Episode 1 – The Joyful Azalea

Three years ago.

Etsukyou was in peril. Attacked by a mysterious and malevolent group known as the Yokubuzoku, the city and her citizens were hunted down for one thing: their desires. Using the nature of their desires, they were transformed into monsters known as the Akumajin, which attacked many people and destroyed many things. It was pure chaos, chaos born from their desire.

But one day, two heroes arrived. No one knows where they came from, but their powers had saved them all. The heroes known as Pretty Cure.

The warrior who burned brightly like the sun, Cure Dawn.

The warrior hidden in the night, Cure Eve.

They protected them and made them safe. The citizens could go out without fear, knowing someone would be there for them. But all of a sudden, the Pretty Cure disappeared. Along with the Yokubuzoku, the Pretty Cure were gone from this city, or maybe this world. No one has heard of them since.

A red-haired girl launched her fist at a jackal-masked man. The man skillfully dodged it and grabbed her wrist, throwing her behind him. The girl had quickly gotten back up and launched another attack. Her battle cry was more like a roar filled with rage and anguish. The man toyed with her, blocking and parrying against her attacks like child play.

"I will make you pay!" she roared as she launched herself into the air. Her fist burned a fiery red glow until it formed what looked like the sun.

"Oh? You intend to end this here?"

"Dawn!" cried a voice from behind, her voice filled with sadness. "Don't do this! Dawn!"

"Pretty Cure!" Joining her two fists together, she dropped down towards the masked man, the sun getting bigger and hotter. "Dawn BREAKER!"

The man pulled back his hand and launched it out the moment the red orb was close, making contact with his palm. Light broke through the orb as Dawn's screams filled the grayed skies. There was an explosion.

And a bright light.

The girl's eyes widened, looking up at the darkened ceiling of her room. Light was shining through her blinds as she sat up from her bed, her magenta hair a mess. It was as if it had taken the form of a bushel. She rubbed her eyes and looked at her clock. It was only 7 AM. "That dream again…" she mumbled to herself. "I keep seeing that dream. But I can't hear anything…it's so strange…"

Suddenly, there was a knock on her door. "Iroha," called a woman's voice from the other side. "Breakfast is almost ready. Go get dressed, and wake up your sister, too!"

"Yes, mom…" Iroha mumbled once more and turned to the side of her bed, sliding her feet into her pink slippers and shuffling to her blinds. When she spread them apart, the morning sun shined onto her face, and a refreshed and energetic smile formed onto her lips. "What a beautiful happy day this is!" she said to herself as she looked towards the blue, cloudless sky.

Iroha now wore a school uniform, complete with a goldenrod blazer and vest, tied with a blue ribbon around her collar, and a black pleated skirt. Her hair, now neat and tidy, was tied into twintails, but retained its fluffiness. She stood in front of the door across from hers, with the sign saying "SEIKA" on it in Roman letters. "Hey, onee-chan," Iroha called out, knocking on Seika's door. "Wake up. Mom made breakfast for us." There was no response, but Iroha could make a faint noise from across the door. "No, it's already half past 7. We'll be late if we don't eat." Again, there seemed to be no response, but Iroha made that same faint noise. "…She made your favorite omurice."

There was silence. Then a thumping. All of a sudden, the door slammed open, and Iroha was looking at her older sister, slumped over with her messy purple hair over her eyes. "Okay…" Seika mumbled. "Let's go eat now…"

"Good morning, onee-chan."

The two headed downstairs into the dining room, where the table had already been set. As Seika took her seat, she let out a slight yawn. "Did you stay up again last night?" Iroha asked.

"Yeah…new book. Couldn't put it down." Seika lazily replied as she sat back on her chair while fixing her round glasses. "Dad found me in the observatory knocked out and sent me to my room."

Iroha giggled a bit. "You always love reading in the observatory. So much that you lose track of time."

"Well, it's easy to get lost in a book," Seika retorted with a smile. "It's more exciting than any movie, manga, or anime can offer."

"Now now, settle down," called a woman in the kitchen. She had come out with two steaming plates of omurice. Both of them had ketchup scribbles over them. The one she placed in front of Seika's had her name in Kanji (星佳). In front of Iroha's was also her name, but in Hiragana (いろは). "You both need your energy before going to school, so eat up. Your father has already left for work, and I still need to get ready. You as well, Seika."

"Yes, mother."

Iroha looked down at her omurice with a sort of disappointed look. She was bothered by her name, as usual. "Are you sure I don't have kanji for my name?"

"Your sister picked out your name herself when you were a baby," their mother replied. "She was fond of your name being completely simplified like that."

"But what if everyone at my new school makes fun of my name like my old one did?"

Seika looked at Iroha and leaned towards her, ruffling her bangs. "A name is a name," she said. "And yours is a rather unique one. You should take pride in your identity, because no one else can be you except yourself."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Iroha laughed as the two began to eat.

