Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic ep17

The chime of the end-of-class bell was immediately followed by a series of loud whoops and cheers that could be heard all over the school. Small wonder, considering every single class was cheering.

Fumie's teacher sighed as she leaned over her desk, surveying her cheering students as they threw various pencils, erasers, and the occasional composition notebook into the air. "Oh, go on, get going," she said, waving a hand dismissively. Then she smiled, tired demeanor gone as she added "Enjoy your brief vacation, and I expect to see every single one of you in two weeks."

"Bye, teacher!" everyone chorused, standing up and pushing back their chairs.

As the familiar group of friends walked out the door, Mari was biting her lower lip to keep from sobbing. "It's so unfaaaiiiir!" she wept. As everyone stared at her awkwardly, she began to flail about in place, stomping her feet and swaying side to side with her fists under her chin. "First Uta gets to be a Cure and be part of the ultra-awesome Pretty Cure group, and now we finally get to have summer break and Kurako gets to take everyone to her summer home, but I can't go because I have cheering caaaamp!" She sobbed louder, tears gushing comically from her eyes as she dropped to her knees and hugged Fumie around her legs. "Fu-mi-e-taaaan! Take me with yooouuu! Stuff me in your suitcase, disguise me, we'll pretend I'm your maidservant, just don't leave me all alooooone!"

"Ah...I'm sorry, Mari!" Fumie said, looking as if she wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. "B-But you know you can't skip cheering camp, especially when you're team captain and--"

"But I wanna go to the beach tooooo...I got a cute new swimsuit to show you and everything!"

"You could show her at the pool," Kurako pointed out.

"It's not the saaaame!"

At that moment, two girls from Mari's cheering squad approached. One of them, a girl with long, wavy brown hair in twintails, bent down and took Mari by the shoulders. "Captain, we have to hurry and get ready." She pulled, but Mari just wailed and held onto Fumie's legs tighter. The other girl, a tan girl with blue hair in a pixie cut, had to help pull her off and they dragged her down the hall. "Come on, Captain, you can talk to her later."

"Fumie-tan! You owwwe meeeee!" Mari cried as they turned the corner.

After a moment of awkward silence, Kurako coughed into her fist. "Right...we ought to be going as well."

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OP: "Meeting Role-Call" - Bukatsudo Five ft. Kaana and Hisa

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"Bye, Bus!" Kaana shouted, poking her head out of Fumie's backpack. "Thanks for the ride!"

"He can't hear you, Kaana," Aoi laughed as they all set out down the road. Kurako was in the lead, as it was her summer home, after all.

"It's just down here, guys," she said, leading everyone down a path from the road to the beach. Kurako and Aoi kept going forward, but everyone else stopped at the top of the hill, where the path's base was, and stared. A faint "wooooow" went around the group as they took in the view; the beach itself was clean, and the sand looked like it was perfect for all sorts of sand-sculptures. The ocean was a deep sapphire blue, gentle waves touching the shore as a small crowd of people milled around, playing games and tanning and swimming.

The amount of people was one of the best parts, Fumie decided right then. It wasn't horribly-crowded, nor was it practically-empty. It was just right. "This is gonna be greeeaaat," she sighed happily.

"Hey, Fumie, hurry up!"

Fumie snapped out of her reverie to the sound of Kotone's voice, and she yelped in alarm when she noticed everyone had gone ahead without her. "H- Hey, wait for me!" she shouted, taking off at full-speed down the path. The girls were walking along a small boardwalk that led to a cluster of large summer cabins within view of the beach. Fumie ran faster to try and catch up.

In the background, one of the volleyball players smirked as she got ready to serve. "Hyyyah!" The serve was too powerful for their light-hearted game, and the ball went sailing clear over the other teams' heads, over the imaginary 'out of bounds' line...

"Our ball!"

Fumie stopped in her running, turned around and saw a volleyball headed right for her face.

"Look out!"

With a loud scream, Fumie instinctively reached up, and managed to catch the ball before it hit her face. She lowered it as she breathed a sigh of relief, but it proved to be short-lived as she looked up...
...And saw a brown-haired girl running towards her, too fast to stop in time.

