Koyuki backed away slowly.

How did she even manage to find us?

Giroro thought frantically. Then again, they were at the park- not at their usual base or the backyard (like they didn't want Rio to be a "stalker"). But they were in a secluded area- they were careful to make sure that no one saw them while they pekoponized Giroro.

"This isn't good," Tamama whimpered.

Everyone held their breath.

Giroro felt the choker tighten slightly in his neck, or maybe it was just the anxiety. His heart raced and pounded mercilessly against his chest as he held a near-steady gaze at Koyuki. His legs that he worked so hard on trying to master were starting to feel like jelly as it did in the beginning- he feared that if no one spoke up now he would pass out from over exertion.

The silence was deafening.

"Koyuki…" Dororo said cautiously.

Koyuki stared down at him, her shock increasing as she realized that her friend seemed to in on the plan as well. Taking a deep breath, she asked, calmly, "What is this about?"

When no one knew how to reply, she looked to Dororo for the answer. "D?"

"The truth?"

"The truth."

"Well…" Dororo looked at his friend.

Make up anything,Giroro thought toward him, knowing full well that this anime could transfer his thoughts due to the low budget of the animation.

Don't worry, Dororo assured him. After thinking within moments for the perfect explanation, he finally made up his mind and turned to Koyuki respectfully.

"Koyuki," He said. Then he pointed. "Giroro loves Natsumi."

"D-Dororo-!" Giroro cried out, his face a deep crimson.

"Aw, why didn't you say so?" Koyuki grinned. "I didn't know that!"

. . . .

You're joking.

"Man, you made the last part of this episode all epic and suspenseful, too!" Keroro pouted. "The least you could do is like cry or something!"

Giroro fell to his knees in utter relief.

"What for?" Koyuki asked innocently. "I mean, I knew there was something fishy about you, Giroro- I mean, Rio." She winked at him, making him turn even redder with humiliation. "But now it all makes sense."

"Are you going to tell Natsumi?" Giroro muttered.

"Nah!" Koyuki waved her hands dismissively. "If she asks, I'll tell her. But I doubt she'll be able to figure it out herself." She looked up at the sky. "Speaking of, don't you have a date with her, Giroro?"

Giroro cocked his head briefly, as if he forgotten something, and then jumped up immediately after. "Th-that's right! I have to go!"

"Have fun with Natsumi for me!" Koyuki said. She looked down at the remaining Keroro platoon, who also seemed to recognize the situation and wanted to act upon it, as they were behind schedule due to this extremely sudden and heartstopping situation that didn't deserve the attention.

"Do you want me to put that back for you?" Koyuki offered, gesturing toward the gun.

"Kero?" Keroro looked up at her.

"If you want, I could put it in Giroro's tent for you," She said sweetly. "You guys look really busy."

"Aww, you're too kind!" Keroro took the gun from Kururu and gave it to her. "Here! Be very careful with it, okay?"

"Ku-ku-ku-ku~ are you sure, Keroro?" Kururu asked, although his voice didn't have the slightest suspicion in it.

"Of course! We can trust her. C'mon, I don't want to miss a second of Giroro's first date!"

"That was kind of you to do that, Koyuki," Dororo said to her as she examined the said gun thoughtfully.

"It was nothing!" Koyuki said. "Um, Dororo? Could you do me a huge favor?"

"Uh, sure?" Dororo looked up at her.

"I have these tickets that I won last week," Koyuki watched Keroro, Tamama, and Kururu run after Giroro. "I wanted to go to the fair with Natsumi."

"Aw, I'm sorry," Dororo said sympathetically. "Maybe you could go some other time with her?"

"They expire today."

"Oh." He could only imagine what was going through her mind now. "I'm sorry about that to. I'll do anything to cheer you up- what was that favor you were asking me about?" Bitterness, resentment, jealousy-

"Can you go on a date with me?"

Dororo stared at her.

Didn't imagine that, did ya?

Giroro knocked on the door and stood back, waiting. He could just feel Keroro's beady eyes drilling holes at the back of his head. He wasn't amused that his platoon was accustomed to using his newly formed social life as an amusement.

As Mois would say, reality show?

Ha, ha.

Giroro reached out and knocked on the door again.

The voice on the other side of the door responded with a faded, "I'm coming!"

