Poor Mr. Popo. Poor Bulma. Poor just about everyone, except for Kami and Goku.
The kid was still excited over the idea of getting a new playmate, and kept bugging Bulma and the other adults with questions about where babies came from; never getting anything but very vague answers. Frustrated, he then decided to ask Krillin, who insisted he knew everything about it, but still Goku wasn't satisfied with the explanations he got. Despite he wasn't perhaps the sharpest tool in the box; he could tell he was left some major details out, simply by the amused look on the other kid's face.
"I don't get this birds and bees thing. And in which part does the stork come in? But… if the baby is in Kami's belly, how come the stork is the one who delivers it? How does it come out, anyway?"
"The stork has a very long beak, you remember?" Krillin asked. Goku nodded, confirming.
"So, when the baby is big enough, the stork will appear and cut Kami's belly open with its beak and take the baby out!"
"What! No way!" Goku yelled, in horror.
"Uhhuh, yes way! Krillin said, having too much fun in messing up his friend's head.
"Prove it!" Goku insisted.
"Alright." the bald kid said, smiling devilishly.
"Then, expose your tummy!" he ordered, doing the same. Goku obeyed, not getting what was the point but did it anyway. Krillin pointed out his bellybutton.
"See? That's the scar the stork's beak leaves on your skin! You have one too, just like everybody!"
"Really? Wow! So it is true!" Goku said, amazed.
"But doesn't it hurt a lot?" he asked, a little worried.
"Oh yes, it hurts like no tomorrow! Most parents don't even make it alive! It's really disgusting!"
"Really? the monkey-tailed child stared at his friend, his eyes bulging out of their sockets. He really admired his friend for being so wise and knowing stuff!
"I wonder if that's what happened to my dad, too! And then Grampa Gohan had to take care of me!"
Krillin fell on the floor anime style at his comment. This really wasn't going according to the plan, at all.
Meanwhile, the old Guardian seemed to be several decades younger by the day and was getting more work done in a single day than he used to get in an entire week in his depressed state. And getting things done seemed to perk him up even further. He was ordering Mr. Popo around to make the Lookout baby-proof. All sharp angles and edges everywhere had to be cushioned so that the baby wouldn't hurt himself (his head mainly), and the edge of the Lookout had to be enclosed with a barrier so that he wouldn't fall down. He had to make sure he had no poisonous flowers planted in the garden and make sure anything the baby could get his hands on that he shouldn't, would be far out of reach. This included all of Mr. Popo's cleansers, tools, and of the sort; and anything small enough for the baby to devour or stick in his nose. The caretaker did his duties the best he could to complete his part of the agreement between the others to live with this delusion of Kami's, but today he thought the old Guardian had gone too far. He didn't know where the green man had gotten the idea in his head this time from, but now he'd actually ordered him to clean up and dispose every single pebble on the courtyard. At times like this he almost felt like he should just spill the beans to his Master and end this nonsense, but he simply didn't have the heart to do it. The genie could see the depth of the joy the old Guardian was experiencing, not only by the huge change in his spirits but especially after this one night when the caretaker had been bringing Kami his supper…
The door to the Guardian's private quarters hadn't been locked and was slightly ajar, so he'd thought he'd bring the food right in. But what the black genie saw, had made him stop right there in his tracks, speechless. His Master had been peacefully rocking back and forth on the rocking chair in the moonlight, gently brushing his belly and talking to it lovingly. The very look on his Master's face had already said it all, but with everything else added, a picture of the scene before him could have very well been the encyclopedia definition for the word 'perfectly content'. Kami had been so engulfed in the moment that he hadn't even heard his servant coming in and leaving his supper on a table and closing the door as he left. Indeed, if this delusion brought that much of pure joy for his Master, he wouldn't be the one breaking his heart with the truth. But he still didn't like picking up the pebbles.
Speaking of the devil, the Guardian just stepped out on the courtyard, filling his lungs with the fresh air and letting it out with a happy sigh, like he used to do a lot these days. He saw his servant on the job and decided to have a friendly little chat with him.
"Ah, Mr. Popo. How is the work progressing?" he asked, kindly.
The black man felt a little awkward.
"Well, there and there, Master, but is this all… really necessary?" he asked, carefully. "Not that I won't do it, but I can't help but think that… maybe this is a little bit of... exaggeration."
The old man left out a chuckle. "Maybe a little sudden, but not exaggeration at all." Kami said, smirking.
"I just want everything to be perfect for the baby. And I know there shall be even more pebbles for you to dispose when he will be old enough to crawl, so I thought it was better if you picked the most up now and the rest later."
"Ah, I see. Very well, Kami." The poor genie couldn't really argue his Master's reasoning.
"Is there anything else I can do for you?"
"Well, nothing aside a nice, big dinner later. The baby is hungry." Kami said, letting out a small cough. For understandable reasons, the comment made poor Mr. Popo feel even more awkward.
He didn't know whether Kami heard his thoughts or what, but before his Master entered back in the Lookout, he stopped his back turned at his servant and changed his tone into a bit more serious:
"I know you're all thinking that I've gone crazy, and I really can't blame you either... I would probably think the same if the situation was reverse. But it is really touching how you're all willing to "play along" for the sake of my happiness and I want to thank you for it, Mr. Popo." Kami said, coughing again a little in the end.
The Genie said nothing, just stared on the courtyard flooring, feeling very embarrassed. He should have known you can't hide anything from the Earth's Guardian.
"I very much appreciate what you're all doing, but you really don't have to. I know what I feel is real and nothing is changing my mind about it. My heart will not be broken, so you don't need to worry, Mr. Popo." This time he could hardly finish what he said, when he suddenly began coughing even more and with more intensity. This caught even Mr. Popo's attention and his eyes widened in horror as he saw his Master's face going pale and him falling down, doubling over in pain and losing his meal right there in front of the entrance of the Lookout.