Post by Zerori on May 17, 2016 12:21:16 GMT
King Yemma
When Zerori always imagined death… it never occurred to her that there would ever be actually sensations or feelings involved. It was simply an end, in her mind. Death was a solid, incontrovertible fact and one that she always knew, in her mind, had no take-backs. It was with great caution and this understanding that Zerori made it a personal mission to never kill unless she had no choice… or a very good reason. Did this reason sometimes shift between, ‘This person is useful’ to ‘I don’t care about this person anymore’? Yes, quite so and it was for this reason, in her much younger days, that the saiyaness hybrid made little effort to curb her blood-thirsty heritage.
After all, it was the birthright of her people (both saiyan and demon) that the strong should have power over the weak and thus – the power over their lives.
But life is funny, that way. You can live your entire existence never knowing what lies at the end of your cycle of life, confident in how you lived that life… and be completely wrong.
~-~-~-~
Opening her eyes, Zerori felt herself awake quite suddenly. Giving a gasp, she would sit up from the floor under her and look at herself. Her appearance was… disconcerting. She didn’t have any legs but felt as though she could feel them. Most of her body was there but… not exactly as she remembered it. She had the familiar red tank with blue spandex but she had no boots or gloves.
Remember her last moments, she recalled that Bing Gan had killed her, winning their great showdown in the middle of the capital of Vegeta.
Swallowing at the memory, Zerori would look up from her body to gaze at what was all around her, getting to her wisp of a ghost tail. Yellow clouds seemed to be all around her, followed by some sort of bridge that was shaped in a very large, very long snake. Behind her, she could see what looked like a bunch of small puff balls in a line that seemed to be waiting for something. So… the question remained…
Where was she?
“H-Hello?!” She called, voice raised to try and attract anyone’s attention.
Just as she turned, she’d find herself face to face with a very bland red-faced creature that would simply stare at her with a blank expression. Wearing only a white shirt and tie, with some sort of black slacks and shoes, it appeared to be some sort of chubby Oni with glasses. Taking a step back with a grunt, she fell into a defensive stance as he would simply smile at her.
“Welcome. It’s quite an honor,” He said, his voice a little jubilant as he raised a hand to offer a wave. “I bet… you’re wondering where you are. How close am I?”
Eyes widen with wonder and surprise, Zerori would struggle with words before finally sputtering out, “I- uh, yeah. Yeah, I’m… really lost here. Didn’t I-?”
“-Die? Yes. And I must say, it was a very exciting battle.” He frowned, “Shame it didn’t last very long.”
Zerori felt her eyes brow twitch in annoyance, forgetting her confusion for irritation, muttering, “I didn’t ask for a goddamn audience…”
The Oni would simply raise a hand in response, giving a smile, “Oh no, don’t be offended. It’s a compliment!”
Giving a frown, Zerori looked around at the line, “So… what’s going on? What am I waiting for?” Standing besides her, the Oni would look toward the front of it.
“This is the line to your judgment to meet the Great Yemma. It might be a while for you, however so you may be here for… a few hours.”
Looking at him with an aghast expression, Zerori felt herself float towards the side to look down the line, “What?! That’s… pretty cold for an afterlife? Is there nothing to do in the mean time?!” She was worried she’d be bored to de-… Oh. Bad joke. Giving a frown, she crossed her arms.
The Oni however, simply tilted his head at her. “There is but… it is purely her wish, so please don’t think you’re getting special treatment. I could lose my job over this...”
Huh? Zerori turned back to him, a blank expression on her face. “W-Who?”
Behind the large Oni, a familiar face popped out from beside his leg and Zerori looked down to see… to her great surprise…
-Was Ari.
The Oni would cough briefly, a bead of sweat on his face. "I had to hide her, so... please try not to make a big scene." It was unfortunate that Zerori really didn't pay attention to his request.
