Edited April 1, 2008

This is an A/U B/V in which Goku never lived on earth; he's known as Kakkarot and he lives on Vegetaseii which hasn't been blown up by Freeza. The rest of the former DBZ gang is not in existence because they never joined together. Bulma is a teacher, and Chichi is her assistant. Any more questions, please write them in your review! Thanks for reading all!

(Rated: R for language, violence, sexuality)

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN DBZ. I'M ONLY GOING TO SAY THIS NOW 'CAUSE I'LL FORGET TO LATER.

Learning to Love: Chapter One

"Damn it," Tyler Myers muttered as he finished reading the now crumpled letter for the ninth time, taking off his tortoiseshell glasses and running his fingers through his iron gray hair. "I knew this was going to happen."

The Principal of Satan City's Private Science Academy reluctantly left his office full of special awards and trophies, and trudged down the halls of his school with his hands in his pockets. He passed a wall full of posters, turned the corner and stopped outside of classroom number 141.

He sighed wearily, unwilling to perform the task before him, but knew that he had no choice. When the sovereign ruler of another planet demanded that he receive the best educator of science on the planet, that is exactly what that ruler would receive, no questions asked; especially in this case where it turned out the race of people they were dealing with were known to eliminate entire planets on a whim. Mr. Myers slowly turned the knob and entered the room silently, closing the door behind him.

Bulma paused in mid-sentence, but continued as the principal waved her on. She cleared her throat and smiled at her students, "As I was saying class, a pH level of seven is neutral, one is acidic and fourteen is a base. Lemon juice is an acid." She stopped and made a gesture to a woman sitting with her feet on the desk. Chichi sprang out of her seat and started passing out worksheets.

Bulma raised her voice over the rustling of papers, "Fill out this worksheet, study your chapter seven notes and you'll be ready for your test next time."

The bell sounded loudly outside, making Myers jump a bit.

"Have a great weekend!" Bulma called after the students as they scrabbled out of their seats and onto their next class. Her smile wavered slightly as she noticed the expression on the face of the obviously rattled principal who was waiting for the last child to finally scurry out.

The silence that fell afterward was deafening and a little awkward until Chichi purposely dropped a book, "Oops." She grinned unapologetically as both Bulma and Tyler jumped a bit.

Her blue haired friend smiled and rolled her eyes, her mood becoming more optimistic now. "Was there something I can help you with Principal Myers?"

Tyler sat on the edge of a desk and shook his head sadly at her. "Right now I wish I could help you."

Chichi's chair scraped the floor loudly as she stood up, looking from the grave expression on the principal's face to the composed expression on her friend's. "Do you want me to wait outside Bulma?"

"No! Don't be ridiculous Chichi. Whatever he says to me I'm going to wind up telling you anyway."

She reluctantly retook her seat; her dark eyes darting from her friend, to her boss who was frowning slightly in Bulma's direction, and then longingly towards the door her students had so recently left through.

"Maybe you should sit down for this Bulma," Tyler started grimly.

"Kami, is it really that bad?" she asked, sitting slowly, her eyes widening in distress.

Tyler ignored the interruption, determined to keep going now that he'd started. "I received a letter today that has come from the King of…another planet. The Head of Earth's science Department received it and immediately sent it to me, for you." He paused to gauge her reaction so far but he could tell nothing by looking at her face at that moment, so he cleared his throat and continued. "This ruler wants you to go into space and teach science to the children of the elite on that planet. You'll be paid and a ship is being sent for you tomorrow around four at the field in SW City."

Silence followed his proposal until Chichi once again broke it. "How much is he willing to pay?"

Bulma leaned forward, her elbows on the desk and her eyes glittering in anticipation. "Money is not really a factor right now Chichi. This is the opportunity of a lifetime!" Her eyes narrowed suddenly as she realized what Tyler just said. "Did you just say that there is a ship already on it's way here for us?"

Myers nodded dumbly.

