Shu just never could figure it out, how people knew what flavours went well and how people decided this was the best way to figure out the food’s taste. He was definitely a little jealous, but he knew if he was never going to get a skill like that anyway when he wasn’t very good at making food dishes in the first place. There was only so much he could be good at and most things that occurred in real society was definitely something he was very good at. He could barely dress properly nevermind make food dishes, so that task was left to his own discovery and appreciation for people who could, even if it was something as incredibly simple as this fruit. “It really good…very really good…” Getting a mild fright when the he realised he could hear the announcer clearly from here he looked around before to Sasha, nodding quickly before they headed on back. Once they were back in he stared at the stage for a moment before he hiccupped when he was nudged, looking up to Sasha curiously, soon bouncing on his feet. “Ooh! Yes! I would like very much! I be very good today too so even better!”

With the stage set and everything cleaned up it was time to get the next match going, this time Takeshi going up against someone by the name of Jura. With Takeshi heading into the ring his opponent did too, a Uuonoe citizen too by the looks of it. They were somewhat skinny and a bit tall but fairly enthusiastic as instead of facing Takeshi with determination they turned around and waved at the crowd. The feeling that this tournament was all for fun no matter the injury was pretty deep in Jura, even as Takeshi started stretching and talking as if he had already won. “What? Convincing? I just wanna have fun, yo!” they called out, or rather she did as it turned out Jura was female, “Maybe not pretend you’re the bad guy here with that attitude!” The moment the announcer made the call to start Jura was straight in, moving fast and straight in with a spinning kick.

--

Viral glanced over at Yumi, sighing as she decided to tell him off. She was the one who suggested going out and now she was all chastising him. It wasn’t her decision to make, especially when she was going to shout at him. He didn’t know what was going to happen in the future but if he died then that was it, there was no need to care anymore. Grumbling a little he tried to find a way to make himself feel more comfortable, but he could hardly move so all he managed was a slight shift in position before he had to give up. “They just want me to be something I’m not…” he mumbled, knowing that all three of them were actively protesting against his ability to kill easily, “Aito and Vegeta…they just want me to filter out what the RRA wanted me to be. Korian though…he knows of the atrocities I’ve committed and has every right to hate me for it. The only reason he backs out…is because he knows he’s outnumbered. He’s terrified of what I’m capable of…”

Viral could’ve done without Yumi getting all upset with him, it didn’t help to talk to her about these things if all she did was get all upset. He had nobody else to raise his concerns with that didn’t treat him like something that had to be fixed, but all she was capable of doing was getting all upset about it. It often made him a little annoyed at himself, all he was doing was telling the truth and yet she was having none of it, acting like a bit of a child again. He was certainly irritated by that constant telling off, it gave him no reassurance that maybe something could be done about it instead of constantly denying it. Sighing when she tried to settle it down with a thank you he closed his eyes, the pain hardly easing just because he was attempting to relax. “I don’t need thanks, I was just doing what I was supposed to do…and not go off forgetting that everyone else existed…” he spoke lowly, “You should just focus on not looking terribly injured while I try and figure out a way to make the Empire pay for this…”

"You're not supposed to have that many because its so full of sugar but I don't care, they're too good to pass up," Sasha laughed before taking a sizable bite, covering her mouth as she tried to chew the hardening caramel. Her mother would be going insane right now if she knew she was having sweets like this especially before a proper meal. Licking at the remaining caramel she watched as the next match was announced and Takeshi went to the stage followed by Jura, a woman she'd never seen before nor did the name ring a bell. As much as she might love for Takeshi to lose the match and be knocked down a peg it would be more satisfying if she or Ricken were able to do it. But she figured Shu would like to see his brother succeed and so she'd cheer for him if not begrudgingly so. "Today's been pretty amazing hasn't it? And we've still got the rest of the tournament to go!" Sasha said before clapping her hands, "Come on Takeshi, you got this!"

"I'm gonna have fun too! Fun kicking your butt!" Takeshi beamed, cracking his knuckles as the match began, "Don't think I'm going to go easy on you because you're a chick either!" Who was she calling a bad guy? So he wanted to win, big deal! Not expecting much out of a Uuonian he was taken aback when she dashed in as quickly as she did, lifting an arm and quickly blocking the kick. Playing around?! That kick hurt! Trying to reply with a strike of his own he threw a wide right punch and only managed to whiff as Jura backed off, his own momentum carrying him forward as he awkwardly hopped on one foot to stay up. Catching himself he grinned in amusement and arched an eyebrow, taking a stance as he settled himself in. "Not bad! I almost felt that!" he teased, kicking off with his foot and lowering his body as he got close, twisting around and trying to deliver a backwards kick to Jura's stomach, "Dodge this!"

“Oooohhh…but sugar good! Lots of energy! Oooohhh, fruit gift from the wild, so it always good, you know!” Shu spoke slowly as he thought through it, not really knowing what words he needed to properly say. Of course he was going to be supportive about food he found in nature, especially when fruit was found high up in the safe area therefore it must be the best food you could ever have. He was certainly happy enough to prove that fruit was the best in his opinion using examples from the jungle, but he knew they probably didn’t care much if at all about his life out there and whether he was okay during all of it. His past shouldn’t really be of a concern if nobody had a care for it that much. Staring at the ring as Takeshi went on to face another person he watched with curiosity, not really feeling too hyped as they began to fight. Stuff like this he was more used to watching quietly until it was his turn, he didn’t really like to cheer and get all hyped if he could help it, especially when he had fruit to occupy his time. It was interesting watching others compete without having to make a noise and jump around during the match only to face disappointment when the side you were cheering for doesn’t win.

Jura was pumped and ready to go, the crowd cheering definitely helping matters. It didn’t matter if this kid was a Saiyan or whatever, it was her time to shine on the ring and she wasn’t going out without a fight. Immediately going in with a flying kick she laughed when Takeshi complained about the pain, backing off for a moment before back flipping away from Takeshi’s eventual attack. “First you complain about pain and then you don’t! Strange guy, you are!” She was already heading back around him, using the time he was spending at the end of his kick she bounced in once again, aiming to push Takeshi to the floor from this side with a hop against his back. “So weird calling me a chick! Do all you kids have no manners? Or should I be callin’ you a boy since that’s the same!”

