Chapter 2: A God, a Fortune, and a Sister

The nine of us were gathered together in the living room at The Embassy. This was the place where Hime stayed with Blue and Ribbon. While I was unsure if "The Embassy" was actually an official designation for this building or not, but it was still quite an apt title considering the fact that Hime was a real princess from a foreign world. It also helped that the place was big enough and had the right kind of look too.

All eight pairs of eyes were staring intently at me, waiting for me to speak. Usually I do not have trouble speaking to people. However, the uniqueness of my present situation was extraordinary enough that a loss of words on my part had to be reasonably understandable. As I pondered what to say to this unique collection of individuals, my eyes casually scanned each one of them.

First, Aino Megumi and Shirayuki Hime. They were the first two girls whom I had met earlier, so there was no need for any further introduction to them. Next was the yellow-haired Omori Yuuko, also known as Cure Honey. Her love for rice was legendary, as was her honey candy, supposedly. I made a mental note to myself: try her honey candy one day. Sitting beside her was the purple-haired Hikawa Iona, or Cure Fortune, the lone wolf who had almost fully opened up to the group and became a strong addition to the team.

My eyes glossed over to the only other teenage boy in the team, Sagara Seiji. He was a capable fighter, trained in karate like Iona, and also the childhood friend of Megumi. He and Megumi were prime candidates for shipping, so I made a note to look out for them, knowing that characters like Marisu were prowling about.

Then there were the two fairies, Ribbon and Glasan. Appearances-wise, they were relatively similar, looking to the casual observer like a pair of flying plush toys with large… bags, I had guessed… strapped to their backs. They looked like ladybugs or tortoises with those bags attached. Ribbon, Hime's fairy partner, was the pink-themed one whereas Glasan, Iona's partner, was purple. Glasan also sported a rocking pair of glasses on her brow.

Finally, we move on to Blue. Everyone called him by the title Kami-sama, addressing him as a god. Presumably a deity of the earth, this blue-haired and blue-eyed entity was solely responsible for seeding the world with Pretty Cure for the express purpose of combating the worldwide Phantom Empire invasion. He gets around through mirrors, which could lead a traveller to just about anywhere in the world. The large mirror in The Embassy's living room led directly to his private chambers, a room of mirrors that essentially existed in another plane of existence and served as his base of operations.

Anyway, Blue was the person whom I wanted to meet and so here I was, choking over words to begin my explanation. This is never a good sign. I made another quick glance around the room to gauge what everyone was thinking about me. Unsurprisingly, they were all still staring intently at me, obviously eager to hear what I had to say. Iona and Seiji seemed to have a stern expression, however. Perhaps they were suspicious of my presence?

With a deep breath and sigh, I began. "Hello everyone. My name is Ken, and I come from another world." Megumi, Hime and Ribbon have already heard this, of course, but this was more for the benefit of the rest of the group. I continued, "I don't really know the circumstances of how I ended up here, but from where I come from there are people who know of the Pretty Cure and that is how I knew that Aino-san and Shirayuki-san were Precures." I was hoping to avoid mentioning the fact that they're fictional characters from where I come from. The present situation is already awkward enough as it is and there's no point in contributing more towards that aspect.

"I guess…" I paused for a moment and directed my gaze to Blue before continuing. "I'm hoping that perhaps Blue-sama might be able to help me find the way home?"

Blue seemed to stare outwards at nothing in particular, deep in thought. After a moment, he turned to look directly at me and said, "I think I understand your situation and what you are asking. But I feel that you have not told us the full story and that there are some remaining secrets you have chosen not to share with us."

My heart might have as well skipped a beat. I was totally called out like an amateur, and prepared for the worst possible outcome.

But Blue smiled instead. "Whatever secrets you have, I'm sure that you will tell us when the time is right. As long as you are sincere to yourself, I will help you find your way home."

That was an unexpected decision, as I had already expected more interrogation from him. "Umm… thanks… I think?" was all that I could eke out.

"Do you have a place to stay?" asked Blue.

"Unfortunately, no."

"Then you are welcome to stay with us until you manage to find your way home."

I have to admit, I was hoping very much for this outcome but it still came to me as a surprise. Megumi was beaming like her usual happiness-charged self. I couldn't read Hime that well, but if I were to guess I would say… a mix of surprise and displeasure, perhaps? It seemed that Iona and Seiji still had some bits of suspicion about me which I will probably need to clear up in the following days. Yuuko had the unexpected idea of making dinner for us all and was already on her way to the kitchen. Ribbon and Glasan seemed to be carrying a whispered conversation between themselves while occasionally throwing glances in my direction. I guess I already have my work cut out for me then.

