Bulma waited on the dirt road that wound its way out of the valley.
She had stored the bike back in its case and popped a new capsule.
An open-top jeep idled nearby, rumbling quietly as its thick tires shifted against the gravel.
Goku came running up the hill a moment later.
He looked exactly the same as before.
No backpack, no bundle of clothes.
Just the red staff strapped to his back and the pouch tied securely to his waist.
Bulma looked behind him, expecting to see a pile of supplies.
"Is that it?" She asked, leaning against the doorframe.
"Where's your luggage?"
Goku looked at his empty hands, then back at her.
"Luggage?"
"Clothes, toothbrush, food... stuff?"
"I have no other clothes. And I can hunt for food. I don't have anything else to take."
Bulma looked at him for a second.
Most people i knew wouldn't cross the street without three suitcases. Oh well...
"No problem. Travel light, they say. Get in."
He approached the jeep cautiously, circling it like he was sizing up a monster.
He reached out and touched the cold metal of the hood, then sniffed the rubber tire.
"What is this?" He looked at Bulma, confused.
"Is this... the mother of the other one? Is it the same species as the loud monster you rode in on?"
Bulma thought he was pulling her leg. She stared at him for a beat, waiting for the punchline.
But looking at his face, she realized he wasn't trying to be funny.
He had truly never seen a car before.
What kind of question is that? Does he really not know what a car is?
She smiled, and for the first time, it was patient.
"These are machines. Tools, just like your staff. The one with two wheels was a motorcycle. This one, with four wheels and seats, is called a car."
"A car..." Goku repeated the word, tasting it.
"Yeah, glad you caught on. Come on." She gestured to the seat.
"It's a lot faster than running. And I promise it doesn't bite."
"I'd rather run."
Bulma laughed. She leaned out the window, looking him up and down with a smirk.
"You do realize this isn't a sprint, right? It's highway speed. For hours. You sure you can handle that?"
Goku shrugged, hopping in place a few times to warm up his legs.
"I think so."
Bulma opened her mouth, but she stopped.
Her eyes narrowed behind the windshield as a different thought took hold.
Wait a minute...
She recalled how he had simply vanished from her sight earlier. He was no ordinary boy, after all.
I need to know what I'm dealing with. If I'm going to drag a primitive bodyguard around the world, I need to know his specs. I might as well get some data out of this.
She smiled, ready to face the challenge.
"Is that right?"
Bulma gripped the steering wheel, revving the engine until it roared, sending a vibration through the chassis.
"Okay then. Let's see what you've got."
She pointed south.
"I'll race you to the Gurumes River crossing. It's exactly two hundred and fifty kilometers south of here."
She glanced at him sideways, her hand hovering over the gear stick.
"Best of luck, monkey boy."
Bulma slammed her foot on the gas.
The jeep lurched forward, tires spinning before biting into the gravel.
She didn't look back.
The speedometer climbed.
40...
60...
80 km/h.
The suspension groaned as the vehicle bounced over ruts and roots.
Eighty kilometers per hour on a jagged dirt track was crazy, but she needed to make a point.
She needed to know if he was worth the trouble.
After a minute however, the adrenaline faded, replaced by guilt.
She glanced at the rearview mirror.
Nothing but a massive cloud of brown dust blocking out the road behind her.
I'm an idiot.
She thought, her grip on the wheel loosening.
He's just a kid. A weird kid, sure, but still a kid. I just left him in the dust. He probably got lost. That was childish, Bulma.
Knock, knock.
Bulma jumped in her seat, the jeep swerving dangerously to the left.
She looked out the driver's side window.
Goku was there.
He wasn't even sweating.
He was matching the jeep's velocity perfectly, running alongside her door as if he were out for a Sunday stroll.
Bulma's eyes bulged.
She looked at the speedometer: 82 km/h.
She looked back at Goku.
"WHAT THE—?!"
"Hey!" Goku shouted over the roar of the wind and the engine, leaning in slightly.
"Is it just this road? Do I just keep going straight like this until the crossing?"
"Y-Yes!" she screamed back, fighting to keep the car steady on the bumps.
"Just follow the road south! Wait... were you just jogging alongside me this whole time?"
"Yeah!" Goku grinned, looking completely unbothered.
"I didn't want to leave you behind. But since I know the way now..."
He adjusted his posture slightly, digging his toes into the moving earth.
"I'm gonna run for real. See you there!"
"Wait... for real?"
Goku exploded forward.
It wasn't a gradual acceleration. It was instant.
One second he was beside the door, the next he was twenty meters ahead, kicking up a trail of dust.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!"
Bulma slammed the pedal.
The needle climbed.
90 km/h...
100 km/h.
The jeep began to fishtail dangerously, the tires losing traction on the loose gravel.
The chassis rattled violently. If she hit a pothole at this speed, she would flip and die.
She had reached the mechanical limit of the terrain.
But it didn't matter.
Ahead of her, the small figure got smaller. And smaller.
Until he was just a speck against the treeline.
And then, he vanished over the horizon.