Chapter 15: Ring Around the Rosie
All around, the leaves of the tropical trees that covered the landscape swayed lazily in the warm ocean breeze. The small house stood off to the right. In the other direction, there stood a behemoth of a boulder, nearly as big as the house. Between these two objects stood a tall, lanky figure. He wore black shorts and a gray t-shirt. His short brown hair was unmoved by the breeze that shook the leaves of the trees.
He stood facing the house when, as if struck by a brilliant idea, he whirled around and began walking towards the boulder. When he reached the boulder, he proceeded to walk around it, searching for something. After circumventing the giant rock, he stopped where he had began, looked the boulder over once more, shrugged his shoulders, and leaned against the rock, pressing his right shoulder to it. He dug his feet into the soft, green earth as he prepared for what he was about to attempt. His feet sank a half-inch as he pushed on the boulder with all his strength. When it felt like any more strain on his body would rend muscle from bone, he collapsed in a heap next to the stone. As he lay there, eyes closed, taking in deep draughts of the warm tropical air, he could hear footsteps lightly and slowly approaching. When the footsteps stopped a few feet away, an old voice said, "You've got a lot more training ahead of you before you before you'll be able to move that, Xavier."
Xavier opened his eyes and looked the old man in the sunglasses, but did not respond.
"Well, are you going to lie there all day or are you going to get up?" Roshi asked sarcastically as he poked at Xavier with his walking staff.
"Alright, alright." Xavier responded as he sat up and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small grayish-green bean and ate it. Feeling his strength restored, Xavier sprung to his feet and asked, "So, what's on the agenda for today? Swimming? Or is it weightlifting again today?"
It was one week after the dance and this was the fourth time that Xavier had been at Roshi's to train. In that time, Xavier's training had consisted of him swimming in the ocean as Roshi chased him in a small speedboat, shouting random 'inspirations' and of Xavier having to move rocks almost half his size from one place to another, then back again, then repeating the process. It was what Roshi referred to as "weightlifting."
As they were walking towards the small house, Roshi explained to Xavier, "No, none of that, today. Right now, I need you to deliver a letter for me."
"You're kidding, right?" asked Xavier. "All you want me to do is deliver a letter?"
"Yes." replied Roshi as he ascended the steps to his house. "Now wait here a minute." With that, Roshi disappeared into the house.
Less than a minute later, he returned, carrying what appeared to be a large bowl in his hands and the letter in his mouth. He half walked, half stumbled to where Xavier was standing and dropped the heavy object at Xavier's feet, causing the teen to jump back or risk losing a foot.
"What's all this stuff?" asked Xavier. "I thought I was delivering a letter."
"You are," said Roshi, after taking the letter from his mouth. "And here it is. That," he pointed to the objects lying in the sand, "is your training."
Xavier bent down and examined the objects. Inside the bowl were four black, padded, heavy objects. Upon closer inspection, Xavier found them to be ankle weights and wrist weights. After taking them out of the bowl, he realized that the bowl itself was familiar. When he examined it, he saw that it was, in fact, a tortoise shell, similar to the one that Roshi always wore.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" asked Roshi, causing Xavier to look up from his examination. "That's your training equipment. Put it on."
With that, Xavier put on the wrist and ankle weights and slung the tortoise shell over his shoulders, instantly feeling the added weight. "Just how much does this weigh?" asked Xavier exasperatedly.
"Hmmm….two and a half pounds on each ankle, one on each wrist and about twenty-five on your back." replied Roshi.
"That's it?!" replied Xavier, slightly shocked at how much heavier so little weight made his limbs feel.
"I told you that you have a lot of training to do." replied the turtle hermit. "Now, I hope you haven't forgotten about the letter," he said as he handed the envelope to Xavier.
Taking the white envelope in his hand, Xavier asked, "Ok, so, where exactly am I taking this to?"
Roshi pointed down into a small valley, which contained a quaint-looking village. "You see that village?" he asked Xavier.
"Yeah," replied the teen.
"You see that big hill just past the village with the big red house on the top of it?"
"Yeah," said Xavier, less enthusiastically than before.
"Take it to that house. The person it's addressed to will tell you what to do after she reads it." Roshi explained.
