2

Cloud Of The Turtle Hermit

By now, Bulma's legs hurt. "How much further?" she sighed, glancing up at the crescent moon overhead, "My calves are killing me."

"I told you those trousers are too tight," Vegito chuckled, walking alongside Turtle with his fingers intertwined behind his head, "Besides, why are you asking me? You're the one with the magic map I'm not allowed to touch."

Checking the radar, Bulma's shoulders slumped. "At this rate, we'll be walking all night! You know, if you hadn't trashed my car, we could've just given Turtle the backseat and driven to the sea in ten minutes!"

"Cool it, would'ja?"

"You know what? That's it," Bulma grabbed a capsule and threw it down next to the dirt road the trio had been wandering down. The capsule exploded, revealing a dome-shaped hut.

"You weren't kidding when you said you can fit anything in those things," Vegito commented, "But are we really stopping so soon? I'm not even tired."

"Well, I am! Turtle, there's a doghouse round back."

"A doghouse?" the sea creature hummed, "But I'm not a dog. I'm a turtle."

"Still."

"Well, I s'pose it's better than sleepin' in the cold. Night y'all. And thanks for all the help so far," Turtle beamed, before dragging himself around the small home.

Swinging open the front door of her newly-formed home, Bulma smiled and headed in. "Woah," Vegito marvelled, glancing around the interior as he followed her in, "What is all this stuff?"

"That's a sofa," Bulma pointed, "That's a TV. Hey! Take your shoes off! The last thing we need is you tracking mud all over the carpet."

Kicking his grey karate boots off, Vegito made his way further into the house. He poked a button on the frame of the TV, jumping back when it turned on - its screen displaying a mess of black and white fuzz. "Don't bother with that. There's no signal out here," Bulma said. Without any clue what that meant, Vegito switched it back off and dropped onto the sofa.

"If you say so, lady," Vegito crossed his legs and put his hands behind his nape.

"Night, kid. Uh... Vegito?" Bulma cracked open the door leading to her own bedroom. Glancing over at the sofa, Bulma found that Vegito had immediately crashed out. She huffed, then slipped into the next room and shut herself in.

. . .

Waking to the sensation of a rumbling stomach, Vegito frowned. He shot up to his feet, glancing through the nearest window. It seemed to still be night time, unless the sun had gone out in the few hours he was asleep. Cracking his wrist, which he'd slept on, Vegito made his way towards Bulma's door.

Without knocking, he let himself in.

"Hey Bulma, you got any food in this place?" he asked, wandering towards her bed. "Hellooo? Jeez, someone's a heavy sleeper," he folded his arms, "Hmm, you really don't have a tail, do you? That's weird. Maybe it's 'cause you're a girl. Whatever."

Then, he turned and left. Eyeing a tall container lined up beside a few counters, the boy made his way over. "What's this?" he eyed it, before grabbing its handle and pulling. The door swung open, bathing Vegito in a blue light. "Oh. Woah!" he licked his lips at the oodles of food within. Before he could take any of it, there came a low yell from outside.

Slamming the door closed once more, Vegito ran towards the door, threw on his boots - then burst outside. "Turtle!" he called, dashing around to the fairly-large doghouse out back. The abode was empty and there was a trail of large footprints leading into the darkness.

Cupping his hands over his mouth, Vegito repeated, "Turtle!"

When no response followed, Vegito glanced down at the prints left by whoever - or whatever - stole the sea creature. He sped down the makeshift trail, his ears attuned to hear Turtle, all the while calling for him. Eventually, the trail splintered off to the left.

The moments Vegito was about to follow the branching path, he heard another yell. "Help!" Turtle screamed. Without hesitation, Vegito sped after the voice. Within seconds, he was on top of Turtle's attacker, greeting him with a swift kick to the cheek. There was a crack and the stranger hit the dirt. "Hey! Who are you?" Vegito demanded as Turtle crawled away from the downed thief.

"I-I think you killed 'im," Turtle pointed out.

"What? No way!" Vegito dropped into a crouch and inspected the fallen fiend. The man was huge and greatly resembled a bear. Also, he had wielded a huge sword. "Well if I did, he won't mind me taking this," the boy beamed, grabbing the massive weapon, "Anyway, what'd he want with you?"

"T-To e-e-eat me!"

"Man, that's messed up. Everyone knows you gotta kill something before you eat it," Vegito frowned, "Let's get home. You can come inside - I'm sure Bulma won't mind."

. . .

"I hate to ask, but where'd you get the huge sword from?"

"I found it," Vegito answered with a shrug, "Oh man, the ocean! Cool!"

Vegito's boots hit an expansive sandy beach that stretched to the left and right for as far as the eye could see. What sat at the very edge of the bank was a wide-looking pool of water that carried the smell of salt, which made Vegito's stomach rumble. He'd never had the chance to raid Bulma's fridge, after all. "Haven't you ever been to the sea before?" Turtle asked, shimmying towards the seafoam-laced edge of the beach.

"I feel like I have. Maybe not, though..."

"And me without my swimsuit," Bulma added, checking the Dragon Radar, "Actually, it seems like the next Ball is on an island way out in the sea. Lemme see if I've got a boat in my case."

"Swimsuit?" Vegito repeated, confused, "You need different clothes for swimming? That's dumb."

