"Brother-in-law, do I look pretty?" Bulma giggled, showing off her figure and stunning beauty to Luo Tian.
"Ahem... How many times have I told you not to call me that? Your sister and I really don't have anything going on," Luo Tian chided her.
"Hehe, I'm used to it." Bulma smiled like a flower.
"You're sixteen this year, right? I remember you were six when we first met," Luo Tian said with a smile.
"Mm-hmm, I'm all grown up now." Bulma nodded.
"From what I remember, you're not an adult until you're eighteen." Luo Tian studied Bulma thoughtfully.
Come to think of it, Luo Tian had watched Bulma grow up.
She'd gone from a little brat to a beautiful young woman...
"No, sixteen is old enough!" Bulma said with a pout.
"All right. If you say sixteen is old enough, then it is." Luo Tian smiled.
"After summer vacation, I'll be starting high school... I want to use this summer to make my dream come true," Bulma said. "I don't care, Luo Tian—you have to help me. You promised."
"Don't tell me you want to go looking for the Dragon Balls?" Luo Tian asked.
"You remember? I thought you'd forgotten." Bulma stared at Luo Tian in surprise.
"I haven't forgotten." Luo Tian smiled. "Sounds good. It's time we got out and saw the world."
When Bulma was ten, she found a Dragon Ball in her family's warehouse.
After investigating and researching it, she learned some of the Dragon Balls' secrets.
But Bulma had been too young back then.
Going out to search for the Dragon Balls at that age clearly wasn't a good idea.
So Luo Tian had promised to go with her once she was an adult.
"Yeah. My sister's already off traveling through space," Bulma said with a nod. "Now that I've finally grown up, I want to go see space for myself."
"You'll get your chance. Let's look for the Dragon Balls first." Luo Tian smiled, then casually asked, "By the way, have you decided what you're going to wish for?"
"That's a secret," Bulma said with a grin.
Luo Tian didn't press her.
Of course, he didn't use his mind-reading ability, either.
As if I don't already know what you want.
You just want a handsome boyfriend, don't you?
As for Bulma's older sister, Tights, she'd left Earth five years ago aboard Jaco's spaceship.
Tights just couldn't keep up with the rest of her family.
Every time they talked, she ended up feeling helpless.
So when Jaco came to visit Earth, Tights asked to leave with him.
Her family didn't object.
Truthfully, Tights mostly wanted to gather material for her novels.
"When do you want to leave?" Luo Tian asked.
"The sooner the better. How about today?" Bulma said.
"Sounds good." Luo Tian nodded without objecting.
Bulma then told her parents she was going to look for the Dragon Balls.
"You're going to look for the Dragon Balls?" Bulma's mother asked with a smile.
"Goodness, Bulma's all grown up before we knew it." Dr. Brief adjusted his glasses and looked at Bulma. "Can they really grant any wish?"
"I don't know yet. I'll find out when I try," Bulma said.
"Have you decided what you're going to wish for, Bulma?" Dr. Brief asked.
"Of course. I decided ages ago." Bulma huffed. "But I'm not telling you two."
"I know what Bulma wants. She probably wants to find a handsome boyfriend like Luo Tian," Bulma's mother said with a smile.
"That's enough! I've had it with the way you two think. You scared my sister so badly she won't even come home. I'd better get out of here, too." Bulma huffed and turned to leave.
"Bulma, are you going by yourself?" Dr. Brief called after her.
"Of course not. Luo Tian's coming with me." Bulma didn't even look back.
"That's good. We'll feel better knowing Luo Tian's with you," Dr. Brief said with a nod.
"Oh, Luo Tian's going too? I wonder if you'll come back with a baby," Bulma's mother mused.
Bulma had barely made it outside when she nearly stumbled and fell.
She couldn't stay in this house any longer.
No wonder her sister had left home so early.
She'd better make a quick escape, too.
Bulma took out the Dragon Radar and checked the nearest Dragon Ball.
"Luo Tian, look. The closest Dragon Ball is still several thousand kilometers away," Bulma said, pointing at the map on the Dragon Radar with an eager look.
"It's still early. Let's get going," Luo Tian said with a nod.
The location Bulma pointed to on the Dragon Radar was Mount Paozu, where Little Goku lived.
"What? You're not even going to praise me? I worked so hard to make this Dragon Radar!" Bulma pouted in disappointment.
