It was peaceful at Kame House.

The sun had just begun to break over the horizon, a beautiful shade of blue and orange mixed in the horizon. The sea birds had begun to stir and were calling out, flying lazy circles above the water. A pair of playful dolphins leapt into the air.

All this was lost, however, on one still-sleepy blonde, whose gaze was fixed on the little man on the beach. He sat in only a pair of swim trunks, cross-legged in the sand, just at the edge of the surf, eyes closed and hands folded in his lap. His breathing was steady and deep, enough so that she'd have thought him asleep were it not for the occasional slight shift in position.

This wasn't the first time she'd found him like this. Over the course of the last few weeks since she'd accepted his offer to stay, she's arisen early and found him like this. It was a strange, almost ritualistic thing for him, it seemed.

Quietly, she shuffled across the sands and sat herself next to him, gazing into his face. A face usually so outwardly happy when around others, yet so glum and pained when he thought he was alone; it now seemed serene to her. Like he was finally at peace.

"Well, good morning there." 18 jumped back a bit, startled by the sudden greeting.

"Y-yeah, same to you."

"You're out and about pretty early. Is something wrong?"

She sifted sand through her fingers. "Not really. Just boredom. I mean, I don't really require much sleep, TV's not an option this early, and the reading material here isn't exactly tailored to my interests, so..."

Krillin smiled. "Ah, yeah. Sorry about that. I can name you a few bookstores I know of for the next time you wanna head back to the mainland. I'm sure you can find something there."

18 brushed some of the errant sand off her shorts. "Sure. Sounds like a plan." The two sat in silence again for another few minutes, just listening to the call of birds and crashing waves before 18 worked up the nerve to ask what had been on her mind. "What are you doing, exactly?"

"Meditating."

"Oh." She raised an eyebrow. "I always thought you needed incense and some kind of chant for that."

Krillin chuckled. "Nah, that's only if it's a religious ceremony. Or a movie. Mostly a movie, honestly. Personally, I don't really do this for any sort of religious purpose, at least not anymore."

"Anymore? You left your faith, then?"

Krillin sighed. "Honestly... it was less my faith as means to an end. Orin Temple was a temple, after all, and the only reason I ever wanted to be inducted in an official capacity in the first place was to get good at fighting so I could get a girlfriend." He laughed. "Imagine my surprise when I learned the vows included celibacy after the fact..."

18 smirked. "And do you intend to keep that vow?"

He blushed. and rubbed the back of his head. "Well I kinda left the vows behind when I left them. Though I can't really seem to get a girlfriend anyways..." 18's frown went seemingly unnoticed. "But hey, I can eat meat again, that's a plus."

"But when I do this, it helps me focus. It clears my mind of distraction, keeps my ki in alignment, balances the body and soul." He smiled. "Sounds really cliché, I know, but it keeps me centered."

He cleared his throat and returned to his original posture. "Anyways, I should probably get back to it. You're welcome to join me, if you like."

18 hesitated. It had seemed impossibly dull, just sitting there on the sand, listening to the vast nothingness around the island, and yet... it hadn't been so bad, she noted, to simply sit with him. He'd had even a sort of calming affect on her, alleviating both her boredom and desire to not be alone. It certainly couldn't hurt...

Besides, it's not as if there was anything else to do.

"Sure".

In the weeks that followed, 18 had spent nearly every morning joining Krillin on the beach, meditating with him. He hadn't been wrong, she realized, about its effects. She'd felt less temperamental, more serene. The nightmares, though not gone, had been less frequent. And, she realized, she had a friend. One whose company she had grown to enjoy far more than she'd ever thought possible.

More, she thought, than one should with a friend. What used to be laughs, she realized to her embarrassment, had become giggles. What used to be banter was becoming increasingly flirtatious. She'd caught herself more than once stealing glances at him as he sat there, shirtless, and finding it extremely hard to regain her composure and concentration; a small part of her wondered, even hoped, if perhaps she'd been having the same effect on him, to the point of actively wearing more revealing sleepwear just to see if she could catch him blushing.

Truth be told, it also brought with it the slightest tinge of fear. Fear of rejection, perhaps? Fear of something new? She couldn't truly say.

All these thoughts swirled through her mind as she and her small companion once again sat on the beach, attempting to meditate. Well, attempting in vain, in her case. She was becoming increasingly frustrated; she was acting like a girl with a crush now, there was no denying it. It was impossible for her to focus properly, certainly today.

'Well," she thought to herself, "if I can't do that, I suppose I can work on that other thing he taught me.'

18 closed her eyes and breathed deep, stretching her senses to test the aura of the man next to her. Krillin had, not long ago, taught her about sensing the ki and aura of others, and had reasoned that since she was still human, she should be able to as well. She'd gotten the hang of it, or the basics of it at least, and now seemed as good a time as any to put it to the test.

He was warm, she noticed. Warm and bright. There was a faint fuzziness to it, as though it were soft.

It was also comforting and inviting. And without thinking, without realizing, she'd reached to to touch it, grasping his hand in her own.

18 gasped slightly as she felt that same warmth flow over her from their connecting, his aura mingling with her own. She felt safe, happy. Peaceful.

When she felt him return that grasp, when he squeezed her and gently and caressed it with her thumb, she felt it even more so.

Perhaps her affections weren't misplaced. Maybe things would be alright after all.

And for the first time since before she and her brother had met that monster, 18 truly, genuinely smiled.