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Night falls… and the deadly duo of the desert, Yamcha and Puar, have not yet ventured another assault on Son Goku and friends. But it is an uneasy peace that settles over our intrepid adventurers…
"Huh… spending a night in the desert… how romantic…" Bulma noisily exhaled, right before taking a light sip of the freshly brewed tea. She'd been lamenting for the past hour.
In return, the young Rias rubbed at her forehead, displaying her complete and utter annoyance with the hormone-driven teenager. "I don't know how much longer I can keep up with this…"
Presently, they were staying in one of Bulma's deployable capsule homes, a structure similar to one of Rias's very own. Everyone was sitting around the living room table, just behind the walk-in kitchen. After their bout with the desert bandit, Yamcha, and a little extra traveling, the group collectively decided to settle down during the sahara night.
"Pardon me, Bulma," Sona lowered her own tea, "but is there a bathroom?"
"Yeah, it's in the back." Bulma rocked a thumb back, aimed towards the small hallway passing the capsule kitchen. "We, girls, can all take a shower in a minute. It's big enough." Her expression changed, then she glared at the boys. "No peeking."
"O-Of course." Sairaorg blushed.
Oolong grunted like he had tasted something foul.
Goku, meanwhile, continued to wolf down on the contents of his eighth plate…
Akeno shook her head, amazed the boy could still new find ways to keep astounding her. "Oh my, just how can you eat so much, silly?" She gently played with his jagged hair, catching a swift glare from Rias.
"Cuz I'm hungry." He barely managed to muffle, then went right back to eating.
And so, the four girls excused themselves, leaving the boys to their own devices.
Still visibly nervous, Oolong got up from the cushioned booth and peaked through the window blinds across from their seating. "Those two idiots could be lurking out there, y'know…"
Goku laughed, then pushed away the empty plate. "Sokay! I'm good now, so I can't lose!"
"Huh? Is that your source of strength, Goku?" Asked Sairaorg, genuinely curious.
The boy shrugged, then laid back into the booth with his arms supporting his head. "Dunno, I guess. All I know is that I get really tired when I'm hungry… or super full."
Sairaorg chuckled. "You're telling me that you're not even full yet?"
"Ha, Ha, Ha!" Goku beamed. "Nope, but I'll be fine!"
"Say, boys," Oolong rejoined the two at the table, "what are you guys traveling around for, anyways? It's those Dragon Balls, am I right…? What are they? They must be worth somethin', otherwise Puar's boyfriend wouldn't be after our bacon… no pun intended."
"…No pun intended." The radio loudly crackled with the pig's snobbish voice.
"W-What a meanie!" Puar cried, naturally upset.
"Don't let that idiot bother you, Puar." Yamcha shook his head, then shot his partner in crime a sharp grin. "He's so dumb that he didn't even notice the tracker you slipped on him after transforming into a fly. Don't let his words get to you."
Hidden in a random makeshift base, somewhere away from Rias and the others, the two returned their focus to the radio at hand. The bandit narrowed his eyes. "Let's keep listening in…"
"Wait!" Oolong cried out in surprise. "So… if you collect all seven of these Dragon Balls… the summoned Dragon will grant your wish?!"
"Impressive, huh?" Nodded Sairaorg. "I was quite shocked, too, when Sona gave me the rundown."
The pig turned to Goku. "Any wish… at all?"
"That's what Rias said." The monkey boy nodded, his tail wagged up and down at his side.
"And how many of these balls do you guys have, presently?"
"Five, including Bulma's." Sairaorg copied Goku, sitting back in the booth, insipidly. "There's one hidden somewhere around Fry-Pan Mountain, but the other Dragon Ball's location is still a relative mystery to us."
"Wow… crazy…"
"Did you hear that?!" Yamcha shrieked, completely and utterly befuddled.
"Oh, yeah!" His sidekick jumped up and down, ecstatic as well.
"Any wish will be granted…" The bandit's eyes sparkled with possibility. "WA-HA-HA! Finally, I can wish to never be afraid of girls again!" He cried out triumphantly as Puar nearly tripped over from the unexpected… stupidity of his friend's wish.
"Um… no disrespect intended, sir… but shouldn't you ask to rule the world, or for boundless wealth or… something? I mean… it's like a golden ticket! Forget the city guys who hired us with the promise of a bounty, because that's just meaningless now! We can literally have anything…"
"What are you talking about, Puar? I can steal all the money I want. I've got no use for the world, but this business of getting all weak-kneed around girls is ridiculous…" Suddenly, he tensed up, then shouted: "Especially since I dream of getting married!"
