CHAPTER 25: A New Friend

Keiko didn't believe it, she simply couldn't. King Kai said Goku had died on Namek, but something in Keiko's heart told her that this just wasn't true. Everyone else seemed to believe it though, and seeing tears well up in Gohan's eyes was enough to break Keiko down yet again. Bulma said that with the Namekian Dragonballs Goku, and everyone else that had died could be wished back to life. Keiko reassured Gohan that if his dad really was dead, that he would be brought back, but they would have to wait for the Namekian Dragonballs to gain their powers back, which would take 130 days. That was 130 days too long for Gohan, but there was nothing that could be done. The Namekians would have to stay on Earth for a while as well, until a suitable planet could be found for them. Bulma offered for them to stay at Capsule Corporation, she even gave Vegeta the same offer. Bulma knew that Goku's death would affect Keiko, so she asked if perhaps she would want to stay with her for a while, that way she wouldn't be alone. Keiko declined, saying that she was going to stay at her parents for the night. Gohan asked if he could stay with her, and although Keiko wanted to be selfish, she knew that Chi-Chi would want to see her son, so she told Gohan that he could spend a night at her house soon, but he needed to go and see his mom first.

The first thing Keiko did when she got to her parents' house was run up and give her Dad a hug. He chuckled as she clung onto him, telling him how much she loved him. Haru didn't know it, but he saved her while she was up on Namek. The advice he gave her as a girl allowed her to let go of all of her fears. Neither Kaya nor Haru asked what had happened while their daughter was away, figuring that when Keiko was ready to talk about it she would. The guest bedroom was small, the queen size bed taking up most of the space, and as Keiko lay under the covers she realized how hard of a night this would be.

She hadn't spent a night without Goku in days, and now she didn't even know where he was. Everyone kept saying he was dead, but she couldn't accept it. Maybe she was just being stubborn, but she swore as she stared up at the ceiling that he was alive somewhere. Her mind kept repeating their last moments together, and she could feel that kiss on her lips as if it had happened just seconds before. They would have a lot to talk about when they met again, but at least now he knew. Even though she didn't believe Goku was dead, Keiko still wanted him next to her. Her heart ached as she tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable, or to get her mind off of Goku. She missed him tremendously, and all she wanted was to feel him next to her, to hear his gentle breathing as he slept soundly. Keiko didn't cry though, she had already shed too many tears, and she refused to let herself cry the night away, but that didn't stop her from feeling the sorrow in her chest. She had been living alone for years with no problem, but as she curled up into a ball all she wanted was to not be alone anymore, she wanted Goku to be with her.

That night started a long chain of sleepless nights. Her mind would calm down for an hour or two, but then she would be jolted awake by either a memory or just this ache in her chest. She spent two nights at her parents before she went back to her house, only to find that she couldn't sleep there either. She tried spending a few nights at Bulma's, but she would still lay wide awake. Although she was barely sleeping, Keiko didn't feel exhausted all the time, and the days she spent with Bulma were nice because they took her mind off of everything.

"I think I need new sandals," Bulma pondered as her and Keiko walked through the outlet mall. This was their third time there this week, and Bulma still found something new to buy every single time.

"You already have a ton," Keiko moved the two shopping bags in her left hand to her right, stopping as Bulma gazed at a pair of light pink sandals behind a glass shop window.

"Those are cute," the blue haired woman sighed as she touched the glass.

"And probably cost way too much."

"Actually they are only thirty dollars." Neither of the women knew who was talking to them, until they turned to see a man stepping out of the store. He was tall, lean, with short black hair and green eyes. His complexion was slightly tanned, which made his already white smile stand out even more.

"You wear woman's sandals?" Keiko asked, raising her eyebrows, only for Bulma to hit her across the shoulder.

"Be nice," she laughed, obviously taken by the attractive man who stood in front of them. He looked to be between their ages, younger than Bulma, but older than Keiko, "So how do you know that?" Bulma was putting on the charm as she took a step closer, but the man didn't look at her, instead his eyes were on Keiko as he answered.

"My younger sister works here, I've been bringing her lunch this week since I'm off from work, and she's been pleading for me to buy her those sandals."

"Where do you work?" once again the question that Bulma asked was answered to Keiko.

"Law firm. I'm a lawyer."

"You don't say!" Bulma turned to look at Keiko, winking at her.

"I'm Grayson, it's nice to meet you," he bypassed Bulma completely, extending his hand out to Keiko.

"I'm Keiko, and that's Bulma," she shook his hand lightly, not enjoying all the attention being placed on her.

