Marriage

Looking at Goku's clear-eyed foolishness, the girl finally couldn't take it anymore.

She plunged her sword into the ground and let out a furious, defeated roar.

"You heartless jerk! Beat me, and I'll tell you!"

"Really?"

Goku's spirits soared. He struck a fighting pose again, his gaze growing just a little more serious.

Before Chi-Chi could react, Goku vanished in an instant.

"So fast!"

Chi-Chi felt a violent gust rush toward her. This time, Goku didn't dodge.

He appeared in front of Chi-Chi without throwing a punch. Instead, he lightly waved his hand, using the powerful air pressure generated by his incredible speed.

"Whoosh..."

A gentle yet irresistible gust lifted Chi-Chi into the air.

He'd controlled that strike perfectly: it decided the match without causing her any harm.

"Ah!"

Chi-Chi cried out as she drifted out of the ring and landed safely on the grass, as lightly as a feather. She didn't even hurt a single hair.

"Out of bounds! The winner is Sun Goku!"

The announcer shouted himself hoarse, as if he'd just witnessed the greatest spectacle of the century.

Goku stood at the edge of the ring and waved cheerfully down at Chi-Chi.

"Hehe, I won! Now you can tell me, right?"

Sitting on the grass, Chi-Chi looked at the radiant boy onstage. Her disappointment at losing the match vanished in an instant.

She got to her feet and brushed the grass off her skirt, a shy smile slowly appearing on her face.

"I'm Ox-King's daughter, Chi-Chi! Do you remember now?"

She gazed at Goku expectantly, her heart pounding with nervousness.

"Chi-Chi?"

Goku blinked his big eyes and tilted his head, repeating the name to himself.

His expression shifted from confusion to puzzlement, then a glimmer of recognition flickered in his eyes.

Suddenly, a door deep in his memory swung open.

The scene returned to a long-ago, scorching afternoon at the foot of Fire Mountain.

There was the strange little girl who'd worn odd armor, had darts on her head, ridden a Flying Nimbus, and been kicked by him—then later shyly tugged at his sleeve.

"Ah! I remember!"

Goku clenched his right fist and thumped it into his left palm, making a sharp sound of sudden realization. His trademark goofy grin spread across his face.

"You're that... that, uh... Ox-King's daughter! Chi-Chi, when you were little!"

"Wow, you've grown so tall! I didn't even recognize you!"

When Goku finally said her name, the tension in Chi-Chi's pretty face melted away.

She put her sword back behind her, her cheeks quickly flushing red as she shyly twisted her fingers together.

Her fiery temper gave way in an instant to a young girl's bashfulness.

She lowered her head and traced circles in the dirt with her toe, her voice growing gentle.

"Finally... you finally remembered?"

Chi-Chi lifted her eyes and looked at Goku tenderly.

"Do you still remember... the promise we made when we were crossing the river?"

"A promise?"

Goku was stumped again, his gaze once more clear and foolish.

The tens of thousands of spectators all held their breath, afraid to make even the slightest sound.

This was the climax of the year's biggest drama!

What promise had kept this beautiful girl waiting all these years?

"It was..."

Chi-Chi's voice grew softer than a mosquito's buzz. Her face was as red as a ripe tomato, and even steam seemed to rise from the top of her head.

"You said that when we grew up..."

"You'd come and marry me!!!"

"Boom!!"

Those words exploded across the arena like a bomb.

Bulma, sitting in the stands, was so startled that she squeezed the drink in her hand until it burst, splashing Yamcha beside her.

Her eyes widened in disbelief as she shrieked.

"Be a bride?!"

"That kid Goku... already had a fiancée?!"

"And she's such a pretty girl, too?!"

Yamcha was even more dumbfounded, his jaw practically on the floor. He stood there as if petrified.

"Is... is this really the same Goku I know—the one who can't even tell boys from girls?"

"He's living the dream! I've lost. I've completely lost! Why didn't anyone wait for me all these years?!"

Only Goku still looked utterly bewildered.

He scratched his cheek and asked a question that left the whole crowd reeling and would go down in history:

"A bride? What's that? Is it tasty?"

The referee stared at Goku in shock, as if he were looking at an alien.

Chi-Chi froze. The tears she'd just managed to hold back threatened to fall again.

"Y-you don't know what a bride is? Then why did you agree to marry me back then?"

"I thought it was some kind of tasty food!"

Goku answered with such sincere conviction that no one could doubt him.

"It sounded crunchy, like it'd taste really good. I was hungry back then, after all!"

"I figured that if you were going to give me something to eat, I might as well agree!"

The entire crowd collapsed in disbelief.

The spectators had run out of things to say. This kid's thought process was from another dimension.

Those who'd been calling him a heartless jerk now realized he really was just an idiot—an adorable and infuriating one.