Okay, here's the next chapter. Uhhh...Sex scene at the beginning so if you're reading an M rated story for some reason without being okay with sex scenes, but skip a bit.
I added a little bit from my original chapter plan to make it connect better to the last chapter.
Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: Still own nothing.
"Sometimes if you help someone and fail, you have to try again." - Koyuki
"Ahhh.~" The Lord of the Underworld let Kululu kiss and suck on her neck, slightly unsure of what was going on. She had just awoken from a nap, leaving her room to roam around the Underworld and make sure everything was working correctly, when Kululu had practically jumped on her, his whole body filled with deep arousal.
"Don't worry, I'm here,~" Kululu reassured her, touching her in all the ways he knew she liked. She melted from his touch, as always. Millions and millions of years together had made him quite familiar with her body. Kululu pulled his face up to her lips, kissing her deeply and slipping his tongue into her mouth before she could speak.
Did he forget that I'm mad at him? Why's he suddenly all over me? Did... Did I make him go without for too long? I thought it would only cause him minor pain, not put him back into a sex craze, the Lord thought to herself.
"Kululu." The Lord pulled her mouth away from his with immense willpower. "What's this about?" She wanted an explanation. Why did he suddenly think everything was okay between them?
"I want you," Kululu spoke with utmost seriousness. His arm snaked around her waist, somehow, as he squirmed downward, kissing almost every piece of her skin. "My terror princess.~"
Kululu never spoke her name. The Lord knew it was because he didn't know it. She was convinced he somehow thought that she was never given a name, since the subject had never graced their conversations. However, he did have a variety of pet names for her which he only said when they were alone. She couldn't say that she didn't like them; she was actually quite fond of all of them.
"Please.~" He kissed her neck again, awaiting for permission.
Ah. That's the reason. He never begs unless he's really aroused. I wonder what put him in this state? The Lord didn't know, but she decided it was best not to pry. She didn't want to ruin the moment. After all, she missed him, too.
"Yes," she conceded, letting Kululu discard the clothing that was no longer necessary to her.
The two of them were now tightly embraced, their skin against each other as if it was trying to be one, both of their breathing incredibly heavy as they worked toward a common goal. Kululu moved against her with great expertise, hitting almost every angle of where she liked.
Every sound the Lord of the Underworld made with each of his thrusts seemed to turn the Sin on even more, desperately clinging and grabbing to her, pushing her against the thick Underworld wall, as if trying to get farther inside her.
"Ah!" The Lord moaned again as Kululu licked her breast, his mouth snaking around her almost as much as the rest of his body.
He wasn't the Sin of Lust for nothing. He was quite lustful, and after a week without any sex, he was at his peak of desire, desperate and incredibly needy, his movements fast but passionate, needing to feel every inch of her.
"Kululu.~" The Lord moaned again, her own desire surprising her as well. She had thought she couldn't feel any emotion, besides the few that she had figured out she had been given, such as betrayal. The demon who took her heart had been cruel, giving her a few miserable emotions instead of leaving her with nothing. She honestly would rather have nothing than be able to feel only sorrow. It had taken a fair amount of practice to be able to make the proper facial expressions in response to words that others were supposed to feel happy about; however, when it came to sex she was surprised by how much she felt.
I suppose we're the same. We can't feel anything besides the lust we feel for each other. The Lord bent down to kiss Kululu, letting his hands swiftly run through her hair and his tongue devour the inside of her mouth.
Kissing him erased the thoughts previously in her mind, all but one, which drifted up to the top of her mind and reminded her of his previous betrayal.
"Kululu..." She moaned, detaching their mouths again to speak, not even taking her hands off of his back wipe off the string of saliva from both their mouths. "What about Aki? Are you truly done with your disloyalty?" she asked.
She doubted he'd give her reassurance, but she wanted it anyway. Perhaps he'd be so turned on that he'd give her a white lie?
"Don't worry, my darling.~" Kululu kissed her lower rib, sucking gently at the skin.
"Ahhh.~" The Lord moaned, bending backwards as Kululu thrusted inside her again. She reminded herself not to be distracted by his intense pleasure. "Are you done with her - " She barely choked the words out.
"I left her back in a room over by the throne room, strapped down to the table. It doesn't matter, I'm here now,~" he foolishly admitted, his lust-filled daze keeping his mind from thinking straight.
The Lord promptly detached their bodies, pushed him away from her, and stood up abruptly.
"She's here? In the Underworld? You were just seeing her...?" The Lord knew Kululu and knew how incredibly kinky it sounded, Aki being strapped to a table.
"Ku, ku, ku... I left before finishing up to see you, though, so it's all good."
