Hey guys, SAYkokoro here with another episode :3 Thank you again for all the continuous support despite how long its been taking to get out episodes. Exams and stuff were super fun ;p but now that it's summer time for me, I'm hoping to get more episodes out there!

*Please forgive any and all grammar and spelling errors and I hope you enjoy :D

OP: Your Story Fairytale Pretty Cure! – written by SAYkokoro

ED: DREAM! DREAM! DREAM! ~Waking Up Your Future~

Episode 31: |Ryoma Goes On a Date?! Not Created To Love!|

The throne room of Desolate Castle was once destroyed by the PreCure in their vicious battle that claimed the life of Xoanon. But, dark magic doesn't stay down forever. Like moss on old cheese: you cut it off, but if you leave it for too long it'll just come back again.

Almost like magic—since the walls and floor are literally made of pure dark magic—the throne room rebuild itself, returning the striped walls decorated with silver chandeliers stuck on the walls and the smooth black marble flooring that has a soft sparkle to it.

The only part of the grand throne room that hasn't managed to heal is Kuroizado's throne itself. The dark wizard is slumped on the throne, his posture slouched over. One hand is covering his eyes, the shadow of his hand hiding the rest of his face and his other hand is set in the armchair. Maybe resting isn't the best word. I mean, his nails are dug in the soft leather, making his knuckles turn pale as ice.

"Would you stop already," rasps Kuroizado to…himself? "You think you are so tough. But, I am stronger. I will always be stronger. Just give up."

The dark wizard lets out a hiss of disdain as he continues to dig his nails into the armchair, this time, cutting through the leather. "Stupid wizard."

Like a silent cue, the lioness Linda appears beside her master. "Kuroizado-sama, are you alright?"

Linda tries to place her hand on the wizard's shoulder, but he smacks her away, snapping his head up and glaring at her. "I did not create you to show pity or compassion, Linda! Do not look down on me!"

The feeling of hurt didn't tear through Linda's eyes. Just an empty stare as she straightens her posture. "It's him again. Isn't it?"

"I cannot silence him," mutters Kuroizado as he loses control of his breathing.

Linda wasted no time as she snaps her fingers. "Kokona-ohimesama, your Papa is feeling unwell. Dance for him. Make him feel better."

At this command, the soft sound of barefoot pitter-pattering echoes throughout the throne room. In the darkness steps the single spark of light in the petite princess as she stands before the dark wizard.

Princess Kokona closes her lavender-coloured eyes as she extends her hands over her head, maintaining a gentle curve. They brush against her wavy magenta hair, letting her long locks fall down her back.

"Please," whispers the Princess, "Smile, Papa."

Without music, Princess Kokona begins to dance. It starts simply with just a few nimble steps, letting her arms flow around her as she starts to leap around the throne room. With her pale complexion and silky pale dress spinning around her, the young princess glowed like the moonlight surrounded by shadows.

She continues to leap and spin, looking up at the wizard after each one. Searching for a smile. Leap higher and higher, spinning faster and faster in hopes to see even a gentle grin on her Papa's face.

Suddenly, the sound of a violin fills Princess Kokona's ears, almost making her fall over as the elegant melody swells into the Princess's mind and heart. The song is beautiful and makes Princess Kokona smile as she begins to dance along to the delicate music of the violin. Following the music, her tempo and swift movements slow to a much more beautiful and graceful pace that reaches all the way out to the tips of her toes and fingers.

As the charming violin continues to play in her head, Princess Kokona can't hold back and begins to sing softly as she dances.

My wisdom heart is a bit crooked

But at least it beats

My wisdom heart is hard to read

But at least it works

And someday

My wisdom heart will be crystal clear—

"What nonsense are you singing, you stupid girl!" Linda lashes out and pushes the Princess down, sending the pale maiden tumbling to the ground. "Are you trying to make my ears bleed? You…you!" Linda raises her hand. Princess Kokona squeezes her eyes shut and quickly holds up her hands to shield herself.

"Stop."

Linda freezes in place, the palm of her hand inches from the Princess. Fearfully, Princess Kokona carefully opens one eye than the other.

Kuroizado is struggling to stand up from his throne, putting the majority of his body weight on one side, his arm pressed down on the worn armchair.

"You…you hear it, do you not?" says Kuroizado as he pushes off of the throne as he staggers to the petite princess. "The music, you can hear it."

"W-what music, Kuroizado-sama?" stammers Linda. "I can't hear anything."

With a wave of his hand, Kuroizado thinks no more of the Leader of the Dark Charm Knight as he reaches out to the Princess. "The Song of the Fairytale Instruments. They…they really are as powerful as they once were."

"Papa?" blinks Princess Kokona confusedly.

"This is…this may complicate things," murmurs Kuroizado, shaking his head. "But, this is good. This is good. Good. Good. Good."

"Papa," mumbles Princess Kokona.

Kuroizado reaches out and pats the young princess on the head. "You have a gift, my precious princess. You can hear the Song of the Fairytale Instruments. What a miraculous gift you have, my dearest daughter."

Princess Kokona's eyes glow gently. "A-are you…does this make you happy, Papa?"

Kuroizado nods. "Yes. Yes, it does."

"T-then…then I'm happy too, Papa!" bursts Princess Kokona as she hugs her Papa tightly.

Kuroizado doesn't hug back. He looks past his daughter to a new arrival walking into the throne room.

Linda follows her master's gaze and crosses her arms in front of her chest. "Thames, you finally decided to show your ugly face."

"Shut ya mouth, Linda," grumbles the younger Dark Charm Knight, stuffing his hands into his short pockets.

Linda smirks. "Your sharp tongue has gone flat, Thames. Hiding in your little corner from Kuroizado-sama—"

"Enough," snaps Kuroizado.

Linda clamps her mouth shut.

Kuroizado shaves Princess Kokona out of his way. "Return my darling daughter back to her room. Leave us."

Linda glares down the Princess, but bites her tongue. "Yes, Master."

She grabs Princess Kokona harshly by the arm. "Come along, Kokona-ohimesama."

Princess Kokona looks to Linda with wide eyes. "But, Papa—"

"Papa is busy now," hisses Linda, digging her nails into the Princess's soft arm. "Just be a good little girl and do what you're told."

The Princess looks down at the floor before bobbing her head obediently. "Yes, Linda-sama."

With a delicious smile, Linda leads the fragile girl out of the throne room, her eyes flickering back to Kuroizado before the tall door close in her face.

Kuroizado lurches back to his broken throne. Thames steps forward to assist his master, but the wizard smacks him away as he slouches down in his seat, taking shallow breaths as he rubs his temple.

Kuroizado motions to Thames and the Dark Charm Knight silently lowers head and kneels before his master.

"I was watching you through the mirror," says Kuroizado, looming down at his underling. "You had the Wisdom PreHeartBook in your hands and you hand it back to the Pink Cure!"

"I mean, technically, I didn't hand it to her," connects Thames.

The wizard smashes his fist down on his armchair, causing Thames to flinch. "You might as well have!"

"I couldn't take it!" argues Thames, showing his fangs. "Its light magic was too strong! I would've turned to dust before I even reached Desolate Castle! It's a divine miracle Xoanon was able to hold onto the Dream PreHeartBook for as long as he did with his bare hands!"

Kuroizado rolls his eyes. "What are you babbling about?"

"Xoanon," repeats Thames.

Kuroizado tips his head to the side. "…Who?"

Thames's body went numb. "X-Xoanon. He…he was one of us! H-he…he gave up his life for you! H-he…h-he destroyed the Dream PreHeartBook for you!"

"Oooh," realizes Kuroizado, tapping his finger on his chin. "My second-made underling. Is that what you named him? I can never keep track of what you have been calling each other."

Kuroizado bends his head back and laughs. "Xoanon. What a ridiculous name. A carved image of God. Did my first-made underling find that in a book or something? It is truly laughable. What are the rest of your little names, third-made underling?"

Thames hands turn into fists. "L-Linda and…a-and Thames."

Kuroizado bursts into malicious laughter, nearly falling out of his throne. "Of course the narcissist would call herself 'beautiful'. I did make her casting the Mirror Beauty Spell, but that is hilarious!"

The wizard clutches at his stomach. "And you"—Thames's slit pupils sharpen—"calling yourself 'the dark one', oh pleeese. Do not fool yourself. Your creation was an afterthought."

"SHUT UP!"

Thames's eyes turn crimson red as he attacks Kuroizado, wrapping his hands around the wizard's throat.

Kuroizado doesn't even flinch. Just stares back at Thames's rage-filled eyes. "Yes, that is it, my youngling."

Kuroizado lifts up his hand and cups Thames's face, making his fierce expression soften slightly in confusion. "There is that anger. That hatred. Use that to fuel your revenge. My hands didn't destroy your colleague. It was the Pretty Cure."

