DRAGON BALL Z - THE FIGHT IS EVERYTHING

A calming wind passed through the field, the two warriors standing aware of the other's presence. Neither spoke, but they could sense the battle that would soon take place between them.

The first, back turned to the other, dropped his bag upon the ground. The second then spoke, finally breaking the silence between them.

"Hey, I finally caught up with you."

The first adjusted the red fighting gloves on his hands, along with the black belt that he wore with his white Gi. Without turning, he addressed the one who had been following him.

"Why have you been in pursuit of me?"

"Well," the second began, "I heard that there was this incredible fighter that's come across some pretty tough opponents and managed to defeat a lot of them. With a reputation like that, I thought that I'd try my hand against him."

The fighter turned slightly, interest now piqued slightly within him.

"And who are you that seeks such a man?"

The second gave a smile as he answered the fighter's question.

"My name is Goku, and I have come to challenge the street fighter named Ryu."

Ryu turned completely, his red headband moving behind him as he began analyzing his opponent visually: he wore an orange Gi outfit with a dark blue shirt underneath it. Both his wristbands and belt were also blue, as were his boots, which also had red trim on them. This man gave off a friendly aura that, at the same time, felt quite powerful.

"Goku?" Ryu questioned, "Aren't you the one who is said to crave battles with powerful opponents?"

"Yeah," Goku replied, "I do so for the love of fighting. And, seeing as how you have quite a reputation about you..."

Goku then got into a fighting stance, his black, spiky hair moving lightly in the breeze.

"...I figured that I'd see just how powerful of an opponent you could be."

Ryu felt a strange essence emanating from this being. This battle was calling to him, Goku's presence evoking the need to battle. He got into his own fighting stance, feeling the need to test his skills upon someone as legendary as his adversary.

"Alright, I'll accept your challenge; let's begin."

"Fine by me!" Goku exclaimed, rushing forward on the offensive.

Ryu was impressed at the speed in which his opponent rushed in, just barely managing to block a jab to the face. Pushing away the punch, he went in for a right hook, only to have Goku raise his left arm in time to block the attack. Goku began to raise his right knee to attack, but Ryu managed to raise his left knee and block this attack attempt. Seeing a right cross coming right at him, Ryu pushed off of Goku's knee and flipped back, avoiding the encounter completely.

Goku, using the momentum of his punch to carry his body, stepped quickly with his right leg and prepared for a roundhouse kick with his left. Not missing a move, Ryu landed and jumped again, just managing to step on Goku's leg just as it came near him. Using this leverage and momentum, Ryu began to spin at Goku, initiating one of his signature attacks.

Goku managed to block the first kick of the Tatsumaki Senpu Kyaku but, with his guard being thrown from the power of this blow, was not prepared to defend himself from the kicks that followed.

"Whoa," Goku said as he spun off from the attack, "this guy's something else."

He just managed to catch himself as he neared the ground and, using his hands for support, flipped back onto his feet.

"Hadoken!"

No sooner had he landed on his feet had Goku heard the call of Ryu's attack, a white ball of energy coming right at him. Running forward, he shot forth a yellow Ki blast of his own, causing a small explosion to be made as the blasts collided. Using the cover of the explosion to his advantage, he burst through the cloud of energy and drew back for another punch. Ryu, ready to block the attack when, suddenly, Goku had disappeared. This brief diversion caused Ryu to drop his guard slightly, questionable as to where his opponent had gone. Just as suddenly as his disappearance did Goku reappear, rushing again to his surprised adversary.

The combination of attacks that Goku launched were all successful: an elbow to the chest, followed by the extension of the arm to a left back hand, a left jab, a right knee, and a left roundhouse that sent Ryu flying upwards. Flipping up to his launched opponent, he finished off his combo with a double axe handle that sent him flying back down towards the ground.

Ryu just barely managed to recover from this attack as he flipped and landed on his feet, kneeling a bit from the previous volley of attacks. He looked up and could see Goku coming down towards him. Ryu's arm tightened as he waited for Goku to get closer.

As Goku neared his opponent, he was prepared to land a finishing blow on Ryu. What he wasn't prepared for, however, was Ryu's next act on the offensive.

Rising with his left, Ryu caught Goku in his chest, slightly winding the Saiya-jin warrior.

"Shin..." he began, quickly switching to a right uppercut that caught Goku's chin, "...Shoryuken!"

With the attack connected fully, Ryu rose into the air with his fist still driven into Goku's chin.

Ryu landed quickly, Goku rising up a bit more before hitting the ground with such resounding force. Before the dust could even settle from around him, Goku popped up onto his feet, leaning slightly as he rubbed his chin.

"Man that smarts."

He had no time to dwell upon it, however, as he saw a white aura appear around Ryu, his hands cupped to his side. When he saw the energy that was being formed, Goku knew that he had to counter this next attack. He cupped his own hands to his side and started summoning up some energy of his own. They powered up, both seeming to call forth their attacks at the same time.

"Kame"

"Shin"

"Hame"

"Ku"

"HA!"

"...Doken!"

They fired simultaneously, the beam of the Shinku Hadoken rushing to meet that of the Kamehameha Wave. Upon impact, there was a mix of light that showed the power of the men giving their all; it was almost as if the two beams had become one. Both warriors then gave an extra push with their attacks, the increase in power making the area slightly unstable. In a crackle of energy, the attacks detonated, exploding in a pale blue haze of power.

Everything was a bit unclear with the aura of their attacks still covering the area. As things started to clear, both combatants could be seen still standing in the stance in which they launched their attacks. They were once again silent, each catching their breath from the power that they had unleashed. Standing straight, Goku again broke the silence between them.

"I can see now that the stories are true. You really are quite the warrior they've made you to be."

"You also have incredible skill," Ryu commented, "Though, I know that you were holding back since the start of this battle."

"Well," Goku started, scratching his head a bit before continuing, "I never really came here to start some serious rivalry against you. As I said, I heard that you were one of the best fighters around; I just wanted to see if that were true."

He paused for a moment, rubbing his chin before he went on.

"And I can see that you really are as powerful as your they say; that attack of yours really stings."

Ryu walked over to his bag and shouldered it, knowing that the battle had already ended. Goku walked over to him, a smile on his face as he extended his hand to Ryu.

"Anyway, this was a lot of fun. It was an honor to face someone such as yourself; I hope that we may be able to someday do this again."

Ryu turned and looked at Goku, the look of a warrior now replaced with that of someone he could quite possibly call a friend. With a grin upon his face, Ryu accepted the Goku's gesture and shook his hand.

"Until we meet again."

With that, the two warriors took their leave, each headed in opposite directions. Goku, after taking a few steps forwards, rose up into the air and flew away from the battle scene. Glancing back at this, Ryu gave a smile as he left, now interesting in the next time that they would meet each other.

A calming wind passed through the field, the bout of two warriors still lingering in the area. Few may ever know of the battle that took place on that day, but it would be one that neither warrior would ever soon forget.

THE END