Chapter 5: The Oncoming Storm
"School trip!" Kousaka Yukiho yelled at the top of her voice once she and Ayase Arisa have stepped out of the plane with the rest of their classmates, much to their chagrin.
"It looks like we'll have a zoo, a park and an island trip as part of our itinerary." Arisa was reading the school trip's itinerary while comparing it with a local tourist brochure of the Miyazaki Prefecture.
"But there's no beach outing this year!" Yukiho pouted. "I'm so envious of my sister. She gets to go to the beach on her school trip in Okinawa."
"At least your sister gets to go on a trip. My sister has to prepare for a publicity event for µ's."
Once the girls and their classmates were outside the airport, they were assigned groups and then boarded a bus to head for the hotel where they would stay for the duration of the trip. The weather was nice and sunny, so the girls were very excited about visiting the various locations in their itinerary.
The first day of the trip went rather well, and soon it was night time and the girls had gathered in the hotel's lounge with the rest of their classmates for one last social gathering before retiring to their rooms.
"So tomorrow we'll be visiting the zoo, but I really can't wait for our free day where we can go visit the Ocean Dome instead!" Yukiho was staring at the brochures that Arisa had collected excitedly.
"I want to do some shopping during our free day."
"I think we should have enough time for both Ocean Dome and shopping that day," Yukiho reassured.
The girls continued to chat with each other, and with the rest of their classmates, for a little while longer before it was time for them to dismiss and return to their rooms. They said goodnight to each other and went to bed in high spirits.
In the morning, the weather took a turn for the worse. Strong winds howled outside while Yukiho, Arisa and their classmates all huddled inside the hotel lobby.
"Aww, why did it have to start raining?" Yukiho looked out from the lobby dejectedly.
"According to the weather report, we may get hit by a typhoon if things continue the way they are." Arisa was checking up on the weather online using her phone.
"A typhoon? What about Okinawa?"
"It seems like they're affected as well."
Yukiho sighed. "I hope my sister and her friends are doing okay. They're probably closer to the storm than us."
"Well, all we can do now is wait and see."
All activities ended up being cancelled for the day. Strong winds continued to blow outside while a heavy downpour of rain swept the city, so the girls ended up staying indoors all day long.
The next day, the storm continued, even stronger than the day before.
"The rain isn't going to let up, isn't it?"
Arisa checked the weather report on her phone. "Most likely no."
"I bet my sister is yelling at the sky now, telling the storm to go away. Maybe I should to." Yukiho was pacing back and forth in their room, feeling somewhat irritated at the thought of having to spend another day indoors. "What a lousy school trip this has become."
On the third day, the storm continued to persist. Everybody was feeling very tense, though Arisa tried her best to stay calm and hope for the weather to clear soon. Checking the weather report didn't help at all. Later, the teachers in charge of the trip made an announcement that disappointed them all – the airports had delayed their flights back due to the weather.
"My sister' flight is also delayed," Yukiho declared after getting off the phone.
"But what about their event this weekend?" Arisa was concerned that µ's wouldn't be able to perform with only six members.
"According to sis, they've already made arrangements for that, so they'll be fine."
"I'm relieved to hear that."
"Now if only this storm would let up." Yukiho looked at her fairy companion, who was currently in disguise. "Hey, Matcha, you're a fairy right? Can't you work some magic or something and do away with this storm?"
"We cannot do that-chichi."
"You must let nature take its course naturally-popo."
In tiny poofs of magical smoke, Matcha and Paka returned to their natural fox- and dog-like appearance respectively and sat on the table in front of the two girls. They peered out through the window, watching the water pouring down the window panes endlessly.
"Something doesn't feel right-chichi."
"What?" Yukiho looked at her fairy partner in surprise.
"It's the storm-popo. Something feels off about it-popo."
"You mean a Storm Apostle could be involved?" Arisa also looked out the window, concerned about what the fairies may be implicating.
"If it's that Windgeist fellow, I'm gonna beat the crap out of him for giving us so much trouble!" Yukiho held out a clenched fist threateningly at the rain.
"I think I feel a Heart Fragment-chichi!"
