Previously on 'The Mole'
"That's today's activity. You have to decide who to look for- and where to find her."
In the end, Natsumi won the majority vote, much to Garuru's chagrin. He decided to at the very least lead the investigation, coming along with (of course), Giroro and Fuyuki.
"These aren't coordinates, either," Fuyuki said, smiling down at Garuru. "Actually, it's a phone number. See how all the streets make up numbers?"
The rest of the eleven were on an extremely high cliff.
"So! Here's the next challenge. Each of you have to take a hang-glider and jump. All of you have to do this. Each person that jumps, $5,000 will be added. Each person that doesn't, $5,000 will be taken out. Got it?"
Johnny: Are YOU the Mole?
Kitty: $15,000
"Ahhh guyss...." Taruru whined. He shook his head. "I can't do this!!"
"I don't blame you!!" Keroro cried out. "Two guys got hospitalized!"
"I'll go next," Koyuki offered, raising a hand. "Easy peasy!" She picked up a hang-glider and tied it securely around herself. Without even bothering to tug it a few times to make sure it wouldn't come off when she fell down, she flung herself off the cliff. "Weee!!"
"That's another $5,000 for the kitty."
"Sweet! We're scoring!" Keroro cheered. He looked around the remaining seven. "So who's next?"
"I'll go, if you want me to, Uncle," Mois said, leaning down to face Keroro.
"I want you to."
"Okay!" She saluted and then ran to pull on a glider.
Kururu eyed her warily.
Kururu: KUUU-kukukuku. I don't care. I still say she's the Mole, ku.
The Angol didn't think twice about jumping off.
Tororo looked uncomfortable as it was evident that it was now someone else's turn. "Uh, send in the old man."
"Kuu-ku-kuku. Good idea. At least my weight won't pull me down, ku."
Tororo puffed out his cheeks and internally screamed at the insane yellow Keronian.
Tororo: I HOPE YOU DIE, OLD MAN.
"Why not?" Saburo asked, scribbling something on his sketchbook. "I'll go next."
Momoka sighed in the background, watching off with a distant look in her eye.
Momoka: I wish I would have gone with Fuyuki... BUT YOU GUYS WOULDN'T LET ME.
A large, stylized hang-glider popped out of the notebook that Saburo had drawn on, and attached it to himself.
"W-wait," Johnny stammered. "Is that safe-?"
"I trust this more than that," he replied, jerking his head toward the pile of equipment off to the side. "Well, here goes. Wish me luck!" He pounced off the ledge and smoothly sailed down.
"$5,000 more included into the Kitty." Johnny let out a breath after seeing Saburo land safely on the ground, and then turned to the rest of the group. "Five of you are left."
"Are you sure it's safe?" Momoka asked quietly.
"Uh..." the host forced a smile. "Yes?"
"Oh, well. I guess I'll go next, then." She looked around, as if trying to find someone, and then muttered hatefully, "Where's that stupid butler when you need him?!"
"He's not allowed in here," Johnny explained. "We're a bit, ah... secluded from everyone."
Momoka sighed again and shook her head, before she opened her eyes and cried out, "HERE GOES NOTHINGGGG!!" She darted off the ledge and floated down.
"$5,000 for the Kitty."
"Taruru, you go," Tororo ordered.
"I can't!!" the blue Keronian whined. "I don't want to end up like that one guy!!"
"Well, that's four of you now," Johnny observed. "Hmm... so right now you have a total of $35,000. That's about..." He typed something in his phone. "...An equivalent of 3,563,175 yen."
"HOT DANG." Keroro pointed at the cliff. "KURURU, GET YOUR LAZY BUTT OVER THERE!"
"Tch. Why don't you do it?"
"Does it look like I want to die?!"
"Does it look like I care?"
"You do know that if you guys don't jump, you'll end up losing $5,000 each," Johnny shrugged and folded his arms. "That's about... 20,000. So you'll end up with $15,000 in the Kitty. You pretty much would have lost well over half."
"...Well, you guys've lived your life," Tororo said flatly to others. "Go."
