CHAPTER FIVE

And now it's time for everyone's favourite goof-ball and human vacuum cleaner, Goku! I just thought it might be nice to have something a little bit different. Enjoy!

"Hy-ahh!"

Goku raised his arms above his face, blocking the kick that came his way. The leg came into contact with his arms, and while it did no harm, the force of it pushed him through the air backwards for a few metres. Slowly, Goku lowered his arms and broke into a wide smile. "Gohan, that was great! You're certainly getting a lot stronger!"

Gohan flew over to his father, his cheeks flushing pink as he scratched the back of his head. "You really think so?" he asked uncertainly, taking a glance at the large green-skinned being that remained on the ground below them. "Your power has increased significantly in the past year." Piccolo stated as father and son touched down on the ground.

A loud rumble interrupted the conversation, and Goku looked down at his stomach, patting it gently. "I think it's time we go and get something to eat." he announced, looking to his son and giving him a wink. Gohan nodded. While his appetite was nowhere as great as his father's, he was definitely hungry.

Once they had arrived back home, Goku entered the kitchen in search of his wife. "Chi-Chi?" he called out, but she was nowhere to be seen. Goku crossed his arms and stood in thought. It was lunch-time, where on Earth was she? The stove-top was covered with saucepans, and there were dishes covering the counters, but Chi-Chi wouldn't just leave the food unattended.

A bad feeling seeped into his stomach. Had she been kidnapped? Taken from their house, while Goku and Gohan trained not too far away? There was only one way to find out. Instant Transmission. Two fingers went to his forehead, and without words he disappeared, not seeing Gohan raise a hand in protest.

Goku found himself in... his bathroom? Lowering his hand, he blinked in confusion. What was going on? A scream interrupted his thoughts, and he turned around to see Chi-Chi. He gave a breath of relief, before realising that his wife was sitting on the toilet, her dress around her waist, her pants around her ankles, her cheeks red, her face more furious than Goku could ever have recalled seeing it. "GOKU!" she yelled, covering her bare knees with her arms.

"Chi-Chi, I'm sorry, I just...I couldn't find you, I got worried..." Goku stammered, his own cheeks blushing crimson as he held up in his hands in defense. "GET OUT!" Chi-Chi demanded, and Goku could only nod in response, opting this time to exit through the door, closing it tightly behind him.

He made his way back into the kitchen, and found his son sitting at the table, his cheeks pink and his face disapproving. "I tried to warn you." he told his father, as Goku sat down opposite him. "I've got to be more careful when I use that technique, I'd hate for something like that to happen again."

Their conversation was interrupted when Chi-Chi entered the room, giving Goku a dark glare as she made her way over to the stove. "Chi-Chi, I'm really sorry." he apologised to his wife, hoping that she would forgive him. It had only been a simple mistake, after all. "I don't know. I'm considering not giving you any of this food I've been preparing all day." Chi-Chi replied, her back still turned from Goku, who stood up.

"Oh no, please Chi-Chi, I'm so hungry!" he cried out in protest, clutching his stomach and sticking out his bottom lip in protest. Chi-Chi turned around, and Goku was surprised to see a smirk across her face that turned into a grin. "You idiot Goku, I know how much you love your food. Just promise me that you will at least think before you do something like that again, okay?"

+-+

Sitting back in his chair, Goku placed his hands on his now full belly. "That was wonderful, Chi-Chi." he praised his wife, who rolled her eyes before beginning to clear the table of the empty plates and bowls. Even after many years of marriage, it still amazed her how much Goku seemed to eat. And despite the large quantity he had just had for his lunch, she knew that in a few hours he would be eating almost double as much food for his dinner.

Gohan stood up from his chair and looked to his father. "Should we return to our training?" he asked, turning Chi-Chi to turn around with a fearsome look on her face. "Oh no, you've got some serious studying to do before you go anywhere." she told her son, who looked over to his father for some help. Goku chuckled. "Sorry Gohan, I don't think I can help you with this one." he replied, glancing at his wife before getting up off his chair. "Besides, I have some errands to run."

