Akiko and Mari sat huddled around a desk during their school lunch break. Vivid peeked out of Akiko's school bag.
"So, now there's two of us. That means they're two more out there, right?" Mari asked.
"That's right vi!"
"How do you know that, anyway?" Akiko looked at Vivid, raising an eyebrow.
"There's always four Precure! If there aren't four, then you aren't a team vi! That's just how it works."
"Alright..."
Just then, Akiko felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped, bashing her knees into the underside of the desk. She turned to look at who had snuck up on her and saw a familiar bespectacled face.
"Jin! What the heck?"
"Ha, sorry, Akiko. You're just so easy to sneak up on."
Jin pulled up a chair and grinned at Mari.
"When did you start hanging out with Akiko, Shimizu-san?"
Mari blushed a little, running a hand through her hair. It was clear she didn't really know what to say. She couldn't exactly tell Jin that they'd become magical guardians of dreams...
"W-we just met in the park over the weekend, right?" Mari said, looking nervously at Akiko.
"Yeah, exactly."
Jin raised an eyebrow, but didn't push the two any further.
"So, what're you guys talking about before I showed up?"
The two looked at each other and frowned. Akiko piped up before Jin could get suspicious.
"Um, you know, just some school gossip."
"Oh, like that first-year everyone's been talking about?
"Who?"
"Some girl in class 1-B who has half the guys gunning for her already. I haven't actually met her yet. But the student council president won't shut up about her."
"Really?" Akiko tilted her head, intrigued.
"Oh, I think I've heard of her. Her name's Fujimori or something like that, right?"
"Yeah, that's it."
"She sounds really cool!" Akiko said excitedly. Sounds like a new friend!
Mari seemed a little taken aback by Akiko's outburst. Jin, however, just chuckled. One could see she was used to this kind of thing.
"She's in the gardening club, you know? If you timed it right, you could probably catch her on the way out. Just don't scare her off with your flirting."
Mari snickered and the other two girls joined in. Akiko smiled warmly at her old friend getting along with her new friend. One more friend certainly couldn't hurt.
Insert op
After the last bell, Akiko packed up her things and got ready to locate the gardening club. Both Mari and Jin had other things to do. So she was on her own. She wandered around the halls, asking passing students for directions until she found where the club met. A lovely courtyard, full of at least a dozen different flowers in different stages of growth, sat just beyond a door.
She went to enter the courtyard, before stopping herself. Akiko didn't want to interrupt the meeting just to talk to one of their members. She'd just have to wait for them.
Akiko sat against the wall. She took out her bag, planning to read a book.
"What are you doing, vi!?"
Vivid popped out of Akiko's bag, almost making her throw it across the room.
"Vivid! What are you doing here? I thought you went home with Mari!"
Vivid pecked at Akiko's fingers.
"If you're looking for other Precure then of course I'm coming along vi!"
"Wha-? I'm not looking for other Precure. I'm just trying to meet a new friend!"
"Maybe that's what you think, vi. But Precure are naturally drawn to each other. You want to meet her because she's another Precure, vi!"
"Then why wasn't I 'drawn' to Mari-chan?"
"She was drawn to you, vi! She literally drew your picture, vi!"
Akiko thought back to her first meeting with Mari. She had indeed been drawing a picture of Cure Pointe...
"Okay okay, maybe Fujimori-san is a Precure. But wha-"
"Really?! You think I could be?" a voice shouted behind them.
Akiko jumped up, stuffing Vivid back into her bag as she turned to the source of the shout. In the doorway stood a short, chubby girl wearing the school's first-year uniform. She had green hair tied in two buns, dark skin, and a huge, wide smile.
"Uh, are you... Fujimori-san?" Akiko asked nervously.
"Mhm! Fujimori Harumi, at your service!" The girl gave a thumbs-up. "So, what was that you said about Precure? You mean those girls fighting monsters on the news, right?"
"Uh, y-yeah, my name's Temura Akiko. How much did you hear?"
"All of it! I don't know who you were talking to but I heard them!"
Akiko grimaced. She was stuck. She could feel Vivid squirming in her bag, ready to give her an earful.
"Okay um, you weren't supposed to hear that. But you did, so... Are you done with your club?"
Harumi nodded. Okay, this was alright. Akiko had a plan.
"Okay then, meet me in the park in one hour. I'll explain everything then."
