Chapter 5

"NOOOO!" a woman was screaming. "JUDITH!" she screamed. 'Hey, that's my name.' Judith looked back at the woman. 'I think I know her.' Judith looked down at herself, she was small, no more than 5 years old. Someone was holding her, carrying her away from the screaming women. She looked up at the figure that was carrying her, but she could not decern a face, it was black and blurry. A loud noise cracked through the air, a flash of white light, an agonizing scream, heat from a raging inferno … "Zama-!"

"Suu!" Judith yelled sitting up in her bed, she was dripping with sweat. Her heart was racing, her breath shaky. 'A dream?' she thought. 'Just a dream.' She sighed. She noticed she was trembling.

It was morning, the sun was pleasantly streaming in through her patio doors. She had somehow made it to bed… but how? 'There was something.' She tried her best to remember, but the thought slipped away. She noticed she was still wearing her dress from yesterday. Yesterday. The library. The look on his face. Her mind froze and rewind. Zamasu. He was supposed to come get her after he finished his training with Gowasu.

'That jerk just left me locked in there!' her unsettling dream was suddenly the last thing on her mind. 'Ohohoh, he is going to get a piece of my mind!' she thought flying out of bed and determinedly walked toward the door. She paused as she passed a mirror and glanced at her reflection. She looked quite the mess. 'Maybe I should clean up first.' She decided. 'And then, he will get a piece of my mind!' She walked into the bathroom.

… the temple courtyard …

Gowasu and Zamasu had reached the temple courtyard. Zamasu had felt Judith's Ki shift a few moments ago, her energy felt… wrong. If Gowasu had noticed it, he said nothing to his apprentice. Her energy had returned to normal now.

"Why don't you prepare some fresh tea for us Zamasu?"

"Yes Master." He bowed and turned to leave when Gowasu added: "But first see if you can find Lady Judith." Zamasu stopped dead in his tracks, he slowly turned back to Gowasu with a look of incredulity on his face. Gowasu continued to speak, oblivious to his apprentice's expression. "I have not had the pleasure of sharing a cup of tea in her company."

"With respect Master Gowasu…" Zamasu was cut short by his master. "I thought I made myself clear on this subject Zamasu." Gowasu's voice was stern. Zamasu bit on his teeth. 'Does this old fool truly want me, me the future supreme kai, to go fetch this human just so he can have tea with her?' Zamasu felt his anger swell.

Just then, the double doors leading to the left of the courtyard swung open, both Gowasu and Zamasu turned at the sudden disturbance.

There she was, her presence was more commanding than before, Zamasu noted before he saw the vein on her temple. His silver eyes met her yellow ones. She had the most exceptional eye colour, he mused. The irises were an extremely light brown, almost yellow and just around the pupil a thin sliver of red made its way around the circumference of each pupil. It was this sliver of red that seemed to be growing with her annoyance.

Despite all Judith's attempts at preparing herself for when she saw him this morning, she could not help but feel the familiar fluttering in her stomach the moment their eyes met.

'Remember your resolve Judith!' she reminded herself as she felt her heart begin to melt under his intense gaze.

The effect she had on him was truly unprecedented. As she stood there, looking at him, he found it difficult to breath or even move.

'Remember your resolve Zamasu!' he reminded himself.

"Good morning my dear!" It was Gowasu that spoke. He smiled cheerfully at her. "Please join us! Zamasu was just about to go find you." He beckoned to a third chair around a table in the middle of the courtyard. Zamasu said nothing.

'So, he doesn't know?' Judith thought about how Gowasu would react when she told him about the incident in the library the previous day. 'Locked in by this jerk.' She looked back at Zamasu. He watched her face closely and he did not miss the smirk that had crossed her lips momentarily. He knew exactly what that smirk meant: 'Game on.'

"Zamasu!" Gowasu scowled at his apprentice. "Have you forgotten your manner as well this morning?" Gowasu sounded annoyed and Judith could only wonder at what else Zamasu had forgotten.

"Good morning Miss Judith." Zamasu spoke in his bored tone. "I trust you slept well?" he added dryly. His mind flashed back to his lingering fingers on her lips. Forcefully he pushed it aside.

"Good morning Master Gowasu. Zamasu." She acknowledged him as she moved toward the table. She was not bothered to answer his question, knowing he meant it to be a rhetorical one.

Gowasu had noticed the tension between the two of them but decided not to comment on it…yet.

"I must say," Judith continued, "It has been some time since I last dreamt." Zamasu stiffened a bit.

'Did she remember?' he thought.

As she reached the table, much to her surprise, Zamasu had pulled the chair out for her and as she sat down pushed her in.

