NPPC03/Transcript

“Oh no, oh no, oh no, no, no!” Cure Identity chants under her breath. The pink Cure dashes through the hallway. Risking a glance over her shoulder, she spots the Nokachi down the hall.

“Hurry up, Identity!” Safe rushes past her at shoulder height. The pink haired girl swears she can silently hear him scream a little under his breath as well. Well, if the small ‘aaaaaa’ is anything to go by.

Originally, their plan had been to just evade the Nokachi for a while in order to form a better plan, but Identity’s pretty sure that by now they’re both just running away. The pink Cure is about to turn a corner into a crossing hallway, but Safe sharply pulls her hair. “Ow, Safe wha-” Safe interrupts, hissing harshly in the pink-haired girl’s ear “Shh! Don’t go there, police!” and like the mascot pointed out, there are in fact some officers there.

That’s a recent development, actually. Safe and Miwa had hoped that they could stay on the down low, but with them essentially stealing some of Casablanca City’s most valuable, that’s nearly impossible. So now there’s some kind of task force for them, appearing wherever the Nokachi do, since that means the Pretty Cure appear, too. At least they don’t seem to have figured out the real connection between the monsters and the Pretty Cure. How the name ‘Pretty Cure’ actually go to them is a mystery too, but they’re both less concerned about that than the possibility of being caught.

However, the appearance of police of course complicates their fights as well. Safe has lead her down a different hallway and the pair are standing before a ventilation vent. Finally, Identity’s tools come in handy. All that work shouldn't go to waste, after all! Identity quickly undoes the cover and Safe slips in. She follows, and reattaches the vent before crawling after the mascot, who has gone ahead.

The new plan is pretty clear, even without Safe having briefed her: Find the Nokachi again through the vent system, then make a quick entry and exit while still defeating the monster. That’s easier said than done, but Identity’s no beginner!

In the end, Cure Identity pulls through and defeats the Nokachi. Snatches up the Rheingold and Safe before jumping back into the vent the pair originally entered through. Navigating through the maze of the ventilation system is easier now that they just want to go up. Still, Identity makes sure not to produce too much noise. She really doesn’t want to deal with the police.

They make it out, and the cool night air welcomes them. The roof is surprisingly barren and silent. The pink-haired Cure risks a glance over the edge of the building. Below she spots the police cars, among others. “Let’s go.” Identity agrees with Safe’s sentiment. She doesn’t want to stay here any longer than she has to either. Gripping Safe a little tighter, the pink Cure jumps away into the concrete jungle.

“Hhhahhhh…” Miwa falls onto her bed and practically sinks into it. She blindly grabs her blanket and a pillow, then pulling them over her head. The teen can tell when Safe jumps on top of her pillow, since his weight lands directly on her face. The mascot obviously has something to say, so Miwa reluctantly pulls down the pillow and blanket, fixing him with an unimpressed stare. Safe just stares right back.

Miwa breaks first. “All right, get it off your chest. I know it was a real close call this time. Tell me straight up!” the girl sits straight up on her bed, motivated. The mascot floats in front of her, not breaking eye contact. He nods, “Good to see that we’re seeing eye to eye on that issue.”. It’s obvious what he is referring to. “For the future, I suggest we go looking for the others.” the mascot says, nodding as if what he just said makes perfect sense. To him it might, but not to the magenta-haired girl.

“Which others?” Several emotions are visible on her face. Confusion, most definitely, but also something which could be curiosity. It’s plain as day that the girl’s listening intently now. “...the other Pretty Cure?” Apparently, this is some sort of universal truth.

“There are others?! I thought it was just gonna be you ‘n me against the world or something!” the teen is vibrating from excitement, already imagining all sorts of things to do once their group is bigger. The adventures every teenager dreams of! To escape the monotony of daily life with a group of friends! Her eyes are sparkling and Safe can basically see what she is thinking.

“When can we start looking? ‘Cause I’m ready to go! Oh, how do we even tell who’s Pretty Cure!” she fires questions one after the other, not even letting the mascot answer any questions and it isn’t looking like she’s going to stop any time soon. Safe can’t get a word in. But at least she’s on board with the idea.

He almost regrets what he says next because it only elevates the girl’s excitement even more. “Actually… they might be nearer than you think. Like… your school near.” Safe gestures somewhat wildly and like he expected, Miwa’s room descends into chaos even more.

