Chapter One: One Wish
Goku zipped around the lawn outside his home on Fire Mountain, lashing out at imaginary enemies. He had felt himself getting stiff so he decided to train, but he didn't really have any sparring partners who could keep up with him, so he imagined one. The partner he had dreamed up was, ironically, his own wife—if she was as strong and fast as he was. She was always a fast fighter, and the strongest woman in the world, but she just couldn't keep up with Goku in real life.
I really wish she would take her training more seriously, Goku thought to himself as he blocked a roundhouse kick from Imaginary Chi-Chi. Chi-Chi would be an awesome sparring partner. With both of us living together, we could train every day, and get stronger and stronger!
Chi-Chi cradled her newborn son Gohan in her arms as she watched Goku train. She could tell by the way he was blocking and dodging that he had imagined he was up against her, and smiled to herself. While she hadn't had much time or motivation to get stronger, she wasn't slacking off on her own training, and would occasionally practice to stay in shape—or to get back into shape after spending nine months carrying Gohan inside her. Goku often offered to spar with her, but she already knew that he was out of her league, and he wasn't very good at holding back. She loved her husband, and wanted desperately to be the perfect wife to him, but how can she when all Goku wants to do is fight?
After A few hours, Goku felt as satisfied as he could be, and Gohan had fallen asleep, so they returned inside to put their son to bed, and Chi-Chi went into the kitchen to cook dinner. Her culinary skills had grown significantly now that she had to feed Goku's massive appetite. That was another thing she couldn't understand about him—how could one person eat so much? Sure, she eats more than the average person herself due to her build, and she had the strangest cravings when she was pregnant with Gohan—she didn't even like anchovies on her pizza until she started craving it—but Goku took it to another level entirely, eating around seven times the normal amount on a slow day, and up to twelve times after training. It didn't make any sense to her. Gohan seemed to have inherited his father's appetite, though—he would drink three bottles of baby formula in one sitting before he stopped crying.
Chi-Chi watched Goku quietly as they ate, with him wolfing down his food while she savored her's. There was still a lot that she didn't know about her husband. From the last time they parted ways, to their reunion during the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, there was a gap of several years where they never even spoke to each other. Who knows what crazy adventures Goku went through without her?
Goku eventually lifted his head out of his bowls of fried rice long enough to notice Chi-Chi staring at him. "What's wrong, Chi-Chi?" He mumbled through a full mouth.
Chi-Chi sighed. "You were pretending to spar with me, weren't you?"
"Huh?" Goku tilted his head curiously. "Yeah. I mean, your fighting style's really cool, and your kicks are kinda hard to counter. You'd be really tough to fight if you were stronger."
Almost immediately after he said that, he knew he made a mistake. Chi-Chi's face soured, and she turned away from Goku.
"Well, some of us have to think about more than just fighting and training, like how to raise our son," She said, annoyed.
"I'm sorry," Goku said after a brief pause. "I didn't mean to make you angry. Sometimes I just don't know what to say."
Chi-Chi sighed and looked back at him. She knew he was being genuine—his honesty was one of the things that she loved about him. She knew that he was having the same problems as her.
"I just wish I knew more about you, Goku," Chi-Chi said quietly. "I love you, but I barely know anything. Why are you so obsessed with fighting all the time?"
"I don't know," Goku replied honestly. "I just really like to fight."
Chi-Chi sighed again. This wasn't going to go anywhere. "Goku, I promised you that I would do everything to be the perfect wife to you, but you have to help me out, here."
Goku sat back and thought. What would help her? he wondered. He couldn't explain to her why he enjoyed fighting, because he didn't really understand it himself. And he couldn't ask Chi-Chi to explain what she wanted, because he wouldn't understand it.
"Hey, maybe we should just ask Shenron! He'd be able to clear things up!"
Goku meant it as a joke to lighten things up, but to his surprise, Chi-Chi actually seemed to consider it.
"Hmmm..." she hummed to herself. "Well, he would be able to explain things better than either of us would. It wouldn't be very romantic, but you were never good at that anyway. I guess it's worth a try."
"Really?" Goku asked, shocked. He wasn't expecting her to take his joke seriously, but the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. Shenron knew everything that there was to know, and she was right—he would be able to explain things better than they could. Plus, gathering the Dragon Balls would be just like their first adventure together. If all else fails, they might learn more about each other along the way.
"All right!" Goku said, jumping up, excited about the idea of a new adventure. "Let's get ready!"
"Wait a minute, Goku!" Chi-Chi shouted, clearly agitated. "We can't leave now! Gohan's not even a month old!"
"Aww, c'mon Chi-Chi!" Goku whined. "We won't be gone that long. Besides, your dad can take care of Gohan while we're away."
"Goku," Chi-Chi said, exasperated, "gathering the Dragon Balls was the longest adventure I've ever been through."
"Yeah, but that was because we stopped with the Tournament, crime bosses, monsters and all sorts of other things along the way," Goku explained. "And we're a lot stronger now than we were then." He thought for a second. "Tell you what: we'll spend one month gathering the Dragon Balls, and if we can't get them in time, we'll just come right back home and try again when you're ready. How about that?"
