Disclaimer-*Author starts crying. Ain't that proof enough?*

Couples Forming

"That was awesome!" Krillin yelled, hopping onstage next to them.

"Yeah, that rocked!" Kakarotto agreed.

"Talented," was all Vegeta said.

"Thanks!" Chichi said. "We used to do this every weekend on Earth."

"What's with the outfits?" Kakarotto asked.

"Our stage clothes," Bulma said. "On Earth, fashion generally goes along the lines of these outfits, but this takes it to the extreme."

"Hey, lunch is almost ready," Krillin said, looking at his watch. "Let's go."

Bulma pulled the cord and wrapped the big CD player up as the other two dismantled the microphones. "Ready," Chichi said, linking arms with Kakarotto.

Bulma and 18 giggled. It so easy to tell that Chichi was head-over-heels for Kakarotto.

18, Krillin, Bulma, Vegeta, Chichi, and Kakarotto all walked into the lunchroom, if it could be called a room. It was a small mansion in itself. It was easy to see that someone could get lost in here with the aid of sonar and a map.

"God, that looks good," Kakarotto said, practically drooling at the long table full of food. "Twice as good as what we normally get."

"Eat fast," Vegeta ordered as they all sat down. "The other girls will be here soon, and I don't want those whores spoiling my appetite."

18 smiled slyly. She picked up her fork, stabbed and cut a piece of chicken on her plate, and brought it to her lips, in agonizingly slow motion.

Vegeta glared at her. 18 smirked at him and started eating normally. "It's good," she commented.

18 had the strongest stomach out of all the girls, so she could sit back and eat while Vegeta and Kakarotto scarfed up their food in record time.

"How can you watch them eat like that?" Bulma demanded of Krillin.

"You get used to it," he replied simply, poking a fork into his salad. "I've lived here for 2 years, so it's normal now."

Chichi poked at her food with her fork, then gave up. "Vegeta, is there a training area around here?"

"Yeah." He eyed her. "What do you practice?"

"18 and I do Pao Que Quan," Chichi explained. "18 more than I." (A/N: Pao Que Quan is a very graceful and deadly form of martial arts. Fits Chichi and 18, huh?)

"And Bulma?" Kakarotto asked, swallowing his food.

"I don't fight."

The two Saiyans stopped eating for a second and stared at her.

"I don't have an interest in it. I like technology. People call me a computer freak. And I'm proud of it!" She pushed back her chair and stood up. "I'm gonna go look for that tech room we passed when we set up the band. Ta."

"Bye," Chichi said, and 18 just waved.

Vegeta stood up suddenly and left the room.

"He has a sixth sense when it comes to stalking fangirls," Kakarotto explained, seeing 18 and Chichi's confused faces.

"Oh."

A few minutes later, Chichi stood up. "I'm gonna go head out to that training area."

"I'll come with you," Kakarotto offered quickly, standing up and following her out.

"I've never known Kakarotto to leave lunch early," Krillin remarked.

18 smothered a smile and stood up. "I'm gonna take a walk."

"Mind if I join you?" Krillin asked, somewhat hopefully.

18 shrugged. "Sure, why the Bleep not?" She turned and walked toward the exit. "Well, come on."

"Coming." He got up and raced after her.

He shut the door behind them and caught up with her. "So, 18, what's up with your name? I mean, I don't have any problem with it, it's just…just…um…"

"Weird," 18 filled in. "I know."

"So, how did you get it?"

18 sighed and looked away. "I won't lie to you. You see, I'm not an entire human."

"What?!"

"My grandfather is Dr. Gero."

"Doctor…oh my God, that crazy geneticist?"

"Yeah. He's my father's father. Anyway, when my mother had my twin and I, he took me and did…something to me and him. I never knew what exactly he did. He returned us with numbers for names, and my parents never changed it."

"I see," Krillin said sympathetically. "How did you wind up here?"

"My brother was murdered by a serial killer named Cell," she said quietly. "And my grandfather suddenly disappeared. My father lost his job, and my mother's job went on strike because they lowered wages. They couldn't support me, so when they found out that Chichi and Bulma were exchange students to this planet, they called our school and arranged for me to go with them."

She shifted that brown, sleeveless jacket and look at him from the corner of her eye. "Why was your grandfather called here? And how was he known on Vegetasei? All you said was that he was a respected martial artist."

"Well, my grandfather traveled here once to help train Vegeta and Kakarotto. I was 6 years old then. He came back with an entrée to the palace because he had raised their power levels through the roof. He decided to come here again to find some new clients, and he brought me with them."

"Cool." 18 hesitated before speaking again. "Have you ever heard of the legend of the Dragonballs?"

"Yeah."

"Do you believe it?"

"I don't see why not. Why?"

"I want to wish for something."

"You want to wish for your brother to come back?"

She looked surprised. "How did you…?"

"It's clear as day in your eyes. I don't major in psychology, but I can tell you're suppressing a lot of pain, and you feel that you could bear it if you had your brother back. Right?"

"17 and I were very close," she explained. "People even mistook us as an item on Earth. We DO love each other, but not in THAT way. Neither of us like incest."

"It suits some people, but definitely not me," Krillin said with a nod.

"I want to go to Namek," 18 said. "I want to wish my brother back. And…I don't know…it'd be kinda cool for you to go with me...."

Krillin looked up at her with surprised eyes. "Really?"

"Quoth Krillin, 'I don't see why not'," 18 said, toying with Poe's 'Quoth the Raven: Nevermore'.

