*Content warning: dating violence and hints of sexual assault*
Momo and Akari sat face to face during breakfast in complete silence. Frowns were plastered on their faces with their elbows on the table and their backs hunched over. Hanako, who sat next to Akari, noticed the atmosphere radiating from them.
"What happened? Why the long faces?" Hanako asked.
"Thinking," Momo answered.
"Oh-" Hanako stood up and spotted Daiki standing on a table a couple of tables away from them. "Ya! Kamiyama-san!" She stomped over to Daiki, leaving Momo and Akari alone.
"So we are in a time loop, and the one who keeps on reversing time is Akiyama Jun, Kazuha's boyfriend. And the reason why he keeps on doing that, or at least I assume the reason why, is because Kazuha broke up with him," Momo recapped. Her fingers were linked together and she had them over her mouth with her elbows on the table.
Akari scrunched up her nose. "So he's doing all of this because a girl broke up with him? Seriously?"
"He and Kazuha are like this." Momo crossed her fingers together to emphasize how close Kazuha and Jun are to each other. "Kazuha breaking up with him? It doesn't make sense, especially considering how lovey dovey they've been on this trip so far."
"He must've said something to piss her off," Akari suggested, taking a sip of her water.
"Probably. Kazuha has her hotblooded moments," Momo answered before sighing. "It's actually on brand for her to end the relationship because she got mad."
Still drinking her water, Akari looked across the room and saw Kazuha sitting with Jun. She couldn't catch what they were talking about since the dining room was buzzing with the conversations of the other first year students, but it seemed to be something funny. Jun was laughing as Kazuha spoke excitedly and had her arms wrapped around his. Then, Jun picked up the bread from his plate and held it up to Kazuha. Still laughing, Kazuha opened her mouth and Jun began to feed her the bread. Cringing, Akari turned back around and placed her cup down.
"If we want to stop the time loop, we have to stop them from breaking up with each other," Momo ended up concluding.
"Or, maybe we can take that wristwatch away from Jun since that's what he's using to turn back time," Akari suggested.
"I need to save my best friend from making a mistake!" Momo cried, ignoring Akari. Her eyes were burning with determination as a new goal lit up her world.
"But Kazuha isn't the one reversing time. It's Jun with his wristwatch." Akari sighed. You know what? I'm just going to let her do whatever she wants and let it backfire in her face. In the next timeline, we'll do what I want.
viii: to love or not to love.
"Everyone! Stay together!" Kawaguchi-sensei called out before the tour guide began to give a breif history of the Ine Fishing Village they were touring.
"Rumi-chin, where's Kazuha?" Momo asked Harumi who was scrolling through Tik Tok sounds.
"She's with Akiyama-san," Harumi answered without looking up from her phone.
That's right. She did spend all day with Jun, Momo thought.
Harumi handed her phone to Momo. "Can you record me very quickly?"
Momo nodded and Harumi ran off to the side to do her dance.
I need to find a way to steal Kazuha from Jun so I can get her to not break up with him tonight. But at the same time, I want them to be spending as much time as they can together, Momo thought, absentmindedly tilting the phone an angle below the angle Harumi wanted.
Harumi stopped her dance when she saw that Momo wasn't angling the phone right. "Momo!" She exclaimed.
"Oh!" Momo adjusted the angle. "My bad! I'll delete this attempt!"
Once again, Momo got lost in her thoughts. But then when you think about it, they were happy all day. And Kazuha had been all blushy and shit when she came back into the room before the breakup. So what changed? It had to be something in the moment before the breakup. Which means I shouldn't break their moment now. I should wait for tonight.
"Momo!" Harumi exclaimed again, ripping Momo out of her thoughts.
Momo blinked and saw that somewhere along the line, she had dropped Harumi's iPhone 11 onto the ground. The screen already had multiple cracks from all of the time Harumi had propped up the phone and it falling from wherever it was propped up. Momo bent down and flipped the phone over. A brand new tiny crack was on the screen. "Oh...oops..."
She stood up. "Sorry, B! I'll do better this time! I promise!"
After returning to the hotel that night after the tours, Harumi, Kazuha, and Momo were seated on Harumi's bed and were watching all of the Tik Toks that Harumi had filmed, just like they did in the other timelines.
