. It had eaten at him during his trip to Mement Mor, and had been one of the things fueling his anger. Now here they stood. They had been innocent souls during their lives, and so had been awarded the gift of Heaven. Sure they had been lackeys of Ninjin whilst he was being a bit of a hot-head and an arrogant prick, but that didn’t make them by any stretch of the imagination evil. The truth was they just had wanted to be close to their friend.
The two joined the others at the table and the five talked late into what Ninjin imagined was the night. There didn’t seem to be any sense of time in Heaven. Wherever Ninjin looked there weren’t any clocks and when he wished for one to appear, it would, but each time would give him a different time reading. Eventually he began to ignore it and just let himself relax.
It had been a very very long time since the crimson Saiyan had been able to relax. There were so many pressures of being the crown-prince, of being the high-general to the Saiyan army, of being well… him. It had always felt as if the weight of worlds rested on his shoulders, because they metaphorically did. He had been prince and then king of New Vegeta and had also been King of the Iblisian people. It had been a lot of pressure. Add to that the constant and random attacks by the Universal Church of One and it was a wonder that Ninjin’s hair wasn’t grey instead of the jet black it was.
The beer flowed endlessly as did the easy conversation. Ninjin felt a hardy buzz from whatever it was that was in his cup, but never seemed to reach any level of discomfort. It was Heaven after all. Vil and he were exchanging stories of the old times, like the first time Ninjin had ever been to Earth, or the time that Vil had taught Ninjin had to control his Oozaru form, or the many times at the academy. A shadow came over Ninjin’s face when Vil mentioned the academy. The massive Saiyan put a comforting hand on Ninjin’s shoulder.
“You can’t let it hang on you as if it were your fault. I swore an oath, and I would have given my life for yours a thousand times over Nin. You weren’t just the crown-prince to me. You were like a son.”
Ninjin had always felt the same way, but it surprised him to hear him say the words. Vil had always hid his true feelings, but he could tell that this was the way that the massive man truly felt. Ninjin nodded in response. It was all he could do in his emotional state. Ua noticed the moment and blew his trunk loudly at them.
“IS time for party! Is not time for sap!”
They got up and rejoined the revelry. Heaven certainly did seem like a place Ninjin could grow to love. Despite the atmosphere at the bar Ninjin couldn’t help but wonder what else the Eternal Tournament had to offer. Fighting Ua had been one of the most intense fights of the Saiyan’s young life, and Ua was just one of countless other fighters who were taking place in the Eternal Tournament. If the other fighters were as interesting and varied as Ua then Ninjin would be perfectly happy forever. A Heaven of fighting and brawling and learning new and exotic forms of martial arts was more than Ninjin could ever have hoped for.
Heaven seemed to read his thoughts.
“THE NEXT ROUND OF THE ETERNAL TOURNAMENT IS STARTING. NINJIN HATTORI vs. ALEXANDRA.”
Ua and Vil both looked up from their beers. Vil mouthed the words “oh” and “shit”. Ua too looked surprised. Before Ninjin could ask either what they meant he was whisked away.
Once again the arena materialized in front of him. This time however, the crowd and his opponent were already there waiting for him. The alien that stood across from him was much different than Ua. It was hard to make out the gender of the being under the midnight black with golden-trim armor it was wearing. Large black wings unfurled from behind its back. A pole-ax with a fiery-glowing gem between the two heads was clutched in the alien’s hands like a practiced veteran. Spikes came out from the pauldrons of the armor. A red trim ran the length of the waist and came down to about the knees. The whole ensemble was topped with a fierce looking black helmet. The angelic nature gave Ninjin uneasy feelings. This was Heaven after all. But that wasn’t it.
The last time he had faced someone in martial combat who looked like an angel was the day he died. Still he supposed that this was Heaven after all. There was no way that this angel could kill him again. The worst that could happen would be that he would lose this round of the Eternal Tournament.
“I watched your dance with Ua, as I cannot call that contest a fight. Ua was clearly the superior warrior. He had many opportunities to put you down when he toyed with you. I will not make the same error.”
The angel’s voice came out of the suit distorted and magnified, and sounded artificially created and Ninjin could only assume the voice was coming through a translator or something of the like. Still he got the message. This creature wasn’t messing around like Ua was. They cared not about the nature of Super Saiyan. This was a fight, and one that they meant to win. Not if Ninjin had anything to say about it. A gong rang from somewhere that Ninjin couldn’t see.
The angel wasted no time and sprang into action. Three balls of fire flew from its staff as it itself flew forwards. The balls didn’t seem to be following any logical pattern of motion, but zig-zagged through the air back and forth every which way as if they had minds of their own. Ninjin jumped over the first only to find the second fireball on a direct course for his head. The former prince ducked quickly, only to find the pole-ax swinging for his head.
Ninjin put his forearms up to cover his face as he tried to slide underneath the strike. The head of the axe caught the metal of Ninjin’s armor and created sparks as his forward momentum clashed with that of his or her swing. The force exploded outwards and repelled them both. Ninjin flipped through the air and finally caught himself in a three point stance, though he continued to slide a little further. Alexandra caught itself with a flap of its wings and growled an amplified and mechanical growl at Ninjin. Then it began to swoop at him, moving quickly from side to side and swinging its axe wildly.
Ninjin hated weapons. If one was going to fight in martial combat, the best way to do so was with one’s own body, or ki and magic as an extension of that body. There were many swordsman who Ninjin knew that would argue that a sword became like a part of one’s body when one was proficient enough, but there was nothing about a sword that was natural. No being was born with a sword, but all were born with ways to fight physically. The axe that Alexandra was swinging was no different. Ninjin hated weapons.
The poleaxe came round once more, causing Ninjin to jump back in defense at the last second. Just because it had wings didn’t meant that Alexandra was the only one that could fly. If it wasn’t going to fool around, than neither was he. Ninjin activated his True Power and shot up to as high as it would bring him. Alexandra turned to look at him, though Ninjin could see nothing of his or her face. Just as Ninjin brought his fist forward to make contact with the chest of the creature, it brought the pole of its pole-ax up to block. Ninjin’s eyebrow raised.
One of the aspects of the Eternal Tournament was that it blocked one from reading the powers of those competing. Just how strong was this angel? If the words that Vil had mouthed at the table in the bar meant anything… Ua too seemed surprised and though Ninjin had won the bout, the angel was right. The demon had been toying with him for a large part of the fight. If this angel was of similar or stronger strength and truly wasn’t playing around… for the first time in the fight Ninjin began to doubt himself. He had lost before, it wasn’t as if he was the strongest being in the galaxy. It was the reason that he was in Heaven to begin with. Still he supposed that that arrogant side of him would never truly die. Pride was a hard thing to swallow completely.
Ninjin launched blow after blow, flurry after flurry at the angelic creature, who seemed to be able to block them all. It spun the pole-ax in an amazing fashion, each swing blocking and snapping away Ninjin’s fists. Finally the blade came to rest on the side of Ninjin’s neck. The crowd gasped. The voice spoke.
“It is over. I have won.”
“Have you?”
As he said it he indicated with his eyes for the angel to look down. A blood-spear tip had pierced the front of its armor. Ninjin gave it a slight prod to show that the breach had been complete. A tiny metallic gasp came through the front of the armor. This thing was not like Aon. Whatever it was inside of it was made up of vulnerable flesh and bone. Whilst the pole had been whacking away at Ninjin’s gauntlet covered hands the Saiyan had deactivated them, and it had only taken a few good whacks to potentially draw blood from his knuckles. He had gathered the blood and formed a spear just as the axe had been coming for his neck. The crowd gasped and applauded wildly when they realized what had occurred.
The fight had seemingly been over, but Ninjin Hattori had managed to outsmart Alexandra, and neither it nor the crowd had been expecting it. The pole-ax slowly came away from the side of Ninjin’s neck, and so he turned the blood spear back to blood and it fell to the earth where it splattered against the tile. As soon as Ninjin had released the spear the pole-ax had come up again. It sailed harmlessly through Ninjin’s after image, and when the Angel turned around it ate a faceful of ki-infused fist.
The black-armored angel’s body spun through the air in a tight spiral before slamming into the ground roughly and skipping against it. When it stood up Ninjin had already made his way over. The former prince crouched low and gathered energy into his right arm. It started glowing with golden solar light. The angel brought up the staff in front of it, where the gem began to glow with fiery energy. Ninjin launched his solar lash forward. A tendril of red energy shot out and seemed to ensnare Ninjin’s own attack and suck it back into the gem. The angel itself seemed to glow red for a moment. Then suddenly the solar lash shot back out, a deep crimson red. It stuck Ninjin in the shoulder and he cried out in pain involuntarily. Was that what that felt like?!
“I had considered that you may be a competent warrior when you bested me with the blood spear, but now I can see that was a fluke. To launch an attack of solar energy at an angel of fire.”
The creature shook its head as if admonishing the former Saiyan prince. Three more orbs of fire flew from its staff at Ninjin. His shoulder wound was momentarily forgotten as he dove out of the way of one orb and rolled to his feet in one action. Another orb smacked him hard in the back and caused him to topple over to his face. It exploded violently as it did so and his cape quickly caught on fire. Ninjin rolled against the ground to smother it. An axe head bit deeply into the ground where he had been milliseconds earlier, and Ninjin had too keep rolling to avoid the many follow up strikes.
The crimson warrior kip-upped but used his bukujutsu to continue up into the air. An axe strike just barely caught the bottom of his boot and caused sparks to rain down on top of the angelic warrior. It growled and took flight after Ninjin. Ninjin turned and gathered energy into his fist. The angelic warrior tried to pull back, but had been over zealous in its pursuit of the Saiyan. Ninjin delivered a sickening right hand and the creature spiraled to the ground and smashed against it with great force. The crowd gasped and there was a brief moment of silence followed by one of great cheering. Ninjin smiled as he breathed heavily and stared down at the crater.
It hadn’t been as difficult as fighting Ua. Even though he had toyed with Ninjin and it had ended up in a loss of him didn’t mean that the demon didn’t put a beating on him. Alexandra had tried, but her pride had gotten in the way. She had assumed herself better from the beginning and that arrogance had cost her. Still Alexandra was clearly a gifted warrior whatever it was.
“HERE IS YO—”
The announcer began to speak, but his sentence was cut off half way. Alexandra had begun to stir from within the crater. The blow had knocked the alien creature’s helmet clear off and when it stood it was not at all what Ninjin had been expecting.
It was a woman. A human woman. The wings must have been a mutation, the fire control a technique.
She was gorgeous.
Hair that was the same color as his was cut short, about to the shoulder and was swept over one eye. The one that Ninjin could see was a piercing blue. Her nose was straight and pointed, as were most of her features, though her lips were full and soft, though pursed angrily. Her chin was rounded slightly, an offset to the rest of her pointed face. The fact that she was gorgeous was momentarily stunning to the former Saiyan prince.
“I will repay you in kind for that Ninjin Hattori.”
“Okay.”
The stricken Saiyan said the word dumbly and Alexandra scowled at him angrily. Ninjin still could but stare. It had been a long time since he was stricken by a woman’s beauty. The last time was Lilliana and that had turned out… mediocre. The last time he felt something for a woman was Celeh, but that had perhaps just been pre-suicide mission nerves. Still when he thought of her a tinge of guilt panged at his heart. She was still on Mement Mor, fighting no doubt.
One of the things that had saddened Ninjin Hattori upon reflection of the short life that he had lived was that he had had no great love of his life. He had loved many, but there were none that stood out as being “The one.” He didn’t think it was Alexandra, but she was certainly breath-taking.
“STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT.”
The angel finally screamed the words and Ninjin had to remind himself where he was. This was Heaven yes, but the Eternal Tournament was not some place where you could sit around and fantasize. There was fighting to be done. Ninjin cleared his head and nodded.
“I apologize. Your beauty stunned me momentarily.”
The angel’s cheeks grew a bright red and the fire that seemed to be coming off of her body and wings lightened in hue ever so slightly. She took in a breath quickly and flinched back slightly, as if she were taken aback.
“ehe… My… what…?”
“I had not been expecting… you… when the helmet came off. I was stunned briefly and I apologize. We may continue if you still have it in you.”
The angelic being blushed further but nodded, falling once more into a fighting stance with that vicious pole-ax of hers. Ninjin too fell into a fighting stance, but found that he could not keep his eyes off of Alexandra’s face. She caught him looking once again.
“You are giving me that look again Ninjin Hattori. Are you prepared to fight or not!?”
She said the first bit softly, but then snapped the last bit at him. Ninjin nodded and swallowed hard. He could do this. He had been able to do this when her helmet was on and her identity lost under the mask. This was no different. Except it was completely different. She rushed at Ninjin once more and almost took off his head with her first swing. The former prince just narrowly ducked under it to avoid it and she sliced a bit of his hair off. It fell to the arena floor in a clump and she stared at it. His hand came up and he realized she had cut him. The blood had trickled down his face, so distracted was he by her beauty that he had forgot to control it not to spill.
“Heh. Still not paying attention.”
Once more she came at him, swinging away. Each stroke of the blade came closer and closer to the Saiyan’s throat as he back-peddled. Still… She was so beautiful. Even when her face was set in focused anger and she was trying to kill him. Ninjin tripped and had to quickly roll out of the way as she slammed the axe down hard. The ground cratered slightly where the former prince had been laying only moments before. Alexandra roared in defiance and stumbled backwards as tiny blood-spears flecked her bare arm. She slammed her axe down but Ninjin rolled to the side, grabbed onto it, pulled himself up using it, mule kicked her away and disarmed her. It happened in the span of a few seconds. Alexandra skipped across the ground and came to a rest, looking up at Ninjin with eyes wide in astonished disbelieve.
The crowd went absolutely nuts. Later Vil and Ua would tell him it was because Alexandra had been competing in the Eternal Tournament for a long time, and no one had ever seen her humiliated and embarrassed like that. No one had ever seen what came next either.
Alexandra rolled over to her hands and feet and seemed to simply stare at the arena floor for a long moment. The fire that had been raging all around her seemed to condense, like a campfire smoldering into embers. Then she smashed her fists violently into the ground, leaving two massive craters. The fire that seemed to be coming from within the angel grew larger and hotter until it burned white-hot all around her. She turned at him and her beautiful blue eyes had been replaced by white-hot flames, her iris’ were still blue, but rather blue-fire. She herself had become a being of pure-flame. Flame-covered angel-wings stretched out behind her back.
