Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Blossom Impact!” the pink-haired Cure shouted.

Cure Blossom hit a weak spot on the broom-themed Desertrian of the day, and the monster fell to the ground with a crash. She looked back at her teammates, Cure Marine and Cure Sunshine, with a grin, and the three of them took out their Tacts. They spun them around and quickly revived the young janitor who felt unnoticed in the world.

He bowed to the Precure, thanking them, and took off with his broom.

“Agh! Precure!”

The three girls turned to see an enraged Sasorina stomping up to them. Sunshine ran toward the Desert Apostle and punched her several times until she fell to the ground.

Marine scoffed. “Give it up, Sasorina! You and your allies will never win!”

Sasorina merely snarled at them and disappeared.

“Hmph! Coward,” Marine grumbled as her form disappeared and she was back as Kurumi Erika.

“You guys did great!” Chypre, Coffret, and Potpourri flew over to them with a newly planted Heart Seed in the pot.

“Really?” Blossom didn’t think that her attacks were sufficient today.

“Blossom, your final attack was super cool!” Chypre cried.

Blossom let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness. She thought that her finishing move looked flimsy. Her body flashed pink and she was back as Hanasaki Tsubomi. She looked to see Sunshine flash a golden glow as she turned back into Myoudouin Itsuki.

“Well, since that’s over with, let’s go get something to eat!” Erika cried. “I’m starving.”

“Sounds good,” Itsuki said with a nod.

“Let’s go over to Miyura Ramen!” Tsubomi suggested. “I want to see how Akira-kun and his father are doing.”

“All right! We’ve got a destination, so let’s go!” Erika grabbed Tsubomi’s hand and pulled her into downtown Kibougahana while Itsuki, putting the fairies in her bag, trailed behind them and tried to hold back an amused smile.

“Hello, Akira-kun!” Erika greeted, squeezing Tsubomi’s hand. Tsubomi thought her fingers were going to fall off before she slipped her hand out of Erika’s tight grasp.

“Ah, Erika-san, Tsubomi-san, welcome!” Akira said with a grin. He saw Itsuki enter and gave her a deep bow. “S-Seitokaichou-san, welcome to Miyura Ramen!”

“Oh, Miura-san, no need to be so formal,” Itsuki told him with a dismissive wave of her hand. “You can just call me ‘Itsuki’ outside of school, okay?”

“O-Of course, Myoudouin-san,” Akira corrected.

“No, just ‘Itsuki,’ really—ah, never mind; it’s useless,” Itsuki murmured with a shake of her head.

Tsubomi smiled at Itsuki’s futile attempts to be more informal with her classmate and watched Akira guide them to an empty table. They told a cheerful waiter their orders, and once he walked off, Erika started rambling excitedly about an upcoming fashion club project, something dealing with lace lining and darker colors since fall was already in bloom.

“I can’t wait to make a dress all based around autumn!” Erika exclaimed, her deep blue eyes sparkling.

Tsubomi nodded, only partly listening to her chatter and partly absorbed in her own thoughts. She thought about how strong Itsuki and Erika were as Cure Sunshine and Cure Marine, and how…weak she was as Cure Blossom. Chypre had been right the first time they met; she really was the weakest Precure. She could barely fight a Desertrian on her own without someone by her side. She thought that, with Itsuki as a newly enacted Precure, she would feel much more confident, but seeing Itsuki fight so skillfully and gracefully made her feel even more like a flimsy bud next to a blooming peony.

“Tsubomi?” Itsuki’s voice broke into Tsubomi’s thoughts.

“Y-Yes?”

“Are you okay? You don’t seem as cheerful as usual.”

Tsubomi felt her face flush. Just how much did Itsuki notice about her?

“Oh, I’m fine, really,” she lied. “Just…a bit tired.”

The concern in Itsuki’s almond eyes melted into gentle relief. “Is that all? I was worried. I thought that something was troubling you.”

“No, no, everything’s okay,” Tsubomi affirmed. She pulled her gaze from Itsuki’s and started to fool with her dark red pigtails.

Itsuki took her hand, and she flinched. “If you ever need to talk to me, I’m right here.”

Tsubomi was about to reply when Erika interrupted, “Oi! Quit being so lovey-dovey over there! It’s time to eat!”

Tsubomi and Itsuki both turned red when they saw that everyone in the shop was staring at them thanks to Erika’s outburst. Tsubomi saw the waiter give them a sheepish smile as he handed them their food.

As they ate, Tsubomi went back to her thoughts. No matter how nice Itsuki was, she would never understand Tsubomi’s situation. Not since Itsuki was so tough and mature and Tsubomi was just a weak little thing. I’m sorry, Itsuki-san, she thought miserably, but you can’t help me this time.

Chapter Text

Cure Sunshine was definitely beautiful.

But her radiant happiness was starting to become irritating. And Cure Marine, well, she was too loud and obnoxious. He hated annoying girls like that.

As for Cure Blossom, well, she was an interesting case. Cobraja didn’t like her at first, didn’t like her disgusting passion for Earth’s flowers, but as he viewed her fighting skills, how she held herself compared to her other two teammates, he wondered if she still felt as insecure as she had been when he met her. He knew that her Heart Flower had to be on the brink of wilting, and if she knew, she certainly didn’t want to tell her friends. He thought that was very deceptive, very cruel of her.

