Demashitaa! Powerpuff Girls Z:

Suteki da ne?

At first, it seemed like a regular Monday night.

It wasn't uncommon for Momoko to sit and stare at her food with a dreamy look in her eyes. Whether that was because the food was wonderful, which it always was, or because she was just daydreaming, it was hard to tell. Though as Kuriko pursed her lips and stared at her big sister, she began to wonder if maybe, just maybe, it was the other reason. She smirked and shook her head, taking a big bite of the cake their mother had made. That couldn't be the reason. Momoko had run out of boys at school, right? And, and! If she did have a crush, she'd have told her, wouldn't she? Momoko had promised to tell her everything.

The two sisters both snapped from their thoughts at the sound of their father chuckling, "Momoko-chan, you seem preoccupied. Thinking about someone special?" he teased. His wife joined him in laughing when their oldest daughter's face turned bright red and her hands flew to her cheeks.

"Otousan! It's…mou...I uh-" her words were cut off by a giddy giggle that bubbled up from her chest. She squealed and squirmed in her seat, shaking her head, "It's not like that…" she insisted, unsuccessfully.

Kuriko gasped, glaring at her sister. How dare she! Momoko promised to tell her everything! And now...now she definitely had a crush!

"Ah, Momoko-chan, who is it? Yosuke-san again? Oh! Or how about Oseki-san? He was cute…" Kakiko mused, recalling Momoko's past crushes with a knowing grin.

Their antagonizing only caused Momoko's cheeks to burn brighter and her giggling to grow higher pitched, "None of them…" she murmured, "It's not...it's…" she sputtered in the middle of her excuse and jumped to her feet. "I don't have a crush!" she insisted, a huge grin on her face. Without excusing herself, she hurried away from the table, leaving her parents laughing while her sister continued to glare at her.

"Stupid Oneechan, hiding things from me." Kuriko pouted. She crossed her arms and huffed. When her mother asked if she'd help clean up, she sighed and agreed, though mumbled under her breath, "Stupid Oneechan, making me do all the chores…"

Having hurried through her chores, Kuriko yawned and stumbled up the steps, wandering toward her sister's room. She paused just outside the door, hand hanging over the knob. Inside, she could hear Momoko talking to herself. Her ears perked up and Kuriko leaned closer to the door.

"No, no, no! That's silly, just...just keep trying to act normal. Right, normal! Like, Momoko-normal or real normal? No! Don't think so hard! It's just...it's just a crush, it'll go away...oh...but, he reads really fast, maybe I should bring two volumes just in case?"

Two volumes? Kuriko wondered what she could mean about that. Was she loaning her manga to her crush? Momoko never loaned out her manga to anyone! She gasped, quickly stifling the sound.

"Kuma-sensei...I hope you like it," Kuriko narrowed her eyes. Just what was going on with her big sister?

XxXxX

"-Popper!" Kaoru paused outside of the training room, listening to the slap of a hundred little explosions going off inside. She'd gone back to the lab to pick up a book she'd forgotten. She definitely hadn't expected to hear anyone fighting, let alone that particular someone. She rubbed her shoulder, pulling the door open and slipping inside.

"What are you doing? Miyako-chan, it's late, you should head home to rest up." She suggested. It was a busy day. They'd had a rather hectic fight, but somehow the blonde was still in a fighting mood? Something was up, Kaoru thought with a frown. "Hey? You listening?"

Bubbles gasped, pushing herself up to her knees with her bubble wand. She glanced at Kaoru, but quickly looked away, blushing.

Kaoru couldn't help noticing that she'd been crying, "Hey, what's up? Why are you out here alone?" The tomboy started toward her, but Bubbles shook her head, stumbling to her feet.

Steadying herself, she readied her wand and pulled it back, swinging it with all her might, "Bubble Popper!" The attack erupted from the end, exploding against the far wall. It was noticeably weaker than the last one she'd thrown. With a little grunt, Bubbles slid to her knees, gasping for air.

