"That was really fun!" says Miyuki happily, leaning back against the grass with her head pillowed on her hands.
"Are you forgetting the part where a giant basket tried to throw us against the bridge?" says Akane.
Miyuki rolls over, trying to dodge Akane's elbows. It works until Akane changes tactics and starts to tickle Miyuki. The two of them fall giggling a few feet down the hill while Yayoi and Reika share a concerned glance—is it worth it to follow them?
"I'm not forgetting that!" says Miyuki, making her abububu face into Akane's shoulder. "But it's fun being with you guys, no matter what we do! Our friendship makes me ultra happy!"
Nao cracks a smile. It's true that being Precure is hard sometimes, not least when the Akanbe they always seem to be fighting toss them in the air like confetti. But Miyuki is right. Being with all these girls makes everything worthwhile.
If only she could get used to the outfits. Having superpowers is great and having four best friends is even better, but the transformations get her every time. It's just that she doesn't even wear skirts very much - having little brothers who always want to roughhouse means they're out of the question - and all the Precure wear frilly uniforms with heeled boots.
Yayoi thinks they're cute. She's pretty much obsessed, and Nao would be able to tell that without having snuck a peek into Yayoi's sketchbook. It's all sparkles and comments like "Akane-chan's attack is so cool~!" The rest of the girls seem to agree, so Nao feels bad bringing up her dumb issues.
But for god's sake, how is she supposed to fight with this much hair bouncing around?
Miyuki corners her one day after soccer practice with a fiercely determined expression.
"Nao!" she says. "We need to talk!"
"I hope it's about how great I was at soccer today," says Nao, just to watch Miyuki's face go comically confused and then swing back to just as excited as before.
"You were great, definitely," Miyuki agrees. "But I think we need to talk about—" She drops her voice and looks from side to side across the empty soccer field. "—Precure."
"All right, walk with me to the locker room and I'll talk."
Miyuki bounds along beside her like a puppy. "Okay, we've become Precure together a couple of times now, but you look so confused every time! What's wrong? As team leader I have to take care of all of you!"
She says the last with her hands planted on her hips, having run a few steps ahead of Nao while she was talking.
"Wait, who says you're the team leader?"
"That's what Akane said yesterday!" Miyuki shakes her head violently to get rid of this no doubt annoying thought. "Never mind Akane! Candy picked me first so I'm the leader, even though I'm kind of clumsy and slow sometimes."
"Hey now," says Nao, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You're a good leader."
"Thanks. Oh, wait! We're supposed to be talking about you! Are you sure you're okay?"
Like Nao could lie to a face like that. Miyuki's eyes are huge and sparkling, and the sincerity is radiating out from her like a Happy Shower. The only thing that could make this worse is if she started tearing up the way Yayoi does every other minute.
"I'm fine, Miyuki. It's just, you know."
Nao stretches out her fingers, thinking about how to say this. "It's kind of hard to get used to," she says eventually.
"Don't worry. We're here to get used to it with you!"
It's the most leader-like Nao's ever seen Miyuki, and she would have pointed that out if Miyuki hadn't slapped her hand against her own forehead and cried, "I forgot my textbook again! Sorry, Nao!" and raced off to the classroom.
The next day, Nao and Akane are running together in gym class. They're not the slowest or the fastest runners, but they're the best at matching each other's pace. Nao is distracting herself from the run by weighing the idea of speeding up until they lap a few classmates—she can see Miyuki and Yayoi sweating from across the field. Even archery queen Reika is struggling.
"I'm worried about the others," says Nao as they round a corner and Miyuki's bright pink hair comes into view.
"Let 'em sweat," says Akane. "I mean, what are we gonna be able to do?"
"I guess you're right."
Nao is still mulling it over as they turn another corner into the last stretch of the run. Akane doesn't say anything until they've both finished the run, and when she does speak it comes completely out of nowhere.
"Precure, huh?"
"It's pretty crazy," says Nao. "It doesn't seem real."
"Yeah, I still can't get over how I get to use my sweet volleyball moves to fight bad guys," says Akane. "It's like something straight outta one of Yayoi's manga."
"Especially the clothes," adds Nao.
The two sit down on the grass, stretching out and sharing a water bottle Nao brought.
"Right! I always thought," says Akane between gulps of water, "if I was gonna fight dudes I'd do it wearing something like this." She gestures at their gym uniforms and the armbands they're wearing in preparation for the game later.
"Yeah, and with my hair tied up."
"Oh, yeah, you have all that…" Akane imitates the motion Nao ends up doing every time she transforms, hands cupping the air where Nao's puffy hair would be. "I wouldn't wanna be you. At least I just have the bun."
