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Kanade was deeply enthralled with a new recipe book the cooking club had purchased when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She looked up to see Saika standing there.
"I think you have a guest, Minamino," she said.
"Hibiki?" Kanade asked.
"No, someone else.”
Kanade looked over to see a golden-eyed girl peeking around the corner at her, staying close to the doorjamb to try to stay inconspicuous. She scooted out of sight when she noticed Kanade looking at her.
Kanade smiled. "It's okay, Ellen. You can come in."
Ellen nervously poked her head out from behind the door. "Aren't club rooms just for club members?"
"No, of course not. Anyone can visit. Hibiki comes here all the time." Kanade headed over to the door, grabbed Ellen, and gently pulled the other girl into the room. Ellen's eyes darted around the cooking area, taking everything in.
"Were you looking for me?" Kanade asked.
"O, oh, yes. I... I have a favour to ask," Ellen said.
Kanade led the other girl to a stool by one of the cooking counters, and Ellen took a seat. "What is it?" Kanade asked.
Ellen took a deep breath. "Hummy's birthday is coming up soon. And I have been such a terrible friend to Hummy for so long that I want to make it up to her. I've heard that people eat cake for their birthdays, so I... I want to make her a cake." She looked up nervously at Kanade. "But I've never baked, well, anything before, so I don't know how." She bit her lip. "Could... could you show me how to do that?"
"Oh, of course!" said Kanade. "I love baking. What kind of cake do you want to make? Chocolate, angel food, black forest, sponge cake..."
Ellen blinked. "People eat sponges?"
Kanade laughed. "Not that kind of sponge. Why don't I show you how to make a sponge cake? It's nice and fluffy, and very easy to bake. We can use the ovens at The Lucky Spoon so it's nice and big for Hummy. How about that?"
"I... I think I like that. Thank you, Kanade."
"Oh, it's no problem," Kanade said. "Let's go buy the ingredients and then head back to my place."
"What about Hibiki?" Ellen asked.
"The school softball team asked her to help out with their game today, so it's just you and me. I don't think she'll mind as long as she gets to eat some of the cake."
Ellen finally smiled at that. "She really does like eating your baking," she said.
"Then it's settled." Kanade closed the cookbook she'd been looking at and put it back with the rest of the club's collection. "Saika, I'm leaving club early today to help Ellen out with a project."
"Sounds fun," Saika said. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."
Kanade grabbed her school bag, waved farewell to the rest of the club, and led Ellen out of the school.
"You're really in luck," Kanade said. "We have lots of strawberries saved from last winter, so we'll make a beautiful sponge cake with vanilla icing and all the strawberries we can fit on it."
"Could we put a picture of Hummy on it too?" asked Ellen.
"That's a great idea!" said Kanade. "We'll draw her in icing."
Kanade led Ellen towards the Jusco, Kanon town's big grocery-slash-department store and led her to the grocery section that took up most of the main floor. She grabbed a grocery basket and handed it to Ellen, who took it without question.
"Now, what do we need to make your sponge cake? Lots of eggs, I think. And I'll show you the good kind of flour."
She led Ellen around the grocery store, pointing out the flour and sugar and eggs, and all the ways they'd make for good baking. Ellen said little, but paid close attention to everything Kanade said.
Kanade paid for the ingredients despite Ellen's protests. "It’s fine, Ellen. You’ve just joined the human world. You don't really have any money, do you?" Kanade asked.
"Well, no," Ellen said.
"Then it's my treat. This can be my part of Hummy's birthday present."
They were halfway back to Kanade's house when Ellen spoke up. "How did you and Hibiki make up?" she asked suddenly.
Kanade looked up at her. Ellen was watching Kanade, with a strangely nervous expression on her face.
"Pardon?" Kanade asked.
"I watched you two a lot, back when I was working for Mephisto. I saw you two fight a whole lot, and I know I tried to make you two fight more to take advantage of that, but every time, you always made up with each other in the end. Why? I'm sure you and Hibiki did horrible things to each other. How can you just forgive each other like that? Without a second thought?"
Kanade set the grocery bag down on a bench. "Because we're friends," she said. "And I know that no matter what Hibiki may say or do, she's still a wonderful person, and I still care for her very much. As much as we end up arguing with each other over little things, I know that she'll still help me any way she can when things get hard."
She put a hand on Ellen's shoulder. "But this isn't really about Hibiki and me, is it?"
Ellen dropped her head and stared at the ground. "I can't understand it." Her voice shook as she spoke. "I have done so many awful things to Hummy out of jealousy. I betrayed her. I swore my loyalty to Mephisto. I tried to unleash sadness upon the world. I tried to hurt her. I just can't understand why she would keep believing in someone like me, even when I didn't."
"Because she cares for you," Kanade said. "That's what friends do."
Ellen dropped her head into her hands. "I don't... I don't know how to do that anymore."
