Conversation In A Hot Air Balloon
Cast:
Cure Dream, Yumehara Nozomi – age 14
Coco, Kokoda Kouji – age 21
April, 2007
Up to this point, Nozomi has been excited just to be up in a hot air balloon, but now her expression is melancholic.
"Maybe Karen's right. Maybe I should stop spending time with the other Pretty Cures."
In a world without magic, Kokoda Kouji is just an ordinary teacher. He is a bit on the young side, but he is neither a prince nor even from a magical kingdom... no matter what Nozomi has scribbled in the margins of her notebooks when she was meant to be taking notes. Even though she daydreams often of a world where Pretty Cure is more than just a name, she is well aware which world it is she lives in.
"I don't think I'd go that far," Kouji says. "Splitting up with the other girls isn't necessarily going to help you study. Do you think you'd be happier by yourself?"
"No, I'd be miserable! But... it doesn't really matter how I feel, does it? A student's job is to study."
"Nozomi, how you feel makes a big difference. Not just for studying... When you're tired or upset, it's harder to do a good job at most things."
"But I'm bad at studying anyway! Can't I just live off of what I get for being PreCure?"
"That's a good question. How much do you get?"
Nozomi tells him. Kouji frowns.
"My salary isn't great, but that's even less. You might be able to get by with on that amount, but it wouldn't be much fun."
Nozomi visibly wilts. "What can I do, then? I never learn anything."
"Can you tell me how this hot air balloon is able to fly?"
Despite herself, Nozomi perks up as she explains how filling the balloon with hot air causes it to rise.
"And you learned all of that just today, so don't sell yourself short. Right now, your balloon is still on the ground, but if you fill it up with your potential, you will also be able to fly."