Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Strange Alliances and Stranger Friendships ❯ Living with Yamcha ( Chapter 2 )

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dragonball Z, Akira Toriyama does, and all the peeps that have rights to it. Thank God I don't own them, though, I'd never be able to feed all those Saiyajins anyway. ^_~

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I know it seems like I don't like Bulma in this fic, but that's not true. I just feel that 18 wouldn't like Bulma's meddling into her affairs (as we've seen in the Martial Arts tournament, where she brushed her off when Bulma started bitching about why she let Hercule win). And we all know that Bulma is bossy, manipulative and assertive. Not someone who'd be on 18's good side.

Strange Alliances and Stranger Friendships

by

Kalamity Kat

18 wasn't a very happy camper when it finally sank in completely that she will actually have to live with Yamcha now. The whole flight to his apartment downtown in Western Capitol, he was warily keeping his distance, but still rambling nonsense all the time, blushing and chuckling. 18 rolled her eyes, wondering just why Bulma hung around him as long as she did. It didn't seem to her the guy could get a single syllable out without almost choking on it. She wasn't sure if the reason for it was that she was an android or just because she was a woman.

Remembering the not so subtle remarks Bulma made when she heard 18's actually going to live with Yamcha, she suddenly realised that if that's true, she's going to live with the biggest pervert on the planet. She didn't like the idea, but she was almost certain he won't try anything with her - because he knew as well as she did that if he would, she'd tear him in two.

And there was no doubt in 18's mind that she would do just that.

As they arrived at his penthouse apartment, she was seriously impressed. The guy had more taste than he let on. The penthouse suite had a giant pool in front of it and the suite itself was tastefully decorated in a black-white combination.

18 couldn't hide her surprise at the expensiveness of the furniture. Yamcha of course noticed that, and grinned at her: "Do you like it?"

"It's not bad," she replied monotonously, then glanced at him as he passed her. This young man was hiding a lot of more than he let on, obviously. "Your girlfriend decorated it?"

Yamcha glanced at her, and unnerved by her staring chuckled nervously: "Oh, you mean Bulma? No, I did it myself, that's why she hated it and never came up here. She wanted to be the one to decorate it…" Yamcha trailed off. Bulma always liked to have her way in everything.

While he was more or less still pissed off at Bulma for dumping him for Vegeta, he still cared enough for her that he didn't want to talk badly about her. And that although he had more than enough reasons to. No matter what Bulma thought, she was far from being flawless, and no one knew that better than him. And maybe Vegeta.

He didn't need to explain any more. 18 didn't know Bulma very well, but the first impression was enough for her to realise she's not going to like the blue-haired scientist. The heiress to the Capsule Corp empire was bossy, snobby and aloof, and it was more than obvious that she felt somewhat intimidated by 18's beauty. At least that's what Kushami told her in private.

Yamcha paced across the living room and pushed open a door. "This is going to be your room. Unless you want my bedroom?" He quickly added, pointing to the room next to the one he just offered her.

18 came closer, noting with amusement that he moved away from her warily and blushed even harder. It was amusing how he blushed all the time, and it was kinda cute, too. She glanced into the room. "It will do." She nodded and then turned around so she faced him.

Yamcha blushed again and quickly put some distance between their bodies. Chuckling, he subtly tried to get away from her presence: "I… uh… lemme show you the bathroom and everything." Then he almost ran away from her.

18 was amused, and still didn't know what scared him off more - her strength or her beauty. 'Well, maybe it's not going to be so bad living here after all.'

But then again, why did she trust Bulma in the first place? It was more than obvious the blue-haired woman only saw her side of the story. Kushami had told her before they parted that Yamcha isn't at all like Bulma just made him look, but 18 always thought taking precautions never hurt.

Now it seemed Kushami was right. Big surprise there.

~°*°~ DBZ ~°*°~

A week went by, and it was rather surprising that the two went along relatively fine. Yamcha was going out of his way to please her, and made sure he wasn't going on her nerves doing it.

But he didn't need to worry, 18 enjoyed every moment of it. Why wouldn't she like someone fussing over her and treating her like a queen? It was really interesting to see a guy both enjoy her presence and be intimidated by it at the same time. In many ways, he reminded her of Krilin, and there was many times when she wondered how it would be living with him instead.

Not that Yamcha was that bad - he was always polite and did everything he thought would keep her in a good mood. It wasn't all that surprising, 18 thought. Either he was such a gentleman for real, or he was just afraid of a serious ass-beating.

