School is out and clubs have wrapped up for the evening. What to do on a hot monday afternoon? Why ice cream of course. The Frozen Beach ice cream shop is slat full of students. Most of them are from Infinity U but there are plenty of others in there just enjoying the afternoon and in many cases doing homework so they don't have to worry about it later.
One such person who is enjoying a big chocolate milkshake is Naomi Yomada. With her is a familiar pink fairy but most people can't see her. Naomi is working furiously on her homework. She's been off since her encounter with the Shadow Witch and the Energy Vamp. While she didn't get hurt, she knows that she did a number on the two girls and that is what is getting to her. She's doesn't mind laying into Terribads or other Youmas but other magical girls? Even if they were dark, Its still bothering her. She sighs and changes papers up.
The choice of Frozen Beach, and yet more ice cream, seems to be a deliberate one on Naru's part. Even if it's a touch unusual that she makes her way to this ice cream shop. There's thinking to be done, and thinking that's possibly best done a little further afield than usual.
Naru steps into the shop, looking around to see if she knows anyone as she moves over to order her ice cream. A bowl rather than a cone, and this evening really does deserve chocolate sauce.
Naomi Yomada glances up as she puts away some of her papers. Isn't that the girl that got stuck in the mirror? Yup! Quietly she stands up with her stuff and moves over to where Naru is sitting, "Hiya, is this seat taken?" She asks curiously.
Lilac peaks out from behind Naomi and seems a touch nervous. She whispers, "Do you think this is a good idea? You should probably at least change if you are going to talk to her."
"Oh!" Naru starts a little as someone comes to join her. "Hi. No.. not taken. Please, have a seat." She nudges her bowl aside just enough to have room to set her brand new sketchbook on the table, even if the pencil is a bit bedraggled.
Naru leans just a little, to get a better peek at the tiny fairy who is whispering. She smiles a little. "Oh! Hi there."
Naomi Yomada sits down and then just gives a sharp look to Lilac, "It was a good idea until you got her attention!" She states with almost a giggle. "Hello, sorry to bother you, I just thought I'd check up on ya. You had a pretty rough day the other day." She smiles and takes a sip of her milkshake. Her tone though says that there is plenty going on in her own world.
Lilac sticks her tongue out at Naomi before flying over and sitting on Naru's shoulder. "I told her she should change but nooooo don't listen to me!" She giggles playfully.
Naru blinks a moment and then the pieces fall into place. "Oh! Spark? Well.. except you aren't at the moment. You're normal you. Who I havne't met yet. Hello." She seems comfortable with the dual nature of just about everyone she knows. A little twist of her head to comment to Lilac. "She doesn't have to change just on my account. I always think it looks uncomfortable to do just on a whim."
Naru erms softly and then looks sheepish. "You dont' even know the half of it. Friday pretty much sucked, and meeting you and the other girl were the good bits."
"Nice to meet you, more officially, Naru. My name is Naomi Yomada. I am Cure Spark." She giggles a little, "Actually it doesn't really hurt to change. In fact it feels really good. Lots of energy and stuff. It brings out my best, at least that's what I think." She smiles but something brings her down a bit.
Lilac smiles and gives little hug to Naru. "Tell us about it." She then flies over to Naomi and leans in to whisper to her, "Good thing she hasn't learned about being in that mirror. That was really bad."
"Pleasure to meet the Naomi bit of you." Naru quirks her head, thoughtful at that descrption of the transformation. "I'd never considered that perception of it. Interesting." She reaches to take a scoop of her ice cream, before it melts into a goopy mess in the bowl.
"What happened with the rest of yoru weekend?" Naru asks with gentle curiosity and another look at Lilac, trying to return the hug without crushing the fairy. "Being in the mirror?"
Naomi Yomada smiles and sips her milkshake. "Okay umm, you may want to get comfortable for this one." She sighs a little. "You know how you met that guy, Namakelder? What do you remember about your encounter with him?" She asks curiously.
"I had a run in with a few magical girls. They were doing something aweful. A friend and I tried to get them to stop. It turned into a fight. I used my power against them and I think I might have hurt one of them pretty good." Naomi states concerning her own weekend. She sounds down about it.
"I remember he got all offended about my art, and then it all went black. I don't really remember anything until I was stumbling in the park and you and Momo were telling me that it was over." Naru explains about her time in the mirror. "I can assume staying in there long term does more than just give you a headache and make you really want to sleep."
Naru wrinkles her nose. "Oh that must have been hard. Are they being corrupted? I don't know how they got the guys away from being corrupted, but I can only imagine how hard it is to know you have to hurt someone who should be a friend."
Naomi Yomada frowns softly, "When one of the generals decides to call a terribad, they need to use someone to do it. They take someone with a lot of happiness. When they say 'let the future reflected in the mirror turn terrible', it traps that someone in a mirror. They are then used to fuel a terribad. Its why you were tired when you came out of the mirror. Its really messed up."
Naomi frowns and takes a long sip of her shake. "It was not fun. I don't like fighting other magical girls. If I wouldn't have though, those people would have been really hurt."
