A Promise Broken

by LadyCressa

Sort of an A/U. Chichi tracks Goku down at the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, holding tightly to a promise he unknowingly made to her when they were kids. When he doesn't remember, she leaves, deeply hurt. At the end of the Tournament, he's encouraged to go after her. As hurt as she is, will she speak to him at all? **Request for busi sibeko1**

After two long days of travel from my father's kingdom, I finally climbed out of the train, highly relieved to stretch my cramped muscles. That last leg of the journey was the worst part. No breaks and hours upon hours of the empty darkness of a tunnel running for miles and miles beneath the ocean.

I slung my bag over my shoulder and stretched my cramped legs, wincing slightly at the muscles' painful unwillingness to loosen up. Stiff legs would not be a good way to start the tournament. After a minute, they finally did and I had my full range of motion back quickly.

I glanced over the crowd, wondering if I'd be lucky enough to spot him. I saw tourists and fellow fighters, but not the spiky-haired head I was after.

I huffed out a breath and went with the flow of foot traffic, easily finding my way to the registration desk for the Twenty-third World's Martial Arts Tournament as a new idea popped into my head.

Ah! I'll just check the registration list! That would be the perfect way to find if he was there already!

I quickly added an alias of sorts to the short list of names and then took a closer look at the signatures above mine and found his name to be absent from the list. I had no idea what his writing would look like, but all those other names – however nearly illegible some were – were much longer than four simple letters.

I took pity on the people coordinating the matches trying to puzzle out the names of the fighters with poor penmanship. I did not envy the coordinators' position.

It was still early enough in the day that he still had plenty of time to show. I wasn't worried, as the desk would stay open until sundown and it was hardly even noon at that point.

I found my way to the hotel my father made a reservation for one at and gave the attendant my name and a few minutes later was unlocking the door to a small suite and stepping inside. It was absolutely perfect – small and cozy. Exactly what I needed after days of travel.

I glanced around the room deciding what to do first as I engaged the lock behind me. The bathroom caught my eye, and suddenly the idea of a bath was absolutely irresistible, so I went with it.

An hour later, I was dressed and heading out to explore the island and grab a bite to eat at the small village.

The walking felt wonderful. It was a beautiful day, not too warm and not too hot with a light breeze gusting here and there.

In the village, I found a café and paid for my meal with some of the cash my father had given me for the trip. I had to be careful I didn't spend it all, because I would need a good portion of the funds for the return trip home, especially if I were to be traveling with someone.

I spent the rest of the day strolling in and out of the shops and generally enjoying the sights and sounds of the small village, always keeping an eye out for that familiar spiky-haired head.

As the sun sunk low in the sky and there was still no sign of him, I grew worried.

Had he forgotten about me?

I decided to head back to my room. I couldn't help but feel the complete lack of Goku that late into the day was a bad omen.

I sighed as I climbed into bed.

---

The Next Morning

I stretched and cracked my eyes open and I glanced at the clock. It read seven in the morning. The tournament was two and a half hours away – just enough time to get ready and warm up for my preliminaries.

I pulled on a dark blue cheongsam I tended to only wear to fight in due to its high slits and pulled on a pair of white pants, deciding to leave my arms bare, stretched and finished my warm up exercises before heading out of my room.

I had to admit, I was getting a little excited at the idea of testing myself against other fighters as I entered the fighters' area. I was trained in the martial arts from a very young age, but hadn't really had a chance to truly test my skill.

When I walked in, it was a large room with three small fighting rings set up.

"Miss?"

I turned to see an attendant with a box trying to catch my attention.

"Yes?"

"Please draw a number."

I eyed his box with an opening just big enough for my hand to slip through and plunged my arm in and grasped the first piece of paper my fingers brushed up against and handed it to him.

He opened it and nodded. "Number eleven! Your name please, Miss?"

I dropped my voice. "I'd prefer to keep it withheld for the time being."

He seemed a little confused but nodded and walked toward a crowd gathered at the far end of the room, all staring at the wall and talking amongst themselves when I saw him on the other side of the room.

He did make it after all! Excitement surged through me as I walked up to him. I quickly got my hopes up as I tapped him on his shoulder.

He turned around to look down at me with no hint of recognition on his face.

He raised a confused eyebrow, his eyes wide, innocent, and a little bit clueless. The same I eyes I remembered from my childhood.

I had found him.

When he tilted his face to one side, he asked the question that immediately dashed my hopes: "Do I know you?"

I felt my nose wrinkle and my eyes narrow into a fierce scowl. It was a look I knew I inherited from my late mother.

His confusion only seemed to grow, as that eyebrow climbed higher toward his hairline. "You seem angry. Why?"

I crossed my arms as my scowl deepened. "You are Goku, aren't you?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah, but how do you know my name?"

I was growing angrier by the second. It took all my self-control to not just kick him in the shin!

"You don't remember me, do you?"

He shook his head. "Can't say that I do."

I stared in his confused eyes as my anger fizzled out slightly. "That means… that means you don't remember the promise you made to me, either."

"Promise? What promise?"

I asked myself if there was any point in staying as soon as he said that.

I figured I might as well stay. I didn't come all that way for nothing. I thought maybe I could jog his memory. He had to remember me!

I stalked off, not bothering to respond to the blithering idiot, but not before getting a look at the wall behind him and the matchups for the preliminaries.

The gong sounded, signaling the beginning of the matches. With three fights going at once at any given point in time, the preliminary phase went quickly.

I was trained by the great – if perverted – Master Roshi so it didn't take me too long to climb the ranks. I hadn't even gained a bruise yet – let alone any broken skin – by the time the gong sounded again signaling the start of the opening match outside at the main arena.

I fought my way through several more opponents, each more skilled than the last, but I beat them.

I watched as Goku did the same. He was incredibly strong and fast. The other fighters never stood chance against him at all.

As the other matches went on, I checked the board to see where I was. The next match was myself versus Goku and I patiently waited for the announcer to call us up to the arena, glaring at Goku as I walked by him chatting with some short bald guy.

When the two of us made it onto the arena, the gong sounded again and we bowed to each other as was traditional and when that was over, I slid into my ready stance as he did the same.

I made the first move. I lunged at him and had him on the defense quickly. No, not the defense – he was merely dodging everything I threw at him and I was quickly growing irritated.

"Do you remember me now?"

He easily and gracefully dodged my kick aimed for his solar plexus. "No, I don't. What's your name?"

He didn't sound even the least bit out of breath! I wasn't either and I was just getting warmed up!

I scoffed. "Wouldn't you like to know!"

"If you wont tell me your name, would you at least tell me what I promised you? Please?"

Well, at least he had manners.

"Not a chance."

I belatedly realized he had yet to fight back. He was dodging every jab and kick I aimed at him, but never counterattacked!

"Come on! Fight me! Or are you chicken?"

I smirked as my last sentence made a faint trace of irritation flash across his face.

"No! I'm not chicken!"

"Then fight me!"

He twitched his shoulders slightly as he blocked a punch instead of merely dodging it and bounding backwards a few paces. "Well, okay. If that's what you want."

I never knew what hit me. I didn't think he hit me. He didn't move from his spot several paces away. That shouldn't have been possible!

As I tried to sort out what just happened, I was on my bottom in the grass.

I looked up to see him bent over the edge of the ring looking down at me. "I didn't hurt ya too bad, did I? Sorry I knocked you out."

I was very much going to feel that in the morning.

