"A talent show, for real?!" Kintsuki asked in surprise as she read the paper in her hands. She was shaking with delight and seemed to be the most excited of all.
Meihime rolled her eyes, "Don't you need a talent for a talent show, hence the term 'talent show'?''
Sensaina, Jonetsu, and Haruko widened their eyes as they looked over to Kintsuki. The blonde girl put on her thinking face.
"Hm..." She sounded. She snapped her fingers as an idea popped into her head.
"Check this out!" Kintsuki exclaimed. The Cures amongst them seemed eager while Meihime seemed uninterested.
"Oh, Meihime did you not hear me? Figures, considering..." Kintsuki began. She walked towards Meihime and pulled a coin from her ear," You got all this money up in there!" The girls clapped while Meihime still remained skeptical.
"Woah, Kintsuki's a magician!'' Haruko shouted.
"That wasn't magic, it was a trick," Meihime stated.
"Hmph, at least I have a talent," Kintsuki responded.
Meihime raised her eyebrows in disgust, "Are you serious? My dancing could beat your lame magic tricks any day!"
"Guys, guys! Let's settle down!" Sensaina weakly encouraged.
"I wouldn't call it that a talent though. It's more like a..hobby," Kintsuki countered.
"Hobby?!" Meihime repeated.
"Or pastime, whatever you prefer."
"Pastime?!"
"We don't need to argue! We can just, laugh it off.." Jonetsu said, forcing a laugh to try and fend off the rising tension.
Meihime clenched her fists and Kintsuki slyly turned her head away.
"Want to play peacemaker again?" Jonetsu whispered to Sensaina.
"I don't think this war will end so easily." Sensaina responded nervously. She darted her eyes back and forth from Kintsuki and Meihime. She already had seen them argue and bicker over the silliest things, only to resolve their feud five minutes later. But this time, they seemed to be as serious as ever.
"That's it," Meihime concluded harshly as she took a firm grasp to Sensaina's arm," We'll preform in the talent show."
"Fine then!" Kintsuki swung her hand over and grabbed Jonetsu's arm," We're performing too! And we're going to win with no doubt!"
As the two stormed off in their designated path with their 'partner' Haruko looked around in confusion.
"Why doesn't anybody pick us?" Haruko sobbed.
"Desu.." Toki sobbed.
Kintsuki brought Jonetsu to her house to think of what exactly to do for the talent show. This was Jonetsu's first time in Kintsuki's room. Her walls were canary yellow and adorned with medals and participation ribbons from basketball tournaments and science fairs, respectively. She sat on Kintsuki's twin sized bed and felt somewhat awkward as she wasn't used to sitting on small beds. Strangely enough, there wasn't anything in her room that seemed to involve magic. Not even a simple Alakazam! poster hung up.
"Kintsuki.." Jonetsu began.
"Hm?" She sounded as she rummaged through her closet.
"How did you get into magic tricks in the first place?" Jonetsu asked.
Kintsuki fished out a magician's hat that was laying in her closet and put it on.
"It's no trick!" Kintsuki winked," It's an illusion!"
"So how'd you get into it?"Jonetsu repeated, her tone now sounding unimpressed.
"Well, it might've been roughly ten years ago when I had my first encounter with magic." Kintsuki began," My dad introduced me to magic when he pulled a coin from my ear. I found it so cool I wanted to learn how to do magic myself! He started me off easy, put something under a hat, tapping it twice, then it would disappear. It took me forever to get that one. Then later that year, I mastered all the card tricks and then the disappearing milk in the cone trick. So it's always been a closeted thrill for me.."
Jonetsu was stunned,"All the card tricks?"
Kintsuki made a set of cards appear before them," Pick a card?"
"I'll pass, how come you don't know any other tricks?" Jonetsu questioned.
"Well..about one year later, I was in progress for mastering that 'cards from the mouth' trick and then dad came home from work that day really gloomy and said he wasn't going to teach me magic anymore."
"Wait, just like that,without a reason?" Jonetsu asked.
"Well.." Kintsuki sat beside Jonetsu onto the bed," He told me to watch the news that day, but then I forgot to so I never found out.."
"Do you at least remember what day it was when your dad resigned from your magic lessons?" Jonetsu asked.
Kintsuki's drooping head sprang up immediately," It was August 5th 2003, two days after my fifth birthday."
Jonetsu was surprised with Kintsuki's response," Ok well then we'll just type up magic August 5th 2003 on the internet and see what comes up.
Then went onto Kintsuki's banana yellow laptop to search up the date.
"Meihime, you do realize I'm a terrible dancer right?'' Sensaina asked.
"Nonsense, we'll whip you into decent technique," Meihime said as she stretched her legs.
