Chapter Text
One afternoon, Wonderful and Nyanderful PreCures were in Ageha’s car. They were going on an overnight camping trip to the Konkon Campgrounds. They were all talking about it eagerly as they went down the road.
“Gee, me and Komugi haven’t been here in about two years,” Iroha mused, as Komugi was guzzling a bottle of soda.
“Me personally, I haven’t gone since I was a kid,” Ageha chimed in.
“I’ve never gone camping with Mayu before,” Yuki said. “Why don’t cats get taken on trips like these?”
Komugi finished her beverage and shrugged. Mayu replied, “I’m glad you’re coming along this time. I always missed you whenever I was on vacation.”
Yuki smiled at her fondly. “Well, now that I’m human, we can go anywhere together.”
Komugi’s look of excitement faded, and she began to squirm. “What’s the matter?” Iroha asked.
“Komugi’s gotta go,” Komugi groaned.
Yuki sighed. “Oh, Komugi, why didn’t you use the bathroom before we left?”
“No worries, I’ll find us a rest stop,” Ageha reassured her.
The car drove by a sign that was advertising a waterpark. Not wanting to see this, Komugi looked away and tapped her foot, but a decorative gushing fountain caught her attention instead. With a yelp of horror, she shook her head, only to witness a sign that said, “Big River: Only 12 miles away!” dead ahead. The car then stopped by a red light right next to a park, where several kids were running through a sprinkler and throwing water balloons at each other. Sweating from head to toe, Komugi whined and covered her ears.
Finally, when the light turned green, the car could move again, and the road led to the Wakuwaku Woods. Komugi was glad that she could get away from that awful sight. This didn’t last long, however; the car passed by a waterfall, which let out a deafening roar.
This was more than Komugi could stand. “Okay! That’s it! Pull over!”
Ageha abruptly stopped by a thicket. Komugi leapt out of the car, turned into a dog, and made a mad dash through the trees. She soon stopped behind a bush to take care of things. Satisfied, she stepped out, only to notice a familiar scent. It could only belong to a Garugaru. Komugi followed the smell, and it took her to a nearby cave. The inside was dimly lit, and she saw something hanging upside down from the ceiling. A giant purple bat was facing away from her, and it had a spike on its tail, red claws on its feet, and bands around its ankles. Recognizing the tell-tale signs of a Garugaru, she knew she had to get her friends.
Komugi ran back to Ageha’s car. “Guys, you gotta look at this, wan!”
Mayu blushed. “We don’t wanna look at it!”
“No, it’s a Garugaru, wan!” Komugi clarified.
“Then we must help it,” Yuki declared.
They got out of the vehicle and Komugi led them to the cave. Ageha joined in, as she wanted to see it too. As they cautiously approached the Garugaru, they could hear it snore.
Komugi was mystified. “Why’s it sleeping in the middle of the day, wan?”
Yuki rolled her eyes. “Bats are only active at night. I don’t think we would’ve needed Satoru to know that.”
“Well, since it’s asleep, I think we can get it back to normal without any trouble,” Iroha whispered.
Ageha smirked. “This is gonna be a cinch.”
Before they had the chance to transform, Mayu’s nose started to feel itchy, much to her horror. She began to take deep breaths as looks of dread appeared on everyone’s faces, and she let out a sneeze. The sound caused the Garugaru to stir, and it opened its glowing red eyes. It snarled and glared at them.
“I shouldn’t have jinxed it,” Ageha muttered as Yuki gave her a disapproving glance.
The Garugaru got off the ceiling and dropped to the floor. It opened its mouth, revealing sharp fangs, and emitted supersonic waves as it screeched, “Garugaruuuu!”
When the sound waves hit them, their minds went completely blank. Their pupils were replaced with multicolored spirals as disoriented grins came to their faces. The Garugaru then swatted them with its wing, sending them flying right out of the cave. When they hit the ground, they snapped out of their trance.
Komugi rubbed her temples. “What just happened, wan? Oh, my head...” The frequency of the shriek was especially painful to her due to her more sensitive hearing.
“I don’t know,” Mayu groaned dizzily.
Yuki held up her hand to cut the chat. “Enough of this. We’ve got to transform.”
And that is just what they did. Ageha was the only one who did not, as she did not have the same purification powers against this type of kaiju. The Garugaru flew out of the cave at full speed and unleashed another hypnotic wave right in Ageha’s direction. Cure Friendy came to her side and put up a Ribbon Barrier to block the attack. The soundwaves ricocheted off the barrier and went towards the Garugaru, but the latter flew upwards and out of the way.
