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“Someone’s…outside.” Koyuki commented suddenly, breaking Dororo out of his meditative thoughts. The Keronian slowly opened his eyes and listened, confirming what she said with his own senses. Over the sound of the rustling of autumn leaves, someone could be heard prowling in the night.
Slowly the pair stood up and crept to the door. They made no sound as they slid it open and padded out onto the engawa of the cottage. Sure enough, there was a kerosene lantern suspended from the branch of a nearby tree and another Keronian working under its light.
“Say, isn't that one of your friends?” Koyuki prompted him. Dororo nodded with a furrowed brow.
Not too far from the cottage was Giroro. To the puzzlement of Dororo and Koyuki, he was setting up his tent with a packed bag on his back. It only took one look for Dororo to know something had happened. There was no reason Giroro would’ve moved his encampment otherwise.
“Something must be wrong.” Dororo told her silently, “perhaps it is best if I speak with him privately.”
“Okay.” Koyuki nodded, backing away from where they had huddled against a support beam. “Good luck.”
Once his Human friend had retreated into their home, Dororo crept forward, not yet detected by Giroro. The other Keronian seemed to be muttering irately under his breath and under normal circumstances Dororo might’ve left him alone. But Giroro had come to their home which warranted some communication. In spite of Dororo’s sharp senses, the blue Keronian was not able to glean what Giroro was saying. He chalked it up to the mild breeze and the crispness of the foliage this time of year.
Dororo made it to the edge of the engawa, now standing in broad moonlight. Giroro hadn’t noticed him yet, too busy finishing up his tent. Finally he dropped his bag into the grass and plopped down onto a folding seat he had brought along. Then he heaved a heavy sigh and folded his arms.
“Giroro-dono.” Dororo finally called him. Giroro started slightly, his eyes immediately finding where Dororo stood on the front of the cottage. The red Keronian let out a sigh of relief, as though he expected it to be someone else.
“Hey...Dororo.” Giroro stuttered, looking away quickly. Dororo’s concern deepened. Giroro wasn’t one to startle easily and tended to be good at sustaining firm eye contact. “Sorry. I know I should have asked before setting up shop here, but I left kind of abruptly.”
“Not at all, I just want to make sure you’re alright.” Dororo replied, stepping down and padding closer to Giroro’s camp. Giroro sighed again and looked up at the lantern burning overhead.
“Butt of the joke again. Didn’t want to deal with it.” Giroro admitted curtly. “I’m guessing this will be a temporary set up but I just couldn’t hang around there any longer tonight.”
“Stay as long as you like. I don’t envision Koyuki-dono having any qualms.”
“Thanks.” Giroro huffed, sparing the blue frog an apologetic glance. But Dororo hardly needed any apology. He had been the ‘butt of the joke’ himself far too many times and understood the need to escape. It was a part of the reason he had never moved into the Hinata household with the rest of the Keroro Platoon. That and he worried deeply for the wellbeing of Koyuki, being that the young girl lived by herself. In fact, she had moved her for him…and no longer had anywhere else to go with the dissolution of the Ninja Village. No one else to rely on.
“Maybe you would like some company? And if you should feel comfortable talking about what happened…” Dororo trailed off, having said enough. He worried that Giroro might reject his offer, but the red Keronian gestured to another small folding chair that was laying in that grass. Dororo promptly set it up beside Giroro who was silent for the moment.
“Keroro broke into Kururu’s lab and stole one of his old inventions on a whim. Guess he had a new invasion plan scheme that he figured he could reuse one of the old inventions for…” Giroro began grumpily. “But the idiot didn’t know how to handle the damn thing and used it on me. I don’t want to get into the details but he made a laughing stock of me. Even Mois and Natsumi were laughing…”
Dororo looked down into the shadowy grass. So Keroro was behind it? That tracked, unfortunately.
“When Keroro wouldn’t change me back, I had to get Kururu to do it, but…” Giroro clenched his fists, “of course I had to do some groveling. And I don’t grovel.”
“How mean-spirited…” Dororo sighed knowingly, “but it doesn’t surprise me. Our leader can be painfully insensitive at times. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that I’ve been the target of a great many similar incidents.”
“Yea.” Giroro nodded. At the end of the day, the three of them grew up together. And Keroro had unthinkingly hurt both of their feelings many times before. Dororo had suffered at a greater frequency, but Giroro was not immune to it either. Keroro was, unfortunately, dense.
