Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ, no matter how much I want it. All I own is that spiffy green Neon and my muse Meliah...

Meliah: You do not own me! No one owns a Saiyan!

Raven: That's what you think...

A/n: This story is inspired by City High's: What Would You Do, Moulin Rouge, and a few other things that I don't own! --And I just re-wrote it!

A/n: Vegeta will be somewhat OOC in this fic, so be prepared.

I would like to thank the person that finally got me off my bum in updating this. Jester Fraser! Thanx for getting me to write again, but now my mind is so flooded with ideas for this story that I don't have time to write anything for my others!

What I Call Life

What A Life I Live

A beautiful, blue haired young woman rushed quietly around her one room apartment, trying to dress herself and clean the room at the same time. She hopped around the bed, with one hand she was attempting to strap a high-heeled sandal to her foot, and with the other she was tugging the covers of her bed into place. The covers fell in place and she sat down to finish putting on the sandals.

"Whew! I'm done! Maybe I'll actually be on time tonight!" she breathed quietly. The woman stood up and silently walked over to the door, and just when she had placed a delicate hand on the doorknob there was a loud scream that caused her to freeze. She sighed and wearily turned to the corner where a small bundle of blankets was lying. "Trunks, honey, what's wrong?"

The small bundle continued to scream and cry.

"Shhh, its okay Trunks, baby," she cooed as she picked up the small bundle and cradled it in her arms. "I know your hungry baby, but there's nothing I can give you. We drank the last of the milk yesterday, and I don't get paid until tomorrow."

Even her soft calming voice couldn't quiet the baby. He continued to scream at the top of his lungs in hunger.
"I promise I'll try to get something for you to eat tonight before I come home. I'm sorry honey, this is all Mommy's fault," she whispered to him quietly. "You eat almost as much as V-" she muttered but cut off because it was too painful to remember that person's name. "Please stop crying Trunksee, for Mommy?"

Trunks stopped crying suddenly and wiped his eyes with the sleeves of his oversized shirt. Across the front the shirt his mother's name, Bulma, was printed and a Capsule Corp. logo on the sleeve. The small face looked up at his mother with a small scowl.

She let out a small chuckle at his expression, "You look just like-" Bulma paused momentarily, "Vegeta..." Her eyes developed a sad look and she looked down at her little baby. "Trunks, I'll be back later okay? You'll be okay, and be good while Mommy is gone."

One of Trunks' eyebrows rose slightly and he let out a small coo. His mother set him back down in the bed of blankets.
"Bye, Sweetie," she whispered quietly as she closed the door lightly behind her. Bulma headed off down the hall, only to run straight into a tall man. "Oomph." Her icy eyes, sparkling with blue fire, looked up at the man. "Yamcha? Mind looking where you're going from now on?"

"I was looking for you Bulma," Yamcha replied. "Your shift started ten minutes ago, your customers are asking for you." His voice was sour and he looked at her with disdain.

"Yes, Yamcha, I know my shift started ten minutes ago, but I had a slight problem. Trunks woke up and he was hungry." Bulma took a slight pause and added with more venom, "You DO remember who Trunks is, right? Your son? The one you spawned almost a year and a half ago, and you never take care of?"

An annoyed look crossed his face and he retorted, "Yes, yes, Bulma, we've been through this song and dance before.  You don't have time to rant and rave at me right now, your shift started," he stopped to look at his watch, "fifteen minutes ago. Now get moving. You can yell at me on your break."

Bulma's fists clenched and rose to her face before she let out an exasperated growl and she pushed past Yamcha, screaming at the top of her lungs. Just before she reached the bar area, Bulma took a deep breath and put on a fake smile. Her hand rose to the curtain that separated the bar from the living quarters and muttered to herself, "What a life I live..." She took a step out from behind the curtain, and proceeded to do her degrading job.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

She was a courtesan; a courtesan with a nine-month-old son that she couldn't feed. Most courtesans made enough money to feed a small family, but Bulma was different. Her eyes were filled with a cold hatred, and she had a fiery temper. These things made her undesirable to most men. A few Saiyans might have taken her, but not after what she had done. No man got his way with her without her say; not after that night a year and a half ago. That comes later, but right now we'll hear about Bulma's current situation.

The young beauty came from the planet Chickyuu, but she was born on the planet Vegetasei. Before the evil Lord Frieza could destroy the little blue planet that would have been her home, the King of Saiyans himself saved her parents. He and the Queen had decided that they were the perfect tools to build up the technology of the Saiyan Empire. At first he made her father, Dr. Briefs, Head Science Slave, and after a few months he was granted his freedom.
Over the years, an unlikely friendship formed, and Dr. Briefs was appointed as King Vegeta's head advisor. He was given a corporation in which to build his newest invention, Capsules. This corporation was called Capsule Corp. This is where Bulma comes in. She was the heiress to Capsule Corp. up until Trunks was born. She was cast out from the family, totally disowned. That's why she came here, The Bar. Apparently the owner of The Bar, Zarbon, wasn't exactly the most imaginative... At this place she only had two friends because she held herself over all of the other girls because of her past. The fact that those girls had chosen to come here disgusted her. This was the only place she could go. The first of her friends was a Frypan-jin named Chi-Chi Mau.

Chi-Chi was the orphan daughter of the once well-known Ox-King. Frieza conquered their small planet and killed her father. She was then taken to the planet Vegetasei where refugees were free until they reached the Saiyan mating age of eighteen. Bulma and Chi-Chi went to high school together, and on graduation night the slave traders came and took her away. She was then sold to the owner of The Bar, Zarbon.

Bulma's other friend, 18, was an unruly cyborg that had disobeyed her creator. She was programmed to destroy on command, so when she was sold to Zarbon, they changed her programming to please men on command. One small thing that they didn't think of was that 18 was constantly defiant, and she wouldn't obey a command unless she liked it. The managers of The Bar had a few problems in the first few months of having her work there.

The three friends were more alike than people could outwardly notice. They all had fiery tempers and refused to be used or abused by any man. 18 would react to something nonchalantly ki blasting the moron that dared to grab her ass. Chi-Chi would let out a banshee-like screech that would scare off any man. And Bulma would peer at any and all men that dared to touch her with her penetrating, icy glare.

No one could ever guess that in private, Bulma had a sweet side that she only showed to her son. Around everyone else, she guarded herself to all emotions and put a wall of ice around her heart. Trunks was her only soft spot, but tonight something was going to happen that would change her forever.