'Well I'll be damned.' Judith thought. 'Somewhere beneath that arrogant demeanour, he does have manners.'

"How interesting." Gowasu commented. For a moment neither Judith nor Zamasu knew to what Gowasu was referring to: her dream or his sudden act of politeness. "Why don't you tell me about this dream of yours while Zamasu prepares a fresh pot of tea?" Gowasu sat down to Judith's right.

Zamasu had already started walking away when Judith ventured a look his way. As soon as he was out of sight, he leant against the wall, focusing his senses. He wanted to know what it was that Judith thought she dreamt, concerned that she was somehow conscience of his presence in her room.

"When was the last time you had a dream Lady Judith?" Gowasu asked.

"I honestly cannot remember sir." Judith answered. "Now that I think about it," she continued, "I can not seem to remember having dreamt at all." She was telling the truth, Zamasu could sense her sincerity.

"I see." Gowasu answered. 'How peculiar.' he thought 'The Grand Priest must have sealed some parts of her mind.' "Tell me what you dreamt."

Judith recounted the brief scene she saw before her, off course she left out the part where she woke up drenched in sweat, breathless and trembling.

"I mean, it felt like a dream," Judith spoke, "but at the same time it felt more like a memory." She could not say for certain, but the woman she saw looked so familiar.

Zamasu had listened to every word she spoke, he could tell there was more, something else she did not wish to share with his Master, he could hear it in her voice. He thought for a moment how strange it was that he was so attuned to her after only two days, but somehow, he could read her like an open book, like he had known her for years. He could sense her life force as easily as he could sense his own. Her slightly above average heart rate, her shallow breathing, her tone of voice, he could sense everything about her.

"Dreams are often ways of our subconscious to communicate with us…" Gowasu had started to speak.

'Ugh!' Zamasu thought. 'That is my que to go.' He headed off to fetch a fresh pot for Gowasu's tea. He had no desire to listen to his master dawdling on and on about the greater meaning of things. He heard enough of this type of wisdom daily with his training. Still, he found it interesting that there were parts of Judith's mind that was inaccessible to her.

'Why do you care?' his conscience spoke. 'You have much bigger and more important things to think about that the dreams of a weakling human.' He knew he should not care, but her presence here was already strange and now it had been revealed that someone had tampered with her memories. 'Could this simply be a coincidence?' he thought 'Or are we both pawns in someone else's game?' the mere thought that someone could be using him, a god, enraged him. He would have to find the true reason for Judith's visit.

… in the courtyard …

"…is to understand the order of all things…" Gowasu was still talking. Judith had stopped listening a while ago, she could see his lips moving, but she could not hear a word he was saying.

'He really enjoys the sound of his own voice.' She thought. 'I wonder how Zamasu remains so patient during his master's monologues.' She continued to muse. 'No wonder he is so cranky, who wouldn't be after how many years of this…' she almost cracked a smile.

"Aah, Zamasu." Gowasu said, looking beyond Judith at his apprentice. "I was wondering what was keeping you."

Judith did not look over her shoulder, she could feel his eyes on her.

"My apologies Master." He said. "But one cannot rush to produce a perfectly balanced pot of tea." Judith heard the sarcasm in his voice, surely Gowasu had also.

"All too true my apprentice."

Judith nearly fell of her chair. She felt like slapping Gowasu across the face. 'Seriously! How can he be this ignorant!' Judith could already see Zamasu laughing at the old Kai's gullibility in her mind's eye.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long Miss Judith?" Zamasu said with amusement in his voice.

'Oh, he is good.' Judith thought. 'He knew Gowasu was about to go into one of his all inspiring monologues, that is why he left so hurriedly.' Judith forced a smile, biting on her tongue not to bark something at him.

"Not at all Zamasu." She tried to sound as nonchalant as possible. "A short insight into Gowasu's mind is nothing compared to a lifetimes worth of awe-inspiring wisdom."

Zamasu nearly started laughing as he heard the true meaning hidden beneath her words, but he merely gave her a knowing smile before placing an empty cup and saucer in front of her. He made to pour her some tea, but she hastily stopped him.

"Oh, no thank you." He looked at her quizzically.

"I don't drink tea." She said. Gowasu sitting to her right choked on his sip of tea and Zamasu looked at her as if she had just committed some act of blasphemy before a grin crossed his handsome face.

"A-are you alright Master Gowasu?" Judith asked, surprised at his reaction to her polite refusal. She looked at Zamasu for help, not expecting any.

