Krillin made sure to keep up on his training, he knew that while Goku did the heavy lifting in the future against most of the threats, that was no reason for him to slack off.
"Oh Krillin, the World Martial Arts Tournament is going to be in a few days, we'll need to head to the mainland if you want to participate," Master Roshi said as he stepped out of Kami House.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Krillin commented as this would be the first time in years he'd get to see Goku, on one hand it was a little strange knowing that all those adventures he had with his friend might not happen now, but also that he really wanted to see how strong Goku had gotten too with the different training he had been put through.
Krillin had explained the massive benefits of gravity based training and what King Kai had put him through when he was there. So, he expected Kami to have created something for Goku to use as a replacement.
"Hey wow, Krillin," Bulma snickered. "I almost didn't recognize you, you got soo tall since we last met."
Previously Krillin would have taken the joke about his height poorly, but after years of real trauma and accepting himself for who he is, he brushed it off and laughed with Bulma. "Yeah, gonna be this size for life, who knows, maybe I'll find a girl who likes short men," he chuckled. "So Bulma you seen Goku yet?" he asked even if he could sense that Goku and Kami were standing behind him the latter under disguise.
"No, it's strange, I thought he'd be here by now," Bulma answered.
"Heehee, I'm right here guys," Goku snickered as he pulled of his hat, revealing his signature hairstyle.
"Goku, no way," Yamcha shouted as he saw the once short kid having turned into a man over time.
"I know right, I got taller," Goku rubbed the back of his head. "Also a lot stronger."
Tien smirked. "Well I'll wait for our rematch in the tournament then."
"Sorry, I'm actually not competing," Goku nervously stated.
"WHAT?!" the group of friends shouted in disbelief.
"I have something else to take care of," he answered as he walked towards his opponent. "Piccolo, let's go somewhere else," Goku firmly said.
"When did he get here," Yamcha shouted as he just realized the hidden son of the Demon King was there the entire time.
"Fine," Piccolo Jr. cackled. "After I'm done with you, I'll come back and kill the rest of them," he said as he flew off into the sky.
Goku hung his head as he realized the challenge he had been given. Flying off after Piccolo he tried to think of a way to convince Piccolo to give up his life of evil.
With a poof the sound of a capsule garnered everyone else's attention. "I'm not waiting around here, I have to see this," Bulma shouted as she hopped on her skybike. "I've been there from day one," she said firmly as she raced off after her friend.
"So should we," Tien asked the group.
"Nah," Krillin smirked. "Goku will be fine," he said confidently as he had been sensing Goku over the last few years and while he wasn't even as strong as he was when he got to Namek, there was no mistaking the energy signature of a super Saiyan. "Plus all of us are registered, it'd be a shame to let the tournament be boring just because something else is going on. And not to brag," Krilling rubbed his nose. "I'm going to win it this year."
"Oh really," Yamcha laughed. "I've been practicing really hard, are you ready for my new and improved Wolf Fang Fist."
"Please, neither of you have a chance against me, the reigning champ," Tien smirked.
"Well we'll just have to see, won't we," Krillin chuckled as he put the thoughts of Goku out of his mind.
A few minutes later Krillin felt his friends power level spike as he could tell Goku was showing just how outclassed Piccolo was right now. With that he focused his attention back on the tournament and his opponent, Master Roshi. "Come on Roshi," Krillin teased. "I know you still got it, so don't even try to play the defenseless old man."
"Oh really," Roshi smirked. "I've seen how you trained, and it really inspired me to not fall behind my students," he warned as he took off his turtle shell and gather his ki, rapidly bulking up his body.
"Fighters are you ready," the announcer said, when both competitors nodded, he raised his hand and cleared the stage for them to fight.
"Ehh you whippersnapper," Roshi grumbled as he rubbed a knot that had formed on his head. "You got lucky."
Krillin chuckled as he relished in his hard-won victory. "Well, I wonder who I get to fight next."
"Will competitors Yamcha and Chi-Chi take the field," the announcer said.
