Paradise is... Chp18 part 2

Episode 18
Chunini: Desperation! A Wicked Pop Singer's Last Resort!
Part 2

Many apologies for the wait ^_^''' Ya know how life can be… Just writing to get the mind off of things now. I may have to deal with something that'll more than likely put my writing on a back-burner for a while-Hopefully not, though. I hope my saying that doesn't worry anyone, it isn't anything too major, and if my writing will be interrupted by it, I'll be sure to let you know.

Now, please, enjoy and forgive my tardiness.


There was a flicker of lights, and the group turned around, coming face-to-face with the other confused group that had formed. Mahihi stood further back at the light switch, in his Keronian form, and dressed in his usual Hawaiian shirt and attire.

Also there stood Lupapa, a leather backpack on her back, and beside her Fujuju and Botan; both had dressed in beach attire, Botan with her hair tied back and wearing a brightly-colored beach cover and sandals, and with a parasol folded at her side. Fujuju had a pile of books in his hands, and wore a small pair of sunglasses, a Hawaiian print shirt, and straw hat. There was zinc oxide in the middle of his face.

"I…. Take it there isn't a book swap, as I was told…." he said quietly as he looked out at the stunned group.



"Daisy's going to kill me; I told her it was a paying competition…" Mahihi sighed as he took another sip of his punch and looked gloomily out at the nighttime scenery.

"It can't be all that bad for you. There's a free buffet, and you look like you love to eat nowadays," Rokiki sat with a few chicken wings on a plate, and Mahihi looked over to him, slightly annoyed.

"Don't worry, there's more," Rokiki reassured him as he gauged Mahihi's dirty glare.

"S-So Time Bender-dono lives with Fujuju-dono now, is that right?" Keroro looked uneasily to Botan, and she sat there staring, stone-faced.

"It's only a temporary arrangement," Fujuju reassured them, holding up his hands and flushing a bit.

"Tama?" Tamama looked at Fujuju's expression, then to Botan. "Fujuju-san, are you-"

"I'll get us all punch!" Fujuju slid out of his seat and smiled anxiously, then fled from the table.

"He seems suspicious," Tamama said flatly, with a smirk on his face.



"I didn't expect you here, Lupa-chan!" Chunini chirped as she skipped over to Lupapa, who sat beside Dororo and Koyuki. Lupapa said nothing, but the cup she held in her hand shook, eventually crushing her hand. It was at this moment Lupapa lunged for Chunini, grabbing her by the neck.

"I got told you died, that's the only reason I came!" Lupapa snapped, gripping onto Chunini's neck and pinning her down to the ground.

"Lu-Lupapa-dono!" Dororo rose to restrain Lupapa, but Lupapa let go of her grasp on her own, growling and stepping back from Chunini.

"Aw, Lupa-chan does care!"

"No, I just wanted to be certain of it!"

"Ah, always the "it doesn't exist if I can't see it", eh, Lupa-chan? You know that can get annoying!" Chunini hopped up and smiled, and skipped away from the group. "I'm going to go catch up on my beauty rest, na-cha~!"

"I always thought that was a greeting…." Keroro said as Chunini hopped past them, his blood chilling at the sight of her cheerfulness.

"…If she does that again I swear I'll finish the job myself," Lupapa grumbled darkly as she took up her seat again, glaring at Chunini.



Lee looked down at her PDA and sighed; she'd gotten an answer, but it wasn't what she had hoped for.

She snapped her head as she heard the glass doors slide, and looked down, "Oh? Miss Chu? This is some good news that all of your friends showed, isn't it? And how's your inspiration? Are you-"

"Lee… Has my sister answered yet?"

"Hrm? N-No, she hasn't," Lee answered shakily. Chunini looked at Lee critically for a few moments, then looked out at the balcony, holding onto the bars around it as she looked out onto the beach. "The weather's bad where she is right now, I'm sure the mail's just been delayed by it. There's a lot of cloud cover in Germany, I saw, and-"

"You don't need to lie to make me feel better, Lee," Chunini said with a sigh. "I appreciate it, but I get it. My sister's found a good home, and a good family. I'm not good for anyone, really, and I know it."

