Trigger warning for suicide mention. Or...Like forced death at least. Don't worry, nobody dies! I just wanted to put the warning to be safe.
Also I wrote another chapter! I hope it's okay.
Keroro wracked his head with worry. Was he doing the right thing? Were his platoon mates okay? He hadn't gotten any word from any of them.
Mostly his mind was on his platoon mates instead of himself. It helped to focus on others. Perhaps it was because he didn't actually have any plan whatsoever to find the flyians, maybe he just wanted to put off thinking about himself for once.
I made the smart decision. The choice that Keron wants their leaders to make. I split us up so we could cover more ground. Keroro remembered. Not like Keron much mattered anymore in the long run. Had any of his achievements been real? Or were they just one lucky accident after the next?
Keroro didn't really want the platoon to be split up. He didn't really know what to do on his own, nor did he want to be alone. I can't do this. I can't find those fly things on my own. I don't have the skills to do it. All I have is the ability to use other people.
But there were no more soldiers to use. He had been used in the end like a pawn. There was nobody to cry to to fix the mess for him.
Keroro wondered if he was truly alone now. If he was going to have to find the flyians all on his own.
"Sarge! You know you don't have to do this alone." Luckily Fuyuki, his best friend forever, was by his side watching Keroro look like he was about to complain. "I mean I can't offer much help because…." He shuddered. "They're gross bugs, but I can probably locate them for you. I'm real good at finding aliens. And I want to go on a cool alien adventure with someone!"
"I don't think I'm the type to do anything nearly as epic as Giroro is." Keroro laughed for a moment. "Didn't he go to some mountain range somewhere? The hima what's it called?" He didn't really know pekoponian landscape.
Fuyuki's face scrunched with worry. He didn't know what Keroro was talking about but it didn't sound good. "Yeah, with sis gone things have been kinda lonesome. I feel like everybody kinda left to find those flies." Koyuki, Saburo, Momoka, Natsumi, none were really around right now. And although Fuyuki wanted to do what he could to help Keroro part of him really didn't want to see those bugs again.
"Thanks though, Fuyuki. I'm glad I'll have your help." Keroro smiled. He really was. He needed someone to do most of the work for him, for him to piggyback off their ideas.
As if someone was reading Keroro's mind and offering himself as a sacrifice, Haru rushed into the room. "You can't do this! You can't find the flyians and catch them!" Haru yelled.
Fuyuki just stared at him. "Dad. They're bugs." He said simply.
"They're aliens! And they're my friends. I want to find them but not to turn them over to you. I want them to be safe." Haru frowned.
Keroro felt startled. "B-but...But I'm doing the right thing. I'm the hero now! I'm trying to save Pekopon by finding these things. I'm trying to prevent Keron tearing your planet apart for them."
Fuyuki nodded.
"Don't you care about your planet?" Keroro asked hesitantly.
"I won't hand over my friends even for the planet. You don't just abandon friends." Haru smiled at Fuyuki, like Fuyuki would understand. After all he had his own alien friends. "Even saying that though I'm not prepared to let my son leave and do some dangerous mission with you. I'll come with to make sure that I find the flyians before you. After all I want Fuyuki to be safe."
"Sure you do." Fuyuki said under his breath, "That's why you didn't look after me for most of my life and only want to be around me when I'm looking for some terrible bug." Fuyuki looked creeped out, but more than anything Keroro could see the hurt on his face.
For all he felt about the lies Keron had fed him, the lies his father had fed him and the disappointment his father no doubt had in him, Fuyuki was feeling the exact same thing. His father wasn't focusing on his feelings only the feelings of the alien friends that he valued.
The expression of betrayal was all over Fuyuki's face. Keroro knew it all too well. He wondered briefly if Fuyuki was rethinking his own exposure to aliens, possibly wondering if he'd turn out like his father when he became an adult, ditching his kids and caring more about an alien friendship instead of his actual family.
"I'm going to go actually help the planet." Fuyuki proclaimed. "The sarge doesn't have to deal with this all on his own. I may hate bugs but...I'll try to stand it because the sarge is my friend."
Keroro's face softened. Even though he knows the truth that I was just some piece of bait he still cares enough to stand by my side as my friend? Fuyuki was so good.
Haru looked worried, like Fuyuki was making the wrong choice. "Fuyuki...You're doing the wrong thing. You can't just sacrifice someone for someone else." Haru replied. "Come with me." He offered his hand. "We'll find my friends together. And after that you and I can go adventuring together, looking for the occult. I'm sorry for leaving you for so long. You finding keronians...It was not what I predicted. The flyians have told me a lot about their crimes."
Fuyuki looked at his father's hand. Keroro could see that Fuyuki's eyes glimmered for a moment as if considering the offer. It was the thing he had wanted his entire life after all. There was nobody's affection he wanted more than Haru's. Not Momoka, not Keroro's, not Aki's. It was always his father.
Keroro didn't want Fuyuki to have to choose between him and his father. He was too afraid of what might happen in that situation. So he didn't make Fuyuki choose. "How about we all work together? No need to fight until we've actually achieved our goal." Keroro happily took Haru and Fuyuki's hand as if he was the bridge between them.
Fuyuki snorted for a moment but nodded. Haru, seeing his son, reluctantly nodded as well.
Phew. Keroro was relieved. He had actually been afraid for a moment that Fuyuki would leave him. And if he was on his own during this journey? He was dead meat. Admiral Papa and Master Fuyuki are on my side for now. Now I can use their smarts and piggyback off of their ideas! They would definitely find the flyians with the nerdy male Hinata's brains.
He felt a little bad looking like he was trying to fix their relationship. It was a guise after all, but he knew he needed their ideas. I don't know how to do things myself.
With that unfortunate thought, Keroro tried to push what he had learned to the back of his mind. It didn't do any good to be focusing on Keron's file. If he cried about it he doubted anyone would comfort him.
I'm pretty sure Giroro would say, "no duh. Your being incompetent is by far the most expected out of our entire platoon. Were you really that dense?" Keroro imagined Giroro's voice in his head, scolding and yelling at him.
Truth was, he had been that dense. He truly believed Keron had believed in him and wanted to be a stellar platoon leader. He knew he didn't have that many talents, but everyone talked about how great he was so some of it had to be true, right?
Or had it all been a lie. Was he never really that great at all? My father never said anything to me about any of this.
"I don't really want to work with you particularly, keronian." Haru sighed, but clenched his hand over Keroro's. "But I will. You're right that we should all stay together. After all there's that saying that you should keep your friends close-" He glanced at his son, "And your enemies closer."
Keroro gulped. "I don't want to be enemies, sir." He wanted Haru to like him decently. Or at least not suspect him too badly. One of Keroro's few skills was piggybacking off of others to get to success, he needed Haru to lead him to the flies. He needed to get in good with Haru.
But how can I do that when I've failed so much in everything else I tried? Being a good Keron soldier, the invasion...I've failed so much. Doubt briefly passed in Keroro's head. He felt a pang in his heart. He missed his platoon. He needed their help and support to do this.
Maybe they wouldn't help though. I couldn't even be a leader to them. Can I really save Pekopon? Keroro wondered.
He already knew the answer to that: He could not. His platoon, Fuyuki, everybody believed him to be some sort of hero, but Keron had proven that that was a sham. Every achievement wasn't his own, it was someone else's and he yet again just piggybacked off their success.
Beating the Garuru platoon? Not him. It was Fuyuki's power that did something. All he did was order his platoon to help, which inspired Giroro and Tamama, and got Dororo and Kululu to actually do something.
They're all not my achievements. I'm no hero. I'm just super lucky and there in the right time and place. Keroro thought to himself. Heck, even clones of me fail! Dark Keroro couldn't invade Pekopon. None of my clones are the least bit competent in the end. They just appear to be for a moment.
He had to stop feeling sorry for himself. Stop focusing on this. He needed to focus on the flyians.
