Chapter 6
"What's the meaning of this, Keroro?!" Giroro pulled up his superior by the neck as he now stood in a Pekoponian suit, Mahihi next to him in his human disguise, and looking a bit tired and confused. Mahihi held his surfboard underneath one arm, and looked about at the large audience with half-lidded eyes.
"Gero gero… After hearing of your competition with Mahihi Chui, I decided to… Capitalize upon your endeavor…" Keroro's eyes narrowed and her grinned.
"Could you say, buying in by selling out?" Mois suggested with a grin as she passed, selling banners for the occasion.
"How did you even have time for all of this, Gunso?" Fuyuki wondered aloud.
"You make enough of these plans you make connections, kukukuku!" Kururu chuckled. "I have work to do. You, don't—Kuku, well, looks like she isn't here…."
"Suzuyama-san isn't here, either, come to think of it," Fuyuki looked about and noticed both Haruki and Kirere absent.
"Good, maybe he got eaten by a shark," Natsumi muttered coldly.
"Nee-chan, that's kind of cold…"
"I must agree with Fuyuki-dono, Natsumi-dono. You'll never make anyone a fine wife with your tongue," Keroro laughed. Moments later, he found himself face-down in the sand, Natsumi's foot squishing his head and keeping him pinned.
Giroro gave a sigh, "Mahihi, let's do this."
"Urk, we… Set up the competition for you two…" Keroro retrieved a list all while still face-down on the ground, and Giroro took it. Both he and Mahihi read through it.
"A food competition? Dude, I think you and I are cool again," Mahihi said, clearly impressed. "All right, Aka-baka, let's get this down. First comp's a shooting one."
"In the bag," Giroro muttered to himself.
"Kirere?" Haruki tapped an orange-haired woman on the shoulder, only to receive yet another slap across the face. "OW! Hey, I didn't even deserve it that time!... That's gonna leave a mark… Hey, Kirere!"
He spotted the little girl in the human suit, and grabbed her by the shoulder, "You won't believe how many orange-haired girls there are here!"
"Hrmph," Kirere shrugged off his hand, and went back to selling hats. "Hats! Hats for sale! One for ten, or two for twenty! Hats for sale!"
"…Oh, I get it. You found out I'm the one who broke your Jones Brothers CD, right?" from the glare she gave, it was clear that it wasn't that that she was upset about. "I-I-I was going to replace that when I got the time, I just… I looked weird every time I tried to re-buy it! People stare when a thirty-something guy's trying to buy a boy band CD, ya know."
"You got the bike because you're a Suzuyama! Like, not just a Suzuyama, but one of THE Suzuyamas!" Kirere snapped. "I'm not stupid!"
"I n-never said that… I never denied being one of them…" Haruki scratched the back of his head. "You were able to read that?"
"Yeah! I'm not stupid!" Kirere snapped, and Haruki jerked back. "And now I find out you broke my CD, too!"
"…And the player, too…. Hey, it was in the workshop, I accidentally rolled over it backing out! At least I'm honest… Listen, Kirere, I… I don't even talk to them. I haven't since I went to live with my grandma."
"Huh…?"
"My mom left, and my dad decided he didn't have time for a kid," Haruki shrugged. "….I came back after my grandma passed away, thinking we'd have a happy reunion, but… It didn't work out."
"I thought you came to Hawaii for a girl…"
"That, too… Listen, I'm sorry I didn't tell you before that my family's the same family that's Honda's main competition, but I didn't think it was too important… I didn't mean you were an idiot for not figuring it out, it's just…" Haruki shrugged. "W-what… Wait, don't cry!"
"…That guy's making that lady cry, mom…." a young boy whispered as they passed.
"Urk!" Kirere dropped the hats she was selling and hugged onto Haruki tightly. "….Hehehe…. Okay, I'll buy you an ice cream if you promise to quit. I don't handle alien girls crying, muchless alien girls dressed up like human girls… Why's this getup have your one dad's symbol on it, anyway?"