“Keroro-kun means well. He’s good at thinking through schemes when he’s motivated enough. But he’s not good at thinking through the social implications of his behavior. How his actions can harm others.” Dororo explained sagely. “There was one time, not too long ago, he hurt my feelings. And Koyuki-dono taught me something that turned out to be true…”
Giroro was listening intently now. The poor guy wasn’t nearly as used to these situations, after all. Even if he was frequently the ‘butt of the joke’, it wasn’t everyday that the moniker hurt his actual feelings.
“Someone who truly cares about you…who thinks of you…will come around eventually. Sometimes they don’t realize what they did wrong or that they even did anything wrong, so it may not be an apology that brings them to you. But they will come for you. That’s what she told me–and not ten minutes later Keroro showed up and apologized.”
“I see…” Giroro muttered, slowly looking away. He seemed to be mulling the advice over and his demeanor was more peaceful now. Perhaps Dororo had helped him feel better–and if that was the case then nothing could make the blue Keronian happier.
“Have you ever made a s’more? I believe we have some marshmallows inside. You’d have to set up one of your usual campfires…”
“What is that?”
“A Pekoponian treat.” Dororo explained, “popular in the summer and autumn. You toast these soft, sugary plush treats called ‘marshmallows’ over the fire and sandwich them between graham crackers and chocolate.”
“Sounds different…but okay.” Giroro agreed, hopping off his seat and going over to his pack. There were small logs tied onto the top of it and he began arranging them on the ground in front of their seats in preparation.
Dororo left him to his devices in the meantime to step inside. Koyuki was seated, yet again, in the common room. She gave him a questioning look as he slid the door closed behind him.
“I believe he is alright. Keroro-kun and the others hurt his feelings. So he wants to stay here until he feels better. In the meantime, we’re making s’mores.”
Koyuki smiled, “I’m glad to hear it. You’re a good friend, Dororo.”
“I appreciate you saying so.”
Dororo proceeded into the kitchen and hopped atop the counter to get to the cabinets. Immediately he found the correct one and opened it to procure the three snacks. After placing the goods beside him, he closed it and bent down to open the drawer directly beneath him to obtain two skewers.
“Here, Dororo. It’s chilly out there.” Koyuki offered him as she stepped into the kitchen. In her hands were two Keronian sized fleece blankets folded into squares. Dororo took them gratefully–the girl had made them for him a while back and they were treasured possessions. Something that kept him warm and comfortable through the colder Pekoponian nights. “I know you guys don’t do too well as the temperatures drop.”
“Thank you.” He said as he stacked the sewers and s’more ingredients on top of the blankets. Koyuki picked him up and set him back on the floor.
Dororo proceeded back outside and found that Giroro had already gotten the fire going and was seated again. He approached this time without any regard for stealth, so Giroro immediately knew when he was returning. Once Dororo had returned to their spot he set the s’more ingredients on a nearby boulder and handed Giroro one of the blankets.
“What’s this for?” Giroro questioned, taking it and unfolding it.
“Koyuki-dono thought we might get cold. She made these for me, actually. They’re quite cozy.” Dororo explained as he opened the marshmallows and placed one on each skewer.
“That was nice of her.” Giroro murmured absent-mindedly, wrapping it around himself. Dororo handed him one of the skewers and then seated himself beside him again, wrapping up. He put two pairs of graham crackers on the armrest of his chair and two squares of chocolate in preparation for their snack. Giroro had already started to hold his marshmallow over the fire.
“Just hold it there till it’s golden…or I suppose some people like them burnt. But be mindful, it can get sticky when it melts. I managed to get it all over my hands the first time.”
Dororo stuck his skewer out over the fire and they sat in companionable silence for a couple minutes. The scent of burning wood pleasantly wafted over the area and crackles filled the quiet of night. Giroro, having a head start, retracted his first and carefully pressed it between the crackers and the chocolate. He looked at Dororo for approval when he finished. Dororo gave him a little nod and Giroro took his first bite.
Dororo pulled his back in the meantime and assembled his confectionery sandwich. Giroro let out a small grunt of approval beside him.
“Quite sweet.” Giroro concluded, “but for some reason it reminds me of when we were younger.”
“Doesn’t it?” Dororo smiled with his eyes. Delicately, Dororo pulled his mask down and popped the s’more into his mouth before pulling the cloth back up.
