Another sunny day, and the crowd of students slowly filtered past the school gates without a care in the world. Friends walked side-by-side, cliques happily gossiped as they headed through the main doors, and teachers made small talk as they jogged to outrun the students.

All in all, a perfectly normal morning at Omocha High School.

One girl in particular, though, wasn't running forward, or talking to anyone. She stood in front of the school gates, adjusting her hold on her school bag. Her mouth stretched into a smile as she stared up at the building in front of her, and a memory floated unbidden through her mind.

"You're going to Omocha Town?"

"Yeah… I'll go to the junior high there, and probably the high school. I'll miss you."

And then, just like that, another memory, this one from her parents telling her about their move.

"Rino, Dad's been offered a job in Omocha Town… You remember that name, right?"

"Yeah, I do! Am I going to-"

"Yes. We've enrolled you in Omocha High School."

Her face hurt from her excited smile. The girl took a deep breath, and stepped through the doors.

OP: "Hello, Everybody!" - day after tomorrow

In Mr Shinoda's class, it was just as lively as it had been in the schoolyard, the sound of various conversations mingling all around.

"Alright, everyone, settle down. Settle down, I said - alright." Mr Shinoda stood at the front of the class, leaning on his desk as everyone finally stopped talking and faced forward. Yumemi put away her fashion magazine, and Yoshie put her phone in her pocket. She'd been showing three of the boys - Daizo, Keita, and Aoi - the latest Pretty Cure sighting, which had blown up on social media.

The boys returned to their seats, Daizo of them giving Rin Kudo a brief grin in greeting. "Hey, Rin," he whispered, "we hitting the arcade after school again today?"

"You know it," Rin said, fistbumping Daizo.

"Alright," Mr Shinoda said again. "Before we begin class today, I want to announce a new student. She's just moved here from Natsukashii, and I want everyone to make her feel welcome." Mr Shinoda turned towards the door as it opened up, the new transfer walking inside.

She marched in confidently, her head held up high and her strides energetic. She was a little shorter than her other classmates, looking more like a middle-schooler wearing the high school uniform. She had short, curly bright red hair, and bright green eyes that shone when she looked around her new class. She reached the front of the room, hastily scribbled her name, and turned to face everyone with a broad smile. "Hi, everyone!" she said chipperly. "I'm Rino Tsubasa! My birthday is February 5th, I like manga, books, and video games, and-" Something caught her attention as she stopped mid-sentence, and her smile brightened. "Oh!"

Before anyone could react, she crossed the room to stand in front of Rin Kudo's desk, grabbing his hands. "Rin!" she squealed. "I thought it was you!"

Everyone stared, jaws slack, as Rin blinked up at the new girl. Then he gasped faintly. "Wait… you're Rino!"

Joyful Pretty Cure

Episode 16: Silver Friends and Gold Friends!

Despite everyone's shock and interest, nobody was able to talk about the new girl or her connection to Rin until lunchtime. Mr Shinoda packed his things and went to the teacher's lounge to eat, and the gossip began.

Moe looked over to Rin's desk, where he and Rino sat opposite each other as they shared its surface. Both of them had their bentos out and were chatting animatedly, Rino gesturing wildly with her pink sakura-patterned chopsticks. She said something while moving them up and down, and Rin nearly spat out his soda as he suddenly began laughing.

None of his usual friends were around them, nor were there any girls hanging around Rino. Instead, everyone seemed to want to avoid the pair, lest their presence make things awkward.

"I can tell we're not welcome there," Yoshie muttered darkly, popping a piece of chicken into her mouth. "I swear, they've only got eyes for each other."

"It's so weird, right?" Yumemi asked, tilting her head. "Girls never latch onto a guy so fast! And nobody makes friends that fast right after transferring!"

"But they knew each other, remember?" Yoshie reminded her, taking a sip of soy milk. "You heard them, they both used each other's first names."

Similar conversations were happening all around the room.

"Maybe it's a childhood friend romance, about to be rekindled."

"You read too much manga."

"Maybe they're related."

"They don't have the same surname and they look nothing alike."

"Maybe her family moved next door to his?"

"Nah, bro, I live up the street from him, I didn't see aaany moving trucks."

Moe hummed quietly as she popped some rice into her mouth. "Well, they're popular," she muttered.

"Does it count as being popular if everyone's talking about them, instead of to them?" Etsuko asked.

Lyka shrugged.

The three of them sat around their own desks, opting to eat away from Yumemi and Yoshie this time. It wasn't anything personal, they just didn't want to spend their entire meal talking about Rino.

And yet, they seemed to have found themselves doing so anyway… But they couldn't help it, Moe thought as she cast her gaze over to the duo again, the new transfer and the boy she'd been having classes with. There was just something so… interesting about her.

"Man," Etsuko muttered, as if she could read Moe's thoughts, "Now I see why Keiko is always watching those gossip shows and talking about her classmates."

