Kamen Rider is playing the villain in Pretty Cure

To be honest, I was very happy when I found out, but also felt a little sad.

"If that's the case, then Ash shouldn't have any reason to fight anymore. Or is there something you can't say directly that you can only tell us with your fists?"

Or does he really just enjoy using rough tactics on us? That's really... too much discrimination!

Longya didn't reply, but just turned the remaining dragon blade in his hand into a knife flower, holding it with both hands, and continued to point it at them.

"...If you like this so much, then go ahead!"

Aguri responded by raising his hands in a provocative gesture.

"But next time, it won't just be your shield that's shattered!"

Something is wrong with Ash now, or rather, Longya.

At this moment, both of them could feel that something was wrong with him, but judging from his unreasonable attitude, it seemed that there was nothing wrong.

Ultimately, you've left a terrible impression on us! It's obviously not the case with other Pretty Cure characters. You're being treated differently, right? Absolutely!

If this is all due to our achievements, I'd be happy, but it would also be weird... It's not that I don't want to share it with others, it's just... Ahhh! It really is weird!

"pain!"

The distracted Rika was hit in the stomach by Longya with the handle of the knife. The intense pain made the girl instantly arch her back like a shrimp with spasms. She looked difficult and painful, holding her stomach and stepping back repeatedly.

It feels just like that time on the beach. This feeling of being bullied is so familiar... Hate it! I'm not a masochist, I don't want to be familiar with this kind of thing!

"I'm a girl after all... If you're a man, you should be more gentle with me!"

"This man has never been anything like a gentleman. Well, to some extent, he does treat men and women equally."

Listening to Rikka's complaints, Aguri on the side couldn't help but make a joke. The blue-haired girl reluctantly summoned the bow of love from behind, but instead of aiming the arrow at Longya, she turned the red heart emblem in the center and raised her other hand to beat the silver bell in rhythm, producing pleasant sounds.

"Pretty Cure Diamond Shower!"

In sync with the rhythm of the girl's spiritual heart, countless light blue diamond stardust gushed out from the red heart towards the dragon's fangs, and soon the knight was sealed in a large, sparkling diamond.

"Phew, this should calm him down for a while."

"Wait, Rikka!" Seeing the countless dark knights reflected in the diamond-glittering polyhedron, Aguri suddenly remembered something and shouted with a sudden change of expression. "Rikka, stop it! You can't stop him like this!"

Longya is a knight who can travel back and forth in the mirror world!

As Aguri finished speaking, Rikka, who was also shocked, saw a figure disappear from the diamond with a flash of light, leaving only the knife stuck inside.

Before they could react, the dragon blade that was the only one left in the diamond suddenly exploded. Taking advantage of the girl's previous subconscious action of shielding her face with her hands from the flash, the big diamond was blasted from the inside into a sky full of flashes.

"This is bad..." Aguri muttered to himself with a grim expression as he watched the countless crystal fragments floating and flying around him, the knight's crimson eyes gleaming on each of them. "We've fallen into a trap!"

Just as Aguri said, the black shadow turned the situation against him and continued to attack from inside the mirrors while darting back and forth. The two girls were stunned for a moment but could not catch sight of him.

"Ugh!" The girl was knocked to the ground by the constant pursuit, and her light blue battle suit was damaged again, but she gritted her teeth and stood up again. Her will seemed to be determined to go against Long Ya at this moment.

"Even though I'm not as strong as Mana...I don't want to lose to you again!"

This isn't just for anything else... Oh, Ash! This is also for Mana, who must still be worried about you even in her dreams! Even for Mana and Rikka, I must defeat you here!

Ryuga aimed at the girl's back with cold eyes. When the knight flying out of the lens was about to hit her from behind again, a huge four-leaf clover shield blocked Ryuga's way behind Rika.

"Rikka is always thinking about you." Cure Rosetta, holding her shield with both hands, smiled at the knight in front of her, and at the same time, her feet were running at full speed, pushing him all the way back. "Can't you be a little gentle with her?"

"Sword Hurricane!" Cure Sword slid his fingers across the crystal mirror to inject power into the tablet. Countless spade-shaped purple lightsabers swept around them like a hurricane, blowing away all the diamond fragments.

It turned out that when Rikka and Aguri continued to fight fiercely, Kenzaki Makoto and Yotsuba Arisu, who also sensed it, followed the guidance of the elves and rushed into the battlefield with Ash.

"Arisu, Makoto!"

"Now that Ash is back, we can't be absent!"

Looking at the familiar dark figure, Arisu and Makoto both felt extremely complicated. The purple-haired girl asked her friend beside her in a trance.

"Arisu, do we still have to fight?"

