Chapter 1 COMPLETE! Here's the REAL chapter 1...
Also, just a reminder, since this is the sequel to 'I won't lose you', I suggest reading THAT story before this one if you haven't already. Unless you cry easily. In which case DOOOOOOOOON'T DO IIIIIIIIIIIT!
It's been one year since she died, and almost everything and everyone has changed in the Hinata house.
Fuyuki has become a lot more like his sister ever since he lost her. He figured that with his mom always out working on her manga and with Natsumi gone, it was up to him to fill in the important role as the authority figure in the house. He acts bossy every now and then, but still keeps that charming, friendly, Fuyuki attitude. Without Natsumi around to stop the frogs from going too far with their invasion plans, Fuyuki had to fill in for that part as well. He acts more like Natsumi each day, but tries his hardest not to act like he's replacing her.
Keroro has also changed greatly. Everyone thought that with Natsumi gone, there would be no one to stand in his way of completing his mission. But instead, Keroro has sort of slacked off on invading. He usually only thinks about the mission once a month or when one of his platoon members brings it up. But it just seems that without Natsumi around, he's just pushed the invasion to the back of his head. He's mostly just been concentrating on his normal habits, like Gumpla and TV. He's also been working much harder on chores (which he's been doing a lot more of since their calenders have all been refilled with only Keroro and Fuyuki stickers). Natsumi would always threaten to beat Keroro up if he didn't do the chores right, which is why he hated doing them so much. But ever since Fuyuki took over for Natsumi, Keroro considers Fuyuki as his older brother, so now he thinks about his chores more as a duty than manual labor.
Aki has felt incredibly empty without Natsumi around. She only heard the bad news when Fuyuki called her and told her while she was at work. She never even said goodbye to her own child. She's been working a lot harder at work since the accident. She knows how much Fuyuki has grown since he lost his sister, and trusts him to look over the house. He gets along well with Keroro and the other frogs, so she knew everything would be fine without her around. But she still thinks about her daughter every day for almost every hour. Once in a while she likes to sneak into the living room late at night and watch some old home movies of Natsumi as a baby, which always made her laugh, and sometimes cry.
Kululu hasn't changed that much since the accident. He still keeps his joker like attitude (which no one has EVER cared for), but still can be serious and sometimes careful when he needs to be. During the few days after Natsumi's funeral, Kululu was acting much more different than usual. It was like he was another frog entirely. He never pulled any sick pranks or told any cruel-hearted jokes, nor did he ever talk bad about anything or anyone. He helped everyone out around the house, comforted them when they thought about Natsumi's death, and even acted like the kind of guy who you could talk to when you were feeling down. It was a side of Kululu no one had ever seen before or even knew existed! But as the months past, he began to act more and more like his old self again. Pulling pranks and laughing maniacally like he always did. Everyone knew his new kind-hearted phase wouldn't last, but at least now they can rest easy knowing that he actually has one.
But out of everyone in the house, nobody's changes can compare to the one who has changed the most because of the accident...Giroro.
He has become the total opposite of what he used to be. Just after the accident, he sold all of his weapons to the Space Market. The most important things to Giroro, the things that had been with him his entire life, and he just got rid of them all without a second thought. No one knew the reason, but they eventually concluded that he decided that with Natsumi gone, he had nothing left to protect, so he didn't think he needed them anymore. But after he sold his guns, things just began to get weirder and weirder. Giroro wasn't acting like the Giroro they knew for the past few years. He never went to the invasion meetings, never scolded Keroro about what it means to be a soldier, he didn't even bother to take care of his cat anymore. Fuyuki took the liberty of feeding her, but she still continues to sit in front of Giroro's tent every now and then and just starts meowing, waiting for him to come out and pet her, even if he never does.
Normally, Giroro would always just sit around in his tent all day, only coming out when he was called by Keroro or to roast sweet potatoes. But after the accident, he barely comes out at all. Even when Keroro summons everyone to the secret base, Giroro doesn't even bother to show up, even when he's told that it's an emergency (One thing that hasn't changed: Keroro losing an important Gumpla piece is still considered an emergency). The only time they practically ever see him is when he's outside of his tent late at night by his fire, roasting piles upon piles of sweet potatoes and just leaving them uneaten. It's almost like he thinks he's still making them for Natsumi, even when he knows he's just wasting them.
Finally, after one full year since Natsumi's death, Giroro finally made the announcement to the Hinata's and to his platoon that he has decided to leave Pekopon. Everyone was devastated by the news, but knew that perhaps it was for the best (even after the nine straight hours of Keroro begging him to stay).
It was now 7:30 AM at the Hinata residents. The grass outside was wet while the grey clouds covered the entire sky. A cold, icy wind blew through the air while one certain soldier was getting ready to leave.
'Today's the day.' Giroro thought to himself as he finally finished packing everything except for his belt into one hiking bag. He decided he would leave his belt on until he left the planet. 'I'll go to the station early and wait there until the train arrives. That way, no one will know I've left, hopefully avoiding having them throw me some 'going away' party. That is...unless they're all already at the station waiting for me.' the thought of being the center of attention like it was his birthday made him sick. 'No, Fuyuki knows how much I hate those. He wouldn't let them embarrassed me like that.'
This being his last day on Pekopon, it made him remember all of the memories he had made during his stay here. He thought about the adventures he had, the things he's learned, and the people he met. Thinking about that made him remember the one person who kept him from invading in the first place. The person who had turned him from a cold-hearted warrior into, in the words of Kululu, a 'Big Red Softy'. Several happy memories of her smiling face caused a small tear to appeared in the corner of his eye, which he quickly wiped away.