"You think they used to date?" Lyka asked quietly.

"Nah, he sounded surprised to see her. Or like he didn't recognize her at first."

"I don't get it, what's the big deal?" Velvet asked quietly, her head poking out of Moe's bag. She held her tiny little paws up, happily accepting the juice box Moe passed down. "I think it's nice that they're friends."

"It's not just the fact that they're friends, Velvet," Lyka said quietly. Sitting on the corner of her handkerchief, where her bento rested, Leafy nodded her head in agreement. "That's fine. The part we're wondering about is… well, everything else."

"Exactly!" a new voice whisper-yelled behind them. The girls froze in alarm, but it seemed that the newcomer didn't see Leafy move, nor realize Lyka had been talking to a plush animal. Breathing quick sighs of relief, everyone looked up to see Daizo and Keita behind them, exaggerated expressions of anguish on their faces as they held up trembling fists. "Rin is our guy," Daizo lamented bitterly. "Us three have been together since first year of middle school! It's always been us men!"

"Yeah," Keita agreed, just as passionately. "And it always has been and we vowed it always would be! Pals before gals! Mates before dates!"

"Ahem!" Etsuko cleared her throat pointedly as the trio fixed the boys with hard stares. "Quit while you're ahead."

"Right, sorry, ladies," Daizo muttered, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. "But the point is, not only has a newcomer waltzed in and taken our boy Rin, but that newcomer's a girl! She's probably crushing on him or something and wants to take him away from us!"

"Are you sure?" Lyka looked to the other side of the room, where Rino was balancing a spoon on her nose, much to Rin's amusement. "They seem more like casual friends."

"That's how it looks. You know how girls are!"

"No. How are we?" Moe deadpanned, her expression plainly saying choose your next words very, very carefully.

"Yes. How are we?" Etsuko added, as she and Lyka turned dark looks onto the boys.

Daizo hesitated, staring at each girl in turn. "...can I take it back, actually?"

"It'd be best if you did," Lyka said simply.

"Done and done."

"What my guy is trying to say," Keita said, swinging his hand down as if starting a race, "is that this newcomer has just walked right into Rin's life, and she's probably going to take him away from us. And we can't have that! It's always been the three of us, we can't just become two just like that, just because a girl showed up and threw off our whole vibe."

"Hey, hey, you're not being fair," Moe interjected. "So she's talking to Rin now, so what? It's not gonna affect his friendship with you guys, right?"

"Yeah, and is the problem that she's a girl or that she's a newcomer?" Lyka asked with a light frown.

Keita opened his mouth to respond, but at that moment Rin stepped up to him. "Hey, guys," he said cheerfully, apparently having not heard any of their conversation.

"Rin! Dude, what's up?"

Rin chuckled sheepishly and ran his hand through his hair. "So I'm gonna have to cancel on the arcade today."

"What?!" the boys cried.

"Yeah, I'm gonna hang out with Rino today instead."

The two boys just stared. The girls looked awkwardly between the two of them and Rin. Moe rubbed the back of her neck anxiously, suddenly feeling a little warm.

"I mean," Rin continued, "we go to the arcade basically every day. It'll be fine if we miss one day, right?"

Daizo blinked, then slowly nodded. "I mean… sounds like you already made the plan so. I guess?"

"Great!" Rin grinned, slapping both boys on the shoulder. "I knew you guys'd understand! We'll hang out next time, I'll bring Rino!"

Keita and Daizo watched as Rin made his way back to his seat opposite Rino. He said something, nodding a few times, then began to eat.

Rino nodded and excitedly began telling a story, enthusiastically moving her hands as she did so, leaning forward as if to pour her entire being into her words. Rin sat listening intently, nodding along with a huge smile on his face. As they all watched, he interrupted to ask a question, and Rino began laughing loudly as she leaned back in her chair before answering.

"You know…" Keita said glumly, as everyone saw Rin begin laughing and wiping a tear from the corner of his eye, "a bit of both."

In Pinocchio's darkened castle, Bogeybox sat with Cappelia at one end of a long table covered with a white tablecloth. He cast his gaze around this room, this giant dining area with dishes and candelabras and fancy place settings. He didn't understand why Lord Pinocchio created a dining room, he thought with an internal sigh. None of them ate, none of them needed to eat, so there was no point in such a place.

But the jester doll had insisted, laughing and twirling around all the while, that every castle and playhouse had dining rooms. And so he needed one as well. And besides, Cappelia liked the smell of food, she liked pretending she could eat, so why not indulge her with this room? Why not allow her to play her games, too?

It was childish, Bogeybox thought. Childish and irresponsible.

But, he thought, looking at Cappelia, who sat with her head bowed and her hands twisting in her lap, so is Cappelia.

"You know what humans are like," he said out loud.

She nodded mutely.

"You remember what happened to you."

Another nod.

"And yet…?"

