hiraeth - part fifty-one
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"A tournament, huh?" Piccolo sighed, wishing they could go a whole year without something happening. "Did you see if Gohan would do it?"
"He was the one who recommended you. Gohan is out of shape, and we need fighters now." Goku answered. Piccolo hummed, nodding.
"I'll be there. When is it?" Piccolo questioned.
"It's in five days. Make sure you train up, we'll need all the strength we can get! We have no idea who we're up against. Whis says that Universe 6 is our twin universe, so we might see people like us there!" Goku was practically squealing in excitement, much to the vexation of both Piccolo and Y/n.
"Goku, this isn't a laughing matter. I don't know about you, but I don't want a new God of Destruction, not when Beerus has finally warmed up to us." Y/n spoke. Goku pouted, his shoulders drooping.
"But can't I have fun since we're doing it anyway? Might as well make the most of it," He said with a smile. Y/n had no idea why she found that cute. She shook her head, sighing.
"We should be heading back as soon as possible, we don't have time to waste, come on," Y/n took off into the sky, leading the way. Goku watched her with a smile, his attention being drawn to Piccolo's voice.
"Have you two finally sorted out your drama?" Piccolo asked. Goku giggled, shaking his head as he took off after Y/n. Piccolo let out a disappointed sigh, following after them.
Once arriving back at Capsule Corp., Goku began to excitedly nag and question Beerus about his mysterious fifth team member. After Goku's constant begging and pleading, Beerus eventually broke and gave only a single hint; he was the strongest person besides Whis himself that Beerus had ever fought. That was enough to make all of the fighters, even Y/n, curious and excited.
"There is one catch though," Beerus spoke, somewhat fizzling out their hopes and excitement. "My brother only has six of the Super Dragon Balls. When we win, we'll have to find the final one ourselves."
"Super Dragon Balls?" Bulma questioned, feeling like this was the part she'd be forced to be involved in. She was the Dragon Ball expert, after all. "What are those?"
"They're Dragon Balls that are far stronger than any Namekian type. There's not much information known about them, such as where they came from. They're quite large too, each one being the same size as a planet," Whis explained. Bulma's eyes grew wide at that, her throat drying out as she struggled to speak.
"P-Planets? And you expect us to somehow find it!? The universe is literally infinite, how is that even possible!?" She exclaimed, glaring at Whis. Whis shrugged his shoulders, making Bulma even angrier.
"Why not make another, more powerful radar?" Vegeta suggested, immediately calming down his wife. Bulma sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"I should be getting paid for how much work you guys have me do." Bulma said, shaking her head in annoyance. She turned to walk away, suddenly grabbing Y/n's wrist, much to the younger girl's surprise. "You're my intern, you're helping me whether you want to or not."
Y/n looked to Goku with pleading eyes, the boy just chuckling as he watched Y/n get dragged off. It had only been two weeks since he had last seen her, but she was already looking much happier than when she had been staying with Lord Beerus. Goku was glad she had decided to stay on Earth, even though it meant they'd be apart again.
Y/n didn't say anything, but she had also noticed Goku's mood improve. He was no longer acting rash and petty, but then again, it hadn't been long enough for her to say definitively whether or not he had improved. But just the thought that they were both finally happy made Y/n wonder if things were going back to the way they were before, before she had gotten her memories. Maybe she could finally be friends with Goku again, instead of their relationship jumping back and forth between acquaintances and lovers. The thought kept occupying her mind as her and Bulma got to work, building a brand new type of the dragon radar.
With both Y/n and Bulma working on the radar together, it hardly took them much time, just a couple hours. Just as they were adding the final touches to the radar, a familiar head of hair poked through the door, Goku peeking in with a grin.
"Is it done? Can I see it?" He asked as he walked in, followed by Vegeta and Whis. Bulma sighed, wiping the sweat off her forehead with her lab coat sleeve, handing over the large radar. Goku's eyes widened as he took it by its handles, marveling at the sheer size of it. "Wow, it's so big! It's even bigger than my head!"