"I'm off!" Iroha called out from the front door. "Seika, you better hurry up, or you'll be late!"

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Seika called back as she ran down the stairs in a similar uniform to Iroha's, but darker. After putting on her shoes, the two of them left.

They walked down the street from their house until they saw a crowd of other students, from elementary to high school, in different school uniforms. Some of them had uniforms from their respective schools as well. Seika looked down at Iroha, who was gripping the strap of her bag tightly. "Nervous?"

"Kind of. Tokugawa Academy is one of Etsukyou's elite schools…it's amazing that I even got in."

"Don't be. Once you get to your class, you'll realize that everyone is the same as you. Whether they are smart or not, they all feel that nervousness like you do. They ask themselves questions such as, 'Will I be in the same homeroom class as my friends?' or 'How will I do this year?'" Seika looked at the other students, some of whom were nervous and some having a fun time talking to their friends. "You'll be fine. You're not alone. You won't be."

As they headed towards an intersection at the light, Seika began to turn. "This is my stop. So I'll see you at home later?"

"Yeah. See you later, onee-chan!" Iroha's light turned green, and she waved good-bye to her sister as she crossed the street.

She passed more houses and came to one with a beautiful front garden. There were less students now, but more of those with her uniform. "Good morning!" she called out from the front gate.

An elderly woman poked her head over the bushels of flowers. "Oh, Iroha-chan! So good to see you well! Are you going to school now?"

"Yes! This is my first day at Tokugawa Academy," Iroha replied, nodding politely.

"I see. You must be nervous." The old woman went to her bushel of azalea flowers and plucked one out. "But nervousness is just a passing feeling." She placed the flower into one of Iroha's twintails. It was a brighter pink than her hair. "And what replaces it is much more fulfilling at the end of the day."

"I see…thank you, obaa-san!"

"Have a safe trip, Iroha-chan. Remember to stay happy."

Iroha bowed politely and waved, now joining the students heading down the same path. She hummed and giggled to herself as she bounced her twintail with the flower on her palm.

Tokugawa Academy is one of Etsukyo's elite schools. It is one of the few that has a gender system, splitting between boys and girls into different buildings in different locations. Like its sister school in Hikari-cho, Tokugawa Academy is considered a preparatory school for both middle school and high school students. However, while its facilities are not as equipped as its sister school, it certainly isn't lacking in its extracurriculars, most notably its kendo and martial arts classes.

Iroha navigated her way through the main building of the girls' middle school division. Using various maps posted in the main and sub halls, she found her way towards the faculty hall. Her hands were shaking as she gripped the handle of her book bag tightly. Tokugawa Academy is indeed an elite school, and she worried whether she was well-prepared for it. As she headed towards the door to the faculty room, it suddenly slid open.

Before her was a woman with long platinum blonde hair. She wore a white dress shirt, buttoned up to the collar and completed with a pink ribbon, that accented her breasts and was tucked into a navy office-style miniskirt. Iroha's face bumped into the woman's pronounced chest, causing the two of them to stumble backwards. In the process, the woman had dropped her unusual-looking handbag, and four identical white flip phones scattered on the ground. On them was a strange symbol: a star on top of a large heart with an even smaller heart in its center.

"Ow…" Iroha groaned as she rubbed hew bottom. "I-I'm sorry! Are you okay?! I'll help you right away!" Worried about the woman's scattered possessions, she quickly grabbed the phone closest to her.

Upon contact, she felt her heart beat. As if separated from her world, she looked down at her hand over the phone, which now seemed to be rippling the transparent ground beneath it, like standing on water.

"What is it you truly desire?" asked a disembodied yet familiar voice.

Iroha felt she could recognize the voice, but for some reason could not put a name or a person to it. She saw a pair of pink shoes stand in front of her, and as she looked up, a girl her age looked down at her. However, she couldn't see the girl's face. She wore long knee-high black socks just resting under her pink flowery skirt with white frills under. Her white gloves were fastened with black cufflinks, and she wore a laced black vest over a white dress shirt with puffy sleeves and completed with a pink bow. A broach with the same symbol from the phone rested on the bow. Her pink hair was styled with twintails that was spread like blooming flowers, and crown of azalea flowers rested over her hairline. This girl, like the voice, seemed familiar, but for some reason, Iroha could not match it with anyone she knew.

"Who…are you?" she asked.

"Your desire…what do you desire?"

Again, the girl had asked, but Iroha could not answer. Before she could try to say anything, she was interrupted by an, "Um…excuse me?"

Immediately, she snapped back into reality and found herself crawling on the school hall's floor, holding onto the phone tightly. She looked to the woman who she had bumped into, the three other phones strapped to her bag. She seemed rather unamused at the moment. "May I…have that back?"

