I apologize for taking a little while to update anything but I have been helping a couple of friends who are starting their own business. They make quilted coasters, other quilted whatnots, and best of all fleece hats and plushies. Some are plain but they can accept orders for customized character hats! Check out their website to see what's been done so far, .com is the link.

WARNING: This chapter gets a little dark and self mutilatey, so be wary cause there's blood.

They embraced each other until the sound of bubbling and the smell of beef interrupted them. Natsumi jumped up and dashed to the stove stirring the food. She then sighed in relief.

"Good it didn't burn." She soon had two dishes of beef stew sitting on the counter. "Careful it's hot. We should let them sit for a little while before-"

Natsumi stopped when she saw Giroro pick up the bowl and pour the soup straight down his throat. He placed the bowl down and looked at her as if nothing strange just happened.

"More…. Please." He nudged the bowl closer to her, across the counter.

"Uh, sure! Of course. I guess it makes sense that your appetite would increase after such a big change." Natsumi shook off her surprise and refilled his bowl, which he again poured straight down his throat. After filling him a third bowl, Natsumi decided to try eating her own. She blew on it and carefully slid the spoon into her mouth. The taste had her exploding with delight. "Oh my gosh! The food is just godly. I want to be rich if I get to eat food this good every day."

Natsumi finished her bowl while Giroro guzzled down the rest right out of the pot. The girl giggled when she saw some of the stew settle on the corner of his mouth and down his chin. She grabbed a napkin and wiped him clean. Giroro's color seemed to lighten slightly. The etchings tightened into thin lines and barely lit up anymore. The four horns had taken their time to wind down since the shootout earlier with Momoka's guards, and now the ends weren't as pointy or as far from his head.

"Giroro, if you want to talk about what happened; whatever made you feel so horrible that you changed I will listen. I won't judge you either." Natsumi set the napkin carefully on the counter surface before looking into his eyes. "Keroro said something about a girl you like."

Giroro's eyes twinged hoping Keroro hadn't said too much. Natsumi placed a hand over his as his claws began scratching at the wood.

"It's alright if you don't want to talk, but whoever she is I'm sure she'll see how wonderful you are and decide that she would love to be with you. You have that kind of charm that no matter how mad or scary you seem, others want to be around you."

"I afraid, she won't see how much I like her." His words were spaced out and although shaky were full of strong emotion. "We different and she likes him."

"You mean another guy?"

Giroro nodded his head. He looked away from her, towards the floor. His head throbbed with doubt. Loud heavy voices banging at the sides; even his scar began to sting with pain.

"I'm afraid she hate me. She hate what I do, what I am. We too different."

"How different could she possibly be?"

"She is beautiful, smart, kind, strong, and opposite of me. Other guy is opposite of me too. Perfect match." He placed a hand on his face hiding. This was the most he had poured his heart to her. The most he had shown her. He half expected her to outright laugh at him; and the voices in his head weren't helping him feel better.

"Those are the same qualities one could say about you; except the beautiful part might be cute or handsome. I'm not sure how to help when she's looking at another guy though." She crossed her arms and began to think. She wasn't exactly skilled at dating advice; she only knew how to be truly herself.

Giroro blushed at the compliment but still felt the doubt, knowing that she wouldn't leave Saburo for him.

"Who is she? Maybe I can convince her to notice you; she probably doesn't even know you like her."

"How could she not?" his voice spewed from his mouth deeper than ever. He clutched his head with both hands now and dug his claws into his skin. "Every time I blushed, every time I stumbled, every time I couldn't breathe when she was near. How could she not notice when I made her something, cooked her something, even risked my honor and reputation even sometimes my life to make her days better?"

"Giroro calm down, please!" Natsumi slowly backed away from the now growing beast.

"Why didn't she see the hints I left? Why didn't she hear my silent confessions? Why didn't she just see it in my eyes?" he clenched his teeth and gripped his tear soaked cheeks even tighter. "How could she miss that I changed what I was for her? Why can't she see that I love her?!"

His claws ripped down his face tearing through the flesh. Natsumi's eyes flashed wide in horror. As Giroro tilted his bleeding head back, blackness flooded out from his new wounds. Natsumi couldn't take it and quickly ducked behind the counter clasping her hands over her head. Her eyes were still wide as she listened to his screams and the roaring of his pain. She could hear his blood splatter around the room. Soon she could hear the doors slamming open and the breaking of glass down the hall. This was followed by nearly complete silence with the rough hum of hollow breathing.

Natsumi decided to creep up and take a look around the room. Peering just over the edge of the counter she could see the red on the wooden surface and dripping from the walls. She couldn't see the beast and decided it was safe to stand. She cautiously walked towards the doors and saw the shards of window on the carpet down the hall. The girl closed the doors as quietly as she could. She turned back to the room only to be startled by the body lying on the floor. She covered her mouth to withhold the shriek.

There on the floor wasn't the big red beast she expected to find but the small red frog she had missed.