In the premises of the great Mount Paozu, there was a house with a black roof, and walls half white on top, as well as half red bricks on the bottom of the exterior.
Goku opened the double doors, each with a red diamond symbol, a wide smile on his face.
The giant fish he was carrying had been left outside, and he moved towards a wooden pedestal. On it, a fist-sized orange ball with 4 red stars in it.
"Grandpa look! I found a girl, and a martial artist with cool eyes! They came to our house!" The excitement flourished from him like the sun's light on a sunny day.
"Ehh, such a shabby pla-… I mean wonderful home you have here… Uh, Goku." Bulma looked around completely unimpressed but held back the comment before forcing another smile.
Before setting a singular foot into the house, Zen bowed in respect to the house, and only then did he come in.
"Grandpa would be happy to have a guy like you around." Goku nodded pleasantly surprised by the gesture.
There was no time for Zen to say anything because Bulma saw something.
"THERE IT IS! The dragon ball!" Immediately rushing towards it without a second thought, she reached her hands out to it.
Goku, however, snatched it before she could grab it. "Hey! That's grandpa!!! You can't take him!"
"So it really was here, my genius did it again. The radar was just right. Hehehehe!" Laughing to her own greatness, Bulma soon coughed before saying. "Oh right, then let me show you, this."
Reaching into her pouch on her belt, she pulled out 2 more orange spheres, one with 2 red stars, and the other with 5 red stars.
"Witness the great dragon balls!" Bulma had a smug look on her face, awfully proud of having them.
"Those look rather fancy, is that why a pretty girl like you is out in the wilderness?" Zen asked, bringing back his earlier question.
"Ah!! You have two of grandpa?!" Goku could not take his eyes off the dragon balls she had shown.
"Bingo! I found one in the cellar at home, and the other in a valley cave in the North. I asked around but nobody knew much about them." Bulma took a deep breath, before walking to the coffee table in the room and placing them down. "After looking into it, I found the truth! There are seven of them with a matching number of red stars each. I did it using my invention, it's called the dragon radar."
"That's nice and all, but they can't just be pretty ornaments, right?" Zen casually inquired.
"Oh! I see it! Grandpa's has 4 stars." Goku picked up his Dragon Ball to examine it.
"Correct again… Actually, you seem oddly confident, and calm… Don't tell… Do you know about them?!" Bulma as sharp as ever, narrowed her eyes at the white-haired young man again.
"Tch! Caught! Yeah, I heard of the legend, just didn't think something like that could be real." He replied with another half-truth.
"You know them too?! Are you also searching for them? Why? Are you trying to make fancy jewelry?" Goku scratched his head as he asked.
"Really?!… You're well informed. I'll keep that in mind. Mysterious!… Ahem! Actually, when you collect all seven dragon balls, something amazing happens." Bulma responded before turning to the white-haired boy, taking this chance to test if he was bluffing.
"You get to summon Shenlong, and the legend claims he can grant any wish. From my understanding, they scatter across the world after the wish has been granted." Zen finished the explanation with his arms crossed.
"Yes… That's exactly it." Bulma was clearly surprised and for the next few seconds kept her eyes on him.
Her mouth opened, but she said nothing, instead choosing silence for now.
"Wow! Any wish? What would you even ask for? Lots of food to make me strong would be nice." Goku wasn't all that interested in the wish, even if he was surprised and intrigued by the idea.
"I have a great wish. At first, I was going to ask for an endless strawberry that never runs out, but in the end, it has to be: 'A perfect wonderful handsome boyfriend'!" Bulma expressed with a smile as she extended her hand to Goku. "So, give me the 4-star dragon ball!"
"What?! No way! This is my grandpa's memento!" Goku narrowed his eyes.
"Oh! Come on! You're not even using it!" Bulma complained but was met with a tongue out from Goku. "Hmph! If you'll be like this... I know…"
A scheming smile appeared on her face as she reached her hands to the hem of her dress, but right before she moved it upwards, the presence of the other boy dawned on her.
This caused her to go red, and immediately let go of the dress. "Urrghh! Just give it to me!!!"
