[TW (possible spoilers): bullying, verbal abuse, thoughts of suicide]
999
Eyecatcher B: Pai sits down to large helping of expensive dessert item, but his thought bubble bursts and he wakes up with his pillow in his beak. He throws a fit.
999
Himeya had submitted to Tau's request to accompany her to school the next day, since Saturday was a half day, and the risk of being discovered would not be as great as with a full day. Himeya had dug up an old duffel bag for Tau to hide in, since her regular bag had been left in the library.
The duffel bag hung on the back of Himeya's chair, next to her school bag as she and Teiko worked on their project during class. The progress they made helped Himeya stay in a good mood, even though she could see Teiko try to sneak glances at her from time to time.
Teiko wanted to talk to Himeya, but was having difficulty bringing herself to do so. Her disappearance from the library, on top of her already worrisome reputation, only served to make Teiko more anxious about approaching Himeya on a subject other than their schoolwork, and in the end, she had not been able to. Teiko left the classroom to meet Natsuko after school with a guilty sense of relief.
"No go?" Natsuko said, seeing the exhaustion on Teiko's face. The noon sun was bright again today as they stood at the gate while others left the school grounds.
"No, I mean yes, but no," Teiko sighed. She adjusted her glasses. "Himeya was here today. And we got a lot of work done. I admit, I was afraid she wouldn't show up again today and I'd get behind. But she seemed happier today."
"Well why didn't you talk to her, then? Wouldn't that have been the perfect time?"
"I don't know…"
Natsuko giggled. "You're awkward." Teiko furrowed her brow. "But it's cute!" Natsuko started walking away.
"Hey!" Teiko said, as she jogged a we're few steps to catch up. The two walked a few blocks east, generally chatting in the cool air, with the occasional interjection from inside one of their bags.
As they passed an adjacent alley, Teiko saw movement and turned to look. Natsuko did not realize that her companion had stopped until a few steps later.
"And then he was like- Teiko, are you listening?" Natsuko stopped and saw her friend staring down the alley. "What is it?" When she walked over and saw for herself, Natsuko pulled Teiko out of the mouth of the alley and behind the neighboring building.
Teiko looked at Natsuko, and they both peered around the edge of the concrete wall.
There were three figures; two boys and a girl, all wearing the uniform of Mizuwa. The boys looked older, probably third years, but if it had not been for the girl, Teiko may not have stopped.
The curly hair was unmistakable.
They could not hear what Himeya said, but the tone was clear; she did not want to have anything to do with the boys. Himeya tried to get past them, but they obstructed her path. Teiko and Natsuko exchanged a concerned look. One of the boys reached for Himeya, but she slapped his hand away. Natsuko's hands went up to her mouth as she gasped, while Teiko looked around frantically. The second boy grabbed the straps of both bags Himeya held and pulled. She resisted, but the first boy pushed her to the ground.
Teiko was not sure she was thinking correctly, but she pushed past Natsuko and entered the alley. (I'm Cure Deneb! I can't just let this happen, right?) Further down, the boys were opening Himeya's bags, not seeing their owner getting up.
"H- hey!" Teiko said, weakly. Her soft shout was lost on the boys, who may not have heard it at all. Teiko saw Himeya get to her feet and walked a little more quickly, blood pounding so hard in her ears, that she was unaware of any other sounds.
The boys had started emptying the contents of Himeya's bags onto the ground, most likely looking for anything valuable, but Himeya was not about to lose the one thing she found precious.
"Hey!" Teiko shouted, louder this time. She had gotten the boys' attention, which Himeya used to pounce. Not bothering to struggle over the bag itself, Himeya went straight for the face of the boy who had pushed her down, and Teiko broke out in a run. Himeya's assault took him by surprise and she landed two punches before he reacted. They struggled, but the second boy sucker punched Himeya squarely in the jaw, dropping her immediately. Looking back at the approaching Teiko, the boys dumped the rest of Himeya's possessions out onto the ground and fled, shouting epithets at "The Night Princess" as they ran.
Teiko knelt on the dirty asphalt next to Himeya, who was holding her jaw while angry tears streamed down her face. "Himeya, are you ok?" She reached over to touch her shoulder, but hesitated as she saw something among the items strewn about on the ground.