The Lord slapped him, took her clothes and left.
"Wait! Where are you going? Aren't we going to finish up?" Kululu asked as she strolled off, not even glancing at him in disappointment that their activity had ended.
"No. I have a Virtue to deal with," the Lord spoke in a murderous voice, and walked off. Kululu was left to his pain and confusion, wondering what he did wrong.
"Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned Aki..." he decided.
She entered the torture room, not even batting an eyelash at the utensils around her. She didn't know why Aki had agreed to screw in such a place, but she knew it would probably be the woman's demise.
However, the table Kululu had said he left Aki on was bare, the straps open but looking as if they had been recently used.
"She escaped," the Lord observed. "And I doubt she could have done so on her own." One of the Sins had helped her. It had to be.
And if it had been Kululu as she suspected, well... "You could say, all of Hell will pay," she uttered to herself.
The Lord of the Underworld sat down in her throne, her legs crossed and looking at the three Sins in front of her with an almost distrustful glare. She scanned between them all, as if she was looking for a guilty party amongst a line of suspects.
She had called a meeting after discovering Aki's disappearance.
"Why did she call us all here...?" Keroro whispered to the other two Sins, all three of them sitting on the ground, fear in their hearts for what the Lord's orders - or punishment - would be for whatever she was mad about.
Kululu, by his sisde, rubbed his cheek. "I accidentally let it slip about Aki getting in here," he admitted.
"Well?" the Lord finally spoke with Kululu's confession. "Where did she go? I want a full synopsis of what happened while I slept," she ordered. "And where is Giroro? He's not one to be late, usually."
The Sins glanced amongst each other, wondering how to break the news to the Lord.
"Ku, ku, ku. As you know, I do not know where Aki went. I left her strapped to the table, so I thought she'd just be good and stay there!" Kululu reminded her.
"That doesn't sound like something that would happen," Tamama laughed. "I wanna know what's going on, too! Pay attention to me! I'm important!" He bounced up and down. It was clear he was the only innocent one among the Sins, not knowing about the Aki business.
The Lord looked back at Kululu, trusting him the least.
Keroro tried to look calm and not guilty.
"I do not have the perpetrator, but I do know some information. That will help me devise a punishment," the Lord spoke calmly. "Kululu, you let the Virtue of Diligence in here with the intent of disobeying your vows, and once again tried to sleep with a Virtue. For that, your punishment shall be - " The Lord was cut off as Kululu stood up.
"That is not true," he insisted. "I didn't let Aki in here! She got in here on her own with the intent to 'convert me out of being a Sin.' Can you believe that? It was so annoying. Ku, ku, ku."
The Lord opened her mouth, but then closed it, listening to Kululu's words.
"She... said some certain things that I shall not repeat, them being too horrendous and untrue to be put in words - " Kululu looked as if he was filled with anger, remembering what Aki had said. The Lord nodded at him to continue his story. "So I decided to kill that bitch. You misunderstood me when I said I left her on the table. I had other duties to do as a loyal Sin, so I was sadly unable to complete it, and now she's gone." Kululu finished his story. "I was going to offer for you to help me with her when we were done, but I guess that's no longer an option, Ku, ku, ku!" His whole body was shaking in rage.
"Kululu..." The Lord was quiet for a moment. "You seem different... More... angry. What's wrong?"
He shrugged. "I gained Wrath as a Sin when Giroro flew the coop and left.".
"Really?" Tamama asked, but was quickly cut off by the Lord.
"Giroro left?!" The Lord stood up, her eyes not hiding her anger, nor her intent to punish. "Why did nobody tell me this sooner?"
Keroro and Tamama both jumped back, knowing that when somebody did directly disobey the Lord or that things didn't go her way, only terror was awaiting the perpetrator. The Lord didn't have mercy in her; she was the Lord of the Underworld. And as Sins, worse things than death awaited in their torturous punishment.
"H-he..." Keroro took it upon himself to speak. "He did leave. He left the Underworld... I didn't know Kululu would gain his Sin after he left, though..."
"Course I did; I'm the original Sin. Ku ku ku. It was Aki's biggest mistake walking in here when I no longer had the patience to deal with her," said Kululu.
"Why did Giroro leave? He knows what awaits him is my revenge. He was so loyal. He never questioned orders," the Lord thought aloud. "Perhaps it was because he was brainless."
"He... fell in love," Keroro told her. "With Natsumi Hinata of all people! You know, the mortal girl we sent Zoruru to kill?"
"Oh." Oddly, the Lord didn't seem too surprised. "I suppose I should have expected that," she spoke. "Things are repeating... I didn't believe fate was on anyone's side in this world, but it seems for her, it was."
