A/N: Well hello there, Fanfiction! I'm sorry it took me so long to update. I've been very busy with my school's musical, posting on my Deviantart, and exploring my new Tumblr (which, by the way, is yet again GiroGirl723. Follow me! Not to mention that I've had an extreme case of writer's block. Anyway, here's another chappie of The Kanichiomiya Site!

7

Countless Faces

The moment our skimmers touched the ground, a wave of Keronians crowded around us, welcoming us, asking us how Pekopon was different from Keron, etc. I was introduced to person after person after person, attempting to remember all the names. I shook countless hands and saw countless faces. The only way I could possibly remember even half of the people I met would be by memorizing their symbols, which was a daunting task within itself. "I feel like a celebrity," I whispered in astonishment to Morara.

"In a way, you are," he replied. "Everyone's heard about Pekopon's Last Line of Defense. Despite the fact you're a major obstacle in the invasion, you have many admiring fans."

I blushed slightly.

Eventually, the crowd cleared away. "Meet with your partners," Morara said. "Aki, you will be staying with Fuyuki and Keroro's family."

Mama nodded, and I walked over to Giroro. Moments later, Garuru joined us. "Let me just warn you," Garuru said cautiously. "Our father can be very…"

"Difficult to read," Giroro finished. "He hardly ever tells you about anything, mostly just sits there and observes."

"But occasionally he'll find someone he's extremely forward with. Then he's a completely different person," Garuru continued. "He can seem extremely intimidating at first, but once you get to know him he's not that bad."

"Except with us," Giroro finished. "If you're related to him then you should be scared."

"The one thing Giroro and I agree on," Garuru chuckled.

Giroro rolled his eyes. "Let's go." It was then that I noticed that throughout the whole conversation, not once had he looked me in the eye.

We- along with Pururu and the rest of the Keroro and Pekopon Platoons- exited the airport, and immediately Tamama mentioned that he and Kururu had houses in different directions than Dororo's, Keroro's, and Giroro's. Made sense, seeing as those three were childhood friends along with Pururu. With a wave goodbye to Saburo, Kururu, Momoka, and Tamama, the rest of us continued on our way. We rode our hovercrafts down a paved road surrounded by lush green grass, a brighter color than anything I had ever seen. As we got further away from the airport, the fields began to be dotted with trees and tiny flowers. I was in awe. Everything was so beautiful.

After about fifteen minutes I was so taken with the landscape that I almost didn't notice we stopped at a fork in the road. I quickly pulled up.

"My house, Pururu-chan's, and Dororo-kun's are to the left," Keroro explained. "Giroro-kun's is to the right. We have to split up here."

"Okay," Fuyuki said. "Let's go!"

I grinned slightly. He was getting more enthusiastic by the minute. "Yeah," I agreed. "Let's go."

After taking the right fork and riding for about five more minutes, we reached a modest white house on top of a hill. "It's not much, but it's home," Garuru commented.

"I like it," I replied. We flew our skimmers up the hill and parked them at the side of the house. Then we walked back around to the front door. Garuru placed a hand on a small pad, and I heard a click from the door. "Fairly new device- it recognizes handprints," he explained. "It takes the place of locks and keys, although those can be used as well in times of emergency. Generally the handprint pad is only used by family members- everyone else knocks. But since you'll be living here for a while, we'll input your handprint in."

"Thanks," I responded.

"Of course."

At this point, Giroro's silence was seriously starting to annoy me. I cast him a glare that said 'Don't make Garuru do all the work,' but his eyes were downcast and he didn't even see my warning.

We walked into an entryway not unlike mine at home on Earth, and Garuru called, "Dad? We're back."

I heard footsteps and a deep voice calling, "Back, eh? Back with the 'guest'." A large, intimidating-looking Keronian with a bandana rounded a corner and came into the main entryway. He paused when he saw me. "Ah. This must be the Pekoponian." His eyes narrowed.

I returned him with a challenging glare. Despite his intimidating looks, I wasn't scared of him. "Say that again, and you'll be reaching up to tie your nonexistent shoes," I threatened. "My name's Natsumi, thank you very little."

Giroro and Garuru sucked in a deep breath, and I suddenly felt slightly nauseous. Had I gone too far? The Keronian approached me slowly, his expression unreadable. Though nervous, I stood my ground.

Suddenly, the Keronian let out a big, roaring laugh as a grin spread over his face. He patted me boisterously on the shoulder, causing me to almost topple over. "I like this one!" he boomed. "Natsumi, eh? I'm Koruru."

"N-nice to meet you," I said, caught a bit off guard. Next to me, Giroro was staring in disbelief, the first eye contact he had made with me all day. Garuru simply broke into a rare grin. "Something was telling me you two would get along," he chuckled.

"Well, why don't you sit down and we get some breakfast in you?" Koruru laughed. "You must be hungry."

Shaking my head in disbelief, I followed Koruru into the house.