Breakfast in the Multiverse 2

The invitation from Universe 6's Saiyan base sat on Chi-Chi's stove, pinned down by a salt shaker, its corners slightly wrinkled from the kitchen's moisture. The letter had been written by Caulifla herself—or rather, dictated by Caulifla and penned by Kale, because Caulifla thought her handwriting was too ugly. Its contents were simple: Teacher Chi-Chi, the sixth training class has graduated, and all the students have unanimously decided to invite you to attend the graduation ceremony. P.S. You said last time that you wanted to try the blueberries newly harvested from our base orchard. They're ripe now, and Kale picked a whole basketful.

On the evening Chi-Chi received the letter, she read it aloud at the dinner table. When she reached the words "Teacher Chi-Chi," the corners of her mouth lifted slightly before she quickly pressed them back down and continued reading in a stern tone. Ji Ming sat in his usual seat, drinking soup, and caught sight of her fingers lightly brushing the edge of the paper as she read. Piccolo looked up from his steamed pumpkin and said, "Universe 6 blueberries are sweeter than Earth's," then continued eating, his expression no different from when he discussed tactics. Chi-Chi set down the letter and looked at him for a while before silently adding another plate of steamed pumpkin to his place.

This time, Chi-Chi decided to stay in Universe 6 a little longer. The training program had run from its first class to its sixth, its students expanding from an initial dozen or so Saiyans to auditors from multiple universes. The curriculum had also advanced from basic cooking to the cross-universe application of ingredients. Caulifla excitedly said over video call that the students' graduation projects would each be a full table of independently prepared cross-universe fusion dishes. Champa and Beerus had been invited as judges—then she lowered her voice and added that, to keep the two Gods of Destruction from fighting on-site, the tables would be arranged in an arc, and every bowl and plate would be replaced with unbreakable ones. Chi-Chi only said, "I'll go tomorrow." She began checking what supplies the kitchen needed, then found a soy sauce dish in the corner of the cabinet that Beerus had chipped slightly when he first came for a meal years ago. After thinking it over, she wrapped it in cloth and placed it on the top shelf beside Master Roshi's draft of the wedding speech he had written for Krillin's marriage.

The night before leaving for Universe 6, Chi-Chi worked late in the kitchen. She wrote out the menu for the next few days and stuck it on the refrigerator door—this container was Goku's lunch curry, that one was Vegeta's garlic ribs, this compartment was Piccolo's steamed pumpkin, how long Nappa's meat needed to thaw, and which cabinet held the extra bowls and chopsticks for when Krillin and Android 18 came over to freeload. Once she finished, she added another note: "Close the fridge door tight. Don't let Oolong steal food." Ji Ming leaned against the kitchen doorway and watched her stick up each note one by one, remembering how she used to prepare food for everyone before setting out many years ago. Back then, there had only been him. Now, at least ten names were listed among the labels on the refrigerator door.

He helped steady the chair for her and took down the matcha powder from the top of the refrigerator, placing it somewhere obvious. "That box is for Whis. Last time he came, he said Earth's matcha powder was different from the kind on Zeno's Planet." Chi-Chi dusted the chalk powder from her hands and smiled at him.

The spacecraft arrived early on the day of departure. Chi-Chi wore that faded blue apron and carried a large suitcase. Aside from her lesson plans and spare clothes, it contained several jars of homemade sauce, a bag of dried Earth pumpkin seeds, and a box of individually wrapped strawberry daifuku for Caulifla and Kale. Ji Ming carried the suitcase to the spacecraft door for her. Chi-Chi stepped onto the boarding stairs, then turned back for one last look. Ji Ming waved at her, and she waved back. Then the door closed, and the exhaust trail dwindled smaller and smaller in the morning light.

"Your mom's gone." Son Goku stood in the yard with the Power Pole over his shoulder, his tone somewhere between a statement and a confirmation.

"The menu's on the fridge." Ji Ming pointed toward the kitchen. "Curry for lunch, beef stew with potatoes for dinner."

"Curry's fine." Son Goku scratched his head, looking entirely unconcerned.

On Chi-Chi's first day away, Ji Ming entered the kitchen and found someone already at the stove—Son Goku wore his oldest apron and carefully flipped a thick rolled omelet in a frying pan with a spatula. The heat was too high, and the edges had already begun to burn, but he was very serious about flipping it. Ji Ming leaned against the doorway and watched for a while before walking over, taking the spatula from his hand, and lowering the heat. In the end, it could barely be rolled up, but it tasted right.

