It was the start of a typical day for Yukishiro Honoka, at least since she had gotten back from the disaster. "Good morning Mipple," she half-whispered to her friend, who was still trapped in the form of a flip-phone. As expected, she didn't answer, so Honoka just went to wash up before breakfast. She started the rice cooking and the fish grilling for her grandmother, before toasting up a slice of bread, hard-boiling an egg, and putting together a quick salad for herself. She didn't even bother leaving a note anymore.
It was always hard to tell what kind of day it would be, so she had to leave early.
She strolled casually through town, ignoring the fact that it was before dawn. She gave the police officer a polite nod, which he returned with a small smile. "Good morning, Yukishiro," he said to her. Not "Up early, are you?" or "Should a girl your age be up at this hour?" like she would have expected. Another sign that this was becoming a routine.
So she did what anyone would do. Returned the greeting and kept right on going. Passing the last vending machine, she considered grabbing something, but decided against it. The way to Nagisa's heart might be through her stomach, but her pocketbook wouldn't be able to take much more of 'treating' Nagisa every day. If she needed it, she had some reserve.
That just left the Misumi house. She walked up to the door and quietly opened it. "Excuse me," she called out.
"Ah, Honoka," Nagisa's mother replied, looking entirely too cheerful. She was also standing by the door, as if she'd been waiting. "My husband and I were talking last night, and. . . "
Honoka suddenly put on her fiercest stare. "You'd rather I stop coming by in the mornings?"
If the woman was at all surprised, she didn't show it. "Yes, that's it exactly. Sooner or later Nagisa has to get over this on her own. You can't be there for her forever."
Honoka shrugged. "I certainly don't see why not. Or at least, as long as it takes."
"Then let Doctor Fukuzawa handle it," Mrs. Misumi said with what she must have assumed sounded like a reasonable voice. "You're trying to become a scientist, surely you understand the value in what he's doing for you."
Honoka looked away. "I understand the value in what he's supposed to be doing, but I don't trust him."
"That's absurd, don't you think?"
Honoka bit her lip. "Then why weren't we allowed to choose our own doctors? Why have I never seen another patient of his? There's something I don't like about that man."
"You're fourteen years old, Miss Yukishiro," came the response, stern. "You aren't old enough to make that kind of decision. As for your 'suspicions', that's just nonsense."
Honoka shrugged. "Fine, then try to get Nagisa up by yourself." She smiled back. "I'll just wait here."
"No. Go on to school."
Honoka sighed. "Fine." There was plenty of time. She walked outside, past the front gate, stepped up against the wall. . . and waited.
Twenty minutes later, she stepped out away from the wall enough to see Nagisa's mother was still shouting at her. A little, self-satisfied smirk, and she waved to her. It took a minute, but when the woman caught sight of her, she obviously sighed in defeat and waved her in. When Honoka got upstairs, Mrs. Misumi was just stepping out of Nagisa's room. "Honestly, I don't get what the trouble is with her."
Honoka winced. It was apparently a bad morning today.
Honoka got into the room just as Nagisa had pulled the curtains shut again, as if she could somehow hold back the coming morning. But the sun was filling the room with a few golden beams of light regardless, and she was already climbing back into bed when Honoka took a seat. She looked up at her friend. ". . . thanks."
"Any time." Honoka said, smiling. "It doesn't matter if it's just another lousy day, you know we'll always face it together."
Nagisa grinned weakly. "Can't we not face it together, for a change?"
"I wish we could," Honoka felt her throat tighten. "But your mom already tried to kick me out. If I let you stay home she'd probably never let me come by again. I'd have to get a ladder and climb in through the window."
Nagisa laughed, and forced herself to sit up. She looked at the small table by her bed, and said "Good morning, Mepple,"
The ring of the school bell signaled the end of the day. Nagisa got up from her seat in the back corner, near the window. The one she'd been assigned a few days ago, after their 'break'. Honoka was right in front of her, hunched over her homework. Nagisa just sighed, getting up to head over to two of the girls from the Lacrosse club, Rina and Shiho. "Hey," she said, trying to force herself to sound cheerful. The greeting was echoed weakly, so she decided to go ahead. "Hey. Look, I know I can't head to the club for a bit, but do you want to meet up after?"
Rina and Shiho glanced at each other nervously, and bit their lips. "Uh...we're kinda busy…" Shiho said for the both of them.
"Oh," Nagisa's reply sounded somehow hollowed out to her own ears. "Uh…"
Rina decided to give her an encouraging smile. "Look, Nagisa, you just focus on getting better, okay?"
Honoka was suddenly at Nagisa's side. "Look, this isn't the sort of thing that just 'gets better.' Can't you be a little more supportive?"
