14
The following days, Chi-Chi barely got out of bed. She spent much of the time lying down but didn't sleep. She just stayed there still, with her head against a pillow, her gaze fixed on the wall, and her pajamas to sleep as the only change.
Even though she had insisted that her father go away and leave her alone, Ox-King refused and stayed all that time there to take care of her. There wasn't much the old king could do for her other than fix her a meal and try to get her up; in the latter, he had not been so lucky. Chi-Chi only got up to eat, but not when his father served her food, but practically until the trembling of her insides caused by hunger became unbearable. And yet, she would only eat a few bites in silence, and then she would throw herself back on the bed.
Ox-King felt devastated to see his daughter in that state. He understood the suffering she was going through, but he knew well that this routine would not be healthy for her in the long run.
What should he do? Force her to get up and move on? Or give her time and wait for her to recover her verve on her own? He had no idea, which made him feel almost like a failure as a father. Maybe if he was stronger, he would have been able to do something to save his grandson and spare his daughter all that suffering. But the reality was that this whole situation was beyond them both.
They only had to wait for Goku...
One morning, as in the previous ones, Ox-King prepared breakfast early: eggs, sausages, rice, meat... The entire house was permeated with the delicious aroma of food, which somehow kept bad energy away, at least a little.
"Chi-Chi, breakfast is ready," he said forcefully as he knocked on Chi-Chi's door with his big knuckles. He didn't get any response from the other side, but that certainly didn't surprise him.
Ox-King sighed in resignation and headed himself to the table to eat. However, he had just sat down and taken the first bite of his plate when he heard the bedroom door open. Reflexively, he rose to his feet, somewhat alarmed, but he felt a small flash of joy as he noticed the silhouette of his daughter leaning into the dining room.
Chi-Chi had her hair totally loose and misaligned, and two marked dark circles decorated her eyes. Her pajamas were out of place, with the top part falling slightly to the side, exposing part of her shoulder; it didn't even seem to be appropriately buttoned. She looked awful, but at least she was up. And that she had done it just when he called her must have been a good sign.
"Chi-Chi," Ox-King pronounced excitedly. "Come, sit down to eat, please."
She inched forward, her gaze distracted toward her chair.
"Thank you, Dad," she said slowly as she sat down. She then began to serve the different dishes but felt almost as if her hands were doing it automatically, and in reality, her mind was elsewhere.
Once everything was served on her plate right before her, she took both chopsticks and prepared to eat. However, she stopped at the last moment and raised her wary gaze to the two empty chairs at the table: the chair where Goku usually sat and the other that belonged to Gohan.
She could almost see for an instant the silhouette of both of them sitting there, eating cheerfully, smiling, and praising what a good cook she was. She could still hear their laughter and even smell their scents mingling with the food.
She felt once more that the tears threatened to take over her eyes, but it was the mere sensation because they remained dry. She had already cried so much that she had no more tears to shed. So she forced herself to just eat in silence. Her father tried to get some small talk out of her, as always, but she limited herself to only responding with slight nods or grunts barely recognizable as words.
When Chi-Chi was about to finish, everything indicated that she would repeat the same thing from the previous times: get up, go to her room, and not leave it until several hours later, if not until night. Fortunately, something happened before that that changed that plan a bit.
The sound of an engine and propeller approaching in the distance caught their attention, and they both looked out the window at the same time. Ox-King got up and leaned out to see outside. In the sky, he managed to see the shape of a ship that was heading rapidly towards them.
"Oh, looks like someone's coming," Ox-King said. "Maybe it's one of Goku's friends."
That seemed to ignite something inside Chi-Chi and shake her out of her lethargy. Did they come to inform her of something? About Goku? About Gohan, maybe? That thought forced her to pull herself together, get up quickly, and head for the door. Little did she care that she was dressed in pajamas and with bare feet. Ox-King hurried to catch up with her.
The yellow ship with the Capsule Corporation logo on one side didn't take long to reach the vicinity of the house and slowly descend from the sky until it parked in front of it. Chi-Chi and Ox-King observed as it went down. When it was near enough, they could see through the cockpit glass that the vehicle was being piloted by Bulma.
"Hello, how are you?" the blue-haired girl greeted aloud as she descended the ship's ladder.
"Bulma, good morning," Ox-King greeted her enthusiastically. "What a joy to see you. Are you coming to visit Chi-Chi?"
