Kamen Rider is the Villain in Pretty Cure Chapter 42

"Mm."

Amidst the dazzling cherry blossom pink, her vision blurred with emotion that welled up from within without her realizing it.

"To Alice? Hmm... a bit too classic."

As Emiru's slender fingers danced across the keys, a melodious piano piece enveloped the audience, drawing them into a beautiful experience. Even Ash, unusually, rested his face on his hand in his seat, listening intently. Only occasionally did he catch a hint of sadness emanating from Hana.

"What's wrong? You don't seem to dislike the song, so why the long face?"

"It is indeed a beautiful song, but Emiru, who is playing it, seems very sad."

Looking at Emiru's upright posture on stage, the keys being pressed and released by her fingers created a scene as dreamlike as a painted scroll for both audience and performer. Yet, the more Hana understood, the sadder she felt.

"Actually, when I first met Emiru, her favorite instrument was the guitar, and her passion was rock music."

"However, her hobbies were not supported by her family, who came from a prestigious musical lineage. No, it was more like they were completely against it."

Hana recounted stories about her friend, her words beginning to flow more freely now.

"A long, long time ago, she cried to me, whom she always called her senior, but all I could do was hug her and comfort her."

"After a long period of stubbornness, she eventually complied with her family's arrangements and became a pianist. While she achieved remarkable success, I can't help but wonder now if I had supported her and helped her back then." As she spoke, Hana's gaze settled on Ash's face, as if seeking something from him. "Just as you've been able to do so much without holding back, would she have been happier?"

"Hana, I'm going to tell you something... No, you probably already know this." Ash flicked the collar of his vest, his gaze behind his glasses becoming distant for a moment. "In this world, perhaps in all worlds, those who live according to their truest desires and genuine thoughts are few, let alone finding happiness in it."

Countless people have fallen on the path of pursuing so-called "truth."

"You're... you're right."

After all, I'm like that too. If Ash hadn't brought about a miracle, I probably... the burnt ashes at the end of my efforts would have been my demise.

Thinking this, Nono Hana quickly scratched her head and forced a silly, comical grin. "Hahaha, honestly, you must find it troublesome to suddenly talk about this with me, Ash? We're not even that close yet—Huh?"

Feeling a broad hand press down on her head, Hana let out a confused sound.

"Hana."

"Hasn't your life been changed by me now?"

"Yeah... so?"

"It's never too late." The man grinned at her, baring his teeth. "It's just a matter of whether you have the determination to be changed."

[Extra]Case File 84 Date (3)

"This... this..."

Hana tried to maintain a calm demeanor as she put down the newspaper's front page, but her constantly darting eyes and hesitant, low voice betrayed her true feelings.

Taking a deep breath and exhaling, the girl, believing her inner peace was restored enough to handle the upcoming information, returned her gaze to the front page.

The two people in the center of the photo were herself and Ash, standing on V-Rex's chest. Their movements were coordinated with a shared understanding. Cure Yell had stepped forward, hooking her arm around Ash's neck, while Time Fire lowered his arm, holding Nono Hana's waist.

Her pink bangs, soaked with sweat, clung to her fair forehead. The two, with their eyes closed, leaned their faces closer together under the rising sun, kissing each other for love and for the future. The incredibly beautiful scene was like the last remnant of beauty left in ruins, appearing both cruel and romantic.

Admittedly, this was the most beautiful moment in Nono Hana's life so far, but only if it hadn't been captured by a reporter and splashed across the front page of the United Nations World News for billions of people on Earth to see, with the headline "Love, Future, and Robots" beneath it... Also, how is this photo so high-definition! My blushing face is one thing, but how can they even see the dew on my lips and the slight drool... Ah! No way! So embarrassing! So embarrassing!

Watching Hana roll on the ground, completely disregarding her image due to extreme embarrassment, Homare, who had brought the group to an underground bar after the performance, shifted her leg position and deliberately spoke in a teasing tone.

"Not just the front page, but this year's Pulitzer Prize should be a sure thing too." Homare continued to delight in teasing Hana, who was visibly letting off steam from her head. "You know, I even saw countless desperate comments on anonymous forums yelling 'My idol is ruined!'"

"So, how does it feel to have made billions of male compatriots around the globe heartbroken? Warrior of Love~ Cure Yell-chan~?"

"Honestly, Homare, you're so mean!" Hana, feeling uncomfortable from the teasing, puffed out her cheeks and playfully argued with Homare. "Billions or something... that's an exaggeration!"

"Maybe it's not that much of an exaggeration, Mr. Ash."

"Hmm, so my one 'kiss of love' not only captured the heart of a Pretty Cure but also took down billions of rivals." Ash, also seated at the front, enjoying the gramophone music, showed no signs of embarrassment. Instead, he rubbed his chin with a smug expression. "As expected of me, easily conquering the Pretty Cure of Nursery City, because I am Time Ranger."

