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Chapter 10: A New Look

Falling raindrops left ripples on the floor puddles. The sky was gray and the shower was light as it came down. Two small figures waited under a freakishly large leaf, large enough to be used as a makeshift umbrella.

"Paper beats rock, I win." A little boy declared cheerfully as he clasped his small hand around his opponent's tiny fist.

"Yeah well paper gets wet and mushy so that's dumb." The little girl countered. They both giggled and thunder clap rolled in the distance. They huddled together in their moment of fright.

"Hey, are you coming back to play again some time?"

"Uh huh," she replied.

"Promise..?"

"Promise," their small pinkies locked together to seal the pact.

Rei jolted awake as her alarm clock woke her up. She sunk back into bed feeling the fatigue creep up on her before silencing the device with a firm tap on the button. Why did she feel so weary? Usually by 5AM she was already up and meditating.

Hell, she didn't even remember getting into bed last night.

The shrine maiden stiffened. 'Oh god, that's right!'

"Hey, blockhead..!" Rei growled and pulled off the sheet curtain. "I was waiting until up 1AM for you!" The curtain fell to reveal an unoccupied room and an untouched futon.

"Goten..?" She mumbled when it hit her he never came home after disappearing to go drop off Artemis.

Rei rolled out of bed and dug for her communicator to contact Minako. It was the only thing she'd pick up at this hour. Years of duty had her trained to answer the call no matter what.

"What is it, Rei-chan?" Minako said groggily.

"Did Artemis make it home okay?" Rei asked.

"Mm, yeah," she rubbed her eyes and yawned. "He's right here sleeping with me. Told me Goten dropped him off at the arcade."

"Did he say anything else?"

"Yeah he and Toki scuffled with some Typhoon goons and sent them home running. Apparently your man is one dynamite ass-kicker. Even Artemis said he was impressed." The blonde gave a sleepy grin, hint of slyness to it.

"Did he say where Goten headed after that?"

"Nope, he told me he fell asleep after the warm milk. He snoozed in my bag all the way home." Mina said, glancing at the still sleeping cat. "Why? You worried he's having an affair with some pretty girl that finds him irresistible?"

"First of all, Goten and irresistible don't go in the same sentence. Second, Goten never came home last night. Now I'm in his room and I have no idea where he is." Rei frowned.

"Oh," Minako scratched the back of her messy haired head. "Maybe he went to visit a friend of his, got drunk, and crashed on their couch for the night?"

"Unlikely, I was going to start dinner when he left. He wouldn't have done that. In fact, he'd be home sooner because he was hungry!"

The soldier of love mirrored her concerned frown. "Are you assuming the worst? Or are you getting bad vibes over this?"

"Assuming, yes; and not sure on the vibes. This just isn't like him. He would have at least called if he was going to be late." Rei anxiously tugged at her bangs.

"Relax, Rei-chan. He's a big boy who can handle himself in a fight. I'd hate to say this but give it the police approach and wait a full 24 hours before trying to hunt him down."

"You're right, I'll try." She sighed in defeat.

Minako smiled. "Look at you all worried about your boyfriend in the middle of the night."

"He's not my boyfriend!" The shrine maiden ground her teeth.

"Well he's awfully special if you're calling Sailor V to solve his mysterious disappearance." Minako stuck out her tongue and made the V sign. "Besides you're cutting into my beauty rest. I got to look good while I fight crime too, you know."

"Yeah, yeah…" she rolled her amethyst colored eyes. "I'll keep you posted." The communicator screen went black and she placed it back in her jewelry box.

'You better be safe, blockhead. No one should kick your ass but me.' She silently prayed for his safety.

About 2 hours and 45 minutes after Rei came home from school, she sat at the shrine steps restlessly bouncing her knee. It was 15 minutes away from being 24 hours since Goten left the shrine. Rei had finished his workload for him in a hurry to be ready to go out and hunt him down if she had to. Just what in the hell could have happened to him? Was he ambushed, trapped, hit by a car, spirited away? The possibilities were endless.

'And to think he was hired to look after me! I wonder if Grandpa is starting to see the irony in that.' She huffed. 'I'm going to kill him.'

"He still isn't back yet?" Grandpa asked as Rei accompanied him up the steps when he returned from a date with Nana.