"I still… want to be human," she said quietly. "You were right, Bogeybox… I never stopped wanting to be like them. It was all I ever wanted, even after that night when I learned to move." Her hands tightened around each other, she blinked back a stinging sensation in her eyes. She couldn't cry - she was certain of that - but the feeling persisted all the same. "When I woke up, when I became aware… When I began to hear them outside that workshop, see the toymaker and his customers, the women in their pretty clothes… I just wanted to be like that. I was so close to being like that… But…"

Cappelia stood in the workshop, in the center of the room. It was dark outside, but the bright moon shone through the window to illuminate her as she looked down at the toymaker. He had fallen backwards onto his backside, bracing himself up on his arms, and stared at her in pure shock and disbelief. She could hear him struggling to form words, the sound barely forming in his throat.

She smiled warmly, taking a step forward and holding her arms out. "Mr Toymaker…" she said, weeks of practicing quietly making her speak as easily as a human teenager. "It's me. I have been given life."

She took another step forward, ignoring his flinch. She was too happy, too excited, the feeling like a small bird in her chest.

"I don't know how it happened, but… But I've been awake, I've been alive for a while now. And now I can move! I can finally speak to you, I can speak to everyone! I'm just like the rest of you in the village!"

Her smile widened a little, she moved her hands towards him.

"Mr Toymaker-"

"Witchcraft!"

Cappelia froze, her smile halting. What was happening? What witchcraft?

The toymaker was pointing a trembling finger up at her, backing up against the wall. It was only now that she noticed his expression; sheer horror, his brows tense and his face pale as paper, a sheen of sweat on his forehead. Far from the awed surprise that she had anticipated.

Though her mind was screaming at her not to, she took another step forward. "Toymaker-"

"Help, help!" he screamed suddenly. Lights began to appear outside as the villagers were alerted. "There's a monster here - a monster!"

"Toymaker, I'm just your doll. I'm the doll you created, I'm not-" Cappelia tried to say. But it was all in vain. She suddenly had to jump aside as the toymaker's hand found a small block of wood left over from one of his other projects, and flung it at her. The block fell back to the floor with a loud thudding sound, the noises outside were getting louder.

"Mr Carver! Mr Carver, are you in there?!"

"I heard him shouting, what's going on-"

"There's a monster! One of my dolls has-!"

"Stand back, everyone!"

One of the villagers broke the door open, the hinges clattering across the floor and the noise resounding through the room. The moonlight shone brightly through the gap, illuminating Cappelia entirely. She slowly turned towards them in the hushed silence that followed, inadvertently revealing herself to the crowd, taking in their shocked expressions-

"It's alright, Cappelia," Bogeybox's sympathetic voice broke through her memories. "And yet, after all that, you still want to be human." It was an observation, not a question.

"It… had to have been a fluke…" Cappelia murmured. "Drosselmeyer had told me that humans were-"

"Don't let Lord Pinocchio hear you mention that name," Bogeybox interrupted sternly. When Cappelia snapped her mouth shut, he sighed, rubbing his temples as he closed his eyes. "You still have some faith in humans… it's completely misplaced, completely misguided, you know how they hurt toys… But I can't bear to see you so miserable."

Cappelia lifted her head as Bogeybox flicked his wrist and something slid into his palm. He held it out towards her, and she sat up a little better to see. In his hand were five small glass marbles. They were perfectly clear, almost invisible save for the faint sparkle and shimmer on their surface. Cappelia's eyes widened a little at their beauty, and she tentatively lifted a hand towards them. "Are these for me? What are they?"

"A prototype invention I've been creating, with Lord Pinocchio's permission," he explained. "Pulse Marbles, though I may change their form once I've perfected them. You may help me test them while you become human."

Cappelia looked up sharply. "These can turn me human?"

"Using these, you can create slightly stronger Gomingyō - their Reality is tied to mine, so I will be able to observe and make improvements later. You know Gomingyō are made of toys bonded or wishing to be bonded to a human, yes?" At Cappelia's nod, Bogeybox continued, "Use this to create a Gomingyō, and that human's soul will be torn from their body and into your flower brooch."

"What?"

"The Reality that you accumulated over time, the thing that made you walk and talk, will merge with the human's soul, and you'll become just like them."

Cappelia looked down to the marbles. "Is there no other way?"

"If there is, none of us have heard of it."

The ballerina doll faltered a bit. Then, slowly, she nodded, reached out, and scooped up the marbles. Standing up, she slipped them into her pocket. "I'll go try them. Next time you see me, I'll be human, Bogeybox." She began to walk away, but stopped when she reached the doorway and Bogeybox called out to her.

"About those marbles," he said as she turned back to look at him. "And about your becoming human… I think it's best we don't tell Lord Pinocchio or Rags about any of that, don't you? We don't want to upset them."

After a moment's pause, Cappelia nodded, then vanished into the shadows.

"Hey, Aika, can I ask you a question?"

"You just did," Aika said with a smile, stirring their orange juice with the straw. Then they laughed. "No, no, I'm kidding, go ahead, Lyka!"