But fact was, he was gone most of the time, training or on a game, and she was bored to death while he was gone. At least his aimless attempts to chat with her kept her busy, not to mention entertained when he was there.

She spent the first day he was gone wandering aimlessly through his apartment and then went for a swim in the pool. After doing a few laps, she sunbathed for a bit. Her leisure time was interrupted by the telephone, however. Wondering briefly if she should answer it, she finally did it.

"Hello?"

"18, it's about damned time!" she was greeted by an all too familiar voice.

"Kushami, I should have known." 18 rolled her eyes, but a small smile appeared on her lips anyway. It was nice to hear a familiar voice for a change.

"How is it living with Yamcha?" asked Kushami with a sly undertone to her voice.

"It's not like you think." 18 said, blushing slightly.

"Oh I know exactly how it is." 18 could almost see Kushami's sly grin. "I saw how you reacted when Krilin asked you to live with him. You're just doing it to make him squirm."

'Damn, when did I become so damn transparent?' 18 wondered, but replied angrily: "That's not true."

"Suuuuuuuuuure!" Kushami replied mockingly, but then changed the subject. "You're doing a nice job of it, though. You should have seen poor Krilin, he was totally in shock after you two left. Not to mention Bulma was fuming mad."

"Why?" this was news to 18.

"For all the obvious reasons." Kushami chuckled. "Bulma loves to be in the centre of attention. Even though she's not with Yamcha anymore, she still wants to have his interests aimed solely at her. And him living with such a hot chick as you-" Kushami trailed of meaningfully. Not that she needed to say anything more.

Not really surprising, knowing the blue-haired woman, 18 agreed, but replied stoically as always: "Could be. But she has nothing to worry about."

"Are you sure? Tien was wondering, you know. Yamcha isn't all that bad looking, and-"

"So?" 18 was now getting angry and her grip on the phone receiver tightened.

"Okay, okay, I know what you mean. Bald men are so much more attractive, wouldn't you agree?" Kushami teased.

"Let me remind you that Krilin isn't bald anymore." She said icily, and Kushami laughed in response.

"I knew it! You do like him!"

"Do not!" 18 bit back, blushing slightly.

"I heard from Tien what he did for you during the Cell Games, though. He must like you a whole lot."

"So what? I still don't like him!" 18 was raising her voice, and she almost never did that unless she was seriously angry.

"Okay, so you don't," said Kushami calmingly, although 18 knew the topic was far from over. "Just a little warning, though." The long-haired blonde continued. "Bulma is dropping by at your place sometime today."

"What?"

"What did you expect? Bulma is dying to see how you two are getting along." With a chuckle, she continued: "I think she's going to use Goten's birth as an excuse to show up at your place after she's done visiting the Sons."

"Great." Muttered 18 sarcastically. Bulma - just what she needed.

"I thought you could use a warning. And make sure that's probably not the first and the last time you're going to see her." Kushami continued, obviously enjoying her friend's rather uncomfortable situation.

"Thanks for the moral support." 18 growled, although she was fairly amused. She and Kushami were too similar in too many ways, but also very different, and that was what kept their friendship alive.

"No problem." Came the more or less expected reply and 18 finally decided it's time to retaliate. "Okay, Kushami, so how is your stay with Tenshinhan?" she asked innocently.

"Oh, great." Kushami didn't let 18 faze her - she was expecting this question anyway. "Chaozu gallantly decided to spend a month or so at the Kame Island so we can spend some quality time alone." The meaningful undertone to the other blonde's voice wasn't lost on 18.

She grinned and asked with the same knowing tone of voice: "Oh really? And did you spend some… quality… time with him?"

"Do you need to ask?" 18 could almost imagine Kushami roll her eyes. Then the green-eyed blonde continued more confidentially: "And lemme tell you, I still hurt from the quality of our quality time together."

18 chuckled as well at those words. "I can imagine. Take it easy, you still have a whole month left."

"Are you crazy, woman? We have more than three years to make up for!" Kushami growled.

18 rolled her eyes, already imagining Kushami pouncing on a terrified Tien. Wouldn't surprise her one bit.

At that moment an aircraft landed on the terrace and 18 groaned. "Oh joy!"

"Lemme guess, she's already there?" asked Kushami, hearing the sound in the background.

"Uh huh. Call you later." Replied 18.

"Okay. Have fun!" chuckled her friend, hanging up before hearing a response from the blonde android.