"Good poem."

"You think so? My fave was always 'Annabel Lee'."

"Oh, that was a good one," Krillin said, as he and 18 walked down the hall together, talking.

Bulma was busy in the palace's technology room, sending an e-mail to her parents. "I still can't believe I was picked," she wrote. "The only thing I hate is Samantha Zenith. She's EVIL, by God. She belongs in Hell."

"What are you writing?"

Bulma yelped and swung around to see Vegeta. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"My palace, I'll sneak where I like," Vegeta said. "What are you writing?"

"An e-mail." Bulma turned back to the computer.

Vegeta leaned over and started reading what she wrote.

"Do you mind?"

"Not really."

Bulma sighed and closed out the link. "I like to write in privacy."

"Then get a lab-top."

"Too expensive. My parents only send me money for necessitates." She logged off the computer and swung around in the revolving chair. "So, Vegeta, you have your eye on anyone in the competition?"

"Cleo, Nydia, Ilana are too stupid to be queen. Kali and your two friends don't seem interested."

"That just leaves Samantha, Diana, Sylvia, and me."

"I want to get rid of that whore. Blow her swelled head off her shoulders. I've overheard servants calling me arrogant, so I wonder what they say about Samantha."

"I heard you were arrogant before I came here," Bulma said.

"And…?"

"Not as much as you are withdrawn. You barely said a word to me last night."

Vegeta shrugged. "Not much to say."

"Yeah, I noticed." Bulma stood up. "In fact, if you loosened up a bit, you'd probably be a little more people-popular."

"Tried that. Long ago. Never worked."

"What happened?"

"Favor-seekers. Bribes. Marriage offers. I learned 'don't talk, and people will listen'."

"People went after me, too. Did I tell you my family is the richest on Earth? Well, it is, so people were constantly fawning after me, too. So I played a trick. I started a rumor that my family had lost its fortune. As you can see, only Chichi and 18 stuck around."

"That sucks."

"Not really. My ex-boyfriend stuck around, too."

"Ex?"

"Yeah, it wasn't working out so we split. That was a couple months before I came here, 2 or 3, I suppose. I never thought I'd be in a competition in my junior year to see if I marry the prince or not."

"Yeah, Saiyans try to marry early. A young population keeps the army strong."

"Really."

"I just said so, didn't I?"

"Okay, now you're acting arrogant." Bulma logged off and turned around. "Let's go check on Chichi and Kakarotto."

"Hey, Chichi!" Kakarotto said as he entered the gym.

"Oh, hi, Kakarotto!" Chichi said, waving.

"Whatcha doing?"

"Just practicing some Pao Que Quan."

"Cool."

Kakarotto stood back and watched her for awhile.

"Y'know, my mother does this too…I've watched her since I was a little kid."

"Really. Cool."

"I think you need to work on your form…you're gonna feel it tomorrow if you keep standing like that."

Chichi shifted. "Like this?"

"No."

She shifted again. "How about this?"

"No, not quite…"

Chichi bent over backwards into a bridge. (A/N: For anyone who doesn't know, a bridge is kinda like a back flip, but instead of flipping you just put your hands on the ground and stay up. OK, on with the fic…) "Well, how about this?"

Kakarotto laughed, and Chichi straightened up, laughing as well.

"Here, I'll help you." Kakarotto went over to Chichi and put his hands on her waist, shifting some of her weight onto her left hip. "You're putting to much weight on the other side…"

Enter Bulma and Vegeta.

"Ooh, sweet monkey love," Bulma teased.

Kakarotto quickly took his hands off Chichi's waist, and both their faces turned bright red. "It's not like that!" they said in unison.

"Really, Chichi, what would your father say?" Bulma teased.

"Shut up, Bulma!" Chichi yelped, her face on fire. "Kakarotto was just helping me with my form!"

"Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuure," Vegeta said, smirking. "And I thought this competition was for me."

Kakarotto soon joined Chichi in the face-on-fire deal.

"Hey, what's the powwow for?"

Krillin and 18 had just entered the gym.

"Chichi and Kakarotto were just getting to know each other better," Bulma said, grinning.

18 smirked. "Should I be telling Kali her cousin may be a father prematurely?"

"I AM NOT!!" Kakarotto yelped. (A/N: If he only knew…*laughs evilly*)

"Oh, Vegeta, there you are!"

All of them turned to look as Samantha, followed by her clique of trained followers.

"God, what do you WANT?!" Vegeta snapped.

"Just to hang out with Veggie," Samantha said, trying to sound cheeky.

Bulma stepped in front of Vegeta before he could kill Samantha. "Well, sorry to dash your high hopes, Samantha, but Vegeta and I were planning to stay together for the rest of the day."

Samantha laughed haughtily. "Vegeta, you don't mean to stay with…that all day, do you?"

Vegeta smirked. "Actually, I do. And if you follow me, I can have you arrested for stalking."

Samantha's attitude dropped as she walked away, grumbling, and her trio followed after her like trained dogs.

"Message for Bulma Brief!"

A palace messenger suddenly appeared at the end of the hall. "Message for Bulma Brief!"

"What?" Bulma asked.

"You have a visitor. From Earth."

"Who is it?" Bulma was dreading the answer.

"Well, he said his name was…" The messenger looked at the slip of paper in his hand. "Yamcha."

OOOHHHH, I'm evil! I've been watching too many soaps!

R/R!