Ikuyo remembers that when I asked him why he needed so many related materials, his answer was that he needed it for work.
"Mainly because of various reasons, I no longer need it here." After swallowing the orange meat in her mouth, Ash waved her hands helplessly. After all, the materials bought from her were originally ordered for the use of the secret base. After the secret base has self-destructed, it is naturally no longer needed.
"So that's it..." The tenderness on his face paused for a moment, and Ikuyo's face showed a little sadness that made Ash confused.
If those materials are needed for work, they are no longer needed. In other words... He has been wandering outside recently and never comes home. Is that so? What a pitiful Ash-sensei.
Unknowingly, without anyone reminding him, Ikuyo created a persona for Ash in his mind like "a poor man whose investment failed and his house was confiscated." He began to care more about Ash. Unbeknownst to Ash, a set of subtle misunderstandings arose.
Touching the mug in his hand, Ikuyo felt that the atmosphere of the topic could no longer be depressed, so he quickly changed the topic.
"Speaking of which, does Ash-sensei know our Miyuki?"
Miyuki, who was lying on the table and did not dare to speak, immediately sat upright when he heard his name being mentioned, as if he was afraid that he would miss something.
"Yes, although people are a bit stupid and clumsy." Ash reached out his hand and touched Miyuki's head very naturally. "But she is a good woman full of courage."
Ash, were you complimenting me just now?
And also, the one who praised me in front of my mother?
"Is this what Ash-sensei actually said?" As a mother, Ikuyo blinked her pink eyes, which were in the same vein as Miyuki, with a gentle color as she watched the gradually warming expression on Miyuki's face. "Miyuki, it didn't cause you any trouble, did it?"
"The performance can't be called outstanding, but it's pretty good." Miyuki, who had a (●ˇ?ˇ●) face, patted him on the head again, and by the way, his fingers flicked across the smooth slits of the pink croissant, and Ash smiled. "Thanks to your daughter and these girls, I saw something good."
"That's right." Ikuyo understood. It seems that even though he has become his "current" state, Ash-sensei is still helping Miyuki... There are more and more things about repaying the favor.
In short, there are more and more misunderstandings.
Miyuki on the other side also had a lot of things on his mind. When Ash patted his hand on his head, it was obviously a rude move but not annoying at all. On the contrary, it seems that even my heart is beating in unison with the beating...
This, what should we do? It's so strange, I feel so strange now!
Looking at her daughter who was being slapped and lowering her head, she could vaguely see the color of her cheeks like the tomatoes in the fruit bowl on the table. The smile on her mother's face became kinder and gentler.
Finally, all of them were worried about Ash, but it was never brought up.
After that, Miyuki spent a pleasant afternoon. Almost all the important people in his life, including his mother and even Ash, sat around the small table in his room, chatting happily while sharing the delicious fruit plate cut by his mother.
The things they talked about all happened recently, some trivial things that were not important, but both Yayoi and their mother would occasionally smile when they heard about it.
Although Dai Bouken has always been surrounded by Pretty Cure's story recently, while we are heroes, we are also just a group of students. Such ordinary happiness makes me feel very satisfied.
The only thing I care about is that Ash stopped talking much after we started chatting. He just sat aside and looked at us indifferently. There was no expression of disgust but he couldn't say how happy he was. He just looked at us lightly.
I don't know if other people have noticed Ash who is so far away, but when I saw it, this lonely heart that I didn't understand attracted me to want to get closer, and I wanted to do something...
"Miyuki?"
"Um, Mom?"
After coming back to his senses, Miyuki looked around and saw the sunset gradually setting on the horizon. Then he remembered that everyone was going home to have dinner.
"Looking at the way you have been in a daze, what, was there something unhappy before?"
"No!" Seeing her mother's concern, Miyuki shook her curly hair from side to side and made a snapping sound. "I'm very happy, I would rather say Ultra happy!"
"Really? Mom is relieved to see Miyuki still like this. Let's pack up and get ready to go eat."
Although I said that, there is nothing to deal with... Just as Miyuki was thinking this and was about to go straight down, he saw that besides the Royal Clock lamp, there was an extra picture book on the table.
"This is...?" Although she collected many picture books, she had no image of this picture book without a cover or title. After searching for a while, the girl only found the author's name on the spine of the book.
"Works: Ash, Kamiyama Touma... huh?" Although I don't remember where the great writer behind is, I didn't expect that the name Ash was written in the author column! Is it the Ash thing?
"You have to return it to Ash."
Although it was a bit hard to endure curiosity, Miyuki did not open it, but stuffed it deep into the pocket of his clothes, preparing to return it to him one day.
Chapter 120 The views of mother and daughter
"You have to return it to Ash."
However, after thinking of another thing, Miyuki's original happy mood became a little depressed again. It was obvious that they had already overcome countless tests and established a trusting relationship with each other. It could be said that they were comrades who shared life and death together. But... almost every time, Ash found Pretty Cure, and Miyuki didn't even have a way to actively contact him.
