Kazue opened her eyes.

The garden she found herself in was beautiful. Gold, purple, and blue flowers decorated the ground. The air was sweet smelling and still, with no breeze to speak of. A quick glance around let her get a view of the trees behind her.

And the boy. He was dressed in a light blue Chinese collared top and dark colored pants. His eyes looked straight at her, almost a deep longing in them. Kazue slowly stood and found herself walking over to him.

"I'm glad Pyo found you," he said as he held out his hand. "You really are exactly as I hoped you'd be."

Kazue's fingers fit in his palm. She felt almost small in his presense, even if he was only a few inches taller than her. The scent of the cherry blossom tree fluttered around them both. "Who are you?"

The boy smiled. "My name is Prince Taro, from the Kingdom of Fortune."

"Kingdom of Fortune?"

He nodded. "It is the home of all things good in the world. Dreams, fate, courage, and joy. It's also where Pyo came from."

Kazue repeated back, "Pyo?"

"The peach bird you saved? That's Pyo. He's the guardian of the Four Darumas."

This conversation was confusing, but Kazue listened intently to his words. "I sent Pyo to earth to find the four chosen warriors. The PreCure." He smiled fondly at her again. "You were chosen to be one of them."

Kazue chirped out a little gasp. "Me?"

"Yesterday, one of the members of the Misfortune company attacked your school. Pyo chose you to become a PreCure warrior, for the sake of many." Taro sighed and turned to the flowers behind him. "Truth is, I was afraid about letting Pyo leaving my kingdom. But if we didn't try something, Earth would fall to Misfortune. I couldn't let your people fall apart to them."

Kazue smiled and squeezed Taro's hand. "I'm glad you let him come here. If I wasn't able to transform, Hanako would have trapped in that tomato body."

Taro chuckled a little at her words. "She was turned into a Fuunki. A key to misfortune. The boy who transformed Hanako was from the Misfortune company." The young prince sighed and squeezed Kazue's hands again. "There will be more. As long as Pyo has the keys and there is a chance of stopping their campaign, the Misfortune company will keep targetting Earth."

The girl's face hardened in determination. "Is there anything I can do?"

The young prince smiled back at her expression. "Yes, there is. Kazue, you are the first of the four PreCure. Pyo holds more keys in his body and can create three more PreCure. Find them, and you can lead the PreCure to victory against the Misfortune company."

The edges of Kazue's vision faded. She stammered out something, but the words didn't feel real. Taro continued, "I cannot keep you here much longer. Find your allies, and we shall be able to meet again. Hurry, Kazue."
-

Kazue opened her eyes again, but only to her ceiling. What a dream. The buzz of her alarm kept her from trying to drift off again, and she did have to go to school. Kazue quietly rose to her feet and went to the night stand where Pyo napped.

"You're a lot more than a little bird, aren't you?" she muttered.

DARUMA LUCKY PRECURE EPISODE TWO: BLOOMING FEELINGS! CURE PETAL, COME FORTH!

Kazue was in a daze as she walked to school again. The dream she had really brought her some answers, but certainly not enough for her liking. Precure, the Misfortune Company, a prince needing her to find more Cures like her? This was something straight out of a fairytale.

"Kazue! Kazue, good morning!" Hanako bolted over, eyes sparkling with glee. Kazue couldn't help but smile back at her.

"Good morning, Hanako. Feeling better today?" After being turned into a tomato-a Fuunki, she correted herself-Hanako had been dizzy and tired. Kazue was able to explain that she was knocked out and was probably tired from that.

"Much better, actually," Hanako replied. "Hey, is your dad letting you keep the bird?"

"I actually named him Pyo," Kazue mentioned. "And yeah, he is! Today he's going to pick up a pretty cage for him."

Hanako looked a little confused. "Doesn't he have a job?"

The blonde nodded and shuffled into her bag. "Dad works in different cities, fixing all sorts of things. Right now, they know he's settling in and getting things fixed up. By this time tomorrow he's going to Tokyo for a week."

"Will you be alright?"

