Chapter 3 – The Burden of Death and Indomitable Faith

"I'm off!" called out Amane as she left her home. Waiting for her outside her house was Hinata. "Good morning, Hinata-chan!"

"Good morning!" Hinata greeted back with a smile. As Amane closed the gate, the two walked down the path towards school.

"Are you not going to train this morning? You normally never come to pick me up." Amane pondered on this as she thought of the times she usually left home on her own. At times, it was a bit lonely to have no one to talk to on the way to school. Amane also did not have a cell phone or personal computer for her to communicate with others. Hinata had called for her at her window and waited for her until she came.

"Well, I felt like we should walk together," Hinata replied. "For some reason, going to school with you feels much more rewarding. Besides, didn't you tell me that I shouldn't push myself too hard?"

"Hmm?" The small girl thought about this, and remembered that Hinata had been a lot brighter since she, as Cure Amaterasu, purified her heart from the Yomi some nights ago. Well, it's okay, she thought to herself, since hanging out with others is more fun. The fact that Hinata was willing to surprise her at her doorstep was more than enough.

They came to the end of the road, meeting with other classmates who were going to school. There were other junior high schools in Seitenka-machi, so streams of students were going different directions. But no matter which school they went to, there was always a singular stop they would go to before heading to school, and it was on this path.

"Oh," Hinata pointed at two girls from a neighboring school leaving the red, paper-covered shrine gates, giggling at each other and blushing as they passed the two of them.

"What's up?" Amane asked.

"Have you been to this shrine, Amane?" The two of them stopped at the shrine gate, looking out towards the traditional-styled building just down the end of the stone path. A traditional shrine had an offering box, and hovering over it were large bells. One would pay the offering box with money, and then they would pull the large rope to ring the bells and pray. On the side were emmas, where for a small fee one could write their prayers and hang them up with other emmas. Hinata and Amane head the bells ring and watched two more girls pass them at the gate. "This shrine is popular among students. People pray here for their blessings in academics or sports. I wanted to try coming her myself."

"I see," Amane replied, rubbing her chin. "I don't really visit shrines myself, but if you are going to pray for your success at the track meet, I'll go with you!" The two of them walked up the path and to the offering box. From their purses, they each pulled out a 100-yen coin and tossed them into the slits of the offering box. Then they both pulled their hands together, bowing their heads in silence. After a minute or two, they reached for the rope attached to the bell. "One…two!" they both counted and pulled on the rope; the bell resounded throughout the shrine. It was a clear sound, soothing both their hearts and worries just by ringing it.

"Thanks, Amane," Hinata smiled. "I feel refreshed now."

"You're welcome! Maybe I'll start coming here from now on!"

"Oh really? That would really help a lot!" A male voice interjected behind the two. They looked behind them to find a taller male with neat black hair. He was wearing their uniform.

"Oh, Ichimaru-senpai," acknowledged Hinata. "Good morning."

"Good morning, Tohru-san."

Amane leaned in towards Hinata. "Ichi…mao?" she whispered.

"IchiMARU. He's our senior at our school."

"Ohh…"

Ichimaru looked at Amane and rubbed his chin. "If I recall, you are…ah! You are Tatsunagi Amane, correct?"

"Y-Yes! I am!" Amane blushed at the thought of being remembered by someone she didn't directly know. "N-Nice to meet you! I am Tatsunagi Amane…but, you already knew that."

Ichimaru laughed a little. "It's nice to meet you, too. I'm Ichimaru Toki, third-year at Tenchi Junior High."

"Do you live here, Ichimao-senpai?" Amane asked.

"IchiMARU." Hinata sighed, slapping Amane's chest with the back of her hand in a slap-stick motion.

Ichimaru chuckled a little, finding his mispronunciation of his name by his underclassmen to be amusing. "Yes. My father and I do. He's the priest of this shrine, though…he hasn't exactly been as of late…"

"Ichimaru-senpai's mother died just recently," Hinata explained.

Amane was shocked to hear that. But then she remembered this news from earlier in the year. "Oh…yeah, I've heard about it," she replied. "Everyone at school was talking about it when it happened. But you seem to be holding up well, senpai."

