"I am so in love with you… You and me, doin' what friends do…" Etsuko sang quietly to herself as she put on her socks and then headed for the bathroom. She'd already dressed and brushed her hair with her fingers, now she just had to finish her morning routine. Confident that everyone else was already awake and downstairs, she allowed Amber to float alongside her, the yellow Poppet cheerfully weaving and bobbing in mid-air to Etsuko's song. Etsuko smiled at her adorable mid-air dance, continuing her new favorite Venus Angel song.

"And I'd give you everything, just say the word…" Etsuko sang cheerfully, walking down the hall. "I'd gift you the earth if you preferred…"

She was so busy singing that she failed to notice the faint buzzing sound coming from the bathroom, nor did she pay much attention to the fact the door was closed.

Then she opened the bathroom door and Daisuke turned to look at her, pulling the electric razor away from his chin. "Oh, hey, dorkus," he said chipperly.

Etsuko yelped in alarm, but Amber had quickly ducked back behind her and hidden down her shirt. Daisuke hadn't even seen the floating toy fairy.

"Daisuke, did you sleep over again?" Etsuko huffed, planting her hands on her hips. "That's the fourth time this week, you have your own house!"

"Yeah, but Keiko's not there," Daisuke retorted, turning back to face the mirror. He resumed shaving, tilting his head a bit to get the underside of his jaw. "Also, real quick, I had to borrow your shaving cream."

Etsuko sniffed the air. Now that he mentioned it, she did smell dahlias. "You're using my shaving cream? Why?"

"I get a closer shave with it. And I gave Keiko beard burn last night."

"Ewww, don't talk to me about that!"

"Why not? Nothing wrong with making out - you wanna make out with Venus Angel," Daisuke added with a smirk.

Etsuko reached over and unplugged the electric razor. Then she quickly shut the bathroom light off, slammed the door shut, and ran for the stairs, laughing madly. As she ran, she heard Daisuke shouting after her; "Oh, real mature, dingus!"

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

Daisuke finally headed down the stairs and to the kitchen, patting his newly-moisturized skin. "Morning, all," he greeted as he slid into the seat next to Keiko, briefly stopping to kiss her on the cheek.

"Sheesh, kid, did you even go home last night?" Hayate Kiyowa asked, looking up from his breakfast. Hearing this, Tsubasa Kiyowa looked up from her tablet, frowning slightly.

Daisuke just grinned and waved a hand. "We got back late again. Keiko offered me her room."

Keiko giggled as Tsubasa rolled her eyes good-naturedly and went back to her tablet.

"You two really need to start using a curfew…"

"It's fine, I'm like family, right?" Daisuke gratefully accepted the bowl of miso soup he was offered. "Etsuko already leave?"

"She's meeting her friends at the mall."

"The mall?" Keiko looked up, frowning. "We had a date there for today."

"Keiko, you just had a date last night!"

"And we want a daytime date!" Keiko laughed, leaning over to give Daisuke a kiss. "Our love knows no limits, right, babe?"

"Exactly!" Daisuke crowed.

Tsubasa and Hayate shook their heads in unison and went back to their meal and tablet respectively. Hayate gave Tsubasa a sideways glance, and asked "Do you think we were that bad when we were dating?"

"Considering you asked me to marry you after only a year? Probably."

Joyful Pretty Cure

Episode 18: Lovey-Dovey! A Gift From the Heart!

A short time ago, Etsuko had joined up with her friends as the group began their walk to the mall. The weather was warm, sunny, and perfect for a day off from school. Etsuko groaned, stretching her arms over her head and relishing in the slight crack she heard from her shoulders. "Man, summer break can't get here fast enough," she said. "I'm gonna sleep in and stay up and watch my beloved Venus Angel on streaming."

Moe laughed. "Venus Angel isn't doing any concerts this summer. They're waiting for the winter holidays."

"No, no, I joined a fanclub, they're gonna stream some of their old concerts."

Lyka hid her smile behind her hand. "You know," she began delicately, "you make fun of Keiko and Daisuke a lot, but then you start fawning over Venus Angel… A bit hypocritical, wouldn't you say?"

Etsuko frowned and jabbed a finger at Lyka's face. "Hey, our love is pure and special!"

Aika leaned forward, a cheeky smile on their face. "And nonexistent."

"Quiet, you."

Everyone dissolved into laughter, but the moment of humor didn't last for too long. As the group rounded the corner, Aika looked sidelong and slowed to a stop. Seeing them stopping to look, everyone else did the same.

