The night Azami had become Cure Joy, they had fixed the gym with Jubilee's help and some magic. The game went on as planned (with a little bit of magic to reassure people things were okay), and the group was all currently sitting around in the bleachers, watching their friend play intensely on the court. Others were scattered around the court, but since a Shaori attack had happened earlier, most people decided to sit this game out. Ume included, who, after the whole ordeal, had decided to go home.
Sneakers squeaked and hair flew as people dashed back and forth, the one with the basketball weaving in between people and passing it to teammates. With so much going on in the game, the others didn't even notice another person approach them. It was the girl who they had saved earlier in the day, Matsuko.
"Oh, how curious to see you all here. I would've thought you would have gone home, hmm?" she smiled. The girl had smooth, dark skin and black hair in dainty waves. She wore oval-shaped reading glasses. She still had that purple sweater tied around her waist, too. She stood out amongst the typical Japanese background of people, but Jun wasn't one to comment about that sort of thing, and neither were the others.
"Hello, Nagasawa-san! I'm glad to see you feeling better!" Jun turned, a little startled by her sudden appearance, but not displeased at all.
"Yes, much better. Those Precure are something, hm? Able to fight those monsters… we look like ants compared to their size, I'm sure." Matsuko laughed. Jun gave a semi-nervous chuckle but nodded as well.
"They sure are. I didn't know you liked basketball, Nagasawa-san!" Jun deflected off the topic of Precure, eager not to get caught in her own lies. She was never terribly good at keeping secrets, after all…
"Well… Basketball is fine. But, you know, speaking of Precure… I was wondering if I could sit with them!" Matsuko smiled a small, knowing smile and her eyes seemed to bore into Jun's soul like they could read every possible thought going through her head. Which, at the moment, was an unceasing stream of TV static due to the sucker punch of a request. Luckily, Yuki stepped in to answer for her.
"Well, you'd have to find them after they're done fighting the next monster. I've heard they're quite hard to track down, after all…" Yuki smiled a smile back, but this time it was a more… intimidating smile that said she wouldn't be messed with. Matsuko only giggled. Jun, watching their exchange, was very intimidated.
"Oh, but I already have! They're sitting right in front of me, aren't they? So, I'll ask you this time," she turned to Jubilee, squatting down to his place in Yuki's lap. He was pretending to be a stuffed animal, but it was obvious she knew better. "Do you mind if I sit with the Precure, talking owl?"
"I'm not an -" Jubilee started suddenly, then caught himself, realizing his mistake. He froze, shock and horror evident on his face. "...jubi?"
"Hehe," Matsuko giggled and seemed just the tiniest bit smug. "I told you. I know who the Precure are. I saw you after you fought that monster, after all. How your hero forms disappeared like that… such a curious thing. Oh, but don't worry! I'm not one to share secrets. All I ask is to sit with you for now."
"U-Uh… go ahead?" Jun mumbled, rather confused by the whole ordeal. Somebody knew about the Precure… so it seems they weren't as careful as they should've been. Emika was beet red and sat very close to Jun, embarrassed by the whole situation. Ryoko, however, seemed casual and didn't care at all.
"What're ya freakin' out over?" they piped up. "If she knows, she knows. Nothing we can do about it. Besides, we saved her, didn't we? Just repaying the favor by keeping our secret." Ryoko leaned back in their seat, hands behind their head, turning their attention back to the basketball game. Yuki sighed, shaking her head.
"I… suppose that's true. Nagasawa-san, you must understand, though. Knowing our identities puts people in danger. I'm sure the villains know who we are, and we're lucky they haven't come after our loved ones. Well… I suppose they have." Yuki pursed her lips, thinking back on Azami's incident. "You're in danger even knowing us. That's why we want as little people as possible to know about our identities." Yuki spoke quietly. The group's faces were just slightly grim thinking about it, all except for Matsuko, who still sat with that tiny, knowing smile.