"Well, I try," Ichimaru shrugged. "Mother wouldn't want me moping around forever. But…it was because of her and my father that I discovered what I want to do with my life." He looked up at the shrine with a smile. "So I am training to become a Shinto priest."

"Oh, that's great!" Amane smiled. "I have heard that Shinto priests train under the divination of one of the many gods. What are you going to train for, senpai?"

Ichimaru stopped. He thought about it, but then he looked at Amane's eager eyes and smiled, as if he remembered something. "I…will train under the moon god, Tsukuyomi."

Hearing the name, Tsukuyomi, Amane's eyes widened. She did not think of the moon god, one of the sons of Izanagi, Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, but rather of a prominent figure in her recent days. She had immediately thought of Cure Tsukuyomi. Why did she think of her now?

"Oh, we'd better go," Hinata said, looking at her watch. "We're gonna be late."

"I'll come with you," Ichimaru offered. "I was just about to go myself."

The three of them left the shrine, but Amane had stopped at the gates. She had noticed the paper stuck all over the gate and the fence, and they even seemed to go to the top of the gate. Each of them were rectangular, smaller and thinner than standard paper. They had inscriptions on them, such as "Evil be gone." "Ichimao-senpai, what are these?"

"IchiMARU."

Ichimaru stopped as he looked at the gates. "Oh, these are called talismans. The priest that my father inherited this shrine from placed these. They are supposed to ward off evil spirits." When Ichimaru had mentioned "evil spirits", Amane had thought about the Yomi and whether they were affected by these.

"Do they work?"

"I don't know," Ichimaru replied. "But nothing bad hasn't happened to this place before. Well, except for mother's death. I plan on making my own and placing them on this shrine as part of my training. Then this place will surely be protected…"

Amane remained silent. The thought lingered in her mind. Can normal humans attain divine powers solely for gods? Power just like the power of Pretty Cure?

The shopkeeper of the antique shop, BOUNDLESS, sat in the darkness of his store, leaning on his counter lit by candlelight as he read the local paper. Reading through articles, he stopped at one about strange assaults at night. "My, you've been a naughty girl," he said to himself, but noted at the end of the article that the latest victim had very little injuries. "And so she is left to clean up your messes…whatever will I do with you…"

The bells at the front of the shop rang. "Mikoto-san?" called out a timid voice from the door. Mikoto lifted his head and adjusted his glasses to see his favorite tiny girl standing at the doorway, taking the electric lamp nearby. "Sorry if I am intruding."

"Not at all, Amane-chan. Come on in." Mikoto folded his papers and placed them under his desk. "I've been expecting you."

"Expecting me? Why?" Amane asked as she walked towards the counter.

"I can sense in your heart that you are confused about something." Mikoto leaned in his thin hand, smiling. "You have questions for me, do you not? Are they about being a Pretty Cure? Or is it…something else?"

Amane hesitated. She looked down slightly as to find the words she wanted to say. Then she asked, "Is it…possible for humans to have special powers?"

This piqued Mikoto's interest. "What do you mean?"

"I'm asking about…you know, if regular people can have supernatural abilities or spiritual powers." She tried to think of some examples. "You know…like…priests, for example. Or monks."

Mikoto leaned back on his chair as he rubbed his chin. "Hm…priests, huh? That is the question to ask, isn't it? But what if I told you that all the stories you hear about priests being able to exorcise and command spirits are false?" He smiled a little bit as he began to explain. "Humans would gain their…powers, as you call it, through the blessings of the gods. They channel their holy beings through their own mortal spirit. But humans are corrupt, full of greed and hatred, sadness, and darkness. If a man tells you he has powers, that is for attention. If a woman tells you that she can see the future, even if she is blessed by a god, that is a lie, for even the gods cannot tell the future. Very few humans in this world would be worthy of being blessed by a god." He raised a finger and pointed to Amane's chest. "You are one such human."

"M-Me?" Amane blushed at the thought of being selected specifically by a god.

"You were given the power of Amaterasu, which allowed you to become a Pretty Cure. A girl pure of heart, without anger or malice, hatred, or violence." Mikoto's eyes opened slightly. "Which is why you were chosen to wield Amaterasu's power."

