Chapter 15: Rikka and her little though
On a bright and beautiful day, which was perfect for students to go to school, there were a few girls who, due to various reasons, lingered on their way, including the ones with a secret identity as Precure.
While on their way to school, Ai and Makoto passed by a gift shop run by Jo, where they happened to see Aii-chan, holding a bottle, waving at them. Girls always found it hard to resist their love for cute things, so Love naturally picked up the adorable Aii-chan and playfully interacted with her in her arms.
Makoto, who originally had no intention of getting involved, couldn't resist Ai's persistent invitation and, coupled with Aii-chan's watery, big eyes, quickly fell for her charm. It was like enjoying the pleasure of playing with a child years ahead of time.
"Aii-chan is so adorable," Makoto said, holding Aii-chan in her arms while looking at her bottle-feeding. Makoto's expression completely melted, a stark contrast to her usual calm demeanor.
"Hi, Aii-chan! This is Mama Makoto, and I'm your Papa Ai !" Ai introduced herself enthusiastically.
"Kyuupi~"
Behind the decorated trees in the gift shop, Rikka and Alice watched the two of them and noticed the increasingly peculiar interaction.
"They really look like a loving couple,"
Alice's remark made the situation even stranger.
Noticing that Aii-chan had been treated as a toy in Makoto's arms earlier, Makoto curiously picked up the full bottle. "By the way, what is this?"
"This belongs to Ash-san, and it seems like he left it with Aii-chan and never took it back," Ai explained.
Ai was planning to find a suitable time to return it to Ash himself.
"His belongings?" Makoto furrowed her brows upon hearing this. After all, she was the one who had suffered the most and almost been eaten by the dragon among the four of them, so her opinion of Ash was even lower than Rikka's. She wondered if this could be some dangerous item. With that thought in mind, Makoto gently rotated the cap of the dark tank-shaped bottle with her finger but couldn't find anything different apart from the tank relief on top.
Driven by curiosity, Makoto shook the tank-shaped bottle, filled with semi-liquid content, and heard a clanking sound. It seemed like the roaring of heavy machinery echoed in Makoto's ears, and the collision of metal rang out between her fingers.
"Wahhh!"
The sudden change in her body startled Makoto. She quickly let go of the full bottle, flinging her hand back and accidentally hitting the door of the gift shop. Surprisingly, her hand didn't hurt, but the door flew off as if it had been hit by a tank cannon.
"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry!"
"No, as long as you ladies are okay."
Feeling apologetic for unexpectedly punching someone's shop door, Makoto bowed repeatedly to Joe, her face turning red.
"Is Makoto-chan okay?"
Love approached with the adorable Aii-chan in her arms, marveling at Makoto's pale hand.
"Wow, Makoto-chan, you're amazing! You sent Joe-san shop door flying with just one punch!"
With Ai unintentionally adding fuel to the fire, Joe, who initially thought everything was fine, felt like crying.
"It's not my own strength!" Makoto explained quickly, feeling Ai 's fingers gently rubbing her wrist and her cheeks flushing. "It's all because of this bottle. I knew that person's belongings were dangerous!"
"I think it's just an ordinary bottle. We'll find Ash and return it to him."
"Ai, you really need to be more careful."
Unconsciously, Makoto, who used to be cold and distant, was now able to have such a conversation with Ai .
Under Ai's enthusiastic approach, the distance between the two girls had greatly diminished, and their friendship continued to grow stronger.
"Such intimate interaction."
Even Alice, who had known Ai since childhood, smiled while observing the scene.
Suddenly, she turned her gaze to her other companion.
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"~"
Rikka watched the scene with a smile on her face.
Their bond is so strong.
Normally, she would have felt a tightness or a pang in her heart when seeing such a scene. But now, it didn't hurt as much.
Perhaps it's because I have some secrets that even Ai doesn't know.
A girl's emotions are a complex thing. Seeing Ai and Makoto becoming close friends without her would usually cause a piercing pain in her heart. But her unique experiences with Ash made her feel a strange sensation of "being naughty behind her friend."
"It's rare to see Rikka not getting jealous today."
Alice chuckled while observing Rikka's unusual demeanor.
"Oh, come on, Alice. Don't make it sound like I'm only dependent on Mana."
"What? Rikka, are you talking about me?" Midway through her sentence, the subject of the conversation interjected.
"Ai , you better treat Rikka nicely. Because of Ai's overwhelming attention towards Makoto, Rikka has already found solace in someone else's arms."
"Ah——!!" Ai, looking shocked and devastated, stared at Rikka.
"Do I... Do I no longer needed?"
Seeing Ai's devastated expression, on the verge of tears, Rikka felt a great sense of satisfaction and finally regained her confidence.
"Don't talk nonsense. Just like Mana and Makoto becoming good friends, I have also found other... friends!"
Thinking of Ash's final words, Rikka finally confirmed this term.
Both Ash and I have said that as long as it doesn't bother him, I can go and find him. We even exchanged contact information. I guess that makes us friends, right?
"Rikka actually has other friends that I don't know? Who are they?"
"Mana, you are strange. I don't have only you as a friend."
Of course, she couldn't mention the fact that the "friend" they both knew was the same person, or everything would be exposed.
Seeing Rikka's slightly triumphant look, Ai pouted, feeling a bit annoyed.
Rikka actually has friends I don't know, even though we've been childhood friends... I've decided, I must find Rikka's hidden friend, and then...
And then I will become friends with Rikka's friend too! That way, that person will become someone I know.
Rikka still didn't know that while she was savoring her rare "victory," Ai had already started thinking about how to steal her "friend."
"Oh no, it's a Darkness, Charl!"
As the girls happily frolicked around Aii-chan, a fairy emerged and reported to them about the approaching enemy. They exchanged a glance and immediately completed their transformation.
Now, they were ready to fulfill their duties in their alternate identities!
"Stay strong, girls. Your exhilarating youth is the very strength of Precure."
"Surely, that person will be defeated by your determined efforts."
Joe offered his blessings to these warriors transformed into Precure, unaware that not far behind him, on a tall tree, a pair of eyes were observing the girls.
"Precure..."
This person was Bel from the selfish organization, serving as an executive following the orders of the antagonist boss, King Jikochū. Precure had now become their greatest enemy.
Initially perceived as insignificant figures that would soon be dealt with, the number of Precure increased from one to four.
Even though they set a trap, luring the enemy to the "Trump Kingdom," now filled with Jikochū, and taking advantage of their home ground, they still managed to escape. Bel himself was severely taught a lesson during that encounter.
"How can Precure be defeated?"
And that human! Thinking about Ash, who Bel personally despised, his formerly serious expression turned even uglier.
Is there any way to deal with them together? There is no such convenient solution, is there?
While feeling regretful, Bel happened to see the baby "Aii-chan" in the gift shop. His mind immediately started scheming, devising a poisonous plan.
At this moment, Aii-chan, Aida Mana, and Ash were unaware that they had fallen into someone else's scheme.
"Is that Ash? Yes, it's me, Bel."
"Aren't you interested in interesting things? I happen to have something interesting over here. Care to join?"
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