A/N: This story is a bit of a change for me, it's not exactly something I'd usually wanna write or semi-publish. It doesn't really follow the path of most of what I write, in that it involves supernatural things, like powers, it has a weird structure, it's a crossover, and it's probably the only straight-up love story thing I'll ever write- looking at it, it doesn't seem to have any themes but romance. Hmm. And it involves a temporary "villain". Eesh. I also notice a lack of good stories for either series or crossovers.

An update on Leave Him For Me for anybody looking at this- the next few chapters are finished, but my laptop's battery fucking blew, and I won't be getting them up till September.

I will give a million dollars to whoever can guess the secret pairing.

By the way, this disclaimer applies: Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Dragon Ball Z to Akira Toriyama. And some other things aren't mine. Like the Shiba Park Hotel. And some of the chapter titles.

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CHAPTER 1:

Like Water

It was beginning to get cold; just a slight brown chill that came up from the streets and breathed up to the trees. It was spring- but it was feeling like winter. There was snow somewhere on the horizon, but it was laying in wait, on a thin cable waiting to fall and mist.

"It's so COLD!" Usagi's voice whined up and fell onto Chibiusa's ears like a tick, like an insect on the back. She felt winter teeth scratch at her, in her stomach, its lazy bite and its telephone strangle; this was too much.

"Shut up!" Chibiusa shrieked, shrilly. "You keep saying that! It's so annoying! It's not like it's going to change because you keep saying it!"

Usagi's eyes sparked, and she looked at Chibiusa as though shocked that she could say that. "It's not like I'm lying," she concluded huffily, like a reluctant testament. A breathy pause as they jogged along, at that same tough pace, focused by purpose. Her eyes drifted to the trees, the streets; she bit her bottom lip and a thought in her mind became anxious. She looked at Chibiusa. "Oh God," she said, almost to herself; Chibiusa looked at her unsteadily with harsh eyes and a screwed frown. "It's so...cold!" She threw her head up, hair bouncing behind her.

"Oh my God, stop it!" Chibiusa answered, as she shook her head in defiance- like she was shaking away and denying Usagi's ridiculousness. "You just don't STOP! You're so annoying! Just stop it already!"

"Jeez Chibusa, you get so riled up," Usagi said, laughing brightly. She gave Chibusa that "look" that she attempted to give her sometimes- slightly sly and warning, but just coming outta the box with Usagi's brand-name ridiculousness. "Why are you so annoyed? Cool your jets!" Her eyes flicked up to the shrine; it was closing near, its tall winter build and tradition slopes in vision.

Chibiusa's feathers were ruffled, those jets wouldn't cool. "It's because you're so annoying! I wish you would just shut up!" She felt her hair and looked determinedly off to the street.

"You're so mean!" Usagi cursed as they began on the stairs. "Just know that I am not annoying, you are just a bad conversationalist."

"Conversationalist!" Chibiusa pronounced, at first with difficulty, but overcoming the shaky word with confidence. "How do you have a conversation when all you're saying is 'I'm so cold and I'm such a whiny lazy BABY'!?"

Usagi's eyes narrowed. "You little dweeb! You're lucky I'm not a violent girl," she huffed, watching the cloud of her breath float like a small wisp and disappear, indifferently.

"Ditto," Chibiusa answered defiantly.

Chibiusa was fiery and cool as burnt out ashes; Usagi eyed her misty and wondered where she had gotten those personality traits. They seemed to glide by those never-ending steps, shrouded in cold...the bare trees were dead crow and there was simple silence. Winter sometimes struck Usagi as being creepy, lonely, ghost, but she didn't think about it much.

She huffed out some cold air and shivered as Chibiusa knocked on the door. She looked on the yard, paved with cement; saw those two crows circling the roof. She breathed out, hoping Rei might have something hot prepared to drink...hot chocolate would be good. Her thoughts settled hazily, thinking of the warmth inside.

Rei's grandpa's shuffling could be heard on the other side of the door; he opened it and peeped through a slit. "Oh, hello, girls," he said, with a grin, opening the door further to let them in.

"Hello!" Usagi piped, with a bright smile. Chibiusa gave a smile as they walked into the main room, and Rei's grandfather mentioned something about Rei's room. Some incoherent pleasantries murmured and ended as they went down the hall to Rei's bedroom, the house all stoic in its tradition and modernity. It really was a nice house.

They reached the door, Usagi busted in without a thought, opening the door as she sang loudly, "We're hee-reee!" The door sucked in a scene and uncovered another, and the first face Usagi's eyes caught was Rei's, cross and irritated, flashing in the eyes, sitting down on the bed and high up like a judge; she looked as though Usagi had interrupted her. Ah well, she'd get over it...then Makoto, Minako, and Ami, looking wide-eyed to different degrees, and as though in a road-day daze...Usagi and Chibusa stepped fully into the room; Usagi was about to open her mouth to say something, but stopped short of inhaling, as her eyes fell on something different, two other people. Two men, a bit older...she was taken aback, then looked at them curiously, head falling to a side like gold bars were on the other side of the balance. One was a guy with black hair, seemed to be talking but was now looking curiously at Usagi...he was wearing this neon orange...karate uniform or something. A martial artist...? Had he seen Rei for something...? The other one also had black hair, and something at once struck Usagi about him- that he was so serious, had a look about him like the sensation of thunder- he was kind of short...both of them had odd clothing and looked slightly uncomfortable- not physically awkward, but just like they sort of knew they were out of place.

