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Day one. It happened faster than either Kururu or Giroro could process it.
The Keroro Platoon had been sent on some menial mission to a remote planet, yet again. The interest Headquarters had in their mission on Pekopon came and went in short bursts. For awhile, they’d be forgotten about and could putz around to their heart’s desire. But conveniently HQ would remember them again and grow impatient, punishing them with these ridiculous side-tasks.
They were returning to Pekopon after successfully completing the new task doled out by headquarters when a Viper vessel came out of nowhere and fired on the Keroro’s ship. Sound and fury had broken out all around the bridge of the ship. Giroro had adeptly returned fire and the salvos of battle wracked the ship with violent tremors.
“We’ve got a breach in the engines!” Kururu shouted through the pandemonium, watching as concerning metrics increased on his console.
“We should focus on escaping then! There’s no way we’ll remain unharmed if our engines explode in the middle of a firefight!” Dororo advised Keroro frantically. Their leader seemed taken aback and didn’t immediately respond to the concerns his teammates brought up. Then finally he gave Kururu a decisive look.
“Go down and see if you can fix it, Kururu-souchou. Tamama-nitou, start charting escape routes.” Keroro ordered. Kururu fled to the belly of the ship via the lift and Tamama began to frantically tap away at the touchscreen on his console. Giroro seemed nonplussed by their leader’s decision to surrender, but didn’t protest in the heat of the moment.
The vessel swerved to the starboard side, but their evasive maneuvers seemed to only make the situation worse. Tamama and Dororo worked to pilot the ship in a favorable direction, but the Vipers were hot on their tail.
About ten minutes later their situation improved as they managed to create more distance between their ship and the Viper ship but where one circumstance improved, another worsened. A loud, internal explosion caused the hull of their ship to screech in agony and the four Keronians on the bridge had to cover their ears.
“Kururu-souchou, what’s going on down there?” Keroro demanded via the intercom.
“I--krrrzttt—some assistance--krrrrzttt—this could get bad--fizzz—”
The static over the intercom was deafening. Keroro gave the rest of them a worried look and then his eyes found the red flashing light on Kururu’s empty console.
“Giroro-gochou, please go check on Kururu.” Keroro told him. Giroro nodded and leapt from his seat, Dororo replacing him in case they needed weapons to come online again.
The corporal made quick work of clambering into the ship’s internal chamber where a thin layer of residue from the explosions seemed to be covering every inch, including Kururu himself. The aforementioned yellow Keronian was lying still on the deck plating, nursing a nasty burn injury on his arm.
“Kururu!” Giroro exclaimed, running over to his fallen teammate. He began examining Kururu’s injury but the other Keronian immediately snatched it away from him.
“There’s no time.” Kururu insisted with a hiss, “we need to initiate a manual core override and shut it down.”
“Just tell me how.” Giroro nodded quickly. Kururu frowned in concentration, looking at a red lever sticking out of the nearest bulkhead.
“You need to flip that.” Kururu ordered him, dragging himself to the control panel next to them. “I’ll take care of initiating the safeguards here.”
Giroro hopped up and pulled the lever down with more force than was probably necessary. An alarm sounded, but Kururu got to typing in a rapid cadence on the screen. One by one, mechanisms inside the core audibly locked into place and the blue light that previously enveloped the chamber got dimmer and dimmer. The alarm shut off but the room’s emergency lights kicked on.
“Protocol Five, activated. The core chamber will now be evacuated of all lifeforms in preparations for shut down mode.” An automated voice warned them. Giroro narrowed his eyes and looked quickly to where Kururu was crumpled over a safety rail.
“What the hell does that mean?”
“Shit,” Kururu panted, “forgot about that bit.”
Without any ceremony, two small doors opened in the corner of the room and the pair of them were sucked inside. Giroro fought against the door, but it was no use. They had been forced into escape pods.
“Kururu!” Giroro shouted, but he couldn’t hear or see the other Keronian. The escape pods began to pressurize and latches successively unclicked all around them. A thruster came to life beneath his feet and suddenly the pods were undocked and hurtling away from their ship. Giroro watched helplessly as their ship grew smaller and so too did the Viper’s ship.
