Disclaimer: Dragon Ball and all characters within are the property of Akira Toriyama, TOEI ANIMATION, and various other companies. I am using them without permission, and I am making no money off of them.
Prologue: The Twilight of Our Dreams
*****
The late evening sun spread it's silent light on the Eastern prairie, accenting it's many features. It's beams refracted through the dewdrops, bending the rays into an intricate pattern of color across the landscape, which in turn arched skywards on a course back to the heavens. A monument to All Creation.
The untamed countryside was offset by the dome shaped structure alongside the stream, looking for the entire world like some sort of comical igloo. It's whitish hull bore the company name Capsule Corp imprinted above the door, which was swinging open to reveal it's young heiress: a girl of 16 with odd turquoise hair twirled in a high braid. Who, at the moment, was in a bit of a fix.
"Where is it?" Her hair swished around as she turned her head in a half-panic. "WhereisitwhereisitwhereisitWHERE IS IT!?! Oh man, I can't find it anywhere!"
The girl scrambled around the premise, checking every part of the odd little dwelling in a desperate attempt to find the missing article. With no luck, as she was soon back where she started, sweating even heavier than before.
"Maybe I left it back in the cabin? Yeah, that's right, I left it back in the cabin!" With a half crazed giggle, she proceeded to head back inside...
"Hey Bulma!" ...and a shrill voice screeched out behind her, breaking her out of her contemplation. She snapped back to view her assailant: a young boy half her height, sporting a blue Kung-fu outfit, an innocent grin, and a seriously waked out "haircut."
But this was the wrong time to interrupt her. "DON'T SNEAK UP ON ME LIKE THAT, GOKU! CAN'T YOU SEE THAT I'M IN THE MIDDLE OF A CRISIS?!" she hollered out at him, letting loose her frustration at her half-pint companion.
Goku remained unfazed for the most part, albeit a bit offended. "Gee Bulma, y'don't have to yell!" he protested meekly, adopting a pensive expression. "I was just sayin' hello!"
"Yeah well, this is a bad time," Bulma responded, trying to regain her composure, which was lost again by glancing at the object chucked over the boy's shoulder: some sort of hideous mutant squid that dwarfed Goku. "ACK!" she jumped. "What the hell is that?"
"Dinner." he said nonchalantly, as if this was an everyday thing. Which unfortunately it was, of course.
"Ick, Goku why do have drag in every dead animal to the door?" Bulma sighed exasperatedly. He shrugged, and she decided to drop it. It'd take more than complaints to stop 14 years of bad habits, that much she knew. Sometimes it was hard to believe that he was only two years younger than she was.
"Well, you cook that outside. I don't want the cabin stinking up." She prepared to head back inside, when Goku piped up again.
"Wait Bulma, I wanna show you somethin'!" he told her. "It's really cool, come see!"
"Forget it," she said crossly. "I'm busy."
"Aww, c'mon!" he half-whined up at her. "It'll be fun!"
Bulma folded her arms, turning back around. "N-O, NO!" she growled. "Look, I just lost my favorite hairbrush, and I'm turning the house upside down and inside out trying to find it. I don't have the time!" She rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Honestly, do I look like I want to see anything right now?"
But she was surprised to see a mischievous smile on his lips, replacing his oh-so-innocent expression. "You wouldn't be so stubborn if you knew about the present I have for you." he smirked cheekily.
"Present?" Bulma raised an eyebrow, suspiciously eyeing the boy. "Alright Goku, what are you hiding? Come on, cough it up!" Somehow, she knew she wasn't going to like this.
Goku turned around, revealing a monkey-like tail extending from his rear. And curled up in that tail was a small pink hairbrush.
The sky tinted just a bit, casting a shadow on the two teenagers. Bulma's expression was shadowed a bit, her eyes cloaked underneath the darkness. But you could tell, by her clenched fists and rigid posture, that someone was going to die...
*****
"You little JERK!!!" Bulma raged across the field, chasing the boy in a mad frenzy. "You peewee, you shrimp, you dork, you LOSER!!!" Her arms pumped furiously as she struggled to catch the elusive thief, so she could kill him, and torture him, and kick him, and torture him. Oh yeah, and KILL HIM!
Goku remained ahead of her, so she resorted to throwing. "Come back here!" she screamed, throwing anything she could find. A rock, stick, table, piano, and a Dr. Slump comic book were all utilized as weapons, among other assorted objects: a bowling ball, a paperweight, an aquarium, an oversized spatula etc..
But Goku just laughed, and dodged the impromptu projectiles with ease, staying one step ahead of her all the time. Then, he had the audacity to stop all together. "Nnnaaa naa, can't catch me!" He stuck his tongue out at her briefly, than took off again, insuing Bulma's ire once more.
"ARRGH!!!" She charged forward again, readying herself with a new arsenal of knickknacks. However, Bulma was starting to notice her surroundings. In her anger, she had failed to notice that Goku had led her away from the field and into a small forest.
Leading her...
He was leading her somewhere.
Her curiosity piqued, she forgot about her resolution for the moment, instead glancing about her. The trees obscured her view, making it difficult to get a feel for her environment. The leaves blocked out all but a few beams of sunlight, giving the forest a surreal look. She did, however, hear the sound of rushing water from the east. Brushing the branches out of her way, she proceeded in the general direction off the sounds.
It was getting louder now, so Bulma redoubled her efforts, proceeding forward at a faster rate. It was then she noticed the light coming from the edge of the forest. Finally, she cleared the last branch and stepped forward. But she was not prepared for the sight that awaited her.
"Oh Kami..."
A small river flowed through the scenery, trickling lightly over pebbles and small rocks. Dandelion's stood to either side of it, it's tuffs wafting in the breeze. At the end, the river cascaded off a cliff to create a small waterfall, catching the sunrays at just the right angle to create a miniature rainbow. And all the while, a beautiful sunset framed the locale, setting the scene as perfectly as a storybook picture.
"I found it while fishing," Goku had emerged from his hiding place behind the tree, the hairbrush in his grasp. "I had to get your attention quickly, or you'd miss it." He walked over to Bulma's side. "Do...you like it?"
"It's beautiful," She didn't glance at him, too caught up in the view to pay full attention. Glancing at the sky, she beheld the low nimbus clouds that cloaked the sun's illumination. A streak of violet shot through them, testimony to the light they hid within their dark expanses.
Bulma vaguely noticed that Goku was scooting closer to her. She turned upon feeling some light pressure on her palm, and was surprised to find that Goku had taken her hand in his. He looked at her with a nervous expression, awaiting the berating he was sure to get for his boldness.
But instead of shouting at him, she smiled softly at him, and gently squeezed back. His mouth turned upwards into his characteristic smile of his once again, his eyes lighting up with boyish glee, and both of them turned to the waterfall once more.
The sun had dipped slightly since they had arrived, peeking just above the horizon. The arc of the rainbow was a bit smaller than usual, but no less beautiful to either of them. The rocks, now shining brilliantly with the light, reflected the early twilight that came.
And the hairbrush lay forgotten by the tree, abandoned for the wondrous view that stood before her and the warm hand of the boy that stood beside her...
Chapter 1
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