"Hey, guys...who're you guys?" Usagi asked, blinking and turning her head slyly.

"Something the cat brought in," Minako said contemplatively, putting a steaming cup down- Minako always took her superhero lines so seriously...her bangs fell in strands across her eyes, and she looked up seriously at Usagi as she brushed them away.

Rei sparked, making an irritated gesture and inhaling. "Well, are you just gonna stand there catching flies, meatball head, or you wanna sit down and stop making everybody uncomfortable!" She motioned quickly for her to sit beside her.

"Jeez, alright- sor-ry, Rei," Usagi huffed, distracted from making a snappy comment by the two strangers in the room. She sat down, as somebody at the table said something like "excuse me" and the other one returned, "oh yeah, sorry" and shifting of cups was heard. Chibiusa sat down at the foot of the bed, shuffling to make herself comfortable

"Here, you let it get cold," Rei breathed, handing Usagi the mug she'd saved for her with a grain of salt in her eye.

Usagi took it and looked at the two guys; they looked back at her- one openly, and one seeming to look from a margin, although he was right in front of her. She took a sip, but made a big huffing noise and set the cup down quickly- tongue hot and numb, heat still cellophane hazy in her mouth. "So...ah...," she began, waving her tongue off with a quick fanning hand, "who are you guys? Oh yeah, my name's Usagi." She kicked her legs back and forth like a windmill with a tick as they explained themselves.

"Well, ah, I'm Goku," the one with the neon karate thing said, brightly- his voice was comforting, Usagi's ears took to it- gentle, but strong and happy, peace-making, "And this is my friend, Vegeta." He gestured to the other one, but Usagi didn't bother to look. He laughed a little nervously; he had a nice laugh, too. "We're uhm, it's glad- I mean nice- to meet you!"

"You too!" Usagi said brightly. "So what's up?" she asked, her voice slackening and lowering, casual and comfortable when she heard the brightness in his voice, a sort of return of the favor, "Why're you guys here? Wanna see the shrine?"

"They were just explaining that to us," Makoto said, sternly. She sounded as though she were talking on eggshells. Usagi noticed for the first time since the entered the room that the atmosphere was high and tense, and shaking beneath, rumbling from under the ground of its dark colored layers- that there was some serious business going on here, and the talk was something heavy. Usagi's eyes focused on the two; that gleam they had in their moments of seriousness shone like a mist. She noticed the things on the table- books like empty shells, plates of frosted cookies and crumbs, a haphazard pot and cups of hot chocolate...then the two guys, sitting like new appliances, like odd-out accessories, making familiar backgrounds stronger with contrast.

"No, not the shrine- though don't get me wrong, it really is a nice shrine...Yes, I was sorta in the middle of the beginning when you came in," he said, with a nod. A boyish look came on his face and he laughed. "Aw, now I gotta explain it again?" he asked, with mock disappointment.

Usagi grinned and laughed, "Sorry!"

He laughed again and waved it off. "Okay- so- mind if I take onna these?" 'Goku' asked, his eyes turning up to the girls.

"Uh, sure, go ahead," Makoto answered, shrugging and pushing the plate toward him...she leaned forward, elbows on the table.

"Thankfsh," he answered, already jamming a cookie in his mouth, then taking handful by handful- Usagi panicked, thinking that she might not get one, so she leaned over quickly and snatched one up with an awkward movement as he spoke, sort of knocking the plate over till the other guy- "Vegeta"- held a hand up to push it back and looked at her with an odd surveillance across his eyes at which she recoiled. Goku talked on. "So, basically, we were at home, not really doing much- and, mphfg, so, we were hanging around our friend's house, who is totally a whiz at computers and a total genius, and she was- uhmpgf, looking at this space thingey- and mph, we saw this sort of cometish thing heading toward Earth, well uhmpg she did but well- these are REALLY good! Try one," he said, gesturing to Vegeta, who looked at him with electricity. He shrugged and continued, wiping his mouth crudely with the back of his hand and diving in for another helping- he seemed as though he'd lived in the woods his whole life, had felt a free air and lived golden, never dipped into restrictions- his eyes reflected something like that, so did his movements. "So, ghsmph, well anyway, she was taking like- uhm, a reading on it?" he asked through a swallow, motioning up and down with his hand as though he was making a screen, eyebrows furrowed, as if to ask if they understood what he meant about a reading. He took another cookie. "Like, a power level reading? So it was reading sorta high, well sorta really high, and it was heading straight here- tphmg- seems there was a being on it, or that it was an uhmpyf being, so she kinna calculated where it would land, coordinates and all that- uhmph, jazz,- and we decided to take a looksey for ourselves, 'cause- mphmg, we knew this uhm guy- well we had a sort of deadly acquaintance with this guy- who ghmph, happened to have a similar sort of, uhm, energy, and kinda did the same things- 'cause we uhmpgs, ast around in space, different planets and stuff, and gefump, they were all talkin' bout this lady who like, mpghsyf, takes planets and like, collects them, uhmpgsf, kind of- and that sounds pretty similar to our uhm, acquaintance. So, we came here to check things out."

