Hey guys, it's SAYkokoro with a new episode. Thank you for all your continued support. Thank you MonoTheMonochrome, Cold-heart-Angel23, AnimeGirl5Ever, and GuardianAngel1234567 for reviewing my last episode. I've been travelling and it's been amazing but I wasn't able to get around to writing as much, but I wanted to try to make this a great episode. One of the characters in this episode, Hina Kotorida, is very near and dear to my heart. Hina-chan is based on my real-life childhood friend, Kelly, who sadly passed away back in 2013. So this episode was really made in tribute to my friend so I hope you all enjoy.
*Please forgive any grammar errors
OP: Your Story Fairytale Pretty Cure! – written by SAYkokoro
ED: DREAM! DREAM! DREAM! ~Waking Up Your Future~
Episode 32: |How Did Imari Get into Minwa Academy?! Part 1! |
I would say "Welcome to Monogatari Middle School"...but there's really nothing to it. This place is like...like a rock. A dull, grey, bumpy rock. All flaw. No beauty. Not even slightly. It's...blah. Grey and blah.
Only grey skies hang overtop this dreary school. Grey sky surrounding grey buildings and grey wall stained with mold around the windows. It discoloured the dark cream-coloured walls to a dull, grey colour.
Only 41 students attend Monogatari Middle School. And soon, there will only be 38.
In front of the school, blah-boring students are walking out of their last class of the day. They could smile, but they were only small ones. None with deep joy or passion.
But, you could see it. In all of their eyes. The desire.
The desire...to shine.
The boy students are wearing traditional gakuran uniforms all in black and the girl students are see in pale tan-coloured sailor's dress with boring ebony-coloured accent lines and matching neckerchiefs.
One of the girls, one few people would even notice, steps out of the front door fusing with her overgrown bangs feathering in her face from the outside breeze. Every time she tries brushing the locks back, they'd keep blowing back into her face.
"Oh come on, you stupid bangs," pouts the girl. "Work with me here. I help you, you help me." But her bangs refuse to keep and get caught in her left eye. "Fine! Be that way!"
The girl falls in line with her two best friends walking up ahead of her. With her trailing behind them, she didn't even look like she belonged with them. One shined like the sun with golden yellow hair in low pigtailed and lemon-coloured eyes and a beaming smile and the other girl, mature and confident, like the moon with cyan blue eyes, dark grey earrings, and spiky dark lavender hair with streaks of pink and turquoise like fireworks in the night air.
If the Goldilocks-student is like the sun and the other girl is like the moon goddess, then their third friend is like a bland cloud just drifting through the sky, no different than any other boring, fluffy cloud.
The girl with the golden smile giggles at her friend. "Are you seriously arguing with your own hair, Riri-chan?"
"Yes!" exclaims the girl, hanging her head back irritably. "And I just got a haircut, Hina-chan. There's no winning."
Her friend, Hina, shrugs her shoulder. "Maybe you need to buy new shampoo."
The girl with the sunset-coloured hair buts hips with Hina. "That's easy for you to say, Hina-chan. You're literally called the Sunshine Princess of Smiles of course you don't have average-people problems like us normies. Your hairs aaaalways perfect."
Their friend strikes a supermodel pose dramatically. "Hello~, chikas~! My name is Hiiiina Kooootorida. I'm soooo perfect~."
Hina puts her hands on her hips. "I don't sound like that, Kanon-chan. Jeeez! You're so meeeean to me Kanon-chan!"
Kanon sticks out her tongue. "I tease 'cause I love, Hina-chan."
Hina pouts and looks away. "Well, I don't care. I won't forgive you this time."
Kanon tiptoes over to her and pokes her in the cheek. "I'm sorry, Hina-chan. Please forgive me."
"No," says Hina, sticking out her bottom lip.
Kanon goes behind her friend and wraps her arms around her for a hug. "Pleeeease. You know I'm just being silly li'l Kanon Akitsuki. I love the Sunshine Princess of Smiles. You're the sun to my moon, Hina-chan. Am I forgiven yet?"
"N-no," says Hina with a shaky tone.
Kanon smirks. "Then you must DIE!"
Kanon starts tickling Hina's stomach and her face turn bright red. "No, no, no! Kanon! Stop it!"
But, it's too late, Hina starts exploding with laughing and Kanon grins victoriously. "I'm stealing the Sunshine Princess of Smiles! I want her all to myself!"
"No—ha-ha—I can't breathe!" gasps Hina, trying to pry her friend off of her. "I need a hero! Save me! Riri-chan!"
Riri jumps in and hugs Hina from the other side. "Don't worry, Hina-chan. I'll protect you from the evil Kanon-chan!"
Kanon playfully hisses away and Hina and Riri embrace each other. "I've saved you, Princess! That wicked Kanon-chan won't hurt you anymore!"
"Thank you, my saviour, Riri-chan!" beams Hina.
Kanon sticks her tongue out at her two friends. "Come on, why won't let me be selfish and just take what I want."
Riri smiles. "Because we love you too much to do that."
Kanon groans.
Riri lets out a huff again as her hair gets in her face and bats at it like a kitten to get it to behave.
Hina bites her bottom lip. "That looks really annoying. Maybe you need to buy a hairclip or something."
"We could always go to the mall later and go looking for something cute," suggests Kanon.
"That sounds like a great idea, Kanon-chan," smiles Hina, touching the tips of her fingers together. "Maybe we could each get one. We could be matching!"
Riri beams. "That sounds awesome! When do—"
"It's students from Minwa!"
The three friends perk up their ears and race up to the school fence alongside another group of students with all of them impatiently trying to find a spot to look through the fence to the outside as they spot a group of students in green-and-white uniforms walking up the road.
The three girls are shoving through the crowd and manage to find a spot, one on top of the other to catch a glimpse of the students. Popping their heads out, Kanon is on top, Hina in the middle, and their friend on the bottom. Riri blows strands of her bangs out of the way to see clearly.
A group of Minwa Academy students walk past their school on the opposite side of the road. The leader of the group threads her delicate, French-tipped fingers through her wavy pink hair as she and laughs at one of her friends' jokes, her light pink-coloured eyes bold with skilfully long eyelashes and her giggles like sweet bells.