The weather was absolutely beautiful. When he heard the weather announcement on his radio, he worried about the possibility of it raining on their date.
He knew he had nothing to worry about when he saw the blue, clear sky, with not a cloud in sight. Still, he would cast anxious glances upward, praying for the clouds to stay away. So far, so good.

The knob clicked and turned; the door cracked open.

"Rio?"

Giroro redirected his attention toward Natsumi, and immediately blushed.

She was attired in a dark pink tank top and a green camouflaged-patterned skirt. She topped it off with a small hat that tilted slightly to the right against her pink hair.

"I'll be back in a couple of hours, okay?" She called out behind her.

Fuyuki provided a halfhearted answer, denoting that he was most likely either sticking his nose in a book or studying websites dedicated to the unknown.

"Do I look okay?" She asked shyly, turning back to Giroro.

After stammering unrecognizably like an idiot for a few seconds, she was satisfied with the small nod that indicated she looked way more than okay.

"That's good," Natsumi said, studying the ticket she had in her hand. "I wanted to ask my friend, but I couldn't find him."

Is she referring to me? Giroro pulled out his own ticket, feinting interest as well. Probably. It wouldn't be the first time, anyway.

"So do you know where this is?" Giroro asked, shaking the ticket a bit.

"Huh? Oh, yeah," Natsumi nodded. "Come on; it's not that far from here." She hopped off the front porch, holding on to the little bag that was strapped against her chest. It had a little skull pin on it- the same little skull Giroro gave her when he left Pekopon to visit his dad.

"Rio?" Natsumi asked, snapping him from the somewhat distant memory. "What rides are you looking forward to getting on?"

"I've, um…" Giroro shrugged. "Never really been to the amusement park yet."

"Oh, that's right," Natsumi knocked on her head playfully. "I keep thinking you were raised here."

"Yeah, well, I get that a lot," Giroro said. He put his ticket in his pocket, careful not to lose it.

"How about the Ferris Wheel?"

"Mmm?"

"Have you ever been on that one?" Natsumi inquired, following his action and putting her own ticket in her purse. "The Ferris Wheel- it's pretty much the same around the world, right?"

More like around the universe. "Yeah, I've been on it before."

It was a disaster. Dororo, Zeroro back then, was pushed out of the little cart by none other then Keroro when he had been dared to open the door. Little Zeroro had hung on to the door for dear life, crying and begging for either one of them to pull him back in. Keroro was too scared to, but Giroro had reacted quickly, grabbing Zeroro inside and immediately shutting the door.

Dororo would be lucky to even see the Ferris Wheel without passing out after that day.

"I liked it," Giroro said honestly. It was neat, seeing everything from so high. He wouldn't mind getting on another one- especially with Natsumi.

"We picked a good night," She smiled. "Today they're doing fireworks- if it doesn't rain, that is."

"Oh, I hope not," He commented under his breath. "I've been looking for clouds all day."

"Same here," Natsumi agreed. "But it sure turned out to be beautiful today, huh?"

Giroro nodded. "Yeah. So, what other rides are you looking forward to getting on?"

"All of them!" Natsumi said. "That's my goal. With the Ferris Wheel at the end." She gave him a calculating look. "You aren't scared of going on all of them, are you?"

"Is that a challenge?" Giroro grinned. "If it is, I'm afraid I can't refuse."

"Good, because I wasn't going to let you, anyway."

"I wish you would have told me that sooner."

Koyuki smiled sheepishly at her friend, who was leaning back against the chair at their table, the umbrella casting over him a dark shadow. She had commented that 'Pekoponian' was a good look for him, especially if they were ever going to go in disguise again (which, he mentally noted, he will probably never do again). Even though she had to comment that the pink hair was a very... fruity style- in a good way, she had added. He still had the same pale blue eyes, but with an addition of Pekoponian pale skin and let's not forget the masking of his mysterious mouth. Even though Koyuki couldn't see his lips move, his voice indicated a frown.

"Here I've been worried about the motive behind this date-" Dororo continued, using his new hands in fluid movements. "Let's just say I feel more comfortable with this reason rather than the one I had in my head. Even though this one isn't a very good one, either." He added, folding his arms.

Koyuki pulled her straw to her mouth and drank her soda. They were here for a while now, waiting for Natsumi to show up with "Rio". "You told me you would do anything to cheer me up…"

"I didn't think you'd take it so literally." Dororo found himself unable to stop moving. He unfolded his arms and anxiously scratch his elbow. He had been tense, finding himself in the awkward position of having one of his closest friends ask him out on a date with possible romantic intentions. That had never happened before- and he hoped it would never happen again.

