Toji couldn't see.
The explosion of Namek had been so bright, so all-consuming, that for several moments after, his vision was nothing but white afterimages dancing against the void of space.
He'd reacted purely on instinct in those final seconds - creating a barrier of ki around himself, trapping a pocket of oxygen within it.
Now he floated amid the debris of a once-living planet, his barrier a thin membrane between himself and the vacuum of space.
As his vision cleared, he took stock of his situation. His body ached from the strain of maintaining Kaio-ken at such high levels for so long.
Blood trickled from his nose and the corners of his mouth - evidence of the technique's toll on his body.
But he was alive.
Nearby, two figures floated amid the wreckage of Namek. Freeza and Cooler, the frost demon siblings, seemed barely affected by the planet's destruction.
They hovered in the void, their white skin gleaming against the blackness of space.
Toji watched as Cooler was the first to recover fully, shaking off the disorientation of the blast.
The elder frost demon's gaze fell first on his sister, who was still gathering her bearings, then shifted to Toji.
Cooler's expression hardened as he raised his finger, a purple light forming at its tip - the telltale sign of a Death Beam preparing to launch.
His target was clear: Toji, vulnerable in his oxygen bubble, would be an easy kill.
But as he prepared to fire, something gave him pause. Despite his seemingly precarious position, Toji's posture shifted slightly - almost imperceptibly - into a defensive stance.
His eyes, sharp and focused, locked with Cooler's. There was no fear there, only daring- daring him.
Cooler hesitated.
Something in that gaze told him this wouldn't be the easy kill he anticipated.
Even weakened, even trapped in a bubble of his own making, this human remained dangerous. The elder frost demon reassessed his options.
His sister was still recovering. The human was ready despite his disadvantage. And somewhere in the distance lay Earth - with its own set of Dragon Balls. The choice became clear.
With a final contemptuous glance at both combatants, Cooler suddenly accelerated away, shooting like a comet toward Earth's coordinates that he knew.
Toji watched him go, unable to pursue yet- recovering still a bit. Beside him, Freeza groaned as she finally righted herself, her white hair floating around her face in the zero gravity of space.
"Where's my brother?" Toji heard her voice in his mind- having connected to her telepathically, a trick he learned from feeling King Kai do it, like Super Saiyan Goku did on Namek, when King Kai and Guru were talking.
"He's heading to Earth," Toji projected back, "For the Dragon Balls."
"WHAT?!" Freeza's mental voice exploded with rage- after a moment of surprise at hearing Toji in her head. "That BASTARD!"
She immediately oriented herself in the direction Cooler had fled, preparing to give chase. But before she could accelerate away, Toji vanished from his position, reappearing directly in her path.
He crossed his left arm against his chest while raising his right hand, index finger extended. With a smirk, he wagged it back and forth in the universal gesture of denial.
"Where do you think you're going?" his mental voice carried to her, tinged with amusement.
Freeza's beautiful face contorted with fury. "Have you gone completely mad? Look around you, human! There's no planet beneath us. I can survive indefinitely in the vacuum of space, while you..."
Her gaze flicked to his ki bubble. "You're on borrowed time. When your air runs out, you'll suffocate."
Toji clenched his fists at his sides, his grin never faltering. "That may be so, but I can't just let both of you go to Earth. I'll catch up with Cooler later - after I kill you."
Freeza crossed her arms, her body shaking with silent laughter that would have been her characteristic "Hohohoho" had sound carried in the vacuum.
"You truly believe you can kill me in what - a few minutes?" she projected, her mental voice dripping with condescension. "And then somehow find a habitable planet to recover on before you suffocate? You're living in a delusion!"
"We'll just have to find out!" Toji responded, his crimson aura flaring to life as he reactivated the Kaio-ken at ten times his base power- Toji's left eye shut for a moment at the pain, but he didn't let it stop him, not letting his grin falter.
He launched himself at her, fist cocked back for a blow. Freeza met his charge head-on, her own fist connecting with his.
The collision created a Ki shockwave that rippled through the debris field around them, scattering fragments of what had once been Planet Namek.
Their battle resumed with renewed intensity, but Toji immediately noticed the disadvantage he faced.
Without solid ground beneath him, many of his combat techniques were less effective. In space, there was nothing to push against, no leverage to be gained. Every movement had to be powered entirely by ki.
Freeza, on the other hand, seemed perfectly at home in the void. Her movements were fluid and precise, as if she'd trained for this environment specifically.
Her tail, no longer hindered by gravity, became an even more effective weapon, whipping around with deadly speed.
"I was born in space, human," she taunted as she dodged another of his attacks. "This is my domain."
Toji created a ki staff, using it to parry a tail strike aimed at his throat.
He spun the weapon, extending its length to catch Freeza off-guard, but she simply twisted away from the attack with graceful ease.
"You're slowing down already," she observed, launching a barrage of Death Beams that forced him to expend precious energy deflecting them. "Running out of air?"
