Dragon Ball Yugure Z
A Dragon Ball Z fanfiction
by Son Goharotto (son_goharotto@hotmail.com)
Welcome to Dragon Ball Yugure Z, my personal pet project. This is what I like to call a "multi-generational alternaverse epic." Expect a complex story spanning several volumes that are littered with cliff-hangers and titanic battles. DBYZ has been revised in its entirety. While some episodes have merely been ridden of typos, others have been rewritten completely. I'll be starting from the beginning at one episode a day so new readers can join in, undaunted by DBYZ's length, and old readers can review past events. All this is leading up to the new Episode 37, from which I'll try to keep a normal updating pace instead of letting this be forgotten as it once was.
DISCLAIMER: As much as I mgiht wish it not to be, DBZ does not belong to me. It's the property of Akira Toriyama-sama and many others who (unfortunately) aren't me. I'm not trying to make any money off of this and it's just a way for me to show my love of all things Dragon Ball. Well, except maybe GT. Bleah. I is teh poor, so don't sue me.
WARNINGS: As a whole, this series contains mature language (usually in Japanese), graphic violence, brutality, mature situations (non-lemon), and a touch of angst.
NOTES: A liberal amount of Japanese vocabulary is sprinkled throughout, though nothing extremely important is ever said in another language that isn't translated. Mostly just basic Otaku Japanese. I've compiled a list of phrases I use on my homepage here: www.enpitsudo-dojo.com/libjapanese.html.
"dialogue"
""layered voice"" (Fusion, for example)
{alien language}
[thoughts, telepathy, memories]
_stressed words_
*sounds*
~scene change~
Volume II -- 24 Hours
Episode 16 -- The Eager Young Girl!! Goku's first student!!
Popo held the down open, bright white light pouring out as Goku approached.
"Sankyuu, Popo." As Goku stepped inside, a figure dashed out of shadows and darted into the Seishin just before the door closed. "Oi! Dare ga?" he asked. It was a teenage girl and she had darted through the door too fast to slow down, bumping into the Saiyajin. She bounced off his broad chest and stumbled against the door just as it closed behind her. Goku leaned down and took her by the hand, helping the girl to her feet.
Once she was back on her feet, the girl bowed deeply. "Gomen nasai," she replied. As she straightened up, Goku could get a good look at her. She really quite attractive, her big brown eyes watching the Saiyajin like a hawk; but a very pretty hawk. A light yellow mini-dress hung off her shapely, athletic body. Brushing away a lock of rich auburn hair, she smiled. "I'm Paresu."
~~~~~
Amatsu Mikaboshi smiled discreetly behind a jeweled hand. Just a few feet away from him, the young goddess Benzaiten regarded him with a look of utter contempt. "How convenient that one of your lesser pawns has been isolated with my Lord's knight," she said acidly.
"Careful planning; that is the key to winning the game, my dear." Mikaboshi sat back in his throne-like seat and watched with amusement as the samurai deity considered his next move. Laughing, "Do not be so suspicious, my brother. Worrying so will only give you gray hairs."
Over on the game field, Bishamon looked past a lock of long silver hair that lay across his armored shoulder at Mikaboshi. The corner of his mouth turned up in a wry smirk as he looked back at the game. Bishamon watched anxiously, awaiting the first attack, the first anything. It was a moment before he closed his eyes and chuckled softly. "Maybe you're right. I must be getting senile in my old age," he joked.
"That quite alright, little brother. I cannot blame you for suspecting me of foul play. I _had_ intended to use her much later. Unfortunately, she is now a nuisance and is a waste." He said this all with such an air of casual confidence that Bishamon thought nothing of it. Even as much as Benzaiten didn't trust the senior god, she didn't know the truth either. Only one other of the deities knew, but he said nothing.
Across the 'room', Susanoh sat in contemplation. He was known to have a dual personality and at the moment, the serious side came through. The soft folds of the god's simple robes fell about his legs and his geta were standing in a projection of the world's northern mountain range. He had always been aware of Amatsu's underhanded dealings and now the two sides of his persona where arguing whether he should reveal his younger brother's secret.