The quartet sat together in the food court of Carnival Plaza after school, their Poppets and Velvet seated on the table as well. Velvet and the Poppets were quietly pretending to be inanimate stuffed animals while Moe sneakily fed pieces of pizza to Velvet. They'd wanted to go to the mall to hang out together anyway, but now that they were all here, it seemed like a good idea to bring up what had happened at school that day.

And everyone did just that, taking turns telling Aika about Rino Tsubasa transferring in, about how she and Rin had begun hanging out immediately, how everyone else was staring at them and how... How Keita and Daizo had almost seemed threatened by her presence. Aika listened intently, nodding every now and then as they waited for the question to come up.

Though to be honest, they had a pretty good idea...

"So, what I can't help wondering is..." Lyka finally began, giving Leafy a few stealthy scritches atop her cloth head, "when Moe started talking to and hanging out with us, you didn't feel threatened, did you?"

"No, of course not," Aika said, shaking their head. "Just because we both might have new friends, doesn't mean we don't stop being friends with each other." They frowned. "But then again, you said Rin and Rino only talked to each other today?"

"It was kinda weird," Etsuko chimed in. She took a bite of her pasta, talking around the mouthful of meatballs and noodles. "They only hung out with each other the whole day. Everyone noticed."

"I think we're reading too much into it," Moe said.

Aika nodded. "I agree with Moe. Sounds like they knew each other once and they just reunited. Anyone would want to spend lots of time with an old friend."

"If I suddenly transferred into Aika's school - not likely - then they'd probably spend the whole school day with me, too," Moe pointed out. Aika nodded in agreement.

"Would you, though? You still see each other all the time, you live right next door," Etsuko pointed out.

"It's different if it's at school," Lyka said.

"Maybe," Velvet ventured shyly. She felt a little awkward, not contributing at all, so she felt she ought to say something. Even if she was just a plush bunny and not a human student, she had things to say as well. "Maybe they haven't seen each other at all until now."

"That's true," Moe said with a nod.

"Or maaaybe…" Aika began, drawing out the word slowly as they toyed with their juice straw. "Maybe it's nobody's business? I don't mean to sound rude, but everyone is focusing way too much on this. If the two of them want to talk about it, they will. If there's a reason for this and they want to tell you, then they will. Everyone speculating about what their relationship must be and why this is happening feels pretty disrespectful to both of them, not to mention you're coming really close to invading their privacy."

Everyone else flinched at that. Even the Poppets looked a bit embarrassed, bowing their heads and squeaking miserably, even if they hadn't really contributed to any of this. Velvet awkwardly rubbed her paws together, her ears drooping slightly.

"You're right," Lyka sighed. "Sorry, Aika."

"That's okay. Just don't ask invasive questions of your classmates and– hm?" Aika straightened up, something behind Moe grabbing their attention. "Don't those two go to your school? I see their uniforms."

"Who?" Everyone turned around and spotted Daizo and Keita walking past. They were talking amongst themselves, hands in their pockets.

"They look kinda sad…"

"Should we cheer them up?" Moe asked, standing up abruptly.

"Eh, Moe, I don't think that's necessary-" Lyka began.

But Moe had already taken off, setting her empty tray on top of a nearby receptacle.

Aika sighed, rubbing their temples as the rest of the group stood up. "That's my Moe for you," they said, exasperated but affectionate.

Eyecatch A: Lyka shuts off her lamp and promptly goes to sleep, Leafy curled up at her head. After a few moments, Velvet hops up to turn the light on just a little.

Eyecatch B: Lyka leans over a sink, wearing a terry cloth headband and applying a mud mask to her face. At her side, Velvet is scrubbing her face while Leafy looks on.

Cappelia walked through the crowds of Carnival Plaza, adjusting her hat to keep her face hidden. The mall seemed as good a place as any to find someone bonded with a toy, she had thought. There were lots of people milling around, some of them holding toys in their arms or shopping bags from the nearby toy store. The arcade offered toys as prizes. The possibilities were limitless!

The only trouble was, she was having some trouble concentrating.

The sounds of laughter and excited talking kept drawing her attention, and when she walked past a food court, the smell of pizzas, sweet pretzels, and beef ramen bowls taunted her. She slowed her pace as she passed two gyaru sharing a table and chowing down on some pork bowls.

Eating… I could do that if I were human… Cappelia thought to herself. She flexed her fingers, feeling one of the marbles slide out of her sleeve and into her palm…

But then one of the two girls laughed at something on her phone and showed her friend, who also began to laugh.

Something ached in Cappelia's chest, and she sighed, retracting the marble and moving on. No. No, those two were no good. There wasn't even a toy with them, cell phones weren't toys.

