20

The hours passed one after another without Chi-Chi being utterly aware of this. She focused so much on trying to catch that pot, which Korin was moving around that space playing "cat and mouse" with it, that she didn't notice how late it was getting until the sun began to set. It was also at that moment that the fatigue in her body became more tangible and unsustainable, and her legs ended up giving out, and her entire body collapsed onto the floor.

Chi-Chi stayed there for a long time, breathing heavily and with her heart thundering violently under her chest.

"What's happening?" Korin's shrill voice asked, standing a few meters away from her. "Are you tired so soon?"

"So soon?" Chi-Chi exclaimed irritably. She then turned to look at the sky, which was beginning to turn an orange tone with the imminent sunset. "It can't really be getting dark already."

I was on this all day, she thought, as a small recrimination to herself.

The strange thing was that she hadn't been hungry all that time and still didn't feel it. Was it some effect of the seed he had given her earlier?

In any case, Chi-Chi did not stop to overthink it because what overwhelmed her most was the frustration of not having achieved anything. She wasn't even a bit closer to obtaining the damned Sacred Water, or whatever it was.

"Well, I think it was a good first day," Korin exclaimed optimistically, then headed towards the stairs leading to the lower level. "If you want, let's rest and continue tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Chi-Chi snapped, exalted. And overcoming her fatigue, she stood up and followed him. "Wait a minute, how long do you plan to keep this up?"

"As long as you want," Korin responded with astonishing normality. "I'm not in any hurry."

"But I do!"

Chi-Chi followed the old hermit to the lower level of the tower. He still carried his staff with him and the pot hanging from it. She was tempted to try to take it from him now that his back was turned and he was (apparently) distracted. However, after a whole day of chasing him, she felt that the same thing would happen anyway.

"There's no need to put pressure on yourself," Korin commented. "After all, it took Goku three days to drink the water."

"Three days?" Chi-Chi exclaimed, surprised, stopping at her place. "Did he have to do the same…?"

She had begun to think that this was some kind of joke that he was playing only on her. But did Goku still have to do that same thing when he first came up? If that was the case, she would have liked Goku to tell her about it; perhaps then she would have been better prepared for what she found. But she supposed it was one of those things her late husband didn't usually think about if no one asked him directly.

"That's right," Korin agreed, then turned to face her. "Although, of course, it took Roshi about… three years."

That, for Chi-Chi, was like a bucket of cold water falling directly on her head, disappearing in a snap any trace of exhaustion that remained on her.

"Three years?!" she exclaimed aloud, sounding almost like a roar. "Are you telling me that Master Roshi was here for three years until he was able to take that pot away from you?!"

"More or less," Korin answered with absolute calm.

"That… is a lie; it can't be true!"

"I never lie," Korin declared firmly. "Not usually, at least."

He accompanied his comment with another of those mocking laughs.

Chi-Chi's legs gave out again, and she fell to the ground again. Her head spun, and she suddenly felt an intense tightness in her stomach.

It would have been impossible for her to believe what he was saying if it hadn't been for her own experience that day, in which no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get any closer to that vessel. He was too fast, and it was as if he managed to completely predict her every move, while also managing to move so unpredictably that it caught her completely off guard. And to that, she had to add how difficult it was for her to breathe in that place, most likely due to the height.

Goku took three days, and Master Roshi took three years... And both were warriors far above her. How long would it take her to achieve the same…?

"No…" she whispered slowly, and she quickly stood up with greater conviction. "I can't waste all that time here! My son needs me right now! And those aliens will arrive in less than a year!"

"You don't have to stay here if you don't want to," Korin pointed out simply. "You can go home as I proposed from the beginning."

"Why don't you just give me the water, and that's it?!" Chi-Chi exclaimed, annoyed. "You said drinking it would make me strong enough to train with the others. Why go through all this? It's stupid!"

They were silent for a few seconds, looking at each other (or at least it seemed to Chi-Chi that he was actually looking at her). While Korin's feline expression was totally indecipherable, Chi-Chi's face reflected fierce conviction and hardness.

