Pretty Cure: Magic of the Rainbow

by NoonboryKedabory

Summary:

A series of vignettes where the Rainbow Magic fairies and Pretty Cure girls interact.

Chapter 1: Bake Sale

It was a hot August day with a burning sun and muggy air. Outside of the local salon and corner store, a long white table was set up for boxes and trays to be placed on for the Pretty Cure charity bake sale. After securing the table legs so it wouldn't fall down, Love placed a tray of heart-shaped sugar cookies on the table, which Leona had decorated with blue icing and yellow star-shaped sprinkles. "Great!" Love exclaimed. "Once the other girls get here, we'll be ready to start!"

The first girls to arrive were Riko and Ella, carrying a box of red velvet cupcakes with sugar roses on top of the white icing. Then came Chiyu and Melodie with a pumpkin pie. Uta was placed in charge of making price stickers for each item, which she arranged neatly on the lids. Sophia and Ava hung a white banner on top, decorated with pink writing and red hearts.

"Welcome to the Rainbow PreCure Bake Sale!" Ageha shouted into a megaphone. "We have a wide variety of sweets!"

"All proceeds go to the UMMA Foundation!" Laura followed up.

Their first customer was Tanaka, who eyed each sweet with a look of analyzing. "Can I interest you in apple buns?" Kathryn fluttered over a tin of bread buns with a gentle orange shimmer. "They're rich in fiber and vitamins!"

Tanaka read the price tag, then glanced up at Uta, seated with her sticker printer. "Promising." He agreed to the purchase, and gave his little idol four 100-yen coins.

"Come on! This is the place I told you about," said Iona, leading Kirsty and Rachel across the street to the bake sale. "We're so excited about this project!"

"Whoa~" Rachel was amazed by the variety of both Western and Japanese desserts. "Are those doughnut bites?" She pointed to a tray with little white sweets, puffy and round.

"These are daifuku." Komachi, with gloved hands, picked up one of the puffs and gently cut it open with a butter knife, revealing a chocolate filling encasing a strawberry.

"Amazing!" Kirsty declared. "Sweet rice, chocolate, and fruit, all in one bite!"

Reika was adjusting two small tins of dango and coconut cookies, when a teenage boy carrying a toddler in his arms approached the table. "Excuse me, is this the charity bake sale?"

"Yes, of course," said Reika. "How can I help you?"

The toddler turned his head to look at Reika, then bonked his head back down on his brother's chest. "Ryu-chi," he mumbled sleepily.

"I know, I know, Kotaro." Ryuuichi patted the little one's back. "What kind of sweets do you like?"

"How about these cherry macarons?" Reika showed them a small tin of pink pastries with white cream.

Pearl created a taste-test macaron with her magic for Kotaro to try. Upon one bite of the sweet, his tiny eyes lit up and sparkled. Ryuuichi softly chuckled. "I suppose it's a deal, then."

Notes:

If you have the funds, consider donating to the UMMA Foundation! They are working to feed hungry children in Palestine, Lebanon, and Yemen! #notsponsored
https://www.ummafoundation.org/

Chapter 2: Commercial Shoot

"Alright, ladies, let's get this film rolling!" Yongwoo, the film director, called to the Cures and fairies as they stood on the set of a new commercial for Superstar Sweeties, a new fruity candy.

"I'm ready to start!" Uta chirped.

"So am I!" Kayla agreed.

"Excellent!" Yongwoo clicked a film clapper. "Action!"

"Happy!" Kayla leapt from Uta's shoulder.

"Go!" Martha jumped from the other shoulder.

"Lucky!" Uta held up a giant prop strawberry. "Superstar Sweeties!"

Yongwoo pulled the camera back to show the full set and gestured for the backup dancers to enter. First was Saaya, wearing a string of grape charms around her neck. "Grape!"

"Lemon!" Luna swung on a chain of lemon charms.

"Peach!" Hikari held a peach prop, which popped open, letting a group of mascots free.

"Superstar Sweeties are super juicy, chopi!" Choppy squeaked.

"One bite, and you're in love, mofu!" Mofurun chirped.

"Superstar Sweeties!" The group all formed a conga line. "Yeah!"

"And scene!" Yongwoo stopped the camera. "That was wonderful! All in one take!"

"Great job!" Setsuna applauded from off set. "Now, who wants drinks?"

"I do!" Mariana fluttered over to pick up an orange smoothie.

Chapter 3: Corn Roast Cheer

"Give me a C!" Carmen called.

"C!" Cure Yell responded, holding up a sign with the letter "C" painted on it in bright pink paint.

"Give me an O!"

"O!" Cure Butterfly made a circle with her arms above her head.

"Give me an R!"

"R!" Cure Yum-Yum leapt into the air, holding up a "R" she cut out of yellow construction paper.

"Give me an N!" 

"N!" Cure La Mer pumped a fist in the air, winking.

"What does that spell? Corn!" Carmen shouted into a megaphone. "Come on down to the Omori family corn roast!"

"You know, this really is a bit much..." Yoko blushed.

"I mean, it'll be hard to miss," mused Ai. "She was yelling so loud, the whole neighbourhood heard her..."

Chapter 4: Creamed Ice

"Alright, ladies," said Esme, leading a charge, "Kanade already made the base on this ice cream cake for us. We need to take the freeze and make it the perfect treat for Hayley's birthday. Are we ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be!" Cure Gelato hopped to charge up energy.

"Okay, everyone..." Esme pointed her wand forward. "Let's cool this place down!"

Cure Beauty, Cure Diamond, Cure Gelato, and Cure Selene charged up a hyper-strong ice beam. "Pretty Cure, Ice Crystal Shot!" Together, they blasted the cake with the power of four beautiful warriors, creating three layers of ice cream on top of Kanade's base, two of vanilla, with blueberry sandwiched in the middle. Esme hovered on top, creating little flowers on top of the cake made of strawberry ice cream with mint candy leaves.

When the dust settled, the end result was a beautiful cake, with plenty to share for everyone. "Perfect!" Esme chirped. "Let's bring it to the party!"

---

At the party hall, Kanade was corralling all the Cures and fairies inside for Hayley's surprise birthday party. "Come on, come on!" She herded Gwen and Elisa into the building. "She'll be here any second! Is the cake here!"

"Right here!" Esme showed off the finished cake. 

"Great! Everything's ready for the party to start! Now everyone hide!" Kanade directed.

Everyone leapt towards any hiding place they could think of, which at one point resulted in Ako landing right on top of Hime's ankle, making her yelp. "Yowch! Watch it! I don't want a broken bone!"

"Shh! I see them coming!" Crystal hissed, seeing her sisters about to enter through the glass front door.

Storm led Hayley inside. "Just keep your eyes closed for a little longer..." They entered the party room. "Okay, open them!"

Hayley uncovered her eyes. "Surprise!!" Everyone yelled loudly!

Hayley yelped. "Oh, wow! You did all this for me?"

"We sure did!" Aoi directed her to the snack table. "And check out this epic cake we made!"

"Wow!" Hayley praised. "This is the most amazing cake I've ever seen. Thank you."

Chapter 5: Crossover Concert

Notes:

This is your PSA to go watch K-Pop Demon Hunters right now, it is so good and it better win Best Animated Feature at the next Oscars

"This is the crossover you've all been waiting for!" Destiny the Pop Star Fairy announced to the cheering crowds of the SkyDome, who were waving around Miracle Lights and star-shaped wands. "Welcome to the stage, Idol PreCure!"

Cure Idol raced onto the stage, the ribbons on her dress bouncing with every step. She was quickly followed by Cure Wink and Cure Kyun-Kyun, their arms waved out like butterflies. They all joined hands to create an arc over their heads. The crowds exploded with shrieks of joy. "I love you, Kyun-Kyun!" Tallulah shouted.

"And they're not alone!" Destiny continued. "J-Pop meets K-Pop, it's Huntrix!"

The light of a sword cut through the Jumbotron, revealing three much taller performers. With the light of her blades dancing like hand fans, Zoey hopped down the stairs onto the main stage. After her came Mira, effortlessly cartwheeling down the steps as if it were no more difficult than walking. Finally came Rumi, forgoing the stairs entirely with a Ce Kong Fan cartwheel jump, landing in a sweep kick at centre stage. The audience erupted once again, chanting "Huntrix! Huntrix!"

Shiny jackets and jewels sparkling, Cure Idol opened the melody after a synth tone began to play through the speakers. "Who am I, deep inside, a mystery wrapped up in pink"

"Every night, how I tried, to control what all you think of me" Rumi's braid wove around her as she spun in a circle. Every fairy raised her wand like a lighter; Danielle's magic made tiny daisies appear in Rumi's hair.

"Wanted to block it out, now I'm gonna let it shout, I'm not afraid, not afraid, not of anything" Zoey dropped her hips down to soak in the delighted shrieks of Kotoha and Rae.

"Ready to let it free, showing the world the me I want to be" Mira took Cure Kyun-Kyun's hands and twirled her around.

"I'm coming out, breaking free, showing off a brand new me" Side by side, both idol groups created a rainbow of lights, bathing the SkyDome in a cascade of colour. "Make it pop, never stop, won't give up for anything"

Cure Wink spun around and gave a Win-Win Wink to the audience. Nozomi and Crystal nearly passed out from pure joy. On top of the lights stand, Stella and Lucy used their magic to brighten up the lights and allow the performers to fly. Seeing Rumi coming right towards her, Kurumi practically climbed over her fellow concert-goers to reach out and touch her hand. When their fingers touched, blue roses sprouted from Kurumi's head. Rumi winked, and Kurumi keeled right over onto the ground, at the expense of flattening Yukari on the way down.

Chapter 6: Dance Mode

"Come on! Show me how you sweep the leg!" Rebecca clapped on rhythm for Ellen, who was performing a power dance to a rock solo.