"Yeah, well our mother always used to say too much sugar was a bad thing," Sasha laughed, placing a finger in Shu's face and taking on a stern expression, "Too much sugar and you'll get fat you two! Eat healthy!" Changing her voice to try and sound stern she ended up making herself laugh again, though laughter quickly subsided and a more somber smile took hold as she watched the fighting with half-interest. Her mother, she wondered if she and the rest of their family were watching them from Otherworld? Were they proud of what she and Ricken were doing? Smiling thoughtfully she shook her head and reminded herself dwelling on it wasn't going to help her any, all it ever did was make her sad and leave her still without answers. She was curious though to know more about Shu and whether he thought his parents... Or maybe his mother, what he thought about her. "Hey Shu... Can I ask you something personal?" Sasha whispered, turning away and ignoring the fight as Takeshi stumbled about, "We all know your dad is kind of... Well a complete jerk, but what about your mom? What's she like? Do you miss her?" Hopefully it wasn't too personal of a question but she was curious to know, did Shu and Takeshi have at least one decent parent among them?

Okay so he'd underestimated the fact Jura could even swing that hard, that was on him. The fact she'd dodged his attack too either meant he was slower than he thought or she was faster. Should he speed it up a little? If he used any Ki even for something so simple there'd be no end of complaints and he really didn't want to have to listen to them. "Hey no one likes pain! Let me give you a good whack and you'll see what I mean!" Takeshi shot back, grinning as he landed and began to turn around after his kick. Off-balance as he was it was child's play for Jura to knock into him and nearly topple him over and only by quickly extending his hands out was he able to catch himself, springing back up and flipping over before landing back on his feet. "If the shoe fits, lady! I can call you a dude if you want me to!" Takeshi joked as he kicked off and dashed back in again, trying a change of tactic as he cocked back a fist and threw it down. Again he missed by a fairly wide margin and only managed to shatter the stone he struck, flattening his hand out and jumping up with his arm as support then, spinning his body around and trying to kick out at Jura.

Shu stared at Sasha for a moment before giggling a little when she touched his face. “No! Always eat healthy anyway! Although…what is not healthy? Don’t know the things that are the healthy thing but the not healthy thing!” He didn’t know what was going to do harm to him or what was going to be good for him, he never had to think about such things until fairly recently when Takeshi started to feed him all sorts of strange food. Even the people who brought him out of the jungle to teach him human ways gave him very simple dishes to not startle him too much. They treated him pretty well, but it did seem that they were aware that he was better adventuring than staying with them all confined to one environment. He knew if they didn’t send him out that one time he wouldn’t even be where he was now. Feeling fair content with everything he looked to Sasha when she practically whispered to him, finding it a little difficult to hear at first before he squeaked. “Ooh! Don’t know her, but Takeshi said we were going to find her! I think he forgot though”, he spoke, looking back briefly, “He having fun in space more”.

Jura was a fast one and probably knew she would be outclassed if it was a real fight, so this was still fun either way. He was able to dart around and try to catch her too, but she was just that little bit more patient and was capable of running circles around Takeshi without getting caught. Having a bit of a laugh about it she noticed Takeshi’s feigned frustration, him trying to turn everything against her for whatever reason. “Give it a rest! Don’t you know how to have fun in a non-sarcastic manner?” she laughed, flipping backwards as Takeshi continued to try to hit her back. It was going to be easy tiring him out if he was going to keep being all rigid and acting like the big guy. Jumping back a few spaces she kept an eye on Takeshi, noticing he was coming right at her again with another kick She was prepared, she had been leading him in this direction specifically for something like that. Immediately she bounced into the air, flipped forward and tried to kick Takeshi as he passed, aiming to push him over the edge of the ring so that she might possibly secure a win.

"I AM having fun! I'm having a great time with this, don't know what you're talking about!" Why wasn't he able to hit this damn woman? She couldn't be that fast, Shu was fast and he would occasionally catch his brother and this lady had nothing on him. Trying again for a headon attack he smashed a fist into the flooring and tried to kick Jura while she was still within distance, growling when he completely whiffed yet again. Coming full circle and flipping back onto his feet he gasped as the woman came down upon him with a kick, throwing his arms up and blocking it but nearly being knocked clear off his feet, sliding across the stone floor. Coming perilously close to the edge he slammed down a foot and broke the tile to stop himself, glancing back before grinning. "Hah! Like that was going to work!" Seriously though what gives? He should be trouncing this lady like it was nothing and she'd nearly just won there. Kicking away the broken stone he frowned and walked towards Jura again, staring at her intently as he folded his arms across his chest.

"Look lady, you're not going to win, so why don't you just give up already?" Takeshi pressed, grinning as he tried to 'reason' with Jura. Around them the crowd began to boo to which he turned around and shouted something best drowned out by their noise, rolling his eyes before turning back to her. "Alright, alright, screw it! Let's have fun!" Giving his knuckles a crack he shook his arms before putting up his fists and dashing in after Jura, throwing a simple jab at her head. Assuming she dodged it, he wasn't striking all that fast, he'd use his free hand to grab a hold of her and attempt to spin her around and throw her out of the arena. Like hell he was going to be shown up by some Uuonian lady!

"Oh... Fatty things, sugary things, a little bit is okay but you're only supposed to eat so much. Otherwise you can get sick, or so my mom always said. But these things are fruit right, so that makes them healthy!" Sasha was probably giving Shu some awfully conflicting messages there but he was young anyways, it wasn't like he had to worry about what he ate. And with how active they were too anything they did eat was burned off within hours so what was the point of worrying? Curious as the crowd around them gave a cry of dissent she looked back briefly at the stage and rolled her eyes seeing Takeshi chatting away instead of fighting, and though it was impossible to hear him she could only guess he was running his mouth. Shaking her head in disbelief she turned to Shu instead, finding him to be far more pleasant as she asked about their mother. She'd brought her own up so what did they think of theirs?

"You don't know your own mom? That's... Weird," Sasha muttered as she knit her brow. How did someone not know their own mom? She guessed the King must have taken them away or, even worse, killed her. She wouldn't put it past the man who tore worlds apart and thought himself justified in doing so. "Well maybe once you finish up here you should go find her? I bet she'd love to see how her boys grew up," she added with a smile, "And I bet she'll be happy to see what a good boy you've grown up to be. And what a pain in the neck your brother is..."

“Are you sure? All I hear is you trying to intimidate and mock me! That’s not having fun, is it?” Maybe if Takeshi stopped trying to act all big she would let him have a chance to make a hit on her, but right now trying to confuse him and push him a little was probably the more fun option rather than having him be all super proud of himself and try to show off. The crowd hated show offs, she had been to this event many times before and they would always boo them and treat them like the villain of this little event. It was all in good fun that they did, but it was still sometimes demoralising for the fighter not wanting to be the villain character. This kid was a try-hard, that was for sure. Coming close to getting him out she spun around again, jogging in place to keep her adrenaline going.

