Chapter 1: No Soft Feelings
'Ribbit, ribbit,' Rikka's alarm clock was going off. She raised her upper body to turn the frog-shaped device on the headboard off and rubbed her eyes. Muffled morning light was creeping through the curtains on her bedroom window. The girl slipped out of her blanket but didn't make the bed right away, as she always let Raquel rest a little longer while she got dressed.
A little light-headed, she sat on the bed as the thought of yesterday came to her mind. What a day. Not only had her father come home from overseas but there was that "incident" with a certain enemy of hers. She would have thought that it had been a dream if it weren't for her newfound conviction to become a doctor. She was happy about that, of course, and so were her parents. But she still had to wonder what misfortune had befallen Ira to cause such a scenario. After Ira had regained his memory, she had actually felt happy for him. However, as time passed, that feeling had turned somewhat bittersweet.
What I saw... Was that what he would be like without the Selfish King's influence? That was what had kept her up. How could a villain be nice after losing their memory if they weren't good at their core? Rikka knew that she shouldn't put her hopes up, but she still wished that Ira could change. Of course, just because he had helped them before, didn't mean he could be trusted the next time around. That sweet side of him was just a momentary thing. Unlike Regina whom they had actually befriended and lost to the Selfish King not long ago...
Standing up, the girl sighed sadly and opened the yellow curtains on her window to let gentle sun rays light up the room. Why could none of their former foes stay their friends?
Why did he have to remember?
She tensed when she realized what she was thinking. No, that's selfish! she reprimanded herself. He has the right to know his identity, whether he's my enemy or not.
Rikka opened her closet and busied herself with changing into her school uniform. She wondered why it was so hard for her to accept it. The important thing was that she had trusted her heart, like Cure Ace said. There was no point in wishing that Ira would change; it was his life.
With that mindset, she finished dressing up and moved on to doing her hair before she would wake Raquel up.
.
The morning played out as usual, for the most part. Raquel didn't bring up yesterday's events either, to Rikka's surprise. That was because he also secretly hoped she wouldn't start seeing Ira differently now. The two had breakfast downstairs at the dining table like they always did. But then, they heard Rikka's father coming down and had to clean the table quickly. Rikka was prepared for this since her father never got jet lag. He engaged in a conversation with her while she packed her bento box, but she couldn't keep Mana waiting; they both had to get to school early as members of the student council. So she took her school bag, waved her father goodbye and headed out.
She was just on her way to meet Mana at her place, so they could walk together. Somehow she was a bit anxious to meet her friends that day. In the end, they had all supported her decision to help Ira yesterday. But something this crazy was bound to be brought up, and Rikka would rather if it wasn't.
There was nothing she could do though, as she moved closer to the large two-story house ahead. It was built in a western style with colonial windows, and the 'Pig Tail' restaurant occupied the ground floor. Suddenly, the front door burst open and a pink-haired girl jumped out on the porch. She looked around for her friend and spotted her coming down the road.
'Hi!' Mana called and did a small wave as Rikka approached her.
'Hi, sorry for the delay,' the dark-haired girl apologized.
'No biggie,' Mana shot her a reassuring smile, 'I just went out too.'
Rikka chuckled to herself; more often than not, it was Mana who got carried away helping out at home. She looked down on Mana's school bag and said hi to Sharuru who greeted her and Raquel back.
The two girls in white school uniforms then walked onward together, carrying their bags, where their fairy partners were hiding, on one shoulder. Light wind was blowing through the air, pushing clouds across the sky as the quiet neighborhood was coming to life around them.
'So your dad came home yesterday, right?' Mana asked.
'Yes, he returned safely,' Rikka affirmed and her face lit up. 'He even brought us some gifts. I got these two wooden dolls on a keychain. I mean, it's cute but I probably wouldn't wear it in public. Mom got a french solitaire...'
She went on discribing the different souvenirs and answered each of Mana's questions about her dad's travels in Madagascar. Their journey was passing quickly as Rikka had interesting facts to share every time her father returned from overseas. Mana noticed she was talking more than usual that day. But she and Sharuru had also been curious about the other thing that had happened yesterday.
'Well, I'm glad your dad is doing well,' she said as soon as Rikka went quiet, as if politely closing the topic. Then, withought any warning sign, she elbowed her friend and asked:
'Still, yesterday was pretty crazy, huh?'
Rikka's smile faded at the sudden callback. She had it coming. She told herself again not to take it so seriously.
'Yeah, it was,' she smiled awkwardly.
'Tell me about it~quel,' Raquel muttered, tucked in the side-pocket of Rikka's bag in his commune form.
The pink fairy could understand his concern but was still surprised. 'I've never seen Ira like that~sharu.'
Mana on the other hand, seemed rather excited. 'Yeah, but Rikka, you were so brave!' she said, folding her palms.
This caught Rikka off guard, making her slow down her step. 'You think so?' She knew Mana would have helped Ira in her place too, but she was credulous like that so it was probably more surprising in her case.
Mana gave her a confident look. 'Duh, you took Ira into your care and even stood up to Cure Ace!' she exclaimed, raising her hands to show how amazed she was.
