Into the eerie darkness of MonoChro's lair were the TriTriplets. The others were not around so they were left alone. Nothing seemed to be going their way, they thought. They wanted to impress darkness, show him they weren't just mere children simply following instruction. No, they were powerful, strong and they wanted to prove it. How? When all anyone saw, was a child.
Maybe that's why, they thought. They weren't worth it. Nobody saw the efforts they put in, all because of their small stature. Tora knew she was strong, she could feel it. She was strong minded and wanted everyone to know that she lead the three. She wanted to tell everyone, she was the strongest. She wasn't going to make the others drag her down. Ian stated his opinions but he was quiet. Though despite his hidden personality, he was strong willed and brave. Guru, she'd willingly follow anybody who asks her to follow them. She listens and is great at it. So, why have all these characteristic but only be brought down for being little.
"I'm sick and tired of this!" Tora exclaimed sitting up from her seat. Her two siblings looked at her in shock as she leaped up. "We're not getting anywhere! Where did those three grown ups go anyway!?"
"Out" Ian said in his small monotone voice.
"No kidding" she rolled her eyes.
"I am fed up! Why can't we defeat them? They're useless, they don't know how to fight, they don't even know their purpose so why can we not defeat them?!" She stomped the floor filling the large cave with echoes.
"So, what's our purpose?" Guru asked quietly.
They both turned to her in shock. She had always copied what they said but lately, she seemed to have a mind of her own.
"Our purpose?" Tora asked her with an eyebrow raised "What are you blubbering about?"
"You just said, they don't even know their purpose... But do we?"
Ian turned to look at Tora "I mean, she has a point"
"Shut up!" Tora snarled as she sat back down to think. Purpose? What purpose? "Isn't it to capture Bow so he doesn't find whatever that magical object will do"
"So, what will it do?"
"Why are you asking such silly questions Guru, since when did you have a mind of your own?" Tora remarked
"Are you going to answer it?"
"What?"
"What will the magical object do"
"Defeat us obviously, it's there to remove the darkness, us. Obviously" Tora sank into her seat
"So, is that our purpose?"
"Why do you keep rambling on about our purpose, what on earth is that supposed to mean?" Tora mimicked
"Is our purpose to defeat the PreCure before they find this object and defeat us, or is our purpose... Something else?"
"Defeat them first, be quiet will you. I prefer when you act like a parrot"
Ian watched his two sisters bicker. Guru had a point he never thought about "Tora, let's listen to her"
"Why?!" she said disgustingly
"Because we never do"
"Let's find our purpose, together" Guru said with a smile on her face
"Ew, why are you smiling?"
"Can I not?"
"What? No, that's just sappy"
"Tora" Ian glared at his sister
"Fine" she sank deeper into the sofa
"What do you want to say Guru?"
"Let's find our purpose. Our real purpose..."
"And that is?"
Heavy footsteps could be heard all over the cave. Maruko and Rokkaku made their way back in and looked at the siblings.
"He's back. That silent freak" Rokkaku scoffed
Their attention turned to the main entrance of the cave. There, stood Seihou, holding in his hands Bow.
"Bow!?" Tora said with shock
He dumped him onto the ground. He was unable to move due to the strong power Seihou placed on him.
"You're going to our master" Maruko smirked picking him up tightly causing him to wince.
The TriTriplets looked at one another and stared at Seihou who had placed himself down in his usual seat. They looked at Guru, who smiled, beckoning them away.
"Master!" Rokkaku called out
"What are you doing old man!? This is my job!" Maruko squeezed past him as she held Bow.
Quaint footsteps could be heard, getting louder as she walked her way towards MonoChro. She made her appearance under the small light inside the cave. Bow struggled between Rokkaku and Maruko who had dropped him to the ground. He looked up towards her, her face visibly seen from the low angle he was at. His eyes widened.
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It was a hot summers day now and school break was just beginning. The tension they once felt disappeared as they wiped away the sweat pouring onto their faces. As an apology, Ryoka allowed Kanae to play with her hair. Doing many designs from updos and braids.
"You know Kanae, you're getting better" Itose laughed
"Really?!" She squealed in excitement "That's great because Miss. Tanaka has been helping me out a lot!"
"We can see that" Ryoka winced as Kanae accidentally pulled her hair
"Oops! Sorry!" She said instantly rubbing the part she pulled.
"You kinda deserved that" Aone said as she drank some of her water
"Yeah let's not bring that up, it's part of the past now, we'll just grow and learn from it" Itose said taking a large bite into her ice cream "Ack! Cold! Cold! Cold!"
