Chapter 7: Good old fashion Saiyan grief counseling, interrupted by a last minute quest for the dragon balls!

Okay let's go over the basics: Thanks to all faves/watches (srsly- over 500 hits, too :D) and no, I do not own Dragon Ball Z. Come on.

Chapter 7~

"Get out of my way, woman!"

"What part of 'NO' don't you understand?!"

Making myself comfortable against a nearby wall, I waited patiently for the fireworks to end.

"Vegeta, my dad still hasn't had enough time to fix the gravity room from yesterday!" Really, you would think the two were enemies. "Now you go find something else to keep you busy—Got it? Cuz We're just about tired of fixing this thing every other day!"

Vegeta growled loudly (the display bordering childish) to show his frustration, before spinning on his heel and pushing roughly past me. "Then stop wasting time and get to work!" he finally bit back.

Bulma let out a similar noise as she hastily pulled on some latex gloves. "The nerve of that man!"

I turned away from her, catching the small glint that was my brother fading into the skyline, and a tiny laugh escaped me. As verbally aggressive as that display had been, I could see the attraction; the way he looked her up and down before he turned away... heh.

"Thank you again for today, Bulma. I'll beat some sense into Vegeta for you," I offered, patting the imaginary dust off of my shoulder. "Maybe then he'll show you a little more respect."

Bulma gave a short, cruel laugh. "I wish I could be there to see that. You have at him, girl!" Her fist pumped the air as I retreated across the expansive lawn.

I broke out into a run as I reached the sidewalk and blasted off a second later.

Vegeta already had a good three-mile lead, but I was gaining on him fast. Logic told me that he was searching for a proper training ground. For the next minute, my eyes devoured the blurry landscape until my brother was flanked at my right. After a few more minutes of silent flight, we finally found ourselves floating above a mountain range. The canyons beneath were filled with mist, so all that was visible were the thin, jagged tops of the massive rock-formations.

I tugged at the black track shorts and adjusted the matching tank top I was wearing as Vegeta flexed his arms. "I'm assuming there are no rules, since we're out in the middle of nowhere. Nobody can get hurt…"

This was going to be fun.

Vegeta bent his arms slightly, but made no move. "First you tell me about the child."

I stared at him for a moment. "Okay." I was then silent, waiting for his first question.

"Whom did the boy take after?"

My head tilted to the side. "Physically speaking, he took after his father. But even in his young age we could tell he had my tendencies."

"What was his name?"

"It was Lattice…"

"And just how powerful was he?"

My face changed from passive to slightly dubious. Did that really matter? "He was only three at the time, but he had a power level of about… five thousand." I struggled to remember the numbers that our only scouter had shown all those years ago.

Vegeta turned his gaze to the horizon, his mind perhaps working to create an image of his late nephew. "He would have made an excellent warrior. He was of royal blood and otherworldly heritage." His lips curved into a smirk. "I would have loved to take a crack at the boy."

I chuckled at his words, taking the opportunity to change the subject. "Yes, I'm sure you would have. But that's what I'm here for." My tone turned serious as I readied myself, blocking out any distractions, all senses trained solely on the man in front of me.

Vegeta mirrored my actions, arms tense, eyes narrowed.

For a whole minute we stood still... just levitating above the mountains. We drank in each other's posture, searching for unguarded areas; weaknesses. Simply waiting for the other to make the first move…

I took that moment to grin. "I think my eyes are getting more of a workout right now than anything else..." I commented, eyes remaining un-blinked for a whole minute.

…An invitation in the least.

In a flash Vegeta was before me throwing lightning fast punches that seemed to cut through the air itself. I narrowly dodged each of them, and he could see this as he smirked devilishly through his flurry of fists.

Spotting an opening, I ducked low and swung a leg out to knock him off his balance.