For a split-second, time seemed to freeze as the girls locked eyes, the world falling away into a void of white as they stared at each other, their individual heartbeats ringing in their ears. Then, just as quickly as it started, it stopped, and the brunette crashed right into Fumie and they both fell off the boardwalk and onto a wall of compressed sand.

"Ow..."

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TODAY'S EPISODE: Cure Collision! Fancy Meeting You Here!

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The two girls groaned as they disentangled themselves, the volleyball rolling off to the side before resting to a stop against the side of the boardwalk. "Owww...Oh, no, I'm sorry!" the brunette gasped as she sat up. "I'm so sorry, miss -- are you alright?"

"Geez, Hiroko..." The brunette's friends were walking towards them, just as Fumie's were. The speaker, a dishwater-blonde girl in a pink tankini, held her hands behind her head as she smiled. "You coulda caught that! Sorry about that. You okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine..." Fumie grunted, accepting the brunette's -- apparently named Hiroko -- outstretched hand. She beamed, teeth showing as she said "I've been hit with way worse!"

"Worse than an Izumi-serve?" came another voice. This time the speaker was a girl with short, cerise hair and glasses, clad in a white frilly sundress with a faint rose pattern. She frowned lightly, focusing most of her look on the awkwardly-laughing Izumi, before turning back to the other group. "We're truly sorry about that."

"R-Really, it's alright!" Aoi said hastily, waving a hand in front of herself.

"You're sure?" Hiroko bit her bottom lip as she surveyed Fumie's head, searching for any nasty sort of bumps or redness. When Fumie nodded, Hiroko did too, but less enthusiastically. "Well...i-if you feel lightheaded, then call a doctor and then tell us. I'm sure we can pay for your medical check!"

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In Despair Horizon, there was a loud, unearthly shriek of rage. Two seconds later, the sound of glass shattered rang through the area as Chuusha flung a teacup against the floor. ”Those wretched brats!” she roared. She grabbed another teacup, flung that too. “How could this happen to me? How?!”

Kemuri watched from the shadows, hugging herself as she watched Chuusha's rampage in wide-eyed fright. It was lucky for Chuusha that Gachan was tending to Nocturna at the moment, she thought. Or else there might be two angry Mora members, and then there'd be in-fighting, and...Well, with the fifth Cure awakened, they couldn't afford to fall apart.

When another teacup shattered a little too close to her, Kemuri hopped back. “I-I'm going out for a bit!” she hastily said, before vanishing in a puff of magenta smoke.

Chuusha barely noticed, letting out one final shriek to pierce the air.

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"She was nice," Uta commented as they dropped their luggage on the floor. Then she, and everyone else, looked around the cabin in amazement, a faint chorus of "wooow" going around once again. The place was spacious, and had large picture windows, and clean wooden floors. The furnishings were simple, but homy, with throw pillows and throw blankets against the chairs and cushioned window seats, a few pictures of a tinier Kurako on the walls ("Don't pay attention to those," she grumbled, red-faced), and apparently her parents had stocked the fridge with all the food they'd ever want. Attached to said fridge was a sticky note saying to not be shy, and how happy they were that "little Kurako has made even more friends! <3"

Kurako blushed and told them to ignore that, too.

In a short time, they had changed out of their school uniforms and into their beach clothes, and had pushed their suitcases against a wall and propped them open. Easier than unpacking and then repacking, Kotone had said, and everyone was too eager to get to the beach already to argue.

And on the subject of eagerness... "Hey," Aoi said, looking around. "Where's Kurako?"

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Being embarrassed, and unpacking, worked up an appetite.

Kurako, wearing a small red sundress and wide-brimmed white hat with ribbon, waved goodbye to the hot dog vendor as he ambled along again. She then turned her gaze to her meal; a cheese-filled hot dog. "Alriiight~" she smiled, preparing to take a big bite.

"Chu?"

"Eh?" Kurako stopped right then, glanced around with her brows knitted. "What was that?"

"Chuuu?"

Wait, was that coming from...? Kurako glanced down and came face-to-face with a fluffy mouse, its wide eyes looking, pleadingly, up at her. She swore she could see those huge, pathetic eyes shining with unshed tears. "And no wonder," she mumbled as she crouched down. "You're kinda far from home, aren't you, sweetie?" She reached out with the hand holding the hot dog, extending a finger and gently caressing the mouse's little head. "How did a mouse even end up on the beach anyway?" she realized, frowning again.