"I would relax, if I were you. So Goku, how about just going along for the journey, and once it's done, she'll lend you that radar of hers? You get to see the world, maybe get a few fun fights, and once it's over, you go get the dragon ball back." Zen stepped in and patted her shoulder.
"Hmmm? So, I get to pick grandpaʼs memento after… Ok! That sounds fun." Goku nodded immediately agreeing.
"What? Giving it to him?!! My radar…. Hmmmm… Fine! I'll do it! But you'll be my bodyguard! And you too!" She pointed at Goku, then at Zen.
"Hm? Sure, you're pretty weak, so it makes sense, but I'll keep grandpa's dragon ball with me." Goku just got himself a pouch to keep the Dragon Ball, before tying it to his waist belt.
"Me?!… Sure, I am trying to travel and train. Lines up nicely. How are we going though? Not on foot, I presume." Zen turned to her as he asked.
"We're running there?" Goku sounded interested in the idea.
"What? No! Of course not! Since you destroyed my car, I'll have to use another vehicle, just let me check the capsules for the right one." She began walking outside the house after keeping the dragon balls, and pulling out a red box full of these pill-like objects, with lids and different labels as well as colors.
PIK
PIP
Bulma picked one and pressed the lid like a button before throwing the blue capsule to the ground. "Stay back both of you."
BOING
BOM!
A cloud of smoke appeared before dispersing rather quickly, making way for a white bike with some bulk, and an all-around visor. On the back, a blue 9 could be found under the word capsule in black.
(Images Here)
"Ahh! Yokai magic! I knew it! You are a witch!" Goku hid behind Zen as he pointed at her.
"Capsule Corp tech, she's rich, not using magic. It's complicated science instead. Those things are expensive." The white-haired young man petted him.
"Hmph! I'm no witch! Now, maybe I should get the jeep instead, there are three of us, after all." Bulma was ready to store it back in the capsule.
"You can ride the bike with him. I'll just run alongside it, which should make for good training." Zen said casually.
"What?!… Are you kidding?!… You don't actually think you can just keep up with the motorcycle, right?" Bulma's expression went into genuine concern for his mental capacity.
"Ohh! That's a good idea! I'm pretty fast too." Goku nodded in agreement.
At this point, Bulma felt like maybe it was a bad idea to pull two crazies along with her, even with the eye candy.
"Relax, it will be fine. You can start the bike." Zen simply began stretching.
Not bothering to argue, she got on the bike and started it up.
Goku too, began to take a position, mimicking the white-haired boy.
There wasn't any more waiting as Bulma hit the pedal, and drove off with her bike.
However, unlike she had expected she had left the two guys behind, and both of them started running alongside her vehicle. Worse off all, it seemed like Goku was the least troubled of the two when performing such a feat.
"What?! You two!!!…" Bulma almost swerved her bike out of shock, and instead, she took a deep breath to keep driving. 'They are both insane, but at least I got good bodyguards, plus Zen is honestly pretty handsome. Not bad to watch, not bad at all, hehehehe.'
The thoughts distracted her a bit, but not too much.
"It really is fast. I could run faster, but I get it. These vehicles are pretty awesome." Goku commented casually keeping up with it.
On the other hand, Zen was putting in a lot more effort to stay at this pace, with some cold sweat but not quite overwhelmed.
As he ran unable to quite keep up with Goku's energy and power, though the bike was doable, there was probably a limit to it.
'I'm not really tired yet, it seems my stamina is a lot higher than back in my world. I should take this chance to confirm where they stand. System, use scan analysis.' He commanded in his mind.
There was a purple pulse that came from him, almost like a sonar, which rebounded coming back to him once it hit the targets.
[Report]
[Individuals: Bulma Briefs, and Son Goku have been fully analyzed to the current capacity. Summarized profiles have been built for both.] The female voice in his head responded quickly.
[Profile#001- Bulma Briefs]
[Species: Human(Earthling)
Sex: Female
Age: 16 Years Old
Relationship(To User): 9 points-Decent(Recently Met)
Harem Compatibility: 89%
Traits: Genius, Arrogant Young Lady, Slight Opportunist, Hopeless Romantic, Strong Willed
Level: 1
Base Power Level: 0.8
Full Power Level: 3(With equipment/Guns)
Max Power Level: 5(Shotgun)
Potential: B rank(High-Mid tier)
Combat Threat: Minor]
'Great! The harem path is open! Let's give it a moment, and we'll get to it.' The white-haired boy smiled to himself as he kept running.
