"When am I going to meet this mystery guy?" Aki asked. Her knife sliced through each of the carrots expertly as her daughter brought the huge pot of water to boil.

"Mom, it isn't like we're dating or anything," Natsumi muttered. "I mean, it's… I dunno."

"Well, you did just meet him last week," Aki limped to the refrigerator to take out the chicken they had left to thaw.

"Mom, if you wanted me to get the chicken-"

"Natsumi, I need to get my foot to walk on its own."

Natsumi watched her mom nervously, not sure if she should hover around her to make sure she doesn't fall and hurt her ankle more.

"Like I said before," Aki smiled at her daughter. "How come you haven't gone out on a date with him yet? I wouldn't mind. He sounds like a really nice guy, not minding the fact that you take Koyuki with you and all…"

"That's the thing," Natsumi sighed. "I mean, I love Koyuki, you know, as a sister. But.."

"But?"

Natsumi nibbled on one of the carrots. "She doesn't want to leave me and Rio alone."

"Maybe she's worried about you?" Aki dried her hands on a dish towel to prepare the chicken. "If you convince this Rio person to come meet me, maybe you'll ease her worries. And then you two could finally go out on a date."

"Maybe.." Natsumi looked down at her carrot and blushed. "I'm so sorry, mom!"

Aki laughed. "It's fine! There's plenty more where that came from!"

Giroro dug his sweet potatoes under the pit. After making sure there were no explosives or fire crackers among the stack of wood he had gathered (he had learned that lesson far too seriously when Keroro, Kururu and Tamama thought it would be "funny" if Giroro had one of his own "Fourth of July" fireworks…. Whatever that was), he started the fire, a friendly, little speck of light at first, and then a gently flame dancing in the still air. His cat was curled up in a little ball by his feet while he relaxed and poked the potato with a stick, turning it this way and that, making sure it was baked correctly.

"Smells good, don't it?" Giroro said, laughing as his cat brought her head up to inspect the delicious aroma. He took it out carefully and let it sit there to cool. His cat already knew by now that if she felt like eating a sweet potato, she needed to wait. She stared at it in a transfixed state as Giroro studied his mini calendar.

This had become a habit now. He had convinced himself that, besides taking over Pekopon, his ultimate goal was to make Natsumi love him. He always cherished that dream, and that dream was going to come true- even though he definitely didn't want the others to know it.

It had come to his attention that Keroro had finally assembled a proper Pekopon Invasion plan- or, at least, so Giroro heard. He didn't believe it until Kururu rolled out the blueprints, but it didn't matter. He wasn't to assist in the invasion- he was to assist in the diversion process of the warrior princess that stood between the platoon and the invasion.

He hated to admit it, but it was a really clever plan. In more ways than one.

Keroro had also pointed out that he had already noticed some changes in Natsumi's behavior. Giroro didn't notice, but then again, he didn't live in the house with her. Keroro did.

Ms. Furbottom meowed loudly and looked up at Giroro with enormous eyes, taking him away from his studying.

"Oh. Are they ready?" Giroro poked at sweet potatoes with his finger. "They are. Good. Do you feel like wanting some now?"

She purred and rubbed her head against his side.

"I'll take that as a yes." Giroro peeled them carefully and took a chunk to give to her, in which she promptly bit off his hands. He took a bite out of his own and chewed on it carefully, considering what he was going to do tomorrow. He had gained some of her trust- that's good. He befriended her friends, making sure that he looked like an ideal partner for her- that's also good.

What's not good is that the only person- and, unfortunately, one of the only persons that had alienesque knowledge- that didn't seem to trust him was Koyuki.

Under her sweet and charming exterior, she was… acting curious.

Giroro asked Keroro if Dororo had spoiled the plan to her, but the leader plainly said he didn't know. That proved to be trouble- for if Koyuki knew "Rio's" true identity, then… Natsumi could never trust him again. And, of course, the mission would crumble into oblivion- but, Natsumi would never trust him again. That, assuming that she thought that Giroro was only doing this for the invasion. But assuming she finally realized that Giroro loved her…. Giroro shuddered. All of mayhem will erupt in his own world. He would have to leave, forever. Never would he return to Pekopon knowing that the girl that he loved could never love him back and never ever consider him even as a simple friend.

Giroro threw water on the flames. It sizzled into a light, harmless smoke, and floated gently into the sky. "Come on, Ms. Furbottom…" He opened his tent flap and let her in first, as he normally did. "..Let's get some sleep."