At the last second he jumped to avoid it and kicked back, aiming for my chest. His knee landed square over my sternum as the rest of his leg sent me rocketing backwards. The wind was as loud as a scream as my body flew through the sky, drowning out my exclamation of pain. I cracked an eye open, and through the blurriness and fog I could hardly tell if Vegeta was there or not. Not a moment later, two boots slammed into my back with an unforgiving force. I was now soaring into the sky.

'Shit—he's not just warming up!' Vegeta appeared above me, hands locked together, poised to smash into my stomach. I had to react. Pronto.

His hands came down, but not into me; an after-image!

"What?"

I quickly powered up, catching my brother by surprise. He didn't have time to move as I lunged at him from the right, my fist connecting with his cheek like a wrecking ball to a building.

This time he was the one sent flying… into a mountain. Rocks crumbled and fell on top of him, but I knew that it was nothing for Vegeta. I waited for a moment as the dust settled. My tail twitched as his energy signal sparked… but remained relatively the same. 'What is he doing down there?' That's when I saw a flash of red.

"GALICK GUN!"

My eyes reflected the hiccup in my chest.

Reacting swiftly, I held my hands out as the purple beam approached me. "Here goes!" My hands began glowing as I invoked my old master's name—"Chiakho—HA!" A stream of blue energy shot forth and met head-on with the ray of lilac that sought to burn me to a crisp.

The collision sent vibrations through my hands and arms, but was the least of my problems.

I grunted heavily against the strain of holding off my brother's signature attack. My eyes were squinted, and the standstill of energy waves fluctuated between bright and blinding every few seconds, to the point that it almost made broad daylight seem like the oncoming night.

I forced myself forward, blue steadily consuming purple. Vegeta's blast suddenly gave way much faster than it should have, causing me to lurch forward and send and overly powered up attack into the mountains bellow.

'Damn!' I paled as the ground exploded in a flashy display of violet energy. It would have been beautiful, the light show, if not for the circumstances.

I turned around, pinpointing my target above me, then gestured towards the enormous crater below that was once an entire mountain. "I could have blown a hole through this planet, you know!" If I'd been up a few dozen—maybe a hundred more feet, I'd be dodging geysers of molten lava… "You shouldn't have done that!"

Vegeta sure had a way of testing one's strength... I'd just assume that he calculated the damage beforehand...

But my brother floated by, indifferent to the crater gaping up at us, as if it had been there all along. "Well you didn't, so let it go already and fight me!" He powered up a less lethal blast and chucked it at me, momentarily streaking the air with yellow.

I deflected it with one hand and caught Vegeta's fist with the other. 'Smart move, brother.' He had used the blast to distract me as he'd closed in.

Then there was my mistake. I should have attacked. Instead I held on to his fist and smirked, allowing Vegeta to reach out and grasp the hand that held his, trapping me as he unexpectedly powered up to his super form. I squinted again as his flame-like aura lashed out at me. Another mistake. As I stiffened up, this gave him the perfect opportunity to seize my arm with both of his hands and throw me over his shoulder.

At least I managed to catch myself before I was sent crashing into the rocks, and send a blast of my own his way.

Vegeta knocked it aside, his momentum going unhindered as he charged straight at me.

I flew at him as well, one fist positioned above my head. Just as we were an arm's length from each other, both of us struck out.

My head snapped to the right, a gloved fist planted firmly in its left cheek. Vegeta grunted; his face also turned away from the impact of my own hand.

We both slowly pulled away, Vegeta smirking as he rubbed his jaw, me testing the hinges of my own. Wordlessly, we attacked each other again: his foot in my stomach—my knee in his.

The prince managed an odd cackle through his coughing as I sputtered, having nearly had the wind knocked out of me.

He grabbed my knee with both of his hands. "This…"

I clasped my hands around his ankle. "Is perfect," I finished, smirking playfully. I gave a great shove, him doing the same to put distance between the two of us.

And did it ever feel good. This was what I'd always wanted. 'I guess it's just saiyan nature.' To have my once estranged brother of all people beating the pants off of me, and being able to return the favor. Our power levels seemed to be nearly the same. That's what made it the perfect challenge.