"What do you mean?" Kululu asked.
"He was always a fool. It's only fate that he would become a desperate lovesick fool again. Nothing I could have done would have changed that. He will be punished for his disobedience, but it was to be expected him leaving," said the Lord. "He was destined to fall in love with Natsumi Hinata, after all."
None of the Sins really understood.
"Ku ku ku... Weird," Kululu spoke up. "It came out of nowhere, him liking Natsumi. I mean, I suppose he spoke to me about her for a moment - " Dread filled Kululu's face. "Must be just a coincidence," he brushed off. "I wasn't wrong. Can't be."
"Do you think love can change someone?" Tamama asked. "Like, do you think love would get the rest of us to stop being Sins?" His eyes were large, almost hopeful. I like being a Sin. I really do. I hate being ruled by that woman, though, and if Mr. Keroro left the Underworld with me and we ran off together, it would be like a dream come true! Tens of thousands of years, he had waited for Keroro to notice him and love him. He was still waiting. Keroro didn't seem to pick up on any of Tamama's very obvious clues at all.
"No. Not for any of you," the Lord answered. "None of you will feel the phenomenon of love. It didn't happen before... I think." The Lord glanced at Tamama, not quiet sure. "Whatever the case, fate is not shining down upon you three."
Keroro, Tamama and Kululu sat there, absorbing the words.
"Good. Ku, ku, ku," Kululu answered. Keroro and Tamama felt the words were more of a downer than Kululu.
"Now. I want you three to try to figure out which one of you is the one who freed Aki. It'll be much easier on you than me suspecting you. I can assure you that will not be good for you. I must leave and consider how to pay Giroro a visit and punish him. Leaving the Underworld isn't that easy." The Lord turned around to go to somewhere else.
"Wait!" Keroro yelled. He didn't want the Lord to be constantly suspecting one of them. He needed to distract her with something else, another purpose.
I've been doing pretty well with manipulation today. Maybe it will work again? he hoped. "Shouldn't we be focusing on something else?" he asked. "I mean... Um... I don't really want to focus on anything, because you know, I'm Sloth, but..." He had to keep them not suspicious, reminding them of who he was. "But without Giroro, aren't we at a disadvantage against the Heavens? There's three of us instead of four! We should focus on restrategizing and - " Keroro was cut off, by a low laugh, coming from the Lord herself.
It sounded like something evil, not amused, or like something horribly fake.
"We're at no disadvantage," she assured him.
"Yeah, ku, ku, ku! We're the Underworld, we're stronger than them," Kululu boasted.
"No, I mean, I know you think we're stronger, but we're not actually. We're equal, after all - like a coin, almost - or night and day. We're just on one side of it," Keroro tried to remind them. The Lord shook her head.
"You are wrong," she told him. "There's no reason to be worried." She didn't pat Keroro's head, instead just laughed again.
The laugh made Keroro cold, as if it was filled with the winter, and froze his heart and mind. He rubbed his arms, as if trying to keep warm and safe, despite the flames flickering everywhere. That laugh made it sound like she was going to murder somebody.
"The heavens are just my plaything. What do you think came first, after all?" The Lord laughed again and left Keroro alone.
He watched her go on that note, unsure of what she meant. Did the two worlds, the Underworld and the Heavens, not come to be at the same time? Was their equality an illusion?
The Lord sure made it sound like that.
Kululu didn't follow after the Lord to try to smooth things over between them or try to reestablish his innocence. Instead he stayed behind in the throne room and glared at the other two Sins.
"I know which of you freed Aki.~ Ku, ku, ku," he laughed. Keroro froze, trying not to make his fear known.
I knew helping someone would just be bad for me in the long run! he thought.
"If you knew, why didn't you tell the Lord?" he asked, trying to keep out any stutter from his voice.
"Aki was supposed to be like a gift... You know, something to smooth things over? Although that failed, she is still my responsibility, and... ku ku ku... I'd like to be able to calm my rage in at least some way," Kululu laughed.
Maybe it isn't the Lord I should be frightened of, Keroro thought, shivering. Kululu had always been a jerk, but this violence... in Kululu's hands... could be even more dangerous than Giroro was.
"Well, maybe you have things wrong! Maybe she wandered out on her own!" Keroro tried to lie, to make Kululu think he was innocent. Please let me live through this, he begged no one in particular.
"Oh, shut up, Sloth, I know it wasn't you," Kululu growled at him.
"Whaaat?" Keroro asked. It had obviously been him. Kululu had pretty much left Keroro with Aki; it could have only been Keroro.
