The little boy hadn't intended on this happening. He'd only been playing with that stupid girl, and only really stole the ball when she was playing with it all wrong. And yet… HE stood over him, casting a long shadow over the boy, and at the same time, his face covered in shadows—His calm, purple eyes staring down at the boy directly. Letting him know that he'd seen it all—From the boy pushing the girl down and running off with the ball, to tripping and falling while attempting to make a run for it.

"T… Tamama Gunso…" the boy squeaked out. Just as fierce as he'd been portrayed in the stories, and on TV. Maybe even fiercer.

"….Leave," was all Tamama muttered. It was all he needed to say, or do, to make the boy start shaking. And after shaking came tears, and after that he was calling out his mother's name while rushing down the paved road in the suburban Keronian neighborhood, having abandoned the ball and forgotten all about the girl he'd made cry.

Luroro, upon seeing the boy leave, immediately clutched on to Tamama's back while peering out from behind him, her green eyes wide, "T-Tamama-dono, that… That was AMAZING!"
The relaxed eyes remained, but the shadow vanished, replaced with a wide, cheery grin,

"Hehe, you really think so, Luroro-chan?!"

"D-Definitely! No wonder you're going to be the captain! Did you see his face?!"

"Yeah… I did…." Tamama looked down at the "soccer ball"… Only to see, upon further inspection, that it was a little more than that. Heavier, for one thing… And as he noticed the buttons across it, it dawned on him exactly what it was… And, more importantly, whose it was.

"Luroro-chan… Where did you get this?"

"…I… I borrowed it?"

"You can come and give her an apology directly before we go…"

"Okay…" she whispered sheepishly, kicking at the ground as she followed him down the road. "Did you get to see the parade they had yesterday?"

"I was in it, Luroro-chan…."

"Right! It was great! Where was everybody else, though?"

"Saying goodbye, I guess… It's a long mission, after all, so I can't blame them… "

"Didn't you have anyone to say goodbye to?"

Tamama nodded, his smile drooping a bit. "…I did already."

"Well, I'll say bye to you now, too! And I'll make sure to tell Hachichi goodbye when I see him at Giro-jiisan's!"

"T-Thanks…." They stopped in front of the house. An unkempt yard, filled with both toys and with parts to various machines; the sign of someone who spent only half of her time in the house and nearly no time on cleaning. A red and yellow yin-yang symbol was plastered for all to see, to let them know whose home it was, and Sankaku writing underneath it, to let them know that she'd come from a very unique bloodline. It wasn't like anyone didn't know already, though… The super-soldier of Keron had been a splash, for a little while—But was grateful when the ruckus over her had died down. So many of her days now were spent alone, save for the company of Hachichi when it was his turn to live with her… Inventing who knew what alongside him.

As Tamama approached the door, he realized he couldn't even remember the last time he'd visited Kirere. Hachichi was traveling on his own nowadays, old enough to navigate the portals that Tamama had set up for him. And with not having to meet up to take turns caring for him, along with both of their busy schedules, there'd barely been time to see each other.

He was about ready to knock when the door slid open, allowing the two entry into the darkened home.

"…Why'd it suddenly get ten degrees cooler?" he muttered, giving a small shiver as he walked in, Luroro tailing him closely behind. In the old days, she perhaps would've gripped on his tail to help guide her through the dark and cluttered workspace. But things were different… The lack of tail still unnerved him from time to time. He'd been excited to finally lose it, but he'd had it so long, it was still foreign for him from time-to-time to not worry about crushing it in a sliding door.

"S-So creepy…." Luroro whispered, opting to grab hold of his free hand that didn't clutch on to her "soccer ball".

"Kiichi! Kiichi!" he shouted out. "Maybe she already left for the station…"
But he knew better. At this point… And all he'd been through with Kirere… He knew when she was gone and when she was simply… Lurking.