They were next to the store parking lot, where there were still some mangled shopping carts pushed to the outer edges and out of the way. One of the light poles was slightly dented, but still functional and upright. Nothing else had been damaged, fortunately, nobody had been hurt, but…

It still made Aika feel a bit pained, and a bit guilty.

Moe reached for their hand and squeezed it. "You did really good, Aika," she said. "The only thing that broke were shopping carts! That's really impressive, especially considering what usually happens in our battles."

Aika smiled slightly. "Thanks, Moe…" They turned their gaze to Velvet, who had been sitting quietly in Moe's bag all the while. The bunny blinked her large red eyes at Aika in curiosity. "Hey, Velvet, since we're here, do you think you can use your Reality powers to fix the shopping carts?"

Velvet whimpered apologetically, tugging down her ears and wilting a bit. "I wish I could, Aika," she chirped. "But my Reality magic can only fix things right after it happens. Too much time has passed for me to do anything - I'm not strong enough for that, yet."

"Oh, really? That's too bad…" Aika sighed, closing their eyes. "I wish I'd known that earlier…"

"Ohhh, I'm sorry, Aika!"

"Oh no, it's okay, you don't have to apologize," Aika said reassuringly. They reached out to pat Velvet on the head, while Celes squeaked an affirmation from their own bag. "It's only carts, Moe's right. The store owner thought so, too."

"But it does remind me of something…" Lyka murmured. "We need to be extremely careful."

"We're plenty careful," Etsuko pointed out.

"I know. But we've been having such good luck lately, sometimes I worry we'll let our guard down."

Moe's expression darkened, and she turned to clasp Lyka's hands. "That won't happen," she insisted. "We'll protect everyone and everything. We wouldn't let anything bad happen to Omocha Town."

Rosie squeaked, nodding furiously.

Lyka sighed, smiling faintly as her shoulders slumped. "Yeah… yeah, you're right. But still…"

"Hey, no more of that," Aika interrupted sternly. "Everything was fine. We'll be okay." They waited for their words to sink in, watching as their friends and the Poppets all nodded in agreement. Then they finally allowed an easy smile to cross their face. "Let's just hurry to the mall. I hear Luminous Dress Up got a new shipment of Sunday Night Moon necklaces, and I want to see them!"

"What're the Sunday Night Moon necklaces, Aika?" Velvet asked as the group resumed their journey.

"Okay, so there's twelve different designs, you see…"

Hikaru pushed open the door to Sweet Dreams, making the bell above jingle. At the front, Michi looked up from wiping the counter. "Oh, hey, Hikaru!" he called out, his loud voice carrying easily across the restaurant. "How's it?"

"Hm, fine, fine…" Hikaru sighed, pulled up a stool at the counter and bracing their elbows against the countertop. "How're the hamsters?"

"Oh, they're perfect. That tummy medicine you prescribed has really been doing the trick for Bitty."

"Hm."

Michi paused, frowning at his friend. He set the rag aside and leaned in, lowering his voice. "Hey. Hey, what's wrong? It's not like you to be so… blasé about an animal."

"Sorry," Hikaru muttered, running a hand through their hair. "I just… have a bit on my mind."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"It's probably nothing. Probably stupid. But I met this girl at the aquarium a while back. I didn't think much of her at the time, but the other night I ran into her again." Their lips quirked up into a wry smile. "Or, I guess, she ran into me."

"...was she okay?"

"I'm honestly not sure. I saw her face for a moment - just a little look, just for a second. And she just seemed… she seemed so stricken. Something had upset her, I could see it. But she just… she just ran."

Hikaru trailed off, frowning at the countertop. Michi watched them for a few long moments, finally sighing and clapping a hand on Hikaru's shoulder. "You're thinking of Kirika again, aren't you?"

"This has nothing to do with Kirika."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely." Hikaru's voice was stern, leaving no room for argument. "I hadn't even considered her - I saw someone who I thought needed help, and who ran. That's all." Hikaru groaned, hanging their head and burying their hands in their hair. "Sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you."

Michi shrugged. "It's fine." After a moment's pause, he reached into his breast pocket and pulled out Cheeks, the stuffed hamster. He held it up to Hikaru's head, wiggling it back and forth so its fuzzy little nose tickled Hikaru's hand. "You wowwy too much, Hikawu," he said, pretending to speak for Cheeks. "Ish not good fow you~"

Hikaru lifted their head, making a face at Michi. Then they stood up, reached their hand over, and flicked Michi hard in the middle of the forehead. "Never use that voice again," they deadpanned. "Never. My God. That was disturbing."

