Okay, so I had originally intended to have them go by their non-names (Keroro-papa/ Demon Sergeant, Dororo-mama, etc. etc.), but then this story became a bit… complicated xD You could only go so far repeating something like that.

So, like many other stories, I gave them names. But I decided to stay in the flow of the Keroro Gunso/Sgt Frog universe and give them meanings to their names.

Keroro's father: Keriri- "kerori"- suffix for "Unaffected, casual, unimpressed". Keroro's mother: Terere- "tere"- suffix for "embarrassed in a happy way". Dororo's mother: Ponono- "pon"- suffix for "impact, fairly quiet", and "the sound of an appearance, seen with a puff of smoke". Giroro's and Garuru's father: Guzozo- "uzo uzo"- suffix for "menace, a sound that evil creatures and nasty plants make".

So, yeah XD Enjoy this very, very, very odd story for the pairing that I randomly decided to ship one day.

"Okay, so, instead of flipping a coin, something came up and decided it for us," The Demon Sergeant said, referring to the weekend trip the foursome were planning on days earlier. "And we decided that we're going to do both."

"Both?" Dororo's mother repeated mildly, placing delicate hands on her lap. "What do you mean?" She made a face. "You aren't planning on drinking at my mansion, are you?"

"…That's what we originally intended," The Demon Sergeant replied, getting elbowed violently by his wife for his response. He rubbed his arm, shooting her a glance, and then straightened. "But no, we're not."

"Good." The light blue Keronian leaned against her chair, almost in relief.

"Then… what are we planning to do?" Giroro's father inquired, folding his arms, copying the former female's action and leaning on his own chair. "Drinking or relaxing; something that we all like. But it's not something stupid right?"

The blue Keronian glanced at him before looking down and smoothing the skirt of her dress.

They four had all met when their children befriended each other in grade school. The parents had to keep up with all the friendly play dates and sleepovers and other rambunctious boy things that their sons would cook up with, contacting each other often, mentioning some idea or other that could please their kids.

Ponono was just grateful that her son had found some friends to play with, what with his illness and shy personality. She had heard when Dororo was younger that when children had friends, sometimes the adults would befriend each other too, forming a close bond with the other parents. She thought she would be different, as she preferred her quiet, lonely days at home, watching the kids, waiting for her husband to come home or talking to him on the phone, cleaning up the mansion, paying the servants, etc. etc.

But as it turns out, she was no exception.

Terere was probably the one who opened her up to social activities despite the overall friendliness she and the "Demon Sergeant" had from the beginning. Terere was sweet and funny, contrasting against Ponono's more quiet and timid demeanor, sometimes coming up with the most mischievous of schemes that was more expected of her as a child, like sneaking into a theatre without paying for a ticket, or attempting an eat-and-run at a restaurant, all for fun. And as much as Ponono claimed that she didn't like it, she had fun too, trying not to laugh too hard when they got yelled at. She was also fine with Keriri, her friend's husband; he was always so calm and laidback, earnestly listening to her when she needed to talk about Dororo, and offering some advice when he felt it was necessary. He was the one that she went to when she broke down after she found out her own husband lost his life, quietly getting down to his knees to gently place a hand on her huddled up body, rubbing her back as she sobbed out her loss.

But Giroro's father.

Guzozo was loud. He wasn't afraid to give his opinion, no matter how harsh that opinion was. He was hotheaded and could be mean without meaning to, something that absolutely baffled her. He had his own thoughts, his own opinions, his own social rules, and didn't seem to want to change them when they strongly opposed someone else's. He never apologized. She was fine with him in the beginning, but after time passed by, she found herself distancing herself away from him, further and further. She didn't understand why, but he had such a... a repelling personality. There was just something about him that just made something inside her grow and grow whenever she had to stay in the same room as he did. There was so much she could take in her tightly wound emotional bottle; one day it was going to pop, under all the wrong circumstances with the wrong person in the wrong place.

