Chapter 3: Gone
It was a nice feeling those fans gave him. Sure Goku didn't really care about what they were saying but he still appreciated what they did for him. Ever since that connection was made he'd felt full of life like never before.
Krillin kept him up to date on those popularity polls, checking them religiously, and Goku told him what he could about the feeling of being on top. It wasn't pride or anything of the sort. That connection to those fans was a new feeling all together. A certain warmth that called him to happiness.
His wife certainly noticed the difference. She didn't really feel much of anything but the occasional spark. The week of her birthday was always exciting, though, almost as if those guys knew it somehow and purposely set out to make her happy on that day. He appreciated that.
His fans apparently thought Goku was some great person worth celebrating. Goku didn't really see it. He just did what anybody would do in the situations he was handed. Honestly, he felt a little awkward getting all the praise and Yamcha constantly bugging him about it didn't help matters.
He sighed. Sometimes he wished this never happened, even if everyone else seemed to enjoy it.
Suddenly, while Goku was outside slacking off on tilling the fields, he felt a dip. It was subtle but it was there and slowly it started to drop more and more. He shook his head and went back to work, hoping the repetitive motion would ease the feeling.
It didn't.
Hours passed and it was still getting worse. At first he thought maybe the connection to those fans of his was disappearing like he had hoped but this was different. This wasn't just losing the warm and comforting feeling, this was adding a cold and isolated sensation.
He couldn't really describe it if he tried.
This wasn't just losing fans, this was losing his sense of purpose.
Goku stopped.
That wasn't like him. That wasn't like him at all. What was this? Why did it gnaw at him? What was gnawing at him?
He stopped and sat down. Maybe he just needed some water? No, this wasn't dehydration. He'd felt that before. Maybe he should talk to Chichi.
Just as he thought of that he heard a whisper: "Not a real couple." To his disdain, that was only the first of the many whispers that began to haunt him.