"You thought it was funny, I know it."

"No. Never. I would not find that funny."

"Awe you suw, Hikawu?"

"Oh my God, stop it."

Michi laughed loudly, pocketing Cheeks again. His forehead still stung, but he'd at least cheered his friend up. Or distracted them, that worked too.

"Awwww!" everyone cooed over Velvet as they sat on a bench in the mall. They had all just left Luminous Dress Up, and there were several small shopping bags sitting around them. Each of them had bought a different necklace, and when the cashier informed them of a buy two, get two free deal, they bought even more. Now they each had something nice to accessorize with - and so did Velvet and the Poppets.

The Poppets were all lined up on the table, each wearing an adorable ribbon that matched the color of their cloth body, and Velvet blinked shyly up at the humans from beneath the brim of a tiny sun hat. Rosie in particular seemed thrilled with her sparkly pink ribbon, flying up to nestle on Moe's shoulder while chirping quietly.

"You look so adorable, Velvet!" Etsuko crowed, picking her up under her arms and lifting her high. "We should go to the beach with that, you'll look so perfect!"

Velvet unleashed a peal of giggles, waving her arms and feet in delight at being lifted so high. Her laughter was infectious, even the Poppets and humans couldn't help joining in. But soon, Velvet stopped, staring at something in the near distance. "Hey, Etsuko," she chirped. "That lady looks sort of like you!"

"Hah?" Etsuko put Velvet back down and turned around in her seat. Sure enough, up ahead she could see Keiko and Daisuke. Daisuke was wearing a black muscle tank and dark blue jeans, while Keiko was wearing what Etsuko recognized to be her favorite summer date outfit; a floral bralette with a sheer pink cardigan, and white shortie shorts. They were standing near a waffle stand - not Sweet Dreams, but another company. Keiko had both her arms wrapped tightly around one of Daisuke's biceps, and was giggling at something he was saying.

Before Etsuko could respond, she heard Amber squeaking cheerfully, then Lyka's voice saying "Ohhh, that's your sister and her boyfriend! You know I've never met your sister before, how is she?"

"She's okay," Etsuko said with a shrug.

"Is that her boyfriend? He's hot!"

"He's dumb," Etsuko snarked. "Not like King Drosselmeyer, or Venus Angel."

"Neither of which are ever gonna happen," Moe snickered, turning back around in her seat and sitting down with a thump.

"Shut up, a girl can dream!" Etsuko lightly smacked Moe on the shoulder, knocking Rosie off. "But man, Daisuke's just a giant loser. And he and Keiko are practically joined at the hip, it's so weird."

Lyka looked sympathetic. "Maybe they're just in the honeymoon phase?" she offered.

"Girl, they've been dating since their ninth year," Etsuko said. "They're as ridiculous then as they are now. Daisuke practically lives with us at this point, they keep going on late-night dates and then I wake up in the morning and see he just spent the night. He sleeps in Keiko's room, he eats his meals with us, and when they're not on a date, they're on the couch-"

"Making out?" Moe asked bluntly, earning a loud squeak from Aika.

"No, just watching dramas on the tv. I will give them this much, they don't make out where we can see them." Etsuko shrugged her shoulders, busying herself with adjusting the bright yellow ribbon Amber wore. "Man, if I ever get a partner, I'm not gonna act like that at all."

"So you say."

"Moe…"

The redhead laughed, holding up her hands placatingly. "Sorry, sorry~" she said lightheartedly.

Etsuko kept her pouty face for a moment longer before breaking character and laughing. "Come on," she said, standing up. "Let's keep going - where you guys wanna go next?"

"The arcade!" Velvet chirped before anyone else could respond. "I want to meet all the toys!"

"Awww, of course you do," Aika chuckled. "Okay, let's get going…"

The rest of the group stood to follow her, happily discussing where they ought to go first.

In the end, they decided on the arcade. The neon-illuminated spot was as busy as ever, voices and cheers mingling together among beeps and sweeps. Etsuko paused as she passed a dancing game, watching as one young man expertly moved to a poppy girl group song. Another young man, probably his boyfriend, stood on the sidelines, cheering and whooping, and pretending to fan himself when the dancer dramatically blew a kiss to him. Etsuko grinned, shaking her head. People sure got weird when they dated, didn't they?