Ninjin flipped the poleax around in smooth arcs around his body. Vil had trained him in many different forms of weaponry. He had insisted it. He had demanded it. Ninjin had hated every second of it. Still the big man had thought that the prince should be prepared for anything. It hadn’t particularly helped him in life, but it seemed to be coming in handy in the after-life. Ninjin brought the thing down across his knee and snapped it. The angel’s eyes grew wide, even in her fiery form.
“M-m-my staff. YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT!”
They were not words Ninjin envisioned one normally heard in Heaven, but then again he was still getting used to the whole thing and it was a learning process. Alexandra’s hand shot out and from each of her fingertips a ball of fire flew. They expanded and they flew towards him and then exploded with tremendous force, throwing gobs of fire all around the arena. It stuck to the floor and began smoking, giving off black inky smoke. It began to sting Ninjin’s eyes and his nose and throat.
A fiery leg collided hard with his mid-section and he went tumbling backwards through the fire. It clung to him until he patted it out. When he stood he was immediately rocked by a vicious right hook to the jaw. The crimson warrior spun and landed knocked-down face down in the fire. The smell of his own burning flesh woke him up, screaming. His golden aura was crackling all around him, bolts of red lighting shooting off of it. The pain and agony from burning his face had triggered a transformation into Super Saiyan. Ninjin wished he could say it had been easier than when he had ascended against Ua, but this time had not even been a voluntary thing.
His aura swept the inky black smoke away. Alexandra stood in all of her fiery glory in front of him, and for a moment the two simply stood there and stared at each other. She was still very beautiful, the details of her face were not lost by the fiery form, if anything they heightened them. He too was a beautiful and terrible sight to behold. A Saiyan in its prime. The crowd had already seen it once, but those gathered still count not help but marvel in awe.
“Impressive.”
It was no doubt a very high complement from the Fire Angel. Once more she began to walk forwards. She raised her arm and two fiery wolves rose from the sticky-fire-pits that she had placed next to her. The rushed forwards at Ninjin with flaming jaws snapping and snarling. The Super Saiyan brought his hands cupped to his sides and then raised them, releasing the briefly charged ki and obliterating the charging wolves. Alexandra’s fiery form prevented Ninjin from being able to read any of the emotion that normally played on another’s face. She rushed at him quickly. The heat that she gave off was intense. Still, he was a Super Saiyan.
They exchanged a flurry of blows, but each time Ninjin felt one connect he felt the skin burn off of the tips of his knuckles. It was a good thing wounds healed quickly in Heaven. Still it was an unpleasant experience. His blows were bound to be hurting though, as each time he connected he heard the female give a gasp of pain. Suddenly he brought his knuckles to his mouth and bit off the burned flesh. Alexandra’s eyes widened in surprise as Ninjin spat the burnt flesh out of his mouth and out the ground. Blood began to pour from the wounds, but the blood quickly solidified into gauntlets around Ninjin’s fists.
“You have no end of surprises.”
She said the words almost as if she was… impressed. Ninjin smiled and she decked him hard across the face. Had the almost-complement merely been a distraction technique? Ninjin couldn’t be certain, but the blow to the side of his head had hurt quite a bit. His ears rang. For the umpteenth time the former prince got to his feet. A super Saiyan would not be bested quite so easily. Not by a cheap shot, and not when he had just figured out how to win.
Ninjin rushed Alexandra once more. The woman looked sad for a moment and then raised her arms. Torrents of fire poured out from them and engulfed Ninjin Hattori. They were so overwhelming that they completely covered him head to toe. When she finished there was nothing left where he once stood by a large scorch mark. She turned and Ninjin was standing right there in front of her, his hand raised and pointed at her face. A ball of ki began to form there ever so slowly. His other hand brought up the remnants of her axe and held the blade of one of the heads to her throat. She growled in defiance, but nodded.
“You win Saiyan warrior. You have skill that cannot be denied. I concede defeat.”
Ninjin smiled and dropped the axe. He closed his hand and snuffed out the ball of ki that had been building there for quite some time. The fires began to die down on Alexandra, and she quickly returned to looking like she had at the beginning of the fight. Her beauty still startled Ninjin. She scowled when she saw him starting at her again. Her hands balled into fists.
“I swear it is my existences goal to be better than you Ninjin Hattori. It may not be the next time, it may not be the time after that, but someday when we meet in combat, I WILL WIN!”
She stamped her foot and set her jaw. Their eyes met and for a moment he thought her looked softened.
The scene began to fade away almost instantly, and Ninjin found himself back at the bar. Vil, Ua, Kabocha and Shiitake all stood up and roared tremendous applause at the young Saiyan. The others gathered in the bar too raised their glasses and cheered for him. The smart money had been on Alexandra going into the match, but Ninjin had pulled off an upset victory that had surprised and delighted everyone.
“Even if portent of doom, is damn fun to watch! And side of good has mighty Ninjin Hattori”
Ua said the words and clapped the Saiyan on the back in a congratulatory manner. Ninjin smiled and thanked his new friend. Alexandra was still very much on his mind though. Vil wandered over and leaned against the bar.
“That, was a hell of a fight. Winged women made out of fire. Now I’ve seen it all.”
“She was so beautiful Vil.”
Ninjin groaned as he put his head in his hands as he leaned his elbows on the counter of the bar. Vil clapped him on the back.
“They always are. Endou. Lilith. Lilliana. Celeh… Need I go on?”
Ninjin shook his head in his hands. He had a habit of giving his heart out to women whom he couldn’t be with. It usually ended poorly. In the case of Endou it had ended with a son.
“Isn’t it a little soon to be having feelings for another woman? Celeh is still alive.” His bodyguard admonished. Ninjin shook his head and sighed.
“I’m not sure what was there between Celeh and I. She is beautiful to be sure, but I would certainly need to spend more time with her to see what my true feelings are. But then… I’m dead aren’t I…”
There was a long moment of silence between the two men.
“I’m a father.”
Ninjin said the words. It was odd, he hadn’t said the words out loud in a very long time. They conjured images of what Azuki must look like. He was out there somewhere in reality, hopefully alive and well.
“I know.”
Ninjin spat out the cold beer that had just entered his mouth and coated the bartender. Vil sighed and turned to face Ninjin, who found he could barely look at his former bodyguard.
“Endou came to me about the problem first. She needed to know what to do.”
“AND YOU NEVE—”
Ninjin began to yell at the man.
“Keep your voice down there’s no need.” Vil tried to placate his former ward.
“r told me…” Ninjin finished in a vicious whisper. He glared at his friend.
“I’m not going to start apologizing for actions I made years ago. Nor am I going to beg for your forgiveness. I did exactly what I thought was right at the time. She came to me for help. You were kids who had gotten yourselves into a mess. Don’t look at me like that, you were the damn crown-prince. Having a bastard son run around isn’t a surprise, but it complicates things. You weren’t ready for the news because with your damn hero complex you would have run off and tried to father the damn thing!”
Ninjin stared at Vil with his mouth agape. He opened and closed it a few times as he searched for the words to say.
“You can start by saying thank you.” The massive Saiyan said as he finished his beer. Ninjin was right, and sometimes Ninjin hated when Vil was right.
“Thank you. I’m sure Azuki is better off now than he would have been had he been left in my care.”
Vil nodded his confirmation of the thanks and smiled. Ua wandered over, and familiar female in tow. Alexandra.
“Look, is friend!” It was clear that Ua was intoxicated. Alexandra nodded to everyone in the group and her eyes finally fell on Ninjin. Their eyes met and he found he had to look away.
“Is no need for hard feelinks! All here at table lose fight to Ninjin Hattori.” Those gathered aside from Ninjin and Alexandra laughed. The former prince found himself in a situation that he wasn’t used to, one where he was at a loss for words.
“Greetings Alexandra. A pleasure to see you again so soon.” He said the words with a smile, but realized how stupid they sounded coming out of his mouth. They had just been beating the hell out of each other… He wished beyond anything that he could have another bout in the Eternal Tournament. His wish was answered almost immediately.
“THE NEXT ROUND OF THE ETERNAL TOURNAMENT IS ABOUT TO BEGIN. NINJIN HATTORI VS. NIKA!!!!”
“Boy oh boy do you must really want to get out of this situation.” Vil whispered as he leaned over Ninjin’s shoulder.
“What do you mean? Why?”
“Once you sign up for the Eternal Tournament they give you a bout whenever you want. All you have to do is want one. You clearly wanted one. Nika’s no laughing matter either. Good luck champ.” Vil patted him on the shoulder and smiled. Ninjin looked up at Alexandra, who looked away quickly as he faded back to the arena.
Just like last time by the time Ninjin materialized in the arena his opponent was already there. She was perhaps the most shocking opponent thus far. Whereas Alexandra and Ua had both very much looked the part of warrior, Nika was small and well… didn’t. She couldn’t have stood much taller than four foot. Long flowing brown hair was capped by a green hat that looked homemade. Attached to the hat looked to be some kind of viewing lens that she could pull down over her eye if need be. The flaps of the hat came down to the tip of her ample cleavage. Her ears were long and drooped down and away from her head. Her eyes were small and gave off the feeling that the woman was very intelligent. She, too was beautiful, but not as strikingly so to the Saiyan as Alexandra had been. A satchel hung around her shoulder and at her hip.
Nika curtseyed a greeting, and Ninjin bowed slightly in return. Then Ninjin summoned his armor and fell into a fighting stance. Nika began to rummage around in her satchel and from within withdrew a sphere. She shook the thing and twisted it and it began to glow and pulse. Ninjin cocked an eyebrow, but Nika seemed satisfied. She turned to face the Saiyan and made a ‘bring-it-on’ gesture. Ninjin shrugged and rushed forwards off of his feet using his bukujutsu to aide him and pulling his right shoulder back to aim a hellacious right hook at the woman’s face.
Nika raised her hand, but not in any sort of way to block the blow. Instead the hand that wasn’t hold the sphere came up, palm facing upwards. A massive stone palm shot out of the ground and collided with Ninjin’s chest and ribs. It knocked the wind out of him and knocked him sky high. As he came down Nika’s free hand came up and made a grabbing motion. Ninjin swore.
A massive arm made out of rock came out of the ground and grabbed the Saiyan. Ninjin activated his True Power and broke free of the stone grasp. Nika yelped in pain and drew her hand back quickly. So she was connected to the creations in a physical way as well as whatever other link she had with it. She looked up at the Saiyan with a look of surprise and fear on her face. Hand after hand after hand came up, and the ground of the arena followed suit. Ninjin weaved in and out of the hands effortlessly in his True Power.
Another hand reached up and grabbed the Saiyan tight around the waist, but once again he destroyed it. Nika cried out in pain. Another fist smashed into him and a second grabbed him and flung him to the ground. In her tantrum he stomped and crushed away at him, but it hardly hurt to the Saiyan. It had surprised him, nothing more. With a roar he burst up into the air and floated there, just out of reach of the arms.
Nika brought the lens down over her eye and stared up at Ninjin all the longer, gasping to herself at first and then muttering. What was she seeing? What did that device allow her to see? The former prince wondered if somehow the device could somehow surpass the block that the Eternal Tournament had on detecting power levels. If that was the case she knew exactly how strong he was. Though it wasn’t an obvious advantage, she was a fighter of intellect rather than strength. Ninjin cocked an eyebrow as the woman went to work on the sphere again. At long last she turned to face him. The ground began to rumble.
A figure rose out of the ground. It was four times the size of the girl and made entirely out of jagged rock. Ninjin swore again. What was with Heaven and giant creatures? First Ua and then now this. Its eyes burned with fire and its mouth was only a shallow slit in its face. Magma poked through cracks in its body and it steamed in the air. Ninjin wasn’t quite sure how the thing was existing in Heaven, but supposed it had to do with the Eternal Tournament. Then again he never knew what the deal was with things up here in Heaven.
Ninjin rushed the thing once more and launched a flurry of blows at it. Nika reacted as best she could, but it was clear that she was no trained fighter. It mattered not, for the beast she controlled had a strength behind it that made skill unnecessary. It was stronger than his True Power. She pushed forwards, and the golem did the same, barreling through Ninjin Hattori and knocking him to the ground. She stomped, and the golem did the same, stomping on Ninjin and kicking the wind from his body. When she jumped up and down, the golem did the same, jumping up and down on the body of Ninjin Hattori.
Ninjin stared up from the bottom of the crater and thought about how odd life was. It seemed that he was getting a lot of opportunities at reflective moments at the bottom of craters made by his own body. The former prince grabbed the sides of the hole and hoisted himself up. If this golem wanted to play hard-ball then he could play hard ball. Ninjin gathered his energy to his side and blasted the golem with his Shirishiri cannon. It blew a massive chunk out of the golem’s side and it staggered a bit before falling to the ground.
Nika let out a horrific scream and clutched her side before stumbling forwards. Ninjin rushed forwards to help her, but she held out a hand. A massive hand came forwards from the ground of the arena like a shark through water. It smashed into Ninjin Hattori as a fist. More and more fists rose out of the ground and shot through the air, each the size of a bus or more. As soon as they hit Ninjin they would turn back into clouds of sand and concrete, the force of smacking against his body too much for them to bare. Still it hurt every damn time. What’s worse is It scratched at his throat and stung his eyes. Then he realized with a start what she was doing.
She intended to bury him.
Fist after fist collided on top of him, even after they stopped begin able to hit him directly. She intended to encase him in sand and concrete, then find some way to entomb him within. Ninjin began to blast his way out. Every time he would blast a hole however, a fist would slam through it and into him, and then the hole would be filled once more.
Ninjin cried out in frustration. Hand reached out from the sand and concrete mixture to grab at him. One grabbed his arm, another his wrist, another shot out to grab him around the neck and throat. They meant to keep him here, to bury him in this grave she was making for him in order to secure her victory. The sand and concrete mixture began to fill up, until arms no longer grabbed at his legs. Instead a slowly rising layer of sand had already buried them and was working its way up towards his neck.
Ninjin squirmed against the hold but there was powerful magic woven throughout the sand. The arms held him tight until they disappeared completely underneath the rising level of sand and concrete. Ninjin cursed and looked around for a way to escape, but could not find one. Thankfully he was in Heaven already, as the situation he was in would otherwise be terrifying. Ninjin had been buried alive before, it was not something that he wished to repeat. It was exactly what Nika was intending.