Himeya's eyes burned fiercely as they landed on Teiko. She quickly rose up and avoided Teiko's hand, then to Teiko's surprise, shoved her hard, the heel of her hand striking Teiko's chest and knocking her off her knees, onto her back. Himeya jumped up, grabbed one of her bags and a yellow object as she did, then sprinted down and out of the alley.
Natsuko arrived more slowly, watching Himeya disappear around the corner. She offered a hand to Teiko, but avoided eye contact. "Are you ok?"
Teiko breathed slowly and deliberately. Her tailbone, back and head were all sending screaming pain signals to her brain and she did not want to move. (How can this hurt more than anything that's happened during our fights?)
Natsuko repeated her question, glancing sideways at her fallen friend who was now reaching for her outstretched hand. Teiko only pulled herself up as far as sitting before letting go, then adjusted the glasses that framed her pained expression.
"What the hell is her problem?" Natsuko wondered aloud. "She had no reason to do that to you! You were trying to help her!"
Teiko raised her hand again, and Natsuko helped her get fully to her feet. She turned towards her friend and, rubbing her chest where Himeya had hit her, said, "You didn't see it? She had a swan with her."
At that, Natsuko's anger diminished and their own swans poked out of their respective bags.
"That would make three," Zeta said, thoughtfully. "Just like the Chaos Dragons." The others silently let this sink in for a moment.
"What? No way." Natsuko was waving her hands. "I am not working with her. Not when she treats my friend like that. I know I said to give her a chance, but we did, and she punches Teiko? No."
Teiko brushed her jacket and skirt off and said, "No." Natsuko looked over. "I don't think she's really like that," and bent down to collect the things Himeya left behind.
"Did you hit your head that hard? Why?"
Teiko placed a handful of loose ends into Himeya's bag. "I just don't."
"What are you going to do with that?" Natsuko asked, watching her friend collect the remaining items on the ground. Teiko stuck them in the bag, too, and closed the flap.
"I'll give it back to her on Monday."
Natsuko opened her mouth, but stopped. (I was going to ask if she planned on looking for Himeya now, but…) The look in Teiko's eyes was stern, one Natsuko was not familiar with.
"Well, we're almost at the shopping arcade anyway. I'll treat for lunch," Natsuko said. There was still gravel and dirt on Teiko's back, so Natsuko gently brushed it off her shoulders and lower back. Teiko brushed her own skirt again before picking up both bags.
"Ok, let's go," she said with a sigh of relief.
999
Low hanging branches and bushes were pushed aside while grass, fallen leaves and smaller plants were trampled underfoot as Himeya crashed through the woods. Hot tears left streaks on her face, contorted in anger and frustration. She did not care that her jaw hurt or that her clothes were dirty and now getting snags from the foliage she rushed past. Finally she arrived at the lake shore and stood on a large rock that stuck out of the ground. Despite her anger, Himeya set her bag down gently on account of its contents: Tau climbed out and stood next to Himeya.
"No!" she shouted to the lake. "I'm not saving them! Screw them! I HATE THEM!" She paused only to sniff back tears unsuccessfully and sob a few times before continuing. "My dad is going to kill me! I hate him! He doesn't care; why should he care about me, so why should he care about this?" She pointed to get swollen jaw. "No, I know he'll be like, 'Where'd you get that?' He'll probably give me a matching one on the other side, asshole!" Himeya sniffed and swallowed. "Why does all this happen to me? Why does my life suck so much?" For a moment, she was quiet, looking out at the calm water. "I should just drown myself in the lake," she said, with an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach that was not hunger.
"You don't mean that," came a small voice near her feet.
"I don't mean it," she responded, not moving her gaze.
"I feel that your life can get better," Tau said.
Himeya sat down on the cold, hard, uneven rock, propped her folded arms on her knees and rested her chin on them.
"It's too scary," she said, quietly.
"Which is? Living or dying?"
"Dying," Himeya admitted, even quieter than before.
Himeya saw Tau walk up next to her out of the corner of her eye and turned slightly to look at the swan.
