NOTE: Welcome back! Sorry for the delay on chapters, but school is getting more priority, so yeah. I had the time to write this out, so here we go folks!

I honestly cannot wait for the moment that Goku gets to eat Yor's cooking. It's going to be hilarious and horrifying.

Enjoy and Review!

Chapter 5: Meeting the Gang

"It has to be around here somewhere…" Yor muttered as she scoured the destroyed base of the Red Ribbon Army. The young assassin and Goku had split up, he was going back for the Dragon Balls while she searched for her belongings. Her favorite dress was torn and stained in the blood of her enemies; she also stunk. A terrible aroma of sweat, blood, and grime had taken over her senses after their epic battle against the military force. Yor knew she needed a shower before they could continue on their quest.

"I think I left it around here?" She questioned herself as she entered the women's quarters of the base. The room was pretty big, several bunk beds lining the walls, but other than that it was a pretty boring room. Though, there was a lot of red paint, so they definitely stuck to their guns with the name Red Ribbon. "Well, at least they remained on brand till the end!" She smiled as if she hadn't just decimated them a few minutes ago.

In the corner of the room, a familiar black suitcase rested against the wall, eliciting a happy gasp from Yor. "My suitcase!" She hurried over to it, then opened it up to see if anyone had tampered with it. Luckily, all of her belongings were still intact and just how she had left them. Reaching into the smaller pockets of the suitcase, she pulled out a small picture of herself and Yuri. Yor knew it was irresponsible to leave this with her stuff in the case someone found it and tried to use it against her, but she needed the comfort of her purpose to keep her going.

Besides, she'd kill anyone who tried to use Yuri against her! So, it's completely fine!

After putting the photo away, Yor took out a fresh pair of clothes, and headed for the women's locker room.

"Yor!"

As she was about to enter, Yor found Goku rushing towards her on the Nimbus. "I got the Dragon Balls!" He jumped off of the cloud, landing extremely close to her. "Now, we can head for the last one!" Goku tilted his head in confusion when Yor's face twisted into an extreme look of disgust. "Huh? What's wrong?"

"Goku…you need a bath." Yor said, stepping back a bit.

The little monkey looked down at himself, noticing the dirt and grime all over his body. He didn't really see the issue. "I do? I don't think I got that dirty."

"Trust me, you need a bath. You smell really bad." She responded.

"Is this one of those girl things Bulma is always talking about?"

"Do you trust Bulma?"

"Yeah!"

"Then, yes, whatever she said to you is correct." Yor was slightly reminded of Yuri's inquiry of why he needed to take baths when he was younger. Seems she had to make sure another boy would regularly take baths now.

"Alright then!" Goku immediately started taking off his clothes without warning, causing Yor to blush.

"WHY DOESN'T HE WEAR UNDERWEAR!?" She mentally screamed, turning away from the little monkey. "D-don't take your clothes off here, Goku!"

"Huh?" He had already tossed off his GI, leaving him completely in the nude. "Why not? We gotta take a bath, right?"

"Y-yes, but you shouldn't just take your clothes off out in the open, especially around a g-girl…!"

It took him a few moments to process what she just said. "Oh yeah! I think Bulma said something about that before."

"So, he's done this more than once…" Yor groaned.

"Anyway, it should be fine. We're just taking a bath! Hehehe!" Goku laughed, walking into the locker room. Yor gave him one last glance, before widening her eyes at his back.

"His tail is real!?"

As she stood in the shower, Yor couldn't stop her mind from wandering back to what the Shopkeeper was going to do to her once she got back home. It was like a dark shadow creeping behind her with every step she took. Maybe, they already learned of her failure and were simply waiting for her to let her guard down to punish her? Or maybe even deciding to hurt Yuri as a punishment-

"Ow! The water's hot!"

And there goes her train of thought…which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. She couldn't stop herself from giggling at Goku's outcry. "Just turn the right nozzle, Goku!"

"Oh, really?" He did as told, but then cried again. "Ack! Now it's stupid cold!"

"Turn it back a bit."

