Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ

A/N; Yay, here I am with a new chapter Of Serendipity. I bet you though I'd abandoned you all huh? As of…long as short of it is basically…life has been busy as hell. I'm so glad to finally be able to get this one out. Thanks for all being so patient with me and not sending me any abusive e-mail telling me to get my butt into gear. I hope you all enjoy this one and think it was worth the weight

D.B

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Serendipity

Chapter Three

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Ami quietly hummed a tune as she busied herself making tea. She loved to do things in the kitchen, she loved to entertain. When she wasn't busy at the capsule corporation that was. She was studying to be a chemist, and it was hard work, but Doctor Briefs knew what he was doing and passed it down to his pupil with courage that she would do well. Ami also dabbled a little in the world of robotics and cybernetics, which was how she first struck up her friendship with Bulma, who was undoubtedly the most scientifically intelligent woman on the face of the Earth. When it came to gadgets and gizmos, you just couldn't look past Bulma, she had made Capsule Corporation what it was. Doctor Briefs may have come up with the name, but it was Bulma who had earned it its reputation.

It was to bad that she didn't have the same kind of super intelligence when it came to men. Ami had seen Bulma's partner, the father of her child. He was an arrogant man who had a very high opinion of himself. They argued a lot, Ami often heard them when she was working in the labs, she tried to tune out what they were saying, but sometimes it was hard not to hear their voices.

Still though, Bulma would tell her often that she loved him. One of her favourite lines was, "but you don't know Vegeta like I know Vegeta" Ami sighed, she was glad she didn't know him that well. She had Krillen instead. He had such a beautiful heart and nothing but the purest of intentions. He was just a genuine guy, and guys like that were hard to come by in today's world.

Blinking, she picked up the two warm mugs of tea and headed upstairs. It was time to start the day.

Krillen rolled over in his bed and pulled the crisp white covers around him tighter. He didn't want to open his eyes, he was having a dream, a beautiful dream, but as he became more and more aware of his surroundings, the images in his mind faded away.

He groaned.

"Morning sunshine" a chirpy voice filled the room. Startled by the sudden intrusion, Krillen's eyes snapped open. His vision was fuzzy, but he was able to make out Ami's figure. She was scantily dressed in pale blue panties and a singlet top of the same colour. Placing the two mugs down on the bedside table, she climbed up onto the bed and snuggled up against Krillen.

Suddenly, everything came rushing back to him.

The day before, there had been a little get together on the island. Nothing special really, just Bulma, Vegeta, Trunks and Yumcha over for dinner. They stayed late though, until well past midnight, and Krillen had suggested that instead of Ami catching a ride home with Yumcha, she just spend the night.

"Roshi didn't see you, did he?" Krillen asked, his voice still groggy.

"No," Ami shook her head. "Why? Are you embarrassed?"

"No," he had to stop as Ami's lips found their way to his, "It's just, don't let Roshi see you dressed like that". He slipped his arms around her waste while she kissed his neck.

Several quite minutes passed by, Krillen's mind was far away, he was aware of Ami's soft warm skin pressed against his own, but it didn't interest him all that much at this moment.

That dream. Where had it come from? It had been so real; it wasn't as much a dream, more than a vision. A premonition maybe? No, it couldn't have been. His mind was just playing silly games with him. The things he had conjured up in his mind, they were silly, un-attainable, and even more so, he didn't want to attain them. It was…it was just stupid.

"Krillen? Are you ok?"

Krillen blinked, "yeah, I'm fine. Just, haven't woken up properly yet"

It was only a couple of minutes after sunrise when 18 stirred, her eyes flickered open and she was aware of everything around her. She had a throbbing pain in her back from sleeping on what was practically the floor, she felt dirty, just from being in this house, and no matter how much she showered, she felt like she would never be able to rid herself of the filth.

Beside her, Dai was snoring. He wasn't going to wake up during the morning hours; he had consumed so much alcohol the night before she doubted he would wake for the rest of the week. Hauling herself out of bed, she threw on her black robe and headed down the narrow hall towards the kitchen. Only to discover they were out of milk. So quickly changing into a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt she headed for the store.

Outside, the crisp morning air felt good against her skin. Occasionally, a car would pass her, but apart from that, she was the only person out. The stars were fading from the sky and day was beginning to break. Clouds hung in the sky, suggesting it was going to be an overcast day, maybe it would even rain. That, 18 decided, would suit her mood nicely.

It had been a week since she had seen Krillen, and she had hardly been able to think about anything else. It was just the way he presented himself, he seemed so…happy, 18 sighed. She wanted to be happy. Was it so much to ask?

She had been with Dai for almost four months now, she wondered of 17 would think of her. He would probably be ashamed of her. He would certainly want to know what the hell she was doing with her life. Heck, she wanted to know what she was doing with her life.

Wasting it was certainly a good place to start off.