Shiho gave the pair a wary look. "Uhm. . . you mean you could. . . "
Honoka groaned and looked like she wanted to slam her head into the desk. "It's not like that was something that 'just happened.' Do you think we wanted…"
Shiho snapped. "So you don't deny that you wrecked half the city!"
"I do deny it!" Honoka shouted back. "That was the Dark King! We were trying to - " a hand landed on her shoulder. "Nagisa!"
"It doesn't matter," Nagisa said. "They're just going to believe what they want. Maybe I should just join the Science Club. At least there people are supposed to listen to you, right?"
Rina and Shiho winced, while Honoka went kind of pale. "Uhh...we'll talk about it later. We have to get going now anyway." She took Nagisa's hand and led her out of the classroom.
Rina suddenly turned on Shiho. "You didn't have to put it like that!"
"Don't tell me she doesn't scare the living daylights out of you too."
Rina couldn't deny it.
The office, located in what was coming to be known as the Shin-Shibuya area after the original Shibuya's destruction, was exactly what one would expect. Several comfortable chairs and a couch loosely arranged in a room, the walls painted in a cool, relaxing green. A desk and several shelves of psychiatric tomes were discretely shoved off into a corner. The window opened up with an excellent view of Tokyo Bay, made even more spectacular by the utter removal of all the destroyed buildings in every district between the two.
Nagisa hated the office.
Dr. Fukuzawa was in his late 30s, completely clean cut, with a polo shirt and khakis that practically screamed 'casual.' Which meant, as far as Nagisa was concerned, he was ancient, and worse, he thought he knew all the answers. Normally, in a situation like this she'd talk to Honoka, but that wasn't an option for all that her best friend was in the reception area, no doubt reading while waiting for her to finish up. So she sat there, just listening to his questions without answering, cradling Mepple's 'body' as she thought of it, just as she had every other day after school for the past month.
"Nagisa, please." He said to her, trying this same line again. "I am here to help you. Your parents won't hear a thing."
Nagisa finally snapped. "And what about Mister Jay, huh? He's the reason we have to come here."
The doctor sighed. "I swear to you, I'm only required to tell him if you're intending criminal action or might be a self-harm risk." Nagisa snorted. "Believe it or not, I am here to help you, and your growing obsession with those toys is distinctly unhealthy."
"HE IS NOT A TOY!" Nagisa screamed at him. "He's my precious friend! We've been through more together than you can ever imagine!"
Dr. Fukuzawa finally, finally smiled. "Well, that's a start. Why don't you tell me about it?"
"So you can call me crazy?" Nagisa turned away again. "No thanks."
"Well," he said. "First, that's not the business doctors like me are in. We don't deal in terms like 'crazy' or 'insane' anymore. I'm just attempting to identify what, if any, mental health issues you may or may not have, and help you through them."
"So whether or not we're crazy," Nagisa retorted shortly. "I'll say it again. No. Thanks. I just want to go back to Lacrosse practice."
"Which brings me to my other point." Fukuzawa continued, pretending he hadn't heard. "I am not supposed to tell you this, of course, but I am being paid a great deal of money by the people that Mister Jay works for. It's my usual rates, of course. For every patient I could see." Nagisa's eyes shot up from Mepple to stare at him incredulously. "I was told you two girls are a very special case, and that I was instructed to treat everything you say as sincere and truthful, no matter how delusional you seem. I was also instructed to clear my entire schedule and make your cases my sole focus, at least until I can make a determination on how best to proceed."
Nagisa stayed silent for a very long time. Finally, she spoke. "Doctor, I'm only going to say this once. What happened to us was. . . there are literally no words I can think of. Ask Honoka about that."
"I have. I suspect you are well aware of her answer."
"Good," Nagisa said. "But the big thing is, it was personal."
Fukuzawa sighed. "It may help you to talk about it."
"I have Honoka for that," Nagisa countered. "And I think our time's up. Friday?"
Fukuzawa nodded. "I can afford to do this as long as you can,"
Honoka was, indeed, waiting for her on the other side of the door. Nagisa wordlessly took a seat beside the girl and threw her arms around her in a desperate embrace. "I hate him."
Honoka gently reached up and patted her back. "You don't mean that."
"I do." Nagisa said, trying not to cry. "I hate him, I hate Mister Jay, I hate my parents for making me do this, I hate. . . "
Honoka pulled her into an even tighter embrace. "No, you don't. You're just mad. I'm mad. I just want to try to move on. . . but we have to take care of them."
"I know. . . "
Fukuzawa sighed as the door to his office opened an hour after the girls left. "You could knock," he pointed out.
'Mister Jay' took a casual seat next to the desk. "Well, I know all of your patient's schedules. Any luck?"
"Surprisingly limited," the psychiatrist admitted. "However, you know there's little I can discuss with you."
"I am their legal guardians," the secret agent countered. "I allowed them to stay in their original home situations because it seemed more prudent."
