"Hi-na-ta~! It's time to wake up!"
That was weird-her mom hasn't come to wake her up for school since she was a little kid…Maybe that was her sister? No, Asame wouldn't bother with that; she knows she can wake up by herself…
"Hinata! Get up, please!"
Hinata felt like she just got buried alive, and flew up from her bed, blearily opening her eyes. Rather than dirt, she was covered in her collection of stuffed animals, with Jasper, Aqua, and Ruby sitting at the foot of her bed. Aqua's gem was faintly glowing. Jasper side eyed his brother.
"Decided not to use your rock throwing strategy to wake up sleeping people, huh?"
Aqua rolled his eyes but otherwise didn't deign him with an answer.
"Sorry about that, Hinata. But according to your clock, you seem to be running a bit late this morning?"
Hinata's eyes moved to her bedside clock, a cute little figurine of one of her favorite anime characters she ordered in the back of a manga. The red numbers laughed at her.
"Oh no, I'm gonna be late!" She threw the covers off of her, sending both stuffed animal and fairy flying.
This was unreal-Hinata had never woken up late in her life. She held herself to a very specific schedule and like it or not, her body was a slave to it. It made no sense-Oh.
She started to remember yesterday's events. Transforming into her superpowered alter ego and taking down that train monster…And saving all those people. She gave herself a little smile and she shrugged on her school blazer. When she picked up her school bag, she heard a voice from inside.
"Hey, be a little gentler!"
She paused, and peeked inside. All three brothers were inside, staring back at her.
"What's up?" Jasper said, as if he were talking about the weather.
"You're really coming with me to school?"
Aqua nodded. Well, as much as he could in that small space.
"Queen Dia told us to look after you too, not just find you. We have to keep a constant watch to make sure-"
"Hinata-chaaaan! Are you ready yet? I'm taking you to school so hurry up!"
At the sound of her mother's voice Hinata quickly shut her bag, ignoring the brothers' protests, and made her way down the stairs. She looked around before she saw her mother, Hitoe, in the kitchen, finishing up a batch of toast. Her dark hair was held up in a messy bun, and her eyes were sleepy but alert.
"Um, you're taking me, Mama?" she asked.
"Oh, Hinata-chan! Finally. You're never late; everyone else left already," She looked at her daughter worriedly. "Are you sure you feel better?"
Yesterday, after they finally woke her up, Ruby transported everyone back to Hinata's house, she mumbled something to her mother about feeling sick and promptly slept all day.
"I'm fine, Mama, I just needed to, um, sleep," she said.
Hitoe clicked her tongue. "Well, if you're sure. Anyway, I guess you missed it since you were sleeping so long, but there's been some sort of accident at the train station, so they're closed down. I'll be taking you to school in the meantime, since that's way too far away for you to walk."
Hinata made a garbled sound that led to a series of coughs and another assurance that she's fine, really. She grabbed a piece of toast from the counter and went to the car before any more questions to her health could be asked. She remembered that dent she made in the train, and anxiously wondered if that could be traced back to her somehow.
Soon they were both in the car and on their way, passing house after house until they were finally out of the residential district and on the main road. Hinata stared absentmindedly out of the window, thoughts still filled with worry about yesterday's events.
A flash of green and blue brought her out of her daze, and she peered out with more concentration. She rubbed her eyes, because she must have been seeing things; there's no way she was looking at that brown-haired girl from the other day, in the bike path on the other side of the road, pumping furiously on the pedals and somehow keeping up with a car.
"Whoaaa, she's fast!" Ruby whispered. He snuck out of Hinata's bag at some point and was staring out of the window with her.
"Did you say something, Hinata-chan?" Hitoe asked from the front.
"N-nothing, no!" she answered, flustered, and grabbed Ruby and stuffed him back into the bag, ignoring his muffled protests.
Today's episode: A kind breeze makes everyone smile! Cure Peridot is born!
"Alright, it's a free day today, so pair up and play something!"
Hinata sat in the back of the gym, back propped up against the wall. How could she forget they had gym today? She should have just said she was sick…
She left her bag in the classroom, giving the brothers a chance to stretch since it was empty at this time, but now she was kind of regretting it. It would have been nice to have company. Just as she thought that, she saw a pair of feet come walking in front of her. Well, she looked up and saw that they were connected to a person. Namely, the brown-haired bike girl.