The mouse seemed to enjoy the physical attention for a moment, before it suddenly climbed up Kurako's hand and began helping itself to her hot dog.

"H-Hey!" Kurako shouted, standing up at once. "Hey, cut that out, that's mine--!"

"Kisu, here you are!" Another girl with black hair in two buns, wearing a pale yellow tank-top and wrap-skirt, jogged over, looking at the mouse in admonishment. "Why'd you sneak outta my bag, Kisu? It's dangerous for a little mouse at the beach! Eh?" She blinked, and her eyes shifted to Kurako, as if she had just now noticed her. "Ah! He ate your food -- I'm so sorry!" she said with a bow.

"Ah, he can have it," Kurako said with a sigh. She transferred both the food and mouse to the other girl, staring at it. "So, he's your pet?"

"Oh no, he's my baby brother!" the other girl said with a large smile.

"...he's what now?"

"Oh! Hey, you know what? He ate your food, and you gave it to him, so let me get you another one!"

"No, no, it's fine." Kurako reached into her sundress pocket and produced a silvery card. Her parents had given her a credit card when she was littler, only after she promised she would only ever use it for emergencies. And when she never declared 'fashion emergency,' and only used it once to pay fare for a taxi home when her train was delayed, they revised the rule to 'just don't go crazy.' "C'mon, I'll just find an ATM, and buy one myself. And I'll you one, too, okay?" she said with a smile.

"Wow, really?! Thanks! Oh hey, I'm Muse Inoue, by the way! And this is Kisu!"

"I'm Kurako Kaneyama."

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"Kurako!" Aoi called out as she walked down the beach, a hand cupped around her mouth. "Come on, Kurako, where did you go?" She suddenly stopped, moved her hand to rub the back of her neck as she laughed awkwardly. "Ah, what am I saying? Kurako's 14, she's not a little kid...She'll be fine on her own."

"Ehhhh?!"

The sudden shout caught Aoi's attention and she lowered her hand, glancing to find the source of the outcry. About ten feet away from her, a girl with dirty-blonde hair was standing at one of the several food booths, hands on her hips.

"What do ya mean you're out?" she said, a mixture of heartbreak and frustration crossing her face.

"Sorry, miss," said the food-worker with a shrug of her shoulders. "But we just sold the last pizza to a girl about half an hour ago."

"This suuuuucks..." the blonde hung her head, exaggerated despair on her face.

Aoi smiled apologetically, unable to help but feel bad for her. Well, food was highly important, and pizza was apparently important to this girl, so...Well, of course she ought to help out! "Uhm, pardon me," she said, placing a hand gently on the other girl's shoulder. The blonde blinked, turned to look at Aoi over her shoulder. Aoi smiled and adjusted her glasses. "It's not quite a pizza, but I have some pizza balls in my picnic basket somewhere..."

Five minutes later, Aoi was kneeling before the basket, removing various Tupperware and setting them aside. As each new container was produced, the blonde's eyes grew wider, and a faint bit of drool appeared in the corner of her mouth. "Not this one...no...no, that's the dango...sandwiches, chicken, candy -- ah!" She grinned triumphantly as she withdrew another container identical to the previous ones, and removed the lid with a flourish. "Pizza balls! Help yourself."

"Thanks!" The blonde girl was on the container in an instant, popping a whole snack into her mouth and chewing happily. Then she suddenly stopped, her eyes opening wide. And then a slow smile worked its way across her face. "Woooow, this tastes awesome!"

"Oh, thanks, I made it."

"You? Wow, your cooking just rules everything, uh..."

Aoi jumped, blushed faintly as she rubbed the back of her head. "Ahaha...I'm sorry. My name's Aoi Wada."

"Izumi Hamasaki." Izumi grinned, holding a hand out for Aoi to shake.

As Izumi speared another pizza ball with a convenient toothpick, there was another loud cry, steadily growing louder. Both girls looked up in time to see Kotone racing towards them, sand being kicked up behind her in a long trailer. "A-o-iiiiiii!" she shouted. Izumi and Aoi cringed back as Kotone skidded to a halt right in front of them, Izumi hastily leaning over the container to protect her food from the sand. Kotone stood there, breathing heavily with her hands curled into fists, her eyes wide. "Aoi, those were mine!"

