Learning to Love

by cookielover435

After Majin Buu's demise, Goku and Chichi decide to split up which leaves the whole family in despair. Everyone tries to help out the Saiyan but he refuses to talk until one fateful reunion with Suno, an old childhood friend. Can she break him out of his depressing shell, be a source of comfort for him and teach him about true love? What challenges will Goku face along the way?

8. Chapter 8

Hey guys! I would like to apologize to my readers for how long it took for this chapter to be released. Real life stuff got in the way and on most days, I was too busy to write, but I'm happy to be back with another chapter. Three, actually. I opted to split this particular chapter into three parts because it was becoming too long, and I didn't want to post it as one single chapter. I figured that not many of you would have liked to read a chapter that had too many words. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy reading!

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Chapter 8

Knock, Knock, Knock!

"Let me sleep for a little longer…" A voice croaked out. The little boy pulled the blanket covers over himself and buried his head inside the pillow, ignoring the noise. All he wanted was to sleep and not be disturbed. This bed was just so comfortable. There was no way he would be woken up.

Knock, Knock, Knock!

"Ugh, go away… I'm trying to sleep in peace…" He groaned slightly, annoyed by the knocks on his bedroom door. He made no attempt in getting up and opening the door for whoever it was. All he wanted was to sleep. He didn't want to be disturbed by anyone. His king-sized bed felt like a haven for him. It was so comfy that he could lie in there, forget about all his problems and relax all day.

Knock, Knock, Knock!

"Whoever it is… please go away. I just want to continue sleeping…" Now he had himself buried underneath his blanket covers. He was feeling quite lazy to get up, and it hadn't been the first time. Why couldn't he have this moment to himself? He was sick of whoever was knocking on the door and disturbing his peace and quiet.

Knock, Knock, Knock!

"Leave me alone. How hard is it to understand that I just want to sleep in peace!?" He said, extremely irritated. Sleep was the only thing that he wanted. Why was it so hard to understand?

"Goten?"

No response.

"Goten?"

Still no response.

"Goten? Wake up!"

He continued to ignore the voice calling out to him and continued to sleep under the covers.

"Little Bro, come on. I'm not playing around. Wake up already!"

"Leave me alone. All I want is to be in bed all day…" He groaned.

"We've got a whole day ahead of us. Time is of the essence here, so stop being lazy!"

"I don't want to wake up. Why don't YOU leave me alone!" The little boy whined, still not wanting to get up from underneath the covers.

A sigh of frustration was heard from behind the door. It slammed open, revealing an annoyed Gohan who was folding his arms. He didn't seem too pleased with his younger brother being so stubborn. "Goten."

"Ugh, what do you want?" He finally sat up and removed the blanket covers. He still looked very tired and sleepy, as evidenced by his droopy eyelids.

Another sigh escaped from his lips. "Videl and I must go to school soon and here you are still sleeping in bed. Some professional chefs hired by Mr. Satan are in the kitchen making breakfast for us. Can you please do us a big favor and get up? Brush your teeth and take a shower. Meet us in the dining room. Please don't waste any more time."

"Why?" He whined, still being stubborn. "I want to sleep. Can't you all just have breakfast without me?"

Gohan opened his mouth to scold his brother again, but then a thought crossed his mind. A sneaky grin appeared on his face and he left the door wide open while making his way over to his bed. He sat on his brother's mattress now, and his arms were outstretched towards him while he was still covered by his blanket sheets. All of a sudden, Goten's eyes shot open as he felt a prickling sensation. His arms and legs were flailing about and he was laughing uncontrollably.

"S-Stop! Stop it big bro!" He cried out as he felt his older sibling tickling him.

He continued to grin. "Are you going to wake up now, you lazy nut?"

"N-No, I don't want to…"

Then he continued to tickle his brother even harder, leaving him no room to breathe. Goten wanted to tell him to stop, but he couldn't find the words. This felt like the worst kind of torture to experience on an early morning like this. He finally relented while his laughs were becoming more contagious, "Okay, Okay, I'll get up now. J-Just please, s-stop tickling me!"

Gohan released his arms and his little brother removed the blanket, revealing his very sleepy form. His rubbed his eyes with his fists before staring at his elder sibling with a pouty face. "Why did you do that? This was the best sleep I've ever had!"

He rested a hand on his shoulder with a smile. "As I said before, Videl and I have to get to school on time. You should eat something and have a little fun with us before we leave. I know you wanted to sleep in, but your presence at the dining table will make things a whole lot better! I'll consider letting you sleep in next time, okay?"

Hearing that made him feel at ease. He jumped off the bed, kicking away his blankets and tossing them at the side of the bed. He started walking towards his bathroom to freshen up. "Alright, I'm gonna go get ready now so you and Videl aren't late for school."

"Nice, I'll see you in the dining room. Whatever they're cooking down there smells delicious. Trust me, you wouldn't want to miss out!"

It was then that his stomach started to rumble. "There's no way I'm gonna miss out on food when my tummy is empty!" He now had a goofy smile resembling their father's which made the older one smile.

"Thanks, little bro." Gohan gave his brother a thumbs up before walking out of the room and shutting the door.

As soon as his brother was out the door, the little boy sighed as he took a quick look out the window. The sunlight was seeping through, indicating that it was indeed early in the morning. The forced smile soon disappeared from his face, and it was soon replaced with a frown. He wasn't sure how long he could keep up the façade for Gohan. As bright as the morning was, he wasn't happy. There was a reason why he isn't happy. And it wasn't because Gohan woke him up when he still wanted to nap. There was one specific reason for this, and it was haunting him so much last night. So much that he almost couldn't go to sleep.

The reason was because of the phone call he had with his father.

He had been so excited to speak with his Dad again and couldn't contain his joy when Gohan agreed to call him. But then that happiness went away within seconds when his brother told him not to mention anything to their father about what had happened recently. Including being subjected to physical abuse by his 'mother.' To him, it wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that he had to create all these lies for his father while pretending that everything was fine at home when it wasn't.

He opened the medicine cabinet and took out his toothbrush and toothpaste. Tears were forming in his eyes when he remembered how he had to keep his brother's promise about not saying anything to their father. As he was holding the cellphone in his hand, a part of him was yelling at him to tell their father everything. But in the end, he had to LIE to him.

Goten spread a little bit of toothpaste on his brush before putting it back in the medicine cabinet. What was his Dad going to think of him if he ever found out that he lied to him? He wanted nothing more than to tell his father the entire truth. The man he felt safe and secure with… the man who always cheered him up whenever he was feeling down.

The young boy wiped the tear away as he turned on the sink faucet and allowed some water to run on the toothpaste. Turning off the faucet again, he began brushing his teeth. There was nothing he could do which would help get his mind off all this. He looked at himself in the bathroom mirror while brushing and he didn't see a cheerful little kid in the reflection. He saw himself as a disgrace.

His throat was starting to feel heavy…. More tears were starting to form at the corners of his eyes, but he was fighting hard to hold them back. He didn't want to feel like he was weak, but he was. After spending a few more minutes brushing his teeth, he used a little bit of water to rinse his mouth before putting his toothbrush back inside the medicine cabinet. His small hands gripped the edges of the sink as he just stared in the mirror for a while.

The tears were coming back to him as he was imagining what could possibly happen. It was becoming harder and harder trying to prevent them from falling. Although he understood the reason why his Dad couldn't know the truth, it still made him sad. He must have been worried sick about them for weeks and he just had to make up some stupid lies the next time he had the opportunity to speak with him again. His 'mother' hiring a tutor who comes in five times a week? Staying over at Videl and Mr. Satan's house just for dinner and his 'mom' giving them permission for that? Trunks coming over and bringing him food? He grimaced at those lies.

His hands left the sink and the little boy started to change out of his clothes. He had another clean set of clothing folded and put away in the bathroom shelf. His towel was there too. He stepped inside the bathroom and turned on the shower faucet. The half-Saiyan shuttered as he felt cold water running down his naked body. He wasn't sure what else could be done. He didn't even know whether his father knew of his lies or not. As he was scrubbing himself with his soap and sponge, fear was coursing through every part of his body. He didn't know what else to think.

After spending a few more minutes in the bathtub, Goten finally shut off the faucet and stepped out of the tub, being careful not to slip and fall in the process. He grabbed his towel and wiped himself off. He took the pair of clothes folded neatly in the bathroom shelf and walked out while having the towel wrapped around his waist. In a flash, he put on his clean clothes and hurried out the door to meet up with his brother, Videl, Mr. Satan and Majin Buu. They were sure to be waiting for him.

Goten silently shut the door and started walking down the long flight of stairs, trying not to think about their current situation. As he was getting closer to the dining room, he could smell breakfast in there and he could also hear footsteps moving back and forth in the kitchen.

"Be quiet Gohan, don't you try and deny this!" He heard Videl say as he was getting closer and closer to the dining room.

"What? You know I'm right!"

"Have you woken up Goten? It seems like he's taking an unusually long time to get here." He heard Mr. Satan comment.

"I've already done that. He seemed a little grumpy when I stopped by his room earlier. I literally had to tickle him just so he would get out of bed! I swear if he's gone back to sleep-"

"I'm here now." Goten fought hard to keep a smile on his face as he made his presence known to the group. "Good morning, everyone!"

"Little Bro, you're finally here. I was about to go and check up on you. I thought for a moment that you had gone back to sleep!" Gohan said with a bright smile on his face.

He let out a fake chuckle. "There's no way I would continue sleeping when there's breakfast on the table." His stomach started to rumble as soon as he said that. At least, that part was not a lie.

Videl beamed brightly at him. "Goten! How are you doing this morning?"

"I'm doing great. Thanks for asking." He was still struggling to keep that fake smile on.

"That's good to know." Hercule said, pointing a finger at an unoccupied chair. "Now take a seat. I'm sure you're starving!"

Goten didn't waste a second in taking his seat at the dining table. As he did so, a chef stopped by and placed a tray of piping hot cinnamon rolls on the table. His mouth didn't drool like it normally would. He was still upset about everything, but he would rather not burden Gohan with his feelings.

He tried as hard as he could to focus his attention on the delicious breakfast in front of him. The table was filled to the brim with mouth-watering breakfast foods, but he just couldn't work up an appetite. Coconut pancakes with caramel sauce and sliced banana, crispy fried bacon, spicy fried eggs, french toast with mixed fruit, banana bread, chocolate doughnuts, crepes, fried sausage, breakfast sandwiches with meat, cheese and vegetables. Followed by that were french fries, chicken and waffles, along with cinnamon rolls. It was so much that he couldn't list them all.

For drinks there was coffee, milk, yoghurt, fruit juice, iced tea and strawberry smoothies.

"Woah… I don't think I ever had a fancy breakfast like this!" Gohan commented. He couldn't help but steal a sandwich from the table and bite into it. "This just feels like the kind of breakfast you'd find in a restaurant. It's amazing!"

"Well, we do have the best professional chefs in the city!" Videl smirked at the sight of her boyfriend drooling at all the food in their sight.

"Well, what are you all waiting for!?" Mr. Satan asked as he began to serve his own plate with food. "Let's fill up our stomachs!"

"You don't have to tell me twice." Gohan exclaimed. "Come on Goten, serve yourself!"

"O-Oh yeah, sure."

As if his body were working on autopilot, the little boy began to fill his plate to the brim with food, not exactly caring what he put on the plate. His mind was still filled with guilt at having to lie to his father the way he did last night. Once his plate was filled with food, he sat back down and poured himself a glass of strawberry smoothie. He pushed his breakfast closer to him, took a fork but didn't try to eat anything. He just started picking at his food. Everyone's happy chattering became an echo in his head as he thought once more about the lies he told his father over the phone. Did his Dad really believe him or did he suspect anything?

"Goten?"

"Goten?"

"Goten, are you okay?"

Goten's body was trembling slightly, as his mind was still mulling over what happened last night. But he was brought out of his thoughts when he felt Gohan shaking him to grab his attention. He turned his head towards his brother, Videl and Mr. Satan staring at him worriedly. He slowly dropped his fork.

"Are you alright?" His brother asked, concerned. "You haven't touched any of your food."

"Yeah, I'm okay…"

"Are you sure you're alright?" Videl chimed in, staring at Goten's untouched breakfast plate for a second before looking back at the boy. "You can always talk to us, you know."

"It's just that…" Goten tried to get himself together as he mentally prepared himself for what he was about to say. "I… I… feel bad for lying to Daddy last night. I don't like lying."

Gohan winced at that, remembering how he told his brother not to say anything to their father about the recent events which happened to them. He had made Goten promise not to tell the truth before dialing their Dad's number and giving the phone to him. He explained to his brother why the truth couldn't be told to their father just yet, but he didn't think that would make him upset. He opened his mouth to speak, but then he heard Goten's voice again.

"All I wanted was to have a happy conversation with Daddy after 'she' separated us from him but then you just make me lie to him!" Tears started to form in his eyes once more as he gripped his fork. "I hate lying to people!"

The little boy felt a hand reach over the table to touch his arm. He looked up at his brother. "I know how it feels. Believe me, I don't like lying to anyone either especially Dad. If I were in the same position as you, I would feel the same. For real. I'm sorry for making you lie to him, but you must understand that he has a lot to deal with right now. And if he found out that we both ran away from home, he could fail in this situation. If he even found out about the physical abuse you went through, chances are that he could have tried to rescue you and Chichi would find a way to use it against him during your custody hearing. It would be critical for him and for us, right Videl?"

"You're right Gohan." Videl backed him up, nodding her head at his words. "Your Dad has to keep a cool head, so he doesn't jeopardize his chances of winning Goten's custody."

"That's right." He agreed, his eyes glancing around the mansion. "And besides Goten, don't you prefer staying here? Here you have Videl, Mr. Satan and even Buu keeping you company. Bee is even here if you ever want to play with him."

Goten wiped away his tears with his sleeve. "Yeah, I do. I know I'll enjoy hanging out with you guys. I would rather stay here than go back to that woman!" He had never thought about things that way, but now that his brother explained it to him, he couldn't feel angry about it anymore.

"And besides, it's a much safer place for the both of us. So, you don't have to worry about anything. Dad will go through this, and he'll get your custody for good."

"You're right big bro."

"So as our Dad used to say…" A huge grin appeared on Gohan's face. "You better eat your breakfast because a Saiyan needs strength to start the day!"

Goten then heard his stomach rumbling and laughed. "Well, you're not wrong, I better eat my breakfast!" He smiled upon remembering his father's old saying.

"Videl and I have to go to school soon, but is there anything you want to do while we're gone?" Gohan questioned.

He thought about that for a moment. "Ummm… not really. I don't really have anything in mind."

"How about you train with Buu while they're gone?"

Everyone turned to Mr. Satan's voice as he was serving some breakfast to Bee, who just arrived in the dining room after a long nap in his doghouse. One of the chefs had taken the liberty of filling a bowl with water and placing it in front of the Labrador.

"Dad, that's a great idea!" Videl turned to her boyfriend's brother. "What do you think Goten?"

"YOU MEAN I GET TO TRAIN AGAIN!?" He cried out, almost choking on a piece of chocolate doughnut. "Yes, Yes, Yes!"

"Calm down…" Gohan covered his ears at how loud his brother was. It took him a moment to recover from the assault to his eardrums. "And eat more slowly. You don't want to choke, do you?"

"Oops, sorry…" He slid back in his chair sheepishly.

"No problem."

"Wait a minute… Dad, aren't you training a new batch of students today in your dojo?" Videl asked.

"Not today." Hercule said as he resumed eating his breakfast. "It's their day off so Goten and Majin Buu can train in my dojo if they want to."

"Buu don't mind training with you!"

"Really!?"

"Nope."

"YAY!" Goten lunged forward and hugged him tightly. Buu retuned the hug given to him by the half-Saiyan.

"Alright." Gohan laughed at his brother's excitement. "Let's hurry up and eat the rest of this food so Videl and I can get to school quickly."

"R-Right..." Goten let go of the tight hug and returned to his seat. He filled his plate with more food and began to dig in. He was eating so rapidly that the chefs in the kitchen were gawking at him in shock. Videl, Gohan and Hercule just laughed as they ate the rest of their breakfast.

After a while, everyone was done eating. The dining table was cluttered with dirty dishes and other kitchen utensils. Goten sat back in his chair and burped loudly after drinking the last sip of his strawberry smoothie.

"That… That was good." Goten sat back and patted his stomach.

"You know Goten, you're very much like Dad when he eats!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, and the way you pat your stomach after eating… he used to do that too. Remember?"

"I remember." He smiled fondly when he remembered when him, his brother and his father would eat together at the dining table. Both would eat their food at the same pace and pat their bellies after eating. Not only did he resemble his father in appearance, but he had also inherited his eating habits.

They all smiled at that.

"Hey Gohan…" Goten had to wonder. That question was still floating in his mind, and it was making him sad just thinking about it. "Do you think Daddy will be mad at me if he found out I was lying?"

"W-What?" That question came as a shock to the teenage boy. "No way! Dad could never be angry with you. He loves you so much."

"I think he'll understand why you had to lie to him. There's no way he'll be angry at you. I'm sure of it." Videl said, giving the boy a soft smile.