And even if she didn’t know, he knew of a way to make her see that. And then she would fall into despair. He smiled at that thought. “Ah, wouldn’t that be a sight to behold,” he murmured dreamily.

“Cobraja?” an unpleasant voice called out. “What are you mumbling to yourself for?”

He turned around with a grimace. “Sasorina…” Suddenly he grinned and said with a sneer, “What if I could tell you that I know of a way to beat the Precure once and for all? To make them truly weak?”

She let out a hearty laugh. “Ha! As if that little brain of yours could come up with a decent plan!”

Cobraja grit his teeth at that insult.

“Cobraja, honey, just let me do the thinking from now on, all right?”

He scowled as she sauntered away. He looked back at the monitor where he was watching those blasted Precure, and an evil smile curled onto his perfect face.

“We’ll see about that.” Cobraja vanished from the base, set on a course to Kibougahana.

When he landed, he could feel the nearby presence of a wilting Heart Flower and smell its faint aroma of rotting fruit. He breathed it in gladly, marveling at the delicious smell. He followed the smell to its source and found, to his utter joy, Cure Blossom in her civilian form sitting alone on a park bench. He chuckled. “Well, Cure Blossom, what a pleasant surprise.”

Blossom stood up with a gasp. “Cobraja!”

“I see your fairy partner is nowhere to be seen.” Cobraja casually glanced around the area. An evil smile twisted his features. “How convenient for me,” he leered. His eyes flashed blue, and he saw that her Heart Flower was a wilting daffodil bunch. “Oh, your Heart Flower is wilting quite nicely.”

Blossom covered her chest and let out a squeak. “W-What? No, that can’t be true…”

“You really don’t feel it? How your heart is slowly rotting thanks to your constant insecurities?” He plucked a single daffodil from the ground and murmured, “I can’t wait to see what you’ll be like.” He put his hands together and cried out, “Heart Flower, come out!”

A dark red light shone around her, and her soul and Heart Flower were transferred into the crystals used to capture people. He snatched the sphere containing Blossom’s soul and leered at her puny, shivering form. He didn’t want to throw this away; not when those damn Precure could use it to save her.

“Desertrian, come out!” He combined the daffodil and crystal together, and a flower-themed monster was born.

“Daffodil!” the Desertrian roared as she lumbered about the park, kicking up dying flowers and crushing them under her giant feet.

Cobraja watched in amazement as the monster lumbered around and moaned. People screamed when they came across the Desertrian and ran away from her. Ah, now she had become beautiful in his eyes. He thought, for a brief second, that he had fallen in love with her, with her newfound powers of destruction.

He thought it amusing that she was destroying the things she cared for, humans and flowers. The irony was delicious.

Unfortunately, that sweet taste of glory lasted for only a second, because he saw Blossom’s two annoying friends bound over to the battlefield, fairies at their sides and Heart Perfumes in their hands. They yelled out their transformation phrases and their bodies shone with their respective colors. A second later, they were in their Precure forms.

“I won’t let you destroy this peaceful park!” Cure Marine shouted in her obnoxious voice. Suddenly she paused, looking around her. “Eh? Where’s Tsubomi?”

Cobraja, with a cold smile, gestured to the giant flower-themed Desertrian smashing plants. “Right over there.” He drank in the two Precure’s shocked faces as their gazes switched over to the monster.

“N-No,” Marine whispered with a shudder. “How…?”

Oh, yes, he was enjoying every second of this. “You two really suck at friendship, don’t you?”

“What was that?” Marine yelled, snapping out of her shocked trance. “We’re the most loyal friends Tsubomi ever had!”

“Y-Yeah,” Cure Sunshine agreed weakly, still gazing at Daffodil.

Cobraja’s cold smile twisted into an evil leer. “You call yourselves ‘loyal friends’ when you didn’t even notice your poor friend breaking into pieces every day, succumbing to despair inch by inch? Pathetic! I’m surprised she didn’t see how worthless you are, how indifferent you are to her feelings. That…” He paused for effect, marveling in their startled expressions. “That is just cruel.”

“Oh, yeah, and how would you know? You…you have no idea what ‘friendship’ is!” Marine shouted at him, struggling to fight back tears.

He looked to Cure Sunshine, who was already starting to tear up. He saw the fairies backing away and trembling in fear as Daffodil started to tear up the trees in the park.

Marine let out a shout. “No, Blossom! Stop!” She bounded toward the rampaging Desertrian.

“Desertrian, get rid of those pests,” Cobraja said beneath his breath.

“Daffodil!” The Desertrian turned toward Marine and swung a flower-covered fist toward the blue Precure. Marine flew against a park bench.

Sunshine let out a shriek, tears spilling from her gold eyes, and ran toward her Precure partner. “Marine!” She grabbed her shoulder as Marine tried to stand up.

“I’m all right,” Marine told her with a weak grin.

Sunshine let out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness,” she murmured, wiping her teary eyes. Suddenly, she heard the stomping of the Desertrian’s feet and looked up to see a giant fist heading straight toward her.

Chapter Text

Sunshine grabbed Marine’s arm and leaped out of the way before the hand could crush them. They landed on a hill only a few feet away from the destruction.

Marine muttered a curse. “Cobraja’s got Tsubomi,” she said, nodding to the scarlet orb in his hands.

