Northern Cross Pretty Cure episode 2
Opening song: Onegai Precure, Northern † Cross!
999
Natsuko's duties as class rep often kept her after school. She hadn't run for the position, but her classmates thought her up to the task anyway due to her presence. At first glance, Natsuko's thin frame might belie her strength of both will and body, but the confidence she displayed once in motion would give a more accurate impression. Though thin, Natsuko stood a little taller than most, her brown eyes were full of life and her smile constant and infectious.
Whether there was a student council meeting or just regular class rep work, the latter being the case tonight, Natsuko always had a full schedule. Today was a light day, though; only sorting and delivering some papers, so she would soon be on her way home, alone. Her slender fingers pushed her shoulder length brown hair behind one ear and deftly flipped through the tests. Natsuko grimaced a bit when she got to get own. Her score was not at the top of the class, but then again, it never was. She'd be happy just as long as she kept her grades high enough to be allowed to continue her extracurricular activities, but this particular one was toeing that line. Natsuko would be lying if she said she did not resent the position at least a little, since it kept her from going home with her brother, Shun.
The two Akiyama siblings would have time to spend together tomorrow, since they had ballet class after school. When they were four years old, their parents enrolled Natsuko in dance and Shun in karate. Shun had enjoyed karate well enough, but he saw Natsuko dancing and was envious of his sister's activity. After enough asking, pleading, begging and yes, even a little tantrum, their father Nobu gave a sigh and allowed his son to switch from karate to dance. Keeping the children apart was a futile activity, their mother Fuyumi had warned. After all, they were born together.
Natsuko completed sorting, stapled the piles together, and stacked them on her desk. Yes! With everything done, she could now go home! Natsuko made sure she had everything in her bag, took the hoodie off the back of her chair and slipped it on over her bare arms. One problem with being so thin was that she was cold three seasons out of the year. She picked up her bag and the papers, left the classroom, shutting the door behind her and walked downstairs to the staff room.
"Excuse me," she said as she slid the door open, entered, and closed it again. There were only two teachers at their desks and neither of them were hers, so without being acknowledged, Natsuko made her way to her own teacher's desk, and placed the papers neatly in front of the chair. Her task done, she left the way she came in and skipped down the hall. Since there were few students around at this hour, Natsuko did some graceful leaps in between skips, spun once and bowed. Someone cleared their throat behind her. Natsuko froze, caught.
"Miss Akiyama, I believe we've spoken about this before." Natsuko turned her head to see her teacher walking towards the staff room door.
"The papers are on your desk," Natsuko said cheerfully, still bowed over, changing the subject.
"I'm sure they're all in order." He put his hand on the door and slid it open. "Please don't dance in the hallway."
Natsuko stood, turned and bowed properly. "I'm sorry!" And straightening, "I'll see you tomorrow!" The teacher nodded and walked into the staff room, but popped his head right back out when he heard her rapid footfalls.
"No running in the halls, either!"
"Sorry!" Natsuko called out, not stopping. She stopped at the shoe lockers to exchange what she was wearing for the more comfortable flat soled shoes she preferred.
Natsuko had a bus to catch. Her house was south of the school; any further south and she would not have attended Mizuwa. She hurried out of the school building while checking the time on her cell phone, because it would be a long walk if she missed the bus. She zigzagged a few blocks east and south, her feet not making any sound as she hurried. Ordinary people might fail to pick up on the way she walked, but someone who practiced dance or a martial art would appreciate the efficiency and lightness with which Natsuko moved her body, a skill that disciplines other than those two place no emphasis on. She turned the final corner only to see the bus pulling away from the curb.
"What?" she exclaimed in dismay. Her phone read 3:46, two full minutes before the bus was supposed to arrive! She walked over to the shelter anyway and double checked the schedule. Sure enough, the bus was still supposed to make its stop at 3:48. Natsuko growled, flipped open her phone, selected a contract and dialed. "Mom, the bus was early," she said.
"Ah nuts," came the reply. "Well, get home when you can and be safe."
"I will. See you in a bit."
"I love you, dear," her mom said.
"I love you, too. Bye." Natsuko hung up and returned the phone to her bag. 3:48 had passed while she was talking to her mother, so the bus really had come early. She would have to wait fifteen minutes for the next bus, but maybe she could catch another line in the meantime. When there was no longer any traffic, Natsuko slipped across the street and made her way two more blocks eastward, arriving at the stop just as the bus was pulling up. She ascended the stairs, paid her fare and found an open seat. As she settled in, she reached into her bag for her mp3 player. The bus ride was not too long, but she liked to have something to listen to. Before she could put the earbuds in, however, the bus turned left. Alarmed, Natsuko looked up at the scrolling marquee at the front of the bus. This was the wrong route! Two routes serviced the stop where she got on, a fact she had forgotten.