"I agree." Mr. Satan chimed in. "Your father is a very kind-hearted man. He'll understand why you did it."

"Buu thinks so too!"

Looking at every single one in the room, he realized just how much they meant it. It was going to be alright.

"Thanks guys."

"Come here." Gohan pulled his brother into a warm and comforting hug which was quickly returned. "Everything's going to be okay. I promise."

"I know."

They remained like that for a while and then Gohan took a quick glance at the clock on the wall as soon as he heard it chime at the next hour. "Alright Videl, we've got to get going before we're late!"

"Right!"

The young couple gathered their book bags and walked out the door. Before they flew off into the skies, Gohan turned back to his brother as he almost forgot something. "Oh, and Goten? How would you like to hang out with Trunks at Capsule Corp later today?"

"I would love that!"

"Great." He refrained from telling his brother the real reason why he suggested that. Instead, he just gave a smile and waved. "Alright take care. Bye!"

"Bye Gohan, Bye Videl!"

"Bye Goten, Bye Dad!" She waved at them.

"The both of you, take care!" Mr. Satan shouted at them.

"Don't worry Dad, we will."

Videl shut the door and the couple flew off into the sky with their school materials in hand. Hercule got up from his chair and started walking towards his office. "I'm going to make a few phone calls. You two can use my dojo to train."

"Thanks, Mr. Satan."

"No problem kid. You coming along Bee?"

The dog looked between the duo and his owner. As this was happening, Goten bent down and petted the Labrador's head. It seemed as if the dog made his decision as he walked towards his owner while wagging his tail happily, not wanting to spend a minute away from him.

Seeing this, Hercule laughed. "Alright, I'll see you guys later." He waved at them before walking towards his office with his dog trotting happily behind him. He gestured to the chefs to start clearing the table as he walked past them.

"You ready to train with Buu now?"

"Yes, I am!" Goten pumped a fist into the air in excitement.

They high fived each other as they made their way towards the dojo. After that, the chefs started clearing the table and bringing the dirty dishes to the kitchen sink to wash. It would seem as if they were both going to enjoy this sparring session.

---

"Oh yes, this is it. Nice and crispy…"

Chichi stood behind the stove cooking breakfast for her oldest son. It was coming along quite nicely as the chicken was frying just the way she wanted it. Soon, she grabbed a spatula and removed the freshly cooked chicken from the pan and turned off the fire. She looked around the kitchen, feeling quite proud of preparing all this food without breaking a sweat. The food was the same as always, Toasted bread with butter, pancakes, scrambled eggs, boiled potatoes, a freshly baked fruitcake, banana bread, sausages, bacon, fried salmon, brownies and a chicken stir fry with vegetables. She had prepared so much of it. All for her son.

As she wiped her hands on a kitchen towel, a devious smirk was seen on her face as she remembered what needed to be done today. All she needed to do was to just exchange pleasantries and ask her father for the money, while putting on a 'cheerful' act for him. Thinking back to the phone conversation she had with her Dad, he didn't seem fully convinced that she needed the money to buy stuff for the boys. Well… her father had agreed to give her the money so she couldn't care less about his feelings. 'I'm going to get the money from you and that's all that matters to me. Stupid old man!'

She glanced over at the fridge and wondered if she should get a sip of alcohol but decided against it as it was too early to be drinking.

"Gohan? Breakfast is ready!" Chichi hollered. "And Goten, I'll be grading your homework and giving you some more. You're not eating anything until you FINISH ALL OF IT!"

Much to her shock and surprise, she didn't receive an answer from either of her sons. Her words fell on deaf ears. Thinking that they didn't hear her, she called out to them again. "Gohan, breakfast is ready!"

Still no response. Her loud voice echoed throughout the house and once again, she was ignored.

"GOTEN!?"

No answer from him either.

"DID EITHER OF YOU HEAR ME!?"

"Boys!" She stomped her foot on the floor as she was now becoming angry at being ignored. "I'm being serious here. Gohan, if you don't come downstairs, your food will get cold and I am NOT going to microwave it for you. You'll do that yourself. I won't waste my time or energy doing that. As for you Goten I'm gonna come up there and give you more homework and grade the ones you completed. That is, if you've done it already. If you haven't..." A smirk appeared on her face once more. "Then you know what's going to happen next!"

She still didn't receive an answer from either of the boys, and she was now furious. "That's it, I'm coming upstairs!"

Chichi walked out of the kitchen at a brisk pace and soon enough, she was walking up the stairs. As she was heading to her older son's room, she thought to herself angrily. 'Those boys, they think they can ignore me and get away with it!'

She finally stopped at her older son's bedroom door and took a deep breath. She knocked on the door and just like when she was downstairs, she was ignored. "GOHAN! I'm calling after you and you're ignoring me. Do you want to get in trouble, young man?"

Not a single response.

"GOHAN! You better answer me this instant!"

Still no response.

"Ugh!"

She slammed the door open and was shocked to find out that it was completely empty. Her son's room was neat like it always was, but there was no sign of him anywhere. He wasn't even sitting at his desk, and he wasn't in his bathroom either since the door was wide open.

'Could he have left for school already? But why didn't he tell me that he was leaving? He couldn't have just gotten up and left like that! Wait… something isn't right!'

Chichi stepped inside the room and walked to Gohan's dresser drawer. She opened all the drawers and much to her shock, there were no clothes inside. 'What's going on here?'

She then opened her son's wardrobe and none of his jackets or sweatshirts were there. Everything was gone, just like the dressers. 'Un-freaking-believable!'

Next, she searched his bathroom and none of his toilet items were there. His toothbrush, toothpaste, bathing soap, shampoo and sponge were nowhere in sight. Everything from his room was gone. She was starting to suspect something but was refusing to admit it. To confirm that this happened, she then decided to check her other son's room as well.

She didn't even bother knocking on the door. Goten wasn't in his room either. Nor was he in his bathroom which only raised her suspicions. All his books, homework assignments and study materials were there but there was no sign of that stupid brat anywhere. A quick look in his bathroom told her that his toiletries were not there anymore. His clothes weren't even in the dresser drawer.

Chichi stood back in absolute shock as she finally put the pieces together. 'The boys… they've escaped from home. Somehow, they managed to pack up their things and leave without me knowing.' She hadn't seen Gohan at all yesterday except for when he brought her to his room after she came home drunk. She never saw him again after that. Now she knew the reason why, and she had forgotten to check up on her other son all because she was too engrossed in her favorite soap opera. She should have checked up on him after her phone conversation with Nikushimi. 'No, No, No, this can't be happening!'

She let out a loud ear-piercing scream as she was clutching her head in anger and frustration. "DAMN IT, HOW COULD THEY HAVE ESCAPED FROM THE HOUSE!?"

Several veins were protruding from the sides of her forehead and her face turned completely red as the human woman was now angry. She grabbed Goten's nightstand and nightlight, raised it over her head and threw it out the window, glass shattering all over the floor and out on the grass. She was panting as she struggled to catch her breath. "How dare they do this to me! I'm going to find them and bring them back home. And then I'll give Gohan the same treatment I gave Goten. They will pay for this!"

'On second thought… I'll be the one winning sole custody of Goten so maybe I should leave them be for now. And when I win sole custody of Goten, I'll do whatever I want with him. And Gohan, I'll teach YOU discipline. I've been too lax on you lately so it's about damn time I teach you what it means to go against your own mother. Boys, enjoy your freedom while you still have it!'

A villainous smile appeared on her face as she was slowly calming down. She stared at the shards of broken glass on the floor. There was no need for alarm as she had more than enough money to find a window repairer who could easily get that fixed. With that thought out, she walked out of the room while laughing. She was going to eat some of the breakfast and head off to her father's castle in Fire Mountain to retrieve the money. This was going to be sweet.

Very, Very sweet.

---

"Okay honey, I'm almost done eating. I'll help a bit around the kitchen and I'll head off to work!"

"Sure. No problem."

Kaiyo was finishing up her meal and started stacking her dirty plates together. The elderly woman glanced over at her husband who had just taken his last bite of food and was also helping with the task of cleaning everything up. Eighter already had some greasy dishes piled in his arms and he neatly stacked them in the sink. All of them had made sure to leave some food in the refrigerator for the two people who still haven't woken up. It wasn't too long before all the grease-covered stuff were brought to the kitchen and soon enough, they started to clean up after themselves as quickly as possible since there was other stuff that needed to be done.

As they were washing the dishes, Eighter was starting to get a little concerned. "It seems that Goku and Suno are still sleeping. Should we go and wake them up? Time is passing by quickly."

Hiroshi thought about it. "I think we should do it. I expected Goku to sleep in for a little bit, but our daughter is usually an early riser." He opened one of the kitchen cabinets and put in some clean forks and spoons.

"Alright, it's settled." Kaiyo handed them some napkins to clean the dirty spots. "We'll go and wake them up. I wouldn't want them both to miss out on a brand-new day."

As soon was everything was cleaned and put in the right spots, they went on thoroughly wipe the kitchen counter and the dining table as both were dirty with food residue. When that was done, they stood back in the dining area, deciding on their course of action.

"Let's go wake Suno up first." Eighter suggested.

The trio hurried upstairs to Suno's bedroom, not stopping to do anything else. They were soon in front of her bedroom door. All three of them stopped to catch their breath, having come all the way without taking a break. Somehow, they had the feeling that they were going to find something very unusual.

"So…" Hiroshi wondered. "Who wants to knock on the door?"

"I'll do it."

Kaiyo moved closer to the door and tapped her knuckles against the wooden door. After a few moments, she didn't receive any response so she tried again. "Darling, are you in there?"

"Suno, please wake up!" The old woman called out. Once again, her words fell on deaf ears.

"Let me try." Hiroshi offered. He gave the door a few soft knocks just like his wife had just done. "Suno? Pumpkin, time is going by very fast. Please wake up. Your mother and I don't want you to miss out on a brand-new day."

Much to his shock and surprise, he also didn't receive any response from his daughter. "Are you there?"

"I'll try next."

Eighter stepped in front of them both. He knocked on the door a couple of times, but he also didn't hear a response from his friend. A frown crossed his face, not expecting that at all.

"I can't hear a single thing from inside." The android said. "Should we just go in there and wake her up?"

The two parents looked among themselves before they finally relented. Suno's bedroom door opened very slowly, as if the trio was expecting to find something very surprising… which they did. When the door opened fully, they had expected to find her fast asleep in her bed but upon their arrival, shock flashed through their faces. Suno's room was completely empty. Her queen-sized bed was made neatly… everything on her dressers and the clothes inside her drawers was nicely arranged… her bathroom was thoroughly cleaned, but there was no sign of her anywhere.

"S-She's not in her room…" Kaiyo said, snapping out of her shock. "W-Where could she be?"

"Could she have left the house?" Hiroshi wondered.

"I don't think she would leave the house without telling us. Not after all those times she would come back home sick or injured." Eighter told them. "She must be somewhere in the house. Why don't we find her?"

"Yeah, you're right. Let's do that."

"Of course."

The door shut quietly, and the trio began a search party. They split up and started searching every single area of the house. They checked the laundry room, the small basement, the guest bedrooms… but she wasn't in any of those areas. They kept calling her name but would receive no response from her. Every single time her name was called, their voices would echo throughout the small home.

"Suno!" Kaiyo shouted.

"Where are you!?" Hiroshi called out.

"Are you home?" The android yelled out.

After a while of searching, the three of them met up again in the living room as their search throughout the home proved to be fruitless. Suno didn't seem to be anywhere in the house, and they were running out of ideas. Where could she be? Did she leave to see someone early in the morning before they woke up? But if that was the case, why didn't they see a handwritten note lying somewhere?

"I don't understand," Kaiyo spoke, her face showing just how worried she was about her daughter. "Why couldn't she have left a brief note or something if she had to leave the house so early?"

"Beats me." Hiroshi answered, his hands holding the stair handle.

"Should we go outside and check with the residents? One of them could have seen her outside or something." Eighter suggested.

They start walking towards the front door and they waste no time in swinging it open. They feel the cool air instantaneously and they are about to step outside when Eighter hears a faint noise coming from somewhere in the house.

*Snoring*

"Did you guys hear that?" He asked as his feet was about to touch the snow.

"Hear what?" Kaiyo asked.

*Snoring, Snoring, Snoring*

"I hear it!" Hiroshi said excitedly.

They shut the front door as quickly as they opened it. They strained their ears to see if they could hear that sound again and where it was coming from. To their delight, they did. And it seemed as if it was coming from… the trio looked amongst themselves in excitement, having figured out the answer.

*Snoring, Snoring, Snoring*

"It sounds like it's coming from Goku's room!" Eighter said, his sharp hearing picking up the sound again.

"And we didn't even look there." Kaiyo spoke.

"This whole time we were so focused on finding Suno, that we forgot all about Goku." Hiroshi added.

The trio hurried up the small flight of stairs, through the hallways until they finally stopped in front of the guest bedroom occupied by the Saiyan. The trio looked amongst themselves once more, wondering what it was that they were going to find. Would they find only Goku? They silently nodded heads as Hiroshi's hand was on the doorknob. The old man slowly turned the knob, and the door began to open. When the door was fully open, a mixture of shock, confusion and surprise flashed through their faces. Nothing could have prepared them for what was presented before their very eyes. For a moment, the three of them had to question if all of this was real or if it was all in their head. They stood frozen in their spots gaping at the unbelievable sight before them. Kaiyo and Hiroshi needed a moment to take in all of this as they now know where their daughter had been this entire time.

This entire time they thought their daughter might have been outside visiting some friends in the village or even helping the residents.

They had searched every area in the house, but it never even occurred to them that their daughter was in this room. It wasn't so much the fact that Suno was in Goku's room that shocked them, but it was… it was…

"H-Hiroshi dear, are you… are you seeing this?" Kaiyo asked, the surprise still evident on her face.

"Y-Yes, b-but how did this happen?"

Goku and Suno were still sleeping, which shouldn't have been too big a surprise. But the biggest surprise was that they were sleeping together… in the same bed. Not to mention the position they were in. Goku's arms were sprawled all over his pillow while Suno was right beside him with her head in his chest. Her hand was laid over his chest as they were both sleeping soundly with the blanket covering them. Suno's pink flipflops were on the floor next to the bed.

"I-I didn't expect to see this…" Eighter stuttered.

They heard the snoring sounds once more, which they knew was coming from the Saiyan. Suno snuggled closer to him, but she didn't wake up. They both looked so peaceful sleeping together like that. After observing the couple for a while, Kaiyo turned to her husband.

"Honey, what do you make of this?"

"I honestly don't know. The way they're sleeping though…"

"Do you… Do you remember the conversation we had?" Kaiyo asked him.

Hiroshi looked at his wife in confusion. "What conversation?"

"The one where we talked about our daughter having romantic feelings for Goku?" She reminded him.

"Yes, I remember now. W-What about it?"

"Do you think it's possible that they… ended up together somehow?" The woman asked carefully.

"I can't say for sure. But…" A small smile appeared on the old man's face. He scratched his gray moustache before looking back at the sleeping couple. "If they're already in a relationship, then I'm happy for them. I've always wanted our daughter to be happy. When we talked about this, I was just under the assumption that Goku didn't have those same feelings for our daughter. The question now is, how did he fall in love with Suno in such a short period of time? Since he was going through a lot especially with his wife and sons leaving him?"

"I can't tell. A lot between them must have happened without us knowing." Kaiyo answered, wiping a tear from her eye. "I'm sure you noticed how much time they've been spending with each other."

"Yes, I have." Hiroshi said, his eyes still locked on the sleeping couple. "But on the other hand, we shouldn't jump to conclusions. It's possible that Suno just came to check up on him as usual and fell asleep on his bed by accident."

Eighter took this as an opportunity to voice his thoughts. "I agree. Maybe we can keep a close eye on them and see if they show any signs of being in a relationship. This doesn't necessarily mean that they're together." He recalled how his friend would often talk so much about Goku over the years and calling him the hero of the village. Did it mean anything?

"The both of you are right. It's settled then. Let's keep an eye on their activities and see how they act around each other when they're alone." Kaiyo said.

"Sounds good, but I think we should let them sleep." Eighter spoke, noticing that his female friend was unconsciously nuzzling her head against the Saiyan's chest. He didn't want to explain to her and Goku what they were doing here which would be very embarrassing to deal with.

"We should."

Although both parents found the sight before them endearing, they knew they couldn't make any assumptions just yet. For now, the best thing to do was to give them some time to sleep. The trio took slow steps out of the bedroom, being careful not to make the slightest bit of noise and wake up either of them. The door closed silently.

Kaiyo turned to the android. "Eighter, would you mind helping me around the house? The chores are quite a lot as you know already."

"Of course not. I'll lend you a hand."

"In the meantime," Hiroshi said, catching their attention. "I'm going to shower and see if there's anything interesting in the newspaper."

"Sounds good, honey."

As Hiroshi was taking his leave, he turned to address his wife and the android. "If it happens that Suno and Goku are in a relationship, let's try not to badger them about it. We should wait until they're ready to talk to us about it."

Kaiyo nodded. "You're right. That's exactly what we should do. Give them the space they need until they're prepared to discuss it with us."

