Chapter Text
That day seemed no different than any other. The sun was streaming through the windows of the small pink house, with Launch in the kitchen eager to make breakfast and the kids getting ready for their training. Master Roshi put on his signature red glasses and went downstairs to grab something from the fridge, noticing the blue-haired girl who was chopping up some ingredients for the meal.
"Good morning my dear Launch."
"Oh, good morning master."
"Whatever you're makin' smells better than most things for sure.That famous stew of yours would be just what an old man like me needs," he sighed as he took a sip of his glass of juice.
"Oh don't be like that master, it's not even that good, but I hope the boys like it," she smiled sweetly.
"Speaking of 'em, where are they? Should have come down five minutes ago."
"Maybe they fell asleep, I don't think they'll be long."
It had been many months since Goku and Krillin had been under his tutelage, and it was comforting to think about how much they had progressed compared to when he first met them. Even if they still had a lot to learn, there was no doubt that these little rascals were the future of the martial arts, perhaps they would even become the pride of the Turtle school. He was waiting for the right moment to tell them about the 21st Tournament on Papaya Island to test their skills, it was still several months away though.
"I hope they don't think they'll be skippin' work or I'll bring 'em here by the ears myself–"
A loud "thud" sounded from upstairs, followed by a yelp. Krillin.
Frowning at whatever that noise was, the old man set his drink down before heading to the stairs and taking them two steps at a time, with a concerned Launch right behind him. Once in the hallway, he could hear some sort of struggle in the back room, and in his mind he was already planning the scolding he would give those two for sparring outside of training. He didn't know exactly what situation he expected to find them in—they were immature pre-teens, So why the hell were they fighting?!—but he definitely never imagined that it could be something like that.
Opening the door he saw Krillin kneeling on the floor, half dressed, with an expression of pure horror, while he held Goku on his legs in place with his hands.
Roshi's blood ran cold. Launch gasped. He could see from where he was standing the erratic movements of Goku's arms and the way his heels hit the wooden floor repeatedly, his head was shaking—
"MASTER!"
The man was abruptly snapped out of shock and watched as Krillin had trouble keeping the boy still. Launch had already rushed to their side to help with– whatever that was. OK, he needed to act. He would not allow his student to hurt himself, even if it was accidental, it was his duty to protect him.
He owed it to Gohan.
"Krillin, stop that!" he plopped down next to the kids and slapped his hands away from Goku, who resumed the violent jerking as he had nothing to keep his limbs still.
"B-but master—"
"That's only gonna make it worse! C'mon, go get me a pillow. Go! GO!" he exclaimed urgently to the frightened child, who hesitated for a second before nodding and running out the door.
Once the old man could think more clearly, he recognized the symptoms and cursed under his breath. This was going to be very unpleasant.
《Or it could be worse》 he thought as he examined the boy's wide-open eyes.
God, there was too much white in them. More than should be normal.
"Master?" the girl questioned, watching as Roshi gently laid the kid on his side.
"Launch, go downstairs and start measuring the time... if Goku continues like this for more than 5 minutes, get ready to go to the hospital."
"Yes sir," and she left too.
He was left alone staring at his student's unstable body with his teeth clenched, trying to find some explanation for what was happening. Goku was a healthy one, with good habits and a lot of resistance considering his young age. What could have triggered this?
A distant memory resurfaced and his eyes stopped on the spiky black hair, right in the place where his grandfather had said he received an injury when he was just a wee baby.
"Well, shit."
He wasn't sure if the boy was aware of that incident, but sooner or later he would realize if he was suffering aftereffects.
****
Krillin hadn't noticed anything strange that morning when he and Goku were getting dressed, he only listened to his friend's incessant blabbering with his back turned to him.
"—but then I found their baby hiding from a mama bear that was nearby, don't 'member if I scared her off or somethin'. The dad was so mad for losing his baby that I had to put it at the cave and leave. Most of them don't like people around so I don't think it was personal," he said passing his arms through the holes of his white shirt.
"It should be illegal to be so chatty at this hour, I didn't catch half the things you said," he muttered as he adjusted the sash of his pants, irritated. He didn't see Goku stick his tongue out at him in outrage.
"I wanted to tell ya last night but you said you were 'sooo tired' that you couldn't wait to 'hit the sack' or whatever, so I'm tellin' you now."
"You don't know what a silent morning is, huh? 'Cause if you would just let me get my thoughts together then I–"
Gah.