"May I examine your injury?" Himeya did not say anything, but changed to a cross legged sitting position and leaned down, closer to the yellow bird. She could not see her own face, but her jaw was swollen and splotch.y where she had been struck, burst blood vessels under the skin giving it a shocking red color.
"Scrapes and other stuff I can hide, but this..." Himeya held still when she saw Tau raise her wings up, thinking she would be prodded by pinion feathers, but Tau never touched her. Instead, she closed her eyes and appeared to be concentrating, and a faint tingle appeared inside Himeya's cheek. The sensation grew until it encompassed her whole jaw, and while Himeya was nervous about whatever was happening, she continued to hold still. After a few more moments, Tau relaxed, or rather, half collapsed onto the rock beside Himeya. She put her hand to her jaw in amazement, finding it no longer hurt and turned quickly to Tau.
"Oh my gosh, what was that?" Himeya exclaimed.
Breathing heavily, Tau said, "I have some limited magic. Which I can use to heal. But it's very tiring to use."
Himeya gently scooped Tau up in her hands and cradled the bird against her chest.
"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much, Tau. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Can you go home now?"
"Yeah, it'll be ok."
Tau gave a small smile.
"I have to take care of you, first."
Himeya set Tau gently back inside her bag and left the woods to return to town. After walking through the residential section bordering the forest, she came to a convenience store. Inside, the clerk was busy ringing up a few customers, so Himeya took the liberty to check out with a few items on her own.
Down a side street, she stopped and squatted down behind a dumpster, opened the school bag and helped Tau out. She opened a packaged rice ball and handed it to the bird, then tore open a melon bread for herself. The two companions ate in silence, regaining some energy. Since there was still too much time left in the day to return home, Himeya took Tau downtown and they hung out inside a department store to kill a few hours in comfort. Himeya actually fell asleep on a recliner in the furniture department, and when a salesman woke her up, she decided it would be prudent to retreat.
Around dinnertime, Himeya had gotten tired of wandering around and decided to return home. Even before she unlocked the door, she could hear her father, shouting at her mother. Grim faced, she turned the handle and tried to slip inside unnoticed, but luck was not on her side today.
"Wh' the hell're you home so early?" Daiki shouted. Himeya did not move from where she stood, one step away from the door, and even at that distance, she could smell the alcohol. "Y'r mother and I are havin' a conversation and y'r int'ruptin'. Walkin' in like y' own the place." Daiki laughed as if he had made a joke, but no one else found it funny. Himeya's whole body tensed up, she clenched her jaw until it hurt, and gripped the strap on her bag with white knuckles, but did not dare retort. She moved one foot towards the door to her room, but Daiki stopped her. "Where do y' think y'r goin?' 'S rude t' walk away when y'r dear ol' dad's talkin' to ya. How old are ya now? Why don' you get a job? You live in my house, eat my food… Where d'ya think that money comes from? Me! Y'r jus' moochin' off my sal'ry!" Himeya bolted for her room, but as she did, Daiki shouted, louder than before, "You c'd make s'm money! Pull y'r weight around here!" And as she slammed and locked the door behind her (even though she knew the door could still be opened from the outside), "Don't you slam that door! 'F I lose the security d'posit on this place, I'll give it to ya!"
Faintly, Himeya heard her mother say, "Daiki!"
"Shut! Up! I wasn't talking to you!"
Standing just behind the door, Himeya screwed up her face in an attempt to hold back the sobs, but it only delayed them. She could not let him hear her crying, so she dropped the bag and practically dove onto her futon, burying her face in her pillow before it all came out. From the spot where the bag landed, Tau climbed out and silently walked over to Himeya, looking like she herself might cry. Tau placed a pale, yellow wing softly on Himeya's silently shaking shoulder.
As usual, later in the evening, once Daiki had passed out in front of the TV, Himeya snuck out of her room to eat. Tonight, there was no food left out for her, and she suspected her father had forbid her mother from making her a portion. From the kitchenette, she looked over at the figure in the recliner.
(There he is. Look at him. Drunk himself to sleep again. Helpless. I could just go over and…) A chill ran up Himeya's spine. What was more frightening about that scenario? Succeeding or failing? She would never know, since she turned away and scavenged for food instead.