"Oh wow, damn, that's," Krillin exclaimed as he realized that now Goku wasn't there to fight his wife.
"Something the matter Krillin," Roshi asked.
"NO," Krillin shouted before he coughed. "Uh, no, I just, that's the little girl Goku saved," he pointed to the young woman.
"Wowza," Roshi shouted. "She was a cute kid before, but now, oh why did I get stuck fighting a little runt when I could have had that beauty."
"Never change Master Roshi," Krillin chuckled as he watched the nearly even fight between Goku's future wife and his friend.
"And the winner by knockout, is Yamcha," the announcer shouted.
"You know, I came here for a reason," Chi-Chi stated as she bowed respectfully to Yamcha who did the same to his opponent. "I came because I wanted a young boy to keep a promise he had made to me, but I can see that didn't happen. Instead I had a good battle and I think the mistake I made was choosing someone who was so young. I mean," Chi-Chi giggled. "He thought marriage was food when I met him."
"Yeah Goku's a bit of a character," Yamcha stifled a laugh as walked into the waiting room with Chi-Chi as the two shared stories about their adventures, happy to have a chance to catch up after all those years.
Krillin sat back and watched the fights for the tournament progress until it was his turn again. "I thought Goku would be back by now," he mused as he stood on the platform across from Yamcha.
"You think he's okay," Yamcha asked, worried about his friend.
"I'm sure he's fine. Come on, it's Goku, when has he ever not been fine," Krillin chuckled before he stopped as he remembered all the times that they had not been fine.
"Yeah, you're right, plus if not, then I'll be the one to stop Piccolo," Yamcha declared as he pointed a thumb at himself.
"As if," Krillin rolled his eyes. "That honor is reserved for the winner of the WMAT, which is going to be me," Krillin crouched down before he got the signal to start the fight.
"Bulma are you sure about this," Goku said as he rubbed his head. "I don't really know the first thing about dating."
"Yeah," Bulma sighed. "I think for the longest time, I've been denying it because I always thought of you as too young. But you aren't and, neither am I."
"So, what do we do, I'm just a monkey boy from the mountains," Goku smiled nervously.
"And I'm a rich city girl who drives a monster," Bulma smirked. "I think we'll be fine."
"Ready to lose Krillin," Tein said as he was happy to finally have a real fight, he had been placed against other people while he saw Roshi, Krillin and Yamcha all on the other side of the bracket.
"And the winner of the twenty-third, world martial arts tournament is, Krillin," the announcer said proudly as he gave the prize to the bald fighter.
Krillin was shocked by how good it felt to be given that prize, as he had never won one of the tournaments in his old timeline, he'd always been just a bit too weak to win and then after Satan and Buu, no one else had a chance to win, since it was more important to keep up the charade, but this was his. Krillin realized that he would have had no chance if Goku stayed in the tournament, but by the time they competed again in the twenty-fifth, the only two people who would have come close to Goku was Gohan and Vegeta, so he could at least take solace in the fact that he was the strongest human in the world.
"So Krillin," Tien said as they all headed towards a restaurant after the tournament had concluded. "What are you going to do with the prize money?"
"Probably invest a bit," Krillin shrugged, knowing that a few companies would be big in a few years and that would be a nice little nest egg. He didn't really need to worry too much about money since he could just get his old job as a police officer again. "But tonight, I want to take my friends out for a nice meal."
"Aheh, got room for two more," Goku asked as he approached.
"Of course, for my best frieeeeee," Krillin trailed off into a squeak as he saw how Bulma was holding Goku's hand. "What the, how did that happen?" he shouted in confusion.
"Well, since we had some time after dealing with Piccolo, we talked," Goku shrugged.
"After all these years in each other's lives, it just felt right to go on one more adventure together," Bulma continued.
"Aheh, ahah," Krillin laughed nervously before he slumped to the ground unconscious.
Author's Notes: Glad there was such a positive reception to the story.
I think keeping it in the PoV of Krillin at least for a little while longer is really good for the story, and now that Krillin has messed with the timeline, what other changes will result from that.