“No…” Giroro trailed off, his heart sinking. The Keroro Platoon’s ship was dead in the water and actively being pursued by the Vipers. And now, two of their most competent officers had been forcibly ejected from the situation.
Face pressed against the window of his pod, he looked to the right and barely saw Kururu’s escape pod flying right beside him. He couldn’t see the yellow Keronian, but he had to hope he was formulating some plan to get them out of this mess. Some way to override the escape pod’s automatic flight plan and take control.
If such a thing was even possible.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Day two.
The sound of banging woke Kururu up. He groaned in protest, palming around the darkness in confusion. Where was he? And why did his arm feel like someone had torn the flesh off of it?
He didn’t need to wonder for long as his recollection came back to him. The safety protocol had activated before Kururu could disable it and he had been flung from Keroro’s ship alongside Giroro.
Now he could hear something crawling and occasionally knocking on the door of his escape pod but the tinting of the window was in full effect and he couldn’t see who it was. At a guess, the pod was sitting in direct sunlight. And the source of the noise was highly likely to be Giroro.
Kururu snickered in spite of their situation and pulled the release switch. Immediately the hatch flung off of the pod and Giroro went with it, protesting with a yell when he landed on his rear. Kururu squinted against the sunlight, one side of his spectacles cracked and missing a piece of glass. The sounds of waves lapping at the shore filled the air and the rustling of tropical palm trees swayed above him.
“Oy!” Giroro exclaimed, having recovered from being thrown around. Kururu turned his head to look at the other Keronian, who was a little banged up himself. “I’ve been trying to wake you up for twenty minutes! What gives?”
“Dunno, I was conked out.” Kururu shrugged, hopping out of the pod and onto the sandy shore. He cringed a little bit at how the sunlight hurt his arm more and gingerly lifted it to examine the burn. He probably should’ve put more effort into dressing it while they were being flung through space–burns were easily infected, after all. “You probably have no idea where we are, right?”
“No. You?” Giroro retorted wearily, padding over to him. Kururu didn’t respond, picking at his burn and twitching when it stung. Giroro scoffed and shook his head, vexed at their situation and the behavior of his comrade.
“You’re going to make that worse. Leave it be and hold on a second.” Giroro chided him, stepping over to his escape pod and digging out a first aid kit. He opened it and retrieved some cotton balls and an antibiotic ointment, reaching for Kururu’s arm. Kururu offered it in a languid manner, as if he didn’t really care whether it was treated or not. Giroro applied the ointment before dressing it, wrapping it tightly in bandages.
“Oh, senpai~...” Kururu teased him, “maybe I should get hurt more often.”
Giroro shot him a glare, “the only reason I’m doing this is because I’m stuck with you and you’re our best chance of getting out of here. Outside of that, and an obligation to you as my team mate, I wouldn’t be doing this. So don’t get it twisted.”
“Sure. I’m guessing you think I can repair these pods and jury-rig them into flying us out of here, right?” Kururu questioned him flatly. Giroro gawked at him.
“You mean…you can’t?” Giroro questioned him.
“Kukuku. I don’t have any tools, senpai. No replacement parts. No nothin’. There’s a lot I can do, but there’s very little these pods are designed to do. And kinda unfortunate they don’t really come with any repair kits. Our best bet? Assuming this planet has locals, maybe they have technology advanced enough to help us. Or we’re rescued. But who knows what became of our Platoon after we were ejected?”
Giroro’s face fell in horror and disappointment. Kururu sighed, not entirely enthused about the situation either. Their options were few and the possibility of leaving this world alive seemed next to none.
And Giroro had a distinct advantage over him. Kururu really wasn’t much of a survivalist–he had taken basic training in it, sure. But Giroro had spent the better half of his life preparing for such situations. The man even slept in a tent on the daily.
Oh. That was a good reminder.
