NOTE: Welcome back to another chapter! I am fully aware of how the afterlife in DB works, especially since I'm sticking with the manga's continuity over the mess that Toei created once they got their hands on Dragon Ball. There's two different Hells, because Devils are the most unnatural beings in the universe who don't follow the natural convention of the world. As if they were mistakenly created...maybe a certain green genocidal God will try to do something about it. Basically, I'm sticking with my idea for drama.
I was worried that Nayuta wasn't too much like Goku, but Gohan and Goten are enough like him to warrant a change. She's just more "Devil" like her mother, but her upbringing makes her different. Nayuta does have some similarities to Goku other than being the same race as him that will show over time.
Makima's sisters are fully aware of Goku and kids, and I'll go over those meetings soon.
Enjoy and Review!
Intermission (2): Kobeni the Cowardly Babysitter
"Ow…" A soft voice muttered from the floor. Sift hands gently removed the bucket that had fallen from the top of the door, its liquid contents having spilled all over her, drenching her uniform. With the bucket removed her short brown hair that's tied into a ponytail is revealed, along with her matching brown eyes. She crawled onto her knees, staring miserably at the bucket in her hands, scrunching her face at the disgusting smell. "...Not again."
"WA HA HA HA HA HA!" A familiar, annoying voice echoed through the halls. "YOU FELL FOR IT AGAIN, WEALKING!" Turning around, the young woman found the perpetrator of her misfortune. It was a female devil dressed in a similar, but messily put together, Devil Hunters uniform, her two red horns protruding from the top of her head. "THE GREAT AND MAGNIFICENT POWER STRIKES AGAIN!"
"W-what even is this stuff…?" The young woman asked. Way too used to these antics to question why she was the target again.
"Toilet water, duh!"
The young woman promptly threw up into the bucket in her hands after hearing that, which just made Power laugh even harder. "HA HA HA HA HA! THIS DAY MARKS MY 20TH VICTORY! TOMORROW SHALL BE MY 21ST! HA HA HA HA HA HA!" Power declared, running off to likely cause more issues for others.
"Ugh…" The young woman muttered sickly. She really wanted to cry, because now she would have to wash her only uniform again in hopes of getting the nasty smell out. At least this time there weren't any hard to remove stains.
"Small miracles…" She thought to herself. Deciding it was best to get herself off the floor and clock out before anyone could see her in such a-
"Kobeni."
"KYAAA!" Kobeni jumped with a frightful scream, almost dropping the bucket of her fluids on the floor. She hastily turned around, her body instinctively reacting to the voice of the Head Director. The cowardly girl gave a shaky salute to her superior, Son Makima. "M-Mrs. Makima!"
"I see that you're doing well." Makima said. Not bothered by the girl's fearful gaze or smell.
"Y-yes!" She replied immediately.
"Are you free tomorrow?" The Control Devil asked.
"Y-y-yes, Mrs. Makima!" It wasn't like Kobeni had any friends or boyfriend. Her weekends were mostly spent trying to mentally recover from this hellish workplace. And it wasn't like she could say 'no' to her boss. Nobody said 'no' to Mrs. Makima.
"Perfect." Makima smiled, scaring the poor girl. "Something important has come up and I need someone to handle some important 'belongings' of mine. You seemed to be fit for the job, so come to this address tomorrow at 10:00 A.M." Makima handed her employee the slip of paper with the address on it.
Kobeni's eyes widened at the address, questioning why her boss would want her to travel all the way out into the mountains. "I-Is she firing me?! Is she going to kill me and dispose of my body somewhere where nobody would ever look?! …Not that anyone would come looking for me." Kobeni tried to ignore that depressing thought to the best of her ability. The cowardly hunter just slowly nodded her head, accepting her fate. "Y-yes, Mrs. Makima. I'll be there tomorrow."
"Good." Makima said before turning away. "Oh, and Kobeni?"
"Y-yes?!"
"Be sure to wash up nicely tonight. Smells like that are hard to get out when left to dry for too long." Makima advised, leaving the cowardly hunter to sputter with embarrassment.