Natsuko pressed the stop request bar, but the bus made a right turn, then another left and drove two more blocks before it reached the next stop. Natsuko could only sit and wait until then. Once she exited, she put the unused mp3 player back in her bag and exchanged it for her phone.
"Mom, I got on the wrong bus," she said one her mother had picked up.
"How did you do that? Are you lost? Where are you?"
"I don't know. No. I'm by the shopping arcade."
"Well, can you get home?"
"Yes. I'll find another bus."
"Ok. Call me if you need anything."
"I will. Bye."
"Bye."
Natsuko examined the system map on the wall of the shelter. She wasn't the best with maps, but figured out she could catch another line that should get her close to her house if she cut through the park one block over.
As she walked through the green space, Natsuko wondered if she had ever visited this park before. There was a path that wound among the trees with several benches alongside it, but no one was around. The fall air was not so cold that everyone would stay inside, but there were busy roads on three sides. Maybe that made it inconvenient. The park was very well maintained, though; the paved path was swept and the green grass cut. The noise from the streets which enclosed the park seemed far away, and long shadows stretched in front of her, creating contrasting bars of light and dark across the path. The whole scene was beautiful, and Natsuko felt like dancing right there.
"Become Pretty Cure!" a shrill voice screeched behind her. Natsuko actually jumped in surprise. She screamed, closed her eyes and spun around, swinging her school bag at head level. There was a moment of resistance as she felt it impact something, but when she opened her eyes and looked around, she was still literally the only person in the park. Right, left, behind her, even up; no one. She was alone. Was there another reason no one visited this park? Something... other worldly?
Natsuko heard a groan from below her and looked down to see a very curious specimen of a bird. Its plumage was iridescent blue and yellow, or, was it just green? Natsuko stepped back and crouched down next to the bird in order to examine it more closely. The bird, which was smaller than a duck, but larger than most tree birds, raised its head from the ground, revealing its most striking feature: An elongated neck.
"A swan?" Natsuko said aloud.
"Ugh, I have whiplash. I'm going to sue!" the bird said, rubbing its feathery head with one wing.
"You can't sue me. You're a bird," Natsuko retorted.
"Nuts! But what about my pain and emotional trauma? How are you going to make that up to me?"
Natsuko raised an eyebrow at the talking bird.
"Who, or what, are you? Wait, you jumped out at me!"
"So?"
"Why should I have to make anything up to you?" Natsuko said, crossly.
The swan placed one wing on the back of its long neck and moaned. "Oooh, it hurts. You could have killed me! You could have broken my neck!"
The bird sounded like it was being facetious, but Natsuko was beginning to wonder.
"There is one thing you could do," it said. Natsuko didn't pick up on the eagerness in this slowly delivered request.
"Y- yeah?"
The bird looked directly at her with a sparkle in its eye and said, "Become Pretty Cure."
"What's Pretty Cure?"
It picked itself up off the ground and shook the dust off its feathers, talking to itself. "Looks like Pretty Cure isn't active. I got here just in time." The swan cleared its elongated throat and said, "The earth is in danger and I'm here to help you save it!" while making a dramatic pose.
"That doesn't explain Pretty Cure, weirdo."
The swan was hurt by this and pouted. "Pretty Cure is who is going to save the world."
"So you want me to save the earth? From what?"
"The Chaos Dragons! They've targeted Earth and are coming to upset the balance!"
Natsuko nodded and the two looked at each other as cars passed in the distance. "Go on."
"Well, uh, the Chaos Dragons are going to upset balance on Earth, so, um, become Pretty Cure and save the world."
Natsuko rolled her eyes. "Did you think about this before coming here?"
"Yes! I'm going to recruit Pretty Cure to stop the Chaos Dragons!"
"You're not very convincing. For a talking swan." Natsuko stood up. "I suppose this is your idea of a fated encounter?"
The swan scratched its head and looked pensive.
"Well, no, look. I'm Pai, a beautiful swan fairy, if I do say so myself, from the Cygnus Kingdom. The Cygnus is responsible for keeping balance in all the worlds, but the Chaos Dragons want to destroy that balance and throw the universe into chaos. They feed on Chaos Energy; it's what gives them power; and apparently the Earth has more potential to create Chaos Energy than any other world they've attacked in centuries. Naturally, this concerns the Cygnus, especially since she can't come here herself, so cygnets like myself are sent out in her place." Pai spread his wings. "Here I am."