"Dororo, did you tell Koyuki?"

Dororo turned to him, pale blue eyes gentle and staring.

"…As much as I want to…" The blue frog sat down and poured some tea to Giroro, who had visited him in the little cottage where he and Koyuki resided. "I can tell you really like this plan."

Giroro coughed, scratching his throat. "U-um, so is that-?"

"As far as Koyuki knows, I know nothing of the plan," Dororo said with finality. "I mean, Keroro didin fact throw me out… I mean, this exempts me from really knowing what you're doing, right, Giroro-?"

"Thank you," He said quickly. He didn't bother to drink the tea. "That's all I wanted to know."

"Why?" Dororo gave him a funny look. "Is she acting strange to you at all?"

"Not to me, personally," Giroro said. "But to Rio."

"Rio?"

"That's me. As a Pekoponian."

Dororo giggled.

"I did not come up with the name-!"

"Yes, I can guess who did," Dororo played with his cup, fingering the top with a single finger. "Koyuki has acted like she always did, nothing new here. How does she treat-" Giroro gave him a strict look "-you?"

"She doesn't let me be alone with Natsumi," Giroro explained, rather embarrassed. "I-I mean, not the way you would think…"

Dororo nodded and cocked his head to the side. "She could possibly be a little jealous of you, Giroro."

"Why?"

"Well, think about it. Really, Natsumi is her only real, close friend-"

"Besides you."

"Beside me," Dororo said, his voice trying but failing not to sound extremely touched. "And, anyway, she might feel a little uncomfortable. I mean, she's going to want what's best for Natsumi. And if she says what she thinks you are-"

At this, Giroro perked up. "What does she say about me?"

Dororo blushed. "I-I never said-"

"Dororo."

"She thinks you might be an alien," Dororo said slowly. "And that you might be out to hurt Natsumi, someway or another. But she hasn't been able to prove it yet, and the fact that Natsumi really seems to like you…"

"I'll just have to be really careful," Giroro nodded, standing up to dust himself. "Thanks for the tea, Dororo, even though, uh, I didn't really drink it. Try coffee next time, okay?"

"I'll keep that in mind," Dororo said. He looked at the sky. "School will be out in an hour."

"Alright. See you later, then."

"Hi, Natsumi, Koyuki," Giroro nodded to each of the respective girls.

"Hi, Rio!" Koyuki waved. "Natsumi and I were going to going to her home to study." She paused and gazed at him for a while. "I've always wondered, Rio, where do you go to school? Just curious."

At this point had Keroro taken over. "I'm home schooled. I came to Japan as an extra class to study Japanese culture."

"Cool!" Natsumi smiled at him shyly. "But, um, you know, you could come to my house. I-I made cookies last night, was, um…" She was turning pink. "Hoping you could come over and maybe eat them? I-I mean, they might not be that good, but…"

"Sounds good to me," Giroro grinned back.

"And maybe you could meet my mom?" Natsumi couldn't believe that came out.

Giroro stared at her for a while, and then laughed. Natsumi turned even redder. "That's fine! Sure, I'll meet your mom."

Keroro and Tamama watched them from the trees just outside the school. The leader stared at Giroro at amazement. "Wow! He's getting better at this whole interactive thing."

"Yeah," Tamama agreed. "I was expecting him to drool or keel over when Natsumi had said she had baked cookies for him."

Keroro pulled on his binoculars. "He's dying inside, Tamama. I know Giroro too well for him not to be."

"He doesn't look like he's dying inside."

I'm dying inside! Giroro thought, following Natsumi and Koyuki as they chatted amongst themselves, discussing various school subjects that he didn't bother to remember. But I don't care! I'm in H.E.A.V.E.N.

"….And the prize for Mutsumi's radio show were tickets for the amusement park!" Natsumi groaned. "Too bad I didn't get chosen…."

"Maybe next time," Koyuki said sweetly.

"I know the stupid frog probably won them…" Natsumi mumbled, immediately catching Giroro's attention. "He's probably auctioning them off on E-Bay to buy those stupid toys… I bet you that's what he did with the other tickets he had won last week."

"You're a fan of Mutsumi?" Giroro asked politely, deciding to insert himself into the conversation.

"A-are you?" Natsumi looked at him in anticipation.

"I… listen to him, occasionally," Giroro said. He shrugged. "He's alright."

