"And what about you?" Baba said, floating over to Goku.
"Oh, heheh, I just forgot how quick Chichi has gotten!" Goku sprang back to his feet, doing a few stretches before looking himself over careful. "Man, she sure does know how to hit! And so fast too! Its amazing how quickly she's gotten back into fighting form with just so little time training!" He rubbed his belly. "I think she might even be stronger than when we fought in the tournament! If she had been like she is now back then the me back then could never have beaten the her of now and would have needed to train to become the me I am now to defeat the her back then who was as strong as the her she is now!"
We all stared at him.
"Did that make sense?"
"I'm sure somewhere in that word spaghetti there was an ounce of logic," I commented.
"Oooo!" Gokus said, eyes, lighting up. "I could-"
"No!" Baba and I snapped at the same time.
"Aw, come on-"
"Its 9 in the morning, Goku!" I told him. "You can have spaghetti at lunch. Believe me, I'd be thrilled to have something different so I'll even share with you-" Which meant that I would have to make sure I got to serve myself first before Goku ate everything, "-but you need to focus on training. Maybe go work with Chichi? Prove that you respect her as a fighter?"
"I respect her as a fighter!" Goku complained. "I just know I'm faster than her!" He rubbed his stomach again, wincing. "Normally."
"That's because sometimes you are so fast ya don't think!" Baba snapped, bopping Goku on the head as she floated around him, circling him like the moon around the planet. "You have no idea how to woo a woman!"
"Woo?" Goku asked, tilting his head in confusion.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Damn it all, Baba."
"What was that?" the witch said sternly, glaring at me. "Why are you taking that tone with me?"
"Because now I have to give Goku The Talk because I sure as hell can't let anyone else do it!"
Baba blinked, clearly considering what it would be like if Roshi or Piccolo tried to explain to Goku how one properly wined and dined a woman.
She began to cackle so hard she nearly fell of her crystal ball.
"Yeah yeah, laugh it the fuck up!" I snarled.
Goku, still confused, just stared at us. "Uh… so can I go train now?"
"Yes," I grunted, running my tongue over my teeth. "But first I want you to apologize to Chichi and explain that you didn't mean to insult her and you are sorry. And then, for the love of all that's good and holy… don't go spouting off anything stupid until I have a chance to explain things to you?"
"Good luck with that!" Baba declared.
Goku though merely nodded his head before hurrying off, leaving me, Baba, and Peepy the Wonder Pig.
"Well, unless you want to spend more time around this pathetic bit of bacon," Baba said, "its time to continue your training. We need to still determine more about what magic you are best suited for if you want to complete the more complex spells."
I nodded… but my gaze remained on Oolong.
"Well? Let's go!" Baba declared.
But I shook my head. "I think I have a better idea on how I should be training today."
That got Baba floating up to glare at me. "Now see here!" she snapped. "We talked about this… I set up the training regiment, not you! If I leave it up to you then you'd be only asking to shoot of fireballs or other flashy moves instead of learning actual proper skills!"
But even as she ranted I pulled out the Scroll of Knowledge and whispered my question, smirking as it began to write out the answer.
"Wipe that smile off your face, this isn't a joking matter!" Baba said. "I am your teacher and-"
I held up the scroll.
Baba blinked.
"…well," she finally said, "now that does have potential."
And then she smiled.
Ever since Kayos had mentioned power armor Bulma's mind had been racing with ideas. For far too long she'd allowed Goku and Krillin and the rest of their friends to protect her but she didn't want to be protected. She wanted to be able to fight on her own, without needing to worry about the others being around to help her. After all, there were plenty of times where they found themselves separated and it did no good if Bulma wasn't able to defend herself.
The problem was figuring out how to balance everything she wanted.
'Need power,' she thought to herself. Not the first time such thoughts had entered her mind and she knew it also wouldn't be the last that they would enter her mind either. 'Power is the key against someone like Raditz. But… it isn't the only key.' She thought of what she had seen with Goku's fights. 'Power is one thing but you need to be able to move. Speed. And the ability to shift and adapt. Agility.'
It was the great puzzle that had tormented all inventors: how do you build something strong, light, flexible, and durable. Something that could do what you wanted but wasn't so heavy and cumbersome that it made it not worth using. What good was a machine that could remove a rock from a field if it took ten times as long to get it to the spot than it would just hiring a team of men to drag it out with ropes? She had seen it in how Goku battled, dropping his weighted clothing so that he could have greater speed. She needed to protect herself and still be able to counter the quickness of the Saiyan foe that haunted them all.
Which was why she wasn't thrilled that she'd been dragged away from her lab just as she felt she was nearing a breakthrough.
"You know, I hope you didn't drag me out of my lab just to show off your muscles," Bulma complained as Tien, shirtless and flexing, stood before her in the clearing. She had been in the middle of working on some new bio-weaves when Tien had asked her to come and help him with something and that had left her rather annoyed because she'd found herself getting into a good groove.
"Nope!" Chiaotzu declared, showing off his bicep.
Bulma couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Very impressive."