Heck, I already was. I reached up a hand and gingerly felt the goose egg that was already forming. I stood up, trying to preserve as much of my bruised dignity as I could.

As much as I was trying to will myself not to, I felt tears gather at the corners of my eyes and not from my defeat.

I fled out of the arena and back to the quiet safety of my room. I quickly stuffed my toiletries and what little else I had taken out of my duffle bag the night before back in, grabbed it, stomped downstairs and checked out with the attendant.

I found my way onto the next train out of the there to start the first leg of my long journey back home and trying to fight tears the whole way.

---

I had finally defeated my greatest and most evil enemy: Piccolo Jr. In doing so, I was declared champion of the Twenty-third Worlds Martial Arts Tournament because I had managed not to disqualify myself by killing him. I almost felt like doing backflips I was so happy.

I had taken a senzu bean immediately after the battle with Piccolo that ended up destroying the entire arena. I felt a little bad for that, especially because the announcer said there wouldn't be another tournament for a very long time, at least until the place could be rebuilt.

Piccolo nearly destroyed me. He had fired an energy beam through my shoulder but missed my organs. Yajirobe gave me a senzu bean directly after the battle so I was fully healed and ready to go.

There was one small problem: Just who was that black-haired girl? I couldn't get her out of my mind.

I turned to Master Roshi. "Who… was she? You know… that girl? I can't stop thinking about her for some reason."

"She left quite the impression on you. It's not surprising you didn't recognize her. I almost didn't either."

"Huh? You mean you knew her?"

He nodded. "Yes. I know exactly who she is and I think you do, too, Goku. Think back… back to when you were a kid and the adventures you had. Remember the people you met, especially someone you met not long after you first started your journey."

"Um… okay…"

I did as I was told with my eyebrows pinched together.

I thought back to when I first met Bulma and how she convinced me to join her on her quest to find the Dragon Balls after discovering I had one. I remembered our travels and the places we went to and the people we met until one face in particular drifted into my mind.

Dark hair. Purple bikini.

My eyes bulged out of my head and my jaw hit the ground.

"You remember now, don't you?"

I nodded slowly before voicing my thought out loud just for confirmation. "You mean… that girl earlier was Chichi!?"

"Yes, Goku. That was Ox King's daughter, Chichi. I hear you made a promise to her. I don't know what, but whatever it was, it must have been awfully serious for her to come all this way looking for you."

I raised an eyebrow as I remembered my last conversation with her. "Master Roshi? What's a bride?"

His eyes bulged. "Don't tell me you promised to… marry her!?"

"I remember something about a thing called 'marriage' when we chatted as kids. What's that? Is that some kind of food?"

They all fell over, Master Roshi included, but not before I heard him distinctly mumble, "Oh my Kami… You did…"

I didn't get it. "Did what?"

"GOKU YOU IDIOT! YOU PROMISED TO MARRY HER!"

I cringed. "Stop shouting, Master Roshi! I'm right here! Are you gonna tell me what this whole 'marriage' thing is or not?"

"Marriage… Goku… that means you promised to live with her for the rest of your life!"

"Live together? With her!?"

Krillin stepped up to me. "That means your life is over!"

Master Roshi bopped Krillin over the side of his head with his staff. "Not helping!"

Master faced me again, his face grave. "Goku… I strongly suggest you try to search her out and get this straightened out."

"Well… okay. If you say so."

If I was being honest with myself, I kind of wanted to see her again anyway, after finding out exactly who she was. I hoped she could forgive me and we could be friends.

Before I could call Nimbus, someone else called my name.

"Goku."

I turned to face Kami, the Guardian of the Earth.

"Would you like my job? I've been thinking about retiring and I think it would be a good fit for you."

My jaw dropped. "Me!? As Guardian of the Earth?" I shook my hands out in front of me as I shook my head, too. "No… n–"

He seemed a little bit annoyed. "Now don't be rash!"

I shook my head again. "Nope! Sorry!"

I had a taste of the solitary life. It wasn't for me. I didn't know I would like company, but I did. I wasn't sure I could go back to living alone.

"Well then, if you're sure."

I nodded vigorously.

"Then let me give you something."

He held his hands out toward me and I sensed a spike in his power as his energy glowed around his palm and then I started glowing.

A few seconds later, I stood there with a brand new uniform!

"On your gi is the symbol of the Kame House. Wear it with pride and always remember where you came from."

I nodded. "Thank you!"

A hand tapped my shoulder and I turned to face Master Roshi.

"Okay, Goku. I think there's someone you need to pay a visit to."

I nodded at him and tilted my face to the sky. "FLYING NIMBUS!"

In a few seconds, Nimbus was hovering in front of me and I jumped on and I waved goodbye to my friends and they waved back, all yelling their goodbyes.

The last I heard before they were out of sight was a shout of "Good luck!" from Master Roshi.

After a moment, I looked down at the fluffy yellow cloud beneath my feet. "Nimbus, do you remember where Ox King lives?"

Nimbus bobbed up and down in the air.

"That's good because I don't. Let's go!"

---

I stepped out at the train station of my father's small village, glad to be back home after that crushing disappointment. I kept my face down and pulled my hair free of the hair tie, letting it cascade down my shoulders, further hiding my face from view. It wasn't that I was concerned about my security or something. Our small village was a very close-knit community and everyone knew everyone else. It was just that I wasn't in the mood to chat.

Thankfully, no one stopped me by the time I crossed Town Square and passed through the front gardens of my father's palace and onto the safety of the secluded front porch.

The guards nodded once to me and opened the door. When I stepped inside and the door closed behind me, I leaned against it for a moment and blew out a breath. I pushed away from the door and walked quickly deeper into the palace, intending to head straight for my room when I heard my father and someone else with a vaguely familiar voice talking, the voices coming from my father's study.

I walked up to the door and pressed my ear to it, not wanting to interrupt a potentially important meeting. No sooner had I done that than the door swung open, and I had to jump backwards to avoid it slamming into my face, thanking my quick martial artist's reflexes for saving me from a broken nose.

I glanced at the person who had thrown the door open and did a double take, my eyes snagging on that familiar orange gi I last saw him in.

My eyes narrowed. "It's you!"

He grinned. "Yeah, it's me! Hi, Chichi!"

"Oh, so now you remember me."

I huffed out a breath and brusquely stepped past him into my father's study, slamming the door on him on the way in.

I hated how that grin of his made my hard pound. I was angry at him, angry at my body's betrayal, and just generally ticked off.

My father immediately scooped me up in a big hug. "It sounds like my poor baby girl had a rough day."

I crossed my arms after he released me and sighed dejectedly. "You could say that again."

"So that was Goku, eh?"

"Don't say that name around me, Dad."

"Don't you think you're being a little bit… unreasonable? You haven't seen him in years and neither has–"

"I'm being unreasonable!? HE'S THE ONE WHO FORGOT ABOUT ME!"

My father shrank behind his desk, becoming not much taller than me, which was something of an impressive feat given his stature and promptly dropped the subject with his hands in the air, waving them around in a frantic, placating sort of gesture.

I lifted my chin. "I've decided on the train ride home I will be marrying one of my other suitors."

He blew out a soft breath. "Well… Okay. If that's what you want to do. Just… don't do something you'll regret, okay?"

I nodded. "I'm sure about this, Dad. I'll be fine. In fact, I already know which one, too. Remember that business tycoon's son? He's polite and seems reasonably down to Earth."

He seemed thoughtful. "Yes. I remember him, but Chichi he lives days away from here by train, farther even than the distance you traveled to the Tournament and many, many hours by flight."

