"Let's eat, everyone!" Chi Chi announced, clicking her chopsticks. In celebration of Universe 7's survival, the restoration of the other universes and Goku's return home, the Son matron had prepared a huge feast for the family. Gohan, Videl and Pan had also dropped by for lunch, and while the affair was sure to be quiet, it was something that they would treasure.
Without waiting another second, every single saiyan (except Pan, who was still a baby) at the table ripped into their food, grabbing stir fry and pork chops while shovelling ramen into their mouths. Chi Chi made an exasperated noise but smiled anyway. This was her family, no matter how odd they were. Cooking enough food for two hundred normal people was worth the labour if she could see her family so delighted.
"Saiyans," Gyu-Mao said jokingly. "I bet if I reached into their stomachs I wouldn't even touch the bottom!"
Pan giggled as Videl spoon-fed her some tender pork flesh. The young mother smiled and scooped food onto her own plate before feeding her daughter more. "How do you do this, Chi Chi? Even my dad's old cook would have trouble dishing up so much!"
"It comes with practice, dear," Chi Chi told her, glad that Videl was taking an interest in cooking. The human girl was a good cook, and Chi Chi believed that, with the right training, she would become an amazing housewife one day.
As the Son family enjoyed their meal, laughing and talking, unaware that their family ties were about to be broken.
She had told herself not to think about him, but something pulled her toward Goku. Caulifla stared blankly ahead as she contemplated her situation. How hard she had tried to pull away from Goku and Universe 7. But there something strangely addicting - something that gave her thrill. He's my enemy, she reminded herself. So why would I seek him out? Just what the hell draws me to him? It was the urge to fight, she concluded. He had kicked her ass into the ground during the tournament but Caulifla refused to believe that he would stay superior to her for long. Now she wanted a rematch that would shake the heavens. She had not yet trained her latest super saiyan form - she was hoping that a spar with Goku might provide for that. The female saiyan grinned wickedly as she imagined punching him through a chain of mountains. The thought of a fight made her blood race with anticipation but, secretly, she was hoping that he would take her under his wing. It was something that she herself could not come to accept, instead strongly denying it. But deep down she knew that in order to achieve those godly levels she would need a teacher. The earth-raised saiyan fitted the brief, so why not?
At first, Caulifla considered going to the earth police for help, but she figured that these humans wouldn't react well to the likes of her. Then there was the Briefs - Vegeta's family. There hadn't been much exchange between her and Vegeta but she knew that he was nearly as strong as Goku. Goku was irritating to say the least. He was so much stronger than her - that fact alone already made her kill him and spit on his grave. Also, he called her 'Cauli', which further incensed her. No one had called her that since she and Renso had been children on Sadala. It was a nickname exclusive only to family. Not even Kale, who she considered her soul sister, was allowed to refer to her as 'Cauli'.
A red haze descended upon her gaze, and the rain-that-was-not-rain flashed through her mind. The wetness and stickiness of the blood as she crawled into bed with dead bodies, unaware they were nothing more than cadavers. She grimaced and pushed the memory away, choosing instead to focus on the times she and Renso had spent together. Their spars and hunting sessions gave way to a more unpleasant memory: Caulifla screaming at Renso and disowning him as her brother when he willing conscripted himself into the Sadala Defence Forces.
Not too far away she could feel a small band of chis, the highest at around ninety. Huh. I'm surprised he can suppress his power so low. She didn't bother to lower her own power level. She had no doubt Goku had already sensed her and would be on guard. Caulifla slowed down in her flight to briefly observe the Son family's picnic. The food smelled so enticing and Caulifla realized she hadn't ate since Cabba recruited her during their first meeting. Her stomach growled as it pleaded for food. She floated down lightly in front of them, her arms crossed over her chest. "Son Goku."
Instead of reacting with hostility like she had expected, Goku threw up one of his arms in greeting. "Hey Cauli!" he greeted happily through a mouthful of pork chops. "Glad to see you're okay."
What the hell? I get that he's brain dead and shit but we're supposed to be enemies! Why is he being so chummy-chummy? Her thoughts made its way through her scowl.
"Goku?" Chi Chi said, scowling back at Caulifla. "Who is this?" Her voice trembled slightly with an emotion Caulifla could not recognize. Fear perhaps? No, she had encountered plenty of fear in her lifetime and this was not it.
"She was a competitor in the Zeno's tournament," Gohan answered for Goku, blinking curiously at the sight of the female saiyan. Goku made some sort of noise to confirm Gohan's statement. "Universe 6 if I remember correctly, right?"
"Yes," said Caulifla. "And if you haven't already guessed, I need to speak with Goku."
"Oh no you don't missy!" snapped Chi Chi, standing up and slamming her palms on the picnic table. "Just who do you think you are, barging in and making demands?! Get out of here! Goku doesn't want to see you, you-you hussy!" She snarled the insult, disapprovingly eyeing her attire. Suddenly, Caulifla had a very good idea what the emotion she had been displaying before was.