She snorted angrily. "So that whoreson ruler assumed I'd agree to come; he's got some nerve!"

Chichi leaped out of her chair and rummaged in the closet as she tried to find her purse. "Let's not worry about the details right now. I'm going home to pack. See you at four Bulma."

Waving absently Bulma stood up from her seat at her desk, not noticing the scowl on Tyler's face as he watched Chichi go. "Is that all you had to tell me Mr. Myers? Any more surprises I need to know about?"

The 49 year old principal's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets (or so it seemed to Bulma). "'Is that all?!' Are you insane!? You act as if this was the most normal thing in the world! You're going to just up and leave Earth behind for some Kami forsaken rock thousands of miles away from here?"

He made himself calm down once he noticed the odd way Bulma was watching him, but still couldn't keep the bitterness out of his tone. "Listen Bulma, you're a great teacher; the best I've ever seen. I don't want you to go. Anyway, Chichi can't go. The 'invite' is for a teacher, you. Not you plus your freaking sidekick."

Bulma closed her eyes, held her breath and mentally counted to ten. "Chichi is like a sister to me Tyler. I would never leave her here with somebody more juvenile than the students he's supposed to help," she responded, her voice cold. She didn't bother looking at him as she grabbed her purse, bag, and jacket from her desk. "Tell the students that I'll miss them and they're more than welcome to write me. The test is in the bottom drawer along with lesson plans for the rest of the year. Good bye Tyler."

Frantically, Principal Myers grabbed her by her shoulders. "This has got fiasco written all over it Bulma. Please reconsider. I'll- -I'll give you a raise. I'll double what you're making right now! Just please, don't go."

She arched her eyebrows at him before brusquely sweeping his hands from her. "Staying here with an ass like you and leaving this opportunity behind sounds like a much worse type of fiasco Myers, so fuck off." She brushed past him and went out of his school and out of his life forever.

Later That Day

"Oh crap, I forgot to cancel the newspaper. I wonder if they'll figure it out? Hmm… I hope so," Bulma said aloud to herself into the deafening silence of her home. She put the last pair of folded socks in her suitcase, then sat on it, locked it shut, capsulated it, and put it with the rest of her capsules in her purse. A series of loud honking noises from outside indicated the arrival of the taxi-driver who was fifteen minutes late. Bulma ran to the front door and held hand out to the driver to indicate that she was in need of a few more minutes.

She closed the door softly behind her and slowly walked back to her bedroom. The most painful part of leaving Capsule Corporation is leaving the memories of people I love so much.

Her fingers trembled a little as she picked up a picture of a young, smiling girl, sitting in a rocking chair with a man with lavender hair, glasses and a serious look about him and a smiling blonde woman with her hands clasped in excitement. Mom, Dad, I miss you so much. I hate having to leave and sell our home, but I know you'd both insist I do so if you were still alive. Bulma absently tucked the picture into her purse as she caught sight of another picture. A newer and fresher pain crept into heart and fresh tears trickled down her cheeks as her cerulean eyes slowly examined the picture. It was a snapshot taken two months ago of a beautiful woman in her mid-twenties smiling up at the black-haired man she had her arms around. This man was smiling at the camera with his hands on the woman's shoulders.

"Yamcha," she croaked past the lump that rapidly rose in her throat. "Why did you have to leave me?"

The human female hugged the picture to her chest, and sobbed like she did the day she'd found out about her beloved's wreck. You promised me you'd never leave me alone Yamcha, you swore to me. Now I'm alone…no. She corrected herself, no, I have Chichi, but I love her like a friend, a sister. She isn't my other half like you were Yamcha. She ignored the little voice in her head that was mocking her tears; telling her she was wrong. That she was a phony. That she couldn't possibly be crying for any man; especially with a sports loving playboy like Yamcha. It asked her weren't you looking for a reason to break up with him?