Kururu, who had found a comfortable seat on the ground, leaned slightly back and tucked his arms into each other. "Ku. I am notjumping."
"Are you serious?!" Keroro cried out to the scientist.
"As serious as a heart attack, ku."
"GEEZ. FINE. Give me that!" Tororo shakily pulled it on and strapped it against himself, arms visibly shaken as he tugged it several times to ensure that it was safe. He slowly went over to the edge of the cliff and looked down, taking deep breaths. He finally ended up pulling a hand over his eyes and then taking a step toward the air. He fell, screaming fearfully even though the glider easily caught the wind and sailed swiftly down.
"Well, that wasn't so bad," Keroro said with a sly grin, nodding his head. "Okay, who's next?"
"Not me," Taruru and Kururu commented.
"One of you guys are going to have to do it sometime!"
Taruru shook his head, and Kururu simply looked like he couldn't give a shoe.
"Why don't you go?" Taruru asked with a tiny smile. "I-I mean, aren't you like, the bravest of the five, besides Tamama?"
"I-I think I'll go after you two."
"Tch. I don't think so." Kururu's face darkened. "You're probably waiting for us to jump so that you don't have to, so in effect, we only end up losing $5,000 instead of the tallied $15,000 of us here. Ku-ku. I already told you, I'm not going to do it."
"A-and I don't want to either," Taruru announced, though visibly shaken by the idea of falling down the cliff.
Keroro: ...And I'm like... seriously?! Are you doing this on purpose? ...Oh Wait.... Frog...
"So is that it?" Johnny rose his eyebrows at the remaining three.
"No! We're going to jump!"
"Then do it," Kururu told him dully.
When Keroro didn't reply, Johnny looked at his watch. "Well, it's almost 1:00 pm. We're going to have to get out of here before then anyway. Is this your final decision?"
"....So I can't push-?"
"No."
Keroro looked at the Sergeant Major and Private, and hung his head low. "Looks like it, doesn't it?"
"$15,000 is extracted from the estimated total." Johnny gestured toward the three to follow him. "Let's meet down with the others."
Original Kitty: $40,000
Extracted ---- -$15,000
Total: $25,000
Johnny: Let's see how the other group is faring, alright?
"Hello?" Fuyuki spoke into the receiver of the pay phone, "Is anyone here?" After a few seconds, he hung up.
"Well?" Giroro asked as the boy awkwardly walked toward them. "What was it?"
"...I-I guess it wasn't important."
Garuru glared up at him. "...Please tell me you're joking."
"I-I'm not."
The brothers both shared an exasperated glance.
Giroro: I think he had led us off course on purpose.
Garuru: We lost precious time because of him.
"Read it again," Garuru said slowly, handing the map toward Fuyuki.
The boy smiled shyly at him, appreciating his patience, and picked it up close to his face.
Few more minutes ticked by as he concentrated. Fuyuki gazed up at the nearest street sign. "How about we ask for directions?"
"We could've done that before," Giroro growled.
"Y-yeah, you're right. Um..." Fuyuki wasted no time running up to a random woman, showing her the map.
Giroro: I was surprised I was actually starting to lose my patience with him. I mean, he doesn't exactly get the grades like Natsumi does, but he was able to handle cases impossible for detectives to solve before. Shouldn't this be a piece of cake for him?
"We're not going to be able to get to the Chief Medic on time," Garuru said under his breath.
"We kind of expected it, though."
The Lieutenant remained silent.
Garuru: I felt awful. I still feel awful, actually.
"Guys!" Fuyuki waved the two frogs over. "Okay, I know where we're at now. We're actually pretty close to Natsumi. Isn't that great?"
"We're running out of time," Giroro reminded Fuyuki. "Just tell us where she's at, please."
"R-right."
Natsumi Cam
Natsumi: Ughhh.... I'm starving... couldn't you guys have fed me before you kidnapped me or something?
Pururu Cam
Pururu: ....*stomach growls* ......... *sighs*
"What are we looking for?" Giroro inquired of Fuyuki.
"I think it's a bakery."
"You think or you know?"
"I-I... Um. I know. Trust me on this, guys."
Garuru rested his hand on his hip. "Well, then. We're waiting."