"Admiral Papa…? Since w-we're working together where do you think the flyians would have gone?" Keroro asked.
Haru thought for a moment. "I haven't actually searched the mysteries of Japan yet. That and I think my friends who were using my body as shelter-"
Fuyuki looked nauseated.
"Would have fled nearby. They're definitely still in this country and not that far away." Haru admitted.
Keroro smiled and gave a thumbs up. This was great! Now he didn't have to go on any particularly dangerous quest.
"I would think...Considering the number of supernatural things I've seen in my life...A lot of them centered around my mother-in-law's house." Haru admitted. "So I think the flyians would go there. They'd feel it was a safe place."
"So we're going to see grandma?" Fuyuki's eyes sparkled. He liked this idea.
"I like Fuyuki's grandma!" Keroro cheered. He could easily go along with this.
Haru nodded. "Well then, how about we go there tomorrow after you're all packed?" Haru was mostly talking to Fuyuki but Keroro nodded. He felt he was talking to him.
Haru ignored him.
It didn't take long for Keroro to pack, and soon enough they were on their way to grandma Akina's. They rode the bus there because Haru confessed that he no longer had a driver's license and that he forgot to renew his on his travels.
Keroro rode the bus, holding his bag close along the bumpy country roads. He tried to peer over Fuyuki's lap to see through the windows and see the mountains and pekoponian landscape in the distance.
It was kind of awkward sitting between Haru and Fuyuki. Haru obviously didn't want to sit next to Keroro, he looked almost uncomfortable and a tad bit frightened. Fuyuki on the other hand just sat in utter silence not saying a word to his father.
He was still mad about the bug thing. And being around Fuyuki when he was angry was always an unpleasant experience.
It's good to have Fuyuki on my side. He didn't know what he'd do if Fuyuki wasn't on his side. He'd be completely alone. Just left in his own thoughts of his mistakes. Still, I don't want it to be at the cost of Fuyuki having a bad relationship with his father.
Going to Akina's house always reminded Keroro of his own father. It reminded him of that one trip where they were tracking that weird shape shifting alien that took on one's greatest fears at Akina's house. Giroro's and Tamama's of course had been predictable, a sea cucumber and a 'lovelier version of Tamama', but his had always upset him. He didn't like that the monster had chosen it as his greatest fear. Made it seem like he didn't love it to.
The creature had taken the form of Keroro's father. And although he hadn't said much about it, it still bothered him a great deal. Was he that afraid of his father's disappointment? I already know the answer to that. I knew it the moment I got that file. I am. I'm already a disappointment to him. But I didn't want him to know it.
He didn't want Fuyuki to have a bad relationship with his father. He didn't want any father's to be keeping secrets from their sons. All Keroro wanted was his father to apologize for obviously knowing his son had been put on a mission as bait and to say 'even if you were a military failure, I still love you,'. But that wouldn't happen. So Fuyuki and Haru had to have the non-professional relationship that his father and him didn't. They had to be more than people interested in the same goals- finding aliens. They had to be a family.
"Fuyuki," Keroro tapped on Fuyuki's shoulder when Haru got up to let an old lady sit in his place. "You should...try to value the chance to be with your father more and work on the same project." Keroro tried to persuade. At the moment they were both looking for the same thing- the flyians. The fights would start after that.
He wanted to bridge the gap between Fuyuki and Haru. I can't let things go as badly as they did with my dad. "I mean even if you're father's distant and all, at least he's trying." Keroro tried to negotiate.
Fuyuki just glared and wormed his way deeper into his seat. "You don't know what you're talking about."
"I know you value him deep down. You just have to bridge the gap." Keroro insisted. "You got into the occult because of your father, didn't you?" He reminded. "He must be important to you since you care about the occult so much."
"He wants to protect those...Those bugs!" Fuyuki reminded.
"But he's just acting like you, Fuyuki. He's just acting like you, super into the supernatural. He wants to protect his friends. If your roles were reversed and you were having to choose between me and handing me over to an alien species, you'd protect me." Keroro reminded. "You're the same."
Fuyuki's eyes widened. He hadn't thought about it like that. His lip quivered. "You're right..." He nodded. "You're always right, sarge. Maybe I can try to forgive him."
The old lady got off and Haru retook his seat.
"Hey...D-dad..." Fuyuki tried to do as Keroro instructed. Forgive his father. "I forgive-." He shook his head, his fist tightening. He couldn't do it.
"You forgive me?" Haru smiled. He didn't really think there was anything that needed to be forgiven but he was glad Fuyuki wasn't so mad right now.
"I can't do it. I'm still mad!" Fuyuki huffed.
"But….But why are you mad?" Haru asked desperately. "I don't understand you." He didn't know how to parent.
"You kept the flyians a secret from me! You kept that you knew about aliens a secret from me. And worst of all you chose them over your family. Your own kid!" Fuyuki insulted in anger.
Heads on the bus turned, they tried not to eavesdrop on an obvious family fight.
Haru's face softened. "Oh. I had...No idea you felt that way. I always thought you were all grown up now." He didn't know Fuyuki still wanted his attention. "I'm so sorry. Fuyuki. I'm more proud of you than anything. You're everything I would want in a son. I love and care about you more than anything." Haru promised.
Fuyuki's anger immediately went away as soon as his father said he loved him. He threw his arms around his dad and hugged him.
Haru hugged back, holding his son.
And Keroro smiled.
Fuyuki was smiling and laughing as soon as they got to his grandma's house. He really was radiating with joy.
I guess fixing things between him and his father really helped lift his mood. He really is a boy just looking for his father's love, deep down. Keroro smiled.
"Sarge!" Fuyuki lifted up Keroro in his arms and tossed him upwards, spinning. Keroro didn't remember the last time Fuyuki had so much energy to lift and toss something. After all he couldn't even really throw a baseball.
"Thanks for trying and not giving up. Thanks for fixing my relationship with dad." Fuyuki thanked.
"No problem." Keroro responded.
Fuyuki frowned after a minute. "Can...I return the favor? Is there anything in your life bothering you and bringing you down, that I can fix?"
Keroro stared at Fuyuki. Did...Did he forget about the file? How my entire life is a lie and Keron just pretended I was some great leader for some mission where I was bait? It was true that he hadn't acted like he was sad. He wasn't carrying around the file with him all the time. But in his heart he felt a certain amount of sadness, locked deep away.
But as expected, Keroro bounced back. He had to after all. For his platoon that wasn't actually his platoon.
"Fuyuki! Of course there's something bothering your little alien friend." Haru actually noticed Keroro's mixture of emotions much quicker than Fuyuki. "Keron lied to him, remember? They sent him on a suicide mission." Haru didn't sound like he liked Keron too much.
"H-hey. I'm sure there's some decent explanation for it. They were just trying to find the best way to use keronian soldiers like me..." Keroro tried to weakly defend the planet he loved so much. He wished they had told him his real mission.
"Oh." Fuyuki's face clouded with worry. "I...I never suspected that you weren't invading, Sarge. I always thought Keron thought you were heroic and competent."
Thanks. 'Thought' is an interesting choice of words. Keroro frowned. He knew Fuyuki never really saw him as an invader. "Thanks." He said anyway.
"Does anything in that file bother you?" Haru finally said. "I didn't read it. I don't think anyone knows what it said besides you. What did it say?"
Keroro frowned and rubbed his arm as Fuyuki set him down. "All the file said was that I was incompetent and an idiot in big words. It gave some information about the Hinata family's father following occult things and that's it. There literally wasn't anything else." Keroro replied. Really his file had seemed rather barren. He wondered if the rest of his platoon also had one word descriptions for why they had been chosen. Was the word 'Idiot' also written in big letters? "I really should have known I was those things already though." Keroro laughed weakly. "I'm just disappointed that I couldn't be a better leader to my platoon mates and that my father will never ever be proud of me now."
Fuyuki looked at Keroro with pity. He was glad Keroro was okay talking about his problems. But still confusion clouded his face after a moment. "I'm confused." He admitted.