"Omigosh," murmurs Kanon. "That's Meisa Ayatsuji, the top fashionista in Yūkibarano! She already has her own clothing brand, makeup products, and perfume! She's literally the embodiment of grace!"
Her friend joking around has short ginger hair in a bob with the perfect pixie-figure, flawlessly fair skin, and turquoise-coloured eyes. The boy with dirty blonde hair and dreamy blue eyes beside her chuckles along and gives her a sweet kiss on the cheek.
"And that's the one and only Sayo Katagiri," coos Hina. "She's practically a walking-talking princess! And her prince charming is thee Tamaki Utsumi, the heir to the Utsumi fortune! They are the leaders of all the major companies in Japan!"
"They're so close I can almost smell their wealth," Kanon sighs.
"Maybe if we're lucky, their greatness will rub off of us," wishes Hina.
But, just like a miraculous shooting star, they were gone and everyone shows the same disappointment expression as the group disperses, leaving just the three best friends.
With her fingers holding onto the fence, Hina leans back and swings from side-to-side. "Can you imagine if we went to Minwa Academy? Dressed in those cute sailor uniforms, rubbing elbows with all those froufrou students, and others looking at us like real-life goddesses."
Kanon vividly gives her hair a dramatic flip. "Oh, quite, quite~. Let's eat some crumpets and drink sweet tea with our pinkies in their air~."
Hina reaches out her hand to her. "Fancy a cuppa~? I'm chuffed to bit~. So cheeky, Kanon-chan~."
They dance into a salsa dip. A sweat drop appears on the side of Riri's head. "Since when are rich people all British?"
"But wouldn't it be amazing!" smiles Hina, racing over to her friend and grabbing her hands. "It would be a dream come true to go to Minwa Academy! Don't you think?"
Riri blinks. "A dream come true?"
Hina nods eagerly. "Of course! Minwa Academy is like...well, is like a gem! Beautiful, glamorous, but more than that...if I could go there..."
Hina looks up at the sun and smiles. "...I could shine! My future would be the brightest star in the world! Brighter than the sun!"
"Hina Kotorida," Riri grins. "I didn't know you were so passionate about this. Honestly, I'm kind of jealous. I wish I had a dream that made me so fired up."
"And soon...my dream will become reality," beams Hina as she turns to her two best friends and shined a radiant smile. "I applied for Minwa Academy's student exchange program. It's only for 8 months, but just getting to stand side-by-side will the richest and most talented students in the world, being one of the students that will lead this future...makes me so...so...ecstatic! Full-on supreme smile power!"
Her friends both laugh. "You're so childish, Hina-chan. What does that even mean?"
Hina disappointedly wags her finger at them. "I can see how neither of you understands the greatest that is supreme smile power. Allow me to educate you."
Hina turns towards the sun with her arms spread out like a pair of wings. "I get all of my happiness from my smile! Our smiles are the most supreme source of our happiness! Our origin of happiness! With this, I can share my smile with everyone! That is my power. My supreme smile power!"
Kanon chuckles. "You are a real mystery, y'know that, Hina-chan?"
Hina strikes a playful pose. "Hey, I'd rather be a mystery than be predictable and boring."
Kanon shakes her head with a light-hearted snicker. "I guess that's true." She picks up her book bag and swings it over her shoulder. "So, are we heading to the mall or what?"
"You bet," Riri grins.
As her two friend head for the main gates, Riri realizes she left her book bag abandoned on the grass by the fence. She quickly hurries over and picks it up. As she goes to leave, something catches her eye and makes her pause.
Another girl in a Minwa uniform is racing after her group of friends. "Hey, guys, wait up! You forgot about me!"
The girl is far shorter than the other students and is wearing a pink-coloured bow instead of a purple one. But looked equally as beautiful. She has gorgeous fair-skin with shoulder-length honey blonde hair that curls interestingly inwards at the end and straight bangs framing her face and her wide hazel eyes.
As the Minwa girl tries to catch up to her friends, she trips on a crack in the sidewalk and falls to the ground, landing on her book bag she has clutched against her chest.
"Oh!" gasps Riri.
Without thinking, Riri climbs over the fence and races towards the fallen Minwa student.
"Omigosh! Are you okay?" Riri asks as she offers the Minwa student a hand.
"Y-yeah, yeah, I'm—I'm fine," sniffs the girl student whipping away a rogue tear from the corner of her eye. "I'm just a klutz. Don't mind me."
"Oh! You scraped your knee," notices Riri as she quickly kneels down and starts searching through her book bag. "Hold on. I think I have a band-aid on me."
The Minwa girl stares at the other girl in surprise as she pulls out a band-aid covering in bright pink flowers and applies it carefully over the other girl's scrap.
"There!" announces Riri with a proud smile. "Now you're perfect once again!"
The Minwa student hides a giggle. "I wouldn't call myself 'perfect'." A sudden sadness comes over her face. "If I were perfect...my friends wouldn't ditch me."
Riri looks the Minwa student up and down and shakes her head. "Nope. You're pretty darn perfect. If anything, it's them that could learn from you. Cause real friends don't ditch friends. That's my motto."
The Minwa girl smiles. "Your motto, huh?"
"Of course," insists Riri as she tucks her overgrown bangs behind her ear. "I say it everyday...more or less."
The Minwa girl laughs and gets back up onto her feet. "Thanks, I really needed a good laugh." She gestures to her fixed knee. "And thank for the band-aid. Very cute."
"No problem," Riri grins happily. "And it's very nice to make you...uh. Sorry. I didn't catch a name."
The Minwa girl smiles warmly. "I'm Yū Shir—"
"Oh, there you are, Shira."
The two girls spin around with the group of Minwa Academy student standing in front of them.
"We didn't know where you ran off to, Shira," says Meisa. "Good thing I found you. Now let's hit it. Sayo-chan and Tamaki-kun are getting impatient."
The Minwa girl frowns. "It's Shiraishi."
Meisa raises her eyebrows. "Sorry...Shiraishi. Now. Let's. Go. It's karaoke night."
Sayo links arms with the Minwa girl and pulls her away.
Meisa looks over at Riri and tips her head to the side. "Can I help you?"
Riri shakes her head. "No, no. I was, uh, just leaving." She tries to give the Minwa girl's a proper goodbye, but she was already getting ushered away by her "friends".
