The first time Kiriya saw that girl, she was with one of her other friends, walking in the opposite direction on a second story pathway while he was on the first floor. He took a cursory glance to the side after accepting his drink when their eyes met, and suddenly Kiriya was frozen, by her gaze and by his own beating heart. The girl he was staring at looked like he felt, and they stayed that way until Kiriya heard his father calling to him, breaking the strange spell. He ran off without looking back.
oOoOo
He began to have dreams after that encounter. Dreams of a graceful girl dressed in white, strong and resolute in her beliefs even when she was nearly collapsed in exhaustion. He dreamed of a school he never attended, of smiles he never saw, and of memories he never made. Somehow, these fleeting dreams felt more real to him then his memories of the orphanage and the memories of his new life with a new family – even when the dreams were surreal, and the girl in white was unleashing magnificent powers on dark monsters with her partner in black. Even when he himself was fighting against these two warriors with his own supernatural powers and a desperate cry, torn between a new, bright feeling he couldn't quite understand and a fear of fading back into the darkness where he had been born. Even after that fight when he was wandering in between light and darkness, wondering who he was and where he belonged.
Even when he woke up to forgotten dreams and he was left with only a warm feeling in his heart.
oOoOo
"Wow, that was a great practice today, Irisawa-san!" Yoshimura Kazuya commented, walking with a casual gait and his hands rested behind his head, "If you keep this up, we'll make it to the finals this year for sure!"
"I still need more practice, Yoshimura-sempai," Irisawa Kiriya replied, slightly embarrassed, "I've only started playing soccer recently, anyways." Secretly, he thought to himself that it was actually strange that he was tired from the practice, since he felt as if he should be able to move faster, kick harder, run further. If he had actually remembered his dreams, he would have found that the fast and free attacks of his 'dream' counterpart actually felt more natural to him then his limited 'human' motions.
"Oi, if this is you being a newbie at soccer, I really can't imagine what you'd be like as a pro."
Yoshimura paused for a moment after saying this, and began in a more teasing voice, "And do you know how hard it is to be mad your crazy soccer skills when you up and agree with the coach when he tells you that you need to work on your teamwork? And you proceed to ask just how teamwork works? How can you be so clueless, anyways, not knowing how teamwork works?" He decided to finish his rant with "Jeez, only a heartless jerk could hate you after that. Why can't you make it easier to be jealous of you and your crazy soccer skills?"
Kiriya laughed and pushed him lightly, saying, "What, so you want me to be a jerk? Besides, I'm not even that clueless."
"Sure, and I believe you. Cuz it didn't take you twenty minutes to figure out that chick wasn't asking you to go outside with her. And you totally didn't ask her what she was looking for outside in the rain anyways. "
"...I'm sure everyone's made that mistake at least once in their lives."
"No, just you."
They continued on walking and talking like normal friends when Kiriya was sidetracked by a teenage girl rushing past him, barely brushing his shoulder as she hurried off towards her destination. She seemed frazzled, he noticed, and all he had really caught sight of was long black hair and a crisp white lab coat fluttering in her wake. Kiriya couldn't help but think that she was actually graceful and kind, though he had no idea where that thought had come from.
While he was thinking about what had happened, Kiriya completely missed his friend's lamentations on how it was so unfair that they were both on the soccer club and both good at soccer but only Kiriya received the admiration of the school's female population. In fact, he only realized that he had spaced out when Yoshimura exclaimed, "…and you've never even thought about accepting one of those love letters. It's not fair, I haven't even gotten one! …Irisawa-san? Earth to Irisawa-san!
Kiriya turned to his friend and, realizing that he had ignored his friend for a good seven minutes, apologized, "Sorry, sorry, I was just thinking!"
"You could at least listen when I'm pouring my life's troubles out to you."
"I'd hardly call any of those issues 'life troubles', Yoshimura-sempai"
As he continued to talk with his friend, Kiriya suddenly realized that was the second time he had seen that girl.
oOoOo
The third time and last time he saw the girl, she called his name as he was walking home from school – by himself, because his friends were busy – and he responded by asking if he knew her. It was a genuine question, with no malice or ill intent as he kept a foggy lesson on understanding and communication close to his heart (one that, for some reason, he was associating with the beautiful girl in front of him), but the girl still drooped, stammering an apology about how she must have been mistaken and smiling in a way that was clearly forced.
When Kiriya caught sight of this fake smile, he couldn't help but think that it was wrong, that she shouldn't have to fake a smile because they should all be genuine and bright and warm like sunlight. Like her. So when a name flashed through his mind, he called out instinctively and hesitantly, "Ho-Honoka-san?", hoping that with this she wouldn't look so sad anymore.
oOoOo
The third time he saw the girl, she became "Yukishiro Honoka".
And this is my way of saying that Futari wa Pretty Cure really needed more Kiriya, cuz he's a great character. I'm writing this under the assumption that Kiriya actually did come back at the end of the season and doesn't just have a very, very similar looking human counterpart with a very, very similar dress style. I'm also going to assume that his powers are labeled under "telekinesis" - possibly including teleportation (hey, you move a person from one place to another, close enough to telekinesis to me) and that he will be able to use some of his powers once he remembers where he came from, even if they won't be as strong now that he's human.
I'm seriously hoping that Kiriya doesn't come off as a Gary Stu here, cuz he's canonically shown to be good at soccer and to have a fan following at school, and I don't think that would change just because he's not a bad guy anymore. If anything, I think he'd be more popular because since he's talked to Honoka and changed, he's less likely to tackle people from behind to get a soccer ball or rip up love letters out of anger and general cluelessness (cough*totallycrushingonHonoka*cough), even if he doesn't actually remember the lessons.
By the way, the reason Kiriya's last name is Irisawa is because that's how he introduced himself in episode 13. And as for why he has the same last name, lets just all assume that it was a crazy coincidence and its totally not because I didn't feel like coming up with a new last name for him.
...I claim the right to creative licence?