[Profile#002-Son Goku]
[Species: Saiyan(Planet Vegeta/Earthling)
Sex: Male
Age: 12 Years Old
Relationship(To User): 20 points-Normal(Recently Met)
Ally Compatibility: 100%
Subordinate Compatibility: 35%
Traits: Martial Prodigy, Adaptive Wild Boy, Ignorant Bumpkin, Battle-Junkie, Strong Willed
Level: 2
Base Power Level: 10
Full Power Level: 13(With equipment)
Max Power Level: 100(All Out/Great Ape)
Potential: AAA rank(Mid-High tier)
Combat Threat: Major]
'Ok, everything seems to be as expected, good.' Zen nodded and closed the floating screens.
The race continued as the vast horizon beyond the mountain dared them to push forth and reach a new wider world.
____________________________________________
In time, as they rushed past scaring the animals and critters around, dashing through the road at high speeds.
Having left the forest behind for the most part, they reached an open plain area with mountains in the distance, grass all around the road, rock formations, and a few trees still here and there.
The toll of the movement finally caught up to Zen, as his breath grew heavy, while his sweat-filled face got white hairs tangled on it.
"Ok! Break!!! I need a water break!" He yelled as he pushed to keep up before falling to the ground.
Goku on the other hand stopped, unfazed by this amount of work, seeming to be untouched. "Ah! It was getting fun… Are you dying?"
"Hahaha, of course not. I'm stronger than that." Zen pushed himself to get up despite his now wobbly disposition, he managed to stabilize, though he almost fell again, once or thrice.
Backing up after stopping further ahead, as even if they could technically keep up, both Goku and Zen were still slower than the bike, so she couldn't go full speed.
Bulma smirked seeing him in that condition, before shaking her head and taking on a serious expression. "See! This is exactly why you shouldn't do crazy stuff like trying to run alongside a motorcycle for kilometers(miles) on end!!"
"Point taken, lesson learned. Just need some water." Zen nodded too tired to argue at all.
"But it was fun training though. Zen is kinda strong. It would be cool to keep going." Goku sighed with a disappointed expression.
Getting off the bike, Bulma reached into her pouch, getting her red capsule box before opening one, by clicking the lid before throwing it on the road.
BOM!
A water bottle came out, which she picked up, before extending it to Zen. "Here, have it. You're a useless bodyguard if you can barely stand."
"Thanks! That's very helpful." The white-haired young man smiled before taking it, opening it to drink.
As she's watching this, she realizes something and covers her mouth. "Oh boys, sorry, you'll have to excuse me for a moment."
"Eh? What? Where are you going?" Goku tilted his head.
"Goku, people say that when they need some private time, to piss or other things. It's impolite to ask too many questions. Just let them take their time. You're only allowed to bother them, if they take too long or of its an emergency. Otherwise, let them be." Zen explained to him calmly before taking another sip of the water.
While that was happening, Bulma didn't bother responding to Goku anymore, and just went behind the trees and rocks to get her business sorted.
"Oh! I see! Bulma!! Take your time!!!" Goku yelled at her.
There was a pause of silence before a response came.
"… Thank you, Goku!…" Bulma was equally surprised and irked by the gesture.
Goku looked back at Zen with a proud smile as his tail curled at the tip.
The silence extended before the black-haired boy turned again to ask. "Zen, what's it like in North City?"
"Typically big city. Lots of people, probably a few million; lots of cars, bikes, stores, and many popular people, called celebrities. It's surrounded by mountains, and it's also called Metro City by people." The white-haired young man said all he knew about the barely characterized city.
In canon not too much is known about it, so he assumed it didn't have much going on. Plus with nobody from there to disprove him. It was a safe choice for his fake backstory, but as the questions pile on, he's made to somewhat question the decision in his mind.
"Wow, I never saw that many people… Do they all know martial arts, or train like you?" Goku leaned in quite curious.