She had no idea how long she was going to live for. What if one day her internal generator got to old and stopped working? What if the body parts she still had wore themselves out? What if Vegeta tracked her down and finished her off. She knew he had gotten a hell of a lot stronger since they last met, she could sense his Ki from practically anywhere on the globe, he had to be stronger than she was. There were so many things that could bring about her end, and she didn't want to waste her life, but right now, that's exactly what she was doing.

Maybe, she mused to herself as she walked, maybe she should just fly to the Kame Island, if nothing else, Krillen might have been able to answer some of the questions that nagged away in the back of her mind, eating away at her day after day.

Looking up at the sky, she shook her head. No, she thought. Dai would have her head when she returned home. She didn't want to get into yet another argument with him. She'd lost count how many they'd had. She was no better than anyone else in this neighbourhood at the moment, as much as she wanted to, she couldn't say that she deserved better than this, because she had lowered herself to this level to begin with. If she had of pulled the plug right at the beginning, she could have been free now. But as it was, she was in far to deep; she had created a life here, and had involved herself in the lives of the others here. She lived deep within an intricate web of lies, lies she herself had created and spun. No, she was trapped here now.

Not even Krillen would be able to help her.

"Krillen, what's the matter?" he heard Ami ask him as she sat down, digging her toes into the sand.

"Nothing" he shook his head.

"Nonsense" Ami replied, "You've been quiet all day. What's on your mind?"

"Nothing" he repeated, his gaze intently focused far out at sea

Ami was quiet for a minute, and out the corner of his eye, Krillen noticed she was biting down on her lower lip.

"Is it me?" She asked, and quickly pressed on before he could say anything, "Because if it is, I can change"

"What?" Krillen turned to her and smiled, "Don't be silly" he leaned over and softly kissed her lips.

"So I haven't upset you? Not at all?"

Krillen shook his head, "Not at all"

Ami smiled and relaxed, she hadn't noticed how much her muscles had tensed up when she had realised Krillen might be mad at her, "Then what on Earth is it that's bothering you?"

Closing his eyes, Krillen exhaled deeply, he didn't want to lie to Ami, but he didn't want to hurt her by telling her the truth either, she didn't deserve to be hurt. "My friend, Goku, he died, almost a year ago now, I just miss him" it was true, it had been almost a year since that fateful day, and he certainly did miss him, that just wasn't his reason for being so distant today.

"Oh," Ami reached out and touched his arm, "I'm so sorry, I didn't know."

"I know. It's ok" he took hold of her hand and squeezed it. Then forcing out the best fake smile he could muster, he stood up. "Come on," he announced, "I'll drop you home before my class starts, alright"

Krillen watched as Ami retreated back into the house to grab a quick shower, then collapsed back onto the sand. He had no idea what he was doing. A week ago, he had been the happiest man alive, now, his mind was in total chaos, he didn't know if he was up or down, left or right, and he was expected to teach tonight? He didn't know what he was going to do. What if she was there again? Although, after the fiasco last week, he highly doubted that. Dai would probably have something to say though. Krillen gulped. He knew he could take on Dai if it absolutely came to that, but he was still a scary man, and Krillen suspected he was the type of man who probably carried a gun.

"Dai, what are you doing?" 18 looked up from the TV with a raised eyebrow.

"It's Thursday, you know I go out on Thursdays" he muttered as he held his head and downed some aspirin

"You're hung over" she didn't look at him from her spot on the couch, "Go back to bed"

"Don't you tell me what to do" she snapped, but the sound of his own voice was too loud and he groaned. Inwardly, 18 laughed. "Fine," she said, "Give me a couple of minutes, and I'll come with you." She knew someone would have to drag his sorry ass home when he passed out.

"After last week? I don't think so"

18 felt a lump catch in her throat, but she kept her cool, "last week? What do you mean?"

He rolled his eyes, "Don't fucking play stupid with me, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Last week. The Instructor"

"Krillen?" 18 blinked, "He's just an old acquaintance. That's it" she chose to leave out the small fact that she had been thinking about him non-stop all week

"Where do you know him from?"

"Does it matter?" 18 asked

He went to take a step forward but he tripped over a tear in the carpet and stumbled forward, 18 leaped up and caught him, his face landed directly in her chest and she quickly shoved him off her. "Go get in the car." She sighed, flipping her hair off her face and heading into the kitchen to grab the car keys.

She pulled the car up into a space at about 5 to six and followed Dai up the steps towards the community centre. They walked into the building and down the hall, reaching a rather large room, there were happy voices coming from inside. Before they entered, Dai turned to look at her, "Behave" he hissed. 18 raised an eyebrow at him in a dirty glare, then pushed past him and walked into the room.

She sat herself down in the same seat as before and slumped right down in her chair. What the hell was she doing here? She gazed at Krillen, who was standing on the other side of the room. He was wearing the pants of his training gi, and the blue shirt that went underneath it. His eyes seemed to glitter, and 18 could tell he was enjoying himself.

