The sun filtered warmly through the open windows, gilding everything with a soft, slow light.
The air smelled of heated metal and garden flowers—a contrast only Capsule Corp could offer.
Mai barely stirred, still half-wrapped in the sheets. Her eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the light. The first sound she heard was a deep, steady, calm breath.
Buu.
He was lying next to her, his arm stretched beneath her head, his gaze fixed on the ceiling as if observing something.
When she turned to him, he smiled faintly. "Did I wake you up?"
"I couldn't sleep anymore," she murmured, her voice hoarse with sleep. "Yesterday you were truly insatiable, you know that?"
Buu laughed softly. "But you liked it, right?"
Mai sat up, drawing the sheets around her more tightly. "maybe?"
He looked at her, serious for a moment. "Oh? Do I have to remind you?"
His fingers brushed her bare back, a gesture so natural that it made her blush despite everything.
"I don't know what's going to happen next," he admitted. "But... I like this calm this morning."
Mai nodded slowly, without speaking. And for a few moments, there was nothing else to say.
POV — Bardock
From afar, perched on a broken beam overlooking the courtyard, Bardock watched.
The wind whipped his hair, and the morning light reflected on the scar that ran across his cheek.
The new world he had found here confused him.
Most people were weak and couldn't fight. 'Maybe this is the planet I sent Kakarot to? But why can't I feel his aura? I rather felt a resemblance to Buu...'
His gaze drifted toward the gardens, where Bulma was talking with Fasha and Borgos was awkwardly trying to imitate the meditation exercises Buu had taught.
Mai was nowhere to be seen.
Yet Bardock knew where he was.
"A planet like that could easily be conquered..." he thought, clasping his hands at his sides. "What a funny twist."
For a moment, a smile cut across his hard expression. "Not a bad place, all things considered."
But behind the calm, his mind was a whirlwind.
The wind carried an echo of laughter—Panchy and Bulma, probably.
Bardock closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "Training or not, this place has a strange heart. But... maybe it's worth staying and seeing where it leads."
And with that thought, he slowly stepped off the beam, ready for a new day that, he knew, wouldn't be like the others.
POV — Kami
From the silence of the sacred sky, above the clouds where the wind dared not blow, Kami watched.
The eyes of the Earth guardian had never known so much movement—nor so much doubt.
Before him, the sacred body of water shimmered, reflecting the distant scene of Capsule Corp.
He looked toward the horizon, where the sky and the Earth barely touched.
The breeze blew between the temple columns, carrying with it the echo of a new balance—fragile, unstable, but alive.
The wind died down. The mirror closed.
Kami stood still, alone, surrounded by a foreboding silence.
"The change has begun," he said. "And I... I hope I don't make a mistake."