"Can't sleep..."
Scattered pink hair covered her face. Lei ignored such a thing and just raised her hand to press on her chest in a daze.
"Ash... Are you here?"
It feels like something bad is happening...
Why do you feel so lost?
Today's date with Ash and the party with everyone were obviously a very happy time, but why do I feel so... sad when I think about it now?
'Precures - hurry up -'
"Heart Tree?"
The gentle voice that suddenly sounded in her ears instantly woke Lei up from her half-asleep state. She wanted to continue asking but received no response.
Can't wait any longer.
After putting her glasses back on, Lei regained her clarity of vision, picked up Shiffre, who had not yet reacted, and then did what a good child would never do in the past - sneak out of the house to meet a boy in the middle of the night.
There is obviously no reason... but, Ash, what's wrong with you?
"Precure Open My Heart!"
Lei is not a detective, nor does she understand the tracking skills of hunters. She is just a student who likes to cultivate flowers. All she can do is rely on the convenience after transformation to follow what she feels in her heart and search for the place where Ash may appear.
At this time, on the street, adults were preparing Christmas decorations for tomorrow's festival on Christmas Eve. Colorful lights and a happy atmosphere enveloped the entire city, but Lei was not as happy about this atmosphere as in previous years.
Her heart was now occupied by a man, and she had no extra thoughts to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the festival.
Today's date on the street, there is no...
In Hope Flower City's hospital, although there was an extra cherry blossom in the vase next to the sleeping mother, there was still no...
Nasta Café, even the ruins have been bulldozed by the municipal people, and there is nothing left.
Finally, we found the park all the way, and we could still see the figure sitting on the bench next to the children's beach. This was the place where he said goodbye to them for the last time.
"There's nothing here... who!"
After hearing the footsteps coming from a certain direction, Lei immediately reacted and turned around, put up a posture, and yelled angrily in a certain direction. At this time, Lei was scared but also looking forward to the appearance of Ash who could answer her call. At the same time, she was afraid of where Ash would come from.
"Lei?"
"Erika?!"
A blue figure as soft as the waves appeared from the shadows. I can guess the reason why Erika appeared here. It seems that I am not the only one who feels the same.
At night, Erika lost his usual energetic and funny cheerfulness, and there was an explicit worry on his round cheeks.
"Erika is also looking for it?"
"I don't know why I can't sleep at night... and I'm not alone."
"Itsuki? Yuri-nee!"
At this time, everyone at Heart Catch Precure gathered here for inexplicable reasons.
"Everyone is very worried." Itsuki's twin ponytails, which were as brilliant as gold, turned pale and drooped because of the owner's mood.
"Lei, you are dating Ash today, right?" Yuri cast an expectant and questioning look at Lei. "Did he say anything strange or act out in any way?"
"Performance?" Lei recalled the whole process of the date and shook her head. Maybe Ash's acting skills were good enough, but she really didn't see anything. "To be weird, he said goodbye to me?"
Everyone frowned, but this doesn't prove anything, does it?
"You think, are we worrying too much?" He raised his hand and patted his chubby face with a loud voice. Erika hid his fearful expression in his heart and showed his signature happy look again. "Maybe he just disappeared again? Maybe he is secretly planning something again, just waiting to jump out and scare us when we are worried?"
"After all, it's him. It's not like he's never done something like this before, not once or twice."
"Indeed..." Itsuki also laughed, but this laughter had a dry taste. "If you think it's him, it's really not surprising that he would do this... After all, it's him, so it makes sense to think so."
Only Yuri still couldn't let go. Yuri, who kept biting her lips, only hated herself for why her battle name of "Moonlight Angel" could not come true, so that she could ask the bright moon that always hangs in the sky for his location.
"Dark Precure said a few words to her father after she woke up. Although she didn't attack me again, she left directly. I'm worried..."
"This should be no problem, right? After all, she is also very close to Ash?"
After Yuri hesitated for a while, remembering how she was pestering Ash, he finally nodded with difficulty.
"Everyone-" Lei suddenly interrupted everyone, letting everyone focus on her.
