Kamen Rider is the Villain in Pretty Cure Chapter 5

"Have I met this person somewhere before?" Nono Hana's mind inexplicably conjured this thought as she saw Ash idly fiddling with a Gundam model on his office chair.

"And he looks so young. Isn't this doctor younger than me?" Glancing around, Hana saw a doctor's certificate with Ash's face printed on it hanging on the wall. Beside it were two cabinets. One was filled with various medical equipment, while the other was packed with all sorts of toy models that Hana couldn't recognize.

Combining this with the Gundam model in Ash's hand, Hana felt like she'd stumbled upon a blind spot.

"If he's already a doctor at this age, he should be pretty easy to fool! Alright, I'll use my mature woman's charm to handle this!"

Just you watch, Nono Hana's mature, sexy, big-sister aura will explode and completely bewilder this young doctor!

"Madam, you may come in. Also..."

"Ah!" Startled, Hana looked up, realizing she was still standing outside the door. As she stepped forward, she felt a sudden loss of balance and realized she'd tripped over something and fallen.

A pair of hands caught her, preventing her face from hitting the ground.

"There's a threshold at this door. I thought you saw it, so I didn't remind you to watch your step." The doctor, who had been in his office chair moments ago, was now standing in front of Hana. Who knew how he'd reacted so quickly in such a short time.

Normally, this would be suspicious behavior, but Hana, jolted back to reality, only felt apologetic for her clumsiness and subconsciously ignored the oddity.

Waaah, the goal of being a mature, sexy big sister has been getting further and further away from me since middle school...

"Sit," Ash said, ushering Hana onto a chair before returning to his own seat.

"I ask, you answer."

What is this, a police interrogation? There's not even any katsudon...

Before Hana could voice her inner complaint, the first question was already thrown at her.

"Where does it hurt?"

"Um, my back has been hurting lately. When I wake up in the morning..." This was the line she'd repeated countless times, accompanied by her clutching her waist. Doctors, usually not very wary, would typically issue a certificate. Once she said this, the mission would practically be accomplished.

But what if she didn't finish?

"And?"

"So, I'd like some pain relief..."

"I said, and?"

Ash propped his chin on his hand, his expression bored.

I'm not blind. I haven't examined you, but the way you take two steps forward and then half a step back, I have some observational skills.

Her words stopped abruptly.

Ash blinked. He caught a whiff of something ominous, a scent so familiar it made him want to puke.

It was the smell of Death catching up.

Hana, sitting on the chair, began to sway. She felt a wave of drowsiness and fatigue, followed by the world spinning.

I really want to take a nap...

As she thought this, her back didn't even seem to hurt anymore.

Great, can I rest now?

"Hey! What's wrong—"

Hana couldn't hear what came after.

"Sorry for the trouble..."

"Hey—!!"

This was Hana's last thought before her consciousness plunged into darkness.

[Extra]Case File 7: The Value of Life

Ash felt terrible right now.

After his "human tragedy" in the last world, where he'd been too idle and unproductive, getting caught by Lucky while just walking down the street, who then called all the Kyuranger members to ambush and beat him up, forcing him to join the Kyuranger, Ash had made a profound summary of his experiences and reflected on his life after being fished out of a river by a kind lady who happened to pass by in this world.

To avoid being seen as a freeloader and potentially recognized and beaten up by the heroes, he should find a job as a cover.

This shouldn't have been a problem originally. All he had to do was find an excuse to fight the righteous heroes, and the villainous organizations invading the world for various reasons would appear. He could just jump in, be a freeloading employee, sign in daily, chat with the executives, beat up about eighty underlings, and occasionally have exciting encounters with the heroes. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

The problem was that he'd done the beginning, but the ending didn't match. He searched for a long time but couldn't find any dark organizations in this world to mess with. It was as if all the monsters that had appeared for eight years had just sprung from the ground.

Maybe they really did spring from the ground?