There was no way that he was going to let that happen. The sand slipped over the former prince’s mouth and though he shut it tight it threatened to spill in. With a roar Ninjin burst into his Super Saiyan form. It had come easier than the previous times. It was a very welcome side effect of the Eternal Tournament. All this training meant that he was getting stronger. No doubt the more he used his Super Saiyan form, the easier and easier it would become to access that form.
The sand and concrete blew away in Ninjin’s aura, and Nika was left to stare at the Saiyan in wonder. The crowd once again gasped and applauded. Nika’s eyes grew wide as she once again brought the lens down over her eye. It shattered. Nika took a step back and took in a quick intake of breath. Ninjin raised his hand and a blast of ki slammed into the ground in front of her. She quickly hopped back and threw her hands up above her head in defense. At least that’s what Ninjin thought at first until he noticed she was holding the orb.
A massive hand knocked into him from below and shot him sky high. It was just the distraction that Nika needed in order to rummage through her bag. Ninjin quickly corrected himself and flew back towards Nika. When he arrived she pointed a thing piece of metal at him. It was covered in buttons, but her thumb hovered over one large one in particular. He got to close apparently, because she clicked it. Nothing seemed to happen for a long moment. Then Ninjin turned around.
Standing behind him was a thirty foot tall Mechanized suit holding a very large war-hammer. Ninjin swore. He turned back to face Nika, but she was already fading away to blue particles. Ninjin had a feeling he knew where she was going. Sure enough seconds later her face was projected from the mech. She held the lid of her eye down and stuck out her tongue. The face vanished just as quickly as it had come. Ninjin was taken aback briefly, but was shaken from his thoughts by the swing of the massive hammer.
Ninjin ducked under it and surged forwards. This mech was surely no match for the might of a Super Saiyan. The earth powers had been surprising, and Ninjin hadn’t been sure how to handle them. That had been the only advantage the small elf had had over him. The element of surprise. That was gone. The mech suit seemed intimidating, but surly it couldn’t stand against the might of a Super Saiyan. This was pure physical combat now, and that? That he was good at.
The hammer came around in a wide arc and Ninjin brought up his forearms to block. The hammer collided with him and sent him careening wildly across the arena floor. One of his arms for sure had been shattered, the other one had only most likely been shattered. Ninjin knelt on the ground and stared down at his arms. Damn it that had hurt! He was a Super Saiyan. He grit his teeth as he shoved his arms against the ground to reset the bones. Things healed quickly in Heaven, but it sure did sting like a bitch. The hammer came round once again and Ninjin had to roll backwards quickly to get out of the way. When he came up he had full working control of his arms again, but the pain hadn’t gone away. That hammer meant business, and so did the mech.
Ninjin charged up to his full power. The mech was not the only one with tricks. Ninjin raised a clawed hand in the air at the mech and six large balls of ki formed above it. Ninjin dragged his clawed hand through the air and the balls began to fall towards the ground. They collided with the mech and exploded with tremendous force. Ninjin breathed a sigh of relief. When the smoke cleared however, the mech was still standing. Its war-hammer was melted. Ninjin smiled. Row after row of missile launchers opened up on the mech’s armor. Ninjin’s smile faded.
Missile after missile crashed into the ground around the Saiyan as he flew and bobbed and weaved in and out of the explosions. He didn’t know what kind of damage the missiles were going to do to him, but he hadn’t expected the war-hammer to do as much damage as it had either. He was not willing to risk making that mistake twice. If the war-hammer could break his arms, then the missiles could certainly do damage as well.
Ninjin charged. There was nothing left to do. He brought his hand back and began to channel his ki, he let the blood from his cuts on his arms form gauntlets and solar energy began to collect there within. He reared his fist back and thought of his father, though no image of Tsyuo appeared. He had not been allowed in Heaven so the aura would not appear. Still the collected force behind the punch that Ninjin through had behind it all of the Super Saiyans power. The blow struck the mech. A long second past. Then cracks began to appear on the shell of the outside of the mech. It blew up suddenly with tremendous force. Nika fell out of the suit and onto her bottom on the ground. She began to pout. Ninjin descended from Super Saiyan to his regular form.
“You win!” She whined up at him.
Once again the scene began to fade before Ninjin’s eyes. Quickly Ninjin thought about how much he wanted to continue to fight. The situation at the bar was still awkward. Fighting though? Fighting he could do for an eternity. This was Heaven for him, and the only way he was going to continue to improve his skills was to continue to fight. He had felt refreshed almost immediately after each fight, so could continue on almost immediately as well. Vil had said if you wanted it enough that it would come true. Sure enough, he opened his eyes and the darkness remained.
“THE NEXT ROUND OF THE ETERNAL TOURNAMENT IS ABOUT TO BEGIN. NINJIN HATTORI VS. VOLG.”
When he opened his eyes once more Ninjin was back at the growingly familiar arena. He hadn’t even bothered to take He had arrived before his opponent it seemed, but the warrior known as Volg slowly materialized in front of his eyes. Ninjin gave a silent thanks to the gods that this one was a manageable height. Volg stood six and a half feet tall, frame wide with muscle. Short white fur covered what appeared to be his entire body. Though Volg’s body was that of a furry humanoid, his head was that of a silver wolf. An axe enlaced with blue glowing runes was gripped in one hand and a shield in the other.
Weapons. Everyone loved weapons. Still Volg’s claws looked sharp enough that he could do some damage without the need of that axe. Glowing ruins entwined the short length of Volg’s handaxe and seemed to pulse with the wolf’s every breath. It seemed to be giving off cold steam, which Ninjin thought odd considering the overall pleasantness of the weather. Volg ran it through the air a few times and then howled.
A gong rang.
Volg came at Ninjin quickly, his weapon much quicker than any other he had faced thus far, save perhaps Ua’s wicked curved blades. Every stroke of the axe was matched in tandem by one of the shield, and Ninjin realized with a start that there was a bladed ring around the outer edge of the shield. Whereas Nika had been a removal from the trend of experienced warrior, Volg was very much a step back on that path. The anthropomorph clearly knew what he was doing. Ninjin leapt and dodged, parried and blocked, but found that he was on the defensive almost immediately. Volg growled and snapped with his jaws as well, nearly costing Ninjin a few times with the rabid distraction.
Wordlessly he activated his True Power. His aura kicked up and flared all around him. If there was something he had learned in the other matches it was that holding back in the Eternal Tournament cost you. Not being able to read the power levels of other fighters was something that was foreign to Ninjin as well, though he supposed it made one think more strategically. You had to focus if you wanted to win rounds in the Eternal Tournament. Volg was here to win, so too should Ninjin Hattori be. The wolf-man’s axe scraped across the front of Ninjin’s armor and spread frost where it touched. Ninjin leapt back and stared down in surprise. The glowing runes on Volg’s axe apparently were not just for show. They were some sort of ice enchantment.
Ninjin brought his fist back and punched it forwards at the wolf-man. A solar-lash jumped from Ninjin’s surging fist towards the anthropomorph, who just barely rolled out of the way in time. Volg growled a warning, deep and low and primal. Ninjin advanced again, throwing another lash at Volg, who stumbled backwards on all fours. Ninjin took a step forwards…
…And something tight closed around his leg. A searing pain shot throughout his leg up through his entire body. When he looked down he saw the cause. What he thought was Volg stumbling backwards had been the wolf man placing down a bear-trap like device. When Ninjin had taken a step forwards he had stepped right into the wolf man’s trap. Razor sharp ice bit deep into his leg and held him there.
Volg’s shield collided roughly with the side of Ninjin’s head and shattered into splinters. The bladed edge bent as it collided with his face and bit deep, creating a gash over the bridge of his nose. Ninjin went down hard, his foot and leg still very much caught inside the icy bear-trap. Everything spun and hurt like hell. The shield hadn’t knocked him out, but had damn sure come close. Volg leapt in the air and came down hard on Ninjin’s chest. The wolf-man wasn’t playing around. Clearly. Volg lifted his axe up high over his head with both hands and howled in victory. But his celebration was premature.
The scream felt better this time, as a release of frustration rather than something needed to deal with a painful situation. Truthfully he was in a bad situation, but ascending to Super Saiyan made everything seem less dire. Ninjin’s aura surged all around him as he once again ascended to Super Saiyan. There was something intoxicating about the power he wielded when he was in his Super Saiyan form, but the more and more he used it the easier it got, but the less potent that feeling was. Still it felt damn good.
Volg stared down at the Super Saiyan wide eyed in wonder. He tried to bring his axe down into the head of Ninjin, but the axe merely reverberated off of Ninjin’s skull. It didn’t even freeze the flesh. Ninjin sat up and Volg’s foot was forced from his chest. He sat up, and despite the wolf-man swinging away, every blow that hit felt like nothing at all. It was damn good to be a Super Saiyan.
Finally Ninjin turned and caught the axe from Volg’s hand. The wolf-man’s jaw dropped and he relinquished control of the axe. The fight had not left him though. Volg’s hands came up and swiped at Ninjin. Razor sharp claws raked at the front of Ninjin’s heavy armor. It was then for the first time in the fight that Ninjin had noticed that the same markings that were etched in Volg’s axe were also tattooed into the wolf-man’s skin. The front of Ninjin’s armor covered further with frost.
Ninjin kicked out and caught the wolf in the stomach, causing him to yelp like a wounded dog. Super Saiyan was too much for him. Volg, however, true to his warrior’s spirit did not know when to quit. The wolf-man righted himself in the air and landed on all fours. The fur on his body began to grow thicker and instead of returning to his bipedal position he stayed on all fours. His body grew even larger and thicker with muscle. Soon a massive grey wolf thick with muscle stood in front of the former prince.
“Great…”
The wolf open its mouth and a blast of ice shot out, but the crimson Saiyan narrowly avoided the attack by rolling to the side. He launched a solar lash. It smashed into the side of the giant wolf. Volg turned and snarled then ran at Ninjin. A primal instinct of fear shot through the prince, but he held his ground. Just because his ancestors might have ran from a charging giant ice wolf didn’t meant that he was going to. He was Ninjin Hattori damn it!
Volg launched himself through the air. The two collided and the ensuing tussle was too difficult for many in the crowd’s eyes to track. When it was over however, Ninjin hoisted the defeated body of Volg high into the air, the aura of his Super Saiyan form crackling all around him.
“You. Win.” The giant wolf muttered weakly.
And suddenly he was back at the bar. Those gathered cheered once more, though many had left. Ua and Vil were having a quite discussion at one end of the bar and Alexandra was arm wrestling Kabocha and Shiitake at the other end and embarrassing them by beating them without trying. Vil signaled Ninjin over.
“That was damn impressive kid. Wish I could say it was me that thought you how to fight like that, but that’s natural talent you’ve got there. You’re a Saiyan warrior born through and through. No matter what opponent they put you up against you find a way to win.”
“Is damn *hic* impressive.” Ua said slurred and drunkenly. Ninjin had assumed it was impossible to get drunk in Heaven, but then he rationalized that if one truly wanted it badly enough, then it wouldn’t be Heaven if they didn’t get it.
“But… There are ways you can improve. There are things you could have done differently in each and every one of your matches that would have gotten you the victory in a much easier way, especially with the level of power you’re packing. You’re not done with your training Ninjin.”
“And we’re going to help.”
Ninjin turned around to see Alexandra standing there. Volg and Nika were standing behind her. Nika had at some point acquired a new lens for her hat and was once again inspecting Ninjin Hattori through it. Volg was sniffing at things in the bar, but when he heard the word help he turned around and nodded vigorously. Ninjin smiled. Those gathered smiled back.
“Heaven huh? I could get used to a place like this.”
Pl please. Heavy weights in effect.
What had drawn his attention from his meditation had been a ruckus. Or rather, he had been trying to meditate, but found that he instead greatly wished that he could spar against someone. That’s when the ruckus had started. Curiously he had crested the hill only to be surprised by what he found. Set up in the valley was a large… The best word that Ninjin could think of to describe it as was an arena. There must have been thousands of souls gathered around cheering at the spectacle of the two ancient-or-not-so-ancient heroes locked in martial combat. There was obviously no malice in any of the fighters. This was Heaven after all. Ninjin smiled as he looked down upon the combat. Finally! There were some truly strong heroes down there. He wondered what they were competing for, if anything. Maybe it was just for martial pride.
Heroes great and small cheered as he entered the campsite and raised a glass for him. It didn’t seem to matter whether they knew him or not. All of them seemed to be getting ready to compete. There wasn’t a place he could look where a hero wasn’t readying some weaponry. Some of it looked truly advanced, far beyond Ninjin’s knowledge, still others seemed primitive and crude. Those holding the weaponry were as varied as the instruments themselves. Heroes that stood stories high mingled with heroes that flitted about here and there, some no bigger than an Earthen fly. They came in every shape and size. Some were fearsome looking alien warriors. Others looked mostly human, aside from animal features and parts. Others… defied explanation. There was no anger anywhere he looked though, everywhere warriors seemed to be joking and drinking and getting along. Truthfully the Saiyan found their comradery heartening.
A man in a fur vest looked up from his paperwork on the table in front of him as the Saiyan made his way down the winding main road of the camp. What had caused him to look up was the Saiyan’s power. It was damned impressive, and sure to put on a good show for the good people of Heaven if he had any interest in the tournament. If not? Well this was Heaven, the Saiyan wouldn’t be made to do anything he wasn’t comfortable with, but his look and his power screamed warrior. The man’s teeth caught the light from the nonexistent sun and glinted with a handsome shine as he smiled. It was contagious, and when Ninjin caught his eye he found himself smiling as well.
“Greetings brave warrior. Our glorious fair and feast seems to have caught your eye. Welcome to our merriment and revelry. Tell us warrior, have you any interest in the Eternal Tournament?” He said the words tantalizingly and they immediately caught Ninjin’s attention. He approached the table and the blonde man in the fur vest. To the side of him sat a man seemingly composed out of crystals. Eternal Tournament? Tournaments he had done before, he had even competed in the Galactic tournament that Conri Lane had won, but what exactly made this one “eternal”. This was Heaven and no doubt time meant nothing here, but the Saiyan was left confused nonetheless. The man in the fur vest seemed to catch that from the look on Ninjin’s face.
