Chapter Three - Amber Leaves, Cure Maple is Born!
It was mid-afternoon and Momoji Kano was in Konoha Middle School's music room playing her ocarina. The classroom was completely empty except for the brown-haired girl; she was propped on top of a desk next to a window as she played the wind instrument. The golden sunlight shone on young girl, adding to her already graceful appearance. Momoji was already naturally talented at playing the ocarina and she had already received lessons from her music teacher for the day but she was still at it, she had a recital in a few days after all. Momoji was so into playing her ocarina that she didn't even notice when the door to the music room slid open and a short, black-haired boy had walked in,
"Momo… that sounds wonderful."
"Who's there?" Momoji opened her eyes and looked towards the music room's door; it was Akito, a childhood friend of hers,
"Oh, Akito!" Momoji ran to her bag that was on the teacher's table and was packing her things up,
"I'm sorry! It completely slipped my mind that you were waiting for me. Do you have the time?"
Akito adjusted his glasses and looked down towards his watch, "Uh… yeah, it's a little after 5PM."
"Akito, why didn't you say anything?" Momoji was making her way towards the boy, she had finished packing up her things.
Akito adjusted his glasses and played with his dark hair for a bit, "I didn't want to bother you."
Momoji shook her head, "You're ridiculous sometimes, I swear. Nevertheless, are you ready to leave?"
Akito nodded, "I am." Momoji smiled at the black-haired boy, "Well then, shall we?"
The two friends walked out of the music room and stepped into an empty hallway which was lit by the afternoon sun. As Momoji turned to lock the door, Akito looked up and down the hallway; everyone must have been finished with their club activities by now. Akito had been roaming around the school since 3PM just waiting on Momoji to finish her music club activities. Unlike Momoji, Akito wasn't in any clubs but because the two were neighbors and close friends, they would walk home together every day.
Momoji had finished locking the door and looked towards Akito, she giggled,
"I'm sorry I took so long, I couldn't figure out which way to turn the key. Shall we head to the staffroom? I have to drop off these keys."
Akito rolled his eyes at Momoji's cluelessness and simply nodded as the two began to make their way down the empty hallway towards the staffroom. To the right of the hallway, opposite the classroom doors and billboards were windows that gave a view of the school's courtyard, Momoji looked down towards it and saw that no one was there, was the school completely empty? She thought that this was strange, she wasn't used to seeing the school this empty but she chalked up this anomaly to it being a Friday afternoon.
Momoji looked towards Akito as they approached the door to the staffroom, "I wonder if Ms. Sakamoto will be angry with me?"
"Angry with you? What for?" Akito was puzzled.
"For keep the key for so long, silly. She can't leave until the music room's locked and I was in there practicing long after she'd finished gave me lessons." Momoji explained.
Akito just shrugged and knocked on the door to the staffroom. Momoji was smiling as she shuffled her feet, making the old school's wooden floor squeak.
Akito smiled, suddenly remembering the melody that Momoji was playing earlier, "That tune you were playing, Momo, it was really good."
Momoji looked up towards him, "Of course it was. I wrote it myself, you know."
She and Akito both laughed at Momoji's usual exaggerated vanity but when the door to the classroom opened up they both went silent.
Momoji's eyes opened wide, "Ms. Sakamoto! I'm truly very sorry for having you wait so long!" the brown-haired girl bowed down to show the teacher respect. "Here are the keys to the music room." Momoji rose up and handed it to her.
"It's alright, Momoji. You just keep up the good work now, okay?" The young music teacher smiled at the teenage girl,
"Enjoy your weekend, Momoji and…" the teacher looked towards Akito, not knowing his name.
"Akito." The boy looked down, embarrassed that the teacher knew Momoji's name and not his.
"Ah! Yes, you're in my class, aren't you? Enjoy the rest of your day too, Akito." closed the door to the classroom.
Momoji looked towards Akito,
"But Akito, you're not in her music class with me, what is she talking about?"
