"Hey, Kress!" Goku greeted cheerfully as he touched down on the Capsule Corp grounds along with Goten and another young man who regarded her curiously. "Thought I'd bring my sons to meet ya. This is Gohan, my oldest," he gestured to the young man with the glasses, who waved, "and you've already met Goten."

"Hi, Kress!" The teen chirped.

"Another Saiyan, huh?" Gohan wondered, cupping a hand to his chin. "That's interesting. Where have you been all this time? Are there more of you out there in our universe?"

"Probably, who knows." She shrugged loosely, tucking her hands into the pockets of her sweats. "So what brings you here, really? Lookin' for Vegeta? 'Cause he's watching Bulla right now."

The man perked up at that. "He is? Ah, I'll bug him later. You wanna spar with us?"

Kress paused, and a wary expression fell across her face. Shifting from foot to foot, she folded her arms across her chest. "I'm not much for fighting…"

"Aw, really?" He sighed. "That's too bad."

"I'm a mechanic, not a warrior. If I wanted to be a blood knight I could've just picked a fight with Frieza's flunkies while I was in space."

Gohan found himself nodding, while his father and little brother exchanged looks.

Kress tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear before scratching the back of her head awkwardly. "You wanna see what I'm workin' on?"

"The pod you arrived in, right? I'll be honest, I haven't seen very many up close." Gohan chuckled wryly. "I think the last time I actually saw the inside of one was when my uncle kidnapped me as a child."

The woman paused in scratching her scalp, fixing him with a bewildered look.

"I'm fine now," he reassured. "I've already worked through it."

"Right." She flatly replied. "Join the club, we've got jackets."

"Ehhh…?" Scratching the back of his neck, Goku tilted his head. Nearby, Gohan heaved a sigh and cast him a flat look.

"Kreeeeeeess!" Bulma called in a sing-song, all but skipping down the path towards the group. She halted just a few feet away. "Oh, hey, when'd you get here?"

"Just got here a few minutes ago, actually! Where are ya going?"

"I'm taking you shopping!" She locked her elbow around the younger woman's with a big grin. "Whaddya say we get you some Earth clothing instead of Vegeta's old things?"

"Ooh, shopping?" Gohan perked up. "Hey, do you mind if Mom went with you two? I think she'd like the chance to get out for once."

"You wanna go get her?" Bulma turned to her childhood friend, who nodded, pressing two fingers to his temple and, in an instant, he flashed out of sight.

Kress took a wary step back, eyes trained on where he was a moment prior. "What… what the…?"

"You'll get used to it." Bulma chuckled. "That's his Instant Transmission technique."

A few seconds later, he burst back into existence - with Chi-Chi in tow, looking vaguely miffed.

"Now you promise you'll take care of things before I get back?" She pressed, narrowing her eyes at him.

"I promise! I'll even start cleaning the kitchen..." The last part was whispered in her ear, and something changed in her expression as they were uttered.

"Well, alright… I guess I can get dragged away for a day in town." Shaking her head, she smiled at Bulma. "Oh, finally taking our newcomer into the city proper?"

"Yep! She needs some clothes and personal amenities, and I'm all too happy to take a break for a while. Besides, I was needing more conditioner anyway."

Kress blinked. "A- are you sure…? I mean, I'd rather work on the pod…"

"There's a food court~!" The blue-haired woman sang.

"Aaaaaand I'm sold! Let's go!"


"Whoa, this is a place just meant for… buying things?" The Kypan gaped openly as she stared up at the massive shopping center. It seemed more like a fortress than a store, towering high above with its large glass panes glittering and shining in the afternoon sunlight.

"There's an entire building besides this one, but yes! There's so many stores that I'm confident we'll find something you like."

"Where to first?" Chi-Chi inquired, adjusting her purse.

"I was thinking we could start with Tori's Unknown. Once we've got some good bras and panties we can go from there. I was thinking some of the higher-end spots?"

"L- let's not go overboard!" She exclaimed.

"Nonsense! We've gotta show off all of the finest shopping spots!" Nudging the younger woman in the side, she winked. "Just in case you wanna come here yourself sometime!"

"I'd come here just for the food, honestly." With a shrug, Kress fidgeted with the bold blue blazer Bulma had lent her. The sleeves barely disguised her toned arms and people were starting to look, curious as to who the person with a black pantsuit and sneakers was. She frowned, realizing eyes were being drawn to her tail wrapped snugly around her waist like a furry brown belt. "C'mon, let's get going."