Riri presses her lips together. "Too bad. She seemed nice."
"Riri-chan!" hollers Hina. "Where did you run off to?"
Riri spins around and heads back towards the fence to rejoin her friends. "Coming!"
"I heard that Minwa's student uniforms are made from real gold!" states Hina as she takes a bite of her fruit parfait.
Kanon rolls her eyes. "Now that's a lie. How in the world can they make a uniform out of gold? Would that weigh, like, a hundred pounds?"
Hina points her spoon at her friend with a big frown on her face. "They weave it into the material, smartypants."
"I find that hard to believe," shrugs Kanon as she steals one of Hina's strawberries and pops it into her mouth.
"But wouldn't that cool if it's true!" grins Hina, bolting up from her seat and making a dramatic pose like a supermodel. "I can see it now! That gorgeous white-and-green sailor uniform laced in gold! It would definitely be the most expensive thing I have ever worn in my life."
Kanon swirls her soda. "Too bad it's all just a Hina Kotorida fantasy."
"Wrong!" insists Hina. "It's a Hina Kotorida dream come true! Tell her, Riri-chan!"
Riri bites her bottom as she thinks this over. "Well, if anyone has a chance of getting into Minwa Academy, it's you, Hina-chan."
Hina puts a hand on her hip and gives her friend a peace sign. "Thanks, Riri-chan~. You're a doll~." She gives her other friend a glare. "You could learn something from her, Kanon-chan. Y'know, about believing in your friends."
Kanon is pretending to daydream and looks at Hina with a blank expression. "What did you say, Princess~?"
Hina sticks out her tongue. "Whatever, Kanon-chan. I'm going to the bathroom. Riri-chan, make her a friendship master while I'm gone."
Riri salutes. "You can count on me, Hina-chan!"
Hina hurries off with a laugh. This left Riri and Kanon alone. Kanon silently takes a big sip from her soda so Riri takes the chance to take a bite out of her ice cream.
"Riri-chan, can we talk a sec?" asks Kanon with a suddenly serious tone in her voice.
Riri looks up from her dessert but notices that Kanon isn't looking her in the eye and twirling her straw anxiously. "Um, sure. What's up?"
Kanon is quiet for a moment, seemingly pondering how to word what she wants to say. "I'm...a week ago or so...my dad got a promotion—for his job, y'know...and it's good—great—but...the problem is...we...um..."
"Kanon-chan," says Riri, reaching out a grabbing her friend's hand. "Take your time."
Riri knows that Kanon only rambles when something is really bothering her and this is the worst she had ever seen her. She wanted to take her friend's feelings seriously and whatever she needed to tell her.
Kanon lets herself take a breath. "I'm...me and my family are moving away."
Riri eyes widen. "W-what? You...Kanon-chan, you can't move! What about me and Hina-chan?"
"I know, I know," stresses Kanon, restlessly weaving her fingers through one of her pink streaks.
"Where is it?" asks Riri, trying to hide her grief in her voice.
Kanon bites down on her bottom lip. "I think it's...Pikarigaoka or something-like-that. It's in Tokyo or somewhere."
"Pikarigaoka!" squeaks Riri. "But...but that's so far away! You have to stay, Kanon-chan!"
Kanon can do nothing but helplessly bobs her head. Riri quickly realizes that and disgracefully picks at her dessert. "Sorry. I know you can't really do anything about this."
"It's okay," says Kanon, giving her friend a brave smile. "But, I don't know if I should tell Hina-chan."
Riri blinks. "W-why wouldn't you want to tell Hina-chan?"
Kanon looks down at the fizz of her grape soda. "Think about it, when I move away and Hina-chan gets to do that student exchange at Minwa Academy...you'll be all alone, Riri-chan.
"We both know if I tell Hina-chan, she'd give up on going to Minwa Academy to make sure you wouldn't be alone. You know she would." Kanon tisks and jerks her head away. "That stupid, selfless princess."
Riri looks down at her hand and squeezes them together tightly. "I don't...I don't want to be the reason Hina-chan gives up on her dream..." Riri looks up to meet Kanon's eyes. "I won't say anything to Hina-chan. I promise."
Riri wishes she could get rid of the sour feeling in the pit of her stomach after she said goodbye to Hina and Kanon and started on her way home. The sky is a beautiful burning orange streaking across the sky, changes into a gorgeous, deep pink colour. Normal, this sight would have dazzled Riri, but all she could think about was lying to Hina. Well, not lying. But, she wasn't exactly being honest with her, keeping Kanon's moving away a secret from her.
Kanon's words keep repeating in Riri's mind.
"She'd give up on going to Minwa Academy to make sure you wouldn't be alone. You know she would."
Kanon was right. Riri knew better than anyone. Hina would be absolutely devastated about Kanon moving away—if she moves away—and would immediately drop everything to make sure she and Riri are together through it. She would even give up on her dream for Riri. And she can't let that happen. Even if that means that Riri has to lie to her best friend.
"I'm so selfish," murmurs Riri, brushing her long bangs out of her eyes. "Kanon-chan can't move away. She just...can't!"
Out of frustration, Riri kicks a pebble at her feet.
The rock hits off the trunk of a sakura tree and settles in a patch of grass, but the thing that surprises Riri is the sound. It was like a shrieking sound coming from the branches of the tree.
Riri looks up and spots a bird's nest tucked up in the green leaves and twigs. Above her head, the mother bird is desperately screeching out at the ground below, frantically flapping its wings but unable to leave her crying babies.
Riri puts up her hands, waving innocently at the mama bird. "Oh! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to look like I was attacking your home! I'm sor—?"
When Riri takes a step closer, she hears small cheeps, but it's not coming from the tree or the bird's nest, the small peeps are coming from the patch of grass.
Riri hurries over to see a baby bird hidden in the tall grass, stuck on its back, struggling to roll over and fly up to his mommy and siblings, but its wings are too tiny and it barely has any feathers on its body.
Riri cups her mouth. "Oh no."
She looks back up at the bird's nest and the weeping mother and feels her heart swell up with resolve.
Without hesitation, Riri untied her neckerchief from her school uniform and crotches down beside the baby bird.
Riri unfolds her neckerchief into a hankie and nudges it closer to the baby bird. "Okay, little one," murmurs Riri, reaching out to the baby bird. "I'm just going to—!"