“Don’t worry sir, you won’t be stuck competing in a tournament for the rest of eternity if you sign up, this is Heaven not Hell. Competitors are free to come and go as they like, competing in matches for the entertainment of all and the glory of a victory. Tournament’s probably a bad word for it, but that’s what it has always been called. There are no real prizes other than pride, and if you lose well you’re in the best place for some cheering up! Heroes up here a long while ago began itching for combat. There’s no driving the warrior out of some of these heroes though, regardless of how good their hearts. Though there’s no worry of killing or anything of the like, as well…” He smiled as he added the last bit, gesticulating around him and then laughing. The crystal man next to him seemed to vibrate and give off a pleasant warmth. Ninjin cocked an eyebrow.
“That’s what happens when Rammy laughs or is happy in general. Good humor on this one. Well what do you say mysterious crimson warrior, will you enter the Eternal Tournament? If only for a couple of rounds?”
Ninjin smiled at the man. Finally there was something exciting to do in heaven. Testing himself against ancient warriors of species that had possibly died out eons ago seemed like something that Ninjin could really get behind. His last fight… well it hadn’t really gone so well. And it seemed like every major fight of his life he had been on the receiving end of an ass whopping. Against Aer Nin the only chance he had had had been being able to charge attacks. It was the same with Invictus. Sure it was a viable strategy, but Ninjin hated feeling weak, and when it came to physical blows both cardinals had been able to shut him down and put some serious damage on him whilst they laughed off his blows. Every injury Ninjin had sustained; Tail sliced off. Dozens of bones broken. How much blood had he lost in his entire life? Gallons. He had once even died because of a mutated strain of an earthen disease called Ebola, and had been saved by the use of a very well timed senzu bean. He had been tortured and broken. Battered and bruised. Bloodied in every-way imaginable. It would be nice to spar without the worry of all of that once again. It had been a long time.
He nodded at the man in the fur vest and wrote his name on the line. The man smiled and the crystal vibrated and once again emitted the warmth of an early summer’s day. They ushered Ninjin into the large tent they were sitting in front of. Large could barely describe the massive tented structure. It was bigger than many buildings that Ninjin had been in during his life. It was bigger than the former palace on New Vegeta, and that was saying something. Once inside he was led by what he could only believe to be a fairy into a waiting room of sorts. Other heroes were situated in various locations doing various tasks. Some mulled about in conversation. Others sharpened various weaponry or cleaned high-tech looking guns. Some looked up and nodded at the Crimson Saiyan as he entered. Others did not, but they did not seem to do so with malice, but rather were deeply enthralled with their tasks.
A hand clap Ninjin on the back causing him to jump and spin in surprise, only to find Vil standing there. Dressed in full Saiyan armor.
“The allure drew you as well? The Eternal Tournament is a difficult thing to pass up for a warrior in Heaven. Especailly for us Saiyans. Some say it was a Saiyan eons ago who started the Eternal Tournament, but that may have sprouted due to our well known ancient bloodlust… Still it’s great fun and a good test of your skills. Stay humble though Ninjin, despite the power of some of these guys they’ve been warriors for a whole lot longer than you have. You may overpower your opponent, but if they outthink you they’ll beat you all the same. Power isn’t everything.”
Ninjin smiled and listened to the advice in a manner unusual for the Ninjin that Vil knew in life. The bald Saiyan smiled.
“Listen to me blabber on. You’re not the Ninjin I had to bodyguard and babysit in life anymore. You’re a Super Saiyan. If anything I should be asking you for pointers. Matches can occur simultaneously, so if I don’t get to see your fight, good luck Nin.” Vil ruffled Ninjin’s hair, much like he used to when the crimson Saiyan had been a child.
NINJIN HATTORI VS. UA.
The words appeared and hung in the air in front of them for a long moment before Ninjin realized that everything was fading away in front of him. It did not come with a feeling of panic though, as almost instantly the next thing he knew he was standing on the slate arena that he had been looking down at from the hilltop. It was very reminiscent of an old arena that had once been fought at on Earth, created by some villain if Ninjin recalled correctly. Heaven must have liked the design, or at least whomever founded the Eternal Tournament.
The crowd materialized seconds later, surrounding the arena with massive stands. There didn’t seem to be an end to the number of those gathered to watch. It almost made the Saiyan sick to look out in the seemingly infinite direction of the stands, but this was Heaven so something fixed the feeling. Odd how things like that worked here.
He was Ninjin Hattori, so where in the world was this Ua character? The more and more that he thought about the Eternal Tournament the more excited he got. This was a chance to train himself with some of the best heroes that the universe had ever seen. This was a chance to see how good of a warrior Ninjin Hattori really was. Invictus had humbled him. Up until that point the strongest beings that Ninjin had ever fought had been Aer Nin, Conri Lane, and his sister. Invictus would have laughed off any of Aer Nin’s blows as if they were less than nothing. She had had a tenth of his power. The suit of armor empowered by Aon had fought off both he and the universal champion at once. Perhaps the heroes of Heaven could show him his mistakes.
With a thought Ninjin activated his Heavy armor. It weighed him down exactly as much as his old heavy weights used to, but his armor could be summoned and dismissed with a thought. It was a handy trick to have, even if the armor did tend to get destroyed. It always seemed to come back full repaired later when he summoned it again.
Then Ua materialized in front of the Saiyan. He was nothing that Ninjin would have been prepared for. The creature that appeared was ten feet tall and thick with muscle. A red war painted mask with a thick feathered headdress covered the face and tusks of a creature that distinctly reminded Ninjin of an Earthen elephant. Its mouth was pulled back into a smile. Two muscular arms were on either side of the creature’s torso. Three were empty, but in one was a large curved blade. Glowing tattoos covered the majority of the creature’s arms and chests. The tattoos snaked all the way down his arms into his palms. At each of his palms the snaking lines and swirls met and formed into glowing eye tattoos. His torso was bare aside from the tattoos and the many golden bits of jewelry that covered him. Golden bangles were clasped around his many upper arms and wrists. Some were large and fat with glowing crystals, others were small and thin, simply wires made of gold. Its bottom half was covered with many layers of a thick cloth synched around the waist by a thick leather belt, encrusted with more glowing crystals. The creature’s power was unreadable, a design of the Eternal Tournament. This was about skill, not about power.
Ua and Ninjin stared each other down for a good long while, the cheers of the crowd pouring down upon them. Who in the crowd knew the Saiyan prince? Who in the crowd knew Ninjin Hattori? Who in the crowd knew Ua? With the numbers be infinite the likelihood of that even one percent of the audience knowing either was slim, so it came down to the fact that they simply wanted to see a good bout of combat. They were in for that for sure.
“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN WELCOME TO ANOTHER EXCITING ROUND OF THE ETERNAL TOURNAMENT! THE FOLLOWING CONTEST IS BETWEEN NINJIN HATTORI OF NEW VEGETA: MILKY WAY AND UA: BLESSED MAKAIO OF REDEMPTION.”
A bell rang from nowhere and Ua squatted lower, further lowering his center of gravity. His stance was perfect, beautifully balanced and Ninjin found he could detect no weak-spots by looking at it. The creature in front of him was surely an experienced warrior. One of Ua’s free hands came up and made a “bring-it-on” motion. Ninjin smiled. This was going to be fun. And best of all he had no possible chance of dying. It was very rare to find a good Makaio. No doubt even more rare to find one in Heaven. Rare, but not impossible. There were legends of a demon king that once found his way to the very same paradise. Ninjin had heard of the tale during his time in Heaven so far, but had had little faith in it until his opponent had appeared. Ua was not that demon king… correct?
Ninjin wasted no time and rushed at the creature. There would be no getting around those four powerful arms, and even though this was Heaven Ninjin had no desire to be on the other side of that wicked blade Ua was carrying. The blade curved clean through the after-image Ninjin had left. Ninjin’s leg collided with the elephantine Makaio, just not as he had planned. One of Ua’s free arms had come up to block, as if he knew what was about to occur. His two other arms came together and collided with Ninjin’s ribs. His other free hand, the one that had blocked, grabbed the Saiyan around his ankle and threw him away like a rag-doll. The crowd cheered loudly.
Ninjin shook his head and tried to clear it. His ribs had hurt momentarily, but this was heaven. It seemed that they had healed quickly. A large massive grey hand appeared in his face. Ninjin took it and was hoisted to his feet almost immediately by the strong elephantine.
“Not bad little monkey. You take hit well.” Ua’s voice was nothing like Ninjin had been expecting. It was thick and heavy. It sounded like some Earth accents he had heard before. The Makaio smiled, if you could call it that with his tusks and trunk in the way. The crowd cheered and the duo parted, walking away from each other a short distance and then turning back around.
This time Ua charged. The crowd continued to cheer for both men. If anything the crowd seemed to be cheering for the excitement of the match rather than the two fighters in particular.
Three more blades materialized mid-strike in Ua’s hands, and Ninjin jumped backwards with a surprised yelp. A few strands of black hair floated to the ground. This demon-turned-good had the ability to materialize blades out of nothing. Suddenly the back of his legs hit something hard and he flipped over backwards. As he looked up Ua’s elephantidae foot collided with his face. His body skipped and flopped over the stone flooring of the arena and skidded to a stop. That one hurt.
Ninjin groaned and rolled over to his hands and feet. Ua was a tough and talented fighter. No wonder he was a legendary hero. It wasn’t even very long into their bout and Ninjin felt like a small child being taught a lesson. Ua smiled as he looked down at Ninjin on the ground. The Saiyan had yet to lay a hand on him. Once again Ninjin seemed to be on the ass end of an ass-beating. The crowd, however, was loving it. With a roar the dead Saiyan sprung forward. Once again at the last minute he vanished, appearing behind Ua. He activated his ki fists and thrust a flurry of blows at the Elephantine demon.
The tusked warrior blocked every one of the blows, but the grimace on his face each time indicated the pain he felt. Ninjin’s ki-infused fists were nothing to sneeze at. Still Ua blocked each and every one, and when Ninjin was finished the elephant man grabbed his wrists and booted him in the chest. His other two hands were clenched in fists and came down on his collarbones. The Saiyan braced himself for the impact but his collarbones held intact. The last time something like that had happened Invictus had cleaved right through the bone in his shoulder with nothing more than locked hands. Ninjin kicked out at the elephant man in the shin. Ua grimaced as he blocked it.
“Show me.” He whispered as the Saiyan squirmed under his grip.
The way he said it shocked Ninjin. What was he talking about? Surely it couldn’t be… He wanted to see Ninjin transform into a Super Saiyan. Ninjin looked around at the crowd. Was that what everyone was thinking? Were they all waiting to see Ninjin turn into the legendary Super Saiyan? As far as Ninjin knew one hadn’t been seen in the galaxy for a long long time. Heroes all around looked down at the fight. Ua was trouncing Ninjin, but there was power yet hidden in the young Saiyan. Ua released with two hands, though he held the Saiyan by the wrists with two others. It vaguely reminded him of fighting Invictus. Constricted, held against his will, and being beaten.
Still though, this was Heaven. The dead Saiyan found himself happy despite getting his ass kicked. Ua’s free fists collided with the Saiyan’s ribs as he held him aloft in front of himself.
“I not mean to anger you Ninjin Hattori. Also not mean to embarrass. Super Saiyan not been seen in quite some time. Four now in galaxy. Ua could not resist opportunity to see himself. Even in Heaven cannot ignore signs of what means for universe. Last time so many Super Saiyans in universe, time of great turmoil. Perhaps what again means.”
Ninjin could not ignore the truth to the demon’s words. So many Super Saiyans hadn’t been in the galaxy since before the Saiyans had died out altogether and had been brought back. Ninjin had heard many varied tales of the last time so many Super Saiyans were gathered, but nearly all of them were gathered against some great evil. Perhaps that was what was occurring now. The thought hadn’t occurred to the crimson warrior. It that was true… But then, the Super Saiyans that he knew of were he, Conri, and Akassa. Who was the mysterious fourth? It also left Ninjin with an uneasy feeling. Akassa certainly could not be called a hero. If the Super Saiyans were being brought forth to deal with an encroaching and terrible evil… Perhaps it was she herself?
Ninjin activated his True Power and brought both knees up to his chest to build up kinetic energy. Then he shot them out at Ua, breaking the elephant man’s hold on his wrists. Ua’s other two hands came up and rubbed his wrists gently. The Saiyan flipped in a surprisingly graceful arc and landed in a three point stance away from Ua. The crowd cheered and Ninjin realized that this time it was for him!
“Yes is better. Ua is thinking is not all though.”
It was true. What Ninjin referred to as his “True Power” was only a fraction of the power of his Super Saiyan form. Still it had been enough to break Ua’s hold on his wrists. Had it been surprise in the sudden change of strength? Or had Ninjin truly overpowered the elephant demon? Perhaps it would be enough to take down the four-armed demon. It had served him faithfully for his entire life. There was another nagging question in the back of his mind. Would he even be able to access the Super Saiyan form if he needed to?
They rushed each other once more. Ninjin leapt into the air when Ua began summoning things directly in his path. It had started off small, first a book, then a potted plant, then a chair, then a couch, then a desk, the objects kept growing until he decided to take the fight into the air. Ua frowned up at him.
“Not all know how to fly, Monkey.” He called out and then laughed a deep, guttural, and boisterous laugh. Ninjin and the crowd found it infectious. Ninjin soon found himself laughing uncontrollably, his sides began to ache dully with the unceasing nature of it, but it was not at all unpleasant. Before he knew it he was floating to the ground, unable to focus on anything but the laughter spilling out of himself. There was no panic behind it, with every laugh he felt renewed and refreshed him. He was not healed, but there was something truly calming behind it. When the Saiyan looked up Ua had stopped laughing. Through his tears he could see the Elephantine standing only an arm’s length away.
“There Is better?” The elephantine smiled at Ninjin and then once again fell into his perfect fighting stance. Apparently Ua had some sort of technique that made others burst into good-feeling uncontrollable laughter. It was an odd technique, as it had no practical combat usage, but Ninjin found that it was certainly distracting. The Saiyan adopted his own fighting stance. This was just getting interesting.
They charged at each other and Ninjin brought up his forearm to block a blow from a hand that was as big. The jarring sensation of the impact traveled up the Saiyans arm and to his shoulder. With his other arm he pressed against his forearm, trying to out-strength Ua. It just wasn’t happening. The elephantine demon’s other arms came up and batted the crimson warrior in the sides hard. It momentarily knocked the wind from the Saiyan. Ninjin released the guard and rolled low under another round of swings. Four-armed creatures were difficult to combat Ninjin was finding. It wasn’t something that he was used to, and being able to still punch even while blocked was hard to overcome.