Slowly raising his hands to his chest in prayer, he could sense the uneasiness that still existed in the beating heart underneath Love Heart Accessory.
"Let's go look for it again."
Although their expressions and reactions varied, everyone nodded in agreement.
"Ash, that guy, why do you want us to worry..."
"That's all."
"Well..."
Everyone rummaged through the entire Hope Flower City until they found the time when the sun rose again.
They also didn't find out where Ash went.
This became a small regret for them.
Chapter 204 Christmas
"Haah..."
Lei opened her mouth wide and let out a long yawn, facing the terrible expression on her face.
Not only was Ash not found, but her mother also gave her a lecture because she found out that she hadn't slept well.
What's more, people of her age have no experience of staying up late to cultivate, except for the last time they waited for the return of Yuri and suffered from insomnia all night long. Even if they took a nap, they still felt dizzy and uncomfortable.
"Lei, please check for me. Are there any dark circles under your eyes? Staying up late is a woman's biggest enemy!"
"It's not that exaggerated anymore~" Rubbing the face of her friend who was leaning towards her, Lei regained some energy and looked up at the colorfully decorated Christmas tree above her head. She looked at the primary school students younger than herself playing and jostling under the tree. It was obviously the joyful atmosphere of Christmas but she still couldn't be happy at all.
The time is approaching dusk, and today's Ash still hasn't shown up. Compared with Christmas in the past, Lei now feels as if there is always someone missing from her side, and she can't be happy no matter what.
"Alas..."
"Lei - what are you talking about when you sigh like an old man!" Seeing his friend looking like a dead fish on the beach, Erika went crazy because he hated the iron.
Although it's not incomprehensible, it's all because of what this guy Ash said—that's enough! Anyway, it's not like we won't be able to survive if he doesn't come!
"Forget it if he doesn't come. Oh, he's not missing! Let's go, let's go find Yuri-nee and the others!"
"Wait a minute - Erika don't pull me!"
Eddie, who had just been released, saw Erika tearing his eyes and being rolled up into mosquito coils, yelling "Let's go!". He felt a little confused and touched the back of his head.
"Isn't he with them? How strange..."
He raised his palm to the key box attached to his waist. He closed his eyes and seemed to notice something. With the corners of his mouth twitching, he raised his head and cast his gaze towards the sky full of sunset.
"Hey... what's going on?"
It seems that his return will have to be delayed again.
At this time, Yuri and Itsuki were wearing Christmas hats and helping to sell Christmas cakes in the canteen of Yuri's mother. As for Yuri's mother, her family status dropped sharply after they came back. "Shaback", the father of Yuri, is currently being sent to the background. The hand that originally created countless dark equipment for the Desert Apostles is now kneading eggs and flour bitterly.
"Thank you for your patronage, and I hope you will come again!" Itsuki, who helped out with his good friends, showed off the waiter hospitality skills that Ash personally taught him when he was working at Nasta. As a martial arts practitioner, Itsuki, who is full of heroic spirit, made all the passers-by's hearts tremble with his perfect smile every time.
"Please give me a box too!"
"I want it too, give me, give me five boxes!"
"Can, can you give me an encouraging smile?"
"Haha, ladies, please don't be anxious, it will be all right." Seeing the people coming and going in front of him, Itsuki couldn't help but sigh. "Nasta has never had such a grand occasion. It actually tastes pretty good."
"Ah." Yuri, who stood upright suddenly, helped his eyes, and a strange light came from above. "Itsuki, are you kidding? We at Heart Catch Precure are a scientific team."
"Hahaha, of course I'm joking~" Itsuki, who just wanted to be lively and had been feeling depressed since yesterday, smiled sheepishly.
It is a pity that even after six months, including Ash's beloved shop assistant, Lei and their classmates, poor office workers and curious reporters who passed by, and even the weird-tasting challenger who just took a bite, except for Eddie, whose taste is really different from ordinary people, no one can enjoy his "delicious" craftsmanship.
It's not that I haven't thought about pretending to like his coffee to make the store manager happy, but I can fake it with words, but the look on my face after drinking it can't be faked even by Yuri, who is better at hiding his emotions.
