After a brief time together,
Chi-Chi explained her situation.
She'd heard Master Roshi had the Bancho Fan,
which could summon wind and rain to extinguish Frypan Mountain's fires.
And Roshi was her father's teacher.
With that relationship, Roshi would surely lend it.
So the Ox-King sent Chi-Chi to ask for the fan.
She hadn't even made it out of the Frypan Mountain area yet.
After hearing everything, Bulma couldn't help complaining,
"Your dad is way too careless.
He doesn't even know where Roshi lives,
and he sends a kid your size to walk there alone.
If Goku hadn't shown up just now,
you'd have been eaten by that dinosaur."
Chi-Chi looked at Bulma in surprise.
"Wait—you know where Master Roshi is?"
Bulma nodded. "Yeah."
Chi-Chi's eyes sparkled.
"Really?"
Bulma nodded again.
Chi-Chi got excited.
"That's great! Can you take me to him?"
Bulma nodded.
"I can. But I'm also here for Dragon Balls.
It won't take much extra time.
To make sure I get one safely, I need a deal with your dad.
I'll help put out Frypan Mountain's fire.
He gives me the Dragon Ball in return."
Chi-Chi nodded quickly.
"Oh, I think Dad has something called a Dragon Ball among his treasures.
Alright, then it's a deal.
Tomorrow I'll take you to meet my dad."
Bulma nodded. "Good."
Then she changed the topic.
"Chi-Chi, listen.
You're a kid, and you're a girl—you need to protect yourself.
Don't go around saying you'll be someone's bride all the time.
Girls should be a little more reserved."
Chi-Chi's bright eyes turned thoughtfully.
"Mm. You're right. Girls should be reserved."
Bulma let out a breath. "Exactly."
But Chi-Chi immediately hesitated.
"Still… on TV, whenever a hero saves a girl,
she repays him by marrying him…"
Bulma frowned.
"Your parents are way too irresponsible, letting a kid watch romance dramas!"
At that, Chi-Chi's eyes fell.
"I don't have a mom…
Dad goes out robbing a lot, so I'm home alone,
and all I can do is watch TV."
Bulma got stuck.
Before reincarnating, she'd never seen the Ox-King's wife either.
Seems she'd touched on something painful.
Still, Bulma couldn't hold back her curiosity.
"How can you not have a mom?
Were you picked up by your dad?"
Chi-Chi puffed up proudly.
"Dad said I used to have two moms,
but they fought all the time.
He was scared they'd corrupt me, so he kicked them both out.
He even told me to say to outsiders
that I was a free gift from topping up phone credit!"
Bulma went blank.
"Uh-huh… what kind of ridiculous family setup is that?
Even mine isn't this weird.
I shouldn't listen to a kid's nonsense…"
Just then, a smoky, sizzling aroma drifted over.
Goku looked at them.
"You're hungry, right? It'll be ready soon."
He cut big slices of roasted dinosaur meat,
put them on a plate, and offered them to Bulma and Chi-Chi.
"Try it. How is it?"
Bulma and Chi-Chi looked at each other, then bit in.
Their eyes lit up instantly.
Bulma gasped, "Whoa, this is amazing!"
Chi-Chi nodded happily.
"Yeah, yeah! It's seriously so good.
I've never eaten anything this delicious in my life."
Bulma gave Goku a thumbs-up.
"Goku, your roast is incredible!"
Goku grinned smugly.
"Of course. Grandpa always said my roasted dinosaur is the best.
This is my specialty!
If you like it, eat more. There's plenty!"
He grabbed a huge chunk and started gnawing away too.
After Chi-Chi finished her piece, she stared at Goku, mesmerized.
Goku noticed and turned.
"What's wrong? Why'd you stop eating?"
Chi-Chi said earnestly,
"Goku, your kung fu is amazing, and you can even cook meat.
You're awesome.
I've decided—I'm going to learn to cook,
and grow up into a good wife.
So… Goku, will you marry me when we're grown up?"
Bulma's brow tightened.
Good grief.
They'd barely talked,
and Chi-Chi had already said "be my bride" like eight times.
Was this fate?
No wonder Chi-Chi had gotten Goku in that tournament year.
Both of them were clueless kids back then,
and even as an adult, Goku still didn't understand marriage.
So at the Tenkaichi Budokai,
because of that childhood promise,
he'd married Chi-Chi without really knowing why.
No way.
Bulma refused to lose to this "falling from the sky" Chi-Chi.
She was about to cut in—
when Goku spoke first.
He said seriously,
"Chi-Chi, marriage is for adults.
We're both kids.
Let's not talk about that right now."
Chi-Chi blinked at him.
"Oh, okay. My marriage should be handled by my dad anyway!"
Goku nodded. "Mm."
Bulma finally relaxed.
Even though she hadn't done anything,
the result was what she wanted.