It was the crack of dawn on Planet Senzai, the sun gleaming against a pristine blue sky as a soft breeze brushed the emerald green grass. Birds chirped as they flew around, an azure one gliding down from a lush tree towards the center of a clearing, perching on the wooden railing near a farm. It pecked at the wood, almost in tune to the sound of metal hitting dirt as a honey-haired, fair skinned man worked. A satisfied smile on his face, the man leaned against the scuffle hoe, looking over the soil trenches, squinting as the sun shone brightly into his lavender eyes.
"Alright…Looks like I just beat the sun today." He thought out loud as he took out a bag of seeds and tossed it up high in the air, stretching a bit before he primed himself. "Three…Two…ONE!" he caught the bag and began zipping across the field as seeds scattered. He darted from side to side, clearing several yards in great bounds. "And for the last row!" he cheered to himself as he made one last leap across the dirt field, dropping the seeds. His satisfied smirk quickly shifted into a confused look and then a panicked grimace as his foot slipped, causing him to spin several times in midair before his face smacked right into the dirt, the seed bag spilling onto the back of his head.
The azure bird flew over, as if accepting an invitation, and began to pick at the seeds. It didn't even flinch as the man propped himself up, dirt covering his face as his eye twitched. An orange glint gave him pause, and the man wiped the dirt off his face as he stood up, brushing his pant legs before kneeling down. Brushing away at the dirt near the orange gleam, the man stopped when he noticed it was a peculiar sphere, plucking it out of the ground to get a better look. It fit neatly into both of his hands, but what drew his attention were the seven stars inside it.
"Suika! Breakfast is ready!" a voice called out to him, snapping the young man out of his daze and he shook his head a bit, finally scaring the bird off.
"I-I'll be right there, Aunt Suisen!" he called back with a sigh of relief as he stood up, placing the ball inside his side-pouch before cleaning up and making his way over to the small house thirty yards away. Wiping the soles of his boots before he took them off, Suika was struck by the aroma of a freshly cooked meal as he entered his home.
"You must be hungry after the work you put in this morning." The white haired woman patted her nephew on the back, her golden eyes gleaming with pride whilst he washed his hands. Drying his hands, Suika turned to look at her, and noticed the meal that was set up. A bowl of a delectable looking soup, fresh bread to compliment it. The plate of golden-brown meat with over-easy eggs on the side, however, astonished him.
"Paerseith meat?! When did you-?" he asked, eyes glistening as he tried to keep his mouth from watering, noticing the grin from his aunt. "A-Aunt Suisen, you didn't have to go so f-OW!" Suika winced as a ladle smacked him over the head, a lump quickly growing.
"I don't want to hear any of that, Suika! You've been going all out working on our farm for years! You deserve an all-out meal once in a while." Suisen twirled the ladle between her fingers with a cheeky wink. "Besides, your uncle won't be home for another few days, so why not treat ourselves?" she asked, causing Suika to chuckle.
"Alright, I see what you're on about. Thank you." he smiled, pulling the chair out for her before he sat down and the two began to dine. The sun continued to rise in the view of the window as the two slowly and methodically enjoyed their meals. From bread to soup to eggs, and then finally the paeseith steak "Y'know…I haven't seen Uncle Renge in a while…where did he run off to that made him rely on sending letters?" Suika sipped some tea. Suisen stayed silent before for a few seconds before she set her cup down.
"Your memory getting to you again?" she asked with a hint of mirth in her voice as she smiled. "Renge went treasure hunting, like he does every few years…If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were forgetting sooner and sooner." Suisen chuckled at her nephew's embarrassment. "I'm just kidding." She added, sipping more tea. "Though that does remind me, when do you plan on starting your first journey? Senzainains usually start on their twenty-fifth birthday, do you want to be a year late?"
"But I don't even know where I'd go. Planet Senzai is enormous."
"That's the fun of an adventure now, isn't it, Suika?" Suisen asked, casually holding up an oversized rucksack with a smirk on her face as Suika began choking on his food. He smacked his chest a few times before he finally swallowed and caught his breath, formally finishing his meal.