But how would Ua like energy attacks? Ninjin brought his hands to his side and began to gather ki. Thus far the fight had been purely physical, aside from Ua’s magical item summoning. Ninjin’s shirishiri cannon began to glow golden between his gathered hands at his side. Ua’s eyes flicked from the Saiyan to the gathered energy.
“The Monkey grows more and more interesting.” Ua said with a smile and then the blades disappeared in puffs of white smoke.
“Monkey is not only one with tricks.”
Both sets of arms came to Ua’s side, between both of the sets of hands glowing white discs appeared. Ninjin had seen this technique before. The Kienzan disc. It was said to cut through anything. Anything probably included him.
The Shirishiri cannon was fired at the same time as the Kienzan discs. Both discs cut through the full powered energy wave and the explosion filled the center of the arena. Ninjin brought his cape over his face and braced himself against the force of the explosion. Suddenly a hot pain in his upper arm caught his attention. One of the discs had survived the explosion and had sliced deep into his right arm. It had cut his cloak right in half and had cut deep through his armor. The pain was hot but no blood spilled from the wound. Ninjin wondered if that was a Heaven thing or if it was because of his Iblisian powers.
One way to find out.
Ninjin tried to bring the blood out of the wound, and soon he found a streak of his own red flowing through the air to collect around his fists. The look on his face implied that Ua nearly shit himself. His eyes had grown wide.
“The Monkey has even more surprises. Who would think is also part vampire? Is not only supposed Super Saiyan, is also vampire.”
A blood gauntlet covered his left arm, and his right arm began to glow with solar power. This was the Eternal Tournament, he was in Heaven, why hold anything back? The crowd was on the edge of their seats. The elephant man smiled and nodded at Ninjin.
“You have many interesting tricks little Monkey.”
A large whistling sound came from above Ninjin, and he looked up to see a bowing 747 baring down upon him. Right. Item Summoning. That was damned impressive. It appeared that Ua was quite good at his trade. Ninjin pulled his arm back and shot his solar lash straight at the massive falling plane. At the same time he spun downwards to his knees and shot the blood that had been collecting at the elephant man. The lash of solar energy collided with the front of the plane and enveloped the front in fire. The metal began to melt and peel away from the front of the plane exposing the wire frame underneath.
The solar lash hit the fuselage and the explosion rocked the arena and both combatants as the blood spears hit Ua. They cut deep into the Demon’s skin and a golden ichor began to flow from the wounds. Finally Ninjin had done something to gain an advantage. So far this had been one of the most one sided fights he had been a part of. Ua looked from his wounds towards Ninjin, and then smiled. The demon adopted a three point stance and then charged, a loud trumpet bellowing from his trunk. The demon moved much faster than Ninjin had been expecting. He leapt over his charging opponent and launched a solar lash at him. It caught the demon across the back and caused him to stumble forwards, though he caught himself with three of his arms.
A white smoke began to billow off of the skin of Ua, and his muscles began to bulge. When he turned to face Ninjin once again, he was even more massive than he had been. He was at least twice as wide and had gained at least five feet in height. His power had no doubt gone up as well, but it was impossible for Ninjin to tell. Though if the muscle and height increase meant anything… well this fight had started off one sided hadn’t it? It was probably about to become so again. Ninjin floated to the ground and set his power-level as high as it would go.
This was only the first match that Ninjin was competing in in the Eternal Tournament. What other heroes were waiting in the wings? How many of them were stronger than Ua? This… this really was Heaven! Despite the ass beating that was sure to come his way due to Ua’s transformation, Ninjin found himself smiling. If he had to spend the rest of eternity doing anything fighting against the legends of old, many he had never heard of, was high on his list of things to do. If they proved to be as worthy opponents as Ua, he would find himself never running out of things to do whilst in Heaven. After all he was here for an Eternity wasn’t he?
Ua’s massive new size, dwarfing his previous massive size, meant interesting things for this competition. It also meant interesting things for Ninjin. The Saiyan smirked and scoffed.
“You think that’s big? Mines bigger.”
A glowing orb of energy appeared in Ninjin’s hand, and he shot it up into the sky. It wasn’t long until he felt the familiar rays began to dance and bounce off of his skin. Rapidly the Saiyan began changing into a creature of legend. A legendary creature of destruction. One that had been known to destroy cities and populations. The crowd gasped. Many of them had never seen an Oozaru before. The Saiyan’s armor disappeared, though a modest bit was left over as shorts.
Ninjin now dwarfed Ua, the Elehpantine man was nothing to sneeze at, at least five feet wide and fifteen feet tall. Ninjin, however, in his Oozaru form stood at five times his pervious height, and dwarfed the elephant by over half of his own size. It had been a while since Ninjin had adopted the massive ape-like form, but it was like riding a bicycle, one never forgot. The former prince found that the transformation fit like an old favorite glove that hadn’t been worn in a while. Perfectly, but strange. He was much more powerful than the last time he had become Oozaru. The massive ape let out a guttural roar at the Elephant. Ua gritted his teeth and charged.
They collided, or rather, Ua collided with Ninjin’s legs. The elephant demon still had a lot of strength left in him. The only damage Ninjin had really done in the entire bout were the blood spears that had grazed the demon, and the solar lash that had collided with his back. It would no doubt take much more than that to stop Ua. Meanwhile Ua had been beating the crap out of Ninjin. Still the former prince could take more punishment than just about anyone that he knew.
“Tell me… Giant monkey.” Ua’s words came out straining with the effort of trying to lift the Oozaru. “What… caused… Super Saiyan?!” He said the last bit just as he was lifting one of Ninjin’s massive ape legs off of the ground. The other came up and booted the demon hard. Ua flipped through the air and landed in a pile, but sprang to his feet rapidly.
“Aon.” It was the very least he could say, but Ninjin had never been one for talking too much whilst in Oozaru form. The words felt heavy and awkward in his snout. The words themselves were muttered with more than a little bit of loathing. Aon would forever be an enemy of Ninjin Hattori. The vile god had been there at the moment of his death, and it no doubt had caused him great joy. This utterance, however, caused the crowd to gasp. Ua, too, looked surprised. For a moment the demon dropped his fighting stance.
“Aon…” He said the words as if tasting them anew. He spat them out onto the floor of the arena.
“Out of all of deities, am not surprised he trigger transformation. Many gods in our universe. Many who claim title. Aon however is, at very least, true god. If one filled with hate…”
The dead king got the feeling that Ua was hiding much more about Aon, but he did not feel the need to pry any further. He and Ua, and any of the other heroes, had an eternity to discuss well everything! No doubt Aon and the UCOO would be a common topic for Ninjin. They had been such a large part of his life for such a long time. It felt like a giant weight coming off of him to think that he would never have to deal with any members of the church again.
“Aon and I are old enemies... Even older friends. Eons ago fought many battles together. Then came civil war between Heaven and Hell. Yin and Yang fought. Everyone forced to choose sides. Many surprised I chose fight on side of Heaven. Ua could no longer sit back and watch. Not many survive. Ua did. Was given title Makaio of Redemption, allowed to stay in Heaven.”
Civil War? Yin and Yang? Everything that the demon was throwing at him was a lot of information. Perhaps after the fight was over they could sit together and Ninjin could learn the history of the Heavens. They had an eternity after all, it wouldn’t be too hard to fill the dead Saiyan king in on everything. Ninjin tried to shake the burden of all the new information off. There would be time for that later. He was still in the middle of a fight.
Ua nodded as their eyes met. This conversation would be concluded later. For now, they had a show to put on to those gathered. They were doing a hell of a job thus far.
Once again the giants clashed, a literal wave of force shot out as they collided. For all his size disadvantage Ua seemed not to be lacking in the strength department. The two strained with all their might trying to gain the upper hand against their opponent. Ninjin kicked out, but Ua jumped over and punched him with two fists in the thigh. A cramp built up there. It stung, but it wasn’t going to stop him. A massive Oozaru backhand caught the elephant before he hit the ground and sent him hurtling off into the distance. He was caught just before he fell out of sight by an invisible barrier at the edge of the arena. The crowd cheered loudly.
Ua made his way back over to the center of the arena before flipping sideways in the air in a very acrobatic and dancer like way. As he turned, scimitar blades seemed to fly off of him and at the giant Oozaru standing in front of him. Ninjin batted the blades away, and even the ones that bit into his flesh didn’t seem to bother him. With a roar he opened his mouth and launched a blast of ki at the elephant. It caught him in the chest and once again he was smashed into the wall.
Even from the great distance between the two Ninjin could hear Ua begin to chuckle. The demon peeled himself off of where he had smashed into the floor after hitting the barrier. Ninjin pounced and smashed down hard on the demon. Ninjin stepped out of the crater he had made to find Ua underneath. Then the Saiyan heard an unusual sound.
“Train…?”
A single steam engine smashed into the Oozaru and caused him to stumble backwards. When he finally finished stumbling backwards he turned to see Ua slowly making his way to his feet within the crater. There was a smile behind the eyes of the masked and bloodied elephant demon.
“Is damn impressive. Methinks is still not Super Saiyan.”
The smoke began billowing off of Ua in greater quantities. It did nothing to obscure the area in front of the elephant, but behind him was hard to see through. It was no doubt a non-combat technique, if it was a technique at all. It seemed useful nonetheless. Once again the elephant man grew wider and even thicker with muscle, if it was possible. His tusks elongated and grew even sharper points, two tusks now grew from each hole instead of just one. His height, however, stayed the same.
Ninjin’s massive fist shot out at Ua, but to the elephant the giant monkey seemed to be moving slowly. He simply stood to the side and let the fist sail right past him. Ninjin blinked. Where Ua had once been standing…. There was now a crater in the floor of the arena. No sign of the demon however. Ninjin felt a tap on his back, and turned around to see Ua standing there.
“Enough Tell. Show.”
Ua’s leg reverberated hard off of Ninjin’s massive monkey shin and sent painful shockwaves through the Saiyan’s entire thirty-five foot tall body. Ua’s new form might not have been as large as that of Ninjin’s Oozaru, but even without his advanced ki-sensing Ninjin realized he was in for a different fight now.
This time it was Ua who gabbed Ninjin and tossed him into the barrier as if he was nothing. The crimsons Saiyan’s body bounced off of the invisible wall and landed in a heap, back into his humanoid form. He grunted with the effort of regaining his footing. How long had this match lasted? Was that even a thing that he could ask up here in Heaven? The prince still wasn’t sure how time worked up here. When he looked around he found that the elephantine demon was nowhere to be seen. Then suddenly he was right beside the Saiyan.
Roughly he grabbed the Saiyan’s head and shoved him face first into the invisible barrier. It popped and singed with heat as it burnt the Saiyan’s flesh, the friction between the barrier trying to throw him backwards and Ua trying to force him forwards literally burning the flesh of his skin. The Saiyan warrior did not cry out in pain however. Instead he grit his teeth in focus.
Ninjin began to gather his energy into himself, building up his power until he could no longer contain the scream that had been building. As he released it his aura flared up and if Ua could somehow sense power through the Eternal Tournaments enchantments, then perhaps he would notice Ninjin’s power rising. His hair began to rise slowly, as if his aura was pushing it up against gravity. It began to flash golden yellow and then black and back and forth and back and forth. The crowd had fallen into a hush, but everything else was lost to Ninjin Hattori.
His scream finally died away as his hair remained golden yellow. A part of him wondered if it ever got any easier to ascend to the state of Super Saiyan, or if he would need to be under extreme duress every time. It did seem to be easier, if even slightly that time. He was, after all, in Heaven, but his burning face couldn’t tell the difference. A hand came up and slowly peeled Ua’s own away from Ninjin’s head, as if bending a paper-clip. The skin around Ninjin’s face sizzled slightly as he removed it from the barrier. This was Heaven though, and so the aesthetic damage quickly healed. The crowd’s eyes never left the Super Saiyan. This was the first time in a very long time that many of them had seen such a being, and for many it was the first. The legends had not died in Heaven, despite the last of the Super Saiyans vanishing some time ago. Still, to see one in the flesh right before one’s eyes.
Despite the angle of his wrist Ua too stared in wonder at Ninjin. The Super Saiyan’s blue eyes flicked from Ua to the elephant’s wrist. Despite being in Heaven, a rage tormented him from within. It was the rage of eons of his race. Still, the will of Ninjin Hattori was not so weak as to lose himself completely. Ua’s mouth opened slightly in awe. This was the power that he had been asking to see. This was the omen he had been begging for. If this truly was a portent of doom… Well then it spelled terrible things for the rest of the universe. There were three others of similar power who had already emerged. Ninjin Hattori had gone to Heaven, he was not a concern. The others? Who knew what truly lay in their hearts?
Ninjin’s knee slammed hard into Ua’s stomach, causing the fifteen foot elephant man to double over, all four arms grabbing at his stomach. Golden Ichor slowly trickled down out of the corner of his mouth. Ninjin’s elbow came down and barely seemed to connect with the demon’s back, but Ua quickly found himself in a crater staring up at the golden-glowing crimson Saiyan. Ninjin brought his hands to his side, and a ball of ki began to grown. Blood trickled out from his wound and into the ball as it grew. Then it began to glow with golden solar energy. Ninjin turned his head towards Ua.
The demon nodded in the crater. This fight was over. The victor was the Super-Saiyan.
“HERE IS YOUR WINNER! NINJIN HATTORI!”
Ninjin released the ball of energy and let all of it dissipate harmlessly. His blood that had been collecting in the ball fell and splattered noisily against the ground of the arena. Ninjin felt the rage that came along with the Super Saiyan form abate as the form faded away from him. Ua shrank back down to his ten foot height in the crater and began to slowly lift himself from it.
“Is most impressive. Am glad you are in Heaven. Need power like that for side of good.”
Ninjin reached out his hand and offered it to Ua, who gladly took it with one of his large hands and hoisted himself up with the help of the Saiyan. Two hands slapped the Saiyan roughly in the back. Suddenly the scene faded away from in front of him…
…And he and Ua were back standing in front of the check in registration. The man in the fur vest stared at Ninjin in a much different way than when Ninjin had first approached the check in desk. The crystal man too, seemed to be staring at Ninjin in a different way. Ninjin nodded at both men. They nodded back hurriedly with a new level of respect. Ua smiled as he looked down at the Saiyan.