Worst of all, she worried about the impact he would have on Dororo. She's seen Giroro and even his brother Garuru; as well behaved as they were, she knew that there was… something off about them. She thought the way they acted was peculiar compared to the other children. They were painfully submissive, and they always looked down when they were being spoken to by someone who was older than them. Once she snapped at Dororo because he had tried taking a cookie from the cookie jar before lunch, and Giroro cringed, hiding behind Keroro. Garuru was similar, only using absolute silence, grunts, nods and gestures to convey his thoughts in conversations, when he was once normally talkative years prior.

Her suspicions were confirmed when Giroro screamed and cried when she had served sea urchin for lunch one day at a sleepover, the red frog pleading with her to put them away, horror making his eyes widen.

She did what he asked, instead complying with Keroro's wishes and giving them ice cream.

Giroro's final words to her that moment was, in a fearful, quiet voice, "Please don't tell my parents."

It had to be Guzozo, she had decided. It made sense; his loud voice, his harsh opinions, his demeaning actions, his anger issues. It was very well possible that his parenting rendered the two brothers self-conscious, withdrawn, pitifully compliant and almost fearful. She had never met Giroro's and Garuru's mother, knowing that his parents had divorced over some reason unknown to her, but even that fact lessened her opinion of him. What could he possibly have done to make that poor woman want to separate herself from his life?

Ponono had secretly hoped that when their children grew up, the three parents would slowly push themselves away from Guzozo, giving him the chance to find other friends to hang out with.

But like herself, Guzozo had no intention of doing that, instead choosing to remain close to the Demon Sergeant, just as she remained close to the Demon Sergeant's wife. It's not like they had much of a choice; Keroro's parents were too likeable to leave for someone as infuriating and irritating as the corporal's father.

"…so we came by this one, ehh, lottery, right?" Keriri had continued, pulling her away from her thoughts. The dark green Keronian hugged his spouse with one arm and rubbed her shoulder. "So I said, 'what the heck?', and we signed up for it."

"Turns out we won!" Terere cried out cheerfully.

"What did you win?" Guzozo asked, raising his ridiculously thick eyebrows.

"Four tickets across the sea to a vacation home!" Terere cheered.

"What?! Really?!"

"Oh," Ponono said quietly. "Is that it?"

"Oh, come on, sweetheart!" Guzozo nudged her, making her wince at his contact and somewhat forced affectionate nickname. "We all know you're rich, but it doesn't mean that you can't be excited about their good fortune!"

"That's true," Ponono admitted, turning to the couple. "I'm so sorry! Congratulations, you two!"

"That's not just it," Keriri said, sitting down on his chair, his hands on his knees. "We decided to take you two with us."

"You're kidding!" Guzozo shouted, though it was more or less obvious what the two were intending on doing with those tickets.

Ponono closed her eyes patiently. "Thank you, but… I'm so sorry…. I may not be able to go-"

"Nonsense!" Terere pouted. She reached out and held her friend's hands. "If you stay here, I'm going to be stuck with two drunken men! I need someone else to help keep them in check."

"What can I do?" Ponono asked skeptically.

"You're so cute and innocent, it'll make them uncomfortable to do what they typically do around me," Terere whispered in her ear, giggling when Ponono looked up at her in surprise. She added, "They're too used to me."

"I see…" Ponono glanced off to Guzozo, who was chatting eagerly to his own friend about what exactly they were planning on doing when they got there. Something about beer and penguins. She sighed. "Am I going to enjoy this?"

"Definitely!" Terere's eyes grew wide and sparkly. "Think of all the things we could do, Ponono! The sights, the shops, the practical jokes!"

Ponono smiled at this, but paused hesitantly. She looked down. "…Perhaps… perhaps I could go-"

Terere clapped. "Yay! Thank you so much!" She hugged her friend tightly, holding her close to her chest.

Ponono hugged her back, enjoying the warmth (not literal warmth, as they were amphibious) that this embrace gave her. Okay, she thought. Alright. Even if I have to endure spending more time than usual with Guzozo… I will. As long as you're happy.

Vacation to some far off island?! He was already dreaming it, cheerfully imagining himself sunbathing, drinking, and meeting some babes.

The only thing that could make this worse was, as much as he hated to admit it, Ponono.