"I feel it too-popo. I think I feel more than one fragment-popo!"
Both Yukiho and Arisa widened their eyes in surprise. "Are you sure?"
"Definitely-chichi!"
"There's no doubt about it-popo!"
Sneaking out of the hotel and braving the storm, Yukiho and Arisa managed to hop from one public transport to another, making their way towards Miyazaki Port where their fairy companions sensed the strongest presence.
Under the cover of rain, they managed to sneak their way into the docks. This place is usually very busy on normal days where cargo ships came and went, unloading and picking up goods while docked. Due to the extreme weather, activity was much more subdued and the girls slowly made their way through the place undetected.
They made their way towards a row of blue-roofed warehouses when a figure appeared on top of the closest building.
"Welcome, Pretty Cure. I knew you would come."
"Windgeist! Are you the one causing this weather?" Yukiho was nearly shouting at the top of her lungs, as she could barely hear herself in this storm.
"Please stop this at once. You'll cause a disaster!" Arisa winced as she tried to see and hear through the near-blinding rain.
"Beautiful, isn't it? With just a bit of positive encouragement, an ordinary typhoon can be coerced into such a raging force of nature. Such splendid phenomena! Such amazing handiwork! Such-"
"What the heck are you blabbering on about?" Yukiho yelled.
"I can't hear a word you're saying!" Arisa cupped her hands around her mouth as she spoke, as if it would amplify her words any further.
"I said, it's beautiful! With just a bit of encouragement, an ordinary-"
Yukiho and Arisa simply stared blankly at the apostle while shaking their heads.
"I SAID-"
In the end, Windgeist gave up. Rather than try talking any further, he went straight to business by revealing his secret weapon. Cupped in the palm of his hand were not one, nor two, but three Heart Fragments! He was smiled proudly at his achievement.
Yukiho's eyes widened in surprise. "How did you get so many fragments?"
"Horosho!"
"With such power, I'll create the greatest Nazuuma, a befitting end to the both of you!" Of course, from Yukiho and Arisa's point of view, his mouth was just blabbering on and on, his voice lost in the deafening wind and rain.
The apostle raised his hand, allowing all three fragments to corrupt and turn black, and then possess a nearby inanimate object. This time, Windgeist picked the largest thing that he could see from his vantage point – a harbour crane.
"NAZUUMA!" it bellowed as the giant giraffe-like automaton began to move. Soon it was towering over the two girls, ready to trample them underneath its colossal feet. The wind and rain seemed to die down a little, as if part of the power sustaining the storm had transferred over to the Nazuuma.
"Quickly transform-chichi!"
"Hurry up-popo!"
Yukiho and Arisa nodded towards each other, and then held hands. "Dual star halation!"
Inside a blinding column of silver-white light, the two girls transformed into the legendary warriors Pretty Cure.
"Dashing forward, full of love and courage, Cure Brave!"
"Shining brightly with the light of hope and determination, Cure Star!"
"Servant of Chaos, return from whence you came!"
"NAZUUMA!" It lifted one of its four massive legs, towering menacingly over the girls. Brave and Star rolled aside as quickly as they could before the huge foot could come crashing down on them. Despite their initiative, they were still caught in the shockwave as the foot stomp threw large pieces of debris all around. Some of these managed to graze the Precures.
Brave ran up to one of the creature's legs and delivered a powerful punch. Her strike could have felled an ordinary Nazuuma, but this one didn't even falter a single inch, and it responded by kicking her away. She crashed into a nearby warehouse.
While the Nazuuma was preoccupied with Brave, Star ran up from one of its hind legs and landed on its back. She continued to run up the nape of its neck, and then leapt towards its face to deliver a strong roundhouse kick to its temple. Again, her attack didn't even put a dent in its metallic frame, and in response the Nazuuma shot a long hook and chain at her while she bounced off and was about to land. The chain wrapped around both her legs. It then proceeded to swing Star around, sending her crashing into several buildings before it released her.
Star was sent hurtling into the same warehouse where Brave crashed into. As Brave recovered and got to her feet, Star crashed into her and the two of them were sent sprawling into a pile of rubble.