“Much more powerful than Ua originally thought. Come Ninjin, we talk.”
Ua led Ninjin away from the check in table and towards a very loud tent. Those that Ninjin passed seemed to look at him a different way than when he had first wandered into the camp that housed the tournament. They took a table in the back of the tent that they entered. It was clearly set up to provide entertainment to the warriors that weren’t currently taking part of the tournament. Screens hung above each table. They seemed to simply float in the air, not housed or projected by any machine.
“Ua not say lightly. Super Saiyan is impressive. Portent of doom? Perhaps. Still it bodes well that you are in Heaven. Ua impressed by skill of fighting. Long time since Ua had challenge like that.”
Suddenly Ninjin felt a big hand slap him on the shoulder and he turned to see Vil standing behind him smiling a wide and very proud grin. Ninjin smiled a beaming smile back at the man in thanks.
“What did I tell you Ua, is our boy impressive or what?”
Vil’s words took Ninjin by surprise momentarily. Vil and Ua knew each other? How in the world was that possible? Then again this was Heaven he was in, he supposed that anything was possible.
“You know each other? I shouldn’t be surprised though, you’re both ungodly tall.”
This drew a laugh guttural laugh from both massive men. Ua laughed so hard that he trumpeted out of his trunk. This caused the others in the bar to begin laughing with them and soon everyone was in jolly hysterics. Ninjin wondered if the atmosphere and mood was because they were in Heaven, or because everyone was at that moment genuinely happy.
“Ua and I met some time ago in a bout in the tournament. He put me down pretty quickly, but he was very nice about It. We’ve been training together ever since. Fights like a demon, which is damned understandable considering he is one.
Ua held up a hand as Vil joined them at the table. Ninjin still could not believe that he once again got to be in the company of his long-dead body-guard. It truly was Heaven. Ua explained the reason for the raised hand.
“Am not “Demon”. Am Makaio. Ua made choice not be demon. Was not particularly hard choice.”
He and Vil both laughed deeply at the joke, but it seemed to go over Ninjin’s head. Vil barked loudly for more beer and then suddenly it was on the table in front of them. Heaven certainly was something. Then he felt two more hands fall on his shoulders. For a moment the young Saiyan was greatly confused. Who else could he know in Heaven? When he turned around his face lit up.
It was Shiitake and Kabocha. They both grinned down at him mischievously, but their faces softened when they saw the genuine pleasure in their friend’s eyes at seeing them. Ninjin stood and quickly embraced his friends. A tear slipped from his eye despite himself. His friends had died during the explosions in the space port during the attack on New Vegeta. Ninjin had never gotten a chance to say goodbye. It had eaten at him during his trip to Mement Mor, and had been one of the things fueling his anger. Now here they stood. They had been innocent souls during their lives, and so had been awarded the gift of Heaven. Sure they had been lackeys of Ninjin whilst he was being a bit of a hot-head and an arrogant prick, but that didn’t make them by any stretch of the imagination evil. The truth was they just had wanted to be close to their friend.
The two joined the others at the table and the five talked late into what Ninjin imagined was the night. There didn’t seem to be any sense of time in Heaven. Wherever Ninjin looked there weren’t any clocks and when he wished for one to appear, it would, but each time would give him a different time reading. Eventually he began to ignore it and just let himself relax.
It had been a very very long time since the crimson Saiyan had been able to relax. There were so many pressures of being the crown-prince, of being the high-general to the Saiyan army, of being well… him. It had always felt as if the weight of worlds rested on his shoulders, because they metaphorically did. He had been prince and then king of New Vegeta and had also been King of the Iblisian people. It had been a lot of pressure. Add to that the constant and random attacks by the Universal Church of One and it was a wonder that Ninjin’s hair wasn’t grey instead of the jet black it was.
The beer flowed endlessly as did the easy conversation. Ninjin felt a hardy buzz from whatever it was that was in his cup, but never seemed to reach any level of discomfort. It was Heaven after all. Vil and he were exchanging stories of the old times, like the first time Ninjin had ever been to Earth, or the time that Vil had taught Ninjin had to control his Oozaru form, or the many times at the academy. A shadow came over Ninjin’s face when Vil mentioned the academy. The massive Saiyan put a comforting hand on Ninjin’s shoulder.
“You can’t let it hang on you as if it were your fault. I swore an oath, and I would have given my life for yours a thousand times over Nin. You weren’t just the crown-prince to me. You were like a son.”
Ninjin had always felt the same way, but it surprised him to hear him say the words. Vil had always hid his true feelings, but he could tell that this was the way that the massive man truly felt. Ninjin nodded in response. It was all he could do in his emotional state. Ua noticed the moment and blew his trunk loudly at them.
“IS time for party! Is not time for sap!”
They got up and rejoined the revelry. Heaven certainly did seem like a place Ninjin could grow to love. Despite the atmosphere at the bar Ninjin couldn’t help but wonder what else the Eternal Tournament had to offer. Fighting Ua had been one of the most intense fights of the Saiyan’s young life, and Ua was just one of countless other fighters who were taking place in the Eternal Tournament. If the other fighters were as interesting and varied as Ua then Ninjin would be perfectly happy forever. A Heaven of fighting and brawling and learning new and exotic forms of martial arts was more than Ninjin could ever have hoped for.
Heaven seemed to read his thoughts.
“THE NEXT ROUND OF THE ETERNAL TOURNAMENT IS STARTING. NINJIN HATTORI vs. ALEXANDRA.”
Ua and Vil both looked up from their beers. Vil mouthed the words “oh” and “shit”. Ua too looked surprised. Before Ninjin could ask either what they meant he was whisked away.
Once again the arena materialized in front of him. This time however, the crowd and his opponent were already there waiting for him. The alien that stood across from him was much different than Ua. It was hard to make out the gender of the being under the midnight black with golden-trim armor it was wearing. Large black wings unfurled from behind its back. A pole-ax with a fiery-glowing gem between the two heads was clutched in the alien’s hands like a practiced veteran. Spikes came out from the pauldrons of the armor. A red trim ran the length of the waist and came down to about the knees. The whole ensemble was topped with a fierce looking black helmet. The angelic nature gave Ninjin uneasy feelings. This was Heaven after all. But that wasn’t it.
The last time he had faced someone in martial combat who looked like an angel was the day he died. Still he supposed that this was Heaven after all. There was no way that this angel could kill him again. The worst that could happen would be that he would lose this round of the Eternal Tournament.
“I watched your dance with Ua, as I cannot call that contest a fight. Ua was clearly the superior warrior. He had many opportunities to put you down when he toyed with you. I will not make the same error.”
The angel’s voice came out of the suit distorted and magnified, and sounded artificially created and Ninjin could only assume the voice was coming through a translator or something of the like. Still he got the message. This creature wasn’t messing around like Ua was. They cared not about the nature of Super Saiyan. This was a fight, and one that they meant to win. Not if Ninjin had anything to say about it. A gong rang from somewhere that Ninjin couldn’t see.
The angel wasted no time and sprang into action. Three balls of fire flew from its staff as it itself flew forwards. The balls didn’t seem to be following any logical pattern of motion, but zig-zagged through the air back and forth every which way as if they had minds of their own. Ninjin jumped over the first only to find the second fireball on a direct course for his head. The former prince ducked quickly, only to find the pole-ax swinging for his head.
Ninjin put his forearms up to cover his face as he tried to slide underneath the strike. The head of the axe caught the metal of Ninjin’s armor and created sparks as his forward momentum clashed with that of his or her swing. The force exploded outwards and repelled them both. Ninjin flipped through the air and finally caught himself in a three point stance, though he continued to slide a little further. Alexandra caught itself with a flap of its wings and growled an amplified and mechanical growl at Ninjin. Then it began to swoop at him, moving quickly from side to side and swinging its axe wildly.
Ninjin hated weapons. If one was going to fight in martial combat, the best way to do so was with one’s own body, or ki and magic as an extension of that body. There were many swordsman who Ninjin knew that would argue that a sword became like a part of one’s body when one was proficient enough, but there was nothing about a sword that was natural. No being was born with a sword, but all were born with ways to fight physically. The axe that Alexandra was swinging was no different. Ninjin hated weapons.
The poleaxe came round once more, causing Ninjin to jump back in defense at the last second. Just because it had wings didn’t meant that Alexandra was the only one that could fly. If it wasn’t going to fool around, than neither was he. Ninjin activated his True Power and shot up to as high as it would bring him. Alexandra turned to look at him, though Ninjin could see nothing of his or her face. Just as Ninjin brought his fist forward to make contact with the chest of the creature, it brought the pole of its pole-ax up to block. Ninjin’s eyebrow raised.
One of the aspects of the Eternal Tournament was that it blocked one from reading the powers of those competing. Just how strong was this angel? If the words that Vil had mouthed at the table in the bar meant anything… Ua too seemed surprised and though Ninjin had won the bout, the angel was right. The demon had been toying with him for a large part of the fight. If this angel was of similar or stronger strength and truly wasn’t playing around… for the first time in the fight Ninjin began to doubt himself. He had lost before, it wasn’t as if he was the strongest being in the galaxy. It was the reason that he was in Heaven to begin with. Still he supposed that that arrogant side of him would never truly die. Pride was a hard thing to swallow completely.
Ninjin launched blow after blow, flurry after flurry at the angelic creature, who seemed to be able to block them all. It spun the pole-ax in an amazing fashion, each swing blocking and snapping away Ninjin’s fists. Finally the blade came to rest on the side of Ninjin’s neck. The crowd gasped. The voice spoke.
“It is over. I have won.”
“Have you?”
As he said it he indicated with his eyes for the angel to look down. A blood-spear tip had pierced the front of its armor. Ninjin gave it a slight prod to show that the breach had been complete. A tiny metallic gasp came through the front of the armor. This thing was not like Aon. Whatever it was inside of it was made up of vulnerable flesh and bone. Whilst the pole had been whacking away at Ninjin’s gauntlet covered hands the Saiyan had deactivated them, and it had only taken a few good whacks to potentially draw blood from his knuckles. He had gathered the blood and formed a spear just as the axe had been coming for his neck. The crowd gasped and applauded wildly when they realized what had occurred.
The fight had seemingly been over, but Ninjin Hattori had managed to outsmart Alexandra, and neither it nor the crowd had been expecting it. The pole-ax slowly came away from the side of Ninjin’s neck, and so he turned the blood spear back to blood and it fell to the earth where it splattered against the tile. As soon as Ninjin had released the spear the pole-ax had come up again. It sailed harmlessly through Ninjin’s after image, and when the Angel turned around it ate a faceful of ki-infused fist.
The black-armored angel’s body spun through the air in a tight spiral before slamming into the ground roughly and skipping against it. When it stood up Ninjin had already made his way over. The former prince crouched low and gathered energy into his right arm. It started glowing with golden solar light. The angel brought up the staff in front of it, where the gem began to glow with fiery energy. Ninjin launched his solar lash forward. A tendril of red energy shot out and seemed to ensnare Ninjin’s own attack and suck it back into the gem. The angel itself seemed to glow red for a moment. Then suddenly the solar lash shot back out, a deep crimson red. It stuck Ninjin in the shoulder and he cried out in pain involuntarily. Was that what that felt like?!
“I had considered that you may be a competent warrior when you bested me with the blood spear, but now I can see that was a fluke. To launch an attack of solar energy at an angel of fire.”
The creature shook its head as if admonishing the former Saiyan prince. Three more orbs of fire flew from its staff at Ninjin. His shoulder wound was momentarily forgotten as he dove out of the way of one orb and rolled to his feet in one action. Another orb smacked him hard in the back and caused him to topple over to his face. It exploded violently as it did so and his cape quickly caught on fire. Ninjin rolled against the ground to smother it. An axe head bit deeply into the ground where he had been milliseconds earlier, and Ninjin had too keep rolling to avoid the many follow up strikes.
The crimson warrior kip-upped but used his bukujutsu to continue up into the air. An axe strike just barely caught the bottom of his boot and caused sparks to rain down on top of the angelic warrior. It growled and took flight after Ninjin. Ninjin turned and gathered energy into his fist. The angelic warrior tried to pull back, but had been over zealous in its pursuit of the Saiyan. Ninjin delivered a sickening right hand and the creature spiraled to the ground and smashed against it with great force. The crowd gasped and there was a brief moment of silence followed by one of great cheering. Ninjin smiled as he breathed heavily and stared down at the crater.
It hadn’t been as difficult as fighting Ua. Even though he had toyed with Ninjin and it had ended up in a loss of him didn’t mean that the demon didn’t put a beating on him. Alexandra had tried, but her pride had gotten in the way. She had assumed herself better from the beginning and that arrogance had cost her. Still Alexandra was clearly a gifted warrior whatever it was.
“HERE IS YO—”
The announcer began to speak, but his sentence was cut off half way. Alexandra had begun to stir from within the crater. The blow had knocked the alien creature’s helmet clear off and when it stood it was not at all what Ninjin had been expecting.
It was a woman. A human woman. The wings must have been a mutation, the fire control a technique.
She was gorgeous.
Hair that was the same color as his was cut short, about to the shoulder and was swept over one eye. The one that Ninjin could see was a piercing blue. Her nose was straight and pointed, as were most of her features, though her lips were full and soft, though pursed angrily. Her chin was rounded slightly, an offset to the rest of her pointed face. The fact that she was gorgeous was momentarily stunning to the former Saiyan prince.
“I will repay you in kind for that Ninjin Hattori.”
“Okay.”
The stricken Saiyan said the word dumbly and Alexandra scowled at him angrily. Ninjin still could but stare. It had been a long time since he was stricken by a woman’s beauty. The last time was Lilliana and that had turned out… mediocre. The last time he felt something for a woman was Celeh, but that had perhaps just been pre-suicide mission nerves. Still when he thought of her a tinge of guilt panged at his heart. She was still on Mement Mor, fighting no doubt.
One of the things that had saddened Ninjin Hattori upon reflection of the short life that he had lived was that he had had no great love of his life. He had loved many, but there were none that stood out as being “The one.” He didn’t think it was Alexandra, but she was certainly breath-taking.
“STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT.”
The angel finally screamed the words and Ninjin had to remind himself where he was. This was Heaven yes, but the Eternal Tournament was not some place where you could sit around and fantasize. There was fighting to be done. Ninjin cleared his head and nodded.
