Author's Note: Hello! It's me! I know I tend not to finish my stories once I've started them, save for ONE. And I know some of you are gonna be like "Hey! Why aren't you finishing those other stories?" Honestly? It's because I lost interest in them. I still look back at Dragon Ball Z: Meant to Be REDUX as some of my best fan fiction work, but it became too ambitious of a project to work on, especially after I took a brief hiatus and forgot most of the plot I had written down. Because, you know, I'm an idiot.

So, instead, since Dragon Ball Super has ended (until the new movie in December), I decided I'd explore a pairing that I've started to really, really like. And that's Goku and Caulifla. I plan on keeping this one short and since I wrote two chapters in less than a day, I decided to post them here, get some feedback, and continue on for a couple more chapters before ending it.

I hope you enjoy!

He fought like a god. The blue flame of divinity licked his skin like fire on a log, his form shimmering from head to toe. Out of eight universes and eighty competitors in the Tournament of Power, he shone out most to her.

He was a saiyan, like she was; only he was from the seventh universe and she was from the sixth. His power and technique intrigued her. Her friend, Cabba, had mentioned that there were two saiyans in the seventh universe with incredible powers, and he seemed to focus mostly on the one called Vegeta. Apparently they shared some sort of deep saiyan bond. He hardly mentioned the one called Goku; aside from the fact he seemed to be the more talented of the two.

Caulifla didn't expect to be that impressed with either of them when she decided to fight with Cabba on the sixth universe's team. But she watched how Goku fought and became amazed at his talent. She faced him in combat, knowing full well he could outmatch her, but she fought hard anyway, giving her all as her protégé watched. She mocked him as being old, but truly found him an interesting opponent, and so, she thought, he thought she was as well. The saiyan went so far as to disobey the orders of his God of Destruction in order to teach her how to transform to the next level of super saiyan.

The second time they fought, she was helped by her protégé, Kale, teaming up to try and knock him out of the ring while he was weakened from a fight with the eleventh universe's Jiren. But he fought back, slowly regaining energy while fighting the two of them. Caulifla saw the excitement in his eyes and she, too, felt just as excited as he did. Of course, she and Kale ended up losing, and their universe was erased. But they'd been brought back, along with every other universe that had been erased, and the tournament had ended. She was back on Sadala, her home world in the sixth universe.

She frequently hung out with Cabba and Kale, often times sparring with them to further her abilities, but they weren't Goku. They didn't excite her like he did. One day, though, Cabba made mention that he was going to ask Vados, the angel assistant to Champa, their universe's God of Destruction, if she would allow them to travel to the seventh universe in order to invite Vegeta to visit theirs, specifically to show him Sadala. This caught Caulifla's attention significantly. If she could go with, she might be able to convince Goku to come along too.

The saiyan girl practically invited herself, and Cabba didn't seem to mind, so they both went out in search of Champa's planet to speak with Vados.

Vados was hesitant to take them, due to certain rules pertaining to universal travel, but Champa figured he could let it slide, his reasoning being that if Vegeta and Goku liked the sixth universe enough, they could be convinced to stay. Caulifla wouldn't mind that one bit, even though her reasoning was different than that of the Destroyer God's.

Reluctantly, Vados prepared the Transportation Cube for travel and allowed the two saiyans to board while she controlled it from the top, setting off from Champa's planet into space where it broke the universal barrier and crossed into the seventh universe. Caulifla didn't know what to expect once they crossed into their sister universe, it looked just the same as their own universe. It had similar looking stars and planets, but according to Cabba planet Sadala had been destroyed, as well as the second home world of the saiyans.

Soon, they arrived on earth, landing at Capsule Corp. in West City. They were met by Whis, Vados' brother, as well as the assistant to Beerus, Champa's brother and God of Destruction of the seventh universe. He frequented Capsule Corp. in order to sample food from earth, bringing some back for Beerus as well. He seemed quite surprised to see the three of them there.

"My, my," he said, eyeing the two saiyans at his sister's side, "what on earth are you doing here?" then he giggled softly, "Don't mind my pun."

Vados gestured to Caulifla and Cabba, "Cabba wanted to ask if Vegeta wanted to come to the sixth universe in order to visit planet Sadala."

"Oh, well I'm sure he's around here somewhere, I only just arrived, myself." He said.

Caulifla didn't feel like wasting time with formalities. She charged forward, looking up at Whis, "Where's Goku at?"