"This is going to sound odd, but I've actually seen you two around here these past few days, and haven't gotten the nerve to talk to you till now," his laugh was charming, in fact it almost had Bulma drooling, but Keiko wasn't in the mood to be hit on, "I'm not trying to be some creep, but what would you say about going out with me to dinner?"

"I dunno," Keiko averted her gaze, not enjoying the predicament she was in, "I don't even know you."

"Fair enough," he shrugged, surprising Keiko on how quickly he gave up, "So how about we get to know each other," just when she thought he would leave her alone, he tries yet again to get her to go out with him.

"She'd love to!" Bulma interjected, running in between the two of them, "Why don't you drop by Capsule Corporation this upcoming Monday night for dinner!"

"Great," Grayson grinned, "I live pretty close to there."

"So does Keiko!" Bulma's overenthusiastic; matchmaker ways made Keiko want to punch her in the kidney, not hard enough to do damage, but hard enough to make her stop talking.

"Well I'll see you two then," Grayson gave a short wave, before turning and walking away, leaving Bulma alone with an annoyed Keiko.

"Why did you do that!" Keiko yelled once Grayson was out of ear shot.

"Look, you need a guy-"

"I'm not looking to be in a relationship right now."

"I know the whole thing with Goku, but if you aren't even going to tell him then maybe you should try dating-"

"I did tell him! On Namek!" this got Bulma to shut up, her jaw going slack.

"Oh shoot," Bulma whispered.

"Yeah, so now you've set me up on some random date, when I'm not interested in dating anyone."

"Besides Goku."

"Yes! Besides Goku! That's why I told him I loved him," Keiko crossed her arms, the shopping bags hanging heavily from her grip.

"What did he say when you told him?"

Keiko's face went hot as she quietly answered Bulma, "He kissed me."

"WHAT!" any birds that had been peacefully resting in the nearby vicinity flew off in a frenzy when Bulma let out her astonished scream. By standers stopped in their tracks to give weird looks to the blue haired woman who was drawing a lot of attention to herself.

"Shush," Keiko dropped the bags and put her hands over Bulma's mouth, silencing her loudly yelled questions, "I'll tell you later."

Bulma tore her head away, glaring at Keiko, "No, tell me now, I'm your best friend and you waited a whole month to tell me that you kissed Goku!"

"He kissed me! I mean I kissed back! But I don't even know if it meant anything," Keiko shook her head, still unsure of what that kiss meant for her and Goku.

"A kiss definitely means something, so what happens now?" Bulma calmed down, picking up the dropped bags and handing them to Keiko.

"I dunno," Keiko shrugged, "We wait for him to come back, and then I guess me and him have some stuff to figure out."

"Do you think he will leave Chi-Chi?" the two women began slowly walking towards the parking lot, done with shopping and now enthralled in conversation.

"I don't know if I want him to," this got Bulma to stop dead in her tracks and give Keiko an all knowing look, "Fine, I mean I want him too, but I don't want to separate a family ya know?"

Bulma sighed before she began walking again, "So I kinda just screwed you over by inviting Grayson over to dinner huh?"

"Exactly. I don't know what's going to happen between Goku and me, but I love him, and only him. I know that sounds a little pathetic, me being stuck on some married guy, but when we kissed I swore I felt that maybe we had a chance together. Krillin once told me that Goku has feelings for me, he never explained it, but I think maybe he was right. Maybe the kiss meant nothing; maybe it was just some spur of the moment accident, but what if it wasn't? What if he loves me too? And sadly enough, even if he doesn't, I can't see myself with anyone else."

"Well I guess since things aren't gonna work out between you and Grayson maybe I'll have a chance," Bulma grinned, finding the bright side in all of this.

"One word- Yamcha."

"Things just aren't the same between us anymore," she sighed.

"Maybe cause he is dead?" Keiko said sarcastically.

"Don't get me wrong, I miss him, just not in the same way anymore, man I guess we both have guy issues we will need to figure out when they come back from the dead."

"Goku's not-"

"Yeah, yeah, you don't think he's dead, but when he gets back from wherever he is, you two have some serious talking to do."

"And you have to figure out what you're going to do with a house full of Namekians when Grayson comes over," Keiko looked over at her friend, who she thought had forgotten about all of her visitors.

"They normally stay upon the fourth floor, and I'll just ask them to not come down on Monday, no biggie," Bulma shrugged.

"Ugh, looks like you have it all planned out," Keiko sighed, "Wait, hey! I just got an idea! We can invite Gohan over to dinner on Monday too!"

"Ummm where did this come from?"

