A/N: This is an AU fic mostly dealing with Goku and Vegeta and their possible alternate lives on planet Vegetasei. Frieza has not yet made an appearance in Saiyajins lives. Much much later on will become V/B and K(G)/CC. This is written in different style than my other fics, just experimenting around a bit... Rated M for violence and blood and all the usual stuff.

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ. Toriyama does so bug him about it, not me!

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Childhood: Part I - Cherry Tree

The wall loomed in front of a small, spiky-haired boy, reflecting the rays of sun with its pure whiteness. Made of rare and very valuable stone, the walls surrounding the royal abode of the planet Vegetasei, were considered sacred; the very last defense for the royal family if a war should break out. Kept impeccably clean of mud and the causes of time, they were a magnificent sight.

Kakarotto could have cared less about how great some wall was. At the moment the wall was hindering him from the very goal he was determined to fulfill. Tree tops of fruit trees peeked over the walls, full of juicy cherries of sakura tree. The seven-year-old licked his lips and rubbed his small and dirty hands together eagerly. He was bare feet and dressed in shabby blue garbs: a slightly ripped shirt and pants that only reached to his mid-calf. Black eyes shone with determination and the wild, black and spiky hair pointing to every direction gave him a reckless look of a street child. Technically he wasn't a one but still close enough.

Backing away he readied himself for the jump. Springing forward as hard as his body and energy level allowed, Kakarotto closed the short distance between him and the wall and run few steps up the rough surface of the wall. His bared feet had extremely good holding against the stone. With one final leap he shot upwards his fingers barely catching the edge. Curse words a child of his age should not know slipped past his lips with ease as he pulled himself up.

" Shit... I just can't fly yet..." he muttered, wondering when he'd learn. His father said his energy level wasn't sufficient enough to support such a function yet and it pissed him off to no end for being so weak. Third class by birth; third class by life, went the self-sarcastic adage among the lowest rank and it applied to most of them. Very few ever got promoted to a second class.

His black and intense eyes fixed on the fruits in front of him and he carefully crawled on four across the width of the wall top and quickly disappeared into the thick foliage so none would spot him. If he was caught eating fruits in the royal garden he was equivalent to a very dead person. Reaching for the ripe and red fruits he stuffed his mouth with them; he had last eaten yesterday and he was famished. The juices stained his hands and half of his face.

It was still early in the morning and his father should be back from his purging mission later in the afternoon. If he was still alive... Kakarotto shook that thought out of his head, refusing to think like that. His father was strong and could survive anything! Wiping his mouth of the sticky juices the quivering air caught his attention, just above the wall.

" Oh yeah... no flying into palace just like that..." he spoke to himself, smirking smugly. Flying was prohibited in the capital city as it was in the other big cities to avoid chaos and accidents from happening. Only royals and their personal guards were allowed to fly and the sentries and troops in city grounds ha a permission to fly. If a civilian was caught flying... you guessed it. No more flying in mortal realm, ever. And to avoid commoners from poisoning the palace grounds an invincible force field was cast above and it could stand up to nearly 100 000 of powerlevel! At least that is how the rumour went and many had ended up into regeneration tank for colliding with it in their foolhardy attempts to prove it wrong.

Kakarotto didn't have that problem since he couldn't fly or even float yet. The best he knew was some hand-to-hand combat and he could form minuscule chi blasts. Is father was always away purging and getting the bread on the table; basically keeping them alive and didn't have much time to teach Kakarotto all the fineries of combat.

The small Saiyajin boy's tail waved in vexation and smugness at the same time. His powerlevel was too low to even register as a threat to the royalty so he could pass through the whole damn thing as he liked providing him with the tasty treat: cherries from royal gardens. Snickering to himself, his tail coiled for balance as he reached for particularly ripe-looking fruit.

" Hey! You! What are you doing here!?" an irritated voice yelled with hints of spoiled brat in it trying to sound authoritative. Kakarotto's eyes bulged out of his head and he lost his balance in surprise.