Akiko could practically see sparkles of excitement in Harumi's eyes. This must've been a dream come true for her.
"Alright! Let me go get ready! I'll see you then, Aki-chan!" Harumi shouted, waving as she ran past Akiko and down the hall.
Once she was gone, Akiko sighed in relief and let Vivid out of her bag, who promptly began pecking her ear.
"Vi! Why did you let her hear that!? No one was supposed to know your identities, vi!"
"Ow, ow! I didn't do it on purpose! A-and besides, you said she's a Precure too!"
"We don't know for sure yet, vi! And you should have sensed that someone was listening! You're a magic warrior, vi!"
"Hey, I just started a few days ago!"
Vivid's barrage of pecking and scolding was interrupted by Akiko's cell phone playing a little jingle. She answered the phone as Vivid sat down on her head and huffed.
"Hello?"
"Akiko-chan!" Mari's voice rang from the other end of the phone. "Are you alright?"
"Mari-chan? What do you mean? I'm fine...mostly."
"I don't know, I just felt like you were in trouble. I-I was worried... But what you mean mostly!?"
"Um, why don't you meet me at the park? I'll explain there."
-Insert eyecatch here-
"You told her?!" Mari yelled.
It was sunset. Akiko, Mari, and Vivid were sitting in a secluded corner of the park bordering a small forest, waiting for Harumi. Akiko had just explained the situation.
"I didn't tell her! She just overheard me! But we can work with this."
Just then, they heard footsteps approaching them. Akiko turned to the noise.
"Just follow my lead, okay?"
Harumi walked into view and grinned when she spotted Akiko. She ran up to her, looking between her and Mari.
"I'm here! Are we gonna do Precure stuff? What do Precure do anyway?"
Akiko took a deep breath and held up her hand.
"Let's start with introductions, okay? You already met me. But this is Shimizu Mari. She's my Precure partner." Akiko gestured to Mari, who waved shyly. She then picked up Vivid and held her out. "And this is Vivid, our mascot!"
"I'm not your mascot vi! I'm a royal fairy vi!"
"Oh, wow! She talked!" Harumi jumped up and down excitedly.
"Of course I did, vi. Why does everyone here seem to expect me to stay silent vi?"
Harumi looked like she might explode with happiness. She reached forward and patted Vivid's chest, who became very flustered.
"V-viii I'm not a pet vi!"
"But you're so cute!"
Vivid flew out of Akiko's hand and began pecking at Harumi's hair, who squealed and tried to run away. Akiko desperately attempted to catch the two, but tripped and fell on her face. Worried, Mari piped up.
"H-hey, uh, we aren't done with introductions yet!"
Akiko shot up from the ground, spitting a bit of dirt out of her mouth.
"Right! We need to introduce you to two more people!"
Harumi and Vivid, now sitting on her head, both looked on as Akiko and Mari both took their Passion Keys out of their pockets. The two summoned their Dream Locks and turned their keys.
"Precure! Stardust Unlock!"
Light surrounded the girls as they transformed. Harumi's jaw dropped as the light faded, revealing the two.
"A performance worthy of applause! Cure Pointe!"
"A picture is worth a thousand words! Cure Mural!"
They struck their poses before turning to Harumi, who looked like she might faint.
"A-are you alright?" Mural asked.
"I'm great! Better than great! Am I gonna get to do that?"
Pointe and Mural looked at each other.
"That's what we're going to figure out," Pointe said.
Vivid flew over and sat on Mural's head.
"If you want to be a Precure, you have to summon all your passion and dreams into the physical world vi! Then, form them into a key to unlock the deepest part of your heart vi!"
Harumi's wide grin faded.
"Uh... how do I do that?"
Pointe shrugged.
"Just feel it out, I guess."
Harumi nodded, putting a hand over her heart. She squeezed her shirt and scrunched up her face. It was clear she was holding her breath, hoping something would happen... Nothing happened.
"I don't think it's working," Harumi sighed.
"Well, why don't you try thinking of something that makes you happy?"
"Something that makes me happy?"
"Yeah, like ballet for me and art for Mural. Something important to you. Something you'd protect."
"You mean li-"
Before Harumi could finish, a loud, familiar laughing filled the air.
"Well well, if it isn't the Dork-Cures and their dumb fairy!"
They looked up to see Brux floating above the group.
