After yesterday's events, Aura couldn't sleep, which led to him dozing off in class. Guess who got in trouble and had to sit the P.E. class out? Yes, him. Luckily he wasn't all that interested in volleyball. He watched as the girls smacked the ball back and forth, only for Hino's team, with Yayoi and Hoshizora on it, to win. It was 05-00, and Aura was forced to flip the score page.
As the ball started to head towards Hoshizora, she put her hands up in a hurry and got hit in the face with the ball, which bounced off. How did a hard volleyball do that? No clue.
"Nice one, now..." Hino jumped up, preparing her move. Aura closed his eyes, this shit was not worth his optic nerves.
The redhead scored another point, and Aoki praised her as the ace attacker of the volleyball team. Hoshizora, on the other hand, looked like she was dying. A few moments later, she dropped to the ground, and Yayoi ran towards her, panicking and calling her name.
Aura left to get his and Yayoi's food. They'll handle themselves, probably.
They sat at the pavilion to eat their lunches in the shade, and... Hoshizora blurted out the Precure business, inviting the two to be Precure with her. Usually, this was supposed to be a secret — stupid move. Though Yayoi could have the responsibility, this won't be good for her restless mind, at least, without more than one comrade.
A big, white blur came forward and slammed into Hoshizora, flinging her across the courtyard. That must've hurt. Not his business, so he kept on chewing the fish cake he had for lunch's side dish.
The others abandoned their lunchboxes and went after Hoshizora, and at Yayoi's request, he followed, gazing at his food longingly as he was pulled away.
"What was that, huh? Huh? Huh?" Hino asked as she and Hoshizora started... a weird routine. Hino was trying to look at whatever was in the pink-haired girl's hands, which was, when she turned around, Candy. Come to think of it, they had ties suited to their hair color too. Aura also had a turquoise tie, hidden under his hoodie jacket.
"Hoshizora, just take the damn toy and put it back in your bag, stop losing it." He said, staring at the two. He wished he could be more subtle but Hoshizora sucked at hiding things.
"Mmph, fine..." At least she caught the implication. Hino also calmed down and crouched to Hoshizora's level.
"Anywho, about that Crepure thing, I'll pass, got more things to think about, with the volleyball club and all," She said, raising a hand as an apology. "I've got to become their ace attacker, you see!" She exclaimed, standing up.
"Ace, huh? Just make sure you don't end up slipping ranks, aces are sometimes easily replaced if you're not serious." Aura muttered to Hino, who scoffed.
"'Course I am serious! I'll train extra hard if it means I get to be the ace!" She grinned. Aura liked her ambition.
"Being the ace... That sounds super cool!" Hoshizora beamed, and Hino turned to her with a bright grin.
"Wanna come see me in my full glory? Eh? Eh?" Hino asked, nudging toward Hoshizora.
"Really? I wanna go!" Hoshizora yelled.
"I have to get home quick, so I won't come this time," Yayoi said with a small voice. "Aura might go with you though."
What. On second thought,
"Yeah sure, whatever, wouldn't hurt to see you play." Aura said, shifting his weight onto his left leg.
╭━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━━✶━━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━╮
ᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴠᴏʟʟᴇʏʙᴀʟʟ ᴍᴀᴛᴄʜ
╰━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━━✶━━ ⋅𖥔⋅ ━╯
Hino wasn't doing her best. She failed to block attacks and couldn't dig as fast as she could in class.
"Hey, do you think Hino-san's still the ace?"
"Hino-san? Hm... I'm not sure, I reckon Yuka's the ace, currently."
He looked toward Hino. Her frustrated expression made him frustrated too. Darn it, the unexplainable urge to make people improve themselves is taking over.
╔═══ -ˋˏ *.·:·.⟐.·:·.* ˎˊ- ═══╗
𝕊𝕦𝕟𝕤𝕖𝕥, 𝟞:𝟛𝟘
╚═══ -ˋˏ *.·:·.⟐.·:·.* ˎˊ- ═══╝
"Hino, your arm's not in the right direction for this spike, it's crooked, you'll get an out."
"Darn it!"
"I'm not that good in volleyball but even I know that's not supposed to be your best kill, come on!"
"Then do it again, I have to be the ace!"