Amane thought about it for a bit, looking down at her Divine Brace. Its amber jewel glowed in the low candlelight. "Oh, but what about Tsukuyomi? She's…rather violent, is she?"

The mention of Tsukuyomi made Mikoto sigh. "Tsukuyomi is…a trouble child, to say the least. Violence is always the answer with that one. Yet, she was chosen, so I don't see why not."

"Then…what about Susanoo?"

Susanoo, the third of Izanagi's children, was the god of the storm and seas. He is best known in Shinto mythology for defeating the Yamata-no-Orochi, the eight-headed snake. Mikoto look at Amane and smirked. "Well, the future isn't clear, as I have said. But we'll leave it at that, for now. But I AM impessed. You do know your stuff."

"Well, I do like to read," Amane giggled, rubbing the back of her head. Being praised made her feel very embarrassed, but very accomplished. "But having experienced fighting the Yomi now, I wonder how much of the texts are true…"

Mikoto looked at his crystal ball, but he chuckled himself. "The texts of many religions around the world are heralded by those with the faith to believe in what it is told. You won't believe how much of that text can be false, or true. In the end, you would have to ask the ones who have lived in that time. Why don't you try asking Amaterasu some time? A history lesson would do you wonders, I believe…"

Thinking of the possibility, Amane felt a little excited. "That would be neat…oh, by the way, do you know if talismans work?"

"Talismans?" The older man thought for a bit. "Do you mean…those long papers with the inscriptions? Evil be gone, or something?"

"Yes, those. A shrine I passed on the way to school had those posted all over its gates. My senpai has made those himself. He said he was training to become a priest."

"Well, that is some powerful faith he has, but as I said, unless he was blessed by the gods, those talismans should not work. A normal human cannot channel a god's power that easily, lest he the spirit to. But you are quite curious today, Amane-chan. Might something have come up recently?"

Amane giggled and held her hands behind her back. "Oh, no reason! Just, you know, curious!"

It was evening, and the streets were void of people. In the shrine whose gates were plastered with talismans, a house behind the shrine itself was inhabited by a family of two. One of them was the third year of Tenchi Junior High, Ichimaru Toki.

The other was his father, who laid in the living room in his samue robes littered with beer cans. His belly pushed against the wrap of his robes, expanding and deflating as he breathed heavily and tiredly. His face was flushed in a red glow, and his unclean chin was growing a beard. "Toki…" he drunkenly groaned, rolling about on the floor. "Toki! Where are you, boy…hic!"

"Be patient, dad," yelled Toki from the kitchen. The sound of running water resonated from the hall. "Dinner will be ready soon. Don't worry." As he said this, he scrubbed on some pots and pans that were just used as the meals were laid out on the counter. It was a simple meal, a grilled saba (mackerel) with rice on the side. When finished, he took the two trays and set them in the nearby table, placing a set of chopsticks by each one. With an accomplished smile, he untied his apron. "Okay, we can eat now!"

Sounds of cluttering cans could be heard as the priest stumbled his way into the kitchen. When looking upon the meal, he let out a disgusted groan. "Saba again," he muttered as he forced himself to sit. He also had a can of beer with him in hand that he placed onto the table.

"Dad, if…you can wait until after dinner…"

"Shut up! I…can do what I want!"

Of course, it's been like this for the last few months, so there was not much that Toki could do. He sat down, and the two prayed. "Thank you for the meal," he finished and took his chopsticks. He could hear his father already starting, but also struggling, being clearly inebriated. Toki looked up now and then as he cut off bits of his saba with his chopsticks, eating slowly, but then he stopped. "Dad…I've been thinking. Since mom died, no one has been taking care of the shrine. So I was thinking…I want to be a priest."

"Huuuh?!" his drunken father growled. "You?! A priest?! That's a laugh! What has being a priest done for us as a family, huh?! Listen here, boy, you need a good job. So you can get out of this deadbeat town with all their religious rambling junk and do yourself a good life, you hear?" Then he slammed his hand on the table. "Being a priest doesn't make you closer to the gods. It doesn't save lives. It doesn't bring food on the table!"

