DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Super or Dragon Ball Heroes.
AN(1): I recently learned the difference between 'passive writing' and 'active writing'. I'll be shifting to a more present tense style this chapter onwards. This is something I've been meaning to do, but couldn't for some reason that I can't think of anymore.
Chapter 12: Kami's Lookout, Part 1.
The Lookout was exactly how I imagined it would look. A large, circular platform of white-gray tiles, with the entryway ladder flanked by two long lines of planted palm trees. Bushy, evergreen trees were planted along the edges of the floating platform. On the opposite end of the entry ladder was the main building; a huge, eastern-styled building, with beautiful white walls, pristine golden roof, and three lovely pink overhangs that covered the three building entrances.
Two identical buildings sat beside the main one; slightly different and smaller than the center building, but complete duplicates of each-other. Four towers were also on the building-side of the Lookout, with each tower having an incredibly thin body and massive top. They were shaped like Korin's Tower, but radically smaller.
"Alright, off." I said. I couldn't sense anyone here, and I was beginning to grow nervous as time passed. If there was no one home, we wouldn't survive the next battle.
"Nah, I'm good." Saiya said, not even a token attempt to dislodge herself from my back. Even with our energy suppressed I could feel how alert she actually was. "The air's thin up here."
I nodded my head while looking around. The thin air reminded me of stories I heard of Tibet, how normal people would faint immediately on reaching the top. It was incredible that we weren't more negatively affected by the air, but we also weren't human.
It was surprisingly easy to forget that, every breath I took and every stretch I did in this world didn't leave me with any sense of post-humanity crisis. I felt alive, and every day I was alive was a day I was happy.
"Congratulations." The voice came from right behind us. On instinct Saiya and I jumped apart, turning around and slipping into fighting stances. The feeling of suppression on my ki reserves wasn't a good sign, but at least we were getting a good look at whoever managed to slide between us and the ladder.
He was tall—roughly my height—and green. Large spots of pink muscle decorated his exposed arms and stomach. He had no hair on his head, his ears were pointed and his expression was that of a stoic glare. He wore baggy white pants, a long blue vest, pointed brown boots, and a strange, poofy white scarf. The scarf's strangeness came from the fact it was circular, having no tail end and instead just sitting there.
I recognized what he was instantly, but not who he was. The past month had been so hectic that my Dragon Ball knowledge was getting pushed aside, throwing out info from the show that didn't line up with what was actually happening. It was, after all, just a show before now.
Now that information was the difference between life or death. I had to throw out any headcanons or fan interpretations of powers and abilities since I got here. Working with any amount of misinformation was a one-way trip to an early grave.
"Few of the Reincarnated make it this far, falling prey to each-other or to their own hubris." The elf-like stranger said. "The flight must've been hard on your body and mind. Would you join us for some tea?"
I couldn't get a read on him, and the inability to sense his ki didn't reassure me in any way. But logic won out in the end. It just wouldn't make any sense for him to want us to be aware of his presence before attacking. So I relaxed my stance, Saiya hesitantly following my example.
She still didn't look close to trusting this man, and her doubts were warranted. After all, why would this guy appear behind us if it wasn't for a sneak attack of sorts?
"Tea would be..." Glancing at my partner, she kept looking back-and-forth between the stranger and I. All she gave me was a semi-confused shrug. "Tea would be lovely."
"Then please, come with me." The stranger said, lifting one foot slightly. His boot slammed into the ground—
He vanished, one second he was there and the next he wasn't. The sudden roar of wind drowned out my hearing and an intense buffeting of air pressure slammed into me. I shut my eyes tight and covered my face with my arms, waiting for the out-of-nowhere force to die down.
"What the fuck?!" I heard my partner yell, it was a sentiment I definitely shared!
The wind eventually stopped, the roar dulling to a gentle nothing, and it seemed I was free to open my eyes again. He was still gone, no idea where he vanished to—
My question as to where he went was answered pretty quick.
"H-hey, Arcos." Saiya said, "My eyes are working, right?"
"Probably."
Kami's Lookout was a large platform—a large platform—and it looked to be quite the distance from where we were standing to the building itself. Yet, in the few seconds Saiya and I were being pushed by the sudden burst of wind, the stoic stranger had already cleared the entire distance.
I never saw him move; I never felt him move, only the displacement of air gave any indication that he didn't just teleport!
"Well." I said. "We're not gonna get answers just standing around."
"You think the tea's gonna be any good?"
"At this point? I hope so."
The tea was pretty good. I used to not really like tea, but eventually my taste for the brew changed from uninterested to very enjoyable. I hadn't had many different flavors of tea, so I had no real point of reference for the warm drink I was handed.
The cups we were offered followed the red, white, gold, and pink coloration. Beautiful, white ceramic body, pink interior and rim, gold colored handle and etchings, and the bottom part of the cup was a dark shade of red.
