Chi-Chi groaned as she came to, her eyelids heavy and stubborn. Her body felt tight and unresponsive beneath the layers of bandages. When her vision finally steadied, the blurry figures around her bed resolved into familiar faces.
"Chi-Chi!"
A massive shadow loomed over her, blocking out the light. It was the Ox-King. Tears were streaming down his face like waterfalls, soaking his beard.
"Oh, my sweet little tiger! You're awake!" The giant man sobbed, looking ready to hug her but terrified he might break her remaining bones.
"I was so worried! You scared your papa half to death!"
"Hey! She's opening her eyes!" Goku's cheerful voice piped up from the foot of the bed. He was grinning from ear to ear.
"Thank goodness..." Krillin let out a long sigh of relief, leaning against the wall.
"You really had us going there for a minute." Yamcha added, crossing his arms with a smile. Puar hovered next to him, nodding vigorously.
"We thought you were a goner."
Bulma stepped forward, looking exhausted but relieved.
"Honestly, you take stubborn to a whole new level."
Master Roshi, standing near the window with his hands behind his back was serious, bordering on disbelief.
"Do you two have any idea what just happened? A fall like that should've turned you into a red smear on the rocks. And yet here you are, still breathing. Ridiculous… and miraculous."
Chi-Chi tried to sit up, wincing as a sharp pain shot through her ribs. She slumped back against the pillow, her voice raspy and dry.
"Tien... how... is he?"
"He's alive and resting in the next room. Took the worst of it, but he's a tough kid. He'll live."
"He'll be fine." Yamcha interjected gently.
"Right now, you need to worry about yourself, Chi-Chi. You need rest."
Chi-Chi ignored the advice, her brow furrowing. Her eyes darted around the room.
"My bag... And Kumokiri... where are they?"
"I have them right here." the Ox-King sniffled, reaching down to pick up her travel satchel and the sheathed blade that were resting against the nightstand.
"I made sure they didn't get lost in the waiting room."
"Give me... the bag." Chi-Chi requested, holding out a trembling, bandaged hand.
The Ox-King gently placed the satchel on her lap.
With clumsy, stiff fingers, Chi-Chi fumbled with the clasp.
She dug inside, pushing past a spare change of clothes until she found a small, nondescript pouch. She pulled it out, opened the drawstring, and tipped a single, small green bean into her palm.
"A bean? Is she hungry?" Krillin blinked, confused.
"Maybe she wants a snack?" Puar guessed.
Without a word, Chi-Chi tossed the bean into her mouth and crunched down.
CRUNCH.
She swallowed.
For a second, nothing happened.
Then, a sudden steam seemed to rise from her body.
Chi-Chi's eyes snapped open, wide and alert. She sat bolt upright, ripping the IV drip out of her arm.
"Whoa!" Yamcha jumped back.
Underneath the bandages, loud cracks and pops echoed as broken bones snapped back into place instantly.
The burns on her shoulder vanished, replaced by unblemished skin. Her breathing became deep and steady, and the color rushed back into her pale cheeks.
She ripped the bandages off her arms, revealing perfectly healed muscle.
"Ah... that's much better." Chi-Chi said, stretching her arms and cracking her neck.
The room went dead silent.
Bulma's jaw dropped.
Krillin's eyes bugged out of his head.
Yamcha looked like he was seeing a ghost.
Even the Ox-King stopped crying, staring at his daughter in bewilderment.
"W-what just happened?! She was half-dead ten seconds ago!"
"That's impossible!" Bulma yelled.
Only two people in the room weren't freaking out.
"Hey! That was a Senzu Bean!" Goku pointed, recognizing the snack immediately.
Master Roshi's sunglasses slid down his nose.
"A Senzu Bean... from Korin's Tower? I haven't seen one of those in centuries."
Chi-Chi hopped out of the hospital bed, grabbed Kumokiri, and strapped it to her waist, looking as if she had never fought a match in her life.
"Yeah. Master Korin gave me a small bag before I left. They come in handy."
"My little girl is invincible!" the Ox-King roared, scooping Chi-Chi up in a bear hug that actually lifted her feet off the ground.
He spun her around, his booming laughter shaking the medical equipment.
"You won! You really won! You're going to the finals!"
"H-Hey papa, put me down! I'm not a baby!"
Master Roshi nodded approvingly, a rare look of serious pride on his face.
"What you showed out there was wisdom, courage, and honor. That's the true spirit of the Turtle School, Chi-Chi. Student or not."
Chi-Chi's expression softened as she looked at him.
"I was unfair to you for a long time, Master. I see that now. I may have been raised in the Ox King's style, but what I've learned from you is just as much a part of me. From here on… I consider myself a student of both."
Roshi smiled, scratching the back of his head.
