At last, Goku and Bulma set off on the journey to find Dragon Balls.
Bulma rode her motorcycle at full speed,
while Goku jogged beside her, turtle shell heavy on his back.
After some distance, Bulma couldn't help asking,
"Hey! Goku, isn't that exhausting?
Are you sure you don't want to ride with me?"
Goku answered while running, "Nope.
I need to run more—training!
Grandpa said there are lots of strong people out there.
If I don't work hard enough, I won't get stronger."
Bulma stared at him, speechless.
With Grandpa Gohan alive, this Goku was completely different—
polite, and training even harder than before.
She wanted to persuade him to take it easy.
But thinking of the enemies and crises waiting in the future,
she swallowed her concern.
Better to sweat now than bleed later.
Besides, this little Goku clearly liked training.
What worried her was
he trained too hard.
She knew that after his first tournament,
he'd do ridiculous things like swimming across the ocean.
But seeing him push himself this hard at such a young age
still made her anxious.
Could a Saiyan child's body really endure this kind of intensity?
They traveled farther and farther until Mount Paozu vanished behind them.
After sunset, night fell quickly.
Bulma stopped the bike.
"Goku, hungry?
It's dark—let's camp here tonight."
At the word "hungry," Goku finally stopped and rubbed his stomach.
"Grrrr… grrrr…"
Sure enough, the moment he stopped running, his belly complained.
He scratched his head awkwardly.
"I've been running all day… I knew I forgot something!
I was so busy chasing you I forgot to eat…"
Bulma smiled faintly as she got off and packed the bike into a capsule.
She looked around.
"Nice. Flat ground—perfect for setting up a house.
Goku, stand behind me. I'm throwing it."
Knowing it was a capsule home, Goku obediently stepped back.
Bulma tossed the capsule. Bang!
A big domed house unfolded before them.
She looked at him.
"Well?
Pretty great capsule house, right?"
Goku nodded.
"Yeah. That's amazing."
Bulma blinked.
"Hey, you're not even surprised.
You already know capsule houses?"
Goku nodded again.
"Grandpa once took me to the city. I saw them in a portable housing store.
We didn't have enough money.
So Grandpa and I bought materials, cut trees ourselves, and built our own house back on the mountain."
Bulma understood at once.
"Ohh, I see."
She went on,
"All right, come inside. You ran all day and you're sweaty, stinky, and filthy.
There's hot water in here. Take a bath, and wash your clothes too."
She walked in first.
Goku blinked.
Back on the mountain, he'd dropped a lot of picky habits to make more time for training.
But on the road, staying clean was good.
While he was still thinking, Bulma called again from the door.
"Hey, hurry up!"
"Coming!"
He went in after her.
"Hold on. The bathwater's ready.
I'll start dinner first, then take you to wash up."
Goku nodded, then curiously looked around at the furniture.
Bulma knew Goku's appetite was huge.
So she didn't mind pulling out a month's worth of reserve food in a single day.
As long as she had money, she could refill everything in the city.
She took out lots of frozen meat, prepped it quickly,
divided it into more than ten different pots,
added seasonings, and set them all to simmer.
She clapped her hands lightly and turned to Goku, who was standing there in a daze.
"Okay, I'm done.
In about an hour, the stew will be ready.
Go bathe first."
She walked to the washing machine, opened it, dumped in detergent, then said,
"And you—take off your clothes here first.
I'll throw them in and wash them for you!"
Goku pointed at himself, startled.
"Wait… you mean I'm supposed to undress here?"
Bulma paused.
This wasn't the Goku she remembered.
He was tiny, yet already embarrassed.
She lifted her brow and snorted.
"Come on…
You're just a kid!
You're about as tall as my butt. What are you shy about?
Hurry up and strip!"
Goku really was uncomfortable.
His body was a kid's,
but his soul was an adult's.
Maybe because his body hadn't matured,
he didn't feel much desire toward Bulma at all.
But undressing in front of a girl?
No way.
Seeing him hesitate, Bulma snapped,
"Get undressed! Your clothes stink.
If you don't mind the smell, I do!
This is my house. If you're sleeping here, you listen to me!"
Goku looked at her, conflicted.
"Then… turn around. Don't look!"
Bulma laughed under her breath and turned away disdainfully.
"Fine, fine. You're still bashful.
You're just a kid,
not even grown yet. I don't care to look anyway.
Hurry up.
After you're done, go straight into the bathroom and get in the tub. The water's ready."
Goku wasn't just shy—he was curious too.
This Bulma wasn't quite like the Bulma in his memory:
less lovestruck, less silly.
He added, "Don't turn around and peek!"
"Yeah, yeah, got it."
Bulma waved him off, still facing away.
She wasn't the original Bulma.
She'd lived two lifetimes, even been a mother in the apocalypse.
Even after missing Goku for twenty years,
standing before this ungrown boy stirred no romantic desire in her.
She just wanted him clean and fed.
Still, thinking about Chi-Chi in the future,
Bulma decided that once she and Goku were closer in a few days,
she would make him promise to marry her when they grew up.
Yes.
She had to lock him down while he still didn't know better.