Goku 1/2 Chapter 3 Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this fic. However, I am holding them hostage. If you ever want to see any of your beloved anime characters again, I must be paid one billion dollars in unmarked, non-sequential bills. To make a contribution to this amount, please phone 1-800-UR-GULLIBLE for further instructions. Goku and Ranma blazed across the sea, just skimming the surface of the water. Soon, they spied their destination, a small island on which sat a single house. Being pink, the house stood out against the blue horizon like a sore thumb. The words 'Kame House' were written in red on the roof. "That's it?" Ranma scoffed. "How are we going to train there? That place is tiny. And it's surrounded by water! How am I ever going to stay as a guy at a place like that?" Goku shook his head. He didn't know what exactly Ranma had against his cursed form. Turning into a girl was a lot better than turing into a namek. At least Ranma was still human and people didn't give him funny looks when he walked by. "Well, maybe it just looks small, because we're far away from it." "The problem with that, Goku," Ranma countered, "is that we're already here, and this island ain't getting any bigger." He jumped off the side of Nimbus onto the ground below. "I guess it's not too bad, but there just isn't enough room for our usual sparring matches." "You're right. But aren't we supposed to learn Master Roshi's techniques here? Maybe they don't need a lot of space to use." "Maybe so. Frankly, I don't think a man as old as him can be in good enough shape to teach us anything. At least it gets us away from Pop and Shampoo. We'll see what he knows when he gets here." They explored the island while waiting, but didn't find anything of particular value. All there was besides the house were trees, shrubs, rocks, and sand. And water. Lots of water. Water as far as the eye could see. Losing interest in water, the two boys sat down on Nimbus and watched Master Roshi riding on top of the turtle get closer. Eventually, he reached the island. Hopping off the turtle, he invited the two inside. They agreed, and everyone entered the house. He sat them down in the kitchen and served a snack of bread, cheese, and fruit. During the meal, Roshi told them the plans for training. "We're going to go to a different island. This one is way too small to suit my purposes for training." Ranma glanced at Goku. "See? I told you so." Goku pulled down one eyelid and stuck his tongue out. "Nyaah!" "Hmmmm?" Master Roshi mumbled, looking back and forth from Goku to Ranma. Deciding that it really didn't matter, he continued with his speech. "I have a cottage on another island that we can stay at. That island is much larger, and the people who supply me with food live there. There's lots of space, as long as you don't go into town." "Sounds good. When do we leave?" Ranma asked. "Right after I pack a few items. You two finish eating while I get ready ." Roshi said as he got up and went upstairs. The boys devoured the rest of the food in short order before grabbing their packs and heading outside. While they were waiting, Ranma decided to strike up a conversation with the turtle. "Hey, Mr. Turtle." Ranma began. "You didn't tell Master Roshi about our curses did you?" "Oh no. I didn't tell him about that. I never thought to mention it when I was describing you two. Did you want me to go and explain the curses to him?" "No! Don't! Me and Goku want to keep that a secret. He don't need to know anyway." "Okay. I won't say anything." The turtle replied. "Thanks." Ranma said. At that point, Roshi came out of the house with a pack slung over his shoulder and his stick in his hand. He pressed a button on the side of the house. A cloud of smoke enveloped it and a small capsule replaced it. Roshi leaned over and picked it up. "I'm ready now." Ranma and Goku sweatdropped. They rarely ever saw capsules, and had never seen a capsule house. "Alright, let's go! NIMBUS!" Ranma yelled. The yellow cloud schreeched to a halt in front of him. He jumped on it and was quickly accompanied by Goku. "CAMILLA!" Roshi called. A turtle crawled towards from somewhere out of sight. This one resembled Mr. Turtle except had red spots on it and its fins looked sleeker and pointier. The turtle hermit walked over and climbed up onto its back. Instead of standing like he usually did with Mr. Turtle, he sat cross legged on the top of its shell. "Follow me! Take off, Camilla!" The turtle then began to spin around like a top. It went faster and faster, until its fins became a blur and