''Um...Nadeshiko, was it?''
Nadeshiko sure was surprised when she was approached by probably one of the most popular and well-liked students of the Morita Middle School, right before she entered the school.
Nezumi Izumi, a third year student and star-player of the school's soccer team, stood before her with a somewhat wry smile. His almost silver hair was tied in a tight ponytail. His right leg was in a white and blue cast, and he was supporting himself with a pair of tan crutches.
Why was he approaching her, a simple first year? Nadeshiko couldn't think of any reason why such a popular guy like Nezumi would even talk to her.
But the strangest, and most surprising thing, was that Nezumi had been absent for a month. Now he had returned? Surely, Nadeshiko would have expected some commotion surrounding the return of the star-player of-
'''ZUMI'S BACK!'' A girl cried. Speak of the devil. It didn't take a minute before the third-year was attacked by a squealing crowd of fangirls and fellow teammates. All of them started bombarding the boy with questions.
''Hey man, what happened to you?''
''You sure took your time! We had a game while you were gone, and we lost!''
''Can it, Yuu! Nobody asked you!''
'''Zumi, we're so glad you're back!''
''Everyone, please!'' The boy grunted. The crowd could sure be annoying and even suffocating sometimes. Being popular did have drawbacks as well as benefits, after all.
As soon as he asked them to give him some space, most of the people surrounding him backed off, walking backward by three steps, waiting for what Nezumi had to say. He turned to Nadeshiko again. A few gasps were heard from the crowd.
''Nadeshiko, can I ask you something?'' He was normally very amiable and outspoken. But his voice quivered a little bit, and Nadeshiko could see a nervous look in his eyes.
Wait..was he trying to ask her out!? It's way too early to be dating boys! Nadeshiko felt herself burning up. That couldn't be it, right? She definitely couldn't date him. She just couldn't.
''Would it be possible for me to join the Drama-club?''
''Eh?'' Nadeshiko asked, completely taken back by Nezumi's question. She would definitely feel relieved if she weren't so confused.
More gasps came from the crowd.
''EEHH!?''
OP: Keep Trying, Precure! - Mayu Kudo
Episode 9: Mouse and Lion
''...And what did you tell him?'' Shizuka Hiyama asked Nadeshiko during break once she had told about Nezumi's request this morning.
''That he has to ask Ruko, our club leader. She's in charge of all that stuff,'' Nadeshiko stated simply as she opened her lunchbox. The purple-haired girl noticed a lot of students, particularly girls, circling around her that day. Even girls not from her class appeared staring at her in the window from the hallway. They weren't doing it out of malice. They seemed to be more...curious than anything. At least Nadeshiko thought so. Maybe they thought something was going on between them?
Nadeshiko gulped and shook her head furiously. No. No. No. They weren't a couple. He was just asking her something. Nothing serious. Just asking. Nothin-
Her mantra was interrupted by a soft hand on her shoulder and two scarlet, worried eyes belonging to Akemi, stared at her.
''Nade?''
''Sorry, Akemi,'' She said slowly. Nadeshiko was surprised how painful that word had escaped her mouth. ''I just….''
''It's so sweet he asked you of all people,'' Akemi said, clapping her hands together with a smile. ''That means he knows you're in the drama club!''
''Uh, what is he? A stalker?'' Renge added with a frown as she tried to balance a pen on her lips.
''Maybe...he has a crush on you, Nadeshiko!'' Shizuka gasped, her eyes slamming wide open as though she saw an amazing plot twist in her favorite show.
''Eh?''
''You sound rather shocked. Are you one of his fangirls too, Shizuka?'' Teru Fukui asked with a sly smile, appearing behind Reon's seat. Shizuka's face got a red-color.
''Nah, not at all!'' She scratched her cheek with a timid smile, her behavior completely contradicting her words. ''I just like watching him play. He really is good, you know!''
Nadeshiko, Teru, Akemi and Renge giggled at Shizuka's pouting face. Satoko and Reon both kept quiet, the former reading a book and not really interested in the conversation at all and the latter shuffling around nervously as always. But she seemed even more nervous than normal.