"Oh….OH! Now, it's better!" Goku exclaimed.

Giggling a bit more, Yor allowed herself to relax. She stared at the wall, the person who has done so much for her was right on the other side. "Hey, Goku?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we did the right thing?"

His response was quick. "Yeah! The Red Ribbon were bad guys and they hurt Upa and so many other people! Letting them get their hands on the Dragon Balls would've been bad too!"

"Right…" Yor agreed with everything he said. "But, my organization ordered me to gain their assistance to help with the war that's plaguing my home. By destroying the Red Ribbon, I've gone against my orders, betrayed the people who took me in, and possibly doomed my home to a terrible fate…!"

"Are they strong?"

…

"What?" Yor genuinely had to pause after hearing his question.

"The people in your organization! Are they strong like you!?" Goku repeated his question.

"I-I mean, yes, I guess! I know the Shopkeeper is a lot more experienced than me, and the senior members of the Garden are very strong…" She could hear Goku bouncing around in excitement.

"Now, I really want to fight you and them! I bet it'll be an awesome fight!"

"G-Goku! I was serious about what I was talking about! I'm trying to explain-"

"You're strong, so don't worry about it so much! Something my Grandpa always told me before he died is that if your heart says you should do something, then do it! My heart tells me to keep growing stronger, so that I can keep fighting strong opponents! So, don't stress too much about it, Yor!"

"My heart?" Yor placed a hand onto her chest, feeling the beating of her heart. "What does my heart say?" She took a deep breath, recalling everything that's happened to her up to this point. From the birth of her little brother, their parents' death, being recruited by the Garden, meeting Goku, and fighting for what she believes in. All of that is what she holds precious, it's what she holds close to her heart.

"If my heart is telling me to fight to protect what I love and hold dear…then I'll continue to fight for that, no matter the consequence!" Yor declared, smiling widely.

Goku's head popped over the stall, and the little monkey jumped over it to join her. "Hahaha! That's the spirit, Yo-

SLAP!

CRASH!

"DON'T JUST JUMP OVER HERE, GOKU!" Yor squealed, blushing like crazy. The little monkey had been slapped through the wall, leaving a massive hole between the stalls.

After leaving the showers, Yor and Goku were ready to leave the Red Ribbon base for good. The young assassin had changed out of her dress, keeping it secured in a bag until she could get all of the blood cleaned out of it. She is now wearing a black blouse underneath a pink jacket that stopped at her midriff, the shirt tucked into her knee-length white skirt with black leggings underneath, and white shoes.

Looking over at Goku, Yor wished she could've been able to get him something different to wear, but he was stuck with his dirty GI. At least his body was clean of all the sweat and dirt from all of their earlier escapades. "So, where's the last Dragon Ball?" Yor asked.

Goku took out the Dragon Radar to check. "Huh? That's weird…"

"What is?" Yor asked.

"It's not popping up!" Goku kept pressing the button, but no matter how far the radar searched, the Dragon Ball wasn't popping up. "Don't tell me it's broken again!"

"Maybe, we're just not close enough?"

"No, because even if it was far away there would be little directions pointing us to the right way." Goku explained, then put the radar back into his GI. "Guess, we'll just have to go look for Bulma to have her fix it."

"She's the one who made it, right?" Yor asked.

"Yup! If anyone can fix this thing it's her!" Goku grinned, then called for Nimbus. Luckily, Yor's suitcase wasn't that big, so it could fit on the Nimbus with them. The two soared off away from the base to head for West City.

"HEEEEEEEYYYYY! GOKU!"

"Huh?" The two looked down to see a small group of people shouting and yelling at them. Yor wondered who those people were, but Goku pretty much answered. "Everyone! Why are you all here!?" He directed the Nimbus to go down, landing in front of everyone.

Bulma grumbled at Goku. "What do you mean, why are we all here!?"

"I guess that's it for our invasion plan." Roshi sighed.

Yor stayed back as Goku went to greet all of his friends, not knowing how to interact with the people Goku had been telling her all about. She didn't expect to meet them so soon or at all, really. None of them seemed to have noticed her, too focused on telling off Goku for facing against the Red Ribbon.

