Growing Closer
Chapter 4: Korin's Tower
By: Kei
Yeah, no smiley face this time. Just not having a wonderful week, ya know? But anyway I don't feel like going into the gory details but as Yuri has already stated until she finds time I'm in charge of this fic. *cracks knuckles* And thanks to this sucky week I have a LOT of free time on my hands. Well…except for when I gotta work, hang out with my friends, and eating cinnabuns. Ah, cinnabuns the solution to all of my life's little problems. *stuffs another cinnabun in her mouth as the turtle stares up at her* Gomen nasai, Turtle, but no sugar for you. The sugar in this could KILL YA! OO…*starts to smile evilly* NO, no, no. I can't do that to a living creature. But my ex…I could. Hehehe. *shakes head* Must focus or Yuri will have my head. Alright guys enjoy.
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The sun was still slowly rising as Goku and ChiChi jumped onto Nimbus and made their way to Kami's Lookout. The two laughed and talked about anything and everything. ChiChi was amazed at how quickly the flying Nimbus actually went. On the little cloud they were crossing lands that would take hours by car and not to mention that sometimes a boat was required. From what ChiChi had recalled and heard from Goku's friends he was very…well stupid. Actually naïve was a better word to describe Goku's personality. But Goku was able to tell ChiChi every land, city, and village that crossed over. ChiChi couldn't help but smile with this new knowledge. Goku was as smart as anyone else who lived the life he did, if not smarter. "There's Korin Tower." Goku stated out loud as he pointed at the huge tower straight ahead. Looking over Goku's shoulder she saw the mystical tower of legend.
"So that's the tower?" ChiChi asked.
"Yep." Goku said as Nimbus began flying up the tower.
'It's so tall. How could anyone ever doubts its existence?' ChiChi thought as she looked behind her and saw the ground disappear underneath the fluffy white clouds.
"You gotta meet Korin and Yajirobe." Goku added smiling excitedly. ChiChi's eyes lit up with excitement at the though of meeting the great martial arts master, Korin.
'Who knows,' ChiChi thought. 'I might be able to drink some of the sacred water and become stronger.' In a matter of minutes the two had finally reached the top of the tower.
"Korin. Master Korin?" Goku called as he hopped off the cloud. "Yajirobe?"
"Ya don't hafta yell." A deep and gruff voice yelled back. Hopping off the cloud ChiChi looked around the circular tower. There wasn't much here but some stone pillars and a strange statue in the middle. ChiChi's eyes widened as she saw a strange flask sitting on top of it.
"Goku, is that the," ChiChi began but was quickly cut off as two figures walked in.
"Well, well Goku has finally returned." A short and chubby white cat commented. ChiChi's eyes quickly narrowed, as she looked the duo over. The cat had a staff and the man next to him was short, fat, and seemed a bit shady to her even if he was a monk.
'Don't tell me that one of these guys is the 'Great Master Korin'.' ChiChi thought with a frown.
"Hi Korin. Hi Yajirobe." Goku greeted with a wave.
"Congrats on finally winning the tournament." The cat said laughing. "It's about time." Goku could only roll his eyes at the comment.
"The whole reason you even won is because I decided not to fight." The monk said confidently.
"Right." Goku and the cat said in unison.
"Oh, Korin, Yajirobe this is ChiChi." Goku said stepping aside and bringing ChiChi into view. "ChiChi, this is Korin." Goku said pointing at the cat. "And this is Yajirobe, he lives up here with Korin." ChiChi bowed at the introduction, as did Korin and Yajirobe.
"ChiChi, huh?" Yajirobe said smiling slyly. "Since when you have a girlfriend? Or is that part of the prize for winning the tournament?"
"Uh." Goku couldn't help but blush. "Well she's-that is I- well I mean." Goku blushed even more as Korin and Yajirobe began to chuckle.
"Never thought I'd see the day when the Great Son Goku would be speechless. You must like her a lot." Korin commented nudging Goku with his staff. ChiChi had to blush too as she leaned on Goku partly to hide her own blushing face.