He paused, putting his head back to take a long gulp of hot chocolate- something about his jawline, the curves of his neck, was nice, and comforting...he wiped a chocolate ring off his mouth with an arbitrary ragged back-of-the-hand swipe. "Okay, we came here, to Minato- 'cause that's where we are...if not I'm in a hella lot of trouble," he laughed to himself. He seemed not to care that his joke hadn't won anything but a smile from Minako and Usagi- he didn't seem to care, seemed to live on the fly- in truth, his laugh was a bit winded and weary, and Usagi wondered why, even though it also sounded so bold and cheerful and devil-may-care; as though to throw paper money to the highway wind. "Well," he started again, waving his hand, "we came here, and all that uhmpfgh stuff...and everywhere we went, we heard about these Sailor Scouts." A pleasant spark struck Usagi, and her eyebrows furrowed a bit- his voice was trustworthy, but how had he- they- figured that out, snap as that? Her thoughts and theories whirred and buzzed. "We heard about them all over the place- we actually saw you guys- we were passing by in a cab on the way to the hotel, and we caught a glimpse of you guys fighting these ah- mphgfph, snow...thingies. Snow...women, I guess."

"But how did you know it was us?" Makoto broke through irritatedley, pushing with unseen choking hands for understanding.

Goku paused; he looked them over with bright eyes, and blinked. He put half a cookie down and laughed heartily, as though to say, "well..." "Well, ah, gee, it's not really that hard to recognize you guys," he laughed, seeming to think she was joking, "I mean, like, unless you're blind or something. You're not really. Uhm, disguised." He kept laughing as faces fell among the girls; he hadn't even meant to say the "blind" comment in jest. The girls were hot with a tongue-biting feeling, thinking with embarrassment all the trouble they'd gone through trying to guess the identities of other Sailor Senshi- like Uranus, Neptune...all for this guy to say he knew who they were. He turned to Usagi. "Hey, not many girls wear their hair like that," he said, his open eyes seemed to say with a wink, as he touched his own hair as if to indicate hers; she laughed airily.

"So then," he continued, "Today we got up, had ourselves some breakfast, then got a cab to take us here." He nodded as he said it, like they were all in on the deal, and like the case was closed and stacked to the books. The conversation was awkward and stifled. It was always that stuffy kind of way, differences in truth, looking at eyes shifty even with the best intentions- it was bound to be uncomfortable.

"How did you even know we were here?" Rei asked, obviously annoyed and flustered by the information- or, that he had given it so simply, when it wasn't a direct matter- Usagi thought that was probably why, anyway.

"As it turns out, by luck!" Goku said with a confident smile, picking up another cookie and just shoving it in his mouth. He wiped crumbs away and his eyes were kiddish. "We were sorta passing by here, on our way to that- observatory-ish thing- I don't really know, Bulma gave us the name, and Vegeta remembered it- oh, Bulma is our-" he made that "reading" gesture again, to indicate her- "Anyway, she knew of a scientist who might know something because he lived in the area. Doesn't know him, but we made up some story." He paused an reflected on it, and a grin spread on his face. "That was a pretty funny story!" he laughed out loud- then continued through laughs. "Anyway, we would've had to give Bulma- our- y'know- physical descriptions, what we saw, and then she would have had to hack into records for people matching those descriptions- you know, 'government' records- I don't really know what that means, to be honest. Then, we saw you walking in here!" he said it like it was a shining revelation, and he pointed to Rei directly. "Pretty lucky. I remembered you," he said with a knowing eye. He reconsidered. "Well, I remembered your hair." He laughed to himself. Rei got dusted red; his comment was very direct.

"Oh, yeah, it was garbage day today," Rei answered testily; the words were vague-sounding, though. Usagi's soft glance turned to her.

"But that still leaves so much to question," Minako's raspy voice said with doubt and concern and confusion. She brought a pale, powdery hand, nails painted coral orange, to touch her neck hesitantly. "Like, why did you say 'space', before, like you have contacts in space? And why are you concerned- aren't you just humans, like us?" she asked, and though her voice was a bit wavering, you could tell what she was really asking, like a sly fox.

Goku paused and chewed the moment over with a cookie. He shook his head. "No, we're Saiyans from the planet Vegeta." He paused, and leaned on the table, looking thoughtful. "You know, there are so many planets in the universe! It's hard to keep track...but you guys are from outer space, too, no? Venus, Mercury, Mars- that's what that means, right?"

The girls froze; they glanced toward Artemis to know what they should say- but he was wrapped up, little bit. "Planet Vegeta," Artemis said to himself, slow as though alarmed- but he said it low enough so that the girls knew that it shouldn't be asked in front of the two men.

"...mmm, where are you from?" Minako asked, brushing over Artemis' voice, drinking from her cup. She seemed to be seriously wondering about these guys- although, her questioning wasn't harsh and prodding like Ami's and Makoto's- it was more gentle and understanding, more serious. Usagi asked nothing, was standing back and sort of looking at these guys from a distance, so she could get a clear picture. She sort of liked this Goku guy- he was like a fresh breeze- he had an open, smiling face (something just good about him- his face looked pure and clean), and this way about him that was just so honest and comfortable- and she could see some glimmers of kindness in him. The other one she only had vague notions of, semi-forming and jello, like clouded blobs of paint in the back of her mind- she knew only that he was quiet, and that he was sort of brooding- that he had this sort of presence like thunder and black lightning and that you could feel his blood near you, sort of disconcerting; he also looked distrustful. She leaned forward lazily, listening to Goku as he talked.