At the moment, discretion seemed apropos.
~~~~~
Bowing again, "Hajimemashite, Goku-sama. It is an honor to finally meet you."
Confused, the man smiled and scratched the back of his head. "Hai, thanks, I guess. Demo, what are you doing here? Why did you follow me? This is place is dangerous."
"Is it?" Paresu asked innocently, looking around. The interior of the Seishin was bland, a small dias with several beds and a large pantry as the only furnishings. Beyond the small platform was a vast wasteland of pure white that stretched to every horizon. "Looks pretty boring to me," she commented. Shaking her head, "Anyway. I'm your biggest fan, Goku-sama. I watched old recordings of your three Budokais, I've read all about you in martial arts magazines, and I even read your rare interview with Shone Jump," she explained, ticking off points on the slender fingers of one hand.
"Ano," Goku said, blinking in surprise. "I didn't think I was so popular."
"You certainly are with me," the girl responded with a wide, genuine smile. The friendly grin and child-like look in his eyes began to make Paresu irrationally nervous. She tried to look away, but her eyes kept being drawn to the Saiyajin's muscular arms and his tall, strong frame. The man before her was much more than the boy she had become familiar with and she could sense her mild crush growing stronger that very moment. Blushing slightly, the teen looked for a distraction and finally noticed that the duffle bag she ran in with had fallen to the floor. She quickly picked it up and carried it across the room. Setting it down on the bed, "I assumed I would get to spend some time with you. I hope you don't mind..."
"That's alright," Goku assured her. He sat down on the bed next to where she placed her duffle bag, smiling. "We're stuck in here for a year anyway."
That stopped the girl short. "A year!?" she demanded shrilly. "We can't leave this"--she gestured at the emptiness over her shoulder--"for twelve months!?"
The Saiyajin looked down, counting on his hand. "Um...three................ten....twelve. Yeah, that's a year. That door won't open for a full year. I thought I'd be alone, sorry you got dragged into this with me," he apologized.
"Oh. No. That's quite all right." The shock in Paresu's voice faded as the prospect of spending so much time with her idol set in. A blush started to creep across Paresu's face and she nearly buried her head in her duffle bag as if searching for something. "Well, ah, I wanted to ask you something," she said, standing straight. Eyes closed, she took a deep breath and hoped the man would misinterpret the rosy color of her cheeks. "Goku-sama, I would like to be your student and learn martial arts." Paresu removed a large bento out of her bag and handed it to Goku. "This is all food I cooked myself and with great effort. Please take it if it will convince you to accept."
As Goku took it from her, she bowed again. Quiet, he opened the lid and blinked. Various sushi and steamed vegetable shared the cramped space with a heaping of boiled white rice. The Saiyajin recognized shrimp tempura in a small stack next to some teriyaki chicken. He could smell the daikon radish mixed in with--was it the or korokke or the butakakuni? There was even an umeboshi sitting aside a small dish of Hatchou miso. The warrior marveled at the variety of foods that the teen had managed to fit into the relatively small box. "Sugoi," Goku breathed, his eyes wide. "This is...for me?"
"Hai, please take it--" but before Paresu could finish, the Saiyajin was already scarfing it down and she sweat- dropped. "Well, I hope you enjoy it," she said with a hesitant smile.
The man picked up his head from the bento just long enough to mumbled "Oishii!" with a full mouth before continuing. "So Pa--mmm, that's good...*ahem* Paresu-chan, tell me 'bout yourself," Goku managed to say before stuffing his face with the fried beef. "Where're ya *gulp* from?"
Paresu sat down next to the Saiyajin. "Well, I'm originally from Poppy Town. It was part of an old trade route between North City and Central City. But my family moved to Central after Nagareboshi attacked."
"You don't hafta worry about him anymore," Goku assured her. "That bakemono's been taken care off."