Calling to Saya, who was moonlighting as the bartender, Ash added an extra instruction.

"Vodka martini, shaken, not stirred."

"Of course." Saya, with a smile, no longer showed the gloomy despair she had when she transformed into a Doomsday Monster. "But speaking of which, 'Time Fire' is in the same boat now. There are many girls on the internet crying about their broken hearts."

"Exactly." Homare, resting her head on her hands and leaning back, sighed emphatically and deliberately. "Oh dear, I never expected that 'Time Fire' would have a girlfriend... I'm heartbroken too."

"Wh-what?!" Hana, forgetting her shyness, leaned in with wide eyes and a stunned expression. "Homare... you... you like Ash too?!"

"Eh? Ah?" Homare, taken aback by Hana's strong reaction, blinked before laughing it off. "Although my methods were a bit too rough, he truly is the benefactor who helped me stand up again. Yes, I did have a bit of a crush on him..."

I've been so direct, Hana shouldn't misunderstand this time.

"Hmph—" Nono Hana let out a heavy sigh, her expression a mix of wronged indignation and embarrassment. She hugged Ash's waist from behind. "No giving..."

"Eh?"

"No giving!"

"Ahaha, you don't like my joke, little Hana..."

"Um, I was saying..."

Just after finishing her performance, Emiru was stuffed into a van, hooded and masked, by four people backstage. Thinking she was being kidnapped, she begged for mercy all the way, until she realized she was being taken by her friends to this underground bar owned by Saya.

Heaven knows, having received an elite education since childhood, this pampered young lady had never even been to a proper karaoke box, let alone an underground bar. Just being in this atmosphere of music and dim lighting made her feel weak in the knees!

But seeing everyone here joking around, playing, and even arguing, she felt happy. How long had it been since she had laughed at something so simple, not since middle school?

Emiru, who had been unable to join the conversation from start to finish and could only watch, couldn't help but speak up. "Can I go home now? I have a curfew at 6 PM at my place."

"Take out your phone."

"Huh?"

"Just take it out when I tell you to."

"O-okay..." Ash took the phone from the timid girl's hand and immediately turned it off, ignoring her protests, and placed it on the table.

"A curfew at 6 PM... Good grief, what are you, that elementary schooler who used to live next door to me and couldn't beat me in any game?"

"Alright, now no one will call to bother you." Seeing Emiru's hesitant expression, Ash downed the Vodka Martini Saya had prepared and then pointed at the four people present, including himself. "Also, do you think we came to this place for no reason?"

"Hmm, because it's fun?"

"That's part of it, but the main reason is for you, Miss Emiru, because you have wonderful friends."

"Emiru's previous performance was indeed beautiful, with a touch of melancholy in the melodious tune that enhanced it considerably," Saya said, her eyes shining with wisdom as she adjusted her glasses. "However, this is precisely due to the sorrow in your heart when you play; it's an outpouring of your emotions."

"Hah... Hahaha, Saya, you're joking too, what are you talking about?" The blonde girl, watched by four pairs of eyes, laughed shyly. "I've been practicing this with my family since I was little, how could I still be sad?"

"That's the problem, Emiru," Homare said, shaking her head. "Don't you remember what you told us before? You actually like rock music, but you just don't have the courage to change things."

"Huuu~"

Ash exhaled a breath that smelled of alcohol, his gaze subtly flicking to Nono Hana, who looked equally worried.

A girl's dream, slowly erased by so-called reality. Being anyone, being able to do anything, is ultimately a privilege for the few who are strong in both body and mind.

This is how reality is! Thinking about what he might have to face later, the man's eyes showed a look of disgusted disdain.

Tch... It's the same even for me!

[Extra]Case File 85 Date (4)

"After so much time has passed, have you forgotten even your own dreams?"

Homare's words were instinctively met with a desire to retort, but her tongue had somehow gone numb, and she couldn't open her mouth. When this long-buried thought was brought up again, her past dreams attacked her like a biting snake.

"It doesn't matter..."

Besides, she was an adult now, what could she do— Huh?

"This is yours." Ash raised his hand and tossed a bright purple electric guitar to Emiru, who was still lost in thought. The headstock of the guitar was specially shaped like a proud, mechanical falcon's head.

"For rock beats, there are no limits or impossibilities."

"Everyone, it's time to show our stuff!"

Pushing up the glasses on his nose, Ash clapped his hands in Emiru's surprise. Everyone, as if prepared, took out Ash's custom instruments from the box under Saya's counter. Saya had a bass decorated with ivory and mammoth tusks, Hana had set up a folded dragon-entwined drum kit, Homare held a keyboard that seemed to be entwined with vines, and Ash's own microphone's receiver was shaped like a wolf's head with its mouth wide open.

