Krillin flew at an easy pace, the whirling air brushing the unfamiliar hair on his head. He held a plastic bag with a few necessities. It had been a while since he had rummaged through the nearest city being on a deserted island and all in the middle of the ocean, but he enjoyed the tranquil solitude away from his master and Oolong. He smiled faintly, and continued his easy pace.
Soon the landscape below him turned into deep blue ocean waves, foaming white at the tips as they crashed over one another. Kame's House was not too far, but Krillin noticed a small speck in the sky as he grew closer.
'Perhaps it's Gohan,' he thought as his brows furrowed together. The young Saiyan had kept Krillin company after the Cell Games, and helped distract him from feeling overwhelmed following Goku's death. They would sometimes sit on the sand of the island and express their heart's content, neither judging the other. For as therapeutic as it was, it also strengthened their friendship. Krillin was grateful.
However, as Krillin grew closer and closer, he could not sense Gohan's energy, or whoever it was, at all. His hands gripped his grocery bag tighter; he could feel the tension rising in his body, and picked up speed gradually. He thought his heart could beat out of his chest at any moment.
Eighteen hung above the small island, her blue eyes transfixed on the pink house. She had flown around the island for a number of weeks, unsure of how to go about re-introducing herself to the man that had technically saved her life. She would slowly start to descend, then talk herself out of it, and fly away.
"You're a fool, Eighteen. Just do something already," she'd angrily mutter to herself. Her blonde hair would whip in her face from the cool island breeze, seemingly punishing her for not going through with her plan.
But today seemed different. God knows how long she'd just been slowly flying around the island, but she tried to make out Krillin amongst the varying shadows she could barely see in the house. Only one appeared small, but too small. She frowned.
Suddenly, she could hear someone approaching, and approaching fast. Her back was turned to the unknown assailant, but she had a decent idea of who would soon be meeting her. She didn't bother to turn around.
"Number Eighteen!" A man's voice shouted exuberantly, sounding partially out of breath. She could already picture the dumbfounded expression on Krillin's face.
'Might as well just amuse him at this point,' she thought. She turned around.
Krillin wore a simple black t-shirt with grey shorts and sandals. His free hand rubbed the back of his head anxiously as she studied his figure, her icy eyes lingering on his new hair. She raised an eyebrow. A red tint fell over Krillin's face.
"Oh, yeah, I grew out my hair. Gosh, it's been so long since I decided not to shave my head. Too long…," his sentence trailed off as he let out a faint chuckle. Eighteen kept her eyes on him.
"Hello, Krillin." He smiled at her, and regained himself. Silence overtook them for a moment.
"Well...it's really great to see you again, Eighteen. I can only hope you've been doing well," Krillin began. He shifted a bit in the air, the crunch of the grocery bag slicing the silence with him.
'Gosh, Krillin, don't make an idiot of yourself more than she already thinks of you.' He could vividly remember her insulting him on Kami's Lookout after he stupidly mistakened Number 17 for being her lover. He inwardly cringed, and returned his attention to the blonde cyborg. She was still, the island air blowing around her figure. Her face portrayed so little, but Krillin couldn't notice any resentment or malice in her exquisite features. He let out a breath.
She finally answered.
"I've been...doing okay, thank you." She tucked some loose strands of hair behind her left ear. She closed her eyes for a moment, then reopened them to look down at the island. Krillin followed her eyes, and glanced down as well. He took a chance.
"Um, so, you like my little sanctuary," he joked, his arm waving to down to the direction of the pink house. "You know, it can be a bit lonesome in there, being away from civilization and all. But I've come to really love the alone time I have. It's…," he slowly stopped speaking, unable to conjure up a word. Eighteen had gathered what he meant.
"Peaceful?" Krillin nodded his head.
"Yes! Very peaceful." She gave him the faintest smile. He returned it. He suddenly remembered the weight of the groceries he was carrying.
"Um, I'm sorry, Eighteen, I just went to the city to get some groceries. Would you like to join me inside? I just need to put these away before I completely forget about them."
He started to descend and soon his sandals landed in the heated sand. Eighteen still remained in the air, her face holding a kind of conflict.
'Dammit, Eighteen. You've made it this far. Just go with it,' she thought. Krillin began to fidget with his groceries, but he soon saw Eighteen descend as well until she landed next to him at a nice distance. He understood she had boundaries.
'Who doesn't?' He began to tread along the sand to his home. Eighteen followed.