Fourteen Days
Chapter 1: IT Begins
"Giroro…" a voice called in the darkness. Giroro looked around frantically, following the voice. He kept running until he saw a strange figure.
"Giroro" the figure called, turning to face him. A woman, with blue hair and a crystal necklace stood staring at him. He glared at her.
"What do you want? Who are you?" he called.
"Giroro…soon you too will…" her voice mumbled in the darkness.
"W'what? Soon I will what? Wait!" he shouted, reaching for the fading figure. He could see her lips moving in the darkness, but no voice could be heard. Before she disappeared, the last thing he heard was, "Natsumi."
Giroro shot up, awake now. He panted, looking around his surroundings. He was outside of his tent, laying in the grass. His cat, Miss Furbottom stared up at him with her head tilted. He looked down at her and sighed.
"Don't worry girl, it's alright. Just a bad dream" he replied gruffly, pulling himself up and stretching. He walked around to the front of the Hinata household, barrier activated, and examined the area. He saw a woman with blue hair in the same school uniform Natsumi's school has. He watched the girl, panic setting in as he recognized her from his dreams.
His cat followed, tilting her head as she sat next to the little red alien. Meowing, the alien's attention fell back to her. He looked back once more to the street to see the girl was now gone. Sighing once more, he pet his cat with a smile.
"I guess I'm still a little tired, haha"
"Giroro!" Keroro shouted, storming out the front door. "You're late for our invasion meeting!"
"O-oh, right. Sorry about that" he replied, following his leader inside the house.
—
"Kururu, begin the presentation" Keroro spoke up from his seat.
Kururu laughed, pressing a button that activated a screen projection. "Ku ku ku, We've received a tip from HQ that there is a very dangerous being here. Our target may seem like a normal Pekoponian, but…" Kururu began.
Giroro's eyes bulged, familiarity filling his eyes. It can't be… he thought to himself.
"Our target is very dangerous…She may seem like a normal Pekoponian but we've received information that she is deadly to our cause. She alone has killed over 100 beings and the bodies have never been found." Kururu explained while Giroro sat in bewilderment.
Keroro, taking notice, dragged the attention to the red frog.
"Kero? Giroro, are you alright? It's not like you to get stirred up like this over intel."
"Huh? O-oh. Actually, I—" he began speaking. A voice in his head told him to keep quiet. He quickly stopped talking, eliciting more confusion from everyone in the room.
"Giroro?" Keroro questioned.
"Uh, I've heard rumors of something like this existing, I was just surprised to hear it, let alone believe it" he lied.
"Believe it Corporal. She's recently been sighted in the area. We're to investigate" Kururu informed.
Tamama looked around nervously. "I don't know…this sounds a bit too dangerous for us."
"Not in the least bit Private! For we'll have her join out army! Kero kero kero!" Keroro announced, full of confidence.
The room fell silent, staring at their overly confident leader.
"And how you plan to do that?" Giroro asked.
"Easy! First we'll try to persuade her and if that doesn't work— Kururu if you will~" he chirped, turning to the yellow alien.
Kururu pressed yet another button which activated a part of their base to bring up a superfluous machine with a chair in the middle. Everyone gawked at it, unsure of what to think of it.
"What is it Uncle?" Mois asked, breaking the silence.
"Glad you asked Mois! This machine will influence anyone to do as the commander bids them along with many other things! I was planning on using it on Natsumi later, but it has a one shot glitch every 48 hours. After Fuyuki and Natsumi go to bed, we'll meet up outside the house for our mission. Get ready until then" Keroro announced, standing triumphantly as he chuckled to himself.
Everyone slowly left to prepare in their own ways. Tamama to the Nishizawa Mansion, Kururu to his lab, Keroro to his room to build Gunpla, Dororo crying in the vents, and Giroro to his tent.
Hours passed and the sun had set. Giroro sat outside his tent, polishing his guns, thinking of the mission to come.
"This mission…that girl…so it wasn't just a dram then" he thought out loud to himself, lost in his head. He didn't even hear someone walk up behind him.
"What wasn't just a dream?" Natsumi asked, leaning down to him in her PJS.
Surprised, Giroro frantically flailed in her presence, "N-nothing! It was nothing Natsumi!" he shouted in a panic. The pink haired girl stared at him, confused at first, then determined. She stared him down, causing his red face to burn up even more in embarrassment. After what seemed like hours to him, the girl sighed and stood up.
"Fine, don't tell me. Anyway, I came to say good night" she huffed, turning from him and slightly waving as she entered the household.
"R-right, good night" he replied, taking a deep sigh and laying back down on the ground. It's best you don't know…I wouldn't want Natsumi getting involved in such a dangerous mission, he told himself, looking up at the sky. The stars were out and the moon had just begun showing itself. He watched the Hinata household turn dark after several minutes, Natsumi's room lights being the last to turn off. He pulled himself up and grabbed his supplies before heading to the meeting place.