Natsuko crouched down again, looking hard at Pai. "So something's coming for us and you want me to stop it?" she said, seriously. Pai nodded, equally serious. Natsuko wondered why she wasn't surprised at all by the appearance of a small, multi-colored, talking swan, and why what actually concerned her was what the swan was actually saying. She couldn't make sense of why that would be. What made her believe this talking bird? But believe it she did, so she decided to go along with the story. "Come home with me."
"Huh?"
"Where else are you going to stay until you find your Pretty Cure?" Natsuko said, offering a hand to the swan.
"What about you? Will you do it?" The swan did not move.
"I haven't said no," Natsuko said, with a knowing smile on her face.
Pai appeared to be having an internal debate, but resolved it a moment later. "Ok. But I still want you to become Pretty Cure." He placed his wing on her hand.
Natsuko's smile expanded to her whole face and a strange excitement grew in her stomach. She extended her other hand and picked Pai up under his wings, surprised by how light he was. "Come on, I have a bus to catch. Pretend you're a stuffed animal while there are other people around, so they don't get suspicious." Natsuko stood and continued walking in the towards her original destination, before this strange distraction occurred. As she reached the other end of the park, it occurred to her that Pai had been awfully quiet since being picked up. When she looked down, she saw that the swan had fallen asleep in her arms.
"Asking me to become Pretty Cure must have been stressful for him," she said, and cradled him in a motherly fashion to the bus stop.
Once she finally arrived home, Natsuko went up to her room and deposited Pai gently upon the beanbag chair against the wall.
"Took you long enough. Did you get lost?" said her brother Shun poking his head in her door.
The resemblance between the Akiyama siblings was instantly noticeable. Shun kept his hair shorter than Natsuko did, but they shared the same eyes and much of their facial structure. Natsuko was one centimeter taller and thinner, mainly due to Shun's male frame, which, like his sister's, was slender, but firmly muscled.
"Sort of. I missed my bus and tried to take another, but got on the wrong one," Natsuko said, removing her hoodie.
"Sounds like it's a good thing I'm around or you'd never make it to dance," Shun laughed. Natsuko threw the balled up sweatshirt at him, but it fluttered down to the floor, well short of the intended target.
"Natsuko? I didn't hear you come in," said a female voice, and their mother's head joined Shun's in the doorway. "Once you're ready, we'll have dinner." Fuyumi left.
"Ok, mom." Now that she thought about it, she was fairly hungry.
"Hurry up!" Shun said before he, too disappeared. Natsuko just rolled her eyes, walked over and shut the door. She unbuttoned the top button on her blouse, but then decided against changing, as her hunger was more pressing. Before she reached the door, however, a thought stopped her. What do swans eat? Pai was still curled up on the beanbag chair and luckily, looked for the world like a stuffed animal. Natsuko would bring something up for him later, but now she left her room and walked downstairs. Shun and their mother were talking when Natsuko entered the kitchen.
"Let's eat!" Shun said, and leapt lithely to the table, their parents having long ago given up trying to prevent their children from dancing in the house. Shun sat down at his place and was soon joined by the two women. Fuyumi had prepared omelets with rice, which were already on their plates.
"Thank you for the food," Natsuko and Shun said before cutting in. They ate a while in relative silence before their mother spoke.
"What did you do at school today?"
"All I had was some sorting after. The usual during the day." Natsuko took another bite.
"Did you get your test back?" asked Fuyumi.
Natsuko chewed slowly. "Not yet." Technically it wasn't a lie. Bullet dodged, for now.
The rest of dinner passed with idle chatter and much food consumed. After, Fuyumi put their father's portion in the refrigerator and turned on the TV as the twins went to their respective rooms to do their homework.
However, once in her room, Natsuko's eyes fell on Pai, now waking up, and she closed the door.
"Good morning, Pai. How are you?"
Pai stretched his wings out and shook his feathers. "Ha, I'm good. Is it morning already?"
"No, still evening. You were only asleep for about an hour." Natsuko sat on the floor next to the beanbag chair.
"I'm hungry." Natsuko suddenly remembered that she forgot.
"I'll get you something," said Natsuko, standing again. "What would you like?"
Without hesitation, Pai responded, "Cheesecake."
Natsuko scowled. "What do you think this is? A French restaurant? We don't have that."
"But I was told I could get that on Earth!" Pai protested.
"You can, but not everywhere. It's expensive, you know." Natsuko put a hand on her hip.