Getting a job at a company was fine; he could just forge a resume. As for making Ash a corporate slave, the previous company boss had already become another plump, bloated spectacle on the rooftop thanks to Ash.

As for working in a factory tightening screws... unless he had amnesia, that was out of the question.

So, he decided to start a small business. Ideally, one where he could control his own working hours and wouldn't interact with too many people. What kind of job would be best?

After much thought, just as he was considering opening a coffee shop, Ash glimpsed the doctor's license he'd carefully cherished in the depths of his item inventory.

Thanks to Hiiro Kagami, his unintentional act saved a city from the torment of Martian coffee.

No sooner said than done. After "playing" with the Pretty Cure that day, Ash picked a good location. He withdrew some gold particles from his funds to rent a building. The medical equipment was directly "gifted" by organizations like Shocker and Destron. Even the cutting tools and restraints with bloodstains still on them were put on display. The office desk and chair in the examination room were "borrowed" from Phoenix. Since no one cared about their constant losses anyway. As for the medicine, he snatched it from Taiga, which the latter was unhappy about, leading to several fights between him and the black market doctor.

Finally, most importantly, a display case from Genm Corp, filled with all of Ash's model collections.

"Perfect."

Then, Ash's first patient in this world fainted right in front of him.

The Gundam model shattered on the ground. Ash rushed forward to check, pulling open his coat, casting aside the concept of personal space. Though, he didn't care much for that either.

"Your waist, this bruising..."

Ash frowned. There were other areas he hadn't checked, but he didn't want to waste any more time. The issue with her waist clearly couldn't be delayed.

Besides his brilliant medical skills, Ash had unexpectedly inherited his teacher's excellent medical ethics. Now, holding the somewhat familiar woman, he barged through everything obstructing his path, rushing towards the backstage operating room.

He gently placed the unconscious Nono Hana onto a modified platform painted with a giant eagle. The moment Ash kicked open the door, the instruments bearing the logos of various dark organizations lit up with scarlet indicator lights. The eerie lighting made the place resemble a cyborg modification site.

Nono Hana's body felt scorching hot even through her clothes, and her unconscious form shivered involuntarily. Her small stature, compared to others her age, made Ash feel a pang of heartache.

"This is quite the welcome."

"[Authentication complete. Welcome, Senior Researcher Dr. Ash. Your teacher, Doctor Shinigami, has three unread messages...]"

After completing the identity authentication, Ash ignored the extraneous information and pulled off Nono Hana's coat, tossing it aside casually. The life support and examination equipment activated simultaneously. Multiple machine needles were inserted into Nono Hana's body to inject life-sustaining fluids. The restraints automatically fastened around her limbs, only to be pulled open again by Ash. He wasn't actually performing surgery, unless the situation was so severe that even he couldn't save her.

To save time, he only scanned her waist. The scan images of Nono Hana's waist were quickly displayed on Ash's tablet.

"As expected, internal organ rupture, kidney hemorrhage, hemorrhagic shock."

Did you get hit by a car and crawl all the way here?

"I didn't expect my first patient to be this serious... If it were any later, I'd only be able to give you the Takeshi Hongo treatment."

The room began to change rapidly. The wall beside him recessed and split open, revealing a full set of black surgical attire. Four showerheads emerged from the corners of the room, bathing every corner in disinfectant and sterilizing UV light. The massive mechanical apparatus supporting Nono Hana also began to transform. With the sounds of gears and metal grinding, it shifted from a modification platform into a simple operating table.

"But, consider yourself lucky that I'm the one operating on you."

"And..."

He recognized who she was. For better or worse, he had to help her. After all, she had helped him out back then.

"I owe you," he muttered softly. Whether his voice could still be heard through the medical mask, he didn't know.

The surgical suit with the eagle emblem automatically adhered to his body. He simply cut away the obstructing clothes around Nono Hana's waist, and two mechanical arms handled the remaining steps on the operating table to perfection.

Ash raised his hands, just like his mentor, Hiiro Kagami.

"Now, the surgery begins."

