Chapter Text
In the city, the Kind and Bright investigated various buildings, including the Pretty Holic Salon. “Hey there, Mashiro!” Manatsu greeted her with a smile. “What can we do for you today?”
“We’re looking for any clues about where our little friends have disappeared to,” explained Cure Prism. “Have you had anyone go missing?”
“No, no,” said Laura, shaking her head ‘no’. Her magenta locks bounced with every movement. “Kururun has been in here with us all day.”
“Kururun!” Kururun poked her head out of the water.
“Alright,” said Asuka, putting a hand to her chin. “Who have you lost track of?”
“For our group; Hugtan, Latte, Chiffon, and Princess Elle.” Cure Amour listed off. “Our two other teams are searching for more missing victims elsewhere.”
“Well, no wonder Hana never came in for her ten o’clock appointment today,” mused Sango.
“Minori, you’re not doing anything,” said Manatsu, “go do a quick sweep of the salon, see if any of them got in while we weren’t looking.”
“Of course.” Minori straightened her back. “Ruru, do you have a full list of who’s missing so I know who to look for?”
Cure Amour snapped into her memory banks, making her eyes glitch with lines of code. “Hikaru Kujou; Minori Hyuuga; Yu Natsuki; Ai Natsuki; Chiffon; Futaba Hanasaki; Hummy; Hina Midorikawa; Yuuta Midorikawa; Kouta Midorikawa; Yui Midorikawa; Ai Himaru; Momoka Haruno; Miku Kenjou; Hugtan; Latte; Chiho Nagomi; Princess Elle.”
“Oh. That’s…a lot,” mumbled Minori on her way out.
“It certainly is,” mused Cure Amour. “That’s why we have such a large search party organised.”
“I do not want to be out for too long,” said Cure Earth sadly. “I just want my Latte back.” Her eyes began to well up, and she covered her face with her hands.
“Don’t give up hope just yet,” said Cure Pine. “There’s so much ground to cover; eventually we’ll find some sort of clue.” She gently hugged the taller Cure to help her calm down.
Meanwhile, Umai-chan had made it all the way to a playground, where she made herself a bottle and poofed back into Chiho to get some energy back. As she nursed on her drink, she looked around to see if she could see her papa or daddy anywhere, but they were nowhere to be found.
Once she finished her bottle, she scooted herself across the empty playground, and fell forward onto her tummy. Not letting that stop her, she pulled herself forward by her arms, and eventually started crawling. Once she got out from the equipment and trees, she poofed into Umai-chan, and dropped some beads in the area so the big people could follow them and find her.
“Do you think Chiho’s found any help yet?” Momoka asked Miku.
“Doubt it.” Miku huffed. “We’re still here, and we haven’t heard anything from her since.”
Hearing the shadow man approaching, everyone in the room went very quiet. The shadow man entered, carrying in a little girl by the back of her nightdress. He dropped her into a cage and locked up the top. “You will stay here with the other children.”
As the shadow man left, the girl watched through the bars, looking lost and confused. Hummy tried to reach out a paw to her. “Who are you, nya?”
“I’m Chika,” the girl said softly. “What is this place?”
“We don’t know either,” said Momoka. “But we’ve got Chiho out trying to find us help.”
“If she finds anyone, I hope it’s Nao,” mumbled Yuuta.