Fuyuki beamed. "Okay, so, the star indicates that they're right there, right?"
"The building doesn't have a name," Giroro said dryly.
Fuyuki pointed straight ahead, toward the shop that had a small sign that read, 'La Belle's'. "She's in there."
Giroro stared at it skeptically, walking up toward it and then peeking inside. "It looks empty." He glared up at Fuyuki. "Are you absolutely sure?"
"Yes."
"Bottom's up." Garuru pulled out a grenade, pulled off the plug, and then tossed it toward the door. It blew up seconds after it hit the ground; patrons screamed in horror at the explosion and ran away.
"....You did a good job diffusing the attention away from us," the red Keronian said dryly.
Garuru ignored him and walked inside the ruined building.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"
"Natsumi?!" Giroro ran and looked around. "Where are you?! We didn't hurt you, did we?!"
"I'm up here!!"
The three males resumed their attention towards the ceiling, where there was now an enormous hole that revealed Natsumi at the farthest edge away from the collision.
She looked understandably freaked out. "What the heck were you guys thinking?!"
"Sis, you have time later to yell at us," Fuyuki called to her. "We have to go right now."
Natsumi sighed in annoyance. "Fine." She took a deep breath, and then jumped from off the ceiling, catching herself- albeit clumsily- on top of Giroro. "Oops."
"Anything for you, my love," Giroro croaked.
Garuru: *facepalm*
"What time is it now?" Garuru asked Fuyuki.
The boy looked at his watch. "12:34."
"We have to evacuate immediately."
"At least we were able to save one," Fuyuki ventured shyly.
Garuru refused to answer him.
"They have half ten minutes before the deadline," Johnny announced.
"I don't have any doubt they'll make it!" Koyuki said to the group. "We don't have to worry."
"Hopefully it won't be another activity in vain," Tamama said grumpily, glaring at Taruru.
The blue Keronian, now out of harm's way, puckered his lips and held his arms behind his neck. "I'll do better next time."
"Do we get to kick each other out?" Momoka asked the host.
"No. It all depends on who scores the least on the test at the end of the day."
"Oh, geez, that's right," Tororo gazed suspiciously at Keroro, Taruru, and Kururu. "I almost forgot about that."
"Do you mind if I ask what kind of questions we're going to have to answer?" Keroro inquired.
"Ah... you'll see-"
"Made it!!!" Natsumi burst through the doors, Giroro, Garuru, and Fuyuki behind her, the boy in particular panting heavily as he struggled to breathe. "We made it!!"
"Good job," Johnny smiled. "With only five minutes to spare, too. Nicely done."
"Where is the Chief Medic?" Garuru asked him coldly.
"She'll be here in a few minutes. We're transferring her from her place as we speak."
"To where?"
"Relax, relax. She's coming over here."
His muscles loosened, though he still looked very visibly annoyed.
"Are we done for the day, now?" Tamama asked tiredly.
Johnny didn't need to hesitate. "We just started! Of course we aren't done for the day!"
The group groaned.
"Alright, alright. Just one more activity and then I'll send you guys off to your rooms, alright?"
"Hey, I have another question."
Johnny looked down at Kururu, who folded his arms and frowned.
"How are we supposed to keep track of who is and isn't the Mole, ku? Weren't we supposed to receive notebooks or something?"
The young man froze up for a moment upon realizing his apparent error. He laughed weakly. "Y-yeah, about that.... Um... Aw, geez." He stalked off somewhere, leaving the players gazing at each other, confused. He returned with a big cardboard box. "Everyone grab a book."
Keroro peered inside it, and then beamed as he pulled out a notebook with a giant "#1" printed on it. "'Cuz I'm numbuh one!"
"What are they?" Mois plucked a notebook that read "#2".
"Don't forget to get a pencil," Johnny instructed the group as they walked over to help themselves to a book. "I was supposed to give this to you earlier, but I, um. Forgot."
"You're the greatest," Tamama said dryly, grabbing a notebook with the #3.
"Give me a break. This is my first time, alright?"