He smiled at her. "Exactly."

Hiroshi took his leave, heading to the bedroom while his wife and Eighter headed towards the laundry room to get started on some dirty clothes that were already there. If there was anything they all knew, it was that Goku and Suno deserved all the support they could get… whether they were in a relationship or not. Both had been through so much during the years they hadn't seen each other. They had their ups and downs. But through all the struggles, Suno still yearned for Goku's presence. But the question lingering in the minds of the two parents were…

Did Goku love their daughter the same way she loved him?

---

Bulma let out a sigh as she put aside her cellphone on her desk. After eating breakfast with her parents and Trunks, she needed a piece of mind and headed straight to her lab. The air conditioning was put on full blast and helped her to relax a bit. Just as she was about to do a little research about 'him', Videl had sent a message and informed her that she took it upon herself to find out something about him and she was a bit dismayed to learn that nothing about his personal life came up on the internet. Only the cases he worked on over the years. 'What could he be hiding? So many famous people keep their personal lives under wraps, but there's something about this guy that I find unsettling.'

The genius wanted to message Gohan and ask if he found some more evidence against his mother, but she knew that he was in school at this time. Did Goten leave out any important details during their meeting? She knew that there was more to the story than he let on.

'Should I probe Goten for more information? He must have left out some other details of his near-death experience when we talked on Kami's Lookout.' She shook her head at that thought. 'What on earth was I thinking? Goten needs to relax after everything that happened. He can't be reminded of that awful experience with his so-called mother. It's best to just find other solutions.'

She was running out of options. What else could she do before tonight? Is there some way she could make Gohan's mission easier? What other options were there?

'Damn it, there's got to be something else I can-'

*Ring, Ring, Ring*

The familiar ringtone was blaring loudly through her lab. Bulma was shaken out of her thoughts and she looked on ahead, noticing that her cellphone was vibrating on the table. Her hand reached out for the phone, and she gasped in shock when she saw who was calling her.

'Roshi? Why is that old pervert calling me?'

*Ring, Ring, Ring*

With a little hesitance, she pressed the 'answer button' on her phone. "Hello?"

"Hello Bulma."

"What's up Roshi?" She asked, surprised by this phone call.

"I called to ask if there's any new information on the current situation at hand."

"Oh, okay." Bulma said, knowing that she needed to tell him about the new findings.

"So, is there anything new happening?"

"Yes, there is. Some new information had just come up." She proceeded to explain to the old man what had been going on since they last saw each other on Kami's Lookout. Bulma told him every single detail about what had occurred and made sure not to leave anything out. She went into detail about the newfound evidence against Chichi and how the boys had run away from home and that they were currently staying in Satan City.

"Hmmm… that's interesting." Roshi said on the other end of the line. "It's good that the boys ran away from home. It wouldn't have been safe there."

"It wouldn't have." Bulma agreed.

"So… you're saying that Gohan is going to spy on Chichi tonight?"

"Yeah, he is. Chichi will be bringing the money to her lawyer tonight at 10:00pm. We're hoping to find out his real identity by then."

"How does he plan on obtaining the information?"

"I have a voice recorder here which will be used to record the conversations taking place." The scientist explained.

"That's good."

There seemed to be silence on the other end of the line after that. Bulma waited for a few seconds for the old man to say anything else. "Uh hello? Roshi?"

"There is something else Gohan needs to take along with him. Something which should make the task a little easier for him."

"Really?" She asked, surprised by this. "And what would that be?"

"Hehe. Do you remember the microband? That old invention you gave me years ago?"

Bulma's eyes lit up in excitement, having a good feeling that this would get them somewhere. "Yes, I remember! You mean the old watch that can shrink the size of the person wearing it?"

"That's exactly it. You gave it to me in exchange for a submarine."

"So this means that you still have it, right?"

"I still do. Gohan can put on the watch to lessen the chances of getting caught and to sneak inside the building when Chichi and this so-called lawyer are discussing their plans. He'll need to be close by so he can record the whole thing loud and clear!"

That put a huge smile on Bulma's face. "Roshi, you're a genius. Do you think you can bring the microband today?"

"I certainly can!"

"Great. I'm surprised you still have it. I thought for sure that you would have gotten rid of it as the years passed by."

"Oh, hehe. I use it every day. It's too valuable to be thrown away just like that!"

"Okay, that's enough." She said, completely disgusted. It didn't take her long to figure out what he uses it for. "I need you to bring me the microband today in the afternoon. I'm not exactly sure when Gohan is coming back from school, but it needs to here early."

"Don't worry, I'll leave Kame House early so I can get there on time."

"Nice. I'll see you later."

After saying goodbye to the turtle hermit, Bulma ended the phone call. She almost wanted to scream and jump around in excitement, but she contained herself. It never once occurred to her that the microband would play a key role in this. She was thankful for that phone call or else she wouldn't have known what to do.

She was about to text Gohan to tell him the good news, but then she remembered something else.

'Oh shit. The party!'

Her mind was lingering on the get together party. With everything that was happening recently, she had almost forgotten about it. It was even brought up yesterday and the day before, but she didn't even get around to doing it yet. She had no idea how to plan everything on time. There were so many catering companies and so many party organizers but how was she supposed to do this? There was already so much on her plate.

'Come on Bulma, you're supposed to be a genius. Surely, you can come up with something!'

She racked her brain for a solution, but nothing was coming to mind. She got up from her leather chair and started pacing back and forth across her laboratory. 'Come on, Come on. I should have put the party on my to do list. I'm completely swamped. Oh, I'm such an idiot!' She needed someone to help her, but who would be willing?

'I'm so screwed!'

'I'm so fucking screwed!'

'Oh Kami, what do I do?'

"Damn it!" She cried out in frustration, sitting back down on her chair. She was looking around the lab, becoming rather desperate. "I don't know what to do!"

As she was slowly losing her mind, Bulma's eyes glanced over at a picture frame sitting on her desk. 'Wait a minute… that picture…'

Bulma turned the photo around and the moment she did so, her jaw dropped open. She slowly put a hand on her mouth and tears slowly welled in her eyes. 'It's been so long.'

In that picture was her as a little child and a teenage girl standing beside her. The teenager was very slim with very long blonde hair reaching down to her waist and had large, dark eyes. She wore a purple dress with ripped jeans, cowgirl boots, wristbands and a rainbow-colored hat. This teen was holding her hand gently. With so much love and care.

She remembered every single memory she had with this girl up until the point where they parted ways and pursued their own careers. They had so much fun together.

This picture had been taken at a small island many years ago. They had been on vacation together. On their last day of vacation, the Briefs family decided to have this photograph taken before they took off in a rocket owned by Capsule Corporation. Later, Bulma had it framed in her office after going through some old stuff of hers. 'It's been so long… so many years have passed, and we haven't been together as a family since that day…' It was then that she came up with a genius plan.

'I think I know what to do now!'

Bulma took her cellphone, typed in the password and immediately clicked on the phone log. She typed in this person's number in the search bar and was delighted when it showed up on the screen. 'Thank you, Kami.' She then glanced one more time at the longtime photo on her desk. 'I sure hope you pick up.'

As it was ringing, Bulma rose from her chair with the cellphone in hand and walked out of her lab to get some fresh air. She decided to stand near a window in the living room as she was waiting for the person to pick up.

(OMORI'S ISLAND)

On the outskirts of East City was a small island situated in the middle of an ocean. It was full of tall trees, cliffs, and various types of vegetation and greenery. A pier was built in front of the island with only a few houses near it. On the left side of the island lay the remains of an old laboratory. Not many buildings were around, as there were not many people living here. It was completely quiet, and the sounds of the ocean was quite relaxing.

In a small restaurant on the island, a woman sat on one of the tables sipping a fruit cocktail and reading one of her favorite novels. She had short blonde hair and was wearing overalls with a grey undershirt, grey earrings, reddish sandals and a blue pearl necklace with blue and white bracelets on her left wrist.

A piece of paper and a pen also sat on the table. When she had come in earlier, she had taken the time to write down some notes on the next sci-fi book she wanted to write. A smile crossed her face. Writing science fiction novels had become one of her favorite hobbies during the time she was living here on the island. After separating from her family at a young age, she decided to get herself started on her career. She started off by reading some sci-fi adventure books and even doing science related research. She had published every single book she wrote and became well known across the island and across different towns and cities. When she wasn't busy writing, she loved to ride motorcycles and taking long naps in her home.

After spending hours sleeping in her humble abode, she had decided to stop by at her favorite restaurant so she could relax for a bit. She had ordered food from the restaurant and after eating, she started off with jotting down points for her next sci-fi novel. Of course, she still wasn't done with that as she was planning for the next book to be the longest she had ever written. But she needed a break and was so eager to continue reading her favorite novel.

The sound of boat engines coming up on the pier distracted her for a bit. She looked outside to see that residents were stepping out. That explained why there weren't many people in the morning today as most of them left earlier. There was still a fair amount of people here at the eatery, but there would usually be a crowd of people sitting around and waiting for their meals. She was slightly relieved for it, as she was able to concentrate on her work without getting distracted by the sounds of chattering.

A bright smile tugged at the woman's lips. There was a reason why she loved sitting near the ocean. It gave her a good view of almost everything around her. She peered over to the damaged laboratory, and it gave her an idea. Perhaps she could find a way to get it fixed up. Maybe she could start donating some of her own money into fixing up the island and making it look more modernized.

Her cellphone started ringing, driving her away from all that thinking. She was so quick to pick up her phone that she didn't even notice who was calling her in the first place. "Hello, who am I speaking to?"

"Tights?"

"Wait a sec- is this who I think it is?" She started to stammer, recognizing the voice very clearly.

"Ýep. Sis, it's me Bulma! Didn't you see my name on your phone screen?"

Hearing that name had her shook. Every part of her body froze. She had been so busy with work and other things that she hadn't even bothered to contact any of her family members. Not her Mom, Dad or even her younger sister, who was on the line with her right now. How could she do that to them? They must have been worried sick about her, and she doesn't even try and find the time to just chat with them. Not even for a few minutes. Now she felt nothing but guilt.

Tights gripped her cellphone a little tighter. "B-Bulma? N-No, I didn't see you were the one who called. I guess I just have that habit of picking up my phone so fast. It's been such an awful long time."

She heard a sigh on the other end of the line. "Yeah. It's been a while since you last contacted us."

"Sis, I'm so sorry I haven't been able to give you guys a call in a long while. It's just that I've been so busy with my writing career and other activities. I swear, I didn't intend for things to be this way. My job as a novelist has taken up so much of my time and it's not just that, but other activities as well." Tights paused for a bit, regret filling her voice.

"Hey, don't sweat it. I've been busy with work as well. You remember that picture we took the day we left Omori's Island?"

"Yeah, I remember it all too well. What about it?" She questioned.

"I just saw it lying on my desk, which made me think about you and the fact that we hadn't talked in a long time."

"Aww, I'm glad you still have that old photo. It was one of my favourites. How's Mom and Dad?"

"They're doing alright."

"That's good to hear. And how's work going so far?"

"Work's going well. Still at work inventing new stuff. What about you?" There had been a lot more going on than just work, but she wasn't ready to tell her sister about it just yet.

"Oh…" Tights looked over at the notes she had written. "I've been writing down notes for the next sci-fi novel I'm writing. This might be the longest one."

"Really? How amazing!"

"It really is. But aside from that, I've just been sitting at this restaurant drinking a fruit cocktail and reading a new book. I plan on heading home soon since I've been here a while."

"Oh, okay. Listen Sis, there's something I need to talk to you about."

Her face became serious. "What is it? Did something happen?"

"I need your help with something."

"Okay… and what do you need my help with?" Tights asked worriedly, hoping that her little sister wasn't in any kind of trouble.

"There's this party that I want to throw and-"

She raised an eyebrow. "Is that why you thought of me?"

"I thought that you could help me out with this. I'm sorry, I've just been swamped with so much work that I almost forgot about it. I know you're busy and this is not an appropriate time for you to get involved in anything else, but maybe you could help your younger sis? Just this once?"

"Well… I have to say that I feel honoured for that. And what is it exactly that you want me to do?"

"I just need your help with planning this party. Like I said, I've been busy with work lately that it slipped my mind."

"Yeah, you're always working and developing new things. Believe me, I totally understand being under too much pressure." She assured her sister.

"Thanks sis. So… does that mean you'll help me?"

"No."

"Oh…" A dejected sigh was heard on the other end of the line. "Okay. I understand you're too busy right now. I'm sure I can figure something else out."

"No, what it means is that… I'LL BE HAPPY TO HELP YOU!"

Her yell was so loud that she started receiving stares from the few people who were inside the restaurant. Customers and staff members included. Noticing the looks, she chuckled and mouthed a quick 'sorry' before returning to her phone call.

"Damn it, you scared me back there. I thought you weren't going to help!"

Tights started laughing. "I just had to do that, and it seems like I got you good." She bit her lip to hold back her almost uncontrollable laughter.

"Not funny. You'll really help me out?"

"Of course. I do love writing science fiction and adventure novels, but setting up parties? Now that's another thing I love to do."

"Thank you so much, sis!"

"No. Thank you for calling. I just can't believe I forgot you and our parents. Heck, I didn't even think about visiting."

"It's not a problem. So, when do you think you can come over?"

"Hmmm…" Tights thought about that. "It depends. I would have to know first when you plan on throwing the party."

"I haven't exactly decided that yet."

"Oh. So, is it something that you thought of recently?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

She shrugged it off. "It's alright. We don't have the exact date yet. And what kind of party are you thinking of?"

"Just a get together party with my friends."

"Like a reunion party?" Her eyes lit up at that.

"Yeah!"

"Great." Tights already found herself in thinking mode. "I think I can already picture something in my mind. And where will this take place? Capsule Corp?"

"Yes, the party will be there."

"Alright. The yards are large enough for a big party so as for the venue, it's great."

"Awesome!"

"As for the food," She started off with a big smile. "don't worry about it. There's this catering company I work with, every time I set up a public event."

"Really? Thank you sis, you're a lifesaver. I thought I was dead, for sure."

She smiled. "There's no need to thank me for that. If you do something, you must do it well. Right?"

"That's true."

"Okay, we already have the food and the location covered." Tights took another blank sheet and started writing down what they already discussed. "And did you think about the music?"

"No, I haven't..."

"Well," She put her ballpoint pen under her chin in thought. "We can add a DJ or a live band. How does that sound?"

"I like that idea."

"Tell you what. I'm going to see if I can get a late evening flight from Omori's Island and arrive in West City early in the morning." Tights said, pulling out her laptop and opening the lid. "When I get there, you and I can talk more about the party."

"REALLY? YOU'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO COME!?"

She winced and pulled her phone away from her ear as the scream was too loud. "Keep your voice down Bulma. Do you want to make me deaf?"

"Oh, sorry about that. But I thought you were too busy?"

"I think that now will be a good time to take a little vacation. And besides, I haven't seen you, Mom or Dad in like, forever. This will be a good opportunity to spend time with you guys since we have a lot to catch up on."

"You're right. And I'll keep this a secret from our parents. This should be a surprise for them."

"I agree. And as I've said before, I'm going to start searching for plane tickets to West City." Tights reminded her, turning on her computer and waiting for it to start up. "Let me get off the phone right now and I'll call you again when I find a ticket."

"Sounds good. I can't wait to see you again, sis."

"Me neither. Goodbye for now. Alright?"

"Okay."

After her conversation with her sister, Tights pressed the 'end call' button on her phone and immediately got to work on searching for plane tickets. She couldn't believe it. After what seemed like an eternity, she was finally going to see her family again. She couldn't wait to catch up with them and find out what else had been going on in her absence. This was her chance to make up for lost time. An opportunity to let go of the recent stress.

---

Bulma heard her sister hang up her phone. It took every ounce of willpower she had not to jump around or scream in excitement. She needed to keep it down, because her parents didn't know about it and she didn't want to spoil the surprise for them. She couldn't believe that her sister, who she hadn't seen or heard from until now, was going to fly all the way from Omori's Island to West City. Nothing could stop the smile forming on her face. She had to get started on cleaning up the guest room without making her parents suspicious. They couldn't find out that a guest was coming to stay with them. She just knew that their parents were going to be thrilled to see her. If she hadn't forgotten about her sister and if she hadn't been so busy, she could have paid Tights a visit on Omori's Island. She could have easily flown her jet-copter over there by herself as the island was only a few hours away. 'It's been far too long, sis.'

"Mom, who was on the phone?"

She turned around to find her son there in front of her, having just left his room after playing a bunch of video games. She could tell that he was genuinely curious.

"Trunks sweetie," Bulma started off with a smile. "I was just having a conversation with Tights, my sister."

"Oh okay." He said, letting it sink into his mind. "I've just spent most of my time playing all these cool video-games grandma bought for me." All his mother could do was smile at that. But once her words fully processed in his head however, his expression turned into one of absolute shock. His eyes widened, his hands were shaking, and it seemed as if the half-Saiyan was struggling to find the right words to use. This was the first time he was hearing about this. It took a while before something came out of his mouth. "Wait… what!? DID YOU JUST SAY YOU HAVE A SISTER!?"