Ranma swore he could see Roshi's front and back at the same time. Then the turtle lifted off the ground and flew away towards a distant speck on the horizon. "Cool!" Ranma exclaimed. "I didn't know turtles could fly." Goku said. "I wonder if I could fly if I spun around that fast." Before he could test his hypothesis, Ranma interrupted him. "You don't have to fly like that. We have Nimbus to ride on." He said while gesturing to the cloud below them. "Oh yeah. That's right." Goku replied. "Still, it would be nice to fly without Nimbus. Hey, Master Roshi is getting away!" "Don't worry. We'll catch him. Flying Nimbus, GO!" The two boys shot off on the cloud towards Roshi. They quickly caught up to the flying turtle. As they began to overtake him, Ranma shouted. "Master Roshi! Is that the island straight ahead?" "Yeee...esssss...iitttt...iiissss...Raaaaaannnnnn...mmmaaa..." The turtle hermit managed to say as he spun around. "Okay, thanks!" Ranma yelled. "We'll meet you there." And with that, Ranma urged Nimbus to go faster. The yellow cloud complied with his wishes and zoomed away from Roshi. The island was further away than either of them thought, and so it took a good half hour to reach it. They flew over it a couple of times, taking in the view. There wasn't anything special about the island. It was covered in trees, grass, and rocks. There was a small town on the side facing away from Roshi's island. There were also houses scattered about the island, but Ranma didn't really know who would want to live there. They landed in a clearing near the beach and waited for Roshi to arrive. Ranma sighed. 'He has to find a faster way to travel.' They didn't have to wait too long for the turtle hermit this time. After five minutes, he arrived. He leapt off Camilla with a shout and landed in front of Ranma and Goku. Then he just stood there, unmoving. "He's not moving." Ranma commented intelligently. "Uh...Master Roshi?" Goku asked. "Doesn't look like he's answering either. Yo! Old man!" Ranma shouted. "Why can't he hear us?" "I dunno." Ranma reached forward and pushed Master Roshi slightly. The turtle hermit fell backwards and lay there. His glasses slipped off his face, and showed his eyes to have large swirls in them. His head lifted a few centimetres off the ground. "Uuuuuhhhhhh." He groaned. "Diiiiizzzzzyy." He let his head fall back onto the ground. Ranma sighed again. "Come on, Master. Get up." He said while dragging the old man to his feet. Roshi shook his head violently, and his eyes returned to normal. Replacing his sunglasses on his face, he stood up. He took out a capsule and threw it. It transformed into his house. Then he spoke. "There. Now I'm going to show you boys what my training will eventually teach you to give you some real motivation to learn." He unslung his pack and shell and threw them on the ground. After laying his stick down on the ground, he took off his shirt and threw it into the pile. This revealed his very scrawny build underneath. He took a few steps forward to the edge of a cliff. Placing his feet wide apart, he began to concentrate. Ranma felt the air around him seem to get thicker. Then all of sudden, Roshi's arms swelled to a giagantic size. "Oh my god." Ranma whispered. "How can he do that?" Roshi's torso and legs then expanded to the same size as his arms. The two boys were left staring at an old man who was now incredibly built. Soon, a blue aura formed around the turtle hermit. "KA" Roshi brought his arms in front of him. "ME" He placed his hands together. "HA" He brought his hands down to his waist. "ME" He cupped his hands. "HA!" He shouted. He thrust his arms out in front of him. A glowing blue ball formed in his hands. This ball grew rapidly in size and then shot out of his hands into the sky, a trail of blue energy following it. The tail continued to flow from Roshi's hands. Ranma and Goku shielded their eyes from the brightness of the blast. They were pushed back from the sheer force of the wind and heat. Then, as abruptly as it started, the blast stopped. Roshi, reduced to his normal size, turned towards them and gave a victory sign. "That was the Kamehameha. You can learn that eventually if you follow my training." "That was awesome!" Ranma exclaimed. He had eliminated any thought of Master Roshi not being able to teach him anything useful. That attack was stronger than anything he had ever seen before. Even that one technique he had caught a glimpse of his father using to cut off Goku's tail was nowhere near as powerful as this. This turtle hermit truly did deserve the title of Master if