Blissful Returns
Disclaimer: PPGZ is not mine. End of story.
To Imply the Truth
(Seirei Residence, January 7, 2036, Monday)
"Wake up, nee-san!" Kokoro jumped onto her sister's bed. Ramira shrugged off the girl as she continued her sleep.
"… You're not a morning person, aren't you, Bani?"
"I don't know where I got the habit…" Ramira mumbled, rolling out of the bed and landing on her feet.
"Well, better start sleeping early, because it's school time!" Kokoro grinned. "Dad and Mom had you enrolled in a school, right?"
"The lack of the Birth Certificate certainly slowed down matters…" Ramira chuckled.
"Well, can't be helped. You don't know your birth name after all!"
"I certainly don't know my name when I was a baby." Ramira answered, walking into the bathroom. 'Granted, I never went through that stage… Straight into Teenage Years, how troublesome.'
(School)
"A transferee?" Momoko asked dubiously. "At this time of year?"
"Isn't it a bit late?" Miyako asked.
"She'll be WAY behind." Kaoru shrugged.
"She scored very high scores in the entrance exam." Ms. Keane said as she entered the room. "Though why she entered school so late is still a mystery."
"So where is she, Keane-sensei?" Momoko asked.
"… This will be quite the surprise, Momoko…" Keane sighed as she took her seat.
"What do you mean?" Momoko asked.
"Come on in." Ms. Keane urged the new student. The girl who entered indeed shocked the whole class. For a while no one was able to speak as the girl stood uncomfortably at front. Momoko was the first to break the silence.
"… Bani?"
"… I'm Seirei Ramira, 14 years old." Ramira bowed. The class was dumbfounded as they stared at Ramira, who indeed looked like Bani, if not for her attire. Momoko also noted that she wore a black ribbon.
"Now class… I think we'll go over the topics that we already tackled last year… Yes… That will be apt…" Ms Keane stumbled on her words. Then she noticed Ramira's stare. "Truth is, Ramira, seeing you is quite, umm… nostalgic." Ms. Keane said. "Please take the seat in front of Momoko, if you would." Ramira nodded.
"Do I happen to resemble a certain person you once knew?" Ramira fidgeted with her ponytail, wondering whether she should remove it or not. Of all the luck, WHY did she have to be placed in the class that knew her as Bani?
"This is interesting." A voice creeped into Ramira's ears. "This makes everything a lot easier."
"Shut up." Ramira hissed.
"You say something, Ramira?" Ms. Keane asked.
"… Nothing." Ramira sighed.
Soon, the class ended and the class started to talk a bit before the next teacher arrives. Ramira sighed as she placed her notes back in her bag.
"Hello Ramira!" Momoko jumped in front of the girl, startling Ramira and causing her to tumble out of her seat.
"Whoa, Ramira!" Momoko rushed to her side.
"… Leave me alone." Ramira said coldly. "I don't want you anywhere near me, Momoko!" Ramira moved away from the girl. Momoko stared at her back as Ramira walked to the corner and kept away from everyone in general. The class was confused.
"Why is she getting so cold all of a sudden?" Kaoru asked.
"Must be Momoko." Himeko grinned. She walked up to the friendless girl. "Hello, Ramira. Would you like some accessories? You look very plain. Maybe I can help."
"Would you like to walk into the bathroom and look at the mirror?" Ramira answered back. "Your fashion sense is a disaster." Momoko winced. Ramira had definitely not learned the word "tact."
"Wha… HOW DARE YOU!" Himeko rushed at Ramira but the girl only stood up and walked to the side as Himeko came crashing into the wall.
"… That was PRICELESS!" Kaoru laughed. "Nice job, Seirei-san."
"… Thank you." Ramira nodded. "But how do you guys put up with her?"
"… We ignore her." Miyako shrugged. "You know, ignorance is bliss."
"Well then… Momoko… Miyako… Kaoru… Please ignore me." Ramira bowed to each and moved away.
"What?" Miyako's eyes blinked rapidly. Momoko's mouth twitched. Kaoru's eyes widened.
"What did she mean by that?" Momoko asked.
"… I can't believe it…" Kaoru mumbled. "… Why will she ban us from talking to her?"
"… Didn't you girls notice that she knew our names without us introducing ourselves?" Miyako asked. The other two froze. Ramira only looked at the notes that she borrowed from one off the class. The bell rang and the teacher entered the room.
(Bani's Mind)
"Why are you pushing away your friends?" the voice said eerily.
"Because… I don't want you to touch them." Bani snarled back.
