The Soul and The Flesh Part X Raimi looked around at the next stop, and was rather awed by the sight before her. She recognized it from the Manga as Enma-Daio's palace, but was still amazed by the scale of the place. Then she noticed that the wooden wall before her was in fact a desk, behind which sat the hugest man, uh Oni, she had ever seen. Easily fifty feet tall, Enma peered down at her, looking menacing in his horned helmet.

"KAAA-MIII! What are you doing bringing another person here so soon? Do you think I've got loads of free time to talk to your pets?" Enma boomed. Kami blushed as Raimi frowned, miffed by this example of poor manners.

"Excuse me, but aren't you supposed to greet guests with words like "Hello" or maybe "How do you do"? For the King of the Other World, you have very poor manners. I say you should start over, hmmm?" She said. Enma's black eyes rested on her in amazement, as the entire palace went silent with shock. The two head oni were appalled, and shivering in fear in their corners. Kami want a pale sea-foam green next to her.

"Well? I know you are busy, but that is NO reason to yell at the poor Kami. I think you need to take a break, have some coffee, get some air." Raimi continued boldly. Enma's stunned face went red, and his giant chest puffed up, like he was going to roar at her. To everyone's surprise, he began to laugh instead. He laughed so hard, that he could only wave at them, tears running down his dark cheeks. The two nervous oni fainted, as Kami gaped up at the laughing King. Raimi was laughing too, relieved by the fact that the big guy wasn't going to kill her. Yet.

"Ok, I admit it." Enma gasped, then laughed more. "I must apologize. Will you and Kami join me in some tea?" He asked; he stood, and led them out of the room. He took them to a little (In Enma's scale) patio, where Kami and Raimi floated up onto a table and found another table on it in their size. After a nervous little oni brought them tea and cakes, Enma asked Kami why he was visiting with another Earth person, and this one not even dead yet.

"Well, I was wondering if you could look in The Book, and see what the story is with her appearance in my world, King Enma. Why is it that I now have two Saiyans on Earth when everyone believed them all but extinct?" Kami said as he sipped his water. Raimi looked up from her blue tea, surprised by the idea. Of course this was intriguing, but a little scary. And how did Kami know about Saiyans? He hadn't known that Goku was a Saiyan before…or had he?

"I'm not sure Kami, The Book is sacred. And besides, the few times people have looked at their lives, they have gone insane or died from shock." Enma reminded him. Kami nodded.

"I know, but I was hoping, that maybe Raimi would give me permission to look for her. She would have trust me, since I can't tell her everything, but…"
"Oh, yes, I wouldn't mind! Please, King Enma, I'd like to know what's going on here!" Raimi said excitedly. Enma sighed and thought for a moment. He looked at her, thinking…

"I suppose so. Yes, I'll allow it, but both Kami-sama and myself will look, and we both decide what to tell you, and how much detail. Do you agree to these conditions?" He looked at her balefully. She swallowed, and nodded. She wasn't entirely happy with this, but couldn't argue about it. So they now set off to Enma's desk again. Once there, Kami and Enma peered into Enma's little black book. Raimi stood on the floor, shifting from foot to foot, trying to be patient. The pair of gods hummed and exclaimed for quite some time, before they turned back to her. She felt a chill of fear at the look on their faces.

"Uh, well, it's like this…" Kami said.
"You are a Spirit that had moved on. Somehow, and the details are not clear on how it happened, you moved into the body you now inhabit. She was born here, and was supposed to die ten days from now. There was no notation of what you are to do, and no information about your future. So basically, there is nothing really to tell you." Enma said simply. Raimi stared up at them, then frowned.

"No, that can't be it. There was more, but you won't tell me, will you?" She said quietly. Kami sighed.
"Actually, there really isn't. We spent all that time looking for cross-references. Goku claimed to know you, so we looked for a reason why. There was no information under his life. But…"

"Kami, that's all!" Enma said. Kami nodded. Enma shook his head. "Go back to your training, Raimi. You will need every second you can get, if you really want to help your new friends."

One month later, Raimi was furiously working out, reworking the moves that Kurilin and Yamcha had helped her to learn. She had picked them up with surprising ease; making her wonder about the girl whose flesh she now lived in. Did she know Martial Arts? Who was she really? Or maybe that should be, who had she been…

Now she was learning how to fight, how to craft Chi forms, such as beams balls and discs, and other skill that would be essential in fighting the Saiyans. She knew she had a long way to go, but if four-year-old Gohan could become a warrior, she certainly could!