She dried her eyes and forced herself to regain her composure, Vegetaseii is where I'll make a whole new start. I can meet another man; it's not as though I'm ugly or anything. Hmm… I wonder what the males on Vegetaseii look like… She thought, allowing herself to smile a little and drying her tears on the back of her hand. Bulma picked up the picture in her other free hand and closed her bedroom door behind her and opened the front door. She smiled as the taxi-driver looked up at her from his paper, but she felt a pang of something-regret, remorse, anticipation, perhaps all three-as she locked the door for the last time. Bulma dropped the key in her purse along with her capsules and got into the taxi. "The Field in SW City," she told the driver.

The driver growled something that suspiciously sounded like 'finally' and stepped on the accelerator, sending them zooming off of the CC property, which is now actually the property of Caldebran Technologies according to a deal Bulma made with the company head four hours ago. She didn't look back.

The Field in SW City

Chichi was humming tunelessly to herself, but stopped when she looked down from her spot on the hill and saw Bulma getting out of a taxi. "Hey Bulma! Up here!" Chichi waved enthusiastically as she saw her friend looking around. The raven haired woman smiled as Bulma finally made it over to where she was sitting, "Hey stranger."

"Hey yourself," Bulma replied automatically, "Where are your capsules Chichi?"

Chichi stood up, stretching her arms over her head. "They're in my pocket. I didn't bring that many; I don't have a lot of stuff as you know."

Bulma nodded somewhat absently. "Yeah, that's right."

Smiling, Chichi looked into the somewhat dull eyes of her friend. "So did you bring any money?"

"Of course," Bulma laughed. She knew Chichi was about to start mocking her love of clothes and shopping to cheer her up. She stopped suddenly and gasped, pointing up to the sky. "Look Chichi! It's the ship."

Both women stood in awe as the ship began to descend toward them rapidly. Bulma began to wish she had chosen to arrange her hair in a bun like Chichi always did as the wind whipped her blue locks about her face.

Chichi unconsciously drew in her breath as the ramp came down and two figures advanced toward them. As their features became distinguishable from the cloud of dust that was the result of their fast landing, Bulma decided that the two could almost be twins; if the face of one wasn't so obviously lined with age, worry, and scarred by marks of battle. Both had tails and black hair that defied gravity. The one Bulma assumed to be the older of the two fiddled with a thick metal band, like a cuff, around his wrist before speaking to the two women in their language. "Which one of you is the teacher?"

Bulma boldly stepped forward, ignoring the curious looks of the second man. "I am."

The older man nodded, everything about his posture saying that he was eager to get this all over with. "Good…and who is that?"

Chichi blushed as she was caught staring at the younger alien. "I am her assistant."

The strange older man from shrugged in disinterest. "Come on then." With that he turned and walked back up the ramp, not waiting for them.

Chichi scurried quickly after him, purposely brushing against the silent one. "Gomen," she apologized breathily, her cheeks still flushed pink as they made eye contact.

The man smiled briefly and followed behind her, a look of expectation on his face.

Bulma frowned after all three of them for leaving her behind, but finally followed, curious to know what exactly she had gotten herself into.

Twenty-nine hours into the journey back to Vegetaseii…

"That's my son, Kakkarot, with your assistant over there, and I am Bardock."

Bulma smiled in relief as the silence between her and the older man was finally broken. "My name is Bulma." She fidgeted on her stool as she watched Bardock absently stroke the cuff on his wrist. "What is that on your wrist?"

Bardock made a noise similar to a muffled chuckle. "I designed them; they're universal translators. You and your assistant will be assigned one once we reach Vegetaseii."

Bardock frowned slightly as he heard giggling. "Then again, your friend may already know the SL in its entirety by then if she and Kakkarot don't ever shut the hells up."

Rolling her eyes, Bulma slowly spun on the stool, but stopped as she was facing the two.

Chichi and Kakkarot were sitting closely together and teaching each other words in their respective languages. Bulma couldn't hear anything because they were whispering to each other, but from the excited look on Chichi's face, she was really enamored with the young man from Vegetaseii. They're getting along REALLY well, she thought to herself, ignoring a brief feeling of jealousy.

