Here is Chapter 6. I was going to update this earlier in the evening but a
thought came to me so I wrote more. And for those who have concerns, while
I do like The Great Saiyaman, he will not exist for many years in this fic,
if I decide to get that far. He does not exist until Gohan goes to HS, and
we have not even seen the guy yet. OK well here is chapter 6.
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Chapter Six:
**********
She would attack, and he would dodge. She would advance; he would stay still until the last second and disappear in a burst of amazing speed. Again and again, every time he was just beyond her grasp. 'It is just like he knows when I am going to attack. Like he can read my mind.'
With that he smiled. And the ancient cat -like hermit just said. "Of course I can. I told you as much."
"Man, I need a break. Is that allowed?"
"Oh, sure. We have only been at this for a few hours. This will take at least a while longer than that."
"What makes you say that?" Asked Videl as she sat down to rest for the first time since she had climbed the tower. She may have stopped moving earlier, but the intrusion of the revelations of the past, present and future courtesy of master Korin had surely tired her out as much as anything.
"History. Until Son Goku and his friends came though here it would take years for anyone to get a drink from this." Said the Cat-man as he spun the ornate pitcher around the end of his cane.
"Years? Do you have that much food stored up?" Asked Videl, wavering for the first time in her quest, if only slightly. Though in truth she was just hungry and tired.
"Ah, you are hungry. Eat this." Said hermit as he threw something to Videl.
She caught it and examined it. "It looks like a dried out lima bean." She said aloud, knowing that her thoughts would not be private.
"Ha ha, Senzu are much more powerful than mere beans." Laughed Korin.
"Eat it?" She asked sheepishly. But nonetheless she ate it down, quickly. The taste and results were not what she had expected. It tasted like a dried up soybean might, but the results were too remarkable to remember. In an instant she was overflowing with vitality. She fought the urge to jump to her feet, but before she could react further her new master spoke again.
"See? Pretty good huh? You want to know something else? It can heal any injury too. They are in short supply as of late, because of all the battles. But onto happier things." He said as jumped to his feet to continue. "Now concentrate on anticipating my movements."
"Ok, here goes." She said with a deep breath, as they shot off again.
It took her another full day beyond that point to get the water. When she did she was unsure if she had gotten in fair and square. She had unknowingly mimicked Goku in her success by getting Korin to loose the water over the ledge. She caught it and grabbed her safety rigging below on the tower before returning to the top triumphant. Once there she asked.
"Did I complete the task?" She asked, unsure if it was ok to not actually take it out of his hands or not.
"No, No it is fine, you just gave me quite a fright. Be more careful, that fall might have hurt you." He replied, exasperated.
"Oh, ok." She said, conveniently ignoring his distinction between 'hurt you' and 'kill you' about the fall down Korin tower. As she took a long swig off the water, she noticed it tasted odd. Not sweet or pure like you might expect, but rusty and stale. "I don't feel any different, and it tasted kinda funny." She said to the old hermit.
"Does it? What do you think rainwater should taste like?" He said with a cat like smirk.
"Rainwater? I went through all this for rainwater?" She said, her voice angry but also weary.
"All this, as you put it was your training. You are so much faster now than you were before, and stronger too for the climb." He said matter-of- factly. "Not lets have dinner and get some sleep for tomorrow you start the next stage of your training."
And so the next morning Videl awoke eager to hear what the next stage of her training would be. Would she learn to fly, or maybe fire those energy attacks? She was understandably extremely excited until she actually heard the task set before her.
"Ok so, it is time for your next task. What you need to do is head back towards your hometown, and then head south to Mt. Paozu. You should find a young man in a certain house there; actually I think there is just the one house at all. That is not the point, find a boy your age named Gohan and tell him that Tenshihan and I sent you to see him. Ask him to continue your training."
"A boy my age?" She asked suspiciously.
"Sure, he knows all those tricks you want to learn all too well. But that is after the next step of you training." Said Korin.
"Next step?" Asked Videl, knowing that something about the way Korin spoke meant that this 'next step' was going to be the hard part.
