Ch.1

Goku was shocked when he learned that the strong and fiery woman he had just defeated was none other than the little innocent Chichi he met as a young boy.

"You promised that I would be your bride!" Chichi screamed her lungs out. Goku remembered making such a promise but there was obviously a misunderstanding he needed to clear up with the fuming Chichi who looked like she was ready for round two.

"I'm sorry—you see I thought 'bride' was a type of dish." Goku said nonchalantly scratching his head. The audience stood silent as they listened to the interesting conversation between the two fighters.

"Some type of food?!" Chichi said incredulously and quietly looked down at her feet feeling utterly humiliated and devastated. How could a guy not know the difference between marriage and food—they were completely unrelated. It made no sense to her and only fueled her anger. Chichi covered her face and began sobbing loudly as she ran out of the ring. Her dreams were shattered right in front of her by the very person she believed to be in love with. How could he! Chichi thought as she ran back to the hotel to collect her belongings.

"Gosh, what did I do?" Goku murmured to himself still stunned and even more confused than ever. Should he go after her or not? If he did what would he say to her or do? He did not mean to hurt Chichi in any way. He also did not feel (in his heart) that it was right to just let her run off like that.

"Umm-well ladies and gentleman...I am sort of lost for words. A young woman came here in hopes of becoming this young man's bride and left with a broken heart. Away with the melodrama and on with the next match!" The announcer shouted into the mic and revealed his pearly white teeth to the boisterous crowd who were now pumped up for the next fight. Goku walked off the stage feeling uneasy; he couldn't shake off this horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Hey what just happened Goku? When were you going to tell us about the Ox Kings daughter? She is quite the looker!" Krillin nudged his friend in the ribs but received no response which was strange. Goku looked down at his friend once and simply walked away; he needed to find her and make sure she was at least okay. How would he find her? Suddenly his head shot up and his nose twitched. He sniffed the air and began-literally following his nose.

"Its faint but I am positive that is her scent." Goku had never smelled such a sweet scent. He was glad no one else had a keen nose like he did because he wanted to fill his lungs with the elixir. Goku's head was becoming dizzy and he was having strange thoughts about the girl with raven black hair. The scent finally became stronger and almost palpable as he reached the hotel.

"Welcome Sir how…" Goku ignored the receptionist and continued to follow his nose up the flight of stairs. Could this be her room? Before he could knock on the door he heard Chichi's loud steps back and forth and her high pitched voice making him wince.

"That cruel man! How could he! Chichi angrily flung the last of her belongings into her open suitcase. After that fiasco she needed to get off the island and far away from Goku. She couldn't stand being on the same plot of land any longer. "Finally! I need to go back home—oh how will I face daddy? She had turned down scores of suitors throughout the years because she was planning on marrying Goku. These men were usually from noble blood and were some of the smartest people she has ever met but they simply weren't—Goku. She sighed "I need to stop." There was a soft knock on the door.

Who could that be? Room service? No—I didn't call for them. "Yes who is it?" Chichi said her voiced laced with exhaustion.

"Its me, Goku. Can I talk to you?"

"Goku? Goku! You got some nerve coming to here!" Chichi was no longer exhausted. "May I come in?" He gently asked her trying to calm her down. "No! 'YOU MAY NOT COME IN'" her voice laced with sarcasm. He will not make a mockery of her.

"I just want to talk, please. I won't leave until you open this door and let me in." He was pretty stubborn once he set his mind on something. "You can't wait ALL day. You have to return to the ring very soon." She hoped acting tough and hard-headed will make him leave. I mean what could he do—bust through the door! All of a sudden the door creaked open and there stood Goku right before her eyes.

"How…did you?" Chichi pointed at him then looked at the door.

"It was unlocked silly." He softly closed the door behind him and eyed the room. The room was cozy and elegant fit for a Princess. He saw the small hill of suitcases and asked "Where ya going?"

"Back to my Kingdom!" Chichi barked at him. Despite his goofy and carefree demeanor Goku was no fool. He really wasn't sure how—but he knew he had caused Chichi lots of pain. It was evident in the way she was treating him and by the look of her puffy eyes and tear streaked face—he had caused her a lot of pain. "Chichi, I know I said I thought a "bride" was a type of food but can you please tell me what made you so upset? I don't want to see you—cry anymore."

"You made a complete fool out of me-SON GOKU! I practically declared my undying love—no wait I did declared my love for you in front of everyone! And you simply brushed it off with a stupid grin. If I knew you were such a jerk I would have never let myself fall in love with you!"

"Love? What is love, Chichi? You keep mentioning it, it must be very important to you." Goku looked even more confused by the introduction of this new word. Chichi was about to explode when the meaning of his words hit her like a ton of bricks. She stared into his contemplative face; it was scrunched up deep in thought. He finally looked up at the ceiling trying his best to search for a possible answer.

"Wait Goku you mean to tell me that you lived your entire life not knowing what love is?" She whispered softly feeling a change in heart. Her anger quickly dissipated and her heart no longer ache—well it did a little—Goku was literally clueless about love and marriage.

"Pretty much—I know it's weird but after grandpa died I was left all alone to fend for myself. I lived off my surrounding until I met Bulma and the others but then we were busy finding the dragonballs so I didn't have a chance to stop and think about love." Goku whispered realizing he had no idea what this "love" meant except that it hurt Chichi.

"I'm sorry Goku." Chichi felt bad for screaming at him. She thought he was a pretentious jerk but in reality he was naïve and didn't mean to hurt her. "I shouldn't have yelled at you. I mean I thought you were purposely hurting my feelings by pretending you didn't know what a 'bride' was. "Chichi I would never do that to you!" Goku was a bit surprised and offended by her statement. Chichi couldn't help but chuckle at his reaction he seem like a wounded puppy; Goku eventually joined her and they were both laughing their hearts out.

"Umm—Chichi I might not know what love is but I do know what a friend is…would you still like to be my friend?" Chichi was touched by his words and gave him a hug. Goku was surprised but quickly recovered this time wrapping his arms behind her back.

"Chichi are you still planning on going home?" Goku pointed at the small mound of suitcases and wondered how her tiny frame managed to trek that load to the hotel. As if she read his mind she took out a pink capsule and threw it at the pile and all that was left when the smoke cleared up was the small capsule on the bed. "Well at least now I am done packing and won't have to worry about it. I don't know I mean I'm out of the tournament." She placed the capsule in its rightful spot and slipped the case back into her pocket.

"Then would you like to stay and watch my next match?"

"I would love to see you fight. I knew you were holding back in our match but I hope I get to see your true strength in this next match. I don't know if I should thank you for holding back or be angry that you were toying with me." She started laughing again. Unbeknownst to here Goku was staring at her and couldn't seem to take his eyes off her. Strange—what's this feeling in my stomach? It doesn't hurt it just feels strange. It feels nice and warm.

"Hahaha-Chichi you really are a true fighter. Well shall we go back?"