"Oh…Oh!" Embarrassed, Iroha quickly handed the phone back to her. "I'm…I'm sorry. I just…spaced out a bit."

The woman gazed at her as she stood up. "Are you nervous?" she asked. "You seem to be a transfer student."

"Y-Yes…"

The woman looked back into the faculty office. "Go inside. I believe a teacher over there will help you." Without saying anything else, she left. Iroha watched her from behind and the phone she had handed back to her held tightly in her palm. As the girl recomposed herself and headed inside the faculty room, the woman looked down at the phone, glimpsing at the symbol in the center. In the top center point of the star, a small pink gem was now faintly glowing.

"Hm…" a teacher with dark hair tied into a ponytail looked at a clip board titled "Class Roster". She wore round glasses that often made people look unpleasant, but despite their shape, they brought out the sparkle in her eyes. "Ah, here you are! Sakuya Iroha of Class 2-E!" She looked up at Iroha with excitement. "Class 2-E, Iroha-chan! You know what that means, right?!"

Iroha stepped back by the teacher's sudden burst of energy. "Umm…no?"

"You get to be in my class! Oh and look how adorable you are!" The teacher stood up and played with Iroha's twintails, causing her to blush profusely. "And this little flower, whether by accident or on purpose, it brings out your cuteness ten-fold! No, one hundred-fold! No, ONE THOUSAND-FOLD!"

"Wh-what?"

The other faculty members in the office laughed. "There she goes again," said one of them.

"Don't let her scare you," added another. "Aragi-sensei loves cute things and cute people. If you're in her class, you'll get used to her."

"Sh-shut up!" Aragi stammered as she sat back in her seat. She collected some of the papers on her desk, along with her clipboard. "Well then, Iroha-chan, shall we go?"

"Ah…yes." Iroha nodded and followed Aragi as she left the faculty room.

As the two headed down the hall towards the stairs, Aragi looked back at Iroha. "Are you nervous?" she asked.

"Everyone keeps asking me that today…" Iroha mumbled. "Is it wrong to feel nervous?"

Aragi smiled at her response. As they reached the midflight turn of the stairs, Aragi turned to Iroha and placed her hands on the girl's tiny shoulders. "Listen to me, Iroha-chan. Everyone is different. But it doesn't mean that we all do not have the same emotions. When people generally start something new, they are scared and uneasy. That is always the fact. There is no shame in being scared to try something new. All that matters is that from start to finish, you put your all into it."

"My all?"

"What is it that you want to achieve in your future? What is it that you want to accomplish in your life? These are the big goals that define our existences, but first you have to take the small steps." Iroha looked down to the floor, thinking of an answer. "Ha ha, you don't have to answer that right away. But it is a question you should think about. Many people do not have the same views or feelings as you do, but we'll learn to adapt and grow with you. No matter where you came from, you're one of us now." This brought a big smile onto Iroha's face, and she nodded.

The two finally reached the classroom on the second floor, 2-E. "Wait here." Iroha stood by the wall next to the door as Aragi walked into the classroom.

"Rise!" called out a green-haired girl, beautiful and refined. At her voice, all the students rose from their seats as Aragi entered the classroom. "Bow!" And at her command, they all bowed. "Good morning, Aragi-sensei!"

"Good morning, everyone," Aragi greeted as she took to the podium, placing her papers and clipboard. "I'd like to take attendance before we begin, so please have a seat. Hm…Aoba Tomoyo!"

Outside, Iroha heard the teacher calling out the students. It seemed to go on for a bit, and she fidgeted with her fingers. 'What if they don't like me?' she thought to herself. 'What if I'm just not right for this school?' As negative thoughts raced in her mind, she thought about the things people had said to her today.

"But nervousness is just a passing feeling. And what replaces it is much more fulfilling at the end of the day."

"Many people do not have the same views or feelings as you do, but we'll learn to adapt and grow with you. No matter where you came from, you're one of us now."

Thinking about those words, Iroha shook her head wildly, her twintails slapping her cheeks, as she psyched herself up and dispelled any negativity from her mind. "They're right," she said to herself aloud. "I can do this…I can do this!"

"Iroha-chan!" called a voice from the classroom. This snapped Iroha back to reality. "Can you please come in?"

Her body stiff, Iroha looked to the door handle and placed her fingers into it. She swallowed and gripped it tightly. "I can do this…I can do this!" The door slid open, and she walked right in. The class, all girls, as this was the female division, of different faces, shapes, and sizes, watched this pink-haired transfer student walk in. They heard the tapping of the chalk as it slowly formed the name, "咲夜 いろは". But they noticed she held her chalk at the last stroke. She was hesitating. When she finally let go and put down the chalk, she made a quick turn-around.

A blue-haired girl in the back of the classroom watched her, noticing how graceful she moved, as if she was a dancing flower in the breeze. She noticed the singular azalea flower nestled in one of her twin tails. But most of all, she was fixated on that big bright smile on her face.

