A/N: Hey guys! I wanted to update weekly on a certain day, but I wanted to write so much that I ended up posting this early. I also want to thank SweetAdelaide for reviewing, favoriting, and alerting, Mew Mew Pepper for reviewing, favoriting, and alerting, Animecartoonlover36 for reviewing and favoriting, Sugar Baby Cresselia for favoriting, and clockwork-industries for alerting, D for reviewing, CureMidnight for reviewing, favoriting, and alerting, DarkKey-0 for favoriting and alerting, and anybody else that I have forgotten. On the side note, I want to mention that they are all freshmen in high school instead of 8th graders now. Do you think I should make Reika some sort of student council position, or no?

Update: 3/5/13 I am so very sorry. I have the tendency to abandon stories, but this one I am refusing myself to! My mom and sister are going out of town this weekend, so no one can harp to me about my grades. Thank you for reviewing, favoriting, and alerting!

Disclaimer: I do not own Smile Precure, Joker, Reika, Miyuki, Akane, Nao, Yayoi, Wolfrun, Majorina, or Akaoni. However, I do own this fanfiction, but I am making no money off of it.

Behind the Mask
Chapter 1

Reika snuggled into the warmth of her male counterpart. Joker was in a soft doze, arms wrapped around her waist loosely and hands holding hers at the same time. The covers draped over their garments, Reika in a blue nightdress and Joker still wearing his casual attire. She gave a soft sigh, still being awake at the moment. Her thoughts kept nagging her, but she set it aside in her mind and just lay in the comfortable silence. She enjoyed these peaceful moments of the quite atmosphere, just her and Joker sleeping next to each other. It was nice when there were no fights around them, and when there was no work to be done. Just a calming peace that settled in the night was all she needed.

Shifting her position, Reika rested her head on his chest, body facing his completely. His arms were still looped around her waist. For a moment she wondered how his blood still managed to flow with the pressure of her weight on them, but she shrugged it off. The steady beat of his heart sounded in her eats as his chest rose and fell in a gentle rhythm. A hollow chirp came from a cricket that was most likely prancing outside, the noise reaching into the quite of her room. At this time of night there were no shouts of enjoyment, nor the tapping of pencils. It was nice. Reika placed her hand on the pale skin of his cheek, resting it there as a small smile bloomed on her features. She traced her thumb lightly on the soft and warm skin, closing her eyes at the feeling. It was calm and quite, the cricket having stopped it's chirping a few moments earlier. Sleeping next to each other in a collected and hushed environment always brought a joy to her heart. Maybe if she just slipped her thumb under the mask…

A gasp flew out of her mouth as her wrist was pinned to the wall. "What the hell, Reika!?" Joker snapped as she winced at the sudden pain. When Joker was mad he usually kept it bottled up, and he tending to keep cussing out of the picture. She opened her mouth to speak but sound refused to come out, only a feeble squeak. His grip tightened and he pinned her wrist against the all. "So what were you planning to do?" Joker's voice was cold.

"I-I," Reika stuttered, eyes watering. She blinked away the tears, not wanting to cry in front of him for a mistake she had supposedly made.

Joker seemed to soften at the sight of her growing near tears, knowing he had startled her. He released his iron grip on her now bruised wrist, looping his arms around her and pulling her into a soft hug. "I don't want you to do that, he spoke, letting out a small breath, "Alright?"

Reika nodded as Joker held her close, head on his chest. She didn't dare question his strange behavior against taking off the mask because of the actions he had proposed only a few seconds ago. "I'm sorry," she apologized, a yawn taking a hold of her. Joker nodded in acceptance of Reika's apology, the knowledge of frightening her embedded in his mind. In a way it was a sort of accomplishment. If she had taken off the mask she would have seen it. Reika would have known the reason. Now that he had scared her she may not try to figure out the secret behind his mask again.

No one could know about his secret.