"You're too lazy to help someone. So it couldn't be you. That means it must have been Tamama. Ku ku ku. And I know why." Kululu pressed a button on a new contraption and a cage rose around Tamama, trapping him.
"What? Why would I free a Virtue?" said Tamama. "Do you think I'd be jealous of you and Aki together or something? Ew, ew, ew! No, I don't like you," he pointed out.
"You don't, but you are jealous of the Lord herself, how much power she has here? How she's able to control each of us, including him...?" Kululu pointed to Keroro. "You're jealous of how perfect she is. How she has everything and you have nothing, even after thousands and thousands of years," he rubbed in.
Tamama growled. He didn't deny he was jealous. "What does this have to do with anything?"
"You freed Aki to get us in a fight. So that I didn't have proof that I was trying to murder her, and so that the Lord would go back to distrusting me. Admirable - you tried to hurt both of us. I would probably do something similar if I didn't like you, but you'll soon regret it. Ku, ku, ku!"
Tamama tried to get free from his cage. "You know, Kululu, not everything is about you."
Kululu's jaw dropped open.
"You did not just say that, to me, Sin of Pride." Kululu's glasses shined in scheming and anger. "Ku ku ku."
"What are you going to do about it? I'm another Sin, so we're not in battle. And I did nothing wrong. I didn't free Aki!" He tried to claim his innocence.
"Sure you didn't. Ku, ku, ku." Kululu didn't believe him. "What am I going to do with you, you ask? Well, I have a nice torture room that's missing a subject thanks to you..."
"I haven't done anything wrong, though!" he pointed out.
Keroro watched from the background, Kululu ignoring him now in favor of Tamama. He's getting blamed for my mistakes... He realized Tamama was going to be in great trouble for what he did.
Everything in him told him to do nothing, though. He was safer not speaking up, and he was Sloth. His whole body was fighting him, telling him to do nothing it being much easier.
He tried to calm himself. He'll be fine. He's not going to die, after all.
"And now that I know that when a Sin leaves I gain their Sin, it'll be much better if I just kill you now for going against me. After all, I'll gain all your Sins and get even more powerful. There's no loss; the Underworld doesn't need you. We never did, ku, ku, ku," Kululu hissed.
"Kill me? You're going to kill me?" Tamama could feel Kululu's rage. There was no stopping it.
"Wait, what? You can't kill Tamama!" Keroro yelled, drawing attention to himself.
"Hmm? Why not? I'm sure the Lord would want to if I told her he supported Aki and me," Kululu pointed out. "Be careful, Sloth, or else I might try to kill you, too. But it's not like you'll try to stand up to me. You never try to stand up for anything."
"Well, maybe this is when I decide against that!" Keroro used all his willpower and strength to fight himself, his own Sin, which was a much bigger threat than Kululu ever could be. He needed to help Tamama.
"How interesting... Ku, ku, ku. Not really! If you wanted to die for something you believe in, Tamama's life shouldn't be that," said Kululu.
"He..." Keroro took a deep breath. "He didn't do it." I wanted to not be found out, but perhaps it would be better if I was. "I did."
"Ku, ku, ku. That's laughable." Kululu didn't believe him. He walked closer to the cage to examine Tamama within. "I wonder if I should cut off that tadpole tail of yours?"
"I did it! Why won't you believe me? I freed Aki!" Keroro desperately yelled.
"You didn't. You wouldn't. You're too lazy to do anything. Except I guess stick up for your boyfriend. Which is weird since you've never stuck up for yourself, even when the Lord is picking on you. Ku, ku, ku," Kululu told him.
"No, I really freed her. I didn't want to see her die. I don't want to see anyone die, because I'm a weak Sin," Keroro admitted, desperately rambling to gain Kululu's attention. "I even... manipulated you to leave her. I lied that the Lord wanted you. She would never say something like that. I manipulated you and you fell for it." Keroro knew that would gain Kululu's attention.
Kululu flew at him almost immediately, his hand reaching for Keroro's neck.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY." The mixture of wrath and hurt pride in Kululu was a nightmare. His hand dug into Keroro's neck.
"Y-you... failed..." Keroro croaked out.
"I think I put the wrong person in the cage then... Ku, ku, ku..." Kululu pressed a button, letting Tamama out of the cage.
"Mr. Keroro!" Tamama called out. Keroro desperately tried to raise a hand for him to not get any closer.
"I-I'm not letting you take the blame for what I did. It's my crime. Mine." Keroro tried to think of what he did in a materialistic way. It gave his Greed power, just enough power to let him move his leg.
He raised it up and kicked Kululu in the crotch.
"OW!" Kululu took his hand off Keroro's neck as his knees bent and he fell to the ground. Keroro glanced at Tamama.