"Yes, I'm very well aware. I'm perfectly capable of defending myself, though, so don't worry about me. As for others, I told you, I'm not one to share secrets. All of us, though… we're all outcasts, hm? I suppose it's why not many people have questioned you being together in the first place. All of you banded together around the time the Precure appeared. You also seem to magically be around the scene of the attacks after they're over… It's not hard to piece together from clues alone." Matsuko looked at each of them seriously. She seemed like she had something important to say, that smile now fading.
"But Jun, despite your friendliness, you'd only ever hung out with your siblings. Emika, the newcomer, unbelievably shy. And Yuki, despite being moving here some time ago, you had no friends. I wonder if your hair made you stand out just a little too much? And Ryoko… everyone knows the story of your 'incident' a few years ago… nobody will go near you. And Azami, much like myself, is only half Japanese. I'm sure she's had trouble fitting in. I know I have." she looked away for a moment, seemingly remembering something upsetting, then continued her little speech.
"It's okay, though. You're all friends nonetheless. You've found solace in each other. And I can respect that… I also respect you saving me. You stopped my emotions from being put on display. And for that… I'm going to be like your cheerleader. I'll support you all with everything I've got. I hope you don't mind." her smile returned, and she focused her attention back on the basketball game. "Oh, and you can call me Matsuko if you'd like."
"Matsuko…" Jun's face broke into a huge grin, despite the serious things Matsuko had just admitted to them. "You don't have to support us on the sidelines, you know. You can be our friend. That's enough for me. How about you guys?"
"That's Jun for ya… making friends in a matter of minutes." Ryoko chuckled and grinned. "I'm cool with her if you guys are."
"M-M-Matsuko… I-I'd like to be your f-friend too…" Emika spoke shyly from behind Jun, smiling over her friend's shoulder. Yuki smiled and stuck out a hand.
"I feel the same, and I'm sure Azami will too. We've got a lot to explain to her, anyways, regarding Precure. Why we're fighting and all that." Yuki extended her hand to shake, which Matsuko took gently, a softer smile on her face now. She seemed to be thinking about something, but she said not a word. "This is Jubilee, by the way."
Yuki held up the little owl fairy for Matsuko to see. She ruffled Jubilee's feathers and gave him a kiss on the forehead.
"What a sweet little fairy. Thank you for summoning the cures to help us humans in our time of need. Well, I suppose it's your time of need too." Matsuko gave a weary laugh. Jubilee flushed red, embarrassed by being kissed like that.
"H-How did you know I was a fairy-jubi? Or that I summoned the Cures-jubi?" he asked, fixing his feathers and putting Yuki's clip back the way she'd put it on. Matsuko giggled again, but this time, there was something behind it.
"Oh, that… You see, Jubilee… I know a lot of things. You'd be surprised."
The game had gone well, with Saint Golden Faith winning 54 to 41. They'd taken Azami home that night and explained everything, with the others staying the night and going to school together the next morning. Azami had understood right away, snuggling Jubilee tightly, proclaiming him to be "the little brother she'd never had," although he insisted he was Yuki's age.
"Good morning, everyone!" Azami poked her head into Jun's room, eying the stuff inside. She didn't come in very often, as it was usually Jun in the others' rooms. She didn't like inviting people in very much, but with Precure, she felt it necessary. Azami's eye was drawn to the single picture frame hanging above her bed, which upon closer inspection, revealed a picture of a younger, toddler Jun atop the shoulders of a man who looked like her. Both were grinning huge, goofy smiles, and the man was wearing a chef's uniform. Jun noticed Azami staring and sat up to block it.
"Good morning, Azami. I'm about to get ready and wake the others up…" but when Jun looked around, she noticed Yuki had already left the room and Emika was sitting on the foot of the bed, getting her socks on. Ryoko, however, was still passed out on the floor, snoring as loud as could be. Their hair was a mess of bedhead and their pajamas were disheveled. Jun only gave a little laugh and climbed out of bed. She shook her head and grabbed her uniform she'd set out the night before.
"Well, I'll leave you to it, then. Say, if another Shaori attacks in the middle of the school day like before, what do we do? How did you get out of it?" Azami asked suddenly. Jun paused, considering the question herself. It was a fluke she'd been able to get out of class the day Emika transformed, but she didn't know how they'd do it in the future.