Ellen knelt down, swept her leg around in a half-circle, then leapt back up into a swan's pose. "I suppose this is why they call it martial arts."

"Your turn now!" The song switched over to a polka beat, and Tasha directed Minori Hyuuga onto the dance floor. "Click those heels!"

"Wow!" Storm nodded along to the music. "This is so much poppier than Ellen's song!"

Minori showed off how she could swing it. The clatter of her heels wove itself into the music like it had always been there; a sign of a truly talented dancer.

"Fantastic!" Once Minori's song had ended, Bethany ushered Hime into the spotlight. "Go on, now, show them what you're made of!"

A measure from Swan Lake began to play, and Hime moved through each step light as air, not even tripping over her trails as she went. Finally came her fouettes, and she turned every single one of them with the air of a professional ballerina who had trained her whole life to perform.

"Bravo! Bravo!" Grace, perched on top of the music player, clapped for the show. "What a performance!"

"Amazing!" Lily cheered. "I can't wait for the next show!"

"Nothing is better to soothe the soul than dancing," mused Bethany, bowing. She turned around to Hime. "Hime, you can stop twirling now."

"I can't stop!" Hime just kept on doing fouettes. "Someone help me!"

"Gladly!" Regina came over and shoved Hime to the ground.

Chapter 7: Dinner Party

"And...there." Pippa neatly arranged a plate of red fruit kebabs on a plate; each little stick carried a strawberry, a red grape, a raspberry, and a chunk of watermelon. The outer ring of the pink plate had small, fairy-sized kebabs, while larger, Cure-sized kebabs sat in a pile in the middle.

"Very nice; Towa-san will love these." Riko picked up the plate and brought it to display on the large dining table in CureStar Manor's elegant party room. 

"When does the party start?!" Komugi asked for what seemed like the hundredth time. "I'm starving!"

"Patience, Komugi." Shannon set down a bowl of baked scallops. "It's six o'clock; the party will start in half an hour."

Hannah cocked an eyebrow as Ran and Trixie brought out a large black bowl of spaghetti, with bat toppers stuck in the meatballs. "What have you made?"

"Get it? It's creepy-pasta!" Trixie laughed.

"This is a Valentine's party." Himari cocked her head.

"I told her so." Juliet rolled her eyes. "If she would ever listen."

"Never mind now." Penny and Saki set down their fancy scones with butter. "The point of having a party is to have fun, not to bicker about the theming."

The door to the party room creaked open, and Princess Elle looked around the room. "Oh; has the party started yet?"

"Not for a little while," said Iona. "If you want to help get ready, you can set the table."

Willow directed Princess Elle to a trolley with a series of plates and silverware. "The forks go on the left, the knives on the right, and the spoons on top," she instructed. "Each Cure has a specialized plate, so you can decide who sits where."

Princess Elle looked curiously at the plates. Even though she appeared to be the same age as the other Cures, she was still a mere baby on the inside, so she couldn't read the names printed on each plate's rim. Studying the first plate she picked up, she saw a red base with a big bow in the center and white ruffle patterns on the rim; this plate belonged to Emiru. And she knew that Emiru was best friends with Ruru, so she found the first pale lavender plate in the stack and placed it next to the red plate.

---

At 6:30, when all the Cures and fairies had arrived for the party, Asumi tapped her spoon against her glass to draw everyone's attention. "Now that we are all present, we may begin the Valentine's feast. With this meal, may we all be blessed with good friendships this year."

"Shall we say grace?" Inori put her hands together. "Dear God, thank you for this food, and for this day."

"Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe," said Zara with her hands clasped, "who creates the fruit of the vine, the ground, and the tree, who creates varieties of nourishment and brings forth bread from the Earth."

"Good bread, good meat, good God, let's eat!" Zelda raised her glass of citrus-cherry punch in anticipation.

"Amen!" Francesca tapped her glass of orange juice with pulp against Zelda's.

"Itadakimasu!" All of the Cures and fairies began to enjoy their meal. Elena started by passing the salad bowl around the table.

"Could you pass me the salt?" Emiru asked her seat neighbour.

"Yes, I can." Yuri, unsure of why she was placed in between Emiru and Miyuki, passed Emiru the salt, which she sprinkled on top of her mashed potatoes with butter.

"Who made this shrimp fried rice?" Helena asked. "It's delicious!"

"Oh, I did!" Sango raised a hand. "We caught the shrimp ourselves!" 

"Who exactly did the seating arrangements?" Kokone glanced to her left, where Hikaru was stacking slices of tomatoes and cucumbers on top of each other to make a tower, and then to her right, where Nozomi had already dropped a glob of rice onto her lap. "I have a few questions."

"What are you talking about?" In between each Cure's plate was a table that could seat four fairies; Fiona was placed neatly with Morgan, Layla, and Kate. "I'm having a lovely time!" The four passed around the chicken curry.

"Personally, I've found this winter far colder than last year's." Gabriella mused about the weather.

"Yeah, but there's definitely been less snow." Madoka stirred her tea.

"I know snow," said Yuki, pushing a lock of her white hair behind her back, "and this year's snowfall has certainly been lesser than that of last year."

Notes:

Info about Jewish grace: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/blessings-for-food-drink/

Chapter 8: Dough Making

"Go on, get your hands dirty."

Saori was showing Hime and Eva how to bake bread, and offered them a bowl of dough to knead. Eva raised her knees to keep her dress from getting gooey flour paste on it, while Hime was hesitant to touch the bowl. 

"Well? Aren't you going to try it?" Roxie, fluttering by the timer on the oven, asked her friends. "You both love bread."

A bit anxious, Eva picked up a glob of dough and molded it around in her hands, like clay. "Mm..." She mused. "This isn't so bad."

Not wanting to touch anything slimy, Hime took a wooden spoon and poked at the dough, jumping back as if she expected it to hop out of the bowl and bite her. "Oh, it's just dough," said Saori. "Just pick it up and smack it around." She took some dough for herself and kneaded it into a little ball.

Eva lined up some little dough balls on Roxie's baking sheet; they would make lovely fairy-sized buns. Meanwhile, Saori directed Hime on making perfect shapes for bread loaves. "Perfect," she said. "Now they can go into the oven."

"Come on, Hime, lift that chin of yours up." Roxie flicked her wand. "Maybe you just need to get into the right headspace." With a flash of her magic, a white apron and chef's hat appeared on top of Hime's outfit.

"Amazing! Now she looks like a premium chef!" Eva chirped.

"Or like I'm looking for tenure on the Muppet Show." Hime looked at the bow tied from the strings of her apron.

"Here." Saori handed her a bowl of white, cakey mixture. "You can stir the icing for the cake I'm baking for Aoi's birthday."

Hime took the bowl and her spoon and stirred circles in the icing. She found it smooth and creamy. "You can add some food colouring if you'd like." Saori passed her a few tiny bottles.

Hime picked up one that was blue, and put a few drops into her bowl. She watched in awe as the icing changed colours as she continued to stir it. "It's my favourite shade! But the liquid is so much darker! How did that happen?!"

Saori chuckled. "Baking magic."

Chapter 9: Early in the Morning

"Wake up!" Komugi yanked the blanket right off of Makoto's head. "The sun is coming up!"

"Huh?!" Makoto looked up, annoyed. "Just because the sun rises at seven o'clock doesn't mean everyone in the house needs to be up!"

"Come on! Up and at 'em!" Danni banged on her drum loudly to wake Makoto. "We can't afford to waste daylight!"

"Yes, we can!" Makoto pulled the blanket back over her face. "It's Saturday, it's the middle of winter, and none of us have jobs!"

---

"Get up!" Erika pounced onto the still-sleeping Mayu. 

"Today's the day we all go out to get mock-wine and watch a scary movie!" Jade tugged on Mayu's hair.

"At this hour?" Mayu lifted her head. "The movie doesn't start until four o'clock."

"That's because we have the whole rest of the day planned out!" Pia repeatedly poked at Mayu's cheek. "First, we're doing facials with the aloe that Kotoha picked, then we'll have tea in the garden, berry picking after lunch, then get mock-wine and go to the movie!"

"Good lord." Mayu flopped back down onto the pillow.

---

Manatsu, with Penny and Izzy sitting on her head, slowly rose up from crawling on the floor to just looking over the edge of Riko's bed. She snorted before she whispered, "Hey Riko."

Penny hopped off Manatsu's head and poked at Riko's nose. "Wake up, wake up, wake up."

Riko shifted over to her side, giving the mischievous trio more opportunities to toy with her. Izzy tapped her wand in her hand to get the ink flowing, then began to draw a mustache on Riko's upper lip. Following her lead, Penny began to curl up individual strands of Riko's hair, while Manatsu found a red Crayola marker to draw spots all over her arm.

That day at breakfast, Riko emerged from her room with a giant mustache, a half-curly, half-straight mess of hair, and spots all up her arms and face. "Hey, we've got blueberry waffles, orange and apple slices, and-" Akira finally turned around to see Riko. "Good God, what happened to you?"

"It's like if Dr. Eggman got chicken pox and fell into a cotton candy machine," quipped Minami.

"Huh?" Riko turned to find the bathroom mirror, and shrieked at the sight of herself. "What is that?!"

Manatsu, Penny, and Izzy burst out laughing in the other room. Angered, Riko picked up her wand and charged into battle. "Oh, you are gonna get it!"

---

Miley stubborn tugged on Nagisa's finger. "Up!"

"No," grumbled Nagisa.

"Come on, get up!" Jasmine yanked on Nagisa's shirt.

Peering in through the doorway, Hikaru crept into the room. "Hang on. I got this." She skittered to the other side of Nagisa's bed, the one her back was turned to, slid her hands underneath her body, and pushed her clean off the bed! Miley and Jasmine squealed and fluttered away.

Upon hitting the floor, Nagisa squawked and flailed to her feet. "What was that for?!"

"Breakfast is ready, and I'm not waiting for everyone to get out of bed!" Hikaru dragged Nagisa out of the room by her wrists.