"Something like that," Bulma whispered slowly, hinting that there was another reason behind her presence. Cautiously moving toward the mistress of the house, she stood before her, regarding her with a sympathy that seemed almost offensive to its recipient. "How have you been, Chi-Chi?"
Chi-Chi was silent and turned her gaze elsewhere. Seeing her appearance, it should be more than logical that she was not well at all.
"Something happened?" she asked with slight exaltation, omitting to answer Bulma's question.
"No, everything is fine," Bulma hurried to clarify, outlining a smile that tried to appear nonchalant. "I only came because… well…"
Bulma then put her hand in her coat pocket, taking out the dragon's radar from it.
"That day, when we were in Kame House… Well, Goku mentioned that he had found and kept two other balls besides the Four-Star one. We have already decided to start looking for these as we had arranged, so I wanted to see if you could give me the two you have. So everything will be easier..."
"You mean you're just beginning to collect them?" Chi-Chi questioned suddenly, her face and voice reflecting evident anger. "But what have you been doing?! You said you would gather them to revive Goku immediately!"
"Chi-Chi, calm down," Ox-King whispered slowly, placing a hand on her shoulder. Chi-Chi looked at him and then at Bulma. The worried expressions on both of them made it clear that, perhaps, she had inadvertently over-exploited.
She breathed slowly, trying to calm down, and lowered her dejected gaze.
"I'm sorry, Bulma," she whispered slowly.
"Don't worry," agreed the young scientist. "I know it took us a while to start gathering the Dragon Balls, but what happened is that we had to take some time to find Yamcha, Tenshinhan, and Chaoz and inform them of what happened to Goku, as well as what will happen in a year. We had to prioritize that, as it was also necessary to tell them of Kamisama's plans."
"Kamisama?" Chi-Chi asked, confused, looking up again. "What plans?"
"Oh, that's right," Bulma whispered. "When Krillin took you to Kame House, you left quickly, and we couldn't tell you anymore. It turns out that Kamisama himself has agreed to train the boys in the Lookout, the same place where Goku trained eight years ago."
"Really?" Ox-King exclaimed in astonishment. And although Chi-Chi did not utter a word, her face was still astonished by what she heard.
"Yeah, really," Bulma pronounced enthusiastically, nodding quickly. "Apparently, Kamisama learned of the great danger approaching Earth and wants his best warriors to be ready to defend it. So, everyone is heading to Korin Tower right now to go up there. Isn't it great? Now, everyone will become much stronger. And with the help of Goku when he revives, they will surely be able to finish off those Saiyans quickly. And we must remember that even Piccolo will fight with them this time..."
Bulma fell silent as she realized she had just mentioned Piccolo's name, and out of mere reflex. She brought both hands quickly to her mouth, covering it. Looking at Chi-Chi, the severe expression on her face made it clear that she didn't like it one bit.
"I-I'm sorry," Bulma whispered nervously. "I was just saying that..."
"It doesn't matter," Chi-Chi mumbled slowly, lowering her gaze. "The Dragon Balls should be in the warehouse," she indicated next, pointing with one hand toward the small building adjacent to the house. Seeing it, Bulma recognized it immediately; it was the hut that Goku had lived in the first time they met. "Can you help her look for them, Dad?"
Without waiting for an answer, she turned around and walked into the house.
"Sure," Ox-King whispered, heading to the store along with Bulma. "I hope you can quickly gather the other balls to bring Goku back. His presence is what we need."
"Well, with the Four-Star Ball and these two, we'll already have three, so we'll only need to find the other four. The problem is that I know from experience that these worldwide searches are never easy or fast. And now, on top of that, neither Yamcha nor Krillin can accompany me because they are training. But Master Roshi, Puar, and Woolong agreed to help me, and I think Launch will go too if Tenshinhan can convince her. So we'll be fine. The good news is that there is no rush since we have a whole year until it is necessary to revive Goku…"
"What?!" They both heard a loud scream behind them, stopping them halfway to the warehouse. When they turned, both saw how Chi-Chi shot out of the house's interior and ran frantically until she stood firm in front of Bulma with a clearly threatening posture. "A whole year?! What do you mean by that?!" She demanded aggressively.
"Oh, right... You didn't know that either, right?" Bulma murmured, smiling slightly, nervously. "What happened was that Uranai Baba informed us that Goku would take advantage of this whole year to train in the other world, so he asked us to wait to revive him until the Saiyans arrived."