The grin was still gracing his face and Judith knew it was genuine. She felt something tug at her heart again as she looked at him. Gowasu was still coughing from the tea he inhaled. Zamasu chuckled and said: "Please forgive my Master Gowasu, but I do not think that he has ever met anyone who did not enjoy or at least drank tea. And neither have I…" he looked into her cognat eyes. "You are turning out to be quite the conundrum Miss Judith." He said intrigued.

'I am merry to be of your disposal my most holiest of deities.' She could not form a coherent thought under his gaze, even more so in the way he spoke to her now. The mask was gone, and here, in front of her stood the real Zamasu. She wanted to know him, know all of him. Oh, how she longed for him. The world had disappeared around them and all that existed in that moment were the two of them.

"Oh goodness." Gowasu spoke, causing Judith and Zamasu to be jerked back to reality.

Judith almost groaned audibly in irritation. Gowasu had interrupted the one real moment she had experience with Zamasu. 'Will I ever have the chance again…' she thought.

Zamasu swallowed heavily, tearing his eyes away from Judith's and refocusing on Gowasu. The mask was back on, his face was stoical, void of any emotion, as he sat opposite him, to Judith's left.

"I have always believed tea is the best instrument with which to measure the purity of one's soul." Gowasu continued to speak. Judith's annoyance was growing with every second. "Zamasu is right in saying what we have never met anyone who refused our tea."

"Oh-" Judith started to speak but was cut short by Zamasu.

"Then again Master, we have also never met anyone who wore the same clothes twice in a row without changing." He said with his eyes closed, his face solemn.

'I knew it!' Little miss Judy yelled. 'I knew he was a cunning ass, just biding his time, waiting for the right moment! Don't let him fool you Judith!' The vein had reappeared at Judith's temple.

"This isn't the same dress!" she yelled at him in outrage. Sure, her clothes looked similar in appearance, but the dress she wore the previous day had a normal shaped neck, today's dress had a turtleneck, clearly, they were completely different!

Zamasu merely sat with his eyes closed before answering snidely "You can hardly blame me for not noticing." He opened his eyes and flashed her the most charming smile she had ever seen in her existence, while calmly adding: "You always wear black."

He lied. He had noticed the difference, but he just could not restrain himself from annoying her, and if lying was the way to do it… worth it.

Before Judith could answer, Gowasu had risen from his seat and so had Zamasu, both were looking toward the entrance of the temple. She leaned back to sneak a peek past Gowasu only to see Whis bowing respectfully at the two Kais.

"Whis!" Judith shouted, jumping from her chair, and sprinting toward him. He caught her with his free arm as she gave him a bear hug.

"Ohohohoh!" Whis exclaimed, delighted at her enthusiasm to see him. "I must admit, I never get used to your human ways of expressing happiness." He smiled warmly down at her.

Zamasu felt like launching himself at this angel that dared look at Judith that way, just seeing someone else touch her made his insides turn in anger. The same feeling, he had felt in the library had crept on him again. Yes. It was jealousy.

"Ah, welcome Whis." Gowasu greeted the angel.

"To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?" Zamasu continued in a strained voice.

Hearing the tone in his voice, Judith let go of Whis and turned to look at him, he was clearly having trouble containing himself. Whis had also caught his tone, but paid it no never mind.

"Master Gowasu." Whis looked at him. "The Grand Priest has requested an audience with you. I am to accompany you to meet with him immediately."

Shock played on both Gowasu and Zamasu's faces. Judith just looked confused.

"Will Miss Judith be accompanying us on this trip?" Gowasu inquired.

Whis happily replied: "Unfortunately, not this time Master Gowasu. The Grand Priest was extremely specific that you and only you are to meet with him. That means Judith and your apprentice will just have to wait for you here."

There was an audible gasp from Judith. 'Stay? Here? Alone? With Zamasu?' Whis giggled at her response. Judith was both terrified and excited at the prospect. She was not afraid that he would hurt her, but that temper of his was something real nasty.

"I see." Gowasu answered. "Well then Zamasu, Judith, we will discuss this tea business as soon as I return." Whis lifted a brow at his statement.

"Ahum-" was all Zamasu managed to utter.

"Miss Judith, please feel free to tour our lovely planet in my absence. Zamasu will be more than happy to guide you." Gowasu had reached Whis.

"Ahum-" was still the only sound that came out of Zamasu.

"But, huh, Whis!" Judith started to protest, but it was to late. Both he and Gowasu had disappeared in a bright flash. Judith blinked a few times before steeling her nerves and turned towards Zamasu.

'Oh great." She thought when she found him looking at her, already glaring. 'And so, the game continues…' she thought as she suddenly became all to aware that they were the only two living things on the planet.