18 cursed and hung up, then headed outside. Bulma was just jumping out of the aircraft, holding baby Trunks.

"Hi 18!" grinned the blue-haired scientist, waving at 18 like they were old friends.

"Hello." 18 said formally. She noticed Bulma's critical gaze asses her body and she inwardly frowned. 'Kushami was right. Again.' But then again, Kushami did know Bulma longer than 18.

"So, how is living with Yamcha?" asked Bulma casually, although it was more than obvious she was dying to hear the answer.

"Fine." Replied 18, not feeling like giving away any more information than absolutely necessary.

Bulma didn't seem to be too convinced and neither was she happy with the answer, so she questioned some more: "Are you sure?"

"Yes." Came the curt reply again.

Bulma frowned, then leaned over and said confidentially: "If he tries anything, just beat him senseless. That'll teach him to behave."

18 didn't feel like giving Yamcha compliments - she still didn't think much of him, despite that he was fairly amusing. But this woman's prying was seriously annoying, and she felt like making her squirm, just for the heck of it.

"That won't be necessary. He's been a perfect gentleman so far." She said nonchalantly, then leaned in as Bulma did before and added as if in confidence: "And I wouldn't mind it at all if he tried anything."

The expression on Bulma's face was priceless and 18 would in that precise moment give absolutely anything for a camera. Bulma's jaw almost hit the floor, and with plate-sized eyes she wanted to say something, but couldn't get a single word out. 18 had a hell of a time keeping her face straight.

Bulma's mouth opened and closed just like a fish on dry land, and when she finally regained her ability to speak, 18 added innocently: "You don't mind, do you? I know you and him used to be together, so…" she trailed off meaningfully, and Bulma again lost her ability to speak for a few more minutes.

"Uh… no." she finally managed to get out and 18 smiled with satisfaction. "Good."

Then she turned around and asked with her arms akimbo. "Do you want to come in?"

"No." Bulma shook her head so hard 18 was sure it should, by all laws of reality, fall off her shoulders. "I should be going on. I'll catch you later." And with that she jumped into her aircraft and left.

18 watched her go with a satisfied smirk on her face. Little manipulation never hurt anyone.

~°*°~ DBZ ~°*°~

When Yamcha came home that evening, he found her lying on the couch, zapping through the channels on the TV.

"Hi," she greeted formally, not even glancing at him.

"H.. H… He… He.. Hello." He finally managed to get out and 18 could almost feel the embarrassment radiate off him in waves. She shrugged it off at first, but then she noticed he was acting very strange. He was even more nervous and stuttering around her than the previous day, and finally she angrily asked: "What the hell is wrong with you today? I don't bite, you know."

Yamcha blushed and paled at the same time, not liking the idea of pissing her off. "Uh, it's nothing." Then he chuckled nervously and almost ran into the bathroom. "I need to change."

After he came back, he was shuffling through the kitchen, fixing himself something to eat. She already told him she doesn't eat the previous day when he offered to fix her dinner, so today he didn't even ask.

18 was watching the TV in the living room, and for some strange reason, she could feel his looks on her, and the embarrassing tension was still there.

"Bulma was here today." She suddenly said out of the blue.

He didn't reply immediately, and she questioningly glanced at him. He was beet red, and she suddenly realised what was wrong.

His "I know" told her she was right. So the first thing Bulma did when she left here was to call Yamcha.

"Listen, 18, I…" he started, blushing, but she curtly cut him off:

"Forget it. I was just screwing with her."

"So you didn't mean it?" he asked, half relieved and half disappointed. Hurt, too, she could see it in his eyes.

18 felt slightly hurt for waking his hopes, but she suddenly stood up and came up to him, pinning him to the kitchen counter.

Yamcha's eyes bugged out and he tried to move away from her, but she didn't let him move an inch. She leaned closer until her lips were almost touching his.

"Do you like me?" she asked in a sultry voice, sending chills up and down Yamcha's spine. In fact, she even surprised herself. She didn't even know she could behave like this.

"Y- Yeah. S- Sure I do." Yamcha got out, chokingly.

"And if I wanted to kiss you?" she asked, her voice deepening, sounding even more lusty.

"I…" she could see fear and confusion flicker in his eyes, followed by uncertainty and lust - and then he suddenly pushed her away with surprising force.

Obviously, this surprised even him, because he blinked, amazed. Then he suddenly realised what he did and panicked: "I… uh… Sorry? But Krilin is my friend and I…"

But to his surprise, 18 just smiled and nodded: "I'm glad we cleared that up." And went into her room, leaving him staring after her in shock.