"There's nothing I can't cut."

In a daze, Nono Hana seemed to hear someone speaking, but what she felt more acutely was the fading of her life.

Is the doctor trying to save me? I'm so sorry, with the current lack of Tomorrow Energy, I don't think I can make it.

Am I... going to die? If there's a next life, I want to fall in love sweetly...

"Don't give up!"

A man's voice, like thunderclap on a clear day, awakened the sleeping beauty from her dream. A flame-like light grabbed her arm, pulling her out of the dark abyss behind her.

When Nono Hana woke up on the operating table, gasping for air, Ash had already changed out of his surgical suit and was idly flipping through comics from this world.

"Boring." He casually tossed the uninteresting action comic into the trash can, his gaze shifting to Nono Hana, who was still bewildered.

Huh? I'm not dead? Is this heaven?

"Congratulations, you died from hemorrhagic shock due to internal organ rupture. This is hell," Ash said, smiling as he looked at Nono Hana, who was dizzy from his words. "Just kidding. Though, it wouldn't be strange for you to see me in hell." His rapid-fire speech further confused Nono Hana, whose mind was already in a fog.

"Doctor... what happened to me?"

"Hemorrhagic shock caused by internal organ rupture and kidney bleeding. If it were any later, you'd be having a rematch with some beach guardian right now."

"So, what just happened to me?"

Clutching her chest, she could feel her heart pounding.

It's real, I'm still alive?

I can see Mom and Dad! See Kotori, Homare, and the others!

The joy of being alive brought tears to Nono Hana's eyes.

"You were close to death, but you didn't die because I was here."

"Th-thank you!"

Nono Hana lifted the corner of her cut-open clothes. Her waist, which had been excruciatingly painful moments ago, no longer hurt. There was just a bandage with red stains around it.

"This is needle-less suturing. I hadn't tried this Destron technology before, but it seems to be working wonderfully."

"Doctor, you..."

As Nono Hana pondered whether she had become a guinea pig for a new technology and the minor issue of surgery without consent, Ash shrugged and handed her the bill.

"Never mind that, let's look at the bill first."

"Oh, of course—Pfft—!"

The mature woman, who prided herself on her elegance and sophistication, widened her eyes at the eight zeros on the bill, nearly fainting. But when she saw Ash's name already signed on the payer line, her blood pressure stabilized, and she cast a questioning glance at the young doctor.

"Regarding the surgical fees, your previous assistance more than covered it, so don't worry."

"Help?"

"You don't even remember me after just one day?"

Ash bared his pearly white teeth in a bright smile.

"What?" Hana tilted her head adorably, examining him closely. The face of the man who had fallen into the water yesterday gradually matched the man before her.

"Eeeek! You, you were the one who fell in!"

The life she'd saved by chance was now saving her life the very next day. Could there be such a coincidence!

At the same time, Hana felt a warmth in her heart. As expected, what she had done wasn't entirely useless.

"That's right, I almost kicked the bucket. Thanks to you. By the way, my minimum fee for intervention is 200 million yen. Of course, since my life is worth far more than that, we'll call it even. If anything, you still have a lot left over."

[Side Story] Case File 8: The Benevolent Doctor

"My name is Ash. I'm… well, a new doctor. Also, judging by your shabby appearance, you've been holding back for a while, haven't you?"

Not only were there acute issues, but Ash also found a series of chronic illnesses in Nono Hana, including arthritis. He could vaguely recognize them as ailments caused by overwork.

"Mmm…"

Seeing her nervously clench the bedding beside her, Ash let out a long sigh and began to lecture in a tone that didn't sound like himself.

"Next time you have a minor ailment, you should go to the hospital immediately. I see this world has already implemented universal health insurance, so treating illnesses won't cost much. Cases where people can't afford treatment and end up dragging themselves to death in the hospital shouldn't happen in this world."

"Anyway, have you heard of the iceberg theory?"

"Iceberg?" Nono Hana tilted her head, not understanding the connection between illness and icebergs.