“If there is one thing these stupid pods have, it’s survival gear…” Kururu muttered, catching Giroro’s attention. The red one watched him hopefully as Kururu climbed into his pod and searched the compartments. Finally he opened one and discovered a sort of bug out bag. It was complete with rations, a tent, a sleeping bag, a knife, some cooking ware, a firestarter, a solar powered flashlight, and flares.
“Excellent.” Giroro nodded in satisfaction, going back to his own pod and retrieving his. They each put the respective first aid kits in their packs and looked at the tropical treeline ahead of them.
“Do you really think anyone lives here?” Giroro asked him.
“Tch. Hell if I know.” Kururu shrugged. Giroro grunted in disapproval.
“Well, let’s set off a flare and set up camp. If anybody does live here, maybe they’ll spot it.” Giroro suggested, digging around in the pack.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Day three.
Rain hammered down on the roof of the tent. They had decided that, in light of the weather, it would be better if they combined their tents for the sake of waterproofing as opposed to having separate spaces. Giroro sat alone in the darkness of the tent, having no guns to polish or occupy himself with. Kururu had departed about an hour ago for the sake of extracting parts from the pod. There was a hope that he could use the computer parts to signal some help, but the yellow Keronian didn’t seem to be hopeful on that end either.
Normally rain wouldn’t bother any Keronian–in fact, quite the opposite. However, a cold front had moved in rather suddenly after Kururu had departed and it had turned to freezing rain. Keronians didn’t do well in the cold, and the moisture wouldn’t help any in that case. Giroro didn’t tend to be a worrywort, but the more time passed the more concerned he became for his team mate.
It wouldn’t hurt to peak his head out. At any rate, he had put four bowls out for collecting rainwater and was growing thirsty. He unzipped both tent layers and crawled out halfway, immediately shivering. He picked up two of the bowls and brought them inside, looking up and peering through the downpour to see if he could spot Kururu somewhere along the beach. Sure enough, a trembling yellow figure was staggering towards their encampment.
“Kururu!” Giroro called to him, “are you alright?”
“Hhnn…” Kururu quavered, holding a plastic bag full of computer parts close to his chest for protection. Giroro sighed, holding the tent flap back for Kururu to crawl inside. The other Keronian looked pale from the slowed circulation of his blood and was trembling violently.
“You should’ve come back when it started pouring.” Giroro rebuked him. He grabbed a cloth and tried handing it to Kururu, but the other Keronian collapsed after putting the parts down.
“H-hey!” Giroro called to him, quickly crawling over to examine the other Keronian.
“I’m f-f-fine. Got everythin’ I n-needed…” Kururu huffed, brow furrowed. Giroro tutted and shook his head. If Giroro was being honest with himself, he wasn’t entirely appalled at the idea of being Kururu’s caretaker. Very seldom was the yellow Keronian in a position where he needed the help of others. So it was a unique experience, to say the least.
Giroro moved in and slowly toweled Kururu down, the other Keronian’s limbs quaking and terribly frigid in Giroro’s hands. The red Keronian sighed at Kururu’s recklessness regarding his health. They could hardly light a fire in pouring rain and the survival packs came with no heaters of any kind. Keronians were not wholly ectothermic, they produced some internal heat, but not an impressive amount. Not enough to survive in colder climates.
There was only one option and Giroro couldn’t tell if the butterflies in his stomach were from loving or hating the idea.
“Look, don’t take this any particular way…” Giroro said, not sure if Kururu was even listening. He pulled his sleeping bag over and took one last second to hesitate before pulling Kururu into his arms. He felt Kururu twitch and look over his shoulder at Giroro in confusion. Giroro said nothing as he shimmied into the sleeping bag with Kururu’s back to him.
“Are you–” Kururu began. Giroro snaked his arm around the yellow Keronian’s waist and tried not to make eye contact with him. “Ku. Kukukuku–”
“Don’t start with that idiotic laugh of yours.” Giroro groused. “There’s no other way to keep you warm.”
“Ah, right. No other way.” Kururu teased him smugly. Giroro rolled his eyes. No matter what he said, he would just give Kururu more fuel for the fire. “Even if there was, this is the best way, right? Kukuku.”
