Goku and Ruco walked through the red forest, close enough and tired from flying enough to take the ground. After all, it wasn't much farther.
It was if Planet Vegeta was perpetually experiencing autumn. Even the scents were of the crisp leaves. Most everything on the planet was red. As he had come to find out, only the locations built upon Tuffle ruins were barren.
Everything else was lush red forest. Some even said that this is where the saiyans first came from. Actually, Goku was unclear on his race's history.
Some accounts said they came to Vegeta when it was called Plant. Others told that Saiyans shared the planet with the Tuffle.
Regardless, only one race inhabited this planet permanently.
The boy could see the water before him. To his surprise, it was tinted red as well. The body of water was a darker shade than the sky.
Goku was shocked, as he hadn't seen water like this before. He didn't think it could appear as anything other than blue.
Looking to his right, he observed the moderately sized river. Even it was clear, occasionally murky from the dust.
"What's wrong?" the girl giggled. "Never seen water before?"
"I haven't seen it red before." Goku said breathlessly. "Why is the river clear but the lake isn't?"
Ruco didn't exactly know, but she made an educated guess. "There's so much of it that it reflects as red? It's why the sky is red, too."
It didn't make sense, but it was good enough for him. He approached the waterfront, taking his chestpiece off.
Goku stopped himself before he could fully strip. On earth, people had a nudity taboo.
However, on Vegeta, there was a clear disconnect between nudity and sexuality. It's why the showers weren't gender exclusive.
Still, it didn't seem like the right thing to do, getting naked. So he simply stayed in his undersuit.
"I haven't had fish here." he noted. "What kinds are there?"
Ruco shrugged. "Saiyans don't really eat fish."
Before moving to Vegeta, it was his favorite type of food. This was due in part that it was easily accessible on Mount Paozu.
"I love fish." he said, smiling. "I have a few tricks for catching them."
"Tell me!" she exclaimed, eager to do anything with him.
"Back on Mount Paozu, there were two things I'd do. I would either swim and catch one, or use my tail."
he explained, sizing up the lake.
She gingerly reached for her own tail. "Neither of those sound safe. We don't know what's in there."
He chuckled. "Nah, we'll be fine."
"Famous last words." she sarcastically said.
Goku flew to a small island, really a large boulder, and looked to the shore. Ruco nervously stood on the bank, expectantly looking at him.
The boy lowered the end of his tail into the water, wiggling it about.
Realizing he could use his energy senses to 'cheat', he did so. Goku smirked when he felt several living things nearing him.
Never once did it occur to him that even a gigantic spider from some alien planet could have a low power level.
Something latched onto his furry appendage, pulling hard. Before he could react, he was pulled under.
He simply was relaxed, and that is why this aquatic creature managed to get the jump on him.
Quickly, without panicking, he shot up. Waves of pain shot up him likewise, as something sickeningly scraped against the bone of his tail.
Emerging in a magnificently red display of power, water was sprayed in all directions.
Goku stopped himself abruptly, punching at the creature when it passed. The large fish flew toward the shore, tossing up red dust in retaliation.
Taking time to breathe, the boy was surprised.
The fish was unlike anything he had previously seen. It was blue with a red stripe running along its cylindrical body. Razor sharp teeth and dead eyes adorned it's face.
Clearly, the teeth were what had caused the minor damage to the last two segments of his tail. Wincing, he looked down.
Ruco was on the shore, approaching the fish.
Carefully, Goku flew down.
The creature flopped weakly, trapped by trees. It also had a dorsal fin shaped like a saiyan canine.
"Wow!" the girl said excitedly. "This is a Vuri shark!" Then she took note of his tail. "Your tail!"
He wrapped it around his waist carefully. "Ooh." he hissed. "Can you grab the kolto from my armor?"
Ruco nodded, rushing to get what he asked for. Coming back, she drew off her dirty gloves.
She uncapped the bottle poured some of it on her delicate hands.
The girl rubbed the open wounds on his tail.
Goku was surprised by his reaction to her touch. The small hairs on his limbs stood on end, and a wave of something… good came over him.
"Woah." he breathed, shuddering.
Ruco was just as confused. "Did that feel good? Well, I mean, besides the pain going away."
"Yeah." he said confusedly. "I don't understand."
She offered her tail to him. "Do it to me." Ruco was very curious.
Goku barely touched her appendage when the girl reacted.
She shuddered and her eyelids fluttered. Ruco let out a small moan. Quickly, she pinkened and covered her mouth.
"S-sorry!" Goku spluttered, completely confused.
"No!" she said, putting her hands over her eyes. "It… felt really good."
The boy was relieved. For a moment, he thought he had hurt her somehow. But then he remembered that all of his squad mates did tail training, so it was unlikely for her to have been hurt.
"Yeah. Very good." he sighed.