Chi-Chi's angry face dissolved into a curious one. "Where are you off to now?" she asked, clutching her scrubbing brush that she had been using to clean the dishes. "I have to go and check on a few people, see how they're doing." Two people in particular. He'd promised Trunks that he wouldn't say anything to sabotage his birth, but he was curious to see how the two to-be lovebirds were getting along.

Goku raised two fingers to his forehead, and turned to his wife. "I'll be home for dinner, I promise." he told Chi-Chi, who turned back around to the sink. Goku winced. She wasn't happy with him, but then again, she had a lot going on at the moment, and he couldn't blame her. He turned his dark eyes to Gohan instead, who looked up at his father with an expectant face. Goku ruffled his son's dark hair with his free hand. "Sorry mate, not this time." And suddenly, he was gone.

+-+

He appeared only seconds later on the lawn of Capsule Corporation, looking around for a familiar face. He saw the large Gravity Chamber a few metres away from him, and Goku knew that Vegeta was most certainly in there, training hard. He would go and see the Saiyan Prince later, but right now he wanted to see his oldest and closest friend.

Goku walked into the large yellow building, first heading to Bulma's lab, knowing that if she was to be anywhere, she would be there. He was not disappointed. Poking his head through the lab door, a grin broke onto his face as he caught sight of an aqua-haired woman leaning over her desk. "Hiya Bulma!" he exclaimed, shocking Bulma and causing her to jump in her seat. She turned around warily. "Honestly Goku, you should know better than to sneak up on people!" she accused him, before a warm smile appeared on her face.

She got out of her chair, moving closer to her younger friend and giving him a warm hug, which he returned, wrapping his strong arms around her small body. Bulma let go, moving back and taking a good look at Goku. "How are you? It's been a while." she added, tilting her head to the side. Goku laughed. "I've been so busy with training, I lose track of time." he admitted, and Bulma joined in with his laughter. "That sounds like you."

Bulma began to make her way out of the lab, indicating for Goku to follow. They made their way to the kitchen, where Bulma moved to the coffee machine and turned it on. "Would you like one?" she offered Goku, but he shook his head in response. He had only tried coffee once, and instantly disliked it. He had no idea how people could drink it. He sat down behind the counter as Bulma leaned against the wall.

"So, what's new with you?" Goku asked lightly, trying to get some information about Vegeta from Bulma. She sighed. "Not much, I've been busy with some new inventions of Dad's that he's been asking me to help him with, and I've been going to a couple of meetings with the board members – all boring stuff." Goku bit his lip. She wasn't giving him what he wanted. "Hows...Vegeta?" he inquired carefully, watching her face intently.

He was surprised as her cheeks began to glow pink, her brows furrowing together. "I haven't seen him for a few days, but as far as I know, he's hardly left that gravity chamber since we rebuilt it." This caught Goku's interest. "Rebuilt it?" he repeated, and Bulma let out a cry of frustration, startling him. "He managed to destroy the last three in just one year!"

Goku tilted his head to the side. "That sounds like Vegeta." he agreed, knowing that The Saiyan Prince would go all out in his training. He wasn't going to stop until he had succeeded in ascending to a Super Saiyan, and Kami-knew how long that would take him to achieve such a feat. "So you haven't seen him?" he probed Bulma further, trying to satisfy his curiosity.

Bulma crossed her arms and scowled, but Goku could still see the red hue that tinted her cheeks. "Honestly, he's got to be the only person that can manage to avoid someone they share residence with." She was interrupted as the coffee machine let off a loud ring, letting her know that her coffee was ready. She placed her favourite pink mug under the nozzle as the steaming brown liquid poured into it, the aroma making Goku scrunch up his nose.

