A/N: I actually got this done on time! Yay me! Also, I still need a beta. If anyone spots any glaring errors, please let me know so that I can fix them!

After the anticlimactic end of Match 4, all of the quarter-finalists remaining were called up onto the stage by the tournament announcer for a brief interview. Fortunately for the viewers watching the Budokai at home, Nam and Giran had already gone home, while Bacterian had been transported to the hospital, due to the discovery of a severe infection in his right shoulder; this left Krillin as the only quarter-finalist not in the Semi-Finals to be present.

"Alright, here we have five of our quarter-finalists, four of which will fight in the Semi-Finals shortly! We would just like to ask you each some questions. First up, Fighter number one- Chi-Chi," the announcer said.

"Right here!" Chi-Chi said, bouncing forward with her usual enthusiasm.

"I would like to ask Chi-Chi, how old are you?" the announcer asked.

"I'm twelve years old," she answered, before turning her head, confused, "I would have thought you'd know that, I only get something like a few thousand birthday cards every year."

"Wait a few… hold on, are you the Chi-Chi, Princess of the Ox Kingdom?" the announcer asked, stunned.

"I am," Chi-Chi answered with a smile and a victory sign, "I have to say, competing in a tournament is a ton of fun! I'm finally doing something by my own ability, not by my privilege!"

Kakarot nodded to himself at her words. She said something similar to me during training.

"Now, I must ask: you, Kakarot, and Krillin are all wearing the same colored dogi and they all have the same kanji- did all three of you train together?"

"Yes," Chi-Chi answered, "we all trained under the great Master Roshi, the Turtle Hermit, which is how Kakarot learned the Kamehameha that he used to win his match."

"W-Wow! I'd heard that Master Roshi wasn't accepting students anymore! That's incredible! Mr. Daikyō, was that truly the Kamehameha Wave that you used to end the match?" the announcer asked, shoving the microphone into Kakarot's face.

"Err… what is this thing?" Kakarot asked, pointing at the microphone. Chi-Chi tapped him lightly, and Kakarot turned to face her.

"Silly Kakarot, that's called a microphone, or a mic for short. It amplifies your voice so that others can hear you. Silly Kakarot," Chi-Chi said in a sweet voice, before blinking and widening her eyes in realization. Her face turned red as a tomato as she buried her face in her hands, then spoke in a quiet tone so that only Kakarot could hear her. "Great, now over a billion people just heard me talk to you so informally, I'll never hear the end of it!" she complained.

Sighing, Kakarot spoke into the mic. "Yes, it was the Kamehameha. Though, calling it the 'Kamehameha Wave' is redundant, as the 'ha' at the end means 'wave' already," he said, "and just for people to know, I'm 13, I just turned as such last month."

"Great, now onto our little Quarter-Finalist down here, you were their training partner, how is it training under the legend that is Master Roshi?" the announcer said, shifting his attention and the microphone to Krillin.

"Oh, um..." Krillin said, "it's very different. He can do a ton of stuff, even though he's like 500 years old."

As the announcer responded and moved onto Yamcha for the interview, Kakarot leaned over to Chi-Chi.

"Is it weird being on television like this?" Kakarot asked.

Chi-Chi shook her head. "No, not really, I've been a media darling since I was a little kid," she said, "I'm pretty sure that somewhere around 80 million children have dreams of marrying me one day and becoming my consort when I ascend the throne."

"So, since you know the TV so well," Kakarot said, giggling a bit, "if you were some megalomaniac intent on conquering the planet, what would you declare to the media?"

Chi-Chi giggled back and rolled her eyes. "I would be all like," she threw her hands up in the air, fists clenched, "tremble mortals and despair! Doom has come to this world!"

"...okay, where did you take that from?" Kakarot asked.

"Dream I had once, came from some kind of computer game," Chi-Chi replied, "some kid who looked way too much like you was playing it."

Kakarot shuddered, "The ones with the kid that looks like me but isn't me always creep me out."

"Isn't that exciting! Now, clear the ring, it's time for the Semi-Finals to begin!" the announcer called. Kakarot looked at Chi-Chi, who nodded to him. He turned and ran out of the ring to the fighters' area. Turning, he quickly scaled the wall and sat atop it to watch the match.