Sunshine sucked in a sharp breath. No wonder she couldn’t find it; Cobraja had it all along. She felt anger pulse in her veins, anger so passionate and vivid it scared her. But she pushed that momentary fear aside; it didn’t matter, after all. Tsubomi was in danger.

She looked at Cobraja, looked at his delighted face watching Tsubomi destroy everything in sight.

She hated him. She hated him more than ever.

“Marine,” she said, “we need to get the crystal from him. We need to save Tsubomi.”

“I’ve got it. I’ll get it from him. You can count on me!”

“Good.” Sunshine looked over at Tsubomi in her Desertrian form and felt her heart constrict. She swallowed a lump in her throat as she said, “I’ll try to calm Tsubomi down.”

Marine gave her a nod and leaped toward Cobraja. Sunshine saw the blue-haired Precure yell his name and punch him across the face. Her momentary smile of happiness morphed into one of sadness when she looked back at Tsubomi. She sniffled, sucked in a breath as she and Potpourri exchanged looks, and bounded over to the Desertrian.

Tsubomi looked down at Sunshine with glowing eyes. “Daffodil!” She swung her huge fists toward the golden Precure.

Sunshine jumped onto a flower-covered arm, sprinted up to the Desertrian’s bud-shaped head, and threw a reluctant punch to her face. Of course, no matter how restrained her moves were, they were still absurdly powerful, and the Desertrian crashed to the ground from the force.

Sunshine felt more tears coming to her eyes. “I’m sorry, Tsubomi,” she whispered with a shudder. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I don’t have a choice.” She leaped up and punched the monster’s chest, shoulders, and arms.

Tsubomi kept stumbling backward, but she held her ground. She raised a fist and struck Sunshine in the chest. The Precure went flying into a tree, which cracked in half and fell with a crash.

Sunshine groaned as she managed to stand up. She saw something glint on the ground near her and picked it up. It was Tsubomi’s Heart Perfume. Sunshine clutched it in her hand, tossed it over to Potpourri, and dashed over to the Desertrian.

On the other side of the park, Marine was busy with her own battle.

Marine let out a yell and threw a rapid succession of punches toward Cobraja. She managed to hit him in the arms and shoulders, but he kept leaping away from her. That only made her madder, which also made her punches more powerful. She kicked out and smashed her heel onto his wrist. He let out a sharp hiss of pain as he slid a few feet backward, but he didn’t let go of the sphere containing Tsubomi’s soul.

Marine let out a yell of frustration. She put her hands together and yelled out, “Marine Shoot!” A flurry of blue light shot out from her palms, and Cobraja was instantly knocked away. But the sphere still remained in his hand.

With another yell of anger, Marine shot more blue energy from her hands at the Desert Apostle, hoping to loosen his grip.

Sunshine was having her own problems.

She was trying to talk Tsubomi out of what she was doing, like they always did, and so far it wasn’t working.

“Please, Tsubomi,” Sunshine pleaded. “I…I don’t want to lose you.”

Tsubomi just threw down another punch toward Sunshine. The Precure leaped up and landed on her arm. She sucked in a breath, ran up Tsubomi’s arm, and punched her several times in the head.

Finally, she yelled, “Sunshine Impact!” and delivered a hard blow with her shining golden hands.

Tsubomi didn’t even flinch.

Sunshine felt her heart drop. It should have worked. It always did. “What—”

Tsubomi just plucked Sunshine off her shoulder and tossed her onto the ground. She raised a flower-covered foot to stomp on the Precure, but Sunshine used Sunflower Aegis to protect herself. It wasn’t lasting long; Sunshine was seeing cracks in the golden shield, and thinking quickly, she rolled out of the way just as the sunflower shield shattered.

Tsubomi swung around and punched the ground, sending enough force to throw Sunshine off her feet.

“Sunshine!” Sunshine looked up to see Potpourri flying toward her.

“No! Potpourri, it’s too dangerous! Get out—”

Potpourri wasn’t listening as he went over and started throwing himself against Tsubomi. The Desertrian snarled and flicked the fairy off her arm. Potpourri sailed right into Sunshine’s arms.

“She’s strong…” Potpourri whimpered, holding Tsubomi’s Heart Perfume close to his little chest.

“Yeah, too strong,” Sunshine said disgruntledly.  “I hate to say it, but Cobraja picked the right person to turn into a Desertrian. Having a Precure as their own wrecking ball is exactly what the Desert Apostles need to win against us…”

She clenched her teeth and looked up at the rampaging Tsubomi. “There’s only one way to save her…”

“Gather, flower power!” Sunshine yelled as she tapped her bow and grabbed the tambourine that came out of the light. She spun the tambourine several times. “Shiny Tambourine!” She danced around and tapped it against her hands and hips before rising it above her head and yelling, “Dance, flowers! Precure Gold Forte Burst!”

A flurry of sunflowers shot toward Tsubomi and surrounded her, and when they dispersed in a burst of gold light, she was behind a giant sunflower. Sunshine circled the Shiny Tambourine around as Tsubomi rose up into the sky. Sunshine waited for her to murmur the sighs of relaxation that came along with purification, but none came.

