Jun Izanama woke up as she did every morning: happy, and ready for a fresh, new day. To others who met her, perhaps she might've been a bit naive, expecting every day to be a good one. It was her own personal way of life, though. "It may be a bad day in the end," she had told her best friend, "but you wouldn't know it when you woke up, so just go at every day with a smile!" She had been like this for most of her life, her mother told others. She was always the one looking forward to tomorrow, no matter what came her way. It was a trait to be proud of, her mother told her.
Today was her first day of her 2nd year at Otonashi's prestigious Saint Golden Faith Academy. She was excited, and ready to get back to her position as the president of the Cooking Club. They had done summer activites, of course, but the school year was more busy and full of fun things to do with the club. Saint Golden Faith Academy was a private school that served both Junior High and High School. They separated them into two buildings, connected by a single long, large glass hallway that the students of all grades loved to hang out in. Saint Golden, as the students called it, only took in the best of the best. Jun had only gotten in on a scholarship for her cooking abilities, and she had struggled to keep her place at the distinguished school, but she wasn't going to lose because of a bad grade or two. She had earned her way in, and she was determined to stay there, no matter how hard she had to work.
"Mama, I'm going now. Thank you for breakfast!" she said excitedly, slipping on her shoes. Jun's mom clamored out a 'wait!' before passing her a lunchbox. Jun took it with a smile as her mom gave her a kiss on the forehead. Jun grinned happily, and waved at the other three parents sitting behind her mom at their coffee table. They waved back, each with small smiles. Jun lived in a communal home, with two other families other than her own. Jun's mom was a single mother, and barely made enough to support them. If it wasn't for her scholarship, Jun would be in a public school, like she had for her elementary years. Her best friend Ume, who lived with her dad in Jun's house as well, had gotten in on an academic scholarship. She was a math whiz.
"Cooking club president… Oh boy, I can't wait!" she practically could've jumped for joy. She tightened her grip on her school bag and began her walk to the school. It was a nice, familiar stretch of roads with shady trees lining the way. She was on time enough to walk, if not a little early, so that she could make a good impression on her first day back. Not ten minutes into her walk, however, she spotted a bird flying very low and very fast. It zoomed by her in a blur of brown and tan and pink, and after that came another blur of black and deep, intimidating red. She froze, thinking that perhaps it was a dangerous wild animal.
"Aaaaah! Stay away-jubi!" She heard a tiny voice cry out as the blurs shot past again. Jun yelped as she felt a large hand on her shoulder. She turned, seeing a tall man with long, black hair tied up in a loose ponytail that hung over his shoulder. His bangs covered one of his eyes, the visible one a burning red. He wore a suit with a red tie the same color as his eye. His grin was large and shark toothed, and Jun became fearful.
"Yo, little girlie… You seen a brown owl? He's uh… My pet." The man's voice was sinister, and Jun knew that whatever his intentions were, they weren't good. She shook her head, stepping away from the tall man.
"N-No sir! No owls here! I did see a brown bird fly that way, though, maybe that's what you're looking for…?" she pointed in the opposite direction she'd seen the bird fly. She wasn't just going to let some creep hurt an innocent bird.
"Oh…? This way? Hehe… Thanks girlie… Since you were a good little kid, I'll let you live this time…" He snickered before disappearing. Jun sighed in relief. That creepy man was gone… thank god.
"... Live?" She realized with growing horror, happening to glance at the large clock in the middle of the square where she had been standing. It was way later than she needed to be. "Aahh! I don't have time for this, I'll be late!"
Jun got to class just in the nick of time. Normally, she was a very dutiful student, so it was her first experience cutting it that close. Ume, her best friend, looked at her worriedly, after having heard of the morning's events. Living together and having grown up together, they were very close and Ume especially worried about a lot of things.
Ume Yoshiko was an extremely tall girl with red, thick rectangular glasses framing her blue eyes. Her hair was black and wavy, just touching her thighs, with two small braids in front. She was quite the contrast to Jun, who was short, and very chubby. Jun's hair was short and brown, with two buns at the top. Her eyes were a soft mint green. They both wore the same blue and white uniform, but Ume's socks were thigh high and dark gray while Jun wore white leg warmers.
