Goku stared down intently at the heavily vegetated landscape as it zipped by beneath him. He was straining to maintain a focus on his own shadow, cast against the uneven coating of life that was spread across this area. In the dull winter light, the darkened form was difficult to keep track of as it bounded and skipped over the irregular layers of foliage below.
Huffing with frustration, Goku turned his eyes forward, surrendering the chase. The shadow was just to difficult to pin down. And besides, even if he had been able to maintain a lock, the form's faceless nature would likely not have been conducive of friendly conversation.
Looking to the fore, Goku was just barely able to resolve the narrow tower structure upon which rested the utopian gardens of Kami's lookout. Upon seeing this landmark, Goku felt impelled to press onward with a greater urgency.
****
Some twenty minutes had passed since Goku had first spotted the looming edifice. Upon reaching, he begun to ascend along side its pristine marble walls, his flight path mimicking the relentless skyward thrust of the tower. Though from a distance, the structure appeared infinitesimally narrow, at close quarters its girth was quite impressive.
Onward he went, passing many an intricately carved slab of marble and expertly chiselled window. It was not long before the rounded platform that served as home to Korin, faded into view from amid the spectral winter clouds.
Manoeuvring around the domed underbelly of the platform, Goku made his way up to the inhabited portion of the stone landing. Lifting himself over the elegant, marble banister, he moved over the platform and dropped gently onto its hard, tiled surface.
The lofty homestead was currently located at the heart of one of the elongated wisps of cool vapour that had laced the still skies throughout Goku's journey so far. The lazy accumulation of droplets swirled lethargically about the blanched masonry, in no apparent hurry to clear a line of sight for the squinting Saiyan.
Unable to discern any life in the immediate area, what with the inconsiderate cloud blocking his view, Goku paced forwards cautiously. Within a couple of steps, a stout figure, silhouetted on the diffuse screen of vapour, began to appear before him. A few more steps, and further details were revealed. The figure, though stout regardless, was in fact sitting down. The individual seemed to have their back turned to Goku, and as he made his way forward, he could resolve a wayward cascade of black hair tumbling down the back of the figure. At this point, Goku wasn't about to pat himself on the back for guess who he was looking at.
"Yajirobi!" Goku called, striding out from the veil of mist.
His greeted was met with a yelp of fearful surprise. As rapidly as his ample frame would allow, Yajirobi leapt from his seat with fright, toppling it as he did. Swivelling to face his addresser, Yajirobi drew a second breath, then let it out in a relieved puff. Closing his eyes, the portly fighter dragged a lung-full of air between his gritted teeth.
"Geez, Goku." He gasped, still struggling for breath, "You could give a guy a heart attack... sneaking around like that... I mean, c'mon!"
"Gee, I'm sorry Yajirobi." Goku apologised, watching the panting Yajirobi retrieve his stricken chair, "I didn't mean to startle you."
"Well, it's all very well saying that now." Yajirobi complained, "You could have been anyone. For all I knew, you could have been a burglar, or an android, or worse, Vegeta. He still hasn't caught up with me over that tale thing, y'know."
"I'm sorry." Goku reiterated with an amused grin, "But in any case, I'm sure you could have handled it."
"Damn straight." Yajirobi concurred, "It's just, you took me by surprise, that's all."
Goku approached Yajirobi as the round warrior retook his seat at the table. With the temperature being somewhat lower than the norm, Yajirobi was sporting a thick, leather bomber jacket over his usual regalia. From his position over the fighter's right shoulder, Goku caught a brief glimpse of a small piece of paper. Craning his neck, Goku strained for a better vantage point.
"Hey Yaj, whatcha got there?" Goku probed, overcome with curiosity.
"Nothin'." Yajirobi replied, defensively, drawing a protective arm across the white sheet.
"C'mon Yajirobi, let me see." Goku goaded, but it was to no avail.
"Hey, no peeking." Yajirobi scolded, casting a dark look over his shoulder.
"It's his party list." A soft voice came from within the haze on the opposite side of the platform.
Looking up, Goku spied yet another figure of diminutive stature, emerging from the slothful cloud bank that still hung stubbornly over the area.
"Hi there, Korin." Goku greeted, as the small, bipedal feline surfaced from the diffuse ocean of vapour.
"Hello, Goku." Korin returned the greeting, "It's good of you to come and see us. Tell me, how are you today?"
"Oh, I'm good." Goku replied, knowing it not to be the truth, and being fairly sure that Korin would be able to tell. Mercifully, however, Korin chose not to dig for any further facts.
