EPIC: Path of Demons and Dragons

Teleporting to Bulma's room/workshop, Vahn was unsurprised to find the turquoise-haired woman working hard on one of her projects. The project itself surprised him, however, as he immediately recognized that she was working on a damaged Gunmen, one of the face-themed mechs from the world of Gurren Lagann.

Taking advantage of his lower position, Vahn admired Bulma's perky butt, wrapped in tight white shorts sticking out tantalizingly as she worked on something within the Gunmen. He was positive it had become rounder and perkier since he last saw it, so he assumed Venelana had furnished the previous day's event with dishes prepared using ingredients from the Black Tower.

"That's quite the pluckable peach..." remarked Vahn, causing Bulma to briefly startle before she removed her head and upper body from the Gunmen's chassis, stared down at him from atop the crank platform lift she was standing on, and wiped her brow with a wrench in her left hand, asking, "Vahn? What's up? It's rare for you to visit out of the blue like this."

Following a momentary pause, Vahn tilted his head slightly and asked, "Did you lose track of time and forget the date? Today is the day of the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai. We agreed to go together."

Blinking in surprise, Bulma asked, "Seriously? That was today...?" while checking the white, watch-like device she wore on the underside of her left wrist, confirming the date. She also recalled saying she wanted to record Vahn winning the Tenkaichi Budokai, allowing her to prove her status as the girlfriend of the world's strongest man, so she couldn't just back out.

"There's no need to rush," remarked Vahn, a relaxed smile adorning his face as he noted, "We still have two hours until the registration deadline. With my power, that could be as many as 210 days."

"Yeah, I'm not falling into that trap again..." said Bulma, narrowing her pale blue eyes accusingly and blushing as she recalled Vahn's visit post-Tower. He had taken her to the location of his beachside resort, and though they were only there for a little more than an hour, that translated to more than three months of him doting on her like a Princess and making slow, gentle, or intense love to her for upwards of five hours a day. Since she was still a relatively ordinary woman, that was way too much...

Exhaling from his nose, Vahn contended, "I'm just saying that if you were up all night working, you have plenty of time to relax, take a bath, and get a full eight to sixteen hours of rest before we head out. You don't need it, but I know how much you enjoy your beauty sleep."

"Fair enough," responded Bulma, leaping down from the platform while turning her body sideways, trusting that Vahn would catch her in a bridal carry. As expected, he immediately moved to catch her, causing a smile to develop across her face as she rewarded him with a kiss and urged him to carry her to the bathroom...

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"So, what's the deal with that mecha...?" asked Vahn, relaxing with his arms around the rim of Bulma's porcelain tub as she reclined against him with a slightly ruddy complexion, the result of their pre-bath washing and rinsing leading to much more.

"You know about yesterday's lingerie party, right...?" asked Bulma, her expression and tone lazy as she revealed, "Well, I got together with some of the girls from technologically advanced worlds, and one of them, a girl named Yoko Littner, had that mecha stowed in her Inventory. I traded her a bunch of capsules filled with guns, ammunition, food, and water for the opportunity to take it apart and study it."

"I'm glad you were both able to benefit from the gathering in some way..." hummed Vahn, closing his eyes and leaning his head back as the image of the red-haired Yoko appeared in his mind. She was unquestionably one of the more beautiful Ascendees, but before he had a chance to get to know her, she ended up in a relationship with a man named Kamina, a character he had come to respect after watching the anime associated with her and Simon's world.

"Speaking of benefits, are you seriously looking to employ a bunch of girls to walk around in lingerie and other scant outfits just to have eye candy to admire while walking around your palace...?" asked Bulma.

"Mmm...I can't deny it..." responded Vahn, resisting the urge to try and explain things away or make excuses. It was an irrefutable truth that he enjoyed looking at beautiful women, but he had no intention of going on the prowl around the palace. Unless someone came onto him, like Leone had the previous night, he wouldn't gawk at or even address the majority of those who chose to work on the ninth floor, not because he didn't have an interest in them, but because he wanted those who worked there to be comfortable.

"You're the worst..." sighed Bulma, but there was no bite to her words. Vahn treated her well when they were together, and since she benefitted quite a bit from their association, she had no intention of breaking up with him anytime soon. She was sure she would, eventually, but that could be anywhere between ten to ten thousand years in the future...

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After thirteen days, most of which Bulma spent taking apart the Gunmen, Vahn teleported them to Papaya Island, a fairly large island approximately thirty kilometers across at its widest point. A large city dominated nearly a third of the island, but its main attractions were its dense jungles, famous rock formations, an expansive and colorful coral shelf, and, of course, the Tenkaichi Budokai Stadium. Martial artists from across the world gathered there every five years to compete for a substantial cash prize and the title of world's strongest fighter, but since the world was still recovering after the devastation wrought by the evil King Piccolo, it had yet to become the massive event it would be just ten to fifteen years in the future.

"Alright, I'll be waiting to record you from the front of the standing area. You better win this thing," said Bulma, carrying a somewhat dated-looking camcorder, strapped to her left hand.