"Just leave it alone, Momoji." Akito sighed, "Let's just go, alright?"
The two friends walked out of the deserted school into the golden sunlight, Akito looked towards Momoji and blushed, the wind was blowing her brown hair and the sunlight on her face made her look almost angelic.
"Akito? Is something wrong?" Momoji was worried that Akito was in a bad mood today.
While Momoji was a popular, gifted student at Konoha Middle School, Akito was a fairly average boy with no known talents and for that, people would often tease him and question why someone like Momoji would hang out with a boy like him.
"Nothing." Akito was quick to answer and the two walked in silence for a few minutes.
With Momoji sensing the tension she decided to observe the environment around them as they walked instead of forcing a conversation. The pathway to their school was lined with trees and Momoji remembered how beautiful it looked in autumn. She closed her eyes and smiled, visualizing the magnificent sight. Akito then let out a loud sigh,
"Momo… why do you hang out with me?"
Momoji laughed, "I knew you were thinking about that again. Why are you still paying attention to those people, Akito? You know me more than anyone else does and we've been friends since we were children, forget about them." Momoji smiled at the short boy who smiled back,
"Alright, Momo."
The tender moment between the two friends was ruined when Momoji's stomach started growling, loudly, making the girl blush instantly.
"How embarrassing!" Momoji reached up to her face to hide her blushing and accidentally dropped her schoolbag.
"Momo…" Akito shook his head and bent down to pick up Momoji's schoolbag. Akito really did know more about Momoji than anyone else, for one, the girl was rather clumsy and another thing was that she was a big eater.
Akito handed the schoolbag to Momoji, "Thank you!" she said as she put it over her shoulder,
"Now then, let's go to that soba shop you were telling me about earlier, okay?
"Sure." Akito nodded and they made their way to the soba shop which was conveniently not very far from their school.
"Are we going to eat here, Momo?" Akito asked while he and Momoji entered the soba shop. It was noisy and filled with businessmen who had just left work. The sounds of pots and pans being thrown were heard and there was loud chatter coming from a few schoolgirls who couldn't make up their minds on what to order at the counter. Momoji looked up and smiled at the lantern lamps that the store owner had up on the ceiling, the restaurant had a very traditional Asian look to it.
Momoji looked towards Akito,
"Of course we are. I love places like this, the atmosphere is so homely, don't you think?"
Akito smiled, "I didn't think of it that way until now."
The two had finally made their way up to the counter and were ordering,
"I'll pay for you alright, Akito? I owe you for having you wait so long."
"Momo, I… nevermind. Thanks." Akito knew that resisting would be futile.
The two made their orders and took their noodles when they received them, deciding to sit on the barstools at the counter and eat right there.
"Momo, are you sure that you can eat two whole bowls?" Akito eyed the girl as she picked up her chopsticks.
"Yup! Let's eat!" Momo split the chopsticks and started to devour her meal.
She wasn't wrong about being able to eat those two bowls, without making too much of a display, Momoji calmly set aside her second bowl. Empty. She smiled, "Delicious." she commented. Akito watched her out of the corner of his eye, shocked, but he witnessed this scene enough to not ask any questions and simply went back to eating. Still waiting on her friend to finish eating, Momoji reached down for her ocarina, taking out of her school bag and started to admire it. She smiled down at the instrument before humming a tune. Akito looked up from his half-empty bowl and listened. His friend looked sad, somehow, as she toyed with the ocarina.
"Momo, do you know what you want to do?"
"What I want to do?" She looked up from the ocarina, confused, "What do you mean?" she asked.
"Like..." he paused for a while, trying to think of a not too overwhelming way to voice his question, "Where do you see yourself in ten years?"
Momoji was silent for a while, her face stiffened a bit, for what she hoped would be a barely noticeable amount of time, "Why do you want to know?" a soft smiled played on her lips.
"I'm just asking because..." he chuckled, "I don't know myself!" he laughed, hoping to lessen the invisible tension.