he could do a technique like that. "It took me fifty years to learn that." He said proudly. Ranma's jaw dropped. "Fifty years?" Goku whined. He stared at his hands, wondering if he was ever going to be able to do that. Then he grinned and looked at Ranma. His brother saw what Goku was up to. "You're on. First one to do it gets to pick where they sleep." They then both began concentrating. "Huh?" Roshi said, standing there wondering what his new pupils were up to. "KAMEHAMEHA!" Goku shouted. "KAMEHAMEHA!" Ranma shouted just a split second later. They had copied Master Roshi's exact movements and a blue ball of energy formed in their hands before being fired off in a blast. The blasts were tiny compared to Roshi's, but they still held a lot of power. Ranma's hit a rock and destroyed the top half. Goku's was twice the size of Ranma's and completely pulverized the rock it hit. "Hey! I did it! This Kamehameha stuff really works!" Goku exclaimed happily. "And I beat you Ranma." "Yeah. Yeah, Goku." Ranma replied. He was in a very good mood. Even though Goku had beaten him, he had just pulled off a very powerful technique that it took Master Roshi fifty years to learn. Roshi sweatdropped. "Well, I guess fifty years was a little slow. But what was all that about?" "Oh, the competition?" Ranma responded. "Don't worry 'bout it. Me and Goku always do this when we see a new technique being used. We race to see who can perform it first. Sometimes I win, and sometimes Goku does." "Okay. That's a good habit to have when learning anything. Your competition will spur you two to levels you didn't know you could reach." "Yes, Master Roshi." Ranma said. 'As if I didn't already know that.' "Now before I start your training, I have a task for you two." Roshi continued. "You must find me something. And that is...uh...a girl." Hr finished in a quiet voice. If the turtle had been here, Ranma had a feeling she would be sighing and shaking her head. "What?" Ranma asked. "What do you mean by find you a girl?" "Hey, Ranma!" Goku interrupted. "Don't you turn into a gi..." Anything else he had to say was postponed as Ranma booted him into Low Earth Orbit. As Goku flew through the air he admired the view. "Wow! I'm really high up. NIMBUS!" The cloud caught him just as he was starting to fall downwards. It then began sprialing towards the ground. Ranma watched Goku fly for a second before turning his attention back to Master Roshi, who was still standing there shocked at what he had just seen. "So, What do you mean by find a girl for you?" "Oh! Ummmm...you mean you don't know?" Roshi really did not want to explain it. "Nope. I got no idea." Ranma replied. At this point, Goku arrived. He was wary about being kicked again, so he stayed on top of Nimbus. "How about you, Goku? Do you know what kind of girl I'm looking for by any chance?" Roshi looked very uncomfortable with this situation. "Ummmmmm...no." "Well, I guess I have to tell you what it is. I'm looking for a girl that is...err...aahh...ummm. It's...umm...how shall I put this? Errrr...it's...a...ummm...very 'healthy' girl." Roshi finally finished, relived to have said something at last. "A very healthy girl?" Ranma repeated. "Why? So you can train her? Girls shouldn't do stuff like that." "Oh no," Roshi said quickly. "It's not for training. It's for...something else." "Well, we don't know any girls, let alone very healthy ones..." Ranma paused when he saw Goku looking at him. "I said we don't know ANY healthy girls." He said, louder and more to Goku than Roshi. His brother continued to look at him. "No! Goku, I ain't gonna do it!" Ranma protested. Goku still sat there on the yellow cloud, staring at him. "ALRIGHT! FINE! But I'm gonna get you back for this." Ranma jumped onto Nimbus and threw Goku off it. "Okay, Master Roshi. I know a very healthy girl. I'll just go get her now." He flew off towards the edge of the island, leaving a bewildered turtle hermit behind him. "Uh...Goku?" Roshi said. "What was that all about?" "Oh...uhh...Ranma knows this one girl, but...uhhh...they don't get along very well." Goku replied. "Actually, Ranma hates her so much that he won't be seen anywhere with her." Goku felt quite proud of his story. He hadn't lied; Grandpa forbid it, but he explained things to Roshi without revealing Ranma's curse. Goku really didn't care about his own curse; it didn't bother him to change, except people looked at him funny when he was a namek. Ranma seemed to hate turning into a girl very much, but Goku couldn't understand why. Their father only didn't like being a panda beause he wasn't