"Technically, I'm the one who cooked them."

"But they were for me!" Kotone tapped her chest with both hands for emphasis, leaned forward. “That was my snack, you can't just give it to someone else!”

“Uhhh, you okay, there?” Izumi asked with a frown.

Aoi sighed. “Kotone...” Whatever she was about to say was interrupted by Izumi suddenly holding the container up.

Izumi smiled at Kotone, holding the Tupperware in one hand and a fresh toothpick in the other. “Sorry, man,” she laughed with a tilt of her head. “Hey, we can share 'em, right? C'mon, sit with us!”

Kotone stood silently for a while before she relaxed, exhaling a light breath before smiling back at Izumi. “Yeah, why not?”

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“This is delicious!” Muse cheered, talking around a mouthful of hotdog.

Kurako, sitting beside her on a blanket on the beach, smiled in exasperation and handed her a napkin. "Cover your mouth, please."

"Hee, sorry! You like this, Kisu?" Muse smiled, more gently, down at the little rat in her lap. Kurako followed her gaze, noticing the rat happily munching another hotdog. Surprisingly, even though it was the same size as their own, the rat had eaten a lot more than they had. He sure had an appetite, Kurako laughed to herself.

“Muse, there you are.” The cerise-haired girl approached, now wearing a sunhat to match her frilly dress and carrying a paper cup. “I thought you were going to get Kisu—oh.” Her gaze went to the rat, then to Kurako, and her brows lifted slightly as she pieced things together. “Oh, I see.”

She and Kurako stared, silently sizing each other up for a few moments. Then the cerise-haired girl smiled faintly, looking a bit nervous as she did so. “I have a shaved ice,” she said, indicating the cup. “Do you mind if I eat with you two?”

Kurako smiled. “Yeah, come on down...My name's Kurako Kaneyama, and you are?”

“Yasu Fukuda.”

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Fumie had been the last one to leave the cabin. She'd gone into the bathroom to try on her new swimsuit – a cute ensemble consisting of a baby-blue tankini and a see-through yellow sari around her chest – and had come out only to see her friends had already gone! They could have at least waited for me, she pouted silently, sitting by herself under an umbrella. From her position she could see all her friends and their own new friends; apparently they hadn't branched out as far as one would think. Fumie sighed. “I can't just barge in, can I?” She heaved another sigh, turned her gaze skyward. “I bet if Mari were here, she could hang out with me...”

“Uhm...excuse me?”

“Eh?” Fumie looked to the voice, stared straight up at the brunette from earlier. “Oh! You're uh...Hiroko, right?”

Hiroko smiled nervously and nodded. “Yeah! Hey, ah, I'm sorry about earlier. I just wanted to make sure you were really okay, miss...?”

“Ah, Fumie!” Fumie grinned and held out her hand. “Fumie Motou! And I'm fine, see? No bruises.”

“Oh, that's good! Hey, I still feel a bit bad, so...can I get you something? Shaved ice, maybe? I feel awful, you have to at least let me make it up to you!”

Fumie's smile widened. “Well...not shaved ice, but...”

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Kisu had finished his own hot dog, and was now joyfully munching on the pieces Kurako was offering. The black-haired girl smiled at him, cheeks tinting a faint pink. “He's pretty cute, Muse! He's your pet, right?”

“No, I told you already, he's my broth — mmf!” Muse found Yasu's hand clamped over her mouth in an instant.

“Yes, he's her pet,” Yasu quickly said, pushing her glasses up her nose and giving Muse the side-eye.

Kurako frowned slightly, staring hard at the two other girls. She opened her mouth to speak, when she suddenly heard laughter coming from nearby. She, and the rest of the girls, looked over to see Fumie and Hiroko frantically trying to protect a rather amateurish sandcastle from Uta. The pigtailed girl was holding a bucket of water above her head, laughing as Fumie tried to gently shove her away. “Every castle needs a moat!” she cried.

“Noooo, we worked hard on this!” Fumie said.

“But it needs improvement, and a moat would improve it!”

“Don't you dare!” Hiroko laughed herself, face pink as she nearly threw herself over the sandcastle. She let out a cry of mock dismay as part of it collapsed.

