Chapter one: The Realization. The decision.
"Attention please, the train is now arriving at: Pekopon."
This was his stop, but Yorara didn't hear a word of what the speakers said. A sudden realization came to him two planets ago and he couldn't ignore it for whatever reason. (Almost as if it was planned by someone…)
He, the Demon Sergeant, has never properly introduced himself to ALL the parents of his son's friends.
Truly, this was probably ruining his reputation as the lovable Demon Sergeant.
He didn't know how, but it probably was. After all, he was sure that Keroro had two friends since childhood – and yet he only remembered knowing one pair of parents. And considering how great friends he and Ginono turned out to be, he was sure the other parents would love to meet him!
Ginono? Giroro and Garuru's father, of course.
So what if they met before their children ever came into existence? He was quite sure that even without the constant peril of war they would have befriended each other eventually – he was THE Demon Sergeant while Ginono was a great soldier! Alright, maybe he was getting a bit off point – "the thought is what counts" was what he was trying to say.
"Attention, now departing from: Pekopon." (Don't you feel like trains do these things too quickly? I sure do. Anyway, continuing…)
Surely he, the great Yorara, could befriend the parents of uh… the other one. What was his name again?
Zurere?
Ze… dodo?
He was blue, he knew that much! And he was an assassin if he remembered correctly… Rubbing his chin in deep thought, Yorara ignored the fact that he missed his stop and was now heading back; a new destination was already forming in his mind.
That's right, Keroro's other friend was one of the leading Assassins of the Keron army – Zeroro. He remembered now!
Not bad, not bad at all - he nodded to himself for remembering this detail of his son's life. Of course, he forgot that Zeroro went by Dororo now, but maybe that was for the best. He would have quite a few things to say and do to an invader that refuses to invade, and none of them would be too nice! (Assassins smassins! He wasn't scared of them!)
At least his son was trying… a little … occasionally.
As he shook his head in the mildest of disappointments, another thought came to the Demon Sergeant. Ginono would probably know them! Why wouldn't he?
Although he was quite the intimidating Keronian, Ginono was more of a friendly face – even if stubborn and probably breaking safety laws with the amounts of explosives he carries everywhere. (And intimidating, as already mentioned.)
It was decided – he was going over to Ginono's place and discuss this matter with him!
As his new destination was set, the idea of giving Keroro a surprise visit was completely forgotten.
(Said greener Keronian sighed in relief for apparently no reason, the "random" dread dissipating from his shoulders. Coincidentally, this sigh ruined his concentration and his paintjob on the figure he was working on.)
Sure, he didn't plan all that far and still had a few things to figure out. (Like, you know - where they lived?) But once he had that, he would come back for Ginono and meet these mysterious parents.
He was making it their deal, and he'd forcibly drag along the other Keronian along with him if he had to. (This, admittedly, differed little from their other outings.)
Hm, but what if it was a lady leading the house? It would be somewhat suspicious having two grown men randomly greeting them at their doorstop.
… Maybe he could bring his wife along. He didn't know what her deal was that day, but his wife was strangely shy the last time they visited Keroro and the Pekoponian hot springs. Perhaps making a new friend would cheer her up!
(He would consider that it was because of Ginono, but they've went out on vacation together before! That and they've all seen each other naked - Keronians walk around mostly naked, in case anyone forgot. Admittedly, there was something about a pekoponian girl being in her body – but he had no time for such nonsense.)
Maybe it was because he left home so much? He couldn't help leaving Keron for space – much like his wife couldn't help wandering off through the cities. He spent half his life in the various planets of the dark abyss for the sake of the Keronian army, and sometimes the call was too great to resist.
After a while, his thoughts turned into random speculations of what Zeroro's parents were like. To raise such a great assassin you had to have a strict personality for sure. Hmm, what if he already met them, but didn't know? That could be amusing.
But for some reason he just couldn't place (what he assumed to be) a blue Keronian that would fit the bill.
Well, whatever the reason was, Yorara could feel this was going to be interesting.
...
...
It was going to be one of those days. The Demon Sergeant would be making an appearance, and there was little he could do about it; that man only listened to his wife, and most of the time Ginono was stuck with him alone.
Not that his company was undesired, but it so happened that this particular day Ginono already had plans. (… Surprisingly enough.)
It was hard to meet up with his children outside of New Year's – and even then one of them could be busy. So it was nice to spend some time with what family he had; as one day one of them will croak for the last time.
Both his boys were all grown up and in the army, he couldn't be more proud of them – but there was no point of ignoring the constant threat they were in. (Of course, one of them could finish up with their platoon's invasion…)
Ah, but such is life – and all the more reason to test his kids' awareness of their surroundings at every chance he got, of course. A few explosives now and then wouldn't kill them, and he did it out of paternal love, really.
His ears picked up footsteps outside his house – and that extra sense devoted to the Demon Sergeant told him what he needed to know. Picking up the two cups of tea he just prepared, Ginono made his way to his living room and set them at the table – joining another cooling drink that belong to him.
"Garuru? I haven't seen you in a while have I? How's your platoon?"
"We're currently resting after assisting a rescue mission yesterday."
As the footsteps came closer, Ginono noticed that it was actually two pairs of footsteps – and he could make out a conversation between his son and his friend. After making sure his preparations where complete, he made his way over to the living room and sat down in his seat, trying to listen to their conversation. Those two practically had keys to his house, so they could invite themselves in anyway.