Reon took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down by scribbling in her notebook. Reon wasn't exactly a great artist, nor the artistic type, but her notebook was still filled with many, crudely drawn animals. Among the drawings were a blocky figure which was supposed to be a bear and a cat with an awkwardly-shaped head. Drawing helped her calm down and let her mind wander off at times, and it was a good way to kill the time during Mr. Inoue's long, drawn out lectures.
And speaking of Mr. Inoue…
''Alright, class!'' The teacher stepped inside the class and quickly everyone returned to their seats.
And speaking of Mr. Inoue's long lectures...
''Get your notebooks ready,'' The man grabbed a chalk and started writing numbers on the chalkboard. Seeing how Inoue was trying to write as small as he could, this was going to be yet another long one.
A collective sigh was heard from the class as they all grabbed their notebooks and started writing down the formulas.
After classes were over, Nadeshiko was quite surprised, again, to find Nezumi had even been waiting for her outside the classroom.
''Oh, hello!'' Nadeshiko greeted him. ''Ruko's is in the class next to yours, you know. Weren't you gonna ask her?''
''I know. But...I thought maybe...'' The boy scratched the back of his head awkwardly as he stared at the ceiling. Again, he seemed a little nervous.
And again, Nadeshiko noticed a small group of girls standing a little further in the hallway. They eyed Nadeshiko suspiciously and whispered with each-other. Too bad, their voices were still audible to the purple-haired girl.
''That girl, who's she anyway?''
''She's totally stealing him!''
''What a witch!''
Nadeshiko found her cheeks burning again. That was rude. Did they really have to jump to conclusions like that? She wished people would have some sense. But her embarrassment prevented her from saying anything about it. Instead, she stared at the boy with a cherry-red face. He couldn't be meaning to ask…?
''Maybe you could put up a good word for me? Ruko and I aren't actually the best of friends..'' He finally spat out, quite softly.
He remembered the little accident from when they were both first year. Ruko had just created the drama club and they would be performing their very first show on the same day as an important game. With both clubs wanting the gymnasium for themselves that day, the teacher had decided to flip a coin. And as easy as that, the soccer club had lost that game before even starting. Rage and envy had fueled Nezumi, and everyone else in the soccer club ruined the performance by kicking and throwing balls to the stage during the play. It was quite a mess, to put it mildy. Their antics were almost immediately put to a halt by a teacher and they were given detention for eight weeks straight.
''Oh, I see what I can do,'' Nadeshiko placed her hand against her cheek with a small smile. Nezumi looked quite funny when he was nervous. She hadn't expected that from him. ''But why do you want to join the drama club so suddenly?''
Nezumi didn't reply right away. He quietly followed Nadeshiko to the club room.
''To be honest...'' He started softly. ''I'm getting a little tired of soccer.''
For only a second, Nadeshiko stopped and looked at the boy with big eyes as he revealed a secret which has been shut inside him for quite some time.
''Akemiii~''
The brown-haired girl made a little jump as she heard a voice creep beside her ear. Akemi, who had been quietly following Nadeshiko and Nezumi, turned around to find Renge behind her.
''Spying on Izumi too?'' Renge snickered. ''Oh you naughty-!''
''I wasn't!''
''You were~!'' Renge taunted in a mischievous sing-song voice.
'''No. I really wasn't!''
''You so were!''
''You're acting like children,'' Satoko shoved the two girls away as she rolled her eyes. Then she blinked a few times and turned to Akemi. ''Do you like him?'' She asked. While her face and voice barely revealed any emotion, as usual, her blue eyes shined with curiosity.
''Who? Nezumi?'' Akemi asked with a high-pitched voice. ''N-n-no!''
''I see.''
''She so does!'' Renge whispered in Satoko's ear, who simply nodded.
''I agree.''
''Ah! I heard that!'' Akemi cried with puffed cheeks as playfully slapped her hands on Satoko's back. Her laugh and tone revealed that Akemi was already was playing along. ''Don't tease meee! You meanie!''
The three, even Satoko, couldn't help but fall into a fit of giggles. The only one who kept quiet was Reon, who stood a few meters from the others. Somehow, it was Renge that noticed Reon was acting a little odd.
''Hey, Reo!'' The tall girl waved her hands in front of Reon' face. Who still hadn't said anything. ''Spacing out?''