She continued on her way, keeping her head low. More people passed her, some holding stuffed animals or game store bags, but she barely glanced at them. None of them seemed right. Nothing really called out to her…

No, no, that wasn't entirely it. She wanted to just walk around the mall a bit, like a normal girl. She wanted to just enjoy a day out before she got to work. That wasn't wrong of her, was it? She wasn't putting it off, she was simply… taking in the scenery. Yes. Seeing the sights that she could more freely enjoy once she used the Pulse Marble. She'd buy new clothes, eat delicious food, enjoy the sunlight without having to hide her face.

Her steps slowed a bit as she recalled the day she arrived on earth, in this town. She hadn't disguised herself then. But Pinocchio had given her no time. They had to find that bunny doll before she found Pretty Cure. And some people had whispered about her, pointed at her wooden form and puppet features.

If she were human, she wouldn't worry about that again.

A repeat of what happened in the village that night would never happen.

Cappelia took a few more hasty steps forward-

-and collided with someone.

"Oh!"

"Oh, oops!" the person in front of her gasped, turning around. "Sorry, I was looking at my phone and - oh." The voice sounded familiar; Cappelia stealthily looked up, eyes widening as she recognized the person. "You're the girl from the aquarium, right?" Hikaru asked with a smile. "How've you been?"

"I've… been alright," Cappelia muttered, ducking her head and lowering the brim of her hat.

"You didn't get hurt just now, did you? Do you need me to see?"

"No, no! I'm - I'm just very shy," she lied.

"Ohhh, I see." Hikaru paused, as if waiting for her to say something else. But she didn't. They frowned slightly, noticing how tensely she held herself. "Are you sure you're okay, kid?"

"I'm fine. I have to go now, sorry." Cappelia quickly walked around Hikaru, and sped into the crowds before they could stop her.

She moved past a pink and gold photo booth, not paying much attention to the voices coming from inside.

"Okay, three… two… one… smile!"

Click!

Rin and Rino exited the photo booth, each of them holding some photo stickers. In the picture, the two were sitting side by side, Rin hunched over a bit so he could be at eye-level with Rino and making the peace sign, while Rino pulled her eyelid down and stuck her tongue out at the camera. Rin snickered as he looked at their images. "God, we look so dorky," he wheezed.

"I still say you should've let me add those shoujo manga bubbles to the border," Rino laughed.

"No, our first photos together again should be sticker and effect free! For like, I dunno, posterity or something."

"That's totally not the right word."

"Eh, I don't care."

Rino laughed, sticking her photos in her purse, the bubble sensory toy keychain on the strap swinging with the motion.

The toy caught Rin's eye. "Whoa, you got one of those?"

"Yeah. My therapist said it's great for occupying my hands, and it helps me calm down and focus. And it's so much fun. Like, remember how we used to sit and pop bubble wrap forever?"

"Oh, man, yeah I do. You got so into it - I'd get bored but then I'd look up and you'd just be staring and popping and I had to wait for you."

"Yeah…" Rino said again, this time softer and nostalgic. She looked at her toy, pressing in one of the bubbles, smiling faintly. "We used to get so excited when your dad had a delivery, we'd just open the package and pull out the bubble wrap before he could even see what the package was."

"And that was how we found out he'd bought me a PS4 for my birthday!"

"And he got so mad!"

"And neither of us got to play it for two weeks!"

The two burst into laughter again, Rino leaning on Rin for support as she nearly lost her balance. A few people glanced at them, but continued on their way and the pair didn't even notice. The only thing they focused on was each other.

After they calmed down, Rin sighed, a smile on his face. "It feels great to talk to you again, Rino. I've really missed you."

"Aw, I missed you too, Rin. I had friends in Natsukashii, but none of them compared to what we had. I'm glad I was able to move here."

"Yeah. Me too." Rin looked up, recognizing a game store just up ahead. "Hey, speaking of PS4…"

"You totally wanna see if there are new fighting games, right?"

"Get the heck out of my head, Rino!" Rin laughed, and the two of them walked inside.

Unbeknownst to them, Daizo and Keita were approaching the same game shop. The pair froze when they saw Rin and Rino enter, then hurried over. The boys stood in front of the large display window, watching as the duo excitedly talked while looking at the shelves of games. Keita shoved one hand into his pocket, rubbing the back of his neck as he frowned. "What's it sound like to you, Daizo?"

"They totally used to date," the other boy said grumpily.

"Think so?"

Daizo nodded. "A guy on the wrestling team used to date a girl in our first year of middle school. She went abroad for a year, came back in our third year, and boom. Overtook his life completely." He ran a hand over his scalp, shaking his head in irritation. "Looks like what we got here is a Childhood Friend Returned, my man."

"Wow, you watch way too much tv drama," Etsuko's voice came from behind him.

The boys jumped, whirling around - Daizo briefly dropped into one of his wrestling defensive stances before the two saw who had spoken. Immediately, their shoulders slumped and they relaxed, Keita pressing a hand to his chest. "Geez, Kiyowa, freak us out…"

The quartet stood lined up in front of the boys, varying degrees of exasperation on their faces. Aika pushed their glasses up their nose as they shook their head. "You know, you two, if you're concerned that much, you can always just talk to him? He's your classmate, isn't he?"