"You went in to fight the Red Ribbon Army all by yourself, so we came to help you!" Krillin explained.

"Wow! I can't believe you all found out!" Goku gasped. "But I wasn't by myself! I had Yor with me the entire time!" Goku pointed over to her, causing the young assassin to squirm as several eyes turned to her.

"H-hi!" Yor squeaked, waving her hand.

"And that's another thing, Goku! Bringing a young girl into a dangerous military base was completely irresponsible!" Bulma scolded him next. Yamcha placed a hand on her shoulder, hoping to calm Bulma down a bit.

"It's all fine, Bulma, from the looks of things it seems like they didn't go into the base." Yamcha said.

"Eh? But we did!" Goku's exclamation surprised them all. "We beat everyone and got 6 Dragon Balls!"

…

…

…

"EEEEEHHHHHHH!?" His friends screamed, processing Goku's claim.

Yamcha turned to Puar. "P-Puar! Go check on the base!"

"Y-yes sir!" Puar flew off to check and see if Goku was telling the truth. When Puar did return, the little floating cat was shouting frantically. "IT'S TRUE! THEY'VE ALL BEEN BEATEN!" All of Goku's friends stared at the little monkey with disbelief.

"He's a monster…"

"N-not even the police could do anything about the Red Ribbon Army…"

"Just two puny kids…?"

"I-I can't believe it…"

"I'm way stronger than before!" Goku laughed. "Yor's also really strong too! You should've seen her and the way she was kicking all those guys' butts!" His compliment caused Yor to blush in embarrassment.

"N-no! I-I didn't do much!" Yor waved off any credit.

Oolong shook his head. "I mean, Goku is one thing, but that little girl couldn't possibly be able to take on the Red Ribbon Army!"

Roshi stared at Yor, and for once it wasn't perverted, he could see the way the girl was on guard around a bunch of people she was unfamiliar with. Her aura reeked of skills most martial artists could dream of, polished in a familiar way to that of his old Crane acquaintance. But there was a noticeable difference that most assassins lacked and that was the softness of her features. "Interesting…"

"By the way, Master Roshi!" Goku grabbed the Turtle Hermit's attention. "My Grandpa climbed Korin's Tower a long time ago, right!?"

"WHAT!?" The old master screamed. "Y-you've climbed it!? Korin Tower!?"

"Yeah! Yor and I met Master Korin too and drank some weird water!" Goku explained.

"S-so that's it… That's why you've gotten so much stronger…" Roshi was sweating a bit. "This boy…is amazing… It took me three years just to drink that super holy water. And even more insane is that Yor girl had done it with him. Just who is she?"

"Bulma! Can you fix the Dragon Radar, please!" Goku requested the heiress.

"What!? You got a whole 6 Dragon Balls and you still haven't found your Grandpa's?" Bulma responded.

"Nah, I got the Four-Star ball! But we promised this kid Upa that I'd ask Shenron to resurrect his Dad, who was killed by the Red Ribbon guys!" Goku explained.

Yor walked up to them, bowing respectfully to Bulma. "It would mean a lot if you could do this for us!"

The young heiress held up her hands, feeling slightly uncomfortable from Yor's politeness. "Y-you don't have to do all of that! I'd be more than fine to fix it considering the situation!" She then looked over to Goku. "We'll head back to Kame House for the time being."

"Okay!"

"Kame House?" Yor tilted her head.

"My home, young lady!" Roshi answered, gaining her attention. He held out his hand for her to shake. "My name's Roshi, the Turtle Hermit-"

"KYAAAA!" Yor suddenly screamed, freaking them all out."The pervert!"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'PERVERT'!?" Roshi yelled back.

"She has you down perfectly, Master!" Turtle laughed.

"SHUT UP, YOU DAMN TURTLE!"

"She just met you and already figured out you're a massive perv, smart girl!" Bulma grinned, liking Yor already.

"Hey! I'm a respectable master of the martial arts!" Roshi defended himself.