"Are you sure you're alright? This… man, he didn't hurt you or anything, did he?" Ume questioned, looking over her and babying her. Jun patted her hand, shaking her head.
"I'm fine, I promise! Not a scratch on me!" she grinned, trying to reassure her friend. It seemed only to partially work. Ume sighed reluctantly, clearly still nervous about Jun. As she opened her mouth to say something, however, the teacher stepped inside the room.
"Alright! Class, please take your seats!" she said with a smile. The class did as they were told, waiting for her to continue. "We had a transfer student come to our school this year, and she's been placed in our homeroom! How exciting! Miss Susume, if you would?"
A girl entered the room. She was only a tiny bit taller than Jun, and she walked with small, shy movements. Her hair was a smooth red, reaching her chin and flipping outwards. She had brown eyes and circular, wire glasses with a lot of freckles. Jun's eyes sparkled at the thought of a new friend, and a possible new club member. Because of Saint Golden's pickiness, it was rare that people got in and so it caused their clubs to be fairly tiny.
"H-Hello…" she started slowly after writing her name on the board. "My name is Emika Susume… I came here from a small seaside city named Yuunagi. My hobbies are collecting small trinkets, especially charms, and I like… making pastries…"
"Nice to meet you, Emika!" the class welcomed her openly and warmly. She seemed both relieved and happy about this fact, giving a tiny smile. Jun, despite the freaky event that had taken place earlier, she was already back to her excitable and happy self due to Emika's arrival.
"You can sit in the front right here, next to Jun. Ah, actually Miss Izanama, would you mind showing Emika around after school? I'm sure she'd appreciate the company." the teacher insisted. Jun nodded happily, always ready to help.
"Of course, Mrs. Hinamori! Jun Izanama is now on the case!" she grinned, saluting. "Nice to meetcha, Emika. I hope we can be friends, and since you like making pastries, you're welcome to join the Culinary Club. I'm the president!"
"Well, Jun, why don't we save that for later, since we've got formalities out of the way. We do have lessons after all. And without further ado, let our class officially begin!" the teacher seemed ready to begin.
It was about 30 minutes into the lesson when Jun broke her pencil. As she reached into her bag to grab her pencil sharpener, she felt something warm and soft brush up against her fingertips. Her eyes widened and she stared at it.
"Ahh, that tickles-jubi!" something from inside her bag giggled. Jun froze and practically turned red from embarrassment. The entire class was looking at her, and even the teacher looked a bit surprised at her.
"Miss Izanama? Is there… something the matter?" she asked with a concerned tone. Snapping up her bookbag, Jun smiled sheepishly. She was trying to cover up… whatever the heck had made that noise. She almost didn't want to wait to look.
"Y-Y-Yes, Mrs. Hinamori!" she assured in a nervous tone. The teacher looked at her for a few seconds before shaking her head and continuing. Jun desperately wanted to figure out what the thing in her bag was, but for now, it would simply have to wait.
Lunchtime rolled around, and Jun was still intently focused on her bag. She took it straight to her secret eating place: a small gazebo, outside of the glass hallway that connected the two campuses. The gazebo itself was covered entirely in vines and overgrowth, the only opening into it having been cut by Jun herself. On top of being covered in foliage, it was also hidden behind a row of bushes and stray trees. The only reason she had found it in the first place was because she had gotten lost on her way to the school on first day last year. It was a complete accident, as she was never really any good with finding her way places, and she loved 'taking shortcuts'... which never really worked out well.
She tentatively opened her bag, preparing for the worst. She shrieked, more out of surprise than fear, as a bird came flying out. It perched itself on the table in the middle of the gazebo, ruffling its feathers. It was brown, with a tan belly, chest, and claws. In the middle of its chest was a large, sparkling, heart-shaped gem swirling with a rainbow of colors. It stood on fluffy, clawed legs and used its wings as if they were arms. Eyes drifting to the strange bird's face, Jun saw that it was actually an owl. It had a thin, curved, pointy beak. It also had rings around its eyes, and small tufts of feathers on its head that looked almost like ears, and a collar around his neck made of white lace.