"Well, if necessary, because Ash can't express his true feelings without hiding something." Arisu's face was as casual as a flower, and he grabbed the shield with his backhand and fanned the dragon's teeth like a pot lid. "Similarly, Arisu also has something to say, and I want to convey it to Ash-san through my martial arts skills."

Normally, I'm willing to indulge Mr. Ash, who is very cute when he's being unreasonable, but I'm a little... angry about Mr. Ash, who left without saying goodbye and even had an affair with Mana behind our backs.

"Just don't overdo it."

Makoto couldn't help but sweatdrop as he listened to their words.

"Pretty Cure!" Forcing Ryuga to the opposite corner, the four Pretty Cures, one of whom was missing, transferred the power of the crystal mirror, which was a sacred artifact, to the tablet in Rikka's hand. When the concentrated power gradually accumulated to the peak in Rikka's hand, it turned into a huge diamond-shaped playing card and shot towards the knight.

"Lovely Straight Flush~!"

The huge sea-blue cube of light contained the knight and purified him. After it dissipated, the subtle evil spirit that lingered around the knight also quietly dissipated. As his legs lost strength and he knelt forward, he was supported by Rikka who rushed to the front and hugged him in her arms.

"Ash!" Rikka, along with the other girls with worried looks, called out his name. Seeing no response, Rikka continued calling out. "Ash! Wake up!"

Since we won this time, I should be able to give Ash some advice, so please - come back soon!

"Mana is not here now, do you want to make me worry too? You two... I hate this the most, do you always want to make me sad!" Ignoring her usual quiet and reserved image, Rikka hugged the unresponsive Ash and simply shouted out what was in her heart as if to vent.

"Whether it was when I was cleaning the house for you or when you held me captive at the base, you always asked me to do things like a maid. This... this is fine! I just, I just want to clean up again, I want to argue with you again... I want to see you like this again! This is all I ask, so please come back again!"

Ash, you've already become someone I can't stop worrying about, just like Mana, so... please don't leave us again...

"I heard you, you sultry Rikka-chan." As Rikka continued to shout without hesitation, she suddenly felt a hand touch her head. "Of course I'll keep you as my maid because I originally liked you, a blue woman. But I didn't expect you to think of me like this. Rikka, you're really bold."

That's not the case! The girl suddenly realized what was happening and jumped back, covering her head. However, judging by the teasing looks from her friends, it seemed that the connection between the two was unclear.

After the Thoughts of Ash's Boarding House came online, Ryuga slowly glanced at the four girls in front of him, whether it was the sullen Rikka who lowered her head and her face became redder and redder, or Aguri and Makoto who were looking at him unhappily, and then Miss Arisu who folded her hands in front of her and kept looking at him with a smile.

What this young lady said...I feel really embarrassed to face her now.

"Good evening, Miss." Ash greeted her. "I'm glad to have the opportunity to meet you again."

"Good evening, Ash." She approached Ash with a slightly creepy smile. Just when he thought he was going to be punched, Miss Arisu gently reached out her hand and gave him a hug.

"I'm also very happy to see Ash again."

Resting her head on Ash's solid dark breastplate, the young lady took a deep breath and turned her head awkwardly in his arms.

"Long time no see, I miss you so much."

Arisu didn't say much, so Ash put his hand down and patted her back lightly twice.

"But you look pretty energetic, Ash. That's good." Although Arisu had some complaints at first, facing the person so close to him, all these naturally melted away in his heart. "Don't make me wait so long next time."

As expected, I still need to continue to cultivate this love with him.

"....It's great to have you, Arisu."

"You're welcome, kiss." He ignored the "horrified" looks from others and gently placed a kiss on the side of Knight Mask's face that smelled of grass and flowers. After leaving a mark of his own on him, the shy girl finally reluctantly let go of the hug. All their thoughts were in the tacit understanding between them.

"But, Ash, what are you doing now..."

In response to Rikka's question, Ash also gave his own answer.

"Just think of it as being awakened by your hearts. Haha, after all, it's your credit that my heart, empty and seeking only violence, has been filled with something warmer like 'love'."

"You are my first time in Pretty Cure. This is more gentle than any other time before. It's the beginning of my chance to finally calm down."

"DokiDoki Precure, thank you."

"Hey, ah, this..."

It was the first time for the four people to be thanked so solemnly by Ash all of a sudden. They had never even imagined such a situation. Even Arisu, who was usually calm, had a look of joy and panic on his face for a moment, and he didn't even know how to respond.

"N-You're welcome-Dad, Ash! Ugh!"

Makoto, who was used to making slips of the tongue, almost made the mistake and quickly corrected herself. She bit her tongue so hard that tears were about to come out. She felt sad that she might not be able to get over this.

"But, meeting you feels like a dream. Even though it's real, it's also as happy as a dream."

Thinking about the stories that happened between him and them, whether they were meaningful or absurd, although it was a bit sad, Ash did not feel any regret when recalling them at this moment.

