"I can't take all this waiting," Upa sighed. "There has to be something we can do!"
Goku just grinned. "There is! And I've put it off for too long."
The smaller boy immediately perked up. "I knew it! You've got a plan, right?!"
"Sure," Kagome snorted. "To eat, I'd bet."
He laughed loudly. "You really do know me better than just about anyone!"
Upa fell over for some reason.
"That's what I thought," she sighed, standing up with a catlike stretch. "Okay, go find me something to cook and I'll get the fire going. Upa, would you mind helping me collect some herbs? I have a few in my bag, but I doubt they'll be enough."
Goku cheered and ran off into the trees to find some food.
He came back a little while later with a couple of nice-sized wild hogs, drooling eagerly as Kagome cooked them and the smell of simmering meat wafted through the air around them. Once the food was done, they moved inside the tent.
Considering it was the first real meal he'd had in three days, the boy understandably tore into it with relish.
"Hey! How come you're not eating anything, Upa?" he asked after a few minutes.
"What are we gonna do?" the other boy worried subduedly. "I bet he's made it all the way up to the top already..."
Kagome nibbled on her own piece of meat and shook her head. "It'll be okay."
"No problem!" Goku assured around a mouthful of food. "We'll take care of him later!"
Upa seemed to relax. "Oh, I see," he smiled. "You have some trick planned! Otherwise, you'd be as worried as I am..."
"No tricks!" the boy denied, picking up another piece of meat.
"Oh, you can tell me," the smaller boy persisted. "What's your secret? Are the both of you going to fight when he gets back?"
Goku, sufficiently full and more than just a little tired from not only getting the bottle but the race down the tower and the fight with Tao, gave a yawn and a stretch. "Goodnight," he declared, flopping onto his back.
Upa's forehead met the tabletop.
"Nuh-uh," Kagome argued, finishing off her own meal and setting her plate aside. "We've got to put this stuff up somewhere so that it doesn't go bad before we go to bed, Goku. Upa, where did that pot that Bora was using the other day go? I'll just set this up as a stew and we can let it simmer overnight."
He was outside the tent, hurrying to bring her the water that she would need for that plan before she even finished her last sentence. Putting off sleep a few extra minutes for the sake of getting some of his friend's stew was definitely well worth it.
xxxx
Kagome was used to sleeping next to someone. It had started with Shippou, and lately it had extended to Goku - so this wasn't really anything new for her. She took up one side of the bed, Upa took up the other, and Goku was sprawled out between them with half of his head sharing her (Bora's, her brain reminded her) pillow. It was a bit cramped, but doable.
Still, she was having trouble sleeping. She wasn't actually that worried about the next day, but her reactions earlier had been a lot more... bloodthirsty than she was generally used to. More often than not, she was a complete pacifist.
The jewel, however, was not. And now, now that they really were one and the same in more than just context, she was going to have to learn how to deal with that.
Goku suddenly chuckled in his sleep, prompting her to open her eyes and glance down at him. She and Upa locked gazes, the smaller boy seeming relieved to know that he wasn't the only one still awake - but they both turned back to Goku when his laughter grew in volume.
"Underwear," he snickered.
Upa shot her a confused glance.
She shook her head in apology. "No idea," she mouthed. Maybe it was just one of those preteen boy things? Souta had started getting a little weird when he'd begun approaching thirteen, too...
"Bulma, don't be mad!" her tailed friend guffawed, still sleep-talking.
Again, Upa looked utterly bewildered. Kagome, on the other hand, had an idea of what he just might be dreaming of and heaved a sigh. The kid might grow into a pervert yet.
"Uwaaah!" the tailed boy suddenly groaned, still completely out of it. "Sorry, 'Gome..."
She blinked down at him, now a bit curious just how she fit into this dream but not really sure if she wanted to know.
The priestess sighed and rolled over. Instead of brooding, maybe she really should try to sleep some before morning came.
xxxx
The boy stretched his arms over his head with a small yawn, shifting into a couple of quick exercises to help wake him up. "I feel great!" he announced happily. "I slept really well last night. Did you?"