Kobeni would forever be grateful that she had saved up several of her checks to buy herself a car last year, unfortunately that had meant she had to go several days without dinner, but it was worth it in the end. The drive-up Mt. Paozu was luckily uneventful for the most part besides the random mountain animals that crossed her path. At least the scenery was breathtaking to look at, such amounts of nature wasn't something you'd find in the busy cities. She wondered if her little siblings would like to come out here one day.
After passing by a small village with people who were more than happy to give her directions, Kobeni eventually found the small cozy house that sat peacefully next to a long stream. Getting out of her car and fixing up her hand-me-down dress, Kobeni made her way towards the house. She still couldn't shake off the sliver of fear that this house would end up being her final resting place. Raising a hand to knock on the door, Kobeni prepared herself for the inevitable-
"GOTEN! GIVE ME BACK MY DOLLS!" A loud high-pitched voice screeched, causing the clumsy hunter to fall on her rear.
"NO WAY! IT'S MY TURN TO PLAY WITH THEM, NAYUTA!" A little boy's voice followed after the girl's.
"YOU HAVE YOUR OWN TOYS! I WAS STILL MAKING MY DEATH ARMY!"
"D-death army?!" Kobeni mentally screeched.
"NEHHHH!" The boy, Goten, made a mocking noise.
"THAT'S IT! GUYS, GET HIM!" Nayuta's order was followed by several loud dog barks. Even though she couldn't see what was happening, she had a feeling that the little boy was currently getting mauled to death by the vicious animals.
Maybe if she escaped quietly, she could hide out in a bunker to avoid Makima's wrath!
The sounds of the front door opening crushed any of those hopes of hers, revealing a properly dressed Son Makima. Her boss smiled down at her as if finding the cowardly hunter in this position wasn't uncommon. "Hello, Kobeni, I'm pleased to see that you've arrived on time."
Kobeni hurried to her feet and brushed off the dirt on her dress. "H-hello, Mrs. Makima! I-It's a pleasure being here today!"
"That's nice to hear."
SHATTER!
Kobeni flinched from the sounds of glass shattering, but the aura coming from her boss scared her much more. Makima gave her a closed eye smile. "Excuse me for a moment." She stepped away from the door and towards the direction the sound came from. Immediately the children started spitting out excuses at Makima, clearly terrified of the woman.
"I-Is she gonna hit them?!" Kobeni panicked, still sort of unsure of Makima's affiliation with these unknown children.
"No desserts after dinner for a week." Makima's punishment was loud and clear.
"Oh…! T-that's much worse!" Kobeni screamed.
Makima returned, pulling both of the children with her this time, allowing Kobeni to finally put faces to names. Their appearances, especially the eyes, were making her shiver as if a bucket of ice had been poured all over her. "U-uh… Mrs. Makima?"
"Yes?"
"T-these children…?"
"Oh yes, these are my children. Meet Goten and Nayuta." Makima introduced her youngest children, who were still reeling from the punishment of not having any desserts for a week.
"I-I didn't know Mrs. Makima had children!"
"Hi, weird lady!"
"Who's the weird lady?"
"And they're already calling me weird!" Kobeni wanted to cry and run away again!
"Goten, Nayuta, this weird lady is Kobeni Higashiyama, your babysitter."
"BABYSITTER?!" Kobeni and the twins screamed.
"Yes, she'll be watching over you all while I handle an overseas conference this evening." She explained to her children, then turned to the newly appointed babysitter. "Their older brother usually watches over them, but he's busy tutoring some friends of his then handling mandatory club activities at his school. He should get back before I do to take over watching the twins." Makima explained for the fidgeting babysitter.
"W-wait, Mrs. Makima! I-I can't babysit!" Kobeni managed to exclaim.
Makima tilted her head. "But I'm certain you have experience with watching children considering your younger siblings."
"W-well…yes…but…!"
"I'll also increase your next two payments for watching these two."
"I'll do it!" For once Kobeni's voice was filled with strong conviction.
"Perfect." The Control Devil smiled as if she knew how this conversation would end. "I have their meals prepared in the fridge along with the dogs' mealtimes written down on a piece of paper attached to the fridge. Do not under any circumstances allow these two to eat their food before lunch. And on the chance that you're unable to handle them…call this number." Kobeni was handed another slim sheet of paper with only a phone number written on it.
