Dragonball M, Chapter 1: Silent Menace Aproaches!

[grampagen]

Pancakes, buttered waffles, syrups, sausage and potato fritters.

Jinzi Pantaloon's breakfast endeavours lay spread in an assembly for the morning gathering, a smorgasbord fit for such ravenous company. The myriad scents waft in the chamber a miasma of fat, sugars and caffeine distillations.

Expertly prepared. But disgusting.

Ochazuke bid his time walking from one end of the tables to the other, until eventually he too found some things to his satisfaction. A large bowl of piping hot rice and half a dozen extra large eggs, raw.

Finding a seat among them, the near presence of their Guardian did not elude him.

She laughs. A beautiful sound, her bell like laughter, and she shakes her head and smiles at him.

“An honest truth, Held, thank you. I would hate to think myself some grandiose and pompous kai, to be honest.”

"Hrrmh..."

Taking ahold of an egg between his thumb and forefinger, he concentrated his ki into it. Even something so simple held quiet mysteries in it. Its smooth surface, porous on the finest level, and imprecisely constructed. Natural things often were possessed of myriad imperfections.

Striking it with the middle finger of the same hand, he split it in perfect edged halves, pouring the insides neatly into the ceramic vessel before him. The clear and vital parts of the egg quickly twist and grew opaque
where they fell.

"Gods are fickle and arrogant, in my experience. Few seem worthy of the title. Still, neither Old Kami or I are such beings, I assure you."

“He once was worthy, but fell. Now he is not. That is all. It is my wish to see him dead for his sins.”

“At his height? A few thousand. His magic made him more dangerous though, as he knew many spells. I and my companions barely stopped him last time. He is diminished now, though.”

"Hm hm hm..."

Charging another portion of his breakfast bowl, he stifled a laugh as the egg split in his hand, fell, and was assimilated in the starchy mire.

Unlike the arrogant? Or unlike the worthy? Shed for the moment of her divine mantle, this projection of their guide seemed all the more tangible, as fallen and lowly as the ones she'd chosen to ascend to assist her station.

"Then it is a matter of course that you explain how you defeated the Fallen One," he said, "If he can be diminished, we can kill him."

“Revenge.”, Jinzi says.

“Her family was killed by the World Government several years ago. They were resistant zealots who refused to surrender and were killed in a firefight.”

Ochazuke split the last egg, folding the halves of carved shells into neat piles of refuse to be discarded by the side. Released of its confines, no longer bound to its limits, it was now fodder. Large pieces of scallion and a drop of soy sauce shaped the bowl to his final design.

"All the more for you to explain I am sure."

The war for Heaven and the war for the Earth. As tender lumplings rolled, coalesced, and fell solid in a clumsy mass of disparate ingredients, Ochazuke drew a spoonful of green tea from Pantaloon's store and set it to whisk.

[Miburo]

Meagan took an empty seat at his table, then asked him a question, "Before now, did you know anything about Guardians like Kami or Old Kami?"

Held shook his head.

"Not in any kind of depth."

He frowned, before adjusting his wording.

" I mean, no. I probably glanced something about it in one my books on earth culture, but I probably glossed over it."

That reminds me...I really should see if Jinzi has a library. Forearmed is forwarned, and all that...

"Don't get me wrong, earth culture is fascinating, but I didn't really expect something about Guardians and gods to be directly relevant in my life."

I wonder if other planets have some sort of mystical guardian? What makes earth so special? Well, I guess The Dragonballs, but....That just leads to more questions.

He scratched his chin, slightly.

"What about you? Or is this all outside of your wheelhouse, as well?"

[Sub-Zero MKA]

His poker face took a massive hit from that public display of "affection" from Sarada, breaking out into a fit of laughter that joined the Saiyan's.

Charco was going to die horribly when this came crashing down, but for now, it was worth it.

"Glad to see you've taken a liking to our culture." He finally said as his amusement's overload began to wane.