The wizard lets his head fall back to gaze up at the dark ceiling, like Thames's grip still around his throat is absent. "Your colleague's sacrifice was necessary for us to take one step closer to our goal. It is up to you whether the cost of his life was worth the risk, my youngling."

Thames jerks himself away from Kuroizado's hand and the wizard just looks on with a smile before twisting his hand open. A dark violet light of dark magic flashes in the center of his palm. "Now then, if you are not going to kill me, may I show you something you might find interesting?"

Thames's lime green eyes are storming, but he swallows his breath before slowly releasing his nails from his master's throat.

"I understand you better than you think," says Kuroizado, soothing his throat. "Being a creature formed from pure dark magic, you are going to have a storm of negative emotions. Anger. Hatred. Greed. Vengeance. It can be a challenge to balance all those overwhelming passions."

Kurozaido opens his palm to reveal black goop swirling around in his hand, pale purple eyes popping out at random angles before swimming back inside the slime before appearing again.

"W-what's that?" Thames hesitantly asks, his skin crawling just looking at the gloop in his master's hand.

"A last resort," states Kuroizado. "If you so desire it."

Thames narrows his eyes from an explanation.

"This is a hex pixie," Kuroizado grins, "A curse."

As he rotates his hand as the creature slides around his hold, poking its face out with glimmers of baby fangs and webby wings and feet. "With it, your powers will be amplified. It will make you stronger than any Endingu you could ever conjure up. With this hex pixie, you could defeat the last remaining Pretty Cure with your own hands."

Thames tries to reach out for the hex pixie, but Kuroizado snatches it away from his reach. "Ah, ah, ah! Careful, youngling. This creature is still a carrier of a wicked curse. This power comes with…let's just say…dangerous consequences."

"Talk," hisses Thames, not taking his eyes off the hex pixie.

Kuroizado smirks. "Well, firstly, you can only use this little guy once. No second chances. No do-overs." The hex pixie glob crawls out onto the back of the wizard's hand and nibbles on his fingers.

"The hex pixie will maximize your dark magic, but by draining the user of all their magic."

Thames looks down at the floor. "So…if I use this hex pixie, I can't never use magic again."

Kuroizado shakes his head. "You do not understand then, my youngling. You are not a human made of flesh and bones. You are a being made of magic. That is all you are."

Thames tightens his fists with the realization. "So…you're sayin'…I'll cease to exist? Like Xoanon?"

"No. Not like…your colleague," corrects the wizard. "His death was quick. Instantly purified by the explosion of light magic. Your death, however, will be drawn-out as all your magic is slowly drained away from your body."

Thames's whole body went numb as he eyes down at his own shadow reached out across the throne room. Thames searches around his pocket and pulls out a lollipop, ripping off the wrapper with his fangs and crunching down on the candy. If he stopped existing, that's the thing he'd miss the most, I suppose.

Dark Charm Knights don't need to eat to survive. They don't possess a stomach. Or taste buds for that matter. But, Thames always tries to imagine what the candy would taste like. Is it sweet? Spicy? Sour? What does sweet taste like? What does sour taste like? He read about it in one of Linda's books, but he's not human, stupid questions like that shouldn't concern him.

Then…why?

"But, I'll become stronger?" says Thames, reaching his hand out to the hex pixie. "I…I'll be able to make the Pretty Cure drown in their tears with my own hands? I…I'll have that power?"

Kuroizado eyes his underling carefully. "Yes."

"Then it's mine," states Thames as he grabs the hex pixie. The creature hisses at him, but he doesn't care.

"Is that your final decision?" says Kuroizado.

Thames looks his master right in the eye. "Yes, Kuroizado-sama."

"Very well," hums Kuroizado.

The wizard snaps his fingers and the hex pixie curls itself around Thames's wrist like a bracelet before almost turning to stone in its new user's possession, curling its arms and wings around the wrist and its eyes closing shut.

"When you are ready to use its power, simply awaken it," explains Kuroizado before relaxing into his seat. "Don't waste it. I can't throw my magic around needlessly."

Thames bows his head. "Understood."

"Now, leave me be," says Kuroizado, shooing him off. "I need my rest."

Thames bows again silently before leaving his master to temper in his throne room. The hex dug into his skin a little, but he could feel his magic connecting with it and swirling around inside the pixie.

"You know, Master only gave you that because you've lost your usefulness to him."

Thames stops outside the throne room and turns to Linda who is casually leaning up against the wall beside him.

"Shut ya mouth, Linda," glares Thames as he continues down the empty corridor. "You don't know what ya talking about, ugly."

Linda gasps dramatically, placing a hand to her heart. "You wound my heart if I had one, Thames." She pushes herself off the wall with her long leg dotted with eyeballs. All of them blinking out of sync but also glaring down the younger Dark Charm Knight.

"Never won a single battle, gave back a PreHeartBook," lists Linda with her fingers. "Face it, Thames, your existence is worthless to Kuroizado-sama."

Thames stares his leader down. "What does that say about you?"

Linda narrows her eyes, but doesn't reply which Thames considers a victory.

"What's your plan then, shrimpy?" asks Linda, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Are you gonna use the hex? It's practically a death wish."

"It doesn't matter," mutters Thames, looking down at the still pixie stuck to his wrist. "I mean, what did I expect? We're just his pawns anyway. Created to meet his demands. Once we're of no use, we get thrown out. Like Xoanon."

Linda tips her chin up at the sound of Xoanon's name. "When Kuroizado-sama alters this world into his own image, I will be standing by his side as this world's new queen. Whatever happens to peasants like you is of little concern to me."

She hums happily. "Queen Linda. Empress Linda. Tsarina Linda. Oooh. They all sound like music to my ears~."

Thames rolls his eyes. "In your dreams, Linda."

"Oh, come now, Thames," smirks Linda, pressing her finger to the side of her chin. "Only humans have useless things like dreams."

Thames's ears twitch.

Humans…

Humans.

"It's nearly nine o'clock," murmurs Thames. "I have school to go to."

"What are you waiting for then, a goodbye kiss?" taunts Linda.

Thames snorts at her before teleporting away.

Linda licks her lips wickedly. "I would say it's been nice knowing ya, Thames…but it really wasn't."

Minwa Academy has a rooftop garden on the Junior High Division building for the Garden Club that Thames was told disbanded before the start of the new school year. Thames has been using this private and secluded area to teleport and blend in with the rest of the students as Ryoma Aisaki.

The ground beneath Thames's feet transformed from the black marble of Desolate Castle to simple cement scattered with abandoned flowers and overgrown weeds rooting through the cracks of the floor and stubbornly still trying to grow despite being unkempt.

Thames looks over at the door heading down from the rooftop and makes out his reflection through the glass window on the door.

It's not a mirror, but Thames can still make out his elf-hair pocking out from his grey-lavender hair and his split-pupil eyes with the blue markings going down them like a clown. This is Thames. The Dark Charm Knight. The creature made of dark magic. Servant of Kuroizado, the soon-to-be emperor of this new world….

And yet…

It's not a drastic change. Just minimizing his pointed ears, turning his hair a darker tone and his eyes too. Dress him up in his school uniform monkey suit and he was an entirely different person. At least, on the outside. On the inside, Thames could still feel the dark magic swirling throughout every inch of his body, ending at the hex pixie hidden under his jacket sleeve.

Now, he was Ryoma Aisaki. The student. The child. The…the human being.

What kind of name is Ryoma anyways? It's written as 'dragon and horse', but what even does that mean? Thames just picked it from a book Linda gave him filled with Japanese names. Does it mean he's as powerful as a dragon and as healthy as a horse?

"Ryoma Aisaki," says Thames out loud. Still felt weird coming out of his mouth along with his enemies. "Ryoma Aisaki, you have a stupid name."

"Heads up, kōhai!"

Suddenly, something stuck Ryoma on the side of his head, knocking him down to the ground.

Ryoma's eyes pale as ghosts. "What the heck…what just hit me?"

Ryoma hears the door open. "Omigosh, are you okay?! I am so, so, so, soooooo sorry!"

"No, I'm dead," twitched Ryoma, still sprawled out on the ground. If I were a human, I would definitely be spouting blood right now.

"Omigosh! Please don't be dead!" Feet rush over to him and he sees a hand reach out to him. "Here, let me help you up."

With his now brain damage, Ryoma takes the hand and notices how much bigger it is than his. And much rougher. Oh. No wonder. The person is wearing gloves.

"I'm really, really sorry about that. We're just training for the upcoming gold tournament and totally clocked you with my golf ball."

Ryoma gives his head a shake and looks up at the klutz only to find her face lower than anticipated. Geez, with a shot like that he thought the golfer would look a lot bulkier. But, it's just a petite girl with fair skin and dark cream-coloured hair in pigtails. The colour kind of reminds him of Imari's brown hair.

"Do you need me to take you to the nurse?" asks the girl with her worried hazel eyes.

"No, no, I'm fine," insists Ryoma. "Don't worry 'bout it."