Just after taking a good look at the girl, Renge noticed something was wrong with Reon. She was whimpering to herself in some squeaky, almost inaudible voice as she stared to the ground. She rubbed her hands together and seemed like she wanted nothing more than disappear from the world.
''Reo?'' Renge repeated, softer this time. Again, she hovered her hand in front of the orange-haired girl's face. This time she noticed and jumped in surprise with a little squeak. ''Something wrong? You look kinda pale.''
''It's... my fault he was in the hospital,'' She whispered, avoiding eye-contact completely.
''Huh? Who is in the hospital?'' Renge raised an eyebrow in confusement. Did something happen at home or-?
''N-N-Nezumi Izumi, I mean.''
''Uh..?'' For Renge, it didn't click at first. Hospital? But then she remembered something about Nezumi having an accident. Of course, he had been absent for some time! Renge hadn't even noticed he was gone, to be honest. She never liked Nezumi anyway. He was way too cocky. That, and she wasn't that interested in football.
But Reon couldn't be the cause of that accident, right? She couldn't hurt a fly, even if she wanted to.
The girl buried her face into her hands. ''He's angry. I know it. He wants revenge. He will hurt me, get me, and probably do bad things to me...'' And before she could start to list all kind of ways to get at her, most of them very unrealistic and overly dramatic, Renge placed her hand on Reon's head. She started petting her like a lonely dog. And it did calm her down at least a little, as stopped trembling and she looked up at the tall girl.
''But….what did you do, Reo?'' Renge asked softly. Her curiosity was growing by the second. She really, really wanted to know. Was there some evil-side to the nervous girl they never knew? What had the guy done to unleash the rage that apparently was stored deep, very deep, down in Reon?
''Well….''
''Give them back! Please, please, please!''
On the first day of school, Reon had been the target of teasing by various upperclassmen. Grabbing her books and throwing them around, hiding her clothes, scribbling naughty words on her locker, calling her names behind her back. For some reason, the nervous and jittery Reon Nishino was such an easy target.
Thank goodness that Shizuka was there to help her out. If she hadn't, Reon was sure she would have been a complete mess by now.
'''Zumi, catch!'' A slender third year threw the books to his friend, Nezumi Izumi, who immediately started running around, laughing while Reon ran after him, pleading and yelling.
Down the stairs, with Nezumi gliding on the handrails while Reon leaped over four steps at a time, almost caught up with the third-year.
Then, something snapped inside Reon. Her tolerance snapped, and anger filled her whole body.
Enough.
She clenched her fist and extended her hand, grabbing Nezumi by the collar of his shirt and giving him a surprisingly hard punch before kicking him, sending him rolling down the stairs while making painful moans. Faint screams and cries in the background made Reon snap back to reality and was simply horrified at the scene before her.
Nezumi lay down on the ground. His leg was bent in an unnatural, painful angle and he was surrounded by students and teachers, all while Reon was still standing on the stairs, wide-eyed.
Renge couldn't believe it. She couldn't imagine Reon lashing out to anyone. She wished she could've seen it! In Renge's mind she saw Reon with, somehow, even wilder hair than usual, scars and tattoos on her face, a cigarette in her mouth and dressed like a delinquent stomping around the school while everyone hid from her sight.
''Wow, awesome!'' Renge grinned, slapping Reon gently on the back, like a proud dad. But this only earned her a wide-eyed, horrified stare. ''I mean...what? He shouldn't have bullied you!'' Renge immediately defended when she saw Reon's face. ''He deserved it!''
''B-but...Renge...''
''Relax, Reo. If he tries anything, I'll give him a heart-beatdown!''
''Those Precure should hurry up and complete that darn clock already,'' Muspell cursed. Doing some push-ups while Shangri-La sat on his back. The short girl was busy sewing the ear of a rabbit-like plush back on. Even after all this time, she still hadn't found her way with the needle. She kept pricking herself, as her fingers were covered with bandages. The band-aid box was almost empty, with only two band-aids remaining.
''Yes. They should...'' The girl mused softly. Her eyes staring blankly at the yellow rabbit missing its ear. ''I don't like this place.''
''Me neither. IT'S DULL!'' Muspell's voice raised with each and every word. Sweat dripped off his face as he continued his work-out.