Back in her room, Himeya did not really want to talk with Tau, because she knew she would just go back to wanting to help people. She really did, in the bottom of her heart, but right now she just wanted to hold onto this anger and hatred, as if it would save her; as if it would get her out of here. What she failed to realize was that with that anger and hatred came an unhealthy measure of fear.
Later, Himeya stood before the bathroom mirror. Her ribs and hip bones protruded more than they should, and she was still hungry. One hip sported an angry, red bruise from where she had been pushed down earlier. The elbow and knee on that side of her body also bore scrapes from the alleyway, and the remnants of a bruise circled her wrist, where Daiki had grabbed her last week. But her face was fine, and as plain as ever. Without smiling, Himeya bathed and went to bed.
999
Sunday morning light woke Himeya and she turned over. The apartment was quiet, so Daiki definitely left for work, but just in case, she got up and gently opened the door to peer out. Clear. Tau was also awake, sitting patiently on the other side of the futon.
"Good morning," Himeya said, returning to the room.
"Good morning," returned Tau. "How are you feeling?"
Himeya gave a half smile and answered, "Ok." She looked back at the door. "I'm going to get some food." Tau nodded.
Himeya's mother was nowhere to be seen, either, so Himeya helped herself to some leftovers, eating all she thought she could get away with. Halfway through, she realized that since they were alone, Tau did not have to hide, so she called her out.
Tau joined her, but declined food, saying "No, I'm fine, thank you. You eat."
Himeya was torn between lounging around and leaving, since the apartment was not exactly a nice place to be. She decided on the latter, and dressed in a casual pair of jeans and a generic sweatshirt.
"Come on, Tau, let's go out." Tau got in the duffle bag and Himeya put her shoes on. She locked the door behind them and walked off.
Half a block from the apartment, there was a shifty-looking man, who eyed her as she walked past. "Where ya goin?" he said.
Himeya ran.
Out of breath, several blocks later, she slowed, and ducked into an office building to look around.
"Uh, may I help you?" Asked the receptionist.
Himeya, satisfied that she was not being followed, made a show of looking around in confusion, said, "Oops, wrong building!" and left. The encounter had left her scared, and her hands shook as a result. Nevertheless, she continued into town. With Tau still in the bag, Himeya wound through the streets, not thinking too much about any particular destination, but due to her earlier sprint, she eventually tired and looked for a place to rest, out of the way. She came upon a green space between some office buildings that had a bench which faced away from the street, and planted herself on it. When she opened the bag, she was alarmed to see that Tau looked exhausted, much like she had after performing her healing magic the day before.
"Tau, what's wrong?" Himeya asked, nervously.
Tau seemed reluctant to answer, but buckled under Himeya's gaze. "I'm sorry, Himeya. It's just that I'm awfully hungry."
The memory of Tau declining breakfast surfaced in Himeya's mind. "Why didn't you eat this morning? If you're so hungry."
"I, I didn't want to take any food from you. You need it more than I."
Himeya felt her face grow red. "Silly, what good does it do me if you're hungry? Let's get you something to eat."
Tau bowed her head humbly. "Thank you, Himeya."
Himeya looked down the street and saw a convenience store on the next block. She held the bag open while Tau reentered, then hoisted it to her shoulder and started off.
Inside, she helped herself to a sliced egg salad sandwich and an anpan, a bag of potato chips, a bottle of tea and a candy bar, stuffing each one inside the duffel as she went, like it was no big deal. She even waved goodbye to the cashier as she left. Back on the bench, she arranged the food and helped Tau out, then said, "Dig in!" and opened the sandwich. She only got it halfway to her mouth when she noticed that Tau had a disapproving look on her face. The sandwich slowly sunk back into Himeya's lap and she knew what the problem was before Tau said anything.
"I can't eat this. It's stolen."
Himeya just looked down at the half sandwich in her hand and they sat in silence. Cars drove past on the road just feet from their bench.
