Kamen Rider is playing the villain in Pretty Cure

"Indeed, I'm very happy."

Chapter 85: Lunch Box

"Is that almost there? No problem!"

The handmade bento wrapped in the purple cloth was brought in front of her again. Hikawa Iona couldn't help but nodded when she smelled the aroma of the food inside.

Iona, who had agreed to lend the dojo to Ash temporarily that day, didn't think much about it. However, after seeing the ruins of the dojo burned into ruins by the will-o'-the-wisp fire, she almost burst into tears like Snow White did at Ash.

However, what happened afterwards was beyond the girl's expectations. Ash did not just walk away with bad intentions as she had imagined. Instead, he took out a bunch of self-propelled props and let them repair the dojo in front of him as if they were traveling back in time.

Not only that, Ash actually pointed out several shortcomings of the dojo building and even made improvements directly. The professionalism he showed in this made Iona, the future heir of the dojo, have no chance to refute.

Iona, who was originally worried about this matter, did not get scolded until her grandfather, the master of the dojo, came back. Instead, she was praised for the dojo. The embarrassed girl then realized that what Ash said was true!

"This way, as a return gift, it shouldn't be considered too shabby."

The girl, who was very disgusted with what Ash did at the beginning, chose to challenge him actively. Although she was defeated, due to a series of events that happened afterwards, the girl's feelings gradually changed from disgust to a complex feeling of not knowing how to deal with it.

Although he was a man with a bad taste that made it difficult to tell whether he was good or evil, it was precisely because of this that Iona realized, after careful comparison, that Ash had helped her and them a lot. The girl, who was not as cold-hearted as she appeared, brought a lunch box she had made herself to give to him as a token of his care.

"Besides, my relationship with them has definitely become too strained." Thinking of Kei and Yuuko, who had shown kindness to her, the girl, feeling rather apologetic, shook her head and made up her mind. "They're all Pretty Cure, so we're classmates from the same school! So, it would be a great thing to be able to be friends with them!"

I just hope I don’t run into that princess.

"Mr. Ash." Carrying her lunch box, Iona arrived at the spacious venue Ash had chosen. She spotted Ash driving his jeep, smiling happily. "Yuuko and Kei are here too."

"Oh, it's Fuchun."

"Don't call me names... I haven't even transformed yet!" The girl, feeling powerless to complain, walked towards the parked car with her lunch. "What's going on? Is Ash practicing his driving skills to get his license?"

"Sorry, I've never driven a semi-truck, a fighter jet, a spaceship, or a super robot without a license!"

"This is terrible, isn't it..." The girl thought he was joking and felt the relationship gradually warming up. She smiled and moved forward to hand him the lunch box. However, as she got closer and saw the "thing" hanging on the front bumper of the car, the smile on the girl's face immediately disappeared.

"Ah wow wow wow~" Snow White, her eyes spinning like a gyroscope, held onto her dizzy brain and waved her hand blankly at everyone in front of her. "Wow, there are so many more Ashes. And why did I see Hikawa-san too... Hahaha, I must be dreaming..."

When she met those cold eyes from the inside out, Snow White suddenly felt as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water on her back. She was completely awake and didn't dare to move even a little bit even when facing the jeep.

Now she would rather believe that she is still dreaming, at least then she can try to "wake up", but now she can only stare at each other awkwardly. It is just like the old saying that what you fear will often come true.

How could it be...such a coincidence!

Looking at the existence in front of them that they actually didn't want to face, the two people almost heard the same wailing in their hearts.

"Ash."

In the end, in an atmosphere where everyone around her dared not even breathe, Snow White, who was "frozen" in place, was bypassed by Iona as if she didn't exist, and the lunch box was delivered to Ash's hands.

"This is a gift in return for helping me. I made it myself, so please enjoy it."

"Generally speaking, you wouldn't dare to eat something you made yourself, right?" As if oblivious to the awkward conflict between the two, Ash opened the bento and began to enjoy it under the girl's annoyed gaze. "Hmm~"

The well-steamed rice, the deliciously cooked egg rolls and octopus sausage, paired with the refreshing broccoli were extremely tempting... This was not the most delicious meal Ash had ever eaten, but it was simply mediocre and delicious.

"Not bad, delicious."

