Disclaimer: I do not own anything.
Half way done with the story now! Yay!
Koyuki held Natsumi's crying body in her arms, letting her friend rest her face on her shoulder, sobbing about how glad she was to see her.
"There, there, Natsumi." Koyuki pat her back.
"I didn't think I'd ever see you again! I thought I'd be alone forever out here!" Natsumi told her. Koyuki held her close.
"I came for you. We're best friends, after all," she smiled at her, slowly pulling her away from her shoulder. Natsumi crying for a good long time wouldn't help anyone. She carefully wiped away Natsumi's tears with her hands and smiled at her.
"We're free out here, but more importantly, we're together," she said.
Natsumi stiffly nodded. "I... I was scared," she admitted. "When I saw the Keronians... and how different they were. I was scared that I had to deal with it alone."
Koyuki nodded. "I'm still scared," she confessed. But Natsumi's words stirred questions in her mind. She hadn't thought much about Keroro and Tamama's new forms. Her main focus was protecting Natsumi, but it occurred to her that the Keronians were clearly alive.
Different, perhaps even evil and ready to attack them, but alive. And that was all that mattered to her.
Dororo, she thought to herself. Dororo might be alive. "Have... Have you seen Dororo?"
Natsumi looked at her. It had never occurred to her to ask Kululu about Dororo. She had been focused on her boyfriend, not Koyuki's... Well, she didn't know what Dororo and Koyuki were. They were best friends, right? But then why did Koyuki say Natsumi was her best friend?
"I..." Natsumi didn't know where Dororo was, but she suddenly became worried that Koyuki would go looking for him. If it was her and her friend was alive, she would search for him. But Koyuki had broken more over his death than she had with Giroro. She had bounced back for her brother, but Koyuki... Koyuki hadn't even been able to mention Dororo's name.
If she saw Dororo and he was alive, and he had mutated into some sort of monstrosity, she might not be able to take it.
If he had forgotten her like Keroro, Tamama, and Kululu had toward her, it would be the finishing blow. Koyuki would break as she realized the friendship she and Dororo had could no longer be reclaimed.
And if Dororo attacked her, she might not have the mentality to fight back.
"I don't know. I haven't." Natsumi told the truth. "He... He might be dead like Giroro is."
"Giroro's dead?" Koyuki asked, shocked. "Oh Natsumi... I'm so sorry."
"Yeah, he was a good friend," Natsumi lied. Koyuki didn't really need to know how deep her and Giroro's relationship had been.
"Well, I mean he wasn't just your friend, right, Natsumi? Didn't you love him?" Koyuki asked.
"Huh?" Natsumi asked.
"When... When they left... I heard you calling to him... Talking about how much you loved him and wanted him back while you slept. And, I mean, he confessed to you right before he left, right?" she said.
Natsumi nodded. "We... We were together... I didn't know you knew. Does anyone else?"
Koyuki shook her head, "I don't think they picked up on it. But I was observant," she told Natsumi proudly. "But... I'm so sorry, Natsumi."
Natsumi felt like crying again. She sniffled a bit. "I knew it deep down. I've had it confirmed several times now... I've found his last letter to me. Kululu told me he killed himself over mutating. And he never returned nine months ago. I knew all along." She sniffed. "I... I need to let go... But I keep having some sort of hope that it's a lie. That he's out there just like Tamama is. I mean, we thought he was dead, too," she said.
Koyuki pat her friend's head. "I'm... I'm so sorry..." She knew she'd have to face this pain herself soon, too. Just like Natsumi was.
The knowledge that at least some of the Keronians were alive was fueling her hope, though. Dororo's death hadn't been confirmed.
And because of that, she could only feel bad for Natsumi's plight, hoping for herself that she wouldn't go through the same.
Koyuki seemed to adapt to the survival situation of their new world pretty quickly, finding shelter for them for the night and being overall a little more joyful at the fresh air. Even if there were no plants and it was a barren rubble of a wasteland, she could still see the sunlight. And that was more than she got in the base.
Her mood had dampened from being imprisoned in there. She just wasn't meant to be confined. She was a free spirit, and her usual personality was slowly returning to her. A more light-hearted and optimistic one.
Ninja were used to being alone. Humanity's death wasn't as much of an issue to her.
She was a little worried at her out-of-practice skills, but hopefully they'd get better soon. "Hand me your shirt," she ordered Natsumi.
Natsumi hugged herself. "Why? It's cold."
"I can sew it up," Koyuki told her, taking a pin out of her pocket. "You don't want to walk around with a giant hole showing off your bra, right?"
Natsumi thought for a moment and quickly took off her shirt, handing it to Koyuki.
She sat as Koyuki worked. "Do you think it's safe enough to get Fuyuki and Saburo and let them outside, too?" she finally asked.
She was happy enough just being out there with Koyuki, but it seemed wrong to leave them on their own, wondering where Koyuki had gone.
Koyuki thought for a moment. "The air seems safe enough. I don't think we'll die of radiation like we first believed."
Natsumi nodded. But then she thought of Fuyuki. "We can't," she finally decided.
"Why?" Koyuki asked.
"Because the stupid frog is out here. And he's... He's a monster. He... He wanted to kill me. And if Fuyuki saw him in that state, that would be worse than believing he was dead," she explained. "Sometimes... it's better to not hope at all, so those hopes can't be dashed away." She knew as soon as Fuyuki knew Keroro was alive that he would be filled with hope. But the result of seeing his old friend would destroy him more than he already was destroyed. "He can't see him. He's too fragile," Natsumi told her. "Keroro would kill him in his weakness."
Koyuki nodded. "What about Saburo, then?"