"Harumi, these all look good. I can't choose which one you should post," Kazuha said, scrolling to the next draft.
"Which ones have the least mistakes?" Harumi asked.
"None," Kazuha answered. "You're getting really good at dancing, especially as a self-taught dancer. You're so amazing!"
Harumi's face grew red and she looked down.
Momo, on the other hand, wasn't tuned into the conversation at all. Okay. Later on, she will sneak off to hang with Jun so I still have a little bit of time. I need to get her to change her mind about the upcoming breakup. What should I do?
Kazuha handed the phone to the spaced-out Momo, snapping Momo out of her thoughts. "You choose."
"Don't break up with Jun!" Momo blurted out.
Harumi and Kazuha shot Momo blank and clueless expressions. Then, Kazuha raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Um...uhhh..." Might as well continue, Momo decided. "If you're thinking about breaking up with Jun, don't do it! You and Jun make a good couple, you know? And it took a lot of effort for the two of you to get together. If he made you mad, just forgive and forget. He loves you with all of his heart."
Kazuha's face dropped and she stared at Momo with an unreadable expression. "But what if the way he wronged me deserved me breaking up with him?"
"Like how?" Momo asked, genuinely wondering. "How could he wrong you that bad? Kazuha, just set aside your anger and forgive him and be understanding. Be patient with him. He'll never do anything to hurt you. Besides, it could just be you being oversensitive."
Kazuha narrowed her eyes. "Uh huh. I'm oversensitive."
Momo grabbed her hands. "I'm telling you all of this so you don't make a decision that you'll regret. I'm your best friend so I should look out for you."
Kazuha still had an unreadable expression on her face as she searched Momo's eyes. Then, she slipped her hands out of Momo's. "Thanks for the unsolicited advice." Her voice lacked enthusiasm.
Momo smiled. "Of course!" She didn't catch the tone in Kazuha's voice. Crisis averted!
Harumi, who sat in the middle of the two, sensed the tension in the air between her two friends. She held her phone to her chest and looked at Momo who was cheesing brightly. Then, she looked at Kazuha and briefly saw the unreadable expression on her face flicker to one of hurt for a quick second. Unsure of what to do and not wanting to choose a side, she decided to change the topic. "Um...what do you guys want to do tomorrow? It's a free day!"
Suddenly, Takeru barged into the room. "Momo! What happened to the plan!? You were supposed to interrogate Akari and figure out her type and what she looks for in a guy but I barely even saw you near her!"
Momo groaned and laid on her side. "Bruh, I forgot!" Then, she made a realization. Kazuha was able to meet up with Jun because Takeru went to Akari and had his whole altercation with Daiki. I need to let that happen in this timeline so I can make sure that Kazuha had listened to my words and chose to not break up with Jun! There will be no breakup and there will be no need for Jun to reverse time! So all Akari and I will need to do after that is get that wristwatch! Everything works out! We stop the time loop and I save Kazuha's relationship! Killing two birds with one stone!
Takeru noticed Momo's smirk. He frowned. "Why are you making that face? We had an agreement!"
"Because I think that you should go to Akari and tell her that Daiki is evil. And when you do, tell her that you are telling her this because you have feelings for her and want to protect her. Maybe that will give her some sort of change of heart," Momo told him, putting her plan into action.
With a new springboard, Takeru ran off to Akari's room. Momo managed to get Harumi and Kazuha to follow after him. Daiki and Kumiko were waiting in front of Akari's room and Daiki and Takeru fought, as expected. During the fight, Momo watched as Kazuha glanced down at her phone and glanced at the boys one last time before she slipped away.
Yes! Here we go! Momo thought.
As Kazuha made her way down the hall, Momo tip-toed along. Momo hid behind pieces of furniture every few seconds just in case Kazuha decided to randomly turn around. Then, she slipped behind an armchair when Kazuha met Jun in front of the public baths.
"Hey. I managed to sneak out," Kazuha told Jun.
Momo pulled out her phone and sent Akari a text while Kazuha and Jun shared a quick peck on the lips.
Momo: i found us a good spot
Momo: i can hear them clearly!