Miwa does eventually calm down, having become quite tired. “I’ll start looking.” she interrupts herself with a big yawn. “But only tomorrow. Goodnight, Safe.” she smiles before falling asleep almost immediately. Safe responds likewise, “Goodnight, Miwa.” before settling down for the night.

Miwa really didn’t have any expectations for the day, although she had promised Safe that she’d start looking for the other Pretty Cure. The magenta-haired girl can’t quite believe yet that she and Safe won’t be the only ones in the future and she can’t help but be a bit happy about that.

Surprisingly, she’s not the only one who’s thinking about the Pretty Cure, she notices once she enters White Drama Middle School. While not immediately obvious, there are hushed whispers in the morning. By lunch break, the hesitation of talking has waned and an entire discussion has developed in the second-year classroom. Miwa can’t help but overhear some of the conversations going on.

“You think the thieves are behind the monsters?” one of her classmates asks her friend, incredulous. Said friend gives her a look that says ‘duh.’ “Who else would it be?” and Miwa agrees she would like to know too, but she doesn’t say so out loud. The girls are still gossiping, so Miwa covertly listens to their conversation again. The first one of the two goes “Well, I don’t think the thieves are the ones behind the monsters. Have you heard what kind of disguises they apparently wear? With getup like that it’s more likely that they fight the monsters.”. The magenta-haired teen is somewhat offended. She likes her outfit. It’s cool.

Miwa makes use of her time and listens around some more. In general it seems that there’s no general opinion. Nobody actively supporting them (what a shocker, really, Miwa can agree) but also not many with a strong opinion against her and Safe. Sure, there was that one third-year who said something along the lines of “Why are you all talking about thieves like they’re celebrities? They should be put in jail and that’s that, end of discussion!”, but besides him, many were still on the fence about this whole ordeal.

Another thing of note for the day is that one of her classmates, notoriously silent and shy, even attempted to be part of the discussions. She didn’t say much, but seemed interested. She’s the grey-haired one Miwa sometimes notices, Naka-something. She wants to say it’s a common name but Miwa really can’t say.

School is over but Miwa isn’t satisfied with the progress she’s made. Before is her small notepad. She’s written down all she found out about other possible Cures, but it’s not much. There’s not even one page filled and it’s somewhat demotivating to her.

Going over her notes again, maybe she missed something. When she transformed first, there was that strange voice. But she hasn’t heard it again and asking other people if they’re hearing voices doesn’t sound like that good of an idea.

Someone is blocking her light now, and she turns towards what she assumes is a classmate. It’s not. The girl standing by her desk isn’t in her class, but she might be from one of the other second-year classes. She has brown eyes and hair, some of which is pulled up in two little twintails, one of which is currently in the process of dropping into her eyes because the girl is leaning forward so far. The girl catches it and pushes it back, but it drops right back again, undisturbed. The student pushes herself up. She had apparently been reading Miwa’s notes and Miwa really hopes she doesn’t ask about them.

“Are you looking to catch them too?” the girl asks, and that’s not what Miwa had been expecting at all. The magenta-haired girl doesn’t know how to answer, but the other girl takes her silence to mean something else. Her eyes widen slightly and she speaks again, “I’m sorry, you don’t even know me, right?”. When Miwa nods slowly, she goes on. “I’m Doris Evans. Before you ask, it’s an english name so my surname goes last.”. Miwa takes the chance to introduce herself too “I’m Mimoto Miwa. Nice to meet you, Doris.”. She hopes using the brown-haired girl’s first name is alright and it seems it is.

Doris, now that Miwa knows her name, goes on “I work for the police and right now my case is the thieves everybody is talking about.” and after a moment, she adds “Well, it’s not really my case, I’m just looking into it on my own, like you are.”

Somehow, Doris ends up inviting her to help her, not waiting for Miwa’s answer before dragging her along. Well, it’s not like Miwa wanted to refuse, Doris is nice after all. Certainly nicer to work with as a partner than Safe, in some aspects. Doris doesn’t yell at her for example. But then again, without Safe vocally commenting her every move, it wouldn’t be as much fun as it is. Also, someone who has basically committed treason is a much better partner in crime than a cop is.