He was only able to breathe again when Koyuki revealed that all she really wanted to do was watch over Natsumi.

"You know, it would have probably been easier if we watched them like we normally do," Dororo said slowly, sitting straight. His hands moved to one of his bangs, gently pulling at the hair.

"Sure, but we wouldn't be able to go to the rides," Koyuki pointed out. "And plus, I'm supposed to be learning how to be a normal girl. And normal girls go out on dates."

"I would be more comfortable if you didn't phrase it like that…"

"Call it what you want, then," Koyuki giggled. "We're just going out as friends."

"Good," Dororo moved on to his shirt, which he picked at until Koyuki gave him her cup. He looked at her in confusion.

"Taste this," Koyuki said cheerfully. "You look like you're thirsty."

"Thanks." Dororo slipped it under his mask and sipped through the straw. He pulled it out and licked his lips curiously. "Tastes kinda like cherry."

"It's a new soda flavor I wanted to try out," Koyuki explained, taking it back. "I can get something else for you if you want-"

"No, it's fine," Dororo shook his head. "Thank you."

"Look!" Koyuki turned their attention to the familiar couple who dragged them into all this. "There's Natsumi!"

"And Rio," Dororo nodded. "So, what do you want to do, Koyuki?"

"Let's find a place where we can see them," She responded, scrutinizing the area. She gasped happily and pointed. "Let's go up there!"

"Up wh-" Dororo's face paled in reaction to Koyuki's finger. "Th-the F-F-Ferris Wheel?"

"What's wrong, D?" She looked at him worriedly. "You don't like the Ferris Wheel?"

He shook his head. "I'd rather not think about it."

"Oh well, we'll go on it later, I suppose," Koyuki mused. "Let's just follow behind them for now, okay?"

"But let's not get caught," Dororo said, dreading the thought of having to explain to his friend the reason why the two were out the same time as he and Natsumi. He put part of his weight against the table as he stood up, his legs beginning to wobble. Giroro was not over exaggerating when he had said walking was hard for the first time. Perception and coordination needed some getting used to- and all the extra weight that came with it (literally and figuratively).

"Do you need to lean against me again?"

"Probably not, but I'll appreciate it if you still stood close to me."

Giroro remembered when Garuru had taken him and his friends to the Amusement Park. He had cried when he didn't get the prize he wanted, so Garuru had gently pushed him aside and won the game for him, earning him the toy that was over half the size than he was. Garuru had come back home carrying a stuffed mutant pig in one arm and his sleeping baby brother in the other.

"Ugh! I can't get it," Natsumi mumbled, putting the water gun down.

Giroro smirked. "You giving up, s-"

The choker shocked him for a second, surprising him. This was a new addition- if he were to say anything resembling Giroro, it would shock him. Battlefield, soldier, warrior… it was hard.

"You think you can get that for me?" Natsumi asked, pointing at the huge first place prize. It was a giant teddy bear, much cuter than any mutant pig he had ever seen.

"Sure, if you'll carry it," Giroro said, taking the water gun from her. This was just too easy. He concentrated deeply, knowing full well that Natsumi was watching him. This made him want to show off more than he usually did, and that's saying a lot.

Finally, he squeezed the trigger and released the water ray, sprouting it toward the targets that seemed too far to reach and impossible to see. Not for him, anyway. This was too simple- just an exercise that had been decreased to rate easy level.

"Wow," Natsumi said. "You're really good at that."

"Yeah, well," Giroro said, smugly, "I practice." He blew on the gun as a measure of finality while Natsumi happily took the bear from the man at the booth.

"So cute~" She said, squeezing it. "Thank you~"

Giroro blushed, smiling weakly.

Keroro put his binoculars down. "Giroro is a genius!"

"That was sweet," Tamama agreed, sighing. "Why don't we go too, Sarge?"

"It's more fun watching it than doing it," Keroro said, putting them back up. "That's why people watch TV."

As the binoculars slid across the crowds, he thought he had seen someone familiar. Was that Koyuki? He thought, inspecting the mobs of people. When no such person turned up, he shook his head. Nah, probably my imagination…

Commercial break~!