Chapter 2

To be strong, kind, and beautiful!

The tale of the four who aim to become true PRINCESSES!

To have pride, courage, and honor!

The tale of those who desire to become true DRAGONS!

Aim for your dreams!

Go! Princess Precure!

You know… waking up was never an easy process, nor was it a quick one. This was something which 13-year-old Haruno Haruka believed to be a certainty, although she had gotten used to the concept after over a decade's worth of living in this world. Sometimes she wondered what it would be like if she could just sleep in all the time, then she could get up whenever she wanted and stuff.

Still, that would likely make for a pretty boring life after a while, so she nonetheless began to wake up.

"...mmm…..mmmmmmmmmmm…"

The young girl, now a preteen, slowly awoke from her slumber, her eyes tightening shut for a couple of seconds before they slowly opened, her blurry vision clearing up as seconds ticked by whilst she sat up on her bed.

"YAAAAAAAWWWWWWWNNNNNNNNNNN…"

A near-silent yawn escaped her lips as she stretched one arm above her head to the ceiling on top as the other hand covered her that yawn passed and she wetted her lips a bit with her tongue since they felt a bit dry, Haruka glanced at the digital clock on her bed, wanting to know what the time was. She also did it out of habit, something she'd gotten used to doing so she didn't become tardy for many important events or school days. Didn't work all the time, but it wasn't too ineffective.

The moment her gaze fell onto the numbers the digital clock showcased however, her eyes quickly shot open wide as the time displayed itself before her. A gasp escaped Haruka's lips as the time jogged a bunch of memories inside her mind which forced it into fully awakening.

'A-Ah! Yikes, It's almost time!' she mentally exclaimed as she quickly threw the pink covers off her bed, flipped her legs over to the side before hurrying to get changed into some casual wear.

Fortunately for her, her mother had advised her to pack up the day beforehand since she had thought this might have happened, her daughter had taken heed to that advice due to knowing how she was.

Her room, well, it could be described as a typical girl's room for someone her age. Upon entering the room, one would see a predominately pinkish theme to it, with the room having an ovular red mat in its center with a small table, as well as a bed on the left side of the room with a large wardrobe at its bottom. On the opposite side was a small dressing table, with various accessories and girly items. There were several small stuffed animals lined up on a small shelf with stacks of books in it, mostly children's books but a few were for more educational purposes. Over at the back wall, was a crimson framed window with a few toys and ornaments aligned on top of it.

Though, considering where she was going, Haruka doubted that she would be seeing it very often, which sort of made her feel a bit lonely since this room held so many memories for her, but it wasn't like she wouldn't be seeing it ever again. That was something she took some solace in, at least.

After exiting her room to go to the bathroom to brush her teeth, take a shower then come back to her room to get dressed, the young Haruka stood ready for her trip… her trip to her new dorms at a fairly prestigious institution called Noble Academy. A Place which she had chosen to enroll in herself in order to pursue her dream of being a princess of which she had kept alive since… since that day. The day she had made both her first friend and also made her promise, a promise she had intended to keep and used as a basis to keep her dream of being a princess alive.

"Haruka, are you ready dear?! It's almost time to go!"

"Yes, mom! I'm coming!"

Quickly reaching forth for her suitcase which had been stacked beside her door, Haruka proceeded to head out of her room.

After a quick breakfast, the family of three began making the final preparations for the journey they would be making. According to her parents, they needed to check that everything was in order for a bit before they set off on their journey to take Haruka to where she had wanted to go for the last few years now, which wasn't something which she minded honestly since she had made this choice, thus the least she could do would be to let them get her there their way.

'Plus...' the young girl thought as she sat on the front porch of the family home, idly kicking the air with her legs. All the while, she hummed softly to herself, imagining what her life over at the place she wanted to go to would be like. 'It's not like I have nothing to do while i'm waiting…' she thought further, a small chuckle escaping her throat as she waited for someone.

"Yo, Haruka!"