The girl who received Ash's praise finally showed a hint of happiness on her face, but when she thought of Snow White who was also embarrassed beside her, the joy quickly disappeared into the depths of her expression.

"As long as you like it, as long as you don't attack Pretty Cure casually like before, I will be happy to help you no matter what difficulties you have, Mr. Ash..."

"That's hard to guarantee."

"What are you talking about? You..."

"Hiroshiwa-san!" At this moment, Ainoe suddenly called out to Iona, joining the fray. "I know too. You lost someone important to me during the Phantom Empire invasion, so you're also going after Hime-chan, right?!"

Iona, who hadn't expected to have his inner shadow exposed so bluntly, looked a little unhappy. He turned to the Pretty Cure he had invited to join. "Keizaki-san, maybe we are both Pretty Cure, but you don't know everything about me!"

"That's true!" The girl admitted it directly, nodding and taking a sharp step closer. "But! There's 1000% a misunderstanding between Iona and Hime-chan, and as a friend of both of you, I simply can't sit idly by!"

"benefit..."

Under the grateful gaze of the timid little princess behind him, Hui continued to pursue the victory! "Besides, if Iona can establish a friendly relationship with Mr. Ash, who was once an enemy, just like us!"

"Then I think this misunderstanding will definitely work!"

"enough!"

The girl who interrupted Ai Noe's words with a loud shout took a deep breath to calm the excitement in her chest, turned to face the "culprit" girl, and after feeling the apology from their gaze, she was silent for a while and then continued.

"I also heard your earlier account of your past... Maybe, like what Ash said, you are not wrong."

"So...?!"

Under the other party's excited gaze, the girl shook her head and turned away.

"I may not hate you anymore, but even so... I can't forgive you anymore!"

"You belong to Pretty Cure, and I belong to Pretty Cure. That's all, that's enough... Let's just leave it at that."

Chapter 86: Ash, you are tired, take a rest quickly.

"..."

"..."

Snow White and the other two, with faces full of astonishment, and Iona, whose eyes were covered by a gloomy bang, stood opposite each other in silence, facing each other in wordless awkwardness.

"I...Iona?" The purple-haired girl's partner, the elf "Sunglasses," hadn't expected her to say that either. She carefully flew over to her side. "That's unnecessary, isn't it?"

"..."

After hearing this, the girl just remained silent like a statue, standing still in the same place.

"Isuna? Isuna?"

Are you crying?

"Let's go, Sunglasses."

With a complex feeling that she herself was unaware of, the girl left here with somewhat messy steps without wanting to look back.

"Wait..." Seeing the other person's back, Snow White instinctively wanted to reach out to keep him, but looking at the slender purple tassels, she finally hesitated and put her hand away.

No matter what the other party thinks, after understanding her true feelings and the sins and responsibilities she bears through Ash's help, Snow White wants to muster up the courage to reconcile with this indirect "victim" and help her and become friends with her again.

However, the AT stance of the other party's heart wall seemed to be even thicker than he had imagined.

That's right, this isn't something that can be explained away simply because there's a misunderstanding. These words are meaningless to her, who is currently biased! She doesn't want to hear them either!

"Is it useless for me to say anything..."

"It's okay, Hime-chan." Ainoe, always by her side in critical moments, came over, patted her shoulder, and comforted her as they watched the lonely figure of the girl leave. "Iona isn't a bad person. I believe that with your gentle heart, Hime-chan, it will surely reach her one day!"

"I know, but..."

"Well, it's delicious."

Just as everyone was worrying about this relationship, the satisfied sound coming from Ash broke the atmosphere, and the anti-girls looked at him with some annoyance.

It's obviously a time when everyone is worried, but you're still eating here. Look at the atmosphere, what are you thinking about?

"Master Ash, even if the food is delicious at this time..."

"She treated me to it."

Earlier, when both sides were trying to clear up the misunderstanding, Ash remained silent the entire time and just quietly shoveled all the delicious food in the lunch box into his mouth. He ate quietly like an outsider, completely oblivious to the situation.

"Could it be!" Remembering Ash's confident look during their previous battle, Ai Noe, instinctively thinking, felt she had guessed it, nodding quickly and pounding her fist on her palm. "Ash actually guessed everything from the beginning! And knew how to solve it?"