Sure, she was a sweet gal; quiet, polite, humble. A bit too apologetic, sure, but there was something about her. He got an uncomfortable vibe from her whenever he was close, almost as if she didn't want him there. He had assumed in the beginning if it was just a coincidence, the discomfort overlapping with her timid attitude.

But that wasn't the case- Guzozo has known Ponono for years through their sons. He had also seen her with Terere- and crap, even Keriri- but she seemed so fine. It honestly couldn't possibly be her shyness.

It had to be him.

Guzozo never understood why. He considered himself to be a pretty nice guy, for the most part. Sure, sometimes he couldn't help and yell, or state something outright if it bothered him. But still. He's been meaning to try and get her alone to talk about it, but she would always find a frogging excuse to stay amongst the others.

Guzozo closed his briefcase and shook his head. It was more than likely that Terere and Keriri were going to want to have some time alone- there was a good chance that he could finally be able to start up a conversation with her.

Speaking of conversations… Guzozo realized that the two had never spoken more than idle, friendly chatter ("How was your day?" "Good, thank you.") over all the years that they had known each other.

Why? That stupid question was bugging him to no end. He tried to recall if there were any times when he did anything to offend her, and so far, he got nothing. He was good to her kid when he came over to his own house. He was, for the most part, polite to her. He kept his swearing and crude jokes to a minimum around her. Heck, he doubted he was going to even drink much on this vacation because of her.

Another 'why?' question, but he unlike the previous thought, he knew the answer to this one.

He was attracted to her.

Hey, what do you expect? He was single, she was single, badda-bing, badda-boom. Not only that, but she was really different. Different from Terere, different from his ex-wife, different from the other Keronian women. How, he wasn't sure, but he liked it. She seemed a bit childish in an innocent sort of way. If only she wasn't so strange near him.

He wasn't a kid anymore, where he would blush and stutter; he could control these feelings and easily conclude that this emotion was mainly due to the loneliness he had to endure with his sons all grown up and out of the house, not to mention with his… wife… gone from his life. He recognized that she might obviously not feel anywhere near the same thing as he did, but still. He couldn't help but want to try.

But why was it so frogging awkward to talk to her, let alone ask her out on a date?

Typically, Guzozo would ask Keriri on these types of things, but he knew that if he mentioned Ponono, Keriri wouldn't let him hear the end of it. Not just with the jokes, either. Keriri was close to her in a very brotherly way; he was the only one that she went to when she had an emotional, mental breakdown.

No doubt Keriri would give him a long winding speech about her delicate situation. Guzozo had separated from his wife for reasons he refused to share and didn't want to think about. Ponono's husband died away from home, a feeling that Guzozo never had to go through, regrettably. He knew a bit about death, but as painful as he knew it was in the beginning, the initial shock and pain would eventually wear off, and you could continue life as normal; no big deal. That's how you learned about death in the battlefield- the hard way- and you had to let it go if you want to continue living. If there was anything worth noting about pain, however, it would be about someone who was still alive, someone who you believed loved you until they decided one day that they just didn't want to anymore.

Guzozo shook his head again, denying that stabbing reality.

The point was, she should be over it, and if she's over it… maybe he'd have a chance with her. Maybe this trip'll help, he mused, heading outside. Or at least, I hope so.

"I have to sit there?" Ponono asked gently, trying to make her voice sound more curious and interested than reluctant.

"Where else is there a seat that you could sit close to us?" Terere inquired, settling comfortably next to her husband. She pulled out a compact mirror and fluffed her black hair. "But if you want to sit somewhere else, then by all means go ahead."

Ponono sighed faintly. "Very well."

She sat next to Guzozo, who was looking out the window of the plane.

The plane was not what she was typically used to… not that she had ever been in one, which might have explained it. She looked around curiously, wondering about everything.

Guzozo gave her a side glance and grinned. "You aren't afraid of heights, are you?"

"W-what?" She wasn't exactly used to hearing Guzozo's voice directed toward her either. Not that she even wanted to.

"The plane," Guzozo continued, almost awkwardly. "It's. Um. It goes high."