-R&R-

Looking over to Kakarot with a smile and nod, the boy nodded back to her, as Chi-Chi focused her attention on her opponent. She acknowledged that this was going to be far more difficult fight than the one she had with Krillin. With Krillin, he was a known factor, someone who she knew and could read each move, someone whose capabilities she recognized and could adjust to.

Yamcha was far different. Already close to her strength level when they met, he was likely to have undergone training just like her in the hopes of winning the whole thing. Let's see… with Yamcha, he's a primarily offensive fighter, who uses quick attacks to stagger his opponent; make them panic and get sloppy in their defence, leaving them wide open for any counterattack. His strategy's main issue is that it's very intense and could leave him exhausted if he does it too much. And he's likely still pretty tired from his fight with Giran- my fight with Krillin was far shorter and I regain my energy far faster than him. If I just play defensive and let him attack for a while, and wait for him to get tired, I could beat him relatively easily.

Chi-Chi blinked, and shook her head. Or rather, that's what I would be saying, if I weren't saying… BRING IT ON, YAMCHA! And with that, she charged forward.

Yamcha smacked her first punch aside, but her second one contacted his solar plexus, followed up with several to his shoulder and even more to his face. Frustrated, the bandit grabbed the girl's nimble wrists with his one hand, pinning them, before winding his right fist back and driving it into her face.

Chi-Chi flew back and skidded along the ground, coming to a stop on the other side of the arena. Wobbling, she stood up, wiping some blood from her bottom lip. The red from her right hand slowly began to blanket her entire vision. She didn't feel scared, or upset. She was just angry. Angry that this upstart would strike her with such a powerful blow! She should be more powerful than him, yet he was clearly even with her!

"Alright… not bad, Yamcha," Chi-Chi admitted, gritting her teeth to block out the pain, "guess I'm gonna have to actually try with you."

"I'm honoured, Your Highness," Yamcha said with a grin and a cheeky tone. Narrowing her eyes, Chi-Chi turned around and ran straight at the pillar behind her. Confused, Yamcha ran to follow, before stopping when he realized what she was doing.

Jumping at the pillar, Chi-Chi rebounded off of it and ran straight at Yamcha again, this time with far more precise blows. Yamcha winced with each block, as the hits were precise enough that even blocking stung like a normal hit, which made Yamcha thankful for his longer arms- if he'd been the same size as her, then she would be focusing all of those on his body, and he wouldn't be moving.

"Admit it, Yamcha! I'm better than you in every way! The only reason you're not down already is the size advantage!" Chi-Chi yelled, the speed and ferocity increasing with each successive hit, "I'm the perfect warrior! I'll win the Tenkaichi Budokai and prove it to the entire world! So just go down already!"

-R&R-

From his position atop the wall, Kakarot sighed in relief at the ongoing match. So, her warrior pride as a Saiyan is finally coming out. Yamcha, I wish to you good luck- I hope you survive this match with your wits... and balls... intact.

Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Kakarot looked up to see Krillin standing there, looking confused.

"What did this Yamcha guy do to make Chi-Chi so angry with him?" he asked.

Kakarot shook his head, "Well he shot her, but that's not so much of a big deal, as you saw with Launch."

"Yeah, bullets bounce off your skin," Krillin acknowledged.

"It's more of a matter of pride. They fought in the past, and Chi-Chi believes that losing to him now would be embarrassing," Kakarot said. Kakarot stood up and stretched. "Hold down the fort here, I'm gonna go check on something," he said to Krillin, patting him on the shoulder, before standing up and running along the wall. Quickly scaling the outside, Kakarot ran through the crowd until he came to the person he was looking for.

"Hey, Bulma; how're you liking the Tournament so far?" he asked.

The purple haired teen turned her head sharply at the sound of his voice and a smile immediately rose on her face.

"I can understand why people love it so much. Never watched the Tenkaichi Budokai before- was always too focused on my schoolwork or whatever else I was tinkering with to pay attention to it before. Now I see, the nail-biting aspect of the fighters that you're rooting for, whether they'll make it to the next round or not… it gives a person an adrenaline rush, almost like they're down there in arena fighting, themselves," Bulma said.