Turtle turned his head as the gentle waves reached his fins, saying, "Y'all don't need a boat. I'll happily take you two out there. It's where I'm headed anyway."

"Is that right?" Bulma looked up from her case, "And you're gonna carry us both all the way out to sea?"

"Why not? Turtles are stronger than they look," Turtle grinned.

"I'm convinced," Vegito piped up, springing towards the sea creature. "Should I just sit on your shell?" he asked, to which Turtle nodded. Then, the boy lowered himself onto his shell and crossed his legs. "What're you waitin' for, Bulma?" he called back, "You wanna get those Dragon thingies, right?"

Sighing, Bulma trudged over and took a seat behind Vegito. "Strap in," Turtle said, before pushing himself off into the sea. Immediately, his pace quickened and he darted off over the surface of the water. Throwing his hands in the air, Vegito whooped.

"This is way better than riding a motorbike - or whatever it was called!" he announced. Bulma tutted to herself, dipping her fingers into the crystal-clear ocean. Within minutes, Turtle began to slow down as he neared the small island Bulma had mentioned. Sitting alone on the tiny landmass was a pink-walled house with a label written on it in black paint.

"Kame House" it read.

"That's not what I was expecting," Bulma commented as Turtle came to a stop on the shore, "I guess whoever lives there has the Dragon Ball."

Turtle's two passengers leapt off and he crawled up to the porch. "Master Roshi, I'm back!" he called, "And I brought guests."

An odd sense of suspense formed in Vegito's gut in the time before the front door swung open. Someone didn't just earn the title of master for nothing. Then, the door flew open, revealing a spindly old man with a bald head and a bushy moustache. "Ah, I was starting to get worried," Roshi greeted in a tangy voice. Behind his red-framed sunglasses, his eyes shot open, and he exclaimed, "You have brought company!"

The old man sped towards Bulma. "Hello, beautiful," he turned on the charm, "Come here often?"

"No?"

Vegito folded his arms, watching the gulls soar in the distance. If he knew this is what he'd have to put up with today, he'd have stayed bundled up on that surprisingly-comfy sofa. Something sparkled in his peripheral vision, and he turned his dark eyes towards it. From Roshi's neck hung a bear necklace and - dangling at its very end - was a Dragon Ball.

"Yo Bulma, check it out," he pointed.

Bulma managed to smack Roshi's hand away from her as he was reaching for her shoulder, then followed Vegito's direction. "Hey! Is that a Dragon Ball?" she asked, deflecting Roshi's advances for the time being.

"A what-now?" Roshi glanced down, "See something you like, girlie?"

"Yeah! You think I can have that orb on your necklace? As payment for saving your pal, and all?"

Humming, Roshi spun his cane. "I'm awfully fond of this old baby," he prodded the Dragon Ball with a wrinkly finger, "Tell you what - you do one more favour for me and I'll let'cha have it."

"What now?"

"How about a peak under the hood?" Roshi's glasses flashed.

"What? Absolutely not!" Bulma yelled, snapping Vegito out of his bird-watching trance. Then, suddenly, Roshi's Dragon Ball was gone: leaving his necklace to hang loosely.

Juggling the orb, Vegito said, "Okay, let's go."

"Well, you're quite the fast little fellow," Roshi complemented, "I barely saw you go for it."

"Thanks," Vegito eyed the old man suspiciously, "We'll be on our way then. Bulma, let's see that boat thingy."

"Hang on a mo'," Roshi called, "You're Gohan's boy, yes? The tail certainly gives that much away."

Vegito had been making his way down to the seafront, until the mention of Gohan caused him to freeze. "Sure," he muttered.

"How is that old coot these days?" Roshi ran his hand through his silver beard.

"He died a while back."

"Oh dear. That's certainly dampened the mood," Roshi frowned. When he caught Bulma's fierce expression, he added, "I was just joking around with you girlie. Before you go, why don't you take something else with you? Something your grandpa lent me a while back."

Vegito only slightly looked back. "Like what?" he asked, his voice reflecting his sudden despondence.

"Like this. Nimbus!"

On cue, a golden beam cut through the upper atmosphere. It stopped high above Kame House, before spiralling down from above. Yelping, Bulma jumped behind Vegito - as if the unidentified flying object was a bomb. However, it stopped just before it could hit the sand. "Wh-What is that thing?" she demanded, scrambling out from behind the boy.

The object was radiating a faint yellow light and somewhat resembled the way a child would draw a cloud. Without hesitation, Vegito leapt on. "You like it?" Roshi stood proud, "Legend has it, only the pure of heart can ride ol' Nimbus."

"That shouldn't be a problem for me," Bulma boasted, stepping forward to climb aboard, "I'm as pure as they come."

Then, she phased right through, earning a chuckle from Roshi and Turtle. "Thanks, old timer," Vegito said, "What's the catch?"

"No catch, but I'd love for you to come train with me sometime, Vegito. You've full to the brim with potential. I can sense it. And you come visit too, girlie."

"How'd you know my name?" Vegito asked, to which Roshi's dark lenses just flashed again.

Stking her tongue out in disgust, Bulma reached up for Vegito to help. "If we're riding that thing, I'll need you to hold onto me," she decided as her features flushed.

"You two are so weird," Vegito said.