The girl sighed, "To be honest… I don't know either." she gave a solemn smile and returned her eyes to the ocarina in her hands, small and green. "You know my father wants me to be a doctor or a lawyer or something while my mother wants me to get into the arts like her."
Akito put his chopsticks into his bowl, "You're lucky that you're at least good at both of those things. Weren't you getting into athletics too? I remember you only dropped out of gymnastics and track because your schedule was getting too hectic."
"Yes." Momoji nodded, she was still looking down towards her empty bowls, "You know, I never really had a chance to decide to pursue those things for myself. At least you can choose to get into something that you like. As for me, I'm just..."
"You like music though, don't you?" Akito asked. Momoji smiled, "I do! Music just comes naturally to me, you know? Just the thought of being able to make music... I don't know." she giggled, "It's like magic to me. I just don't want to disappoint my father." her smile dropped as she finished.
"I see." Akito nervously reached for his glasses to adjust them. Momoji coughed into her right hand, "Oh well, we still have time to decide, right? No need worrying about this now!" she put her hand behind her head and laughed, accidentally hitting a salt shaker to the floor which caused Akito to laugh.
"You're so clumsy, Momo!" he scolded.
"Be quiet, you." Momoji said as she reached down to take up the salt shaker.
The two teens then picked up their schoolbags and left the restaurant. Outside, the sky was darkening but the streets of the business district were still crowded. There were sounds of cars passing by, their horns honking and people laughing and talking.
"It looks like we really should just head home now." Akito was looking at a light post that had only just came on.
"Okay…" Momoji started walking and then spoke without turning to face Akito,
"Can we go to the river first, though? Tomorrow is no school; I don't want to go straight home."
"Uh, sure!" Akito only agreed because Momoji sounded a little sad, he wondered if it was because of what they were talking about earlier.
When the two reached the river, the sky had completely darkened. There were some nearby light posts that lighted a small grassy area beside the river and Momoji and Akito made their way towards it. When they arrived, Momoji took a deep breath and just basked in the nature while Akito ran off closer to the river. Momoji watched her friend from afar, putting his hand into the cool water. She looked up at one of the light posts, light shining onto her face. It was a serene scene. She thought of the perfect melody to accompany it. She took out her ocarina and started to play. The melody was slow, nostalgic, yearning.
"You're really good, Momoji."
Akito rose up from the river and walked closer to his friend, folding himself down onto the grass to watch her.
"Even though we don't know what we'll be doing in ten years' time, we'll be able to figure it out together. We'll move towards the future together, okay, Momo?" He blushed, embarrassed by just how cheesy he sounded but he couldn't be any more genuine.
"That sound, rin!" Above the two teenagers flew a strange brown bird. The bird slowed and started to circle the two humans, "What a lovely melody!" it announced, "Such a classy looking girl too, rin! I want someone like her to be a Pretty Cure, rin!"
The bird flew down towards Momoji and Akito, landing on a patch of grass nearby away from view and just listened to Momoji's performance.
When Momoji was done, she bowed in exaggerated vanity and Akito applauded, playing along with her silliness once again.
"Bravo, rin!"
Momoji and Akito turned around, around towards a bird. A talking, brown bird. It had on a red beret with a purple ribbon on its head and was adorned with what seemed like a small green dress.
"M-Momoji...?" Akito slowly crept towards his friend.
"You're wonderful, rin!" the bird went on, "Will you become a Pretty Cure, rin?"
Momoji and Akito were still quiet as Momoji reached out to hold Akito's hand. Taking a hold of it, Akito noticed that Momoji was shaking.
A moment passed where there was just silence as the two parties watched each other.
"Oh, right. How rude of me, rin! My name is Purin, the fairy of Autumn and I want you to save Lady Earthlight and your planet, rin!"
"I-it... i-it's… Akito, that bir- the bird is… talking." The girl's voice was soaked with terror.
"Momo?" Akito himself had no idea what was going on though he did think that this could have been a dream.
"It's a talking bird, Akito!"