Upa frowned. "No, I couldn't sleep because I'm too worried. He's probably had the water already!"
He blinked. "It's only tap water."
"What!" the other boy yelped, stunned. "It's just regular water?!"
Goku laughed. "That's right! There's nothing special about it at all."
"But..." he glanced up at the tower.
The tailed boy popped his back, finally feeling a little less stiff. His stomach growled and he sighed. "I wish Kagome would finish her bath already so we could eat something..."
"Does she always take so long?" Upa wondered.
"Yeah," Goku admitted readily. "But she's usually pretty fast with everything else, so it's no big deal."
Suddenly, the sound of a scream drew their attention upwards just in time to see Tao fall through the air with enough force to make a crater on impact with the ground.
"It's him!" the smaller boy yelped.
The man pushed himself up with a snarl.
"What happened?" Upa breathed anxiously.
The assassin shot a glare up the tower. "I'll get you for that, fur-ball!" he barked.
Goku just smirked a bit. Apparently Kagome had been right about Korin. "You're back," he stated. "Sooner than I thought, too."
"I'm in a hurry to finish you off," the hitman admitted.
"Really?" the boy drew out cheekily. "You look kinda tired! Do you wanna rest first?"
"Of course not, you fool!" Tao growled, sliding into a fighting stance. "Now get ready to be annihilated!"
"Oh, yeah?" he jeered, raising his fists in preparation.
"Please be careful, Goku," Upa requested worriedly behind him.
"I will," the boy agreed. Kagome would get mad at him if he wasn't, and she could get scary when she was mad. "And don't worry!" he continued with a reassuring grin. "We'll get him for what he did to your father."
"Thank you," the smaller of the two murmured.
"Do you have any last words?" the assassin questioned with a sneer.
"No, I don't," he huffed. "And I think we've talked enough for today!"
The man threw a clenched fist at him. "Witness the power of the sacred water!"
He smirked to himself. Really, hadn't this guy figured out that it was just regular water yet? It wouldn't have done anything!
It surprised him when the punch actually landed, knocking him off his feet.
Tao beat on him for a minute, and he didn't fight back - instead, he worked to memorize the hitman's breathing just like Korin had taught him.
"Snap out of it, Goku!" Upa called worriedly. "Oh, why did you let him hit you like that?!"
He might have tried to find some way to answer, but found himself getting kicked up into the air so high that the other boy was just a little speck on the ground far below.
"This is the end!" the assassin announced, knocking him back down to earth.
He landed with a bounce, unable to hold back the grunt of pain that tumbled past his lips at the impact.
"Oh, this is awful!" Upa wailed. "Kagome! Kagome, where are you!"
"What, what's going on!" the girl herself yelled, running out of the trees with her hair still dripping down the back of her hastily-tied shirt... and no pants on.
Uh-oh. He was going to really be in for it this time.
Tao plummeted to the ground, landing with a knee in the boy's stomach.
"Goku!" the priestess shouted, Upa beginning to sob as he covered his eyes.
There was a beat of silence, broken only by the mercenary's chuckles - and then abruptly shattered when Kagome let out an enraged scream and charged. She smashed Reikenkon, sheathe and all, against the side of his face and dropped to the ground to check on the boy. Her hands fluttered for a moment, finally landing on his torso and lighting with a silvery glow.
He could suddenly breathe a whole lot easier, but the pain would have gone away in a few seconds even without her interference.
"You little brat," she hissed, glaring tearily at him as he opened his eyes. "What the hell do you think you're doing?! Stop screwing around already or I swear I'm not cooking you anything for a month!"
He gaped at her, horrified by the threat, and hurried to stand up and pat himself off. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! See? All healed! I'll win now!"
She growled at him.
"You really did get better," Goku admitted, turning back to the assassin. "You're almost as strong as me!"
"Maybe when dinner's not on the line," Kagome scoffed to herself.
He couldn't actually deny it, so he didn't try to.
"I've got to be dreaming!" Tao blurted out incredulously, stumbling back a step.
The boy grinned. "I've been studying you. Your breathing gives away your next move!" he declared, rushing into a charge.
"I will crush you!" the hitman barked, aiming a counter at him.