The moment that she heard the familiar male voice, Haruka's eyes perked up as she realized that someone was here, someone who she had known for a long time. Upon hearing that voice, Haruka shot up from her previous sitting position as she saw the owner walk up from behind the wall surrounding her family's home. "Hey there, Sora! Good morning!" She proclaimed happily as she jogged up to the male.

Said male, Sora, smirked at her and laughed at her hyperactivity, the two performing a high five and a fist bump right after which had been a routine that they did whenever they met. "Morning to you, too. Looks like you're finally heading out to that school of yours. Noble Academy, wasn't it?" The boy, now standing at 186 cm (over 6.1 feet) with his hair set in a spiky kind of hairstyle, though it had long since been dyed blonde to which the boy had explained it to be a 'whim' of his. In any case, one could call him a mix between muscular and slim in terms of being built, something Haruka had seen multiple times due to how the guy liked doing stunts sometimes.

As for his attire, the guy wore a simple pair of dark blue jeans which were held in place by a black leather belt which had a square-shaped metallic buckle, though they didn't hide his white sneakers. His upper body had a thin red short-sleeved T-shirt with a black dragon head wreathed in orange flames frozen in a roaring position designed onto the front, whilst he wore a black bracelet over his right wrist. Beneath that was a black shirt with longer sleeves that reached his wrists though, with the ends rolled back so they reached just above his wrists. Lastly, he wore a red hooded black jacket with a set of red dragon wings designed onto the back.

Still, when he asked her that question Haruka gave a happy nod, a matching smile on her lips as she fought the urge to jump up and down on the spot to try and contain her excitement. "Uh huh! You know how long I've been wanting to go there! It's this elite prep school inside an island separated from the mainland. They say those who go there have an almost straight path to pursuing their dreams there." she proclaimed with excitement, trying her best not to gush over her new school. She didn't mention that the entrance exams to get in had been really strict, and she had only barely passed barely like through the skin of her teeth.

Though, it turned out that she didn't need to say anything about it, since Sora's mirthful yet knowing look indicated that he was already aware of that little titbit of information, a fact which got proven with his next words. "Yeah, though not everyone gets to go there due to the strict entrance exams, right?" He questioned, getting a slightly exasperated grumble from the girl who recalled the many days of cramming, studying, and anxious nights before the actual exams. Let's just say that even though Haruka could be a hard worker when she wanted to be, she wasn't the brightest when it came to academics. "Well, unless you're one of those kids from rich families who could just buy their way in." Sora mused, thoughtfully. Aside from the working class students there, he felt like there was a mighty high chance that there were a lot of kids from rich, wealthy families there too. He didn't have too many experiences with them, but his gut instinct told him that people from that kind of world were bound to be different from those of the working class like Haruka or himself, nature and nurture, and all that.

"Well, I guess… oh right, speaking of students, didn't you pass the entrance exams as well?" Haruka questioned, catching Sora by surprise as evident by the look on his face. It seemed like he had not expected her to know that already, prompting Haruka to explain where she'd gotten the information from. "Mom and dad told me a while after I passed mine. They said that your mom came over looking like she had gone over the moon with happiness, and when they had asked why she told them everything with the biggest grin on her face."

Hearing this caused Sora to let out an exasperated sigh, shaking his head whilst pinching the bridge of his nose. "Oh, Mom… I wanted to keep that as a surprise…" he mumbled in bemusement, causing an amused chuckle to escape Haruka, who'd met his mother on multiple occasions so she knew how eccentric she was about her only son. A son who had been pretty much a 'miracle' to her, though she hadn't elaborated much on why that was. Still, with the lack of a frown on his lips and instead, a small smile showcased that he wasn't as bothered by it as he made out to be, a fact proven by his next words. "Well, that's how she is, and I wouldn't want her any other way than herself… so yeah, as you've already heard I also passed the entrance exams, so you'll see me on occasion at Noble Academy. In fact, me and mom are going up there later, I've already packed and all so i'm all set. Just wanted to pay you a visit before we head off." he explained.