—
"Is everyone here and ready?" Keroro asked, looking on his group of soldiers.
Giroro, Kururu, Tamama, and Mois saluted to him. Tamama looked around him, concerned.
"Um, what about that one guy…Dororo?" he inquired.
Keroro nodded, "He's already out scouting on his own. He will warn us if he encounters our target. Anyways, we need to start heading out. Mois will come with me, Tamama and Kururu will go South from here, and Giroro will go West. If anyone encounters our target, call right away. Do not try to take them on your own. Now, let's go!"
Tamama seethed at Mois who was happily walking away with Keroro in her Angol form. Kururu laughed his way toward his destination and Dororo sat up top a light post, scanning the area. Giroro was on his own. Sighing, he began searching the West. An hour had passed into the search.
"This is pointless, we're probably not even going to find the target like this" he grumbled. A shadow passed by him, startling him. Materializing his gun, he searched for the shadow.
"Giroro" the voice called, leading him to a dead end alleyway. Turning, he saw a woman-like figure standing behind him, blocking his way.
"It is you…" he whispered, gnashing his teeth.
"Now, I finally have you—" she spoked, reaching out to him. Dororo pushed her back and stances himself in front of his friend.
"Giroro! Are you alright?"
"You should not have interfered!" the woman shouted, shooting a ball of flame at the blue keronian. Unable to dodge it, he was engulfed in the flames. Giroro ran over to his friend and tried to extinguish the flames. The woman pulled herself up and pushed Giroro away without touching him. When he tried to stand, she was now standing in front of him.
"He should not have interfered" she spoke, glaring down at him. Her ice cold eyes perceived him. As she reached down for him once more, they could hear footsteps encroaching upon them. Mois had jumped up with her Lucifer spear pointed at the woman.
She jumped back, ready to punch at the Lucifer Spear. While the two fought, Giroro grabbed his communicator and called Kururu.
"Kururu! We've found our target! Hurry over here!" he shouted. Keroro ran up to him and helped him up as he watched the fighting ensue.
In a matter of moments, Kururu arrived in their green, rectangular ship, releasing Tamama from the hatch. The dark blue Keronian inhaled and exhaled, releasing his Tamama Impact on the woman.
She stared up at them, annoyed that others had come to help. Focusing her energy, she released a large amount of power int eh form of flames toward all of them, startling Tamama.
"W-what is she? Sargent? Major Kururu?" Tamama whimpered.
"Tch, I don't know yet…ku ku…"
"Keroro Platoon! We need to retreat for now, the enemy is too powerful! I repeat, we must retreat!" Keroro shouted.
"Head up without me! I'll stay here and keep her at bay!" Giroro shouted, grabbing his gun and pointing it at the woman. Mois scooped up Dororo and ran to Keroro, staring at him. Keroro simply reached out to his friend, unable to accept this. But Kururu did.
"Ku ku ku, good luck Corporal" he cooed. He unlatched the ship and waited for the rest of the platoon to hop in. Keroro saluted to Giroro before running inside the safety. When they flew off, it was just Giroro and the woman now.
Keeping his gun pointed at her, he began speaking, "We're alone now. Talk. What do you want from me?" She remained silent. "I said talk!" he barked.
"You're pathetic" she replied harshly.
"W-what did you—"
"You are insufficient to your cause…" she glared, brushing her hair out of her eyes. The icy blue color pierced him once more as she continued to speak down to him. "A soldier in the line of war may not, under and circumstances, fall in love with the enemy and continuously sabotage procedures!"
"W-what…how do you know—"
"I scour the worlds for your kind. Those that run after such pitiful dreams that will never happen. It destroys a soldier and creates a liability."
"Liar!" Giroro shouted, "I have not become a liability!"
"Natsumi, is it? How many times, how many chances were there to defeat her and you fell because of your emotions?"
Memories of Natsumi flooded his mind. The happy memories, the sad, the memories where she defeated them, and the memories where he decided to save her. He growled, looking back up at the blue haired girl.
"A soldier like you is unfit and must be taken care of. It's either you, or her!" she shouted.
"Don't you DARE harm her!" he growled back, brandishing his gun.
"Then it's your doom…" she replied, preparing for an attack. Giroro braced himself. Moments based and nothing happen. He looked back up at her to see she had crumbled to the ground, shaking and whispering to herself.
"Not..now…" she'd whisper over and over.
He watched her carefully, unsure of what was going on. "What? Are you messing with me now?! Is this some sort of trick?!" he shouted, pointing his gun at her.
When she looking up at him, her eyes had changed. They had softened to a more paler blue. Her coarseness had disappeared.
"I…I can't speak long…Please…listen to what I have to say…" she whispered, shaking and holding back something inside of her.
"What are you plaing at here? And why are you acting so differently now? Weren't you just trying to kill me?!" he exclaimed.