"Ahh, thank goodness! It was so stuffy in there-jubi!" it spoke, seemingly relieved that it was outside of Jun's schoolbag after hours and hours in there all day. Well, to be fair, Jun would be relieved too. But right now, she was more frozen in shock at the talking bird standing in front of her. It looked at her for a second before she spoke.
"You're… Talking. You're a talking bird. Were you… um… trained? Like a parrot? Or am I hallucinating? How is this possible?" She muttered, looking away for a moment. She felt as if she was going crazy. A talking owl with a jewel on its chest? She must have ate something bad that morning. She'd have to tell her mom to check the expiration dates on her food more often…
"Oh! You're the girl that pointed me away from Dusk-jubi! I really thank you for helping me. I'm sorry, but I had to hide in your bag to hide from him-jubi. I'm sure you understand that he's bad, after all, you did point him away-jubi." he said with a smile. Jun looked at the owl again. She shook her head quickly, and slammed her hands against her cheeks. Nope, definitely not hallucinating… She was so confused she thought her head might spin.
"You're… Welcome, I guess, but… You're a talking owl…" she replied gravely. She had simply assumed Dusk was the name of the creepy man she had encountered that morning. The owl turned his head to the side, then back to normal, thinking for a second.
"Huh? An owl? No, I'm a fairy-jubi." he stated this so nonchalantly it almost convinced Jun right there. "My name is Jubilee-jubi. I'm a royal advisor to the Queen of the Everlast Kingdom-jubi…" he trailed off, blushing sheepishly as his stomach growled. Jun sighed.
"This is… weird… But I can't ignore somebody who's hungry, even if he is a… fairy. I'll believe you for now. We can share my lunch if you want, Jubilee…" she offered, pulling it from her bag. She gave a tentative smile, hoping he would accept and that she could become… less confused by the end of this meeting.
"R-Really, you mean it-jubi?! Oh, thank you! I was so lucky to meet such a wonderful human-jubi!" he exclaimed. He dug in as soon as Jun divided it, and he seemed happy about it. Jun supposed it was okay. After all, owl/fairy or not, anybody smiling that genuinely couldn't be that bad. Whatever situation she had gotten herself into now, she had already decided to face it with a smile like she did with all of her problems.
"So… You said you were an advisor to a Queen? That's really cool. You must be pretty important… Is she a fairy too?" she asked as they ate, trying to make small talk. Jubilee dabbed at the corners of his mouth carefully with the piece of napkin she'd given him. When he was done he looked up at her with a puffed up chest.
"Y-Yes, well, I suppose I am rather important-jubi…" he giggled for a second. "Really, though, everybody in our kingdom is just as important as the next-jubi. Status isn't a problem, it's simply that the Queen seems to value my insight-jubi. And yes, to answer your second question, she is a fairy, but she prefers looking like a human-jubi. Every fairy can switch between this sort of appearance and a human one, it's simply a matter of what they like-jubi." he explained slowly. It was a lot to take in at once. After a moment of consideration, Jun nodded.
"I see. That's interesting. And what about this 'Everlast Kingdom', what's it like?" she asked again. She had become immensely interested in the owl fairy's story. With each detail coming out so naturally, she felt as if she had known him forever and that she could believe in every word he said.
"It's my homeland-jubi! It's a grand, floating city in a dimension parallel to this one-jubi. It's all complicated science-y stuff that I don't understand too well, so to put it simply, it's on a world you can only get to through fairy activated portals-jubi. Queen Mirai is our leader, but recently she… jubi…" he trailed off. He looked away morosely, beginning to tear up. Jun's eyebrows furrowed in worry, and as she reached for him, he hiccuped and the tears began to fall. She picked him up, holding him close and rocking him gently. She did this until his hiccuping sobs calmed down into quiet sniffles. The bell rang, however, just as she had begun to calm him down. She set him on the table again, and he wiped his eyes. She looked at him with soft eyes and pet his head once.
"We can talk more later, okay, Jubilee? Oh, by the way, I'm Jun. Jun Izanama. For now, though, I have to go back to class. If you want, you're certainly welcome to stay with me, but you have to keep quiet in my bag until school lets out and I'm done with my duties, okay?" she offered. Jubilee nodded agreeingly.