She saw Tsubomi struggle against the pull of the sunflower, and Sunshine’s heart dropped even further when she broke free of it and the force sent a wave of light toward Sunshine. The Precure slid against the ground as Tsubomi lumbered toward her and slammed a giant fist onto Sunshine’s body.

Sunshine cried out as pain burst through every bone of her body, and she felt tears of frustration spill out of her eyes. Gold Forte Burst didn’t work…how was that possible? How could Tsubomi be this strong?

“No! Sunshine!” Marine gasped when she saw Tsubomi crushing Sunshine beneath her fists.

“Go, Marine! I’ll take care of this guy!” Coffret flew over to Marine and threw a glare in Cobraja’s direction.

“And I’ll help, too!” Chypre settled next to Coffret. Tsubomi’s fairy looked absolutely devastated as she watched her Precure partner destroy everything, but her tearful eyes narrowed with determination. “Let’s go beat this guy and get Tsubomi back!”

“Yeah! Charge!” The two fairies zoomed toward a stunned Cobraja and began to punch and kick his perfect face.

With Cobraja distracted, Marine turned away and headed for the battlefield below. Her heart caught in her throat as she saw Tsubomi pummeling Sunshine into the ground and Potpourri shrieking in despair. She sucked in a breath and ran toward her two best friends. With a yell, she kicked Tsubomi in the face.

Tsubomi narrowed her eyes and grabbed the blue Precure. She threw her onto the ground next to a battered Sunshine and raised her fists to beat them both down.

Marine used the brief second of Tsubomi raising her arms to grab Sunshine and leap out of the way. Tsubomi slammed the ground, roared, and started to stomp toward the two.

Marine ran as fast as she could away from the field. She rested Sunshine against a lone tree and sighed. Sunshine looked terrible. Her arms and legs were covered in bruises and cuts; blood was already leaking out of those scratches.

“I’ll finish this for you, Sunshine.”

Sunshine’s eyes opened a crack, and she turned her head toward Marine and said in a weak voice, “It’s no use; I tried purifying her with the Shiny Tambourine, but she managed to break free…she’s…she’s too strong…”

“No! Don’t say that! We can’t give up hope just yet! I know we can save Tsubomi; I just know it!”

“Are you sure about that?”

Marine and Sunshine whipped their heads around to see Cobraja standing in front of them, the crystals in one hand and three beat-up fairies in another. He tossed the fairies on the ground like trash and sneered at the Precure.

“Chypre! Coffret! Potpourri!” Marine gathered up the fairies in her arms.

“I’m afraid you can’t do anything anymore.” Cobraja chuckled as he held up the crystals. “Your little flower bud is nearly wilted!”

Sunshine and Marine’s eyes widened in terror. The last daffodil flower was dying; only one single petal remained shining.

“No…” Marine looked to see Tsubomi advancing toward them. Her form was starting to glow a dark red.

Marine stood up and gave Cobraja her worst glare yet. “I won’t let you…I won’t let you destroy Tsubomi!” She charged toward Cobraja and swiped at his arms, trying to get the crystals.

“What’s the use? It’s like your little friend said: you can’t even purify her!”

“We can if we combine our powers!”

Cobraja used his free hand to punch Marine in the stomach. She doubled back while still giving him an evil look.

“And how can you do that when Cure Sunshine can barely move?”

Marine threw a desperate look back to her friend.

Suddenly a red light shone brightly in the corners of Marine’s eyes, and she looked back to see Tsubomi, who was standing right in front of them, and the crystals enshrouded in light. The light flashed a dark red, and when it disappeared, a wind picked up around the still glowing Tsubomi.

Marine saw that her friend’s Desertrian form was shrinking back to her normal form, and a sliver of hope found its way inside her chest. Tsubomi…she must have found her strength as a Precure! She was coming back to them!

When the light finally disappeared, Tsubomi collapsed onto the grass. Marine ran up to her with a smile, yelling out her name, and stopped when she saw the redhead stand up.

Tsubomi wasn’t wearing her usual pink outfit and pigtails; instead, she was garbed in a gray mini-dress with red edging and a white coat that flapped in the breeze. Black thigh-high boots ran along her legs. Her red hair was down, falling to her back.

“Tsu…Tsubomi?” Marine found that she was unable to say anymore.

Tsubomi just stared at her with indifferent eyes, as though she didn’t recognize Marine at all.

Marine stepped back, shaking her head. “No…you’re not Tsubomi. Tsubomi would never look at me like that, with such…such uncaring eyes!”

“Tsubomi…” Sunshine coughed as she tried to stand up and stagger toward her red-haired friend. “Don’t you recognize us? It’s me, Itsuki. You…you had a crush on me…when you first met me…because you thought that…that I was a boy…” She coughed as she tried to say those statements, and she fell forward after the last word. She looked up at Tsubomi with desperate eyes. “Tsubomi…please…”

Tsubomi kept staring at the two of them. Finally she opened her mouth to speak.

“Who is…Tsubomi?”

Chapter Text

Cobraja had never felt so joyous in that moment when he saw Cure Blossom emerge from the red light, new and improved. He nearly fainted at the sight of her; she was even more beautiful than Sasorina.

Another rush of happiness coursed through him when he saw the looks of despair on the Precure’s faces at how their little friend didn’t recognize them anymore. Slowly, the Precure were crumbling, and soon the Desert Apostles would rule the world.