Muse jumped up, pumping a fist into the air. “I'll save you, Hiro-chamaaa!” she cried as she ran towards them. From a few feet away, Izumi could be heard whooping as she too ran for the sandcastle.

Yasu sighed, but she was still smiling a little, and she looked over at Kurako. “Shall we help them?” she asked.

Kurako paused for a moment, then sighed and chuckled, transferring Kisu from her shoulder to the towel, so gently that anyone would think Kisu was her baby brother. Pet. Whatever. “Might as well. Fumie's going to pout about it all day if it gets ruined.” That said, the two girls rose to their feet and, yelling, ran to join the rapidly-growing fray.

Meanwhile, Kaana and Hisa poked their heads out of Kurako's discarded beach bag, Kaana making direct eye-contact with Kisu. Kisu in turn squeaked in fear, backed away shivering. After a brief pause, Kaana ducked back into the bag and emerged with a toffee candy in her mouth. Kisu stepped forward, sniffing tentatively, then smiled at Kaana for a moment before taking the snack.

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Eyecatch 1: Kaana and Hisa, in human form, stand together to take a selfie. Hisa takes the picture, and after a flash fills the screen, we see the photo. Pretty Cure have photo-bombed the sisters; Hisa looks in annoyance at Ink, Twirl, and Beat, while Kaana smiles at Spice and Aria. The PCBE logo appears in the corner.
Eyecatch 2: Pretty Cure (as civilians) stand in Fumie's room with the curtains shut. Fumie is holding the Dream Charm in the air by the chain as Kaana and Hisa part the curtains. The sunlight hits the charm and everyone smiles in open-mouthed awe as the whole room is filled with rainbow light. The PCBE logo appears in the corner.
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“Whew! That's done!” Izumi straightened up, wiped her forehead with the back of her fist.

Over the past hour or so, the girls had managed to wrestle the bucket away from Uta (Muse accidentally upending it on the poor girl), and they had all pitched in to make the sandcastle. Now it stood tall and perfect, turrets and walls everywhere, a few decorative seashells pressed into the sides.
And in the end, yes, Uta had made the moat.

“It looks great,” Aoi smiled, holding her hands out as if to frame the scene, closing one eye. Nodding her satisfaction, she lowered her hands again and smiled around the group. “We did a good job, everyone!”

It was almost funny, really, how easily they'd all just...played like that. How easily they'd gotten along, and befriended one another. And yes, even though only a little over an hour had passed since Kurako and first met Muse, it felt safe to say they were friends. She made a mental note to ask everyone for their contact information.

“So now what do we do?” Uta asked.

“I got it!” Izumi grinned, all teeth as she produced a volleyball from seemingly nowhere. “We got enough people for a volleyball game~!”

Hiroko and Fumie exchanged nervous looks.

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Meanwhile, Kemuri lay in an inner tube as it bobbed lightly in the waves, a pair of oversized sunglasses over her eyes. “Man, I needed this!” she sighed happily. “Especially with Chuusha being in such a mood...” She frowned slightly, pulling her sunglasses down her nose thoughtfully. “Hm. If only she got out into the sun more, she'd be more relaxed.”

Familiar peals of laughter reached her ears. She sat up fully now, the sudden shift in weight making the inner-tube sink and lean dangerously, and lifted her sunglasses to her forehead...revealing that she was somehow wearing her monocle underneath. Her eyes widened as she saw the civilian forms of her foes. “Pretty Cure's here?! Gaaah, I can't get any sort of break from them, can I?” she sighed dramatically.

Then she grinned. “Well...I bet if I get rid of them right here and now...then I can get a vacation! A real one! It's perfect!” she laughed as she suddenly stood on the inner-tube. At that moment, the inner-tube slid out from under her, sending Kemuri into the ocean with a loud splash and cry of shock.

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“Hyaaaaah! Izumi...Fire!” Izumi leaped into the air, spiking the ball down towards the sand.

Fumie yelped and jumped back as the ball struck the ground directly in front of her.

“Whoo!” On the other side of the net, Izumi turned to Kotone and exchanged a double high-five with her. “That's another point for us! Yeah!”

“So what's the score now?” asked Kurako.

“Thirty to twenty?” Yasu adjusted her glasses again, shaking one of her tingling hands a little. Izumi and Kotone hit hard. “I stopped keeping track about five minutes ago.”

