ratsoftobruk | Early adopters get first access

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Early adopters get first access

[The Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, Son Goku. For his crimes of causing chaos and bloodshed in Heaven, he has been sentenced to five hundred years imprisonment and solitude. A harsh sentence from the gods with just one mercy- the memory of his crimes and of the loved ones he lost have been sealed away, where they can't hurt him anymore. They can't comfort him anymore either.

In the cold, windy cell on top of the mountain, all Goku has is silence, a distant view and his name (because the real Goddess of Mercy plays favourites). Somewhere in him there's the sense that things weren't always this way, that something has been lost to him, but with every passing year he starts to doubt himself more. Every winter is cold, every summer is out of reach, so who can say the world has ever been any different? Certainly not Goku. And for all he knows, there isn't anyone else who can say anything at all.

Well, a bird came once. So there was at least one other living thing out there. Not anymore though.

Four hundred and eighty-two years go by. Goku doesn't count them. It never occurs to him to and it wouldn't help if he did. He has no idea how close he is to the end of his sentence. He has no idea that hope is on the horizon and that soon the sun will rise. He just has to wait a little longer.

In Heaven, Kanzeon Bosatsu trips. It's rather embarrassing, but luckily only Jiroushin is there to see it. He insists on fussing over her skinned knee like she's a child.

Goku misses all that, of course, but he does still look up in shock when it happens. He heard a crack. Like the metal bars in front of him are on the verge of shattering. Creeping forward tentatively, he gives one a sharp poke. A chip of iron falls off like sandstone.

Scheduling can be a tricky business.]

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[Sanzang is used to people coming to her, all hush voices and shifty eyes, to ask her to help correct their mistakes. She almost always agrees, sometimes there's a lecture to go with it, but she helps clean up the messes and keep it under wraps from those who don't need to know. Usually it's just her peers or those technically below her.

Rarely is it someone like Kanzeon sidling up to her to casually drop a bomb in her lap.

Okay, the bomb wasn't dumped, Sanzang had agreed, and the bomb was actually an adorable child, but still. Sanzo--the male Sanzo of their world--was too young. Things had happened a little ahead of schedule, things that needed to be taken care of, and Sanzang was the next best thing to handle this until Sanzo got a little older.

Sanzang hadn't even teased Kanzeon about this.

Much.

So when the bars on Goku's cage begin to chip away, it's Sanzang who approaches. She's forgone her usual flashy entrance for something more subdued, walking up to the bars with her hands folded behind her back, her long watersleeves trailing a path in the snow behind her. Her smile is sweet and serene, and on the inside she's jumping around for joy.

He's adorable.]

Hello, boy.

[Should she pretend not to know his name yet? Does he remember his name? Things she should've asked Kanzeon before this, but she'd be a little impatient. Oh well. Nothing she can't deal with later.]

Would you like to leave this place?

[Goku's still gently poking at the bars when Sanzang appears. It's not that he isn't happy about it, but it's something never really believed would happen. He's not sure what it means. What happens when the bars are gone? It's still cold, but today there's a patch of sunlight just a little way from them. Maybe he'll finally be able to reach it. His imprisonment would be much more enjoyable if he could spend it sitting in the sun. Even snow would be okay if he could see the sun.

Much stranger than the bars, much more unimaginable, is a voice. Goku's head snaps up and he accidentally knocks a hole in one of the bars as he focuses on the woman approaching. For a moment, Goku is stunned into silence. She's so pretty. Her smile is so warm. The tilt of her head and the light in her eyes reminds him of the sparrow that had visited him so many winters earlier.]

... Hi.

[Goku's voice feels funny. He hasn't used it in a while but oh no, the pretty person is asking him things. Should he say something? He doesn't know why he's here. He doesn't like this place. He doesn't want to stay, he thinks, but he's not sure where else he would go.]

... Can I?

[She shouldn't laugh--she really knows she shouldn't, but she can't help herself. She steps forward and brings one hand up to the bars, willing the rest of them away with a sweeping motion. The bars collapse in a cloud of black dust that disintegrates quickly in the air and she smiles back down at him.]

You can. I'm giving you permission. [Okay, so it wasn't really her authority to do any such thing, but she was allowed some dramatics here.] I'm sorry it took so long.

[Her hand lowers and she carefully removes the sleeve so she can hold her bare--more or less, there's henna designs on it-- hand out to him] Come on, I think it's time to feel the sun on your face.

[Goku stares at her hand for a moment, still not fully processing what's happening. The bars vanishing is one thing. A person, a real person, right in front of him and looking and sounding so warm is just-]

It's okay.

[He's been alone for so long but that already feels distant. Goku slowly reaches out for her hand and manages to startle himself again when his fingers brush against hers. The chains hanging from his shackles start to crumble but Goku doesn't notice, still focused on the hand in front of him. He clasps it properly in a strong grip.]

