Kakkhan: Saiyan Dimension Keeper

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball/Z/GT, but I do own everything else. Ha!

A/n: A reader has notified me that the purpose of the italics are a little confusing, so here's the legend:

Italics: a) Non-Demon Dimension Situation (i.e. Kakkhan's not in the Demon Dimension)

b) Other situations which are hopefully clearer as they come up. If they're not, send me an email and I'll correct it for you

Thanks, for the email!

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Previously, on Kakkhan: Immortal Saiyan Z-fighter—

The Legendary Lord had renounced his right to live in his home dimension—where he would live now was uncertain, but very likely it would be here. If so, if the Legend would allow them, they would help. They would help even if he didn't want them to help. That was the way they were, the way they would always be.

He began to tell InuYasha what he knew.

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Prologue: Summoned

Clad in the dramatic uniform of his "army," the tall humanoid appeared statue-like and cold. His glittering eyes betrayed nothing, his raised arm did not quiver, and the blade stretched out in his hand evinced no movement. Nonetheless, in a perfect semi-circle around him, lay the bodies of dozens of his brightly-clothed enemies, most separated from their heads or bearing gut slices. One special corpse had a slash from one shoulder down to the opposite-sided hip. This corpse, with dull bronze hair and apple-green eyes, had been known as Lelex Rex, future King of the Fay, and he had been killed only minutes earlier.

As the realization of the king's death sunk in, there were precious moments of silence. Then a roar arose from the warriors garbed as dramatically as the humanoid, a tsunami of sound rushing toward the killer of Lelex Rex in much the same way as the originators did. The killer suddenly lowered his weapon, never removing his eyes from their path into space, and relaxed. Then his "army" swarmed up to him, yelling, and past him to their sworn rivals, who stood stock still and disbelieving. One of the warriors, named H'dan, paused, eyed the humanoid warily.

"What," he said brusquely, abruptly, "will you do now, with your mission complete?" From the halting nature of his words, it was clear Universal was not his usual language.

The addressee of the question seemed to understand well enough. "My mission, as you say, is not 'complete'," he answered. "For the moment, however, I shall stay within range of communication."

"Hmm," H'dan replied, still appearing distrustful. "As long as you show up as you're supposed to, I'll not consider your whereabouts as my business." The Druid hefted his halberd. "In the meantime, I've a battle to be fought." He turned and charged away, yodeling his own famous war cry; the humanoid closed his eyes, as if in farewell.

He breathed once, let it out again. Noises quite unlike the shouting of the battlefield found their way to his ears; quiet murmuring so like the sea, beeps and clicks whirring in musical communication, a ping announcing his arrival, and a tramp of hurrying feet—

'Thank the Lady you're here, Legendary Lord,' a voice burst out in the vicinity of his left shoulder. The Legendary Lord, as he was called, opened his onyx-black eyes and found the interlocutor with them. While he turned his head, the speaker hastened on with her sentence. 'You're being Summoned.'

The Legend lifted his eyes a little, looking over the speaker's head, then nodded. 'So I am.' He straightened, released the weapon in his hand (which promptly disappeared), and glanced at the circular disc gradually dimming behind him.

'Shall we see what the Lady wants us to do with Sanyuusuketorikuma?" He turned back and inclined his head to the intern, who saluted him, smiling whole-heartedly with relief. Without bothering to change out of the blood-spattered cowskin overcoat he still wore, he raised two fingers in a return salute—

—and the intern saw only the bright red and darker purple swirls of the darkened portal. The messenger smiled again, briefly, then whirled and rushed back whence she came.

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The room he entered was of familiar design. It consisted of only four walls, a monochromatic color scheme, and posters all over. Earthling, then, and Human enough.

He turned at a dry squawk and tipped his head to the originator. I greet you, Sanyuusuketorikuma, he murmured silently. The uniformly scarlet eyes of the bird akuma he saluted blinked once in an uncomfortable glare, then softened marginally.

Kakkhanadorisainkai, Sanyuu cawed, his own words noiseless, heard only in the plane between sleep and awakening. To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?

I have a favor to ask of you, he hissed in response. A favor concerning your Human familiar.

The bird visibly stiffened, Its short forked tail beginning to twitch wildly. What would this favor consist of? It asked, composed at least in Its voice.