"Honto ni? Yokatta," Paresu said, smiling.
"But aren't your tousan and kaasan worried about you?"
".....They were killed. That's why we moved.... I still have my niichan, but he works so much that we don't see each other often. He's a police officer and times have been pretty busy for his precinct lately."
".......uh, does he know you left home?"
"Ha ha, I left a note. He understands that sometimes I just need to go out. As long as I come back, he doesn't really mind. Heck, he goes missing more often than I do."
"Okay," Goku conceded. "As long as it's okay with him."
"What about you're family?" Paresu wondered. "Surely your wife and son..." but she trailed off, seeing the hardening of his expression. "I'm sorry, Goku-sama..."
"Iie, it's fine. They were...killed by Nagareboshi too." The Saiyajin's expression softened and he smiled again. "But I have another kid, Goten. He's just like me, I think you'd like him."
"I'm sure I would," she agreed. "So anyway, will you train me?" The man had long since finished consuming everything in the bento and she was eager for an answer. "I understand if you don't want to..."
"I will, I dunno how good I'll be at it though," he admitted.
The girl stood and bowed once more. "I have confidence in you, Goku-sama."
"Yosh'. We can start right now."
With a laugh of glee, Paresu took her duffle bag in hand and pushed Goku off the bed. "Not yet, I have to get ready. No peeking now," she chided while drawing a curtain over that half of the room. As soon as she felt she had some privacy, the girl pulled a hand-made gi out of her bag. It was made to match Goku's, but there were some obvious modifications to the design. Instead of weighted boots, she put on simple black toes shoes. Also, the weighted blue undershirt had to be replaced by a traditional under-wrapping that would keep her...attributes...comfortably in place while training. Sliding into the loose shirt and pants of a rich orange-hue, she was done. Paresu threw aside the curtain and did a little pose. "Tada!" she said...to an empty room.
"Oh, Paresu-chan?" Goku said, his voice calling out to her from beyond the dias. "I'm out here, lemme know when you're ready!"
"Well that was just spoiled," Paresu muttered. Shaking her head, she stepped out to the platform main's area and looked to the white expanse outside. Goku was easily cycling through a series of kata, his form smooth and flawless. Punches and kicks struck out in a whirlwind that almost made the girl dizzy just watching him. She hurried down the to the end of the dias. "All ri--aaaahhh!!"
Just as Paresu jogged off the lowest step, she suddenly lost her balance. As if pulled down by some unseen hand, she took a rather graceless dive and tumbled to the pristine white 'ground'. The girl landed in a heap and was pinned down by what felt like a ton of sand poured onto her back. Paresu strained to get up with all her strength, but no avail. As the air was beginning to be crushed from her lungs, she choked out a weak, "Tasukete!"
Seeing his new pupil in a painful-looking pile, he hurried over and picked her up, placing the girl back onto the dias. She sprawled out, lungs burning as she gasped for breath. "See? I told you this place was dangerous."
"Arigatou...gozaimasu, Goku-sama. Demo...what in the world was that!? It felt like...someone was trying to pull me through...the ground!"
"This isn't a normal place; the gravity is usually a lot more than back home," Goku explained. "It can get incredibly hot or cold real fast, but only when you're out here. There's some kinda spell or somethin' that makes sure this area"--he rapped the dias floor with a knuckle--"is safe."
"Kami, this is insane!"
"Hai, isn't it? I spent a couple weeks in here when I was young, but I couldn't take it. Good thing I was the only guy here, or I woulda been locked in like we are now," Goku chuckled.
Paresu struggled to a sitting position, wincing as her muscles screamed in protest. "I can't go out there again, I'll be crushed. Now I can't train with you!?" she quailed.
"Relax, I'll get you ready to come out here with me eventually. You still up for it?" Paresu said nothing, but she gave him a slow nod. Standing, "Alright, let's start out slow."
~~~~~
[Hmm... kawatta...] Popo though as the door closed. He hoped that whoever it was that followed Goku into the Seishin wouldn't be too much of a bother.