"What the hell?" he wondered, staring at the sandwich he dropped when 18 pounced on him.

~°*°~ DBZ ~°*°~

When 18 woke up next morning, Yamcha was already up, swimming.

"Good morning," he yelled cheerfully, waving from the pool. "Slept well?"

18 raised an eyebrow, but decided not to question the sudden change in his behaviour. In fact, she kind of liked it.

"I even managed to." She said, stretching and then sitting down on a deck chair.

"Oh yeah, I forgot you don't need sleep. Endless energy reserves and all that." He grinned, then climbed out of the poll and sat on a chair next to her.

A companionable silence settled between them, but she could sense he was still fidgeting nervously. "What?" she finally asked, cracking open an eye and glancing at him.

"Uh… I was just wondering about yesterday." He spoke up, blushing slightly. "About what you said…"

"I told you to forget it." She replied curtly.

"I know… But… Would it bother you if I told Bulma we're… together?" he asked, almost immediately regretting it.

18 now opened both eyes and scanned his face carefully. He was obviously trying to get back at Bulma, and although she didn't like the idea that she was being used as a tool for it, she still liked the idea of making both Bulma and Krilin writhe. Well, maybe the former more than the latter.

"Whatever." She said coldly and closed her eyes again.

"Don't worry, I'll tell Krilin everything," he said cheerfully, finally understanding that that was her way of saying yes.

18 tensed slightly, not knowing why the hell everyone always mentioned Krilin whenever she was concerned.

So he saved her life, big deal.

She opened her eyes, staring at the sky. Maybe, just maybe it was a big deal. She didn't want to die, not yet. And Krilin obviously cared enough to waste a wish from Shenlong on her. And risked the faith of the planet when he destroyed the remote Bulma made. How many women could say that about their men?

None, not even Chi-Chi, and her husband was the universe-known super hero type guy.

She begrudgingly had to admit that Krilin did risk a whole lot on her, and that she perhaps owed him more than she figured.

"If you feel you have to," she said abrasively, getting up and heading back inside.

"Yeah, I do." She heard Yamcha almost yell after her.

~°*°~ DBZ ~°*°~

From then on, their relationship was casual, almost bordering on friendly, like they've been living together for ages. Yamcha got over his initial fear of her when he realised she isn't aggressive and isn't interested in him sexually, and she realised she doesn't mind his rambling at all, because it made her feel a bit less lonely.

After the Cell Games, the fact that she could feel lonely surprised her. She never thought she could feel this kind of human emotion, and yet she did feel lonely when she suddenly found herself alone in the world. She realised one day that that was probably due to the fact that before the Cell games she had never been alone. No matter what happened, she always had someone with her, and that someone was always 17. And now he was gone, and she was alone and felt awful.

After all they've went through under Gero's control, the twins had grown as close as two twin siblings can only get. They've soon realised that they better obey Gero, or he'll punish them by separating them for as long as he saw fit. The mere though of that was enough to make the two rebellious children completely calm and submissive.

And now, now she was alone. At least if she had someone with her, she didn't feel all that lonely. And it was Yamcha's ramblings that kept her mind occupied with other things than worries of her brother. And Krilin.

18 never knew someone who would like her. Sure, 17 loved her, but she never knew someone who would see her, and - even less - love her as a woman.

Until Krilin came along, that is. She didn't even know why she kissed him in the first place. She kissed 17 all the time when they were alone and terrified of what Gero was planning for them next. It was a way of calming her brother down, nothing else. Just a means to a certain goal. A means she used on Krilin when she saw how terrified of her and her brother he was. She just wanted to calm him down a bit and didn't think much of the peck on the cheek she gave him. In fact, she forgot all about it almost immediately after she did it.

But obviously, Krilin hadn't forgotten about it. He remembered her and the kiss, and that must have been one of the reasons why he spared her later on. But why would he remember something as insignificant as that kiss? Yamcha implied that he liked her. Why on Earth would he? Just because she was beautiful? She didn't like that idea.

And she hated the fact that the more that she thought about Krilin's behaviour, the more she started liking the idea that he loves her. That the mere thought that he loves her enough to risk his life for her, and even the existence of the entire planet, made her stomach flutter with excitement. She tried to convince herself it was vanity rather than excitement, but deep down she knew what it really was.

The stirrings of a deeper emotion than just gratitude for saving her life.

