CHAPTER 3:

Aoki hung up the phone and smiled. Vegeta was on his way home and boy! was he in for a surprise. He could not believe that Goku was still here after a week. ~ It's a miracle. ~ Aoki thought shaking his head. All the other servants had thought so as well. It seemed like Goku and Trunks had hit it off the moment they had met. ~ Maybe it’s his childlike behavior and charm. ~ That had to be it. There was no other explanation for why Trunks would be so willing to run down to lessons without being told to do so. The lessons were usually held in the large library downstairs after breakfast. Goku, however, insisted on a fifteen minute walk after breakfast for he and Trunks before the day officially began. Aoki had peeped in several times to see how things had been going and he had always been faced with the mind boggling scene of Trunks sitting quietly...SITTING QUIETLY...at his desk and listening with rapt attention to his sensei.

Another thing that seemed to puzzle Aoki was the fact that Goku seemed to teach Trunks with books he had never seen before. ~When did he have a chance to buy them? They couldn't all have fit into that tiny suitcase. ~ Goku had not asked for any educational materials from them either, but yet Trunks was always well equipped. Trunks seemed to be even better behaved. He still pulled his pranks once in a while, but he now apologized for them. He now either sent flowers, if he had annoyed a female servant or a handwritten apology note if he had offended a male servant. All these changes in just two weeks. Aoki was impressed.

Goku himself remained an enigma to everyone else. Oh, he was polite and had a ready charm and wit about him, but he was very protective of his privacy. He never let anyone near his quarters, not even to change his sheets, that, he insisted on doing himself. The man ate like a horse and slept as light as a feather. He was always up at dawn and rearing to go. His items of clothing seemed to made up of only his cheap brown suit and a pair of jeans and shirt. No coats or sweaters or jackets or anything. Aoki had offered to take him shopping for clothes, but Goku had always refused, stating that he had enough already.

Goku was brilliant. He had seen that much from the few times he had listened in on their lessons. ~ That would teach me never to judge a book by its cover. ~ Oh well, as long as Trunks was doing well in his studies, Goku could be a wizard for all he cared. Trotting away happily, he began his task of rounding up all the employees to welcome their boss home.

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"You have got to try harder, Trunks!" Goku said sharply.” You are not moving your feet fast enough!"

"I am trying, honest, sensei!" Trunks said pleadingly, at the stern look on his tutor's face.

"Well you are not trying hard enough. MAYBE we should quit this, while we are still ahead."

"No! I promise. I..I... will do better!" And with a burst of energy, Trunks took off through the obstacle course again. Goku grinned at the sight. He with his power of illusion had conjured up the obstacle course. It was filled with raging fires, boiling springs and streams, killer dragons and rocks that were being hurled from nowhere. A fantasyland for the brave. It was one of the many uses of his powers to help the boy. He had had to use them more often than he would have liked. Why on the first day alone, he had had to soothe the boy's mind from the turbulent oni[demon] that seemed to fill his little head. Since then, Trunks had calmed down considerably, except for a few moments when he would let his wild nature show through again. It had taken every ounce of meditation and patience not to just cast a permanent sleeping spell on the boy at times.

 They had had a lot of fun, too. Sometimes he would transform the boy’s room into a jungle, where they would pretend to be explorers, or into circuses or fairs. It took a lot out of Goku mentally, but it was worth every effort, as the joy and pleasure at the sights never ceased to amaze the little one. At the end of it, however, he always made sure to erase the memories from Trunks' mind. He didn't want Trunks to go blabbering to the others about his abilities.

"Good job Trunks!! You are getting the hang of it now!" he shouted in encouragement, as the boy leapt through another ring of fire.

No one else was able to see the course. If anyone had stared at their direction, all they would have seen was a boy running around in circles with his sensei watching on. If you had come closer though, you would have noticed the heavy combination of dirt and sweat on their training gi. He was now training Trunks in the martial arts. Something he hadn't really wanted to do, but the boy had caught him in his kin-iro[golden] form, training secretly and had pleaded and begged him. He hadn't had the heart to say no and now it looked as if Trunks could turn out to be a pretty good fighter.

"My Otousan fights too, you know." Trunks had begun one day.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah! He is really strong."

"Hmm...maybe someday I could fight him."

"Nah...my dad would beat you up. You are not that strong."

Goku had almost laughed at that. He replied solemnly though, "Annoo...remind me not to get him too angry then."