"It's weird, but I can get used to it," Sarada answered. She couldn't wait to get home and tell everyone else about the Earther system for superiority and inferiority. She was certain that the saiyans would take to it quickly, perhaps even replacing their system with this new -- and in her opinion, superior -- system.

"What should boyfriends be doing for their girlfriends?" she inquired curiously. "I want to make sure I'm not cheated out of any... pleasantries."

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

"Boyfriends, huh? Make sense." Males were inferior to females, after all. She had never heard of the word husband, either, but it sounded especially weak. She wondered if there was a word for the strongest ones on this planet. "Good to know, Charco," she said appreciatively with a gracious nod.



She had to smirk. This fool tried to lie his way out of embarrassment, only for that humiliation to be multiplied when his lie was exposed in seconds. By himself, no less!

Ha! What an idiot!

"Out loud, you say?" She tried hard to stifle her laughter for until after she made her announcement. Undoubtedly, everyone was going to burst out in laughter when they learned that Totoma was going to submit to her superiority so easily. A shame; she would have loved to be the submissiveness into him, but alas, such was not possible at the moment.

"Hey, everyone!" she said loudly enough for the entire group to hear her clearly. "Totoma is my boyfriend and I'm his girlfriend!" With that, she broke down into a fit of laughter.

His poker face took a massive hit from that public display of "affection" from Sarada, breaking out into a fit of laughter that joined the Saiyan's.

Charco was going to die horribly when this came crashing down, but for now, it was worth it.

"Glad to see you've taken a liking to our culture." He finally said as his amusement's overload began to wane.

Totoma's poker face was better than Charco's, but not much. The grin on his face was wide as could be, and he was visibly shaking in his efforts to hold back his laughter. He must have looked like he was shaking in... rage?

"Since you're not from around here, I guess it's up to ol' Toto, your boyfriend, to teach you what's expected," said Totoma, still 'shaking in rage'. "Tradition and such is very important with this boyfriend-girlfriend stuff."

This was going to be hilarious. Just how far could he take this joke?

[MrSandman]

"It's weird, but I can get used to it," Sarada answered. She couldn't wait to get home and tell everyone else about the Earther system for superiority and inferiority. She was certain that the saiyans would take to it quickly, perhaps even replacing their system with this new -- and in her opinion, superior -- system.

"What should boyfriends be doing for their girlfriends?" she inquired curiously. "I want to make sure I'm not cheated out of any... pleasantries."

"Erosa can help with that!" Erosa shouted, still holding Midori up to Jinzi. "Come to room later and I teach you ins and outs of boyfriend and girlfriend!"

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

The Earther for now seemed content to remain in the room. That suited Koorimaru fine. Despite her protestations, it was evident that if whatever was trapped within the urn was in league with the Old Guardian, some measure of information might be had. Even so, the brief glance towards the blue-skinned, horned-woman did not go unnoticed by Koorimaru. Some words that Koorimaru did not quite catch had been traded between them earlier though now it seemed some contention (a common phenomenon amongst the various earlier sub-groups, it seemed) had been festered between them, though if Ajna's description of the events were anything to go by, conflict was a very present phenomenon in this particular early group.

"It seems the dear girl is quite protective of her charge." Koori said as he approached the blue-skin woman, nodding briefly at Karine and Held as he did, "I had heard from another of your early allies that that urn she holds contains the essence of one of Old Kami's allies. How strange that she should feel so indebted to being his jailer."

"The mage sealed himself away- his decision to remain alive outweighing the options we left him: death, or to be consumed by Erosa." Ishtar responded, giving the Frost Demon a cursory inspection before offering a nod.

"So I believe that whatever it is the girl, Etrina, is after ... has less to do with the continued imprisonment of the mage and more to do with personal ends." Which was what the Oni herself was after in a way- whatever knowledge could be gleaned from the mage- but the information would prove useful in the ventures to come. Etrina's refusal to even entertain the idea, was simply more of that impulsive foolishness she had noted from most everyone here.

"Oh well." Ishtar said with a shrug, before the relative calm was shattered by Sarada.

