“Dragon Ball?” Goku repeats. “That the name of the show…”
“The name of what show? Anyway, can I have it?” Bulma asks with a cute voice.
*Goku squints, eyeing her suspiciously, trying to read her intentions.*
“Sure, don’t care… Why do you want this ball anyway?” he says.
“What?! You don’t know?!” she exclaims. “No—” he starts, but she cuts in. “It’s the Dragon Balls! There are 7 of them, and I want to gather them all. So, can I have it?”
*Goku narrows his eyes further, suspecting she’s hiding details. To himself, he thinks, *She almost killed herself for this ball—it must be important.* He crosses his arms.*
“And when you get them, what happens?” he asks.
“Well… a dragon appears and grants one of your wishes,” she explains.
“Wishes? Like what?” Goku presses.
“Everything! For me, I want a handsome and well-mannered boyfriend with the perfec—” Bulma begins.
*Goku tunes out, muttering to himself, *Everything I want? Maybe he can send me back…*
“Sure, the size is impor—did you say something?” Bulma interrupts.
*With one swift move, Goku snatches the Dragon Ball from her hand, tucking it into his pants and tying it there.*
“On second thought, I’ll keep it… Memory of my family and stuff…” he says.
“Wha—how did you? No, please give it to me!” Bulma pleads, kneeling and fake-crying, clinging to his clothes. *Goku thinks, I’ll use them to go back to my world. She said I need all 7—well, that’s one. But how do I find the others?*
“Pleeeease!” she wails. *To herself, she mutters, Crying doesn’t work.* She stands, dusting off her dress, then pinches the edge of her skirt, slowly raising it to reveal her hips toward Goku.
“I what you want…” she coos.
“Huh…” Goku grunts.
“If you give me the ball… I’ll let you touch my… Don’t make me say it, hihihi,” she giggles.
*Goku stares at her with dead fish eyes.*
“I don’t want to touch your dirty ass,” he deadpans.
“MY ASS IS NOT DIRTY!!!”
*Silence falls. Bulma collapses to her knees, crying for real. “Whyyyy are you so mean! I just wanted a handsome boyfriend! I did all this for nothing! I risked my life and struggled so much to get the other one!” Goku’s tail twitches at the new info.*
“You… have another one?” he asks casually.
“Sniff… Yes, the 2-star one,” she says, pulling it from her pouch.
“Huuumm… I see…” Goku muses.
*Ideas race through his mind. To himself, he thinks, I could knock her out and take it, but then what? She found the first one and came straight for the second—she can locate them. There might be more steps to summon the dragon with all 7… Okay, done!* He turns to her, leaning in with a hand behind his back and a wide smile.*
“You know what, I feel bad for you,” he says.
*Bulma leaps up at blinding speed, reversing her tears, clasping her hands with a cute voice. “Really!”*
*To himself, Goku mutters, “This girl! No wonder she can’t get a boyfriend. I guess I’m worse…”*
“Then go on, hand it over,” she urges.
“No, no, no. Let’s make a deal. This ball is important to me—it’s a souvenir of my dear grandpa or something like that. I can’t just give it to you,” Goku counters.
“Then what?” she asks.
“Go and collect all of them, then come back here. I’ll give you the ball, and you can summon the dragon,” he says, adding in his thoughts, *And then I’ll knock you the fuck out and ask to go back, hmhmhm.*
“Oh, what! But it’s too far—they’re scattered around the world, and coming back here will take months, even if everything goes smoothly!” She taps her finger under her lip, acting cute. “You know what, come with me! It’ll be faster this way, plus you can see the world!” *To herself, she thinks, Like I get the Dragon Ball and a bodyguard. I’m. A. Genius!*
*Goku stays silent, distrusting her. Bunshichi, his past self, was a manipulator and senses her alternate motive. But what can she do to him? He looks at her.*
“Okay, I’ll go with you. Let me grab my stuff…” he says.
“YES!” Bulma cheers.
*Goku fetches a staff from Gohan, the Dragon Ball, and heads out to Bulma. Reaching her, he asks,* “By the way, you destroyed your car. We gonna walk from here?”
“YOU DESTROYED IT!!! … I still have some capsules,” she retorts, opening a metallic box with a bunch of capsules. She picks one, clicks it, and tosses it.*
“What do you mean, capsule? Is that some kind of medec—” Goku starts.
*A cloud forms, and a futuristic motorcycle materializes. “WHAT THE HELL! Are you a witch!?” he exclaims.*
“You really are a hillbilly. This is a Hoi Poi capsule—it’s modern technology,” Bulma explains.
“…I guess…” Goku mutters.
Bulma strides to her bike, climbs on, and turns to Goku. “Come on, climb on the back!” she calls. Goku leaps behind her, grabbing her waist. He leans to the side and says,
“By the way, Bloomers—”
“BULMA!” she snaps.
“How do you know the location of the Dragon Balls?” he asks.
“Fufufu, I’m not just a beautiful girl but a genius too! Because the balls give off an electromagnetic sign—” she starts.
“The short version, please,” Goku interrupts.
“You’re so not cute!” she pouts. “I made this radar that can pick up this exact frequency.”
“Whoa, you really ARE smart,” Goku admits.
Bulma adjusts her goggles for the ride. “What is this supposed to mean!?” she mutters. With that, they’re off—Bulma driving at full speed, barely controlling the bike, while Goku clings to her to avoid flying off as they set out to find the other Dragon Balls.