Momo: find a way to get here fast!
Kazuha hid her hands behind her back as she looked everywhere but at Jun. "So...what do you want to do?"
"We're in front of the baths." Jun was already extremely close to Kazuha but he found a way to take a step even closer to her. "We can take one together."
"But how can we? I'm a girl and you're a boy. They split them up," Kazuha said.
Jun reached out and moved some of Kazuha's hair behind her ear. Very slowly, Kazuha raised her head to meet Jun's loving gaze.
"So?" Jun said before coming in for another kiss.
Unlike the last one, this one was deeper. From where she hid, Momo watched their lips mold together, growing flustered the longer it went on. Jun's fingers traveled down Kazuha's body, leaving behind sparks. His hand travelled lower and lower as he slowly backed her to the wall.
Kazuha immediately pushed him away. "Wh-What are you doing?"
Jun stepped back into her space. "Loving you."
"W-Why did you t-t-t-touch me there?" Kazuha's eyebrows furrowed.
"Because I love you." Jun attempted to pull her in for another kiss but she placed her hands on his broad chest.
"I've t-told you this so many times. I d-d-d-don't want to do it. I want to wait until my wedding night," she said.
"But I love you," Jun said, lacing his fingers with hers. "And you love me too, right?"
"Of course I do! I love you with all my heart!" Kazuha insisted, tightening her grip on his hand.
Jun stared into her eyes and saw fear instead of love. Very slowly, he unlaced his fingers from hers and backed away. "No...no...you don't. You don't love me..."
"Jun, I'm dead serious! I love you! It's just-" Kazuha cut herself off when Jun placed his hands on her shoulders.
"You always say you love me, but you always refuse to do this one thing for me," He said slowly with a coldness in his voice. His eyes were wide like a mad man as he continued to stare into her eyes. "Why can't you prove your love for me?"
Kazuha was shaking as tears burned the back of her eyes but she squeezed her eyes shut and held her tears back. "I-I-I p-p-p-p-p-prove my love for you through other w-w-ways...like always s-spending time with you...and g-g-giving you affection...I just c-c-can't give you th-this..." She hugged herself. "I'm not ready to do what y-you want me to do...please stop p-p-p-pushing me..."
She felt as his fingers made their way up from her shoulders to her neck. Her eyes flew open. "Stop!" She mouthed.
Jun's eyes were still as a mad man as he applied pressure to her throat. Then, he threw her to the ground. Kazuha quickly gained her balance and caught his wrist when his hand was seconds away from slapping her across the face.
"You're...fighting against me...?" Jun asked, genuine shock and confusion flashing in his eyes.
"I usually don't whenever you hit me and that's because we'd usually be alone. But this time, we're on a school trip. How am I supposed to explain to my friends why I suddenly have bruises?" Kazuha quickly asked.
One of Jun's hands was held back by Kazuha, but the other one was free. With his free hand, he pulled Kazuha's head back by her hair. "Fuck your friends! I've told you so many times to drop them! They'll fill lies into your head and make you not want to love me anymore!"
"Actually...they told me to suck it up and stay with you..." Kazuha said with a tear running down her cheek.
Momo had been watching the whole scene from her hiding spot. She felt her little heart break as she saw what her best friend was going through. She wanted to run to Kazuha's aid but her feet were glued to the ground. She couldn't believe what Jun was doing to her. But what Kazuha had said about her friends telling her to suck it up caused Momo to fall onto the ground.
"If you're thinking about breaking up with Jun, don't do it!"
"If he made you mad, just forgive and forget. He loves you with all of his heart."
"How could he wrong you that bad? Kazuha, just set aside your anger and forgive him and be understanding. Be patient with him. He'll never do anything to hurt you. Besides, it could just be you being oversensitive."
Momo threw her hands over her mouth and held back a scream as the advice she had just given Kazuha not so long ago echoed in her mind. No...no! I didn't tell her those things! I...there's now way I...I can't believe myself! I...how could I have told her those things!?
Meanwhile, Kazuha continued to fight back as Jun threw her around.
"Stop it! I can't let my friends see the bruises! They need to think that I'm happy with you!" Kazuha whisper-yelled as Jun landed a couple of hits.