"D-Don't you think that's rather sudden?!" he asked, astonished at the situation before Suisen pulled him into a hug. "Aunt Suisen…I" he tensed a bit but relaxed and returned the embrace.
"I know this is tough for you, Suikazura, but you can't just stay holed up here forever…." Suisen sighed a bit before a smile crept on her face. "I'll tell you what; you can start off after you run an errand for me. That should give you some time to process this, right?" Suisen asked, breaking the hug and handing him a few golden coins and a list. "Running a farm keeps us fed, but I need to get the supplies ready in time for Renge to renovate the house once he gets home…You do remember how to get to Aeston Village, don't you?" she asked with a hint of concern.
"My memory isn't that bad, Aunt Suisen." Suika chuckled before pointing towards the south-west facing window. "All I need to do is follow the path down towards the Tree of Legends. Aeston Village is the second village along the road." He explained, and Suisen smiled.
"Good, at least I know you won't get lost then." She snickered. "So, how are you going to get there? Do you want to take Tekiroba with you and make the trip faster?"
"Did she recover from the sprained ankle? I don't want her pulling a cart full of wood if she hasn't. Besides, I can pull the cart myself." Suika pat his right bicep with his left hand and a cheeky grin. "We might not be as famous as the Ryujin or the Giras race, but us Hanakotans are plenty strong, especially on our home planet." He put the coins and list in his side pouch.
"See you when you get home! I'll have something ready for you to take on your adventure!" Suisen smiled as Suika grabbed a water canteen, waved and walked out the door. He looked around, gazing south-west. He smiled, his eyes locking on the tree so enormous that he could make it out clearly on the horizon as the forests, villages and even cities faded out of focus the further out they stretched. Suika nodded to himself, walked around back to grab the cart, rolling it along behind him casually as he began to walk down the path. It was rather serene, if not somewhat uneventful, walking down the path, listening to the birds chirping and soft forest songs in the distance. It took two and a half hours for the hanakotan to finally arrive in Aeston Village. Taking out his list, he looked around.
"Ms. Niwaki's stall should be around here somewhere…" he mused, looking around before he found the market stall he was looking for. "Good morning, Ms. Niwaki!" he greeted a dark skinned, green haired woman of around his height, although of a slimmer stature. Her auburn eyes gleamed in excitement as a smile crept on her face.
"Well if it isn't little Suikazura! Hey, Ume! Get out here, will ya darling?" she called out, and a large pterodactyl looking woman of around 7'10'', far more muscular than Niwaki stepped out storage shed behind the stall. Suika's face dropped once he locked eyes with her, recognizing the mischievous grin on the giras woman's face.
"Ey! Suisen's nephew!" she cheered, pulling Suika into a headlock, playfully rubbing her knuckles against his scalp. "How's the little twerp doing, eh?" she asked, grinning as Suika squirmed a bit, eyes shut from discomfort. He stopped squirming and smiled.
"Oh, well, y'know..." he kicked his feet down, the toes of his boots digging into the dirt as he reached his hands up to grab Ume's head from behind before he used his newly formed leverage to flip Ume over him, slamming her down onto her back in front of him. "Just sticking to my roots." he smirked, plucking his feet out as root-like tendrils retracted back into the soles of his feet as a small audience of village locals formed. Ume began to laugh as she started to push herself back up, before suddenly spinning to trip him up.
"I hope you had a safe trip here!" Ume smirked, watching the hanakotan's backward roll. "Glad to see you still ain't shy of a good ol' scrap!" she punched her palm. "How's about we make up for lost time?" she began to charge forward.
"Sounds like a plan to me, Ume!" Suika pumped his fist as he was up on one knee. He leapt up, his face being met with Ume's powerful fist, though his knee buried itself in her gut. Grabbing onto her arm, Suika let his body weight drop to get Ume to stumble, but the giras laughed, yanking her arm back up to chuck Suika high up into the air. Catching the young man as he fell, Ume put Suika into a full nelson, forcing him prone onto the ground and planting her knees on his back. Suika strained himself through clenched teeth before he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. His right arm began to lose its form, morphing into a white petal, reaching up to tickle Ume's snout.
