The Moon and The Bird
Disclaimer: I don’t own Keroro Gunso. It’s Mine Yoshizaki’s copyrighted property.
Author’s Note: Sorry for the really long wait! My laptop broke down due to reisha virus and I need to restore everything without anyone’s help because nobody would help me. Luckily I keep all my stories in a backup file to anticipate things like this. I decided to insert a little original poem connected to the story in the end of every chapter. They’re like hints to the end of the story. Thanks for reviewing, Gi-tchi! And anonymous whoever you are. Anyway, enjoy!
Encounter II: Pekopon Suit and Split Personalities?
- POV: Natsumi Hinata -
It was 6.30, Wednesday morning… Wednesday? That meant 2 hours sports lesson! I leaped from my bed and rushed off to my closet to grab random underwear, then ran to the bathroom as quickly as possible, slamming the door behind me. Of course, I didn’t forget to stick a note on the bathroom door, written on it: ‘currently being used by SUMMER, do not disturb’ with the last 3 words in bolded capital letters.
Once I finished bathing, I ran back to my bedroom just as quick as before and slammed the door, also locking it from inside. Nobody, and I mean nobody, invades a girl’s privacy, especially when she wants to change her clothes!
By the time I finished changing, it was 6.40. I had to wake Fuyuki, or else he’d be late for school, again. I unlocked my door and walked to another door in the corridor with a small board hanging on it, written WINTER. I thought I heard snoring. Fuyuki was still asleep!? That stupid, slacker frog must’ve given my beloved little brother his darn lazy personality!
I swung the door open and stomped to Fuyuki’s bed, then shook him off, thus waking him up. And I’m glad I did because by the time his eyes were open, it was 6.45.
“Oh… My head…” He moaned. “Ah, good morning, sis…”
“Stop your stupid incoherent blabbering and take a bath! You have only 15 minutes before school starts, so GO BEFORE I CONSIDER DRAGGING YOU TO THE BATHROOM!!!”
“Aaaahhh!!! Roger, sis!” And with that he ran away to the bathroom.
I sighed. Kids these days… I’m just glad that he actually got ready on time. Though our school wasn’t too far from our house, we only had 10 minutes left.
“NAATSUUMII…!!!”
I’d knew that voice anywhere. I turned around to look at the backyard’s glass door and saw a familiar face behind it; Upside down, that is.
A girl smiled at me. “Come on, we’re late for school! Let’s take the shortcut!”
“Uh, Koyuki… Does this shortcut include rooftops…?”
“Yup!” She answered with a feline grin.
I shuddered at the idea. “N-No thanks, then. I’ll take the usual route.”
“If you say so.” Koyuki said. She jumped down with a flip and landed gracefully. Being a ninja seems nice. I wonder how it feels…
“Hey, Koyuki.” I started as I slid the door open. “How does it feel being a ninja?”
The dark haired girl stepped in. “You mean being shinobi no mono?”
“I think that’s the old way of saying it. Well…?”
Fuyuki coughed. “Sis, it’s 6.52.”
I turned around to face him. “What!?”
Koyuki took a quick glance at the clock. “He’s right, Natsumi. I’ll be taking my leave. Take care, alright? And make sure you’re not late!” Then she disappeared in a puff of smoke. She and her efficient ninja techniques. I wish I could teleport like her.
“Well, what are you waiting for, Fuyuki? An invitation?” I grinned. “Let’s go!”
“Coming, sis!”
Despite the fact that we were almost late, Fuyuki and I chatted as we walked.
“Another stupid frog moved in!?” I exclaimed after Fuyuki told me the news.
My little brother nodded cheerfully. “The sergeant thought he hid him, or her well, but yesterday I caught glimpses of a grey Keronian going down the basement. He, or she, has a white mask on his, or her, face, like the one Dororo has.”
I wondered. “An assassin? Well, if he, or she, has the same kind heart like Dororo has, I wouldn’t mind. But if he, or she… I’m getting tired of repeating this… Has the same personality as that stupid frog, I’m going to kick he, or she… Geez… Out!”
Fuyuki smiled. “By the way, we’ve arrived already. And we’re just in time before the bell rings. Come on, sis, we have to run at full speed!”
“Running is easy for me, but not for you, isn’t it?”