"Peep, peep!" cries out the baby bird in alarm as it tries to crawl away from her.
"No, no, no!" gasps Riri, trying to reach out and grab the baby bird. "It's okay, it's okay!"
"Peep, peep!" the baby bird pecks at her hand.
Riri pulls her hand back. "Ouch!"
Riri doesn't give up that easy. She kneels down close to the baby bird and tries again, but the poor bird continues to fight her off.
This time, Riri cautiously places both of her empty hands out in front of the baby bird.
"I'd be scared too, you know," Riri murmurs to the baby bird as her eyes soften at the frightened bird, "If I just fell out of my home and a big giant is trying to get me. I'd peak them too. After all, I'm a big, scary giant."
Riri leans down and guardedly looks at the baby bird's face and wide eyes. "But, it's okay, little one," she whispers. "I'll do all I can to get you back to your family."
Almost as if the baby bird could understand what she was saying, he relaxed and watchfully stumbles into her handkerchief and curls up in a little ball.
Relief washes over Riri as she carefully ties up the ends to act as a pouch, and cups the bird up in her warm hand close to the chest.
She holds the knot with her teeth so she can use both hands and starts climbing up the sakura tree. Her overgrown bangs get caught up in her eyes, but that is the last thing on her mind as she continues climbing up into the branches towards the bird's nest.
"Almofs thar," muffles Riri through the handkerchief as she reaches are arm out and grabs hold of the thick branch the best's nest sits in.
Upon seeing Riri, the mama bird starts shrieking at her, flapping her wings furiously and peaking at her, trying to protect her other babies.
"Ah!" gasps Riri as she covers her face with one arm while trying to hold onto the tree branch with the other. "It's alright, mama bird! It's alright! I'm not here to hurt your family!"
Riri grabs the baby bird in the handkerchief and holds him out to his mommy. "Here. It's okay. Your baby is okay."
"Peep, peep!" chirps the baby bird as he pokes his head up at his mom. "Peep, peep!"
The mama bird immediately stops at the sound of her baby and peeks down at the handkerchief.
Without spooking her, Riri delicately unties the handkerchief and places it and the baby bird inside the bird's nest. The baby bird quickly hops out and snuggles into his mother's fluffy chest. With that, the mama bird nestles downs into her nest and starts joyfully cleaning her baby and straightening his feathers.
The mommy bird looks up at Riri with her dark eyes. "Peep, peep! Peep, peep!"
At that moment, Riri could have sworn the mama bird was saying "thank you" and Riri couldn't help but return a bright smile. "You're very welcome—!"
Suddenly, Riri feels her foot slip and her arm lose its grip on the tree branch.
"Kyah!" yelps Riri in shock as she tumbles out of the sakura tree. She squeezes her eyes shut as her body rushes down to meet the ground.
But, instead of hitting the hard ground, her fall is suddenly softened and she blinks her eyes open in surprise. "Oh! That was surprisingly soft."
"Ouch, ouch, ouch...you're heavier than you look. Could you please get off of me?"
"Eep!" squeaks Riri and looks down to see she fell on top of a boy who cushioned her fall.
She quickly bolts up to her feet. "Omigosh! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," huffs the boy as he stands up and brushes the dirt off of his school uniform. "Girls fall out of trees and land on me all the time. It's whatever."
As the boy fixed his uniform, Riri realizes that it's the Minwa Academy school uniform with the light green blazer with a lavender-coloured tie.
Riri's face turns bright red. "Omigosh! I just disfigured a Minwa Academy student! Oh dear god! He's going to sue me and my family for breaking all his bones in his body! I'm doomed!"
The boy's face flushes for a moment before he shakes it off with a quick fix of his thick-framed glasses. "What do you mean 'disfigured'? I've always looked like this!"
"Oh," hums Riri before her expression turns into a sly smile. "Hey, were you trying to create a knight-in-shining-armour moment with me?"
The boy blinks his grey-coloured eyes at her. "A-a what?"
Riri holds her hands to her heart. "A grand, romantic moment between a boy and a girl~. The moment where the boy comes in like a knight in shining armour to save the beautiful girl from certain peril~."
A sweat drop appears on the side of the boy's head. "You remind me of my friend right now. It's kind of creepy."
Riri presses her fingers together to hold back a laugh. "But, you didn't quite manage the knight-in-shining-armour moment." A tiny giggle slips past her lips. "But instead—ha-ha—I fell right on top of you like a pillow—ha-ha!"
"S-shut up!" scoffs the boy with a reddened face. "I-I wasn't expecting to see some girl up in the tree! What were you even doing up there anyways! You part monkey or something?!"
Riri embarrassingly scratches the back of her head. "Yeah—ha-ha—you see, a baby bird fell out of the tree. I was just trying to get him back to his mommy."
The boy's cowlick twitches curiously at this. "So you risked breaking your arm or neck to save one bird...that's stupid."
Riri frowns and puts her hands on her hips. "What was that? It is not stupid, you toad!"
The boy's eye twitches. "T-toad? Did you just call me a toad?!"
Riri crosses her arms over her chest. "Hey, you called me a monkey...so I'm calling you a toad! A leathery, short-legged, bumpy, ugly toad!"
The boy's face turned bright red. "Do you realize who you're talking to?!"
"I know exactly who I'm talking to!" snaps Riri, pointing her finger straight at him. "And that's why I'm putting you in your place! If you think saving another life is 'stupid' then how are you supposed to be the future?!"
The boy's anger melts away and blinks at Riri in disbelief. "Th-the future?"
Riri tips her head curiously to the side. "W-well...yeah. I mean...Minwa Academy is...is the future. All of you are. With your talents, with your power, with your riches, you're creating the future of this generation and preparing the next one. It kinda goes on like that, y'know?" Riri anxiously rubs the back of her ankle with her other foot. "That actually makes me kind of jealous. I wish I was that important. I wish my life impacted the future like all of you."
Riri's eyes become filled with determination as she looks the Minwa Academy boy dead in the eyes. "That's why you have to care about everyone's life. The big one and even the small ones like that little bird! Because you are our future and we need you to care about all of our lives! You got that!"
She thinks she sees the boy blush, but it disappears when he chuckles lighthearted at her. "Okay, okay. I promise I will." He looks at her with more serious eyes. "But, you have to promise me something in return."