I gave him a hopeful smile and those puppy dog eyes that I knew he couldn't resist and it worked like a charm. He caved immediately.

"I'll make the travel arrangements for you."

I bounded around his large desk and gave him a hug and a kiss on his cheek. "Oh, thank you, Daddy!"

He grinned. "Oh, my little baby girl is getting married!"

I sighed but couldn't hide the smile on my face if I tried. "I'm not a baby, Dad."

He chuckled. "I know, sweetheart, but you're still my baby." His face grew serious. "I know you're perfectly capable of taking care of yourself, but for this kind of distance, I would much prefer you accompanied by an escort."

I groaned. "Ugh. Dad! I'm not taking guards with me!"

He held his hands out toward me, palm out. "I'm not asking you to. I think I have a better idea. I know you don't like to make a scene."

He got up and out of his seat and walked around his desk and opened the door. I didn't have to wonder what he was up to for long. "Goku?"

Oh… Kami. Tell me he's not…

"Yeah?"

"Would you come in for a second?"

"Sure!"

He walked in and gave me a grin so dazzling he nearly made my heart stop. That was a problem. Definitely a problem.

"Goku, I have a favor to ask of you."

"Shoot!"

Dear old dad is…

I groaned again and leveled an intense glare at my father, loathing that I knew what his next question would be.

He shrugged apologetically to me before turning back to Goku. "Would you escort Chichi to her suitor? It's a very long journey and you seem like just the trustworthy sort that can keep her safe without making a big scene. That cloud of yours looks like it will get her there in no time. I will of course pay you for your time."

"Sure! Nimbus is super fast! But I don't need money, thanks."

My father raised an eyebrow. "Well… okay. If you're sure."

"Yep!"

Goku threw me another one of those heart-stopping grins.

I was pretty sure I was going to throw up and my heart galloped in my chest again.

I raised a threatening eyebrow in return, forcing my heart to return to a relatively calm rhythm. "I expect to leave not later than sunrise tomorrow morning."

"Sounds good!"

My father nodded approvingly. "Good. Since that's settled, why don't I show you to a room, Goku?"

"Alright!"

Once he followed my father down the hall, that was the last I saw of him that evening.

I packed what I would need for a few days and went to bed, ready to get up very early the next morning.

---

I yawned wide and stretched. I got up, dressed, and grabbed Grandpa Gohan's staff and walked out of the room the Ox King let me sleep in for the night.

I inhaled through my nose and then took another deep breath. My stomach grumbled and drool dribbled out of my mouth.

Breakfast. And it smelled amazing. Finding the kitchen couldn't be too hard in a place like that. All I had to do was follow my nose.

My brain on food, I didn't notice the angry, dark haired girl glaring at me right away. "Well? Are you ready?"

"I am. But… can't we eat first?"

My stomach rumbled again.

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. We will eat first."

She stomped off and I assumed – and hoped – she headed toward wherever breakfast was so I followed. As we walked, the smells grew stronger and stronger. Chichi wasn't running so I had to force myself not to, however badly I wanted to sprint. I didn't want to make her angrier with me than she already was.

After going down a couple flights of stairs and down a few long corridors, we walked into a large room with a very long table – the longest I had ever seen in my life. Seated at one end of the table in a large chair was Ox King.

He waved us over with a huge grin on his face. "I hoped you two would join me for breakfast!"

My stomach roared – not just grumbled, but earth-shatteringly roared.

He stared at me for a second and burst out laughing as he gestured to the chairs on either side of him. "Food will be out shortly, Goku. In the mean time, why don't you two take your seats?"

Chichi went to one side of the table and I went to the other and she refused to look at me. I was little bit worried about that at first but then the food was placed before us and Ox King gave us the okay to dig in and the food had my full attention.

I ate through the delicious foods as quickly as they were placed in front of me, every dish better than the last. My nose didn't lie; it truly was the most delicious food I had ever eaten in my life.

I sighed happily, rubbing my nearly uncomfortably full stomach. "Thanks, Ox King! That was amazing!"

He chuckled. "You're entirely welcome, Goku."

Abruptly, Chichi stood up and glared at me. "Well? Let's go before it gets any later!"

I grinned at her and nodded and followed her out of the room and outside.

I cupped my hands around my mouth. "FLYING NIMBUS!"

A few seconds later, my friend floated in front of us.

I looked at Chichi. "Let's go!"

I tried to help her up first, but she batted my arms away and after a moment, she was situated on the cloud and I hopped on in front of her.

"Alright, Nimbus! Let's go!"

The cloud rocketed into the sky with us on it.

I looked over my shoulder at her. "Chichi? Where are we going?"

She stayed quiet and only pointed in the direction we should be heading and Nimbus adjusted its course.

We flew on in silence. I didn't know what to say to her and she didn't seem to be in the mood for chatting – at least, not with me. As small as Nimbus was, she seemed to be trying to keep as much distance between us as possible. I didn't mind, but I was still a little sad she didn't seem to want to be my friend.

We flew for hours and a snow-capped mountain came into view. "Are we anywhere near where that… what did you call him… um–"

"Suitor. He's a suitor. And no. We are not."

I didn't miss the faint clatter of her teeth against each other as she spoke, her usually clipped tone even more so.

"You seem cold."

"No!"

"You sure? I can hear your teeth clattering. Don't try to hide it."

"I'm. Not. Cold!"

I shrugged. "Well, okay. If you say so."

After a moment, I felt her knee brush against my lower back, the contact ending as quickly as it began. She wasn't cold… she was frozen! I decided it wouldn't bother me if she were to lean against me to keep warm so I offered her as much.

To my surprise, she didn't snap at me again. She didn't move either – at least not right away. She seemed to be trying to make up her mind and then I felt her shift around on the cloud again and then contact much closer than I was prepared for.

It felt like she had her whole front pressed into me.

I gasped at the feeling as nonsense tumbled out of my mouth. I wasn't cold. I didn't get cold easily anyway, but something about her pressing herself into my back made more warmth spread through me and I felt this odd feeling of heat spreading on my cheeks.

I raised an eyebrow. What in the world was happening to me? Was she doing that to me?

I was confused, but I couldn't say I didn't like it.

---

I couldn't believe I needed that kind of contact to stay warm. I had been cold for quite a while, but was determined to keep it hidden from him. I didn't want or need his pity.

Apparently, he picked up on it anyway, so there I found myself, pressed into his back. I had to admit, the contact was effective at warding off the cold. He was inhumanly warm but not feverishly so. Most guys I knew would be cold themselves in that kind of temperature, but it didn't seem to faze Goku in the slightest.

I leaned my face against his back to try to warm my frostbitten cheeks and was immediately struck by just how good he smelled. I took a few deep breaths through my nose. He smelled sort of woodsy like a forest on a summer's day and a little pleasantly musky. Under that was some kind of sharp, indefinable spiciness.

I physically shook myself a little bit. I was shivering anyway, so I didn't think he'd notice. Do not go down that path, Chichi! I firmly told myself. I would have pushed him away completely if I wasn't so danged cold. Curse the weather and my not being dressed for the cold.

As we flew on, he would occasionally ask if were heading in the right direction and how much farther we had to go. It was definitely a long trip but I reassured him we were going the right way. Those were the only words we exchanged as we flew on.

I began to grow bored. There wasn't much to do and we had long since passed that mountain, rendering any sort of physical contact with him unnecessary and I figured he'd appreciate it if I pulled away so I did. I was embarrassed and irritated to find I actually regretted pulling away from him and his amazing smell.