able to talk, and actually seemed to enjoy being a panda sometimes. "Oh." Roshi contemplated this. "Hey! That's the Flying Nimbus coming back. That was quick!" Ranma had just gone down to the beach out of sight of Roshi and splashed some water on himself. The red-headed girl he became flew back to the house and joined Goku and Roshi. "Ok. I'm here." Ranma said. "What'd you want?" He said addressing Roshi. Roshi gaped at the sight in from of him. When Ranma said they knew a 'healthy' girl, he wasn't kidding. After a minute passed, Ranma started to grow very uncomfortable with Roshi's gaze upon him. He couldn't stand it anymore. "WHAT DO YOU WANT?" He yelled in Roshi's ear. That finally seemed to shake Roshi free of the trance he was in. "Oh! I'm sorry. What was your name again?" "M-my name?" Ranma was taken aback. "Uh...It's Ranma Saotome." Roshi's expression darkened. "What? You have the same name as my new pupil? The one who brought you here?" "Uhhhhhh...yes." Ranma searched frantically for an explanation. "We're cousins. And we're named after the same person. That's why." Roshi's gaze didn't waver. "Is that so?" he said. His hand reached out and poked Ranma's breast. "Never mind. Those are definitely real. I'm sorry I ever doubted you, Ranma." "Please don't do that." Roshi removed his hand, relucantly of course. "Here, put this uniform on." He produced a costume from somewhere inside his shell. Ranma took one look at the 'uniform' in question, and began to glow red. It was the most femimine thing piece of lingerie Ranma had every seen. "You expect me to wear that?" He spoke slowly and soflty, but Goku could tell he was holding back all his rage. "Uhh...yes?" "Wrong answer." Ranma stated as he pummeled the turtle hermit into the ground. After a good half a minute of beating, he stopped. He was breathing hard from the exertion. Getting himself under control, he pulled Roshi out of the hole in the ground. "I...gu-guess...y-you...d-d-don't...h-have...to w-wear...it." Roshi moaned. "Good." Ranma said flatly. "I'll go get your pupil now." He stormed into the house and slammed the door shut behind him. Roshi was too badly beaten to notice where the red-head went. He slowly crawled to his hands and knees before being helped up by Goku. "Don't mind her. She has a temper problem sometimes." 'Maybe it's that time of the month.' Roshi thought. "That's okay, Goku. It wasn't that important anyway." Ranma, in male form, exited the house and walked up to Roshi. "Yo, old man. You got your girl. Now can we start training?" "Yes, Ranma. That's a good idea. We'll start with a sprint. Goku, you first. Run from that rock to that tree. I'll time you." Roshi walked over to the tree while Goku ran to the rock. "Ready. Set. Go!" Goku sprinted across the distance. Roshi looked at the stopwatch. "Okay. 8.1 seconds. Not bad at all. Your turn, Ranma." Ranma walked up to the rock, grumbled something about old men and perverts, and prepared to run. "Ready. Set. Go! (A few seconds later) Very impressive. 7.6 seconds. Now it's my turn. Here. Goku, time me." Roshi casually strolled over to the rock. Any sign of the injuries Ranma had inflicted were gone. Goku stared at the stopwatch in front of him. "Uh...Master Roshi?" "Yes, Goku?" "What's this?" The turtle hermit facefaulted. "It's a stopwatch. Haven't you ever seen one of those before?" "No." Roshi sighed. "Ranma, do you know what a stopwatch is?" "Yes." 'you lecherous old fart.' Ranma answered. "Do you know how to use it?" Roshi asked, not taking anything for granted anymore. "Yes." 'you sick perverted jerk.' Ranma said. "Good. Then time me." Goku gave the timer to Ranma. "Ready. Set. Go!" Ranma shouted. Roshi zoomed to he tree faster than either of the two boys had ever seen anyone move. Ranma almost forgot to hit the stop button on the watch. He gazed in amazement at the time. "Woah! 5.4 seconds! Amazing!" Ranma's respect for Roshi went up a few notches, and the 'uniform' was almost completely forgotten. Almost, but not quite. "Hee hee! I still got it!" The turtle hermit proudly exclaimed. "That was neat!" Goku cheered. Then something caught his attention. The pouch on his belt was glowing. "Oh! Grandfather's talking to me!" He dug out an orange ball with four red stars and held it up to his face. He seemed to be listening to something. "Eh? What's that?" Roshi asked. 