"WELL!" Goku shouted startling everyone. "I mean we were on our way to Kami's and thought we'd say hi…BYE!" Goku said quickly trying to control his blush as he grabbed ChiChi's hand and began walking away.
"Not so fast, Goku." Korin said stopping Goku in his tracks.
"Yeah, Korin?"
"You know the rules. Nobody can see Kami unless I okay it."
"What do you mean?" Goku asked not understanding.
"She has to prove herself worthy first." Korin said using his staff to point at ChiChi.
"How do I do that?" ChiChi asked looking at Korin and then at Goku.
"You gotta climb the Tower." Yajirobe said smirking.
"WHAT?" ChiChi shouted. "You want me to climb the Tower?"
"Why not?" Korin asked. "Goku and Yajirobe both did years ago."
"Yeah, but that's Goku and Yajirobe." ChiChi said with a frown.
"C'mon ChiChi. I'm sure climbing the Tower will be nothing for the Great Ox-King's daughter. I mean he was Roshi's second student, ne?" Korin asked with a glint in his eye.
"How did you know that?" ChiChi asked stunned.
"He can read minds." Goku stated.
"Really?"
"Yep. Besides it's one of the only ways for you to get to drink the sacred water." Korin said pointing at the flask ChiChi had noticed earlier.
"Well, if that's the case. I'll do it." ChiChi said with determination. Goku looked on with awe and admiration as ChiChi walked by him. "Uh? How do I get down?" ChiChi asked.
"Climb down." Goku said with a sweat drop. ChiChi's eyes widened as she looked over the tower. "Don't worry I'll be with you." Goku said nudging ChiChi with his elbow.
"Thank you." ChiChi whispered as she blushed.
"Well, I suggest you two get going then." Yajirobe said with a frown.
"Right. Korin see ya later." Goku said as he jumped up on the ledge. "C'mon ChiChi." Goku said smiling down at ChiChi offering her his hand.
"Okay." ChiChi said meekly as she hopped up next to him.
"Have fun, kids." Korin said with a wave walking down the stairs.
"Yeah, but not 'too' much fun." Yajirobe said winking at Goku as he followed Korin.
"Yeah." Goku said uncertainly.
"Goku? How are we supposed to climb down? I mean we don't have all day." ChiChi said looking up at Goku.
"Uh…do you trust me?" Goku asked looking down at the clouds below.
"Uh…yeah. Why?" ChiChi asked as Goku pulled her close to him.
"Because of this." Goku said as he tightened his grip and jumped off of the ledge. Panic set in as ChiChi began screaming at the top of her lungs hugging Goku desperately. ChiChi's screaming was, however, cut short as she heard Goku laughing. Opening her eyes she found herself suspended in midair. "Scared ya, huh?" Goku asked still laughing.
"That wasn't funny, Goku." ChiChi growled out as she punched Goku in the chest as best as she could.
"I'm sorry, Chi." Goku said as the lowered his chi and began slowly descending. "Just couldn't resist."
"Well…next time you do that, warn me."
"Right."
"Say Goku? How long have you been able to fly?" ChiChi asked looking around as they passed through a cloud.
"Oh…about two years now."
"Who taught you?"
"Well…I saw Kami do it once and then tried it myself." ChiChi quickly turned her full attention back on Goku.
"You just saw him do it and learned?" ChiChi asked shocked.
"Yep."
"Well how long did that take?"
"Uh…about a five days."
"You're a fast learner, ne?"
"Yeah. It's like a second nature though." Goku explained looking down at the girl in his arms. "Fighting always has."
"Wow." Was all that ChiChi could say. The conversation ended there as the two traveled in silence. Neither minded the silence as ChiChi snuggled closer to Goku and Goku enjoyed the action. "Hey, I can see the ground." ChiChi said excitedly looking at the green grass below.
"Yeah, that's where Upa and his father, Bora, lives." Goku said with a smile.
Down below a boy stepped out of a small teepee. The boy had tanned skin, a long ponytail reaching the small of his back, he wore deerskin clothes showing that he was a boy who lived off the land, and a single feather sticking out the back where his ponytail was braided. Stretching the boy looked up at the Tower with a warm smile. "Mornin', Master Korin." The boy greeted with a bow.