Aura wiped the sweat off his forehead as he sets the ball for Hino to spike again, shouting advice or encouragement when she failed or succeeded. They were about to rest since Hino was getting out of breath.
"Here, something to cool you down," He said, giving a bottle of ice wrapped in a wet towel to Hino. She placed it on her cheek as she thanked Aura.
"Hino-san! Caverin-san!" Hoshizora waved from above, on the road beside the bridge. She was about to approach them when she slipped on a rock and started to fall. Akane can't reach her, but Caverin did, catching her as she was about to hit the concrete, his hood falling down as sweat flew from some of his hair.
Miyuki stared at him. This was like those scenes in fairy tales and comic books where the prince saves the princess, only that this prince was very, very grouchy. Doesn't make him any less good-lookin-
"You alright?" The turquoise-haired boy asked, his permanent half-lidded stare fixated on Miyuki. She panicked and pushed him away as she stood up, stammering, "Y-yeah! I'm totally fine! Totally!" Caverin scoffed, swiping some of his bangs back, brown skin illuminated by the orange sunset.
"You better be, no hospital visits in front of me this time, hah," He snickered to himself, then turned back to Miyuki, who tensed once again. "So, why're you here?" He asked.
"Ah! It was just that, uh, Hino-san!" She yelled with a faceful of red, rushing toward Akane, with Caverin following from behind.
"Cheer up, okay? When you cry, your happiness will run away!" She exclaimed, putting both index fingers on her cheeks as if to imitate a wide smile. "Smile, smile!"
"Ah... But, I wasn't crying..." Akane stated, confused.
"Eh? But I saw teardrops on the ground!" Hoshizora said, waving her arms.
"Oh? That was sweat!" Hino grinned. Aura can't believe she mistook sweat for tears, damn.
"Sweat?" Hoshizora parroted, disbelief across her face, but it was gone immediately.
"Ah, silly me! I thought you were feeling down about that match from before!" She said, smiling.
Hino waved her left hand about and smirked. "I was feeling a bit down, but nah, I just need more training, and I'll be as good as new tomorrow!"
Aura gave a light grin at that. "Just remember to take your breaks, don't want any over-exhausted classmates under my care anytime soon, it's more than the school nurse can handle."
"Ah? You work with the school nurse?" Hino asked.
"I just help out with the schoolmates that come in for small reasons, stomachaches, dizziness, you know." And also one kid he keeps seeing in the infirmary for physical injuries despite not being in any sports club.
"Besides that, let's get back to work, our rest time is almost over, in like, 20 seconds." He said, tapping on his watch.
"In that case, I'll help you two!" Hoshizora beamed.
"Do whatever you want." Aura said, sighing.
•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•
Ｔｈｅ Ｎｅｘｔ Ｄａｙ
•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•
Hino spiked, and each time she did, nobody could keep up. Aura watched, sipping on his bottle of iced oolong tea. Despite his dislike of cold temperatures, he liked cold drinks, contrary to his sister who preferred everything warm.
He grinned as Hoshizora cheered Hino on, and gave a thumbs up when Hino looked his way.
Suddenly, he heard a voice.
"O World! Be stained with the worst possible ending: A Bad End!" Oh holy fuck, what was this cringe ass dialogue? He spun the lid back on his bottle and shoved it in his bag, which, by the way, was also turquoise, and turned around, to see the wolf from yesterday.
"I'll blot out the pages where your futures are written!" Everything once again turned indigo, complete with a large moon illuminating the volleyball court. All the players, the referee, and the audience dropped to their knees, heads hung low.
This was such fuckery, right when the winning strike was about to be set. He wasn't listening to Candy's repeated explanation anymore, he clenched his fist, ran up, and gave the wolf a sharp uppercut. The wolf was caught off guard and immediately flew up into the air, snarling.
"You again?! How dare you, you!" As Wolfrun expressed his anger, Aura turned towards Hoshizora.
"Come on and transform, you want to see Hino-san win, don't you? Get your ass up and fight, right NOW!" He yelled. She did as told, just in time for a volleyball-shaped Akanbe to appear. He pissed Wolfrun off enough. Good for him, Aura thought, as a wide grin made its way up his face.