“What do you mean, ‘who is Tsubomi?’” Marine cried out. “It’s you! You’re Tsubomi!”

Marine ran forward and grabbed Blossom’s shoulders. “Don’t you hear me? You’re Tsubomi! Listen to what I’m saying!”

“You’re hurting me,” Blossom remarked in a bored voice. She grabbed Marine’s wrist and slammed her free hand into Marine’s stomach. Her free hand shone a dark red, and she said, “Wilted Impact.”

Marine flew backward from the force of the beam and crashed into a tree, breaking it in half.

“Marine!” Sunshine looked back at Blossom, a mixture of heartbreak and frustration in her face. “Tsubomi, please…how could you do this? Fight this despair! Come back to us! We need you! I…I need you!”

Blossom just gave her another look, and then her gaze slid toward Cobraja. He felt his face grow hot, and he was rather pleased to be beneath her beautiful gaze. With the most bewitching smile he could muster, he strode up to her and took her hand in his.

“My lady,” he said to her, “shall we leave these good-for-nothings and return to our home?”

“No! Tsubomi! Don’t listen to him! Earth is your home!” Marine shouted as she stood up.

Blossom looked at Marine, and then looked back to Cobraja. She gave him a nod.

“Excellent.” Cobraja smiled as he looked back to see Marine rushing toward them. “Farewell, Precure. I hope to meet you again soon.”

He let out a maniacal laugh as he and his new companion disappeared.

Mere seconds later, the two of them were on the base of the Desert Apostles. He looked at Blossom, who was looking around with the faintest curiosity in her dark red eyes.

“What do you think?” he asked as he gestured around the area.

Blossom thought for a moment before starting out, “It’s…”

“Cobraja!” A shrill voice interrupted her statement.

Cobraja turned to see Sasorina stomping toward him. “You moron! Where have you been?! We—” She paused, her golden eyes widening as she noticed Blossom standing beside him. She pointed a finger at the girl in shock. “Cure Blossom! What are you doing here?”

Sasorina growled and lunged forward, but Cobraja stood in front of Blossom. Sasorina smacked into his chest.

“Co-Cobraja!” Sasorina hissed. “What are you doing?”

“It’s all right,” Cobraja told her. “Blossom is one of us now.” He held up the dark red crystals, and Sasorina peered into the orb to see a trembling Blossom inside. She looked at the other crystal to see the wilted daffodil, and a smirk played on her lips.

“So it seems you’re not just a pretty face,” Sasorina remarked. She looked back at the red-haired girl. “What should we call her? ‘Blossom’ doesn’t seem to fit anymore.”

“How about ‘Shinabi’?”

“Shinabi…” Sasorina thought for a moment and smiled. “Yes, it’s perfect.” She walked up to the red-haired girl and rested her hands on her shoulders. “You are Shinabi, a Desert Apostle and servant of Dune-sama, our great master.”

“My name is Shinabi,” the girl repeated immediately. “I serve the great Dune-sama.”

“And now that you have arrived, now that a Heart Flower has finally wilted, Dune-sama should be coming earlier than expected. You’ll be able to meet him, my dear,” Sasorina told the girl. “It will be a momentous occasion.”

Shinabi smiled back at the woman. “I am sure it will be.”

Cobraja and Sasorina led her to an empty room, white and bare save for a queen-size bed and a dark green rug.

“This will be Dune-sama’s quarters when he returns, but for now, you may use it.”

“Oh, no, I couldn’t possibly use this,” Shinabi told them.

“Oh?” Sasorina was interested in what she had to say. “And why is that?”

“I, a lowly servant, should not even dare to touch this sacred room. I am unwilling to take even one single step inside.”

“Hmm…” Sasorina liked the girl’s attitude. “I can already tell that you will be a perfect ally. Right, Cobraja?” She looked sideways at her blue-haired partner, who nodded in agreement.

“Well, then, it seems we will have to find you another room.” Sasorina clapped her hands together, wondering which unoccupied rooms were suitable for a young girl to sleep in.

“I believe there is one near the training room,” Cobraja said.

“Well, then, let’s go!” Sasorina took Shinabi by the hand and led her toward the training room, where they saw Kumojacky fighting with some Sunackies.

“Kiiiiii!” a few screeched as they were blown away by the red-haired man’s strong punches.

Sasorina groaned, and Shinabi saw an expression of irritation on her tan face. “Of course he’s in here.”

“Ki! Ki! Ki!” A Sunacky was pointing to Shinabi.

“Huh?” Kumojacky paused as he looked to where the Sunacky was pointing. Suddenly his face tensed, and his red eyes flared up with anger.

“Cure Blossom!” Kumojacky roared as he sped toward her. He threw a punch but was instantly blocked by Cobraja’s hand. Kumojacky took a step back, stunned. “Wha-What are you doing? That’s Cure Blossom right there—”

“Not anymore,” Cobraja said with a smug grin. “I have used the girl’s own insecurities against her.”

“What?”

Cobraja sighed. “You really are a meathead, aren’t you? I turned Cure Blossom into a Desertrian and completely wilted her Heart Flower! Now she has become one of us, with a new identity. Kumojacky”—he gestured to Shinabi—“meet Shinabi-chan, our newest ally.”

Kumojacky narrowed his eyes at the girl. She just stared back at him blankly.