"What do you mean?" Keroro asked.
"I'm confused about Keron's plan. Sending you out here to be bait and think that you had a fake invasion makes somewhat sense, but if that was the case why did so many other keronians attack you? Why did so many try to steal the invasion from you? Why did the Garuru platoon attack us?" Fuyuki asked still not knowing that the Garuru platoon had actually come down to test the Keroro Platoon.
Haru looked at his son with a sad expression. It was the expression of 'you shouldn't be asking those questions'.
"There's...Probably a couple of different answers to that question. They could have been sent to test us. Or to keep us on our toes about that lie." Keroro replied. "I mean we did have an invasion budget, although it was much smaller than other invasion funds now that I think about it. Keron did put resources into lying to us." Keroro reminded. "I don't know if the Garuru platoon knew we were a fake invasion troop adding to that. I doubt they would have told them considering how close Garuru is to Giroro. If Garuru's willing to support Giroro's relationship with a pekoponian girl he would have immediately told him he was being lied to." Keroro replied. "Not to mention that Pururu's in that platoon and she's looking out for us. So they likely were never told the truth."
Fuyuki listened to Keroro's sadness in his voice. Keroro's explanation sounded reasonable, but he didn't want his friend feeling so sad. "There has to be something more though!" Fuyuki finally said. As he said the words he himself actually began to believe it.
"Oh?" Keroro asked.
"If it really all was a lie and you were useless to them, why did they try to clone you so many times?" Fuyuki pointed out. He had fought way too many clone Keroro's. "You can't be a failure."
Keroro pointed to his chest. "I have the Keron star." Keroro finally started explaining. "That's probably why they were cloning me so much. After all you have to prove yourself in this huge battle royale competition to get a Keron star. It was a big deal." His voice had a hint of pride in it.
"See? You're no failure!" Fuyuki explained. "You won the Keron star!"
Keroro sighed. "Yeah...But unfortunately it doesn't work properly like it's supposed to. It's something super powerful that can let those do what you order, but I'm so incompetent that it only brings me up to the bare minimum of charisma. Remember when Giroro's cat stole it from me? Yeah, even she used it more than me."
Fuyuki frowned. Okay, so Keroro was making his points. For some reason he had been able to win it but he was ruining it.
"My clones can use it to a normal extent. That's why they're a bit more powerful than me. But I sure can't use it." Keroro sighed. "Probably why they realized I was an idiot in the end."
Fuyuki still looked confused. "If...If the Keron star's so special that they were literally cloning you because they thought you could use it...Why didn't the colonel have one?" He finally asked. It didn't seem like many keronians besides Keroro had it. So many people had tried to steal it from him.
Keroro thought for a minute. "Only a few people can use it's actually true power to directly order someone to do something. I myself have been able to use it only a few times but that's still more than the average keronian." Keroro replied. "Probably explains why they tried to clone a better version of me that could use it fully all the time."
Haru looked like he was listening closely. He finally opened his mouth to ask something, looking confused. "...How often does the Keron society clone their own?"
Fuyuki's eyes sparkled. An occult question! He had always been introduced in the concept that keronians reproduced in test tubes verses the normal method. It was cooler and more alien. But every time he asked a question like that Keroro looked at him weird and debunked it. Trying to destroy Fuyuki's dreams of cool alien things. "Ooh! Yes! Yes! Please answer this question! I want to hear about cloning!"
Keroro scrunched up his face. "I...I don't know." He replied.
Fuyuki looked disappointed.
Hey...Wait. I've never actually seen Keron clone anyone besides me. Keroro realized. Must be because he was unobservant. It must have definitely been happening. "I wouldn't doubt that old Garuru has a few clones though. That would make sense, right?" He hadn't seen it, but he sure the Garuru platoon dealt with their own issues.
"My clones of course always mess up at the end, but Keron keeps trying it. I guess it's because they truly believed I had potential at one time." Keroro confessed. "They don't want to waste that potential."
Fuyuki sighed. What a boring occult mystery. It all has very quick and simple answers. There was still one large occult mystery lingering in the air and as an occult researcher he had to know the answers. "You know, there's still a lot of mystery in the air. Like why keron wanted these bugs and couldn't just invade places on their own like this planet and bring their society into something much better. We don't actually know much about these flies."
Haru put his hand on Fuyuki's shoulder. "You're my son. And you're right that it's time to stop hiding the truth." Haru nodded. "I'll tell you about my friends."
Keroro immediately stopped focusing on himself and Fuyuki trying to convince him that Keron did care about him. Fuyuki focused too on Haru's words.
"In return for most of the lifespan of creatures born to this planet, which is my friend's food-" Haru explained.
Fuyuki looked disgusted.
"Don't be like that, they don't have a choice. You eat beef, don't you? It's the same as eating meat. It's just natural. Studying the occult means not looking down on things doing the things they need to do to survive." Haru scolded. "But as I was saying, in return for significantly cutting down our lifespan they protect this planet from aliens. That's why Earth has never been invaded successfully no matter how many aliens are competing over it."
"But where does Keron come into the story?" Fuyuki asked. He liked being not invaded, but he didn't like having his lifespan eaten.
"Keron used to eat these flyians to advance their civilization. After all the flyians had a lot of power and could grant power to their host, or whatever thing ate them. Keronians especially in their genetic code had something that made them more powerful than anything if they ate these creatures. I think the flyians even came from the planet of Keron." Haru explained. "It was natural for the keronians to eat them."
"So why did that stop?" Keroro asked.
"In the past the keronians were much stronger than my friends. From what I heard they caught them with a fabled creature that the flyians stood no chance against. The fabled creature was some sort mythical legend of the keronians. It hasn't really passed down completely through the generations of flyians so I don't know...completely all about it. But I know some." Haru admitted. "Anyway this thing was so powerful that the flyians didn't have a chance. But it apparently had some weakness and was eventually killed and the keronians lost their edge. The flyians fled after that and without their edge the keronians were doomed to not find them and not advance." Haru explained.
"If all keronians can't have their edge than how are we-" Keroro wanted to say.
"Yes. It's unlikely even if the Keroro platoon found them that they'd be able to capture the flyians and beat them. It's unlikely that they'd stay captured." Haru agreed, hopeful for his friends.
Keroro tried not to let that beat him down. He tried to smile. "My platoon is better than some fabled legend. If anyone can do it, it's us." It was a lie. He just needed to be optimistic.
For all of them. There had to be one member of the platoon that believed in all of them no matter what.
Fuyuki nodded and led Keroro to his grandma's house so they could unpack.
And soon enough it was time to go to bed before what would obviously be a huge day.
Keroro curled up on a futon that Akina had set out. The lights were out, but he could hear rustling. Fuyuki and Haru obviously weren't asleep yet but they were talking in hushed whispers thinking that Keroro was asleep.
"Fuyuki...After all of this has settled down would you like to join me on my next adventure? You want to be a researcher when you grow up, right? I can think of no better education than the field." Haru suggested.
"You want...Me to come with you on your next adventure?" Fuyuki asked, excited.
"Yes! I would love to have you. You remind me of me when I was young. I'm so happy to have a kid like you." Haru said gleefully.
Fuyuki sounded excited by the aspect, shaking a little. "But...What about mom? And sis?" He asked. "Would we all be going? Would it be a family trip?"
"Your mother has a career. We've chosen different paths in life and we've already talked about if it's all right if you went with me. She'd be more than happy for you and honestly I think it might lighten the load off her shoulders." Haru confessed.
"You..Might be right." Fuyuki realized. "I mean she did have a little difficulty taking care of me when I was younger. Grandma actually raised me until I was old enough to look after mostly myself." He confessed. "But what about sis?"
"She's not into the occult as much as you. And you know she's much more like your mother than me. They'll be fine." Haru reassured.
"What...About the occult club?" Fuyuki finally asked. "What about Momoka?"