As he rounded the building headed towards the front, he sized up the day. Dawn hadn't been more than an hour ago and the breeze was refreshingly cool. It would still be quite some time before the sun rose enough to make things too hot; the summer proving to be increasingly unpleasent in the afternoon. Given this, Mr. Popo decided he had more than enough time to get some sweeping done. With only himself left to care for the floating palace, there wasn't a lot of serious work to do and the djinn spent most of his time with his crafts. But for the moment, he would happily spend a few hours in the massive courtyard with a broom in hand, admiring the trees and the butterflies and the space ships. [Space ships!?]
Popo watched in awe as a Namek-seijin style space ship soundlessly descended to the Tenkai courtyard. It slowed to landing speed, kicking up a strong--but clean thanks to Popo's sweeping--gust of wind. He hurried over to see what it could be and came to a stop between the 'legs' of the aging ship, waiting for its occupant to make itself known. A minute passed and nothing happened, so the djinn grew anxious. "Piccolo," he said at last.
The bottom hatch jolted, then began to float down to the ground, opening into the ship's interior. Before it descended a foot, someone obviously wasn't paying attention as they stepped through the exit and tumbled to the hatch with a surprised shout. As it finally descended to the courtyard floor, Popo was surprised to see a young Namek-seijin sprawled out on the hatch, a bit dazed. "I wasn't expecting that," he murmured under his breath. The boy appeared quite young, but Popo's experience with the race gave him the impression the alien was in his older than he seemed. Looking up, "How'd you open the hatch? It only responds to commands given in Namek-seigo."
"Kam--ano, Piccolo taught Popo the language," the djinn explained as he helped the young Namek-seijin to his feet.
"Piccolo!?" he echoed, sounding shocked. Quickly, an expression of dawning understanding appeared on his face. "That's right, the Kami of this planet was probably named Piccolo as well." He shook his head, as if suddenly aware Popo was right there. "Sumimasen, my name is Dende."
A Dragon Ball Z fanfiction
by Son Goharotto (son_goharotto@hotmail.com)
Welcome to Dragon Ball Yugure Z, my personal pet project. This is what I like to call a "multi-generational alternaverse epic." Expect a complex story spanning several volumes that are littered with cliff-hangers and titanic battles. DBYZ has been revised in its entirety. While some episodes have merely been ridden of typos, others have been rewritten completely. I'll be starting from the beginning at one episode a day so new readers can join in, undaunted by DBYZ's length, and old readers can review past events. All this is leading up to the new Episode 37, from which I'll try to keep a normal updating pace instead of letting this be forgotten as it once was.
DISCLAIMER: As much as I mgiht wish it not to be, DBZ does not belong to me. It's the property of Akira Toriyama-sama and many others who (unfortunately) aren't me. I'm not trying to make any money off of this and it's just a way for me to show my love of all things Dragon Ball. Well, except maybe GT. Bleah. I is teh poor, so don't sue me.
WARNINGS: As a whole, this series contains mature language (usually in Japanese), graphic violence, brutality, mature situations (non-lemon), and a touch of angst.
NOTES: A liberal amount of Japanese vocabulary is sprinkled throughout, though nothing extremely important is ever said in another language that isn't translated. Mostly just basic Otaku Japanese. I've compiled a list of phrases I use on my homepage here: www.enpitsudo-dojo.com/libjapanese.html.
"dialogue"
""layered voice"" (Fusion, for example)
{alien language}
[thoughts, telepathy, memories]
_stressed words_
*sounds*
~scene change~
Volume II -- 24 Hours
Episode 16 -- The Eager Young Girl!! Goku's first student!!
Popo held the down open, bright white light pouring out as Goku approached.
"Sankyuu, Popo." As Goku stepped inside, a figure dashed out of shadows and darted into the Seishin just before the door closed. "Oi! Dare ga?" he asked. It was a teenage girl and she had darted through the door too fast to slow down, bumping into the Saiyajin. She bounced off his broad chest and stumbled against the door just as it closed behind her. Goku leaned down and took her by the hand, helping the girl to her feet.