And indeed she was… The pink Keronian, wrench in hand, seemingly dropped down from a low beam, hanging upside down from it and falling in-between the two.

"You found it!" she exclaimed cheerfully as her eyes fell upon the sphere they'd brought with them. "I thought I'd lost him for sure, this time!"

"Something for the mission?" asked Tamama.

Kirere's head turned to its side, and she narrowed her eyes from behind the yellow visor. "The…? OH!"

And next thing the tiny, indigo-colored Keronian child and the black adult Keronian knew, Kirere was shuffling around, several bags in her hand. She seemingly scooped up random piles from the floor, while muttering curses to herself the entire time.

"W-Why didn't you tell me it was today?!" she snapped at Tamama, and Tamama, seated on the floor, only sighed in response.

"Because I'm not your babysitter, Kiichi… Why did you think we left Hachiin with your dad?"

"You're my emergency contact! That should count for something! You're suppose to contact me in case of emergencies, Tama-chan!" she huffed, stuffing a power drill into a designer purse and then standing straight up and looking about. "Where….? OH! Here!"
She laughed in response to her victory, and shoved a mass of extension cords into the same designer bag.

"…One of the most important days in your life… And you forget…"

"Hands…. Hands… I need spare hands… Good news is I forgot about the alimony you were supposed to pay me this month, too!"

"H-How is that good for me, Kiichi….? And how can you tell me you forget it when you bring it up…? Ugh. That lawyer screwed me. You've been married how many more times now and I still pay that?"

"Three now."

"Three?! Who the hell now?"

"Phiroro-chan, but it was brief—We were better friends."

"You didn't invite me?"

"It was a spur of the moment thing…. Oh! My welding kit! I need that! Hey! Hold this for me!" She tossed him the designer bag stuffed with drillbits and a pieces that, when fully formed, created a banding saw.

It made contact when Tamama's face, and he was down for the count, instantly knocked out cold.

"…I thought that was my makeup…." Kirere whispered as she stood over her K.O.'d superior with Luroro beside her.

It'd taken a lot to convince Luroro to return to her grandmother's, and not come with them to the space station. By the end, Tamama was down a couple of hundred yen, and Kirere down some Pekoponian makeup. But the girl had promised not to follow after, and this, to the two, was priceless.

"Everyone should be here by now…" Tamama glanced at the clock in the middle of the intergalactic station and sighed. "You talked to Hachiin?"
"Mm-hm! He's a little sad, but I promised him we'd bring him back lots of prizes from this planet! Plus it's good he gets to know Dad's wife, too! It's just been Papa and Rita for so long… I didn't even think Dad would ever get married! I sort of thought his mourning for Natsumi would be eternal…"

"Kazeze-san was a nice fit."

"So how about you? Anyone in particular catching your eye right now?"

"Huh? No."

"Still in mourning for Keroro?"

Tamama immediately reddened at this, and his face formed into a scowl, "Marrying you was just enough! And you make it look exhausting now!"

"Eh?" Kirere looked about the busy station and gasped in delight. "Hey! I think we just found someone!"

And Tamama looked over, and cringed; he'd known Tororo would have to come along with them… But would he have to be present so soon? He'd immediately regretted what he'd said about not seeing anyone… The incredibly staged and awkward parade from the other day seemed so much more appealing suddenly.

"Are you sure that's all, sir?" The tired woman at the fast food register sighed, reviewing the lengthy order. Tororo turned his head thoughtfully and looked back up at the menu board.

"Pupupu… Maybe an upgrade on that milkshake…."

"HEY! Come on!" snapped one of the aliens in the long, long line behind Tororo. And Tororo, who had grown into a tall, imposing orange Keronian, spun around and stared down the man who had dared threatened him, a shorter Keronian, who immediately shirked as Tororo glared through his glasses.

"Pupupu… I'm about to go on a two-year trip without any fast food… I wouldn't tread on me if I were you…" Tororo chuckled, the corner of his mouth twitching as he did so.