"Oh, but eventually, you won't be able to resist their advances of friendship, my dear rabbit." The voice laughed maniacally.
"SHUT UP!" Bani yelled through her thoughts. Suddenly, she felt a tap on her head.
"… You're a transfer here, but you should know not to daydream." The teacher said.
"… Sorry... I'll pay attention, sir." Ramira apologized. "I wasn't able to sleep well last night…"
"Ok." The teacher nodded. Ramira sighed, taking down notes. Momoko looked at her back, worried.
(After School)
"Hey, Ramira!" Momoko ran to the girl's retreating figure. Ramira quickened her pace but Momoko matched her pace. "How did you know my name?" Ramira stopped in her place, finally noticing the mistake she had made.
"… I… overheard that overbearing girl say your name." Ramira said as an alibi.
"You said my name before that happened." Momoko shook her head. "And you shouldn't have heard Miyako and Kaoru's names either." Momoko's stop gave Ramira the headstart she needed. She made a dash away from Momoko.
"HEY WAIT!" Momoko chased after Ramira. But Ramira had already disappeared in an alley.
"Déjà vu." Momoko mumbled, remembering her chase last Christmas. Then a certain event clicked. Miyako and Kaoru arrived at her side.
"… Last Christmas Eve… Didn't Mojo try to use a hostage… And a brave girl kicked the monkey to grab back the girl?"
"Yeah." Miyako nodded.
"… Didn't the hostage girl yell out a name?"
"… Wasn't it Ramira?" Kaoru jumped up, suddenly alert.
"… Should we tell someone?" Miyako asked.
"No. We weren't supposed to have been there, remember?" Kaoru rolled her eyes. "Only the Powerpuff Girls Z, Mojo, and those two girls were there."
"It can't be a coincidence."
(Seirei Residence)
"Welcome home, nee-san." Kokoro said brightly. Then she frowned. "You look like you ran a marathon."
"Oh, made any friends today, Ramira?" Seimei asked.
"No." Ramira said, running to her room.
"How sad, my precious rabbit. Why don't you give up already?" A voice said. "You really shouldn't run away from your troubles."
"… SHUT UP!" Ramira yelled, her ears covered by her hands. The voice's shadow disappeared, and Ramira finally felt calm.
"… Running away… Is the only way I can keep Momoko safe… I won't hand her over to you." Ramira panted, as she lay down on her bed.
"Ramira, I'm sorry to disturb you, but please get the groceries! I forgot some stuff at the store!"
"Right." Ramira nodded. She grabbed the transformation belt at her bedside and snapped it on.
(Lab)
"Ramira looked a lot like Bani." Momoko said. She was unusually dispassionate while eating her cake. "But why will she avoid me so?"
"I don't know. But she said about the same to us." Kaoru mumbled.
"Hmm… Well, we know what we need to do now, right, Momoko?" Miyako said brightly.
"We'll get her to like us, even if we have to humiliate ourselves!" Momoko jumped up, grinning.
"I'm all for the first part, but spare me the second bit." Kaoru crossed her arms.
"You guys should really not discuss about school problems at the lab." Ken said in distaste. "I understand the need to discuss it but there appears to be an attack."
"Who is it this time?" Kaoru jumped up.
"I don't know." Peach mumbled. "It feels like a new monster."
"But didn't all the dark energy disappear with Kare?" Momoko asked, confused.
"… I wish I could answer with a logical answer, but… I can't find one." Prof. Utonium sighed, sitting down.
"What matters is that you find the monster and defeat it." Ken said. The three nodded, preparing their transformation.
Hyper Blossom!
Rolling Bubbles!
Powered Buttercup!
(Downtown)
"Is that… a rope?" Bubbles asked.
"Technically… It's a lasso… But… isn't it moving by itself?" Blossom sweat dropped. The rope lasso was catching people here and there and doing a bunch of crazy stuff.
"Look again." Buttercup pointed at the end of the rope. "It has a person at the end, but with all this commotion, it's no surprise we didn't see the dwarf-AGH!" Buttercup wasn't able to finish her sentence when the rope caught her.
"I ain't small, kid!" The short cowboy snarled. "I say you're just dang too tall!"
"This guy needs to go back to the ranch he came from." Blossom threw her yo-yo at the cowboy.
"You'll never catch this outlaw, lass!" The dwarf threw another rope around Blossom. "But I could catch you!"
"Bubble Popper!" Bubbles called out, sending a single bubble to collide into the man, but the man proved agile for his size and easily caught Bubbles as well.