"No," she answered, radiating stress.

There was a pause. "You didn't scare him away did you?"

"No, Grandpa! I did not," she exclaimed, sounding a bit offended over such an accusation.

"You're right. The boy isn't that skittish if he's lasted this long." He countered to try and lighten the mood. His granddaughter still carried a serious look of worry on her face and he patted her hand. "Rei, he'll be all right. You'll see."

"I hope so," she whispered back before he went inside.

Just as Rei turned around she saw a figure in the distance stagger to the top of the steps. Her eyes widened and stepped closer to verify it was the very man with the shaggy mop of hair she knew. Like a wildcat on the hunt she leapt and sprinted toward him. She got in his personal space and let him have the scolding she was holding in all day. "Where in the hell have you been? I have waited up for you, worried sick and—Oh my god, Goten! You reek!" The shrine maiden plugged her nostrils to block out the stench of fish and ocean he was projecting.

Goten took her hand, merely mumbling out, "Here," and placed something in it while looking totally out of it. He looked like he had not rested at all since he left judging by the bags under his eyes. With that he wobbled past her looking like a zombie from a horror film from behind.

Stunned at how he just walked away, she opened her mouth to call after him before she realized he had slipped her a fat wad of cash in her hand, all bills and just as smelly as he was. "What—Where? Goten, where-How did you get all of this money?!" She shouted in awe and a splash of concern for the condition he was in.

"Got another job, fishing…to help you," he yawned.

Disbelievingly blinking up after him, she froze in place as she processed what just happened.

He got a second job, for her. He worked all night, for her. He came out with a wad of money, for her.

"Night," he murmured as he slid the door to his room open.

"No you don't, mister! You're going to take a good shower before you rub your stench on that futon." There was no way she was sleeping in the next room to such a smell. She grabbed the back of his shirt and tugged him toward the bathroom. He limply followed as his stomach began to rumble. Rei felt her own stomach drop at the noise.

He was just about to go to bed without dinner due to exhaustion.

"Here, lean on this wall for a sec." She went into her room and brought back a can of soda. "Drink this, it'll give you an extra energy boost so you can finish your shower and have some dinner. Then you can sleep all you want." She huffed and practically grasped his hand around the can to tighten his hold on it.

Goten brought the can to his lips and gulped it down, suddenly feeling more alert when the sugar hit his taste buds. "Thanks," he exhaled before belching. "Excuse me," his cheeks reddened slightly.

"Just hurry up and shower. Don't worry about your clothes. Leave them in the basket, and I'll wash them when you're done." Rei brought a hand to her forehead and sighed.

He grunted with a nod and stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Rei headed for the kitchen while sifting through the money, sputtering incredulously at the amount. It was enough to pay for the next 3 grocery bills and then some, all of it made in one night! Apparently she had underestimated him. Maybe Goten had a good work ethic after all.

After filling Grandpa in on his arrival, along with an obnoxious 'I told you so' from him, Rei got to heating up dinner in the kitchen. Goten stepped in wearing sweat pants and a tank top while towel drying his hair sleepily. "Have a seat, your plate's ready." She said gently.

He obeyed and sat at the table, resting his towel around his shoulders to catch any rogue drops from his still moist hair. He stared blankly at the table while blinking slowly. Rei was unsettled over him being too tired to even get excited about food.

"Here, it's chicken curry with rice." She said and set the plate in front of him.

She watched the familiar goofy smile spread on his tired face. So the spark for food in him was not all gone. That made her relieved.

"Thanks, Rei." He said gently and picked up his utensils. Just as he was about to scoop up his bite, a soft warm sensation lightly brushed the skin on the side of his face. Goten's fingers froze in place when he realized Rei had just given him a peck on the cheek.

"Thank you," she replied after she swiftly pulled away. "Tell Grandpa or the girls and you're dead." She added firmly while blushing.

"Huh..?" The half saiyan responded, stunned. He was tired enough to wonder if that really just happened or he was dreaming it. The door to the kitchen closed behind him and he ate alone while Rei moved his dirty clothing to the wash.

Once finished with dinner, Rei helped him walk to his bedroom to keep him from tipping over and ripping another rice paper door down the hall. "Last stop," she announced and ushered him in to bed.

