Were they still underwater?
How peculiar. It felt like they hadn't risen up to the surface at all, and yet… here they were, walking, breathing. Koyuki kept her eyes peeled; they darted from side to side anxiously, as if expecting something to jump out on her. Natsumi kept strode carefully. She did not want to look like a coward, show her weakness. Giroro taught her that long ago.
In enemy territory, do not let your opponents see you as a vulnerable target. Be the strong, fearless warrior you are. They won't intimidate you.
They had entered a cold, damp cave. Water dripped from everywhere, making soft sounds as they pit- and patted into the puddles on the ground. Natsumi shivered, hugging herself for warmth. Of all times when Giroro so persistently followed her around and kept close to her, why wasn't he here when he was actually needed? Part of her dreamed, wished he was there to protect her and her friends. The larger, better part of her wanted to pummel him to a pulp for not being there when measures were so drastically needed.
"Natsumi.. Is it getting darker?"
It… was.
It was hard to tell; it was happening so slowly as they continued to walk down. But yes, it was beginning to grow shadowy, obscure, dim. Thankfully the radar was portable. It glowed slightly, but it was not enough to provide enough light to lead the way if the cave was proceeding it's bleak darkness.
Giroro you idiot… why aren't you here…?!
"Here's the test."
Aha.
Giroro took the piece of paper, stared it down like it was some sort of opponent.
Read all the questions carefully and follow instruction.
Frog. He was never really the star pupil in class. Gunning down spiral targets, yes, was his forte. Ducking for cover, prevailing over slowness in trenches, plotting down traps and bombs, yes, he was pretty good at. Heck, he even knew how to ride on torpedoes and cannons. He could regenerate weapons out of no where. But reading, writing, all that mathematics stuff- he thought it was all useless. He had reasoned that he would never really need these skills if life in he was going to be a soldier. Nope. Brawn always won over Brains in the end.
"You have sixty seconds to complete the test."
Giroro bit the end of the pencil he was given.
Question: If 2x = 100 and x is an integer, how many of the 2x + 2 integers will be divisible by 3 and by 2?
(a) 1
(b) 2
(c) 3
(d) 4
(d) 5
Giroro skipped to the second one.
Question: The inequality |2x – 1| 5 must be true in which one of the following cases?
I. x -5
II. x 7
III. x 0
(a) II only
(b) I, II and II
(c) I and II only
(d) I and III only
(e) I only
Giroro felt the blood in his head pounding. He hurriedly skipped down to the fifth problem, absolutely desperate.
Question: What is the closest approximation of the solution of the equation 2x – 1 = 3x + 1?
(a) -4.42
(b) -5.81
(c) -3.22
(d) 4.93
(e) 3.33
Head cracking, splitting in half… sweat squeezed out of his pores and slipped down his face as he flipped the page and moved on to the twelfth question.
Question: What is 5+5?
UGGH THIS IS USELESS!
"Twenty seconds remain."
"OH FOR THE LOVE OF FROG."
What the heck was the point of this? He wanted to get out as soon as possible. Forget it. Just forget it. These questions are way too difficult to solve!
Plus the headache. Uh, it's all the headache.
Riiiight.
"Here!" Giroro snapped, irritated. "Just take the frogging thing and get me out of here!"
"Alright." The Ningyo took the sweaty, crumpled piece of paper from his clammy hand and smashed it into a ball. "Congratulations. You are the first to make it this far."
"I- wait, what?"
"Let us go."
"You have sixty seconds."
Dororo took it and gazed at it, considering the first sentence.
Read all the questions carefully and follow instruction.
He looked at each question thoughtfully, reading each problem, not bothering with the answers for now. When he read the last one, he smiled like he had just figured out a joke or he had solved a complicated riddle that no one could crack.
Dororo simply handed the paper back to the Ningyo, unable to resist the urge to prove his incisiveness.
"Congratulations," The Ningyo opened the door for him. "Let us proceed to the final test."
The last question on the test was "Simply turn in your test to the handsome Ningyo in front of you". That is ironic in so many ways it's almost not funny...
"Hey!"
Natsumi gasped loudly, covering her mouth when she looked up, even in this dim, dim light, at one of the most hideous faces she had ever seen.
And don't even mention the smell.
"What are these doing here?!" The large fish creatures poked at Natsumi and Koyuki with long sticks, their large pale eyes gawking. "What are these? They don't smell like men…"
"What are you talking about?" Natsumi said in a deep, growly voice. "I'm about as manly as the… next man?"
"Sounds like a female, as well…"
Koyuki made a small noise from the back of her throat.
"Girls," One of the monsters said, making a truly disgusting face. "What are we to do with them?"
