"Dragon Ball XX"

By RanChan2k3

Chapter 2

"The Turtle Hermit"

Bulma and Goku spent the night in one of Bulma's portable Capsule Houses ("Gee, Bulma, you sure have a lotta stuff in that little case!") and then were back on the road the following morning, with Goku having been given her first proper bath in a long time. However, shortly after their trek resumed, they were forced to stop after narrowly avoiding a large rock in the road.

Goku moved over to it. "No worries, Bulma, I'll move it!" She then picked up the large rock…

"Whoa, hey, what are you doing?!"

…Make that a turtle.

A talking turtle.

"Whoa!" Surprised, Goku dropped the turtle back onto the ground.

"Oof! Oh, that's a new pain," groaned the turtle.

Bulma approached the turtle. "What are you doing out here in the middle of the road? I almost hit you!"

"I'm lost," explained the turtle. "I'm trying to get back to the sea, but I don't quite know where it is."

"You're a long way from the sea, I'm afraid," Bulma replied. "It's about a hundred kilometers that way." She pointed.

The turtle groaned. "Oh, I'll never make it that far in my lifetime…"

Goku grinned. "Then I'll take you there!"

The turtle blinked at her. "Really? You will?"

"Sure!"

Bulma wanted to object, but she also didn't want to go off on her own, and she could tell that Goku would not be talked out of this. So, after the turtle thanked Goku profusely and then climbed up onto the younger girl's back, the three of them headed towards the beach.

Unfortunately, their passage did not go unnoticed.

Some ways into their trek, they were forced to stop by a large humanoid bear standing in the middle if the road wielding a giant sword.

"Give me that delicious-looking turtle if you want to live," he growled at them.

"Goku," Bulma said nervously, "Give him the turtle."

Goku stared at the bear-man for a long moment, assessing his threat level. "No," she decided. "I don't think I will."

This just flabbergasted Bulma. "What?!"

The bear-man laughed as Goku put the turtle down and faced him. "You're willing to die for a turtle? Very well, little girl. Your wish…is my command!" He swung his massive sword down towards Goku…who simply sidestepped it and launched herself off his wrist to deliver a devastating dropkick to his chin, sending him flying back several meters to land by the side of the road, out cold. Goku just grinned at a wide-eyed Bulma, flashing a 'V' for victory sign.

'She…she knocked him out with one kick?!,' thought Bulma in awe. 'There's no way Goku's an ordinary human! Whatever she is, I hope the rest of Earth stays on her good side. If she ever turns bad, it's game over for everybody.'

Meanwhile, Goku got the turtle back up onto her back. "C'mon, Bulma, we gotta get the turtle here home!"

Bulma blinked, coming back to reality. "Uh…r-right. To the sea, then."

They were unhindered for the rest of their trek to the beach.

After they got to the beach, a very happy turtle shuffled into the water. "Thank you both so much," he said to them. "I need to repay you for this. Wait right here and I'll go get my Master." He then swam off without waiting for a reply.

Bulma sighed. "I guess now we just wait for his Master. What could a turtle's Master have to pay us with anyway…?"

Goku was too busy exploring the beach to have an answer. Bulma sighed, then dug her Capsule House back out again and materialized it. "We may as well get comfortable," she called to her. "There's no telling how long it'll take him to come back."

"Okay!"

They ended up spending the night there.

Early the next morning, after Goku and Bulma ate breakfast and cleaned up, Goku spotted something on the water coming their way. "Hey, look! It's the turtle! He's coming back!"

Bulma shielded her eyes and squinted. "Is that an old man on his back…?"

Sure enough, it was. A bald old man with a long white beard and a gnarled wooden staff, wearing sandals, sunglasses, shorts, a Hawaiian shirt, and a large pink turtle shell. "Hiya, folks!," he greeted them. "My name's Roshi, but most folks call me the Turtle Hermit. I understand you two saved my subordinate's life yesterday!"

"That's right, Master," confirmed the turtle, "though it was mostly Goku there." He pointed at the child in question.

"That so?," asked Roshi. "Well, then, I suppose I owe you a reward." He waved his staff in the air. "Come to me, Bird of Immortality!"

For a long moment, nothing happened. Then the turtle spoke up. "He died last week, Master."

"He did?" Roshi bonked himself on the head with his staff. "Pity, I was gonna make these two immortal. Oh, well. What about the flying carpet?"

"At the dry cleaner's."

"Baby Gamera?"

"Visiting his mother."

Roshi thinks a bit. "Well, it's a long shot, but if you can use it, it's yours. Come to me, Flying Nimbus!" This time, something finally responded to Roshi's summons. Visible as a speck at first, a small yellow cloud rapidly flew in and stopped between Roshi and Goku with a loud braking noise.

"Wow," gushed Goku. "How do you eat this?"

