Disclaimer: Keroro Gunsou (Sgt. Frog) is not owned by me. It belongs to Mine Yoshizaki, the wonderful and skilled creator and to some extent, Funimation for making the dub. One of the few dubs that is actually quite good. Bless you, Funimation.
Note: This is a story by request from sarcasticToad.
Whose profile you can find at .net/u/2746899/
Love Unceasing
Prologue
Money had never been the barrier in any one of Momoka's eccentric schemes. From giant robots to amusement parks to dubious drugs, the heiress of the Nishizawa Empire had done it all. Many stared enviously at her massive fortune, but in reality, she would have traded it all away just to be together with Fuyuki, her one true love. Even with all the riches in the world, she could not accomplish the single thing she set her eye on: Fuyuki's heart.
Momoka paced back and forth for hours in her room trying to devise a new plan. Outside the window of the magnificent Nishizawa Manor, the sky displayed a pretty light show of deep purples tinged with orange. The setting sun shown dimly through the glass, casting a moody shadow over the floor, nature's personification of Momoka's mood. Everything she'd tried had ended up failing and costing her father millions. While not in any kind of financial trouble, she reasoned it was not going to be long before he wondered what she was doing that was costing so much money.
If on cue, a polite but urgent knock resonated from the door. Momoka stopped her pacing and opened the door to her butler, Paul Moriyama. Paul was a stoic but kind man. While it was assumed that he was getting up in the years, his skill at fighting had not diminished. Being a butler and a bodyguard at the same time was a tough task, especially for someone as connected as Momoka, but Paul had been doing it for as long as he could remember and no other job felt so right. Since he had been employed under the Nishizawas, he had groomed his mustache impeccably. Through much care, it had gained him extraordinary physical powers as well as much respect from his peers. He felt it was his personal duty to see Momoka and Fuyuki happily together and was always eager to share advice and provide backup when necessary should one of Momoka's plans fall flat. However, today, he wasn't feeling quite so chipper.
Clutched in his white gloved hand was a letter from Baio Nishizawa, owner of the Nishizawa Empire, arguably the single most powerful man in the world, and Momoka's father. In the mansion as well as a fair portion of the world, his word was law, and he let nobody forget it.
Momoka quickly took the letter and used a platinum jewel encrusted letter opener with a silver blade to carefully reveal its contents. Inside was a single slip of paper. Momoka was slightly worried. Normally when her father wanted to send her a message, he made a video message on a DVD and airdropped it to her balcony. This delivery thing with Paul seemed a bit…extreme, and way too formal.
"I'm not sure what it says, Ojou-sama," voiced Paul, slightly concerned, "but your father wanted me to deliver this to you personally, so it must be of the utmost importance."
Momoka wasted no more time and read the letter, her eyes getting wider and wider with horror at every line:
Dear Momoka,
Over the past year, I have provided you with infinite funds for your pleasure. I of course expected that you would use the money to make life pleasurable for you and your friends, but the expenses I have tallied up this year have been far beyond extravagant. I understand you have dealings with aliens, and that can be quite expensive, and I know that they do bring you lots of pleasure, but at over 936 quadrillion yen, you are going too far. What you spend on luxuries could pay for the American deficit many times over and that is where I draw the line. I have questioned Paul about your flagrant spending and he has not been able to provide an adequate answer which leads me to believe you're hiding something. Seeing that you have made no efforts to learn my trade of business, I can only assume that once I'm gone, the income of this empire will significantly fall. Therefore, I'm sure you can see the importance of maintaining a large fund for posterity. While I will still pay for your schooling and meals and you will still live in this mansion, all the money you desire for pleasure you will need to earn yourself. The terms of measure can be negotiated at a later time. I apologize, daughter, but my board and I all agree that you need to learn the value of money.
Love,
Your Father, Baio Nishizawa
Under the signature was the stamp of the Nishizawa Empire marking it as authentically coming from the man himself. Momoka slumped onto her bed. "Cut off from all funds? How am I going to get Fuyuki now?" she muttered to herself, re-reading the letter. Suddenly, she stopped halfway through. Her head twitched violently and the protruding curls of hair hardened into spikes.
"PAUL YOU BASTARD!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, "WHY WERE YOU UNABLE TO TELL MY FATHER WHY I'VE BEEN SPENDING SO MUCH?"
Roaring with fury, she launched herself at the butler who dodged quickly out of the way. In between swiftly avoiding hits, he managed to get in the words: "If he knew you spent 936 quadrillion yen chasing after one boy, what would he think of you?"