"That's great! Me and my parents are already about to head off ourselves." Haruka replied, a hand on her hip before she threw her arms out to the sides as if she was trying to present something much larger than herself. "It's SO exciting! I can't wait to see what it's like there! Though, Dad's probably going to be crying waterfalls again, since students are required to stay and live on campus. One thing that seperates Noble Academy from other Academies is how it encourages students to be self-sufficient too."

At this, Sora nodded with a large grin of his own, pocketing his hands inside his jeans whilst leaning on one leg. "Sure is. I assume your reason for going there is still the same?" He questioned, although the look in his eyes revealed that he had already known the answer.

An answer which Haruka felt NO hesitation in showcasing as she put her hands on her hips with the following proclamation leaving her mouth. "Of course! One day, I shall become a Princess! Mark my words!" She declared boldly, and without shame just like Sora had advised her to so long ago… along with other things he's done for her as the friend who'd stuck by her all these years. If someone as emotional as her FATHER could approve of him being her friend, then that said a lot about him.

"Hahahahaha! Great, well said!" Sora proclaimed, rearing a fist back which prompted Haruka to do the same. The two then threw their arms forwards, forming what would commonly be known as a bro fist, something which the two regularly did to one another. Glancing beside her towards where her parents car was located, Sora noticed the car's boot being open still with only her mother, Haruno Moe, putting some stuff inside. She didn't seem to have noticed them yet, and since he didn't want to bother them at the moment, he turned his attention back to Haruka. "Looks like your family are still finishing up… so, what would you say to a little sparring practice before you go?" Sora offered whilst pulling his hand back.

For a second or two, Haruka thought about his offer. They often held spars for the martial arts the two of them had gotten into practicing since they were kids, they practically grew up with it. Thus, whilst they may have a few chances to spar over at Noble Academy she doubted it would have happened as often as it used to. Not to mention she really enjoyed practicing martial arts for fun, especially since it helped her understand how her body worked and taught her quite a few interesting lessons about herself. Thus, Haruka nodded as a determined smirk formed on her lips. "Heh, you're on Sora!" she replied, getting into her Martial Arts stance. Something which Sora imitated in response.

Their stances were the basic foundations for MMA, the two having chosen to train in it instead of Japan's almost iconic Karate. Mostly because it consisted of an array of different martial arts styles, making it quite versatile in applications. Haruka and Sora each had their legs spread a shoulder's width apart with their left legs forwards and their right ones behind it, with their forearms raised and their fists at their cheek levels. The basic MMA stance.

At first, neither of the two moved, until a couple of seconds passed and the first one to move turned out to be Sora. The boy stepped in close and threw a couple of fast jabs, one after the other. Haruka blocked both with her forearms then launched a roundhouse kick to his right leg, which he raised and used to block her strike before launching a cross punch to her torso. One which she flung to the side by moving her left arm inward and then swung outward, giving her the chance to retaliate with her own had Sora not tilted his head to the side and then launched a roundhouse kick to the side of her head.

To avoid this, Haruka then performed a Sprawl, quickly going to the ground, putting her legs behind her and thrusting her hips down to the ground before quickly shooting back up to her feet and launching an uppercut, one which Sora stepped back to avoid, retook that step back in then went for a roundhouse kick to her side. Haruka blocked by raising her right leg, but Sora knew this and pulled his leg back at the last second, going in for a left hook with his left arm which Haruka barely blocked in time, forcing her back several steps to which Sora saw his chance, and pressed his advantage.

The sparring continued like this with the two trading fast, strong blows between each other as if they were professionals, although they both didn't call themselves as such. Their moves remained fluid, consistent, and fast however neither of them truly went all out since neither had that much time before Haruka were to leave with her family for Noble Academy, thus they stuck to the basics for the time being. If they could REALLY get into it though, THAT would have been where the fun would have begun.

