EPIC Side Story: Dragon Ball

Chapter 13: Gift

With a quality that made it appear like a moving painting, the Flying Nimbus was the offspring of a pseudo-spiritual creature birthed between the Realms of Heaven and Earth. The actual Nimbus was a massive golden cloud said to bring great fortune to all who witnessed its splendor while the much smaller variant, creating a long golden trail as it moved across the sky like a comet, was the favorite mode of transport for Earth's former Sages.

As a pseudo-spiritual entity with a nascent ego, the Flying Nimbus possessed the innate ability to ascertain whether or not the person trying to ride it was good, evil, pure of heart, or malicious. If it didn't approve of your character, trying to board it was the same as stepping into empty air.

"This little fella is known as Nimbus, the Somersault Cloud. Back in the day, these bad boys used to ferry the righteous and pure of heart all over the world. Now, the only people that can board them are young children and those who have dedicated their lives to the pursuit of martial arts. Here, let me demonstrate."

Though it had been decades since he last attempted to board the Flying Nimbus, long before the advent of Television, Roshi showed zero hesitation when he attempted to jump up and sit on the glistening golden cloud. Unfortunately, it had been quite some time since he was pure of heart, so, the moment his bottom impacted the cloud, he promptly slipped through it.

"What tha-!?"

Thanks to his shell, Roshi was able to avoid landing directly on his tailbone. Unfortunately, not all injuries were to the body. He was so embarrassed by the unexpected faux pas that his face became red from his nose to his ears. It was kind of sad, but, when it came down to it, the only person Roshi could blame for the mishap was himself.

Forcing himself to his feet, Roshi took a moment to dust himself off before clearing his throat with a cough and saying, "Anyways…feel free to give it a go, youngsters. So long as you're able to sit upon its back, the Nimbus will forever answer your call…?"

Seeing the golden cloud approach Vahn of its own fruition, Roshi's words gradually trailed off as a look of disbelief marred his elderly face…

With the Nimbus nuzzling against the side of his body like a cat seeking affection, a soft chuckle emanated from Vahn's throat as he proceeded to run his hand along its surprisingly warm and expectedly fluffy surface.

Though it was difficult to claim he was pure of heart, Vahn was the closest thing to Origin in each of the Records he had visited. As for his Actualized Worlds, he was the literal origin of every entity that existed within. This included the Nimbus, the Giant Nimbus, and everyone capable of riding them. If he wasn't qualified to mount the shimmering golden cloud, no one was.

Unfortunately, though it very clearly wanted him to, Vahn had no intention of making the Nimbus his mount. Its maximum speed was a leisurely Mach 1.5. This was, quite literally, millions of times slower than his maximum, unassisted flight speed.

As much as he enjoyed leisurely flights, Vahn knew the Nimbus would be better served in the hands of another. Thus, after fluffing it up quite a bit, he gently urged the inordinately fluffy cloud from his body as he said, "Sorry, little fella, but you'll need to choose someone else as your master. I already have a dedicated mount."

Hanging its 'head' in a clearly disheartened manner, the Nimbus slowly separated from Vahn's body before moving towards Bulma. This caused a haughty smile to develop across the buxom blunette's face. In response, Sarina tried to warn her, saying, "Bulma…only the pure of heart can ride the Flying Nimbus…" but Bulma wasn't having any of it, rebutting, "I'm the purest girl you'll ever meet!" before attempting to glomp the luminous golden cloud.

Unsurprisingly, Bulma fell through the cloud as if it didn't exist. Fortunately, just as she was about to crash, face-first into the ground, Vahn promptly caught her, teasing, "Someone's been naughty…" in a tone only she could hear.

Blushing fiercely, Bulma wanted to protest but found herself unable to speak with Vahn's muscular arms supporting her body. His abs were also a mere three centimeters away from her face, so, for a brief moment, Bulma's eyes glazed over as Vahn helped her to a standing position before giving her butt a very discreet squeeze.

"…!?"

With her back straightening, Bulma stared at Vahn with eyes round as saucers. In response, he just smiled back at her, asking, "You okay…?" in a tender, ostensibly concerned tone.

Inhaling a deep breath through her nose, Bulma resisted the almost instinctual urge to accuse him of sexual harassment. She didn't want to cause a scene in front of Roshi, and, more importantly, she wasn't actually that upset by his behavior. After all, she had specifically chosen these shorts to draw attention to her butt. Letting him cop a feel after he had saved her from faceplanting seemed like a suitable reward…

With that in mind, Bulma ultimately just snorted through her nose before averting her eyes and crossing her arms in a defiant manner. She didn't want Vahn to think she was an easy woman, so, even if she wasn't actually upset, that didn't prevent her from pretending she was…

Smiling wryly in response to Bulma's behavior, Vahn briefly glanced toward the pink aura clinging to his body before shifting his attention to Sarina and asking, "Do you want to try…?" in a curious tone.

Just as Bulma looked toward her with the intention of egging her own, Sarina promptly shook her head, saying, "I know I'm not pure of heart. If any of us can ride the Nimbus, it's Goku. I say we let him give it a try."

Nodding his head in affirmation, Vahn turned to Goku, smiling as he asked, "How about it, kiddo? Want to give it a go?"

Without any hesitation whatsoever, Goku answered, "Okay…!" before leaping onto the Nimbus with an excited smile on his face.

To the surprise of no one, not even Bulma, the Nimbus solidified the moment Goku landed atop it. Then, just as Goku was about to celebrate with a merry jig, the golden cloud took off like a meteor towards the horizon. It was still feeling a little upset after Vahn's unceremonious rejection, so, now that it had a new master, it wanted to show off a bit.