Amazing smell. No not amazing. So what if he smelled good? He forgot about me! I would not forgive him for that.

With that irritated thought, my regret over pulling away from him quickly died.

I crossed my arms and huffed.

"Somethin' wrong, Chichi?"

"No! I'm fine."

He shrugged. "You don't seem okay."

I peeked over his shoulder in front of me, very hopeful to see some hint of our journey coming to an end. As luck would have it, I saw a cluster of skyscrapers in the distance.

Goku pointed towards the buildings. "That the place?"

"Yes. His father owns one of those buildings."

---

As Nimbus flew us closer, the size of those buildings struck me. I had seen some palaces in my travels with Bulma and the others and those were big, but these buildings towering above us while we were high in the air on Nimbus were in a whole different league.

I stared at our reflection in the mirror-like windows covering the buildings and watched Chichi gaze around us. My heart sped up a little bit at the way her hair fluttered in the breeze behind her and then she met my gaze and I snapped my head forward, that strange heat rushing to my cheeks.

Nimbus made another lap around the buildings and after a moment, she said, "That's it."

I glanced at her. She pointed in a direction to the left and ahead of us to what must have been the single largest building there.

"Um, Goku? I think we should land here before too many people see us."

I shrugged. "Okay."

Nimbus dropped lower, and I grabbed her hand and helped her off. We landed in the middle of a busy crowd of people. A few people stopped to stare but most seemed to be in a huge hurry to get to wherever it was they were going and didn't notice us.

Chichi glanced at me and strode toward the glass, gold-trimmed doors with her chin up and as she got closer, the slid open silently.

We stepped into a huge room with shiny black tile – so shiny, I could see my reflection in it like the glass on the outside of the building – and sterile white walls and people in suits walking in and out of hallways branching off of the lobby. Leather chairs and small tables were arranged in the middle of the room and a large desk with two women behind it sat on the far side from the door.

The sliding doors closed behind us and Chichi confidently led the way to the large desk.

The women looked at her from their seats behind the desk with a friendly smile. "Welcome to Atwater Industries. How may I assist you?"

"Hello. My name is Chichi and Drake Atwater is expecting me."

"Ah! Yes! Welcome, Princess Chichi. Please, have a seat. I will notify him of your arrival."

Chichi smiled. "Thank you."

She turned and headed toward the seats in the center of the room and sat down. I sat next to her.

A man in a suit with slicked back dark brown hair strode confidently up to us a few minutes later. "Hello, my lovely Chichi! You're just as beautiful as I remember."

I glanced at her and noticed a little pink tinged her cheeks as she gave him a shy smile and I couldn't help but imagine that shy smile aimed at me. "Thank you, Drake."

I looked at him a little closer. There was… something about his eyes – some kind of coldness in them. His smile reached his eyes, but didn't… warm them. Something about his energy was a little off, too. He wasn't strong at all, but his energy was cold like his eyes. He looked at me and his smile instantly died on his face, as a sneer took its place.

I quickly and somewhat instinctively decided to memorize Chichi's ki.

"Goku! Stop zoning out!"

She smacked me upside the head as she said that and my eyes snapped to hers as I brought a hand up to rub the sore spot. "Ouch! Sorry, Chichi!"

"Your friend isn't too bright, is he?"

She looked at me with a dismissive eyebrow raised. "No. He's not. You may go, Goku. You've done your job."

"Okay."

For some reason, I had a hard time turning my back on them, but I did and walked toward the door. I couldn't help but take one last look. What I saw made my insides lurch a little bit, a little like I was about to be sick.

He kneeled in front of her and had her hand in his and kissed it as he stared up at her with those eyes. He stood back up and slipped his arm around her waist – low on her waist and led her down one of the halls. I had seen Bulma slap Master Roshi once for touching her there. I watched them until they were out of sight, my eyes narrowed as I fought the sudden urge to run up to her and snatch her away from that guy.

I stepped outside, but the idea of leaving the area very much did not sit well with me so I didn't. I kept an eye on Chichi's energy as it rose smoothly and slowly up the tower as if she were flying, the Drake guy's energy right next to her. Strange, but she seemed fine. I didn't sense any fear from her.

After a couple of minutes, it felt like their energies were at the very top of the tower. I called Nimbus and – ignoring the small gawking crowd – hopped on and flew up to the top of the tower.

I circled a ways away from it and spotted a balcony with the doors open at the very top. I cautiously approached it and spotted Chichi and that guy. He shut the door as Chichi walked in from the hallway.

Chichi walked toward the balcony and my heart raced. If she went outside, she'd see me for sure! I didn't want her to get mad at me again! I pointed Nimbus toward the roof of the next – shorter – skyscraper and landed just in time as she walked outside, followed by that guy.

What was wrong with me? I couldn't even think his name.

I looked around the roof of the building I hid on and spotted some kind of strange, metal tower directly in the center of it. It was tall – tall enough to give me the perfect view into the balcony where they stood and climbing it was a cinch. In no time, I was level with their balcony as Nimbus hovered next to me.

I waved it off and it moved away, all the while never taking my eyes off Chichi. I looped an arm around one of the rungs and watched.

He walked up to her and slipped his arm around her waist again and pulled her close. My lip curled.

Chichi didn't seem to like the contact. She grabbed his wrist and pulled it off her waist and took a few steps to the side. I knew they were talking, but they were too far away for me to make out what they were saying.

He moved closer to her and tried again with his arm around her waist and tried to turn her to face him. She resisted and I could sense the slight frustration in her energy.

Suddenly, he yanked her around to face him, her startled yelp loud enough to reach me but before I could make my move, she recovered and wrenched her arms free and immediately decked him square in his face, sending him flying back several feet.

I couldn't help the smile that tugged on my lips. I wasn't surprised at her strength. Not after seeing her performance at the Tournament.

He recovered and he tried to hit her back! That was when I called Nimbus and in about three seconds, I was between her and him, my blood boiling, with his fist firmly in my hand.

He screamed, "SECURITY!"

I squeezed my free hand into a fist and – holding back a lot as much as I didn't want to – slammed it into his gut and he dropped.

His guards charged into the room from the same hallway he and Chichi entered through and charged outside to the balcony and – taking that as my cue that it was time to get out of there – I grabbed Chichi's hand and jumped off the edge of the balcony, her piercing, terrified scream abruptly stopping as Nimbus caught us.

I wasn't afraid. I had complete trust in Nimbus.

---

I smacked him upside his very hard head, hurting my hand in the process, but I didn't care about that. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!?"

"Sorry, Chichi! I didn't want you to get hurt!"

"Uh-huh. And that's why you jumped off the edge of the balcony and almost killed us!"

"I knew Nimbus would catch us!"

"Yeah, well… I didn't."

"Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!"

I was quiet for quite a while. It really was incredibly sweet Goku wanted to rescue me. He did see me fight at the Tournament, but he still felt the need to come to my aid when Drake started to make me uncomfortable.

"Thank you. For saving me over there. That was… sweet of you."

He flashed me that grin over his shoulder. "Any time!"

"I can't believe it…"

"Huh? Can't believe what?"

"Oh… did I say that out loud?"

He nodded.

"I just meant I can't believe I thought he was a good man." I decided to voice the obvious. "You were watching us, weren't you?"

He cringed and nodded slowly.

I giggled and his slightly hunched shoulders relaxed.

"I'm… glad you did."

"There was something… off about that guy. Something about his eyes. He just felt… cold to me. I can't really describe it."