'Mana, keep it down!' Rikka put a finger over her mouth, seeing another student pass them by. They were already at the stone stairs leading to the entrance of the Oogai Middle School's area, surrounded by brick walls.
'Sorry, sorry,' Mana whispered apologetically and agreed to leave PreCure talk for later.
.
Rikka and Mana took part in the morning aisatsu at the gate, which student council members traditionally did. They only recently started noticing Aguri arrive but there was no sign of Makoto that day. About 15 minutes before class, the two girls left to get to their classroom. They were climbing the wooden staircase of the old but well-kept school building as the chatter of students filled the halls. Mana kept smiling all the way; she didn't seem too concerned about yesterday, so neither should Rikka.
When they reached the second floor where their classroom was situated, Rikka told Mana: 'You go ahead, I'll just go to the bathroom.'
'Okay,' her friend nodded and Rikka made a turn toward the other end of the hallway.
...
Rikka always thought the wooden hallways made the school feel more cozy. The bathrooms too had timber walls but tiled floor and three wash basins at the front. When Rikka started wasching her hands, another girl just came out of the cabin and joined her.
'Hi, Rikka,'
She turned after the familiar voice and recognized the purple hair of Kenzaki Makoto standing on her left.
'Hi!' she said hiding her initial shock, then noted: 'I didn't see you at the gate'.
'Yeah, I just got here.' Makoto replied lukewarmly.
While the fairies quietly greeted each other, Rikka noticed the other girl wasn't completely relaxed either. 'Oh.' She tried to act casual despite the awkwardness. 'What's up?'
Makoto shrugged and made a designated smile. 'Not much. I'm just a bit shaken from yesterday, I guess.'
Rikka's eyes grew solemn, moreso when she put herself in Makoto's shoes. Right, Ira is one of the people who helped destroy her entire kingdom... He and Rikka were enemies, yes, but Ira hadn't done anything like that to her.
'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-' she wanted to apologize but Makoto cut her off.
'It's fine, I don't blame you or anything.' She was taking the "enemy-befriending" business a lot better after Regina's case. But Rikka understood that she still wished to avenge her people.
'Thanks again for standing up for Ira,' she said humbly.
This surprised Makoto at first but then her expression softened.
'I didn't do it for him. I did it because you're my friend and you just wanted to help a person in need.' She put a hand on Rikka's shoulder to show that she was being sincere. 'You're kind, Rikka, you'll make a great doctor one day.'
Rikka's lip dropped a little as she looked into Makoto's eyes, then it turned into a grateful smile.
'Thanks, I'm glad you think so.'
.
As the clock struck 3:15, students of Oogai 1st Middle School started departing. Some stayed for after school clubs while others coursed through the entrance gate. The student council didn't meet everyday, and Rikka didn't have karuta practice either. Thus, she said goodbye to her classmates and found herselves on the road with Mana again. They talked about school to pass the time while Raquel and Sharuru were seated in Mana's open school bag. Their carefree stroll was interrupted when they spotted something white on the pavement ahead.
'What is that?' Mana said and pointed at it curiously. It wasn't there the first time they had walked this way.
'A strand of cloth~sharu?' Sharuru said in surprise as she looked out of the bag.
Rikka stayed quiet until they had stopped to look at it. The "white cloth" was bandaging - perhaps the morning wind had left it there. Seeing it only triggered unwanted memories in her. It couldn't possibly be...
She bent down to pick the piece of cloth up. 'I'll throw it out,' she offered impassively and wanted to continue walking but Mana stopped her.
'Wait!' she exclaimed in realization. 'What if it's Ira's?'
The dark-haired girl sighed internaly. She didn't want to consider that, so she acted skeptical instead. 'Why his?'
Mana seemed positive. 'Well, you gave him a lot of bandages. And if he took it off like this, that would mean he's fully healed now, right?'
Rikka knew burns didn't heal that quickly - if it was Ira's, then he likely just wanted to get rid of all evidence of the incident. Still, his wounds must have become bearable if he was willing to take the bandaging off.
Raquel seemed confused by Mana's optimism. 'He's our enemy. Why are you happy about this~quel?'
'He's right~sharu,' Sharuru had to agree.
However, the pink-haired girl saw it in a different light. 'I wasn't talking about him,' she explained and turned to Rikka. 'I meant that you cured your first patient!'
Rikka paused at her friend's words.
She's right, she remembered her initial motivation, In the first place, I just wanted to help him, nothing more. She wondered what it was that had made her feel down again. If Mana was right, then this could suggest that her help had been worthwhile! She smiled as she looked at the cloth in her right hand.
'Yeah, I guess you're right.'
The two friends resumed walking down the street as Rikka felt a sense of relief. When they were passing by a litter bin, she reached out her hand and threw the bandage out. You did the right thing, but it's over. She heard her inner voice say as she let it go.
Before long, the girls reached Mana's house where their ways would part. Raquel floated back inside Rikka's schoolbag and left Sharuru with Mana.
'Hey, why don't we go to the park later? I'll ask the others too!' Mana proposed enthusiastically.
After her friend's encouragement, Rikka didn't feel anxious anymore. She happily agreed and Raquel welcomed it too. When they arranged the time, Mana disappeared inside the restaurant and Rikka headed home to get ready too.