" Waaaahhh!!" He fell flat on his back on the rootstock, all air leaving his lungs at the impact. The fall was good six meters or so anyway. Desperately trying to get air into his lungs, his vision dancing with spots made out a figure of a boy of his age standing there, arms crossed in adult fashion. A deep scowl was etched on his face.

" Hey! I asked you a question! What are you doing!" the boy repeated impatiently and Kakarotto finally could breath normally. He got up, his back aching badly and probably bruised and turned to meet the boys glaring eyes. He crossed his arms in similar manner. The boy was dressed in simple garbs and Kakarotto immediately thought him as one of the servants in the palace. Well, if he was going to die, he was going to do it coolly.

" I am eating the cherries what the hell does it look like, buster!?" he shot back defiantly and the boy recoiled, eyes wide.

" Those trees belong to the royal family!"

" Well no duh!" Kakarotto snorted and cast him a glance like the servant was and idiot. " They grow inside the palace walls in the royal gardens. Who would ever have thought they might belong to the royalty of this planet?! Besides I was hungry!"

" You..." the boy spat venomously and then smirked boldly and in a second his hand was glowing with a pale blue chi blast, pointing it to Kakarotto's face. He didn't even flinch, though inside he was screaming to run away or beg for his life. He forced himself to talk even if his mouth was parched dry.

" So ya gonna blast me with that little candle light, ey? Doesn't exactly bring the cherries back... eaten what's eaten." Kakarotto shrugged and watched the boy's eyes widen even more in astonishment. What was the big deal anyway? Slowly, the other boy lowered his hand and the energy dissipated quickly. He then smirked at Kakarotto's confused expression.

" It looks like we're here for the same reason... this is one of the most secluded corners of the royal area, close to the East side of the city, the slums, so no one bothers much with this area..."

" I've noticed..." Kakarotto smirked looking around flagrantly and relaxed, deciding he could introduce himself to this servant boy. " By the way... I'm Kakarotto." He stuck out his hand in a trusting gesture and once again was rewarded with shocked and widened eyes. The other boy hesitated slightly before taking his hand in a firm grip.

" I'm, uh, Ve?" he said and Kakarotto looked at him oddly. Why that sounded more like a question than an introduction? He decided not to care about such trivial thing and cringed in sudden pain.

"Gah..." Kakarotto snatched his hand away from the crushing grip. " Aw hell... you've got some grip there, man!" He flexed his fingers experimentally and found out nothing was broken. He really couldn't afford to break his hand for healing it would blow away his little family's budget. His heart stung with the fact that a mere handshake was bringing him down. Ve looked at him in contempt.

" You're pretty weak, aren't you?" the other boy almost laughed.

" So what? It's not like I can friggin' help it! Dad has no time to train me since he's always away purging some Saruyandamned planet to keep us alive!" he yelled angrily, glaring with fire in his black eyes. Ve frowned and then shrugged, his face dissolving into a greedy smile.

" Now let's eat those cherries, boy!" He flew up with grace and sat on the sturdy branch.

" Hey! I have a fucking name you know! It's Kakarotto, you dimwit!" Kakarotto told him bitingly and watched in satisfaction as Ve in his shock lost balance and fell. To his utter dismay though, Ve caught himself in midair, seeing he could fly. Kakarotto stared defiantly up at him. " Help me up."

" What? Don't you who--- why should I?!" Ve argued still stuck on the fact the little beggar brat had insulted him with such vulgar common language.

" It's your fault I am here for if ya hadn't startled me I wouldn't have fallen into this stupid dump!"

" Hey, it's not stupid place! It's the highly appreciated royal gardens! Many would kill to get even a peek inside!"

" Anyway, stop the prattle and help me up!" Kakarotto demanded.