"You must get there under your own power. No planes or cars or boats." He said resolutely. "It will make you strong enough to learn from Gohan."
"OK, so do I go now?" She asked looking at the long climb down before her, and also the long walk.
"Here is your parting gift, a bag of senzu. Off you go." Said the Cat hermit as he pushed her off the side of the tower. "And don't worry you will be able to handle the fall." He called after her shrinking form.
************
'Wow, this fall really won't kill me?' Thought Videl on her way down. Ordinarily you cannot have time to ponder such things, but the great height of Korin tower not only made for great training but a long, drawn-out, fall as well. 'Wait a minute.' She thought when deciding to fight the moments of pain at the bottom.
Though she trusted the hermit that she would not die from the fall, the pouch of senzu in her hand made her think about the results. Their legendary healing properties she had seen first hand via a cut during her training, gave her the motivation to try something to slow herself down. She had watched the tower fly by for a few seconds, just out of reach. She decided the best plan of attack would be to try and slow down by grabbing onto to tower. It was a plan that did not promise much less injury but she had to try something.
'If only I was strong enough to fly.' She thought. 'Then I could pass this test of endurance. But, if this truly is a test, then maybe I should bare with the fall.' As she pondered this, the ground flew upon her, and then when she was mere hundred feet up she allowed her training with Korin to take over. She let herself fly towards the tower, something that she was fighting unconsciously for a time, and kicked off of it. She tucked into a front somersault and spun forward at a remarkable pace. And came out of it in time for a landing, ten feet away from the tower's base.
********
Upa was working at the edge of the tower when a sound above him drew him from his morning chores, tending to the base of the giant totem. Every morning he would make sure that the grass around it was no longer than the shortest carving. Any twigs would be collected. After the occasional storm sometimes he would even find branches and the like tangled high as he could reach. Today however, he had an easy day. A quick pass on the grass and then the polishing of the lower carvings ended his task. He stood and stretched till heard a noise far above him. As he looked up he saw a young girl spinning for the ground, seemingly out of control. "Oh, my! No!" Cried the man, in utter disbelief and horror. He had seen a few martial artists in his day fail the test of the Sage Korin. But he never expected her. It was unthinkable. It was heartbreaking.
Before Upa's eyes, caught up with what was surely to be a spectacular collision of a girl who had fallen from the side of the totem and the earth, he stopped and looked down in reverence. He said a few words to the being that lived above the Hermit's lair and looked to the mess that he would tend with more care and sadness than of his father, and his brief trip to the afterlife. But there was no mess, no death, at least none that he could see. There was just a girl standing on the spot that he had walked over a few minutes before.
As he ran to her, she spoke. "I. I. I." Was all that she could manage before he reached her and saw for the first time her face. When came around her he did not see pain, fear or even that feared look of nothingness behind her eyes. No, he saw shock.
"I barely felt that. And I did not even do anything. I just saw you, no more like I almost felt you right beneath me and acted." She exclaimed in disbelief more to herself than him. This was the training that she had received along with her rainwater? How was it possible? All that high- speed training could not have made her impervious to such a fall could it? Before she could decide on the answer her companion spoke again.
"Are you alright?" He asked stunned at her statement and improvement, but most of all thrilled he would not have to tend to her as his duty to the tower prescribed.
"I am fine. No better than fine. Are you alright?" She replied to, and then asked the man before her.
"Me?" Asked Upa, shocked that he would be cause of any concern.
"Yeah, I almost fell on you. Plus you look a little pale." She said with a smile.
With that the color and a smile returned to the face of the large man. "I think I am mostly just relieved that you are ok my young friend."
"Yeah, well Korin said I would survive the fall after he threw me off. That reminds me I have to get to my mission. Which way is west?" As Videl asked that she began to think of the nature of her training, and what she wanted to accomplish.
"Threw you off???" Said Upa flabbergasted. But soon he recalled the question, and found his dad and wife to see their guest off as well as find directions. Soon the four were together to say their goodbyes.
