NOTE: I want to apologize for any part of this chapter that feel lackluster. I'm pushing this out while being sick (because I'm pretty bored at the moment), so yeah. I'm glad you guys liked the last chapter and found it funny. Piccolo is backup babysitter when Makima doesn't feel like having fun.

I will do an intermission about Makima's very rocky relationship with Piccolo, because Makima isn't as forgiving as Chi-Chi was of all the shit Piccolo had done to Goku and Gohan. Yeah, they eventually moved past it and she treats him as a member of the family, but it wasn't always pleasant between them.

Chapter 4: Devilish Teaming

Following the news of Goku's one-day return to the world of the living, Makima had a very unusual pep in her step this morning. Of course, if you didn't know her then you'd likely be unable to tell just how happy she was. Her youngest children noticed the unusual energy in their mother as they sat at the table for breakfast.

"This feels weird." Nayuta whispered to her siblings.

"Mommy is never this happy." Goten added in a whispered tone too.

Unlike his siblings, Gohan enjoyed the sight of his mother's energy. As much as she tried to hide it, the last seven years had been rough on her. A light that he remembered her having in her eyes had died with his father after the Cell Games. But now it seemed like that light was coming back to life.

Gohan wondered if it would be possible to convince his father to fully come back to life when they see him again at the tournament. But for now, he decided to focus on his siblings before they said something insensitive to their mother. "That's just how mom used to be when Dad was still here."

"That bum?"

"Nayuta." Gohan warned her to watch how she addressed him. The only daughter just rolled her eyes at him, but backed down to his wishes.

"She's never smiled so much before." Goten notes before giving his own big smile. "I wanna see Mommy smile more! She looks pretty!"

"Do I not look pretty otherwise, Goten?"

"ACK?!" The three hybrids all flinched as their mother addressed them. She was fully aware of the conversation they were having behind her back. Makima, dressed in a nice casual red summer dress, placed the plates of food onto the table. She waited until her children took their portions to start eating her own.

"Y-you always look pretty, Mommy!" Goten exclaimed quickly. Makima just rubbed his face, smiling softly.

"Thank you, sweetie. Feels nice to have such considerate children." She spoke. The Matriarch of the household turned to her oldest. "I spoke with your school last night after dinner to let them know that you'll be taking some days off for the tournament. I was going to go up there to grab the schoolwork you'd miss, but it seems like a classmate of yours will be coming up here to deliver it instead." She very much enjoyed the way her son sputtered out some rice.

"C-classmate?!" He slightly panicked, hoping it wasn't who he thought it would be.

"Yes, a girl too it would seem. Apparently, she was very pushy about doing it herself when she had the chance."

Suddenly Gohan wasn't very interested in his food anymore.

Makima cupped her cheek with her hand. "My, I didn't know my son was such a ladies man already. Should your siblings and I head out once she gets here?"

"NO! M-MOTHER, THAT'S INAPPROPRIATE!" Gohan's face matched the color of his mother's hair with how embarrassed he was. His siblings, though not understanding the implications, laughed at his plight. "VIDEL AND I AREN'T LIKE THAT AT ALL!"

"Oh, Videl, huh? I didn't think you had gotten so close to the Champion's daughter. I'll be sure to tell this to Bulma and the rest of the ladies later." Makima enjoyed the way her son almost shut down from the teasing being thrown at him. All of this was simply punishment for deciding to make her the last one to know of her husband's return.

Her oldest knows better than to not immediately share any relevant information when it comes to her husband.

After breakfast the children all got dressed into their training gear to prepare themselves for the tournament. The Matriarch held her cup of coffee, enjoying its hot taste as she came out to watch her children train. She didn't have to be at the office till the afternoon, so she'll ensure that her kids didn't go overboard.

Gohan wore a dark purple GI with a red sash for the belt and black boots. He had two dark red wristbands on his arms.

Goten wore a GI similar to his father, but with a long-sleeved undershirt. His boots were a smaller version of his father's, which Makima had ensured they'd be modeled after her husband.

Nayuta wore a GI that resembled the one Gohan had when he was younger. A dark purple outfit but with a skirt and spandex shorts underneath. She had two long arm bands running up to her elbows.

The oldest took a deep breath. "Alright, let's start with Super Saiyan." With a small grunt his hair switched from black to blonde and his eyes went from black to teal. However, the red swirls were still ever present.

Next, he gathered a large pile of rocks, stacking them between his siblings. "First, we'll work on our reflexes."

"Soooo, you want us to chuck rocks at you?" Nayuta frowned. She really wanted to get her body moving in a spar or something. Throwing rocks wasn't exactly fun.