"Why did you eat your ice cream like that anyways?" Pabi laughed at her
"Not funny Pabi" Itose frowned followed with sticking her tongue out at him
"Your tongue is blue" Pabi said in awe
"Yours might be too if you eat like Itose" Aone remarked
"You all just going to gang at me?! Hm!? Okay, bring it on!" She stood up in a pretend battle stance.
"You guys look like you're having fun!" Somebody called out from the distance.
Their heads turned to look at who said that as the Pixhites hid.
"Asaka!" Aone smiled standing up to greet her
"Hi!" She said giving her a big hug
"Don't leave me out! Goodness, you're all getting the fun!"
"There's an ice cream store over there, go by yourself some"
"Will do! Be right back!"
"We have to be cautious around her... We assumed she may be but, I guess we assumed wrong" Itose said taking the final bite of her cone.
"She just fit the picture really" Kanae thought "And! Done!"
She turned Ryoka around. She had put her hair in a small half bun at the top of her head and taking out the bow on her hair.
"Woo! You look great!" Itose teased
"Stop it" Ryoka continued to eat her ice cream
"Ahaha, she's embarrassed"
"Oh hey, Ryoka, you look great. Did you do that Kanae?"
"Mhm!" she beamed proudly
"You did great! You should do my hair next time"
"Oh really!? But your hair is so nice. You have purple highlights and everything"
"Nah, I may change it, it's always a random color. Last time, it was pink"
"Eh..."
"Let's go do something fun!" Asaka said standing up
"Like what?" Itose looked up at her
"I don't know, what do people normally do on summer breaks?" Asaka pondered at the thought
"Go on holiday?" Kanae replied
"True but we can't exactly just whip out some cash and head to Hawaii now can we" Asaka laughed
"You guys probably could out of all things" Aone grinned
"I mean, money saving right, am I right?" Asaka said as she nudged Kanae
"um, yup!"
"What's the furthest destination you guys have ever gone anyways?" Asaka asked
"Nanamigaoka" Ryoka said subtly
They all turned to her and laughed "Coming here was the furthest you've been!?" Itose gawked
"Ya..."
"I think... mine might be Switzerland..." Kanae thought to herself
"Oo lucky..."
"Mine might be Osaka" Itose laughed "My family prefer to stay where we're at"
Kanae turned to her "What about you Aone?"
"Some place in Japan, I know my family used to bring me around places but I was too little to understand where I was at. Since being with my aunt, we don't travel"
"Well that was a longer answer" Asaka giggled "That's okay, we shall travel together!"
"To us folk who have never been further than our homes! Let's travel together, with all of us!" Itose cheered "That's a promise!"
"You just promised so it better come true" Kanae laughed
"Well, I never said I was gonna pay now did I" Itose smirked
The 5 of them decided to roam around their vast hometown. It was quite large so there were many things to see. Of course, Asaka wanted to go shopping to buy some matching shirts so they all headed to the mall.
As Asaka was picking out some clothes with the girls, Itose had spaced out and was no longer in shopping mode. She looked around the store to find any snack she could nibble on.
"Hey! Reo!" She called out from one side of the store to the other.
The four girls in one aisle looked at each other and peaked out. Itose had spotted Reo by himself doing some solo shopping for shoes. Aone facepalmed.
"Hey Reo!" Kanae smiled gleefully
"Hey Kanae, you look very happy"
"Yes, I'm happy I guess" she smiled
"Hey, do you have any ideas for summer activities because it's only the first week and we're already clueless" Asaka piped in
"Erm, my family goes to the beach"
"OH! The beach!" Asaka clapped her hands
"Let's go to the beach!" Itose chimed in
Aone remained quiet behind the girls. She was going to let them do all the planning and she'll just follow along as usual.
"What about you Aone, do you wanna go to the beach?" Asaka turned to her
"Er... I'll just follow you guys"
"Let's go to the beach tomorrow! I'll bring a watermelon!" Asaka said now really excited
"Hey, wanna come Reo? I know we're a bunch of girls but being with people is the best ya know!" Itose winked
"I mean, I don't believe I have any plans"
"Then it's settled! Reo comes!" Itose nodded to herself
The 5 girls and Reo separated ways and decided to get things ready. Itose went into her room after talking to her dad about the impromptu trip, he was fine with it so she proceeded in packing. She looked at the window and stopped what she was doing. The window was where Bow stayed while he was with her. She had forgotten about him momentarily but she knew he wouldn't want them to worry. They will solve it soon, they just needed to be stronger and find how to get him. MonoChro won't come after them anymore right? They have their goal, now they just need to get him back. It was a final decision, she won't let him down. She promised to herself, she will get him back. She will.
