Piccolo joined Goku, Gohan, and me in our training. We all agreed that an extra training partner wasn't a bad idea, and that Piccolo's knowledge about fighting could rub off on us. Piccolo was just glad to be with his best friend, Gohan.

Goku and Piccolo both thought it was ironic that he and Piccolo, once sworn enemies, were not only allies, but training partners. I thought it made sense because of the events of the past few years.

And so we began training. Chi-Chi didn't always let Gohan out, though, so half of the time it was just Piccolo, Goku, and me.

While Gohan was studying on the first day of our training, Goku said, "Since Gohan's not here, how about we go do something fun?"

Piccolo facepalmed. "Goku," he asked, "don't we have to train?"

"Oh, come on!" Goku was excited. "I know the perfect thing we could do, too!"

"What?" I asked.

"We could get driver's licenses!" he was extremely excited.

"Goku, I'm not even sure that I'm old enough," I pointed out.

Piccolo was just as unhappy about the idea. "You do know that I'm an alien slug man, right? I'll stick out like a flute in a drum shop."

"So?" The Saiyan had a twinkle in his eye. "We can disguise you! Put a hat on you, give you human clothes, and you'd pass for a normal person!"

Piccolo turned his back. "I'll stay out of this." A second later, he said, "No, you can't."

"Nobody said anything," I told him. "Are you talking to yourself?"

"As a matter of fact, I'm not," Piccolo explained. "When I fused with a Namekian on Namek – fine, his name is Nail – his consciousness got stuck in my head. The good thing is that I know everything that he knew and I'm stronger than ever. The bad thing is that he's not going away!" He hit the side of his head to bother Nail.

I thought of something. "Is there any way to talk to him?"

"Lucky for you, no." Piccolo was still angry.

Goku was getting impatient. "Who's coming with me?"

Piccolo didn't answer, but I said, "Let's do this."


Goku and I went to West City via Instant Transmission after changing into casual clothing. There, we found a driving school and signed up to take the driving test.

"ID, please," said the man at the counter.

I pulled my passport out of my pocket; I'd gone back to my old home one last time and found the passport among the rubble, nearly untouched. Goku, on the other hand, looked confused.

"ID? What's that?" he asked.

"Sir, it tells us who you really are. Now could you show me some proper verification?" He was getting impatient rather quickly.

"Can you look up something for me?" asked Goku suddenly. "Look up the winner of the 24th World Martial Arts Tournament."

"Okay...?" The man googled it even though he thought it was pointless. Within seconds, though, his face showed shock and amazement. "You're...you're...! You're THAT Son Goku?!"

"Uh, huh!" nodded Goku. "Is that enough?"

"Yes, of course, Mr. Goku," said the man hurriedly. "You may now enter."

"Thank you!" Goku and I walked inside the waiting area for our names to be called.

There weren't many people ahead of us, so we were up in less than ten minutes. My instructor was a young, beautiful blonde girl while Goku's instructor was an elderly man.

"All right, sonny," said the old geezer to Goku as he handed him a key. "Here's the key; now put it in that hole."

I laughed a little bit while Goku inserted the key. My instructor had told me to do the same thing, and I'd done it already...without looking.

"My!" she exclaimed. "Either you just guessed or you're not normal!" Her voice was very cute-sounding.

"Um...thanks," I said. "People in my family have a knack for this sort of thing." I would've said more, but her beauty kept distracting me and making me forget what I was about to say.

"Okay, then," she said. "Now change the gear." I switched it to Gear D (D for Drive). "Okay. You can apply pressure to the gas pedal now, but try to stay at a reasonable speed." I did as she said, and the car started moving at about 20 miles per hour (32 kilometers per hour).

Goku wasn't starting off as subtlety. Immediately, he had gone at speeds close to 100 miles per hour (160 kilometers per hour) right away. Speedily, he managed to dodge-and-weave between cars in front of his as if it was a race.

I thought, 'Oh, what the heck? It's not like I even need a driver's license!' Then, I sped up to the car's maximum speed: 160 miles per hour (256 kilometers per hour.)

Soon, I was driving next to Goku. "Hey!" he called from his car. "How's it going?"

"Good!" I answered. "You know we're probably going to fail, right?"

"That's why I wanted to come here!" Goku's excitement had tripled in the past ten minutes, and I felt that he'd explode with glitter or something like that. "We get to mess around all we want as long as we don't break stuff!"

"In that case..." I said. Then, I started flying. I didn't let go of the steering wheel, but I pulled the car and everything (and everyone) in it into the air. The woman next to me was silently freaking out, wondering what was happening.

Goku followed my example. The old man next to him had fallen asleep while Goku was going crazy, so we didn't have to worry about him.

Goku and I soared through the air, moving our steering wheels and pedals as if the cars were the ones flying. We stayed above the testing grounds to avoid getting in trouble, though.

"I bet I can go higher than you!" I bragged to Goku.

"Not if I go higher!" Goku started rising quickly, and I followed him.

We kept going higher and the air pressure kept dropping. My ears popped at least twice, and the girl next to me was still freaking out. Goku didn't seem to mind the altitude, and the old man was still fast asleep, somehow oblivious to what was happening.

"This wasn't part of the job description!" shouted the girl when her ears felt like they would burst. "When I get down, I'm done here!"

I stopped moving upwards. Goku sensed that I wasn't mobile anymore, so he stopped, too. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I think we should stop," I said. "Let's go back down."

Goku sighed, "Fine." Then, we both landed and got out of the cars. Goku immediately worked on waking up the elder next to him.

"Are you okay?" I asked my instructor after we were both out. "You were really scared."

"I...I'm fine," she answered. "I just wasn't expecting to fly, especially on my first day on the job. No eighteen-year-old should have to suffer through that!"

I started wondering, 'Could I have a chance with this girl? She's about my age...' Then, another thought passed through my head. 'I scared her half to death, though. Asking her out right now would make me seem like a jerk.'

"See you around," said the girl as she walked away. Either she thought I lived in West City or she liked me.

When I was halfway into dreamland, she came running back, snapping me back into reality. "I almost forgot to give this to you," she said quickly before running back. On the paper she handed me was my score. Obviously, I'd failed the driver's test. On the bright side, though, there were 10 digits (XXX-XXX-XXXX) written on the back that weren't part of the grade. It was her number. Ironically, she liked me!


Hey, guys! Remember that filler episode of Dragon Ball Z where Goku and Piccolo drove cars? In RS-canon, Piccolo thinks he needs more training and Frui goes instead. In addition, Frui gets a girl's number, which will definitely be revisited later on. After all, this chapter has a reason for existing!

Piccolo finally introduced his "conscience," Nail, to Goku and Frui. They haven't really met the bodiless Namekian, but they at least know that he exists. Will this influence the story later? Find out next time on Rise, Shenron! Or maybe not!

Remember, I'm still willing to answer questions. I just haven't gotten any yet, but feel free to ask away.

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This chapter has 1492 words. XD