"Gya! Don't take out your pent-up rage on me, Natsumi-dono!"Keroro yelped, jumping back quickly.
Giroro was a bit puzzled by the brown paper bag that was held out to him, then Kirere smiled and took a seat next to him by the fire, "I got some sweet potatoes for you."
"Part of your paycheck from that Pekoponian?"Giroro answered dully as he resumed polishing his rifle.
Kirere's expression was stunned, and she looked away from him, choosing to stare at the fence instead. She said nothing to this.
"You looked...Very happy working today,"Giroro added, much to Kirere's surprise.
In truth, he was jealous. He spent the most time with her, yet the more and more she grew, the more it was obvious the two shared little in common with one another. He struggled to find things that were on their same level, but it had come so easy to a Pekopon slacker.
The fact that even Kururu had more in common with the girl annoyed him greatly.
"I...I did,"she answered quietly. "Haruki-san's really, really nice. He said he wouldn't tell anyone about us! He said no one would believe him, anyway! He promised! He's good for it, really!"
There would always be some crackpot who believed, and that's what worried Giroro. It would lead to them wanting to investigate the Hinata household, or worse yet, even capturing one of them.
But he couldn't tell her not to go to the one place she loved. She'd go there anyway, every chance she got. She was as stubborn as him and, even though she didn't know it yet, probably possessed Kururu's sneakiness.
"Tell him...If he says anything, period, he will have the entire Keron army come down on him like a plague,"Giroro said sternly. Kirere smiled at this, and took it as permission to continue going. She embraced him, and Giroro was a little surprised by this, but continued as she did so. "If this effects your training or your helping in our invasion operation strategy, you're to stop going. Is that all understood?"
"Yeah!"she nodded. "He won't, he's really cool! And Mama already said if he hurt my feelings or anything she'd make him pay. Pay what, I dunno, but she sounded really serious!"
That indeed put Giroro a bit more at ease. Even Kururu didn't mess with Natsumi's mother, due to the woman's strength.
"I'm gonna go get Natsumi-san! You guys can have sweet potatoes together!"
"W-wait! Kirere, I-"but the little girl was off like a rocket, already back in the Hinata house.
"Still can't find your wallet?"Natsumi now walked back into the living room, having left Kururu, who was still recovering from the deathblow he'd received .He was just being a drama queen about it, she concluded.
Now she watched as Fuyuki tore through the living room, having already pulled off the couch cushions, and was now looking beneath the said furniture.
"It's been close to a week now, and I haven't seen any sign of it!"Fuyuki stood up and moaned. "...My whole allowance was in there. I told Nishizawa-san I'd go to the movies with her today, but..."
"Relax. This better teach you to be more careful with you things,"Natsumi chided. "I'll let you borrow some money until you find it."
"Really?! Thanks, Nee-chan,"Fuyuki smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. "I still wish I could find it, though."
"You're paying interest."
"...Ehhh..."
Then there came a knock on the door, as if by coincidence. Natsumi looked to the door with confusion, walking over to it as she said to herself, "Who could that be at this time of the day? The mail's come, and Mama has a key. Hello?"
She was taken aback by the presence of the foreigner on their front doorstep, and immediately she went into shaky English, trying best to recall her lessons, "Can I...Help you?"
"It's all right, I don't speak English well,"he returned in Japanese and gave a smile. "I'm looking for Hinata Fuyuki."
"Hrm? K-Kezanstav sensei!?"Fuyuki's eyes grew wide at the presence of the familiar author, and Kezanstav only returned this with the smile cool grin.
"You left something at the book signing,"the author then retrieved Fuyuki's wallet from his own jacket pocket, and held it up. "I would've returned it sooner, but my publicist keeps me on a short leash. I was only able to sneak out just now under the assumption I was getting a sandwich."
"W-would you like to come in?"Fuyuki asked, much too starstruck to even think straight.
"Might I?"Kezanstav raised his eyebrows, and took a step in.
Keroro, who had been lugging along a laundry basket with his good arm, immediately gave a yelp as for a brief second he saw the foreigner, and he then took up hiding in a cabinet in the kitchen. It was only when he was tucked in tightly with the cleaning supplies he began to assess the situation aloud.
"Wait a moment. Why am I hiding from something as helpless as a Pekoponian? I have advanced technology on my side! This is undoubtedly foolish, even for me!"
Natsumi finished fixing the couch, explaining they were in the middle of cleaning, when Keroro nonchalantly sauntered out, his invisibility on and his good hand behind his head. He stopped long enough to turn and stick his tongue out at Kezanstav, much to Natsumi's horror. The sergeant then proceeded to pull down an eyelid as well, as well as a few other gestures, all while Natsumi shook, holding back the urge to punt the little green terror across the room with all of her might.