The next day, the sun was bright in the sky. Itose's dad packed a cooler for her which kept their drinks. Asaka's family were kind enough to let their driver drive them to a nearby beach. Kanae had managed to persuade her family and finally arrived.
"Hey Kanae, was worried you weren't going to come for a second there" Itose sighed in relief as she beckoned her inside the car "Everyone here?"
"Yep" Ryoka said placing Itose's cooler at her feet.
"How did you persuade your parents? I feel like that's a common question we keep asking" Aone asked Kanae
"They were really busy because my sisters have exams, my mom is gone on a business trip and my dad is busy at the hospital doing... hospital things so they said yeah, to not bother them"
"Oh that's cool" Itose laughed "Let's get going then"
The beach was a close distance but 5 minutes into the car ride, Itose had already opened up two packets of chip. Ryoka was spacing out and watching the scenery go by. Kanae and Asaka were talking about their childhood while Reo continued to strike conversations with Aone.
Arriving at the beach, they wore cute skirts and a top. Asaka had already sprawled out on the beach floor and was already having the time of her life. Though not wanting to get a tan, she had an umbrella over her. Kanae and Itose made their way into the water already while Reo cut up the watermelon and began to hand them out to the girls. Aone was reading and stayed as far away from the splashing people as possible. Ryoka was helping Reo passing out some food.
Time went by quick as they all waddled around in the water. Aone finished her book as they began to eat some dinner at the beach. It was a beautiful sunset. They all ate in the direction of the water, watching the sun hide behind the ocean. Asaka wanted to head over to a market nearby because she accidentally ripped a bit of her skirt so she quickly ran to the car and asked to be driven to a nearby store.
Itose continued to eat some remaining sushi. She glanced up with some food still in her mouth "Today was a good day"
"Mhm" Ryoka agreed as she continued to look out in the ocean. Quickly glancing around, she looked at Reo who had fallen asleep on a towel. "What do we do about Bow?"
"I've been thinking of that and honestly... We have to get him soon but to face all of MonoChro and whoever that was that took Bow all at once, we're really going to be walking into our doom on that one." Itose whispered
"That other one was Seihou" Nyumi whispered from behind Ryoka
"Seihou?"
"Mhm, there are 6 MonoChro members, he doesn't speak or do anything but when he does, it's powerful"
"So let me get this straight. There are the TriTriplets, Tora, Ian and Guru. Then we have Maruko and Rokkaku then the final one, Seihou?"
Aone sighed "This is too much to comprehend... How do we get Bow back, it's not like they're just going to hand him back to us. It was their goal to get him and now they have him..."
"Yeah, they all tried multiple times to get him but this Seihou for some reason comes once and gets him" Kanae pouted "Although I am to blame, how do we him..."
"Let's not start the blame game again" Itose patted her "It's over right?"
They all turned to Ryoka who stared at them back in confusion "Huh?"
"Right?"
"Oh, right."
"We have to train hard..." Kanae muttered
"Come to my dojo then" Aone said suddenly
"Eh?"
"The dojo, we can train in there if you want"
"We probably should, let's do that then"
The moon fell over their town, it was now night. The girls sleepily said thank you for a great time at the beach. They had their own problems, they shouldn't stray from it.
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Bow was tied to a chair unable to move. He was alone in the silent cave but he knew they would come again at any minute. He had been there for days. Nothing to eat, nothing to drink. He was cold and he was shivering. He had to get out somehow, he needed to continue his task knowing he had absolutely nothing done. The cave echoed with the sound of Rokkaku and Maruko's bickering. The TriTriplets were silently watching the two argue from a distance and as usual, Seihou was not interested in their chatter.
"So, Bow, care to tell us" Maruko said stepping closer to him
"I am interrogating here" Rokkaku pushed her out of the way "Tell us Bow, where is this object?"
"You have asked me many times, I have told you a truthful answer. I don't know."
"Lies!" Rokkaku said spitting on his face.
"For a warrior, you're rather weak!" Maruko laughed spitefully
"Yet you couldn't get me" Bow smirked
Maruko snarled at him "Oh really, you're going to make fun of me know hm? That rope around you will electrocute you under our will so you better be polite!" she hissed
"I didn't know you knew what polite meant" Bow rolled his eyes and looked the other direction locking eyes with Guru who stared at him as she mouthed 'Bow'.
