"Let's look for seashells!"

Well that was random.

"What for?" Dororo asked, genuinely curious.

"It's a surprise," Koyuki replied sweetly. "Come on! I'm sure there's a whole bunch at the beach!"

Dororo gave her a confused smile. "Um… okay?"

Koyuki took his hand and led him down the sandy hill to the Pekoponians that were beginning to gather.

"U-uh… K-Koyuki…?"

Her hand. Touching his. Her hand. TOUCHING HIS.

Geez, you would've thought she was radioactive by the way he was thinking.

Stop reading my thoughts!

I love my job.

Koyuki promptly let go of him and began darting into the sand, sniffing certain areas and digging into the soft, pebbly mush, wondering what she could possibly find. Dororo watched her for a moment, shrugged, and helped alongside her, searching for seashells.

He brought several to her, but she politely turned him down.

What is she looking for? Dororo turned his attention back to the sand. He swept his hand across it, dashing the dirt elsewhere, completely at a loss. How are you supposed to search for something if you didn't know what it was? His hand touched something warm, and familiar…

He looked over to his side and realized he had accidentally put his hand on top of Koyuki's.

"Oh. Hi, Dororo!" Koyuki said cheerfully.

Dororo's mouth went dry as a full blush spread on his cheeks. "U-um… h-hi-?"

"Did you find anything yet?"

"No."

"We'll just have to keep looking then!"

"M-Ms. Koyuki?"

She gazed at him expectantly. "Yeah?"

"W-what are we looking for… exactly?"

"Oh! Didn't I tell you? We're looking for a whole seashell!"

That makes sense. It explains why she wouldn't take my half-shard ones… but I still can't help but wonder why she wants this whole seashell anyway…? For a souvenir?

He watched her again, her eyes concentrated on the sand and soft mud. She didn't exactly need one the last time we went to the beach…

"Well, there's nothing here, D," Koyuki told him regrettably, standing up and clapping the wet dirt off her palms. Maybe we'll have better luck if we keep moving over there." She pointed a finger down the other side of the beach.

"Y-yeah… I g-guess…"

"After you," She said cutely, beaming excitedly.

Ha… whatever this seashell is for… it must be really important.

"Still nothing?"

"Still nothing."

"Hmph. We should kill you right now. Maybe it is not the circumstances in which you cannot capture the men but rather your own incompetence."

"I am sorry-"

"There are no 'sorry's' when serving our queen. You will capture the men immediately. This may be our only chance, as if they return to their homeland, for which there exists no large body of water, then it will just not be possible to seize either of them. And our queen… she is not a patient, nor gracious woman when it comes to uselessness. Do I make myself clear?"

"…Perfectly."

"Good. We expect you back very, very soon… with, hopefully, no more disappointments."

"Y-yes sir…"

"Over and out."

Natsumi was laughing really, really hard, struggling to keep her shuddering shoulders still but finding herself unable to. Little driblets of tears started at the tips of her eyes. She just couldn't stop.

Giroro gave her a nervous, embarrassed smile. Note to self: never, ever bring up the Teddy Bear Incident again. EVER.

"I-I'm sorry," She bumbled, the words bouncing off of each burst of laughter. "I-it's just… s-so cute…." She held her aching stomach, trying to hold back the laughter.

"Wow, we never knew this side of you, Giroro!"

Keroro mocked into his collar, making his cheeks burn a terrible, terrible red color.

Giroro turned his back toward Natsumi, who was still trying hard to restrain herself. He could just hear the chortles of endless humiliation from the other side.

"And we thought that the incident with the hairbrush was bad!"

"How did you…?!" Giroro whispered, and then his face crumpled with realization and anger. "KURURU….!"

"KUUU-ku-ku-ku! Sorry, Corporal! Couldn't resist~ You have to admit it was pretty cute~"

"I can't wait to write this all on Facebook!"

"You do that and you're TOAST, Keroro!" Giroro hissed.

"It's not like you have anything to blackmail me with!"

"Oh yeah?" Giroro challenged. "What about the time when you left the house headless?"

There was a silent pause.

"…What's he talkin' 'bout, Mr. Sergeant?"

"…Ah… ha…haha…. I TOLD YOU TO NEVER MENTION THAT, GIRORO."

"Keep it off Facebook, and I'll never bring it up again."

"Okay, okay it's a deal!"

"What are you doing?" Natsumi asked, peering at him inquiringly.

"GYA! N-Natsumi!" Giroro touching his choker, which ended the voices immediately. "U-umm… n-nothing unusual or anything… uh…"

Natsumi cocked a brow, but said nothing more.

