Chapter 12

Upa defeated his opponent quickly, much to the disappointment of the viewers who had anticipated another great fight. He had given his previous opponent a chance, but now he just wanted to finish the fight quickly and see what TaoPaiPai was up to. He noticed that the blond boy had gone directly to the infirmary after his fight, presumably to check up on the girl. But he wouldn't be able to do anything if TaoPaiPai was up to one of his tricks again. Upa bowed apologetically to Tra, whom he had knocked out the ring in one swift blow and headed to the infirmary as well, not noticing Videl who was watching him with interest.

Interesting, Videl thought. She would love to be able to fight the one-eyed man, but first she would have to go through the cyborg TaoPaiPai. And he, Videl suspected, would be a tough opponent to beat. She did her final warm-up exercises and got herself ready as the announcer announced, "Upa wins! Next, Videl vs. TaoPaiPai! Contestants Videl and TaoPaiPai, please come to the stage."

Videl climbed on the stage and waited for TaoPaiPai to do the same. When he didn't show up for the next couple of minutes, the announcer called out again, "Will contestant TaoPaiPai please come to the stage? It's your turn to fight now." After a few more minutes, he still didn't show up. The crowd began to get impatient, so the announcer said, "We will wait for another five minutes. If contestant TaoPaiPai still doesn't show up by then, contestant Videl will automatically be declared the winner."

Part of the crowd cheered and made catcalls at Videl, some booed. Videl herself was starting to feel that something was wrong, but she just waited. His five minutes were up, but still no sign of TaoPaiPai. The announcer looked at his watch, then at Videl. "Very well. Since TaoPaiPai does not show up after five minutes, I declare contestant Videl the winner of this round." Again, some of the crowd cheered, and some booed. Videl walked down the stage, feeling a mixture of relief and disappointment. At the same time she also felt that there was definitely something fishy going on with TaoPaiPai.

The announcer cleared his throat. "Ehm..Well, then. We shall proceed with the next match." He looked at Videl, who nodded, then turned his attention to the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, the moment you have been waiting for! Announcing the final round of the Tenkaichi Boudukai, the match which will determine who is the champion, contestant Videl vs. contestant Upa! Will the two finalists please come to the stage."

Upa was in the infirmary when he heard his name being called. He had been looking for TaoPaiPai but there was no sign of him anywhere. Nor, for that matter, was there any sign of the blond boy either. He debated abandoning his fight to look for TaoPaiPai, but decided against it. The people in his village were starving, and they depended on him to bring back enough money to buy them food. He'll look for TaoPaiPai later. He'll have to finish this one quickly as well, then, and find TaoPaiPai before he starts to harm innocent people again.

Upa walked to the stage, where Videl was waiting for him. He looked at her grimly, his eye telling her that he's not going to go easy on her. She seemed to understand. She nodded, the look on her face telling him she expected nothing less. They both bowed to each other, and thus the final round that will determine who is the champion of the first Tenkaichi Bodoukai in 22 years began.

Chapter 13
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