"W-who?"
"Don't question it and do not call unless there's an issue."
"Y-yes, Ma'am!"
"If everything is clear, then I'll be off." Makima knelt down to her children, planting soft kisses on their heads, much to Kobeni's surprise. The way her boss looked at the twins with such love was such a foreign image to her. She had never seen Makima look at anyone in such a way, nor had her own mother ever given her such attention.
"Be on your best behavior." Makima instructed.
"Yes, Mommy!" Goten saluted her.
"Aren't I always?" Nayuta gave a cheeky smile.
"No." Makima popped the girl's bubble, before standing back up. "Good luck." She says to Kobeni before taking off into the skies, leaving the cowardly babysitter to blink owlishly at the action. "W-when could she fly?!"
"Ah hem."
Kobeni turned around to see Nayuta and Goten staring up at her, the former putting a hand to her hip. Seeing as she was now in-charge of them for the next couple of hours, it would be best to have a good first impression. "A-as your Mom said, I-I'm Kobeni-"
"I don't care." Nayuta interrupted rudely.
"E-eh…?!" Kobeni squeaked.
"Nayuta! Mom said we have to behave!" Goten frowned.
"I know, but we don't need a babysitter. If it was just Gohan then it'd be fine but not some weird lady!" Nayuta complained. "We're totally capable of being on our own, right, Goten?"
The weirdly spiky haired boy thought about it for a moment, then smiled at his sister. "You're right!"
"Exactly, I'm always right, Goten!" She boasted.
There were warning bells going off in Kobeni's head and whenever they did go off, she knew that something bad may happen. "U-uh…as much as I'm certain that you two can take care of yourselves your Mom left me in charge. S-so let's just get back inside, yeah?"
"We could…or we could go visit Trunks." Nayuta suggested.
"OH! I wanna go see Trunks! He told me that his Grandparents bought him a whole new racing video game!" Goten bounced on his feet.
Nayuta was just as excited to play the system as her brother. "Yup! And I can't wait to beat him and knock that arrogant brat down a peg!"
"Aren't you arrogant too?"
"Shut up, Goten!"
Kobeni once again tried to get the kids to listen to her. "Y-you're not supposed to run off! We can just play some games here-" That's as far as she got before a red chain shot into her head, knocking her out.
When Kobeni eventually came to, she found herself sleeping on a pretty nice couch…and several big dogs staring at her. "KYAAAAA!" She screamed, causing the dogs to bark loudly in response. It took a solid five minutes for her to calm down enough to get the dogs back under control, and once she did the babysitter came to a realization.
It was much too quiet for a house home to small children.
Kobeni ran around the house, checking the place for the twins but came up short. Not only that, but the fridge was apparently empty as well, meaning that the two somehow ate everything inside. "T-they're not here…! W-where could they be?!" Kobeni tried her best to remember, but no matter how hard she thought about it she just couldn't remember anything! It was like someone, or something had wiped the memories from her head.
The young woman's body began to shake in fear, knowing that her boss wouldn't be happy to come home and find that her children were missing. She'd get fired or worse…de-ducked pay! "There has to be something I can do…!" All of the poor girl's shaking caused a familiar slip of paper to fall from the sleeve of her dress. "E-eh?"
Grabbing the slip from the floor, Kobeni stared at the phone number written on it.
"And on the chance that you're unable to handle them…call this number."
"That's right! Mrs. Makima gave me this number! B-but I don't know who this person is…she didn't explain that part." Kobeni fretted over the chance that whoever this is could be someone dangerous. But she didn't really have any other options. "Oh…the things I do for money…"
Kobeni walked towards the house phone, dialing up the number on the slip. It only took a few moments before the call was picked up.
"Who is this?"
"Eep!" She squeaked, surprised by the very deep gruff voice that answered. "H-hello…? U-uh…" She continued to stutter, annoying the person on the other end.
"I don't have all day! Answer now!"