There was a lot more work to be done than I had expected. Since I had just appeared out of nowhere in this world, I had no money, no spare clothes and not a single piece of essential item on me. There was also the issue of finding work and earning my keep here; no one was expecting me to freeload during my stay here. But before we could even get to that, the more immediate concern was supplies. Iona and Glasan had volunteered to take me shopping while the rest either helped Yuuko with prepare dinner or prepare one of The Embassy's many rooms for me.

"So, you come here often?" That was me, trying to initiate small talk with Iona as we entered a relatively normal-looking store. We came here to get essentials such as towels, toothbrushes, soap, shampoo and the like.

"The price of the things here are quite reasonable," she said without breaking her stride. She systematically ushered me from aisle to aisle, suggesting what things I need based on necessity and price, but it was mostly the price. And by suggesting, I meant directing. Before long, we were moving on to the next store for clothes, and then finally for groceries. The groceries part was mostly for stocking up The Embassy and addressing a list from Yuuko though.

Iona quickly and systematically went through the itinerary with such focus that I didn't get much opportunity to discuss anything serious with her. The opportunity presented itself, however, on the walk back.

"So, how did you meet Cure Crimson?"

Iona stopped and glared at me. "Marisu? Is this what it's about?"

"What's what about?" I asked, feigning ignorance.

"What's your interest with Marisu?" Both Iona and Glasan were now patiently awaiting my response.

It looked like we aren't going to be going home until this thing has been settled. "It's just that she doesn't seem to fit in. By that, I mean to say that I feel like she's also an outsider. If she is one, then I would very much like a word with her. After all, it could help with my situation."

"Is that so?" Iona relaxed a little bit, her glare softening into mere curiosity. She casually tossed a glance at Glasan, who just shrugged her shoulders in response. "Come to think of it, she does feel a little different from the rest of us. Anyway, if you wish to learn more about Marisu, you should ask Megumi or Hime. I haven't really talked to her much, and she doesn't seem like the talkative kind to me."

"Thanks." That came out of nowhere, and I wasn't exactly sure why my mouth decided to get a mind of its own.

"For what?"

Thanks for not suspecting me of anything malicious, even though I'm a total stranger who suddenly appeared out of nowhere and has tremendous intelligence on your team and their personal background and history, was what I could have said. Personal suicide in its finest form.

"It's nothing. Let's get back. It's getting late," is what I settled for instead.

Before dinner, I had a chance to visit Blue's room – his inner sanctum – the room of mirrors that sat on another plane of existence. Countless mirrors floated around the blue interior, a fitting theme for a deity named Blue. It is said that these mirrors could connect one to another place or world, and this was what I was banking on to get me back.

"Look upon the mirror and pour your feelings of home into it," Blue instructed.

That was about as vague as things could get. Since I wasn't really sure what that meant, I thought hard about home and about family, particularly that annoying sister of mine. After nearly a minute of facial contortions, a probably useless skill I never realised I had, there was no reaction in any of the mirrors at all.

Blue placed his hand reassuringly on my shoulder. "It could be that your world is too distant for my mirrors to reach, or that your feelings for home are not strong enough yet. Either way, I'm sure that given time, a path will present itself so don't worry too much about what happened. It could be that the time has not yet come for you to return to your home."

"I see. Thanks for trying anyway." I dejectedly left Blue's chambers via mirror and returned to the living room of The Embassy, just in time for dinner to be served.

Dinner went by rather uneventfully. I was quite glad for that, actually. With so much going on earlier today, I would have preferred to be given time to process all the information that I have gathered so far instead of being at the receiving end of more questions and answers. Yuuko's rice was fantastic, by the way.

As I lay on the bed in my new room, I started organising my thoughts. Finding a way home was still a priority despite my earlier setback, but besides that, how did I get here in the first place? Why was I brought here? I firmly believe some outside or unseen force must have brought me here for a reason. Although one could easily reason that I may have just stumbled upon some crack between parallel universes or whatever you called it, but the odds of that, and to end up in such a specific world, had to be so unlikely that I might have as well won the lottery ten times in a row.

I then focused my thoughts onto Marisu. Given the fact that she doesn't exist in any Pretty Cure story, she is very likely an outsider like me. So what is she doing here? Perhaps she may be the reason why I was brought here? In any case, it seemed that my best course of action was to investigate this girl and try to learn more about the circumstances surrounding her.

So perhaps going home can wait. Do I even want to go back to that boring place I call home, when there's adventure and excitement to be had here? It was a tempting thought indeed, but I decided to shelve that thought for now. Home can wait. Figuring out the mystery behind Marisu came first.

With that I closed my eyes and prepared for morning to come.

"I don't know what your game plan is, but we need to talk."