"But…we didn't need to have food or money to be happy…" Toki looked away from his father's raging eyes. "Mom…was content with the life we had."

WHACK! Toki fell off his chair as the unopened beer can rolled and hit the counter corner. It dented and began to leak. Toki held the side of his forehead where he was hit.

"What did she know?!" his father roared, now standing and pointing at his fallen son. "Did it save her life when she was ill?! What was I able to do for her anyway?! What will you be able to do for yourself?! You can't keep smiling like that in this world! The real world is not as kind to people with faith! Grow up!" He huffed and heaved as he continued to point at Toki. But as his vision cleared, he saw his son on the floor, holding his head. His rage subsided, and his expression was that of guilt. He slowly sat back down and held his forehead with both hands. "I-I'm sorry, Toki…I didn't mean…"

Toki stood up and picked up the can. "Dad…this is a waste," he simply smiled. "You shouldn't be wasting things like these, you have to finish them." He place the can in the sink and sat back onto his chair.

There was a silence between the two as Toki and his father continued to eat. But all that was said between them until the end of the night was, "…It tastes just like your mother's…"

The next day, the lunch bell rung throughout the school. Students left their classrooms with their lunch boxes to eat outside or on the roof of the school. Amane left for a different reason. "I'm just going to get a drink!" she called out to Hinata as she slid the door close and headed down the hall to the vending machines. Her heart dropped however when she reached the machines, only to find a paper slapped on that said "OUT OF ORDER" in kanji. With a heavy groan, Amane decided to climb the nearby stairs to the third floor, where the third-years reside. But as she reached the top step, she saw a familiar face at the vending machine, getting his drink.

"Oh, Ichimao-senpai!" she called out.

Toki lifted his head and turned to Amane. He was surprised to see her there, but looking at the purse in her hand, it was easy to figure out. "I-chi-ma-RU," he corrected with a smile as he stepped out of the way with his green tea can in hand.

"O-Oh, sorry." Amane blushed, making her way to the vending machine and placed in her coins. But after she inputted her selection and took her drink, she looked up and noticed an anomaly on Toki's forehead. "Senpai, your head…" she whispered.

"Oh…" Toki placed his hand onto the bruise on the side of his forehead. "D-Don't worry about this. It was only an accident."

Amane couldn't help but look at the bruise. "…Does it hurt?"

Toki remained silent. He opened his can, hesitantly at first, and drank his tea. He then replied, "It always does. But it comes with the grieving." He looked down at Amane with a saddened smile. "Mom died a few months ago by illness. We didn't have the money to get it treated. Dad was a very good priest back then, but…there wasn't anything we could do. She died with a smile on her face, after she told us not let this hinder us. But dad blamed himself. For his weakness, he fell into despair. Now he spends his days drinking at home." He looked away slightly. "He says that being a priest doesn't give you money. You're not successful. But…I never really thought of money as a huge necessity. I always thought it was a sacrifice. But dad thinks we sacrificed mom for his profession, and he doesn't want me to fall down that same path."

After a bit of silence, he looked back at Amane and chuckled a bit. "Sorry. I was rambling."

Amane shook her head. "It's okay. I know how you feel." She leaned on the vending machine, looking down at her drink. "I…never knew my dad. He died when I was very young. He was a detective, and I heard that he did very good work in this town. Mom said he had a strong sense in justice and always kept a positive view in life." She smiled solemnly. "But…it may be cruel of me to say, but I don't feel like I miss him. I never knew him, after all." Saying this made her felt heartless. "I shouldn't have a connection with him, but…he died. He died for my sake, for the town's sake. He did his job because he wanted to protect me. It's not that I owe him, but…I am smiling today because he made Seitenka-machi a better place. Without anger, without hatred, he did his job with pride. So I am carrying on his legacy, so that everyone will continue to fell his presence through me and smile to the days ahead."

Toki was speechless at Amane's response. He had heard the story of the detective, Tatsunagi Natsu, who died in the line of duty many years back. He had heard of how strong a heart he had and how everyone looked up to him. He did not know him personally, but he could understand what they said about the man. After all, he was talking to Amane. And he felt a warmness in his heart. "Tatsunagi-san…no, Amane-san, thank you." He took his can and guzzled it down. With a heavy and refreshed breath, he smiled brightly. "Why don't you stop by the shrine later? We should…pray for the ones we lost. So that they can continue to guide us to the days ahead."

