Chapter 11:
"D-Dororo! What about Koyuki!?" Giroro started the barrage that began immediately.
"You're our sanest character, you can't leave us alone! That'll leave us with Kii-chi, and she's useless unless the TV's out!" Tamama added.
"Yeah!" Kirere couldn't help but agree with this. "And what about your part of the Earth?! There's still a lot in Japan for you to take care of!"
"Hehe, Dororo, this is a silly joke, right?" Keroro asked with a laugh. "I never knew you had such a wonderful sense of humor!"
"I… I have my reasons for this," Dororo answered, and looked back. "This area, it's so vast, and with only one person protecting so much—"
"It's just fine with one, it has been for a long while," Lupapa added. "You didn't think I was handicapped before, don't now. It isn't your fault, what happened to me."
"She goes on like she's in a samurai movie," Chunini snorted.
"Shut it, you!" Lupapa growled.
"Homely!" Chunini shot back.
"I'm fine here," Lupapa turned her attention back to Dororo. "But… Thanks anyway."
Dororo nodded his head, and Lupapa gave a calm smile. Keroro butted in between this serene moment.
"Are you sure you wouldn't like to join our cause for just a little while?"
"She doesn't want to go!" Giroro snapped.
"Kuku! We're all ready to board," Kururu announced.
"I'll catch up with you all there… I'm going to torment Lupapa-chan a little while longer," Chunini added as they all began to walk toward their ship.
"What? Are you sure, Chunini-san?" Keroro asked, and Chunini laughed.
"I have a private jet to fly me, I don't need grade-F space garbage!" she laughed haughtily. "That thing you fly doesn't even pass for business class!"
"If there were ever a Keronian woman I wanted to fight, it'd be her," Giroro muttered through gritted teeth.
Kirere, meanwhile, looked down at her bracelet, and gave a small sigh. She unbuckled it and then ran back to the two Keronian women, who both watched the child curiously.
"Here, you can have this," she held it out for Lupapa. "I don't need it anymore."
"What? For me? Are… Are you sure?" Lupapa asked, and Kirere smiled and nodded.
"Here, fair is fair," Lupapa removed one of the golden bracelets she wore and exchanged Kirere for her simple black one. "It's a little big for you, but you'll grow into it."
"If you start eating lots and lots of donuts as young as possible, just like Lupapa-chan did," Chunini added.
"Don't call me –chan, I'm older than you!" Lupapa snapped, putting a fist on the top of Chunini's head and preparing to punch at any moment.
"Wow… Thanks!" the young girl laughed happily, and ran away with her new treasure. Lupapa looked up after fixing the bracelet on, and saw Dororo looking back to both of them. He held up his hand to wave goodbye, and she did the same. After a moment he dropped it, and was soon out of sight.
"Of all the times for you to find someone," Chunini shook her head after they had vanished. "….I'm sorry, Lupapa… And I mean that."
"Let's just do what we have to," Lupapa answered coldly, beginning the trek back to her home as she looked down at the black band and its simple silver buckle.
"Maybe we should say something to him," Keroro whispered as they were back on the transport ship, sitting on one side while Dororo looked out the window on the other. Kururu was flying, and Romama was also sitting up front, neither having much interest in this.
Giroro nodded, and looked to Keroro, "But what do we say?"
"Gero, that's where I blank out," Keroro admitted. "Wait, I've got it!"
"Then maybe we should—" Giroro began, but Keroro's mouth was already going. To stop him now would be like trying to stop an avalanche with a dustpan.
"Hey! Dororo!" Keroro called out to get the lance corporal's attention. "When you're ready to meet someone new, Giroro and I can help you!"
This only sent Dororo into trauma mode. Kirere took a step forward toward Dororo, to comfort the ninja, but Giroro placed a hand on her shoulder.
"It's best to let this just pass, to try to break him from it would be like attempting to wake a sleepwalker," Giroro instructed, and Kirere nodded.
"What did I say?" Keroro asked, sincerely confused.
The flight was a long one, even with alien technology that allowed them to speed along. By the time they managed to touch land, it was still light out, but Tamama, Kirere, and Keroro had all fallen asleep. Even Romama was starting to nod off when he was jolted awake by the landing spacecraft.