The girl's blush deepened. "I think this is what people who are courting do. Can you… keep doing that? Or I mean-" she stuttered, thoroughly embarrassed.
Goku decided he would do that if it made her happy. After all, she was trusting him with the most important saiyan limb. Additionally, he felt strong urges that he couldn't pinpoint. Or even understand, for that matter.
"Uh, I don't know." Goku unsurely said, rubbing the back of his head. After all, hadn't his father just warned him of this? Maybe he was starting to mature, and he felt a rush of excitement at that.
"I'm sorry!" she apologized, still very embarrassed. "I shouldn't ask weird stuff like that!"
Goku didn't even realize what had happened, for the most part. He was unfazed. "It's okay." He tried to take her mind away from embarrassment. "Let's cook this fish!"
She nodded. "That sounds good." she meekly said.
oXo
oXo
Goku gnawed hungrily on the bones of the fish, attempting to eat even the slightest remainder of the fish. This Vuri shark was the most delicious fish he had ever eaten.
In his opinion, that is. Ruco, in an attempt to be polite, only ate a small amount. Frankly, she was a tad disappointed in this fish. Supposedly, it was one of the best tasting fish in the galaxy.
"That was good." he said, stifling a burp. "I like this stuff."
"Glad you do." Ruco smiled, trying to ignore the bitter taste in her mouth.
He was finding it very hard to quiet his thoughts. "I'll do the tail thing again." he blurted.
Blushing, Ruco wordlessly sat in front of him, back facing him.
He grasped her tail and began to softly stroke it.
oXo
oXo
Goku rolled over on the cold dirt. He yawned quietly, sitting up. That was when he realized the state of undress he was in.
The teenager was fully nude, and covered in red dirt. He confusedly looked to the left, seeing Ruco lying down, just as unclothed as he was.
At first he thought nothing of it, but then he recalled the previous night. Panic pricked at his stomach. "Oops." he quietly said.
Goku had lost control and not told his parents. Really, he didn't even understand what he and Ruco had done. Just that it felt good.
However, when he thought about it, it didn't seem… right. Not as if it was wrong, it simply hadn't felt right.
As if one were to put a jigsaw puzzle together sans one piece. It simply doesn't feel right. It is mostly correct, but it isn't complete.
At least that's what he told himself.
Standing up, he tracked down his and Ruco's underclothes. He put his on and placed hers next to her.
Goku sat shirtless toward the remains of the fish, staring at the bones. The boy felt incredibly guilty. Ruco probably loved him even more now, and he felt almost nothing over friendship toward her.
It didn't seem fair to him that he was able to have fun with Ruco while his friends were in the hospital recovering. Chef had injured them in a way that revujination simply chambers couldn't fix.
He ran a hand through the messy hair on the back of his head. Never more did Goku wish he was a more social person.
Of course, the boy had no trouble getting along with people, it was understanding them that he didn't understand. He was surrounded by people that supported and loved him, but he couldn't easily comprehend their deeper plights.
Goku realized that living isolated on a mountain for the first decade or so of your life wasn't the best for him. He didn't object to roughing it, he simply wished he had done it after learning more about interaction.
Even in a crowd of people like him, he felt alone. Goku frowned as soon as he realized this, drawing his knees close to himself.
"Mm." the girl mumbled behind him. He heard her stir, mumbling on the ground.
"Morning." he said.
Goku turned, and met her gaze. Ruco's eyes went wide. "G-GOKU!" she shrieked.
He covered his ears, easing an eyebrow. That wasn't how he expected her to react.
"Ruco." he replied.
For the first time since he met her, she covered herself up with her arms. Ruco closed her eyes expectantly, for reasons he did not know.
She opened her eyes after a pregnant pause, raising her left eyebrow high. She blew her bangs out of her eyes, frowning. "You aren't mad at me?"
Now it was his turn to raise an eyebrow. "What?" He simply didn't understand. "For what?"
Ruco looked down guiltily. "I took advantage of you. Of your kindness…" she admitted, tearing up.
Goku had no idea what she was talking about. "Huh? What do you mean?"
"The sex, Goku!" she said. "I rushed our relationship to feel good! I'm so sorry!" she sobbed.
He blinked at her, still clueless. "I don't mind. I'm mad at myself." he admitted himself. "I just lost control, I should be apologizing."
"No." Ruco sighed. "It's okay." She began to pull her underclothes on. "Oh, shoot! We should get home soon."
Goku looked to her as she hovered. "Let's talk about this later."
She nodded, waving and wordlessly blasting off. This left him to ponder.
Goku had no clue what was going on. However, he felt guilt. Ruco thought she was taking advantage of her, but quite the opposite was happening.
He sighed, pulling his gauntlets on.
oXo
oXo
Goku touched down in front of his yard quiet as a mouse.