"Miss Chu…"

"I'm going to go lay down; I can only take so much of so many idiots in a day," Chunini turned away from Lee, giving her a small smile before walking back into the hotel room. "Don't worry about me, Lee."

Chunini shut the door once more, and Lee looked out onto the beach, now alone.



"And I think it's just so great he's met someone!" Mora sipped her drink and smiled as she sat out on the beach, watching the rest of the group from beneath a large umbrella.

"What?" Rokiki snapped his head over toward Mora, and away from where his attention had been placed; Kirere was attempting to build a sand castle, and Dororo and Lupapa had started to help her with it.

"Them," Mora nodded over towards the shore, where Fujuju walked beside Botan. She stopped and crouched down, examining a large shell that had washed ashore. Fujuju went ahead a few steps, smiling a bit and picking it up to show her; this gentleman gesture and expression were quickly replaced with confusion and fear as the crab that made the shell emerged, snapping its claws at Fujuju. He gave a yell and fell back into the water, disappearing under the crash of the waves.

"They're pathetic," Rokiki huffed, taking a sip of his punch, looking at the box it was in sourly, and tossing it out onto the beach.

"You should let me set you up with someone, Rokiki-kun!" Mora said with a smile.

"We're not talking about that again," he snapped.

"Here!" she presented him a red folder, and he frowned, taking it and opening it. "She's perfect for you! Really into tradition, just like Rokiki-kun is! And she's a Keronian!"

"…You're not going to stop until I say yes, are you?" he inquired, and looked above the folder to her pleading eyes. "…Fine! Just one date!"

"You're going to love her, I know it!" Mora embraced him and laughed, but quickly drew away after a moment after gauging Rokiki's stunned expression. "I… I'll go call her!"

She rushed off, leaving Rokiki by himself on the blanket. He scowled a bit and looked out at the waves; there were three boards out there-One belonging to a professional surfer, one to a beginner, and one to a scientist enjoying the bobs of the waves while clicking away on a laptop.

"Hey, you're getting good at this, Aka Baka!" Mahihi laughed as he swam towards his board and climbed onto it. Giroro was already seated on his, looking ahead. Mahihi glanced over his shoulder and laughed at the sight of Natsumi sitting cross-legged on the beach. "I get it, you want to impress her!"

"What? I… No! Wh-What I mean is, I-"

"Come on, on the board, there's a big wave coming up," Mahihi winked, and Giroro stood, confused and watching Mahihi as the Keronian paddled towards the large waves.

Kururu caught sight of one of these waves, and chuckled, lifting up an umbrella from the side of his board and unfurling it to prevent getting totally soaked by the oncoming waves.

Giroro paddled towards the waves, following Mahihi, and stood just as Mahihi did. He grew curious, though, as Mahihi fell behind him on the wave, and then lurched forward a bit as he felt Mahihi's surfboard hit his own, to give him a push. Instead, this sent Giroro flying off of his board and into the waves.

"….Ah, man…" Mahihi sighed and slapped his forehead as all that resurfaced was Giroro's belt.



"Neh?" Giroro's eyes fluttered open, and he yelped with surprise as he was attacked with one of Kirere's hugs.

"You're alive!" she gasped happily.

"What happened?" he rubbed his head and sat up, still coughing up a bit of seawater.

"Sorry, my bad…" Mahihi scratched the back of his head and cleared his throat. "I thought I'd send you further into the wave, and… You just… Flew…"

"Yeah, it was really high," Kirere said with a giggle, then stopped at the sight of Giroro's confused look.

"Why do I taste cherry?" Giroro asked with a frown.

"Well… You had to get mouth-to-mouth… I mean, you were down there a while and all…" Mahihi replied anxiously.

"I never wanted to be that close with you," Giroro muttered.

"Good thing it wasn't me, then, huh?"

"What?" then Giroro heard it; the laughter from behind him.

"Kuuuukukuku! Don't judge me, I was out of the vanilla-flavored," Kururu chuckled, turning and holding up a tube of chapstick.

Giroro went pale, and started to fidget to stand up, his destination Kururu, "I… I'm going to kill you, you bastard…"

"Wait! No, don't!" Kirere yelped, gripping onto Giroro as he attempted to walk over to Kururu, fists clenched.