"Oh? I thought you'd bought it," Luo Tian said with a smile.
Bulma fell silent.
Could you even buy something like this?
She'd made this Scouter using the wavelength of the Dragon Balls!
"Forget it. Let's go." Bulma took out a Capsule and tossed it.
"Bang!"
The Capsule turned into a jet helicopter.
"Let's go!"
Bulma climbed aboard the helicopter.
Luo Tian took the passenger seat.
"Whoosh!"
The jet helicopter shot into the sky and headed rapidly toward Mount Paozu.
They hadn't even been flying for an hour when the warning light came on.
"Oh no, we're out of fuel!" Bulma gritted her teeth. "Who used this Capsule last time and didn't fill the tank? What a blunder!"
With no other choice, Bulma piloted the helicopter down into the nearby mountains.
She then turned the helicopter back into a Capsule and put it away.
"The air in the mountains really is fresh," Bulma said, taking a deep breath and turning to Luo Tian. "Let's drive through the rest of the mountain roads. We can enjoy the scenery, too."
"Sure." Luo Tian nodded without objecting.
"Bang!"
Bulma tossed out a Capsule, and it promptly turned into a small green car.
Then she took out the Dragon Radar and studied it carefully.
"Luo Tian, look. The Dragon Ball should be somewhere around here, a little farther west... It looks like it's up in the mountains." Bulma pointed at the Dragon Radar.
"Put-put-put..."
The car drove up the mountain road.
They hadn't gone far when Bulma suddenly spotted a giant fish lying ahead.
"Ah! Luo Tian, what's that?" Bulma cried.
"A big fish," Luo Tian said.
Bulma felt completely at a loss.
I know it's a big fish.
The question is, why is a fish that big lying in the middle of the road?
And it's turned over.
"There's a little kid in front of it, too," Luo Tian added.
Luo Tian knew the boy well. It was Little Goku.
"A kid?" Bulma said, startled, sitting up to take a look.
Sure enough, she saw a little boy in front of the giant fish.
"Ahem. Are you trying to run him over?" Luo Tian asked when Bulma showed no sign of braking.
Bulma fell silent.
Why would I want to run him over?
I just haven't reacted yet.
"Skreech..."
Bulma hurriedly slammed on the brakes.
Even so, the car scraped the giant fish and nearly hit Little Goku.
Little Goku was startled, his face changing again and again.
"Hey! You scared me. That was dangerous! Why are you carrying a giant fish in the middle of the road?" Bulma leaned out the window and scolded him.
Luo Tian sighed.
Typical woman driver.
She almost hit the kid, and now she's acting like he's the one at fault.
"You monster! Are you trying to steal my big fish?" Little Goku shouted.
Bulma was taken aback.
What does that mean?
I can't keep up with this kid.
Who are you calling a monster?
"Hey!"
Little Goku stepped forward and lifted the green car.
"Ah!" Bulma lost her balance and fell straight into Luo Tian's arms.
"That should teach you!" Little Goku said, flinging his arms forward and tossing the car away.
"Bang!"
The car flipped through the air several times before slamming into the ground.
Of course, with Luo Tian protecting her, Bulma wasn't going to get hurt.
Even so, Bulma turned pale and trembled for a long while.
"Is this kid a wild man?" Bulma said furiously, pulling away from Luo Tian and whipping out a handgun. "I'll show him!"
Bulma aimed the handgun at Son Goku.
"Ah! A fairy came out of that monster!" Little Goku shouted.
Bulma fell silent.
You're the fairy!
Your whole family's full of fairies!
"Bang!"
Bulma fired, hitting Little Goku right in the forehead.
"Ow! Ow! That hurts! What kind of magic is that?" Little Goku cried, clutching his forehead.
"No way! Why didn't it kill him? Luo Tian, what do we do?" Bulma exclaimed in shock.
"Dummy! How could a little thing like that kill me? My body's as tough as steel!" Little Goku shouted. "Fairy! I'll teach you a lesson. Take this!"
"We're doomed! The wild man's going to eat us... Waaah... I'm so pretty. Do I really have to die at the hands of a wild man?" Bulma sobbed.
"You really went straight to violence, didn't you? Let me handle this." Luo Tian smiled, climbed out of the car, and called to Little Goku. "We're not fairies. We're people."
Before you continue