"I-"
"I'm sorry, Himeya. That wasn't fair to you. I know you don't do it out of malice-"
Himeya abruptly turned towards her, leaning down and supporting herself with her hands on the bench. "I don't have any money, Tau! If I didn't, I'd starve!" she pleaded, then sat upright again. She had crushed the sandwich in her hand and egg salad was leaking onto her fingers. "I'm sorry, I can't get you food any other way."
Tau still looked apprehensive, but Himeya was genuine and the bird sensed her concern she had for her well-being. Despite her misgivings, Tau reached for the anpan, causing Himeya to look questioning at her.
"There are things which are right and things which are good, and the two are not always in agreement," she says, opening the bag.
"I'm sorry," Himeya repeated, ashamed.
Tau caught her eye, took a bite of the anpan and said, "Dig in."
After lunch, Himeya found herself waking to the beach again. It was a good place to go when she wanted to be alone in the fall and winter; the cold kept locals and tourists alike away. She hopped down the seawall, onto the wave breakers, then onto the sand. There was a section she preferred, where a large rocky outcropping made wave breakers unnecessary, and she could sit against the seawall, which is where she headed. Tau, now more energized, having eaten, climbed out of the bag and stretched her wings.
"Do you remember what I said about changing your destiny?"
Himeya walked onto the rocks. The wind was not so strong that it would blow waves up this far. "Uh huh."
"What does that mean to you?"
Himeya thought for a minute while looking out at the ocean. "I can do whatever I want?"
"It's not a right or wrong question."
"Well, I can do whatever I want, then."
"What would you do?" Tau said, but Himeya looked like she did not understand the question. "What would you do to change your destiny?"
"There's not much I can do. I'm just a kid. I live at home."
"Is that what you truly believe?"
Himeya thought again. "What else is there? I can't move out. I can't get a job. I couldn't make it on my own."
"What if you made some friends, to start?" A shadow passed across Himeya's face and she kept silent. "One doesn't always set off to make friends. Often you meet them along the way." Himeya could only think of the bullying and aggression she had been subjected to over the course of her life. "Let me ask you something else, then. You would like to help people, wouldn't you?"
"I would," Himeya responded quietly, looking away from Tau as she did.
"Remember when we spoke about Pretty Cure?" A nod. "You said you would help me, and we've become friends."
Himeya did remember that conversation, but as a result of more recent events, her determination was wavering, and several feelings were in conflict inside her heart.
"I-" Tau looked up at Himeya, who clutched a fist at her chest. "Why should I save them?" she said, still avoiding Tau's eyes.
Tau sighed and was about to respond, when something caused her feathers to stand on end.
"Chaos!" she exclaimed, softly. Himeya turned towards her, but the bird was already moving. "Himeya, hide!" she hissed.
"Am I losing my touch?" a deep voice called from further down the beach. Himeya looked in its direction to see a tall, reddish, humanoid dragon walking towards her, and was thoroughly confused by the appearance of this creature, but when she looked to Tau for clarification, she was nowhere to be found. At that instant, a wave of dizziness, nausea and fear hit Himeya like a physical blow causing her to stagger and fall to her knees, holding one hand over her mouth. "That's more like it." Himeya could barely lift her head to aim her wide eyes at the monstrosity which stood just meters away from her. As she did, the dizziness overwhelmed her and she toppled over, hitting her head on the soft but cold sand and rolling onto her back.
The Chaos Dragon took another few steps and stood over Himeya's body. His red eyes burned into Himeya's own with a festive, wicked red light. "Scared? You should be. But you're in luck today; even scared, one human doesn't produce enough Chaos Energy to be worthwhile. But a stadium…" He looked off in the direction of town. "Now that would be a good use of my time." He looked back at Himeya. "If you want to keep your streak of good luck going, stay away from the soccer game today!" the dragon said, and laughed menacingly, then walked off. Several more agonizing moments later, the dizziness and nausea vanished, as if they had never been present in the first place. The fear however, remained. Himeya closed her eyes and just laid on the damp sand.
"I'm so sorry, Himeya!" said Tau, running out to her. "If I had sensed him sooner, we could have both hidden. It's my fault."
Tears had slipped down the sides of Himeya's face while she laid there. She sat up and wiped them away, then looked all around her. The red dragon was gone, but her heart still beat quickly and her breathing was heavy.
