NOTE: Welcome back! I shouldn't have worked on this chapter when I have important work to get done. But I couldn't focus until I wrote this out, so here ya go!
Also, let me clarify something! Buu is not a Devil. Even though I want him to be more terrifying in a way, he'll still be the same personality wise. There will be some lore dumps for Buu in future chapters.
Enjoy and Review!
Intermission (6): Daddy Issues
"Guh…!" The young voice of Son Nayuta gurgled as her brother's foot kicked against her face. Two dark, yellow swirled eyes snapped open with experienced annoyance. Nayuta grabbed Goten's foot and shoved her twin out of the bed and onto the hard floor. Judging by his snoring, the fall hadn't woken him up at all. "Stupid, Goten… I told him to stop crawling into my bed."
She crawled out of the bed to stretch her limbs, the morning sun shining through their bedroom window. Nayuta patted down her pink pajama top and made way for the shared dresser that she and Goten owned. It was split in half to keep their clothes separate, her half of the dresser was neat, compared to Goten's messy spill. Their mama had warned them to keep their stuff clean, but Goten couldn't be bothered to remember sometimes.
"Not my problem." Nayuta shrugged as she grabbed her necessary clothing, a white T-shirt and a denim overall dress with a dragon design on the chest. Stepping out of the bedroom, Nayuta could smell the delicious scent of her mama's cooking. Thanks to her Saiyan biology, she and her brothers were capable of picking out the different scents even if they were muddled by different ones.
"Pancakes, eggs, bacon, rice, and ham? Not bad, Mama!" Nayuta grinned and hurried to the bathroom to bathe and get changed. She always made an effort to wake up as early as she could to reach the bathroom first before her brothers could get up. Their mama had her own personal bathroom just to avoid whatever mess they all end up making. She was about to reach the door handle just as a horde of footsteps could be heard approaching. The young hybrid blinked until she turned around to see seven big dogs rushing at her. "Wait-" It was too late.
Nayuta's clothes were sprawled all over the floor as all of their pets continued to happily lick her face. As much as she loved them they had the tendency to pop up when she didn't want them to. "Okay, okay! I love you guys too! Can you get off me now?!"
Heavier footsteps echoed in the hallway, alerting Nayuta that someone else was approaching. She managed to squeeze her head around the dogs to see her big brother, dressed in a white tank top and shorts, walking towards the bathroom with his own set of clothes. "Gohan! A little help!"
Gohan looked down at his little sis, who was quickly becoming their dogs' favorite toy.
He could help her but considering that helping her would mean losing the bathroom…Gohan came to a quick conclusion. "See ya at breakfast, sis!" And with a little wave, the oldest hybrid scurried into the bathroom, leaving his little sister to gawk at him.
"Son Gohan! I'm gonna kick your butt!" Nayuta howled angrily as the dogs started barking loudly with her.
"OH! Nayuta, you should've told me you were playing with them!" Goten's loud hyper voice intruded next.
"Great-OOF!" Nayuta's tired groan was interrupted by Goten jumping on her to join the literal dog pile.
With her morning already soured by her brothers and pets, Nayuta pouted heavily at her huge stacks of pancakes. Not even the savory syrup that her mother had provided on top of the hot cakes could improve her mood. It didn't stop her from eating her food with as much gusto as she usually does. There was an unspoken rule between herself and her brother, if you don't eat your share quickly then expect your plate to get swallowed by another.
Gohan looked over at Makima. "Is there anything you need us to do while you're at work?"
"Other than your usual chores and feeding the dogs, none at all." Makima replied as she ate her food in a more neat manner. She gave her son a teasing glance. "Any plans with Videl today, my darling son?" Nayuta's potential good mood was ruined by the reminder of their recent addition in the form of Gohan's classmate.
Gohan blushed, almost choking on his food. "M-Mom?! I already told you that all we're doing is training!"
"But two teenagers all alone in the middle of the woods? A mother can't help but worry what her healthy son could be getting up to." Makima enjoyed the way Gohan squirms with embarrassment. While Nayuta was too young to understand the full context of what their mother was implying, she at least understood that it was something "lovey dovey".
Goten looked up from his breakfast, crumbles of food littering his face. "But Mommy, Nayuta and I will be there too! So, Gohan isn't going to be alone with Videl!"
Makima took a napkin and started wiping off her son's face with a smile. "Yes, I'm sure you're right."
"Does she have to keep joining us?" Nayuta voiced her displeasure. Such complaints from her weren't new as she's been doing it since their training sessions with Videl had started.