"I just wish I picked up on that. What a waste of time this trip of ours turned out to be, eh?"

"I don't think so."

"Oh? Why not?"

"I got to spend time with you."

Wait. What? Since when did this little escort job of his end up with him wanting to spend time with me?

I was… secretly very happy that was his answer but I wouldn't tell him so – at least, not right then. I was still angry with him because he forgot about me!

The return trip home seemed to be going much faster. We were already at that freezing mountain! I could feel the temperature falling as we approached. The promise of warmth quickly became too hard to resist so I leaned into him again like I had the ride there.

He stiffened at first, but then did something surprising: he playfully leaned back into me a little bit and gave me a little nudge with his shoulder before straightening.

My eyes crinkled and I nudged him back, and he sent me that bright grin over his shoulder.

My teeth started to clatter and – even with my front pressed into him like I was – I was freezing.

"Chichi?"

"Y-y-yes?"

"The sun is going down. The trip to that city took most of the day even on something as fast as Nimbus. I think we should find somewhere to camp."

"C-c-c-camp? I-i-if you s-s-say s-s-so."

My clattering teeth made it difficult to form words. I was quite positive it was even colder than on the trip there. I realized the sun going down must have had something to do with it.

I felt Nimbus change course and the temperature rose just a little bit. It was still very cold, but less so. Goku must have taken us a little ways away from the mountain.

Nimbus flew down to just a couple feet off the ground and Goku helped me down. We ended up at the base of a cliff, the giant rock wall the perfect windbreaker.

Goku tapped me on the shoulder and I looked at him questioningly.

He pointed up and toward the wall of rock several steps in front of us. An inky black opening in the cliff face a couple of yards up must have been what he was showing me.

"Wait here."

With that, he turned and climbed quickly the eight feet or so up the cliff face and into the mouth of the small cave and immediately disappeared from view as the blackness swallowed him up.

After a minute, he poked his head out. "It's safe in here, Chichi and warm, too!"

"Are you sure it's stable?"

"It's perfectly safe."

"Well, okay. I'll trust you."

He leaned farther out of the mouth of the cave on his stomach and stretched his hand down for me. I reached up and he pulled me up like I didn't weigh anything. Not a grunt, or even a quiet huff of breath as he pulled me up. Nothing. He didn't seem to notice at all and with one arm, pulled me up easily and gently.

As my feet almost touched the mouth of the cave, he wrapped his other arm around my waist and pulled me the rest of the way in, resulting in pressing our fronts together for an awkward, unexpected hug as he carefully sat me down on my feet.

He stepped away quickly, seeming nervous.

I decided to break the awkward silence as I walked a little ways into the cave. "It is warm in here. You're right."

Well, maybe not warm so much as not in the wind, but close enough. He seemed proud of himself, so I wasn't going to nitpick.

He walked past me, and paused at the mouth of the cave for a moment. "I'm going to go get some firewood and try to find some food. I shouldn't be gone long."

"Okay. Just… be careful, okay?"

Sheesh. I was already worrying about him and we weren't even an item yet.

He just grinned. "I'll be fine."

And with that, he stepped off the edge and dropped down. I hustled to the mouth of the cave just in time to see him disappear into the trees. I sat down with my legs hanging over the side and twiddled my thumbs.

It didn't take long for sitting around to make me a little crazy, so I got up and proceeded to smooth out the cave floor as best I could so we at least wouldn't be sleeping on rocks. That occupied a fair bit of time, but Goku still hadn't come back yet.

I decided to explore the cave a little bit. I walked maybe thirty feet or so before I hit a dead end. It looked like it had caved in long ago, but he was right, the rest of the cave seemed strong.

I paced, sat around twiddling my thumbs, and worked through some of the martial arts forms I knew to keep my skill sharp, trying to come up with ways to pass the time.

About an hour later, heavy footsteps moved toward our cave. My heart immediately sped up. I stared around at the barren, rough cave wall. There was nothing to duck behind, and nowhere to go but back outside.

I figured there was no reason to panic unless whatever it was stalking around out there discovered me in the cave. I resolved to be silent and kept my back pressed into the cave, hoping that whatever it was wouldn't smell me.

The heavy footsteps grew closer.

I considered my options, which weren't much. One option. That was all I had: run out as fast as I could and try to find cover in the trees.

I heard whatever it was scraping against the base of the cliff directly below the mouth of our cave. My heart pounded in my throat and my blood started running cold.

A large, furry head poked into our cave and I froze.

Then, the beast lunged fully inside and… landed in an ungainly heap on the ground at my feet. That beast, a large wolf judging by the massive, toothy snout and large paws must have been the world's most incompetent hunter. I was just about ready to use the creature's clumsiness as cover to run out of the cave and scream for Goku when said man popped into the mouth of the cave directly in front of me.

I punched him in his chest. "You scared the living daylights out of me!"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry, Chichi. Hey! I brought dinner!"

He pointed proudly to the apparently dead wolf in the ungainly heap on the ground. I began to feel just a little bit foolish and then more than a little disgusted.

"We're going to eat that!?"

"Yes! It's good! You'll see!"

I eyed the thing distastefully. "I… think I'd rather starve."

"I'll bet you'll change your mind when you smell it cooking!"

He dropped down out of sight again and I followed him down.

He dropped to his knees at the large, expertly arranged pile of kindling and firewood and… pointed his hand at it. His eyes narrowed slightly in what seemed to be concentration, his hand glowed and then lit up and a ball of warm light emerged and I gasped. He directed it to the firewood and held it still so everything would catch.

In no time flat, the fire grew so that it swallowed up the entire pile.

"What was that!?"

He looked confused and then something seemed to click. "Oh! How I lit the fire?"

I nodded, my eyebrows in my hairline.

"That was just my ki."

"Ki? I know what ki is, but I had no idea that was possible!"

He stared at me, stunned. "You know what ki is!?"

"Yeah. My dad told me it's the energy all living things big and small have in them but I had no idea what you just did with it was possible!"

"You're right! And it is possible. You just have to learn to control it."

"You say that like it's no big deal."

He smiled knowingly. "It did take a lot of training to get to where I am, that's for sure – years, in fact." He paused for a moment and looked down at the fire. "Okay, the fire is almost ready. I'll go clean the wolf."

He easily leapt up into the cave and emerged a moment later with the wolf. He bounded into the trees and was gone for several minutes. When he came back, the beast was expertly skinned and gutted, his hands bloody.

He quickly set up a spit over the fire and put the wolf on it, revolving it slowly so it cooked evenly.

I had to admit, as time passed, it smelled better and better. My stomach growled a little bit.

He laughed. "See? I told you so."

I rolled my eyes but didn't bother trying to fight my smile.

A while later, the wolf was ready and Goku let me get my portion first, recommending the most tender parts. It was juicy and very good, the heat soothing and warming me inside out from my fingers to my toes and everywhere in between.

I tore off what I wanted of it and Goku devoured the rest, stripping the carcass bare in a matter of minutes.

I gaped at him as he rubbed his stomach and yawned.

He blew out a breath. "I don't know about you, but I think I'm ready for bed."

I yawned, too – those contagious things.

"Thirsty?"

"Actually, yes. I am."

"There's a stream not far into the trees with good, fresh water. Follow me."

He led me in and sure enough, a stream with delicious but cold water quenched our thirst and he washed his hands. He disposed of the rest of the carcass deeper into the woods so that it wouldn't attract any scavengers and returned to the stream and led me back to the cave.

