Chapter 169: Prelude
Teleporting to Bulma's room/workshop, Vahn was unsurprised to find the turquoise-haired woman working hard on one of her projects. The project itself surprised him, however, as he immediately recognized that she was working on a damaged Gunmen, one of the face-themed mechs from the world of Gurren Lagann.
Taking advantage of his lower position, Vahn admired Bulma's perky butt, wrapped in tight white shorts sticking out tantalizingly as she worked on something within the Gunmen. He was positive it had become rounder and perkier since he last saw it, so he assumed Venelana had furnished the previous day's event with dishes prepared using ingredients from the Black Tower.
"That's quite the pluckable peach..." remarked Vahn, causing Bulma to briefly startle before she removed her head and upper body from the Gunmen's chassis, stared down at him from atop the crank platform lift she was standing on, and wiped her brow with a wrench in her left hand, asking, "Vahn? What's up? It's rare for you to visit out of the blue like this."
Following a momentary pause, Vahn tilted his head slightly and asked, "Did you lose track of time and forget the date? Today is the day of the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai. We agreed to go together."
Blinking in surprise, Bulma asked, "Seriously? That was today...?" while checking the white, watch-like device she wore on the underside of her left wrist, confirming the date. She also recalled saying she wanted to record Vahn winning the Tenkaichi Budokai, allowing her to prove her status as the girlfriend of the world's strongest man, so she couldn't just back out.
"There's no need to rush," remarked Vahn, a relaxed smile adorning his face as he noted, "We still have two hours until the registration deadline. With my power, that could be as many as 210 days."
"Yeah, I'm not falling into that trap again..." said Bulma, narrowing her pale blue eyes accusingly and blushing as she recalled Vahn's visit post-Tower. He had taken her to the location of his beachside resort, and though they were only there for a little more than an hour, that translated to more than three months of him doting on her like a Princess and making slow, gentle, or intense love to her for upwards of five hours a day. Since she was still a relatively ordinary woman, that was way too much...
Exhaling from his nose, Vahn contended, "I'm just saying that if you were up all night working, you have plenty of time to relax, take a bath, and get a full eight to sixteen hours of rest before we head out. You don't need it, but I know how much you enjoy your beauty sleep."
"Fair enough," responded Bulma, leaping down from the platform while turning her body sideways, trusting that Vahn would catch her in a bridal carry. As expected, he immediately moved to catch her, causing a smile to develop across her face as she rewarded him with a kiss and urged him to carry her to the bathroom...
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