"Yup, but you'll be doing it one at a time. Goten, you'll go first." Gohan drew a line in the dirt. "Throw the rocks at me from here."

Goten picked up one of the rocks, looking a bit uncertain. He didn't want to get in trouble if his brother ended up getting hurt. "Are you sure?"

Feeling confident in his abilities, Gohan smirked at his brother. "I'll be fine, you can come even closer! You'll see."

Makima sipped on her coffee with a soft hum. She thought back to when Goten wanted to join a little league baseball team. The reactions from the rest of the parents who were mocking her baby boy for his size was a treat. Seems her oldest still has a bit of a cocky attitude problem. She could warn him but figured it would be more entertaining to let events play out. When she noticed Goten looking at her for permission, Makima nodded her head.

"Okay! Here I go!" Goten pulled back his arm. "TAKE THIS!"

Gohan had less than a second to react to the unbelievable speed of Goten's throw. He barely dodged the rock that took out half of the hill behind him. All the older brother could do was blinked owlishly at his little brother's prowess.

"Woah! You really did dodge it! You're really strong, Gohan!" Goten's smile was too frighteningly similar to their father's for Gohan's liking.

Nayuta scoffed, picking up her own rock. "You can throw harder than that, Goten! Here, let me show you how it's done-"

"WAIT!" Gohan stopped his sister. If Goten's throw was much stronger than he thought it would be, then Nayuta was likely to be just as bad. The oldest child quickly reassessed the distance, putting his siblings further back than before. "Here! This'll be good enough! This time you both can throw at the same time!"

The twins shrugged and did as he requested of them. The next few seconds turned into the most intense game of dodgeball the world will never see. Once Gohan felt more confident in his abilities, he asked the twins to move closer. After a few more rock throws the twins stopped much to Gohan's confusion. "Huh? Why did you guys stop?"

The twins looked at each other before turning back to Gohan. "Gohan…can we change like you?"

"Change like me?"

"He's asking if we can turn Super Saiyan." Nayuta clarified.

Gohan laughed at their request, clearly not taking them seriously. "You two aren't ready for this yet. To become a Super Saiyan you must train very hard! Also, you've got to learn how to manage your emoti-"

VWOOSH!

In an instant both young hybrids transformed into Super Saiyans. Goten, once again, looked exactly like his deceased father, while Nayuta's braid undid itself to allow some of her hair to spike upwards. Their swirls continuously present in their teal-colored eyes.

For the second time that day, Gohan was left flabbergasted by his siblings. "G-Goten… Nayuta… Since when could you…?"

"Uh…stuff happened." Nayuta responded.

"Yeah! Stuff happened!" Goten agreed.

Gohan looked at their mother, who wasn't bothered in the least by the twins' transformations. "Mother! Did you know about this?!"

"Yes." Makima responded.

"Why didn't you say anything?!" Gohan asked.

"You never asked." She shrugged before continuing on with her coffee. How much coffee does she even have in that cup?!

"I can't believe this…" Gohan muttered. "It took days of training for Dad and I to even control Super Saiyan. But these two are handling it like no issue. Wait, can Trunks transform too?" Gohan asked.

"He did it before we did!" Goten answered.

"Unfortunately…" Nayuta groaned. She remembered how smug the young heir was when he showed the transformation off to them.

"In that case…do you two want to spar with me? You do know what I'm talking about, right?" Gohan asked them.

Nayuta started bouncing on her feet with excitement. "Finally! When you suggested training I was hoping for this!"

"Mommy plays with us sometimes whenever we ask her! So, we learned some stuff from her!" Goten explained.

"We also roughhouse with Trunks from time to time." Nayuta added.

"Really?" Gohan looked at Makima. He knew his mother could fight, but she hadn't done much fighting unless it involved her job. "I guess Mother figured sparring with them would help get rid of all the energy they have if they get too wild." Gohan turned back to his siblings. "Regardless, let's get right to it!"

"YEAH!" The twins jumped at their brother, engaging him in an intense sparring session.

Makima watched the three Super Saiyan hybrids duke it out all over the clearing. Seeing her youngest working as a team against their big brother had her feeling slightly nostalgic. It reminded her of the first time she and Goku worked together.

After reaffirming her own identity, Makima and Goku made their way back to Capsule Corp on their quest to find Bulma. The night's chill air wasn't a bother for her thanks to her coat, but she wasn't sure about her companion. "Goku, are you cold?"

"It's cold?"

"Never mind." She should've known where that was going to go. Now she simply wished to get somewhere she could privately recline for the night to avoid any further headaches. "Let's take a short cut."

"Okay!"

