Kamen Rider is playing the villain in Pretty Cure

Seeing the door in front of her being pulled open from the bookshelf, Zhi, who had been fidgeting and pinching the pleated edge of her skirt, came to her senses instantly. She didn't care about being reserved anymore and stood up almost instantly.

"Well, what do you all say?"

"One piece of good news, one piece of bad news."

Although he just chatted with a group of little girls for a while, Ash still looked exhausted and casually pulled at the uncomfortable skull tie around his neck. This kind of thing commonly used by white-collar workers naturally made him, a guy used to freedom, not used to wearing it.

"The bad news is that no one wants to see you at all, and no one has any intention of coming back here. You have truly been isolated and turned into an outsider."

After telling the truth without mercy, he opened his mouth wide, wanting to say something but stopping himself, and finally sat back in his chair in despair.

"The good news is—" Ash deliberately dragged out his words, noticing the other party's emotions were stirred by his words, before continuing. "They themselves are fine, and they are still ready to defeat that clown monster. Their determination to fight as heroes of justice has not changed."

"So, you really should just wait until everything is over."

"But—in this case!" Unable to express his discomfort, he hurriedly approached the table. "Everyone needs to fight the clown monster, but the Smiling Pretty Cure is missing one person!"

"Are you taking yourself too seriously?" Failing to grasp the girl's deeper sense of urgency, Ash looked at her with a strange look, assuming she was simply worried about losing her qualifications. "That's not the case. You still can't transform anyway, so going there wouldn't be any use. Besides, we won the previous battles, didn't we? Before the enemy leaders or enhanced monsters showed up, I don't think one more or one less of you would be enough."

"Anyway, they will still work together when the time comes, and we can just figure out a solution based on the situation then."

This was Ash's answer. As a girl with athletic abilities, she was not good at the practical aspects of social experience and could not find any way to refute Ash's words. In fact, Ash had already convinced her.

However, if I have been convinced, why do I not want to give up no matter how painful it is?

In that case....will that be okay?

Looking at the smiling makeup box lying safely in the palm of her hand like a toy, the countless sadness and evil thoughts in her heart were suppressed, and the girl who had suffered so much actually showed a determined look in her eyes again.

"This won't do! As expected, I still need to find everyone again--"

"I'm telling you, it's almost time to give up."

I say, one, two, three is a normal development, but this is the fourth time, right? I'm almost sticking the answer to the game in your face, what do you want?

She was so sad when she begged me not to leave.

Now facing reality, instead of despair, it arouses fighting spirit? But it is too late!

Look at you now. Your hands and legs are shaking from the excessive exertion. Do you think you can even take a single step? The sound of your teeth chattering is unpleasant, and those red eyes look like they're about to burst into tears. But I don't sympathize with you. Why are you so stubborn about this? I'm really curious.

Rather, it’s better to say, now that it has come to this, how strong are you?

"I'm the one who really wants to give up!"

Do you think that the reason I haven't turned back is because I like him? Wouldn't I be sad to see my former friend speaking ill of me again and again?

"Faced with such an excessive thing, I feel uncomfortable and want to escape and retreat!" The girl's voice gradually deformed and twisted as she poured out her heart, but these words, which were almost unclear and seemed to be a result of her endurance, were the expression of the deepest and truest meaning in her heart at this moment.

As the eldest of five children in the family, I always have to take on more responsibilities. That’s why I understand more clearly what kind of pressure a sense of responsibility brings.

"But even if I really am not worthy of you all, and I can never be a Pretty Cure again, it doesn't matter!"

No matter how well Pretty Cure does, or how nicely they talk about the ties between them, the green-haired girl is still just a little girl after all, and she has unrealistic dreams. She was so scared when she faced the terrifying King's Sword that she couldn't muster any strength, and she would want to escape when facing a strong enemy.