"You can always hide them like you always do!" Jun yelled, landing another hit.
Kazuha harshly pushed him back and they panted as they stared at each other. Kazuha wanted to wail like a baby but she held it in.
"I can't let my friends think...is this worth it...?" She trailed off.
"You wouldn't even be in this situation in the first place if you would just do what I had asked you!" Jun hissed.
The words shattered Kazuha's soul and she quickly collected her thoughts and steadied her breathing. "I...don't think I can do this anymore..."
Disbelief and sorrow crossed over Jun's face. "...What? Kazuha...Kazuha, baby, you're just being oversensitive. I'll do better, okay? I promise I'll be a better person!"
"You always say this," Kazuha muttered to herself.
Jun heard her murmur. "I'm serious this time! So please, don't stop loving me!"
"It hurts...it always hurts...the old bruises...the ones you just gave me...and I have to pretend that it doesn't, so it hurts even more...and it hurts most of all when you are more focused on your own pain...! To prove my love for you, I need to give myself pain...I can't do that." Kazuha hugged herself and hid her eyes in her bangs. "So...we should...e-e-e-e-end things h-h-here..."
Jun quickly grabbed Kazuha by the arm and she harshly shook his grip off of her. She looked at him with disgust written on her face.
"Stop holding onto me and just run to that girl you're always texting whenever you feel that my love isn't enough!" Kazuha hissed, impatience and disgust in her tone. She looked at him up and down, then stomped off and made her way down the hallway in the direction of where their rooms were.
Momo was silent the whole time. Kazuha...was dealing with this all this time? And I didn't even notice, not even once! Why didn't she tell me!?
She felt angry, but her anger quickly turned to sorrow. But she didn't tell me because she didn't want me to worry...
Guilt was scratching at her. No...she didn't tell me because I never noticed all of the pain she was hiding.
Guilt dug its sharp claws into her. I refused to look for any signs of pain in her. I refused to see that Jun could have wronged her. I downplayed her feelings. I never considered things from her point of view. She knew all of this. That's why she sat there and let me blame her.
Momo hugged her legs and rapidly blinked. I'm a horrible friend...!
Casi, who was in phone form, transformed into a fairy and lightly pat Momo on the leg. "Momo-chan-sisi..."
A couple of feet away, Akari walked out from behind the pillar that she and Momo hid behind a timeline ago and approached Jun. Like last time, he was on his knees and was balling his eyes out as he spoke to the Spiderman watch.
Akari swiftly snatched the watch out of Jun's hands. "If you're thinking about going back in time, don't even bother!"
"No!" Jun reached for the watch. "Give it back! I need it to get Kazuha back!"
Akari held it higher so Jun, who was still on his knees, couldn't reach it. "Absolutely not!"
"I need to go to Kazuha immediately," Momo said, stumbling to her feet.
Akari saw Momo stand up. "Hey! Catch!" She threw the watch at Momo who quickly ducked out of the way on instinct, snapping back into the present situation.
The watch flew past her and hit the ground behind her. The glass part cracked and then, the watch began to glow a light jade color.
"She doesn't love me!"
"I need her to love me!"
"Why doesn't she love me!?"
Momo turned around as Jun's thoughts spilled out of the watch. "Yo, what the fuck!?"
Akari watched as Jun tilted his head up and closed his eyes. A light jade aura surrounded him and glittering jade green tears dripped from his eyes like ruined mascara. "Suka, I don't know what to do now...you take over."
"Get down!" Akari yelled at Momo and they quickly shielded themselves as Jun transformed into a Bugaboo in a poof.
This time, the Bugaboo was a tiny bug with three eyes and a jade-colored heart on its back. "Bugaboo!" It cried out in its miniature voice, sounding like a chipmunk. Momo and Akari unshielded themselves and crouched around the bug-Bugaboo.
Momo tilted her head. "Why does it look like that?" She thought about it. "Wait! I think I know why! It's cuz it's the size of his tiny di-"
Akari raised a foot and stomped on it. Instead of the Bugaboo getting squashed and ultimately defeated, it quickly multiplied into an army of bug-Bugaboos and scurried across the floor to various destinations.