He turned his back to me. "Grab on."

I wrapped my arms around his neck and he pushed off with his legs and landed us lightly right at the mouth of the cave.

I walked to the patch I cleared for us and stretched out on the hard ground, squirming around to find the least uncomfortable position. I quickly gave up on trying to find an actually comfortable position on the hard, rough ground.

Goku seemed much more accustomed to that than me. He flopped down a few feet away from me. "Goodnight, Chichi."

"Goodnight."

I eventually settled on my right side with my head pillowed by my elbow, facing Goku. It wasn't long before my teeth clattered again, the coldness of the bare ground seeping through my clothes.

Goku looked at me, innocent concern in his eyes. "Chichi? If you're cold… um… you can lean on me again if you want to."

I eyed him for a moment. I was alone in a cave with a guy I couldn't beat in a fight. And yet I wasn't nervous about it at all. I felt perfectly safe.

Yet again, the promise of warmth was irresistible. I took him up on his sweet, innocent offer.

I sidled closer to him and pressed my back into his warm side and pillowed my head with my arm. We quickly fell asleep like that as my teeth stopped clattering.

When I awoke very early the next morning, I was startled by how I found myself. My back was still to him, but at some point in the night, his arm replaced mine under my head and his front was lightly pressed on my back.

I was startled, but as chilly as the morning air was, I wasn't ready to move just yet. His snores proved he wasn't in any hurry to get up either.

I had almost drifted off again when he woke with a jolt – startling me, too – and unceremoniously yanked his arm out from under my head as he jumped up.

I jumped up, too, to see him staring at me with a combination of panicky apology and his hands held out toward me palm out and I didn't miss the faint blush coloring his cheeks either.

"Goku? What is it?"

Goku's panicky look faded away, replaced by a confused expression characterized by his raised eyebrow and his head tilted to one side. "You're… not angry?"

It was my turn to raise a confused eyebrow. "No… why would I be?"

"Uh… well… I was sort of hugging you when I woke up!"

"Yes, I know."

I crossed my arms, silently urging him to explain himself.

"It's just that… when I saw Oolong try to touch Bulma like that once when she was sleeping, she got mad when she woke up. She slapped him." He paused, looking uneasy and dropped his gaze to the ground. "I didn't want to make you mad. I like you."

I clapped my hands over my mouth, but not before my face completely contorted into a delighted smile and I had to fight the squeal threatening to burst out of my lips. He was just so sweetand so innocent! And he likedme! That made me a lot happier than it should have.

He stared at me, as confused as ever.

I just giggled and headed out of the cave. "We'd better get going, Goku."

"Okay."

He joined me on the ground outside. "FLYING NIMBUS!"

He helped me up onto the soft cloud and we took off.

I remembered that was how he made me feel as a kid, too – all giddy and happy.

Goku squirmed slightly on the cloud only ten minutes into our flight and I had the distinct impression he wanted to say something.

I decided to beat him to it. "I like you, too, Goku."

His body stiffened and then relaxed and he looked back at me with the brightest, most dazzling grin I had ever seen him wear. That simple sentence put that smile there.

Heat rushed to my cheeks.

A massive rumble erupted, shattering the calm.

My head whipped around, as I was positive we were about to crash into an airplane and my heart pounded.

"What was that!?"

"Heh-heh… I'm hungry."

I looked down and spotted some deer. He knew how to hunt and I liked venison so I decided to point them out.

He glanced back at me and nodded. Nimbus swooped lower and Goku dropped down a ways from the small herd. He slithered through the foliage silently, getting ever closer to the herd.

And then, he sprang forward and the herd bolted. I thought he had missed. Suddenly, it occurred to me he had no knives or other weaponry for hunting on him.

That huge wolf we had for dinner last night… he must have brought it down with his bare hands! How the heck was that possible?

I watched him with very wide eyes as he raced through the trees and I urged Nimbus to keep up with him. The speed with which he was moving! He was actually keeping up with the deer!

Like a mountain lion, he singled one off from the herd, forcing it to split off: a young buck.

I stared transfixed as Goku pushed on even faster and then ahead of the small beast. Moving almost faster than I could track, he spun around and grabbed the animal by its antlers, stopping it, and snapped its neck, the animal dropping limp instantly.

He smiled up at me as I merely stared at him with my jaw hanging open. That was no hunt I had ever witnessed before – at least not by a human. He wasn't out of breath or anything! Not even a single bead of sweat anywhere!

He stepped away from the buck and waved me down. "Just jump. I'll catch you!"

"Okay…"

Nimbus shifted a little ways to the side to hover directly over his head and I dropped the twenty or so feet straight into his arms.

Suddenly being held by him, my heart sped up a fair bit and our eyes locked. A cute blush colored his cheeks, his eyes a little wide.

His stomach rumbled, and he snapped out of it and gently sat me down, but that blush didn't leave his cheeks right away.

I couldn't quite take my eyes off of him as he built the fire. I very much noticed his looks earlier, but I was struck by just how handsome he was – muscular, well built, and angular features. None of the soft roundness was left over from his childhood.

The fire built and burning with another tiny blast of ki like the previous night, he skinned and gutted the deer and mounted the carcass on a spit over the fire. It turned out he did indeed have a small knife on him, but he still caught the deer with his own two hands. He put the entrails on the pelt and carried the mess a little ways into the forest with a bright, "Be right back! Rotate the spit, please!"

I did as he asked while he was gone. When he came back, he carried a pile of red berries in his arms.

I eyed them suspiciously. "I hope they aren't poisonous."

He laughed. "Nope! These grow right by my house! Try one! They're good!"

He deposited the pile on the ground at my feet and handed me a berry, his fingers brushing against mine when he gently put it on my hand. I could have sworn I saw a slight shudder when his hand touched mine, but he didn't say anything about it, choosing instead to pop one of the berries in his mouth.

Sure enough, sweet and a little tart, the berries were very good and refreshing. Together, we snacked on several more as the wolf cooked, our pile quickly dwindling.

He looked down at our small pile and chuckled. "I'll go pick more. Keep the spit rotating."

Once again, I took over rotating the spit while he bounded off into the bushes. "Oh! Wait, Goku!"

"What? Somethin' wrong, Chichi?"

I smiled. "Nothing. I just have something for you to put the berries in." I pulled my handkerchief out and handed it to him.

"Thanks!"

He ran off and came back with a larger pile of berries once he had something to carry them in.

We happily snacked on berries and chatted about what we had been up to in the intervening years since last seeing each other while the deer cooked. I understood why he didn't remember me right away. He really had been busy.

When the deer was finished cooking, he cut off some and handed it to me with a sweet, shy smile, that blush coloring his cheeks again.

I returned it as I took my cut.

Our eyes lingered a little longer than before, but even more heat rushed to my cheeks and I was the first to break eye contact.

We ate our meal in a comfortable silence and hopped back on Nimbus to resume our flight home.

Around sun down, my father's kingdom finally came into view. I blew out a relieved breath, glad to be home again as our feet touched down just outside the castle gardens.

I yawned loudly and widely and it was distinctly unladylike. I was sure it was very unattractive.

Goku was only amused and giggled. "Sleepy?"

I nodded, losing the fight against another wide yawn.

I walked slowly – and a little unsteadily – toward the grand front door. The guards stepped to the side and let us pass, eyeing Goku somewhat quizzically. It was obvious he was with me so they didn't stop him.

We stepped inside and I bumped into a massive, solid wall who immediately gathered me up for a huge hug.

"Hi, Daddy."