"That's fine by me-jubi. I'm really happy to have met you, Jun-jubi."
After school, Jun had picked up the paperwork for her club and taken Emika around the school like she had promised. Her newfound redhead friend had even agreed to join the club, happy that somebody had taken an interest in her. She'd had a busy first day on top of meeting Jubilee at lunch, so she was happy to be walking home at last. Speaking of Jubilee… It was finally okay to let him out of his 'cloth prison'.
"Here we go, Jubilee!" she pulled the little owl gently out of the bag and perched him on her shoulder. He ruffled his feathers, and settled back down with a smile. Jun looked at him seriously for a moment. "So… Do you wanna talk about what happened?"
"Ah... " Jubilee's smile fell, but he didn't begin to cry like last time. "Well… The kingdom was attacked and almost completely destroyed-jubi. Our rival, the Dark Land Kingdom, wants to consume our world, along with yours-jubi. Our Queen managed to stop their leader, but it cost us her in the end-jubi. She scattered the pieces of her soul, Everlast Seeds, all the way to earth-jubi. Those seeds can regrow our kingdom, and when it becomes restored, so will she-jubi."
"Whoa… How many are there? Wouldn't it take a long time to find them all if they're all over the world?" Jun asked, looking slightly concerned. Jubilee's face was serious, and he shook his head a little, and crossed his wings.
"There's 10 Everlast Seeds-jubi. But it shouldn't take long at all, because the Queen sent me here to find the legendary warriors-jubi! They're the guardians of the Everlast Kingdom and earth, spoken of in our prophecies-jubi. I have to find them before before the Dark Land generals can gather enough Negative Energy to revive their leader-jubi." he explained. Jun shook her head.
"It's terrible that this Dark Land Kingdom would destroy another… Well, I'm sure you can find these warriors and the Everlast Seeds, Jubilee. Who are these warriors, anyways? Maybe I can help you find them." she suggested. Jubilee smiled again.
"Oh, I'd really appreciate it-jubi! They're called Precure… usually, they're girls, but anybody can become one if they're qualified-jubi. If I can find a worthy candidate, I can give them the power to become Precure-jubi. They've gotta be good… care for others... and want to fight for the justice of our Kingdom, of course-jubi." he said. He seemed to think for a moment before gasping. "You, Jun! You can become a Precure-jubi! You're so happy, and you were so nice to me… you care about your friends from what I heard, and you're willing to help, right-jubi?!"
"H-Huh?! Me? But… I'm no 'warrior', Jubilee. I'm just an average girl who loves good food. I do hope you get your Kingdom back, of course, I really do, but…" she trailed off, looking a bit shameful. Jubilee sighed.
"For what it's worth, I think you're a perfect choice, but of course, I can't make you do anything-jubi. It's all optional, after all-jubi."
"You couldn't do anything anyways… you stupid fairy." a deep voice growled. Jun jolted, turning around quickly to see the man she had encountered earlier that day. His eyes were wild and his grin was feral. He reached forward, yanking Jubilee off of her shoulder. The small fairy wriggled around desperately in Dusk's grasp.
"Y-You! Let Jubilee go, you bully!" Jun leapt for the owl fairy, but he held it over her head. He was so tall, her head didn't even come up to his neck. Dusk laughed so heartily it was almost disturbing. His shark-toothed grin seemed to get even wider, if it was even possible, and his grip on the fairy on grew tighter.
"You want him? … Come and get him, little girlie." He roared with laughter again as large, pointed, spiked wings grew from his back. The spines were black, and the skin of the wings were a deep, dark red. His visible red eye glowed, and curled red horns grew from the sides of his head as his fingernails grew into black claws. The coattails of his suit grew tattered, and his glowing eye seemed to burn as the sclera of his eye also turned red, while the pupil and iris were white. Dark red tattoos wrapped their way down his arms and he flexed. "HAHAHAHAHA! GOOD LUCK!"