"Hey! If you're going to insult us, at least be clever about it!" Pointe shouted.
"What, that was clever!"
"It wasn't really..." Harumi muttered.
Brux turned to her and smirked.
"And who are you? An adoring fan?"
"No!"
"Well then, I guess I'll put you to good use."
Brux held out his had, trying to put Harumi to sleep and steal her stardust. But nothing happened.
"What are you doing?"
"Huh? Why aren't you falling asleep?"
"I don't know... I'm not tired."
Brux huffed angrily and reached into his pocket. He withdrew a crystal and looked around, spotting a man sleeping on a bench.
"He'll do!"
He drew out the man's nightmare stardust and fused it with the crystal.
"Hallusion! Make this world a living nightmare!"
The crystal burst into a Hallusion with a tangled mass of snakes as a body. Four snakes extended from the body, acting as the legs and arms.
"Hallu!"
At the sight of the monster, Harumi screeched.
"Snake! I-I hate snakes!"
Mural and Pointe looked at each other and nodded. They leapt into action, both grabbing a snake and pulling until each popped off like a toy.
"There! Now what?"
"Haalluuu!"
The hallusion roared, sprouting two more snake-arms and attacking the girls.
"Ah!"
The two landed hard on the ground a few feet away from Harumi. She ran to their side.
"Oh geez oh geez! Are you two alright?"
Pointe raised her head and winced.
"I'm-ow-alright. Just need a second..."
Harumi looked at the hurt girls, ready to cry. She stood up and turned to Brux and the hallusion.
"I-I want to help. Y-you're my friends now. I'm not... I'm not going to sit back and watch you get hurt! I'll protect you! I'll protect you even if I can't be a Precure! I want to watch our friendship bloom like my flowers! And none of these monsters can stop me!"
A light emanated from Harumi's chest, a familiar lock floating in front of her. She raised a hand to touch it, only to find a key in her hand.
"Is this...?"
"I knew it vi! I knew you were the third cure! Didn't I tell you, Pointe? I did, vi!" Vivid twittered, flying around Harumi's head as she congratulated herself.
"I'm a Precure? Really?"
"Of course, vi! Now transform, vi!"
"O-okay!"
Harumi placed the key in the lock and took a deep breath.
"Precure! Stardust Unlock!"
Light surrounded Harumi. Glowing petals formed a green top. A flower-like skirt, fading from light green to pink, bloomed from the bottom of the top. Green gloves and boots appeared as well, with pink flowers on the fronts of each. Her hair blossomed from it's twin buns, lightening in color. A pink flower with a sparkle emblem bloomed in her hair and around her collar. She posed.
"For you in full bloom! Cure Corsage!"
Everyone in the area with eyes looked at her in awe, even Corsage herself.
"I-I did it! I transformed!"
Mural and Pointe got to their feet and ran to their new companion's side.
"So pretty!" Pointe squealed.
"You look amazing!" Mural added.
The girls continued to give complements until Vivid cleared her throat.
"Excuse me, vi! You still have a Hallusion to beat, vi!"
"Oh, right..." The three said in unison.
"Pointe, Mural, I think I have an idea." Corsage whispered into the other's ears quickly. They nodded.
Both of them grabbed on of the snakes and jumped into the air, tying the two snakes together in a bow. While it was wrestling with itself, Corsage ran forward and punched it as hard as she could, sending it flying back.
"Now, vi! Purify it!"
Corsage nodded as green light collected in her hands. She blew into her hand and the light scattered like flower petals and leaves.
"Precure! Petal Snare!"
The light flew to the ground around the Hallusion, large vines bursting up and squeezing the monster until it exploded.
Brux clenched his fist and sniffled.
"You meanies! I'll come back even better next time!"
The three girls suck out their tongues at him as he disappeared. Once they were sure he was gone, Mural and Pointe turned to Corsage and grinned.
"Welcome to the team, Corsage!" They both said.
"You guys... I'm so happy!"
Corsage leapt on her new team and tangled them in a tight hug.
Insert ed
"Only one more teammate to go vi!"
"Why don't we celebrate? Sleepover time!"
"Akiko, I have to babysit that night!"
"Whaaa! Come on, Big Sis!"
"Next time on Dreamy✰ Passion Precure!The Spinning Sleepover! Cure Record's release! See you next performance!"