"Tororo-kun!" His frown and foul mood broke as he heard her voice… It'd been so long since he'd heard it, but he still recognized it immediately. And as he turned around and saw her… It was like they were both children and she was threatening him within an inch of his life all over again.

"She's gotten even more beautiful…" he whispered in disbelief as he laid eyes on Kirere.
"Your food, sir…" said the woman at the register blandly, pushing a tray towards Tororo. Tororo immediately turned around and shoved the tray in the frightened arms of the Keronian behind him.

"T-Take this!"

Tororo couldn't hear the cashier telling the man that he was now in charge of paying for the fast food, and he couldn't hear the man's cursing or threats. All he saw was Kirere… Running in what seemed like slow motion… Towards him.

He started to outstretch his arms, and then watched as she zoomed past him, and she instead she lifted up and swung around a pale green Keronian.

"Ronene-k…. I-I mean chan!" she exclaimed, spinning Ronene about. Ronene, in response, gripped on to her white, eared cap, and clutched on to her luggage while Kirere spun her around.

"…I just can't win…" Tororo's shoulders fell as Tamama stood beside him. Tamama huffed a sigh and patted Tororo on the shoulder.

"She just has more affection for the ones she's been married to… Don't worry, she'll have an annoying hug for you soon enough."

"Tch…"

"So I guess that just leaves one of us, now," Tamama said with a nod, not giving much mind to Ronene's attempts to pull out of Kirere's grip.

"H-Hey, come on, Shrimpy!" she growled.

"S-Sorry!" Kirere chuckled, and scratched the back of her head. Her eyes widened, and she hopped behind Ronene. "Is that your tail?! It looks great!"

"H-Hey, don't touch that!" Ronene yelped.

"Okay, okay!" she giggled. "It just… It looks perfect on you!"

"Thanks… You don't look so bad yourself. You still overdo your makeup though," Ronene muttered, reaching out to wipe a smudge of lipstick on Kirere's chin. "How's the little guy?"

"Sad, but understanding… OH! He wants to be a medic too, did I tell you?!"

"What?! No way! Why didn't you tell me!? I could've given him a tour here!"

"Well… I was busy for a little bit, and… I… Sort of got married again and it's been busy…" Kirere replied, trailing off quietly again.

"Again?! Why didn't you invite me?"

"It was spur-of-the moment!"

Tamama noticed Tororo's blush and rolled his eyes.

And Tamama and Tororo looked over at the sound of another ruckus, and Tororo snorted as he watched Taruru attempt to wrangle several small children encircling him—Several of which vaguely looked or sounded like him.

"Ah, it's the man who's going to save Keron's population crisis," chuckled Tamama.

"I-I'm not a playground!" Taruru shuttered, pulling off one of the tiny children off of him, only to have another one of his children climb onto him. "O-Okay, you guys have five minutes, and then I'm going to seriously think about starting time outs!"

The children's mother seemed to pay no heed to this, however. Karara was much too busy looking into Chiroro's eyes, holding on to Chiroro's hands, and allowing the tears to fall.

"I'm going to miss you!"

"Not as much as I'll miss you!"

"I'll write you every day!"

"I'll write you twice-No, three times, Chiroro-chan!"

The both broke out in sobbing, and clung to each other tightly, all while Karara and Taruru's children overtook their father, one declaring he was "king of the mountain" as he stood atop his father, who had slowly been dragged to the ground by his brood.
"I'm trying to count how many there are, and they keep multiplying, pupupu~!" Tororo muttered as he looked down at the children. "..Disgusting…"

"Watch it. I've got one of those," Tamama snapped as he headed over to Karara and Chiroro, and gently started to separate the two. Ronene and Kirere, seeing the problem, took hold of Karara, as Tamama dragged Chiroro off, her arms still outreached to her friend.

"…Looks like our flight arrived just in time…" Ronene noted, glancing up at the time clock in front of them.

