Helping Hands

Goku was on his way to the Seireitei and in a hurry. No one has heard a thing from the Soul Society for at least 2 days now and he was worried that something may have happened. So he was rushing over to the Seireitei to see what was going on. His first stop was, as always, at Squad 10 where his friend Vegeta was their Second Lieutenant. When he got to the squad's main office, he was confused to see only Vegeta there. Where was Toushiro and Rangiku? The saiyan prince was busy filling out some files when he noticed his friend.

Vegeta: "Hey, Kakarot."

Goku: "Hey, Vegeta. What's going on?"

Vegeta: "What do you mean?"

Goku: "Well... No one has heard a thing from anyone here in the Soul Society for 2 days now. And now I come in to see just you here! So what's going on and where are Rangiku and Toushiro?"

Vegeta: "Oh! That... Uh well Soul Reapers can apparently get sick."

Goku: "Sick?"

Vegeta: "Yep. A Soul Reaper version of the flu is going around right now and everyone is sick."

Goku: "Everyone?"

Vegeta: "Actually, let me rephrase that... Everyone but Val, Mika and me. I'm not sick because of our saiyan blood. Saborons evolved next to the saiyans so their immune system is just as strong."

Goku: "Maybe that's why I've never been sick before... But still, everyone?"

Vegeta: "Mm-hmm. Everyone. Val and I are literally the only ones taking care of everything here in the Seireitei. Mika is helping her mom in anyway she can."

Goku: "How bad is it?"

Vegeta: "Depends on the person you're referring to. It's literally a question of 'Who has it at what level?'. Some have it mildly but are still bedridden. Some have it bad and then there are some who..."

Vegeta trailed off and glanced towards another door. Just as Goku glanced at the door, he heard a loud and very harsh cough from inside.

Vegeta: "... Have it REALLY bad."

Goku watched as the door slid open and the next thing he knew, he was looking at one very sick Toushiro Hitsugaya. The poor boy was almost as pale as his own hair. His eyes were red and glossy, so glossy that he didn't see Goku. Poor thing could barely stand on his own two feet. And when he spoke, his voice was weak and raspy.

Toushiro: "Vegeta... Is everything ok?"

Vegeta just huffed as he turned to Goku.

Vegeta: "One of the sickest in the Seireitei and he's still incline to work."

Goku just huffed a laugh too. The prince turned back to his young captain who had propped himself up against the door just to stand.

Vegeta: "Everything is fine, Toushiro. I've got it covered. But since you're here, there is something you can do."

Toushiro: "What?..."

As the saiyan prince got up and walked over to the child prodigy, he picked up a bottle from the desk. Goku didn't have to guess what it was.

Vegeta: "Time for another dose."

Toushiro moaned as Vegeta filled the cap of the medicine bottle with the nasty tasting liquid. The saiyan handed the boy the cap and he drank it all down in one gulp. Toushiro shivered at the taste of the stuff.

Toushiro: "Bleck... It's horrible."

Vegeta: "But it's good for you. Bed, now!"

Vegeta turned the boy around and gently shoved him back into his room. The prince closed the door and went back to work.

Vegeta: "The stuff really is horrible."

Goku: "Truly. But it's like that old saying: If it tastes bad, then it's good."

Vegeta: "Actually I think it goes: That which does not kill you, makes you stronger."

Goku: "Oh yeah. My bad."

Goku took a good look at Vegeta and frowned. The great saiyan prince had dark circles under his eyes.

Goku: "You look tired, Vegeta."

Vegeta: "I am, Kakarot. I am. Mika's too young to really do anything so Val and I have been working almost non-stop these last 2 days. I've been taking care of this squad as well as Squads 11, 3, 1, 6, 8 and 13. Val's taking care of the rest. When I said that Val and I are the only ones running the Seireitei, I meant it."

Goku: "Why don't you ask Gin to come and help? He used to be Squad 3's captain, remember."

Vegeta: "I considered it but he'd most likely catch the bug too."

Goku: "Good point."

Goku stood there quietly and thought for a moment while Vegeta continued to fill out the files for the squad he was currently working on. The earth-raised saiyan then had an idea.

Goku: "Well, is there anything I can do to help out?"

Vegeta: "Actually there is, Kakarot. Val's got her end covered cause she has Mika to help her, but I need help in the worst way possible."

Goku: "Well then tell me what do you want me to do, Vegeta?"

Vegeta: "I haven't slept since the day before yesterday. If you could just sort out these files for me while I take a much needed nap, I'd greatly appreciate it."