Zerori’s lips parted, agape once more, as she just stared… and stared… and stared. Finally, when it felt like forever had actually passed, her bottom lip began to tremble and she let out a shuddering gasp. What was this raw emotion she felt? Did it matter now… after all she had gone through?
“A…Ari?” She whispered, calling out to the little girl that was staring at her with almost as much emotion. Her little pointy ears seemed to pull back just a bit as the young lass brought her hands up to hold it against her face.
“Zerori…” A for a few intense moments, neither said or did anything until finally it was the little girl that broke the silence and ran towards her. Dropping down into a kneel, the saiyaness opened her arms just in time to receive the tightest embrace she’d ever felt. Holding just as tightly, keeping her true power leashed (in case that was also not gone forever), Zerori folded her face into the little girl’s hair as she just stared in wonder and amazement at the floor. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she closed her eyes and just… felt it all slip away.
It had been a long… long time since she’d gotten to cry like this. Shoulders shuddering, eyes held tightly shut – she didn’t want this moment to ever end. Choking she tried to get out, “I’m… I’m sorry… You just wanted to come with me… and I didn’t think anything was gonna happen…” Pulling away, Zerori seemed to frantically look her over, as if Ari was still hurt from the wounds that fatally killed her. “You must have been in so much pain, I just-! Fuck!” And then came the guilt again; crushing and at the same time, infuriating.
However, instead of destroying something in her frustration, Zerori was pleasantly surprised to receive a bop on the nose from the little island girl in front of her. Wrinkling her face, she brought a hand up to her nose and stared at her in shock. Glaring back, her mouth an angry pout, Ari would raise a finger to the hybrid’s face.
“You’ve done a lot of bad things! How could you?! And stop feeling so guilty all the time! It wasn’t your fault and you know it!” Shocked from the sudden uncharacteristic tirade from the little girl, Zerori could only stare at her in shock whilst holding her cheek as she was railed on but her own ward. “You curse all the time and get mad at people that care about you! You even kill people,” Face falling at that, Zerori tried to look away. She’d tried hard to not unnecessarily take lives, if anything for the sake of not losing a valuable opportunity.
However, that didn’t wash her hands of the blood…
“I’m sorry, I-” The saiyaness tried, only once more to be stopped by Ari flailing her arms about.
“No, no, no, no, NO! I’m not done yet!” Zerori dropped her head, feeling defeated. “You attacked your friends and you hurt that pink girl! You did all of these things and you-! You-” The young girls’ voice started to break, prompting Zerori to look up and see her start to sob once more. Horrified, she raised her hands up in surrender.
“D-Don’t cry, c’mon!”
Sniffling, Ari would shgake her head be fore continuing, “A-And you did a-all of that… because of ME! H-How do you think-” She hiccupped, rubbing at her eyes, “-Th-That makes ME feel?!”
At this realization, Zerori would stop completely and stare at her. She’d never, in all of her wildest nightmares, ever taken into consideration that idea that… Ari would know what she had done to try and revive her. In fact…
None of this was possible in her wildest dreams…
Looking away, but this time with a low growl, Zerori would speak solemnly, “I didn’t think… you could see any of that, truthfully… for years I’ve done this, Ari,” She looked back at her, breaking into pieces as the child continued to cry. “Damn it, c’mere,” Reaching for her, Zerori wrapped her arms around the young child as she came to her, leaning backwards to sit on her backside and rub her back. Not really sure what to begin with again, she just continued, “There has never once been a moment… where I didn’t think I’d kill for you. Except,” She smiled softly, “When I never met you.”
“~”
Blinking at the muffled speaking, Zerori pulled Ari back, “What?”
“But you said you killed before!” She whined, eliciting a wince from Zerori.
“Uh, yeah… when I was getting paid or if they got in the way of something I wanted or needed… I’m starting to realize, a little late, that value of life, Ari.” Giving a scoff, the saiyaness seemed to finally remember where she was and who was there. Suddenly, this situation seemed too surreal that she was struggling to understand how it… even came about.
