Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Changing Horizons ❯ Truths Discovered ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or any of the characters seen in the show, manga, movies, etc. Why not? Because I haven't reach SSJ 5 yet, that's why! But I'm working on it…

A/N: Finals are finally (no pun intended) over! I'll be glad if I never see another college professor again. But alas, tis only my first year of college; but a girl can dream, can't she? This chapter was originally going to be celebratory in lieu of my successful passage into sophomore-dom, but since I don't have the net at home, I couldn't get this out to you guy as quickly as I wanted. But I hope you like; I plan to be more on the ball in the future (no damn papers to write!), so expect faster updates. Alright, enough of my blathering,…enjoy…

Chapter 3

Kakarrot landed gently in front of the wide mouth of the cavern that was to be Bulma's new home for the next couple of months. The air was surprisingly dry for that of a hole in the side of a hill, and the breeze blowing at his back cooled the air in the opening of cavern just enough to make it comfortably pleasant. Of course, for safety reasons, Bulma would have to settle in somewhere further from the entrance, but Kakarrot was determined to make her transition as unproblematic as possible, and so, after setting her down from his arms, he began his search for a suitable area in which she would be most comfortable.

Bulma stood awkwardly beside him, holding the bundle of blankets, food and supplies she had received from him earlier as he studied the various gaping cavities in the wall, each crack opening into an enclosed tunnel leading farther into the ground. After a few moments consideration, he choose one that looked the most difficult to traverse and motioned for Bulma to follow him. He entered first to make sure it was free of danger, briefly projecting his senses out into the area around him for any traces of ki, then helped her in, gently cautioning her to be mindful of the jagged rock jutting from the sides of the opening. Illuminating his hand with his ki to light the rough path, Kakarrot led the way in silence through the narrow passageway, maneuvering carefully around low hanging rock until, after a while, the twisting tunnel began to gradually widen and slope upwards. It suddenly opened out into a large, high-ceilinged area with relatively flat flooring and wide walls, worn smooth most likely from ancient waters long since dried. The expansive grotto must have made up a good portion of the large hill's mass; a sizable crack high in the far wall exposed a narrow sliver of gray-blue sky and shed light on the dull brown rock surrounding them, proving that the cavern they were in was high enough for the ceiling to be above ground. In the corner of the crudely hollowed room, glimmered a small, murky pool of water, rippling lazily every few seconds as steady droplets trickled down from a tiny fissure in the wall.

Kakarrot nodded his head in satisfaction, surprised that he would be pleased with the area so soon. It was a good place for her to settle for the time she would be staying on-planet and it was far enough away from the entrance to be overlooked by any unwanted visitors. He glanced over at Bulma and drolly noted that she was carefully trying to keep her distress at her surroundings from showing on her delicate features. He decided it would be best if he tried to ease her fears.

"It won't be so bad, once you get a fire started. I know it's not the best place to make your bed, but you will be safe from harm."

She sighed before she spoke. "I know, Kakarrot. I thank you for your kindness and I'm sure I'll be very safe here. I just have to…adjust, to living here. It will be my home for the next couple of weeks." Kakarrot regarded her thoughtfully, wondering if he should mention that it might be more than just a couple of weeks; he decided against it as she put down her small burden and began to tentatively explore the room. She moved over to the small pond, kneeling down to its edge and touching a finger to its level surface.

"I'm not sure if the water is safe to drink," he called out to her, his voice echoing only slightly in the high ceiling of the cave. "If it's cloudy and coming from the wall, then it's probably mineral water; safe to bath in, but too poisonous to drink. But I'm sure there is drinkable water somewhere in these caverns. There are a lot of streams that come from these hills and there's bound to be a spring around here. I'll make sure I find one for you sometime, but the water you have already should be enough for a week or so."

"Thank you, Kakarrot. I really do appreciate your generosity," she said as she rose from her place at the pond and went to stand directly under the shaft of light shining down from the crack that revealed the dull radiance of the outside world. Her face lit up a bit as the daylight fell onto it, but then, just as quickly, it saddened again and she turned away from it, facing him and slowly lowering herself onto the cool stony floor. After a moment's regard, Kakarrot joined her, knowing that she had something on her mind, and he waited patiently, expectantly, for her to speak. "You're one of them, aren't you? You helped destroy my planet?" Her words were soft but her eyes were stern and troubled. Kakarrot met her gaze guardedly, not exactly sure how to answer. He and his prince had agreed not to mention his involvement, but they hadn't anticipated that she would question them so soon. He decided then that it would complicate things too much if he lied to her and now was as good a time as any for her to find out.

