Natsumi and Giroro trotted down the hallway. They finally stopped when all was silent and skidded to a corner, hiding behind the wall.
Natsumi was panting heavily, staring down at the ground with a hard face.
"Natsumi?"
She gazed up at him. "…Yeah… Giroro?"
Giroro winced.
"Don't worry…" She turned toward him and gazed up into his eyes. "I knew."
Giroro's heart raced. "Y…You knew?"
Natsumi nodded timidly, her cheeks turning a pale pink. "I knew. And I've loved you ever since."
"R-really?!"
"Yeah… Now kiss me you fool!"
And they shared a heartwarming kiss of tender love, and they lived happily ever after.
….
Ha, yeah right. (Yes, this is the author speaking, not the Narrator.… and yes, I did laugh- very, very hard- writing that piece of… um. Work.)
*Blows nose* What?! That was a cheap way to end a… oh. That's not the ending. Okay. *Sniffs* …..*AHEM* Awkward….
Natsumi, Giroro, Koyuki, and Devoshmutt trotted down the hallway. They finally stopped when all was silent and skidded to a corner, hiding behind the wall.
Everyone was panting heavily, Dororo and Giroro occasionally casting quick glances out to make sure they weren't being followed while they rested.
"…Natsumi?"
The pink-haired girl gazed up at him, a hardened expression stamped into her brown eyes. Giroro winced.
"That wasn't funny."
That caught him off guard. "H-huh?"
Natsumi swallowed a lungful of air before she continued, "I know I've been calling you Giroro, but telling me you are isn't funny. I miss him. Not only that, that was no time to tell jokes, okay? I'm sorry I called you that before, but that wasn't funny."
Giroro felt like slamming his head into the wall. Out of relief or frustration, he wasn't sure.
"You guys brought a sub?" Giroro asked, more than eager to push the conversation along.
"Yes," Dororo nodded, finally catching his breath. "We left it over there."
"That's IT!"
Dororo, Natsumi, Giroro, and Koyuki jumped, turning toward the source of the irritated vengeful voice.
"I've had it!" Queen Vivianne snapped. "I've tried being civil with you, Rio, but now I'm taking dramatic measures! Do you understand me?!"
Giroro licked his lips, having a very bad feeling about this. He protectively stood in front of Natsumi, his arm slightly out.
"Time and time again you've run away," The queen said, smiling almost sinisterly. "Not this time. Not this time!" She snapped her fingers to her Ningyo and pointed straight at the party. "Kill all of his friends. Now!"
Kai looked at the woman urgently. "What?!"
"You heard me," She muttered coldly. "The sooner the job gets done, the sooner we could resume the wedding preparations."
The Ningyo that were circled around her lunged forward toward the group, drawing out their weapons and immediately attacking.
Natsumi tried to push Giroro away, but he was firm in his position. "Rio, what are you doing?! Get out of my w-"
"I will protect you."
Startled, Natsumi stared at him; at his erect, straight back and his strong, clenched fists.
I'm Giroro.
Natsumi shook her head. What…? Why did that suddenly come to mind…?
"D!" Koyuki flung some metallic stars to a Ningyo that had surged behind him. The creature screeched.
"Thanks!" Dororo called out, grabbing the monster's weapon, a thin sword. "And thank you." He kicked the baffled fish-man away and immediately ran to his friend.
"What are you going to do?" Natsumi protested. "You can't fight!"
"Who says?" Giroro asked, glancing down at her. He smirked. "I can fight just fine."
I'm Giroro.
Natsumi reached for her head and shivered a little.
"Natsumi, watch out!"
The pink haired girl squeaked, punching the Ningyo that had risen to her face.
"Nice!" Koyuki said with a wink and a thumbs up.
"U-uh, th-thanks," Natsumi stammered.
Giroro looked around himself anxiously, wondering how in Frog's name he was going to help Natsumi. How? What could this pathetic Pekoponian body do? By the looks of it, he couldn't even snag a weapon from any of the Ningyo. Everytime one fell, another would simply grab it as soon as it made the clunk against the ground.
The only way he could possibly get a weapon...