"I dunno," she shrugged, "I guess you'll just have to improvise. I kind of did myself. If it happens, just say you hurt yourself or you have to go to the bathroom."
"Huh, I guess that'll work." Azami turned to leave. "Oh, and thanks for saving me yesterday. And saving the town a few times. We'll get those Dark Land guys eventually."
"Of course!" Jun smiled. "No way I'd let Jubilee down. I promised him."
"I see. Well, we can't let little bro down, now can we?" she teased Jubilee, who was fluffing his feathers at the foot of the bed. He huffed.
"I told you, I'm as old as Yuki-jubi! Well, sort of-jubi. Fairy ages are a bit different-jubi…" he laughed a little. Jun looked at him curiously.
"What do you mean?" she asked, starting towards the door. Jubilee grumbled something to himself in thought.
"Let's see, how do I explain-jubi… The Everlast Kingdom has days and years just like earth-jubi… But the environment there lets fairies live for much longer than humans-jubi. I'm the same age as Yuki in mentality, but not physically-jubi. I think in literal years I'm about 113-jubi! Of course, if I stayed on Earth long enough, I'd age just like a human-jubi." he explained nonchalantly. The others' jaws practically dropped.
"You're 113 years old?! So you remember, like, all the crazy stuff that happened all the way back in the 1600s?!" Jun exclaimed. Emika snorted, amused at her reaction.
"J-Jun, I don't think that's right. He would remember the 1920s, m-maybe…" she corrected her. Jun nodded sagely.
"Of course, of course. I knew that." She laughed suddenly, unable to remain serious. "Emika, you're so much better at me than math. I think I'm hopeless."
"N-Not hopeless!" Emika giggled with her. "You just need some tu-tutoring. Well, for now, we should get re-ready for school… We might be l-late otherwise."
The others had gotten ready for school, and in fact even gott there early. Ryoko remarked that being early was a rarity for them, though of course that made sense and the others only chuckled. Azami had taken a picture of Ryoko all sprawled out on the floor with Yuki's cell phone as "blackmail," and the older Cure spent all morning jokingly trying to get it back. This morning, Jubilee was in Ryoko's bag and decided to tag along with them for the day. Ume had gone to get something for the cake they were working on that morning, so she wasn't there yet. The rest of them gathered in the club room for their morning meeting, where of course, Matsuko was waiting for them. She sat on a counter, gently swinging her legs back and forth.
"Good morning, everyone. Ms. Student Council Liaison, I'd like to turn in my submission for the culinary club. I don't have any other clubs, and my ballet class is much later in the afternoons." Matsuko got down off the counter to hand Yuki the papers. Yuki accepted them with a small smile. "Well! Now that that's out of the way… as your personal cheerleader, I feel like I have to protect your image. What're your current excuses to leave class in case of an attack? And if you happen to be in public when one happens, how do you transform without being noticed? Hmm?"
"Whoa, where did this come from?" Azami asked, looking up from Yuki's cellphone, which she still had for some reason. Matsuko gave her a look and took it away, handing it back to Yuki. "How did you know it was-"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk… I always know, Azami." Matsuko said, somewhat ominously. The blue cure looked slightly scared but covered it up with a nervous smile. "I'm asking because if I can figure it out, anybody else can, too."
"She's right. We should've thought of this a while ago, but… Being a cure in and of itself os a tad distracting." Yuki admitted. Jun nodded in agreement, as well as Emika.
"Yeah. I mean, even this morning I told Azami that I just said I hurt my knee and needed to go to the nurse when Emika saved me -" Jun was cut off.
"No! Terrible. You can't say you got hurt every time. They'll ask where the bruises are. If you say the bathroom… Well, you can imagine how fast that would get old. You need something interesting! Like a dash of magic?" Matsuko looked to Jubilee, who had peeked his head out of Ryoko's bag to listen in.