"Oh," Ponono said quietly. "I'm sorry. I didn't hear you….. but I know that already."

"You aren't afraid of going up, are you?"

"We'll see."

Hopefully now, he'd stop trying to converse with her and leave her alone…

"…You know…"

Ponono closed her eyes, trying not to look aggravated. She continued in a small voice, "Yes?"

"If you, I d'know, but feel like you need someone to hold on to-"

"I'll keep that in mind, thank you."

Guzozo and Ponono sat in silence, deeply contrasting the talkative couple right beside them. The crimson colored frog finally decided to break the ice and pulled something out his bag.

"Here," Guzozo said evenly, showing him a wallet with pictures flopping out.

"Oh?" Pororo gazed down at them. What she saw surprised her slightly.

The images were of his family. The first one was Garuru, his firstborn, holding onto his baby brother, Giroro. The second one was Giroro pointing at a large gap on the top row of his teeth. The third, Garuru trying to study for what looked like a military exam, looking laughably annoyed at his father for trying to take a decent picture of them. The fourth were the two brothers, now a little older, asleep against a tree on a warm summer day. She honestly enjoyed looking at these pictures, reliving the family of the male Keronian's memories. But then she remembered why she didn't like him; it was the last that annoyed her. An entire family portrait, with the edge torn off, part of Giroro's hat flap cut off, a small flash of a purple foot at the bottom.

"They're nice," Pororo said finally, leaning back against her chair.

Guzozo grinned, looking down admirably with a nostalgic glint in his eyes at his wallet. "The funny thing is I never keep any money in here. Just these pictures."

"Hm," was all she said.

"What do you think?" Terere asked, looking intently at her spouse.

"What do I think of what?"

"Of…" Terere's eyes flickered over to Ponono and Guzozo, who were both what looked like attempting small talk. "You know."

Keriri frowned, displeased. "Don't talk of such nonsense."

"I'm not being… nonsense," Terere gave the two another quick glance. "I honestly believe that those two-"

Keriri cut her off. "I'm serious. I don't think about trying to pair them u-…" A look of realization overcame his features, and his wife giggled when he turned sharply toward her. "You made them sit like that on purpose."

"Maybe I did," Terere said as innocently as she could muster.

"Terere…" Keriri sighed. He then shrugged and lay back against his chair.

"You haven't considered it at all?" Keroro's mother asked, folding her arms. "You can't tell me you haven't considered it."

Keriri was silent.

"You can't tell me you wouldn't be happy for them if they actually decided to get together."

"I would," Keriri said, relaxing. "Don't get me wrong. I would."

"Then what's the problem?"

"They're two very different Keronians, Terere." Keriri stretched and folded his arms behind his back, crossing his legs.

"We're different too," Terere reminded him, wagging a friendly finger.

"Yeah, but not as different," Keriri explained. "Both of us, we like having a good time, and most of the time our idea of a good time is similar. But I can't think of a thing that those two would have in common."

"They're both single," Terere mused.

"A widow and a divorcee. Not exactly the same, dear." He turned his face toward her. "And that's another thing. Their situations are just too different."

"But they understand what it's like to be married, to have kids, and to be alone," Terere told him, putting her hands on her lap. "Maybe they could help each other with their own heartbreaks and disappointments."

"Perhaps," Keriri agreed. "But if they do decide to get together, please don't rush them. Let them take their time."

"But if I don't do anything, they might not go anywhere."

Keriri yawned. "Then it just wasn't meant to be."

Ponono made a small noise, an odd habit from childhood that she carried over to adulthood when she woke up. It was amazing that these almost uncomfortable seats could be so comfy to sleep on. She brought up a delicate hand and yawned, despite the fact that she was wearing a medical mask.

"Have a good sleep, sweetheart?"

That was when she realized where and who she was leaning against. She gasped and pushed away from his shoulder.

Guzozo was just grinning. "You just looked so peaceful; I didn't want to wake you up."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm sorry," Ponono said meekly, almost automatically. She bowed awkwardly, being in a seated position and all.

"Don't be," Guzozo waved his hand dismissively, his smile still in place. "I honestly didn't mind it."