"What the hell?" Bulma shouted, covering her eardrums. "Why do you have to scream so loud!?" She glared at him.

"It's just… you never said anything about that." Trunks responded, trying to recover from his shock. "Since when-"

He was cut off when they heard the bedroom door slam loudly. Vegeta was coming down the stairs and was making his way towards the gravity chamber for his usual training sessions. When the Saiyan Prince noticed his wife and son standing in the sitting area, he couldn't help but be a little curious about what just happened. It seemed like his son was shaken up about something and his wife had her arms crossed. He decided to join them.

"What are you guys talking about?"

Trunks snapped out of his shock and noticed his father standing there with them. "Dad, you're not going to believe this but… Mom has a sister!"

Hearing that made Vegeta roll his eyes. "Seriously? That's what got you so worked up? Hmph! So what?" He turned around and started walking away from them.

That made Bulma slightly angry, but she made no move to stop him. As he was walking to the gravity room, the prince was trying to process what his son just said. 'Sister? Why would he be worked up over a sister? Such nonsense!' But then he began to realize that he also never heard his wife say anything about having a sister. Not even once. After the words finally processed in his mind, he stopped in his tracks. He slowly turned back to face them and when he did, he looked just as shocked as his son was. His jaw dropped open, and it seemed as if his eyes would pop out of his head. His brain was in a frazzled state, and he needed something to hold onto as he felt like collapsing.

"H-Hold on… L-Let me get this straight… DID YOU JUST SAY SHE HAS A SISTER!?"

"Well, that's what she said Dad…"

"S-She didn't say anything about having a sister, did she?"

"No." Trunks said. "I'm just as surprised as you are… I have an aunt and you have a sister-in-law!"

Bulma slapped her hand across her head in a facepalm. "Oh, for Kami's sake!" They both turned back to her, and they could see that she was very annoyed with them. "There's no need to make a big deal over this."

"I still can't believe it…" Trunks muttered to his father.

"You're not the only one…" Vegeta answered, eyes locked with his wife.

"Why are the both of you so invested in this?" She said, irritated at them both. "Neither Mom, Dad nor I have heard from her in such a long time!"

"But why didn't you say anything? She's your sister." The prince asked as he still couldn't believe it. "Why are we NOW finding out about this? I don't recall you ever mentioning her in a conversation."

"Me neither. You never once talked about her."

Bulma sighed in exasperation. "Because it's been ages since my sister and I last heard from each other. The last time I saw her in person, she was a teenager and I was a child. We never had a close relationship since she lives far away in Omori's Island, located on the outskirts of East City. She's busy with her writing career, so we eventually lost contact."

"What does she write about?" Trunks questioned.

"She writes sci-fi and adventure novels."

"And why were you talking to her on the phone?" Vegeta asked.

"She's going to help me with preparations for the get together party."

Trunks's eyes lit up. "So that means we're going to meet her?"

"Yes sweetie." Bulma smiled. "She says she's going to try and get an evening flight from Omori's Island and arrive in West City in the morning."

"That's great." The half-Saiyan said.

"Does that mean she's coming here?" Vegeta asked her.

"Exactly." A grin formed on her face. "She'll be staying here with us at Capsule Corp!"

There was also something else on the scientist's mind. Who was going to pick up Tights from the airport? Would she be able to make it here on her own? 'Think Bulma, think!' A smile formed on her face as she stared at her husband and son. "There's a favor I need to ask of you two."

"What is it?" Trunks asked.

Vegeta did not like that look on his wife's face and he knew that she would certainly ask for something he deemed to be ridiculous. He folded his arms at her. "What do you want?"

She fiddled with her thumbs. "I was hoping that maybe… you two could pick up my sister from the airport? You two can meet her and she can explain to you in more detail about what she does for a living."

"Really? That's awesome!" Trunks said, excited about meeting his aunt for the first time. "I can't wait to see her."

The prince on the other hand, wasn't pleased about doing this. He unfolded his arms and both his fists were clenched at his sides. "What? Are you kidding me!? Don't make me laugh! If you think I am going to do something as stupid as picking up your sister from an airport, you are sadly mistaken. I have better things to do with my time and I'm certainly not going to waste it on something as asinine as that!"

Bulma crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Oh really? If by 'better things' you mean training all day in the gravity room, then that doesn't count. Surely, you can take some time off and pick up Tights from the airport. You and Trunks can take a taxi!"

Now that sounded even more ridiculous, and he felt himself becoming even angrier. "Riding on a taxi!? Absolutely not!"

She walked up to his face and poked a finger in his chest. "You will do it Vegeta, and I mean that!"

Red veins were popping from the sides of Vegeta's forehead. "You have got to be kidding me! I am NOT picking your sister up from the airport, especially not in some stupid transport car!" He wasn't going to let his wife boss him around.

Trunks took slow steps back in fear as a full-blown argument was starting between his parents. They both were in each other's faces. He sighed. 'Not another argument. Why do they have to fight sometimes? Will they ever come to a peaceful agreement?'

"You will do it!"

"I will not!"

"You're going to do it, whether you like it or not!"

"I refuse to do something that STUPID!"

"So, you went with me to see Goku after we found out about his and Chichi's separation, and you came with Trunks and I to Kami's Lookout after Gohan called me, but you can't pick up my sister from the airport!? Unbelievable!"

"Those times were different. But THIS is a waste of my time! Why do I have to do it? Why can't you get someone else to do it!?"

"If you don't do it, you're not training in the gravity room for a week!"

"What!?" Vegeta shouted. "Are you serious!?"

"Yes, I AM serious!"

"Tch! Do I look like a servant to you or something?"

"You better do it mister! Otherwise, you'll be staying out of the gravity room for one whole week, and I won't repair any damage you've done to it during this time. You'll train elsewhere. So, what's your choice going to be!?"

Vegeta turned away from her while crossing his arms. "Tch…fine…I'll do it…" He felt sour about losing this argument.

Bulma gave him a smug look. "Good. My sister said she'll call me when she's able to get a flight to West City. When she calls me, I'll give you money for transportation. You can call a taxi and carry her luggage."

"Whatever…" He rolled his eyes at the absurdity. "and how are we going to recognize her? We just found out about her existence."

She winked at their son. "Don't worry, she will recognize Trunks when she sees him. He does have my father's hairstyle."

Trunks chimed back in. "You're right Mom."

Just then, Bulma's cellphone rang from inside her pocket. "That must be Tights." She took her phone from her pocket and to her delight, it was indeed her sister. She returned the call. "Hello sis?"

"Hey Bulma. I searched on my laptop for any available flights to West City and there was only one. Unfortunately, all the seats are full so I can't get on the evening flight today."

The excitement vanished instantly. "Oh no… what are you going to do?"

"There's no need to fret about this. I was able to get an early morning flight tomorrow which will leave Omori's Island at 6:00am and arrive in West City at 10:00am. So, it's a 4-hour flight."

"Really? That's awesome!" She said, the excitement returning to her once more.

"Yep. I was incredibly lucky to get one in the morning. And sis, there is another thing."

"What is it?"

"I'll be needing a ride to Capsule Corp as soon as my plane arrives, and I don't really have any options. I know you said before that this is supposed to be a surprise for our parents, so they can't pick me up. Does this mean that one of the employees are coming to get me?"

"There's no need to worry about it, I've got that covered." Bulma said, turning to Vegeta and Trunks. "My husband and son will be picking you up from the airport. They're both so eager to meet you." The Saiyan Prince just glared at her heatedly and she gave him that smug look again, making him remember the threat she made. He turned away and grumbled to himself.

"You're married? That's amazing!"

"Yeah. Time flies, doesn't it?"

"I can't wait to meet them!"

"As I just said, they'll be picking you up from the airport. That'll be a great opportunity to talk with them and get to know them."

"Wonderful. And what do they look like?"

Bulma gave her a brief description of her son's physical appearance, leaving her sister amazed. "He does have our dad's hairstyle."

"That's great. So, I'm going to go home right now and start packing my bags. And I also must take the time and say goodbye to all the people on the island since I'll be leaving early tomorrow morning."

"Sounds good. I'll see you tomorrow, sis."

"I can't wait."

After saying goodbye to Tights, Bulma ended the call. She turned to her husband and son. "My sister said that she couldn't get the evening flight to West City, but she managed to get an early morning flight that takes off at 6:00am and arrives at 10:00 am on the same day. Tomorrow, I'll be handing out money for a taxi." At the mention of that, she glanced over at her spouse once more and was met with a cold stare.

"That's awesome!" Trunks cheered. "I'll be meeting my aunt." Although he was initially shocked about this, he was now feeling excitement.

She smiled at his enthusiasm. "Of course, and she can't wait to meet you too." Bulma turned to her husband, who was still fuming over this. "Are you excited?"

Sensing his father's rage slowly building up, the boy stepped in to try and calm him down. "Chill out Dad, it's going to be so much fun. If we go look for Aunt Tights, we'll be able to know more about her." He gulped at his dad's steely glare, feeling the anger emanating off from him. "I… just… think it'll be awesome if we met her and maybe… socialize for a bit? Y-You're always training, you know?"

"It may be exciting for you, but for me it's NOT!" He spat out while towering over him. The hybrid started to sweat, thinking that maybe he should have just kept his mouth shut.

Vegeta just continued to glare at him. His gaze then turned to his wife, whose grin become even wider. "He's right. Maybe you could talk to other people for once." His low growl left her unfazed. "You'll suck it up, whether you like it or not."

"H-How dare y-you…" His fists were shaking as he struggled to control his bubbling rage at the situation he now found himself in. Without saying another word, he turned around and stormed off to the gravity chamber, needing some time alone after being coerced by his wife into doing something he had absolutely no interest in doing. They heard the door to the gravity room shut loudly behind them followed up by the pressing of different buttons, indicating that he was increasing the gravity to its fullest capacity. They could already hear him training full force, smashing and kicking the poor robots as a way of venting his frustration.

Bulma and Trunks just stared on, startled by the door slamming shut. The scientist just let out a sigh, wishing that her husband would just show a little bit of enthusiasm and not be so grumpy all the time. 'He's never going to change, is he?'

"Hey sweetie, do you want to help me clean up the guest room for your aunt?" She asked.

"Mom, are you serious? I would love to!"

"Come on, let's go!"

They headed off to the guest room to do some thorough cleaning, both feeling excited about what was going to happen tomorrow. One angry yell from inside the chamber sent shivers down their spine as the scientist unlocked the guest room door. It echoed throughout Capsule Corporation, scaring the employees, but they tried to ignore it as their attention was glued on the work assigned to them. Dr. Briefs and Panchy also heard that ferocious scream echoing through the walls and it left them terrified, making them wonder what could possibly have happened to infuriate the Prince.

---

A pair of eyes slowly fluttered open, and Suno found herself rising from the bed. The village resident looked around this room and frowned as she didn't recognize where she was. This bed didn't belong to her, nor did the dirty clothes inside the laundry basket. The bathroom wasn't hers either and neither was the table in the center of the room. How did she end up in this room? She didn't see any of her belongings here. Her clothes… her little makeup kit… her bathroom supplies… they weren't in the room, and she was starting to get a little worried. Where did she sleep last night? This bedroom didn't look like it was hers. She didn't recognize one single item in here which was from her room. She looked out the window and could already see people outside. The view from this window was nice, especially in the evenings. It was then that she realized that it was morning and she likely overslept. How long had she been asleep? Was there any way to check the time?

She glanced over at an alarm clock on the nightstand table, and she instantly got an answer. It was 10:05am. It was very rare for her to oversleep like this. Normally, she would be up by 6 or 7am. Her mother had likely started preparing breakfast by herself and it made her feel bad, as she would usually be helping her out. Maybe Eighter gave her a helping hand, but still.

Her left leg hit something, scaring her a little bit. She looked to her left-hand side and saw something. Something so shocking that it caused her to gasp. Or in this case, a person.

Lying next to her on the left side of the bed was none other than her boyfriend Son Goku. 'Wait… why is Goku in the same bed with me?' Then the answer hit her like a ton of bricks. She remembered coming into her boyfriend's room and at some point, asking if she could spend the night with him. The last thing she recalled was staring out the window with him and then darkness overcame her. Now she was laying right here beside him. 'He must have put me in bed after I fell asleep. He didn't try to wake me up.' Looking at her sleeping boyfriend, a small smile crept upon her face. He was fast asleep with his arms raised up, and she could hear his soft snoring. Suno laid back down on the bed and snuggled closer to him, covering herself with the blanket. She put her hand back on his chest and listened to the sound of his heartbeat. 'He's so cute when he sleeps.' A soft kiss was placed on his cheek as she rested against his chest.

They remained like that for a while and she didn't want to leave this position, as it felt like paradise for her. But she also knew that they couldn't be in bed for too long, they needed to have breakfast soon. She started shaking him gently to wake him up. "Hey Goku. Sweetie, wake up. It's past 10:00am."

He still would not budge, so she shook his body a little bit harder.

She could see his arms moving a bit and his eyes slowly beginning to open. He sat up a bit and rested his back against the bed. He looked over at his sweet girlfriend smiling at him brightly. "G-Good morning, babe. Did you have a good night's sleep?"

She bopped his nose and giggled at him. "Sure, I did sleepyhead. With you by my side, which is."

"H-Hey hon, stop that." He laughed tiredly as his human girlfriend was bopping his nose repeatedly. He couldn't react very fast as his body still felt like it was in sleep mode.

"No way, it's fun!"

"It is for you, but please stop."

"No!"

"Why not?"

"I told you, it's fun!"

Goku cupped the sides of her face and kissed her deeply, causing his girlfriend to stop her playful assault on him. She brought her hands around his neck as she returned the kiss with as much force and passion. It went on for a few minutes before he pulled away from her, causing her to pout at him in a childlike way. The Saiyan smiled victoriously. "Sorry, but I had to do that!"

Suno folded her arms at him. "No fair!"

"You wouldn't stop, so I had to do something!" He gave her a loving smile as his fingers combed through her hair. "Come on babe, why would you do that when I just woke up?" He connected their lips once more in another kiss. When he ended it again, he didn't really have any words for his girlfriend. He slowly extended his arm toward her, beckoning her to come closer. She did so without hesitation, and he wrapped his arms around her small body.

He rested his chin on top of her head. Suno smiled at him. When it seemed like his guard was down, she bopped him on the nose one more time.

"Hey!"

"I couldn't help myself."

He chuckled. "You know what? It's fine."

He felt her kiss him on the cheek, making him smile at her affectionately. He loved it when she did that.

"You fell asleep in my arms last night. I couldn't bring myself to wake you up but since you wanted to spend the night with me, I thought it wouldn't be a problem if we slept on the same bed. You were so peaceful."

"I figured." Suno said, feeling his strong arm leaving her waist to wrap around her shoulder. "When I woke up, I couldn't remember where I was but when I saw you sleeping next to me, that's when I realized where I was. We sure had a fun time yesterday, didn't we?"

"We sure did. And you said you wanted to climb the mountains, didn't you?"

Suno nodded her head.

"How about we do that after I'm settled with the boys in Mount Paozu? As soon as I find some free time, I will get you and then we can go back there and climb the mountains. How does that sound?"

"That sounds awesome."

"Great!" His eyes then glanced over at the time and palpable shock crossed his features when he saw what time it was. Had they really overslept? The clock read 10:20am. He then remembered the plans he made with his girlfriend last night. "Babe, get ready. You remember I told you last night that I wanted to take you to Papaya Island, and we get to visit the tournament arena as well as go sightseeing. We can find something fun to do while we're there."

"Y-Yeah, I remember. This is our second date, isn't it?"

He smiled at her as he kicked the blanket sheets away from them. "It sure is. If we can get ready quick enough, we can do all sorts of entertaining stuff. Let's get up, take a shower, eat a quick breakfast and we can get going." He started to feel excited as there was something his girlfriend didn't know yet. "There's something cool I want to show you on the way, so let's not waste any more time."

Suno was already putting on her pink flipflops. "Okay. I'm going to my room to take a quick shower. I'll see if my mother put any leftovers in the fridge. By this time, I'm sure that she and Dad have already had breakfast. So if there's any leftover food, I'll just heat it in the microwave."

"Sounds good."

"Oh no," Her eyes widened in shock. "Shouldn't I prepare any food for our trip? We're going to be there for a while. Cooking any food will take time and if I do that, we're going to be late! Oh no, what do I do?" She frantically searched around the room for answers and had already started pacing around the room.

"Hey."

She stopped her pacing to see that her boyfriend had a hand on her shoulder. "There's no need to panic. We can eat something at any of the restaurants on the island. There are plenty of places to eat at, so don't worry about anything okay?"

Suno found herself relaxing a little bit, and she sighed in relief. "Okay, you're right."

"Everything will be fine. Now go get ready, alright?"

She nodded her head, and he removed his hands from her. "Just one more thing, though." He raised an eyebrow at her. "What is it?"

A smile crossed her lips and she stood on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on his lips. When she parted away, he returned her smile. "Come here." He opened his arms wide, indicating that she should come in closer for a hug. She did so, and his arms were around her in a loving embrace. He released her after a few seconds.

"I'm going to take a shower and get us something to eat from the kitchen."