"Mr. Keroro..." Tamama reached out to him.
"Sorry, I have to go now," Keroro told him, rushing towards the door that was the exit of the Underworld. He had to run away now that Kululu knew what he did and he had ignited his rage. Kululu would hopefully be only mad at him, now that he had proved himself the one wrong, but he needed to run and hide while his rage blew over, and until he was safe.
"No! Don't leave me!" Tamama called, trying to run toward him.
"Ku, ku, ku... You can run, but you can't hide... And knowing you, Sloth, you'll only be able to hide, since running takes too much work," Kululu groaned from the ground.
"I'm sorry," Keroro mouthed to Tamama, closing the door behind him.
"He probably isn't coming back. Ku, ku, ku. He's too afraid," Kululu said, just to hurt Tamama.
Tamama dropped to the ground and cried. "It's not fair! I went to the Underworld just for him and now he's leaving..." Tamama stopped crying only to tear at the walls in a blind rage. "This doesn't happen to other couples! Giroro left here for Natsumi, but Mr. Keroro leaves for his own life! This isn't fair..." he cried again, "I love him, yet he's never once cared about anyone but himself and his toys."
"Yep. True," Kululu responded, helping Tamama to feel miserable.
"I'm not going to sleep with you or anything just because I'm feeling terrible, you know," he pointed out, wiping at his eyes as he tried to figure out what Kululu was up to.
"I don't want to sleep with you. If I did, then the Lord would kill us both and then either all the Sins would be gone or go to Keroro, and he doesn't deserve this power. Ku, ku, ku. I just want to feel your rage and misery," Kululu admitted.
Tamama cried again. "My rage goes with Envy. It's my power, not yours."
"Maybe. I'm not going to kill you, I suppose, since it was his fault, but maybe that power will be mine someday. Ku, ku, ku. I can always hope," he told the other Sin.
"What if you don't find Mr. Keroro? What if he hides and is safe?" Tamama asked.
"Then I'll lure him out by killing you - killing two birds with one stone. Oh wait, you aren't birds, you're Sins. Ku, ku, ku. My mistake," he laughed.
Tamama shook his head frantically, not wanting to be killed.
"To be fair, it would probably be the most attention Keroro gives you... In death."
Tamama started sobbing at Kululu's words.
"The love you sought with him won't happen. I'm surprised it's taken you so long to lose hope. Interesting to watch, though. You're nothing like two lovers; he feels nothing for you." Kululu tried to get up, and he waved. "Anyway, toodles. I need to heal up and hunt me a Sin."
He left Tamama to cry. It was true. Tamama had lost hope. He was surprised it had taken him so long.
Where can I hide? Keroro wondered. He then remembered what Aki had told him. The Heavens wanted to speak with him, or at least someone in the Heavens.
He hadn't originally planned to go up to the Heavens, it being too much work, but now he was out of options.
It would probably be safe, at least for a moment. And he could hear what they wanted to talk to him about.
He brought his body up to the Heavens, climbing a staircase of light. Knocking on their golden gate, he waited awkwardly.
A Pekoponian boy opened the gate.
"You're here! It didn't look like you were coming, but... I believed you would!" the boy smiled, his optimism shining.
So this is what the virtues are like... Must be nice... Keroro thought, admiring the boy's optimistic spirit. Maybe in another life, him and I could have been friends, he thought, but then shook himself free of those such thoughts. No sort of life would make them friends. After all, Keroro would never be a Virtue; he was much too Sinful. The boy and he were meant to be enemies. Keroro would never be on the good side, always the evil one.
"Look, I know you wanted to talk, but I honestly came here to hide - " Keroro was cut off as the boy grabbed his hand.
"Okay!" He didn't even question it. "My name is Fuyuki, by the way. You don't need to refer to me by my Virtue titles."
He seems way to friendly... Keroro thought. "Fuyuki, huh?" he asked, "Might I ask why you're being so friendly?"
Fuyuki bit his lip. "I... I've been to the Underworld before... And I saw you - well - you didn't see me, but I saw you."
"You managed to sneak into the Underworld? And nobody noticed you?!" said Keroro.
"Well, Giroro did. And that Lord girl, does she have a name? I don't really like referring to her as the Lord..." Fuyuki admitted.
"You know... I don't actually know!" he realized. "I've never once asked." He tapped his finger on his chin. "I though 'Lord' was her name." He was having an external crisis in trying to comprehend that it might not be.
"Our Heavenly King has a name... It's Dororo, but you know, that's just our - " Fuyuki compared information.
"Names aren't important!" Keroro declared. "Why didn't we realize you were in the Underworld?"