“Hmph!” He folded his arms together and mumbled a greeting.

Shinabi gave him a smirk and bowed to him. “It is nice to meet you, as well.”

Kumojacky just stared at her.

“Now, if you’ll excuse us, Kumojacky,” Cobraja interjected, “I would like to take her to her room.” He nodded toward the closed door a few paces down from the training room.

Kumojacky just glared at him and went back into the room.

“He seems…interesting,” Shinabi remarked in a clipped voice.

“Huh! ‘Interesting’ is the nicest word anyone’s ever used for him,” Cobraja huffed.

The three of them stepped into the white-walled room, where only a bed and a mirror occupied the otherwise bare space.

Shinabi looked around. “It’s nice. And exactly how many rooms are in this place?”

“Plenty,” Sasorina answered with a grin.

“We’re not entirely sure ourselves, Shinabi-chan,” Cobraja told her. “It seems every single day we discover a new room in this castle.”

“I see.” Shinabi walked over to the bed and plopped down on it. She lay down for a brief moment, soaking in the softness of the sheets. “Ah, this bed feels nice…”

Sasorina just smirked at Cobraja and left the room. After finding himself staring at their newest companion again, he finally cleared his throat and told her, “If you need anything, Shinabi-chan, just come to the room we first appeared in, and one of us will be able to help you.”

“OK.” Shinabi sat up back on the bed. “Where is Dark Precure?”

“Huh?” Cobraja gave her a weird look. “Dark Precure? How do you know who she is?”

“I…” Shinabi paused. She didn’t know. There was nothing in her head save for the last twenty minutes she had spent in the base and on Earth seeing the Precure. “I don’t know…”

“Hmm.” Cobraja bit his lower lip. “Strange. I’ll have to ask Sabaku about that…”

“Sabaku?” Shinabi tilted her head at the unfamiliar name.

“Oh, he’s just someone who sends us on missions; I suppose you could say that he’s Dune-sama’s second-in-command. You’ll meet him soon enough, I’m sure.”

“I see.” Shinabi gave him a small smile. “Thank you, Cobraja.”

Cobraja felt his heart pound at seeing her smiling face. “Ah, it’s nothing. Happy to help out.” He gave her a gentlemanly bow and exited her room.

Shinabi watched him go away, then slipped off her bed and looked at herself in the mirror. She played with her long red hair as a smirk curled on her lips.

What a weird group, she thought to herself.

Chapter Text

Itsuki had to be carried back to Kaoruko’s botanical garden. Erika, still in her Precure form, managed to fly her over there without being seen. When they landed, Erika laid her down on the grass and transformed back into her normal form.

Itsuki saw Kaoruko run out, worry etched on her lined features. “Girls, what happened? Are you--” She paused, her eyes darting back and forth between them. The worry on her face increased.

“Where--Where’s Tsubomi?”

Both Erika and Itsuki had trouble holding back tears.

“They took her,” Chypre managed to say between sobs. “They turned her into a Desertrian, and then they took her away!”

“What? But that’s--Precure shouldn’t be able to become Desertrians!”

“Apparently not,” Coffret said sadly. “It seems Tsubomi had trouble letting go of her insecurities.”

“You idiot,” Erika spat. “You really are the weakest Precure ever!”

“Erika!” Itsuki covered her mouth in shock. “How could you say that?”

“Why wouldn’t she tell us if she was feeling down? We could have made her feel better! We could have prevented this!” Erika collapsed onto the grass, anger and sadness mixing into hot tears. “Now she’s become a Desert Apostle…”

Itsuki looked at her injuries. “It’s my fault most of all. I did notice something was off with her, but I didn’t do anything. I’m a horrible friend.” She dug her nails into her bruised arm. “I deserve these injuries…”

Kaoruko let out a sigh and walked up to them. Suddenly she raised her hand and slapped both of their cheeks.

Erika and Itsuki looked up at her in shock.

“Really now! Succumbing to despair will not help anyone! How can we rescue Tsubomi with that kind of attitude? You’re supposed to be Precure, which means you can’t give up ever! Tsubomi’s lucky to have friends like you! When I was a Precure, I had no one to support me. No one! It was hard, even back then when Dune wasn’t as strong, to defeat him and his lackeys, but I got through it--not by despairing, but by hoping, by never giving up! You girls are a team! You’re supposed to support and save each other! So start doing that!”

“O-Oba-san…” Erika rubbed her face and stood up with a more confident expression. “You--You’re right! Tsubomi won’t want us to give up! We have to find different ways to save her! What do you say, Itsuki?” Erika held out a hand to the short-haired girl on the ground.

Itsuki took it with a smile and stood up. “Yes! Tsubomi needs us more than ever! Let’s go and rescue her from the Desert Apostles!”

The two girls smiled at each other as they and their fairy partners skipped into the botanical garden, excitedly chattering about rescue plans. Kaoruko found herself chuckling at their lively manner, and then she turned to the tree behind her.

“You can help them, Yuri-san.”

A girl with long dark purple hair emerged from behind the tree. “No, it can’t be done.” She shook her head. “I cannot transform anymore. With a wilted heart, a missing Perfume, and no Cologne…” Her eyes grew sad. “I’m sorry.”

Kaoruko just let out a sigh. “If you’re sure…”

“Yes. I’m afraid there’s no way I can become a Precure again.”