“Oh, right…”
Right when I sat down on my chair, the bell rang. I wondered if Fuyuki got to his seat on time. Whatever, I’ll find out soon anyway. I waited patiently for the teacher to arrive. And there he was, right at the door; Together with a stranger behind him.
“Good morning class!” He said. “Today we have a new student here!”
Everyone got excited. I could feel it. Even I was excited. Then, a tall, slim girl walked in casually. She had silky, violet hair with streaks of silver that reached past her shoulders. There were other stunning features of her, but her eyes caught most of my attention. They were blood red and piercing, almost… Hypnotic.
Whoa, wait! What was I thinking!? She was a new student, for goodness sake! How could I judge her so early before even knowing her personality, let alone her name! How did those thoughts get into me anyway…?
“Students, meet your new classmate, Shoku Tsukimachi!” The teacher declared.
Shoku drew a faint smile. “Hello, everyone. I am Shoku Tsukimachi, a transfer student from Marion High School. I wish to develop good relations with all of you.”
Everyone started whispering about this new girl, Shoku. I even overheard someone planning on getting her as her friend and other positive things. But I was different.
“Hey, Koyuki. Don’t you think there’s something strange about her?” I whispered to the kunoichi who was sitting beside me. She replied me with a slight nod.
“Yes, Natsumi. And there’s something oddly familiar about her aura…”
“You do? Did you meet her somewhere or knew her by a chance?”
“No.” Koyuki frowned. “But it’s possible that I felt her aura, somehow…”
“Well, Tsukimachi, please take the seat behind Azumaya.” The teacher gestured.
What!? Creepy girl sitting behind Koyuki? I didn’t like that idea…
“I’m sorry,” Shoku replied. “But if you don’t mind, I’ll just take that seat on the corner, please.” She said as she pointed to a lone seat in the darkest corner at the back of the classroom. Everyone turned to look at the seat meant with strange expressions.
I also turned my head to look at that seat and visualized the words ‘THE HAUNTED SEAT’ stamped on it in red, bolded, capital letters, together with effects such as a rainy cemetery background with extreme lightning and thunder.
The fact that I was trembling because of my own imagination was even weirder.
“Uh, alright…” The teacher relented. “Any particular reasons why?”
Shoku sent him with a chilling smile, but didn’t say a word.
“O-Okay…” Man, I swear, the teacher was shaking so hard that the whole class could easily tell that he was scared by this… suspicious, new girl.
Finally! Sports lesson, the lesson I’ve been looking forward into! But I bet this was no surprise to anyone, because practically everyone knows me; Natsumi, the athletic princess! Or at least that’s what I heard from conversations that I eavesdropped on…
Anyway, since today was the weird new girl, Shoku’s first day, everyone showed her parts of the gym, and also the storage where the equipments were kept. After all those troublesome fuss, we got on to the real fun!
“Alright then, today we will be having our freestyle gymnastic test, like what I told you two weeks ago.” The teacher announced. “Tsukimachi, are you okay with this?”
Shoku shrugged. “Sure, miss. I’m used to sudden exams.”
I shifted uneasily. This girl seemed as if she had split personalities; One nice and friendly, the other one creepy and mysterious. She reminded me of Momoka.
“She might be weird inside, but outside, she’s casual and professional,” Koyuki noted. “As if she had done this a lot of times before. What do you think, Natsumi?”
I rethought Koyuki’s observation. It might be true that she’d been transferred a few times before she got transferred into our school. But if I wanted to confirm that, I would have to confront the school administrator, and that’s a bit complicated, so I shook the idea off and told Koyuki why. She reluctantly agreed.
“Everyone, line up!” The teacher ordered. “Tsukimachi, get behind Azumaya.”
Shoku responded with a smile. “Alright, miss.”
“Good. First up, Yumiko Kanagawa! Ready? GO!”
As the test went on, Koyuki and I waited patiently until our turn arrived. During the long wait, we tried to chat with the new girl. To get information, that is.
“Hey, Tsukimachi,” I started with the friendly tone I used on Koyuki when she first moved into this school. “Is this the first time you got transferred?”
The violet haired girl shifted slightly. Now why could that be? “Well, this is my… wait, let me remember… third time of being transferred. But people say I adapt quickly, and I think I know why they say so. I don’t know about you though, Hinata.”