"Are you all right?"Kezanstav looked to Natsumi, who was visibly shaking and growling with anger at what looked like a blank wall. She immediately switched gears and smiled.
"I just remembered I forgot milk at the store, is all, and I was planning on making a cake tonight!"Natsumi lied. "Um, so...What brings you to Japan, anyway? Isn't it a long way from your home?"
"Well, I explained this a while ago to your brother, but I don't usually go into detail,"Kezanstav answered, clasping his hands together and sitting in a relaxed position as he spoke. Keroro now also stopped his taunting in order to hear what the man had to say. "...When I was a young, young child, I saw something astounding."
"Yes?"Fuyuki's eyes now twinkled as he leaned in to hear the man's story.
"Well, I was out in my village, and...I should have been in bed, but I couldn't sleep, it was a very cold night,"Kezanstav began. "Anyway, I saw this sudden...Flash! In the sky! Of course I was young, and curious, so I went to investigate."
"Yes? Then what?"Fuyuki implored excitedly. He didn't notice, during this, Kirere had rushed in. Fortunately the door had been open, so she had made little noise, but the little girl quickly ducked back out, much to Natsumi's horror. Fortunately, the Russian author had had his back to the pink Keron girl during this entire occurrence.
"Fuyuki,"Natsumi sighed at her brother's embarrassing eagerness, all while keeping her eyes on the door.
"It's all right,"Kezanstav laughed. "I found a large...Crater, in the middle of a field. It was fresh, and warm. All of the snow around it was melted... And I saw what looked like a dark blur, rush right past me! And then...Nothing."
"Nothing?"Fuyuki sat back, his face falling in disappointment.
"That following morning everyone went to investigate it...It was dismissed as a meteor,"Kezanstav sighed. "But I've always known better. It's become a little...Obsession of mine, I guess you could say. I've always just hoped to catch another glimpse of what was there, know who they are, what they wanted. If they came in peace or were here trying to pull off some kind of hostile takeover. Well! Thank you for your hospitality, but I'm afraid I must leave now, before my publicist comes to skin me alive."
Natsumi and Fuyuki laughed at this as well, and Fuyuki led him to the front door, "Thank you again for returning my wallet, Kezanstav-san!"
"Oh, it's my pleasure,"Kezanstav nodded and smiled. "Take care, Fuyuki-chan."
The black-haired boy then shut the door, and Kezanstav walked across the street, and down another block, stopping and looking up onto a fence, where sat perched a tiny creature, covered completely in a brown hooded cape with red accenting on the hem of it.
"So how many did you see?"Kezanstav looked over to the creature, his expression totally changed now. It was much colder, and stern.
A tiny hand emerged from the robe, a teal-colored one that held up four fingers. "That many, eh? Well, there could be more, yet... I heard one walk in while I was talking to those siblings, and I had to use most of my energy to hold back beating that rude little green one to a pulp... Did you see potential in any of them?"
A nod was given, and Kezanstav smiled. "Very good. Now the trick is getting one alone."
The hood lifted up a bit, revealing a large almond-shaped yellow eye. It met with Kezanstav's a moment, and the author jerked his head back . "It's a little girl? Now that is indeed interesting. Come on."
And Kezansatv hailed a taxi while the little creature jumped up from its position and was soon gone from sight.
"Ku ku! Ugh..."Kururu adjusted the ice pack on his head and gave a grumble. His head was killing him. He laid back in his chair, busying himself by typing away, and was a bit surprised as he found a plate of curry out in front of him. It was Kirere, holding out a large bowl to him; her version of a peace offering.
"I figured leftovers would be okay tonight, because you're not feeling so good,"she answered, and he silently took the plate and leaned back once more. She took up her own plate at the side of his chair, and dug into hers. "So what're you doing, anyway?"
"Nothing you could comprehend, kukuku!"Kururu answered with a laugh, clicking away with one hand as he switched screens. "It's dealing with Teicho's newest scheme."
"So...Do you really want to take over Pekopon?"
"Kuuuukuku! I don't care where it is as long as everyone leaves me alone,"Kururu answered with a chuckle.
"How's your hand doing?"
"Why should you even care, kukuku?"
"Well, I just do. I care about you,"Kirere shrugged. "You care about me, right?"
Kururu said nothing, only resumed eating. Kirere was confused by this silence, then smiled and shrugged it off, "You just have a hard time saying it, is all. That's okay, to be shy."
"I have to get back to work,"Kururu announced dully, setting aside his plate.
"Can I stay with you?"
"If you like being bored, sure,"Kururu answered in the same monotone voice, and resumed his work.