Ashan 5 721
Goku looked at the calendar. After his week of hard work it had finally come due for his rest day. He had to rest because if he worked too hard his muscles would be over strained and every time he did that he had to go for a whole week of rest before he felt his muscles were well enough to train again. He tried to strike a balance between working too much and working too little. It was not always so simple. “Let us see what is on the schedule for today,” he said looking closer at the calendar. It had the word Rune on there along with a small drawing of a shovel. “A shovel? What?”
It took a moment to remember what it could have referred to and then it clicked. “Oh yes, I was supposed to help shovel a neighbor’s yard. I should have put a name though as I cannot remember who I committed to.” Goku was not happy that he was going to have to shovel on his rest day but if he remembered correctly he was just digging a few small holes for the woman to put some plants into for the beginning of spring. She had only asked for help because she couldn’t generate enough force with a shovel to insert it into the dirt.
Goku was happy to help around the neighborhood. It never paid in money but he usually got favors or pay back in the future. If he was helping to plant some crop then he was going to at least expect some food at the end of the season if there was extra to go around. Goku took up his writing utensils and a pad of paper with him to the neighbor’s house. The elder was sitting on her front porch waiting for Goku to arrive. “Good you are here! Come on inside and I will explain what is to be done today.” They sat ‘down inside and the woman continued her explanation. “I have ten seedlings to plant so I need you to dig holes about half a foot deep each for me. Should not take much of your time. Come help me bring these potted plants to the back yard.”
Goku set the last of the plants onto the ground of the back yard and exchanged them for a shovel. He then dug out the holes for the elder. The whole process took less than an hour from the time he arrived to the time he helped lower the last plant into its hole. “So what are these plants for? Are they fruits or vegetables?” Goku asked.
“They are all tomatoes, every last one of them. I love me some tomatoes. They go well with everything. Sandwiches, soups, snacks…” The woman took out some scissors and cut off some of the leaves that she did not like. “Thank you for your help. I could not have waited much longer before getting these into the ground without getting worried. Is there anything I can get for you? A drink perhaps?”
Goku considered the offer but declined. “I am afraid I must get going. I have some studying to do and I thought it would be nice to work on a park bench than cooped up in my own home.”
“Studying you said? What are you studying? I did not think you were taking any classes at all. Are you not a laborer?” she asked her questions slowly. She tried to remember if Goku had told her about classes before but she did not remember anything of the sort.
Goku took out his paper and waved it at the woman. “I want to practice my runes. I have been far too busy with work and I fear I have fallen out of practice. I’ve told you about them before have I not?”
The look of recognition sparked in the elder’s eyes. “yes I remember now. I am still shocked that you are into that sort of thing. You should be spending your time finding a nice wife instead if you ask me but who am I to tell you what to do after you helped me today.”
Goku genuinely laughed at the advice. “as soon as I get a respectable job I will pursue marriage do not worry.” Inside he knew that that it might take years before he got to that point though the elder did not need to know that.
“Mmkay, take care now.” The woman led him over to the fence and opened a gate so that Goku could get out, as if he could not just fly out to begin with.
The local park was not far away. It took only ten minutes of walking to get there and to Goku’s fortune there was a bench that he could use to sit at and work on his runes. Goku only knew the one rune that was meant to grant additional power so that was what he was going to practice today. He sat down at the park table and laid out his paper and writing utensils. He had to fetch a rock to keep all his papers from fluttering about. The stone he wrote on top of was not very smooth either so Goku had to stack papers on top of each other to smooth out the surface.
Goku began by referencing a drawing of the rune he had made a long time ago. It was traced from a drawing his mentor had which was why he was to use it as a reference. The shapes and curves of the rune had to be absolutely perfect when he applied the rune for real so he wanted to get good at drawing it. He hoped that doing this would help him inscribe runes quickly and also more accurately. Something inside him really wanted him to do it for real and he would later just not at the moment. “have some patience,” he told himself. His first two dozens drawings were totally garbage even when tracing. He crumpled up the paper and stuffed the garbage into his pockets. His problem was that he could not get the curved lines right. He did not grow up with a very good education so he could not write all that well. The feeling of a writing utensil in his hands already felt off putting enough. The thick callouses on his hands did not help either.
Goku persisted and before long he got a little better at drawing the rune. He had pulled the rune off to perfection in the past but only a few times. He wanted to get at least good enough to do one rune well before moving onto the next ones. Once he was able to replicate the rune three times in a row to his satisfaction he laid down on the grassy ground and drew the rune with his finger into the air. The drawings were never good but he wasn't going to be actually drawing the rune when he put ether into it. He was not going to apply the rune with a writing utensil after all so he had to get the shape right with his finger too. “I could benefit from getting some ink bottles for my fingers. That would cause a big mess and require lots of paper but I think it would be worth it.” He thought. He’d put it on his to do list.
The sun was high in the sky when Goku thought it was time to apply the rune for real. Inscribing a rune was the most exciting thing that he could do so he was quaking with anticipation when he sat up and put his finger above his opposite forearm. “nice and slow, steady…” he whispered. The feeling of intense excitement grew unnaturally large as if it wasn’t only his excitement that was building. “Just a taste of energy to start.”
His finger glowed slightly and wisps of energy broke off from his finger the moment he touched his finger to skin. He drew the appropriate pattern very slowly while constantly checking against the best drawings he had made. Ten minutes passed and he had not even finished half of the rune but he did not feel rushed in the slightest. If anything he felt proud of himself for not messing up so far. He made it to three quarters of the rune and that was when things did not go so well. Just as he was ending the curve of the rune a powerful breeze made him wince and his finger moved a little too far and everything ended abruptly. His finger stopped glowing and he no longer felt energy flowing from his body.
Goku shook with unnecessary anger at the wind of all things. He swore into the sky loudly and slammed his fist against the bench he’d sat on before. He was too used to doing runes in the shelter of a home so unexpected distractions like a powerful breeze had not been considered. Several minutes were needed to calm down and when that was over Goku did not feel like doing any more runes. He packed up and went home with the sourest of attitudes.