"He will stay in the other world to train?!" Chi-Chi exclaimed in exasperation. "If he died. How is he going to train?"
"I don't quite understand what happened, but apparently, Kamisama gave him his body or something, and he's going to train with a man named Kaioh..."
"But does he know about Gohan?!" Chi-Chi snapped, interrupting her. "How can he stay for a whole year, leaving his son in the hands of Piccolo Daimao?! Did no one explain the gravity of the situation?! You were supposed to revive him as soon as possible so he could rescue Gohan. Now, are you telling me he will stay in the other world for a year?! What will happen to Gohan?! What will happen to me…?"
"Chi-Chi, calm down, please," Ox-King intervened again, taking her arms to pull her away from Bulma.
"I really don't know what to tell you, Chi-Chi," the blue-haired woman replied, trying to remain calm despite such an adverse reaction. "I don't know if Goku knows about what happened with Gohan, but... I understand that the person with whom he will train is someone very important from the other world. So, the most likely thing is that when he revives, he will be much stronger than ever. That will be essential to finish off the Saiyans..."
"What do I care about the Saiyans when my son is in danger right now?!" Chi-Chi yelled furiously. Her fists clenched, her teeth ground, and her twitching gaze was fixed like daggers on the ground. "You… Goku… How can you…? How can you leave me...? Ugh!"
She let out a loud yell of frustration into the air and strode back into the house, slamming the door behind her. Bulma and Ox-King watched her in silence.
"Excuse her, Bulma," the big bearded man commented, embarrassed. "This... hasn't been easy for her."
"Don't worry, Ox-King," the young woman responded in turn, shaking her head. "I'd better take the balls and leave before I continue to disturb her more than I should."
Or that she ends up punching me, Bulma thought to herself.
With the help of the radar, it didn't take long to find the two Dragon Balls stored in the hut. Just as Goku had commented, they were the three and six-star. Along with the four that Gohan was wearing on his hat the day they visited Kame House, they would have three by now.
"I'd better get going and join the others," Bulma stated as they left the hold and headed for their ship.
"Thank you for all your effort, Bulma," Ox-King stated optimistically. "Goku is very lucky to have friends like you who will do anything to revive him."
"It's the least we owe him after everything he's done for us..."
Before Bulma could finish her sentence, they both looked in surprise and confusion as the house door opened, and Chi-Chi quickly left through it. However, now she looked totally different. She had changed her clothes; she didn't have those yellow pajamas anymore but had put on her blue and red combat outfit, which Bulma remembered seeing her wear at the tournament five years ago. And now she was holding her hair in a ponytail with a red ribbon and staring resolutely and hard to the front. That gaunt, almost sick look on her face was gone completely.
Chi-Chi seemed almost like a different person than they had seen just a few minutes ago.
"Chi-Chi?" Ox-King asked. "What are you doing?"
"Dad, please lock the house when you leave," the woman said surprisingly calmly. "I don't know when I'll be back, but it will surely be in a long time."
"What are you saying? But where…?"
"Flying Nimbus!" Chi-Chi shouted loudly into the air, and it didn't take long for the golden cloud to come to her call like the previous times.
"Wait! Where are you going, daughter?!" Ox-King exclaimed, rushing to catch up with her, but not before Chi-Chi mounted on the cloud.
"I'm going to Korin Tower," Chi-Chi answered seriously, staring at the horizon. "I will go to Kamisama's Temple to train with Him like the others."
"What?!" Ox-King and Bulma blurted into the air simultaneously, full of astonishment.
"But… what do you say, Chi-Chi?" Bulma muttered. "Do you also plan to fight with the Saiyans?"
"Nothing of that," Chi-Chi hastened to clarify. "All I want is to save my son. And if Goku really plans to stay a whole year in the other world, then I'll ask Kamisama to train me so I can defeat Piccolo Daimao!"
That answer did not help dampen her listeners' confusion but instead increased it. But before anyone could tell her anything else, a more than determined Chi-Chi set off.
"Come on, Flying Nimbus! To the Holy Land of Korin!"
The cloud ripped off, heading without further ado toward the sky.
"Wait, Chi-Chi!" Ox-King yelled after her, but it was no use. Chi-Chi and the Flying Nimbus were quickly lost in the sky.
Ox-King would have given anything to get his daughter up and out of bed. However, he was not convinced that was the correct reason…