'These two keep surprising me one way or another.' "It's some bauble that Goku thinks contains his Grandfather's soul. I think his name was Gohan. He taught Goku some martial arts and gave him his power pole. I never knew him though." Ranma said. "The power pole? Gohan? That must have been one of my former students. I trained him and the Ox King together. But that was a long time ago. Now, he lives in the forest somewhere on the mainland. I haven't heard from him in years. Last time he told me he adopted a child he found lost in the forest as his grandson. Hmmm? He said the child was named Goku. Could this be the same boy? Goku?" Goku continued to stare at his dragonball for a few seconds more before turning to the turtle hermit. Then he noticed what was around Roshi's neck. "Hey! You have a ball just like Grandfather's!" He said, pointing to the three star ball hanging around Roshi's neck. "Oh, this thing? It just washed up from the sea one day. Hey! It's glowing! I wonder why?" "Mine glows because my Grandfather's soul is talking to me." "Oh. Speaking of your Grandfather, was his name Gohan?" "Yes, but I always called him Grandfather." "Did he give you that power pole?" "Yes." "I knew it! You are Gohan's boy. No wonder you're so fast and probably just as strong. So how's your Grandfather doing? I haven't heard from him in awhile." "Uh...he died a few years ago." "He's DEAD! No one tells us hermits anything." Roshi looked very grim for a second before cheering up slightly. "I'm sorry to hear that, Goku. I want you to know that your Grandfather was a great man, respected and admired by many." Goku smiled. "Thank you. It's good to hear that." "Now, come on. "Who wants supper?" Roshi asked. Everyone's spirit brightened at the prospect of food. They went in the house to eat. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The next day the real training began. The three martial artists went into town to pick up the milk to deliver. "Milk?" Ranma blinked. "You want us to carry milk?" "That's right." Roshi replied. "Feh. No problem at all." Ranma wasn't quite as cocky after the turtle hermit finished hooking the last bucket of milk onto him. "I c-can't move! Too h-heavy." His voice betrayed how much he was straining to remain upright. "Yes, they probably are heavy. Now, deliver them all to these addresses." After Ranma didn't take the piece of paper, Roshi grinned. "What's the matter? Can't lift an arm to get it? Maybe I should give it to Goku. He doesn't seem to be having as much trouble as you are." Ranma gave up his efforts to lift his arm as the paper was handed to Goku, who was only barely able to lift his arm. He accepted the paper and then read off the first address. "Where's that?" "It's across the island." Roshi stated. Ranma started to facefault, but he managed to stop himself as he knew the milk would spill if he did. "Y-you mean w-we have to walk all the way there with this milk?" "No." Came the reply. "Whew! Good. So what do we do?" "You run, skip, and hop there. Now, get started." Ranma groaned. He lifted his foot and planted it forward, barely keeping himself steady. Then he did that with the other. Then the first one. Then the second one. Then...well you get the idea. Goku's pace was slightly faster, but not by much. Neither of them spilled a single drop of their cargo. As the morning went on, Ranma's pace got faster instead of slower. By the time he had reached his destination, he was going at a normal walking speed. He delivered the milk, and Goku read out the next address. "Where's that? He asked Roshi. "Oh, it's right next door to where we picked up the milk." This time Ranma did facefault. However, carrying the milk all those kilometres let him get a feel of how the buckets moved. As a result, when he planted his head into the ground, not a drop was spilled. "B-BACK THE WAY WE CAME?" He screamed at Roshi. "Yep." The list isn't in any particular order. "Goku, gimme the list. I'm gonna sort the addresses." "No. You deliver the milk in the same order as the list says." Roshi said. Ranma took one look at the turtle hermit and realized he wasn't kidding. He gave out a deep, long sigh. "Alright, Goku. Let's go." And so he began his journey again. Late in the afternoon, Ranma and Goku finally had delivered all the milk. They had only taken a short break for lunch, where Master Roshi pointed out that some of the milk was to be delivered to themselves. Gulping down an entire bucket each, the boys were refreshed and enjoyed having their loads lightened. Their speed had increased dramatically during the trip. Ranma was able to run all the way for the last ten addresses. Of course he didn't have much milk to carry by then. They returned home and ate supper. Then Roshi brought them outside. He demonstrated some very complex kata and other exercises that he wanted Goku and Ranma to do. At first, they failed miserably, but several hours later, they were performing them moderately well. Ranma's superior skill in martial arts paid off for him in the exercises; he did them much better than Goku could manage. "Okay. That's enough, you two." Roshi stopped them. "Time for bed. We have to prepare for tomorrow morning." "Why?" Goku asked. "What are we going to do tomorrow morning?" "The same thing we do every morning, Goku. Try to deliver the milk!" Roshi replied. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ And that's what the did for the next morning. And the next one. And the one after that. And the one after that. And the one after that they rested. Well, actually, no. They delivered milk on that day too. They got the deliveries done faster and faster each day. Soon Ranma and Goku were actually running, skipping and hopping their way to the addresses. This gave them more time to work on the exercises that Master Roshi assigned. Soon Goku was performing the complex exercises to perfection alongside Ranma. All this took about two and a half weeks. Master Roshi was very pleased with the progress they were making. and felt it was time to step up the training. The next morning after the milk was delivered, he dropped two turtle shells in front of the two boys that were equal to the size of the one he carried on his back. "Put those on." He ordered. Ranma stared at the shells for a second before grasping what Roshi was up to. "Goku, are you pondering what I'm pondering?" "I think so, Ranma. But how are we going to sell Pop to the circus if we don't know where he is right now?" Ranma smacked Goku upside the head. "What are you talking about? He wants us to wear them, so we carry more weight when we exercise!" "Oh! That's what I meant." Goku picked the shell and slid its straps over his shoulders. Ranma did the same with his. "Well, you guessed it, Ranma!" Roshi said. "Do the exercises with those shells on. Tomorrow you'll deliver milk with them on too." The extra weight and new centre of balance caused Goku and Ranma to have some problems with the exercises. Eventually they got used to them, and could do their tasks just as well as they could before they started wearing the shells. This was a week later, and by then Roshi had gotten bigger, heavier shells for them to wear. They were just starting to grow comfortable with those when the month ended. Ranma didn't have to change into a girl again. Roshi never asked again about the mysterious cousin who had beaten him into the ground. There were also no accidental changes, as it didn't seem to rain at all in the part of the world they were on. The end result was that Master Roshi had no idea that the curses existed. The turtle hermit stood with the two boys outside the house, giving them some final instructions. "Take off the shells." He ordered. Goku and Ranma complied. "Now jump." Again they complied. The two boys sailed into the air, leaping much higher than they ever had before in their life. When they finally landed, they were ecstatic. "Wow! I didn't know I had gotten that strong!" Ranma said, amazed at the leap he had just performed off. "Yeah! I'm much stronger too!" Goku added. "Well you should be. Training while wearing weights is the best way to build up your strength. That is the secret behind my training. It's been great training you two. Drop by any time to visit. Bye." "Bye, Master Roshi." The two boys said. "We'll see you sometime later." Then they flew towards the mainland on Nimbus. Soon, they reached the beach where they had left Genma. "Now we have to find Pop." Goku said. "Right. Knowing him, he's probably bumming food off some family as a panda." Ranma replied. They scoured the coast trying to spot a panda. Being on Nimbus, this job was easy and quick. They had only been searching for an hour before spotting a familiar coat of fur. They landed the cloud in front of the fur's owner. "Hey Pop! That you?" Ranma asked. The panda snarled and leapt at him. Ranma dodged to the side, and the panda fell through the cloud and hit the ground below. It held up a sign. "Boy, how dare you leave your own father behind?" "Yeah, that's him." Goku said. "How dare you sell us for food, Pop?" Ranma countered. "Never mind." read the sign. "We have to get to Japan quick. I have a promise to an old friend to keep." "Okay, hop on." Ranma smirked. "Yeah, like you could ever ride the Flying Nimbus. Goku grab his hands." Goku obeyed. The cloud took off, and Genma was left dangling from Goku's arms. "We're off to Japan!" End of Chapter