"Magic-jubi? I can't really think of anything that would help-jubi… Oh! Well, you could always try using your Everhearts to purify other people just like buildings-jubi. It might get rid of their memories of your leaving, or it might do nothing-jubi. I'm not sure, but it definitely can't hurt to try-jubi." Jubilee offered. Matsuko nodded.
"Yes, much better. You should try it the next time you're in need of an excuse. I'll cover for you when I can, of course, but I can't always be there. Now, as for your being friends… Jun accounts for half of that, I'm sure." Matsuko smiled a little, to which Jun gave a big grin back. "The other half is, of course, Precure… Azami is, of course, basically Jun's sister. Emika and Jun bonded over their love of the Pink Hero. Yuki, you can say you got closer to them after meeting them for student council activities, and Ryoko… well, nobody would question you, anyways. "
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Ryoko asked, exasperated.
"Whether it's true or not, your reputation precedes you. Same with me. Ask anybody in this school, and they'll tell you I'm a catty know-it-all with no regard for others." Matsuko explained coolly. She didn't sound fazed by it a single bit, despite how saddening what she said was. The others looked concerned but didn't say a word. "Knowing me, you'd say it isn't true, yes? Well… Some people simply can't be swayed, even by the truth."
Matsuko may have seemed intelligent and unperturbed by whatever was thrown her way, but even Jun could see there was something in her eyes. Whatever it was, it wasn't her place to press, so she left it alone, but she knew it was there. Ume walked into the classroom with grocery bags, however, so they had no time to talk about it further.
The following days to come, Matsuko helped them work on believable cover stories, understandable excuses, and everything in between. They'd found out more about her, too, all the while she integrated seamlessly into their friend group. It was like she'd been there for years, and the others slowly forgot about the worry of her knowing their secret. To top it off, she had even invited them to see her practice ballet at an open house her studio was having on Thursday. They'd all graciously accepted, although Ume had declined due to tutoring she was giving that day. Jubilee had decided to ride in Ryoko's bag again, as well.
When Jun arrived at the open house, she and Azami were the only ones of their group there so far. The others were running late, and Yuki lived on the other side of town from the studio, so it took her longer. Jun and Azami entered the building, which had a small office area, and behind it, there were several rooms of people practicing ballet. In the room they could see from the office, Matsuko happened to be amongst the practicing students. She was clearly working hard, sweaty and exerting all the energy she could. She didn't see the others straining nearly as much, though the teacher paid them more attention than she did to Matsuko.
"Hello, how can I help you two?" the receptionist called out to Jun, interrupting her thoughts. She turned to face the lady, who gave her a smile.
"Oh! Hi, we're here for the open house. Our friend invited us so we could see her dance." Jun explained. The receptionist nodded.
"Of course! Who is your friend? I'll direct you to her room so you can watch the practice." she explained. Jun shook her head.
"I see her right in there, her name is Matsuko Nagasawa!" Jun smiled. The lady seemed surprised at this, but nodded and let them in. There were a few other parents and students in the room, but plenty more chairs for the others to sit in when they arrived. The teacher was gently correcting her students, paying no mind to the people watching them.
"Shiho, raise your leg higher."
"Ai, you're too loose."
"Matsuko, sloppy. Leg up, arms tighter. Your form is poor."
Jun wondered why she was being so hard on Matsuko when she was clearly working much harder - and in Jun's opinion, better - than the others. Even if the others were struggling, she still only gave them half the instruction she did to Matsuko. Yet, with every correction, Matsuko only agreed.
"Yes, Ms. Asahi." No complaint, no bemoaning her situation - Matsuko only accepted. Jun wondered if this was why she was so adamant about helping them be the best Precure they could be? It was her chance to be helpful instead of being scolded 24/7. Of course, the wandering part of Jun's brain wondered how it was physically possible for somebody to be so flexible. The others - Emika, Yuki, and Ryoko - all arrived soon after. They all watched the group go through their dance routine, and soon the harsh teacher seemed behind them. They were practicing for a recital, Matsuko had told them.