"Harukaaaaaa! We're all set and ready to go now! Oh, and hello there Sora!"

Unfortunately, the two had to stop when they began getting into it when the young girl's mother called out to them, giving a quick but fond greeting to the young lad too as her father had already gotten inside the car. Although, just from looking at him through the window one could see that he was struggling to hold it together. Heck, in the back of the seat one could see the silhouette of Haruka's younger sister Momoka, although she had fallen asleep at this point likely due to not being used to getting up so early.

"Awww, shucks. Looks like we have to stop…" Haruka whined, pouting as the two lowered their guards and performed some breathing exercises to calm themselves down.

That is, until Sora patted her on the shoulder and gave a small, yet supportive smirk to her. "No worries, milady." he mused, a teasing undertone with the last word which caused a light bit of flustering on Haruka's part. "We'll hopefully be classmates over at Noble Academy, so its no biggie, and we may not spar as often but that'll only make the times when we do all the more satisfying." he told her, this time with a genuine grin as he put his hands behind his head.

His words did the job of cheering the girl up though, something which Sora had ample practice in since he had first met her all those years ago. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Plus, I can maybe make some friends there who won't make fun of my dream."

On THAT, Sora could see as realistically possible, considering what Noble Academy was supposed to be like. "Sure, and remember this Haruka for whenever you're in dire straits: when clear waters are murky, fortune favours the fish who swim upstream. Basically, you fall into hard times, don't give in and hold your head up high, then you can push forwards through pretty much anything life tries to hurl at you." Since Sora likely won't be seeing Haruka for a while until they get sorted and into their proper schedules at the Academy, Sora believed that giving some advice that had been given to him long ago might help. If he were to guess, then moving schools would be quite rough on anyone. He felt sure he could handle it, he'd been handling student's bullying him nearly his whole life after all, but Haruka had nearly broken down multiple times in her childhood when the bullying got too intense. Only to come back swinging via sheer willpower… as well as the charm she'd gotten from that Prince Kanata person.

Though, he did find it strange, now that he was older that the boy suddenly appeared before the, gave Haruka some trinket and then vanished to not be seen since. But, considering there was nothing to go off on, Sora hadn't put too much thought into it before.

"Heh, I'll keep that in mind, Sora… And you too. Even if people hurt you because of your dream, never give up on it, ok?"

Sora just grinned his toothy grin at that, amused at the thought that she would even THINK he would just let naysayers get him down because they didn't like his dream. He'd already conditioned himself against their ilk his whole life, no way was he going to let it get to him now. "You got it."

Both of them grinned at one another, reared their fists back, and performed another fist bump.

Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, something poked out from behind a corner, watching the two children as one went into the car whilst the other watched them drive off, leaning against one of the walls.

It didn't place the ones leaving in any kind of priority, but the one who stayed behind was a completely DIFFERENT story. It's form remained unseen by its own design, meaning that it had hidden from anyone who would be passing by, so it's appearance would remain a mystery, yet even so the way that one of its eyes was placed allowed it to be visible: it took the form of a single large, purple iris with a lighter purple pupil, a slight yellow sclera surrounding it which looked barely visible given the purple eye's size. The creature eyed the young boy in particular, its instincts telling it to keep a close eye on him… And if any of THEM should come by, and it believed that THEY would, then it's the only goal it should prioritize for it's survival: to stay by his side.

Chapter end!

Hello guys, and welcome to the next chapter of my first Precure story. I'll admit that there isn't much in this one as I'm busy trying to properly set things up for the future chapters, although I will say that I doubt you'll guess what I'm going to do once it hits the air, so look forward to that. Also, if anyone is curious, Sora has grown up to look like Takumi Usui from Kaichou wa maid sama. Now since this is my first precure fic I might make some rookie mistakes so if anyone notices them please let me know, i'd really appreciate it. Anyways, hope you like the chapter, and look forward to when I upload again.

PEACE OUT!