Saying Goodbye:

Chapter 7: Island Work

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Chi-Chi strolled down the boardwalk scanning the area for Goku, asking the surrounding pedestrians whether they'd seen a spiky haired tall man. It was all for naught; however, because no one had seen him at all.

"What is wrong with these people?" She muttered to herself. "It's not as if he's hard to miss. He's only over 6 feet tall! How many people with spiky hair walk around this island, anyway?"

Overcome by the heat, Chi-Chi tried to fan herself with her hand but to no avail. 'I'm dressed for a ski resort!' Having only packed warm clothes to fool the others, she was sticking out like a sore thumb amidst the sea of shorts and sandals. 'But before that…I need a place to stay.' She remembered passing a travel agency and began to head in the direction but Chi-Chi felt perspiration trickle down her back. "I can't go in looking like this!" Spotting a clothes shop, she marched straight in when she was met by a tall blonde woman.

"Hello! I'm Hamasaki Rina and I'll be our personal shopper today. What can I interest you in?" The perky young woman clapped her hands together.

Chi-Chi inwardly groaned. "Uh…I just need some clothes to wear on the island. I'm on vacation."

Rina nodded appreciatively. "Pants or skirts?"

"Anything as long as it's fresh and um…not too revealing, please." Chi-Chi replied. Rina squealed happily and hooked her arm through Chi-Chi's. "I know just what you need! Follow me…" Rina pulled her into the dressing room and shut the door. "And I'll be right back with lots of fabulous things!"

"Wait!" Chi-Chi called from inside. "Oh no…"

Five minutes later, Rina returned holding an armful of clothes. Thrusting them at Chi-Chi, she grinned. "Try these on and I'll be outside!" She told her and pranced off.

Shaking her head, Chi-Chi took the clothing and dropped them on the bench and frowned. "Let's just see what we have here…"

She held up a low cut, short, red sundress. 'Clearly, we have a different definition of not revealing.' Tossing the dress to the side, another caught her eye. It was also red but patterned with little white flowers. The straps were a little thin for her tastes but the skirt did hit her knees. Shrugging the dress on, she took a long appraising look in the mirror and smiled. "This'll do."

Sorting through the rest of the clothing, she picked up similar dresses as well as shorts and tops. "Done." She sighed and walked out of the dressing room. "I'll wear this one out, if that's all right."

Rina smiled and took Chi-Chi's pile of clothes. "Absolutely. I knew you'd love it!" She took a look at the pile. "Oh…you didn't take the red one." She pouted.

Chi-Chi shook her head. "Not quite to my taste."

Rina looked put out for just the slightest moment before the grin appeared again as she charged the items to Chi-Chi's card. Wrapping the clothes in tissue paper and placing them in shopping bags, Rina finally handed them over to Chi-Chi. "Here you are."

Rina walked Chi-Chi to the door. "Thank you for coming! Have a lovely afternoon."

Chi-Chi nodded. "Of course, thank you." At last, feeling suitable for the travel agency, she walked on in the direction she'd seen it. She was worried over what sort of accommodations they might have for her. She'd been saving money for awhile in preparation for this trip but she didn't know quite how long it would take to find Goku, let alone convince him to come back with her. Chi-Chi could already tell living on the mainland of the island was a bit expensive. It was a beautiful island, not ostentatiously so, but people paid good money to get a good taste of the beach life even if it wasn't filled to the brim with destination resorts.

Ideally, Chi-Chi hoped she could rent some sort of beach house; although, she was positive that she'd end up in some sort of hotel.

The agency finally in sight, Chi-Chi sped up and headed to its entrance. Swinging the door open, she walked to the front desk. A young man greeted her. "Hello, what can I do for you?"

"Ah, yes. I'm vacationing for an undetermined amount of time. It's at least a week, though. I need a place to stay but…nothing too expensive."

The young man nodded and retrieved a folder. "Well, there are several inns in the area and beach houses. We do have a little hut on the edge of the island. It's normally used by a couple throughout the year but their vacationing somewhere else this month. It consists of one bedroom and bathroom and it's good for privacy. Not quite as expensive as our other accommodations so I think it'll be right in your ballpark. You can place a deposit first and pay the remaining balance at the end of the month if you like. There's no binding contract for this one so if you decide to leave earlier we'll just charge you for that time period."