“Oh, come now. Not even by using Chypre and Tsubomi’s Heart Perfume?”

Yuri shook her head. “That power is solely Tsubomi’s, not mine.”

“You give up too easily, Cure Moonlight.”

Yuri tensed at the name.

Kaoruko just chuckled. “How can you find your hope again if you keep rejecting possibilities?”

Yuri just huffed and turned away. “See you later, Cure Flower.”

Kaoruko watched Yuri stride away from her into the sunset, a sad glint in her old eyes. She sighed and looked up at the sky.

“Oh, Tsubomi...please don’t forget your hope.” 

Chapter Text

Shinabi found herself wandering around the castle for a few days. Every morning she saw Kumojacky train with the Sunackies, and every afternoon she saw Sasorina argue with Cobraja over who would go back down to Earth, and she finally saw the figure of Sabaku shaking his head at their arguments.

He was a tall, broad-shouldered fellow with shoulder-length silver hair. A weird mask took up his entire face, and the only hint of any expression was a single red eye. Every now and then up on his throne she could see a small figure standing behind him in the shadows.

That must be Dark Precure, she thought. For some reason, she longed to meet her.

Today, when she walked past the room Sabaku often occupied, she saw only Cobraja inside, and the shadow of Dark Cure was nowhere to be found.

“Oh! Shinabi!” Cobraja waved her over to him.

Shinabi complied with his request and stood next to him. “What is it?”

A smile curled on his face. He looked up to the figure of Sabaku. “Professor Sabaku, I want you to meet our newest addition. Formerly Cure Blossom, she is now in our hands as the beautiful Shinabi!”

Sabaku just gazed at her with that menacing red eye.

Shinabi bowed, unsure of what to do in his presence. “Nice to meet you, Professor Sabaku.”

“Likewise.” He gave her a nod.

Before her brain could catch up with her, Shinabi asked, “Where is Dark Precure?”

Sabaku just laughed, a deep rumble that vibrated the ground, and told her, “Dark Precure is not available right now. You’ll meet her soon, I’m sure.”

“Ah.” Shinabi tried not to let her disappointment show, even though she had no idea what this Dark Precure was. At least, she was mostly sure of that. Something tugged at the back of her mind, something she felt might be important. But it was only a feeling--more importantly, she had to focus on Dune’s return. Whenever that would be.

She directed that question to Sabaku, who answered after thinking hard for a moment, “I will know for sure when he contacts me. Until now, I had believed that he would arrive around December. Now that we have a new Apostle and a new wilted Heart Flower, however, it may be even earlier than that.”

At the mention of the Heart Flower, Shinabi became fully aware of the great void inside of her. She lightly pressed her fingers against the center of her chest and felt nothing. She frowned.

Cobraja seemed to take notice of her downcast gaze, since she heard him step up to her and lightly touched her shoulder. “What’s the matter, Shinabi?”

Shinabi flicked her eyes up to his soft and gentle gaze. For someone who was so vain and ready to turn the world into a desert, he seemed to be the most emotionally aware out of all the Desert Apostles. Strange.

She considered not answering his question, but she couldn’t manage to tear her gaze from his. Once again, her curiosity caught up to her.

“I feel…empty. Why is that?”

Cobraja blinked. He clearly wasn’t expecting a question like that. “Empty? What do you mean?”

“It’s like…” Shinabi was having trouble forming her unease into words. “Like there’s something missing. Like I need something to fill whatever part I’m missing.”

“Ah…” Cobraja’s eyes flashed with understanding. “A missing part. I remember feeling like that when I first came to and found myself in this place. We all did. And then we found our own ways to try and fill those missing parts in. Kumojacky found fighting, Sasorina likes yelling at us, and me? I’ve found my beauty to be my comfort. I’m sure, in time, you’ll discover that missing part. But…” His fair countenance grew serious. “You must remember, that whatever you choose to do, you must not forget your original duty. You are here to serve Dune-sama.”

“Of course,” Shinabi said with a stiff nod. She relaxed again as her mind searched through the possibilities of her missing part. She looked over at Cobraja and thought of the other Apostles; she wondered how they found a way to fill up the emptiness inside them.

“Teach me about beauty,” she found herself saying. “Perhaps that could help with the void.”

Cobraja’s eyes lit up. “My, my! No one else has ever asked me such a thing! Of course!”

He pulled her to his room, where gilded mirrors covered the walls and counters and racks were full of scarves, clothes, and makeup.

“What would you like to try first? Ah, warm colors would look good on you!” Cobraja dug out a pale summer dress and a pink scarf, then a red blouse and jeans, and soon a full pile of clothes began to take shape beside a changing curtain.

Despite her initial disgust with trying on the outfits, Shinabi somehow found it enjoyable to model different clothes for a smiling Cobraja. After a while, though, she started to become aware of the void in her chest once again.

When she slipped on a sunflower-print dress, her chest felt tight. She slid the curtain open with a frown.

Cobraja’s smile faded when he saw her agitated expression. “What’s wrong? You don’t like it?”

“I feel funny,” Shinabi said. She pressed a hand to her chest. “It hurt when I put this on.”

Cobraja narrowed his eyes. “It must be the flowers.”

“Flowers?”

