Kamen Rider Plays the Villain in Pretty Cure

'Who knew?'

"Ah, thank you."

Ash, looking somewhat flattered, held the hot tea the girl had made for him. Looking at his face, which could certainly be called handsome, Kotori could not help recalling how, back when he had been Time Fire, he had always been "rather impolite" outside... No, he had been more villainous than actual villains.

Back then, quite a few people online had been gnashing their teeth with envy, jealousy, and hatred toward that crimson warrior who bullied Precure yet could casually get close to Miss Yell. As a result, all kinds of twisted fan creations had spread everywhere.

Comparing that excessively embarrassing "dark history" with who he was now... Nono Kotori, who had only learned about Ash through the news and her sister's accounts, found it truly hard to believe that they were now the same person.

He had really changed. That kindness, which must have been especially difficult for him... Was it because of her sister? My "heroic big sister" really did something incredible.

But everything had clearly been heading in a good direction, so why did it have to be this...

Thinking of why Ash had called her here, Kotori let out all her speechless helplessness in a deep sigh.

"I mean, there hasn't even been a Doomsday Monster, but my sister got up early this morning and disappeared again."

After draining her tea as if taking revenge, then hurriedly crying out that it was hot, Kotori grabbed a tissue from beside her. As she wiped her equally burning cheeks, she stared at Ash with all sorts of complicated emotions, while he showed not the slightest embarrassment.

"And then you called and asked me to bring things over to help. I thought something had happened... You specifically dragged me out here over something this trivial?"

Sis, you troublesome idiot—

"Don't say that. No matter how much of an idiot Hana is, she's still your sister, right?"

"That's true..."

Seeing the pained yet somewhat happy expression on Kotori's face, Ash could not help smiling too.

So this was what real sisterly affection was like. How nice... Compared to that, those "brothers" of mine as an only child were... Forget it. Why bring that up on such a happy day?

"Did you bring the things?"

"I'm here to help, so don't make it sound like some shady deal!"

Though she complained, Kotori still helplessly pulled several articles of clothing from her bag. They were all styles Nono Hana wore often.

"Sorry for troubling you. I even had to ask you to bring Hana's clothes."

Ash finally looked relieved when he saw them. After all, Hana had come over early in the morning without washing her face or brushing her teeth, wearing only a "decisive battle" set of underwear beneath her pajamas. He did not have any women's clothing here that she could wear.

It was not like he could make her wear his shirt, right? If she wore it outside, he would worry. If she wore it at home... she would be very "dangerous."

"You look pretty happy about this." Kotori naturally continued chatting with Ash. No matter how she looked at it, he was her future brother-in-law, so building a good relationship was necessary. "What is it? While that idiot was still an idiot, you ate her clean and then called her little sister over to clean up the mess?"

"Can't be helped." In an equally casual tone, Ash looked through the clothes for something suitable. Holding up a pair of blue-and-white panties, he wore an expression that said, "You're this old and still wear something so childish?" "Who told you your sister was so delicious that I couldn't help taking a few more bites~"

"Don't say something so lewd in front of her little sister!"

"Lewd? How?"

The truly lewd thing was something only her sister had ever seen.

"Listen to me!" Somewhat angry, Kotori pressed her palm over the clothes he was about to take. "I'm already a college student, so I understand what passion between a man and a woman is. I also understand that you two went through a romantic experience that made global headlines for days, but... but!"

It was not as though their family intended to be so conservative that they would interfere even with something like this.

"But— even if your fame is incredible! Even if you're Time Fire and Cure Yell, the ones who saved the world, you're going too far! Starting in broad daylight— d-doing something so sticky and intimate, what does that even look like?!"

You turned things into this in the middle of the day and even made me, your sister-in-law, come help you. It was not that you could not do it, but was it really proper to be so obsessed with this?!

Do you know what the rest of us watching from the sidelines think?!

If those talented creators online who made "fan art" and "fanfiction" about you found out that what you did in private was even wilder than what they wrote... Oh, they would probably get even more excited.

