The Exile
"Kero!? What do you mean you can't find him?!"
"ku ku ku, he's gone out of my scope, he cannot be detected with my cameras"
"Uncle, we cannot find any trace of him even walking away yesterday!"
"WHAT?! That's impossible though right?!"
"Momo-chi said he didn't show up to his room last night either! Nor Yuki!"
"Sarge?
"AH! Fuyuki hahaha, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at school?"
"It's a study day, it's optional. What's going on here?"
"That guy is missing, ku ku ku"
"That guy?"
"Giroro has been missing since yesterday!"
"What?! B-but isn't his time almost up?! "
"That is correct. It seems he does not want to be found. "
"But then he'll disappear forever! Why would he choose to hide when he's so close?"
"His desires and the consequences of them have caught up…he feels overwhelming guilt for the death of Aylin last night, and the attacks on Natsumi" Dororo explained to the boy.
"But he couldn't of known any of that would happen! IT's not his fault!"
"Fuyuki…it's not that simple to him"
"Sarge, we've got to find him! He needs to come back in time, Natsumi will—"
A loud alarm sounded off, causing everyone to panic.
"Kururu what's going on?"
"It seems we've spotted Yuki on the outskirts of the forests"
"Maybe Giroro is with her!" Tamama offered.
"Alright platoon, we need to head out before she is gone! Fuyuki, please rest assured"
"Bring him back sarge! And be careful!….Natsumi…." he whispered his sister's name, looking up to there room.
In her room, Natsumi kept the lights off and the blinds closed, living in the dark. She hugged a pillow close to her chest as she sat on her bed . Her eyes stared at a piece of paper lying on her bed. It was addressed to her from Aylin. It was the last note from him that she found in his dust.
—
Yuki sat under two large trees, still in her true form. She stared at the ground, her knees pulled to her face. The sound of Keroro's hover board alerted her of his entrance.
"Yuki! Thank goodness we found you!"
"Go away…." she muttered.
" Miss Yuki, please hear us out"
"Keroro…" Dororo spoke, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. He walked over to Yuki, pulling out the jar of Aylin's ashes and handing it to the sad girl. She stared at it sadly, tears forming in her eyes. Taking it gently, she hugged it to her being, cherishing it.
Keroro and Tamama began digging a hole, surprising Yuki momentarily. She stared longingly at the ashes, not wanting to let them go. Taking a deep breathe, she took of the lid and slowly poured the dust into the hole, burying it shortly after. Dororo walked over, placing a flower he picked on the grave and began praying silently.
"Good bye…Aylin…my love…" Yuki whispered, letting her tears fall onto the mound of dirt.
"Miss Yuki…?"
"Yes, Keroro?" she asked, wiping away her tears.
"Will you aid us one last time?"
"Yes…what is your request?"
"It's Giroro…we can't find him"
"I'm not surprised…he's hidden himself somewhere you wouldn't look"
"Could you help us find him?"
"Yes…but I cannot let you find him…he has chosen to remain hidden"
"B-but he's only got two days left! "
"I am very aware….but this is his choice…he…has given up entirely and plans to wait it out" she revealed, rubbing her arm gently at the information.
"Kero! That is not acceptable!"
"Keroro?"
"I am his leader and he is apart of my platoon! He is one of my childhood friends and I cannot allow this behavior from him! "
At his honest confession, she couldn't help but smile. "Yes…I might not be able to allow you to know where he is, but I may be able to encourage him to leave to somewhere else for the time being"
"Then we can try and convince him to keep going! "
"I feel like Fuyuki would be more than suited for that"
"Fuyuki? "
She pointed to a tree behind the group of aliens. Using her powers, she pulled the black haired boy from his hiding spot.
"Haha…hi.." he replied meekly.
"Fuyuki! You followed us?!"
"Sorry Sarge…but I needed to come too…Giroro is my friend too, and he's my sister's friend"
"Yes…I feel if anyone can get through to him, it would be you, Fuyuki. After all, you know Natsumi's choice as well as I do"
"Yes, I do. She's not in any mood to talk though.."
"I understand, though I might persuade her as well"
"We shouldn't be wasting time here chatting! We need to get Giroro out of his slump!"
"Yuki, can you take us somewhere you think he might go to?" Tamama asked.