Once she was back on her feet, the girl bowed deeply. "Gomen nasai," she replied. As she straightened up, Goku could get a good look at her. She really quite attractive, her big brown eyes watching the Saiyajin like a hawk; but a very pretty hawk. A light yellow mini-dress hung off her shapely, athletic body. Brushing away a lock of rich auburn hair, she smiled. "I'm Paresu."
~~~~~
Amatsu Mikaboshi smiled discreetly behind a jeweled hand. Just a few feet away from him, the young goddess Benzaiten regarded him with a look of utter contempt. "How convenient that one of your lesser pawns has been isolated with my Lord's knight," she said acidly.
"Careful planning; that is the key to winning the game, my dear." Mikaboshi sat back in his throne-like seat and watched with amusement as the samurai deity considered his next move. Laughing, "Do not be so suspicious, my brother. Worrying so will only give you gray hairs."
Over on the game field, Bishamon looked past a lock of long silver hair that lay across his armored shoulder at Mikaboshi. The corner of his mouth turned up in a wry smirk as he looked back at the game. Bishamon watched anxiously, awaiting the first attack, the first anything. It was a moment before he closed his eyes and chuckled softly. "Maybe you're right. I must be getting senile in my old age," he joked.
"That quite alright, little brother. I cannot blame you for suspecting me of foul play. I _had_ intended to use her much later. Unfortunately, she is now a nuisance and is a waste." He said this all with such an air of casual confidence that Bishamon thought nothing of it. Even as much as Benzaiten didn't trust the senior god, she didn't know the truth either. Only one other of the deities knew, but he said nothing.
Across the 'room', Susanoh sat in contemplation. He was known to have a dual personality and at the moment, the serious side came through. The soft folds of the god's simple robes fell about his legs and his geta were standing in a projection of the world's northern mountain range. He had always been aware of Amatsu's underhanded dealings and now the two sides of his persona where arguing whether he should reveal his younger brother's secret.
At the moment, discretion seemed apropos.
~~~~~
Bowing again, "Hajimemashite, Goku-sama. It is an honor to finally meet you."
Confused, the man smiled and scratched the back of his head. "Hai, thanks, I guess. Demo, what are you doing here? Why did you follow me? This is place is dangerous."
"Is it?" Paresu asked innocently, looking around. The interior of the Seishin was bland, a small dias with several beds and a large pantry as the only furnishings. Beyond the small platform was a vast wasteland of pure white that stretched to every horizon. "Looks pretty boring to me," she commented. Shaking her head, "Anyway. I'm your biggest fan, Goku-sama. I watched old recordings of your three Budokais, I've read all about you in martial arts magazines, and I even read your rare interview with Shone Jump," she explained, ticking off points on the slender fingers of one hand.
"Ano," Goku said, blinking in surprise. "I didn't think I was so popular."
"You certainly are with me," the girl responded with a wide, genuine smile. The friendly grin and child-like look in his eyes began to make Paresu irrationally nervous. She tried to look away, but her eyes kept being drawn to the Saiyajin's muscular arms and his tall, strong frame. The man before her was much more than the boy she had become familiar with and she could sense her mild crush growing stronger that very moment. Blushing slightly, the teen looked for a distraction and finally noticed that the duffle bag she ran in with had fallen to the floor. She quickly picked it up and carried it across the room. Setting it down on the bed, "I assumed I would get to spend some time with you. I hope you don't mind..."
"That's alright," Goku assured her. He sat down on the bed next to where she placed her duffle bag, smiling. "We're stuck in here for a year anyway."
That stopped the girl short. "A year!?" she demanded shrilly. "We can't leave this"--she gestured at the emptiness over her shoulder--"for twelve months!?"