If you think about it carefully, it's more than that. They can't even answer such simple questions as where Ash lives and what he does when he's not Kamen Rider.
Even though the bond was established, they still didn't know him well enough.
Every time, when they want to ask him more questions, the man will always Kanata as the sun sets on the horizon, leaving only his back for them.
Thinking of that figure walking completely alone, the feeling of loneliness arises spontaneously.
"Ash..." Holding the picture book in his arms, Miyuki unconsciously said the man's name again. "The next time we meet, when will it be... will it still be like this?"
The more she thought about that person, the endless loneliness dissipated the everlasting joy in the girl's heart, like a rose bound by sadness.
"Miyuki."
"Mom?!" The mother's voice suddenly came from behind, awakening the girl from her loneliness. Only then did she realize that she was sitting at the dining table in the living room.
"Originally I wanted to ask Miyuki what the relationship is with that gentleman." Ikuyo, who was wearing an apron, placed the dinner plate in front of her daughter. Two soft faces with similar appearance approached quietly. The mother's face was full of relief and a slightly sad expression that her child had grown up. "I didn't expect that I could call each other by name now, and my mother's worries became unnecessary."
"No, it's not like that..." Although she wanted to defend herself, she had danced and panicked many times in a day, and now the girl just lay her face on the table, looking helpless.
"Miyuki seems to really like that Ash-sensei. Being so liked makes my mother a little jealous~"
As someone who has been through this before, even if Hoshizora Ikuyo doesn't have the ability to read minds, how can he not understand the little thoughts in Miyuki's heart that even he himself may not be sure of? Seeing her normally carefree daughter look so shy, she couldn't help but want to tease her more to see how much she "likes" her.
Alas, if you say that, does Ash feel the same way?
"They say it's not like this anymore. It's really... a gossipy mother. I hate it."
Although her mother's love and her own love were probably the same thing, she guessed, no, in the end I couldn't even figure it out! Otherwise, I wouldn't have gone to a wedding venue or something in a hurry before?!
"Don't blame me for being nosy. Miyuki shocked my mother this time, so of course I'm curious about Miyuki's thoughts."
So under the influence of her mother's unchanging smile, the girl finally couldn't defend herself. She simply pouted her lips and blew out an unhappy "Ha-P-P-P-P" sound.
Looking at the delicious food in front of him, Miyuki, who usually always eats with big mouthfuls, now has no appetite to use chopsticks.
"I originally thought that I would invite Ash-sensei to my home later to repay the kindness I had shown... Well, how did Miyuki and him meet?"
"Anyway... Anyway, it was such a wonderful adventure, and finally we finally became friends, hahaha."
"Oh, is that so? That's really great."
In response to her mother's gentle smile, Miyuki could only respond with an extremely stiff slap. After all, without being able to tell anything about Pretty Cure, there was no need to explain the matter at all.
"But, in this case." He picked up the rice bowl without moving his chopsticks. Miyuki gradually smelled a "flavor" of the same disappointment in his mother's body as his own. "It turns out that even Miyuki doesn't know about him."
"Know, what do you know?"
So, after listening to some of the results that her mother had deduced from the known information, the girl's eyes widened, even her pupils quietly dilated, and her breathing suddenly became rapid and uneasy.
What the mother doesn't know, they actually know. Ash once talked to them about having a secret base, but it was destroyed when someone made trouble later. At that time, Yayoi said it was a pity, but Ash was so understated that we didn't care, but now it means...
Like this, homeless Ash has been... living outside recently?
Thinking of this, no matter what her thoughts were, they all turned into pure motivation driving Miyuki to make her want to do something.
The girl stood up from the chair, a serious look in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Mom, dinner... can I come back later for dinner?"
"Okay." Ikuyo, who knew what his daughter was going to do, didn't intend to stop her. Instead, a trusting smile appeared on her face. "Bring some to him too. Go back early and come back early."
The girl holding a lunch box was walking on the forest path of Seven Hills City Children's Park. Occasionally, she could see a few passers-by going home as the sun was about to set. In the quiet surroundings, there was only the sound of the wind blowing through the branches and leaves. The feeling of loneliness that became heavier in her heart made the girl hug her arm with her free hand.
However, this feeling is nothing compared to Ash who has always been alone, right?
"Are you over there? Ash-sensei——"
Mom said that Ash's figure would always appear in places where there are many people around but would not be noticed, such as in parks. Although she didn't know the reason, the girl who had such a suspicion still put her hand next to her and called out Ash's name.
"Ash-sensei?"
The sudden cold wind blowing behind her was like a cold tongue licking the back of the girl's neck. The hair on her whole body stood up and the girl looked around. There seemed to be a dark shadow peering at her in the woods where the cold wind was constantly blowing.
