Once they'd reached the beach, both Goku and Vejita stayed on the bike, their proximity somehow comforting. Finally, Vejita pulled himself from the boy's hold, standing and looking out at the ocean.
"You're suffering from a body promise." He said simply, matter-of-factly.
"Body promise?" Goku questioned, looking up at Vejita's rather good looking profile.
"Hn, Saiyajin's souls are so much more complicated than other beings. Of course, they may seem simple. All we ever really yearn for is battle and the occasional good meal, but emotionally, we're all fucked up."
Goku stayed silent, considering every word, still unsure of what he felt.
"A body promise. It's when you accept your own feelings or another's feelings and submit to it. Physically." Vejita said through a sigh.
"I just wish I were smarter. I shouldn't have done it. Heh, I'm even failin' school. I probably won't graduate."
Vejita growled lightly, annoyed with the mushy sentiments of his fellow warrior, "Who cares? You don't need that nonsense."
"I guess, but it's still botherin' me."
"You should stop going to that place, at least until you know what's going on in your head. A body promise isn't something easy to break."
"Kay, can I stay at your place?" Goku said, smiling at the idea of learning more about himself. "Uh… I, I guess."
--------------
"Jita, how-" Goku began, staring through the darkness at his new friend, lying in the bed across from him.
Vejita interrupted, "Jita!?"
Goku chuckled, "How old are ya?"
"Hn, twenty-eight standard years."
"Wow, you don't look it. I'm just seventeen." Goku said, scratching his head, repositioning himself in the uncomfortable bed.
Vejita didn't voice it, but he was pleased by the compliment, whether the fool meant it to be one or not. Strangely enough, he liked the boy.
"When we found my…"
"Space pod." Vejita said, filling in the blank.
"You said, 'Kakarotto: Saiyajin Third Class.' What's third class mean?" Goku asked curiously.
"The smaller the number, the stronger." Vejita answered simply.
"Oh, well, what's your class?"
"Elite."
"Elite?"
Vejita growled, growing annoyed, "Yes, elite. It's better than a one." He explained, reminding himself of the boy's innocence.
"Wow, you must be really strong then, huh?" Goku didn't give his friend time to answer, "How do they know who's what number?"
"Back on Planet Vejita, they had the technology to measure one's power at birth."
"Oh. How come tha planet's got the same name as you?"
"That's enough! Go to sleep! Baka."
Some time later, Goku was fast asleep and Vejita was pleased. The fool was intent on driving him mad with all the questions. Tomorrow would be different. His excitement would die down and the feelings that damned girl had admitted were going to remind him of his promise. What a fool! He should know better than to commit himself to someone he doesn't have the same feelings for.
--------------
"It's third period and Son-kun still hasn't shown up," Bulma said, sighing, "I hope he's okay."
Chi-Chi sighed as well, "I know I wish he'd just get over it."
Bulma nodded in agreement. She and her best friend were the only seniors in the small photography class, and they were both bored out of their skulls. Normally Goku would be there, breaking cameras and opening the dark room door while it was in use, causing the teacher to yell and the students to laugh. Life was always interesting with the big dope around.
Bulma's smile faded as the seriousness of the situation sank in; they had to think of something.
--------------
"Kakarotto, get up already, it's been daylight for hours!" Vejita snapped. It was the second morning he'd spent with the boy and a small bout of depression was causing him to want nothing more than lie around.
"Jita… Lemme sleep a little longer." Goku moaned, groggy with sleep. He pulled his thin blanket up around his neck, gripping it tightly, knowing well that his new friend would be trying his best to jerk it away at any moment.
"You'd get over it faster if you'd just accept the fact that she doesn't love you, and you don't love her!" Vejita bellowed, grabbing hold of the end of the blanket, jerking roughly. It took several tries for him to finally get the blanket away from the boy. He inhaled quickly at the sight of a perfectly chiseled body clad in nothing more than a pair of plain white boxer shorts.
Goku slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes, "I know she doesn't love me, and I know I don't love her"
"Then, what the Hell's the problem!?" Vejita voiced, not as loud as before, but still causing the boy to cover his ears. This didn't make sense. The fool should have gotten over it by now.
"Just lemme sleep one more hour " Goku mumbled after a yawn, falling back onto his back.
"Hn, fine." Vejita snapped, turning to go outside, to get out of the room. However, he didn’t make it far, a hand having grasped tightly onto his wrist.
"Stay?"
"Hn," Vejita couldn't help but smirk, stepping back and taking a seat beside his new friend, "What?"
"Can ya get me somethin' ta eat?" Goku pleaded, nearly whining.
"No, you lazy good-for-nothing… Argh!" Vejita yelled, quickly rising to his feet and storming outdoors.
--------------
"Goku. Goku. Is he absent again?" The instructor said, continuing on with the role call.
"Where is he?" Bulma said, leaning forward to speak to Krillin.
"I don’t know. Meijin Roshi's not worried. I really don't know."
"This is getting crazy though, how many days has it been?" Yamcha said, unfolding the note his girlfriend had shoved in his back pocket upon arriving at school. The paper smelled strong of her perfume and was littered with tiny little hand drawn pink hearts. His worries were forgotten as he began reading the detailed naughty fantasy.
"Three, right?" Bulma said, thinking on the question.
"Maybe he's at the dojo." Krillin said, scratching his head.
"You can't spend the night at the dojo." Chi-Chi said matter-of-factly.
"Yeah, but it's still the first place to look." Bulma said, knowing full well that an upset Goku was usually training.
"Well, how about we all go after school?" Krillin suggested, a smile brightening up his face.
"I…I don't know you guys." Chi-Chi said, taking down a few notes as the teacher droned on about some such artist or another.
"Come on, Chi. You know how he is. He'd love for us to all show up, happy and concerned. You know?" Bulma explained, speaking quietly.
"Yeah, yeah, I guess." Chi-Chi said, barely audible as she continued writing.
"Yamcha, is that another note?" the instructor asked rather sternly, noticing the blushing student in the back.
"Ah, no." Yamcha said, quickly sitting up and shoving the note in his pocket.
--------------
"We should have taken two cars." Chi-Chi whined, squeezing against the door as much as possible to avoid skin-to-skin contact with Krillin. Yamcha's little two-seater barely held them all, but soon enough, they arrived. It was a tiny little place, transformed from the city's least popular bar to the city's least popular dojo.
"Sorry, kids, but he's not here. Last time I saw him was early this morning." Said a pudgy little man sitting behind a chipped wooden desk.
"Right, so where the Hell is he?" Yamcha said as they all stepped out of the dilapidated building.
"Hey, check it out! Isn't that that guy's bike?" Chi-Chi said, pointing to the motorcycle parked before a run down little hotel.
"I think you're right." Bulma said, lifting a hand to her brow so that she could shade her eyes from the bright sun and get a better look.
"Well, come on!" Krillin said as they all piled back into the small hover car, taking no more than five minutes to get to their destination.
"Wow, this place is a dump." Bulma said to no one in particular, her expression taking on that of disgust as they all crammed into the tiny front office.
"Yes, I believe there is a boy staying with another fellow in Room eight." Said an abnormally thin young man that looked far too old for his age, shaking a bit as he spoke as if he was in need of some drug, any drug.
"Okay, this is it you guys." Krillin said, letting his fist rain down on the door labeled "8," the number hanging sideways due to a missing screw.
