Not much Kurumois this chapter.
And look! It's normal sized. How amazing.
Giroro hadn't spoken since the death of Natsumi. And he hadn't let go of the gun he had used to kill her either. His hands were still shaking as he held the small pistol and he never let it go.
Everybody else was in mourning as well. Especially Keroro and Fuyuki. They cried their eyes out. But nobody was as sad as Giroro.
It was like he had lost some part of himself.
"I'm sorry." Garuru tried to comfort him and put a stern hand on his brother's shoulder, "I know you liked her. She was really special."
Giroro gave a small nod. His eyes were hollow as if words just didn't mean the same thing with Natsumi in his life.
"It's...truly terrible that she was the first to go." Garuru expressed his sympathy. He knew she wouldn't have gotten sick if Pekopon had been destroyed. "I...I really do express my condolences." He wished his brother could find happiness somewhere else. Hoped that he'd find happiness with someone other than Natsumi.
Giroro just weakly nodded.
"I miss her too." Fuyuki whispered and held Giroro's hand. "My sister was a strong warrior. But I'm thankful that you granted her wish. I don't want to think about what would have happened to her body throughout the rest of the weeks." Fuyuki winced. Her eyes had burst six days in. Her bones had splintered and formed bark around her body. And Fuyuki had been told the virus just continued to be more and more painful. So he was glad in a way that Natsumi didn't have to live through it.
"I...I wish!" Keroro was sniffling and crying, pitifully, "I could have told Master Natsumi how much I cared for her and enjoyed fighting with her. I wish she would have called me stupid frog one last time..."
Giroro wished a lot of things. But nobody saw him sniffling. He was just dead inside.
"I hate to ruin your pity party and crying fest." Kululu said blandly, "But I think we have more important things to worry about than crying over someone who's dead. Ku, ku, ku."
Everybody looked at him like Kululu was the worst person in the world. Nobody would have pity if he died.
"That was...Mean." Saburo scolded.
"Just trying to be smart about this and keep everything on track. I'm more worried about where Natsumi caught the virus instead of how she died. Ku, ku, ku." Kululu reminded, "We smuggled her off of Pekopon before she was sick. So that means one of the pekoponians might be carrying it." Kululu glanced around. "I need to figure out who is the carrier."
Momoka, Fuyuki, Saburo and Koyuki all frowned.
"What happens to the carrier? Are they killed for the safety of the group?" Saburo asked.
Kululu shrugged, "If Natsumi got sick from them but they aren't sick it means they have a strong immune system. We'll have to quarantine them until Pekopon is destroyed. We can only hope they don't start showing signs of the virus." Kululu took out a syringe.
Saburo nodded and pulled up his sleeve. "Do you know how to analyze the blood stream for the virus?"
"I did an autopsy on Natsumi's body." Kululu admitted. He hoped it wasn't Saburo who was the carrier. He quickly took Saburo's blood and looked in it. "You're safe."
Saburo breathed a sigh of relief. Fuyuki sat down.
"Safe." Kululu said after taking his blood.
Momoka and Koyuki glanced at each other. Momoka sat down next.
"Safe again. Ku, ku, ku." Kululu told Momoka. Momoka looked at Koyuki frightened.
"He's right. Because of all my time in the forest with bugs and dirt and things like that I do tend to have a higher immune system. I barely ever get sick. No allergies, no colds. No nothing." Koyuki nodded.
"Wait! You should test her, just to be sure. You can't base your prediction on the formula of elimination, after all." Dororo pointed out.
"Wasn't planning too." Kululu stabbed Koyuki with the syringe.
Everybody waited for the news.
"She's the carrier." Kululu said finally, "We better quarantine her."
Koyuki tried to look calm at the news that she was carrying the virus. She gave a solemn nod, realizing that it was her that had infected Natsumi.
Dororo grabbed Kululu's arm, panicking. "You will not lock up my wife!"
"It's for her own safety. And ours." Kululu hissed, "We'll have to wait until she shows signs of sickness..."
"She won't!" Dororo told him, "And if she does, you will find a cure." His voice was an order, "If Koyuki dies there will be hell to pay." He threatened. He wouldn't let Koyuki die.