But she wouldn't. Totally not.

"Hey, Etsuko-"

"I wasn't looking at anyone!"

Lyka blinked, then stifled a giggle behind her hand. "No, all I was gonna say was, Daisuke and Keiko are here, too."

"Ehhh?!" Etsuko leaned out to look.

Sure enough, Daisuke and Keiko were standing in front of one of the crane games, Daisuke furiously swiping his card over and over to get a stuffed animal. Keiko was next to him, leaning forward with her hands braced against her knees. A few people were looking in their direction whenever Daisuke swore and swiped the card again. Keiko put a hand on Daisuke's upper back as the group watched. "It's okay, babe," she said. "These things are rigged anyway."

"I'm getting you a stuffed toy, Keiko."

Normally Etsuko would scoff and move on. But something kept her rooted to that spot, watching them.

She watched Keiko turn towards him, smiling sympathetically as she gave his bicep a squeeze. "Come on, it's no big deal. I have a ton of stuffed animals."

"But babe!" Daisuke cried, sounding scandalized. "This one is perfect for you!"

Those words caught Velvet's attention as well, her big rabbit ears twitching as she heard him plainly above all the other noise. She straightened up, at attention, watching the teen couple closely. Daisuke had moved aside slightly so she could see exactly which stuffed animal he was trying so hard to get - a mint green plush hedgehog with bright blue eyes and a pink bowtie. The eyes were large and round, and if one looked closely they could see that they shimmered and sparkled under the light, so that it looked like their eyes held an entire galaxy inside.

Velvet's own eyes widened as she looked at the toy, as she listened to Keiko and Daisuke.

"Honey, it's fine, I don't need it."

"I wanna get you that toy! Come on - it looks just like the one I was supposed to win you on our first date, remember?"

Everyone looked at Etsuko in surprise. Etsuko blinked and kept staring.

"You remember that?"

"'course I do. Remember, because I blew all my money on that shooting gallery trying to get it for you, and you got mad, remember?"

"I did not get mad, I was miffed that now I had to pay for all your food and our rides."

"But I was so upset at myself, because you really really really wanted that hedgehog doll. And I couldn't shoot any of the little targets down. And now the hedgehog is sitting right here, in a big glass box, so the least I can do is get it now!" He swiped his card again and grabbed the joystick, ignorant of both the staring from the high-schoolers behind him and the lovestruck expression his girlfriend was giving him. "C'moooon, baby…" he muttered.

Velvet had heard enough. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, the gold brooch at her throat glowing faintly.

'You heard all that, didn't you, Miss Hedgehog? You want to go home with that nice girl?'

'I do! I do!' she heard the hedgehog doll say in her mind.

'So let's work together! Let's reach for the crane, Miss Hedgehog!'

Velvet's brooch began to sparkle with motes of pink and gold light, and a faint aura of gold and pink surrounded the hedgehog doll as Daisuke manipulated the crane. Velvet squeezed her eyes tightly shut, concentrating with all the strength her little plush body had. Moe looked down, taking notice of the slight shift in Velvet - her eyes widened slightly when she realized what Velvet was up to. At her shoulder, Rosie deigned to help, too, closing her eyes and concentrating as her body began to faintly glow pink. Moe nudged her friends to alert them to what was going on.

What happened next would have been too subtle for them to see if they weren't aware of what Velvet and Rosie were doing. But knowing that Velvet and the Poppet were working their Reality magic let them know what to look for.

And as they watched, the aura around the hedgehog plush intensified somewhat, and slowly - oh so slowly - the plush shifted and wiggled slightly. Gently and subtly it freed itself from its fellow dolls, and as the claw descended on it, it very slightly leaned forward to put itself directly underneath. The claw easily settled over the hedgehog plush, who wiggled slightly as the prongs closed around it.

Velvet sighed in relief, the gold and pink vanishing from her brooch as she slumped in Moe's arms. At the same moment, the claw lifted up, taking the plush hedgehog with it. "Yes!" Daisuke screamed, punching the air. "Hell yeah!"

"Daisuke, you big goof, you did it!" Keiko squealed, tackle-hugging him so fiercely the pair nearly fell over.

Daisuke laughed and retrieved the doll, presenting it to Keiko with a flourish. "For you~"

Keiko laughed, hugging the doll to her breast. For a moment, Velvet thought she could see the hedgehog doll snuggling against her, and she heard their voice in her mind: 'Happy! New home, new friend!'

