Existential Crisis

"Thank you again, Grand Elder." I said as I bowed my head gratefully.

"Please, we are past the point of titles, young Zyleth." He says, looking down at me with a fondness I couldn't quite place.

"Then thank you, Guru." I said.

It's honestly quite amazing just how friendly and accommodating the Namekian people were. A stranger, who was from a race that is pretty known to kill and conquer, comes along and asks for their most sacred treasure, and they just give it to me.

Granted, they did ask what I was going to wish for, but the entire conversation was like a minute long.

"I hope our paths cross again, young Zyleth. Until then, I will wish thee well on your journey. Remember, you will always be welcome here on Namek." Guru says.

I respond with a simple nod, to which he nods back.

"Until then, Guru. Take care." I said, waving goodbye before suddenly disappearing from view.

Guru's eyes widened for a moment before he shook his head, a smile adorning his face.

"The secrets that lay within that boy grow more and more in number each time I meet with him..." He muttered softly.

____________________

I teleport myself back to Apophis, just outside the cave where Lila and my ship are. As I was about to enter, I'm met with the sounds of a woman's light sobs.

"Oh, fuck..." I whisper softly to myself as I cautiously enter the cave. "Please just be the last remaining Foolat trying to lure me in and take revenge..."

My hopes were soon squandered as I snuck to the door of my ship, peaking in to see Lila crying into her hands.

"God-fucking-damnit..." I mouth in frustration.

Emotions are not my forte.

Up until this point, the only emotional person I've had to deal with was my mother, and she lived halfway across the galaxy. Everyone else were nothing but a bunch of sociopaths with unresolved issues.

I don't have to deal with this situation, do I? I mean we've only just met. I don't necessarily have to go inside and comfort-

As I thought that, her sobs get noticeably louder, causing me to curse whoever it was that caused this situation.

Which was me now that I think about it, since I was the one who revived her in the first place...

Guess I can just go fuck myself then...

Letting out a quick sigh, I walk into the ship and plop myself down on the bed beside her. The sudden shift causing her to look up at me in shock before trying to wipe away the evidence on her face.

"I-I didn't-"

"What's wrong?" I asked, stopping her from trying to deny it.

"Nothing... I-I just got something in my eye..." She said, looking away from me.

Oh my god...

"You are a terrible liar." I told her bluntly.

To my surprise, she actually let out a small laugh at my comment.

"Yeah..." She said, her tone almost reminiscent. "Daikaioh used to say the same thing..."

Ah, now I get it. I suppose it was dumb of me to assume that she would be fine with all of this.

If the Afterlife is how I remember, she probably wouldn't have been able to see what happened after her death.

She'd most likely would've thought that the South, East, and Grand Supreme Kais had succeeded in defeating Buu since they never showed up, not knowing that they were absorbed instead.

"Seems like you two were pretty close." I said, to which she nodded.

"All of us were. They were my family..." She replied softly.

"I see." I said. "They sound like they were good people."

"The best..." She says.

I don't know what to say after this, so I just didn't say anything and let silence reign over.

I fucking suck at this.

"I'm sorry. I'm not very good with these things. Comforting, I mean." I say to her, telling her how it is.

"It's fine." She says, chuckling as she wipes the last remnants of her tears. "You actually remind me of one of them now that you said that..."

"Oh?" I raise a brow curiously.

"Mhm." She hummed as she nodded her head. "Good ol' South. He wasn't very good at emotional stuff either, but he was always there. Right beside you if you needed him."

"Seems like I would've liked him." I said.

She laughs and says, "He would've asked you to spar with him before inviting you to try your strength at the Z-Sword."

"Z-Sword?" I asked, tilting my head in feigned curiosity.

"Oh, so I finally found something you don't know about?" She said in an almost teasing fashion.

I roll my eyes at her, but I let a short huff of amusement.

"The Z-Sword is a sword embedded into the Sword Plateau in the World of the Kais. Legend says that whoever pulls the sword from its place will gain extraordinary power." She says.

"The World of the Kais and The Sword Plateau?" I asked with a bit of a chuckle.

"Kais are not particularly good at naming things, okay?" She says, chuckling along with me.

"No judgement here. I'm not particularly good at naming things either." I told her.

"Uh-huh, says the man who came up with, Bahamut, the Dragon of Death." She says as she rolls her eyes.

"I actually stole the name from another dragon." I told her.

"Another one? How many dragons do you know?" She asked, gazing at me curiously.

"Only two. The one on Namek, whose name's Porunga by the way, and Bahamut. The one I stole it from was fictional." I replied.

I wasn't lying. I got the name from an anime. Even some of the words I used to create him was taken from the chant the main character used to summon him.

"You're joking..." She says with an amused smile.

I glance at her with a knowing look and she busts out laughing.

"Oh my Zeno..." She muttered, trying to contain her laughter.

"I told you, I'm not a very creative person." I said, smiling at her amusement.

I'm just glad that she wasn't crying anymore.

"You weren't kidding." She said, calming down a bit. "If it's any consolation, it's still a good name."

"Thanks. I'll be sure to give your compliments to the author." I tell her, which makes her laugh again.

I can't remember the last time I ever sat down and joked with someone. Sure, I would visit my family from time to time, and Cooler was not as much as a hardass as people think, but it wasn't like this.

I probably haven't done anything close to this in years.

All it's been this entire time was constant training, meditation, sleeping, training, meditation, sleeping, training, meditation...

But actually sitting down and just speaking to someone? It was fun. I enjoy it.

"Hey, why don't you tell me about this family of yours?" I said, looking at her with a small smile.

"Really?" She asks, looking at me with a bit of surprise.

"Sure, why not? I'm sure you have plenty of stories to tell." I reply.

She continues to look at me with widened eyes for a few moments before she shakes off her surprise and returns my smile, happily nodding her head.

"Where do I even begin..." She muttered.

We sat there for hours. Lila just telling me story after story, all about the endless experiences that she and the other Kais had been through. The ups, the rare few downs, and the pranks.

And through all of that, her spirits seemed to have lifted completely.

All in all, I'd say that it was a day well spent.