All while this happened, Chunini sat at a café table, watching the group play. She snorted as she watched Natsumi attempting to teach Fuyuki to swim; she pulled him toward the water with such force that he finally fell, and started to flail in the water-He paused as soon as he realized the water was less than a few centimeters deep. He then sat up in the water, embarrassed. Momoka looked on at Fuyuki with admiration in her eyes; Chandi sat reading about crop circles and shook her head at this entire ordeal, going back to her reading.

"Oh, Chunini-dono!" Keroro stopped his walk to address Chunini, who nearly jumped at hearing her name called. The Keronian looked ready for the beach, a pink innertube about his waist, and Mois and Tamama standing behind him. "Working on a lovely day like this?"

"Eh?! N-No, not at all… I… I was just answering some fanmail! You'd know how it piles up if you got any…"

"How biting…" Keroro sighed.

"Gunso-san! Come see the sandcastle I made!" Tamama chirped, running away from the tense situation to the shore.

"Wait for me!" Mois called out, running after Tamama.

"I didn't invite you!" Keroro could hear Tamama call out. He didn't turn to these noises, however, but kept looking at Chunini.

"…Did you want something?" Chunini asked, looking above her paper to Keroro.

"Gero? No, nothing," Keroro answered, and then ran after the others, who were already at the sandcastle. Chunini only sighed with disgust and tossed aside her notebook, then hopped off of her seat.

Along the way she bumped into Giroro, who was going the opposite way, toward the hotel, all while holding his head back and gargling while Kirere dutifully carried along a bottle of mouthwash. Giroro stopped, spat out the mouthwash into the nearby grass, and motioned for Kirere to hand him the bottle.

"I think you're overacting a little bit…"

"I'm not stopping until that bottle is empty," Giroro answered, taking another swig from it and resealing the bottle.

"Did you have to beat him up like that?" Kirere asked as she took back the bottle.

Giroro gargled a bit more, and spat this mouthwash out, then wiped his mouth, "If you don't it'll just show him he can get away with anything. It's for his own good."

Giroro looked out and both could see his surfboard in the distance, sticking out of the water. Kururu was tied to it by a volleyball net.

"…I think tide's coming in…." Kirere said worriedly, and Giroro patted her on the shoulder.

"Let's get you out of the sun; you've been in it too long. You'll start to get sick."

He then led her back into the hotel, taking her to her room and then walked into his own, shutting the door behind him.

"…Just because this isn't a poetry seminar doesn't mean I can't get some work done…" he muttered, climbing onto a desk chair and opening a notebook he'd taken with him; inside the book were scrawling of half-finished poems. He took a seat atop the desk cross-legged, and began to write. "…Natsumi, if you only knew this side of me…"

Giroro glanced out the window and looked out at the ocean; Natsumi was there, still playing in the water with Koyuki, splashing and laughing. He blushed a bit and smiled contently. He noticed a storm coming in, making tide higher. His smile grew, and he started to work on his poetry.

He then heard a faint voice; he frowned, and looked out. Keroro was shouting up to him, but Giroro's room was too high up for him to make out all of the words. He motioned a few times to Keroro that he couldn't hear before finally sighing in defeat and opening the window. When he did, a few of the pages of his notebook flew out with a gust of wind. He grasped for them in panic, but to no avail; they were gone with the breeze.

"Giroro!" Keroro called out again, not noticing the tears in the Corporal's eyes.

"WHAT?! What is it you want!?" Giroro demanded in a bark.

"I told Ojiisama you could hear me from up there, but he didn't believe me! It's okay, you can go back to what you were going to now!" Keroro chirped out, pointing to Romama, who stood beside Keroro's side, looking on at the exchange quietly.

"WHAT?!" Giroro stood up in the windowsill, "You bastard, I-"

The red Keronian faltered in the windowsill a bit, and then slipped. When he landed, it was headfirst; directly onto Romama. Keroro poked at the two with his foot.

"…O-Ojiisama? Giroro Goucho?" he asked quietly, then gave a shrill scream as Romama's hand reached out, grabbing onto his foot.