And then… that's when it happened.

"Rio!"

"Wh-what?"

"Your hand!"

Giroro blinked at her, confused, but when he turned his attention back to his hand, his entire face turned pale.

"N-Natsumi… I-I have to go-"

"No! Let me see that! You might've gotten bitten by something!"

"Natsumi! I s-said I have to go!"

But she was strong- her grip on his wrist wouldn't loosen. Her face was one of concern and fear as it examined his palm closely.

"The red is spreading all the way up your arm!"

"Natsumi, listen-"

"No, you listen! This looks serious! I-I have to take you to a doctor or something-!"

"Natsumi… I-I-"

"C'mon! I'll take you to the-"

"Natsumi- I said I have to GO!" Giroro whipped his hand away from her, accidentally hitting, almost hitting, just barely hitting, the side of her face. Natsumi jumped back, startled, her eyes wide. She touched her cheek.

Giroro stared in horror, almost mentally berating himself, what have I done?

The spell, however, was limited, and it was broken immediately.

"I-I'm sorry!" Giroro ran off with as much speed as he could possibly release.

Oh, it was just as he had expected- and dreaded.

Along with the red stain on his skin came the burning, piercing pain following after it. It was like being forced down against your will, with lit, fiery cigarettes and hot, red-hot coal vigorously thrusted down against your soft, fragile, vulnerable flesh. He made a growl of displeasure and agony.

"Giroro? Giroro, what's… what's going on? Why aren't you with Natsumi?!"

"I'm… I-I'm turning back…" Giroro managed to grunt. His sweat ran down his face, and it felt not unlike salt water splashed onto fresh, new, bloody wounds.

The air was cold. It was hot. It was dry. All at once.

"Rio!"

FROG IT!

Giroro swerved into an alleyway and ducked behind one of the trash bins. He could hear Natsumi's footsteps zoom past him. But that, right now, was the least of his problems. He panted, gripping onto his arms, his nails digging into his burning, burning skin, almost in an effort to make the ache stop. He trembled, curling himself into a fetal position as he waited for his transformation to commence.

The air was humid. It was hard to breathe. It was hot. It was cold…

"What's going on?! G-Giroro, answer us!"

"Giroro, as your older brother I command you to tell us what's going on!"

Giroro grinned wryly. He had nearly forgotten Garuru was there, no doubt shaking in anger and having very, very violent thoughts toward the idiot who had come up with this whole plan in the first place.

"I-I'm turning… back…" Giroro bit back a howl of pain. "I-It's been l-like this… f-for a while now…"

Here it comes…

And then it just stopped.

Giroro looked at himself hopefully, but was horrified to realize that nothing had happened. Nothing.

"S-so, you're back, right, Giroro?" Keroro's voice asked, hopefully. "Does that mean that Garuru can go ba-?"

"Nothing happened," Giroro murmured, his eyes dilated in utter disbelief. "N… Nothing happened! This… has never happened before…"

Keroro slapped the button off.

"WHAT IS GOING ON?!" Garuru roared, an enormous, threatening, frightening number of weapons beginning to materialize around him.

And they were all directed at Keroro.

"You better explain," Garuru snarled venomously, his voice lowering dramatically to a very hostile whisper. He was so furious Keroro could feel his hot, angry aura emanate off him. The older brother's fists were curled so tightly that the veins were visible, and even though he was that really scary shade of purple, the red from the blood rushing to his head could be seen.

"I-I don't know!" Keroro yelped, holding his arms over his face defensively. "I-I don't know! Honest!"

"WHAT is wrong with my brother?!"

"He is unable to turn back."

Garuru turned to the demented scientist, who was working feverishly at his laptop, his fingers merely blurs on his small, yellow hand.

"…What did you say?"

"I said-"

"WHAT did you say?!"

Kururu patiently locked eyes with him, his mouth curled into a tight, irritated frown. "…Are you finished?"

Garuru closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Some (not all) of the guns around him dissipated. "…Yes."

"Good." Kururu returned to his screen. It took all of his willpower not to laugh, lest the lieutenant fly into an unstoppable, deadly rage. "The side affect… I had hoped it wouldn't be too late. But I believe it is."

The purple frog swallowed, trying to keep his anger inside. He released yet another heavy breath. "You mean-…"

"The gun has affected him to the point where he is now unable to turn back on his own. I had hoped that he would have to use the gun several more times-like once or twice more-in order to be at this… unfortunate stage. However, it doesn't mean it's impossible for him to return to his original form. It will just be… difficult." He rested his elbow on the keyboard and massaged his forehead. Very difficult… but I refuse to show the others I can't do it! Ku… I can do anything… Ku-ku…

"Can you do it?"