"...I wasn't aware of that," Fukuzawa admitted. "I'll need to see that in writing, of course." A form was passed to him, which he silently reviewed, then sighed. "The first thing I should tell you is that if a word of anything I would normally share with the parents is breathed, they'll shut down. I will never be able to help them."
"So they do need help." Mister Jay sighed. "That's fine, it's all I need to know anyway."
"...all you need, or all your superiors need?" Mister Jay's smirk was all the answer he needed. "Very well. There isn't much more to report anyway. They are remarkably obstinate. I would suggest taking away those toys -"
"They are not toys," Mister Jay said to him, shortly. "I can see that you will need more to do your job. They are, despite appearances, the remains of sentient beings from another world. This is, of course, classified up to the highest levels."
"I...see," the psychiatrist said. "You realize that, as a man of science, I will demand proof of such an extraordinary claim."
Mister Jay shook his head. "Even telling you could get us both shot. Well, hanged in your case."
"...I see. I remember asking you this when we came to this...extraordinary arrangement, but I'll repeat myself. Does this relate to the Battle of Tokyo?"
"It does."
Dr. Fukuzawa nodded. "I do wish you had told me. It does not change my recommendation greatly, though. Those girls are becoming fixated to the point of obsession on those things. In fact, this information only makes it more imperative. Their behavior would be similar to carrying around the corpses of their loved ones, everywhere they go. Perhaps hold a funeral – Christian style, since I suspect your people wouldn't countenance cremating alien remains."
Mister Jay nodded thoughtfully. "It is an idea. Something to help them let go…" He smiled. "Thank you, doctor. You've been most helpful. I will continue to rely on your advice."
"...one more thing. I suspect Miss Misumi is becoming a danger to herself."
Mister Jay went pale. ". . . options, doctor?"
"Very few, at the moment," he replied. "It's just a suspicion, but there are scars from what those girls were doing for the past year. Miss Yukishiro is handling them as reasonably as can be expected, I think. Miss Misumi is not. That the latter is clearly infatuated with the former is not helping."
"I see." Mister Jay shrugged. "Is it returned?"
"Hard to say, but I don't believe so," the doctor said wearily. "They speak little, at least to me."
"All right," Mister Jay shrugged. "I guess arranging a boyfriend for her as a way to take her mind off things isn't a good idea."
"I wouldn't recommend it in any event, but in this case definitely not."
Mister Jay chuckled. "Well, it was worth asking about." He paused. "Actually, I think I need to check my notes. An old friend could be just what they need. . . "
The streets of Tokyo were deserted, at least compared to a month ago. While there were always jokes about giant monsters destroying the city, actually having it happen had had the predictable effect – everyone who could afford to, and many who couldn't, had started to move away. Others were moving in to work on the new building going up where the center of the city had been, but that would take time.
Honoka knew Nagisa wouldn't understand any of that. Truthfully, she envied the athletic girl that ignorance. Somewhat less so, the topic she was prattling on about now.
"I swear, once I get back into the game we'll get the championship for sure this year." Nagisa sounded enthusiastic, of course, but Honoka couldn't take it anymore.
"Nagisa, they won't let us back into the clubs!"
The other girl stared at her. "Wh..what? We just have to outlast that stupid doctor's patience and - "
"It won't work," Honoka said more quietly. "They think we're. . . "
Nagisa winced. "But. . . they're still our friends?"
"Have you talked to them since we got back?"
Nagisa didn't answer.
Honoka sighed. "It's not fair. I've already asked my grandmother to let me transfer to L'Ecole des Cinq Lumières. You could come too."
"That's in Minato. Wasn't it - " Nagisa couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.
Honoka nodded. "The school was pretty badly damaged, but they bought up another campus just on the other side of the river. They're outside...that thing," she gestured to the pyramid. "By the time we graduate their high school we could be on the old campus grounds again."
Nagisa sighed. "But that would be giving up, wouldn't it?"
"...Nagisa, you're an idiot."
"Hey!"
Honoka shook her head. "I don't want to keep going to school somewhere people know who we were. Is that really giving up?"
"...yes."
Honoka was about to answer, when suddenly she felt a tingle up her spine and spun towards the road. Standing across the way was a girl with a single blonde pigtail and emerald green eyes that somehow shone at them all the way across the eight lane street. Nagisa stared at her as well, and for a few moments they just stood there, frozen in place….and then the former Precure blinked….and the strange girl was gone. ". . . shit."
Nagisa couldn't catch her breath, leaning hard against the safety barrier between the wide sidewalk and the street. "No. No no no! I'm . . . I can't deal with this now!"
Honoka grabbed her by the shoulder. "It's not our responsibility to deal with it! Call Mister Jay, or I'll do it. We report there was something weird, and let him do what he does."