~°*°~ DBZ ~°*°~

A week after she moved in with Yamcha, Krilin dropped by to visit. 18 had to give him credit for being less nosey than Bulma, especially since he most probably knew what she told Bulma.

Next to the pool, 18 and Puar were playing cards. The blonde android was bored out of her mind. The floating cat was nice company after she - as well as Yamcha - got over her initial fear of 18. But she was only a cat, and being cooped up in the penthouse suite together with a talking cat wasn't 18's definition of fun.

So when Krilin landed next to them with a small smile and blushing slightly, 18 was glad to see him for a change.

"H… hi."

"Hey Krilin!" cheered Puar, flying closer to him. "It's great to see you."

"You too." Smiled Krilin and then turned to 18, who was holding her cards casually, leaning forward with a bored expression on her face and studying him carefully with her pale blue eyes. She was in a black bikini, which sent another fresh wave of blood into Krilin's face.

"So, how are you doing, 18?" he asked slightly embarrassed.

"How does it look like I'm doing?" she asked, her voice lacking her usual enmity towards him.

"Bored?" he asked sympathetically, patting Puar, who was now sitting on his shoulder.

"You can say that again." She sighed, putting down her cards.

"I'll get us something to drink." Puar suggested, not so subtly trying to give the two some time alone. When the blue cat disappeared into the apartment, Krilin sat down on Puar's chair, smiling apologetically.

"Sorry for dropping in like this."

"No problem." 18 shrugged, picking up the cards and shuffling them. Her placid exterior was in a huge contrast with the flip-flops her stomach was making. She angrily fought the sudden excitement in the pit of her stomach and avoided looking at him. "I can use the company." She said in a monotone voice, before she could stop herself.

At that precise moment she seemed very lonely and fragile, and Krilin's heart went out to her. So he said the first thing that he knew always cheered up Maron. "How about if I take you shopping?"

That must have been the magic words, because she suddenly glanced at him with wide unbelieving eyes, scanning him wearily.

'If I knew that's all it took for her to look at me, I'd done it sooner.'

"You mean it?" she asked suspiciously.

"Of course." He smiled and got up, looking at her expectantly.

18 watched him for a few more minutes, then stood up as well. With a small smile, she nodded. "I'll get dressed."

"I'll wait right here." Krilin smiled.

~°*°~ DBZ ~°*°~

18 was quite certain she'll regret going shopping with Krilin, but surprisingly enough, she didn't. He was ever the gentlemen and unlike 17, he had the patience to wait for her when she tried out all 1001 dressed she liked and then picked out one or none out of them. He paid for them without objecting, or if she decided to take nothing apologised to the salesladies, and then meekly followed her into another store.

By the end of the day, 18 had ten new dressed, hats and shoes, all of which Krilin carried without objection - in fact, he even seemed happy to be able to do something for her. There were quite some times when 18 felt a pang of guilt for using him like this - after all he had done for her, she was also spending his money. 'But,' she reasoned with herself, 'it's not like I'm forcing him.'

In one of these moments of feeling guilty, she glanced over her shoulder to Krilin, who was expertly balancing a huge pile of boxes on his hands. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'll manage." He retorted behind the pile, which was several times bigger than he was.

18 watched him pass her and considered offering to take some of the boxes, when he suddenly bumped into the nearby lamp post - the boxes scattered around and he landed on his butt, slightly dazed from the impact. A giant crowd gathered around him and everyone started laughing, pointing at Krilin and making fun of him. Krilin suddenly turned even brighter red and hastily started picking up the boxes.

18 was surprised. He may not have been a match for her or the Saiyajins, but he was by far more powerful than any of these human weaklings that were now laughing at him. Why did he let them treat him like this? But despite feeling resentful against his cowardly behaviour, she, for some unknown reason, suddenly felt strangely protective of him.

She strutted towards him and angrily turned to the laughing crowd. "And just what do you think you're laughing at? Get lost!" she snapped, and the crowd immediately shut up. 18 may have been petite and frail-looking, but she had one heck of an intimidating attitude, and it wasn't wasted on the audience - the people started to scatter. When a few boys didn't take the hint, she angrily strutted towards them: "Didn't you hear me?"

"18, calm down." Krilin tried to sound calming. For some strange reason, it worked. She huffed and turned to him. In the meanwhile, he has picked up all the boxes and was waiting for her.

She angrily passed him and he followed her meekly, sensing more than seeing that she was pissed.