"Ku! Of course I can," Kururu said, immediately straightening. He refused to allow the surprise at the lieutenant's somewhat ability to read his mind show through his facial expression or tone of voice. Stupid low-budget animation… He gave his signature, eerie grin. "I would do anything for the old man~ Ku-ku-ku-ku~!"

"….Good," Garuru said slowly. Recollecting his calm, he made the rest of his weapons disappear with a simple swish of a hand. "…Good. Just be sure to keep that promise if you want to keep your head."

Kururu nodded and went back to his monitor, his face suddenly becoming serious.

"And as for you," Garuru turned his attention back to Keroro, who gave a little, 'kero!' in response. His voice became chilly, his eyes glowed intensely from behind his visor. "You… are dealing with a force to be reckoned with. I was never labeled the 'Nightmare of Keron' for nothing. Do you understand, Sergeant Keroro?"

Losing the ability to speak, Keroro nodded, flabbergasted, frightened, forced into silence.

Garuru glared at the rest of the platoon, who jumped, just as terrified as their leader. He grunted with disapproval as he folded his arms, watching the muted speakers. "This invasion plan of yours, Sergeant… it better be worth it."

"Rio! Are you insane?!" Natsumi snarled, marching up to him when she saw him. "What were you thinking?! You don't just hit somebody when they want to help…" Her voice trailed off, and her face softened immediately when she saw his own. He looked like a defeated, startled puppy, affected by the aftershock of getting struck by an owner that had never slapped him before. "…Rio? Did… did something happen…?"

He gazed at her, blinking at her, his mind somewhere off. "Hm?"

"Did something happen?"

Giroro shook his head, but that amazed expression refused to leave. "…No. I'm… I'm fine."

"Rio…"

"I'm sorry I… I hit you," Giroro said slowly.

"It's… it's okay…"

Why won't he stop looking at his hand? Natsumi thought, furrowing her eyebrows. Is it because it hurts-? Oh!

His skin was back; it was the same coral pink color he had always had. It wasn't red anymore.

All of this was so confusing. Just what is going on?

"Giroro-"

Giroro tensed up and gazed at her, almost pleadingly. And she mentally slapped herself. Why won't I stop calling him that?! It's ridiculous! He might start thinking that I don't care about him…!

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to call you that."

Giroro remained silent, and he turned away, almost… disappointed? "It's okay. I just… I just want to go somewhere else."
Geez. Whatever happened must've really… upset him. I wish I could just talk it out of him, but… he's so… mysterious. Is it even really any of my business to ask…?

"Can I hug you?"

Giroro snapped his head back at her. "Wh-what?"

"Can I hug you?"

His face turned red, and the only things that came out of his mouth was a bunch of nonsense babble.

Without waiting for any further approval, she took his response as a yes and wrapped her arms under his and tightened her grip gently, burying the side of her face against his warm shirt. She could hear his heartbeat: a soothing, drum-like resonance. She squeezed him a little tighter, wondering, if it was at all possible, to get rid of whatever pain he felt- even if it was just for a little while.

Natsumi felt movement- he was getting ready to push her away, and that was understandable. It wasn't as if they were a couple or anything… just friends… but still-…

Strong arms wrapped around her.

"Th-thank you," He managed to mutter.

Hugging him felt… familiar. Warm, protective- powerful, but safe.

Why?

It was a dark, bluish-green… reminded Dororo of Koyuki.

His first initial thought was, it probably isn't it, but it doesn't hurt to pull it out and see anyway…

Dororo's eyebrows rose in surprise. He held out the two-piece seashell on his palm. It was pretty big, hinged onto each other carelessly.

"Koyuki! I think I found one!"

The female ninja hopped over to him curiously, hopefully. "Did you-? Yay! You found one!"

Koyuki put her hand on top of his, making him blush again. She gently cupped her hands over the seashells, separated them, and gave the second piece to him.

"Koyuki?" Dororo asked, inspecting the shell. "What's this for?"

Koyuki giggled. "I'll explain it to you when we get there."

"Um… get where?"

"If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise!" She winked a stretched her lips into a very catlike smile. "C'mon!"

Dororo sighed and followed her. Just where are you planning on taking me? Just what do you have in mind?

The moment between them was indescribable.

But afterward it was awkward.

So very awkward.