"It would give me a good excuse to not have to interact with Grayson! Gohan has been dying to come and stay at my house anyway. It'd be like killing two birds with one stone, I've missed seeing Gohan, and while he is over he could keep me company and distract me from Grayson, he could be like my little date, and Grayson can be your little problem."

"Do you think Chi-Chi will let him stay with you?"

"Yeah, if I promise he will do his homework," Keiko shrugged, excited to get home and call up Gohan, "And if it doesn't all get done then oh well."

"Well, I guess we have our plan all figured out then."

"I guess so."

When Gohan knocked on Keiko's door Monday afternoon with a duffel bag in hand, Keiko couldn't have been more excited. She scooped him up in a hug, realizing how big he was getting, and pretty soon she wouldn't be able to pick him up. Gohan struggled under her grasp, knowing that she would give him a hug like this, but forgetting just how tight these hugs were. When Keiko placed him down she ushered him inside, throwing his bag on the couch, and then telling him of the plans for his stay. Gohan was going to be staying for three nights, and Keiko couldn't deny that she was excited to not be alone. That little boy was probably her favorite person in the entire universe. She held him when he was just a baby, and even though he had no family ties to her, he loved her unconditionally. Keiko wanted the best for Gohan, she was ferociously protective of him, and truth be told he was one of her best friends.

"We are going to go to dinner at Bulma's tonight," Keiko sat down on the couch, pushing the duffel bag over so Gohan could sit next to her.

"Her parents are going to try to stuff me with food again…" Gohan sighed, remembering how every time he went over to the Brief's he left uncomfortably full.

"Mrs. Brief is just nice like that," Keiko giggled, "But yeah there's gonna be someone else there, this guy Bulma tried to set me up with."

"You have a boyfriend now?" Gohan raised his eyebrows, never once seeing Keiko with a guy, or ever hearing about her being in a relationship.

"No," she poked his head, "And I don't want one, so you're my date tonight okay?"

"So are you never going to get married Keiko? Or have kids?" Although Keiko was proud of Gohan's brilliance, it was times like this where she wished that maybe he didn't understand so much.

"I don't know Gohan," she sighed, truly not knowing. She always pictured herself getting married, the only thing was the man who she wanted to be in the tux was already married. She puckered up her face at the thought, shaking her head before pushing herself up off the couch, "I guess only time will tell, but for now what do you say to some ice cream shakes?"

"Yeah!" Gohan bounced off the couch, running into the kitchen as Keiko followed him.

As the evening came Keiko thought maybe she could just ditch the dinner party, but as her and Gohan were playing catch in her backyard, Bulma showed up to make sure that no one would be ditching anything. The woman climbed over the fence, and stormed into the backyard, glaring at both Gohan and Keiko. Bulma looked lovely in a black dress, her lips a dark red, but her voice didn't sound as cheery as her look. "Grayson is going to be over in twenty minutes, what are you two doing!"

"Playing catch, wanna play?" Gohan raised up the baseball, grinning from ear to ear.

"No, I want you two to go and get ready, right now!"

"Yes ma'am," both Keiko and Gohan answered her, solemnly walking back into the house.

Bulma first searched through Gohan's bag, not really find anything suitable for him to wear. She ended up calling to her house and told them Gohan's size and to go buy something right away and bring it to Keiko's. While they waited for those clothes Bulma dug through her bag for a dress she had brought for Keiko to borrow.

"No," Keiko crossed her arms over her chest as her and Bulma stood in her room, Gohan out in the living room.

"C'mon! What's wrong with it?"

"What's wrong with it? How desperate do you want me to seem!" Keiko eyed the cherry red dress that looked like it would go to above her mid-thigh, it had a rectangular neck line that would be showing off more than she wanted to show. The most modest thing about the dress were the short sleeves, and that was it.

"You'll look gorgeous in this!"

"I'll look like a stripper in that, that's not me Bulma, I'd rather just wear one of my dresses," Keiko looked behind her towards her closet, not wanting to get into that skin tight dress.

"You're putting the dress on," Bulma threw the dress at Keiko, who caught it and was about to say something, but the look on Bulma's face made sure she didn't say a thing. Keiko trudged into the bathroom, wrestled to put the dress on, and then went back into her room.

"No," she said as she looked at herself in the full body mirror. It wasn't that Keiko didn't look good; she just didn't look like herself. Keiko liked wearing loose clothing, or simple things like jeans and a t-shirt, she didn't like dressing up like some vixen out for the hunt.

"You look hot!"

"I don't want to look 'hot'; I'm not even interested in this guy! I want to ignore him, not make him think I'm some sleazy tease of a woman!"

"It's just one night in that dress, here are the shoes," Bulma passed Keiko the black high heels, and that was the last straw.

