A Fight on Two Fronts

Disclaimer: I'm but a humble author. This here is something made by a fan, for other fans.

In the words of a notorious abridged group: Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, and Dragon Ball Super are all owned by Funimation, Toei Animation, Shueisha and Akira Toriyama. Please support the official release.

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Chapter 7: A Fight on Two Fronts

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Mayze sat at her table in Dakon's bar, a gaudy-looking place called 'Horizon', named after the popular (and only) Sadalan alcoholic beverage: Sunset. Where her stall was closer to the Bazaar's entrance, Horizon was further down, near the more established area filled with restaurants and stores. It was a lot more hospitable than the entrance side – and a lot safer too. She tugged at the orange hoodie she wore – her daughter's – wincing at the stifling warmth.

Heat clung to the air making every effort to inhale it take double the effort. To say that the place was packed wouldn't cut it. Not at all. It was freaking swarming with adrenaline-fuelled idiots. People were sitting on the railings of the second floor, looking down at the single widescreen occupying the centre of the room. Hell, if she didn't get a free table reservation and drinks from the man courtesy of being the mother of his late brother's child, she would never have chosen to come. Until now, she had always refused to come to his bar on tournament days. Yet today, Mayze was here for that very reason. Her ticket was clenched tightly in her hands as if her life depended on it.

"M-Ma!" Carole grunted, lightly shoving aside one of the Butcher brothers, a hand covering the top of the glass tumbler. "I've got ya drink. Uncle Dakon said he gave you the good stuff."

Mayze grinned. "Great. Thanks, honey. Bring it over here, it's about to start."

Perking up, her daughter shuffled over and climbed onto the stool beside hers. Mayze took slow, measured sips from the glass. It was almost heavy on her tongue, leaving it tingling as the cool liquid slipped down her throat. She placed the cup down with a thump, the sound not reaching her ears through the din of the bar.

"Mayze!" she turned around once she felt the palm on her shoulder, a bright grin on her face once she realised who it was. He was tall, towering over her with his thin and reedy frame. His parted hair hung on either side of his face, framing two big brown eyes.

"Onio!" she smiled at her fellow shop owner. "How're ya doin', lad?"

The young, round-faced Saiyan rubbed the back of his head with a hand. "I've been alright, Mayze. The veg stall's been doin' good. Always does around tourney time. Yours?"

"Mornin' business' also good. Lots of workers grab a loaf but those thugs have been comin' around more often asking for lots of money." her smile dropped a bit. "Onio… I'm bettin' today."

Onio's eyes goggled. "You? Bettin'?!"

Mayze rubbed her thighs, cautiously looking over her shoulders. "Things have been hard lately. Someone I know told me to bet on 'em if it got worse."

"And you trust 'em?" the doubt in Onio's voice quickly unearthed her own.

"I…" Mayze heaved out a sigh. "I dunno, Onio. I trust him, he's a good kid. But I dunno if he's strong enough to win."

"Alright! Alright!" Onio gave her a complicated stare and slowly walked away at the insistence of his friends. Atop a table stood Horizon's bookmaker. He looked as sleazy as they came; wearing an ornate but fraudulent-looking three-piece suit, his hair slicked back with so much gel it looked plastic. "The second match of the juniors is about to start. I've got all the bets in but need you sorry lot to shut up. Some of you might not be here for the brats but a few have placed… ridiculous bets that I'm quite interested in seeing play out."

Mayze felt a flush crawl across her face like a thousand ants swarming over her cheeks at the pointed stare he directed towards her, alongside the unconscious derision he drew from her. Even if he wasn't particularly strong, his command did the trick on account of him simply being associated with the local gang currently terrorising the Bazaar. With the money they had saved up, she'd decided to put… a sizable amount forward and bet it on Korn winning the tournament. But now that it was time for his first match, her anxiety was through the roof.

"Ma." Carole nudged her shoulder. It still amused her to no end that her daughter was taller than her by a noticeable amount. "Look!"

She did, eyes darting over to the screen, her heart hammering away at her ribs. There he was. Korn walked without a care in the world and his trademark smirk was still in place. Seeing it, Mayze couldn't help but feel that somehow, he might just pull it off. Or at least, that's what she thought when he turned up out of the blue the week before. She wouldn't lose all that much if he didn't win. They'd saved enough to be able to pay the next "protection fee" and be okay for a couple of weeks afterwards.

Right now, with everything coming to a pitch, she felt incredibly stupid for trusting in an eleven-year-old child. Beside her, Carole did her best to look confident but couldn't stop her hands from quivering, even when she clasped them tightly together. Mayze placed her hand on top of them and gave a gentle squeeze, a silent gesture but it conveyed more to her than words ever could.

In those brief few moments as Korn and the Cerealian girl walked up the stone steps leading into the arena, she felt her fear, doubts, and anxiety ease out of her. Maybe it was because of her daughter's support. Maybe it was because of the alcohol she'd drunk. Maybe it was because of Korn's confidence. All Mayze knew was that somehow, it would all be okay.

(Break)

The commentator had called a start to the fight ten seconds ago but neither of us had moved at all.