"I am Saiyan, and all Saiyans under Frieza must obey him. He is the one who conquered us and we have no choice but to do as he says until we can rise against him. Frieza sends us to purge worlds and we must, if we hope to one day take our kingdom back. We didn't do what we did to your planet out of cruelty or malice. Your world suffered on the whim of an evil tyrant, as did my own planet." Kakarrot observed her carefully as she absorbed his words and watched with veiled astonishment as her eyes suddenly narrowed and her fists clenched tightly in her lap.

"This person, Frieza, is responsible for the destruction of my planet?" she asked with an edge of steel in her voice.

He nodded, his tone neutral. "Yes. It's the way he operates. If something stands in the way of something he wants, he destroys it."

"And in this case, it was the people of my planet."

"Yes. He wanted fuel and your planet seemed to have an abundance of it. It's not in Frieza's nature to bargain or negotiate. He takes what he wants and does anything he can to get it."

"All those people…for fuel?" Her voice trembled for a second before she seemed to shake herself out of her angry thoughts. She then looked back up at him, her blue eyes suddenly filled with sad curiosity.

"Why did he destroy your planet?" she asked gently.

"He wanted us out of the way. We were a naturally strong and proud race and we were becoming one of the most powerful beings in the universe. Frieza saw us as a threat and tried to deal with us underhandedly for a while by turning our allies against us. It didn't work and we became even stronger afterwards. Finally, Frieza waged a full out war on us. Unfortunately, we were highly outnumbered because we still hadn't fully recovered from our allies' attacks and his soldiers also carried a new powerful breed of weaponry of the likes we had never seen before. We Saiyans use our hands and our ki to fight and Frieza soon gained the advantage. It would have been only a matter of time before he completely destroyed our race, and so, to preserve our people in hopes of rebuilding, we decided it would be best to leave our home world and regroup. But what we didn't know was that Frieza had already infiltrated the palace and was holding our king hostage. Because we couldn't leave without our king, Prince Vegeta was forced to bargain for his father and our people. He had to commit his life to serving Frieza in order to keep his people alive. Frieza allowed us to keep our planet as long as we paid him homage and Prince Vegeta continued to obey him, but we are not free as long as we are under his rule. It was a bitter defeat to say the least." It had taken an effort to keep his tone from reflecting the fury he felt as he related his people's tale. He had always respected and admired the prince for his strength and honor, and it always angered him to think of what Vegeta could have been had Frieza never defeated the Saiya-jin.

Bulma bowed her head respectfully before she looked back up at him. "But if only your prince had to serve him, why are you all doing Frieza's dirty work now?"

Kakarrot winced at the phrasing she used before answering. "We are loyal to our prince. Those of us who have served by his side ever since he first handpicked us for our positions have been and will always be loyal until the very end. I have known my prince the longest and I would have been willing to die with him if that had been what Frieza decreed. But as it turned out, we were allowed to stay with Prince Vegeta and serve with him."

"That is very noble of you."

Kakarrot's Saiyan heritage kept him from blushing from her compliment. "It's what any good Saiyan would've done. All of us who have stayed with our prince are proud to stand by his side even if we are forced to serve Frieza. It is difficult when we think of the possibility of never seeing our home land again, but it is something we are learning to deal with." He sat back a little in silence, reminiscing about the blue-green fields and majestic, towering buildings of a once unscathed Vegeta-sei when Bulma startled him out of his thoughts by speaking.

"Well, then we have similar dispositions. It's hard knowing that I will never see Chikyuu again; that the life I once had is gone. But knowing that you have suffered some of the same dilemmas…that makes me feel a little better about things. I was feeling so guilty, excepting help from people I thought were monsters. But now I'm curious to know… why did you save me, and only me? Why couldn't you help others that were suffering on the other planets you purged?"

