21
Chi-Chi's fifth day at Korin Tower started with the hermit cat abruptly waking her up mid-morning with a loud scream just inches from her ear. The young warrior screamed, shuddered, and stood up in alarm from her makeshift bedspreads. She stepped forward unintentionally, still in the grip of her sudden awakening, and her feet became entangled in her blanket. Her body fell to the ground, landing face-first on it.
"You should be more alert," Korin commented in a laughing voice, while the young woman writhed on the ground, clutching her face, which was red and sore from the blow.
"More alert?!" Chi-Chi exclaimed angrily, turning to him. "I was sleeping!"
"In your moments of greatest weakness, your enemy will try to appease you. Did you not know that?"
"If that's the case, then I should try to take the vessel away from you while you're sleeping," Chi-Chi threatened in a harsh voice, to which Korin mainly responded with another of her mocking giggles.
"Get your clothes up and get on so we can get started. There's no time to waste, is there?"
Before receiving an answer, Korin headed for the stairs leading to the top of the temple. Behind him, Chi-Chi reluctantly began folding up the blanket and futon the old master had given her to sleep on.
Five days had passed in the blink of an eye, and each day her routine had been exactly the same: wake up, spend the whole day trying to snatch the vessel with the Sacred Water from Master Korin without obtaining any kind of result until then, and at the end of the day simply go to sleep. The only exception had been on the third day, where the master had allowed her to take a bath in his tub, and little else.
She was so fed up with everything that she missed cooking or cleaning her house. But thanks to the effect of the seed she had eaten the first day, she hadn't even needed to eat until that moment. And that small space, with so few things, barely got dirty.
Doing anything else would be better than this, she thought bitterly as she climbed the stairs. At the top, Korin was already waiting for her, the vessel held securely on the tip of his staff.
"Are you ready to start?" he asked moderately.
"Do I have another choice?" Chi-Chi replied with annoyance.
"You've had the option to go home from the start," Korin said harshly, which only irritated the young mother even more. This didn't go unnoticed by the old hermit, although Chi-Chi had realized that it was nearly impossible to hide anything from him by this point. "You seem more irritated than usual today."
"And you don't think I have any reason to be?!" Chi-Chi exclaimed loudly, her voice booming, even though there shouldn't be much echo in that open space. "I've been here wasting my time for five days, while Gohan has been in Piccolo's clutches all this time. I can't stop thinking about everything he must be going through and everything he must be suffering. And here I am, playing this stupid game with you!"
Korin remained silent, apparently unfazed by the woman's screams.
"Do you really think you've been wasting your time all these days?" the hermit asked her with astonishing calm.
"Of course I do!"
"Then I'm afraid you'll be even more unable to obtain the Sacred Water."
Chi-Chi was startled, surprised by such an ecliptic statement.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Nothing," Korin said, shaking his head. As if the whole conversation hadn't happened, he extended his staff towards her, vessel and all, and said, "Shall we begin then?"
Driven more by irritation than anything else, Chi-Chi launched herself at him like a wild beast, extending her hands towards the vessel, but letting it escape by just a few centimeters.
Everything was a non-stop repetition of the previous days for the next hour. Chi-Chi tried to reach the pot, but Korin moved swiftly to get it away. Both moved in a dance without synchrony or rhythm, and Chi-Chi was the only one who ended badly in each movement.
Suddenly, the young warrior stopped, and she dropped to her knees on the ground without saying anything. She leaned her torso forward and placed her hands on the ground. Her long black locks fell in front of her face, almost completely hiding it.
"What's wrong?" Korin asked curiously. "Did you get tired so quickly?"
"I can't do it…" Chi-Chi whispered softly, but in the next instant, she raised her angry gaze to the hermit cat. Tears of frustration were running down her cheeks. "I can't do it! It's just impossible!"
"If you think something is impossible, then it is," Korin sighed slowly.
"Don't come out with your smart words now," Chi-Chi replied dryly. "I don't need them."
She backed away, letting herself fall onto the ground. Her annoyed gaze fixed on the domed roof that crowned the tower.
Korin sighed and then allowed himself to take a few steps closer until he was right in front of Chi-Chi. She remained lying there without even looking at him. The master looked at her fixedly, and with a much calmer and clearer tone than he had used until that moment, he said:
"You will never succeed if, instead of focusing on what is in front of you, you have your mind and heart elsewhere."
"What?" Chi-Chi exclaimed, confused. She raised her body a little, just enough to look at him again. "What are you talking about?"