He looked up after a few minutes, and their eyes locked. 18 felt her breath catch in her throat, and without even realising it, she smiled. He smiled back, a big bright smile, and suddenly 18 didn't feel so bad about everything. He waved at her, very quickly, as not to attract Dai's attention, then turned back to his friends.

Dai kept looking at her as the lesson progressed, she ignored him, tried to pretend that if she couldn't see him, he didn't exist. She also tried not to look at Krillen, she wasn't in the mood for arguments tonight, she was worn out, her body felt like it had been put though it's paces and then some. She sighed. Dai was looking at her again, she could feel it

"Alright guys," Krillen stole a quick glance at his watch. "How about we take 5 ok" he ran his hand back through his hair to keep it out of his eyes. The group scatted all over the room. Dai and his friends headed outside to smoke. 18 watched as Krillen talked with his friends for a few minutes, he was laughing and smiling making extremely wild movements with his arms. Everyone around him was laughing as well.

18 kept staring at him. She couldn't tear her eyes away. He seemed to notice her gaze, and made his way over to her, sitting beside her, he spoke "I didn't think I'd see you again," he smiled, "After last time. I didn't get you in trouble did I?"

18 tucked her hair back behind her ear before she replied, "No. Dai can't just get a little jealous sometimes I guess"

"Jealous?" Krillen laughed, and pushed his hair back again "What on earth has he got to be jealous about?"

"I don't know" 18 shrugged her shoulders and looked down at her shabby attire, she felt worthless. Krillen picked up on it right away, "Are you alright?" he asked.

18 sat up straight in her chair and forced a smile, "Tired" she said, "but fine" she lied.

Krillen raised an eyebrow, but said nothing; he didn't want to put 18 in a situation that would be uncomfortable. He looked across at her and couldn't help but wonder what was going on behind those crystal blue eyes. What was she thinking about?

He thought about Ami, sitting at home, being faithful to Krillen, and all week, all he had been able to think about was 18 and how much he wanted to see her again. He felt terrible, but at the same time, sitting here next to 18, he felt like he was floating.

Suddenly, the next think Krillen knew, he wasn't in his seat anymore, he was pressed up against a wall, his feet dangling several inches off the ground.

"Dai!" he heard 18 bellow, she sounded furious. "Dai!"

"What did I tell you 18!" he pushed harder against Krillen's neck, who still hadn't quite caught up with what was happening. "What did I fucking tell you?"

"18 stomped over to Dai and shoved him hard, right in the chest. She hated it so much when he belittled her, he had no right, she was faster, stronger, smarter. She was 10 times the person her was, and yet he treated her like something that had gotten stuck to the bottom of his shoe, and now, she just lost it. She was blinded by rage, and when her hands had come in contact with his body, she hadn't held back and he flew clear to the other side of the room.

Krillen dropped to the ground with a rather embarrassing thud. The rest of the room stood in an absolutely stunned silence, not sure what to make of the current situation their mouths open like a bunch of fish out of water. Quickly trying to save face and redeem himself, Krillen clambered to his feet, but it was too late, all hope was lost. Off to the side of the room, a fierce verbal battle of the sexes was taking place, more profanities that Krillen had ever heard from Yumcha, Roshi and Vegeta combined were coming from 18 and Dai as they continued their brawl, until eventually 18 had had enough and stormed out the room, telling Dai where he could stick his attitude as she marched down the hall. Dai left shortly after.

"Um, ok" Krillen cleared his throat, trying to regain some kind of order to his classroom. "What do you say we call it quits for the week?" Everyone seemed to agree, and in a matter of seconds the room was cleared of everyone but Krillen, who sat down in the middle of the room, and told himself to breathe.

The first alleyway 18 came to was a good enough launching pad for her. She knew she wouldn't find him, but somehow, looking always managed to clam her. 17. She must have scoured every corner of the globe twice. She'd been to every single country she knew existed and flown over every mountaintop and ocean alike, yet her illusive brother was nowhere to be found.

As she soared through the dark night sky, about the clouds, the wind blowing through her hair, she felt at ease. She had been forced so restrict her powers for months and months now, and to just let it all out felt like such a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

Before she even realised, there was no longer ground below her. She stopped and up righted herself in the sky. Far down below, she could hear the gentle noises of the ocean, letting herself fall, she stopped just above the water, and the salty sent filled her nose and she felt peaceful. For once in her life, she felt peaceful.

A thought popped into her head then, a stupid dumb thought, and she quickly disregarded it. She would not bring Krillen into this. As much as she would have preferred his company right now as opposed to Dai – who would no doubt be very mad with her, she knew she couldn't. She had responsibilities and she had to own up to them. So with a long and begrudging sigh, she turned around and blasted once again through the dark and lonely night sky.

A/N: Well what did you think? Feedback would be great and I'll try to get the next chapter up A.S.A.P for you all!
D.B