Kamen Rider Plays the Villain Among Pretty Cure

It was inevitable. Ever since becoming Pretty Cure, every battle had come with injuries. Back when she had first become Cure Yell in middle school, she could still handle it. But as the enemies multiplied and grew stronger, she had to give more than ever before if she, all alone, wanted to defeat the Doomsday Monsters.

Before she met Dr. Ash, unable to practice medicine and unable to seek treatment because she had to keep her identity secret, the best treatment she could give herself was using Tomorrow Energy to speed up her natural healing. She used it to deal with wounds in the simplest way possible. The result of such rough, temporary measures was irreversible damage to nearly every part of her body.

Those hidden injuries manifested physically as the ruptured organs that had nearly cost Nono Hana her life not long ago. In her mind, they manifested as her forgetting things far more quickly than most people.

For example, she would open her computer, then forget what she had wanted to search for the moment she opened the search engine, leaving her to stare blankly at the search bar.

There were also countless other things: forgetting her keys when leaving home, forgetting to turn off the stove while cooking, forgetting to add salt while stir-frying, and forgetting something that had just happened the instant she turned around.

The result was that during the period when she founded her company, she, the president, was constantly leaving things behind, forgetting appointments with clients, even forgetting what had been discussed. It was honestly impressive that the company had held on for as long as it had before going under.

More often than not, she forgot dates—which day of the week it was, what month and day it was. Even if she deliberately tried to remember, she forgot again soon afterward. Other than her parents, Kotori, and a few close friends, she had forgotten nearly everyone's names. She had forgotten virtually all of her classmates from elementary school through high school and could not call up even a single name.

Even sadder was the fact that she herself had no idea just how much she had forgotten.

The only benefit this life gave her was probably that, because she forgot so quickly, she forgot many things before she even had time to feel much about them. That was why Nono Hana had always lived so optimistically.

Or rather, if she had not been optimistic, she probably would not have made it this far. Her mind would likely have collapsed before her body did.

She had once wondered whether her life would have been different if she had never become Pretty Cure and had successfully emerged from the shadows of her school years. Or if she had met friends like Saya and the others sooner, could she have become a cool, energetic big sister?

Of course, all she could do now was think about it.

Only after Dr. Ash treated her did Nono Hana's forgetful life gradually begin to come to an end.

Of course, no longer being forgetful was still difficult for her. The memories she had begun picking back up had turned Hana's head into a complete mess—the dates she should remember, the names of her classmates, where all the things she had lost had gone, and all those sad events... Everything gave her a terrible headache.

And most importantly, she had just remembered that she had not tied up the bag of sugar in her pocket before taking off at full speed and constantly jumping around.

As everyone knew, under the effects of gravity, powder drifted upward very quickly and stuck to anything it could cling to.

The result was that after transforming back, Nono Hana discovered that the sugar powder had floated through the air for a while, then settled into her hair together with the dust. Even without transforming now, her hair could sparkle through crystals reflecting sunlight.

"So sweet... Wait, no!" After licking some of the stuff on her bangs, Nono Hana's expression changed dramatically.

With this kirakiralu hairstyle and sweet scent, people might mistake her for one of the Precure from the Sweets Team. It was a rather tragic story...

Of course, there was something else important she remembered: why she had kept running so quickly after transforming back.

At that moment, Nono Hana could only pray that she would not be late.

Inside Twinkle Cafe, three beautiful women with different hair colors sat around a large table. However, judging by the empty seat, they seemed to still be waiting for someone.

"I say, hasn't Hana-senpai arrived yet?" Dressed fashionably, Aisaki Rumie reluctantly put down the magazine called [Rock Voice] and looked toward the seat that had remained empty.

"Maybe she forgot again? Her memory's been getting worse ever since college. Saya, I remember you told her yesterday, right?" Kagayaki Homare, dressed casually with her long hair down, adjusted the height of her wheelchair so she could better reach her cappuccino.

As for the Saya she mentioned, she seemed to radiate a dazzling aura all over, and her outfit was the most eye-catching of the three. Only after secretly lifting her sunglasses slightly to make sure no paparazzi had followed her did she slowly let out a breath.

After all, the tokusatsu film New Kamen Rider, which had recently taken the nation by storm, was incredibly popular. As the female lead, Yakushiji Saya had naturally received unimaginable attention. She did not want to be surrounded by the reporters' cameras and have her rare time with friends disturbed.

"I did tell her, but I can't guarantee Kotori won't forget."

Putting down her latte, Saya sighed.