His companion sighed. "And here I thought we would have the afternoon free…"
The first one reached for Koyuki's arm, gripping it tightly with his disgustingly scaly…
"Don't TOUCH HER!" Natsumi snapped, sucker punching the Ningyo and shoving him across the sand-covered floor. It was a miracle she actually hit him, it was so dark. Before she could mentally celebrate her success, the one near her immediately grabbed her and thrust her arms inward her back, forcing her to drop the tracking device that was in her free hand. She cringed, but was determined to win this battle. Koyuki joined in the fight too, pulling out several silvery pointed stars and throwing them toward Natsumi's captor, careful not to hit her friend.
The Ningyo dodged swiftly and pulled the pink haired girl to the side, making sure she didn't get hurt either.
Concentrate, Koyuki!There was barely any light at all. She wondered if the Ningyo had any abilities that could possibly aid them in this darkness. Based off the fluid way they moved, they had the ultimate disadvantage. She sensed for his aura, watched for his warmth, heard for his heartbeat.
There. She evaded the blow with his staff and ran safely to the side, pulling out more shuriken to toss at these fishy-guys. After releasing the tiny metallic weapons, she quietly but quickly kept back, determined to not let anyone hear her.
But sight, as Koyuki had originally thought, was not in their favor.
Two long, painful chains spun and captured Koyuki's thin wrists, preventing her from pitching any more attacks. They secured her to the point where she was refused the right to move, and they flung her toward the ground.
The Ningyo who had procured her imprisonment stood over her, stabbing his staff on her chest. She let out an ached cry.
Natsumi had been kicking the fish man on his shins, hoping that he would release his hold on her. When that didn't work, she tried hurl him over her head. To her absolute shock and revulsion, the Ningyo bit down on her neck, oozing a truly repugnant and sickening stench down her skin.
Her legs wobbled, then gave out. She fell silent as she hit the floor, grunting and moaning only slightly while the Ningyo rolled her to the side to make sure she was unconscious.
Koyuki felt Natsumi's name start just at the tip of her tongue when the fish guy that held her down began, "We were wrong. These are men. No way could two ordinary, weak girls manage to fight us with so much strength. Let's take them with the others."
Koyuki felt teeth sink into her own neck, and her own world went black.
"Ow!"
"Sorry, Sergeant. Ku-ku-ku-ku~"
"You better be… you should've been gentler!"
"Maybe the impact will wake Mois and Tamama from their beauty sleep."
There were two more sickening splats as the two remaining aliens tumbled down from their chains.
"Ow… you could say, 'wake up call'?"
"WHO HIT ME?!"
"Shh! I'm not sure if we're being watched. Just stay quiet alright? And for frog's sake, look for a way to get out of here!"
Once or twice Keroro would see Kururu or Mois or Tamama crawl into the light, only to vanish in to the darkness of the dungeon. He could hear them as they patted the cold, stone ground, fingers searching for any single flaw, or loophole, or… something.
After all, there was a dreary, great importance to getting out of this heck hole.
I do not want to end up on someone's soufflé!
Keroro in a soufflé? That actually sounds… really gross.
"How the frog did I get myself into this…?" Giroro muttered.
The Ningyo had somehow disappeared. One minute he was walking next to him, and then later behind him, and then later… poof.
And he ended up in this intimidating maze.
Yeesh.
He walked around aimlessly, hoping to find, to bump into, to interrogate another one of those ugly creatures, but no luck.
And still no tingle.
Giroro let out a tired sigh. To think just hours prior he was seconds away from finally kissing Natsumi. Those deliciously sweet and spicy eyes, those cute, small hands, those soft, moist lips….
He licked his own in pining anticipation. So close. How could he have let that moment slip away? He was beginning to realize why Keroro was so irritated on his unexpected reluctance to kiss her. How many moments, anyway? The Ferris Wheel. The rain, outside her house. The beach. And then when he was pulled down into the ocean.
Giroro winced.
Natsumi was probably feeling so dejected now… Almost like she was being turned down. He knew how painful that was. But… could he really continue to suffer this underlying… emotion that hid in the dark crevices of his heart, weighing it down, stabbing it, erupting it, shattering it in tormenting agony? What was this feeling?
Suddenly, there was a sharp, undeniable sense of pain and throbbing on his nose.
Giroro had collided with a wall.
Hello, wall!
Dororo walked down the corridors, stopping at each dead end, pondering at each crossroad, turning at each turn. He wasn't sure where he was supposed to go. There was no destination given. Not to mention that the Ningyo disappeared, and it didn't really help matters anymore.
Dororo felt the walls with his fingers and concentrated. Were there any forms of life, anywhere?