"Well, I'm from East District 409...and he's from West City," he answered, pointing his thumb to Vegeta, who had almost no reaction but a flicker of some kind of fidgety emotion that Usagi picked up on.

"...Where's that?" Chibiusa asked like a bored kid, her voice drifting, her head moving like a bobble on her palm.

Goku paused; his dark, bright eyes wandered for a minute, and he seemed to be recalling something as a smile came onto his face. "Ja...pan...?" he asked himself, smiling at his own forgetfulness. Usagi was taken aback by his answer- and she also let out this obnoxious kind of muffled chortle, shaking with laughter until Rei elbowed her in the gut. He thought harder, his rakish smile disappearing. "No, I know that's not right...Chi...na? Well, it's somewhere in this general region," he said, waving his hand around.

"..you mean...this...continent...?" Makoto asked, seemed to choke out, blinking at him as though there were something seriously wrong with him.

"Well, you say tomayto, I say tohmato," he answered, shrugging. "Besides, I only remember the important stuff!" he grinned. Vegeta seemed to invisibly cringe next to him. Usagi, Minako, and Ami let out triplet hoots and laughs at Goku's answer, and he laughed with them.

"...I would think the country you live in would be kind of...important," Rei said almost to herself, small and blind to his thoughts and opinions.

"Anyway, why are you concerned? Do you guys have, like powers? Are you very strong or something?" Makoto asked, too flustered to laugh with them. She took one of the remaining cookies to chew over as he explained.

"You don't know anything about Saiyans?" the other one asked, flabbergasted and in disbelief, and his voice came as a bit of a shock, as though it had stepped in from another sphere of being, from out of the darkness and into vision and consideration, to now be considered familiar to a group of already strangers on a high neon night. It was the first time Usagi had heard his voice, and she could tell by the general reaction it was the first time the others had, too- everybody seemed to become more alert at the new sound. His voice was every bit of him physically- raspy and solemn, deep and quite hoarse, strange-sounding; with that blood, storm, wind, and thunder that was in his presence, and some quiet brooding notes. Usagi looked at him oddly for a moment.

"We're actually pret-ty strong," Goku said with confidence, breaking in just in time, so that no one had a chance to respond to Vegeta's comment and so his question was glazed over and put aside, only to be vaguely thought of as a memory to his character.

"But wait wait wait!" Makoto interrupted herself, her words coming from a whirlwind of thoughts as she shook her head, bringing a hand up to rub her temple, "How do you even know about this? This being, the comet? We knew about a comet, but we couldn't find any information, Ami's computer couldn't read it- how do you know? And especially about the being- how did you know that? There's no way you could know that!" Those last words seemed angry and hot blooded, but only because of the rush of mad feelings and doubts that struck Makoto at times like this.

Goku's look became serious, but not so serious- he still retained his usual manner, underneath the looks. "Well, about the computer seeing the comet, you'll have to ask our- Bulma about that- I don't really know anything about computers- those things creep me out," he said, and even that last funny bit was peppered in with sternness, "But as for the being,...we've trained to sense chi and power levels...it's just a skill. We can sense something coming close- especially if it's as powerful as this. Plus...we had that similar feeling when our old buddy came to Earth." He looked at Vegeta who simply looked back at him- serious as though they were exchanging a memory.

A quick pause. "I'd like to learn that skill," Minako said with a simpatico nod. Goku grinned at her, about to say something to the effect of "well I can-" when Artemis said:

"Well, tell me this- if you're Saiyans, why are you interested in saving the planet Earth?" His eyes were serious and his tone was a little bellicose. Vegeta's eyes surveyed him with weary annoyance, and Goku just tipped his head to him and blinked. Usagi knew with steel that she'd have to ask Artemis and Luna about this later.

Goku paused; his eyes drifted to the table, and they filled to the brim with humor. He ran a hand through his hair- Usagi could see he was tired for some reason, and his manner reminded her of the way you felt staying up in the late night. "...Oh my Gatos! This is like one of those cop shows," Goku said, with a quick nervous laugh. He took another cookie and clamped down on it, his face quickly covered with good-nature. "I mean, we expected questions, so we're not bothered." He laughed again. Vegeta shot him an irritated look and turned back to looking at his glove. "Right, so, I'm not from planet Vegeta- I'm from Earth. I was sent here as a baby. And Vegeta..." He looked to Vegeta, his eyes wandering as he wondered what to say, what would annoy him- anything close to "he had a change of heart" would have Vegeta smacking him in the face, barking to the group, and stomping out in a fury. He just shrugged. "Well, he lives here now...you know planet Vegeta was destroyed, right?"

Artemis started. "It was destroyed...when...?" he asked, to himself.

"That's irrelevant to you," Vegeta cut in, devoid of eagerness- his quickness was something dangerous and slashing, and his voice came up from steam and the hard earth. All eyes rested on him for another moment, cautiously.

Goku didn't know what to say; this look on his face was somewhat shrugging, though he did look at the girls with sympathy, and he paused as he waited for the next question. "Wow, you're crimefighters!" he said, with his charming, comforting laugh, as though to gloss over Vegeta's words. He looked at them and smiled. "But you're all so young! Wow, to think how you keep it all up! That's some pretty amazing stuff." He nodded.