"That was a Chaos Dragon. They're the ones trying to upset balance on Earth," Tau hastily explained. "I, I wouldn't have stood a chance against him if he had seen me. This is why I need you to become a Pretty Cure. With that power, you could stand up against him."
Himeya wiped sand from her hands onto her pants, pressed them against her temples and closed her eyes. (What do I do?) Images of bullying came to mind. (What do I do? I,) Images of her father came to mind. (I, …) Images of taking notes in class came to mind. (I! …) Images of working together with Teiko came to mind.
"I can't let that happen!" Himeya shouted, eyes popping open. She quickly scrambled to her feet and made to dash off, but stopped and turned to Tau. "I'm going to warn everyone!" Tau flapped into her arms, and Himeya climbed the rocks to the top of the seawall, then sprinted towards town.
Again, she was out of breath in a few blocks and slowed greatly, but she had no money for bus fare, so she forced herself to press on; there was too much at stake to quit.
Even though Himeya did not follow sports, she still knew the layout of the town, and made directly for the stadium. When she finally arrived, she stopped to sit on a low wall, so out of breath that she would not have been able to speak if she tried. Sweat made her shirt cling to her back, her nose ran from the exertion and cold, and she felt more like she would throw up than when she encountered the Chaos Dragon's aura. Violent coughs shook her body, but once she regained some composure, she looked around.
An abnormally large crowd was queueing up to purchase tickets for today's soccer game, and even Himeya recognized the out of town opponent as a big name. Himeya stood and walked quickly towards the gate, which was not yet open, and approached a man who was on the other side.
"Young lady, the gates won'-"
"There's a monster that's going to come and attack the stadium during the game! You have to keep people away!"
The man's mouth fell open a bit and he stared at this flushed, out of breath, sweaty girl carrying a stuffed bird who was telling him a monster was coming.
"Please act properly around the customers. We don't want them to leave."
"No! That's- No! That's what I want! For them to leave!"
"Please leave, young lady."
Himeya stared, incredulous, at the man behind the gate, then ran off. She walked quickly to the front of the line, where the ticket counters were, and tried again. People gave her a wide berth when they saw the condition she was in, and she pushed up to one counter.
"Stop! Stop selling tickets! There's a monster coming to attack the game!"
Those standing around her just stared in confusion and suspicion. Himeya looked from face to face, but their reactions were the same, and she screamed in frustration. A moment later, she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned.
"You're disturbing the fans, young lady. You need to leave," said the security guard. Tears welled up in Himeya's eyes, and, clutching Tau tightly to her chest, she ran. Down the street, she turned into an alley behind a shop and leaned up against the wall, crying freely now.
"Who cares! Let them die!"
"Himeya, you can still help. If you were a Pretty Cure, you could protect them," said Tau.
"Why? What use is it?"
Tau paused, then said, "You don't really feel that way."
(I don't know what I feel!) Himeya pressed the back of her free hand, clenched into a fist, against her eyes and gritted her teeth. (I don't know!)
And suddenly, the oppressive aura from before returned. Had she not been leaning against the wall, Himeya may very well have fallen from the dizziness, and she clamped her free hand against her mouth.
"Oh, a cygnet," said a familiar, deep voice. As Himeya looked up with wide eyes, the red dragon plucked Tau right out of her grasp.
"Himeya!"
Even hindered by dizziness and dangerously close to throwing up, less than a meter from this huge monster, Himeya tried to stand her ground. "Do- don't, don't you hurt her…" she said, though her voice faltered.
The Chaos Dragon looked skeptically at her. "Why not? You just said you didn't care if I killed everyone in there. What's one swan?"
"Not Tau, please, not her," Himeya said, feeling increasingly weaker and more terrified. "She's my friend, please. She's all I have. Please!" she groveled through her tears, not even noticing as she slid down the wall to sit with her knees up against her chest.
The red dragon had watched this humiliating display impassively, but then a wicked grin spread across his mouth and his eyes glowed a menacing red. "What will you do for her return?"
999
Eyecatcher C: Wearing a nurse's outfit, Tau attends to Zeta and Pai, who are lying in hospital beds. She brings them a tray of food and they eat it.