Author's Note: Hi everyone. My name is Juliko, aka Firechick, and this is my debut Pretty Cure fan fic series.

Special thanks go to my beta readers Ameliette and Dreams In Pink! You're both awesome! :)

Now, a warning: this fan fic will deal with some serious issues such as disabilities (I myself am autistic, just so you know), bullying, child abuse, homelessness, hardship, etc, because I feel these are issues that need to be discussed and brought to light. I will do my absolute best to portray these issues as sensitively as possible. I got some backlash on my first try, as you can see from some reviews, and looking back, I'm not proud of how I wrote certain things, so the second half will be rewritten from scratch to be a little less...well, grim and offensive. I actually came up with some new ideas that'll hopefully make it better and more tolerable, and many online friends are helping me with revamping it. Now if you're easily triggered by scenes or even words like this, you are absolutely more than welcome to stop reading the fan fic and go somewhere else. I understand completely if you're susceptible to triggers, and I'll try to post warning on any and all chapters that may have such scenes. I won't have as much time to rewrite the story as I like to, though, because of school, but I'm gonna try and get it done anyway!

But I do hope you'll enjoy the fan fic regardless of its possibly glaring and irredeemable flaws, and I encourage all feedback and criticism. Ifd you have problems with my story, that's fine. You don't have to read it. But I won't stand for bullying, whining, name calling, flaming, or bashing.

ATTENTION: TRIGGER WARNING FOR BULLYING AND SLIGHT VIOLENCE

Twilight Pretty Cure

Chapter 1: I'm a Real Super Hero?! Cure Twilight Shines Through!

In another world…

Discord swept across the land like a natural disaster, only this was much worse. It came so suddenly and out of the blue that nobody had time to react, or even understand what just happened. The ground looked as though it had been stripped of all the grass it ever had, leaving mostly a charred, lifeless ground. All the now leafless trees were twisted in unnatural ways. Clouds of smoke curled into the grey sky, polluting the once clean air. Most houses were more or less demolished, some even collapsing into nothing but piles of rubble. Other areas were simply swallowed up by thunderous blue flames that danced wildly, eating whatever was nearby.

It was a total disaster zone.

It was like every single natural disaster attacked it at the same time, but none of this was natural. Not even a little bit.

In the midst of the wreckage, a young, skinny teenager of about fifteen stood looking up at the dismal sky with bloody red eyes shining like a new sports car. His medium length hair, a shining shade of silver, glistened amidst the frightening flames, heavily contrasting with his thin, golden, olive leaf diadem. His pale skin looked almost transparent against his dark attire, a dark brown vest, a lavender ruffle, a short sleeved black shirt, black pants, tall red boots, a red cape, and fingerless red gloves. The smile on his face was a wicked one, not appropriate for the desolate setting. In his hands wass a large, black stone, diamond shaped, about the size of a brick that glowed eerily like the lights of a haunted house, if haunted houses even had working lights at all.

"So this is it...This is the true extent of my new power...Wow! This jewel really is as powerful as everybody says! I've never felt so alive before! Finally, I feel like I can actually do whatever I want!" the young boy whispered softly at first, making him sound like he didn't quite comprehend the situation and everything around him. Once he got a good grip of his surroundings, he yelled and let out a hearty laugh as though he had never felt so free, so alive, in his entire life.

"How could you…?" a hoarse voice asked from just fifteen feet away. It came from a woman whose refined, Navajo Indian-styled clothes were now ripped into tatters, whose steel silver hair was scraggly and dirty, covered in patches of dirt. Her body was covered with fresh scars and scratches. One scar on her face was bleeding slightly. Despite her injuries, she shot daggers at the boy with her green eyes. "How could you do this to us, Zenjin?! This is your home! Do you have any idea what you've done?!" The woman yelled, her voice going up an octave.

What this boy had done was absolutely reprehensible in her eyes.

He barely noticed her at first, but he did turn around to look at her once he stopped laughing. The look in his red eyes was full of bloodlust and hate, and he had wicked smile to go with it. The woman's face went pale as soon as they made eye contact; she really didn't like the look on his face. There was no empathy, no mercy, nothing. Only hate and malice, with a touch of what appeared to be childlike curiosity. "Oh, I know what I've done. Now I truly understand what this jewel is capable of...and I LOVE IT!"

"What?!" The woman exclaimed. Her eyes went wide with shock and her shoulders stiffered as she saw the black jewel weighing in his palms. "No! You...you've corrupted the Energia with your hatred!"

"So that's its name...Energia. That's so stupid! You could have come up with something better, Queen," Zenjin jeered, without any hint of remorse in his high pitched voice.

"Zenjin! Look what you've done! So many of our citizens have died because you corrupted the Energia! Have you no remorse at all?! Please, stop! Give the Energia back to us! You don't know what it's capable of, especially in the wrong hands! It's easily influenced by evil feelings like hatred and lust! Give it back so we can restore Rozaniela back to normal! Please!" The Queen shouted with desperation and pleading in her shrill voice.

Hiding behind a nearby gnarled tree were four small, stuffed animal-like creatures, floating in the air, fearful of the silver haired boy. their large, round eyes wide with fright, afraid of what he could do next.

"Do I look like I care?" Zenjin asked right before stretching out one of his hands and firing an ominous purple and black beam at the weak woman, knocking her off her feet and causing her to scream in agony.

"Queen Malgorzata!" The four floating animals cried as they flew over to the woman. The light blue one's hands began to glow as it placed them over her wound.

"He's out of control!" The pale purple one exclaimed frightfully.

"What are we going to do?! He's destroyed 80% of Rozaniela! We've never seen destruction of this caliber before!" The light blue wailed. Malgorzata's wound was close to healing.

"Actually...there is a way we can fix this…" Queen Malgorzata croaked.

"What? There is?" The orange one asked, confused.

"Yes...take a guess," Queen Malgorzata said. Some of her injuries healed while the fairies ruminated. The answer dawned on them when the blue fairy finished healing Malgorzata's shoulder.

"No! No! You can't be suggesting that!" The light pink one shouted, with denial peppering her voice.

"We don't know if they truly exist or not!" The pale purple one agreed, skeptical of the Queen's words.

Queen Malgorzata rummaged through part of her dress and pulled out four small, star shaped bottles topped with heart caps in four different colors: lavender purple, ocean blue, sunny yellow, and mandarin orange. They looked like perfume bottles, but they were completely empty.

"These Heart Lighters are proof enough that they exist. My dearest fairies...you must go to Earth to find humans whose hearts resonate with these Heart Lighters...the Pretty Cures. They are the only ones who can stop Zenjin's malice and return the Energia back to its original state...and save what's left of Rozaniela," Queen Malgozata ordered. Although she was weak, her voice still had enough gravity that in a way told the fairies that she was serious.

"But we don't even know how we're supposed to tell if they're the Pretty Cures or not! We've never been able to find out the actual requirements for being a Pretty Cure!" The orange one argued.

"It doesn't matter! Just go to Earth and find them! I don't care who it is, how old they are, how incapable they are, whatever! As long as their hearts resonate with these Heart Lighters...then they can help us. Go to Earth! Now!" Queen Malgorzata ordered, her voice going up an octave.

The Heart Lighters glowed in their respective colors and each one disappeared inside the clips on their ribbons.

"But we can't just leave you here!" The pale purple fairy cried, her voice consumed by worry.

The pink fairy let out a high pitched scream. "Oh no! Look!"

It was a sight that all five of them dreaded. The jewel was glowing in an ominous black light. It floated toward an ecstatic Zenjin and went inside his chest. As soon as it disappeared, he cried out in pain. He felt as though his entire body was on fire, mirroring the house and trees he had destroyed just minutes earlier. However, he soon grew accustomed to the burning sensation, cackling with delight.

"Yes...the power is inside me...my body's on fire...wow! This is great! I can do whatever I want from now on! YES!" Zenjin howled happily; he was experiencing the ultimate high.

The orange fairy balled her little fists and grinded her teeth. "How dare you...WE ALL RAISED YOU!" With a valiant battle cry, she flitted after the boy, her sky blue eyes blazing with anger.

"Sunbeam! NO!" The pale purple fairy tried to grab her, but Sunbeam was too fast.

Much to Sunbeam's dismay, she couldn't get close enough, as Zenjin fired a black beam of light at her, which she barely evaded. He didn't even look! He just continued smiling and laughing maniacally. Sunbeam, realizing that the power he successfully acquired from absorbing the Energia was too great for her to handle, went back to the injured Queen.

"His rampage on Rozaniela...it's just a test run," Malgorzata began with a grim tone of voice. "His real intention is to go to Earth. For what reason, I don't know. We don't know what's going on in his head, but that's what I fear the most. Please, my dear fairies. Sunbeam, Moonbeam, Starbeam, Lovebeam. Get to Earth before he does. Find the people whose hearts resonate with the Heart Lighters. They can stop him. I'm begging you…"

Silently but reluctantly, the fairies nodded and flew away to the sky, with the Heart Lighters tucked away in the bows around their necks. They were all unsure of what would happen. But the Queen trusted them. Why she trusted them of all creatures, they had no idea. Regardless, they couldn't let their Queen down.

It was complete their mission or die trying. They flew out of the stratosphere, but not before Zenjin glanced up, spotting them in the distance.