Taking quick steps, Suno walked to the exit and closed the door behind her. When he heard his girlfriend's footsteps fading away, Goku made his way to the bathroom so he could brush and take a shower. He spread a slab of toothpaste on his toothbrush and started brushing his teeth. It took only a few minutes to get the job done. Next, he stripped himself of his sleepwear and stepped into the tub for a fast but relaxing shower. He already turned on the shower faucet on and felt the cold water running down his body. After fifteen minutes, he came out of the shower with a towel around his waist.

Goku sat down on the bed and opened the zipper of his bag, looking for clean clothes he could wear on his date. He eventually found a pair of gloves, a red scarf to wrap around his neck, a blue jacket, a pair of jeans and an orange t-shirt. He stared on ahead at the pile of clothes he had in the laundry basket. 'I have to find a way to get my laundry done or else I'm going to be out of clothes soon.' He was about to zip up his bag when something caught his eye.

'Hmmm… what's this?'

He reached out for it and when it was finally in his hands, it appeared to be a stack of-

'Money?'

Low and behold, what Goku had in both of his hands was a stack of money. How on earth did this end up in his bag? He couldn't remember packing any before fleeing from home. 'All this time I thought I didn't have any zeni on me but here I am, with money in my hands. But wait… how much is this?'

Slowly and carefully, he began to count the money in his hand. He didn't even stop to catch his breath. When the Saiyan was done counting, he felt like he was going to collapse from shock. 'Ten thousand zenis? How the hell did this MUCH money end up in my bag? I thought I was broke but somehow, I have TEN THOUSAND ZENIS in my grasp. Am I just seeing things?'

He rubbed his eyes, and the money was still laying on the mattress after he counted everything. He counted it a second time just to be sure that this wasn't a part of his imagination. 'No way, this really is ten thousand zenis. I can't believe it… how did I end up with it?'

From downstairs in the kitchen, he sensed his girlfriend's energy. His sharp hearing allowed to him to hear the sounds of her opening the refrigerator and taking out what he assumed was the leftover food she said her mother left for them. The door of the fridge shut and he then heard her open the microwave, put something inside and shut it again. She pressed some buttons and the microwave slowly started to function. He glanced over at the 10,000 zenis on his bed. 'I'll figure this out later. I'd better go join Suno downstairs before we're late for our trip to Papaya Island.'

He pocketed the money and rushed out of his room to join his girlfriend for breakfast and maybe see if she needed some help as it seemed as if she was struggling to get everything ready. He quickened his pace, so he didn't keep her waiting. As he was walking to the kitchen, there was one last thought in his mind.

'But if I have this amount of money in my bag, then I guess it's mine now.'

---

"That should be the last of it."

The Ox King counted the final stack of money and put it inside a large briefcase in front of him. He wasn't sitting in his throne room as usual, but he opted to sit in a different room behind a huge table with a nearby window which allowed him to get some fresh air. When he woke up this morning, he immediately remembered his older grandson's visit and the fact that his 'daughter' would be stopping by to collect the 100million zenis she would be using to pay this so-called lawyer. He knew that he had to start immediately since there was no telling what time Chichi was coming to pick up the money. It was a smart move on his part because it took him a while to count a large amount of money, and he didn't want his 'daughter' to stop by while he was still doing it. He leaned back in his chair and sighed, wondering what his late wife would have done if she were to find out about the heinous crimes Chichi had committed.

He cried himself to sleep last night. Ever since he found out the truth from Gohan, he had been having nightmares. Nightmares about his 'daughter' and how he failed to raise her the way he should have. The Ox King still didn't know how he was going to face her after finding out all of this. 'If her mother was still alive, she would never approve of this behaviour.' He stared at the money inside the briefcase, still not believing that he had to do this. But he knew that it was necessary if they were to find out any information on this 'lawyer'.

"Daddy? Are you there?"

"OH SHIT!"

That shrill, happy voice was enough to make him jump in his seat. She was here already? That was quicker than he expected. He quickly shut the briefcase and closed the locks on it. He carried the case in his hand and hurried out of the room.

"Hello? Daddy, are you there?"

"I'm… I'm coming sweetheart!" The Ox King shouted back. "Please be patient!"

Did he just say that? He couldn't believe that he still called her that after what he found out. But at the same time, he couldn't let her get suspicious, so he had to pretend as if he were happy to see her… even if he felt the opposite.

He finally entered the main room, which was the throne room. He paused upon the sight of his daughter. Or should he say… former daughter? The two locked eyes for a moment, which gave the Ox King enough time to try and read Chichi's body language. She was here for the money. She didn't come here to check up on him or ask about his well-being. He wasn't even sure if his 'daughter' still cared about him. She had a bright smile on her face, but upon closer inspection, it wasn't even a real smile. She must have thought he was clueless about her true motives and was trying to act all bubbly and cheerful, but he could sense the evil deep within her.

"Daddy!" Chichi cried out. "It's been a while. How have you been doing?"

'Not good, thanks to your crooked ways.'

"I-I've been good, thanks for asking."

She looked around a bit and could hear people walking about the castle. "So… are you still working?"

"Y-Yeah, I am. I woke up early this morning to get a head start on work."

"That's great. I'm glad everything's been okay with you."

"How are the boys doing?" He decided to ask just to see her reaction.

That got a reaction from her. A frown appeared on her face for a second, but the Ox King was quick to catch that and it had only been for a moment, but he thought he saw a villainous smile appear. But then she went back to being all cheerful.

"Oh… uhhh… ummm… the boys are doing well." Chichi stammered. "They're…" She wondered for a moment if she should tell her father that they ran away from home, but she figured that it wasn't worth her time. There was only one reason why she was here. "Doing really well." She finally said. "Gohan is at school right now, and Goten is staying over at Capsule Corp for a little bit and then I'll go pick him up. I'll be ordering takeout for them at their favorite pizzeria in West City when they're both home safe and sound."

"Yeah, right! As if I'd believe that. I know that they ran away from home. Away from the cruelty you inflicted on them both, especially Goten!"

"That's wonderful news!" The Ox King said with a fake smile. "I'm sure they'll enjoy it."

"They sure will…" She started to say when she noticed the briefcase her father was holding. But then a wide smile appeared on her face when she realized what was inside it. Her eyes changed into dollar signs, happy that what she wanted from her father would soon be in her hands. "Is that the money I asked for?"

The Ox King held up the briefcase in his hands. "It sure is. 100 million zeni like you requested." He could barely hold back his anger as he handed it to her.

She snatched it from his hands instantly and felt the weight of it. Now she knew that the exact amount was inside. "Yes! Thank you so much Daddy!"

Chichi walked over to her father to hug him, but she was shocked when he put his hand right in front of her to stop her from coming any closer. It seemed as if he was in pain.

"Oof… owww…"

"Daddy, are you alright?" Chichi asked, feigning concern. "What's wrong?"

"I… I don't feel so good…" The Ox King put a hand over his stomach, pretending as if he was in pain. "Maybe it was something I had during breakfast time."

She looked horrified, though she really wasn't. "Oh no… would you like me to go to the nearest pharmacy and get you some medicine?"

He shook his head. "It's alright, you can leave. I just ordered some medicine from the local drugstore a while ago. It… It shouldn't take too long to arrive so don't worry about me."

"Okay, if you say so. I've got to get going, but thanks again for the money. You're the best!"

He forced a smile while pretending like he was violently sick. "You're welcome. N-Now take care..." He was clutching his stomach even tighter while trying to put on a nauseated face.

"Okay Daddy, I'll see you some other time."

Chichi turned back towards her Dad and walked out the door with the briefcase in hand. As she was leaving, she now sported an evil smile on her lips. 'I can't believe how fucking easy that was. All of that with almost no trouble at all. Now I've finally got the 100million zeni and I can finally hand it over to my lawyer tonight. See you later, you gullible old man. Perhaps the next time I come over for money, it'll really be for food and clothing. I still can't believe you bought that little lie of mine. Bye-Bye!"

As the Ox King saw his 'daughter' leave, he removed his hand from his stomach. He was happy that he didn't have to pretend anymore. He could no longer stand the sight of her, and certainly couldn't stand even giving her one single hug so right on the spot, he pretended as if he was ill. Him being 'sick' was just a way of getting her out of his sight. He hoped that she wouldn't stop by his castle again but knew that it was only wishful thinking. She was bound to come here again for more money like she had always been doing. As much as it pained him, it was the truth. She didn't love him anymore; he was only a source of money for her.

He didn't know how much more of this he could take, and hoped that the plan his grandson and the others had in mind would yield fruitful results.

---

"Hon, this breakfast is delicious!"

"I'm glad you like it."

Goku was stuffing food in his face as he usually did, setting an empty plate back on the dining table and snatching another bowl or plate full of food. He had a child-like smile as he tried to talk with his mouth full. His girlfriend having long finished her own breakfast would stand by the kitchen sink with her back turned to him and wash his dishes, return to the table and collect more grease-covered utensils and then clean them. They would talk about many different things ranging from life in the village to the Saiyan's sons and even their current relationship. It was a repeating cycle, but the Saiyan was done with his food soon enough and carefully slid over the final dish to his lovely girlfriend. She had it washed in no time and put in it's appropriate plate in the dish rack to dry off.

"So… are you ready to go?" He asked, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah." Suno wiped her hands on a clean kitchen napkin and made her way over to an empty chair next to her boyfriend. "But there's something I need to talk to you about before we leave." She addressed him with a somewhat serious look, as she pulled the chair and sat on it.

"Sure thing. What's up?" Goku questioned, noticing how serious his significant other was sounding. "Is something wrong?"

"I've thought a little bit about this and… I think you should eat more properly from now on."

"Eh? More properly?"

She took a deep breath, not wanting this to offend him in any way. But he needed to hear the truth. "Yes, that's what I mean."

He removed his arm around her. "But… when I'm hungry, I just care about eating. And I forget about everything else." He tried to laugh a little, but her words left him feeling numb for the first time.

"I know that, and I understand. But…" She paused for a bit, trying to think of the best way to explain it to him. "Think about it this way. If you go out in public and people see you eating the way you do… wouldn't you find that embarrassing?"

He scratched the back of his head. "Well… I never thought about it like that, actually…" Deep down, he racked his brain for all the times he ate his food like a normal human. He couldn't think of any, because he never really had good table manners. 'I never once ate breakfast, lunch or dinner like a normal human would. I always dug straight into the food without thinking. Maybe she has a point.'

"Exactly." She continued, "So why don't you try developing good table manners at home and at public? I know you're a Saiyan and you eat more than humans do, but it wouldn't hurt to at least try." A gentle hand was placed on his knee and her smile became softer and tender. "I'm not saying you should stop eating the same amount you do every day but eat more slowly."

"Eat slowly…well…that would be hard to do."

"I know, but please try."

"I will." He sighed, taking the time to really think about this. "Whenever I used to eat out at restaurants, people would give me funny looks but I never thought anything of it. Even my friends would sometimes be disgusted with my eating habits. I think even Vegeta eats better than I do." He put his hand on top of hers and their fingers were intertwined together. "You're right babe, that part of me must change. It's for my own good."

Suno smiled at him. "I'm glad you understand. Maybe you can begin today, when we're eating at the island?" She suggested to him. "It's a good starting point. You can order the amount you want, but don't just dig into the food like you usually do."

"I can do that."

He knew it wasn't too hard as he had seen his friends eat with proper manners. On some occasions, even his sons ate better than him especially if their mother was watching them like a hawk.

From her position, she managed to get a glimpse out the window before turning back to him, flashing a bright smile at him. "Now come on sweetie, we should get going before we're late!"

Goku grinned at her as he stood up, offering his hand to Suno. "You're right. We've got lots of exploring to do!"

She took his hand, standing up from her seat. "And another thing."

"Hmmm?"

"I'm proud of you. I know it isn't going to be easy adapting to earth customs, but I'm glad you're going to try with this one. Even if you fail the first time, I'll be there to help you along the way."

"Thank you, hon."

The couple held hands as they made their way to the front door. Goku pulled it open, revealing the snowy environment in front of them. The snowmen, snowforts… everything just looked beautiful every time. Even with the snowflakes blowing in the wind. Before his girlfriend could take one step outside, he stopped her. "Hey Babe?"

She turned to him. "Yeah, what's up?"

He looked her up and down. "Did I tell you that you dressed nice today?" This was the first time he had seen her hair braided and the fact that she put on makeup… he just couldn't stop staring.

"Well… I just wanted to look nice for our second date. But I'm glad you love it." Seeing that he was still staring at her awestruck, she grabbed his jacket and kissed him deeply. He responded to the kiss, his arms snaking around her waist and bringing her closer to him. It didn't last too long, as both parties knew that they had to leave right now.

"Let's go, shall we?"

"Yeah. Didn't you say earlier that you had a surprise for me?"

"Yes, I did. Now…" He made a hand gesture outside. "Ladies first."

"Aww… you're such a gentleman today."

They kissed again as they stepped outside, allowing a strong gust of wind to shut the door for them. Their hands were intertwined, and they laughed together as they walked further away from the house. Their laughs faded away and the whole house became quiet again. It was as if they weren't even there to begin with. The sitting area was empty, and it seemed as if there was nobody else in the small home… except there was. Three individuals were still inside the house and doing their own thing. Or was that really the case?

Unbeknownst to the happy couple, they were being watched the entire time. They had failed to realize that they weren't the only ones inside. All their interactions had been seen by those same three individuals. Kaiyo, Hiroshi and Eighter stepped out from the shadows. They witnessed the entire exchange between Goku and Suno. When they found the couple sleeping together in the same room, it had raised a lot of suspicions among them. The three of them didn't want to jump to conclusions before, but now that they've had the opportunity to see everything, their suspicions had been confirmed. It became clear to them what was really going on between the two.

"H-Hiroshi darling, d-did you see all of that?" Kaiyo asked her husband, shock filling her whole being with a mixture of happiness. "They're… They're…"

"Together." He finished for her, feeling just as thunderstruck as his wife was. "T-They're in a relationship."

"I can't believe it." Eighter managed to say. "I had my suspicions about them when we found them sleeping together in the same bed, but it couldn't have occurred to me that they ended up together that fast. Suno must have chosen to sleep with Goku on her own volition."

The elderly woman nodded her head. "Yeah, she did." She felt tears of happiness brimming in her eyes, but she wiped them away. "Did you two see how gentle Goku was? He was a real sweetheart to her."

A smile now appeared on Hiroshi's face. "It makes me happy to know that he treats our daughter with love and respect. It's been a while since I saw Suno be this joyful around anyone. You remember when she graduated from high school here in the village and you were trying to persuade her to find a nice man to date?"

"It was the both of us actually," Kaiyo said, the old memories coming back to her. "Though I was pushier about it than you were. She was just refusing to find a guy, and she would never tell us why. Little did we all know, it's because she had her sights on Goku the entire time. He was the one our daughter was deeply in love with. The fact that she was waiting for years until he finally returned to the village… that's what I call dedication."

The memories were coming back to the two parents. Over the years, both tried so hard to persuade their only daughter to find a nice and caring man. Her answer was always no, saying that she wasn't interested in dating. Nothing more. She wouldn't go into any more detail. Even during those school parties she used to attend, she would always want to hang out only with her small circle of friends. Even after graduating from high school, she remained here in Jingle Village, mainly because she wanted to help provide for the elderly people and small children. They had raised her to be a kind-hearted person towards everyone she meets. Despite her dedication in wanting to make all the villagers happy, they wanted her to have a life as a young adult. Their daughter was much older now, but she still looked so young and beautiful. Any man would die to be with her.

Now all those years she spent waiting for the man of her dreams had finally paid off.

"It doesn't matter if Goku isn't a human," Eighter said to them. "Even if he's from an alien race, he makes Suno happy and that's all that matters."

"You're right." Hiroshi said in response. "He treats our daughter well and that's enough for me. I don't mind that they're dating."

"Me neither." Kaiyo spoke. A smile crossed her lips once more as she turned to her husband with her hands clasped. "They're both like us when we were younger. Happy and in love…"

He smiled fondly. "I remember. Those were good times, weren't it?"

"They sure were."

"Now what's left for us is to wait until both are ready to talk to us about their relationship." Eighter reminded them.

And it was true. As much as they wanted to know how the whole thing happened, there was no way they were going to push the couple into talking about their relationship. The only thing that mattered to them was that both were happy together. No matter what happened, they would always be there to support them through any future challenges or obstacles to come their way. They both deserved each other.

---

Their walk-through Jingle Village had been a long one. It was so quiet that they only heard their footsteps through the usually rough snow. Goku ceased walking suddenly, making his girlfriend frown at him. He looked around them and it seemed as if they were the only ones in this immediate area. Good. Just the way he wanted it. Only the two of them alone with nobody watching them.

"Ummm…" Suno peered behind them in confusion. "Why are we stopping here?"

His face morphed into a grin. "Remember when I said that I had a surprise for you?"

She nodded her head. "Yeah, I do. This is where we're going to see it?" She was starting to feel excited once more, knowing that her boyfriend had the best surprises. Her brain was in thinking mode, trying to guess what the Saiyan had in mind. Her first thought was the Nimbus Cloud, but then she remembered that they rode on it yesterday.