Her gaze fell on the fresh grave once more. A smile echoed onto her face. Turning back to the team, she smirked, ready to throw out the rules that bonded her for years. "You know what….why don't I take you outside of where he is, and you can find him."
"Thank you miss yuki!"
"Thank you so much!"
Who cares about he rules now…right Aylin?
—
In the abandoned strip, Giroro awoke in the toy shop to the sounds of his friends wandering around and calling his name. He refused to make himself known to them, wanting nothing but to be alone.
"Giroro? Where are you?"
"Corporal!"
"Giroro!"
While the frogs searched and called for him, Fuyuki silently looked around the places Giroro would choose to hide in.
Overlooking everyone, Yuki closed her eyes and focused her energy. Quietly, she teleported herself to Giroro's location.
"Why did you bring them here…" he asked, staring at ultimately nothing in particular.
"They don't know where you are entirely…I'm letting them search. Loopholes."
"Leave me…I've already made my choice…"
"You're being selfish again then, you haven't even heard Natsumi's choice. OR Fuyuki's, or Keroro's, or Tamama's or—"
"I don't care…i've done enough…." he glared.
"You haven't done what you set out to do. "
"Aylin is dead because of me…." he reminded, staring up at her.
"….Aylin is dead, yes….but not because of you….it was Karis."
"And I decided to let him free…"
"You didn't know…I didn't know…Aylin did what he did because he saw it…."
"He said Natsumi would die…not him…"
"Don't you see? He was right….he figured out his premonition…he took Natsumi's place in that last moment, he made the future he saw true….he set us up from the start…we must of played along perfectly as he riled us up…"
"And now he's dead because of it….If I hadn't of decided to let them all lose—"
"I would not have seen Aylin again…I would not have known that those that control me, had betrayed me…I would not have awakened to my new choices….."
"And what are those?"
"To do as I please. I'm sick of this job…this curse…I want nothing more than to see you pull through this, and for you to be the last that has to endure this…I'm sick of these rules and being controlled….why should being in love lead to so much pain?"
He looked away, contemplating what she was saying.
"Giroro…let me help you, let me make your dreams come true…make my dreams come true"
Giroro revealed his belt at that time, unclipping the latch to reveal a picture of Natsumi. He stared at it, sadly and longingly.
"I was never sure of my feelings….between the invasion and Natsumi….I came to this planet with a mission….I was so sure of it…I was gong to make my brother and father proud…I was going to come back a hero….then…when I got here…we had our first encounter and…I lost against her…I had never met someone as strong as her….then….it all went down from there….she was everywhere…stopping us, stopping me….I began thinking it was merely a crush that would just get in the way sometimes….something that would pass….but then she started being kind…and then…I realized i didn't just like her…I was in love with her….whenever she was in trouble…I had to be there…whenever she was sad..I needed to be there…when she was happy…I wanted nothing more than to be there….it got to the point where almost every night we'd share roasted sweet potatoes and watch the stars or talk….the more we did that…the more I loved her and the less I cared about invading…." he paused, smiling at the picture. "I want nothing more than to be with her…." he frowned now, closing the latch and dropping his belt. " but now….I'd rather disappear than see the look on her face when she finds out what I've done and why…."
"I understand how you feel….I did some horrible stuff in my life….and when I stopped doing my job, I was punished….and so was Aylin….I tore myself up about it for 20 years now…but somehow, he still found his way back to me…he did everything he could to come back to me even though I did all of this…knowing Aylin…he's already told Natsumi what's going on…."
"What?" he looked up, worry spreading on his face. "She…knows?"
"I assume so…he was very adamant about leaving her messages …he appears to have left her one final one…it answered a lot of what she wanted to know and more…"
He could only see the love of his life, angrily tearing at the note, tossing it to the side. He expected nothing more than rage and betrayal from her. He wouldn't be too surprised if she had already uprooted his tent and tossed it aside. With every thought, his demeanor grew worse and worse.
" Don't think like that….she is upset that she was lied to, that is obvious…but, i feel something more there….so…if you still feel the need to hide in here….so be it….but know….you might still have a chance… I hope you'll see things my way, Giroro."
The lone soldier watched her leave before picking up his belt again, opening the latch to reveal his treasured possession. He stared at it for what seemed like hours. The one thing he wanted, yet he was still so far.