'Would Natsumi want me to stay? No, everyone else has already moved on. I can't make them all suffer with me anymore. All I'm doing is causing pain to her family. It's for the best if I just leave.' he finally made up his mind before grabbing his bag and marching out of his ten, only to run into a certain someone sitting outside his door.
"Meow!" his cat said when she saw him walk out. Giroro looked down at his cat for a few seconds before sighing and bending down to pet her. He scratched the top of her head a few times as she loudly purred to her former owner.
"She's missed you a lot." said a low-toned voice, catching Giroro's attention. Giroro looked up, where he saw an unfamiliar Pekoponian boy standing above him. He had dark blue hair that went down to the back of his neck, black jeans, a red sweatshirt, and was several inches taller than Giroro had imagined he would be after just one year.
"Heh, you're a lot more different than I remember, Fuyuki." Giroro stated, making the boy giggle.
"Thanks. So, today's the day, huh. Believe it or not, but we're really gonna miss you around here. I'm sure Natsumi would hate to see you go." he said, making Giroro huff and turn his head away from Fuyuki.
There was a short silence between the two before Keroro opened the back door. "Hey, Fuyuki-dono! Is he up ye..." Keroro shouted before he saw Giroro standing outside his tent, petting his cat. Keroro jumped with joy when he saw him for the first time ever since he announced that he was leaving. He felt like running up and hugging him, but he knew Giroro wouldn't be fond of that, and it was too early to get his ribs broken. So he just walked up to his Corporal and gave him a quick salute. He didn't salute back.
"So, Giroro-gochou, when's the train arriving?" Keroro asked.
"A few hours from now." he answered, still refusing to look at either of them. Keroro smiled.
"Well then what are you doing packing up so soon!? How about we have a party! Just one last celebration before you leave!" Keroro shouted. Giroro growled at Keroro's idea while Fuyuki turned his head and gave Keroro a disappointed look.
"Gunso, maybe you should get going on that laundry." he said. Keroro sighed before slowly turning around and walking back inside. Once he was back inside, Fuyuki bent down and placed his hand on Giroro's shoulder.
"I know he can be annoying, but he just wants you to be happy. He'll miss you when you leave, as we all will." Fuyuki told him before taking his hand off his shoulder and walking back inside.
Giroro stood there, a million thoughts at once rushing through his mind. 'Should I say goodbye before leaving? Does anyone even want to see me after how I've acted all year? Should I even bother to contact them again after I'm gone? Do they hate me?' these thoughts fought each other in his mind until he couldn't take it anymore and slapped himself in the face. He stood there thoughtless for a while, staring blankly at the soggy grass under his feet. He felt his cat rub herself against his leg with another loud 'Meow' after it. He went back to petting her one last time before finally deciding to say his goodbyes to everyone he loved.
Beneath the house, Kululu sat in his lab chair, checking his computer for how the data is coming along. He laughed out loud when he saw the results.
"Kukukuku...it's finished." he said to himself maniacally. He pressed a few buttons across his keyboard, causing a small hatch to open out of his desk. A large vial full of what looked like blood slowly rose up out of it. He then walked over to a nearby machine and placed the vial into a metal holder attached to the devise. He pushed the vial inside and pulled a small switch, activated the machine. He stood back and laughed at how his new project was on the verge of completion.
Giroro stood in front of that horribly ugly door. Kululu's giant head standing in front of him. Knowing what he had to do, Giroro took a deep breathe and prepared himself. 'Alright, I've said goodbye to everyone except him. God, this is gonna be even harder on me than leaving.' he thought. He took one step forward when the door suddenly swerved open, revealing Kululu standing in the doorway.
"Corporal Giroro...perfect timing. Kukukuku." he laughed.
"K-Kululu..." Giroro answered. "...I should have guessed. You knew I was coming didn't you. And you also probably know why I'm here."
"Of course. Kuku. It really is sad to see you go. I thought at least you of all people would see this invasion through until the end." Kululu began to tease the Corporal, but it didn't bother Giroro that much, knowing that it would be the last time he would ever have to hear his voice. Giroro let out a quiet sigh as he walked up to the yellow inventor and held out his hand.
"Goodbye, Kululu. As much as it pains me to admit it, you're actually a pretty good soldier. I know you like to make your rude comments and pretend like it all doesn't matter, but I know there's still a strong warrior inside you somewhere. And if there is, I'm sure that he always knows exactly what he's doing. It...was a pleasure to work with you." Giroro told him as his hand still remained unshook. Kululu stood motionless, staring Giroro down as he waited for a response. About a minute of silence went by until Giroro eventually put his arm down.
"Fine. Have it your way." he said as he grabbed his bag and began walking away. Kululu continued to stand there as Giroro walked away from him until he finally spoke up.
"Before you go..." he said, stopping Giroro in his tracks. He turned around to see Kululu holding a small remote in his hand, ready to push it. "...I have something to give you. Call it a 'going away present'. I press!"
He pressed the button and a massive hole in the floor opened up, causing steam to burst out from inside it. Giroro waved his hand across his face to blow the steam away when he saw something else rise from under the floor. It appeared to be a tall figure, most likely a Pekoponian. It wasn't until the steam began to clear that he began to notice some familiar traits. The hair, the posture, it reminded him so much of someone he knew. His eyes widened and his heart nearly stopped when he finally remembered who it was. Then, she spoke.
"Giroro...is that you?"
Well, that was Chapter 1! I plan on this story having about five chapters, six at most. Hope you enjoyed...