Goku woke the next morning with Chi-Chi snuggled tight against his chest. It wasn't the first time he'd woken cuddled up near her but it was the first time he'd gone to sleep holding her. He ran his fingers through her hair, taking the opportunity that he couldn't last night to admire it. It was so soft and silky, so unlike his own fluffy but coarse hair.

He lifted a hand watching the strands slip through his fingers and then ran his hand through her locks to do it again. How did she get it so smooth? It was so different from his own…as different as Chi-Chi was from him. Tough as she was, she was also just so delicate. Her bicep was half the size of his and her pale skin was smooth and unmarred compared to his own tanned, battle worn body.

Which made no sense, he knew for a fact she was strong…and loud and intimidating as hell. Yet here, in his arms, with the morning sunlight lighting her features…

Goku sighed and nuzzled his face against the top of her head, breathing in the smoke and wildfires that made up her scent. He liked waking up like this, being able to hold her. He hadn't been able to reciprocate the two times she'd hugged him when awake but now, with her focus not on him, he could appreciate being near her. The only thing missing was her ki, which had gone even lower than its normal dormant state, but he wasn't worried. He was sure after yesterday Chi-Chi had figured out the key to unlocking it. She was just exhausted.

Training would have to be postponed today…but maybe he could still get in a light workout? He looked back down at Chi-Chi. Then again…he was pretty comfy…

His stomach chose that time to rumble, making the decision for him. He'd get up, find something to eat and go from there. Careful as he could, Goku pulled away and slipped out of bed, tucking the covers back around Chi-Chi before exiting the room.

Goku was in the process of trying to shut the door as quietly as he could when a deep voice cleared itself pointedly behind him, making him jump. He spun around and came face to face with the older stocky man he'd met the previous evening, Mr. Daigo.

Oh no! He'd forgotten he wasn't supposed to be in Chi-Chi's room!

"Ehehehe…" Goku laughed awkwardly, throwing an arm behind his head earning a short barking laugh from Mr. Daigo in response. The older man smacked him squarely on the back, knocking him slightly off balance. Goku's eyes widened. Mr. Daigo was stronger than he'd thought.

"Why don't you throw some pants on and join me downstairs?" Mr. Daigo snorted, waving him off.

Grateful that he wasn't in trouble, Goku agreed and hurried back to his room to throw on one of the spare pants, similar in style to his gi, that Chi-Chi had bought him before joining the older man downstairs.

"Care for a cup?" Mr. Daigo asked, lifting his coffee.

Goku sniffed in its direction and made a face. "Too bitter."

"Yeah, I've heard that before." He sipped his mug and then nodded to the chair in front of him. Goku took the seat. "How's your mrs?"

"My mrs?"

"Your old lady, the future ball-in-chain?" No response. "Your girl?"

"Chi-Chi?" Goku blinked. "Chi-Chi's not old," he frowned, confused why the man would say such a thing when he was obviously much older.

Mr. Daigo laughed. "It's just a nickname for a wife, like sweetheart or honey. Don't worry about it."

"But Chi-Chi's not my wife."

"Aye, which is why we gave you separate rooms last night." Mr. Daigo said, raising a brow, making Goku flush with guilt. He may not understand why this mattered, but it was clear he'd still broken his host's rule.

"Not to worry son, I'm sure she needed your support. Women tend to be more tender-hearted than us men. They feel things deeper," he clarified upon spotting Goku's confused look.

Goku nodded in understanding. Yesterday's events had affected Chi-Chi a great deal.

"I want to thank ya again, you an' yer lady. Ya saved my little girl from a fate worse than death."

"Thank Chi-Chi. She's the one who stopped him."

"Aye, that's what my daughter tells me." Mr. Daigo grinned. "That's some girl ya got there. Ya should marry her before some other fella snatches her up."

Some other guy? That wouldn't happen. Chi-Chi had said they'd only go separate ways if he changed his mind but his mind wasn't changing.

But could Chi-Chi's?

He shoved that thought ruthlessly aside. Chi-Chi wouldn't have agreed to this if she was gonna change her mind.

"Chi-Chi won't marry someone else," Goku said firmly.

"Well then ya better ask her," Mr. Daigo grinned, trying to embarrass the young man.

Goku, however, wasn't embarrassed. He was annoyed. He had asked her. Twice. Not that he'd tell Mr. Daigo that but something in his expression must have given him away because the older man gasped, staring at him with wide eyes.

"Good god man, ur pulling my leg!"

"But I'm not touchin' you?" Goku frowned, holding up his hands and making Mr. Daigo laugh.

"I see ya take things quite literally," he said, shaking his head. "So ya have asked her but I can see from yer expression the answer wasn't positive, don't try an' hide it. Surprisin' though. Most girls would jump at the chance to marry a handsome fella like yerself."