"But the thing is, this time I really wasn't the one bullying her." Ash carried Nono Hana out of the bedroom, wrapped in bedding like a caterpillar with only her head exposed. Even in his arms, the still-sleeping girl let out peaceful snores in a steady rhythm. "She came looking for me early this morning because she wanted me to bully her."

"...I don't remember my dumb, rustic big sister being that kind of ▇▇ person!"

"Generally speaking, aren't country girls the easiest to corrupt into that sort of ▇▇?" His earnest yet gentle tone coaxed the sleeping Hana awake. Completely unconcerned about avoiding suspicion, Ash directly started picking out clothes for her.

Isn't that how all those little magazines and comics go?

"Even if she isn't, I'll take responsibility and help Hana grow up."

"I don't want that kind of growth!"

Case File 94: Brother-in-Law

"Sigh..."

How had this guy even managed to grow up like this? No wonder he and my sister got along so well. They really were a match made in heaven.

Deeply feeling the gap in common sense between herself and him, and realizing the truth that different people grew up differently, Nono Kotori felt too exhausted to care. She no longer wanted these two idiot lovebirds to rub their affection in her face.

"Anyway, brother-in-law, don't go too far in the future."

Kotori silently recited a mantra to calm herself, though it did not seem to work at all. Enduring the embarrassment in her heart, she helped Hana straighten out the last bit of messiness on her body. She was ready to pack up and leave as soon as possible, then find a shop and order herself a cup of black coffee without sugar.

"My sister has always liked shouldering things alone rather than troubling others, so she unexpectedly has a soft side that she can't resist... You should have seen it too."

"Anyway, sorry for the interruption. I'll head back first—"

"Wait, what did you just say?"

Suddenly being stopped, Kotori froze for a moment. "I said, the vulnerable part in my sister's heart... Isn't that exactly what you helped her with?"

"No, the sentence before that."

"She doesn't like troubling others?"

"No, the very first sentence!"

"Ah." Realizing what Ash was confused about, Kotori awkwardly rubbed her hands together. "Um, brother..."

"Brother-in-law."

"Brother-in-law?"

Ash keenly noticed the change in how she addressed him, and his face filled with confusion. It reminded him of how he used to call those "siscon" characters "brother-in-law." Watching them lose their minds in ways they normally would not had brought Ash plenty of amusement.

But today, the one enjoying the show had become the show.

I... became her brother-in-law?!

"Brother-in-law... Yes, that's right!" Nono Kotori nodded repeatedly, satisfied after confirming it again. "Is there a problem?"

"No... Um, how should I put this? I haven't..." He instinctively raised a hand to partly cover the smile that had risen to his lips. It seemed that the faint pink on Nono Hana's cheeks had infected the bridge of Ash's nose and the roots of his ears through their physical contact.

I haven't prepared myself for something like that...

How could I possibly say that now?!

"Are you going to deny it after doing that sort of thing? That would be too ugly..."

"No, Hana and I are indeed dating, but calling me brother-in-law right away... Isn't marriage too early for her and me?"

Considering my situation, wouldn't it be more like I was being too irresponsible?

"Then let's ask her herself." Kotori waved a finger repeatedly in front of Nono Hana's nose. The ticklish sensation made the pink-haired girl twitch awake, her eyes still unfocused.

"Miss Hana~ May I ask what Ash-sensei is to you now?"

"Wait, she's not awake yet, don't—"

"Mmnh~?" There was no clarity in her blinking eyes, only the lingering desire from their earlier "wonderful" time together. When her twitching nose caught a relaxing scent, the grown girl immediately nuzzled Ash's chest with her pink sideburns like a clingy little animal. "Hana... Little Hana is~"

"I'm Ash's... I'm my husband's little puppy~?"

Half-asleep, Hana wore a happy expression completely free of shame as she kept burrowing into the chest of the man holding her, wanting more skin-to-skin contact with him.

"..."

"..."