"Alright." Xavier said as he began walking off to the dirt road that would take him to the village.
"Oh, and Xavier," Roshi called to him, causing him to stop and turn around. "I expect you to run there."
Sighing and grumbling under his breath, Xavier turned and began jogging. He reached the dirt road and was enveloped in a sea of green. The sights, sounds, and smells of the tropical forest almost made Xavier forget the fact that he was likely to pass out before he reached his destination. Every so often, a flash of movement, most likely a small creature darting to and fro, would catch Xavier's eye.
Wow. This is really awesome. Xavier thought as he jogged along the dirt road. I've never seen this much of this area before. I only wish I wasn't running past it all. I could stop, but I'm willing to bet that the old man would be able to tell if I slacked off any.
And so, Xavier continued on until he reached the village some miles away. When he got there, he slowed to a stroll, taking in the sights. He had lived in or near the city all his life and had never seen such a simple village before. All the homes were small, dome-shaped structures. Some were painted different colors, but most were white with wood borders and doors. As he walked, Xavier looked on as small shop owners carried out business with customers, small children playing in the dirt streets, and small, donkey drawn carts bouncing along the ruts in the road. It wasn't too difficult or him to pick the correct way to the hill that was his goal, as the village was centered around one main road and Xavier soon found himself walking on an incline.
He began jogging again as he left the village behind and made his way up the large hill. As Xavier ran up the slowly inclining hill, the trees that had dotted the landscape gave way to grassy fields. As the wind swept over the hills it sent waves rippling through the carpet of grass that covered them. He slowly made his way up the now winding road, legs burning, lungs aching, and drenched in sweat. Arriving at the top of the hill, he approached the house. Unlike those of the village below, it was made of red brick, had two stories, an expensive looking wooden door with a shiny brass doorknocker, and shutters painted a brilliant white.
Xavier walked up to the house and, for the first time that day, Xavier became aware of his silly appearance: soaked in sweat, weights on his wrists and ankles, and a turtle shell on his back. Hesitantly, he reached for the brass doorknocker, lifted it, and dropped it three times. After this disturbance, an uneasy silence became painfully noticeable to Xavier as he fumbled with the envelope in his hands and awaited a response. A minute later, the large wooden door slowly swung open on its hinges, revealing an extremely young, black haired girl.
"Hello!" said the little girl, cheerily.
Xavier, half-expecting an adult to answer, wasn't sure what to say, so he clumsily handed the girl the envelope. She took it from him, studied it for a moment, and then screamed with glee, "A letter from grandpa Roshi!"
Grandpa?? Thought Xavier. But before he could sort the matter out any further, the girl was gripping Xavier by the left wrist and dragging him into the house. Once his eyes adjusted to the change in lighting, Xavier found himself being dragged through a large room. Three ceiling fans placed in equal intervals across the ceiling spun in pace with each other, creating a slight breeze which felt almost cold, but refreshing to Xavier after running for so long. Expensive looking furniture was arranged throughout the room. From what Xavier could see, there were at least two couches, almost a half-dozen armchairs, and a few tables, all elegantly crafted. Artwork decorated the walls and a small fountain in the corner filled the room with the relaxing sounds of falling water while a fireplace in one wall looked as if it was rarely used.
Xavier managed to take all this in as he was pulled along by the little girl, who looked to be roughly half his age. As soon as his eyes had become accustomed to the dim surroundings of the first room, Xavier was blinded by a kitchen bathed in sunlight. This room looked drastically different from the previous room: the most modern appliances and gadgets filled the room. A refrigerator and stove (a cast-iron pot-rack hanging just above the latter with stainless steel pots and pans hanging from it and sparkling in the sunlight), both looking like new, stood nestled along one wall, a dishwasher and chrome sink dominated another. A third wall was the site of a long countertop on which rested a variety of appliances. Seated at a table in the center of the room was an older woman. She looked to be in her thirties, had a slender figure, and, like the little girl, had black hair. The woman sat leaning back in the chair, a coffee mug in her left hand, talking into the videophone.
"Mommy! Mommy!" shouted the little girl.
