6 The Turtle and the Hermit

Bulma may have stubbornly insisted on sharing the bed with Goku, but she was very nervous about actually doing that. Still, she powered through, and after a long time of fidgeting, managed to fall asleep within Goku's arms, though there was conflict in her heart.

Goku saw how difficult it was for Bulma to fall asleep, and didn't want to make it even more difficult, so thanks to his meditation technique, he controlled his body to not react, thus preventing an erection due to their closeness. He didn't realize that Bulma's strange mother had discussed such topics with her mortified daughter, so when Bulma's expectations weren't met, she started doubting herself and wondered whether Goku didn't desire her.

Yeah, in the morning those thoughts flew out the window. Goku still held her, though something else was holding her closer to his body around her waist, yet the most noteworthy thing was the hard rod pressing to her stomach.

Goku woke up shortly after her, and as usual he was instantly alert. He felt that Bulma was incredibly stiff in his arms, and very red as well. Then he realized that he couldn't meditate in his sleep. He slowly let her go and unwrapped his tail from around her, standing up while calming his body so that the only stiff one was still Bulma, who seemed to be following his movements even though she was making none herself.

Goku didn't know what to say, and apologizing about his body's reaction felt like the wrong thing to do, so he simply ignored the situation and went to brush his teeth. When he returned, Bulma was sitting on the bed and looked at him strangely.

"You have a tail." She noted. It seemed that she too decided not to talk about it. Goku examined her for a long moment. She didn't seem upset about the situation, just that she too didn't know how to act at the moment. Neither had the experience, so they decided to not focus on it at the moment. Bulma started fidgeting and reddening under Goku's examination, who himself decided that he's going to do something stupid.

"I'm an alien." He answered her not-question.

"Oh." Bulma said, surprised. "Do you have a spaceship? But what about what you told me, about your people? Was that just a lie?!" She started excited, but was a bit hurt by the end.

Goku blinked, surprised as well, at how she just accepted that. "Um, I do have one, and I didn't really lie? I think… You're taking it very well." He noted.

"Oh, nearly twelve years ago my sister Tights met an alien." Bulma started.

"Your sister is called Tights?" Goku asked, amused. He did forget about her and Jaco…

"Yeah, yeah." Bulma grumbled. "My parents are Brief and Punchy, and decided to make it a tradition, okay?"

"Are you going to continue it?" Goku asked innocently.

"Yeah, got a problem with that?" Bulma instantly declared, crossing her hands under her breasts.

"Nope, you can name our kids however you want." Goku answered easily, only distracted by her movements for a moment.

Bulma stared at him blankly for a moment. "So the alien was called Jaco, declared himself a Galactic Patrolmen." A masterful deflection! "He crash landed on Earth or something. He said he was looking for a Saiyan that was sent to conquer Earth, but ended up figuring out that it wasn't happening. My sister left on a space adventure with him after I fixed his ship."

"Weren't you four?"

"Five, but so what?" Bulma frowned, before getting red at an embarrassing memory. She wasn't going to tell Goku how when her sister came to visit, she confessed she considered dating Jaco, and even suggesting that she and Bulma can share him. It was the excitement of the adventure that got to her, and it didn't take long for Tights to lose interest. Bulma couldn't help but worry that maybe the excitement was getting to her as well, and took another look at Goku. So far things were going well with Goku, so she hoped those worries were wrong.

Goku wondered at the sudden shift, but decided to not mention it. "Jaco was wrong, by the way. He was probably looking for me. My people really are called Saiyans, though I wasn't sent to Earth to conquer it. The monster I said that destroyed them is an alien called Frieza. He rules over a lot of planets and has an organization that keeps conquering more, and my race was under his rule. Frieza was very powerful, but he was afraid of the Saiyan potential, so one day he called all the Saiyans back to the planet and then blew it up. My father suspected Frieza so he stole an attack pod and sent me to Earth, but to live, not conquer it." Goku explained.

Bulma listened to the story, quite fascinated and shedding tears at the tragedy. They talked for several more minutes, where Goku explained to her some more about his race and the events, before she was satisfied for the moment and went to prepare herself for the day.

Goku put on his clothes and left the house, noting that he forgot that he was in his boxers during the entire conversation and Bulma didn't mention it at all. He shrugged, that was fine by him. What was better was that his revelation didn't backfire on him. He didn't think it was wise to reveal his heritage so soon, though he knew it would've happened sooner or later, but went with it anyway.

With those thoughts set aside for the moment, Goku headed towards Turtle.

"Hello there!" He says towards the large shell that looks similar to the rocks around them.

"Oh, hi!" The shell replies as it slowly turns around, revealing the old turtle.