"We tried to save people at first, help them hide or take them off-planet, but when Frieza found out about it, he sent his own men to finish what we didn't. It became pointless to even try to help anymore, and the consequences for disobeying are severe. And just so you know, Bulma, I didn't save you. Prince Vegeta did. I'm not exactly sure of his reasons, but something kept him from killing you. He'll be the one Frieza will turn his wrath on if you're discovered." And then more softly to himself, "He always is."

"Then…I will have to thank him," she said quietly. "But, I don't think I can ever forget the way he killed Yamcha. It was so cold and brutal; it'll take a while for me to see your prince as anything but Yamcha's murderer."

"Did his death look painless?" Kakarrot inquired softly. He knew Prince Vegeta would never play with his victims. He always gave them a quick and honorable death.

"What do you mean? It looked terrifying. He snapped Yamcha's neck in mere seconds. Yamcha was only attacking him because he thought I was still in the compound before it was destroyed." Kakarrot could see Bulma blinking back tears.

"Then his suffering was minimal. The Prince killed him as quickly as possible. It's better than toying with him and making him think he had a chance. It's the only thing we can do besides sparing them." Bulma looked distraught over his words, but she finally sighed and nodded her head.

"I guess you're right. I just…miss him, that's all. Yamcha was so strong and determined and I loved him so much. When I had to watch him…it was just so terrible. It's hard to handle, you know?"

"I know, and for what it's worth, I'm sorry for everything you've suffered. I know that's not enough but--"

"No, I appreciate it. Thank You." They both looked away for an awkward moment until Kakarrot suddenly stood up and reached down a hand to help Bulma up as well. "Will…the prince be coming soon?" she asked hesitantly, after brushing the dust absently from her clothing.

"Probably. But I wouldn't expect him tonight. It might be a couple days before he can get here. But I'll make sure I drop by if he doesn't. Oh, and I almost forgot." Kakarrot pulled out a small bundle from within his armor and handed it to her. Bulma unwrapped it carefully and pulled out what looked like a hand-held stun gun. "It's a tazor weapon, just in case you run into trouble. It's got a few settings on it, so you don't have to kill whatever you shoot at, but if it turns out to be something dangerous, I wouldn't hold back if I were you. It's a bit complicated with so many buttons on the face, but if you need any help with it, just tell me." He was somewhat surprised to find a small, crafty smile spreading on her lips. She almost looked eager.

"I think I can figure it out. Thank you, Kakarrot."

"Well, alright. I should be getting back. But I will try to get back here by nightfall to help you build a fire and make sure everything's going smoothly, okay?" She nodded at him and he moved towards the exit, pausing a moment and turning back to her. "And one more thing. If you hear anyone coming, whether you think it's me, Prince Vegeta, or someone else, hide. We're hoping to get through this without you being noticed, but taking unnecessary chances is way too risky. Wait until you're sure it's one of us coming for you. No one else will come here without us telling you first." She nodded again and, with a cordial wave, he disappeared into the darkened tunnel leading to the outside world.

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"Zarbon, how good of you to finally answer my summons. It's been over an hour since I sent for you. What could you have been doing that would keep you so long?" Frieza drew out the words in a highly amused manner, but the hard look he turned on Zarbon showed that he was somewhat displeased with his tardiness. Zarbon merely bowed his head respectfully, lowering to one knee. "Ah, I almost forgot. You don't like to speak. You wouldn't happen to be deaf too, would you?"

Frieza's contemptuous tone was enough to make Zarbon mutter out a quiet, "Apologies, Frieza-sama," hoping that it would suffice. He really preferred not to speak at all, but angering Frieza was not wise, considering that the tyrant was paying him handsomely for his services and that Frieza could order his death with a snap of his pale, bony fingers. Not that Zarbon would go without a fight, but he was never one to test his limits without a cause.

"When I summon you, I expect for you come. But…I'm not angered. No, how could I be when I just had such a delightful time with the monkey prince." Frieza's tone was almost wistful and Zarbon carefully kept his face expressionless, masking the revulsion he felt for the white monster before him. "If you didn't already know, Zarbon, the Saiya-jin hold their pride above all else, and it's such fun to play with them, especially their fool-hearted prince. Vegeta took quite a beating when he most arrogantly decided that he wouldn't abide my command and kiss my feet. Yes, I suspect he will be slow to recover from the fun I had with him. But enough about my enjoyment; let us talk about yours. Have you found out the location of your next target?"