He hit the futon with a thud, collapsing on top of it. Rei was left to tuck him in as he snuggled his pillow. "Goodnight, you blockhead…get some rest." She said soothingly and patted his shoulder through the comforter.

"Night, you take good care of me...Rei," He breathed, already tumbling out of consciousness.

She felt the same heat flow across her face as she flushed at the comment. Goten really was grateful to her, wasn't he?

She held in a giggle when he already began to snore. After she left the room, she shook her head. Rei touched her lips and wondered if Goten would remember that kiss when he woke up. 'Probably shouldn't be giving him any ideas. I was just feeling grateful, that's all.' Crouching down to sit at her table she stared at the stack of smelly money while contemplating. 'Besides, no one can just buy my affection.'

And yet here Goten was, working towards earning her respect, the first man to come into her life and do such a thing. He had no obligations whatsoever to go out and get a second job. Yet he did, all to benefit her and her family, not him. This was nothing like the prep school boys with their fancy cars and trust funds offering her lavish gifts in order to win her over. Goten saw she needed help and went out of his way to give it to her without her having to tell him to. That earned him her gratitude. To him, that must have been worth working his tail off.

She scrunched her nose and leaned in to sniff the cash. "Ugh, I'm definitely depositing that in a plastic sandwich bag tomorrow morning."

Goten awoke the next morning rather early. He checked his watch and blinked, 6:30AM it read. 'Wow, usually I'm still dozing by 7:20AM and Rei has to roll me off my futon.' He smiled while scratching the back of his head. He felt his hair while running his fingers through it all the way down his neck. It was getting long, his mother would be hassling him to cut it if she were there. He sighed, it would be best. His hair constantly got in his eyes, made his neck sweaty, and was a pain when wet. That won't work with his new job.

Last night he met a kind older gentleman, Captain Toshiro Uokawa, in dire need of help. He owned a small fishing boat that had little chance of competing with larger ones to bring back a good catch. The captain explained that if something didn't change, he would have had to sell his boat in order to make ends meet and pay for his sick wife's medical bills. Goten took it upon himself to get a net and dive into the water himself, using his ki to keep him warm. He might have cheated by going super saiyan to light his way through the water and gain more speed. But by the end of the night he witnessed the old man go from shocked to breaking down in tears of joy at the massive haul he brought him.

Captain Uokawa told him he will always be in his debt and swore to keep the phenomenal powers he had witnessed a secret. That made Goten relieved. He loved fishing his way and didn't want to waste time doing it the mundane way for a smaller catch. They agreed to mostly work nights and Goten has free reign on how he gets his catch. He had helped the captain to the market the morning after and was offered a generous cut. Goten could have left with more money for all the heavy lifting yet he only took what he needed and left the rest to the older man with more debts. It looked like this was going to be the start of a sweet partnership.

The teen stretched and got out of bed to wash up for the day. Goten grunted as he realized all the times he had to shift his hair around so it wouldn't bother him. He sighed and changed into some clothes. Just as he was going down the hall, Grandpa walked by while sipping the last of his tea.

"Morning, Grandpa." He greeted his elder.

"Ah, here he is, awoken from his slumber." He laughed. "Good morning, my boy." The short man patted his back affectionately. "Rei and I are very thankful for what you did last night. In fact we're very proud of you."

"Thanks, Gramps." The smile on his face grew wide at that. He was happy to make Grandpa proud, even if Rei was the hardest one to impress. Goten came to think of Grandpa as his own grandfather in many ways. Having the old priest's support made him feel all the more at home in the shrine. "Say, you think you could do me a favor?"

"By all means, ask away. Is it about more love advice? I'm sure I can be of service. My last few dates with Nana are proof I still got it!" He boasted while thrusting his hips back and forth and to the side in a raunchy victory dance.

The younger man blushed and laughed in a mix of awkwardness and hilarity at the old geezer's antics. "Sorry, it's nothing that exciting. I just want to know where I could get my hair cut. It's gotten longer than what I'm used to." He said while tugging at the ends of his locks to show how long they were from the scalp to his elevated hand.

"Ah, I see. Well look no further, my boy. I actually went to barber school in my youth." The priest puffed his chest proudly.

"You were a barber, Gramps?" Goten cocked a brow in amusement.