Chapter 10: Fairytale Fun

"Where are we going?" Miyuki asked again and again as Reika and Minami led her blindfolded into the Magic Library.

"Just wait until we get there," said Reika, patting her shoulder. "You won't be disappointed."

The three entered the library, and Minami took the blindfold off of Miyuki's face. "Well? What do you think?"

Miyuki's eyes sparkled at the sight. The library had been all dolled up for A Fairytale Experience, and everyone in attendance was dressed in a costume. "We're so happy you could make it," praised Faith, fluttering around Miyuki's head to dress her up in a silver gown.

"We'll be opening up to everyone soon," said Gwen, dressing Reika up in a golden gown with a frilly skirt. "We need to get everything ready."

"We've got the instruments set up!" Hibiki shouted. Her piano stood on the right side of the room, and Towa was sitting nearby, applying rosin to her violin's bow. The two of them had been practicing for weeks to perform the main theme of Sleeping Beauty.

In the back, Crystal had magicked up some ice to keep Aoi's twin swirl ice cream cold, Honey and Kanade arranged some cupcakes in a perfect rainbow, and Yui and Hime set some sugar cookies on a table, which Rita and Eleanor decorated with white, green, and red frosting. "Oh, I love these little froggy napkins!" Hime gushed. "They're so sweet!"

"They match the soup, too," joked Aisha, as Yayoi set down a vat of pea soup on the buffet table.

"I much prefer the fruit," said Grandma Yoyo, bringing some sliced strawberries and apples to the table, while Ruby perched on her head. "I like sweet things."

"And they're red," added Ruby, "which is my best colour!" She turned to the other committee members on snack duty. "Now, we're just waiting on the muffins."

"Himari told me that she and Saki's mom are bringing those in soon," confirmed Yui.

Speak of the devil and she doth appear; Himari, wearing a little set of bear ears, entered the library alongside Saori, carrying trays of muffins. "These are the cranberry kind," said Saori. "My favourite."

Hana and Julia put up curtains on the shelves to keep the books from getting soiled with food, while Minami and Lacey set down fairytale books on a low shelf for the kids to reach. "I've always found the concept of cardboard books rather quaint," mused Lacey. "They're always very blocky and odd."

"Well, I'll take them over getting the books ripped and wet," said Urara, while trying to keep Princess Elle from escaping her baby carrier.

"Is everything ready?" Mariana hopped off the shelf and fluttered above the door frame.

"I'd say so!" Elle, setting down her Thumbelina book on the table, gave her the thumbs up to go ahead.

"Eru!" Princess Elle agreed with Fairy Elle; after learning they shared a name, she was eager to be best friends and agree with her on anything.

"I can't wait to tell Hugtan the original story of the Snow Queen," cooed Rikka. "She loves Elsa so much."

Mariana, Rosalie, and Ruth all pulled the front doors open. "A Fairytale Experience is now open to the public!"

Chapter 11: Fun at School

The winds were chilly and dusted with brightly-coloured leaves as the members of the Pretty Cure elite entered their prestigious school to begin the fall semester. Their fairy friends were waiting inside for them, ready with all sorts of fun surprises. "Why exactly do you want to hide in the pencil bucket, Scarlett?" Roxie asked as the two fluttered around an English classroom.

"Because they never sharpen them and always leave them too short!" Scarlett insisted, using her growing magic to make the pencil crayons longer and refill their broken wax. "There! Much better!"

The first to enter the classroom was Mana; setting the bext example for other students, as always. Her Mana Sue powers granted her the front desk in the middle row, her favourite seat in any class. "There she is," whispered Scarlett to Roxie as they hid in the pencil basket. "Watch this." She used her wand to pin-point the teacher's class mascot, a stuffed mouse, shrink it down to the size of a real mouse, and skitter it across Mana's shoes. When Mana saw it, she shrieked and almost fell out of her seat. When she looked again, the toy was back to its normal size.

---

In the math room, Yayoi sat in the back of the room. Compared to Nanairogaoka Middle, this special Cure school felt much bigger and more confusing. Classrooms weren't divided just by grade, but by subject too, and each had a specific teacher. She still wasn't sure if North American-style schooling was right for her.

"And in the equation of X times seven minus three equals eighteen, what is X?" The teacher eyed Yayoi in the back. "Kise?"

Yayoi's shoulders trembled in fear. However, Maria perched on her ear, giving her good luck. "Remember, child, multiplication comes first, then subtraction."

Yayoi's eyes flickered around her desk as she worked out the problem in her head. If I add three back to eighteen, then the answer to X times seven is twenty-one, which is... "X equals three."

"Very good." The teacher's cold eyes turned back to the whiteboard.

---

In the gym, Billie kept count of how many laps each student finished, while Louise made sure everyone's water bottles were filled. "That's five for Megumi!" Billie ticked off another check for her. "She's doing well this session!"

"Those training camps at the beach must really be working for her." Louise purified the water in Haruka's water bottle.

Behind the other girls, Kokoro lagged behind. She was already worn out from filming a dance video in the morning. "Only two laps for Kokoro," said Billie.

"She'll get better at it," mused Louise. "Just let her get her energy back up."

"I suppose you're right." Billie turned towards the entrance to the pool. "Keiko, I don't think they're using the pool on the first day."

"Aww..." Keiko crawled out from under the locked pool doors.

---

In the cafeteria, even more fairies were helping make lunch. Tasha fried fish, Lois cooked rice, and Zelda mixed vegetables and tofu for soup. Aoi and Ran placed food on plates and in bowls for the lunch duty students to pick up. 

"We're here!" Hime and Ellen entered to deliver the lunch to classrooms.

"Wonderful!" Lois topped off the rice cooker with soy sauce. "We've been working hard to make this food for you!"

Hime and Ellen took the trolleys off to different classrooms. Ellen brought hers to the Japanese Language classroom, where Hinata was impatiently waiting for lunch to start. "Yes!" She exclaimed when Ellen entered the room. "Fish!"

"Thank you for the food." Towa and Minori politely took their trays.

---

For Mashiro's last class of the day, she was learning about history. "Who can tell me who was the first emperor of the Edo period?" Yoshimi-sensei asked her students.

Yui raised her hand. "Go-Mizunoo!"

"Right!" Tilly wrote the answer on the wall with her wand. "He lived from 1596 to 1680. Who knows when his reign began?"

This time, Riko got to answer. "1611!"

"Very good." Tilly continued to jot down notes. "I see you girls were paying attention to your books."

Although, right next to Riko, Hikaru had her book open upside down. "Is that right? It looks more like 1191 to me..."

Chapter 12: Gymnastics

"Okay, here's how you do it." Carmen raised her arms in the air, pushed herself forward, and put her weight onto her hands.

"Alright, I'll try." Evie, wearing a soft cotton, lavender top and flowy violet yoga pants, tried out the handstand technique for herself, and with a flutter of her wings to lift herself up, stood like a tree, unmoveable by the wind.

"I love handstands!" Polly, a little too excited, turned a cartwheel before balancing on one hand.

Next to the park bench where the fairies were flailing around, Hana was showing her babysitting charges how to cartwheel. "You gotta get a running start, then you get a bunch in a row!" She demonstrated by running a bit, then pushing herself into three cartwheels in a row.

"That's awesome!" Miku got up off the grass and tried it for herself, but she didn't have as much upper arm strength as Hana, so she couldn't get her legs as high up off the ground.

"I wan' twy!" Kouta raised his arms.

"Okay, go on," smiled Hana. To her surprise, Kouta, despite his tiny little arms, turned a perfect cartwheel. Hana's jaw dropped. "Mechokku!!"

"I go' faiwy help!" Kouta yelped. He pointed out Gemma watching him while perched on a dandelion.

"That's right," said Gemma. "You did great."

Chapter 13: Halloween Fun

"This is Halloween!" Trixie fluttered between the leaves in the pumpkin patch. "This is Halloween!"

"Pumpkins scream in the dead of night!" Paula lifted pumpkins into a wheelbarrow with her wand.

"These pumpkins are just perfect!" Yuko, dressed as a hay-stuffed scarecrow, wheeled the pumpkins towards the market stand. "They'll make excellent Jack O'Lanterns!"

Along came Hana the bee, pushing Hugtan in her stroller and her Minnie Mouse dress. Molly, wearing a mermaid's tail, sat perched on Hana's head. "Look at this one, Hugtan!" Hana picked up a round pumpkin with a curved stem. 

"Hagyu!" Hugtan squealed, kicking her little feet.

"That's right!" Molly agreed. "We can paint beautiful bubbles on it and place it on the front step!"

---

In the CureStar Manor kitchen, Kirara, dressed in glittery gold with stars studding her hair, took a batch of pumpkin spice cookies out of the oven. Princess Elle stood at the counter with a tube of orange icing to decorate. "All you need is a drizzle in a zig-zag pattern," directed Kirara. "That's all."

"Okay! I'm good at that!" Princess Elle drew zig-zags on each cookie with gentle precision. 

Above Princess Elle's head, Charlie hung garlands of sunflowers on the windows, while Deena lit diya lamps to place on the dinner table as centrepieces. "Ooh, pumpkin spice!" Charlie spotted the cookies. "Delicious!"

"They're gluten-free, too," said Kirara, "so Tsubasa can eat them without getting sick."

"I do love cookies, so much!" Princess Elle chirped. However, her incessant hunger caused her to revert back into her baby form. "Eru!" Elle-chan squeaked.

"Oh, dear," giggled Deena. "She won't be much help in the kitchen now!"

---

"I'm gonna catch you!" Mai and Elliott raced through the haunted corn maze.

"Oh no you're not!" Saki and Callie continued running, Saki's baker apron fluttering behind her. "We're gonna get to the centre first!"

"No way!" Elliott held on tight to his guitar strap as he and Mai blitzed past the tall crops. "I was made to win!"

