Giroro's heart pounded. Natsumi-…. her voice sounded so close. He stared at the ground, his eyes dilated and gray, crazy looking. Even in the dark night, he could see her sandals standing outside the door…

Finally, his burning, aching skin calmed, like a painful sunburn that eventually relaxes and cools.

The Door opened.

"Giroro!" Mois said, smiling. "I have the gun Uncle asked me to get for you. You can say, 'free of charge'?"

Giroro ultimately fell flat backwards, absolutely relieved. Not Natsumi. Thank frog. But didn't he hear her voice…?

"Rio?"

Natsumi opened the door.

The stall was completely empty.

"Oh…" She looked troubled. "Maybe he went somewhere else…?"

Aaaaaand it happens again. Shame on you, writer!

"You put alcohol in his drink?"

"Kero kero! You say that as if it's a bad thing."

"No, I mean, why, Sarge?"

"Well, I thought it would give him a push. I gave him a cup of that stuff that he likes to drink and put the strongest alcohol I could find and put it in there. I figured he'll finally get somewhere with Natsumi."

Keroro leaned back against his chair and drank deeply from his bendy straw, and Tamama frowned at him.

"What?"

"Giroro can't drink that stuff."

"Kero? And why not?"

"He passes out. Remember?"

"….Oh, yeah. But he was fine just a couple minutes ago."

"But, if he didn't drink that, then-?"

"Look at that ball!" Dororo, somehow back to his Pekoponian form, said eagerly, pointing. The sun was beginning to rise, despite the fact that it had only been night for about an hour. "*hic!* It's… beautiful!"

"…Well, that answers our question."

"Oh, there you are!"

Giroro jumped slightly at the sound of her voice. At least it brought him out of his vengeful thoughts…

"Where were you?" Natsumi asked. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Giroro muttered. "Uh… is the sun rising?"

"Yeah." Natsumi smiled and shielded her eyes with one of her hands. "Pretty, isn't it?"

"It's weird."

"Yeah, well…" Natsumi rubbed the base of her neck. "It's been a weird day anyway, right?"

In more ways than you think. "Do you mind if I sit down for a bit?"

"Oh, definitely. I-I mean, no. No- I don't mind, I mean, um.."

Giroro grinned. For the first time she was acting like the dorky one. It was strange switching roles, having this sort of attention directed deliciously toward himself. "You know, you can come with me."

"Right," Natsumi gave him a small, shy smile. "Alright."

They quietly walked down the beach side by side, ignoring the yells of surprise from the Hinata residence upon noticing the time changing once again, and Dororo's cry of victory at Earth's beautiful nature.

They weren't sure when exactly it happened, but their fingers somehow brushed against each other, touched each other, curled around each other when their owners weren't looking.

Even when they did notice, they pretended not to. Although Giroro's face was significantly redder than his skin was supposed to allow. He wasn't exactly a good actor.

Good thing Mois was there, Koyuki thought, happy that Fate and Lady Luck was on her side. It's nice she let me borrow that gun for a few minutes.

"Ohh…. My head…."

"At least that stuff wore off."

Dororo blinked up at Koyuki.

From her lap.

Oh my frog.

Dororo sat up quickly and inched away considerably, giving both a respectful amount of space. He regretted it as soon as his head began to crack with pain. "Ugh… What happened?"

"I don't know," Koyuki said innocently. "You were acting so odd, though."

"…Odd?"

"Yeah. Like, you sang me a song about reindeer and beauty products, and then you cried about something concerning high heeled stilettos. Oh! And then you told me that the stars talked to you. You… were really funny!"

"I…What?!"

"Yup!"

Dororo was silent, his eyes large and incredibly pale, his face even paler. "Uhh…." He stared down at his knees. "Did…. D-did I…?"

"You did other things too for a little bit," Koyuki said sweetly. "But you didn't hurt anyone. You fell asleep right after."

It was like I was drunk! What is this? If I was drunk then… Did I try anything weird on you? He wanted to ask that so he could beg for forgiveness. If he had, she didn't seem to be too traumatized or fazed by it. Or maybe she put it behind her? What if it didn't even happen? It would be unorthodox if he brought it up now, wouldn't it?

He decided to get over it, even though he knew it would continue to bother him. "It's light now?"

Koyuki nodded. "It's been light for an hour. Momoka said she had something to do with the early nighttime."

"I see." Dororo murmured. He looked around. "Where is Giroro and Natsumi?"

"Somewhere," Koyuki smiled cattishly. "Wanna look for them?"