Minako leaned onto her palm and leaned forward with a small, womanly smile, a casual look coming into her eyes. "Why, how old are you?" she asked.

"Me?" Goku answered, genuinely surprised. His eyes drifted into invisible space between tangible objects, behind the air in the room and into the compact emptiness, losing focus. Usagi could see his fingers moving on the table as he rested his hand there, the movement small. "Let's see...hmm, I must be-"

"Twenty-four, you're twenty-four," Vegeta answered, without his harsh anger but with an irritated tone that came from something serious in him.

"That's it! I'm twenty-four!" Goku answered brightly.

"Twenty-four? Hmm, you're young looking," Minako said teasingly, giving him that certain smile.

"Thank you," he answered, smiling. "Okay...so let me guess." He guessed their ages in order from left to right- Rei, Usagi, Chibusa, Makoto, Ami, and Minako- pointing at each one as he guessed. "You're 17, you're 16, you're 10, you're 18, you're 14, and you're...16." He paused, and then smiled boyishly. "So? Am I right?"

"No!" Minako giggled. She gave a small flirting wave of her hand and talked through it, like it was a coy flowered fan. "We're all 15 except for her- she's 16- and you guessed Chibusa's age wrong, it's-- 8!" She paused- then she got this smug grin on her face, spread on her face like spreadable cheese and tin sardine cans. "Oh my God, you guessed EVERYONE'S age wrong!" She snickered.

Goku sat back, looking on his first decisions. "Man, what a bummer," he said to himself, scratching his chin. "I guess I'm not so good at this." He looked to Usagi and regarded her with bright eyes. "But I have this funny feeling that you were born in June!"

Usagi sat up and clasped her hands. "Holy crap, you're right!" she nodded enthusiastically. Makoto and Rei glanced at her for her choice of language. "Good guess! I bet you were born in...April!"

Goku smiled widely, and Usagi smiled too- but then the smile disappeared, and his face became thoughtful. "Actually, I don't remember when I was born," he considered. Usagi was between laughing and looking deadpan serious, but he didn't pay attention. He looked to Rei, knowing she was the one who was in charge. "Uhm, hey, sorry, but do you have anything I could drink? I'm just a little thirsty." He rubbed his throat.

"Oh, sure," Rei said. Usagi picked something up in her tone- it was polite, but not with Rei's warmth- it was sort of distant, and in its distance Usagi could tell that she didn't trust them, and that she wasn't warming up to them. Usagi wondered why; Goku seemed so nice- and Vegeta, well, he looked a little to hot-tempered to be deceptive- and he had that look about him...She wouldn't have thought that, anyway...she watched Rei's reserved movements as she bent over the table, collecting the things. "Actually, I'm gonna put on another pot- this stuff's gotten cold already," she said as though distracted, in a motherly way, putting the cups on the tray with the pot of hot chocolate. She flicked her long dark shining hair away from her face and began out.

"Yeah," Makoto confirmed. "Thanks." Rei left the room, spun up and far away by the shroud of her thoughts, and brought to a different plane by her absence.

Usagi looked at Goku without anything in mind to say; he shifted, feeling the density of the air and the impressions he was making, and then drummed his fingers on the table. He began to look out the window, no thoughts in his eyes but a dim candle emotion...he seemed to be thinking over something, vaguely. A hasty silence wrapped up the room, some awkward hesitation; and then, in that, murmuring among the girls about the weather, meaningless distractions. Usagi sighed out loud, looking the two over; they looked alien, not in the way that they looked like martians or anything, but in the way that they looked like strangers in a foreign country. They looked like time had hunted them down and that they had no time for comfort. She wondered if their pasts had gave them that particular, strange look; wondered with anxiety if she looked that way to people. She bit a pretty nail and leaned forward; took off her jacket...only thought of that now as tense air and heat pressed on her senses.

"Where are you guys staying, again?" Minako asked, her eyes moving to them, as though falling on them with that orange star rain that often gleamed in her eyes.

"Oh, the...uhm...Shiba Park Hotel," Goku answered, his words skipping.

"Shiba Park? That's near Tokyo Tower," Makoto said, looking to Minako briefly.

Goku tilted his head. "Oh, you must mean that big red metal thing!" Goku smiled brightly, as though one of them didn't know.

"I wouldn't call it exactly that," Minako answered with a hoarse laugh. She looked at him with confiding eyes- Minako's flirting ways, her implications like a dusky child..."You've never been to Tokyo before?" Usagi noticed her fidget; looked down to her leg, where Artemis was scratching at her- trying to get her to think clearly and stop being so...herself.

"Nope, I don't think so," Goku answered, shaking his head. He outstretched his arm so that he could lean on the floor. He exhaled. "But, I'll tell you something, it's a big big city! And I thought West City was the biggest on earth!

"Yeah, and London and New York are big too," Minako laughed.

"London? What's that?" Goku asked. The door opened as he said it; Minako stopped her laughing short and quieted down. It was broadcast information that Rei didn't trust the two; but then, did Rei trust anybody she met? Usagi wondered if this was her usual mistrust or something more.

Rei sat down where she had sat before, settling down uneasily. "The hot chocolate will be done in a minute," she said. She handed a bottle of water to Goku. "Here."