Cutting through a dark parking garage would've proved to be a challenge for any normal person. However, the two children were anything but normal as they peacefully walked through the rows of cars. Goku kept pace by locking onto Makima's smell and it surprised him how good her fragrance was. It wasn't like Bulma or Launch who used so many of those perfumes that it hurt his nose. Makima's smell was oddly relaxing and satisfying, which was a contrast to how she usually acts. In his head Goku figured that Makima must really be a nice person if she smells this good.

"Goku."

"Yeah?" He stopped when she turned to face him.

"It seems we stumbled into a trap."

"A trap?" Goku tilted his head.

Makima nodded her head. "A mistake on my part, but this should be adequate to find Bulma."

Goku had no idea what she meant until several lights shined on them, illuminating the dark parking garage. He looked around to see that every single car was staring them down as if they were prey.

"OH! That's what you meant! Hehehe!" Goku laughed, not worried at all.

The cars lunged at the duo to capture them.

"YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM?!" A young teenage girl with light blue hair screeched. This was Bulma Briefs, the heiress of Capsule Corp. The teenager, dressed in a dark red blouse and brown shorts, was tied up to a metal pole.

"OF COURSE I KNOW WHO YOU ARE! WHY ELSE WOULD I BOTHER CAPTURING YOU, YOU DAMN BANSHEE!" Her capture roared back. The kidnapper is a middle-aged man with dark hair, dressed in all black clothing. His eyes were pitched black with dark red pupils and his limbs were mechanical rather than flesh.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A BANSHEE, JACKASS?!" Bulma shouted in rage. She struggled in her binds in attempts to break free. "Just you wait, jerk! Eventually my parents are gonna realize I'm gone and when they do, they'll let my boyfriend and best friend know about this!"

The kidnapper scoffed at her. "As if they'll be able to do anything to me! With my abilities it's been child's play to stay under the police and Devil Hunter's radar. If your parents want you back so badly then they'll just have to give in to my demands!"

Bulma stopped struggling, raising a brow. "Devil Hunters?! You're a devil?!"

"The Mech Devil to be exact!" He sauntered up to her, leaning down to be mere inches from Bulma's face. "I can control any mechanical vehicle to my heart's desire, but not only that…" He pointed his arm at one of the parked cars. The vehicle broke down to pieces and flew towards his limb, transforming it into a huge mechanical appendage. "They're capable of merging with my body to make myself more powerful. There isn't anyone in this city capable of stopping me-"

BEEP! BEEP!

The two turned to see a slightly banged up car slowly entering the empty warehouse. Mech smirked devilishly at his pet. "And here's my next little surprise."

"Surprise?" Bulma questioned.

"Just a little warning that I plan to show off to anyone who dares to go snooping where they don't belong." Mech warned as he approached the car. "Heard through the grapevine that some brats were looking for you throughout the city, so I ensured some of my 'pets' taught them a lesson. Ha! Man, I wish I could've seen the looks on their faces when they got-"

"POWER POLE, EXTEND!"

Before Mech could blink, a red pole crashed through the windshield of the car, smashing into his nose and sending him flying into the opposite ends of the warehouse. The rest of the windshield shattered to pieces as Goku plunged himself through. "BULMA!"

"GOKU?!" Bulma exclaimed happily. "I knew you'd come save me! Is Yamcha with you too?!"

"Yamcha? Why would Yamcha be with me?" Goku tilted his head.

This seemed to piss the heiress off immensely. "WHY THAT NO GOOD ROTTEN BANDIT! CAN'T BE BOTHERED TO SAVE HIS BEAUTIFUL GIRLFRIEND!"

Not fully understanding why Bulma was so upset, Goku shrugged his shoulders. "I don't have Yamcha with me, but I have a new friend!"

"Huh?" That snapped Bulma out of her rage. She saw a red-haired girl crawling out of the car to stand on the hood next to Goku, brushing bits of glass off of her jacket.

"I told you to wait for my signal to start attacking." Makima sighed with annoyance.

"Yeah, but he had Bulma so I had to save her." Goku explains.

"I can see that."

"Uh, Goku? Who is that girl?" Bulma asked.

"Oh! This is Makima and she's a Demon Slayer!"

"Devil Hunter." Makima corrected.

"That's what I said."

RUMBLE!

Mech pulled himself back together from the rubble he was buried under. He stared at the troublesome runts with anger and apprehension. "The hell?! How are you brats even alive?!"

Makima ignored the question and instead chose to get down to business. "Mech Devil, you are hereby under arrest mandated by the Public Safety Commission. You can choose to come quietly, or I'll have to do this the hard way."