The woman clicked a button on the videophone screen and looked at her daughter, paying no attention to Xavier, and asked, "What is it, Luanna, honey?"
"I got a letter from grandpa Roshi!" the little girl informed her mother, excitedly.
"That's nice, Luanna. Remember, you've got to be back before bedtime."
"I will, mom," replied Luanna. With that, the little girl, dragging Xavier by the wrist, exited the kitchen through another door. What the hell is going ooooon…thought Xavier as he felt his arm being wrenched across the kitchen. A few seconds later, Xavier was being dragged across the backyard, the smell of fresh-cut grass overpowering him. The little girl didn't seem to notice any of her surrounding, but kept pulling Xavier along towards a small garage. When they got to it, the girl pressed a button on the side of the door, causing the door to silently rise on its runners. Luanna then walked into the garage and returned pulling a bicycle. Unlike most bikes, this one looked like a hybrid of a bicycle and a carriage. The front of it looked normal enough, with a seat for someone to pedal from, but the back of that was attached to a bench-style seat that was resting on two wheel. Luanna then sat down on the bench and asked Xavier, "C'mon! We have to go pick up Anna and Terri before we go to see Grandpa Roshi!"
"Hold on a sec!" exclaimed the exhausted Xavier. "You don't expect me to pedal you and your friends there, do you?"
Luanna looked at Xavier solemnly and, letter in hand, said "That's what Grandpa says for you to do."
Xavier saw the letter in the girl's hand and, cursing his luck, got on the tricycle and began pedaling, with Luanna doing the back-seat driving.
****
Back in the village, the tricycle and its two passengers made its way down the central avenue. Suddenly, it was brought to a screeching halt when Luanna yelled "STOP!"
With the tricycle stopped, Luanna ran to a small house and knocked on the door. As she waited for a response, Luanna shifted nervously from one foot to the other. After thirty second of this suspense, the door opened to reveal a blond girl, roughly the same height as Luanna. Xavier tried to hear their conversation, but could hear nothing more than muffled bits of it from his seat on the bike. Suddenly, the blond girl disappeared into the house, leaving the door open, and reappeared a few moments later. The two young girls then scrambled back to the bike and sat on the bench.
"Hurry up, Xavier! That way!" yelled Luanna as soon as she was seated, pointing down a side-street. "We have to go get Anna, now!"
Xavier began pumping the pedals, his job made even more difficult with an additional passenger. A few minutes later, three girls were scrambling onto the bench, the new passenger being an equally short, brown haired girl. With the added weight to pull, Xavier began the long bike ride back to Roshi's house.
*****
Outside of the Kame House, an old, bald man wearing a turtle shell stood quietly and unmoving, looking at his watch.
"They should be here any time now…" he muttered to himself as he glanced up towards the path that led to the village. A few moments later, a faint sound could be heard coming from the direction that the old man was looking in. At first, it was nothing more than a faint voice in the distance. As it grew louder, the incoherent singing of three very happy children could be heard. As the source of the singing got even closer, the singing stop and it was replaced by a frantic conversation.
"I think we're almost to Grandpa Roshi's!" said one voice.
"Really? I thought we still had a few more miles to go?" said another.
"No. There's the bridge over the stream, we're almost there!" said a third.
"You're right! I see it too!" said the second.
Xavier pedaled the bike over the small wooden bridge and continued on for another minute, following a winding path through the trees. Finally, when he thought he might never make it out of the tunnel in the trees, the bike rolled into a grass clearing. At the opposite end of the clearing was the small house and it front of it, Roshi with his walking staff in one hand and a wristwatch on the other. He glanced up as the sounds coming from the bike and it's passengers broke away from behind the trees and waited for Xavier to pedal it across the field, bringing it to a halt in front of Roshi.
"It's about time you got back." said Roshi.
Xavier didn't reply. He simply crossed his arms on the handlebars and let his head fall onto his forearms. Just the thought of trying to move made Xavier's muscles ache even more. Suddenly, Xavier felt something hit him in the back of the head, causing him to roll/fall off the bike seat and onto the ground, landing on his back. From his new viewpoint on the ground, Xavier saw an upside-down image of Roshi's head and shoulders peering at him through dark sunglasses.
