Dororo stood in the darkness, feeling it press against him, embracing him, strangling him. Where am I? His body felt light, weightless, but it felt like he was being held up by some invisible force above him. He tried to step forward, but he could not move at all. The marionette strings would not allow it. It was the strings that controlled him, not the other way around. All that Dororo could do was be suspended in the darkness and accept the cold and the loneliness.
LANCE CORPORAL DORORO OF PLANET KERON
"Wh-who is that? Who's there?"
IT IS US. WE WOULD EXPECT YOU TO KNOW US.
Dororo felt his stomach churn. "I don't know you." Or do I…?
YOU DO KNOW US. WE ARE NOW A PART OF YOU.
Dororo fumbled, thinking for words, but none came to mind. Finally, he said, "What do you want from me?"
THAT IS SOMETHING WE CANNOT SAY.
He tried to move, tried to escape from the bonds that held him. "Koyuki-dono…! Koyuki-dono! What have you done with her?"
The darkness retreated, and Dororo was seeing through the eyes of another. From behind, he saw Koyuki crouching on a tree branch, looking around. He watched as the person he was raise a blue arm, which held a small katana. The dull edge of the katana hit Koyuki, and Dororo watched her fall to the ground. And he saw himself hold his own katana over her neck.
"No…No! Koyuki-dono! No!"
The vision ended abruptly, and Dororo's head was spinning. The marionette strings loosened just enough to let him pull off his mask before keeling over and vomiting. It was disgusting, it was painful-
It's what I deserve…
-and Dororo, who had been sickly his entire life, had never felt as terrible as he did now. And all the while, he was crying. He was crying for his pain, crying for being trapped, crying for his sin—crying for Koyuki.
He felt the bonds tighten again, and he could barely even move enough to continue crying. He looked up into the darkness, into the invisible faces of the puppeteers. "What have I done? What did you do to me? Why did you make me…make me…"
There was no answer.
Dororo looked down and cried silently. He didn't even notice that he was falling as the bonds let him go. And when he fell on his back, looking up into the nothingness above, his tears had dried out—but he felt so empty.
"Dororo."
He blinked and saw Koyuki above him, looking down at him. "Koyuki…dono?" Koyuki's face got closer and closer to his own, and Dororo felt numb as he stared into Koyuki's eyes (like a snake being hypnotized by a snake), watching them get closer to his own (THAT'S NOT HER, IT'S NOT KOYUKI!), before rolling away. He sat up, sweating and panting, staring at the imposter.
"Dororo, what's wrong?"
"You're not Koyuki-dono!"
Dororo watched the fake Koyuki give an evil grin and dissolve into the darkness to rejoin the puppeteers. The world became darker than ever.
/
Koyuki sat infront of the small fire that Giroro had set up. She hugged her knees, watching the yellow and orange flames flicker and jump. Nachii…Dororo…
Meanwhile, Giroro sat with his back to the fire, polishing his gun with a small, greasy rag. He and Koyuki had barely even spoken to each other, but one thing was clear; they were both worried sick about Dororo and Natsumi.
A rustling noise came from the bushes in front of Giroro, who immediately stood up and held the half-polished gun in that direction. Koyuki stood up as well, her fists clenched. "Who's there?" Giroro said, gritting his teeth. "Show yourself!"
A young boy with large purple eyes and a yellow cap tumbled out of the bushes, falling on his face. On top of him landed a girl with blonde hair and a tan, looking confused. "GET OFF ME!" the boy shouted, pushing the girl off. He stood up and dusted off his shirt.
"I'm sorry," the blonde girl said, also standing up. She put her hands behind her back. "You could say; accidentally tripped?"
Giroro and Koyuki looked at the scene with puzzled expressions. "Angol…Mois?" Giroro said at last, lowering his weapon.
Mois and Tamama both looked up to where Giroro and Koyuki were, and both of their expressions turned a bit brighter. "Giroro! Koyuki!" they shouted in unison, and they rushed over to the campfire. Tamama knelt down next to Giroro. "I sure am glad to see you, desu—I hate that woman…" his eyes shifted over to Mois, who was looking into the fire, unaware of what Tamama was talking about.
Giroro looked at the mark on the boy's cap, then looked into his face. "Tamama?" he asked. When the boy nodded, Giroro was more confused than ever. "But…you're…how…?"
Tamama's expression transformed into one worthy of a demon. "IT WAS HER FAULT! WHY WOULD GUNSO-SAN GIVE SO MUCH ATTENTION TO A WOMAN AS STUPID AS HER?"
Giroro recoiled, taken aback by Tamama's sudden outburst. Then, he let out a deep breath. "We'll be sure to return you to normal. Maybe, if we find Kururu…"
"Kururu's gone."
