As the evening drew on and night crept forth, most everyone had eaten and fallen asleep around the dying fire. Giroro was the only one awake. He had been staring at the stars for many long moments. Natsumi lay curled around him with one arm under her head and the other just under her cheek.

It does seem like some odd hallucination... Giroro pondered what Natsumi had said about it all seeming surreal. Would it really be so easy for her to look at me like she does now? The kisses she leaves on my cheek or the way she holds me in her arms? It always seemed like she wouldn't ever treat me like that before but now... I love her so much. I don't want anything to warp her feelings and I won't stand for it even though it feels good. Maybe telling her in this cave was a bad idea after all. He clutched his belt buckle and looked to Natsumi. She was so peaceful and a faint smile slipped over her lips. A good dream danced in her head.

Giroro grinned with a quiet chuckle. Even if it all was in his head and Natsumi never felt what she did now, Giroro was happy. He decided he could let himself enjoy it at least for the night. Before the morning came and had a chance to wash all of it away, Giroro collapsed to the soft ground. He watched Natsumi mumble something incoherent as his eyelids slowly closed and he felt the weight of sleep lead him from the cave.

When the morning sun shined through his eyes, Giroro awoke. He glanced around to see that he was the last by the dead fire pit. Natsumi walked over to him and handed him a purified water can. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, it was fine." Giroro eagerly poured water down his dried throat. "Sorry I slept in."

"Don't worry about it. I have a feeling you were up late thinking again." Natsumi giggled. Giroro blushed lightly. She had guessed right. "We're all working to build individual tents for everyone. I'm helping Saburo with his."

"I'll help too." Giroro leapt from the ground and wiped the dirt from himself. As they started walking over, Giroro's attention was caught by Keroro pretending to swim on the ground. "What's up with him?"

"I don't know. Keroro and Tamama have been playing all morning." Natsumi replied. Just then Tamama popped out of a bush.

"Quick men! We must swim home!" Keroro shouted as he desperately ran his arms through the grass but didn't move.

"Sir! There are keronian eating sea cucumber in the water! Get in the ship!" Tamama screamed as he swung a stick from the bush as if to fight off other creatures.

"Ok, not getting in the middle of that right now." Giroro huffed as he followed Natsumi.

"That's pretty much what I said." Natsumi chuckled. The two worked with Saburo to build tents with rocks and leaves.

Down the other path Koyuki had finally met up with her partner, Dororo. He sat knelt to the floor with his back to her as she approached. The light of her lantern slowly lit the surrounding rock walls and soon two carved figures came into view.

One of a peaceful looking young man and the other, Koyuki found difficult to look at, a young woman crying out in pain and fear. The stone itself looked as if it were quaking and chipping from her intense emotions.

"Can you hear it?" Dororo whispered as he barely glanced over his shoulder.

Koyuki cautiously stepped beside her partner and knelt down. "Hear what?"

"Her story." Dororo answered. He looked up at the stone girl. "When I found these I felt… uneasy. In the silence I could hear her voice. She's still here telling of her regrets and what happened to her. Listen."

Koyuki had to try hard to calm her heart and focus. The air around them felt thick and had a horrid scent growing stronger as the minutes went by. After many soft breaths she started hearing whispered cries.

"It's all my fault… I… I couldn't just… open myself up, couldn't be honest. I had to fight it so hard. Why? WHY?!" The voice sobbed with strained breaths. Koyuki could imagine her pained face stained with tears. "He just said it was a test of true love, he never said anything about what would happen if we… if..."

"From what I caught so far, they were a couple. They came into the cave for a romantic thrill, test of their love after they heard rumors from their friends." Dororo explained. "He loved her completely and had every confidence it would just be a good night but… they ran into something else here. An old creature that sensed she wasn't as truthful in her feelings as her companion was. It trapped and chased them through the cave's tunnels. It eventually killed them. She doesn't really say how but every time she goes over it sounds like shes reliving it, all the pain and screaming."

"This is no test for love… This place is where love becomes a buffet for that monster!" The woman's voice cried out.

"Love… becomes the buffet?" Koyuki asked puzzling over the words.

"I think the creature she talks about feeds off of the energy love creates. Love is always described as something that changes the body and soul by an indescribable scale." Dororo spoke his thoughts. "Maybe it's not so much the poetic strength everyone describes love gives but maybe whatever lives in this unnatural cave has a taste for the physical change it gives the body. Increased heart rate, the signals in your brain race when you feel love. It calms and motivates you, people have even been known to sacrifice their own lives just for the slightest notion of being loved."

"That might be true, but think." Koyuki looked to her knees as her fists tightened. "If people come to this cave for a love story, they almost always come with the person they love. That's two for one for whatever lives here whether it kills people that are in love or not."

"We have to get back to the others. We aren't necessarily here for a love test but I'm sure it won't turn down the feast of such a large group investigating strange rumors." Dororo stood strong to his feet. Koyuki eagerly ran back the way she came, leading the way to their friends. Praying that nothing had found them yet.

So I wrote the first half of this chap literally too long ago... like it was just after the last update I started this one but just did the second half today... hope you enjoyed