"Hey, hey!" she greeted. "I didn't know you were in my class!"
Hinata moved her mouth slightly but no words came out. Nonplussed, the girl went on.
"I didn't come to school yesterday, cuz I was so into going super-fast on my bike I totally missed the school by a mile or two! I just skipped after that. Too bad, cuz we could have met properly already!"
Hinata made a vague sound of agreement.
"Oh, I forgot! My name is Iyori Fuuka. What's yours?"
Swallowing, Hinata looked away and mumbled, "Uhm…Tsuyoshi…Hinata…"
"Ah, okay! Hinata-san, then!" Fuuka plopped down next to her. "Can I call you Hinata-san? You can call me Fuuka if you want!"
"Hmmmfhdmfok…"
Fuuka looked at the other girl for a moment before saying softly, "Sorry, am I bothering you? I didn't mean to-you just looked lonely over here by yourself, so I thought you might want some company."
"N-no!" Hinata said suddenly, turning around but still not able to really look her in the eye. "U-um, I'm sorry…That was nice of you…I'm glad you came over, um, Fuuka-san."
Fuuka brightened up at that. "Oh, good! I was worried you were thinking 'man I wish this girl would shut up already and leave me alone!' but was too nice to say anything, haha."
Hinata managed to give an awkward little laugh she hoped sounded genuine enough.
"So, hey, wanna partner up with me?"
Hindsight is 20/20. Hinata should have made up some excuse and said no, but she really didn't want to turn down social interaction when it so elegantly wrapped it up with a bow and left it on her lap. Every game they played, basketball, softball, volleyball, soccer, all ended with Fuuka apologizing and Hinata nursing a sore nose. She probably should have mentioned that she wasn't good at anything involving a ball. Or a stick. Or moving people. She just wasn't good at anything physical, really. After the fifth time of being beamed in the face, Fuuka suggested that they hang out on the bleachers and talk instead. Hinata and her poor nose thought this was a great idea.
"So, what do you like to do?" Fuuka began. "I'm like, really, really into gymnastics. I go to competitions and win all the time and I'm basically the best at it."
Hinata wished she could be that confident. She was about to respond with her own hobbies, but paused as she realized they were all horribly nerdy compared to something cool and glamorous like…all that twirling and flipping that gymnasts do. Oh, but there was that one…
"I, um, I like to play shogi."
"Oh, that's really cool! That's a bit too complicated for me though; I'll stick to flips." Fuuka gave a laugh that was so nice and filled Hinata with warmth and made her cheeks light up a bit.
"Are you in the Shogi Club then?"
Well, that ruined it. Hinata grimaced a little before explaining.
"I….no…I want to but…I'm not really good with people…I'm too scared to even submit the application."
Fuuka smiled again. "Well, you're talking to me now! I'm sure you'll be able to join one day. I'll root for you!"
Hinata wanted to say that it most likely wasn't because she herself jumped over some emotional hurdles that she was able to talk to Fuuka even remotely like a normal human being, but rather because Fuuka was one of those kind people who made talking to them the easiest thing in the world, even for people like herself who cowered at the thought of conversation with strangers.
Before she could respond, the bell rang, signaling the end of class.
"Aw, that was quick," Fuuka pouted. "Hey, hey, wanna hang out after school? We can go to an arcade!"
Kind of feeling like this was all a dream or a practical joke, Hinata just nodded.
After gym, Hinata felt like she was on cloud nine, like she could do anything, like even submit that application to the Shogi Club. But when she was in front of the club submissions wall, staring at the folder for club applications, she got cold feet. Thinking about having to talk to so many strangers gave her hives.
'Well, whatever," she thought, folding her application into her pocket. "Like Fuuka-san said, I'm sure I'll be able to do this eventually."
"A kid?" Florine and Krylie repeated at the same time, sharing twin looks of disbelief between them. Neon sighed and swirled the tea Krylie made for him. It wasn't very good. He took a sip anyway.
"Yes," he replied. "Did Gallium tell either of you two we'd be fighting children?"