"I'm not a god, I don't have clairvoyance, and I'm not a family mediator. How do I know what to do?"

After these words were spoken, Ainoe and Yuko, who thought they knew Ash very well, became a little uncertain.

"Then..." As he put down his lunch box and wondered if he should return it to her someday, Snow White approached him with a hesitant and pitiful look. "Are you saying that these things have nothing to do with you?"

Could it be that the relationship between me and Ash was actually just a misunderstanding on my part...

Without saying a word, Ash just raised his hand to lift up the girl's bangs, then bent his other finger and pointed it at the tender white part and flicked it hard, leaving a bright red mark on it amid the girl's screams of shock and pain.

"What are you doing? It hurts!"

"I'm talking about you. You're overthinking things." Ash chuckled as the girl, panicking and covering her forehead after seeing him raise his hand again, chuckled. "Before, you were always charging ahead without giving it a second thought. Now you're thinking about how to get closer?"

"because...."

"So-called coincidences are inevitable in fate. You see, she left on her own initiative. Have you ever considered that she didn't know how to face you?" Ash, tapping her forehead to enlighten her, explained, "She fled in such a desperate manner because she had already recognized your good intentions for her, but she couldn't convince herself no matter what."

"So I'm struggling, not knowing how to face you."

"Then, Mr. Ash, there is no way—"

"No one has a life strategy." Ash spread his hands out in a very simple manner. "I am invincible, but not omnipotent."

"Well...."

"Everyone, this is bad!" Just as the three girls were contemplating Ash's words, Elf Ribbon suddenly rushed in with a panicked look on her face. "The evil beasts are invading again, and this time the scale is much, much different than before!"

"At this time?! Hime-chan, Yunyun, let's transform and rush over!"

"Young people are so full of energy." Seeing several people spreading the wings on their waists and flying straight into the air after transforming, Ya Zheng was about to take out his belt to transform and follow them when the system dialog box suddenly popped up from the side.

"[Ash.]"

"[Now, what are you doing?]"

"Oh, you're talking about this final mission?" Ash explained his plan to Him, unsurprisingly. "I see. Since I've already gathered all the Dark Echoes you need, I don't need to be the villain this time. All I need to do is find a qualified hero to fight a spectacular, unforgettable final battle!"

"I've already chosen my opponent. That girl named Ainoe is pretty good!"

Looking at the smile that unconsciously appeared on the man's face while he was talking, the system popped up a field again and interrupted him actively.

"[Ash, are you happy playing with these little girls now?]"

"Oh, I'm very happy."

By now, Ash could say such words naturally.

"[What are you hiding? Why, if it's the last word, do you continue to hide yourself?]"

As the one who has been with him since the beginning, the system actually doesn't want to see him continue to force his own development. It doesn't believe that Ash will not have the idea of ​​making a big fuss when faced with such a "huge stage" world.

"Haha, what are you talking about? You don't think I'm forcing myself, do you? Don't worry, I've always been a self-centered person."

No, you are not anymore.

The system panel with only ellipsis was staring quietly at the man in front of him, wanting to put his lifelong friend at ease.

When you are with them, you are no longer.

"I just think that pure villains are good, those who turn against the enemy in the end are good, those who gradually become moved and whitewashed are good... I'm almost tired of these routines after playing them too many times."

"I think it would be a good idea for me to be a hero this time, right?"

“[......]”

After hearing Ash's answer, the system, which had been testing him in silence, finally understood something compared to how Ash reacted to their first meeting.

"What? You're saying I can travel to another world and meet those superheroes that only exist in special effects dramas? Well, what are you waiting for? Take me there!"

"You said you'd need my life as a sacrifice in the end? Oh, it doesn't matter. This world is so boring that it can't keep up with my talent. If it can make your wish come true, then why not trade my life to you?"

As the travel time increased, the system asked Ash what he really thought one day in the past.

"Do you think I want to be a hero? Haha, I can't be a hero! Even if I do good things, I only do them to make the story develop in a way I like. In the end, it's all for myself."

At that time, you were still talking to me seriously.

"It's impossible for someone who only thinks about himself to become a true hero!"

So, that’s not right.

Ash, you've changed.

Not to mention what you are actually going to do, but from the first time you met until now.

Obviously, you never thought that you would become the "hero" you admired.