"Ahahahah- Damn it, Suika! Tha-hahahahah! That's such a dirty…ah…ahhh…Achoo!" she sneezed, reflexively covering her nose with one of her hands, giving Suika enough leeway to slip out of her grip despite her weight bearing down on him, reforming his arm. She sighed, standing back up and wiping her nose. With the laughs and cheers of their audience, Ume looked around before smirking. "Looks like we put on quite a show. Should we take this up a notch?" she asked, getting into a stance.
"Okay, hold up you two! I know you love to brawl whenever you see each-other, but can it be done off of business hours?!" Niwaki ran in-between them, cutting them off. "Besides, Suika, didn't you come here to pick up hardwood for your aunt?" Niwaki reminded the hanakotan, who smacked his forehead.
"That's right...though I'll be honest, I am not in that much of a hurry." he sighed, taking out the gold coins to pay for the hardwood. Ume nodded and went back to the storage shed to grab the wood.
"For your first adventure, right?" Niwaki asked. "I remember when I left my home in the south-east region of Senzai for my travels." she reminisced.
"How was it?"
"It was amazing. Most fun I've ever had...besides...had I not left my own bubble, I'd have never met Ume...Do you have any idea where you want to go? Where you want to visit on your own?"
"I don't know...I never thought of it much..." the hanakotan admitted, and Niwaki's smile only grew.
"I envy you, Suika. You have so much you get to see for the first time! Even if you get lost, you'll always find something new...Maybe you'll find the crystal lake, or find a cave with untold treasures!" her encouragement managed to bring a smile onto Suika's face, though she noticed his eyes wander to the Tree of Legend. "...Amazing, isn't it? The largest tree on the entire planet. I bet if someone were to go to any of the seven moons, they could still see the tree clear as day. "
"Yeah...It's smack dab in the middle, isn't it?" Suika asked, receiving a nod. He stared a bit more before he blinked, an idea crossing his head. "Has anyone out here been to the tree itself?".
"I never heard of anyone in the South-East who's been there, nor our North-East region...Hey, Ume?" Niwaki looked over to her girlfriend, who just finished loading up the hardwood onto Suika's cart. "Has anyone from your home in the South-West region been to the Tree?"
"Probably...but that's the thing about the Adventurer's Trial. You never quite know where you're going to wind up. Eventually you just let wanderlust take over, and everything just works, y'know." the giras woman smiled. "Welp. Your wood is all loaded up! You don't wanna keep your aunt waiting too long, do ya?" Ume playfully punched Suika on the shoulder. "I wish ya the best of luck, kiddo! I want to hear great stories when you get back!"
"Right...Have a wonderful day, Ms. Niwaki, Ms. Ume." he smiled and waved, grabbing the pull-bar of his cart and started to walk home. Ume and Niwaki waved to see him off, waiting until his was out of earshot.
"He does know we're married, right?" Niwaki tilted her head in confusion.
"I'm just glad he has our names memorized." Ume chuckled.
Now back on the road, Suika took in a deep breath, smiling as he looked up at the sun, which was now at its highest point at noon. The scuffs from the scrap with Ume began patching themselves up, and the hanakotan felt even more energized, picking up the pace a bit from a casual stroll to a brisk walk, then eventually coming to a slight jog as he pulled the cart along. He made it home by one o'clock pm, bringing the wood around back.
"Aunt Suisen! I'm home!" he called, and his white-haired aunt smiled, poking her head out the window.
"How are Niwaki and Ume?"
"They're doing great! Ume's still as strong as ever, but we couldn't change the tally this time around." Suika chuckled a little.
"Did Niwaki throw a fit again? That's like her, putting herself on a pedestal for not rough housing." Suisen smirked, giggling with her nephew as he parked the wagon, turning her head to the right as a four-beat gait closed in fast. She burst out laughing as a snow white mare leapt forward, tackling her nephew and pinning him down under her weight.