"It's a bit different to the feeling of actually being in the arena… actually being in front of everyone, feeling the vibrations through your fists on contact with your opponent, the taste of blood in your mouth from the hits your opponent lands, the sound of your heart pounding in your ears as the fight heats up," Kakarot took a deep breath in, closing his eyes and smiling, "there's nothing in the world that brings me more joy."

Bulma reached down and ruffled the boy's hair, changing the smile from one of bliss to one of entertainment. "Well then," Bulma said, grabbing him from under his arms and lifting him up and onto her shoulders, "let's watch the match until it's time for you to get back in there."

Kakarot looked down at her smiling face, her eyes shining as blue as the sky, before smiling back and nodding, "Right."

Bulma's smile only got brighter at that response, before she turned her head back to the tournament.

-R&R-

Left right, right right, left right left, center. Even as he blocked, Chi-Chi kept swinging more and more. What's more, she was striking harder and more precise with each hit. If this kept up, she would start breaking bone with her strikes. I can't lose now! I have to keep my promise! I'll win here, Chi-Chi's ego will survive to fight again next time! As a strike came in from Chi-Chi's right arm, Yamcha leaned back to avoid the strike. As expected, Chi-Chi kept her momentum up and swept a kick down, knocking Yamcha's feet out from under him.

As he fell forward, Yamcha's eyes narrowed at his opponent. I have one shot! I have to do this now. Ducking under Chi-Chi's follow up strike, Yamcha drew back his right arm. Now, just focus on my hand just like I do during my Wolf Fang Fist… he felt his right arm warm up as he swung it forward, connecting with Chi-Chi's right knee.

The girl screamed in pain as Yamcha bounced back, before charging in again. "Wolf Fang Fist!" he called.

-R&R-

"Wolf Fang What?" Krillin muttered to himself.

-R&R-

Yamcha unleashed a barrage of blows on his small opponent, finishing with a strong uppercut punch to her jaw, lifting her into the air briefly, before she tumbled across the arena and came to a rest near the edge. The girl lay facing up, covered in cuts and bruises, especially around her eye.

"Hey, announcer!" Yamcha called, "start the count, will you?! I don't want to hurt her any more than I have to with this!"

"Oh…okay then!" the announcer said, "One… Two… Three… Four… Five..."

As the announcer said 'Five,' Chi-Chi forced her onyx eyes open and used her left arm to push herself to her knees.

"She's up! The fight continues!" the announcer called, running back out of the ring. Yamcha took a deep breath. God damn it. Now I'll have to use that… I wanted to save it in case I fought Kakarot in the finals… but now it seems I'll have to risk it.

Gulping, knowing what he was about to do, he ran up to Chi-Chi and chopped down at her back with his right hand, grabbing her obi with his left. His hopes in that regard were confirmed: as Chi-Chi's face hit the stone, stunning the girl, her tail came unfurled from her waist. Seizing the opportunity, Yamcha grabbed her tail, letting the girl spin around and hit the ground hard again. He shook his head and squeezed in his grip, causing the tail's fur to bristle and the tail itself to shudder, but Chi-Chi made no sound.

The crowds, once cheering, all went silent at this sight. There had already been one child with a tail shown to be real- but this girl was someone known the world over, the heiress to one of the largest countries in the world, and yet she had one, too. And… it seemed grabbing the tail paralyzed them.

-R&R-

"Huh, well that's not a way I expected him to go for victory, huh, Kakarot?" Bulma asked. But there was no response. Bulma looked up at Kakarot- his face was frozen, his eyes glazed over as he stared in Chi-Chi's direction, and his whole body was still. The boy's tail slowly snaked its way around Bulma's upper arm and wrapped itself tightly, before the boy and tail alike begun shuddering. Wetness dropped from the boy's eyes onto Bulma's face- the boy was crying.

"Kakarot, what is it?!" Bulma asked, frantically. Still no response. There has to be some way to get through to him! Think, Bulma, think! What's something that works on him?! A thought occurred to Bulma- there was something that Chi-Chi did to get Kakarot's attention more than once when they had traveled together.