But right now, she was simmering with anger, trying to work it out of her system. She was drenched with sweat, pushing her weighted down body as hard as she dared. She was struggling even harder with her raging emotions. She had been frustrated ever since Kami-sama had brought her back, and she couldn't seem to shake it. She had never been one to stay angry for very long, but now, her emotions were very high. Of course, she had just died, but that didn't seem very real somehow. Nothing did. So, why…she grunted as she felt someone land on her back. Her arms, already shaking for the strain of thousands of push-ups, gave out on her, and she ended up flat on her face.

"Hey Raimi, want some lunch?" She heard Kurilin say. She looked over her shoulder at him, glaring. He smiled in that goofy way he had, and she had to laugh.
"Well, that's mighty nice of ya, Kurilin. You must have heard my stomach growling." She said, and then pushed herself up again. He stepped off her back, and she sat up, panting slightly. She was dripping with sweat, and felt self conscious in front of him like that. He nodded in approval, smiling at her.

"You know, Bulma would have showered three times by now. You really work hard, don't you?" He asked. She shrugged. "I have so far to go. I don't feel like I'll be of much help with only a years worth of training. Still, there's no way out but through." They stood and headed for the palace dining area. Later, while she was sparring with Tien, was when IT happened for the first time.

Tien was actually very nice, but very stiff. He was hard to get truly close to, and was very loyal when you did finally get on his good side. He was slowly including Raimi in his list of friends, but was still the hardest on her, sometimes leaving her breathless and bruised after they sparred. Raimi's arms still ached from her very first session with him, weeks later. Now he was working with her, yelling freeze when she did something incorrectly, and showing her how to improve her moves.

"That's better, yeah, try to get my face, I'm going for yours…" He said as she tried to get by his guard. She was still a little peeved, and her speed seemed improved by this. Then she swung at him and he caught her fist in his hand. He smiled and squeezed here hand painfully. She frowned and he swung low with his free hand, which she caught. Now they were caught in a stand off, neither willing to give up their holds. Who ever got free first would have the advantage. She grimaced with pain as Tien ground her hand bones together, and returned the favor to his wrist. He winced, but didn't make a sound.

They were pushing their power hard, when Raimi realized that she wasn't quite strong enough to beat him. She bared her teeth with fury, her anger igniting into full-blown rage. Tien didn't realize that she was angry, but the others felt both of their Chi rising higher and higher, and came to watch the action. Yamcha and Kurilin were amazed to find the pair standing absolutely still, only their arms trembling with effort. Chauzu and Yajirobei looked at each other and shrugged baffled as well. Kami and Mr. Popo were coming out when something happened to Raimi.

She gasped as she felt a strange heat start in her bones, and race though her body. Her Chi was visible around her, as was Tien's, but now it was flaring even higher, a raging blue-violet flame. The guy's heard a high whine, then were blown back by a concussion, like an explosion, as Raimi screamed, releasing Tien and jumping back, grabbing her head. Tien stared in amazement, as he felt her Chi jump to a much higher level than any of them had ever felt her achieve before. She bit her lips, as she felt the fire seem to consume her body; she felt dizzy, and knew she couldn't take much more of this. Her Chi dissipated, and she fell to the side, unconscious. Kurilin ran over to her, but she seemed unhurt. Yamcha picked her up and took her to her room, while Kami asked Tien what had happened.

"I don't know, she just…exploded! She was losing, too. I'd swear she wasn't strong enough to beat me, but she wouldn't give up. Then, BOOM! What do you think just happened?" Tien said. Kami didn't answer for a moment. He looked at Kurilin, who was looking after Yamcha as he carried her away.

"What do you think Kurilin?" Kami asked.
"Well…I know that Goku could become stronger real fast, and he wanted to win no matter what, so…maybe it's because they are Saiyans? Still, Goku never did that…" He replied slowly. Kami nodded. Yamcha came back out.

"She's out cold, but I could feel it, even in her sleep. She's hot, and her Chi was still high, made me tingle. What was that?" He asked. Kami held up his hand for quiet. He took a deep breath to speak, then shook his head.

"I don't really know what happened. She did seem to get much stronger in those few seconds, but I don't know how or why. I'll ask her what she thinks when she wakes up."