Hey, Koyuki was right. This girl’s act really was casual and professional.
I decided to push the conversation. “Say, do you have any favorite subjects?”
“Subjects… As in school subjects?”
“Yes. Well…?”
She put her right index finger on her chin. “Um… Computer and sports, perhaps.”
Sports! Could she be on the same level as I am, or maybe as Koyuki? “Do you think you’re pretty good in those lessons? Maybe you got good grades or something?”
“Well, I’m quite confident that I am…”
“Hinata! It’s your turn!” And our nicely going conversation was ruined by a shout from the teacher. I didn’t complain though. I had been waiting for this after all.
“We’ll chat some other time, okay?” I winked at Shoku. She replied with a nod.
The teacher looked at me with expecting eyes. “Ready? GO!”
Right at the mention of go, I ran at a fair speed. I could hear the girls behind me, minus Koyuki of course, squealed with excitement. And minus Shoku too, since she was new and had never seen my performance before. It’s always like this at my turn.
When I felt like I had enough speed, I bent my body down and did a handstand, then quickly going back to my feet, face facing my classmates. I grinned and performed a single somersault to the back, twisting my body 180 degrees in the process so that when I landed, it was my back that faced my classmates instead of my face.
“Hmm… From a round-off movement to a back flip…” The teacher judged. “Your performances are always astonishing, Hinata.”
I blushed at the remark. “Ah… Thank you…”
“Who do we have after this? Oh, Azumaya! Onto position please!” While the teacher announced the next girl, who was supposed to be Koyuki, I walked to the right section of the gym to watch the kunoichi’s moves.
“Do your best, Koyuki!” I yelled. The girl responded with her usual feline grin.
“Ready? GO!”
Koyuki ran in a speed that I could tell was much faster than mine. Then she stopped in the middle of her tracks and jumped really high and performed a triple somersault in midair so easily as if it was nothing. She landed lightly on the floor without making any thump that usually occur when you land on the floor after jumping.
“Your signature triple front flip I see.” The teacher commented. “Very nice.”
And did I mention that everyone, other than Shoku, also cheered at her? Sometimes I started to consider a sports rivalry between me and Koyuki, but I often push that idea away, thinking that friendship is much better.
Koyuki ran to my side and asked, “How was that?”
“As perfect as always.” I praised her. She squealed happily like a little kid. Then I heard a particular conversation about me and Koyuki’s performances.
“Wow… Those two are really good…” Shoku wondered.
“They sure are!” Satsuki, who was behind her, answered. “They’re the two top athletes in this school. They’re always amazing!”
Shoku tilted her head. “Do I have to do it like them too?”
The girls near to her sweatdropped. This was also what happened when Koyuki asked the exact same thing at her first day of school on the same lesson. It brought back old memories. Now that I think of it, I’ve been friends with Koyuki, Saburo, Momoka and those frogs for 2 years now…
“No, no, Tsukimachi.” Yayoi interrupted. “Those are their signature movements! Don’t push yourself too much. All you have to do is a simple front roll or back roll like what Kanagawa did the first time. Although harder movements get higher scores…”
“Next, Tsukimachi!” The teacher called out. “Ready? GO!”
This was it. Koyuki and I had been really curious of how her performance might be. Would it be good or bad? Who knows? Just because someone’s favorite subject is sports, it doesn’t guarantee that the person is good at sports.
But then we saw that Shoku Tsukimachi was in a definitely high level.
She was running really quickly, then did double front flips with handstands. At her last step, she turned around to face everyone, then jumped and did double back flips midair, similar to what Koyuki did, only with her feet pressed together and the tip of her toes touching the top of her head and her arms fully stretched to the front.
Before she landed, she twisted 180 degrees so that her back faced everyone like what I did, the she finished with a light step. Not even a single sound was made from both her performance and every single person in the gym, including me and Koyuki.
“T-Those were...” The teacher tried to muster a sentence, but simply failed due to the sudden shock of what a new transfer student just did.
“Double handstand front flips and double back flip somersaults in balled body position.” Shoku herself volunteered to explain. “Sorry, I must’ve done a mist-”
The gym was immediately filled with cheers and squeals of Shoku’s performance.