"You know…" Aika murmured, breaking the quiet spell everyone was under. "That was really adorable, actually…"

"Yeah," Lyka sighed, placing a hand to her cheek. "That was sweet. Etsuko, you say he's a dork, but that was so wonderful."

"Yeah, well…" Etsuko muttered, shoving her hands onto her hips as she watched Daisuke and Keiko walk away. "Whatever, I guess he can be cute, too, sometimes." She turned her gaze down to Velvet, who still looked a little tired. "That was very sweet of you, too."

Velvet looked up with a smile. "Daisuke and Keiko are really nice," she said. "They'll treat the toy very well!" She giggled. "I didn't know he was so funny and so determined! The story about the toy prize was really nice."

"I didn't even know he'd done that…" Etsuko admitted. The arcade was getting too loud, so the group - now a bit more mellow after what they'd seen - went back outside. They headed for one of the exits, stepping through the automatic doors and sitting down in one of the outdoor seating areas. Etsuko removed her bag, fishing around for her phone. "I met him when they first started dating, you know," she added.

"I was eleven, I think," Etsuko went on. "Keiko had brought him home for a study session - I came home from school and there they were, at the kitchen table…"

Etsuko stood in the kitchen doorway, holding the straps of her sunny yellow backpack. She stared pointedly at Keiko and the teenage boy sitting next to her, the pair of them leaning over school books and taking notes.

"Who're you?" Etsuko said bluntly.

"Etsuko!" gasped Tsubasa as she hung up her purse. "Don't be rude!"

"Sorry," Etsuko said automatically. "Who're you?"

While Tsubasa groaned and shook her head, the teenage boy just looked up and grinned. His shaggy fringe swept in front of his eyes, and he didn't even bother to brush it back as he said "Oh, you must be Keiko's little sister! She told me about you - all good things, all good things." He laughed, but Etsuko just stood there and waited for him to actually answer her question. "I'm Daisuke Kaneko. Your cute sister and I are in the same class."

Keiko turned a dark shade of red and pushed at Daisuke's shoulder. "Oh my god, shut up!" she cried. Daisuke just laughed in response.

Etsuko frowned. Behind her, her father entered the room to get some coffee. "I'm impressed, you two are on a first-name basis already," he commented. "Is this your best friend now, Keiko?"

"If he's okay with it."

"'course I'm okay with it! Oh, by the way, thanks for letting me do my homework here. My sibs are all super loud." He looked at Etsuko again with a smile. "You should be good, though, long as you don't start blasting Baby Metal through the house."

Etsuko felt her face heat up, and stomped her foot. "I only listen to Blue Moon!" she shouted.

"Give it time… Baby Metal's got some good shi-"

"Daisuke, language!"

"-crap. Good crap. But hey, Blue Moon's cool, too. I like 'Second Spin.' What about you?"

"You wanna know? Really?"

"Sure."

"Well… I like 'Second Spin,' too. And 'Etherium.' I have it as my ringtone, wanna hear?"

"I'd love that!"

At that moment, Tsubasa reentered the room, frowning at everyone. "Hey, everyone quit crowding the studybugs!" she snapped.

The Etsuko of the present smiled fondly at the memory. She'd forgotten… how much she'd actually really liked Daisuke in that moment. "You know," she said at last. "He is pretty cool, I guess."

Eyecatch A: Aika sleeps comfortably in their bed late at night, Velvet and Celes sleeping on a second pillow by their head.

Eyecatch B: In the morning, Aika and Velvet stand together at the bathroom sink, brushing their teeth. Celes watches with interest.

On a street outside, foot traffic was slowing down in front of a particular bench. A few people stopped longer than others, whispering and pointing in curiosity and concern. A few others paused for a few seconds, then kept going.

It was the whispers that gradually woke Cappelia up.

"-a cosplayer?"

"Maybe she's missed her bus to the convention center."

"-don't think she's homeless. That's really good makeup."

"Should we wake her up?"

"Of course! What if she misses her bus?!"

"Wait, so she's definitely waiting for a bus, then? Or are you still assuming?"

Cappelia groaned and opened her eyes, slowly uncurling herself and sitting up straight. The whispers abruptly stopped, a few people began walking away. But a few of them stayed behind - one woman in a peach jogging suit stepped closer. "Hey, kid, which bus were you taking?" she asked. "If you were going to take the 2:30, you just missed it."