"First stop, Tori's." Bulma took her wrist and made sure she was following behind the two of them.

Kress glanced around at the vivid storefronts and the upbeat pop tune playing over the loudspeaker. The sights, sounds, and scents were beginning to be overwhelming, and despite the pleasant aroma of food from the upper floor wafting into her nose, it was quickly overpowered by perfume and cologne from a nearby Body-Body.

When Bulma finally let go of her arm, they were walking into a store with mannequins posed with lacy, velvety garments in soft, muted colors. She wrinkled her nose when she saw a panty set that seemed more like a string of ribbons than fabric - what kind of store had she been taken into?

"Alright, go nuts. If you want something practical, the left wall should be good enough." Pointing in that direction, Bulma turned to go the opposite. "If you want something sexy, the right wall's where we're gonna be."

"Actually, Bulma, I think I'll accompany Kress to the left side," Chi-Chi spoke up.

The blue-haired inventor squinted at them, but shrugged. "Alright, meet me by the check-out counter when you're ready."

Internally, she breathed a sigh of relief. Yet she still felt a little wary with the shorter woman following alongside her. On one hand she couldn't blame Chi-Chi for being suspicious of her; from all that she'd heard from both Goku and Bulma about the Saiyans' trips to Earth, this seemed like a regular annoyance for them.

Chi-Chi paused by some plainly-colored bras and began to leaf through them, humming softly along with the song playing over the speakers. Kress halted, fidgeting with her blazer, unsure of what to do.

"I figured you'd need a break," the younger woman said simply, not looking up from the rack. "Bulma's a good person, but she can be… intense if you aren't ready for it."

"I'll take intense over inhospitable," she tried to joke. But instead of the amusement she wanted to see, Chi-Chi's lips pressed into a line. "Uh- no offense, I wasn't talking about you…"

"Forgive me if I've been… rude. Growing up here means you get used to potentially earth-ending conflicts here and there. I just… I've never gotten used to aliens." She heaved a sigh.

"... Yeah," answered the Saiyan quietly, looking away. "I get that."

"It's nothing against you, of course." Chi-Chi finally looked up at her for a moment, before plucking a bra off of the rack and studying it. "And it's nothing against my husband or my sons, either. For a while, Goku was more anti-Saiyan than I was."

"Really? Him?"

"The day he found out his heritage was the day our oldest, Gohan, was kidnapped." The prim woman snorted, something that made Kress take pause in surprise. "Imagine the surprise when not only do we learn that Goku is from a warrior race, but he has a brother, and said brother is fully intent on killing everyone we know and love. He reacted badly to the news when I spoke to him about it, and it didn't help that Vegeta came to Earth to finish the job a year later." She stared long and hard at the garment before putting it back on the rack. "It took him a while to accept. I imagine training with King Kai helped him reconcile it."

"I… I can't imagine…"

"Neither could I." A wry smile spread across Chi-Chi's face, and she turned to look up at the wild-haired alien. "But I've grown used to having Saiyans around. As long as they protect our planet, I have no ill will."

There was something in her words, something earnest, something encouraging - and the taller of the two nodded her head, meeting her eyes with a half-smile of her own.

Satisfied, Chi-Chi turned back to the bras as Kress finally began leafing through them on her own. She wrinkled her nose at the lace and complicated patterns - how did human women wear them? They looked nothing but uncomfortable and impractical.

"Do you know what size you are?" The woman inquired, looking up from a tan-colored garment.

"Uh… size?" She asked slowly. "I… geez, I dunno, I've never had to worry about that."

"Well while you're here, you ought to try wearing a bra instead of binding. It'll be healthier for you." Nodding firmly, she grasped her wrist with her long, slender fingers and pulled her along. "Excuse me," she began politely to the attendant standing by the fitting rooms, "but could you measure her real quick? We're trying to pick out some bras but we don't know her size."

"Certainly, ma'am," the attendant agreed with a smile. "Please step into the dressing room with me."

Kress looked down at Chi-Chi with some hesitancy, but the woman nodded and gave her back a gentle push.

After a few minutes (of which the woman picked out a couple of items for herself, the tags proudly advertising 'tear-proof' materials), Kress stepped out behind the red-faced attendant.

"Apparently I'm a C, whatever that means."