"Hello, all! How do you do?" she greeted excitedly. "My name is Sakuya Iroha! It is nice to meet you!"

A lot of the girls were mumbling amongst themselves after she introduced herself. They were saying things like, "Isn't Iroha such an unusual name?", "Her first name is written in Hiragana…" and "What's with that flower in her hair?" They also said things like, "She's so adorable!" as well as "Aragi-sensei's got a new pet!"

"I heard that!" Aragi growled from her podium. "A-hem…Iroha-chan-"

"Ah! She calls her Iroha-chan already!"

"Stop it! As I was saying, Iroha-chan transferred here from the Hikaro-cho school district. So please make her feel welcome. Now, do you have any questions for her?"

As the girls looked at Iroha curiously, the green-haired girl from earlier stood up. "It's nice to meet you, Sakuya-san," she started politely. Her mannerism was very stiff. "I am the class representative of 2-E, Shoukusari Ran. Let me start the class off by asking, what is it you want to accomplish in your life?"

Iroha immediately recollected the moment Aragi asked her that same question. At the time, she couldn't answer immediately. But for some reason, another question rang in her head.

"What is it you desire?"

She placed her hands to her chest and breathed slightly. She then looked Ran straight in the eyes with a confident smiled and answered, "I…want to fill this city with as many flowers as I can!" This silenced the entire classroom. Some of them were dumbfounded. Some with skeptical looks.

Ran, however, remained poised. "That's such a vague answer. If you don't mind, would you elaborate?"

Iroha nodded in compliance. "I want to become a florist when I grow up. Because I LOVE flowers! Every kind, from every part of the world! Even the dangerous and poisonous ones. Because no matter what kind of flower they are, they will always bring happiness to people's hearts!"

"Happiness to people's hearts?"

Iroha reached for the azalea flower in her hair and held it in her palms. "When you see a flower, you never say things like, 'It's so ugly!' You always think of how beautiful they look, regardless of what kind of flowers they area. Cherry blossoms, carnations, lilies, even this azalea flower here. When you pass by someone's garden decorated with so many flowers, doesn't your heart usually feel lighter? You immediately think, 'What a beautiful garden,' and you appreciate the hard work that person put into it. I want to spread that happiness all across Etsukyo. I want to fill this town with much happiness and joy that alleviates the negativities and stresses of life. So that no one will spend a single day sad and depressed, and without a smile on their face.

Because if I can make them happy, then that is my pride and joy."

The class was silent. Even Aragi was speechless by Iroha's passionate words. Ran looked at Iroha and saw the glitter in her eyes, and it made her heart feel lighter.

What the broke the silence was a snicker. It then escalated into laughter, except for a few other students. Iroha immediately blushed in embarrassment and stepped back into the chalk board. 'I knew it,' she thought to herself. 'They all think I'm weird now…'

"Interesting!" one girl called out. "That's so stupid that I want to see it happen!"

"Listening to that makes me feel so much better," another girl added. "There has to be a limit to how adorable you can be!"

"Happiness, huh? Just you being here makes us plenty happy already!"

Surprised by this sudden turn of events, Iroha looked out to her new classmates, who gave her welcoming smiles all around. She then turned to Aragi next to her, who simply said, "You're already like the flowers you want to grow. That is only but the first step."

At those words, Iroha blushed brighter, and she placed her hands in front of her. "P-P-Please take care of me!" she squeaked as she bowed, and the other classmates began to clap.

It was now the end of the day, and Iroha began to pack her bag with her notebooks. She let out a sigh, relieved that her first day at Tokugawa Academy was finally over. The lessons seemed a bit complicated, but she understood them pretty well. But now it was time for rest.

"Nice meeting you, Iroha-chan!" called out one of her classmates as they left for the day, and Iroha simply waved.

"Everyone couldn't stop talking about you." Iroha turned to see the green-haired girl, Shoukusari Ran, now accompanied by a petite blonde. "You made quite an impression."

"Ah, really?" Iroha scratched her cheek a little. "That's quite embarrassing…maybe I made too much of an impression…"

"Oh, but that was such a wonderful thing you said," added the blonde girl. "Spreading happiness and joy…so pure hearted. Not many people are like that."

"Let me introduce you. This is Amagi Yumi."

Yumi bowed slightly, and Iroha returned the bow.

"Hey, hey," came another voice from behind Iroha. She turned to see a blue-haired girl with a single dango-styled bun on the back of her head. "That thing you said about spreading happiness and joy. Can you really do it?"

Iroha looked at her, as this girl seemed entirely uninterested in her. She nodded and replied, "I believe so. Even if it's the smallest group of people, and even if it's just one person. If someone ends the day with a smile on their face because of me, then I think I did my job."