"It looks like the end, Precures!" Windgeist laughed, proud of his achievement. "Nazuuma, finish them off!"
"NAZUUMA!" The creature cocked its head back, like a snake prepared to strike. Its baleful eyes began to glow brightly, gathering dark energies and focusing them into a powerful ball of destruction.
The Precures realized what was going to happen and struggled to their feet. Brave grasped Star's hand tightly.
"I sing the song of Courage!" Sparks of golden yellow light gathered in Brave's open hand.
"I sing the song of Hope!" Tiny specks of silver light was attracted to Star's hand.
"Together, fill the void of chaos and darkness with our light… PRECURE STARLIGHT DASH!"
The Nazuma unleashed a dark beam of energy at the Precures just as the two girls fired off their own silver-gold blast of their own. The two energy beams met at midpoint, splashing against one another like two powerful jet streams trying to overwhelm each other.
"Aaargh!" The Precures pushed themselves as hard as they could, mustering as much energy as they could to reinforce their attack. The Nazuuma was also straining itself, pouring all its dark energies into its beam. It seems like both sides were at a stalemate.
"You cannot win, Precures!" Windgeist spread both arms wide open, gathering a large maelstrom of wind, rain and lightning in a globe and then hurling this deadly projectile at the two girls. Stuck in their deadlock with the Nazuuma, they are unable to dodge and bore the brunt of Windgeist's attack.
Without their full concentration, the Precure's attack faltered and the Nazuuma's dark energy beam overwhelmed the light. The ensuing explosion created a massive crater and nearly demolishing the warehouse the Precures were standing next to.
"Ha! It looks like it's over." Windgeist congratulated himself, proudly gazing upon the two sprawled forms of Brave and Star. But his celebration was short-lived.
Brave struggled to move. Star forced herself up to her knees.
"Why? Why don't you give up? Soon the storm will destroy everything, and there would be nothing left of you."
"Sis hasn't won Love Live yet." Brave managed to bring herself into a sitting position, staring at the apostle defiantly. "If you destroy everything, she wouldn't be able to achieve her dreams!"
"And I haven't joined µ's yet." It took Star all her strength and determination just to stand up. "I wouldn't be able to join them next year if we let this storm continue."
Star began humming a familiar tune. A tune that filled both their hearts with warmth and passion.
"Star…" Brave began, but then she stopped and smiled. She started humming the tune of "Start: Dash" along with Star, and they both turned to face their opponents once more.
"What is this? You have such petty concerns. No wonder you are so weak."
Brave paused at Windgeist's words, then stared sternly at him. "That's not weak at all! Each of us have something precious that we want to protect and cherish with all our hearts."
"And that makes us strong," Star continued. "The will and determination to keep going, to see our wish granted at the end!"
"That's why we cannot give up! Not now, and not ever!" The two of them spoke in unison. Brave managed to find Star's hand, and she held it tightly. Powered by sheer courage and determination, the two of them found renewed strength and energy as they stood together. Star finally realized the meaning of Nozomi's words about their strength being together, and continued to grasp Brave's hand tightly in return. They both felt a surge of energy course through their bodies, and quickly forgot about their injuries.
"You're just all talk!" Windgeist exclaimed, refusing to accept the words of the Precures. "Nazuuma, destroy them!"
"NAZUUMA!" It unleashed another dark blast at the Precures. They both defiantly stood their ground, and just as the beam was about to strike, it splashed harmlessly over a golden globe of energy that surrounded the Precures.
Brave and Star stared at each other with their mouths agape, amazed at this newfound power. Then, they nodded towards each other and dashed towards the Nazuuma, sidestepping the dark beam in the process.
The Nazuuma turned its head to redirect its attack towards Brave, who made a mighty leap towards Windgeist, her fist clenched to deliver a punch. The Nazuuma quickly cancelled its attack for fear of hitting its own master. Windgeist quickly leapt back and took flight before Brave could reach him.