"I'm Goku, who are you?"

"I'm Turtle, I'm a tortoise."

Goku blinked. "No you're not, you are a turtle. Tortoises don't have flippers."

"Oh, I see…" Turtle said.

After a moment of staring at each other, Goku figured that he's the one that is going to lead this conversation. "So, what are you doing all the way out here? It's pretty far from sea…"

"Oh, it is? That's a shame! I've been lost, looking for the sea, for an entire year!" Turtle wept.

"There, there, it will be alright. I'm sure Bulma wouldn't mind either, we'll help you…" Goku promised, not at all sure that Bulma wouldn't mind.

"Oh thank you! Do you have some sea water? I'm terribly thirsty…"

"Let's ask Bulma about that…" Goku suggested, returning to the house. Then he looked at Turtle, who was lagging behind, then returned and picked it up, surprising the large sea creature.

When he soon returned, Bulma opened the door wondering at what the noise was about, where she found Goku carrying an oversized turtle. Goku was surprised that she was already prepared for the day, because he remembered in the anime she stuck with the nightgown. Though considering the nightgown she picked, it was probably better this way. Bulma decided to wear a Capsule Corp blue jacket and jeans, along with half a dozen belts. Both the jacket and the jeans had an unnecessary amount of zippers as well.

"Hey Bulma, this is Turtle. That's his name, not just what he is! I'm assuming he's male because of the voice, I hope I didn't offend? No? Great! Anyway, Turtle asked if we have some sea water for him, and he's lost so I offered to help him get to the sea…"

Bulma glanced at Turtle for a moment before returning to Goku. "Yeah, I've got sea water, but I wish you would've asked first before promising we'd make a detour… I don't even have a car large enough to fit him!"

"Don't worry, I can carry him! I'm fast and he's not that heavy for me." Goku promised.

Bulma blinked at the declaration, then sighed and with a shrug said "If you say so" before going into the house.

A moment later, Goku was observing the turtle drinking sea water from a bucket. "That's some good sea water!"

"Why do you have sea water?" Goku asked before Bulma could reply. "I thought you'd just pour some salt into water or something…"

Bulma shook her head. "That would make for a poor substitute! And… I don't know. Dad said I should have some, but didn't really explain."

"Did your dad consult a fortune teller or something when you were packing?" Goku asked, mystified.

"That's… Yeah, maybe he did." Bulma thought about it for a moment and really couldn't disagree with Goku's reaction.

Soon they had breakfast and were on the road. Bulma felt she should've been more surprised by Goku, but him being on foot, running besides her car effortlessly, even with Turtle on his back, somehow didn't affect her at all. Even when she just noticed a large bear bandit that stepped on the road, she wasn't worried at all. Goku didn't even twitch and the bear was sent flying aside, clearing the path. Even without evidence, she knew that it was Goku responsible.

"Thank you for helping me!" Turtle said as the group stood by the ocean, enjoying the breeze. "It would've taken me twenty years to get here on my own."

"Aren't you exaggerating?" Bulma asked with a frown.

"Yeah Turtle, you told me you were lost for a year…" Goku confirmed.

"Are you sure I said that?" Turtle seemed confused before shaking his head. "I'm not sure, that doesn't sound like me. But please, wait a while longer. I want to reward you for helping me."

Turtle didn't wait for a reply as the two stared at him shuffling into the sea and swimming away.

"What could a turtle give away as a gift?" Bulma asked curiously. Well, she didn't mind waiting even if it's nothing, having fun at a beach with Goku was fine by her.

"Maybe he knows master Roshi?" Goku suggested, though he knew that it was true.

"Just because he's called the Turtle Hermit doesn't mean that he knows a random turtle, that's too convenient!" Bulma refuted, then looked unsure. "Right?"

Goku simply shrugged and the two spent their time relaxing on the beach. Though Bulma wanted to change into a swimsuit, but if Goku was right, then she didn't want to be stared at by some old guy, no matter how important he was according to her father.

"Oh, you were right?" Bulma asked in a dull voice as she looked at the man riding Turtle towards them, an hour later.

"Hello! I'm Master Roshi." The old man wearing a turtle shell declared as he hopped off Turtle and unto the beach. "Turtle said that you helped him, huh? That's very kind of you. I'd like to reward you…" He eyed the two of them and was about to turn, before Goku called out.

"Hey, my grandpa told him that you have an orb similar to his, can we have that?"

"Your grandpa? Who is that? Ah, and who are you!?"

"My Goku, Gohan's grandson! And this is Bulma." Goku introduced them both.

"Oh, Gohan! Why didn't you say so? How is he?" Roshi asked excitedly.

"He passed away six years ago…" Goku replied with a frown.