"Upa!" A voice called out. Looking around Upa couldn't find the source of the voice. It sounded distant but in what direction? "Behind you." Turning around Upa saw Goku standing before him holding a girl.
"Goku?"
"Yeah. Upa you've grown." Goku said looking at his once small companion. Upa was still small in height and stature compared to Goku, but Goku was still older then him.
"Yeah." Upa said absent-mindedly as he focused his attention on ChiChi.
"So…you have a girlfriend, huh?" Upa asked looking at Goku.
"What?" Goku asked looking down at ChiChi.
"Heh. That seems to be the million dollar question today." ChiChi giggled as Goku gently placed her on the ground.
"I knew it!" Upa shouted laughing. "Hi, Goku's girlfriend. I'm Upa."
"Hi, Upa. I'm ChiChi." ChiChi said smiling and shaking Upa's hand.
"Nice to meet you, ChiChi." Upa said smiling slyly at Goku. "So what brings you two to the bottom of Korin's Tower?"
"I'm going to climb the tower." ChiChi stated proudly.
"Really? Wow, good luck. Which reminds me, Goku. How did the tournament go?" Upa asked looking up at Goku.
"Oh right. I won this year." Goku said proudly winking at him. "That's also where I met ChiChi…again."
"Upa!" A young voice called out interrupting the group's conversation. "Upa! Where are you?" The voice called again only this time sounding very angry.
"Uh-oh." Upa whispered as he began to slightly shiver.
"Who's that?" Goku asked looking down at Upa. Then a young girl came out of the woods with a mean frown. She had long ebony hair that hung in two braided ponytails. She had on jean shorts, with a cut off white wife-beater showing off some of her stomach, and a tattoo band around her right arm.
"Mari…hi." Upa squeaked nervously as he waved at the angry girl. Mari's nostrils flared as her dark brown eyes burned with anger and determination. Stepping out of the forest and into the clearing she quickly ran over to Upa almost knocking Goku over.
"Upa! I can't believe you!" Mari shouted. "Did you forget about me?"
"No! No, I was on my way to see you when an old friend dropped by." Upa explained.
"What friend?" Mari asked suspiciously.
"Me." Goku said looking worried. Mari quickly turned around and looked Goku up and down.
"Who are you? I've never seen you around here before." Mari stated crossing her arms.
"Yeah, well I've," Goku started but was cut off by Mari.
"Don't you realize that Upa was supposed to meet me 20 minutes ago? You were supposed to show me how to throw an axe." Mari said turning back around to face Upa.
"I know. I'm sorry, Mari." Upa apologized. "It's just that Goku is an old friend of mine. He's like a big brother really." Upa admitted.
"Goku? Oh yeah. Upa's told me all about you." Mari said as her eyes light up. "You climbed Korin's Tower years ago, didn't you?" Goku nodded his head. "And saved Poppa Bora."
"Poppa Bora?" Goku asked confused.
"Yeah, that's what I call Upa's father. By the way who are you?" Mari asked walking past Goku and up to ChiChi. ChiChi had occupied her time by staring up at the tower.
'I wonder how long it'll take me to get up there?' ChiChi thought straining to see the top.
"Excuse me?" Mari asked waving a hand in front of ChiChi's face.
"Oh! I'm sorry. Hello." ChiChi greeted.
"Hi, I'm Mari."
"I'm ChiChi."
"Are you Goku's girlfriend?" Mari asked looking over at a blushing Goku and a smirking Upa.
"Yeah, I am." ChiChi said smiling.
"How cute. I'm Upa's girlfriend."
"YOU HAVE A GIRLFRIEND?" Goku shouted as he began laughing and fell over.
"Well…yeah. WHAT'S SO FUNNY ABOUT THAT?" Upa shouted blushing.
"You mean Upa's never mentioned me?" Mari asked as tears welled up in her eyes.
"Uh, Mari." Upa began seeing his error. Goku saw the same and quickly stood up.
"Of course he has, but he never officially said you were his girlfriend." Goku said smiling.
"Oh…that's alright then." Mari said smiling.
"Yeah, I mean he talks about you all the time." Goku said smiling mischievously.