The girl stared at her, and then a bright grin formed on her lips. "Wow, you're kinda cool. Just like I thought you'd be."

"You'd…thought I be?"

"And let me introduce to you this one. This is Aoba Tomoyo."

"Hey, hey, 'this one?' That's rude." Tomoyo puffed up her cheeks as she glared at Ran.

"Why not? We're friends, aren't we?" Ran let out a sly smirk.

"Ah, please, no fighting," Yumi stammered, putting her hands between the two. "But Iroha-chan. Why don't you walk home with us?"

Iroha blinked a bit and looked at the other two, who gave her agreeing nods. "Sure! Let's go!"

The four of them had left the school grounds and walked down the normal route. While Tomoyo was in the lead, talking and making funny gestures to Yumi and Ran, Iroha followed behind. The three of them seemed like close friends that intruding on them seemed rude. She didn't know what to say, but it was a pleasure watching them have fun.

"Iroha-chan, you came from Hikari-cho, right?" asked Yumi, who turned her head back to her. "More accurately, your previous school."

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Iroha began to catch up with the three. "I went to Nakamura Junior High for my first year because…well, I didn't have the confidence at the time to get into Tokugawa Academy like my sister did."

"So what made you enroll now?" questioned Ran.

Iroha looked back to her days in Nakamura. She thought about it, and a small smile formed on her lips. "When I was only a first year, there was a girl in my class. She was very strong-willed and confident. She said she would get into that prestigious prep school, Jyuunisujou. A lot of the students there resent Jyuunisujou because of the class difference. When I told her that I wanted to go to Tokugawa Academy here, she told me, 'Strength comes from the heart. So long as you have the strength and the conviction to follow through with your dreams, you can achieve anything.' And by the end of the first quarter…she was gone. She had gotten into Jyuunisujou."

"Oh wow," Tomoyo hummed as she placed her hands behind her head, walking backwards. "That's pretty cool. Not just anyone can get into Jyuunisujou…"

"It took me a full year, but when I found out I got accepted into Tokugawa Academy, I was thrilled. As if that girl was cheering me on. It's too bad I can't remember her name. I would like to thank her…"

Ran looked at Iroha's eyes, that sparkle she first saw was still there. "If you have the strength and conviction, huh…oh, Yumi, this is our stop."

Yumi turned to the corner and nodded. "Oh, right. This is where we part ways, you two." As she and Ran stepped aside, she bowed politely to the two. "Please stop by the café when you have the time." And with that, they left. It was just Tomoyo and Iroha alone now.

"Hey, now that they are gone, I wanna ask you something," Tomoyo muttered as she walked up to Iroha. "First, come with me."

Iroha blinked, perplexed by Tomoyo's strange behavior. She always seemed to be all over the place. Calm the next, and then somewhat energetic another moment later. But she complied and followed her classmate to a river bank. It was a bit off the ways from the school route, but the breeze from the river was very cool. "What did you want to ask me?"

Tomoyo looked out at the river, and then turned to Iroha. "Ran and Yumi won't let me ask because they get annoyed. But since they're gone, I gotta know. Do you know about the Pretty Cure?"

"Pretty Cure?" Iroha thought a bit, then she shook her head. "I mean, I've heard of them, but they are just an urban legend, aren't they?"

"They are FAR from an urban legend!" Tomoyo raised her voice to its highest volume as she stepped towards Iroha. "They are real! I know it! Because they saved me once! But…they disappeared, three years ago."

"Three…years ago?" At these words, Iroha felt a hazy feeling in her mind. It was like static, as if a missing picture. She could see faint scenes of the city, but the people were blurred out. She placed her hand onto her forehead.

"They are my strength. It's because they saved me that…I want to become a Pretty Cure, too. But Ran and Yumi don't believe it. They don't believe the Pretty Cure were real at all…"

"Aoba-san…"

Tomoyo looked out to the river and let out a sigh. "Come on. We should get home before it gets dark."

The two of them returned to the residential area, passing familiar houses. Tomoyo as usual was in the lead. But a man walked up to her; he seemed distressed. "Excuse me..." he weakly begged, "but can you spare some change? I need money to take a train…"

Tomoyo looked at the man, hesitant at first. "Sorry, I-"

"Here, you go!" All of a sudden, she saw a hand move in front of her. Iroha gave the man a few hundred yen coins. "You need to get home, right? Your family will miss you if you don't make it. Please be safe."

The man looked at Iroha's eyes. The sparkle in them made him bite his lip, and he solemnly bowed to her and walked away.

"Why did you do that?" Tomoyo asked.

"If he needs to get home, it's important that he does. Anything can happen at any moment. If someone were to lose a family member, they would be very sad." Iroha turned to Tomoyo with a smile. "Remember when I said that so long someone is happy at the end of the day? Well, this is just one of those things. Even the tiniest bit of compassion can make someone feel better."