The Saiyajin looked down, counting on his hand. "Um...three................ten....twelve. Yeah, that's a year. That door won't open for a full year. I thought I'd be alone, sorry you got dragged into this with me," he apologized.
"Oh. No. That's quite all right." The shock in Paresu's voice faded as the prospect of spending so much time with her idol set in. A blush started to creep across Paresu's face and she nearly buried her head in her duffle bag as if searching for something. "Well, ah, I wanted to ask you something," she said, standing straight. Eyes closed, she took a deep breath and hoped the man would misinterpret the rosy color of her cheeks. "Goku-sama, I would like to be your student and learn martial arts." Paresu removed a large bento out of her bag and handed it to Goku. "This is all food I cooked myself and with great effort. Please take it if it will convince you to accept."
As Goku took it from her, she bowed again. Quiet, he opened the lid and blinked. Various sushi and steamed vegetable shared the cramped space with a heaping of boiled white rice. The Saiyajin recognized shrimp tempura in a small stack next to some teriyaki chicken. He could smell the daikon radish mixed in with--was it the or korokke or the butakakuni? There was even an umeboshi sitting aside a small dish of Hatchou miso. The warrior marveled at the variety of foods that the teen had managed to fit into the relatively small box. "Sugoi," Goku breathed, his eyes wide. "This is...for me?"
"Hai, please take it--" but before Paresu could finish, the Saiyajin was already scarfing it down and she sweat- dropped. "Well, I hope you enjoy it," she said with a hesitant smile.
The man picked up his head from the bento just long enough to mumbled "Oishii!" with a full mouth before continuing. "So Pa--mmm, that's good...*ahem* Paresu-chan, tell me 'bout yourself," Goku managed to say before stuffing his face with the fried beef. "Where're ya *gulp* from?"
Paresu sat down next to the Saiyajin. "Well, I'm originally from Poppy Town. It was part of an old trade route between North City and Central City. But my family moved to Central after Nagareboshi attacked."
"You don't hafta worry about him anymore," Goku assured her. "That bakemono's been taken care off."
"Honto ni? Yokatta," Paresu said, smiling.
"But aren't your tousan and kaasan worried about you?"
".....They were killed. That's why we moved.... I still have my niichan, but he works so much that we don't see each other often. He's a police officer and times have been pretty busy for his precinct lately."
".......uh, does he know you left home?"
"Ha ha, I left a note. He understands that sometimes I just need to go out. As long as I come back, he doesn't really mind. Heck, he goes missing more often than I do."
"Okay," Goku conceded. "As long as it's okay with him."
"What about you're family?" Paresu wondered. "Surely your wife and son..." but she trailed off, seeing the hardening of his expression. "I'm sorry, Goku-sama..."
"Iie, it's fine. They were...killed by Nagareboshi too." The Saiyajin's expression softened and he smiled again. "But I have another kid, Goten. He's just like me, I think you'd like him."
"I'm sure I would," she agreed. "So anyway, will you train me?" The man had long since finished consuming everything in the bento and she was eager for an answer. "I understand if you don't want to..."
"I will, I dunno how good I'll be at it though," he admitted.
The girl stood and bowed once more. "I have confidence in you, Goku-sama."
"Yosh'. We can start right now."
With a laugh of glee, Paresu took her duffle bag in hand and pushed Goku off the bed. "Not yet, I have to get ready. No peeking now," she chided while drawing a curtain over that half of the room. As soon as she felt she had some privacy, the girl pulled a hand-made gi out of her bag. It was made to match Goku's, but there were some obvious modifications to the design. Instead of weighted boots, she put on simple black toes shoes. Also, the weighted blue undershirt had to be replaced by a traditional under-wrapping that would keep her...attributes...comfortably in place while training. Sliding into the loose shirt and pants of a rich orange-hue, she was done. Paresu threw aside the curtain and did a little pose. "Tada!" she said...to an empty room.
"Oh, Paresu-chan?" Goku said, his voice calling out to her from beyond the dias. "I'm out here, lemme know when you're ready!"