"Well, I'll be…"

Seeing the Nimbus flying around at high speeds while Goku laughed vivaciously on its back, Roshi couldn't help feeling as though the cloud and boy were made for one another. It had been decades since he saw the Nimbus so spirited, but, after watching the scene for several seconds, he ultimately shook his head before shifting his gaze to Vahn and asking, "Young man, who, or, more specifically, what are you…?"

Though he had no intention of discussing the finer details, Vahn had no qualms about revealing his status as a God. Thus, rather than foot about the issue, he returned a carefree smile as he answered, "My name is Vahn Aldrnari Mason. Many know me as the Sage Dragon Emperor. Others know me as the God of Infinite Possibilities. You may simply refer to me as Vahn."

"Sage Dragon Emperor…? God of Infinite Possibilities…?"

Nodding his head in response to Roshi's utterance, Vahn answered, "Indeed. And, no, they are not simply titles. You probably noticed the Sun disappearing from the sky previously, yes? That was my doing."

As it was pretty difficult not to notice the Sun disappeared from the sky, Master Roshi's expression became incomparably serious as he asked, "Why have you come to this world?"

Shaking his head, Vahn answered, "Not for the reasons you suspect. I am simply an observer. I'm not here to cause trouble or take over the world. I just want to relax, enjoy life, and watch over the people around me. Being a God isn't exactly a stress-free occupation…"

"Hmm…"

Though he couldn't help feeling a little skeptical, Roshi knew there was a fairly decent chance that Vahn was who he claimed to be. His suspicion was due to the fact he was already aware of Earth's Guardian God, Kami. He had never met the man, but, after climbing Korin's Tower more than three hundred years ago, he heard tales of the Guardian God and had even seen the Lookout suspended high above the clouds.

Deciding it would be best to avoid inadvertently offending Vahn, the serious expression faded from Roshi's face as he caressed his beard and asked, "What do you intend to do with Goku? There must be a reason for you to be traveling with him."

Instead of immediately answering Roshi's question, Vahn pointed to the glistening orange sphere dangling from his neck. This earned him a confused look from Roshi, but, following his gaze, Bulma immediately recognized the orb's identity, shouting, "Dragon Ball…!" in an excited tone.

"Dragon whatsit…?"

Speaking before Bulma could unnecessarily complicate things, Vahn explained, "We're currently on a journey to gather seven of those spheres. Once we're finished, I would appreciate it if you looked after Goku for a couple of years. He may not be able to reach his full potential under your guidance but I'm certain Gohan would rest easier if Goku was entrusted to you."

As he had already been planning to take Goku as a student, Roshi saw no reason to refuse Vahn's request. He did, however, ask, "What makes you believe he can't reach his full potential under my guidance? I may be getting on in years but I'm still the strongest man on Earth. I've trained many of the world's greatest martial artists and even ascended Korin's Tower in my youth…"

Smiling in response to the old man's words, Vahn elected to place his hand on Roshi's shoulder rather than explain things. In response, the old man's eyes widened, as, playing within his mind were crystal clear images of Goku fighting against foes like Frieza, Cell, and Majin Buu.

Retracting his hand from the old man's shoulder, Vahn explained, "The standards of Earth are not Universal. If you travel to the more populous and technologically advanced regions of the Galaxy, even a poorly trained foot soldier would vastly exceed the most powerful person on this planet. If you are serious about preserving this planet, you won't allow Goku and his future companions to become complacent in their training…"

Snatching the Dragon Ball from Roshi's neck, Vahn dangled it in front of him, adding, "I'll be taking this. Think of it as compensation for my little gift…"

"Gift…?"

Confused by Vahn's words, Roshi habitually reached up to stroke his beard only to find it missing. At that exact same moment, a frigid, seaborne breeze swept inland. Under normal circumstances, this would have left his scalp feeling chilled. Instead, strands of black obscured his vision as Roshi extended his hand to find a full head of hair in place of his previously bald head.

As a courtesy, Vahn produced a mirror from his Inventory before passing it to the befuddled martial arts master and saying, "This ought to make it easier for you to keep up with the young ones."

Seeing his reflection in the mirror, Roshi's mouth hung in disbelief. Immediately thereafter, a wide smile developed across his face, as, not only had his hair grown back, even his missing teeth had been replaced. He was a little sad to see his beard missing but that was a small price to pay for his apparent youth.

"I used a self-made magic spell to restore your body to its prime. So long as you don't engage in any 'excessive' behavior, it should persist indefinitely."

Raising his brows, Roshi was about to ask what Vahn meant by 'excessive' behavior when he noticed the deadpan stare on the latter's face. This caused a wry and somewhat sad smile to develop across his own. Fortunately, just as he was about to relent and promise not to misbehave, Vahn extended a lifeline, whispering, "So long as it's consensual, there won't be any adverse consequences. Just keep in mind that there's a distinct difference between consent and someone relenting to pressure. Don't go around trying to exploit people or take advantage of their circumstances. If you do, succumbing to your old age will be the least of your concerns…"

On that note, Vahn gave the now young Roshi another pat on the shoulder. This time, a cold sweat broke out across the man's body, as, rather than showing him scenes of Goku doing battle, he gave the man a peek at life inside Azathoth's dimension…

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…

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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn makes spirits go doki doki~','Ah, yes, a fair exchange…','Master Roshi and Launch confirmed…!?')

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