"Oh, I had quite a full life before I settled in at the shrine. I even tried to join the circus." He boasted with a laugh.

"Okay, you've got to give me all the details." The young man said, now completely invested on hearing the older man's tales.

"I'll tell you all about it in the chair. This mop must be dealt with! No worries, I'll clean you up and the girls will be jumping through flaming hoops to get to you." Grandpa ushered him in his room and had him sit on a vintage barber's chair.

Goten felt a sensation of giddiness wash over him as Grandpa put a barbers cape on him. The old man went to work while telling him the story. When they had reached the end, Grandpa held up a mirror to Goten's face. "Now that is a clean cut, man. I kept it neat but with some personality."

He couldn't believe his eyes as he ogled at his reflection. "Wow, Gramps..! This is so much better than how my mom used to cut it. I actually look good, not nerdy." He ran a hand through his hair. It still looked like how he would wear his hair normally, just shorter. Normally his mother would give him and Gohan bowl cuts and let it be the end of it until they grew out their hair. He could never really rock the look like Trunks did.

"With that confidence, the world is now your oyster." Grandpa Hino grinned approvingly. "Why don't you go show Rei how sharp you look?" He winked.

"All right, I just remembered I have to tell her something important." Goten nodded and got up from the chair, removing his hair-covered cape.

Rei was currently in the kitchen moving things around in the fridge and setting leftovers on the counter. When Goten stepped in she didn't break her focus.

"Good morning, Rei." Goten greeted with his signature smile.

"Morning, how'd you sleep last n-night?" She looked over at him and blinked in total surprise.

Was she really looking at Goten?

"Did you cut your hair?"

"Gramps did it for me." Goten grinned, seeing Rei caught off her guard was a pretty cute sight. "I figured it'd stay out of my eyes this way."

"Oh," she uttered, still staring.

He felt his grin grow wider. Never in his wildest dreams had he expected Rei to look at him so intently with what looked like interest. At least he hoped it was interest anyway. "You're staring," he pointed out the obvious.

"Just the first time I got a good look at your face." She blushed and remembered the only other time she looked at his face this long was when he was soaking wet over her body after just giving her mouth to mouth. The image of him shirtless while dripping wet was shoved out of her mind and she tried to save face with a sassy comment. "Now your head doesn't look like a mop anymore." She said before taking a swig of water.

"Aw shoot, if you told me that sooner I would have made better time cleaning the floors."

Rei choked on her water and covered her mouth, earning a laugh from her roommate. "Blockhead," she coughed lightly and wiped her chin.

"Made you laugh," he snickered playfully. "So what are you up to?" He asked while staring pointedly at the stack of Tupperware on the kitchen counter.

"Getting the fridge organized," she answered and sorted them by size next to an open bento. "I'm going grocery shopping later so I'm making the best of the space we have for new things. Breakfast will be ready as soon as I finish up."

"Um, I'm actually going to pick up something to eat for myself. So don't worry about me. Your bento isn't made yet, you should focus on making yourself lunch and getting to school on time." The sheepish smile graced his lips as his hand went behind his head.

"Oh," she replied, caught off guard once again. "Well it would help if you swept up the place until I finish up."

"Sure, just thought I'd let you know I'll be working at the dock later today. I'll keep you updated until I got a set schedule but today it's mostly cleaning the boat. I hope that's not too much trouble."

"You're the reason we're going to be able to afford more food this month. It's no trouble at all." Rei clarified. "Thank you." She said and gave him a bow.

Flustered at the genuine display of gratitude he bowed back. "No, thank you! You and Gramps put a roof over my head. It's the least I can do to repay you." He suddenly remembered a brief peck on the cheek from the night before and wondered if he dreamt it. The flush on his face spread down his neck at the thought of it.

"Okay enough rambling, go sweep." Rei waved her hand dismissively to shoo him out.

"Yes, ma'am," Goten hurried out and went right to sweeping.

She couldn't help but crack a small smile at how easily she turned the tables on him. However she truly was taken aback by how considerate he was to her just now. He actually requested for her not to cook for him just so she could get to school on time.

If he had just remembered that she didn't usually pack bentos to school, then her surprise would have been ruined.