“Okay, so far we’ve linked at least four instances of some sort of theft to the Pretty Cure.” Doris is laying out her observations cleanly. After a moment, Miwa hums besides the brown-haired girl in agreement. The magenta-haired girl is simultaneously trying to figure out where the pair are going and trying to keep up with what the other girl is laying out in front of them. “Are there like… any similarities between those four times?” she asks instead.

Doris sighs and shrugs her shoulders. “No, not really. They’ve taken stuff from museums, but also just stolen jewelry, there’s a big difference there… We can’t nail a motive down yet, as of now it seems like they’re just hitting whatever.”

“And the monsters or whatever they are?” Miwa digs a bit, and to her own surprise, she doesn’t stutter despite her nervousness. “Ah yes, those. We don’t really know what to make of them. But the leading theory right now is that they’re a distraction set by the Pretty Cure, although I don’t know how they even do that. Those things are huge, and they almost seem alive. But were not focusing on them, they don’t seem to be doing much.”

“Ha, yeah.” As if they’re not doing anything, Miwa thinks, but she doesn’t voice the thought. No need to make her even more suspicious than she already is. She still can’t figure out where they’re going, but this is definitely the west of the city.

“So, how come you’re interested in this? I didn’t take you to be someone interested in stuff like this.” Doris gazes at her expectantly, and Miwa almost freezes. “Uhhm…” she forces out “well, right now a lot of people are!” Her forced smile is a bit wobbly. “It’s, like, the first interesting thing to happen in Casablanca City since forever!” It’s an adequate answer, or at least Miwa hopes it is. Doris looks pensive for a moment, then hums in agreement. “I guess so.” she giggles “I guess I do see more action than a girl my age would. Okay, we’re here!”

Oh. Oh no.

The pair are standing in front of Casablanca City’s very own western museum, also known as the first crime scene. Hold it together Miwa, she tells herself. The last thing she wants is for Doris to notice her increasing discomfort. But said girl is already halfway into the building, turning impatiently for the other girl. Good, it seems she hasn’t noticed.

The two girls wander around and it reminds Miwa of her time here with Safe… which is also technically the reason she is here now. They’ve already taken a look at where the painting used to be, but unsurprisingly there’s not a lot to see. Then Doris had stated she wanted to look around, maybe she’d find something by coincidence and of course Miwa had trailed behind. The magenta-haired girl has to admit, Doris is pretty nice to talk to, were it not for the whole police and thief thing.

“Oh, are you also here because of the thieves?” a cheerful voice suddenly greets from behind, and by the time the girls have turned around, the newcomer has already gone on. “‘Cause there’s a lot of teenagers here now since what happened.” the speaker is a girl or maybe already an adult, Miwa can’t really tell. But she has short blonde hair and eyes that are either grey or blue. Maybe a mix. The woman (?) happily goes on talking without a care in the world "Anyways, I think they're really cool!". As she exclaims this, Miwa can almost see her eyes sparkle.

Beside her, Doris startles. "Cool? Criminals shouldn't be cool.". The other is undeterred, going on "I don't think they're doing anything particularly bad, it's not like these… art pieces or whatever are that important.". "But it's still wrong! No matter what, breaking the law is wrong. I'm not arguing over this.". With her jaw set, Doris marches away. The blonde shouts after her, "Maybe they need it, hm? You don't know their circumstances!" but Doris doesn't answer. With a shrug and them a wave, the woman leaves without another word. Miwa looks after her but looks away when Doris calls her. When she glances back again, the blonde woman has already disappeared.

"Okay, I think we're done here. Miwa-san, thank you for helping me. It was nice.", Doris says earnestly. "It really was! Maybe we can meet up again?", the magenta-haired girl replies, caught up in the other girl's eagerness. They absolutely shouldn't, not if Miwa doesn't want to get caught.

Miwa is about to excuse herself and say goodbye when the ground violently shakes. For a moment, Miwa thinks it's an earthquake, but she quickly realises what's really happening. From just behind the building, she spots the Nokachi.

Doris has spotted it as well. She doesn't hesitate to take off after it. "Hey, where are you going?!" Miwa shouts after the young police officer. "Wherever they appeared, something was stolen!".

Once the brunette is out of sight, Miwa glances around, then begins to head towards the Nokachi as well. The girl specifically heads towards a less-travelled street, then Slips into an alleyway. Taking out the Special Lock, she quickly transforms. “Pretty Cure Midnight Getaway!”