"Handsome? That's a good thing?"

"Well sure!" Mr. Daigo chuckled, "Women like a good lookin' husband just as much as men do wives. Although my Aina was more impressed by my strength than my looks." He grinned, rubbing a hand over his face.

Goku considered this. Chi-Chi did seem impressed with his strength…but maybe she didn't think he was good looking? No, no. He was getting distracted. He knew why Chi-Chi turned him down, because he hadn't remembered her…but would she have said yes instead if she thought he was handsome?

Man this marriage thing was hard. He liked spending time with Chi-Chi, whether it was sparring, talking or even working on chores together, but he felt like there was something important that he was missing, that she either wouldn't or couldn't tell him. Maybe she didn't know?

Goku eyed the man across from him, sipping his coffee happily. Mr. Daigo was a husband. He would know what Goku was supposed to do, and he hadn't teased him yet like Yamcha or Krillin might have. Maybe Mr. Daigo could tell him. But then what exactly did he even ask?

Luckily for Goku, Mr. Daigo had noticed the young man's stare, causing him to smile behind his mug. The boy was an open book. He drained the rest of his coffee and then rose to his feet, waving for Goku to join him. With a stomach like his, he was probably starving already.

"C'mon, let's go down to the river. We can catch us some breakfast an' ya can tell me what's on yer mind."

The river was just over a hill in a well shaded area that Mr. Daigo swore drew fish like bees to honey. He proved to be right as Goku and Mr. Daigo soon caught ten large fish each, in just a handful of minutes. Goku quickly fashioned a firepit to grill them over, and it wasn't much longer before both men were sitting back with satisfied bellies.

"Alright then," Mr. Daigo said after a few minutes had passed, knowing it would be best to talk away from the women. "What's been on yer mind? Still thinkin' of yer girl?"

Goku gulped but nodded reluctantly.

"She can't be entirely set against ya if she didn't kick ya outta her room last night."

"She thinks we don't know each other well enough," Goku finally admitted, picking up a nearby flat stone. "We've been usin' this trip as marriage trainin', or at least I have, but I don't know the first thing about it or girls."

"What made ya wanna get married in the first place?"

Goku blushed but told him about the promise he'd made as a kid and then what happened with Chi-Chi finding him and reminding him at the tournament.

"Well no wonder she said no!" Mr. Daigo exclaimed in shock. "That's not a good enough reason to get hitched! Girls wanna feel love an' romance!"

"Romance?"

"Romance," Mr. Daigo nodded eagerly, only to be met with Goku's blank stare. "Surely ya know what romance is?"

Goku shook his head.

The older man groaned, slapping a hand over his face. This was gonna be harder than he'd thought.

"Romance is when ya do somethin' very sweet for yer girl. Like takin' her someplace pretty or givin' her a gift. Somethin' she likes an' shows ya care enough to pay attention to her. Do ya know her favorite flower?"

Goku again shook his head no.

"Well, find out! First lesson a bein' a good husband," Mr. Daigo growled, locking eyes with a wide eyed Goku, "Always bring her flowers when ya mess up. And ya will mess up. That's just life. Even if ur not in the wrong, happy wife equals a happy life."

"B-But how do I even get her to be my wife?" Goku stammered, quickly beginning to feel overwhelmed. This was much harder than Chi-Chi had made it seem.

"Look," Mr. Daigo sighed. "At the end of the day that's up to her, but most women are pretty simple." He raised a finger. "They wanna feel loved an' cherished an' all that romance stuff will go a long way for that." He raised a second finger. "They want a man who's responsible, who can provide an' take good care of 'em an' any children you an' she might have an'…" He raised a third finger. "They want someone who can make 'em laugh. If ya can do all that, it's only a matter of time 'fore she says yes."

Goku rolled the flat stone in his hand, thinking over everything Mr. Daigo had told him. He wasn't worried about making her laugh. That part seemed easy at least. And though he wasn't sure where he and Chi-Chi would get any children, he could take care of them. He'd been catching meat and chopping firewood for him and Chi-Chi already, it wouldn't take much more. Although…Chi-Chi had mentioned it was the husband's duty to earn money by getting a job…but she'd also mention them both finding some work on a farm or something and working together so neither would have to take too much time off training. He'd ask Mr. Daigo if he knew of anyone looking for help.

The real hurdle would be the first thing. He knew about love…well sort of. The way Chi-Chi described it was more than a little confusing but then, he kind of got the impression that it was supposed to be. He didn't know how to love but if Mr. Daigo claimed romance was the answer…

He tossed the stone across the river, watching it skip straight to the other side.