"And you are…?" Daizo prodded.

"Oh - this is our friend Aiko Tokuwa," Lyka hastily said, holding her hand out in Aika's direction. Then she put her hand on her hips. "And they're right, you know!"

Velvet sat inside Moe's bag, listening to the whole thing. She looked over at Rosie, as the two were safe under the bag flap and couldn't be seen. "But didn't everyone else spend all that time talking about them?" she whispered. Rosie nodded, squeaking in a way that sounded like giggling. "You agree with me!"

Outside, Keita began wilting a bit. "Yeah, but… How do we even do that? We're not used to talking about things like this…"

Moe blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, hey, dudes!"

"GYAH!" The boys yelped in alarm, whirling around to see the very people they'd been following. Rin and Rino stood in the doorway of the game shop, each of them holding a small plastic bag. Rin looked happy to see them, Rino looked curious. Keita began sweating, running his hand through his hair. "H-Hey, Rin. We know you said you couldn't hit up the arcade, so we thought we'd come to the game store instead."

"Oh, man, that's right!" Rin gasped. "Journey to the West: The Fighting Game Remastered comes out today. You guys pre-ordered it."

"Whoa, for real?!" Rino suddenly jumped in - literally jumping forward to stand in front of the other two boys. "I've been waiting for that game for ever!"

"Really?" Daizo asked.

"Yeah! I wanted to preorder it but my parents wouldn't let me. They said the original release was good enough, can you believe it?"

"What?" Keita cried vehemently. "The graphics are improved, there's new movesets for each character, and they added five new characters to choose from with their own Story Modes!"

"That's what I said! But they're so lame," Rino sighed. "Can I play it with you guys sometime?"

"Eh?" The two boys blinked, staring at Rino as if she'd suddenly sprouted a second head. "You'd want to?" asked Daizo.

"Sure! Oh, you guys are…" Rino scrunched up her face as she tried to think. "Ugh, Rin mentioned you during lunch…"

He had? The boys glanced at Rin in surprise, but he just smiled back nonchalantly.

"Oh! Segawa and Tamaki, that's it." Rino lowered the hand that she had brought to her temples, opening her eyes and smiling again. "You wanna hang with us? I bet you know all sorts of embarrassing stuff about Rin that I don't."

"Rino!"

"Sorry, Rin, but last time I saw you was in fifth grade!" Rino giggled. She lowered her hand, a wistful expression crossing her face as she turned back to the boys. "We were best friends," she explained. "But then he moved. We had text and email, of course, but it wasn't the same…"

"Harsh…" whispered Daizo.

"It was pretty rough at first. We used to be inseparable, you know? Like, people used to call us just 'the two Rins' because of how similar our names were. You couldn't tear us apart. At least, not til he moved," Rino admitted. "It's great to see him again - it feels like we never split up. But I'm glad he had you guys, too."

"Yeah," Keita said. "Yeah, he's our guy, you know. It's always been the three of us since middle school."

Rino's eyes lit up. "Hey…"

Rin seemed to know what she was about to say. "Maybe it can be the four of us! You guys wanna hang with us?"

"I… yeah. Yeah, that seems cool," Daizo said, while Keita nodded.

Behind them, Aika nudged Moe gently and smiled. "I think they've got it," they whispered, adjusting their glasses. "Let's leave them alone."

Moe nodded, and slowly the quartet began to edge away and vanish into the crowds, leaving the other group to talk.

Cappelia was beginning to drag her feet dejectedly, her head bowed lower than ever. Two hours. Two hours she'd been here, and she hadn't been able to use one of the Marbles.

Nothing just seemed fitting enough.

At least, that was what she thought.

As she walked, she accidentally bumped shoulders with a muscular boy with a buzzcut. "Oh, sorry," she muttered.

"No problem," he said automatically, then turned back to his conversation with the other three people - two boys and another girl. "So, Rino, how do you play this?"

"Oh you just sorta pop the bubbles to the other side. Like bubble wrap, see?"

Play? Someone with a toy? Cappelia lifted her head, watching the red-haired girl pressing the little bubbles on the small rubber keychain. The girl smiled, looking up from the toy to the three boys, excitedly talking about something inconsequential.

Cappelia felt something hot in her chest as she watched. Friends. That girl had friends.

She wanted that.

That girl. I pick her.

The gesture came naturally for her. Cappelia flicked her wrist and a Pulse Marble slid into her palm. She squeezed one eye shut, taking aim with the marble as if she were playing the game. Then she shot it forward.

The Pulse Marble dissolved and shifted from transparent to dark purple spores just as it struck Rino's toy. The girl suddenly jolted with a gasp, eyes going wide.

"Whoa - Rino, you okay?" Rin asked, grabbing her shoulder.