“Whoa, that was totally awesome! Oh, god, I thought I just saw an angel soaring through the gym! Another rival of Natsumi had just appeared!” And other similar exclamations. To tell the truth, Koyuki and I were equally surprised; And the shock was much greater than the time Koyuki moved into this school.
Truthfully, I didn’t like to compare things to get better results, unless it’s the shopping world then that system will be accepted by me, but generally I didn’t like it.
The action of comparing and contrasting itself is the source of petty rivalries. But this time, I just had to compare this Shoku with Koyuki. And I couldn’t deny that Shoku’s abilities were in a slightly higher level than both me and the kunoichi.
The two of us walked to the new girl. She easily noticed us and beckoned us to come over. We gladly accepted her invitation and rushed to her side. We have plenty of questions to ask this new ‘rival’ of mine, as what they said.
“That was really amazing, Tsukimachi!” I praised her with genuine admiration.
“Yeah, where did you learn that? Are you a ninja by any chance?” Koyuki asked.
I facepalmed. “Koyuki, I think we already had enough abnormalities in our life.”
“Abnormalities?” Shoku repeated. Drat, she must’ve overheard me.
“My occult fan little brother, together with his pet frogs and mountains of various Gundam plastic models, and those kinds of things that a girl normally doesn’t have in her life.” I tried to cover my words.
“That sounds really troublesome…”
I sighed. “They are.” Hopefully that ended her suspicion. But it didn’t.
“Why don’t you give me your address?” She asked with a big smile on her face. “I could help you with the pet frogs. I also have a frog at home, and I handle him well.”
“W-What!?” I yelled, unfortunately drawing unwanted attention. Luckily most of the attention were redirected onto a common blue butterfly that someone mistook as the rare Blue Morpho and yelled it out loud, thus causing most everyone to chase it.
“Why don’t you give me your address?” Shoku repeated, still with the friendly smile. “If there’s a private thing that you have, I’ll keep it a secret, so it’s okay!”
I shuddered at the thought of Shoku being kidnapped by the Keronians then got used as a guinea pig for the evil Kururu’s weird inventions. “Uh, maybe not…”
“Natsumi,” Koyuki interrupted, whispering softly. “She might get suspicious.”
“But the stupid frogs…”
“Dororo and his friends all have that anti-barrier thing that prevents them from being seen by civilians. If they activate it, Tsukimachi won’t be able to see or hear them even if they were making a ruckus. Just keep it low.”
“Okay…” I nodded slightly, then turned at Shoku. “Fine. I’ll tell you at lunch.”
“That’s great!” She grinned. Or was that a smirk…?
“I’m home!” I shouted into the house and got greeted by two people.
“Welcome home, Natsumi!” Fuyuki said. “How’s school?”
“Welcome home, Lady Natsumi!” Keroro said. Then I remembered about Shoku.
“Hey, stupid frog?” I called. “We’re going to have a special guest today. She’s my classmate, and she’ll be here at 6 p.m., which is like 20 minutes later, so I’m warning you not to run around the house without your anti-barrier. And tell your friends too.”
“A civilian guest?” The stupid frog mumbled. “Alright, Lady Natsumi! I’ll inform the platoon immediately!” Then he ran down the corridor and into the basement.
I sighed. “Let’s just hope no trouble of any kind will happen, alright, Fuyuki?”
“Alright…”
The doorbell rang. I stopped cooking the beef teriyaki meant for dinner. The clock showed 6 o’clock. That must be the one I expected at the door. I quickly rushed to the front door and opened it. And there stood Shoku Tsukimachi.
“Good evening, Hinata. I believe it’s time for the pet frog consultation?”
I urged myself not to facepalm. “I guess… Come on in, Tsukimachi.”
The violet haired girl stepped in. “Well, shall we do it at the living room?”
Then I remembered that the stupid frog built another Gundam model at the living room and there were some pieces of the junk scattered all over the place. Fuyuki was currently on the living room gathering them.
I shook my head. I want a private place. “No, let’s do it in my bedroom!”
“Is it okay? I don’t want to invade your privacy…”
“As long as you have my permission, it’s not invading. Come on!” And with that, I pulled her up a flight of stairs and then to my room. I gestured her to sit on the floor. I quickly followed up to her after closing the door behind me and sat beside her.