"Pheh! Those blasted fairies! They better not interfere with my quest!" Zenjin roared as he himself flew up to sky, bloodlust consuming every fiber of his soul, flowing through all of his veins.

At 6:00 AM, most people would be asleep. However, in the Tasogare house, two kids in particular weren't, one of them a girl of twelve, with very short raven black hair and eyes as green and dark as a forest. If one didn't know better, they would assume she was a boy. Alert and wide awake, the morning sky welcoming the first morning blue, the girl turned on her bedroom light, sat on her floor, using a purple colored pencil to finish coloring in the cat ears of a cat girl superhero she created.

Her door was wide open, so she could hear a boy of fifteen yawning right out loud, but she was too busy drawing to really care. "Uuuugh...I can't believe they're making us wake up this early..." The blue eyed boy mused, his chocolate brown hair frizzy and unbrushed. But when he saw the girl sitting in her room in her light blue snowflake pajamas drawing away contentedly, he found himself smiling warmly.

He walked over and sat on the floor with her. "You're up early. What's that, Riko?"

"Twilight Cat," Riko replied, still coloring Twilight Cat's ears.

"You're really good. I wish I was as good as you."

Suddenly, Riko looked up at him with a concerned look in her eyes. "Hikage. Do you really have to go to school this early every day?"

Hikage ruffled his sister's hair. "Yeah. It's stupid but it's gotta be done. I know for a fact that you're not looking forward to school, now are you?"

Riko looked down at her drawing. "You read me like a map."

"Of course! I'm your brother and that's my job!"

Riko clutched her purple colored pencil. "I don't wanna go to school. They'll hate me for sure," Riko murmured nervously.

"This is a brand new place, Riko. I'm sure you'll find some friends here," Hikage told her reassuringly. "If I can do it, I know you can. And if anyone picks on you, let me know and I'll give them a good spanking!"

Riko smiled dubiously. "Thanks."

Hikage got himself ready, fixed himself breakfast, and waited at the corner of the street for the school bus. A large yellow mass pulled up, and when it left, Hikage was no longer there. Riko found this to be a great opportunity to read one of her mangas and lose herself in the adventures of Princess Hinata.

As Riko was reading, a little girl of about seven came into her room with a pouty look on her face. She had straight black hair that went to her shoulders and green eyes She was wearing a long sleeved pink shirt, a white skirt, black shoes, and pink and red socks dotted with hearts. The girl had a Barbie doll in her hand and stomped over to Riko. "Hey!" The girl shouted.

No answer.

"Hey! Riko!" Again, no response.

The girl puffed her face out petulantly. "Are you being weird again?!"

Once again, nothing

'Ignore her, ignore her...' Riko told herself as she kept her eyes glued to her book. 'Just ignore her, like Hikage says. It'll make her get bored and leave me alone.'

Unfortunately, that outcome didn't happen. Instead, Rina took her Barbie doll and threw it right at Riko's head. "Owww!" Riko flinched when the Barbie's leg made contact with her cheek. She turned to the little girl with an angry glare. "Rina! What did you do that for?! Don't you know it's rude to throw stuff at people?!"

"It's your own fault for being weird and daydreaming again!" Rina whined like a spoiled brat.

"What's going on in here?" Soon, their surprised parents entered the room, having heard the commotion.

Riko was quick to point her finger at the culprit. "Rina threw one of her Barbies at me!"

The man crossed his arms and gave Rina a stern glare. "Is this true, Rina? How many times do we have to tell you? We don't hit people in this house!"

Rina indiscreetly pointed at Riko and blurted out, "She's being weird and stupid again! She's supposed to be the older sister!"

"It's okay if she only does it in the house. But that doesn't make it right for you to throw things at your big sister or call her names, young lady. Now I want you to apologize," The woman added.

"But Mom-"

"Apologize. Now."

She couldn't argue with her mother. Rina muttered, "Sorry…"

Riko said nothing. 'You're not sorry at all, you brat! You're just doing it because Mom told you to!' She fumed.

"That's better. Now go and get ready. Your first day of school starts in an hour," The father told them. Rina promptly left her room, and so did their parents, leaving Riko alone.

Riko quickly ran into her cheery little bedroom and changed into some clean clothes, today's choices being a short sleeved light purple shirt, a sleeveless white hoodie with a chibi cartoon cat on it, comfy brown shorts, white socks dotted with pink stars, and black and white sneakers. With a bit of a dazed look on her face, she picked up her pink school bag, sat on her bed, and stuffed it with notebooks, textbooks, and a manga she planned to read inside.

"Arinao, would you mind taking the girls to school before work? I have some bills I have to pay," The mother asked her husband. Riko peeled a banana open and ate it.

"Sure, Saki. I don't mind at all," Arinao replied with a smile.

"Oh, thank you! I really appreciate this, Ari," Saki exclaimed happily as she wrapped her loving arms around her faithful husband's neck. Riko finished her banana, went into the fridge, and began eating some of her favorite vanilla cream yogurt. Upon readying her lunch, Riko returned to her drawing, adding some texture to Twilight Cat's shirt.

Riko loved drawing. It was practically her salvation. "I wonder if I should make her wear a scarf? Nah, it'd lower her speed," Riko mused to herself, wondering if something was missing.

All of a sudden, she felt something soft and furry brush against her arm. She looked to her left and found that it was one of her cats, a pretty tortoise shell cat with brown and yellow fur, with hazel green eyes.

"Meow," The pretty little tortoise shell cat meowed.

"Hi Reese! You're always making me happy. Look! I'm drawing more Twilight Cat pictures! Do you think I should give her a sidekick?" Riko chirped upon seeing the cute kitten.

"Meow."

"Yeah, you're right. Twilight Cat needs to do more stuff herself. Thanks for the advice. Meow!" Riko replied playfully before stroking her head. "I do hope you're not getting into fights with Caroline again."

"Meow."

Once she finished doodling and playing with Reese, she put her sketchbook and a few colored pencils in her book bag and zipped it up tight. Her eyes fell to the fluffy orange cat ears and a fake cat tail with black stripes on them. She itched to put them on, turning herself into a cat, chasing mice, catching fish, and playing with yarn.

It was like they were calling out to her, saying, "Put us on! You know you want to! Don't you want to pretend to be Twilight Cat or a real cat or some other anime hero?" In the end she decided against it. She resisted the temptation and went back downstairs, where she found Arinao in the den watching the news.

"Currently, there are no new leads regarding orphanages closing unexpectedly in Russia, Romania, China, North Korea, Afghanistan, and other countries, or why children and babies from those orphanages are disappearing by the thousands, leaving them empty. We have also received eyewitness reports claiming the local homeless people are disappearing from the streets, as though they never existed. Investigators are still having a hard time finding credence to these claims, but we can't deny that these disappearances and foreclosures are very real, and running rampant all over. We only pray that those children and babies are found safe and sound," A female newscaster reported.

Arinao glanced up at Riko. "We're leaving, Riko. Are you ready?"

"Yes, Dad!" Riko grabbed her tan coat, purple lunch box, and her pink school bag and followed Arinao and Rina to their silver BMW.

As they made the short jaunt to school, Riko stared at the scenery passing by. She liked the amount of greenery surrounding them, and how lush the trees looked, like they were never tainted or contaminated. But she really didn't want to go where their car was heading.

"This'll be a big adjustment for you, Riko. But if you do your best and keep your chin up, everything will be just fine. It's a new school. You'll get what you really need here," Arinao explained kindly.

"I don't want to go to school," Riko muttered sadly, clinging to her school bag, her previous happiness dissipating into thin air.

"How come?"

"They'll hate me. They always do, no matter where I go."

"You're exaggerating. Not everyone is the same as the kids at your old schools. This is a brand new place. I know it'll be hard, but you'll make it through. You always have considering everything you went through. But try to keep your play acting and daydreaming to a minimum this year, okay?" Arinao replied, hoping to reassure her, but he wondered if he sounded condescending instead.

"They're gonna hate her anyway, Dad. Nobody wants to be friends with Riko. She's not normal, unlike me!" Rina proclaimed with a smug smile and arms crossed like she was the boss of a big-shot company.

"Hey!" Riko yelled, surprised that her younger sister would make such a ridiculous claim. But Rina's venomous words hit her right in the heart, worsening her anxiety.

"Rina! Watch your mouth! Would you like it if someone told you nobody wanted to be friends with you? Not another word out of you," Arinao scolded.

"Fine…but you know its true…" Rina muttered under her breath.

"Do you have your schedule?"

"Yeah. It's in here," Riko pointed to her backpack.

"Oh! Here it is! Hikaribashi Middle School!" The car pulled in front of a large, pale grey brick building.

Riko had to admit, it looked a lot nicer than her previous school, which was rather unkempt and nitty gritty. This one looked very clean. The grass around it looked nice despite being overrun with kids her own age. There was a blacktop next to it, where most of the children played. That was also something her old school had. However, it was cloudy and dreary out, which made the school itself look a little stiff and uninteresting.

"You have a good day, Riko. Remember to keep your chin up and do the best you can."

"Thanks," Riko flashed a forced smile.

"Don't act weird!" Rina piped in.

"Ri-NA…" Arinao warned before Riko closed the door to the back seat and hopped onto the grass. With that, Arinao drove away so he could drop Rina off at her own school.