Looking around, she spotted the nicely dressed Oni and called to him. “Hey, so! Not that I’m complaining, but…” She was suddenly hesitant. “…Why did you do this?” Something of this magnitude… there were no earthly treasures she could sacrifice, nor power of the sun, moon or stars that she could destroy to thank whomever was responsible for this enough.
Giving a simple smile, the Oni raised a finger in the air simply. “I didn’t want to disturb your moment, as it is exactly what I imagined it would be, and possibly lose my job. However, since I have your attention-” He pointed to the little girl and Ari looked at him to smile and wave. “She’s been watching you for a long time coming and it was her wish that we help you to…”
He seemed to fade off in his statement, confusing the saiyaness for a moment before Ari finished it for him.
“You need… to move on, Zerori!” She would declare, her tear-stained cheeks puffy and red with sadness but her eyes showing a fire in them that Zerori did not realize she was capable of.
Speechless, Zerori could only open and close her mouth a couple of time before she closed her eyes and ran a hand through her hair. So this… had been the other alternative. Either walk the location you choose as a phantom… or find peace with whatever business was unfinished.
Damn them…
Grasping for straws, Zerori reached for Ari and placed a hand atop her head. “D-Does this mean we can be together again?”
At this, the young girl would blink and look to the Oni. It was in his ball court now and, as Zerori turned to him, she knew he could feel the pressure.
Unmoved by the pressure, the Oni would simply shake his head, unaware of the snarl that overturned the curious look Zerori once had. “That is impossibility. It was through good fortune that this opportunity was afforded to you. Don’t mistake that for your immortal soul being judged, please. That is going to be your next step.”
And just like that… Zerori was left with no other alternative.
Looking between the Oni and Ari helplessly, she barked at him venomously, “But I JUST got back to her! I can’t let her go now!” Breathing heavily, she tried to wrack her brain for any solution to get the best of both worlds in this situation. When Ari moved Zerori’s hand from her head, getting her attention by shaking her arm, the saiyaness looked at her with sorrowful eyes. It didn’t take a genius to know what was going to happen next; she just… didn’t want to accept it. “Kid…”
“You have to,” Ari mumbled, looking at the saiyaness with a sad expression. “I… I have!” Her tone was hopeful and challenging at the same time, eliciting a small smile from the saiyaness. “I know you didn’t mean it, really! And it’s fine. It was an accident and I wish…” Breath caught in Zerori’s throat at that phrase, reminding her of the goal she’d ruined lives to have fulfilled. “I just wish you’d let me go. You’re… a good person, Zerori! Please don’t be bad because you think you’re bad!”
Zerori briefly sighed, bringing a hand to aggressively scratch at her head. “I-It’s not that simple! These things don’t just go away and I… this is it. This is the end for me. Ari, we’re dead.” Looking at her, she questioned the girl. “Don’t you want to spend eternity after death with me?” The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them.
Ari burst back into tears, wailing at the saiyaness as she groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. “But I don’t get to make that choooiiice! You did so many things and I’m stuck in Heaven!”
Hanging her head, Zerori was once again… defeated. Why can’t I ever win?! She thought with a sad smile. Looking back at Ari, seeing the tears roll down her face, she reached forward to wipe them away. “A-Ari…” Her voice was hesitant, knowing she was making the most difficult choice in her li-… death. Biting her lips, she closed her eyes briefly before letting her head fall. She had to do this… for her sake. For her own sake. “I… I care about you, like… like you were my own daughter. I would kill for you and die for you.”
“But Zeror-!”
“Wait!” She scolded, hushing the child. “But I know… that this is the end, for us. Our journey. I ended it that night by not being fast enough. My life was ended by not being strong enough and our paths are being separated… because I wasn’t honest enough about how I feel.” Her grip tightened on the girl, even as she felt tears descend down her cheeks.