Goten wiped his brow after sweeping grounds and did a number of last minute tasks for Grandpa to help stock up the charm stand. "Rei, I'm leaving." He called out and rested his broom on the wall outside the building.

Usually he would bid her farewell as she would leave to school but today he was pressed for time.

"Already..?" Rei stuck half of her body out from behind a sliding door to look at him. She was wearing her school uniform with the gray jacket unbuttoned and missing socks.

"Yeah, I'm getting a little hungry." His stomach growled loudly at that. "Okay, maybe more than a little hungry." He nervously chuckled.

"Then don't forget this." Rei said and opened the sliding door completely to reveal a large wrapped bento in her arms. She handed the heavy lunchbox to him with a hint of red on her cheeks.

After blinking in surprise, he furrowed his brow at the container in his arms. "Rei, I can't take your lunch." He frowned, now feeling guilty.

"It's not my lunch. I dine at my school, remember? It's Grandpa's old bento, now it's yours." She crossed her arms in a matter of fact tone.

"You made the bento for me?" Goten stammered in shock. Rei packed him a lunch, with extreme care to boot! By the weight alone he could tell she stuffed it to the brim. It was wrapped so nicely, kind of like a present. "Rei, this is really," he paused. "It's the most," he struggled to express how he felt and just went off the top of his head. "I love it! Thank you so much. It really means a lot to me," he beamed.

Her face turned bright pink as she averted her eyes, keeping her arms crossed. "No need to get all sappy. You have to be well fed so you don't come home and binge on everything in the fridge."

It was then he realized: Rei being so nice and doing such a kind gesture, the kiss wasn't a dream after all! Goten felt a light bulb go over his head. He suddenly knew just how to express his gratitude.

"Now get going so you can make it back in time for dinner." Rei pointed at the direction of the shrine steps.

"Whatever you say," a smirk graced his lips.

Rei paused and looked up at him with narrow eyes, wondering why he wasn't gone already. Then, he made his move. His lips found her cheek in a momentary peck and Rei felt her body jolt in surprise.

He pulled away before she could utter a response. "Thanks again, wifey." With that, he stuck out his tongue at her before sprinting off giggling with glee.

When she found herself out of shock, she tightly balled up her fists. "WE ARE NOT MARRIED!" She shrieked out at him from the distance as he was already half way down the stairs.

Days went by and Goten was at the shrine one evening on his day off from fishing. Captain Uokawa was staying home with his ill wife after she had finished her treatment. Thanks to Goten, he finally had enough to afford the care she needed. Goten was living it up by being sprawled on the floor with an omnibus manga in his hands, courtesy of Rei.

Rei was hosting another study session with her friends in her room and there was a moment of silence. The only thing he could hear was the sound of pencils scribbling on paper.

Out of nowhere a beeping noise went off. "And time," Ami called out, signaling for the girls to put their pencils down.

"No," Usagi whined. "I barely finished number 24."

"I almost had 32." Minako's eye twitched in annoyance.

Ami loomed over their shoulders wearing her large reading glasses and eyed their work. "Unfortunately, you both got them wrong. You didn't utilize the proper formulas."

"Perfect," the two blondes groaned and flopped backwards hopelessly.

Goten then slid the door open with a grin. "Man, I can't believe how good The Great Saiyaman bonus chapters are. What do you have next, Rei?" He strolled in and handed her back the omnibus.

"You sure read that quickly, only took you a couple of hours to finish." Rei said as she flipped through all 576 pages, marveling how he finished such a thick book.

"It is mostly pictures," he smiled modestly, "besides it wasn't a couple of hours. I got a head start on it the night Gramps gave me my haircut, remember?" He tipped her a wink.

Rei flinched remembering chucking the book at him when he returned home, when he had the nerve to blow a kiss in her direction. He caught it and took it into his room to read it for himself.

"Speaking of," Minako sprung up between the dark-haired teens. "Goten, have I told you that you look handsome with that new haircut?"

"Only 15 times this week," he chuckled sheepishly.

"Well it is true," Usagi added.

"I don't think I've ever had girls call me handsome this much," his hand went behind his head. "Well, except for my mom." He added when his cheeks colored.

"Aw," The girls cooed in harmony.

"I'm sure your mom would be proud to hear about how hard you're working." Rei spoke up with a small smile at how flustered he was. Before he could barely keep one job and now he was working two.