He looked up innocently at her, sensing her mood. "Aw, thanks! I'm parched!" he answered, taking it gladly- then half-downing it with one swig. "Much better." There was a pause when he was covering the bottle; his eyes flashed up to theirs, like they were in charge of the judgments passed on him. "Maybe I just eat too much," he laughed, but his laugh was underlined with a question.

Makoto leaned forward- twining her fingers together. "So, you want to help us out? Fighting this thing?" she asked, with solemn eyes.

"Well, we'll fight it regardless- but we just wanted to, you know, stop by, see if we could team up or something like that. Believe me, the more the merrier," Goku smiled. Somehow, the "we" was unfitting- and that was in the torrid torn silence of Vegeta, sitting next to him with a mask and a veil of bad feeling.

Something overlapped the words and the true meaning as the sun was only getting grayer outside; some dark tendency to gel glossed over with superficial meaning. "...London's in Europe, anyway," Minako continued, as though the question hadn't been asked, looking out the nearby window.

"Yurrup? Hmm. How far is that?" Goku asked, scratching his chin.

"Pretty far," Minako answered, with this tone like she wouldn't mind being a mama. Rei's eyes flashed to her. She seemed to have taken a liking to this Goku guy; ugh, emotions passed around so flippantly- Rei rolled her eyes and turned her head to something still moving to get rid of this exasperation that was choking on her.

"Why are you just giving us information about yourselves?" Makoto sighed, looking at the two men as if she were fretting about it. She touched her hair, smoothed the bumps from her ponytail; looked for a cup which wasn't there.

Goku looked at her with wide dark eyes. "Well, gosh, this is the information about myself that I always give!" he laughed, admittingly. "I don't have any reason to lie or anything." He tipped his head earnestly, looking at them, wondering why he should cover it up.

"Ah! You might get in trouble!" Chibiusa answered, fidgeting on the end of the bed, sort of sitting up- finding a subject that interested her. Rei murmured "excuse me" and left the room, probably to get the hot chocolate.

Goku talked as his eyes followed Rei's figure out. "Well, in terms of trouble, I don't really have much to lose," he said with a bit of a tired smile.

Usagi turned over to lie on her back and looked at them with innocently poring eyes, the last comment hitting her like the ring of a tinny bell. Her eyes darted from bright happy Goku- to silent, agitated Vegeta, quiet but hard to ignore. They did sort of look like they didn't have much to lose- but also, that they were like Atlas.

"Ah! You're an outlaw?" Minako answered, brief and quick with emotion. "What a romantic life to lead!"

"Outlaw..." Goku considered, then looked at Vegeta.

"What are you looking at me for?" Vegeta spat, quietly, and his voice rough like winter fire- his eyes cutting.

Goku shrugged. "I dunno if you'd call us that...that's kinda a bad term,- but all things considered...maybe!" He grinned, then let out a laugh.

Minako laughed with him; but, the rest of the fish were grim, and the water was cloudy to see through. Nobody seemed intent on getting to know each other- there was a tension you could cut with a knife, tangible and uncomfortable. It was something mistrusting, something deciding. Goku seemed to be waiting on questions- but you could tell the visit was almost over, and that the decision was like a tight rope pulling farther. It was the atmosphere of glasses, utensils, dishes on the table- ignored and looked through, and scarcely there, accessories to loneliness. Ami chewed over a silence with a quick comment to Minako about her hair; Minako said something aimless back...touched it with delicacy.

The door re-opened; hot chocolate on the tray, steaming up- poured cups, Rei's movements balancing carefully. She didn't bother to look at anybody, just set the tray down...then sat back down on the judge's chair. Well, nobody's a bigger baby than the judge in the high chair...Rei's eyes were shrouded by a vague politeness, but they bore through the situation in truth.

Thank-you's were clouded over the table as people reached for cups. Usagi took a hearty gulp and looked at the two strangers over the table. Goku was busy fanning his mouth, after taking too much too quick (drawling "owww!"); Vegeta hadn't moved an inch. He didn't even have a cup...her eyes drifted over his face for a second, but didn't get to take anything in, because his eyes shot up to hers quickly, with something stormy, and something like a burn. The look in them was quick like a blow to the face and had something elemental, and illegible...The eye contact was a shock, lightning to the nerves and she flicked her eyes away quickly. She turned to lie on her stomach as Minako ambled generously.

"Do you like the view from your room?" she asked, taking her finger from the hot chocolate and licking it, to test the heat- but also to suggest- her manner teasing as a paintbrush kiss. Rei took the moment to roll her eyes.

"Ugh, gosh, I haven't even had time to look," Goku answered, leaning back on the floor, his cup in his right hand.

Another strange pause followed. Usagi's eyes were set in earnestness. "But how can you help us?" she asked warmly, her voice seeming to break through from nowhere, to be the final question.

Goku's eyes flashed to hers with brightness and kindness. "We're pretty good at that," he said with a big smile of white teeth. The response was vague, but promising; it seemed a little confused. Usagi's mouth turned down in confusion. His turned up, his eyes seemed to wink...