Nagisa's eyes widened. "Honoka, no! Didn't you see that! She looked like a girl! A human! We can't…"
"Kiriya," Honoka said, remembering the 'boy' who had wormed his way into their lives all while working for the Dark King...before betraying the otherworldly entity and simply handing over his Rainbow Prism before willingly fading away. "Then what do we do?"
Nagisa groaned. "I don't know Honoka, but we can't let them find out about this."
Honoka found herself smiling. "For someone who's been going after my oldest friend like he's the only boy in the world, you sure have a weakness for cute girls." Nagisa babbled out a protest, but Honoka put a finger to her own lips to shush the other girl. "Okay, okay. For now, we'll try to ignore her. We can't afford to get involved again."
Nagisa realized it was the best her conscience would get.
Eventually, as it always had to, the time came for Honoka and Nagisa to part. . . but that day there was a problem. They had said their usual goodbyes, when Honoka turned the corner and realized Nagisa was still holding her hand.
"It's a school night."
"I . . . I don't care." Nagisa said quietly. "I don't want to see them tonight." There was no need to ask who 'they' were, and after that run-in with the mysterious girl there was going to be no use arguing.
Honoka smiled at her friend. "All right. Grandma won't mind, but we'll have to go to your place first."
"You're sure it's okay?" Nagisa asked, looking so tired.
"Yes." Honoka said back. "Now, you've got your stuff packed? I don't want a repeat of the last time. Or the time before that. Or - "
Nagisa actually managed a small laugh. It was a weak thing, utterly pathetic. Sometimes, Nagisa seemed almost normal, but then there were days like this. The fact was that nothing was being done about the stigma of needing to go see that doctor.
That wasn't fair, Honoka quickly realized. Everything indicated that Dr. Fukuzawa genuinely wanted to help them, but what could he do? "Nagisa. . . do you think maybe we're being too cautious about Fukuzawa? I mean, what's the worst that happens? He doesn't believe us, tells our parents, and. . . "
"They lock us up. Because we're crazy." Nagisa said shortly. "We're. . . we're not, are we? That really happened, right?"
Honoka sighed. "Yes, Nagisa."
". . . tomorrow, why don't we go back?"
Her jaw dropped at Nagisa's suggestion. "I think that's a really bad idea. You don't need to see that again." She paused for a long time. "You know, I don't think I've ever been to a gaming center before. Maybe we can do that instead."
Nagisa snorted. "I'm not into that kind of thing. I prefer console games."
"Oh, come on, it'll be fun." Honoka countered. "I know what you're thinking, and it's not like things would get worse. We won't turn into shut-ins like that from one visit." Of course, that was becoming a serious risk anyway, but Honoka decided any human interaction was probably better than the 'nothing' that was happening at this point. She decided to play her trump card. "My treat….we'll even skip school."
"...really?" Nagisa asked, smiling slightly. "Yukishiro Honoka, suggesting we skip school?"
Honoka laughed a bit at that. "Your grades are way better than they were."
"Nothing to do but study," Nagisa said again, quietly. "...fine. Anyway, let's get my stuff." She said, opening the door to her residence and calling out a quiet 'we're here,' to the dark hallway that greeted them.
They both nearly jumped out of their skins at the answering thump from across the house. Nagisa recovered first, going quickly to the kitchen. Honoka did her best to stay quiet, creeping up behind her as they ducked into the room, lit only by the setting sun. There was a note on the counter, and Nagisa picked it up and went pale. "Nobody's supposed to be home." She looked around, grabbing the largest chef's knife from the kitchen drawer.
Honoka stared at the bare blade. "Nagisa!" she half-whispered, half-hissed in alarm.
"There's a burglar. Stay back, Honoka, I'll deal with him." She turned and crept down the hallway, knife gripped firmly in both hands like a sword. Honoka, despite the admonishment, followed close behind. When they reached it, Nagisa looked back over her shoulder with a small smile . . . before turning the corner with a kick strong enough to break the frame, but simultaneously throwing herself off-balance. Honoka barely caught her before the knife went flying, steadying her at the same time as she risked a glance into the room.
Nagisa's bedroom had, in fact, not been ransacked. The pink-painted walls, the bed still snugly up against the corner, writing desk covered in crumpled up papers, the dresser next to the door, and the low tea-table in the middle of the room, all was as it was supposed to be. And at that table sat two entities, facing the door and calmly sipping tea.
The first, little over knee height, nonetheless human shaped. With a rainbow of spherical lights arranged in a crescent floating around him, there could be no mistaking him for anything but a mystical entity. Just to enforce this further, he wore robes that were long, well over his hands, and a simple turban covering green hair. As usual, his eyes never opened.
The other figure was a bit taller, perhaps half the height of the average man, clad entirely in beige save for the white beard, mustache, and the remnants of hair that seemed to obscure all of his identifying features aside from a smooth, bald head. "Welcome home," he said calmly.