Chunini could hear the scream from the distance behind her, but paid it no heed. She also ignored the brewing storm around her, instead kicking at a bit of sand and frowning.

"If I don't come out with a new song, I don't come out with a new album… If I don't make a new album, I don't get my sales… Then the popularity with the fans wanes, and I'm forgotten. That or I start going on game shows," she added bitterly, and continued walking, picking up the pace as she did so. "And if that's the case, then I won't need a manager anymore."


Chunini stopped, and looked out onto the ocean; the storm was worse now, much worse. It started to rain, coming down as a straight heavy sheet instead of a gradual thickening, and she took cover beneath a bench. She sneezed, and brought her knees up to her chin.

She looked up, and through the rain could see a Pekoponian figure walking in the rain, shadowed and covered with an umbrella.

Things went black for Chunini after this.

When she woke up she was bundled in what she first thought to be a blanket, but upon further analysis she realized was Lee's black jacket. And her manager stood in the hotel room, soaked from the rain, and beside her stood Kodada, her umbrella now folded at her side and in her Pekoponian form.

"What?" Chunini began to sit up, but fell back onto the bed, too weak to sit up.

"I didn't realize you'd been missing your meals, Miss Chu, it was an incredible oversight of mine," Lee gave an apologetic, deep bow. "You'll have my resignation in the morning!"

"Eh? Lee, don't be stupid," Chunini said with a sniff, her nose stuffed up; the walk in the rain had given her the beginnings of a slight pneumonia. "I was an idiot not to take care of myself… I got so wrapped up I guess the stress got to me."

"Nee-chan's always been like this," Kodada said with an understanding grin to Lee. "One time Mama wouldn't let her get a doll, Nee-chan held her breath until she passed out in the store!"

"I did get the doll, though," Chunini said with a thoughtful smile. "Koda-chan, I thought you wouldn't show."

"It's hard making up excuses to get away so far, I didn't think I would be able to! Then last minute a group of friends decided to go on a road trip. My family thinks I'm with them," Kodada winked and giggled. "I wouldn't miss seeing my Nee-chan if I couldn't help it! Lee-san said you were having trouble with your writing again, Nee-chan."

"It's just a roadblock…" Chunini sniffed, then sneezed again. She nodded a thanks as Lee passed her a tissue.

"Well… I know it sounds weird, but this fell onto my umbrella when the rain started. Here! You can still make out the words!" Kodada held out a folded sheet of paper, and Chunini took it in hand. "I know you don't like using other writers, but this is fate! It has to be!"

"Hrm… It's a little strange, but I guess any song can be a good one with the right touches… That includes this one," Chunini said with a smile, sitting up in her bed a bit. "I'll have to thank Mr. Ghost-Writer…"

"Miss Chu," Lee cleared her throat to make her presence known, and Chunini shot her head up. "I know you're not feeling the best, but the peons have decided to have more ghost-story telling…"

"That sounds great!" Kodada lit up, "It's been such a while since I've seen everyone! Can we both go, Nee-chan?!"

"…All right, all right. Just let me put my makeup on, first," Chunini waved, sliding out of the bed. "I'll be right down."

Kodada hurried out of the bedroom, laughing to herself, while further down the same hall Kururu and Keroro walked in, Keroro leaning onto Kururu for support; both looked soaked and were covered with seaweed.

"…Tied to a surfboard in high tide… Giroro Goucho is a harsh man to be deal with…" Keroro choked, peeling off a starfish that had attached itself to his hat and carrying limply in his free hand.

"Kuku-Ach!" Kururu's trademark laugh was cut short by a sneeze, and both continued down to the hall.

Lee knelt down to help Chunini fix the buns on either side of her helmet, and Chunini sighed and smiled serenely. "You know, I don't think I'll ever know why you put up with me so much, Lee. But I do appreciate it."

This last part made Lee stop for a moment, and she flushed a bit, then went back to work adjusting the ribbons.

"That'll do, Lee," Chunini turned around and smiled brightly, although a sneeze interrupted this. "Ugh… I'll be downstairs, are you coming?"

"In a few moments. I need to change," Lee nodded, standing back up and remaining stationary as Chunini walked out of the room. "…Why I stay…."