"I don't think Gallium knew either. I'm sure he woulda told us," Krylie said.
"But it doesn't matter either way, right? They're the enemy, so we have to destroy them. Simple," Florine said, shrugging her shoulders. Despite her easy tone she looked a little put off.
Krylie sent a sympathetic look towards Neon.
"If it bothers you, we can go this time, y'know."
Neon shook his head.
"I can still do it. You don't have to worry about me."
Krylie worried even more.
As the end of school approached, Hinata stared desperately at the clock. Apparently Fuuka sat across from her, but she never noticed. She was never really good at learning more about her classmates. Actually, she was pretty sure she didn't know any of their names. She made a mental note to try to fix that. Eventually.
Finally, the bell rang and Hinata sprang up. But then felt embarrassed and quickly sank back down. Luckily she didn't have to decide how she was going to approach her, as Fuuka took care of that, walking over to Hinata's desk.
"Ready?" she asked, shrugging on her cute green cat shaped backpack.
"O-oh! Yeah," Hinata said, adjusting her glasses nervously.
"Alrighty, let's go!" Fuuka turned on her heel and lead Hinata out of the classroom.
"Oh…Fuuka-san?" Hinata said once they reached the bike racks. "I just remembered, the trains are, um, down. I could ask my mother to take us-"
"Oh, no need, no need! We'll take this!" Fuuka pointed at her green bike. Hinata swallowed, remembering the scene from this morning.
"Is…Is it safe for two people to ride at the same time?"
Fuuka paused for a long moment before answering.
"…Sure it is!"
She hopped on the bike and motioned for Hinata to get on the back. Hinata was quite sure this was both stupid and dangerous but that didn't stop her for even a minute. After sending a text to her mom saying where she was going, she carefully climbed on the bike, sitting sideways on the rack behind the seat.
"Here we go!" And they shot off like a rocket, Hinata screaming and clinging to Fuuka's waist for dear life.
Hinata's vocal cords hurt. She worried that the brothers turned into soup with how fast they were going (upon inspection they were still asleep. Hinata has never been more scared of them). She didn't think her hair would ever stand down again. Fuuka was totally fine. Hinata had suspicions that she wasn't human.
They stopped in front of Wataishi's local arcade and bowling alley, Star Room. Hinata was very familiar with this place; she used to tag along with Asame here all the time when she was younger.
"I have to admit, I don't go to these kinds of places much," Fuuka said, grinning ruefully. "But it's always fun to try something new, right?"
"Y...yeah. Actually," Hinata started, taking in the familiar sights of the cabinets. "I used to come here a lot…Um, with my sister, not by myself."
"Oh, really! Then show me the ropes, yeah?" Fuuka made a dramatic bow and flourished her arms to the entrance. "After you, o masterful one."
Hinata made a squeaky awkward laugh and rubbed the back of her neck as she went inside, Fuuka on her tail. Star Room was one of the few public places Hinata didn't freak out at being at, probably because it was never too populated and the people who were there were usually little kids or old people, and she dealt with them much easier than people her age. She spotted a familiar game: a simple thing where you're a tiny triangle shooting at lumpy circles in space, and walked over to it while Fuuka went to get coins.
"Mmgn…are we back at your house yet?" Hinata heard Ruby sleepily ask from the depths of her bag.
"O-oh, Ruby, no…I'm at an arcade," she apologized. Ruby perked his ears up at that and stuck his head out of the bag.
"What's an arcade? Whoa, there're a lot of colors in here. Kinda looks like my house back in the Treasure Kingdom. Hey, what're those glowing boxes? Oh, something smells good; Hinata, is it time to eat yet-"
"Ruby, Ruby please go back to sleep. I'll feed you later," Hinata begged.
"But I'm up now and Jasper keeps drooling on me and Aqua keeps kicking me and it's really cramped in here and I keep getting smashed by your books and-"
Ruby's complaining got cut short. Hinata saw Fuuka start to come back and quickly smashed Ruby back into her bag, closing it shut before he could pop back out. Fuuka looked at her oddly when she reached her.
"Uh…everything alright with that bag of yours?" she asked, handing Hinata a roll of coins.