"Can ya tell me more about romance?"

o0o

The sun was high by the time Chi-Chi finally made her way downstairs. It was too late for breakfast, so she headed out doors, until she found a sunny patch amidst some flowers to enjoy. She plucked one and then another, twisting them this way and that as she thought over the previous day. The emotional toll and finally unlocking her ki had left her so drained, even now she still felt sluggish. If it hadn't been for Goku, she couldn't even imagine what kind of state she'd currently be in.

"Goku," she sighed, plucking two nearby daisies.

She hadn't expected him to come to her last night but she was touched that he cared enough to do so. But did he do that as a friend or could she allow herself to hope for something more?

She smacked her cheeks.

No! She couldn't think like that. She had sworn when she started this journey she would treat Goku solely as a friend. If something more occurred…well she would follow his lead. It's not like her feelings were going away any time soon. If anything, spending so much time with him was only making it worse!

But she couldn't think about those things if she wanted to complete her journey.

Chi-Chi plucked another flower and added it to her chain. It shouldn't be too much longer now. They were close to the Tiānshàng mountains, which were the largest in the world. Kaishi had to be there somewhere. She plucked a particularly long blade of grass and tied the ends of her chain together making a crown.

She studied the flower crown for a moment. It needed to be filled in a little more. She lowered it to her lap and reached for another flower.

What challenge would she face when they finally arrived? The stories always changed for each traveler, no two were alike. Would the training she'd done with Goku be enough? Or should she focus on training a little more before attempting to enter the first temple? If she remembered correctly, the first belonged to Xuan Wu.

There was a rustling nearby and Chi-Chi turned to find Kasumi coming out to join her. She looked tired and shy but much better than she had the night before. Brighter.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Be my guest," Chi-Chi smiled, gesturing to the space beside her. She grabbed some more flowers to start a second chain. "How are you feelin'?"

Kasumi shrugged and nodded towards the flowers in her hands.

"What are you making?"

"A crown," Chi-Chi placed the one she had finished atop the young girl's head. "My mother always said that every princess should have one."

"I'd rather be like you," Kasumi said eagerly. "You handled Yang so easily! I wanna be able to do that!"

"Why not both?"

Both girls spun to find Goku hovering above them on his Nimbus, a cheeky grin on his face.

"Princesses can be warriors too, right Chi-Chi?" he winked, causing the girl in question to blush. Didn't he know how cute he looked doing that? She was about to scold him for startling her when he blinked and looked curiously at her lap. "Whatcha makin' Chi?"

"A flower crown, would you like one?"

"Are those your favorite?"

"Are what my favorite?"

"Flowers. Are those your favorite?"

Chi-Chi blinked and then looked at her lap and the half finished crown.

"I…guess so?" she stared a little longer, running through a list of flowers, and then nodded. "Yes, yes they are. They remind me of my Mama."

Goku grinned.

"Great!"

Was it? Chi-Chi stared at him oddly, confused by his outburst. Goku sure was acting weird…but now that he was here…

Chi-Chi turned back to Kasumi. "He's right, you know. You can be a princess and learn to fight. Would you like me to teach you a few things?"

"Yes!"

"Alright." Chi-Chi rose to her feet and gestured for Kasumi to join her. "Goku," she called, looking over her shoulder. "Wanna help?"

"Sure!"

He hopped off Nimbus and moved to stand beside her. "What do I do?"

"Ya can just stand there for now, I'm not gonna teach her anything too complicated."

Goku nodded and stepped back, letting Chi-Chi take charge.

"Now Kasumi, you can't learn how to fight in just one lesson but I can teach you a few key things. First up is how to make a fist…"

…

Goku hit the ground with a solid thud and grinned back at a panting Kasumi.

"That was much better," Chi-Chi praised. "I think you're gettin' the hang of it. Remember that speed is important for momentum. Especially against a heavier opponent."

"Can I try again?"

Goku was about to object, the girl was clearly starting to struggle, but surprisingly Chi-Chi beat him to it.

"I think you've had enough for today. Just practice the things I told you if you want to keep up with it."

Huh. Looks like Chi-Chi was better at judging other's stamina than she was her own. Speaking of…Goku examined her ki and could tell it was doing better than earlier that morning but was starting to wane a little. Well he knew just how to fix that!

Goku called for Nimbus and jumped on before gesturing to Chi-Chi.

"Hop on!" he told her, patting the top of Nimbus.

"What? Why?" Chi-Chi asked, staring at the cloud in confusion. Were they leaving? But shouldn't they at least say goodbye first? And why on Nimbus? They were supposed to be training! Could she even ride Nimbus? Goku had convinced her last night but now…

Chi-Chi didn't have a chance to finish her thought because a large hand wrapped around her arm and hauled her up in a single yank, the fluffy cloud softening her landing. She stared at where her body met solid cloud and then turned wide eyes on Goku who was smiling happily.

"Told ya, ya could still ride Nimbus."