"I'm jealous," admits Nao.
"Hey," says Akane, suddenly serious.
When Nao looks over, Akane socks her in the arm.
"Cheer up!" she says. "You can kick Akanbe ass even with a big green waterfall coming off the top of your head."
"By whacking them with it, maybe."
"Precure March Hair Whip?" suggests Akane, laughing. "I'm seeing it. Get Yayoi on this."
Yayoi is too intent on her sketchbook to notice Nao walking over and sitting down. Nao glances over to see what it is Yayoi's drawing that has her full attention like this. It's Nao herself in uniform as Cure March, leaping as if she can jump right off the page. No surprises there.
"Is that really what my hair looks like?"
Yayoi squeaks, drawing her knees up to her chest along with her sketchbook. "Nao-chan, you can't just sneak up on me like that! I'm going to cry!"
"I'll give you some tissues if you do," says Nao, though she's known Yayoi for ages and something like this isn't going to give the girl anything but watery eyes.
"Do you not think it looks right?" asks Yayoi.
She's not threatening to cry this time, but somehow Nao's more worried than she was before. Yayoi's staring down at her book, holding her eraser against the page with an almost anguished expression. Nao reaches over and gently stills her hand.
"Nao-chan?"
"It's cute, Yayoi," says Nao. "I just haven't even seen what my hair looks like! It's not like we have mirrors with us when we transform."
"Oh. Well, I think that is what your hair looks like! I like to draw your hair best," she admits. "There's so much of it and when you do your windy thing it's really good for dynamic poses."
"Okay, but do you think I could use it as a whip?"
"What?"
"Akane was joking with me that I could probably fight Akanbe with just my hair. Precure March Hair Whip, she called it."
Yayoi makes a little humming noise. "Hey, Nao-chan," she says.
"Yeah?"
"I'll draw you looking super tough with your hair whip tonight," says Yayoi, looking up at Nao with a smile as she squeezes her hand back.
"Your bow is crooked," says Reika.
If it were anyone else saying that, Nao would roll up her sleeve and give them what-for. It's different with Reika. She's always observing what's going on around her, but she also has a habit of commenting on what she sees. It took Nao a long time to learn that Reika is sometimes too lost in her thoughts to notice when she says them out loud.
Now that she understands Reika a little more, Nao appreciates having someone around who's so good at thinking things through. The two of them often work together getting unruly underclassmen back into line or arrive early to sit on a bench outside the school. They don't always have conversations, but it's surprisingly nice to have someone sit with you in silence and listen.
"Would you like me to retie it for you?"
"Go ahead," says Nao. "I guess I wasn't paying attention when I tied it up."
Reika rises from the bench, graceful as always, and circles around to stand behind Nao. Her hands are gentle as she pulls out Nao's messy bow and begins to comb her fingers through her hair.
"It's kind of nice having someone else do my hair. I always thought it was kind of useless," says Nao.
"Useless how?" asks Reika.
"I just about go crazy whenever I get all that hair. All I can think about is how much shampoo it would take to wash it all or how long it would take to brush," confesses Nao. "You're the first person I've said that to, actually. I talked to everyone else, but I kept feeling like I was reassuring them about things instead!"
"I think I understand."
Reika ties Nao's hairband into a decisive bow but doesn't stop. Nao suspects Reika is just playing with her hair at this point, and she's surprised to find she doesn't mind at all.
"You don't just care for your siblings at home, do you?" Without waiting for an answer, Reika continues, "You take care of all of us at school, too. It's very admirable and I'm glad to have you, but maybe what you need to do is to take a break and think about it differently."
She sits down again and smiles at Nao. "Your hair doesn't have to be just another thing to take care of, Nao. It can be fun, too."
They fall into another companionable silence until the bell rings. Nao gets up and offers her hand to pull Reika to her feet. When Reika stands she looks like a fairytale princess, even in her school uniform with a grass stain.
"Thank you," says Reika, ever polite.
"No, thank you."
Reika tilts her head in an unspoken question. Nao twirls the end of her ponytail around her finger, but she's not really an expert at these subtle gestures and Reika doesn't pick up on her response. So she says it straight, the best way she knows how.
"For doing my hair," she explains. "I had fun."
She must be getting better at saying things without words, because Reika holds her hand all the way back inside.
The next time they transform, Nao is only a little bit distracted by her mass of hair. Instead she looks around at her friends: cheerful Miyuki, bright Akane, kind Yayoi, and gentle Reika. With all of them by her side and a grin on her face, she finally feels ready to fight for everyone's smiles.