The girl sighs in relief. "Good. 'Cause if you got, like, a concussion or something, I would never figure myself."

The girl's personality suddenly flip-flops and her eyes burst into sparkles which blinds Ryoma's. "I'm a third-year, Eko Tanaka, by the way. Nice to meetcha!" She strikes a pose with a peace-sign over her left eye.

A sweat mark appears on the side of Ryoma head. "Please don't do that. You're burning my eyes."

Eko stumbles on her pose and her face turns bright red. "Right. Sorry. That's probably not the best first impression, huh?"

Are humans always pinballs with their emotions? Ryoma wonders. "You don't have to keep apologizing, y'know. I'm still in one piece."

"Right," murmurs Eko.

That doesn't convince me that she's letting it go, sighs Ryoma.

"Uh, you…uh…y-you like the rooftop garden?" blushes Eko.

Why is her face still red? "Huh?"

"I-I-I know the garden isn't m-much anymore," stutters Eko, looking around at all the weeds and dried-up flowers. "But, it use to be beautiful. At least, when my big sister was here…oh! She was a member. Before it was disbanded and all. Chieko is her name. Do you know her?"

"Um, no," says Ryoma. Why is she still talking to me?

Eko giggles and bonks herself on the side of her head. "Oh, yeah. Haha. Of course not. You've only been here for a few months after all. You're Ryoma Aisaki, right?"

Ryoma narrow his eyes. "Uh, yeah? How do you know my name?"

"Oh! You're pretty popular with the first-years," Eko grins, elbowing Ryoma in the side. "Especially with the ladies, you rascal."

Oh yeah, remembers Ryoma. They trampled me last week. I really don't get girls.

"I guess so," shrugs Ryoma.

Eko sticks out her tongue playfully. "How modest. You got a specific type?"

Ryoma tips his head to the side. "Type?"

Eko's eyes sparkle as she sways from side to side. "Oooooh you're soooo innocent aren'tcha, Ryoma-kuuuun."

"Don't say my name like that ever again."

Eko sticks out her bottom lip. "Aw. Why not? I love your name. It means 'dragon and horse', right?"

"I know that," murmurs Ryoma. "But, what does that even mean anyways?"

Eko takes a minute to think about Ryoma's question. At that moment, Ryoma sees Imari in place of Eko. Taking a moment to seriously think over someone's feelings.

"Well," hums Eko. "I'm a bit rusty with names but, in Japan, the dragon is a symbol of generosity. Benevolently using its strength for the good of mankind. And the horse is a symbol of freedom. Does that help?"

Ryoma holds back a bitter laugh. "I guess."

Generous? Benevolent? Free? It's almost laughable. Nothing like me. Not even close.

"Oi! Eko-senpai! What's taking ya so long!" calls one of the club members.

"Oh! C-coming!" hollers back Eko, waving down at her teammates with her golf club in hand.

Eko turns back to Ryoma and smiles. "I guess I'll see ya around then, Ryoma-kun~."

"Sure," mutters Ryoma as he watches the bouncy pigtails disappear down the staircase.

Ryoma flinches when he feels the hex dig deeper into his flesh. Almost like a silent reminder.

He starts to follow Eko, but hears a soft snap under his foot, making him stop and look down. He accidentally steps on a flower clinging to life. Its colourless petals crumble off their bud and the leaves curl in on itself.

Ryoma kneels down and reaches out to touch the injured flower, but stops short.

Ryoma snorts humorously before lifting up his foot and crushes the flower again. But, when his foot is inches away, he stops.

"Tsk," huffs Ryoma as he steps over the flower and storm out of the patio.

Eko ambushes her friends at lunch. "You guys won't believe it! I talked to Ryoma Freaking Aisaki!"

"Good for you, Eko-chan," says Mio unimpressed as she takes a bite of her bento lunch.

Nijiko raises an eyebrow at Eko. "And that's important becauuuuuuse?"

Eko grabs Nijiko by the shoulders and starts shaking her excitedly. "Becauuuuuuse, Ryoma-kun is the Academy's Heartthrob! He's sooooo handsome and mysterious!"

"I guess," says Mio, twirling her chopsticks. "But, I also heard he's a bit ill-mannered and has a nasty temper."

"I didn't know you had a thing for bad boys, Eko-chan," Anzu grins.

"It's not like that, Anzu-chan," pouts Eko, crossing her arms over her chest. "I just think we'd make an amazing power couple. One that could rival Niji-chan and Suru-kun. Or Tomoka-chan and Masato-kun."

"No one can rival Niji-chan and Suru-kun," states Mio matter-of-factly.

"And Tomoka-chan and Masato-kun aren't a couple," points of Anzu.

"You guys are so unsupportive!" squeals Eko with tears streaming down her face melodramatically.

Eko slams her hands down on the table. "Look, I gotta find out if Ryoma-kun has a girlfriend or not, alright! Got any ideas?"

"I have one," chimes Nijiko. "But, it will require all your strength, skills, and cunning. Yooooooou…go up to him…and…aaaaand—" flicks Eko in the nose "—ASK HIM, YOU IDIOT!"

"Ouchie!" gasps Eko as she cups her nose. "Come on, Niji-chan! I can't just ask! He'll think I'm some kind of creep!"

"Well…aren't you?" Nijiko, Mio, and Anzu ask in unison.

"No, you donuts!" exclaims Eko.

"And aren't you two-years his senpai," mentions Mio, pressing the back of her hand into the side of her cheek. "You're the opposite of 'notice me senpai'. You're like 'notice me kōhai'."

"None of you guys understand our love!" squeals Eko, crossing her arms and slouching in her seat. "I might just ask him out on a date just to irk you guys."

Nijiko smirks and points behind her. "Okay, then do it. Aisaki's right there."

Eko peeks behind Nijiko and spots Ryoma fighting off some of his fangirls and sitting down at a table with Imari Suzukawa and Yū Shiraishi. Eko's face turns a tint of anxious blue-colour. "M-m-maybe I will!"

"Okay. Great. Then do it."

"I will!"

"Awesome. Then go."

"I am."

"Get up from your chair."

"Getting up!" barks Eko, bolting up and knocking her chair over in the process.

"Walking over to his table!"

Eko starts stomping over. "Walking!"

"And confess your undying love."

"I SHALL—wait."

Eko trips over the edge of one of the table legs and falls right over.

"Owwww," moans Eko. Luckily, something soft broke her fall. Until she raised her head up and sees Ryoma Aisaki staring down at her. Eko's eyes widen to the size of bowling balls and her face turns bright red when she realizes that she fell onto Ryoma's lap.

Imari Suzukawa looks over the table at her schoolmate. "Um, are you okay, Tanaka-senpai?"

Eko immediately scrambles off of Ryoma and frantically tries to regain her composure. "Ah-ah-ah-ah, I-I-I-I'm f-f-f-fine. J-J-J-Just goofing around. You know…as I do. Ha-ha! Ha-ha! HA-HA!"

Yū raises an eyebrow at her senpai. "Uh huh."

Ryoma just silently blinks up at Eko. "Oh…you're the girl that clubbed me in the face with a golf ball this morning."

Eko drops her head drowning in depression lines as a waterfall of tears streaming down her face. Omigod, how did I have to make a terrible first impression! Whyyyyyyy?!

"Uh, is she okay?" asks Ryoma.

Yū shrugs her shoulders. "Nah she's just Tanaka-senpai. She's a bit of a…unique girl."

"Hm," replies Ryoma as he stares down Eko. "What do you want then? Want more target practice?"

Eko's body turns completely white and her soul comically comes out of her body and she shrivels to the ground. Omigod, he hates me! God, just strike me down to save me the humiliation!

"You got this, Eko-chan!" hollers Anzu from their table.

"We'll still love you even if you make a complete fool out of yourself!" calls Mio.

"Maybe!" says Nijiko.

"Hi, Nijiko!" waves Imari.

"Yo!" Nijiko waves back.

"No…my friends are right," says Eko with newfound determination. "I can do this!"

"Uh, they didn't say that at all," chimes in Yū.

"Um, R-R-R-Ryoma-kun!" gasps Eko, standing straight as a plank with her arms to her sides. "Um…w-w-would you…uh…w-w-would you like to…"

Eko bows on a perfect ninety-degree angle and closes her eyes. "…Would you go on a date with me?"

Ryoma blinks at her. "…"

Eko hands tighten into fists as she squeezes her eyes tighter and swallows her breath.

"…"

"Ryoma?" says Imari.

"I have a question."

Imari tips her head to the side. "What's that?"

"What exactly is a 'date'?"

Imari and Yū fall out of their seats.

Imari and Ryoma walk past a herd of his fangirls crying tears of heartbreak as they head through the courtyard to their cubbies.

"Is it like an appointment?" asks Ryoma.

"Well, sort of," giggles Imari. "I guess you could call it a romantic appointment?"

