Amenbo Island was still under development, so there weren't many places to hang out, at least not for a city girl like Bulma, who was accustomed to shopping malls and large recreational facilities.
The relatively natural surroundings of the island, especially Papaya City, where Bulma and Lazuli had gone, seemed quite inviting instead. Thus, both girls found themselves touring these colorful areas with interest.
Bulma was especially curious about the legendary location where the androids seemed to emerge whenever they attacked. In both Trunks' timeline and the original artwork, no matter the number, the androids first appeared on this island.
What will be interesting about it? Except for the strong emphasis on maintaining nature and a rural atmosphere despite increasing modernity, the city was no different from other places.
"Look! I like this clothing store. Come, let's try on some clothes!" Lazuli said, suddenly taking Bulma by the hand and pulling her toward the store.
It was a small store with several cheerful pieces of clothing in the window, appropriate for the warmer climate of the southern part of the world.
Shorts, short blouses, and even bikini pieces attracted Bulma's gaze. She stared at the mannequins intently before glancing at Lazuli. Her face turned slightly red as an idea suddenly struck her.
'She would look great in that outfit.' Her powerful scientific mind quickly processed this sudden idea, hence the blush.
She had completely outlined Lazuli's body in her mind and imagined her in those clothes! Bulma's eyes sparkled, and she let Lazuli carry her away, finally entering the store.
"Oh, you again," said an older woman, noticing Lazuli's entrance and giving her a slight smile.
"Of course! I still don't know how a store like yours ended up in this place. I honestly don't understand," Lazuli replied. She was familiar with the woman; not for nothing did she say that this store was one of her favorites.
She came here at every opportunity and bought several pieces of clothing, much to the annoyance of her brother, Lapis, who ended up carrying all the bags and couldn't complain. Lazuli didn't understand why her brother was always exhausted after shopping. Shouldn't men have more strength?
If Lapis were here, he would curse his sister for her thoughtlessness. For the young man, spending six hours picking out clothes that looked alike was a waste of time. Couldn't women just grab a pair of pants and a T-shirt?
Luckily, Lazuli's companion this time is Bulma, a girl raised by a fashion expert who made her love choosing and combining clothes. This gave her excellent fashion sense.
"Hmm? I haven't seen you before. New in town?" The woman turned her attention to Bulma before focusing more closely, her eyes widening in amazement.
"You're Miss Brief! I voted for you during the tournament. Too bad you didn't win!" The saleswoman walked up to Bulma, took her hand, and smiled broadly.
"Thank you~. I'm visiting and would like to buy some clothes. What do you think would suit me best?" Bulma suggested.
Although she could do it herself, sometimes effective interaction required these kinds of concessions. The lady's smile grew wider as she approached a neatly laid-out bundle of clothes nearby.
"Come with me! Ever since I saw you fight, I thought these clothes would suit you perfectly. Come try them on!" So, under the guidance of the store lady, the two girls started trying on different clothes.
Since Bulma was extremely wealthy, either from the money her father gave her or from her earnings, it wasn't difficult for her to buy clothes for herself and Lazuli, even though the latter refused.
"It wasn't necessary to buy for me. I have my own money," the blonde complained as she watched Bulma pay and receive the receipt.
"It's a friend's outing. Friends don't think about that kind of thing. Come on. Don't be such a downer. You looked great in that blue jacket and that black sweater with white sleeves. Why don't you wear them?" Bulma suggested, deftly deflecting the topic. Her words worked because Lazuli wanted to dress like that.
"Wait a second," said the blonde, taking a bag of clothes and going to the fitting room. She left Bulma next to the owner of the place.
"Looks like the relationship between you two is going well. Lazuli is a good girl. I hope you take good care of her," the woman suddenly said, taking Bulma by surprise. She waved her hands wildly as she tried to process those words.
"We're nothing like that! We're just friends! We barely know each other!" the blue-haired girl defended herself. The woman gave her a critical look full of life experience.
"Girl, I know a budding relationship when I see one. Did you meet too soon? I've seen people who got married within a day of meeting and lived happily ever after!" Now it was Bulma's turn to look at her quizzically. How could it be something like that, right?
"I say that because that's what happened to me," the woman shrugged, giving Bulma the answer she wanted.
"But that's not what's going on here. We're just friends having a good time. We'll even watch a movie in a little while..." Bulma slowly fell silent as a realization came to her.
"Let me guess. They were planning to stop by for milkshakes first. Then, after the movie, they were going to the beach to watch the fireworks for the festival, right? Oh, girl. Even romance novels don't go that far," the woman said, turning her attention away from Bulma. How could she not realize that the young woman was barely facing reality?
Her whole meeting was a textbook romantic tryst! Even the clerk could tell. But it was always comical to see young people look so amazed. It reminded her of the day she knew she was with the right person.
Luckily, Lazuli came out of the fitting room in time, capturing Bulma's full attention. Upon seeing her, Bulma smiled because the clothes the blonde was wearing made her look very much like she did in the original play.