"Then it looks like we'll just have to... Hm?" Sharp-eyed Saya caught sight of a pink figure flashing past the corner of her vision. Then the cafe's revolving door began spinning at high speed, as if it had turned into an airplane engine.

When she looked back, Nono Hana was bracing herself against the table in front of her, gasping for breath.

"Phew, hah—haa... Sorry, am I... am I late?"

"No, you're just in time, Kotori. You're even a little early."

With the gentle smile she only showed when she was with friends, Saya took out a handkerchief and softly wiped the sweat from Hana's forehead.

Huh? Why was this sweat sticky? And why did Kotori smell sweet?

"Then that's fine. Wait for me—I'm going to the restroom to wash my hair, and I'll be right back!"

With that, before she had even caught her breath, Nono Hana rushed toward the restroom again without pause, leaving Saya, Homare, and Rumie only with a blast of wind pressure and bewildered expressions.

"What is Hana-senpai doing this time?"

"I don't know. I don't even know what lies at the end of the universe, so how would I know that?"

"But at least Hana remembered the time for this gathering." Saya smiled, then waved to the waiter.

"Another latte, please... Actually, make that an orange juice." Thinking of Nono Hana's tongue, which could not stand even the slightest bitterness, Saya swapped the coffee for sweet orange juice.

"Say, Hana-senpai was in such a hurry. Could something have been chasing her?" Rumie offered her theory.

The door spun open again. Ash walked in, stuffing a DX-sized V-REX into the pocket of his white coat with one hand while holding a slip of paper with the address written on it in the other.

"No one here? Did I arrive early?" Ash looked around but did not spot the familiar pink figure. Kagayaki Homare, sitting in a wheelchair, did pique his interest.

"You there, sir, may I ask if you are—"

Faced with Ash turning his gaze their way, Saya began politely yet steadily questioning him.

But Ash paid no attention to what she said. The man in the white coat calmly walked forward, directly and bluntly letting his gaze pass over her and settle on Kagayaki Homare's legs.

Case File 14: Gossip Is Instinct

It was not that Ash had gone into pervert mode after seeing a pretty girl. He was not looking at her face, either, but at those long, beautiful legs with exceptionally well-proportioned muscles.

Ash lowered his gaze and stared at Kagayaki Homare's exposed legs beneath her hot pants. He only glanced over them, yet Homare felt a stabbing pain in her legs, as though they had been struck by bullets.

Sensing him, Kagayaki Homare raised her head and met Ash's appraising gaze.

Hm? This person doesn't appear to have anything wrong with her. Why does she need a wheelchair? Muscle weakness?

Is that guy a doctor? It seemed like he just looked at my legs... That's scary.

The two stared at each other in silence while Saya and Rumie felt the atmosphere gradually become tense and awkward.

Just as they realized they should do something to ease the tension and Saya was about to speak, another voice rang out.

"Ah, all washed up! We can get started now, Saya. Huh?! Dr. Ash, why are you here too?"

Nono Hana came out with a refreshed expression, drying her hair with tissues. When she saw Ash silently staring at Kagayaki Homare, she approached with a curious look.

"So you're here." Seeing Nono Hana come out, Ash ended his inexplicable staring contest with Kagayaki Homare.

He found it strange himself. Why had he suddenly locked eyes with this person? She was clearly not someone he cared about.

"Homare, are you all right? Do you want to—"

"I'm fine. I just felt like I'd seen him somewhere before. Looks like I mistook him for someone else, haha."

With an awkward laugh, Kagayaki Homare turned her wheelchair away. Though her tone was relaxed, the slight tremble in her body revealed her unease.

What was with this guy? That was so rude...

That gaze is terrifying. It felt like he wanted to dissect my body...

"Why am I here? That's something I should be asking you." Ash tapped his temple as he continued, "But before that, I have a question. The sugar's on you, right?"

"Huh, the sugar..." Glancing at the now empty sugar bag, Nono Hana's mouth began to twitch, and her eyes started darting away.

"Actually, I ran too fast on the way here, so the sugar... spilled everywhere."

"Spilled?!" Seeing Nono Hana's embarrassed expression, Ash's face darkened in a subtle way.

Was she serious? Even if it had been made on a whim, he had personally mixed it by hand and then dried it out. It had taken a lot of time!

"Such a huge bag, and none of it's left?"

"There might be a little... Maybe..."

She opened the small bag in her pocket, which contained only a bit of powder. In silence, Nono Hana raised a fist, lightly tapped her own head, and stuck out her pink little tongue playfully.

"Ehehe~!"

