Chapter Text
“Linto?”
“Gouram.” Exhaustion in Cure Linto’s pink eyes as she detaches the charm from her belt and takes out the Purse of Heartz. It’s liminal space, as the seal goes into effect. Time does not pass, for this moment must not be ended. “I need you to take this.”
The charm barely fits in Gouram’s four arms, and the purse almost drags him down
“But without this… it’s part of you-gou,” Gouram argues. “You won’t ever be able to be unsealed-gou.”
“I know,” Riko says. Her transformation fades. “But this is as far as I can go.”
“…Riko?”
“If someone ever unseals the Grongi, find a new Precure,” Riko says. “And hope that they’ll do what I couldn’t…”
Gouram shakes his head as Riko curls into a ball, eyes closing. He tries to reach her, but he can’t, straining his tiny wings as he screams her name.
“RIKO!!! RIKO!!!”
“I was never meant to succeed.”
…There is darkness.
This will always be a story about darkness.
The shadows move as researchers dig and explore. There are words of warning, but how could they read them?
This is not a place of honor , they say, would never turn back the people of the future. What is written here is far more literal.
Danger, Danger!
Those who corrupt souls rest here. Let them stay.
Death
But how could they know? They need to clean it up tonight. A local club is coming tomorrow, and they wouldn’t want to put the kids in danger.
They are far too late.
Godai Yukie smiles brightly, breathing in the air of her home town.
“Nee-San!”
Yukie turns to find her sister waving with Pops. She runs over to them, shoulder length pink hair waving out behind her. She hugs Minori first and then smiles Pops.
“It’s been a while,” he says. “You have fun on your trip?”
Yukie nods, giving a thumbs up.
“Of course,” she says. “I don’t think my letters could do it justice. There’s so much to see in the world!”
“But now you’re home,” Minori says.
“Yup!” Yukie replies. “I’m so excited to be back. Six months away was fun, though!”
She’d won a 6 month world trip online and obviously went. It was good luck mixed with as many requests as possible and featuring a rather ridiculous amount of wandering off, just to get to the cool parts of wherever they visited, but it was so worth it.
And, since she was a good student, the school even agreed to let her do it for credit if she turned in a report. Which she did.
But now: she can’t wait to get back, catch up with friends, and just be home!
“Well then,” Pops says. “Let’s get your stuff.”
Warning. Danger. Death.
People should learn about warnings. In most worlds, the being you know as Grongi play with death , but we can’t have that here! This is for young girls!
Here they play with souls. With corruption.
Here a quiet barrier forms as souls are consumed, reformed, into monsters.
This is the first step.
(A giggle echoes, black and white cloth and black ad yellow hair flows behind the greatest monster as she bides her time.)
There are no survivors.
Pops tries to lift Yukie’s larger suitcase and immediately drops it. Yukie laughs.
“What do you have in there?” He asks. “Rocks?”
“Some,” Yukie replies, pulling the handle up on it. “I wanted to bring things back to remember where I went. And I brought gifts.”
“Gifts?” Minori asks. Yukie nods.
“I’ll show you when we get home,” she says. She lifts her suitcases into the car one-handed.
She wouldn’t have brought anything she couldn’t easily carry, after all.
Gouram blinks awake, rubbing his head. It feels like he’s been asleep for centuries. He flies up, looking around.
“Riko, are you there-gou?” He asks. He’s in a cave. Why was he in a cave?
…and then it all comes rushing back. The final battle. Riko. Sealing the Grongi alongside them both… oh no, the Grongi! If Gouram is free now, then so must they be! Gouram screams, flying in a random direction because he has to get out of here… and knocks into a wall.
“Oof,” he says. And he hears a clattering… he turns.
It’s Riko’s charm, to become Cure Linto. It had bumped into the Purse of Heartz when he dropped the items he didn’t even remember he was holding. Riko’s last request…
Riko…
He clutches the charm to him.
“I’ll find someone who can be Precure-gou,” he says. “I promise you, Riko.”
Yukie helps Pops get her suitcase out and upstairs. She’s gotten used to carrying it, she supposes. It doesn’t seem heavy at all!
She then starts digging through it to find gifts. A large mask, for Sakurako. A new dress for Minori. A trivia book from another country for Pops, and so on so fourth.
Once she’s done stashing keepsakes and clothes, she grabs her phone out and calls Sakurako.
“Yukie?” Sakurako asks. “Are you calling because—”
“I’m home!” Yukie says. “How are you? Has anything important happened? How’s the club?”
“Good!” Sakurako replies. “Actually, you remember how the International Cultures and Languages club is working on the local excavation, right?”
“Yeah,” Yukie replies. “Why?”
The excavation in question found records of a past civilization previously completely unknown about, and right here in Japan! It was genuinely exciting to read about, and that was just through texts!
“Well, the professor was supposed to call us in tomorrow,” Sakurako says. “You wanna come?”
“Definitely,” Yukie replies. “I’ll bring one of your gifts!”
By the time Gouram gets out of the cave, it’s night out. He sighs, collapsing on the wall.
He runs his feelers along Riko’s charm. It still feels warm. Like her soul is inside of it, but he knows that isn’t true.
Her soul is trapped far deeper in these caves, and now he risks putting another girl through a risk that broke Riko, and Riko was amazing, considering!
He’s the one who could only help. Could only watch. And for what?
He sighs.
“What am I gonna do, Riko?” He asks. “How do I find someone else with the heart to be Precure?”
He hopes he can figure it out soon.
The wall he leans on is a girl’s last wish. Only those who can be Precure may pass through.
…But there is a girl in black and white and gold.