"I couldn't build one exactly like the last radar, that was the smallest I could make it. Too much universe to scan. Why don't you try it out?" Bulma suggested with a smile. Goku's eyes widened as he giggled with excitement, pressing the large buttons on the handles to turn it on. But when nothing happened, Goku furrowed his brows in frustration.
"Bulma, I don't think this thing works." He said. Bulma's eyes widened, growling in annoyance.
"What? Give it here!" She snatched it out of his hands, repeatedly pressing the buttons, getting progressively more angry when nothing happened. Whis cleared his throat, stepping forward.
"You know, the device may not be the issue, rather the fact that we are at the edge of this universe. No matter the strength of the device, if you're not centered directly in the middle of the universe, I doubt you'll ever find it," Whis said. Bulma growled, nearly crushing the new radar in her grip as she huffed.
"Well how the hell am I supposed to do that? Why are you guys always giving me the hard jobs?" She complained. Vegeta huffed, crossing his arms.
"Would you rather do the fighting?" He asked. Bulma shot him a dirty look, getting sick of everything already.
"Nobody asked you, shut up." She retorted. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she handed the radar over to Y/n, who carefully took it, hoping it wasn't already abused and broken. "I'll ask my sister to have Jaco come to Earth. He's a Galactic Patrolman, surely he'll know something."
"Why can't Whis take us?" Y/n questioned, making Whis's eyes grow wide as he suddenly felt called out. Whis forced himself to clear his throat, chuckling nervously.
"I-I'm actually about to leave, you see. I'm going to go pick up the final team member," Whis said, feeling awkward talking about it. He knew the truth, and it was difficult for even someone of the likes of him to take it seriously.
"Oh! You'd better get going then! I can't wait to meet him!" Goku started pushing Whis, receiving a glare from the taller man. Whis sighed, bidding them farewell as he exited. Bulma watched as the door shut, squinting her eyes suspiciously.
"That Beerus must be up to something," Bulma spoke aloud, confusing the others. Goku raised a brow, placing his hands on his hips.
"What do you mean?" He asked. Bulma huffed, giving him an incredulous look.
"Come on, you can't be serious. Am I the only one who finds Beerus and Whis suspicious? We don't know anything about them, but they're suddenly buddy-buddy with us, and now they've got us doing this stupid tournament. Not only that, but it sounds like they might be after the Dragon Balls. Can you even imagine what kind of a wish a guy like Beerus would have? It can't be good," Bulma explained. Y/n cleared her throat, catching their attention as she shook her head.
"I doubt Lord Beerus will even use them. He's likely only having us fight to keep the Earth. He gets everything he wants, I can't imagine there's anything out there he'd need a wish for. It's not like he's after more power," Y/n reasoned. Bulma was about to speak, when Vegeta cut her off.
"The woman is right. Beerus doesn't care for power, he's got it all. If he does use the Super Dragon Balls, he'll likely waste them on some kind of food. Stop being so paranoid, there's nothing to worry about." Vegeta turned his back to them, walking out of the room. Goku chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Vegeta's right. Just relax, Bulma. Besides, if we do win them, Beerus might let us make a wish. You should be thinking about what kind of wishes we could make!" Goku said happily. Bulma hummed, still unsure. These Super Dragon Balls felt like bad news to her. Something bad was going to happen surrounding them, she was sure of it. But Bulma didn't voice any of her concerns, instead turning to Y/n.
"I'm taking the radar out with me," Bulma said, taking it back. "Jaco and I are going to find the last dragon ball. Hopefully, things will go according to plan..."
"I'm sure they will, don't worry. Since I'm done here," Y/n turned to glance at Goku. "I was hoping somebody could help me train. It's been a while since I've done any practicing."
Goku lit up like a light at her words, practically squealing as he took her hand, running out the door and dragging her along. Y/n stumbled after him, giggling as she tried to keep up.
That was what had led to the sparring match between Goku and Y/n in Bulma's backyard. It had started out with them holding back, Y/n not really wanting to hurt Goku. But it seemed those two weeks of intense training with Whis had paid off for Goku, because he had nearly pushed Y/n to transforming. Goku smirked as Y/n panted, trying to catch her breath.