"I don't know. Don't know why your Lord didn't tell you. Maybe it's because she let me go?" he said.
Hypocrite! She was ready to horribly punish one of us for letting a Virtue go! Keroro remembered. He didn't know why she let Fuyuki go. What was her agenda?
"Anyway, I saw you in the Underworld, and you weren't doing anything evil; you were just sort of playing with... were they called Gundam models?"
"Yeah. They existed back when I was a mortal. I liked them so much that I made sure to duplicate them and make some of my Scavengers actually have the power to make them! Cool, isn't it? Well, I mean kind of weird... The other Sins think it's weird..." he admitted.
"I don't!" Fuyuki clasped the green frog's hand. "In fact, when I was a kid, my dad loved adventure. He once came back from an adventure with an actual toy for me, which was rare, since everything precious was stolen by the Scavengers. That toy was a Gundam model which I built... It eventually broke, but the memory and the toy was precious to me. It was the first toy I ever played with... And the last," he told him. "That's why, when I saw you playing with the same toy instead of doing what I thought you would be, scheming about destroying the Heavens or doing something evil, I decided I wanted to be friends with you, Keroro."
Keroro blushed.
"I-I'm sorry... I don't think that's a good idea. I mean, we're enemies, and I just met you..." Keroro didn't know this was what the Virtues wanted to talk to him about. They're nice people... I guess that's why they're Virtues.
"Friendship can transcend boundaries and battle," Fuyuki insisted. "And don't you feel like this is kind of fate? I feel we're just destined to be friends!"
"But..." Keroro didn't know what to say. Didn't the Lord say something about fate today? About Giroro being fated to love Natsumi? Is it the same with me and Fuyuki? Does that mean I'll somehow turn my back on the Underworld, too, because of that fate?
"I don't have many friends. I mean, I have all the people in the Heavenly Court, but I never got to know many people besides my sister when I was alive..." he said. "What about you? Do you have any friends?"
"I... I had a friend when I was alive," Keroro admitted, remembering briefly a blue Keronian who he had used constantly. Nobody else could see that Keronian, though. He assumed it was a stress-induced hallucination, so he didn't like remembering it. "And I suppose deep down, the other Sins are kind of my friends, too."
He remembered that even though Kululu was currently trying to kill him, they had still known each other for a long time. The guy was dislikable, but he was still a companion to Keroro, even if Keroro didn't want that. And Giroro... The guy had been hot-tempered, but Keroro had honestly believed Giroro was his friend. Mine, Keroro's thoughts hissed. Yes, his friends were all his. Long ago, he had declared himself a sort of leader among them. Nobody had sworn him loyalty, but it still stuck in his heart. They were his friends, his troops. They were his, and they fed his greed, and his loneliness.
And Tamama... Tamama was something special. He was his friend, but he was also the only one who swore loyalty to him, calling him his leader.
Tamama was something that he had to protect. He was Tamama's leader, after all.
"You can have a new friend now, too," Fuyuki smiled, offering his hand in friendship.
Keroro took it and smiled back.
As the two looked at each other, Dororo floated down from a cloud.
"Have you spoken to Keroro about what you wished to talk about?" Dororo asked, avoiding Keroro's eye contact.
Why does he look familiar? Keroro wondered. He wasn't the type to go up to the Heavens and attack. He hadn't talked to the Heavenly King much, but looking at him made him feel nostalgic.
"Uhhh... Nooooo..." Fuyuki admitted. "I... I asked you up here to talk about something other than friendship..."
"Figures," Keroro sighed. "I hate business. Do we have to talk about the thing that's important?"
"Yes," Dororo spoke. "Keroro... I... I want you to leave the Underworld behind... You can make a difference. We wanted to talk to you about giving up your Sin."
"That's impossible. I can't," Keroro responded, easily and quickly. "I'm a Sin, and I always will be."
"Keroro..." Fuyuki frowned.
"And bribing me with friendship won't help me stop being a Sin. I'm Greed, and I'll continue being Greed because of it."
"I knew it... I knew we couldn't negotiate Keroro to give up being a Sin," Dororo sighed.
"I thought you said we could! That there was hope!" said Fuyuki.
"I want to hope just as much as you do... He's my old friend, after all," he said.
"Wait, what?" Keroro asked, looking at Dororo, confused. "I don't have any old friends... Wait... I did... The blue Keronian that nobody else could see... Was that... you?"
"Yes, it was..." Dororo seemed to be clutching at his own hand, trying to keep himself from ruining anything.
"Dororo... Maybe you should make peace with your past. That's the only way we're going to be able to talk smoothly with Keroro. You'll always hold something against him if you don't," Fuyuki suggested.