Pai turned, fuming. "Did they tell me that just to get me to go to Earth?" he mumbled to himself.
"What did you say?" Natsuko had not heard.
"Nothing."
"Well, ok. I'll bring you something sweet."
"Thanks," said Pai, looking slightly downcast. Natsuko gave him a sideways glance before leaving the room, closing the door behind her.
Fuyumi was still watching TV when Natsuko walked downstairs. Natsuko tried to pass behind her inconspicuously, but it was difficult to do so when the living room was so open. In the kitchen, she opened the freezer and removed a strawberry mochi. She knew she wouldn't be able to prevent the freezer door from making noise when it shut, then quickly walked back towards the stairs.
"Are you still hungry, Natsuko?" her mother said from the couch.
"Just a treat. To motivate me. I get it when I'm done studying."
"Ok."
Natsuko continued through the living room and up the stairs. Once securely in her room again, she offered the mochi to Pai.
"What's this?" he asked.
"Mochi. You'll like it," Natsuko said, sitting this time in her desk chair. Pai nibbled a tiny bit off of the mochi and chewed it with a concerned look on his face. "What, you don't like it?"
"No, it's fine. It's not an expensive dessert item, but it'll do," Pai responded, dismissively.
Natsuko scoffed. "Well if you don't like it, I'll eat it." But Pai had already shoved most of it into his beak and was chewing steadily. Natsuko waited until he swallowed. "So, Pai, you beautiful swan fairy, tell me more about yourself."
Pai looked only happy to oblige the request, and tried hard to look dashing. "Well, if you insist. I'm Pai, but you already know that. I was born three rotations ago in the Cygnus Kingdom, my astrological sign is seven, my favorite space croquet team is The Dashing Hats, and besides space croquet, I enjoy long walks on lunar beaches, and watching the planets set."
None of that had any meaning to Natsuko, so she brushed it aside and pushed on with another question. "Why did you come here specifically?"
Pai puffed out his chest feathers. "It is an honor to be selected to protect another world in the name of the Cygnus. Only the strongest, fastest and smartest cygnets who volunteer will be selected, for the mission is both critical and dangerous!"
"So you volunteered? And naturally you were selected."
"Exactly! I was at the top of my class and top wicket whacker on the space croquet team at school, so of course, I'd get chosen." Natsuko gave a patient smile and thought Pai looked too full of himself.
"And where do the Chaos Dragons fit in?"
"The Chaos Dragons are a terrible group of creatures from the Chaos Kingdom. For millennia, the Dragon has tried to throw the universe into chaos, but the Cygnus has always stopped it. But recently, and this is the hard part, this group has formed around the Dragon, who has been dispatching them to other worlds that the Cygnus cannot reach. Their goal is to collect Chaos Energy to feed the Dragon and give it power. But what the Chaos Dragons didn't count on is that we, the cygnets, can travel to all the same worlds that they can, so we still have a perfect record of defeating them! And so here I am, and here you are, protecting the Earth together!"
"Why do you need me? The cygnets can travel to other worlds but can't fight the Chaos Dragons on their own? They need kids to do it for them?"
Pai looked offended. "No, I mean, the cygnets rally the local forces to fight the Chaos Dragons…"
"So Pretty Cure has to do the dirty work."
"Well, the Legendary Warriors Pretty Cure are the heroes of Earth, but on other worlds, it would be someone else."
"But still, Pretty Cure is going to be all the work."
"No! I have plenty to do! You won't be doing all the work."
Natsuko leaned back in her chair and smirked. "Of course I won't be." Pai nervously wondered what she meant by that. She let him sweat.
"I'll give this Pretty Cure thing a try," she said at last.
Pai let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Good." He took a few more deep breaths, and placed his wing on his chest. "I was beginning to get worried. I believe the Chaos Dragons are already on the move." The room grew quiet and Natsuko was suddenly chilly. She felt her skin prickle, then shivered.
"Then I should go to bed, so I'll be ready if anything happens tomorrow," she said, not looking at the swan.
"Yes, there's nothing else we can do tonight," he said.
"Oh, but I've still got homework to do," she said quietly, looking back at her bag and desk.
"Is that a computer? Are you going to be using it?" Pai asked, pointing at the laptop Natsuko had on her desk.
"Sure, here," she said, detachedly, as she unplugged the laptop and set it on the floor next to the beanbag chair.
Natsuko unpacked her bag and laid out her books and notes, but her eyes wouldn't focus on them. She did not finish her homework.
999
Natsuko did not sleep well that night, either. As a result, much of the morning was a blur. Pai had requested that she bring him to school with her, as they should stick together in case anything happens, and she gave in without any fight, but wondered what she had gotten into.