A smile lit up on Amane's face. She had a smile as bright as the sun. "Right!"

After school ended, Amane stopped by BOUNDLESS on an errand for Mikoto. In her arm was a bag with a rather large daikon radish sticking out. "Will this be enough, Mikoto-san?"

"Yes, thank you," he smiled and took the bag from Amane, opening it once it was in his possession. "Oh, you got some good quality stuff. As expected of you…"

"Oh, well, you know…" Amane blushed, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment. "Oh, it's getting late! I better hurry up to the shrine!"

As Amane prepared to leave, Mikoto grabbed her wrist. "Amane-chan…I don't think I have to remind you, but just in case. It is imperative that you keep your identity as a Pretty Cure a secret. Humans cannot comprehend the existence of gods just yet. Revealing your existence to someone may cause irreparable damage."

Amane considered Mikoto's words and nodded. "It'll be okay," she replied. "I'll be careful." With that, she left the antique shop.

As the sun began to set, Amane ran to the shrine with the talisman-plastered gates. Walking down the pathway, she saw Toki in his white kimono and light blue hakama, waiting for her. "Ichimao-san!" she called out to him.

"Ah! Amane-san, you made it!" he smiled as they met. "Did you finish your after-school business?"

"Yes, I just had to run a few errands." The two of them walked up to the main hall and grasped the rope. "One, two…" As they pulled the rope, the bell resounded throughout the shine, and they stood there silently, praying.

As Amane prayed, she thought of her father who she only saw in pictures. She tried hard to think of him, but whenever she did, all she felt was a blank. She tried to remember a very faint memory of a man whose finger she would grab with her tiny hands as she was cradled in her mother's arms. She tried to remember his long gray coat and his bright orange tie. But whenever she tried to think of his face, all she saw was a muddled black cloud. And as she prayed, a single tear fell from her cheek.

The two dropped their hands and sighed. Amane felt a little better now that she had faced this problem. She had not realized that she could not remember her father if she tried. Unlike her, Toki's mother died recently, so he still had a clear memory of her. Maybe that is what set them apart, that she could not relate to Toki as she had thought she could. But she had time to think about things and come to terms with it, and maybe the advice she had given Toki earlier was what he needed.

"You're quiet," Toki whispered. "Is something wrong?"

Amane paused, and then she smiled. "No," she shook her head. "I feel relieved, actually. Thank you, Ichimao-san."

The senior smiled back. But before he could say anything, he heard a clutter and crash nearby. "Oh…that must be dad. He really shouldn't be out when he's had too much to drink. Excuse me." And so he left the main hall to the side.

Now that Amane was alone, she pondered on what she should do. It was getting late, so maybe she should head home. Or so she thought.

"Amane!" called a voice in her mind.

"Mikoto-san?!" she gasped in shock.

"I've been calling you for a while now! What's going on?"

"I…um…I had a lot to think about. What's wrong?"

"I sense a darkness where you are! A Yomi might be there!"

"Eh?" Thinking about it, the only other people there besides her and Toki was Toki's father. Could the Yomi have attacked just now? But Mikoto said that he had been calling her for a while, so it couldn't be Toki. That meant…

"Aaagh!" screamed Toki as Amane watched him fly backwards onto the shrine's tiles. He held his chest as he gasped for air.

"Ichimao-san!" Amane ran to Toki's aid, holding him up by the head. "What happened?!"

"D-Dad…"

Amane looked up to see an older man, balding with a disheveled face. The veins on his neck were visible, and his eyes were bloodshot and nearly rolled back. His breath could be seen as he exhaled, and his body slumped forward. "T-Tookiiiii…" he growled. "Yooou…stupid soooon…" He took a few steps forward until he finally lunged at the two of them. But Amane took Toki by his kimono and pulled him to the front of the main hall, both of them rolling.

"We have to get out of here!" she suggested, motioning to the gates. But as she and Toki got up, Toki's father stood between them and the gates.