"Gohan's dead and didn't even invite me to his funeral? I thought he was more polite than that!" Roshi exclaimed aghast.

What?

Goku stared at Roshi blankly and Bulma looked quite horrified at the reaction.

"Master, they don't know what you're talking about, you are giving a bad impression." Turtle intervened.

"Oh!" Roshi laughed. "My sister is Fortuneteller Baba, she can contact the dead. He could've contacted her as well!" He gave a rather brief explanation.

"Uhh, Grandpa did tell me about her, but doesn't she charge a ten million zeni for her services?" Goku asked, recalling one of the stories.

Roshi sweated at that. "You're right! She would've ended up charging me or maybe even you if he had her pass a message. "The cheap hag wouldn't do something for free!" He shook his head.

"I don't mind giving you this orb, no idea why you want it, but still… You deserve more, especially now that I know you're Gohan's grandson! How about you become my disciple? I can teach you a lot." Roshi offered.

Goku surprised both Bulma and Roshi by shaking his head. "Thank you for the offer, but I'll refuse."

"Is it because of our adventure?" Bulma cut in, eyes wide. "You can accept, it's a rare opportunity, isn't it? Or return after it's over."

"Listen to the girl, young man. An opportunity to train under a master such as myself isn't something so common that you can throw away so easily." Roshi said with a frown.

"It's not that." Goku denied. "I don't want to sound arrogant, but I'm stronger than you. Aside from a few techniques, there's not much you could teach me, and I doubt you would want to pass them on to someone who isn't going to see you as their master."

"You may not want to sound arrogant, but it seems like you are." Roshi reprimanded him. "I've been training for hundreds of years, and you think you're so strong you can't benefit from my teachings to call me master?!"

Goku shook his head, feeling somewhat lost. Truthfully, there was less than what he implied, that he could learn from Roshi. He managed to use his telepathy to 'download' all of Roshi's skills and knowledge, without taking any personal memories with it, a technique that was difficult to master considering he only had Gohan to practice on.

It's not as if Goku really cared much about privacy, his goal for training and protecting the world from future threats wasn't because he was a selfless hero. He wouldn't consider himself evil, but there were lines he didn't mind crossing. Heck, he also downloaded Bulma's knowledge, though that was somewhat useless to him – he would still need to mentally go over it, and he lacked the mentality and intelligence to make good use of it. At best, he'd understand what Bulma was saying if she ever goes technobabble mode, which didn't seem likely to happen so far.

After a moment of consideration, Goku simply raised his hand and casually fired a beam into the sea, splitting the water and creating a large explosion far in the distance. Roshi was surprised by how strong the beam was, especially considering that it didn't require charging like his signature technique. Still, he was unhappy about the situation, and felt that Goku was looking down on him and his teachings.

Goku sighed. "How about this? Bulma told me that the World Martial Arts Tournament is going to be held next year. How about I compete against a disciple of yours, or even yourself?"

"Now you're saying that I'm supposed to prove myself to you? To convince you to train under me?" Roshi definitely didn't like this kid's attitude.

"Even if you don't intend to accept me after what I said, isn't it a chance for you to see if I'm just bragging, and if I am, then you could at least humble me, show me how large the world is or something? You are clearly unhappy about what you're seeing and hearing." Goku shrugged.

He didn't want to offend Roshi, but he didn't care much if he did, either. Roshi was rather valuable to the canon crew, but Goku doubted he'd really need Roshi. Still, he tried because he'd rather have Roshi on his side in case he was wrong and Roshi would be helpful. Goku didn't even care much for the tournament itself, but the second one will give him a chance to try and redeem Tien, if things follow close to canon, and he'll need Roshi in the first one to have a good showing if he wants his rival Shen to show up. It might not happen that way, but it wouldn't take a lot of effort to try.

Roshi on the other hand was thinking with a frown. He didn't want to take Goku's obvious bait, and if it was anyone else he wouldn't. But Goku was Gohan's grandson, and ignoring the situation in front of him felt wrong. Roshi could go along with Goku's suggestion, then he could test the boy and see the truth. He could also spar right there and then with the boy, but after the showing and reminding himself how rusty he is, he felt that the boy could actually defeat him, and that will ruin any chance of convincing Goku.

"Fine." He said with a huff. "We'll see if you're all talk!" Roshi said. He felt bitter, the kid's attitude completely ruined his mood and even the pretty girl at his side didn't fix it. He can have his little orb, Roshi wasn't going to offer him any awesome treasures now!

Bulma watched the departing martial arts master with uncertainty. Yeah, Goku was strong, but could he really afford throwing away such an opportunity? It was his choice though, and Bulma could only hope he knew what he was doing.