You know very well what it consists of and why it must be done. Now let me do it, he responded calmly. It does your familiar no good when you cluck over her like a mother hen.

He withstood the resulting glare of the akuma readily enough. Sanyuu then shifted uncomfortably, reflecting as much the discomfort of Its familiar behind It as Its own.

If I allow thee to do this, would the debt I owe thee be liquefied? It asked suddenly. He spared only a moment of remembrance before answering brusquely:

It shall be so.

Another moment more passed, in which the only sounds either the akuma or the humanoid heard were the small whimpers of distress the Earthling in the small bed emitted and the rustle of sheets as the Human tossed about fitfully.

Very well, Sanyuu finally said, Its eyes beadily glaring. I shall let thee pass, but I warn thee, do not harm my familiar.

My thanks, Sanyuusuke, he acknowledged. Moving forward quietly, he approached the bed and its occupant. The Human seemed somewhat familiar to him, with her midnight purple hair falling from her forehead uncaringly to her pillow, a small nose and an angular jaw. He didn't know her name, hadn't gotten it that night he accompanied Sanyuu to Earth, but he did remember seeing her as broken then as she seemed now.

She rolled over as he reached her bed, leaving enough room for him to sit down. His presence seemed to cause the Human as much uneasiness this time around as his first visit; in sleep, however, she could only try to shrink from a nightmare rather than a conscious phobia. This alone helped the Legendary Lord to bend his knees, perch on the edge of the low-set mattress, and lean forward. He ignored the akuma's warning caw when he reached out a hand to place on the Human's exposed forehead. To his immense concern, the skin underneath his hand was far too cold and clammy to believe she was still alive. But she was breathing, heavily in fact, and able to move and make sound.

Another bit of memory floated to him when he pondered what he could do to ease the nightmare. He Knew that he had to calm this ki breaker down and send her into proper rhythms of sleep, or she would never go where she needed to. That was it: She was a ki breaker, and yet she had barely any ki inside of her, other than the skeletal minimum needed to live. Frowning at this folly, he closed his eyes and concentrated.

The bird akuma watched as Its Human jerked wildly under the impassive-looking Legend's touch, then abruptly inhaled deeply and relaxed. Sanyuu allowed Its shoulders to slump in relief as It felt the flow of ki begin from the Legend to Its ki breaker; the tension It'd held within eased as the girl calmed.

Meanwhile, the Legendary Lord had, after closing his eyes, discovered himself to be in some kind of open plain, in which there was only one tree, and he stood next to it. Looking out into the far distance, he could see something shining, even vaguely recognized it as something he'd himself seen before.

But, he saw, there was an obstacle in the way of reaching the shining. Blue-colored space hovered between the plain and the something, creating an island with the tree at the right-and-center of it. Even as he looked closer, the blue ate away at the island, little by little encroaching on the grass, animals, and dirt the island consisted of.

But he was not here only to examine the island. He looked up at hearing indistinct cries and stumbling footsteps. The Human whose dream he'd just entered was panting as heavily as she did in the conscious world, and crying fiercely as she ran. Behind her, a monstrous and abstract form chased her, sending forth keening roars with every centimeter it gained upon the Human. The form was slowing, however, the closer both it and the Human came to the lone tree; finally, the form seemed to hit a barrier and had to stop, growling, at the very boundary of the tree's shade.

The Human, who didn't seem to know the monster had stopped, continued to run. As a result, she smacked full length into the Legendary Lord, who instinctively grasped her shoulders to hold her steady. He drew in a sharp breath as instantly his ki violently burst out from him to spiral wildly into the girl he held. Immediately comprehending what he had to do, he captured the Human in a tighter embrace—but not too tight—ignoring the struggle the girl put up against him.

'Don't!' she cried, pushing against his chest even as her ki breaking continued to plunder his ki center. 'Don't give your ki to me!' He ignored her effortlessly; clearly, this girl—young woman, he corrected, she was his age—did not see the damage that she was doing to herself by trying to suppress her ki breaking. She did not guess that because of her efforts, she had nightmares where an abstract form chased her, wailing loudly—in a plea for ki.