"I don't think he was very happy," Tomoyo mused, "but…I see what you mean. You're an interesting person, Iroha-chan."

The man stumbled forwards, clasping the few notes and coins of yen in his hand. "Damn it…" he muttered to himself. "To ask school girls for change…how pathetic of me…if only I had a better paying job…if only I had more money…"

"More money for what?" asked a voice behind him.

The man quickly turned around in shock. A young boy in a black vest over his bare pale body, and tight black pants stood behind him. He wore a white turban over his braided silver hair. His crimson eyes sneered at the man. "God, you look pathetic. Luckily, I have the thing that'll make everything better." He held out a black lamp, the kind similar to a certain folktale. The man gazed at the lamp, mesmerized by it. "Go on, take it. Give it a rub."

As he took the lamp, he rubbed it. Out from its spout, black smoke emitted from its opening, engulfing the man as he screamed. "Your desire…" thundered an ominous voice, "…shall be GRANTED."

The boy cackled and held out his hand, clasping the lamp amid the smoke. "Now, give in to your deepest desires and become one with our clan!" As he gripped the lamp, it cracked and shattered. The smoke dispersed, and in its place stood a large, bipedaled, muscular, pig-like beast. On its back was a vertical rectangular slot, and on both of its sides was the yen symbol. A long thin mustache dangled from under its snout, and on top of its head was a single ponytail. It bore a single eye on its chiseled stomach, with ominous markings around it. "Buuhiiiiiii!" it squealed.

The boy cackled harder as he held out a large, curved sword. "Now go, Akumajin, and bring this world to its destruction!"

"Buuhiiiiiii!"

Tomoyo stopped walking and looked around. "Hey, did you hear that?" she asked Iroha.

"Was that…a pig?" Iroha turned behind her and made a faint figure down the street. It was running towards them. It eventually got bigger the closer it got. "Holy…it IS a pig!"

"Oh man, we better run!" Tomoyo grabbed Iroha's wrist and sprinted as fast as she could, with Iroha in two. However, the stomping of pig got louder and louder; it was getting closer. As Tomoyo looked back, she noticed the eye on its stomach, and she felt a cold chill. "That's…an Akumajin!"

"Wh-what?! What's an Akumajin?!" Iroha couldn't look back since she was being dragged at full force.

"They were what the Pretty Cure fought three years ago! But they disappeared along with the Pretty Cure! I thought they were gone for good, but now they're back! This is too crazy!"

"And why is he chasing us?!...Ow, Aoba-san, you're pulling me too hard!"

"The Akumajin feed off the desire of normal people and amplify them ten-fold! Their purpose is to plunge our world into darkness!...Or at least that's what I understood."

"That's too cliché! This is too cliché! This is something out of onee-san's books!"

"GIVE ME YOUR MONEY!" growled the pig, now towering over the two.

Iroha looked back in horror as the Akumajin raised its fist. "Watch out!" she yelled and let go of Tomoyo, who stumbled forward from releasing the weight behind her. She turned to watch the Akumajin swing at Iroha, sending her flying to a nearby wall.

"IROHA-CHAN!" Tomoyo screamed as the Akumajin turned its attention to her. She stepped back to a tree, cornered and frightened. She trembled as she barely kept her balance and collapsed. "Someone…help…"

Iroha laid on the pavement, weak and motionless. Her dazed eyes watched the Akumajin get closer to her classmate. "Ao…ba….-san…" she muttered, reaching out to her. She felt like she could pass out from the pain. "He…lp…some…one…"

"Will you answer the call?"

A familiar woman's voice resounded in Iroha's head. She looked up to find the platinum blonde-haired woman from school standing over her. She felt the woman pick her up and seat her against the wall, crouching to her.

"It's…you…the one from before…"

"I said, will you answer the call?" The woman asked again, now holding the white cell phone from earlier. Iroha looked down and stared at the cell phone. All of a sudden, it began to ring. Its tone was bubbly and light. She looked up at the woman, and then down at the phone. "What will you do?" the woman asked one more time.

Iroha slowly reached out for the phone and opened it. All there was on the top half was a black screen, but the symbol on the top of the phone was on the screen. The top point of the star was glowing pink. "What is it you desire?" a voice, the voice from before, asked Iroha from its speaker.

Just as Iroha heard it, she remembered everything she had experienced today. She remembered what she said to her classmates, about wanting everyone to be happy. And now an Akumajin was about to hurt one of her classmates. She gripped the phone tightly and responded, "I want…I want to protect everyone's happiness! I want to bring joy to the world and protect it from those who want to destroy it!"

The phone was silent, but then it began to beep and replied, "Your desire…has been acknowledged. Please dial プリキュア and answer the call!"