Nagisa took it anything but calmly, stalking across the room, knife waving about alarmingly. "Don't you 'welcome home' me! You can't be here! We did everything you needed, the world's saved, so why have you come here to mess up our lives again?!"
Honoka stepped in, and carefully put a calming hand on her best friend's shoulder while trying, gently, to take the knife from her hands. "Please. They're probably just here to bring Mepple, Mipple, and Porun home."
"You….you mean they haven't awakened?" the 'old man' asked.
Nagisa snarled. "No! They're gone. If you've come to take them home...I...I…" She collapsed against the door frame. "Please...just...let me say goodbye. Elder, Wisdom," she said. "Please…"
Wisdom, the younger looking of the two faeries, swallowed. "Precure...we need your help."
Honoka nearly felt her heart stop. "I...I am sorry," she said, forcing herself to her most formal. "I'm afraid that, whatever you're asking, it's quite impossible."
"But there's no one else we can turn to!" Wisdom said. "The Queen is dead!"
Nagisa was taking deep, gasping breaths. "No...there's nothing we can do! Don't you get it? Didn't you see the damn crater?!"
"But that wasn't you…" The Elder tried.
Honoka knew it was a lame attempt, but Nagisa beat her to speaking, again. "It. Doesn't. Matter. Everyone's treating us like we did it! If they catch you here we'll go to jail, or probably a nuthouse! That way there doesn't even have to be a trial!"
"Calm down, Nagisa!" Honoka countered. "Elder. . . she has a point. Without Mipple and Mepple, I don't see what we can do."
". . . very well." The Elder said. "But we can't move freely in the Garden of Rainbows. So know this, Precure -" Both girls winced at the use of their title. "The Queen of Light was wounded by the last act of the Dark King. To preserve her existence, she has split into her Life, her Heart, and her Wills, the Twelve Heartiels. Find the Life of the Queen, and you may find a way to restore your partners. . . after which, you may find new girls to take up your mantle, and you will be free, if you so wish."
Nagisa took a few deep breaths. "Just...find the Life of the Queen, and it's all over?"
"If you so wish."
Nagisa and Honoka glanced at each other. "Deal. What does she look like?"
Wisdom winced at the intensity in Honoka's voice. "We have no idea-"
"WHAT?!" Nagisa shouted again, looking to throw the knife before realizing Honoka still had it.
Wisdom leaped back against the bed in alarm. "But she must be close by!"
Nagisa calmed herself down with a visible effort. "Fi..fine. But you two go home. If the police or my family gets a whiff that a faerie was here. . . "
The two faeries nodded, and scrambled out the window.
Once they were gone, Nagisa collapsed onto her bed, seemingly drained of all her energy. "What do we do?"
Odajima Yuka had not been having a good year. It hadn't been bad, either, though. Not exactly. Starting as a new freshman at high school, without the reputation of 'Madonna' she had hoped to be ordinary for a bit longer, but her usual nature had won out when she had found herself joining multiple clubs. With her long brown hair, always perfectly styled and lightly decorated, the re-tailored uniform, and her perfect, trained-in elegance, she had no shortage of boys approaching her. It seemed she was on her way to the top of the school's pecking order.
Again.
She just couldn't help it, it seemed. But, there was something missing, ever since her graduation. And all these silly activities weren't filling the void anymore.
Although two men in black suits standing in front of a limo outside the high school, a limo that wasn't hers, and flanking a man in a loud Hawaiian shirt with the same scary sunglasses wasn't her idea of a fix, it seemed it would have to do. Especially when the man waved her over and called her name. She did as he indicated, but couldn't quite help asking "And just where is my usual car?"
"He was told to go home," the man said. "You can just call me Jay. We'll be taking you home, if you wish." Before she could protest, he showed her a government ID. "You have a cell phone. Call whomever you want to confirm my story."
Eyeing him suspiciously, she did pull her phone out and quick-dialed her butler. Then, considering very carefully, she got in, followed by the rather suspiciously named 'Mister Jay.' "All right, what do you want to show me?"
"First, you must understand that this is classified at the highest levels, Miss Odajima. I would not be showing this to you if I had any other ideas on how to proceed. But, you are the closest person to them I can find who hasn't been involved in the recent. . . problems."
"What?" Yuka asked, bewildered.
Jay sighed. "First, promise that what you see doesn't leave this car."
"And if I don't?"
"You have a quiet ride in a government limo and never see me again," Jay replied. "Look, I'm not used to dealing with teenage girls, and I'm at the end of my rope with the ones I've got. If you want to see the show, just grab some tea. If not. . . well, snacks in the door, water, whatever you want?"
Yuka paused, before realizing there was a mini-fridge next to her foot. She opened it, and hesitated for a moment. Then, she pulled out the tea bottle, opened, it, and pointedly took as elegant a sip as possible.
