Resting idly in his tower home, the cat god Karin clenched his staff, surveying the Earth down below. His squinted eyes, seemingly unable to see anything, perceived much more than one would believe. As the comings and goings of Majin Bū were apparent to him, the aged martial arts master silently cursed his inability to do more than listen and watch — a useless excuse of a god, when all he could do was provide his student and his friends with the mystical Senzu.
"Hey, Karin. you lookin' off into space again?" Yajirobe, the vagabond samurai, called off to the cat, sitting on the railing of the tower with a bored expression. "It ain't gonna get any livelier around here if you keep on actin' like that, y'know."
"Off into space?" Karin repeated. "No, I'm merely thinking." The cat's nose twitched, and he felt as Goku's presence finally faded from Earth completely. "So, Goku is really gone again...I wish I could have seen him off." His ears twitched next, and he felt himself smile. "Well then...it seems we're going to be having some visitors. Sending them to me, are we, Goku?"
Palace of God
After Goku's departure, Piccolo took the boys and immediately began to run the drills of the Fusion technique again. With nothing left to do, and preferring not to discuss Goku's recent departure for fear of depressing themselves, the group decided to go watch the boys learn their Fusion. All with the exception of Gohan and Erasa, who stood off to the sides, away from the others.
"So, Gohan, who is 'Karin'?" Erasa asked, glancing over at the group to see how how preoccupied they were with the Fusion teachings. "Someone Goku knows?"
"He's a talking cat, and he was one of Dad's teachers," replied Gohan. "I've only met him once, when I was nine. I wasn't really sure what to think of him at the time, but he and Dad got along very well. I suppose I'll have to go meet with him — I can't stand waiting around while Goten and Trunks prepare to risk themselves out there."
Erasa sighed, but it was accompanied by a gentle, understanding smile on her face. "You really do have a heroic compulsion, don't you?" Before Gohan could say anything to protest, Erasa continued on. "But it isn't as if I dislike that about you," she replied, slipping her hand into Gohan's. "So...I'll let you lead the way?"
"Yeah, let's leave them to it," replied Gohan and the two took off from the Palace without so much as a farewell, leaping off towards the surface of the Earth in feverish flight. It was close to the evening now; in fact, the sun was casting the sky into hues of oranges and reds, and the couple had a hard time believing all of this commotion had begun only earlier this very same day. It felt almost like it was a year away; so much had happened in that short time.
They cast a knowing smile at each other — flying like this, it was almost as if Majin Bū and the issues being caused down on Earth were worlds away. Almost, being the operative word, as occasional explosions down on the surface world reminded Gohan and Erasa that this was no romantic flight. Silently, but determinedly, they flew down to Earth, with only each other and the brisk night air to keep them company.
It wasn't long before a landmark could be seen in the distance below; Gohan was the first to spot it.
"There it is!" He said, pointing down towards a figure Erasa could only make out as they got closer. Whether it was Saiyan eyes, ki, a combination of both, Gohan's eyesight was excellent. Under the evening sky, the normally beige tower was bathed in red hues, but Gohan recognized the tower on sight.
"It's...huge!" Erasa's eyes widened. "I never knew this tower existed...!"
"It's a sacred land," replied Gohan. "The Sacred Land of Karin, also known as the Karin Forest. It has an extensive history behind it, and normal people aren't usually let in. The Karinga tribe live here, and protect the Land and the Tower in their own way."
"It's amazing!" Erasa continued to gape, and focused her vision, enabling her to see the tipis that dotted the landscape below the tower. The Karinga tribe were a group of people she'd heard of only in passing during school — they never focused on them for long in the World History sections, and she'd almost thought they were covering an extinct group until now.
Still hand-in-hand, the two descended towards the tower, flying into the gap and landed on the surprisingly well kept stone floor. They were greeted by the sight of two figures Erasa did not recognize, but could immediately guess the identity of one. A blue cat was standing in the middle of the tower, holding a cane with a container dangling from it. Off to the side was a man with scraggly hair and the beginnings of a beard. She assumed the cat was Karin.