The female voice of the computer announced that they would be landing in less than ten minutes. Bulma ran to the window and looked out in hopes of seeing some fantastic scenery but lights shining all over the place blinded her and she could see nothing.

"Bardock, what is your race called?" she asked, finally realizing she hadn't been informed of this information yet.

The older man frowned as he looked up from the written orders he had been poring over. "You came here without knowing something that important?" he asked waspishly. At the look on her face, he continued less callously. "Vegetaseii is the home of about 1,000 true Saiyans. About 198 are the super-elite, 350 second-class, and 450 third-class, the rest of the population consists of hybrids or slaves and warriors who were spared during purges."

Bulma quickly mentally added the figures. "What about the last two Saiyans?"

"The last two are King Vegeta and his father, the former king of Vegetaseii," Bardock relayed, sighing impatiently.

The ship landed so gently, Bulma wasn't even aware they'd stopped moving until the voice of the ship began to announce proper disembarking procedures. She grabbed her purse and quickly followed Bardock, Chichi and Kakkarot following close behind her.

She and Chichi simultaneously gasped as they took in the huge crowd near the ship.

"They're all here to see us?" Chichi gasped, quickly making sure her hair hadn't managed to escape her bun.

Bardock smirked as he answered, assisting them in going down the ramp and having them walk to the edge of a long red carpet. "No you foolish girl. They're here to see the King. He's right over there," he said, jerking his head toward a figure walking in their direction with yet another person trailing behind him.

Bardock motioned his son over to him and started speaking to him quietly yet sharply in the SL. Kakkarot blushed and nodded, turning his back to Chichi. "Come on," Bardock ordered the females in his brusque manner.

The crowd was silent as the two Saiyans and two humans walked the length of the red carpet to the King. Bulma frowned at a few who openly gawked; Chichi didn't seem to notice as she was busy concentrating on the posterior side of Kakkarot.

As they continued their approach, Bulma's eyes were first drawn to the King. An imposing and impressionable man to say the least; he had dark black probing eyes, thick ebony hair, furrowed brows, and a long, somewhat aristocratic nose-which Bulma was certain he used for looking down at people. What drew her attention to him besides his electrically charged eyes, was his mouth, which was drawn in a straight line at the moment, but for some reason, she could see those lips on hers, nuzzling her neck, trailing kisses from her collarbone down to her…

Bulma shook her head a little to clear these thoughts from her mind, Bulma, hormone check. For Kami's sake, he has his wife with him and you are practically drooling at the sight of him. Pathetic.

The woman with Vegeta was a little shorter than the King, she was very curvaceous, she had black eyes with an alarming twinkle of red in their centers, and black hair with a few rays of red intermixed. She looked angelic, even in the dark red, short, and tight dress she was wearing that revealed the tops of her large pale breasts. Bulma felt a little dowdy in her short khaki skirt, blue tank top with an open white shirt over it, and black sandals, but she tried not to show it. I wonder if Chichi feels self-conscious at all? She glanced over at her friend, only to find her exchanging furtive looks with Kakkarot. Bulma rolled her eyes, Hell's bells, Chichi could be walking around in a hamburger bun and I doubt she'd notice right now.

Bardock cleared his throat and turned the translator off, making his announcement loudly in Saiyago, or the Saiyan Language (SL). "King Vegeta and Lady Anyla, I present to you the head science instructor from earth; Bulma Briefs, and her assistant, Chichi."

King Vegeta frowned. "Are you trying to tell me that scrawny thing there is the best that filthy little piece of shit planet had to offer? How pathetic."

"I'm sure she'll prove to be satisfactory, sire," Bardock responded quickly in defense of the woman, much to the surprise of the King, Kakkarot, and himself.

Vegeta raised his eyebrows, curious. "What makes you think that, Lieutenant?"