... It's warm.

[The sun.]

[Sanzang is nothing if not patient, but even she can't help the feeling of eager anticipation at leading him out of his prison cell.

Her fingers curl around his hand, tugging lightly to help guide him out, to fully face the sun.] It is. Isn't it nice? [She turns her face upwards towards it too, looking out over the expanse of wilderness surrounding the mountains]

There's so much to show you. The world is a pretty big place, you know? [She turns back to him, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze]

You can call me 'Sanzang.' Do you remember your name?

[It's only when he's tugged out of the cage into the sunlight that Goku looks at anything other than Sanzang- because that's when he starts staring directly into the sun. ]

Woah... [Um. Maybe don't look at the sun for that long, Goku? Maybe squint at least? Oh, well, he's probably fine.] It's so bright!

[Goku seems to brighten too, now that he's out of the cave and in the sunlight. There's a new energy to him. Still, he'd probably keep staring at the sun for another minute or two if Sanzang hadn't started with the questions.]

Sanzang... [A name... Goku shifts his gaze from the sun to blink curiously up at her. As it sinks in, he grins.] Sanzang! I'm Goku! Sanzang, my name is Goku!

[She has a name the pretty lady has a name and he said it, he talked to her, and they're out in the sun and he just walked a whole bunch (more than he can ever remember walking) and the world is big and wonderful!]

Heehee! Be careful, or you're going to hurt your eyes! [The last thing she needs is to try and explain to the merciful goddess how she blinded the monkey 5 minutes after freeing him.

And while she's sure that, eventually, it's going to grow tiresome to hear her nae repeated over and over like that, right now it's only making her heart melt.] That's right... Your name is Goku. [She reaches out with her free hand to ruffle his hair]

And there's a whole world out there to explore. Isn't that exciting? There's so much I want to show you, I don't even know where to begin! [But even Sanzang knows better than to just teleport them around or into a town out of nowhere. As eager as she is, these things should probably be eased into.]

But let's work on getting down the mountain first, shall we? Then we can decide what to do from there.

[Somehow grins even more when she ruffles his hair. She said his name!! It's exciting.]

I'm okay, Sanzang! It doesn't hurt!

[It hurts a little but honestly what is pain? At least now when he goes wide-eyed, he's doing it in her direction.]

Where are we gonna go, Sanzang? What is there? Is there something down there? Sanzang, I wanna go somewhere really warm!

[It's been less than two minutes and he's already making demands.]

[Luckily, his constant repeating of his name is only endearing for now. So far...

Sanzang just laughs brightly and gives his hand a tug] We'll head down the mountain the old-fashioned way, get you stretching your legs and burning off some of that energy! [Easier said than done; She's pretty sure he's got enough energy to keep a city going for years and years.]

There's a whole great wide world out there. We should see as much of it as we can, right? Once we get down the mountain, I'll whisk us away somewhere with a beach! [Beaches are warm, right? And there's lots to do at a beach! It's perfect.

It's only going to be a short couple of years she'll be able to spend with him--for her, that time will pass in the blink of an eye, so she wants to hold onto it while she can.

...Is she supposed to use a lot of magic around him? Well, it didn't really matter, she supposed, and it would be easier to ask forgiveness than for permission.]

[Fortunately, all this exposure to magic will really do is confuse and disappoint Goku later when Sanzo can't teleport him to the beach on a whim.]

I've never seen a beach before... [Already in awe of the idea. He doesn't know what a beach is.] Sanzang, let's go, let's go!

[Where are they going??? Goku's just going to grab onto Sanzang's hand and hold on tight as he starts tugging her in any particular direction.]

Um, it's really okay to go, right?

[He wasn't supposed to stay here for a little while longer, was he?]

[Sanzang laughs and begins to walk, leading him towards the path that would start the winding trek down the mountain]

Okay, okay! [Sorry Sanzo, get gud. His question, however, makes her smile a little sad, and she reaches out to place her free hand on top of his head again]

Yes, Goku, it's really okay. And you know? I'm reeeaally strong! If anyone has a problem with you being out, they can answer to me and I'll set them straight!

...You've been in there too long as it is. It's time you saw the world and everything it has to offer. The world's too bi and has too many things to see and do to keep you waiting for it any longer.

[Goku clutches her hand a little tighter. It's not that he doesn't want to go. Of course he does. But wasn't he supposed to wait? He's not sure why he thinks that. This is all amazing and great, but he gets the feeling something else was meant to happen.

... But Sanzang is fantastic, so he's not about to start complaining.]

Are ya really, Sanzang? [Wide eyes looking straight up at Sanzang, not watching his feet as they walk in the slightest.] Are ya really really strong? I wanna see that! Sanzang, show me!