At first, Riko didn't want to go any further. Too many kids were playing, talking, laughing, and already in their own groups of friends. She wasn't sure what to do. Should she talk to someone? But who could she talk to? She didn't know anybody, and if she did talk to anyone, would they like her or hate her? Riko assumed they'd hate her right off because that's what she'd been used to all her life. She really didn't expect to make any friends, only enemies, just for existing. She already wished she was back at home, drawing more pictures of Twilight Cat and cuddling with her pets.

Riiiiiiiiiing

The bell rang, its sound echoing in the air, signaling for everyone to go in. Riko yanked out her schedule, and tried to find her assigned homeroom, F9. Luckily for her, it wasn't hard to find. Shyly, she opened the door, finding a classroom full of children and one female teacher, all of whom immediately turned their heads to stare at her with confusion and curiosity. She was frozen in place by their stares. Her face became contorted with blatant anguish and trepidation.

'Oh no. They're all staring at me like I'm some kind of zombie who's out to eat them. I wanna go home and work on more Twilight Cat drawings...' Riko thought anxiously. She knew she couldn't leave even if she wanted to.

"Everyone? May I have your attention please? As you all know, we have a new friend joining us today. Want to come up to the front and say hello?" The female teacher explained kindly, then asked for Riko to come to the front.

'No! That's the last thing I want! Just my being here is embarrassing enough as it is! But the front of the class?! Absolutely not!' Riko screamed in her head. She wanted to run away as far as she could. But she knew she'd get in trouble if she ran out of the school.

She turned around and faced the class. All eyes were on her. Her throat closed up. She couldn't spit anything out, not even a hello. The teacher seemed to get the message and decided to take the initiative by writing her name on the board with a piece of chalk. Tasogare Riko, it read.

"Everyone, I'd like you all to meet Tasogare Riko-chan. She and her family moved here from Yokosuka a month ago. She's new here, so help her out when you can, okay?" The teacher elaborated, but the kids didn't seem to care all that much. "Care to say a few words, Tasogare-san?"

She couldn't say anything. All she could do was allow her brain to be consumed by a torrent of worries, anxieties, questions. Would these kids be different from the ones from her last school, or would they be exactly the same? She assumed the latter was more likely. Would they assume she's stupid just by looking at her? She heard someone say she doesn't look too smart. Would they pick on her? Would they like her? Riko really wanted to go home. Now. Nothing was coming out of her mouth. The silence was too tense.

"Hey weirdo! What's wrong? Cat got your tongue? Or are you too stupid to talk?" One girl with short, wavy orange hair, gold eyes, and a rather large, unsightly, and disgusting scar on her left cheek proclaimed in a venomous tone.

"Can it, Asagi!" A red haired, bespectacled boy in a wheelchair yelled.

"You shut up, Four Eyes!" The girl, Asagi, snapped back.

"Asagi Marina! One more word out of you and you're getting a special one-way ticket to the principal's office, so either behave or be on your way!" The teacher scolded. Just what she needed, the class problem child making a scene right on the first day of school. She then turned to Riko and said in a soft voice, "Feel free to take your seat now. There's one right next to Mitomo-kun."

Quickly, Riko ran to the empty seat and sat down. Strangely enough, she looked over and realized she was sitting right next to the red haired boy in the wheelchair who yelled at Marina. He was probably the one the teacher said is Mitomo. She secretly thought that he looked nice in his dark grey unzipped hoodie, blue jeans, and green shirt. She was quite surprised by this turn of events. As soon as he saw her looking at her, he looked back and smiled, which made Riko turn her head away and stare down at her schedule.

"Don't worry about Asagi. She picks on everybody, me included. Don't feel like you have to suck up to her," The boy whispered in a low voice.

Riko nodded in response, which seemed to be fine with him. She looked at her schedule to make sure everything on it was right.

Name: Tasogare Riko

Schedule:

1st Period: Homeroom. Teacher: Omori Seiko (F9)

2nd Period: Art. Teacher: Sasamoto Amika (F2)

3rd Period: Gym. Teacher: Hanazawa Tsutomu (Auditorium)

4th Period: Math. Teacher: Ikari Isao (F9)

5th Period: Lunch. (Auditorium)

6th Period: Recess

7th Period: Science. Teacher: Amane Gendo (F5)

8th Period: Health. Teacher: Tsutsumi Shinju (F9)

9th Period: English. Oginome Chisaki (F6)

As she made an attempt to memorize her day to come, she couldn't help but overhear some classmates talking. "Tch. Is Asagi ever gonna stop being a jerk?"

"No. She's a criminal's kid. They'll never stop being jerks."

"I wish she'd go to jail already. It's where she belongs."

"What's her deal?"

"Don't you know? Her dad was some big shot politician and he just got thrown in jail. Something about stealing money and making people poor as dirt."

Riko looked toward Marina to find her face shining. It looked a little wet, like she's crying. Riko put a hand to her mouth. 'Is she crying?' Then it hit her. She had just heard some gossip about her. Maybe she's sick and tired of people talking bad about her? Riko figured that was the best answer. Marina wiped her swollen eyes with her arm, keeping her sullen expression.

'I wish they'd just stop and get over it,' Marina thought as she buried her face in her arms, wishing she was somewhere else.

Once homeroom was over, Riko was able to get to all of her classes on time. It helped that there was more time in between classes and the fact that they were all on the same floor. This eased her anxiety somewhat. She breezed through her first classes just fine, though math was going to take some getting used to. Riko was never one to excel at math. But the teacher seemed nice, much nicer than her other teachers back at her old school. He'd probably help her out if she asked nicely. She didn't make any friends during this period of time. She didn't approach anyone, as she was too shy and frightened to do so, but nobody approached her either, not that she cared.

Then lunch came around. Unlike her old school, where everyone sat at long, large, rectangular tables that folded up, all the tables in the lunch room were round, and scattered all over the auditorium, which was the lunch room in this school. But all of them were full save for one, and even that one was hard to get to because it was so crowded. But she got there and ate her lunch quietly and without trouble.

'I don't mind sitting alone. Here, nobody will bother me or throw food at me or yell and scream and try to touch me or knock me over or rub against me or get food all over my books. At least this is great! Still a little loud, though,' Riko thought happily, smiling to herself as she munched on her peanut butter sandwich. It helped that she was away from the other kids, who weren't even paying attention to her, so she can enjoy her alone time. Admittedly, she did have to cover her ears a little because of kids being rowdy, tables and chairs making screechy noises against the floor while being moved, the scratchy PA system, and kids banging on the tables with their arms. But other than that, everything else was fine.

For the most part, school went by without incident until recess came around.

The blacktop was a lot bigger than her previous school, and unlike that one, there were little tables and benches she could sit on. As usual, children were running around, talking to each other, playing four square, and other things. She was about to sit down and read until she saw the red haired boy in the wheelchair sitting a little further away.

But as soon as she saw him, she saw Marina angrily stomping toward him. Riko could tell she had a bone to pick with him. What was she going to do? Should she interfere? Or should she not, out of fear that Marina might beat her up? She certainly looked strong, like she could take down a gang of middle school boys singlehanded. Riko froze in place and watched as Marina approached the boy, yanked him off of his wheelchair, causing him to fall to the ground, and before he could get up, she smacked the glasses off of his face, sending them bouncing on the concrete. Riko's hands flew to her mouth in horror. The boy, however, wasn't deterred.

Despite losing his eyesight and means of getting around, the boy was not deterred. "What'd you do that for?!" Marina showed no sympathy.

"This is what you get for not knowing your place and getting in my business, Four Eyes!" Marina jeered, looking like she was about to step on him. "You need to know better than to stick your nose and broken legs in places where you're not wanted, idiot!"

"You're an even bigger idiot!" The boy snapped back with gusto.

'What?!' Riko was appalled. Her fear suddenly morphed straight into anger. How could this girl be so cruel? Worst of all, nobody was helping him! She was not going to let this girl get away with her cruel deed.

No she wouldn't.

Without any trepidation at all, Riko stomped over to Marina and gave her a good shove. It wasn't strong enough to knock her down, but it was just enough to get her attention. "Leave him alone! You shouldn't be picking on people like that! You could have hurt him!"

Marina was surprised, but not deterred. "What's it to you, newbie?!"

Riko didn't know what that meant, but she still kept going. "I saw you push him and say those mean things! Don't you know it's rude and mean to pick on people?!"

Soon, she herself was knocked over. She fell on her rear end, which really did hurt, but Marina didn't care one bit, not that Riko expected her to. "Mind your own business, you freak!"

"Asagi!" The voice of a male teacher caught their attention, causing all of the kids to turn around. The man grabbed Marina's arm tightly and kept a firm grip on her. She was anything but happy.

"Let me go!"

"I've had enough of you! It's the first day of school and you're already causing trouble! You are coming with me to the principal's office, young lady!" The man dragged Marina from the blacktop, back into the school building.

After that, Riko saw the boy's glasses, picked them up, and held them up to his face. "Here you go."

"Thanks," The boy said as he gently took them and put them on. Riko rolled his heavy electric wheelchair close to him so he could get back in.

"Do you need help getting in?" Riko asked, concerned.

"Nah, I'm good. See?" The boy said as he pulled himself back into his wheelchair. "Thanks for standing up to her. I didn't think you had it in you."