Listening to him briefly as he tried to talk sure enough the crowd began to treat him like a villain, just like she thought they would. That was just what happened in these events and it was no use getting frustrated with the outcome, he just had to learn how to loosen up and have some fun. Getting ready once again she was on the defensive, knowing he’d be the one to attack next logically. Moving slightly to dodge the jab she instead found herself grabbed, her foot trying to keep on the ground as she was spun before he let go. Almost flipping off the stage she ended up flipping over and having to grab onto the ground with her fingertips, halting just before she fell off. “Hey! Maybe the recruits will look up to you eventually if you have more fun!” Running around quickly she was back to going on the offensive, side stepping before making a sudden turn and sweeping her legs to throw him off balance just so she could try to kick him further to the edge.

Shu really didn’t understand the concept of food and what was good or bad for him, everything was just confusing and it wasn’t as if he was the same as she was or anybody else for that matter. Everybody had ideas on what they were supposed to eat which was usually defined by what made them feel okay and what made them feel bad and usually he’d just keep away from the stuff that made him feel bad. He was used to feeling ill since he had to deal with it a lot in the past, but he rarely got very sick from food. “Ooh! Poison! I know that! Some food poison, make you sick! Strong taste usually bad!” Tilting his head curiously when she instead found it a little strange that he didn’t know his mother he soon looked down, trying to figure out why it was weird. He was sure there was a lot of people out there who didn’t know their own mother, him and Takeshi weren’t that unusual surely. Looking back up at her he tilted his head the other way before squeaking. “Ooh! Takeshi was wanting to! No really me, though”, he spoke, looking away again, “Looking for her would mean we need to go back to Earth and find the Dragonballs again, and Mister Viral was also wanting the Dragonballs so he would want them first but if there’s important stuff that needs wishing for that would mean not everyone can get a wish and…it confusing! It okay though, I mean…it okay for me. Family is more of people you like and want to protect and protect back rather than being same as you! Don’t really mind if no can find mother anyway. It complicated, it is…”

"Ain't my fault you have thing skin, you know? I can throw punches instead of taunts if you'd like!" How was he not having fun? Sure he was a little annoyed this woman hadn't already lost but he was having fun! It was annoying too that the crowd was booing him for who knows what, he'd tell them all to shit their traps if he wasn't busy trying to catch Jura. He might not be as fast as Shu but Takeshi knew he had to at least be faster than a Uuonian, damn lady was quick on her feet though. Grabbing a hold of her after feigning a jab he spun about on his heels and attempted to just throw her from the arena entirely, nearly managing to do so until she stopped her momentum and slid right to the edge. Clicking his tongue Takeshi raced over to try and throw a punch again, missing as she ran after him instead and went low, kicking his legs out from beneath him. Seeing her kicking out after him he let himself fall and swung his own legs around, reaching out and wrapping them around Jura's waist before spinning his entire body on his hand and dragging her along with the momentum. Pivoting on the palms of his hand he swung both of them back around towards the edge before unlinking his legs and letting Jura free, watching as she finally went over the edge of the arena and onto the grass below. Grinning triumphantly as he got back to his feet Takeshi went back to the edge, beaming as Jura looked unharmed from his throw. "You lost to the bad guy! Heh, sorry!"

"You're not wrong, family is whatever you consider family to be..." Sasha agreed, smiling thoughtfully as she nodded her head, "Before my family was Ricken and our parents, but now its the rebels. They aren't perfect but they're my family now, just like your friends are probably your family." That was surprisingly bright for Shu, then again she supposed she'd never considered him dumb to begin with, just not as... Well spoken. Having looked up just as Jura was collecting herself from the ground she smiled halfheartedly as Takeshi went over and said something to her, the crowd's cheers seeming just as halfhearted as her smile. At least he wasn't being a complete jerk about winning and parading around like an idiot, but she sure would love to see someone beat him all the same. With his match over that meant the first round had officially ended and the second round would begin. "We should probably wait on that snack a bit, don't want to be fighting on a full stomach do we? Better get ready!"

---

The second round was a lot more exciting than the first as most of the more casual fighters had been knocked out. With the exception of a handful of Uuonians everyone involved now was, predictably, either a rebel or a soldier. Not that anyone had expected any different outcome though the crowd didn't seem to mind at all. The first match had been much more intense than any before it, most of which had come down to grapple contests or simply throwing one another out of the ring. Two rebel soldiers, both of some distinguished background squared off and treated it more like a fight than any match before it. Nothing terribly serious and far from lethal but punches were thrown and they took some punishment, and when it concluded both men were able to stand under their own power and shared a handshake as the victor was declared.

The crowd went on cheering right up through the announcement for the next match, and the two contestants called only incited even more excitement. The next battle would be between Sasha and Shu and both were probably excited for their duel, and more importantly they were excited to have fun with it. Sasha was certainly grateful she got the more carefree of the boys rather than Takeshi and she'd be sure to make the most of it.

"I hope you don't go easy on me just because we're friends Shu! I want you to give it everything you've got!" Sasha called across the way with a smile, bouncing back and forth on the heels of her feet. Waiting as the announcer gave their introductions and declared the match officially started she tried to think of just what Shu was doing to do first. The way he fought was so unusual and he didn't really have a style, he just seemed to make it up as he went along. As soon as the match was started she slowly approached Shu, smiling as she raised her hands and kept an eye on his feet to watch where he was going. Close enough to strike now she flattened her left hand and threw out her palm, and if that should miss she pulled her arm back and rotated her body, throwing her right palm out trying to hit Shu in the chest.

Shu gave a little nod, tilting his head to the side a little bit before he sighed heavily. “Ooohhh…sometimes wonder if others feel same way, though. Learned a lot about family when I learn about stuff for being outside jungle, but they always say it was complicated. That word, all the time”, he spoke, not really caring about what was going on stage as Takeshi bet his opponent by throwing her out of the ring, “’That sounds complicated’, ‘it’s complicated’…only way to describe, really. They found it hard that family that was like me was not what I thought of as family, but I never knew what they knew to be family. I was the strange one in my old family”. He felt he should probably stop talking about it all since he was being watched so intently with everything he said or did taking centre stage. It was hard being careful about things he said when he was always thinking about it every day. It made him feel awkward as well as making it difficult for him to not think about his feelings. If he was to make them pleased he needed to act strong and not carry these worries anymore, It would make them happier if he didn’t worry all the time, that’s what this was all about.