Ponono lowered her eyes, embarrassed, but at the same time, uncontrollably annoyed. She understood that he would feel uncomfortable to rouse her from her nap, or even push her away, but he didn't have to be so smug about it. If she could just rack up the courage she would smack him and call him a pervert. But she wasn't that way. All she could do was apologize profusely, be quiet and look down.

"Do you like games?" Guzozo asked her, trying to look at her face.

"Not really," Ponono answered, looking away.

Guzozo frowned slightly, leaning his elbow against the window pane and resting his cheek against his palm.

"Okay, sweetheart," Guzozo sighed, deciding to get it over with. "What did I do?"

"I don't understand what you're talking about."

"Yeah you do," Guzozo said, his voice beginning to edge into a harder tone. "You understand exactly what I'm talking about."

When Ponono didn't reply, he fought the urge to yell his irritation.

"Ponono."

"Yes?" She responded after a reluctant pause.

"Answer me."

"There's nothing wrong," Ponono said absently. "I don't understand what you're talking about."

"Would you like me to paint a picture?"

"No, it's fine. Sorry."

Guzozo huffed, slapped his hands on his knees, and then faced her, red eyes glowing. "Listen to me. You seem so distant to me compared to the others, almost like you're uncomfortable, almost like you're cold. Did I do anything to upset you?"

"...No," Ponono said hesitantly.

"Then what is it?"

Ponono didn't say anything for a moment, like she was mentally going over what words to decide to use. She plucked an invisible thread off the end of her blue dress. "…It's nothing."

Guzozo opened his mouth to retort when the plane jerked to the side dramatically.

Keronians in the plane immediately began to chatter nervously, turning their heads toward the windows at their closest.

"What was that?" Keriri mumbled, looking sleepily to the side.

"I don't know," Terere gazed out the glass. "I hope it's not anything too serious."

"Are you alright?" Guzozo asked Ponono, who was beginning to clutch onto the blouse of her dress anxiously.

"Y-yes," Ponono lied, trying to control the quiet wheezing in her voice.

"We apologize for the inconvenience," the intercom voiced. "We advise everyone to buckle up and remain seated."

Ponono quickly rose from her seat, surprising the red Keronian, and hastily moved down the aisle to the bathroom.

Guzozo looked around hesitantly, and then followed her all the way to the back of the plane, having to go through several metallic doors to do so. Why is the restroom so far away? he thought, aggravated. Sheesh. Ain't making it any easier for me.

"Hey," He said when he caught up to her. "Something wrong?"

"N-no."

Guzozo gave her an honest look and gazed at her gently. "Hey, Ponono-"

"P-please, I'm fine. I-I… let me just calm down in the restroom-" She pushed the door open, shakily making her way inside.

Guzozo tightened his lips in protest. "Ponono-"

There was a shrill, screaming siren that made their entire area turn red. Before they could understand what was happening, the floor began to open up, revealing the ground from the sky's point of view. Ponono's and Guzozo's eyes dilated, quickly grabbing onto something to keep themselves from falling below.

Unfortunately, there was nothing to grab, and the floor beneath them continued to shrink, until there was nothing but wind and air.

They fell.

Bullets pierced through the thick brush.

"Ugh!" Guzozo growled, teeth grinding each other as he dissolved the gun in his hand. "This is no use."

Ponono shivered, rubbing her arms as she gazed about fearfully.

Ponono couldn't remember what happened; all she did remember was waking up on Guzozo's back, which extremely mortified her.

Now she was on her feet following him, puzzled, confused, trying to arrange all the facts straight.

They fell from a plane, and miraculously managed to land unharmed into this rich, green, dense jungle.

Something hissed hear her feet, and she squeaked, grabbing hold of Guzozo's arm.

"It's a bug, sweetheart," Guzozo said calmly. "Relax." It's a bug, sweetheart. Relax. Ponono thought bitterly. As a doctor, she absolutely knew that any bug could bite you and poison you, possibly kill you. She wished she brought her bug repellent with her. It would have been so much easier not to worry about such things…

No. She wished she had a phone, or something to contact the others with.