[Screw the beach, let's go to a fight club!!]

[Goku's intuition continues to be scarily sound. Thankfully, Sanzang isn't aware of Goku's unease, though her expression does turn a bit serious.

She turns towards him and crouches down to be closer to his level] Goku, I'm about to tell you something very serious, okay? It's really important you listen. Fighting can be fun and all, but you should never use your strength to hurt where you can help, okay? There'll be a lot of cases where you might not have a choice, but you should always try to talk first, okay?

Always try to avoid unnecessary violence and bloodshed when you can. Sometimes, talking things out can get you surprising allies where you least expect it. "Conquer anger with non-anger. Conquer badness with goodness. Conquer meanness with generosity. Conquer dishonesty with truth."

[Sanzang smiles warmly then, so that this feels less like a scold or a lecture, and reaches out to lightly boop his nose] Of course, if they refuse to see reason, that's when you have to get aggressive and speak with your fists! Only the truly unwise go looking for a fight, but if a fight happens on us.. I'll show you what I can do. Okay?

[Goku stares up at Sanzang, clearly befuddled. Those are a lot of words he's hearing all at once. He's not sure what it's got to do with what they were talking about. Still, he's listening intently and he's determined to do his best to make Sanzang happy. That means listening to what she says and... Something... something....]

... Fighting sounds like lots of fun! [That's what he got out of that??] Sanzang, I wanna see! I really really really wanna see!

[Have patience, Sanzang.]

I wanna speak with my fists!

[Alright, note to self: Keep it simple. More simple than that.]

...Well, fighting can be fun, I suppose, as long as the person you're righting once it too. You wouldn't feel too good if you were trying to sleep or eat or something and someone kept interrupting you to fight, right?

There's a time and a place. [Try to do this one lesson at a time here. You can't run until you learn to walk, right?]

[There were a lot of words all at once. One sentence at a time and he might have been okay, but it was a lot all at once.]

Sleeping's kinda boring so I don't think I'd mind... [If someone had woken him up during one of his naps in the cave to have a fist fight, he'd have been thrilled. Sanzang could have greeted him in an entirely different way if she'd wanted to, the result would have been the same.]

... But I guess I understand. Are there lots of different things you can do outside?

[They've covered sleeping, eating, standing in the sun and fighting but are there even more things to do?? The outside world is amazing!]

[goKU THAT'S NOT THE POINT. IT'S RUDE. Internally screaming a little, Sanzang wonders just what kind of job she's gotten stuck with. Not that she particularly minds the challenge, but she's quickly realizing that this assignment is going to actually be one.

Which is fine! She can handle this. She was a kid once and it's not like Goku's an infant. She can take care of him just fine and maybe (sometimes literally) knock some good life lessons into him. It'll be great. She's got this.

If she keeps telling herself this, it'll surely come to fruition.]

Yep, yep, there is! [Sanzang leads him over towards the path--or the closest thing to a path they'll get this high up, ready to begin the trek down.] You can do just about anything you can think of, the sky's the limit!

[She pauses a moment before continuing curiously] Goku? Did you ever think about what you'd want to do most when you got out of that cave?

[What's a rude? Can he eat it? For what it's worth, dealing with Goku will surely be a labour of love. He means well, after all. At least he's cute, even when he's being a rude little shit.]

Even the sky... [Goku looks up as he walks alongside Sanzang, still in awe at the blue sky and the sun. The view is so much better from than it was from his cave.

But still, what he wanted to do most... Goku looks at his hand in Sanzang's and smiles softly. Don't mind him creeping a little closer, even while he keeps walking.]

... Yeah. I did.

[Even though the top of the mountain is a little chilly, the sunlight is warm and Sanzang briefly closes her eyes to enjoy the feel of it on her face.

Then she looks back down at Goku, not wanting her eyes off the ground--or him--too long. The last thing she needs is to trip and send them tumbling down the mountain. But with a gentle smile and a light squeeze of her hand, she asks]

Yeah? What is it? I think first and foremost we should do that!

[It's probably a good idea to keep an eye on Goku. Who knows what trouble he might get into if he's out of sight for too long?]

Back then... All I really wanted was this... Sanzang. [Even after just a few minutes, it already feels like it was a long time ago. Goku looks happily up at Sanzang, no embarrassment or hesitation in his eyes.] All I wanted in that cave was for someone to find me and call me by my name. Someone I could call out for too.

[Even when he wasn't sure if there was anyone else alive in the world, he was calling for someone to find him. Goku's grip tightens. Surely Sanzang is the person he was waiting for. She's so nice and warm and she found him, after all.]

Sanzang, can I stay with you? I don't mind where we go or what we do, I just wanna stay with you!

[It has to be her.]

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Early adopters get first access

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