"I-I was told to call this number if something went wrong with the twins!" Kobeni answered in one whole breath, clutching her poor heart. The line went silent for a few moments before she heard the person release a tired breath into the phone.
"Stay there, I'll be right over."
The call ended before she could get another word in. Kobeni blinked at the phone, still utterly unnerved by what just happened. She wondered just how long it would take for this mystery person to get here until she heard something loud touch down on the ground, shaking the house a bit. "Wh-what was that?!"
The front door was opened the next second, allowing her to see a very tall man with green skin, dressed in a purple GI with a white turban and cape. He ignored the dogs who gathered around him with happy barks, turning his stare right at her.
Kobeni froze in fear before freaking out again. "D-DEVIL?!"
The green man scoffed. "As I'm anything like that. Now where are they?"
"W-who?!"
"The twins!"
"E-even if I knew, I wouldn't tell a D-Devil!" She screamed, mustering up at least some bravery.
He easily stepped over the dogs, marching over to her. "I'm not in the mood for games, so I'll just make this quick." He declared.
"N-no…! I don't want to die!" Kobeni grabbed a knife that was sitting on the counter and threw it at the green-skinned man. The projectile was easily caught between his fingers, and he gently placed it right back down on the counter.
"Can you calm down?!" He yelled, which didn't help in the slightest. When he saw that Kobeni was reaching for more sharp objects to throw at him, the green man vanished from her sight.
"W-wha-" She felt someone grab her hand, turning to see the green man glaring down at her.
"I said calm-"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhh…." A chop to her neck knocked the young woman out instantly. The green man held her with one arm and placed his other hand on top of her head. He began searching through her memories, only to realize that there was a big blank before she had woken up. Using some KI to unlock the memories that were hidden allowed him to get the answers he was looking for.
"Tch! I should've figured that's where they had gone." He looked back down at the unconscious woman and sighed again. "Couldn't have found someone with more of a backbone to babysit them. This is why I don't like interacting with humans much."
For the 2nd time that day, Kobeni found herself waking up on the soft couch again. Only difference was that there were no dogs looming over her, but instead a familiar pair of yellow eyes and red hair. "Hello, Kobeni."
"KYAAAAAAA-" She was silenced instantly by an invisible force, her body frozen in place. Tears welled up in her eyes as she stared back at her smiling boss.
"I think you've done enough screaming for today." Makima said.
"Uh…Mother, I think she's fine to let go of now, right?" A softer but deep voice said. Kobeni looked over to who she could only assume to be the oldest child sitting next to the two trouble makers.
"You're right, Gohan. What a generous son I have." Makima's compliment made the teenager blush in embarrassment. The Matriarch released her power on Kobeni, allowing the cowardly woman to move her body again.
"W-what's going on?!" Kobeni shivered.
"We're just getting ready for dinner. You did a wonderful job babysitting them, Kobeni." Makima complimented.
"B-but I didn't-" She tried to say, but suddenly her mind was assaulted by several images of her time spent with the twins. The three were watching movies on the television, playing with their toys, feeding the dogs, and enjoying some quality lunch together. "W-what I…I did?" Those memories felt real, but there was something about it that unsettled her.
"Exactly, which means that I'm sure you'd be more than willing to babysit again, right?" The friendly smile her boss directed at her should've eased all of the nerves in her body.
But all it did was send a terrified shiver through her body, every single one of her instincts telling her to get the hell out of this house.
"Would you like to stay for dinner?"
She shouldn't.
"Y-yes."
She did.
Kobeni decided that she was going to quit her job tomorrow, but then Makima reminded her of her double bonus, so the cowardly hunter continued to work at the Fourth Division.
Gohan, after Kobeni had gone and the twins were asleep, turned to his mother. "Mother…why did you change her memories?"
Makima, who was too tired after dealing with annoying politicians, gave her son a smile. "Entertainment."
Intermission End
NOTE: Poor Kobeni, at least her car is fine...for now. There will be plenty more Kobeni to come if you love her.
Makima may not be evil, but she's still a bit of a sadist.
Power got her first appearance in this story, there'll be more of her to come too.
Next chapter should be more main story stuff, so look forward to it.