"Boyfriends, huh? Make sense." Males were inferior to females, after all. She had never heard of the word husband, either, but it sounded especially weak. She wondered if there was a word for the strongest ones on this planet. "Good to know, Charco," she said appreciatively with a gracious nod.

She had to smirk. This fool tried to lie his way out of embarrassment, only for that humiliation to be multiplied when his lie was exposed in seconds. By himself, no less!

Ha! What an idiot!

"Out loud, you say?" She tried hard to stifle her laughter for until after she made her announcement. Undoubtedly, everyone was going to burst out in laughter when they learned that Totoma was going to submit to her superiority so easily. A shame; she would have loved to be the submissiveness into him, but alas, such was not possible at the moment.

"Hey, everyone!" she said loudly enough for the entire group to hear her clearly. "Totoma is my boyfriend and I'm his girlfriend!" With that, she broke down into a fit of laughter.

Totoma's poker face was better than Charco's, but not much. The grin on his face was wide as could be, and he was visibly shaking in his efforts to hold back his laughter. He must have looked like he was shaking in... rage?

"Since you're not from around here, I guess it's up to ol' Toto, your boyfriend, to teach you what's expected," said Totoma, still 'shaking in rage'. "Tradition and such is very important with this boyfriend-girlfriend stuff."

This was going to be hilarious. Just how far could he take this joke?

"Sarada," Ishtar said her voice cutting through the girl's laughter.

"They are lying to you. For humans, a boyfriend, or girlfriend, is someone with which you are in a physical and emotional relationship with." Turning to look at both Charco and Totoma then, the glint the woman's eye said far more than the words that came out of her mouth.

"I would have expected this behavior from Charco, but from you it is ... a disappointment. Do not do it again."

Turning back to Sarada the Oni eyed her cautiously.

"I would request you save whatever impending reaction for our spar later this afternoon. I would see your worth."

[Tami]

Held shook his head.

"Not in any kind of depth."

He frowned, before adjusting his wording.

" I mean, no. I probably glanced something about it in one my books on earth culture, but I probably glossed over it."

That reminds me...I really should see if Jinzi has a library. Forearmed is forwarned, and all that...

"Don't get me wrong, earth culture is fascinating, but I didn't really expect something about Guardians and gods to be directly relevant in my life."

I wonder if other planets have some sort of mystical guardian? What makes earth so special? Well, I guess The Dragonballs, but....That just leads to more questions.

He scratched his chin, slightly.

"What about you? Or is this all outside of your wheelhouse, as well?"

"Actually, I've never before met a Guardian but I am familiar with them," Meagan spoke softly and calmly, keeping the conversation just between the two of them, "My Planet had one, once, long ago. I can't say why some planets have them and others don't, but I do know who much good a Guardian can do for a world, or how much harm they can do."

[Miburo]

"Boyfriends, huh? Make sense." Males were inferior to females, after all. She had never heard of the word husband, either, but it sounded especially weak. She wondered if there was a word for the strongest ones on this planet. "Good to know, Charco," she said appreciatively with a gracious nod.



She had to smirk. This fool tried to lie his way out of embarrassment, only for that humiliation to be multiplied when his lie was exposed in seconds. By himself, no less!

Ha! What an idiot!

"Out loud, you say?" She tried hard to stifle her laughter for until after she made her announcement. Undoubtedly, everyone was going to burst out in laughter when they learned that Totoma was going to submit to her superiority so easily. A shame; she would have loved to be the submissiveness into him, but alas, such was not possible at the moment.

"Hey, everyone!" she said loudly enough for the entire group to hear her clearly. "Totoma is my boyfriend and I'm his girlfriend!" With that, she broke down into a fit of laughter.

The Nevadian perked his head up at this, clearly surprised.

Held had not known Totoma for long, true. But if there was one thing the Nevadian knew, it was people. Totoma seemed like a reasonable, intelligent, kind hearted young man, with an amusing sense of humor. He was something of an Atypical Saiyan, taking Held off guard.