Jay pushed a button next to himself. "What you're about to see is top secret footage of the Battle of Tokyo." The limo's interior dimmed, and a television in the roof started playing. "Not the stuff the news managed to get. Remember, you can't talk about this, especially with your classmates."
The cameras panned around, clearly showing the remains of the Seiko clock...it bounced around, making it hard to see what was going on, until Yuka realized the camera must have been embedded in a soldier's helmet. Also explaining the eerie silence – they probably couldn't capture audio. Slowly, the camera settled on two people and three little creatures…"The Pretty Cure?" she asked. "Well, yeah, everyone knows they were at the Battle."
Jay motioned her to keep watching, so she did.
The camera jarred again as the man wearing it moved in. . . and then the limo filled with blinding white light, causing Yuka to cry out in shock and pain. When it had faded enough for her to look again. "Yukishiro?! Misumi!?" She stared at Mister Jay. "THEY were the Pretty Cure?"
"Yep." He sighed. "And. . . well, things haven't been going well for them at school since. I don't know how but news, or I guess rumors, leaked out."
Yuka looked down at the floor. "Take me to Misumi's house. I take it you know where it is."
Nagisa managed to focus on the way over to Honoka's house. "Man, I'm sorry Honoka. I've been . . . real bad today."
"It's not been a good day. A normal person would be running for the hills right now," she pointed out, twirling some of her black hair nervously. "Hey, look!" They were just coming up on the park, which had somehow survived the destruction intact. Cherry trees lined the path, their blossoms in full bloom, with nary a person in sight. "See! Isn't it. . . "
". . . beautiful," Nagisa replied, her voice full of wonder. ". . . this pack's getting heavy. Let's stop for a bit."
Honoka giggled. "Sure. It looks like no one's around, anyway." The idea of an empty park in Tokyo at the height of cherry blossom season would normally be positively ludicrous, but Honoka realized that, with the current situation, it was likely that everyone was leaving the city anyway. A Wednesday would be a bad time for blossom viewing, even (or especially) after school, so it could just be a fluke. So justifying it to herself, she led Nagisa deeper into the park and sat down, not caring about the grass stains on her uniform for once.
She nearly jumped out of her skin when Nagisa sat down next to her and put an arm gently around her waist. "Th..thanks."
Honoka forced herself to relax. "It's no problem."
For a long time, neither of them spoke. The sun slowly going down, the sky turning from blue to orange. Honoka couldn't help but feel the tension slowly flowing out of Nagisa's body until finally, she seemed to mostly be her normal self. For another few minutes they stayed like that, until Nagisa finally broke the silence. "Hey…" she trailed off, sounding uncertain. "Why won't you let me join the Science Club?"
Honoka braced herself. "I...they've asked me not to submit any projects for competition this year," she said, finally. "They didn't kick me out, but they don't want my name out there either. They . . . think it would hurt our chances."
". . . I see."
Honoka smiled. "You know, I do have spare transfer forms for Lumieres."
"My parents would never go for it," Nagisa replied. "But. . . thank you. Do what you have to, okay?"
Honoka was about to tell her friend what she thought of that idea when a wind suddenly blew through the garden, blinding them with dust and cherry blossoms. When they could next see, they weren't alone. The blonde girl had returned, this time mere feet away from them. "Greetings." The girl's voice was soft, and somewhat distant. "I...feel like I know you."
Nagisa's jaw dropped. "What the-who are you?!"
The girl seemed to take a moment to think about the answer. "I am. . . I am Hikari. At least, that's what she said."
"She?" Honoka asked, nearly as alarmed as Nagisa.
". . . she said many things," the apparently newly-named Hikari said. "That you could teach me many things, about who I am." There was another long pause, where Honoka and Nagisa didn't seem to know what to say. "...there is much to do. I should go."
Without warning, the wind picked up again, distinctly blowing down the path again and kicking up more dust. When the girls could open their eyes, Hikari had vanished again.
Suddenly, Nagisa was standing up. "Oh no!"
"What's wrong?" Honoka asked, getting to her feet more slowly.
"The way the wind was blowing! That's where Akane's food truck is!"
Yuka stepped out of the limo, and was surprised to feel, more than see, Mister Jay behind her. She glanced over her shoulder at the man. "What's wrong?"
"There should be someone home," he explained. "The little brother, or the mother, at least. The house is empty."
Yuka blinked. "You can tell that from out here?"
"That's easy enough if you know how. This is weird," Jay said. "Stay behind me." He took the lead, pulling out a pistol – a rare sight in Japan. The front door was unlocked, all the lights off. He went forward, letting Yuka follow behind, and slowly turned into the kitchen. "Odd. Look." There was a note, crumpled and abandoned on the floor, and a drawer full of cutlery was left abandoned. He glanced down at the ground. ". . . sneaker marks? Whatever happened spooked someone enough to forget to take off their shoes." Yuka's jaw dropped while Mister Jay picked up the note and smoothed it out. "They were out shopping. . . so that explains everyone but Misumi and Yukishiro."