She was right. Toji could feel his oxygen supply diminishing with each passing moment. The ki bubble around him was maintaining its integrity, but the air within was growing stale.
His lungs burned with the effort of extracting what little oxygen remained- the little he was able to absorb into his bubble from the remnants surrounding where Namek was, were also depleting, it having been what gave him confidence previously.
His vision began to blur slightly at the edges - the first warning sign of hypoxia.
Toji knew he needed to end this quickly, but Freeza was deliberately drawing out the fight, conserving her energy while he depleted his.
He abandoned subtlety and charged directly at her, unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks. Freeza blocked most, but a few connected, sending her tumbling through the void.
Before she could recover, Toji followed up with a Kamehameha wave, the blue energy illuminating the darkness of space.
Freeza deflected the beam with her hand, but the effort cost her. Toji pressed his advantage, closing the distance between them once more.
They exchanged blows at close range, each strike powerful enough to shatter mountains had they been on a planet's surface.
But as the minutes passed, Toji's movements became increasingly sluggish. His reactions slowed, his strikes lost power. The oxygen within his bubble was nearly depleted, and his vision began to tunnel.
Freeza noticed the change immediately. With a cruel smile, she increased the tempo of her attacks, forcing him to expend even more energy defending himself. A kick to his ribs sent him spinning through space, his control momentarily lost.
Before he could recover, she was on him again, her fist connecting with his jaw. The impact nearly disrupted his concentration enough to collapse his ki bubble, which would have meant instant death in the vacuum.
"You fought well," Freeza's mental voice reached him, almost gentle in its mockery. "But all things must end."
With a final desperate effort, Toji attempted to counter, but his body betrayed him. His muscles, starved of oxygen, refused to respond with their usual speed. Freeza easily sidestepped his attack and caught his wrist in an iron grip.
The ki bubble around him flickered and failed, the last of his oxygen escaping into the void. Freeza's finger rose to his forehead, a red glow forming at its tip.
"Such a shame," her mental voice carried a note of genuine regret beneath the triumph. "Our game has to end. It seems no matter how talented and powerful you are, you simply cannot overcome your natural limitations."
As the Death Beam illuminated his face, Toji stared death in the face. His lungs screamed for air. His vision darkened at the edges. One thought consumed him: I need... to breathe. If only I... could breathe, If... only... I... breathe... I could... win.
In that desperate moment, his gaze fell on Freeza's chest, rising and falling in a steady, rhythmic pattern. The realization hit him like a thunderbolt.
She's breathing. It's not that she doesn't need to breathe - she's creating her own oxygen.
His eyes moved to her lips, and a begrudging smirk formed on his face despite his fading consciousness.
Desperate situations need desperate measures.
With the last of his strength, Toji headbutted Freeza's hand away, disrupting the Death Beam before it could fire. In the same motion, he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her toward him.
Their lips collided in a forceful kiss, his tongue invading her mouth. Using his ki, he drew the oxygen from her lungs into his own, desperate for the life-giving thing.
Freeza's eyes widened in shock, her body momentarily freezing at the unexpected contact. Toji inhaled deeply, pulling as much oxygen as he could before she recovered.
When she did, her reaction was explosive. She shoved him away with such force that he tumbled backward through space, spinning uncontrollably before managing to right himself.
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, gasping in the stolen breath.
"Thanks for confirming my theory," he projected, his mental voice stronger now. "You breathe in space - you don't survive without breathing."
Freeza's fury was palpable, a purple aura of rage surrounding her as she glared at him. "You DARE?!" her mental voice thundered. "You insolent, disgusting creature! You stole my-"
She cut herself off, but Toji caught the implication. Her first kiss? The thought was almost amusing, given the circumstances.
Freeza launched herself at him with renewed vigor, all pretense of toying with him abandoned. Her attacks were vicious, driven by humiliation and rage.
Toji knew he couldn't afford another close call. The oxygen he'd stolen would only last minutes at most. He needed a more permanent solution.
As they fought, he extended his ki sense outward, searching desperately for the nearest viable planet.
The sensation was like casting a net across the galaxy, feeling for the distinctive signatures of living beings.
There - a cluster of life forces, not too distant. A planet that must have atmosphere, must have breathable air- It had to. It was his only chance.
His final gamble.
Toji began directing their battle in that direction, sometimes retreating to draw Freeza after him, sometimes landing blows that sent her flying the way he wanted to go.
Each movement brought them closer to his target.
"Running away?" Freeza taunted as she pursued him. "I thought you were going to kill me."
"Just changing venues," Toji replied, dodging a Death Beam and countering with a ki blast that pushed them both further in his chosen direction.
The battle carried them across vast distances, both warriors moving at speeds that defied comprehension.
Finally, a blue-green orb appeared in the distance - a planet lush with vegetation, its surface mostly covered in what appeared to be rainforest.
With a final burst of speed, Toji closed the distance to the planet. He grabbed Freeza by the throat and plunged toward the surface, their bodies becoming twin meteors streaking through the atmosphere.