The angel cocked his head a slight. "I don't know." He righted his head and placed a hand on his hip, "Look, I'm here to visit with Lady Bulma. If you want to find Goku and Vegeta, just power up, I'm sure the two of them will come running." He sent a glance at his sister before turning and heading toward the Capsule Corp. building.

Caulifla rolled her eyes and looked over at Cabba, "Well? Come on. Let's turn super saiyan."

"I… Guess," Cabba said and he immediately turned super saiyan and roared out loudly, increasing his power, his golden aura rising up from him like a roaring flame.

Caulifla did the same, only she increased her power into super saiyan two, her own flame-like aura spotted with flickers of blue lightning.

Within moments, Vegeta could be seen coming out the doors of Capsule Corp. his head turning this way and that as if searching for the source of the power. He spotted Cabba and Caulifla and walked over, his arms crossed.

"I thought I sensed a familiar power," he said when he neared, "what're you doing here?" he seemed to focus only on Cabba.

While the smaller saiyan explained himself, Caulifla wandered away, feeling a tad disappointed. She looked skyward, hoping to sense Goku heading their way. Maybe he was too far away to feel their power?

Just as she powered down, her hair going from a bright yellow to a jet black, she heard a sound behind her and turned to see Goku standing there, two fingers on his forehead. He grinned when he saw her and lowered his hand.

"Hey! So you are back! I thought that power seemed familiar," he said. "What's up?"

Caulifla ran up to him, smirking, "Cabba said he wanted to bring Vegeta to planet Sadala. So I thought you'd want to come with so we can have a rematch!"

"Oh yeah! Definitely!" he grinned ever wider, "A whole planet full of saiyans!" he whipped his head around to look at Vegeta, "Hey, Vegeta, I'm gonna come along."

Caulifla half expected the other saiyan to pitch a fit, judging by their interactions at the Tournament, but Vegeta smirked and caught her off guard.

"You might learn a few things about saiyan culture while you're there." He said and nodded at Vados before heading to the Transportation Cube.

The three other saiyans boarded and Vados stood up atop the cube before sending it off.

Vegeta seemed to be awed by planet Sadala, saying it was very different than the planet he had known when he was very young. Goku seemed less interested, especially when he saw the smaller stature of the saiyans milling about.

"They're not very intimidating, huh?" he asked.

"They don't even have tails…" Vegeta said, his eyes wide.

Cabba and Caulifla hung back, the male saiyan fidgeting nervously, while Caulifla just hooked her hands behind her head, walking casually behind them, bored of the tour. This was her home; she already knew all of this stuff already.

"Hey, old man," she said, referring to Goku as she'd done at the tournament, "you wanna go fight? You still have to teach me how to do super saiyan three!"

Goku looked over his shoulder at her and grinned, "Right." He looked to Vegeta and Cabba, "All right you guys see you later!"

Caulifla blasted into the sky, and Goku followed after.

They came to a rocky clearing and Caulifla landed, followed shortly by Goku. She turned to stare at him, lowering her brows as she regarded him. He was just smiling.

"You don't feel bad for ditching our friends, do you?" she asked, lowering herself into a fighting stance, immediately turning super saiyan.

"Nope. We can meet up with them later for dinner," he lowered into a fighting stance as well, also turning super saiyan. But he relaxed just a little, cocking his head, "You guys do eat, right?"

Caulifla laughed and charged at him, twirling midflight to swing at him, only for the older saiyan to catch her fist in his hand. "Oh yeah. We eat. I suppose universe seven's saiyans also have an appetite?" she asked.

"You bet," Goku said and yanked her arm out of the way as he spun, swinging his leg in to smash into her side and send her flying.

She was able to right herself, plant her feet onto the surface of a nearby cliff and launch herself off of it back at him. They clashed, and the two of them fought at a steady pace, testing the waters, getting back into the swing of things after the tournament. She was smaller than he was which made her a harder target to hit, so she was able to duck and dodge his punches and kicks more often than not. But he was big, and quite a bit stronger than she was, so when his blows hit, they wore her down more than her own true-striking blows.

They split, pausing their fight for a moment. Neither was out of breath or significantly damaged.

"You're holding back," Caulifla said, annoyed.