He looked up, still disregarding the Human continually crying 'Don't! Don't!' in his arms, and watched dispassionately as the very abstract form he thought of began to quiet, then slowly shrink in size. It shrank until it was the size of an Earthling penguin, then it shook itself all over and began to preen. Satisfied that this matter was dealt with, he returned his ebony stare to the sobbing Human lying limp against him. Loosening his clasp gradually, he made sure the Human could stand on her own before he placed his fingers under her chin and directed her gaze towards him. He glanced for a moment into the fathomless depths of that grey stare until she, hiccoughing, finally focused on him.

When he was sure he had the Human's attention, he told her simply, 'Find me.'

The Human's grey eyes widened; he allowed his arms to fall away completely. He nodded to himself in approval when the young woman didn't fall over, then shifted to move by her. The girl's eyes never left his form, even when they saw that the island she occupied was no longer an island—the blue space was gone.

In its place the rest of the meadow grew busily around a wide flagstone path—made by the tall man's footsteps. The young man made his way towards the shining something so far away—but it was so close now. It was so close, in fact, the man would reach it in only five steps.

The Legendary Lord heard a soft cry behind him, but did not turn around or even stop. Instead he raised his head and barked a rusty howl into the dream. He did not intend for the Human to understand it; the message he had was for her akuma familiar alone. He Knew Sanyuusuke heard it and understood, even though he heard nothing; he Knew as well that Sanyuusuke would not see his message in the same way he did.

Lowering his head, the man known as Kakkhanadorisainkai, the Legendary Lord, stepped into the shining City of the Demons.

Its Human bolted upright, her breath coming in short bursts. It was glad to see her fully cognizant of her surroundings at last, her gaze roving wildly over every possession she owned before ensnaring him.

"Akihito!" she gasped. "Did you see—?"

'Nay, milady,' It interrupted, flapping its film-covered wings irritably. 'I saw naught what troubled thee.'

"But I'm not asking for that," she in turn cut in. "This time I saw a man—" She sighed in defeat upon seeing the akuma's blank eyes. "You can't tell me, can you?"

'Nay,' Sanyuusuke cawed softly. 'Thee must find out in thy own way who he is and, more importantly, what his significance is to thee.'

"He gave me so much ki," she whispered, blinking a strand of midnight purple hair out of her eyes. "Yet he didn't die."

'That was his purpose in coming here, milady. I may tell thee that much.' The bird akuma, judging that the danger was over for this night, hopped closer to Its familiar.

'Forgive me for my inability to aid thee tonight, milady.' Saying this, It sidled slowly into the Human's lap and blinked Its scarlet eyes solemnly at the lap's owner, who looked startled. 'I did not do my part correctly, and for this, Fate needed to step in.'

"It was Fate that sent him to me?" The girl asked, her akuma's presence in her lap calming her. Automatically she petted him, sifting her fingers expertly through Its feathers in a soothing preen. Not so inadvertently, Sanyuu chirped happily, causing a smile to light up Its familiar's face.

Happy that Its familiar appeared to have been restored in spirits, Sanyuu nevertheless felt Its heart ache. Here started the period of time in which It could no longer aid Its familiar. This era had begun already, but the truth of this had not been readily apparent until the arrival of the Legendary Lord. The Lady had decided that it was time to set Her Wheel in motion, and it seemed It would be left behind in the process.

It thought to the message the Legendary Lord had left It. 'Consider the debt you owe me dissolved. Do not worry about it anymore, bird akuma.' But I cannot consider it so, It mentally responded. Thee have instead done a greater favor for me than before.

Its ache increased when It heard Its familiar murmur quietly, "He said to find him. But how? Do I really want to? And..."

In pretence, It irritably butted the limp hand of Its familiar. The Human didn't stir after such an action, but her fingers did move again.

"Why?"

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Why was the very question that Kakkhanadorisainkai himself was asking. Why had the Lady sent him specifically to the Human Ki Breaker when any other Keeper would have been fine? All of them had sufficient ki to supply a ki breaker with, even one starving herself. Most Keepers could walk their way into a dream like he had. Some Keepers knew planet Earth even better than he did now. So why him?

It was not the best thing to do, to question the Lady's decisions, but the Legendary Lord was not always concerned with the best thing. He wondered what his connection to the Human was, for surely the Lady would not have bothered him with such a—well, maybe not trivial—simple task without reason.