The instructions were unusual, but Iroha felt like she understood it. The woman helped her to her feet and stepped back as Iroha held the phone in front of her. Her thumb pressed against the keypad. "PU! RI! KYU! A! SENDING NOW!" A bright light filled the screen, and Iroha closed the phone, holding it over her head.

"LIVE ON! Pretty Cure!"

In the dark world that seemed boundless and void of any end, a bare Iroha, her body glowing in a pink light, descended upon a reflective surface. The minute her toe made contact, the reflective surface rippled like water; the dark world had changed rapidly. The darkened sky became a day blue as the reflective surface sprouted into a field of green covered with many flowers of different colors. The flowers burst into petals that surrounded Iroha as if in a dance.

Iroha raised her arms as the petals fluttered around her body. They made contact with the light from her torso, and a black vest formed, adorned with two golden heart-shaped buttons and frilled in the front. A white shirt had also sprouted from the inside, its shoulders puffing out. Her skirt next bloomed under the vest, shaping into short flower petals and completed with a white fluff underneath. As Iroha spread out her arms, the petals formed white gloves over her hands, completing them with black cufflinks.

She took a petal, pink in color, and bent over, touching her glowing legs with it. In an instant, from her foot to her thigh, she wore pink shoes with white petals on it over long black thigh-high socks. She ran her hands over her hair, and spread them out; her pink puffy twin tails twisted and bloomed into what looked like flowers, spread out at the very ends like petals. Her hair had also became a lighter pink than its usual magenta. The twin tails were completed with two white petal-shaped hair ties. Over her hairline, the petals formed a small flower crown made of azaleas that hung over her small bangs. Finally, two pink ribbons were attached onto her; one behind her tailbone, long and down to her calves, and one around her frilly collar, small and short like a bowtie. On the center of it was a heart-shaped brooch with a pentagram-styled star on the center.

She took the cell phone into her hand and ran it from the second bottom button to her right hip. It formed a long golden cord from the clip on its side, and when she tapped it onto her hip, a white pouch magically replaced it, held in place to her hip.

As she opened her pink eyes, Iroha finally rested her feet onto the field. She brought her arms upward, as if a ballet dancer would, and held her left palm under her brooch while her right arm extended, her feet shoulder width apart.

The Akumajin got closer to Tomoyo and raised its fist upwards. "Give…me…your money!" it squealed and launched its fist forward.

Tomoyo screamed and covered her head, bracing for impact. She heard a loud crashing sound, but she felt no pain. As she opened her eyes, she looked ahead. Instead of the Akumajin, there was a girl with pink hair dressed like a magical casino dealer holding the fist with one hand. She only could see her back, shaded by the daylight. "Who…are you?" she asked.

The girl looked back at Tomoyo and smiled. "Sorry for the wait," she replied.

Tomoyo's eyes widened. 'That voice…'

"Whaaaat?!" yelled the boy in the back behind the Akumajin. "What the hell is this?! Who do you think you are stopping my rampage?!"

The girl turned her attention to the boy. As the Akumajin pressed on her hand with its fist, she retracted her arm. The fist moved closer, but was still stopped from reaching her head. And with a powerful force, she pushed its arm far backward the sent the Akumajin flying onto the pavement. "I am the one who will protect her happiness and joy!" she declared.

She raised her right hand with her index finger extended. "One!" She opened all of her fingers. "Ten!" She clenched her hand into a fist in the air. "A hundred!" She brought her hand to her chest and swiped it outward to the side. "A thousand!" At that instant, from the trees to the grass below, many flowers bloomed, all of which were azaleas. "Bloom, fields of green, and bring happiness to the world!" As she said this, she brought her arms together and spread them out from her body. She then clasped her too hands together tightly and brought them close to her chest. As she opened her hands, a single azalea flower bloomed. "Cure Azalea!"

Tomoyo leaned back on the tree after Cure Azalea's announcement. Her heart was a flutter, her eyes sparkling. "C-Cure Azalea…" she muttered. "A…A Pretty Cure!"

"Cure Azalea?!" gasped the boy. "Shoot, that means…you're a Pretty Cure, aren't you?! Damn, I didn't think they still existed. I was told that they disappeared and that the time to attack was now…" He pondered a bit, rubbing his head on his turban. Then he grit his teeth and growled. "Aaaaaaagh! It doesn't matter! You're just a newbie Pretty Cure, anyway! You don't have what it takes to stand up against the Yokubuzoku! Akumajin, get your ass up and GO!"

"BUHIIIIIII!" The Akumajin stumbled forward from the wall it had crashed to and charged towards Cure Azalea. She stood calmly as it got up in front of her and swiped at her with a hook.

"Watch out!" Tomoyo called out, but Cure Azalea was already hit…or so they thought! The fist had ran through a flurry of petals that slowly fell to the ground. Confused, the Akumajin looked around to found Cure Azalea standing next to it. It growled and swung its other arm at her to a back fast. But it happened again; upon contact, Cure Azalea had disappeared in a mess of petals.