The heat of re-entry surrounded them, but their ki protected them from burning up. They crashed into the dense jungle below, the impact creating a crater and sending wildlife scattering in terror.
Toji maintained his grip on Freeza's throat as they hit the ground, the force of their landing uprooting trees and sending dirt flying in all directions. This was his moment of truth - his gamble.
He opened his mouth and took a desperate breath.
Air. Sweet, life-giving air filled his lungs. The planet's atmosphere was breathable. Toji laughed aloud, the sound of his voice strange after the telepathic communication of space.
"What's so funny?" Freeza snarled, her voice now audible as well. She bit down hard on his hand- causing to yell out, "Ow! Shit!", forcing him to release her.
With a swift movement, she flipped their positions, straddling his chest and raining blows down on his face. "You disgusting thing!" she screamed between punches. "You stole my first kiss! You humiliated me! You made me look weak in front of my brother!"
Toji blocked what strikes he could, but many connected, splitting his lip and bruising his face. Finally, he managed to grab her wrists, using his strength to flip them over. Now he was on top, pinning her hands above her head in the soft earth.
"You fucking bit me!" He yelled, as he then calmed himself and smiled angrily, "Two can play that game," he growled, and to her shock, he bit down on the side of her neck hard enough to draw blood.
Freeza howled in outrage, her knee coming up to strike at his groin. Toji twisted just in time to avoid the worst of it, but the movement allowed her to kick him in the ribs and reverse their positions once more.
They rolled across the crater, trading blows, each trying to gain the upper hand.
Dirt clung to their bodies - Toji's shirt had been completely torn away during their descent, leaving his chest bare.
Freeza's white bio-armor was smeared with mud and purple blood from where his bite had broken the skin.
Their battle continued for what felt like hours but was likely only minutes. Each attack grew weaker than the last as exhaustion set in.
Both had pushed themselves beyond their limits - Toji with his extended use of the Kaio-ken, Freeza with her new transformation that she hadn't fully mastered.
Finally, after a last exchange that left them both gasping for breath, they collapsed side by side in the crater, too exhausted to continue fighting.
They lay there, chests heaving, staring up at the alien sky as it began to darken with storm clouds.
"It's a tie," Freeza muttered after several minutes of silence, her voice hoarse from exertion.
Toji turned his head to look at her incredulously. "What do you mean, 'it's a tie'? I won fair and square! If it wasn't for your crazy brother, I would've killed you by now. You played unfair by having aid from teammates - I won!"
Freeza sat up slightly, indignation giving her a second wind. "It wasn't like that! I didn't play unfair - Cooler just butted in. I had my own plan- but he ruined it! What did you expect me to do, turn it into a battle royale and fight my own brother too?"
"Yes!" Toji shouted, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "That's exactly what I expected! You two don't even like each other! Throughout that entire fight, I could sense you both were constantly wary of the other trying to backstab and kill you."
"I didn't expect 'your highness' to actually work together with her psycho older brother against little old me!"
Freeza stared at him, speechless for a moment. Then, to both their surprise, she began to chuckle.
The absurdity of his expectation, combined with the utter exhaustion they both felt, broke through her composure.
Toji found himself joining in, his own laughter mixing with hers. "Okay, maybe that was a bit much to expect," he admitted between chuckles.
"You're a mad fool," Freeza said, her laughter subsiding. "But at least an entertaining one."
"I'll take that as a compliment," Toji replied, his grin visible despite the dirt and blood on his face.
Freeza tried to sit up fully, but her muscles betrayed her. She collapsed back onto the ground with a frustrated grunt, lying beside him once more.
"Don't bother," Toji said, staring up at the darkening sky. "Both our tanks are empty."
They fell silent again, too exhausted to continue talking. The clouds above them grew darker and more ominous, and soon fat droplets of rain began to fall.
Within minutes, it had become a downpour, the water washing away the blood and dirt from their battered bodies.
Neither had the energy to move, so they simply lay there, letting the rain cleanse them. The cool water was almost pleasant against their overheated skin.
"Hey," Toji said after a while, his voice barely audible above the rain. "Can I ask you something?"
"What?" Freeza replied irritably. "I was about to fall asleep. I'm conserving energy."
Toji hesitated, then asked, "Were you for real? Was that actually your first kiss?"
Freeza's hands clenched at her sides, the only movement she could manage in her exhausted state. "I've never lowered myself to indulge in such basic urges. Not wishing to do so inferior creatures," she said coldly. "So yes, that was indeed, as you inferiors state, my first kiss."
Toji was silent for a long moment. His vision was beginning to blur, sleep pulling at the edges of his consciousness.
As darkness closed in, he murmured sleepily, "If it's any consolation... It was... mine too."
Then the exhaustion claimed him, and he knew no more.
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(Author note: And finally, the Toji vs Freeza fight is over!
A four chapter spanning fight- the longest I've ever written!
Tell me who do you think won?
Is Toji right, would he have won, or did Freeza truly have a plan that would've worked.
Well, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and I hope to see you all later,
Bye!)