"Wh-what? Oh, yes, bag, fine, really, thank you," Hinata stuttered out, really hoping Fuuka didn't see a magic rabbit dragon fairy thing sticking out of it.
"Um, let's play?"
When Hinata said she came here a lot, she meant a lot. Almost every game in the arcade had her initials in the high score list (after she finally sheepishly admitted that they were hers once they saw the same kanji every single time Hinata got another high score). Fuuka wasn't really that good at first, but she was a fast learner. She was miles behind even coming close to being as great as Hinata was, but she stopped getting a game over within thirty seconds of starting.
After an hour of playing, they took a break at the snack bar.
"I'm really glad I picked this place," Fuuka said after chugging a bottle of water. "I kinda had a feeling you'd be good at video games."
"You…picked this place for me?" Hinata asked, suddenly feeling terribly embarrassed. "That's…you're really kind, Fuuka-san."
Fuuka looked shocked for a moment, and then her expression became soft. She smiled warmly at Hinata, much smaller and contained than her other energized ones.
"Thank you. That means a lot to me."
Hinata was confused at her words, but she couldn't dwell on them for very long because that warm, fluttering sensation came back full force deep in her belly. It wasn't important, she decided. After all the weirdness that's happened, she just wanted to enjoy herself today.
A young man with long brown hair covering one grey eye, dressed in a plain blue turtleneck, grey slacks, and a long blue scarf walked into the Star Room, completely blending in with the crowd. He wandered around the arcade section, glancing at each cabinet until a suitable one caught his eye. Approaching it, he tapped once at his scarf, and it started to grow steel fang like appendages at its end. It shot into the cabinet, sinking its fangs into it. All at once, the cabinet started growing in size, the same blue face and limbs forming just like the train monster from the other day. Immediately, the patrons of the Star Room started scattering, running for the door.
"MOGUNNNNA," The creature bellowed, opening its gaping maw to suck Crystal Hearts from those unlucky enough to not get away in time. In the midst of all the chaos, the young man snapped his fingers and his wardrobe changed, revealing himself to be Neon.
"I won't fail this time," he said determinedly under his breath.
Hinata stared dumbly at the Mogunna. Didn't she already defeat one of these yesterday? How many of them were there? She started to feel a little sick.
Jasper and Aqua woke up from all the commotion, and poked their heads out of Hinata's bag, along with Ruby.
" Uh-oh," they all said in unison.
Fuuka grabbed Hinata's arm.
"W-we gotta run!" she said frantically, unable to take her eyes off the rampaging monster.
"You have to transform!" Aqua said, equally frantic.
Fuuka shook her head. "No, we have to run, you don't have time to trans- Wait what."
She looked down at Hinata's bag, and three pairs of eyes stared back.
"Hi," said Jasper.
Fuuka just blinked.
"Fuuka-san, um, please don't be weirded out," Hinata said, before lifting up her wrist.
"Pretty Cure, Shining Heart!"
Where Hinata was once standing, Cure Garnet was in her place. Fuuka's brain short circuited and she just rolled with it.
"S-so you're a superhero and you're gonna fight that thing, h-huh?" she asked, her voice going up an octave. Garnet paused a moment, nodded, and jumped towards the Mogunna.
"I…I was having a really good time before you showed up," Garnet said in the angriest voice she could muster.
The Mogunna stopped to consider her.
"Mogunna?" it said questioningly.
"So...You better stop doing that…thing you're doing with those Crystal Hearts or whatever, and…and stop destroying everything right now or I'll beat you up!"
The Mogunna looked at her for a second longer before slamming its arm into her.
"Ok, mental note, talking is useless," Garnet muttered to herself as she picked herself up from where she landed. She ran back to the Mogunna, and threw a punch, but before it could connect she was knocked back again. And again.
The next time it happened, she got thrown to where Fuuka and the brothers were.
"H-hey, are you ok?" Fuuka asked, voice strained. Garnet got up and shook herself off before replying.
"I'm fine. Please…run away while I distract it!"
"I can't just leave you here!" Fuuka shot back, but Garnet was already gone.
"If you forfeit now, I'll make it go away," Neon said, as Garnet blocked a punch from the Mogunna.