"Really?" Mari asked excitedly.
"Goku?" Upa whispered harshly.
"Yeah, he always talks about how cute you are."
"Goku." Upa whispered more desperately as he began turning redder.
"How he loves the way your eyes sparkle when you're angry or excited." Goku added as Mari's eyes began to sparkle.
"GOKU."
"And the way,"
"Goku, I think that's enough." ChiChi said sternly interrupting the conversation. Mari frowned while Upa let out a sigh of relief.
"C'mon, Chi. I've just started." Goku said smiling mischievously.
"No, Goku. Tower. Remember?" ChiChi asked pointing up.
"Oh, yeah right." Goku said walking up to ChiChi. "I'm ready whenever you are."
"You're climbing the tower?" Mari asked looking over at ChiChi.
"Yep. Wish me luck."
"Good luck." Mari said still in shock.
"She'll do fine. Goku's with her." Upa said walking up and standing beside Mari.
"Have fun." Goku said smiling at Upa making him blush. Goku didn't quite understand why Upa blushed but it was nice to know he wasn't alone in the relationship thing.
"You too." Upa responded back.
"Ready?" ChiChi asked smiling with a very confident and determined look.
"Yep." Goku said as he bent down at his knees, jumped up high in the air, and grabbed hold of the tower. The girls gasped in amazement. Goku looked like a small orange dot he had jumped so high. Honestly neither had ever seen anyone jump so high.
"GOKU!" ChiChi shouted angrily.
"WHAT?" Goku's voice traveled down sounding very small and far away.
"I CAN'T JUMP THAT HIGH."
"SURE YOU CAN."
"NO! I CAN'T."
"JUST TRY IT!"
"GOKU! GET BACK DOWN HERE."
"WHY?"
"BECAUSE! I'M NOT YELLING ANYMORE"
"WHAT?"
"I don't believe this." ChiChi grumbled to herself earning a snicker from Upa and Mari.
"You two really make a cute couple." Mari said giggling.
"CHICHI? C'MON." Goku continued shouting.
"NO!"
"Why not?" Goku asked as he suddenly landed on the ground behind the group.
"BECAUSE," ChiChi shouted but caught herself as she blushed. "Because I can't jump that high." ChiChi explained calmly.
"Alright, fine." Goku grumbled looking very disappointed. "Ready?" Goku asked. ChiChi nodded her head and Goku this time jumped about 50ft in the air. Mari was once again stunned as ChiChi smiled and followed. "See ya later, Upa. Mari." Goku said as he and ChiChi quickly climbed higher and higher.
"Bye." ChiChi shouted as she continued climbing.
"Bye." Upa said waving.
"Upa…you got some serious training to do." Mari stated glaring at Upa.
"What? Why?"
"Because as 'Guardian of the Tower' you must be able to defeat any and every foe unworthy of climbing the tower." Mari stated seriously with a frown nodding her head. "We've already met a couple who's stronger then you." Mari said going into deep thought. "Chances are their children will be strong as well. LET'S GO, UPA! I'll train with you." Mari shouted as she threw a fist into the air and ran into the woods with her axe. "BANZAI!!!" Upa could only follow behind with a small smile all the while shaking his head.
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Well that's the end it's getting kind of late…early. Well it's 5:46am on a Wednesday and I still have yet to fall asleep. Insomniacs of the world…UNITE!! *looks around and sweat drops as the insomniacs have fallen asleep* IRONY YOU ARE A CRUEL AND HEARTLESS MISTRESS!!! And Fate's a bitch too. Hehehe. Lack of sleep can really warp a girl's mind. Guess anyone's mind for that matter. Anyway this chapter WAS longer but I'm seriously need sleep and wanna update like….FOUR HOURS AGO!! Don't boyfriends suck, btw? But I won't bore you guys with the details just know that right now I don't like 6'1" bald, black guys with gorgeous light brown eyes. But on the lighter note I still have Goku, Raditz, Bardock, Turles, Kakarrot, Vin, Sean, Antonio, Tyson (has dark brown eyes, thank you, Yuri), and so many other guys I want to add on as cabana boys. Ja'ne.