(Elsewhere)
"Ahh… now this is what I call a bath," Paprika sighed, her body becoming completely immersed in the bubbling hot water of a spring she'd found in the northernmost region of Mount Paozu a few weeks ago. Concealed within a thick patch of forest at the base of a volcanic mountain, the Makyan had very little to fear from any peeping toms or eyes that happened to be wandering around in her area, as she allowed herself to become completely at ease in the steaming pond of water and herbs.
This pretty much meant that all of her clothes, her scarf, cowl and boots included, had been folded up and set aside for the time being; all of which were currently sitting a couple feet away from her.
"Man. I can't believe I never thought about doing this in the first place. After all those times I wasted taking a dip in the lake and the hot tub at home. This is way better."
All things considered, she could've just as easily taken a bath back at her place. But with such a nice day out, with the sun shining high above and the birds singing all around her, there was no way she was going to waste an opportunity like this cooped up indoors. She wanted to fill her lungs with fresh country air and allow her skin to absorb the incredible rays of light from the sun above.
This… right now… this was heaven.
"Maybe I can try moving my house up here. Claim this spot as my territory," Paprika thought, tilting her head as she glanced off to the side of the pool. "Might be a bit of hassle lugging that stone castle, but I think I can manage it." That was the beauty of Capsule Corp technology; you could always count on it to carry your extra heavy loads.
Running her hand up and down her silky smooth skin, the eighteen year old Makyan allowed another sigh to escape her lips as she felt the herbs of the natural spring work their magic. In that same instant, she felt all her woes and pains wash away with every second she spent in there. After dunking her head into the pool so that she became completely enveloped in the mixture, all sense of awareness and time soon left her as well.
Hell, she became so caught up in her moment of self-indulgence and bliss that she completely missed the blip of a familiar ki signature appearing on her radar.
As Paprika was lying back against the stone edge surrounding the pool and was in the process of closing her lids, a voice of a young boy spoke up, startling her out of her moment of peace and tranquility.
"Hey, Paprika!"
Eyes widening, the Makyan looked up to see the silhouette of a small dragon and a youngster riding atop of it float down from the sky above. When they descended to a low enough height, just several feet above the ground, the two figures revealed themselves to be none other than Goten and Icarus.
"I spent the last half hour looking for you, Paprika. Where have you been hiding this entire time? Oh, wow! Is that a hot spring? Awesome!" the child exclaimed happily. "How the heck did you manage to find one all the way out here?!"
While the sight of the dragon didn't bother Paprika in the slightest, it was the fact that the demi-Saiyan was with him that immediately caught the white haired demon's attention.
Looking down when she realized the boy could see her outline clearly through the water, the teenager blushed and crossed her legs. Upon which she then threw a glare up at her cheerful visitor, "Oi, you little pervert! Can't you see that I'm bathing here?"
"Yeah. I can see," the boy chirped, before tilting his head innocently in her direction, "Is the water nice?"
"Yes. It's nice. But that's not what I'm… ugh…" Paprika then gave an exasperated sigh and shot the child another glare, "Look… just… turn around, okay. I'm not exactly in the most decent of appearances right now."
"Huh? Decent of appearances? What does that me-… oooh," Goten murmured in realization before, leaning over Icarus's head, he whispered discreetly to her, "Are you nakey?"
Paprika sighed once again. "Yes, Goten. I am naked."
Thank goodness the kid was so innocent. Bless his heart.
Goten then nodded to his friend in understanding while Icarus gave a very bird-like chirp in response, "Okay, Paprika. I'll make sure to turn around when you get out." After all the interactions he'd had with girls in the past, the boy at least had an idea of when courtesy and manners in this regard were required. Obviously he possessed the common sense to know that it was bad being naked in front of people and would always point this out whenever a situation like this arose. However, like all other children his age, he still had a couple other things to learn about proper social etiquette.
Chief among which was what he said next.
"This hot spring is very big, Paprika. Can I join you?" Goten asked cheerfully, wanting to take a dip and try out the water for himself.
The Makyan, blinking a couple of times, then frowned up at the youngster, "Really? You want to jump into a pool of hot, boiling water in the middle of nowhere with a naked demon girl sitting right next to you?"
Staring at her quietly for several seconds, as if seriously analyzing her question, the spiky haired boy's face strained for a moment before he uttered the only answer he could come up with.
"Yes?"
Closing her eyes and smiling in amusement, the white haired fighter was about to offer a counter to the boy's answer, until a ding in her senses promptly disrupted her train of thought.