Guzozo had already shot the air with an S.O.S. gun several times; to their dismay, there was no signal that the plane was coming back to look for them, or any aerial machine, for that matter.

"So we're here alone," Ponono whispered, sitting down on a stump.

"'Fraid so," Guzozo said, looking at the sky again. He frowned. "Hmph. It seems we'll be stuck here for quite a while, babe."

"Please don't call me that."

Guzozo turned his attention back to Ponono, who was timidly playing with her hands. He watched her for a moment, and then he nodded, respecting her wishes. "Alright."

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine."

Ponono reached up toward her white bun and patted it, feeling for any stray hairs or loops. There were several, but she decided against fretting about it. She had too much to worry about as it was.

"Thirsty?"

The light blue Keronian nodded, silent.

Guzozo coughed into a closed palm and looked about. He closed his eyes. "…Okay. I think I hear a stream over there-"

"We can't go anywhere," Ponono said faintly.

"We have to, sweetheart. Let's go."

Ponono shook her head. "We can't. What about our S.O.S. signal?"

"I still have several of those bullets," He assured her. "Let's just find a new place toward the steam, okay? I'll send up a new signal from there." Ponono looked back down, wincing when the red Keronian placed a hand on her shoulder. She finally consented, but only so that he could stop touching her.

This was really annoying him.

Ponono was being so… so frogging difficult.

Is it really that wrong that he wanted to help her?

Apparently so.

Guzozo had no idea how Ponono managed to pull off that ninja trick- he wasn't even sure which one- so last minute like that, pulling something out of the air that could drift them safely from the plane to the ground. He supposed it was by instinct, because most ninjas/assassins/whatever-they-weres had to constantly stay in check with their surroundings. Granted, it impressed him, but she didn't have to be so stupidly rude about it. Especially since she fainted and he had to carry her.

Guzozo sighed and shot at another tree that stood in the way of their path to the stream. Who was he kidding? He was just irritated that they were stuck in the middle of nowhere with no one else around. He wasn't exactly worried about the prospect of facing wild animals- he was a deathly skilled soldier, and she was, as surprising as he found out, a frighteningly skilled assassin. It was the idea of surviving alone without the possibility of food or water. Well, water, maybe, as he could hear the stream, but he wasn't too sure about the food part.

And he was getting hungry.

"Where's the river?" Ponono inquired politely.

"Steam, actually," Guzozo corrected her, grunting as he shot at another tree. "Shouldn't be too far now. It sounds pretty close now."

"I see." Ponono gazed at the brush he was trying to blast through. "…Do you need help?"

"Can you provide help?"

Ponono reached from- where?- and slipped out a butcher knife, slashing at the undergrowth in front of them. Guzozo watched her, deeply rapt at her speed and ability. The leaves fell thickly at their feet, the way now fully cleared.

"Nicely done."

"Thank you."

Guzozo gestured his hand through the trail. "Ladies first."

Ponono bowed her head in thanks and quickly made her way to the other side, Guzozo following her.

"…So," The red Keronian said, trying for another conversation. The female gave him a quick look over her shoulder and turned her head back.

"…Yes?"

"…Um." Guzozo scratched the back of his neck. "Uh… how's your kid?"

"Dororo's fine," Ponono replied quietly.

"…Dororo?"

"He goes by that name, now."

Guzozo nodded. "Interesting name. Sounds a bit like yours."

A white piece of hair fell down to her face. Ponono hastily tried tucking it back into the bun. "Yes…" Her eyes suddenly grew wide and brightened at the realization. She let out a soft, cute giggle, "Yes! I suppose it does."

Guzozo was amazed he actually got her to laugh. Of all these years, this was probably the first time.

"You really love your son, don't you?"

"I do," Ponono replied, her voice slowly growing to a tone more at ease.

"I could definitely tell," Guzozo said, bending his arms behind his back. "You took such good care of him."

"Hm," Ponono murmured, as if she didn't know how to reply to that.

After a moment of still silence, Guzozo tried again, this time more confident with his endeavor, "You know," he chuckled. "Some say your married your husband because of his money."

