Debuu-t

 “Chubby, but stable; Debuu has entered the chat!”

Out of the swelling sphere of blue energy appeared the shimmering black bug; its voice was energetic and high, like something out of a toy commercial. Inês had never seen anything like it. It looked like a rhinoceros beetle, but was the size of a small teddy bear, it had big, blue eyes, much too big for its head, and was adorned with the fine wings of a delicate butterfly.

“Pure hearts detected!” it yelped.

Also, it could talk.

Mouths agape, the four teens stayed speechless.

Flapping its graceful wings, the beetle hovered in the direction of the shrine, a few centimeters off the ground. It had the flight of a bumblebee; jerky and unpredictable. With every movement, its hardened shell caught and reverberated the light around it in prismatic flares. It seemed like, wherever it went, the snow couldn't reach it.

It sat its rotund body on the handrail and looked at each kid with a benevolent smile.

“How grateful I am for the four of you!” it said. “But before I continue, let me introduce myself properly: my name is Debuu, I am the guardian of the Shining Hearts Pure magic!”

Debuu's grin persisted, as did the group's stillness. For a moment, you could only hear the wind's keening blow.

“Right,” continued Debuu. “So, you were brought here because you've been chosen to become the new Shining Hearts Sentai PurePure, the heroes our realm needs to vanquish evil and remain safe!”

Debuu batted its sizable lashes, its mouth still stuck in a (now uneasy) smile.

“I can see you're having some difficulty coping with the reality of the situation, but rest assured that everything I'm telling ya is very much true. Now, you don't have to accept your destiny as the sentai, but without you, this world is in grave danger.”

Inês, who was still sitting down, turned to look back at the other three. Jin was stoic; she couldn't tell what he might have been thinking. Lucía's lower jaw seemed to be hanging dangerously low, and her expression could only be described as stupefied. Marcel had regained his composure and appeared to be weighing Debuu's words carefully. She looked forward again. The beetle was smiling at her; the type of smile a kind teacher would give a dunce who's trying their best. Inês tried to smile in return, but it must have looked off, she thought, because the beetle made a perturbed face.

Debuu cleared its throat and continued: “The sun will be setting soon, and the weather won't be getting any warmer, it never does, haha! What do you guys say I take y'all to a nice ryokan where you can relax, change into warmer clothes, and maybe we can even get some food in ya?”

The prospect of wearing more than a linen shirt in a snowstorm was alluring to Inês. She got up, her legs still sore from the journey through the woods, and turned to the rest of the group.

“What do you think?” she asked them in a hushed tone.

“I don't know,” answered Jin. “What if prison rules apply?”

“Prison rules?” asked Lucía with apprehension, her voice shilly-shallying through the words.

“Yeah. Like, what if we accept something from him or… it, and then we're indebted?”

“But we don't have anything to give,” said Inês.

“No, only our bodies,” replied Jin grimly.

“Guys, I don't think that's where this is going,” interjected Marcel. “Remember how we all got here in the first place? The truck, the song… That's not normal, right? Maybe there's something to it? Maybe we should hear the bug out.”

The four exchanged a wary look; thoughts of vehicular assault—and, thanks to Jin, other kinds of assault—rushing through their tired minds. Marcel stepped forward to Debuu.

“Before we agree to follow you, can you tell us how it is that we got here exactly and why?”

Debuu tilted its head, an enthusiastic grin on its face.

“Of course! All ya had to do was ask!” it replied cheerfully. “You were carefully vetted and chosen for your pure hearts! Each of you has a love of Japan and a moral character that are unrivaled! You were the perfect people to become the Shining Hearts Sentai PurePure!”

“Pure hearts, what does that even mean?! Also, what are the… Shining Hearts Sentai PurePure?” asked Jin with a shiver, as if speaking that name out loud made him physically ill.

“The guardians of this place!” answered Debuu.

“And this place is…?” continued Lucía.

“Why, this is Japan, of course!”

The groupe exchanged another set of looks; unitedly skeptical.

“Why did we have to get hit by a truck to get here, though?” asked Marcel.

“Would a plane ticket have been too expensive?” ironized Jin.

“Haha! No. It's just that a plane wouldn't be able to get here,” replied Debuu “See, this is Japan in the Sengoku era. In other words: you've traveled back in time to the feudal epoch!”

As Debuu's words resounded like a squeaking sentence in everyone's ears, Lucía's legs wobbled and gave out from under her. Jin was able to catch her tiny frame just in time before she hit her head on the deck. Her tan olive skin had taken a turn for the dangerously pale. With Inês' help, Jin laid her out straight on the top step. Marcel positioned himself as a shield against the bellowing, frigid wind, and they gave her some room to breath. Before long, she was coming back to her senses.

“Guys, I just had the weirdest dream…” she said as her eyes slowly opened up. “There was this talking bug, and…”

Debuu hovered over her, inspecting her face with a concerned expression and shimmering with every flap of its wings. Lucía shrieked and swiped the beetle away, sending it rolling like a tumbleweed, crashing into a deep snowbank.

“Wait…” she started. “So, are we really back in the Middle Ages?”

“Actually, the Sengoku period took place mostly during the European early modern period,” said Marcel didactically.

Jin and Inês shot him a shared, reproachful look.

“Thanks so much for the historical note!” said Lucía as she got up with Inês' support. “But, I guess I'll have all the time in the world to learn the difference, now.”

“Friends, friends!” pleaded Debuu as it shook the snow off its horn in a strangely precious dance. “I know emotions are running high right now, but there's no need to fight among yourselves. On the contrary, you should be forging bonds that will last a lifetime! You'll need them to fight the real adversaries you'll face later on.”

“What adversaries?” asked Inês, shivering from the cold.

“What do you say we talk about it someplace warm?” proposed the bug. “You can come check the place out and if you don't like it you can leave, but let me tell ya I think you'll love it.”

Inês and Lucía were huddled together, now, quivering. The both of them were in dire need of warmth. Jin didn't seem to trust anything Debuu had said, but after taking one look at the girls, he acquiesced. Marcel, for his part, didn't appear to need convincing.

And so, the group agreed to follow the little talking insect.