I hadn't been able to do this in years... Since Paragus was still my teacher… I had quickly outgrown the man, and Broly's power nearly doubled with each passing year. I could never have a decent fight.

'But wait…' My eyes widened slightly. 'Vegeta is a Super Saiyan. Does that mean at his base level I'm stronger than him?'

There was a great deal of distance between us now. I could tell what was on his mind. We would see who the stronger one was right there and then.

I brought my hands up before me. "Let's do this the right way!"

He responded with a devilish smirk while raising his hands next to his head, then bringing them down to one side of his chest. "Galick gun…"

I quickly channeled ki to my hands, and channeled the spirit of my original teacher. "Chiakho—"

"FIRE!"

"HAAA!"

The two beams raced forward.

At that moment, something tickled my senses; something orange that popped out of thin air between the paths of the attacks. 'What is—'

There was a high-pitched scream as the blasts were a mere second from collision.

I hastily let go of my ki.

Vegeta must have known something was wrong, as his blast lost its power and both waves dissipated the moment they met, a few sparks and glinting lights having their last show before fading away.

I waited silently until it was safe to look, to prove my assumptions right. 'What is he—'

There was a low whistle and our gazes lifted upwards.

"Oh man, I almost got my head blown off!" Goku wiped his forehead, brushing aside his blond bangs. He too, I wondered why, was in super form…

Vegeta's face went from shock to outrage in a heartbeat. "KAKAROT! Go interrupt someone else's training! Unless you've come to get a beating, go home!"

His eyes widened a great deal. "You guys… call this training? What if you destroyed the ball?" He held up his hands and shook them for emphasis.

I flew up to meet him face-to-face so I wouldn't have to yell. "Goku, what are you doing here? What are you talking about?" I noticed he was clutching a small device that beeped every other second, an orange dot flashing on its round screen.

He blinked and scratched his head. "Uh, well, before I left to go into outer space, I'd been searching for the Dragon Balls. Ours kinda died out when the Earth's guardian fused with Piccolo." He pulled out an orange marble about the size of his fist. "But now we have a new guardian who reawakened them, so we can wish all the people Cell has killed back to life."

The beauty of the crystal distracted me from his last statement; I noted it was marked with three red stars.

I stared harder at the semi-translucent ball in front of me. "Dragon Balls… I've heard of them from somewhere…" An elder on Yardrat who studied foreign mythology had once mentioned them.

Seven mystical balls that had the power to grant wishes…

My heartbeat picked up and I did a double-take as the spherical item shimmered in the brilliant sunlight. I couldn't believe I was actually looking at… a dragon ball! They were real!

Goku brightened up a bit, his turquoise eyes shining in the sunlight as well. "Hey, I have an idea!"

Vegeta growled in annoyance. "Oh, that's just wonderful!" He then turned around with a huff and powered down to his regular form.

Shaking off my shock, I folded my arms over my chest, looking back down at Vegeta who had neglected to actually come up to talk. "Brother, are you going back?"

Vegeta clenched his fists, but did not face us as he spoke. "Of course I'm going back! I know that whenever that clown opens his mouth, there's no stopping whatever goes into motion!" He hastily took off, leaving a fading jet stream and the two of us behind him. In seconds he was a minute sparkle in the distance.

"Ah…" I faced Goku again. "I should go back with him… I do wish you a happy hunting, though."

Goku's bright demeanor dropped like a ton of bricks, almost startling me with the sudden emotional contrast. "But… don't you wanna hear my idea?" He sounded so pitiful, too.

I gave a short, nervous laugh before coughing briefly. "Of course, my apologies. What did you have on your mind?" Hopefully nothing to justify my brother's retreat...

He grinned sheepishly and I smiled back reassuringly, secretly adoring the look on his face.

"Well, I know I said I would do this alone… But with the whole school meeting with Chi-Chi, and the Broly thing…" He was scratching the back of his head again.

I raised an eyebrow at his words, and he stopped once he'd realized he was rambling.