This time, Kaoru didn't hesitate to rush to her side, brushing the sweat from her forehead. She was burning up, still nursing her bruises from earlier. "C'mon, take it easy Miyako-chan. Fight's over, you need to relax in case something happens tomorrow. Okay? Let's get you home," Kaoru tried to help her up, but Bubbles pulled her arm away.

She rubbed her eyes furiously. She was definitely crying.

"I can't...I have to get stronger, Kaoru-san. I can't let this happen again," she insisted, still gasping for air. She started to climb back to her feet. Her head spun and her vision swam; the blonde fell face first toward the ground. Thankfully for her, Kaoru reacted and caught her, slipping an arm around her shoulders and holding her steady.

"Miyako! It's over! You won't be any help next time if you strain yourself and get hurt!" Kaoru pointed out, hauling her friend to the corner. She sat her against the wall and kicked her wand away, before she could grab it and push herself even further.

Bubbles rubbed her eyes again, "Kaoru-san, how can you say that? After...what happened. M-Momoko-san was...she almost…"

"Momoko-chan's fine, Miyako-chan…"

"But what if you hadn't been there? What would have happened to her if...if you hadn't been...if you…" Bubbles uniform shone bright blue and faded, leaving a gently sobbing Miyako where she once sat. Kaoru sat down next to her and pulled her into a hug.

"I was there, you were there. We're both still getting the hang of things again, it's fine! We'll both do better next time,"

Miyako closed her eyes, but held her tongue. Why couldn't Kaoru understand? Things wouldn't be easier next time. Every monster that Akuma Daimao sent their way seemed stronger than the last. And worse...every monster that attacked only made him stronger.

Next time, if she...she had to be better. She had to be able to act next time. She couldn't let Momoko get hurt again. She couldn't let her down again.

XxXxX

It was earlier that day. The call had gone out a little after noon. Blossom was grumpy enough, making no effort to disguise that she wasn't happy about being forced to miss Kuma-sensei's class. It only got worse when Buttercup teased her about missing her boyfriend, which, of course, caused Blossom to blush and giggle, insisting it wasn't like that.

"At least...not yet anyway," The redhead whispered to herself, with an excited little grin. She began to giggle to herself, doing a quick twirl in the air.

Bubbles sighed, chastising her with a smile, "Blossom, we have a mission, remember? Try to focus…" The three landed and looked around in confusion.

"This the spot?" Buttercup asked, hefting her hammer to her shoulder, wandering through the streets. People were going about their day for the most part...no one seemed particularly panicked considering the city was being attacked by a monster. She glanced back toward the others.

Blossom was looking around carefully, with Bubbles close behind her, gripping her wand so hard her hands were trembling.

"Mm, this is it," Blossom said with a nod, flipping open her compact, "Utonium-hakase was pretty clear. And, you know, doesn't it seem strange here?"

"Now that you mention it," Bubbles muttered, staring at the sidewalk. She gestured toward a large empty space, "Isn't there a bus stop here?"

Buttercup nodded, jerking her thumb toward another big empty space, "Yeah, and a telephone booth here. So, what? There's a bunch of stuff missing?"

"It's odd," Blossom mused, staring at an empty pot, which once housed a plant. "There's no real rhyme or reason, just stuff gone."

Buttercup and Bubbles nodded, checking the rest of the block for strange disappearance. The former perked up, hearing something. It was like...someone gargling nails and broken glass. She blinked, peeking through a shop window.

"Hey, I think-" Buttercup screamed, tumbling back and dropping her hammer. She quickly scooted away from the window. Her partners flew to her side in an instant. On the other side of the glass was a little creature with a twisted face. Two beady little eyes and a giant grin on its face, it stared at them making that same odd sound.

It was laughing. Then, with a screech, the window suddenly shattered and the glass was whipped up into a vortex, swirling through the window and disappearing. The creature jumped onto the window sill, holding a giant black bag on its shoulder. It narrowed its red eyes and giggled, gesturing toward them with an eerie three taloned hand.

"Mine!" It screeched, a massive hand suddenly erupting from the bag.

"Move! Move! Move!" Blossom called, scrambling out of the way. The three managed to avoid the swipe of the massive hand, which tore up the ground beneath them. The hand retreated to the sack. The little creature peeked inside and shrugged, cackling again.