Ryoma slows his pace. "Romantic?"

"Yeah," says Imari. "Like going to lunch or shopping. Anything really."

Imari stops and looks across at the courtyard full of students going to and from their classes. Some students are sitting down on one of the garden tables to share notes or to share a laugh as they talk about their plans for after school while some boys carry a girl's books for her and others couple bicker like an old married couple.

"That doesn't make any sense," says Ryoma, stuffing a hand into his pants pocket. "Why would Eko want to do a thing like that with me?"

Imari spins on her heel to face Ryoma and gives him a soft smile. "Because she likes you and wants to get to know you better."

There's that word again. 'Like'. Ryoma frowns in confusion. "Get to know me better?"

"Yep," beams Imari as she back out to the courtyard. "It's one of the greatest feelings in the world."

Imari swings both of her hands behind her back, one holding her book bag and the other grabbing her wrist. "Someone noticing you, wanting to spend more time with you, hoping that they'll fall in love and spend the rest of their lives together. That's the ultimate happiness anyone could ever wish for!"

The blinding expression on Imari's face makes Ryoma jerk his head away. "I…I don't think I can do any of that…with Eko."

"That's okay," smiles Imari. "You might change your mind after getting to know her too." Imari starts walking again. "And, sometimes, it's not even about that. Sometimes, it's about just reaching out to others and wanting to learn more about people…and, with that, learning more about yourself and what you want."

Ryoma opens his mouth, but feels the hex pixie bite into his skin and storms past Imari. "Not for me," he chokes out.

"Oh," blinks Imari as she hurries to catch up with him. "So, what are you going tell Tanaka-senpai? Are you going to reject her?"

Ryoma raises an eyebrow. "Reject?"

"Oh, you know, turn her down," says Imari, pressing her fingertips together. "I'm surprised, I thought a guy like you would have dated and rejected plenty of girls."

Ryoma frowns. "Why would you say that?"

Imari gives Ryoma a cheeky smile and elbows him in the side. "Mysterious, dark, tall, and handsome. A lot of girls really dig that."

Ryoma blinks. "Including you?"

Ryoma's eyes widen when he realizes what he said. Huh? Why…why the heck did I say that? What is wrong with me?!

Imari's eyebrows furrow. "You know, you don't have to if you don't want to. Date Tanaka-senpai, I mean. I don't think Tanaka-senpai is trying to force you to date her or anything like that."

Ryoma let out a secret sigh of relief. Thank dark magic. She didn't hear me.

"It's fine," insists Ryoma, closing his locker shut. "Like you said, 'sometimes it's about wanting to learn about other peo—"

Ryoma clamps his mouth shut. "Never mind. The point is, it's fine, alright?"

Imari watches Ryoma carefully before she closes her own cubby door. "O-okay. If you say so—!"

A classmate accidentally knocks Imari in the shoulder and she nearly stumbles to the ground. Reflects take over and Ryoma quickly reaches out and grabs Imari by the waist and keeps her on her feet.

"Oh, sorry, girl," chuckles the classmate as he carries on with his friends.

Ryoma glares down the classmate, but he already left.

"Um…Ryoma?" murmurs Imari. "You…you can let go now. I…I'm fine."

Ryoma realizes he's holding Imari and still holding onto Imari and quickly let's go. Why did I do that? "S-sorr—are you—oh. Y-your hairpin is…"

Imari's hairpin is gone and strands of her overgrown bangs are in her face.

"Ah!" gasps Imari as she pats herself down and starts frantically looking around on the floor for her hairpin. "Oh no, no, no, no, no! Where is it? Where is it?!"

Imari gets down on her hands and knees for her hairpin and Ryoma finds himself looking around at the floor to for the pink-and-yellow crisscross hairpin. Once Ryoma shifts his feet and sees the pink and yellow and jerks his foot up. In the scuffles, Ryoma must have stepped on it and the hairpin snapped in half.

Ryoma rapidly kneels down and picks up the broken pieces and Imari gazes up at him wordlessly.

"I-I'm," murmurs Ryoma. "I'm sorr—"

"It's okay," says Imari taking the broken hairpin. "It's just a hairpin."

But, Ryoma can see the shimmer from unshed tears. Ryoma frowns as he watches Imari stand up and throw the broken pieces into the closest garbage can. "You say that, but I can see you're upset. If you're mad at me—"

"I'm not mad at you," insists Imari as she picks up her book bag. "I'm just a bit…that hairpin was a gift, that's all."

Ryoma opens his mouth, but closes it. Not the best idea to pick a fight with the girl who can get me closer to the PreHeartBook…yeah.

Before his mind has time to catch up with his body, Ryoma snatches the broken hairpin up in his hands. "I think I can fix it!"

Imari blinks at him in surprise but stays quiet and gives him a nod.

Ryoma spins around and squeezes the busted hairpin up in his hands and closes his eyes. He whispers a simple incantation into his closed hands. "Xiff tah-sah-nei nekorbi."

Into his hand, he could feel the magic restoring the hairpin. He opens up his hands to see for himself and, sure enough, the pink-and-yellow hairpin is whole once more.

Ryoma turns back around, grabbing Imari by the wrist and placing her hairpin in the center of her palm. "Here I, uh, just had some glue."

Imari looks down at the mended hairpin silently before bursting into a radiant smile. "Thank you, Ryoma!" Imari ambushes Ryoma with a huge hug, bouncing up and down ecstatically. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"N-no problem," stammers Ryoma as he squirms out of her hold. But, when Imari clips the hairpin back into place, Ryoma's whole body turns to ice at the realization.

I just used magic to…to fix something.

Ryoma numbly looks down at his hands. "But…but that's…"

Dark magic…dark magic doesn't heal. Dark magic destroys. So…how did I…?

"Ryoma!"

Ryoma snaps out of his thoughts when Imari grabs hold of his hands with her own and smiles vividly at him. "Thank you so much, Ryoma."

Ryoma looks away. "Y-yeah, you…you said that already."

"Because I mean it from the bottom of my heart," says Imari as she heads out. "I guess I'll see you Monday."

"Uh, yeah," murmurs Ryoma.

Imari grins sweetly. "Bye-bye~."

"W-wait!" Ryoma blurts out.

Imari stops in surprise.

Ryoma stuffs his hands in his pockets. "I-I can walk you home…i-if you want."

Imari perks up and beams at him. "Supreme smile power!"

"…What?"

Imari excitedly grabs Ryoma hand and pulls him along with her. "That would be wonderful! My house is above Bell-Bell Café! It's on the edge of the local market. You know, we've been there before. With the hanami dango. Oh! But they got lots of other stuff too! I could show you! They have a park with a fountain you can make wishes in and a cute little gift shop and…"

Ryoma's eye twitches. "What have I done?"

Ryoma follows along as Imari excitedly skips down the sidewalk. She might as well have been dancing with rainbows, unicorns, and butterflies.

"I refuse to believe someone as happy as you can exist," snorts Ryoma as he puffs his hands in his pockets.

"Well," chirps Imari as she spots hopscotch drawn on the sidewalk. She hops on the square and splits her legs down the middle, "I refuse to believe you're as grumpy and sour as you make yourself out to be."

"Tsk," tisks Ryoma, turning his nose up at her. "Well, some of us aren't born perfect like you."

Imari chuckles. "Trust me, I'm beyond perfect. Nobody is. That's what being a human is all about. Our imperfections. Not our flawlessness."

Ryoma walks ahead of her. "There you go again with your nonsense talking."

"Of course," Imari grins. "Can't be Imari Suzukawa without my nonsense talking. Now, let's go. The market is just the next street over."

Ryoma rolls his eyes but tags along as they make their way to the local market in the center of Yūkibarano. Ryoma's only been here once before, but never bothering to pay attention the any of the shops. But, the first thing to catch Ryoma's eye is the giant fountain in the middle of the market. With school out, lots of little kids were playing by the fountain either drawing on the walls with chalk or throwing coins into the water.

Ryoma stood in front of the fountain and examined the design. A beautiful god is holding up the pool of water sparkling with waterfalls. Seagulls, turtles, and crabs are all perched around the god has a mermaid tail coloured all in gold splashes out playfully in front of the kids.

"That's Suijin," explains Imari, "The water god. We also have a temple dedicated to Suijin up in the mountains. Suijin is believed to represent the benevolence of divine water but is also the guardian of motherhood and easy childbirth. That's one of the reasons people praise Suijin. Including my mom when she was pregnant with me and my little sister."

"Your mom?" murmurs Ryoma to himself. "What's that?"

Imari blinks at Ryoma in surprise. "Don't you have a mom and dad?"

"I have a mast—uh—yeah, of course," chuckles Ryoma awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. "Sorr—uh—I was just kidding."

Linda told me about this. Read a bit from her books. Humans weren't created like me or her. They were born from other humans. They're called parents. If 'parents' have more than one child, they're called 'siblings'. But, Kuroizado is my 'parent' and Linda is not my 'sibling'. Nor was Xoanon.