"Nayuta, we talked about this already." Gohan sighed in exasperation. "Videl wants to learn how to fly, and I agreed to teach her in time for the tournament."
"Well, what about Goten and me?! You agreed to teach us!" Nayuta rebutted.
"You and Goten figured out how to fly within the first few minutes of training. Videl doesn't have the extensive training or genetics that we have, so it's going to take her longer to figure out." Gohan explained in hopes of calming her down.
Makima allowed the argument to play out with no intention of intervening. Instead, she focused on ensuring that Goten wasn't feeding the pleading dogs anything that would poison them.
"So?! How is that our problem?! We're supposed to be training for the tournament! We're lagging behind everyone else, because that idiot keeps taking up all of our time!" Nayuta exclaimed.
"Don't call Videl an idiot, Nayuta! That isn't nice!" Gohan scolded. Instead of silencing her as he hoped it would, all it served was making the little girl angrier. Nayuta would've slammed her fist on the table if it wasn't for the way her mother's presence warned her against it.
Makima may not be stopping what's happening, but she'll be damned to let them damage any more of the house.
"Fine! Then she's a super idiot! An idiot who can't figure out how to fly and keeps taking up all of your time! I can't get stronger if she keeps getting in my way!" Nayuta yelled.
Gohan was at the end of his rope as this wasn't the first time they've had this argument. He's tried his best to defend his time spent on training his friend for the tournament. He wished she could be more accepting about it like Goten, but Nayuta has always been more opinionated and selfish. As if the world should bend to her whims and control or else suffer the consequences. "Nayuta, I know that you want to get stronger quickly, but I need to do this for Videl. It'll mean a lot to her to be able to surprise her dad at the tournament."
"And it'll mean a lot to me if you would help me get stronger for the tournament! But that can't happen if you're too busy getting all kissy kissy with Videl all the time!" Nayuta shot back.
Goten blinked at them, then turned to his mother. "What does "kissy kissy" mean?"
"I'll explain it when you're older." Makima responded.
"Stop being selfish, Nayuta! You know that's wrong, and Dad won't approve-"
"WHO CARES ABOUT HIM?!" Nayuta's shout shook the house itself. "The conversation isn't even about him and yet you keep bringing him up! Both him and Videl! Everything's been about them since you've brought up this stupid tournament! I'm sick of it!" Nayuta stormed off from the table and hurried for the front door.
Gohan got over his momentary shock to address his sister. "Nayuta! Where are you going?!"
The girl didn't even bother looking back at him. "If you're not going to help me get stronger then I'll just go to someone who will!" She took off into the skies before Gohan could try stopping her.
"NAYUTA-" Gohan was prevented from chasing her by Makima. The Control Devil had grabbed her son by the back of his shirt. "Mom-"
"Let her run off. She'll be back by dinner time." Makima stood up from the table. "Hurry up and clean the dishes before Videl arrives. I'll see you boys after work, okay?" Makima grabbed her coat from the rack by the door.
"W-wait, Mom…!" Gohan quickly followed after her. "I-"
"Think about what you'll say to her when she gets back. Nayuta just needs to figure herself out. She's a lot like me when I was younger…but without all the bloodlusts."
"Wait, what-" Gohan couldn't even question that last part as his mother vanished from the confines of their home. "Great…"
SHATTER!
"Oops!" Goten cried from behind him. "...I think that was one of Mommy's favorite plates."
Gohan just fell to his knees at that point.
Life on the Lookout wasn't so bad as Piccolo believed years ago, when he and Kami were still separate beings. However, their reunion had given him a new outlook on the serene divine presence the palace radiated. Meditation had become several times easier to perform, and the company of Dende and Mr. Popo was strangely welcomed. For someone who enjoyed his solitude so much there was something refreshing about having some form of company.
Unfortunately, that peacefulness would be disrupted by one out of several little headaches he's become attached to in recent years.
"Train me!" Nayuta demanded.
Piccolo opened one of his eyes, still trying to keep his meditation going. "No."
"Train me!" She repeated.
"No."
"Why not?!" Nayuta stomped her foot with a pout. "You trained Gohan! So, why can't you train me?!"
Knowing that he won't be able to continue his meditation at this rate, Piccolo allowed his feet to connect with the silver tiles. He crossed his arms with a stern glare that made the little hybrid squirm slightly. "Why do you want to train so badly?"
"B-because, Gohan is too busy getting all "kissy kissy" with his stupid girlfriend to train me and Goten!" Nayuta explained.