"Natsumi's a huge fan," Koyuki giggled.

Natsumi playfully whacked her arm. "Stop it, Koyuki…"

***
"Your house is nice," Giroro said.

"You saw it before," Natsumi inserted the key into the doorknob.

"The porch. Can't really say much about the front yard. Though it's very nice," Giroro added. Koyuki and Natsumi stepped right in, but suddenly, as if she remembered something, Natsumi turned back and covered the entrance with her body to prevent him from going in. "Wait! Wait here, for a moment, okay? Take off your shoes. Please." She slammed the door, nearly hitting his face.

Giroro quickly backed off and blinked, wondering what all the commotion was about. He sat down and waited by the door, counting down the seconds that it would take for this body to turn back for him. He taught himself this to keep him from leaving abruptly. He didn't want to arouse more suspicion then there already was with Koyuki.

He leaned against the door, wondering what he could do about her…

The door clicked open with as much suddenness as it has closed. Giroro fell backwards and found himself looking up at Natsumi's skirt-

"I'm sorry!" Giroro said, has face bloody red. He covered his eyes and immediately turned around, preparing for a pummeling.

"Geez, relax," Natsumi said, surprised, although she was embarrassed to be put into the awkward situation herself. "It was an accident."

"…Right." Had he been himself, as Giroro, she would have beat the crap out of him.

"You can come inside now." Natsumi opened the door wide. "Sorry about earlier. I had to have some things taken care of."

"No problem at all." Giroro stood up, dusted himself, and picked up his shoes to put with the others.

"H-here are my cookies," Natsumi said timidly, giving him a small bowl of delicate looking cookies.
Giroro stared at them.

They were in the shape of hearts.

Hearts.

"Th…thanks." Giroro's hand shook with an uncertain tremble as he reached out to take the cookie. He bit into it, savoring the flavor. These were his cookies- not Saburo's. He was eating them because Natsumi made them for him- not because she wanted to know how they tasted like for Saburo.

He felt giddy all of a sudden now.

"These are good," Giroro said, wanting to sound as appreciative as he felt. If he was Giroro, he would have to try to pull off this charade of I'm so tough but I'll eat your cookies anyway because I like you (as in, 'don't hate you'). But now he was Rio, cool, charming nice guy. He took another cookie from the bowl.

"Oh, no, these are nothing," Natsumi blushed again, a deep pink color. Her face might as well have matched her hair color. It was really cute.

"Aww SCORE!" Keroro whispered, observing them from a tree outside of the house. "She made him cookies!"

"Ain't that sweet, Sarge?" Tamama gushed.

Natsumi was smiling before she looked out the window. Keroro and Tamama shuddered with horror as she gave them a simple "I-will-kill-you-if-you-don't-buzz-off" look and crushed her hand into a fist.

Keroro fell off the tree.

"Psst, Giroro."

Giroro touched his choker and looked around. Natsumi was going over a mathematics problem with Koyuki- both were intensely occupied. He quietly left the room and turned back to his collar. "What?"

"Come outside."

Giroro sighed exaggeratedly but did as he was requested. He went through the back door and looked at his tent. He stared at it with awe. Is my tent really that tiny?

"Giroro!" Keroro said, waving from a bush. "Hey! Is the coast clear?"

Giroro looked behind him. Aki was in the kitchen, preparing a snack for the three of them, and obviously, Koyuki and Natsumi were upstairs. "Yes. What do you want?"

"Phase three-" Keroro said softly, slapping something on Giroro's Pekoponian legs. He put a finger to his own lips. "I was never here!" He vanished back into the vegetation.

Giroro looked down and saw what Keroro had made a big deal about- because earlier Natsumi had made a big deal about them.

They were Mutsumi's amusement park tickets.

"Hi, Rio," Aki said, limping from place to place, preparing little things to eat. "What do you need?"

Giroro opened his mouth, not sure what to say. He was supposed to go back undetected, but he failed miserably.

Aki smiled sweetly. "Did you come down here for something?"

"What's the best way to ask Natsumi out?" Giroro blurted. He held out the tickets in explanation, his face entirely red.

They probably turned on the Truth dial again. Mother frog, this is just sad.

Aki examined them briefly before she put them back in his hand. "Just ask her." She patted his shoulder comfortingly and then turned back to her snack-making.

Watching her walk so crookedly made him feel uncomfortable. "Can I take that upstairs for you?"

