A Proposal
Chapter 3
by TheAngryTaco

A/N: Witty banter and stuff. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Keroro Gunso or the characters of that franchise. However, I do own Chikuku.

The next morning, Pururu stared at herself in her mirror. She inspected herself for any flecks of dirt, turning around several times before she was satisfied. Then she carefully adjusted her hat, ensuring that it was sitting just so on her head. After she could find no more corrections to make, she exited her room and made her way to the kitchen. Somehow, the room was completely spotless. If she hadn't seen the state of the kitchen the night before, she wouldn't have believed there had ever been a mess at all. She looked all around, wondering how long it had taken Taruru to do this.

A loud snore made her jump. Turning around, she spotted the blue Keronian curled up in the corner, fast asleep. Sighing, she walked over and gently shook him. "Taruru," she said quietly. "Wake up."

"Hm..."

He tried to stretch, his eyes blinking open. "Oh, good morning!" he said, springing up and saluting. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you," Pururu replied, standing back up. "Why were you sleeping in here?"

"Ah, well...I was cleaning until about two in the morning," Taruru admitted. "I kind of passed out in here after I finished."

Pururu winced. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Fine and dandy!" he answered, running over to the fridge. "Let's get some breakfast."

"All right."

She pulled out some dishes as he found some food for them. As he served it, he glanced at her. "Are you sure you're feeling all right?"

Pururu looked confused. "What do you mean?"

He smiled sheepishly. "Yesterday..." he started hesitantly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"Oh," she said, feeling her cheeks turn pink. "It's fine, Taruru," she added quickly. "Don't worry about it."

He peered at her for a long moment. She held his gaze, forcing a brittle grin to her lips. It appeared to satisfy him for the time being. "So," he began, changing the subject. "How many needles am I going to have to hide from before we reach Pentonia?"

She giggled, relaxing a bit. "Only one this time," she assured him. "Pentonia's a fairly safe planet."

He grinned as he carried their plates over to the table. "Glad to hear I'll be able to sit down afterwards," he replied.

"Sit down after what?"

The two jumped as Zoruru appeared next to them. He gave them a suspicious look. "We don't have to endure more pointless injections, do we?"

Pururu gave him a stern look. "Absolutely," she said. "And they are not pointless. Need I remind you of the last time you avoided vaccinations?"

A shadow passed over his face. "No, Chief Medic," he replied. "I remember."

She gave him a nod, her expression softening. "Go get something to eat," she said.

He went to the fridge as the final two platoon members entered the room. "Never thought I'd see Garuru be the last one up," Taruru commented.

A look from his leader made Taruru silently return to his food. Pururu nervously nibbled at her own breakfast, not looking at her...fiance.

That word felt so awkward.

It wasn't until everyone was seated that Pururu realized she'd been chewing the same piece of food for a good minute. She quickly swallowed it, trying to appear as composed as possible. For a moment, all seemed relatively normal. Then Tororo looked over. "So, when's the wedding?" he asked, smirking.

Pururu made a mental note to sharpen her needle before giving Tororo his shot. Garuru appeared to be having similar thoughts as he eyed the young hacker. "I would appreciate it if you refrained from making inquiries of that nature, New Recruit," he said.

"Pu pu pu, you're no fun," the tadpole complained.

The platoon fell into an uneasy silence for the rest of the meal. After they finished, the kitchen was turned over to Tororo for cleaning duty as the rest of the platoon filed out. Garuru gave Pururu a silent nod, and the two made their way to the communication bay. Pururu took a deep breath as the door closed behind them and Garuru began to dial the number for Headquarters. She waited anxiously next to him, a part of her hoping that no one would pick up.

"Headquarters, Arranged Marriages Ward! Private Chikuku speaking! How can I help you?"

The perkiest, most grating voice Pururu had ever heard blared through the phone. It reminded her of a hundred claws all being scraped down a chalkboard at once. Garuru's expression indicated that he was strongly considering hanging up, but he managed to restrain himself. "Who do I speak to about confirming an arranged marriage agreement?" he finally asked.

"You can speak to me!" the girl answered.

Garuru closed his eyes, clearly counting to ten. Pururu gently pried the phone from his hand. "All right," she said. "We wish to confirm the arrangement for First Lieutenant Garuru and Chief Medic Pururu."

There was a pause on the other end. "Garuru and Pururu?" Chikuku asked, typing something. "Excellent! I was hoping you'd say yes."

"...Oh?" Pururu asked politely.

"Yep! Naturally, I was shocked when the match was suggested. I mean, an officer and his subordinate? Talk about scandalous! But then, as I started looking closer, I realized that it was beyond perfect. I mean, why wasn't this match tried sooner? So, I..."

Pururu held the phone away from her as Chikuku rambled on. She could feel her dignity draining away with every irritating word. "How do people like her get hired?" she muttered.

Garuru just shook his head. "Everyone deserves to work," he replied quietly. "And this job suits her quite well."

The Medic managed to turn her laugh into a cough. The Lieutenant walked over and felt her forehead, causing Pururu's cheeks to regain their pink hue. "Are you certain...?"

"Yes, Lieutenant, I'm fine."

By this point, Chikuku had figured out something was amiss. "Hello? Hello?!" she yelled.

Pururu hastily put the phone back to her ear. "Here," she replied.

"Ah, ok," the girl said. "You're all set."

"Really? That's it?"

"Other than you'll have to call us back when you have a date confirmed, yes. Congratulations, you two!"