Piccolo filed that information about Gohan slacking off to be dealt with later. He looked around the Lookout before looking back down at the little girl. "Then, where's Goten?"
"Ah…!"
Seems she just realized that she had shown up without her twin.
Nayuta got over that little blunder to focus on the situation. "Goten would just get in my way anyway! I need to get stronger for the tournament and you're one of the strongest guys I know! So, let's get to it!" Nayuta made a chopping motion with her hands.
"Why do you want to get stronger for the tournament?" Piccolo asked.
"Why does that even matter?!"
"I'm not going to train you unless I understand your reasons. Even Goku had reasons-"
"AAAAAHHHH! DON'T MENTION HIM!" Nayuta screamed loudly, almost knocking Piccolo over with her noise. Dende and Mr. Popo, who was watching from the entrance of the palace, had fallen over from surprise. "Everyone keeps bringing him up and I don't need to hear about him from you too, Piccolo!"
The Namekian straightened himself out, grumbling at the powerful lungs this girl possessed. He stared at the girl with a mixture of disgruntlement and confusion. Nayuta had always been an enigma to everyone due to how different she was in comparison to her brothers, who were much more like Goku. This girl was almost the epitome of a spoiled princess with the desire to keep everything under her control.
"Too much like her mother for her own good." Piccolo said mentally. He could see that she clearly had some issues about Goku and the old him would have agreed with her. Hell, the old evil Piccolo would've seen her as a more prosperous potential apprentice over Gohan. However, he was no longer that piccolo and had no desire to kill Goku (Who was already dead anyway).
This girl needed an attitude check before she did something incredibly stupid, which was something that ran like a forest fire with her family. "Fine, I'll take you under my wing."
"Really?! I don't need to tell you some dumb reason?!" Nayuta's eyes shined brightly.
"BUT!" That word shot down Nayuta like a punch to the gut. "You have to land at least one hit on me within the time limit." He magically created a sand hourglass in his hand. "You'll have one minute."
Nayuta was bummed until he had finished explaining. Her frown turned into a feral grin and she cracked her knuckles. "That's all I have to do? Sweet! I'm always up for a little challenge!"
"Just like her Father." Piccolo rolled his eyes. "Also, no Super Saiyan is allowed in this test."
"HUH?! But-"
"Complain even once and I'll forgo the entire test altogether!"
Nayuta bit back her outcry and crossed her arms. "Fine!"
"One minute. Start." Piccolo flipped over the hourglass and slapped it down on the floor. The moment the hourglass contacted the silver tiles, Nayuta exploded forth in a burst of speed with a left jab. Piccolo easily avoided the attack and countered with a punch into her gut that sent Nayuta crashing into the palace.
Nayuta would've complained about Piccolo striking back, but she remembered that any complaint means automatic failure. She didn't have the time to waste and charged back in to strike the Namekian. Any strike she tossed out was either dodged or countered by the experienced Z-Fighter. It felt like he was reading each one of her moves before she even made them. It was like fighting against her mama, who never seemed to get caught off guard by herself or Goten.
She launched a kick towards him that was evaded once again, but this time he grabbed her leg and slammed the hybrid into the floor. Nayuta growled in anger, a teal color flashing in her eyes. "Screw the rules!" She transformed into a Super Saiyan and launched a KI blast at Piccolo that exploded instantly. Smoke enveloped the Lookout and whatever damages caused were the least of Nayuta's concerns. "HA! I finally got you!"
"Really?"
Nayuta whipped around to see Piccolo standing unscathed with his arms crossed. He glared down at the hybrid with disappointment. "Tch! Even Goten would've followed the rules for a full minute." She wasn't even given the chance to respond before Piccolo slammed his foot into her gut with enough power to blast her across the Lookout. Her Super Saiyan form faded away as she rolled towards the edge. The only reason she didn't fall is because Mr. Popo caught her by the back of her dress. A groggy groan escaped her lips as Dende rushed over to heal whatever pain Piccolo had done to her.
"DON'T heal her, Dende!" Piccolo stopped the Guardian of Earth.
Dende whipped around to his friend. "But Piccolo, you didn't have to be that hard on her!" Even while in pain, Nayuta hated how weak that made her sound.
"She failed the test and disobeyed the rules, so she gets to deal with the punishment!" Piccolo responded as he stomped over. He looked down at Nayuta as she laid in Mr. Popo's arms. "You're lucky, kid. I was much harsher on Gohan when he was years younger than you. However, even he knew better than to go against my parameters when it came to training. You say that you want to train and get stronger, but you aren't willing to listen to others or respect their methods. Your brother is too busy to train with you? Then instead of throwing a temper tantrum like some little baby, learn to handle it with some self-respect!"