They let go of each other quickly, contrasting with how long they had held each other in the other's arms.

They both loved the feeling but it was just so… so frogging awkward.

It probably had to do with the fact that they weren't 'officially' together, even though the little displays of affection showed otherwise.

It also didn't help the fact that they hadn't kissed yet either, though the man of this 'relationship' was burdened with the stubborn, annoying prodding from Keroro, the platoon, and in one, very rare, very subtle instance, his brother.

Oh the humility.

"S-sorry," Giroro stammered quietly, scratching the back of his neck. "I-I… didn't mean to hold on to you that long."

Natsumi shook her head insistently. "What? N-no! I, uh… I hugged you first."

"Well… um…"

They stood silently, their faces an undeniable red color, contemplating what to say or do next.

Finally, Giroro coughed.

"Look at more shops?"

"O-okay!"

"Koyuki…" Dororo looked at his friend. He asked her, timidly, politely, "Where are we going?"

They've been walking for hours around the beach, past the shops, into the crowds of people. Place after place Koyuki would point at a certain destination and eagerly run inside, or toward it, and Dororo would follow her, wondering if this was the place she was talking about. But then it would just be a matter of curiosity, and they would leave without using the shell at all, thus snapping Dororo into a state of reluctant realization that this was not likely the place at all.

Dororo sighed and put his hands in his pockets.

In several occasions girls with bikinis would walk by them, glancing at Dororo and giggling into their hands. Probably assuming that he was checking them out.

Dororo smiled courteously and shook his head to himself. No, of course not. He wasn't really the type to ogle impolitely toward a girl…

Although…

When the thought of Koyuki in a swimsuit entered his mind…

"Are you okay Dororo?"

"Ha! Yeah, I'm f-f-fine!" Dororo sputtered, waving his hands uncontrollably. "Ha! Haha! Yeah!" He groaned and hid his face behind his hands. I'm an idiot… letting the stupid gun control all these unwelcome thoughts…

"Here!"

"…H-huh?" Dororo peeked over one of his fingers and saw a caramel apple, with nuts. "Wh-what's this for?"

It means she thinks you're nuts.

PLEASE, Mr. Narrator! No more puns! Read what you're supposed to, frog darn it!

….

Oh. Um. *ahem*

Ignoring the unnecessary interactions between the writer and narrator, Dororo continued to blink at Koyuki.

"It looked yummy!" Koyuki explained. "They sold some at the amusement park, but I didn't get to try any."

"Oh. It does look good," Dororo said sweetly, smiling at her. "Did you want to show it to me?"

"I was hoping we could share it." She let him hold it. "Here. You can have the first bite!"

Dororo blushed. "U-um… th-thanks…" Koyuki watched as he crunched into it, and savored the sticky, sweet-and-sour taste of the candied apple.

"Did you like it?"

"Yeah," Dororo said, nodding. "Yeah, I did." He gave it to her next. "Here. Your turn.

Koyuki bit into it happily. "Wow! It tastes better than what I thought!" She gave him a sly look. "But it doesn't taste as nice as the cotton candy."

Dororo's cheeks turned even redder.

"Y-you think so?"

"Yeah! This doesn't dissolve in your mouth!"

Dororo grinned. "Nice observation. You're right."

"The sun's going to go down soon."

The ex-assassin looked up at the sky in surprise. "You're… right about that too. Wow. Have we really been out that long?"

"Yep," Koyuki nodded. "This time it's not like the beach. Y'know, when it went down really early? Nope. I checked. We've been out for a while." She took another bite out of the caramel apple. "Yup! It's about time we start going, D!"

"Going? Going where?"

"To the special place! The one I'm gonna surprise you with."

FINALLY. The subject had been bothering him, digging into his mind like the unwholesome activity of a lingering ghost.

"Will you tell me where we're going now?"

"I can't explain it. You'll see when we get there."

Dororo moaned. More mysteries.

Yay.

"Oh. We're going to have to go back." Natsumi frowned. She put down the little wooden toy she was playing with back on the shelf when she saw the sky beginning to change color. "Too bad. It was a lot of fun here, though."

Giroro sighed. "Yeah…"

Too bad about the legend, though. He sagged his shoulders slightly. I really wanted to try it out… He peered over to his opposite, and she seemed to be thinking the same thing, subconsciously touching the blue satin bag in her jacket.

Giroro stared up at the ceiling and released a miserable breath.

"Hey, Giroro?"

The corporal rolled his eyes upon hearing his superior's voice, and whispered into his collar: "What."

"You only live once."

What the-?! Wh-why can't I move?!