Kazue shrugged. "When we lived in Germany, he'd take a taxi all the way to Portugal for months at a time. Sent back money and mom and I handled things."

Hanako nodded as she spoke. "So it's just gonna be the two of you again?"

There was a sudden stop in the conversation, as well as the stroll to school. Kazue turned to her friend agai, but a rather sad smile stood on her face. "No, it'll be just me."

Before Hanako could say anything, there was a chime from across the way. Both girls glanced up at the school bell and they froze. "Uh oh."
-

It was a mad-run to the school, but Hanako and Kazue managed to beat the bell. They swapped their shoes with ease and proceeded up the steps.

Unfortunately, their homeroom teacher was already walking to their classroom already. Poor Hanako made a noise of frustration. "June-sensei is gonna mark us late..."

Kazue's shoulders dropped sadly and unconciously took Hanako's hand. "If we look pitiful enough, do you think she'll understand?"

"Not likely, but nice having positive thoughts."

The two strolled behind their teacher for a little bit, until they reached 2-A. Ms. June took a moment to check her things at the door. Kazue briefly thought about bolting pass her, but that wouldn't do any good. Now it was all about saving face in being late.

"Excuse me, June-sensei?"

Three heads swivelled over to an upperclassman standing a half meter down the hall. There was something about her that radiated power and class. She was less an ordinary schoolgirl and moreso a classy, powerful woman. From her thick blush pink hair to her clear, determined green eyes, she was absolute power in physical form.

Ms. June spoke. "Oshiro? Can I help you?"

Oshiro grinned a little and gestured her over. "Do you have a moment? As head of the disciplinary committee, I want to check on all the teachers."

Ms. June nodded in agreement and-amazingly enough!-stepped away from the door. With the teacher looking through her things, Oshiro raised a brow at them and jerked her head toward the door.

"Did Oshiro just save us?" Hanako quietly asked as the two snuck in behind the teacher.

"Remind me to kiss her later."
-

Aparently, being saved by the head of the disciplinary committee was a phenominon. By lunch, three people in outside classes had asked what happened and why Oshiro Ayaka saved them. Because of her, Kazue avoided a demerit and somehow got half the school discussing her.

And frankly, it was a little shocking. Nobody said anything bad about Oshiro, but she was considered scary!

"Oshiro never helps people!"

"She's super strict about being on time; I can't believe she helped you!"

Why did the head of the discipline committee come by and save her? Was in encouragement, or something else? Either way, Kazue decided to go find where Oshiro was eating lunch and thank her.

Thankfully, Ayaka Oshiro was easy to find. She was settled in her classroom down the hall, eating lunch with classmates. Kazue paused as she looked at the girl in front of her.

'I bet she'd be a beautiful Pretty Cure...'

"Hey, move!" A boy pushed Kazue out of the way, sending her stumbling into the classroom. Before she could shouut at him for being rude, a sharp cough attracted their attention.

"That was uncalled for, Tomoki. I suggest you apologize to your kohai for that."

"Are you kidding, Oshiro-san?"

The young woman narrowed her gaze at him. "I'm certainly not laughing, am I?"

Tomoki grumbled and turned to Kazue, who managed to get back up again. "Sorry about that."

"That's ok," the younger girl replied. Ayaka was certainly a leader compared to her. "I was actually here to speak to Oshiro-senpai."

One of the girls arched a brow at her. "Oh! I bet you're the girl Oshiro helped this morning!"

"Our class president is such a sucker for new kids," the other giggled. "No need to thank her, really."

Ayaka stood up then, and both of them went quiet. Kazue felt herself holding her breath as she got closer. This girl really was pure power, absolutely strength.

There was something to be said, however, when Oshiro gave Kazue a poke on the nose. "Just promise me you'll do better to be on time more often."

The perplexed look on Kazue's face pulled into a wide grin. Oshiro Ayaka, kind and gentle and strong? What could she find about her? But this wasn't her mission at the moment. "I, um. I wanted to actually say something. As a thank you for being kind, is there anything I can help you with?"