"Oh! So it was a sort of energy drain." Naru seems almost reassured by that, oddly. "Emotional energy, more than physical. That explains a lot about later." She nods, as if more pieces are falling into place. "So if you're in the mirror for too long, you lose all of your emotional energy?" She speculates thoughtfully, with another bite of ice cream.
"No. I don't think anyone who is supposed to bring love and hope to the world likes fighting people that they expect to be on the same side." Naru agrees. "That's what made me ask if they were corrupted by something. At least that helps it make more sense."
Naomi Yomada frowns, "I don't know. I am doing my best to make sure that people aren't stuck in those mirrors for too long. The idea of people being used like that is horrible." She sighs a little. "I will have to ask Blue about that."
The girl smiles a little and shakes her head, "I Think maybe they were. It's hard to say though. They accused me of being evil and supporting evil people. It sucked!"
"I mean, don't get me wrong, I don't want to test this theory personally." Naru points out with a little smile. "Being unconscious helps a lot, though. Getting energy drained when you're awake to feel it, that's a whole special level of miserable." She is perhaps uniquely positioned to compare different flavours of miserable.
Naru mmms softly. "If they are corrupted, then its less about fighting them, and more about fighting the thing that's corrupting them, and working out how to get them back to themselves."
Naomi Yomada looks at Naru and nods, "I bet. When I became Cure Spark, my mom was put into a mirror. It sucked. I ran away. I couldn't do anything. Then, I met Blue and everything just... I'm still trying to sort it out. It was really crazy. I know I turned into Cure Spark and took down a terribad. My mom was freed and stuff. Its just really wild."
Naomi shrugs, "I don't think anyone corrupted them. I didn't see anything while they were at it. It was just them. If someone is corrupting magical girls, Then I am really worried. The last thing I want is to be like that."
"The Cure Spark part of you is fairly recent then?" Naru asks, watching the younger girl for a few moments. "There's a lot of incentive when it's someone you care about a lot. Like your Mom."
Naru mmms softly. "There's lots of things that can corrupt people. Friends of mine have been corrupted and brought back to being themselves again. I didn't realize it was so unusual." She chews on her bottom lip a moment, thoughtful and then takes another bite of her melting ice cream. "Wait.. your Phantom Empire doesn't corrupt people?"
Naomi nods with a little smile. "I've only been a Pretty Cure for like a week or two. I'm getting a good feel for it though." She thinks a moment or so. "While my mom was definitely incentive, There was something more there too. Apparently the love seeds done bloom for just anyone."
"The Phantom Empire is more about turning Happiness to Misfortune, destroying Earth and such."
"Oh wow. That is recent. Congratulations?" Naru isn't sure it necessarily is a congratulations sort of occaision, when one develops powers based on threats to one's parent.
There's a thoughtful pause as Naru considers that answer about the Phantom Empire and she nods slowly. "There needs to be library about these things." She comments absently.
Naomi Yomada smiles, "Thanks, Its definitely a whole different life. I guess I gotta be a little more grown up when there is trouble. It doesn't make things easy. I mean, The Phantom Empire is dangerous and they really don't like Pretty Cures."
She giggles, "To be fair, The Phantom Empire's attacks on Earth aren't exactly unknown. Its hard to hide their actions and they are attacking all around the world. Its really freaky!"
"Based on my time in a mirror, they don't really like more than just Pretty Cures." Naru points out with a little smile. "So, before you became a Pretty Cure. Did you know that it was the Phantom Empire who was attacking the Earth?" She asks with a note of curiosity.
Naomi Yomada laughs, "Before I became a Pretty Cure, I didn't really care. The thing I enjoy most in the world is learning how things work and trying to make things better. Inventing and such. I never really watched the news or anything. I just always was taking things apart. I guess my eyes got opened to a very big world. Its really amazing."
"Learning that there's a much bigger world out there is amazing. Scary, for certain too." Naru confirms with a rueful little smile. "Scarier when you can't affect it."
Naru scrapes her spoon on the bottom of her bowl, glancing down as her ice cream has gotten all eaten. Clearly her bowl is broken.
Naomi Yomada smiles and shakes her head, "Its one thing to learn that the world is really big. Its another to understand that even a normal everyday person has a power inside them that can affect the world around them. You can make a difference in this big world. You can support your friends. You can get people out of danger. You can use your art to make others happy! Happiness is a big weapon against the Phantom Empire as they want to destroy that." She slurps on her milk shake and, nothin. Awwww... "Lilac did you drink my shake?"
There's a thoughtful moment as Naru listens to that sentiment. "That is surprisingly challenging to actually realize. I'm not always very good at it, but I do know that having someone to fight for is important too." She smiles a touch and then reaches to tuck her unused sketchbook into her bag. "I should probably get home though. Thank you for sitting with me."
Naomi Yomada smiles softly, "It was fun talking to you. I am glad you are alright, Naru-san. Be safe!" She states with a smile as she gets up as well. She needs to get home and continue being grounded for starting a small fire in her room.