Kina sat at the kitchen table, spamming Gohan's communicator to get him to stop studying so much. The morning sunlight filtered through the window, catching the black strands of her waist-length hair as she leaned forward slightly, wincing. Her back was acting up again—the dragon tattoo that covered her entire back had grown sensitive overnight, progressing from a dull ache to sharp, intermittent pain.

She hummed softly, a quiet, melodic tune under her breath as she selected another cute animated GIF of a cat stretching and sent it to Gohan. The scent of fresh tea wafted from the mug beside her elbow, growing cold as she ignored it in favor of her mission to distract the young scholar.

The wooden chair creaked slightly as she shifted her weight, the oversized orange martial arts shirt she wore—clearly borrowed from Goku—falling off one shoulder. Her deep blue eyes focused on the screen, but her fingers hesitated over the send button for a moment as another wave of discomfort rolled across her back, magic prickling just beneath the surface of her pale skin.