Yell It From The Rooftops
Chapter 3: Talk To Oneself
During the long, hard struggle against the Dark King and his ilk, Nagisa would often take a moment to sort of review recent events to herself. It was something she had just become accustomed to thinking over when their fight had been as long and strenuous as it was. It had eventually formed into a habit of hers; whenever something unusual, interesting, or otherwise against the norm came up, she would take the time to muse over it. In her mind, something against the norm had happened this evening.
Lying on her bed, tracing circles on the sheets with her fingers, she thought back to it. To seeing Honoka in the sunset, watching her silently confess to the wind. Something that she would probably never hear.
'It won't go away,' she thought to herself, 'that image...What was so special about it? I've seen Honoka in the sunset before. But...when I saw her like that, when I was watching so closely, I couldn't help but feel like my heart was going to beat right out of my chest.'
Nagisa rolled over and sighed, 'This really shouldn't bother me so much...Maybe it was because I really wanted to hear her. I want to know what she has to say...'
Again, she sighed as she sat up on her bed and lightly smacked herself awake, "I guess there's no sense worrying about it."
"Worrying about what-mepo?"
For the second time that night, Nagisa jumped in surprise. She looked over to her desk to see Mepple in his more compact form upright and staring at her. Apparently he had been watching over her in her irritated state. She frowned. She was never certain about whether or not Mepple could be serious or if he would take the mocking tone he often did.
"Nothing that would concern you," Nagisa humphed and looked away in a pouty fashion. Too late did she realize that she would regret this.
"Nagisa's holding a secret-mepo," the hero of light grinned, "Or maybe she's just on her..."
In a flash, Mepple found himself hoisted in the air with a very annoyed teenage girl grabbing just above his face.
"Oh, cram it!" she growled, quickly inserting the sleep card and wasting no time applying it to Mepple. She wasn't certain what Mepple had said just before his lights went out but she was pretty sure it was something rude and offensive.
Another sigh, "I don't believe this," she muttered.
Honoka was very intensely interested in the sight before her. Or at least she wanted to be. Lying flat on her back in bed, she stared at the ceiling as hard as she could, willing it to flood her entire mind. Demanding her ceiling to shove everything else clear from her thoughts and take up all the space it could.
She wasn't doing a very good job of it.
In fact, she was doing an awful job of it. Failing miserably, even. All she could think about was her failure that night.
"I said it," she mumbled to herself, "just...not the way I wanted to."
"You can try again later-mipo," Mipple attempted to comfort her partner.
She wasn't doing a very good job of it.
"Today was later," Honoka lay a heavy hand on her head, "So was the day before that...and the day before that...and the day before that."
"Honoka..." Mipple could feel her heart sinking for her friend.
Honoka turned her head slightly to face Mipple, "Why is it so hard?"
"Love is hard-mipo," Mipple poked her hands together, "Especially...um...that love-mipo."
Honoka would have been offended if she wasn't aware as to how true it was. It was the undeniable fact that a girl in love with a girl had a much higher likelihood of being turned down; rejected; abandoned. Her friendship with Nagisa was just far too important to risk that. But she wanted it so badly.
"Hang in there-mipo," Mipple again tried to prevent Honoka's ever-quickening spiral into depression, "Part of being a Pretty Cure is never giving up...for anything-mipo."
Honoka could only nod. Whether or not she agreed, she could only nod.