''I don't think it's so bad,'' Lemuria added. Her eyes were practically glued to the computer screen.
But Muspell was right. It was really dull, probably because of the complete absence of color in their cave-like base. It was the reason why Shangri-La always chose to get the most colorful stuffed animals. It was just an attempt to make the place more lively. The fact that there was only a single room, and because there were only various chairs and a big table, made it look empty and spacious.
And Tartarus certainly didn't help making this place feel cozy. Tartarus always sat on the chair in the right corner. Most of the time he was reading some books, both from Elysium and Terra, or just staring into the distance, seemingly lost in thoughts. But he was always there. He was always watching their steps and hearing their bickering whenever they were here. Muspell, Lemuria and Shangri-La tried to ignore him most of the time.
With a surprisingly loud clap Muspell closed the book in his hands. For a split second, Lemuria could see a flash of a picture of a cupcake on the cover of said book.
''If you're getting impatient, why not speed up their progress?'' Tartarus said calmly. He didn't even look at his comrades.
''Why don't you go?'' Muspell finally ended his push-ups and lay down on the ground.
''We've used up a lot of magic already, Mr. Tartarus!'' Lemuria rubbed her gloved hands together with a frown. She paused her game and revealed a piece of papers with numbers scribbled on it. ''You have only done it twice! On Episode 1 and the Christmas Special!''
''Too meta, Lemuria!'' Mumu hissed into her ear.
Tartarus didn't respond. What in the world were they talking about?
''She's right,'' Shangri-La hopped off of Muspell's back. She was still holding the stuffed rabbit in one hand, and a needle in the other. ''It takes quite a lot of energy to make a Hakaisuru, you know?''
''Stop complaining!'' Tartarus finally barked. ''Be grateful that Lord Saturn chose us to use these magic powers.''
''I am grateful to Lord Saturn for granting us the power of dark magic!'' Muspell responded with a snarl. ''But we can't use too much in such a short time period! Black magic is no game!''
''As if I don't know that!'' Tartarus snapped back like someone had insulted his pride. ''What? Are your hands hurting already? You three are too soft. Lord Saturn should never have-!''
Shangri-La didn't listen Tartarus' rambling. She quietly removed the glove from her left hand. Her thin hand was filled with black, vein-like stripes. It did hurt actually, and felt like her hand was burning from the inside. But that was just a small price to use dark powers. Her mother had always told her never to mess with dark magic. Now she knew why. But alas, there was no turning back now.
''I'll go.''
''Ms. Shangri-La?'' Lemuria put a hand on the girl's shoulder. ''You sure?''
''Yes,'' Shangri-La nodded while putting her glove back on. She glared at Tartarus with her aqua-eyes. ''But I want a vacation.''
''Fine.''
(Eyecatch 1: The four Cures are running over a rainbow in the sky with Cure Purity leading the way. However Natura trips and causes everyone to fall off, leaving only the rainbow in sight. The Utopia Precure Logo appears at the bottom)
(Eyecatch 2: Everyone is still falling down, with Wild holding onto Natura, who's flapping her arms and Cyber trying to grab Purity, who's covering her eyes. Unluckily, everyone lands in some huge net and Lemuria appears in sight. Behind her are Muspell and Shangri-la. Lemuria cheers at her catch while everyone else sighs and sweatdrops. The Utopia Precure Logo appears at the bottom)
The following day was certainly an odd one for two different students of Morita High School.
First was Ruko Souma, the drama-club's manager. Nezumi had finally gathered the courage to approach Ruko, and apologize for the accident from their first year. Needless to say, she was quite surprised. But, even more surprising, she agreed to let him join almost immediately.
''As long as you're serious about this I see no problem with it,'' She had told him while adjusting her glasses. She glanced at him and added; ''If you're just messing around….''
''Thank you!'' Nezumi grabbed both of Ruko's hands before she could finish her treat. ''I won't disappoint you!''
And lastly was Renge Morita. Who had been thinking about the story Reon had told her yesterday.