"What is this?!" Emiru was flustered by the electric guitar suddenly thrown into her arms, especially when she saw the falcon's head on the headstock, which seemed to look down on everything and rebel against everything. The girl couldn't take her eyes off it.

The eyes of that hawk are looking at me, and I feel like I've seen it somewhere before. Even though she knew it was just a finely crafted decorative part, Emiru couldn't help but have this thought.

She caressed the untamed falcon and looked up at everyone who had already stood up.

"This is my brilliant creation, you should accept it with gratitude."

"Eh, but I don't think this dragon looks very good," Nono Hana weakly raised her hand. The green dragon-entwined design on her pink drum kit made her feel a bit lost. From this point on, Ash was met not with the gratitude of the ladies, but with continuous complaints.

"Why did you put this thing on my keyboard, Ash? The keyboard is already heavy enough, and with this, my old shoulders will have uneven weight distribution tomorrow morning. Are you trying to make me go to work with one shoulder higher than the other?" Homare played with the heavy cannon decoration on the keyboard, complaining about Ash's strange aesthetic.

"Although I'm better with the bass, didn't we agree to put the drum kit under my seat before?"

"Well, maybe because your presence is a bit low, I didn't hear you."

"Ha, how can you be so mean!!" Saya's hair stood on end when she heard Ash's casual remark. She looked like she had entered Raging Enders mode, brandishing the ivory decoration on her bass as if she were about to stab Ash.

She poked her little finger into her ear and blew away the debris on her fingertip with a nonchalant expression, while Hana, behind her, tried to comfort her friend with a smile.

"Um..." As the atmosphere in the room was quickly shifting from an underground bar to an arena, Emiru, who had been silently stroking the falcon's head, spoke up.

"Isn't this the guitar from that manga, 'Summoning Eagle Slayer'?" Emiru raised the electric guitar in her hand and pointed at the crimson falcon's head.

Don't think I can't tell, it's such a classic symbol!

"Oh, so you read manga related to rock music, Miss Pianist~" Ash, his cunning fishing trap successful, curled his lips into a triumphant smile.

"No, uh... I just, just, occasionally saw it! You know, you can't resist bookstore sales, and they always stuff some... you know how it is when they bundle books?!" Emiru, as if revealing something, gesticulated wildly to her friends who were showing a "I see!" expression, trying to explain something that was clearly unexplainable.

Seeing Emiru's embarrassed expression of "He got me! I'm exposed!", the others couldn't help but laugh along with Ash.

"Emiru," Saya interrupted Emiru's defense.

"You'll believe me, right, Saya?"

Clutching the guitar to her chest, the girl's eyes sparkled with a desperate plea for a rescue from her friend.

"The collected volumes of 'Summoning Eagle Slayer' are only available to those who pre-ordered online six months ago," Saya said, pushing up her glasses, calmly stating the words that dashed Emiru's last hope.

"It's a very specialized collector's item. You really like it, don't you, Emiru?"

Aisaki Emiru, ship sunk.

"Listen up, Miss Emiru," Ash said, walking up to Emiru, who looked completely dejected and greyed out. The arrogant smirk on his face gradually subsided into the calm professionalism of getting down to business as he adjusted the sound quality of his instrument. "This is Hana's—no, not just Hana, all of these people are worried about you. But I think, whether your dream is real or already dead."

With the help of others, a stage much simpler than the one in the previous plaza was set up in the bar. Seeing that a performance was about to happen, the other customers gathered around in small groups, curious to see what kind of stage it was.

"Show us what you've got to prove it!"

"Or are you too scared~?"

Scared? Ha, this cheap taunt... taunt...

At some point, my fingers, resting on the guitar strings, began to strum along with the background music.

"Waaahhh!! I get it, I get it! I just can't let go of this! Every time there's something about lonely rock or musicals, I secretly buy tickets and go watch! Are you happy now!!!"

As if resigned, Emiru, who had a vacant expression moments before, suddenly exploded. The unprecedented outpouring of emotion caused Homare and Saya to instinctively close their eyes. Ash felt a soft touch pressed against the right side of his body. Turning his head, he saw Nono Hana leaning tightly against him, burying her head behind his side.

"Hah—Hah—Hah—" Having vented her frustrations, Emiru looked directly into Ash's eyes.

"Are you done venting?"

"I'm done."

"So, do you want to continue?!"

"Here, here, here, here—! Your old lady is here!"

"Ha, this is exactly what we needed!"

Also getting excited, she grabbed the microphone in front of her. With the thrilling melody playing behind them, this completely amateur band began their first song.

Before starting this plan, Hana had worriedly expressed that she had only learned drums for a while and couldn't really be called a drummer. Ash, however, had said that as long as she could make a sound, nothing else mattered.

After all, for rock music, as long as the power to invigorate people is conveyed, everything else is insignificant.