Akari blinked. "Should've known it wouldn't be that easy"
"But they're so small. How can they harm anyone?" Momo asked.
One of the Bugaboos hopped onto the nearby pillar and bit into it. Then, the Bugaboo exploded like a bomb, destroying the pillar along with it. Momo and Akari stared at the debris left behind by the bug-Bugaboo-bomb. As they did, another explosion was heard a couple of feet down. Seconds later, people in pajamas filled out of the rooms, screaming and trying to find anywhere to hide.
"That makes more sense," Akari said.
"Akari-lulu! Momo-lulu! Both of you have to transform into Precure and stop those Bugaboos immediately-lulu!" Lilu yelled from Akari's phone tucked in the waistband of her pajama bottoms.
"Huh!? Can't we just run around and catch them without having to transform!?" Momo cried.
"Right! I am not about to wear that goofy cosplay outfit again!" Akari cried.
Another explosion was heard in the distance along with more screams.
"Stop complaining and transform, right now-lulu" Lilu yelled.
The girls sighed. "Fine."
Casi transformed into a phone and landed in Momo's hands. Akari pulled out her phone, which was Lilu in phone form. "Precure!" Their charms that would become badges on their Precure outfits appeared in their hands. "Aurora Wave!" They inserted the charms into the phone and began the transformation.
"The emissary representing Cancer the Crab! Cure Moon!" Momo, who has transformed into Cure Moon, introduced.
"The emissary representing Leo the Lion! Cure Sun!" Akari, who has transformed into Cure Sun, introduced.
The girls posed. "Together we are Precure!"
"Do we have a plan?" Sun asked Moon, still posing.
Moon was also still posing. "Shoot and stab 'em until we find the source. Just like last time, there must be an overgrown bug-source somewhere around here."
"I have an idea of where the source could be," Sun said.
Moon faced her. "Where?"
"Bugaboos are the monsterfication of our inner demons and sorrow, right? Jun's sorrow is the fact that Kazuha broke up with him even though he deserved it. Which means the source has to be with Kazuha," Sun explained.
Another explosion sounded in the distance and a couple of people even bumped into the girls in their attempt to exit the premises.
Moon held her hands out. "Waxing Crescent!" Her katana materialized into her hands. "Tell you what. You focus on the bugs and cover me. I'm going after the source to make him pay and save my friend."
"Wait, what!?" Sun cried as Moon sprinted off in the direction that Kazuha had gone in.
By now, the inhabitants of the hotel had mostly evacuated so Moon had a clear path, minus the debris. She sliced bug-Bugaboo-bombs out of the way, ducking whenever they self-destructed as bombs. Sun, who was following from behind, held out her hand.
"Solar Flare!" With her guns in her hands, Sun shot a piece of ceiling that was about to fall on top of Moon into tiny pieces. Then, she shot the other Bugaboos that were around, allowing them to also explode as bombs.
Moon ducked, dodged, and sliced anything that was in her way. She briefly glanced into every room, hoping she'd find what she was looking for. I have to find Kazuha! I have to find Kazuha! She thought over and over again.
Her search led her to a room at the end of the hall. She kicked the doors open and found herself in what appeared to be the room where events were held, at least, judging by the size of the room. When she looked up, she gasped. A large spiderweb hung from the top corner and Kazuha was trapped in the web. She hung upside down and was unconscious as the strings of the web had a tight hold on her.
"Kazuha!" Moon cried just as Sun entered the room.
Suddenly, all of the remaining bug-Bugaboo-bombs filled into the room and came together in front of Moon and Sun. Before their eyes, the Bugaboos fused together to create a gigantic bug-Bugaboo with multiple jade-colored tiny beady eyes all over its body. Its face had a large smile but when it opened its mouth, it revealed an eye with a jade green diamond-shaped pupil. "Bugaboo!" It roared.
"Kazuha! I'm coming!" Clutching tightly to her katana, Moon lept into action.
The beady eyes decorating the Bugaboo's body shone and charged at her and Sun like tiny rockets. Sun raised her guns and was able to shoot a couple out of the way but some flew past her, causing explosions everywhere. Moon ignored the explosions surrounding her and sliced the beady rockets that were in her direct path. Then, she slid on the floor and sliced at the Bugaboo's feet.