“Hey, can I play?~”

“We've kinda got a full group right now,” Izumi started to say, as she turned to speak to the newcomer. Then she stopped, staring with a tilt of her head, as did everyone else. The Bukatsudo Energetic girls, however, gasped quietly, fingers twitching as if to grab their PreCure PCs.

“K-Kemuri!” Uta whispered.

Kemuri stood before them, a hand on her hip and her free hand gently jostling a Dream-Eating Crane. “Nah, I don't wanna play volleyball,” she laughed. With a wicked grin, the sunlight glinting off of her monocle, she turned, flung the paper crane at a nearby bucket of ocean-water. “Bakuko, go!”

The crane landed in the water, and in a bright burst of light, a Bakuko stood where the bucket once was. It was giant, per the norm, and resembled a strange hybrid of hermit crab and octopus, with the giant overturned bucket serving as its shell, and a watery body. Bright yellow, glowing angry eyes peered out from beneath the bucket, and it roared as it lifted two of its eight tentacles. ”Bakuuuuu!”

“Wh-what is that?” Hiroko cried, yelping as Fumie suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her along.

“Run!”

Kemuri, now sitting atop the bucket, laughed as the people on the beach fled, screaming in terror. “Yeah, you run, too!” she jeered at her enemies as they led their friends to safety, kicking her sandaled feet. “It'll make squishing you all that much more fun!” And then no one will oppose Lady Nocturna, she added internally, her smile widening nearly to her ears.

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Kurako shoved Yasu inside the girls' summer cabin, where Yasu's friends and Kisu stood in the den, looking torn between confusion and fear. “You'll be safe here,” Kurako said hurriedly before turning for the door.

“H-Hey, wait!” Muse cried, stepping forward. “Why'd you take us in here? We can--”

Fumie shot a smile at them. “Just stay here, okay?” she said, cutting Muse off. “Stay away from the window, and stay down!”

“Wait a second! We're trying to tell you, we--!” Hiroko began, cut off as the door slammed shut.

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“Ehhh, you're back?” Kemuri frowned briefly as the girls ran back onto the now-deserted beach. “Sheesh, I was hoping I could flood the houses.”

“We were just trying to have a nice vacation!” Fumie called up at her.

“And spend time with our new friends!” Uta finished.

Each of the five girls produced their PreCure PCs, glowering up at Kemuri. “We won't forgive you!” they said as one.

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Izumi, completely ignoring Fumie's advice, flung open the curtains and stared out at the beach. Her eyes went wide at what she saw. “Hey, guys! Check this out!”

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"Pretty Cure! Show my future!"
"Painting the world with new tints, Cure Ink!"
"Spinning with grace and strength, Cure Twirl!"
"Adding flavor and zest to life, Cure Spice!"
"Drumming a new life's rhythm, Cure Beat!"
“Joyfully singing life's song, Cure Aria!”
"Protecting everyone's dreams, Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic!"

”Bakuko-kooo!” The Bakuko swiped one of it tentacles at the girls, who leaped high into the air to avoid it. Airborne, Ink quickly looked over the monster, easily potting the keyhole-shaped mark at the top of the bucket...or was it the bottom? Either way, that was their target.

“Right there, everyone!” she yelled, pointing. That said, she drew her arm back, ready to shoot out a power-blast--

--and Kemuri just smirked, waving an index finger. “I don't think soooo~” she sang. The Bakuko lashed out with another tentacle, and instead of smacking Cure Ink away, it submerged her in water.

“Ink!” Cure Twirl yelled as she and the others landed on the beach. She ran towards the Bakuko, keeping her eyes on Ink, still suspended in the air and grabbing at her throat as bubbles escaped her mouth. “I've got you!”

“Guess again!” Kemuri laughed.

Another tentacle swung at Cure Twirl, never relinquishing Ink for a second. The other three Cures ran for Twirl, aiming to move her out of danger. “Cure Twirl, look out--!”

Just then, twin blasts of gold shot out from nowhere, one striking the tentacle headed for Twirl and veering it away, the other cutting right through the one holding Ink. Ink fell, landing into a crouch on the beach as the water splashed harmlessly around her, and coughed for air.