Oh! Chi-Chi pressed her hand to her heart, feeling as if she'd been struck. She was in trouble. She was in so, so, so much trouble. She swallowed.

"But our hosts…? And I left our things in my room!"

"We'll be back," he assured her. Right now she needed to eat. "Daigo told me 'bout a place nearby that might be lookin' for help. We can go tomorrow. I figured for now we could work on controllin' your ki now that ya can access it. You up for it?"

Chi-Chi, who'd barely recovered from the first round of Goku's boyish charm, was entirely thrown off by the thought he'd found them work. He hadn't even understood the need for it a couple of weeks ago and now he was finding them part-time work without even having to be told to look? Her senses quickly returned at the reminder of last night. She really didn't want to experience that again.

"Chi-Chi?"

She looked up upon hearing the note of concern in his voice and smiled. He was just so sweet even without really trying.

"Chi-Chi if ya rather stay he—"

Goku froze as Chi-Chi pressed soft lips against his cheek, feeling his heart stutter at the contact. He turned and stared at her, wide eyed.

"For last night," Chi-Chi said shyly.

Oh! Goku felt the air return to his lungs. Now he understood. She was doing it out of gratitude again. He scratched his cheek and looked away unsure of how to respond, only to lock eyes with a grinning Kasumi.

"Ehehehe," Goku threw a hand behind his head as he directed Nimbus to slowly rise. "I guess we better get going. See ya later!"

They shot off into the sky at almost a breakneck speed. Chi-Chi had barely managed to latch on to his arm before falling off.

"Goku! What's the rush?"

"Oh sorry!" He gulped, directing Nimbus to slow down. "Didn't mean to go so fast."

"It's alright, just be more careful next time."

He nodded, and then directed them down to a small cluster of cherry trees he'd spotted on the way to the inn yesterday. Nimbus lowered to the branches' height and Goku began plucking the cherries at a rapid pace before shoving half at Chi-Chi.

"Eat these," he gestured, before scooping a handful into his own mouth. "Der reari uld!"

Chi-Chi frowned. "Goku, ya shouldn't talk with your mouth full like that," she huffed, popping a cherry in her mouth only for eyes to widen in shock.

These were really, really good!

She popped several more into her mouth and moaned as the flavor settled on her tongue, suddenly realizing she was ravenous. The last time she'd really eaten had been yesterday afternoon. She hadn't had the stomach to eat any dinner that night. Now she was feeling the consequences of her actions.

Chi-Chi finished off the ones Goku had given her and began plucking at the tree for more, making Goku chuckle. He hadn't seen her eat this eagerly before. It was really cute how she filled her cheeks like a squirrel before bothering to swallow. A small smile lingered on his lips before his stomach growled reminding him of the tasty treat in front of him. He went back to eating eagerly.

Two trees were picked of half their fruit before their stomachs had been appeased and Goku directed the Nimbus lower to the ground so they could begin their lesson. Chi-Chi's ki was at a steady level now and he was pleased to note that it was higher than it had been in the previous weeks.

Heh.

Maybe this marriage thing wasn't so hard after all. He just provided food for Chi-Chi and made her smile earlier. He'd even earned a kiss! It was out of gratitude again, but he'd still take it as a win. What else, what else…

Oh! He now knew her favorite flowers. He was off to a good start…but he wasn't gonna stop at just that.

"Chi-Chi!" Goku grinned, turning so he sat directly in front of her. He took both of her hands in his, rubbing his thumbs over her soft knuckles, and was pleased when she blushed.

"Ready?"

Chi-Chi blinked, confused for a moment, but tensed when she realized it was time for her lesson. She would have to get this on the first try because there was no way in hell she was going through last night again. Chi-Chi nodded and received a reassuring squeeze of her hands in return, making her smile.

"You remember the feel of it? How to access it?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now I want you to slowly raise it…or press it or whatever feels natural for ya."

Chi-Chi closed her eyes and focused on locating her ki. It was difficult now that she was no longer enraged, but she could remember how it felt…just beneath the surface, like a second, stronger skin. She could feel it now, just humming along…flowing through her limbs…she pressed down gently, only to be surprised by a force pressing back up and past her in return.

Her eyes flew open and she was startled by the slight whitish pink color radiating around her. She tensed automatically but this was a mistake. Her tension caused the energy to flare up like a firework, busting up and outward, and throwing her on her back before dissipating.

"That was great Chi!" Goku grinned, helping her sit back up. "Strange color though." Was it because she was a girl? That didn't make any sense but Kami had never gone over those kinds of things when talking about Ki.

"Wanna try again?"

Chi-Chi nodded. Now that she knew what to expect, she wouldn't be startled. She pressed down gently on what she now knew was her ki, and smiled as her energy formed all around her.