Afterword - A Doki Doki Precure Story

3 - Her Safe Place

Alice looked at her friends with a warm smile. It was May 28th. Her birthday. She sat alone on a chair as everyone set their gifts on the large oval table in front of them. Sebastian twiddled his comically large moustache, that he never ever removed for Alice's sake.

Mana watched eagerly as Alice opened her first gift. She always got giddy on birthdays, regardless of whether it was her own or not. Her enthusiasm always added to the birthday, so that was a plus.
Alice couldn't help but smile at her, and looked at her gift.
She was neat when it came to wrapping, carefully pulling it open and unravelling the paper.

Mana was on the other end of the spectrum.
Whenever she opened a present, it would be obvious, as the destruction would usually be at her feet. Not just in some places, everywhere.

Mana's gift to Alice was a box of premium Belgian Chocolate. She had also gotten her a green top hat, but that was mainly for jokes.

Rikka's gift was next. She was nervous as even with input from her tall pink-haired friend, she was still uncertain whether she picked the right thing.

"Thank you Rikka! I love this!"

Rikka looked up upon hearing her name. Alice was giving her a really warm smile which basically told her 'this is an amazing gift'.
Rikka had gotten her friend a green fluffy dress to match her eyes. It was on the expensive side, but seeing Alice's genuinely happy face made her heart warm up.

The next person to give the gift was Makoto. She didn't look confident about the gift, even though she had known Alice for quite a long time now.
The young pop star quickly handed Alice her gift, her eyes glued to the floor.
There was a heavy blush on her face and she found difficulty breathing.

"Thank you, Makoto." Said Alice in a gentle, comforting tone.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know what to get you!" Makoto hastily spoke before quickly moving back, not moving her eyes up to meet her other friends.

"You're so cute, Makopi," teased Mana as she wrapped her arms around her idol.

Regina felt her heart twinge with pain upon hearing those words.
Why did Mana never say those words to her? That was all she wanted. Mana's acknowledgement.

Time went on, and eventually there was one gift left. A gift from everyone.

"Be extra gentle with this one." Whispered Mana with a small smile.

Alice nodded and looked at Sebastian. He gave a small nod and gave a soft smile.
'It makes me so happy seeing her like this...'

Sebastian moved forward so she could watch Alice unwrap the gift. Even he was curious.

Alice's eyes began to glitter as the light shone on them.
"It's amazing..." she whispered to herself.

It was a tea set. Each design was unique and intricate. Each one made to perfection.
That wasn't all. Engraved names were on the side of each teacup.
Each one having a different colour theme. Regina's was gold, Aguri's was red, Rikka's was blue, Mana's was pink, Makoto's was purple, Alice's was green, and surprisingly, a cup had been designed for Sebastian. His name was engraved in black.

Mana watched everyone's contented faces and laid back on the couch. Classical music played in the background, highlighting this happy moment.

The leader of the Precure then glanced at her blonde friend. Regina.
Regina kept sneaking glances at her.

'What am I going to do...?'

Although she didn't show it often, Mana was incredibly smart. And she knew how to read a person when she wanted to.
Mana watched as Regina's smile faded, and a dark shadow grew over her.