The words came out, but it hurt so much. She didn’t believe them but she knew, she just… had to do this for her. Taking a gasping breath, Zerori pulled Zerori close to her – possibly for the last time ever – and let out finally. “For you, I would do anything! And if… that means letting go…” She swallowed, feeling the little girl hold her back and cry into her own shirt. “I will… Ari, I love you. I always will…”
“Zerori!” The girl cried, no doubt blubbered up by whatever snot and tears trailed down her face but the saiyaness didn’t care. This was their final moment… if only this could be their heaven and hell.
After a few moments, the Oni would take a step forward and hold out a hand. “Times up. And I believe your wish has been granted and it’s almost time for her judgment,” His even tone and matter-of-fact words had Zerori growl lowly in the back of her throat, her arms unwilling to let go of the little girl until Ari had tried to pry her off. Looking back at Ari, her face softening, she opened her mouth to speak again – only to have a tiny hand cover it.
“It’s okay,” She said, a smile on her face. Releasing her hand from her mouth, she finished. “I forgive you… dummy.”
Zerori blinked, unsure what to say, but felt a smile come over her anyway. “Tch… silly kid. I was gonna say, ‘Have fun in heaven!’ Damn brat,” Getting back to her feet, despite her words, she let go of Ari so she could return to the Ogre. Time was irrelevant here, but they had somehow still run out. Ironic that she was seemingly wrong about so much in so little amount of time.
Slowly fading away, Ari would smile with waving… just like she had when they first met. “Bye bye! Try to be good, okay?!” She yelled, as if her voice was fading.
Laughing, the saiyaness just waved her off. “Get out of here, damn it!” Watching her smile as she finally faded away, Zerori’s smile would fade into a sad frown.
She closed her eyes, swallowing. That’s… By the gods, what have I done…?
With their meeting at an end, it would finally occur to the Saiyaness that she had been holding up the line for quite a while but behind them the souls and spirits of other dead were cheering and jeering at the drama they got to witness. Swallowing, Zerori would just turn back around and glare at the Oni as he chuckled, “We mustn’t dawdle; Sir Yemma gets quite irate when he is made to wait.”
Grimacing at how little care he seemed to show for her, Zerori just followed wordlessly, arms crossed as she speed walked to catch up with the line.
Finally catching up, she was only a few souls behind the large building that would no doubt belong to the Great Judge. Swallowing, she would look over at the Oni as he turned back to her.
Cringing, showing another new emotion, the Oni would just raise his hands in surrender. “Stay calm, now. Now, when you stand before him, it is important that you speak honestly about what your greatest good deed was… and what was your worst was. Lie, and he’ll know.”
Looking at him with a distraught expression, Zerori gave a small nod and looked back at the door. It was her turn now. Floating forward, she felt her throat close up a bit in her nervousness but tried to force out the words.
Looking up at the big desk in front of her, swallowing nervously, she remembered what he said. “U-Uh, hey. So, I uhm,” She cleared her throat. “My greatest d-deed was… Shit,” She cursed, not actually having thought about it at all. Taking a second, she reached for the closest thing she could find. “I protected… the Earth as best I could from a man called Realigner Red. W-Well, I lost (I mean we lost) but… I tried?” And now came the… harder part. “And most worst…” Fuck, there were so many to choose from. Might as well with the most recent, “My worst deed would be that I assisted in the destruction of a planet known as Kanassa.”
She couldn’t help herself, however, and added in, “To be fair, Sir, there weren’t that many left anyway…” Yeah, that… wasn’t going to help her case in the least. “C-Can I have my body back? This is really uncomfortable…”
Zerori, you dumbass.