"Rin, the toy!" Keita yelled.

The toy dropped from between Rino's fingers, tumbling to the floor and taking her purse with it. As the toy began to jolt and change from sparkly pink to purple-black, the color began to drain from Rino, as if she were an image with the saturation being turned down. Her red hair became a dusty pink, her skin paled, even her school uniform became duller. She sank to her knees, eyes dulling like a doll's, and the toy shot up in height, growing arms, legs, and two bubbles parting like eyelids to reveal glowing red circles.

"GO-MIIII!"

Nearby shoppers panicked, fleeing in the opposite direction as fast as they could. People still in the closest store didn't chance running past the Gomingyō, instead withdrawing closer to the back of the store, hoping it wouldn't break through the doorway.

And the three boys crouched down around Rino, who was still slowly losing all her color and resembling a marble statue, trying to rouse her.

"Rino! Rino, girl, what's wrong?!" Rin shouted, desperately trying to be heard above the Gomingyō's roar.

In the background, safe behind a floor display, Cappelia's eyes widened. She looked down at her flower brooch, marveling as it began to glow pink and gold, the sparkling intensifying bit by bit. "New Reality…?" she whispered.

"GOMIII!" the Gomingyō roared again, sweeping an arm down towards the three humans.

Keita and Daizo reacted instantly. Both of them leaped in front of the other two, throwing their arms out and trying to block the attack. Rin shouted and hunched over Rino, his arms wrapped over her head protectively.

But the blow never connected.

A shot of bright pink light struck the Gomingyō's arm, knocking it aside. Momentum and the sudden opposing force sent its arm into the storefront, sending debris crashing down and blocking a fraction of the door.

"What?" Cappelia gasped, flinching backwards.

"Was that the-?" Keita began with a gasp, looking behind him.

Sure enough, four brightly-colored warriors stood in row, the pink one holding her hand out with a look of determination on her face.

"A pink heart is sweet! Joyfully yours, Cure Sweetie!"

"A blue heart is kind! Joyfully yours, Cure Kindness!"

"A yellow heart is cheerful! Joyfully yours, Cure Jolly!"

"A green heart is generous! Joyfully yours, Cure Charity!"

"Here to defend, sparkling brightly, we are Joyful Pretty Cure!"

"You all need to get out of here!" Charity cried. "Get to safety like everyone else!"

"Yes, ma'am! Rin, c'mon, dude, we gotta go!" Keita said, tugging his friend's shoulder.

"Yeah!" Rin hooked his hands under Rino's arms and tried to lift her. But he fell back down, unable to carry her. "She- she's heavy! I can't-!"

"I got it!" Daizo scooped Rino up quickly, grunting with exertion. "I'm a wrestler! I can carry her out, let's go!"

The boys ran past the magical warriors, Rin locking eyes with Sweetie as he passed. He looked to her almost desperately, and she nodded, a silent agreement passing between them.

Once the boys fled, the Pretty Cure faced forward again, and ran for the Gomingyō. Jolly and Kindness jumped up to deliver a dual kick, but the Gomingyō had a trick up its sleeve. It suddenly reared back, flexing its arms like a bodybuilder. "GOMI!" Two of the bubbles, once concave, suddenly popped the other way and launched out of its body.

Jolly yelped in surprise as one of the bubbles encased her, turning transparent as it hit the ground so she looked like she was in a giant hamster ball. "H-Hey!"

Kindness reacted quickly, kicking away the bubble. Or rather, they tried. Once their foot made contact, the bubble still surrounded them, and they fell back much like Jolly. "Don't let it touch you!" they yelled to their teammates.

"On it!" Charity yelled. As a bubble was launched at her, she rolled to one side, taking cover behind a nearby pillar. The bubble bounced hard, but harmlessly, against the floor and shot back up to encase a hanging shop sign. Charity ran back out, dropping the floor delivering a sharp sliding kick to the Gomingyō's leg. It stumbled, grabbing a store doorway to catch itself, and more debris rained down.

Sweetie heard the people inside screaming, starting to panic worse.

"Don't worry!" she called, jumped in front of the pile of rubble. "We'll beat the monster and get you out! Just stay put!"

"Hurry, miss! I'm claustrophobic!" a voice yelled back.

"Don't worry!" Sweetie repeated-

"GOMI!"

-and she jumped up high, just managing to avoid a bubble that had shot at her back. She sailed high over the Gomingyō, arching her back at the height of her jump.

The Gomingyō, as if sending what she intended to do, leaned backwards to try and hit her with a bubble. But gravity worked faster, especially with the Gomingyō needing to move slower and try to aim. With a loud cry, Sweetie fell back down towards the Gomingyō and struck it hard with her heeled boot.

The Gomingyō roared in agony, the sound making the entire mall shake. The people trapped in the stores cried out briefly; hidden behind some potted plants, the boys continued to shield Rino.

"Okay! Let's turn you back into a good toy!" Sweetie yelled, landing safely on the ground. "Pretty Cure Sweetie Resonate!"