No, it's too risky... Natsumi's right here... if she saw me after my "confession", she'll definitely... He shook out of it. What am I, a coward? Well, yeah. Sorta. But the only thing that's worse than a coward is a selfish coward... wait. I got that the other way around. He shook out of it again. Focus! My identity vs Natsumi's life...? Yeah, that's a no brainer.
Giroro began to concentrate.
Please work, Giroro begged, closing his eyes. Please work. I need to protect her.
Giroro rose his fingers and formed them into a V-formation, and Natsumi only looked at him in shock.
What the heck is he-?
To both their immense surprise, two large, heavy army guns materialized against his hands. The blond-haired man laughed, his mirth surprising the girl behind him even more.
"Who's hungry?!" Giroro yelled, his fingers pulling the triggers. He wasted no time shooting each creature with such expertise, careful not to hit the two fighting ninjas. His blue eyes were penetrating, darkening into an intense, deep grayish color. Natsumi blushed heavily, knowing where she had seen that look before.
I'm Giroro.
The girl slowly brought her hand to her mouth, her face pale, her fingers shaking.
…Oh my God.
"Wanna help defeat the bad guys, Natsumi?"
"H-huh?" She looked up to Koyuki, who was smiling cheerfully. "W-what…?"
"Wanna help us beat the bad guys?"
"Uh, y-yeah!" Natsumi tried to shake herself out of it, but the thought lingered possessively.
She collided her fists with the first Ningyo she had bumped into, shuddering at the unnatural feel of the thick, slimy, scaly skin. She cast quick glances toward Giroro, her gazes suspicious.
The corporal knew this, as he would also watch her closely to make sure she was alright; however, to keep his stress-level he concentrated heavily on the thrill of the battle and the all too delicious sense of metal against his strong fingers. He had done it before- and was surprised how badly he had missed this exhilarating feeling. It's been too long, he thought.
There was a slight, sudden cry of pain.
"Ms. Koyuki!" Dororo slammed his weapon against the fish man, only to scowl when it dodged his attack.
"BEWARE THE WRATH OF CHEE-"
"Yeah, yeah," Dororo rammed his foot into its mouth. It squeaked, falling to its backside. The pink-haired ninja turned toward his companion. "You alright?"
"Yeah," Koyuki murmured, rubbing her arm. "He got me really bad right here."
"Let me see." Dororo gently ran his fingers against her smooth, soft skin, and stopped when she cringed. He stood up. "Stay by me, and avoid using that arm."
Koyuki nodded and gave him a sweet smile. "Thanks, D."
Dororo tipped his chin down too and grasped the sword's hilt even tighter, his knuckles bulging.
I'm Giroro.
Please stop! Natsumi pleaded, feeling her steel-strong punches weakening with each thrust. Don't think about that now!
She started for a charge, encouraging her legs to go faster to strengthen the strike she was preparing for the upcoming Ningyo. C'mon, c'mon, c'mon…
"Umm, Giroro? Where did you get that choker?"
Natsumi missed by an entire arm length. The Ningyo didn't even have to dodge. A small smile tugged at the end of the corners of its mouth, and swung back its arm.
"Your belt. Why are you wearing your belt over your trunks?"
She crossed her arms in a desperate attempt to block an attack, but was too late. The monster struck her against the chest, ultimately tossing the breath right out of her.
"Wow," Natsumi said. "You're really good at that."
She flew back and quickly caught herself, though her legs wobbled and threatened to give out.
"Yeah, well," He said smugly, blowing the gun playfully, "I practice."
Her vision began to blur. The Ningyo in front of her was grinning wider now, pleased to see its opponent faltering.
"I miss him. A lot. You know… he just saved our lives and then… and then just disappears…"
"Natsumi!"
"H-huh?!" She turned to see him, his guns directed toward her.
"Duck before I blow your face off!"
Natsumi immediately got the picture and crouched down, covering her head with her hands. A string of booming, pelting bullets soared above her and toward the enemy that was right in front of her. It let out an ear-piercing screech before falling flat on the floor.
"Are you okay?" Giroro asked, looking at her closely. He winced at her pink- and red- colored injuries, his fingers hovering slightly above one that was beginning to turn purple.
"I'm fine!" Natsumi retorted, pushing him away. She stood up quickly, deciding to do what she always did best: let her anger get the best of her. "Just cover me, okay?"