EDIT: Changes have been made. 1) She has awoken besides snake way, in the line that leads to Yemma's Courthouse. 2) She is a ghostly puff that has some of her appearance but for the sake of the imagery - only Ari, the Oni and Zerori can see each others' features. She is a puff ball to all around her. 3) She is waiting in line like everyone else but did hold it up for her dramatic moment lol
When Zerori always imagined death… it never occurred to her that there would ever be actually sensations or feelings involved. It was simply an end, in her mind. Death was a solid, incontrovertible fact and one that she always knew, in her mind, had no take-backs. It was with great caution and this understanding that Zerori made it a personal mission to never kill unless she had no choice… or a very good reason. Did this reason sometimes shift between, ‘This person is useful’ to ‘I don’t care about this person anymore’? Yes, quite so and it was for this reason, in her much younger days, that the saiyaness hybrid made little effort to curb her blood-thirsty heritage.
After all, it was the birthright of her people (both saiyan and demon) that the strong should have power over the weak and thus – the power over their lives.
But life is funny, that way. You can live your entire existence never knowing what lies at the end of your cycle of life, confident in how you lived that life… and be completely wrong.
~-~-~-~
Opening her eyes, Zerori felt herself awake quite suddenly. Giving a gasp, she would sit up from the floor under her and look at herself. Her appearance was… disconcerting. She didn’t have any legs but felt as though she could feel them. Most of her body was there but… not exactly as she remembered it. She had the familiar red tank with blue spandex but she had no boots or gloves.
Remember her last moments, she recalled that Bing Gan had killed her, winning their great showdown in the middle of the capital of Vegeta.
Swallowing at the memory, Zerori would look up from her body to gaze at what was all around her, getting to her wisp of a ghost tail. Yellow clouds seemed to be all around her, followed by some sort of bridge that was shaped in a very large, very long snake. Behind her, she could see what looked like a bunch of small puff balls in a line that seemed to be waiting for something. So… the question remained…
Where was she?
“H-Hello?!” She called, voice raised to try and attract anyone’s attention.
Just as she turned, she’d find herself face to face with a very bland red-faced creature that would simply stare at her with a blank expression. Wearing only a white shirt and tie, with some sort of black slacks and shoes, it appeared to be some sort of chubby Oni with glasses. Taking a step back with a grunt, she fell into a defensive stance as he would simply smile at her.
“Welcome. It’s quite an honor,” He said, his voice a little jubilant as he raised a hand to offer a wave. “I bet… you’re wondering where you are. How close am I?”
Eyes widen with wonder and surprise, Zerori would struggle with words before finally sputtering out, “I- uh, yeah. Yeah, I’m… really lost here. Didn’t I-?”
“-Die? Yes. And I must say, it was a very exciting battle.” He frowned, “Shame it didn’t last very long.”
Zerori felt her eyes brow twitch in annoyance, forgetting her confusion for irritation, muttering, “I didn’t ask for a goddamn audience…”
The Oni would simply raise a hand in response, giving a smile, “Oh no, don’t be offended. It’s a compliment!”
Giving a frown, Zerori looked around at the line, “So… what’s going on? What am I waiting for?” Standing besides her, the Oni would look toward the front of it.
“This is the line to your judgment to meet the Great Yemma. It might be a while for you, however so you may be here for… a few hours.”
Looking at him with an aghast expression, Zerori felt herself float towards the side to look down the line, “What?! That’s… pretty cold for an afterlife? Is there nothing to do in the mean time?!” She was worried she’d be bored to de-… Oh. Bad joke. Giving a frown, she crossed her arms.
The Oni however, simply tilted his head at her. “There is but… it is purely her wish, so please don’t think you’re getting special treatment. I could lose my job over this...”
Huh? Zerori turned back to him, a blank expression on her face. “W-Who?”
Behind the large Oni, a familiar face popped out from beside his leg and Zerori looked down to see… to her great surprise…
-Was Ari.
The Oni would cough briefly, a bead of sweat on his face. "I had to hide her, so... please try not to make a big scene." It was unfortunate that Zerori really didn't pay attention to his request.