"Ehehe my ass!"

"D-Dr. Ash? Waaah!" Nono Hana naturally received Ash's Iron Fist Punishment.

"Do you know how long it took to make that much? I worked myself to death making it, and you spilled all of it! You idiot woman!"

"Ugh, I'm sorry...!"

Seeing Nono Hana crouch down, clutching her head beneath his Iron Fist Punishment, and begin reflecting on herself—physically—Ash could only let out a long sigh.

"Forget it."

There was nothing to be done when he had ended up with a patient like her. It seemed a quack doctor encountering difficult patients was simply inevitable.

"Getting worked up over you really was stupid. I still have some left. When we head back later, come to the clinic and pick it up." Ash relaxed his fist, then spread out his hand and rubbed Hana's forehead, which he had reddened by drilling into it with his fingers.

"Hehehe~~~" Nono Hana, who had looked like she was about to cry, immediately turned into a soft pink puffball. Ash could even see ripples spreading across her face beneath his touch.

Without realizing it, Nono Hana, who had placed Dr. Ash on her list of trusted people, was unconsciously enjoying her right to act spoiled around the doctor.

What an indecent expression. She has no guard up at all... But.

Ash took a handkerchief from his pocket and covered Nono Hana's incompletely dried hair. One large hand held the cloth as it wiped away the remaining droplets from Hana's head, exposing that soft, lovely pink hair to the air once more.

"Purr..." Intrigued, Ash even stretched out a hand and lightly scratched beneath her chin. Sure enough, she narrowed her eyes like a cat and made a happy sound from her throat.

Isn't she completely like a cat? Ash thought.

Watching the two interact like a cat and her owner, Rumie and Saya, who had been standing by and watching, looked toward Homare, whose face seemed to say, "Isn't this nice?" Then they looked again at the apparently very practiced Ash and Nono Hana.

Finally, they looked at each other.

"What on earth happened?!"

-----Ash's Explanation Divider-----

"Eeeeeeh?!"

After hearing Ash's speech, which had omitted certain details while adding plenty of embellishments, even Homare put aside the ill feelings she had held over his rudeness. Once they learned of the "ill-fated connection" between the two, everyone's expressions became incredibly colorful.

"Hana-senpai... So you've been playing it that big." Whenever Emiru's gaze swept across Nono Hana's face, the blush on Hana's cheeks deepened a little more.

"You hadn't even dated anyone before, but you skipped ahead all at once... Amazing!"

"D-Don't say that!"

"The life you unintentionally saved once ended up saving your own life later on. Ara ara, that really is..." Saya was not teasing them. Rather, she smiled with her hands cupping her cheeks and looked warmly at the pair.

"If a story like this could be adapted into a movie, it would definitely become a new box-office darling, wouldn't it?"

"Saya... D-don't say it..."

"You two really are fated, huh? That's the only way to explain the coincidences that brought you together."

"I said stop saying it..."

Hearing even Homare say that, the strange embarrassment and subtle excitement of being watched by her friends made Nono Hana cover her burning cheeks tightly. As her objections grew quieter and quieter, visible "steam" began rising from the top of her head.

"So then, what kind of relationship do you have now?"

Standing behind Nono Hana with both hands on her shoulders, Ash ignored Hana's embarrassed expression and firmly pressed her down into the soft sofa seat.

"Something happened that almost took her life, so her family asked me to make sure I keep an eye on her when necessary and not let her do anything reckless."

"So that's basically the situation. Right now, I'm half of your good friend Nono Hana's guardian."

Everyone immediately exchanged glances, then saw the same disbelief in each other's fox-like narrowed eyes.

There's no way it's that simple!

Case File 15: Friends, Friends

"That's it?"

"Of course. What else did you think it would be?"

"Sigh... I thought it'd be more romantic..."

Romantic, my ass. I wanted to turn into Mephisto right now! Though I couldn't transform anymore...

Maintaining his disguise as a doctor and sealing away his usual method of flipping the table and ignoring everything else, Ash got a proper taste of how terrifying women's love for gossip could be. Deep in his heart, he felt utterly exhausted.

Women were truly formidable!

It had been the same in the previous world. Why were women always interested in such inexplicable topics? No matter how many worlds he experienced, he was never good at this. Compared to chatting with women, sneaking onto the Cruel Empire's mothership to assassinate the Cruel Emperor would have been easier!

This gathering had originally been a small get-together for Nono Hana and her close friends. Yet with the arrival of the "mysterious doctor," Ash, everyone's attention had gathered around him and his relationship with Nono Hana.