Ponono twitched slightly at this, but didn't say anything, her eyes straight ahead of the path. After a dull second, she squeaked, "Is that so?"

Guzozo grinned. "Yeah."

"Why do you think so?"

"Your husband was very old, wasn't he?" Guzozo continued, hoping to move their chatter along. "He was your professor at the Keron Medical University, wasn't he?"

"Yes, he was." Ponono shakily reached for her throat.

"There you go."

"…Do… you think that is?"

"Probably not."

"…Probably?"

Guzozo shrugged. "Like I said; he was much older than you were. And you were probably not as financially secure, right? I mean, seriously, I wouldn't be surprised if he gave you a marriage offer like that-"

"Take that back."

"What?"

Ponono made a swift turn toward him, her whole body facing him. He could easily see the impact of these hours of walking without food or water weighing down on her. Her dress was crinkled and slightly ripped at the edges, her white hair was beginning to fall down her forehead, which had, along with the rest of her face, dirtied with the floating dust and exhaustion, and her eyes had a raging blue flame within them, tears forming at the ends.

"Take. That. Back."

Guzozo held up his hands defensively, taking a step back. "I take it back. I take it back."

"No you don't," Ponono said icily, tucking a strand of hair away from her face. "That's the problem. You. Don't. Care."

Guzozo stared at her in bewilderment. "What are you talking about?"

"Back at the plane, you asked me why you bothered me, right?"

Realization dawned on him. "Oh. So that's why-"

"That's precisely why," Ponono gripped her fists tighter. "I loved him. I didn't even know he was a frogging billionaire until after I married him, do you understand?!"

"I understand, I understand," Guzozo stuttered, his eyes widening. "I'm sorry."

"No you're not!" She closed her eyes tightly, forcing the tears back but failing miserably. "I absolutely hate your attitude! You're loud, you're obnoxious. You care about nothing but yourself! No wonder your wife left you!"

Something flickered in Guzozo's eyes; pain, frustration, ire. But just as quickly as it had come, it went.

Guzozo took a deep breath, trying to hold the anger back. This was not an easy thing to do- especially for someone as hot tempered as himself. But still- he had to keep calm. Right now, they needed each other; they couldn't afford to fight each other and possibly get the other physically wounded. Besides, she was stressed and equally frustrated. For such a timid, quiet female, she probably had all these emotions pent up anyway; she probably needed to voice her opinion, no matter how harsh it was going to be.

"Yeah?" Guzozo said quietly, folding his arms, continuing to take deep, calming swallows of air, letting them out carefully.

"Yes," Ponono squeezed her fists in even tighter. "She probably couldn't take living with such a pitifully laidback, irritable, constantly shouting and yelling man in the frogging house! Did you ever think about that?"

"Sometimes."

Ponono scoffed and began to shakily run her hands up to her once neat bun.

"You know," Guzozo said, feeling his anger beginning to seep through, "I don't really care about my ex-wife anyway." He unfolded his arms, which were just slightly beginning to tremble. "If you're trying to make me angry, it's not working. I don't care about her anymore."

"No surprise there," Ponono said, shooting him a rather heated glance. "You're horrible a husband as you are a father."

The same exact spark that had flickered before came back, this time stronger and more powerful, unable to hold back. Every logical statement in his head vanished, his patience erupting into a blatant nothingness. All he could feel was anger now, anger, and irritation, and pain.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"

Guzozo materialized a gun and aimed it at her, shooting her several times. Ponono didn't hesitate; she summoned a metal pan and quickly interceded the bullets, knocking them away from her.

"You heard me," Ponono seethed.

"You can call me a horrible husband all you want, because I don't give a frog about that cruel woman, but if you dare doubt my abilities as a father, I won't regret a single moment tearing you apart!"

More shots rang in the air, and each one she managed to dodge or block them. The smell of gunfire and the sounds of metal hitting metal were all the senses that were felt, discluding the adrenaline and fury that pulsed through each other parents' veins.

Ponono disappeared into the thickness of the trees, and Guzozo stopped, panting out his rage and exhaustion.

