"Meet the new Pretty Cure!"
That's all anyone in Kazumio High was talking about, as far as Hara Matsumi was sure.
Some whispered about seeing the new "mascot."
Others were on the lookout for the new trinkets as if to snatch them up for themselves.
But what was the point?
It had been thirteen years since the first Pretty Cure appeared. Hara had no idea if Cure Black and Cure White were even around.
She honestly wasn't into the whole Precure craziness. She didn't want to become magical. She had no desire to become the main character of a story that almost got her killed on a regular basis. Why would she wish it on anyone else?
They were doomed to be forgotten eventually. Such as Cure Dawn. She missed Cure Dawn. She was the last Precure Hara cared about.
Her friends, however….
"Come on, Hara. You have to admit you're at least a bit curious." Hara was honestly sick of it, and the new Cures hadn't even arrived yet.
Hara rolled her gray eyes and received a friendly punch in the shoulder, bobbing to one side.
"Yuki, not everyone's as much as a theorist as you." Yuki Hotaru made a face.
"Come on, nobody ever guesses who they are! But they're so obvious this year. Humor me, Hara."
"Nope."
"Haaaaraaaaaa!" Yuki punched her lightly. "Come onnnnn!"
"You're so annoying, you know that?" Hara smiled regardless. Despite it being about Precure, Yuki's theories were always a wild ride. "Fine."
"Great! Come on, follow me-"
Yuki suddenly grabbed Hara's arm and pulled her roughly, breaking off into a run. Her twin blond pigtails whipped in her stride.
"I can walk by myself, Yuki," Hara attempted to reason.
If Yuki heard, she didn't show it. She stopped suddenly, hiding behind a wall.
"Hara, we have to be stealthy."
Hara stood in the open space, looking at a lunch table.
"This is what you wanted to show me?"
"Shhh!" called out Yuki, pulling her back behind the wall.
"Fine," Hara said, lowering her voice. "This is what you wanted to show me? A lunch table?"
Yuki shook her head, her blue eyes gleaming. A tuft of unruly blond hair fell in her face.
"No, silly. The new Cures!"
Hara stuck her head around the column again. There were four girls sitting there, none of whom she was particularly friends with. Acquaintances, perhaps, and most likely classmates. But that was all.
"Why do you think that?"
"Main character hair."
Hara blinked. That wasn't the answer she was expecting.
"Explain," she stated, crossing her arms.
Yuki just smiled, grabbing her shoulders. She was positively bubbling with excitement. Hara realized her mistake when it was too late.
"You have brown hair, right? That's not very main character at all! It's always pink, orange, in pigtails, or maybe spiky! It can't be normal." Oddly enough, she had a point.
"So? Tell me why it matters!" Hara had barely even noticed she was grinning. Yuki was happy someone was listening to her ideas for once.
"Well," she started, "The first girl, Mika Hana - her last name kinda sounds like your first, so that's cool - she is definitely gonna be the lead Cure," Yuki rambled. "Pink hair, it's a given. They're always pink. Even Cure Black was kinda pink. And she's the most confident by far. When is a pink Cure ever withdrawn?"
"Cure Blossom."
"You shut up." As Yuki continued on, Hara realized she really knew nothing about Mika. Sure, she was confident, but there had to be more to her than that.
"Well, anyway, she'll probably be like Cure Dream or Cure Happy. Then there's-"
"Yuki?" Hara felt bad for interrupting. "Uh, do you know Mika?"
Yuki looked confused. "No. Why?"
Hara slumped. If Yuki was right, and these were gonna be the new Cures, than she wanted to warn them. Being Cures is a dangerous job, after all. Hara was just too scared to do anything about it.
"No reason."
"Uh, okay. Anyway, there's Sara Nanami, and the last name just makes me feel blue. Her hair is kinda dark for a secondary blue cure, but if there's only four of them then it's gotta be her who's the secondary. So she probably isn't like Cure Beauty. Like Cure Mermaid? Or maybe she'll be like Cure Berry. Any ideas?" she asked. Hara was pretty sure Yuki just needed to catch her breath.
Hara attempted to think about it. Sara was pretty quiet, all things considered. She knew that much from their class time together. The two of them had worked together a few times, and Sara certainly was smart, if not a bit spacey. Whenever they were working in labs, she always attempted to fix her glasses - which were under the safety goggles. Not to mention the time her long blue hair was singed by the bunsen burners. Hara stifled a giggle at the memory. Maybe she could talk to her.
"Maybe….Cure Diamond? She was really smart, wasn't she?" Yuki mulled it over.
"That sounds about right. And then, there's Risa Hisaki. I knew her, you know! Back in Middle School. And she just has that Precure feel to her. That kinda...hope." Yuki seemed sad. "I hope she'll be okay."
There was a silence between them. Hara was certain the girls had left by now. Or maybe they were listening in on their conversation. Yuki's constant glances around them hinted that she was thinking the same thing.
"She's kinda mature for her age. Risa's actually really smart, she just doesn't want the pressure. So she only does mediocre in class." Where had that cheerful energy gone?
"Why aren't you guys friends anymore?"
"I dunno. We just...aren't."
The silence continued.
"Um, we should get ready to go to class," Hara suggested.
"Good idea." With that, the conversation was over. Hara pulled on her backpack and walked to class, alone.
As Hara walked away, she belatedly realized that Yuki had left out one person.
"Listen."
Ayata Miki was at the end of her patience. Acai hadn't shown up yet, and she had getting antsy already. Then the same girls from before had shown up, muttering about Precure…and them.
Was that a good sign or not?
She couldn't lose another one. She honestly could not.
Eventually, karma would catch up to her, and she would have nowhere to run.
Running a hand through short green hair, she cursed into the phone.
"Don't talk to me like that. You were the one who asked for my help."
She knew that. Of course she knew that. Ayata wasn't stupid.
"All you need to do is intercept Acai. There's nothing else we can do."
Ayata had called her to get an answer, not just a repetition of what she already knew. It was infuriating. There was a twinge of regret for getting her involved in the first place.
No. Not regret. Regret would mean that she had doubts. Maybe a few years ago, she had doubts. Not anymore.
"I believe in you."
That wouldn't help. Ayata put the phone down, not even bothering to say goodbye. She had to be used to that by now.
Ayata rubbed her eyes. Almost daylight. Time to get to work.
Cure Mercy greeted the sunrise.