"There's not much time left until Cell's tournament, and I'd really like it if you could help me find the other Dragon Balls before it's too late."

I nodded slowly, contemplating his proposal. 'I could get to know the infamous Kakarot.' Finally, with a small grin I answered, "Sure. I could use something interesting in my spare time."

"Alright!" He then pocketed the dragon ball and held out the small device from before. "This a Dragon radar— see that? There's a ball nearby."

I nodded, assuming that the small triangle was Goku and the orange dot (that was only a centimeter away on the screen) was the ball.

There was a sudden updraft and my eyes shifted around. "Goku… why don't you find this one on your own. I'll be right back." I had to dress appropriately if I was going to be searching for these things.

He blinked, seemingly clueless. "Why? What's wrong?"

I laughed softly at his expression, gesturing towards my skimpy attire. "I have to change." They were dirty, and I had broken out into a light sweat in my short-lived training session.

Goku placed one hand on his hip and rubbed the back of his head with the other. "If you say so. I really don't mind the way you look now."

"Of course you don't..." I mumbled, rolling my eyes.

He must not have caught my drift, because he just shrugged and smiled. "Nope."

I quickly scanned his outfit. "Hmm…" Yellow slacks, a white tee, and an orange and black jacket. 'I think I can come up with something similar…'

"You start looking. I'll be back in ten." I held up both of my hands, flexing all ten fingers to stress it.

I teleported away before he could open his mouth to say anything else.

Back in Capsule Corp, I found myself in the foyer that lead to the sleeping quarters. I rushed up the spiral staircase and made my way down the hall where my bedroom was. 'Vegeta probably isn't back yet.' I glanced at his door as I passed by.

…

Powering up briefly, all water instantly evaporated from my body. 'Who needs towels?'

"So much for dressing appropriately…" I stared down at the clothes laid out on my bed. "If we run into any cold weather, it'll be the end of me." I shrugged, grabbing the tights first.

After I was all dressed, I could have just concentrated and transmitted back to Goku, but I decided to walk out of the impressive building first. It must have been some divine intervention, because…

"Hey, Midori. You're changed again, I see. And back early."

I halted and turned to face my nephew. "Yes, after Goku interrupted our match, I promised I would help him locate the Dragon Balls. I couldn't go and fly around in short-shorts and a scanty top, now could I?" I smirked, knowing very well that my current outfit was almost just as bad.

Trunks gave an incredulous laugh. "Seriously? Have you looked in the mirror?"

I rolled my eyes. "I have tights on under my shorts. And I have a jacket on over this top, young man."

Trunks shook his head. "I get it. That's my cue to stop harassing you because I have no say in what my adult aunt wears."

I nodded in approval. "That's right…" My eyes unconsciously closed as I concentrated for a moment, then opened again when I'd found what I was looking for. "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow, or the day after." I gave a short wave as my surroundings disappeared before reappearing as the familiar mountain range.

"Oh, there you are." Goku smiled brightly at my arrival. He was sitting on a small ledge with the dragon radar in his lap. "Heeey, nice outfit!" He laughed lightly in amusement.

I placed my hands in the pockets of my jacket and grinned as I floated closer to him. "Well now, I thought it would be neat if we matched."

We had a similar color scheme going. I wore pale yellow tights under very short, black jean shorts, a yellow tube top, and an orange jacket that happened to be the same style as his. My tennis shoes were black as well.

The jacket was kept unzipped, so my whole torso was open for the world to see. My shorts (and every other pair of pants I got) were classified as 'low riders' so I wouldn't have to cut a hole for my tail.

I placed a hand on my bare stomach and idly rubbed it, feeling the slight curves of my abs. "Did you find another one?"

Goku stuck his hands into a hidden pocket in his jacket and produced one with a single star. "Yep." That made four.

The dragon radar began beeping loudly, catching our attention.

I moved closer to him and leaned over his shoulder to get a better look at the small machine. 'They're moving...' I concluded, seeing two small objects on the screen ascend at a rather fast rate.