"Of course,... hummed Vahn, giving Bulma a fleeting kiss and discreetly squeezing her right butt cheek before seeing her off and making his way to a table where two monks dressed in orange robes and dark blue caps were seated at the back entrance of a Shaolin-esque temple complex. He had been registered for the tournament the previous night by Grayfia, so after providing his name and signing a waiver of liability, preventing the temple from being held accountable if he were seriously injured or killed, he advanced into the spacious, gymnasium-like competition hall where the preliminaries would reduce the total number of competitors from 138 to 8.

'I guess Goku isn't here yet...' noted Vahn, scanning the hall with both his eyes and domain. There were four square-shaped stone stages where the preliminaries would take place, and though it was probably ill-advised, a few of the fighters present used weights and training equipment to warm themselves up or intimidate their future opponents by demonstrating their power and techniques.

Sensing that the most powerful person present was a more than two-meter tall homeless-looking man who everyone was giving a wide berth due to his incredible stench, Vahn lost interest in the crowd and made his way over to one of the crimson benches lining the hall and sat down with his hands on his knees and head resting against the hall's white, red, and gold-trimmed stone wall. Literal years had passed since he felt excited by the prospect of participating in the Tenkaichi Budokai, and since he knew none of the competitors would pose even a passing challenge to him, his thoughts wandered to his bout with Kizaru.

'If Kizaru was that strong, I wonder how I would compare against one of the Yonko(Four Emperors)...' wondered Vahn, the images of Big Mom and Kaido, in particular, appearing in his mind. After seeing the story of One Piece through to its completion, the arcs that left the deepest impression on him were the Wano and Final War arcs. One character he had become rather fond of was the self-titled son of Kaido, Yamato, so with Ace alive and free, Vahn couldn't help wondering whether he should pay the closed country of Wano a visit to clash with Kaido and make an impression on the tall and situationally fluffy woman...

'I'm becoming greedy...' Vahn realized, a faint smile adorning his face as he recalled his experiences with Korra and, most recently, Leone. He had no interest in expanding his harem or collecting women in the past, but it would be a lie if he said he wasn't interested in becoming acquainted with certain women. A good example was Erza, not just because she was one of his past life's crushes but because it annoyed him how she went out of her way to appeal to the exceptionally wishy-washy Jellal, all in an effort to save him...

"Oh, hey! It's Vahn...!" exclaimed a familiar voice, prompting Vahn to open his eyes as Goku, modeling a bright, reddish-orange gi, blue wristbands, blue shoes, and a black belt, came rushing over to him with a happy smile on his face, followed reluctantly by a similarly-dressed, bald, and notably noseless youth with six distinctive dots on his forehead.

Adopting a smile of his own, Vahn remarked, "It's good to see you again, Goku. I can sense that you've gotten much stronger since the last time I saw you. Did you enjoy your training with Muten Roshi?"

"You bet...!" responded Goku, thumping his chest happily before leaving Vahn at a loss for words as he casually added, "Though, he didn't actually teach us any martial arts. He mainly had us do a bunch of jobs and chores while he and Lunch spent most of the day wrestling."

Having a pretty good idea of what Goku meant by wrestling, Vahn's smile notably cramped. He knew the version of Dragon Ball he incorporated into Invirtua had more mature themes, but Goku's words left him at a loss, as it had been eight months since the young Saiyan left to begin his training. If they had saved Lunch and she had been staying with Muten Roshi that entire time...it was a jarring thought, to say the least.

(I just reviewed their past interactions, and it appears Lunch made an agreement with Roshi to receive his protection after learning his identity and witnessing him catch her bullets with his bare hands) revealed Sis, adding (It's probably best to leave it at that.)

'Yeah...I can do without the details...' thought Vahn, shifting his gaze to the bald youth and asking, "And you are...?"

"Me? I'm Krillin," responded the monk-like youth, verifying what Vahn already knew.

"But who are you, Mister?" asked Krillin, doing his best not to let his envy at Vahn's appearance show.

Placing his right hand over his left breast and offering a slight bow, Vahn stated, "I am Vahn Mason, also known as the Intertwining Dragon of Fate. It's nice to meet you, Krillin."

"Vahn is super strong," asserted Goku, holding his belly as he added, "And his girlfriend, Grayfia, makes the best food you'll ever taste!"

"Oh, that reminds me..." started Goku, staring up at Vahn as he asked, "Where is Ms. Grayfia? Is she here with you? If possible, I would really like to see her again."

Shaking his head, Vahn answered, "She's not here, but rest assured. Once the tournament is over, I'll invite you back to my palace for a feast. You're welcome to come as well, Krillin."

"I appreciate the offer..." responded Krillin, swallowing nervously before asking, "But what do you mean by palace? Could you be someone super important?"

"Something like that..." responded Vahn, extending both hands to ruffle Goku's hair and Krillin's bald head. The latter didn't appear to appreciate this, but Goku didn't mind in the slightest, beaming happily and laughing before the three of them spent a few minutes catching up and generally getting to know one another...

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