Except for her much longer blonde hair and slight differences in her clothing, she was a dead ringer. Noticing Bulma's stare, Lazuli instinctively struck a pose to show off her entire look, shaking her head slightly to ruffle her hair.
"Do I look good?" she asked somewhat nervously, not knowing why she had done that.
"You look beautiful! If no one notices, they're either blind or dumb," the lady answered, giving a subtle glance to Bulma, who felt embarrassed.
"You look good in that outfit," Bulma praised. Lazuli smiled broadly, showing her teeth.
"I think we can go get those milkshakes now, okay? You said your favorite was the strawberry one. This time, I'm buying," Lazuli commented, not knowing that her words made the sales clerk look at Bulma again with mockery in her eyes, making the young girl wish the Earth would swallow her whole.
"Yes... Let's go," Bulma muttered before looking down at the clothes in her arms. She then fumbled her hands into her pockets and pulled out a small capsule.
The advantage of your family's main business being space equipment was that Bulma had lots of empty capsules. Within seconds, all the clothes were neatly stored in one small capsule.
'Imagine taking this to a Xianxia world. Those young masters would go crazy, and those old people would want to argue with me. HAHA... Wait, aren't I technically a young master?' After avoiding a terrible rabbit hole, the two girls took their leave.
"By the way, are you 18? Your skin is so well-groomed. I don't believe the peaches thing," Lazuli said quietly as the two walked closely down the street.
"Huh, I wouldn't lie about that! When I went on an adventure with my younger brother, I had already been 16 for a while. Then, I turned 17 while studying with Doctor Omori. Just before the tournament, I turned 18. But this baby skin was given to me by my little offspring," Bulma said, puffing out her chest proudly. To her, those peaches were some of the best she had ever made.
Beauty without relying on a dragon! On top of that, she knew she would live for many years. She wouldn't have to bother the poor dragon with removing wrinkles or lifting her butt every five years like a certain Prime version of her.
Regarding the tournament, she used her father's influence to make it bigger and bigger. That's why it had such a big media impact. Unlike previous tournaments that barely had any public recognition, the 21st edition was a worldwide success.
"Why didn't you give me one?" Lazuli asked, looking at Bulma with her piercing blue eyes. Bulma burst out laughing because she understood the desire in the blonde's eyes: beauty!
"You're a twenty-year-old college girl. You don't need to want them so badly. But since you insist, I'll send you some later." Bulma shook her shoulders, and Lazuli nodded.
"Thank you," she said, making Bulma wave her hand and not care about the whole thing.
"One day, I must introduce you to my sunflower. She can sing and dance..." Bulma started chatting about her special plants and some of her inventions.
She had already done so via chat, but could those messages be compared to saying it in person? Even if Lazuli already knew this information, she continued to listen to Bulma with interest because she was genuinely curious.
They quickly lost track of time during their chat until they reached a place where they could buy their drinks. As they waited, an age-old argument arose between them.
"The chocolate one is better," Lazuli replied, putting her hands on her hips as she waited her turn.
Bulma, behind her, simply shook her head, gave an arrogant smile, and held the back of her right hand near her mouth before giggling like a stereotypical evil woman.
"Woe betide those who limit themselves! Strawberry is the best flavor for everything: Milkshakes, ice cream, jam, unbeatable! The best fruit, and a choice everyone should always make." Bulma acted overly dramatic, letting out all her histrionics. She felt no hint of embarrassment for the strangers watching her.
"I can't believe you would betray me like that..." Lazuli wiped imaginary tears from her eyes in an overly dramatic manner while lowering her head to hold back laughter. However, her heaving shoulders indicated that she was failing at that.
"The best flavor is Salamander," said a strange person, an old man standing behind Bulma.
"You remind me of my younger brother. He likes roasted salamander," commented Bulma, causing the old man to look at her quizzically.
"I was referring to the Salamander Mix. Who eats lizards? Is he a savage?" asked the old man with disdain. Both Bulma and Lazuli burst out laughing.
After that brief episode, the two girls left the establishment, each with a drink. It was late afternoon, and the movie they wanted to see was about to start, so they sped up their pace toward the cinema.
By now, they had enjoyed each other's company, and the chemistry they had through messages transferred well in person, making them feel comfortable.
Maybe the idea that this was a date wasn't so bad if they looked at it from a certain perspective, right?
Sharing this thought, the two entered the movie theater. However, Bulma had to show her ID to confirm that she was an adult because the film was so realistic that it was classified as restricted to adults only.
Still, many people went in as couples or families, as is typical at the movies. After buying snacks, Bulma was eager to see the movie, although she may not have seen it at all in the end.
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AN: People, I have to write a romance. Although it's not the focus of this fan fiction, people need love, and I'm feeling romantic today. Of course, it has nothing to do with that special person who helped me create plots for my original novel, 'Witch's Adventure,' which you can read in my profile. Wink.
If you think that building proper relationships in a story is filler, then don't read this. I'm going to explore the relationships between Bulma and Lazuli (I refuse to call her an android; technically, her canon version was a cyborg) and between Goku and Chi-Chi. That's all, folks. Drink water; it's getting hot.