Goku ducked right under the blow, delivering a heavy one of his own that sent the guy flying backwards. He followed it up quickly, jumping up and locking his legs around the man's neck to pummel his face in with a quick series of punches before kicking him away.
The assassin stumbled dizzily and fell over.
"Great job!" Upa cheered.
"Ugh," Kagome groaned tiredly as she stood. "You know what? I think I'm just going to go finish my bath."
"Huh?" the boy blinked at her. "You mean you weren't done?"
The priestess glowered at him. "Do I look like I was done?"
He looked her over. Still dripping, shirt soaked and clinging to her form and a short ways down her thighs, no pants... "Um... I don't guess so?" he offered unconfidently.
She smacked her forehead.
Tao struggled to sit up, one hand wrapping around his bruised cheek. "Ouch!"
Goku quickly turned his attention back to the assassin and shifted into another fighting stance. "You should quit!" he growled warningly.
The man took up a defensive position for a moment, looking like he was warring with himself over something, but then went down on his hands and knees. "You win," he admitted. "I admit my defeat; please forgive me! I'm sorry." He prostrated himself, forehead touching the ground in apology. "Please... I'll never hurt anyone again."
The boy gaped at him uncertainly. "... Uh..." he glanced back at Upa, gaze also shifting up to meet Kagome's narrowed one.
"Please let me go," the hitman begged, voice choking with tears. "I'm sorry!"
Goku shifted uncomfortably. "I guess we can let you leave..." He turned to hold the other boy's eyes. After all, it wasn't his father that had been killed by this man four days ago. "Do you think that's alright, Upa?"
The smaller boy seemed just as uncertain as he did.
"Don't trust him, Goku," the priestess cut in, right as the assassin began to chuckle.
"Hey!" the boy shouted angrily, gaze darting back to him.
"Accept this apology!" Tao declared, ripping a ring from a small canister and throwing it at them with an even louder laugh.
He glared at the object.
Upa screamed in fear. "It's a bomb!"
"Sayonara, you fools!" the hitman cackled, kicking off the ground and into the air.
Goku growled and launched himself towards the explosive, kicking it up after the man before it could hit the ground and detonate. Kagome slid to catch him before he could land on his face, and Tao screamed as the loud 'boom' rang out. She threw a bubble up around the three of them quickly, shielding them from the force of the wind that threatened to knock down the trees.
Finally, they all glanced up to see the last of the yellow fire disperse - with no sign of the assassin in sight.
They cheered.
"Alright!" the priestess announced after they'd taken a minute to celebrate. "Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to go find my hakama..."
"Your what?" the tailed boy wondered.
"My pants, Goku," she sighed.
His head tilted to one side. "Oh. I was wondering why you didn't have any on!"
She groaned and walked off, leaving the two boys alone in the clearing once more.
"So... what are the two of you going to do now?" Upa questioned after a moment.
He shrugged. "Probably find the last three dragon balls."
The smaller boy frowned. "How?"
Goku grinned and pulled out the radar to show him. "See, if we push this button it'll show us where they are," he explained, demonstrating. He blinked. "Huh? That's weird. I wonder why these two are together... That must mean that someone else is trying to collect all of them, too! Huh." Several images rushed through his mind: Silver, White, Blue, and Yellow. "I know!" he declared. "This place on the radar must be the headquarters of the Red Ribbon Army! Okay, we'll go there and pick up the other dragon balls, then meet you back here."
Upa gasped. "That's dangerous! There's a whole lot of them, and I bet they're strong. Just you and Kagome might not be enough!"
The tailed boy chuckled. "But to make a wish, you have to have all of the dragon balls!" he pointed out. "Including those two."
The smaller boy frowned again, but nodded. "Please be as careful as you can..."
"Don't worry," he assured. "We'll be back real soon."
Kagome finally made her way out of the trees, fully dressed once more with her sword hanging from her sash and her yellow backpack on her shoulders. She had her hair pulled back again, and Goku couldn't help but think that it had looked nicer down.
"What happened to the backpack you got from Bulma?" he asked, shaking that thought off easily enough.