Aided by Rosie, the attack shot towards the Gomingyō and purified it in a dazzling display of pink light and sparkles. The light faded, and Rino's toy floated into Sweetie's waiting palms. "Do your thing, Velvet!"

Velvet, having hidden safely behind a potted plant, closed her eyes and focused, the sparkles dancing around her brooch. In no time, all the damage to the mall was undone.

Cappelia suddenly gasped from her own hiding place, watching the sparkles fade from her brooch. "H-hey!"

Around the nearest corner, Rino knelt on the floor with the boys protecting her in case the Gomingyō tried to come after them. With the damage to the mall being undone, the sparkle returned to Rino's eyes, and all at once her color returned as well. She straightened up with a sharp gasp, blinking in confusion. "What… what just happened?" she asked.

"Rino!" Rin cried, hugging her tightly, much to her surprise. "You're okay!"

"Y-Yeah, I'm okay - I think I got a little lightheaded but… Wait, how did I end up over here? And where's my-"

"Don't worry. There was a Gomingyō attack, but everything is okay now," a new voice said.

Rino and the boys looked up to see Cure Sweetie, followed by the other three Cures and their Poppets, approaching them. She smiled kindly, holding out Rino's toy. "Here. You should have this back - it really wants to be with you again."

"The toy wants…?" Rino mumbled in confusion, but she still took back her toy. "Thank you."

"And thank you, boys," Kindness said, directing their gaze to Keita and Daizo. "For getting her out of there."

"Are you kidding?" Daizo blurted out. "She's our buddy's friend!"

"And a friend of our boy's is a friend of ours," Keita said with a nod.

As Pretty Cure left the scene, Rino looked up at Rin and her two new friends. "You guys didn't mention you had superheroes here! Does this kind of thing happen all the time?"

"Well… often enough," Daizo admitted. "But it's totally fine, no big deal."

"And we look out for each other," Keita added. "That includes you, by the way."

Rino sniffled dramatically, pretending to wipe at her eyes. "You guys are softies," she teased.

"Careful, Rino," Rin said in a mock stern voice. "Keep it up and we won't play video games together."

And as the shoppers slowly began to go back to their business in the mall, the four friends shared a laugh.

Cappelia sat on the edge of her bed in her room, one hand over her rose brooch. Her brow furrowed as she lost herself in another memory of the past.

She didn't know how long she stood there in the rain, her head bowed and her tutu soaked. The water was making her feel uncomfortable, but she couldn't bring herself to care. All she could do, as she stood in the middle of the forest, was remember the village.

She remembered the screams. The panic when they saw a living, moving, breathing doll. The shouts for her to leave. The toymaker's panic as he cast her out.

She remembered the panic, the disorientation she felt trying to flee the village, accidentally showing the whole town she was alive.

Angry, frightened voices began to run together in her ears.

They hadn't followed her, too afraid, but still.

Cappelia felt a presence behind her. Soon after, a voice drifted to her.

"Cappelia the dancing doll," King Drosselmeyer said, solemn but concerned and compassionate. "You have so much Reality…"

"Reality…?" she echoed, slowly turning her head.

"When a toy is loved so much, it becomes Real. But some don't understand that…"

Cappelia said nothing at first, toying with her brooch. When she spoke again, it was still with a dull monotone. "...I thought… I thought I could be human…"

Drosselmeyer sighed. "I can't… make that happen," he whispered. He held out one of his hands, looking at his palm and flexing his fingers - they caught the light in an usual way.

Almost like porcelain.

"But I can bring you to the Kingdom of Toys. Where many toys live together. Some will find new homes. Some prefer to stay. But all are welcome." She felt him move closer. "Come with me, please."

Cappelia slowly nodded.

She'd spent years in the Kingdom of Toys. Many years.

It had been nice at first. She danced for other toys, smiling faintly under the applause of teddy bears, dolls of all kinds, and jack-in-the-boxes. She had enjoyed their carnivals and fairs. She had basked in the sunlight.

But it had not been enough.

She watched those same toys she befriended, laughed with, danced with, all go to Earth. She watched them find humans. She watched Drosselmeyer create Velvet. She watched everyone smile happily…

…while she still yearned for the same dream she'd had since she first became aware.

Drosselmeyer couldn't grant it. But Lord Pinocchio and Bogeybox would.

"Next time," she whispered into the empty room. "Next time, their soul will be mine."

ED: "Joyful" - NiziU

Etsuko: "Kumagai is the worst teacher at Omocha!"

Moe: "He's huge, and scary, and he just barks at everyone!"

Aika: "He can't be that bad, can he?"

Lyka: "You don't have gym class with him, Aika… He's like an angry bear."

Etsuko: "Exactly!... So how did he get such a cute wife and kid?! Next time on Joyful Pretty Cure; 'The Terrifying Bear Is…?!' See you soon, bye bye!"