Giroro was a bit stunned by her sharp remark but didn't let it bother him. He stood up, nodded at her, and materialized another set of guns.
"Vivianne, what are you doing?!"
The queen gave the young man a cold look. "What does it look like I'm doing?"
"This is insane!" Kai said, his voice low and vicious. "You're doing all of this for… for some guy?"
"Not some guy!" Queen Vivianne snarled. "My future-!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever!" Kai rolled his eyes, but quickly restrained himself and continued, "Seriously though! It's not worth it! There are plenty of other guys there can easily have all of the requirements! It's not worth killing these kids over!"
The queen's tone was dipped in a thick platter of sarcasm. "Really? And who exactly would you recommend, Kai?"
Kai glared at her, his mouth forming to give an answer, but he withdrew and looked away, fists clenching.
"G…. Rio," Dororo said, the female ninja trailing close behind him. "There's too many of them."
Giroro cursed under his breath. "Fantastic."
"I wish the others were here," Dororo muttered.
At that exact moment, the wall behind them exploded. Debris flew and hit several unfortunate Ningyo on the heads, and the poor construction burst into flames.
Garuru set down his large gun as the rest of the platoon emerged from the smoke.
"Hi everyone!" Keroro sang cheerfully, waving at the baffled fish men and the four pretty much wounded teammates. "Miss us?"
"Gee, thanks for ruining the mood, Mr. Sergeant," Tamama said.
Dororo looked up at the ceiling. "I wish everyone remembered who I was!"
"Who are you again?"
In that very moment, Dororo turned into a pillar of salt.
"Anyway!" Keroro smirked. "Let's get dangerous."
"Oh, and who's copywriting stuff now?"
"AND LOOK WHO'S RUINING THE MOOD NOW."
Garuru didn't bother waiting out the Sergeant's and Private's argument, instead kneeling down and bringing up a sniper rifle. He directed it toward each of the ugliest fish-Pekoponians he had ever seen and began to fire, his perception frighteningly accurate, more than enough to rival his younger brother.
When Tamama and Keroro had finished their lover's spat, they immediate began to attack, siding with Mois (who summoned her Magical Girl powers) and Kururu (who was lazily on the sidelines randomly blasting different Ningyo with one of his little toys- turning them to what ranged from ID cards, toilet seats, and blow-dryers to chicken legs, tickets to the next Hannah Montana concert [yes, he was that evil], and chocolate chip flavored cookies). Tamama spewed out Tamama Impacts, focusing on the inner workings of the Angol's relationship with her Uncle, and Keroro was mostly shouting out orders.
Giroro was just glad Garuru was there. The purple Keronian was good. It definitely helped that since he had just got here, he was full of more stamina than Giroro was at that moment, who was beginning to wind down. But even so, Giroro was hoping it was a coincidence that the older sibling was also looking out for Natsumi, carefully shooting around her and blasting her opponents on more than one occasion.
"Hellmaged-!" Angol Mois stopped mid-attack when a fishman jumped on her, pinning her to the ground and holding up a sword. She screamed and whined, "Get it off get it off get it off get it offff!"
"Hey! Get off Mois!" Keroro jumped on that, which only really accomplished nothing.
The Ningyo flung Keroro off of himself, and seeing him as a more vulnerable target, ran after him.
"GYAAHHHHH DON'T HURT ME!" Keroro squealed, closing his eyes tightly and covering his face with his arms. "MAKE PASTA, NOT WAR! ...Wait, where have I heard that before?"
Before the Ningyo could reach him, Garuru blasted him away.
"Yay! I'm not killed! Thanks, Lieutenant!"
The older brother simply grunted in response.
"Eww... Uncle..." Mois whimpered. "It touched me..."
"Don't worry, Mois," Keroro said with a thumb raise. "You did fine!"
"R-really?! You think so?"
"UGGGHHH THAT WITCH PUTTING WITCHY SPELLS ON MY SERGEANT...!" Tamama prepared himself, his eyes too enormous for his head. "I'LL SHOW THEM. TAMAAAMAAAAAAAAAAAA PUNCH!"
...
Uh, Tamama? That was a kick, not a punch.
"I'm deducting points from you, Private," Keroro sighed, shaking his head. "That just wasn't cool."
"NOOOOO!" Tamama fell to his knees. He sobbed his lament. "I'm sorry to have failed you! I'm SO SORRRYYY!"