"You expect me to cram my feet in these for a whole night!"

"I don't have time to explain this to you, but trust me, the shoes match the dress so put the shoes on," Bulma rolled her eyes as Keiko sighed and put the high heels on, her feet already beginning to throb. As Keiko tugged on the hem of the dress, the doorbell rang, and Bulma pulled Keiko away from the mirror and out to the living room, "Those should be your clothes," Bulma said to Gohan as she flung the door open, leaving Gohan staring up at someone he didn't really recognize.

"You look funny," he said as he watched Keiko tug on the dress some more.

"Blame Bulma," Keiko crossed her arms over her chest.

"Here you go Gohan, go change now," the clothes hit Gohan in the chest before falling to the ground. The young boy wasn't sure what the clothes were that he was going to put on, but when he walked out in a suit he seemed possibly more uncomfortable than Keiko.

"You look adorable," Bulma clasped her hands together, "Now let's go."

"Now I look funny too," Gohan groaned as he exited the house.

"Don't worry kid, it'll be over soon, and when it is we can burn these clothes," Keiko locked her door, taking a deep breath before walking towards Bulma's house with Gohan.

The tight, skimpy dress was the first sign that the evening might not go so well, the next clue was when Grayson showed up to the Capsule Corporation…in jeans and a t-shirt. The awkwardness was rather sudden as everyone was all dressed up, except him. Keiko couldn't help but feel sorry for him, but in her outfit she didn't feel comfortable even getting near her let alone giving him her condolences. Dr. Brief was the only one not dressed up, he was just in his usual lab coat, so he tried to make Grayson feel comfortable- he failed. As they all stood around waiting for dinner, Dr. Brief told jokes, and made small talk with Grayson. The poor man couldn't escape Dr. Brief, and even Gohan whispered to Keiko that this dinner thing was weird. She couldn't agree more.

When dinner was finally served Keiko couldn't stay away from Grayson anymore, considering he sat down right next to her. They made small talk, but it was unbearably awkward, so most of the time Keiko tried to talk to Gohan. Unfortunately Gohan was too involved in the delicious food, so he didn't provide the outlet Keiko needed. Bulma monopolized the conversation, trying to save the already dying dinner, but no matter what she did the room was still tense. Just when everyone was ready to leave, Mrs. Brief announced they would be having dessert in the living room, and when Mrs. Brief brought out the dessert it would prove to be a long night. Keiko couldn't even eat she felt so awkward, so as everyone was sitting around she said she would be back. She quickly exited the room and made her way out to the backyard, feeling the cool night air tingle her skin. "Ugh," she grunted as she sat down on the grass, pulling her shoes off and tossing them to the side, "This is ridiculous," she whispered as she laid down and stared up at the stars. The silence was bittersweet, because as welcoming as it was, it also left Keiko alone with some of her deepest thoughts.

"Oh Goku," she could feel her eyes tearing up, "Where are you?"

"Stop sulking."

The answer surprised Keiko, but she knew exactly who was talking to her. "Hey King Kai," she muttered to the Kai's voice in her head.

"You keep depressing everyone up here."

"Can I ask-"

"NO! For the millionth time I can't tell you who is up here or not."

"Well I'm sorry King Kai, but you saw what happened on Namek right? How am I supposed to feel after that?"

"You should feel fine, it's not like Goku didn't know or anything."

"What?" Keiko sat up, keeping her eyes on the stars.

"Oh shoot."

"King Kai…what are you talking about? What did you mean about Goku already knowing? Knowing what?"

"Well…I kinda…maybe, sorta, ya know while you two were flying to Namek, well I kind of told Goku that you loved him."

"NO YOU DID NOT! OH MY GOODNESS WHEN I DIE YOU BETTER BE PREPARED CAUSE I'M GONNA FIND YOU! I CAN NOT BELIEVE YOU KING-"

"Ummm excuse me…am I interrupting something?"

Keiko turned her head to see Grayson standing behind her, his hands in his pockets and an odd look on her face, "Oh you probably think I'm crazy, and I'm still talking out loud, well this is just icing on top of the cake," Keiko flopped back down onto the ground, listening to Grayson's footsteps that approached her before he sat down next to her.

"I just couldn't take having to eat another lemon sponge cake," he said, "And don't worry I don't think you're that crazy," he joked, grinning down at her, but she didn't return to the smile, "I'm sorry," his smile faded, "I should have taken your rejection at face value, I just thought you were playing hard to get."

"I'm sorry for letting you come here to this circus. This night has just been ridiculous, Bulma dressed me up like some show girl and she put Gohan in a monkey suit."