"Wh-what?" she stuttered. "Who are you?"
"Someone who will hurt you, unless you give up," he said back. "Agree to stop being a Pretty Cure, and you won't have to fight."
Garnet had to admit, it was a little tempting, if this weirdo was telling the truth. It was getting old, getting punched by this monster over and over again. But when she saw all those people with their Crystal Hearts stolen, lifeless, and how Fuuka might join them, she knew she couldn't back down.
"I…I refuse!" She said finally. "I don't care if I get punched a hundred times…I won't give up!"
Neon looked incredibly disappointed with her answer.
"So be it," he said. "Mogunna, go."
"MOGUNNAAA!" The Mogunna grabbed Garnet up, squeezing her with a gnarled blue fist.
"Garnet!" The brothers cried in unison. Garnet didn't look too good, face going pale.
Fuuka acted without thinking, picking up a nearby chair and hurling it at the Mogunna with all her might. Though it didn't leave so much as a scratch, it turned around anyway, looking confusedly around. Fuuka threw another chair, hitting it square in the face, the shock causing it to drop Garnet. Aqua quickly used his magic to catch her before she fell to the ground, and levitated her back to the group. She was breathing shallowly, eyes closed.
"You leave her alone!" she yelled, readying another chair.
Ruby's bag began to glow.
"You think you can stop it with a few chairs?" Neon asked.
"If chairs won't work, I'll throw bowling balls!" Fuuka shot back immediately. "I won't let you hurt Hinata anymore!"
Something began tugging furiously inside of Ruby's bag, finally getting his attention. He slipped it off his back and opened it up, and a Kira Kira Charmy with a peridot hanging from it immediately flew up from the bag, smacking Fuuka in the face.
"Okay, ow. What the heck is this?" Fuuka said, peeling the bracelet off her cheek.
Aqua gasped. "You're a Pretty Cure, too?"
"A Pretty-wha?"
Jasper started flailing his arms around.
"WHO CARES JUST PUT IT ON HURRY BEFORE THAT THING GETS US ALL!"
"Aw, geez, okay, okay!" Fuuka put the Kira Kira Charmy on her wrist.
"Pretty Cure, Shining Heart!"
Her world exploded into a green sparkly void. Light green wind flowed from her Kira Kira Charmy, surrounding her in diamond shaped cyclone. She closed her eyes and a bright smile formed on her lips as the wind spun her around. A short, puffy green skirt appeared on her with an exaggerated flourish, along with a puffy sleeved green cropped top with mint lace going up the front, ending at her chest where a mint ribbon formed, a small peridot in the center. Green knee-length boots came next, and with that a large mint ribbon tied around her waist. A pair of fingerless gloves with a mint ribbon on the right matching the puffiness of her skirt and a green choker around her neck completed her outfit.
Her hair turned green and grew longer, brushing her shoulder blades, and her bow shaped lock of hair turned into a large diamond shaped pigtail, a mint ribbon holding it in place. When this was done, the cyclone unraveled and led her gently down to the ground, twirling her all the while. She landed primly on her feet, and opened her eyes, which were now green. She lifted her hand up in a mock salute with a wink, grinning playfully.
"A kind breeze makes everyone smile! The green crystal, Cure Peridot!"
Fuuka stopped posing and threw her hands into the air.
"THAT. WAS. AMAZING!"
"Um, Peridot, if you could stop cheering for one moment. We still have a problem," Aqua said, pointing at the Mogunna.
"Oh, yeah, right! I'm on it!"
"Another one?" Neon muttered, annoyed. " Mogunna, attack!"
"MOGU-"
Before the Mogunna could finish its war cry, Peridot was on it in an instant, landing a fierce kick to its face.
"Whoa, she's so fast!" Ruby said admiringly.
"What who's fast," Garnet said, finally recovering enough to pick herself up. "Wait…who is that?"
"It's Cure Peridot! Your friend's a Pretty Cure too!" Ruby said, excited.
Garnet lifted her eyebrows in surprise and watched Peridot beat the living day lights out of the Mogunna. It just couldn't get a hit in, Peridot was so quick. Garnet numbly wondered how fast Peridot could ride a bike, if she would be able to break the sound barrier.