Garuru face palmed.
Natsumi wished she had a watch or something.
She panted heavily, exhuasted as she ducked and spun and boxed. An occasional weapon would fly her way and strike her, but she didn't let that stop her. No, not at all.
She kept her distance from Giroro, but to her annoyance he would always find a way to get near her again. He would give her a soft, warning glower, like, 'what are you doing? Stay by me.'
Just like Giroro would.
Stop it!
Whenever that blasted thought came to mind she would be a bigger target for her enemies. She just had to focus. Freaking focus.
Natsumi had Koyuki's back.
That she could concentrate on.
The ninja girl was slowing down, getting struck more than she was supposed to. She couldn't help giving a little cry of pain when she was whipped with steely chains or hit with a hard mace.
Natsumi wondered why- she was way more capable of handling enemies like these herself. And then she noticed her arm.
Did she break it? Natsumi thought, horrified. We need to get out of here. She turned to Dororo and touched his shoulder. That was a mistake. She had to dodge to the side to avoid a high speed blow that could have easily ripped her head off.
Natsumi shuddered at that vivid illustration. "D!"
"O-oh," Dororo murmured, embarrassed. "Sorry."
"No kidding," Natsumi replied. She gestured to Koyuki. "We need to get her to the sub."
Dororo nodded. "I agree. It's way too dangerous for Ms. Koyuki." He looked around. "But there's no way that-" He stopped mid sentence to kick a creature that had come up behind him. "-the Ningyo are going to let us through."
"We need a distraction."
"We need a plan."
Natsumi and Dororo looked up at Giroro, who was backing into their group, a gun out in front of him.
"Since they're after me, I'll go that direction," He jerked his chin to the opposite side of the hallway. "They'll follow me, and you guys could-"
"Oh no you don't!" Natsumi snagged his shirt and brought him to face level, glaring at him. "I'm not losing you again."
Confused, Giroro blinked at her, but thought it best to just agree and not question her. He sighed as pulled away from her and looked about him, bringing his gun up again when another Ningyo tried to sneak up on them. "What do you expect us to do then?"
"I don't know," Natsumi muttered. "But something that doesn't involve y-… anyone of us getting separated." She jumped slightly. "…Wait a minute." She ran off from the group huddle.
"Nats-!" Giroro groaned. "Just what does she think she's doing?"
Dororo smiled gently. "She's just being Natsumi."
I'm not losing you again.
Giroro stared after her. Just what did she mean by that?
"What?"
"I said, you can press the button."
"I can press the button?"
"You can press the button."
"So let me get this straight. I could press the button."
"Yes, Private. You can press the button."
"Would you like to press the button with m-?"
Mois jumped to her feet. "THIS JOKE ISN'T FUNNY ANYMORE!" She slammed her fist onto the doughnut-shaped destructive device and ultimately activated the Earthquake of Inconvenience II (Jr.). Keroro and Tamama stared in absolute bewilderment. She blushed and explained, smiling weakly, "You could say, 'out of character'?"
The ground shook.
"Deja vu." Kai whistled, grinning.
The queen moaned. She replied, deadpanned, "Not again."
"What was this? Your winter beach home?"
"Oh, shut up."
The Ningyo screeched about another 'Oncoming Disaster' and fled the scene, waving their arms in a frenzy and tripping over each other as they desperately clawed (or scaled; take your pick) out for escape.
Giroro dropped his gun, which immediately dissolved into pointless matter when it hit the ground.
"…Well that was anti-climatic."
"Yeah, right?" Dororo shook his head slightly. "Still. We should be grateful for this distraction. C'mon, help me get Koyuki out of here."
"I'm fine, D," Koyuki said with a small smile. She looked up at Giroro. "Focus on finding Natsumi, 'kay?"
Giroro nodded. "On it-"
"Don't worry about it."
Giroro turned around, seeing the pink-haired school girl with a hand on her hip. "Yeah, I'm right here! Let's get out of here already!"
"U-uh, what did-? H-how? Wh-what, you?!"
Natsumi rolled her eyes. "The stupid frog! Duh!"
"O-oh."
Yup, that explained everything.
Giroro let the others run ahead of him to make sure that none of them were left behind. He was just about to go after them when he heard a rough, familiar voice.