"It'll be okay, Dororo." Koyuki reassured him. "My immune system is strong. But because your immune system is weak...I think it would be for the best if you didn't visit me in my quarantine. At least not without a uniform to keep you safe or a mask."
Dororo darted forward to hug her, but Kululu stopped him. Koyuki had to be okay.
"You better save her." Dororo hissed at Kululu, "You better."
Giroro sat by Natsumi's grave. He dropped flowers onto it and kissed the gravestone.
"Rest well, my love. I'll defeat the evil that hurt you." Giroro finally spoke softly.
"Giroro," Giroro spun around to see Mois behind him. She was holding flowers. She smiled a bit trying to be understanding. "I heard the news about Natsumi. I'm sorry."
Giroro glared at her. He didn't speak to her, he just loaded his gun full of bullets.
"I brought flowers." Mois tried to offer.
"It's your fault." Giroro finally hissed. "You're a murderer. Why are you here?"
"I might kill millions, but I understand that you're all sad. I'm mourning too. Natsumi is gone for good after all, and I'm sorry for your lose." She tried to tell him.
Giroro pointed his gun at her. "Say hi to Natsumi for me." He grit his teeth.
"Oh no, you don't." The other keronians were approaching Natsumi's grave to pay their respects. Kululu quickly got out a shock tazer and shocked Giroro onto the ground so he wouldn't cause a problem.
The other keronians glared at him. "Why'd you do that? She's our enemy!" Tamama pointed out.
Kululu shrugged, "She might be here to negotiation something on behalf of the King of terror." He reminded them, "We should hear her out."
"Actually I'm not here to offer peace at all." Mois commented honestly, "I...I just wanted to share in your pain."
Kululu sighed. Mois wasn't very good at saving her life. She was too honest for her own good.
"You aren't included." For once it was Dororo who was cold. He was stressed out with Koyuki's status. "You're our enemy."
Mois nodded, looking almost sad at that. "I'll leave then." She dropped her flowers off and turned away.
And she left as swiftly as she came.
Kululu made sure he would be safe when he went into Koyuki's quarantine chamber. He was in a white suit that would protect him from the outside.
With various scientific devices he looked Koyuki over, making her stretch out her arms as he examined her.
"You look fine. You aren't growing any of that weird fungus Natsumi had." Kululu pointed out.
Koyuki nodded, "I feel fine. How likely will it be that I come down with the virus?"
Kululu checked again. Despite the trace amounts in her blood stream she seemed fine. Perhaps she had an anti-body that could fight against it or the virus was only sleeping. "You have a tough immune system. As long as everything remains the same you should be fine." He reassured.
Koyuki frowned. "Would...Would I have been able to help Natsumi in anyway?" She asked finally, "Like by giving her a blood transfusion? If I'm not coming down with it, was there anything I could have done to buy her more time or help her?"
Kululu thought for a moment at her question. He shook his head. "Likely there was nothing you could have done. A blood transfusion would only have bought her more time and Natsumi wanted to go as quickly as she could." He reminded her.
"...It was my fault, wasn't it?" Koyuki rubbed her wrist. "If I had stayed on Pekopon...If I hadn't come with you guys Natsumi wouldn't be sick." She had been just trying to make up about their friendship too.
Kululu didn't give her any words of encouragement. That was true. "If you didn't come Dororo wouldn't have come. You would have killed him." He persuaded. "Now, what's more important to you, your husband's life or your former best friend's life who ditched you because she couldn't handle being reminded about aliens? Ku, ku, ku. Not a good friend if I do say so myself." He knew bashing Natsumi wouldn't really help anyone, but he tried to make Koyuki feel at least a little better. Like he should talk about ditching a friend though.
Koyuki frowned. Natsumi had been very important to her when she was younger. And choosing Dororo over her didn't mean she wanted Natsumi to die.
"Don't tell me, you'd still choose Natsumi over Dororo after all that?" Kululu mocked.
"No. I don't want Dororo to die. I love him." Koyuki admitted, "You're...You're right. If it was a choice between the two of them, I'd choose him."
Kululu nodded. "It was."
Koyuki frowned. She didn't want to have to choose between anyone.