Riri nods her head. "Okay. Promise you what?"
The boy adjusts his glasses again. "It's important to thank about other people or other things—like a baby bird—but it's also important to think about yourself. If you can't care for and protect yourself, how are you supposed to protect others?"
Riri's heart skips a beat. "I...I never thought about it like that before." She smiles blindingly at the boy as a tear escapes her eye. "Thank you."
"Uh—I—wha—for what?" stammers the boy unsure what to do with himself now.
"Oh!" Riri realizes she's crying and quickly wipes away her tear. "Sorry. I didn't mean to worry you just now. What you said helps me out a lot. I kind of in a pinch, you could say. But, I know what I have to do now."
Riri races past the boy to get home, but not without looking back and waving. "Thank you, Four-Eyed Academy Toad~."
The boy looks on after with a blissful grin. "So long, Tree Monkey Girl."
As the boy watches her go, a piece of black fabric falls out of the tree and floats down in front of his feet. The boy reaches down and quickly picks it up. "W-wait! You forgot your neckerchief!"
But it was too late. Riri was already out of sight.
"Kashima!" calls his friend. "Where did you run off to?"
The boy puts the neckerchief into his jacket pocket. "I'm coming, Fukumoto. I'm coming."
"Hey, Hina-chan," says Riri when she Hina at school the next day. "I have to tell you something—!"
But before she can say another word, Hina ambushed Riri with a bone-crushing hug. "I got in~! Riri-chan, I got in~!"
"Hina-chan, you're killing me," staggers Riri as Hina crushes her airway.
"Ask 'what happened, Hina-chan?' or I'll never let you go!" coos Hina.
"What did you get into, she-devil?" asks Riri.
An anger mark appears on the side of Hina's forehead as she squeezes Riri when tighter. "What was that?"
"What amazing thing happened to you, oh beautiful Hina-chan!" cries Riri as she frantically waves her arms.
Hina can barely hold back her smile as she exclaims, "I got accepted into Minwa Academy!"
Riri blinks in surprise but she's overcome with joy too. "T-that's...that's incredible, Hina-chan! I'm so proud of you!"
Hina gives her a cheeky smirk. "Awwww, thanks, Riri-chan. I'm proud of me too." She giggles. "Anyways, my mom says they delivered me my school uniform after I left the house. You wanna come after school to see it?"
"Wouldn't miss it for anything in the world," Riri grins.
Hina pauses and points to her friend's uniform. "Wait a minute. Where's your neckerchief?"
Riri sheepishly scratches the back of her head. "Oh, I lost it yesterday. I'll tell you about it later."
Kanon arrives at school and Hina quickly waves her over ecstatically. "Kanon-chan, oh dear Kanon-chan, I got into Minwa Academy!"
Riri saw Kanon eyes were full of sorrow, but she plasters on a smile for her best friend and gives her a hip bump. "That's great, Hina-chan. I knew you would."
"Me and Riri-chan are heading to my house later to celebrate, care to join us?" asks Hina as she grabs her book from her cubby.
"I can't," shrugs Kanon as she opens up her cubby door and throws her book bag inside. "My parents need me at home tonight."
Riri hides her frown. Needs help packing I bet.
Hina pouts. "Too bad." She perks up quick. "Well, we'll be sure to send you pictures."
"Sounds good," nods Kanon.
"Anyways," hums Hina as she spins on her heel. "What were you gonna say, Riri-chan?"
"Ah—oh i-it was n-nothing," stammers Riri, trying to wave it off. "D-don't worry about it."
"Okey pokey," coos Hina as she excitedly starts racing down the hallways to class. "The Sunshine Princess of Smiles is heading to Minwa Academy! You hear that universe! Miiinwaaaa!"
Riri laughs as she watches her friend go. "What a weirdo."
"Yeah," mumbles Kanon. "I'm gonna miss that weirdo."
Riri's eyes soften as she turns to her friend. She jerks when she sees tears threatening to fall from Kanon's eyes.
Kanon's bottom lip quivers. "It's—it's not fair!"
Riri stumbles back in surprise by the mix of tears and anger in Kanon's eyes.
"I don't want to move, Riri-chan!" sobs Kanon as she finally lets the tears fall, shaking her head as she barriers her face into her hands. "I don't want to leave! I don't want to say goodbye to you! To Hina-chan!"
Overwhelmed, Kanon hits her cubby door with her fists, the harsh sound makes Riri jump out of her skin as Kanon continues to punch her cubby. "It's not fair! It's not fair! It's NOT fair!"
"Kanon-chan!"
Riri grabs her friend from behind, wrapping her arms around her, pinning her injured hands to her chest to stop her.
"It's okay, Kanon-chan," insures Riri, her whole body shaking. "I'm here. I'll always be right here. And Hina-chan."
Kanon stops fighting at her words and just lets herself cry in her friend's arms.
"It's not fair, Riri-chan," cries Kanon uncontrollably.
Riri buries her head into the crook of Kanon's neck. "I know...but...no matter where you go, or me, or Hina-chan—whether it's here in Yūkibarano or you in Pikarigaoka, we'll always—always be best friends."
After that, Kanon quietly cries in Riri's arms until the school bell rings through that small, grey, and blah middle school.
"Bam! Here it is!" announces Hina as she pulls off her new school uniform.
"Wow! It's adorable Hina-chan," claps Riri. "It's gonna look perfect on you!"
"Yeah," Hina smirks with a playful wink. "These really are my colours."
Hina plops down on her bed next to Riri with the uniform in her lap. "I still can't believe I actually have them in my hands, y'know. Feels like a dream."
"I know," beams Riri. "This really must feel like a dream come true for you, Hina-chan."
"Yeah," murmurs Hina as she feels the fabric between her fingers.
Hina glances at Riri before holding the uniform out to her. "Can you put it on first?"
"W-what?" stammers Riri. "W-why? I-it's yours, Hina-chan."
Hina grins. "I just wanna make sure it'll fit me. You have a smaller stature and a flatter chest than me."
Riri's face turns bright like a cherry as she covers her chest with her hands. "I-I-I do not!"
"Oh, just try it on already," shoos Hina as she turns around in her bed to face the wall. "And I promise I'll only look a little bit."