Eventually, both groups rounded corners and crashed head-first into each other, creating a heap of legs and fabric on the ground. Yukari, who had already found the centre and was sitting at the fountain with a cup of tea, watched bemusedly. "How clumsy."

"Some fairies just prefer the fun way," said Chloe, turning droplets of water into honey for Yukari's tea.

---

"Trick or treat!" Hummy the butterfly, Lulun the princess, and Mofurun the witch appeared at Inori's doorstep with pumpkin-shaped baskets.

"Aren't you all adorable!" Inori placed a caramel sweet into each basket.

"And from me as well!" Melodie distributed pink strawberry sweets.

"Arigato!" All three mascots chirped.

"Oh, boy, I love trick-or-treating, nya!" Hummy exclaimed. "I get to go out all by myself, nya!"

"I hear Jasmine is giving out mini pastries, mofu!" Mofurun tugged on the other mascots' tails. "Let's go to her house next, mofu!"

Chapter 14: Horseriding

Summary:

A.k.a the first big crossover chapter.

"Race you to the patisserie!" Ciel, with her hair tied behind her head, called to Penny behind her as she and Rarity blazed through the forest. 

"Right behind you!" Penny and Glitter zoomed in between the trees.

As the four of them raced to KIRAKIRA Patisserie together, they heard a very loud whinny coming from behind them. When they skirted out of the way, a mighty Shire horse burst out through the bushes with a familiar princess seated in the saddle. "If anyone's getting first dibs on the raspberry scones, it's me!" So declared Princess Merida, joining in on the race.

The determined six jumped over roots and branches, weaved in between trees and bushes, and ducked under low hanging leaves, until they all came out of the forest, bits of tree leaves flying off their heads. Himari nearly jumped as high as the roof when she saw them all coming. "Yipe!!"

"Just in time for lunch!" Aoi chuckled as she came outside with a basket of sweet pastries. 

"Ooh, such beautiful presentation!" Rarity praised the baking Aoi had done.

"Alright, let's eat!" Merida dismounted her horse.

Chapter 15: Let's Go For a Fly

“Do it again!”

Abigail shook her magic feather, creating a strong wind in the field. Saki and Mai held their arms out and squeezed their eyes shut, letting the gust blow their hair all crazily.

"That was a great one, Abi!" Storm praised. "Next time a storm comes, I should get you to lend a hand!"

“Hey, girls, why are you up to-” Haruka wandered by with Aroma on her shoulder, and when Abigail’s wind hit her, Aroma went flying! "Roma!!" He squeaked.

“Oh no! Catch him!” Haruka, Abigail, Storm, Saki, and Mai all ran off after Aroma as he hurtled through the air, flipping around as he went.

Seeing a telephone pole nearby, Aroma caught hold of it, flipped himself back around, and twirled through the air, landing in a plié in Haruka’s hands. “Wow,” cooed Saki, “how did he recover so well?”

“Do you appreciate my magic?” The girls looked up, and saw Bethany fluttering around behind Abigail.

“I certainly do, roma,” said Aroma. “It makes me feel very sophisticated, roma.”

“Well, they do say ballet is a very delicate art form.” Bethany fluffed out her tutu and curtsied.

“Hey, you should come meet my friend Minami!” Haruka held out a hand to catch Bethany, and the three of them wandered off towards Noble Academy.

Chapter 16: Lovely Roses

"And...there. We're all set for Ella to arrive."

Megumi and Haruka had just finished making little rose decorations to spruce up the living room for Ella's visit. Megumi had made hers out of red tissue paper, while Haruka had knitted hers with pink yarn. Haruka set up the roses all around on the table, the seat arm rests, and the door.

Megumi heard a tiny tapping on the window, and opened it to let Ella inside. Ella fluttered into the room and perched on the vase in the middle of the room. "Ooh, your decorations are supreme!"

"Thank you!" Haruka chirped. "We made them just for you!"

"I'll have to bring Pippa with me next time," cooed Ella as she fussed over Megumi's tissue paper roses. "Now, why don't we throw in the real deal to seal the look?" She raised her wand into the air and created a bouquet of sugar-pink roses in the vase.

The three of them all settled down for tea. "So, how has the garden care at Noble Academy been?"

"Very good," said Haruka. "We decided to plant blues and purples as our ocean theme this year."

"Oh, that sounds amazing," gushed Megumi. "I'll be sure to bring Hime around to see them."

All three of them took a gentle sip of tea. "Divine!"

Seeing the wind pick up outside, Ella tapped Haruka's shoulder. "You wanna make some beauty?"

Haruka caught on, and opened the window. The two used their petal powers to create a pink flurry in the air, which fluttered away and scattered over the yard, dotting it with little rosy flecks. "I love doing that," cooed Haruka.

One stray rose petal flew away in the wind, out to the sidewalk where Tsubomi was walking with Futaba and Fern. It landed on top of Futaba's nose, making her sneeze. "A stray flower petal!" Fern squeaked. "Make a wish, it's good luck!"

Tsubomi squeezed her eyes shut, and wished for a hopeful future for her baby sister.

Chapter 17: Mascot Flu

"Come on, sweetie, don't quit on me now..." Chiyu gently held Pegitan. Her hands felt hot from the fever raging in her little mascot's body that had made his blue and white face go pink.

"He's lucky you got him in so fast," soothed Martha, fluttering over Pegitan with her stethoscope. "This mascot flu has been popping up everywhere." She listened to the earbuds. "His heart is beating normally...I think he'll be okay to lay in the mascot nursery for a bit to rest."

Martha led Chiyu to the nursery, where a bunch of ailing mascots were sleeping. "Here we are," said Martha. "Mascot flu isn't deadly at all, so we're looking after mascots as a group. If one is in particularly bad pain, they can get special attention, but for now, they're all on bed rest."

Chiyu tucked Pegitan into a dinky bed. "You too, mipo?" Mipple, his bed neighbour, asked.

Pegitan didn't answer. He just huddled into the blankets. "Pe..."

Off to the side, Maryam was tending to a fussy Chiffon, who was pink in the face both from her fever and from crying. "There, there, child..." She used her magic to swap out the sweaty blankets with fresh, cool blankets, which helped to calm the baby fairy down. "Is that better?"

"Hopefully...it doesn't take much to please Chiffon, desu wa..." Ribbon said softly.

There was a tiny tapping on the window to the nursery. Chiyu looked up to see Honor on the other side, with a fairy-winged Hugtan on her head. "We've got company," she said, opening the door.

"Honor?" Maryam turned her head away from Latte. "What brings you here?"

"I heard there was an outbreak of mascot flu," explained Honor. "I figured the patients would need some cheering up."

"Oh, wonderful," cooed Maryam. "I'm sure they would really appreciate it." Latte weakly barked alongside her, agreeing full-heartedly.

"Hagyu!" Hugtan chirped.

Honor fluttered over Kururun's head. "Hello, little one," she soothed. "I thought you could use some extra happiness today." She sprinkled a few of her flowers over her head.

"Kururun..." Kururun cooed, as she settled in for a nap.

"Hagyu..." Rubbing her eyes, Hugtan laid down with Kururun, poofing back into her normal form.

Maryam stifled a chuckle. "There goes your helper."

"Not to worry." Honor waved her hand. "There's always someone around here working to cheer up patients... Miss Cartwheel herself."

"Did somebody say cartwheel?!" Amber came bustling into the room, bubbly as ever. "Say, Fuwa, did you hear about the moldy apple who stole a car?"

"Fuwa?" Fuwa cocked her head.

"He was charged with grand theft rotto!" Amber laughed. Fuwa giggled along with her, feeling at least a little better.

Chapter 18: Meditation

"Clear your mind. Breathe in. Breathe out."

Yuri, with Heather and Ivy perched on her shoulders, led the girls in a group meditation session. "I need to take my mittens off," whispered Carrie to Reika. "It's hard to do that finger thing with them on."

"Focus your energy. Breathe in. Breathe out."

Heather was so into the session, she began to float in the air, without even fluttering her wings. Ivy opened one eye, and scooted over to bring her back down, before she floated away and hit the ceiling.

"Relax your shoulders. Breathe in. Breathe out." 

Haruka squeezed her eyes shut. She was finding it a little hard to stay still. Lily patted her shoulder. "Hang in there."

On the other side of the room, Evie released all the tension of her shoulders. Saki was hesitant to do the same, as she did not want her fairy friend to fall off.

"Breathe in. Breathe out. B-B-Breathe out. B-B-Breathe out."

Yuri opened her eyes, and gave the tape player a kick. "Come on. This thing always jams right in the middle of work."

"Let me take a look at it." Elsie boosted herself off of Hikaru's shoulder to investigate. She took her wand and a screwdriver to the inside of the tape player. "There. That should keep it from skipping on itself. I tell ya, it's amazing how these older pieces of tech hold up today."

"Yeah, how old is that thing, anyway?" Yayoi asked, curious.

Yuri put a hand to her chin. "I believe it was manufactured in 1993." 

"Oh yeah, that's old," quipped Riley.

"Come on, everyone, focus." Yuri continued the session.

"Listen to your heart. Breathe in. Breathe out."

"My heart is telling me to go get a biscuit," thought Cherry as she perched on Emiru's shoulder, but she didn't dare say it out loud.

"Now open your eyes, and enjoy the new calm you have achieved. Namaste."

Lucy looked up. "Homare?" She poked her human friend, who tipped right over, asleep. Hayley yelped and fluttered off her shoulder, in order to not get squished.

Yuri sighed. "Some people just can't take anything seriously."

Chapter 19: Planking Challenge

On an overcast day in the park, a small group of Cures and fairies had gathered to watch Chiyu try to break Rin's record for holding a plank position. "The future seems to be in your favour," mused Emily, fluttering above Chiyu's head. "Are you ready?"

"Ready for anything," said Chiyu, looking determined.