“I apologize. Your beauty stunned me momentarily.”
The angel’s cheeks grew a bright red and the fire that seemed to be coming off of her body and wings lightened in hue ever so slightly. She took in a breath quickly and flinched back slightly, as if she were taken aback.
“ehe… My… what…?”
“I had not been expecting… you… when the helmet came off. I was stunned briefly and I apologize. We may continue if you still have it in you.”
The angelic being blushed further but nodded, falling once more into a fighting stance with that vicious pole-ax of hers. Ninjin too fell into a fighting stance, but found that he could not keep his eyes off of Alexandra’s face. She caught him looking once again.
“You are giving me that look again Ninjin Hattori. Are you prepared to fight or not!?”
She said the first bit softly, but then snapped the last bit at him. Ninjin nodded and swallowed hard. He could do this. He had been able to do this when her helmet was on and her identity lost under the mask. This was no different. Except it was completely different. She rushed at Ninjin once more and almost took off his head with her first swing. The former prince just narrowly ducked under it to avoid it and she sliced a bit of his hair off. It fell to the arena floor in a clump and she stared at it. His hand came up and he realized she had cut him. The blood had trickled down his face, so distracted was he by her beauty that he had forgot to control it not to spill.
“Heh. Still not paying attention.”
Once more she came at him, swinging away. Each stroke of the blade came closer and closer to the Saiyan’s throat as he back-peddled. Still… She was so beautiful. Even when her face was set in focused anger and she was trying to kill him. Ninjin tripped and had to quickly roll out of the way as she slammed the axe down hard. The ground cratered slightly where the former prince had been laying only moments before. Alexandra roared in defiance and stumbled backwards as tiny blood-spears flecked her bare arm. She slammed her axe down but Ninjin rolled to the side, grabbed onto it, pulled himself up using it, mule kicked her away and disarmed her. It happened in the span of a few seconds. Alexandra skipped across the ground and came to a rest, looking up at Ninjin with eyes wide in astonished disbelieve.
The crowd went absolutely nuts. Later Vil and Ua would tell him it was because Alexandra had been competing in the Eternal Tournament for a long time, and no one had ever seen her humiliated and embarrassed like that. No one had ever seen what came next either.
Alexandra rolled over to her hands and feet and seemed to simply stare at the arena floor for a long moment. The fire that had been raging all around her seemed to condense, like a campfire smoldering into embers. Then she smashed her fists violently into the ground, leaving two massive craters. The fire that seemed to be coming from within the angel grew larger and hotter until it burned white-hot all around her. She turned at him and her beautiful blue eyes had been replaced by white-hot flames, her iris’ were still blue, but rather blue-fire. She herself had become a being of pure-flame. Flame-covered angel-wings stretched out behind her back.
Ninjin flipped the poleax around in smooth arcs around his body. Vil had trained him in many different forms of weaponry. He had insisted it. He had demanded it. Ninjin had hated every second of it. Still the big man had thought that the prince should be prepared for anything. It hadn’t particularly helped him in life, but it seemed to be coming in handy in the after-life. Ninjin brought the thing down across his knee and snapped it. The angel’s eyes grew wide, even in her fiery form.
“M-m-my staff. YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT!”
They were not words Ninjin envisioned one normally heard in Heaven, but then again he was still getting used to the whole thing and it was a learning process. Alexandra’s hand shot out and from each of her fingertips a ball of fire flew. They expanded and they flew towards him and then exploded with tremendous force, throwing gobs of fire all around the arena. It stuck to the floor and began smoking, giving off black inky smoke. It began to sting Ninjin’s eyes and his nose and throat.
A fiery leg collided hard with his mid-section and he went tumbling backwards through the fire. It clung to him until he patted it out. When he stood he was immediately rocked by a vicious right hook to the jaw. The crimson warrior spun and landed knocked-down face down in the fire. The smell of his own burning flesh woke him up, screaming. His golden aura was crackling all around him, bolts of red lighting shooting off of it. The pain and agony from burning his face had triggered a transformation into Super Saiyan. Ninjin wished he could say it had been easier than when he had ascended against Ua, but this time had not even been a voluntary thing.
His aura swept the inky black smoke away. Alexandra stood in all of her fiery glory in front of him, and for a moment the two simply stood there and stared at each other. She was still very beautiful, the details of her face were not lost by the fiery form, if anything they heightened them. He too was a beautiful and terrible sight to behold. A Saiyan in its prime. The crowd had already seen it once, but those gathered still count not help but marvel in awe.
“Impressive.”
It was no doubt a very high complement from the Fire Angel. Once more she began to walk forwards. She raised her arm and two fiery wolves rose from the sticky-fire-pits that she had placed next to her. The rushed forwards at Ninjin with flaming jaws snapping and snarling. The Super Saiyan brought his hands cupped to his sides and then raised them, releasing the briefly charged ki and obliterating the charging wolves. Alexandra’s fiery form prevented Ninjin from being able to read any of the emotion that normally played on another’s face. She rushed at him quickly. The heat that she gave off was intense. Still, he was a Super Saiyan.
They exchanged a flurry of blows, but each time Ninjin felt one connect he felt the skin burn off of the tips of his knuckles. It was a good thing wounds healed quickly in Heaven. Still it was an unpleasant experience. His blows were bound to be hurting though, as each time he connected he heard the female give a gasp of pain. Suddenly he brought his knuckles to his mouth and bit off the burned flesh. Alexandra’s eyes widened in surprise as Ninjin spat the burnt flesh out of his mouth and out the ground. Blood began to pour from the wounds, but the blood quickly solidified into gauntlets around Ninjin’s fists.
“You have no end of surprises.”
She said the words almost as if she was… impressed. Ninjin smiled and she decked him hard across the face. Had the almost-complement merely been a distraction technique? Ninjin couldn’t be certain, but the blow to the side of his head had hurt quite a bit. His ears rang. For the umpteenth time the former prince got to his feet. A super Saiyan would not be bested quite so easily. Not by a cheap shot, and not when he had just figured out how to win.
Ninjin rushed Alexandra once more. The woman looked sad for a moment and then raised her arms. Torrents of fire poured out from them and engulfed Ninjin Hattori. They were so overwhelming that they completely covered him head to toe. When she finished there was nothing left where he once stood by a large scorch mark. She turned and Ninjin was standing right there in front of her, his hand raised and pointed at her face. A ball of ki began to form there ever so slowly. His other hand brought up the remnants of her axe and held the blade of one of the heads to her throat. She growled in defiance, but nodded.
“You win Saiyan warrior. You have skill that cannot be denied. I concede defeat.”
Ninjin smiled and dropped the axe. He closed his hand and snuffed out the ball of ki that had been building there for quite some time. The fires began to die down on Alexandra, and she quickly returned to looking like she had at the beginning of the fight. Her beauty still startled Ninjin. She scowled when she saw him starting at her again. Her hands balled into fists.
“I swear it is my existences goal to be better than you Ninjin Hattori. It may not be the next time, it may not be the time after that, but someday when we meet in combat, I WILL WIN!”
She stamped her foot and set her jaw. Their eyes met and for a moment he thought her looked softened.
The scene began to fade away almost instantly, and Ninjin found himself back at the bar. Vil, Ua, Kabocha and Shiitake all stood up and roared tremendous applause at the young Saiyan. The others gathered in the bar too raised their glasses and cheered for him. The smart money had been on Alexandra going into the match, but Ninjin had pulled off an upset victory that had surprised and delighted everyone.
“Even if portent of doom, is damn fun to watch! And side of good has mighty Ninjin Hattori”
Ua said the words and clapped the Saiyan on the back in a congratulatory manner. Ninjin smiled and thanked his new friend. Alexandra was still very much on his mind though. Vil wandered over and leaned against the bar.
“That, was a hell of a fight. Winged women made out of fire. Now I’ve seen it all.”
“She was so beautiful Vil.”
Ninjin groaned as he put his head in his hands as he leaned his elbows on the counter of the bar. Vil clapped him on the back.
“They always are. Endou. Lilith. Lilliana. Celeh… Need I go on?”
Ninjin shook his head in his hands. He had a habit of giving his heart out to women whom he couldn’t be with. It usually ended poorly. In the case of Endou it had ended with a son.
“Isn’t it a little soon to be having feelings for another woman? Celeh is still alive.” His bodyguard admonished. Ninjin shook his head and sighed.
“I’m not sure what was there between Celeh and I. She is beautiful to be sure, but I would certainly need to spend more time with her to see what my true feelings are. But then… I’m dead aren’t I…”
There was a long moment of silence between the two men.
“I’m a father.”
Ninjin said the words. It was odd, he hadn’t said the words out loud in a very long time. They conjured images of what Azuki must look like. He was out there somewhere in reality, hopefully alive and well.
“I know.”
Ninjin spat out the cold beer that had just entered his mouth and coated the bartender. Vil sighed and turned to face Ninjin, who found he could barely look at his former bodyguard.
“Endou came to me about the problem first. She needed to know what to do.”
“AND YOU NEVE—”
Ninjin began to yell at the man.
“Keep your voice down there’s no need.” Vil tried to placate his former ward.
“r told me…” Ninjin finished in a vicious whisper. He glared at his friend.
“I’m not going to start apologizing for actions I made years ago. Nor am I going to beg for your forgiveness. I did exactly what I thought was right at the time. She came to me for help. You were kids who had gotten yourselves into a mess. Don’t look at me like that, you were the damn crown-prince. Having a bastard son run around isn’t a surprise, but it complicates things. You weren’t ready for the news because with your damn hero complex you would have run off and tried to father the damn thing!”
Ninjin stared at Vil with his mouth agape. He opened and closed it a few times as he searched for the words to say.
“You can start by saying thank you.” The massive Saiyan said as he finished his beer. Ninjin was right, and sometimes Ninjin hated when Vil was right.
“Thank you. I’m sure Azuki is better off now than he would have been had he been left in my care.”
Vil nodded his confirmation of the thanks and smiled. Ua wandered over, and familiar female in tow. Alexandra.
“Look, is friend!” It was clear that Ua was intoxicated. Alexandra nodded to everyone in the group and her eyes finally fell on Ninjin. Their eyes met and he found he had to look away.
“Is no need for hard feelinks! All here at table lose fight to Ninjin Hattori.” Those gathered aside from Ninjin and Alexandra laughed. The former prince found himself in a situation that he wasn’t used to, one where he was at a loss for words.
“Greetings Alexandra. A pleasure to see you again so soon.” He said the words with a smile, but realized how stupid they sounded coming out of his mouth. They had just been beating the hell out of each other… He wished beyond anything that he could have another bout in the Eternal Tournament. His wish was answered almost immediately.
“THE NEXT ROUND OF THE ETERNAL TOURNAMENT IS ABOUT TO BEGIN. NINJIN HATTORI VS. NIKA!!!!”
“Boy oh boy do you must really want to get out of this situation.” Vil whispered as he leaned over Ninjin’s shoulder.
“What do you mean? Why?”
“Once you sign up for the Eternal Tournament they give you a bout whenever you want. All you have to do is want one. You clearly wanted one. Nika’s no laughing matter either. Good luck champ.” Vil patted him on the shoulder and smiled. Ninjin looked up at Alexandra, who looked away quickly as he faded back to the arena.
Just like last time by the time Ninjin materialized in the arena his opponent was already there. She was perhaps the most shocking opponent thus far. Whereas Alexandra and Ua had both very much looked the part of warrior, Nika was small and well… didn’t. She couldn’t have stood much taller than four foot. Long flowing brown hair was capped by a green hat that looked homemade. Attached to the hat looked to be some kind of viewing lens that she could pull down over her eye if need be. The flaps of the hat came down to the tip of her ample cleavage. Her ears were long and drooped down and away from her head. Her eyes were small and gave off the feeling that the woman was very intelligent. She, too was beautiful, but not as strikingly so to the Saiyan as Alexandra had been. A satchel hung around her shoulder and at her hip.
Nika curtseyed a greeting, and Ninjin bowed slightly in return. Then Ninjin summoned his armor and fell into a fighting stance. Nika began to rummage around in her satchel and from within withdrew a sphere. She shook the thing and twisted it and it began to glow and pulse. Ninjin cocked an eyebrow, but Nika seemed satisfied. She turned to face the Saiyan and made a ‘bring-it-on’ gesture. Ninjin shrugged and rushed forwards off of his feet using his bukujutsu to aide him and pulling his right shoulder back to aim a hellacious right hook at the woman’s face.
Nika raised her hand, but not in any sort of way to block the blow. Instead the hand that wasn’t hold the sphere came up, palm facing upwards. A massive stone palm shot out of the ground and collided with Ninjin’s chest and ribs. It knocked the wind out of him and knocked him sky high. As he came down Nika’s free hand came up and made a grabbing motion. Ninjin swore.
A massive arm made out of rock came out of the ground and grabbed the Saiyan. Ninjin activated his True Power and broke free of the stone grasp. Nika yelped in pain and drew her hand back quickly. So she was connected to the creations in a physical way as well as whatever other link she had with it. She looked up at the Saiyan with a look of surprise and fear on her face. Hand after hand after hand came up, and the ground of the arena followed suit. Ninjin weaved in and out of the hands effortlessly in his True Power.
Another hand reached up and grabbed the Saiyan tight around the waist, but once again he destroyed it. Nika cried out in pain. Another fist smashed into him and a second grabbed him and flung him to the ground. In her tantrum he stomped and crushed away at him, but it hardly hurt to the Saiyan. It had surprised him, nothing more. With a roar he burst up into the air and floated there, just out of reach of the arms.
Nika brought the lens down over her eye and stared up at Ninjin all the longer, gasping to herself at first and then muttering. What was she seeing? What did that device allow her to see? The former prince wondered if somehow the device could somehow surpass the block that the Eternal Tournament had on detecting power levels. If that was the case she knew exactly how strong he was. Though it wasn’t an obvious advantage, she was a fighter of intellect rather than strength. Ninjin cocked an eyebrow as the woman went to work on the sphere again. At long last she turned to face him. The ground began to rumble.
A figure rose out of the ground. It was four times the size of the girl and made entirely out of jagged rock. Ninjin swore again. What was with Heaven and giant creatures? First Ua and then now this. Its eyes burned with fire and its mouth was only a shallow slit in its face. Magma poked through cracks in its body and it steamed in the air. Ninjin wasn’t quite sure how the thing was existing in Heaven, but supposed it had to do with the Eternal Tournament. Then again he never knew what the deal was with things up here in Heaven.