She couldn't help but agree with him. "You're welcome. I didn't like how she was treating you, so...I figured I might as well actually do something right for once," Riko muttered shyly. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"Nah, I'm good. Not a scratch on me," The boy replied. Riko had a hard time believing that, but she didn't say it out of fear that she might hurt his feelings.

"Glad you're okay. I'm gonna go-" Riko wanted to walk away until the boy suddenly let out a surprised sounding yelp, which made her turn around in both fright and confusion. "What's...wrong? Did I do something bad?"

"No. It's...that book...is that Hinata Sun Child?!" The boy's green eyes were wide and bright, though big with shock.

Now it was Riko's turn to be surprised. Someone actually knew about the book she had tucked underneath her arm? She looked at the book, then at the boy a few times before it finally dawned on her. "You...you actually know about this?"

"Of course! I freaking love that manga!" The boy cheered with a big, bright smile making his light skinned face quite radiant.

Riko could feel a big smile being painted on her own face, something that was pretty rare when it came to the subject of making friends. Someone actually knew about the manga she's reading! Someone who acted and sounded like he actually knows his stuff! Riko could feel joy bursting from within her heart. This could be it.

"...have you read up to the part where she realizes that all the hardship she went through was because of her annoying sister and where she goes to the tower to confront her?"

"Yeah! And that scene where she calls her out on everything and tells her to finally acknowledge her for who she is and not treat her like someone she has to feel sorry for?! God, I love that scene!"

"What about the part where her friend saves her from the corrupted hippocampi?!"

"I'm so sad with how that turned out! I can't believe they killed off Rochelle! She was my favorite! But I love that hippocampi friend she made in that part! Liberty I think was her name?"

They happily chatted about it for just a few minutes before they realized they were rambling. But it was the good kind of rambling, and once they stopped, they burst into laughter. It felt so good to Riko; she finally found someone she could really call a friend. She had never laughed so much before, and it felt like she could get rid of the sadness she had before. She felt as if a weight had been lifted off of her heart.

Riko stopped laughing. "I...I've never met anyone who even knew Hinata Sun Child even existed…"

"Me neither. You're pretty cool, y'know that? Oh! I completely forgot! Hi! My name's Mitomo Kyoya," Kyoya told her, holding out his hand. As soon as she saw him outstretch his hand, she fell quiet, something Kyoya noticed. He drew his hand back. "What's wrong? Not big on handshakes? Are you a germaphobe?"

"No, it's just...I just kinda don't like shaking hands. I'm not trying to be mean."

"It's okay. I totally get it. You are new here after all. Riko, right?" Kyoya replied. 'I wonder why she's looking away from me? Maybe she's still kinda shy?' He secretly thought. He did notice that she didn't look directly at him.

"Yeah, I am. By the way...thanks for earlier. Y'know, for yelling at Asagi when she was making fun of me. Nobody's ever stood up for me before."

"Don't mention it. Like I said, Asagi hates everybody, even me. Nobody likes her either, so I can totally relate." The two children wanted to talk more, but the bell rang, much to their dismay.

"Awww," Riko whined.

"Yeah. Bummer. But it's okay! We can talk more next time!"

She couldn't believe her luck. Finally, she had found a potential friend! Someone who was actually nice! Someone who knew about things she liked and didn't make a big deal out of them! The celebratory butterflies in her stomach exploded into a joyful parade.

Riko was happy through the rest of the day. Finally, the bell rang, and school let out. Riko found her mother's car in front and went right in. "Ri-chan, the school told me what happened. Are you alright?" Saki asked with worry peppering her voice.

"I'm fine. I'm used to it."

"Used to it?!" Saki yelped with shock as she drove out of the parking lot and onto the road.

"Asagi-san," The principal began. "You can't keep harassing other students like this. It's not good for them or for you. Look, I know kids haven't been nice to you, but harassing them isn't going to make them change their outlook on you."

"It's not like anything else works!" Marina argued, her brows furrowing. "I've tried being nice before! It doesn't work!"

"Children can be stubborn, Asagi. We try our best to make a safe learning environment for everyone, but there will always be problems that spring up, and I don't want you to get in any more trouble than you already have," The principal told her. "I'll hold an assembly sometime soon. But please, Asagi. I don't want to see you picking on other students again. If you keep this up, I may have to take extreme measures, and believe me, I don't want to go there."

Marina didn't believe him, but she nodded before leaving the office.

Now that school was over, Riko was happy to finally be back home. But she did notice that they weren't picking Rina up. Saki told her that that was Arinao's job. But when they came inside, they were treated to an odd sight.

Sitting at the dining room table, chatting happily, were Arinao, Hikage, and a girl they had never seen before. The girl looked to be about Hikage's age, and Riko couldn't help but think she looked quite pretty. She had medium length, raven black hair tied into a long braid with a blue ribbon at the end, and shimmering blue eyes, just like Hikage's. She was wearing a white and dark blue striped shirt under an unbuttoned, short sleeved, pale blue shirt with rolled up sleeves, a pair of crimson red checked pants, and short, light brown boots. Dangling from her ears are large silver hoop earrings.

Both Riko and Saki weren't quite sure what was going on. Upon hearing their voices, Hikage flashed a smile. "Hi Mom! Hi Riko!"

Saki couldn't believe her son brought someone home with him alreadt. "Hikage...who's this girl?"

"This is my new friend, Minamigawa Hotaru! She totally saved my butt at school earlier today. I lost my school ID and schedule, but she found them and gave them back to me. I found out we share a bunch of classes together, so I thought I'd thank her by inviting her here to stay for dinner. Sorry it's so sudden," Hikage explained. "Hey Hotaru-chan, that's my mom Saki and my little sister Riko. They're super duper nice."

"It's not THAT big a deal, Hikage," Hotaru said in a humbled voice, her face turning a little red in response to Hikage's boasting. She then turned to them, smiled sweetly, and bowed a little. "It's nice to meet you both. I'm sorry to barge in like this. I won't stay long, I promise."

"Do your parents know you're here?"

"Yes. I told them over the phone," Hotaru replied kindly.

"Jeez, it's the first day and already my son has a girlfriend! And quite a pretty one too!" Arinao exclaimed jokingly, with a mischievous smirk.

"She's not my girlfriend, Dad! If she was, we'd be in our room making out by now!" Hikage snapped back, which made everybody laugh.

Riko wasn't sure if she would be welcome in something like this, so she tried to go to her room and draw, like she always does. However, she didn't get to do so, as she saw Arinao approach her with a smile on his face.

"Want to go for a walk?" Arinao asked.

Unlike other things that stopped her from drawing, walking with her dad was actually something she enjoyed. Plus, she wanted to see the neighborhood a little more, with all the pretty, multicolored flowers decking nearly every porch she saw. There were people walking their dogs, and little squirrels and rabbits hopping around...Riko smiled. "Sure! I'd love to!"

On the way home after school, Marina fought the urge to use shortcuts to hide from the angry gazes she always got from her classmates. There was always at least someone to whisper behind her back, glare at her, and tell her she was just like her father. But hiding from those people would help her feel better, since there was a conflict in her heart that wouldn't be resolved without a confrontation with those people.

So she walked past all those people sneering at her, looking down on her and not ever giving her a chance. She wouldn't fall into their traps. Not again. She kept a scowl on her face the whole time, holding her head high. Because they wouldn't change their opinion, Marina would make sure they never forgot that opinion: she would be just like her father. It wasn't like there was anything she could do to convince them otherwise.

Soon, Marina arrived at a blue and white house, with Asagi written on a flat piece of wood on the front door. She was reluctant to go in. The principal might have called her mother already, and she really didn't want to fess up. But this was her home, the only place where she could truly be herself, hide from the hatred and false assumptions of others. This was the only home, the only piece of warmth and happiness, that she truly knew after all. Quietly, she unlocked the door with her brass house key and opened the door.

"Hey Mom. I'm back," Marina murmured in a low voice, but stopped when she saw her mother unconscious on the couch, still in her gray and white office uniform. A high heel had fallen off of her left foot. The bags under her eyes darkened her face, and a wrinkle was creased into her brow. Marina smiled warmly. 'She must have had a rough day,' Marina thought before taking a red blanket and gently putting it over her mother.

After that, she quietly walked to the kitchen. There were quite a few dishes and coffee mugs sitting in the sink. Marina figured she could wash them, and did just that. Her mother must have had enough work to do it. She deserved a break. Once Marina finished washing the cups, she heard a yawn.

Marina turned around to find her mother with a red blanket draped around her shoulders. Her mother's caramel hair cascaded down to her upper back, and her chocolate brown eyes were still heavy with sleep, but she seemed alert enough.. "Is that you, Mari? Welcome home."

Marina continued to wash more dishes. "Hey, Mom."

"Sorry about that. I must have slept for an hour. Silly me," Her mother said, brushing her hand through her messy hair. "I can do those if you want."

Marina put a coffee mug on the rack. "That's okay. You need some rest. You probably had a rough day."

Her mother flashed a sweet smile at her, happy that Marina wanted to help her out. But her smile then morphed into a solemn expression. "Mari. There's...something we need to talk about."

Marina flinched, dropping her sponge. 'Oh no. She found out, didn't she? I knew it!' Marina thought fearfully, but took great pains to hide her fear. "There's nothing to talk about," She said grimly.