"Exactly."

"So…" A smile appeared on her face. "What is this surprise you have for me?"

"Did I tell you that I can fly?"

She blinked, wondering if she heard that correctly. "W-What?"

"I can fly." He repeated.

"No… No way. There's no way you can fly. You're just saying that!" She accused.

He shook his head. "I'm serious, babe."

Suno folded her arms at him. "You're lying, you can't fly!"

"What makes you think I'm lying. Have I ever lied to you before?"

"W-Well… no, but I still don't believe you."

He started to smirk; a mischievous idea having formed in his mind. "If you still don't believe me, then I guess I'll just have to prove it to you."

She had seen that look on his face many times, and she did not like it. "What are you planning to do?"

Nothing prepared her for what her boyfriend did next. For the third time this day, he took her into his arms and lifted her. But this wasn't like the first two times. This time she felt herself slowly being lifted from the ground and into the air. She started to panic, not knowing what was happening to her or what was causing this. The rate of her heartbeat started to increase as the fear was gradually taking over her. Looking down, she couldn't see anything else. All the trees and houses were becoming a blur.

She turned to her boyfriend in shock and fear, realizing that he was the one who was doing this. "Wait… what's happening? What's going on!? Please put me down!"

He stopped and addressed her. "I'm flying."

"You're… flying? Put me down!"

"Yes, I am."

Seeing her scared expression, a few chuckles escaped from his lips before it turned into full blown laughter. "Oh hon, you really need to lighten up!"

A red vein popped on her forehead and her anger was slowly starting to come out onto the surface. He thought it would be funny to just pick her up and fly into the air without any kind of warning, just so he could get a rise out of her. She was not letting that slide. Her hand was poised, ready to strike him.

SMACK!

Goku felt the pain on his head from where he was just struck. He raised a hand and started to rub the aching spot while the other still held his girlfriend. He winced, thinking that a lump would appear.

"OW!" He cried out, still rubbing his head. "What was that for!?"

Suno glared at him and folded her arms. "You scared the crap out of me and now you're laughing? You think it's funny to just do that without any kind of warning?"

"Hehe well…" As he was recovering from the painful hit, he chuckled. "It's because you look cute when you're angry."

The anger faded for a moment, and she blushed. "Y-You…"

"I mean it."

She sighed. "Okay, if you say so."

"But you don't have to be afraid. You already flew over the Nimbus Cloud with me, right?"

"Yeah, I did."

"And you enjoyed it, didn't you?"

A smile crossed her lips. "Of course, I enjoyed it."

"Well, flying is the same thing. You must lose yourself a little and not worry about anything."

"Alright, Alright, I trust you."

"Just take my hand and… I'll do the rest."

She took his hand and his removed his other arm from her waist, and he starts to elevate in the air while securely holding her hand. Her smile became even wider. "Woah… this is amazing…"

"You see? This is even better than the Nimbus."

"And it's great that I get to do this with you."

He gave her an affectionate smile. "You're right, hon." The Saiyan then received a kiss on the cheek as a reward. "Thanks for that."

"Don't mention it. Now let's get going, shall we?"

He pumped his fist into the air. "Alright! LET'S GO!"

They both laughed together as Goku flew into the air at a reasonable speed while holding his girlfriend's hand. Her braided hair was blowing wildly, but she didn't mind it. Both were having fun as their journey commenced. At the speed with which they were moving at, they would soon make it to Papaya Island in one piece.

---

Gohan, Videl, Erasa and Sharpener sat at one table near the window, reading over their handwritten notes, textbooks and past answer sheets to prepare themselves for the big test that was coming. The four of them agreed to study as a group to cover at least most of the topics at a faster rate before their teacher arrived. As they were studying for the test, the black-haired girl kept on glancing worriedly at her boyfriend as if asking him, 'Are you alright?' The half-Saiyan finally noticed the glances his girlfriend was giving, and he nodded his head while flashing her a tight smile. She knew exactly why he was nervous. Not because of the upcoming test but… the teenage girl looked over at their two classmates reading over the material in silence.

Both nodded their heads as they had silently agreed on something. Videl looked on expectantly at her boyfriend, waiting for him to make the first move. "Hey you two." He called out to his classmates in a whisper.

They looked in their direction. "Hey Gohan. Is everything alright?" Erasa questioned, holding a sheet of paper in her hand.

Once he had their attention, he became serious. "There is something I would like to ask of you both." He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself.

"What is it?" The blonde girl inquired, putting her paper back on the table.

He remained silent for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to word this. He felt his girlfriend pat him on the back. "Do you think you two can meet with us at the local cafeteria after school today?"

That surprised them. Sharpener finally snapped out of his shock. "Are you talking about the local cafeteria in Satan City?"

"Yes, I am."

"Is there any reason why you want to meet with us there?" Erasa asked, then she let out a gasp as she realized something. "It has to do with whatever is going on at home, right?"

"Yeah, it does." Videl said, noticing that her boyfriend's hand was shaking. She clasped it tightly in her own hand to give him some comfort. "And to tell both of you the truth, things haven't been going well at home, especially with Goten. If you guys meet us at the cafeteria, we promise to tell you everything."

Gohan sighed as he leaned back in his chair. "It's just as she said. We can't talk about this in school, but we must go somewhere more private. The cafeteria is the best place for that."

"So… can the both of you make it?" Videl asked, her hand still holding her boyfriend's hand. "We'd love to fill you in."

Sharpener thought about it for a minute then he grinned. "If that's the case, then I'm in. I can meet with you two after school. I don't have any activities planned!"

"Me too." Erasa smiled. "I don't think my parents need me back at home immediately. I'll just text them and let them know that I'll be coming home a little late."

Gohan let out a relieved sigh. "Sounds good."

"You don't know how much this means to us." Videl said, being careful not to let anything slip with their other classmates around. "Things have been really crazy since we told you about the separation." To say that things were crazy was a big understatement.

"Don't mention it." Sharpener said proudly. "It's as we said time and time again, we'll be there for you both. Isn't that right, brains?"

"It sure is. And thanks for agreeing to this."

"No," Erasa shook her head at that. "Thank you for putting your faith in us."

(PAPAYA ISLAND)

Early afternoon was just approaching, and the sun's heavy rays were shining brightly on Papaya Island, illuminating the busy roads and various other occupied buildings located there. The weather was previously cloudy earlier in the day but now it was bright and sunny. By the morning time, the place was already packed with people and a few stores had already opened even during waking hours. But now that early afternoon had finally come, the place was packed with even more people than before. Airplanes were making safe landings on the island while taxis were parked in front of the airport, ready to pick up any oncoming passengers and take them to wherever they needed to go. Even buses were arriving at different terminals to pick up other passengers.

In addition to the few traffic lights around, a few traffic conductors wearing bright orange and yellow vests stood in the middle of the roads directing and slowing down traffic as the island became busier. An ice cream truck was parked at one side of the road, away from all the noisy cars and a line of people were waiting in front of it ordering their ice cream. One person got their ice cream handed to them and after that, they paid for it. The truck was painted white with a picture of a banana sundae on it.

"Here you go, young lady."

"Thanks mister!"

The girl sped off in her bicycle with her ice cream in hand and the next customer came forward, repeating the cycle all over again.

A nearby bakery was also on the island and some cakes, baked breads, cupcakes, doughnuts, cookies and cinnamon rolls could be seen on display through the window with their prices listed in front of it and people were leaving the building holding boxes full of the delicious pastries. Calm and soothing music was heard coming out of the bakery, and onlookers peered into the window, their mouths drooling at the sight of everything on display.

"Babe, we're finally here at long last!"

"I can't believe it; we really are here!"

Goku and Suno had finally touched down on the ground after a while of flying, taking a while to observe their surroundings. The couple had enjoyed most of their flight here. For the sake of his girlfriend, the Saiyan didn't fly at his fastest speed. By flying at his lowest speed, it also gave them the chance to enjoy the scenery a little bit and to listen to the sounds of the ocean as they were nearing their destination. He couldn't stop smiling for their entire trip, especially when his girlfriend's braids would blow wildly against the wind. Thanks to all the distractions, nobody seemed to notice them descend onto the ground.

The human woman spread her arms out in glee, and she twirled around, being careful not to bump into any passerby. All Goku could do was just smile as he was happy to see the cheerfulness on her pretty face. Then she turned back to look at him and he pulled her into a brief hug which lasted for a few seconds before they separated and then they looked ahead at the scenery in front of them. The Saiyan gave another smile as Papaya Island was just the way he remembered it.

"I can hardly believe I'm back here after so many years!"

Goku looked at her in surprise. "You've been here before?"

"Yeah." Suno said to him. "My parents used to bring me here many times as a little girl. All those times I used to spend here were really fun!"

He takes her hand, and they walk forward. "And… what exactly did you do here?"

"Well…" She tapped her chin in thought. "We used to visit this bakery, buy dessert and we'd just sit somewhere and enjoy ourselves. Sometimes we would even visit an ice cream shop instead. I used to look out the window staring at all those tasty desserts. Whenever Mom and Dad saw me staring, they couldn't resist buying me a few treats." Her mind briefly went back to the old memories as a small child.

"Mother, Mother, I'm ready!"

Little Suno came out of her bedroom, completely dressed and ready to leave the house. The small child was bubbly and happy. She ran to her mother who picked her up and held her. "Are you ready, sweetheart?"

"Yes, I'm ready!"

Her father came out of his room, completely dressed as well. He had a bright smile on his face as he walked over to his wife and took their daughter from her arms. "I can see you're happy today. Are you ready to go to Papaya Island?" He kissed his small daughter on the forehead.

"Yeah Daddy!"

Hiroshi turned to his wife. "It's best that we get going so we don't miss our flight."

"You're right darling."

After making sure they had everything they needed, the family left Jingle Village and headed straight for the airport. They sat on the plane together for a few hours and were given some snacks by the staff. The little girl looked out the window as she sat in her mother's arms, but after a while her eyelids started to close, and she soon fell asleep on her mom's lap.

Suno smiled at that memory, and she looked on ahead at the bakery in front of them. She was starting to recognize it, even though the building had been remodeled. "Wait…" Her voice trailed off and she was inching closer to it, her Saiyan boyfriend following closely behind her. "I think this is one of the places we went to!" She pointed at it.

"Really?" Goku asked, amazed at this revelation.

"Yeah!"

The couple walked straight to the building and stuck their noses through the glass where they saw all the pastries and their prices beside it. All of it looked delicious. They could smell a sugary scent wafting from inside. Along with a sweet, chocolatey aroma which smelled pleasant and inviting. As they were peering through the window, they could hear the quiet sound of the coffee machine doing its job.

Goku turned to his girlfriend, and he couldn't help but smile. 'She's cheerful like Goten was when we used to come here.' And then a thought occurred to him upon remembering the zeni in his pocket. 'Should I buy something from this bakery for her? It would put an even brighter smile on her face.' He touched the pocket where he put his money and instantly felt relieved when it was still there. Should he do this or not? He looked at the price tags again and he slowly shook his head. Ten thousand zeni may have been a lot of money but if he didn't use it wisely, it wouldn't last. 'It's best that I use it to pay for our dinner. But maybe…' He turned around and noticed a line of people standing behind an ice cream truck. Then he noticed some ice cream shops out in the distance. 'I can buy us some ice cream. It shouldn't cost too much money.'

His girlfriend's voice broke him from his thoughts. "My family and I used to come here sometimes. And then we would find a restaurant somewhere on the island and eat some dinner there. Sometimes if we stayed out here too late, we would stay at a hotel and leave the next morning." She took his hand as they walked away from the bakery.

"That must have been great." He said to her with a grin. The Saiyan had been here many times with his sons, but he couldn't recall ever coming to this place. But he knew that there were many sites here on the island that he had never seen before.

The sun was beating on them heavily as they were walking through the crowd. Beads of sweat were running down Suno's face, but she wasn't going to let that deter her from looking around. The smell of something cooking then reached their nostrils, making them turn around to the delicious aroma. Someone was selling different kinds of meat on a barbeque grill. It was delicious and was enough to make Goku's mouth water even though it hadn't been that long since he ate breakfast. A part of him was screaming at him to buy something, but he already made up his mind to only buy dinner and some ice cream for his girlfriend. 'Besides, I may end up needing the money for something else, so it's best that I save most of it.'

Speaking of dinner… where were they going to eat?

Before he could wonder about that, they stopped in front of a movie theater. To get away from the heavy sun beating down on them, the couple moved under the roof and made sure to stand on the sidewalk away from all the noisy vehicles. A wave of nostalgia fell over the Saiyan warrior, having remembered this place from a visit long ago. "Did I tell you that I used to come here with Goten?"

"Really?" Suno asked, amazed. "You used to come to this same movie theater?" She tried to suppress her laugh when she saw that her boyfriend had a goofy smile on his face. It was endearing.

"Yeah." Goku told her. "It would be just the two of us, while Gohan would be on dates with Videl. We would come here and choose the movie we wanted to watch, and then we would buy the tickets." He tapped his chin, trying to remember if there was anything else he was missing. "Oh, and we used to buy snacks too before entering the theater!"

"What kind of movies did you watch?"

"Hmmm… we did watch a couple of horror films, but we also watched a LOT of action!"

It was then that the Saiyan remembered more and more of what happened here. Whenever they would get away from Mount Paozu for a bit, him and the boys would often come here and look at whatever movie was available to watch. His wife wasn't there with them, but it would be the three of them. Or just him and Goten. Having fun together as a family. They would buy their snacks and make sure to get some front row seats before the entire theater filled up completely. They would laugh together and goof off together.

"Awww, that sounds so sweet…"

"It really is."

He took her hand, and they approached the theater to get a closer look inside it. They stepped out of the way as many people were emerging from the room after watching a film. Loud conversations filled their ears and from the sounds of it, it was a pretty good movie. Two guys had come out and they were talking about the movie like crazy.

When they were sure everyone was gone, they peered into the room. It was like a large auditorium with rows of comfortable padded seats to make the audience comfortable when sitting down. There were also a few booster seats for the children. The floor was sloped to give the viewers a clear view of the movie, and every seat had a cup holder where drinks were kept. A huge white screen stood in front of the stage with wall-mounted speakers on either side. The windows were covered with red velvety curtains and from the entrance, the floor was carpeted right until it reached the screen. There were bright round lights on the ceiling which illuminated the entire room.

Some seats were stained with soda while popcorn boxes, drink cups, soda cans, empty water bottles, cheetos, chocolate bar wrappers, napkins and a few nacho chips lay around the floor. The only two garbage cans inside the theater were full. Some cleaners were already hard at work taking out the garbage while others were picking up the trash from the floor.

"Wow… it's been a long time since I was inside a movie theater." Suno commented as she watched the janitors clean up. She covered her nose at the strong scent of cologne and perfume. She motioned to her boyfriend and the duo moved to a secluded corner where they could still view everything.

"The last time I was here was with…"

Crunch!

The couple was startled by the sudden sound. Goku looked beneath his right foot and saw that he stepped on a pretzel. He kicked it away before turning back to his girlfriend. "As I was just saying.."

"Yuck!"

"Babe, what's wrong?" He asked, worried.

She raised her foot and found a piece of chewing gum stuck under her boot. "Oh no, not on my boots!" The village resident cringed as the chewed gum stretched and tried as hard as possible not to freak out when she saw it happening.

"Here, let me get it."

"No-"

His hand already reached out for the chewed gum and he managed to get it removed from her foot, tossing it into a nearby trash can and wiping his sticky hands on his clothing. She thanked him for it and the two continued stand in their spot and look out in the distance. 'I can't believe how much this place has changed since the last time I was here.' Suno said to herself as she noticed billboards promoting films. On those billboards were also the film's date of premiere, intriguing the human woman. She hoped to come back here and watch a movie on the island.

The smell of buttery popcorn reached their noses. Their attention was then shifted to a concession stand out in the distance where snacks and drinks were sold. She squinted her eyes to see it better. As she was observing, she could also smell fast food. Hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, french fries, pizza, hot dogs, corn dogs, nachos and pretzels. 'What are we going to eat from here?' She wasn't hungry just yet, but the thought just randomly crossed her mind.

The two stared out at the theatre once more. An idea came to the Saiyan, and it made him smile brightly. "What's making you so happy right now?"

He turned to his girlfriend and put an arm around her shoulders. "I was thinking… after I move back into Mount Paozu, why don't we spend an entire day here with the boys?"

She quirked an eyebrow. "An entire day?"

The thought of that was exciting to him. "We can come back here in the morning and do random stuff for the whole day. When they're comfortable being around you, we can talk about it with them. It'll be fun. The four of us together as a family!"

'As a family…' As soon as her boyfriend brought up his sons, those fears she had last night instantly came back. The possibility of them taking an instant dislike to her. 'Will they really be comfortable around me?'

"Yeah, I think a whole day here in Papaya Island will be fun." Suno nodded her head and tried her best to put on a smile for him. She was certainly not going to ruin their day together because of her own insecurities. Her braided hair blew softly against the wind as she stood there lost in thought. Not wanting her partner to realize something was wrong, she desperately thought of something to say which would take their minds off it. "I think my parents and I did come here with Eighter before things became hectic at Jingle Village."