"A Devil Hunter? A brat like you…? How the hell did you even find out about me?! I've been carefully hidden this entire time!"

Bulma rolled her eyes. "Yeah, choosing the most populated and technologically advanced city on the planet as your base of operations was the smartest idea ever."

"Shut up!" He yelled at her, blushing red. Then turned back to the brats. "So, what if you're some Devil Hunters! I can easily take you both down!" He spread out his arms, commanding the vehicles inside of the warehouse to merge with his body. The kids and heiress watched as the once human sized devil was now a 20-foot-tall mecha. "With my full strength there's nothing you can possibly do to stop me!"

"Woah! He must be super strong now!" Goku smiled in anticipation.

"Hm… I doubt that." Makima disagreed.

Mecha brought down his huge fist on the warehouse to crush them, forcing the duo to jump out of the way. Crumbling pieces of debris began to fall, just barely missing Bulma. "EEK! CAN YOU GET ME OUT OF HERE FIRST, GOKU?!"

"Oops! Sorry, Bulma!" Goku apologized to her.

"I'll grab her, you focus on the devil for now." Makima ordered before calmly walking over to Bulma.

"Gotcha! NIMBUS!" Goku called for his cloud, jumping onto the mystical object and soaring into the skies.

Makima approached Bulma, using her abilities to keep the debris from crushing them. She then easily tore through the chains binding the heiress to the pole. "There, does that feel better?"

"Y-yeah…" Now that she had a closer look at Makima, Bulma found the devil's eyes very creepy. "U-uh, how do you know Goku exactly?" Bulma asked.

"Is now really the best time to ask this?" Makima fired back with her own question. An explosion and more falling debris proceeded to answer for Bulma.

"Nope! You're right! Just get me out of here!" Bulma pleaded.

"Hold on to me." Makima grabbed the heiress by her waist.

"What do you me-AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" The heiress shrieked loud enough to shatter glass.

Goku, on the other hand, danced around Mecha like an annoying little fly. He continued to dodge the giant's attacks effortlessly, pissing off his opponent.

"Will you quit flying, you annoying little gnat?!" Mecha growled.

"Okay! Guess it's my turn!" Goku twirled his pole before swinging it with all of his might. The extended weapon smashed into the side of the giant's head, almost knocking him completely off his feet. Then repeated this with the other side of Mecha's head, making the devil's head spin in a silly manner.

Goku frowned at the state of his opponent. "Are you really this weak? I was hoping that you'd be a bit stronger than this."

"Y-you…!" The Mecha got his senses back together. "You want to see strong?!"

"Yeah!"

"THEN HERE! MY ROCKET PUNCH!" He disconnected his right fist, blasting it at the tiny monkey.

Only for Goku to swing his pole like a baseball bat and knock the massive fist back into mechanical face. "C'mon! Get serious already!" Goku whined.

Mecha stared at the monkey child with a bit of fear. "How the hell is this brat so freaking strong?! Is he some kind of devil too?! There has to be something I can…" He looked over and saw Makima and Bulma standing on one of the opposite buildings. "There! Let me fight her instead!"

"Huh?" Goku looked over at Makima. "You want to fight Makima?"

"Y-yeah! Isn't it fair that your friend gets a turn too?!" Mecha argued.

Goku saw the logic in his argument. "I guess, you're right. This is Makima's job and stuff."

"Yeah! Yeah! So, tag out, kid! Be a pal!"

"Okay! I'll go let her know!" Goku flew down towards his friends as Mecha smirked triumphantly at his victory. The little girl is likely more of the brains than the power, so taking her out would put a damper on the boy's abilities.

"Ha! I'm such a genius-" His self-congratulation was halted by the feeling of several large chains wrapping around his body. Mecha struggled in his binds, utterly baffled by the phenomena going on right now.

"Hmph, seems you believe yourself to be some sort of mastermind."

"W-what?!" He gasped as he caught Makima standing right on the tip of his nose. "W-when the hell did you get there?!"

"You don't have time to worry about that." Makima smiled maliciously. "You should've stuck with Goku. He would've been a lot more kind." The way her eyes glowed filled the mechanical devil with a sense of terror he had never felt before. But just as soon as that fear appeared, it vanished like a dying flame. Whatever sense of superiority that he had was replaced with a cold nothingness. His huge body fell apart just as quickly as his spirit had.

Makima had a chain wrapped around the Mech Devil's neck like a dog leash. She turned the chain invisible as Goku approached her with Bulma in his arms. "Woah! You beat that guy so quickly!"

"It was no trouble." Makima smirked.

Bulma shivered. "Guess that's another unbelievable kid I can add to the list. Still, thanks for coming to save me."

