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"A science experiment?" Nagisa asked.
"Exactly," said Honoka. School and clubs were over for the day, and the two of them were ready to walk home together - or so Nagisa thought. Honoka was wearing her lab coat, and she'd just informed Nagisa why. "I want to see just how much of a difference our Pretty Cure forms make when it comes to things like strength and endurance."
"I'd say we already have a pretty good idea of that," said Nagisa. "It seems to me that being Pretty Cure involves a lot of... kicks and flips and things. I don't know if we could do that when we're all normal like this."
"I think you're right," said Honoka. "But I want to quantify it. It could help us in the future, and even if it doesn't... it's just interesting, don't you think?" She smiled and tilted her head a little bit.
Nagisa found that smile and head tilt exceedingly cute, like she always did. "Okay," she agreed, mostly because she liked making Honoka happy. Well, and she did have a good point about it possibly being helpful someday, but... mostly she liked making Honoka happy.
"Okay!" said Honoka. She sounded so genuinely excited that Nagisa was immediately glad that she'd agreed to whatever this was. "First thing's first: pick me up!"
"Wait, what?" Nagisa asked. "Pick you up? Why?"
"It will be the control for our study," Honoka explained patiently. "That way, we can compare the result of you holding something decently heavy while both in your Pretty Cure form and your civilian form. Ideally, we'll need multiple tests to confirm, but we'll see how things go with the first test."
"I... see," said Nagisa. She wasn't sure about any of this at all, but Honoka seemed to know what she was talking about. After all, if there was anyone Nagisa trusted when it came to science, it was Honoka. "So I just... pick you up? Like I'm going to carry you?"
"Yes," said Honoka. "You're normally pretty strong, right? I would think you have to be because you're so athletic. So much running around during lacrosse practice would really build your muscles."
"Oh, well, yeah, of course!" Nagisa said. She wasn't really sure why she wanted to impress Honoka so badly all of a sudden, but, well, she did. She leaned over and put her arms around Honoka, trying to figure out the best way to lift her. Honoka was very soft and warm, even while wearing her lab coat, and something about that made Nagisa feel a bit funny. That was strange, but she didn't dwell on it. Instead, she gently scooped Honoka up in her arms. Honoka was heavy, but not so heavy that Nagisa couldn't manage it if she put her back and legs into it. Still, she had to shift Honoka around a bit in order to balance her, and Honoka responded by balancing herself... by way of wrapping her own arms around Nagisa's neck.
Well, that definitely made Nagisa feel a little funny. Not a bad funny, mind. In a way, she felt a little like a prince, or like Romeo in the play she and Honoka had done together. She wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but she kind of liked it.
"So," said Honoka, whose face was very close to Nagisa's. "What do you think? Am I difficult to hold?"
"No," said Nagisa immediately.
Honoka giggled at that. "You have to tell me truthfully, you know," she said. "Otherwise we can't do an accurate experiment."
Nagisa hadn't even realized she'd been fudging the answer a bit until Honoka pointed it out. She wasn't actually sure why she'd even done it to begin with - it just seemed to come out naturally. "You are a little heavy," she admitted then. "But not too heavy. If I just hold you like this, it's fine."
"I see," said Honoka. She smiled, and Nagisa felt weird again. "Okay, you can put me down, now."
"Aw, but I was just getting comfy," Nagisa said without thinking.
"Comfy?" Honoka asked.
It wasn't until she said that that Nagisa realized how strange her proclamation had been. "Well, I mean... I was getting used to holding you," she stammered. "So it just... feels kind of nice." There. Weirdness salvaged. Right?
Honoka just smiled at her, and Nagisa wasn't quite sure what that meant. "You'll be able to pick me up again soon," she said. "But first, we need to transform."
"What? Transform? Here?"
"There's no one around, so it seems as good a place as any," Honoka said. "You're still holding me, by the way. Not that it's uncomfortable or anything."
"Right, sorry." Nagisa felt a little embarrassed now, and she gently put Honoka down.
Once they were standing next to each other again, Honoka took Nagisa's hand in hers. "Ready?" she asked.
Nagisa nodded, and then both of them held out their arms and said the words that had become familiar by now: "Dual Aurora Wave!"