As he said this, Jubilee began to tear up and cry once more. He still struggled against Dusk's vicegrip, though fruitlessly. Jun's fists balled as she witnessed this. However unbelievable, Jubilee was her friend now. As Dusk was preoccupied with laughing at their misfortune, Jun swung upward with all of her might and sucker punched him in the bottom of his jaw. The punch landed with a sickening crack, and it wasn't from her hand. He recoiled in shock.
"How dare you… How dare you make my friend cry! All he wants is to get his home back… And you make him cry! He deserves a hopeful outlook… Something to look forward to… Not your bullying, you freak!" she yelled at him, her own voice cracking. Jubilee looked at her with surprise, eyes still damp. Dusk rubbed his jaw with a groan and leaned down to Jun's height.
"Hopeful outlook? What a load of crap. This fairy's a prisoner of the Dark Land Kingdom, and there's nothing you can do about, stupid girl." He pushed her hard, and she fell over onto her butt, tears now in her eyes. Dusk was scowling as he stood back up and turned away. Jun reached quickly and grabbed his pant leg so tight it could've choked a person. He jerked his leg, but she still wouldn't let go.
"No… NO!" Jun shouted. The jewel on Jubilee's chest began to glow brightly. "Jubilee! I'll do it! I'll become a Precure!" she announced. Jubilee smiled widely, even through his tears. Dusk turned around, finally getting his leg out from her grasp.
"R-Right-jubi! Take this, and you can beat him-jubi!" a thin beam of light shot out from his jewel and a necklace formed around Jun's neck as she stood up, a heart-shaped gem appeared at the end of it. It was pink, and was smooth and cool. "It's the Everheart Stone, it will allow you to transform-jubi! Now, just call out what comes to your heart, even if it doesn't make sense-jubi!"
"Pink Everheart Stone! Precure… IMMORTAL CHANGE!" the words seemed to come naturally, somehow, even though she hadn't thought them beforehand nor had she heard them anywhere. She didn't understand it too much, but as she was enveloped into a beam of warm pink light she supposed it didn't really matter, in the end.
Her clothes glowed, and a large pink bow blossomed onto her chest. The Everheart Stone nestled in the center, the necklace dissolving. A white vest with pink trim came next, and pink, puffy sleeves accompanied it. A pink skirt with fluffy white lace underneath twirled onto her, She clapped twice in front of her, and pink ribbons swirled around her wrists and forearms. A gold ring popped onto both of her middle fingers, and gloves formed, pink and connected to the rings in a triangle shape. The same ribbons wrapped around her legs, too, forming white high-heeled boots, pointed up to the knees with pink trim and small jewels at the point.
Finally, her hair. Her small buns unfurled, and all of her hair grew longer to make two twin ponytails. They changed color from chestnut to a soft, bubblegum pink. The small pieces of hair that stuck up around her ponytails grew too, wavy and almost resembling hearts. Her bangs swept and curved to her left to a point. A sparkle ran through her eyes, still the same mint green they had been. She had completely transformed.
"What the hell?" Dusk growled. Jubilee cheered even from his hand.
"Now, name yourself! What kind of warrior do you want to be-jubi?!" he asked loudly, excited to see her as a Precure. He was confident that she would win.
"I'm… I'm…!" Jun seemed to realize what she wanted to be. "The light of a new tomorrow! CURE HOPE!" she pointed at Dusk, as if accusing him.
"Cure Hope!" Jubilee cried happily. Hope, with every ounce of her newfound power she could muster, punched the temporarily surprised Dusk straight in the gut. The force alone made him let go of Jubilee, and he flew back into a wall nearby. Dusk stumbled when getting up, clenching a clawed hand around his stomach where she had hit him, while Jubilee perched onto Hope's shoulder again.
"Oh, you've done it now, stupid girlie." He pulled a vial filled with thick black goop from his pocket. "SHAORI! COME FORTH!"
"Oh no… That's the Dark Solution-jubi! It's liquefied Negative Energy-jubi!" He hugged Hope tightly. She pat his head and set him on the ground, preparing to defend him from whatever attack he was preparing. Dusk smashed the vial on the ground. From the goop rose a large, black, humanoid sludge-like creature with thick red glasses. It was huge, bigger than the buildings around them, and it stood on two oozy legs.