"...The Nishizawa girl?" Haru frowned. "Well, she'll still be here when you come back, right? And a Nishizawa really has the world as her playground. I'm pretty sure she'll still be around."
Fuyuki nodded like that was an acceptable answer. "I'll think about it! That sounds really nice, Dad! Like a dream come true!"
Keroro pulled the blanket over his head. He wanted to be happy about the offer Fuyuki had gotten, but something was making him sad. He'll leave me. I thought we were going to be best friends forever. He had never expected Fuyuki to be the one to leave.
Was he just boring to him now? No, that can't be it...Maybe I just drag everybody down….He checked the keroball under his blankets. Fuyuki had lent it to Keroro for communication.
There were no messages from Giroro and Dororo. Keroro had kept checking every hour, expecting that his childhood friends would say something to him. That they'd need reassurance or would want to say that they were all in this together. But as soon as the lies had been exposed they just ignored him.
He wondered if they blamed him in a way. It was awfully coincidental that all three of them had been sent on this bait mission. It made him sad to see no messages. He curled up closer to the Keroball, just waiting.
"Please, tell me how you're doing." He wrote in a message and sent it to Giroro and Dororo. There was no response.
There never was.
And so Keroro closed his eyes going to sleep. Sleep was his only safe place now after all.
Keroro was a child again in his dream. He was waving and laughing with young Giroro and Zeroro.
"Keroro! Come home! I baked cookies!" His mother called, smiling in a field of grass.
"Keroro! You're going to be the pride of Keron someday. You are the pride of Keron." Keroro's father told him, obviously believing the words.
"Keroro!" Pururu yelled.
"Keroro! Keroro! Keroro!" Giroro and Zeroro chanted, joining Pururu.
Everyone was so happy to see him. It felt so nice.
Keroro looked at his small child like hands. He was happy. His family was happier with him.
What changed though? Keroro wondered. Did I just grow up? Everybody here acts so differently towards me then they do now. My family's proud of me. My friends care about me and look up to me. Why...Why do I have to be so different?
He dropped to his knees as everything just disappeared. Everybody who loved him. He was an adult now.
"Keroro. You're the pride of Keron. You've got to keep going. For all of us." A younger version of Keroro said, putting his hands on Keroro's shoulders.
"I can't. I already disappointed them. I already disappointed my parents. Giroro and Dororo don't look up to me anymore. I hurt Dororo, a lot. I can't go on for all of them." Keroro cried.
"I...I wasn't talking about them, Keroro." The young Keroro told him. "Keep going. You have to. For Keron."
Keroro just cried. He didn't want to keep going. "I'm not as strong as you. I'm an adult now. My childhood stupidity and optimism is gone. I'm not like you. I grew up."
The younger Keroro stared at him, he said something. Keroro could see his lips move, but he was drifting away.
And soon the dream was gone. He had woken up. All the people who cared about him were gone.
And he was all alone again.
Keroro walked outside of Grandma Akina's house. He saw Haru sitting by the riverside, catching fish. Fuyuki was still in the house, asleep.
"Hey." Haru smiled. "Morning." He handed Keroro a raw fish.
"I didn't know you could catch food." Keroro had kinda assumed Haru had no experience in the wild like Fuyuki.
"I was out adventuring for many years with not much money. And anyway my wife and I used to love doing this when we were younger. Aki loved fishing here." Haru smiled. He patted a spot next to him for Keroro to sit down in.
Keroro sat down.
"Fuyuki's still asleep...So I thought this was the perfect time to ask you. You weren't asleep last night, were you? Did you overhear us talking?" Haru asked.
Keroro looked worried for a moment that that was Haru's question, but finally he nodded. "It's all right. You don't have to worry about me. I'm happy for Fuyuki." He paused for a moment. "I'm just so happy that Fuyuki has a family that loves him." His dream was still upsetting him.
His father no doubt had an expression of disappointment that Keroro had turned out as a failure when he had been such a good kid.
Haru paused for a moment, looking at the river. "How...How do Keronian families work anyway?"
"Same as pekoponian ones." Keroro shrugged. "I love my mother and father a lot. Probably as much as Fuyuki loves his parents. After all I also followed in my father's footsteps."
Haru looked like he was focusing on the water. "Do...Do they treat you weird?" He finally asked.
"Whoa! That's a mean question to ask. Or psychologically deep based on someone you don't know very well." Keroro teased. "Or you just think aliens treat their young weird." Actually Fuyuki would probably ask the same question. Still...I wonder how he knew? I mean my parents love me, bu they always did seem more distant than say Dororo's mom. I guess they must have just realized I was getting set up for a suicide mission since I was a failure. He couldn't remember if they had always been so distant, but it made sense that they had become more so.
After all, his father would have known about the fake Pekopon invasion.
"Don't worry though. I understand family." Keroro reassured. "I would understand if Fuyuki left." He paused. "Momoka though...She'd be pretty upset. Maybe you should be having this conversation with her instead." He teased.
Haru blinked. "Why would Momoka be the most upset?" Haru asked. "Oh, wait...Do she and Fuyuki have a close relationship? Is she like an adopted sister figure to him? She did seem rather close." He was dense. Super dense.
Keroro laughed.
Once Fuyuki had woken up and walked outside yawning to join Keroro and his father, Haru unfurled a map.
"Morning, Fuyuki." Haru smiled. "I thought we could start discussing precise plans."
"Precise?" Keroro asked. He usually didn't have one of those. Teaming up with Haru really was the right idea! Although stealing the flyians right as we find them is going to be tough. He's a lot tougher than me.
Fuyuki glanced at Haru and Keroro. "Were you two hanging out while I was asleep? That's great! I'd love it if my dad and my best friend got along! I kinda thought Dad didn't like you because you were a keronian and all."
Keroro rubbed the back of his head nervously. He was pretty sure that was the case.
Haru didn't respond. "I thought it would be best to get to know Keroro." He explained. He then pointed to a spot on the map and circled it. "I think the flyians would have fled places special to me. Sometimes when they chose to they can read a person's memories, and I loved to share my memories with my friends. I thought it made them a little more human."
"These are spots from your childhood?" Fuyuki asked excitedly.
"When I moved here these are places I would take your mom. These places were important to us. They were part of our courtship. So the flyians might believe they were the safest." Haru explained.
"Places you were romantic with Admiral Mama?" Keroro asked shocked. He couldn't, nor did he want to imagine that.
"….Do you have a girlfriend back home, Keroro?" Haru asked after a second of thinking. His eyes seemed curious like he had an ulterior motive to asking. Keroro didn't know why Haru wanted to know so much about Keroro's personal life. "Wait, are you even old enough to have a girlfriend? I don't actually know your age."
Keroro scratched his head. "Actually I don't know my age either." He laughed out loud. "Ha! Funny, huh? I guess it's just super hard to count those long numbers. Man...I really am an idiot like Keron said I was." How can someone forget something so important like their age? I hope I can get Giroro to tell me the answer without seeming like too much of an idiot. "But I'm old enough."
"Then...Do you have someone special in your life like a girlfriend from before the invasion of Earth?" Haru asked again. "Who's really close to you? Do you have a girlfriend?"
Keroro stared at Haru. He couldn't help but burst out laughing. "HA HA HA HA HA. Me? Have a girlfriend?"
Fuyuki looked at him like it really wasn't that funny of a question.
Keroro wiped the tears from his eyes. "Sorry, it just sounded weird the premise. I mean who would want to date an incompetent leader like myself?" He pointed out. "So no...I do not have a girlfriend." He couldn't help snickering again at the words.
"I...I don't think it's that funny." Fuyuki still wasn't sure why he was laughing.
Keroro realized with shock that Haru was serious when he asked the question. "Oh. Yeah, no I definitely don't have a girlfriend. I mean there was this one pekoponian girl who was in love with me. It was real hard dumping or rejecting her because I really liked talking about the toys we both enjoyed." Keroro shook his head remembering Kaede.