"We're here," Kururu said simply as he looked back to everyone. Through the windows it looked gray outside… They'd made touchdown at the home of Fujuju Socho.
While they were landing in one part of the world, in Japan there were several worried Pekoponians who were just getting ready to take flight.
Mahihi's wife had decided to stay, and she was promised as soon as there were any developments she'd be notified.
"I feel bad for her, Nee-chan," said Fuyuki as he placed his bag in the overheard compartment, and Natsumi nodded.
"I hope this doesn't mean Stupid Frog's bitten off more than her can chew again… He never thinks, just goes and gets himself in trouble, and then we have to save him!"
"Hehe, he's helped us plenty of times too, Nee-chan, even if he started the problem. He always makes up for anything he's done wrong," Fuyuki added, and Natsumi gave a sigh.
"Well, I—Huh?! What now?!" Natsumi asked as she and Fuyuki ran to the opposite side of the plane as they heard a sudden buzzing noise from outside the runway.
"I-it's a helicopter!" Fuyuki said in amazement, and then watched in horror as a woman in a black business suit jumped out of the helicopter, and landed perfectly on the concrete, crouched down and with a sheathed samurai-style sword in one extended hand.
"Fuyuki-kun will just love these snacks… And no one here to steal them on him!" Momoka clenched her fist as she now walked onto the runway, a multi-layered bento box in hand. She was oblivious as to what had just happened. That was, until Paul jumped out in front of her.
"Please, Miss Momoka, hurry to the plane! Leave me!" Paul ordered her, and she looked past Paul to the bespectacled woman, who now stood with her sword drawn.
"I was told that my client is here!" barked out the woman with the sword.
"Madam, I haven't the slightest what you're talking about, but you're not getting any further than where you stand," Paul announced, and her eyes narrowed.
"I'll take that as a challenge," she ran, full force, with the sword in hand. Paul dodged out of the way, causing her to stumble a bit and then turn around.
The battle that followed was one for the ages. Paul managed to retrieve the sword from her, but she only pulled out a dagger and then continued.
"Please, surrender!" Paul grunted. "I will not have you harming Miss Momoka or her friends!"
"I have no interest in the Nishizawa Peach Group!" she added. "Only my client! I was told she would be with the Hinata children!"
"Why does this all stink of that Stupid Frog?" Natsumi muttered as she watched from inside with Momoka and Fuyuki.
"Paul… Be strong!" Momoka called out, her hands to her mouth. She kept eyeing Fuyuki, looking for him to comfort her in her time of need. Much to her chagrin she found no signs of it.
"These other aliens have been a bad influence for Chu!" growled the small woman, and Paul stopped her leg, mid-kick.
"Did you say… Other aliens?" he asked, and she met with his eyes.
When she had finally regrouped, she sat on the plane with the Hinata children and Momoka, across from a table sipping her tea and acting as though nothing had happened.
"All that Chu left was this letter, saying that she was being held against her will, and she gave me your address, so I assumed her captors were you, naturally," Lee pulled out the letter and handed it over to Natsumi like it were a business contract.
"First Mahihi, now another Keronian from Romama's Platoon…. This is getting more and more serious," Fuyuki muttered, and Natsumi nodded, and passed the letter back to Lee. She took another sip of her tea and then continued.
"We have numerous search efforts out for my client as we speak…. You have to understand, Miss Chunini is the only friend I have. Before she took me on as he manager I was working a dead-end job representing children's entertainment actors. I will go to any length to assure her safety. Any."
"Apparently so," Paul said as he came back with a tray of fresh tea for the group.
"The only hint we have is that they're in Brazil," Natsumi sighed.
"That's all?" Lee asked. "I lost her once in Osaka for a week…. She'd done it just to clock my time. Brazil is a massive country."
"Wait!" Fuyuki snapped his fingers. "Nee-chan, remember Kirere's bracelet? It has a tracker on it!"
"Yeah, that's right! Because she's always getting lost!" Natsumi gasped. "Mois-chan might be able to find out their location! I'll go call her."
Lee smirked as Natsumi walked away, and then removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes, "I don't see how you handle so many at once… Chu is trying enough on my soul."