Ninjin rushed the thing once more and launched a flurry of blows at it. Nika reacted as best she could, but it was clear that she was no trained fighter. It mattered not, for the beast she controlled had a strength behind it that made skill unnecessary. It was stronger than his True Power. She pushed forwards, and the golem did the same, barreling through Ninjin Hattori and knocking him to the ground. She stomped, and the golem did the same, stomping on Ninjin and kicking the wind from his body. When she jumped up and down, the golem did the same, jumping up and down on the body of Ninjin Hattori.
Ninjin stared up from the bottom of the crater and thought about how odd life was. It seemed that he was getting a lot of opportunities at reflective moments at the bottom of craters made by his own body. The former prince grabbed the sides of the hole and hoisted himself up. If this golem wanted to play hard-ball then he could play hard ball. Ninjin gathered his energy to his side and blasted the golem with his Shirishiri cannon. It blew a massive chunk out of the golem’s side and it staggered a bit before falling to the ground.
Nika let out a horrific scream and clutched her side before stumbling forwards. Ninjin rushed forwards to help her, but she held out a hand. A massive hand came forwards from the ground of the arena like a shark through water. It smashed into Ninjin Hattori as a fist. More and more fists rose out of the ground and shot through the air, each the size of a bus or more. As soon as they hit Ninjin they would turn back into clouds of sand and concrete, the force of smacking against his body too much for them to bare. Still it hurt every damn time. What’s worse is It scratched at his throat and stung his eyes. Then he realized with a start what she was doing.
She intended to bury him.
Fist after fist collided on top of him, even after they stopped begin able to hit him directly. She intended to encase him in sand and concrete, then find some way to entomb him within. Ninjin began to blast his way out. Every time he would blast a hole however, a fist would slam through it and into him, and then the hole would be filled once more.
Ninjin cried out in frustration. Hand reached out from the sand and concrete mixture to grab at him. One grabbed his arm, another his wrist, another shot out to grab him around the neck and throat. They meant to keep him here, to bury him in this grave she was making for him in order to secure her victory. The sand and concrete mixture began to fill up, until arms no longer grabbed at his legs. Instead a slowly rising layer of sand had already buried them and was working its way up towards his neck.
Ninjin squirmed against the hold but there was powerful magic woven throughout the sand. The arms held him tight until they disappeared completely underneath the rising level of sand and concrete. Ninjin cursed and looked around for a way to escape, but could not find one. Thankfully he was in Heaven already, as the situation he was in would otherwise be terrifying. Ninjin had been buried alive before, it was not something that he wished to repeat. It was exactly what Nika was intending.
There was no way that he was going to let that happen. The sand slipped over the former prince’s mouth and though he shut it tight it threatened to spill in. With a roar Ninjin burst into his Super Saiyan form. It had come easier than the previous times. It was a very welcome side effect of the Eternal Tournament. All this training meant that he was getting stronger. No doubt the more he used his Super Saiyan form, the easier and easier it would become to access that form.
The sand and concrete blew away in Ninjin’s aura, and Nika was left to stare at the Saiyan in wonder. The crowd once again gasped and applauded. Nika’s eyes grew wide as she once again brought the lens down over her eye. It shattered. Nika took a step back and took in a quick intake of breath. Ninjin raised his hand and a blast of ki slammed into the ground in front of her. She quickly hopped back and threw her hands up above her head in defense. At least that’s what Ninjin thought at first until he noticed she was holding the orb.
A massive hand knocked into him from below and shot him sky high. It was just the distraction that Nika needed in order to rummage through her bag. Ninjin quickly corrected himself and flew back towards Nika. When he arrived she pointed a thing piece of metal at him. It was covered in buttons, but her thumb hovered over one large one in particular. He got to close apparently, because she clicked it. Nothing seemed to happen for a long moment. Then Ninjin turned around.
Standing behind him was a thirty foot tall Mechanized suit holding a very large war-hammer. Ninjin swore. He turned back to face Nika, but she was already fading away to blue particles. Ninjin had a feeling he knew where she was going. Sure enough seconds later her face was projected from the mech. She held the lid of her eye down and stuck out her tongue. The face vanished just as quickly as it had come. Ninjin was taken aback briefly, but was shaken from his thoughts by the swing of the massive hammer.
Ninjin ducked under it and surged forwards. This mech was surely no match for the might of a Super Saiyan. The earth powers had been surprising, and Ninjin hadn’t been sure how to handle them. That had been the only advantage the small elf had had over him. The element of surprise. That was gone. The mech suit seemed intimidating, but surly it couldn’t stand against the might of a Super Saiyan. This was pure physical combat now, and that? That he was good at.
The hammer came around in a wide arc and Ninjin brought up his forearms to block. The hammer collided with him and sent him careening wildly across the arena floor. One of his arms for sure had been shattered, the other one had only most likely been shattered. Ninjin knelt on the ground and stared down at his arms. Damn it that had hurt! He was a Super Saiyan. He grit his teeth as he shoved his arms against the ground to reset the bones. Things healed quickly in Heaven, but it sure did sting like a bitch. The hammer came round once again and Ninjin had to roll backwards quickly to get out of the way. When he came up he had full working control of his arms again, but the pain hadn’t gone away. That hammer meant business, and so did the mech.
Ninjin charged up to his full power. The mech was not the only one with tricks. Ninjin raised a clawed hand in the air at the mech and six large balls of ki formed above it. Ninjin dragged his clawed hand through the air and the balls began to fall towards the ground. They collided with the mech and exploded with tremendous force. Ninjin breathed a sigh of relief. When the smoke cleared however, the mech was still standing. Its war-hammer was melted. Ninjin smiled. Row after row of missile launchers opened up on the mech’s armor. Ninjin’s smile faded.
Missile after missile crashed into the ground around the Saiyan as he flew and bobbed and weaved in and out of the explosions. He didn’t know what kind of damage the missiles were going to do to him, but he hadn’t expected the war-hammer to do as much damage as it had either. He was not willing to risk making that mistake twice. If the war-hammer could break his arms, then the missiles could certainly do damage as well.
Ninjin charged. There was nothing left to do. He brought his hand back and began to channel his ki, he let the blood from his cuts on his arms form gauntlets and solar energy began to collect there within. He reared his fist back and thought of his father, though no image of Tsyuo appeared. He had not been allowed in Heaven so the aura would not appear. Still the collected force behind the punch that Ninjin through had behind it all of the Super Saiyans power. The blow struck the mech. A long second past. Then cracks began to appear on the shell of the outside of the mech. It blew up suddenly with tremendous force. Nika fell out of the suit and onto her bottom on the ground. She began to pout. Ninjin descended from Super Saiyan to his regular form.
“You win!” She whined up at him.
Once again the scene began to fade before Ninjin’s eyes. Quickly Ninjin thought about how much he wanted to continue to fight. The situation at the bar was still awkward. Fighting though? Fighting he could do for an eternity. This was Heaven for him, and the only way he was going to continue to improve his skills was to continue to fight. He had felt refreshed almost immediately after each fight, so could continue on almost immediately as well. Vil had said if you wanted it enough that it would come true. Sure enough, he opened his eyes and the darkness remained.
“THE NEXT ROUND OF THE ETERNAL TOURNAMENT IS ABOUT TO BEGIN. NINJIN HATTORI VS. VOLG.”
When he opened his eyes once more Ninjin was back at the growingly familiar arena. He hadn’t even bothered to take He had arrived before his opponent it seemed, but the warrior known as Volg slowly materialized in front of his eyes. Ninjin gave a silent thanks to the gods that this one was a manageable height. Volg stood six and a half feet tall, frame wide with muscle. Short white fur covered what appeared to be his entire body. Though Volg’s body was that of a furry humanoid, his head was that of a silver wolf. An axe enlaced with blue glowing runes was gripped in one hand and a shield in the other.
Weapons. Everyone loved weapons. Still Volg’s claws looked sharp enough that he could do some damage without the need of that axe. Glowing ruins entwined the short length of Volg’s handaxe and seemed to pulse with the wolf’s every breath. It seemed to be giving off cold steam, which Ninjin thought odd considering the overall pleasantness of the weather. Volg ran it through the air a few times and then howled.
A gong rang.
Volg came at Ninjin quickly, his weapon much quicker than any other he had faced thus far, save perhaps Ua’s wicked curved blades. Every stroke of the axe was matched in tandem by one of the shield, and Ninjin realized with a start that there was a bladed ring around the outer edge of the shield. Whereas Nika had been a removal from the trend of experienced warrior, Volg was very much a step back on that path. The anthropomorph clearly knew what he was doing. Ninjin leapt and dodged, parried and blocked, but found that he was on the defensive almost immediately. Volg growled and snapped with his jaws as well, nearly costing Ninjin a few times with the rabid distraction.
Wordlessly he activated his True Power. His aura kicked up and flared all around him. If there was something he had learned in the other matches it was that holding back in the Eternal Tournament cost you. Not being able to read the power levels of other fighters was something that was foreign to Ninjin as well, though he supposed it made one think more strategically. You had to focus if you wanted to win rounds in the Eternal Tournament. Volg was here to win, so too should Ninjin Hattori be. The wolf-man’s axe scraped across the front of Ninjin’s armor and spread frost where it touched. Ninjin leapt back and stared down in surprise. The glowing runes on Volg’s axe apparently were not just for show. They were some sort of ice enchantment.
Ninjin brought his fist back and punched it forwards at the wolf-man. A solar-lash jumped from Ninjin’s surging fist towards the anthropomorph, who just barely rolled out of the way in time. Volg growled a warning, deep and low and primal. Ninjin advanced again, throwing another lash at Volg, who stumbled backwards on all fours. Ninjin took a step forwards…
…And something tight closed around his leg. A searing pain shot throughout his leg up through his entire body. When he looked down he saw the cause. What he thought was Volg stumbling backwards had been the wolf man placing down a bear-trap like device. When Ninjin had taken a step forwards he had stepped right into the wolf man’s trap. Razor sharp ice bit deep into his leg and held him there.
Volg’s shield collided roughly with the side of Ninjin’s head and shattered into splinters. The bladed edge bent as it collided with his face and bit deep, creating a gash over the bridge of his nose. Ninjin went down hard, his foot and leg still very much caught inside the icy bear-trap. Everything spun and hurt like hell. The shield hadn’t knocked him out, but had damn sure come close. Volg leapt in the air and came down hard on Ninjin’s chest. The wolf-man wasn’t playing around. Clearly. Volg lifted his axe up high over his head with both hands and howled in victory. But his celebration was premature.
The scream felt better this time, as a release of frustration rather than something needed to deal with a painful situation. Truthfully he was in a bad situation, but ascending to Super Saiyan made everything seem less dire. Ninjin’s aura surged all around him as he once again ascended to Super Saiyan. There was something intoxicating about the power he wielded when he was in his Super Saiyan form, but the more and more he used it the easier it got, but the less potent that feeling was. Still it felt damn good.
Volg stared down at the Super Saiyan wide eyed in wonder. He tried to bring his axe down into the head of Ninjin, but the axe merely reverberated off of Ninjin’s skull. It didn’t even freeze the flesh. Ninjin sat up and Volg’s foot was forced from his chest. He sat up, and despite the wolf-man swinging away, every blow that hit felt like nothing at all. It was damn good to be a Super Saiyan.
Finally Ninjin turned and caught the axe from Volg’s hand. The wolf-man’s jaw dropped and he relinquished control of the axe. The fight had not left him though. Volg’s hands came up and swiped at Ninjin. Razor sharp claws raked at the front of Ninjin’s heavy armor. It was then for the first time in the fight that Ninjin had noticed that the same markings that were etched in Volg’s axe were also tattooed into the wolf-man’s skin. The front of Ninjin’s armor covered further with frost.
Ninjin kicked out and caught the wolf in the stomach, causing him to yelp like a wounded dog. Super Saiyan was too much for him. Volg, however, true to his warrior’s spirit did not know when to quit. The wolf-man righted himself in the air and landed on all fours. The fur on his body began to grow thicker and instead of returning to his bipedal position he stayed on all fours. His body grew even larger and thicker with muscle. Soon a massive grey wolf thick with muscle stood in front of the former prince.
“Great…”
The wolf open its mouth and a blast of ice shot out, but the crimson Saiyan narrowly avoided the attack by rolling to the side. He launched a solar lash. It smashed into the side of the giant wolf. Volg turned and snarled then ran at Ninjin. A primal instinct of fear shot through the prince, but he held his ground. Just because his ancestors might have ran from a charging giant ice wolf didn’t meant that he was going to. He was Ninjin Hattori damn it!
Volg launched himself through the air. The two collided and the ensuing tussle was too difficult for many in the crowd’s eyes to track. When it was over however, Ninjin hoisted the defeated body of Volg high into the air, the aura of his Super Saiyan form crackling all around him.
“You. Win.” The giant wolf muttered weakly.
And suddenly he was back at the bar. Those gathered cheered once more, though many had left. Ua and Vil were having a quite discussion at one end of the bar and Alexandra was arm wrestling Kabocha and Shiitake at the other end and embarrassing them by beating them without trying. Vil signaled Ninjin over.
“That was damn impressive kid. Wish I could say it was me that thought you how to fight like that, but that’s natural talent you’ve got there. You’re a Saiyan warrior born through and through. No matter what opponent they put you up against you find a way to win.”
“Is damn *hic* impressive.” Ua said slurred and drunkenly. Ninjin had assumed it was impossible to get drunk in Heaven, but then he rationalized that if one truly wanted it badly enough, then it wouldn’t be Heaven if they didn’t get it.
“But… There are ways you can improve. There are things you could have done differently in each and every one of your matches that would have gotten you the victory in a much easier way, especially with the level of power you’re packing. You’re not done with your training Ninjin.”
“And we’re going to help.”
Ninjin turned around to see Alexandra standing there. Volg and Nika were standing behind her. Nika had at some point acquired a new lens for her hat and was once again inspecting Ninjin Hattori through it. Volg was sniffing at things in the bar, but when he heard the word help he turned around and nodded vigorously. Ninjin smiled. Those gathered smiled back.
“Heaven huh? I could get used to a place like this.”
Pl please. Heavy weights in effect.