"I'm glad you're okay."
Giroro stopped and turned around.
Garuru waved his hand dismissively. "Go. If any of these follow you, I'll make sure to blow them off your trail." At this he summoned another sniper rifle and leaned it against his shoulder.
The younger brother's lips twitched with appreciation, but that was the most he was willing to give to his older sibling.
They went their own ways.
Queen Vivianne had enough. She had way more than enough.
She was going to get him even if it killed her-
And if that was going to be the case, she was bringing him right down with her.
It was fun watching the whole thing get destroyed again, but it's boring to describe, so I'll just skip to the second set of survivors (Natsumi, Koyuki, and Giroro).
(And Richard [?])
"What?"
"Hm?"
Giroro rose an eyebrow at her. "…Nothing, it's just… you've been kinda staring at me for the past couple of minutes now."
"Have I?" Natsumi asked, her cheeks turning red. "O-oh. Um." She cleared her throat. "I-I was worried about you! You get kidnapped in the middle of the night and you expect me to not be upset over that?"
Giroro ducked his head. "I-I'm sorry."
Natsumi had the strongest urge to say 'you better be' with them most bitter tone, but she was somehow unable to.
Is Rio really… Giroro?
Thinking about it now, it made a lot of sense. Everything fit perfectly into place… a little too perfectly.
The belt. The choker. The serious skills with the gun. The freaking gun trick. Who else can do the freaking gun trick? She hasn't seen anyone else but Giroro ever do that.
And then she remembered his eyes.
Those dark, intense eyes…
Maybe it was a trick of light, but she could have sworn that they looked like Giroro's eyes when he was fighting or protecting her from some random Monster of the Week. Could any other human have that weird trait?
Natsumi sighed and stared at her lap.
The only thing that bothered her was the fact that he didn't have that scar on his face… That would have guaranteed that he was Giroro…
Maybe it's make-up?
Before thinking too much about what she was about to do, she reached out and rubbed her thumb against his cheek below his eye. He jumped and blushed immensely, staring at her in shock.
"O-oh!" Natsumi pulled her arm back, smiling nervously. "S-sorry! I-I don't know what I was thinking…"
Giroro cocked a brow, his mouth twisting into a frown.
Embarrassed, Natsumi looked at her fingers. Nope. There's no trace of make-up on my hands… She glanced up at him cautiously. Giroro was looking out the window of the submarine, his cheek on the palm of his hand as his elbow was resting on the edge of the pane. His skin looked so smooth and flawless- so unlike the red frog she knew.
She wanted to ask the stupid frog. More than likely if it was Giroro, it was some sort of stupid plan to invade Pekopon. Why they had chosen this stupid plan, she had no clue.
She just couldn't help but wonder if it was Giroro, why he was in on it in the first place.
Her face went completely on fire when she realized that she had held his hand, hugged him, cuddled with him, made him a bracelet, and… kissed him.
That horrific realization slammed right into her mind like an unpreventable train wreck. What if I kissed Giroro?!
"Natsumi, you okay?"
Natsumi gazed up at him and saw his kind blue eyes, full of concern.
"Y-yeah…" She stammered. "I-I'm fine."
Why don't I just ask him now? Her hands were shaking. She had to hold on to them tightly to keep anyone from noticing them. I should. And I could just get it over it…
"R-Rio?"
"Yeah?"
Natsumi's mouth opened, but the words had clung on to the ends of her tongue, refusing to leap into the air.
Why can't I just ask him now?
"Nothing." Natsumi responded, forcing a grin. "Nothing."
…Because I think I'm a little afraid of the answer.
"You're sure acting weird today," Giroro said as he turned back to the window. "I hope the Ningyo didn't hurt you too bad."
Speak for yourself. The guy had bruises on his bruises. On his muscles. And his sweat matted his hair, sticking on to his dribbling, handsomely carved face-
DON'T THINK LIKE THAT! Natsumi shook her head, grabbing on to her ears. If that's Giroro, than it sure is going to make it A HECK of a lot more awkward!
And that is why the author continues anyway.
Giroro, meanwhile, was inwardly freaking out.