"Gunso and his friends are a handful, but they're really good deep down!" Fuyuki answered.
"Fuyuki! She got a location!" Natsumi called out.
"That's great, Nee-chan!"
"Now let's just hope Stupid Frog isn't in trouble…. Or worse…."
"My legs… I can't feel… My legs… Why would anyone live somewhere so cold on purpose?" Keroro shook horribly, as did the others aside from Dororo and Romama.
"Are we there yet? My tail's got icicles on it!" Tamama cried out, and Kirere gave a sneeze.
"One more turn, and this should be the place she told us about…." Keroro answered.
"If this one doesn't join us of have any answers, I swear this frigid island will be yours and his grave, Keroro," Giroro growled through chattering teeth.
When they turned a corner down the London block, it took them a moment to realize the building address they had been given was to the abandoned building before them. It was boarded up, and completely dark inside.
"Terrific, another one of her cruel jokes!" Giroro snapped.
"Huh?" Tamama sniffed the air, and then stood there. "…It's… Fresh cookies! The smell's coming from in there!"
"What? Really?" Keroro looked at the building, and then to Tamama.
"This place is abandoned, that's impossible!" Giroro grumbled.
"Could we just go in at least? I'm really cold," Kirere whined, and Giroro, after a moment, relented. After tearing away a few boards and opening the door, all rushed past him into the slightly warmer building.
Books. Stacks and stacks of books upon books. It formed a maze, and nearly blocked out the little light there was in the old shop, which was otherwise covered in dust. Books lined up the staircase, they crammed the shelves, and they littered the floor. Kirere fell more than once, and eventually Dororo had to keep a hand on her shoulder to steady the clumsy girl.
"This is really creepy… I hope there isn't a creepy cat lady in here," Tamama muttered.
"Wow, I didn't even know there were this many different books!" Kirere gasped.
"Kuku, that's because you don't read," Kururu answered with a chuckle, and Kirere gave a huff.
"My… There aren't pictures in any of these!" Keroro shook his head as he opened the ancient Pekoponian text and skimmed through the pages. "It looks as though there's nothing interesting…" He tossed the book aside and sighed, then shot his head over as he noticed Giroro climbing up the stairway.
"Eh? Giroro, what do you think you're doing there?" Keroro asked, and Giroro motioned for him to hush. As the others climbed up to get a better look at what Giroro was looking at, they saw there was a yellow light coming from the second floor. The corporal stalked over to one particular ajar door that not only had light, but music coming from it.
Romama formed the tail end of the group. As they stopped he looked back to get a better look at his surroundings, and his eyes went wide with horror. What only looked like a puppet of a clown hanging from the ceiling to many caused Romama to rush away, knocking down Kururu and starting a chain reaction which ended with Tamama falling atop Giroro and then Giroro hitting against the door and sending it flying open.
The Keronian on the other side of the door gave a high scream of surprise and fell back from the stool he had been stand on, falling onto the ground and hitting his head on the wooden floor.
"…D-don't tell me we traveled all this way and then killed him," was the last thing the strange Keronian heard before it went black on him.
When he came to, he laid out on the couch in the small apartment he'd made for himself, and there was a group just like him staring back at him in interest.
"Oh, good, no need to find a shovel now!" Keroro sighed with relief, and the other Keronian, who was a dark khaki in skin color, bolted up, and rushed back to his small kitchen area.
"They're burning!" he muttered to himself, swinging open the oven and finding it empty. "Where did they—Eh?" Tamama stood in the kitchen, and was only noticed now. One of the black Keronian's hands held an empty tray, while the other, the last cookie. The brownish Keronian, a full-grown adult male, hurried over to Tamama, and looked down at the private.
"Enjoy those, I take it?"
"U-um, y-yes?" the closeness of this stranger made Tamama more than a little uncomfortable, as did his bizarre eyes. There were a few moments of silence, and then the brown Keronian's smile grew, and he took a step back.
"Wonderful, I'll make more!" he clasped his hands together and grinned. He then went back to whistling and hopped up onto his stool, and resumed cooking.
"This one's a strange one, kuku!" Kururu chuckled.
"You saying that terrifies me," Giroro muttered.