Chapter 13
Both sat up on the hood of the ship as they waited for a rescue party, Kirere sitting with her knees up to her chin and Keroro cross-legged.
"And against the odds, I live to see another fine sunrise on Pekopon!" Keroro gave a grin and sighed in relief. "Looks to be a clear day out today!"
"So we're going to be here a little while longer, right, Keroro-san?" Kirere looked over to him, clearly worried.
"Well, the pickup ship ought to be arriving shortly..."
"No, I mean on Pekopon."
"Ah! Well, we're here until the invasion is complete, Kirere-chan! ...That's taken a few more steps back, though, with the... Untimely destruction of this fine device."
"What about after you invade it?"
"And take over all of the Gunpla factories? Well, it wouldn't hurt keeping a vacation home, I suppose. I've grown to like the beaches here, even with their cruel and harsh sunlight... And... And I'd miss Mama-Dono and Fuyuki-Dono... And maybe even Natsumi-Dono now and again."
"I'll stay and look after the Gunpla factories for you, then!" Kirere piped up. "When you're away conquering other planets! And I can look after Mama-dono and Fuyuki-dono, for you, too!"
Keroro laughed and patted her on the head, "I'll always encourage a healthy, character-building hobby like Gunpla! You're quite fortunate to be able to be able to start early, Kirere-chan!"
"That's not what I-"
"Kirere-channn!"
"Giroro-san?" Kirere stood at the sound of the scream, and moments later, Giroro jumped out of the transport ship, landing on the hood and running to her. He made sure she was okay, then grabbed Keroro by the neck and began to shake.
"If you EVER... Put my daughter in danger like that AGAIN... I... I-"
"Giroro-san, stop! You're going to scramble his brain!" Kirere yelped.
"That would involve him actually having one!" Giroro didn't relent until a few moments later, when he had had his fill of Keroro abuse. Keroro staggered a bit, and fell back onto the hood of the seacraft, and Giroro panted and sat down, leaning forward and gathering his thoughts. Kirere poked the Keronian soldier on the shoulder, then looked over and grinned as Giroro looked over in her direction. He returned the smile in between pants.
"Looks like it's definitely scrap now, kukuku!" Kururu climbed down from the rope ladder and looked over the damage, focusing a moment on the bolt that was wedged in the window, "Eh...?"
Kirere stood fidgeting, looking over Kururu, who still after all this time remained in the borrowed kimono. Kururu looked down at her, "...Don't even think about it, kukuku."
"Take the hug like a man, damn it!" Giroro pushed Kururu forward, causing him to fall into Kirere.
The scientist gave a yelp as Kirere indeed did hug him, and fell back, his glasses totally shattered and his body twitching.
"Now let's get you back home," Giroro stood and took her hand. "I'm grounding you for being careless when you jumped to save Garuru, by the way. He's not worth it."
"I hope I'm not that mean to my little brother," Kirere muttered as she climbed up the ladder. Giroro balked at this, and stuttered wildly.
"You, y-you're not getting a little brother! N-not for a while, at least! And not from him, definitely!"
"Kukuku, well, it has to be before I'm an old maid, Giro-kun," Kururu had recovered and replaced his glasses, and now climbed up the ladder, followed by a teeth-grinding Giroro.
"I am NOT giving you the opportunity to get my DNA again, Kururu!" Giroro snarled as he reached the transport ship.
Kururu chuckled, and looked back at Giroro, then slipped one of the kimono shoulders off, "Chu..."
"ARRGH! I've had enough of you! DIE!" Giroro growled, and ran for Kururu while Kirere watched, giggling to herself.
"They're like an old married couple," Tamama muttered plainly from the driver's seat. Dororo, in the passenger seat, nodded sagely.
"Ugh... What a night..." Keroro finished climbing up the ladder and stepped into the ship, but was soon knocked off by Giroro, who had stopped in order to take fire at Kururu.
"GEROOOO!"
SPLASH!
"...Looks like another rescue..." Tamama sighed as he looked out and saw Keroro splashing about in the ocean water.
The sun had fully risen and it was morning by the time they finally arrived back at the Hinata residence, and came upon the strange sight of Aki handing Garuru and Pururu each a cup of hot tea.
"We'll take him with us, we've already called the ship for pickup," Garuru explained, nodding back in the direction of the Nephrodian leader. "...I want to speak with Kirere in private for a few moments."
"Eh?" Giroro drew back in surprise, and Kirere looked puzzled as Garuru handed Pururu his tea and led the young girl off, still visible but even out of Giroro's earshot. Giroro couldn't help but think that Garuru had done this on purpose.
"He wants me to come and stay a week with him!" Kirere announced happily as she ran back to the group.
Giroro looked up at Garuru, and could have sworn the purple Keronian briefly gave a hint of a grin. Garuru then motioned for Giroro to walk over. Giroro did so after hesitating a moment, and stood in front of Garuru, looking him straight in the eye.
"I won't even ask why your Sergeant Major is dressed up in a woman's kimono and posing as your girlfriend, I'll just chalk that up to the elevator not reaching the top flight with him to begin with. But let him know if he ever does something like that in front of me again they'll never find his body."
Giroro said nothing, but gave a nod. So Garuru hadn't fallen for it, after all. It didn't surprise Giroro in the least.
"...She's a cute kid," Garuru added. "A lot like you as a kid. Has that same smile."
"The ship's here," Pururu called over to Garuru. Garuru looked at her and gave a nod, "We'll BE taking the Nephrodian with us. The Pekoponian female did a good job wrapping him up."
Giroro and Garuru looked over at the struggling invader; indeed Koyuki had bound him up tightly, making escape near-impossible. She smiled proudly over her work, while Dororo stood beside her, his arms folded and looking complacent as usual.
"What're you going to do with him?" Giroro inquired, and looked back at Garuru. Garuru kept his eyes on the struggling alien.
"Take him to the proper authorities. They can deal with the garbage. As far as I know, I was just here for my niece's birthday party."
The ship was now floating over the Hinata household, and Garuru straightened up, and walked back over to Pururu.
"You guys are coming back soon, right?" Kirere asked excitedly. "You can come over whenever you want!"
"N-n-n-now Kirere-chan!" Keroro began, while the rest of the platoon's faces switched to pure horror.
"We'll be around," Garuru answered. "Take care, Kirere-chan."
"We can't wait to have you over," Pururu added, patting her shoulder. "Keep your parents and your uncles in line, all right?"
"Yeah!" Kirere laughed, and stood back as both the Keronians and the rogue Nephrodian was lifted up onto the ship. "Bye! See you soon! Bye!"
Garuru gave a salute, followed by Pururu, and the Keroro Platoon exchanged the salute. Giroro leaned over and adjusted Kirere's awkward salute.
"Come on, it's your bedtime," Giroro took the young girl's hand and sighed after the ship was out of sight.
"I'm not sleepy..." she grumbled.
"Well then we'll start your grounding now," Giroro answered tiredly as they walked into the Hinata household. Saburo had gone home, as had Koyuki. Momoka was asleep on the couch, with Paul standing over her, looking like a century as always, and Natsumi and Fuyuki were looking over the damage in the kitchen and living room.
"Hey, Stupid Frog! I've got a job for you!" Natsumi called out. "I need your friends in here, too!"
Kirere tugged on Giroro's arm, and he stopped and glanced at her. It only took a glance for him to know what she wanted, and he lifted up, carrying her to her room the rest of the way.