~SS~

There was a knock on the bedroom door. Reika was still asleep, although Joker had woken up not long ago. He was lounging on the edge of the bed, arms crossed and back leaning against thin air. His attention was drawn to the door when he heard the tap. Knowing Reika locked the door at night, he started to let it slid. That thought, however, was diminished when the knob started to turn and nothing prevented it from doing so. A woman stepped into the room. He noted that she was most certainly Reika's mother, for she had a similar hair colour and their faces had the same sort of shape.

"Reika, it's time to get-oh!" Her mother gasped in surprise as she spotted Joker. Before she had the chance to move a muscle or say a word, Joker covered her mouth and whapped her on the head with a card. Dusty particles floated off the card and soon enough, Reika's mother had fallen to the floor unconscious. For a moment Joker appeared to smile, which was a rare occasion, for it was usually a smirk and most likely was now, and then went over to Reika's form, shaking her shoulder gently to wake her up. She stirred slightly from the movement, and was fully awakened by small peck on the lips.

He grinned down at her groggy form. "Morning, lovely," Joker spoke in a smooth voice. She smiled at him as he slid his arms underneath her and got her out of bed into his arms. "Your mother will be fine," he added in as Reika followed his gaze to her unconscious mother. "She won't remember a thing." Nodding, Reika slid out of his arms though her face showed slight worry, feet touching the ground lightly. She turned to face him.

"When will I see you again?" Reika questioned him as he enveloped her into a farewell hug.

"Possibly tomorrow," came his reply. She bit her lower lip and nodded, knowing that when he said that it would usually be at least a month until they had the chance to greet each other. He locked their lips together in a long kiss, and then broke away. He disappeared in a flurry of cards.

Glancing down at her mother, she tried to pick her up and set her on the bed. Being unsuccessful, she decided to lean her mother against the wall instead. Reika quickly changed into her school outfit and grabbed a bracelet. It was a deep purple with yellow swirls on it; Joker had given it to her. She was deciding to wear it to hide the bruises on her wrist from last night. After that, she went through her morning routine and made her way out of the house, heading for the school.

~SS~

"Joker!" He heard the gruff voice of Akaoni as he was walking through the halls of the Bad End Kingdom. Turning his head, he gave the red demon a questioning look.

"We were surprised when you didn't pop out of the cards," Wolfrun chuckled, crossing his arms. Joker had a tendency to show up whenever they were playing cards just to give them a fun scare.

Joker rolled his eyes. "I have business to attend to, and I am almost certain that there are Precure that are to be defeated. Master Pierrot-sama is getting angry with your insolence." His words were enough to scare away the two who happened to be bothering him.

The hallways of the castle were dark and silent, setting aside the noise of Joker's shoes clicking on the floor. Nervousness seemed to cross his dark depths as he took cautious steps, although no one would be able to recognize the expression from the black of his hidden eyes. Nobody else appeared to be around the Bad End Kingdom, and there was a reason for that too.

He could feel the trembles in the ground as the palace rumbled dangerously. The feeling of panic rose inside him as he ran through the halls. "Master Pierrot-sama!?" Joker shouted at the empty air, searching for his master. Creatures of all kind scurried around, most screaming in fright. No one could understand what was going on, only that they all knew it must have been a cause of the recent war against Märchenland.

The trembles of the ground caused a few to loose balance and start tripping over each other. Joker shoved his way past the Bad End creatures, eyes searching for anyone familiar. In the distance, he could spot a slight glimmer of light that seemed off from the rest. Suspicions were confirmed as the Bad End world slowly started to dim, darkness closing in on all that was present. A cold shiver ran down his spine as he adjusted his white mask, attempting to get a better view at the strange light in the distance. In a way it felt as though no one else could see what he saw, which he quickly noticed and found to be quite strange.

Joker felt someone nudge into him, making him snap out of the trance that had ensnared him. A small breath of release floated out of him as the skies gradually started to lighten. The slight moment of relief was quickly consumed with fear and shock. Around him were bodies.