The next few rounds went underway and Shu still didn’t really show much interest in watching them, instead waiting for everything to be over. The longer it lasted the better, usually, seeing as how he found comfort in not being in centre stage. He knew he was going to have to go in for it again and show he was capable of handling the pressure, he had a lot he had to prove to the others if he was going to show he was not suffering under his own doubt. His own match was coming up soon, but he didn’t know how prepared he was going to be until he knew who he was facing. There was a leaderboard he could look to that everyone was also paying attention to during the breaks, but he couldn’t read any of the names. He thought that maybe his name was the shortest, but turns out there was others who had short names too making it easy to mix them up.

Once his name was finally called he didn’t much like the decision of who he was up against, that being Sasha. He was somewhat hoping to bypass having to fight either Sasha or Ricken, but at least it wasn’t Ricken either way. Ricken didn’t really like him very much from the sounds of it, especially because of what he was but then again he couldn’t blame him for that. It was only Takeshi who was comfortable with who he was and shrugged off the hate, but he didn’t like carrying around the title himself. Lots of people probably didn’t like him because he was a Saiyan, he was easier to point out as one because of his tail too whereas only people close to Takeshi would know about his Saiyan origins or if he was pointed out on purpose as the son of the King. It made him feel bad for being one, but that probably shouldn’t be his top concern right now. Being face to face with Sasha was his main concern, mostly because he didn’t know how to fight her. It was easy fighting the big guy earlier, he was slower, but Sasha could be fast or anything inbetween. Gasping as the match went underway he became startled, his eyes quickly searching around before fixating on Sasha again as she approached him. Bouncing on his feet to try and get into it like she had he moved to approach her too, but she was quick to get close to him and pushed him with a palm force attack which caused him to stumble back. Only managing to catch himself with his tail he pushed forward again, crouching down low to the ground before he bounced forward on all fours from side to side, eventually throwing his feet forward to try and kick her off her own.

It was a blessing and a curse that Sasha found herself paired up and fighting against Shu. It was much better than someone like her brother facing off against him but that didn't mean she wanted to fight him either. They were here to duel and put on a spectacle and she'd do as much, she'd just have fun and hope Shu would as well. As the bell rang and their match began she took the initiative to begin and slowly approached Shu, keeping things simple as she struck out with the flat of her palm and knocked Shu back. Watching as he sprung back with the use of his tail she kept her eyes trained intently on him while he dashed side to side, trying to time a counter attack right when he finally came within striking distance. Lifting her left leg she tried to kick out and knock Shu back, her foot flying well over his head as he dashed to the side and kicked out himself, catching her completely off-guard as she was knocked off her own feet. Rolling once she sprang up with her hands and smiled at Shu, rushing back in and leaning forward, flipping onto her hands and springing over him before leaning backwards and kicking off, trying to tackle him from behind and throw him if she got a hold.

So far Shu looked to be holding up just fine in his matches, but would it last? They should be avoiding battle and yet it may prove therapeutic to engage in fighting with no real danger looming over them. A simple brawl, a friendly tussle, nothing more. If push came to shove and Shu should show signs of transforming or having a panic then Aito would interject and stop the fight, but so far he seemed to be doing fine. What would everyone else thing if Shu were to transform? No doubt there would be some panic and it would set back his recovery and confidence, it was in everyone's best interest then if they never let that happen. Scanning the crowd as the fight progressed he spotted Korian in the mix, the other Saiyan watching intently no doubt to see how his own people would fare. Was there something the Saiyan was after in all this? He'd been told it was an even purely of celebration but there was an odd feeling like it was some kind of proving grounds for rebels too, or was that just him? He'd have to keep an eye on the rebels as well then.

Shu didn’t really know what he was doing and was just going along with it, his panic setting in more because his opponent was somebody he was very familiar with. He wasn’t really good at hitting others he knew pretty well so it was very difficult trying to think through the movements he was supposed to do to get around her own attacks. He didn’t want to hurt her too much, he just wanted to have fun like the rest, especially after what happened last time. His last opponent ended up taking out a few other people which didn’t make him feel very good about fighting. He hoped the guy and those people were okay after that, he didn’t want that looming over him throughout the night and the coming days. He would just feel too guilty after hurting so many people that were just wanting to have fun. He didn’t want her to get hurt because of him, she was too important to him.

Already trying to avoid falling off the stage he was certainly wondering if he was going to be able to get to the final if it was already proving tough to keep balance and on top of things. She wasn’t really hurting him, just throwing him off balance and causing him to panic a little. He needed to prove he was capable and that he wasn’t just getting lucky. Everybody probably thought he was small and weak and if he lost now they’d probably still think that of him and not let him do anything at all, probably tell him he should just stay put while everybody else went off to fight because he might end up transforming or getting hurt really badly. He didn’t know who was watching, even Takeshi might just be off doing his own thing because he had faith in him anyway. He had a lot on his shoulders, or so he thought he did. He was really trying to keep on top of everything but even as he got close enough again to kick out and trip her up she was quick to get back up, getting around him immediately and tackling him down. Panicking briefly he flailed as he was swung around to be tossed away, but before he could go anywhere his tail wrapped around her arm, using the momentum without thinking to try and throw her off the stage instead.

Sasha expected a lot more out of Shu and their match to be much more competitive than most before it. She'd seen what he could do and even if he hadn't the faith himself she was full aware he was capable. She'd been a bit brazen perhaps in attacking as quickly as she did and was quick to pay for it as Shu kicked her back, trying to keep on the pressure so he couldn't get momentum going. Getting around behind him seemed like the best bet and she flipped over to throw him away and hopefully out of the ring. Successful in throwing Shu she hadn't expected him to latch onto her and went with him, gasping as she was thrown forward and very nearly over the edge of the ring. Flipping over and planting her feet on the arena she slid back towards the edge, her arms pinwheeling as she teetered precariously close before taking a step forward and saving herself.

"That was close! You nearly got me there!" Smiling as she walked back into ring proper she rolled her wrist, the crowd around them already getting excited and cheering. "Are you doing alright? Sorry if I scared you there!" No more grabbing Shu, good to know. That didn't mean she was going to hold back though, she'd just be sure to change her tactics. Winking playfully at the young Saiyan she danced back and forth on her feet as she approached him, keeping her body loose and making no move to strike until she was within two meters of him. Stopping just for a second as she bounced in place she took a step forward and kicked off her back leg, flipping over and throwing an axe kick at Shu. If it missed she'd then stand on the same foot and swing her other leg around this time in a roundhouse kick. She'd keep it to kicks for now and just try and drive Shu back towards the edge of the arena, she could feasibly win without ever having to actually hurt him.