Goku cocked his head to the side. "Oh, wow. How do like that? Two Dragon Balls are moving at once." He turned his head slightly to make eye contact. "Somebody must have beat me to 'em."

I stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Let's go." I then held the hand out for him to grab.

Goku nodded and smiled, pulling himself up. "Okay—this way." He turned to his left.

We both flew in the direction specified, Goku occasionally looking down at his radar to make sure we were on track. The silence following was not an awkward one. We merely enjoyed the scenery, and neither of us had spoken a word in the last fifteen minutes or so.

'Oh, I almost forgot to ask…' Keeping my eyes ahead of me, I inquired, "Goku, why have you taken that form? You're not fighting anyone, so why bother?"

Goku laughed lightly, slowing his pace up a bit (the beeping on the dragon radar had also slowed). "Well, I'm getting used to moving around this way all the time now. That way when I fight Cell, I won't have to worry about powering up so much."

I finally turned my head to face him. "That's a very interesting idea... I've also been meaning to ask someone about this Cell."

Goku slowed his pace a great deal, eventually coming to a halt. I stopped a second later, a few feet away. "We're right on top of them."

I glanced down, squinting through the clouds that blurred almost everything beneath. "In that building, I'm assuming?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

…

"That's what I call a big door."

We stood before a rather plain, albeit enormous building. It sort of resembled a fortress of ancient times, made of stone, minus the steel doors at present.

There was complete silence until a strange noise emitted from Goku's jacket, causing me to glance down. His pockets were glowing.

I poked his side to catch his attention. "Hey… look."

He jumped slightly, murmuring something about being ticklish. "Huh?" He pulled one ball out. It was flashing a yellow hue.

I quirked an eyebrow at the occurrence. "What does that mean?"

Goku caressed the surface of the ball with his thumb as he stared at it. "They do that when most, or all seven of them have been collected." He looked up at the towering doors of the stronghold before us. "I'll bet they're in here for sure."

Nodding, I took a step forward. "I feel a few weak energies inside, but I doubt they've noticed us."

"You think so?" He frowned slightly.

Out of nowhere, the giant doors slid open, revealing a pitch-black hallway. Apparently I'd been wrong.

We exchanged glances.

The Super Saiyan leaned forward from his spot. "Hello?" He then walked up to the entrance and peered through. "Is anybody home?" Of course, the shrouded hallway lacked a response.

So he faced me and shrugged. "It's safe."

I moved to his side and leaned in as well. Even with my enhanced vision I could barely see thirty feet in. I doubted he could, either. "I don't know… Seems a bit funny." Just because the energies I had sensed were weak, didn't mean that they wouldn't pose a threat…

To my hesitancy he placed a warm hand on the bare small of my back (the jacket was actually quite short), just above my tail and gave a gentle push. "You're okay. Besides, I'm here." He smiled brightly.

"Huh—Uh, yes… Okay." I blinked, adverting my gaze to the ground. Unknown to him, that small touch caused my tail to twitch and curl up, and a tiny shiver to crawl up my spine.

He finally took his first step inside, calling out, "Well, we're comin' in now!"

… ...

The only thing accompanying us in the dark tunnel was the echo of our footsteps.

I sighed heavily. "Goku, how long have we been walking down this—" I stopped and stared as hundreds of spears appeared out of the walls on both sides of us. 'Well damn…'

"Huh?" The blond stopped as well, eyes large.

I heard a distinctive click in the background and immediately put a barrier around us.

Goku blinked in surprise as several dozen spikes shot out and hit my invisible barrier, ricocheting off of it and falling harmlessly to the floor with a clank. "Thanks, Dori." He bent over and picked one up for me to examine. "Wow… these things are sharp."

I let the shield down and grunted. "You don't say."

He smiled appreciatively in response. "If it weren't for you, we could have gotten hurt."

I laughed out loud at that one. "Don't mention it... but our clothes were the only things in danger, really."