Zarbon nodded affirmatively, pulling out a slip of paper from beneath his cloak and handing it to Frieza. "Good. This is excellent. I want you to take care of the High Minister of Beday as soon as possible. He and his ridiculous association of aristocrats think they can overrule my proposal for marshal law on the planets within the Intergalactic Council's realm. The fool is worried that my soldiers will rise up and overpower his own soldiers within our combined armies. He's right to make that assumption, but I can't have him spoiling all of my carefully laid plans just because he's not ready to relinquish his power. I want him out of the picture."

Zarbon nodded again waiting for his dismissal. He should have known better though; the arrogant bastard liked to talk.

"I was wondering, Zarbon, have you seen much of Dr. Milaf lately?" Zarbon instinctually bared his teeth before he could stop himself, and he noticed, as he quickly worked to calm himself, that Frieza was very pleased with his reaction. His insult was so obviously deliberate that Zarbon had to mentally scream to keep down the erupting rage that roared within his mind and force himself to keep kneeling, negatively shake his head instead of attacking the tyrant before him. "I though as much. He had expressed his…concern about your disappearance. He didn't think you would be the same if you didn't have his help. But it seems he was wrong; you seem to be your old self." Frieza sat back a little, watching Zarbon judiciously as the blue-skinned assassin nodded reluctantly, keeping his eyes cast downwards to hide the iridescent glow that was surely emanating from his eyes. "Well, anyway, I am looking forward to seeing how you fair against Vegeta. I've no doubt that you two will butt heads; but it is not easy to drive him to violence. As strange as it sounds, the Saiyan prince actually has the patience of stone statue. He is willing to take much, as I have found out over the years, but every monkey has their limit. The key to angering him is his pride, something he holds more value in than life itself, it seems. And something I that take great pleasure in crushing." Frieza's voice had taken on a gleeful tone and Zarbon hesitantly glanced up at the twisted satisfaction on the pale lizard's face.

Pulling himself out of his pleasurable reverie of pain and punishment, Frieza waved a hand dismissively at Zarbon. "Report back to me when you've completed your task, and then I will send you and the monkeys on your first mission together. I'll expect that you don't kill each other in the process." Frieza paused for an amused chuckle." You are free to go." Zarbon stood and, with a quick nod of his head, left the room as fast as he could without making his haste obvious.

By the time he reached his quarters, he was already walking at his normal, casual stride, his anger merely simmering, instead of the barely contained explosion he had felt when Frieza had mentioned his most hated enemy's name. So, the Doctor was looking for him. It didn't matter for the moment. The good Doctor would see him when the time came. But not yet. For now, he would have to be content with small pleasures. Like the one he discovered this afternoon.

He had been delighted to overhear the insolent little prince and his underling discussing the whereabouts of a mysterious girl that they seemed so adamant about hiding from Frieza. He had planned to just file away the information for a later use, but then he witnessed Vegeta's little "interlude" with the scarf in the hallway, and changed his mind. He had immediately realized that this girl must have some significant meaning to the prince. It had almost seemed like Vegeta had cherished the scarf that belonged to girl. Perhaps…He had tried to shake the thought from his mind, but it had refused to go away, and it wasn't until his brief attempt at sleep was unsuccessful that he knew he would have to sate his curiosity before it got out of control.

He had been careful to hide his ki as he had in the hallway when he followed the larger Saiyan from his quarters. He was led into the storage bay where the prince's liegeman disappeared into one of the ships for a long while. When he reappeared, he was carrying a relatively large bundle wrapped in a thick blanket, clutched tightly in his arms. The Saiyan had taken the back way out, cautiously peering around the corners of corridors before he entered them, stopping occasionally when one of Frieza's soldiers rounded the bend. Apparently, everyone was too stupid or too busy to wonder what the large man was doing, and nobody really paid him any attention, much to Zarbon's annoyance. Zarbon followed at a good pace behind him and when the man called Kakarrot shot into the sky from the slave barracks, Zarbon waited a few moments before lifting off after him. If he kept his ki low enough, he could follow at a safe pace behind the Saiyan without being detected. He noticed that during the middle of his flight, Kakarrot had removed the blanket from his bundle, and Zarbon had been stunned to see long, aqua hair flowing behind them like a streamer as he pursued, squinting to make out what he could as far away as he was.

