Thank you ZanyAnimeGirl, Malsyn, jozs001, Kikyoremura, Heinous966, those two Guests, EegaRun120, and Snow Wolf Alpha for all your reviews. You're beautiful. All of you. I can't see you, but I know it. Beautiful.
All questions may be answered, or will they? Most likely. On with the merriment~
The next morning after her..."little, misguided outburst", as that moronic green frog, Natsumi was put back to work; in the kitchen this time. Dishwashing. Washing dishes. For space frogs. On a spaceship. In the atmosphere of her invaded planet. It infuriated her and weirded her out at the same time.
"Hey, there you are," Saburo, the sole human she could have anything do to with for however long she was trapped on this frog-run spaceship, came into the kitchen. "Are you alright? I know about yesterday..."
She grimaced, annoyed and ashamed that he knew about it. The red ugly burn mark on her stomach was as much a reminder as she ever wanted. "I don't really want to talk about it, Saburo-senpai..."
He nodded in acknowledgment, falling silent and picking up a dishcloth and helping out in the kitchen. She watched him curiously as he went about cleaning. She wasn't sure if she was pleased he was here or not. Well, yeah, it was nice to see him and have an actual human to talk to. And she did, might've had a teeny weeny crush on him back when everything was normal and there were no frogs. But he was so cool back then...He was a total rebel but still had that cute sensitive side to him. She expected him to be leading some underground rebellion against the invaders but he was good anything they told him do; serving them with a goddamn smile.
That 'resistance-breaking' stuff the frogs did- sitting them in a metal chair in a metal room while a horrible screechy noise played through the speakers that might have done something to their brains- probably worked on him. It didn't really work on her though...Well, yes, she was doing chores for them, but she wasn't enjoying it. Just like everyone else on that big 'holding ship' where she and hundreds of other people were being held captive. They all hated being there too. And she was capable of thinking up plans to sabotage them, and capable of actually hitting them, so...Was Saburo a fluke? Did his sensitive, intelligent side leave himself undefended against the aliens' methods?
"Saburo-senpai..." Natsumi asked quietly, "...Why are you doing whatever the frogs tell you to as if...as if you're happy to do it?"
He arched his eyebrow, as if he were surprised she was asking, and then grinned. That grin gave her goosebumps in the past...maybe it gave her a few small goosebumps now, but not many. "Because there's no alternative."
She frowned. "...That's it?" It was a pretty poor excuse, if ever she heard one.
"Yeah, basically. Have you ever heard that quote 'I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords'?"
"I think I've heard that from one of my brother's dorky films," she smiled. She hadn't realized she smiled until it slipped from her face. She didn't think she was still capable of it. Guess that was just the effect her baby brother and the memory of his dorky occult films had.
"Well, in the film- Empire of the Ants, I think it is- the planet gets overrun by huge ants. And this one news reporter says that quote because she wants to stay alive. Sure, she's submitting to a life of slavery for giant bugs, but she will stay alive. And isn't that what's important?"
Natsumi looked away from him, focussing solely on the dirty dishes in front of her. She honestly had no idea how to respond to that. She felt his gaze still lingering on her and squirmed a little. Before the frogs, she might've fainted under those cool eyes, but now...?
Guess she underestimated the power the grief for her lost family, lost friends, lost world had over her.
"Anyway, the Keronians aren't completely terrible..." Saburo kept talking as the both of them worked away. "Kururu's a pretty interesting guy, and Pururu's kinda nice. Garuru is way too serious, and Giroro needs to take a deep breath now and again, but they'd be okay if they got the sticks out of their asses. That Keroro...He tries to be this serious commander, but it's like it's just an act to him."
"I-I don't...I don't know anyone you're talking about," Natsumi admitted, awkwardly. Her thoughts had been more occupied by how she was now an orphan forced into slavery than which colour frog has what name.
He grinned, then realized she wasn't joking. "Seriously?" He quickly updated her on which frogs were which. "...And Giroro's the red one with the scar; the one you punched. And I think you're sharing quarters with him."