"That's good to hear." Korin said, serenely. As he came closer, Goku could see that the fur bearing sage was carrying a mug of fuming liquid. It wasn't long before the odour angrily steaming fluid became apparent, also. Noticing that Goku was staring at his unusual beverage, Korin spoke, "It's herb tea, my own special blend. Can I get you some."
Finding himself in yet another predicament of etiquette, Goku once more did the only thing he could think to do. Lie.
"Uh, no thanks Korin. I already had a drink at Master Roshi's." he fibbed.
Goku cringed to himself. If he told anymore untruths, he'd be getting a lump of coal next Christmas.
"Very well." Korin smiled.
Mean while, Yajirobi had been pouring studiously over his piece of paper. His hunched form emitted a discontented grunt from time to time.
"What's up with Yajirobi?" Goku enquired of Korin.
"Oh, he's just upset because nobodies going to his party." Was Korin's reply, a reply that was contested with great fervour by Yajirobi.
"I am not!" He barked, looking up at the cat with a look of disdain, "It just so happens that there are a whole bunch of great people coming to my party."
"Such as?" Korin asked, knowing that his perturbed companion would be unable to easily answer his question.
"Well, there's Krillin, for one." Yajirobi replied, matter-of-factly, "He was really excited about it, too."
"Really?" Goku said, his voice piled high with insincere surprise.
"Yeah, really." Yajirobi stated, affronted by the assault on his soiree plans.
"So, why the long face then?" Goku queried.
Yajirobi looked back down at his piece of paper. He beheld it for a few seconds as he tried to determine whether to maintain his lines of defence, or surrender the battle and ask for help. Finally, he went with the latter.
"Well, it's just that..." he began, sounding unsure, "It's just that... well... I can't find any girls to invite."
"O-o-oh, I see." Goku smiled, "You old dog, Yaj. You never told me you were looking for someone."
"I'm not!" Yajirobi barked, his lines of defence being drawn once more, "I just don't want my party to be all guys, that's all. And besides, it would be a shame for all womankind if this were to be tied to just one woman." He said, gesturing to his own, rounded, leather clad body.
"Yeah, I'm sure it would." Goku smiled, before turning his mind to Yajirobi's problem, "Hmm, now let's see... well, there's that girl from the candy store. You see her a lot."
"Nah, that's strictly a working relationship." Yajirobi replied, looking thoughtfully at the near blank piece of paper.
"All right... how about... hey! How about Bulma. She's always good fun." Goku suggested.
"Oh no!" Yajirobi snapped, his eyes widened by the thought.
"Well, why not?" Goku asked, confused by Yajirobi's reaction.
"Because, if I ask Bulma, then I'll have to invite Vegeta." He informed Goku, "And I think you'll agree, Vegeta's right last guy you want at a party."
"I guess so." Goku laughed, "You wouldn't want him destroying the other guests, huh?"
"Forget the other guests! I don't want him destroying me!" Yajirobi declared, almost standing to emphasise his point.
"Okay, okay." Goku placated his agitated friend, "Hmm, well you could always ask the guys to bring their own guests."
There was a brief pause as all parties mulled over the idea. The silence was then broken, not entirely surprisingly, by Yajirobi.
"Hey, that idea's not half bad." He commented, "I'm glad I thought of it. Bring your own guests, It'll be like bring your own bottle. Hey! We can have that too."
With that, Yajirobi began to scribble furiously on his paper, mumbling thoughtfully to himself as he did. Goku chose this moment to depart, as it seemed he had managed to escape an invitation.
"I'd best be going." He said, looking over at Korin. He was careful not to raise his voice to high, so as not to interrupt Yajirobi's pencilling and thus, incur an invitation.
"Okay. It was good to see you again." Korin stated.
Goku began to make his way back towards the edge of the lofty domicile, and was soon joined by Korin.
"Thank you for helping out Yajirobi." The sagacious cat purred, "I believe you have just made his Christmas."
"Aw, it was nothing." Goku replied, "So, where's the party gonna be? Will it be up here."
"Oh no!" the cat barked, before composing himself once more, "I've told Yajirobi, I don't want a herd of people trampling all over my nice clean tower."
"I understand." Goku sympathised, before reaching the fenced-off precipice of the platform.
The listless body of cloud was finally beginning to shift away, revealing not only the shear drop to the Earth many hundreds of feet below, but also, the unattainable blue skies above. Peering around the ceiling of Korin's den, Goku was able to see the underside of Kami's lookout, his next destination.
"I'll be on my way then." Goku told Korin, "I'm off to see Kami."
"Take care, and have a good Christmas." Korin smiled, revealing his gleaming ivory fangs, "And say hello to Kami for me."
"I will." Goku complied.