Meanwhile some distance away, a green-haired woman wearing a purple bodysuit was walking down the stretch next to the river where the two friends and fairy of Autumn were situated.
"It's a talking bird, Akito!" came a girl's voice.
The woman stopped dead in her tracks, "A talking bird?" she gasped, "I wonder, could it be that... pudding fairy?"
She looked around, surveying the area. It was dark, but not dark enough that she couldn't make out two humans flailing about in response to a small creature in their midst.
"Aha! There!" she almost sang, then her stomach grumbled. She groaned and started to walk towards the trio, slow and tired.
"Keep your voice down, rin!" the bird exclaimed, "This is important, rin! I might be found out soon."
The two managed to calm down, with Momoji needing some assistance from her friend in the form of a hand on her shoulder while the fairy explained the story of Earthlight and Pretty Cure, "And that's why I want a classy lady like you to become a Cure, rin!"
Momoji started her vanity act up once again, clearly using it as a defense mechanism. Surely this must be a dream, right?
"Well, I am classy after all." Momoji chuckled and struck a pose.
"Don't say that." Akito began, "You know how clumsy you get whenever you say that!" he reminded.
Momoji shot him an ice cold glare before she turned back towards Purin, "So... a Cure, right? In order to save Earth, you want me to become one?"
Purin was about to answer when she was cut short,
"Pudding!" a voice shrieked, "Com-…" the woman stopped speaking and just stared at the two teenagers in front of her, or, more specifically, Akito.
"I thought your name was Purin?" Momoji asked, head tilting a bit in confusion, "And who's she?" Momoji questioned.
"She?" the woman scoffed, "I'm right here. Have some manners." she scolded.
"She's the enemy, rin!" Purin cried and flew up into the air, "Her name is Hail and... she can't get my name right, rin!"
"W-why is she staring at me like that?" Akito was blushing, Hail was staring at him and with the way she was dressed, Akito just couldn't look at her without blushing.
"Mister… wh-what's your name?" Hail was speaking to Akito in a quiet, shy voice.
"A-Akito…"
Hail blushed and turned away from the boy, closing in on herself and making herself small. She hugged herself, "Akito!" she squeaked, "He's so cute! What should I do!?" she sang. She turned back to face the young boy, "Mr. Akito!" she sang and grabbed him. Pulling him into a hug, the boy's face started to rub into her chest.
Momoji screamed, "What are you doing!?"
Akito didn't know what to do. "I don't know!" he yelled, "It's her. Get off!" he cried and pushed against the woman's hold.
"Pervert!" Momoji pushed Hail off of her friend and she stumbled back away from the boy.
The woman scoffed at Momoji, "Leave Akito and I alone, you ugly wrench!" Momoji was the type of girl she hated, pretty girls like Momoji. Hail turned back towards Akito who gingerly edged back towards his friend.
"Don't worry, dear, I'll be back…" she sang, "I just have to take care of something first.
She looked up towards Purin, "Hail!" she yelled out, targeting the bird.
"Run!" squeaked Purin, "She's going to attack!"
Hail threw pieces of ice at Purin, just barely missing. Groaning, she decided to target Momoji instead. On the ground, she'd be a much easier target, "Hail!" she started again.
"Stop it!" Akito ran up to Hail and grabbed at her.
"Oh, Akito!" she exclaimed as her grabbed at her wrist, "I know you're young but let's take things slow!"
"Stop it, I…" the boy blushed and let go of the woman, "L-leave us alone or..."
"What? Is it because of her?" she faced Momoji and almost growled, "I know how to fix that, just wait and see!" The woman created blades of ice this time and targeted Momoji who was backing away, her face masked with fear and worry.
"Akito... let's just run." she managed to get out.
Purin flew into Momoji's arms, "Run, Momo-rin!"
Momoji ran with Purin, avoiding the blasts of ice from Hail.
"Momo-rin! You have to become a Cure if you want to stop this woman, rin!"
"I... I don't know, Purin!" Momoji jumped to the right to avoid another blast of ice from Hail.