The fair was crowded, and Min Jee had lost her way. The tiny girl with a bobbed haircut wiped her eyes, the balloon in her hand floating away from her as she did so. She gave a yell, and jumped, but the blue balloon was out of her grasp. She took cover beside one of the carnival booths and wept.

She darted her head up as she felt something wrap around her wrist, and her brown eyes met with the bright orange ones of the strange creature in front of her, dressed in an orange and blue dress with a star pattern on the front.

"Eh…. You can see me, c-can't you?" the yellow creature's mouth twitched, and Min Jee nodded. "…This is trouble…"

"You found my balloon…" Min Jee said quietly, noting that the creature had tied it to her wrist, preventing it from floating away again.

"Sure, it's easy with these," the small creature pressed down on a charm on her necklace, revealing a pair of pink wings. Min Jee lit up immediately.

"You're a fairy!"

"Hey! I-A fairy? Y-Yes, that's right. I'm a fairy," she nodded back. "….What are you so sad about anyway? It can't be any worse than the few months I've had."

"I lost my mommy," the little girl sniffed, and the fairy's expression suddenly softened.

"…All right, stand up…"

"Huh? Where are we going?"

"Let's go find your Mama…. Do you trust me?" she asked as she saw the little girl hesitating. Min Jee waited a few moments, then took the outstretched hand of the yellow fairy.

"….How come they can't see you, but I can?" asked Min Jee as they walked through the crowd.

"I have no idea," she answered with a shake of the head. "I'm not a scientist, I'm not good at anything, really."

"Really?"

"Well, nothing useful," she answered. "I just like singing."

"I want to be a singer!" Min Jee said excitedly.

"Well… Don't give up on that, all right?" the fairy said with a smile, and turned her head in the way of a frantic shouting.

"That's my mom!" Min Jee cried out happily. "T-Thank you, Miss Fairy!"

"Chunini's all right."

"Thank you, Miss Chu! I… I'll find some way to pay you back someday, I promise!" Min Jee shouted, and raced toward her mother, shouting happily for her. Chunini smiled bittersweetly at the reunion, and walked the opposite direction of them.

"Miss Chu, hehe… Cute kid," she muttered, then chuckled.



Lee snapped out of her daydreaming at the sound of a knocking on the door, "Lee, are you coming?!" Chunini called from the other side of the door.

"Y-Yes, Miss Chu!" Lee answered, lifting up her jacket and hurrying to the door to join Chunini.



"Mail delivery!" Kirere called out as she rushed out to Giroro, dripping wet. He looked up from the weapon he was polishing, then took the damp letters from her, looking at them curiously.

"….I fell into the bucket again," she admitted with an embarrassed giggle. "Mutsumi's show is on! Can I listen to it out here?"

"Well, I-" but she'd already pulled out the radio, and was tuning it to the station. Giroro sighed and quietly went back to his weapons, while Kirere took a seat and listened in intently.

"They're premiering Chunini-san's new song here!"

"I wouldn't do anything to encourage that demon's ego…" Giroro muttered.

"She's not really nice, but she's talented!" Kirere admitted, and leaned forward as the song started up. "Here it is!" she turned up the volume, and smiled as the song started up.

Giroro at first dismissed this, then slowed his weapon polishing as the lyrics became more and more horrifyingly familiar, "S-S-She… She didn't! She couldn't have!"

"…War ships?" Kirere frowned and jerked back at the bizarre lyrics. "…Well, at least the beat's good. Hey, where are you going?"

Giroro tossed aside his weapon and forcefully opened the glass door, then stomped in.

"Oh, Giroro Goucho!" Keroro's voice could be heard from inside the house. "My, the sun might have gotten to you! You're incredibly re-Gero? What-What are you doing?"

"If I hadn't have opened that window… This wouldn't have happened… If you hadn't made me…." what followed next were a series of crashes and yelps, and Kirere slid the glass door shut, and went back to the radio.

"And Chu-chan would like to thank both her manager, Lee-san, and Ghost Writer-san, the author," she heard Mutsumi announce over the radio after the song had ended.

"…Ghost Writer-san's got a little ways to go if they want to be serious…" Kirere muttered. "…Not too bad, though!"