By contrast, while Held could find many acceptable qualities about Sarada--She was nothing, if not honest and passionate--they were overshadowed by her zeal for battle, and harsh nature, boiling on cruel.

Which, to be fair, was standard for a Saiyan.

I've heard that opposites attract, but this has to be pushing it...That poor man, she's going to enslave him....Is this some weird Sayian domination game?

"Good luck buddy..." Held whispered to no one in particular.

[Yun Lao]

"It's weird, but I can get used to it," Sarada answered. She couldn't wait to get home and tell everyone else about the Earther system for superiority and inferiority. She was certain that the saiyans would take to it quickly, perhaps even replacing their system with this new -- and in her opinion, superior -- system.

"What should boyfriends be doing for their girlfriends?" she inquired curiously. "I want to make sure I'm not cheated out of any... pleasantries."

"Well, for one, there are several days in a year that are devoted to the boyfriend declaring his loyalty to the girlfriend with valuable gifts. Obviously, boyfriends cook and provide for their girlfriends. Demanding that they make you a sandwich is a common term of minor praise, as it implies that their pitiful skills benefit you by providing you with nourishment."

"Sarada," Ishtar said her voice cutting through the girl's laughter.

"They are lying to you. For humans, a boyfriend, or girlfriend, is someone with which you are in a physical and emotional relationship with." Turning to look at both Charco and Totoma then, the glint the woman's eye said far more than the words that came out of her mouth.

"I would have expected this behavior from Charco, but from you it is ... a disappointment. Do not do it again."

Turning back to Sarada the Oni eyed her cautiously.

"I would request you save whatever impending reaction for our spar later this afternoon. I would see your worth."

Damn, looks like the jig is up.

Pursing his lips, it was all he could to maintain what stoicism the teen had left after all of this amusement. He prepared his body for what was to come.

[Tami]

"Boyfriends, huh? Make sense." Males were inferior to females, after all. She had never heard of the word husband, either, but it sounded especially weak. She wondered if there was a word for the strongest ones on this planet. "Good to know, Charco," she said appreciatively with a gracious nod.



She had to smirk. This fool tried to lie his way out of embarrassment, only for that humiliation to be multiplied when his lie was exposed in seconds. By himself, no less!

Ha! What an idiot!

"Out loud, you say?" She tried hard to stifle her laughter for until after she made her announcement. Undoubtedly, everyone was going to burst out in laughter when they learned that Totoma was going to submit to her superiority so easily. A shame; she would have loved to be the submissiveness into him, but alas, such was not possible at the moment.

"Hey, everyone!" she said loudly enough for the entire group to hear her clearly. "Totoma is my boyfriend and I'm his girlfriend!" With that, she broke down into a fit of laughter.

Replying to Sarada, "And here I thought Jack was your choice of mate." Meagan smirked, then shook her head at the thought of poor Totoma.

[Miburo]

"Actually, I've never before met a Guardian but I am familiar with them," Meagan spoke softly and calmly, keeping the conversation just between the two of them, "My Planet had one, once, long ago. I can't say why some planets have them and others don't, but I do know who much good a Guardian can do for a world, or how much harm they can do."

Held nodded his head, taking Meagans words in carefully.

"It does seem to be sort of a mixed bag, yeah?" He leaned in closer, understanding Meagan's preference to keep the conversation limited to the two of them, " Don't get me wrong, Ms. Kami has been nothing but lovely, but given our current issue--and hers---with the previous Kami...."

He trailed off for a moment.

"Well, it doesn't seem like Guardians are naturally disposed to being the friend of the world, or what have you."

Still....I wonder how this guardian thing works.....It makes sense to want to protect ones world, but how does one stumble into this task? Is it self appointed?

[KamenRaida]

"The mage sealed himself away- his decision to remain alive outweighing the options we left him: death, or to be consumed by Erosa." Ishtar responded, giving the Frost Demon a cursory inspection before offering a nod.