The pair finally landed on a large, rocky hill and entered the mouth of a wide cavern that gaped in front of them. He had waited for a long while after that, hiding himself stealthily behind a small rock formation when Kakarrot reemerged, speeding above him and oblivious to his presence. His ability to hide himself so indefinitely was one of the greater talents of being an excellent assassin, second only to killing. It had kept him alive on countless occasions and it had been one of the things he hadn't resented about his training. He had learned other abilities; ways to slow his bodily functions down to feint death as well as techniques that allowed him to generate a healing energy that mended some of the most lethal wounds. But his ki-suppressing ability and stealth techniques had been his favorites.

He waited until he could no longer sense the other man's ki before he made his way towards the cavern. Upon entering it, he immediately picked up another ki hidden deep within the rock and he used it as a guide as he floated above the gravel underfoot to avoid making sound. He probably could have walked; he was skillful enough that it wouldn't have taken much effort to walk noiselessly, but he had decided against it simply because his anticipation was getting the better of him. The tunnel suddenly widened into a large room and he had to hang back a bit so that he wouldn't be so visible, peering around the corner and looking for the cause of his impromptu journey.

He had spotted her, a ways away from where he was standing, but close enough to get a good look at her. She was much better than he'd imagined and he'd had impeccable timing. She was bathing. Her body was facing him, washing her arms leisurely with a wet cloth and humming softly as she leaned back against the coarse rock of the wall behind her. The water in the pool came up to her shoulders, but the skin exposed between the damp locks of blue hair cascading down her back looked soft and smooth. Strokable, he mused wistfully. She sighed suddenly, a long, drawn-out breath, dropping the rag with a soft splash in the water, closing her eyes, and parting her full lips ever-so-slightly. He felt something tighten within him then; whether it was his chest or his groin he wasn't sure, but something whispered to him that he had to have her, had to taste her just once. Once would be enough he told himself; he had never wanted a woman more than once.

He had stayed until she rose from the pool and stepped out, drying herself off casually as she ran a soft cloth over the ample curves of her body and the long, slender columns of her legs. He had forced himself to leave then; if he had watched her any longer, he would have taken her then, and that would mean the potential of his game would have been ruined. If he played it just right, he would be able to savor her, take his time, and glean everything that she had to offer him. It would be difficult; he had no doubt that the Saiyans were protective keepers, but if he waited, memorized the patterns of their arrivals and departures, he would soon be able to have his fill of the delectable silk-skinned pleasure awaiting him in the cave. He lay now in his quarters, running an elegant tongue lasciviously over his lips as he thought of the cream-colored thighs and rosy peaks that had just ached to be touched. Bulma, they had said her name was. It sounded like a sweet and sumptuous wine that he was very eager to taste. It was strange how he had originally followed the Saiyan to satisfy the curiosity that kept him awake, but now he found himself unable to sleep at all. All because of Prince Vegeta's lovely little secret. Things were beginning to get interesting.

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Kakarrot entered the room hesitantly, noting the dim lights and ominous silence that seemed to hang in the air of the room. The door had been open, a sign that something was amiss, but Kakarrot didn't let it worry him; it would do no good to jump to any conclusions until he was sure. He took care not to make too much noise as he moved further in, raking his gaze over the contents of the room as he searched for any signs of his prince's presence. Everything seemed to be in place, the sparse furnishing all kept in the strict order Prince Vegeta applied to everything in his life. Unable to see anything unusual, Kakarrot had been about to leave and check elsewhere when, as a last resort, he cast his senses about the room-and picked up a faint, nearly undetectable ki. He hurried to the other side of the bed, the side that had been hidden from his field of vision, and saw his prince, sprawled out gracelessly on the floor. After lifting his unconscious form carefully onto the bed, he went to wet a rag and get bandages to tend to his wounds. There were many; he seemed to be covered from head to toe with tiny cuts and bruises, his armor cracked in several places and an unsightly slash running around the circumference of his bicep. The larger wound on his arm was the only serious one, the jagged cuts roughly the size of a claw. Frieza's claw, Kakarrot thought angrily. He had just finished tending to the prince's arm and was in the process of wrapping it when Vegeta came to, weakly trying to pull his arm away from Kakarrot's grasp. Kakarrot was quick about tying the ends tightly, knowing the prince would not allow him to help much further while he was conscious. Vegeta forced himself to sit up, shaking the haziness from his head before speaking.

