The Warrior of Pure Heart | Dragon Ball Z

10

10

Bulma, Krillin, and Master Roshi remained silent, looking at each other as if waiting for someone to react or respond to Chi-Chi first, something that, evidently, no one dared to do. In the end, it was Krillin who steeled himself.

"Save your son, Chi-Chi?" he murmured shakily. "You mean...saving him from Piccolo, right?"

"Of course!" Chi-Chi exclaimed firmly, standing up carefully so as not to fall again. "We can't leave my little boy in the clutches of that monster. We have to search and rescue him, please..."

"I understand how you feel, child," Master Roshi muttered in a voice much more confident than Krillin's. "And I would love to help you, really. But without Goku with us, there's not much Krillin, or I can do against Piccolo. If we were to face him now, we would only risk our lives and your son's as well."

"Besides, Master Roshi and Krillin have already been revived once with the Dragon Balls," Bulma pointed out. "It wouldn't be right for them to risk their lives like this lightly."

"Lightly?!" Chi-Chi exclaimed in an irritated voice. "He's my son you're talking about! The son of Goku, who saved this world on more than one occasion...!"

Chi-Chi fell silent and began to breathe slowly, trying to calm her spirits before completely losing her composure, which was difficult given the situation.

"Okay, what if we look for Yamcha and Tenshinhan?" she proposed as soon as she was able to think more clearly. "Maybe all together, we could do something, right?"

"Well, maybe," Krillin whispered doubtfully, placing a hand behind his head. "But I don't know if taking that risk is necessary."

"What?!" Chi-Chi muttered dryly. "What do you mean you don't know if it is necessary? My son is with Piccolo Daimao! The most despicable and evil being that has existed in this world! How do you say it's not necessary to rescue him?!"

"I mean, maybe Piccolo won't really hurt him," Krillin tried to clarify, raising his hands as a sign of peace as if he feared the woman would attack him. "He said that what he wanted was to train him, and we would need him to be able to fight the Saiyans in a year. If that is the case, he must keep him safe and alive, right?"

Chi-Chi looked at him, totally stunned to hear those words. Was he really suggesting what she was hearing? Shouldn't she worry and leave her son's life, the only thing she had left in that world, in the hands of Piccolo Daimao? It had to be a joke, one in terrible taste.

"How can you say a barbaric thing like that?!" she yelled loudly, almost causing the entire house to shake. It seems that her emotions on the surface of her skin made her overcome whatever weakness was oppressing her a moment ago. "Leave my son to train with Piccolo Daimao?! I won't...!" Her breathing became noticeably agitated, and she struggled to speak clearly. "Gohan shouldn't even be involved in anything like this! He is a good, calm, and studious boy who works daily to become a great researcher. Gohan isn't a fighter and doesn't have to be at all! And much less under the tutelage of that demon than who knows what horrible things he could teach him!"

"But, did you hear what Piccolo said?" Krillin pointed out. "Your son has a great hidden power, and if he learns to use it..."

"I don't care about that!" Chi-Chi cut him off abruptly. "I don't want... I don't want my son to become a fighter and risk his life! I don't want him... to die in such a horrible way... like Goku..."

Her voice cracked a little, and her eyes filled with tears again.

"What mother would want her son exposed like that?" she muttered slowly, lowering her gaze. "Just imagining what he could be going through right now... He is so sensible..."

She felt like she would burst into tears again, but she used all her willpower to keep from breaking down like now.

"I understand you, Chi-Chi," Bulma whispered in a comforting voice. "But given the circumstances, I think we should focus on gathering the Dragon Balls, so we can revive Goku as soon as possible. So he can take charge of rescuing Gohan from Piccolo or decide what is best."

"Gathering the balls will take a long time! I can't wait that long!" Chi-Chi stressed sternly, looking back at them.

She took a moment to catch her breath again and ran the back of her hand and arm across her eyes, carving them. They were quite red and irritated for those moments.

"Okay," she snapped out harshly. "If you are afraid or don't want to help me, then I will do it myself..."

And before either could fully understand what she was saying, Chi-Chi hurried forward, pushing her way between Bulma and Master Roshi, and strode toward the exit of the house.

"What are you saying?!" Master Roshi exclaimed, confused. "You're not thinking of going against Piccolo Daimao yourself, are you?"

"Don't talk nonsense, Chi-Chi!" Krillin yelled at her hysterically, dashing after her." The only thing you will achieve is that Piccolo kills you!"

"I don't care!" Chi-Chi emphasized without stopping, being already in the portico, and a few steps later, her feet touched the sand. "I'd rather die than sit around knowing my son is out there, suffering and crying for his mother."

"Chi-Chi, you're not thinking straight," Bulma snapped, walking out of the house with the others. "You're letting pain rule your judgment. Please calm down and meditate on things better. Dying won't help your son at all."

They were right, and Chi-Chi knew it very well. If none of them could stand up to Piccolo, she much less could do anything. And yes, most likely, that was a suicide, something stupid, something a sane person simply wouldn't even consider. The most reasonable thing to do was to do as they told her, gather the Dragon Balls, wait for Goku to come back, and leave him to take care of everything.

However, it seemed that at that time, she was neither a sane nor a reasonable person. Perhaps all the pain she had felt that day, like no other before, had driven her completely insane. It was the only explanation that even though she knew all that, she still preferred to do it than stay a single second longer in that place.

Then she stood firmly on the sand, the seawater lightly brushing her feet. She breathed deeply through her nose, looked up to the sky, and shouted with all her might:

"Flying Nimbus...!!"

Her cry resounded in the distance like a distant echo dissipated with the sea's waves. For a few seconds, everything was still, and it seemed that nothing would happen. It was the first time she tried it, and she wasn't sure if it would work. However, after a few moments of waiting, a golden glow crossed the sky and quickly descended in her direction.

Chi-Chi watched that, relieved but also surprised. The golden cloud lowered until it was directly in front of her, inches above the ground.

"You came," she whispered slowly, outlining a small smile. "Goku always told me you would come to me if I needed you..."

But mere reflection approached the cloud, surrounding it with her arms and pressing her cheek against it as if she were trying to hug it, although that was not entirely possible due to its size.

"Thank you, my friend..."

As her condition allowed, she jumped towards the cloud, riding on it.

"Wait, please, Chi-Chi!" Krillin exclaimed in anguish, running towards her. "Please don't go. I couldn't look Goku in the face to tell him that I allowed his wife to die at the hands of Piccolo Daimao."

"So you'll come to help me?" she asked sternly, turning to see him from above the cloud. Krillin was silent, and that was enough for her to know what his answer was. "I thought so... I'll do this, even if I have to do it alone... let's go, Flying Nimbus!"

The cloud rose into the sky, and soon after, it shot towards the horizon, taking its sole occupant with it. They moved away through the firmament until they disappeared, leaving behind Kame House and the worried looks of its inhabitants.