Oshiro thought about that. "I... I don't know, actually."

"How about Miyo-sensei?"

Kazue chirped a little, confused at that. "Miyo-sensei?"

Ayaka nodded. "Miyo-sensei is a Japanese teacher for the second and third years. Every morning, she goes and tends to the plants and trees in the courtyard. I... I used to help her every morning, but right now I need to focus on the committee." The young woman did offer another smile. "Both she and I would appreciate the extra help."

Kazue's face lit up again. Now this was something she could work with. "Of course!"
-

The next day, Kazue was up an extra hour early and out just as early. When she told her dad about the side job, he first asked if she was actually just doing it for fun.

"No, dad," she insisted. "I'm helping a teacher out for her sake. I'm not in trouble, I promise."

Her dad looked damn confused. "Are you sure? I don't want you getting a weird reputation right away..."

Kazue grinned at him. Pyo was safely tucked in his cage, taking a nap. Or, least he was supposed to be. His new owner's distress was far from boring.

"Oshiro-senpai is really kind, if a little off-putting. I think you'd like her, dad."

Oh?

That morning, Miyo-sensei was in the courtyard as Oshiro explained. Thing was, Oshiro was there too. Kazue joined the two in front of the gardening shed, genuinly confused. "Good morning, Oshiro-senpai, Miyo-sensei. Um... I thought you were busy with committee things?"

"I was," Oshiro sighed. "But I can't dump responsibility on you because I have plenty to think about."

"Well quoted," her teacher replied. "Thank you for coming to help, but this isn't requiered. There's no need to stay, if you want to go."

Kazue quickly shook her head. "Oshiro-senpai really saved me yesterday! I want to make it up to her."

Miyo-sensei raised a brow at the very honest words. But she smiled anyway. "Alright, let's get to work."
-

For three days, Ayaka, Kazue, and Miyo-sensei worked together in the mornings. Trimming bushes, pulling weeds, watering the flowers; all of it fell under Miyo-sensei's work plan. Even being busy, Ayaka showed up every day, dressed to work, then went straight to her day duties.

Kazue proceeded to see her senpai in a new, softer light. Gently cradling flowers while she trimmed them, Ayaka was soft and gentle. It was the sort of gentle most people never expected from strong women. Being sweet to a plant was very dofferent from being sweet to humans.

Kazue once asked about that, when Oshiro replanted a rosebush again.

"Plants are stuck being plants and they can't do anything to change," Oshiro explained. "If you can't change without help, then others need to be strong to help." The words were firm with little roo for discussion.

Yet somehow, Kazue felt a warm feeling of affection for her.
-

"Stupid freaking Pretty Cure," Yousuke growled. Mopping in a tree not too far from where he saw that bird, he quietly hissed curses to the one now known as Cure Welcome.

This was bad. If anyone up top found out he not only lost the bird, but also lost the first fight with a Pretty Cure, he'd be in big trouble. Of all the people he worked with, Yousuke had too much to lose, to lose!

"Bright and early, I'll find that stupid Cure Welcome!"
-

On Saturday morning, Kazue arrived to school ready to work. Out in the gardens, Miyo-sensei yanked on a particularly stubborn weed. For a woman clearly in her late thirties, she was very strong.

"Miyo-sensei, do you need any help with that?" Kazue trodded over by the teacher, ready to get back to work.

The graying teacher shook her head. "No, I'll be ok." Miyo-sensei glanced back to the plants with a little smile. "Thank you for coming and helping out every morning, Kichimaru-san."

Embarrassed, Kazue scratched the back of her neck. "Aw... Ayaka-senpai helped me out, so I wanted to help her, too."

Miyo-sensei couldn't help but grin. "You know, when Ayaka was in her first year, she was very shy. Newly transferred in, middle of the year. But she surprised me plenty, when one morning, she came n and said she wanted to help me."

Kazue knelt beside her, slowly weeding again. "Oshiro-senpai did that?"

"She wanted to change her image," Miyo-sensei explained. "By doing this, with me, people saw her dedication and decided she was worth a shot."