Dororo looked through the glass at her and smiled. He hoped she would be feeling better soon. He couldn't visit her, but he could look at her, be with her even through the glass.
Koyuki blew a kiss.
Kululu stuck out his tongue in disgust.
Tamama was afraid. Someone close to them had died. Who would be next? Would it be him?
Whenever I was scared before Keroro would comfort me. That was when they had been together though. But Tamama still felt bitter and angry even when not being together.
It was like it was his own insecurities hurting their relationship, not Keroro. Maybe I'll comfort him and he'll comfort me and then he'll forgive me for breaking up with him. Tamama bounded off to see Keroro.
When he saw Keroro he saw that Keroro was being held by Fuyuki instead.
"Don't worry, I'm here." Fuyuki reassured, "Neither of us will die. We'll be there for each other forever." Fuyuki promised.
"Thanks Fuyuki, you're the best." Keroro hugged his friend.
Tamama felt rage boil in his blood. Not at Keroro, but at Fuyuki. He was jealous. He wanted to be the one being held and comforted. He wanted to be there with Keroro, not Fuyuki.
"I see you're very happy with Fuyuki." Tamama hissed.
Keroro pulled away from Fuyuki. "Of course I am. He's my friend and we're helping each other through this terrible time."
Tamama didn't care about that. "You cry so much over Natchi's death. I bet you wouldn't cry if I died!" Tamama shouted.
Keroro looked hurt at that accusation. "Of course I would!" Keroro finally fought back, he walked away from Fuyuki to Tamama, "I love you, Tamama!"
Tamama looked startled as Keroro yelled his confession. "No, you don't. You can't love me. I'm terrible and I'm a terrible boyfriend and I broke up with you and-" Tamama started crying, "I'm bad. I'm just a bitter pile of salt."
"We're no longer a thing but I still love you!" Keroro confessed. He broke down, "I...I miss you, Tamama." He plopped down to his knees and started crying again, "Please come back to me! I can't do all this virus stuff and war without you! I need you!" He did exactly what Tamama wanted and begged Tamama to stay with him, and started being emotional.
He threw his arms around Tamama. Tamama looked down at his pathetic crying face and eventually pushed Keroro off.
"There, there." Tamama tried to be the mature one, but secretly he was happy.
This was what he wanted. This was the attention that he wanted. I do love Keroro. Tamama realized. He had always loved Keroro, but he had been falling out of their relationship because of his insecurities. He was way too selfish.
He wanted him back. "I don't know why you'd want me back, I'm damaged and bad and troublesome. I only ever cause trouble for you and I'm way too selfish and jealous. And it made me feel terrible how you were always so good about that. Like you were just dating me out of obligation."
"I wasn't! I was dating you because I honestly wanted to be with you!" Keroro reassured, "You put in the effort for me on Pekopon and I wanted to make it up to you by being exactly the sort of person you always dreamed of. I wanted to be worth your admiration."
Tamama smiled and sniffled himself. Now he was crying. "After this war let's have a big long talk about our relationship, okay? And all our insecurities and problems and lets make it so that you can play around more and not be so amazing of a boyfriend...It's too perfect, it's unsettling." Tamama scolded.
Keroro laughed. He never thought in his wildest dreams that he would be called a perfect boyfriend. "Does...Does this mean you'll take me back?"
"Of course I will, idiot." Tamama told him and pulled him off the ground. "I...I love you too, Keroro. I'm just not sure how you could ever love me."
"Well I do. You're like a Special O!" Keroro told him, kissing away his tears.
"What's that?" Tamama laughed.
"Uhh it's a gundam model." Keroro crossed his arms, "You really have to memorize your models and learn them. That can be your task as a boyfriend."
Even though Tamama didn't care as much about Gundam as Keroro, he'd be happy to do that.
"I love you!" Tamama threw his arms around Keroro and attacked him with kisses. Keroro was happy enough to embrace him and place soft kisses on his lips.
Fuyuki smiled. He was glad to see his friend was happy.
"I'm glad they made up." Momoka said as she saw Keroro and Tamama kissing.
"I'm glad we made up too." Fuyuki smiled and glanced at Momoka. Momoka nodded in agreement. She was glad of that too.
Please review.