Bora looked at the girl before her, amazed at her progress. He thought of the nature of power, in this world. Those who had the true power wanted little from it. He had met several men who could clearly dominate the populace with their will and acquired strength, yet they always just wanted peace for their families. Then he thought of the progression of the young one before him, how old was she ten? Twelve? He was not sure but she had already progressed farther than Son Goku had at her age no matter where in that range it fell.
"That is also the nature of power." He wondered aloud. "You may have surpassed Son at your age, but only because he raised the bar before you. Remember that well." He said as a last piece of advice. He looked to her intently, seeing her take the advice very well. A determined look and hearty nod sent his eyes to the heavens to find her directions. "That must be west. Are you headed back to Orange Star City?"
"Yes. Thank you for all of your help. And encouragement. Well I should go. Be safe my new friends." She called as she set off at a brisk pace.
"Wait, West is the other way." Called Upa.
"I know, but I am training." Called back Videl as she increased to a full run and became just a blur.
"Training?" Asked Upa to no one in particular.
"Taking the long way to help strengthen herself." Said his father as he put an arm around his son. "Speaking of, when was the last time we trained together?" Upa's wife just laughed as the half-hug soon became a wrestling match and the happy family went on about their lives.
A few miles ahead Videl was deep in thought that was both far away, and central to her current task of running. She had learned quite a bit about moving at high speeds from on top of the tower. But still it did not account for the fall nor the avoiding of Upa. What happened there? Was that really the high-speed movement that Korin spoke of?
'He did say that after image technique, what was it called? Zanzou- something? He said it was like using all of your energy to throw yourself. Is that what I finally did? Everything did seem to slow slightly. But the master said that the faster you go the more likely you are to disappear. Imagine that. Even if I am years away, I am within grasp of moving that fast!'
Before she even realizing it she came to the ocean. 'That was fast. Must have been caught up in my thoughts. Now which way to go?' She pulled out her Capsule Corp. map device. It was complete with GPS, auto update and distance counter. She was shocked to see just how far she had run.
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End Notes: Bora has met all of the human Z fighters in the later DB eps btw. The progression of strength behind Goku has been sped up all throughout DB and DBZ so I felt fine about including Videl in the long list. I just decided to let Bora actually speak of it. This chapter in length is getting up to the norm for my other story, and I should keep them at this length from now on, unless shorter faster submitted chapters are preferable. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope you enjoyed it.
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Chapter Six:
**********
She would attack, and he would dodge. She would advance; he would stay still until the last second and disappear in a burst of amazing speed. Again and again, every time he was just beyond her grasp. 'It is just like he knows when I am going to attack. Like he can read my mind.'
With that he smiled. And the ancient cat -like hermit just said. "Of course I can. I told you as much."
"Man, I need a break. Is that allowed?"
"Oh, sure. We have only been at this for a few hours. This will take at least a while longer than that."
"What makes you say that?" Asked Videl as she sat down to rest for the first time since she had climbed the tower. She may have stopped moving earlier, but the intrusion of the revelations of the past, present and future courtesy of master Korin had surely tired her out as much as anything.
"History. Until Son Goku and his friends came though here it would take years for anyone to get a drink from this." Said the Cat-man as he spun the ornate pitcher around the end of his cane.
"Years? Do you have that much food stored up?" Asked Videl, wavering for the first time in her quest, if only slightly. Though in truth she was just hungry and tired.
"Ah, you are hungry. Eat this." Said hermit as he threw something to Videl.
She caught it and examined it. "It looks like a dried out lima bean." She said aloud, knowing that her thoughts would not be private.
"Ha ha, Senzu are much more powerful than mere beans." Laughed Korin.
"Eat it?" She asked sheepishly. But nonetheless she ate it down, quickly. The taste and results were not what she had expected. It tasted like a dried up soybean might, but the results were too remarkable to remember. In an instant she was overflowing with vitality. She fought the urge to jump to her feet, but before she could react further her new master spoke again.
"See? Pretty good huh? You want to know something else? It can heal any injury too. They are in short supply as of late, because of all the battles. But onto happier things." He said as jumped to his feet to continue. "Now concentrate on anticipating my movements."
"Ok, here goes." She said with a deep breath, as they shot off again.