"Yeah," Goten's smile fell for a second. It had been a while since he thought about his mom, what she would think of his progress. The fact that Rei brought her up after their talk at the Chinese restaurant had him feeling a pang of guilt.

"So by any chance would you consider a job in tutoring?" Minako asked, leaning in close to his face.

"What me?" Goten took a step back and blinked.

"And how do you intend to pay Goten for tutoring you, Minako-chan?" Ami's eye twitched in annoyance. Of course Minako and Usagi were high maintenance pupils but it was awfully inconsiderate of Minako to enlist Goten's help when the one with the IQ of 300 was already taking time out of her day to help them. Plus she knew for a fact Minako blew her allowance on video games and a new pair of boots.

"With my body of course," Minako answered with a seductive wink, slipping the collar of her shirt down her shoulder to reveal her bra strap.

Goten's eyes widened before he turned his gaze away. "Please don't! I can't buy things to eat with that."

Makoto and Usagi fell over laughing at his response while Ami shook her head with a relieved smile. Rei had her head down, her bangs covering her eyes, visibly trembling.

"Come on, I'm sure someone like you would have a lot to teach me. You were homeschooled, right? Everyone knows homeschooled kids are smart." Minako put her hands together in a pleading gesture.

Goten felt a bead of sweat roll down his forehead. He could teach her a number of things he learned from living in the woods and training with his family and friends. However none of that had a place in academics.

At that moment Rei lost it. Her laughter could barely be contained with her hand in her mouth. Once she let out a giggle louder than a snicker, she couldn't stop until tears were streaming down her face.

Goten and the other girls just stopped and stared until the priestess could catch her breath and compose herself.

"Minako, Goten is an exception to that statistic. He still needs me to pin a list to his shirt to go to the store. His attention span is similar to that of a goldfish. He's tried to open a can like a jar and has bumped into glass screen doors face first. Its safe to say he's not a genius." Rei said as she wiped away the tears.

"Yeah he's probably not much better of than the rest of us." Makoto gave a sympathetic smile and playfully punched his arm.

"Sorry to disappoint you, ladies." He chuckled while picking up one of their textbooks. "I needed a lot of help when I was studying for my own exams." He remembered all of the tutors he went through when Gohan or Trunks were too busy to sit down with him. He wasn't a bad student. He just needed a lot of patience and repetition.

"Do you have any plans for college?" Ami inquired, looking over the lenses of her glasses.

Goten gave a helpless smile. "I haven't given much thought since I've always been bouncing from place to place trying to find steady work. I mean, I need a lot of time to think over which one I'd want to go to and then use my time out of work to study for entrance exams."

"Do you know what you wanna study?" Usagi asked while snacking on a pork bun.

"Um, I can't remember the name." Goten scratched his head while blushing.

The girls all fell over, Rei was right. He really didn't have the best memory.

"Goten, what's your dream? What do you want to be?" Rei asked, wanting to help fill the blanks.

Goten thought back to the night he saved Motoki and how there were no police officers nearby to do anything to help. If he didn't show up at the right moment Motoki and Unazuki would have been seriously hurt. He remembered how his older brother donned a cape and helmet to save the city as a teenager and how his father would always train to keep the planet safe. Being a hero was what he knew best, it was in his blood and he loved doing it.

"I want to be a police officer. I've always liked helping people and protecting them. I know it sounds pretty cliché," he said and cast his eyes down.

"That sounds perfect!" Usagi bounced in place. "You'll look dashing in a uniform," she said while taking another bite of her snack.

"Well, I for one hate cops. But if they had more guys like you, I'd hate them a lot less." Minako pouted but then gave a playful wink to show her support. Goten and the cops she hated only had one thing in common, they both ogled at Rei.

"Then you have got to get started on studying today." Rei stressed.

Goten looked up at that and blinked. "Yeah, I heard on the news that there's a high demand of new recruits because of all the gang activity going around." Makoto stated.

"Sailor V is also doing her part in cleaning up the force by busting dirty cops." Usagi grinned knowingly.

"The woman is a saint if you ask me," Minako flipped her hair.

"I know, right? She's amazing," Goten agreed.

