THE SEVENTH DRAGONBALL
I. Visitors
"The last ball.. the seven star dragonball. According to the dragon radar, it's right inside this house," Bulma notified her three tagalongs. Goku nodded, taking out his power pole just in case. Yamcha stood off to one side, blushing immensely and digging his toe into the ground whenever Bulma looked at him. Oolong fumbled with his army hat.
Bulma approached the front door, slowly turning the knob. It opened with ease, allowing the blue haired girl and her younger friend Goku into the small pueblo house.
The dragon radar bleeped louder, the directional triangle directly on top of the location of the last dragonball. Bulma glanced around, spotting the magical orange object lying in a shrine-like structure on a desk.
Goku hopped across the dark, well-furnished room, until a voice paused his hand from snatching the seven-starred ball.
"Who are you guys?" a small voice asked, two eyes peering at them from the corner of the room. Jumping back in shock, Goku nervously wrung his hands and looked to Bulma to explain.
"Um, we were just looking for this.. um.. ball, you see.. It's very important that we have it," she replied, stuttering every other word. Yamcha and Oolong, who were peering into the door and listening to the whole exchange, snorted in unison.
"Why?" the little voice asked again. A small flame appeared, lighting a few nearby candles. A small, blonde haired girl of about six or seven stepped into the light, holding her little puffy dress around her knees.
"To save the world!" Goku cut in, smiling at the child.
"But.. the Seven Star Ball is my mama's," the girl insisted, a small tear forming in her eye.
"Don't worry.. We can bring it back to you in one year!" Bulma assured her, patting the small girl. "What's your name?"
"Isa," she replied, sniffling a bit. "Papa will be upset with me."
Bulma glanced again at the small shrine erected around the dragonball. A small photo sat in the back, picturing a pretty dirty-blonde haired woman with bright green eyes. Her daughter was a mirror image of her.
"Well, tell your papa that you helped save the world. We'll bring the ball back to you in one year! I promise," Bulma said assuredly, smiling at Isa. Goku nodded in agreement.
"I guess so..." she said uneasily, watching sadly as Goku snatched the ball from the shrine and hurried out the door. Bulma followed suit, closing the entrance and leaving Isa watching them with candlelight flickering on her soft, white face.
"We're not even going to remember where she lives," Goku reasoned. "How are we going to give it back to her, when it's so hard to find in the first place?"
"I'm not intending to, but it was the only way to get it," Bulma replied.
Goku watched her with his mouth open. "You're not going to keep your promise?!" Bulma raised an eyebrow in scrutiny.
"It's not like we're ever going to see her again. Why should I?"