"Suijin's tail brings you good luck if you touch it." Imari's voice brings Ryoma out of his thoughts. She grabs his hand and places it on the fin of the water god's tail. It was very smooth and surprisingly warm to the touch. "Everyone needs a little support from lady luck."

"I guess," murmurs Ryoma, but when he feels his cheeks heat up when he realizes Imari hand is still onto of his own and he quickly pulls it back and stuffs it back in his pant pocket. "W-what, uh, what are these kids doing with the coins."

Imari looks over and watches the little kids spinning around, closing their eyes, and tossing either a gold or silver coin into the fountain.

"They're making a wish," beams Imari, opening up her book bag and goes searching inside. "You make a wish on a coin, turn around, close your eyes, and toss it behind you into the fountain. If it lands in the water, your wish will come true."

"That makes no sense," Ryoma frowns.

Imari pulls out two coins from her bag and hands one to Ryoma. "Wishes don't have to make sense. It's meant to give you hope towards your dreams."

"Yeah, you know a lot about dreams," mutters Ryoma to himself he flips the coin over in his palm.

Ryoma copies Imari as she turns around and closes her eyes, making her wish. Playing along, Ryoma closes his eyes too.

Wishes. Wishes…wishes don't exist. Just an empty concept. That's all. Just as fake as dreams. Humans put all their make-believe hope on a whim like a wish than don't make any effort to make it real. Throwing a silly coin into a fountain won't give Kuroizado the world! It won't defeat the PreCure! It won't do anything!

And yet…

"Make a good wish, Ryoma," whispers Imari.

Ryoma takes a long breath. Fine. I wish…um…I wish…Kuroizado will defeat you stupid PreCure and take over the world and…and I wish Xoanon will be standing by our side at the end. Somehow.

Before he can take it back, Ryoma chucks the coin behind him and hears it splash into the fountain.

"Oh! Great job, Ryoma," cheers Imari. "You got it all the way up in the pool! Your wish has to come true now."

"Whatever you say, Imari," sighs Ryoma. "What did you wish for—!"

"No, no, no," coos Imari, placing a finger over Ryoma's lips. "No telling! It won't come true other ways."

Ryoma frowns. "Okay, now I know you're making all of this stuff up."

Imari laughs but stops when the sound of crying fills their ears.

Imari spins around and sees one of the little kids then fallen over a scrapped her knee on the cement ground.

Ryoma watches the tears stream down the young girl's face and his body tenses with joy and he bites down on his bottom lip to hold back from smiling at her pain.

The other little kids rush over to their injured friend. "Emi-chan, Emi-chan. It's okay. Stop crying. It's okay!"

But, the weak girl kept crying and Ryoma could feel her sorrow pulsing through his body, his dark magic squirming inside of him.

Imari kneels down beside the little girl. "Are you okay?"

"M-m-m-my knee h-hurts," whimpers the young girl.

"Can I take a look at it?" asks Imari.

The girl sops but nods her head. Imari looks down on the little girl's knee with her friends all sharing worried expressions.

"Is Emi-chan gonna be okay?" one of her friends asks.

Imari smiles at them. "Of course. It's just a little cut. I'll fix it right up."

Imari opens up her book bag and pulls out a pink polka dot band-aid and places it over the girl's hurt knee. "There! Does that feel any better?"

The little girl bobs her head, looking down at the band-aid. "Uh-huh. Th-th-thank you, oneechan."

"No problem," smiles Imari. "Just be a bit more careful next time, okay?"

The girl nods her head again and her friends help her up. "Do you want to go home, Emi-chan? Or do you want to keep playing?"

The girl shakes her head. "I-I-I wanna keep p-p-playing."

Her friends help her up on her feet and they are takeoff racing around the fountain, laughing and playing like nothing ever happened. This causes the feeling of rage blazing through Ryoma's body.

It makes no sense, hisses Ryoma. Instead of leaving them, humans race towards the weak and helpless. Showing concern and worry for the pathetic instead of just ignoring them and moving on. The weak humans will always be weak. The strong ones should not allow themselves to dwindle trying to help a weakling who will be nothing more.

And yet…the little girl…who second she was crying her eyes out and the next she's laughing and playing again. How do humans do that? Jump from one emotion to the other so easily? From crying to smiling. How?

"I don't get it," murmurs Ryoma. "How does she go from crying to laughing in a single heartbeat?"

Imari teeters from the ball of the foot to the heel. "Well…I think it's because she's strong."

"But, she was just bawling her eyes out from a small scrape," frowns Ryoma.

Imari shakes her head with a giggle. "Not that kind of strength. The strength to know that happiness comes from knowing how to let go of the things that make you sad."

Imari looks back at Ryoma and smiles. "Besides, how could she be sad surrounded by so many loving and caring friends?"

Imari spins around and hurries along to look through the glass into the little shops dotting the market. "More to see and do, Ryoma."

Ryoma rolls his eyes but follows along.

"Um, you…you said you have a sister?" asks Ryoma, absentmindedly looking at the items in the window of the shops too.

Imari nods her head happily. "Yeah, her name's Izumi! She's like the perfect mini-me with the cutest pigtails! She can be a bit blunt and acts like the big sister sometimes, but I love her."

Love.

"Do you…fight sometimes?" says Ryoma. Imari raises an eyebrow at him curiously. "I-I mean…do you not always get along? N-never mind."

Imari giggles. "No, no, it's okay. I'm glad you're curious. Yeah, my sister and I butt heads from time to time, but that's what it's like having siblings. In the end, we love each other no matter what."

There's that word again, thinks Ryoma. What is that? Love?

"Oh!" gasps Imari excitedly tapping at one of the shop's windows. "Look at these amigurumi! They're soooo cute~."

"Amiguwhaties?"

Imari laughs. "Amigurumi. It just means knitted stuffed toy."

Ryoma looks over and sees a display of crocheted stuffed dolls. Most were cute animals like bears and dinosaurs and others were people in adorable outfits, but all were done in meticulous knitted patterns. Some are smaller than his hand while others are at least a foot tall.

They kind of remind Ryoma of the Fairytale Puppets.

Ryoma shakes his head from that thought as he looks down at the price and scoffs. "$100 for a little doll? That's ridiculous."

Imari chuckles. "Well, amigurumi can have very basic or painstaking work to knit, but they're very popular. I tried making one when I was in the Sewing Club, but it's a lot harder than it looks."

Ryoma hums plainly at this and continues walking along the eye candy of the petite shops.

"Sorry if this bores you," says Imari.

"It's fine," murmurs Ryoma. Better get the chance to say goodbye to all of this now. Once Kuroizado takes over this world, all of these things will be destroyed.

Out of the corner of his eye, something in one of the display cases catches his eye and makes him stop to take a second glance.

Ryoma drifts away from Imari as his eyes are glued to the glass. This small store had jewelry mannequins in their window and one of the center displays had a silver-chain necklace with a single golden bell as its charm.

"Did you find something, Ryoma?" asks Imari. Ryoma ducks into the shops without replying and Imari stumbles along in surprise. "Wait up!"

Ryoma heads to the front counter while Imari catches her breath. "The bell necklace in the window please."

The shop owner fetches the necklace and Ryoma spells up money with a simple spell and hands it the woman. The lady places the necklace inside a small baggie and hands it to Ryoma.

She gives him a friendly wink. "I'm your girlfriend will love it."

"Thank you," he murmurs, looking away.

Ryoma leaves the front counter and Imari is waiting for him by the door. "Oh! Did you find something you liked, Ryoma?"

Ryoma walks right past her, ignoring her and a sweat drop slides down Imari's face. "Uh, o-okay." She follows Ryoma out of the store. "Um, w-why don't we go and have some—!"

Ryoma abruptly stops and shoves the necklace in Imari's face. She blinks at him in surprise. His back is still facing her, but she thought she could see red-tinted on the tips of his ears.

"I thought this suited you, or whatever," mutters Ryoma. "You…you can wear it if you want, or not. I don't care."

Imari looks at Ryoma in wonder as she quietly cups her hands out and he places the necklace inside. Imari balls the golden bell charm in her palm and burst into a radiant smile. "Thank you so much, Ryoma. It's beautiful!"

Ryoma glances over. "Really?"

Imari eagerly nods her head. "Of course. I wanna put it on right now!"

Imari clips the necklace around her neck and lets the bell falls down the chain, chiming a gentle jingle. Imari excitedly spins around. "What do you think, Ryoma?"

Ryoma shoves his hands in his jacket pockets. "It's fine. I guess."

Imari smiles and tips her head sweetly to the side. "Thanks, Ryoma."

"You already said that," mumbles Ryoma.

"I just can't express enough," says Imari as an idea pops into her head. "Oh! I would love to repay the favour. Why don't we get lunch? My treat!"