He finally lifted one shoulder in a shrug. The Lady had her reasons. He was only going to give himself a headache and suffer much humiliation at the Lady's amusement if he tried to confront Her with it. He spoke from personal experience, unfortunately.

He turned his head to greet Inuyashanukuma, or InuYasha, or simply Inu to most. It was a ritual for them now for the dog akuma to wait for the Legend to return from his Keeper duties and to accompany the Immortal to his next destination.

'Hello, Inu,' he started. Inu growled in return. 'You stink of bird akuma,' It accused. 'The Lady sent you to Sanyuusuketorikuma?'

'Yes,' the Legend responded patiently. 'Apparently Its familiar is having a ki breaking disorder.'

'What?' Inu laughed. 'How can…' It trailed off at the steady look Kakkhanadorisainkai gave It. 'Why would that be?' It instead asked patiently.

'You know how frail Humans are,' the Legend said simply. Inu shook Its head and fell into step with the Legend.

'Speaking of Humans,' Inu began as they set out towards the center of the City, 'the Death Bringer tells me that you have been thinking of ret—'

'No, I haven't,' Kakkhanadorisainkai interrupted. 'Yoki is lying to you. I keep telling you never to believe a word of what he says.'

'But he was (censored) serious,' Inu asserted. Kakkhanadorisainkai stopped and faced the dog akuma. Inu nowadays only swore when he wanted to make a point—and he usually made valid points after swearing worse than an Earthling sailor. But Kakkhanadorisainkai did not want to hear this.

'Yoki was lying,' the Legend insisted. 'The Death Bringer is perfectly capable of teasing you seriously. You should know this.'

'Kakkhanadori.' Ergh, there Inu went again, acting uncharacteristically in order to direct attention to a serious matter. '"E was not lying.'

'Fine,' the Legend snapped. He turned around and started marching again, ignoring the click of paws as the dangerous-appearing Inu paced unhurriedly after him. 'Yoki may not have been lying, but I'm not ready to talk about this.'

'I know,' Inu called behind him. 'Why else would ya be (censored) avoiding the issue?'

'(Censored) you, Inuyashanukuma,' the Legend cursed. He made no effort to escape from the dog akuma; it was pointless. The demon would just appear wherever he had holed himself up and nag constantly until he exploded and came out with whatever was bothering him. Inu was extremely good at matters like that.

'I try, Legendary Lord,' Inu snickered. 'The Demon Gods know I try.' The Immortal let out a breath of exasperation, but allowed the dog akuma to catch up with him. They paced silently step by step in perfect unison the rest of the way to the City's heart, the bazaar of sorts that surrounded it and the Tower that looked domineeringly over it all.

There Inu would leave the Legend, silently ruminating, to the three City Inhabitants who called themselves his friends.

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See Chapter Sixteen of Kakkhan: Immortal Saiyan Z-fighter for the details of the first encounter between the Legendary Lord and Sanyuusuketorikuma—known then only as Sanyuu. This is in case you don't remember—and you probably don't. That's perfectly all right.

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A/n: Are you guys confused yet? Heeheehee….

Also, Lelex is the name of a character in Ovid's Metamorphoses, in the tale of Baucis and Philemon, to be precise.

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SNEAK PREVIEW OF: Arrival

Yoki set down the rag and stroked his chin thoughtfully. 'It sounds like life is about to become very lively around here,' he said. His strange eyes glinted. 'It's about time, in my opinion.'

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Thanks to lpgohanfanatic, Lov3the3vil, and supersaiyaman for reviewing the last chapter of Kakkhan: Immortal Saiyan Z-fighter. We're on the last one! I can't believe it! (Squeals) It's been a long time…. I hope you guys stay with me and enjoy the ride.

In about a week, I will be heading off to college. Since I have no idea if I will be able to update this fic, much less write it, for the first month or so at college, I decided (after PMing lpgohanfanatic twice) to just post this prologue so you, the readers, could read something Kakkhan, and I could ease my heart at leaving you guys hanging. So enjoy this chapter, hope for a quick update, and I'll see you whenever. While you wait, in fact, why don't you go ahead and review for me? I may just update next week before I leave! Who knows? (Shrugs)

With that, I'm off. Bye!

TheShadowPanther and Allati, from AASN

AASN; Writing is what we do for you at AASN. Enjoy.

Edited and Replaced 07.29.08