Ash is probably the only one who can make it taste particularly delicious but deliberately insists on this taste.
"But, things have really changed." Itsuki couldn't help but sigh while talking to Yuri as he placed another box of Christmas cakes in the customer's hands.
"Since we unlocked Super Silhouette, Desert Apostles has been silent..." Itsuki couldn't help but smile and shook her head. Maybe she missed the time when Ash was still their supporter, and the three cadres of Pretty Cure and Desert Apostles battled wits and courage.
"I really don't know what will happen next... It would be great if we could continue to be peaceful like this."
"Continue to be peaceful..." Yuri looked further than Itsuki, and she thought of what Ash had told her in his last words that night.
"However, Desert King's Dun will eventually come to the earth. Even Lei's grandma said that it is a very terrifying enemy. When the time comes..."
With the hard-earned peace, can the world they have maintained till now still be peaceful?
A pair of warm hands gently covered Yuri's palm which had nowhere to rest on the table.
"When the time comes, let's all work together!" Itsuki smiled as brightly as the sun at Yuri, which not only captivated passers-by, but also successfully shined into the moon's gloomy heart. "Lei, Erika, you, me! And Popuri and the others! Whether it's Desert Apostles's enemies or Timons's evil deeds, aren't we always fighting side by side like this, trusting each other and defeating the enemy's plot?"
"When we meet Du En, let's show him the bond between our Pretty Cure sisters!"
"Yes." After receiving such affirmation from his friend, even Yuri couldn't help but smile.
As long as everyone works hard towards a miracle, how can we lose?
"Ah, I almost forgot! The next guest——"
When he turned around to hand out the Christmas cake in his hand, Itsuki's welcoming words were already stuck in his throat, and the sales smile was stuck on his face, just because this customer was really special.
Dark Precure, wearing the same school uniform as Yuri, stood in front of the canteen. Under her hairstyle, her eyes were open and wide open. She just stared at Itsuki's cake hanging in the air, with a mocking smile on her lips.
"What, aren't you welcome?"
"No... no."
Itsuki originally maintained a cheerful and cheerful tone, but it suddenly became much darker.
Chapter 205 The Yueying family reunited
Itsuki naturally has her own reasons for being so embarrassed. Dark Precure is not just an old enemy with Yuri. Regarding Itsuki's first transformation, they also had an unpleasant memory about the fight over "someone" that could be called "jealousy".
As if they were aware of the tense atmosphere that was starting to spread, the inexplicable sense of crisis made the surrounding guests tremble for a while, and then they all left with shame, leaving them plenty of "communication" space.
Before Dark Precure could make any trouble again, Tsukikage Yuri had already moved in front of Itsuki with a serious look on his face, standing between her and Dark Precure.
"Why did you come?"
"Why can't I come back?" As he spoke, Dark Precure's eyes drifted to the Christmas cake on the side. He looked away thoughtfully before returning his attention to the old enemy in front of him who was no longer an old enemy.
"My legs are on me, I'm free to go wherever I want, right?"
"Or do you think you can boss me around after you beat me once? Strictly speaking, that time we were evenly matched and died together."
I still don't agree with the key to defeat.
"If you still want to find me." Tsukikage Yuri, who was facing the provocation, had a cold face. After raising her forehead, the sunglasses reflecting the sun's rays blocked her eyes. "I can accompany you anytime."
"Hey, if this life that was finally saved by Ash is wasted like this, he will definitely be very sad, right?"
"Don't mention him, it has nothing to do with him!"
There is also the matter of Kolon! Don't think that just because I don't say anything means that I have completely forgotten and forgiven you!
"Really? That means he is more optimistic about me."
"If you think this is the case, then you are a fool who cannot recognize the form."
In the days before the snow fell, Dark Precure was provoking wantonly, and the tense back of Tsukikage Yuri's hands became more and more obvious. Only Itsuki beside him was about to lose his strength.
"Well, okay, okay!" Seeing the increasingly strong smell of gunpowder and the risk of igniting at any time, before it finally intensified, Itsuki, with a smile on his face, quickly inserted himself between the two of them, swinging his hands in an attempt to calm their anger.