"Saving you just so happened to align with my target, so think nothing of it." Makima responded.

"O-oh…"

Goku, not picking up the cold air, jumped in front of Makima. "Makima!"

"Yes?"

"Fight me!"

"No." She instantly replied, hoping this would be the last time he'd ask her.

It was NOT the last time he'd ask her.

"Ah…what wonderful times." Makima smiled to herself as she continued to enjoy her coffee.

"NO FAIR!"

"YOU'RE FLYING!"

The mother of three turned her attention back to her children to see what the issue was now. Apparently the twins didn't know how to fly yet, which made it impossible for them to properly keep up with Gohan during the spar. She could've taught them that, but keeping a handle on those two would've been an even bigger pain if they knew how to fly.

Looking down at her watch, Makima saw that it was nearly time for her to head out to work. She didn't need to worry about the twins since Gohan will be watching them. Suddenly, she felt an unfamiliar presence coming near their home. Using her abilities she took notice of the aircraft and the teenage girl piloting it. It took no time at all for Makima to realize who this girl was and why she was flying all the way out here.

She knew her son wouldn't appreciate it, but it was every mother's job to meet her future daughter-in-law and ensure she's the right fit for her son. Makima vanished from the training spot, while Gohan was too busy explaining to his siblings why they should keep their powers hidden around their visitor.

In the higher regions of the otherworld, where the universe's greatest fighters spend their afterlife training with one another, one specific fighter was stuffing his face with his 20th bowl of food. Next to him was one of the many deities of the universe, along with his two companions, a monkey and a floating grasshopper.

"Even after all this time I still can't understand how you're able to eat so much while being dead…!" King Kai complained.

"Oh, come on, King Kai! I need to keep my belly full after a hard day's work of training! Wouldn't want me to die from starvation, right?!" Son Goku laughed.

"YOU'RE ALREADY DEAD!" King Kai roared. His star pupil just continued to laugh at his reaction like always. "Why do I continue putting up with you?"

"I don't know. Makima would always ask the same thing whenever I did something stupid." Goku responded. He held his bowl of rice closer to himself when Bubbles tried to sneak his finger in.

"Speaking of which, are you certain you're ready to go back to Earth? It's been seven years, Goku." King Kai said.

Goku nods his head, smiling as if everything was fine. "Yeah, I mean, sure it's been a long time but I'm sure nothing's changed too much. Besides, they have Gohan to keep them safe if anyone shows up to threaten Earth again. There isn't anything to be worried about."

"Such a carefree guy as always." King Kai sighed. He looked over at the table, seeing the strange envelope sitting next to the many empty bowls Goku had left. "Hey, what's with that letter?"

Putting down his food, Goku glances down at the envelope. "This? Oh yeah, Death left this for me."

"DEATH?!" King Kai, Bubbles, and Greggory screamed. This wasn't the North Kai's first time dealing with the oldest sibling of the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, since the manifestation of Death had made it a routine to constantly get in contact with Goku over the last couple of years. Even though she wasn't exactly allowed to do so, that woman never gave a damn no matter how many times he shouted at her.

"Yeah, what's the big deal?" Goku never saw the issue most people seemed to have with his older sister-in-law. Apparently she symbolized the coming of the end of the world, but she seemed pretty nice to him and Gohan when they met. He does remember Makima being pretty upset when she first came to their home.

"Even if I explained it to you it would probably just go over your head." King Kai responded.

"Yeah, probably."

"Just open the envelope, Goku."

"Okay!" He laughed before tearing open the envelope. He and his companions stared at what appears to be a photograph of Makima, an older Gohan, and two young children right between them.

…

…

…

"Hey! That one looks just like me!"

"THAT'S THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE?!" King Kai yelled.

"Well…the girl looks like Makima."

"And you are my star pupil…"

Chapter End

NOTE: There is not much known about the Death Devil at this point other than things that the other characters have said. At the moment I've characterized her as someone who doesn't really give too big of a shit about the rules and likes trolling the Kais when she has the chance, especially King Kai. I touched a bit on how she feels about Goku, which is that she likes him.

Makima and Goku didn't really struggle against that Mech Devil and I'm certain none of you expected them to struggle. They're way too big of powerhouses for that guy to pose any bit of a threat.

I've decided that to help the story flow a bit better not every main chapter is going to have a flashback to Goku and Makima as kids. Only the big ones that have to deal with their family or just them will contain a flash to their bubbling relationship.

To explain some other things, Gohan in this fic has been going to school much longer than canon Gohan did. He met Videl a year earlier, became the Great Saiyaman in that year, and they've had this cat-and-mouse game going until she caught him lacking.

Have a great day!