“What?!” Kemuri cried, echoing everyone's current thought.

All five Cures and villain looked further up the beach. There stood Muse, Yasu, Izumi, and Hiroko; Muse stood with both hands lifted, the blasts having apparently come from here. “Leave our friends alone, you bully!” she yelled down.

“G-Girls! What're you doing here?!” Cure Spice cried, frantic. She swung her arm out, making a broad 'run' gesture. “Get out of here before you get hurt!”

“As we tried to say,” Hiroko said, frowning lightly. “We can help!” She, Yasu, and Izumi all produced odd cell phones from their pockets, held them aloft.

"Transmute! Pretty Cure Henshin!"

The beach was bathed in three different colors of light; bronze, blue, and lavender. Even the monster was surprised, squinting slightly with everyone else.

Cure Ink looked over her hand, her confused expression slowly changing to one of delight as the light burst away from their new friends.

"The hidden azure scales, Cure Draco!"
"The forceful black shell, Cure Kame!"
"The shining silver fangs, Cure Tora!"

"Live in tomorrow, fight for today!" The Cure trio said, posing. "We are Pretty Cure!"

Kemuri sat frozen in shock, monocle slipping just slightly as she boggled at the quartet. “A-Another Pretty Cure group?” she squeaked. Suddenly, she shook her head, pigtails swinging rapidly, and pointed at them. “W-Well, forget it! Whatever! I'll just have to crush all of you! My Bakuko can handle you no problem, right Bakuko?”

”B-Baku!” The Bakuko waved two of its front tentacles as if it were pumping fists, then shot them out at the group in front of it.

The Bukatsudo Cures jumped away again, and backwards, joining the Mirai Spark girls. Cure Spice gave them a sideways glance, a mild look of exasperation on her face. “There were better ways to reveal yourselves, ladies,” she sighed. “That was dangerous.”

“Yeah, but it sure was dramatic!” laughed Cure Kame, rubbing the back of her head. Then she grinned broadly. “Let's get that thing!”

“Right!”

All nine girls raced back onto the beach, spreading out to cover more ground. The Bakuko turned slightly one way, then another, note quite sure which girl exactly it should be following.

“So you girls fight these things?” Cure Tora called out. “Where do we aim?”

“That keyhole-mark up there!” Cure Beat supplied, skidding to a stop long enough to point. “Right there--”

“Gotcha!” Kemuri cried, and the Bakuko sent another tentacle at Cure Beat, it landing on her and trapping her in the water before she could react.

“Beat!” Cure Aria shouted in terror as she too stopped, focused on her sister.

Cure Beat grit her teeth as she flailed in the watery prison, glaring and trying to fire an energy blast to free herself. But when she tried, the blast was slowed down by the water, and even then when it finally broke the surface, it just flew out into the air, not breaking the tentacle as Muse's did. Muse's blast from outside.

“Hold on, I've got you!” So fast she might as well have been a blur, Cure Tora ran for Beat and, in one smooth motion, leaped through the tentacle, grabbed onto Beat as she went, and landed safely on the other side. “You okay?”

Beat just stared. “Holy crap, that was cool,” she deadpanned.

“H-hey!”

The girls snapped their heads around to see the others frantically throwing energy blasts at the Bakuko, only for it to swat them aside with its tentacles and let out a loud, gurgling laugh. Spice briefly decided to forgo the blasting and skidded to a halt before going airborne, aiming a powerful kick at the Bakuko's bucket-body. Another tentacle came up to ensnare her, however, and Cure Aria had to hastily jump up and pull a shield up to keep it away.

“Spice, I don't think regular moves are going to work,” she admitted as they landed.

“But what else can we do?” Spice cried nervously, grabbing Aria and jumping aside with her to avoid another tentacle.

A bit aways, Cures Ink and Draco skidded to a halt, exchanged a glance. “Every time we try anything, it just traps someone in one of those things,” Ink said, gesturing to the Bakuko.

“If only we could just keep them from hitting someone...”

“Stop it from moving....”

Suddenly, both girls' eyes lit up as they got the same idea, and they exchanged a brief glance. “Would that work?” Ink asked.

Draco just inclined her head. “We have to try!” Then they both looked back at the beach.

“Girls!”