"Ya...Ash-sensei!?" Thinking of the last time when the school was haunted and almost fainted because of Witch Reina, the pale girl asked tentatively in a high-pitched voice. "Is... is it you? I'm timid, don't scare me -"
"Jie Jie Jie -" The cold voice that suddenly came from behind was the frightened Miyuki who was so nervous that he was about to leave his body. The screaming girl sat down on the ground with her legs shaking while protecting her lunch box.
"I want to eat delicious baby teeth-!!"
"Wow!" Miyuki, who held his head and crouched down to defend himself, shrinking into Kirby, quickly begged for mercy with a trembling voice. "I'm stupid! If you eat it, it will upset your stomach. Don't eat me!"
"..."
"Puff puff puff——"
Ash, who stood above Miyuki, couldn't help laughing.
"You're right, you are indeed the most stupid among idiots~"
Pretty Cure, it is indeed an existence that can make people happy. I am laughing very happily now.
Chapter 121 It's not a reason
"Uh-huh--"
She hunched her neck and crouched on the ground with her head wrapped for a long time, but there was no follow-up reaction. Looking at the gradually dimming light and shadow around her, when she heard a slightly familiar sneer coming from above, Miyuki still mustered up the courage to look up and saw Ash lying on the branch of a tree, with his legs crossed and looking at her.
Ash turned over and jumped from the tree. The windbreaker on his body whirred behind him with his jumping movements like a gymnast. The man saw the interesting scene and grinned with a vicious mocking smile. He laughed wantonly in front of the girl who was turning red with tears in her eyes.
"To be frightened so easily, right? No way? No one is really frightened like this, right?"
Under Ash's 365° mockery, the original blush on Miyuki's face was about to turn into the color of pig's liver.
"He's obviously a Pretty Cure, but he's still afraid of ghosts and stuff, hahahaha! You might as well say that the boss died of diarrhea after eating expired yokan paste."
"Besides, even if you are really a ghost, after you transform and use the purification technique, half of your life will be lost to the Great Eye, and you are still afraid - hahahaha."
Whether it was Ash who stood in front of love in the past, or Ash who stood in front of Miyuki now, or even Ash who kept moving around a long time ago, he has experienced countless worlds and changed many personalities. One thing about him has never changed.
That is, through teasing and ridicule, these seemingly powerful heroes can reveal their true colors. Watching their expression changes and intense reactions when they are embarrassed to the point of helplessness or their faces turn red, this is the supreme pleasure for Ash that cannot be seen on TV.
Of course this is not a kid's prank, this is simple operation and ultimate enjoyment~
Of course, the occasional rollover was also planned. At least he still had the advantage against a few idiots Pretty Cure.
"It's really——!" Finally, Miyuki, who couldn't bear it anymore, vented his dissatisfaction loudly with a loud shout. The sparrows passing above him were frightened by the girl's shout and their wakes were scattered. "We are all adults but still do this to us. Ash is the idiot!"
"You are an idiot. You said so yourself~"
"I -" Miyuki, who had just opened his mouth to retort, felt the top of his head get wet. After wiping a white and sticky smear with his hand, he looked up and saw the sparrows that were scared before, surrounding his head, constantly exchanging.
That being said, the top of my head——
"Woo... wow wow--"
Seeing Miyuki looking like he was about to burst into tears on the spot, Ash finally stopped and laughed, and embarrassedly wiped Miyuki with a handkerchief.
"I won't ask you how you found me... Let's talk about it. It's time for the kid to go home for dinner. What's wrong with him coming to me at this time?"
"Why do you think that's the case? Of course it's because of, well... this!" Miyuki, who was holding a handkerchief, deliberately turned his head to one side and didn't look at Ash, and only handed over the lunch box in his hand. "This is for you. I obviously wanted to send a lunch box to Ash out of kindness, but I was treated like this... hahahahaha."
I didn't expect that Ash would take the initiative to have fun or something. If you do this, your good intentions will be treated as a donkey's liver and lungs. Thinking of this, Miyuki feels so wronged...
"Oh?"
I accidentally opened the lunch box, and after the food and side dishes were thrown around due to the bumps, I could still see the original exquisite meal, but what Ash was more concerned about was another point.
"Aren't you - aren't you completely cold?" Ash, who was banging on the iron box that had lost its temperature, stunned the girl who was cheering.
At this time, she also remembered that she was anxious and went to look for Ash while holding the iron lunch box without heat preservation measures before her mother could handle it. By the time Ash was in hand, wasn't it already cold?
"I... I forgot, I'm sorry..." Miyuki lowered his little head in front of the two index fingers, and the horns rolled up on both sides also dropped with the girl's depressed mood.
Something went wrong again, right... I always messed up this time, as I was always reckless. I originally wanted to leave a good impression on him before getting down to business, but now...
"Idiot!"
"Ugh!" Miyuki, who was feeling lost, suddenly received a heavy blow on his forehead. After regaining consciousness, the girl, who was in pain and covering her forehead, saw Ash pinching her middle finger and thumb and her head collapsed, and she suddenly became even more unhappy.