Goku nodded, "Yep. You're not giving your all either. Come at me. Full power." He stood straight, taking his super saiyan to the next level with ease. His bright yellow hair spiked upward a little more, looking more wild and fierce, and his fiery aura sparked with electricity.

Caulifla grinned with excitement and effortlessly transformed into super saiyan two with nothing but a short yell. Her hair looked fiercer as well, standing straight, blowing lightly in the wind that their immense powers made.

They threw themselves at each other again, their power and speed kicking up dust and threatening to crumble small hills of rock. They bounced around swiftly, exchanging blows so hard that they could be felt all the way back in the city they'd just been in.

Caulifla suddenly began to fire ki blasts from her hands rapidly after she'd flown backwards away from Goku. He'd begun to pursue, only to end up dodging back and forth away from the blasts, occasionally knocking them aside. While he busied himself with that, Caulifla threw both hands forward and shot a large ki ball at him and quickly flew around to strike him at the back when he caught the ball.

But he was smarter than to be fooled by something like that. He caught the ball, waited until he sensed her behind them and leapt up, tossing the ki ball between his legs as he hopped over it and set the ball of energy crashing into her.

Ki exploded around her and she was blasted backward, tumbling fifteen feet away, her skin battered and covered in dirt by the time she stopped. She stood up, frustrated and panting, yet she couldn't help but smile as she looked to the older saiyan standing so far away. He turned to look at her, a smile on his own face.

"You're still just as good as you were at the tournament," Goku said and suddenly powered down, his hair returning to its normal black, "but you need some improvement."

Caulifla blushed and crossed her arms, "What're you trying to say?"

"That you need training," he said and started to walk toward her, "Don't get me wrong, you're really strong, and you're pretty fast, but you could use some real training."

"Training?" Caulifla asked with a snort, "are you going to train me?"

Goku shrugged, "Yeah. Why not?"

She stared at him silently and powered down to normal. "I guess. I didn't want to train, though, just to fight."

"We don't have to train, but wouldn't you wanna get better?" he asked with a smile, "don't you wanna be the best?"

The saiyan girl smirked, nodding, "Yeah! I wanna be able to kick both Cabba and Kale's butts!"

"There you go! And maybe one day you'll be able to beat me!"

There was a thought! To be stronger than Goku was something Caulifla felt she could only dream about, and even as the man said it, she didn't believe it was possible. He was leagues beyond her. She knew all too well there was deeper power in him that he hadn't used yet. She remembered super saiyan three and super saiyan god and that super saiyan blue thing. She also recalled he'd achieved that Ultra Instinct boost.

"Let's begin," he said. And soon they were training.

Hours passed and night fell over the barren wasteland they had come to fight and train. They were both pretty battered, but Caulifla looked worse off. Her pants were torn, and the pink tube top she wore was so smattered with dirt that it was hard to tell if it had ever been pink at all. She panted hard, sitting back on the ground, trying to catch her breath, but some deep soreness made that effort harder. Goku stood over her, hands on his hips, a concerned look on his face.

"You learn pretty quickly," he said, "I'm sorry I had to hit you so hard."

"Don't…" she grimaced, groaning as she struggled to stand, "Don't be sorry. I've never felt… This good before."

"Really? You look pretty beat up," Goku eyed her up and down, wondering how she could possibly feel good. Then again, she was also saiyan.

"Yeah, but no one has ever challenged me as much as you do," she said, "not Cabba, not Kale. You're my first real challenge. It's pretty exciting."

Goku nodded, "It is. You're pretty interesting. Besides my brother, Vegeta's weak partner and Vegeta, you're the only other saiyan I've fought. Well, besides that other girl… Uh… Kale? But… I don't know about her… You seem more interested in fighting than her."

Caulifla smiled and shrugged, "Kale is soft… She's really not a fighter, despite her power. I try to encourage her to fight but she's timid fighting anyone without a real reason."

"I know how it is," he sighed, "I wish Gohan took fighting a bit more seriously than he does. I'm glad he participated in the tournament, but he's also got his job and his kid to worry about."

"Tournament or no, I like fighting, but no one here can give me a challenge besides Kale and Cabba," Caulifla said with a roll of her eyes. "They're tough, but I'm stronger. Or… I at least take it more seriously than they do. Kale, if she tried, could probably beat me easily, but she's so soft! It's infuriating."

"Why not go out and find strong guys to fight? Why not fight hit?" Goku asked.