"Oh. Oh I got it." Haru nodded.
"Dad, Sarge isn't interested in that stuff." Fuyuki tried to explain. "He likes toys more and his platoon mates. He's not worried about things like girls."
"Oh. OH! I definitely got it. I'm not dense, Fuyuki." Haru winked. He looked at Keroro for a moment. "Well then...Maybe I asked the wrong question. Who do you enjoy best in your platoon?" Haru whistled.
Keroro remained oblivious that he hadn't been clear enough that he wasn't dating anyone and that Haru now thought he was gay and just not interested in women.
"Oh! Well that's an easy one." Keroro smiled. This is a much easier and better question than the last. "I like Tamama best because he's a butt kisser." Keroro said very bluntly not realizing what Haru would obviously think he said.
Haru covered his face, trying not to show Keroro just how embarrassed he was by how easily Keroro said that.
"Although...I don't think there will be much butt kissing going on anymore...It's too bad because I really liked it. But there's no reason for it. I'm a failure of a leader after all." Keroro's voice dropped to a sad tone.
Haru put up his hands. "Okay, that's enough. TMI. I...Umm...Don't really need to know what you and that other keronian have been up to. It's just...Too much detail."
"I think it's sad. Don't worry, I'm sure Tamama will still be Tamama." Fuyuki reassured. "I mean, he's kind of the eternal butt kisser, isn't he?"
Keroro nodded. That was true.
Haru covered Fuyuki's ears for him. Fuyuki didn't understand why.
Thinking about it...I really do miss Tamama. I wish I could see him again soon. Keroro thought to himself. Tamama was usually always around, either coming out of nowhere, or just coming to play.
It was weird being without him. It didn't feel right. It made him feel this odd queasy feeling. As if he was waiting for Tamama to come back and make it better.
"I...I feel worst for Tamama in our platoon." Keroro admitted. "I mean out of all of us Tamama's the youngest. And I bet this is one of his first missions. He doesn't deserve to be cast aside by Keron when he's so young."
"None of you really deserve it-" Fuyuki tried to tell him.
"Yeah, but I'm sure some of made our own mistakes. We made those mistakes when we should have known better. Giroro, well he's kind of angry. Dororo's a traitor. I'm an idiot. And Kululu's well...He's just a jerk." Keroro pointed out. "Tamama didn't know any better. Sure he's violate and experiences dangerous mood swings every now and then but I hope he gets a chance to prove himself to Keron and redeem himself. Because out of all of us he deserves it the most. He hasn't ever had a second chance before. Unlike the rest of us who had way too many I assume."
Fuyuki put his hand on Keroro's shoulder. "It's okay to be mad for your friend's sake. It's sweet of you to be so worried for Tamama."
Keroro looked confused. He didn't realize his thoughts were so centered around Tamama.
They checked many locations, riversides, Haru's old high school. All sorts of places. But the flyians were nowhere.
It took many days, but Haru eventually had a new idea. "The 20th is coming up." He realized.
"So?" Keroro asked.
"That's the spring festival. It's when and where I proposed to Aki. It would have been the memory that is by far the strongest to the flyians. I bet they'll be there." Haru suggested.
"So you mean...We get to find the flyians….and party?" Keroro asked. Yes! Yes! Yet again I knew teaming up with Haru was the right idea.
"...And suddenly I wonder if you're truly a threat to my friends. It's very obvious and clear I'll be able to get to them and keep them out of your hands before you." Haru said. Keroro clearly was not very competent.
Keroro frowned feeling slightly insulted.
"The spring festival? Mom's told me a lot about that! Grandma took me there a few times." Fuyuki looked excited.
"You two can have fun while I look for my friends." Haru told them.
Fuyuki grinned. He'd much rather be at a spring festival than chasing after some bug!
There was no preparations needed for them to go to the spring festival. When it came, they merely walked up a large mountain path.
Keroro and Fuyuki were very out of breath when they finally got to the top of the path.
"Ugh...I forgot about the walking part." Fuyuki huffed.
"It's close to a nice forest." Haru smiled. "And look at all the stalls and vendors."
There were a lot of stalls and vendors. But for a festival it was also small. Not too crowded. A lot of country people. Hicks.
Fire works were in the sky. It was dark.
"Here you go." Haru handed Fuyuki and Keroro masks and some treats to entertain them while he actually did his job. "It's tradition to wear the mask of a monster during the festival."
"Uhhhh...Since I'm invisible I don't think I will. Also I already have a weird face to you guys." Keroro pointed out.
Fuyuki put the mask on. "Come on, Sarge! Let's go look at the drum sets!"
Keroro couldn't stop Fuyuki from being excited and purposefully forgetting all about the bugs he was so afraid of. Instead Fuyuki grabbed Keroro's hand and dragged him away.
Haru waved to them. Now he could finally search in peace.
"Shouldn't we be looking for the flyians, Fuyuki?" Keroro tried to ask.
"It's rare to be in town for the spring festival. We can look in a few hours." Fuyuki said childishly as he tried to play a festival game.
Keroro wrangled out of Fuyuki's grip as a ring toss kept Fuyuki's attention.
"Listen...I know why you don't want to look. You're pretty sure they are here. There is a large forest nearby and you're afraid of bugs..." Keroro pointed out.
Fuyuki sighed. "I...I just don't want to think about them right now. We can look in a minute, all right? Just wait right there." Fuyuki ordered.
Keroro sighed and nodded. Fuyuki quickly got side tracked by another fun event.
Keroro waited for a few minutes, but eventually he got bored of waiting. He could see Fuyuki in his field of vision so he started walking around to enjoy the festival himself.
Between the third and fourth stall was a large pathway to the forest. It looked rather normal but still Keroro stood in front of it.
Then suddenly, just as a firework went up into the sky and people cheered, Keroro saw a light on the path. It was like an orb just floating in the middle of the pathway or some light up laser someone would use on their cat.
"W-what?" Keroro looked at the orb floating. It wasn't disappearing. He looked around. Nobody was looking at it.
In fact, nobody was even looking at the pathway. Nobody was walking on it despite the busy street with the wall.
It was a rather small pathway. Keroro wondered how it had even been made for pekoponian feet. It looked keronian sized for a pathway.
But the orb kept hovering. "Fuyuki! Fuyuki do you see that?" Keroro asked.
"Yeah, beautiful fireworks." Fuyuki shouted from across the street. He didn't see Keroro or what he was staring at.
Keroro grumbled and marched over to Fuyuki. "Fuyuki. I really want you to see this. I don't really understand it and an orb of light might have some connection to the flyians. Or occult."
Fuyuki dropped his dumpling. "Occult?" He immediately became interested. He took Keroro's hand as Keroro led him to the third and fourth stall.
"There." Keroro pointed to the orb of light that still hadn't gone away. It was just floating there. "What the heck is that? A reflection or something? Something to do with the flyians?"
Fuyuki looked confused. He then looked at Keroro. "What….What do you mean?"
"The orb of light. You know, on the path." Keroro repeated again. "What is it?"
"Sarge..." Fuyuki was very pale. "There's no path there. It's just high grass."
Keroro's mouth opened for a moment. "But there's clearly a path there!" He pointed again. "And an orb!"
Fuyuki shook his head. "Oh! Wait, I understand. You wanted me to be looking for the flies instead of having fun, didn't you? Using occult to get to me. That's mean, Sarge." Fuyuki frowned. "We can look after things are done. Dad's looking around after all. I'll get him to alert me if he finds anything."
And with that he ran off.
Keroro glared in annoyance. I'll have to uncover this mystery myself. If Fuyuki's just going to pretend this path doesn't exist so he can't see those bugs he's afraid of...Well I kinda understand. But I gotta do what my platoon needs me to do. And so he marched onto the path.
Keroro ran up to the orb and grabbed it. It disappeared in his hands. "Huh?" Suddenly a new orb of light appeared a few feet away from him.