Her head snapped up quickly; this was friggin' news to her! "Huh? I have to share with one of the stupid frogs?"
"You didn't know? Oh, right, you stayed in the Infirmary last night...But, yeah, you do. If it's any consolation, I have to bunk with a sociopathic, sadistic scientist."
"Um, th-that does actually make me feel a little better," she admitted, shyly.
Saburo smiled, maybe feeling content that he made her feel a bit better. "Listen, Natsumi-chan, this probably isn't what you want to hear at all but...We're just going to have to make the best of this situation." He finished up his work, and left her alone in the kitchen.
What he said hadn't really sunk in, she was still thinking about her new roommate; the red, scarred frog she had tried to kill.
Tamama squirmed in vain against the huge ropes that bound his entire body to the small wooden chair. After those Pekoponian soldiers took him in, they tied him up in this small, dark room. The only decoration or furniture of any kind was the bare light bulb hanging from the ceiling, the chair he was tied to, and a small security camera sitting in the top corner of the room, watching constantly. "I hope I'm boring the hell outta you!" he thought bitterly at it.
Time seemed to lose all meaning in that room. Hours could have passed since his capture- maybe even a day! The growling in his stomach sure thought it was a day. "I bet Sergeant-san and everyone are all eating rations right now...Rations never sounded so good."
He wondered if they were out looking for him. His sergeant wouldn't just abandon him...right? At least, not willingly. "It might be like with Zeroro-senpai..." he figured, "They can't launch a rescue mission, because that will alert HQ and put the invasion at risk." He let out a deep, depressed sigh. "If they won't risk searching for Zeroro-senpai, then they definetly won't risk looking for a pitiful private like me..."
Suddenly, the sound of a door opening and closing sounded from behind him. That was the only door in and out of the room. Tamama's breath caught in his throat as he waited for the sound of heavy human footsteps. There were none for a very long moment; long enough for him to almost convince himself that he must've imagined the sound of the door. Then came the footsteps, making the tadpole jump out of his skin, if the ropes hadn't rendered him immobile. A tall, bony Pekoponian strolled into view and kneeled down in front of Tamama, so they stared at each other face-to-face. And then it was straight to business.
"What planet are you from?" the Pekoponian asked- well, demanded.
Tamama tried shifting the lump out of his throat so he could speak. "...Private Second Class Tamama. Serial number 56294."
"Looks like our militaries have the same protocols for when being questioned by the enemy," the Pekoponian looked impressed; or pretended to. "That's interesting. Which planets have the same military protocol?"
" Private Second Class Tamama. Serial number 56294."
"You stick to your training; that's good for a private. Why did your team come to my home, private?"
" Private Second Class Tamama. Serial number 56294."
"Why are you killing, maybe enslaving, my people, private?"
" Private Second-"
"Answer my questions!" The Pekoponian shot to his feet and raised his outstretched palm, ready to bring it down with full force on Tamama's cheek. He flinched, bracing himself for a painful impact but none came. Cautiously opening his eyes, he saw the Pekoponian with his back to him, breathing heavily and using the hand he was about to slap Tamama with to awkwardly smooth down his dark hair. With lighting speed, the Pekoponian turned on his heel to face him again, smiling shakily.
"We got off on the wrong foot. My name is Sergeant Katazuchi, serial number 63872. It's nice to meet you, Tamama-...kun?"
He nodded, feeling a bit peeved that this idiot human didn't know the difference between boys and girls. Then worry began to knot in his stomach as he wondered if he should have even given away the simple fact he was male; surely the Pekoponians couldn't find a way to use that against the Keronians...right?
The Pekoponian- Katazuchi- kneeled down again, but his hands were shaking just a tiny bit, barely noticeable really. "Tamama-kun, think of it this way. What if it were flipped, hmm? What if I was sending a platoon of five of my humans to your planet, to butcher your people? You'd hate that, huh? You'd despise my people in the team and you'd despise all the rest of my people on my planet and you'd want to get us all and beat and beat us with your bare hands...Wouldn't you?"