Imari takes off impatiently. "There's this cute likely maid café just up the street. They make adorable little desserts. Come on, Ryoma~!"

Ryoma rolls his eyes at her gusto, but follow her anyways to a small café just off the side of the market. It looked a bit like Imari's Bell-Bell Café with its pink-and-white striped awning, outdoor tea tables, and window displaces, but has the name Maid Meow Café across the top of the petite building and all of the waitresses are dressed in maid outfits and each one had different coloured cat ears and tail.

"My sister and I loved coming here when we were kids," giggles Imari as they stroll into the maid café. "We always thought the waitresses were so cute~."

"Sure," says Ryoma as a hostess greets them at the door.

"Hello~nya," welcomes the hostess dressed in yellow cat ears and tail and a bright pink maid outfit. "Welcome to Maid Meow Café. Table for two~nya?"

"Yes please," nods Imari.

"Purrfect~nya," grins the hostess as she grabs two menus. "Please follow me~nya."

Ryoma raises an eyebrow at the maid's strange speech but tags along and sits down at a pink-and-white diner booth dotting in cat paws on the opposite side of Imari.

The hostess hands them each one menu. "Your maid will be Koneko-chan today~nya. Hope you have a delicious meal~nya."

"Thank you," beams Imari as the hostess welcomes a new couple. Imari stares down at the menu. "Get whatever you'd like, Ryoma. Okay?"

"Uh, sure," murmurs Ryoma as he glances down at all the desserts on the menu. Honestly, it doesn't matter what he orders. He doesn't need food to live, unlike Imari and all the other humans. He can taste, sort of, but it would be out of the norm if he didn't so…

"Um…"

"What is it, Ryoma?" asks Imari curiously.

"I, uh, don't know what any of these desserts are," admits Ryoma.

Imari blinks in surprise before it turns into a considerate expression. "Well, what do you like? Ice cream? Jelly? Toast?"

Like. What do I like? There was that stupid word again. 'Like', frowns Ryoma. It's the same one the teacher asked him when he first transferred to Imari's school. Like. Like. Like. I'm a Dark Charm Knight, I don't 'like' anything except for darkness and torment. I don't think they have a dessert for that.

"Uh, well, what do you…uh…like, Imari?" says Ryoma instead.

"Well..." thinks Imari. "I really like their crêpes, their castella are really good—oh—that's just a sponge cake and their honey toast with ice cream is their signature dish."

Ryoma shrugs. "I guess I'll have that then."

"Great," beams Imari as their maid, Koneko, takes their order.

"It'll be out in a few minutes~nya," smiles Koneko with a cute wink. "I hope you two lovebirds enjoy yourselves."

Imari chuckles, but Ryoma tips his head in confusion. "Lovebirds? We are not birds. I know she's a cat, but I don't see any wings or beaks on us."

Imari bursts into laughter, clutching her stomach. "It's just an expression, Ryoma. Although it's usually more for couples."

"Huh," hums Ryoma as he quietly shifts to looking around the café. Watching the world move around him.

One maid was having troubles with a tray of food and drinks and one of her friends rushes over to help her. At one table, a married couple were having troubles with their baby. One of the maids comes over and does a little dance with her cat ears and tail and makes the baby laugh and all her tears go away. A boy was complaining about his meal and a maid is apologizing and the boy blushes and changes his mind.

Smiling, laughing, crying, and frowning, wonders Ryoma. Humans are filled with so many different expressions. So many different emotions. It's…

Ryoma feels his chest tighten and he grabs at it to go away. I don't understand. And I don't understand why I feel…

Ryoma snaps out of his thought when he feels the hex pixie gnaw at his skin as a silent reminder of Kuroizado's words: "You are a being formed from pure dark magic. A storm of negative emotions. Anger. Hatred. Greed. Vengeance".

"Here's your dessert~nya," says Maid Koneko as she places their dishes in front of them. "I hope you two sweeties enjoy~nya."

Ryoma looks down at his dessert. The thick, caramelized toast was dressed to look like a cat's face with the honey, vanilla ice cream, and fruits. Imari orders a chocolate and raspberry parfait with mixed chocolate straws coming out of the top with white chocolate cat faces on the ends.

With his knife, Ryoma takes a slice of the honey toast and pops it in his mouth. He can only taste a little bit of sweetening from the honey, but the dark magic inside him dissolves the rest of the flavour.

"Well, what do you think?" asks Imari happily. "Pretty good, right?"

Ryoma silently looks over at Imari, concentrating on her necklace.

She wiggles in her seat. "What is it, Ryoma? What's wrong?"

Ryoma looks up to meet her eyes. "Are we on a date right now?"

Imari freezes in the middle of enjoying her dessert with widen eyes. "W-w-what?"

"You said a date is going to lunch and shopping," says Ryoma. "We've been shopping and now we're having lunch together so…is this a date?"

Imari eyes soften as she soundlessly gazes down at her parfait. "Wow. We did. Didn't we."

Imari gently laughs. "I didn't even notice. I'm sorry, Ryoma."

Ryoma hands turn to fists. "I…I don't…"

"Huh?"

His fists turn white, digging his nails into his palms. "I don't understand!"

"You don't understand what, Ryoma?" asks Imari puzzled.

"I don't understand any of you!" admits Ryoma, smashing his fists onto the table. The whole café goes silent.

"Ryoma," whispers Imari. "Please calm down. You're scaring everyone."

"None of you make any sense to me!" shouts Ryoma, slashing his arm across the table, making his dessert fly off the table and the table smash on the ground. "Smiling, laughing, helping each other, crying, scatterbrained! It's too much! I'm never smiling! I'm never laughing! Helping others! Crying!"

Imari's eyes fill with compassion. "That's not true, Ryoma—"

Ryoma loses control of his breathing. "But…I can't…"

"Sir," asks Maid Koneko. "Are…are you alright~nya?"

"Tsk!"

Ryoma storms out of the maid café.

"Ryoma!" hollers Imari after him. She bolts up from her seat and bows profusely to the maid. "I am so, so, so, so sorry! I'll pay for the broken plate, but I have to be by my friend's side!"

Ryoma burst out the front door of the Maid Meow Café and storms blindly through the market crowd, not slowing down or making out of the way of others, knocking one little boy over and knocking a farmers' market fruit display.

"Hey!" snaps the owner, stepping in front of Ryoma. "You knocked over all my apples! Pick them up right now, young man!"

Ryoma shadowed face glaze right up at the woman, his dark green eyes turning bright green, blazing with pure rage. "SHUT YOUR MOUTH, YOU STUPID HUMAN!"

Ryoma loses all control of his emotions. Baring his fangs and claws, Ryoma destroys the whole table, flipping the whole thing over and sending the owner's fruits and vegetable smashing in the ground.

"No! Not the tomatoes!" cries the owner, falling in her knees in despair.

A group of kids, including the little boy, Ryoma knocked over rush over the help the woman to her feet. "It's okay, oneechan. We'll help you fix it. No use crying over spilled tomatoes."

The woman nods her head with a brave smile. "O-okay. Thank you."

"WHAT IS WITH YOU HUMAN?!" roars Ryoma in disbelief, covering up his face into his hands, clawing at his eyes and hair recklessly. "How are you so KIND?! How are you so CARING?! How can you be SORROWFUL one minute and SMILING the next?! You make NO SENSE to ME!"

Ryoma rips the hex pixies off of his wrist and releases its power. "I will DESTROY you ALL and your PATHETIC COMPASSION!"

The hex pixies high into the sky, turning the clouds and sky around it dark, and leaving only a chill in the air as it unleashes a tornado of dark magic down on Ryoma, who opens his arms out wide to embrace its power.

"PLEASE!" Ryoma pleads with a warped smile across his face. "Give me the POWER to CRUSH them ALL!"

The dark twister destroys the market around him, sending people running and screaming to escape the destructive wind. Someone falls on the ground, knocking up against the walls around them with other trying to help everyone escape. People and families look outside and race out of their homes and restaurants at the scene unfolding.

The joy and sunshine was gone, replaced by the storm of dark magic running everyone away.

Everyone.

Except one.

"Ryoma!" calls Imari, fighting against the storm. "Ryoma, where are you? We have to run away! Ryoma!"

Imari struggles to make it closer to the eyes of the storm. All around her, the center of Yūkibarano is crumbling apart. The market, the parks, and the buildings are all being swept away by the powerful wind of dark magic and growing stronger still.

Imari shields herself from the gale whipping at her as objects being spun around by the cyclone and attack her in the shoulder, sides, and legs. By box of goods is spat out by the tornado and strikes her at her feet, making her fall flat on her face.

Regardless, Imari pulls herself back onto her feet and cries out for her friend. "Ryoma, can you hear me?! RYOMA!"

But, Imari cries are drowned out by the tornado. Inside the eye of the storm, Ryoma can't hear anything except the rush of dark magic pouring into his body, far beyond his human form.