"Hello, Master Karin! Yajirobe!" Gohan greeted the two politely, waving to Yajirobe and giving a bow towards Karin; his first meeting with the cat god was awkward, but after his father later explained that Karin was one of his teachers, Gohan had come to develop a late respect for the martial arts master.
"Oh, Gohan!" Yajirobe grinned, looking over towards the young martial artist and his female companion. "What're ya doin' all the way out here? You here for some Senzu? We really should start a business if you're gonna keep comin' to get some; your Dad was just here earlier an' all!"
"No, we're just here to speak with Master Karin," replied Gohan.
Erasa looked at Karin intently, seeming rather nervous, and stepped forward. "Um...you're the one who gave Goku the Senzu for my friend, right? T-Thank you!' The girl bowed quickly, hands on her knees, and face flushed with nervousnes at the idea of speaking with someone like Karin. "You really saved her life!"
Karin's squinted eyes didn't open, but an expression of shock crossed his face. "In the time since I've been dealing with Goku and his friends, this is the first time I've ever been thanked for a Senzu. I appreciate the gratitude, Erasa; you've got a very polite companion, Gohan."
"T-Thanks," both of them stammered at Karin's compliment before Gohan continued on. "We don't mean to intrude, Master Karin, but—"
"There's no need to explain," the martial arts master cut across Gohan's speech easily. "Your father sent you here, didn't you? You want to become stronger — both of you it seems, that's quite some determination I'm feeling — but Goku didn't tell you why, did he?"
"H-How'd you figure all of that out?" gasped Erasa.
"I don't think I'd be much of a wise sage if I wasn't capable of reading minds, could I?" replied the cat cheekily. "But I shouldn't be surprised; Goku kept your hidden power in the dark from everyone, purely for the sake of suspense. I guess this is just how he gets his kicks."
"Why did Dad suggest we come here, Master Karin?" Gohan asked. "I'm not sure if a little last minute training will help; not even in the Room of Spirit and Time..."
"You needn't worry; you aren't here for training proper," replied Karin coyly. "No, instead, if you two want to be able to take this problem into your own hands, you merely need to take a drink. What Goku sent you here for...is the Chōshinsui."
Surface of Earth, Northern Capital
Down on Earth, the situation was beginning to get, if possible, worse. In the time since he had killed Babidi — thus, perhaps an hour at most — Majin Bū had continued to wreak further havoc across Earth. Majin Bū had rampaged through cities, killed and devoured people, healed the eyes of a blind boy, and built himself a house. With only a short rest, the Djinn had resumed his favorite game.
Kill the Earthlings.
It wasn't that Majin Bū was a sadist; destruction was all he knew, and it was fun. Running through the Northern Capital at full speed, Bū bore through several buildings for the sheer fun of it. Leaving gigantic holes, some buildings crumbled and crashed into the ground. With a quick inhale and exhale, the pudgy demon utterly blew buildings apart and sent people flying, dying immediately on impact.
There was screaming, pleads for help, prayers to God, and chaos in the streets. All types of Earthlings, the humanoids and bipedal animals alike, were fleeing, grabbing suitcases, bags, and fleeing the city. In some cases, people were trampling over others, quite literally pushing people aside and trampling anyone unfortunate enough to trip in their hurry to get out of the city.
"Woohoo!" The creature cheered, obviously enjoying this in the same way a young child would be enjoying a stroll through the park or a trip to the playground. With a stretch of his arms, Earthlings were killed the moment he crushed their backs, and other buildings shattered and fell. "Earthlings run, but not run fast enough to get away from Bū!"
As the Djinn continued to rampage through the city, enjoying the sight of the Earthlings running from him, he came across a man in the middle of the road. He was holding his leg, and looking at Bū with an expression of sheer terror, but he did not run, and this confused Bū.
"You!" Majin Bū pointed at the man. "Why you no run from Bū?"
"I-I-I-I can't!" The man stammered in between gasps of pain, desperately wishing he could run from the creature and, in his panic, was answering its questions instead. "My leg...it's broken!"
"Broken?" Bū inclined his head, like a demonic owl, turning it 180-degrees, until it rested like the minute hand pointing to the six on a clock. His squinted eyes opened, looking intently at the man's leg.
"I can't move it!"