"I'll deal with him Maruko, you're useless"
"So, Bow. You think you and those pesky PreCure can defeat us? Hm?"
Bow looked at him right in the eyes "I didn't think so, no. However, the more I watched them, the better they got"
"Tch! Better?! The only reason why you're here is because of their incapability to protect you. You're just some fairy to them. They have to fight the darkness now because of you, you put them into danger, they're just mere children."
Tora rolled her eyes "Here we go again with the children."
"It's been days Bow, they have not come here. Do you think they care for you? No. We watched them a few days ago, they were at the beach. They're having so much fun, being themselves. Aren't you glad they don't need to become PreCure's anymore because they no longer have you to protect."
Bow hung his head low. He knew being with them was the reason for the risk they were placed in. MonoChro wanted him to fail his mission and he did. He couldn't harm the girls anymore. Maybe them not being PreCure's really was the best option after all. After all, being a Pretty Cure won't help anybody, right?
"See look at him! He knows!" Rokkaku laughed loudly
"You failed just like every other fairy samurai before you" Maruko laughed "Terrible at your jobs, can't do anything right"
"So don't try escaping, got that" Rokkaku said
"I was never planning to" Bow said quietly "After all, I promised to protect them. This is me, doing just that."
"Promises promises promises. Measly little things that don't mean anything" Rokkaku said leaving the cave.
Maruko scoffed at him one more time before turning her head "Ha! How pitiful!"
Master remained behind them in the dark, she had been watching him closely. How pitiful indeed. To protect them, he'll stay here. Being tortured by those wombats. She stood up from where she sat and turned around to walk away, with a little smile hinted on her face.
Guru made her way to Bow after checking if they were left. "Bow." She called out.
He looked to her. Her eyes staring right at him. She was covered in white, accented with black.
"You lost your color"
"My color?"
"Look at her, back at it again" Tora muttered
"Hush" Ian nudged her
"You lost your color Bow, you had red hair"
"Why? Do I not have red hair anymore?" He said quietly, visible to her that he was worn out.
She stared at him, his eyes were shaking. Everything about him was shaking. "You only have red hair, in the light"
"Huh?" he paused for a second "Are you telling me, that I don't have... a light?"
"Mhm"
"What does that mean?"
"You, you are in the dark. You are, in MonoChro's lair. It is, in the dark. Where darkness is, color, no longer exists. You had a light, it's gone."
He listened to her choppy talking silently. Suddenly something hit him. Something that never occurred to him before.
"Tora, Ian, Guru... Have you ever... Looked at yourselves?"
Tora who's arm was folded scoffed "What?"
"Look at each other, look at what you wear"
"What about it?" Ian said looking at himself
"Tora..." he said tiredly "You are consumed in black, you wear black clothing. Ian, you are half black and half white. A perfect mix of you, Tora and Guru, who is consumed in white..."
"And?"
"Did you know, white, is the presence of all colors?"
He looked at Guru who looked down at her dress "Colors" she smiled.
"So that's why you're different Guru... You, you're filled... with light"
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Summer vacation would soon come to an end, as all holiday do. They had taken on the challenge to be at the dojo for at least one hour everyday. They felt ready to take MonoChro on but they were also ready to take on some food. They were starving.
They arrived at Aone's home after some training. Thankfully, her aunt had prepared them some food. They each rushed to the table, thanked for the meal and began to dig in.
"You girls must be very hungry" she laughed as she placed some more rice on the table.
"Yup!" Itose said as she took another scoop of rice and put in on her plate.
"Aone rough on you guys?"
"Rough isn't even the right word, she's just plain merciless" Kanae laughed almost choking on the soup she had in her mouth.
"Wow there Kanae, be careful" Aone smiled "You guys are good though, that's all I know"
"That's good" her aunt said leaving the table "you guys have fun, I'll be in my office, a.k.a my bedroom, as usual if you all need anything"
"Okay!" They chimed
"Thanks for letting us stay in your house" Itose said picking up her plate to put in the sink
"No worries, I'm glad my aunt made us food because let's be real here, if we cooked, we'd have set this whole place on fire" Aone turned on the tap and washed the dishes.
Ryoka wiped the table clean and tucked in the chairs. Kanae helped Aone wipe the dishes and they went to her room. It was dainty. They had been in there before but never really looked at it.
"You have a cute room" Itose said staring at the place
"Thanks"
"We should ask Lady in the Prism Heart for ideas" Itose said looking at her necklace
"Mhm, let's!"
Itose held her necklace and called out for her. This time, they weren't swallowed in white light. She appeared beside them.