"I've got the stopwatch ready." Melissa held onto a green stopwatch. "Three...two...one...start!"

Chiyu pushed herself onto the ground and started to hold a plank. "I hope she doesn't break her back," said Towa. "My lower spine hurts just looking at her."

"It doesn't look that hard! I can do that too!" Komugi trotted next to Chiyu and stood on all fours next to her.

"No, no, this is different." Iroha picked Komugi up and brought her back to the picnic blanket. "Humans do this with their elbows and keep their backs very straight. It's pretty tough."

Chiyu was starting to sweat. She grunted as she tried to push through despite the pain beginning to erupt in her legs. "Hey; hey, look over here." Tasha got her attention. "Just focus on me." She did a tap dance to keep Chiyu's mind off of the planking pain.

"She's doing well," said Melissa. "One minute in."

Chiyu squeezed her eyes and jaws shut. She just needed to get through another minute and twenty-eight seconds to break the record. Layla wiped the sweat from her forehead; a task that was much harder than it sounded, as all of her facecloths were fairy-sized, and thus not ideal for human use.

"What's she doing?" Homare, Lauren, and Alison passed by on the walking trail.

"Breaking the planking record," said Emily. "She only has about a minute more to go."

"She looks like she's in pain," mused Alison.

"When was the last time you did a plank?" Tasha cocked her eyebrow.

"I'm pretty sure I've seen Hugtan make that face before she needs her diaper changed," quipped Homare.

Chiyu started to go red in the face. From her shoulders all the way down to her calves, she ached. Still, she wanted that record for herself, and so she remained stagnant.

"She's almost there!" Melissa declared. "Just twenty more seconds!"

Everyone stood in a circle as they watched Chiyu. Would she make it?

"Ten...nine...eight..." Tasha, Layla, and Emily huddled together.

"Seven...six...five..." Komugi circled around Homare's ankles, with Lauren following behind her.

"Four...three...two..." Iroha, Towa, and Alison held their breath.

"One! She's done it! She's broken the record!" Melissa shouted.

Upon hearing that, Chiyu collapsed on the ground in a sweaty heap. "She has officially held a plank position for five seconds longer than the previous PreCure record!" Layla took note of the stopwatch time.

"Incredible!" Towa declared.

"Come on now, Chiyu." Iroha and Homare picked up their friend off the floor. "Let's go get some ice cream. You earned it."

Chapter 20: Play Time for Baby

"Umai!" Chiho crawled across the floor of the day care, chasing after fairies.

"No, no, it's not Umai, it's Una!" Una flicked her wing indignantly. "Very big difference."

"There are so many of them!" Willow raced to the door to close it and prevent Futaba from escaping. "How do the Cures ever keep up?"

"Aye, ye just have to keep them busy with somethin' fun!" Lindsay fluttered a shamrock over Hugtan's foot, making the baby squeal with laughter.

"Oh, that looks easy!" Willow chirped. "I'll get out some nice fabric, and- oh!" The door she had just closed opened again, knocking her out of the way. "Hey!"

"Okay, this is the place." Nao entered the room and set Kouta down on the puzzle carpet. Mashiro followed after her, carrying in Elle-chan. 

"Are you sure you all have this under control?" Mashiro asked Una.

"Certain!" Lindsay interrupted, trying to keep Mashiro from fretting. "They're so wee, they hardly get up to any trouble!"

Chiho lugged herself up to her tiny feet, steadying herself on the bookshelf. At the top of the shelf, Saffron was picking up dust bunnies into a fairy-sized bin. When Chiho saw Saffron's head poke out over the edge, she squeaked and giggled. Hearing this, Saffron came back around to peer down at Chiho again. Chiho grinned and smacked her hands against the bookshelf. "Umai!"

"Hagyu!" Hugtan toddled after Chiho. 

"Come back!" Willow flew after the little tots. "You're going to be my models!" She wrapped glittering green scarves around the two. 

"Umai!" Chiho loved her scarf. Hugtan was not as impressed, and quickly took it off.

"Oh, come on, dearie," insisted Willow, picking the scarf back up, "you'll like it."

"Maybe not wearing it, but she can have some fun playing with it!" Abigail put the scarf back in Hugtan's tiny hands and used her breeze magic to make it flutter in the wind.

"Hagyu!" Hugtan squealed, delighting by the fabric flapping.

Chapter 21: Pool Fun

Sometimes it rains, even in the summertime, but that isn't enough to crush the spirits of magical girls. Minami primly carried an umbrella over her head as she walked down the sidewalk to the indoor pool on Kimoto Street. "Perfect day for the diving board, eh Minami?" Keiko was perched on the door handle, waiting for someone to open it for her. 

"Indeed it is," said Minami. "I'm working on perfecting my front flip." She pushed the door open to let herself and Keiko in.

"How long can you hold your breath underwater for?" Homare, slipping her shoes off and stuffing them into a cubby, asked Minami when she saw her enter. "I'm planning to break my record today."

"She can go for twenty one seconds right now," said Samantha, sitting on Homare's shoulder. 

"I look forward to your results." Minami passed by Homare and Samantha and entered the locker room.

"Free swim goes until five o'clock!" Amy, tapping away at the front desk, informed the girls. "Have fun!"

---

In the main pool area, a gang of Cures, fairies, and friends alike were all splashing about, having a grand old time. "Come on, Minami!" Mayu waved to her friend. "The water's nice and cool!"

Minami placed her blue fish-scale towel down on the towel rest, then made her way to the diving board to enter the pool. She stepped forward, propelled herself off the board, and did a graceful front flip before diving into the water.

"Oh, wow, that was incredible!" Coral, skirting just above the water, applauded Minami. "You must have been practicing!"

"Watch out, I'm gonna jump for the rope!" Manatsu, wearing some punch-pink pool sandals to prevent herself from slipping, made a jump for the swinging rope, which hung stationary from the ceiling. She missed, but still ended up doing a first class belly flop in her attempt.

In the shallow end, Homare was preparing for her record break on breath holding. "Oh, I hope she won't make herself dizzy," mused Nodoka worriedly.

"Don't worry," insisted Isabella. "With me around, there's no way she'll get hurt!" 

"Wait for me, lun!" Lala, just getting into the pool, waved down her friends. "I hope you don't mind that I brought Mako-chan, lun!"

Homare turned, confused as to why Lala felt she needed permission to bring another Cure with her, until she spotted Kino-san following Lala into the water. "Alright, here I go," she said, taking a deep breath and dunking her head underwater.

"Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen..." Isabella counted the seconds that Homare stayed under. 

"Incoming!" Olina plunged forwards into the water, creating rippling waves across the pool. 

Homare rose from the water just as a wave washed over her head. "Gah!" She gasped for air.

"Twenty three seconds!" Isabella exclaimed. "A new record!"

"Incredible!" Makoto praised. "Come on, Etoile, let's go race in the deep end!"

"Way ahead of you, Jupiter!" The two splashed off to the other side of the pool.

Above the pool, at the top of the slide, Ayumi was ready to send Mashiro and Elle-chan down. "Are we ready?"

"Eru!" Elle-chan squeaked. 

"Alright, here we go!" Ayumi allowed the two down, and they slid down into the water below, splashing as they landed.

"Wonderful!" Louise, dressed in a pale pink tankini, clapped from the edge of the pool. "I love sliding!"

Chapter 22: Rainbow Song

"Is everyone ready to perform the Rainbow Song?" Ruby asked, her wand at the ready.

"Yes we are!" Everyone shouted in agreement.

"Perfect!" Ruby turned towards the sky. "We haven't much time before the rain stops! Everyone, one, two, three!"

Ruby flew down to perch on Towa's shoulder. "Red is the rose I pick to brighten up your day!"

Next came Amber and Tsubasa. "Orange is the cheery laughter that chases your bad day away!"

Saffron fluttered her wings as Ako held her up to the sky. "Third along is yellow, like the sun that beats down hot!"

Fern wrapped her arm around Komachi's pinky finger. "And green is the calming herbal tea, served from a porcelain teapot!"

Everyone took hands. "The magic of the rainbow shines down on you and me! It twinkles from the rainy sky for everyone to see! Some would say it's magic, and I believe that's right! Just look around and see it glowing proud and bright!"

Sky flew a circle around Hime's head. "My eyes shine like the bright blue sky, that's just the way I am!"

Yuri clasped her hands together and closed her eyes, while Izzy belted the lyric from atop her head. "Then along comes indigo, like sweet blackberry jam!"

Ruru smiled brightly as Heather booped her nose with her wand. "Finally comes violet, found in flowers, teas, and art! A beautiful, royal colour, beating strongly from my heart!"

As the rain clouds disappeared, a bright rainbow began to shine in the sky, covering the town with beautiful colours. The gang heard a guitar riff, and spotted Hikaru flying on a star over top, alongside Melodie. "Don't forget about pink!"

Chapter 23: Reading Time

On a brish winter's day with dry air and biting winds, several Cures and fairies gathered in the library to talk about the books they had been reading lately. "I'm so glad I picked up this novelization of Firebird," said Bethany. "What have you ladies been reading?"

"I've been studying the origins of Christianity," said Inori. "This book says that Jesus's birthplace of Bethlehem exists in the modern world as a part of Palestine."

"Wow, I didn't know that!" Yayoi's eyes widened. "I've been wanting to read more about Palestinian history!"

"Well, I borrowed this really twisted book from Aoi," said Manatsu, bundled into a woolly red sweater with a watermelon print. "It's about a woman seeking revenge on the people who killed her daughter."

"My, those both sound so serious." Cherry flicked her wing. "I've just been reading poetry about baking."

"That's not a bad thing." Amane, with her classic novel from centuries past resting in her lap, allowed the little red fairy to perch on her finger. "No one has the exact same opinions on everything. That's the beauty of individuality."