"Oshiro," Miyo-sensei informed her, "is strong in a way most can't truly understand. She is a flower, you see; instead of wilting forever under snow, she forced herself to bloom again and again." The graying teacher sighed softy ad glanced up at Kazue. "And seeing you, here, makes me even happier."

"Really?"

"Really."

There was a shout, and Ayaka rushed in from the gates. "I'm so sorry! I had to help my mom this morning!"

Miyo-sensei laughed and stood up. "Here I was worried you'd decided not to show up, Ayaka!"

Somehow, the usually put together Ayaka looked more dissheveled. "I would never give up helping you, Miyo-senpai."

The graying teacher chuckled softly at her words. Miyo-sensei stood and brushed a few strands of hair from Ayaka's face. "I'm incredibly proud of you, Ayaka."

For a moment, Ayaka looked damn floored at Miyo-sensei. But her face suddenly went pink after a moment of embarrassment. "Miyo-sensei, please!"

The three of them had a good natured laugh about the whole situation. Poor girl looked so embarrassed about the whole thing. Above head, Pyo watched the scene with quiet, approving eyes.

Oh, this one was cute.

"Ugh, what a horrendous smell! How can humans handle such a horrid stench!"

Oh no.
-

Three heads swivelled up to the voice above them. Yousuke looked sick to his stomach, waving his hand in front of his nose. "Joy just has a sickenly sweet scent. How do humans even stomach this?"

Miyo-sensei stood up, a glare on her face. "Excuse me! Young man, what are you doing?"

Yousuke glanced down. "You!" He pointed at him, a sharp glare in his eyes. "You know where the bird is! Give him up!"

"Don't you dare ignore me, child!" Miyo-sensei growled. Ayaka gently pushed Kazue behind herself, carefully watching the boy in the sky.

The seriously irritated young man whipped his head around at Miyo-sensei. "Stupid old broad! SHOW ME YOUR JOY!"

Yousuke saw all of Miyo-sensei's happiness, from teaching to meeting Ayaka. The most recent one was watching Ayaka befriend someone honestly. Yousuke snorted, clearly not amused by the sight. "What a ridiculous thing to be joyful about. STOLEN JOY! BECOME A FUUNKI!"

Miyo-sensei's chest of joys ripped out of her body. She collasped to the dirt, while the bx opened up and turned dark. It quickly became a bright red flower, with a sad face on the top petal. "Fuuuunki," it hissed out.

"Kazue, go get another teacher!" Ayaka ordered.

"But-"

"Hurry!"

Kazue nodded, but as she turned a corner, she pulled out her brooch. "Sorry Oshiro-senpai," she murmured.

"PRECURE! GET LUCKY!"

"She who beckons you closer, Cure Welcome!"

Welcome bolted back out to the garden, where Ayaka frantically tried to distract the Fuunki. "Get down!" she screamed out. Ayaka ducked as Welcome slammed her gloved fist into the Fuunki's face.

"FUUN!" it shouted.

"Be careful!" Ayaka screamed. "That's Miyo-sensei!"

Welcome landed with a thud again. "Right now, that is not Miyo-sensei! Let me do my job!"

Ayaka ducked pass a swing of the Fuunki's arm. "Can I do anything?!"

"Move Miyo-sensei's body and stay out of the way!"

Ayaka nodded and went to grab Miyo-sensei. From above, Yousuke growled shot a bolt of electricity at her. Ayaka yelped, but she quickly pulled Miyo-sensei up against a tree. It was retty clear she was hurting, though.

Welcome dodged another hit and dove throw the Fuunki's legs again. She grabbed one and threw it up into the air and watched it land on the dirt. This one had some stamina.

"What did Miyo-sensei do to you?" Ayaka shouted.

Yousuke turned to the screaming girl. "I'm doing my jpb and she got in the way! Now be quiet, or your Joy Chest is mine, too." Yousuke cracked a strange grin. "In fact..."