A pink light beam shot down from the sky, and the transformation sequence started. The Akanbe and Wolfrun seemed blinded by the light, and Aura decided to stand back, leaving the fighting to Cure Happy.
As Happy emerged from the light with her glittering outfit and pose, the Akanbe's attention was directed to her.
"Get 'em, Happy! Use your move when it's not moving!" Aura yelled, using the ball basket as a shield. Before Happy could confirm, the Akanbe started spewing out volleyballs the size of one's torso at her.
"No way, no way!" She cried as she ran from the onslaught of volleyballs shot at her.
"You did it yesterday, why not now?! You're making my throat hurt from having to scream at you for this!" Aura questioned, also dodging the ricocheting balls. This was too much for him to be dealing with within two days, he just wants to sleep, darn it.
I'll take control and help Happy, so just rest for now, okay?
His sister suggested, her voice echoing in the back of his mind.
"Hm, alright." Aura closed his eyes, clay blue shifting into deep pink as his brows unfurrowed. Happy was running circles around the Akanbe, making it realize there was one person stationary.
Miyuki kept running around the volleyball monster until Candy yelled out that there weren't any more volleyballs coming for them. Miyuki looked, and sure enough, no volleyballs. The Akanbe wasn't even facing them! But, if not them, then who?
Caverin.
She darted over, expecting Caverin to have run away, but he was still there, staring the Akanbe down. Then it released a barrage of hardened volleyballs, all headed for her turquoise-haired classmate.
Miyuki wouldn't be able to save him from this distance, but all she could do was run faster, try to reach Caverin in time-
Then the air was filled with the remains of white rubber, some scorched at the edges, some cleanly split. Miyuki looked around in shock, and Caverin had disappeared from his previous spot.
"I can handle myself, don't worry about me." A lighter voice said behind her, different from the harsh, deeper voice with a slight hint of a growl that Caverin usually used. This one was sharp but softer, with a light breath instead.
Miyuki turned around to see Caverin with his hood down, holding a lighter, burning along the blade of a... butterfly knife. Weapons weren't allowed at school. Why did he have that?
"I would cut it open myself, but I have a feeling it won't work. Use Happy Shower and get rid of it. I want to see Akane-chan win." He said, forming a soft smile, eyes curved up as if his expression was supposed to be pleasant. It looked terrifying to Miyuki, Miyuki of all people, she wants everyone to smile, but why does Caverin look better not smiling?! And did he just refer to Hino with her first name?
It was like he became a whole other person, and his eyes... Were a deep shade of pink, opposite of his usual clay blues. If Miyuki wasn't so scared of the Akanbe, she'd be more scared of whatever entity was in Caverin's body.
"Go on, it's about to shoot again if you don't hurry," Caverin spoke again, calmer and lower this time. Miyuki hurriedly started to put power into the Smile Pact — thank Candy for reminding her — as if she didn't finish the task, Caverin was going to personally gut her with the knife that was being heated.
At least now she knew why the volleyballs were singed.
"Happy Shower!" The pink-haired warrior shouted, the beam of light going forward, towards the Akanbe, and...
Flew across its right, fizzling off with a small "pop!".
Aura frowned. She didn't expect that. Now what?
"You missed," Caverin informed Miyuki like she didn't just see her attack flying away from the Akanbe. But, now Miyuki was fearing for what Caverin might do to her. She turned, and ahh, it's like her worst nightmare toned down, but not less terrifying in any way.
Brows furrowed slightly, corners of his mouth twitching downwards, and his eyes staring right at her. He switched off the lighter, and took a step forwards-
Jumping straight for the Akanbe, plunging the small knife into its body.
Aura was fucked. Her knife was stuck inside the Akanbe, and a hand was coming for her. Fuck. Happy was charging up once more, but she doubted that it would work. Taking out one of her spare knives from her hoodie pocket, she stabbed it right into the hand of the Akanbe. It was completely filled with hard foam, and... That one got stuck as well.
Now both Happy and Aura were trapped in the Akanbe's grasp. Wonderful.
You know what, I don't even know why we have to be here and help them all.
Her brother had woken up again. That was a short nap.
"Neither of us can do anything in this state, I honestly feel really tired."
Mood, so what, we wait it out? Hold on, Hino's getting up.