"Well that was just spoiled," Paresu muttered. Shaking her head, she stepped out to the platform main's area and looked to the white expanse outside. Goku was easily cycling through a series of kata, his form smooth and flawless. Punches and kicks struck out in a whirlwind that almost made the girl dizzy just watching him. She hurried down the to the end of the dias. "All ri--aaaahhh!!"
Just as Paresu jogged off the lowest step, she suddenly lost her balance. As if pulled down by some unseen hand, she took a rather graceless dive and tumbled to the pristine white 'ground'. The girl landed in a heap and was pinned down by what felt like a ton of sand poured onto her back. Paresu strained to get up with all her strength, but no avail. As the air was beginning to be crushed from her lungs, she choked out a weak, "Tasukete!"
Seeing his new pupil in a painful-looking pile, he hurried over and picked her up, placing the girl back onto the dias. She sprawled out, lungs burning as she gasped for breath. "See? I told you this place was dangerous."
"Arigatou...gozaimasu, Goku-sama. Demo...what in the world was that!? It felt like...someone was trying to pull me through...the ground!"
"This isn't a normal place; the gravity is usually a lot more than back home," Goku explained. "It can get incredibly hot or cold real fast, but only when you're out here. There's some kinda spell or somethin' that makes sure this area"--he rapped the dias floor with a knuckle--"is safe."
"Kami, this is insane!"
"Hai, isn't it? I spent a couple weeks in here when I was young, but I couldn't take it. Good thing I was the only guy here, or I woulda been locked in like we are now," Goku chuckled.
Paresu struggled to a sitting position, wincing as her muscles screamed in protest. "I can't go out there again, I'll be crushed. Now I can't train with you!?" she quailed.
"Relax, I'll get you ready to come out here with me eventually. You still up for it?" Paresu said nothing, but she gave him a slow nod. Standing, "Alright, let's start out slow."
~~~~~
[Hmm... kawatta...] Popo though as the door closed. He hoped that whoever it was that followed Goku into the Seishin wouldn't be too much of a bother.
As he rounded the building headed towards the front, he sized up the day. Dawn hadn't been more than an hour ago and the breeze was refreshingly cool. It would still be quite some time before the sun rose enough to make things too hot; the summer proving to be increasingly unpleasent in the afternoon. Given this, Mr. Popo decided he had more than enough time to get some sweeping done. With only himself left to care for the floating palace, there wasn't a lot of serious work to do and the djinn spent most of his time with his crafts. But for the moment, he would happily spend a few hours in the massive courtyard with a broom in hand, admiring the trees and the butterflies and the space ships. [Space ships!?]
Popo watched in awe as a Namek-seijin style space ship soundlessly descended to the Tenkai courtyard. It slowed to landing speed, kicking up a strong--but clean thanks to Popo's sweeping--gust of wind. He hurried over to see what it could be and came to a stop between the 'legs' of the aging ship, waiting for its occupant to make itself known. A minute passed and nothing happened, so the djinn grew anxious. "Piccolo," he said at last.
The bottom hatch jolted, then began to float down to the ground, opening into the ship's interior. Before it descended a foot, someone obviously wasn't paying attention as they stepped through the exit and tumbled to the hatch with a surprised shout. As it finally descended to the courtyard floor, Popo was surprised to see a young Namek-seijin sprawled out on the hatch, a bit dazed. "I wasn't expecting that," he murmured under his breath. The boy appeared quite young, but Popo's experience with the race gave him the impression the alien was in his older than he seemed. Looking up, "How'd you open the hatch? It only responds to commands given in Namek-seigo."
"Kam--ano, Piccolo taught Popo the language," the djinn explained as he helped the young Namek-seijin to his feet.
"Piccolo!?" he echoed, sounding shocked. Quickly, an expression of dawning understanding appeared on his face. "That's right, the Kami of this planet was probably named Piccolo as well." He shook his head, as if suddenly aware Popo was right there. "Sumimasen, my name is Dende."