She poured some milk and a teaspoon of sugar into her mug, before taking a careful sip. Little did she know, Goku was determined to find out just how far things had gotten between her and Vegeta. It was too early for Trunks to be conceived, but surely they had to be on their way to falling in love. "Did something happen? For Vegeta to be avoiding you."

He'd hit the nail on the head with his question, Bulma's cheeks flushed crimson, and he could tell that she had frozen momentarily. So there was something going on, and Trunks was in no danger of having his existence in jeopardy. Bulma turned her blue eyes onto her oldest friend, and Goku could see that she was trying to figure out what to tell him in her mind. "Oh well. I'm going to go and see if he'll spar with me. It was nice seeing you! And...take care of yourself, for me, okay?" he exclaimed brightly, giving a bewildered Bulma one more hug before quickly making his way out of the room.

Goku's mind was swimming more than usual as he walked up to the gravity chamber, noting the familiar red glow that emitted from the windows. He could sense Vegeta's ki, he was very deeply concentrated on his chamber, and Goku could tell that his power level had increased significantly since Goku had returned home from Namek. He was continually impressed by the Saiyan Prince's stamina, and just how hard he pushed himself.

He gave a sharp knock on the door of the chamber, and Vegeta's ki spiked up instantly, surprising Goku. Was Vegeta panicking? "Vegeta? Are you in there?" Goku called out, and Vegeta's energy quickly lowered down to normal. The door opened, revealing a very tired and bruised warrior. "What do you want, Kakkarot?" Vegeta demanded to know, crossing his arms in a fashion similar to Bulma earlier. Goku tried to suppress a chuckle.

"I just wanted to see how your training was going, and wondered if maybe you'd like to spar with me?" Goku asked, and Vegeta lowered his head, his eyes closed. "I have better things to do with my time, so if you'd leave-" "Aw, come on Vegeta! Bulma says you've been training non-stop for the last few days." Vegeta's head snapped up, his eyes watching Goku carefully.

"What has that infernal woman been saying about me?" Vegeta inquired, and Goku couldn't help but smile. The signs were there alright, Vegeta had already become attached to Bulma, he cared about her opinion, proven by his outburst. Goku tried to play it cool, his smile dimming down slightly. "Just that she hasn't seen you in a while. If you ask me, it seems like she misses you."

Then something happened that Goku could never have imagined. The Saiyan Prince turned his dark eyes away from Goku;s, and a hint of red flushed in his cheeks. Vegeta was embarrassed. Goku tried to control the laugh that burned in the back of his throat, and managed to somehow keep a straight face. "Well if you're not willing to spar, I'd better go. Chi-Chi would kill me if I came home late." He lifted two fingers to his forehead once more, Vegeta watching him with a scowl. "Take care now, and don't be too rough with her, okay?" Giving Vegeta a wink, Goku disappeared into thin air.

"You'd better not have been causing trouble, Goku."

Goku removed his fingers from his forehead and turned his eyes to Piccolo, who was watching him warily. "I was just visiting friends." he replied innocently, but Piccolo scoffed in reply. "You need to figure out just where the boundaries are Goku, and then be careful not to cross them."

Goku sighed in protest, like a student being lectured by a teacher. "I wasn't going to say or do anything that would jeopardise Trunks being born, but I wanted to know how things were going between Vegeta and Bulma, and if they weren't going so well, then-" "Then you planned to help them along?" Goku blushed and looked down at the ground, scratching the back of his head. Piccolo had seen right through him. "Goku, surely you have enough sense to let things proceed naturally. Trunks told you that they would find their way to each other, without your help. And I'm pretty sure we can trust him on that."

Piccolo was right. Piccolo was always right. Maybe it had something to do with being the evil incarnation of the Earth's Guardian, Goku didn't know. "You're right." Goku admitted, his shoulders slumping down. He's been so mixed up in his own curiosity, he hadn't even begun to imagine what would have happened if he'd gone too far. He looked up at his green companion, who had closed his eyes in meditation again.

"I just hope that Trunks gets here okay."