She apparently hadn't told Akemi nor Satoko about it. Which made Renge wonder...Why had Reon told her something rather personal? What made her so special? She wasn't practically the most trustworthy person around, nor had she done anything notably kind to Reon to ever win her trust. Renge had shrugged it off at first but still found herself thinking about it last night. She began looking through the confines of her mind looking for a possible reason for Reon's trust.
The whole ordeal with Reon's hamster, Napoleon? While it had ended on a good note, it was still a source of guilt for her. If only she had taken better care of the little hamster and been more responsible. Much later than that, Renge had forced Reon to cooperate with her to mess up her father and Akemi's mother's date. No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't find a good reason for Reon to trust her more than the gentler Akemi or the more intelligent Satoko, or even the more mature Krei.
Renge was definitely over thinking. There was no way she wasn't. But those thoughts kept creeping in her mind.
''I always knew you were absent-minded but this is a new record...''
Renge looked up as she was released from her thoughts by a voice. Teru stood next to her seat. The blonde was wearing a wry smile on her face as she looked down at Renge.
''Huh?'' Renge blinked a few times as she eyed Teru. ''Hey! What's that supposed to mean!?''
Teru simply let out a soft laugh. ''You're in my seat.''
''Eh?''
Renge blinked a few times and inspected the desk in front of her. She opened it and saw note-books and pencils which didn't belong to her.
Oops. She hadn't even been paying attention while entering the classroom. Renge's seat was behind Teru's. With red-colored cheeks, Renge stood up, grabbed her stuff and hurried over to the desk behind. She saw Satoko placing a hand against her forehead at Renge's mistake, which only made her more irritated and embarrassed. "S-S-S-Sorry!" She stammered ruefully.
''Don't worry about it,'' Teru immediately reassured Renge when she saw her face. ''You look rather spacey this morning. You know what? I'll read your fortune!''
A twinkle appeared in the blonde's eyes as she grabbed a magazine from her desk.
Renge blinked again in confusion. Fortune? It was probably some horoscope, hocus-pocus nonsense. Horoscopes were quite popular lately around Unmeigaoka. But Renge considered them to be nothing more than a bunch of mumbo jumbo.
''Starsign?'' Teru asked calmly while looking through the magazine.
''Uh...Taurus.''
''Hmm, Taurus...let's see,'' Teru placed the magazine on her desk. ''A life-changing experience is waiting for you! Don't wait for things to unfold on their own, just do what you think is right! If you do that, you will find out things about your friends or family that you didn't know before..''
Teru cited each and every word with passion. She peppered it with emotions and made the horoscope sound like a foreboding, yet epic legend being told. No wonder they wanted her to join the drama club.
''Don't hold back, Renge! Whatever is troubling you, I'm sure you'll overcome it!'' Teru assured her classmate with a wink. Quickly she added: ''This has been a free reading brought to you by: Teru Fukui~!''
''Thanks,'' Renge laughed somewhat absentmindedly. Teru's words still hanging in her mind. 'Do what I think is right?'
''Come with me for a moment,'' After class, the first thing Renge did was drag Reon out to the hall. She was going to the right thing. And give Reon what she deserved.
''Wha-wha-what are you..?'' The orange-haired girl asked with a timid voice. Reon knew that the taller girl was planning something. But what? In her mind, she already started thinking of hundreds of things Renge was going to do.
''Stay here,'' Was all Renge said. She looked completely serious as she raised her hand to tell Reon to not move away from her spot. ''I'll be back in a sec.''
Almost tripping over her own feet, Renge rushed away, leaving Reon alone in the hall. Almost all other students were already outside or with their club by now. Reon didn't have time for a club. She had to get home in time to take care of the animals in case her parents were busy. Besides, there wasn't really a club Reon was interested in. Most of them were sport clubs or music clubs. Reon was neither a sporty nor musical person.
Then, a frightening thought had managed to creep into her mind again. What if Renge was going to pull a prank on her? What if she wasn't going to come back and just see how long Reon would wait? That couldn't be. Renge wasn't like that, right?
But she was gone for quite a while. And each passing second made Reon more and more doubtful.
'Don't doubt your friend, Reon!' She mentally scolded herself while her legs started moving and she walked away. 'Renge isn't like that at all! She can be a little straightforward and too honest at times, but she's kind and...'