Goku looked at the two tall stacks of files Vegeta was pointing at.

Goku: "How will I know which one is from what squad?"

Vegeta: "The squad number is at the top right corner. Just put them in piles by squad number. I'll take care of everything else once I've had some rest. I'm getting too old to go this long without sleep. Toushiro will need another dose of medicine in about an hour."

Goku: "Ok. You go and get some rest, Vegeta. I can handle this."

The saiyan prince got up and went to the sofa to lay down. Goku sat down at the desk and started to sort the files. In seconds Vegeta was asleep. Every now and then Goku could hear Toushiro cough in the next room. Poor Vegeta must have been really tired because he didn't even flinch. After about thirty minutes, Goku was just only a quarter of the way done. There were a lot of files. The stacks were just as tall as Toushiro himself. Just as he placed a paper in its pile, Val came in.

Val: "Goku? Why are you here?"

Goku: "I was worried cause I haven't heard a word from anyone here in the last 2 days so I came over. Vegeta told me what was going on and I saw how bad it was thanks to Toushiro."

Val: "Yeah it's bad. Where is Vegeta?"

Goku: "On the couch, taking a nap. He looked so tired that I offered to help while he got some rest."

Val: "Thanks Goku. I was actually coming to see if I could help him. I've got Mika helping me but he's had no one to help him. We're both so overwhelmed right now. Hopefully some of the less sick will recover very soon. If Toushiro comes in, just give him a small amount of that medicine."

Goku: "I know. I saw Vegeta give him some earlier. Poor kid looked horrible."

Val: "Well he was one of the first to get sick and he's one of the sickest but not THE sickest. That honor goes to Soifon and Byakuya."

Goku: "Don't know why I'm not surprised."

Val: "Well I'd better get back to work. Thanks again, Goku. We need all the help we can get."

Goku: "Actually, I was thinking, Val. Why don't I bring some of our friends here to help out. At least those who won't get sick like Piccolo, Gohan, Ebony, ect."

Val: "That's actually a good idea. But Gohan will have to be careful. He's only half saiyan after all."

Goku: "Ok. Uh... Could you send the message? I'm kinda buried here."

Val: "No problem."

The Saboron left to send a message to some of the Z-Fighters while Goku remained behind to help Vegeta. Goku has never abandon any of his friends when they ask for help and Vegeta asking him for help was like finding gold while hiking, very rare. Goku had sorted over half of the files when Toushiro came in again. He looked a little better, but he still looked awful.

Toushiro: "Goku?... What are you doing here?"

Goku: "I'm helping Vegeta. Poor guy's been working himself to death while everyone's sick."

Toushiro: "Is there anything I can do?"

Goku: "You can help us by going back to bed and get some rest, Toushiro. The more you rest, the faster you'll recover. I also need to give you another dose of this medicine. It's been an hour and 20 minutes since your last dose."

Toushiro again moaned. He did not like this stuff at all, but it was obviously working. The earth-raised saiyan gave the boy some more of his medicine and then sent him back to bed. Just shortly after going back to sorting the files, Piccolo, Ebony, Gohan and 3 other of his friends came to lend a hand to the Soul Reapers. Each of them took charge of a job. But Goku stayed by Vegeta's side. He had worked for years on getting the stubborn saiyan prince to trust him and see him as a friend. He wasn't going to ruin that. Finally, after hours of sorting each file and tending to Toushiro every hour or so, Goku was finished. He sat back in the chair and sighed. Just as he did, he heard Vegeta begin to stir. The saiyan prince awoke and stretched, looking refreshed after his nap.

Goku: "Hey, Vegeta. Nice nap?"

Vegeta: "Best I've had in a while! Thanks, Kakarot."

Goku: "Just to let you know, some of our friends who are less likely to get sick are here helping around. It's really pulled some of the strain off of Val."

Vegeta: "Thank god. How's Toushiro?"

Goku: "Getting better but still has a ways to go. Oh by the way, I found a file that belongs to Squad 12 in here."

Vegeta: "That's not one of the squads I'm looking after."

Goku: "That's what I thought so I took a look at it. You, uh... Well you're gonna scream."

Baffled, Vegeta got up and walked over to the retrieve the file. Goku handed him the file and then covered his ears. The prince began to read the file. In the next room, Toushiro was sleeping soundly until Vegeta screamed and the boy sat up with a fright!

Vegeta: "DAMN THAT KUROTSUCHI! IF HE WASN'T SICK WITH HIS OWN EXPERIMENT, I'D KILL HIM MYSELF RIGHT NOW!"

The End.