It took her another full day beyond that point to get the water. When she did she was unsure if she had gotten in fair and square. She had unknowingly mimicked Goku in her success by getting Korin to loose the water over the ledge. She caught it and grabbed her safety rigging below on the tower before returning to the top triumphant. Once there she asked.
"Did I complete the task?" She asked, unsure if it was ok to not actually take it out of his hands or not.
"No, No it is fine, you just gave me quite a fright. Be more careful, that fall might have hurt you." He replied, exasperated.
"Oh, ok." She said, conveniently ignoring his distinction between 'hurt you' and 'kill you' about the fall down Korin tower. As she took a long swig off the water, she noticed it tasted odd. Not sweet or pure like you might expect, but rusty and stale. "I don't feel any different, and it tasted kinda funny." She said to the old hermit.
"Does it? What do you think rainwater should taste like?" He said with a cat like smirk.
"Rainwater? I went through all this for rainwater?" She said, her voice angry but also weary.
"All this, as you put it was your training. You are so much faster now than you were before, and stronger too for the climb." He said matter-of- factly. "Not lets have dinner and get some sleep for tomorrow you start the next stage of your training."
And so the next morning Videl awoke eager to hear what the next stage of her training would be. Would she learn to fly, or maybe fire those energy attacks? She was understandably extremely excited until she actually heard the task set before her.
"Ok so, it is time for your next task. What you need to do is head back towards your hometown, and then head south to Mt. Paozu. You should find a young man in a certain house there; actually I think there is just the one house at all. That is not the point, find a boy your age named Gohan and tell him that Tenshihan and I sent you to see him. Ask him to continue your training."
"A boy my age?" She asked suspiciously.
"Sure, he knows all those tricks you want to learn all too well. But that is after the next step of you training." Said Korin.
"Next step?" Asked Videl, knowing that something about the way Korin spoke meant that this 'next step' was going to be the hard part.
"You must get there under your own power. No planes or cars or boats." He said resolutely. "It will make you strong enough to learn from Gohan."
"OK, so do I go now?" She asked looking at the long climb down before her, and also the long walk.
"Here is your parting gift, a bag of senzu. Off you go." Said the Cat hermit as he pushed her off the side of the tower. "And don't worry you will be able to handle the fall." He called after her shrinking form.
************
'Wow, this fall really won't kill me?' Thought Videl on her way down. Ordinarily you cannot have time to ponder such things, but the great height of Korin tower not only made for great training but a long, drawn-out, fall as well. 'Wait a minute.' She thought when deciding to fight the moments of pain at the bottom.
Though she trusted the hermit that she would not die from the fall, the pouch of senzu in her hand made her think about the results. Their legendary healing properties she had seen first hand via a cut during her training, gave her the motivation to try something to slow herself down. She had watched the tower fly by for a few seconds, just out of reach. She decided the best plan of attack would be to try and slow down by grabbing onto to tower. It was a plan that did not promise much less injury but she had to try something.
'If only I was strong enough to fly.' She thought. 'Then I could pass this test of endurance. But, if this truly is a test, then maybe I should bare with the fall.' As she pondered this, the ground flew upon her, and then when she was mere hundred feet up she allowed her training with Korin to take over. She let herself fly towards the tower, something that she was fighting unconsciously for a time, and kicked off of it. She tucked into a front somersault and spun forward at a remarkable pace. And came out of it in time for a landing, ten feet away from the tower's base.
********
Upa was working at the edge of the tower when a sound above him drew him from his morning chores, tending to the base of the giant totem. Every morning he would make sure that the grass around it was no longer than the shortest carving. Any twigs would be collected. After the occasional storm sometimes he would even find branches and the like tangled high as he could reach. Today however, he had an easy day. A quick pass on the grass and then the polishing of the lower carvings ended his task. He stood and stretched till heard a noise far above him. As he looked up he saw a young girl spinning for the ground, seemingly out of control. "Oh, my! No!" Cried the man, in utter disbelief and horror. He had seen a few martial artists in his day fail the test of the Sage Korin. But he never expected her. It was unthinkable. It was heartbreaking.