He went up to it and grabbed it. The same thing happened. Are...Are they leading me some place? He had red about this in horror manga.
His legs shook. But for some reason he was curious enough to keep following them. If this was a plan by the flies...Well, at least he would find them, right?
He just had to continue following the lights.
And so the lights led him deeper and deeper into the forest.
It was about fifty minutes later that Fuyuki realized Keroro was missing. "Did Sarge get lost?" He looked towards the large forest looming on the mountain. He had heard that place was easy to get lost in, and deep.
He threw off his mask. "Sarge!" He yelled. He had to go after him.
He had to find his best friend. Because it was his fault for letting Keroro get lost in the first place.
Eventually Keroro came across a large clearing and the last orb disappeared. Just as Keroro expected a huge swarm of Flyians were flying around in the clearing like a tornado. However all of them had their backs turned away from Keroro.
They had not expected him.
"Ummm...Hi? I got the trap you set for me?" Keroro waved, trying to greet them.
All the flyians snapped to attention. He saw them buzz...Or was that shivering?
"He's here. He's here! How did he get here? We thought we cloaked this place well in power."
"He's just standing there. Just standing!"
"He sneaked up on us. How dare he!"
Keroro heard all sorts of frightened flyians speak. Their words were being blasted into his mind. They...Weren't expecting me? Then who conjured up the light show?
"Yes! Yes! I came here all on my own and figured out how to get here all on my own!" Keroro was confused but he tried to put on fake bravado to frighten the flyians even more. "I am the great, and confident Sergeant Keroro! And I am going to catch you." He reached towards his waist and realized all too late that he had nothing to catch them with.
Oh. I'm an idiot. Crap. Keroro realized. He really was a failure. He had no tools or plan besides 'find them'.
The flyians glanced at each other. Then suddenly a few launched themselves at him, closer.
Keroro swatted them away, but they had touched his body.
"Sergeant Keroro." The fear was out of their voices and they spoke as one. A hive mind instead of all sorts of panicked creatures. They all grouped together and Keroro felt frightened for a moment.
He knew they were just flies. That they shouldn't be able to do anything to him, but together they looked like some big monster.
"We know you. We have read your thoughts." They greeted. There was power in their voice. Intense power.
Keroro tried to take a step back. He walked into a tree. Where was the pathway that had been there a second ago? "W-what...Are you going to tell me I'm in love with someone too like Haru did when he pretended to know all of our thoughts?" Keroro tried to continue to sound confident but he was frightened now too.
"No. We can see something else...Something in your mind. A file that you've been avoiding. A file labeled Sergeant Keroro." The flyians spoke up.
Keroro gulped.
"You've been trying to avoid how terrible you are. How much of a failure you are. Ignore it." They told him.
"N-no. I just...I have to focus on you guys. My platoon probably got much worse. And I'm Keroro. They want me to bounce back. They expect me to be happy and a leader and bounce back! I gotta-!" Keroro tried to speak.
The flyians were ready continue laying out their harsh truths. "You're incompetent. You know your platoon wouldn't have been dragged down if not for you. Two of your childhood friends being here? Isn't that too coincidental. It's all your fault. You poisoned their life." They mocked. "The invasion could have been real, would have succeeded if not for you. They tell you that every day. You know that."
"It's not my fault that Tamama or Kululu were here! I've never met them before any of this!" Keroro was on his knees now.
"Is it really not your fault? Those two would have definitely succeeded in the invasion if not for you. Tamama was a better leader than you, wasn't he? Kululu's actually competent unlike you. So you must be the reason that neither of them succeeded." The flyians were trying to beat down his confidence so he didn't attack. Keroro wasn't smart enough to see that. It just worked incredibly well.
"I'm their leader. I'm the leader of the Keroro platoon. I can't give in to you-" Keroro was completely on the ground.
"You're a fake. You were never meant to be a leader. Your parents knew it. You saw your father on the ship with the colonel when he blasted off didn't you? He may not have been there to see your humiliation but he knew. He just stood behind the scenes lying to you. You were a disappointment to him." The flyians mocked.
Keroro cried.
"He knew full well you were bait. That we were supposed to kill you and Keron would be alerted to our presence from your blood and the revenge we would take." The flyians spoke. "Are you crying? How truly pathetic. All of the other Keroro's truly are better than you, like that dark Keroro."
"I'm not crying. And they...They aren't. Nothing can beat the original! Not even my clones." Keroro tried to stop crying. He was sniffling.
"Ha! That was us trying to imitate human laughter. Why would you be the best? You're the biggest idiot in the world. The biggest fool. Liking children's toys more than your job. You don't deserve to live. You're the biggest failure of a leader, only just put up as a puppet." The flyians spoke.
Keroro just let out sob after sob, cradling his body and tightening himself into a ball.
The flyians seeing that their job was done and Keroro would not go after them, fled to safety.
Keroro cried and cried. It's all true. It's all true. He just felt more and more depressed. It was many minutes later that Fuyuki ran into the clearing. It was much less darker than it had been when the flyians were there.
"Sarge!" Fuyuki scooped up Keroro in his arms, seeing that he was crying. Haru was next to Fuyuki. "Where did you go? Did you trip and get hurt? We couldn't find you for a long time."
"H-how did you find me?" Keroro sniffled.
"Your crying was loud and drew us closer." Fuyuki admitted awkwardly. "Are you okay?"
Keroro shoved Fuyuki off of him. "I'm fine. I just ran into the flyians."
"Are they okay?" Haru asked desperately. "Did they get away?"
"Yeah...I couldn't catch them." Keroro admitted.
"Thank god. I'm glad my friends got away." Haru felt relieved.
"What...What did those awful gross bugs do to you?" Fuyuki asked. "They messed up Sarge, and that I won't allow. I'll protect the sarge from those creatures."
Keroro shook his head. "They...Actually didn't do much of anything. All they did was speak the truth." He was no longer crying. His voice just sounded hallow.
It was the truth. He was a failure and he knew it. It wasn't like his file had said all of that in specific. It just had the large word 'Idiot'. But he knew all about his idiocy.
Keroro knew better than a file what his faults were.
The next day Keroro was mostly quiet as Haru spoke to Fuyuki about various things that didn't have to do with the flyians.
Keroro knew he should be listening. He needed to use Haru to get to the flyians after all. That was his plan. He should be sticking to that plan. But he didn't want to.
I want them to know that I'm not a failure. That I can do things on my own. He had to prove himself and them wrong. He couldn't afford to be an idiot any longer.
I'll find them on my own! That's what I'll do. I'll just sneak off! Keroro smiled to himself. Everybody would be so proud of him.
So while Haru and Fuyuki were talking, he tried to tip-toe away.
Fuyuki glanced over at him while his father was in an occult lecture unaware that Fuyuki's attention was elsewhere.
Sarge...He's sneaking off. Does he plan to find the flies on his own? Fuyuki wondered. His teeth chattered at the idea of Keroro trying to face the flies alone again. It would not go well. He's...Acting a little unstable ever since yesterday. They must have really said some bad things to him.
He had to follow Keroro. Secretly though. He couldn't let Keroro know how worried he was. It might hurt his feelings. He'd just keep Keroro safe. Protect him.
While his father was distracted he walked away, to follow Keroro in secret.
Hopefully they wouldn't even run into the flyians.
Surprisingly it didn't take Keroro long to run into the flyians again. It was yet again in one of the woods near Akina's house.
"Crap. He's back." They buzzed around as Fuyuki desperately hid behind a tree.
"I found you! See! I'm no failure! I did it all on my own. No following magic light show this time!" Keroro announced. "Okay...So maybe those orbs were there. What are they anyway? They aren't...Fly poop are they? Please tell me it isn't like anything gross."
"Why did you come back? Are you back for us to tell you more truths from your own mind?" The flyians mocked. "To tell us how you've failed?"
"I'm not listening! I've learned to ignore you-" Keroro tried to gloat.