Ryoma's dark purple hair turns pale into Thames's lavender-grey hair and his dark green eyes turn bright green with the light blue markings down his eyes. Finally, his ears pointy just like an elf's.

Thames lets out a long breath, looking up at the empty sky, a sense of calmness passing through his eyes. "With this power, I won't just defeat the PreCure, but destroy all of Yūkibarano. They'll be nothing but dust."

That was all that remained of Thames as the rest of his pale skin peels away. In place, skin the deepest purple and sharp and dark as black diamond. The only thing he keeps is his humanoid appearance. His body becomes extremely slim along with his limbs long as well as his fingers and toes with his claws. He tries to smile, but his face has become elongated and full of crystal-sharp fangs.

"I can feel it, Kuroizado-sama," murmurs Thames, his voice a low hiss like a wicked goblin, "The curse within my body."

"Ryoma!"

Cursed Thames's ears twitch to his name and the dark magic tornado suddenly stops in that instance.

Cursed Thames twists his head and sees a weak junior high school girl stumbling towards him, scraped up by the dark magic cyclone.

With the loss of the twister, the girl falls right over.

"Oh!" she gasps as she scrambles to keep her balance. "That was some weird wind, huh?"

Then, she laughs.

The dark magic inside Cursed Thames starts to boil.

She laughs.

LAUGHS?!

Like she hasn't a care in the world?!

Like she didn't notice what monster stood before her?!

The girl blinks up at Cursed Thames. Blink. Blink. "Oh, hi there, Thames. Sorry to bother you, but I'm looking for my friend, Ryoma."

Cursed Thames flinches. In this form…

The girl looks to him with a worried expression for "Ryoma", but also no hint of fear.

…How does Imari recognize me?

Imari's eyes darken. "…Oh. You're here to cause more trouble, aren't you, Thames?"

Cursed Thames's face turns into a crooked smile. "That's right, pinky. I'm here to abolish Yūkibarano and everyone in it."

Imari loses her smile, but not in a way that made Cursed Thames satisfied. It wasn't an expression of defeat. It was a serious expression. A focused expression. And he hated it. "You know I can't let you do that."

Cursed Thames tips his head to the start with a snarky smirk. "And what are you gonna do to stop me. You can't transform anymore, y'know."

"I know," says Imari simply. "But, I won't stand idly by while you hurt people and families and friends."

"Families…friends…" echoes Cursed Thames. "What's the difference? They're all the same. Weak. Feeble. Pathetic."

"You're wrong," says Imari, placing a hand to her heart. "Friends…family…they're love and joy and home. And people are those you share these things with to become a part of your friends and family too. They connect us all together. They're…"

Imari's rose-coloured eyes sparkle with momentous determination, "…they're what makes us human. They are the reason we live every day…" Imari pulls her mouth up into a grin, "…with a smile."

That bitter feeling in Cursed Thames's body returns and makes him grasp irritable at his chest. Why? What is this feeling? I don't like! I HATE it!

"I'm done with talkin'," rasps Cursed Thames as he sharpens his claws. "Now, all I want…is for you…TO DIE!"

Cursed Thames stampedes towards Imari, lifting his claws in the air to strike her down.

"Wise Safeguard!"

"Magic Armour!"

Cure Mythical and Cure Enchant jump in front of Imari and protect her.

Imari bursts into a wide smile. "Girls!"

The Pretty Cure of Magic turns around with a wink. "We raced here as soon as we saw that creepy tornado-thingy."

The Pretty Cure of Wisdom sheepishly scratches the side of her nose. "Sorry we took so long. So embarrassing."

Imari shakes her head. "You girls are right on time."

The two PreCure smile.

"So…frustratin'!," hisses Cursed Thames. "Fine. I'll destroy you two first."

Cure Enchant's eyes widen. "Woah! Who, or what the heck is that?!"

"That's Thames," explains Imari. "I don't know how, but that dark magic tornado turned him into that."

"I don't like this," voices Cure Mythical. "He doesn't even look human anymore."

Cursed Thames's eyes fill with pure rage, turning his eyes crimson red. "Fools. I. Was. Never. HUMAN!"

Cursed Thames charges at the PreCure, takin a shot at Cure Mythical, but Cure Enchant shoves her teammates out of the way and takes the hit, sending her flying through the air and landing hard on the ground, breaking the cement road.

"Enchant!" cries Cure Mythical before Cursed Thames changes target and strikes her in the side, sending her soaring into one of the farmer market setups.

"Imari!"

Imari spins around and sees Kuiru flying toward her with Bukku riding piggyback with him.

"Bukku! Kuiru!" hollers Imari, racing to meet them halfway.

"Are you okay~buku?" gasps Bukku. "What's going on~buku."

"It's Thames," Imari frowns. "I don't know what's wrong, but he's…"

"He put a curse on himself~kuru," says Kuiru, crossing his arms.

"A curse?" repeats Imari worriedly.

"To boost his powers~kuru," clarifies Kuiru, turning towards the PreCure. "Cure Enchant, Cure Mythical, keep your heads up~kuru! This isn't like any of your fights before~kuru."

"Easier said than done, Kuiru!" shouts Cure Enchant as she pulls out her Emerald Blade to block Cursed Thames barrage of attacks. "I feel like I'm fighting an army of Endingu."

"We just got to keep him still long enough to purify him," says Cure Mythical as she shoots a Cyan Rocket.

"Stop talking like I'm not even HERE!" roars Cursed Thames as he recklessly charges at the PreCure.

Cure Enchant kicked down a table to block his attack and Cure Mythical ducks down beside her.

"If he keeps this up, he'll destroy the whole center of town," huffs Cure Enchant.

Cure Mythical nods her head. "I think if I use the Pinocchio Fairytale Puppet, I can keep him still enough so we can use our finishing move."

"Worth a shot," shrugs Cure Enchant as she summons her Enchanted Blade and gives it a sassy shake. "I'll keep him distracted with some of my sick moves."

"Sounds like a plan," says Cure Mythical as the green warrior leaps up from behind the fallen table and speeds towards Cursed Thames with her blade.

As her magic blade and Cursed Thames's claws clash, Cure Mythical takes out her PreHeartBook and calls out the Pinocchio Fairytale Puppet.

"Hey, little guy," smiles Cure Mythical with a friendly wave. "We need your help."

The puppet smiles at the blue PreCure as it commands its strings. "Pinocchio Marionette Constrictor!"

The Fairytale Puppet's strings wrap up Cursed Thames, holding him in place, unable to move.

"Good job, Mythical," grins Cure Enchant as she summons her Emerald Tambourine. "I'll finish him off lightning fast."

Suddenly, the strings start to snap and break as Cursed Thames's whole body begins to shake and his eyes gleam blood-red. "Don't try me down like some wild BEAST, you PATHETIC PreCure!"

With all his strength, Cursed Thames breaks all of Fairytale Pinocchio's strings and sends the poor puppet backwards, forcing it to escape back into the PreHeartBook for protection.

Cure Enchant angrily pulls out her green PreHeartBook and flips it open. "Alright, Thames. You wanna play rough, then let's play!"

The Sleeping Beauty Fairytale Puppet pops out of the PreHeartBook, ready to combat the bulky Cursed Thames. "Sleeping Beauty Blooming Slumber!"

The Sleeping Beauty Puppet showers Cursed Thames with a blizzard of soft, red roses. Cursed Thames grew weak in the knees and feels his eyes starting to droop.

"Have a nice nap, Thames," smirks Cure Enchant.

"No...no, no, no," murmurs Cursed Thames as falls to his hands and knees, clawing at his eyes to stay open. "I won't let you bring me DOWN! I'll turn all your dreams into your greatest NIGHTMARES!"

Cursed Thames unleashes a ruthless roar, booming through the town, sending, crashing the windows of the nearby shops to shatter and causing Cure Mythical and Cure Enchant to fall to the ground like, desperately clutching their ears in pain and causing Sleeping Beauty to run away back into the PreHeartBook.

"M-my ears!" screams Cure Mythical, helplessly trying to cut off the noise. "I-I can't—"

The blue warrior slumps over where she lay, losing consciousness.

"Cure Mythical!" cries Bukku and Kuiru, desperately wanting to get to her, but are pinned down by Cursed Thames violent howling.

Cursed Thames smiling satisfyingly wit himself, but it vanishes when he looks down and sees his claws beginning to crack and crawling up his left arm. The curse was starting to take effect. It was destroying his dark magic. The hex pixie was destroying him.

The shock stops Cursed Thames in his tracks and grabs at his arm frantically. "Not yet! Not yet! Just hold out a li'l longer! PLEASE!"

But, the cracks only deepen, causing his flesh to open up and his looming violet-coloured dark magic to leak out.

Cursed Thames hisses out in pain, but gives his head a shake when he spots Cure Enchant pulling out her Emerald Tambourine.

"Emerald Tambourine..."