He laughed as well, tossing the spear over his shoulder carelessly. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

A minute of walking later…

"Are we there yet?" I interlocked my fingers above my head as he played with the dragon radar, zooming in to get a better perspective of the distance left.

"Hey, we're really close."

"How close?"

"Like…" He brought his gaze up and pointed to a suddenly visible door, straight ahead. "Over there close."

I smirked and grabbed a hold of his closest forearm. "Then, come on!" I pulled him the rest of the way, not stopping until I had pushed through the door standing between two of the balls and us.

"Uh…"

"I don't see them, Goku."

A small, overweight man spoke up with a strange accent, startling us out of our confusion. "Don't just stand there!" he exclaimed. "Please, come in." A pair of dark shades and a wide brimmed hat hid most of his pudgy face.

Strange… I hadn't even noticed the man behind that desk.

Goku let out a tiny gasp.

Curiously, I followed his gaze and saw the two glossy orbs sitting on the table just before the man. 'Well I'll be damned.'

Goku grinned and advanced without the slightest hesitation. "Yeah! Now I've got 'em!"

'Well,' I smiled. 'That was easy…'

The midget behind the desk in the pinstriped suit smirked. "Wouldn't you know, I was about to say da same thing..." he murmured, trailing off in a sinister tone that seemingly only I caught.

Alarms were going off in my head. "Hold on, Goku—"

An older man with a long raven braid, wearing a mask and pink outfit appeared out of nowhere to stand between Goku and the desk. "Now just give up the Dragon Balls nice and slow, and then go away!" He smirked. "Or this is going to get very ugly!"

The light-hearted saiyan merely smiled. "Hey! General Tao, is that you?"

I furrowed my eyebrows, remaining silent. I'd let him handle this one… but there was something awfully shady about both of the men before us.

"Pardon?" The "general" stood stock still, his arms folded neatly behind his back.

Goku pointed to himself. "Remember me? My name's Goku."

"Go…ku?"

The mentioned man took a step forward, still grinning as if he'd been reunited with a long lost friend. "We've had our differences, but it's good to see you again!" He sounded genuinely sincere toward the lanky, pink-clad man.

I almost laughed as what looked like binoculars protruded out of the man's mask (where his eyes would be), then retracted a few seconds later. 'Is it just me, or is this guy sweating?'

"Why me? Why?" His voice had gone up a few pitches.

Two suited thugs approached Goku, seemingly out of nowhere.

I openly scoffed, knowing something like this might happen. "I would watch yourselves, men. You don't know what you're getting into." I walked up to Goku and placed a hand on his shoulder, the other on my hip.

There was a low chuckle, but neither of the guys seemed to be doing it.

I looked down. It was the small man that had been seated behind the desk. He suddenly hopped around one side of Goku's legs, looking from side to side, as if he'd lost something. What was he… like two feet tall? He barely reached Goku's knees!

The midget straightened and smirked. "But first, you'll tell me where you've hidden your chicken. That's right, I know you have one."

We exchanged another glance.

"Chicken?" Goku twisted around to look behind him. "Where?"

"Don't play dumb!" the little man exclaimed, "The one with the frying pan!"

I stared down at the man indignantly. "What in the world are you talking about?" What was a chicken?

My companion was just as clueless as I was. "Is this chicken like a pet of yours?"

'That man looks like he's going to explode. Or cry…'

Finally someone decided to speak up. "Stop confusin' him!" Thug number one lunged at Goku, grabbing for his pockets. "Just give us your Dragon Balls!"

"Hey, wait!" Goku barely lifted his hand in defense and sent the man flying into a wall, leaving cracks in the cement.

I snickered quietly, patting Goku on the back. "Watch yourself now, Goku."

"Yeah…" He examined his hand. "I should really learn not to use that much power."

I looked up just as thug number two pointed a gun in our direction and fired. The startling BANG must have been the worst of it.

The bullet was traveling fast, but not fast enough. I reached out and caught it. All it left was a slight itch in the palm of my hand. "Well, would you look at this…?" I held it for Goku to see, dropping it after he was done looking.