"Everybody you know is just pretending to like you. It's one of the things you've tried to pretend isn't real, but it is." The flyians spoke.
The color drained out of Keroro's face. He clearly didn't know how to ignore them. He shook his head. "Not true! Not true! I have lots of friends who like me!"
"Pururu is sick and tired of you. She's got other friends. Giroro and Dororo won't contact you or talk to you. Tamama only acts like you're cool because you're his superior but gets sick and bored of you all the time. You're just a passing interest that he's very blunt about no longer thinking is cool. And Kululu blame you for all of this. They hate you secretly. Angol Mois just puts up with you because you have some sort of family like connection to her and she feels the need to respect you, Natsumi hates you on a daily basis. They all hate you." The flyians told him.
"No! No!" Keroro yelled trying to deny those facts.
"You really should die. It would be easier on them and yourself. Solve a lot of problems that way." The flyians tried to goad Keroro.
It was harsh, cruel, words. Keroro's eyes spun. "Fuyuki. Fuyuki doesn't hate me."
"Fuyuki?Fuyuki hates you the most. He only puts up with you because you're an alien. Do you ever actually have anything in common? Anything Fuyuki really likes about you besides your race? He puts up with you. But he's tired. He hates you." The flyians mocked.
"That's not true!" Fuyuki was done with this. He jumped out from behind the tree. "How dare you say things about my feelings that aren't the least bit true, you're being way too cruel to him?" The fear was out of his eyes replaced by just anger.
But as he opened his mouth to yell those protests, the flyians acted. They swarmed the poor boy as he tried to yell, having predicted that it would get Fuyuki to reveal himself.
They didn't swarm around him. No, they did something much crueler. They flew down his throat the moment he opened his mouth to talk.
"ACK!" Fuyuki reached around his neck, trying to close his mouth, but the amount of flyians had pried it open. He couldn't close his mouth as the flyians closed off his airways from the inside. "H-help-!" Was the one thing he weakly managed to say, his eyes wide open and tears rolling down his face.
Keroro reached out to him, but his feet wouldn't move. He wouldn't move any closer out of fear. His legs were shaking as they dropped to the ground, his arm weakly holding itself out as if to reach for Fuyuki. "F-fuyuki! Fuyuki! FUYUKI!" He yelled. He was just too afraid to act.
What if I try to help him and fail anyway? What if they kill me for moving? All sorts of fears and anxieties floated around in Keroro's head. It froze him. What if I get Fuyuki and me killed? He shouldn't have tried to save the planet. He knew he couldn't have done any good. And now Fuyuki was getting hurt because of it.
He was afraid of dying. It wracked his whole body with intense paralysis and fear. But trying and failing also made him frightened. He couldn't get hurt if he never tried.
But Fuyuki was getting hurt now. And he didn't know what to do. He had to save his precious friend.
I have to save Fuyuki. No matter what. But...I'm not a fighter. I can't do anything to stop them. I don't have any skills. I'm just an idiot. He was a worthless idiot.
But that was when Keroro got an idea. He was just an idiot. His life wasn't worth as much as Fuyuki's. "Wait! Don't kill him!" Keroro paused. His whole body was shaking. "I'll make a bargain with you. A trade."
The flyians stopped buzzing. It managed to give Fuyuki enough air to at least breathe somewhat, although his body was now filled with flyians and it caused him to just looked like he was in a constant expression of screaming and agony.
"Oh? Have you figured out what we want? What are you willing to offer?" They asked Keroro.
"I have figured out what you want." Keroro nodded. "It's my death, isn't it?" Every time we meet they try to goad me into dying. Saying that I should die. I bet because I'm a keronian they're too afraid to kill me themselves so they want me to do it. "I'll give you my death if you promise that Fuyuki will be safe and you'll let him go."
Keroro didn't know if Fuyuki was trying to shake his head. All he saw was his friend crying.
"So...You do have some amount of intelligence in you. You do know what we want. Your blood. Yes. That is acceptable." They stopped chocking Fuyuki.
A few of the flyians flew out of Fuyuki's body and towards Fuyuki's pants. They took the belt around his pants, which was really the only rope in the area. Fuyuki and Keroro were vastly under prepared for fighting flyians so they didn't really have any weapons on them for killing.
The flyians put the belt on a branch and tied it into a noose. They then flew away so that Keroro could go up to it.
Keroro's legs were shaking. He didn't want to do this. But I've gotta save Fuyuki. His life is worth so much. I...I have no choice. He tried not to look at Fuyuki as he went to the noose about to put his head in it.
There was a sound from above. The loud sound of a helicopter.
That's odd. Why would a helicopter be in the sky. Oh well. Doesn't really matter. Keroro thought to himself.
Fuyuki tried to make a sound as if he was trying to say something. His focused on the helicopter desperately. He must have recognized it. "MMMK!" He was sobbing. But it looked oddly like it was a sob of relief.
"CANNON BALL!" A voice sounded from above.
Before anyone could move or predict anything, Tamama had jumped down onto the ground, making a large impact noise.
Momoka slid down a rope by his side, armed with a blaster on her back. "I heard from my satellites that Fuyuki was in danger! You flies-You don't deserve to live. You might be super powerful but you're not as powerful as a Nishizawa. And you made a mistake touching my man."
"We knew that we were supposed to split up and cover more ground, but we want to work together!" Tamama cried. "That and Momoka's senses said you were in trouble!" Tamama ran up to Keroro. "I don't know what's going on, but get away from that!"
"But...But I have to...I made a deal..." Keroro said weakly.
"Snap out of it, Mr. Sergeant!" Tamama didn't care if Keroro was seriously broken down or depressed, he was worried for him. He slapped away the belt from the branch and stomped on it.
"I….I have to save him though. But I can't in the end...I can't save anyone." Keroro whimpered. "I couldn't even move to save Fuyuki." He just looked at Tamama's feet, not even looking directly at him. "You're probably just an illusion sent by the flies or something to tell me how stupid I am. They really like beating me down. Proving to me how much of a failure I am."
"Illusion or not, I'm here now." Tamama grabbed Keroro's hands. "And you have saved people, Mr. Sergeant! You're my hero and you always will be. Don't let those mean flies beat you down. I don't know what lies they've been feeding you, but you're no failure. You've never been a failure to me."
Keroro looked up at Tamama in surprise. "But...But we haven't invaded Pekopon because of me. How can I be your hero?"
"We haven't invaded the planet because of all of us! We're all failures together. Have you seriously forgotten all the times that Giroro and Dororo screwed up our plans? Or my bad plans to change the water system into soda? Or how Kululu's only doing things for his own agenda? It's all our fault. Not just yours." Tamama lectured, holding Keroro's hands tightly. "We're all in this together. And I'm happy to be here with you."
"W-what? How can you be happy that you're on this planet? We...We were lied to Tamama. You were lied to. This wasn't an invasion at all!" Keroro reminded.
"I would have come even if I knew I was going to be bait." Tamama confessed. "I'd come as long as I got to be with you."
"You...You...Would?" Keroro was shocked, but for some reason he felt really happy at those words. "Why?"
"Long ago before Pekopon you saved me on my first mission. You saved my life. And I've never forgotten that. You made me feel like I was worth something to someone. You're my hero, Mr. Sergeant." Tamama confessed.
Keroro grabbed him and hugged him. He just started sobbing on his shoulder as Tamama pat his back.
"There, there." Tamama said.
The words that he was someone's hero got to him. It just let all the stress and self-doubt that was building up out. He just wanted to cry and be safe with someone he trusted. I don't...really remember saving him but...I like being consoled. Keroro realized. Just having someone reassure him helped.
He didn't know what Tamama was talking about, but right now he needed someone with him, someone to tell him he wasn't a failure and that this wasn't his fault and he was happy to be here. He needed someone to stop the guilt. And that person was Tamama.