Cappelia blinked the last of her tiredness away, the fog slowly clearing from her mind… and then she recoiled from the crowd, gasping quietly. "I - I'm fine!" she snapped, taking the woman aback. "Leave me alone, please!"

The crowd withdrew, whispering all over again.

"Rude, much?"

"-shouldn't be sleeping on a bench anyway."

"Whatever, that's a lame cosplay anyway. Don't even know who she's supposed to be…"

Cappelia twitched as the last of the stragglers finally went away. Her fingers flexed, the temptation to use a Pulse Marble flaring up… but then she sighed, slumping her shoulders. She pushed herself off the bench and began to walk. No. No, it wasn't worth it to use a Marble on one of these people. Besides, they didn't even have toys.

The anger and indignation didn't flare up, even when she thought of the toys. Of the two people so far she had used the Pulse Marbles on. She flexed her fingers, allowing all the remaining ones to fall into her palm, and held them up to her face. There were three left. Three chances to take a human's soul, three chances to sever the tie between a toy and a human.

"...sever the tie, take a soul…" she murmured to herself.

Suddenly, she thought of the blue Pretty Cure she had seen the night before.

"T-This Gomingyō… this toy - it represents happiness, and love, and a close bond! It shouldn't be hurting people! And you - I don't know your story! I don't know what you've been through or how you feel! But what you're doing - taking someone's soul, trying to destroy things, trying to hurt others, it's wrong! You can't do this!"

Cappelia's eyes became half-lidded as she thought about what happened next. A crowd had gathered… they'd started to shout and throw things. But they'd aimed at her monster, not anything else.

That flew in the face of what she'd experienced before with crowds.

She remembered the light of torches, the shouts of 'witchcraft! Monster!' as they searched for her. The sting as her feet kicked up dirt and pebbles that hit her calves as she fled. The whoosh of wind past her face as someone tried to throw a turnip at her.

The rejection.

The fear.

The anger.

But this crowd… they had gathered to help someone. Not to chase them away.

And it wasn't just them, she realized, eyes widening again. At the aquarium, there had been that older person - Hikaru, they'd introduced themselves as.

"This way, young lady! Let's go!"

They'd pulled her away from the Gomingyō, away from what they believed to be danger. She had been a complete stranger, she still was, but they'd immediately thought to protect her.

It made her heart ache, thinking about all of this. It was so complicated… she'd known humans to be cruel, to have rejected her. But here were more. Here were more, showing kindness and strength and defending others…

She hoped she could be a human like that herself someday.

…But to do that, she realized, she'd have to use the Pulse Marbles. But should she really do that? Could she?

"Don't… hurt… anyone!"

There was the girl from the mall… the man from the parking lot… Both times, there was someone who was horrified by what was happening. And even without that, Cappelia thought, there was just… how it happened. She hadn't expected taking a soul to look like this. To work like this.

…was it fair, what she was doing?

The blue Pretty Cure had seemed so upset at her…

…she didn't like how mixed-up that made her feel.

"There's always another way!"

"I'll ask Bogeybox if that's true," she murmured to herself, lowering her hand and the three Pulse Marbles again. "He's a clever man - he made these for me. He can probably find another way…"

At that moment, a pair of teens walked past her, excitedly chattering about something meaningless. The girl was latched onto her boyfriend's arm, her free arm curled around a plush hedgehog. Cappelia paused, turning to watch them.

As she watched, she saw the pink and gold aura flickering around the hedgehog.

'I can't wait to go home with you~' the toy cooed.

Cappelia clenched her fists…

…and then sighed, dropping her hand back to her side. No. No, she wasn't really in the mood for this.

Not with her head so full of confusing thoughts.

But even as she turned around to leave, her rose brooch started to glow faintly. The Reality inside began to froth and churn wildly, though on the outside it looked as calm and serene as ever. Up her sleeve, one of the Pulse Marbles blackened and began secreting motes of darkness, the marble itself becoming icy and burning all at once.

The sudden shift in temperature caught Cappelia's attention, causing her to gasp and swiftly lift her arm up. Her wrist flicked and the offending marble rolled into her palm. 'But I didn't-' she began to think, her eyes darting anxiously, thoughts racing.

That was all she was able to think before suddenly the marble exploded into darkness, making her cry out and shield her eyes. The teen couple stopped and quickly turned around, the boy opening his mouth to speak-

-and suddenly the motes of darkness settled around the hedgehog doll and seeped into it. In seconds, the plush toy was a dark purple-black.

