PREVIOUSLY
"Well, okay. But just for a second." Goku said as he placed the four star one next to the other two. "Pretty cool huh?" Bulma asked him as they started to glow. "Yeah these gems have the power to do great things, and not so great. Let's just say if a bad person got a hold of these balls, he could really wreak some havoc." She explained.
"Well what do these things do?" Goku asked her. "They grant wishes." Another voice said from the doorway.
Chapter 15: The Hunt Begins
Robin was starting to get hungry and it was almost lunch time. He didn't have any money with him this time so he decided to say bye to Mark and Mariah and fly home. He still had a strange feeling inside of him. It's similar to the time Gohan died and he found the house destroyed.
He wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not, but he was trying not to worry about it. Besides, this time the feeling felt more positive. So he decided to hurry it up. It would only take him about fifteen seconds to fly all the way home, but he was quite hungry so he slowed it down a bit.
Since he was going slower, something on the path near the house caught his eye. He couldn't tell what it was at first because it was reflecting sunlight into his eyes, so he went down to check it out.
It was an overturned car that Robin instantly recognized. 'So today's the day hmm? Time to go try my hardest not to rewrite history.' Robin thought to himself as he steeled his nerves before going to see Bulma chatting with Goku.
He jogged the rest of the path up to the house so it only took him about a minute. He didn't want to get caught flying just in case they were outside. When he got close to the house, he could hear them talking.
"Yeah, these gems have the power to do great things, and not so great. Let's just say if a bad person got a hold of these balls, he could really wreak some havoc." He heard Bulma explain to Goku. "Well what do these things do?" He heard Goku ask her and that's when he decided to make his entrance.
"They grant wishes." Robin said to them as he stood in the doorway. Goku looked up and Bulma turned around, both surprised at first. Goku snapped out of it at first. "Hey big brother, someone from the city is here!" Goku exclaimed from his spot.
'So that's his big brother? Wow, he's quite handsome.' Bulma thought to herself as she looked Robin up and down. "I can see that. I saw the car down the road." Robin said. His voice snapped Bulma out of her lust induced trance. "So you actually know what a car is?" She asked him.
"Yeah, unlike Goku, I've actually spent a lot of time in cities and I'm actually educated." Robin explained to her. 'He looks familiar… Yeah that guy on the news a few years ago that helped save Orange Star City.' Bulma thought to herself. "Is your name Robin by any chance?" She asked him.
This made Robin pause. 'Have I actually met Bulma before? Her ki seems new and I'm sure I'd remember someone with such a crazy colour of hair.' "Yeah, my name's Robin. Have we met before?" He asked her, kind of curious himself. "No, I just remember you being on the news all around the world a few years ago, something about saving a city." She said.
Robin didn't think he'd be known worldwide for that single battle, being too famous could cause some things to happen that wouldn't be too good, he would try to be more careful from now on. "Oh. I never thought I was that well known, I wasn't the only fighter there you know." Robin replied not quite sure what to say.
"Well I never really thought to look into the story." Bulma said while turning her attention back to the Dragon Balls on the table. "So, about the Dragon Ball that you guys have… Do you think I could have it?" Bulma asked.
"Do they really grant wishes? I wonder why grandpa never mentioned that before." Goku spoke up while holding the four star ball in his hands looking at it intensely "He might not have even known about them Goku, not many people do. The truth is, we're some of the only few that actually know about the Dragon Balls or the dragon." Bulma told him.
"Well don't get ours mixed up with yours." Goku said. "Don't worry. Each Dragon Ball has its own number of stars." Bulma said while showing him the five star one and pointing out the number to him. "Oh I get it. Grandpa's ball has four stars!" Goku exclaimed.
"Wow I can't believe I already have three Dragon Balls, at this rate I'll be able to wish for a boyfriend by the end of the month." Bulma happily spoke to herself. 'Although that Robin guy is quite the hunk.' She thought to herself with a slight blush. "You will let me have your Dragon Ball for a wish won't you?" Bulma asked Goku.
"You can forget it. Grandpa gave us this ball to remember him by, and I'm not going to hand it over just because you're a girl." Goku said defensively while pulling the four star ball closer to him. "But your grandpa said to be as polite as possible to girls." Bulma stated, trying to entice him to give her the ball. Goku promptly stuck out his tongue at her obviously not giving in to her demands.
Bulma straightened up somewhat confidently at this. "Hey, I know what. Look, I'll trade ya." This caught both Goku and Robin's attention for two different reasons. Goku because he was curious what she could offer, and Robin because he knew what happens next. Robin decided it would be best that he turns around and quietly whistles innocently as the rest of the scene plays out.
Bulma reached down and started to lift the edge of her skirt/shirt thing. "You let me have your Dragon Ball and I'll let you have a little peak." She said while looking at Goku. "What do I care about seeing your dirty old fanny?" Goku asked pointedly. The innocence of it made Robin laugh on the inside but he had to clutch his ears at Bulma's outburst.
"It is not dirty you rude little boy!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. She then pulled a full 180. "Well shoot, there must be some way. The hunt must go on… Hey I know. Why don't you guys come with me? We could be partners. What do ya say?" She asked while looking between the two of them.
