Chapter 23 – Looking for the third one

"It's cold in here!" Trunks complained, wrapping himself up in an old blanket he had found under the seat.

"I thought I told you to bring warm clothes," Bulma remarked. The plane was now flying north-west; the landscape below them was covered with thick snow, sharp mountain peaks and huge forests. And it was freezing.

"No you didn't," Trunks argued, "you said that we have a few capsule houses that contain everything we need!"

"Good luck opening one of those houses in here," Goku remarked and yawned. "Am I the only one thinking that it's getting a little late?"

Haruka was trying to hold back a yawn as well. "Too true. We already got two Dragonballs, not a bad showing, I'd say. I think I'll land the plane and let's settle a camp, what do you think?"

"As long as those capsule houses have extremely good heating system, I'm in," Taiki agreed. The others nodded and so Haruka maneuvered the plane down. She managed to find a nice little plain in the middle of the forest. About half an hour later the plane door was safely locked ("Those yetis may be really good pilots, you know!") and the capsule house, cozy and warm, was standing next to the plane.

"Amazing technology," Taiki admired, looking around in the house. "And all that fits into a small capsule?"

Bulma nodded with a smile. Trunks was lurking around the room and pulling open all closets he could find, looking for warm clothes.

"Mom, are there any jackets in this place that would fit me?" he complained. Bulma went over to see about that and eventually she found some warm jackets and trousers for everyone.

"Like I said, capsule houses that contain everything we need," she remarked merrily.

"I could use a thick coat instead," Vegeta snorted. "Where's a pack of yetis when you need them?"

"Afraid of a few snowflakes, Prince of the Saiyans?" Haruka teased him. Vegeta glared at the jacket Bulma had given him. It was salad green and had a huge pink bunny on the back.

"With that powerful Bunny Jacket I won't be afraid of anything," he remarked cynically. "I'm hungry. Where's the kitchen?"

The kitchen was bright white, spacious and most importantly, filled with food. The oven was old-fashioned and gigantic, the heap of wood next to it reached towards the ceiling. While the sky was getting darker and darker and stars started appearing one after another, the kitchen was filled with people and happy chatting. Even Haruka and Seiya managed to get along, but that only might've been because Michiru was keeping a keen eye on them while helping Bulma with the dinner. Vegeta was in charge of the enormous oven. Bulma had announced that she wouldn't entrust anyone else with such a dangerous task.

"Goku, you can chop the meat," she said, rushing around in the kitchen, cutting vegetables and digging out boxes of spices for the cupboards. "Just try not to cut your fingers off."

"I don't need a knife," Goku smiled, threw a piece of meat in the air and made a quick move with his fingers. They couldn't see anything but they could hear a sharp whizzing sound and a second later ten slices of meat landed back on the table.

"How come you never help Mom at home with chopping the meat?" Goten wondered. Goku scratched his head.

"You know she's always so nervous and irritated when she's cooking and she always yells at everyone in sight when she's chopping the meat… I don't want to bother her."

"She only yells at people while chopping the meat because she's not that good at chopping and that makes her nervous," the kid remarked. Goku shrugged.

"As long as she doesn't ask for my help, I won't bother her. Here's the meat, Bulma."

"Chichi really seems to try hard when it comes to ignoring the fact that she has three almighty Saiyans at home," Bulma commented, taking the meat. "Excellent work, Goku." Goku grinned widely.

When the dinner was finished, Bulma fetched all the sleeping bags she could find and half an hour later the house was dark. The woman hadn't even allowed the kids to watch TV, she had said that the next day would be a busy day and besides, the transmitting would be bad in the middle of the mountains anyway. So they all fell asleep, curled up in the sleeping bags all around the house. The night was peaceful and the next morning everyone woke up quite early.

"Ahh, fresh mountain air… we should've run into that darkness demon long time ago!" Yaten announced to the others, sitting on the kitchen window's sill. The window was opened but even though that fresh mountain air wasn't warm at all, nobody complained. All the last remains of sleepiness were carried away with the chilly wind and they all felt better than ever. Even the fact that there were five more Dragonballs to find and retrieving them would probably be far from easy didn't bother them.

"Just get down from there before you catch a cold and lose your voice," Taiki suggested. It wasn't an order but just a friendly suggestion and Yaten, of course, ignored that.

"The more reasons I'll have to stay on vacation," he grinned.

Suddenly Seiya stood up. "How can you talk like that? You know we're on a mission! You know that we need to find…" He didn't finish the sentence because there were too many ears in the kitchen but he knew that Yaten had gotten his point. The guy glanced at Seiya and his eyes narrowed. Yaten wasn't the type you could just yell at.

"I haven't forgotten," he said. "Not even at night when I'm asleep, I remember our mission. But right now there's nothing we can do about it and you know that just as well as I."

"And still," now Seiya's eyes had narrowed too, "you talk about it like it was some sort of an utter nuisance."

"It is!" Yaten snapped back. Taiki's and Seiya's eyes widened; they seemed terribly shocked. "All those screaming fans, long workdays, two or three hours of sleep, pointless bureaucracy and going to school – are you telling me that you like it?"

"We must live that life and you know it," Seiya said quietly and sat down again.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I have to like it," Yaten replied.

"And that doesn't mean you have to blab it out loud in front of everyone," Seiya snapped.

"You were the one that started with the issue," Yaten remarked calmly. Calm truth is the best way to irritate people and Seiya was about to stand up again when Haruka said with a frown:

"Shut up, both of you. Yaten is right, Seiya, you started with the issue and there's no need to yell at him. Your life may be hard but complaining won't make it easier, by the way," she added, looking at Yaten. "Right now we're all working towards getting back to Earth so you can get back to your secret mission soon. But instead of fighting and getting on the others' nerves, just zip it and eat your pancakes, will you? Thanks, Bulma."