"You're so sweet!" Aki gave him the treats and patted his back, sending him upstairs. "Try not to spill anything! Thank you!"

"And then you divide it by…" Natsumi jumped slightly as Giroro entered the door, who was balancing the snacks cautiously with two hands. She laughed. "Do you need help?"

"Nah, I got it…" Giroro muttered.

Natsumi took one of the two bowls of snacks anyway, inviting him to sit down next to her. Koyuki closed her study book.

"It's getting really late, don't you think?" Koyuki asked innocently.

"But we just got the snacks," Natsumi said.

"Umm, I know, but we've been here for hours…" Koyuki looked at Giroro, her eyes unreadable. "Hmm? Right, Rio?"

Giroro brought his attention to the seconds that he had forgotten to count in the past hour. Or hours.

Frog.

"She's right," He said slowly. "It is getting late."

Koyuki seemed relieved somehow. "Well, why don't I show you out the door, then-?"

"Wait." Giroro took out one of the tickets from his back pockets and put it in Natsumi's hand.

She stared at it, eyes wide, her mouth forming a small smile. "You won the tickets."

"Yeah, well, a friend of mine did," Giroro explained. "Umm, would you like to maybe go with me?"

"Totally!" Natsumi nodded. "When?"

"Uh, any day is fine."

"Well, then, what about tomorrow? It's Friday."

"Y-yeah. That's fine." He didn't feel the tingle; the usual warning that he was turning back into a Keronian. "S-so, after school, right? Or what time would you like me to pick you up?"

"Maybe a few hours, so I could get ready, how about…?"

Koyuki stood in the background awkwardly as Natsumi and Giroro talked eagerly about their first date alone. The ninja girl sat down and waited patiently for the conversation to die down, in which Giroro realized that a few minutes could possibly trigger the tingle.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," Giroro said. "I'll show myself out the door."

When he left, Natsumi turned to Koyuki.

"Isn't this great?" She asked her.

"Yeah," She said. She smiled at her friend. "That's great, Natsumi."

"Do you want me to walk you home?" Natsumi looked out the window. "I mean, not that you need protection-"

"No, it's alright!" Koyuki said cutely. "I wouldn't want you to walk home alone! 'Cuz you do need the protection!"

Blunt as always, Koyuki….

Natsumi tapped her fingers impatiently at the clock. Tick tock…

The teacher was talking about something involving history, something involving a possible question on the quiz on Monday. Not that she cared.

'Cuz she was going out on a date.

Then logic got to the better of her and she paid sharp attention. But not for long.

She wondered if Rio would kiss her….

This was the first time Giroro really looked foreword to being "Rio". He had shined all his guns and then started over out of anticipation for the time. He eye kept going to the clock, or to Keroro, who had told him that he and Tamama and possibly Kururu were going to be watching their date and would have his back lest anything awkward (or juicy) happens.

Keroro even encouraged a first kiss should he take her home.

The thought heat Giroro up considerably.

The bell rang. Students fled the school building like it was being quarantined. They discussed of weekend plans, waking up late or going to school the next day to study or egging the principal's car…

Natsumi said bye to Koyuki, who left as fast as a ninja possibly could, saying something about finding Dororo.

Natsumi simply waved, commented briefly how agile the ninja was to herself, and then ran home, eager to try out outfits to wear on the date. Only few hours, now…

"You're going to make her fall in love with you tonight, right?" Keroro asked, placing his hands on his hips as Giroro folded his own arms.

"No comment."

"That says enough about you, my little prince charming~!"

"I'll try to keep Koyuki busy for you," Dororo said kindly. He came to offer support for his friend- not Keroro. Maybe even share some friendly advice. Told him some jokes that Giroro locked away mentally to never say that should the oppurtunity arise.

"Ready, Giroro?" Kururu asked, pointing the gun straight at the red frog.

He sighed in reply. "Am I ever?" He was.

"Hi! I came by 'cuz I wanted to see if Dororo was with you guys!"

Kururu had already pressed the trigger.

"What are you guys-?"

Giroro's eyes were turned away and widened; he quickly turned to tell Kururu to stop but the light had already reached him, covered him- transformed him.

Koyuki stared, awestruck, seeing Giroro-turned-Rio before her.

"…Oops." Kururu looked down at his gun. "Ku-ku-ku-ku~ This could be very bad…."
"G-Giroro?" Koyuki stammered. "…Y-You're Rio?"

Oh, snap!

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