Yuka blinked, surprised again. "Yukishiro was here too? How do you know that?"
"She wouldn't be anywhere else but with Misumi, if my guess about their current mental state is correct," Mister Jay moved on, down the hallway, checking each room on the first floor as they got there until they reached the last one in the hall.
The girl gasped as she realized the door had been kicked in, the wood of the door frame. splintering. "N-Nagisa did that?"
"People are capable of surprising things, when they're afraid." Mister Jay gently nudged the door open, swinging his pistol around...until he spotted the knife on the bed. Yuka saw it shortly after he did, and screamed. "Oh, relax. It wasn't used. No blood." He looked around again. "And there, in the corner, you can see that there's a gap in the pile of 'stuff.' If I had to guess, Miss Misumi was panicked by something. . . but whatever it was turned out to be deemed 'harmless' and - "
Yuka screamed again, pointing at the window. Mister Jay didn't hesitate, whipping his pistol around and firing three times at the hunched-over, white haired thing peeking in the window. "God damn it!" he screamed, running over to it to check, but the creature was gone, not even leaving footprints.
"What...what was that!?" Yuka shouted at him with terror plainly written on her face.
Mister Jay shook his head. "What I was afraid of. We need to find them, fast."
". . . if there was a pack," Yuka said nervously, but obviously fighting to put on a composed demeanor. "Then it's quite likely Misumi was going to spend the night at Yukishiro's house."
Mister Jay looked at her. "Not bad, kid. Let's go."
Honoka and Nagisa ran up to the food truck. The counter wasn't open, since Akane wasn't due to reopen the store for another day, but she was outside, polishing the paint job along with a certain blonde girl. The former Verone academy student, now an adult and running her own mobile restaurant. "Hey, Nagisa, Honoka!" she waved. "We're not open yet, but I can whip up something real quick I guess!"
"That's not why we're here!" Nagisa said, giving Hikari a death glare. "Who. Are. You?"
Akane blinked. "Um...this is...uhh.." She trailed off blankly, staring at the girl for a moment before turning back to them. "Uh...Kujou Hikari," she said at last, her tone returning to normal. "She's my...ah...uhm…" Again she turned to the girl and stared at her for a few moments with the same blank expression before looking back to the pair. "Cousin! Yes, she's my cousin, and she's moved in with me while she goes to Verone since she doesn't have a place of her own and her parents don't think she's ready for that."
Honoka and Nagisa stared at each other in resignation as the bizarre scene played out. "Hikari. . . what did you do to Akane?" Honoka asked her.
"What?"
Nagisa stalked past Akane to grab the girl by the shoulder, although she was careful not to be rough. "What did you do? We know you're not her cousin."
"OW!" Hikari shouted, despite the fact that Nagisa knew she couldn't be holding the girl that hard. "What are you saying? I didn't - "
"That's quite enough," A deeper voice, one Honoka and Nagisa knew all too well, shouted. Everyone stared over at Mister Jay. . . and one other.
"Odajima!" Nagisa shouted. "What are you doing here?!"
Yuka stared at them. "I. . . I heard. . . I just wanted to help."
Nagisa felt her throat go dry. "I...uh…"
Hikari managed to wriggle free from the older girl's grip. "I . . I didn't do anything! What's going on? Honoka, Nagisa?" The blonde girl looked at the pair, utterly bewildered. "Please…"
Mister Jay sounded as cold and serious as any of his usual 'coworkers' when he said "I don't recognize you, Blondie. Step away, slowly."
Akane managed to find her voice. "This is my cousin!" she shouted angrily. "I want to see some identification."
"Fujita Akane, you do not have a cousin!" Jay said back calmly. "This entity is no relation of yours."
"How can you say that?!" Akane wailed plaintively. "What's going on?"
Honoka stepped around Akane and up to the girl. "Please, Hikari, you have to tell us the truth."
"I. . . I don't know!" Hikari said softly, looking on the edge of tears. "I don't. . . I don't remember anything."
Nagisa swallowed. "I think. . . she's telling the truth."
Jay nodded. "I'll accept that. . . but she needs to come with me."
"What?!" Honoka and Nagisa said at the same time.
Jay stared at them. "I believe she doesn't know what she is, but you saw what happened just now. She needs to be isolated until we can determine if she's safe."
"NO!" Hikari screamed. "DON'T LET HIM TAKE ME!"
Suddenly there was a flash of light….and Mipple and Mepple were awake in their mascot forms and in their partner's hands. "What...what just happened?" Honoka asked.
Mipple looked over her shoulder. "Never mind that-Mipo! Transform-Mipo!"
Jay cocked his pistol. "Girls, I don't want to hurt any of you but you're not giving me a lot of options."