Cure Enchant starts rattling the Emerald Tambourine. She beats the Fairytale Instrument with her hand, a burst of yellow-and-spring-green stars dancing out. She beats it again with the side of her head and then again with her hip.

"I don't think so!" growls Cursed Thames as he leaps for Cure Enchant. With one claw, he knocks the Emerald Tambourine out of her hand and with his other claw, strikes the green warrior in the stomach, slamming her up against the wall of one of the shops.

Cursed Thames pins her up against the wall and goes to bite her in the neck, but a blast of blue-coloured magic strikes him in the shoulder and stops him.

Cursed snaps his head around and see Cure Mythical struggles back onto her feet with her Sapphire Violin in her hands, gliding her way across the strings and sending another blast of light magic at him. But this time, he's ready.

Cursed Thames bolts out of the way and dashes towards the PreCure of Wisdom and kicks her in the head.

Cure Mythical grabs onto his foot and holds on for dear life as he furiously starts swinging his leg around, smashing her to the ground repeatedly to release her hold.

"Let GO! Let GO, you PITIFUL PreCure!" roars Cursed Thames as violet-coloured flames of dark magic blasts out of his mouth like a dragon, burning Cure Mythical.

"KYAAA!" Cure Mythical cries out as she lets go and Cursed Thames throws her to the ground.

In shattering light magic, Cure Mythical detransforms and Tomoka crumbles weakly to the floor, covering in bruises and a pale blue dress of light.

Cursed Thames looks down at his arm again and sees that it's turned completely an icy-purple colour with dark magic dropping from his claws that have reverted back to his fingers. Now, his left leg has started falling apart much to Cursed Thames's dismay.

Cure Enchant fights back tears of her fallen teammate and summons her Enchanted Blade. "YOU MONSTER!"

Cure Enchant charges at Cursed Thames and slashes her sword down at him, but Cursed Thames easily grabs it and shatters it into pieces and sucker punches Cure Enchant in the jaw and sends to toppling to the ground, causing her to detransform into Nijiko in a pale green dress of light magic.

Cursed Thames smiles victoriously. "Ha-ha!" He lets out a wicked laugh. "Ha-HA! I DID IT! I DEFEATED the PreCure! Ha-ha-ha-HA-HA!"

Nijiko struggles crawl over to her teammates. "Tomoka, I-I—I'm so sorry. I wasn't strong enough."

Tomoka weakly lifts her head and reaches her hand out to her. "It's okay, Nijiko. You did your best. You always do your best."

A hot tear falls down Nijiko's cheeks as she reaches out and takes Tomoka's hand. "Tomoka, I wouldn't want anyone else by my side."

Tomoka gives her a tearful smile as her eyes began to droop faintly. "I feel the same way, Nijiko. I...I know we butted heads...before...but...your one of...one of my best...friends..."

Tomoka's hand goes limps in Nijiko's grasp as Tomoka loses consciousness and Nijiko chokes out a sob.

By the defeated girls, their PreHeartBooks lay and Cursed Thames towers over them.

"Finally," hisses Cursed Thames, hanging his claws over the blue and green PreHeartBooks. "Finally...the PreHeartBooks are mine!"

"NO!" screams out Kuiru as he flies to help his partner, but gets easily swatted away.

"Get out of my way, you stupid fairy," growls Cursed Thames as he reaches down to grab the defenceless PreHeartBooks.

But, Cursed Thames is blocked.

Imari Suzukawa stands in front her him, her arms stretched wide, protecting her friends.

"You don't have to do this, Thames," reasons Imari, her voice a bit shaky.

Cursed Thames laughs in her face. "Are you serious? What do you think you're doing, pinky? Scoot over, would ya? You can't transform anymore. You can't fight me."

Imari shakes her head. "I'm not trying to fight you, but I won't stand by helplessly. I won't run away when my friends need my help."

Cursed Thames smirks as he baps Imari on the nose with his claw. "I'll make sure they put that on your tombstone. Now, move."

"Thames, please," says Imari desperately. "You don't have to do what Kuroizado tells you to. You don't have to fight us."

Imari reaches her hand out to him with hopeful eyes. "You can join us. We can defeat Kuroizado. Together."

Cursed Thames flinches before violently shaking his head. "Shutupshutupshutup! You humans are so FRUSTRATING!" He claws at his face irritability. "You just defeated your friends! Destroyed your home! Why? Why do you look me with some compassionate eyes after what I did? I DON'T UNDERSTAND!"

Cursed Thames throws his claws up into the air to crush Imari where she stands.

"Cure Fable! Move!" begs Kuiru.

"IMARI!" cries Bukku.

But, Imari doesn't move an inch. She looks up at Cursed Thames and smiles tenderly.

Cursed Thames attack stops shot from touching Imari. He tries to push through, but something is blocking him. Furiously, Cursed Thames tries hitting Imari, but can't do it.

"Why...?" murmurs Cursed Thames with an unstable voice. He crumbles to his knees and hides his face in his claws. "I—I can't..."

I can't find it in me to harm Imari.

Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

Suddenly, soft arms wrap themselves around Cursed Thames and his head jerks up to see Imari holding him with closed eyes and a gentle smile on his face.

"It's okay," whispers Imari, a sparkle of a tear in the corner of her eye. "It's okay to not understand. To be confused by other's feelings. Even your own."

Cursed Thames tips his head up at the cloudy sky.

"It's okay to be frustrated or scared," murmurs Imari. "I understand. I get frustrated, scared, and even confused too. When I first came to Minwa Academy, I was confused about why people I never knew hated me so much. I was frustrated when I couldn't fit in and when they started calling me the 'Club Flunk'. It was so frustrating. And when I lost the ability to become a PreCure. I was so scared and felt so powerfulness."

But, there's more than anger, sadness, and fear. There were so many people who accepted me and love me. My parents, my little sister, Tomoka, Nijiko, Bukku, Kuiru, Yū-chan, Tsubaki-senpai, Masato, and even Sara-senpai and Yasuharu-senpai. I was able to change their minds about me and I found happiness at Minwa Academy."

You can be happy to. You can laugh, smile—so many other feelings you might not have felt yet!"

Imari pulls away and gives Cursed Thames a beaming smile as tears fall down her face. "It's frustrating, scary, confusing, and fun...but that's what it means to be a human being!"

Be a human being, breathes Cursed Thames. He closes his eyes. Oh. That's what this feeling is.

I'm...I'm jealous.

"I'm not a human being," rasps Cursed Thames looked down at his monstrous form. "I'm a creation made of pure dark magic. I'm...I'm a monster. I wasn't created to feel love."

I...I want to be a human being.

I want to smile like Imari. Not wickedly, but cheerfully. I want to laugh light-heartedly, not cruelly or evilly. I want to cry happy tears. I want to learn about these feelings and many more that I hadn't even learned about yet.

And I'm jealous. I'm jealous of the PreCure because of it. Why I'm jealous of humans. The beings that created love.

Imari smiles widely. "Then why did Kuroizado decide to create you look like a human?"

Cursed Thames freezes and looks Imari in the eyes.

"If you are made of nothing but dark magic, then he could've created you to look like anything. But, instead, he made you look like a human. I don't know much about Kuroizado. Who he is now, but I don't think that was an accident."

Imari reaches up and kisses Cursed Thames on the forehead. He closes his eyes as he feels light magic surge through him.

Thames gazes down as his body turns back to normal, his claws and fangs disappear. He glances around and sees Nijiko managing to stand up with one arm wrapped around Tomoka and helping her up as the market around them begins to heal and return to normal. He collapses into Imari, resting his head on her shoulder.

Imari's eyes soften. "Don't let the dark magic inside of you define who you are and who you choose to be. Dark magic can't stop you from dreaming."

Thames snorts at her. "You're unbelievable y'know that, pinky?"

With that, Thames teleports away with drops of abandoned dark magic left behind.

Thames stumbles through the empty hallways of Desolate Castle until he storms through a set of double-doors into Linda's office where her magic mirror stand in the corner of the room cover with a cloak.

Thames rips off the cover and grabs at the frame of the mirror to see his reflection.

Thames's snow-white skin was peeling away, revealing his dark magic swirling inside his body. His right eye is cracked and has its colour, mark of dark magenta-coloured dark magic scaring his face. On his legs, up his arms, and across his chest, his body keeps chipping away and exposing his dark magic through cracks.

Burning tears fill up in Thames eyes are he holds himself helplessly.

It's too late. The curse has begun.

Next Time on Fairytale Pretty Cure!

Nijiko: We let him get away!

Tomoka: I mean, what could we really do?

Nijiko: I know, I know! I'm just ticked off. Ignore me.

Imari: I hope Thames is going to be okay.

Tomoka: We heard what you said about first coming to Minwa Academy.

Nijiko: Yeah, what school did you use to go to anyways?

Imari: How Did Imari Get into Minwa Academy! Part 1!