He set me down. "My dear Chichi! You're back so soon! Where's Drake?"

My head dropped and I crossed my arms.

Dad put one of his huge hands on my shoulder. "What happened, Chichi?"

He was nothing but concerned. I was surprised I had to fight back tears. I didn't cry about it at all when it happened or that night with Goku in the cave. Right then, with my dad, I felt like I wanted to break down, but I held it together – barely.

"He wasn't who I thought he was."

Dad's tone when he spoke next was pure danger. "If he tried anything against my baby girl, I swear I'll–"

"He… did but didn't get far."

Goku walked the few steps up to us. "She punched him hard in the face! So hard he flew back a few feet! He looked like he wanted to hurt her back so I punched him, too."

My dad looked… rather delighted with that piece of information. "That's my strong little girl. Well done!"

He eyed Goku somewhat appraisingly.

Is Dad thinking what I think he's thinking? Was my thought to myself as I watched Goku squirm a little uncomfortably under my dad's scrutiny.

After a minute of staring at Goku, he nodded, an approving smile on his face.

He is.

I looked at Dad and raised an eyebrow.

He just grinned and winked at me and I rolled my eyes.

I yawned again and Dad walked me to my room as Goku called, "Good night, Chichi!"

""Night, Goku."

Dad paused in his step and looked over his shoulder. "Goku, you may sleep in that room you stayed in when you first came here."

"Thanks!"

When I reached my room, I stepped in and shut the door, changed into my pajamas and immediately drifted off to sleep, a smile on my face.

---

The Next Morning

When I woke up, the delicious smells of breakfast permeated the air of my room, seeping in through the crack under my door and through the air vents.

I quickly got dressed, brushed my hair, and ran out, eager to see if a certain someone was still there.

He was.

He grinned at me when I walked in, the table piled high with all kinds of yummy stuff. After the game I had for two days, what was on the table before me as I took my seat was five-star cuisine. It really was five-star cuisine. It was my dad's cooking, after all.

I was amazed Goku hadn't touched any of it. His stomach rumbled and I quirked an eyebrow at him.

My dad laughed. "Alright, you two. Dig in!"

Goku wasted no time.

Dad looked at me as Goku ate, the two of us eating with much more decorum. "Where on earth does it all go?"

I shrugged and shook my head in Goku's direction. He was too absorbed in food paradise to notice. I couldn't help but giggle.

Dad got up to grab the teapot resting on a cart nearby and elbowed me lightly as he

went. I looked up at him and he winked at me.

My face immediately flushed as I quietly snarled, "Dad!"

He put a teacup in front of me and filled it. "I think there's a genuinely nice young man right there. His manners can certainly use some work, but who better to teach him than a princess?"

My jaw dropped as I looked up at Goku, still too absorbed in the mountainous, culinary haven before him to be aware of the outside world.

Goku. Hmm.

My heart fluttered in my chest and I couldn't stop the small smile that formed on my face.

He must have felt me looking at him because he finally looked up and returned my small smile, our eyes locking, his chopsticks with a bite of food pinned between them frozen in the air in front of his face.

His chopsticks slipped out of his hand and I giggled as he knocked over his teacup trying to catch them. He kept his gaze on the spilled tea pooling around his plate, his ears adorably red.

Maybe dating him wouldn't be such a bad idea. Dad was right; Goku was genuinely sweet and innocent. A genuineness I thought I saw in Drake when we were around my father but was sorely mistaken when I was alone with him.

I dropped my gaze back to my own food and finished eating.

After a few minutes and several empty dishes, Goku leaned back in his chair. "Whew! That was the best food ever! Thank you, Ox King!"

I glanced at Dad and saw his delighted smile. "My pleasure, Goku! Why don't the two of you take a walk for a little while. I have an important meeting I need to attend in a few minutes."

My stomach was immediately full of butterflies. "Okay, Dad."

The maids cleared the table as Goku and I got up. I decided to show Goku around and looked at him. He was staring at me again.

I waved him to follow me. "C'mon, Goku. Let me show you around."

I gave him a tour of our palace, showing him everything and telling him stories from my childhood, including my favorite spot in the castle.

We reached a floor-length tapestry on the wall at the end of a corridor with the Ox family crest on it and I pushed it aside, exposing a narrow door hidden behind it, the only hint of the door's existence were four small cracks in the wall. I pushed on it and the old, creaky thing swung open. We stepped onto the small landing of a spiral staircase and I shut the door behind us, plunging us into pitch-black darkness. When I went up there, I always had a flashlight with me, but I didn't bother grabbing one before heading to my favorite spot.

"Goku, will you please make us some light?"

"Sure!"

With that, he did. A small ball of light flickered into existence, hovering a couple of inches over his palm and he held it up as he looked up, the energy having a surprising amount of reach.

"This way."

I led up him up the narrow, creaky staircase, pointing at certain steps I learned by experience and that were second nature to me to skip so he could do the same.

After a couple minutes of climbing – and sneezing occasionally – we found the top. I pushed on the narrow trapdoor, swinging it open on old, rusty hinges and we climbed up onto the top of a small turret with an excellent view of the area.

"This is my favorite spot. I climb up here when I need some peace and quiet. It was my late mother's favorite place, too."

"I see why. It's nice up here."

I nodded.

Goku playfully nudged me with an elbow and I nudged him back. We exchanged quite a few nudges standing on that quiet turret together.

He grew fidgety in a nervous sort of way, like he was arguing with himself about something and I watched him a little bit worriedly.

"Something wrong, Goku?"

He shook his head, but seemed troubled. His face was an awkward mix of confusion and looking lost in thought.

After a minute, he straightened and looked like he made up his mind. "Chichi… can I ask you something?"

"Sure!"

"Something… weird happens to me when I'm with you. My stomach feels all funny, sort of like when I get the butterflies before a big fight and my heart pounds – especially when you smile at me. Sometimes it feels like my cheeks burn. But I like it. All of it. I like to spend time with you. This has never happened around anyone else before! What does that all mean?"

I merely stared at him with my jaw hanging open once my brain processed what he just said. I could not believe what I just heard.

He eyed me with his lower lip pulled between his teeth and an eyebrow raised.

I remembered he asked me what it all meant. Considering the life he led, I think I knew why it all confused him. Training and fighting. Fighting and training. Those were the two biggest things in his life. That was all he really knew.

I wondered how best to answer his question without confusing him further and stayed quiet for a moment as I thought about it. "Do you have a best friend?"

"Yeah! His name is Krillin."

"You like spending time with him, too, don't you?"

"Yeah, but that's not the same. He doesn't make my heart do weird stuff. Only you do that. Bulma doesn't make me feel like this either and she's a girl."

"You're saying how you feel about your friends is different than you feel about me."

He nodded slowly, still staring at me.

"Goku… I think… this means you…"

How could that have happened so quickly? It had only been a couple of days!

I took a deep breath and stared him in the eye. "Goku… It sounds like you're beginning to like me as more than a friend."

"More than a friend? I didn't know that was possible. Why does that happen?"

"Well, sometimes when somebody meets the right person, they just… connect. I don't really know why it happens, either. I just know it does."

I fell silent and he didn't ask any other questions on the topic. Up there, in the privacy of my favorite spot, I deliberated on whether to make an admission of my own as I stared out at the lovely scenery.

It didn't take long for me to make up my mind.

I turned to face him fully and looked in his eyes for a moment and then away. The look in his eyes was the tenderest look I had ever seen him wear, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"Goku… I feel the same way about you. My heart pounds when you smile at me, and I get the butterflies, too. I never felt that away about anyone, either."

