A/N: Thank you for the kind reviews on my first chapter, it gave me more confidence to keep on writing the second one.

I want to give a big thank you to LodoBlue for being my beta reader. You should check her out of DeviantART, she's an amazing artist, writer, and author!

Words: 2,339

- My Guardian Angel -

Chapter 2: A Common Drive

The next morning came, and to no surprise, it was a sunny day, both up in the clouds and on the earth below. Goku opted to stay in bed until Raditz left for the Academy and Bardock went on patrol. He didn't want to see or speak to either of them, so he hid in his room until they left. Around an hour after he knew they were gone, he heard a loud bang at his door.

"Kakarot!" Gine yelled from the other side, "your father and brother are already gone, get out of bed." She knew why Goku was still in his room. "Your breakfast is in the fridge." Goku sighed and reluctantly got out of bed. He couldn't stay moping in his room again, no, his mother would chew him out like yesterday. He gave his wings a proper stretching as he picked out his red-orange silk gi, with a royal blue sash to tie around his waist. As he changed, he contemplated what he was going to do. He didn't want to stay home, but he couldn't see his friends and didn't feel like sitting on a cloud the whole day.

"Maybe, I'll go see grandpa, get his opinion on my ordeal." Goku hadn't seen his grandpa in a while, and he did want his opinion overall 'am I a failure' situation. Once he finished getting dressed for the day, he bolted out of his room, also trying to avoid his mother. He almost made it out the back door before Gine grabbed ahold of his right wing.

"And where do you think you're going, mister?" Gine asked sternly.

"I'm going to visit grandpa" Goku answered softly. He wondered what the problem was; he was planning to leave the house as she wanted.

"Eat breakfast first."

"But I'm not – "

"Don't you dare even try to use that excuse Kakarot! Go eat breakfast." She dragged him, by his wing, to the table and sat him down while she got him breakfast. Truth be told, he was quite hungry, and not barely eating anything yesterday left an empty feeling in his stomach. Gine came back a few minutes with Goku's breakfast. "Kakarot, I know you're upset about this whole suspension thing, but this isn't like you. You've never been this distraught before. I miss happy-go-lucky Kakarot; you used to shrug off any mistakes you made like it was no big deal before." She sat down next to him. "What makes this situation different?"

"I guess it's the suspension made me realize that I haven't been doing so hot in the Academy." Goku did use to shrug off missions he failed and didn't take into consideration the ramification of his actions. Letting all those people, he was supposed to save get seriously injured or even letting them die; it was something he wasn't guilty about. After getting the suspension, he started to realize his blunder and knew he was a failure.

"Well, then maybe it was a good idea to get the suspension." Goku looked baffled as his mother. "What I mean is, maybe this is your wake-up call Kakarot." She got up from her chair and kissed Goku on his forehead. "Have a good time at your grandfather's, tell him I said hello."

After finishing up breakfast, Goku headed out to see his grandpa. He took his sweet time getting there, pondering what he was going to discuss with his grandpa. He couldn't deny he was nervous to see him. He wondered what his grandpa would think of him when he tells him what happened. "But, grandpa's never judged me before, so then why am I worried to see him?" Goku thought as he touched down at his grandpa's house. It was a small home, comfortable size for one angel like him. He was about to knock on the door when -

"Goku!" His grandpa said opening the door for Goku.

"Grandpa Gohan!" Goku shouted, hugging Gohan tightly. He held on to him for a few seconds then let go.

"Woah, Goku, you have got to stop hugging me so tight, how many times have I told you this?"

"A few" Goku answered scratching his head in embarrassment.

"I'm getting up in years, I may be an angel, but I'm not as nimble and strong as I used to be." Gohan opened the door wider, "come on in son, go sit on the couch, I'll get us some tea." Gohan came into the living room with piping hot tea. He's sat down next to Goku, placing the tea on a coffee table. "Now, tell me why your here?"

"Can't I just come to visit you, grandpa? Isn't that enough?" Goku was hoping he could avoid just spilling out his concerns right away. In all honesty, he did want to see his grandpa, but not only for some friendly visit. No, it was for more, serious encounter, which is something Goku wasn't accustomed to.

"True, it could be a friendly visit" Gohan sipped his tea, "but from the letter your mother wrote, I think it might be about what happened at the Academy."

"Rats!" Goku screamed in his head, "of course mom would tell her own father what's going on in our lives. Why should I be surprised?" Goku sighed, "Yeah, it's about..." he twiddled his thumbs "what happened at the Academy." Gohan put his hand on Goku's shoulder.

"Tell me what happened."

"Okay." Goku gulped, trying to calm his nerves. "Well, you know that I got out on suspension?" Gohan nodded, "I haven't told my parents, I'm sure Chief Vegeta told my father, but I didn't realize just how many people I've let die because of me. I finally realized that after the last mission I did before being put on suspension." Goku took a sip of his tea, trying to calm his nerves a bit. Gohan waited patiently for his grandson to continue.

After a few minutes of silence, Goku started again. "It was supposed to be a simple mission. Just doing some rounds in West City. I didn't have a partner, so it was just me. Things were going smoothly until I heard some gunshots. I quickly made my way to the scene where I saw a couple of thugs had taken hostage a small bus, loaded with 12 passengers. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't get close to the bus; mortals would've seen me. I tried devising a plan to try and save those people, but when I got something, it was already too late." Goku paused again, wiping his eyes, not wanting to relive what happened. "The bus, it - it barreled over a steep hill, I didn't get to it in time. Everyone, the passengers, and hijackers died on impact." Goku took in a sharp breath, "most of them were children." Goku was on the verge of tears now; he couldn't believe that he let so many people perish.