Caulifla shook her head frantically, "No way! He's too strong! Didn't he go head-to-head with Jiren and almost win? I'm not-" she paused, noticing Goku had leaned down to stare at her curiously. "Wh-what?"

"I thought you took fighting seriously?" he grinned at her slyly.

Blushing, she looked away with a huff, "I do! I'm just not stupid like you! I don't take on people I know will beat me!"

"You wanted to fight me," Goku said.

She whipped her head back around to glare daggers at him, "Well that's because…" she stopped.

"You wanted me to train you?" he asked, pretty much spot on with his guess.

"You could have taken me out easily when we first fought at the tournament," she said, "Beerus even told you to toss me out of the ring because he knew you could do it too. But you didn't. You humored me. You fought me. You taught me how to reach a new level of super saiyan. You saw something in me, I'm sure."

Goku rubbed the back of his neck, smirking, "Really? Was I that obvious? Well, you're right. I found you really interesting and I wanted to see you get better and stronger. I wanted to push you. Heck! After that battle with Jiren, you could have taken me out! You and Kale had me on the ropes!" he chuckled.

"But you were good enough that you gained you energy back and forced us to fuse," she shook her head and smirked right back at him, "and yet you still beat us. You already gave me a fair amount of training, Old Man, but I wanted more."

"I'll train you," he said with a nod, "but first, I'm really hungry… Can we go get dinner with Vegeta and your friend?"

Caulifla chuckled and gestured for him to follow, "Yeah. We'll put you up in the best lodging in Sadala City. They've got great food. As much as you can eat!" she blasted off into the sky and Goku followed eagerly.

When they caught back up with the other two saiyans, Cabba and Vegeta were sitting at a table in one of the Sadala City's bars. The younger, smaller saiyan was gingerly sipping a brew, while the older, taller saiyan had slammed down a few. The Prince was staring at Goku and Caulifla as they walked into the crowded bar, pushing past a few people to sit down at the table with their friends.

"Y'see this, Kakarrot?" Vegeta asked, sweeping his hand out drunkenly at the surrounding bar, "this is what the saiyans would have become had there not been a civil dispute on our own planet Sadala. We could have thrived! We could have survived and not been enslaved by Freeza!"

Cabba, wincing, reached up to rub a hand through his spiky black hair, "To be fair, Master Vegeta, we were also employed by Frost, as you probably recall. Though, we thought we were doing good and liberating planets…"

Goku had looked around at everyone and looked back at Vegeta, a confused and concerned look on his face. Seemed he'd never seen Vegeta like this.

"But that's just it," the Prince turned his harsh gaze onto the smaller saiyan, "you had a choice in the matter. Either way we were a doomed race." He snapped his gloved fingers multiple times high in the air, not speaking another word until a saiyan woman rushed up and set a similar looking drink in front of him. He grabbed it up and took a few deep swigs.

Cabba looked apologetically at Goku and Caulifla, "The food should be here in a bit. I ordered a lot."

Vegeta went on lamenting the fact that his planet had suffered the way it did, though he did move on to talk about their strengths, reminiscing about the planet and the other saiyans, recalling their savagery. But, soon enough, a handful of female saiyans turned up with large trays full of foods Goku had never seen, but Vegeta seemed to be quite familiar with. The saiyan prince seemed to perk up a little bit and even as the others began to eat hungrily, he savored each bite.

Dinner went by fairly quickly, each of them eating their fill before Cabba stood up and looked around the table at everyone. "Because you two are our honored guests, I humbly ask that you stay at my place during your visit."

Vegeta, sobering after his meal, nodded, "That suits me just fine, so long as I don't have to share a room with Kakarrot."

"Don't worry about that," Caulifla said with a wave of her hand, "he can stay with me. After all, it was my idea to invite him."

"If you're sure," Cabba said and looked at the two of them warily.

Vegeta, too, stared at Goku and watched Caulifla's body language.

She was somewhat turned toward Goku, her eyes glancing over at him a little, as if expected some sort of reaction, but he merely shrugged.

"Sounds good to me," he said, "I'm gonna be training you, anyway, so it's probably best if I stay with you." He stood up as well and stretched his limbs, "In fact, we could probably do some ki management training tonight before bed. You already know how to use ki, but I'm gonna make it so you're not wasting it. Especially in your super saiyan form!" He grinned at her.

