"Unexpected Romance: Changes"

Prologue

By- Tiny

"YOUR WISH CANNOT BE GRANTED, THE ONE KNOWN AS SON GOKU DOES NOT WISH TO RETURN AT THIS TIME," Porunga, the great Nameksei-jin dragon boomed, "MAKE ANOTHER WISH."

Everyone was shocked by the Dragon's words, almost to the point of disbelief as it's overwhelming voice echoed through the land, but none more so than the dark-haired woman standing next to it. Goku refusing to return was nothing new to the Z fighters, seeing as he had forced them to wait a year wishing him back not long ago, but to refuse such a wish while he was alive was just...unthinkable. Nobody saw it coming, not even those who knew him best, and for poor Chi-Chi and her son it was like having a massive weight dropped on them.

The Saiya-jin prince, Vegeta, sat by under a tree, watching the spectacle unfold as his uneasy allies wept over the choice their friend had made, a sight that made the prince both curious and confused. He had never understood these humans emotional attachments to each other, especially seeing as his fellow Saiya-jin was a warrior and would never stay in one place for very long. As people who claimed to know him better than anyone else he thought perhaps they might understand that as well, but apparently that was a lesson they never learned.

Had his comrade, the first Super Saiya-jin born in a thousand years, actually come home so soon after his transformation Vegeta would have been shocked beyond all belief by the action. The transformation had been volatile, making the other warrior very unpredictable and aggressive, and the other warrior had most likely stayed away to try and gain control over his new form. Why the pitiful little humans couldn't see that was beyond Vegeta's comprehension, so he didn't bother to speak as they wept over their friends choice to stay away.

"I can't believe he didn't come home...and by choice!" Chi-Chi sobbed, her head hanging low as she cried, "What about me and Gohan? Don't we matter to him anymore?"

"Chi-Chi, I'm sure he just...needs some time to adjust," Bulma tried to reassure her friend, "I mean, he did just kill a universal tyrant. I'm sure that that'll take a while to get over for Goku."

"Hardly, none of you saw the look on Kakrot's face when he was fighting Frieza, I did," Vegeta finally had enough and shouted, "He was ENJOYING it! He wanted to watch him suffer, to make him hurt and then kill him, just as he one destroyed our race years ago!"

"Your wrong!" Chi-Chi snapped, glaring at the prince, "My Goku wouldn't do such a thing, no matter how bad a person was!"

"You human whelps think that you know how he is, but you know so very little about how Kakarot operates," Vegeta scoffed, "He is a Saiya-jin, not some weakling like you! He is out there now, probably training to control his new form before coming home, yet you just expect him to drop in like nothing has happened! Are you all this mad, or is it just you!"

"How dare you talk to me like that, I am his wife!" Chi-Chi snapped, "I know him better than anyone and he would not just leave us! That's not the way that he is!"

"And yet he did not return, actually requested not to be brought here," Vegeta smirked, crossing his arms over his chest, "Care to explain why that is if he wouldn't just run off like that?"

"I...umm...well," Chi-Chi stammered, "I don't know..."

"I GROW IMPATIENT WITH YOU HUMANS!" Porunga boomed once more, tired of being ignored, "IF YOU HAVE NOTHING MORE TO SAY, THEN I WILL TAKE LEAVE OF YOU!"

"Porunga, we have no more wishes for you," Dende, the small Nameksei-jin sighed, "You may return to your sleep."

"AT LAST!" Porunga laughed, "FARE YOU WELL..."

The light returned to the mid-morning sky as the Dragonballs fell in a stone heap on the ground at the Z fighter's feet, Chi-Chi still glaring at Vegeta like he would back down under her gaze. He didn't even move a muscle, just stared at her with those cold dark orbs without the slightest hint of remorse or apology for his words towards her, words she knew even as she denied them that they were true. Goku went away too often for too long for it to just be obligation keeping him away and Chi-Chi knew it, but it was not Vegeta's place to say such insulting things to her.

"Why Kakarot bothers with a weakling like you is beyond me, especially if you can't understand how he operates," Vegeta snorted, "This isn't worth wasting my breath on..."

"You should show some respect, she just lost her husband you turnip-haired freak show!" Bulma snapped, her eyes wide with anger, "I know Goku has a wanderlust that can't be satisfied, but that doesn't excuse his behavior and you shouldn't make things worse by patronizing his wife!"