"You didn't think you were done, now, did you?" asked Roshi as he tapped his walking staff in his hand.
Xavier groaned. "Just….let….me….lie here….for… a while." he managed to mutter.
Roshi stooped down by Xavier. To the teen, Roshi still appeared upside-down. Roshi looked at Xavier with a slight bit of concern and asked, "What's wrong? Tired?"
Xavier slowly nodded his head.
"TOO BAD!!! NOW GET UP!!!" yelled the turtle hermit.
Xavier scrambled to his feet. "Alright, alright." he muttered. "I suppose you have some other training for me to do?"
"Actually, I thought we might play a game." said Roshi as the three girls started jumping up and down excitedly and Xavier fell over.
Scrambling to his feet once again, Xavier exclaimed, "A GAME!? THAT'S IT?!"
Roshi stared Xavier in the eyes. Then, without warning, he poked Xavier in the shoulder before running off, yelling "TAG! YOU'RE IT!"
Xavier looked around and saw the three girls imitate Roshi as the scurried off in different directions. "Sonofa…." he muttered, realizing that this was the training and took off after the fleeing Luanna. He hadn't taken three steps before he fell flat on his face, due to the added weights, especially those on his ankles.
Damnit! I'll never catch any of them if I have to wear all these weights. I'm just too tired. Xavier thought as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small brown bag. As he was about to reach inside it, he heard Roshi call, to him: "And don't think about taking any senzu beans!"
"Why the hell not?" Xavier yelled back, slightly frustrated.
"If you do that, you'll never increase you stamina." Roshi answered from across the field.
Begrudgingly, Xavier put the pouch back in his pocket and slowly got to his feet and yelled back to Roshi, "Just how long are we going to play this, anyway?"
"Until you can catch someone." came the reply.
Xavier didn't like the sound of this. It could take him a long time to catch one of them in his current state. He looked around, trying to find someone to tag closer to him than Roshi, but realized that all the girls were gone.
Great! Just great! I'm being embarrassed by three girls and an old man! I have officially reached a new low. Xavier thought as he scanned the surrounding area for the girls. He looked along the tree-line for any sign of them, but had no luck. Then, from behind him, Xavier heard the faint sounds of someone running. He turned (almost throwing himself off balance in the process) to see a blond-haired blur dart behind the side of the house. Having no other options and wanting to get the game over with as fast as possible, Xavier ran after the girl, making sure to keep his balance. He ran to the left of the house where he saw the girl disappear to and made his way along the side of it as fast as he could. He got to the back of the house and, turning the corner, lost his balance, falling once again. Cursing as he picked himself up, Xavier hurried around the house, hoping to catch up to and tag Terri. By the time Xavier got around the house, Terri was already making her way towards the field in front of the house. Xavier sprinted as fast as he could and was actually catching up. With every stride, Xavier came closer and closer to ending the childish game. Finally, half-way across the field, Xavier had almost tagged Terri. His fingertip was a mere inches away from tapping her on the shoulder. As this happened, Terri looked back over her shoulder and laughed. Xavier, not sure what she was about to do, dove in an attempt to end the game. This was futile, however, because the instant that Xavier's feet left the ground, Terri darted to the right, allowing Xavier to dive into the ground.
After sitting up and spitting the dirt and grass out of his mouth, Xavier slowly got to his feet once more and looked around. The three girls were nowhere to be found, but Roshi was standing on the porch of his house, hands leaning on the railing, laughing hysterically. A devilish smile found it's way onto Xavier's face as he thought there's my victim.
Xavier slowly began to walk towards the house, feigning a slight limp in his left leg. Roshi continued to go through his fits of laughter. Every time his laughing began to subside, it would redouble once more. This went on until Xavier was about ten feet from the front of the porch. When he saw how close Xavier had gotten, Roshi quickly stopped laughing. He watched Xavier with a scrutinous eye, which was hidden behind dark sunglasses.
"Hey, Master Roshi, what time is it?" asked Xavier, with most of his weight on his right leg and his left arm holding his ribs. By now he was also covered from head to toe in dirt and sweat.
Roshi quickly glanced at his watch and replied, "It's almost 4:30."