"I dunno what they're performing, but standing like that has gotta take some seriously strong legs." Ryoko mumbled. The others stifled their laughter at the fact that that was what they took away from the performance. As the routine wound down, and the group had stopped to do their finishing stretches, Matsuko went to the other side of the room to get a towel and wipe the sweat that was beading on her forehead. As she did, another one of the girls clearly stuck her leg out and Matsuko tripped. She gave a little giggle and looked down at the older girl.
"Oops. Sorry, I'm just so clumsy sometimes." she remarked, clearly trying to imply she did it on purpose without saying it. Ryoko and Azami both stood to go defend her and make the other girl apologize, but Matsuko only shot them a look that said 'it's not worth it.'
"Of course. It's fine." Matsuko huffed. She got back up, dusted herself off, and resumed what she was doing without another word. Jun and the others looked concerned but didn't do anything. They could tell it was what Matsuko wanted, though they couldn't help feeling like it wasn't the right thing to do. Nobody should have to be treated like that.
The stretches lasted for another half hour before the teacher dismissed the rest of the students to go change and turned to address the friends and family members who had stayed to watch for the open house.
"My name is Asuka Asahi, and I'm the coach for class three." She introduced herself with a smile. "I toured with a ballet group for nearly fifteen years before I decided to pursue teaching my craft. As you can see, all of our students are doing very well. They all have the talent to go on to professional ballet, should they desire to. I hope you'll consider having your children join, or consider joining if you're a student who is interested. Are there any questions you have? I'll be happy to answer."
"What is the schedule like?" "How rigorous is the training?"
Most of the questions were relatively simple and straightforward, until another parent - a woman, with beautiful dark, curly hair and a gentle face framed by glasses - rose her hand.
"Why were you so hard on that one girl?" she asked, giving the teacher a knowing look. "It looked like she was doing just as well as the others. Of course, I'm no expert… it's only how it appeared to be to me."
"Yeah, I noticed that too." Ryoko piped up, they just couldn't stand not saying anything. "Those other girls gave her a hard time, too." Jun and the others nodded and murmured their agreement. The woman who asked the question in the first place gave them a gentle smile. The teacher only cleared her throat, turning away from them slightly.
"Well, she started late in our classes. She wanted to catch up quickly, so I've been giving her extra instruction to help her along." The teacher paused, then sighed. "She has a lot of innate talent, don't misunderstand. She's simply behind. As for the other girls… they can be a bit catty about that sort of thing, sometimes. I'll talk with them outside of class."
The woman didn't seem satisfied by the teacher's answer, and neither did the Cures, but they weren't going to argue. The other parents continued to ask questions, and when everything was done, they went outside to wait for their kids. As the group of friends began to leave, the lady who had spoken up approached them.
"Hello, there. I just wanted to thank you for standing up for my daughter." the lady bowed her head a little. Jun and Ryoko looked surprised.
"Oh! You're Matsuko's mom?" Jun asked, sticking out her hand. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Jun Izanama."
"Yes, I know. Matsuko told me all about you five. She was so excited to make some friends… Well, I'm Inoue Nagasawa, but feel free to just call me Nagasawa-san." Her mom giggled and had the same knowing expression Matsuko often had, like she could practically read your mind.
"Really, though, thank you. It means the world to me that she has such supportive friends. My husband couldn't make it, but I'm sure he'd thank you, too. She's had a hard time of it these last few years, Japan being the way it is." she sighed. "But ballet is her passion. You couldn't tear it from her no matter what you threw at her."
"She's quite talented, too. I've seen some ballet shows, and I believe she'd be on par with them if she were to go professional." Yuki said with a smile. The group of them - plus Matsuko's mom - walked out of the ballet room and into the reception area together to wait for her. "You must be very proud."
"Oh, yes, very proud. She's so smart and talented, I -"
"M-Mom!" Matsuko appeared suddenly, changed out of her ballet uniform into normal clothes - and also beet red. "Wh-What are you doing with my friends?"
"Oh, she was just saying hello. It seems she knows just as much as you do." Yuki smiled, referring to the all-knowing look they both had. Matsuko sighed and gave a wry smile in return.