Meanwhile, Star was charging to the right of the Nazuuma. It turned its attention on Star and swung its hook and chain towards her, hoping to catch her again. She was ready for it this time; with a quick twist and some athletic wrist work, she caught a hold of the chain and held fast. She began running around the Nazuuma in circles, ensnaring its four legs in a tight loop. Finally, with one strong tug, the noose tightened and the Nazuuma completely lost its balance.
As the Nazuuma came crashing down, Brave leapt off the warehouse roof and landed next to Star.
"Now's your chance-chichi!"
"Finish it off now-popo!"
The two girls nodded to each other and held each other's hands tightly.
"I sing the song of Courage!" Brave collected a torrent of golden sparkling energy.
"I sing the song of Hope!" Like a vacuum, Star brought a flood of sparking silver energy towards her.
"Together, fill the void of chaos and darkness with our light… PRECURE STARLIGHT DASH!"
"NAZUUMA?!" The creature let out one final cry as it was engulfed in the brilliant, purifying light of the Precures. It then reverted back into its original form and three Heart Fragments fell at Star's feet.
As Star began to scoop the fragments into her hand, a furious Windgeist charged at them. "I'm not done yet!"
In a fit of rage, the Storm Apostle hurled what seemed like globes of heavily-compressed air and lightning at the two Precures. They quickly dodged each and every shot, and rightly so as the blasts were strong enough to smash the concrete ground to bits. He landed in front of them with a loud crunch, further damaging the ground.
"We'll see who has the last laugh!" Windgeist raised his right hand in the air, and in a blink of an eye, a bolt of lightning struck his outstretched hand. Sparks danced around his arm as he redirected the deadly electrical bolt at the Precures.
Brave and Star raised their hands forward to meet the bolt, and they were protected by a spherical field of golden energy.
"I've not even started yet!" The Storm Apostle raised his hand again, preparing to summon another bolt of lightning, but this time he fell to his knees. "What… what is happening?"
The apostle's figure began to flicker in and out, and as the Precures looked on, he finally vanished with a sudden gust of wind.
"What happened to him?" Brave cautiously inched towards the spot where the apostle disappeared.
"He used up all his power-chichi."
"He's returned to his original form-popo."
"So… that's it? We won?" Arisa knelt down to scoop up the three Heart Fragments. Cupping them in both hands, she briefly stared at them in admiration. "Three of them. Horosho!"
It was still raining, the wind was still howling and they heard distant thunder, but it all seemed more subdued now. Yukiho stared southwards, towards the island of Okinawa.
"Don't worry about your sister-chichi. Honoka and the others should be fine-chichi."
"With the Storm Apostle gone the typhoon will slowly dissipate on its own-popo."
At the airport terminal, Yukiho and Arisa were both busy checking out the video channels while waiting for their flight.
"Look Yukiho-chan, I found it!" Arisa was literally bouncing with joy at her discovery.
Yukiho scooted over and viewed the video that Arisa had found. "Oh, so it's just the six of them. Rin looks so cute in that wedding dress."
"Sis is so cool in that black suit."
The six members of µ's, Ayase Eri, Toujou Nozomi, Yazawa Nico, Hoshizora Rin, Koizumi Hanayo and Nishikino Maki had performed "Love Wing Bell" for a fashion event, and the video had finally made its way to the Internet. Despite three missing members, who were stuck in Okinawa due to the storm, the event was a great success.
"Look at all the Likes!" Yukiho exclaimed.
"I can't wait for next year to come," Arisa said with dreamy eyes. "Then we can finally join µ's!"
Author's Notes: And this wraps up the first story arc; next chapter is the Halloween episode, which I think I'll sideline because it's about time for the Precures to gain a power upgrade and introduce the next villain, so I'm thinking of a visit to the Windy Lands.
On a side note, I just started watching Happiness Charge Pretty Cure, and only noticed Precure Starlight Dash is named similar to Cure Fortune's finisher (and also Fortune's star theme). Anyway, just to say that it is just a coincidence as I have not watched Happiness Charge before I started writing this story. To be more specific, the dynamic between Brave and Star are based on the classic pairs (e.g. Black/White, or Bloom/Egret), not the modern super sentai-like teams.