"I'll take one for Dororo, too," Koyuki said sweetly, picking up a #4 for him and a #5 for herself.
Garuru pulled three out. "I may as well get one for the Lance Corporal and Chief Medic," he mumbled. The #6 was for himself; #7 was Pururu's and #8 was Zoruru's.
Taruru grabbed a #9, and Tororo picked up #10.
"I already have a book myself," Saburo assured the host. "I think I'll be fine without a notebook."
"No, you need one," Johnny said with an almost apologetic smile. "It's kind of important to the whole game."
Saburo shrugged and pulled two out; he kept #12 and tossed #11 to Kururu. "There you go."
The scientist caught it. "Thank you."
"No prob."
Fuyuki picked up two and walked over to Momoka, who blushed in appreciation. "Which one do you want? #13 or #14?"
"Um... #14," the girl said, taking it. "Th-thank you."
"It's nothing," Fuyuki smiled.
"There's two left," Giroro said, picking up the remainders of the books: #15 and #16. He stared at them for a moment before holding them out to Natsumi. "Any one in particular that you want?"
"I don't think it really matters, Giroro," Natsumi rolled her eyes and randomly chose #16.
"I'll let you guys chill for a bit before we head on over to the next game," Johnny told them, picking up the empty box and resting it on his shoulder. "I'll come back in a bit."
Keroro wrote something down on his notepad, glancing at Kururu tensely.
Keroro: Kururu's the Mole. I know it! There was a reason why he didn't jump, and I doubt it was because he was afraid of falling...
Johnny Why didn't you jump?
Keroro: PFFFT. I may be a coward but I'm not stupid! .....Wait. Wait! I SAID THAT WRONG-
Kururu: Tch. I just didn't feel like it. Ku-kukuku. I still say it's Mois; playing the game right so that no one suspects her.
Taruru: Ha... yeah, that was embarrassing. I'm kinda afraid of heights... I mean if it was for fun, why not! But that... was too high. I'LL DO BETTER NEXT TIME, THOUGH!! *shuffles around in his seat and pulls something out of nowhere* Hey, want a donut? I kind of stole it from Tororo's secret stash...
"Okay, we're back," Dororo said, a bandage coiled around his head as he entered the room. Zoruru followed after him soberly, holding up an icepack around his eye.
The two fall off a cliff and return almost unscathed.
Anime logic, people.
"Hi, D!" Koyuki was the first to greet him, handing him his #5 notebook. "Got this for you."
"Ms. Koyuki. Hello." Dororo gazed quizzically at it as he took it. "What is this?"
"It's to help you find out who the Mole is!" Koyuki said sweetly.
"Ah, I see."
"Where's mine?" Zoruru perked a brow.
"I have it here," Garuru replied, walking up to him. "How are you feeling?"
Zoruru grunted. "Better than most days." He gazed down at his #8 notebook and flipped it open. He frowned as his eye flitted down to something on the first page.
"....Lance Corporal?"
The cyborg jumped. He closed it immediately. "Yes, Lieutenant?"
"Is something the matter?"
Zoruru took a moment to respond, formulating his words carefully. "...No. I can assure you that there is nothing you should be concerned about."
"Very well, then," Garuru said, though he couldn't help but furrow his brow in curiosity. He turned his attention to his own book and began flipping it, but its pages were empty- there was nothing of interest. He then went to Pururu's and looked through it, with similar results.
With the somewhat uncomfortable look as he watched the Lieutenant, Zoruru dismissed himself and left quickly.
Garuru: I wish it had occurred to me to look at them before I had given it to the Lance Corporal.
Zoruru: Yes, there was a message in there. It said, 'To #8'-which of course I had assumed was myself- 'you have the opportunity to earn $15,000 for the Kitty and a possible exemption. Tell no one and meet the host discreetly'.
Zoruru stared at the host, baffled. "...You want me to what?"
"It's worth an exemption though, isn't it?" Johnny said with a small grin. "You don't have to do it, but if you don't, you get nothing. It might earned what Keroro, Taruru and Kururu lost, right?"
The cyborg's shoulders fell.
Zoruru: ...Well.... no one would know if I didn't do it, right?
