At the base of the Korin tower, Upa waited with a broom in his hand. He watched the others around him going about their day. The tumultuous sounds from above had subsided and in their absence a calm emanated from the deep blue sky. He was sure that his new friend would return, and he was happy to wait. Or maybe he let his excitement take hold, he was wondering how long it would take for her to get back down. "I wonder how she uses this thing to fly…" he took to examining the sturdy wooden broom, it looked rather ordinary even if it was well made. He sat it on the ground and stood on it, wondering why it wouldn't work for him. "Come on broom!" his voice was laced with frustration, and the broom refused to lift him even an inch.
"What are you doing, son?" Bora called out with a slightly embarrassed tone in his voice. The sound of his voice shocked his son, who then nearly fell over while trying to make his action of standing on the broom less conspicuous but it was for naught as he was caught in the act.
"F-father!? I was…well I was wondering how she uses this thing." Upa picked the broom back up, "I don't think it's like what Mercenary Tao does." Examining the handle and brush yielded no answer as to the mystery of its function.
Stroking his chin, Bora then shrugged. "We've seen stranger things than this. But, perhaps you can ask her. She barely talked about that book she was carrying and yet I suspect it might be part of the answer."
Before they could say another word, their ears were assailed by a sonic whistling descending upon them. They looked up and saw a mostly orange-gold blur speeding towards them at a steep angle as it spiraled down the tower. It was a startling sight for all nearby. It came to a sudden booming stop above them, and a familiar face peeked over the side of it. Waving vigorously with a big smile was Zahna. "Hey there!!!" she shouted before hoping down beside the father and son.
"Zahna,I'm glad you're back! What was it like up there? You got a nimbus too? Does that mean you met the God of martial arts?!" Upa excitedly greeted her.
Throwing up her hands in front of herself, and leaning back slightly Zahna replied quickly "W-whoa, hold on with the questions!"
She explained what had happened, how she battled with Yaijirobe and met with Korin. They were all surprised when they found out that the thunderous booming was coming from her fight, Bora was especially impressed while Upa wore a dumbfounded expression.
"Oh! And right before I left, that cat guy gave me these." Zahna pulled out a satchel and opened it up, revealing the precious green beans. "What?!?" Upa and Bora exclaimed simultaneously, with their mouths agape and nearly tumbling over themselves. Something as mythical as a Senzu bean was not a sight to glance at often, for most; and yet, she had seven of them.
"So… you're really going then?" Upa asked Zahna, with a downturned expression.
"I sure am!" She replied enthusiastically, "But I'll be sure to visit!, okay?"
The young man nodded, as a small smile formed across his lips. Bora was standing nearby, with a thoughtful look on his face, and crossed arms. Zahna turned to him, and walked closer. "Here!" She pushed her hand towards him in a fist, beckoning him to take what was in it.
"Oh?" he grunted, while undoing his arms. She pressed her hand into his with a serious look, "Take this… just in case." She said while slowly opening her hand, releasing the contents. As her hand moved away, he saw what she had given him. There were two Senzu resting in Bora's palm. "Thank you." Gripping them gently, he stowed his hands back at his sides and gave a slight bow. "May our paths cross again." She smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up, before turning away.
Zahna took a few steps away from everyone, and held one hand out in front of her. Her grimoire responded in kind, rising to the occasion by her side. She shouted, "Spatial Magic: Twilight Gate!" And a portal opened up in front of her. Just as she was about to step through, Upa yelled "Wait!" and ran to her. From a pocket he pulled a necklace, it had a few wooden beads surrounding a fang. Upa handed it over, "I-I made this." his cheeks were flushed.
"Thank you so much! It looks cool!" she quickly accepted it with a smile and jumped through the portal, which closed behind her. A brief silence lingered in the air for a moment afterwards, Upa clenched his fist looking up towards the looming white tower that stretched to the heavens. Bora gave a knowing nod, and began walking away. "Shouldn't you focus on your training?" he said to his son, the words pulled Upa from his internal world. 'When?' The only questions burning in his mind now were ones of time. She had left but he didn't know when she'd return. He would train but how long till he could make it to where she did?
Meanwhile, back at a certain desert palace, an argument was in full swing. A bald old man was running around the palace interior as he was being chased by an old woman on a floating crystal ball. "I just wanted a few pictures!" he yelled, while covering his head with both hands. "Shut up you old pervert!" The old woman swung her staff at his head, causing him to scream and dodge out of the way. "STOP HITTING ME!!!!!" his feet were nearly a blur underneath him as he dodged side to side, narrowly escaping several attacks aimed for his noggin. He turned and started into a breakaway run, when an unexpected purple light opened up out of nowhere. The sudden materialization of a glowing purple hole took the old man off guard, he tried to stop his forward momentum as soon as he could process what was going on but his quick thinking was met with a blow to the back of the head that sent him tumbling forward.
As he was falling towards the portal, a person emerged from it and with some speed. "What the?!" The young woman from the other side of the hole exclaimed as the inevitable collision took place! The old man's face met with a knee that was raised mid stride, sending him spinning into the air a short distance before landing on his face. His legs scorpioned over his back as he skidded to a stop.
"Zahna?!" the old woman yelled in surprise, "Your clothes are a mess, child. What happened?"
"It's a bit of a story!" Zahna replied, " but is that guy gonna be okay? I didn't mean to hit him!" She pointed at the old man, who laid there with stars in his eyes and a bloody nose.
"Well, I did!" Baba grinned venomously, "That's the sorry lout that started this whole mess. So, I wouldn't worry about him."
"I'm not dead, you know!" the old man quickly rebounded to his feet, "Hubba hubba!" he grunted out, locking his gaze on Zahna. He quickly approached, with a very concerning look on his face as his eyes seemed to resemble hearts and his nose bled more profusely.
"Don't even think about it, creep." Zahna threatened, while instinctively gripping her sword.
"Let's get you cleaned up, then." Baba interjected, breaking the tension. "You wait right here, Roshi." The young woman walked off with the Fortuneteller, to a more private room.