"Ya don't eat it, ya dummy!" Roshi coughed into his fist, collecting himself. "This is the Flying Nimbus. You can ride on it to go from place to place with ease, but only if you're pure of heart! Watch, I'll demonstrate." He then hopped onto the cloud…and promptly fell straight through, landing on his backside. "Ouch!" He stood up, rubbing his tush as the cloud reformed itself beside him. "Darn thing must be broken…"

Bulma scoffed. "Or maybe it could tell you're just a dirty old man. I'll try it. What could be more pure than beauty like mine?" Bulma tried her luck…and also fell through onto her butt. "Ow! Hmph! I guess it's just a sin to be this beautiful."

Goku couldn't contain herself anymore. "Let me try!" She hopped onto the cloud…and stayed standing on top of it. "Yeah! I did it! I did it!" Goku jumped for joy as Roshi just gawked and lamented the loss of his Flying Nimbus. "Now, how do you make it go…?" The Flying Nimbus abruptly rocketed forward, nearly dislodging its passenger before she was able to regain her balance.

While a joyful Goku dipped and dived over the ocean, Bulma noticed something hanging from Roshi's neck. "Oh my gosh! You've got a Dragon Ball!"

"Hm?" Roshi followed Bulma's pointing finger and held out the Three-Star Ball he was using as a necklace. "Oh, you like this? Pretty, isn't it? I found it washed up on the beach near my house one day."

Bulma gave him her best puppy dog eyes. "Can I have it? Please?"

Roshi hesitated. "Well, uh…I guess, but…only if you do something for me first."

Bulma blinked. "Like what?"

"Uh, well…show me your…panties…?"

"What?!"

"Master, no!"

"Quiet, you!," Roshi snapped at the turtle. "An old man's entitled to a few simple pleasures in life, isn't he?!"

After making a show of being upset about it, Bulma finally acquiesced. 'How easy was that?,' she congratulated herself. 'All I have to do is show an old man my panties, and I get a free Dragon Ball!' She then proceeded to do just that, lifting her night shirt to reveal her panties to Roshi.

After popping a nosebleed, Roshi offered her the Dragon Ball. "Here, take it with my thanks. You've made an old man very happy."

Dropping her night shirt, Bulma grabbed the Dragon Ball and waved it in the air. "Come on, Goku, let's go! We got another Dragon Ball!"

"Really?!," called a returning Goku. "That's awesome!" She came to a stop next to Roshi. "Thanks a lot, old timer!"

Roshi then noticed what was on Goku's back. "Eh? Is that the Power Pole you have there, young lady?"

Goku blinked. "Yeah, that's right. I got it from my Grandpa."

"Your Grandpa, eh?," mused Roshi. "And how is Gohan doing these days?"

"You knew my Grandpa?"

"I should hope so. I trained him, after all!"

"Woooow," voiced an awed Goku. "You must be really strong, then!"

"Hehehe! So, how is he?"

Goku looked down. "He died a long time ago. Some giant monster killed him during a full moon one night."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that." Roshi put a hand on Goku's shoulder. "Well, if his granddaughter has even half the potential he did, I expect you to become one of the very best martial artists in the world some day."

Goku grinned at him. "Thanks, old timer. Gotta go now! Bye!" Bulma and Goku then took off in search of the next Dragon Ball, Goku on her Flying Nimbus, Bulma in her Capsule Corp RV.

'Gohan's granddaughter, eh?,' mused Roshi to himself. 'I expect I'll be seeing her again, sooner rather than later. It's been a long time since I had any students; maybe it's time I changed that.' He grinned behind his beard. 'I already know she's pure of heart, but she's got the makings to be a real beauty when she grows up, too! Hehehehe…'

And so, as Roshi departs to go back to his island home, our heroes move onward in their quest to collect the seven magic Dragon Balls. What excitement awaits them on the next stop in their journey? What plans does Roshi have for our young heroine Goku? Wasn't there a rumor about a desert bandit with a crippling fear of women? Find out on the next exciting episode of "Dragon Ball XX"!

(Author's Note: Well, there's another chapter in the books, and more changes are beginning to show themselves. Since Bulma and Goku are both girls, Goku didn't send Bulma into a panic about her "balls" being gone, which meant Roshi only saw Bulma's panties instead of her unguarded lady parts. You'll also note that Roshi is already thinking about making Goku a new student instead of waiting to see her ability to instantly learn the powerful Kamehameha Wave. Admittedly his motivation here is less than pure, but it's a decision that's bound to have long term ramifications on the story as a whole. Sorry this chapter isn't quite as long as the first one, but I ran out of things to write about here. I'll try to make the next one longer. So! Read, follow, favorite, and leave a review if you feel so inclined, and I will see you all in the next chapter! Bye! ^_^)