Dororo winced. "Maybe we should let them have some alone time."

"Oh. Okay. Wanna have some alone time with me, the-?"

"Let's go look for Natsumi and Giroro!"

"How many seashells do you have now?"

"Mmm…. Twelve."

"Will it be enough?"

Natsumi blinked at the shells, and then put them in a dark blue bag that she had conveniently brought along. "I don't know. I wanna look for some more."

Giroro smiled slyly. Of course. Unbeknownst to Natsumi, he already knew what the seashells were for. Probably hoping to surprise him, he thought.

"Make sure you don't cut yourself," She said cautiously.

"How would I cut myself?"

"The fragments of the shells and stuff. They're really sharp."

Giroro walked carefully back toward her, giving her the few seashells that he found in the water. "Here."

"Thanks! They're pretty." Natsumi inspected the inside of each one, refusing to allow a repeat of what had happened earlier. She tucked a loose strand of pink hair behind her ear. Giroro watched her with an unwavering stare. Thought she looked so elegant…

"What are you looking at?"

"Uhhh… the sand."

Natsumi grinned. "Oh, alright. Why don't I leave you alone so that you can make out with it?"

Giroro's face turned even darker with humiliation. "U-umm…"

"It's a joke!" She gently pushed his arm. "Really. Um, unless you actually want to make out with the sand then, be my guest."

"N-no thank you."

"I thought so."

Natsumi sat down and began to take out a thin elastic string, a needle, and the seashells from her bag. Giroro helped himself next to her.

"So… what are you doing?"

"Making a bracelet."

The little skull was staring at him. Did she bring the little accessory on every bag?

"That's cute," Giroro pointed out, playing with it. He blushed slightly. "Who… uh…. who gave it to you?"

"My grandma." Natsumi said matter of factly.

Giroro started. "This thing?"

"Oh. Oh, no. A friend gave that to me."

"A good friend?"

"A very good friend."

Giroro's cheeks reddened again.

"Sheesh, Rio! Are you getting a fever?" Natsumi planted her hand against his forehead. "I hope you're not catching something."

"I'm not," Rio said, taking her hand off his face.

"Maybe heat stroke?"

"I told you, I'm fine."

Natsumi cast him a knowing look, and decided to shrug it off. "Do you wanna go somewhere else?"

"Where?"

"I dunno. Go exploring."

Giroro smiled. "Sure."

"Did you find it?"

"Ku-ku-ku-ku~ Patience, Sergeant."

"Locked on unknown item."

"Bring it closer."

The sub moved smoothly under the sea, slicing across the water without the slightest bit of friction. Keroro leaned against the control panel, gazing at the large window that showed the deep dark blue absolutely teeming with vivid life.

Colorful reefs swayed to and fro, crazy fish darted this way and that. Octopi and squid revealed themselves, squirting ink from beneath them. Whales and sharks moved about in their own authority without a care or fear of each other. Some creatures even stuck around for the ride the submarine provided, swimming alongside and literally attaching themselves onto the metal.

Keroro tore his eyes away the scene and went back to Angol Mois. "So?"

"It was another boot. How you say, 'unpleasant surprise'?"

"Augh!" Keroro shook his head. "When are we ever going to find it?"

"Momoka said it would be around here," Tamama said grimly. "I hope she wasn't lying…"

"No, she isn't," Kururu pointed out, adjusting his earphones as they absorbed the sound of the sea. "The navigator detects some kind of powerful energy radiating from somewhere down here. It's close, but it's hidden very well."

"Kero, kero.All according to plan."

"Wait. Keroro-"

The submarine suddenly jerked to the side, like something rammed against it. Keroro collapsed straight to the floor as he was not currently sitting down. Kururu grabbed his chair, Tamama struggled to balance himself, Mois clung on to the wall.

"What the frog was that?!"

"I'm not sure," Kururu swiveled in his chair and turned to face the opposite direction. There was a frantic tapping and clacking as his fingers swiftly danced over the keyboard. "I'll try to find that out-"

It jerked to the side again, this time the opposite direction.

"Kururu!"

"Uncle…!"

The submarine suddenly began to shake violently. The metal made grimacing 'THUNK -THUNK-THUNKs' as if someone was smacking it with a sledge hammer. Tamama thought he saw the graceful shape of a slender hand slide from across the window.

The robotic voice that Keroro always thought sounded sexy suddenly began a deathly chant that made his insides crawl: "Mayday, mayday…"

"We're sinking, Sergeant."