The priestess shrugged. "I managed to fit everything into this one," she explained. "I'm just glad we got the treasure all divvied out before Nimbus came and brought me to you, or we would have been having to worry about more than the Army coming after us. Krillin would have been on our tail in a second."
He laughed. It was true. "So we're ready to go?"
She nodded and crouched down to pull Upa into a hug. "I'm sure Goku's already given you the 'we'll be back soon' speech, so I'll just tell you to take care of yourself. There's still some of that stew left, and you know how to gut a fish. I expect you to eat at least two meals a day."
"Okay," the smaller boy chuckled, hugging her back tightly. "You really do act like a mom sometimes, Kagome."
She pulled away with a laugh. "So I've been told."
Really? Goku blinked to himself curiously; he'd never noticed that kind of thing. Kagome was just Kagome, and she liked taking care of people. It just seemed weird to him, trying to think of her like a mom.
"Nimbus!" he called, shoving that thought down with the other one. He was starting to feel kind of funny lately. Maybe he was getting sick.
"We'll be back as soon as we've got all seven dragon balls," the priestess promised.
The tailed boy grinned and nodded in agreement. "And then we'll get your dad back!"
Upa smiled and nodded tearily as they lifted up into the air. "Be careful!" he shouted after them. "Take care of each other!"
"We will!" he called back with a bright grin.
As soon as the smaller boy was out of sight, Kagome heaved a sigh. "Oh, geez. Now I'm going to be worrying about him until we go back."
He smiled. "But that won't be very long!" he assured. "So don't worry too much, okay?"
She returned his smile with one of her own. "Thanks, Goku."
The boy laughed. "Thanks for what?"
She turned her gaze out to the sky as they sped across it, expression softening. "For a lot of things, I guess. But mostly for being here and being my friend. I'd probably be completely lost if you hadn't found me in that desert and dragged me along on this adventure with you."
He blinked. "That's not really anything all that special," he argued. "You've helped me out loads since then!"
She stuck her tongue out at him. "Well it's special to me, you twerp."
He made a face.
"Uh-uh," she snickered. "I won fair and square. I still get to call you a kid."
The boy's face contorted further.
The priestess laughed, the sound bright and tinkling. "Well if you hate it that much, grow up quick and get me to stop!" she teased.
"Huh?" he questioned. "That would actually work?"
She shrugged. "We'll see. Though I get the feeling you're going to be quite the looker, so I'll probably get traded in for a girlfriend by then."
His lips curled up and he returned his attention forward with his face feeling a little warm. Maybe he really was getting sick... "Nah," he denied. "You won't ever get replaced by anyone. Only Kagome can be Kagome!"
Her breath caught a bit for some reason, and she leaned over to give him a quick hug. "That, too," she sighed. "Seeing me. Thank you for that, too."
"I don't get it," he admitted. "Why wouldn't I see you? Are you hiding?"
She just laughed again and gave him another hug.
xxxx
Kagome watched as the world went by beneath them, their speed increasing as they went in an effort to close the distance between them and their destination more quickly. Suddenly, a machine sped by them - and they both yelped.
"What is that?" the boy blurted out.
"A... drone?" she murmured.
"Why are you following us?" Goku asked the thing. "Just tell us! Do we know you from somewhere?"
Its engines exploded with a new burst of thrust, rushing right past them.
"Whoa!" the boy's jaw dropped. "He must be late for dinner!"
She shook her head wryly. "Is that really the only thing you can think of that would make anyone go that fast?"
He blinked up at her. "You mean there's other things?"
She couldn't help but bark out a laugh. "Come on, let's speed up a bit ourselves."
They continued on, reaching a mountainous region covered in snow. Kagome shivered just a bit and pulled her haori tighter around her, breathing a small sigh of relief when they came out of what appeared to be a tunnel and made it out to a much warmer area.
"There it is!" Goku cheered. "I've been waiting for this!"
The priestess sighed. "We still need to be careful," she pointed out. "These guys are no pushovers, remember?"
His head tilted to one side and he glanced up at her. "But we're really strong now!"