The door to the library swung shut, and Mayu took a seat upon a cozy red lounge couch, with Elisa sitting on her shoulder. "Heavens, have I got a story for you about that bookstore down the street!"

"Ooh, spill the tea!" Samira, laying across the arm of Manatsu's leather chair, leaned in with curiosity. 

"Okay, so I go in with a gift card to pick up the newest installment of PuriPuri Patches." Mayu began to explain. "There's these two guys there, and they see me with the book. They think it's a sewing manual, so they start making all these stupid jokes about how I’m gonna grow up to be a military wife who only marries a soldier to get his benefits."

"Wait, that makes no sense," said Inori. "What does sewing have to do with marrying into the military?"

"I don't know," said Mayu, "but I tried to ignore them. Eventually, I got fed up, paid for my book and asked them, you know the difference between a Frankenstein monster and a Patchwork Hanako? And they obviously don't know, so I open the book to the goriest page I could find, and I told them; Patchwork Hanako wants blood. They shut up real fast after that."

"Oh; you read horror?" Bethany was a bit frightened by the description. 

"Of course; it reminds me of how lucky I am to live in the real world." Mayu winked; she loved surprising people with that interest of hers.

Notes:

If you have made it to the end, consider supporting Care for Gaza to help Palestine
https://www.care-international.org/our-work/where-we-work/palestine-west-bankgaza

Chapter 24: Road Trip

It was late in the evening, when the sun sinks below the horizon and the sun turns many shades of red, pink, and orange. Ageha was driving beyond the quiet streets, with Asumi in the passenger seat, Yukari and Lala watching out the windows in the back seat, and their fairy friends resting on various other parts of the car. "How far out are we heading?" Tasha asked.

"We're gonna make a pit stop at a motel for the night once it gets too dark," said Ageha, "but we'll probably be in Osaka by lunchtime tomorrow."

Lala and Thea watched out the window, looking for shapes in the clouds. "How about that one?" Thea pointed one out. "That's definitely a dolphin."

"Ooh..." Lala's eyes darted around the sky. "I think that one looks like Prunce, lun."

Emily was not so interested in the clouds; she was leafing through a brochure about Osaka. "Ooh, that castle looks pretty..."

"We aren't going to sit here in silence all night, are we?" Sadie pressed the buttons on the radio; a rather difficult task when your hands only weigh one ounce. "Let's get some tunes on!"

Sadie shuffled through various songs in Ageha's playlist, until she came to I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor. "Ooh! Leave that one on!" Jade flicked her wing. "I love this song!" All the girls began to bop along to the disco hit.

---

A few hours into driving, Lala, Yukari, Emily, and Jade were all asleep in the back seat, and while Ageha continued driving, Asumi watched the stars out of the window. This would be the longest trip she had taken without Latte; she sincerely hoped that Nodoka and Jennifer were as reliable as they claimed to be. 

Ageha pulled the car into a rest stop, with a gas station and a Wendy's. "Alright, you bunch in the back, wake up," she said. "We're getting food."

Yukari lifted her head from the window. "Are we at the hotel yet?" 

"Looks like the middle of nowhere to me," mused Jade, looking around the area.

"Yeah, it's a dinner stop," said Ageha, getting out of the car to order herself a burger.

Jade wandered out into the air surrounding the stop, and spotted Ashley sitting on the roof of the gas station, watching the sky. Jade sat down and swung one leg over the over. "Quiet night, eh?"

"Yeah..." Ashley said quietly. "Do you see the constellations up there?"

Jade looked up and tried to connect lines between the stars, but all she could see was a bunch of tiny white dots. How did Ashley see anything up there?

"Jade! Where did you go?" Yukari called for her fairy friend. "Do you want to split a salad with me?"

"I'll eat whatever Lala doesn't!" Jade shouted down, before turning back to Ashley. "She's got a finicky appetite, that girl."

Ashley didn't respond. She simply watched the sky, where visions of archers and mermaids told stories in the stars.

Chapter 25: Sharing is Caring

"Okay, you just watch them for five minutes while I go to the bathroom, okay?" Hibiki handed Hugtan and Elle-chan off to Mary, pink in the face and pressing her knees together.

"No problem." Mary smiled. "If you take your time, maybe I can show them a few things while you're gone."

"Fine by me! Just keep them in one piece!" Hibiki then took off out of the room. "Move it, Sango, the bathroom's mine!"

"So, are you ready for the lesson?" Mary fluttered in between Elle-chan and Hugtan.

"Hagyu!" Hugtan raised her hands in the air.

"Good, good," said Mary. She presented them with two apples and an orange. "You get one apple each, but you have to share the orange."

Hugtan picked up the orange and tried to bite it, but found it much too tough, and what little marks she was able to get into it left the bitter taste of the rind in her mouth. Annoyed, she pushed it away from herself and over to Elle-chan. "No!"

"You don't want the orange?" Mary asked. 

Elle-chan took the orange for herself, and tried to peel it, but her stubby fingers and short nails were not enough to get off. She pouted, put the orange down, and turned her nose up at it.

"Okay, so the orange isn't very popular." Mary thought for a moment. "No worries; I can teach you how to share with something else."

"Need a hand?" Clara happened to be floating by.

"Indeed I do!" Mary nodded.

Clara used her magic to create some chocolate, which Elle-chan and Hugtan both marveled at. "Now, you both want the chocolate, right?"

"Eru!" Elle-chan and Hugtan both bobbed their heads up and down.

"But there is only one, see?" Mary waved her wand. "Here is how we deal with that."

Mary's magic split the chocolate into four pieces, one for all of them. "See? That's how we share."

"Shawing!" Hugtan cooed as she and Elle-chan ate their chocolate together.

As soon as they all finished their chocolate, Hibiki returned from the washroom. "Thanks for that, Mary. I thought I was going to explode." She picked the two babies up. "Alright, monkeys, it's your nap time."

Eyeing the abandoned orange, Mary magicked the teeth marks away and carried it outside the library, where Zoe was practising skating on one foot. "Here, you want this?"

"Sure." Zoe used her own magic to take the peel off the orange and juice it into her bottle, which she drank for energy.

Chapter 26: Skate Park

Notes:

Special thanks to FluffyGlass for allowing Alice Macro to appear in this chapter!

"Hold on tight!" Nao shouted as she flew down the ramp on a green skateboard with an apple pattern. Carmen, with her wings spread wide and her feet firmly planted on Nao's shoulder, glided right alongside her.

"Incoming!" Alice raced down the track as fast as they could, with Georgia hanging onto the collar of their shirt for dear life.

"See, Kotoha? It's easy!" Riley directed Kotoha around the outside of the ramp. 

Kotoha slowly pushed herself on her skateboard, a green board with a pink flora pattern, and circled around the skate park. "Are you sure this is safe?"

"You've got all your protective gear on," said Riley. "So unless you fall really far, you'll be fine."

Seeing Alice and Nao flipping their boards, Kotoha wanted to try it too. She tried to hop, but couldn't get her feet off the board; she chickened out at the last second. "Eep!"

"See, this is how it's done." Akira, arriving at the skate park with Yukari, Sky, and Tallulah. Akira stepped onto her red skateboard with Tallulah perched on her shoulder, pushed herself forward to build up speed, and ollied while flipped the board around with her foot.

"She's practiced that for a while now," mused Yukari to Sky, sitting primly atop the bleachers.

"Okay, here I go!" Kotoha sped up her boarding, and tried to ollie for herself. However, she wasn't quite able to flip the board over. But that didn't stop her from doing a cool trick. Her protective magic prevented her from hitting the ground, and instead, neatly floated her down to the board.

"Okay, that was a lot cooler than a kickflip," said Riley.

"Do you think she can teach us how to do that?" Georgia asked. 

"Haa! You mean I did it?" Kotoha asked.

"Of course, that was excellent for a newcomer!" Carmen praised.

"Wonderful! I have to tell Mirai and Riko right now!" Kotoha took off on her board; her confidence gave her much better balance.

Chapter 27: Sleepy Sabrina

In the dead of night, Cure Moonlight floated across the starry sky, with Morgan perched on her shoulder. "This is where I feel most at peace," mused Cure Moonlight. "Under the light of the moon, no one knows how broken you truly are."

As they passed through Sukoyaka City, Morgan raised a hand for a moment. “Wait; I feel a fairy presence.”

Cure Moonlight let Morgan flutter off, through a window. In the new environment, Morgan spotted Sabrina, sitting on the headboard of Nodoka’s bed and sprinkling sweet dream sparkles over her as she slept. “Sabrina?” Morgan lowered herself down onto the headboard. “What are you still doing here?”

“I wanted Nodoka to dream well tonight,” mumbled Sabrina sleepily, her eyes drooping from exhaustion. “She’s been through so much, she deserves it.”

Morgan looked over Nodoka as well. “I see…” She shook her head. “But we can’t fix everything.”

“I know.” Sabrina furrowed her brow. “But I can’t just do nothing. If I have the resources to do something, I should.”

“Sabrina.” Morgan put a hand on Sabrina’s shoulder. “I’ve seen Nodoka do so much. Fight so many monsters. She has such a huge support system, it goes beyond just you. I think she’ll be okay.”

Sabrina pulled her folded-over sleeve down. “You’re right.” She stood up. “I guess she will be.”

"Exactly. Now, come with me; I think Chloe may be having another one of those dreams where she turns her wand into a sheep." The two of them took hands and fluttered into the air, going off to find others who may need a little help that night.

Chapter 28: Snow Angel

"Let's go!" Hinata flung herself into the freshly fallen snow.

"Yay!" Sango flopped down next to Hinata. The two of them waved their arms up and down, creating angel prints in the ground, one of which had pigtail prints on its head; Hinata always opted for her fluffy yellow earmuffs with paw prints on them over a hat.

Hinata sat up and looked at their work. "A perfect silhouette!"

From the porch, Crystal and Angelica observed Hinata and Sango's snow angels, as if they were performing a spectator sport. "Amazing form...excellent shape."