But precisely because she is a little girl, she has some stubbornness as a child. As the school's female leader, she can show an ugly look because of jealousy of Ash, and she can also show her ugly look in front of the enemy.

"The only thing I won't give up is this friendship with you all!"

But only in front of her most beloved family and friends, she must be strong and reliable!

"You said that when it comes to friendship, you won't give up no matter what, right?"

After venting her anger, she finally felt much more relaxed and kept wiping her eyes which were blurred due to her inability to hold back any longer. At this moment, the creaking sound of the wooden chair twisting was heard in front of her as Ash moved.

"Are you serious?"

Ash was no longer frivolous, and instead turned his eyes, as sharp as swords, towards her.

"But you can't be friends with them forever." Ash's words made him pause after all the heartfelt words. "In a few decades, your family will also leave you."

I was thinking about giving up the old ways because I was thinking about the pain of separation that would always come at the end, and this time I was thinking about maintaining this distance until the end.

After all, as long as it doesn't start, there will be no pain that is destined to happen later... Instead of being like those people who became friends with me before, leaving them with the long-lasting pain of loss and not knowing when they will see each other again.

It would be better for you to just maintain this distance as rivals, right?

Aren’t you currently experiencing the same pain as I am?

But you said you didn't want to give up no matter what... Of course I know that's not what you meant, but isn't it just like mocking me?

"In the end, everyone will be alone. This is an inevitable outcome."

"What you said...maybe you are right."

She hadn't really thought about separation yet, but as Ash said, it was inevitable.

"I'm not you, and I don't know what kind of story you've encountered that would make you say such things."

"But isn't the sadness we feel when we part ways a testament to the wonderful feelings and experiences we've had in the past?"

This time, even though Midorikawa Nao looked like an idiot, he still continued to look at Ash without looking away.

"Then let me ask you, do you regret having those wonderful memories?"

"If it were you, would you have given up early if you knew?!"

"..."

This answer...

For Ash, it was also denied.

Chapter 84: Proof of Friendship and No Betrayal

“Even if we’re parting, it’s definitely not meaningless and filled with nothing but pain!”

"It must be for a better meeting in the future!"

If you don't even take the first step just because you fear losing, then you won't be able to accomplish anything, doesn't that make sense?

"You said it would be better if there was no beginning, no encounter. You said that because you must have had some very beautiful memories in the past!"

Isn’t this the proof that you once existed?

Seeing that Ash was still just looking at him, he added the last, more important sentence!

"If you fight only by rejecting others, your battle will never be over, because then everyone will be your enemy!"

Nao Midorikawa has been a Pretty Cure for less than a month and has absolutely no experience outside of soccer. She is young and energetic, but she also knows nothing.

Ash is a man who has traveled through countless worlds, making and losing friends. Even when his memory is erased, another scar remains on his scarred soul. Both his actual mental and physical age are a mystery. He is suspected to be a time traveler in the dual quantum state of a small wall lamp and an old wall lamp.

There wasn't anything worth talking about between them, and Ash wouldn't be convinced by her just because she had a nice voice and a powerful aura, so...

"What you said seems to make sense, but it's meaningless." Ash maintained his expressionless face and crossed his legs, seemingly unmoved. "Flowering words alone won't penetrate my heart, if you truly want to prove that you're right and I'm wrong."

"Then go and prove yourself."

But at the same time, it is precisely because Midorikawa Nao is young enough that she would do it and say such words.

"I'll do it!" The girl, who had nearly collapsed, now had no more confusion in her eyes. "Letting Miyuki and the others fight with this mentality while I hide away... Even if it's the best option, I won't do it!"

"We, Pretty Cure, are not professional soldiers who only stay together for battle. We are friends who laugh together!"

"It's not that we worked together to become Pretty Cure and ended up being friends! It's that we worked together to become Pretty Cure because we were friends. To avoid a tragic ending and to create smiles in the world, this is a feeling we can never lose!"