Rei rolled her eyes and got back on topic. "Point is, there's open positions and the time to act is now. You should join our study group. That way you have help with applications and can make it on time for early admission."

"I think that's a brilliant idea." Ami smiled, looking more like her usual sweet self in her reading glasses instead of a strict librarian.

"Yeah, Mako makes the best studying snacks!" Usagi boasted.

"And we will have manga breaks." Minako grinned from ear to ear.

Ami, Makoto, and Rei all sighed and shook their heads. Of course the blondes were only focusing on having a new playmate instead of the task at hand. This was going to be a lot of work.

"Wow, really? You'd do that all to help me?" Goten was genuinely touched. He never actually had a girl that wanted to study with him. The fact that there were five that wanted to include him in their group made him feel warm inside.

"We're not going to just let you put it off. If you have a dream you have to dive in head first. Give it everything you got, because we wouldn't be in this if we didn't believe in you." Rei declared.

"She's right." Usagi and Minako grinned slyly at one another. Both were amused at how passionate Rei got. The girls seemed delighted to now have Goten involved in their academic loop. Bonus was seeing how close and nearly inseparable Rei and Goten were becoming.

After Ami drilled him on a basic test format they discovered that while Goten needed only a bit of help in most areas; the hardest part he struggled with was reading comprehension. Ami explained that if he didn't work on that, the whole test result would be at risk. Rei suggested taking a half hour of their day every day to sit down to help him read passages and quiz him. The girls were definitely going to make her keep that promise considering the looks Goten would give her throughout the session.

Rei's friends were gone after dinner. The sun was setting and Rei finished up with her bath after cleaning the kitchen with Goten. She found him by the porch of the house playing fetch with Phobos and Deimos, using the toy arrow she showed him. Ever since she taught him that they could do that it became his new favorite activity.

"Hey, I'm done with my bath. You can go ahead." Rei said as she dried her hair with a towel.

"Thanks, I'll be in there in a bit. Phobos has some trick catches but Deimos makes up with speed." Goten commented as he watched both crows go at it.

"You have definitely won them over. I don't think they even like me anymore with you in the picture." Rei said, half serious, and then shook her head.

"Nah, you're definitely still their mama." Goten chuckled. "Besides, when I tease Deimos she tugs my hair with her beak." He pointed at the side of his head where his hair looked messiest. "But she's still cool. I never really got to have pets growing up. They were never allowed in the house."

"Goten, can I ask you a personal question?"

Goten didn't miss a beat. "10 inches."

"No, that really wasn't what I meant to-Wait, 10 inches?" Rei's eyes went wide in disbelief.

"Yeah that is the longest my hair has grown out. They even marked my height wrong in high school because of that." His hand went over his head to give an example of how long it would be.

"Oh," Rei replied, inwardly sighing with relief that the conversation didn't go in that other direction. "Look, what I meant to ask was: Why haven't you called your family?"

Goten froze upon hearing that. It was bound to happen sometime, he knew this conversation was going to happen.

"I mean, you talk about them quite a lot. Don't you miss them?" Rei asked gently.

"Of course I do," Goten smiled sadly. "I just," he paused and inhaled. "I'm not ready to talk to my mom yet."

Rei could feel Goten getting uncomfortable with the subject and made the decision to not push the subject further. She knew from experience that not everyone was on good terms with their parents.

"That's okay," she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Just know I'm here if you need someone to listen."

He looked at her with gratitude and gave a nod. "Thanks."

Some time had passed and Goten definitely needed to give his best buddy in the whole wide world an update on his life. While texting was nice, he still liked the convenience of speaking face to face.

"So how are things with this Rei chick?" Trunks asked as the both of them were getting ready to sit down and eat Chinese take out.

"Pretty good," he answered with a shy smile and a slight flush on his cheeks.

"Pretty good, huh?" Trunks narrowed his eyes at him with a playful suspicion. "Like holding hands pretty good or bed rocking kind of good?"

Goten got up and took out his wallet and fished something out. "See for yourself."

Trunks took the photo booth picture strips and his eyes went wide, doing a double take to make sure he had his reading glasses on. "What, no, Goten! You sly dog! Wow, I just-Wow!"

Goten grinned in response, feeling quite proud to find a girl that made Trunks stop in his tracks.