Her eye twitched. "Okay, Goku. I think it's about time we had this little chat called 'don't underestimate your enemies'. Listen up."
xxxx
"-and you can never know for sure whether someone is actually taking you seriously or not at face value," Kagome continued as they followed after the RRA helicopter. "They might be hiding a great deal of strength that you couldn't even guess at!"
His brain hurt. "But how can you tell?"
"That's the point," she explained with a shake of her head, Nimbus swooping to dodge a rain of bullets. "Sometimes you can't."
He knocked the plane out of the sky. "But then how can you know whether you need to be extra careful or not!" he yelped.
She sighed. "Well, being able to sense someone's energy helps."
"How do I do that?" he prodded.
Nimbus again swooped to avoid gunfire, and they both flattened themselves out across it a bit more. "This may not be the time for a crash-course on that!" she scolded.
"But it's a good time to talk about why we need to be careful?" he questioned as they swerved between a wave of missiles, completely bewildered. Kagome really didn't make a lot of sense sometimes.
"Ugh," she groaned. "Nimbus, we need more speed!"
The cloud responded immediately, pelting them through the sky and very nearly right into one of the missiles. They dove at the last second, weaving through the trees instead in an effort to outrun their tail, and swept back up just in time for the projectiles to explode in the forest instead of on them. Finally, the base was in sight.
They landed in less than a minute, beating their way right through the troops and running for where the radar showed the dragon balls to be.
"I wonder where they went!" Goku spoke up. "No one seems to be here!"
The pair spun around a corner, coming up on a massive blockade.
"What was I just saying?!" Kagome growled, throwing one of her bubbles around them as the soldiers fired.
"Okay, okay!" he yelped, taking them out quickly so that they could continue.
"I'll go low," the priestess offered, both of them scurrying through the halls. "You go high, and I'll follow your ki to the dragon balls!"
He nodded and leaped up on top of the buildings, running across the roofs as she went through the halls below. He took out his opponents, hearing a few explosions from inside the buildings that he assumed meant that Kagome was doing just fine.
Finally, they reached the building where the radar showed the dragon balls and he hopped in through a window, glancing over his shoulder to see his friend run out into the same courtyard that he had just left behind. The boy grinned and pulled out the radar, knowing that it wouldn't be long now until she caught up.
He blinked down at the screen, confused. It said that the balls should be right in front of him... "I guess we'll have to go higher," he sighed, looking around. "Where are the stairs?"
Goku quickly gave up on the idea of stairs and broke his way through the roof instead, beating his way through the soldiers waiting for him on the next floor. Sure they had a lot of guns and stuff, but their time up Korin's Tower had made them even stronger. This was nothing at all. He paused for a few seconds, glancing around.
"Kagome should be here by now," he murmured a bit uncertainly.
... Oh, well. She would be there soon.
He jumped up, trying to break through the roof again, and cried out when instead of going through to the other side all he got was a headache.
"Ow, ow!" he groaned, gripping his hair. "Maybe I should get a helmet..."
xxxx
Kagome blinked at the soldier standing before her. "There are actually women in this army?" she blurted out.
The soldier glared at her, holding a bag tightly to her chest. "Get outta my way, brat."
The priestess's eye twitched. "Give me one good reason. Know that if you say 'because I'll kick your ass if you don't' it will lead to you getting your ass kicked."
She snarled. "Look, I just wanna get outta here with my cash!"
Kagome hesitated a moment, studying the woman carefully. She didn't seem to be lying. "... Okay," she agreed, stepping out of the way.
The soldier blinked at her, stunned. "As easy as that?"
"Easy as that," the priestess agreed. "I don't want to waste any time either."
"... Hm," the woman hummed. "You're not so bad, kid. Later!"
"I'm twenty, dammit!" she shouted after the woman's disappearing form.
"Don't you try lying to me!" the soldier shouted back over her shoulder with a snort.
She growled and turned, running back down the hall and stumbling a bit when there was an explosion above.
"Oh, crap," she blurted out worriedly. "Goku!"
She sped up, concerned for the boy, and took the elevator up as high as it would take her. After that, she climbed out the broken window and scaled up the side of the building.
xxxx
Edit: 8/27/16