His words were quickly covered by black silence- the feeling of the sun setting. Eyes were sticking close together and there was just this tensity that was difficult to maneuver through. Goku fidgeted perceptibly; gave a nice smile that flashed with perception and was inviting. "Well, we better get going, anyway," he said, trailing his sentence with a big-bellied gulp. He hacked a little bit, the hot chocolate going down along steppe ridges, with a rough time, and began to get up. "It was good talking to you all," he said, as though he affirmed their mutual friendship, in reality still nebulous. "I'll have to learn all your names!" he laughed.

"It was nice talking to you, too," Minako smiled with fury heat.

Usagi took better looks at them as they left...they were each lean and fit- both wound up in muscle, but the kind that looked lean and rippling, like hidden by skin, a secret form...Goku stood with openness and confidence- he was average height- and he seemed a little rough in his movements, but just clumsy and good-natured. Vegeta- was short! She looked him over twice- he was very short...he was Ami's height!...but still, had that look of a fugitive thought. Usagi sat up to say goodbye to them.

Goku stopped and turned to them with a look on his face that was earnest. "Remember, we're staying at the Shiba Park Hotel- call us up or something," he said, his eyes serious, looking at Rei.

"Alright, we'll remember," Rei answered, though it was obvious that that wasn't necessarily going to be true. Goku caught the tone, but ignored it whole-heartedly. "I'll see you out."

"Alright! Bye everybody!" Goku answered, waving with a cheesy smile; a chorus of goodbyes followed...Vegeta was already out the door. Rei closed the door on her way out.

Minako's eyes turned to the rest of the girls, with a vicious sort of excitement that glittered and turned hotly- she sucked a breath of air, and exhaled, "God, what a stud!" Then put her face in her hands as though it was too much for her. "What a hunk!"

"You were all over him!" Makoto laughed, heartily. The air at once felt looser and thinner, breathable. Usagi got up to get a cookie and sat down at the table, where Goku had sat. "You need to control yourself, Minako!"

"Aww, come on! Like he wasn't a total fucking hottie," Minako said with a laugh like bubbles.

"Hey, watch your mouth!" Makoto laughed, punching her on the shoulder a little. "He was- but heed my warning! Rei's gonna chew you out for all that flirting!"

The side of Minako's mouth pulled down. "Aw, Rei- she's got vestal virgin syndrome!" she said, jamming a cookie into her mouth.

Ami smirked a little, bemusedly. "Minako, there's no such thing!" she said, with a small laugh.

"Oh yes there is- look at Rei- or look at all of you! You're all hysterical virgins...The market is open, starting with two studs, and ya didn't even put out a bid!" Minako said heatedly, with a small shrug.

Makoto laughed a little. "You're a strange one, that's for sure, Minako," she answered. She leaned onto the table, holding her cup with ladylike fingers to capture its warmth. "But what did you think of them, honestly...?" she asked, her tone breaking off.

"Better wait till Rei gets back in the room to talk about that," Ami answered, contemplatively.

Usagi shook her head. "I like them!" she said chipperly.

The door opened; Rei got in slim, threw her hair behind her back with a winded, thinking look on her face. Violet eyes looked at nobody and everybody; she said, breathy and irritated, "If they'd given us their number, I would have thrown it out."

There were laughs and gasps. "Rei! That's so terrible!" Minako answered, aghast, like Rei'd violated a law of compassion.

"Come on! Even if they were telling the truth, what help can they be? They'd just interfere!" Rei said sharply, sitting down at the table.

"Well, I think they were telling the truth," Makoto said, resting her hand on her neck. She paused. "I mean Goku certainly wasn't lying- but ya know...it's not a matter of them being liars- it's a matter of us trusting them."

Rei took her cup and looked down to the table, with a small frown between her eyes. "Besides," she said coolly, "They said they'd fight either way. Why should we cooperate with them?"

Ami hummed a short disagreeing noise and shrugged. "Well, they did say they mapped out where the comet landed- that they could sense energy- those may be invaluable to us," she said, her tone trying to figure- weighing pros and cons.

"That's right," Minako nodded, fiery. "They seem to have a history fighting, too."

Rei looked at Minako with cool sparks in her eyes. "Oh, please," she muttered, irritatedly, "You stay out of this. You shoulda just said 'Please DO me!'" The last bit was sneered, chidingly.

"Hey!" Minako laughed, "He's alright lookin'! Besides, they have assets we can use- we can't sense energy, and we can't even find info on this comet." She shrugged and set down her cup. Rei looked at her, agitated. She shrugged. "I'm just sayin'!"

"Well CAN IT!" Rei shot back, in fury. Then she just seemed to break- her tone was hectic, flustered. "I just don't know...!" She looked despondently to the side. "Even if they're telling the truth...I mean, could you not trust that guy? Didn't you get this...good feeling from him?...but it doesn't matter! It could be a complete mistake to...let them fight with us- they might harm more than help!" She paused. "Besides...Haruka, and...they wouldn't be too happy about it..."

Usagi shrugged. "I did trust him, though..." she said as though wondering.

"What about that other one?" Rei asked, as though she had shivers. "He was so quiet! I couldn't even tell anything about him- just that he had an attitude problem!"

Makoto looked up thoughtfully. "The only time he said anything was that about- uhm, that planet he was from," she though out loud. She looked at Artemis as though he was a phantom thought she'd just brought to light. "Oh ya! That's right- didn't you know something about that...?"