"Hah. Yes, I get it from my mom. She and I together are a powerful combination of knowledge." She got the look in her eye again, and everyone laughed just a bit. "Well, mom, let me introduce my friends formally."
"Oh, Izanama-san has already introduced herself to me. I'd love to meet the others, though." Her mom explained. Matsuko nodded.
"This is Emika Susume…" Emika gave a shy wave. "This is Yuki Konoko…" Yuki bowed her head. Her mom seemed surprised.
"Oh! I should have recognised you sooner! Your grandmother runs the Konoko law firm, yes? You helped us with some financial trouble a few years ago. Thank you for that."
"Of course, the Konoko law firm never turns anybody down. I'm glad we could help. I'll be sure to tell my grandmother you remembered us." Yuki seemed grateful. Matsuko continued.
"This is Ryoko Hajime." They gave a big grin and a thumbs up. "And this is Azami Akihito. That's everyone."
"Ryoko-jubi!" Jubilee whispered from the tall teen's bag. He nudged them a little, and they turned away from the conversation to listen to the fairy.
"What is it?" they whispered back. Jubilee barely peeked out, a scared look on his face.
"I think I feel a Dark Land general appearing-jubi! You guys need to get out of here and fast-jubi…" he explained. Ryoko nodded. They turned to Jun and Emika, placing a hand on each of the younger girls' heads.
"Hey, kiddos! It's gonna get dark soon. We should get going." they grinned sheepishly, hoping the others would remember the code Matsuko had taught them. If they needed to let each other know about a Precure-related emergency, in the evening the code was 'it's going to get dark soon,' while in the morning it was 'it's still pretty dark for the morning.' Luckily, they all understood, including Matsuko.
"Oh, I suppose it is, isn't it?" Matsuko smiled back. "We should get going, mama -"
Before she could get another word out, somebody outside screamed. Everyone in the ballet studio turned to the door when somebody burst in.
"It's the demon people! They're back!" the stranger yelled. Parents grabbed their kids and made their way out of the building quickly. The group of friends looked at each other. People? There was more than one general this time? Matsuko's mom took her hand and Jun's.
"Come on, kids. We need to get out of here. The Precure will take care of this, but we need to be clear of danger." She explained calmly. They followed her outside, where Sable and Ink floated in the air a few blocks away. They seemed to be arguing with each other over something, though the group couldn't hear what. As soon as they left the building, however, both of the generals' attention snapped to them. Sable vanished and reappeared in front of the group, and Matsuko's mom stood in front of her.
"Stay away from my daughter." She stated, clearly unafraid of the Dark Land general. Sable rolled her eyes and snapped her fingers. Suddenly, the group was sucked into a portal like the ones the generals used to teleport. As soon as they had been sucked in, however, they reappeared in the middle of Friendship Park. It was several blocks away from the ballet studio, and they were disoriented after teleporting like that. However, Sable seemed startled by the fact that Matsuko had grabbed onto Ryoko's arm and travelled with them.
"This doesn't involve you, human. This is between me and them." Sable spat. Matsuko stood between the Cures and Sable, resilient and determined.
"Over my dead body. You're not touching them." she growled.
"I'm not here to attack you!" Sable sounded exasperated. "If I wanted to destroy you, I would have done it back there! I came to-" Sable was cut off by Ink, who had teleported there next. He grabbed Sable's arm and threw her into the portal he had come from and closed it before she could say anything else.
"She's becoming useless. Prince Shadow said so. But me? I ain't useless. It's time to show you wimps what I'm really all about." he grinned, and dark blue horns, curled like a ram's, grew from the sides of his head. His suit arms were torn to shreds, and tattoos covered his arms. His sclera were red, while the pupils and irises of his eyes were white. His fingertips grew into black claws, and leathery black wings with dark blue inner skin sprouted from his back. Before any of the cures had a chance to react, he picked up Jun next and threw her as far as he could. She flew a solid twenty feet before thudding and tumbling against a tree.