"You did?"

"Yeah." As they resumed their tour around the island, she was trying to remember how things went down. "I think we did watch a scary movie and I was frightened. So I clung onto Eighter for support." She giggled a little bit at the old memory. She and the android were there with her parents, and she recalled him trying to console her as a little girl. "I think it was a children's film but there were still some scary moments in there."

He burst out laughing when he heard that. Luckily he didn't catch onto the fact that there was something wrong with his girlfriend. "If I was there, then I would have been scared." She turned away from him and folded her arms in a playful manner. He laughed even harder and made another comment about it before changing the subject. The couple strolled through different parts of the island to see if there was anything that would pique their interest. During their lovely stroll, they had passed by someone who was selling cotton candy, leading Goku to recall the times he would buy cotton candy for his younger son whenever they came here.

"Daddy, Daddy! Can we buy cotton candy please?"

"Okay son, I think I've got enough money for it!"

Goku held the little boy in one hand while he pulled out some zeni bills from his pocket and walked to the man selling cotton candy. "Hello there! Are you looking to buy some cotton candy?"

He smiled at his son as he responded, "Yes, I am. For my younger son over here." He gestured to his cheerful son who was now perched on his shoulder.

"And what flavor do you want, little one?" The man asked, bending to his level.

"I want the mint flavor!"

"Here you go." He hands Goten a stick of mint-flavored cotton candy and the little boy starts drooling at the sight of it.

"What do you say to the nice man?" Goku asked his son.

"Thank you mister!"

"No problem kid."

"How much is it, sir?" The Saiyan asked, preparing to pull out more money from his pocket.

After the seller told him the price, he handed out what he had already taken out. They parted ways and continued to stroll through the island.

"Hello?" Suno waved a hand in her boyfriend's face. "Earth to Goku?"

"W-What?" He blinked his eyes repeatedly, snapping himself back into reality. "Sorry babe, my mind just wandered somewhere else."

"What were you thinking about?"

"A time I bought cotton candy for Goten during one of our trips here to make up for the lost time I spent in the otherworld," Goku confessed with a smile. "He saw someone selling cotton candy and begged me to buy one for him. I wanted to make him happy, so I didn't refuse. I recall buying the mint flavor and he was so happy that he forgot to say thank you to the seller."

Hearing that brought tears to Suno's eyes. "That was so sweet, you know?"

"I know," He said, the smile still plastered on his face. "Whenever I saw Goten happy, it made me happy too."

They stood there together in silence as Goku searched his brain for anything else he could do with his girlfriend which wouldn't cost him any money (aside from having dinner and ice cream) until he remembered the promise he made about taking her to see the tournament arena. It wasn't evening just yet but maybe his partner would want to look around for a restaurant to go to later.

"Babe, are you hungry?"

Suno shook her head. "Not really." She started to giggle at him. "Let me guess, you're hungry?"

"Well… I could wait until the evening." Was his reply while chuckling. "But maybe we should decide where we're gonna eat later on."

"That's true. Alright, let's go before it's too late!"

The couple then continued their walk around. While searching for different restaurants on the island, they came across several convenience stores, shopping malls and toy stores. Suno couldn't help but tell her boyfriend about the times her parents bought her so many dolls, teddy bears and action figures while she was here and how she would play with them every single day. Unless her parents needed her to do any chores, she would be in her bedroom huddling with them. His girlfriend had lived a peaceful life in Jingle Village, and he was happy for that.

"I remember you had so many toys." Goku recollected. "Do you still have them?"

"I gave most of them away to the small children living in the village." She explained as she held his hand while walking beside him. "There are still a few of them in my room though."

"Ohhhh okay, I remember when you, me and Eighter stayed in the same room. There was this huge box of toys and you shared them with me." He spoke.

She smiled at that. "I remember it clearly. You liked playing with them so much."

"I sure did." He returned her smile. "I think it was the only time I ever played with toys."

Suno just smiled sweetly. He grabbed her hand before she could reply, and they continued their search of a restaurant they could eat at later. They had come across several fast-food restaurants, diners, pizzerias, cafes, sandwich shops and even seafood restaurants. Neither party could come to an agreement on which one would be the best to go to. To help them decide quicker, they would go inside every food place in view and inquire about what was available on their menu. And while the food on the menu was looking quite good, it wasn't what either of them had in mind and to top it off, they both knew it was overpriced. They were running out of options and where about to give up on the long search when-

"Hey, what if we try that one?"

Goku looked towards the building his girlfriend was pointing at. It was a small eatery with a red rooftop while the walls were painted white with two small windows and an evening light in the front. A few cars and motorcycles were parked in the lot. It was nothing fancy or anything, but it did look quite nice. Aside from the occasional sound of crickets and chirping of birds, it was quiet and peaceful in this area, and the restaurant didn't seem like it would be expensive like the other ones they had seen. Some bushes and a few oak trees stood along the walkway leading to the entrance of the restaurant. Goku stared ahead in silence without responding as this place was now looking familiar to him. Had he been here before? He couldn't really remember and just assumed that his mind was playing tricks on him until he saw the name of the restaurant. The signboard on the rooftop read; 'DELICIOUS SAIKAN'. His eyes widened, having remembered that he had been here once before.

Suno was growing concerned about her boyfriend as she received no response from him. It was as if he just saw a ghost. "Goku, are you okay?"

"Hon, I've been here before."

"You have? When?"

Recovering from the shock, he turned to his girlfriend in excitement. "Right after the end of the 21st tournament. Me and the others came here to celebrate. It was I, Bulma, Krillin, Yamcha and Puar." He put a finger to his chin. "Oh, and Master Roshi was there with us too. He was the one who paid for all the food, and I think it cost him all the money he had. Mainly because I wanted so much to eat. Plus, dessert!" He chuckled while scratching the back of his head. He remembered all the times everyone stared at him at shock as they watched him eat so much as a little kid.

"Wow…" Suno said, amazed at this revelation. "During all the times I came here to Papaya Island, I never once passed by this restaurant. I suppose you came here again for the next tournament after the 21st?"

"Actually no, we never did." Goku answered. He was about to explain the story behind it when an excited smile came to his face. "Hey, you don't mind if we eat here later on? For old times sake?"

She returned the smile, seeing how much this place meant to her boyfriend even if he had only been there once. "You know what? I don't mind at all. Besides, I think we've spent enough time searching for restaurants to eat at. She watched as another car pulled up in front of the parking lot of the eatery.

"Now that we know where to eat, let's go to the martial arts arena. I promised you that we would see it!" The strong aroma of food was making his mouth water once more. He almost wanted to burst inside the building, but he restrained himself. They then walked away from 'Delicious Saikan' and towards the direction of the world martial arts arena.

"Before I forget, I'm paying for everything." Suno said, pulling out her wallet and waving it in his face. "I know you don't have any money, so I'll pay for our food and anything else you want to buy. I don't mind." She had been so distracted with everything else that she hadn't thought about the payments.

"Oh…ummm…" He felt conflicted about that as he already planned to pay for dinner and dessert with the money he had. Should he tell his girlfriend right now about his discovery earlier today? In the end he decided to keep it as a surprise and just tell her while they were inside the restaurant. "Sure thing. It's alright." It also didn't feel right for her to pay for everything when she didn't make a whole lot of money from the work she did around the village.

On their way to the arena, they had passed by a small building which read, 'COFFEE SHOP' There was a signboard which listed all the different types of coffee, drinks and some pastries. Suno then explained to her boyfriend how she, her Mom and Dad stopped at this place a while back. Next, they walked past an airport called 'DURIAN AIRPORT' where they saw many people going in and out the building with their luggage. In addition to that were many taxis lined up in front of the building. The village resident then went on to explain to her boyfriend how she and her family would arrive at this very same airport and then they would take a taxi or a bus to wherever they wanted to go. Whenever they ended up staying out too late, they would book a room at a cheap motel and leave the next morning. Goku was amazed as he heard his girlfriend talk about her trips here at Papaya Island and knew that she really had so much fun here. They also passed by a health center called 'PAPAYA HOSPITAL' The Saiyan ended up explaining to his girlfriend about Yamcha and Tien's fight and how Yamcha ended up in that same hospital after Tienshinhan broke his leg.

"So that's pretty much it." Goku concluded, having explained the whole story to his partner. "He was eliminated after that."

Suno was left in shock. "Wow…" She had a vague recollection of watching the 22nd tournament on TV, but she couldn't remember ever watching that fight.

"It's insane, right? But despite that, I had a lot of fun competing in the tournament."

"I'm sure you did."

The rest of their walk was in blissful silence apart from the loud chitchatting of bystanders on the street. Until Goku ceased their long walk and gave his girlfriend a huge grin. "Alright babe, we're finally here!"

"We are?"

"Uh-huh. Look in front of you!"

Suno looked on ahead and saw that they were standing behind the gate leading to the tournament arena. Although she couldn't see it just yet, she could tell it was surrounded by a large yellow and red brick fence. The gate was slightly open and there was a small flight of stairs leading to the entrance of the tournament stage. There was a kanji symbol imprinted on it. A recycling bin sat next to the stairs and a short man briefly stopped by to put his trash inside and walked off again. Followed by a woman and her daughter. Suno almost felt as if she was going to see a tournament rather than watching it on TV. She stared on ahead in awe for a few moments, almost forgetting that her boyfriend was standing beside her.

"It looks amazing from the outside, right?" Goku asks, after not hearing his girlfriend say anything.

"It really is."

He grabs her hand, and they start climbing up the stairs. "Come on, let's go take a look." They reached the gate and pause for a bit. The Saiyan took just a moment to sense if there was anyone inside and there wasn't. "Alright babe, I don't sense anyone so I think we can go inside now." The couple walk through the entrance and Goku quietly closes the gate behind them.

"It looks even better than I imagined it to be…"

"It really does."

In front of them was a large fighting stage designed with white tiles and was rectangular in shape. The old one was similar but much smaller. The new one was much bigger, and it gave the fighters more room to go all out. A patch of green grass encircled the arena which both could tell had been recently mowed. The old wooden bleachers the audience used to sit on was replaced with a more modern-like version and just like the stage itself, it was much larger in size. It was made from metal and in addition, there was even a staircase attached to it. Behind the arena was a rectangular shaped building painted white with six windows at the front and a thatched rooftop which served as the martial arts temple. Two coconut trees stood on either side of it along with some blossoming plants, making the place that much more welcoming. The other end of the stage had a small staircase with a brick walkway leading to the temple.

They were now in front of the world martial arts arena. Both had different emotions upon seeing it. For Goku, seeing the tournament stage once again reminded him of all the good memories he had of this place. He fought so many worthy opponents and some of them tried to end his life, but it had been enjoyable putting his fighting abilities to the test. He felt happy being here once more and relieving all the fun times. And for Suno, she just felt amazed seeing it up close for the first time. She had only ever seen the tournament arena only once and that was when she saw parts of the 22nd tournament on the television.

"It looks different than when I saw it on TV."

"You watched all the tournaments?"

"No, I didn't." Suno answered. "I only saw parts of the 22nd tournament. I didn't get the chance to see the 21st or the 23rd tournament."

That made Goku come to an instant realization. "I know why. During my fight with Piccolo in the 23rd tournament, the old arena was destroyed in the process. A whole new arena was built to replace the old one. That's why it looks so different to you now and when I was granted a day on earth, the stage looked exactly like this."

"Woah… that's unbelievable."

"Yep. I've had many opponents who tried to kill me."

Goku looked on with a smile. The sun was still shining brightly as ever, a small breeze was blowing, and he was used to seeing the tournament with people cheering for whoever they thought was going to win but today was the first time he was seeing the place devoid of any people. But that was the way he wanted it to be. Just him and his girlfriend. They had been silent for a while as they were taking their time to observe their surroundings. Now was the time to break the silence as there were many things they needed to talk about.

"Do you see that little building over there?"

Suno looked to where he was pointing. "Yeah, what is it?"

"That's the martial arts temple. In there I had a great meal along with Gohan, Vegeta and Krillin before fighting in my last tournament here." He explained with a grin.

She returned his smile. "I'm sure it was great there!"

He let out a hearty laugh. "It really was. We ate a lot along with the guys. Come on, let's sit and relax." He had an arm around his partner and they were walking on the green grass to reach the bleachers. As soon as they reached there, they climbed up the metallic staircase. They both had trouble deciding where exactly to sit, but in the end they chose to sit at the very top as it would help them see everything more clearly.

They made sure to take seats behind some rails and took a moment to observe everything around them from up the bleachers. Suno had both of her hands on the rails as her hair was blowing through the wind. "It's good that we picked this spot. The view is nice from here!" Her smile was growing brighter every second.

Goku stared on at the empty tournament stage before addressing her. "I agree, it's breathtaking. Even sitting here right now makes me feel like I'm about to watch an actual fight." He recalled the times he would sit at the bleachers with his friends while watching the fights that took place.

The couple just sat in complete silence, observing the beauty of everything. It seemed like both were content just sitting here and staring out at the view before them. They were lost in their own thoughts until the human woman had one question for her boyfriend after thinking about the martial arts temple and the restaurant they decided to eat out at. "Hey Goku… how come you never went back to Delicious Saikan? It seems like a really nice place."

Goku sat up after hearing the question, trying to remember the exact events. "We went there after the second tournament but Krillin was slain by King Piccolo, so that's why I didn't eat there again but the last time I was here, we ate inside the temple."

"Oh, okay." She put a hand on her chin in thought, trying to see if there was anything else she wanted to know. "What was your last fight like?"

"Now that I think about it…" He propped his hands behind his head. "I didn't get the chance to fight because Gohan was attacked and we flew off to fight Majin Buu."

"Wow…" She said, imitating his actions on the bleachers. While she was aware that he wasn't lying, it was still hard to believe.

"Uh-huh. So, the last time I fought here was against Piccolo in the 23rd tournament."

"Unbelievable…"

"It really is." Then he started to get curious about something. "You said you watched bits and pieces of the 22nd tournament, right?"

Suno nodded her head silently.

"Do you remember what you saw?"

She didn't answer that right away. She tried to remember what fights she saw on TV that day, but it had been so many years since she last saw it and her memory was a little fuzzy. Goku started to get a little worried as she wasn't answering his question and mentally cursed himself for asking. It had been years since the events of the 22nd tournament so of course his girlfriend wouldn't remember much. "Hey babe, it's okay if you don't remember anything. It's been a long time since it all happened."

"You're right. I don't recall-" Her head then shot up in excitement. "I remember watching your last fight in that tournament. I believe your opponent's name was… Tienshinhan?"

"Yes, exactly."

"If my memory serves me right, you lost after you were hit by a moving vehicle."

"Yeah, it's true." He stared out into the streets, trying to see if he could pinpoint the exact spot where the collision took place. He then touched his forehead. "Woah, just thinking about it already hurts."

Suno nudged his shoulder. "Even though you lost, I'm proud of you. You fought your hardest out there!"

He leaned back against his seat with a bright smile. "Thanks. Bulma and the others told me the exact same thing. And after that, both Tien and Chiaotzu became our best friends."

"Best friends? So, you weren't on the best of terms when you first met?"

He looked up at the sky, wiping a small drop of sweat which trickled down his forehead. "Actually no, we weren't. Tien was bad when we first crossed paths. But he wasn't as bad as Piccolo and Vegeta." A small chuckle escaped from his lips. "But during our fight, he changed his ways and he decided to join us."

"Aw, it sounds like you left a lasting impact on them."

There was silence between them until-

"Didn't you say that you and Vegeta were rivals?" She questioned.

Goku took a deep breath, preparing himself for what he was about to explain to her. "Well… you're not wrong. We first started out as rivals. Bitter rivals, to be exact. He joined us back when we fought Frieza on Planet Namek. We were a little unsure of that to be honest, but then Frieza killed him right in front of me by shooting a laser beam through his heart. As he took his final breath, Vegeta asked me to avenge all the Saiyans killed by that evil tyrant. And he was in tears when he made his request. Right then and there, I started to respect him. I wouldn't say we were friends during that time, but we learned to stand each other during battles. It's his huge pride that doesn't allow him to enjoy and appreciate the things he has."

That information made her smile. "It sounds like he's a great person deep down."

"He is, deeeeeeeep down. He even sacrificed himself for Bulma and Trunks back when we fought Majin Buu."

Her jaw dropped open in shock. "Really? He did that for his family!?"

The Saiyan nodded. "Yup. I couldn't believe it when I heard the news from Piccolo. Vegeta knocked me unconscious before doing it."

"No way…" She stared at him in disbelief at this information.

His face turned serious. "Yeah. He must have felt like he was the only one who had to defeat Majin Buu and no one else."

"I still can't believe it…"

"Believe it or not, it's the truth. He won't admit it at all because of his pride. But well, Vegeta will always be Vegeta. He doesn't show it that often, but he does love his family."

Suno didn't know what to say to that. She still couldn't believe that a guy who went from killing innocent people could end up having a family and do anything to protect them from the face of danger. For a moment, she wondered what it would be like to meet him at the party. They laughed together when he told her about how he would use Instant Transmission to pop in unannounced at Capsule Corp cheery as always, annoying Vegeta who was training by himself in the gravity chamber.

