Bulma's Cloud Boyfriend

The evening sunlight spilled across the streets of West City, warm and pleasant.

Bulma, done with her day's classes, mounted her Flying Motorcycle and drifted lazily away from school.

She hadn't gone far—just as she was about to throttle up and take off—when a snide voice reached her ears.

"Oh, if it isn't Bulma? All by yourself again today, huh?"

Bulma hit the brakes and turned her head.

Amy, arm-in-arm with her new boyfriend, sauntered up to her in a graceful, deliberate way. A few passing classmates couldn't help but slow down.

Bulma shot back without warmth: "Move it. A good dog doesn't block the road."

Amy laughed. "I'm just saying, Bulma—that boyfriend of yours from before, did you actually hire him? It's been over half a year, and no one at school has seen him since!"

Bulma smirked. "Tch. Why should I let you see him? He's a Martial Artist—he trains all the time, he's busy. He only comes to my place when he's free. He wouldn't bother coming here..."

"A Martial Artist?"

Amy's boyfriend curled his lip in disdain.

Bulma shot back: "What, got a problem with that?"

Amy giggled. "You don't mean one of those flashy posers on TV, do you?"

Another classmate chimed in: "What era are we in? No matter what kind of Martial Artist, they're useless—not as good as a gun!"

"Yeah, yeah! That's the saying: 'Kung fu may be high, but a cleaver makes you cry!'"

Seeing the disbelief on their faces, Bulma remembered how she herself had thought before she went looking for the Dragon Balls. Back then, she'd believed a gun made her invincible. But after all those big and small adventures, she'd come to understand the true power of Martial Artists.

She looked at her classmates and let a flicker of contempt show.

Bulma shook her head. "You guys... talk about short-sighted! Let me tell you, real Martial Artists are seriously strong. Don't underestimate any Martial Artist!"

With that, she didn't wait for a reply and started to take off.

But Amy, not having gotten the upper hand, wasn't about to let her go.

She kept up the sarcasm: "Oh, that's hilarious. 'Seriously strong'? If you ask me, you just didn't even pick a good fake job for your imaginary boyfriend, and now you're scared of getting caught, so you're running off!"

"Yeah, right—whose boyfriend hasn't shown his face in half a year? Definitely made up..."

"Unless you call him up and let us see!"

Bulma scoffed. "You think I'll call just because you say so? What a joke. Move it—this beautiful girl is going home!"

The classmates behind Amy burst out laughing.

"Hahahaha, look, she's getting flustered, she's getting flustered!"

Amy blocked Bulma's bike, covering her mouth with a light laugh. "Looks like I guessed right. That boyfriend was fake all along, wasn't he?"

Someone had a sudden realization: "So that's how it is!"

Others couldn't help gossiping.

"Guess the rumor's true—Bulma actually hired a boyfriend to save face!"

"And she said he was a Martial Artist. What a joke..."

"Why not just say he's the World Martial Arts Tournament champion?"

"What else? The top fighters are only a handful. Bulma couldn't make it sound believable..."

"Hahahaha..."

Cornered by their mockery, Bulma's mouth twitched involuntarily.

"Hmph. A bunch of small-town bumpkins who've never seen anything. Pisses me off!"

Amy's boyfriend threatened: "Who are you calling a bumpkin?"

Bulma didn't back down. "Hah, picking on a girl—what kind of man does that make you?"

Right then, two burly men suddenly appeared, blocking the intersection.

"Don't move! Hand over everything valuable!"

The group turned to see two masked thugs glaring at them with guns drawn.

They were just students, never faced anything like this, and instantly panicked.

Amy and a few other girls quickly handed over their valuable watches, necklaces, and gold earrings.

But the robbers saw the haul was barely worth anything and were deeply dissatisfied.

The leader grumbled, "Damn it, aren't you supposed to be students at a rich school? How come you've got so little expensive jewelry?"

Suddenly, he spotted a thick gold chain on Amy's boyfriend and his eyes lit up.

"You son of a bitch, trying to hide it! Take off that gold chain!"

The thug kicked the boy in the stomach, making him stagger back in pain.

But just as the robber moved to grab the chain, he yanked Amy forward, shoved her at the thug, and bolted away.

Amy stumbled, nearly falling into the robber's arms.

Luckily, the thug dodged her, wary of a trap, but that cost him the chance to shoot the boy.

Amy hit the ground hard.

She watched her boyfriend's back vanish into the distance, chest heaving with rage.

"Bastard, he pushed me and ran off! I'm so furious..."

The robber leader sneered in contempt. "Tch, kids these days have no spine at all. Fast runner, though!"

Another thug chimed in, "Right, a guy dolled up like a girl, and someone actually likes him? I don't get it!"

Just then, one robber looked down at Amy sprawled on the floor and caught a glimpse down her collar.

A lecherous grin spread across his face.

"Not bad, students are always so fresh and tender...

Forget the cash, maybe we'll just take some fun instead!"

Amy panicked.

"No, don't do that!

I, I have money! Please, let me go home and get it..."

The thug laughed. "Let you go home? You think we're dumb college kids?"

Suddenly, Amy remembered that Bulma always kept Hoi-Poi Capsules in her bag, even a house.

Worth way more than this pile of jewelry.

Clutching at straws, she urged, "Bulma, you've got plenty of valuable stuff on you, right?

Just give them the capsules and let them leave!"

That remark drew the thugs' attention to Bulma.

But when the robber looked at her, his grin turned lecherous again.

"Hey boss, this girl's really pretty—way prettier than the others!"

Amy's face darkened.

"What? Are you blind?

She doesn't even have fake lashes on, not a trace of lipstick, and you call that pretty?"

The robber scoffed. "What do you know? Natural is the most beautiful!"

Amy was speechless.

Bulma was furious that Amy had directed the robbers' attention to her.

But hearing the thug call her pretty, a ridiculous flicker of pride crossed her mind.

She shot Amy a smug look. "Hmph, see? This big brother's got good eyes!

He can tell who's the best-looking at a glance!"

Pride aside, Bulma was still racking her brain for an escape.

There was a gun inside the Hoi-Poi Capsules, but it was hard to get to—the capsule had to expand, and it made a loud noise.

When the robbers weren't watching her, she'd been thinking how to grab the gun and take out both thugs.

If she handed over the capsule now, she'd be at their mercy...