As the Bugaboo tipped over, it let out more beady rockets, forcing Sun to focus on shooting them so they didn't hit them. "The eye with the diamond on it! Remember!" She cried.
Like a cockroach, the Bugaboo was on its back and its little legs were flaring up into the air. However, it was still able to release its beady rockets. Sun covered Moon to the best of her ability as Moon jumped onto the Bugaboo's stomach. Every step Moon took led to an explosion as if the Bugaboo's stomach was a minefield. She quickly jumped out of the way with each explosion until she was able to make it to the top. Then, right when the Bugaboo opened its mouth to roar, Moon dug her katana into its mouth, cracking the diamond-pupiled eye in the process.
Sun let out a breath of relief when the beady rockets that were coming at her vanished. "I purified it last time! It's your turn!"
Letting go of her sword's hilt, Moon jumped off of the weakened Bugaboo and held her hand out. "Aurora Tact!"
The item materialized in her hand and she drew the constellation of Cancer in the air. "Precure! Stardust Shower!"
With the diamond on the top of the Aurora Tact glowing a snow blue hue, she pointed the tact at the constellation she had just drawn and the areas where the stars were in the constellation charged at the Bugaboo in multiple beams of light. The beams hit the Bugaboo, causing it to crack into more pieces and explode, coating the area in a snow blue cloud of smoke.
Within the black room stood leafless trees with red strings tangled onto the branches. Shoji boards sat in different places. In the center of it all stood Jun in a red kimono. He held a katana in his hands and was looking up at one of the trees as cherry blossom petals slowly fell to the ground like snowflakes.
Just as he reached out towards the tree, one of the shoji board sets slid open, revealing Cure Moon. With her midnight blue eyes locked dead on Jun, she approached him with the blade of her katana loudly scratching against the floor.
Jun put his hand behind his back and faced Moon. "If you're here to take what I need away from me, I won't let you." He unsheathed his katana and pointed it at her.
Moon's gaze grew sharp with a dark scowl as she stood in position. "Come here so I can give you a good ass beating."
They stared at each other in silence. Then, they charged.
The cherry blossoms continued to fall around them as their blades danced. Moon didn't have a background in sword fighting. She lived in the 21st century, after all. The way she swung her blade had no technique and it would make the grandest of sword masters have a heart attack right on the spot. But she didn't care. Every move she made was for the kill. Jun was a similar case.
"Listen! I'm not the bad guy here!" Moon said with another swing.
Jun ducked and hit her in the chest with the palm of his hand, sending her flying. "So you're saying that the bad guy is me!?"
Moon jumped back to her feet. "I saw what you did to Kazuha!" She ran to him and raised her blade. He quickly hit it out of the way and she swung her leg at him. "She said no! But you were still trying to make her do something that she was not comfortable with and did not want to do!"
Jun grabbed her ankle. "Is it a crime for me to want to do things that lovers do with her!?" Still holding onto her ankle, he swung Moon around. "She kept on denying me over and over! Of course I have the right to feel that she doesn't love me!"
He let go. Moon did a flip in the air and landed on her feet. He swung his blade at her and she quickly hit it back. "She has to prove her love to me!"
Moon and Jun were locked in a stalemate. Their blades were caught in the middle, trying to break through to hit the other and their faces were only centimeters apart.
A blue fire was burning in Moon's eyes. "And you hurt her whenever she doesn't!"
"I'm human! I just get angry every time she does that! But then, she comes back, reminding me that I am loved! But how long will it last? I need her to constantly prove it to me...but it doesn't matter...she's gone..." Suddenly, Jun applied more force. "You're always with her! You must've put some twisted ideas into her head, telling her to leave me!"
Moon lost her grip for a quick second but quickly adjusted it. Inside, however, she felt her body threatening to tear itself apart. "I...I..."
I told her to stay with you...
Tears burned the back of Moon's eyes. "Y-You don't deserve Kazuha, or her love! So you're a good basketball player and you're conventionally attractive, but other than that, what's so great about you!? Nothing! Those fangirls you have? Superficial! And your own team actually can't stand you! All you have is Kazuha, but not anymore because she's realized the truth!"
