The Beating Of Hearts Cannot Be Stopped
Cast:
Cure Beat, Kurokawa Ellen - age 19
Kurokawa Haruto - Ellen's husband - age 23
Hanamin, Randou Hanako - age 19
Cure Melody, Houjou Hibiki - age 19
Cure Rhythm, Minamino Kanade - age 20
Cure Muse, Shirabe Ako - age 14
Minamino Souta - Kanade's brother - age 14
Mephisto - Ako's father - age 42
Aphrodite, Shirabe Ami - age 41
Cure Sword, Kenzaki Makoto - age 17
Bassdrum, Ohta Torao - age 28
Ohmori Ai - Cure Honey's sister - age 21
Baritone, Toujou Naoto - age 26
Kurumi Momoka - Cure Marine's sister - age 24
Cure Peace, Kise Yayoi - age 19
Falsetto, Hayase Tohru - Yayoi's stepfather - age 34
Kise Chiharu - Yayoi's mother - age 38
Hayase Ryuuto - Yayoi's stepbrother - age 12
Hayase Masatora - Yayoi's stepbrother - age 9
Hayase Mikoto - Yayoi's half-sister - age 9 months
Hosshiwa, Hoshi Wako - age 24
Morioka Takayuki - age 25
June, 2016
In the musical world, Cure Beat's band falls into a comfortable gap. They are not so rock & roll that unrestrained debauchery would be normal, but neither are the two girls expected to be pure and untouched maidens. This is especially fortuitous because Ellen and Hanako have found themselves husbands already. Hanako married a month ago, and now it is Ellen's turn.
The ceremony begins with a little girl, a cousin of the groom, walking ahead of the bridesmaids, wearing a white dress and scattering flower petals. The bridesmaids who follow: Cure Melody, Cure Rhythm, and Cure Sword, are wearing matching lavender dresses... and also cat ears. The cat motif, such as it is, also extends to their escorts, who are friends of the groom's.
Unlike the bride, Cure Sword's idol career does involve some contractual purity. It is possible that the wedding pictures might cause a stir if they were published, but she is not concerned. Although one of the groomsmen accompanies her during the ceremony, she has actually invited another person as her date.
The cat theme extends to the bride and groom, who enter together. They have swapped colors, Haruto wearing a white tuxedo while Ellen wears a black dress with dark blue trim. This is only the bride's preference. There is no melodrama added to the script.
The event proceeds to the reception and the cake. The frosting on the cake is the same dark blue that Ellen is wearing on her dress, and the layers are shaped like the head of a cat. The cake itself is of fluffy dark chocolate. As the guests reach the front of the cake line, they are greeted by the bride and the groom.
Ako is using her favored text-to-speech app again, even when offering her congratulations to Ellen. Especially at that time. She does not say that she is upset not to have been picked as a bridesmaid, but she does not need to say it and Ellen takes the snub in stride. Souta, Ako's boyfriend, offers an apologetic gesture as they walk away.
Ako's parents reach the front of the line next. Mephisto is quick to apologize for his daughter's rudeness. He and his wife have each been helpful to Ellen's career in the past, at different times, and yet Ellen has never managed to learn Mephisto's real name.
"My name?" he replies, putting a finger up to his lips. "Rumplestiltskin."
Darn.
When Trio the Minor reach the front of the line, Ellen greets each with genuine warmth. She may have quit their band (or kicked the three of them out of hers), but five years on that incident is water under the bridge. However, as they have not kept in contact, Ellen is surprised to learn that each of them is somehow connected to PreCure.
Bassdrum's fiancee, an ordinary-looking brunette, is Cure Honey's older sister. In addition to looking like a model, which she is, Baritone's girlfriend is also the sister of Cure Marine. Then there is Falsetto, who has not only a beautiful wife and nine month old baby, but three other children in tow.
The smaller boy is obviously Falsetto's son - he has the same pink hair. The older son wears glasses and has darker red hair. As for his stepdaughter...
Ellen holds up a closed fist, and the other girl does the same. With unspoken coordination, they drop their fists at the same time. Ellen holds her fist mostly closed, with two fingers extended and split apart. The other girl opens her fist and holds her palm flat.
Yayoi giggles. "Congratulations."
"For getting married, or for winning?"
"It can be more than one thing!" Yayoi insists, laughing.
Even though she is seated next to her own date, Hosshiwa fumes quietly as Cure Sword walks past her, her arm linked with an apparently average boy in a high school uniform. Hosshiwa has her own boyfriend, the only male member of Ellen's band, but that is not the reason for her displeasure. It is probably a coincidence that the lavender bridesmaid's dress compliments the girl's hair so well, but that fact does not help Hosshiwa's mood at all.
"Passed over again! At this rate, I'll never get to be a bridesmaid."
"Cheer up, Wako. Someday it'll be your wedding, and you'll get to choose who the bridesmaids will be."
"That's right! I'll have my own wedding! With a giant cake and a dance floor! And I'll finally get to-" Hosshiwa pauses, turning to look at Hanako, who has a cat-like smile on her face. "That- that thing I almost said. How did you do that?"
"I am a woman of many talents."