"Whip?'' Sensaina repeated," Anyway, are you doing all this just to beat Kintsuki?"
"Not entirely, but it'll just be the icing on the cake if I do," Meihime beamed cynically.
"Then why are you doing this?" Sensaina asked.
"To show off my skills of course," Meihime responded as she began to stretch her arms.
Sensaina then said," I guess it'll be nice seeing your performance in this talent show."
Meihime smiled down to her and twirled for the second time. Sensaina was mesmerized as she watched Meihime dance. She was graceful and flawless as expected. Sensaina quickly remembered she'd also have to been as good as her if they wanted to win.
"Do I really have to be as good as you?" Sensaina timidly asked. Meihime shot a glare towards her.
"If you want to dance with me, then yes." Meihime responded.
"Then do I have to dance with you?" Sensaina asked. Meihime twirled towards her.
"Well, I guess you could sing the song I'll dance to.." Meihime suggested.
"Sing?!" Sensaina repeated in alarm.
"Wait..no it'll be much more appropriate if the song is hummed." Meihime said.
Sensaina let out a sigh of relief," Fine, I'll do that." Meihime continued with her dancing.
As she danced, Sensaina looked around the dance room. She was already surprised Meihime's house had a dance room. She looked at the walls of the room. Pictures of different girls, all the same age, were hung on the walls with each of the girls looking remotely similar to Meihime.
"Meihime, are these all your ancestors?" Sensaina asked as she still gazed at the girls on the walls.
Meihime stopped dancing for a moment and walked to a picture. It seemed to be the oldest one being sepia toned and somewhat damaged.
"That was my Great great great great great great great great great grandmother," Meihime stated. She moved on to the rest of the pictures and introduced Sensaina to each and everyone of her great grandmothers.
"And this was my mom when she was young.." Meihime said. Under the picture her name was engraved onto a small plaque.
"Nadeshiko Aisaki.."Sensaina read quietly.
"They all grew up to be very talented dancers and a generation was never skipped." Meihime stated, her voice noticeably quieter.
"Wow, now I'm really hyped!" Sensaina stood up from her seat.
"Huh?" Meihime asked.
"I just wouldn't be able to watch you lose knowing that dancing's in your blood!" Sensaina exclaimed," Heck, there's no way you could lose!"
Meihime reddened a bit at Sensaina's remark before she asked, "Now are you ready to practice?"
"You bet!" Sensaina replied.
The next day, with none of the girls in sight, Haruko laid on a bench with Toki at her side.
"Leaving me and Toki out like that.." Haruko muttered.
"Not fair-desu.." Toki muttered.
"We're better than this-kore.."Doki said. Haruko looked at her surroundings before shutting her eyes. In the front of her bench were two stores side by side. One was a ballet store, the other was a magic store. Haruko shut her eyes and as they shut, she heard a pair of familiar voices nearby.
"Do you think they'll actually fix those slippers of yours in such short notice?" Sensaina cautiously asked.
"Sure they will! This isn't the first time I've been through this scenario.." Meihime responded sheepishly.
"Isn't the talent show tomorrow?" Haruko asked as she reluctantly opened her eyes. As the two walked into the ballet store, Haruko then heard another pair of voices she knew walking from the opposite side of the street.
"You are not blowing your budget on some stupid box to cut me in!" Jonetsu shouted.
"Why not?" Kintsuki asked.
"Because we didn't agree on this!" Jonetsu responded," Plus we also need to think of your costume!"
"My costume? Simple, I'll wear the typical tuxedo and magician hat."
Jonetsu cringed and let out a large exaggerated gasp," No. This fashionista will not let you commit that faux pas!"
Kintsuki rolled her eyes as they walked into the store.
"Meihime, do you think we should buy body glitter?" Sensaina asked as she picked up a wide pink and sparkly bottle.
"Sensaina, I want to look elegant. Not sparkly." Meihime responded.
"But you could both elegant and sparkly!," Sensaina said as she held the bottle in front of Meihime, though she still didn't seem interested," Suit yourself."
The store seemed too good for Sensaina to even be in. There were endless amounts of lace, pink and white tutus and ballerina slippers. The atmosphere felt so serene and elegant with Sensaina feeling so out of place.
"Just repairs on these please," Meihime said to the clerk.
"Come back in about..half an hour," The clerk estimated.
"Alright, see you then!" Meihime said as the two left the store.
Kintsuki was astonished at the interior of the magic store,"This store just makes me want to-"
"-Buy everything in it!" Jonetsu finished. Kintsuki was stunned with Jonetsu but she shook off the red head's reaction.
"Where do you think they keep their magic boxes?" Kintsuki exhaled.