"This guy!" Buttercup gritted, struggling against the firm rope.
"Don't hurt him!" A woman called. "That's my son!"
"Oh shoot!" Blossom moaned. "We have enough problems already!"
(Grocery)
"Ok, that's all the groceries." Ramira checked her list. "Since it's just stuff Seimei-san, oops, Mom I mean, forgot, I guess having little to buy is logical." Ramira walked into an alley and hid from public view.
Lunar Bliss!
A burst of purple light dashed upwards into the sky. Bliss hid above the clouds.
"Guh… I forgot that clouds were wet." Bliss shook her head to try and expel some water from her moist hair. She looked downwards once more to see her the Powerpuffs in the struggle.
"… They've always been able to get out of crises like these, so why bother?" Bliss said to herself, trying to convince herself that she doesn't need to help. Bliss flew away from the scene back to her home.
(Powerpuffs)
"I suggest trying to break through those ropes." Ken said.
"What do you think is the first thing people do when they're tied up in a lasso?" Buttercup yelled back. Ken sighed.
"I caught my price, now next is the rest of the city!" The kid said with a loud voice, almost crazy with the satisfaction.
"We need to beat him!" Blossom said, mostly to herself.
"We're tied up! How can you beat someone when you can't beat the binds?" Buttercup shot back. Today was simply not a happy day for Buttercup.
"Ribbon Catcher!" A voice called out. A ribbon wrapped itself around the miniature cowboy.
"What, I'm CAUGHT!" The cowboy struggled, but the ribbon easily kept its position. The crowd traced the ribbon to its holder to see a girl floating in midair, in her hand a crescent hilt tied to the purple ribbon wrapped around the dwarf. What surprised everyone is her attire. The Purple Powerpuff Clothes.
"… Bliss…" Blossom gasped. Bubbles and Buttercup likewise stared at their old friend, their mouths agape.
"… A purple powerpuff? No way! Is it real?"
"You…. You caught me?"
"Unwinding Spin!" Bliss said, pulling the ribbon to cause the kid to spin like a top. His hat flew off and Bliss deftly caught it with her free hand. When the monster stopped spinning, he was once more a normal boy. The ropes around the Powerpuff Girls Z disappeared.
"… Bliss… You're… back." Blossom's smile was widening with hope and promise of the return of her lost friend. But Bliss backed away from the three.
"DON'T GET NEAR ME!" Bliss yelled at the three, catching the attention of everyone in the area. Then she repeated quietly. "Don't get near me."
"Why?" Blossom rushed towards Bliss but the girl dodged.
"… because… I won't let you get near me. Ever." Bliss flew away from the scene, rushing through the clouds to get rid of the trailing cameras.
"Professor… Did you get where she went?" Blossom asked.
"No… Her signature is not loaded into the computer, so it's impossible to try and find her current location." Professor Utonium sighed. Suddenly, a reporter called the three from the sky, eager to milk out whatever information he can get on the mysterious new Powerpuff.
(Seirei Residence, Nighttime)
The Seirei family was settled in front of the Television while Ramira continued reading the book on her lap.
"The Purple Powerpuff Z's name is Lunar Bliss. The four of us used to be quite close. But I have no clue why she suddenly said for us to not get near her." Blossom said with her tone depressed.
"But it appears she still cares for you." The reporter said. "Considering you four live at the Lab together…"
"We don't." Bubbles replied. "In fact, we haven't seen Bliss in a long time now…"
"But why had she never appeared before this day?"
"… That's best left secret." Buttercup said, pulling her two comrades away from the scene.
"Is this what you were up to when you suddenly barged in the house, dropped the groceries in my lap, and rushed out without even a word?" Seimei chuckled.
"Well, it's not too surprising for us that there's a new Powerpuff though." Seishou chuckled.
"But… The surprise is that the Powerpuffs know you… Why is that, Ramira?"
"… That's… a secret." Ramira nodded, walking back to her room.
"… I knew you couldn't resist the pain your friends were experiencing." The voice resonated.
"Just SHUT UP!" Ramira buried her head into her pillow. "… Please… Blossom… Momoko… Don't get near me… Don't get emotionally attached with me… Leave me alone. You're better off without me." Bani/Ramira's tears rolled over her cheeks.
Chapter End
Momoko: Do you enjoy getting rid of the Blissful part of the title?
Lunar: Who knows?
Kaoru: Next Chapter
Miyako: It's either To Joke with Them or To Join.
Lunar: It could change to what I want, when I want.