Two beating hearts… excluding his. Two shadows of warmth. They were near, but far. All the walls separated them from seeing each other… was this intentional?
Anytime Dororo could just hop over the top of the maze, but the walls were literally extended to the roof; attached to it. And there were no air vents in sight… darn.
Dororo let out a stubborn breath before finally realizing there was no other choice but to walk on.
"Mm…?"
"Hey, they're okay!"
Natsumi found herself staring up at a rather large crowd of… very attractive men. She sat up, wide-eyed, gazing around her in stunned silence. What… the… crap?
"What am I-?"
They handed her a brochure.
By this time they were absolutely covered in dust and sweat, crawling on all fours, scratching the gritty wall in front of them with their exhausted fingertips.
"Keep digging guys! We could almost be there!"
Even if they reached the water, it would be no big deal. They could swim, right?
Kururu didn't bother telling him about the pressure that would turn their brains to mush and inwardly suck their insides out. Or, something like that. He supposed he didn't want to convince himself and actually feel this sense of fear that everyone one of his platoon members felt. He was the cool one; expressing that somewhat simple emotion could make everyone uneasy.
If Kururu was worried…
He brushed the thought away.
He recognized him immediately, especially with the serious air about him as he studied the door ahead of him. One of the young boy's hands were cupped on his chin, his brows furrowed, his eyes flickering with an impression of inspiration.
Dororo stopped thoughtfully, wondering what Fuyuki was doing.
There were two guards, Ningyo, of course, at the door, holding scepters in a crossed formation to ensure that nobody would pass them. When the ninja finally decided to call out the boy's name, the door slid open, and the guards stepped to the side to let him in. Fuyuki walked inside, absolutely curious, and although Dororo rushed to follow him, the door slammed shut with the guards resuming their previous position.
He gave them an inquisitive look.
"Um, excuse me-"
"In order to pass you must solve the riddle in front of you," One of the guards bellowed.
At this, Dororo noticed that a peculiar array of objects lay about the door, with seemingly no purpose whatsoever. He examined them carefully before raising his eyes toward the stinky fish men.
"Um… what am I-?"
"You have fifteen seconds to perform a specific action if you are to enter," They replied solemnly. Dororo's eyes shifted to the floor once more, to the vases, the photographs, the teddy bears, the dolls, and the little plastic tea set. He then rested his eyes firmly toward them.
"But, how am I-?"
"You can't do anything to solve this riddle," The second Ningyo scoffed. "Your fifteen seconds start now."
"I… guess that all makes sense," Natsumi muttered, turning the pamphlet over and over, rereading each paragraph extensively.
Koyuki made a face. "It doesn't make sense at all! Who would want to kidnap a whole bunch of guys and then force them to marry her? Aren't you suppose to marry someone you love? I mean, that's what all the fairytale books and Disney movies say…"
Had it been an appropriate moment, Natsumi would have probably laughed.
She gazed up at the boys giving them worrying glances- none of them seemed to have that creepy, lusty gawk like some of the guys (and, regrettably, the girls) at school did.
…So they managed to fool them after all.
Koyuki scratched her neck, paused, and extended it out. "Natsumi, what is this?"
Natsumi's eyes widened in horror when she saw a pale green muck goop out from Koyuki's neck to her fingers. "I… I don't know. But it's… ew!"
"I think you have some too."
"What?! Ew, ew, ew! Get it off, get it off!"
Koyuki shook her fingers free of the disgusting mess and turned to her friend to inspect her neck.
Yup. There it was.
It looked not unlike secreting mucus-vomit-drool, still wet and splattered on her skin.
"I wish I had some sort of napkin to wipe it off," The ninja girl muttered. She considered the problem thoroughly before she sighed. "We're going to need some water."
"Ugh, now that you pointed it out, it stinks," Natsumi moaned. "How is Rio…?" She stopped, her face glowing with realization. "Rio. Fuyuki. Dev…Dimitri!"
"Devon."
Natsumi was about to ask the young men in front of her (who were laughing at her freaking out at the ooze, although they thought it was pretty gross too) if they had seen a blond haired or a black haired boy anywhere, when she noticed there was more than a fair share of blondes and blackheads (stop laughing) at the gathering. She bit her lower lip. How was she going to find him…?
"Hi," Koyuki said sweetly, beckoning one of the boys' attention. He was tall, muscular. "Have you seen a pink haired guy around? He's kinda sweet and shy, so…"
"Yeah, I know him," The man said, grinning. "He was with this, eh, yellow haired guy. Awfully strange, if you ask me-"
"Really?" Natsumi asked, relieved. "Do you know where they are?"