Chi-Chi thought long and hard about that. On one hand, Goku had a point—they already gathered the Dragon Balls once, so finding them again shouldn't be too hard. But on the other hand, she didn't want to spend too long away from Gohan. While she was sure her father could take care of him, she wanted to be the one to raise him. But it was only for one month, and she could call off the search at any time.
In the end, she let out a sigh and looked Goku straight in the eye. "Alright," she said. "One month, but if things get too bad, I'm calling it off, and we're going straight home, got it?"
"Great!" Goku exclaimed, running around the table to hug Chi-Chi. "Oh man, this is gonna be fun! I'll start packing for the trip!" He quickly finished off the last of his fried rice, and ran off to their room to pack.
Chi-Chi watched him go, surprised but unable to hold back a smile. This was the most eager Goku had been in a long time, and she couldn't help but feel excited with him. They had been on adventures as partners and friends, but now they'll be adventuring as husband and wife.
Goku packed hurriedly, wanting to leave first thing after breakfast the next day. As excited as he was to go on an adventure, he knew that he couldn't give Chi-Chi time to change her mind. She wasn't indecisive most of the time, but this was a big deal for both of them, so he didn't want to give her the chance to have second thoughts.
While Goku packed, Chi-Chi explained everything to her father. She was worried about how he would react, but surprisingly, the Ox King was on board with the idea.
"Goku clearly cares about you, Chi-Chi," he said. "I'm sure you don't need Shenron to help the two of you, but it couldn't hurt. Go on ahead, I'll take good care of Gohan."
With that decided, all she could do was prepare. Before bed, she checked the bags that Goku packed, made a few adjustments, and two crawled into bed to get a good night's sleep. The next morning was followed by a (more) hastily eaten breakfast, and after checking on Gohan one more time, Goku practically dragged his wife onto the Nimbus Cloud, and the two set off.
The journey was surprisingly short and relatively uneventful. They had one of Bulma's old Dragon Radars, so they weren't blindly searching like before, and whatever they had blocking their way was fairly easy to defeat.
Goku was right, Chi-Chi thought. We're both a lot stronger than we were the first time. This really shouldn't be too hard.
Goku was having a blast. It didn't matter that there wasn't much challenge, he was just happy to be out and active, fighting wild beasts and the occasional dinosaur. While Chi-Chi was less enthusiastic about fighting, she was happy to fight side by side with her husband again, like old times. She also enjoyed the view—she'd almost forgotten all of the beautiful landscapes and mountain ranges on Earth.
During the journey, Goku convinced Chi-Chi to try a piece of tail that he had sliced off an unfortunate T-Rex. She was actually surprised how good it tasted, and made a note of it for future recipes.
The more Chi-Chi traveled with Goku, the closer she felt to understanding him. At the end of the day, he was just a fun-loving, happy-go-lucky guy who loved adventure and fighting. But she was still nowhere near understanding his love of fighting.
Maybe it's just because I'm not like him, she thought to herself. She was good at fighting—being the strongest woman in the world—but she didn't really enjoy it. And while she enjoyed the sightseeing part of the journey, the battles felt more like chores—things they had to do to get the Dragon Balls.
That's when she realized what her wish was going to be. She figured knowing each other's past wouldn't be enough. She would probably understand Goku if she were more like him. It seemed silly, but maybe if she had more in common with her husband, then she would be able to be the perfect wife to him.
The two had finished gathering the Dragon Balls in three weeks—one week quicker than Goku was expecting. After grabbing the last one, they sped straight back to Fire Mountain, arriving the next day. The Ox King ran out to greet them, with Gohan in his arms. Gohan was laughing and cooing happily when Chi-Chi grabbed him and swung him around, happy to be back home with him.
"That was fast," the Ox King remarked, impressed. "We weren't expecting you back for another week."
"Yeah," Goku laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "we didn't have a lot of trouble. Chi-Chi was a big help—she's really strong."
"That's my daughter—the strongest woman in the world!"
The Ox King chuckled proudly.
Chi-Chi blushed from the compliments. Goku really did most of the work, but she was able to help a few times.
"So," the Ox King continued, "were you able to gather all of the Dragon Balls?"
"You bet!" Goku said excitedly, and he reached into his bag and pulled out all seven of the large, orange gems, each one the size of a tangerine, with different numbers of stars ranging from one to seven. "So, who's gonna make the wish?" He asked Chi-Chi.
"I think I'll make the wish," Chi-Chi replied, and she handed Gohan over to Goku, in exchange for the Dragon Balls. Walking a bit further away from the house, she arranged the Dragon Balls into the correct order, and spoke loud and clear.
"Rise Eternal Dragon, Shenron!"
The sky darkened, and the seven Dragon Balls began to glow brightly. Moments later a bright flash of lightning appeared, causing everyone to close their eyes. Once they opened them again, they looked up to see the enormous serpentine shape of the Eternal Dragon, Shenron.