" Fly by yourself! I am no one's servant!" Ve huffed and turned to the tempting fruits once again. Kakarotto could almost feel the stinging in his eyes as he battled between anger and shame.

" Shut it! I can't fly, damnit!" he turned away, arms crossed and waiting for the laughing fit that usually followed when someone found out he couldn't fly at the age of seven.

" What! How can it be you can't fly? Everybody can fly!" Ve bellowed surprised and in a naïve way that made Kakarotto cringe. Just in what kind of cotton this guy had grown up in?

" Well, I can't, period! My powerlevel isn't high enough to sustain the flight! Besides, dad hasn't had time to teach me that yet!"

" But flying requires so little energy..." Ve muttered astonished, gazing down at Kakarotto. The boy was about the same height as he was with a customary black eyes and black, spiky hair that all Saiyajins expect very few possessed. He was dressed in crude light blue garbs, ripped and dirty, his feet were bare, dirty and bruised. The boy seemed healthy but he was skinnier than average boy of his age.

" How old are you, Kakarotto?" Ve queried suddenly, deciding to be the initiative this time. " I'm eight."

" Seven," Kakarotto muttered and Ve floated in the air scrutinizing him. Yep, the boy was younger than him but he should be more trained and built than that. He couldn't fly so his powerlevel couldn't be that high and he was lanky and lacking most of the muscle mass a normal Saiyajin child of his age should have. At least all the children of seven Ve had seen in his life had been in better condition. He absently tugged at his clothes he had taken from Nappa's son. They were that of servants so could it be possible that the boy didn't realize whom he was talking to?

Growling Ve sighed and scooped the younger boy up. " Oh fine..." he dropped the grateful Kakarotto to one of the lower branches and flew up, where the tastiest cherries grew. Sitting on the highest branch, waiting for the other boy to show up, he could see over the palace wall, to the slums. East side of the city was mostly run-down and all the third classes lived there. It didn't look that bad. The houses only weren't as big and comfortable as the ones in the west where all the elites first class and the second class lived. Despite the strange areas formed by the classes everybody mingled around; third classes walking the elite block to their jobs and elites going to third class world to get kicks out bar fights and the 'sinful life' as it was called. The main entrance of the palace was in the west and side entrances went south and north. Ve gazed at all this, not knowing anything else but the fact that houses weren't as good as the ones in the west side.

" Hey, Ve! Wake up!" Kakarotto yelled and Ve looked down, questioning." Ya were spacing out there," came Kakarotto's yell.

" So? Come up here. How can you be so slow?" Ve said irritated and heard Kakarotto snort derisively. Then with one leap he grabbed the next branch and skilfully demonstrating series of volt and acrobatics made it to the top branch in few seconds. Ve watched eyes wide. Even he couldn't perform such acrobatic movements or be so agile and firm-footed in such environment as a sakura tree.

Kakarotto smirked smugly and reached for cherries and then stuffed his mouth with them, chewing happily. Ve shrugged and then began eating the cherries in a graceful manner. They ate the nearby branches empty of their fruits and Kakarotto patted his stomach happily.

" Phew hell... I really needed that."

" How so? Ve asked, wiping the juices off his hands to the smooth bark of the tree.

" Dad's been away in some extra long mission and I ran out of money few days ago and I haven't eaten since then... it should have lasted longer but dad should've been home three days ago anyway... I am not fit enough to steal anything from the market place, yet, so I opted for the cherry trees instead... lucky you came Ve. Getting out would have proved to be fucking problematic otherwise!" the younger boy grinned mischievously at Ve and scratched the back of his head.

" You gotta be kidding me..." Ve said incredulously. How could anyone go without food for more than a day? " Wait! How did you get in? There's this field that prevents everybody from flying in or out! How did you pass it!" Ve bellowed then, sounding weirdly worried about it. Kakarotto shrugged nonchalantly.