I coughed, spurting out a fine mist of coffee onto the table. I had planned to start searching for Marisu after finishing breakfast at Yuuko's shop but to have her seek me out instead took me by surprise. "Thanks for making me choke over my drink."

Marisu sat down across me and glared. It was the kind of glare where you were supposed to know that you did something wrong even though you weren't really sure what it was. I wasn't really prepared to have this conversation, so I deadpanned and waited for her response.

"Did something happen? What's with the cold shoulder?"

I was taken aback by her response. She obviously knew more than I had thought. "Am I supposed to be knowing something that I don't?"

"Look, you're just supposed to be-"

Marisu stopped and her face turned sour. Her gaze left me and began to lock onto something behind me. I turned to follow her gaze, not sure what to expect. Since we were inside a simple lunch shop, I wasn't expecting anything dramatic like the appearance of another Phantom Empire general or the like.

It was Megumi, Hime and Ribbon. The three of them had just entered the shop. Megumi smiled and waved when she noticed Marisu and me. Hime, on the other hand, seemed to be preoccupied by someone standing beside her, but I couldn't see that person because Megumi was in the way. It was probably either Iona or Seiji, as Hime seemed to be smiling and getting along quite well with that person.

I raised my hand and returned Megumi's greeting, while at the same time calling the attention of the rest of her group. "Yo!"

Marisu got up and prepared to leave. She's not the one to socialize, I suppose.

"Marisu-chan, you're not staying?" Megumi asked as she happily skipped over to our table.

"Sorry, but I'm busy today."

I stopped paying attention to Megumi or Marisu after that, because I had noticed Hime's companion. It was another girl that I didn't recognise. That wasn't the only problem, though. This was Hime. The shy, introverted Hime was getting along so well with a stranger, and that little fact alone raised all kinds of warning klaxons.

As Marisu walked past, I quickly grabbed and tugged at her sleeve. "Do you know that person?"

Marisu bent over to my ear and whispered, "I've never seen her before." After having said her piece, she nonchalantly shook me off and left. As she walked past the stranger, they both exchanged quick glances. The stranger seemed to give Marisu a disdainful look. If my imagination were even remotely wilder than it was now, there would be a sudden crack of thunder as the room turned dark while lighting arced and highlighted their silhouettes.

Megumi took a seat at the table and initiated some small talk with Yuuko. Hime was still busy talking to her companion, a fair-skinned girl with shoulder-length cyan hair. I still haven't gotten used to a world where bright and colourful hair is the norm.

"Hello, Shirayuki-san. Who's your friend?"

Hime froze. That's just great, isn't it? She can so easily get along with her companion but was still apprehensive towards me.

"She's Hime-chan's sister," Megumi answered in her stead.

"What?" That was really shocking news to me. A sister? I could see where this might be going. I wouldn't be surprised if the stranger was somehow a long lost twin sister who was separated at birth and therefore never meeting each other. Until now. Even worse, the cold expression that the stranger gave to Marisu was now completely gone, replaced by a beaming smile of epic proportions.

"Hi hi!" Her -sister greeted me with as much enthusiasm as a sugar-rich Megumi squared would. The feeling was nauseating. "I'm Marie-Sueanna Window Cure Diva of the Blue Sky. Pleased to meet you, err…"

"Ken."

"Pleased to meet you, Ken!" She ended that with a cutesy wink. Or at least it was meant to be cute, but at this point I was just disturbed by the whole exchange.

"Marie-Sueanna Window…" I lost track of the rest of her name.

"You can just call me Marie." She continued beaming at me, her smile occupying more of her face than I thought possible. The happiness was over nine thousand in this one, apparently. I just hoped that it wasn't infectious.

"And you are… Shirayuki-san's sister?"

"Yes, correct!" More happiness-charged smiles, with a raised index finger just for dramatic effect. I didn't know how long I could take it before contemplating seppuku.

"Though we only found out this morning," Megumi added.

"We were separated at birth, you see. I was brought up in the Dark Sea Kingdom where Hime nee-chan's uncle was king."

Great, so they've only met for a less than day and are already going by first name-chan basis? I resisted the attempt to ask if they were twins. Part of me was really curious to know the answer, but at the same time I imagine I might have rage-flipped the table right there and then if I found out that they were.

I was really glad that I didn't ask.

Author's Note: As some readers may already know, Shirayuki Hime is Himelda Window Cure Queen of the Blue Sky. Now, etymology-wise, I would presume that Window may be a family name while Cure Queen could be a title. Thus I kept Window in Marie's name but changed her title to Cure Diva, which seemed more apt considering her personality.

A long-lost sibling is yet another common warning sign in fan faction that the character may be a Mary Sue.

The phrase, over nine thousand, is derived from the popular Dragonball series.