"Because it's usually his…" she took a step back and wiped her eyes. Haruki was quiet for a time, and then sighed.
"…Why do I still let things surprise me? Come on, I think you other dad's competition is starting. I'm strangely compelled to watch…."
"Hey, Haruki… You dad isn't very nice, huh?" Kirere carried the box of hats as they walked down the sandy beach.
"…Not really…."
"Well, you can share mine, if you want…."
"…Ehhhhh I'm okay, thanks," Haruki answered with a laugh.
"All right… Fire!" Keroro called out, and Mahihi and Giroro both took shot at the targets. The audience was amazed at the skill the two showed; by the time they finished shooting in front of the makeshift range, the targets both had clean holes right through the heart.
"Heh, you're not bad, Aka Baka. Better than I thought. I might actually have to put in some effort here," Mahihi laughed as he eased his hold on the rifle.
Keroro continued with his announcement, now holding a microphone and hamming it up for the audience, "Ohhh looks like we have to get our judges here! Now we'll measure to see who had the cleaner shot…. It looks close, but…"
"It goes to Giroro-dono, Teicho-dono. By one 1/100th of a millimeter," Dororo called out after he finished measuring the sized holes.
"Eh?" Mahihi blinked, and Giroro gave a pleased grin. Keroro looked annoyed, and stood there beside Tamama.
"He could have fudged it…." Keroro muttered away from the microphone. "Dororo, whose side are you on?"
"The side of truth," Dororo answered with a nod, and Keroro's shoulders slumped.
"Moving on…." Keroro muttered flatly.
The next competition was a martial arts match between to two. Giroro was sure he had the upper hand in this competition as well until the bell sounded. Mahihi had the proud soldier knocked out cold on the ground within moments. After trying everything to wake him up, Mahihi had to take up giving Giroro CPR once yet again.
As they went on to reviving Giroro, a lone pale blonde man sat beneath a white plastic table, sipping a drink and relishing in the fact he was in full tourist regalia.
"…You haven't touched your drink…." he noted, and the drink fell onto the sand, as if by an invisible force. "….You're moody today…."
"I have a clear shot of them right now, I could take out whoever you wanted! As long as I get the one."
"Hrm. Well, I have the matter of a problem I have to take care of, if you remember… A little purple pitbull I have a score to settle with… That and the little demon-eyed brat you're after… Right now we have to sit back, and strategize… This is where you fail, you see…"
His companion gave a low growl at this point, and the human chuckled, and pushed up his sunglasses and spoke again, "Don't worry… I have a plan, we just have to keep following them…. We're going to hit them where it hurts the most with all of our manpower when the time's right."
"Hrmph… I still say you let me at the brat now. I can't think of a better time!"
"And I say we continue to watch," the human answered with a grin, and pushed up his sunglasses. "…You're probably just irritable because you've been cooped up for so many years. Come, now, I'll order you another drink."
The blonde's companion only grumbled in silently, and returned to quietly watching the group from afar.
"Seriously, stop passing out," Mahihi said after spitting out his mouthwash. Giroro took a swig from the same bottle and passed it back to Mahihi. They stood next to the other Keronians, save for Kirere, who was busy selling souvenirs with Haruki, and Romama, who no one had seen that morning.
Mahihi was about ready to take another swig, but only spat it out onto the sand. "….Daisy! Man am I in for it now."
"Heh, how sad, to live under the thumb of a Pekoponian woman…" Giroro snorted as Mahihi's wife approached the two, glaring daggers at them.
"You're really going to judge me on that…" Mahihi muttered, "H-Hey, dear! I was going to get to opening the shop… After this…."
"You have four kids at home, you don't need to be here goofing off here," Daisy folded her arms, and Mahihi took a step back, outwardly nervous by his wife's attitude.
"Gero gero gero… This is a matter of the wills of two great Keron warriors, simple Pekoponian civilian!" Keroro now stood in-between them grinning.
"Teicho-dono… You really shouldn't meddle in the affairs of couples…" Dororo warned. Keroro, however, ignored this, and continued.