"Those look like… No way! Those look like Ume's glasses! What did you do to her?!" Hope shouted, now taking an offensive stance. Dusk made a 'tch' noise.
"I have no idea what the hell you're talking about. These Shaori simply personify the strongest negative feelings that are close to them. I don't know who 'Ume' is, stupid girlie." his eyes narrowed, "NOW ATTACK!"
The monster - Shaori - swung a drippy fist at Hope. More out of adrenaline and reflexes than anything, she jumped to avoid the attack. It landed on an empty building nearby, bringing a wall crashing down. She jumped so high that she could hardly believe it. She had to be higher than a skyscraper! Jubilee flew up after her.
"J-Jubilee! What's going on?! Is this…!" she shrieked as she fell back down.
"Precure's power-jubi!" he replied excitedly as they landed, miraculously on top of the monster, preventing further damage to anything. She bounced off, landing on her feet. The monster seemed almost to cry as it shot globs of its black ooze at her.
"Worried-rii! Worried-rii! What if Jun got hurt this morning-rii?!" it sobbed. Hope froze, almost being hit by a glob. Her eyes were wide, and she was in shock.
"Ume has negative feelings… because of me?" she murmured. Jubilee grabbed her hand and tugged her out of the way from another attack.
"No! You can't help how a person feels if you've already tried your best to assuage them-jubi! It's not your fault! All you can do now is defeat the Shaori, it'll purify her feelings-jubi!" he assured her. Hope took a deep breath, relaxing a bit.
"You're right. I'm sorry for reacting so poorly in a situation like this." As she said this so calmly, the Shaori swung another fist and Hope caught it in her own hand. She swung it over her head, slamming it into the ground. Jubilee huffed with a smile.
"Now's your chance-jubi! Summon your Everheart weapon and use it to purify the Shaori-jubi!" he explained. Hope's face was serious as words came out on their own, as she had when she transformed. It felt as if she had done this before.
"Everheart! Become my weapon!" she ordered. The pink stone glowed fiercely, and a pink staff appeared in her outstretched hand. A rainbow-colored gem sat on top of it. A pink ribbon-y bow just like the one on her vest was situated underneath it. It had three smaller bows underneath it, from biggest to smallest. She spun it around her head like a baton before slamming it into the ground, making it a pole about as tall as she was.
"Sparkle and shine, light of the future!" the gem on the staff began to glow and it bounced light off of it, creating a beautiful effect of multi colored lights fractaling all around them. Just as the monster began to get up, she called out again. "HOPE RADIANCE!"
A beam of pink light shot out, slamming into the monster. It wrapped all around, the light appearing almost like ribbons fluttering around it. It tightened and tightened, turning the sludge pink until it dissolved, forming the vial around it again. Dusk swooped in, grabbing the vial. As soon as he touched it, it was back to being black.
"This won't be the last time you'll see me, girlie. I'll be back, and then I'll kick your butt, you hear me?! I'LL BEAT YOU!" he seemed to vanish just as quickly as he had appeared. Hope fell to her knees, de-transforming into Jun again. Today was a crazy first day back, that was the one thing she was certain of.
"So… You've failed me, have you?" a growling voice came from a statue partially hidden in the shadows. Now returned to the bleak castle they used as a base, Dusk looked away nervously, saying nothing. He couldn't say anything in the face of his leader. "Well? … What do you have to say for yourself…?"
"P-Prince Shadow… I… There was a girl! She, they, you know! The fairies' prophecy… It wasn't a bluff… There's a warrior!" he tried to explain why he hadn't returned with Jubilee.
"Please… You had the thing in your hand, and still, you failed… Pathetic…" the voice insulted him. Dusk's face grew angry, but he dared not talk back to the Prince. A pair of deep red eyes glinted in the dark, and a female voice could be heard, but she didn't show herself.
"Prince Shadow… Allow me to go in Dusk's place. I will not fail you, sir."
A/N: As a series a little under 3 years in the making, I'm excited for it to finally be out! I hope everyone enjoys it.
NEXT EPISODE: I Won't Be Scared! A New Partner Arrives!