"Come on, Y/n, you don't have to hold back. I want to see your full power," Goku said, his hair glowing a brilliant golden color. His form was quite literally electrifying, tiny sparks of lightning surrounding him instead of a golden aura. It was a rare sight for Y/n, having only ever seen Goku's super saiyan form a couple times before.
"Goku, we've told you before, I don't have full control over it, I—" Y/n was cut off by Goku's chuckle, his voice darker than usual. She had never heard him like this before. Something about it made Y/n even more excited to fight him.
"Y/n, I'm not that weak, you can do it. Don't hold back for me," Goku spoke, nearly shaking with excitement. It wasn't everyday you got to see a power like Y/n's, after all.
Y/n furrowed her brows, uncertain. She mostly had control over her power, but she got aggressive when in that form, to the point where Whis would sometimes have to actually fight back. Whis rarely ever fought back, he rarely ever hit Y/n the entire six months she was training with him. But Whis wasn't here now. Lord Beerus could stop her, should she get too rough, but Beerus was even more rough than Y/n. The thought scared her.
But seeing Goku want to push himself further, train at her side, and help her improve made her want to give it a try. Y/n sighed, shaking her head with a smile as she clenched her fists.
"Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you." She said with a grin. Goku's eyes switched from serious to nearly glowing with excitement, stars in his eyes as he squealed. Putting some more distance between them, Goku stared at her with wide eyes as Y/n's power began to rise.
A bright green aura surrounded Y/n as her h/c hair began to spike out, turning a nearly neon green. Despite all of her training, Y/n still could not contain her energy in this form, her aura spiking outward all around her. Her deep yellow eyes stared back at Goku, a sly smirk forming on her lips.
Goku had forgotten just what that energy felt like. It wasn't divine like his newest form, but it certainly was not like any other energy he had ever seen. It felt wild, dangerous. Like one wrong move, and Goku would be done for. He grinned, pushing himself to his strongest form as well, his hair turning a bright red. Despite the form being godly, he was still weaker than Y/n. But that didn't mean anything to Goku besides the fact that he still had not reached his limit yet, and that excited him.
And that had sparked a spar between the two that intrigued even Lord Beerus, the others stepping out onto the balcony to see what the commotion was. Bulma stepped outside, gritting her teeth in annoyance at the loud noise.
"What are those two doing, fighting in my backyard!? I have a gravity chamber for a reason, you know!" Bulma shouted, her words falling on deaf ears as Goku and Y/n clashed. Y/n was giggling like a child, not having had this much fun in quite some time. Goku's bright red eyes lit up with excitement listening to Y/n's laughter, pushing him further.
"Looks like they're having fun," Beerus commented with a smirk, silently content to see Y/n finally pushing past her old memories and guilt. He would never admit that though. Bulma huffed in aggravation, clenching her fists.
"Well could you please corral your wild animals before they destroy my backyard!?" She demanded. Beerus rolled his eyes, sighing as he crossed his arms.
"Alright, alright. You sure love to ruin all fun," Beerus glared down at her. Bulma returned the look with a much deadlier look, making him sigh. "Y/n, Goku, that's enough! Come down here!"
The two threw one last punch at each other, both skillfully dodging the other. Their faces were mere inches from each other, their bright, contrasting auras mixing together. Y/n grinned brightly, letting out a bright laugh, her smile making Goku's heart flutter. He missed when things were simple like this, when they were just playing and training together, and all was well. He missed hearing that laugh, knowing he was the reason she was so happy. Goku suddenly wrapped his arms around Y/n, surprising the girl as Goku laughed, spinning her around, throwing her into the air like she were but a small child.
"You're the best, Y/n, I love you!" Goku exclaimed without a care in the world for who heard. In fact, he wanted everyone to know just how much Y/n meant to him. Y/n's eyes lit up as her face turned a deep pink, a familiar flutter in her stomach reminding her of the first time Y/n had watched Goku spar. She felt the same flutter then too, when she first began to fall for Goku.
Goku caught Y/n with little effort, pressing his face into her neck. Y/n felt her form dissipate as the butterflies in her stomach made her knees grow weak, thankful that they were in the air. Goku's shining red hair poked her cheek as he pressed himself against her smooth skin, taking in everything, her scent, her touch, her warmth. He leaned back to look into her eyes, his form disappearing as his eyes turned completely black, the transformation still jarring for Y/n to watch.