Xavier's eyes widened. "4:30?! Are you serious?!" He asked excitedly.
Roshi nodded in affirmation.
"Well what are you standing around for?" Xavier asked as he started moving towards the house. Roshi backed up to the side of the porch. He knew he was just as good of a target to end the game as the three girls were.
"You mean you forgot that Aerobic Angels is on at 4:30?" Xavier asked as he darted into the house.
Roshi's sunglasses slipped down the bridge of his nose, revealing that his eyes were now wide with joy. "Is that some new show?" he asked before darting in the house after Xavier. No sooner had Roshi stepped in the door, however, than had Xavier poked him in the forehead with his index finger while yelling "TAG!" in the old man's face.
The huge grin on Roshi's face quickly vanished when he realized that he had been fooled. "WHAT THE…YOU…..BUT……" Roshi sputtered before Xavier became the one who was laughing uncontrollably.
Roshi's face turned a bright shade of red as he endured Xavier's laughing. After a few seconds of this, however, Roshi suddenly yelled. "THAT'S IT! TIME TO CONTINUE YOUR TRAINING!"
Xavier stopped mid-laugh and let out a tired sigh. Damn. I was hoping I could take a break. he thought.
"C'mon, c'mon. Let's go!" said Roshi as he walked outside and called out, "GIRLS! NEW GAME!"
As they waited for the girls to return, Roshi quietly asked Xavier, "That show you mentioned earlier…is it real or did you just make it up?"
Xavier just fell over.
*****
The loud Capsule Corp jet copter lifted off from the field in front of the house. In the pilot's seat sat Luanna's mother and from the side window, Luanna waved goodbye to Roshi. "Bye Grandpa!!" she shouted, just barely audible over the roar of the engine.
Roshi, standing alone, waved back. When the jet copter had sped off over the forest canopy, Roshi walked back towards the house. Instead of going into the house, Roshi's course veered to the right. About ten feet from the house, Xavier sat, slumped against the trunk of a tree.
"Well, now, that was rude of you, not waving goodbye." Roshi joked whenhe was next to Xavier.
Xavier didn't move. He didn't even raise his head to look at the old man.
"I would have," Xavier began, barely speaking above a whisper. "But I don't think I have the strength to get up, never mind wave goodbye."
"Then eat a senzu." Roshi said matter-of-factly.
Once again, Xavier didn't move. If his eyes would have been open, they would have expressed the embarrassment and stupidity that he felt. Would have, if he wasn't so tired. After an hour and a half of tag, hide and see, keep away, and other children's games, Xavier barely had the strength to reach in his pocket and pull out the bag of senzu beans. He struggled until he managed to raise his weighted hand to his mouth and munch down on the senzu bean. A few seconds later, Xavier's eyes shot open, he hopped to his feet and said, "Well, that takes care of that."
"Indeed it does," Roshi said as they began walking to the house. As they were walking, Xavier asked, "There's something I've been bothering me."
"And that is?" asked Roshi.
"How is it that you're 550 years old and only that girl's grandfather?" he asked.
Roshi thought for a moment before he replied "That will all be explained in time. Now come on, Dende should be waiting for you.
They walked into the house and, as Roshi predicted, Dende was there waiting, sitting in a chair.
"Ready to go?" he asked while standing up.
"Yeah," Xavier replied, taking off the turtle shell.
"That reminds me!" Roshi exclaimed as he ran into the kitchen and returned a moment later, carrying a seemingly heavy duffel bag which he set on the chair that was previously occupied by Dende.
"Here," he said to Xavier. "I want you to wear these all the time."
Xavier opened the bag, revealing a set of black ankle and wrist bands and two t-shirts, one black and the other white.
"The shirts each weigh about the same as the turtle shell, but the others weights weigh about twice as much as the ones you were wearing today." Roshi told him.
Xavier picked up the black shirt. It felt like a regular cotton t-shirt, but, as Roshi had said, weighed as much as the turtle shell. Upon further inspection of the bag's contents, Xavier found the other weights to be made of the same material.
"Thanks, Master Roshi." Xavier said before replacing the weights in the bag, picking it up, and placing his hand on Dende's shoulder. A moment later, the teen and the namek were gone.