Nayuta squirmed out of Mr. Popo's arms to stand back on her feet. She glared angrily at Piccolo. "Why do you think I came to you?! I wanna get stronger!"
"You came here, because you wanted someone to be on your side! To agree with your complaints and listen to everything you have to say! Well it's a two-way street, brat! Not everything can be yours to control and not everything is gonna go your way!" Piccolo countered.
"Says you! What do you know about me, huh?!"
"I know that Goku would be ashamed to see that his own child-"
"WHO CARES WHAT HE THINKS?! HE'S DEAD!" Nayuta screamed before blasting off away from the Lookout as fast as she could.
This time Piccolo stood unfazed by her scream and stared at the direction she had gone. He knew that his words were harsh and that was the point. The only way to get through that girl's head was to be as brutally honest as possible. Hopefully, Makima wouldn't be too upset about how harsh he was, because he'd rather not deal with her moods. "Tch…these brats are gonna be the death of me."
"Will you pay attention?!"
"I am paying attention!"
"You're not! You've been staring at my face the entire time!"
"What?! I can't look at you while you're talking?!"
"I'm trying to tutor you! So, pay attention to what I'm writing instead!"
"I'm trying, but these stupid equations don't make sense!"
"Ugh…! It should've been Gohan doing this…"
Currently Asa Mitaka was spending her early evening at a nearby park trying to tutor Denji, but the boy was terrible. No matter what she did he just wouldn't pay attention to what she was trying to teach him and just rather stare at her face. Most girls would be flattered, but not her! Nope! Not at all!
"Stop lying to yourself."
"SHUT. UP." Asa hissed dangerously.
"I didn't even say anything!" Denji cried.
"I wasn't talking to you!"
"Then you were talking to yourself? That's kinda weird."
"You are the LAST person to be calling anyone weird."
"Eh, I know weirder people."
"Should I be concerned about that?" Asa couldn't help but ask.
"Not unless you meet them." Denji shrugged.
Asa would've said something else, but a certain Devil that lives inside of her started warning her of something. The clumsy teen quickly stood up, gathering her stuff. "Look, Denji, we can continue our lesson later, but I just realized I left my oven on at my apartment! Gotta go make sure my place doesn't burn down! Bye!"
"Wait! But w-when can we meet again?!"
"I'll text you!"
"You don't have my number!" He shouted back, but Asa was already too far away to hear him. The Chainsaw Devil just sighed, slouching down in his seat. "Would a left on oven really start a house fire?"
"Yes, numbskull."
"Huh?" Denji looked over to see Nayuta sitting in the seat next to him. "Nayuta? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be training with Gohan or something?"
The girl just released a troubled sigh. "He's too busy getting all "kissy kissy" with Videl to be training."
"Huh?! You're tellin' me that they're makin' out and stuff, while I'm stuffing my face in these stupid textbooks?!" Denji whined.
Nayuta shrugged. "I guess…"
Denji stopped his lamenting when he realized the unusual mood the young hybrid was in. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"...Denji?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you have a Dad?"
Denji didn't answer immediately, having not expected the question, especially since his dad was a topic he never liked thinking about. "Why are you asking?"
"You know how my Papa is coming back for the tournament, right?"
The Chainsaw Devil nodded his head. "Yeah, Gohan explained that he gets one free day back from the dead or something like that."
"Yup! And ever since that news came out everyone can't stop talking about him! Gohan and Mama are acting like goofballs over it, talking about how strong he was or how much of a good person he was! The others keep bringing up how similar Gohan and Goten are to him, and how different I am! Like, I'm some kind of pariah!"
"What does that word mean?"
"Basically, I'm some kind of strange freak."
"You're not a freak, Nayuta." Denji said.
"Sure doesn't feel like it. I don't feel excited like everyone else does about him coming back. How am I supposed to care about a man who I've never met?"
"Uh…how does Goten feel about it?"
Nayuta just scoffed at the question. "He hasn't thought much about it and pretty much goes with the flow of Mama and Gohan's excitement. So, even my twin can't feel the same way that I do."
Denji frowned at Nayuta, somewhat able to understand how she felt. All his life he's felt different from others, and even after joining high school that hasn't changed. Even Aki and Power treated him like shit when they first met, of course things have changed since but the point still stands. People either treat him like shit, avoid him like the plague, attack him, or try to use him. The first person to ever make him feel like he truly belonged was Pochita, who was now his heart. Then he met the Sons and felt pretty welcomed during the short period of staying with them.