"That sounds like such an important task. I don't know if I can help you!" she explained. The two managed to dodge another blast of ice but this time it was a very close call, they couldn't keep this up for long.
"I know you can do it, Momo-rin! I know that look in your eye. You have people special to you that you want to protect, rin!"
Momoji looked towards Akito, still pushing and pulling at Hail as she fired blast after blast of ice at her and Purin.
"You won't be alone, rin! You'll have people supporting you! Other Cures and Akito too, rin!"
Memories, or rather, just a flashback to mere minutes ago, Momoji remembered her friend's words.
"We'll move towards the future together, okay?" Momoji smiled, she was happy that she had such a good friend in Akito. She looked towards the boy.
"Akito!" she called out, "You promise that you'll move towards the future with me no matter what, right?"
"Of course, Momo!" Akito managed to grip onto both of Hail's wrists.
"Let go, Mr. Akito!" Hail screamed out, "I'm getting tired of this." she squeezed out of the boy's grip and grabbed onto him, "Girl, hand over the fairy or else!" she yelled.
Momoji looked down towards Purin, "...I'll do it, Purin."
Purin nodded and then instantaneously, Momoji started glowing with a gold light.
"W-what? Already?" Hail whispered. The boy in her grasp watched the display in silent awe.
A wave of energy emitted from Momoji, knocking Hail and Akito down. Akito took the chance to run away from the wicked woman.
Lady Earthlight's voice then rang out in the open field. How convenient that it was empty save for the four of them, Momoji thought.
"Young girl, you have chosen to become Pretty Cure and protect this planet. I put my faith into you and bestow upon you the power of the season of Autumn."
An amber leaf then fell from above, falling onto Momoji's right ring finger and formed a silver ring encrusted with a golden leaf. Momoji's body glowed with a faint gold light as the ring formed.
"Pretty Cure! Altermode, switch on!" came Lady Earthlight's voice again.
"Say that, rin!" Purin explained.
Momoji nodded and threw her hand in the air, "Pretty Cure! Altermode, switch on!"
"So over-the-top, rin!" Purin squealed, "I knew I'd like you, rin!"
Accompanied by flashes of gold light and maple leaves, Momoji gained a new appearance. Energy welled all over the brown-haired girl's body and erupted in flashes of light, leaving behind pieces of clothes: gloves, a skirt, shoes, her entire outfit was being replaced with a new one. Her hair became longer and reached up to tie into a high, loose ponytail; A large ribbon that seemed to be made out of leaves held it together. Heeled high boots, fingerless gloves, a yellow skirt and a yellow top, all adorned with red and brown leaf details appeared. When she finished transforming she looked at her new appearance. She reached up to feel her hair. Her mouth open in a small O to express his shock.
"T-this is so fashionable!" she squeaked out.
After the fantastical light show, Hail looked towards the girl, "What are you?"
Purin flapped her wings excitedly, "She's Pretty Cure, rin!"
Momoji looked towards Hail and gave her a menacing smile. She stretched her right hand to the right and put her left hand on her hip, "Amber leaves mark the season of Autumn! Cure Maple!"
Hail stared at Cure Maple for a while and made a similar pose, albeit more dramatically, "My name is Hail!" she cried out, "Minion of Typhoon and sworn enemy to Earth's balance!" she narrowed her eyes at the newborn Cure, "What? Don't think you're going to show me up in front of Mr. Akito, Cure Maple!" she spit out the last words with unadulterated hate.
"Wh-what?" Maple ignored the woman and looked towards Purin,
"Purin, what's going on? Strange words are just coming to me and I don't know what's going on."
"Just let it happen, rin! And keep up the glitz, rin!" Purin was very pleased that a girl like Momoji ended up taking up her offer.
Maple looked towards Akito who was in awe at her new appearance, he spoke up when he noticed that she was looking at him, "You look so cool, Momo!"
"Please, call me Cure Maple." she giggled, "And Akito, find some cover, I don't want you to get hurt!" she turned her gaze towards Hail.