"Speak your wish, and it shall be granted." Said the dragon, his voice echoing off the hills.
Chi-Chi hesitated briefly—she had seen Shenron before, but the awesome presence of the Eternal Dragon never failed to intimidate her—but after a couple seconds to compose herself, she looked up at him, certain of her wish.
"I wish to be like Goku, so I can understand him better."
A slight pause.
"So, you wish to be a Saiyan?"
"She's saying that she wants to be more like me." Goku interjects, walking up beside her. He was surprised that she wished for that, but he was going to support her.
"So, a Saiyan?"
"Yeah, that's what she's saying."
"Very well."
A bright flash of light filled the area, and vanished just as quickly. Chi-Chi looked at herself, not feeling any different.
"Your wish has been granted. Farewell." And with a pillar of light, Shenron was gone, and the Dragon Balls scattered around the world once again. Goku watched the sky brighten again, then walked over to his wife, who was still looking down at herself, confused.
"Well?" Goku asked, wondering what Shenron did.
"I… don't feel any different," Chi-Chi answered finally, sounding somewhat disappointed.
"Do you think it was a dud?" Goku asked.
"I don't know. Maybe?"
They both sighed, confused and slightly disappointed.
"Well, it was worth a try, right?" Asked Goku.
Chi-Chi nodded, smiling appreciatively. The wish might not have worked, but the adventure was fun, and it did help her understand him better.
"Alright," Goku said, putting an arm around Chi-Chi. "Let's go inside. I'm starving."
Funny, but as Chi-Chi walked back to the house with Goku and Gohan, she also felt very hungry—more so than usual. As she walked over to hug her father, Goku suddenly cried out in shock.
"AAHHH!!" Everyone quickly turned to look at Goku, who was pointing a shaking finger at Chi-Chi, eyes wider than they've ever seen them.
Cha-cha-cha-cha-ch-Chi-Chi!" He stuttered. "Wh-wh-what's that?!"
"Huh?" Chi-Chi looked back at her father, confused, and saw that he was staring at her, eyes practically bulging out of their sockets. Worried, she followed their eyes to a spot behind her back. Exploring beneath her cheongsam for anything weird, her hand quickly found something furry. Her own eyes widening, she guided whatever it was out from beneath the fabric, and to her shock, she realized that it was a long, furry, brown monkey tail—identical to the one Goku used to have.
And the screams echoed off the hills.
A few hours later…
"What is this, Shenron's idea of a joke?!" Chi-Chi yelled for the tenth time.
Everyone was back inside Goku's House, still trying to wrap their heads around what happened. Earlier, the Ox King ordered out for dinner, since Chi-Chi was in no condition to cook, but he accidentally ordered too much in his confusion, and the delivery boy arrived with more food than even Goku could eat. Thankfully, and surprisingly, Chi-Chi ate what Goku couldn't. She was on her fifth container of soba before she realized, and it took two more before she felt full. It was clear that she was more like Goku in more ways than just the tail.
Speaking of which, she quickly realized that her new tail was not only real, but also very sensitive. She tried yanking it off in a panic, but trying to do so hurt even more than she thought it would. In the end, she left it there, although she was still sore from trying.
"Well, you did wish to be more like me…" Goku said gingerly, not wanting to make her any angrier. While she did glare at him in response, she didn't raise her voice, so he took it as a success.
Chi-Chi sighed and slumped down into a chair, careful not to put any weight on the sore spot around her tail. With the panic and shock finally subsiding, she was actually able to think about what just happened to her. Aside from the tail, and her new appetite, she didn't really feel that different. While weird, these new changes are nothing she can't learn to live with.
Looking back at Goku, her mind went back to the time they met again at the Tournament of Power. She remembered how easily he avoided her kicks, and how he knocked her out of the ring with an air blast from one punch. Usually her next thought would have been of how he asked her to marry him afterwards. But for some reason, she couldn't get her mind off that match.
"Uhh, Chi-Chi?" Goku asked nervously. "Are you okay?"
"Huh?" Chi-Chi snapped out of her memories. "Oh, yes. I was just remembering our match during the tournament"
"Oh…" Goku was surprised.
"We haven't fought since then, have we?"
"No, I don't think so. Why—do you want to spar a bit?"
"Goku, I don't think–" the Ox King began, but Chi-Chi cut him off.
"Don't worry, Dad. It's fine. I think a quick sparring match might help clear my head a bit."
Both Goku and the Ox King were surprised—Chi-Chi would usually jump at the chance to avoid fighting—but the Ox King allowed it, and Goku wasn't going to say no to a fight.
So, the two monkey-people stepped outside, the Ox King and Gohan close behind, and Goku and Chi-Chi assumed their fighting stances.
And what was supposed to be a single sparring match turned into several, carrying into the night.
A/N
Thank you for taking the time to read. Just a few things I should say. First: yes, the premise for this story was inspired by the Dragon Ball fan and content creator Salad Saiyan, and you should definitely check out his videos on YouTube if you haven't already. That being said, while the story's beginning is obviously inspired by his own What If scenario, my story will veer dramatically very soon.