"Heh… that's more than enough for an old man like me. Styles are just names in the end. What matters is the heart behind the fists. If you walk your path with both strength and kindness, then you're already exactly where you're meant to be."
Goku stepped forward, his eyes shining with anticipation.
He cracked his knuckles, looking at her not just as a childhood friend, but as a genuine rival.
"Heh. Looks like it's you and me in the finals."
"We made a promise, didn't we? To see who is the strongest."
"I'm going all out. Even if it's you."
"I didn't come this far for you to go easy on me. I want your best." Chi-Chi replied, tightening the sash of her ruined cheongsam.
She turned toward the door, her demeanor shifting from celebratory to serious.
"Where are you going? The finals don't start for another hour. You should rest, even if you did eat that magic bean."
"I will." Chi-Chi said, pausing at the doorway.
"But there is something I need to do first."
She walked out of the room, leaving her friends behind.
She stopped in front of door 302. Taking a deep breath, she knocked once, gently, and opened the door.
The room was dim, the blinds drawn to block out the harsh afternoon sun.
Lying in the bed, wrapped in significantly more bandages than Chi-Chi had been, was Tien Shinhan.
His arm was in a sling, and there was a brace around his neck. Sitting on a stool next to the bed was Chiaotzu, who jumped slightly when the door opened.
"Chi-Chi?" Chiaotzu squeaked, his eyes going wide as he saw her standing there, completely healed and walking without a limp.
Tien turned his head slowly on the pillow. His three eyes widened in disbelief.
"You..." Tien rasped, his voice hoarse.
"You are walking? But... the impact... the burns..."
"I had a Senzu Bean. It heals everything instantly." Chi-Chi explained simply, stepping into the room and closing the door behind her.
He let out a short, painful sigh and looked back at her.
The arrogance that had defined him at the start of the tournament was gone, replaced by a quiet, somber introspection.
"So, you have come to gloat? Or perhaps to finish me off while I can't move?"
Chi-Chi sighed, shaking her head.
She walked over to the side of the bed, ignoring the fearful look Chiaotzu gave her.
"That way of thinking is Shen's, not mine. I don't kill people just to prove I've won."
She reached into her pouch again. She pulled out another senzu bean.
"Here, eat this."
Tien stared at the bean, then at her face.
His expression was one of profound confusion.
"Another Senzu Bean? You... you are wasting it on me? Why would you give one to your enemy?"
"Because you're not my enemy anymore. The match is over. You stopped Chiaotzu from cheating. And when you had the chance to kill me… you didn't. That tells me there's a martial artist inside you, not just a killer."
She pressed the bean into his hand.
"Besides, Master Roshi told me you were misguided, not evil. Proving him right is kind of my job."
Tien looked down at the small bean in his palm.
His hand trembled. For his entire life, he had been taught that mercy was a weakness. That kindness was for fools. Yet, here was the woman he had tried to destroy, offering him salvation.
"You are... a strange woman." Tien muttered.
He popped the bean into his mouth and chewed.
CRUNCH.
The effect was instantaneous.
Tien gasped as a surge of vitality rushed through his veins like a roaring river.
The excruciating pain in his chest vanished.
The bones in his arms and legs knit themselves back together with audible snaps. The bruises faded, his skin cleared, and his Ki, which had been drained to near-death levels by the Kikoho, refilled to its maximum capacity.
"Tien! You're okay!" Chiaotzu cheered, hovering up in excitement. "
Tien sat up, flexing his healed arm.
He looked at his hands, then at Chi-Chi, his three eyes wide with awe.
"It really works... I feel... completely restored."
He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up.
He towered over Chi-Chi, but this time, he didn't try to intimidate her. Instead, he slowly lowered his head, bowing deeply at the waistm, a gesture of respect he had never shown anyone but his master.
"Chi-Chi..." Tien said, his voice steady and sincere.
"You don't need to bow your head to me, Tien. A true martial artist knows when to reflect and when to change."
Chi-Chi grinned, patting him on the arm.
"Today, we both learned something. That's enough."
Tien straightened up, a small, genuine smile touching his lips.
"I have to go, Goku is waiting for me in the finals. I can't keep him waiting."
"Chi-Chi." Tien called out just as she reached the handle.
She looked back.
"Be careful." Tien warned, his expression serious.
"I have seen Son Goku fight. He is a prodigy, just like us. But... I think you can win."
...
Chi-Chi paused, then gave him a small glance over her shoulder.
"Thank you, Tien."
She allowed herself a faint, confident smile.
"Goku isn't someone you beat by underestimating him… and I won't insult him by holding back."
With that, she walked out, leaving a stunned Tien and a happy Chiaotzu behind, ready to face her oldest friend and greatest rival for the title of World Champion.
Goku is strong. I know that better than anyone.