The words hit home. Momoka came to her senses and stood still, blinking for a few seconds. Then, without warning, she slumped over on her bed and began crying. Paul, who had grown to expect the sudden mood changes made no move to try and comfort her. She was liable to turn around and bite his head off, and after all, it was these kinds of situations that would make her as strong as her mother, the great wandering fighter Oka Nishizawa.
After around five minutes, even the composed and practiced Paul was beginning to feel a bit awkward. It was par for the course to see a depressed Ojou-sama after another failed plan, but this was something different.
The sun had finally set over the mountains and the final rays of sunlight leapt off the carpet and fled out of the window. A bluish dark pall covered the two in the room now. The only sounds were Momoka's quiet sobs and the settling of the house. The dishes had been done after dinner and her crew was being scarce. Paul stood there, patient and quiet.
Five more minutes past and one would believe Momoka would lose the ability to cry, but on and on it went, until Paul realized that he had two options: try and cheer up his charge, or change the tear soaked sheets. He put his hand on her shoulder making her twitch.
"What?"
"Ojou-sama…know that your personal guards and I will do everything in our power to assure your victory."
"OH MAN HAVE I HEARD THAT ONE A LOT." Paul jumped back, anticipation another blow from Dark Momoka, but to his utter surprise, she merely glared at him.
So Ojou-sama really does have secrets that I know nothing about. The way I acted just then…by now, I should be able to flawlessly read her emotions…but still, what was going on.
If there was any indication of something going horribly wrong, it was when Dark Momoka gave up hope. Suddenly, Momoka leaped up and grabbed Paul by the shirt: another unexpected movement! Paul poised to dodge a rain of blows, but saw none coming. It took him a few seconds to realize that regular Momoka was in control.
"Paul!" she cried, a renewed stream of tears cascading down her face and dampening her expensive blouse, "I tried every plan ever and nothing works, and now, I don't even have the money to try again!" slowly, she let go of Paul and silently slumped to the floor. The loyal butler quickly took a step back and knelt by his charge. While his face remained impassive, he felt a deep sadness for the being at his feet. No. This was no way for the heiress of the Nishizawa Empire to act.
"Get up."
Momoka's face snapped up. She had never heard Paul use that kind of commanding tone before, and it made her feel distinctly uneasy.
"There is one plan you haven't yet tried, and it is the most obvious as well."
The girl said nothing, but the look on her face was that of utter attention.
"Forget the money. You can woo Fuyuki without it."
"How?"
"Do what other girls do. Just get him in the right mood, and confess."
Momoka's face contorted with disappointment. "I…if I could do that, I never would have needed the money, right? I…I can't do that…"
"Then I apologize, Ojou-sama."
The two stared at each other for a long time. The room was now dark, illuminated only by the starlight. Slowly, Momoka shifted into a sitting position. Paul stared stonily forward. The girl thought back to Paul's previous assignment the other day. Security was one of Baio's top concerns so Paul had spent the last two days testing the agility, strategy, and intelligence of Momoka's private guards. Essentially, he had been on a military mission for over 48 hours. Upon closer inspection, Momoka realized that Paul had heavy dark circles underneath his eyes. He may be strong, and he may be well trained, but he is getting old. He doesn't need this kind of stress…maybe…I'll try it.
"I will try, Paul."
"You will try what, Ojou-sama?"
"I will try to…to confess to Fuyuki-kun directly!" Momoka blurted, her face blushing beet red.
"What an excellent idea," commented Paul as if it were her who came up with the idea, and walked out of the room saying in a backwards way, "Your personal guard and I will attempt to assist you in anyway. Of course, you cannot use any money you didn't earn yourself."
Momoka waited until her butler was gone before walking to her desk and pulling out a sheet of paper. Slowly and deliberately, she moved a pen to the paper.
No, a pen would never do; to permanent. She quickly put the pen away and pulled out a pencil. As if one mistake would send her hurtling to her doom, Momoka wrote out: Fuyuki-kun Date Plan. On the "n" in "plan", she pressed too hard and the pencil tip broke, scattering pieces of graphite all over the clean white paper. In shocked response, her other hand moved instinctively backwards and the paper ripped in half. The tear was right between the words "date" and "plan". Momoka's brain wasted no time realizing the ironic foreshadowing in the situation.
This is never going to work unless I force it! I love Fuyuki-kun! I love him more than anything else in the whole world! I would give up my position as heiress in a second if I could be with him. I can so easily admit it to myself, why can't I say it to others?
Determinedly, she reached for another sheet of paper but felt only the cold wood bottom of her desk. Of course. The torn mess on the ground was the last sheet. How very fitting. Glancing at the clock, Momoka realized to her shock, that it was past midnight. The plan could wait. But…
It can't wait! If I leave it up to what I want to do, it'll never get done! I have to do this tonight. A challenge: that's what it's going to be. If I truly love Fuyuki-kun, I'll make this plan tonight.