Zerori’s lips parted, agape once more, as she just stared… and stared… and stared. Finally, when it felt like forever had actually passed, her bottom lip began to tremble and she let out a shuddering gasp. What was this raw emotion she felt? Did it matter now… after all she had gone through?
“A…Ari?” She whispered, calling out to the little girl that was staring at her with almost as much emotion. Her little pointy ears seemed to pull back just a bit as the young lass brought her hands up to hold it against her face.
“Zerori…” A for a few intense moments, neither said or did anything until finally it was the little girl that broke the silence and ran towards her. Dropping down into a kneel, the saiyaness opened her arms just in time to receive the tightest embrace she’d ever felt. Holding just as tightly, keeping her true power leashed (in case that was also not gone forever), Zerori folded her face into the little girl’s hair as she just stared in wonder and amazement at the floor. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she closed her eyes and just… felt it all slip away.
It had been a long… long time since she’d gotten to cry like this. Shoulders shuddering, eyes held tightly shut – she didn’t want this moment to ever end. Choking she tried to get out, “I’m… I’m sorry… You just wanted to come with me… and I didn’t think anything was gonna happen…” Pulling away, Zerori seemed to frantically look her over, as if Ari was still hurt from the wounds that fatally killed her. “You must have been in so much pain, I just-! Fuck!” And then came the guilt again; crushing and at the same time, infuriating.
However, instead of destroying something in her frustration, Zerori was pleasantly surprised to receive a bop on the nose from the little island girl in front of her. Wrinkling her face, she brought a hand up to her nose and stared at her in shock. Glaring back, her mouth an angry pout, Ari would raise a finger to the hybrid’s face.
“You’ve done a lot of bad things! How could you?! And stop feeling so guilty all the time! It wasn’t your fault and you know it!” Shocked from the sudden uncharacteristic tirade from the little girl, Zerori could only stare at her in shock whilst holding her cheek as she was railed on but her own ward. “You curse all the time and get mad at people that care about you! You even kill people,” Face falling at that, Zerori tried to look away. She’d tried hard to not unnecessarily take lives, if anything for the sake of not losing a valuable opportunity.
However, that didn’t wash her hands of the blood…
“I’m sorry, I-” The saiyaness tried, only once more to be stopped by Ari flailing her arms about.
“No, no, no, no, NO! I’m not done yet!” Zerori dropped her head, feeling defeated. “You attacked your friends and you hurt that pink girl! You did all of these things and you-! You-” The young girls’ voice started to break, prompting Zerori to look up and see her start to sob once more. Horrified, she raised her hands up in surrender.
“D-Don’t cry, c’mon!”
Sniffling, Ari would shgake her head be fore continuing, “A-And you did a-all of that… because of ME! H-How do you think-” She hiccupped, rubbing at her eyes, “-Th-That makes ME feel?!”
At this realization, Zerori would stop completely and stare at her. She’d never, in all of her wildest nightmares, ever taken into consideration that idea that… Ari would know what she had done to try and revive her. In fact…
None of this was possible in her wildest dreams…
Looking away, but this time with a low growl, Zerori would speak solemnly, “I didn’t think… you could see any of that, truthfully… for years I’ve done this, Ari,” She looked back at her, breaking into pieces as the child continued to cry. “Damn it, c’mere,” Reaching for her, Zerori wrapped her arms around the young child as she came to her, leaning backwards to sit on her backside and rub her back. Not really sure what to begin with again, she just continued, “There has never once been a moment… where I didn’t think I’d kill for you. Except,” She smiled softly, “When I never met you.”
“~”
Blinking at the muffled speaking, Zerori pulled Ari back, “What?”
“But you said you killed before!” She whined, eliciting a wince from Zerori.
“Uh, yeah… when I was getting paid or if they got in the way of something I wanted or needed… I’m starting to realize, a little late, that value of life, Ari.” Giving a scoff, the saiyaness seemed to finally remember where she was and who was there. Suddenly, this situation seemed too surreal that she was struggling to understand how it… even came about.