Chi-Chi looked over the file for the hut. It was cute and homey. Considering that staying at an inn for the full month or so would cost her just as much if not more, she decided it was her best choice. She nodded. "I'll take it."

Ten minutes later, she had the keys and address in her purse. Nodding her thanks, Chi-Chi walked out of the agency and looked to hail a cab. It took awhile considering the amount of people there were looking for a ride and the lack of taxis. "And once again, I wish I had a car!" She groaned.

It was another half an hour before she hailed down a taxi and drove to the outskirts of the island. She paid the man and stepped out, taking her shopping bags and purse. She looked around and realized that this was the exact spot on the island that she had landed on. Shaking her head, Chi-Chi stole a glance around her surroundings. The area was lovely and she could see a few other lone beach huts as well, similar to the one she was renting.

Grabbing the keys from her purse, she proceeded to open the door and step inside. It was just as the travel agent had described it, small but homey. It was furnished with minimal pieces but it was far from uninviting. On the contrary, the colors were warm and the whole place felt friendly.

She hung her clothes up in the empty closet and placed all her other belongings on the vanity. Chi-Chi mildly explored the house and wandered over to the kitchen. Taking a cursory glance at the refrigerator, she rolled her eyes and went to her room to grab her purse and keys. It was just as she had suspected.

Fifteen minutes later, Chi-Chi was at a small market just up the way. She took a guess that it was conveniently placed for those who wanted to take in the beauty of the island but didn't want to go amongst the crowds.

Wandering through the aisles, she was loading her shopping cart high with food. Assuming she found Goku, she knew he would be hungry if nothing else. She was hauling a large bag of rice into the cart when she heard a voice.

"That's quite a lot of food for such a little woman." An elderly man noted pleasantly. Chi-Chi turned and smiled. "Yes, it is. I'm looking for someone and when I find him…well, let's just say he has an enormous appetite." She chuckled.

The elderly man held out his hand and Chi-Chi grasped it in a handshake. "I'm Sakamoto Wataru. Who are you looking for, if I might be so forward?"

"He's very tall, with black spiky hair. Very spiky, to be completely honest. I have no idea how it gets like that. Anyhow, his name is Goku." Chi-Chi responded. "Oh, he's also a…professional fighter; I guess is the way to put it."

Sakamoto tensed a bit. This young woman knew Goku. He decided to play dumb. "I'm sorry miss but I've never seen this man." He smiled.

A sad look crossed the formerly hopeful face but it faded as Chi-Chi smiled at him as well. "I see."

Sakamoto couldn't help but ask a few more questions. "Might I ask your relationship to the man you're looking for?"

She smiled proudly. "He's my husband." Her answer puzzled Sakamoto. Goku had left this woman. She claimed to be looking for him so Goku had to have left her. But why? Goku didn't seem like the sort of man to up and leave his wife. He nodded. "I won't ask why you're looking for him, that's none of my business and I'm sure you have your reasons." He had begun to turn but then stopped. "Wait. You said he was a fighter, right?"

"Yes he is!" Chi-Chi nodded vigorously. "He's very strong."

"Well, here's a thought. This island has a yearly tournament. It's a week from today. Maybe he'll compete."

Chi-Chi's face lit up. "That's an excellent idea! That makes so much sense. Thank you so much." She grasped his hand in appreciation.

Sakamoto shook his head. "It's the least I can do, miss." Literally, he thought.

"I have to be going now; I'm expected for dinner but it was lovely meeting you…" He paused realizing he didn't know her name.

"Son Chi-Chi is my name and your name is?" She asked.

"Sakamoto Wataru. Have a nice day."

"Nice to meet you Mr. Sakamoto and I hope you have a nice day as well. Thanks again!" She replied and Sakamoto nodded before heading down the aisle to go pay for his groceries.

Chi-Chi sank against a wall and began to think. Goku just had to compete at this tournament. There'd be no way that he could resist the temptation. She could go watch the fights and then go up to him afterwards. Or…

Her mouth curled into a wry smile. "A tournament, huh? I have an idea."

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To be continued…

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A/N: I am so so so so sorry. Ridiculously sorry and I wouldn't be surprised if no one read this. My only explanation is that life and college graduation kept me from updating this story. I'm not very active in this fandom. It's hard sometimes to pull myself back in but I will finish this story for anyone that happens to still be reading. I hope you enjoyed and yes, Chi-Chi does have a rather interesting idea.