Then they were swept up in a rainbow of light where they transformed into the legendary warriors Pretty Cure, and when they landed they said the catchphrases that the power inside them prompted them to say.
"Emissary of Light. Cure Black!" said Nagisa.
"Emissary of Light. Cure White!" said Honoka.
"The two of us are Pretty Cure!" they said together.
"Servants of the forces of darkness..." Honoka started.
"...return to your homes immediately!" Nagisa finished.
Then Nagisa had full control of herself again and she blinked at the fact that there was no one around. "It's kind of silly for us to say all that when there aren't even any monsters, you know," she said.
"It is," Honoka giggled.
Nagisa turned to face her and did a double take. Honoka wasn't transformed at all! She was in her school uniform and lab coat. "H... Honoka? Didn't we just transform?"
"Yes," said Honoka. "But I transformed back immediately."
"Why?" Nagisa asked.
"Because you need to pick me up again, and I can't be transformed for that," Honoka explained patiently. "If you are doing an experiment like this, you should only change one parameter at a time so we can make an accurate assessment. In this case, the parameter we are changing is whether or not you are transformed - not whether or not I am."
"Oh," said Nagisa. She thought she was following along. Maybe.
"Anyway," said Honoka. "Whenever you're ready, pick me up just like you did before."
"Okay," said Nagisa. She reached over and scooped Honoka up like she had earlier - but it was different now. Honoka felt much lighter in her arms, and it caught her off guard. It even affected her balance a bit, but being Pretty Cure gave her quickened reflexes and she was able to stabilize herself quickly. It helped that Honoka put her arms around her neck like she had before - an action that made Nagisa's head feel a little fuzzy and she briefly forgot what she was supposed to be doing in the first place.
"So, what do you think?" Honoka prompted her when she didn't say anything. "It seems to me like you had an easier time."
"Yeah, I did," said Nagisa, and she laughed nervously. Why was she acting so strange? She was just helping her friend with a science experiment. There was nothing weird about that.
"Do you know about how much easier?" Honoka asked. "I know that's probably an odd question, but would you say it was a little easier, or quite a bit?"
"Well," said Nagisa. "It was like... one time I was helping take out the trash, and I went to lift a box that I thought was full, but it was actually empty and I almost threw it over my head on accident! It felt kind of like that." She realized what sort of comparison she was making suddenly, and, mortified, added "Not that you're trash or a box or anything like that!"
But Honoka just giggled fondly. "That's actually exactly the type of comparison that's useful to hear."
"It is?"
"Yes. We can't get a very precise measurement this way, but that's okay. Your response supports my theory nonetheless."
"So that's good, right?" Nagisa thought she was following along okay, but she wanted to be sure.
"Well, any result leads to more knowledge, which would be good to have," Honoka explained patiently. "But from a practical standpoint, it's nice to know that we're definitely stronger when we're in our Pretty Cure forms. Of course... we're also pretty tough even in just our school uniforms." She smiled. "As we saw when you picked me up the first time."
"O... oh, I suppose so," said Nagisa, who suddenly felt a little fuzzy again. Obviously not because she was holding Honoka, of course, who seemed almost weightless in her arms when she was in this form. Something occurred to her, then - "Wait. If you wanted to know the results yourself... why didn't we do this the other way around? You know... why didn't you want to be the one to pick me up? That way you could sort of... do the experiment yourself, first hand."
"That's what I was going to do initially," said Honoka. "But then I decided that I wanted you to hold me." Honoka winked at her.
"Oh, I see. ...wait, what?" Nagisa almost spat out the words.
"Anyway, thank you for helping me!" Honoka gently slid out of Nagisa's arms. "I think we got some useful information today."
"Hey, wait a minute!" Nagisa exclaimed. "What do you mean, you wanted me to hold you?"
Honoka was already walking down the road. "Don't forget to de-transform before we get too far."
"Jeeze..." said Nagisa, spending a few seconds to watch Honoka walk. Sometimes the things she did could be so confusing.
Honoka stopped, then, and turned to look back at her. "Coming?" she asked with an innocent smile.
Nagisa dashed to catch up with her, de-transforming as she did so, and then the two of them headed home together.