Chapter 4: The Two-Star Dragon Ball - Part 1

Dr. Briefs was startled by his daughter's sudden excitement and whispered in defense, "That wasn't a Dragon Ball. It was just a special glass ball."

"Whether it's a Dragon Ball or a glass ball, I want to know where it is!" Bulma persisted.

"Oh, let me think. It's probably in our warehouse at home, but I'm not sure where I put it," Dr. Briefs replied.

After hearing her father's response, Bulma didn't even finish her dinner. She rushed to their home's warehouse.

But when Bulma opened the warehouse, her heart sank. The warehouse was enormous, filled with countless items. How could she possibly find the Dragon Ball on her own?

Bulma immediately thought of John. She had planned to grant his wish first, and she was sure he would help her find the Dragon Ball.

Of course, there was no problem with that, but she realized she didn't have John's contact information. She sighed, blaming her mother for scaring him away and causing this oversight.

Meanwhile, John, after bidding farewell to Bulma, had been so frightened by her mother that he ran straight home. It wasn't until he closed the door behind him that he finally felt relief, his heart still pounding from the exertion of running.

Since it was already late, John began preparing dinner. It was then that he realized he hadn't exchanged contact information with Bulma.

With no other choice, John decided to go to Bulma's school the next day to wait for her after classes.

Little did John know that in just one evening, Bulma had already received news about a Dragon Ball. Soon, they would embark on their quest to find the Dragon Balls.

The following evening, John arrived at Bulma's school and waited for her to finish classes.

Soon, John spotted Bulma with her blue hair among the students leaving school. He waved at her, "Bulma!"

Bulma saw John and, after saying goodbye to her classmates, rode her motorcycle over to him.

"Hey, John, I was just thinking about how I didn't have your contact information. I'm glad you came to find me today; otherwise, I wouldn't know how to share this good news with you," Bulma said excitedly.

"Good news?" John's eyes lit up, and he asked, "Have you figured out how to make the Dragon Radar?"

Bulma smiled and said, "Not yet, but I believe it won't be long. Today's good news is not just about the Dragon Radar but that we're about to get our first Dragon Ball."

"A Dragon Ball? Which one?" John asked eagerly. "Can I see it? I've never seen a Dragon Ball before."

Bulma smiled and said, "I wouldn't bring something so important to school. The Dragon Ball is at my house. Come with me, and I'll show you the Dragon Ball you've been longing to see."

To prevent John from being scared away by her mother again, Bulma decided not to mention that they hadn't found the Dragon Ball in the warehouse yet.

John hopped onto Bulma's magnetic levitation motorcycle, and they sped off towards her home.

In no time, they arrived at Bulma's residence.

As soon as he got off the motorcycle, John thought of Bulma's mother and cautiously asked, "Is your mother home?"

Seeing John's reaction, Bulma suddenly realized that having a prankster mother wasn't all bad. She decided to have some fun, too, and casually replied, "Don't worry, she's probably out shopping at the mall. She won't be back until dinnertime."

Hearing that Bulma's mother wasn't home, John breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed. Then he asked Bulma, "So, where's the Dragon Ball? Let me see it."

Bulma said, "Come with me. The Dragon Ball is in our warehouse." She handed John a magnetic levitation step and took one herself to lead the way.

John was fascinated by the magnetic levitation step and mimicked Bulma, stepping onto it and pressing the forward button. The step began to move forward.

The warehouse was on the first floor, and Bulma led John there quickly.

Bulma opened the warehouse door and turned on the lights, revealing a massive space.

John was slightly awestruck by the size of Bulma's warehouse and asked, "Where's the Dragon Ball?"

Bulma sheepishly replied, "Sorry, my dad told me he had received a Dragon Ball as a gift, but he couldn't remember where he put it in the warehouse. So, we'll have to search for it together. You won't refuse, will you?"

Bulma gave John a pitiful look, her blue eyes filled with a pleading expression.

John's mouth went dry, and he croaked, "Of course not. No problem. I'll find the Dragon Ball. This kind of hard work is best left to us men."

Bulma was waiting for John to say this. She immediately said, "Okay, no problem. I'll go get you something to drink. What would you like?"

"Just some water is fine," John replied.

"Okay, then you start searching, and I'll be right back. By the way, stay for dinner tonight, and you can try the cooking skills of our kitchen robot," Bulma said, and then she left.

John had wanted to decline the dinner invitation, but with Bulma gone, he kept his thoughts to himself.

Looking at the warehouse, which was the size of a football field, John sighed and muttered, "Time to get to work!"

He began searching through the items in the warehouse one by one.

As John was searching for the Dragon Ball, Bulma's mother walked into the warehouse carrying a glass of water.

Hearing footsteps, John, assuming it was Bulma, said without turning around, "Bulma, your warehouse is so big. It'll take forever to search like this. Have you ever organized the warehouse into sections? We can start by searching the areas that are less frequently used and leave the more commonly accessed areas for later. That way, we can speed up the process."

"Oh my, I didn't know Mr. John was so smart. I'm becoming more and more impressed. Are you sure you don't want to be my daughter's boyfriend?" Bulma's mother said with a smile, standing to the side.