Frog. She knows. FROG SHE KNOWS. She saw me do that frogging gun trick- how the heck am I gonna talk my way out of that one? Giroro almost forgot to breathe, thus almost making him pass out. Be cool, Giroro. Rio. Whatever-you-are. Be cool. She hasn't confronted you about it, and she is a bit dense (I'm afraid that's a bit of an understatement), so it doesn't mean that she exactly knows. I just have to get Keroro to think up of something. After all, it was his frogging fault that Natsumi knows the secret… Why did I change from second person to first person? That was weird. Giroro leaned back on his seat, staring hard out the window at the black sea. …Anyway… Yeah. Just relax. If I freak out now, I will definitely compromise my position. And probably compromise my relationship with Natsumi- as both Rio and Giroro. He shivered at this thought. I don't want that. Just… think positively. Think about kitties and bunnies and oh frog I'm gonna die.
"How's your arm?"
Koyuki giggled. "It's fine, D. Just let it rest."
Dororo bit his lower lip and ran his fingers against his hair. "I don't know how we're going to explain this to your teachers though."
"We'll think of something," She assured him. Her eyebrows suddenly slanted down and her eyes were full of uneasiness. "D…?"
"…Yeah." Dororo stared at his free hand. I haven't turned back yet. I've been like this, what, all day? I should've turned back by now…
"You've done all this for me," Koyuki gazed down at her limp arm. "You do so much for me. I'm sorry."
"D-don't be," Dororo said, trying to cheer her up. He hated to see her upset; that was probably his least favorite thing to see. "Please. I don't want you to worry too much about it. I-it's not your fault." He tipped her chin up to make her look at him. "Hey. It's not like you to be sad, okay? Don't worry about it."
He was relieved to see her smile again.
"Okay."
Dororo pulled his hand away from her face.
"Hey, D?"
"Yeah?"
"Wanna know something cool?"
Dororo shrugged one shoulder. "Sure."
"Do you know how the Mexican-Americans used to say thanks to each other?"
Dororo thought about this for a while, rubbing his chin with his thumb and index finger. It sounded familiar. Finally, he gave up with a small laugh. "No, I'm afraid of don't."
"Want me to show you?"
"Sure."
Without bothering to take off his mask, Koyuki reached up and kissed him on his clothed lips.
Natsumi, Giroro, and Dororo blushed heavily, their eyes wide, their pupils dilated.
When their initial shock was over, Natsumi was looking away hastily, Dororo was grabbing his mouth, and Giroro was shaking his fist as he muttered something grotesque and completely un-family-friendly in utter jealousy.
"K-… Koyuki!"
Koyuki giggled again, backing away from him and sticking out her tongue. "That's how!"
(Note: It was the Greco-Roman culture… not Mexican-American… Wouldn't want you getting that question wrong on a test…)
Although it would have been funny.
"Start it up," Garuru demanded as he stepped foot on the machine, snapping his fingers toward the pilot.
"Yessir!" Keroro slammed his foot against the steering wheel and sped the submarine away from the decaying foundation of the underwater castle-thingy.
Should've seen it too. The animators actually made it look neat.
"Is Giroro alright?" Garuru asked, gripping on to Keroro's chair.
"Yeah," Keroro nodded. "According to the Word Choice Chooser, he's safely aboard the same ship as Natsumi and Koyuki."
"And that one guy that smells like tacos," Tamama added.
Garuru gave a straight forward, simple nod. "Good. Very good." He glanced at Kururu. "Are you working on how to turn Giroro back into a Keronian?"
"Yes," Kururu muttered, irritated. "Though I would appreciate it if you didn't constantly ask me th-…"
An aura that could rival his own (and in his own case, a certain Angol's) flared and immediately shut him up. "K-ku-ku-ku…."
"Told ya the nap would work," Keroro said smugly, as if Garuru's whole show at the Ningyo battle was completely his right to gloat over. "See? And you thought I was incompetent."
The purple Keronian rolled his eyes.
"Captain? Ku. Trouble."
"Yeah? What is it?" Keroro slapped on Autopilot and turned to the scientist.
"It seems I'm going to need a Guinea pig."
Garuru tilted his head slightly and crossed his arms. "What do you mean?"
"Ku-ku-ku~" Kururu swiveled his chair toward the group, who watched him curiously. "You see, Giroro's condition is… rather interesting. However, I'm afraid that in order to not risk putting him into a further case of whatever he's got right now, I'm going to need someone to… substitute for him, I should say."