As soon as Fuyuki finished speaking, Dororo spoke. "You used me, Keroro! I thought we were friends... Why were you always so mean to me? I tried to help you not become a Sin, but you did anyway! Why?" Tears were running down Dororo's face.
"Ummm... Wait, aren't you a little confused about who hurt who?" said Keroro. It was his time to snap. "You were the Heavenly King and never told me! I thought you were my friend, too, but you just pretended everything... to keep me from being a Sin? Dude, you watched me die and did nothing! I thought I imagined you because I was so lonely!"
"But... You hurt me... Being the Heavenly King doesn't mean I'm not sensitive, Keroro... I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I couldn't. It would give you an unfair advantage over other mortals. You would have used me even more!...And yes, I did befriend you to keep you from being a Sin, but soon enough, I felt actual friendship for you... Which you didn't recuperate!" he cried again.
"Of course I felt friendship for you too!" They were now stuck in an angry, crying match with each other. "I'm sorry for using you, I didn't mean to... I didn't know it was wrong... I'm a Sin, after all, and I probably always was. There was nothing I could do to help it, even if I wanted to!"
"Okay, guys... Just hug it out; it sounds like you've got a lot of sadness between you..." Fuyuki pushed them together. Slowly the two put their arms around each other and cried.
"I missed you..." Keroro confessed. "I thought you weren't real... I'm sorry that I hurt you..."
"I'm sorry I watched you die... I caused what you are; I was able, but I helped you become greedy. I'm the Heavenly King. I'm supposed to be powerful..." Dororo hugged him tightly. "As soon as I realized we were actual friends, I should have told you and protected you."
"I'm so sorry..." Keroro sniffed again.
"I am more sorry... And for so long I hated the Sins because of the mistake I made with you. I felt betrayed, even though I betrayed you in the end and let you die... I felt I couldn't talk to you because I was your enemy... the Heavenly King... and that you were a Sin and would be forever..."
"But friendship can transcend battle." Keroro stopped hugging Dororo and just held his hand. "That's what my new friend, Fuyuki, taught me." He looked up at Fuyuki. "Th-thanks... for reuniting us... I would have never known."
Fuyuki nodded. "No problem! I wanted to... ever since I heard Dororo's story."
"Keroro... Our friendship doesn't have to transcend battle," Dororo told him. "After seeing Giroro leave the Underworld, we know it's now possible to shake off your Sin. You can finally be free of it. I even heard you were trying to hide from something. I'll do right this time; I'll protect you and hide you when you're in the Underworld. You'll be safe." He smiled.
"Join us," said Fuyuki. "We'd love to have you. You don't have to be a Sin. You don't have to do anything you don't want to. You don't need to be controlled. You don't have to kill... It's all your choice."
Keroro smiled, too.
Maybe this is would be a better place for me... It would be safe from Kululu, I would be surrounded by friends... I wouldn't have to do the Lord's chores, and I would be able to play games whenever I wanted.It seemed perfect.
Keroro almost eagerly agreed, because he cared for his new friends, but then Keroro remembered something else, something important - Tamama.
He couldn't leave Tamama.
"You can run, but you can't hide," Kululu had told him.
That would be what I would do normally. Run and hide. But that would be leaving Tamama alone with him, Keroro remembered. Maybe his rage has died down... Or maybe I can tell the Lord what I did directly. She'd punish me, but I'd live. I will live through this. I'm strong, too, when I have to be. I don't need to fear Kululu.
I hate being a Sin, I hate killing, but the Underworld is my home, and I can't run from it. And I have to protect Tamama.
He remembered Tamama's sad face saying, "Don't leave." He hadn't planned to leave forever, just for a few hours, but now the chance to go forever had presented itself.
He couldn't do that to Tamama. Not without taking Tamam,a too. But Tamama was a Sin, same as him, and the choice was for Tamama to make on his own without Keroro's influence on his brain.
He needed to stay by Tamama's side. He had always been there for him.
It was time for Keroro to do the same.
Tamama would never know. He had never ever picked up on the fact that Keroro held affection for him, and that was exactly how Keroro liked it. He loved the other Sin dearly and would do anything to protect him as long as Tamama never figured out. It was easier that way. And the way things were meant to be.
After all, the two weren't anything like lovers, more like close friends - and Keroro was certain Tamama didn't feel the same affection for him. Why would he? Tamama had done everything for him, and Keroro was too lazy to do anything in return.
But I will do this for him. I won't leave, even though this is the opportunity of the lifetime. I love you, Tamama. I'm not going to leave you, don't worry, he promised
"I would love to..." Keroro began. Fuyuki and Dororo smiled happily.