"You're welcome," Bulma smiled, pouring maple syrup all over Haruka's pancakes. "Yaten, won't you join us?"

Yaten nodded, closed the window and sat down behind the table. The kitchen was quiet. It was an embarrassing silence though and everyone was feeling a bit uncomfortable like always after witnessing a fight and hearing redundant things. Someone had to say something soon and preferably something from a very different subject. Michiru, elegant and sophisticated as always, looked up at Bulma and asked:

"Say Bulma, how far is that Dragonball?"

Thassa good girl, the others' faces clearly showed. Bulma frowned a bit, remembering something.

"I checked the radar earlier this morning. It's very near, perhaps ten or fifteen miles away. Not even worth starting the plane if you ask me."

"You'll be the first one to complain when we try going there by foot, city girl," Vegeta remarked with a grin. Bulma grinned back at him.

"Won't you carry me, dearest husband?"

"You and the rest of the gang," Vegeta snorted while Trunks and Goten were rolling their eyes. "With that climate and those piles of snow none of you will last more that half an hour. Except for Kakarot perhaps," he added, making a slight concession with another full-blood Saiyan.

"Then you two can go and fetch the Dragonball while we're waiting," Haruka suggested. Vegeta glared at her.

"And run into yet another lethal music source?"

"They land randomly, it's hard to imagine that all of them would be protected by something powerful," Goku said thoughtfully.

"There's always a chance, isn't there?" Trunks asked. "That's why I'm coming too!" Goten nodded in agreement.

"Looks like we'll all be going then," Bulma sighed. "I'm not gonna stay here without anyone to protect me."

"Just ask all the yetis to sit down and have a cup of tea until we get back," Vegeta suggested. Goku chuckled.

"I had no idea you had a sense of humor, Vegeta," he remarked. Vegeta took a deep gulp from his glass.

"It's not humor, Kakarot. It's sarcasm. Shall we go then?"

A little while later the house was back in the capsule and the plane was in the air again. Haruka complained that the plane didn't take a night outside in the cold air very well and the engine was making funny sounds.

"As long as we don't fall down, don't worry," Bulma suggested. "That plane is quite old already. So, I think we're almost there… what's that?"

"Looks like a… no, we're too far away to say for sure," Taiki said. Haruka took the plane down. The closer they were getting to the snowy forest below, the clearer the picture got and eventually there was no question. Haruka landed the plane and they all got out.

"Cool," Trunks and Goten commented.

"It's in here," Bulma said, looking up. It was a huge temple. Standing there in the middle of the forest, far away from the nearest town, it was quiet and majestic, reaching for the sky. The temple had five floors and it was built of dark wood. It looked like any Shinto temple in Japan even though it was a lot bigger and had the shape of a pagoda. A cold breeze whizzed past, reminding them where they were and why they had come.

"Well then, let's get inside," Vegeta suggested, stepping towards the temple. Bulma stopped him.

"Wait," she whispered, "it won't be that easy. It's the ancient temple of Mara-Ku."

Vegeta frowned. "So?"

"People say that the monks living in that temple are wise, powerful, skilled and very old," Bulma said, looking up at the temple. "They're not ordinary people. It is said that they possess powers far beyond our imagination."

A confused look appeared on Vegeta's face. "Uhuh? Hello? Remember me? The prince of the almighty Saiyans? Blowing up entire planets and so on?"

"I thought it was just a legend…" Bulma muttered, her eyes widening. Vegeta snorted, gave up and went towards the temple. The others followed him and Seiya pulled Bulma along.

"Nice door," Goku commented, looking up at the 30-feet-high door. The knocker in the middle of the door was made of dark brass; it had the shape and also the size of a lion's head. Apparently it weighed a lot but Vegeta slammed it with ease. A moment later the heavy door slid open silently and an old face appeared. It was an old monk with an orange kimono and a very long white beard. His narrow eyes examined the bunch behind the door.

"Yes?" he asked. His voice was like the screeching of a very old shutter.

"We are seeking for an orange crystal ball," Bulma said with slight fear and a lot of respect in her voice. "It should be in here. Can you tell us where to find it?"

The monk seemed thoughtful. "The Master knows everything," he said then. "Follow me." The monk turned around and let them in.

"Way cool," Trunks said, looking around as they went through the vast hallway. The ceiling was high above them, disappearing into the darkness. There were no windows, the place was lit by dozens of candles. As the monk led them farther into the temple, they spotted several monks just like him walking past them. Deep gentle sound of a gong was to be heard somewhere behind several walls and next to their footsteps it was the only sound in the temple.

"I don't think any outsiders have been here for years," Bulma whispered to the others. The monk heard her and said:

"The last time an outsider visited the temple was over two hundred years ago. We live in peace and isolation. However, we tolerate visitors if their hearts are pure and their means are for a good purpose."

"Sounds nice," Yaten remarked.

"I don't like this place," Hotaru muttered so quietly that the monk couldn't hear her. The others did and glanced at her with great surprise.

"Peaceful, quiet, dark… I thought it was your idea of a paradise?" Goku asked. Hotaru shook her head.

"This place isn't peaceful. There's something in here… something very bad… they are trying to cover it but I can still feel it," she said.

Haruka sighed. "Great. Just great. Is it something that would bother us from getting that Dragonball?"

Hotaru hesitated. "I'm not sure. Maybe. It's not powerful though. We might get lucky."

"Dream on," Yaten said sarcastically. The monk stopped in front of another huge door made of thick dark wood. It had odd golden symbols on it and the handles were golden as well. The monk pushed the door open and said:

"Go inside, the Master will help you."