"What, you mean, like…" Keroro's pupils dilated a little. "…turn into a Pekoponian?"
"Just for the sake of a lab rat. Ku-ku-ku."
"You didn't worry about that before," Garuru said pointedly, planting a hand on his waist.
"True, but I don't want to risk worsening his condition. Unless you do, Lieutenant. Ku-ku-ku~"
Garuru frowned, displeased.
"Anyway," Kururu continued, unnerved by the purple Keronian's expression, "I'm going to need a lab rat. Any volunteers? Ku-ku-ku~!"
"Simple." Garuru grabbed Keroro from his seat and yanked him out of it. "Use the Sergeant."
"WHAT?!" Keroro looked aghast. "And be at the mercy of… of THAT?!" He pointed dramatically at the Sergeant Major. "NU-UH. NO WAY."
"Oh, yes way," Garuru said venomously, glaring deeply into Keroro's eyes. "Or else you will be at the mercy of me."
"And besides," Tamama piped, snacking on some chips. "You were the one that started it."
"Gee, thanks for your support," Keroro spat.
"I wouldn't recommend the captain, ku."
Garuru looked up at Kururu. "And why not?"
Kururu leaned back against the chair. "I'm not sure if any of you have been paying attention, but it seems that Natsumi- what Giroro dubs 'the warrior princess'-" Kururu added for Garuru's benefit, "is beginning to suspect that 'Rio' is in fact Giroro."
Garuru 'hm-ed'. "Your point?"
"If she finds out that he's Giroro, well, it won't be pretty." The inventor smirked at the older brother. "And when I mean it won't be pretty, I mean Giroro will-"
"I understand," Garuru muttered. "So we need to end the mission inconspicuously, correct?"
"Correct, ku-ku. Our goal is to make sure that Natsumi doesn't find out who he is. We'll need to think of a way to somehow divert Natsumi's current thinking, while figuring out something at the end to get rid of 'Rio', but Giroro will eventually turn back to normal and he'll be happy, you'll be happy, everyone will be happy, and we'll all live in a magical land with lollipops and rainbows. Ku-ku-ku~"
"I like lollipops and rainbows!" Mois said randomly. "It's like, how you say, 'walking on sunshine!'"
"But in order to manage that, I am going to need a guinea pig. Ku-ku-ku~!"
"…Alright, I understand that. What Sergeant Major Kururu mentioned, not the Angol. But what I don't understand is why we can't use the Sergeant to test the antidotes, or whatever you have planned?"
"Well, as far as Natsumi is concerned, Giroro is missing," Kururu explained. "Ku-ku. So if Keroro suddenly goes missing-"
"AHA! THANK YOU KURURU!" Keroro's eyes grew large and sparkly.
"And what about the private?"
"H-hey!" Tamama whimpered.
"Momoka will notice, and will most likely notify Fuyuki, who will inform Natsumi."
"…Peaches-?"
"Back to the point, ku-ku. We'll have to look for someone who won't be missed-"
"What about you?"
"…I said, someone who won't be missed-"
"I caught that. What. About. You?"
Multiple veins popped around Kururu's forehead. "…..Ku-ku-ku-ku-ku. Unfortunately, Lieutenant, in order to get to my lab, I need to remain in this form."
"….I see," Garuru rested his hand on his chin and closed his eyes. "I understand the complicated…" He paused when he noticed Kururu smirking at him almost devilishly, and the platoon staring at the demented scientist almost pleadingly, like they were begging for their lives. "…Yes?"
Commercial Break~
….Is it normal I actually enjoyed myself a little too much writing this? XD I'm actually fairly proud of this chapter. True, it's not the best, but I liked it. With this new crazy idea that popped in my head, the ending might extend a little. That, or I'll just write the chapters longer. But you know me; my approximation of how long the chapters will be are extremely inaccurate. So, I don't know. Might end sooner, might end later. All I know is that Natsumi is catching on…
...Oh, Garuru XD As much as I like you, I'm afraid I'll have to agree that you've practically signed your own doom...
...And sorry if the fighting scene was... brief XD; Um. Yeah. There's a reason why I write comedy, and not action...