"Sure. They're testing."
"Testing?"
"Yeah. You know. For the husband thing?"
"Wh… what?"
"What about Fuyuki?" Natsumi squeezed her shirt in desperate anticipation. Maybe Rio and Derrik could protect themselves, but Fuyuki…
"I dunno who Fuyuki is," The boy said apologetically. "I just know the two dudes I explained to you earlier."
Her heart sank. "W-well… thanks anyway."
"No problem."
Finally!
Giroro never thought he'd be so relieved to see the fish people, as ugly or as smelly as they were as he had that moment. They were protecting a… wait, was that a door?
Forget it, then. He never thought he'd be so relieved to see anything other than these annoying walls or dead ends. The door of hope.
"Hey," Giroro said, making his presence known in front of the two guards. "The door-"
"In order to pass you must solve the riddle in front of you," One of them interrupted.
Little toys were scattered before the said door. How the frog did I not notice that? "What riddle?"
"You have fifteen seconds to perform a specific action if you are to enter."
Giroro observed the playthings on the floor. "How do I-?"
"You can't do anything to solve this riddle," The second Ningyo said haughtily. "Your fifteen seconds begins now."
So many things… what on Keron was he supposed to do?
Think, Giroro. He could just feel the seconds dripping away.
…Hold on. He didn't want to complete this puzzle. He didn't want to win the queen's hand in marriage. He wanted to go back with Natsumi as soon as possible…
Of course. His pride and naivety (although it's also safe to say stupidity) had prevented him from acknowledging that he could have quit and gone back any minute during these strange activities. That… never really occurred to him. He just went on with the flow, somewhat, somehow forgetting that he didn't want to marry the queen in the first place.
It was about time you caught on, genius.
Giroro gave them an intimdating stare as he crossed his arms rebelliously and did absolutely nothing, positive that this would undoubtedly take him back with the others.
The guards shot back two pairs of cold, almost deadened eyes. Giroro slightly shivered under their death-like glaze, but he was firm about his decision.
No. This is enough.
When the last of the five seconds ticked off, Giroro was unable to hide the smirk that grew on his face smugly. At that, the guards nodded soberly, giving him another cold gaze.
Finally, I-
The guards held their shields close to their chest, and stepped away from the door. Giroro's self-satisfied grin vanished. He stared in bewilderment at the door that slid open.
…What… the… frog?
Dororo released a serene sigh as he felt his body morph back into its natural state, shrinking to his more comfortable form. He opened his eyes and took in the room that seemed to have grown in the past few minutes and took a moment to relax and accept this strange difference in reality.
After a certain thought, Dororo smiled, much like a child who was about to play a mischievous little prank on a stranger.
Won't the queen be surprised.
Commercial Break~!
Fun facts/bloopers/thingamabobs from the author that you don't have to read.
1. This is my first ever fan fiction of Sgt Frog (but I bet some of you already knew that, ha!)
2. This is also the first time I had ever created such a long, extensive storyline (72 pages in my Word Processor) without giving up in the middle… and also the first (and only) time I've gotten so many reviews on one story. Thank you for everyone who not only reviewed, but bothered to read this story of mine. I appreciate it very much.
3. Now to the juicy stuff… that might or might not make you laugh. When I make others speak of Dororo, I always forget the name chosen for him. Honestly, I would often mistake it for "Darien" or "Derik" before eventually scrolling up to see that his name is actually- *pause; scrolls up*- Devon.
4. In one of my more difficult chapters, chapter 10, I was originally going to make Koyuki confront Natsumi about the matter with Dororo, and Natsumi was going to point out, "Hey, Dororo might have a crush on you", thus sparking a whole new controversial arc between Dororo and Koyuki (and a somewhat ironic twist, that Natsumi was able to figure that out and not realize that Giroro loved her). I deleted it, though; I didn't want it to focus too much on them instead of Giroro and Natsumi, the actual couple of this story.
5. Each chapter's name has a meaning. I'll tell you a few of them, but I won't tell them all for fear that this thing I'm making is already too long. Chapter one is "Drawing the Short Straw", which means "to be chosen from a group of people to do a difficult or unpleasant task"… sound familiar? When I introduced Koyuki into the story, Chapter 3 I believe, I called it "Dog in the Manger", and it means to have "somebody who tries to prevent somebody else from having or doing something that he or she cannot have or do". Hmm… And as for this chapter, "The Joker in the Deck", means that "an unpredictable element that makes planning or projections difficult".
I doubt you would find these things interesting, but I still hope you enjoyed the story and/or the facts either way. If you have any questions you want to ask me in case I ever do repeat this in any future chapters, ask away. I'd be more than happy to answer.