The pair made pleasant chatter for another half hour before Giroro began to yawn and the fire was starting to peter out. The red Keronian seemed more exhausted than usual, probably from a combination of emotional stress and whatever physical activity he’d done for training that day.
“It’s getting late, Giroro-kun.” Dororo finally said. Giroro nodded tiredly, slinking slowly off the chair and snuffing out the campfire. Then he retrieved the kerosene lantern from the tree branch it had been hanging from for the majority of the night and set it inside his tent. Dororo folded up his blanket, though he then placed the one Giroro had used inside the tent with him.
“In case you need it.” Dororo offered.
“Well…” Giroro shrugged, “I do have a sleeping bag, you know. And a kerosene heater if it gets too cold.”
“It’s here if you need it. Just like me.”
Giroro blushed slightly at the statement and nodded, following Dororo out of the tent and packing up his chairs. They locked eyes for a moment and something silent was communicated between them.
Then Dororo, decidedly, made a bold move. He leaned in to embrace Giroro. The red Keronian let out a grunt of surprise but didn’t pull away. Slowly Giroro raised his own arms and wrapped them around Dororo’s shoulders. It seemed then that last of his tension finally melted away.
“If you need me, I’ll be inside. Alright?” Dororo told him, slowly pulling away. Giroro nodded, his blush deeper now.
“Thank you…Dororo.” He muttered shyly, hands falling away from the blue Keronian.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Giroro-dono!” Dororo called from the engawa, “we’ve made breakfast. Would you like to have some?”
The morning air was crisp and Dororo watched Giroro shiver slightly when the sleepy Keronian poked his head out of the tent. The blue Keronian gestured emphatically for Giroro to come inside, worried he’d catch a cold if he was exposed for too long. A small puff of air left Giroro’s mouth and he strode over to the cottage door, hugging himself.
“Koyuki’s made her own unique concoctions but I prepared some miso soup and tamagoyaki. I figure fried newts probably aren’t a part of your typical breakfast.” Dororo explained, mildly sheepish. Giroro shrugged.
“At least she makes use of her environment. I guess the rest of the Platoon could learn a thing or two from her about obtaining their own food in a survival situation.” Giroro commented as he stepped inside.
“Good morning, Giroro!” Koyuki greeted him enthusiastically. Giroro seemed taken aback by her cheeriness and scratched the back of his head as though he were embarrassed.
“Morning.” He said in a low voice. “Uh so…sorry for just showing up.”
“It’s never a problem.” She assured him, pulling up a stool for him to hop onto. Dororo served him the breakfast he’d made and Giroro gratefully began to eat with him and Koyuki.
“Miso soup is always good on a cold morning like this, hm?” Dororo prompted him.
“I’ve only really had it a handful of times.” Giroro admitted, “but it’s good.”
Dororo opened his mouth to say something more but a knock at the door interrupted them. Koyuki got up to answer it and notably three Keronians stood in the doorway. Dororo and Giroro watched apprehensively as Koyuki invited them in.
“So this is where you got to, gochou!” Keroro exclaimed, brow furrowed in concern, “geez! We were worried something might’ve happened to you!”
“Really?” Giroro retorted, voice full of doubt. But he looked sheepish when Dororo gave him a firm look, trying to remind the red Keronian of what they’d discussed last night. The rest of the Platoon had come for him.
“We’re sorry, desu!” Tamama interjected, bowing apologetically.
“Eh…yeah. I guess what happened yesterday got a little out of hand, didn’t it? We didn’t mean to hurt you.” Keroro admitted, looking a little sad.
“Tch. Whatever.” Kururu shrugged, walking forward with a foil covered plate in his hand. “I thought yesterday was good fun. But I made these and figured you might want to try it so I came along.”
Giroro hesitantly unwrapped the foil to find sweet potato slices underneath. They were roasted, and clearly seasoned with curry, but it seemed as though the yellow Keronian had used discretion this time around.
“You were right.” Giroro turned his head to Dororo, “I guess they did come.”
Dororo smiled as conversation began to unfold in front of him. All was well after all. And he was thankful that Giroro had come to him with the problem. Perhaps the situation might not have ended as well if Giroro hadn’t been advised to be patient with the others. And it made him feel good to know that the red Keronian felt safe coming here when he was hurt.
Perhaps one day he could return the favor.