"Rio? We should start heading ba-"

"Let's go!" Giroro grabbed her by the wrist and ran out the door with her stumbling behind, in utter shock.

"RIO!" She snapped. "Where are we going?!" When he didn't respond, she thought about either following him or kicking him from behind. She opted the former, trusting him not to be a total idiot.

Although the fact that he was taking her further and further away from the hotel worried her.

What am I doing what am I doing WHAT AM I DOING?!

"It's a new addition to the Word Choice Chooser. KUU-ku-ku-ku! Now, instead of us controlling your speech, we can control parts of your body!"

Giroro's heart pounded. He lost control of his own body?! What kind of sick joke was this?!

D-did that mean…?

"No, it doesn't mean what you think it means, ku," Kururu continued to speak through the collar, somehow reading his mind, "It's limited and won't last long. In fact, this may be the only time when we'll be able to do this; it exercises too much of the battery, and we don't want it to break, ku. So this is possibly your last chance, old man."

Before Giroro could protest, the communication ended.

The feeling began to return to his legs, and his arms. He loosened his grip on Natsumi's wrist, and began to slow down.

He trotted down the hill and stopped right in front of the ocean, he and Natsumi panting heavily.

"Wh…what wereyou doing?" Natsumi said with a gasp.

"I… l-lost con… control of m-my body…" Giroro coughed.

Natsumi smirked, unable to realize the irony of the explanation.

"So… s-so what now?" Natsumi gazed at him.

"Oh… sunset."

"Wh…? O-oh…"

Dororo stared in disbelief.

"This… this place…" Is the spot where I first kissed you. His face burned with a deep red color. He turned away. "Wh-what's this about, K-Koyuki?"

Koyuki happily showed him her part of the seashell. "Do you have yours?"

Well, now I know that this is most definitely the place. "Yeah… y-yeah, I do. Why?"

Koyuki pulled a black marker from her pocket and wrote something on the inside of her shell. "There! Here!" She handed him the marker.

Dororo tilted his head in confusion. "What…?"

"Write your name on it!"

"…Why?"

"Natsumi told me that there's a legend here," Koyuki explained, looking at her shell. "She said that if two people find two shards from the same seashell and then write their name on it, and then toss it into the ocean together… the two people will be together forever."

Dororo found himself blushing heavily again. "Wh-what?!"

"You don't want to be friends forever, D?" Koyuki asked, suddenly looking a little confused.

"I don't think that's what the legend's for, M-Ms. Koyuki…" Dororo said quietly.

Koyuki furrowed her brows. "Then… what is it for?"

Dororo stared at his shell, and sighed. Who was he kidding? Implying the worst… of course it was a friendship thing. Natsumi would have pointed it out otherwise, right? And of course Koyuki didn't… like him… at least not in that way…

"Y-you're right," Dororo said softly, with a small smile. He wrote his name carefully inside his shell. "So we just… throw it together?"

Koyuki nodded eagerly. "Yeah."

"Okay… on the count of three, okay?"

"Okay!"

"One..."

"Two!"

"Three..."

In the warm glow of the orange, setting sun, two seashell shards flew in to the cooling air. They flipped, twisted, and twirled, carelessly, before falling gracefully with two quiet, gentle plunks into the golden waters.

"So…" Natsumi looked at Giroro. "What are we doing here?"

Giroro scratched his nose nervously. He could just about guess what was going on.

"Seashells." STUPID, STUPID COLLAR!

"Wh-what?" Natsumi's face twisted into one of confusion. "The… seashells…? Oh." She gazed at him a bit sadly, folding her arms. "Rio… I already told you… it had to be done at a memorable place."

Duh, Keroro, Giroro thought irritably. Probably didn't think of THAT, did ya?!

But apparently Keroro was going to let Giroro's own mouth answer that question.

With a question.

"Can we… make this a memorable place?"

Natsumi cocked her eyebrows. "What do you mean by that?"

I COULD GUESS.

If Giroro could go insane at that moment, he would. However, the collar had other plans.

"Kiss me."

GYAAAHHH. BLUNT. BLUNTY-BLUNT-BLUNT.

Natsumi jumped at this, and her eyes widened. "What?" She smiled nervously, cheeks glowing a bright red color. "What d-did you say?"

"I said, 'k-kiss me'," Giroro repeated, though he couldn't stop himself from stuttering. "…Uh…" He cleared his throat, and turned away.

Natsumi took a shy, awkward step toward him, and tucked her pink hair behind her ear.

"…Okay."

Commercial Break~