"Oh, Keroro... I can't wait to get to know you better!" Fuyuki smiled. Keroro raised his hand, signifying that he hadn't finished.
"...but I can't," he finally answered. Fuyuki and Dororo frowned.
"Why not? We can help you shake off your Sin to officially leave, if you want!" Dororo told him.
"Yeah! You won't have to be in pain from not sinning!" said Fuyuki.
"The Sins experience pain from not sinning?" Dororo asked. "I'm so sorry... I didn't know..." He suddenly realized why they were so evil.
"No, I can't, because there's someone important to me back in the Underworld and I can't leave him, not for anything," said Keroro.
"We can help get him out, too!" Dororo promised. "Just stay here and we'll help get him out!"
"No. That wouldn't give him a fair choice. It would be the Underworld or me; it force him to choose between what he idolizes and his only home," Keroro told them. "That... and that would still be me leaving him, even if it was only for a moment. And I won't be the one to leave first."
"So... What you're saying is..." Fuyuki tried to put the pieces together.
"I'm only leaving if Tamama leaves first. If you can convince Tamama to leave the Underworld, I'll do as you wish, but for now... I have something to go back to... I'm sorry," he apologized.
"What about the thing you were hiding from?" Fuyuki asked.
"I've never faced much head-on, being a Sin who likes avoidance and is lazy. But if there ever is another chance for me to come here and shake off my Sin, I need to at least learn how to face things," he told them. "I might be the weakest Sin, but I'm also the only one to ever learn from my mistakes." Keroro turned around. "Bye, guys... I've got to go home."
Dororo and Fuyuki sorrowfully watched him go, unable to convince him. Keroro smiled and walked out the gates.
"Darn stairs! I'm going to have to walk down all these stairs, aren't I?" he asked jokingly. "It's fine... I'm the Sin of Sloth; I'm always lazy."
He began walking down, and soon enough, he was out of Fuyuki and Dororo's view.
They had failed in converting him, but had parted ways as friends. They had failed, but won, at the same time.
And as friends, they already missed him.
Keroro marched straight into the Underworld at the time that he knew the Lord was awake.
"Mr. Keroro?" Tamama was the first to spot him. "Y-you... You came back?!" He rushed up to Keroro to hug him. Keroro walked past him toward the Lord, instead of flying into his waiting arms. "Mr... Keroro..." Tamama sniffed at the rejection.
"I freed Aki," Keroro told the Lord.
"So it was you... I'm not surprised, you always were a screw-up," she told him. Keroro closed his eyes, awaiting his punishment. "Luckily, it seems Kululu has made an nice cage... You will reside in it until I can once again trust you. No... I suppose that would be too long... Since I've never been able to trust you. You will reside in it for a month. It will hang above the sea of fire and you will be forced to clean every inch of it, and every hour of the day it will get dirty again and the work will never end, you could say, in a Cinderella fashion? You will not be able to get anything like toys either. You'll eventually be in pain from not using your Sin. That seems like a fair punishment for disobedience."
Keroro sometimes wondered where the Lord got the imagination to come up with such punishments. He suspected it was from her third eye, which only opened when she was punishing someone, it gazing at them as if it was reading their souls.
Keroro was honestly just happy that Kululu wasn't going to kill him. He willingly stepped into the cage.
"Mr. Keroro, why'd you tell her?" Tamama asked. "You could have kept it a secret... You could have even kept hiding and running... I don't want that woman to punish you!"
Keroro looked confused. "But you told me not to go, Tamama." He shrugged it off. "I'll be fine. I always am." He almost reached out to hug him, but stopped himself. "Bye." The cage flew up to take its place, held up above a sea of fire.
Tamama watched him go, happy that Keroro had come back, but conflicted because he didn't want Keroro in pain.
Keroro came back, though. That was all he knew. Maybe I shouldn't give up hope... Maybe my life in the Underworld can be happy, he thought.
Keroro was back, after all. Although, he had been immediately taken away by that woman, he was back.
And Tamama almost felt a tiny bit happy. He smiled a bit to himself.
"Ku, ku, ku. I knew you were selfish, too. We're Sins, after all." Kululu was behind him, patting the tadpole's back.
Tamama frowned. It was true. He was evil and selfish.
But at least he was surrounded by people who were the same. Just as the Lord had said in their first meeting, he belonged there, and even though he hated her, he wouldn't want to leave.
The Underworld was the only place that would take him. A selfish thing like him... gluttonous and envious like just the way he was. He belonged there.
The Underworld had always been the only home he felt he belonged to. And it was a nice feeling to have.
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