"Don't be like that, Cheech," Goku chided. "It's not like that! I bet she wants to fight me if anything."
"Is it an earth culture to marry inferior women?" sneered Caulifla, the hussy insult still stinging. "If someone as stupid as you can figure it out-"
Chi Chi glared at her and cut her off with an unintelligible noise which sounded like a cross between a splutter and a sneeze.
Goku stood up, ready to pacify the catfight that was bound to eventually happen. He didn't know whether to be terrified or thankful when Chi Chi turned away from Caulifla to stare down her husband. "You'd better beat her ass to defend my honor!" she told him vehemently. "Come back before sundown and no funny business, you hear me, mister?!"
Goku broke out into a wide grin. "Deal! Thanks Chi Chi!"
The two saiyans landed in a rocky landscape, which was part of a dry, arid desert - the Gizard Wasteland to be exact. It was where Goku and Vegeta had first fought in a clash of the titans and Goku found it appropriate for the land to host what was sure to be another epic battle.
"Ready?" Goku prompted Caulifla, shifting into his trademark fighting stance.
Caulifla tipped her head to one sight in a purely feline manner. "You're not going super saiyan?"
"Nah, I prefer to start slow."
Caulifla moved into her own stance, her eyes concentrated on his unmoving form. "Well bully for you then because I'm going super saiyan." Without even a yell, she transformed, her already gravity defying hair spiking upwards in a golden aura. Her teal eyes flashed. "Are you ready?" Goku's smirk told her all she needed to know and Caulifla shot forward.
"HAAH!" She feinted and phased through him, tossing a chi blast at him. Goku deflected the blast and flew at her, exchanging a multitude of blows. One of her strikes caught him in the gut and he winced slightly, feeling his half-digested meal complain. Seeing the opening that he gave her, she through a punch at his head, missing by a hair as he ducked and grabbed her waist between his longer legs. What the hell is he doing?! With a battle cry, he threw her spinning into the air, momentarily disorientating her. He then teleported to where she was drifting and forcefully hit her into the desert floor.
"See that?" Goku called out to her from the air. "Even without super saiyan I can still take you on."
"Don't mock me!" Caulifla snapped, shooting from the small crater her rough landing had created. Goku was still insanely powerful even in his base form. He could easily match her in speed and power. It was either time for her to go beyond super saiyan or figure out a strategy to subdue him. He's a natural fighter. He doesn't even need to think about what he's doing. A warrior's instinct was something not many had and Caulifla found herself admiring him because of it. Her blood boiled as the fight continued, her own warrior's instinct coming into play as she dodged and deflected his chi blasts.
Goku froze in the air and cupped his hands together. "KA...ME...HA...ME..."
At the same time, Caulifla decided to show off her talent for mimicking attacks. "KA...ME...HA...ME..." It was going to be a huge beam struggle. But who didn't love a good beam struggle?
Gohan sneezed. "Weird..."
"Something wrong, dear?" asked Videl, holding Pan in her arms. "Is it about that new saiyan?"
"No, no... I wasn't even thinking about her. I don't know why but I suddenly thought about Cell and that," he shuddered, "one-armed kamehameha I did."
"It's okay Gohan, try not to think about it."
"HAAAA!" screamed both Caulifla and Goku, launching their attacks at each other, Goku's blue beam meeting Caulifla's red one. The energy attacks caused the entire Gizard Wasteland to tremble; stone pillars crumbled and even entire plateaus and mesas collapsed due to the high amount of energy being generated.
Caulifla pushed more chi into her kamehameha, resulting in it having a higher energy output than Goku's. Slowly but surely, the red light began to devour its blue counterpart.
Just as the red beam was about consume the blue completely, Goku suddenly erupted into a mass of golden aura, turning super saiyan right before Caulifla's eyes. Almost instantly, the blue kamehameha recovered and quickly finished off Caulifla's. The female saiyan put her hands in front of her to block the attack and hopefully push it toward the sky. "Hrrk," she grunted as the energy burned her hands. "Haa...AAH!" With great exertion, she launched it into space.
Goku landed on a rocky slope. "Not bad, Cauli!"
"Please," said Caulifla, "that was nothing." Though what had just ensued had taken its toll on her body, she still had plenty of energy left to spare.
Goku smirked and disappeared, not even leaving an afterimage behind. Caulifla sensed him reappearing to her left and again they traded blows. This time it was Goku who slipped past her defenses, causing Caulifla's eyes to widen. She rolled instinctively, his fist skimming across the small of her back before she quickly adjusted herself and sparred him fiercely once more.
Something hot grazed her cheek and she found herself dodging a volley of blue energy projectiles, each one with a high concentration of power behind them. Thinking quickly, she took the risk and went on the offensive, gracefully as well as not-so-gracefully avoiding his chi blasts. She jabbed at him ferociously, and to his credit, he managed to parry her flying fists. Using his elbow, he struck her in the face, sending her backwards.
"Why don't you go super saiyan two?" Goku recommended.