"Viral's not here but I still get the feeling we're watching a potential disaster take place." Korian was hardly confident in the supposed 'progress' made with Shu and for good reason. It was clear by the boy's posture and the way he scrambled about that he wasn't at all confident about himself or his strength still. The audience in attendance loved the display and seemed to adore Shu but none of them knew what a hazard he was. That man Aito had insisted on training him but it didn't appear like any progress had been made on that front yet. Feeling a pair of eyes on him he turned to see the aforementioned "doctor" looking at him, his lips drawing in a thin line as he sniffed and turned his focus back to the fight. Potential in the Princes and their friends couldn't go to waste, not if they hoped to drive back whatever these beasts were, and not if they hoped to win the inevitable war that would restart once this common threat was beaten back. "What do you think, Sayomi? Do they seem even remotely different?" the rebel pressed, frowning as he leaned forward and folded his hands beneath his chin, "Sasha and Ricken developed as fighters so much more quickly. What are those two lacking?"

Shu didn’t mean to panic like that, he had spent a long time trying to keep calm and yet there he was completely getting over his own head in thinking that he was going to be okay with this little tournament. He needed to get it together and not panic like that, even if the crowd were completely unaware and were happy to cheer him on for nearly getting a ring out. Looking around quickly he soon pointed his eyes back at Sasha as she came back in, staring at her as she approached him slowly. “Ah! No scared! Just…no want throw Shu…” It was getting a little harder to hide his worries but he had to get over it now before things got worse, hopefully that’ll change soon enough and they’ll all just completely forget he was ever worried. He had to keep fighting on and show that he was capable of managing on his own, it would be great once that bad habit of his was completely broken.

Despite being slightly disorientated he was determined to get back into the game and properly work it if he was going to win. He didn’t want to unleash fury on Sasha, he might really hurt her and scare everyone when the others were all holding back. He just needed to push her out of the ring somehow, he didn’t want to hurt her too much. Watching as she made her way towards him again he felt a little confused, not feeling terribly certain that he knew what she was doing. Remaining wary he tilted his head, frowning for a moment before he gasped and was immediately caught off-guard and was nearly kicked down. Panicking briefly, he tried to collect himself again and move in for the attack but was instead struck by another kick. Due to his position rather than being batted out he was batted down to the ground by the kick, landing on his head first before falling onto his back. Disorientated momentarily he quickly rolled over, shook his head before dashing straight for Sasha on all fours, bouncing around before suddenly springing right for her to try and tackle-shove her off the stage using built-up speed.

Sayomi was having a fair fine time taking notes of potential recruits and the fighters that were already under their roof, mostly for her own logging interests and in case some were to get injured and would need some time to recover. Looking to Korian when he expressed his worry she sighed lightly, looking through her notebook device. “Hm well, Viral still hasn’t reported back so if you want another potential disaster to take over the thought of this one…” In terms of disasters that one was probably bigger than having to deal with Shu potentially freaking out, especially when they sent basically their B-squad out to that world and yet there was no reports back yet. So much for trusting a Beastman and a giant idiot like Leto. Trusting Shu to keep it together was like trusting a pet not to bite, it was a case of whether nerves were going to take over and not so much of being incapable of following instructions. Glancing at Korian she frowned at the questions, looking back at the fight once more. “Well, regarding their history, Shu is still a child and is severely underdeveloped socially due to where he came from. He certainly has a lot of fighting spirit though and just needs time to figure out how to release that”, she spoke, tapping her notebook lightly in thought, “Takeshi is just…well, he has a lot of the same problems you had when you were young. Compared to Sasha and Ricken, both of them are simply lacking experience and that personal drive to show the world who they are. Sasha and Ricken were born from war, but those two came from a peaceful planet nearly untouched by the King that'll likely never be conquered. It’s all a matter of perspective, really”.

"No throwing Shu? Well alright then. I won't throw you around anymore." Made it a little harder to ring out Shu which meant she may actually have to try and put him into a submission. Yet grabbing him earlier had caused him to freak out too hadn't it? The only thing that seemed even remotely feasible then was to hit him until he quit, hardly an enticing idea considering how little she wanted to harm Shu. There may be little other way though and she had said she wouldn't hold back and she'd meant it. Going purely on the offensive she resorted to quick kicks, striking Shu's side before lifting her leg and delivering an axe kick which knocked him down and incidentally slammed his head against the ring. Cringing when she saw the impact she nearly tried to help him help but instead stepped back when Shu was quick to rise regardless, eyes wide in surprise as he launched himself at her then. Unsure of what he was going to do Sasha raised her hands and attempted to swat the boy away, gasping when he simply drilled his head right into her gut and pushed her back. Her feet slid along the tiles and she dug desperately to try and find footing, grabbing hold of Shu and trying to push him away. By the time she'd managed to get any semblance of a grasp she felt her feet leave the arena, eyes wide as she looked down and promptly landed on her behind on the grass. Staring up at the arena she saw Shu sitting there alone now, just narrowly avoiding falling out himself.

"You... You beat me..." Just like that too? No big move, no serious attack, he'd simply tackled her and forced her out of the ring. Blinking once she seemed stunned before a smile crossed her face and she laughed, the crowd around them erupting in cheers for Shu. "Looks like you're moving on Shu! That's the end of the tournament for me!" Getting to her feet and dusting herself off Sasha stepped to the edge of the ring, smiling proudly as she reached out and offered a fist for Shu to return. "Congratulations Shu, looks like you're getting into the finals! I guess I couldn't beat you," she said with a laugh, pressing her fist against his and winking, "Remember what we talked about, just keep having fun with it okay?"

"Yes... Well my "perspective" is that the Princes are all but useless to anyone as they are now. Both to us and the King, and themselves." Neither could truly control their powers even now and Shu was still a mess, liable to go off and transform at the drop of a pin. It wasn't even a matter of having them fight for the rebellion anymore so much as it was a safety concern, both boys and perhaps even their friends were all a risk if they ended up going wild. Viral, Shu, Yumi, Takeshi, they all had some record of going a bit wild and the others probably did too if he cared enough to look. "Agreeing to let that damn doctor handle them doesn't seem like the right choice still. I don't care what 'expertise' he says he has, he's too soft on them. You know as well as I do that coddling gets us nowhere," Korian muttered, frowning as he watched Sasha lose the match. A tournament like this was perfectly suited for someone who didn't have the guts for actual combat. You could fight effectively and still not take lives, that was a kind of control that very few of their race had. "We'll have to start mobilizing people to protect planets with those rifts opening up. I can only hope by then those kids can be reliable, otherwise we'll have to waste manpower just babysitting them."