" The powerfield grid covering this are is rumoured to stand up to over the sum 100 000 of powerlevels," Ve puffed up proudly and Kakarotto ignored him," so my theory is that it's strung so high to prevent attacks of great chi concentration so a small fry like meself can pass it no problems. The field won't even register my presence. Neat huh? Some good by having an extremely low powerlevel, ey?" he smirked audaciously while Ve stared at him suspiciously.

" What's your powerlevel then?"

Kakarotto eyed him suspiciously and bristled up. " So what's yours, huh, buster?"

" Why you..." Ve looked seriously offended for he had caught the veiled insult that suggested he was very low of level. He had to play it cool now...

" Fine. I tell mine; you tell yours. Deal?" Ve extended his hand. Kakarotto grabbed it without any hesitation and shook it firmly. He didn't day a word but Ve could read all he needed in the boys fiery black eyes.

" 365," Ve said, unnoticed he crossed fingers behind his back and looked almost disgusted that he had to reveal it to the other boy. Of course he was lying about it; his level was way beyond that.

" 72..." Kakarotto murmured and Ve almost fell off the tree. He bit back a shocked scream of '72!' quickly.

" Whoa... no wonder you can't fly... so that would make you a... let's see... a third class?"

Kakarotto nodded and the noted. " So does your powerlevel too."

" Point taken!" Ve said before the another semi-argument could bloom between them and quickly changed the subject. " You said you lived...?" he started politely as he was taught to do and received a strangely blank look from Kakarotto.

" Did ya bang your head on some branch when you flew up? I never said where I lived. But now that you want to know my house is about a kilometre from this wall. Briefly, I live pretty much in middle of the east side... you?" the younger Saiyajin said deadpan and Ve felt the urge to hit his head against the trunk. Of course a dirty, stupid third class brat wouldn't understand politeness and correct etiquettes and those were probably lost to him anyway.

" Eh... lived my whole in palace... as a servant... I don't know much about the city."

" Oh poor you..." Kakarotto said and really meant it.

" Well, poor but well-fed!" Ve said acidly and Kakarotto only gave him 'like I believe you and whatever' -look. The bell chimed indicating it was nine and Ve suddenly shot up straight.

" Oh no! I'm late from my tr- duties! I gotta go!" Ve bellowed and jumped down.

" Wait, Ve! Wanna meet again and see my house? I think I won't be welcome friend in the palace...!" Kakarotto yelled and Ve stopped like he had run into a wall.

" Meet again... like friends?" he sounded weird.

" Hell yeah! Why not? You'd gotto see da city and all! I could use a friend and company since dad's gone... How about tomorrow the same time?"

Ve seemed to ponder it carefully, like torn between to sides. " Oh fine! Six o'clock it is then for I have to be back by nine or my old man will have the hugest cow on the planet!" he yelled finally and ran towards the palace.

" See yaa!" Kakarotto waved and hopped from the tree to the wall top.

Checking none was in sight he jumped down to the deserted alley and quickly made a run for it. This was one of the most dangerous parts of the east side even in the plain daylight. Kakarotto wondered how the palace staff and guards would react if they knew just what was going on the alley beside the wall. In the nights the moon would cast it's silvery beams to the wall and it would glow silver white an oddly pure background for all the skimpy glad whores, pimps and illegal crimes committed in the alley. Rape, murder, kill and all the other sins. It was called the Silver Alley just for that effect in the night. The moon always shone from the east so it was the only wall ever to glow silver and white and no one knew what it was expect third class and few second classes. On Vegetasei the moon stayed in the sky in the same spot but it was full only once in five years. The Silver Alley was a legend among the citizens and other cities as well knew of the legendary Silver Alley where you could buy whores to fulfill your darkest fantasies, order a kill, rape and kill if you wanted, for no one stopped you. It was a place for everything illegal; you came there to die; to live.