"Who cares?," Jonetsu scoffed as her gaze was set on something else," Look at all those costumes!"
She jerked Kintsuki's arm and dragged her along to the costumes. It was a spectrum of magician outfits and each one of them caught Jonetsu's eye. But she had to remind herself she was shopping for what would look the best on Kintsuki.
"This one," Jonetsu said as an outfit finally 'spoke to her'. She took it from the hangers and placed it in front of Kintsuki's body. It was yellow with one large swirl in the center and a puffy tiered skirt.
"It's even the perfect size!" Jonetsu squealed.
"It isn't very traditional if you ask me," Kintsuki stated.
"Do you like or not?" Jonetsu asked impatiently.
Kintsuki turned away her face red as she said," I like it."
"Yes! Now let's go find you a matching hat and-Oh my gosh dye!"Jonetsu pointed towards a shelf of bottles.
"No! It's not my time yet!" Kintsuki shouted as she squeezed her eyes shut.
"No, dye." Jonetsu repeated showing Kintsuki the bottles.
"Oh..." Kintsuki droned. They found a matching hat and a box big enough to find Jonetsu and left with their purchase.
"They really won't stand a chance now that you've practiced for so long," Sensaina cheered once the two of them exited the store.
"They never did to begin with, magic is stupid," Meihime said in a cold, superior tone.
They suddenly heard the bells of the magic store chime as someone came out.
"Hey, um, do you mind saying that my face, Miss Two Left Feet?" Kintsuki barked.
"Two left feet? You only say that because you can't dance at all!" Meihime shouted.
"Well you're only putting down magic because you can't do it!" Kintsuki yelled.
"I'm sick of this!" Meihime concluded," I'll save my breath for the talent show.."
"See you then." Kintsuki said as she walked off.
"Ugh, she just grinds my gears!" Meihime groaned when Kintsuki was out of earshot, pulling at her hair.
"Don't worry, we'll do our best to beat them!" Sensaina encouraged impishly.
"No, we'll do better than our best, we'll give our all!" Meihime cried.
"Nobody even realized Haruko was here," Haruko complained as the two walked off.
The next day was the day of the talent show and everyone seemed ready and fired up. There were acrobats, singers, pianists, and everything else. Sensaina waited for Meihime to appear patiently. As she waited she was unconsciously humming the ballad Meihime told her to memorize.
"Sensaina!" A childish voice yelled from behind her.
Sensaina turned around seeing Haruko," What are you doing here?"
"Well, I haven't been getting enough spotlight recently so-"
"Do you know where Kintsuki and Jonetsu are?" Sensaina interrupted.
"I last saw Jonetsu putting something that looked like spraypaint in Kintsuki's hair and-"
"Ready Sensaina?" Meihime asked. She was wearing a ballerina outfit that came up to her knees with pale pink tights underneath and repair shoes. Her hair also seemed to be longer and was held up with hair ornaments.
"Meihime, you look beautiful," Sensaina remarked.
Haruko tilted her head in confusion," How did your hair get so long?!"
"It's a wig," Meihime responded, showing her the roots," Sensaina let's take it from the top."
"R-right!" Sensaina squeaked.
"Now I want to spy on Jonetsu and Kintsuki.." Haruko said. She soon found Kintsuki in her costume and dyed hair.
"Jonetsu, are you sure my hair isn't going to blind the audience?" Kintsuki asked.
"Of course not! The worst it could really do is stiffen up your hair and-"
"-Are we still going to do the box trick?" Kintsuki interrupted.
"Well, did you ever find out how to do it?" Jonetsu asked.
"Actually.."Kintsuki trailed off.
"Did you?" Jonetsu asked again.
"Yeah I did. And today, we won't only win. Today I will surpass the great Mahomaru in dad's heart!" Kintsuki proclaimed.
"Better get to those seats.." Haruko said rushing back to the audience.
"A talent show? How terrible! Mortals are worthless, talentless creatures. Which is exactly why I'm not one!" Ignis exclaimed as she hovered in midair. Her pendant began to glow brightly," But all of a sudden, I can tell there's more than one corrupted dreamstone around here."
"This is nerve-wrecking!" Kintsuki whispered desperately to Jonetsu.
"The wait to triumph always is," Jonetsu responded.
"This'll be a piece of cake!" Meihime reassured to herself. She was watching the first performance. The performer seemed to be a fish out of water and was losing the crowd quickly.
Meihime felt confident,"Tough crowd. But now the bar's low so-"
"-We'll go next!" Kintsuki shouted tugging at Jonetsu. The disappointed performer left the stage and the two pairs of girls emerged from opposite sides of the stage.