“So, we’re discussing pet frogs…” Shoku started. “Could you first tell me their personalities please, Hinata?” She asked with a seemingly innocent smile.
“Personalities…? We’re talking about frogs, not little brothers…”
“I know! Even frogs have personalities, you know. Only a few people knew, and I’m just one of them. Well then? How many pet frogs do you have?”
I thought for a while. Dororo lived with Koyuki, so he’s not a problem. Tamama already had Momoka and Paul as his caretakers. I could handle Giroro, no problem. So… wouldn’t that leave the stupid frog and Kururu?
“Two.” I said. “Two frogs.”
She grinned. “That’s easy. Describe the first one and its personality, please.”
Well, how could I reject? I came this far, and I won’t let her suspicion increase again, or else everyone will know that I’m an alien keeper, and they’ll all be against me! “Okay… He’s green with black eyes, and he’s lazy.”
Shoku nodded thoughtfully. “The other one?”
“Well, he’s…” And our conversation continued on and on. Shoku kept on giving me solutions to whatever I told her, including the problem that those frogs kept on causing trouble to my life. This girl was good… I wondered if she took psychology lessons. And before we knew it, the clock showed 8 p.m.
“Oh, dear. It’s so late!” I said when I noticed the time. “I’m so sorry for keeping you here, Tsukimachi. I’ll walk you home at once! Now, please tell me your add-”
“Wait.”
I blinked. “What…?”
“Wait.” Shoku repeated coldly. She sent me her well-known chilling gaze from her cold, red eyes. I shuddered for a moment. This girl…
“W-What is it, Tsukimachi?” I said with a forced smile.
She shook her head dismissively. “Natsumi Hinata, how deceitful could you be? How could you lie to me, declaring that you have pet frogs when they’re actually not your pets, but are part of your family?”
“What!?” I stood up angrily. This girl was off limits! It’s true, those frogs weren’t exactly my pets, and I had to admit that I already considered them as a family, because if I didn’t I wouldn’t be cooking food for them. But still… “I’m not lying!”
Shoku closed her eyes and stood up calmly. She then walked to the door.
I popped a vein. “Where are you going!?”
“Unveiling your lie.” She said with a confident smile. “Follow me.”
“Why should I follow you when this is my house, creepy?” I muttered under my breath, but nevertheless followed her reluctantly. Wait. There was something strange here. This is my house, and I’ve lived here forever. How come Shoku, who had just came here, already knew the way to the basement?
…Basement…?
“Hey! It’s not polite to snoop around people’s house!” I yelled when the violet haired girl attempted to go down into the basement. Damn, she might find out about the stupid frog and his friends…!! Is this girl a member of the Black Men!?
Shoku stared at me with emotionless eyes, then silently leaped to the basement floor. I could see her eyes shifting to a particular door with a star on it. Oh, drat…
Then I remembered what Koyuki told me. Those reptiles have anti-barriers that prevent unknown civilians to see them. That would prevent Shoku from seeing them.
Shoku swung open the basement door. I could perfectly see 5 Keronians -Green, black, red, yellow and blue- sitting calmly in the room. Strange, Angol Mois was nowhere to be seen. I made eye contact with the stupid frog and pointed at my own forehead meant to symbolize the anti-barrier switch. He replied me with a thumb pointed up.
The girl in front of me seemed bewildered. Looks like the anti-barrier was a suc-
“And there you go.” She suddenly said, right index finger pointing at the frogs. “The absolute prove that you have alien frogs as part of your family.”
Silence. No reaction from both me and the Keronians.
“Y-YOU COULD SEE THEM!?!?” I shrieked, then shot a death glare at the scared stupid frog. “I thought I told you to activate the anti-barrier, you moron!”
“I did, Lady Natsumi! I really did!” He squeaked. Giroro confirmed with a nod, and so did Tamama and Dororo. Now I was wondering how Kururu always stay so calm in dire times like this one. “It’s true! We activated it already!”
The intense atmosphere was broken by two types of laughter.
“Ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku ku…!” Kururu chuckled.
“Ki ki ki ki ki ki ki ki ki ki ki ki ki ki ki ki ki ki ki…!” Shoku snickered.