Reon had just turned around the corner and she had found the tall girl. She wasn't alone. She was talking to Nezumi! Was she going to tell him about..?
''Renge…?'' She wanted to call her, but only a whisper came out. Reon took a few steps towards the two. Despite being in plain sight, the two didn't notice her. Their gazes were completely focused on each other.
''I hate bullies. People who are mean to others just to get a laugh. To make themselves feel better. They're the worst kind of people, don't you agree?'' Renge almost hissed into a confused Nezumi's face. Finally, Renge's green eyes quickly turned to Reon, whose own eyes practically screamed ''What are you doing!?''
''R-R-R-R-R-RENGE!'' The orange-haired girl stammered, pulling her hair again but she instantly regretted raising her voice as Nezumi turned to her. His eyes widened. And he remembered.
''Oooh,'' He spoke softly. He scratching the back of his head while avoiding Reon's gaze nervously. ''It's you...''
Reon embraced herself. Hoping her body would stop shaking already. She wasn't sure if she could face him. He was definitely angry. He would scream, lash out or-he was approaching her! Slowly and still avoiding eye-contact, at least before Renge shoved herself between the two.
''Don't you dare lay a finger on her, you rat!'' Renge warned, almost pushing her finger into Nezumi's eye, who immediately backed off. He raised his hands defensively.
''No, no...I wasn't going...''
''I'm won't stand for some bully hurting my friend!''
''I'm not...I...I promise.''
''What did we miss?'' Three head appeared just around the corner. Akemi, Satoko and Krei shared the same confused look as they turned from Nezumi to Renge, who finally but reluctantly stepped aside, letting Nezumi face Reon.
For a moment nobody did anything, the two just stared, although Reon's eyes occasionally shifted around the room. Nezumi took a deep breath and Reon did the same.
''I'm sorry!''
They both cried as they bowed in unison, resulting in their heads collapsing and they quickly backed away, hands on their heads with a painful ''Ouch!''
''Hey...eh...I'm sorry about...you know,'' Nezumi started with a meek smile. ''Eh...can you forgive me for being a huge jerk to you?''
''As if it's that easy,'' Satoko whispered softly, and Renge silently agreed with a quick nod.
But Reon slowly forced a smile on her face.
''Uh...I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have push-! ''
''No! I was a big jerk to you! And besides, I didn't have to go to school, heh,'' He grinned and Reon's forced smile turned into a genuine one.
''What do girls see in him?'' Satoko asked with a sigh and, once again, Renge agreed. But next to them, Akemi pressed her hands against her rosy red cheeks and smiled dreamily.
''Nezumi's smile is so precious.''
''Seriously, Akemi?'' And yet again Satoko and Renge found themselves agreeing. ''Nezumi's your type?''
''He can take my books, scribble naughty messages on my desk and hide my clothes whenever he wants,'' The brunette said with a dreamy face. Her red face only partly revealed the inappropriate thoughts she was having.
''There's definitely something wrong with you!'' Renge, Krei and Satoko commented. The three all wore deep frowns as they worried for their friend's sanity.
But the light-hearted mood was instantly ruined by a single voice.
''So, here you are.''
At the end of the hall-way stood a short, familiar figure. A girl in a green dress. ''Shangri-La!''
''Who?'' Before Nezumi could turn around, he was assaulted and felt an almost burning hand grabbing his neck quite roughly. Then his world turned pitch-black and he lost consciousness.
Reon, who stood next to the boy, was frozen in place with fear. She rushed back to her friends while keeping her eyes on the girl.
''Why do you keep doing this?'' She whimpered as tears began to form. ''You're so cruel!''
Shangri-La ignored her and stood behind Nezumi as he turned into a huge creature with horns, although it noticeably resembled a mouse, with big, round ears. Its cry even had a high-pitched squeaky tone.
''Let's get this over with,'' She finally said. More to herself than other. Shangri-La had none of her usual enthusiasm and spirit today.
''Where is the princess!?'' Krei roared. Again, he started asking the still unanswered question as the four girls grabbed their bracelets.
Shangri-La didn't reply. She waited for the girls to transform.
''Magiactivate!'' In four flashes of red, green, blue and yellow the four had completely changed into their Precure-counterpart.