"Natsuko, hello? You're totally zoned out," said Shun, as the two of them walked out the front door. "Are you ok?"
Natsuko's stomach felt heavy, even though she had little appetite for breakfast. "Yes, I'm ok." She knew it was a dangerous move to lie to Shun; the twins could tell when the other was hiding something, and they both knew that Shun knew Natsuko was doing exactly that. Pai had woken up suddenly in the night, which had in turn woken Natsuko, and frightened, whispered that he could sense some faint chaotic movement. She was not ok.
Shun grabbed her wrist and they stopped. "No, you're not. I can tell you didn't sleep well, and that might satisfy mom and dad, but you can't fool me. I know you're upset; I woke up upset this morning."
"Shun, I'm ok. Trust me. Yes, I'm upset, but that's it," Natsuko said, but the way she clenched her fists and looked away from him said otherwise. Shun slowly let go of his sister's arm, watching her silently. They continued walking to the bus stop.
The tense silence continued all the way to school. Natsuko hung her bag on the side of her desk and pretended to be ok. She took several deep breaths she hoped were inconspicuous enough to pass off as yawns and tried to concentrate on school. There was a stack of papers on the teacher's desk which, not coincidentally, were the same ones she'd sorted the evening before, that she had to pass back. Doing so helped her to try and forget the strange and upsetting events of the previous day enough to focus on school. As the day went by and she became more alert, it was easier for her to focus, and by lunch, she was ready to try to finish what was left of her homework, all of which was due after lunch, having actually done all the homework for pre lunch classes last night.
Natsuko retreated to a club room that wouldn't be used during the day to work. Pai kept quiet, though probably bored, which allowed her to get close to finishing before having to return to class.
The remainder of the day was good to Natsuko, and she had been starting to feel better, until school ended. As soon as the bell rang, she began to pack her bag, but before she had donned her hoodie, Shun appeared next to her desk.
"Ready for dance?" he asked. Natsuko pulled the hoodie down over her head a little slower than usual; she had hoped to avoid Shun until dance, but he clearly had other ideas.
"Can I meet you there?" Natsuko asked. Shun frowned. Before he could speak up, Natsuko continued, "I just need to think about some things." He stood there, looking at his sister for a few seconds before leaning in.
"Will you promise to tell me if you're in trouble?" he whispered.
Looking straight ahead. Natsuko sighed, then, turning to her brother, said, "Yes." Though the knowledge may put him in danger, keeping a secret from Shun was too much for her.
Satisfied, Shun straightened up. "I'll see you there, then."
"Ok." Shun waved and left. Natsuko waited a few moments before herself leaving. Dance didn't start for another hour, and it took ten minutes by bus, so she had time. Upon exiting the school, Natsuko walked southeast, to the park where she met Pai the day before. As before, she was alone when she entered, and again, she noted how secluded the park felt, despite its location, squeezed in between busy roads.
Natsuko sat on a bench, watching the shadows of leaves fluttering in the wind. Pai struggled in her bag and Natsuko opened it for him to come out. He preened some feathers before settling down next to her.
"Have you ever done this before?" she asked. The swan looked up at her.
"Done what?"
"Gone somewhere to fight the Chaos Dragons."
Pai took a moment before answering. "No. We only have to do it once." They sat awhile in silence. A cool, autumn breeze made Natsuko shiver and she folded her arms in front of her. She had so many questions, but where to start?
"Do you think we can win?"
"The Cygnus has never lost before."
"I just… I, I'm scared." Pai put a wing on her lap to reassure her.
"You can do it. I don't know how I know, but I do. Maybe it's a gift from the Cygnus." Natsuko unfolded one arm and laid her hand over the iridescent feathers, but didn't reply. "Hey, I'm here, too! How can we possibly lose with me on our team?" Pai said. Natsuko gave a small smile. The sounds of traffic were unnaturally far away, given their actual proximity. Natsuko would have had to concentrate to hear them, but she was more interested in the landscaped nature of the park. With the sun shining low in the sky, she found it possible to imagine that there was nothing past the edge of the trees. No buildings, no roads, no cars. If she walked to the edge of the park, she wondered, would she'd find the edge of the park, or a bright nothingness? Somehow, Natsuko felt as if Shun was with her and she turned her eyes downward.
"What if I tell Shun? Will it place him in danger?"
"No more than he's already in." The voice which spoke did not belong to Pai.
999
Eyecatcher A: Chibi Natsuko and Shun dance a short piece as Clara and the Nutcracker. They bow.