Puar frowned. "You dream… of getting married…"
From what Puar could already gather, this was going to be one strange adventure…
"Well, it's not the kind of thing I care about…" Oolong shrugged, pretending not to give the incredible information another thought.
"How come?" Goku tilted his head, curious. "Wouldn't it be great to see a real Dragon?"
Oolong shot back around. "Wait! You mean, you're in this just so you can see the Dragon?!"
"UH-HUH! And I get to fight, and see different places, and…"
"You could always just come with me to the Underworld. We've got Dragons." Suddenly, Sairaorg offered Goku like it was nothing.
"Fo' real! That'd be swell!" Goku beamed like the sun, completely overjoyed.
"…You're both really weird…" Oolong shook his head, pretending he never heard Sairaorg's comment. "All I care about is girls."
Now Goku was really confused. "Why do you like girls, anyway?"
"Wait," Sairaorg reeled back in surprise, "for real?! You're asking that… even when you've got cute girls like my cousin, Rias, and that Akeno fawning all over you?!"
"I don't know. They're like… incomplete. Girls have pieces missing! Like…"
Suddenly, a young devil girl—clad in a fresh towel—struck the boy over his head, once again. He quickly spun around to face the crimson-haired Rias. "Do you have the slightest idea what you're talking about?!"
"Huh?"
"C'mon," she suddenly pulled him out of his seat, "we're washing you, again, then going to bed."
Goku frowned as he followed the girl upstairs. "Was it s'posed to be a secret…?"
Sairaorg couldn't help but break out into amusing laughter. "Wow, what a guy!"
""What's the meaning of this?!"" Both Rias and Akeno, dressed in their pajamas, glared with unimaginable fury at Sona, who kept Goku safely secured at his side.
"You two are becoming unfocused. Feel free to fight over Goku later, after we gather the rest of the Dragon Balls. For now, he'll stay with me… while you two cool your heads over—EEP!"
The two girls bulldozed over Sona without a second thought, each grabbing a side of Goku's.
"Akeno!"
"Rias!"
"You idiots!" Sona jumped in, starting a three-way tug-of-war over the innocent, young Goku.
Seriously… what's there to like…? Goku thought to himself, as the girls eventually tired out…
…
I've had this dream before…
Grandpa was there, like always, smiling…
But then… there was a bright, perfectly circular light…
Grandpa always told me to never look at the light…
The sky was forbidden…
Wait… this is different… wait…
…
There are two people staring at me…
…
One, to the left, a girl… no… Grandpa says a girl is called a woman when she's older … stares at me… there are tears in her pretty, black eyes…
Her hair's messy… like mine! And when I look at her… I feel so happy and relaxed…
The other one, holding an arm around her small figure, is a guy… he looks a lot like me! Same hair and everything! Maybe an older me…? His cheek scar is really cool!
They're both wearing yellow and black armor… I think I've seen that armor before…
She's crying and saying something… then she hugs and kisses me…
I'm put in something… something weird and circular… like the light… but it's closing around me… there's a red glass blocking me…
Wait…
The guy rests his palm over the glass… I do the same, overlapping his hand… except his's four times my size… and I can't touch him…
Why… why am I crying… why am I crying so much…?
"Survive, no matter what."
That's what he tells me… as I start to leave the ground…
No… no…
No… stop, wait… please… wait!
"Be brave… be very brave… Kakarot."
Goku slowly opened his eyes, then pulled himself out of bed. "…NNYAW…" He loudly yawned as he took his time going downstairs. It was morning, and he had slept in. Everyone was now up and eating. Oolong was the only one not having any breakfast.
"Hey, good morning!" Nodded Sairaorg as he stuffed his face with toast.
"Goo' Mornin!" Goku smiled, yawning midway.
"Hey," Akeno called him over, "come get your food, otherwise it'll get cold."
"For once, Akeno is correct." Rias sighed, but smiled. "C'mon, Goku!"
The boy smiled and did as he was told. He quickly forgot all about his dream.
No sooner had the bandit Yamcha learned that the Dragon Balls will grant any wish, than he declared that he'd give up the bounty to retrieve the orbs for himself! Rias and Akeno are still fighting over Goku, so there's no use trying to stop them, Sona! The adventure continues, next time on "Gotta Heed The Call Of Magic Dragon Balls!"