Seasoned

On the way back to Kame House, the wind had died down a little. A few grayish clouds drifted over the distant sea, as if the wind would pick up by evening. Goku walked at the front, his pace slightly faster than before and nearly back to normal, as though he had already put what had happened behind him.

When the three entered the yard, Master Roshi was sitting beneath the porch with a cup of tea in hand. No steam rose from its surface anymore, as though it had been sitting there for quite a while. "Finished?"

"Finished," Krillin said. "Number Five was Son Gohan."

Master Roshi nodded without saying much. He took a sip of the cold tea, then set it down again.

There was not much conversation over dinner. Goku ate faster than usual, finishing two bowls of rice before carrying his empty bowl back to his room. After eating, Krillin washed the dishes by the sink, the sound of running water coming and going. Lin Chen sat in the yard, feeling that the lingering force from the shove against his right shoulder had completely faded. Sensation throughout his entire arm had returned to balance.

The next morning, Goku got up earlier than usual. By the time Lin Chen came downstairs, he was already standing in the yard. He was not warming up, merely standing there, as if he had been there for some time. The sun had not fully risen yet, and the ground in the yard still held the chill of the night. The slanting light cast long, narrow shadows across the ground. "Grandpa wants me to go to Kami's Lookout with you," Goku said. "He wants to teach me a few more things before I go back."

After breakfast, the three set off along the coastline. The road ran in a different direction from the one leading to the Dueling Arena, farther west. After passing through a sparse stretch of woods, the ground began to rise into a gentle slope covered in fine gravel. Low shrubs with thorn-edged leaves grew along the roadside, gray-green in the morning light and coated with tiny droplets of dew. Son Gohan stood beneath an old pine tree, adjusting his collar. Seeing the three approach, he lowered his hand. "It's not far, but the slope will get steeper and steeper."

The four continued up the mountain path. Gravel constantly rolled beneath their feet, and every step required a slight adjustment of their balance. Son Gohan led the way, his stride steady as he walked firmly across the gravel slope, his rhythm of footfalls barely changing. Goku followed not far behind him, with Lin Chen behind Goku and Krillin at the rear. The intermittent sound of gravel rolling beneath their soles echoed through the woods, like someone lightly stirring dry bean pods.

After about forty minutes of walking, the trees ahead gradually thinned out, revealing broad stretches of bare rock. Son Gohan stopped on a flat slab of stone. "Here."

He turned to Lin Chen. "At the Dueling Arena last time, you didn't fully rein in the follow-through when you stopped your move. Try again today. Adjust the rhythm of your force and bring it back more cleanly."

Lin Chen stepped in front of the rock, adjusted his stance, and threw a right punch from his waist. The stone surface was smoother than he had expected. When his fist struck it, he felt the rebounding force travel up his arm, briefly catching at his wrist before spreading upward. He withdrew his fist and shook his hand. "There really is some follow-through after the force is released."

"Try again," Son Gohan said. "This time, after throwing the punch, don't relax your shoulder too quickly. Let your arm carry through for half a beat longer."

Lin Chen reset his stance and punched again. This time, he felt the force of the blow not disperse immediately after contacting the rock. It lingered at the point of impact for a moment before spreading along the stone's surface. When he pulled back his fist, the path of his arm was smoother than before, without that brief hitch. "This is steadier," he said.

Son Gohan nodded. "Practice like that. The rest is just feel."

He then turned to Krillin and had him practice several sets of sudden stops and turns in his sidestepping footwork, pointing out that he needed to lower the angle of his torso a little more when changing direction. Krillin tried twice, and on the second attempt, he did adjust the angle properly.

Goku practiced several sets of punches by himself nearby. His movements were more compact than before, and each time he retracted his fist, it was cleaner than the last. Son Gohan watched for a while without speaking.

The afternoon sun shone through the sparse canopy, leaving mottled patches of light and shadow across the rock surface. The patterns slowly shifted with the moving clouds. Birdsong drifted from the distant valley, sounding only once every so often, as though the intervals between calls kept growing longer and the volume weaker. Wind blew up from below the valley, carrying the mingled scent of grass and dry earth.

By evening, the four returned along the mountain path. On the way back, Lin Chen felt that his right arm was looser than it had been that morning, with little resistance when he exerted force. After walking some distance, he tried the movement again and found that the follow-through when retracting his fist was indeed less pronounced than before he had practiced that morning.

By the time they returned to Kame House, the sky had already begun to darken, and the lights in the yard were on. Master Roshi sat beneath the porch, a plate of sliced fruit set before him, with droplets of water still clinging to the rim. He glanced in the direction they had returned from. "Practice again tomorrow morning. Eat more tonight."

Krillin went inside to get chopsticks. Lin Chen sat on a stone bench in the yard as the sea breeze blew in from the side, stirring the edge of his sleeve, which had only recently recovered. He saw Goku sitting on the steps, looking down at his palm as he repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fist, as though checking over and over whether what he had practiced had remained in his hands. Lin Chen watched for a few seconds, then picked up a piece of fruit from the stone table and took a bite. He chewed and swallowed, then placed the pit at the edge of the plate.