The Saiyan then bounded over the short, marble barrier at the cusp of the platform. Just as gravity's cruel embrace was shaping to haul the Saiyan to the Earth's unforgiving surface, Goku summoned his ki and thrust himself upwards.
Huffing with frustration, Goku turned his eyes forward, surrendering the chase. The shadow was just to difficult to pin down. And besides, even if he had been able to maintain a lock, the form's faceless nature would likely not have been conducive of friendly conversation.
Looking to the fore, Goku was just barely able to resolve the narrow tower structure upon which rested the utopian gardens of Kami's lookout. Upon seeing this landmark, Goku felt impelled to press onward with a greater urgency.
****
Some twenty minutes had passed since Goku had first spotted the looming edifice. Upon reaching, he begun to ascend along side its pristine marble walls, his flight path mimicking the relentless skyward thrust of the tower. Though from a distance, the structure appeared infinitesimally narrow, at close quarters its girth was quite impressive.
Onward he went, passing many an intricately carved slab of marble and expertly chiselled window. It was not long before the rounded platform that served as home to Korin, faded into view from amid the spectral winter clouds.
Manoeuvring around the domed underbelly of the platform, Goku made his way up to the inhabited portion of the stone landing. Lifting himself over the elegant, marble banister, he moved over the platform and dropped gently onto its hard, tiled surface.
The lofty homestead was currently located at the heart of one of the elongated wisps of cool vapour that had laced the still skies throughout Goku's journey so far. The lazy accumulation of droplets swirled lethargically about the blanched masonry, in no apparent hurry to clear a line of sight for the squinting Saiyan.
Unable to discern any life in the immediate area, what with the inconsiderate cloud blocking his view, Goku paced forwards cautiously. Within a couple of steps, a stout figure, silhouetted on the diffuse screen of vapour, began to appear before him. A few more steps, and further details were revealed. The figure, though stout regardless, was in fact sitting down. The individual seemed to have their back turned to Goku, and as he made his way forward, he could resolve a wayward cascade of black hair tumbling down the back of the figure. At this point, Goku wasn't about to pat himself on the back for guess who he was looking at.
"Yajirobi!" Goku called, striding out from the veil of mist.
His greeted was met with a yelp of fearful surprise. As rapidly as his ample frame would allow, Yajirobi leapt from his seat with fright, toppling it as he did. Swivelling to face his addresser, Yajirobi drew a second breath, then let it out in a relieved puff. Closing his eyes, the portly fighter dragged a lung-full of air between his gritted teeth.
"Geez, Goku." He gasped, still struggling for breath, "You could give a guy a heart attack... sneaking around like that... I mean, c'mon!"
"Gee, I'm sorry Yajirobi." Goku apologised, watching the panting Yajirobi retrieve his stricken chair, "I didn't mean to startle you."
"Well, it's all very well saying that now." Yajirobi complained, "You could have been anyone. For all I knew, you could have been a burglar, or an android, or worse, Vegeta. He still hasn't caught up with me over that tale thing, y'know."
"I'm sorry." Goku reiterated with an amused grin, "But in any case, I'm sure you could have handled it."
"Damn straight." Yajirobi concurred, "It's just, you took me by surprise, that's all."
Goku approached Yajirobi as the round warrior retook his seat at the table. With the temperature being somewhat lower than the norm, Yajirobi was sporting a thick, leather bomber jacket over his usual regalia. From his position over the fighter's right shoulder, Goku caught a brief glimpse of a small piece of paper. Craning his neck, Goku strained for a better vantage point.
"Hey Yaj, whatcha got there?" Goku probed, overcome with curiosity.
"Nothin'." Yajirobi replied, defensively, drawing a protective arm across the white sheet.
"C'mon Yajirobi, let me see." Goku goaded, but it was to no avail.
"Hey, no peeking." Yajirobi scolded, casting a dark look over his shoulder.
"It's his party list." A soft voice came from within the haze on the opposite side of the platform.
Looking up, Goku spied yet another figure of diminutive stature, emerging from the slothful cloud bank that still hung stubbornly over the area.
"Hi there, Korin." Goku greeted, as the small, bipedal feline surfaced from the diffuse ocean of vapour.
"Hello, Goku." Korin returned the greeting, "It's good of you to come and see us. Tell me, how are you today?"
"Oh, I'm good." Goku replied, knowing it not to be the truth, and being fairly sure that Korin would be able to tell. Mercifully, however, Korin chose not to dig for any further facts.
"That's good to hear." Korin said, serenely. As he came closer, Goku could see that the fur bearing sage was carrying a mug of fuming liquid. It wasn't long before the odour angrily steaming fluid became apparent, also. Noticing that Goku was staring at his unusual beverage, Korin spoke, "It's herb tea, my own special blend. Can I get you some."