Looking around, she spotted the nicely dressed Oni and called to him. “Hey, so! Not that I’m complaining, but…” She was suddenly hesitant. “…Why did you do this?” Something of this magnitude… there were no earthly treasures she could sacrifice, nor power of the sun, moon or stars that she could destroy to thank whomever was responsible for this enough.
Giving a simple smile, the Oni raised a finger in the air simply. “I didn’t want to disturb your moment, as it is exactly what I imagined it would be, and possibly lose my job. However, since I have your attention-” He pointed to the little girl and Ari looked at him to smile and wave. “She’s been watching you for a long time coming and it was her wish that we help you to…”
He seemed to fade off in his statement, confusing the saiyaness for a moment before Ari finished it for him.
“You need… to move on, Zerori!” She would declare, her tear-stained cheeks puffy and red with sadness but her eyes showing a fire in them that Zerori did not realize she was capable of.
Speechless, Zerori could only open and close her mouth a couple of time before she closed her eyes and ran a hand through her hair. So this… had been the other alternative. Either walk the location you choose as a phantom… or find peace with whatever business was unfinished.
Damn them…
Grasping for straws, Zerori reached for Ari and placed a hand atop her head. “D-Does this mean we can be together again?”
At this, the young girl would blink and look to the Oni. It was in his ball court now and, as Zerori turned to him, she knew he could feel the pressure.
Unmoved by the pressure, the Oni would simply shake his head, unaware of the snarl that overturned the curious look Zerori once had. “That is impossibility. It was through good fortune that this opportunity was afforded to you. Don’t mistake that for your immortal soul being judged, please. That is going to be your next step.”
And just like that… Zerori was left with no other alternative.
Looking between the Oni and Ari helplessly, she barked at him venomously, “But I JUST got back to her! I can’t let her go now!” Breathing heavily, she tried to wrack her brain for any solution to get the best of both worlds in this situation. When Ari moved Zerori’s hand from her head, getting her attention by shaking her arm, the saiyaness looked at her with sorrowful eyes. It didn’t take a genius to know what was going to happen next; she just… didn’t want to accept it. “Kid…”
“You have to,” Ari mumbled, looking at the saiyaness with a sad expression. “I… I have!” Her tone was hopeful and challenging at the same time, eliciting a small smile from the saiyaness. “I know you didn’t mean it, really! And it’s fine. It was an accident and I wish…” Breath caught in Zerori’s throat at that phrase, reminding her of the goal she’d ruined lives to have fulfilled. “I just wish you’d let me go. You’re… a good person, Zerori! Please don’t be bad because you think you’re bad!”
Zerori briefly sighed, bringing a hand to aggressively scratch at her head. “I-It’s not that simple! These things don’t just go away and I… this is it. This is the end for me. Ari, we’re dead.” Looking at her, she questioned the girl. “Don’t you want to spend eternity after death with me?” The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them.
Ari burst back into tears, wailing at the saiyaness as she groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. “But I don’t get to make that choooiiice! You did so many things and I’m stuck in Heaven!”
Hanging her head, Zerori was once again… defeated. Why can’t I ever win?! She thought with a sad smile. Looking back at Ari, seeing the tears roll down her face, she reached forward to wipe them away. “A-Ari…” Her voice was hesitant, knowing she was making the most difficult choice in her li-… death. Biting her lips, she closed her eyes briefly before letting her head fall. She had to do this… for her sake. For her own sake. “I… I care about you, like… like you were my own daughter. I would kill for you and die for you.”
“But Zeror-!”
“Wait!” She scolded, hushing the child. “But I know… that this is the end, for us. Our journey. I ended it that night by not being fast enough. My life was ended by not being strong enough and our paths are being separated… because I wasn’t honest enough about how I feel.” Her grip tightened on the girl, even as she felt tears descend down her cheeks.