Momoka didn't watch Tamama deal with Keroro. She had other things to worry about. "Fuyuki...I'm really sorry about this." She said softly.
Fuyuki looked confused. "Mmsddjsd?" He tried to ask 'sorry for what?'
Momoka punched him in the gut. Hard. Momoka's punches were pretty hard after all. She might be able to break iron.
A few of the flies flew out in a wave. Enough to give Fuyuki a little more air and let him cough. It was a pretty intense punch. Fuyuki's hands dropped from his neck and onto his belly.
"We aren't afraid of you, Nishizawa." They told her.
"I will squash every last one of you for harming, Fuyuki." Momoka threatened. All too late, as she hissed the flyians had their opportunity.
Her mouth was open. They flooded her body too, flying into her mouth just as they had done to Fuyuki. Momoka dropped to the ground and Fuyuki weakly grabbed her hand.
"Momocchi!" Tamama yelled.
The flyians forced Momoka to stand and turn, facing Keroro as if they held every aspect of her movement. "Now." They said as if Momoka was speaking, their body her host. "We order you to die or this one dies too, Sergeant Keroro."
Keroro paled, his knees shaking.
Tamama shook his head. "Fukki and Momocchi wouldn't want you to do this." He said. He felt Keroro's hand tighten around his own. "Those flies are disrupting the natural life cycle and they know it. If killing a keronian was this easy they'd have done it already..." There was a waver to his voice, almost like he was lying but trying to lie for Keroro's sake. "You're stronger than this, Mr. Sergeant." He said confidentially.
Keroro gripped Tamama's hand, holding it. He looked at Tamama for a moment. "You're...You're totally right." He looked at the flies in Momoka's mouth. "Why do you want to kill me so bad, anyway? You're not acting the same towards Tamama."
The flyians were silent.
Keroro let go of Tamama's hand. His knees were no longer shaking. Tamama's words had made him feel stronger. He was strong! Tamama believed in him.
He stepped forward.
The flyians started buzzing...or shaking? Some of them left Momoka and Fuyuki's bodies to flee, desperately. They were no longer acting together.
"You're afraid of me!" Keroro realized. He absentmindedly touched the sticker on his belly, the Keron Star. Is it because of this?
"N-no..." The flyians denied.
Keroro smiled. He walked forward. The flyians acted more and more scared the closer he got.
He might not have the Keron Star's power all of the time, but he had it some of the time. Did he even need it if they didn't know he couldn't control it? No, he just had to pretend.
He gave a sinister look and opened his mouth to say only one word. He was close to Fuyuki and Momoka now, but there was no more fear in his body, only confidence.
"Boo." He said.
All of the flyians fled in a panic. They swarmed out of Momoka and Fuyuki's mouths. It was like waves, but in seconds they were all gone, into the sky above.
Momoka and Fuyuki lay on the ground coughing and rubbing their necks. Fuyuki was shaking a considerable amount having had them in longer and just being more afraid of bugs in general.
Even after Momoka had stopped coughing, Fuyuki was gasping desperately for air. Momoka was trying to pat his back and rub it.
"Do you need some water to make sure they're all gone?" She asked.
Fuyuki shook his head. "Thanks...Thanks Momoka and Sarge." He thanked. "You saved me."
Keroro smiled. "It was nothin'." He played modest even though his knees were still shaking.
Tamama looked at the ground and rubbed his arm, blushing. "Ummm….Mr. Sergeant...I'm sorry for saying a bunch of sappy things. I was only trying to help. I don't know if it was uncalled for or if you're uncomfortable by you being my hero-" He was really red.
Keroro smiled. "It's fine. You sure snapped me out of that mess after all." He grinned, "That and we're even now, right? Because you just saved me too."
"So you mean it's okay to say sappy things like that about how much I appreciate and like you?" Tamama asked, wide-eyed.
"Of course! Why wouldn't I be okay with that?" Keroro asked. He loved his subordinates and friends praising him.
"If it's okay to say sappy things is it okay if I kiss you too?" Tamama asked, trying to be flirtatious.
"Um...What….? Did...Did you just say...Nah, I must have misheard." Keroro scratched his head, but looked skeptically at Tamama.
Tamama looked away. "What? No, I said nothing. You're definitely imagining me speaking. Because like I'm totally not gay and totally did not try to suggest kissing. It's all in your head, cuz that's totally not me suggesting weird things like that." Tamama was very bad at lying and pretending to be not gay.
Luckily enough Keroro bought it because he was totally dumb. "Yeah, I guess maybe I was imagining it. Weird. I don't know if I even heard properly what was said." Keroro just shrugged.
Tamama rubbed sweat off his head in relief.
Fuyuki finally got up. "I'm so glad to have you around, Momoka! Without you, Sarge and I would be dead meat."
"Well, we're here for you whenever you're in trouble." Momoka reassured.
"Wait, you're not going to leave are you?" Fuyuki asked, looking at the sky and where a helicopter could come from.
"Didn't Keroro want the platoon to split up and cover more ground? I want to stay with you, Fuyuki but I need to help Tamama." Momoka told him. "But if you wanted to whisk me away-"
"We're all really good friends. We should work together!" Fuyuki insisted. "Team up."
Momoka and Tamama looked at Keroro, it was up to him.
Keroro nodded. "I would love to have you. We need all the help we can get."
"Woo-hoo!" Tamama cheered.
"I hate those flies so much. I'm happy to have you around but it will be a lot nicer when those flies are gone." Fuyuki grimaced.
"So you'll be giving the flyians to Keron? Not your father?" Keroro asked.
Fuyuki nodded. "We need to trap them. After all dad said himself, us humans are their feeding source. I don't want them on Earth going down anyone else's throat." He shivered. That was a nasty feeling.
Keroro smiled. So Fuyuki was on board. But likely Haru never would be.
He had a good plan that he should have stuck to, use Haru to find the flyians. With Haru around the flies wouldn't hurt Fuyuki and now he knew one of their weaknesses.
He drifted to the back of the group while Momoka helped Fuyuki walk back home.
"Tamama..." Keroro didn't know how to ask this. "Is it okay to do bad things for good results?" Is it okay to use Fuyuki's Dad Haru even if it's for the good of the planet? Haru has feelings too and he cares about his friends. But the planet deserves to be saved. So does the good of saving the planet outweigh the bad of lying to Haru and using him as sort of a lure for the flyians? "Or is doing something bad going too far?"
Tamama thought for a moment thinking of his own plan to use a person as bait- although his plan was a tad bit more violent and had more risks than hurt feelings. "It's okay to do something bad for something really good." He finally said. "Why? Is there something on your mind. You know you can tell me."
"I...I don't have something on my mind." Keroro lied. "Just...An idea. A possible plan."
"What plan?" Tamama asked, secretly hoping it was the same one.
"I...I think I'll keep it a secret." Keroro decided. "It's best that only one person has to know." Using someone's friendship seemed very cruel to him, and he didn't know if he could actually fully go through with it.
He wanted to piggyback off of Haru and get to success but Fuyuki probably wouldn't think that was the right thing. And he had friends with him who could help him for real now. Did he really need to use Haru?
"I...I have a plan to, to get the flyians away." Tamama admitted. "I'll keep mine a surprise as well though!"
Keroro nodded.
And they both reflected on their plans- both to use someone else's friendship. Keroro wishing he didn't have to do such a thing.
I want to be a better person. He thought to himself. I don't want to be just an idiot anymore using others. He wanted to be good.
Tamama on the other hand didn't have those doubts. I'll do as many bad things as needed and dye my hands red if it means saving this planet and keeping Mr. Sergeant. If it's for Mr. Sergeant I'll do anything. He thought his morals were good, not realizing that they themselves were selfish.
The two of them very much were like mirrors of good and bad, one having no doubt and one having doubts and wanting to be better.
To get the flyians, how far would they go?
The monster mentioned by Keroro at Akina's really did turn into his dad. It was messed up. Why does nobody talk about it.