"As if he'd do anything else, he's hardly more than an uncivilized monkey," Tien growled, "We wouldn't expect him to understand something like our flawed, human feelings."

"Hmph...I can see when I am not wanted, so I will take my leave of you pitiful Earth creatures," Vegeta grumbled, "Maybe when I'm gone, you'll realize that I was right."

Nobody looked sad to see the Saiya-jin prince heading for his ship, nobody except for maybe Gohan, who had come to respect the older warrior somewhat during their battles on Nameksei. The humans were actually glad to see the super-powered warrior departing from their midst, seeing as he was indirectly responsible for all of their deaths, save that of Krillin. Still, even Krillin, who had lost nearly all of his friends due to the prince of a nearly dead race, was not shedding any tears at his departure as he threw the capsule down to release his ship.

He would have left right then, leaving the planet that he considered little more than a miserable mud-heap in the middle of nowhere, had it not been for a small, frail hand closing over his well muscled shoulder. Gasps from the rest of the group around him could be heard as he turned around to see who had dared to touch him, a prince of the Saiya-jin race, and his own eyes nearly bugged out. Kakarot's wife, the frail woman with a spirit as intense as the very flames of Hell, stood eye level with Vegeta as he stared her down with his own cold, calculating gaze.

"Please...we're...I'm sorry for snapping at you like that," Chi-Chi sighed, her outer exterior crumbling like an old building, "I don't know what's gotten into Goku in the last few years, but he's been very...restless. I should have expected he would stay away for a little while..."

"Hmph, so one of you actually gets it now," Vegeta smirked, "Still, you have much to learn about Saiya-jin."

"Then why don't you stay and try to show me what they are like?" Chi-Chi gulped in a breath, "After all, as much as I hate to admit it, my son is partially one of your kind and should know a bit about that side of himself. And I could do with learning a few things myself if I'm to understand my husband better."

"Are you asking me to come and stay with you and the brat?" Vegeta inquired, cocking an eyebrow, "Inviting the enemy in, as your friends would say?"

"Yes, I am," Chi-Chi nodded, holding out her hand, "Do we have a deal?"

Vegeta pondered her offer for a moment in his head as he looked at the half-crazed faces of those around him, his eyes piercing through their physical forms like a blade and seeing the souls within. They all thought Chi-Chi was crazy for offering him, arrogant and prideful prince of the Saiya-jin, slayer of countless innocents, and their former enemy into her home. The only one who didn't look concerned was Gohan, who's face was lit up like what the human's called a "Christmas Tree", the prospect of learning anything from the prince of his race a wondrous idea.

The boy was the one thing that worried Vegeta the most about considering staying on this planet for a long time, especially after seeing what he had done to Frieza back on Nameksei not a few months ago. Gohan held an incredible reserve of pure, untapped energy within his small form, the kind of energy that not even Vegeta himself could hope to possess, though he would not admit this out loud. The child was truly a marvel of his birth, born the son of a low-class soldier with the power of legends, and as he looked at Gohan, a softer smirk spread over Vegeta's lips.

"Well, what do you say?" Chi-Chi asked again, "Do we have a deal, or not?"

"Deal."

And in that moment, as the two shook hands in sealing the agreement between them, the princess of Fry Pan Mountain and the prince of Saiya-jin set into motion a series of event for which there was no undoing. Event that would change the lives of everyone around them, including that of the legendary Son Goku...

Current Power Levels

Vegeta: 2,500,000

Gohan: 1,800,000

Piccolo: 850,000

Krillin: 350,000

Tien: 285,000

Yamcha: 220,000

Chautzu: 195,500

Author's Notes: I decided a while back that the powers in the original Unexpected Romance story were WAY too high and some of it's plotlines overly cliche, with a cast of characters that was positively unbelievable. As such, most of those characters have been scraped for the time being, and the power levels will be considerably lower, while the story progresses in a similar manner as before. There will be new twists, but it will still contain a VAST amount of mature content, including language, violence, and some sexuality, so young readers are advised not to read any farther.

Otherwise, I hope you all enjoy this version as much, or more, than you did the original and I'll update as often as possible. Thank you, and I look forward to seeing your opinions.