''Creating Utopia with Love and Kindness, Cure Purity!''
''Creating Utopia with Nature and Flowers, Cure Natura!''
''Creating Utopia with Wisdom and Knowledge, Cure Cyber!''
''Creating Utopia with Animals and Life, Cure Wild!''
''She did it to herself,'' Shangri-La finally answered as the Hakaisuru slammed its huge claw onto the ground, just barely missing Cure Natura.
''What do you mean!? Where is the princess!?'' Krei repeated, while evading the fight and hopping to Shangri-La, who didn't do anything. She just glared at him.
''I-I have nothing to do with her! She broke it herself, okay!?'' Shangri-La defended, sounding surprisingly shaky. She jumped further away from the fight between the Hakaisuru and the Precure, leaving Krei, confused, as prey for the huge mouse-like monster.
''Krei!'' If it hadn't been for Cure Purity taking the hit by standing in front of the creature, he would surely be splashed into literal soup. The red-clad Cure landed a powerful punch between the monster's eyes.
With the Hakaisuru being distracted by Purity, Cure Cyber took her chance to land another hit. She kicked its head with her iron boots quite hard, making it fall on its side with a loud moan.
''I'm done here. Have fun,'' Shangri-La said, sounding completely uninterested and left as quick as she could.
''So...Heart-beatdown?'' Cyber asked, as she jumped on the fallen Hakaisuru's chest and pressed her hands on her hips. Natura jumped down next to her.
''Oh! Oh! I do it!'' The green cure announced with a grin as she pressed her hands on the heart-emblem on her chest.
''No. I'll be fine.''
''But I wanna do it!''
''Don't start, please.''
''Come on, Cyber!''
''No.''
''Don't fight, please,'' Purity came between the two with a smile. ''Let Wild do it!''
''M-me?''
''But she didn't do anything,'' Cyber immediately objected. Krei nodded in agreement as he jumped on Cyber's shoulder.
''I know. I'm a coward.''
''Don't beat yourself down like that, Wild!'' Purity immediately hushed the yellow-clad Cure.
''Yeah! Let's try again, next time!'' Natura grabbed Wild's hand and slowly dragged her to the fallen Hakaisuru's body. Wild didn't object. ''Put your hand to your chest and concentrate really hard! Try it! That Hakaisuru can't do anything now, so don't be scared!''
Slowly Wild raised her hands and pressed them against the heart-emblem on her chest. But...what if it woke up and-?
''Don't worry, just do it!'' Cure Natura interrupted her thoughts. She had no idea how, but somehow, Wild felt a little more at ease. She smiled.
''Pretty Cure! Heart-Beatdown!'' Soon a bright, yellow light began to engulf the Hakaisuru. It turned back into Nezumi and yet another Chrono Shard appeared, which Krei put onto his shell.
''We're another step closer. Please wait a little longer, princess,'' He whispered softly and pressed his hands together like a prayer.
Soon, they all transformed back and lay Nezumi down on a nearby chair, hoping he would wake up soon. ''And, once again, you did nothing,'' Satoko said to Reon with a harsh tone, like a mother scolding a naughty child.
Reon mumbled something and stared at the ground. Renge opened her mouth to say something but Nezumi started coming by. He mumbled and the four rushed away before he could notice them.
Nobody said anything until the group exited the school. Then, Reon suddenly stopped in her tracks, and everyone turned to her curiously. She raised her head, and pure determination could be found in her eyes.
''I promise I won't be a burden any longer. Next time, I'll fight.''
ED: Heartbeat Fanfare – Mika Kanai (Akemi), Kaori Mizuhashi (Renge), Miyuki Sawashiro (Satoko), Ryou Hirohashi (Reon) ft. Jun Fukuyama (Krei)
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Krei: ''What did Shangri-La mean by 'she broke it herself'? What happened to the princess!?''
Reon: ''Something awful! I'm sure of it!''
Satoko: ''I'm sure if we think logically, we'll find a way to save her.''
Akemi: ''Hey, Krei? You care a lot of about the princess, don't you?''
Krei: ''More than anything. She was the first person who was kind to me...''
Akemi: ''Next time on Utopia Pretty Cure: 'Memories'. Let's make next time a wonderful time together too!''