Once upon a time, there was a stubborn, power-hungry, arrogant Prince who cared of nothing but surpassing his lifelong rival. This is not his story. This is the tale of his somewhat unfortunate rival, and the laughably awkward position he was forced into. Ironically enough, the Prince was the catalyst of the entire series of his rival's misfortunate happenings. This is how it all began: Prince Vegeta was training in the gravity room Bulma Briefs had built for him. He had notched it up to 20 times Earth's natural gravity, and he was currently practicing throwing punches and kicks in the air. He had been at it for hours, bound and determined to reach Super Saiyan and to surpass his rival—the bane of his existence—Son Goku.
Ah… Son Goku: protector of the innocent, strongest known man in the universe, and unintentional birthright thief. Vegeta thought many things of this man—none of them were good. As long as this Goku fellow was stronger than Vegeta, Vegeta would make sure of it that he would never relinquish his personal vendetta against him to take back what he deemed as his: the title of being the strongest of them all.
'Why can't I ever beat that imbecile? Somehow he's always one step ahead of me! How does he manage it?' Vegeta thought to himself furiously.
After all this time, he still couldn't believe it, and he would certainly never come to terms with it! Goku had taken his pride and he would be damned if he would just let it slip to the wayside. Goku needed to pay! Goku needed to see what it was like to live in somebody else's shadow for once! A bead of sweat made its courageous journey down the sharp angle of Vegeta's cheekbone; it slid down to his chin and dripped onto the tile flooring with a tiny pitter-pattering sound.
Vegeta clenched his fists and a vein protruded on either side of his widow's peak. 'I am the Prince of all Saiyans, damn-it! I'm better than that third class dog! I will beat him! I must beat him! It is my birthright!'
Vegeta's calloused hands frantically fumbled with the gravity controls. He turned it up to 50 times Earth's natural gravity. He immediately resumed punching and kicking the air at unnatural speeds. A scowl was plastered on his face. He appeared so pissed it would be lethal for anyone to disturb him in the slightest.
As if it were at all possible, he quickened his pace even more so as the disturbing thoughts of failure lingered in his brain. They seemed to resurface in his mind every day. These sly thoughts would ambush him when he was at his weakest. 'He's better than you, Vegeta! He'll always be better than you, Vegeta. Training yourself to surpass him is futile, Vegeta. You are weak, Vegeta. What would your Father think of you, Vegeta ?'
"Bastard!" Vegeta hissed. He moved the controls up to 70 times.
To Vegeta, it was simple: what Goku had done was unforgivable! Goku had stolen what was his. He had stolen what Vegeta was promised when he was born: to be the strongest of all of the Saiyans. He had robbed Vegeta of his pride, and a true Saiyan regards one's pride as their most important characteristic!
Vegeta vowed to himself the very moment he hit rock bottom that he would take back what was rightfully his from the start. He didn't care what the consequences were. He would become the strongest of all of the Saiyans once more. He wouldn't stop at just that, no, he would become the strongest being in the entire universe!
***
Vegeta thought he knew everything—a total know-it-all. Though, he didn't know everything. He certainly wasn't aware that he had a peeping tom in his midst. Bulma was the culprit. She was staring into the gravity room via a window that she had installed herself. She was a genius and so it was only natural that she could tell that she had growing feelings for the bigheaded Prince. She didn't want to admit it. She simply couldn't understand what she saw in him—and that's coming from a grade-A brainiac!
Perhaps she was attracted to him because they had a common characteristic: they were both remarkably stubborn. This is also a big reason why she didn't want to admit caring for him. She thought it was wrong of her. Not only was Vegeta literally a 'bad boy', Bulma also currently had a boyfriend. She was dating Yamcha, well sort of. She didn't really know what they were. Either way, it doesn't matter, because Bulma couldn't help but think of Vegeta. She was a tormented soul.
Yet another fact Bulma didn't want to admit to was that she'd been watching Vegeta train for a whopping total of two hours straight—no pee breaks included. She knew it was silly and cliché, but she just couldn't keep her eyes off of him. Her defense was: 'Who in their right mind could?' After all, Vegeta was wearing spandex, very hot. She could see every single solitary detail of his nicely sculptured muscles. It was especially tantalizing when he just so happened to be drenched in sweat. Bulma gluttonously bit her bottom list with pure, unadulterated lust. Oh, she had to admit it now. 'I want him so badly,' she thought. Unfortunately, she'd realized that he didn't even seem to notice her. It was time to change her game plans.
Bulma could barely make out Vegeta's lips moving. He seemed to be talking to himself. The walls were sound-proof, so she couldn't hear what he was saying. She watched him mess with the gravity controls for a second. Next, he walked casually over to a bolted down table in the corner of the room, and he picked up a white towel from it. He slung it around his neck, sighed, and walked toward the exit door.
It was then that Bulma finally realized that she hadn't been thinking about the circumstance she was about to be thrown into. 'Vegeta is finished with his training, he's walking toward the door. I'm just standing here like a moron doing nothing. Shit!' Bulma thought frantically.
Vegeta inevitably opened the door and noticed Bulma in front of it standing stock-still and gawking at him like an idiot. Vegeta arched an eyebrow at her with a vague look of curiosity and annoyance jumbled together. "What do you think you're doing, woman?" he demanded.
"N—nothing!" Bulma stammered, feeling the sudden urge to beat her skull against the nearest wall. "I was… just going to… um… check and see if the gravity machine is working ship-shape!" She said this while trying to feign a peppy voice. It failed… miserably.
Lucky for her, Vegeta didn't seem to care. He shrugged his shoulders in acceptance, grunted, and stalked off toward his living quarters, no doubt. He had better things to do with his time than stand around and talk to the weak, human female—even if she was pleasant to look at from time to time.
When Vegeta had taken his leave and Bulma was certain he was out of earshot, she exhaled the breath she had been holding in for the past minute or so. "That was a close one," she muttered.
Meanwhile, when Vegeta entered his room he opened up an armoire near his bed, and pulled out six orange orbs. They contained a numbered assortment of stars on each sphere. Vegeta gazed at them for a moment, picking up a random ball and looking it over. Ironically, it turned out to be the four-star dragon ball. He hadn't a clue, but the four-star ball in particular was Goku's favorite. It was his Grandpa's dragon ball.
"I didn't want to resort to this…" Vegeta muttered aloud. He tapped his foot on the wooden floorboards anxiously and continued, "but I don't see that I have a choice any longer. I can't handle this anymore. I must beat you, Kakarrot! I will be the strongest, no-matter the cost."
He picked up a worn, brown, leather baggie and placed all six inside of it. He drew open his windowpanes and he flew off to a location where he had hidden the seventh dragon ball earlier for safekeeping.