"Please don't lie to me, Marina," Marina knew that look all too well, and she didn't dare face her. "The school called earlier today. They said you were picking on a new transfer student and knocked a boy off his wheelchair. I thought you were better than this."

She hated being reminded of what she had done. "They deserved it! So what?!"

Her mother firmly pressed her hands onto her daughter's shoulders. "Marina! This HAS to stop! I know it's been hard for you, and I know how much you want friends. I get that, and I don't fault you for everything the other kids have been saying about you. But picking on people and bullying them isn't going to make things better!"

"It's not like anything else works, Mom! I'll always be that kid who's OBVIOUSLY going to go to jail just like her dad!" Marina shouted before storming out of the house.

"Marina!" Her mother wanted to go after her, but she then remembered that previous attempts have never worked. They usually ended in even more arguments than needed. She figured it'd be best to leave her alone to sort her feelings out.

Even bullies have problems in their lives. She flew out of the house, slammed the door behind her and took off on the sidewalk. Her breaths grew short, and she stopped, falling to her knees. Marina sobbed into her hoodie's red sleeves, salty tears burning her cheeks.

"What did I do...to deserve this?" Marina whimpered through her tears.

"Aren't you concerned about Hikage and that girl?" Riko asked as she and Arinao went out on their walk. Yumiko their Australian Shepherd puppy, accompanied them.

"Do you mean Hotaru? Hikage's fine. Saki's with them, and Hotaru seems like a very nice girl," Arinao answered. "By the way, you never did tell me how your day went."

Riko let out a sigh. "Can you please stop asking me that?"

"But it's the first day."

"No. You always ask me that. You always have. My answer's always the same: I don't like school. You know how much I hate school with the force of a thousand bob cats," Riko told him rather bluntly. "Besides, you heard what happened today from Mom, didn't you? It's not like anything's going to change, even if we move."

"We all have our bad days. But didn't anything good happen? You always seem to focus so much on the negative and not on the positive. Surely something good happened," Arinao told her, trying to sound optimistic and reassuring.

Riko really couldn't find anything good about her day, other than the table she had all to herself at lunch. But nobody wanted to hear about something as silly and trivial as that. Everybody always wants the juicy stuff, the impossible stuff. But, then again…

"There is one thing…" Riko muttered softly, with a slight smile creeping on her face.

"Really? What is it-Ahh! Yumiko! Stop dragging!" Arinao felt his arm get pulled rather forcefully. Yumiko saw something and was desperately trying to run after it. But the collar rubbed against her neck and Arinao put his feet firmly in place to try and stop her, pulling her back. They stopped so Arinao could get a hold of the hyper little pup.

"There's this boy...in some of my classes. He yelled at Asagi when she picked on me. We found each other at recess, and...he knows about Hinata Sun Child. We talked, and...I don't know for sure yet, but...I think-"

"You made a new friend? That's so wonderful, sweetie! I'm so proud of you!" Arinao exclaimed happily, trapping Riko in a tight embrace once she told him, with joy bursting from his heart like he was the one who made the new friend. Riko couldn't help but find her father's loving arms to be a bit too strong, and gently pushed on his shirt in a failed attempt to pry herself out of his embrace.

"Can't...breathe…" Riko muttered, which prompted Arinao to release her. "I don't know if we're friends or not. All we did was talk. But...he was nice."

"Sorry, sweetie. It's just I know how desperate you've been to have friends and how hard it is for you to make them. I'm so proud of you! If you keep this up, you might be surprised to have finally made your first friend-guh! Yumiko! Wait!" Arinao explained until Yumiko decided to drag him away from her because she saw something she really wanted to sniff. Riko couldn't help but laugh. But she had to admit, he was right. If she played her cards right, Kyoya could be her first ever friend.

Or could he?

After chasing Yumiko and Arinao, Riko stopped when her hypersensitive ears picked up on a sound she didn't think she'd hear.

"Mew…"

"A cat?" Riko asked herself. She turned the corner and found herself speechless.

Standing in front of a bench was Marina, looking down at a box. As Riko silently looked closer, she saw Marina pick something up from it. A kitten. A very small, weak looking, but clearly alive kitten. An adorable little bundle of grey fur with darker grey stripes, frisky little whiskers, snow white paws like socks, and stunning blue eyes.

Marina was actually being kind to the little grey kitten. It'd be another story if it was another person, someone who was actually kind and nice by nature. But this was Marina, the loud girl who picked on her, knocked Kyoya out of his wheelchair, and called him Four Eyes. How could a bully who picked on people possibly be kind to animals? This was quite an alien concept to Riko, whose black and white views already dominated her very being.

"What's up, Riko?" Arinao caught up with Riko and got Yumiko under control, but he too looked toward Marina once he saw Riko staring at her rather intently. "Who is she? Do you know her? It's not polite to stare."

"That's...Asagi. The girl who picked on me." Arinao's eyes widened with surprise.

"Poor thing. I'll bet some idiot abandoned you. I'd love to take care of you, but I don't think Mom will let me. I don't blame her, considering I've been a jerk to everyone I know for the past two years," Marina told the kitten in a soft, almost kind but sad voice. Riko never heard her use that tone of voice before. In school she yelled louder than everyone else and spoke rudely to everyone, even the teachers.

Arinao was lost in thought. This was the girl who picked on his daughter? He almost couldn't believe it at first. He almost thought Riko was lying about this girl being Asagi. But he knew that Riko never lied about anything unless it was about trivial and petty stuff, like sneaking cookies from the cupboards.

"I wish I was a cat. You cats have it easy. All you do is meow, eat, run around, play with toys, chase mice, and sleep," Marina told the kitten softly, but with complete hopelessness in her quivering voice. Riko took in an inaudible breath when she saw some tears stream down Marina's cheeks, shining in the sun's light. The orange haired girl's shoulders shook a few times as she made sniveling sounds.

Riko found her heart going out to the orange haired girl. Arinao felt the same way. They couldn't help but wonder if something was bothering her, causing her to cry like this. She has to have some kind of reason. But this did tell Riko one thing: Marina wasn't all bad. If she was, she wouldn't have been so nice to that kitten.

Yumiko happened to see a squirrel scuttling across the street, and yipped a few times. "Yumiko! Shh!" Arinao bent down to Yumiko's level and cupped his hand over her snout to keep her from barking again. Unfortunately, Yumiko's barking already caught Marina's attention, and her gold eyes already fixated on Riko. She was frozen in place. Marina wanted to run. The kid she just picked on was now watching her play with a kitten, who, oddly enough, wasn't bothered by Yumiko's barking.

Marina's face turned red and she looked away, like she had been caught doing something bad."...You...you didn't see or hear anything!"

"Do you like kittens?" Riko managed to blurt out. This calmed Marina down a little.

Marina looked away sheepishly. "Yeah. So what?"

"I like kittens too. They're nice. I have two cats at home. Their names are Reese and Caroline."

"How long?"

"Huh?"

"How long were you standing there?"

"A couple minutes, I think."

"You heard everything, didn't you?"

"Kinda. We didn't mean to."

"Is your name Asagi Marina?" Arinao interjected.

"You her dad? Yeah, that's me. I picked on your kid. Just punish me and get it over with. It's not like I have anything to lose," Marina confessed, mentally preparing herself for yet another scolding.

Riko said nothing. She didn't want to make a scene.

"No. I won't yell at you or punish you. I'm sure your mother has done that already. That's what good parents do. They discipline their children and teach them right or wrong. But I don't think you're a bad person. That kitten clearly likes you, and animals have a very strong sense that tells them which people are good or bad. If that kitten likes you, then you can't be a bad person. Don't think I'm condoning what you've done to my daughter. All I want to know is...why do you pick on people?" Arinao told her in a calm voice.

Silence thickened the atmosphere except for the kitten's mewing and an occasional loud bark from Yumiko. Marina confessed with a sad, hopeless glint in her gold eyes.

"...I gave up long ago. Even if I'm nice, kids still hate me, all because they're convinced that I'm gonna be a criminal just because my dad's in jail. I figure if they treat me like a villain, then fine! Let me be a villain! It's not like I care anymore!" Marina started off soft at first, then screamed upon finishing. She took the kitten and ran away.

Arinao and Riko didn't even chase her. But Riko thought one thing: 'I don't think you'll be like him.'

"He's gaining on us!" The light blue fairy yelled as she and her three sisters were flying over the Earth's atmosphere as fast as they possibly could. Zenjin continually shot black rays of energy at them like he was playing a game.

The fairies successfully managed to evade them all, being as small and agile as they are. But they knew they couldn't do this forever. They'd run out of energy soon. Finally, they managed to enter the Earth's atmosphere, which wasn't as hard as they expected.

"We have to stop him somehow!" The pale purple fairy exclaimed.

"But he's too powerful, Moonbeam! What are we supposed to do?!" The pink one whined.

"We have to do something! Come on, girls! Let's do it!" Sunbeam yelled.

"Die, you vermin!" Zenjin yelled as he saw the fairies stop in their tracks. This was the perfect opportunity to kill them once and for all. He fired to black rays of energy at them, but because they were so big, he couldn't see whether he successfully killed them or not.

He let his guard down right then and there.

Without warning, he was surrounded by a golden bubble of light. He tried to fly further, but he found himself ramming against a wall. He looked around to discover that he was trapped in a yellow sphere, with the four fairies surrounding it from the outside on all sides. They trapped him in a sphere-like barrier, keeping him from getting out.