Gasping, Paprika leapt to her feet. Not caring that she was in the buff and dripping from head to toe, the shapely female fighter fixed her gaze squarely on the sky above her, at the exact same time Goten picked up the disturbance as well. The boy and his family's dragon spun towards the clouds with an exclamation of surprise and a narrowed gaze, the young Saiyan's expression becoming as bewildered and intense as his friend's.
"Whoa. What is that?" the hybrid asked in astonishment.
"I don't know," Paprika replied, a snarl escaping her lips shortly afterwards and beads of sweat starting to bleed out of her temple. "That power level is massive. What the hell is that?"
Whatever it was, it was big… and it was coming towards the planet.
OOO
(Meanwhile)
Many miles to the north, in a house surrounded by fields of wild flowers and long grass, a young couple was just waking to the start of a brand new day. Inside the wooden home, in a dining room filled with all the latest installments and baring a very contemporary design, an adult male with silky, shoulder-length black hair, sharp blue eyes, and wearing a short-sleeved black shirt, a long-sleeved white undershirt, blue jeans, boots, a brown trench coat and an orange bandana around his neck, could be seen sitting at the table eating from a bowl of oatmeal. Gripping the cup of coffee he had sitting beside him as well, the young adult took a quick sip of it before then turning his attention towards the kitchen counter.
It was there he saw a woman with dark brown skin, long brown hair tied into a bun, soft blue eyes, and wearing a blue kimono with cheery blossom flowers patterning it, walk towards the table with a plate of eggs and bacon for the both of them. Setting one down in front of him, she too took up a seat on the other side of the desk and beamed across at the young man with love and warmth reflected in her eyes.
Android 17 chuckled, "You're spoiling me, dear."
"Only because you're worth the trouble," the young girl replied with a cheeky smile. "You've got a long day of work ahead of you and I don't want you going hungry out there, so eat up."
"Sure. I wasn't planning on leaving behind a single crumb anyway," the raven haired male stated, quickly turning back to his oatmeal and stirring it. With only a little bit left, the young adult quickly got to work finishing it, while at the same time regarding the woman across from him with kindness and affection. "After all the effort you put into our food, Ami, there's no way I could possibly leave any of it untouched. Even though it's physically impossible, I'm pretty sure I would starve without having one of your special omelets every night."
"Well then, buster, you'd better give it your all out there in the park. Because if you don't, I might just have to send you to bed without any supper," Ami informed cheerfully, tilting her head at the young male. "Hopefully you'll have a good shift today and you won't have to deal with any troublesome poachers looking to make a quick zeni."
"Don't worry. I will," Seventeen replied with a nod, cutting one of the sunny-sides with the edge of his fork and plucking up some bacon with it. Popping it into his mouth and chewing, the android then stopped when a sudden thought crossed his mind and he set his utensils down.
His sudden actions and change in expression prompted his wife to look up at him in surprise, "What's wrong, honey?"
"I'm just wondering whether or not I should go out and see my sister," Android 17 spoke, staring down at the table for a few seconds before then looking back at the woman across from him. "I know she's been hanging out with Goku's group these past seven years, but I haven't even taken the time to set aside a day to go say hello to her. After all the crap we had to go through with Cell and everything, well... I think we've had more than enough time to relax and find out feet."
Ami tilted her head and gave her lover a sincere smile, "I knew it would take you a while to figure these things out. That was a really rough period for everyone… for you and your sister especially ." She then reached forward and placed a hand on top of his, rubbing her thumb against his skin comfortingly. "Everyone needs a little bit of time out to heal and rejuvenate their senses after experiencing such terrible pain and hardship. Perhaps now you've finally come to terms with all that and you're ready to go out and face the world again."
Considering her words for a moment, Seventeen smiled, "These last seven years have been fun… and I've had plenty of time to experience a lot of things this life has to give me. I mean… I met you, didn't I?" Giving the young woman his most genuine smile, he then exhaled slowly and nodded his head in understanding. "I'll take you to visit them this weekend. I think it's high time you and I had a little family reunion."
The brown haired zoologist beamed brightly, "I'll be sure to pack my swimsuit."
While looking across at one another, basking in the peace and silence the moment brought to them, a sudden surge in Seventeen's head suddenly caused him to straighten up and look towards the ceiling. Rising out of his seat so quickly that he literally knocked it over, the android startled his wife when he fixed a terrified glare towards the roof of their building…
Only… it wasn't the roof that was the problem.
"Seventeen… what's wrong?"
Sweat breaking out on his face, the raven haired man clenched his fists tightly. "Something's coming."
He knew this much because his optical sensors were going haywire.
===============================
If you want to support me and also access 30 advance chapters, join my patreon with the link patreon.com/EddyHazArd
Or just search "EddyHazArd" in the patreon searcher.