"Dad! What's wrong?! Dad!"

The father took his hands and clasped them to the sides of his head, his nails digging into his scalp. "It hurts….paAAain….so mUch…paIN…it hurts! TOKIIIIII!" He let out a blood-curdling howl as his body was engulfed by his own shadow, surging through the concrete tiles and tearing them apart. Stripped of his samue, he had become an old, gray, gangly figure in a fundoshi and a loincloth, complete with the rectangular ripped samurai shoulder guards called "sode" and a cone-shaped straw basket over his head. He was armed with a fan-bladed spear with rings on the side of the blade, and his finger and toenails were long and rotten. Amane had recognized this form; this was the first Yomi she had ever fought. And now Toki's father had become one.

The Yomi stood between the two of them and the gate, and there was no other place for Toki to run. Amane remembered Mikoto's words. 'I don't think I have to remind you, but just in case. It is imperative that you keep your identity as a Pretty Cure a secret. Humans cannot comprehend the existence of gods just yet. Revealing your existence to someone may cause irreparable damage.' Letting out a heavy sigh, Amane lifted her left arm. "I'm sorry, Mikoto-san," she said to herself aloud, knowing Mikoto could hear her. "It seems I do not have a choice."

"Amane-san?" Toki looked at her, puzzled. To him, she was acting unusual unlike earlier in the day. There was something different about her this time around.

"Ichimaru-san…" Amane had finally gotten Toki's surname right. "I ask that you keep this a secret from everyone. Okay?" She smiled at him and turned to the Yomi. "Being of darkness, I will not let you hurt another innocent! Especially not my senpai's father! I, Tatsunagi Amane, swear it!"

She raised her arm up to the sky. "Pretty Cure!" She shook her wrist, ringing the bells. "Divine Descend!" The bells attached to the Divine Brace crashed against each other as their ring resounded in the night. Once more, Amane was engulfed in a bright, heavenly light. As she was stripped bare, the light formed around her body, transforming once more into the miko (shrine maiden)-style. As she opened her eyes, she raised her arms in a cross until she brought them down and locked them to her sides with clenched fists. Her transformation was complete.

"The light that shines from the heavens!" Once more, she spread her arms out in an inviting matter, as if to embrace. "Cure Amaterasu!"

At the sound of her name, the Yomi lunged forward with its spear out. Cure Amaterasu's first instinct was to make sure that it doesn't get near Toki, so she met it head on. A glow in her right hand allowed her to push the spear away from the flat side of the blade. She locked the spear from the stem under her arm and held it down with her left palm, but the Yomi let go with its free hand and grabbed Amaterasu by the eri, her collar, pulling her back behind it and forcing her to let go.

As she jumped back a bit, the Yomi, its back now to Toki, lunged its spear quickly and repeatedly. Amaterasu dodged most of the strikes, though the blade at times knicked her skin and sode, her sleeve, and her skirt. She was being pushed back towards the gates and farther from Toki. With a single thrust, the Yomi pushed her to the steps, but Amaterasu quickly stepped to the side and stumbled on her feet. Her hand slapped against the gate, and the talismans that littered the gate and fence began to glow a radiant light. With the spear through the gate, the Yomi felt a shock through its body as it let out a scream.

"Wh-wh-what?!" Amaterasu gasped as she leaned on the gate. The bright lights of the talismans caught her eye, and eventually the force of the shock sent the Yomi flying back with its spear clattering next to it. She looked at the talismans and surveyed the strange effect. But this was no time to day dream. Now that she was free of its assault, Amaterasu returned to Toki's side as the Yomi began to get up.

"Amane-san!" Toki called out to her. "What is going on?! What happened to dad?! What happened to you?!"

"That's…a lot to explain in one sitting," Amatersu chuckled to herself, scratching her cheek. "But don't worry. I will save your father. I promise."

In her hand, her Heaven Wand appeared in a light, and she pointed it at the Yomi. But before she could activate her finisher, the Yomi attacked once more with its spear. With the barrage of thrusts and stabs, Amaterasu used the Heaven Wand to erect a barrier by holding out the Wand out. But the force of the attacks were too much for her to handle, and the pale barrier began to crack. "I can't…he's too strong…his despair is too strong!"