"Down here."

The Akumajin's head looked down, but Cure Azalea was standing in front of its torso where the single eye on its abs rested. The eye was looking up at her, shaken. "I will not let you hurt anyone anymore!" She pulled back her arm and launched it towards the eye with a powerful punch. The Akumajin screamed as it stumbled back, holding its stomach. Azalea nimbly sprinted towards the monster, jumping to its face and unleashing a barrage of spinning kicks to the cheek. She stepped her toe onto the Akumajin's pig snout and jumped high into the air off of it. As she descended, her hands clasped together in a pink glow. She roared as she got closer to the Akumajin until her hands slammed onto the back of its skull.

The Akumajin toppled forward, and Cure Azalea landed behind it. Her phone on her right hip began to ring, and she flipped it open. "You may now answer the call!" said the voice on the phone as she pressed the Send key with her thumb. A bright light emanated from the phone and transformed into a single azalea flower. Cure Azalea grabbed it and opened her hand once more, releasing a countless number of petals from her hand. They began to surround the Akumajin as they lifted it up into the air. "Pretty Cure! Azalea Petal Dance!" The petals began to dance around the area, releasing a sweet fragrant smell as Cure Azalea spun around and clapped her hands twice.

From the sphere of petals containing the Akumajin glowed a bright light. The single eye on the Akumajin's stomach began to close. "How nice…" it hummed as its body disintegrated. The petals burst outward, releasing the man who Tomoyo and Iroha had encountered before, slowly floating down onto the pavement.

"Ah, shoot," the boy of the Yokubuzoku muttered to himself. "That…did not go as planned. I better report this." And quickly, he disappeared from sight.

Cure Azalea set the man down against a nearby wall, letting out a sigh of relief as she watched everything, the damage caused by the Akumajin, turn to normal.

"I can't belieeeeeeeve iiiiiiit!" yelled a voice behind her as the bystander with blue dango-styled hair jumped onto Azalea's back. "It's true! Pretty Cure DO exist! I'm touching and feeling a Pretty Cure right now!"

"H-Hey! Aoba-san!" Cure Azalea gasped as she shook Tomoyo off her, though the girl clung on for dear life. "Stop! You're heavy!"

"You even know my name! How do you know my name?!" Tomoyo was on a full hype meeting one of the heroes she was talking about. "This is so cool! Hey, do you remember me? Maybe not, you look like my age! Are you a new Pretty Cure?! Where did you come from?! Do you live around here?!"

The barrage of questions was beginning to stress Azalea as she finally unclasped Tomoyo's hands and set her down on the street in front of her. "Calm down, okay? Let me explain…"

But Tomoyo wasn't listening. She was looking around after everything had been fixed. But something wasn't right. "Hey…did you see a girl with like dark pinkish hair? Had them in puffy twin tails? A flower in one of them? Is she okay? Did you get her to safety?"

Seeing the worried look on Tomoyo's face made Cure Azalea realize something: she had disappeared from the fight after being attacked by the Akumajin. She had just become a Pretty Cure out of the blue, but she was not there for Tomoyo. Azalea slowly let go of Tomoyo's hands and took out her white cell phone. "Aoba-san…don't panic, okay? Don't scream, don't shout. Just…remain calm, okay?" Flipping the phone open, she pressed the Call End key. Her body glowed a bright pink and dispersed, revealing her form as…

"I-Iroha-chan?!" Tomoyo gasped. "You…you're a Pretty Cure…"

"Yeah…well, no, not really," Iroha stammered as she looked at her phone. "This…was just given to me by some woman. And with it, I became a Pretty Cure…"

"That's…that's a Lifeliner!" Tomoyo pointed at the phone. "This is what the previous Cures had! You mean some random woman gave you this?"

"Uh…yeah? The previous Pretty Cures…what were their names?"

Tomoyo thought for a bit, rubbing her chin. "If I remember correctly, their names were…Cure Eve…and…Cure…"

"Dawn! Don't do this! Dawn!"

"Ah!" Iroha quickly held her hand to her the side of her head, a quick glimpse of a fuzzy scene that had been replaying in her head at night. "Cure…Dawn?"

"Yeah, those two." Tomoyo looked at Iroha up and down her body with her hands on her hip. "Though…you don't seem to be related to them…you really are a new Pretty Cure, aren't you? This is so cool! The Yokubuzoku are back, but the Pretty Cure returns with them! And she is my classmate…Sakuya…IROHA!"

"P-Please! Don't say my name out loud like that!" But Tomoyo was too excited as Iroha tried to calm her down.

Meanwhile, the blonde-haired woman watched them from afar, holding a Lifeliner in her hand. She was staring at the two, but her gaze was fixed on Tomoyo. On the Lifeliner itself, the upper right point of the star had a blue gem faintly glowing.