The man who fired the round stumbled back a bit. "They're some kind of monsters!"

As Goku moved to the side to apologize to the man he'd hit, there was a sudden uproar of panic. The only silent ones remaining in the room were the General and I.

I tossed a disturbed look towards all the men who were scrambling over to the table with the Dragon Balls. Cowards. Did they really think Goku was out to hurt them?

'Apparently, if they're closing themselves under a glass dome.' I frowned deeply at the display and lifted my own hand up, mimicking the shape of a handgun. "Let's see how they like my bullet…" The tip of my index finger heated up sharply as it became concentrated with ki. If they were aiming to kill for those Dragon Balls, then it was only fair if I played along with their little game.

"No, don't!" Goku rushed to my side, laughing nervously as he waved his hands in front of him. "You don't have to do that!"

I stared at Goku with an even face, not believing him. "Why not, Goku? They've tried to harm us on more than one occasion now. Their intentions definitely aren't pure."

Was he blind?

When he saw that I wasn't backing down, his expression fell to that of a deep hurt. As if the thought of me harming these men was a slap in the face to him. "But… Midori… We don't need to use that kind of violence..." he finally whispered, his large eyes silently pleading with me.

I wanted to argue with him; tell him that he was being a fool. 'He's adamant about this…' But I chose not to voice my frustrations, instead waving them off as I walked away from Goku with a roll of my eyes. "You deal with them however you like. I'll be outside."

"... Okay." His tiny voice was the last thing I heard for a good minute.

Glass shattering echoed back to me, followed by the sound of hysterics as I made my way outside. "Those men are incredibly foolish… and lucky. If it were me in there, they would have been long gone for those stunts they tried to pull."

Finally outside, I spotted a tree that looked like a nice place to relax. 'He probably won't be long, but…' I walked around the other side of the tree and lowered myself to the ground, leaning back against the large trunk. The light smell of bark invaded my senses, and it was comforting.

A minute later I became restless. 'I should meditate… haven't done that in a while.' I sat up and crossed my legs, closing my eyes and sighing. 'I wonder…' With my mind, I reached out, hoping to find this Cell android who was hosting a tournament in a few days.

'Oh, that has to be it.' There was a great deal of negative energy radiating from an area not all that far from the spot we were at. 'Ten minutes flying, tops.'

One second with instant transmission.

I stood slowly, shrugging off my jacket and slinging it over one shoulder. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I left for a minute to check out—"

Tires screeched as a black car pulled out of the fortress and sped down the dirt road.

"…Well now…" I glanced at the building, my nose wrinkling from the offending smell of burnt rubber. 'I guess Goku used scare tactics… So why is he still inside?'

I groaned and placed two fingers on my forehead, transmitting myself to his location.

The first thing I noticed was that Goku was missing his jacket. Not because he was showing off his lovely chest and muscular arms (oh, he had a wonderful physique, let me tell you…), but because… it held the Dragon Balls. And if the jacket was M-I-A, then so were the balls. And he just sat there, toying with some tiny metal figures that were looped through each other.

My eyes couldn't contain a small twitch. "Goku. What are you doing?"

He looked up and blinked. "I'm trying to solve these puzzles. If I can finish all three before tomorrow morning, I get to keep the other two Dragon Balls!" He smiled cheerfully, apparently not holding a grudge from what happened just minutes before.

I frowned, my eyes narrowing. "Did you happen to see where your jacket went?"

"Uh…" He was totally concentrated on the small puzzles. "I think Tao has it. He should be in the other room or something…"

My eyes widened in disbelief. "Other room my a—" I forced myself to stop and rub my forehead instead.

No wonder Vegeta angered easily around this man! He was either being very arrogant, or VERY naïve!

'It's most likely that latter… I don't think he knows that they actually took off with the other balls, either…' Oh well. I'd just find the men and get Goku's possessions back.