Pururu and Garuru both breathed a sigh of relief as she hung up. "Would you like some headache medicine?" she asked drily.

Garuru shook his head. "Not necessary," he replied as he opened the door.

Pururu opened her mouth to speak again when the other platoon members came spilling into the room. Lieutenant and Medic stared down at them as they fought to untangle themselves. "Care to explain yourselves?" Garuru asked.

"Oh, um..." Taruru started. "I was looking for the Chief Medic! Yeah. I don't feel well."

"I see," Garuru replied, not believing him for a second. "And the two of you?"

"Pu pu, I found Taruru listening against the door and wanted to see what he was so interested in."

"Hey!"

Zoruru shook his head. "I was trying to get them away from the door," he told Garuru.

Taruru and Tororo immediately started to snicker. "What?" the assassin snapped.

"Trying to get us away?" Tororo laughed. "More like trying to listen yourself after we told you what was going on!"

Zoruru glared at the tadpole. "I hope you're not calling me a liar..."

"Enough."

The platoon instantly fell silent at their leader's voice. "We have a great deal to do over the next few days. When I finish speaking, I expect to see you all getting to work. Understood?"

Everyone nodded. "Good," Garuru commented. "Go."

They didn't need to be told twice.

After they had all scurried away, Garuru put a hand to his forehead. Pururu walked over and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. He glanced back at her for a moment, then shook his head. "I think I may take you up on that offer after all," he said.

She smiled. "Of course, Lieutenant," she replied. "Come with me."

Pururu led him to the medical bay. Garuru sat down and waited patiently as she fetched the proper medication. Carefully, she shook out two pills, then handed them to her leader. He swallowed them gratefully. "Thank you."

"Of course," she said kindly, replacing the bottle on the shelf. "You can take more in two hours if you need it."

"That shouldn't be necessary," he told her as he stood. "But thank you again."

Pururu nodded. "Lieutenant?"

"Yes, Chief Medic?"

She swallowed nervously. "When do you want to start planning the...the..."

"The?"

"The...wedding."

A heavy silence fell between them. Pururu hastily looked away, trying unsuccessfully to stop from blushing. Garuru cleared his throat. "We should have a little time to spare in the coming evenings, especially after we pick up the supplies," he replied. "I'm open to having those discussions then."

Pururu blinked. "All right," she said, surprised that it was that easy.

"Do you want me to come to your quarters or would you prefer to come to mine?"

She choked back the squeak that formed in her throat. "Either is fine," she managed to say.

"Then we'll meet in my quarters after dinner," Garuru decided, turning to leave.

"See you then."

After Garuru was gone, Pururu took a deep breath, then looked around the room. She took a few minutes to tidy up what little mess was there before deciding to return to the communication bay. She was sure that Ponono would be excited to hear the decision. However, as soon as she exited the room, she collided with someone. The two let out startled yelps as they fell to the floor.

"I'm so sorry, Chief Medic! Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, Taruru. Are you ok?

"Yeah, I'm ok." The blue Keronian smiled apologetically, then helped her get up. "I really am sorry..."

"Don't worry about it," she said dismissively. "Why are you in this part of the ship? Are you feeling all right?"

He nodded. "Yep! Never better."

"Then what can I do for you?"

He glanced down the hall, then back at her. "I want to help you," he replied.

"Help me?" Pururu repeated. "With what?"

"With the Lieutenant, of course!" Taruru answered.

She stared at him for a long moment. "I'm sorry?"

"Well, I was passing by while you two were talking..."

"Why are you making a habit of listening to my conversations?"

Taruru had the decency to look ashamed for a moment, but no longer. "Anyway, I noticed that you two aren't...well...you're not very close. And I know that's mostly the Lieutenant's doing, but..."

"I appreciate your concern, Taruru, but that's none of your business," Pururu replied.

"But I want to help!" he insisted. "You two are some of the nicest, coolest, overall bestest people in the galaxy. And you deserve to be happy."

"That's very sweet of you," she tried again. "But I think we'll be all right without your help."

He fell silent for a second. Then he shook his head. "Pururu," he said quietly. "We both know the Lieutenant. Great guy, but he's oblivious when it comes to this sort of stuff."

She couldn't argue with that. "What do you think you could do to help?" she asked reluctantly.

Taruru shrugged. "A lot of things, though mainly just giving him nudges in your direction. And, of course, distracting the other two when you guys want to be...alone..."

Pururu's face felt like it had caught fire. "Taruru!" she yelled. "That's not funny!"

"Ok, ok," he said quickly, holding up his hands in self-defense. "But what do you say? Want me to help?"

The violet Keronian groaned quietly, wondering what she was getting into. "All right, you can help," she agreed. "But please keep it to a minimum...and subtle. Really, really subtle."

Taruru saluted. "Will do, ma'am!" he said confidently. He started to leave, then smiled back at her. "Hey, Chief Medic?"

"Yes, Taruru?"

"Can I ask one more thing?"

"You're going to anyway."

He laughed. "Yes, well," he continued. "You really like the Lieutenant, don't you?"

Pururu was silent for a moment. Then she turned away from the Private. "If you are inferring that I have a romantic connection with Lieutenant Garuru, then you are mistaken," she said in a professional tone. "I have respect and admiration for him as a leader and a soldier, nothing more."

She could almost hear Taruru shake his head. "We both know that's not true," he commented. "If it was, then you wouldn't have accepted my help." There was a pause. "Well, see you later!"

Pururu nodded silently as he left, then hastily reached for her medical journal and began to read. Nothing negated embarrassment like the promise of injections.

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