Ayaka screamed again.
-

"Oshiro-senpai!" Welcome shouted as Ayaka's chest of joys ripped out of her. The young woman let out a shrill scream of agony. Ayaka dropped to her knees and sobbed, covering the hole in her chest. Welcome ran over to her, knelt beside her shaking form. "Oshiro-senpai, stay calm!"

"It hurts..." she whimpered.

"I know it does, I've had it happen too," Welcome soothed. "Stay calm, please. I'll get you to safety-"

"No."

Wait, what?

"No," Ayaka repeated. "Miyo-sensei... she's hurting too. She..." Ayaka shakily stood up, knees close to dropping her again. "She saved me, a long time ago. Being with her made me stronger, braver... I want to save her, too."

"Oshiro-senpai..."

Pyo watched the scene and gave a little birdy huff. Kazue had no idea how much she wanted her senpai as her partner. And it seemed she felt the same. Pyo sighed softly, humming.

"I wish I could do more than just, just fall apart."

Pyo hummed again, bright eyed and glorious. The bright pink mark on him glowed brilliantly.

"To fight back, be strong in more than one way..."

The pink chest in Yousuke's arm shook violently.

"I want that! I want to help others moreso than anything else!"

Pyo screeched as the Key of Innocence rushed out of his forehead and made a beeline to the chest. It slammed in, knocked back Yousuke, and it burst open. A white brooch with a pink flower in its center flew to Ayaka. She caught it with strange ease, with strength she didn't have. Welcome stepped back, eyes wide in shock. "A Brooch? A PreBrooch?"

"Can... Can I use this? To protect Miyo-sensei?"

Welcome froze, but in her eyes... She saw that desire to help. "Yes. The words are-"

"PRECURE! GET LUCKY!"

The brooch burst into a flurry of pink sakura petals. They wrapped around her hands and formed a pair of white finger gloves, complete with pink flowers on the wrists. The flowers wrapped around her feet, revealing a pair of white ankle boots with pink flowers surrounding the ankles. Her pink blush hair grew longer and was tied with a single pink flower, turning bubblegum pink under its power. The flowers wrapped around her body, revealing a pink and white happi with a deeper pink tie around her back. The brooch landed on her ribbon, tied of with white, like Welcome's.

Ayaka landed steadily on her feet, then smiled.

"She who flowers with bravery! Cure Petal!"

Yousuke was screaming in rage at this point. "Another PreCure?! Are you kidding me?!"

Ayaka-Cure Petal-staggered back on her heels, shaking in shoock. "This is... me?"

Welcome let out a cheer. "Yes! Another PreCure partner!"

Petal glanced up again, shaking anxiously. But when she saw her mentor, all her hopes and happiness, in the form of the flowers she so loved, Ayaka steadied. "We need to stop this thing-"

"Fuunki, it's a Fuunki."

"-Fuunki before it destroys more of Miyo-sensei's flowers."

"Any suggestions?"

Petal nodded. "You have a fondness for throwing things. Get it as high as you can, and I'll finish it."

Welcome stuttered. "You know how to?"

There was another nod in her direction. "I have a feeling. Come on!"

The two fanned out, easily distracting their pink adversary. Petal dove underneath the Fuunki, who punched the ground near her. Welcome grabbed its hand, then flung it back up into the sky. Petal chased it, shooting a peace sign at Welcome.

Petal smacked her brooch, creating a ball of pink energy. She kissed it, and it transformed into a bright pink cherry flower. Ayaka aimed, eyes shining eagerly.

"PRECURE! PETAL SHOOT!"

The flower shot out and slammed into the Fuunki, nice and hard. The Fuunki glowed pink, and the sad face smiled again. It burst into a flurry of pink flowers. Ayaka quickly grabbed Miyo-sensei's chest of joys.

"This isn't over, PreCure!" Yousuke screamed in rage. He vanished again, leaving the two PreCure waiting at the ground.

Ayaka smiled fondly. "Your treasures are safe now," she murmured.
-

From afar, a short young woman watched, eyes cold and angry. She gripped the tree she hid behind, shaking with rage.

"Welcome..." she growled, "I wo't let you have Ayaka-senpai."