Before Upa's eyes, caught up with what was surely to be a spectacular collision of a girl who had fallen from the side of the totem and the earth, he stopped and looked down in reverence. He said a few words to the being that lived above the Hermit's lair and looked to the mess that he would tend with more care and sadness than of his father, and his brief trip to the afterlife. But there was no mess, no death, at least none that he could see. There was just a girl standing on the spot that he had walked over a few minutes before.
As he ran to her, she spoke. "I. I. I." Was all that she could manage before he reached her and saw for the first time her face. When came around her he did not see pain, fear or even that feared look of nothingness behind her eyes. No, he saw shock.
"I barely felt that. And I did not even do anything. I just saw you, no more like I almost felt you right beneath me and acted." She exclaimed in disbelief more to herself than him. This was the training that she had received along with her rainwater? How was it possible? All that high- speed training could not have made her impervious to such a fall could it? Before she could decide on the answer her companion spoke again.
"Are you alright?" He asked stunned at her statement and improvement, but most of all thrilled he would not have to tend to her as his duty to the tower prescribed.
"I am fine. No better than fine. Are you alright?" She replied to, and then asked the man before her.
"Me?" Asked Upa, shocked that he would be cause of any concern.
"Yeah, I almost fell on you. Plus you look a little pale." She said with a smile.
With that the color and a smile returned to the face of the large man. "I think I am mostly just relieved that you are ok my young friend."
"Yeah, well Korin said I would survive the fall after he threw me off. That reminds me I have to get to my mission. Which way is west?" As Videl asked that she began to think of the nature of her training, and what she wanted to accomplish.
"Threw you off???" Said Upa flabbergasted. But soon he recalled the question, and found his dad and wife to see their guest off as well as find directions. Soon the four were together to say their goodbyes.
Bora looked at the girl before her, amazed at her progress. He thought of the nature of power, in this world. Those who had the true power wanted little from it. He had met several men who could clearly dominate the populace with their will and acquired strength, yet they always just wanted peace for their families. Then he thought of the progression of the young one before him, how old was she ten? Twelve? He was not sure but she had already progressed farther than Son Goku had at her age no matter where in that range it fell.
"That is also the nature of power." He wondered aloud. "You may have surpassed Son at your age, but only because he raised the bar before you. Remember that well." He said as a last piece of advice. He looked to her intently, seeing her take the advice very well. A determined look and hearty nod sent his eyes to the heavens to find her directions. "That must be west. Are you headed back to Orange Star City?"
"Yes. Thank you for all of your help. And encouragement. Well I should go. Be safe my new friends." She called as she set off at a brisk pace.
"Wait, West is the other way." Called Upa.
"I know, but I am training." Called back Videl as she increased to a full run and became just a blur.
"Training?" Asked Upa to no one in particular.
"Taking the long way to help strengthen herself." Said his father as he put an arm around his son. "Speaking of, when was the last time we trained together?" Upa's wife just laughed as the half-hug soon became a wrestling match and the happy family went on about their lives.
A few miles ahead Videl was deep in thought that was both far away, and central to her current task of running. She had learned quite a bit about moving at high speeds from on top of the tower. But still it did not account for the fall nor the avoiding of Upa. What happened there? Was that really the high-speed movement that Korin spoke of?
'He did say that after image technique, what was it called? Zanzou- something? He said it was like using all of your energy to throw yourself. Is that what I finally did? Everything did seem to slow slightly. But the master said that the faster you go the more likely you are to disappear. Imagine that. Even if I am years away, I am within grasp of moving that fast!'
Before she even realizing it she came to the ocean. 'That was fast. Must have been caught up in my thoughts. Now which way to go?' She pulled out her Capsule Corp. map device. It was complete with GPS, auto update and distance counter. She was shocked to see just how far she had run.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
End Notes: Bora has met all of the human Z fighters in the later DB eps btw. The progression of strength behind Goku has been sped up all throughout DB and DBZ so I felt fine about including Videl in the long list. I just decided to let Bora actually speak of it. This chapter in length is getting up to the norm for my other story, and I should keep them at this length from now on, unless shorter faster submitted chapters are preferable. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope you enjoyed it.