"Oh go hunt balls?" Goku said in a questioning tone. "Sure, why not? You would get to see so many new things and learn so much. Your grandpa would be very proud of you." She stated mostly to Goku. "Really? You think grandpa would be proud if I went?" Goku asked excitedly. "Of course he would kid, seeing his young grandson he raise all on his own, exploring the world. Learning all about the great cities and crossing the desert and seeing the ocean." Bulma was really driving her point hard, she obviously knew she had him interested.
"Alright that sounds like a lot of fun, I guess I'll go." Goku answered. "And what about you?" She asked looking over to Robin. "I guess I'll go with you guys but I want to do few things first. I'll just catch up with you tomorrow." Robin stated knowing that there weren't any real dangers on the first hunt as Pilaf wasn't necessarily the most sinister villain.
"Alright then. This'll be great." Bulma said as she snapped her fingers. "So we're partners?" She asked. "Alright, but I still get to keep my grandpa's ball." Goku said while clutching it defensively. "You drive a hard bargain, but have it your way." Bulma said. Robin wasn't quite sure if she was trying to make sure they stay with her, or if it was sarcasm. He didn't remember her thoughts from the show after saying this though as it had been quite a few years since he had seen the show.
'That little kid sure is stubborn. But he and his brother will make great bodyguards until I can get my wish. I'll wish for the most perfect boyfriend that ever lived. If that doesn't work, I'm sure I could also charm Robin." She thought to herself in a scheming way.
"Well here we go. The start of a great adventure." Bulma said while her and Goku walked out of the little house. "Hey Bulma, how do we know where to start looking?" Goku asked her. "The Dragon Balls can be anywhere in the whole world right?" He stated.
"Just who do you think you're dealing with here kid?" Bulma started with a confident expression. "I'm no amateur." She stated while reaching down into her little sack and pulling out a small device in the shape of a stop watch but with a green screen with a grid on it. "Here look." She said while clicking the button on top. Several dots appeared on screen with three of them in the middle. It was also making a beeping noise.
"It's a special radar that tracks the Dragon Balls. Look, see these three dots, these are our three balls. And these are the other Dragon Balls. It looks like the closest ball is right here, about seven hundred and fifty miles to the west." Bulma explained while pointing everything out to Goku.
"Is that far?" Goku simply asked. "Let's just say that it's out of our walking distance. And since you destroyed my car, we'll be needing a new set of wheels." Bulma said while once again digging through her bag. She then took out a case and opened it to reveal a number of capsules. "Hmm let's see… What am I in the mood for? Oh, this one will be fun for a while." She said while pulling out the one with the number 9.
"Stand back kid, stay there." She said while pushing Goku back a bit. She then clicked the top of the capsule and tossed it onto the ground a few feet away only for it to cause a small explosion. The explosion caught Goku off guard and scared him. Once the some cleared, a nice looking motorbike was where the capsule exploded.
Then after a small struggle of Goku thinking Bulma's actually a witch, Goku got on the bike with her and the two were off towards the next Dragon Ball. Meanwhile, Robin went to go pack his book bag and make sure his things were charged.
Once he was done packing his camera and laptop, he headed down the hill and knelt in front of Gohan's grave. "Gohan, I might not have known you for very long before you passed, and I may not belong here. But I promise that I'll protect Goku from any mistakes that I may make and to help as many innocent people as I possibly can along the way." And with those words Robin stood up and took to the air.
"Next stop, Orange Star City." He said aloud as he took off in the direction of the city. He decided to take his time though and admire the scenery fully as this might be the last time he sees any of it if things go the way he wants.
When he reached the city, he landed on the tallest building and sat on the edge of the roof. "Well Orange Star City, it's time I leave you behind for a while. I'm heading out to search for the very objects you're named after. Maybe I'll be back some day, I'm kind of on the fence about what I really want. Just know that you've given some nice memories and let me feel like a true teenager the last few years. So if I don't return well… sayonara city."
Robin then went back to the small house that he and Goku shared for the past three years. "Heh, three years. That time really went by quickly with all the training I've done. It's kind of funny, all these years passed, and I still feel like I might just wake up some morning, late for school most likely, and all this will have just been a dream. I hope not though, these powers are pretty nice to have. But I don't feel any older, nor do I feel more mature. I know there isn't a large difference between a sixteen year old and an almost twenty year old, but I guess after today, that's not really going to matter too much. Now, enough with the reminiscing, it's time I get something to eat."
Robin then prepared some fish with some tea. By the time he was done with that, it was about evening and Robin decided to get one last training session in, even if it was more of a lazy session. Chances were that he wouldn't have much too many opportunities to train once he headed off.
Once the sun went down, Robin headed to the house to sleep. 'To think that I've been going to bed at sundown and waking up at sunrise for the past few years when before I showed up here I was going to bed at sunrise and waking up mid afternoon most days.' After that thought, Robin fell asleep and dreamt about the memories he's made up until that point.
So it's been a while since I've updated. I haven't given up on the story but I struggled with this chapter. I wasn't too sure how to transfer into the main part of the story to have it follow the episodes. Before I had full creative control over the story but now, it's rewriting another story with a twist and it's more difficult than I thought it would be. Because of this, in future chapters I'm going to add a lot of moments where Robin is doing his own thing while whatever Goku is doing happens. Then I can give a quick explanation of what happened without fully detailing it. I'm sorry to anyone that's been waiting for this chapter and was disappointed by it since it's not very long and it stalls the story a bit more. Also, hopefully I can get future chapters out a bit quicker than almost three month breaks.