Next, he went for Yuki. He picked her up by her throat and stared into her eyes. She writhed but did not look scared. If anything, she looked back at him with disdain.
"You were the one who made me look like a moron in front of Prince Shadow. Not this time! Ink ain't a moron!" He threw Yuki away next. By this point, the others had transformed. Ink wasn't fazed by this, though - he simply took them down one after the other. They hadn't fought somebody like him before. They were used to monsters who blindly destroyed things and couldn't aim very well - not trained generals with the raw strength to crush rocks.
Finally, Matsuko was the only one left standing. He sauntered over to her menacingly. However, what he saw surprised him - she was smiling. That little, knowing smile she always had on her face had appeared.
"What's so funny you gotta smile for, huh? All of yer friends are down and out. Yer town is next." He pulled a vial of the black ooze out of his suit pocket. She looked at him, her smile growing just a bit.
"Are you sure you want to do that? Prince Shadow might be mad." she spoke gently. Ink was suddenly very confused. "Oh, I see. You're not very bright, are you? You're all bite and no bark. You don't think before you act. See, now… If you destroy the town, how would you collect your Negative Energy?"
"H-Huh? How do you know about that?!"
"Simple. I know everything." she joked, although he thought she was serious. In reality, the others had explained their situation to her a few days ago. "Prince Shadow wants you to collect Negative Energy, but if you destroy the town, there would be nobody left to collect it from. So sad for you that you'd fail just to get a little revenge. Besides, that wasn't even your biggest mistake!"
"My biggest mistake?! My only mistake was not taking you out sooner! I don't have to listen to you!" he slammed the vial on the ground, and a Shaori began to form. Matsuko shook her head, her expression growing to one of anger.
"Your biggest mistake was hurting my friends." A pillar of purple light exploded around her as Jubilee flew in, his jewel shining brightly.
"Matsuko-jubi! You can be the next Cure-jubi! Just take this Everheart and use it to protect your friends-jubi!" he explained, and she nodded. She took the heart-shaped gem in her hands and held it to her chest like she was praying. She looked up, and purple, ribbon-like lights surrounded her.
"Purple Everheart Stone! Precure… IMMORTAL CHANGE!" The ribbons swirled around her hair, which went from black ringlets to a giant, wavy purple mass of fluffy hair that went down to her knees. At the top, a darker purple swirl rested and a darker purple piece of hair stuck out. Next, the ribbons turned into clothes. The vest that draped over her was white with dark purple trim, and the bow burst forth from behind her hands was also dark purple with light purple fluff above it.
Her skirt came next, being multilayered. The top layer was a light purple ruffle, and the bottom was darker. There were dark purple shorts underneath it, too. Her shoes appeared as she stood on her toes like a ballerina, dark purple heels with white, knee-high socks. Two hearts the same color as the shoes appeared at the knees. Finally, she raised her arms into a releve ballet position and puffy purple cuffs with white lace appeared on her wrists. She had transformed into a Cure, now. Jubilee was sure they were one step closer to finding the Everlast Seeds, now. The pillar of light disappeared and she landed gracefully back on the ground.
"Damn! Another one?! How many of you stupid cures are there?!" Ink cursed. Matsuko took a deep breath and stood in awe at her new form for a moment.
"Who do you want to be-jubi? You can be whoever you want to be-jubi!" Jubilee shouted excitedly. Matsuko gave a soft smile. She knew exactly who she wanted to be.
"I am… the Light of Newfound Enthusiasm! Cure Spirit!" she posed in an arabesque ballet position. Ink grumbled to himself and dove for her, but she dodged him with quick, graceful ballet steps. It seems she wasn't fazed by any of his attacks.
"You'll have to be faster than that, dear general. I've been doing this my whole life." she winked at him, which caused him to grow only angrier. He pointed at her accusingly.
"Shaori! Destroy her!" He ordered. The Shaori, however, had taken Sable's form again and was sobbing on the ground. "What?! How can it sense her feelings from… Nevermind! Looks like it's between you and me!"