"He could take it," Natsumi decided. "But then Fuyuki would be left all alone. I can't do that to him. So Saburo has to stay with Fuyuki."
Koyuki nodded. The decision to not seek out their friends was final.
Saburo and Fuyuki had other ideas however.
Koyuki had mysteriously disappeared. She was no longer present in the base. And Saburo didn't know what had happened.
"W-we...We need to talk..." Saburo tried to do Natsumi's job. To call a meeting. Fuyuki was the only one there. He had his never-ending blank expression. "We've looked everywhere and Koyuki... She's gone." This concerned Saburo greatly. In the year that had passed by, he and Koyuki had grown incredibly close, and he had a big soft spot for the girl. They both hadn't had much of a family to lose, so at first they had been the least sad about the situation. But after the Keronians had left, Koyuki hadn't been able to get out of bed or do much of anything. She had been much too broken.
Natsumi didn't remember this very much, because she too had been a sobbing mess, just like Fuyuki, but Saburo had been the strongest of the four. He had taken it upon himself to try and cheer the group up. Eventually Natsumi started trying incredibly hard to distract herself from the deaths of her friends and focusing all her energy on Fuyuki, so Saburo focused on Koyuki instead.
He would go visit her in her room in the base, feeding her food and talking to her, hoping to spark some conversation and motivate her out of bed. It had eventually worked, and they had grown much closer, becoming very good friends despite her broken state and lack of motivation.
"Did... Did something get her?" Fuyuki asked. He had heard something moving around the other day in the base, but he hadn't cared enough to check it out. Seeing the floor and wall, though, there were peculiar scratch marks, as if something was walking on a blade.
Saburo didn't know. "I... I don't know," he admitted. "I think the most likely thing is she got fed up. I don't think she could deal with sending Natsumi out."
"So... what do you think she did?" Fuyuki asked. "Went out with her?"
"That's exactly what I think happened," he told him. "She never liked being confined here. I think she probably went out, even if it was dangerous." He grinned a little to himself. "Takes major bravery. Maybe she was able to do it because she knew she wouldn't be alone, now that Natsumi was out there?"
Fuyuki frowned. "But... that means we've lost another friend." He slumped over in his chair weakly. "We'll be all alone, soon enough. You'll leave next, or die or something, and I'll be all alone." He clutched at Saburo's shirt sadly and weakly.
Saburo looked sadly at Fuyuki's sorry state. "I won't leave you," he promised.
"You might. You're the only one I have left," said Fuyuki. "You'll leave just like Momoka. You'll die."
Saburo frowned. Whenever Fuyuki expressed any sort of feelings for him, be it friendship, companionship, or more, he always brought up Momoka. It was very apparent that he only wanted Saburo around due to his loneliness and trying to fill the hole Momoka had left in his heart.
It didn't make Saburo feel the best about himself, honestly.
"Fuyuki... I won't leave you. That's why I'm bringing this conversation to you. Natsumi is gone. Koyuki is missing, probably lost out there, we're the only two left," he said. "Do you think it's worth it to gamble... to look for them? They're our friends and we should really put them as high as our own lives," he suggested. "I'm worried for them."
"Wait... Do you mean, you're asking me if we should go out there? We'll die!" said Fuyuki. "We sent Natsumi out there just so we wouldn't die."
"But Koyuki is gone now. She's missing. We need to look for her," Saburo said. "Maybe it's best to bite the bullet, finally face what's out there. If we die, we die. Nothing we can do about that. But if the environment is livable, we'll be free. Free from this endless boredom, free from this awful place... I personally think gambling is worth it. Especially when we have nothing else to lose now."
Fuyuki thought for a moment. His legs started shaking in fear of the outside. "Sarge went outside... And he died," he reminded him.
"Momoka's out there. Don't you want to finally find out what happened to her? To at least give her a proper funeral?" Saburo asked.
Fuyuki's shivering subsided a little bit at the reminder of Momoka. He finally gave a small nod. "You're right. There's nothing else to lose. And... it would be wrong to lose Natsumi and Koyuki. We're all friends. Either all of us dies, or two of us live now. And... I don't want only two of us to live," he decided. "Two is too small a number."
Saburo nodded and out-stretched his hand. "Let's go out then. Let's see if the end of the world all it's cracked up to be."
Fuyuki nodded.
And the two left the base that had previously been their home.
When they got outside and realized the air was breathable, they rejoiced and hugged in happiness. To their surprise, a green string was laying waiting for them.
"It was set out for us," Saburo realized.
"Should we follow it?" Fuyuki asked. The green color was similar to Koyuki's. Saburo nodded.
"Let's find Koyuki," he nodded.
And they followed the string.
Koyuki slept on Natsumi's shoulder, having finished her shirt. Natsumi kept watch.
"SIS!" Fuyuki screamed, running up to Natsumi and flinging Koyuki off of her. Koyuki made a pained moan at being knocked away.
"Fuyuki?" Natsumi asked, seeing Fuyuki and Saburo in front of her. "What are you doing here?"
Fuyuki hugged Natsumi and cried. "I'm so happy you aren't dead!"
Saburo smiled at her and nodded to Koyuki. "So you left to find Natsumi?" he asked her.
"Yeah. I followed the string in the base to her," Koyuki told him.
Saburo rubbed his chin. It sounded similar to the green string he had found.
"We decided to bite the bullet, Natsumi. Face what was out here head on. And... we're alive. So I guess we won," Saburo grinned.
Natsumi smiled widely at him, too. They all hugged each other, rejoicing and happy to be reunited.
Please review.
Wow, a lot more Koyuki in this fic than any of my other fics.