Riri sticks her tongue out at her. "You perv. I can't trust you. I'll just get changed in your bathroom."
"You're no fun," hollers Hina as Riri hurries off into the bathroom and closes the door behind her.
Riri changes into the uniform and finds herself facing the mirror as she finishes tying the light pink bow around her sailor collar.
Looking at herself, Riri shyly tucks her long bangs behind her ear. She felt out of place wearing the school uniform. Well, she was out of place; this was made for Hina, not her. Riri knew her place, the place where she belonged, and it was at the dull rock that was Monogatari Middle School, not the elite gem of Minwa Academy. Riri was a dull rock, not a beautiful gem.
Riri steps out of the bathroom, holding herself up awkwardly in the uniform. "See what I mean. This would look a thousand times better on you than me, Hina-chan."
All Riri hears it the snap of a camera and looks up to see Hina taking a picture of her with her cell phone.
"Really?" hums Hina. "Cause I think it suits you perfectly. It just needs one thing."
Hina walks over to her designer and grabs something from one of her drawers. Riri watches her in confusion as Hina holds back her overgrown bangs and pins them in place. Looking satisfied with herself, Hina steps back and snaps another photo and holds out her phone to Riri. "What do you think?"
Riri looks over at the picture on Hina's phone. It was a crisscross hairclip. One stripe pink, one stripe yellow.
"Supreme smile power," smiles Hina. "I found a hairclip I thought would look cute on you. Do you like it? It's both of our favourite colours! Pink for you. Yellow for me."
"Th-thanks, Hina-chan," stammers Riri.
Hina makes a frame with her hands. "There. You're gonna fit right in at Minwa Academy. Maybe even better than all of them."
Riri's brain stops working. "Wh-wh...what? What are you talking about Hina-chan? Y-Y-Your going to Minwa, not me."
Hina bites back a mischievous smile. "Well then, do I have a big surprise for you, Riri-chan~."
Riri is frozen in place. "Hina Kotorida, what did you do?"
"Nothin' much~," coos Hina as she grabs a binder of forms and waves them in Riri's face. "I just may or may not have applied for you to go to Minwa Academy instead of me. Woopsie doopsie. Except it's not by accident. It was suuuper on purpose."
Riri's eyes widen. "Why would you do that? I can't go to Minwa! Hina-chan, isn't going to Minwa Academy your dream? A-and Kanon-chan—oh—Kanon-chan...she's—"
"I know," says Hina.
Riri blinks. "What?"
Hina gives her a weak smile. "I went by her house a few days ago. Saw the 'for sale' sign on the front of her house. Kinda figured it out from there, y'know."
Riri frowns. "If this is about me being alone at Monogatari then you can forget it. I'll be fine. Really."
Hina shakes her head. "It isn't about that. I want you to go to Minwa." Hina takes Riri hands into her own. "I want you to go to Minwa Academy and find your dream."
Tears start stinging in Riri's eyes. "But...but...Minwa Academy is your dream!"
Hina shrugs her shoulders. "There'll be other chances to go to Minwa. But, right now my dream...my dream is to help you find yours, Riri-chan. And I truly believe you can find it at this school."
"But," argues Riri. "Then you'll be all alone, Hina-chan!"
Hina laughs her friend off. "Oh please, I'm the great Sunshine Princess of Smiles! I shine wherever I go! I think I can manage, buttercup~."
Hina lets her friend's hands go. "I'm being selfish, I know. I'm selfish for asking you to be selfish. But, for once in your life, Riri-chan, put yourself first. You're always there for everyone. Me. Kanon-chan. Everyone. You're the last person you ever check up on. You're the last person you ever consider or think about and I know it's because you don't want to think about yourself or your feelings. But, you have to Riri-chan. You have to think about your hopes, your future, and your dreams."
Riri wordlessly fumbles with the pink neckerchief.
Hina gives her a loyal smile. "And if you won't do it for yourself, then do it for me. Please, Riri-chan."
Riri looks down at the pastel green skirt. It's already starting to wrinkle.
With her throat raw with unshed tears, Riri can only manage to get out a few short words. "I'm sorry...but...I can't."
Riri and Kanon sit on a bench in the train station with Kanon's luggage at her feet.
"Is Hina coming?" asks Kanon.
Riri bobs her head. "She said she was on her way. I hope she can make it to say goodbye."
"Me too," murmurs Kanon as the two silently look out at the empty train tracks.
Riri struggles to find anything to say. "Um, are...are you feeling nervous?"
"Sad if anything," replies Kanon flatly. "But, I want to feel excited. I know Hina would want me to be excited."
Riri snickers. "Yeah, when she gets here, I know actually what she'll say." Riri stands up from her seat and spins around to face Kanon with her hand of her hip and pointing at her friend dramatically like she knows Hina will do. "You better get excited, Kanon-chan! Do you realize how cool this is? You get to go to Pikarigaoka! It's such a beautiful city full of radiant smiles!"
Kanon laughs as she stands up and strikes a pose. "You should learn from me, the one and only Sunshine Princess of Smiles, and shine in the new city and make a buttload of new and cool friends that will make me and Riri-chan jealous!"
Riri giggles. "I know it'll be hard to find a friend as awesome as me, but as long as you have a smile on your face, you'll win all those new boy schoolmates' hearts. Supreme smile power!"
The two friends burst out laughing.
"Hey, do you remember we got lost on a train when we were kids?" giggles Kanon. "Hina-chan wanted to go to Tokyo so we snuck on a train and ended up going the opposite way?"
Riri chuckles. "I completely forgot about that! You started crying, which made me start crying and Hina-chan was trying to be the brave leader, but then she started crying and everyone on the train was looking at us like we were crazy."
"Our parents got sooo mad," Kanon smirks. "Hina-chan tried to play it cool but we admitted to everything immediately."
"Oh yeah, I remember that now," snickers Riri before sadness washes over her. "I'm gonna miss that. Going on stupid adventures. The three of us."
Kanon nods her head. "Yeah well...change can't take away our memories. We'll always have that. And who knows...maybe we'll run away to Tokyo again together. One day."
Riri smiles softly. "I'd like that."
It wasn't long before Kanon's parents show up.
"Come on, sweetheart," says Kanon's mom. "I can see the train coming."