"So I believe that whatever it is the girl, Etrina, is after ... has less to do with the continued imprisonment of the mage and more to do with personal ends." Which was what the Oni herself was after in a way- whatever knowledge could be gleaned from the mage- but the information would prove useful in the ventures to come. Etrina's refusal to even entertain the idea, was simply more of that impulsive foolishness she had noted from most everyone here.

"Oh well." Ishtar said with a shrug, before the relative calm was shattered by Sarada.

Koorimaru nodded at Ishtar's words, finding agreement in what she said with the information Ajna had shared with him. While no physiological blows may have been struck within their group (hard as it was to believe of any group in which the saurian-aligned Earther was part of), the wounds in morale and trust remained fresh.

"I cannot fault her for seeking her own personal ends in this matter. Still, these Earthers seem entirely incapable of restraint, or of discerning immediate gratification from long-term achievement. It concerns me that so many of our group would instead of exercising caution decide their actions entirely on the merit of self-amusement...."

"Sarada," Ishtar said her voice cutting through the girl's laughter.

"They are lying to you. For humans, a boyfriend, or girlfriend, is someone with which you are in a physical and emotional relationship with." Turning to look at both Charco and Totoma then, the glint the woman's eye said far more than the words that came out of her mouth.

"I would have expected this behavior from Charco, but from you it is ... a disappointment. Do not do it again."

Turning back to Sarada the Oni eyed her cautiously.

"I would request you save whatever impending reaction for our spar later this afternoon. I would see your worth."

"...Like so." Koorimaru sighed.

It was not worth his time or effort to put an end to the foolishness between the two Saiyans and the Earther, but it certainly added greater weight to the assumptions he had already made of both races involved.

"I must admit, I am concerned that you were able to handle that so impeccably. It seems your people, whoever they may be, are quite familiar with eccentricities such as these." Koorimaru paused to consider his own words, "Although I must admit, in all my travels I have never seen your like before, and I fear I cannot place the world you come from."

[Hazard]

Slak is starting to doubt the wisdom of proposing a meeting between all of them. If this is what happens when they are all gathered, he'd rather not suffer it a second time.

He's not sure what exactly the Saiyans are shouting about, but he is pretty sure it is mating talk.

Sexually reproductive species are gross.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"Erosa can help with that!" Erosa shouted, still holding Midori up to Jinzi. "Come to room later and I teach you ins and outs of boyfriend and girlfriend!"

Sarada turned her nose up at Butt Pie's offer. To actually be in the same space with this girl was to forget that she stole the very last fruit pie from her at lunch yesterday, preferring to shove it up her own ass than seeing someone else enjoy its fruity deliciousness. Such selfishness and greed could not and would not go unpunished or forgiven.

"Yeah, right. Go shove a fruit pie up your ass."

Totoma's poker face was better than Charco's, but not much. The grin on his face was wide as could be, and he was visibly shaking in his efforts to hold back his laughter. He must have looked like he was shaking in... rage?

"Since you're not from around here, I guess it's up to ol' Toto, your boyfriend, to teach you what's expected," said Totoma, still 'shaking in rage'. "Tradition and such is very important with this boyfriend-girlfriend stuff."

This was going to be hilarious. Just how far could he take this joke?

"D'aw. Is my boyfriend mad?" She giggled as he begrudgingly offered to teach her the ways of boyfriend/girlfriend relationships. Clearly, having to do such after trying to lie his way out of it would be humiliating, thus only adding to her enjoyment. She couldn't wait to parade him around in public.

"Well, for one, there are several days in a year that are devoted to the boyfriend declaring his loyalty to the girlfriend with valuable gifts. Obviously, boyfriends cook and provide for their girlfriends. Demanding that they make you a sandwich is a common term of minor praise, as it implies that their pitiful skills benefit you by providing you with nourishment."

As if sensing that "Toto's" anger was preventing him from thinking straight, Charco stepped up and gave her some insight.

Hm. This was all very new to her, but from the sounds of it, it was the standard master/slave type relationship. Realizing that, Sarada felt more at ease and more comfortable with her relationship with Totoma moving forward. Evidently, his father was a cook, so she should have been very satisfied with his gifts of daily praise in the form of expansive meals akin to what Jinzi prepared for them this morning and yesterday.