"Mine!" It called, gesturing toward them again.

Blossom narrowed her eyes and jumped to her feet, "Taking from others and saying its yours is despicable! Our city won't abide such theft, we're Powerpuff Girls Z, and we'll stop you!" she exclaimed, lunging at the monster. "Bubblegum Sneaker Kick!" She shouted, throwing a rocket-powered kicked at the little gremlin. It yelped, jumping over her leg and making a run for it.

"Not so fast! Bubble Neba-Neba!" Bubbles swung her wand, hurling a trail of sticky goop in the creature's path. The monster dodged it with incredible speed, even slipping underneath a stream and leaping onto a parked car.

"Mine!" It yelped, another massive hand reaching from the bag. It grabbed the car and took a swing at the girls with it.

Buttercup jumped in front of her partners, "Smash Block!" With a mighty swing, she sent the car careening back at the gremling, smacking it in the head. The monster fell to the ground muttering gibberish and rubbing its head. The massive hand grabbed the car and pulled it into the sack. With a squeal, seeing the girls advancing on it, the monster picked up its sack and made a run for it!

"Hey! Get back here!" Buttercup shouted, taking another swing at it "Swing Sonic!" The air cracked when she swung her hammer, hurling a blast of energy at the monster. It yelped and dropped its sack, staring in horror at the blast. But, just before it could reach the monster, a massive black hand rose out of the sack and snatched the blast, pulling it inside.

The little monster cackled and clapped, "Mine!" It cheered, hefting the sack and running.

"What is up with that thing?" Buttercup complained, making chase. The others fell in step beside her, ducking left and right, under and over anything in their path. As the trio tore through the city after the monster, it continued to pause every so often to snatch a car, or parking meter, or even a takoyaki stand, pulling them into its sack and hurrying away.

"Hey! I liked that stand!" Blossom called after him. She growled and blasted into the air, now fueled by a food grudge! The little creep never saw her coming as she came down like lightning, twirling in the air and firing both jets at full force, "Lollipop Lightning Strike!" She spun at the last second, slamming both feet into the monster's face, and blasting it away with another rocket shot.

"Good job, Blossom! My turn! Bubble Popper!" Bubbles swung her wand, filling the air with explosive bubbles that slapped the monster around, throwing it to and fro in the air. It screeched and yelled, but the attack wasn't over yet!

"Get Megaton DUNKED!" Buttercup shouted, bringing her hammer down with all her might, shooting the creature out of the sky and skidding along the ground. It crashed into a car and twitched as it lay prone on the ground. "Finally! He isn't running this time!"

The three grouped up and began to advance on the monster. Bubbles glanced around, noticing that the creature's sack had fallen several meters away. "What is it?" she asked, poking it with the end of her wand.

"Hm, another part of Akuma Daimao most likely," Blossom said knowingly.

Buttercup sighed, but decided to humor her, "You're making this up aren't you?"

Blossom shook her head and lightly placed her hands on her hips, "No, no! Not this time! This time I'm sure of it. Akuma referred to that big monster as one of his aspects. Since it was so angry all the time, I'm thinking it was Wrath. So, judging by the way the first monster acted, I would imagine that was Gluttony. Which...would make this little thief Greed! See? He's going to summon seven of these monsters until he's back to full power!"

She nodded, satisfied with her own answer, "That's it! Now that this one is done, we only have four more, then we'll be ready to face Akuma Daimao himself!"

Bubbles stared at the sack, only somewhat listening to Blossom's rambling explanation. Was the sack moving? That was impossible...wasn't it? Then again...she finally peeled her eyes away, glancing at the monster.

"You're really thinking about this too hard...and you're just talking about Fullmetal Alchemist," Buttercup groaned, rubbing her head.

Blossom shrieked, stars in her eyes, "You...know...about...Fullmetal...Alchemist?"

"What?!" Buttercup swallowed and took a step back, overwhelmed by the redhead's sudden intensity, "What, no, I mean...I've seen a couple episodes. Look, my brother liked it, but I couldn't get into it,"

"What!? Buttercup, Fullmetal Alchemist is amazing! I am going to make you watch it!"