It was then that I noticed thug number two sitting in the corner of the room staring straight at me. Drool dripped from his mouth like leaky faucet.

I stared back through narrowed eyes. "What are you looking at?"

He immediately straightened up; even turned to the side and whistled a tune.

Sighing, I then leaned forward and grabbed one of Goku's hands so he would stop.

Smiling charmingly, I stroked the top of his head a few times. "You just stay right here and finish your game. I'll be back later, okay?"

Goku gazed up at me in confusion—"Um, okay."—and was back to messing with his toys by the end of his short sentence.

I tossed my jacket onto the table and stretched my arms a bit. "Watch that for me."

"… Yeah, got it."

'Wow. He's really determined… Okay, let me find these people… Huh.' They'd gotten farther than I thought they would. 'Well, here I go.'

The plain room, along with Goku and the other guy vanished, and I was standing in the middle of a dirt road.

There was a forest to my right, and a grand lake to my left. And then there was the approaching black car just ahead.

I smirked at the oncoming vehicle and waved at them. What I expected was for them to lose control and swerve off the side of the road and crash… But no… Instead they increased their speed.

This caused a dry laugh to escape my lips. 'What are they going to do? Run me over?' They were within ten feet.

I lifted a fist and brought it down into the hood of the car, breaking through it with a pleasing CRUNCH.

Oopsies.

The car's posterior lifted into the air and groaned under the pressure of its heavy back being forced up by such a small object (my hand). I then hastily pulled my fist out, a few metal objects flying out after it, causing the car to abruptly fall. Oh, how I wanted to laugh at the sight of the grown men inside screaming like little children.

"Okay!" I spread both of my arms out and smirked. "Listen up, boys!"

The three men nodded silently, having instantly shut up.

"I want those Dragon Balls back—all six of them. I really don't appreciate you taking advantage of Goku. He's a very kind man, and always assumes the best of people…"

For a second they just sat there, cowering.

I frowned. "Unless you want me to throw this car into that lake over there…"

They began scrambling, and I saw something orange being tossed around. General Tao stepped out of the car, trying his best to seem composed. "Here you go, miss. Sorry to trouble you and your boyfriend." He held out Goku's jacket and counted all six.

I quirked an eyebrow but said nothing to correct his words. After recounting the orange marbles again to be sure, I sent the men on their way. Literally. One swift kick to the backside of their car and they were sent rocketing down the path.

"Good riddance…" Pulling the Super Saiyan's jacket on subconsciously as a brisk breeze passed, I cracked a smile.

"We don't need to use that kind of violence…"

'Oh Goku...' I laughed quietly. 'You're quite the idealist…'

... ...

…It was getting late. I'd been staring at the setting sun, still as a statue for the last half hour, huddled under the thick orange and black fabric… just breathing in Goku's scent.

I'd made a small hole in the ground with a very harmless blast to the dirt. The Dragon Balls rested there, piled together, flashing occasionally. They were enchanting in the twilight atmosphere. The lake just ahead portrayed a mystifying mirror image of the sun as it slowly made its way under the distant snow-capped mountains.

I inhaled and exhaled softly, the sound mingling with the sighs of the wind as I looked up at the violet sky. "Goku…" I nuzzled my face into the side of his jacket's collar. "Hurry up, will you?"

'Well, I probably won't be seeing him until next morning, so…'

After waiting a nameless amount of time for the sun to set, I placed two fingers on my forehead.

"Oh my." I was standing in the corner of a large marble surface in the middle of nowhere. Only the surrounding mountain ranges and the plains would be witnesses to the upcoming events. It was almost perfect in a sense; nature would bear witness to two forces of nature colliding.

The wind blew with a free spirit as I took in my surroundings through critical eyes.

This was where the showdown would be held after two more days…

Midori's just a hair weaker than Vegeta (not that they know it), and she's got a crush on Goku, that's for sure! But it's obvious that the two have different takes on how to deal with unfriendlies.

And, she's finally gone to see Cell! Hmmm...