Though they never stopped running or flinging energy blasts in the vain hope that something would hit, everyone present turned their gazes to their respective leaders. Cures Ink and Draco stood there, hand in hand.

“Tora! Kame! Muse! Do you girls trust Cure Ink?”

“Twirl, Spice, Beat, Aria, how about you?”

“What--?” Beat began to say.

”Do you trust us?” the two leaders yelled in unison. When they received no answer, Cure Draco sent out an order. “Just let it get you! Let it get you and don't move!”

“Are you nuts?!” Cure Tora cried.

”Just trust us!” Ink and Draco yelled together.

Well...the girls hastily exchanged glances, nodded grimly. “Their leaders had never steered them wrong before...What did they have to lose? One by one, everyone stopped running, glared up at the Bakuko with grim determination and clenched fists.

From her perch, Kemuri was laughing again. “Well, giving up and taking everyone else with you, wimp?” she called down to Cure Ink. “Fine by me. Bakuko...drown everyone here!”

”BAKUUU!” the Bakuko shrieked, sounding overjoyed at the prospect. It lifted all its tentacles at once, each one aiming for a different Cure, whether she be standing alone or with another.

“Okay, everyone...” Cure Beat muttered, half to herself and half to whoever could hear.

“Hold your breath...” Muse.

”Now!” Everyone yelled before taking a deep breath and holding it just before the tentacles trapped them all in water.

“Okay, now!” Draco and Ink ran towards the Bakuko, still hand-in-hand.

And it was then that the Bakuko realized its fatal mistake. No more tentacles, meaning...

“Ohhhh crap,” Kemuri mumbled, eyes wide. She swiftly jumped up, vanishing into the dark vortex that had suddenly appeared, leaving her monster alone and finally defenseless.

”Pretty Cure...”

“Color Splash!”
“Illuse Ring!”

The two attacks spiraled around each other, merged as they shot straight for the keyhole mark on the Bakuko's bucket. The Bakuko glanced around frantically, desperate and confused, before staring straight at the attack. The attacks connected, bathing the Bakuko in a bright blue light. ”B-Baku...bak...” it murmured sleepily, eyes drooping shut. And then, in another burst of light, the tentacles dissolved, freeing the other girls, and the monster became a harmless bucket once more.

Cure Tora breathed a sigh of relief, smiled wearily at Ink and Draco, who sent smiles (and in Ink's case, a V-sign) at everyone else.

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Later that night, after everyone had tentatively gone back onto the beach, the nine girls sat around a small campfire, roasting various snacks and socializing. Izumi and Yasu were staring with interest at Uta's PreCure PC, and Aoi was tracing over the buttons of Draco's Puricell. Muse sat watching Kisu and the two snake fairies in her lap, laughing when Kaana offered Kisu a bite of marshmallow only for the mouse to swallow the entire thing whole.

“So you guys are Cures too?” Hiroko asked Fumie. “I had no idea!”

“Ffff, I didn't know you were either,” Fumie chuckled, scratching her cheek as she smiled awkwardly. “You guys kinda scared me when I saw you standing there on the beach!”

“Hey, even if we didn't have powers, we'd want to help! You can't expect a friend to just sit back and let you risk your life out there...”

Fumie blushed faintly as she looked hastily into the fire. “Yeah. You're right.”

Neither girl was aware of Kurako looming over them with a large blanket until it was too late, and she leaned between them and captured them both in a blanket-hug, wrapping the three of them up. “Hey, come on, no more talk of battle!” she said in a mock-stern voice. “It's time to relax til we have to go  back to school!”

As everyone else laughed and expressed their agreement, Fumie and Hiroko exchanged a brief glance. Then Fumie held back a snicker, then Hiroko did the same, and before long the two girls were laughing too, leaning against each other with their foreheads touching.

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ED: "Just Close Your Eyes" - Yukari Tamura

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ON THE NEXT EPISODE:
Uta: “Hikaru's been acting really weird!”
Fumie: “Eh? What do you mean?”
Uta: “He doesn't want people to see him, he keeps ducking out of sight, he's all secretive...I wonder what this means?”
Fumie: “Ah, I hope it's not serious!”
Uta: “Next time on Pretty Cure Bukatsudo Energetic: 'Not Going Back! I Have A New Dream!' Please don't be late for next meeting!”