Gohan grabbed ahold of Goku, pulling him into an embrace. Goku bared his head in Gohan's shoulder and cried. He hadn't cried in his grandpa's arms in a long time; it was comforting. Gohan ruffled Goku's hair. "You did all you could Goku, that's what matters."

"I could've done better though, I…I could have saved those people" he fasted to Gohan tighter. "I guess I really am a failure."

"Quit that nonsense talk" Gohan pulled Goku away, looking him straight in his teary-eyed face, "you're a lot of things son, but a failure isn't one of them."

"But then why – "

"No but's Goku." Gohan got up to grab Goku a tissue. "I haven't seen you this upset in a while, last time you balled your eyes was when you were having trouble getting flying down." Goku chuckled a bit. Yeah, that was a long time ago. "That's when that old, white cat gave you Nimbus right?" Goku nodded his head, blowing his nose into the tissue. "Is there another reason why you're this upset?" Goku again nodded his head. "I'm guessing it has to do something with a certain position at the Academy?"

"Yeah, I was told by Chief Vegeta if I keep failing assignments I won't get to be a guardian angel. He says that if I keep things the way they are, I'll be kicked out." He slouched back onto the couch. "I don't know what do to grandpa."

"I'm going to let you in on a secret." Goku perked his head up. "I wasn't always the former guardian angel you know. I had to go through my own trials. It took me a long time before I became one of the top tier guardian angels for my time."

"What happened grandpa?"

"I got expelled from the Academy." Goku nearly fell off the couch.

"YOU WHAT?" He couldn't believe what he was hearing. His own grandpa got kicked out of the Academy? That's unheard of for a former guardian angel.

"Yes, I was expelled, but things were different when I was a younger angel. Most of the rules are still in place, but even if you were expelled, you could come back the next year. It took me to my lowest point to realize that something was wrong. I didn't have a drive; I was just idling by. When I realized that I wanted to become a guardian angel, it gave me a goal. Because of that, I became a guardian angel and even graduated with honors." Gohan put his hand on Goku's shoulder. "You want to become a guardian angel, right? Then use your desire so you can succeed."

Goku left his grandpa's after the words of wisdom. He still couldn't get over the fact that his grandpa had gotten expelled, at the Academy no less. "A common goal huh? Well, I guess I never thought of having my desire be the drive to do well at the Academy." He longed to be a guardian angel, ever since he was little. Actually, he got his desire to be one from his grandpa. He'd heard so many of Gohan's stories, how he saved the mortal he guarded many times against peril. It sounded so amazing. Getting to save a mortal, showing off how reliable you can be, seemed like a sweet deal. Once he entered the Academy, things weren't looking so great. Along the way, he more or less forgot the desire he once had. It was still there deep down, but it got shoved away once others kept telling him that he was a failure, that he will never be good. "I think I will use it as a drive."

"Use what as a drive?" Goku turned to see the mystery voice. "What are you muttering about this time?"

"Hey, Krillin! I was – well – just thinking about the whole Academy situation."

"Oh, the suspension? When will that be lifted, do you know?" Truth be told, Krillin didn't know much about what happened to Goku. Krillin overheard instructors talking about the suspension. Apparently, no one was supposed to know about it besides faculty members. He went to speak with Goku the day he found out, but he was a shut-in, not willing to come outside his home.

"My father told me I can come back at the end of the month."

"Do you mind telling me what happened?" Goku didn't go into much detail about what went down. He told Krillin what Chief Vegeta had yelled at him and how his parents reacted. "No surprise for your mother, but I'm surprised about up-in-arms your dad got about his image."

"I understand public image is essential for an elite, but I didn't think he'd get so angry about it." Goku ran his fingers through his hair. "Just goes to show you where his priorities lie." Krillin nodded in agreement.

"Well, what are you going to do with all your free time?"

"I haven't thought about what I will do." Goku pondered for a minute. He could do martial arts training that mortals do. Or actually, work on Academy drill sets, those are essential for a first step to being a guardian angel. Traveling the world on Nimbus could be fun, he hasn't done that since he was a child. There were always late homework assignments he could finish. "I'll have to think about it more."

"You could always hang out with Yamcha and me, we're your friends Goku. We'll help you pass the time by, no sweat. We could go now; I'm sure Yamcha is – "

"Or, you could come with me to the Academy," a gruff voice said, interrupting Krillin. They looked over to see both Vegeta and Raditz, wearing there usually, scowl façades.

"V-Vegeta, Raditz, what brings y-you h-h-here?" Krillin nervously asked.

"We've come to collect Kakarot. My father wants to have a word with you, so does Bardock." Vegeta snarled.

"Is it necessary?" Goku asked, knowing he would be a gluten for punishment after saying that.

"No, that's why we flew all the way out to tell you." Vegeta smashed Goku upside the head. "Of course it's necessary you moron, who the hell do you think you are?" While Vegeta went off his little tangent, Raditz informed Goku that is was about the suspension. Goku became confused. Chief Vegeta already said his piece about the situation, what was more to tell?

"He wants to discuss what will happen if you're put on suspension again," Raditz explained. "I think father wants to talk with you as well. We'd better get a move on; we've already wasted enough time looking for you Kakarot."

"That's not my fault" Goku mumbled. "I guess I'll be seeing you Krillin." Krillin waved goodbye as Goku took off with Raditz and Vegeta. He didn't really know what to expect from the Chief or his father. He had a feeling that if he screws up majorly again, he'll be expelled. Shaking his head, "no I won't let that happen, I'm going to succeed, I'm going to become a guardian angel."