"I'm sorry for dropping the boxes. I didn't see where I was going." He finally said, sounding sincerely apologetic.

18 stopped abruptly and he quickly stopped before he bumped into her this time.

"Screw the damn boxes." She angrily said, turning to him. 'Does he think I'm angry because of the boxes? Hell no!'

Krilin managed to look at her from behind the boxes. "You mean you're not mad because I dropped everything?" he blinked.

"No!" she snapped more harshly than she intended to. "I'm pissed off because you let those assholes laugh at you. You could have taken them all on without breaking a sweat. Why do you let them treat you like this?"

Krilin sighed and shook his head: "18, you don't understand…"

"Damn straight I don't. Why don't you explain it to me?" she asked angrily, defiantly crossing her arms across her chest.

The passers-by were starting to look at them strangely, and it seemed like only Krilin was aware of that. "I think we should continue this talk somewhere more private." He tried to reason with his beautiful companion, but she didn't move. Her eyes were fixed on him and she shook her head: "I'm not moving unless you explain it to me."

Krilin sighed and continued his way, surprising her. She stared after him in surprise and after she snapped out of it, she yelled after him: "Hey, wait, I'm talking to you, damn it!" She sprinted after him and when she caught up with him, she angrily snapped without looking at him: "Now you show some spine."

Krilin, half expecting serious ass-kicking, glanced at her with a small smile and shook his head: "I have enough spine, thank you very much."

"Most of the time it doesn't look that way," she replied sarcastically.

Krilin sighed and when they ended up in an empty alley, he rose to the air and she followed him, her arms crossed angrily and still not looking at him.

As he landed on the roof of Yamcha's apartment, she ignored him and went in, not even bothering to look at him. Puar, who floated towards them with a happy smile and wanted to greet them, noticed the mood 18 was in and promptly disappeared into Yamcha's bedroom, not daring to face the blonde android when she was in a foul mood like this. Krilin sighed and wished he could do the same - but he had to fix the mess he caused whether he liked it or not.

And it's not like he could stand knowing that 18 was pissed off at him.

"Are you angry?" he asked meekly, following her inside.

"What does it look like?" she spun around so quickly he dropped his load for the second time that day.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you angry." He said again apologetically.

18 suddenly had the urge to throw her hands up in the air. "You're hopeless!"

Krilin was a tad more patient than 18, however. "Look, 18, it's not like I'm a coward or anything, but it would be wrong to fight with someone who is so many times weaker than I am."

"You 'heroes' are all insane." She said unfriendly and threw herself on the couch, glaring at him. "You risk your lives constantly and what do you get for it? Insults. Not money. Nothing, not even respect. No one will ever know what you did for humanity. Is it really worth it?"

Krilin's eyes softened a bit. "Money isn't everything, 18. And we know what we did. We don't need anyone else to know it. We did it because we love this planet and the people on it."

"That's insane." She persisted, feeling overly defensive because deep down inside she knew he knows something she will never understand. Something that's bigger and better than anything she'll ever know and understand. And for the first time she felt some sort of respect for the small fighter. "These people mock you. They don't deserve to be saved."

"Maybe. But it's our planet, and even if we have to share it with some people we'd rather not see on it, we still want to keep it safe." He insisted, and 18 suddenly saw him in a completely different light.

She remembered how Tien fought Cell to give her and 16 time to escape.

She remembered, if only vaguely, how Krilin attacked Cell after the monster absorbed her.

Even Yamcha was ready to give his life for this planet. Why? What did these men know that she didn't? What was it that made them so… willing to make sacrifices?

"Why? Why are you doing this? No one asked you to!" she insisted, suddenly feeling completely lost.

"Because we can." He answered simply and 18 didn't have a retort to that.

A long silence settled between them, and Krilin was waiting patiently for her to say something. When she didn't, he asked: "Where do I put your things?"

"Just leave them there, I'll bring them into my room later." She replied thoughtfully.

"I… should be leaving now." He said uncertainly, and she nodded without looking at him.

"Bye…" he said, still not quite certain if he should leave her like this.

"Bye," she said absently and he went outside. He took to the air when she suddenly called after him: "Krilin."

"Yes?" he asked expectantly, although more than a bit surprised.

"If you have nothing to do tomorrow, maybe you could… drop by?" she asked uncertainly, blushing.

"I'd love to," he smiled and she nodded and disappeared back inside. Krilin watched her go with a grin, holding his cheek. It seemed to him it still tingled where she kissed him.

TBC…