"But—but Hina-chan isn't here yet!" worries Kanon. "I can't leave without saying goodbye!"
"You can call her when we get to Pikarigaoka," suggests her dad. "Come on, Kanon, we can't wait any longer or we're going to miss the train."
Kanon opens her mouth to protest, but closes it and sadly turns to Riri.
Riri shrugs her shoulders. "Well...I guess this is it. Next time I hear from you, I'll be in Pikarigaoka. That's pretty cool."
Kanon gives Riri her bravest smile. "Yeah."
"Oh, here it is!" hollers Kanon's mom as the train pulls into the station.
Kanon looks back to Riri, one tear escaping her eye. "Promise me you'll tell Hina-chan I said 'goodbye'! Promise me, Riri-chan!"
Riri hugs her friend and lets her bury her face into her shoulder. "I promise. Call us when you get to Pikarigaoka."
Kanon nods into Riri's shirt. "You got it."
"Kanon," calls her mom, reaching her hand out to her daughter. "It's time to go."
Riri and Kanon step out of their hug, both face splotchy with tears. "Goodbye, Riri-chan."
"Goodbye, Kanon-chan."
Kanon takes her mom's hand and steps onto the train. She sits down but turns around in her seat to look back at Riri. The train doors close and it starts leaving the station. As she pulls away from her friend, Kanon waves and Riri frantically waves back. Riri races down the station after her friend. "Goodbye, Kanon-chan!"
Riri sees Kanon mouth a tearful "bye" as the station ends and Riri can't chase after her friend any longer.
"GOODBYE!" cries Riri as Kanon disappears from her sight.
Riri couldn't move for a while after that. Just stood there, Kanon and the train long gone, but just standing feeling completely lost.
Eventually, with her heart sombre and tired, Riri begins heading home.
The walk home goes by in a blur. With her mind turned off, Riri finds herself standing in front of her house.
Riri opens the door and walks inside to see her mom had just got off the phone with dad standing beside her, tenderly holding her hand. Seeing their puffy eyes and red noses, they both look like they had been crying.
Riri manages to find her voice. "Mom? Dad? What's wrong? What's going on?"
Her mom looks up at if just noticing her standing at the door and fresh tears replace her old ones.
Her mom wipes her tears away and takes a breath to compose herself. "It's Hina...there was an accident, sweetheart."
It was a lonesome walk to school the next day and the rest of the semester it passed by in a blur. All of the days were jumbled together. Riri wouldn't be able to separate one from another or what was taught or when exams were coming up.
By the end of one of those days after the bell rings, Riri quietly opens up her cubby to collect her book bag and homework and changes out of her school slippers and put on her penny loafers.
"Hey, Riri-chan," greets a group of classmates. "We, uh, we heard about Hina-chan. And we did a little something-something that we'd like to show ya."
Riri weakly nods her head. "Okay."
"Then, let's hit it," grins another classmate as they grab her hands and drag her back into the school.
As they head down the hallway, Riri looks up in surprise to see all of the walls and doors to the classrooms were covered in cut-outs of suns, stars, and flowers with 'we love you, Hina-chan' or kind words written on each one.
"What's all this?" asks Riri.
Her classmate smiles. "We all pitched together and made kinda a tribute to Hina-chan. We thought she'd like it. No matter what, she's still Monogatari's Sunshine Princess of Smiles, y'know."
"Y-yeah," breathes Riri.
"But, that's not all," smirks another classmate as they lead Riri out to the front of the school.
Riri is surprised to see the whole school outside waiting for them.
"Take a look," beams her classmates. "Known of us are any good at painting, but we wanted to make something special for Hina-chan and the school."
Riri looks up at the school wall and forgets how to breathe. The moldy, dull, grey wall is gone. In its place is something far more breathtaking and far more beautiful.
It was a mural of Hina with a shimmering smile on her face surrounded by a bright blue sky and her classmates all around her smiling too. Hina's bright yellow hair is in her cute pigtails, but instead of their Monogatari uniform, Hina had on the Minwa Academy uniform with a pair of fluffy angel wings.
One of the girls brushes a tear from her cheek. "Hina-chan never got to go to Minwa Academy, so we thought we'd get her there in the end. What do you think, Riri-chan? Too much?"
At that moment, all Riri could do was smile as vibrantly as Hina. "No. It's perfect. It's incredible. It's...it's...supreme smile power!"
One of the girls starts bouncing up and down excitedly. "And speaking of Minwa. Here they come!"
Everyone racing over to the fence with excited smiles on their faces as a group of the elite Minwa Academy students walk past on their way home.
Riri smiles as she watches them go. None of them look their way, give them the time of day, but the unspoken impact they have at everyone in Monogatari Middle School is uncanny. They are our future, our goals, our dreams, our ambition. And their just a fence wall away.
Riri steps back from the fence and up at Hina's mural and her sunny smile.
"I'm going, Hina-chan," whispers Riri, clutching her chest tightly. "I will go to Minwa Academy. I will make your dream come true."
"Are you sure about this, honey?" asks Riri's mom through her bedroom door. "You don't have to go if you don't want to. We can call the school and cancel your exchange program."
"I'm positive, mom," insists Riri as she finishes getting changing, wrapping up her first-year pink bow. "I'm actually getting kind of excited."
Riri gives herself a once over in her dresser mirror and irritably blows her long bangs out of her eyes. That's when she spots something out of the corner of her eye on the floor.
The crisscross hairclip Hina gave her.
Riri hurries over a picks it up, fishing loose strands of hair caught on it and holds it caringly in her hands. "I'm sorry I let you down, Hina-chan. But, I'm going to promise you now..."
In front of her mirror, Riri pins her pink-and-yellow hairclip into place and gives herself a bright smile. "...I'm going to take your supreme smile power with me to Minwa Academy and go find my dream!"
"Okay, here we are, sweetheart," announces her mom as she pulls up in front of the school. "Do you want me to walk with you to the office?"
Riri swallows her nerves. "N-no, I-I'll be okay."
Riri steps out of the car and gives her mom a brave grin. "I'll tell you all about it when I get home!"
Her mom smiles back. "You better. I want all the details!" Her mom pulls out of the parking, waving goodbye and whole way. "Love you!"
"Love you too!" calls Riri, waving back.