Probably.
With one last swift kick, the Mogunna finally fell down for the count.
"Now for the finishing blow, right?" Peridot said with a cheeky smile. She backflipped away from the Mogunna and opened her arms wide, then threw them outwards while shouting,
"Pretty Cure, Windy Smile!"
A gust of green diamond shaped light burst out of her arms, wrapping the struggling Mogunna in the cyclone. It squeezed it until it exploded in a bright light, defeated, and turned back into the arcade cabinet. The tiny lights of the Crystal Hearts poured out from it, returning to their proper places.
Without needing prompting this time, Jasper took out the Glitter Jar, absorbing the dusty powder coming off the Crystal Hearts.
"Waaaah, that was kinda fun!" Peridot said, rushing over to Garnet. "You're okay, right?"
"Y…yeah. You did well," Garnet sheepishly said. Peridot was taking this a lot better than she had.
"Whoa, really? Did I look super cool?" Peridot struck a dumb pose. Garnet laughed.
"Yeah, super cool."
"Is no one going to compliment me on how quickly I brought out the Glitter Jar?" Jasper asked indignantly. "Aqua didn't even have to tell me to this time." Aqua sighed.
"What is that thing, anyway?" Garnet asked.
"And why are you guys talking rabbits with magical charm bracelets and why did that weird guy attack us and why did I get this cool outfit with magical powers?" Peridot rushed out in one breath.
"Well, the Glitter Jar is a tool that collects Glitter Dust. It's a substance that comes from Crystal Hearts when its owner experiences happiness. Queen Dia told us to collect it," Aqua explained.
"And we're not rabbits! We're fairies! From the Treasure Kingdom!" Ruby said.
"Queen Dia? Fairies? Treasure Kingdom? Crystal Hearts?" Peridot looked even more lost.
Aqua cleared his throat. "Maybe we should continue this discussion elsewhere."
It suddenly hit them that they were two girls standing in a destroyed arcade wearing weird getups talking to a bunch of freaky animals. They were starting to get stares from the few people who were still around.
"Uh, yeah, good idea," Peridot agreed, and Ruby teleported them away once they transformed back into their civilian forms.
They popped back into existence floating above Hinata's bed, hovering for a moment before collapsing in a heap.
"Teleporting…not my favorite way to travel," Fuuka joked weakly, rolling off Ruby, who looked like a furry pancake.
Hinata picked the other two brothers off her chest and slowly sat up, staring at Fuuka. Fuuka caught her eye and Hinata looked away, embarrassed for staring.
"Something wrong? Does your stomach hurt from that monster squeezing you?" she asked. Hinata shook her head.
"No, I'm okay…For some reason I don't really hurt once I transform back." She was silent for a moment. "I just…I'm glad I don't have to do this by myself."
Fuuka smiled at that. "Same here! I think I'd go bonkers having this all happen to me on my own. Speaking of which-"She turned to the Gemmi brothers (Ruby was trying desperately to fluff himself back up).
"You guys got some explaining to do."
Ruby's stomach grumbled suddenly, and he whined. "Can we eat first? I'm starving!"
Neon numbly trudged back to headquarters; now back in his real form with the threat of passerby seeing him gone since he was in the abandoned lot. A soft breeze fluttered his light blue hair around his face, and he looked so worn out and tired, despite his young features. He gripped his hands into fists, nails digging into his flesh. Looking like he was about to cry but with no tears coming out, he desperately thought to himself,
'Gallium…isn't there any other way to save our home?'
Fuuka: Why does putting on skirt give me the power to shoot laser beams? Not that I'm complaining!
Ruby: 'Cuz it's a MAGIC skirt, duh!
Aqua: And they're not laser beams. They're your emotions converted into a tangible form and amplified by the power of the Kira Kira Charmy and-
Jasper: Blah blah blah, no matter how you say it, they're basically magic laser beams.
Fuuka: That is so awesome. I'm so awesome.
Hinata: Even so, I hope we can find the rest of the Pretty Cure…
Fuuka: Next time on Crystal Hearts Pretty Cure: "A Soft and Gentle Love is the Strongest! Cure Petal is Born!"