Bad End Creatures of all kinds were lifeless. Their eyes were open in shock, mouths dropped and blood floating out of their wounds. He could hear drums in the distance, going boomboomboom, and laughter seem to feel so sick and evil. His body was locked still, the cries of others reaching his ears. Yet no misfortune seemed to come to him, as if this strange event was somehow caused by him.

Arms slinked around his form and locked his arms behind his back, cackles hissing in his pointed, elf-like ears. He immediately started a struggle, but cold metal had wrapped around his ankles and soon enough he was thrust down onto the ground. A creature, not of the Bad End kingdom but defiantly not a fairy from Märchenland, stood over him, a thin but deadly looking whip in his hands. The man's cronies stood over him, themselves carrying swords, maces, and a variety of weapons. He could see green drip down from the leader's whip, staining the brown earth with its acid. Joker was not an idiot- he knew what was coming. The pain was unexpected and it caused him to cry out, for he did not even prepare to brace for the impact of the whip. He could feel the acid sting the new cut and it made him writhe from the position on the ground.

"What do we have here?" The man had an easy smirk form on his lips as he poked at the bloodstained mask on Joker's face, no doubt the blood of his allies that had died.

"Please." Joker would have scolded himself for the weak word that came out of his mouth as the man lodged a finger underneath the smooth white of it. He could not help but beg. The man only laugh and his friends chuckled along with him. He started to take off his mask, a giddy smirk on his face at the thought of figuring out this man's secret. The mask became loose and slid off Joker's face and the two locked eyes.

Or at least, what should have been.

It was like a horror show before his eyes. The man exploded, or maybe he imploded, his blood coating the dirt, staining it with his disgusting fragrance. The other men shrieked as they looked at Joker, who now had blood covering his pristine white outfit and pale cheeks.

They did not last long after.

Memories like that scarred a man, even a deadly one like him. He could still feel the sting of acid on his back, the sweat brewing on his forehead, and the smoke clouding his lungs as his brethren was slaughtered before his eyes and he was unable to do anything about it. With these thoughts in his mind he gazed upon the grand door that was much larger than himself, in height and width. Joker was prepared to face anything, but that did not make it any less frightening. He pushed open the door with trembling hands and stepped inside, unaware of the fate that would fall over him like a shadow covering the snow of a new day.

~SS~

She stepped into the school grounds, a few others that were foreign to her stepping in sync beside her. Kids floated by, their faces as well as a few shirts saying 'I hate Tuesday because it comes right after Monday'. Of course there was always that one that was a bit too cheery for the school week and Reika happened to spot said person as they bounded over.

"Reika!" Miyuki's wide grin never failed to bring up anybody's spirits, including her own, but today was an exception. She offered the pink haired girl a small smile and greeting Akane, who was standing next to Miyuki.

"You alright?" Akane acknowledged her slightly off behavior. Reika always had her off days, but today seemed just a bit different than the rest.

"I am well," Reika gave a simple reply. "Nao called me last night; she said she wasn't feeling well." Ah, the casual bug of the flu. Yayoi hadn't come to school a few days earlier because of the same reason.

The group of three entered the school, book bags slung over their shoulders. Reika bid goodbye to her friends as she headed for her first class, probably the liveliest looking out of all the tired and bored students that roamed the halls, none of their brains being able to process anything at the moment. She stepped inside the math classroom and slid into her desk, settling her book bag under her seat to avoid having anybody trip over it. Like most days, she started to take out the required items for the class and prepared to follow the instructions on the board. A kid stumbled into the classroom and fell to his knees, like your classic clumsy teenager. She turned to stand and helped him, but a serious expression crossed her face. The boy was mumbling nonsense, bad energy leaking off of him. It was most likely Wolfrun this time, Akaoni and Majorina had come a few weeks back. She exited the room and made way for the front door, prepared to transform once she saw the figure that was causing this.

Reika pushed open the doors, being the first Precure to leave the high school building. But she was not greeted by the sight she expected.

She was greeted by the limp, unconscious body of Joker.