The room we found ourselves in, and the interior of the building in general, also followed this pattern. Even the couch we were sitting on had the same color scheme.
Elegant, eastern-styled, and very roomy. That described a lot of the Lookout now that I think about it.
The room itself was circular and homey looking; a pair of couches, a lovely table in the middle of said couches, and a set of stairs that led downwards.
The stranger sat opposite us, his entire demeanor so familiar. The fact the tea was already prepared and set on the table caught me off-guard at first, but it's not hard to assume that someone else that lived here could probably sense us and made the tea accordingly.
But even with that in mind, everything felt off.
"I have a couple questions."
"I'm sure you do." The stranger said. "Keep in mind that I cannot answer too much. You will have to wait for answers to any of your more intense questions."
"Why do we have to wait?" Saiya said, leaning as far back into the couch as she could. I didn't blame her, the couch was very comfy.
"Kami." The stranger continued. "He is preparing your next trial and will be able to answer more than I am allowed. You wait not for a want of inconvenience, but for him to finish his work."
"What's your name?" I was honestly glad my partner asked this instead of me. I didn't want to give away that I couldn't actually remember the guy's name.
"I am Nail, warrior from the planet Namek."
That was why it felt like it was on the tip of my tongue! In the show Nail was this cool, stoic warrior. But the episodes he showed in are a drop-in-the-bucket compared to how many episodes and movies there are now.
Nail's ears suddenly perked upwards. The way he was leaning and the occasional nod made it obvious he was listening to someone talking to him.
'What—" I cut Saiya off with a finger to her lips. Rude though it may have been—
I should've seen her biting my finger coming. She didn't bite down hard, just a playful chomp that sent shivers up my spine. The smuggest of smiles was on her face when I pulled my finger back, as she snuggled deeper into the couch's corner.
Nail stood from his own couch, giving a quick nod and a short statement on how he'd return before he walked down the stairs. I took the time to just, take my friend in. After almost a month, after fighting for my life and nearly dying, I now want to bask in every moment spent doing nothing. And now, while waiting for Nail to return from wherever-he-went, I decided to just enjoy my partner's presence.
The only trace Saiya had of her old outfit were her earrings. She now had a pair of brown combat boots, some blue skinny jeans, and a baggy, long-sleeved shirt that had the words 'SHIRT' written in bold, capital letters. I had a shirt just like it, but it wasn't as baggy and I couldn't find it. I had to settle for my usual pants and a random muscle shirt—
Wait a second...
"Are you wearing my shirt?" I said. I had wondered where that went. It was my favorite shirt so far.
"Did you only just now notice?!"
The bafflement in Saiya's voice was probably warranted.
"...yes…?"
The silence seemed to stretch on forever. Nail wasn't here to break the awkward silence, Saiya eye's furrowed as she looked at me, and I felt a little dumb for not noticing the shirt earlier. It wasn't that I didn't see it, I probably just didn't register it.
That happens a lot in my life, seeing something and just not registering it.
"You are..." I could literally see her fumble for the right words to say it as gently as possible. "Incredible."
Oh? That wasn't what I expected.
"You can spot the most minute of details," she continued, "and completely pick apart the way a person functions almost immediately… but you didn't see the clothes I picked out for today. That's genuinely impressive."
So this was what a backhanded compliment really felt like.
"Thank you, I think?"
"It was a compliment?" Her face scrunched up in confusion as she said it, turning a statement into a question.
"You don't sound too sure about that."
"Shut up." She poked me in the cheek. "It's a compliment now, take it like one."
"Alright." I said, my mind elsewhere. Nail being on Kami's Lookout complicated things, made whatever I thought I knew incorrect.
"Hey." The finger still on my cheek turned into a light caress, a soft hand cooling the side of my face. "You okay?"
"I'm fine—"
"I can literally feel your doubt."
My own hand closed around hers, both against my cheek, before I answered.
"Nail shouldn't be here."
"You mean on the Lookout?"
"Right. He's a Namekian warrior, from the planet Namek. Him being here complicates things in ways I don't know how to predict."
"You're—" A sudden yawn cut her off. We hadn't been awake for very long, maybe only 4ish hours, but I felt like I just pulled an all-nighter. Saiya seemed to have it worse than me, judging from her eyes drooping as she started nodding off. "What… the… fuck?"
She didn't get a chance to say anything else, falling backwards into the couch's corner and passing out. The only reason I hadn't passed out as quickly was because I couldn't sleep while sitting, never found out why. But sleep was beginning to erode even that last defense.
Saiya's snores were the last straw and I felt myself cradled in the familiar embrace of dreaming.
AN(2): This is a short chapter, but hopefully you all enjoyed it anyway. I hope the different style isn't too jarring, I've been meaning to shift the story to more present tense since chapter 3ish.
It was actually my birthday not too long ago, so that was fun.
Remember to review, favorite, follow, or don't!
Take care and stay safe.