As the two conversed inside their shared headspace, Wolfrun and Happy had been arguing, leading to Hino being able to break free from her despairing state. Aura wasn't able to see under the Akanbe, where Akane had disappeared, and so they remained silent, listening to her rant about Aura and Miyuki helping her. What a surprise, Happy was recognized by Hino almost immediately.
The Akanbe was trying to shake off Hino, but as she yelled out her will to help, an orange light beam shot down from the sky, engulfing Aura, Hino, and Candy, repelling all others, including the Akanbe and Happy, both of which Aura lost sight of.
"Oh? Another one? How interesting..." Caverin purred, hands propping up his head as he floated around the sparkly, orange-colored void, and next to him was... a thing. It spoke.
"Another Precure, my name's Candy, kuru!" Candy smiled, and Akane proceeded to freak out. Wasn't this the sheep plush Hoshizora brought to school yesterday? And why did Caverin look different? He was smirking, amusement obvious in his... Pink? Eyes?
Since when did Caverin have deep pink eyes? They were pretty, sure, but Akane swore that they were blue when they trained together!
"Grab that foundation box and yell out 'Precure Smile Charge', I want to see what you look like in that outfit." Caverin grinned, his expression almost borderline flirty. Caverin was infamous for not wanting to be in relationships, at least that's what happens with all the girls that confessed to him.
"Yes, just do it, ask questions later, kuru!" With Candy's pushing, Akane grabbed the foundation box, which Candy seemed to call a... Smile Pact? And said the phrase that Caverin told her.
Ah, wonderful. Akane was one of her favorite people in the school, too bad her brother refused to interact with anyone outside of certain situations.
"The dazzling sun, hot-blooded power! Cure Sunny!" In a burst of fire and heat, Sunny emerged from the light, with a beaming Candy whose eyes were filled with stars, and Aura who was looking at the redhead's hairdo with approval.
"Now, you go defeat that thing, and win the volleyball match, 'kay?" Aura said, grinning as she pat Akane's head.
"What the- Grr... That one's a Precure too?! Just my luck... Akanbe, get 'em!" Wolfrun directed, and with a bellow, the Akanbe rose up.
It prepared to jump, and Aura was running away from where it would land. However, the two Precures weren't following. They stood there in shock, and Aura sweatdropped. Not this again...
The Akanbe slammed itself onto the ground, and also the two girls, but Aura could see that Happy was fine and Sunny was holding the volleyball monster up by its nose. As the battle began once more with Sunny in the mix, Aura took out her blade and dashed towards the Big Bad Wolf.
As Sunny spun the Akanbe around, Miyuki couldn't help but grin. Sunny was super powerful! Does this mean that she was as strong as that too?
The Akanbe crashed into the concrete stairs, and Akane needed to blink and look at her hands. So this was the power of this Precure thing. Candy piped up from behind her to use the so-called "Sunny Fire" to cleanse the monster. She understood almost nothing from the small sprite's sentence, but nevertheless, wouldn't hurt to try!
Miyuki turned her attention away from Sunny who was preparing her move, and towards Caverin. The pink-haired girl had to do a double take, because was Caverin trying to stab Wolfrun? Her turquoise-haired classmate giggled as the wolf tried to dig his claws into him, obviously failing due to how Caverin moved almost like a dance, and retaliated with a few quick jabs of his own, scratching the wolf's fur and flesh.
"Agh! I've had enough of you! Get lost!" Wolfrun said as he floated upwards. From what he knew, this boy wasn't a Precure, and couldn't jump nor fly to this height. The boy's face fell for a second, but then he seemed to spot something.
Aura smiled, kicking off the basketball hoops' support pillar, lifting herself up, then once more springing upwards to grab the wolf by the neck, pinning him down. But of course, he'll live, this storyline still hasn't ended, they couldn't possibly let one of the main characters die off that fast.
Wolfrun tensed. He was stuck in this human boy's hold, not unlike a rat within a cat's grasp. He didn't even see what the boy did, only realising his mistake of getting too close to the elevated circle when his snout almost kissed the floor.
But then the boy let go, off to celebrate the victory of his friend against the Akanbe. Despicable.
"I'll beat you next time... I swear to the moon!" And the Big Bad Wolf vanished from the human realm.