"Wh- I didn't-" Cappelia began, voice trembling. "I didn't tell you to do that-"

"Daisuke!"

The sound of screaming first alerted the group to trouble.

And then there was the sound of glass shattering, and smashing concrete.

Moe gasped and sat up straighter. "You think it's a-"

"GOMIIII!"

"That's a yes!" Etsuko cried, jumping off the bench. "Everyone, let's go!"

"Pretty Cure, Wind Up!"

"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!"

Pretty Cure ran down the sidewalk at full speed, passing by panicked and fleeing civilians, their Poppets flying by their heads. The Gomingyō was easy to spot - as they rounded a corner, they saw a giant black and pug with fiery red eyes, lifting its stubby paws to the sky in fury. "GO-MIIII!" it roared once before it dropped back down to all fours. It curled into itself briefly, and then several spines the size of a telephone pole shot out, flying out like javelins.

"Watch out!" Charity shouted, racing forward and punching away one spine before it could hit two teenagers. While the two girls shreked in alarm and ducked their heads, the spine flew harmlessly away from them, spearing through the windshield of an empty car. "You two, get out of here!" Charity yelled to them.

"We'll cover all of you!" Sweetie shouted from her own position, as she dug her heels into the ground, her hands blocking a spine from striking a dogwalker. "Get to safety Evacuate, now!"

The teenagers trembled in fright, but the dogwalker gathered his small pup into his arms and gave them a frantic look. "Well?!" he called out. "You heard them, let's move!"

The three of them fled in a panic, but Jolly heard someone else screaming. She whipped her head around, eyes zeroing in on Keiko kneeling on the asphalt. She was shaking Daisuke's shoulders, the young man looking like an alabaster statue. "Daisuke! What's happened to you, Daisuke - there's a monster, we gotta move!"

Daisuke…?

Jolly grit her teeth, running towards Keiko. She grabbed the older girl by the shoulder, squeezing tightly. "Miss, you have to go! The Gomingyō could attack again!" Sure enough, the Gomingyō's roar pierced the air again, and a new series of spikes flew out. One struck the middle of a parked bus, two more pierced the side of a nearby office building. Glass, metal, and concrete rained onto the street like a storm. "We'll keep your boyfriend safe, you gotta go!"

"B-But - I can't leave him-"

"Do you trust us?"

"What?"

"Do you trust us?!" Jolly shouted again, louder.

Keiko stared for a moment. The sun was behind Jolly, haloing her brilliantly. Her eyes were stern and strong, her jaw set heroically. Behind her, she could see the remaining three Pretty Cure punching and kicking away the giant hedgehog spines, sending them flying far away from them. Pretty Cure… had always been there to save them. "Y-Yes…" Keiko stammered.

"Then believe me - Daisuke will be okay! You have to run!"

Keiko hesitated one moment longer before she timidly nodded. She shakily rose to her feet, and kissed Daisuke on the cheek. "They'll save you, babe," she said, then hurriedly ran off.

Jolly watched her go, wanting to be sure she was out of the blast radius before she rejoined the battle. But as Keiko vanished into the distance, Jolly's gaze found someone else. Standing near a tree, in the shadows, was Cappelia. The ballerina doll was clutching the tree anxiously, her brows knitted and her expression tight. Jolly even thought she could see her lips twitching and quivering. "You…" she whispered.

Cappelia flinched.

"You did this to Daisuke? You did this to everyone before!" Jolly shouted, the cries of battle going on in the background.

Cappelia flinched again. "I - I didn't mean to!" she cried. "I didn't mean to this time-"

But Jolly went on as if she hadn't even heard. "I don't know what your game is, I don't know what your problem is, but if you think you can hurt innocent people on our watch-"

"I swear, I didn't mean to!" Cappelia shouted back. Nearby, safely hidden behind a tree, Velvet slowly peeked out, her ears twitching as she heard the doll cry out. "The Pulse Marble reacted on its own-!"

"You've really crossed a line now!" Jolly interrupted. "Daisuke may be a giant dork, he may be goofy and silly, sometimes I think he's annoying… but he's still part of my family! He makes my sister happy, and I love him, too!"

Jolly didn't notice, but Daisuke's eyes shimmered with the faintest amount of color. He slowly lifted his head, faintly seeing the girl in front of him, shielding him. She was dressed in yellow, and had long golden hair. He didn't know her personally, though he'd seen her brief image on social media. But she'd said his name… said he was dating her sister… and her voice, it sounded so…

"Etsu…ko…?" he whispered.