Bardock flinched as he heard the King use his title-it could never be high enough to his standards. "I've spoken with her sire. I believe she is highly intelligent. And exactly what it is we're looking for." Though she can drive any Saiyan in his right mind bat-shit in less than 30 minutes with that inquisitive nature of hers…he thought to himself, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"That will be determined," Vegeta replied absently. He shook Anyla off of his arm impatiently, ignoring the whimper she made as she was forced to stand-alone. He pointed to the blue-haired woman and beckoned for her to come forward.

Bulma could tell by listening to their tones as they spoke their foreign language that the King was displeased at something. The woman beside him was watching her with cold eyes, her gaze returning to the King every once in a while. Something about Anyla's eyes was hypnotizing and she found herself feeling lost in them for a moment until Chichi elbowed her roughly in the ribs and shoved her toward the King.

That jerk; beckoning to me like I'm supposed to kiss his ass or something. Arrogance is exuding from every fiber of his being. Much to her relief, this thought diminished any amorous feelings she may have been experiencing earlier, and she inclined her head proudly as she followed the King's order, moving closer to him.

Vegeta addressed her in her native tongue. "So…you are the best educator of science earth has to offer?" He paused and Bulma could hear the mockery in his voice. "Let's hope outward appearances are deceiving, because you don't look smart enough to tie shoelaces, much less teach science to the Saiyan elite."

Chichi inhaled sharply at that, her eyes widening as she waited for her best friend to lose her legendary temper.

Seething, Bulma slowly and quietly exhaled her pent up breath, her fists clenched at her side. "I think it's best we don't start on outward appearances Your Highness, otherwise I might find myself making some observations that would result in my being fired. I can assure you, I am the teacher you are looking for."

Bardock and Chichi stared at her as if she had just sprouted three additional heads but said nothing; waiting for the explosion that was likely to follow that thinly veiled insult.

Vegeta made a dismissive gesture with his hand at her words. "You may very well be the smartest woman on earth, but people there are generally idiots and sheep. Your being the smartest there is like…what is that earth saying? In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king." He crossed his arms over his muscular chest, a slow smirk appearing on his lips as he did so. "My question is, relatively speaking, how do your 'earth smarts' compare to our own; a mixture of some of the most brilliant men in the universe?"

For the first time in her life, Bulma was speechless; she didn't like it one bit.

I may not be the smartest in the universe-even I can admit that-but I know for damn sure that I'm smarter than you, you misogynist son of a bitch Bulma thought angrily. She didn't allow herself to respond, because she knew the moment she opened her mouth, there was not telling what kind of insults would pour forth. If I wasn't so determined to start a new life here, I'd give him a piece of my mind.

Vegeta smirked and shrugged as if to say, 'Hey, I knew I was right.' He slowly closed the distance between them and smirked into her stunned face. "First lesson woman: how to greet royalty." He took one of the limp hands from her side and turned it palm-side up and kissed it. Bulma jerked a little when she felt his teeth lightly scrape against her skin. Her eyes widened as he looked up and dropped the hand. The King pushed the silent woman, Anyla, toward her. "This is the future Queen," he stated gruffly, not quite meeting her eyes.

Anyla's eyes shone brightly and her smile was sugary sweet and angelic despite the look of death she'd been shooting the blue haired woman moments before. "Welcome to Vegetaseii Bulma." She curtseyed very prettily, despite the length of her dress.

Unsure of what to do, Bulma laughed a little nervously. "Thank you…um—"

"Anyla."

"Thank you Queen Anyla."

"Not yet she isn't," Bardock muttered to Kakkarot his voice so low his son could barely hear him despite how close together they were standing.

Anyla giggled. "I'm not the queen yet, silly! We're going to be friends so you can call me Anyla."

Bulma smiled at the Saiyan beauty, not buying the sweet cutesy act for a moment. "Thank you."

Vegeta impatiently held his arm out to Anyla and turned to Bardock. "You. Arrange whatever this earth female needs and let her know what she needs to do so that she can get started tomorrow. Kakkarot." He paused as his sparring partner sprang to attention. "Prepare to get your ass kicked in my personal gravity room at 1900 hours."