"Oh wow, I didn't know you could do that" Kanae gasped
"It's easier to do this really" she smiled
"You probably know Bow was taken right" Ryoka said to her
"Yes, I indeed do... I also know you want to go fetch him however, it's not an easy task for you all to go by yourselves."
"By ourselves? Who would we go with?" Ryoka asked
"You four know nothing about their lair. It's a dangerous place and it's a cave which can lead you to any random path. You'd end up facing darkness already if you aren't too careful about which path you take."
"So, it's like a Labyrinth?" Itose thought
"More or less, yes"
"I've seen you train together. You use methods Bow taught you and he'll be very proud of that. You have all connected with your weapons and have the ability to summon it without needing to strike first. You are all growing little by little."
"That's encouraging but my main concern is, would we be able to defeat MonoChro like this?" Aone asked
"I'm afraid not. They are strong but so are you. Your powers would end up clashing with theirs the only defeat would be from tiredness."
"So we have to avoid any types of battles at all cost?"
"Yes, you four are not enough."
"So we're weak?" Itose said "Plainly, we're weak"
"Don't phrase it like that" Nyumi piped in
"You four are strong, but, you can be stronger is all I'm saying."
The wind came to greet them causing them all shiver. They all turned to the window.
"We best shut that" Aone said standing up. Making her way to the window she jumped in fright. The three stood up after seeing her jump.
"What's wrong?" Ryoka asked running towards what she saw. There in front of the window, were the TriTriplets.
They turned to look at the lady who disappeared. As if they all thought of it, the four went running down the stairs quietly as they made their way to MonoChro.
"What do you three want?" Ryoka asked ready to defend
"What do you want?" Guru muttered
"Is Guru speaking?" Itose said amazed
"Without copying you two?" Aone said also in amazement
"She has her own mind after all" Ian shrugged.
"Do you need help?" Guru asked
"What?" Itose cautiously went to them "You know, we didn't think we'd see you again here. You're not gonna create a Hageruze?"
"No" Guru said with a smile,
"She's... smiling... Mhm..." Itose said backing away
"Do you not like my smile?" Guru pouted
"No! No! I-"
"You don't?" Guru's eyes swelled with tears
"You made her cry, whoop" Tora glared at Itose
"No! I mean, I don't! I do! I love your smile! It's great! hehe" Itose ran to her to comfort.
Ryoka, Aone and Kanae stared at one another. This was not something they thought they'd see.
"Elaborate when you say help" Ryoka said suspiciously
"We will help you rescue Bow" Guru replied after calming down
"Rescue him...?" Ryoka turned to the others. The four huddled together and held a quick emergency meeting.
"What exactly is help in their terminology exactly?" Itose asked the others
"Help us... Is this a trap..." Kanae whispered with suspicion.
"Why would it be? I mean, they only wanted Bow right?" Aone replied
"That's what's puzzling..." Itose thought carefully. She peaked over to see what the triplets were doing. They had sat themselves on the ground and were waiting for them to finish.
"They're not in defense mode at all!" Ryoka said peaking over
"They're just... Sitting there..." Kanae stared
"What do you guys think?" Aone asked looking at the Pixhites
"They look calm" Jiel replied
"No harm seems to be coming our way" Pabi agreed
"Their voice sounds sincere. I truly think they wish to help us..." Nyumi added
"But why?" Itose pondered for a while before turning to the triplets "okay, so we accept if you help us, then what?"
Tora and Ian both looked at Guru. She nodded and stood up "We will help you on one condition."
"Of course there's a condition" Ryoka sighed "What is it?"
"We can lead you exactly to where Bow is being kept. Our home is just a bunch of twists and turns." Tora said grumpily
"The condition is, you help us." Guru said with a very sincere expression.
"Help you with what exactly?" Aone wondered
"Promise to us" Ian said
"Promise... you?" Itose looked at the others and back to him "Promise you... what?"
"That after we help you rescue Bow, you, turn us back."
"Back?" Itose raised an eyebrow "Back into what?"
Guru smiled "Bow, he told me. I am white. I possess all, colors. Therefore, I, am not evil. At all."
"She speaks choppily though" Ryoka whispered to Kanae who nodded in agreement.
"Have you always known you weren't... Evil?" Itose asked
"I..." She glanced at her siblings "Yes"
Itose turned to the other three and the Pixhites "I know Guru is speaking the truth, I can sense it. So we will trust them. To get Bow back. We get him and run, try not to fight."
"Guru, we're counting on you" Aone smiled at her
"So, do you promise?" she tilted her head
The four looked at each other and nodded "We promise."