Kanade gently sank down onto the bench next to her, and wrapped a sympathetic arm around her shoulder. "It'll come with practice. Making her a cake is a nice thing to do."
Ellen tilted her head up to the side to look at Kanade. "You think so?"
"I do."
"Thank you," Ellen said quietly. "I'm still trying to figure these things out."
Her gaze slid past Kanade to something behind her. "Oh, a note," Ellen said. Kanade turned to look, but couldn't see anything as Ellen picked up something invisible from the back of the bench and held it between her fingers. "Now we've got one more for the collection," she said, pleased with herself.
She tucked it in the grocery bag for safekeeping as a voice behind them yelled out, "There you are, Siren!"
When the two of them looked up into the tree lining the path, they saw Bassdrum of the Minor Trio perched on a tree top, leering at them.
Both Kanade and Ellen stood up to face him, leaving the bag of groceries on the bench. "Bassdrum!" Kanade said.
Bassdrum sneered at Ellen. "Look at you, consorting with humans. And you used to want to be our leader. It makes me sick to see you now, with how low you've fallen."
"There's nothing wrong with humans!" Ellen said. "I'd rather spend time with them than have to put up with you."
"Is that so? I'll make you regret that decision." He grinned wickedly. "Come forth, negatone!" he yelled.
Something pulsed red, and dark energy enveloped the bag of groceries, and expanded outward. The sphere finally cracked, leaving a tall dinosaur-like monster made out of food in its wake.
"Negatone! Destroy them!" Bassdrum commanded.
Kanade grabbed Ellen's shoulder. "I can't transform without Hibiki!" she said.
Ellen smiled. "I can. Let me thank you for your help by protecting you here. That's what friends do, right?"
She pulled her cure module out of her pocket and held it aloft. "Let's play! Pretty Cure Modulation!" There was a swirl of light and magic, and Ellen was transformed into Cure Beat.
She moved to stand between Kanade and the monster. "No one hurts my friends," she said.
"Negatone!" yelled the grocery monster, shooting eggs out of its chest. Cure Beat grabbed Kanade and pulled her aside, just in time to avoid the exploding eggs.
"You're getting soft, Siren," taunted Bassdrum.
"You'll never understand," shot back Cure Beat. "There's more to life than collecting notes and summoning monsters."
She let go of Kanade's hand and launched herself off the ground, landing a flying kick to the monster's doughy midsection. The blow knocked it back a few steps, and the monster coughed out a small cloud of flour. Cure Beat dodged it and bounced back away from the monster.
"Negatone!" it said again, and fired a sticky strand of buttery goop. Cure Beat dodged. The butter missed her but hit Kanade straight on, knocking her over and pinning her to the ground.
"Negatone, crush her!" said Bassdrum. The monster roared, and stomped towards where Kanade was trapped.
"Oh no you don't," Cure Beat said. She concentrated, summoned her Love Guitar Rod to her hands, and held it out in front of her. "Beat Barrier!" she yelled.
A purple-tinged wall of energy burst up around her and Kanade. The monster slammed against it and bounced back. It beat its floury fists helplessly against the energy dome.
"Thank you," Kanade said, still struggling to get out of the butter.
Cure Beat smiled. "Of course. That's what friends do, isn't it?" Her smile bloomed into a full grin. "Time to finish this."
She held her Love Guitar Rod high above her head, and swung it down in a circle. "Heartful Beat Rock!" she yelled.
The end of the rod drew a glowing circle in the air. With her mind, she flung the energy circle at the monster, ringing it with power. There was an explosion and the monster disintegrated. Kanade could feel the butter surrounding her melt away into nothingness as the monster was destroyed. The bag of groceries reappeared on the sidewalk where the monster had been. Kanade hoped that none of the eggs had broken.
Cure Beat focused her attention on Bassdrum, and pointed her Love Guitar Rod at him. He hesitated a moment before fleeing.
Cure Beat shimmered briefly as she detransformed back into Ellen, and knelt down to give Kanade a hand up. "Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yes, I am," Kanade said. "All thanks to you."
"Well, that's the kind of thing friends do for each other, right?" Ellen asked. A worried look crossed her face. "Do you think we'll still be able to use these ingredients, even though they've been turned into a negatone?"
"I'm sure they'll probably be okay," Kanade said. "Let's get them back to my place so we can start baking."
Three hours, two failed batter attempts, and a dropped bag of flour later, the oven timer chimed to signal the end of cooking. Ellen nervously played with a dishtowel in her hands as Kanade opened the oven door and removed the cake pan.
She grinned as she showed off the glorious golden sponge cake inside it to Ellen. "It looks perfect," Kanade said. "For your very first time baking, you did a great job."
A tentative smile spread across Ellen's face. "You think Hummy will like it?"
"I'm positive she'll love it," Kanade said. "As long as Hibiki doesn't scarf it all down, that is."
The two of them laughed, and reached for the icing.