Giroro sighed in exasperation. But he let it go and a small, hopeless smile crept onto his face. Maybe, just maybe, Kururu was finally getting his way. After all, they were alone together.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Day four.
Kururu’s eyelids reluctantly opened. He was comfortable in spite of their situation. The events of the previous night flashed over his mind quickly when he felt warmth behind him. Maybe it was lucky that he had ventured out into the elements–not just for the sake of salvaging equipment–but for this.
A little bit of the attention he had been seeking from the corporal.
Some heat flushed in his own face. At first his ‘affection’ for Giroro had started out as a joke…but the gag got more real as time went on. Kururu couldn’t pinpoint the exact point in time the feelings had solidified, but they were there. He hated it, at first. Then he grew to accept it and Giroro himself had gotten warmer towards him the nicer he was. They still had their banter–still annoyed each other. But they were in a better place, especially now, all things considered.
Kururu swooned when he felt the arm around him tighten and Giroro’s face nuzzled into him. He doubted Giroro would’ve done that if he was awake.
Then Giroro began to stir, much to Kururu’s disappointment. He vaguely wondered if they would ever find themselves sharing a sleeping space like this again.
But to his surprise Giroro sleepily greeted him by name and wished him a good morning.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Day five.
Giroro watched as the rice cooked over the fire. Then, when it was time, he added the vegetables and spices.
The sun was shining this morning and the air, still cool, was starting to heat up. Kururu was a few feet away in the tent with the flap open. He was still tinkering with an apparatus he was building. Evidently it would be able to send a strong signal into space and hopefully someone hospitable would pick up on it.
Giroro was, as always, prepared for the possibility that a hostile could pick up on it too. Then it was only a matter of commandeering their vessel and figuring out which sector of space they were in.
He finished preparing their MREs and divided it up on plates for both of them. Then shuffled over to Kururu and set the plate down next to him.
“Oh, thank you, senpai…” Kururu said in a feigned, cutesy voice. Giroro plopped down beside him and began to consume his meal.
“Are you close to finishing that?” Giroro asked him curiously. Kururu shrugged, putting it down to eat with him.
“Who knows if it’ll even work? But it’s my best attempt with what I’m working with.”
“Hmm.” Giroro hummed thoughtfully, chewing the rations. He swallowed and then looked at Kururu seriously. Maybe the enigmatic Keronian would indulge him, seeing as they had nothing better to do. “How did you get like this?”
“Like what? Incredibly charming and suave?” Kururu suggested vainly. Giroro grunted and shook his head.
“No. How’d you get to be so…brainy. Were you always that way? Or was it something you worked at?” Giroro asked him. Kururu took a second to consider it.
“Tch. Well…I guess you could say I was one of those savants. A gifted child.” Kururu said the last bit with an air of distaste. “But anything takes work, even if you’re naturally adept at it.”
“But you look at things and automatically know what to do. How to build it, how to make it work. Or fix it.” Giroro reasoned.
“I’m just that great, hm? Are you jealous?” Kururu giggled.
“No. Well…not jealous.” Giroro huffed, folding his arms. “But in retrospect I think I should’ve focused on being more book smart.”
“We all have our strengths and weaknesses and all that good bullshit. Don’t read too much into it. Now, if you want me to tutor you I would be delighted.” Kururu offered with a wide, impish grin. Giroro scoffed.
“I would potentially take you up on that if it was sincere. But I have a feeling I’d be signing up for being a test subject more than a student.”
“What? Nnnnooooo…” Kururu waved his hand in glee. “That Mois-woman volunteered to be somewhat of a lab partner and she’s made it out fine, right?”
“Yea, I’d wager that it mostly has to do with the fact that she has a method of counteracting your fiendishness.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Day six.
Kururu had sent out a signal. He had no way to test whether or not it had reached the range he was trying to get, but it was better than doing nothing about their situation.
