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It was May 9th, Maple’s first birthday. That was already a very special day, but that wasn’t the only cause for celebration; it was Sango Suzumura’s birthday too. There was a party at the beach, and many PreCures had come by for the big day.
“Oh, this first year’s gone by so fast, mepo!” Mepple fawned, cuddling his daughter.
“Ma, pa,” Maple cooed.
“Thanks for all your help, mipo,” Mipple told Nagisa and Honoka.
Honoka nodded. “The pleasure was ours.”
“Happy birthday, Sango, I’ve got something for you,” Laura said, handing Sango a present. When she opened it, there was a shirt with Laura’s own face on it.
Sango raised a brow. She was a bit bemused by Laura’s large ego, but she thought it was a nice shirt anyway. “Gee, thanks,” she said, and patted Maple on the head. “I’ve got something for you too, Mapes.” She gave her a tiny pink dress. Maple giggled and clapped her paws.
Before she knew it, however, Manatsu dashed over to Sango and tackled her with a big hug. Sango was so caught off-guard by this that she lost her balance and toppled over. As they were near the edge of the slightly steep shore, they tumbled down the slope and landed in the sea.
Manatsu shrugged. “Sorry, Sango.”
“It’s okay, I was planning on going for a dip anyway,” Sango responded.
With that, they began to swim together, and some others followed suit. Pegitan slid down the sand on his belly and jumped in. Aroma threw a ball into the ocean, and Pafu yipped and jumped in after it. When she got out of the water, she looked quite silly with her saggy, fluffy fur, and Aroma stifled a chuckle.
By the seaside, Hugtan made a little sandcastle and proudly showed it off to Ellee-chan, who looked impressed. Chiffon then cleared their throat for their attention. They turned around, and much to their surprise, she had made a scale model of a shrine out of sand. Their mouths hung open in awe.
On the sidelines, Akane asked Satoru, “You think you’ll ever become a PreCure?”
“I don’t know, but I would like to fight alongside my friends,” Satoru responded, scratching Daifuku behind the ears. “Daifuku feels the same way.” Daifuku had his usual blank expression, so it was hard to tell how he felt from his face alone.
Yuki, who was in her cat form, was sprawled out on her back on a towel. She was wearing shades and sunbathing.
Komugi, who was in her dog form, was dog-paddling in the sea. “C’mon in! The water’s wonderful, wan!” she called out to Yuki.
Yuki shuddered and shook her head. “Not a chance.” Like many cats, she had a strong aversion to water.
Mayu, who was also in the water, replied, “Only come in if you’re comfortable.”
Pollun, who was lying in a folding chair to get a tan, realized too late that he had forgotten to put on sunscreen. He had received such a painful sunburn that the white parts of his fur turned red. “Oh…biscuits,” he groaned.
“Looks like someone’s a hot dog now, lulu,” Lulun quipped. Pollun just rolled his eyes.
Maple paddled in the water alongside Komugi. “Nice pup paddle, birthday baby!” Komugi commented.
“You think that’s good? Watch this!” Laura scoffed and turned into a mermaid. She leapt like a dolphin and did some flips in the air.
“Hmph, showoff,” Yuki thought as she lifted her shades.
Kururun dove deep underwater and swam among a school of fish. By a coral, they caught sight of a black sphere with a yellow pattern resembling eyes and a mouth. Intrigued, they picked it up and took it to the surface. They approached Laura and tapped her on the shoulder.
“Do not interrupt me while I’m doing my acrobatics- oh, what a strange rock,” Laura mused.
Komugi looked over and gasped. “That’s not a rock, wan! That’s a Garugaru egg, wan!”
She swam over to Kururun to take the egg, but she went too fast and bumped into it, causing them to drop it into the water by mistake. She took a deep breath and began to dive down. The egg sank faster and faster until it landed on a coral reef, forming a crack on its shell. Komugi watched in horror as it started to hatch.