His face contorted into the brightest, most delighted grin I had ever seen him wear. He seemed so very happy. It was incredibly sweet.

We talked more, and nudged each other before deciding to head back down into the castle.

I led him outside. "Want to go horseback riding?"

"Sure! I don't think I've ever tried that before."

"You've never been horseback riding!? It's so much fun! C'mon!"

I grabbed his hand and pulled toward the castle stables, giggling all the way.

I walked up and down the stables, looking at the dozen or so horses, deciding which would be the best match for him.

I didn't notice he stopped following me until I heard him giggling from the other end of the row of stalls.

I turned around to see him petting the nose of a beautiful, high-strung Arabian stallion with a dappled grey coat named Levi that was nibbling and tugging on Goku's hair.

I walked up to them and grabbed the halter and lead-rope hanging from a nail just outside Levi's reach. "That's Levi. You can ride him, but be warned: he loves to run and he's a little high strung. You're not nervous at all right?"

He rubbed Levi's nose. "Hi, Levi! Nope!"

"Good."

I showed Goku how to slide the halter on, attached the lead and brought the horse to a hitching post just in front of the tack room.

I went to fetch my horse, a lovely paint mare with big, beautiful blue eyes and tied her lead next to Levi where Goku watched me curiously. "This is my horse. Her name is Opal."

He rubbed her nose and she immediately nuzzled into him. She was sometimes shy around strangers, but took to Goku right away. One of the stable boys when I was a girl told me animals tend to gravitate to genuinely nice people.

It took some time, but I showed Goku how to brush Levi's coat, slip on their bridles, and saddle up as I did the same with Opal.

We climbed into our saddles – which proved to be easy enough for Goku. I showed him how to lightly tap Levi's sides with his heels to urge Levi into a leisurely walk.

Goku seemed to enjoy horseback riding. Goku told me he had seen horses before and people riding horses, but he never thought to try it himself.

We chatted as we rode on, keeping on a trail that wound around the entire village. It was a perfect, peaceful ride until Levi decided he was bored with the pace and abruptly reared up, nearly throwing Goku off.

Goku wasn't scared. He didn't look even the slightest bit nervous. Not only was he not nervous at all. He was actually laughing like a little boy. I knew he wouldn't be startled. Levi was a horse who seemed to love messing with nervous riders even though he was gentle enough for the most part.

Once all fours were back on the ground, Levi nickered playfully, a spring in each step. I knew what he wanted. Levi loved to run.

I told a still chortling Goku to tap his heels into Levi's sides again like he had to get him to walk and he did. Levi was quick to respond, smoothly flowing into a trot and then a canter with his tail straight up in the air.

With that extra speed, they surged ahead. Even with the extra bit of distance between us, Goku's giggles still reached me. I urged Opal into a gallop and caught up with them. My sweet mare loved running, too.

She pulled ahead of Levi and Goku. Levi hated being one-upped, his nicker an annoyed whine. Goku seemed to get the hint and urged Levi faster, into a full on gallop and he pulled ahead, his head held high.

Goku threw me a brilliant, delighted smile over his shoulder that had my heart pounding in my chest. "This is fun!"

Goku whooped and hollered and Levi neighed loudly back at him. He loved it when his riders got excited like that. Levi was very much enjoying it as much as Goku was.

After a few minutes, we gradually slowed our horses down with light tugs on the reins after I showed Goku how to do that. We made another walking lap around the trail to let the horses cool off and then it was back to the stables.

Goku helped me remove their tack and put the gear back in the tack room and we led our horses back to their stalls.

"Did you like riding, Goku?"

"Yeah! That was fun! Can we do it again later?"

I giggled. "Of course! But the horses need some time to rest."

His boyish enthusiasm was contagious and I found myself just as happy and excited to ride again as he was.

Goku and I spent more time together, wondering the castle, the grounds, the village, and even the land beyond the village, talking, laughing and playing our little nudging game.

It quickly became evident that the brief brushes of skin while playfully nudging each other wasn't enough for him, but Goku didn't seem to know what to do about it.

When his elbow brushed mine, I quickly reached my arm out and wound my arm around his. He looked at me a little startled and then his eyes lit up and crinkled.

He pulled me a tiny bit closer as we walked and that was how we stayed the rest of our walk, our arms linked at our elbows, neither of us eager to let go.

---

Several days later, we were riding our horses on the trail that wound around the village near sunset. Goku seemed to be staring at me an awful lot more than usual that evening.

"Chichi?"

"Hmm?"

"Remember those feelings I told you about?"

My heart quickened its pace but I forced my voice to stay calm but sweet. "Yes."

"I think they're stronger somehow and I can't stop thinking about you. I want to… stay with you."

"Goku… that sounds like… the beginnings of love."

"What's love? Is that a feeling, too?"

"Love can have feelings with it, but… It's more than a feeling. I've… never experienced it before. But I think I'm starting to."

I stopped Opal and Goku stopped Levi, pulling him back a few steps and I had Opal take a step to the side, getting as close to Goku as I could and leaned over. He leaned over, too with a curious but trusting look on his face and I bit my lip briefly before planting a light kiss on his cheek.

He pulled back, looking at me a little wide-eyed.

"Did you like that?"

He nodded slowly, his cheeks tinged pink. "What… was that? I liked it. A lot."

"That was called a kiss, Goku."

"Oh." He paused. Then, "Can I give you one now?"

I nodded and couldn't help the grin that spread on my face, my heart pounding. He leaned closer to me and I toward him. He tilted his head to the side and put one on my cheek, too, my heart trying to pound right out of my chest.

The flush on his cheeks darkened and spread to his ears as we shyly put our gazes back at the trail before us, Levi nickering, impatient to get moving again so we did. We walked the horses back to the stables and removed their tack then went back to the castle together as the sun dropped below the horizon.

We walked so close together, our hands brushed against each other so I grabbed his hand and we threaded our fingers together as we walked. He squeezed my hand and I squeezed back.

It wasn't many days later he told me he loved me for the first time.

When my father saw Goku and I holding hands walking through the castle gardens one day, he immediately talked and talked about marriage, wedding preparations and brides and grooms as Goku just stared at him confusedly.

With an excited buzz permeating the castle, my favorite place quickly became our little hideaway. Everyone was talking wedding preparations, but Goku had yet to propose! It was entirely possible he didn't know he was supposed to.

Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long. One evening, we found ourselves hiding in our spot, sharing a small picnic when he asked out of the blue, "Will you marry me?"

I stared at him, grinning. "Yes!"

He looked relieved as his eyes lit up.

I leaned my face toward him. When he tried to turn away and present me with his cheek as he was used to, I put my hands on his cheeks and made him face me, knowing he wouldn't be expecting what I was about to do.

I leaned in and touched my lips to his and pulled back, biting my lip and watching him anxiously.

He stared at me, seeming a little breathless, his expression one of pure awe.

"Did you like that?"

My voice was hardly over a whisper, our faces still only inches apart. He nodded slowly as he stared into my eyes.

He leaned forward and captured my lips with his, that kiss lasting a little longer. He sighed contentedly with our lips pressed together and pulled back. I couldn't help but think he seemed reluctant to part.

I beamed at him and practically squealed, "C'mon! Let's go tell my father we're engaged!"

He smiled back and nodded. I grabbed his hand and pulled him down the narrow staircase and straight to my father, the both of us giggling the whole way, excited for our future together.