“W-What the…?” I mumbled. The rest of us stared at the creepy pair.
Kururu laughed while holding his belly. “Man, I can’t believe you guys fell for it!”
Everyone sweatdropped. “Fell for what…?”
“Please, don’t tell me you guys are really clueless!” Shoku teased. She stopped her laughing fit and straightened herself, then cried. “Ahotorn Form: OFF!”
After a few seconds, in place of the violet haired girl, stood a silver female tadpole with slanted red eyes, staring at all of us. She smirked. “It’s me, Tsukiki!”
“Tsu-Tsukiki…?” I repeated. So this was the new member Fuyuki told me. No, wait. Fuyuki’s description included a mask. This ‘Tsukiki’ had no mask. So that meant…
“There you are, sis!”
Oh god, I knew this was coming. That wasn’t Fuyuki’s voice.
“Man,” A grey male tadpole dropped down from the ceiling, practically surprising me. “I’ve been searching for you the whole day, and you were having fun in that exclusive A-class Pekopon Suit HQ equipped us with!” I looked at his face, and there’s the medical mask I’ve been searching for.
“Ki ki ki, sorry Toriri,” Tsukiki snickered. So his name was Toriri? “But this is not the Pekopon Suit HQ gave me. This is the one Kururu built especially for me after I told him my plan on tricking you guys. He also helped me with the school papers.”
Everyone’s hateful glares fell on Kururu. He seemed okay with it though. I had a feeling that the reason Kururu was vulnerable to Mois was because Mois never looked at him with hatred, but always with innocence. I had to try that later.
“By the way, Sergeant Major Tsukiki,” Keroro started. “Did he do it for free?”
Tsukiki blinked twice. “Why do you ask?”
“Just curious…” The stupid frog asked. But I could tell from his tone that he was trying to figure out if there were any ways of getting Kururu’s assistance for free.
Tsukiki grinned. “Of course not! He made me pay 6000 yen!”
Everyone’s jaws dropped to the floor. The jerk made her pay how much…??
“6000 yen for a new Pekopon Suit!? Sis, you’re wasting money!” Toriri complained.
“What? It’s worth it! If I used my old Pekopon Suit you would easily recognize me and everything will be ruined. Plus, I got to enjoy Kisho High School’s facilities.”
And the siblings’ argument continued on and on. We all listened to it until the two decided to stop and head back to their cave in the woods, at least that’s what they said about where they were staying.
“Hey, stupid frog.” I called out. It was 9 p.m. and everyone was having dinner. Tamama went back to the Nishizawa Estate, Dororo left for Koyuki’s and Kururu preferred to cook curry for himself in his lab, so that left the stupid frog and Giroro to eat together with Fuyuki and I.
“That Tsukiki…” I asked. “Does she have split personalities? Sometimes she acts nice, but in the other times she’s creepy. She’s your new member, right? I’m pretty sure you could tell.” I finished as I downed my eighth chunk of beef.
Keroro swallowed everything in his mouth before answering my question. “Actually, she only came here yesterday afternoon, so I didn’t know much about her. And yes, she does have split personalities, or at least that’s what Second Corporal Toriri said. And I asked Kururu to hack the Keron Army’s files for her full data, just in case she has more than two split personalities so we could handle her later.” Right after he explained, he shoved a big piece of meat into his mouth.
“Are you sure Kururu’s not going to be thrown into jail for hacking military data because of your request?” I asked. I think my statement made him choke on that meat he was chewing. I ignored his situation and turned to the red Keronian sitting across me. “Hey, Giroro, how’s my cooking?”
I couldn’t really tell, but he seemed to choke too when I talked to him. Weird.
He coughed. “Ugh… It needs to be a little sweeter, but the overall is okay.”
“Hmm… I guess I’ll make sure I add more sugar next time.” I said to myself.
The dinner went on well without any kind of havoc whatsoever. I wished that tomorrow will be the same. That reminded me; I had to tell Koyuki that Shoku was actually another alien. I guess I’d have to do it tomorrow at school.
~ End of Encounter
The earth shakes in terrible fear,
Birds hid in a gloomy hollow.
By the water, a dark force will appear,
The end of a hundred years will soon follow.
-- 963
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