Taking a courageous breath, Riri spins around on her heel and looks up at the grand school. Being surrounded all some many rich and elite students. And the fact that Riri was going to be standing shoulder-to-shoulder with them all kind of blew her mind.
"Okay," Riri sighs. "Let this first step be the start of everything."
She takes her first step onto the school grounds...and gets hit in the head by a soccer ball.
Riri falls flat on her face.
"Ohmigosh! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"
Riri hears footstep racing over to her as she gives her head a shake. "Y-yeah, yeah. I-I'm okay."
The Minwa Academy student with long green-coloured hair reaches her hand out. "Here, let me help you up."
"Th-thanks," stammers Riri as she takes her upperclassman's hand and she hoists her up to her feet. "Um, n-nice shot, by the way."
The girl lets out a laugh. "Thanks."
"Hey, Niji-chan!" calls her friend. "Are you bringing back the ball or what?"
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" she hollers back as she races back to the school field, passing the soccer ball back to her group with a fierce headbutt.
"Hey, Ice Witch! Can I get your number, huh?"
Riri looks past her schoolmates at a girl with thick, curled hair and thick-framed glasses. She was being tailed by a group of boys.
"Yo, Ice Witch," snickers one of the guys. "Are you gonna freeze me solid with your ice glare. Ha-ha!"
"Nah, nah, man," laughs his friend. "She's gonna stab ya in the heart with an icicle. Ha-ha-ha!"
"Back off!"
A boy storms past Riri, bumping her in the shoulder. She sees the black hair, grey eyes and glasses and her eyes light up.
"Four-Eyed Academy Toad," realizes Riri and hurries to catch up with him.
"How dare you disrespect the Student Council Vice President!" grunts the boy, guarding the girl against the group of boys. "Get out of here before I make you!"
"K-Kashima?" murmurs the girl with a light blush on her face.
"Tsk," snorts one of the guys. "Whatever. Let's get outta here."
The boys saunter away and Riri carefully slips past them and hurries over to the dark-haired boy excitedly. "Hi, Four-Eyed—"
"Back off!" snaps the boy, causing Riri to stumble back in alarm. The boy wraps an arm protectively over the girl's shoulder. "Let's go, Tomo—I mean—Fukumoto."
"O-okay," mumbles the girl as the two hurry away.
But Riri tries to follow. "But wait! I'm—"
"Save your breath, kōhai," says the boy, his eyes full of anger. "I don't have time for you right now."
Riri blinks up at him, trying to hold back the hurt in her eyes, but she sees the boy's eyes soften for a moment, before turning cold again and leading his friend inside the school.
Riri vibrates her lips "Ooookay—let's go to the office and see else can go wrong."
Riri walks through the front door and sees the office is to her immediate left and she quickly walks in.
The secretary is absent from her desk so Riri takes the closest seat near her placed up against the wall.
Riri, however, wasn't alone. Another student was sitting by against the wall, nervously tugging at the strap of her book bag.
The girl's curls shyly cover her face, didn't seem like she would want to talk and Riri wasn't enthused to start since one student already kicked her in the head with a soccer ball and another yell in her face. But, this is the school Hina had dreamed about going to. If she was here, she would have blocked the ball, maybe would've even joined in the game and would've stood up for that girl from those rude boys. Hina would've been shining. All Riri can do is try. Try to be like Hina. Try to smile and shine half as brilliantly as her.
Noticing Riri taking a seat beside her, the girl starts anxiously picking at a band-aid on her knee. Honestly, the girl should probably put on a new one. It looked worn out with the bright pink flowers souring to an ugly pink-brown colour.
"Omigosh, are you okay?..."
"Y-yeah, yeah, I'm—I'm fine..."
"Oh! You scraped your knee! Hold on. I think I have a band-aid..."
"There! Now you're perfect one again..."
A smile lights up on Riri's face. "You're...you're still wearing my band-aid."
For the first time since Riri sat down, the girl looks up her face with owl-wide eyes. She points at Riri in wonder. "Y-you're...you're the girl who helped me when I fell!"
The girl excited leaps forward and grabs Riri's hand in her own. "No way! This is amazing! W-what the heck are you doing here? You're not from Minwa?...a-are you? No! I would've remembered. Unless I'm remembering wrong. It was a while ago. I'm...rambling. Yeah...rambling...and I'm still going. Shut up, Yū, you're scaring her. How are you?"
Riri lets out a giggle. "Wow, once you get going there's really no stopping you, huh?"
The girl blushes. "Y-yeah—oh, but what are you doing here. I didn't think you were a student here."
Riri nods her head. "I wasn't. I'm an exchange—" she shakes her head "—I just transferred here today," Riri lies. "I'm the new girl."
"That's great!" says the girl with a wide smile she tries to wipe of sheepishly. "Sorry. I probably look like a weirdo but...I just...I'm just so happy to see you! That's all."
Riri tips her head to the side. "Me?"
The girl eagerly bobs her head. "Some time ago I was...I was in a really bad place. I was having troubled making friends and felt like a lost puppy. But, you helped cheer me up a lot. I just thought you were so nice and cool!"
"Me? Cool?" echoes Riri in disbelief.
The girl's hazel eyes sparkle. "Yeah! You're smile really saved me." Her face reddens when she realizes what she said. "S-sorry, sorry. That probably sounded really dramatic, but it's true. You've got superpower smiles or something.
Riri's heart lifts and a bright smile spreads across her face. "Not just any superpower...supreme smile power!"
The girl tips her head to the side. "Supreme smile power? What's that?"
Riri winks. "I can see how you don't understand the greatest that is supreme smile power." Riri bolts up from her seat, facing towards the window, capturing the sunshine. "I get all my happiness from my smile! Our smiles are the most supreme source of our happiness! With this, I can share my smile with everyone! That is my power. My supreme smile power!"
The girl blinks at Riri. "You really believe that?"
Riri grins. "Of course."
The girl's eyes soften joyfully. "That's kind of amazing." The girl stands up and copies Riri's dramatic pose. "It's great to cross paths with you once more! Let me reintroduce myself to you properly, Oh Supreme Smile Hero! I'm Yū Shiraishi! Don't wear it out."
"Nice to meet you again, Yū-chan," beams Riri. "I'm Imari Suzukawa."
Next time on Fairytale Pretty Cure!
Imari: Part 2!