let the monster rise

didn't i say the world was cruel, didn't i?

Night skies began to darken as time passed. Gyororo had slowed to a walk by now, still panting after hours of jogging and running. He had no idea where he was- it smelled somewhat musty and muddy, and there was lots of foliage. It was a very similar feeling to walking through a forest. 

Peering around, he could spot creatures twitching in the underbrush, and what seemed like a faint light up ahead. He treaded towards its glow in desperation but shortly stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes began to feel heavy, and his feet felt as if they were about to bleed. He curled up in a pile of spiny leaves and grass and tried his best to rest his aching body in the cold of the night. 

The loud sounds of laughter awoke the young boy. He rubbed his eyes before leaping up and stealthily scaling a tree to watch the activity from above. As he looked down, he noticed a group of Keronians similar in age to him. There seemed to be five of them walking through the forest leisurely. He anxiously tucked his ears and tail behind him before climbing down slightly to eavesdrop on them. 

“Keroro, you look hurt…did you fall over?” A small pink tadpole questioned in concern. 

“Nah! Its no big deal, I’m pretty tough” The green one scoffed, puffing out his chest.

As he crept down closer, he saw one of the tadpole’s gazes meet his. He was a small, light blue tadpole who seemed to be wearing a medical mask similar to the ones the surgeons had had on.

“A-aa! Someone’s watching u-us!” He suddenly yelled, ducking behind a crimson tadpole who had been trailing behind the group. The boy tensed up and glared over in Gyororo’s direction. “Zeroro, run! I’ll handle ‘em…”

Zeroro…? He thought briefly, before noticing the boy running straight for him. He quickly scrambled back up the tree and clung to the highest branch he could. The others had spotted him by now, too, and looked pale with fright. 

Eventually, the rough looking tadpole had scaled halfway up the tree and was nearing the top with every second. He couldn’t be caught like this, alone and scared in a forest…there was nothing he could do, though. 

He felt a sharp jab in his back and instantly snapped out of his stressed mindset. Whirling around, he hissed and unfurled his ears and tail, revealing his fearsome, blood-red eyes. The tadpole yelped at this and fell back, nearly losing his balance on the branch. He took this chance to rush down to the base of the tree, but was merely greeted by the three tadpoles looking at him menacingly.

“Creep! Get out!” The pink frog yelled, her fear evident in her wide eyes.

The words stabbed him in the chest like a spear. A creep…I’m not even a chance to make a friend to them?

He began to turn around to flee, but he caught the concerned glance of one of the tadpoles and quickly pivoted back to face them. 

“U-uh…yeah! Please don’t spy on our friends!” He blurted out in embarrassment as he noticed the seven-eyed tadpole staring intently at him.

He simply nodded and dashed back out far into the growth. Before, he had felt like curling up inside a tree and crying, but that feeling was much less relevant now. He had sensed something special in that one tadpole. His eyes almost seemed to glow, and his body was oddly split between two shades of purple and green. He’d never heard of any Keronian looking quite like that…

As he began to construct a shack for shelter, he continued to think about the tadpole. None of the others had looked quite like him, and he didn’t even think to talk until Gyororo had begun to leave. Maybe he was just shy? He pondered.

The tadpole curled up once again in a pile of leaves and bark and tried his best to fall asleep, but his thoughts continued to keep him wide awake. Who was that tadpole…and what did he want?