"Yeah, the arts of being a perverted old geezer!" Bulma barked back.

Yor calmed down, realizing her mistake. "S-sorry! It's just that Goku had told me so much about you all already, and I thought you were going to do some terrible things to me when you held out your hand. You just look way too suspicious!"

"How is that an apology!? You just made me sound like someone parents tell their kids to stay away from!" Roshi yelled. Then, he looked down at his pupil. "And what exactly were you telling her about me!?"

"That you have a bunch of weird magazines with naked girls on them!" Goku smiled, not seeing the issue.

"So, she figured the rest out on her own…" Yamcha sighed.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Launch laughed hard. She slapped Yor on the back, eliciting a small yelp. "You're a riot, kid! I think you're gonna fit right in!"

"U-uh…yeah…" Yor tried to scoot away from Launch, but the crazy blonde had a tight hold on her already.

Oolong sighed, not trying his luck with Yor after seeing what happened to Roshi. "Yup, seems like this group just got another crazy person added…"

Yor was amazed by the small cozy home that rested on such a small island, a place of solitude that she wasn't sure she'd ever decide to live on herself. Currently, she sat on the couch with Goku and Krillin as Bulma worked on the Dragon Radar. The monkey boy was scarfing down on whatever Roshi had in the fridge.

Krillin looked her up and down, making the assassin slightly uncomfortable. "So, Goku said you helped him out."

"Y-yes, I did!" Yor responded.

"Which means you're pretty strong as well, right?"

"I-I would think so…"

Krillin grinned, turning away with a small blush. "Cute and strong!? Well, I doubt she's as strong as me, but if I manage to impress her with my strength, then I could have a shot of getting a girlfriend!" He turned back to Yor with a face of 'confidence'. "I wouldn't mind showing you some Turtle School martial arts as training for the tournament."

"Tournament?" Yor tilted her head.

"You don't know!? It's the World Martial Arts Tournament! It's where all of the martial artists all over the world gather together to test their strength to decide the strongest under the heavens!" Krillin explained.

"Under the heavens? But, how can someone be under heaven?" Yor questioned.

"Well, you see-"

"Oh yeah, Yor! You should totally join the next tournament!" Goku explained, taking her attention from Krillin. "It'll be fun to fight you there! You're super strong!"

"B-but, I'm not a martial artist. I don't think it would be fair to join something like that." Yor denied. She didn't think it would be possible for her to join with all of the responsibilities she has and the unknown future that awaits her back home.

Roshi spoke up, seeing her hesitation. "There are fighters of all interest who meet up at the World Tournament, not just martial arts. If you have an interest in fighting and wish to test your skills against those around the world, then it's the place to be. However, if you don't wish to participate then that's fine, nobody is forcing you."

"I-I'll think about it." Yor responded, still unsure if that's an option for her. She wasn't really super ecstatic about fighting like Goku is, because she's done it more out of a necessity. Yor wonders if fighting just to have fun is truly possible for her to accomplish. "When is the tournament?"

"It's held on Papaya Island every three years." Roshi answered.

"T-three years!?" Yor gasped. She had a lot of time to think it over then.

"Three years to get even stronger, so that I can win this time!" Goku exclaimed.

"This time? You've participated before?" Yor asked.

"Yup! Me, Krillin, and Yamcha all fought in the last one! I almost won it too!" Goku explained.

Yor was shocked, to be able to beat Goku, this person would have to be incredibly strong. "Who won the tournament?"

"A really cool guy called Jackie Chun." Yamcha answered, walking over to them. "He kicked our butts good."

"That's why we have to train up, so that next time we can beat him and whoever else we face!" Krillin added. The four of them missed the way Roshi smirked at their determination to keep getting stronger for the next tournament. "Even more so, because…" Krillin and Yamcha both turned to Goku, who titled his head at them.

"What's wrong, guys?"

"Don't worry about it." Yamcha waved it off. The ex-bandit couldn't believe just how much stronger Goku had managed to get in such little time since the last tournament, it made him even more determined to get stronger.

