Chapter 3.
Eighteen had been living in Kame House for about four months, She and Krillin grew a little closer though their conversations never went very far nor did they stay in the same room very often.
But there was a change in the cyborg, she didn't stay cooped up in her room all the time anymore, even spending time on the beach occasionally which didn't go unnoticed by Krillin.
Said person was in the bathroom, checking his reflection. He had now grown a thick tuft of hair. He ran his hand through it sighing as he hesitated to take the electric razor. The growth of his hair did not displease him, it just changed his routine drastically. Usually he would shave every morning and wax his head to keep it smooth.
He remembered the phrase Goku had used to describe it.
"Your head looks like a billiard ball!"
Krillin smiled, Goku was missing out on a lot but he also knew his oldest friend was happy where he was right now, he had smiled when he had said goodbye. After these brief recollections, he turned away from the mirror and finally left the room.
"There is nothing wrong with change so long it's in the right direction." He said softly to himself.
He passed Eighteen's bedroom on his way down and wondered what she had been up too. She seemed to enjoy the company of the large sea turtle that lived with them on the island. Somehow that was not surprising since she didn't really talk much.
Suddenly he felt himself falling and a big 'patatrack!' was heard throughout the house as he promptly fell down the stairs after missing a step. He fell into the bookshelf taking it down with him.
Master Roshi got up quickly as he witnessed Krillin's fall, hoping his disciple was okay after that. Once he saw the damage wasn't that significant he laughed before walking off to go lounge outside on his beach chair hoping to catch some sun.
Krillin, who was still buried under a pile of books, pouted at his master's behavior.
"Is your new haircut bothering you, baldy?"
Eighteen was looking down on him with her hands on her hips. She was wearing one of the shirts she had bought with Krillin, a red one which was her favorite.
Krillin put his hand behind his head feeling slightly embarrassed. Eighteen rolled her eyes before kneeling down to his height. She grabbed the books off his head as she looked him in the eyes.
"My nickname for you has no meaning now that you have hair."
"Sorry." He replied with a smile.
"Why are you apologizing, you haven't done anything wrong." She said patting him lightly on the head with a book.
She put away the few she had left in her hands before looking up at her room but before she took a step in that direction, she leaned against the wall and turned slightly towards him.
"I prefer you like that, it's better than having to look at something that resembles the moon." She said with a small smile.
Krillin gasped as he watched her disappear up the stairs and into her room.
"I did well not to shave it off then!" Krillin said softly to himself. Above him, Eighteen shut her door, causing a book that was balancing on the edge of the shelf to fall back on his head.
"Ouch!"
Eighteen shook her head as she thought to herself that Krillin certainly was something else, a real character sometimes.
Lately he had occupied her thoughts more and more and she blamed it on the fact that they were now practically living together. She shrugged it off as she walked into the bathroom, splashing her face with water from the sink.
She peered at her reflection in the mirror, more specifically her eyes. Slowly her reflection changed as she stared harder. Her hair turned black, her facial features became a little sharper. She did not see herself in the mirror but her brother as she thought of him.
Where was Seventeen? She truly had no idea. Was he alright? They had always been together, now he was out there by himself...too many questions took over her mind and she preferred not think about them.
"Really, Seventeen. I never thought the day would come I'd say this but I miss you."
Meanwhile around 5800 miles away...
"Achoo!"
A young man with shoulder length jet black hair, piercing blue eyes and an orange bandana around his neck sneezed. He cursed as his sneeze had driven away the prey he had been hunting for dinner. He slung his gun over his shoulder as he ran. Looking up at the sky a thought of his sister crossed his mind.
Back on the island, it was now 11:30 pm. The young woman glanced at the clock once more before going over to her closet to change into shorts and a tank top. She looked out of the window before jumping out and landing on the sand below.
This was the time she knew for sure everyone else was asleep and wouldn't bother her, the old man and Krillin had already retired for the night.
She approached the water and slowly dipped her feet in the shallow stream that reached the beach, it felt nice. She then rose up in the air and just flew right above the ocean making sure to let her feet remain in the water, occasionally dipping lower till her knees.
Meanwhile, Krillin was not sleeping at all, instead he was reading a book about martial arts. He already knew a lot about the subject but it wouldn't hurt to keep up with all the latest developments in the field, specially since he was so passionate about it.
He decided to take a little break and headed downstairs to the kitchen where he reached into the fridge to grab a small snack. He decided on a doughnut, his gaze wandered towards the window as he ate. He squinted his eyes at what he saw, it looked like someone was out there swimming. He blinked as recognized Eighteen's silhouette.
"What is she doing, swimming at this hour?" He wondered out loud.
He didn't go outside not wanting to disturb her. But that did not stop him from wondering why she was out so late to swim.
"If she needed a swimsuit, she could have asked me." He muttered while he returned to his room.
The next day he went to do what he always did, he knocked on Eighteen's door to tell her breakfast was served but he didn't receive an answer.
"Maybe she is still sleeping." He pondered as she silently made his way downstairs, being very careful to take each step so he wouldn't fall down and embarrass himself again.
As he stepped into the living room, he was surprised to find Eighteen on the couch watching TV. She had never done that before.
"Hello, Eighteen."
"Hello."
"Do you want some breakfast?"
"Yes."
Krillin went to the kitchen, followed by Eighteen who sat down at the kitchen table watching as Krillin prepared the table setting it up with various items such as bowls, utensils, cereal and fresh fruit.
When he finally finished and sat down he spoke.
"So uhm did you sleep well?"
"As per usual."
Krillin nodded at that.
"Would you come with me today?"
"Where too?" Eighteen asked coldly.
"Well...to buy some clothes, maybe go to the cinema..." He trailed off.
"..."
Eighteen didn't look at him. They finished their breakfast when Roshi walked in. Krillin left the kitchen followed by the pretty blonde.
"When are we leaving?" Eighteen suddenly asked.
"Whenever you're ready."
"Let me get changed and then I'll be there...Krillin." She said with a small smile.
"I..I'll wait for you." Krillin blushed slightly, this was the first time she had called him by his actual name. She usually used nicknames such as monk or egg crane. Or even baldy sometimes even though he had hair now but never ever Krillin.
He decided to wait for her on the beach.
Eighteen had changed in some of her finer clothes before joining him. Together they rose up and blasted off into the sky in the direction of West City.