"Sad-rii! Sad-rii! I want to be myself again-rii!" The Shaori cried. But Cure Spirit had no time to pay attention to it. She was facing off against Ink, who was moving faster than before. He launched his after hit against her, yet still, she dodged it. He stood and wheezed for a second, out of breath.
"Fine! We'll do this the hard way! Shaori, go wild!" He ordered before disappearing into a portal. The Shaori morphed and changed shape to one with long hair and purple glasses matching Matsuko's.
"Scared-rii! Scared-rii! Where's my daughter-rii?!" it cried. Cure Spirit's eyes widened, then she furrowed her eyebrows.
"How dare you put my mom's feelings on display like that…? You're going down, Shaori." She leapt at it, sending a flying kick into the blobby monster's face. At this point, the others were beginning to recover. Jun and Yuki transformed, and stood up on shaky legs. They joined Cure Spirit, who they looked at in awe.
"Cure Spirit… you're really cool!" Cure Joy cheered. Spirit smiled as she landed. Hope and Strong launched themselves at the monster's legs, toppling it. Brave, Kind, and Joy held it down, and Jubilee called out.
"Now-jubi! Use your powers to purify the Shaori-jubi!" he cried. Cure Spirit collected herself and nodded. She gathered all of her energy into her Everheart like she'd seen the Cures do the day they'd met. From it, a beautiful silver rapier appeared, with the Everheart forming the hilt and a pastel purple ribbon tied at the end of the handle. She drew it and pointed it at the Shaori with a smirk, like she knew she was going to win. She tossed the sword in the air, and it began to float with a gentle purple aura.
"En garde!" The sword grew bigger. "Pretz!" It grew even bigger, almost as big as a house. "Allez!" It grew even bigger, big enough to take down a Shaori.
"Spirit… Attaque au Fer!" Cure Spirit lept into the air to perform a grand jete, and when she did, the sword launched forward to pierce the Shaori. It landed squarely in the chest of the monster, and waves of magical purple energy washed away the black goop. It disintegrated and reformed into a glass bottle, which was promptly scooped up by an arm that popped out of a portal - a suspiciously buff, tattooed arm - that then vanished.
"Matsuko! I mean… Cure Spirit! You saved us!" Cure Hope grinned and grabbed her friend in a big hug. Spirit seemed surprised, but relaxed into it and hugged Hope back. Secretly, she was glad she had friends that she could hug. She enjoyed being around other people.
"Now, let's go check on your mom." Cure Kind suggested. Spirit nodded, and the others agreed. They all leapt over the buildings of Otonashi and when they spotted Matsuko's mom frantically searching for her, they stopped. Spirit de-transformed into Matsuko and the other Cures took her down to her mom.
"Oh! My baby! I'm so glad you're alright! I thought that monstrous woman had kidnapped you!" Her mom sobbed, grasping Matsuko in a bear hug rivalling Jun's. "Thank you, Precure. You saved my daughter. I'll never forget you."
The group smiled and nodded, and with that, they had to go.
"Ink. You and Dusk have now let those Cures beat you twice." Prince Shadow growled from the confines of his statue. "I thought I told you to ignore. Them. Focus on getting Negative Energy."
"Yes, you did say that, didn't you, Prince Shadow?" Ebony spoke spitefully from her seat on the base of the Prince's statue. "What do you think, Gloom?"
"Mhm." The smaller, pale girl only murmured to herself. Ink grumbled something that they couldn't hear, but their leader wasn't having it.
"Get out of my sight. I'll think of what to do next. Not only have we lost Sable, but my two remaining Generals are complete idiots… I suppose there's only one solution. I'll have to send my right hand next time." Prince Shadow announced, much to Ebony's delight. Dusk, who had been listening in from the shadows of the room, burst forward.
"No! I'll focus on Negative Energy! You won't need to send them… I'll do it!" He yelled. Prince Shadow scoffed.
"Fine. Do you want to prove yourselves so badly? How about… both of you go? I think we have a little problem we need to take care of, anyways…"
NEXT EPISODE: Let Your True Feelings Shine, Sable!