For almost a minute they stared at each other, until Yuka's voice cut through the silence. ". . . last year." Everyone stared at her, puzzled. "Last year, when I woke up in that junkyard. Was that you?" she asked, staring directly at Nagisa, who nodded. "And you two saved my life?" She nodded again. Yuka seemed to hesitate for a moment, then suddenly shot out in front of Mister Jay, spreading her arms out wide defensively. "Do it! Pretty Cure!"
Jay stared at her in shock. "Odajima, get out of the way!"
"No," Yuka said. She glanced back over her shoulder. "What are you two waiting for?! Do it!"
Honoka and Nagisa didn't need to be told again. "DUAL AURORA WAVE!"
Mister Jay dove to the right to try to shoot around the girl, but it was too late, a rainbow pillar falling from the sky and obscuring them. When it cleared, Cure Black and Cure White had returned. "We won't let you harm this girl!" Black declared.
White nodded. "Return to the place whence you came!"
Yuka's jaw dropped as if, despite all the evidence, she really needed to see the transformation herself to believe it. "You. . . you really are. . . "
Jay stopped, obviously considering his options. ". . . I can't take on girls who can ride a goddamn missile like a surfboard," he decided. "But please, think about what you're doing. There's still time to pretend none of this happened. Just . . . let me take her and make sure she's no real threat."
"No deal, Jay!" Black said. "Get out of here."
Jay tried again. "If you do this there's no protection left! You'll really be criminals this time. Terrorists, or worse!"
White shook her head. "Everyone was already thinking it anyway."
"What do you want?"
Black was the one who answered. "To put it all right. . . but since we can't, we'll do what's right."
Jay sniffed, holstering his pistol. "As you wish. For what it's worth, I'm sorry." He turned, and almost walked away without another word. ". . . Miss Odajima, you should be aware that there's too much of a record of our association. I am sorry for dragging you into this, but I suggest you at least come with me now. I'll take you home."
Yuka shook her head. "No. I'm staying with Misumi."
". . . you're a bunch of idiots, you know that?"
Yuka grinned. "I believe that is true." Finally, the man in the loud Hawaiian shirt started walking to his limo, seeming somehow defeated while she turned back to the others and spoke, quietly. "I'm sure my father can protect us for awhile, at least until we come to some other arrangement. I'm pretty sure there isn't actually a law about. . . what happened today. Yet."
Nagisa gave her a tired smile. "Thanks, Odajima."
"Call me Yuka. . . Nagisa," the named girl responded. "We need to get going."
Nagisa grinned as she walked through the gate. "Wow, this is a huge place!" She skipped ahead. "Is this yours?"
Yuka couldn't resist a smile. "It's my father's. For tonight, you're welcome to stay here. Both of you." She glanced up at the one window in the far corner. "I need to speak to him, but please, make yourselves at home."
Honoka glanced over her shoulder. "Yuka, we can't stay. Mister Jay. . . "
"Can't possibly have as much power as he's letting you think," Yuka countered. "Father's taught me well about how to deal with his kind. Of course, he was talking about an investigation into corporate crime, but I'm sure the principle's the same."
"It's NOT!" Honoka shouted.
Yuka smiled. "Your friends had better hope it is," she pointed out. "But if you're so worried, we'll all go."
Hikari stared at them all, looking quietly terrified. "What's going on? Nagisa? Did I do something wrong?"
The brown-haired girl started, looking around for rescue from any quarter, but all of her companions seemed just as stunned by the outburst as she was, finally she broke and gave the girl a gentle hug. "Yes. . . you did, but you didn't know you were doing it. Honoka and I aren't mad at you."
"Th...thanks," Hikari said, gently embracing the human. "The voice said you'd take care of me. . . "
Nagisa closed her eyes to hide the small tears starting to form. "As long as we can, from whatever we can."
A booming male voice called out "And that, I suppose, is where I come in," Everyone turned, startled, to see a slightly older gentleman. While his hair had once been much the same color as Yuka's, it was now speckled with the beginnings of gray. "Daughter, I just got a phone call."
Yuka swallowed. "I can explain, father. . . "
"I told him to shove it where the sun don't shine!" Mister Odajima shouted suddenly. "If he wants to tell you girls what to do, he can come here with a damn warrant or an adoption certificate. That's when he admitted he had one. . . which is kinda strange, since you both have living parents." The man smirked. "Don't worry. . . you two. . . three. . . " his eyes narrowed, as suddenly he realized the small 'plush toys' were moving ". . . six?" There was a round of nervous chuckles. "Six can stay here while that gets sorted. . . and if your parents object, my lawyers will keep them tied up over this too!"
Honoka's voice lowered to barely a whisper. "Why?"
"Because, last year you helped all of us. Even if some people aren't grateful, it's time we helped you."