"You have what it takes to get this water," Korin said. "I felt it from the first time I saw you. But you're not focused on achieving it."
"Of course I am!" Chi-Chi snapped, almost offended. She quickly stood up at that moment. "I've been focused on that from the beginning!"
"That's not true," Korin answered sharply, taking her by surprise. "From the beginning, you've focused only on your son and husband. You've been thinking only about Goku's death and that you must rescue your son. And with each passing day, instead of letting go of those thoughts, you're allowing them to take over you more and more."
"But… of course I am! How could I not be thinking about that?! It's the reason I'm here in the first place, and my only motivation."
"Motivations are not bad, except when they distract from your true goal."
"Distraction …?"
Korin walked forward, passing by her and then past her, until he turned his back. His attention was fixed on the sky, which was cloudy that day and warm air blew, touching their faces.
"You have focused all your attention and all your spirit on what you must do in the future," Korin said in a thoughtful voice, "or on what you want to achieve by obtaining the power you desire instead of focusing on what is important at this moment: taking this vessel from me." He then waved her staff, causing the vessel to rock, and the sound of the liquid inside to become noticeable. "Nothing else matters right now. In order to match my speed and predict my movements, you have to put all those worries aside. Clear your mind, and leave your heart without any feelings that cloud it. Only when you achieve this, will you be able to obtain the Sacred Water and move forward."
Chi-Chi's brow furrowed, undecided on how to take the old hermit's words.
"Do you mean that in order to take the vessel from you… Do I need to forget about Gohan and Goku? Is that what you're asking me?" she questioned, almost aggressively. "How can you ask me something like that?"
"Of course, you don't have to forget about them completely," Korin said, more relaxed. He then turned back to her, facing her. "You just have to manage to put aside those feelings that weigh you down enough so that they don't hinder you. Focus only on this, and nothing else."
He extended his staff towards her again, raising the vessel high in front of her face, even rocking it back and forth, as if he were trying to tempt her with it. And perhaps that was part of it: he was inviting her to resume her attempts, but now applying what he had just told her.
Chi-Chi quickly understood, and although somewhat skeptical at first, she tried to listen to him. She did exactly the same thing she had done days ago to try to perceive the presence of Piccolo or Gohan. She closed her eyes briefly and breathed slowly, inhaling through her nose and exhaling through her mouth. She tried to relax her body as much as possible and clear her mind and heart of any worries and distractions. Obtaining the vessel with the Sacred Water was her only goal at that moment. Nothing else mattered, and nothing else should she think about.
For a moment, she thought she would succeed. She felt relaxed and calm. Her senses, like hearing, smell, and touch, vividly perceived the movement of the air around her, the presence of Master Korin just in front of her a few steps away, and the sound of the water moving inside the container. She could perceive everything, even the presence not so far from that tower, both above and below it. Could it be the boys training in Kamisama's Temple? Could it be Lunch, Upa, and Bora…?
She shook his head, trying to disperse those thoughts. She couldn't be distracted by that either. Only the pot and the water mattered, nothing else…
However, as soon as she tried to clear her mind like a moment ago, it was suddenly bombarded by a series of images, one after the other: Raditz defeating Goku on Master Roshi's island and taking Gohan with him; Goku in his last moments, taking his last breath before her eyes in a pool of his own blood; Piccolo threatening to take Gohan with him, and she being unable to stop him; and that sphere of energy coming from the demon's palm, heading towards her threatening to finish her off in a simple blink.
She felt a great oppression in her chest at that moment, so strong that it made her kneel on the floor. She clutched her hands to her chest as if it hurt, although, in reality, it was not exactly a physical pain.
"I can't… I can't do it," she muttered desperately, shaking her head. Tears began to flow down her cheeks again. "I can't just let go of what I feel like that! That's just impossible!"
Korin let out a heavy sigh of disappointment, and perhaps even a little tiredness.
"There's no help for it," he said wearily, then began walking calmly towards the stairs. "This way, it will be totally impossible for you to achieve it whether you stay here for three, five, or ten years. You'd better go back home as I told you."
Chi-Chi's entire body tensed upon hearing such an instruction, perhaps more like a warning. Her fists clenched against her chest, beginning to tremble from all the force she was applying to them. At that moment, she glared at Korin, who was slowly moving away from her. The desperation and frustration that flooded her were suddenly accompanied, and even overshadowed, by a much more powerful emotion: anger.
"I won't accept this!" she snapped, her scream causing Korin to stop and turn back to her. "All you've done since I've been here is make fun of me! I'm fed up!"