Snapping out of his flashback, Goku suddenly sensed that Vegeta had arrived. Closing his eyes and concentrating quietly, he willed the course away, causing Trunks, who was just about to leap through another ring of fire to fall flat on his face.

"Hey!" he screamed indignantly.

"Gomen-nasai, Trunks, but I think your father is back."

"Oh, man! I look like a mess." Trunks frowned, pulling at his sticky and dirty gi.

Actually they both did. Goku was just about to create new outfits for themselves when a flustered Kimi came running across the lawn.

"Thank Kami I found you two! Vegeta-sama is back and wishes to see you two right away. Aaaaaaah!!" she suddenly screamed, as she saw the state that Trunks was in. "Trunks, you look terrible. Come, come, child, let’s go wash up!"

Dragging a squirming and protesting Trunks, Kimi started towards the house. Goku decided to try to sneak back into his room. Walking quickly past the lush gardens and the outdoor Olympic-sized swimming pool, he ran up the stairs that led into the hall. Hearing the voices of Aoki and Vegeta approaching, he began tiptoeing quickly up the grand staircase, hoping that the approaching men wouldn't catch up to him.

"Going somewhere?" came the deep, amused voice at the bottom of the stairs.

Goku froze halfway up the staircase and flushed a deep crimson. Turning around slowly, giving himself time to make up some lame excuse, he came face-to-face with his boss. Vegeta stood at the foot of the stairs, dressed in a casual sports suit, his arms folded against a well-muscled chest with an amused smirk that graced the handsome features. Aoki stood next to him, looking extremely worried.

"Konichiwa, Vegeta-sama," Goku mumbled in embarrassment, unable to meet the laughing eyes. ~Kami! I must look like a total and complete baka to him.~ Pushing back the glasses that were threatening to fall off his nose, he braced himself and stared into the shiny, obsidian depths.

"So this is the new tutor, eh?" Vegeta drawled lazily, not taking his eyes off the clearly uncomfortable and disheveled man in front of him.

"Hai, Vegeta-sama." Aoki replied.

"Tell me, Goku-san, do you enjoy playing in the dirt?" Vegeta asked dryly.

"Anoo..." Goku began, when Vegeta waved his hand in dismissal and said curtly. "Spare me the excuses sensei. I am sure you have a reasonable one. Now, where is my son?"

"DADDY!!" came the happy squeal, as a now properly dressed Trunks came flying down the stairs and into the open arms of his father. Goku felt something tighten in his chest as he watched the loving display between father and son. He watched as Vegeta's scowling face was turned into a thing of unimaginable beauty as he smiled at his botchan, wishing silently that the smile could be for him as well. ~ Kuso! What are you thinking? This is not what you were sent here to do. Remember your duty!~ Goku scolded himself. He was jerked from his reverie when Vegeta's amused tone came again.

"If you are done staring, Goku-san..." Goku felt even hotter. "I would like to see you in my office immediately...after you clean yourself up, of course."

"Hai, Vegeta-sama." Goku said quickly and turning around he sped up quickly to his room, feeling even more stupid as he tripped over his own feet. ~ Great! What a first impression you have made on your boss. ~

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Vegeta rubbed his eyes wearily trying to stifle a yawn as he listened to Aoki give his daily house reports. He had had a long flight and the only thing he wanted to do right now was to get naked and soak himself in a very hot tub. His muscles ached with tension and his head felt like it was going to split in two at any second.

"Domo arigato, Aoki-san. See to it that my quarters are ready for me now, will you?" quickly dismissing the loyal servant that he had had since he was a boy.

"Hai, Vegeta." Aoki knew better than to start asking questions to his employer at times like these. So bowing silently, he walked out of the large and spacious den.

Vegeta stood up from his leather desk seat and stalked over to the large window that overlooked the lake and the back gardens. So far, things had been going well. He had seen the change in Trunks in just the few moments he had spent with the boy. For one thing, Trunks had never, EVER jumped into his arms before and most certainly didn't usually give him kisses on the cheek. And boy! did he rattle off on all the fun and stuff he had done with Goku-san. It had been Goku-san this and Goku-san that, Goku-san said this and Goku-san said that. He felt a pang of jealously at the fact that in just a few weeks a relative stranger had achieved something he had been unable to do himself. Frowning slightly, his mind raced back to the encounter with the 'amazing' sensei. The man had looked so clumsy and stupid with those bottles he wore over his eyes. But there had been no doubt that that was all a front. Vegeta prided himself in the ability to read people and he knew that this Goku character wasn't what he set himself out to be. The power and strength beneath that clumsy attitude was easy to tell. Even though he had worn those ridiculous glasses, Vegeta had been able to see the brilliance and knowledge that had shone from the black depths. ~ I will discover who you really are sooner or later, Goku-san. ~ he thought to himself feeling a slight warmth flow through his body at the promise.