"This was promised to be a multi-tournament event, we simply can't cancel it now for something as trivial as a small shop!" Keroro snorted, and laughed heartily. He then abruptly stopped as he noticed Daisy's look… It was so chilling, so familiar…. Just like… Natsumi-dono's glare…
Natsumi and Koyuki, who were quite a distance away from Keroro, noticed something suddenly flying across the cloudless sky… They could have sworn it was also giving a faint scream.
Giroro stood there in awe, then looked back at Daisy, who was dusting her hands on her dress, "You… You just…. That was astounding…"
"You see what I see in her finally," Mahihi grinned.
"Poor Gunso…." Tamama muttered; Keroro had been sent flying, splashing down a great ways away from the group.
"He'll wash up on shore," Giroro answered with a snort. "Mahihi… We're at a tie."
Mahihi nodded, "Daisy, this is kinda important… I promise I'll open up the shop an hour early tomorrow."
Daisy's frown gave way to a small grin, "Well, these people should bring some good business… I'll go open it up… You're on dishes tonight, too," she added as she walked away.
"….She's so pretty when she's bossing me around…" Mahihi said with a dreamy sigh that took the others aback. "She could order me around all day if she wanted."
"….I take it from that talk she doesn't know what you promised to do should you lose," Giroro added.
"Well, that's because I won't lose," Mahihi answered with a confident smile. "You wanna fast-forward this to the last event, Aka Baka? Before I get in more trouble?"
"D-Don't call me that!" Giroro snarled. "Fine! What is it?"
"Kukuku, surfing competition," Kururu read off. Surfing; it had nearly done him in last time, and the waves weren't looking friendly, Giroro noticed.
"All right," Giroro nodded. "Mahihi. Let's get this done with."
"…You sure you're up for—"
"Yes. Let's go," Giroro answered abruptly, and he took up his surfboard. After a moment's hesitation, Mahihi did the same.
"Ehhhhh…. What…. What'd I miss….?" Keroro practically drug himself back to the group, and he was now covered in seaweed, and a small crab had taken up residence atop his head.
Dororo then tilted his head up as he felt an oncoming breeze. He then left the group without another word, moving nimbly, even in his limiting Pekoponian suit.
Romama, too, felt something. He looked up at the clouds; it had been sunny moments before, but it looked as though now there was an oncoming storm. He stood up from the lonely rock he had been perched on a majority of the day, and looked down—There were two surfers, and now hopping on the patches of jagged rocks beside them a familiar blue Keronian.
The waves were getting even larger, Giroro noticed. He looked over his shoulder and saw a laugh group on the beach, among them Natsumi and Kirere…. Mahihi's family had also gathered on the beach….
He then turned his attention back to the waves, '….I can't lose against him again….'
He stood up on the board at he saw an approaching wave, Mahihi was already up on his surfboard. Giroro actually managed to stay up on the board this time, and was doing a fine job until he wiped out. Swimming to the surface after wiping out should have been easy for him, but he found himself being pulled by the forces of the water…
He'd been caught in a rip current.
"…I don't see either of them, Gunso-san…." Tamama muttered as they all stood on the beach, the winds now picking up a bit more.
"Eh? Well, Giroro Gocho may have fallen off of his surfboard again…" Keroro didn't seem confident in his own words.
"Those waves are strong," Daisy commented, and Haruki, who stood next to her, nodded. "…Thank goodness they're both used to this sort of thing, only an idiot would go out there if he didn't know how to surf."
Keroro's eyes went wide and worried at this. Kirere's eyes looked at him in great panic, and Natsumi, too, looked a bit worried outwardly.
Giroro finally managed to get a gasp of air as he pulled his head above water; his surfboard was violently bobbing along the waves, as was Mahihi's. Mahihi's was closer, and he grabbed onto this one in a vain attempt to stay afloat. He had been pulled out of his Pekoponian suit, which was probably the best thing that could have happened to him.