"I'm here..."
"Chief Medic." Garuru saluted her. "I apologize we weren't able to rescue you."
"E-err... it's fine," Pururu said with a weak smile. She saluted him back. "You did your best. I'm just glad to be back with you all."
Pururu: Alright, yes, I admit it... I was a little upset that they didn't come and get me, but I suppose that's just how the game goes, right?
"You guys done?" Johnny reentered the room, looking over the group curiously. He smiled as some of them mumbled reluctantly, or stood silent, or glared at them, and then continued, "Great! We're going to divide up again into... let's say... groups of eight. So two groups. Let's mix this up a little too, shall we? If you have an even number on your notebook, you're in one group. If you have an odd number, you're in another. Split up now."
Keroro, Dororo, Kururu, Tamama, Taruru, Pururu, Giroro, and Fuyuki made up one group.
Garuru, Natsumi, Zoruru, Tororo, Saburo, Koyuki, Momoka, and Mois made up the second one.
Needless to say, some of them weren't as enthusiastic to be separated from one another.
"WHAT. WHY DOES SHE GET TO GO WITH THEM?!" Giroro fumed.
"Yayy! We get to work together, Natsumi!" Koyuki cheered.
"Y-yeah," the pink haired girl said with a small nod, smiling shyly to Saburo.
"Good luck," Saburo smirked to his friend.
"Ku. I should be telling that to you."
Tamama: No disrespect to Mr Sergeant.... but why did we end up with the three that botched up our chances of winning everything in the first challenge?! Is that a good idea??
Momoka: Why was I separated from Fuyuki again? That's not fair...
Giroro: And of course I'm stuck with Fuyuki... I'm keeping an eye on him...
"First group, and I mean you-" The host nodded at the players in "Keroro's" group. "Look at this second group and decide four 'can't trust anyone' and four who 'trust blindly'."
"Garuru can't trust anyone, I know that for sure," Giroro said gruffly. "So he's in that category."
"Natsumi too," Fuyuki added.
"No offense, Mois, but I'm going to have to say you're in the 'Trust Blindly' group," Keroro said after much thought.
"It's okay, Uncle," the girl beamed at him.
"I will have to say the same for you, Ms. Koyuki," Dororo told the ninja apologetically. "Though it's a commendable trait, I assure you."
Koyuki gazed at him cheerfully. "Thanks, D!"
"Saburo, ku," Kururu considered this. "...'Trust Blindly'."
"Hey!" Saburo laughed. "Alright, alright."
"Zoruru's definitely a 'Trust No One'," Taruru piped.
"So is Tororo," Pururu said. "A 'Trust No One', I mean."
"And what about me?" Momoka blinked at the others.
"It looks like you're a 'Trust Blindly' too," Fuyuki smiled at her regretfully. "But, uh, it's okay, alright?"
"It's not a bad thing!" Koyuki assured the younger girl. "Trust Blindly's must stick together!"
"So are you guys done?" Johnny asked after looking them over. "Alrighty. You guys'll be known as the 'Trust Group'. Please come with me." He told the other team, "Please stay here."
"Lance Corporal?"
Zoruru tensed slightly as the Lieutenant approached him.
"Yes, sir?"
"May I ask why you seem so concerned?"
"Do I look concerned? I don't think I am..."
Garuru opened his mouth to respond but was cut short when Johnny announced, "Alrighty then! Here is the next challenge."
The group stood over a large hedge maze with four different entrances. Peeking inside, the Trust Group could easily see that there were obstacles scattered down, although each of them couldn't help but note how simple it all looked. If anything, it resembled more like an expanded play place for a very spoiled toddler.
"You guys have to race down through this maze before the time limit is up," Johnny told them. "You have forty-five minutes."
Tororo frowned as he blinked at the obstacle course. "...That's it?"
"Yup."
"....Do you want us to start now?" Natsumi asked slowly.
"It's super easy!" Koyuki chimed. "We'll get through this, no sweat!"
"Ah, there's a catch."
"Here we go," Zoruru muttered.