"…Okay," Guzozo said slowly, swallowing. "Let's just… take a deep breath now, okay?" He set his gun down, though he was extremely tempted to keep it out. "Let's listen to reason now-"

"When have you ever listened to reason?"
"LISTEN to me," Guzozo snapped, dispersing his weapon. "We need each other." There was a scoff from one of the trees, but he decided to ignore it. "I'm not kidding, Ponono. You're a medic, and I'm a soldier; we could work together to get out of here. Okay, so what if we irritate the crap out of each other? We still need food, and water, and shelter and protection. I'll stop talking to you if you want…" He closed his eyes and took another breath. "…but we all have to have limits. Got it?"

There was a still, tight silence. Something ethereal rose in the air, and they both felt it.

They both recognized what it was, but refused to acknowledge it.

They were both waiting for the other to apologize.

She was not going to apologize this time.

Ponono refused to come down, because she understood that that would mean that she was giving into him.

Not going to happen.

She was meek, yes, and quiet and submissive.

But there is only so much she could take.

She could take the 'sweethearts' and the touching and the obnoxious laughter and the loud voice.

But the absolute limit was at her husband. Who was he to say that she married him for his money?! The thought infuriated her and swelled her heart until it was difficult to breathe. She has been angry before- there's no doubt about that- but FROG. She has never been this annoyingly irritated all her life!

She was so vexed that she didn't even care now- all she wanted to do was to get him to regret saying those words, even if it meant hurting him right back.

"Ponono," Guzozo cried out, resisting the urge to growl. "Come down."

Saying 'no' would be childish. Being silent was being insolent, but it was better than being childish.

"Pono-" the remainder of the name was cut short as he let out a shrill, powerful battle cry. More bullets rang in the air.

Ponono shook her head. Speaking of childish…

"Ponono, look out!"

To a Pekoponian, the beast that had leapt up to her tree and bore vicious fangs out at her might have looked like a parrot and a jaguar hybrid, eyes spiking as it glared at her. She drew her pan and smacked it against its face, the creature emitting a shriek of pain and frustration. Its claw-like talons gripped hard against the bark of the wood, closely but not quite getting shoved off the tree. It quickly rose up a limb and slashed at her, with her barely getting out of the way. She hopped off, landing next to Guzozo, who was armed and ready.

"I think we have company," Guzozo said, a little unnecessarily.

A smart comment to that statement would have been appropriate, but being new to that whole snarky thing, she didn't know what to say besides- "Duck!"

The two Keronians huddled briefly to avoid the leaping animal that lunged toward them.

"Do you know what that is?" Guzozo gasped, materializing another gun into his free hand.

"No, I don't," Ponono answered honestly, afraid.

"It's so fast…!"

The creature screamed as it stared at them. It was about the height of a jaguar, but with bright, rainbow feathers instead of fur; its skin was black, though, contrasting against the vivid colors. Its eyes were wide and golden, like its mammal side, with a sharp thin black center of its iris. Its lips were not lips at all; they were protruded outward, like a beak, but the inside of its mouth contained razor sharp teeth that could easily tear flesh apart. Parrot-like feet were what the beast stood on, not paws.

And it was unfortunately clear what exactly this mammal-avian hybrid ate.

"…Son of a frog."

Wondered why I haven't updated so long?

It's because of this frogging story.

I've had the idea since last week, planned out the entire story (took about an hour), and then began writing it. Originally, it was supposed to be written and posted much, much sooner, but it got complex, and I developed it more, and more and more, and... yeah XD; I'm sorry about this very weird pairing. IF YOU FLAME IT BECAUSE OF IT, I'LL HAUNT YOU IN YOUR DREAMS. Aren't I nice?

I'm actually practically already finished with this story; it's a two-shot. I was originally planning on submitting it all together, but it's just... it's just too big. Oh well. You get to read it sooner anyway.

I hope you enjoyed reading the first part of "In Your Arms Tonight". (Also, be kind to me; this is the first non-romantic-comedic story I've ever written thus far. I hope I did this well enough.)

Also, if the two characters are OoC, forgive me. There's just not enough episode coverage to pin them down. So I more or less made them up. Ahh, well.