Cure Lillian, who was approaching the Garugaru from behind, was caught in the crossfire of the waves and went into a stupor. She stared off into space with colorful, swirly eyes as the Garugaru charged towards her with its fangs bared.
“Lillian!” Cure Nyammy exclaimed. She shoved Cure Lillian out of its path, and the Garugaru sank its teeth into Cure Nyammy’s leg instead. She gave a great yell of pain, which brought Cure Lillian out of her hypnotic state.
“Are you okay?!” Cure Lillian demanded in horror and concern.
Cure Nyammy winced, but she knew she couldn’t let this stinging sensation distract her from the task at hand. “Of course,” she grunted in a strained voice.
Cure Lillian was immediately hit with a wave of guilt. She knew she had to do something to make up for causing Cure Nyammy to get injured. Then an idea popped into her mind; the Garugaru was especially grumpy from that rude awakening, perhaps it would feel better if it got some more shut-eye. Cure Lillian summoned the Kirarin Panda’s power with her Friendly Tact, and she put on the Panda’s glasses. Blue waves came out of the glasses and began to relax that big bat. The Garugaru slowly lowered itself onto a tree branch and started hanging upside down. It wrapped its wings around itself and closed its eyes.
Cure Lillian gestured towards Cure Nyammy. They both knew that it was their big chance. They took out their Amity Ribbon Tambourines and showered the Garugaru in a rainbow curtain of light from their Amity Lumiere attack. The Garugaru began to glow, and it turned into a heart. Out came the Niko Bat, who smiled innocently.
Cure Lillian waved the Kiraniko Trunk and pressed the handle, which opened the portal to the Niko Garden. The Niko Bat approached it, and Cure Lillian scratched it behind the ears.
“Go on home,” Cure Lillian and Cure Nyammy said in unison. The Niko Bat flew into the portal to its sweet home.
The gang turned back into their civilian forms. Mayu rushed over to Yuki with great remorse in her voice. “I am so sorry, Yuki! I didn’t mean to wake it up! And now you’re hurt because of me!”
Yuki put a hand on her surrogate sister’s shoulder. “Fret not. I’m aware it wasn't on purpose, and what’s important is that we purified it safely. And besides, I’m fine, besides a bit of a sore leg.”
“Luckily, I came prepared. I’ll be right back,” Ageha said. She disappeared for a moment, only to come back with a first aid kit. She disinfected the mark on Yuki’s leg and put a bandage around it.
Yuki did feel a bit better now that it was covered up. “Thank you.”
“Why don’t we camp here for the night instead?” Iroha suggested. “Just in case any other Garugarus pop up.”
“I dunno, it might be scary being in these woods in the dark,” Mayu shuddered.
“Relax! I’ve had lots of experience roughin’ it,” Ageha said confidently.
“And no matter what happens, you’ll still have us,” Komugi reminded Mayu.
“Yeah, I guess that’s true,” Mayu conceded.
Within minutes, the tents were set up. Komugi and Iroha’s tent in particular looked like a doghouse. Ageha asked Komugi to fetch some firewood and she brought it back in her mouth. Yuki cringed a little bit from that sight. Ageha took out a lighter and set the sticks alight, much to Komugi’s horror.
“You’re burning those perfectly good sticks?!” Komugi gasped. “Oh my dog, that’s awful!”
Iroha knew just how to distract her. “Well, we’ll need the fire for the marshmallows.”
Komugi cheered up in an instant. “Yay!”
“Oh, Komugi, you’re always swayed by food,” Yuki commented, only for her own stomach to emit the sound of its people. She averted her eyes and blushed.
Ageha chuckled. “Looks like someone’s worked up an appetite. Want some garlic bread I brought along?”
Yuki wrinkled her nose. “No thank you. Did you bring any milk, though?”
“Sadly, no, but I do have tuna sandwiches,” Ageha replied. Yuki couldn’t complain; as a cat turned human, she still liked fish. They all dug in and had some strawberries as an aside.
Yuki yawned. “I think I’ll turn in.”
“But you’ll miss out on the marshmallows!” Komugi protested.
Yuki stood up and made her way to her tent. “Save some for me tomorrow. Good night.”
The others were confused, especially since it was only 6:00. “Maybe it’s a food coma?” Iroha wondered, shrugging.
Komugi brightened back up again. “Ah, well, all the more for us!”
Inside the tent, Yuki turned into her cat form and curled up in her sleeping bag. She began to squirm and mutter in her sleep, and the bite mark on her leg subtly glowed.