The legend said that the street glowed pure silver and it was straight and long, ending abruptly on both ends, like cut with a knife, a piece of heaven and hell mixed together, brought on mortal realm. It was said to be located where no one thought it would exist, yet it was right in front of everyone. You just had to see past the truth. Many sough for it to prove it's existence and never found it; others stumbled across it accidentally forever staying silent either dead or just knowing but keeping the legend alive.

The light reflecting the wall created an optical illusion, deceiving even the sharpest pair of eyes. You could stand a step outside from where the Alley began and see only an empty street. When you took the step inside you saw the hustling and bustling and the silvery glow of the wall on the background. Many claimed this unnatural phenomenon to be created with supernatural abilities and even with the help of such thing called magic... weird long ago forgotten skill and word...

Living only a kilometre away Kakarotto was well baptized to what exactly was going on that deserted street at nights. His tail curled almost painfully in fear as he scurried to his home as fast as his legs carried him.

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Five past nine Vegeta stood in attention and his trainer Nappa and few generals stepped into the vast royal training room seeing him there ready for the battle. The generals were here to see how well he had progressed and how his powerlevel had risen since the last time. They stood in attention as King Vegeta made his appearance in the room.

" At ease," he commanded and looked sternly at his son whose face was unreadable as ever; no emotion present whatsoever. He smirked. The boy was learning quickly.

Vegeta could only stare emptily at the group of adult Saiyajins, talking amongst themselves. He knew what this meant: a test for him to see if he was ready to expand his knowledge on combat or did he need his training more rigorous and harder so he'd learn the lesson. Oddly, he wasn't so phased as he should have been. His mind was working in the mysterious encounter that had ended only five minutes ago. To think such weaklings existed in Saiyajin race! 72! no wonder the field didn't alert or repel the boy and render him into a burnt crisp. This worried him a bit, but he didn't see this detail belonging to his father or anyone else for that matter. Their impenetrable shield wasn't invincible anymore... But he'd get to see the city and how the commoners lived, finally! That Kakarotto sure was coming handy... a third class loser who knew everything about the city.

When he'd know enough he'd just kill the boy away. It's not like the planet will miss one failure child anyway. That brat deserved it anyway! How could he not recognize his prince! He was prince Vegeta, future ruler of all Saiyajins! Vegeta was used to being noted for what he was everywhere he went in the west and south side of the city. All elites and first classes were required to know his face and act upon seeing it accordingly. Not yell and talk back like Kakarotto! Friends? Yeah right! He needed no one as is friend! Vegeta was absolutely dying for the morning to come so he could go and see the city himself, almost alone with no restrictions!

He still couldn't believe he had lied about his powerlevel. Disgusted shivers ran all over his spine. 365! How could he let such despicable number escape his mouth, he didn't know. His powerlevel was nearly 3000, highest reading ever recorded for an eight year old in history! But he reluctantly admitted he had had fun, the encounter bringing some change into his otherwise planned day schedule.

Absently ducking a punch he countered, his mind not in the fight, reacting purely on instinct he didn't know he had. The morning had started like they always did: he woke up, sneaked into the garden in servant's clothes to eat fruits and other edible things that grew there. Forbidden treats as he called them, feeling himself doing something forbidden and wild. This morning he had decided to eat cherries and headed to the most secluded corner in the garden where he knew sakura trees grew. Imagine his surprise when he found strangers eating his legal cherries up in the tree...

Vegeta wanted to deny how much the other boy had surprised him with the language he used and the few facts he told about his life. Vegeta seethed inside at the skill Kakarotto had demonstrated while climbing the tree. He'd train to be better, sure! The young prince suddenly woke up from his reverie as his fist connected with Nappa's chin rather hard. Taken aback by the sudden vehemence the stronger Saiyajin brute recoiled back. This rose a murmur out of the onlookers, sounding impressed.

Vegeta blinked, quickly masking his own awe at what he had done so easily. Instead he smirked proudly, the day just couldn't get any better!

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A/N: Honestly... no idea when the next chapter will be up. Toodles until then!