"This is so exciting, rin!" Purin kept looking from Hail to Maple, ready for what was about to go down before flying over to where Akito stood some distance away from the two fighting females.
Hail ran up towards Maple, ice forming behind her, "How dare you suggest that I was going to hurt, Mr. Akito!"
Maple backed away from Hail with quick leaps as Hail sized up on her, "He'll never fall for a predator like you!"
Hail was taken aback, stopping in her tracks. "Predator?" she scoffed, "At least I don't look like one, unlike you!"
Maple laughed and threw back another insult. Soon enough, the two started to throw insults at one another rather than punches. The Cure poked at Hail's make-up before Hail made a jab at the girl's height. After a while, Hail screamed in rage and ran up to Maple, attempting to scratch her face failing as the girl made another leap backwards.
"Fight, Maple!" Purin glared, "Use your powers, rin!"
"Do your best, Momo!" came Akito's voice from afar.
"Oh right!" Maple clapped her hands together, "I forgot that I have powers now." She put her hands out in front of her, towards Hail, still expertly dodging the woman's attacks. Maple didn't know if this was beginner's luck or what but she was happy that she was yet to get hurt, "Autumn Gust!" she whispered and a strong gust of wind blew out from Maple's hands, pushing away Hail with a force.
Hail put her hands on the ground before making impact, flipping up and managing to stabilize herself. She narrowed her eyes at Maple and started spinning, "Hail Storm!" she cried and sharp pieces of ice appeared around her before flying towards Maple.
Maple dodged as best as she could but some pieces managed to hit at her extremities. "Ah!" she gasped out and looked down at the cuts on her feet, tearing through her fancy outfit. She decided that maybe her fake cockiness would prove to be her downfall. Akito had reminded her of what happened whenever she tried to show off, as a joke or not.
Maple looked up towards Hail and carefully put out her uninjured arm. "Precure!" she yelled and her hands began to glow, "Autumn Festival!" with that said, a powerful gust of wind blew, accompanied by razor-sharp maple leaves that shot out from the girl's hand.
Hail yawned,
"You know what?" She stretched, "This is ridiculous! I'm tired." Hail jumped an incredible height and dodged the attack, "You can say that you've won this time, Maple, but don't think that I'll ever surrender Mr. Akito to you!"
"W-what?" Akito sighed, how could she possibly still be entranced by him?
Hail looked towards Akito and started doing a little dance mid-air, "Mr. Akito must have been the reason that I'm so weak today!" she sang before turning back towards Maple and undergoing a sudden mood shift. She yelled at the girl, "That and I haven't ate since who knows when so don't think that you're some big-shot here, missy!" She blew a kiss towards Akito before yelling out a shriek, presumably meant for Maple before disappearing.
"That was so boring, rin!" Purin cried in disappointment.
Maple collapsed and returned to her regular self in a flash.
"Momoji!" Akito ran towards the girl, "Are you okay?"
Purin flew towards the two, "Good job, Momo-rin! I knew you would be the right choice!"
Akito looked towards the bird with a glare, "Aren't you the least bit worried?"
The bird shrugged.
Momoji inhaled and exhaled, deep breaths. The two waited on her. "Akito..." she began, "I'm so glad. And you too, Purin…"
"Don't speak if you're too tired to, Momoji!"
Momoji took a deep breath, "I…"
"Momoji!" Akito was worried. If she only died here...
Suddenly, Momoji's stomach started to growl again, loudly. She moaned, "I'm so hungry, Mr. Akito!"
Purin scoffed, "How obtuse of you, rin!" Akito laughed, Purin obviously didn't know what type of girl Momoji really was.
"Being a Cure makes you hungry!" Momoji cried, "You two wouldn't understand!" she whined as Purin and Akito shook their heads in disapproval.
"Let's just go home, alright, Momo? It's been a pretty long... and strange day." Akito eyed the small brown bird as he finished his sentence.
Momoji nodded, "That really would be best right now, Mr. Akito."