—
"I can't find him anywhere!
"He's not over here!"
"Oh, everyone, it seems he decided to hide out somewhere new. He's left this place" Yuki announced, faking a sigh.
"How did he get past all of us?! "
"He's amazing at hide and seek!"
While Yuki distracted the frogs, Fuyuki slipped into the toy shop, picking up the discarded belt with his sister's picture. Giroro was gone, but his belt remained.
"Fuyuki! Let's get out of here! " Keroro called.
"Oh, coming Sarge!" he called back, stashing the belt. Before leaving, he stopped in the opening. "I hope you change your mind, Giroro" he whispered before leaving and reuniting with his friends.
I hope you decide to face your fears….Yuki thought to herself, watching as Fuyuki stumbled back over to them.
—
Clutching the belt, Fuyuki knocked on Natsumi's door. When he didn't receive an answer, he let himself in, finding the room to be empty. Walking inside, his foot crunched over a note. Picking it up, he read the message left for him by his sister.
"Fuyuki….I'm so confused right now…I need some time alone and I don't know when I'll be back.
-Summer"
Sighing, the boy placed the belt on her bed with the note before closing the door and leaving. Yuki met him in the hallway.
"Fuyuki?"
"Natsumi went out somewhere, she wanted to be alone…I hope she's safe"
Closing her eyes, the alien focused on Natsumi's life force. Smiling, she opened her eyes. "She's safe and not too far"
"That's good…Yuki, do you think they'll actually go through with it? "
"For Giroro's sake, I hope so…." she sighed.
"Are you alright?"
"I cannot say that I am 100%,but I can manage…I have a new goal set for me after this last mission…I plan to take back my planet and bring freedom to lovers that have been trapped out of anger….I want Aylin's sacrifice to mean something…"
"Well to me…he saved my sister, so I appreciate what he did" the kind boy replied, placing his hand over hers.
"Yes, he truly had a great heart…" she smiled back at the boy.
"Um, I hope I'm not intruding"
"Sarge? What's wrong?"
"Giroro has sent us a transmission message"
"Oh! Well we should go see what it is then! Come on Yuki!"
"Right.."
—-
With his hoodie pulled up, Giroro wandered the town, walking away for the last time. As he walked, his message played back in the base.
"I don't know how far I'll be when you've received this…but I've made my choice. Yuki, your words did not fall on deaf ears….but I don't see Natsumi and I managing our differences…or what I've done these past two weeks….
What you and Aylin had…I could never have because you two already shared a love for each other long before. Knowing Natsumi and if she knows about my secret now…she's probably very confused…."
Natsumi wandered the town, lost in her thoughts. She watched happy children and families run by. Cute couples sharing ice creams and laughs. Her own heart ached, wanting nothing more than to be happy like they were. Shaking off the feeling, she continued walking, searching for something she wasn't sure of.
"And I don't blame her…I lied and I can't do anything to fix that…she might of fell in love with what I'm not…but she could never fall in love with the real me…I'm an invader after all, we're two different species…even if I stay in this form for her…she could never forget our differences…and neither could I….I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused everyone…and I'm sorry to you, Yuki for your loss….
I know I can't win this…so I'll see you tomorrow at the strike of 10 when my counter is gone….I can't say I'm looking forward to it…especially being trapped with Karis….but…if that's my fate…then so be it…"
Giroro stopped in his tracks, looking ahead to see Natsumi staring at him in surprise. The two trapped each other in their gaze. Neither of them moved and neither of them spoke. Natsumi's eyes searched for clarification on who he truly was. Her heart knew the truth, but her mind couldn't process it being true. Giroro watched her, knowing he was being given one last chance to finish what he started. The pain in his chest burned, wanting to express its love and devotion to the girl in front of him.
"I can't bring myself to face Natsumi again after all of this…please…let her know…that I love her and that I never meant for my selfishness to hurt her"
He searched in her eyes for love and forgiveness. He couldn't find it. Only confusion and betrayal. He knew his choice now. Without a word, he walked past the girl, shocking her. Turning, she watched him go, never turning or stopping from his path. Their hearts burned, hurting more and more the farther apart they were. Natsumi could feel her eyes burning as tears pushed their way out.
"Goodbye my friends…I will miss you…
Giroro"