As far as valuable gifts went, she wasn't sure what he would have in mind. Saiyans were far different than the other beings she was sure he was inferior to in the past. As such, he would have to think outside the box, so to speak, in order to find the perfect things to please her. She was certain he could do it; he was half-saiyan, after all.

Replying to Sarada, "And here I thought Jack was your choice of mate." Meagan smirked, then shook her head at the thought of poor Totoma.

She raised an eyebrow. "Eh? As if I'd mate with an Earther." She laughed derisively.

"Sarada," Ishtar said her voice cutting through the girl's laughter.

"They are lying to you. For humans, a boyfriend, or girlfriend, is someone with which you are in a physical and emotional relationship with." Turning to look at both Charco and Totoma then, the glint the woman's eye said far more than the words that came out of her mouth.

"I would have expected this behavior from Charco, but from you it is ... a disappointment. Do not do it again."

Turning back to Sarada the Oni eyed her cautiously.

"I would request you save whatever impending reaction for our spar later this afternoon. I would see your worth."

Her laughter cut off abruptly.

They... lied to her? Everything about boyfriends and girlfriends she had learned up to that point was a completely lie?

No way. It wasn't possible. And yet, a cursory glance at Charco's expression revealed that Ishtar spoke the truth.

Sarada couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe she was fooled that badly so easily. She... she declared that the mutt was her mate, someone she was in a physical relationship with! The urge to vomit was strong, but not nearly as strong as the urge to remove Charco's head from his shoulders was.

How DARE he make an ass out of her?! Did he not realize who he was fucking around with?! She was a saiyan warrior, not some... some clown for his amusement!

Her teeth ground and gritted together. Her hand balled into a fist bound so tightly, it shook with rage. They would pay dearly. She was not one to trifle with.

Instead of enacting her vengeance right then and there, she restrained herself and opted to wait. Totoma would get his soon. Charco, on the other hand, would have to wait.

She flashed a sharp, predatory smile. "Hilarious," she stated curtly.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Koorimaru nodded at Ishtar's words, finding agreement in what she said with the information Ajna had shared with him. While no physiological blows may have been struck within their group (hard as it was to believe of any group in which the saurian-aligned Earther was part of), the wounds in morale and trust remained fresh.

"I cannot fault her for seeking her own personal ends in this matter. Still, these Earthers seem entirely incapable of restraint, or of discerning immediate gratification from long-term achievement. It concerns me that so many of our group would instead of exercising caution decide their actions entirely on the merit of self-amusement...."

"...Like so." Koorimaru sighed.

It was not worth his time or effort to put an end to the foolishness between the two Saiyans and the Earther, but it certainly added greater weight to the assumptions he had already made of both races involved.

"I must admit, I am concerned that you were able to handle that so impeccably. It seems your people, whoever they may be, are quite familiar with eccentricities such as these." Koorimaru paused to consider his own words, "Although I must admit, in all my travels I have never seen your like before, and I fear I cannot place the world you come from."

"Many are under the sway of their baser instincts, yes." Ishtar responded, somewhat dismissive about the behavior of, well ... most of them. "Yet they are young, and have not seen what some have seen. While it is somewhat disappointing to see, given the tasks set before them; I would not expect them to behave any different." Many of them were still children, or at the very least crafted in the appearance of children. To treat them as if they were beyond their years would do everyone a disservice.

The Frost Demon made one comment or another after her handling of the situation then, at which the Oni shrugged.

"It is not the first time I have seen children acting out, and I doubt it will be the last." It was of some note however, how well the man had shifted from praise to curiosity aimed at her origins. As with most, the blue skin and horns had engendered a need for answers. Ishtar smiled.

"I am an Oni, the caretakers of Otherworld, also known as the Afterlife. It is not a world, so much as another realm entirely." After a brief pause the then stated, rather matter of fact,

"I however, am Ishtar; and what I am, is not who I am."