Finding himself in yet another predicament of etiquette, Goku once more did the only thing he could think to do. Lie.
"Uh, no thanks Korin. I already had a drink at Master Roshi's." he fibbed.
Goku cringed to himself. If he told anymore untruths, he'd be getting a lump of coal next Christmas.
"Very well." Korin smiled.
Mean while, Yajirobi had been pouring studiously over his piece of paper. His hunched form emitted a discontented grunt from time to time.
"What's up with Yajirobi?" Goku enquired of Korin.
"Oh, he's just upset because nobodies going to his party." Was Korin's reply, a reply that was contested with great fervour by Yajirobi.
"I am not!" He barked, looking up at the cat with a look of disdain, "It just so happens that there are a whole bunch of great people coming to my party."
"Such as?" Korin asked, knowing that his perturbed companion would be unable to easily answer his question.
"Well, there's Krillin, for one." Yajirobi replied, matter-of-factly, "He was really excited about it, too."
"Really?" Goku said, his voice piled high with insincere surprise.
"Yeah, really." Yajirobi stated, affronted by the assault on his soiree plans.
"So, why the long face then?" Goku queried.
Yajirobi looked back down at his piece of paper. He beheld it for a few seconds as he tried to determine whether to maintain his lines of defence, or surrender the battle and ask for help. Finally, he went with the latter.
"Well, it's just that..." he began, sounding unsure, "It's just that... well... I can't find any girls to invite."
"O-o-oh, I see." Goku smiled, "You old dog, Yaj. You never told me you were looking for someone."
"I'm not!" Yajirobi barked, his lines of defence being drawn once more, "I just don't want my party to be all guys, that's all. And besides, it would be a shame for all womankind if this were to be tied to just one woman." He said, gesturing to his own, rounded, leather clad body.
"Yeah, I'm sure it would." Goku smiled, before turning his mind to Yajirobi's problem, "Hmm, now let's see... well, there's that girl from the candy store. You see her a lot."
"Nah, that's strictly a working relationship." Yajirobi replied, looking thoughtfully at the near blank piece of paper.
"All right... how about... hey! How about Bulma. She's always good fun." Goku suggested.
"Oh no!" Yajirobi snapped, his eyes widened by the thought.
"Well, why not?" Goku asked, confused by Yajirobi's reaction.
"Because, if I ask Bulma, then I'll have to invite Vegeta." He informed Goku, "And I think you'll agree, Vegeta's right last guy you want at a party."
"I guess so." Goku laughed, "You wouldn't want him destroying the other guests, huh?"
"Forget the other guests! I don't want him destroying me!" Yajirobi declared, almost standing to emphasise his point.
"Okay, okay." Goku placated his agitated friend, "Hmm, well you could always ask the guys to bring their own guests."
There was a brief pause as all parties mulled over the idea. The silence was then broken, not entirely surprisingly, by Yajirobi.
"Hey, that idea's not half bad." He commented, "I'm glad I thought of it. Bring your own guests, It'll be like bring your own bottle. Hey! We can have that too."
With that, Yajirobi began to scribble furiously on his paper, mumbling thoughtfully to himself as he did. Goku chose this moment to depart, as it seemed he had managed to escape an invitation.
"I'd best be going." He said, looking over at Korin. He was careful not to raise his voice to high, so as not to interrupt Yajirobi's pencilling and thus, incur an invitation.
"Okay. It was good to see you again." Korin stated.
Goku began to make his way back towards the edge of the lofty domicile, and was soon joined by Korin.
"Thank you for helping out Yajirobi." The sagacious cat purred, "I believe you have just made his Christmas."
"Aw, it was nothing." Goku replied, "So, where's the party gonna be? Will it be up here."
"Oh no!" the cat barked, before composing himself once more, "I've told Yajirobi, I don't want a herd of people trampling all over my nice clean tower."
"I understand." Goku sympathised, before reaching the fenced-off precipice of the platform.
The listless body of cloud was finally beginning to shift away, revealing not only the shear drop to the Earth many hundreds of feet below, but also, the unattainable blue skies above. Peering around the ceiling of Korin's den, Goku was able to see the underside of Kami's lookout, his next destination.
"I'll be on my way then." Goku told Korin, "I'm off to see Kami."
"Take care, and have a good Christmas." Korin smiled, revealing his gleaming ivory fangs, "And say hello to Kami for me."
"I will." Goku complied.
The Saiyan then bounded over the short, marble barrier at the cusp of the platform. Just as gravity's cruel embrace was shaping to haul the Saiyan to the Earth's unforgiving surface, Goku summoned his ki and thrust himself upwards.