Presently they were bundled up in their sleeping bags staring up into the night sky. Kururu was happy to report they were side by side, chattering away, as they had gotten to doing ever since crash landing. It wasn’t nearly as cold as it had been in prior days–Kururu had a hard time registering that a place that looked so tropical could get so frigid but nevertheless it had. Kururu tended to enjoy his alone time, but his fondness for Giroro made it easier to be with him every moment they were here. And the topics kept getting more intimate, something that simultaneously made Kururu uncomfortable and gleeful.
“So that’s sort of the situation with Garuru and I.” Giroro concluded his story. “We’re still close though. It’s just been…difficult.”
Kururu nodded absentmindedly. It’s not like he hadn’t been listening–quite the contrary. But he never really did know what to say in conversations such as these. Always better to listen, that’s the way he saw it.
“Hey…” Giroro prompted, pulling Kururu from his thoughts. The yellow Keronian turned his head, bundled up in his sleeping bag enough that his mouth was covered.
“While we’re being a little bit more candid. What’s with the um…” Giroro trailed off, a blush surfacing on his face. Kururu’s interest increased.
“The crush. The feelings you keep saying you have for me. That’s all…bullshit. Isn’t it?”
Kururu’s brow furrowed. He had him there. Kururu wanted to put up his usual facade–to say that yes, it was bullshit. But the past few days he’d spent alone with Giroro were too enjoyable and confirmed some truths he had suspected about their compatibility at the end of the day.
“Not really.” Kururu admitted. Giroro’s eyes widened and he stared at Kururu intensely.
“H-hold on. You can’t just leave it at that.” Giroro insisted, looking incredibly flustered.
“Kukuku. Maybe I should.” Kururu shrugged, resisting the urge to turn away. He didn’t like to admit the way he felt about things, especially where deeper emotions were concerned.
“Why?” Giroro questioned, “I mean, how?”
“It started as a joke, I’ll grant you that.” Kururu replied thoughtfully, “I dunno. I guess I like that you don’t just kiss my ass or ask things of me like the others do. But I’m sure the whole ‘feelings’ crap comes from a place more complex than just that.”
“I-I guess…” Giroro trailed off, becoming lost in his own thoughts. Then after a moment he started to laugh, much to Kururu’s confusion.
“What’s so funny?” Kururu asked him, slightly indignant. Should he have even said anything? But Giroro reached for Kururu’s hand and took it in both of his own hands, rubbing it rapidly to warm it up.
“I never would’ve imagined things would’ve turned out this way. Kind of touching, actually.” Giroro explained, though his explanation only confused Kururu further. “Maybe…maybe if we spend more time together like this.”
“You want to?” Kururu asked him. Giroro shrugged but immediately followed it up with a decisive nod.
“Ku…kukukukuku.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Day seven.
Kururu and Giroro watched in amazement as a shiny new spaceship imprinted with Keroro’s star symbol descended from the skies. Evidently their situation had improved–though Giroro had a hard time imagining how. They’d left their Platoon in a pretty dire situation and yet…the remaining members of the Keroro Platoon pulled through.
It landed and the front hatch opened, Keroro immediately springing out and marveling at the relatively healthy state of his officers.
“Ohh! I’m glad to see you’re okay!” Keroro cheered, clapping the pair of them on the shoulders. “I knew you would be when we got your signal! Though it took a minute for us to decipher it…”
“I had to get creative.” Kururu shrugged, “wasn’t exactly working with orthodox communications equipment.”
“We were worried about you, desu!” Tamama called from the ship. Dororo nodded, happy tears streaming from his eyes.
“So…how did you make it out of that situation alive?” Giroro questioned, sounding impressed.
“Ah, well…Garuru-chui’s team responded to our distress call. And Kogoro and Lavie showed up too, even though we were safe by then.” Keroro explained, “all’s well that ends well though. HQ even issued us with a new ship!”
“How lucky.” Giroro sighed, folding his arms. “But you’re right.”
Giroro looked at Kururu and smiled, making the yellow Keronian’s stomach do little pleasant flips. “All’s well that ends well.”