"Y/n, I promise to do better this time," Goku said out of nowhere, surprising Y/n as her heart stuttered. She wanted to ask what he meant, what "this time" meant, but her throat closed up as she grew nervous under his touch. "This time, I won't jump on you like before, I won't be mean or petty. I promise to only be nice and supportive, because I want to do things like this with you again. I want to give you a life that'll make you smile like that more."
Goku cupped her cheek in his large palms, his thumb brushing over the corner of her lips, bringing her lips to form a smile. Y/n giggled, leaning into his hand as she placed her smaller hand over his. Goku's cheeks were dusted with a light pink, his heart thumping so much in his chest he half wondered if Y/n could hear it. Goku wanted to grab hold of that feeling, and keep it forever. And he knew that meant he had to improve, so he could make Y/n happy. Goku would do anything to stay like this forever, to see that smile forever.
Goku's thoughts were interrupted by the distant sound of whirring, turning to see a small ship approaching. Goku silently pouted, not wanting his special moment with Y/n to end, but things needed to move on. He wanted to pretend there was nothing happening in the world around him, but in reality, he needed to seriously start training for the upcoming tournament.
"That's probably Bulma's friend, Jaco. I guess we should probably start preparing for the tournament." Goku said with a small, melancholic smile. "I'm going to go train in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber so I can get in lots of practice and improvement. Seeing as how it'd be your first time in there, I don't think now is a good time for you to train with me. I'm going to ask Vegeta to go. You should train on your own. We don't really know who we'll face, so we should assume they're the strongest people we've ever faced."
Y/n nodded in agreement, turning serious. Goku was right. This tournament was the most important thing right now. It would be the deciding factor in who would be their God of Destruction, and losing was not an option. Goku's immediate change in emotion, planning out a strategy for them to prepare surprised Y/n. Goku was like a genius when it came to these things. She was glad he was on her side.
After that, everyone had split up once again. Bulma had practically forced Jaco to take her out into space, off to see a person named Master Zuno, who would tell her the whereabouts of the last Super Dragon Ball. Goku and Vegeta had left for the Lookout to train for three days, and Piccolo had gone to do his own training. Beerus had left to join Whis in bringing back the mysterious fifth fighter, and so, that left Y/n and Gohan by themselves.
The two stood on the balcony, the sun setting over the horizon, signaling the end of the first day, two days left to prepare. Y/n shivered against the cold wind, her thoughts distracting her from the man at her side. She needed to improve somehow, but she wasn't sure she could anymore. As far as she knew, she was at her limit. She never recalled being able to surpass her Super Saiyan form in her past life, and she wasn't sure if there were variants like the normal Super Saiyans. Goku had multiple different types of the one form, four grades of regular Super Saiyan, as well as two separate forms that surpassed grades. Not only that, but he had a divine version, as well as something called Kaioken, of which Y/n had yet to see. She just wasn't sure she could match up to all of that with her one form.
"Hey, Y/n," Gohan called out, pulling her attention to him. He cleared his throat, unsure if this was his best idea, but he wanted to be of some help, in some way. "I know I'm not super strong anymore, but... do you think I could help you train?"
Y/n's eyes widened at the thought, having never really seen Gohan fight much. She knew he was powerful at one point, having even gone up against the likes of Super Buu, and even saving the world when he was just a child. But Gohan hadn't so much as thrown a single punch in over a year, until the arrival of Frieza, where he was of little use. Y/n wasn't sure how well Gohan would help her in his state. But she would never voice any of those concerns, knowing that even Gohan had a bit of that Saiyan pride in him. Clearing her throat, she shrugged, turning to walk inside.
"Why not?" She asked, making Gohan smile as he joined her, the two going inside to get some training in. It wouldn't hurt to try, after all.
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// word count - 3356 //
I'm back everyone, I was on my trip for two whole weeks, I'm so tired haha. Anyway, I hope my being gone didn't inconvenience anyone, I'll go back to my normal schedule now haha. I hope you enjoyed, see you next week.