"I was about to, thank you very much," she huffed, feeling the familiar power of the ascended super saiyan form encompass her body. Dust flew into the air as she charged, and Goku found himself bending backwards to avoid her elbow and knee strikes.
Damn! thought Goku as she punched him through a crumbling rock formation. She's already gotten stronger in super saiyan 2 since we last fought. I'll have to up my game. Caulifla continued to attack him mercilessly, droplets of blood flying into the air as a right hook struck him right in the face. She swung her fist again but Goku caught it mid-strike, having transformed into super saiyan two.
Her mind was growing cloudy with pain as Goku began his counter attack, pummeling her into several stone structures and leaving her lying in the dust. She was strong in her super saiyan two form but Goku was stronger. She spat a gob of spit and blood before flying forward and seizing his spiky hair.
"Hey - what!" His scalp burned as she pulled onto his blonde locks. Caulifla flipped back, bringing Goku with her, releasing him at an angle. "No fair!" he pouted, making Caulifla smile.
"This is a fight! Who said anything about being fair?"
"Heh." Faster than Caulifla could follow, Goku was super saiyan 3 and his fist was embedded in her sternum.
"Huuk!" Caulifla choked, blood rising in her throat. Black spots invaded her vision, white light protruding through the gaps. "F-fuck..." No! I refuse to give up! She cried fiercely, pushing through the pain and tossing her head back as she continued to scream, her hair gradually becoming longer. When her transformation was complete, she glared at Goku. "Cheap shot, bastard."
"This is a fight!" Goku replied, mimicking her voice in good-natured teasing. "Who said anything about cheap shots?"
"...I'm going to make sure there won't be anymore Goku Jr.s running around," she said darkly. "Prepare yourself, Goku!"
The pair shifted into their battle stances once more, staring each other down. This time, Goku attacked first, moving left and right and then jabbing at her directly between the eyes. Caulifla moved her head to the side, grappling arms with Goku and then attempting to sweep her leg beneath his. But then he did that utterly annoying move of his again, capturing her leg between his own and rocketing her away from him.
Caulifla growled and got up. Her energy was fading faster than she had anticipated, even more so than it had when she first transformed in the Tournament of Power. It must be all that damage I took before. Goku hardly looks any better but he's got another transformation up his sleeve. She was going to lose, she realized. But the day she simply rolled over in defeat would be the day hell froze over. She was going down swinging no matter what.
Goku had to admit, this woman had a lot of fight in her. She was on the verge of collapsing but she still fought on. As she tired, he found it much easier to dodge and block her blows. It was nearly time to finish this battle. "KA...ME..."
At once Caulifla knew that he was up to. Her legs seemed to freeze and she stared in horror at the gathering energy in his hands. If he want to play it that way... "KA...ME...HA...ME..." Looks like it's down to another damn beam struggle. I changed my mind. Beam struggles are absolute hell.
"HAAA!"
Light exploded from the two warriors, and Caulifla sneered at defeat as Goku's beam pushed past hers. It exploded on contact, forcing her out of her super saiyan form. Her hair moved along with the resulting wind as she collapsed to her knees. Damn.
Goku moved toward her as soon as she fell unconscious, picking her up gently in bridal style. Her eyes were closed, and Goku couldn't help but admire how her face was now free of all emotion. She looked more at peace than he had ever seen her. The warrior found himself smiling and he brushed one of her bangs out of the way so it wouldn't curtain her lovely visage so much. You fought hard. You should be proud. Carefully, he removed one of his arms from under her and used his occupied arm to lift her closer to his chest as to not drop her. He then lifted his free arm to his forehead, about to use instant transmission to travel to Karin's for a sensu bean when he felt something soft against his collarbone. The saiyan warrior blinked in surprise as he saw Caulifla nuzzling comfortably into the crook of his neck. Erk. Better not tell her about this. She'll give me hell for it.
A/N: A bit shorter than my normal 3,000 or so. Just decided to end it here since I found it appropriate. I got math homework to do anyway. Hope you enjoy~
Anyone know how the hell hyperbolas work? I only get half of the content on it. It's a carry-on from parabolas and I was away for the entire week we did that (sigh). There's also this obnoxious kid in my math class who thinks he's all that. My math ability far surpasses him from what I've observed so far but he apparently gets the basic calculus work behind hyperbolas. I call bullshit.
Teacher: It'll take 10 minutes to do the homework!
Me: -Takes 5 hours to do one question-
ALSO! CONFESSION TIME! I'VE NEVER WRITTEN A LEMON IN MY LIFE. WHATEVER LEMONS I PLAN TO WRITE HERE WILL BE THE FIRST EVER. THIS IS ALSO MY FIRST ATTEMPT AT ROMANCE SO PLEASE BEAR WITH ME. I'M NOT EVEN OLD ENOUGH TO GET MY L'S YET. WHO THE HELL LET ME ON THIS WEBSITE?
Please review 0w0 (i mean if you want... no one's making you... ack i just dont wanna sound pushy eek o3o)