"Why let them have all the fun?" Angelica closed her telescope. "Has Olympia taught us nothing?" She fluttered up to the stair railing, slid down on the ice, and flipped through the air, landing perfectly on her back with her wings spread out.

"Wait for me!" Crystal leapt after her, flitting through the brisk winter air like a tiny blue blur, and did an aerial cartwheel before landing in the snow next to Angelica.

"What's all the shouting about out here?" Saaya slid the back door open, carrying a tray of hot cocoa with Hugtan strapped to her back.

"We're making snow angels!" Hinata yelled. "And now I'm gonna be a snow devil!" She balled up some snow and threw it right at Sango's head. "Headshot!" 

Within seconds, the backyard quickly devolved into a crumbly snow war. Saaya shook her head. "They are crazy..."

"And in poor form." Akira mused, watching over Saaya's shoulder. "They need to throw overhead for a more powerful shot." Saaya simply face-palmed.

"If they're going to carry on like that, they'll need more snow clouds." Pearl, bundled into a punch-pink cardigan, waved her wand in a circle to keep the sky puffy and white.

Chapter 29: Stay With Me

Nodoka rested her hand gently upon Asumi's as she laid in her bed. She had been ailing with a high fever for days now, and no one knew how to cure it. Sabrina perched on the headboard of her bed, trying to keep her asleep, as whenever she was awake, she was moody and miserable. Latte watched over Asumi from the foot of the bed, wondering how, in her little doggy form, could she do anything to help her.

Yuko entered the bedroom with a tray carrying a bowl of rice porridge with honey, applesauce, and hot tea with lemon. Esther fluttered in behind her, gently closing the door behind her. "How is she?"

"She's stable," said Nodoka, "but Sabrina's magic will only take her so far."

"Martha and Perrie have been working so hard," sighed Sabrina, "but they just can't figure out what's wrong with her."

"Sabrina, you're excused," said Nodoka softly. "Asumi needs to wake up and eat."

Sabrina slipped her wand back into her pocket, allowing Asumi's dreams to end and her eyes to open up. "Nodoka..." She croaked weakly. "I am still feeling strange..."

"I know, sissy," soothed Nodoka, squeezing her stepsister's hand. "Yuko made you some breakfast. Go on, eat something."

Asumi pushed herself as far upwards as she could, leaned against her pillows for support, and took the spoon that Yuko offered her. Yuko set the tray down in Asumi's lap and took Nodoka's hand. "Come on, we need to get ready for school."

"Where are you going?" Asumi asked. "Please, do not leave."

"I'm sorry, but we can't skip school," said Nodoka. "I have to go." She stepped out of the room to get her uniform out of her own bedroom.

"Arf!" Latte barked, as if to stay "I'm still here!"

"She's right," said Esther, petting Latte's head. "You still have us here to watch you."

"Wait a minute," said Sabrina, hopping off the headboard. "I have an idea." She opened up the window and shot a blast of cloudy sparkles into the sky from her wand. After waiting a bit, she opened the window a little further to allow more of her fairy friends inside. "Nursing party, baby!"

"Let's get it together!" Poppy directed everyone to take a role. "Preeti takes the cool washclothes, Rebecca gets the thermometer, Annie keeps the cool air flowing!"

"And I'll watch Latte!" Caitlin landed on the puppy's head.

"Right! Let's work!" Each of the fairies flew in different directions to tend to Asumi's needs. Preeti placed a cool lavender washcloth upon Asumi's forehead, Rebecca monitored her temperature, and Annie perched on the heat pump to keep the room cool. 

Seeing the tray still in front of her, Asumi took the spoon back and returned to her rice porridge. Taking another bite, she allowed the honey to soothe her throat and calm her nerves. "To live as a human is simply confusing...why do their bodies break without reason?"

"Germs, usually," said Preeti, looking at Asumi upside down from the top of her head. "Microscopic creatures that invade your body, making you ill."

"That's why we have so many research centres!" Rebecca added. "To learn how to stop germs before they can hurt any more people!"

"I see." Asumi turned her attention to the applesauce. "It must be fulfilling, working so hard just to help others that one may never meet."

"That's every day for a fairy," said Annie. "We're always there, even when no one can see us."

"Wow..." Poppy paused while she was lugging a glass of water across the room. "I never thought of it that way..."

Chapter 30: Sunny Day

“Let’s go, girls!” Goldie pointed upwards. “The clouds are blocking out the sun that the plants need to grow!”

“Up top!” Cure Sunny launched a fireball into the sky. “Sunny Fire!”

“Sky high!” Cure Soleil blasted a fireball right after her. “Soleil Shoot!”

The two Cures cupped their hands, and launched Goldie into the sky. Fluttering her wings, Goldie raised her wand to take control of the fireballs, and created a giant fiery X in the sky. This blazing shape blasted away the dismal clouds, letting the sun shine through. Now that the sun was out, the wisly plants down below perked up, and began to turn beautiful shades of green, while the wildflowers blossomed a beautiful shade of pink.

Goldie wiped the sweat from her brow. “All in a day’s work.”

On the ground, Cure Sunny and Cure Soleil's clothes glowed and their hair shortened as they transformed back into their civilian forms. "Perfect! Now, how about some salad?"

Chapter 31: Tennis Game

"And, go!" Alice the Tennis Fairy, perched on the net pole, blew a little whistle to begin the tennis match. Asuka threw the ball into the air and batted it over to Yuuki's side of the court. The two smacked the ball back and forth between each other, getting faster and faster with every hit.

"Come on!" Yuuki mocked Asuka. "You bat like a girl!"

Alice scrunched her nose at him, and hit him with a blast of magic from her wand. "We play nicely around here!"

Yuuki scowled as the game continued. Mai, with Annie fluttering around her head, spotted the match and sat in the bleachers to watch. "Who's winning?"

Annie looked through her magnifying glass to look at Alice's notebook, where she was keeping score. "Fifteen - Love. Asuka's winning."

"Great," said Mai. "Points for the Cures!"

Asuka jumped into the air, and slammed the tennis ball down into the ground on Yuuki's side of the court. "Thirty - Love!" Alice called.

Yuuki snarled, and wound up for a strong swing. He hit it over the net, but Asuka was quick to whack back and get another point on her side. "Come on," Yuuki grumbled to himself, "how is she so good at this?"

Asuka focused her energy, and created a strong wind to hit the ball. "Let's go! Wind Sprint Ball!" The ball danced in the air as it sailed over the net to Yuuki's side. Yuuki hit it back, and the two continued as normal.

Komachi slid onto the bleacher seat next to Mai and Annie. "How's the game going?"

"Asuka's winning!" Annie chirped.

"I've never seen such intense playing!" Maya, with her harp resting beside her, nibbled on a kernel of poporn alongside Ruby and Sarah.

Asuka jumped and hit the ball. Yuuki leapt to the side to hit it back, but fell on his face instead. "Clear! Right side wins!" Alice announced.

Asuka flexed her arm as Mai, Annie, and Komachi cheered for her.

Chapter 32: Think Pink

“It’s just so her colour, y’know?”

Nodoka was helping Grace put together a party dress for Tsubomi. Grace nodded along. “Oh, certainly. There’s no better shade for that girl than carnation pink.”

Nodoka sewed the last few stitches of the skirt tightly, then flipped the dress inside out to reveal the proper side. “There! Perfect!”

“Now for the finishing touch.” Grace began to wave her wand.

“Wait!” Nodoka backed away, covered her mouth with a washcloth, and squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m not the strongest in the respiratory department…I don’t want glitter in my lungs.”

Grace shrugged. “Understandable.” With a quick flick, Tsubomi’s dress began to sparkle and shine brightly.

Nodoka opened her eyes again. “Oh, wow! Tsubomi will love it!”

---

After hiding the dress behind some curtains, Nodoka went to find Tsubomi, and brought her to the workshop, covering her eyes. “I’m sure you’ll love this surprise.”

“I hope…” Tsubomi tensed up a bit. “Wait, is it a bad surprise?”

When the two arrived, Nodoka uncovered Tsubomi’s eyes, and Grace pulled back the curtains. “Happy birthday!”

Gaaaasp! “It’s beautiful!!” Tsubomi gushed over the dress. “Thank you!! I love you girls!!” She pulled the two in for a big, but gentle hug.

“We love you too, Tsubomi!!” Nodoka and Grace hugged back.

Chapter 33: Unwilling Models

"How much longer is this going to take? My arms are getting tired!" Nagisa, who had to play mannequin for some outfits being designed for Pretty Holic, strongly disliked the job and was complaining every minute.

"We've still got a lot of work to do," huffed Kokoro. "You'll survive!"

Tyra flicked her wing as she measured the sleeves. "They're lopsided," she confirmed. "The left side needs another inch of fabric." She pulled the pink silk towards herself with her wand to sew it together.

"Hold still!" Claudia scolded Nagisa. "If you keep squirming all wiggly-piggly, I'll never be able to fasten these gems!" She was trying to secure gem-encrusted feather barrettes into Nagisa's hair.

"Easy for you to say!" Nagisa snapped. "You're not the one having your hair pulled!"

On the second podium, Nao had her arms folded over her head as Mia zipped a sleeveless dress onto her from the back. "Very good," praised Sango. "Now smile for the camera."

Nao put on a fake, plastered smile as Brooke taught Hikari and Hikaru how to take the perfect portrait, which fell into a scowl once they were done. "I wouldn't be caught dead wearing this in public."

"That's why you're modelling and not buying it," said Sango, continuing her work without a care in the world.

On the third podium, Akira, who was much more patient than Nagisa or Nao, quietly held her arms out for Luna and Josie to use as a canvas for their work. "Red, it has to be red," insisted Luna, weaving red loom bands together.

"No way," said Josie. "Tourmaline is the way to go." She attached little brown jewels together on a string.