"You have to follow the rules," Johnny said with a grin. "First of all, you guys each need to pair yourselves with one another- a 'Can't Trust Anyone' with a 'Trust Blindly'."
"...Son of a frog."
"And as for the 'Can't Trust Anyone'," the host continued, "they have to be blindfolded. You cannot touch your blindfold inside the maze, nor is it allowed to fall off. Secondly, the 'Trust Blindly' has to be tied up to their partner, and they have to tell them where to go. They have to be behind 'Can't Trust Anyone'. They can't move in front. Violation of these rules will be an extraction of $2,000 each one broken." He walked toward the first entrance and looked through it. "To each pair of you that ends up at the finish line before the timer goes off will earn $20,000 into the Kitty. So you guys could win a total of $80,000 today."
Saburo whistled, impressed.
"...Well," Natsumi said slowly. "There goes hoping it would be easier than we thought it would."
"It's not that hard," Johnny assured her.
"Oh? So you've tried it before."
"....No."
She rolled her eyes.
"Here, uh, are your blindfolds," he said quickly, handing one to Garuru, Tororo, Zoruru, and Natsumi. "Make sure they're nice and secure, okay?"
"Hey, Koyuki, can you help me?" Natsumi asked the other girl.
"Sure," she hopped over and tied it over her eyes.
Momoka kneeled down before Tororo, who seemed as if he were struggling with the cloth. "Do you need help?"
"Huh? Oh, sure," he said dismissively.
"Let me get that for you," Saburo volunteered to Zoruru, and helped him wrap it around his head.
Mois gently took the blindfold from Garuru. "I got it. Turn around, please."
"It looks like each of you found your partners," Johnny noted. He tossed the ropes over to the humans and human-lookalike. "Tie them around your ankles, please."
"Don't screw this up for me," Tororo warned Momoka.
"I-I'll try not to," Momoka replied softly.
"Players, take a spot to one of the entrances," Johnny instructed them when they finished that simple action.
"You couldn't have told us this before we were blindfolded?" Garuru asked curtly, his hands held out as he took a few steps forward.
"Nah." Johnny barely dodged a lazer beam. "Hey!! No shooting the host!!"
"C'mon, Garuru sir," Mois said politely. "Keep walking that way. Yeah! See? You got it."
"Yup, you're almost there," Saburo told Zoruru. "Uh, two more steps. There you go. Nice job."
"Wrong way, w-wrong way," Momoka continued quietly.
"I can't hear you!" Tororo whined. "Speak louder!"
"Wrong way."
"Which way?"
"U-uh... forward. Okay, stop!"
"Well, we don't really have to go anywhere since we're already here," Koyuki said to Natsumi brightly. "We got this!"
"Well, I sure hope so," Natsumi muttered.
"On your mark...."
The four teams of two remained quiet.
"Get set..."
The blindfolded players uncomfortably shifted their feet.
"....Go!"
"Hey, guys," Johnny waved to the remaining group.
They players were listless.
"'bout time you got here," Tamama told him impatiently.
"Sorry. Just taking care of the other team," he replied, pointing over his own shoulder. "Anyway, you guys are going to have another challenge- a different one."
"Sounds... fun," Pururu said, struggling to sustain positivity. She smiled sweetly toward her group. "We can do this."
Keroro: We might not have had like, the BEST players on our group, but I was glad Pururu was with us.
The host started plopping eight circles with the designated numbers onto the floor, all close to one another. The players watched him carefully, before looking at each other in confusion, unsure what to think of this.
"So... what do we do?" Fuyuki asked Johnny.
The host replied by tossing him an eight-sided dice. Fuyuki caught it and stared at it warily.
"Throw it at the ground," Johnny gestured toward the floor.
The boy simply shrugged and did so. It spun for a moment, and then landed on '5'.
"Go to the circle that says '5'," Johnny said. He picked up the dice and gave it to Pururu. "You do the same."
"But if I land on '5'?" Pururu rolled it in her hand.
"Then you toss it again until you get a different number. Continue this until all of you are on a circle." He started walking out the door. "I'll be right back."
Pururu tossed it at the ground and then bent down to read it. "3." She handed it to Keroro and walked over to her spot on the floor.