Now, that was a weird sound, like a muffled groan.
Krillin didn’t finish his complaints as he turned to look at his friend, who had stopped in his tracks and was staring ahead.
"Goku?"
He didn't give a response, just looked past Krillin to the wall with his mouth slightly open.
"What's wrong? Is your voice already worn out?" he let out a chuckle that died in his throat after a few seconds.
There was something unsettling about the rigid muscles and the blank gaze. He did not like it. Then he noticed that his shoulders began to shake, as if the temperature had dropped to zero.
"Goku?" he tried again.
His friend's eyes rolled back into his skull out of nowhere before falling backwards—Krillin remembered it way slower that how it actually was—his heightened reflexes made him react in time to drop to his knees with his hands outstretched, preventing him from hitting the hard ground and saving him a nasty bruise. He felt the other boy's entire body thrash out of his grasp, and he lost his breath when an elbow collided with his abdomen. Hard. He thought a screech escaped his mouth.
****
Ignoring the fog that was currently invading his mind, he grabbed the first pillow he saw from one of the rooms and returned to Master Roshi's side as quickly as he could. He whispered a thank you, while placing Goku's quaking head on the soft surface and bending one of his legs up.
"It hasn't been two minutes yet, master," both men flinched at Launch's voice.
She moved forward to sit next to Krillin, who was clenching the material of his pants in a fist, feeling helpless.
They didn't really have to wait long—GOD if it wasn't stressful that they couldn't help him—but finally Goku's body went limp. His eyes closed as soon as he lost consciousness and at first glance it seemed that he was sleeping, although anyone who knew him would know that he usually tosses around in his sleep. He was never this still.
Krillin looked uncertainly at his master, disturbed by the latest events and his friend lack of reaction, so the man raised a hand for him to have patience. He knew that at any moment he would wake up, however they would have to be careful in case Goku had another episode. They waited one, two more minutes.
The boy's eyelids started to shift.
《There it is》 the old man breathed a sigh of relief.
"GOKU! THANK GOD, you're okay! Are you hurt? How you feel?" in his enthusiasm he stood right in Goku's sight, bombarding him with questions.
"Krillin–"
"I was so worried, I thought you wouldn't snap out of it but you did! You need anything, are you hungry?" he continued speaking at the speed of light as the other boy blinked slowly.
"Krillin, slow down–"
Goku, who had not yet fully processed his surroundings, let out an anguished whimper, clasping his eyes shut. Before they knew, thick tears were running down his temple and into the pillow, and he broke down sobbing at full force.
"Oh, you poor thing," Launch placed her hand on his back and moved it in circles in a appeasing gesture.
"I didn't- I wasn't- I'm so sorry, bud, I didn't mean to make you cry," he apologized in alarm, turning to look at Roshi. "I wasn't trying to, I swear!"
"Krillin, Calm. down. OK? He's fine, just... overwhelmed... and a little scared," he said with a heart heavy from his student's increasing crying. He watched Launch try to place his head as gently as she could in her lap.
The girl was whispering soothing words in his ear, to which Goku clung to her dress like a wounded animal seeking comfort. Knowing the kid, it was a sad sight.
"My dear, would you mind taking him to one of the beds to sleep? There's no way I'm letting him train after this," he also highly doubted Goku would be opposed to the idea of a nap, poor whelp was probably exhausted.
"Right away, master," she put her other hand under his knees and lifted him up with some difficulty. Goku was still looking around with dilated and unfocused eyes, breathing heavily. They disappeared down the hallway, and the hermit wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Being completely honest, he wasn't the 'cuddling' type, his contact with young children was almost non-existent until those two arrived, so he figured it would be best to let Launch's maternal side take care of this matter.
"Master?"
Roshi hummed for him to continue.
"Are you sure he's okay? What–," he cleared his throat, the man noticed that he was also teary-eyed, "What was that?"
He sighed, "A seizure."
Krillin fell silent, absorbing the information.
"Why?"
"Wouldn't be fair for me to tell ya if even Goku doesn't know, but one day you'll find out."
"...But- What if it happens again?!"
"Then you'll know what to do," he stood up to go downstairs and check the food that Launch had abandoned.
He didn't mention to Krillin that he wouldn't have any training that day either. The circumstances, as severe as they were, ultimately made him want to give them a free pass. There was no use in increasing the strength of the body if the mind was vulnerable, so he would let them recover first.