"M-Mahihi!" Giroro called out, now wondering as to wear the surfboard's owner had gone off to. He called out for Mahihi a few times, and then saw it, a hand coming up out of the water, and then disappearing back down into it.
Giroro climbed onto the surfboard and reached out for the hand, but found he alone wasn't enough to pull up Mahihi. He then felt hands grip around his waist.
"D-Dororo! Romama!"
Dororo was on the surfboard, holding onto Giroro, and Romama was behind both of them, clinging onto Dororo and forming a chain.
"On… Three!" Giroro grunted, and the two nodded. "One… Two…. UGH!"
Mahihi was jerked out of the water and onto the board full-force by the three Keronians, and immediately began to cough up the sea water he had swallowed. He did this all while paddling out of the current.
"T-thanks, guys…. Guys….?" Mahihi took this opportunity to sit up; he'd landed on all three of the Keronians, and they now laid sprawled out and fainted on the board.
"Yo, mind if I join you?" Giroro was snapped out of his thoughts by Mahihi, who took a seat next to him on the porch of Mahihi's home, "They did a good job bandaging you up… Sorry again for that whole, um, squishing you thing…. I'm only glad it happened while I was on my diet. So I guess our contest was a draw, huh?"
Giroro grunted, "You would have won it, anyway."
"Nah, we don't know that… Too bad it got rained out, we could've settled it through a karaoke competition. Well, there is one way to settle this like men…"
"Rock, paper, scissors, go!" both muttered, Giroro choosing rock and Mahihi paper.
"…Guess I'm not joining you guys then. Hrm, you paused for a second there," Mahihi noted with a grin, and Giroro returned this with a small contented smile of his own.
"Well, you are a little old for this… And you do have other obligations already," Giroro answered, glancing back into the house. "M-Mahihi, if I could ask you… How you…."
"I was myself," Mahihi answered. "….For some reason, she liked me anyway."
Giroro gave a nod, and Mahihi stood, "Well, better go rally up the troops… You guys are getting ready to head out, right?"
"Yes… Some of us have duties to return to," Giroro nodded.
"Hehe, I hear that. I like you, Aka Baka. You oughta come back some time, I'll show you how to really fight," Mahihi grinned, and walked back into his house.
Mahihi walked up to his bedroom, and shut the door. "….Boss, I know you're there… You know how risky this is, right? ….You…. You really shouldn't go looking for anyone else. You might run into Rokiki, who probably still hates you. They seem like a good bunch of kids, Shosa. Don't drag them into your mess, or at least let them know what they're getting into, okay?"
Romama, who stood silent while listening to this, said nothing, but opened the door, and left the bedroom. Mahihi gave an exhausted sigh, and slumped down on his bed.
"So you didn't find Kodada, huh, Gunso?" Fuyuki looked out the plane window at the ever-disappearing Hawaiian islands.
"Ah, just as well, Fuyuki-dono. We made a good friend out of it!" Keroro sat back and folded his arms behind his head.
"And I'll bet a pretty sweet little paycheck, too, I bet," Haruki added happily, and Keroro flinched.
"Kukuku!" Kururu was more than happy to fill in the blanks. "Teicho held the event on a private beach… After he finished rental fees we're lucky if we have enough to pay the electric bill…"
"WHAT?!" Giroro snarled. "Keroro, you idiot!"
"It was all that demon Pekoponian Mahihi Chui calls his wife, she's worse than Natsumi-dono!" Keroro shot back.
"….What's that mean?" Natsumi asked darkly, and cracked her knuckles as she loomed over Keroro.
"Ge…. Gero…" Keroro squeaked.
"I'll get it!" Mahihi shouted as he heard the doorbell sound while the family sat at the dinner table. The Pekoponian-suited Keronian walked to the door, and was puzzled at first to see a blonde haired, blue-eyed man staring back at him.
"Good evening… My name is Nikolai Kezanstav… You might know my associate, Rokiki Tai (captain)."
"….Hon, I have to go out for a little bit. I have some friends to talk to."
"All right, hurry back," Daisy called out as Mahihi stepped out of the house.