"His despair?" Toki looked at the Yomi. He could see tears dripping from under the basket's opening. No doubt, that was definitely his father. "Amane-san…please…that is my dad. Protect him…save him! He's all I have left!"

At that moment, the barrier shattered. Amaterasu pulled back her wand as the Yomi pulled back its spear. The two thrust forward, the points of their armaments hitting each other exactly, and the three of them were engulfed in a flash of light.

"What success is there in life as a priest?"

"I studied and trained under the priesthood for years. Everyone called me a deadbeat with no future. That I was wasting my time. But I came to this little town. Seitanka-machi was a place unlike any other, and I felt at ease. Everyone welcomed me and supported me. I succeeded the shrine here and took care of it."

"And then I met her. Maya…had faith in me more than anyone else. She worked hard for me while I looked after for the shrine. I was respected. I was…loved."

"But what do the gods do for you?! The gods I revered and served did not save Maya, the light of my life! She was my very rock! I loved her for everything that she was! In the end, the priesthood is not a livelihood! I watched her die as I could not pay for her medical expenses! And yet she died…with a smile! Told me to have faith! In what?! The gods that abandoned her?!"

"And now my son…my sweet Toki…wants to follow my footsteps…he wants to be a priest in her honor! He will be ridiculed as I was! He will be shamed like I was! He will be abandoned by the gods like I was! He will experience so much pain and suffering over his strong, unwavering faith…why won't he learn from my mistakes?! My failures?! What is there to gain to watch another Maya die with a smile…when you can't even use your hands you devoted to your faith to save her?! Answer me!"

The light faded, and the Amaterasu and the Yomi stood still. Toki lowered his arms that shielded his eyes and gazed at the two. Slowly, Cure Amaterasu opened her eyes.

"It must hurt, doesn't it?" she asked the Yomi. "You gave your all for her. You loved her with all your heart. Yet you must feel abandoned by those you devoted your entire life to. I cannot understand the pain you must feel, as I am only still a child. I still have a lot to learn about life as I grow up. But understand that Ichimaru-san wants to become a priest so that he can save lives! Many people are grieving over the loss of their family and friends, and they will succumb to their darkest emotions. The demons in our hearts…Ichimaru-san wants to heal the hearts of those who hurt! He wants everyone to be happy just as he had found happiness in your profession! Just as you have found happiness for the family that had saved you in your darkest moments! It was because you inspired him to be the savior that he and Maya-san were to you."

"It hurts when we lose someone important to us. But we must honor their memory with the lives they have given us in a way that will do them proud! Live on to the brightest of our futures! Maya-san would want that of you and Ichimaru-san! And even if I may not remember him, my father would want that of me! Live on!"

The force of the Heaven's Wand pushed the Yomi back as it dropped its wand. It held its head and screamed loudly, the tears dripping from its chin. It thrashed about from its place until it fell to its knees.

"I will heal you now!" Amaterasu exclaimed.

"Cure Amaterasu, wait!" Mikoto called out in her mind. "He has not come to terms with himself yet. Heal him as he is now and he will fall to darkness once more!"

"But he's too dangerous as he is now!" Amaterasu lowered her Heaven Wand, searching for a solution for their problem.

Toki stepped back and looked down. Putting his hand into his kimono, he pulled out five talismans with the inscriptions, "Evil be gone." "Amane-san!" Toki pulled on her sleeve and handed the small Pretty Cure the talismans. "I…don't know if these will be of any use. If that spirit possessed my dad, they probably were not as effective as I hoped them to be. But…but if it's you, then…please, Amane-san! No! Cure Amaterasu!"

"Ichimaru-san…" Amaterasu looked at Toki's pleading eyes, and she replied back with a determined nod. As she took the Talismans, the inscriptions began to glow gold as she held them between her fingers. "Please be still! Akuryou Taisan!" (悪霊退散, Evil Spirit Begone) She swung her arm outward, and the talismans flew at the Yomi like bullets. They stuck to its shoulders, knees, and basket as electric shocks bound it in place. Finally, it was still.