"We're not letting you go to Earth, Zenjin!" The pale blue fairy shouted.

"Nobody's ever escaped our barrier, so don't even think you can even attempt to break free!" Moonbeam backed the blue fairy's claim.

"Don't let up, girls! One wrong move and the barrier will break!" Sunbeam told them.

For just a moment, Zenjin was silent and immobile, but still very much awake. However, as they tried to move the barrier, Zenjin himself was consumed by an ominous black light. Suddenly...BOOM! A black, fiery explosion consumed that part of the atmosphere. Shards of golden yellow glass fell far down into the Earth. The four fairies descended to the Earth like fallen angels, injured and unconscious. So did Zenjin.

"Ugh! I can't believe I told them!" Marina exclaimed as she found herself running into a little clearing in the woods with the kitten safely squirming in her hands.

Of all the people she had to run into, it just had to be the new girl she picked on earlier. But once she calmed down and caught her breath, she could feel something warm and unfamiliar embracing her broken heart, and it wasn't the furry little kitten nuzzling against her chest.

A tender glint appeared in her eyes as she watched the kitten squirm in her hands. "That's a first. They were actually nice to me," Marina whispered to herself.

"Meow!" The kitten's loud mewing pulled Marina out of her trance, and she couldn't help but smile as the kitten rubbed itself against her like it was happy to see her. 'Wow. This is the first time anyone's ever been happy to see me. Yeah, it's a cat, but...it's better than nothing, right?' Marina thought. She hoisted the kitten in the air.

A warm smile lit her face up. "You're a cute little thing, y'know that? Oh. You're a girl. I dunno if I'm allowed to keep you or not, but if I could adopt you, I'd name you Fern, like the girl in Charlotte's Web."

"Mew!" The kitten meowed happily, like it took a liking to the name Fern.

The trees rustled loudly right then and there. For a brief moment, Marina assumed some animals were hopping around in the trees. But a loud thud made Marina and the kitten jump a few steps back in shock because of how unusually loud it was. But Marina stiffened once she saw exactly what made the thud sound: a boy lying right in front of her, collapsed on the grass. He didn't seem to be unconscious, as he was grunting and moaning a little.

"Oww…" The boy hissed.

'Okay...who's this kid? Why is his hair white? Why does he have a fancy crown thing on his head? And what's with the weird get-up? Is he cosplaying or something?' Marina thought as she clung to the kitten protectively. She didn't want to take any chances.

The boy got back on his feet, wiped some leaves off of his silvery hair and shirt, and looked around aimlessly, with a curious yet malicious glint in his eyes. Marina was unsure if she should say something or not. But it didn't matter, because without warning he turned around and noticed her.

"Umm...you okay?" Marina choked out.

"Who are you supposed to be?" The silver haired teenager sneered. "Your heart tells me you are suffering."

"Wait...what?"

"Hmph!" Then, out of nowhere, a purple orb of energy surrounded his left hand. He swung his hand at her, and the energy ball hit Marina, sending her flying out of the woods, hitting a part of a house. Marina clung to the kitten with dear life, hoping it wouldn't get hurt. Thankfully, the kitten was safe in her arms. But then something strange happened. Something popped out of Marina's body. It was a strange object that looked like a mirror with a golden rim surrounding it appeared before the boy. The middle part of the object, which should be glass, was a mass of swirling colors. As soon as Marina opened her eyes, she saw the object in front of her.

"Okay...what the freak is this thing?! And who are you?!" Marina yelped frightfully as the boy walked in front of her, his eyes fixated on the floating mirror. The kitten popped out of her arms and ran into a little bush to hide.

"Huh. Is this one of those Soul Portals I've heard so much about? Might as well check and see," The boy said to himself as he loomed in closer to Marina.

"Don't come near me, you crook!" In self-defense, she pushed the Soul Portal away and managed to punch the boy in the face so hard that he coughed up some blood. Marina got up and tried to make her escape. However, the Soul Portal was following her like a baby duckling. How was this even possible?

But the boy was not happy with this development. "You're gonna pay for that, you trash!" He roared, his eyes glowing bloody red. Out of nowhere, a red wall appeared right behind Marina, and yellow ropes wrapped around both her wrists and ankles, pulling her to the wall and keeping her there, with the Soul Portal in front. The silver haired boy caught up to Marina as she struggled to break free to no avail.

"Let me go, you idiot!" Marina pleaded as she continued to struggle against the restraints the closer the boy walked.

"I figure if they treat me like a villain, then fine! Let me be a villain! It's not like I care anymore!" Marina's words continued to echo in Riko's mind as she sat in her new backyard with her sketchbooks. She was drawing a picture of a sad lime green kitten being laughed at by normal colored kittens, with angry smiles drawn on their catty faces. After a while, she stopped and thought about Marina and her confession in regards to why she picked on not just Riko, but anyone else who crossed her.

In her little heart, Riko really wanted to hate Marina, since she acted just like the kids who picked on her in her other school, but she couldn't. After hearing her confession, she just couldn't blame her for everything she'd done. Arinao and the teachers at school did a good enough job of calling her out on it.

She continued drawing to try and take her mind off of it. But it didn't work. Her motivation to draw any further seeped right out of her. She put down her lime green colored pencil and decided to put the rest of them away.

Riko decided to put her colored pencils away. "I guess everyone has people who hate them for stupid reasons."

Right then, the big dogwood tree in her backyard rustled quite loudly. Unlike Marina, however, Riko turned to look, alert and attentive. Two small objects fell out of the dogwood tree and onto the grass. One was orange, the other purple. Curious, Riko put her sketchbook down and very slowly walked over to see what they were.

At first, she thought they were stuffed animals. They were small and cute enough to resemble them. She very slowly approached one of them and decided to pick up the purple one. It looked like a cute little stuffed bunny rabbit with very soft, pale purple fur, long, straight ears with the rounded tips of them being light blue, a pale blue ribbon wrapped around its neck with a silver crescent moon on it, a silver crescent moon hair clip on its left ear, a cobalt blue crescent moon on its back, and a little tail with cobalt blue stripes and a silver crescent moon at the end of it. Both stuffed animals were so tiny that they could easily fit in each of her hands perfectly. 'What are these things, and what are they doing in my backyard?' Riko thought to herself. Then she noticed that there was quite a lot of fresh, red scratches on it.

Stuffed animals weren't supposed to have blood in them. Only the white stuffing.

Then, out of nowhere, the stuffed animal moved! It wiggled around a bit and opened its sterling silver eyes! Riko was trapped in an iceberg of confusion and shock, unable to move.

"What the…?" The little purple rabbit murmured in a sweet, soft voice like fur on a newborn kitten. Then it suddenly screamed, "Oh no!"

Riko, perturbed by the living stuffed animal's shouting, let go of it and covered her ears in fright. The pale purple rabbit looked around frantically as though it was looking for something. "Starbeam?! Lovebeam?! Where are you?!" It shouted desperately, like a mother whose child went missing. Then it looked down at the orange thing. "Sunbeam!"

'Starbeam? Lovebeam? Sunbeam? What are these things?! Stuffed animals can't talk! Wait! Are they some kind of cute animal fairies? Like in those anime and manga?' Riko thought fearfully as she watched the desperate purple rabbit fly over to the unconscious orange thing it referred to as Sunbeam.

The little thing was a brilliant shade of orange, like the autumn leaves, with soft, plump ears that made little curls at the ends, colored sunshine yellow. It had a bright yellow sun hair clip on its left ear, with a matching accessory on its red bow. It also had a yellow sun on its back, a little tail with yellow stripes, and a matching sun at the very end of it. The purple rabbit floated onto the grass and shook her friend tearfully and shouted, "Sunbeam! Wake up! Tell me you're alright! Please! Wake up!"

This couldn't be real. Stuffed animals don't talk. This wasn't possible. But they were moving and talking, so they had to be real. Still, Riko couldn't help but feel sorry for the little rabbit. It's voice sounded genuinely desperate, and her worry for her friend was quite obvious from the way she kept pleading for her to wake up. The fear and confusion from before quickly morphed into concern. She still covered her ears because of the rabbit's shouting, but she was sure they needed someone to help them out, whatever it was they needed help with.

"Umm...are you okay?" Riko asked like she would any other person. Much to her surprise, she actually caught the little rabbit's attention. She turned around to face Riko, then gasped with shock, like she had seen a ghost.

"A-A-A-A-A human! I've been exposed!" The rabbit wailed.

"Do-Don't be afraid, little one. I'm not gonna hurt you," Riko told her as gently as she could muster, afraid to scare the poor creature further, though it must be confessed the rabbit's scream actually scared Riko quite a bit. Thankfully, it worked. The purple rabbit calmed down somewhat, though Riko could tell she was still worried about her unconscious orange friend.

"You're not? You're...not afraid of me?" The purple rabbit asked sweetly.

"No. Why would I be? You're so cute! But you do look really hurt. What happened to you?"

"Urgh…" Before the purple rabbit could answer, a moaning sound made them both turn around to see the little orange pseudo-stuffed animal trying to get itself on its feet. It rubbed its head weakly. "Oww...I feel like I just got hit by a giant tree…"

Immediately, the purple rabbit burst into tears. "SUNBEAM!"