Chi-Chi leaped to her feet and launched herself at Korin. At first, it looked much like all her previous attempts to snatch the vase from him. However, when she was close enough, instead of reaching her hands towards the object, the woman turned her body completely, launching a deadly roundhouse kick straight at the hermit cat's body.
This surprised Korin, making it difficult for him to react for a few moments, but he eventually managed to dodge the kick thanks to his sharp reflexes and speed. Chi-Chi's foot cut through the air just a few inches from his face, making it abundantly clear that she had actually intended to hit him.
But that was not just a kick, as it immediately followed up with another kick from her other leg and then a series of quick, powerful blows, which the hermit quickly dodged. All of these attacks were erratic, clearly influenced only by rage.
"Hey, you need to calm down," Korin murmured worriedly as they moved quickly around the tower, attacking and dodging respectively. "You're not thinking clearly. Your mind has become more clouded than ever."
"I don't care what you say!" Chi-Chi shouted loudly, her legs and fists continuing to punch the air just a few centimeters away from old Korin's small white-furred body. "I don't want to hear any more of your nonsense! I just want to be strong enough to save my son and avenge my husband. Nothing else matters to me! So I want that damn water, and I want it now!"
They continued at this for several minutes, and Chi-Chi showed no sign of wanting to ease up her attacks even a little. She only managed to stop for a few moments when, after Korin dodged one of her blows, the woman's body fell forward, and crashed headlong into one of the columns surrounding the space. The blow was so strong that it pushed her backward, making her fall on her back.
It was only for an instant. As soon as she managed to recover from the pain, she turned back to Korin with her angry gaze and a blow in her forehead that she didn't seem to be aware of, even though she had started bleeding from it.
"Give me that water, you stupid cat!" she exclaimed angrily, standing up again, ready to continue her attacks.
"You can't let those feelings of frustration get the better of you," Korin told her, extending a reassuring hand toward her. "You have to calm down! Listen to me!"
"If you won't give it to me nicely... I will have to take it from you the hard way!"
And he then resumed her attacks without any hesitation.
She wouldn't listen to any reason, and her movements became even more erratic and desperate. She was totally out of control…
I was afraid this could happen, Korin thought, dismayed. Frustration, anger, desire for revenge… All of this is roiling his heart. At this rate…
The inevitable finally happened. By attacking and moving in such a careless and furious manner, Chi-Chi was unaware of the danger or her limits, nor did she give Korin enough room to maneuver and ensure nothing bad happened to her. Once again, she almost had Korin cornered against the railing surrounding the terrace, and without thinking twice, she launched herself at him with a forceful flying kick. Korin had no choice but to react and quickly move to the side, dodging Chi-Chi's attack. However, simultaneously, the woman's entire body continued to move forward, propelled by the same force of her attack.
When Chi-Chi managed to react and become aware of what was happening, her body had passed entirely over the railing and was now suspended in the air outside the tower's confines.
Chi-Chi looked down in disbelief, facing the sea of clouds completely covering her view of the ground. An instant later, once she lost her momentum, her body began to descend precipitously.
"No!" she heard Korin say behind her in fear. Chi-Chi turned towards him out of sheer reflex, but she barely managed to make out the hermit cat's face briefly before she began to leave the top of the tower far behind as her body began to fall and pass through the clouds.
"No, no, no!" she said forcefully repeatedly, gripped by the panic that had taken hold of her, temporarily driving away her anger.
Chi-Chi turned back down. She felt the air rushing over her face and body as she free-falls towards the ground. The ground was not yet clearly visible due to the clouds and the distance, but it would be soon. Her hair and the fabric of her clothes whipped around violently, producing an almost deafening sound.
She had to calm down and think quickly. She reminded herself that the tower was very, very high; it had taken her more than a day to climb it, after all. So she had to not succumb to fear and take the most logical course of action for that moment, if not perhaps the only one she had.
"Flying Nimbus!" she shouted with all her might once she recovered enough.
The magic cloud soon appeared in the sky, speeding towards her, until it was just a few meters below. As it headed toward her, Chi-Chi began feeling more secure and relieved. She imagined herself falling peacefully onto its soft, comforting surface and completely safe again.
That thought vanished a few seconds later, the instant her body touched that of the Flying Nimbus and passed through it entirely… like an actual cloud.
"What?!" she blurted out in disbelief. She turned up, focusing on the golden cloud suspended in the air, rapidly moving away from it.
Or rather, Chi-Chi was moving away from the cloud as she continued to fall toward the ground without any opposition.
No… it can't be…