Toki took a step forward just as Amaterasu was about to use her Heaven Wand. He stood in front of the Yomi and fell to his knees, embracing it in his arms. "I'm sorry, dad…" he whispered. "I never understood your pain. I never realized how much mom meant to you. But please know…you both mean the world to me. And I will do everything mom would have wanted me to…and what I can do for you…"

The Yomi listened to his words and finally stopped squirming. "…To…ki…"

"Now! Cure Amaterasu!"

"Right!" She held out her wand with her left hand, her right hovering over it. "In the name of the Light of Heaven, Amaterasu, please find peace!" She brought down the sun ornament and spun around, forming a circle of light underneath her feet. "Pretty Cure!" Now holding out the Heaven's Wand with her left hand again, she made a small circle of light in front of her. "Seishin Reiki!" (聖神靈氣, Divine Healing) A ball of light formed from the sun ornament and shot through the circle in front of her. It went through Toki's body and into the Yomi's. As the Yomi was engulfed in light, its body disintegrated, and in Toki's arms was his father sleeping soundly.

Toki laid down his father gently and stood up. He turned to Cure Amaterasu with teary eyes, biting his lower lip. Finally, he bowed deeply to her, not saying a word.

Cure Amaterasu was flustered over this action. "P-Please, don't do that…I just did what I had to do as a Pretty Cure…"

"Pretty Cure…if I recall, the one who saved me that one time was called a Pretty Cure."

Amaterasu's eyes widened as she walked up to Toki. "Wh-wh-wh-what did you mean by that?!"

Toki, now really close to the shorter girl, looked down helplessly and scratched his cheek. "Uh…um…to be honest, I encountered a similar evil spirit just last year before mom died. A girl with silver hair, like the moon, saved me from it. I believe her name was…"

"…Cure Tsukuyomi…" It now made sense what Toki wanted to be a priest under Tsukuyomi. It seemed that Cure Tsukuyomi inspired him into the path he is on now. She looked at the sleeping father and smiled. "But…I'm glad. This time…I'm able to save lives just like my father would have done…"

Toki looked at the gate and pointed at it. "So…does that mean that my talismans…"

"It would seem so," Amaterasu nodded. "When I touched the ofuda, it seemed to have reacted to my power. Now, the Yomi will not enter this temple."

"I cannot thank you for everything that you've done for us, Amane-san." Toki took Amane's hands and held them close with a big smile on his face. "If there's anything I can do for you…"

Amane blushed, her hands being held by a boy's, but she couldn't bring herself to take them away. She smiled and said, "Live. Live the way your mother would have wanted you to. And live for the people you wish to protect in your life. That's what…our parents would have wanted."

The next day, Amane entered the antique shop BOUNDLESS with a tired sigh.

"Welcome," said Mikoto from the counter. "Was school rough today?"

"No, just the usual," Amane answered as she walked to the counter. She placed the ofuda, or talismans, on the counter in front of Mikoto. "But Toki-san gave me so many of these now. He said that these will help me in my efforts to save lives."

"I see," Mikoto replied as he shifted up his glasses. "The boy you revealed your identity to last night…his heart is definitely in the right place. But to make so many…he must have the dedication of a saint."

Now that Mikoto brought it up, Amane felt guilty about her actions last night. As she was about to say something, he cut her off. "I am not angry. You did what you had to do. We all must make sacrifices for the greater good. Yes…for the greater good…"

"Mikoto-san…do you think that people can find happiness at the lowest of their despair?"

Mikoto looked at Amane, and directed her to his crystal ball. Waving his hand over it, an image of Toki appeared as he entered the talisman-covered shrine. There, his father, sober and clean, welcomed him and other students that came to pray. His smile was bright and rejuvenating. Mikoto turned to Amane and said, "If someone were to guide them on the right path. It takes a single person who genuinely cares for another to be the light in their life. Amane, please continue to save the people and protect this town. Your power…no, your boundless heart and infinite kindness is something the people need in this day and age."

Amane held her hands to her chest, taking his words to heart. She looked at the crystal ball and smiled, nodding in reply. "Yes…if I can make someone happy in their life then…I will continue my work as a Pretty Cure. And I will stop the Yomi, no matter what."