After all, he had already woken up from his sweet dream once.

"If that's the case, why did Ash sacrifice himself that day?"

"The price of unrealistic dreams is high." Ash shook his head slowly. "I haven't forgotten that."

"This is not some unrealistic dream!"

At this moment, Rikka's anger suddenly increased, interrupting Ash. "Everyone has the right to be happy, no matter what your past has been like!"

After always listening to Ash's self-destructive speeches, Rikka finally got angry.

"Mana must have thought so too!"

Chapter 29: Favorite and Most Hated

Although it was a rare reunion after a long absence, the unexpected tenderness shown by the "Ash" in front of them, especially when they were so happy that they were almost sickening, gave Hishikawa Rika a vague premonition that he seemed to... want to leave us again.

Although she still didn't understand what he meant, even if it was just a guess without any feeling, her heart ached at the mere thought of this possibility. At this moment, when Mana was not around, Rikka also tried her best, even trying to pull him back even if her personality collapsed and she was incoherent at one point.

"Mana! I, Arisu, and every Pretty Cure you've met should all be hoping for this. If this isn't enough, we'll work hard for you too!"

"I will keep working hard until your empty heart is filled with a more beautiful feeling like love, and you can enjoy the same happiness with us again!"

Ash stood there as if he was shocked by Rikka's long string of sincere words. After finishing his long speech, Rikka took a deep breath and realized under the surprised gaze of others how embarrassing her sincere words were. Her face became redder and redder as she took a few short breaths.

"Um...thank you."

I, I, I—what I said is not a complete confession!

"No, you're welcome!"

Rikka responded hurriedly and almost bit her tongue because she was too anxious.

No, no, Mana! Think about Mana. Mana is the one who said she likes Ash. If I admit it here, then... How can I betray Mana? I'm not... I'm not...

But, to be honest, if I had to choose between Mana and Ash.

Which side should I choose?

In that brief moment, Rikka's mind raced through a multitude of thoughts. She actually preferred a quiet school life to a bustling one, but her childhood friend, Mana, loved helping others. Although Rikka trusted her, she often had to be bothered and even responsible for stopping her to prevent her from causing trouble.

It was probably at times like this that I was infected with the instinct to help people in need. If I think about it this way, Mr. Ash always likes to cause a lot of trouble, even when I was a maid, so I always stop him, but at the same time I can't help but help.

That's how Ai and Ash...both of them have become extremely important people to me.

Well, can't I have both? Wouldn't it be a bit greedy to say I want both?

Wait, so that's what Mana used to think?!

Suddenly, Rikka felt as if she had discovered a blind spot.

"Rikka is amazing." Pretending not to notice her previous reaction of blushing to the point of water dripping out, Ash continued to praise naturally.

"A literary girl who usually likes to be quiet can go beyond her character and work so hard when faced with important matters."

"Beyond my own personality... No, this is..." Hearing Ash's praise, the blue-haired girl, still feeling the warmth from her body, couldn't help but hold her face in her hands again, her expression almost uncontrollable. "No, that's not it... I just want you to stay with us a little longer, that's all."

"Thank you, Rikka, for saying something so kind to someone who always bullies you."

"Ah...Ah wow wow...guys..."

At this moment—what should I say at this moment! Mana, please save me, Rikka, I'm really going to become someone I'm not myself!

Raising her tear-filled eyes, the pitiful blue-haired girl unconsciously approached the knight in front of her.

"Ash..."

Rika, whose shyness had already rushed to her brain, was filled with a burning shame. The shy girl in love lowered her mosquito-like sound all the way to a whimper that only she could understand.

"Rikka."

Smelling the inexplicable sour smell, Makoto, with a slightly red face, pretended nothing happened and looked up to count the stars in the sky.

"Arisu-san, things are getting increasingly tense..." Aguri, equally uncomfortable with the tense atmosphere between the two, hesitated and suggested to the young lady, who elegantly cupped her slightly tilted face with one hand. "You're familiar with both Rikka and Ash, aren't you? Are you just going to watch and not say anything?"

"It's a good thing that Rikka, who's usually so sullen, has a chance to vent and become more serious about her feelings." Arisu's smile, maintaining a calm expression like green grass and leaves, showed no trace of displeasure. "It's a rare opportunity for Mr. Ash, who's always sulking, to speak candidly to a girl. That's also a good thing."

How could I not be happy when I'm like this?

"Love with your burning blood, girl. Well... I'm also in love."

"Oh my—how did Pretty Cure become like this! You're making us all become girls in love!"

Despair! Aguri, I'm despairing of this Pretty Cure team whose members all had their hearts stolen by Ash and became love-brained!

As the atmosphere before his eyes gradually slid into an increasingly soft "abyss", the knight lightly raised two fingers and tapped Rika's forehead.