Peridot grumbled as she sat huddled up in the house, away from everyone else. The Z fighters had been "gracious" enough to let her stay in their home as they formulated a plan for the cluster. Despite their alliance she still didn't trust them. The Vegeta Saiyan obviously had it out for her. Everytime he was around her, he watched her like a hawk, as if trying to catch her the moment she screwed up. The Namekian seemed indifferent to her, and she didn't mind him as much. He wasn't quite as hostile but wasn't friendly either. He seemed to have a strictly business opinion towards her, which she respected and reciprocated. She wouldn't count on him not to abandon her when the going got tough, however.

The Goku Saiyan was the one she trusted the least of all. There was something not right about him. The way he smiled all the time and was so cheery towards her. How he always was offering her nutrient rations and inviting her to watch demonstrations of the warriors' training sessions. It was unnatural, particularly for someone of his species. Saiyans were supposed to be ruthless creatures, yet he claimed he didn't like killing. As if! Next he'll say that he's never purged a planet! She knew deep down it all must be some kind of act. he was plotting something, trying to get her to let her guard down, but for what she didn't know.

The only one worse that him was his half human offspring: the Gohan. She still wasn't sure how exactly the runt could be both part Saiyan and part human, but she didn't think she wanted to find out. She knew for one thing that she didn't like being around him. Whenever she was around him, the Namekian started acting more like the Vegeta, and the Goku, although not giving up his facade, would never be too far behind.

That's why when the boy crawled up to where she had hidden herself in Steven's loft, sh had been less than happy to see him. "Hi Miss Peridot!" the five year old greeted, holding a book under his arm. "I'm sorry about what happened to your limb extensions. I got a little extra money today from delivering newspapers, so Steven suggested I get something for you. It's really fun and I think you'll like it."

Peridot got a sinking feeling at the word "fun." From what she understood of Saiyans, their ideas of fun usually involved punching people or blowing things up...and from past experience, those things were usually hers. "Whatever it is, I don't want it," Peridot said firmly, looking away.

Gohan pouted. "But you don't even know what it is yet!" he argued.

"If it ends up making me your personal chew toy, then no!" she snapped.

"It's not, I promise!" Gohan cried sincerely and with slight offence, "I'm just trying to be nice!"

Peridot looked at him dead in the eye to see if he was lying. He looked like he was telling the truth...but if he really was the offspring of the Goku then it could just be a trick. "Hmm…" she muttered.

"Peridot, accept the gift or you'll be staying outside with Lion tonight," Piccolo called from down stairs.

Peridot flinched at that idea. The big pink animal was the last thing she wanted to be around. It wasn't dangerous by any means...but the way it stared at her gave her shivers. "Alright…" she sighed.

Gohan smiled and handed her the book that he had been holding under his arm and a pencil. "It's a book of Sudoku puzzles," he explained, "My mom always likes filling them out with me I when we get the Sunday paper...or rather when I bring it home…" "Here, let me show you how they work!" he said pulling out a pencil and flipping to a beginner puzzle, "There are nine big boxes with nine smaller boxes in each one. The goal is to fill out each box with the numbers one through nine without having any repeat in a row or column." He stated filling one out to show her. "See, now you try!" he chirped, handing her the pencil.

"Hmmm…" Peridot mused as she tapped the eraser against her chin as she stared at the page. Then she started filling out the puzzle box by box. In a matter of minutes she had the entire thing filled out perfectly.

"Wow, you got that one done pretty fast," he observed.

"Well it was a pretty simple puzzle," she said proudly, "No earth puzzle is a match for my mind."

"Well that was only a beginner level puzzle," he explained, "Level five is the hardest. That was a level two. Level threes are more what I'm used to."

"Why are you so interested in this stuff?" she asked, "Aren't Saiyans all about fighting and physical labor?"

Gohan shrugged. "I guess it's just the way I am," he explained, "I like training with my Dad and the others, but it's not what I want to do for the rest of my life. I really like science and my mom wants me to be a scholar one day. She has me study for an hour a day."

"Really?" Peridot questioned with intrigue, "What areas are you proficient in?"

"Well my mom is having my study look at basic physics right now, but I'm really hoping I'll get to learn about biology soon," he said, "It's the study of organic things and how living things work."

"To be honest I might have to look into that too depending on how long I'm stuck here…" she muttered.

An idea came to Gohan and his eyes lit up. "I know!" he said excitedly, "Maybe if my mom lets me switch over to it, I can bring my books here and we can study it together!"

"Really?" she asked, "You'd be willing to share your information gathering materials with me?"

"Sure!" he confirmed with a nod, "I've never had anyone to study with before, aside from my mom that is." "I'll ask her tomorrow and see what she says, ok?" he said.

"Gohan!" Goku called, "We're heading out for lunch at Fish Stew Pizza."

"Coming Daddy!" Gohan responded before heading for the ladder. He then turned to Peridot. "I'll see you later, ok?" he said, "Enjoy the puzzles!" With that, he climbed down the the ladder and ran out the door.

Peridot sat their for a second processing what had just happen. She then looked down at the book of puzzles in her her hand before cracking it open and starting on one. Maybe the Saiyan runt wasn't so bad after all...

QUICK WARNING! This author's note contains spoilers for the leaked Steven Universe clips! If you have not seen them, do not read it!

I know last chapter I left off on a big cliffhanger, but I really wanted to write this piece. BTW is it just me, or was Malachite's diffusion an awful lot like King Piccolo's death scene? Let me know what you guys think. Anyways, thanks for reading!