Shu was having a hard time coming up with a good plan of action, so much so that all he could think of doing was throwing himself at her and hoping something was going to happen. He had received a good bonk to the head so any other plan of action before thinking about it was to try and deliver a blow that might help him win. Going in head first he tried to go in for a push, managing to connect and driving Sasha back enough to give him some space, or maybe too much space as she ended up falling off the stage. Gasping as he tried to back off with his arms flailing he ended up jumping back, stopping on all fours before he stood up again. Sighing when he realised he wasn’t in danger he squeaked at the crowd cheering for him. Well that was always a nice thing to be heard, he was pretty alright with it not being booing or anything like that. Looking back to Sasha he smiled a little, bouncing on his toes, “Going to finals?? Then we have nice food, yes?” he asked, not looking entirely sure how to react to her fist being there, holding his own out as if assuming it was some strange gesture before squeaking when she bumped hers against his. Looking to his fist curiously he frowned, not feeling entirely sure about what he was supposed to get from it. “Ooh, umm, fun…yes! Having fun still!” he nodded quickly, “Will have the fun when finals are coming!” Jumping off the stage he nearly fell over as a feeling of dizziness came on, holding his head for a moment before he bounced away to the sidelines, hoping he could get over being hit in the head by the time his match came on.

Sayomi let out a short sigh, looking through her notebook and bringing up some files to look at. “Well, not everyone can be perfect like you”, she spoke, giving Korian a side glance before looking away again, “Besides, you didn’t have your brain nearly melted through experimentation or had to wait a year to see your family member had been through all that”. It was always a little annoying when Korian couldn’t see through the possibility that not everyone was born to be a warrior or have a heart of iron, even with having to manage the data of hundreds of soldiers she wasn’t going to end up seeing them as all equal and not having progression problems regarding strength and stability. Looking to Korian as he muttered to himself she frowned before looking to see Sasha fall out of the ring making Shu the victor. That was surely an accomplishment in Korian’s eyes, or maybe not since he would probably put it down to luck and nothing else. Looking to see who was up next she couldn’t help but feel a little unimpressed, sighing lightly. “Hmm well, they are strong and unfortunately if it comes down to it we might just need to throw Shu in the fold and tell him it’s okay to change so long as he was killing those monsters. We’ve started training our own soldiers with physical weapons too, so things are moving along fine in regards to that. Besides, if you’re so set on those kids, why don’t you train them? You’re not still scared of Shu after what happened during your first encounter with him, are you…? If not then I see no problem”.

"That's right, food after the finals! Win or lose we're getting some more of that fruit!" Something to look forward to if not winning the finals themselves. Bumping their fists together in a show of camaraderie Sasha smiled and stepped back for Shu to jump down, raising an eyebrow as he stumbled and nearly toppled over. Had she kicked him that hard? "Good... As long as you're having fun that's what matters," she said with a smile, uncertain if Shu should even fight now. There was no blood but maybe she'd kicked him much too hard earlier. Looking around uncertainly as none of the doctors came forward to help she stepped closer to Shu and gently put a hand on his shoulder, easing him towards a bench as Takeshi and Ricken came over towards them. "I bet you're pretty tired after that, how about you sit down and catch your breath?" Hearing the announcer yelling at someone to return to their seats Sasha quirked an eyebrow and turned towards the stage and was surprised to see Aito flying down towards them. What was he doing here? He was completely ignoring the announcer and paying no mind to the two rebels who were coming around to probably take him back to his seat.

"I'm a doctor, just let me take a look at the boy." The rebels didn't seem sure about that yet Aito clearly wasn't going to be taken away regardless so they simply remained nearby if need be. Smiling at Shu he gestured to the bench and waited for Shu to be seated. "Nothing to worry about Shu, I just want to make sure you're okay after hitting your head there. It's standard stuff, everyone gets this treatment." Inspecting the young Saiyan's head briefly for any visible wounds Aito knelt before the bench, continuing to smile as he spoke to Shu. "I just need you to answer a couple of questions for me, okay? I need you to tell me what your name is, where we are and what we're doing. Also if its hard to think of any of that be sure to tell me too."

"No... But I've had my fair share of ordeals in life. The number of times I've nearly died and been beaten are too many to remember. My point is you can't play victim just because you've been beaten down. And Saiyans are known for becoming hardier and stronger for our defeats but they're just as careless and meek as ever. They've learned absolutely nothing, all that strength of theirs means nothing." It was infuriating honestly. No matter what side they were allied with at the end of the day they were all Saiyans, they had pride and they had their combat prowess which made them who they were. How was Sayomi not frustrated with them as well? "Train him? He can't be trained when he's afraid to even fight, that's my point. It doesn't matter who trains him, as it is he can't be trained." Seeing Aito descending from the stands and going to join the children he watched with a hard frown, furrowing his brow and almost rising out of his seat to follow. Just what was that man doing now? Coddling Shu again after a harmless fight? "Hmph... How are you not frustrated with this? We're SAIYANS!" Korian said angrily as he gestured to the display below, "We fight and we live on, that's all our people do. They're... They're unbelievable."

Shu was pretty happy with the thought of getting a good meal after all of this was done, especially after getting to the finals. He hoped he hadn’t made Sasha upset by beating her, he didn’t even know if he was going to win anything if he managed to win overall. Everybody seemed pretty happy to continue on with their merry little way after their matches so it mustn’t be too big a prize. Giving his head a quick rub he tried to think on where he was actually walking, his eyes going to the crowd momentarily before gasping when someone placed a hand on his shoulder, looking to see that it was Sasha. He didn’t know where she was leading him to at first, but after a moment he realised where they were going. “Ooohhhh, yes! Sitting would be a good thing”, he spoke, giving Sasha a smile before hiccupping, thinking he was in trouble when he heard the announcer off in the ring still. Turning around he held his head to stop himself from falling down, feeling pretty confused.