"You totally do not deserve that. I mean, oh my Beerus! She is like a 15 out of 10." Trunks said as he looked at the girl in the photo and back at his best friend.

Goten continued to smile smugly. "Yep, totally not on this earthly plane with us mere mortals."

"So what is she blind? Is that what you came here to tell me?" Trunks inquired, half joking.

"No, she has perfect 20/20 vision." Goten pouted. "She's a skilled archer, really good."

"Of course she is," Trunks smirked. "Any other discoveries you've made?"

"Dude, get this, she was totally a big fan of Saiyaman as a kid. She has the whole published manga series in her collection." Goten all but squealed.

"Get out," Trunks's smirk fell.

"I'm serious, dude!"

"Well, nobody's perfect. That's pretty sweet though. I thought you were his only fan." The heir to the billion dollar company shrugged.

"But she is perfect! She's smart, sometimes she's funny, strong, thoughtful, and just overall full of surprises. You know?" He sighed like just the thought of her was taking his breath away.

Trunks's was propped on the heel of his hand just intently staring at the lovesick expression on his best friend's face. "Sounds like you've got it real bad."

Goten looked at him and felt totally helpless. He was right, his heart was falling, fast and hard. "Help me," was all he could say. This never happened to him, not with any other girl.

"Well, how are you guys? Are you dating?" Trunks asked as he dug into his noodles.

"Not really," Goten frowned. "We're studying together for entrance exams."

"I'm confused by this though," Trunks held up the photos. "Looks an awful lot like a date."

Goten could just hear Rei screaming at him in his mind about how that was not a date. "We decided it wasn't."

"Uh huh," Trunks put down the photos. "So what else? You two still work together?"

"Not as much, got a second job fishing. It pays well. I'm actually getting enough to put into savings." Goten explained as he finally began to eat his food.

"Wait, you said something about entrance exams. You finally made up your mind about college?" His friend blinked in surprise. Last time he checked, Goten was still unsure of what he wanted to do with his life other than live in the city.

"Yeah, I'm going to see if I can enlist in the local police academy college program there." Goten smiled with his mouth full of food.

"That's awesome, man! You're making money and you finally got a plan for a career. That's good. Because a girl like this," he showed him the photo to prove his point. "A girl like this is for winners."

Goten nodded, he already realized how much Rei respected him when he got a second job. She was ambitious and had set goals for even the small things. He had to make sure he completed his own to keep that respect.

"You need to get back in shape too. I can tell you've gone soft on working out. If you don't do something now, your flab is going to turn into fat." Trunks slurped up his noodles nonchalantly.

Goten's chicken fell off of his chopsticks. "F-Fat..?" His face held a worrisome expression.

"Yeah, you have got to maintain your body like the literal temple. Just hit the training and workout harder for the next few weeks. Maybe add less starch to your diet." Trunks suggested.

Goten nodded, pale at the idea that he was getting out of shape. Plus it didn't help that Trunks already pointed out that Rei was too beautiful next to him. "What if I'm not good enough for her?"

"Don't you start filling your head with that before you try. If you have come this far in such a short time then you should not be calling it quits. Besides she's the only girl that's ever offered to help you study. Safe to say she already likes you a lot." Trunks ruffled his buddy's hair as he got up to get more food from the counter. "Just work on yourself, be the best you can be to give her reason to keep liking you."

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks, man." Those last words about being himself sounded a lot like the pep talks Gohan would give him through high school. He checked the time and realized it was about the time of day Gohan would be leaving the university he taught at and fly his way home.

"I'll be back," Goten excused himself and closed the balcony door behind him as he called his brother.

"Hey, Gohan." He smiled, feeling so happy hearing his voice again. "Yeah, I'm all right. I just wanted to catch up. I miss you too." Goten laughed and relaxed as he heard his brother say something that put him in a better mood. "Well, I'm living at a shrine now. Yeah, its pretty old and historic. I made a lot of friends too. They're real close with Rei. Oh, Rei? She's my," he paused. If he said too much no doubt his brother might share with his mother. And if his old-fashioned mother found out Goten liked Rei and lived together with her Chi-Chi would probably be in hysterics over her baby boy 'shacking up'. So he decided, for one time only, he would bend the truth. "Rei's my landlady."

Hope this chapter was worth the wait!