Chiroro's sobs had stopped, although the others standing straight in a line could hear the occasional quiet sniffle from her. Ronene rolled her eyes and pulled out a tissue for Chiroro.

Tororo and Kirere on one side—And Ronene and Chiroro on the other. And in the middle of them, their platoon leader, Tamama Gunso, who tried to hide his apprehension as he looked out at the large spaceship he was to command. He'd been told he'd never be a leader… Just like Kirere had been told she'd never be in the military. And yet, there it was. Headed out on… What mission was it? Hundredth, probably. All around the galaxy, with a stop in two years' time at the Keron base on Pekopon to return with their findings. He gave a small, dry gulp at the prospect of returning there after so many years. Would it be anything like the updates Momochi gave him?

"…Her kids would all be in college by then…" he realized aloud, much to his shock.
"Eh?" Kirere nudged him, and Tamama shook his head and cleared his throat.

Garuru entered, and Kirere's eyes directly fell upon the crutch he used to carry his weight upon. He stopped and looked them over for a moment.

Computer analyst, check. Mechanic, check. Captain, check. Medic, check. Assassin, check.

He nodded his approval of this, and stopped in front of Tamama, "This mission won't be easy, and it would be a lie to say we're one hundred percent you will make it out all right. That's a risk in the military and exploration, though… Many of you are giving up everything to undertake this mission, whether it be family, friends, careers, or children. Your government thanks you for your help. This research will go towards expanding out the Keron military's ability to help those in need, and bettering the lives of aliens from all different galaxies. I wish you luck on behalf of your planet and on myself… Good luck."
There was a group salute, with Garuru returned with his free hand, and the group began to board. First Tamama, then Tororo, Chiroro, Ronene—And Kirere remained there. After standing there a moment and dropping her salute, she leaned forward and embraced Garuru.
"I think this is a terrible idea that you go on this…" Garuru admitted, and Kirere sighed and nodded.

"I know, I…"

"For Hachichi's sake, if nothing else."

Kirere went silent, and sighed, "I know... But he's going to have a great time on Keron! Haruki's getting older, I want him to get to know him… And I want him to get to know Pekopon."

"I know you're doing this to prove to me you can be in the military and control yourself, even though you didn't exactly prove it the first time."

At the exact same time, Kirere looked at his cane, and he looked at her right hand. There was a silence, broken by Kirere smiling and kissing Garuru on the cheek.

"I just want to prove some things to myself, Ojjisan. I don't want to be Kirere the super soldier… I just want to be Kirere, or… If I am that super, I don't want to prove it by picking a fight with one of the top military generals because I lose my temper."
Garuru nodded. "Give your father my regards when you reach the stop in Pekopon."

"Which one?" she giggled as she headed onto the spaceship, and Garuru, for a brief moment, looked as though he cracked a smile himself.

The door closed behind her on the large ship, and she knew, finally, there was no going back. She chuckled and went to find her quarters and unpack for the long road ahead.

It wasn't long into Tororo unpacking his computer equipment that he heard the emergency siren sounding, and red lights started to flash. He picked up his most prized laptop, in addition to a small flash drive, and rushed out of the room, Kirere , Ronene, and Tamama all following him down the narrow hallway.

"Where's Chiroro?!" Tamama shouted in a panic.

"Over here!" she shrieked down a hall, and all immediately turned to the right, towards her voice.

And there, where she stood in the dining hall, was a table laid out with food—In the center a tiered cake.

"Surprise!" she shouted over the sirens, her arms extended.

"Finally!" Tororo huffed as the alarm ceased, and Kirere hopped off of his shoulders. She tossed her screwdriver into the air and looked up at the system, already feeling the trip was worth it. Such a small thing, but it'd been so long since she'd been able to do something… And feel useful. Feel useful and not feel guilty about it.

"There are better ways to get our attention, Chiroro-chan…" Tamama sighed as he sat at the table beside Ronene.