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Standing naked and wet in his room, Goku stared at the three sets of outfits he had in dismay. There was the brown suit he had come with, which looked pretty drab. There were his good old jeans and several rather plain shirts and then a dark blue suit that he had brought for special occasions. ~What special occasion? I guess meeting your boss would be as good a time as any.~ Shrugging, he began putting on the tight suit. His Master had given these to him and since he was bigger than the old man by several inches, the clothes were barely comfortable. He could have easily created new clothes for himself, but his only concept of clothes were shrine robes and training gi and those would most definitely not do. Sighing, he began wishing he had actually followed up on Aoki's idea of going to shop for new clothes. Slipping on his loafers, he stared at himself in the mirror, he had unconsciously gone back into his kin-iro form. Releasing a deep breath, he changed back and slid his glasses back on. "Well, Kakarrotto," he spoke to himself in the mirror, "It's show time."

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Knocking quietly on the den doors, a muffled 'Come in', ushered Goku into Vegeta's domain. Goku stared in mute fascination at the amazing decor in the large room. Beautiful works of art lined the walls and several stuffed animal heads adorned the corners. Expensive looking, leather bound books filled the shelves, as leather couches and sofas completed the living room section. The desk itself was equipped with every modern piece of office equipment. Goku smiled silently at the huge kanji written scroll that was draped against the wall that read simply

"Toki wa kane nari." [Time is money]

"My father gave that to me." a voice came quietly, behind his back. Jumping slightly, he watched as Vegeta smiled briefly at his movement and then stalked around him and over to his desk.

 "It's umm.. very nice." Goku said, fidgeting slightly as Vegeta pinned him with piercing dark eyes.

"Please sit down and stop fidgeting about like a goddamn rabbit. I won't bite."

Goku mumbled an apology and flopped down onto the chair that faced Vegeta's desk, looking even more worried as Vegeta began heading towards the built-in bar at the corner.

"Do you drink, Goku?" he asked, pouring himself a glass of scotch.

"Sometimes." he mumbled. ~ Kami! Why can't I read his thoughts. It's like he has a mental barrier against me. How do I help him, when he puts up this much of a fight?~

"Is something wrong?" Vegeta asked sharply as he caught the frown on Goku's face.

"Oh, no...no..." Goku began quickly, just as Vegeta shoved a glass of scotch into his hands. A sudden jolt went through both their bodies as fingers touched. Goku dropped his glass in surprise and stared wide eyed into an equally shocked Vegeta. For a few minutes neither man could speak or move as they stared at each other. ~ Oh Kami! What is this?~ Vegeta thought wildly, feeling a slow rush of heat invade his body. Shaking his head quickly, he moved over to the intercom on his desk and said briskly into it, "Kimi-san, please get someone to wipe up the mess in my office. Thank you." Still not looking at Goku, he stalked over to the window, sticking trembling hands into his pockets. He then began speaking in a calm and steady voice, successfully hiding the raging emotions underneath.

"I am impressed with the way you have dealt with my son in the past few weeks. I have never seen him this well behaved and educated before. Aoki has told me nothing but good things about you and for that I intend to raise your pay."

"Oh, there really is no need for..."

Vegeta frowned at the interruption and raised his hand to silence the blubbering man,

"As I was saying, I will raise your pay. Your weekends are now to do whatever is of your choosing and your vacation days remain the same. I trust Aoki has discussed that with you. As you well know this is a six month tutoring program and at the end of the six months you will receive an extra bonus check, if I am completely satisfied with the results. In the mean time, I insist that his lessons continue in the way they have been going. I will be checking in from time to time to see that things are in order. Any questions?"

"No.."

"Good. Now if you would excuse me. I had a very long flight."

Turning away from the window, he began walking towards the door. He stopped as he was about to turn the doorknob and looked back at a now standing Goku. Goku felt his cheeks flush as Vegeta stared poignantly at him. Shaking his head slowly, Vegeta mumbled something about terrible outfits and then said aloud,

"And for the love of all things right and just, could you at least go out and buy some decent clothes. That suit does not fit you at all."

Goku watched with jaw agape as the door closed shut behind him. Looking down at himself, he shrugged and smiled slowly,

 "Hmm.. why not! I think a new look is definitely in order!"