"No way! I don't want to!"

"You have to! As part of your training!"

"That's stupid!"

"Girls…" Bubbles gasped, just above a whisper. The little monster's eye snapped open and its grin grew wider. The sack rose up suddenly and three massive hands erupted from it.

All around them, a booming voice echoed, "MINE!" and in one fell swoop, snatched them and pulled them into the bag,

The world around them vanished in an instant, replaced by a swirling cacophony of darkness and a thousand different voices, each more terrible than the last, screaming "MINE" over and over again.

Buttercup was the first to tear free, pulling away from the fist holding her, she tumbled through the air, colliding with a phone booth, drifting through the void.

"Hey! Hang on! I'll get you guys out!"

"Hurry! Buttercup!" Blossom screamed. She could hear Bubbles breathing heavily, but the blonde couldn't find the words to call for help. With a grunt, Buttercup shot into the air, lifting up her hammer, "Megaton DUNK!" she slammed the weapon down on the knuckles of one of the hands. All of the voices around them screamed in unison and the hand let go, freeing Bubbles. Another hand appeared, slapping Buttercup back, slamming her into a chunk of sidewalk drifting along.

"Bubbles! Help!" Blossom screamed, finally spotting the heart of the monster. It was a massive gaping mouth, a snaggle-toothed grin that stretched endlessly across the voice around them. A thousand writhing hands rose up from it, each snatching and smashing the objects floating around them, throwing them into the gaping mouth.

"MINE!" It roared with each bite.

"Bubbles, hurry! I've read enough manga to know where this is going!" She shrieked.

Bubbles stared at the monster in horror. She could hear Blossom's voice, but her arms felt like lead and her legs felt like jelly. She stared, eyes growing wider with every meter Blossom drifted closer to the monster's mouth. Her throat felt too small to breathe, her mouth felt dry as cotton. Her lips trembling, she tried to lift her wand.

"B-Bub...B-Bubble...B-Bubble.." Her eyes welled with tears, her heart thundered in her chest. If she didn't act, Blossom was going to...she was going to lose her. Blossom needed her again, just like she needed her before. So why couldn't she move? Why couldn't she get the image of Blossom, screaming in pain as her hands flew a hundred miles an hour, being torn apart by shards of glass and chunks of concrete out of her head?

Why was she still floating there?!

"MEGATON DUNK!" With a roar, Buttercup appeared and brought her hammer down, smashing into the hand dragging Blossom in. The monster roared and relented, finally releasing their leader.

"Thanks Buttercup! C'mon, Bubbles!" The two quickly regrouped with the last member. Blossom gave Bubbles a bright smile and a nod, patting her arm. "Hey, I'm okay, alright? Let's finish this!"

Bubbles bit her lip. Suddenly she could move as tears welled up in her eyes. She clenched her eyes shut and swallowed the lump in her throat. She nodded, "R-Right…"

"What's the plan?" Buttercup panted, glaring at the beast.

Blossom nodded, "These monsters don't hold up well once you find their weak point! The White Light is just as effective against them as it was against Kare's monsters. And…" she grinned, "I think we just found the weak point! Let's give it something to chew on! Powerpuff Girls Z: Bubblegummy Rocket Slam Smash!"

Buttercup and Bubbles traded a look. The former shrugged, the latter swallowed and tightened her hold on her wand.

Blossom never got tired of making things up.

"Bubbles, summon your glowing bubbles like you would for the Wedding Cake Blossom Finish. Buttercup, I'm going to grab your hammer and try to charge your swing up with my energy," Blossom explained.

"Will that even work?" Buttercup asked as Blossom wrapped her arms around the hammer and held on tight.

"Maybe! Either way, it'll look super cool! Put all of your strength into this next swing!" Blossom instructed.

"You got it! HYAH!" Buttercup swung her hammer with all her might, spinning around in circles. She gasped when, suddenly, she felt filled up with light and Blossom's rockets exploded from her shoes, propelling the spin even faster.