She grinned right back, standing. She looked over to see the other two staring at them, but she noticed the wary look on Cabba's face. "What?"

The young saiyan shook his head, "Nothing, nothing." He faced Vegeta then, "Uhm, Master, shall we head to my home? It's not large, but there's plenty of room."

"Mm," the saiyan prince nodded as he stood, crossing his arms. "I don't require royal accommodations." With a sidelong glance at Goku, Vegeta started out of the bar, with Cabba following.

Caulifla and her friend locked eyes for a brief moment before he disappeared into the crowd. What was his problem? She wondered. She looked back up at Goku and nodded, "Let's go."

Training went well enough as Caulifla caught on quickly on how to manage ki. Goku had said: "Ki management is just what it implies: managing ki. Don't fire ki blasts just because you can, fire them with a purpose. A volley of ki blasts isn't just for trying to harm, it can be a great distraction." He also went into detail about how to control your ki while in super saiyan or super saiyan two so it doesn't consume as much energy. This, of course, lead into why she can't just learn the super saiyan three transformation, as the third level consumes so much ki, so quickly, that it will tire you out and put too much strain on the body. Though it annoyed her, she didn't argue with him.

After training, they went back to Caulifla's house, which was separate from her hideout. It was a small, two storied structure, with a green shingled roof and clay and wood walls. Her floor was smooth stone and was simply decorated on the inside. There was a kitchenette attached to the small living room, and a bathroom in the back, and up the stairs were two bedrooms, one belonging to Kale and the other to Caulifla.

When Kale caught sight of Goku, she froze up, clearly remembering him from the tournament.

"Wh-what is he doing here?" she asked Caulifla when she came in behind him.

"He's gonna be our guest for a while," she said, "he's gonna train me."

"Train you? B-but… Why?" Kale looked up at Goku, who just stood, hands on his hips as he looked around aimlessly, checking the home out.

"Because I want to get stronger," Caulifla said, cocking her head, annoyed, "what's it to you?"

Kale blanched and then shook her head frantically, "I was just asking!"

"Mmm-hm," Caulifla squinted at her protégé before grabbing onto Goku's arm, "C'mon old man, you're gonna stay in my room."

Before they could get far, Kale cleared her throat, "Um, sis?" when all she got in return was a look from Caulifla, she continued softly: "Why don't I j-just stay in your room with you and he can st-stay in mine?"

The other saiyan girl stared at her coldly for a long moment. "I think we'll be okay."

Goku nodded, "Yeah, I don't mind. You don't have to move rooms just for me."

"Yeah, Kale, see?" Caulifla said with a smirk.

"Right. Okay." Kale said rather dejectedly, squeezing her fists closed as the other two went up to Caulifla's room.

Caulifla sat on her bed, legs crossed as she looked down at Goku who had settled onto the floor with a mat, a pillow and a blanket. He'd stripped down to his undershirt and his boxers, sitting cross-legged as well, looking up at her.

"So, how long have you been able to turn super saiyan?" she asked him.

"A long time," he said, "I'm not sure how long."

"How did you figure out how to turn super saiyan?"

"I didn't," Goku said with a hum, "I mean, I didn't at first. It just kind of happened."

Caulifla tilted her head at him, "'just kind of happened?'"

The saiyan man nodded, "Yeah. I was fighting Freeza and he killed my best friend Krillin. At that point we were all pretty beat up and I wasn't sure I'd be able to continue fighting him. But then he killed Krillin and I got so mad that I just snapped and turned super saiyan."

"You mean anger triggered the transformation? So it's kind of like Kale and Cabba?"

"Yeah! I always thought rage triggered the transformation. That's how I taught Gohan. You mean you didn't get angry when you first transformed?"

She shook her head, "No. Cabba just told me to focus on the tingling in my back and I'd do it." She then shrugged, "So I did."

"Wow," Goku said with a big smile, "You're way more talented than I first thought. You learn pretty quickly, too." He studied her for a long moment before finally saying: "You'll be able to turn super saiyan three in no time."

Caulifla squealed with delight, "I hope you're right! I want to feel that kind of power!"

"I think the best way for you to learn how to achieve it is to fight it," he said as he lay back on the mat and pulled the blanket about him, "so tomorrow, I'll fight you as a super saiyan three."

"I'm excited," she said, collapsing onto her side, staring down at him from her bed still.

"Me too." He said before they both went silent and fell asleep.