Out of the egg came a giant shark. The fin on the top of its head protruded from the water, and when the others saw it, they scrambled back to the shore, yelling and clamoring. The commotion got Yuki’s attention and she took off her sunglasses, only to be greeted with this horrific sight. Mepple tried to bring Maple back to the shore, but the Garugaru rammed his head into him, flinging him right back onto dry land. In the process, he lost his grip of Maple and she fell into the water.
“PA!” she screamed, flailing in panic.
“MAPLE!” Mepple shouted.
Nagisa’s protective aunt instinct went into overdrive. “Everyone! Transform and fight!” she roared, clenching her fists.
“Wait!” Iroha exclaimed. “The Garugarus are just innocent animals deep down! We gotta soothe them!”
“Leave this to us, wan!” Komugi declared.
The Wonderful PreCures turned into their super forms. The only one who did not transform was Yuki, who looked uncharacteristically unnerved. She stood on the beach, frozen with fear, and her fur stood on end.
“What are you doing, mepo?!” Mepple demanded. “Go!”
Yuki remained rooted to the sand, sweating like mad. “I…uh…”
Sensing her stress, Cure Lillian knelt down to her level. “Listen, I know how you feel about water. You can sit this one out if you want to.”
Yuki had mixed feelings. She was torn between her desire to help and her aquaphobia and she had no idea what to do. “Alright.”
“Then I’m going in!” Sango stated, and she became Cure Coral.
Cure Friendy and Cure Wonderful used their Friendly Tacts to summon the power of the Kirarin Lion, which increased their speed. The three jumped into the water, where the Garugaru was starting to circle around Maple. While it had its eyes on the purple infant, Cure Wonderful and Cure Friendy crept up on the Garugaru from behind.
Cure Coral grabbed the scared little dear and made an X-shaped barrier, shielding herself and Maple, which the Garugaru repeatedly rammed against. Cure Wonderful and Cure Friendy tried to hold onto the Garugaru, but its tail was whipping around so much that it kept knocking them backwards. Eventually, Cure Coral could no longer hold the barrier up, and it cracked to pieces. The Garugaru headbutted her, sending her flying. She let go of Maple, who careened through the air and squealed.
Yuki’s anxiety grew as she witnessed the chaos. Her conscience told her to go in and do something about it, but her legs weren’t listening. She kept breathing deeply and trying to reassure herself, “It’ll be simple. Just take the plunge. You can do this.”
Cure Lillian caught Maple and threw her to Cure Friendy. At that moment, the Garugaru banged its head into Cure Lillian, knocking her deep underwater. Cure Wonderful approached it and tried to give it a cooldown hug, but then the Garugaru whirled around and began to chase her and Cure Friendy, who paddled as fast as they could to keep from getting bitten. Cure Coral tried to catch up to the Garugaru, but it was just too quick for her.
Back under the sea, Cure Lillian crashed back-first into the hard ground, which knocked the wind right out of her. She tried to move back up, but her foot was trapped under a coral. Due to oxygen deprivation, she transformed back into her civilian form. As her eyes widened in sheer terror, she put her hands over her mouth and nose as her face turned purple, trying her hardest not to let any water in.
For a good several seconds, there were no signs of Mayu returning to the surface. Yuki came to a decision; she couldn’t delay it any longer, she had to act now.
“I will trust my instincts! I am not the ocean’s prey!” she proclaimed, bringing herself to her full height.
At long last, she transformed into Cure Nyammy. She took out her tact and harnessed the power of the Kirarin Bear to give herself increased strength. She inhaled deeply and leapt into the water. She saw Mayu deep down below, beginning to lose consciousness and emitting bubbles. She reached the bottom and punched the coral that encased Mayu’s foot, setting it free. She pulled Mayu up to the surface and caught her breath. She dragged Mayu to the shore and put an ear on her chest. To her relief, there was still a pulse.
She heard Cure Friendy call out, “Nyammy! Help us!”