"Here goes! Don't mess this up, Miyako…" Bubbles muttered, focusing her energy into her wand. With a small shout, she swung , releasing the biggest glowing bubble she could recall. By the time it passed from her wand, she doubled over, gasping to catch her breath, "Go! Its all on you girls!"

"Let's do this Buttercup! Bubblegummy Rocket Slam-" Blossom trailed off, still shouting as she propelled herself even faster.

Taking the hint, Buttercup grit her teeth and her eyes snapped open, "SMASH!" she roared with all her might, swinging at the bubble. The mallet slammed into it and, for a second, the void around them went silent.

Then, the energy from Blossom and Buttercup erupted against the surface of the bubble, piercing through it and sending it careening through the darkness. The monster roared, opening its mouth to try to devour the glistening orb of light. But, as it got closer, it began to burn away the dark hands reaching for it.

"MINE!?" The monster screeched, its cry turned to a dying shriek as the attack pierced through its body and filled it up with blistering white light.

The entire world around them erupted with light and suddenly, the force that had been pulling them inward erupted out, spilling the contents of the sack back into Tokyo City.

XxXxX

The following morning, Momoko stared down at her feet, shifting them back and forth as she stood outside the faculty office. She'd gotten to school earlier than she could ever remember. So much earlier she'd even managed to surprise her mother, who was a legendary early riser.

"Mou...I hope he doesn't think this is weird. Is this weird? I hope he doesn't think this is weird…" she muttered, shifting from one foot to the other. Kuma-sensei would be here soon, right? Her heart started to beat faster. What was she doing? This was...this was so stupid!

This was weird and stupid and awkward and childish! He would think she was stupid…

He would…"Akatsutsumi-san? Ah! It's a pleasure to see you so bright and early! I am glad. Please, forgive me again for making you late the other day." Her thoughts shut up quickly, making room for all of his wonderful words. Kuma-sensei laughed, he was always in such a good mood. He was always so warm and inviting. Momoko blushed furiously and smiled.

"G-Good morning...K-Kuma-se-sensei…" she whispered, fighting to control a giggle that wanted to find its way to her throat. She forced it down. Not this time. She could gush and giggle and act like a child later. Right now...right now she needed to. "Um, d-did you like that um...that manga I oh…" she trailed off when he bowed, gesturing to the book in his hand. She nodded and he smiled, unzipping her bag to help put it away.

Kuma-sensei cocked his head, lifting the next two volumes of Sailor Moon from her bag. "The continuation? Were these…" he swallowed and glanced up at her. Momoko bit her lip and nodded.

"I thought...you read so fast, I'd let you have t-two this time…" she shuffled nervously and looked away.

Kuma-sensei looked down at the books, then back up at Momoko. His mouth felt dry. There was an almost pleasant fluttering in his chest. Why was the girl throwing the key to her soul at him so readily? This girl who had faced down his Greed. This girl who had correctly predicted that only four of his aspects remained. How could she know? Surely she must, then, with such incredible perceptiveness, such immaculate clairvoyant skill, surely she must know who he was. Why, then, would she offer up her own demise so willingly?

Why, then, was he smiling? He chuckled and slid to his feet, tucking the tomes under his arm. He helped Momoko pick her bag up and patted her head. He couldn't help laughing when she sighed happily.

"Akatsutsumi-san...thank you. You have made this transition far more enjoyable than I could have ever imagined. I never imagined I would meet such a wonderful student as you. You honor me with your kindness," Kuma-sensei bowed and Momoko's voice failed her.

She simply smiled like a fool and nodded. He patted her shoulder, giving her a gentle push toward her homeroom. She managed a few steps before turning back to him. Kuma-sensei just smiled and bowed his head. Mouthing, "Thank you," silently, he slipped into the teacher's lounge.

Momoko took her seat near the entrance to wait for Kaoru or Miyako. With some difficulty, she managed to unzip her bag. Her breath caught in her throat; her heart stopped beating for a moment. She gently took her copy of Sailor Moon volume one out of her bag.

There was a red rose between the pages, like a bookmark.