Kirara Hinata was lost. Not like "shrug it off, I just need to get my bearings" lost. No, she was more of an "oh, crap" kind of lost. Now, she was Kirara, daughter of Sergeant-Major Kululu, so she should be able to get herself out of this mess, right? The only problem was, she'd come to Akihibara with a first-class nitwit who went by the name of Tororo. He had sworn up and down that he knew where he was going, and that he knew how to get her the parts she needed. Now, she had no idea why in the universe she had ever agreed to come with him. She usually came to Akihibara with her dad, and though that may not be the safest bet for some, Kululu was her number one choice. He knew every inch of the Electric City, which aliens to consult, and how to tell the difference between the genuine article, and a cheap knock-off. One of her favorite pastimes was to go into the city with him. Only today, he had been busier than usual. There was a lot of official business concerning the Keron Army and other groups of aliens that he was associating with. She had wanted to go on a city trip days ago, but she had to wait for the right time. She couldn't go by herself quite yet, because she didn't know the way, and Akihibara could be very dangerous. It made Aki nervous to think of any of them going. A few years back, there had been a massacre. There were also many shady characters, and the city was very complex. Her mother only felt comfortable when she went with Kululu, since he always knew what he was doing, and he was protective of his one and only daughter.

So, Kirara had been willing to wait until Kululu would go again. He usually went into Akihibara once or twice a month, and she knew he would have to go again soon, since it had been weeks. However, when she went to ask him this morning, he had been swamped. She wasn't even sure he had known she was standing there.

Then there was Tororo. Technically, she really wasn't supposed to have anything to do with him, being an arch-rival of her father and all. But he had never forbidden her to hang out with him. He never forbade her to do anything. Tororo was drifting around Pekopon for one reason or another, and he had contacted her. He had known her on and off since she was a tiny tadpole, and Kirara knew that her father didn't like it, even if he was subtle about it. So she just made friends with him out of convenience. He taught her some of his hacking skills, not knowing that later on she would go to her father, and he would pick apart the lesson, laughing at how "useless" and "pathetic" Tororo's techniques were. Then he would re-teach her, and though it was more complex than Tororo's way, the end result was much more reliable.

Basically, she just hung around the little red copycat when she had nothing better to do, or when she didn't want to bother Kululu. Her father never made her leave the laboratory when he was really busy, but he would get distracted, and at the very worst, he'd make a mistake. When that happened, he got irritated and twitchy, and Kirara didn't like to stick around for that. She learned to give him his space.

Now Kirara was in an underground ally deep in Akihibara, and she was all alone. She wasn't afraid, just annoyed at her own stupidity for trusting Tororo even for a second. She had been so desperate to get her hands on some new lenses for her microscope (the main tool she used for gene splicing) that she didn't care how she got them. Now she wished she hadn't been so careless. To make matters worse, Tororo had talked to her in detail about the project she was working on. He got her into a good frenzy, then he'd taken her backpack, saying that he needed to show the dealer the sample parts she had brought to make sure he had them in stock. It seemed logical at the time. Until she stood in the dark for ten minutes. Then twenty. Now it was an hour later, and she wanted to find the little imp so she could bite him. Hard. Just because she was only eight years old didn't mean that he could treat her like this. She'd get him back. As soon as she got out of here.

She checked her wrist for her transmitter. She would just call one of her parents, or a member of the platoon, and they'd come and get her. Except that her tiny blue wrist was naked. The transmitter was gone. She made a surprised "ki!" sound, not unlike the one her father made on occasion. She could have sworn that it had been there a moment ago. She even remembered how she kept glancing at its soft orange light while she was waiting for Tororo. She knew some things in Akihibara could take awhile, so she had tried to be patient. Right then, she searched the ground for the orange glow, but everything was dark and empty. She sighed. Now there was only one thing that could save her. Her location chip. She had one inserted under her skin when she was no more than a baby taddie. It was right under the musical note on her belly. Her mama had thought it was a little barbaric, but Kirara had been asleep during the procedure, and Kululu had assured Aki that it was very important that she have one. Later on, Aki had caved and gotten one too. Kululu's reasoning was that they were both a weakness to him, and other aliens that were after him could exploit that. He liked to know where they both were at all times. Especially when he was doing things that were illegal.

Thinking about this made Kirara a little uneasy. There were plenty of aliens in the black market business that could use her to get to Kululu. Another reason why she wasn't wandering around, trying to find Tororo or the way home. She sat down in the shadows to wait. She amused herself with ideas for her projects, but it only made her fingers itch to get starting on them.

After another half hour, she thought she heard something. She listened intently, hoping it was someone looking for her. The sound grew louder, and she realized it was music. Why would anyone be playing music down here? Was there some sort of bazaar going on? The longer she listened to the soft notes floating towards her, the more her logic turned into curiosity. She stood up, and was taken over by a wave of sleepiness. An alarm seemed to go of in her head, telling her how odd this was, and that she should fight it. She clasped her hands over the cloth buns that covered her ears, but the music seemed to go right though her. There was no way to stop it. She fell to her knees and felt her eyes closing. Before she slipped into consciousness, she whispered two words into the darkness.

"Daddy, help..."

AN: After watching episode 134 of Keroro Gunso, where Fuyuki and Kululu go to Akihibara, I wanted to write a story that takes place in the "Electric City". Kululu goes there to get things for his inventions through other aliens who work in the underground tunnels. I'm guessing most of the things he does are illegal and/or black market related. If you haven't seen that episode, watch it on . It's got English subs!

Also, visit my account .com for pictures of Kirara. They are under my gallery in the "Keroro Gunso" folder.