"Gah! Great to see you too, Tekiroba!" Suika winced, squirming a bit before freeing a hand to pet her on the face, running his fingers along the a blazing white patch so brilliant that it contrasted with her snow-white fur. The mare groaned a bit, shifting her weight and keeping Suika pinned down.
"Is this about going to Aeston village without you?" Suika asked, the mare nodding. "The last time you went there, you sprained your ankle trying to wrestle Ume. I wanted to make sure you didn't- OW!" Suika earned himself a swift headbutt from the pouty horse before Tekiroba finally stood up to let him up. Stretching and cracking his back, the hanakotan rubbed his side, wincing before he felt his pouch.
"Huh?" he checked the bag, taking out the seven starred orb.
"Woah, woah WOAH!" Suisen quickly closed in to get a quicker look, taking the ball out of his hand, eyes widening in her astonishment. "Where in the world did you get *this*?! Do you even know what this is?!"
"...A really fancy paperweight? I found it in the crop field." Suika tilted his head.
"Suika, this is a dragon ball! Do you know what this means?" Suika's aunt asked, growing frustrated with his clueless expression before she thrust the ball back into his hands. "You have an amazing opportunity...Oh...right.." she sighed.
"You probably don't remember the stories Renge would tell us, but this dragon ball is one of a set of seven. If you collect all seven of them, you can summon the Eternal Dragon and have any wish! Think about it; you could have anything you want! Money, power, a better memory, ultra soft underwear..." Suisen rambled on, Tekiroba letting out the horse equivalent of a snicker. "My point is; you have such a great opportunity!"
"So you're saying I should go searching for the other six?" Suika asked, putting the seven star ball back into his side-pouch before he snapped his fingers. "That sounds like fun. Maybe I'll be able to find a few of them on my way to the Tree." he smirked. "Feeding two birds with one scone, that sorta thing."
"It's 'killing two birds with one stone', sweetie." Suisen gently nudged him with her shoulder before snapping her fingers, Suika's clothes being enveloped in a faint white light before being replaced a new outfit; a cream-yellow tunic over azure blue leggings and white boots. With his side pouch and backpack strapped on, Suika popped his neck and cracked his knuckles.
"Before you go, you might wanna take this." Suisen snapped her fingers once more, summoning a sheathed sword, handing it to Suika. "Your father's Seven Star Sword would come in handy for such a trip."
"My father?...Oh right! Mom and Dad live over by the capital too, doesn't they?...It's been...let's see, carry the three.." he counted with his fingers before he blinked. "Almost thirteen years?!" he pulled at his collar before strapping the sheathed sword to his belt. "I guess I'll have to stop by when I get there-eh?" he tensed a little as he felt his left hand being enveloped by something warm and moist. He looked over, staring at Tekiroba as she stared back into his eyes, her mouth closed firmly but gently around his hand. "Heh...Cute...C'mon Teki, I need to get going." Suika pet the horse on the head, stroking her mane, only for her to lurch forward and suck his arm in further, up to his elbow. "Tekiroba, I'm serious, please let go?" he tried to gently pull his arm out, but the horse held firm.
"I think Tekiroba is trying to tell you something." Suisen laughed and wiped a tear away from her eye. Suika's eye twitched before he sighed, smiling wryly.
"Okay, I get it...You can come along too, Teki." Suika patted the horse on the head, only to be tossed up by the sudden rising of her head and seated on the saddle on her back. With a smack on the rear by Suisen, Tekiroba whinnied happily, charging down the south-west path with Suika in tow.
"You two have fun, you hear me! And try to send word every now and again!" Suisen called as Suika waved back to her. She waited until she could no longer see her nephew before she sighed in relief. "At long last...Suikazura has started his journey. With the trusty Tekiroba by his side, who knows what Planet Senzai has in store for them." she mused with an amused smirk on her face, almost as if she were narrating. She gazed into the sun for a few moments before blinking. "I wonder if we have any sake left."