"You!" They shouted to each other.
"Girls, girls, girls!" Ignis called out as she descended onto the stage," There's no need to fight at a time like this!"
Sensaina and Jonetsu took a few steps while Haruko left the audience.
Meihime seemed regretful," She's right. We're here to exhibit our talent!"
Ignis gave them a somewhat confused look, correcting them as she said,"Well actually now's the time you two to relinquish your dreamstones to me so I can-"
"-What?!" Kintsuki interrupted.
Ignis snapped both her fingers, removing Kintsuki and Meihime's dreamstones.
"Now then.." Ignis began with a smirk,"Appear, Malvoid!" She pointed to the Magician box and Meihime's slippers.
"Malvoid!" The slipper and box monsters screamed. Everyone ran in fear as the Malvoid was on it's rampage.
"Now!" Sensaina shouted as they were far away from Ignis.
"Pretty Cure, Dream on!" They shouted as they transformed.
"Singing the Everlasting Melody, Cure Songstress!" Songstress introduced.
"Joining two hearts together, Cure Matchmaker!'' Matchmaker introduced.
"Growing everything in a lifeless land," Cure Garden!" Garden introduced.
"Guardians of dreams, side by side, together we are-" They struck a pose," Dream High! Pretty Cure!"
"Tch. Just one time, can they not just appear out of nowhere?" Ignis complained.
"Pretty Cure, Musical Clash!" Songstress shouted aiming to the box Malvoid," How could this have happened?"
"Pretty Cure, Lovesick Barrage!" Matchmaker cried as she aimed for the shoe Malvoid," Maybe if Meihime hadn't been so obnoxious we wouldn't be here.''
Songstress came towards Matchmaker,"Well maybe if Kintsuki didn't call her Little Two left feet she wouldn't of been so obnoxious! Dancing means the world to her, how do you think she feels being called something like that?"
"Well magic is what brought out the spark in Kintsuki and what kept her going all these years!" Matchmaker yelled.
"I think what brought out the spark in her was that cheap hairspray." Songstress crossed her arms.
"Guys?" Garden chirped.
"What?!" They screamed.
Garden did nothing but point to the Malvoids to remind the two of what they were suppose to be doing.
"Botanical Evergreen..Flourish!" Garden took a hold of them and flung them away from the stage," You two might not want to bicker at a time like this."
"Well, it's just that today, Kintsuki wanted to rekindle that magician spirit her dad had. About nine years ago, his favorite magician died." Matchmaker explained.
"Oh well, today was the day Meihime wanted to show off to her mom that she isn't scared to dance in front of a crowd like this." Songstress explained," Believe or not, she's never even dance in front of a large group of people."
"Now that you two understand each other, let's get back to the Malvoids," Garden said, trying her hardest to remain calm.
"Right!" The two Cures said in unison.
The Cures came nearby to the Malvoids.
"Hey, I have an idea." Songstress went over her idea with the other two for approval. They decided to use her plan.
''Pretty Cure Melody Ring!" Songstress shouted as she chained the shoe Malvoid. Garden and Matchmaker kicked it inside the box Malvoid.
"Now!" Songstress cried.
"Pretty Cure, Rhapsody Halo!" Matchmaker cried as she shut the box Malvoid with the ring.
"I'll purify it!" Garden proclaimed extending her hand out.
"By yourself, why?" Songstress asked. Matchmaker whispered something into her ear.
"Oh..." Songstress droned feeling a bit sorry for her fellow Cure now.
"Pretty Cure, Blooming Empathy!" Garden shouted.
"Awake!" She yelled, cleansing the two Malvoids.
It took awhile but the rest of the audience came back and Meihime and Kintsuki's dreamstone were duplicated and return to the girls. They eventually woke up, unsure of what happened.
"All I can remember is..wanting to go second." Meihime said.
"Yeah me too," Kintsuki blinked her eyes multiple times.
"And..I really wanted to beat you," Meihime added.
"That's all I wanted to do but after what Sensaina told me.." Kintsuki trailed off.
"And after what Jonetsu told me.."Meihime trailed off.
"Meihime, I'm really sorry for being such a jerk! It was stupid of me.." Kintsuki apologized.
"Apology accepted. And I apologize for provoking you and calling magic stupid.." Meihime apologized.
There was a moment of silence between them.
"We're still friends, right?" Kintsuki asked, her voice filled with desperation.
"Yes we are." Meihime hugged Kintsuki and the girls came to them.
"Jonetsu! Can we still the box trick?" Kintsuki asked.
"Oh no..." Jonetsu facepalmed," Why didn't we get rid of the box when we had the chance?" The girls all laughed at Jonetsu's reaction.