"Whatever your reasons are for doing this… it doesn't excuse any of it!" Jolly snapped at Cappelia. She turned away from her, gritting her teeth. "You targeted Daisuke… I won't forgive you!"

And with that, she ran towards the hedgehog Gomingyō, leaving a distraught-looking Cappelia hiding in the trees.

While Jolly joined the fray, aiding her friends with a flurry of punches herself, Velvet found herself staring at Cappelia. Her heart ached for her, especially when she saw her shrink into herself at Jolly's final words. She seemed so much smaller and less confident than when she and Pinocchio had attacked the kingdom…

And she'd sounded so sincere when she'd said she hadn't meant to use the Pulse Marble…

Cappelia… what's going on? Velvet thought.

Kindness and Jolly performed a double punch together before Kindness tossed Jolly high into the air. Jolly soared overhead, the sunlight gleaming off her gold jewelry and haloing her again. "Pretty Cure Jolly Sunbeam!" she screamed, flinging her arms down at the Gomingyō.

The golden light, aided by Amber's own strength, shot towards the hedgehog and quickly purified it. In moments, a cute plush toy hovered where the monster had once been, and Jolly gently landed and caught it in her arms.

Cappelia turned her gaze to Daisuke, watching anxiously as the color abruptly returned to him. She breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at her hand. Her fingers flicked, the two Pulse Marbles rolling out. Then, feeling a sudden wave of crushing fear, she teleported away.

"Daisuuuuuke!" Keiko wailed, tackle-hugging him and rubbing her cheek to his. "You're okay!"

"Of course I am," Daisuke told her, hugging her tight. "Pretty Cure saved me! You know them, they're the best."

Keiko nodded tearfully, withdrawing from Daisuke's embrace and wiping away her tears. "Yeah… yeah. The yellow one - Cure Jolly - told me to trust them. I knew they'd save you but it was still so scary."

"Yeah. Yeah, I can imagine…" Daisuke looked back at the once-destroyed street. After the battle, the destruction had all undone itself; the cars, buildings, and street itself now looked as if nothing had happened. Pretty Cure had stuck around long enough to make sure he was alright, then quickly left.

But he couldn't stop thinking about what he'd heard.

Etsuko… are you one of the Pretty Cure? he thought to himself, an uncharacteristically somber expression on his face. Do you know what you're doing?

Cappelia hurried through the halls of Pinocchio's castle. As she passed the playroom, Pinocchio looked up from his game of cards, lighting up when he saw her.

"Cappelia!" he cheered. "There you are - let's play hide-and-see! Or maybe you wanna play tag - eh?" Confusion cloomed on his face as Cappelia kept going, not even looking at him. He frowned. "Hey!" he yelled after her. "Don't ignore me!"

But she didn't even hear. She was looking for someone else.

At the end of the hall, she found him. "Bogeybox!" she cried, rushing up to him. "Bogeybox, the Pulse Marbles-"

"Cappelia!" the man gasped, looking to make sure nobody else had heard. "Keep your voice down."

"Yes - yes, I'm sorry. But Bogeybox, the marbles - one activated all on its own! I didn't even want to use it, but it struck a toy and made a Gomingyō. I didn't throw it, it just moved!"

But to her shock, Bogeybox just looked at her calmly. "Yes," he said simply. "That is part of their intended purpose."

"...what?"

"Those marbles are also designed to help us," he explained. "To gather even more Reality than the Shadow Jacks. While your brooch's Reality lends it strength, it also steals a soul for you. It's a give-and-take, I suppose."

"You didn't mention that part…"

"I wanted to wait until you were certain you would use them. And now you have. The Marbles are reacting to all of our needs and desires now. There's nothing wrong with them." He smiled. "There is nothing to fear."

But as he turned away and walked down the hall, Cappelia's face told a very different story.

ED: "Joyful" - NiziU

Lyka: "The people around us have a lot to say about the world… It's so strange; we know other people exist around us, we see them all the time, but we don't really consider they lived a life."

Velvet: "Huh?"

Lyka: "And the past, too… It feels unreal, it's so strange to imagine."

Velvet: "Lyka, what're you talkin' about?"

Lyka: "Next time on Joyful Pretty Cure; 'Many Memories! We Can Learn A Lot!' See you soon, bye bye!"