The words came out, but it hurt so much. She didn’t believe them but she knew, she just… had to do this for her. Taking a gasping breath, Zerori pulled Zerori close to her – possibly for the last time ever – and let out finally. “For you, I would do anything! And if… that means letting go…” She swallowed, feeling the little girl hold her back and cry into her own shirt. “I will… Ari, I love you. I always will…”
“Zerori!” The girl cried, no doubt blubbered up by whatever snot and tears trailed down her face but the saiyaness didn’t care. This was their final moment… if only this could be their heaven and hell.
After a few moments, the Oni would take a step forward and hold out a hand. “Times up. And I believe your wish has been granted and it’s almost time for her judgment,” His even tone and matter-of-fact words had Zerori growl lowly in the back of her throat, her arms unwilling to let go of the little girl until Ari had tried to pry her off. Looking back at Ari, her face softening, she opened her mouth to speak again – only to have a tiny hand cover it.
“It’s okay,” She said, a smile on her face. Releasing her hand from her mouth, she finished. “I forgive you… dummy.”
Zerori blinked, unsure what to say, but felt a smile come over her anyway. “Tch… silly kid. I was gonna say, ‘Have fun in heaven!’ Damn brat,” Getting back to her feet, despite her words, she let go of Ari so she could return to the Ogre. Time was irrelevant here, but they had somehow still run out. Ironic that she was seemingly wrong about so much in so little amount of time.
Slowly fading away, Ari would smile with waving… just like she had when they first met. “Bye bye! Try to be good, okay?!” She yelled, as if her voice was fading.
Laughing, the saiyaness just waved her off. “Get out of here, damn it!” Watching her smile as she finally faded away, Zerori’s smile would fade into a sad frown.
She closed her eyes, swallowing. That’s… By the gods, what have I done…?
With their meeting at an end, it would finally occur to the Saiyaness that she had been holding up the line for quite a while but behind them the souls and spirits of other dead were cheering and jeering at the drama they got to witness. Swallowing, Zerori would just turn back around and glare at the Oni as he chuckled, “We mustn’t dawdle; Sir Yemma gets quite irate when he is made to wait.”
Grimacing at how little care he seemed to show for her, Zerori just followed wordlessly, arms crossed as she speed walked to catch up with the line.
Finally catching up, she was only a few souls behind the large building that would no doubt belong to the Great Judge. Swallowing, she would look over at the Oni as he turned back to her.
Cringing, showing another new emotion, the Oni would just raise his hands in surrender. “Stay calm, now. Now, when you stand before him, it is important that you speak honestly about what your greatest good deed was… and what was your worst was. Lie, and he’ll know.”
Looking at him with a distraught expression, Zerori gave a small nod and looked back at the door. It was her turn now. Floating forward, she felt her throat close up a bit in her nervousness but tried to force out the words.
Looking up at the big desk in front of her, swallowing nervously, she remembered what he said. “U-Uh, hey. So, I uhm,” She cleared her throat. “My greatest d-deed was… Shit,” She cursed, not actually having thought about it at all. Taking a second, she reached for the closest thing she could find. “I protected… the Earth as best I could from a man called Realigner Red. W-Well, I lost (I mean we lost) but… I tried?” And now came the… harder part. “And most worst…” Fuck, there were so many to choose from. Might as well with the most recent, “My worst deed would be that I assisted in the destruction of a planet known as Kanassa.”
She couldn’t help herself, however, and added in, “To be fair, Sir, there weren’t that many left anyway…” Yeah, that… wasn’t going to help her case in the least. “C-Can I have my body back? This is really uncomfortable…”
Zerori, you dumbass.
EDIT: Changes have been made. 1) She has awoken besides snake way, in the line that leads to Yemma's Courthouse. 2) She is a ghostly puff that has some of her appearance but for the sake of the imagery - only Ari, the Oni and Zerori can see each others' features. She is a puff ball to all around her. 3) She is waiting in line like everyone else but did hold it up for her dramatic moment lol
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