7 Hours Later
A respectful knock came from the door. If Momoka had heard it, she didn't care. "Ojou-sama, are you presentable?" It was Paul, fresh from his sleep, he had wasted no time getting the mansion back into order. Paul knocked again, but there was still no answer. Immediately, the butler feared the worst. Positioning himself by the door, he lunged forward and the lock snapped. Whether it was thieves, guerilla forces, or foreign military, Paul was ready to save his charge.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Momoka screamed, pounding the desk. The paper she had in front of her ripped and fluttered to the ground. She made a desperate grab for it, but the wind picked it up and carried it out the window. Lazily, it drifted on the breeze, suspended just beyond her reach. It dropped low for a second, and Momoka lunged at it again, but the paper twirled upward and disappeared behind the mansion.
Paul felt rather guilty as he looked upon Momoka's prostrate body. At first he suspected that she was crying. Moving forward, he bent down to try and console her. However, upon closer inspection, he found that she was fast asleep. Gently, Paul picked her up carried her over to the bed. "I'm glad you've been giving your plan some thought, but don't overdo it."
Fuyuki:
"Nishizawa-san is absent today?"
"Yes, her butler called her in sick today."
"I hope it isn't anything serious."
"I hope so too. Her butler refused to elaborate on her condition beyond 'she needs rest,' so I don't know what to think."
"Is there something I can do?"
"Ah…yes. Can you take Momoka's homework to her house? That way, she won't have that much catch-up when she returns."
"Of course!"
Fuyuki left school with a small folder filled with papers. He was slightly worried. Momoka had access to the best doctors the world had to offer, so it was a rare occurrence when she had to stay home from school. Fuyuki silently prayed that it wasn't anything serious.
Less than half an hour later, Fuyuki arrived at the Nishizawa Mansion. Pressing the call button on the outside, Fuyuki was buzzed in by Paul who graciously led him inside. "She is waiting upstairs."
Quietly, the boy climbed the huge grand staircase and padded down gold inlaid halls to Momoka's room. He knocked, and turned the handle. What happened after, he couldn't really remember.
Momoka:
Momoka wouldn't be bothered. The last seven times Paul had tried to get her out of bed, she had put up such a fuss that he was forced to leave the room to avoid setting off the burglar alarms. Finally, she was getting some peace and quiet. Rolling over on her bed, she stared at the ceiling. A life-size picture of Fuyuki had been pasted up there so that she could see him the moment she woke up. Flipping over again, she sighed loudly into her pillow. The world was cruel for sure.
Barely a minute past when Paul knocked on the door once again. "Ojou-sama, you have-"
"SHUT UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE!"
The noise quickly stopped. Momoka gritted her teeth. The pent up rage building since morning was at a breaking point. "I swear. The next time I hear a knock on my freakin door…"
Momoka lay back down, still fuming. Perhaps wanting to be alone was a concept that Paul could just not grasp. Whatever, she reasoned, This isn't the first time Paul has pissed me off and it certainly won't be the last. Inwardly, she smiled. Father could take away my funding, but he couldn't take away Paul. He could be a nuisance sometimes, but an irreplaceable friend nonetheless.
A sudden knock on the door erased all happy feelings. Grinding her teeth, Momoka stood up and slowly walked toward the door. She was hot with anger, steam literally coming out of her ears. Then, to her horror, she saw the handle turn. That was the final indignity. Paul could knock and call to her all she wanted, but he would NOT enter her room without permission. Lining up a punch, she leaped forward just as the door opened.
The hit connected with sickening accuracy. Momoka's smile lit up with delight. Even her butler with his inhuman reflexes and supernatural mustache could not dodge her blow of fury. Suddenly, a clattering noise came from upstairs and a distraught Paul came sliding into her room.
"What?"
"Ojou-sama! What did you..."
Fuyuki lay in a sprawled wreck on the floor. Papers were scattered every which way. Some had been plastered to the wall, while others had been picked up by the wind and carried down the hallway. There was a beat of utter silence. Fuyuki's head shifted a bit as his body settled revealing a large bloodstain on the wall.
Momoka screamed and took a step backwards. Then another, then another. What had she done? Was he? No. He couldn't be. But…
Momoka took one last step backward and flipped off the railings of her balcony two stories up. At first she wondered what was going on. Then, she felt that sensation. That falling sensation. Fear gripped her mind like a vise, but it was kind of blissful. After all, she certainly deserved it.