Unfortunately for him, saiyan senses were superior. Raditz sat lazily on the wooden chair on their porch, smirking. He sniffed the air around his tiptoeing little brother.
"You're dead." he snickered.
Being saiyans, his parents didn't care if he was out late. However, due to recent events, it was required by his parents for him to check in periodically in order to maintain safety.
"Why?" he asked, about to open the door. When he did, he was startled by the broad figure of his father.
Bardock crossed his arms, looking down. "Been out by Megule Lake all night with Ruco, huh?"
"Yup." he said casually and honestly.
The father raised an eyebrow. He grabbed his son by the armor, dragging him to his and Gine's shared room.
His mother looked up from the bed. "Goku. You're back." she said.
"We- well, your mother was worried about you. It's only been a week since we got you back. And, Gine, you won't believe this. Smell the brat." Bardock spat, frowning.
Goku could tell his father wasn't mad, but he had never seen him in a foul mood.
Gine sniffed at the air. "Why do you smell like your friend, Ruco?"
"She's my girlfriend." he explained.
The mother pinched the bridge of her nose. "Kakarot, you had sex with her?"
Goku nodded. "I think so."
"Oh boy." the father snorted.
"You're lucky saiyan fertility rates are low." she sternly warned. "There is nothing wrong with what you did. What is wrong is how you went about it. I assume you didn't even know what you were doing?"
The boy's confused look answered her question.
"You just need to be careful. But, I'm guessing you fell prey to your instincts?" Bardock asked.
"I didn't!" he insisted. "I'm not instinctual."
Bardock narrowed his dark eyes at his son. "You're an entirely instinctual person. Even when you're fighting."
"Yes." Goku sighed after a pause, answering his father's earlier question. "But it was good."
"Spare me the details." Gine asked, rolling her eyes. "Look, Goku, you just have to be careful."
"Okay." he said confidently. "Could you teach me how to be careful?"
Gine stood up, opening a drawer in the closet. In it, she pulled a dusty memory stick. "This is a holobook." she explained. "It will teach you how to be safe. Of course, if you have any questions, you can ask me."
Goku accepted it, observing the datastick carefully. It baffled him that an entire book could be stored on something so small.
Bardock stared down at him. Maybe his son was well on his way to becoming integrated into saiyan society. He certainly held his hopes up.
The boy was still clueless.
oXo
oXo
Frantically, the boy dropped his datapad. He fumbled with his scouter, pushing buttons on it rapidly.
It rang for a few moments. "Goku?"
"Ruco!" he exclaimed panickedly. "Sex makes babies!"
"...I know." she said in a deadpanned tone.
Goku shook his head, focusing. "Well, are you pregnant?!"
"...It's too soon to tell, but probably not." Ruco explained, a little bit annoyed.
The boy sighed in relief, smiling. "Phew!" he said. "I was a bit afraid for a minute there."
"Do you not know anything about what we did?" she asked in a hurt voice.
"I do now!" Goku defended. "I'm just a slow learner when it doesn't come to fighting."
"I know…" the girl trailed off. "I want to do it again." Ruco whispered into the scouter.
Goku gulped, pulling at his collar. The book was making him nervous. "I don't know…" it just seemed like a bad idea.
"Right! I'm sorry! I have to go!" she exclaimed, hanging up.
Perhaps he would visit his friends now.
oXo
oXo
Niuno sniffed at the air. "Goku." he recognized without seeing. "And… Ruco? But she isn't here?"
"No way." Sargomel snickered. "You two banged?"
Niuno groaned. "I lose…"
"What are you talking about?" Goku asked, raising a black eyebrow.
"Sargomel and I had a bet. I bet you'd reject her." he said, crossing his arms. "So, thanks for that, Goku."
The boy didn't like being so clueless. "You guys knew she liked me?"
"Duh!" Sargomel exclaimed. "You'd have to be blin- You'd have to be stup- You'd have to be living on another planet to have not noticed. She worships the ground you walk on!"
"Huh." he said, now being able to draw that conclusion.
"...You don't really like her back, do you?" Niuno surmised, frowning.
It cut the boy deep. His silence was enough for them to figure out what happened.
"This doesn't leave this room. Ruco would be devastated. If you're going to end it, you better not hurt her." the legless captain warned. "I swear I'll send you back to earth in a wooden box, you hear me?"
Goku nodded, even more guilty. But, he noticed something to take his mind away. "What's with the red blindfold?"
Niuno smirked, cheeks pinkening. "It's a remembrance cloth. For my eyes. Speakina which, I've been practicing the energy thing."
"Good." Goku said, smiling. "And your legs?"
Sargomel rolled her eyes, sitting back. "Making them. I don't want to talk about it."
He took his hint, changing the subject. Goku was not the smartest, but he realized his captain was bottling her feelings.
Goku felt alone.