She put the smile makeup box, which was creaking in her hand, into her purse and put the photo in it as well. After rummaging through it for a while, she prepared to leave with a pocket full of things.

"I will prove it. Whether it's my qualifications as a Pretty Cure, that the bond between us isn't so weak, or that your statement is wrong, I will prove it!"

He put his hand on the bookshelf and was about to step into the light door in front of him, but he did not step through after raising his other foot.

She realized that even Mr. Ash, who had originally begged him not to leave, had now been pushed to the side that hated her.

My hands must be shaking, haha, I am... still not strong enough.

"I'm sorry for saying something arrogant to you."

"After all, the battle against the Kingdom of Tragedy isn't your responsibility, right?" Unexpectedly, he smiled at Ash behind him. "Well, you better not take action. Leave it to us Pretty Cure."

Bye now.

It was incredible that in the library now, this time Ash was the only one left in the silence.

"She's just a woman, yet she keeps saying things to try to look cool."

but.

"I don't hate it."

I was actually expecting you to come up and punch me. That would make what you said seem more righteous, wouldn't it?

However, will everyone become my enemy...I clearly did plan this before, and I never doubted myself. When did this change begin?

And proof that I existed?

"Humph, I don't need this kind of thing."

[However, the fact that you have become friends with people from the past is something you cannot change.]

"You... I've said it countless times, aren't you too humane for a system? And even though I've collected all the Dark Echoes without missing a single one, you're so stingy when it comes to rewards..."

Ash casually flipped through the fairy tale books on the bookshelf. This time, he did not crumple the cover to end the topic. With mixed feelings, he actually started chatting with it.

"You can't be effeminate or anything like that. Instead of constantly chatting with me and complaining at crucial moments, why not just go and talk about some traditional O-point system conspiracy and shady stuff? That would be more interesting."

[I'm already doing it.]

"Ah, really? Thank you for telling me then." Ash waved his hand nonchalantly, directing the floating panel in front of him away. "I'll be looking forward to the so-called conspiracy and betrayal."

[Ash, regarding your change of heart, I would like to verify some of this with you.]

The system was straightforward and straightforward, no beating around the bush, as Ash was always familiar with. So he stopped what he was doing and watched the bold, italicized text being typed out.

[Do you still want to continue the fierce and bloody battle with the heroes and devote yourself to it?]

"You asked me if I still wanted to..."

Really, what kind of question is this?

Shaking his head, Ash twisted his arms casually, making crisp joint sounds, and then.

"Click——"

When he suddenly opened his clenched hands, the dark flames of the evil flying dragon burned in his hands.

"Yes, I miss you so much!"

The burning black fire burned the figure behind into an extremely evil and twisted appearance.

The past was that time when—without asking why, without asking for reasons!—it was filled with blood and fire, the momentum and power that erupted simply for the sake of fighting. It was also the time when heroes fought for justice, their high and dazzling faith shone!

How could I not be fascinated by such a scene filled with idealism and such a dazzling brilliance of both body and spirit?!

It’s really...it’s been a long time since I had such a simple and easy battle!

"How could I not think about it? In fact, I don't think about it for even a single moment!"

I did hold back when facing Miyuki, and now when I think about it, I almost immediately want to rebel and knock them all over, then step on them viciously, laughing and enjoying their unbelievable expressions!

This is the only part of my nature that has not changed in any way.

If that's the case, why have you become the nagging little goldfish that the clown described you to be?

"why?"

Ash, who was originally roaring to the sky and almost starting to pose like a madman, slowly restrained himself and finally uttered the names of the two women.

"Ai...lei."

"Maybe there are also those people who never gave up and wanted to help me along the way."

Whether they fought with me or pushed themselves to the limit, they worked so hard just to enable me to change myself.

In that case, I would look like a nagging mother now.

"I feel like if I simply continue to follow my past ways and do whatever I want."

"I betrayed their efforts."

I don't want to do anything like this.

[Ash.]