"No, not everyone, but there are a bunch of martial artists, though," Zen said unsure if anything he was saying was remotely true.
"Hm, what about the mount—" The black-haired boy was interrupted before he could finish his next question.
"HIEEEEEEH!!!!" The intense yelling reached them both.
It was clearly Bulma, so both of them moved quickly.
"Goku, someone's trying to hurt Bulma. You'll handle this person, beat them up, while I get her." Zen spoke as they moved.
"Got it!" Goku nodded before dashing ahead, making sure to grab his pole from his back now that the situation was
assessed.
On the other side, a pterodactyl was holding Bulma in his three fingered hand.
There he stood, mostly dark blue with a beige underside, wings attached to his arms, and three fingers on both arms and legs, standing bipedal, and a tail, it was a sight to see.
(Images here)
'It's massive… maybe 6 meters(20 feet) long. It's a lot more intimidating in person... Almost discouraging, but I'm Zen! And until my 5 pillars are erect, no time to give up! Run in!' He shook his head as soon as he felt an ounce of hesitation in himself, only running faster into the situation.
"Damn it! She has friends… Back off! This girl's meat is mine! It's been ages since I had a girl! I'm not giving her back!" The pterodactyl roared as it got ready to take off and fly away.
Off the ground, the pterodactyl believed it had escaped untouched.
"No, you don't! Get a taste of this!" Goku ran in just in time, jumping after it before cocking his staff back. "Staff extend! Super Nyoibō!!!"
The staff grew in size, extending until it was more than long enough to hit, then Goku swung it with high force.
BAM!
"DEHHH!!!" The pterodactyl's eyes widened enough to pop as its 'horn' was broken and it let go of Bulma.
The fall began.
"WAaahhhhhh!!!" The blue-haired girl closed her eyes with her tears already forming as the impact was soon to come.
Running in fully prepared Zen intercepted it, the fall. He grabbed hold of her in the air, pulling her tight against his body and curling up before they slammed into the dirt.
He absorbed the brunt of the fall, feeling his back crack as he bounded on the dirt before rolling to the side for a while before stopping.
At the same time, Goku reduced his pole back to normal and placed it on his back before landing calmly on his two feet, a crater forming on the ground that ended up taking the damage instead.
Right behind him the pterodactyl formed a crater of its own, as the ground trembled on impact, it was fully knocked out, if not gone for good.
"Wawawaaaaaahhhh!!!" Bulma was still in shock at falling before she noticed the lack of strong wind and much more importantly an impact.
Especially since now that she had stopped, she could feel the heat pressed on her.
"Huh?!… I'm alive?…" She slowly opened her eyes and stopped covering her face to find white hair on her, as rainbow-like eyes looked at her. "…. GET OFF!"
The separation was abrupt as each rolled their way, and she tried to get up before tripping back to sitting, while he didn't even try to get up yet, they hadn't recovered from the fall just now.
"Urghjh! That…. hurt.…" Zen's face wrinkled as he felt the pain of it all, after all the vast majority of the damage was tanked by him.
"Are you guys ok?… Also, can we eat that thing? I'm hungry!!" Goku walked to them, then pointed at the pterodactyl splatted on the ground.
"What!?! No! Of course not!" Bulma took a deep breath, and taking it slow, she managed to get up if shaky then walked to check on Zen.
Looking at him, he was not bleeding just probably a mix of being tired after all that running, and the impact put him in a bad spot.
Fortunately, it seemed like rest would be enough for this one; thus, she sighed in relief.
"Thanks… For saving me. That was a lot… please stay down for now. I'll get a capsule house ready." Bulma caressed his face lightly, before getting up to reach into her pouch, still shaking.
"Owh! I'm hungry though." Goku frowned slightly.
"Just wait! A moment!! Gosh, you're too much…" Bulma face-palmed.
'Damn, that hurt!… Where is the Fanfiction logic now?!' Zen complained in his head.
[Response]
[It is fully active. This function has facilitated the survival of both you and Bulma. Results would have been 80% more deadly otherwise.] The system responded to him, her voice somewhat soothing him, as it was pleasant in pain.
As the afternoon encroached, and the sun was nearly gone, the adventure had just begun.