In the darkness of the night, a roaring fire lit up the area. Two figures stood near it—one, a woman on her knees, trembling in fear. The other, a boy with a confident, smug attitude, loomed over her.
"What should I do with you..."
"W-What do you mean?" she asked, her voice shaking.
"You're after the Dragon Balls, right?" Goku replied.
"Y-Y-Yes…"
He squatted to get on eye level, his piercing gaze locked on hers. She stared back—and then her eyes rolled back. She collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.
Goku blinked.
"Damn… wasn't expecting that."
He stood up, dusted off his pants, and turned away.
"Well, anyway. Bye."
He walked off, leaving her lying there. But the forest wasn't silent for long. Multiple wolf howls echoed through the darkness. Goku stopped. Looked back at her. Then turned away again.
"Not my problem"
Another howl.
"..."
Another one.
"OKAY, I GET IT!!!" he shouted
With a groan, he marched back, threw the unconscious woman over his shoulder, and headed for home.
---
Back at the Capsule House...
Bulma had just finished her drama episode. She turned off the TV and stretched with a satisfied sigh.
"The main character's soooo beautiful!"
She looked around.
"He's still hunting?"
A knock came at the door. Goku's voice followed:
"It's me, Bulma! Open up!"
"Huh, wonder what he caught. Probably some hillbilly animal…"
She opened the door—and immediately screamed. Goku stood there with a woman slung over his shoulder.
"He eats people!" she shrieked.
"Shut up and help me, she fainted!" Goku snapped.
"I'm not a murderer or a cannibal!"
"ME NEITHER! Ohhh, this bitch is gonna raise my blood pressure..."
Goku brought the woman to the bedroom, removed her boots, gloves, and coat, then left her to rest. Bulma, sitting with a cup of coffee, finally calmed down.
"So who is she?" she asked.
Goku shrugged.
"She was being attacked by wolves. I saved her."
---
Twenty Minutes Later…
Both Goku and Bulma were dozing off.
"AAAAAAAH!!!"
The woman jolted awake with a scream. Bulma, startled, screamed back, spilling cold coffee on herself.
"ARE YOU INSANE?!" Bulma shouted.
The woman looked around, panicked. Then her eyes met Goku's—and she froze, breaking into a cold sweat.
Bulma slapped the back of Goku's head.
"Stop staring at her with those killer eyes!"
The woman, clearly a mercenary, switched gears quickly.
"Where am I...? Who am I…?" she asked, feigning amnesia.
Goku and Bulma stared at her with deadpan expressions.
"Horrible acting," they said in unison.
Flushed with embarrassment, she exploded.
"SHUT UP!!"
"She's here to steal our Dragon Balls," Goku said casually.
"I see. She's here to steal our—ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Bulma shouted. "Why would you bring her here?!"
"Welp, here's my theory," Goku began, crossing his arms. "She's a mercenary, well-equipped, so she probably works for someone powerful who's also after the Dragon Balls. That means whoever hired her might have one—or more—already. If we keep her as a hostage, we could use her as leverage. Get them to hand over theirs. That's my guess… allegedly, of course."
The woman stared at him, eyes wide in disbelief.
"...He got everything right."
Mai sat on the edge of the bed, knees together, arms clenched tightly in her lap. She kept stealing glances at Goku, who lounged across the armchair with a toothpick in his mouth, relaxed.
He turned his head slightly.
"By the way… what's your name?"
She stiffened. "...Mai."
"Hmm." Goku nodded lazily. "Cool. You should take a shower. You're… sweaty."
Mai blinked, caught off guard. "W-What?"
He jerked a thumb toward the bathroom.
She hesitated, then gave a jittery nod and rushed away. The bathroom door shut quietly behind her.
Bulma, watching from the couch, frowned. "You sure about keeping her here?"
Goku shrugged, hands behind his head. "Dunno. But I need her for something."
"What something?"
He stood up with a serious expressions without answering.
---
Inside the bathroom, steam was beginning to rise and swirl around the small space. Mai stood under the water, fingers trembling slightly as they traced her arms.
He acts like a normal kid… but he destroyed a plane like it was a toy. What even is he?
She inhaled deeply, trying to calm the panic rising in her chest.
---
Meanwhile, Goku crept into the steamy room, squinting through the fog. "Just makin' sure she didn't faint and crack her skull," he whispered.
He paused in front of the shower curtain. A silhouette moved behind it—graceful, feminine, body glistening in the water's glow.
With a tiny flick of his finger, Goku created a small ki orb, the size of a bean. It zipped through the air and burned a tiny hole into the curtain with a soft sizzle.
He leaned forward.
Steam filled his vision, but then—he saw it: pale, smooth skin, water tracing down the gentle curve of an athletic, trained body. A light bounce as she adjusted her hair, a touch of softness over the toned frame. Dangerous, but beautiful.
"GWAH—!"
His foot slipped. Goku crashed into the side of the tub, ripping the curtain down with him in a wet, tangled mess.
Mai screamed, arms rushing to cover herself. "PERVERT!!"
"WHERE?!" Goku shouted back, blinking in confusion as he tried to untangle himself from the curtain.
"YOU!!!"
Her heart was racing, her body frozen between fear and fury. But watching him flail in a panic, eyes wide, cheeks red, like a kid caught doing something dumb—her panic slowly shifted into something else.
"…No dear, you're mistakenly accusing me," he mumbled, still tangled. "I just came to ask what you wanted for breakfast…"
He's a guy. A weird, young guy. But still… a guy. That means I can work with this.
She wrapped a towel around herself, her expression softening as she adjusted her stance, subtly accentuating her curves.
"Did you… fall in?" she asked gently.
"Y-yeah. Slippery floor. Not spying or anything."
She stepped a little closer. Her voice turned softer, flirtier.
"It's alright… I don't mind..."
BANG!!
The bathroom door slammed open.
Bulma stood in the doorway, fire in her eyes.
"PERVERT! WHERE—"
She stopped cold. There was Mai, barely holding her towel. And Goku, dripping wet, on the floor, still tangled in the curtain.
"I KNEW IT! THIS is why you wanted her to come with us!" She stomped forward, grabbed his tail, and yanked.
"GNNNNGH—!" Goku's body went limp as she dragged him out.
Mai blinked, watching the chaos, then glanced toward the hallway. The Dragon Balls… I could—
Her eyes narrowed.
"Tsk."
---
Later that night...
Goku and Bulma were in the bedroom. She tossed a futon on the floor like it was a punishment.
"You're sleeping there, you perv."
Goku rolled out the futon, still confused. "Why is she so mad…?"
Just then, the door opened. Mai stepped in, drying her hair with a towel. She was now dressed in the pajamas Bulma had reluctantly loaned her—but they were clearly too small.
The top button wouldn't close, revealing the curve of her full chest. The silk clung tightly to her frame, the damp fabric emphasizing the light perk of her chest. As she dried her hair, they jiggled softly with each motion.
Bulma's eye twitched. She glanced at Goku who was smirking, fingers to his chin. "Not baaaad..."
WHAP! A pillow hit him square in the face.
Mai walked forward calmly, still drying her hair, then approached the futon and lay down on the far side, facing him. Her pose—innocent, but just suggestive enough—was intentional.
She smiled sweetly.
"Mr. Goku, we must wake up early tomorrow. Let's sleep, okay?" She patted the futon beside her.
Goku started toward her. "Yeah, you're right—"
YANK.
Bulma pulled him back by the shirt, flopping him onto the bed next to her. She immediately threw a leg over him, wrapping her arms tight around his body like a human seatbelt.
"Now let's all sleep," she said.