"Huh," said Chi-Chi, looking at Kress with new intrigue. "Let's try some bras, then. If you don't find yourself liking any of the regular ones, there's always a sports model you can try."


"What kind of shirts do you usually wear?" Bulma tapped her chin thoughtfully as they browsed an upscale clothing shop.

Kress shrugged her shoulders loosely. "Never really thought 'bout it, I guess? Just wore whatever I got."

The heiress's eyes narrowed, and then she whirled around to leaf through a rack of crop tops. After a moment, she hissed an "Aha" and pulled out a pretty mauve sleeveless top. "What about this?"

The Saiyan eyed the item and tilted her head. "Wouldn't that leave my gut open to attacks? I dunno if that's practical..."

"Of course it's not practical." Chi-Chi agreed, pulling out a sleeveless turtleneck. "What about this one?"

"Looks a little heavy," she mused, running a hand along the material before pinching the bottom hem.

"Yeah, it's not like you're going out into space any time soon," Bulma hummed, missing the way the woman minutely winced. "Well, if you're into that kind of style let's see if we can't work with it."

One pile of shirts later, an attendant was unlocking a fitting room for them and the two women guided her in, settling into lounge chairs as they waited for her to change.

"So," Chi-Chi began, looking over to where Bulma had pulled out a gossip magazine. "How's Bulla doing?"

"Better now that she's walking and trying to speak," the mother answered with a fond smile and a chuckle. "Trunks is a little jealous of how much attention Vegeta's giving her, but he loves her, I can tell. Just being a big brother."

"I know how that goes." The princess laughed gently along with her. "I'm lucky Gohan was so understanding and willing to help after Goten was born - but sometimes I could tell just how frustrated he was, having a baby in the house. I don't blame him... it was hard on all of us." Lips pressed into a line, she admitted, "You're lucky Vegeta was present."

"He must've felt bad that he missed out on so much of Trunks's early life; training, brooding, y'know how that goes. That, or hearing that we were having a girl got him to take an interest in his family." Rolling her eyes, she quipped, "It was hard enough convincing him to get married."

The women shared another laugh as the door opened, and before them Kress stood, unimpressed, with a baggy shirt hanging off of her frame. Despite her build, it made her look soft.

"I don't feel like this is a good pick," she stated in a deadpan. "It'll just get in the way."

Chi-Chi's eyes narrowed minutely, and she firmly nodded. "I agree. So an extra large isn't your size... try on some of the smaller ones."

The door shut, and the two continued to chat, ignoring the way the shirt hit the bench with a soft thump.

The next one wasn't much better - Bulma whistled and Chi-Chi did a double-take as she stepped out with a shirt practically vacuum-sealed to her frame, the fabric of the sleeves straining with every flex of her arms. The buttons were undone, yet as she raised her arms up the shirt threatened to tear in two.

"That one's not gonna work either, I'm guessing?" The princess gawked.

"No," Kress answered with a frustrated sigh. "This is an... S?"

"Small," Bulma corrected with a hum of thought. "Try on one of the ones marked with L and we'll see if it fits better."

As the door shut again, she nudged Chi-Chi with a smug, knowing smile.

"Don't say a word," she hissed, casting her a halfhearted glare past her fingers.

"My lips are sealed," she said in a sing-song tone.


"Bulma, she can't wear that!" Chi-Chi hissed, staring at the cheerful blue skirt on the hanger with horror. "It doesn't even go to her knees!"

"Why not? I think it would look great!"

"She's- she's not like you!"

"And what is that supposed to mean?" The heiress finally lowered the hanger and glared at her friend. "Do you think I'm a hussy?"

"What's a... hussy?" Kress piped up with a frown.

"A hussy is someone who's easy," Bulma clarified.

It didn't clarify anything. In fact, the alien only looked more lost.

"It means someone who sleeps around with many people," Chi-Chi tried instead with a huff.

"Why is that a bad thing? There's strength in numbers, isn't there?"

The two women turned to stare at her incredulously.

"... What?" She questioned.

"Right, I forgot, you wouldn't get Earth slang." Chi-Chi sighed. "Just- forget the skirt. If you're gonna wear anything, it has to be practical and modest. Here, try this one." The one she held up was a sleek black with floral patterns all the way down the fabric, tapering off in soft folds.

"That goes to her ankles!"

"You can't tell me it wouldn't look nice!"