"So you don't normally dress like this?" Grayson watched as Keiko nodded her head 'no', and then he let out a sigh of relief, "Haha good, cause when I first saw you at the mall you looked nothing like this."

"You saying I don't look good," she furrowed her eyebrows, causing Grayson to stop laughing, "Just kidding," she grinned, "But no, this isn't me at all, this whole thing is Bulma's doing."

"So that Gohan boy, is he yours?"

"Ha, no he's my best friend's son," Goku came to her mind as she answered him, and she once again felt that longing feeling.

"You two seem close; he's a cool kid from what I can tell."

"He's the coolest, I love him like a son," she shrugged.

"So," Grayson began, lying down next to Keiko, "I guess there's no chance for a second date?" he joked, causing Keiko to laugh.

"You seem really nice and all, there's just…someone else."

"You have a boyfriend?"

"No."

"Friend with benefits?"

"Haha no."

"So what then?"

"It's…complicated, but me and him are never going to work out anyway."

"So why do you keep trying to be with him?" this question really struck Keiko, because she couldn't even explain it. Here was a guy that had no idea about Goku, and from a normal person's point of view it was confusing as to why this girl would be so hooked on a guy she couldn't be with.

"I guess..cause I love him."

"Does he love you?"

"I don't know, honestly I don't even know why I'm talking to you about this, I'm normally pretty closed lipped about all this."

"Well you can trust me," Grayson turned to look at the girl lying next to him, wondering what she's been through in her young life.

"Good one," Keiko turned to look into Grayson's green eyes, "But you're not getting another date," she laughed, but then she realized that he wasn't joking.

"I'm not looking for a date," he kept his eyes locked on hers, "You seem like you need someone to talk to, and I'm ready to listen. You seem to already have friends, I don't know if you need anymore, but I'd like to be your friend."

He seemed sincere, as if he had no hidden movements, and although Keiko figured it was for the best to not get close to him, she couldn't deny that the opportunity to have someone to talk to that had no preconceived notions about her or Goku would be nice, "Thanks, I think I'll take you up on that offer."

"Well," Grayson sat up and pulled out his wallet from his pocket, "Here's my number," he passed Keiko a business card as she stayed laying down on the ground, "Whenever you need a friend, you know who to call," he smiled as he pushed himself up.

"Where you going?" Keiko sat up, watching Grayson walk away.

"I think I'm gonna make a break for it, think I will be able to get out alive?"

"If you book it," she laughed.

"I will, oh and Keiko?"

"Yeah?"

"If you ever decide to give up on this guy, or if things don't work out, keep me in mind okay?"

Keiko was stunned at his words, the fact that he was willing to settle for just being her friend even though he was still interested in her was something she didn't expect. He was willing to wait for her, even though he knew nothing about her, but little did he know he would be waiting forever. "Okay," she nodded, and after Grayson gave her one more dazzling grin, he went inside.

Once Grayson was out of her site she fell back down onto the ground, taking a deep breath. She held the business card in her hands, wondering if she should even ever call him. She could just let go of the card right now, letting it float off into the wind, or she could keep it. The thing that scared her the most about Grayson was his patience. He didn't need to be hitting on Keiko, and he wasn't pressuring her into dating him, in fact after tonight he said he would want to just be his friends. What did he see in her? What could he possibly want? And was he really gonna wait for Keiko to give up on Goku?

"Ha, like that'll ever happen," she openly mocked herself, sitting up and looking down at the card, "I guess I could always use a friend," Keiko shrugged as she stood up, holding onto the card in her hand. She didn't have feelings for Grayson at all, besides thinking he was attractive, which anyone that saw him would think the same. As long as Grayson didn't push it, things would be fine, and as long as Keiko needed someone else to talk to she would keep that business card. "Night Goku," she whispered up at the stars, "I love you, and miss you more than you know," she stayed looking up, waiting for some kind of sign that he heard her, but the sign didn't come, so she went inside.

Author's Note: So this chapter was kind of to tie up all the stuff that happened on Namek, and we will get back to the exciting stuff in the next chapter. I'm really really excited to write some of the upcoming chapters, so I hope everyone is ready for some crazy stuff to happen! As always thanks to everyone who read and reviewed, or just read the last chapter. Oh, and this story has reached over 100 reviews. Thanks to animefreak653 for being the 100th reviewer, even though I'm pretty sure you didn't plan to be :) And a big thanks to everyone who has ever reviewed! Lastly make sure to check out Ardikani4's Goku/OC story No Matter What, it's honestly such an awesome story on this site, so go check it out!