Nayuta was a good kid. A spoiled brat? Yes. But a good kid nonetheless. She shouldn't be feeling like she doesn't belong when it's clear that her family loves her.
He rubbed the back of his neck before speaking again. "You wanted to know if I have a Dad, right?" Nayuta nodded her head, prompting him to continue. "Well, I had one."
"He's dead?"
"Yup." Denji shrugged. "The bastard was a gambling piece of shit that stuck me with all of his debts when he died. I have no fond memories of him and honestly I don't care if he fades from my memories forever. I hate him."
Nayuta frowned, not knowing how to respond to all of that. Was her situation with her papa similar to Denji's?
"Don't go thinking about that stuff." Denji interrupted her thoughts. "My situation with my Dad ain't nothing like yours."
"But I-"
"From what I can understand about the guy is that he's a good person at least. Gohan looked so excited to see him again that it made me envious. I started to wonder how my life would be if my Dad wasn't a bastard. But there's no point in thinking about stuff like that, I guess." Denji sighed.
"Then how am I supposed to feel? I can understand that our situations are completely different, but he's…"
"Just a stranger?"
"Yeah!"
"Then give him a chance." Denji suggested.
Nayuta blinked at him. "Just like that?"
"Yup. If he's a good guy like everyone else said, then I think you should be fine. But if he turns out to be a complete jackass, then you and me can bond over shitty Fathers. How does that sound?" Denji raised his fist.
Nayuta thought about it for a moment before smiling and bumping her fist against his. "Sounds good. Thanks, Denji."
"No problem." He replied. Denji looked up at the sky, noticing that it was getting darker. "Crap! Better get home before Aki throws a fit!"
"Hey, Denji!"
"Huh?"
"I know your Dad was a jerk, but was there anyone there for you when you needed it? I don't think I could imagine being alone like that." Nayuta asked.
Denji held a soft smile, placing a hand to his heart. "Yeah, I had one friend who had my back no matter what. Hopefully…one day, I'll see him again."
Nayuta gave him a wide smile. "I hope you see him again too!"
"Thanks…!" He turned to leave, but stopped once more. "And, Nayuta!"
"Huh?"
"Give Videl a chance too."
Gohan paced back and forth outside of his home, waiting for Nayuta to return home. His mother had called to let them know she'd be getting home late and to eat the emergency dinner that she always keeps prepared. All that was left was Nayuta, who he was so desperately trying to fight the urge to chase after. His mother told him to give her space, so he was trying to respect that-
"Gohan!"
He looked up to see Nayuta crash into his chest, wrapping her arms around him for a hug. Gohan was surprised for the moment before returning the warm gesture. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Gohan started. "I'm sorry for getting mad at you like that. I should've tried to understand your feelings a bit more about Videl. I thought that you would come to accept her like Goten had, but I guessed incorrected."
Nayuta shook her head. "It's okay…Gohan. I should've listened to you more. Some things happened today that helped me see that listening to others really can help. And I'm sorry about yelling negatively about Papa. It's just…"
"You're scared, right?"
"S-scared?! I'm not scared!"
"It's okay to be scared, Nayuta. I'm sure Mom had noticed, but I should've tried to ease you and Goten into the idea of seeing him better. We'll understand if you don't want to meet him-"
"I want to meet him!" Nayuta interrupted him. Then blushed at her cringy outburst. "I-I'll give him a chance to live up to the hype…"
"That's all we can ask, little sister." Gohan chuckled softly. "So, about Videl-"
"Sorry, but I only have room for one chance-giving." Nayuta pushed herself out of his arms and started walking into the house. Gohan just sighed again with a face palm.
"Baby steps…" Gohan muttered before entering the house.
Chapter End
NOTE: I hope you all enjoyed this Nayuta-centric chapter. This exists solely for her development later on in the story. I have a lot of fun writing her, so I hope it's to your liking. This doesn't contradict Nayuta's meeting with Goku, because she's still clearly nervous about meeting the guy. She's just giving him a shot.
Makima lets her kids figure themselves out as it helps them become better at problem solving. She'll step in if they're taking too long to figure it out or come to her for help.
Piccolo was harsh, but it's Piccolo.
Asa ran, because Yoru wanted to avoid Nayuta seeing her.
Denji and Nayuta have a bond. It's not to the same extent as their canon counterparts, but they do help each other out when they need it.
Have a good night!