"Papa needs a good number!" Keroro muttered to himself. After a tossing it and waiting a second to let it stop from jumping around, he kneeled to see what was given. "Okay, so I got an 8. Sweet! Highest number!" He gave it to Tamama. "There you go."
"Give me a 7!" Tamama's dice landed on a 6. "Eh, close enough."
Giroro was next; he got a 4. "Wonder what it means to be a 4?" he murmured, giving the dice to Kururu.
Kururu's dice plopped onto a 3. He rolled it again. It landed on a 5. "Tch. Well, I guess this was bound to happen." He rolled again, and then successfully landed on a 2. He shrugged and gave it to Taruru.
Taruru flung it dramatically across the room.
"...Why'd you do that, Taruru?" Pururu sighed.
"I dunno." Taruru grinned and ran over to read it. He ended up having to throw it again in a similar matter after seeing it was a 6, and repeating the action until it ended up as a 7. "Okay, okay, so I'm a 7. Alright!"
"So that leaves me as a 1?" Dororo asked quietly.
"Oh... yeah," Keroro said, watching the blue Keronian cheerily go over to his spot.
Keroro: I kind of forgot he was with us for a moment...
Johnny came back with another big box and large pitcher of ice cold milk.
"What's that?" Taruru asked.
"Your next challenge." Johnny looked over the group and then began digging in his box, scooping several small boxes out. Each box had the designated number on it, and each one was passed over to the player that belonged to that number. He went back and forth until each one had their own box.
"Can we open this yet?" Taruru began to peek.
"Sure."
"......What are these?"
"Peppers," Johnny said cheerfully. "Welcome to your next challenge!!"
Pururu closed it, her face turning pale. "We... we're not going to have to eat them, are we...?"
***
Pururu: I was hungry, but I wasn't that hungry!
***
"Yup." Johnny reached into his box and revealed eight plastic cups.
"So that's what the milk is for," Fuyuki observed.
"What was the point of doing the whole thing with the dice?" Giroro perked a brow.
"Well... the number you're standing on is important." Johnny placed the cups next to the pitcher. "These peppers range from hot toreally hot. The higher your number, the hotter your pepper is."
The others pitied Keroro and Taruru.
".....W-we have to eat them now?" Keroro croaked weakly. "I-is that the challenge?"
"Um, not quite," Johnny took out what seemed to be his last item from the box: an orange notebook. He opened it up to a specific page and then read it for a moment. "We're going to play a trivia game. If you answer wrong, you eat your pepper. Each pepper eaten is $1o,000 into the kitty. After you decide to eat your pepper, you must bite it up into the middle, chew it, and then open your mouth to show all of us."
"W-we can't just swallow the pepper?" Fuyuki asked incredulously.
"Nope. You have to chew it nice and slow."
"Then we could... d-drink the milk?" Keroro pointed at the pitcher.
"Sure!" Johnny responded cheerily. "$10,000 out of the Kitty for every cup you decide to drink."
"I think I'm going to be sick," Pururu said weakly.
Pururu: Goodness, I can't stand hot food...
"And if we answer the question right?" Kururu pressed, not looking too concerned with it.
"You guys could either eat it, or pass it to the person next to you." Johnny smiled at them. "Ready to begin?"
![Eve [My Style]](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/f6a2249d-6feb-42fa-9f8c-ca27024a1a33/dch7lde-2a06dbe3-2955-4dc3-89e0-96d94b661928.png/v1/crop/w_92,h_92,x_0,y_7,scl_0.17358490566038,q_70,strp/eve__my_style__by_austinschaub_dch7lde-92s.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9NzAyIiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvZjZhMjI0OWQtNmZlYi00MmZhLTlmOGMtY2EyNzAyNGExYTMzXC9kY2g3bGRlLTJhMDZkYmUzLTI5NTUtNGRjMy04OWUwLTk2ZDk0YjY2MTkyOC5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9NTMwIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmltYWdlLm9wZXJhdGlvbnMiXX0.tTPXDbq1d-fLl3jqhKe3JmYVPoSkTNI1pgs2wZ6el2k)