This time, Jun lost his grip on his blade, allowing Moon to break the stalemate.
"You bitch!" He yelled, finally dropping his arrogant facade. His movements were sloppy and all over the place. "You bitch! You bitch! You bitch!" He yelled over and over again.
She quickly ducked as Jun swung his blade to behead her and she spun around him. "Deep down, you know the real reason why you keep on demanding for Kazuha to prove her love for you!."
She knelt down just as Jun turned around and thrusted her sword into his heart. Eyes buldging out of his eye sockets, he coughed out a mouthful of blood.
"It's because nobody actually loves you." She pulled her sword out and stood up with her back turned to him as a tear slipped out of her eye. "So wake the fuck up."
Long after the damage from the Bugaboos vanished, Momo immediately made her way to the room that she shared with Kazuha and Harumi. The fact that she and Akari had just obtained a new fairy could wait. There were more important matters.
It took Momo a while but eventually, she made it to the room that she shared with Harumi and Kazuha. Harumi was out and was mumbling incoherent sentences in her sleep. Kazuha, however, was still awake. She was sitting up with her knees up and was hugging herself as she stared off into the distance. Her nose was red, her eyes were puffy, and dry tears were stuck to her face. The moonlight shone on the purple bruises covering her arms, neck, and face. She jumped when Momo barged into the room and immediately moved to cover herself with her blanket.
Momo ripped the blanket off. She fell to her knees as her chocolate brown eyes that were bulging out of its eye sockets raked over the bruises.
"Momo, I can expla-" Moon cut Kazuha off. "I did this...!"
Momo was kneeling on the ground and the tears she had been holding back for too long began to spill out. Kazuha immediately pulled Momo into a hug.
"Why are you crying? Momo, you didn't do anything!" Kazuha whispered.
"I shouldn't have said what I said! I'm the reason why you got hurt this time! And you've gotten hurt so many other times and I didn't notice! And I'm the reason why you even began to get hurt!" Momo wailed.
Momo confessed all of the plots she and Takeru had carried out in order to get Kazuha and Jun together. She confessed how she was more focused on making sure they stayed together. She confessed how she didn't want to believe that Jun was actually hurting Kazuha. She confessed everything. And she made sure to apologize after every sentence she spilled out.
Kazuha was caught completely off guard but she let Momo cry into her chest and affectionately ran her fingers through her wavy ginger hair like a mother. Harumi had woken up at some point and joined the other two on the ground.
"What happened?" Harumi had mouthed, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes with one hand as she rubbed Momo's shoulder with another hand. Then, she noticed Kazuha's bruises. She gasped. "What happened!?" She mouthed again, this time referring to Kazuha.
"Let Momo finish...then I'll explain..." Kazuha mouthed back.
And the three of them spent the rest of the night wide awake.
Random Fact: I struggle with writing fight scenes. Like, really bad. Especially when it comes to fighting monsters. But I love fight scenes. So I binge watched some of my favorite fight scenes from some of my favorite anime
Wassup!? It's ya girl sugarsugarrush!
This chapter is...heavy. At first, it wasn't. I originally planned for Kazuha to break up with Jun because he was cheating on her. But then, I decided to go with the current decision in the story because it is an issue that a lot of people go through. When I was Kazuha's age, I had also dealt with something kind of similar. I've seen my friends and family members go through these experiences as well. And just recently, I found out that a very close friend of mine who was in a relationship that I thought was perfect was actually in a relationship that wasn't safe for her.
This story is about high schoolers facing their inner demons and high schoolers in real life do go through the kind of situation that Kazuha went through so I felt that I should add what happened to Kazuha to this story. I was nervous, though, because this is a sensitive topic and I didn't want to risk triggering anyone.
Also, I wanted to illustrate how things that seem perfect on the outside to others actually aren't so perfect and we don't know what people could actually be dealing with. So...yeah.
Damn, this chapter is long.
Quick note: I made some changes to Cure Moon and Cure Sun's outfits. I wasn't feeling them anymore. Go to Chapter 4 to see the new changes.
Anyway, I hope y'all like this chapter! Please let me know your thoughts and opinions in a PM or reviews! Let's see if I can go back to my regular update schedule!