"Oh? Is that why loud man no run away from Bū?" inquired the Djinn, straightening his head to face the man normally. "Then Bū fix! Then you can run from Bū!" The antennae on Majin Bū's head twitched, pointing directly at the man. Without the time to even react, be it panic or anything, a bright blue beam of energy shot forward, hitting the man dead-on. Within an instant, his leg was mended.
Shocked, the man touched it gingerly, testing it to feel for any pain. There was none. He blinked rapidly in surprise, looking at Bū.
"Go now. Run away from Bū!"
"You...you healed me..." The man said in awe. "But...aren't...aren't you Bū?"
"That's right!" grinned the Djinn. "Bū can do anything! Was Bū healing you...cool?" It was a question he'd asked multiple people today and only had received a positive answer from one person — the boy he'd healed.
"Um...yeah..." replied the man honestly — half-truthfully, half-hoping if he said yes, Bū would let him go.
"Hee hee!" Bū grinned, his pearly white teeth glistening. "Bū is cool! Okay! You go! You run from Bū now!"
"S-Sure...?" The man was confused, but could not believe his luck, and immediately ran off as quickly as he could, not daring to look back, much less thank Bū out of fear he would change his mind.
Bū, however, was too busy grinning to himself. Two people had said he was cool. But not only that; something about healing that man — and the boy earlier — brought about sleeping urges inside him. They were dormant, but they were there — was this what it was like to help people? The Djinn couldn't help but enjoy the warm feeling for a moment, and after making sure the man he told to run was sufficiently far away, began to wreak havoc upon the North Capital again.
He was still eagerly for the super strong guy that the man with the funny hair had promised him. And until that fighter arrived, Bū would keep himself occupied by destroying cities and people until nothing was left. With Earth's last hopes preoccupied in the Heavenly Realm, the Djinn continued unabated.
But the Earthling still had a Champion left.
With the disappearance of the new Tenkaichi Budōkai champion, Kuririn, the Earthlings had turned back to their old hero for the hope of defeating Majin Bū. Despite his embarrassing loss in the final round of the Tenkaichi Budōkai, they had turned their backs on him. But now, with the entire world thrown into a panic in less than a day, the citizens were now chanting that familiar name again.
"SATAN! SATAN! SATAN! SATAN! SATAN!"
Mark, better known to the world as Mr. Satan, was by no means eager to engage a monster who could destroy cities in any kind of conflict. But, in an effort to redeem himself in the eyes of the public, he knew he had to put on a show.
"CITIZENS OF EARTH!" The man stepped onto a podium in the middle of Satan City, and flashed his victory sign onto an adoring crowd. "LET IT BE KNOWN THAT I, MR. SATAN, WILL VANQUISH THIS MAJIN BŪ FROM OUR FAIR PLANET! YOU CAN RELY ON ME! I WILL BECOME THE SAVIOUR OF EARTH ONCE AGAIN!"
And thus, the 'Champion of Earth' stepped up to the plate.
A/N: And here it is, another chapter. This one is fairly short, compared to most of my others. In fact, I don't think I've had a chapter this short since...Chapter 9, actually. That was one shorter, but only by a few hundred maybe? Short or not, this chapter works well to do what I need it to do; it's a good set-up chapter for things to come in my story. I hope you all look forward to everything I've got planned, and please, reserve judgement until you see it all. Also, to anyone confused, yes, Karin was BLUE in the original manga. The Full Colour Edition made him white, as did the anime, but in the original manga, and in Dragon Ball Online, which follows the manga, he's blue.
So, to anyone who has read the original Dragon Ball (and actually, if you all don't mind, gimme a show of hands in the reviews as to who has read/watched the original Dragon Ball before moving onto Z (the second half of the series), then you will be familiar with the Chōshinsui (超神水, Super God Water), the divine water held by Karin. To those who don't know what it is, you can look it up or simply wait for Karin to explain it in the coming chapters!
Regardless, as always, thanks to Demod20 for looking over my chapter and giving it the looksee to make sure it is postable. I really wanted to get a chapter out before Dragon Ball XenoVerse 2, so I hope you all enjoy this little treat! Happy Halloween to everyone in my readership, and I'll see you soon in the next exciting update of the Erased Chronicles!