To be completely honest, it was hard not to feel any sort of cockiness going into my first match. An unfortunate side-effect of flooding my body with my ki was the euphoric sense of strength it brought with it. With that coursing through my every vein, the vibrant-haired girl in front of me wasn't even enough to get my heart pumping. Though no one could say that I was an asshole about it. The fear plastered across her face was as clear as day and not even my toddler-like body was enough to erase it.

I blitzed forwards, taking both her and the commentator by surprise. The round man jumped up instantly, continuing to float into the air, his voice shaky. "N-Now wasn't that quite the scare, folks? By the stars; the kid nearly stopped my heart there…"

The girl, on the other hand, flinched hard. Even as she froze up, her gleaming garnet left eye darted around, tracking my every movement; from my left hand dropping slightly to my feet shuffling forward as I sent an arcing kick to her head. Unfortunately, she wasn't fast enough to avoid it so it was blocked instead.

"Don't freeze up. You're in the thick of it now," I whispered, and if her widened eyes were any indication, she'd heard my words loud and clear.

Her jaw clenched, the muscles popping, expressing her irritation at me. Her arm whipped outward and she ignited her ki. The move was enough to repel me since I'd dialled back to warm up a little. "S-Stop underestimating me, pipsqueak."

"At last, some backbone…" I muttered low enough for her to not hear me. Not that I cared if she did.

Bringing up my guard, I reached out and embraced my power. It exploded outwards in the form of a wild white aura, my brown obi lashing in the face of the ki-born surge of wind. The Anvil roared to life; the tense silence was ripped apart as if it hadn't existed. Cheers and hollers flooded from the seats overlooking the arena, alongside several drink cartons and snack boxes that fell to the ground beside the arena.

The commentator lapped up the attention. "After a tense start, the fight's just exploded in a fierce exchange between the two! Initiated by Korn, neither is on the back foot yet. But… will it change? Now that's the question of the day – or fight as it were."

I held back my grin at the remark and sent myself hurtling forwards, propelled by a burst of ki. I threw a compact hook to her head, the punch faster than my last attack by a smidge. It glanced her cheek and was quickly batted aside by a forearm. I dodged a right straight and slid towards her now unprotected body. A scythe-like smile crept up my face once I realised it was the right side of her body.

"Okay," I grunted, digging my feet into the tiling below me, grounding myself. "Don't hate me for this. A fight's a fight. Ya either put up or shut up."

I licked my chapped lips, shrouding my fist in so much ki that it had an aura separate from the one burning around me. Roaring, I slammed an uppercut towards what I hoped was her liver. It sank into flesh, and if the audible crunch I heard was any indication, my punch had broken some of her ribs. Amaranth's arms fell to her side, limp and useless. She heaved – thankfully not throwing up her breakfast all over me. Her aura sputtered once, twice, and then vanished from existence. With a gasp, she crumpled to the floor in a shuddering mass of sweat and saliva.

Above me, the commentator hissed in sympathy, gathering his bearings before yelling into the hysterical crowd. "You all know how this goes! Amaranth is DOWN and she has until ten to get back up. Count with me, everyone!"

"ONE!" I jerked and tore my eyes away from Amaranth's downed body. The yell was that loud. Goosebumps broke out across my arms, my mouth widening at the sheer ferocity of the sound. "TWO!"

With each call, the crowd grew even more excited, the yells reaching a feverish pitch. To her credit, Amaranth tried to get up but each attempt simply brought her more pain. Her wheezing breaths rattled, drawing a little sympathy from me. But I squashed it in an instant. She didn't have any need for my sympathy. She came and fought with everything she had; anything less than my giving my best would be an insult to that.

"NINE!" I raised an arm in victory, certain that my opponent wouldn't get up. The final roar was one so loud that it blew all the previous ones out of the water. "TEEEN!"

The commentator zooming above me at breakneck speed was beside himself at the hype from the crowd, taking it in as if it were his sole source of sustenance. "Now if that isn't a statement, I don't know what is! Korn makes a huge splash, perhaps a direct challenge to Cabba? Either way, we're in for a wild next few hours, ladies and gentlemen!"

The medical team rushed over immediately, a stretcher brought out to carry the struggling Amaranth. As they helped her get to her feet, I walked over and offered a hand. "You fought well. I was just stronger."

Her previously fear-filled eyes were angry, but anything left of that quickly evaporated at my words. "...Yeah, I suppose you're right. I'll be back to fight you again in the next one."

I smirked. "I'll be looking forward to it even if I'll still win."

Throughout our exchange, the crowd refused to quiet down, yelling and hollering at what had to be the top of their collective lungs. Their cries continued as I made my way down the steps descending from the arena and entered the tunnel leading back to the Anvil's tunnels.

"—I'll be betting on you, kid! Don't disappoint!"

"That was hype but aren't you a bit too brutal?!"

"Man! Who'll win? You? Cabba?! Are there even stronger kids to come?!"

Every single one only made the smile on my face grow. The positive, the negative, all of it. This tournament was everything I'd imagined and more. The only thought present in my mind whilst I walked behind Shen Yue was whether or not I'd get another match quickly.