Bulma carefully aligned her index finger with the upper part of Kakarot's tail. Taking a deep breath, she flexed it back and flicked the tail. The boy shuddered one more time before tightening his grip on Bulma. She quickly looked up again to see the boy was looking at her.

"Kakarot, what's wrong?!" Bulma asked, likely more harshly than she meant. Kakarot shook his head and looked back at Chi-Chi.

"He's hurting her! She's screaming in pain, but no one can hear her except me!" Kakarot sobbed as the tears returned, "the vocal pitch is too far outside the range for any Earthling to hear!"

Bulma looked sharply back to Chi-Chi, whose back was to them. Bulma looked down and clasped her hands over her heart. No… please don't hurt her, Yamcha! Please let her be okay!

-R&R-

Yamcha finished catching his breath, before looking down at the girl paralyzed beneath him. "If only you'd stayed down- I wouldn't have had to use this," he said, a sad tone in his voice. Shaking his head, he yanked hard, pulling the girl into the air before letting go. Chi-Chi went up, then came back down. As she came back down, Yamcha cocked his arm back and drove it into the girl's stomach, sending her flying out of the ring and over the wall.

-R&R-

Wind… wind was rushing passed her. Chi-Chi blinked. She was flying passed several buildings on Papaya Island. Did… that bastard! He squeezed my tail! Damn it, how do I get out of this?! Chi-Chi looked around rapidly. What would Kakarot do?! Suddenly, it clicked. Chi-Chi cupped her hands at her side and focused.

"Kaaaa… Meeee..." a white and blue ball began to form in her hands, "Haaaa… Meeee..." She was almost at the ground when she thrust her hands forward, "HAAAA!" the blue and white beam surged out in front of her, pushing her backwards toward the arena, and into the air.

-R&R-

"Well then," the announcer said, starting to walk into the arena, "it seems that this battle is over!"

Yamcha relaxed and let his hands fall to his knees, smiling to himself.

"NOT YET IT ISN'T!" a female voice called from the air. Yamcha looked up in its direction, but only barely started to turn when something impacted his side. Hard. The force was so great, he lost his footing and went flying backwards. He tried to right himself, but to no avail, as his back smashed into the brick wall at the edge of the arena, severely cracking it, before he slid down and landed in the grass.

-R&R-

"Did… did she just..." Bulma stuttered and pointed at the arena. Chi-Chi was lying prone in the center of the arena, her tail hanging beside her for all to see, clutching her head with her eyes squeezed shut in pain.

"She did," Kakarot said, in just as much shock as her, "she propelled herself into the air with the Kamehameha, then came flying back down, smashing into Yamcha's side and launching him out of the arena. Brilliant. I might have to use that sometime… though the head pain might be a disincentive to use it unless I have no other choice."

The announcer stood, seemingly unable to comprehend what just happened, before shaking his head and refocusing. "And with a stunning come-from-behind victory, Chi-Chi has won Match #5 and moves on to be the youngest person to ever be in the finals of the Tenkaichi Budokai!"

With that announcement, Kakarot slid off Bulma's shoulders, and, with a nod to her scaled the wall and ran to Chi-Chi as fast as his legs could carry him, meaning that to any onlookers, he was suddenly at her side and wrapping her in a warm embrace. The girl smiled and hugged him back, finally letting herself relax.

She was okay, nothing would hurt her right now. It didn't matter what anyone else thought, she had won. She was going to the finals. And right now, she was both embracing and being embraced by her best friend, and no matter what else had happened… she was happy.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm trying to do these fight scenes well, but I'm never really sure about them... but hey, you guys seem to be enjoying it so far, so I'll keep writing these for you all.

Current Matchups:

Match #1: Chi-Chi vs. Krillin- Winner: Chi-Chi

Match #2: Yamcha vs. Giran- Winner: Yamcha

Match #3: Kakarot vs. Nam- Winner: Kakarot

Match #4: Bacterian vs. Jackie Chun- Winner: Jackie Chun

Match #5: Yamcha vs. Chi-Chi- Winner: Chi-Chi

Match #6: Jackie Chun vs. Kakarot

Match #7: Chi-Chi vs. Match #6 winner

Remember to Follow, Favourite, and, above all else, REVIEW! I'll see you all next time!