The surf rolled in, foaming at their feet, sighing as it shrunk back to the sea. The gulls' noisy song occasionally screeched aimlessly in the sky, and little hermit crabs lazily slept on the rocks, bathing in the sun. The water glittered like there was some golden dust in the water, and Dororo thought he could even find a dolphin gliding in the clear ocean. He took a deep breath of the sweet, salty air. The mist gently sprayed his face.

"This feels good," He said cheerfully.

"Doesn't it?" Koyuki kicked off her sandals. She put her bare feet in the water, shivering with delight. "Oh, it feels so good!"

This is better than spying on Giroro, Dororo thought, smiling down at the starfish that hovered in the water.

While ninja-ing around, searching for the unfortunate couple, the two had happened upon this little private, separate section of beach. Long palm trees stretched around a little cold spring of water, its taste sweet and fresh to the tongue. The sand was soft and gentle against their feet, the ocean whispering and the sun speckled from the shades of the long flowery leaves.

It was like a little safe haven.

"Dororo," Koyuki said, pulling her leg out of the water. The driblets slivered down to her thighs. Dororo found himself staring more than he should have, and he immediately mentally slapped himself for doing so.

"Yes?"

"What should we call this place?"

"What?"

"Just this little part."

Dororo glanced around dubiously. "But this isn't ours."

"I know that," Koyuki giggled. "I meant, like, when it's just us, here. When we come back, this could be our little place. What should we call it?"

Dororo didn't know what to say.

"What about 'Secret Whispers'?

"…Why?"

"Like the stars."

Dororo blushed. "Hey-"

"I thought it was cute," Koyuki told him, smiling kindly. She gazed up at the sky. "And I think you meant it. Even if you were acting funny that time."

He decided not to say anything. How embarrassing. "Don't tell anyone."

"I promise," Koyuki gave him a compassionate gaze. "It'll be our secret. Just like this little beach."

Dororo nodded vaguely.

There was a unpleasantly protracted silence as Koyuki nimbly padded toward the salty sea, bending down to look at something. Her little huddled figure reminded him of a cute little doll, the ones that his mother would show him when he was a tadpole. She would order some from Pekopon and collect them in a little glass case. Keroro tried getting into them, but Dororo's mother was extremely protective of them- made him swear not to touch it with even a single finger (made him cry, too). Dororo could remember the dolls clearly now as he watched Koyuki. Porcelain face, large, innocent eyes, a kind smile… a thin waist, long, elegant legs…

His eyes were lingering again.

Stop it! He snapped out of it, rubbing his face. He felt fear and worry flush to his cheeks. I do not like her that way, I do not like her that way, I definitely don't like her that way….!

"Dororo!"

"What?"

"Look!" Koyuki pointed at the water.

Dororo sauntered over, pretending like the last few minutes never happened and kneeled down to look at whatever Koyuki was gesturing at. Tiny black fuzz balls flew delicately in the clear, salty water, moving fluidly with ease.

"Do you know what they are?" Dororo asked expectantly.

"No. They're cute though, don't you think?"

The little fuzz balls swirled around Dororo's feet. Koyuki laughed. "They like you!"

"I wonder what they are-"

Suddenly, the fuzz balls stretched ferociously, their form not unlike mouths with large prickly teeth. They each bit into Dororo's ankle and sped toward the ocean, slamming his head against the ground. Dororo screamed in pain and agony as blood splashed and bubbled devastatingly over Koyuki's feet. She immediately reacted, tossing silver metallic stars toward at each of the mysterious monster-like creatures. They dodged and escaped lithely, dragging Dororo into the sea. She tried to race after him, but his body had already dissolved into the dark, suddenly dangerous cold waters.

"Dororo!"

"Can you do this one for me too?"

"Sure."

Natsumi watched him poke a hole into a seashell with a needle with an expert's eye, then carefully threading the string into the tiny opening. He handed her the nearly completed bracelet. "Here."

"Thanks. That one was tough. I didn't want to break it." Natsumi took it appreciatively and wrapped it around her thin wrist, contemplating the size.

Giroro had supposed that she was making it for herself. After a while, he had offered to let her use his own wrist as a type of measurement but she politely declined. She used her own instead. The differences between their wrist sizes were too great- it had to be made for her. Oh, well, it doesn't matter. A pretty seashell bracelet is more suited for women anyway….

Although it would've been nice to have received a gift from her anyway…

"Darnit!" Natsumi wailed, pouting at the shattered fragments in her palms. "I broke another one!"