Not knowing what was going on at first he soon realised that it was Aito, frowning at him. He didn’t know that he was here, he thought he would be back at the other place still. Slowly backing off and plonking down on the bench. He must’ve been in trouble for being here or something, he didn’t know what he was allowed to do when he was out with everyone else. Sniffling a little he thought his nose was bleeding, but it was just an illusion because of the double-bump he received to the front and back of his head. Not entirely knowing what he was supposed to be feeling right now with Aito here, staring at him as he checked his head. “Ooohhh…umm…Shu? And…umm…” he hesitated a moment, raising his shoulders, “Is Shu in trouble? It was Shu who wanted to play! Play for winning! No umm…remember what it called…but play is fun too! People like watching play…”

Sayomi sighed heavily, already feeling a little more than fed up with Korian’s moaning. She was a Saiyan herself, she knew what Saiyans were capable of and what she was able to do without being lectured about it. “You can’t honestly be getting that conclusion from watching a fun little wrestling match. How long has it been since you’ve fought alongside them to know how much they’ve learned?” Somehow it was a little amusing to see Korian all worked up, but this was pretty normal for him anyway and he would never do anything against her if she disagreed. She was a lot more patient than Korian was by a longshot and could see the potential in everyone, just not in the same way Korian thought he could while dismissing others who showed any signs of weakness. “He’s not afraid to fight, he’s afraid of himself. A simple ‘no thank you, I don’t want to train him’ would’ve sufficed instead of making him sound like a wild animal”. With Aito heading on down to help she couldn’t help but sigh, knowing it was going to set Korian off. He really didn’t like the man and Korian’s little outburst just told everybody that too. “Yes, you are right; we are Saiyans, they’re not believable to us because they’re halflings”, she sighed, leaning back a bit more in her seat, “Aito is mostly Human, you know that. The Princes are half-Human…at least Takeshi is. I don’t know what’s up with Shu’s genetic readout whether this is his father’s doing or if something else really is going on…but either way. They’re not the same as us. Can’t you see that? They’re Earthlings born and raised”.

"No Shu you aren't in trouble. A little harmless wrestling is perfectly alright," Aito answered with a small smile, holding a hand up in front of Shu's face, index finger extended. "Just follow my fingers with your eyes okay? Nice and easy." There was very clearly a loss of balance and difficult in speech, that was enough in of itself to say Shu had a concussion. Now there were two perfectly good reasons to pull Shu out of this entire situation and sideline him but if he did there was going to be a lot of fuss about it. So did he allow Shu to fight or did he take him out? Glancing over at the remaining competitors on the board he didn't particularly see anyone that would hurt him if he had to fight, and it was a safe bet it would be him against either his brother or one of the rebels. Still... He could scarcely walk in a straight line. "Shu? I think it might be a good idea for you to withdraw from the tournament. You hit your head and that's never good, you don't want to hurt it any more do you?" He technically had no authority here to tell anyone to stop fighting and his being a doctor meant little off-world no doubt but that didn't change the fact Shu probably shouldn't continue.

"Hey Doc, what's going on? Shu alright?" Kind of weird that Aito would come flying down just to check on Shu. When assured it was just a routine check up Takeshi let it go even if he had some more questions, figuring the doctor wouldn't explain himself anyways. Stepping around Aito he grinned broadly at Shu and sat beside him, giving him a slap on the back with a laugh. "Nice job buddy! Looks like you're getting into the finals! I wonder who you're going to be fighting next." As if anyone had a question, there were only two people left to fight before Shu's next match began. Lifting his head and meeting Ricken's disdainful and grinned tauntingly back, eager for the chance to beat his grumpy ass up. "Not like its even going to be any surprise. You'd better be ready to fight when I get to the finals too Shu, I want to have a fun fight with you. And I'm going to win this time, just you watch."

"Hmph... Like you have any hope of winning without Ki," Ricken grumbled, sneering as Takeshi told him to repeat himself. "You heard me. With Ki you Saiyans are strong, but without it you're hardly better than anyone else. You're an idiot if you think you've got a chance at beating me."

"Ricken! It's just a tournament for fun, it doesn't matter who wins or loses. Try being a good sport about this." Ricken snapped back about just doing what Takeshi was, to which Takeshi snapped back that he was only doing it because Ricken deserved as much. Groaning in frustration Sasha placed her face in her hands, dropping them to her sides and rolling her eyes. How could these two be so similar and yet clash so much? It was infuriating! The two of them began to argue yet again and got rather close to one another, almost to the point where they were screaming in each other's faces. Watching them in disbelief she sighed in relief as Aito grabbed each by the back of their shirts and separated them, moving to Ricken and taking his arm, dragging him away from the others. "You're unbelievable..."

"That's quite enough fighting, your match is coming up anyways," Aito laughed, smiling tightly as he forced Takeshi to take a seat beside Shu, "Try not to kill each other though, hm? This is a tournament for fun, as it it's not serious. You're going to have a heart attack if you can't relax."

"Look at the way they carry themselves, it's exactly the same. And field reports don't show any signs of them changing either," Korian explained in exasperation as he watched Aito separate Takeshi and Ricken. Their match was going to be messy, hopefully neither was actually stupid enough to break any of the cardinal rules of the tournament. The fact that Sayomi couldn't see any problem with the boys perhaps suggested they had been apart from their own people for far too long. Had she forgotten why Saiyans were a great, proud race? Did she forget they needed power to win this war and be rid of the King's tyranny? There was plenty of reason to be upset at the boys' inadequacies, least of all which was that it was bothersome. "Fine, but then our race has shown that Saiyan hybrids are typically stronger. So not only are they not as strong as they should be but they also lack control. And for all rights Shu is an animal. He's barely cultured to live among people, he's a risk for those around him, he needs a lot of work done." There were some among the group of Beastmen taken in that were becoming settled better than Shu was so what did that say about him? Sighing to himself he leaned back in his seat and rubbed his temples, casting a glance down at the stage as the announcer prepared to start the last semi-final match. "Put your sympathies aside and look at this objectively: You know as well as I do that Shu is a risk still. Whatever his reason for that is irrelevant, he's a risk. And afraid of himself?" Korian posed, frowning as he gave Sayomi a doubtful look, "That's idiotic. There's no reason he should be afraid of himself."

Shu didn’t know what was going on or whether he was going to get told off for taking part in something like this when he was supposed to be having a relaxing day. It felt like his little sneaky time of fun was over because he messed up and got hit. Slowly swaying his head as he followed Aito’s finger he soon frowned and pulled back a little. “Ooh, you sure no trouble here…? I had good day! This day is good! Just a bump”, he spoke, rubbing his head. He didn’t think it was a big deal, he had gone through worse bumps and was never in trouble. Feeling a little worried that he was going to be allowed to continue. It was typically the case for him, he just got a little bump and he was immediately out again. Raising his head up when Aito eventually came to that conclusion himself he frowned, raising his shoulders. “Umm, it not hurt that much…” he spoke slowly, pressing his fingers together, “So close to final! Just one more then the food and bed! I do good, I really will do good! I-ooh!”