Tamama's blood was like ice in his veins. This Pekoponian...He was damn right. But there was just something...wrong...about this guy that made the private feel sick to agree to anything he said. He wanted to prove this guy wrong.
"We...We're not 'butchering', we're..." He shouldn't be doing this; he really should not be doing this. Revealing an ultimate invasion strategy of the Keron Army was taboo. It would be an utter betrayal of his military, his species, worse- his Sergeant! But...still. It was like with that other Pekoponian, the boy who found him with Momoka; he almost admitted it to him, partially because his life was at stake and partially because Tamama simply did not like being called a murderer. "We're abducting Pekoponians, n-not killing them."
Katazuchi's eyes narrowed, but at the same time brightened abruptly. A spark of hope, perhaps? "Why, why are you abducting instead of killing, Tamama-kun?"
"We...Th-the Army and the Government, they use them as servants...We don't set out to kill people during invasions; just abduct."
The Pekoponian closed his eyes and let out a long exhale, as if relived. And then he opened them again and stared Tamama dead in the eye and gave a curt, quiet laugh and said, "But don't you see, that's worse than butchering them, Tamama-kun?"
"H-huh?"
"You are turning my people into slaves, God knows how and the Devil knows what damage you are inflicting on them in the process with your sick methods. It would have been kinder to start a genocide, Tamama-kun, instead of exploiting, using, my people like this. It would have been kinder to your people too."
The tadpole simply frowned in utter bemusement at him, unable to speak in case his hammering heart leap out of his body. No Pekoponian had made him this terrified before; not even the boy with the Kero Ball.
Katazuchi leaned closer and continued his monologue in a quieter voice, "It would have been kinder, Tamama-kun, because if you decimated every single last one of my people, there would be no one left to take revenge. But because you chose the method you chose and did what you did, there are still some of my people left alive. And we will start our own genocide, Tamama-kun, as justice."
The Pekoponian then leaned back and began to question the private as though nothing had been said. Questions such as "How many in your team? What weapons do you have? Who is your leader?" It was all Tamama could do to quell the fear in his veins just enough to mumble back his answer. "Private...Private Second Class Tamama. Serial number..."
Dororo watched Katazuchi leave the trebling Tamama in the holding room from his vantage point in the ceiling, then crawled through the vent into the adjoining room, where the human sergeant and another soldier were speaking. The ninja could not see them, but he pressed his ear to the 'floor' of the vent, and he could hear them.
"Sir, wasn't that a bit...harsh?" Someone- it must have been the other solider- questioned, timidly.
"Just fear tactics, common questioning methods," Katazuchi replied with a dismissive tone. "I didn't enjoy that, corporal. That private, I don't know what, but something makes him seem like just a kid...Still, it had to be done. At least now we know the overall casualty rate might be a lower than we anticipated."
"But he said that they didn't kill anyone, sir?"
"Surely you don't believe that, do you?"
"No, sir, just...No, sir."
There were the sounds of footsteps and the voices faded further and further away. Dororo stayed in the vent, ear to the cold metal surface. No longer listening, not even meditating; simply...resting.
What was he supposed to do now?
His once-ally had been captured by the humans...Aiding his escape would mean allowing the others to invade this beautiful planet at full strength once again, betraying the world and its inhabitants he so dearly care for. It may even alert Katazuchi and the refugees in the Sanctum to his presence and that would cause serious trouble for Koyuki...
But Tamama was only a boy. Barely out of the training academy, his soul not yet tainted by the horrors of war and invasion that tainted almost every other soldier as they grew older. He did not deserve to be subjugated to Katazuchi's terrifying form of questioning...And humans were very curious creatures. Once that sergeant got all the answers from him that he wanted, or realized that he would get none, the only use Tamama may have for him would involve dissection.
Dororo let slip a silent groan, letting a fraction of the turmoil in him out of his body.
One choice would mean betraying his new home and endangering his one, truest friend. One choice would mean condemning an unseasoned private to his doom.
"Whatever I do...I must inform Koyuki-dono of this as soon as I see her."