Giroro laughed.

"How do you do it?"

"Expertise."

Making bullets was a skill of it's own. It required, much like seashells, an observing eye and a cautious, but forceful, strength. He decided not to tell her about that, of course, but he still liked to brag about his 'talent'.

Natsumi grinned and picked up another seashell. She tried to needle it in the middle, but stopped when she noticed it beginning to crack. Giroro's hands found their way to hers, gently directing the fingers in the ways they were supposed to. Natsumi and Giroro blushed, but said nothing of it. With careful combined power, Natsumi was able to prick a somewhat decent gap, big enough to thread the string through.

"Th-thank you…"

"Don't mention it." He let go of her quickly, playing with the sand.

"H-hey, do you think that maybe we could find one more seashell?"

"Y-yeah. 'Course."

The two stood up and gently brushed sand off their legs.

"What did he say afterward?"

"O-oh."

Another Garuru story.

This time it was about how the two had an argument about a rebel classmate- Giroro had come home with a black eye. While he was able to successfully hide it from his father, his brother was more attentive and had noticed his younger brother's odd actions of jerking to the opposite side to prevent anyone from seeing his discolored face. Garuru demanded to know who had hurt him, but Giroro refused. Giroro knew all too well what Garuru would do, and this class mate was strong, often bringing an unfair amount of friends to bully and beat up others when things didn't go his way. Garuru thought it was his sense of pride that didn't tell him anything, and he was furious.

"He told me to start thinking," Giroro said, the memory playing vividly in his mind. "To stand up for myself." He smiled slightly. "When I didn't say anything else, he… went behind my back and looked for the kid who gave me the black eye." He paused to kneel against the water, digging his knuckles into the cold, moist sand to retrieve any shells.

"…What happened?"

Giroro winced. "…He came home battered and bruised. Trust me, I'll spare the details on his condition- you don't want to know."

"Oh my gosh…"

"Here's one."

A rich crimson shell, yellow bordering the ends. Natsumi took it from him, beaming. "Oh, it's perfect! Thank you!"

Giroro blushed, looked around. They were alone again, having walked quite a distance from the group. He took a step closer toward her, his gaze unsteady. Natsumi looked relieved, her face conveying the message, finally, you can kiss me now.

Giroro licked his lips readily, his heart resonating like a drum in his ears. His hands twitched slightly as they reached for hers.

It seemed easier now, the nearing of her face just a little faster, the closeness so natural. Again, their noses touched, just touching briefly, a soft, gentle touch. One of his most daring, unpredictable hands pulled up to caress her soft, gentle cheek. He could feel her breath tickling his mouth… but there was hesitation. Hesitation? Why? He stared deep into her eyes while that uncertain thought wandered in his mind. Natsumi closed hers in preparation, her lips curled to a sweet, expectant smile….

"Gah! Nats-!"

There was a violent splash, a mumbled, bubbly voice that struggled to make it's way out of the water.

Natsumi immediately opened her eyes and watched helplessly as Giroro was dragged out into the open ocean by two black blobs that teethed ravenously into his ankles. A deep color spurted in many directions, staining the clean water with the unmistakable, thick, precious red liquid. She screamed.

Giroro struggled to fight back, but it was hopeless- their speed and ferocity was no match for him, especially in the water. He felt a gun materialize into his hands, but the natural air that this Pekoponian body demanded was beginning to escape from his lungs, and instead was rushing in an unhealthy amount of salty seawater. He gagged and coughed, but no matter how much he fought, more water came into his mouth.

I'm drowning, Giroro thought suddenly, the panic beginning to seep in. I'm drowning…

The last thing he saw was Natsumi's blurry form, trying desperately to swim after him, shouting out some stifled words, a bundle of words, until they had no meaning… her delicate hand reaching out for him… her face, her beautiful face, full of fear and anger…

At least, Natsumi my love, you are the last one I see before… I…

Everything went black as he allowed himself to melt into the delicious blue sea.

Commercial Break~!

Author's Note: (Hey, it's in the bottom this time!) Would any of you believe me that the next chapter is actually going to be more serious then the other cliffhangers...? Yeah, probably not. But one thing I learned about Keroro Gunso is that there are some dramatic instances where the genre shifts from a light hearted to a more serious atmosphere. So, I absolutely promise you, that the next chapter will be more worth it than the last ones. That's what Keroro and the Narrator get for scolding me for making false cliffhangers and ultimately making you slam your face against the keyboard. I hope you enjoyed.