As he served rice beside the stove, he heard Piccolo and Vegeta talking in the yard. Piccolo's tone was as steady as ever, just like when discussing tactics. "Universe 6 blueberries are sweeter than Earth's because their star's spectrum leans toward blue, so the pathway of sugar accumulation through photosynthesis is different." Vegeta was silent for a moment before replying, "I have no interest in blueberries." Ji Ming carried the rolled omelet out of the kitchen and placed it on the dining table without joining their discussion of blueberry photosynthesis.

On Chi-Chi's second day away, several new notes appeared on the refrigerator door. When Krillin came over to freeload, he looked at the densely packed labels and remarked that this was the most precise battle map in the universe. Then, while Ji Ming turned around to steam pumpkin, he secretly peeled back the plastic wrap over Piccolo's portion and was about to reach in when he noticed a line of glowing Namekian characters carved into the inside of the lid. His translation wristband lit up automatically, displaying: "Anti-Krillin Special Sealing Array. Activation condition: a non-Namekian touches this container." Krillin withdrew his hand and muttered, "Who carves a sealing array onto a pumpkin container?" Outside the kitchen window, Piccolo stood at the edge of Kami's Lookout, looking toward Mount Paozu with his usual unreadable expression.

On Chi-Chi's third day away, she sent back a video. The blueberries in the base orchard were growing wonderfully. Caulifla had climbed straight to the top of a tree to pick fruit, while Kale stood below with her apron spread out to catch them. In the background, students could be seen frying, stir-frying, braising, and steaming food in the open-air kitchen. Ji Ming watched it twice with tea in hand and noticed a red-haired figure briefly appearing in one corner of the shaky footage at the end. During that period, he had been traveling through the various universes to maintain the seals. He had business in Universe 6 and stopped by the training class for a look.

That evening, Vegeta stayed in the Gravity Chamber too long and came out with a patch of scraped skin on his arm. Carrying a first-aid kit himself, he sat at the table and clumsily searched for a bandage. Bulma happened to come by with blueprints for the Gravity Chamber's upgrade plan and saw him applying it—he stuck it on crooked twice before barely getting it straight the third time. Bulma's expression was spectacular, but she did not say a word. Krillin passed by and struggled desperately not to laugh. When Vegeta's sidelong glance caught him, he made a sound in his throat like someone choking on water.

On Chi-Chi's fourth day away, Ji Ming sat alone atop the massive boulder that Son Goku had polished gleaming smooth, looking up at the stars now spread across the entire sky above Mount Paozu. There were no emergency communications, no wormhole anomalies, nothing requiring him to use divine ki. Kami's Lookout's golden light flickered between the clouds as always. The surface of the large wooden table in the yard was wet with night dew, while the kitchen window still shone with light—Piccolo was inside helping Dende heat pumpkin. Chi-Chi would return tomorrow. Ji Ming finished the rest of his cold tea, jumped down from the boulder, and walked toward the kitchen light.

On the evening Chi-Chi returned, Universe 6's special aircraft slowly descended above Mount Paozu. Ji Ming stood in the yard and heard the cabin door open, followed by Chi-Chi and Caulifla talking. He went out to help carry her suitcase. Chi-Chi had two extra cloth bags in her hands—one filled with jam made by Universe 6 Saiyans, the other with grass-rope coasters handwoven by Kale. The coasters were not especially neat, but every knot had been tied tightly.

Dinner was steamed dumplings made by Chi-Chi with newly arrived organic flour from Universe 6. The filling was pork and Chinese cabbage with a little dried shrimp, served with shredded ginger and black vinegar. When the steamer lid was lifted, the whole room filled with white mist. The steam rose to the rafters and blurred the light bulb above the table into a warm glow. As usual, Vegeta had several extra ribs in his bowl. Piccolo's pumpkin dumplings waited quietly in their dedicated steamer tier. When Krillin quickly snatched up the last fried shrimp, he accidentally knocked over the soy sauce dish across the tabletop, and Android 18 gave him a look. Amid the steam from the dumplings, Ji Ming lowered his head and used his chopsticks to move aside the top layer of meat in his bowl—sure enough, another tempura shrimp was buried at the bottom. He picked it up and took a bite. The batter was still crisp, and the shrimp was still fresh and sweet.

Outside, the snow fell softly. Kami's Lookout's golden light flickered through the thin veil of snow, and white smoke drifted from Mount Paozu's chimney. Tomorrow morning, Chi-Chi would probably return to her usual routine—tying on her apron, checking the ingredients in the refrigerator, then starting breakfast. The order of the multiverse still ran steadily under the watch of the new generation of guardians, while breakfast at Mount Paozu, as always, would be ready on time.