(He was pleased to hear the lack of an explosion. That meant Garuru remembered to skip the 16th step on the right, which of course hides a pressure sensitive explosive underneath. Maybe it was time to switch it with another step – he had a feeling that at this point it was actually just a habit for his oldest son.)
"Is that so? Hmm. Say, what do you know about Giroro's blue friend?" While he might not look like it, with that constant look of indifference on his face – Yorara was actually pretty curious. But with how well Ginono knew the Sergeant, there was no doubt in his mind that there was a reason for this curiosity – and he knew Garuru could tell that as well.
"You mean Zeroro? That depends on what you want to know – as you said, he's more of Giroro's friend." Hopefully, this wasn't about Dororo's refusal to participate in "destructive" (read as: all) invasion plans. Sometimes he wishes he could shake some sense into him, but he didn't have the time and that was Keroro's job as a platoon leader and Giroro's as a friend. He couldn't solve all of their problems for them.
But besides that, Garuru couldn't see what else could interest the Demon Sergeant in the ninja-assassin.
"Yes, yes – that one. What do you know about his parents?" Now that was a question Garuru didn't expect at all from the Demon Sergeant.
"Well…" Now that he thought about it – Garuru didn't really know much of anything about Dororo's parents… or his family at all. Did he have a sister? Or was it a brother?
Of course, having the Demon Sergeant staring at him while he was thinking didn't help.
Seeing as they reached the front door, Garuru paused in his answer to slowly open the door to its fullest and looking around for any hidden traps while Yorara just walked in and sat down by his friend. Be it his extensive military knowledge or plain luck, he always managed to miss setting off any of Ginono's traps.
"Still putting up traps I see?" The Demon Sergeant's question was answered by a shrug from his maroon colored friend.
"There's no point in going soft on them."
Noticing some sort of wire on the ground, Garuru stepped over it, only to duck when a grenade went flying towards his face. It then flew out the window, adding to the crater on Ginono's lawn. Assuming that was it, Garuru made his way to the empty spot to his father's left, only to pause and instead sit in front of him. That nod his dad gave him told Garuru all he needed to know: more explosives.
Seeing as most of the "commotion" was over, Garuru thought back on the Sergeant's question and how he could answer it. Because now that the topic was brought to him, he realized that most of what he thought he knew just wasn't coming to him.
"Again, I don't know much about Zeroro that you don't already – but from what I remember, I think… his family is pretty rich." Zeroro always gave the best presents for Giroro's birthday, he remembered that much, and on one occasion Giroro came back home on a limousine. Clearly they had to be at least wealthy.
But now that he thought about it, why didn't Garuru know more about their family if they were so rich? Wealthy Keronians are on the same level as celebrities, as even successful invaders rarely got THAT well paid. (He wasn't jealous, he just found it… unfair.)
"Say Yorara, what brought this on?" Seeing the stumped look on Garuru's face, Ginono decided it was his turn to join the conversation while getting some reasoning behind it. And so there was a probing tone to his voice – something most Keronions wouldn't even dream of using on the Demon Sergeant.
"Ginono, Garuru; I have a very important question to ask both of you. Has either of you… actually met Zeroro's parents?"
Ginono blinks.
Garuru blinks.
That wasn't really a question they expected from the great Demon Sergeant – but it did make them realize something: they didn't.
Sure, Giroro met them a few times but he never really talked about them – why bother talking about your friend's parents when you could talk about how big their house was? (Or, for something more recent – how they defeated robots with a frying pan.)
"No… I don't think we have. Why?" Ginono asked that very carefully, trying to figure out just what Yorara was trying to say. Was this really why he came here?
"Neither have I. And I just think it isn't right that we haven't introduced ourselves to them – after all Keroro, Giroro and Zeroro have been friends for a long time no? It's a matter of politeness."
Oh. So that's why he came here? Ginono sighed as he rubbed his temples; while he wouldn't mind meeting them – he had planned to spend some time with his son.
"Listen Yorara, I'm certain I told you that I was going to be busy today. Could you come back tomorrow? I'll be free then for sure. And how would we even introduce ourselves when we don't know where they live?" Clearly this was one of the Sergeant whims, and not a well thought out plan.
Finishing his tea, the Demon Sergeant nodded. "Yes yes, I understand. I just thought this was a matter of great importance. And don't worry – once I come back I'll know everything we need to find them. Thanks for the tea and hospitality my friend – I have a call to make." And like that, he excused himself and left as easily as he came.
The silence that permeated Ginono's house after that wasn't unpleasant, but pensive. Yorara managed to do what he intended to do with his visit: get them thinking about Dororo's parents. Maybe thinking about this was better than just sitting in complete silence, but the curiosity was growing and no matter what they imagined it somehow didn't fit with them.
AN: If you're reading this, it means you've either read this or skipped down. Congratulations for both! Anyway, I'm thinking of making this a weekly thing maybe, at least for as long as I can keep it up. (Basically, don't get your hopes too high: School starting in two weeks? What?)
If you could, I'd love to get review on this, like: HEY WHAT'S UP WITH THE PARENTHESES? (Speaking of these, should I continue doing this? I think its kinda funny…)
Or maybe even: THOSE ARE LAME NAMES! (What do you guys think of the names I made up? It would be kinda hard writing for these characters without names, y'know?)
Or: THEY WOULDN'T ACT LIKE THAT :V (Do you think I write these them guys the good? Hopefully so, and sorry for that last phrase, really. Now on the topic of grammar atrocities: please point out any you find!)
And as with anyone else, they help me get motivated! So R&R everybody, it would be greatly appreciated!