"Wah!" The purple rabbit leaped on the orange creature so hard that she yelped and fell to the ground again, but she didn't fall unconscious this time. At first, Sunbeam seemed quite dazed. After doing a little bit of crying, the purple rabbit calmed down and released Sunbeam.

"Moonbeam...what happened?" Sunbeam inquired, her eyes still heavy with sleep. Then a light bulb flashed in her head. "Oh no! Zenjin! What happened to him?! Where is he?! Did he escape?! Where's Starbeam and Lovebeam?!" Sunbeam tried to fly away and look for them, but a jolt of pain struck her in her lower back, rendering her unable to fly. "Irk!"

"Don't push yourself so hard, Sunbeam. You're really hurt," Moonbeam told her. Sunbeam was about to tell her otherwise until she spotted Riko.

"A human! We're exposed!" Sunbeam shouted with fear, causing Riko to cover her ears in fright again.

"It's okay, Sunbeam! She's not afraid of us!" Moonbeam told her reassuringly. Sunbeam didn't look like she believed her.

"Umm...if you don't mind me asking, what happened to you? You look like you need to go to the doctor," Riko asked shyly.

"Ow!" Sunbeam croaked as she tried to move again, but pain overtook her frail little body.

"You're worse than I thought," Moonbeam murmured sadly.

"I'll go get some band-aids and ice," Riko said, running into the house. She grabbed a small pack of band-aids, and yanked a pack of ice out from the freezer. Armed with supplies, she ran back outside to find Sunbeam and Moonbeam where she left them.

"I've never done this before, so sorry if it turns out kinda sloppy," Riko pressed some band-aids on both Sunbeam and Moonbeam's many smaller scratches. She tried to be extra careful to make sure she didn't wind up making their pain worse.

After that, she put the pack of ice on Sunbeam's back, wrapped the paper towel around it, and put some tape on it to keep it in place. Soon, both Sunbeam and Moonbeam became all patched up despite the slightly messy job Riko did. "It's better than nothing, right?" Riko said once she finished.

"Thanks so much, miss...uh…" Moonbeam glowed with happiness, but she became flummoxed as she didn't know her name.

"Riko. Just Riko,"

"Thanks, Riko-chan!"

"Uhhh...you make me look like I got hacked in a blender," Sunbeam piped in.

"Sunbeam! That's not something you say to someone who helped you! Say thank you!" Moonbeam scolded, appalled by Sunbeam's lack of gratitude.

"It's alright. Don't worry about it," Riko said, looking like she actually expected that kind of response from her.

"Sorry!" Sunbeam exclaimed. "Thanks...Riko, was it? Yeah, thanks."

"Anyway...what're-" Riko was about to ask them what happened until a bloodcurdling scream caused her to cover her ears.

"Someone's in trouble! It could be Zenjin's doing!" Moonbeam exclaimed.

"Riko-chan! Come with us to see what's up!" Sunbeam shouted.

"What?! But...I've never left the house on my own before! My parents said I should never go out on my own!"

"She's right, Sunbeam. We can't drag her into this. Zenjin's too powerful," Moonbeam clarified. More screams followed.

"But we can't just sit here! Come on, Moonbeam! We've gotta stop him!" Sunbeam yelped as she darted out of Riko's arms and flew into the trees, with a reluctant Moonbeam chasing her.

Riko was left all alone in the backyard with conflicting feelings. Should she go after them? The little fairies said that they were up against someone powerful named Zenjin, and from the way they talked about him, he sure didn't sound like a nice guy. But she had never gone out on her own before, and her parents gave her strict orders not to go out at all. The yards were always the furthest she ever went in her whole entire life.

But Moonbeam and Sunbeam were tiny little flying animals, and they were injured, Sunbeam being worse off. If this Zenjin guy was really as powerful as they said he was, then there would be no possible way for them to defeat him, especially considering the extent of their injuries. Not only that, someone was obviously in trouble.

"AAAAGH! I can't just sit here! I'm going in!" Riko screamed before running past the dogwood tree into the direction she remembered seeing them go in.

It didn't take long for her to catch up to Moonbeam and Sunbeam, as their injuries made them rather slow and unsteady. As soon as they found the source of the screaming, they hid behind some trees, horrified by what they witnessed.

Marina was strapped to a giant wall.

She was screaming. Protesting. Struggling for her life.

Someone was looking into a mirror-like object.

"That's Zenjin! What's he doing?!" Moonbeam tried really hard to lower her voice so Zenjin didn't notice her.

'That's Zenjin?' Riko thought.

"Wait...no! Is he looking into her...Soul Portal? The ones the Queen always told us about?!" Sunbeam yelped fearfully.

Riko couldn't believe what she was seeing. 'What the-?! Why's that guy hurting Asagi?! What is he doing to her?!' From the way Marina screamed and struggled and writhed like a worm, she looked like she was in a lot of pain. Zenjin, pulled his face out of her Soul Portal. Marina stopped screaming. She struggled to keep herself awake despite the pain.

"What was...that all about?!" Marina croaked, giving Zenjin a blazing glare.

"I've seen all I need to see about you. Your dreams, your desires, your insecurities, your suffering, your deepest, darkest secrets, your most private thoughts, everything else," Zenjin told her in a low voice. Then, with his crimson eyes blazing with hate, he unabashedly...spat at her. A glob of spit fell on her face. In retaliation, she spat at him, but it wasn't in range, so it just fell on the concrete.

"You're pathetic, you trash! How dare you be so arrogant as to think you've got it bad!" Zenjin roared as raising his hand in the air. "Let me be the one to show you...my suffering is far greater than yours will ever be!"

Without hesitation, he drove his hand into the Soul Portal, causing Marina to scream louder and harder than ever before. She felt as though her entire body, her entire being, was being violated and ripped apart from the inside and out. The feeling was worse than before. No amount of words could possibly describe the pain she was in.

"I can't watch!" Moonbeam squeezed her eyes shut and covered them with her long ears.

At first, Riko was scared, but after seeing what Zenjin was doing, her fear turned into courage. She was appalled. No, more than appalled. Downright horrified. How could this Zenjin guy be so cruel to someone? It didn't matter if the person he was hurting was someone who picked on her for kicks. Yes, she did deserve some punishment, but not if it meant hurting them to such a horrible extent, possibly killing her, if whatever he was doing to her could kill her. What did she do to him that was so bad?

A flame of courage exploded in her heart. Riko couldn't stand by and watch her suffer anymore.

"Wait! No!" Sunbeam yelled.

Zenjin smiled wickedly as he was about to pull his hand out from Marina's Soul Portal...

"Leave her alone!" Riko successfully rammed herself against him, pushing him off of Marina. What she didn't know was that in Zenjin's hand is an orange orb that was very slowly turning black, like a rotting egg. The wall and restraints holding Marina disappeared, causing her to slump to the ground.

Marina lay there, dormant, with her wide eyes still open. She looked deathly pale. Neither Zenjin nor Riko noticed.

"Get off me, you insolent piece of trash!" Zenjin tried to force Riko off of him with his hands, but she just wouldn't relent. They hissed, hit, kicked, bit, and struggled until Riko managed to slash a part of Zenjin's face with her long fingernails, drawing some blood.

That's when Zenjin snapped.

"YOU SLASHED MY FACE!" Zenjin fired a black and purple beam of energy at Riko, causing her to be thrown against a tree. Like Marina before her, she slumped to the ground, too injured to react.

"Riko-chan!" Both Moonbeam and Sunbeam exclaimed with horror. There was no way Riko could deal with him.

Zenjin walked over to the injured Riko with a very stern and angry look on his face, not realizing that the orange and black orb he yanked out of Marina's Soul Portal has fallen out and rolled onto a part of the street. Riko saw him coming toward her and she tried to get away, but her injuries hindered her attempts to do so.

Nobody was prepared for what he would do next.

Without any mercy, Zenjin lifted up one of his feet and viciously kicked Riko against the tree. Riko cried out in pain, but it didn't end. Zenjin kicked the helpless girl once more. Twice. Thrice. Four times. If someone saw him doing this right then and there, they'd have Zenjin be thrown in jail.

"You're trash! You don't deserve to exist, you trash! You're born trash and you will die trash!" Zenjin yelled as he continued kicking her without any hint of guilt or remorse.

"Get off me!" Riko shouted as she suddenly evaded Zenjin's leg and pushed him to the ground.

"Leave her alone!" Moonbeam wailed, clutching her ears.

"We've gotta help that girl!" Sunbeam exclaimed, pointing to the unconscious, dormant Marina.

But before they could do anything, the orange orb that Zenjin successfully yanked out of Marina finally turned black. An eerie black light enveloped it, shining so bright that it blinded everyone at the scene. The glowing orb grew bigger, and bigger, and bigger until it was about the size of an elephant. Riko was disgusted to see that the more Zenjin stared at the glowing light, the more he smiled like a mad scientist.

"Yes! Yes! YES! I've actually corrupted a human's soul! I wonder if I turned it into some super cool monster or something!" Zenjin exclaimed like he had just won a prize at a festival. Riko couldn't believe someone could display such sociopathic, guiltless glee at seeing someone suffer.