After those moments of silence, Korin finally spoke again, with a calm, almost monotonous voice.

"When your child tells you a lesson is too difficult or too long... Do you allow him to skip it? Or do you let him use some shortcut?"

Chi-Chi started, somewhat taken aback by the sudden comment that, at first glance, had no relation to what they were talking about. However, it didn't take much thinking about it to understand what he was trying to tell her.

"No, of course not," she answered quietly.

"Why?"

"Because trying hard until the last moment is also part of the lesson," she stated firmly, without raising it too much.

Korin nodded, pleased with the answer.

"Well, this is the same. There are no shortcuts to this. It has to be done the way it has to be done. If you don't want to do it that way, then don't do it."

"But this is an extraordinary situation, life or death," Chi-Chi declared, although with a greater temper than before on this occasion. "Can't you see the difference?"

"I already told you that your son's life is not in any danger."

"And I already told you there is no way I would believe that!"

"Well, well, you're obviously a little irritable. Let's rest and keep trying tomorrow, okay?"

With that, he turned around, with the apparent intention of leaving just as he said. Chi-Chi, however, was not willing to leave things just like that. So, as soon as Korin turned his back on her, she rushed towards him without hesitation, extending her hands towards the pot. She thought she might take him by surprise, but it was obvious that wouldn't be the case the moment both the cat and the pot disappeared in a blink of an eye in front of her, and the woman ended up crashing face-first into the ground.

"Ah!" she exclaimed in pain, turning so that she was on her back and taking her reddened face with both hands.

"Good night," she heard Korin's voice say. And by the time she managed to turn around and look at him, the old teacher had simply disappeared.

"What?" Chi-Chi exclaimed in embarrassment. She sat down quickly and inspected the entire place with her gaze but saw no sign of the hermit cat. "Master Korin? Where are you?! Hey!"

She did not receive any response. She quickly stood up and walked up the stairs to the top, expecting to find him there, but it wasn't. Wherever he was hiding, it was clear that he didn't want her to find him. And the worst thing was that he had left with everything and the Sacred Water.

"It can't be," she cursed angrily, stamping her foot on the ground. "Enough, I'm out of here."

She walked furiously towards the railing surrounding that terrace, stared at the horizon, and took a deep breath to scream loudly.

"Flying Ni…!" she began to say but stopped at the last moment.

The words that Korin had spoken a while ago echoed in his head:

When your child tells you a lesson is too difficult or too long... Do you allow him to skip it? Or do you let him use some shortcut?

As that idea took shape, her furious face slowly softened, as did her shoulders and fists, as the anger ebbed.

What would she do if she left now? Face Piccolo again? Exactly the same thing would happen as the first time, and very possibly now, he would kill her without Krillin or anyone else being able to intervene to save her. That was the only way to become strong enough to save her son. And, as Master Korin had rightly said, there were no shortcuts to achieve it. It was either do that or go home and wait for Goku to revive, dying of anguish over not knowing what would happen to her beloved son. At least by doing that, she could feel like she was doing something… barely.

Chi-Chi sighed heavily and somewhat tiredly. She then leaned against the railing and fixed her gaze forward, contemplating what little was left of the sunset.

Gohan, my little Gohan... please, take care of yourself. Resist, please. I promise your mom will save you as soon as she can.

She then raised her gaze towards the sky, which at that moment was already beginning to look thick with stars. And among all those bright points that illuminated the sky, she thought for a moment that she visualized the peaceful face of her husband, observing her from above.

Goku, can you see me from where you are? I want to think so. Are you trying hard to get back to us and save us from this threat? Please, don't take so long... I really need you, my love...

Her family meant everything to her. Without them, the overwhelming loneliness that oppressed her was more suffocating than the lack of air in that place.

Chi-Chi crossed her arms over the railing and rested her head on them, resting it on its side. Despite the uncomfortable position, and perhaps because of how exhausting that day had been, it didn't take long for her to fall asleep.