Giroro looked up at Tamama, whose face had lost all emotion; it was just the face of a weak, tired boy. "What? What do you mean?"
Koyuki and Mois had both looked away from the fire to Giroro and Tamama. Koyuki had a look of surprise on her face at first, but it soon faded into worry. Mois had an almost unreadable expression; it was fear, worry, loss, and sorrow all rolled into one. But there was one difference in their expressions: Koyuki's expressed the thirst for knowledge, while Mois' was that to never know again.
Tamama looked at the tops of his black boots. "Kururu was possessed somehow…and we don't know how to bring him back, or even where he is, desu…" Giroro and Koyuki glanced at each other, each knowing that the other's expression was the same as their own. Tamama saw this, and looked from one to the other. "What's going on? Is there something else wrong?"
Koyuki looked at the boy, and he could see her sadness. She looked into the orange flames of the campfire. "Nachii and Dororo…they where both somehow 'possessed' as well…"
"Tama?" he exclaimed, his eyes wide. Cold sweat formed on his face. This happened to the others, too? But then… "What about Gunsou-san? And Fuuki and Momochi? What happened to them, desu?"
Giroro, who had sat back down continuing to polish his weaponry, was the one who answered. "We don't know what happened to them."
Mois straitened her posture as worry grew in her. "We need to find them! What if Uncle is in danger? We need to make sure they're okay!"
Giroro glared up at Mois. "How are we supposed to do that when we're injured?"
Tamama looked at Giroro and Koyuki more carefully, to find that what Giroro was right. They were both covered in dark bruises, cuts, and dirt. Koyuki's face looked especially terrible, with a few flecks of dried blood in the corners of her mouth and purple bruises swelling around her right eye. For the first time that day, Tamama was able to see what the pair was really feeling: exhaustion and pain. "What happened to you two, desu?"
Giroro didn't say anything. Koyuki looked at him for help, and then looked back into the campfire, her eyes glazed over with tears. "When Nachii and Dororo were taken over, they tried to…to…" Koyuki couldn't find the strength to talk anymore, and buried her face in her arms, curled up into a ball.
Tamama understood what she was trying to say.
/
Natsumi hung spread-eagle in the darkness, a lifeless form on marionette strings. Her caramel eyes were empty and lifeless, and her chest rose and fell as she took rattling breaths. Doctors would call the state that Natsumi was in "emotional shock", and why wouldn't they? She had just seen herself hurting Giroro.
Why why why must you torture me like this why?
Natsumi had tried to fight her way out of the darkness, and as the invisible strings got tighter, she fought harder. She thought her problems were over when the darkness receded, but that was when the real danger had begun.
Why would I do that? I nearly killed him, why would I kill him?
Natsumi didn't even notice a single tear fall down her face and descend into the never-ending darkness. She only noticed when she began to fall with it, into the depths of her own nightmares. Stopping was something Natsumi had never expected; stopping in someone's arms came as an even greater shock.
"The famous Natsumi Hinata…I am finally given the honor to meet you."
The figure's arms wrapped around Natsumi from behind so that she couldn't see the face of the speaker. The voice brushed against her ear and made her shiver, feeling icy chills go throughout her body. The arms drew a bit tighter around her, and Natsumi wanted to escape. The marionette strings wouldn't allow it.
"Tell me, Natsumi Hinata, you are feeling sad, aren't you?"
I am I am, but why should I tell you if you're a stranger? Who are you?
"Natsumi Hinata, all of your questions will be answered in due time. So please, be patient for now."
Patient my ass! I want the answers now, I want to get out of here, so let me go. LET ME OUT!
Natsumi felt the figure chuckle in her ear, and her entire body felt cold. "You really are commanding…but I'm sure you never get what you really want, will you?"
She felt her entire body tense when she realized that these words were true. Her entire life, she had taken care of others, even if it meant sacrificing what she had wanted.
"So tell me, Natsumi Hinata…what do you want?"
giroro…
Natsumi was surprised at what her first thought was, and rejected the idea, only to have it brought back into play by the mysterious figure that was holding her.
"Giroro…and by that, I would assume you mean Corporal Giroro of Planet Keron, correct?"
(yes) How do you know him? What have you done with him?
"Nothing, nothing at all. I fear that my time here is running short, Natsumi Hinata. I must soon take my leave. But I can assure you that I will have your dream come true…"
She felt relief come over her as the figure let go of her. But when she turned around to see who the mysterious person was, there was no one there. All that was there was a red apple on the ground. Natsumi bent over and picked it up, remembering that she hadn't eaten for what felt like centuries. The apple looked so perfect that she couldn't resist taking a bite. And when Natsumi swallowed, she felt enlightened to a fact that she knew applied to everyone, especially herself:
If you follow what the marionette strings tell you to, the puppet show becomes a lot more fun.
And Natsumi played a star role.