Once it had reached the size of a tall tree, the light dissipated and out came...a big, black, red eyed fox with long ears, a long nose, a long tail, and slender legs. The gigantic fox was entirely black save for its eyes. Once Zenjin saw the creature, he spat at the ground.

"Pheh! I expected something cooler and more threatening!" Zenjin sneered, disgusted by the fox's appearance.

'Wait! He enjoys watching people suffer and expects his creation to be perfect, and then decides it's not worth his time?! Seriously, this guy's a psycho!' Riko thought. She couldn't help but wonder how she was even able to remotely comprehend everything that had been going on. But fear overtook her once again as the gigantic fox almost stepped on her. She would have been squashed like a bug had she not run for her life.

The fox's large size was already enough to make Riko more scared than she had ever been. "What's with the giant fox?!"

"We don't know! This is the first time we've ever seen something like this!" Moonbeam exclaimed.

"RUUUUN!" Sunbeam yelled as the fox tried to step on them again.

With a swish of its tail, it knocked some trees over, sending them spiraling down to the ground, one of them destroying a part of a house. Then, it swung at another house, turning it into a pile of rubble. Riko found herself, Sunbeam, and Moonbeam hiding behind a tree. She was covering her ears and shaking violently, unable to move.

"We've gotta stop that thing!" Sunbeam yelled.

"But we're powerless! We don't even know what it is, nor what its capable of!" Moonbeam argued, her eyes trembling wirh fear.

Riko couldn't say anything. She was shaking like a leaf. The noises were attacking her all at once, and she was powerless to block them out. People screaming, houses being destroyed, trees being knocked down, the ground shaking, the sound of the fox's steps, the foxes anguished roars, it was as though she was being swamped by a tsunami of noise.

"Make it stop...make it stop...please...no more…too loud..." Riko muttered sadly, like she was about to burst into tears at any moment.

Then she heard something else. A voice. A voice she knew.

"Is it really so freaking bad?!"

Riko's eyes flew open, and she found herself able to move again. She stood up and peeked from behind the tree, wondering if the muffled cries were what she truly thought they were.

"Did you guys hear that?" Riko asked the fairies.

"Yeah, we did!" Sunbeam nodded to empathize her answer.

"Yes. It's true. My dad did do something bad...but why blame it all on me?! I'm not him! You wonder why I'm mean to people, because THEY'RE mean to ME!" A choked voice bellowed in a sad tone, like it was about to burst into tears.

Then it hit Riko.

Marina said something similar.

"Why does everyone think I'm going to grow up to be him no matter what?! Why can't they understand and see me for who I am?! Why won't they listen to me?! Why does everyone think I'm bad?! What did I ever do...to deserve this?!"

Riko uncovered her ears. "That fox...could it be...Asagi?"

Yet another tsunami of courage overtook her, and she suddenly ran toward the gigantic fox, not realizing that Zenjin was watching the fox wreak havoc with glee. "Sure! Even if you're trash, you still do a good job at wrecking everything!" Zenjin laughed like he was watching a comedy show.

"ASAGI!" With her hands covering her ears, Riko stood in front of the giant fox without a hint of visible fear. The fox was so busy knocking a tree over that it completely ignored her.

Zenjin did not like this development. "Hey! Get outta my way! I wanna watch this!"

"She can't be serious!" Moonbeam yelled from afar.

"Asagi! Please don't do this! Zenjin or whoever that silver haired guy is corrupted you! I don't hate you because of your dad! I never even heard of him! I only hated you because you were mean to me and Kyoya! So what if your dad's a bad person?! So what if everyone thinks you're gonna be him?! Screw them! You're not him, and they shouldn't expect you to be him either! They don't know you!" Riko yelled as loud as she could. The fox turned around to look at her.

"They don't know me...yet they act like they do. They always act like they know everything about me when they really don't! I hate that!" The fox said.

"I totally get that! Believe me, Asagi! I know what it's like to be hated by everyone for something you can't control! But don't do this! It'll just make people hate you even more! You don't want that, do you?!"

Moonbeam and Sunbeam watched from afar, surprised that Riko is standing her ground against the gigantic fox, completely unarmed and vulnerable. It was likely Riko didn't even know the first thing about fighting or how to defend herself. But despite being completely vulnerable and powerless, Riko still had it in her heart to at least try and talk to the giant black fox.

Out of nowhere, one of the Heart Lighters that Queen Malgorzata had given them earlier suddenly appeared right in front of Moonbeam. The purple Heart Lighter to be more precise. Then, out of nowhere, the purple, star shaped perfume bottle glowed in a radiant purple light.

"Wha-What's happening?!" Sunbeam yelped with surprise. "Open it!"

On command, Moonbeam twisted the heart shaped cap, opening the bottle, allowing the light to leave. The brilliant ball of energy flew right in front of Riko as though it was drawn to her, like it knew her. The light shone brightly in front of Riko, causing her to cover her eyes due to its sheer radiance. "Too bright!"

Sunbeam figured it out right away. This could only mean one thing. "What the...the Heart Lighter's reacting to her!"

"The Queen said...the Heart Lighters only react to those whose hearts resonate with them…" Moonbeam said. With a courageous look on her purple little face and the Heart Lighter in her arms, she flew over to Riko, who is still covering her eyes. "Riko-chan! Grab the light!"

"Why?!"

"Just do it!"

"Okay okay!" Riko snapped as she grabbed the light in with one of her hands while squeezing her eyes shut. Then, as soon as she grabbed it, it disappeared. Riko opened her eyes and looked at what she caught in her hand. Much to their surprise, the light turned into an extremely tiny purple heart object with a cotton candy pink cat face on it. Then, the Heart Lighter itself glowed in a purple light. Only for a little bit though. A huge chunk of the perfume bottle disappeared, leaving a hollow hole on it shaped like a heart.

"Riko-chan! Put that little jewel onto the hole here!" Moonbeam said as she floated toward Riko to show her the Heart Lighter.

Riko, without any hesitation or fear at all, did as asked. As soon as she did it, a purple light shone brightly from the Heart Lighter, much brighter than anything else before it, causing Moonbeam to hand it to Riko. Not only that, it was much bigger, and it completely enveloped Riko.

Riko didn't have any time to react, or even scream, as she got completely swallowed up by the purple light. But as soon as she woke up, words suddenly came into her mind.

"Pretty Cure, let the light shine!" She shouted, holding the Heart Lighter in the air. The heart object dissolved into the perfume bottle, filling it with a kind of translucent lavender liquid.

Riko twirled around, spraying the sparkling perfume all over herself. She donned a sleeveless purple shirt with a lacy white border going vertically down her chest, with little dark violet diamonds decorating it. A matching ribbon appeared on her chest, with an accessory shaped like a diamond on it in a lighter tint. Two lace bordered armbands wrapped snugly around her shoulders. She also had on a pair of shorts the same color as her ribbon, along with a small shawl like cloth going around her waist, secured by a belt with a diamond decoration on it. Her shoes went up to her ankles, with little white angel wings flapping up and down. Her black hair turned a sweet shade of dark violet. A set of purple and pink cat ears grew out from her head, and a tail with light blue stripes popped out from underneath the shawl around her waist. Fingerless gloves covered both of her hands, and a dark purple diamond marked her forehead. The Heart Lighter dangles from her shawl like a keychain. Soon, the light dissipated, bringing her back to Earth.

Moonbeam and Sunbeam couldn't help but stare in awe at Riko's spectacular transformation. "She's one of them! She's a Pretty Cure!" Sunbeam shouted with delight.

"What the…?" Riko muttered in shock once she got a good look at herself. "Umm...why am I cosplaying? Why is my hair purple? Oh! Wait!" Riko exclaimed, smiling upon noticing the cat ears and tail. "I must have transformed into some kind of superhero! I have cat ears and a tail! Just like Twilight Cat! Yeehee!" Riko cheered, jumping up and down like a happy fangirl. "Oh, but I'm not really Twilight Cat, am I?"

"You're a Pretty Cure now, Riko-chan!" Moonbeam told her cheerfully.

"A...Pretty Cure? Like the anime?" Then something else dawned on her. "But...but I don't know how to fight at all! I can't defend myself to save my life! What if I end up destroying everything?! I might mess up more than I resolve things! Meow!" She panicked hysterically. Her cat ears twitched in response to her realization.

Before the fairies could reply, Zenjin laughed maliciously as he sat on a tree watching everything. "Bwahahaha! God, you were trashy before, but now you're even trashier than ever!"

"Oh shut up, Zenjin!" Sunbeam yelled.

Riko couldn't believe what was going on. Fairies, energy balls, giant mirrors, a black fox...this was all too much to take in. None of this could be real. For a moment, she thought she was watching an anime. But she felt, heard, and saw everything with all her senses. She wanted to cry, but she refrained from doing so. There were far more important matters at hand, and crying wouldn't solve them one bit.

'I'm not sure if I can be a good hero. I'll probably do more harm than good...but someone's gotta stop this Zenjin guy and help Asagi. I can't just stand by and watch. People could die. Someone's gotta step up,' Riko thought as she stood in front of the fox again.

"Halt, ginormous fox! Poor soul, you have been consumed by darkness and are suffering. Fear not, for your suffering ends here! Meow!" Riko edicted proudly, like any superhero would, though she had to wonder if it sounded forced. "I am the light that will brighten up your world!" She struck a pose, making her hands look like cat paws. "Cure Twilight!"