"How long was I out?"

"I'm not sure, Ouji-sama. I just got here." Kakarrot rose from his place by the bed and began gathering the leftover bandages he had brought with him.

"Frieza was more malicious than usual." He paused for a second testing the bandages on his arm before looking back up at Kakarrot. "Did you take the girl to the caverns?"

The larger Saiyan nodded. "She took as much as she could carry with us. I kept her wrapped in a blanket until we were far enough away from the palace."

"There were no suspicions?"

"Not that I could tell. No one even gave me a second glance. And I found the perfect place for her. Third tunnel from the right in the largest cavern. Everything went on without incident except…" Kakarrot trailed off and Vegeta regarded him closely.

"Except what?"

"Well, there was a development."

"Tell me," the prince grunted. Kakarrot explained the basics of his discussion with Bulma, and after he finished, Vegeta lowered his head back down on the pillow wearily. "So she seemed…compliant?" he said, a little strained. He could tell that the prince needed to rest badly.

"A little more than compliant. Understanding is more like it. She understood that what happened couldn't be avoided."

"Including the death of her mate?"

"Well, I think that will be a little more difficult for her to get over. But she seemed a little more accepting and she doesn't think you did it out of cold blood anymore, which…is a rather promising start."

Vegeta eyed Kakarrot suspiciously. "Promising? What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing really. I just thought you wanted to get to know her a little better, and having something so heavy hanging over your head would have definitely put a damper on that." Kakarrot gave him a mischievous grin.

"If I didn't know any better, Kakarrot, I'd say you were an old woman trying to play matchmaker. Leave it be, baka."

It took an effort for Kakarrot to straighten his face into something approaching seriousness. "As you wish, Ouji-sama. I'm assuming you won't be up to visiting her tonight?"

"No. It will take me a couple of days to recover from this. Frieza really did try his hardest to break me today." Kakarrot's face sobered instantly.

"He's been trying harder these days, hasn't he?"

"So it seems. But it's not what you're thinking. Frieza is still…entertained. And so far he hasn't found anything nearly as effective as we are to purge his planets for him. I'd say we have a great deal of time left."

"That's good to hear." Kakarrot gave a sigh of relief before switching topics. "Radditz told me that he overheard a few of Frieza's men talking about Zarbon. It seems that even Frieza didn't know where he'd been for the five years he was missing. Apparently, some doctor was looking for him to give him some sort of treatment, whatever that means. That's all Radditz heard. They still think he's completely unaware of what's going on around him, and it helps that they love to gossip. And it doesn't hurt that my brother has a very good memory, despite his affliction."

"Yes. Your brother's talent for memorization has served us well in the past. I am still speculating the degree of Zarbon's maliciousness. Any outside information would be useful though."

"Understood, your highness. I'll try to get Radditz to be a more active listener. Well, is there anything you're in need of before I take my leave, Ouji-sama?" He had noticed that the prince's eyes were drawn shut, probably trying to will away the throbbing pain in his body. He opened them to speak.

"No. Just send my…regards to the girl when you see her. And take that stupid grin off of your face, Kakarrot. My comments are not meant to amuse you." Vegeta grumbled at him some more before he left, but Kakarrot knew his prince well, and was sure that his sudden snappiness was only due to his irritability at Kakarrot's insightfulness. The gods forbid, if Vegeta actually admitted to feeling emotion, Kakarrot would as soon think he'd gone mad. But as he pondered this on his way to his own quarters, Kakarrot realized that if Vegeta continued to deny whatever feelings he had developed for Bulma, no matter how small or insignificant, things would get a whole lot more complicated than he'd imagined. Emotion-wise, Bulma was Vegeta's complete opposite; where Bulma's face betrayed almost every emotion she was feeling, Vegeta's hardened into a mask of indifference. It was a tough match, to say the least, but for some reason, Kakarrot had a gut feeling that they were perfect for each other. Both had strong spirits that hadn't been blotted out by tragedy, and both had lost something significant to them. They could use each other's strength. Maybe Kakarrot was up to playing matchmaker after all.