“Yes, yes,” Cobraja said. “They’re a sign of Earth, of life. Something that we Desert Apostles want to wipe out.” He chuckled. “I don’t even know why I have something like that, anyway--nature disgusts me.”

“I see. I suppose I should take this off, then.” She drew back the curtain and changed back into her black dress and coat. “Thank you for this, Cobraja,” Shinabi said, putting the dress into the discard pile. “It seems that beauty won’t fill my emptiness, though.”

“It’s…” Cobraja glanced over at the pile of clothes that she had tried on. “It’s not for everyone. But I must say that I had fun.”

At hearing his warm words, Shinabi felt like a blanket had wrapped around her. She remembered her thoughts about him, about she viewed him as weird, and a feeling--guilt?--took shape within her.

“I did, too,” Shinabi said after a pause. She bowed and left the room, her thoughts starting to weigh heavily on her.

She was so preoccupied that she almost didn’t notice when she bumped into Sasorina.

“Hey, perfect timing!” Sasorina chirped. “I was just about to see if you wanted to come to Earth with me to get another Heart Flower!”

Though the activity piqued Shinabi’s interest, she had a feeling that she wasn’t quite ready for a mission like that. “I appreciate the offer, Sasorina, but perhaps I need more time with training before I am ready to go down to fight the Precure?”

“Hmm…” Sasorina put a hand to her chin. “You do have a point. I’m sure Kumojacky would be very happy to take you on as a pupil.”

“No” was Kumojacky’s answer when Sasorina and Shinabi came up to him.

“You barely even heard me out!” Sasorina barked. “Shinabi, chastise him for his rude behavior!”

“As you wish.” Shinabi trained her red eyes on Kumojacky. Perhaps being bossy like this might help to fill in the emptiness. She tried her best to channel her inner Sasorina.

“You dolt!” Shinabi shouted. “Why can’t you see a good opportunity to get even stronger by training me? I want to fight the Precures, and I can’t learn how to do that by just sitting around in this castle all day!”

A slight pain throbbed near her temple, but she ignored it and focused on the startled face of Kumojacky.

“Dear God, she’s turning into you,” Kumojacky muttered to Sasorina, who merely gave him a triumphant smirk. “Fine. I’ll teach you; don’t expect it to be easy.”

“Of course.” Shinabi bowed to him. “I look forward to training with you.”

The training lasted ten days, eight hours a day when Kumojacky wasn’t trying to go down to Earth and fight the two Precure. For the first two days, Shinabi felt merely sore in her core, shoulders, arms, and legs; by the fourth day, her temple throbbed again after she managed to land a few kicks on Kumojacky and dodge his sword. She felt a sharp pain in her chest when she was able to knock him off his feet.

By the fifth day, she had strange dreams. She no longer dreamt about fighting the Precure; instead, she dreamt about being friends with the Precure. The interactions felt oddly familiar--this time, on the last night of her training, she was grasping the yellow Precure by the hand. She heard herself say to the Precure, in dulcet tones, “Thank you, Itsuki.”

A burning discomfort rose up within her heart, and Shinabi woke up with a gasp, clutching her chest. What was going on? How did she know the Precure’s civilian identities? She groaned, trying to ignore the aches in her chest.

She dragged herself to her last five hours of training; though she felt stronger and more agile, the pain in her head and chest was becoming unbearable.

“For your last day, I want you to try and throw me out of this ring,” Kumojacky instructed, waving his sword toward the uneven circle on the padded floor, drawn by the Sunackies in chalk.

Shinabi nodded and readied her fighting stance. Kumojacky took the first step and threw down his blade. She dodged, stepping lightly over the mat. For a few moments, the two were in a back-and-forth dance as they evaded each other’s attacks.

Kumojacky kicked her in the shin; for a second she was down, and he pointed his sword at her. Shinabi grabbed the blade and flung herself back up, yanking the sword out of his hands.

The battle-fueled Apostle growled and threw a punch at her. She ducked, grabbed his arm, and planted her feet firmly on the mat. She ran backward, dragging him with her, and with all of her might, she jumped a little as she threw him over her shoulder. Once she let go, he landed flat on his face, near the edge of the chalk ring.

He reacted quickly, rolling over and standing back up to face her. Shinabi ran forward and landed a punch on his face. She continued a flurry of punches and kicks, hoping to force his feet to slide backward, but he seemed to be standing his ground.

Thinking quickly, she held out a flat palm, and said, “Wilted Impact.” A beam of red light shot out of her hand and slammed straight into his chest. With a grunt, he tried to keep from falling back, but the force of the impact beam sent him flying out of the ring.

Shinabi grinned and bowed as Kumojacky stood up and dusted off his coat.

“Not bad,” he reluctantly admitted. “Though I’m surprised you still have those types of powers.”

“‘Still have’?” Shinabi cocked her head. “What do you mean?”

Kumojacky looked as though he was about to say more, but his eyes widened, as if he suddenly realized something. “Ah--never mind,” Kumojacky mumbled. “Just a remark.” He grabbed his sword and walked out of the training room, leaving Shinabi in the middle of the ring.

Her head pounded again, and her chest tightened. Kumojacky's strange words and her final move were the thoughts that filled her throbbing head. They were all that she could focus on, and so she wasn’t aware of Professor Sabaku watching her closely near the training room entrance.