"S-Sorry… I guess that was a little severe… I just couldn't wait to surprise everybody, I guess!" she chuckled, tugging on the pink scarf around her neck. "I made things for everybody, too!"

"Let me guess, they're going to explode when we open them…" Tororo frowned as he returned to the table. He started to pick up a slice of pizza, but Kirere only smacked his hand gently from it.

"Just a little something since we're all going to be working together!" she answered, passing each of them a package. Tamama took his, wrapped in pink paper, and immediately felt a sense of dread in the pit of his stomach.

Each person around the table opened up their gifts, and the expressions on their faces upon receiving the knit dolls in their likenesses varied to Tororo looking simply annoyed, to Kirere feigning a smile, to Ronene not mentioning the lack of a tail on hers, to Tamama staring down at his, which had a pair of extra-large eyes sewn on to it.

"I made sure to make yours extra cute, Tamama-san!" Chiroro giggled, and Kirere grimaced.

"T-Thanks…" He placed it back in the box… Where Kirere knew it would be forever.

"And, um… Ronene-kun, it's been such a while since I've seen you that I didn't know you… Wore a different style of hat, now!" Chiroro chuckled.

"Is that what they call it?" Tororo, in spite of Kirere's glare, reached across the table for a chicken drumstick, and took a bite of it.

"It's Ronene-chan…" Ronene replied, clearing her throat and scratching her cheek as she looked offward.

"I… I'm a little confused…" Chiroro admitted. Ronene went to speak, but Kirere held up a hand, and leaned over to whisper to Chiroro. And Ronene watched, as, expectedly, Chiroro's smile fell, and she sat back, silent.

"I… Didn't know that was something they could do…" she replied, cutting a slice of cake. "L-Let's eat up!"

"Finally! I was getting tired of just snacking!" Tororo grumbled, reaching across for a plate of fried chicken.

"You didn't have to whisper about it, you know," said Ronene as she helped Kirere organize her tools on a metal bench in the workshop she'd be using during their mission. She found Kirere seated on a bench, her back to her, and Ronene walked over and nudged Kirere on the shoulder. "Ey. Shrimpy, I'm talking. I get it. The last time Chiroro saw me, I was your husband. Hey, what's going on with your hand?"

"Eh?" Kirere glanced up at Ronene and flipped up her yellow visor, and then back down at the metallic right hand—Where once a proficient pink one had been. "Just fine-tuning one of the joints. I noticed it was a little loose."

"That's a new one, right?"

"Right… Hehe, right, it's a new right!" she giggled as she held it up.

"And that's not the only new thing…" Ronene noticed the pink residue on her hand as she removed it from Kirere's arm, and her eyes widened as she saw the black mark underneath the makeup. "You went to the Sankaku!"

"D-Don't tell my dad, all right? I didn't want him to see I'd gotten a tattoo yet. It just… Made me feel a little bit better after everything that happened… Made me feel like a person again…"

Ronene nodded, and brought over a rolling chair to sit in. She took a seat in front of Kirere, and gave her the smallest of smiles, "I won't knock anyone for changing something about themselves to feel more like who they are… You're the one who was there for me when I didn't feel like myself."

"R-Right…"

"Hey, you sure you're okay with this mission?"

"Yeah! Why wouldn't I be?"

Ronene blinked, barely believing she heard this correctly, "Because you kind of… You kind of lost it the last time you were out in battle, Shrimpy."

"Keron was under attack. People I loved were under attack. I couldn't… Just stay a mechanic on Pekopon and do nothing!"

"You wiped out an army on your own, and all you lost was a hand. Have you ever seen the footage from that?"

"N-No. And I don't want to." Kirerere's response was quick, and she dropped her visor over her eyes once more.
Ronene slowly raised her head and nodded. "Okay, we don't have to…"

"Thanks…" Kirere gave a sigh of relief, and her shoulders relaxed. "And… Sorry about that with Chiroro. I guess I flunked that, huh?"