Suno was amazed to hear everything Goku said. Now she was looking forward to meeting him for the very first time. It seemed as if her boyfriend had a positive impact on everyone around him. People who were once his enemies were now his friends. It never ceased to surprise her. She decided to change the subject though, as she had another question for him.

"So Goku…" She had to wonder as she stared off into the arena. "You said your last fight was against Piccolo in the 23rd tournament, right? What was it like?"

Upon hearing the question, all the old times came back to him. His fight against Piccolo had been one of the most brutal ones of his entire life. He became a little serious again as he gave her a brief explanation. "I haven't thought about it until now, but it was a tough battle. He made a technique which caused the entire place to explode. I do recall everyone running away from the bleachers as Piccolo was destroying everything." After saying that, he stared off onto the empty tournament stage and remembered every person running away for fear of losing their lives.

Suno remained quiet, completely shook.

"My friends and I were able to survive." He explained. "And he almost killed me in that battle, but I was able to give him the final blow to defeat him. If it wasn't for the announcer that survived, I would never have been declared officially as the World Martial Arts Champion."

It took a while before she finally found her voice. "Woah…" She stuttered. "Props to him. If we ever meet, I would thank him for sticking around through the whole thing."

The loud honking of vehicles broke him out of his stupor. Goku looked outside the tournament arena and he could see that their part of the island was becoming congested with so many vehicles. Loud screeching of tires against the gravel roads was a bit sensitive to his ears. He tried to ignore it as he turned back to his girlfriend. "You're right babe, it would be nice to see him again. He really supported us a lot when we fought out here. He never viewed us as monsters or anything like that because of our powers."

"It sounds like he's a nice guy."

"He really is. I wonder what happened to him…" He wondered, remembering all the times the announcer would be standing in the middle of the arena with his microphone to announce the matchups and the tournament champions with so much energy in his voice.

"Wherever he is, I'm sure he's doing alright."

"I hope so."

Silence fell upon them once more. They were both enjoying the bright, sunny weather and the sounds of people chitchatting outside the gate. Goku was now lost in thought. When was the next tournament? He needed to find out the day, so he could bring his girlfriend to watch it instead of her just sitting at home and watching it on TV.

"Goku? Sweetie?"

Suno's voice broke him away from his train of thought. "What's up? Is there something else you want to ask me?" He questioned.

She answered that with a slight nod of her head. "You never told me, how and when did you learn to fly? You never went into any details about that."

He started to explain. "Oh…well…I was a kid back then. I spent three years training in Kami's Lookout before I showed up for the 23rd tournament. And that's when I learned how to fly."

"From Kami, right?"

He shook his head in response. "It was actually Mr. Popo who taught me."

Now she felt intrigued and decided to probe for more information. "Mr. Popo? He taught you how to fly?"

"How to fly, how to properly handle ki and how to improve my fighting skills back then."

"Wow… that's amazing."

"Yeah, it is." Goku said with a fond smile. "It was hard at first but I slowly started to get the hang of it."

She was at a loss for words. "I didn't even know flying was possible until you showed me earlier today."

"I know that for normal people it can be weird to see other people flying. But to be honest, it's not that hard to do. Anyone can learn it." The Saiyan explained.

"It's not hard to do?"

"No." Goku responded. "Even Videl learned how to fly and she's not even as strong as me or Gohan."

"She learned how to do it?"

"Uh-huh. Gohan taught her how to do it. And within a matter of ten days, she was able to fly all over the skies." He said proudly.

Her eyes popped out of her head. "Within ten days!? Holy crap!" She grabbed the rail in front of her as she attempted to process this new information. "That's awesome. So, you think I can learn it someday?"

"Of course, you can!"

She felt the excitement bubbling up inside her. "Really!?"

"Sure!" He liked his girlfriend's enthusiasm. "But…"

"But what?"

"I don't think I should be the one to teach you." He finished his sentence.

"Huh? Why not?"

"I think that you should learn from someone who's closer to your level." He explained, tapping his chin in thought for who could teach his girlfriend how to fly. "I was thinking of…Videl."

Her heart was pounding in her chest. "She can teach me?"

"Yup. She learned how to control ki with Gohan. And she has an ideal fighting level for you to learn from."

"That's awesome!" Suno cried out in excitement, her hand leaving the metal rail and bringing her boyfriend in for a bear hug.

Goku struggled to return the embrace, feeling her tight hug slowly crushing his bones. "H-Hey babe, y-you're squeezing me a little too tight." He winced as he was gasping for some air.

"Oops sorry." She apologized, releasing him from the hug and grappling his shoulders. "I'm just so excited for this!"

He felt the color returning to his face as he patted her braided hair and smiled. "I know. And as I said yesterday, I think you'll get along with her just fine."

"Nice. So… do you have any questions for me?"

"You mean, if I want to ask you something?"

She nodded her head in response as she sat back down next to him.

"Hmmm… I'm not sure if I have any questions for you." He stated before something else came to mind. He didn't know anything about his girlfriend's school life. He wasn't sure if there was any school in Jingle Village or if she had to attend a school in West City, Satan City or any other city. "Actually, there's something I wanted to ask you about."

She folded her legs in a crisscross manner as she prepared herself for what he was about to ask. "Sure thing."

"How was your school life? Are there any schools in the village? Or did you have to travel long distances to attend a school anywhere?"

Suno shifted around in her seat as she thought of what exactly to tell him. "Well, I was initially going to attend a school in West City, but the rough snowstorms made it impossible to even leave the house sometimes. So eventually, my parents decided that the best thing was for me to attend a school in the village." She explained to him.

Goku nodded in understanding. "That was a good decision on your mom and dad's part." Having been to West City many times to visit Capsule Corporation, he had seen how bad the traffic could get. "And what school did you attend?"

"There was one school in the village called Chillwall School. That's the school I went to." Suno explained with a smile. "My school life there was incredible, I'll tell you that. I made so many friends, I got good grades and all the teachers liked me. I almost never had any trouble in school."

"Woah… that's great! And what subjects did you learn at Chillwall?"

"I studied math, science, art and there was even a cooking class over there too." She recollected.

That left the Saiyan impressed. "You sure know how to do many things. You're really smart!"

"Awww, thanks." Suno said with a blush. She went on to explain her daily routine in the morning to get ready for school. She would wake up to her alarm clock and her mother would make sure that she was fully dressed and had all her school supplies in her backpack. Not to mention the hearty breakfast she would eat before leaving the house. In the case she had to leave early, her parents would give her money to buy snacks or she would eat breakfast in the school's cafeteria. She talked about how the school often served breakfast for the students who came early in the morning. On some days, her mother would pack a delicious lunch for her or she would order something from the canteen. Everything depended on the schedule.

"After I turned fifteen, my mother gave me some cooking lessons and in addition to that, she taught me how to knit. We would often work on the weekends since I would be in school during the weekdays and by the time I returned home, I had to do all my homework." She said, wrapping up the long explanation of her school life.

That had Goku completely shook. His girlfriend had so many great experiences in school and while he had no idea what it was like being in an actual school, he was happy for her. Right after she explained her school life, another question came to mind.

"Babe?"

"Y-Yeah?"

He picked his words carefully. "Did any guys show an interest in you while you were in school? A classmate or a village resident, perhaps?" Being in love with him for so long, he was aware that she didn't pursue any guys for most of her life, but it didn't mean that no man didn't show any romantic interest in her.

Suno remained quiet for a bit, wondering if she should say this to her boyfriend. She sighed, figuring that it was better to just get it off her chest. "I'm not going to lie; some guys showed an interest in me while I was still in high school. A few of them even approached me during my high school graduation party and other events I attended, but I turned all of them down. My parents even tried to get me to date but I refused." She avoided eye contact with him as her gaze was on the empty environment in front of them.

'I can't believe she did all of that just for me...' He thought to himself as he felt his heart swelling in his chest. And then he thought back to something his son told him sometime after he permanently returned to earth. "You know, Gohan told me that his first date wasn't with Videl, but another girl at his school."

She turned to him in surprise. "Really? It wasn't Videl?"

Goku nodded. "Uh-huh. But according to what he told me; it wasn't really a big thing. They went to the cinema to see a romance movie but he was falling asleep halfway through the film."

"It must have been boring for him if he fell asleep during the movie." Suno covered her mouth, trying to stop the uncontrollable giggling.

His smile started to waver as a smirk started to form. "I couldn't believe it when he first told me. But in the end, he told me that he only had that date because she blackmailed him into telling everyone his "secret"

That caused her to raise an eyebrow. "Secret? What secret?"

"He thought at first that it was his secret identity of 'Great Saiyaman' or something like that."

"Great Saiyaman?" She asked, perplexed. "What's that?"

"It was a disguise he used back then to use his powers for defending justice. He had some weird moves as well." He explained with a laugh, recalling the few times he saw his son in that outfit, doing his poses as the Great Saiyaman. "When I first saw him in his costume, I thought he looked ridiculous."

"Interesting."

"You want to know what Gohan's supposed 'secret' was?" Goku asked with a snicker.

"What is it? Tell me!" Suno pressed on.

He bent down to her level and brought his lips to her ear. "He used to wear teddy bear underpants!" The Saiyan whispered with a smirk.

Her eyes bulged wide. "TEDDY BEAR UNDERPANTS!? That was the big secret all along?" Then she started laughing while covering her face with her hands.

"C-Come on babe, you don't want anyone to h-hear you…" He trailed off as he started laughing out loud. "When he told me that story, I… I…" He couldn't even finish as the laugh became harder and harder.

The couple made fun of the past situation for a long while. They were finally able to get the laughter out of their system and Goku's mind went back to what his girlfriend told him before. "Seriously though, I still can't believe that you didn't have a single date before me." He said softly, his voice filled with admiration.

"You were the only man I ever loved." She explained with a loving smile, leaning her chin on his shoulder. "No matter how many times a guy asked me out, I told them that I wasn't interested."

He placed a tender kiss on her head, putting all his love behind it. "Thank you, sweetheart. I mean that."

"Don't mention it."

They sat together in the tournament bleachers for a long time. The air was nice and warm for them and with nobody around, it gave them the peace and quiet they desired. For Goku, it felt good being able to relieve all the good memories and past events which happened in their lives. As he listened to his partner talk about some of the things that happened in her life, a part of him still wished that he hadn't been naive to his own feelings. He still wished that he had been with his girlfriend from childhood to adulthood. What happened before though, was in the past. He couldn't go back and change it, just focus on the present.

"Goku?"

"Hmmm?"

"Why do Saiyans eat so much?" Suno couldn't help but ask. She had seen him eat so much food since he moved into the village but had no idea as to the reason why.

He tapped his chin in thought, recalling a conversation he had with his fellow rival. "I remember Vegeta told me about that a long time ago."

"He did?"

"Yep. He told me that Saiyans have a faster metabolism than regular human beings. And we need to eat the equivalent of ten humans to feel satisfied."

Upon hearing that, Suno gaped at him in shock. "What… you've got to be kidding me!" She could feel her head spinning around as she tried to process this. "The equivalent of ten normal humans!?"

Goku slowly nodded his head, all the while wondering if he should have also said this on the day he talked about his Saiyan origins. "Yep. That's what Vegeta told me."

"B-But that's insane…"

"Tell me about it." Goku commented. "When I first heard that, I couldn't believe it myself." Whenever he wanted to know something about the Saiyan race, he always asked Vegeta as he was the knowledgeable one. And he was always left speechless about what the prince told him.

"Now that makes a lot more sense." Suno said, trying to revel in her shock. "When my parents, Eighter and I saw you eating so much, we could never fathom why."

"Well now you know and maybe we can tell them later if you want to."

"We will at some point." She spoke. "There's one more thing I want to know."

"What is it?"

"Is the aging process of Saiyans the same as that of humans?" She figured that since her boyfriend was an alien, he wouldn't age the same way humans would.

"Vegeta also explained that one to me. He said that we Saiyans age much slower than humans so we can last longer for battles. We start to age physically at…" He began tapping his head, trying to remember what exactly his rival said. His face lit up. "eighty years old. He said Saiyans age physically when they turn eighty years old."

Now that was another thing which came as a shock to the human woman. "Eighty years old!?" Her eyes bulged wide. Once again she was feeling her head beginning to spin. "So does this mean that humans age faster than Saiyans?"

"Yeah, I guess so." He shrugged his shoulders. He then realized that this was the first time he was ever thinking about this. His eyes took a quick glance at his significant other, who seemed like she was deep in thought.

Suno was still trying to wrap her head around this. 'I still can't believe it. He'll be aging much slower than I do...'

"But you know," He spoke, causing her to look up at him. "Even if you age faster than I do, it doesn't matter. Nothing has to change. It was a shock to me as first, but I'll keep on loving you the way you've been loving me." He ended that with a fond smile as if he read her mind.

Suno felt moved by this, her heart swelling in her chest. "Awww, I already figured that out." She lifted her hand and patted his cheek before resting on the metal bleacher. His hand laid on top of hers and gently squeezed it in response. "I'm glad you know." He leaned over to land a kiss on her forehead.

They remained together like that in silence, and then there was something else which was weighing her down again. It was better to get this over with than to have it plague her mind. She addressed him with uncertainty. "How do you think everyone will react when they meet me? When they find out that I'm your girlfriend, do you think they'll like me?"

"Hon, I've already told you before. They'll be happy to meet you. I have no doubt about it! What makes you think the opposite?" He questioned. As he waited for her answer, he thought to himself. 'When did she start thinking like this?'

She started to explain with a nervous voice. "Well…I don't know…we ended up in a relationship quickly. What if they don't approve of that? Especially since you haven't divorced Chichi yet. I… I don't know. You know what? Forget I even said anything!"

He closed his eyes, thinking back to his meeting with the others on Kami's Lookout. "Well…it's true that things happened fast between us. But I do remember that 18 asked me the day we met again at Kami's Lookout if I ever thought about letting someone else into my life. And then that same day Gohan told me this: "Dad. If you ever decide to start dating, we won't stop you. You should do what truly makes you happy again. You deserve true happiness not just with me and Goten, but with your real companion."

"They said that!?" She was now gaping at him in astonishment.

"They really did. Well, to answer Eighteen's question, I did let someone else into my life. And according to Gohan, I should do what truly makes me happy besides being with him and Goten. And being with you...is what truly makes me happy, Suno. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. When they find out that you saved my life years ago, they'll love you even more. It's because of you that I survived and was able to continue my journey." He stated, searching through her eyes for her reaction. "And I think they'll appreciate that more than anything."

Suno felt a warmth in her heart. Why did she ever have that doubt in her mind to begin with? She felt stupid to believe that his friends and sons wouldn't like her when her significant other spoke so highly of them. Maybe it was the thought of having to reveal their relationship so soon that made her feel this way. She sighed in relief and smiled at him. "I… I don't know what to say… I thought for sure that they wouldn't like me." It was then that she felt herself being enveloped into her boyfriend's arms. He was holding her in his lap as he felt the tension leaving her body.

"You don't have to say anything." He said, pressing his fingers into her back to soothe her. He felt her petite body against his own. "I know you feel insecure about yourself sometimes, but I'll be here for you. And I'm never going to leave you after everything we've been through. You're the love of my life." He started to rub her back comfortingly.

She raised her head at him, her smile brightening even more. "Thank you…" She threw her arms at him. "I needed that."

"It's going to be okay, babe."

"I know."

He patted her back and tightened the embrace just a little bit. Suno felt all her worries fading away the longer she was in her boyfriend's arms. Their silence went on for several hours until the sun started to go down, indicating that evening was rolling in.

"Hey Goku?"

"Yeah babe?"

"Do you want to get dinner now?" Suno asked him. "It's getting quite late."

In response to her question, his stomach rumbled loudly. "I-I guess I do." He said with a small laugh, and then winced in pain when he felt something jab his stomach.

"Ow! What was that for!?"

Suno giggled at him. "You said you wanted to eat at Delicious Saikan, right? We should get going before they close."

"True." He stood up and started to stretch his arms and legs. "Man, I can't feel my legs at all."

"Me neither."

Suno stood up and did the same. Goku took her hand and the couple took slow steps down the staircase until they were standing out in the grass. They took a moment to observe their surroundings one last time before leaving the arena.

"I will bring you to the next tournament so you don't have to watch it on TV." He said. "How does that sound? I think it'll be cool if you watched the fights here in the arena while sitting in the bleachers."

"Really?" Her eyes lit up at that. "That would be awesome!"

They walked through the grass until they reached the exit, their footsteps being the only thing breaking the silence between them. Goku opened the gate and moved aside to allow his girlfriend to pass first. She stepped out and he followed behind her, closing the gate as quietly as he could. The island wasn't as busy as it was when they first arrived. The streetlights had been turned on as night was falling on the place. Holding hands, they went down the small staircase and started to walk off into the quieter streets. As they were on their way to Delicious Saikan, they saw that the stores had been lit up. They were easily able to navigate through the crowd of people and towards the direction of the small restaurant.

As they were nearing the eatery, they heard a voice behind them.

"Son Goku, is that you!?"