She stared at him and cough slightly, covering her mouth. "Please…I don't have much time…I…I can save you momentarily…a wish….for a short time to try and win your freedom…to win over that girl. They can't hurt you if you two are together…" she mumbled.
He stared at her, unsure of what she was saying. "What are you talking about?" he asked, lowering his gun slightly.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breathe. When she opened them again, her eyes glistened with different colors. She stood up, wobbling slightly as she regained her balance.
"Giroro…I don't have much time to explain right now…but please accept my offer. I have the ability to turn you into a human, but only for 2 weeks to this day and time. You can transform at will back and forth between this form and your human form, should you choose to accept it. Within that two weeks, you need to win over Natsumi's heart in order for you and her to be safe…But she cannot know it's you. If you can have her fall in love with you, you will be safe from me and my kind. If not…you, or her, will be taken…forever…" she explained, causing him to shout back angrily.
"Human?! Love?! Wish? Is this some kind of trick?! You'll just kill me!"
"If I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead right now…"
"Why s-should I trust you?!"
"I can't stay like this forever! Just accept and I'll explain later!"
"Why not now?!"
"For the sake of your life and Natsumi's, please! Take my hand and accept my offer!" she shouted, extending her hand to him, pleading with her eyes.
He stared at her, thinking of what she just said. Natsumi's safety was his priority. He couldn't let anything happen to her. Giving in to his emotions, he grabbed her hand .
"F-fine! I accept!" he shouted.
She smiled and gripped his hand. His body began changing as he lost consciousness. With one last look, Giroro watched her disappear, leaving him with the words, "You only have two weeks…."
As he lost consciousness, Natsumi and Keroro came upon him.
"Natsumi-dono! This is where we last saw him! Wait…what's that?" Keroro asked, getting closer to the male figure lying on the ground.
Natsumi looked over, worry filling her eyes. She leaned down to the man and checked his pulse. When she was sure he was alive, she looked over to the green frog. "He's out cold…I wonder what happened to him…and his clothes.." she whispered that last part, looking away with a blush.
"He was probably attacked by that girl. Oh well, let's keep looking for Giroro" Keroro offered.
"We can't just leave him, stupid. He'll die of hypothermia if these wounds don't kill him first!" she shouted back.
"Kero?! But what about Giroro?!"
"He can take care of himself. He's probably home right now. Come on, help me carry this guy home.
"If you say so Natsumi…but.." he began, sharing the same thought she had.
How are we going to carry him…?!
—
"Fuyuki-dono! Open the door!" Keroro shouted from outside. Fuyuki ran to the front door and opened it.
"Sis and The Sarge are back! I hope the Corporal is ok!" he shouted to everyone else.
When he opened the door, Natsumi and Keroro ran in, carrying a naked man out of the rain into the household. Fuyuki looked outside to make sure there was no one else. He frowned when he didn't see Giroro with them. Turning his attention to his Sister, he questioned what happened.
"I'll explain later, right now I need you to set up a bed and get some wet cloths!" Natsumi shouted, running around getting medical supplies. Nodding, he began doing what he was told.
While the two humans ran about trying to set up for the newcomer, the aliens grouped up and whispered to each other.
"Sarge, who's the Pekoponian male?" Tamama asked.
"We found him passed out on the way to Giroro" he replied. "Speaking of which, he's called by now right?" he asked, smiling.
The three aliens in the room and Mois stared down at the ground, silence filling the room. Kururu was the first to speak up.
"Ku ku…there has been no word from him."
"KERO?! W-what do you mean no word?!"
"We must search for our missing comrade right away…" Dororo spoke up from the table as Mois administered bandages to his burns.
"You could say, helping a friend in danger Uncle."
All the while, Natsumi stood on the other side of the door, listening in on their conversation.
"Sarge I'm scared!"
"Don't worry, you have me!"
"Ku ku, a useless leader?"
"What did you say?!"
"I mean..he's kind of right Sarge…"
Oh! So it's MY fault Giroro's missing?!"
"It was your mission, ku."
"You could say, guilty as charge?"
Natsumi's hand gripped the med-kit tightly. She bit back her annoyance and anger. Body shaking, she tried to calm herself. Taking a deep breathe, her strong, amber eyes turned soft, filled with worry and sadness.
Where could that fool be…Giroro…
"What should we do Sarge…? Natchi's busy and that girl was really tough.." Tamama whimpered.
"Well we just need to keep looking! We can't lose Giroro like this!" Keroro shouted, tears in his eyes.
"Ku ku ku, still no word from the Corporal. But there's been a sighting of that girl close by on my database."
"Perfect! Let's go confront her and get Giroro back!" Keroro shouted, running toward the door. He ran into Natsumi and Fuyuki eavesdropping. Blushing, Natsumi walked away, med-kit in hand to treat the fallen boy in the other room. Fuyuki leaned down to his friend and hugged him close.
"Sarge, please be careful. You better come home."
With tears in his eyes, Keroro held his human friend close, "Of course Fuyuki! And I'll bring Giroro home!"