"Eh, I'll give ya a pass on it," Ronene giggled, and reached out to pat Kirere atop the head. "Now let's get going to the control room, eh?"

"Right!" Kirere slipped on her leather glove from her desk, and then reached for the black bracelet she'd worn for so many years, and through so much. "Ronene-chan? I…. Think I'll be a minute or two, all right?"

"Eh? Well, okay. Just take care of yourself, okay? You're the only sane one I've got on this trip."

"Hrm. Oh, yeah…" Kirere waved her off, and when she was alone she opened up the small locket on the bracelet to reveal a picture of a young Keronian boy, with bright blue eyes, black skin, and an ecstatic smile, sitting in the middle of a race car bed that Tamama had bought for him.

Kirere couldn't help but feel a smile grow on her own face—One that quickly vanished as she heard a rustling behind her.

Kirere slowly rose from her spot in her workshop and turned around to face the rustling bag. She quietly picked up a rifle she'd stored underneath the table portion of the workbench and crept forward. She delivered a poke to the bag with her foot, and yelped as Luroro popped out, accidentally firing off a shot from the gun as she did so.

"LURORO?!" she squeaked, and Luroro, from behind the medical mask she wore over her mouth, grimaced at the very sound of name. "W-What are you-?!"

"What was that?!" Tamama rushed into the workshop, with the rest of his platoon quickly falling in line behind him.

Kirere slapped her forehead and groaned, "Nothing. A stowaway. Look."

She stepped to the side, and Tamama's eyes widened in disbelief at the small Keronian girl sitting up in the bag.

"I…. I was just practicing my ninja skills!" Luroro replied, bringing her hands together to form a jitsu.

"I'll turn it around…" said Tamama with an exhausted sigh…. So this was the beginning of the next two years.

Tororo, meanwhile, frowned, and typed away at the tablet in his hands, "Looks like that shot hit the navigational system."

"I'll go fix it, not a big deal… In the meantime, Luroro—Stay."

"Y-Yeah… Sorry…" said Luroro with a small cringe, and Chiroro stepped forward and began to lead the little girl out of the workshop. At least until the impact, which sent everyone and everything in the room flying.

"What was THAT?!" Ronene shouted.

"I-I don't know! It looks like a wormhole!" Tororo replied as he sat up in the pile of tools, and he began to rush to the main control room along with the rest of the platoon and Luroro after rising up from the pile of tools around them.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Luroro called out as she clutched onto Kirere's arm.

"Shh, shh—It's okay, I don't think you did think," Kirere replied quietly, wrapping an arm around the near-sobbing child.

"Were we going fast enough to go through a wormhole?" asked Tamama as he took a seat at the head of controls, and Tororo continued his typing as he sat down at the right. Chiroro sat at the left, along with Ronene, while Kirere joined Tororo on the right, with Luroro on her lap.

Tamama squinted and stared at the planet ahead of him, trying to figure out where he'd even seen one similar to the striped pink and purple surface before.

"With the navigation down I have no idea where we are…" Tororo admitted.

Tamama gave a small, tired sigh; well, this mission wouldn't be without its adventures.
"Let's go down, get in communication with Luroro's grandma, get the navigation repaired, and most importantly find out where we are."

"Pupupu, I say we stock up on snacks, too!" suggested Tororo, and Kirere leaned forward to look over the planet.

"Well, definitely going to be a fun story for Hachichi," she admitted.

And the Tamama and the rest of his platoon descended down in their ship for their first mission on their tour of goodwill and to learn more about the galaxy, slowly until they reached the surface of the planet that once, many, many years ago been known as the original home of the Mobians—The Time Benders.

It would be the beginning of a very interesting two-year journey.

And that's it... Nine years, countless words, countless readers.

Thank you all, every one of you.

From the bottom of my heart.