Their eyes met, and the atmosphere between them was incomparably awkward. Only the half-awake Hana continued rubbing herself against Ash's chest like a little animal.

"Th-this." Kotori tried her best to keep her voice steady, but the embarrassment on her face had long spread from her neck to the roots of her ears. Even her seemingly calm words came out stuttering. "That's a little... a little too much."

"She said she wanted me to break her, so I—"

"So you really broke her?!"

"How could I? I don't even have enough time to cherish my darling. Besides, I'll still need to use her in the future."

"What kind of savage thing is that— Then tell me what this is, aaah—!"

Pointing at Nono Hana, who had gone limp like an octopus and wrapped herself around the man's entire body, Kotori let out a shriek that would haunt her for the rest of the year.

"I didn't teach her that."

"Then don't let her learn it either!"

"Why..."

After learning the full story from Ash, Nono Hana's face had turned from white to green, like the despairing expression she wore whenever Rampage Energy was extracted from her.

"Why didn't you wake me up at a time like that?!"

"Because you were sleeping so soundly, and your sleeping face was so cute that I didn't want to disturb you."

Besides, even when your little sister shouted that loudly, you didn't wake up. I don't need to tell you how deeply you were sleeping.

"Even if you say something so mushy, I'm not happy at all..."

Still, Kotori called him brother-in-law. That meant Ash had already been acknowledged by her family, right? Mm... It was a little sad, but now I was also a little happy.

Powerlessly, Hana collapsed and pressed her softened face against the table in front of her.

"Doing something like this in front of my cute little sister... I've lost all my dignity as an older sister. I can't be Kotori's big sister anymore, boohoohoo..."

From what I've seen of how you two usually get along, you never had much dignity to begin with. Kotori is more mature than you and more like the "older sister."

Considering Hana's current mood, Ash decided not to kick her while she was down and silently swallowed those thoughts.

"Hana." Hana, who had been wondering whether she should flee to Mars to avoid dying of embarrassment, turned toward Ash's voice and came back to herself. "Your sister told me before she left that you have a special day coming up soon, and she asked me to remind you not to forget it again."

"Ah!" The girl immediately remembered after being reminded. "It's my birthday! It's in a few days. I was too tired in the past few years and put it off, so I never properly celebrated with everyone."

"A birthday, huh~"

That was truly something worth celebrating. If there was a chance, it had to be celebrated properly so there would be no regrets.

"I'll prepare a gift."

"No, there's no need." Hana gently shook her head, placing a hand over her chest. "Ash has already given me the best gift."

"Don't tell me it's me?"

"Hehe~" Smiling brightly, Hana instead asked Ash, "Then when is Ash's birthday?"

"I forgot. I forgot a long time ago."

"I see... Then, how about this!"

"?"

"Let's treat my birthday as Ash's birthday too!"

"Let's happily celebrate this birthday party together!"

Case File 95: Happy Birthday, Ash-sensei

"A birthday?"

Ash asked that not because he had become so senile that he had forgotten what a birthday meant. Although he had once experienced wilderness survival in the deep mountains and forests with someone, he had not actually become a wild man.

Thinking about the celebration Hana had mentioned earlier, Ash spun the Beast Electric Gun in his hand. As the patterns on its body turned into a circular, dinosaur-roaring-like design, he unexpectedly sighed with nostalgia.

"Celebrating other people's birthdays was pretty fun... Like secretly replacing the candles with fireworks. Everyone thought enemies had attacked while they had the chance, and every single one of them dove under the table. Hehe~"

"The time before last, I secretly replaced the cream with plastic foam... I laughed so loudly while watching them eat with foam all over their mouths that I gave myself away. In the end, I was punished and made to clean their toilets for a month."

"Even earlier, I even blew up the cake and got chased everywhere by someone carrying a combined cannon... Ha, I definitely can't do that at Hana's birthday now."

Many times, whether as friends, enemies, or something in between, he had infiltrated countless birthday parties. Giving them gifts that brought "surprises" had been one of Ash's little pleasures.

"In the past, someone asked me the same question."