Artemis shuffled into a curled up position, and raised his brow. "Yes," he nodded, but paused to organize his thoughts. He turned his mouth, as though undecided. "You see, I don't know...well Vegeta is a planet, well, was a planet, apparently..."

"Did it have anything to do with the Moon Kingdom?" Minako asked.

Artemis nodded. "Well, not much- we were always on guard with them. It was a nation of warriors," he said, matter-of-factly. "What they did basically was they had their own...empire, I guess you would call it- also, worked for different warlords- doing what they could do- destroying planets, populations, colonizing them..., just beat up people really, a huge planet full of bullies." His mouth turned in distaste. "If we hadn't fought with the Dark Kingdom, we would have fought with the Saiyans."

Usagi was about to ask a question, actually a rather stupid question, when Artemis exhaled and looked up at the ceiling, blowing off steam. "I just don't know what two Saiyans would want to get by saving Earth's people," he threw to the side, as though hard-pressed. "The Saiyans are aggressors...they have immense gifts but don't use them for much good- good is a relative thing, I guess, but...they did look like Saiyans. The hair and the eyes, and the coloring." He scratched behind his ear. "That Vegeta- he's named after the planet- he could be an important person."

The girls digested the information. "Well, Goku did say that he was sent here as a child- perhaps he was taken in by some Earth family and, I don't know, he decided not to destroy the planet," Makoto considered, with a small shrug. Rei looked at her, wondering if that was the answer.

Usagi sighed loudly. "I wish Luna was here to help us out," she said, with a dreamy sigh. "I don't know...they seem okay, to me...and we could always use some help..."

A collective sigh; some sort of admittance- the shifting of cups, then set aside the issue for rainy tomorrow. "Where is Luna, anyway?" Makoto asked, her tone white and spacey.

Usagi paused and looked to the window at the gray winter. "I don't know- she's been acting really funny lately," she said, as though she were pausing with the meaning of those words on her tongue, just there for taste and not for sure.

"I saw her this morning," Minako answered, then patched up the air, dove the conversation down to the day's troubles. Usagi didn't think of the issue much more, her mind just wandered.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

The air was thin and spread out like plastic across the lost, changing scenery- the dead trees reached up, brutes, claws twisted to the sky- a sky of one color. A dust like the shadow of snow was falling on the stairs as they walked down, boots on concrete, scuff and the madness, slim through city scape. Slumming down the street for a cab.

"Oh, I'm freezing," he heard Goku chattering behind him. Goku ran up to his side; Vegeta felt Goku looking at him, questioningly. "That didn't really go well," Goku said, without defeat in his voice. He paused. "They didn't really warm up to us."

Vegeta shuffled low and smoky along- dark and city sweet. "I knew it- it's nonsense- they're a bunch of children," he answered, huskily.

Goku smiled brightly. Vegeta moved away from him slightly. "They seem like good people," he said deftly.

"As though that matters," Vegeta's words cut through, stubborn and hot, a madman's smoking barrel. He looked to the street, at the gray things, those cars speeding by like cameos in a dream.

Goku's expression shrugged it off. He scratched his head while they waited at a stoplight. "Man, I don't know- they didn't seem too powerful-"

"Like dogs!" Vegeta spat, going to cross the street; then stopping shortly, making an invisible gesture to Goku that he should cross. Goku wasn't used to pedestrian life.

"...I don't know. I'd just like to help," Goku smiled, catching up to Vegeta. He exhaled quick, trying to heat himself up. "I just hope they take us up on that offer," he said, inconsequentially. He stretched his arms over his head; they'd stop. They'd fly, but this city was fucking huge, and it was a foreign language, its curves and bends were like smoke on water.

Cab's lights would come whirring through the gray and smoke soon.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

The room was bare- it was sterile and impersonal, temporary and casual- but had the air of foreignness. The lights were on low, breathy and space between time; outside was pitch black; the TV was on for sound.

Goku was sitting in the low curved chair, his back to Vegeta walking out of the bathroom. "Hey, Bulma!...Yep, everything's okay," he was saying brightly. Vegeta's ears picked up on her name, that prick of sensation, familiarity- but he didn't feel anything, quickly forgot about it. "...Yeah...Oh hey, could you send us some jackets?...Yeah, of course you sent us with enough money! I was-...What's the problem?...Aww, I hate shopping, you know that!" He laughed. Vegeta sat on the bed, going over the things in his suitcase. Goku paused, fidgeted, seeming distraught. "No, of course I don't think you're my maid!...Aww Bulma, don't be sore about it--...see, that's just it- I'm not good with those things...it's a big city...Aw thanks Bulma, you're the best!...Yep, haha, always my favorite. I swear!...Ah, how is she doing?...And Gohan?...Good! Good...my size?...ah I guess just get whatever you think is good...ah, no! Ask Chi-Chi, I'm sure she knows!..."

Vegeta moved like a haze and charcoal to get a sweater from his luggage; his thoughts turned quietly, his movements subtle and low. He pulled it over his head, in his mind a ticking whir and buzz, hair ruffled. The low white electric hum of sounds of the TV made a lonely sound to echo in the back of his consciousness. There was nothing but this slight golden illumination that was half-real for slight returns and senses filled. He turned over, wanting to sleep.

When Goku finished up on the phone, he let out a long sigh, an exhalation that was hard to read, then he decided it was time for him to sleep, too.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

A/N: Stick around! Thanks for reading.