Rikka stepped in. As someone who wished to become a doctor in the future, she knew how to do CPR in case Mayu needed it. “Let me handle this.”
With a grateful nod, Cure Nyammy jumped back into the sea. At this point, the Garugaru had cornered Cure Coral, Cure Friendy, Cure Wonderful, and Maple by a rock formation and was approaching them threateningly. Cure Friendy held Maple close to herself as the latter whimpered with her face in her hands.
Cure Nyammy paddled up to the Garugaru from behind and wrapped her arms around its tail to distract it. Due to her upgraded strength, she accidentally turned it upside down, and the Garugaru went completely still.
“If you flip a shark on its back, it goes into a state of tonic immobility,” Satoru noted.
Cure Nyammy clung to the Garugaru and rubbed its fin. “I know you’re stressed,” she whispered. “You’re not the only one, but if you take some deep breaths, those negative feelings may go away, and you can do anything.”
Maple uncovered her eyes and watched in amazement as the Garugaru started to sparkle as the negative energy faded away. “Garugaru…” it uttered as it became a Niko Animal. His true form was much smaller and cuter; he was just a baby great white shark. He had tiny black eyes and little fangs that stuck out slightly.
Cure Friendy held up the Kiraniko Trunk and opened it, revealing the portal to the Niko Garden. “C’mon in.”
Cure Wonderful stroked the Niko Shark’s fin. She and Cure Friendy said, “Time to go home now.” With an appreciative smile, the Niko Shark entered the portal and went back to where he belonged. The others then turned back into their civilian forms. Maple cooed in relief.
“You did it, Yuki,” Iroha uttered in reverence. “You actually did it.”
Yuki nodded modestly. “You’re my friends. I did what I had to do for all of you.”
“Thanks a lot!” Komugi whooped.
“I’m sure Maple would thank you too if she could,” Sango stated, petting Maple’s fur. Maple stretched out her little arms, reaching for Yuki. Though Yuki wasn’t entirely used to holding children, she reciprocated the gesture and picked her up. Maple nuzzled Yuki’s hand.
“Ooki,” Maple whispered. A slow smile came to Yuki’s face.
The girls swam back to the shore, where the others had seen the action. They all cheered and clapped as the heroes stepped the sand, and Yuki handed Maple to her parents. Mepple and Mipple snuggled her, overjoyed that she was safe at last. Nagisa and Honoka shook hands with their surrogate niece’s saviors.
Mayu had already awakened. When she saw Yuki, she gave her a big hug. “Even though you were afraid, you powered through it for all of us. I’m so proud of you.”
Yuki wrapped her arms around her surrogate sister. “Mayu, you saved me too when I was all alone in the snow. It has deeply inspired me since then.” Mayu indeed remembered when they first met, and she smiled fondly.
“D’you think you’ve gotten over your fear of water?” Komugi asked.
Yuki shivered and grimaced. “Oh, I can’t say I have. It can’t go away that easily.”
“Fair enough,” Iroha responded.
A loud growl was heard. Nagisa narrowed her eyes. “Don’t tell me that’s another Garu-whatever-you-call-it!”
Komugi licked her lips. “Nah, that was just Komugi’s belly. All that excitement gave Komugi an appetite!”
“Then I think it’s time for dessert!” Ichika announced, bringing out a large purple cake. She lit the candles and the guests gathered around. Maple struggled to blow hers out, but Sango helped her with it, and soon, everyone began to dig in. Komugi and Pekorin briefly bickered over a slice until Iroha cut it in half for them.
Honoka saw Nagisa wiping her eyes. “Are you crying?”
“Nah, I just have some sand in my eye,” Nagisa fibbed. “I really am happy that Maple’s blossoming, though.”
Honoka rested her head on her girlfriend’s shoulder. “Me too, Nagi. Me too.”
The party had undeniably taken a surprising turn, but it sure was exciting, and it would stay in everyone’s minds for a long while. The party itself was far from over, and there was still much fun to be had.