Krillin was in the same boat as Yamcha, the monk refused to let his fellow Turtle School pupil stay ahead of him. Still, Goku amazed him with just how powerful he's managed to become and he's certainly going to continue getting stronger until the tournament. "I can't let myself fall behind too much!"

Yor stared at the boys, missing the context and fiery determination that they all held to become stronger. "I-is this a boy thing or am I missing something?" She hasn't interacted with many boys her age much.

"But first, we should deal with getting that last Dragon Ball." Yamcha reminded all of them.

"That's right!" Goku yelled, finishing his food. "Bulma, are you done yet!?"

Bulma frowned at the radar. "This is strange. Not one part of it is broken."

"What!? But the last Dragon Ball won't show up!" Goku exclaimed.

"Do you think it flew into space?" Oolong asked.

Bulma shook her head. "There's no way it would've flown that far."

"But up until some point, it showed all 7, though." Goku said.

"Which means something might have swallowed the Dragon Ball…" Bulma gained a chain reaction.

"S-swallowed!?" Yor gasped. "Do you think someone might have mistaken it for food and ate it, choking on it till their last breath!?" Her question garnered some strange reactions from everyone except Goku and Launch.

"She has one hell of an imagination…" Oolong groaned.

"I-I don't think that's it, Yor." Bulma stuttered, queasy from the mental image. "If a Dragon Ball's unique electromagnetic waves are surrounded by a living being, then the Radar won't catch it. An animal might have swallowed it."

"Does that mean there's no way to search for it?" Krillin asked.

"I suppose there's nothing we can do but give up." Bulma sighed.

Yor stood up, frowning at the heiress. "We can't give up! Goku and I promised that we'd bring Upa's Dad back to life, so we have to figure something out!" The gang was surprised by the assassin's declaration, completely different from her usual meek demeanor.

Bulma crossed her arms. "There's nothing I can do about it!"

"Well, if you go to Uranai Baba's palace, she'll surely tell you where the Dragon Ball is." Roshi spoke up, gaining their attention.

"Uranai Baba's?"

"Whenever I can't find something, I always get Uranai Baba to divine its whereabouts for me. She's always on the mark." Roshi explained.

"So, she's some kind of lost item magnet?" Goku and Yor asked.

"Do you both share a brain cell…?" Bulma groaned. It's starting to feel like she just met the female equivalent of Goku and she didn't know if that's a good thing or a bad one.

"No, she's an all seeing fortune teller." Roshi clarified.

"Really!? Where is she!?" Goku asked.

Roshi pulled out a map to show Goku and Yor the location, unfortunately the two had no idea on how to read a map, so Yamcha, Puar, and Krillin agreed to come with to help. The five of them were going to travel using Yamcha's aircraft.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" Krillin asked the others.

Bulma crossed her arms, huffing loudly. "No way! I'm sick and tired of this! I'm going now, Yamcha, so give me an aircraft capsule!"

"She complains a lot." Yor thought, thinking back to how Goku always mentioned how whiney Bulma could be. The rest of the group also declined on joining in, so the five prepared to take off towards Uranai Baba's palace.

"Be careful and do your best!" Bulma and the others waved goodbye, causing Yor to smile.

"Well, they're all pretty nice people." She concluded her thoughts on Goku's friends. Even with their faults, these people seemed willing to help them without hesitation. It must be nice having so many good friends. "Maybe, I can be friends with them too?"

Roshi hummed as Yamcha's aircraft left his island. "With Goku's strength, I'm pretty sure they can get her to do a fortune telling."

Chapter End

NOTE: Not too long of a chapter, but I wanted to save a good chunk of the Baba stuff as its own chapter. I hope you all enjoyed Yor meeting the gang and look forward to more interactions between them.

Goku is still in that phase of just not understanding boundaries and social cues. At least he's a good friend who helps Yor out in his own ways. Hopefully, his words to Yor didn't seem too out of character.

Krillin will be trying his luck, but we all know how that usually ends for him. Except the one time that it does work years later down the line.

Have a great day!