When Takeshi decided to come along he looked to him rather quickly, staring at him for a moment before looking back at Aito. It was surely a nice job that he had got to the finals, he didn’t know if Aito could see that he did a good job or whether his actions spoke louder than words. He didn’t want to make it obvious that he was struggling a little to keep it calm, but he was also having fun and he had put up a fairly confident act for long enough without showing he was uncomfortable with anything in particular, even with all the mumblings and nuisances that Ricken spoke of regarding him. Speaking of Ricken he was quick to tell them that Saiyans were nothing special, making Shu feel uncomfortable already. He didn’t like being hated on just because of something he couldn’t help, he never thought of himself as a Saiyan like Takeshi did anyway. Looking to Sasha he gave a little smile before looking away again, rubbing his head. It didn’t hurt too much yet, although he was a little dizzy and not really able to focus very well. Looking to Takeshi when he sat beside him he tilted his head a little, just listening to Aito speak. “All for fun! It okay to get bump…then get bump fixed later! Shu good at getting better, yes?”

Sayomi sighed a little, looking down at the others before to Korian. “They’ve still accomplished things our other soldiers have yet to accomplish so that’s good enough for me and the reports. Winning and keeping our reports looking good is better than looking the part any day of the week for me”. Korian was going to stress himself out if he was going to start thinking about that kind of stuff, especially when it didn’t involve him. He barely looked at the reports himself, he just cared about looking better than the King. “By all means, Shu is stronger than other Saiyans his age. He’s capable of the same level of destruction an Oozaru is and he’s not even an adult”, she spoke quickly, waving her hand a little, “You’re simply placing too high a bar in your head for them to reach. I’d say that level is pretty good for a child that grew up in the wild”. Sure, things were going a little slow for Shu, but regarding Takeshi things were pretty positive so that was a plus too. According to reports neither of them had gotten into trouble, unlike the ex-commander. Neither Shu or Takeshi had killed anybody or done major damage, Shu’s psychological repair simply demoted him to sidekick for now. Folding her arms a little she tapped her tablet on the side of her arm, frowning a little as Korian decided to come to something of a conclusion, shrugging a little in response. “Well, in that case just give him to Krom and not send Shu on missions. Aito can watch over the pair of them full time if you can’t handle the child. An Elite Saiyan and a Super Saiyan hybrid watching over him…is that enough manpower for you? Not like either of those fight for us, especially Krom…”

Aito's better judgement told him to pull Shu from the tournament and examine him more thoroughly just to be safe. Yet there was no visible wound and, all things considered, even if he did have a concussion it was an apparently minor one. Letting Shu continue on was terribly risky if he was struck in the head again, but hopefully Takeshi had enough intelligence to recognize not to do that... "Very well, I just wanted to be certain you were alright. Can't be too careful with blows to the head you see," Aito explained as he tapped his own skull, his eyes shifting to the corners as he looked at Takeshi, "I certainly hope no one else hits you in the head tonight Shu, because it could potentially be bad. Could be, you might be fine too. But whoever you fight next should probably be careful." Perhaps it was best that he remain down here nearby just in case anything should happen. When Shu was joined by his brother Aito took the chance to step away, heading to a nearby stall and getting the first bag of whatever was closest. It was some purple, puffy kernel snack from the looks of it, similar to popcorn but oddly juicy and almost like a grape in its flavor. He missed Earth food...

"A little bump's not gonna keep you from fighting anyways, you're tougher than that!" Takeshi said as he beamed, patting Shu on the back again before sliding off of the bench. The arena was tidied up and the announcer returning, there was only one match left before the finals and they all knew what it was. "Don't get too comfortable there buddy, after I beat Ricken it's you and me!" Grinning tauntingly at Ricken he gave the other boy a slap in the arm before racing up to the stage, hardly waiting for the announcer to call them up as he took his place. Watching Ricken slowly make his way up he let the man get his piece out and introduce them for what felt like the hundredth time today. Seriously did he have to do this every single time?

"No hard feelings when I kick your ass yeah? Just gotta fight my brother, you know?" As if he was going to waste even a second talking smack and try to get under his opponent's skin. Grinning as the final words were spoken and the announcer stepped off the arena he began stretching himself out as Ricken simply stood there with a glare in Takeshi's direction. "Seriously, smile, lighten up! Jeez looking at you its like you've got something stuffed up your a-"

Ricken had moved halfway through Takeshi's prattling and closed the gap in a blink, gritting his teeth as he reeled back a fist and slammed it into Takeshi's jaw. The punch nearly made the Saiyan spin on his feet and he didn't much react as Ricken kicked out and struck him in the stomach either, that one taking him off balance and knocking him onto the arena floor. "Shut up you idiot and fight," Ricken snapped, lowering his leg and spitting in Takeshi's direction. "Don't waste my time with your crap, back it up."

"Cheap shot you ass, but fine... If you just want to get to me kicking your butt then we'll do it." Rushing in after Ricken and throwing a punch he whiffed entirely as it flew over Ricken's shoulder, grunting when he took a fist to the jaw and stumbled back. Throwing another punch and having it shoved aside he groaned when Ricken snapped the back of his hand at Takeshi's nose and hit him square between the eyes, sweeping his legs out from under him and grabbing one before lifting him and slamming him back down onto the arena. Only by rolling aside hastily did he avoid possibly having ribs broken as Ricken threw an axe kick into the ground, smashing through the tiles and cracking the arena straight to the ground beneath.

"Cool it! It's just a fricken tournament you know?! Stop trying to kill me!" Not even to his feet again Takeshi had to roll aside to avoid another kick, growling and throwing another punch that missed as Ricken jumped back.

"Tch, you're a Saiyan, you can handle it!" Always so prideful and arrogant, where did he get off thinking anyone would take it easy on him like that? The only reason the others in the tournament hadn't done the same was because they lacked the strength, but Ricken would be sure to pay Takeshi back for his arrogance.

"Fine, I suppose that's enough. It's just wasteful, they're Saiyan royalty and yet neither can be depended upon. They could sway this war themselves if they could only channel their strength properly." Perhaps he was being a little impatient, and with the war technically halted due to an armistice there was little reason to be so hasty. Better to be sure Shu was stable before pushing him he supposed. Sighing aloud he leaned back again and rested one arm over the back of his chair, watching the match below with partial interest. In terms of pure strength Takeshi should win but, like his brother, he had no idea how to wield it. It came as no surprise that Ricken had him on the ropes right on the onset. He didn't much care who advanced through this match and was only interested in seeing how Shu might perform in the finals, whoever his opponent was. "After this is over we should discuss how we're moving forward with them. Whether or not we're including them in our efforts to curb the beasts," Korian muttered, rubbing his chin and frowning as Takeshi was made out like a fool, missing yet another attack. "Or perhaps they're best left here to train."