"Yes sire." Kakkarot responded eagerly.

Bulma watched the couple turn and leave in confusion. It all happened so fast! She waited for Bardock to finish talking to Kakkarot, who nodded in agreement with whatever the older man had said and then walked off into the crowd. "Bardock, what was that all about? And when do I get a translator?"

Chichi pouted up at the Saiyan. "Yeah, when do we get our translators?"

Bardock rolled his eyes. "As to your first question, the reason this happened in public is that this serves the King accepting your presence here on Vegetaseii, which guarantees that you will be accepted as worthy to teach the children of the nobles, do you understand?" The earth women nodded in comprehension. "Second question: you'll receive them tomorrow, now be quiet and follow me."

The crowd parted as Bardock made a beeline through them and to a long hallway with high metal walls, after making a few turns, Bardock stopped outside of a door numbered 121-122. "Here are your rooms. You can program your password yourselves. There is a Visual and Audio Projector Screen in there that you can use to make receive calls; to order food or assistance or whatever." He paused a moment as he noticed Bulma intently studying the symbols on the entrance device, and then continued. "You two will sit in on the former teacher's last day of class tomorrow at 0900 hours sharp. The classroom is at the end of this hallway and to the right. You'll get your translators in the morning, after I adjust them." With that, he left.

"What? No good bye?" Bulma sighed deeply her hand over her heart in mock devastation.

"Oh, knock it off Bulma. I have an idea for our password: earth backwards, that way it'll be really hard for anyone to guess it."

"Whatever, that's fine. I just want to get inside of my room, get out of these clothes, and get into a sudsy bathtub," Bulma groused, entering HTRAE into the system.

"Your password has been stored. You may now enter," the computer said, opening the door.

Now why would the Saiyans want to computerize when a person exits and leaves a room unless they have some kind of surveillance…Bulma thought in suspicion, looking for cameras.

For some reason, the two hung outside the door, as if they were afraid to go inside. Bulma cleared her throat when she noticed the raven haired woman looking at her expectantly. "Hey, I thought you and muscles were going to be you know, together," she wiggled her brows suggestively.

Chichi laughed. "Give me a break. Just because the man is cute and is obviously attracted to me doesn't mean I'm going to sleep with him. He's just eye-candy while I'm here; he keeps my mind off of jerks like that Bardock guy. And that King who is a major dick."

Bulma frowned, finally stepping through the door into their rooms. "I like Bardock Chichi. He's a nice guy; just a little rough around the edges."

Her friend snorted. "I think he's one giant rough edge." With her keen vision, she looked to the two doors, one on the left and one on the right, and walked to the one on the right. "I'll take this one."

Bulma groped along the wall until she found a switch turning on the lights. They stood in a medium sized "living room" with the VAP Bardock had told them about, a desk with a lamp, a couch, a chair, and a small bookcase with a few dusty volumes on it. On the floor was a picture of a man with a tail and black hair-a Saiyan, Bulma corrected herself-holding planets in his hands. Written beneath the figure were strange figures, I have the feeling I know pretty much what that says, but I'll ask Bardock about it tomorrow anyway.

She heard a door close, and realized that Chichi had finally gone into one of the rooms that split off of the kitchen, in the back of the "living room" or the common room. The kitchen was medium in size, with cold, metal cabinets, a refrigerator, and a small stove. The earth woman walked through the kitchen and to the closed door on the right.

Bulma opened it slowly, finding the light switch again, and turning it on. The room was not much bigger than either the commons or the kitchen, but it seemed to Bulma like Heaven. She threw herself unceremoniously on the bed, bouncing on the mattress a few times before settling down with a contented sigh. Ah, this is the life. I'll just close my eyes for a second, then I'll go shower, she thought, doing so. Unfortunately for Bulma, her brain had different plans and once it shut down for that one second, she was out for the rest of the night.

The End of Chapter One