"Does it matter?" Ageha asked, stitching up the hemming. "You don't normally wear bracelets with suits anyway."

Chapter 34: Vibing in the Forest

"See, this is my favourite way to relax."

Fern and Lily had offered to babysit some of the Cures' younger siblings, and had brought them to a fairy circle in the middle of the forest, to show them the magic of nature. Anna cooed as she watched a butterfly float around her head. "Pretty!"

"Now look here, kids," said Lily, directing their attention to a tall oak tree. "We call this tree Father Time, because it's the first to lose its leaves in the fall, and the first to grow them back in the spring."

The kids all had to tilt their heads back to look up at the tree. "How tall is it?" Miku asked. 

"You're four feet tall, right?" Fern asked. "Imagine twenty of you, all stacked on top of each other."

"Wow, that's big," mused Run.

"Look!" Hina pointed to the top. "There's a leaf about to fall now!"

Sure enough, an ember-orange leaf plucked itself from its branch and fluttered down to the ground. On top was Autumn, riding the leaf like a surfboard, while Abigail rode behind her on a fiery red leaf, creating winds for Autumn to race. "And...stick the landing!" She hopped off, did three aerial somersaults, and landed neatly on top of a mushroom. 

"Wow, that was a great jump!" Momoka praised.

"The orange ones make the best platforms," said Autumn. "Leaf surfing is one of my favourite parts of fall."

"Especially when you've got me around to give you a boost!" Abigail elbowed her girlfriend.

"Too bad the leaves all fall so fast," mused Fern. 

"I don't worry about it too much," said Lily, "because soon winter will be here, and that brings with it its own beauties." She turned to the kids. "Would you like to hear the story of the most wonderful winter I've seen?"

"A story?" Ai moved in closer.

"Tell us!" Yu exclaimed.

"Yeah, tell us, tell us!" Takuto and Ikuto said in unison. 

"Stowy!" Kouta bounced excitedly.

Lily gathered all the kids around. "One winter night, very along ago, my sisters and I were all called together for a mission to rescue a lost puppy from a snowy mountain. We worked together to sew a rope that would lead us there, and keep us from tumbling all the way down."

She smiled. "But once we had the puppy down, something amazing happened. A little snowball began to roll down from the tip of the mountain, all the way down to the bottom. When we got there and found the snowball, it cracked upon, and there was another fairy inside. That's where my sister Carrie came from."

"Out of a snowball?" Reina asked. "But how?"

"We don't really know," said Lily. "But what we did know is that we all loved our new sister from the moment we saw her. And now, we all consider the first snow of winter to be good luck."

Chapter 35: Violin Concert

It was a gentle evening with a cool breeze and a sparkling twilight sky. Every Cure, fairy, and ally was gathered together in a grand hall, awaiting the beginning of a benefit concert. "I'm so excited to see Yuko tonight," cooed Megumi as she bounced in her seat. "She's been talking up this show for weeks!"

"I just hope the music isn't too loud," mused Luna, picking at one of her loom bracelets. "I have sensitive hearing."

"Not to worry," soothed Gabriella. "You can borrow my earmuffs." She placed them over Luna's ears.

The curtains began to open, and Miki and Ruby entered the stage to start the show. "Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the Pretty Cure Health Clinic's benefit concert," greeted Ruby. "This will be the beginning of our campaign to raise 10,000 dollars to expand the clinic to accommodate for more patients."

"After Chef Forgifta attacked, and we began seeing a large influx of patients to the clinic, we realized we needed more room, and so we worked together to launch this fundraising campaign." Miki brushed a lock of hair out of her face. "Now, to begin our event, may we present our very own Yuko Omori and Yui Nagomi performing their very own Rice Brings Smiles song, accompanied by Karen Minazuki and Victoria the Violin Fairy on the violin."

Yuko, Yui, Karen, and Victoria all took the stage. Yuko and Yui both had microphone headsets, while Karen and Victoria both had seats, sheet music, and music stands to use. Karen and Victoria both started to play.

"Gentle and grainy, a savoury treat!" Yuko began to sing.

"Gather round, so we can eat," Yui followed up.

All of the visitors were enamoured with the song, even given the silly concept. Juliet, flicking her wing, noticed a flushed look on Seiji's face. "My, are you feeling a little flustered?"

"Uh...kind of." Seiji wrung his hands. "Since Megumi and Hime became a thing, Yuko's been hanging out with me a lot more...I think she might be into me."

"Oooooh!" Ella perched on Seiji's shoulder. "You two would be so cute together!"

Yuko and Yui took each other's hands and spun each other around. "Never go hungry again, when you've got such a wonderful treat on hand!"

Everyone clapped for their lovely song. "Bravo!" Melodie gave them a wave of music notes as praise.

"Come on, Yui, clap!" Nao showed her baby sister how to put her hands together for the song.

Yui cooed and clapped along with the other audience members. "Great job!" Gwen praised.

Chapter 36: Wedding Dreams

"Okay, now look at that and tell me that isn't the prettiest wedding dress you've ever seen."

Sango, with Mia perched on her shoulder, had gone out shopping, and couldn't help but ogle at the dresses on display in the windows. Sango's heart had been captured by a snow white dress with a puffy skirt, chiffon sleeves, and long white opera gloves.

"Oh, you would certainly turn heads in that," cooed Mia. "Have you thought at all about what your wedding will look like?"

"A little bit," mused Sango. "I know who I'd invite, and who'd be my bridesmaids, but I haven't thought much about location, or theming, or even what kind of cake to have."

"How about chocolate?" Nozomi, who was strolling by, suggested. "That's my go-to for cake."

"Maybe," said Sango, "but I always thought vanilla sponge cake was traditional..."

"Whatever you choose," said Mia, "it will be a miracle of an event. That's what weddings are all about."

"That's very true," mused Sango, as she continued to fawn over the gown in the window.

"Look at that one with the gold brooch," said Mia, pointing to Sango's left. "I bet Mimi would like to wear that when she and Amber walk down the aisle."

"Too bad it's human sized and not fairy sized..." Sango turned to the right. "Ooh, look at that one, Madoka would love it..."

Their attention was diverted by a tapping on the window. On the inside, Phoebe waved to them, then showed off by adding glitter to a pastel pink prom dress. Sango and Mia's eyes sparkled at the sight. "Wow..." Sango cooed.

"What is it?" Michiru, walking around town to observe the sights, happened across the bridal shop.

"Look at the dresses!" Sango chirped. "Don't you just love them?"

"Love them?" Michiru studied the window. "That's a strong word. I admire them, but I don't love them. I save feelings of love for only those who are most important to me. If I love everything, then the word loses its power, and I value my friends and family too much to allow that."

"Wow," mused Mia, a hand over her heart. "You are so wise."

Chapter 37: Working Out

"Alright, ladies..." Kathryn fly-paced back and forth in front of her team of girls. "Sports Day is coming up next week, and if we want to win, we need to start training."

She directed their attention around at the various stations set up throughout the gym. "We have many different types of sport for everyone to try out, so no one will feel like there's nothing they're good at. Now..." She waved her wand. "Are we ready to rock and roll?"

"You bet we are!" Rebecca chirped. Everyone else cheered and shouted in agreement.

"Then here we go, girls! Sports Day training begins now!" Kathryn released the gang to scatter and find a station. She remained at her own station, meant for stretching and yoga. "Okay, warm up! Get those arms in the sky!"

"So, what kind of events do you think they'll have at Sports Day this year?" Mai asked.

"I hope they have a long throw," said Katie. "I'm really good at launching rings, frisbees, tennis balls...anything, really."

"Ooh, how about a hundred-yard dash?" Akira suggested. "I'm on the track team, I'm sure would clean up in that department."

"I'll be sure to time you!" Amy offered.

---

The second station was a volleyball net, where two teams of two girls and two fairies each lobbed a ball back and forth, while Naomi refereed. "Yipe!" Hime awkwardly pushed her arms out to prevent getting nailed in the face with the ball. 

"Come on, Hime," said Summer, passing the ball back. "If you want to compete in volleyball, you can't be scared of the ball."

"Put your wrists into it!" Kirara clenched her hands together and hit the ball over the net with the power of her wrists.

"Oh, wow, that was a great shot!" Alexa praised.

---

The third station was a backroom with gymnastics equipment, where Gemma was teaching a small group how to perfect their balance. "Go on, Kotoha," she soothed, "you won't fall."

Kotoha anxiously hopped up onto the balance beam, and cautiously stumbled her way across. "That's it," cheered Fiona, "you're doing it!" 

"I am?" Kotoha looked around, and realized she had made it to the other side. "Haa! I did it!"

"Very good!" Gemma praised. "Now, Vanessa, it's your turn!"

Vanessa, ignoring the balance beam, instead eyed Kanade, sitting against the wall with a laptop. Kanade, not being the athletic type, was instead working on the organization team. Vanessa hopped up on the top of the laptop, and as Kanade watched with surprise, she walked all the way across without even needing to flutter her wings for balance. "See? Being a dance instructor really pays off!"

---

The fourth station was packed with general workout machines, where Olympia coached the girls on a variety of strength exercises. Homare pulled a metal bar down repeatedly, trying to improve her upper arm strength.

On a shelf sat some tinier versions of the equipment for the fairies to use; Goldie, dressed in an orange-yellow tie-dye shirt and red shorts, lifted a bar attached to the bottom of the seat with her legs. "Come on...this shouldn't be this heavy."

"You gotta lift with your knees," said Ashley. "If you lift with your shins, you're just gonna skin 'em."

"She's right," said Yuni. "You ever skinned your knee on some rough terrain before? Hurts like a Nottorei!"

"Phew," muttered Himari, "I'm getting thirsty already!"

"Need some water?" Hayley lugged a bottle of water over to Himari's feet. "Fresh from the cloud, no harmful bacteria!"

"Oh, you're a lifesaver." Himari picked up the bottle and took a sip.