Kress watched them bicker and slowly turned to leaf through the rack of skirts. Picking one out, she took in its soft material with an appreciative hum and walked away to find an attendant.


"You can't just get boots, y'know. It's summer."

The dark-haired woman blinked slowly. "But... I'm used to wearing those."

Bulma pinched the bridge of her nose for a moment before heaving a sigh. "Let's just get you some nice sandals to start with, and then we can look for boots I can rework back at the lab. What size do you wear?"

At the blank look she got, she shook her head. "The shoes I lent you - do they feel comfortable?"

"My toes are kinda squished."

"Okay, so maybe a size or two bigger." Picking out a random sandal, she scanned the boxes until she saw a size and pulled it out. "Alright, let's find a stool."

As soon as they came across one, she gestured for the taller woman to sit. Puzzled, she did so - and undid the sneaker as instructed, pulling it off her foot.

"Alright. Even though you're wearing socks this should work with them on." She undid the straps on the sandal and held it close to her foot. "Can you get this one on?"

Kress stared at the shoe and slowly slipped it on, and watched as the blue-haired genius redid the straps. She got up from the stool and turned to inspect the sandal, flexing her foot.

"Does it feel okay?"

She nodded, sitting back down. "It's more comfy than the shoes."

"Having some room for your toes will do you some good." Bulma hit her palm with her fist and waited until the sneaker was back on. "Now that we've got a base size, we can start looking."


"Rgh-!" Kress physically recoiled from the intensity of the scent wafting from the front of the perfume store. "Why am I here? I think this is giving me a headache."

"What lady doesn't like to smell nice?" Chi-Chi answered, immediately gravitating to a pleasant floral perfume. "What kinds of things do you like? Flowers, fruit, cotton...?"

"I don't know what any of that is. The only thing I recognized was 'fruit'."

"Ah, right, sorry... off-planet," she awkwardly trailed off.

"Let's start you off with something safe. Vanilla." Bulma got a test strip and sprayed it with one of the testers, handing it to her. "Here. Do you like this?"

Kress took a tentative sniff and tilted her head. "It smells delicious. What is that?"

"It's called vanilla. Usually it's something you cook with, but it smells so nice people use it in perfume."

"I like it. But... I dunno if I'd want to smell like food." Shaking her head with a pinched face, she added, "too many problems."

"Okay, well, how about roses?" Chi-Chi handed her another tester, and when she smelled this one is was a crisp flowery scent.

"That's nice. Roses... what are those?"

"Flowers," answered the mother with a smile. "They come in many colors, and many of them smell just like that."

"Here, try this one next." Bulma handed her another one. "This one's cotton."

"I... guess? It's nice and bland."

"So you like material scents..." Bulma's eyes trailed over to the men's cologne shop just next door. "Do you have any preferences, aside from no food?"

Kress shrugged her shoulders, utterly lost. The smell was beginning to pulse in her head painfully.


By the time the ladies had finished up at the last clothing store that caught their eye and gone to the food court, the afternoon was very nearly done and there was a veritable mountain of bags sitting near them.

Kress was practically salivating as she ate like a woman starved, making her way through the first of a few different food choices.

"That was quite the haul." Bulma commented cheerfully. "We got some new clothes, some shoes, some beauty products - you even came out of it with some good perfume!"

"I dunno when I'm gonna wear it, if ever," the alien pointed out mid-bite, raising a brow at her host. "Back on Kypa we were too busy surviving the cold to worry about smelling nice. The most I ever did was make sure I didn't stink worse than the mineral pools."

"That's your home planet, huh?" Chi-Chi pondered softly, before taking a sip of tea. "Based on what you've seen of Earth thus far, how do you like it?"

She hummed in thought, swallowing a bite of yakitori before answering. "Y'know, I thought this was gonna be boring, but it actually turned out to be a cool place. I can see why they stayed so long."

"Goku was raised here. I don't think he remembers much of Vegetasei to call it home," Bulma chuckled.

"Well he turned out to be a kindhearted man, all things considered." Chi-Chi added, smiling fondly at the thought.

"Just imagine if he turned out anything like Vegeta." Kress snickered, wiping the grease from her mouth with a napkin (and thankfully not the pretty blazer she borrowed). "But I bet you'd have him whipped into shape, eh?"

"If she didn't, I would," Bulma confirmed, punctuating the point by smacking her fist into her palm.

The trio laughed, Kress's boisterous chuckle turning a few heads, and continued to eat.