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Clever and inventive, the trickster queen! Cure Identity!"

There is no one to watch her, which makes the whole introduction and pose a bit awkward. At least, the Cure thought, she wasn't observed.

"Ah, Cure Identity, you're already on the way. Good. Make it quick." Safe floats next to the girl, somewhat annoyed. Cure Identity startles badly, jumping into a fighting stance. This only results in more annoyance from the mascot, but the girl is pretty sure she can also spot some concern in his expression. Without much more wait, the pair make their way towards the monster.

When she comes face to face with the Nokachi, the pink Cure is glad to see that Doris has not yet arrived. However, there is someone else here with them, stepping out of the shadows. Short blonde hair. Eyes that appear even more empty now, without pupils. The woman is wearing a different outfit than before. Curiously, a pair of cat ears and a tail in the colour of her hair adorn her.

Safe doesn't hesitate to confront her, "Hey, who are you? What do you want?". The woman starts chuckling in return. "I am here on the orders of King Deimos, king of the Welton Kingdom. But you already know that, don't you?". The pair only glare at her, Cure Identity raising an arm protectively in front of Safe. This gains them more cackles and a smirk. "Yes, you already know what I want. I need to bring you back.", She points lazily at Safe, who once again asks only "Who are you?". Realisation seems to set in. "Ah, where are my manners. Lady Fortune, at your service… or not." She bows dramatically. Turning towards the Nokachi, she orders "Attack!"

Both sides jump into action, the Nokachi starting towards its much smaller opponent. It forces the Cure to jump out of the way, losing sight of the cat girl. Apparently, the woman doesn’t want to fight herself, having her monster do the work for her. Said monster is once again charging the girl in pink.

With a moment’s preparation, Cure Identity vaults herself over the Nokachi with a handstand on its head, allowing her to deliver a strong kick to its backside. The monster stumbles forward, so she sweeps away its legs, making it fall. Quickly, she defeats it with the use of the Special Lock and her Identity Finale.

Lady Fortune reappears from the shadows, sporting a very much annoyed expression, although she appears not to want to show it. Remarkably calm, she addresses the pair, “Don’t think this will be the last time! This is only the beginning, for sure. But for now… I will have to retreat.”. With that, the blonde disappears for good.

“I think that’s it for today…” the Cure sighs relieved, strolling over to the Rheingold and picking it up. Safe watches her eagle-eyed, taking the small object from the girl upon her offering it. “Well then, we should be on our way, no?” he suggests and his partner agrees with an enthusiastic nod. The two jump on top of the building Lady Fortune last stood at, then disappear into the jungle of the city.

“Darn it!” Doris arrives to an empty scene. Not even the ‘monster’ remains, suddenly disappearing despite its size. Still, the brunette decides to further investigate the location, “Maybe, there’s still something here…”

Miwa closes the door to her room once Safe is inside as well, who settles on the girl’s pillow while she takes off her school uniform, then changing into her sleepwear. “You know, something interesting happened today.” she chatters, while taking down her hair and brushing it. From the bed, Safe makes an interested noise, so she goes on. “I was trying to do what you told me, yknow, looking for other Cures, but all that happened was that a schoolmate of mine thought I was investigating them, ” Miwa pauses to step outside and head for the bathroom, but returns shortly thereafter with a toothbrush in mouth. Muffled, the girl goes on. “Anywaysh, turnsh out sheshs a cop or shomething, and sho we had a trip together! It wash fun, beshides the police aspect!”. Once again Miwa disappears, then returns and settles into bed, Safe scooting aside to make room for her and instead settling on a pillow set out especially for him.

“Okay, what I wanted to say was that I think you should come with me in the future. That way we don’t have to look for each other! We keep having luck and running into each other at the right times, but maybe we won’t always!” Miwa is looking at her partner, while also reaching for the lightswitch. “It’ll be more efficient or something, as well! I think.” she adds and Safe rolls his eyes. “Okay, alright. If it makes you happy.” Miwa notes bemusedly he agreed easier than before. “That’s nice! Goodnight, Safe!” She sounds very happy, turning off the light and settling into bed for the night.

After a long pause, she hears a small response of “Goodnight.” from Safe.