Dororo and Koyuki Present: The Human Mind, The Ultimate Battlefield! (De Arimasu!)
Chapter 1
by TheAngryTaco
A/N: Greetings, Pekoponians. Welcome to the world of my first Keroro Gunsou fic.
Let's get the legal and technical stuff out of the way:
I do not own Keroro Gunsou or any of the characters from that franchise. If I did, Dororo and Koyuki would be together and Garuru would make a lot more appearances.
Bold is the Narrator, italics is thoughts.
Please enjoy.
It was the day before Valentine's Day. All across Japan, ladies were scrambling through shops, searching for that perfect sweet treat to give to that one special guy. For a lucky few, however, it was just a normal day. Such was the case for our favorite ninja frog, Dororo.
Dororo sat on the front porch of his shack, meditating peacefully as the Sun began to descend. A swishing sound alerted him to the incoming presence of his best and only constant friend, Koyuki. He opened his eyes and watched her land a few feet a way. She let out a squeak and hid something behind her back as she looked in his direction. A smile found its way to his lips, though it remained hidden from view behind his mask. "Welcome back, Miss Koyuki," he said warmly, choosing not to mention her odd actions. "How was your day?"
She smiled cheerfully. "It was wonderful!" she replied.
"I'm pleased to hear that," Dororo commented. "Were you with Miss Natsumi again?"
"Yep!" she answered. "I never knew baking sweets was so much fun!"
Dororo looked at her curiously. "Baking sweets?"
Koyuki looked annoyed at herself for a moment, then she nodded as she vanished into her room. A few moments later, she reemerged in her ninja attire. "Natsumi mentioned she wanted to make chocolates for tomorrow, and asked if I wanted to come over and make some too."
Dororo sat puzzled for a moment, then realization hit him. "Tomorrow is Valentine's Day?" he asked.
His friend nodded and began to make a pot of rice. Dororo joined her inside, tending to their tea. "I'm surprised that I forgot so easily," he commented. "I suppose it's from Keroro not coming up with a plan for it this year."
Koyuki giggled. "It's a shame. Those sweet potato dangos weren't that bad."
"And they did bring smiles to people's faces," Dororo added thoughtfully. "I just wish it wasn't an accident."
Koyuki shrugged. "Perhaps one day it won't be," she suggested. "They're your friends, after all. You're bound to have some influence over them."
Dororo frowned. "Maybe, but I have my doubts," he replied.
The two fell into silence as they served dinner. Koyuki's expression gradually grew serious as she ate. Dororo waited to see if she would mention what she was thinking about, but she said nothing. "Is something troubling you, Miss Koyuki?"
The ninja girl jumped and nearly dropped her bowl. "Oh, no, Dororo! Nothing, nothing at all!" she said quickly, a nervous smile spreading across her face.
Dororo studied his friend. "Are you certain...?"
She nodded her head firmly. "Nothing's wrong, Dororo!" she said firmly, quickly gulping down some more rice.
Nothing to see here. Move along.
Dororo blinked, feeling confused and slightly hurt at her refusal to speak. "If you say so..." he said slowly. "But you do know you can talk to me about anything, right?"
Koyuki still looked concerned about something, but she relaxed slightly and gave Dororo a gentle smile. "Yes, I do know that," she said. "You're a great friend, Dororo. The best I've ever had."
A pleasant warmth spread throughout Dororo's body. He met her eyes with a fond smile. "That's very kind of you to say, Miss Koyuki," he replied. "Thank you. And I want you to know that you're mine as well."
They held a shared gaze for a moment as their words sank in. Then Koyuki spoke. "I'll tell you about it tomorrow, Dororo. Just not now. Fair?"
He nodded in agreement. "Fair."
They finished the rest of their meal in silence. Then Koyuki yawned. "Are you very tired?" Dororo asked.
Koyuki smiled. "I'm all right," she replied. She stifled another yawn as she picked up her dishes. "Really, I am."
Dororo shook his head. "Allow me to tidy up, Miss Koyuki," he said. "You go on and get some sleep."
Koyuki hesitated. "That's not fair to you though," she said quietly.
The blue Keronian walked over and took her dishes from her. "Please?" he asked.
The ninja girl smiled and shook her head. "All right," she answered. "Good night, Dororo."
"Good night."
Dororo waited until the door closed, then busied himself with cleaning their dishes. Once he was finished, he crept into their room to check on her. Thankfully, she had done as she said and gone to sleep. He quietly walked over to her and put a hand to her forehead. Hmm, she doesn't have a temperature... he thought. I wonder what all that was about. He then stifled a yawn of his own. Guess it's time I turn in as well, he thought.
The night passed peacefully. Occasionally, Dororo would awaken and glance over at Koyuki. She always appeared to be fine, so he would quickly fall back to sleep. Finally, the light creeping into the room signaled that morning had arrived. He slipped out of the room and went out on the porch to observe the beautiful new day. He breathed in the scent of the cool morning air, then went inside to prepare breakfast. A pot of tea and bowl of grains later, he paused. Something was off. Koyuki was usually awake and helping him by now.
I hope she's not ill, he thought worriedly. He return to their room and knelt down beside her. "Miss Koyuki?" he called. "Koyuki? Are you all right?"
She didn't respond. He placed a hand on her shoulder and gently shook her. "Koyuki, please answer me."
There was still no response. He shook her more frantically. "Koyuki? Koyuki! Wake up!"
"Do...ro..."
He looked up to see her staring vacantly in his direction. "Koyuki! What's wrong?"
"Do...ro..."
Her eyes closed and her body went limp.
"Koyuki!"
What's wrong with Koyuki? Is she just sick? Or is there something more at work here?
...Obviously, you know there's something more if you've read the title.
Tune in next time to find out exactly what!
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