Chapter 6 - Girl's Gossip, Rider Reappears
"What's the deal with that person!"
Hishikawa Rikka couldn't contain her anger when she thought about Ash, who appeared before them recently, acting strangely and able to transform into a Kamen Rider.
Even though they explained everything clearly and warned him that continuing would lead to irreversible consequences, he didn't listen and chose to keep attacking. He even came close to hurting her dear friend, Ai.
Rikka's impression of that man had reached an all-time low. She had never encountered someone so unreasonable before.
"Alright, Rikka, calm down. Look, nothing serious happened in the end, right?"
Aida Mana didn't share the same perspective. As always, she maintained her cheerful and optimistic attitude.
"The next time we meet Ash-san, we'll explain the situation between the Precure and the selfish organization to him. Then he'll surely understand what's really going on!"
At that time, Ash-san will surely come to his senses and become our friend!
Regardless of what Ash did, Mana still believed in love.
"Mana, you're just too kind. You're like a prince in a fairy tale." Rikka looked at her friend, who helped others in need and didn't ask for help when she was in trouble. Despite being one of the victims, she was still defending Ash. Rikka had no energy left to criticize her.
Even now, Ai didn't consider Ash a bad person.
These two individuals are no ordinary figures. The former is the daughter of the influential and powerful CEO of "Yotsuba Enterprises," making her a bona fide heiress. The latter is a popular superstar idol whose debut work has sold millions of copies, and now her endorsements can be seen on billboards everywhere.
At first glance, it seems that Ai and Rikka, who appear somewhat ordinary, are from different worlds. However, they have become close friends and share a secret identity as Precure.
The partner fairies of Precure are playing together, while Ai and Rikka sit in a circle, bringing out snacks and tea. They engage in a discussion, creating an atmosphere of a girls' tea party.
"Mana, I have already found the person you asked me to look for, Sebastian."
Upon hearing Yotsuba Alice's call, Sebastian, the head butler of the Yotsuba family, Alice's exclusive attendant, and a supporter behind Precure, swiftly appeared on the scene.
"Miss, as you instructed, I have found some clues about the person named Ash."
Inserting a CD into the projector in front of the table, a video appears showing street surveillance footage of Ash renting a house and entering an internet cafe.
"Through our investigation, we found that Ash-san is still renting a house near Clover Tower. It seems he intends to stay temporarily in Oogai Town."
"Yotsuba Enterprises' intelligence system is truly remarkable." No matter how many times Rikka sees it, she can't help but be amazed by the capabilities of Yotsuba Enterprises, while Alice simply smiles and says it's just basic operations.
After all, considering the international scale of Yotsuba Enterprises, this level of capability can only be considered a small matter.
"However, apart from this, we haven't found any other information. There is no record in the international online registration system, as if..."
Sebastian silently murmurs this possibility in his mind, as it has never happened before.
But how could this possibility even be possible? No one just appears out of thin air; it's almost impossible to live in this world without leaving any traces.
Yet, this impossibility has become a reality with Ash. No matter how hard they look, they haven't found any traces of Ash's past existence.
It's as if Ash suddenly appeared on the day he met the girls.
"I'm sorry, Miss, for disappointing you."
"Why would you say that? Sebastian, you did a great job."
After comforting Sebastian and asking him to rest, the conversation returns to the girls' casual chat during their tea party.
"Hmm, even Yotsuba Family couldn't find Ash completely?"
If Yotsuba Enterprises couldn't uncover Ash's past, it would be even more impossible for them, a group of middle school students. Rikka suddenly feels troubled by this thought.
The plan to understand this person better seems to have failed.
"Well, Ash-san seems really impressive."
Alice maintains a calm demeanor as she sips her tea, but deep down, she also becomes curious about this mysterious Ash-san.
"Could it be that he, like Makoto-chan, comes from the Trump Kingdom?"
Referring to Makoto with the nickname "Makoto-chan", Ai puts forward a new conjecture.
In reality, Kenzaki Makoto is not from this world but crossed over from the Trump Kingdom, an alternate dimension invaded by King Jikochū. Ai becoming a Precure is somewhat connected to her, as Makoto is someone who wants to save her own world and the princess she serves. Makoto is also the person most concerned about issues related to the Selfish organization.
"That's impossible." Makoto shakes her head, denying Ai's suggestion. "I haven't seen him, and he doesn't have the characteristics of a resident from the Trump Kingdom."
"Then is it possible that, like Makoto-chan, he comes from another world invaded by King Jikochū?" Alice presents her own speculation. "That's why he shows no mercy towards Jikochū."
"But even so, it doesn't mean he wouldn't listen to reason."
"And speaking of his transformation, what is that all about?"
In the baby basket on the side, Aii-chan, covered in a steel-like sheen, shakes the bottle in her hand, clearly showing great interest.
That is something Ash left on Aii-chan's side, and he hasn't taken it back.
"I haven't seen it before, but I can sense the power inside. However, this power is different from that of Precure or Dark Heartbeat. Dabyi, do you know anything about it?"
With an unknown origin, peculiar way of doing things, completely different power, and mysterious item, everything is shrouded in mystery, leaving the girls with numerous questions.
"I have absolutely no idea, Dabyi," the fairies said after careful observation.
"Should we go ask the guy at the gift shop?"
"We did ask, but he seemed just as confused."
"Can we only learn about it from Ash himself?"
The topic gradually fell into silence as the girls tasted their pastries and tea, but it didn't have the same flavor as before.
The silence persisted until Ai took out a toy from her pocket.
"Well, to some extent, I found Ash-san."
As soon as Ai spoke, the other girls immediately widened their eyes. They saw that the soft rubber toy Ai took out was identical to the Kamen Rider Ash transformed into that day, except he was black, and the toy was red.
"Where did you get this?" Rikka picked up the toy and examined it, finding it to be almost identical.
"I borrowed it from the little boy next door."
"A children's toy belongs to Ash-san? Charl!" The fairies started to have trouble keeping up with Ai's discussion.
With the word "henshin," Ai confirmed that Ash should be a certain Kamen Rider. So, that day, when she returned home, she stayed up all night and marathoned from the original Kamen Rider series until the currently airing Kamen Rider Wizard.
In the end, Ai determined that the Kamen Rider Ash transformed into was the Rider from Kamen Rider Ryuki.
"Ah, no wonder you were acting strange that day. Turns out you stayed up watching tokusatsu and then went to bed!"
"B-because I wanted to make sure it was a genuine Kamen Rider! I put in the effort for that!" Ai quickly explained, although she definitely wouldn't mention that she got completely engrossed and stayed up watching until late at night.
"I finished watching Ryuki. The protagonist, Shinji, sacrifices himself to save a little girl, and in the end, nobody recognizes each other anymore. Sob, sob, sob, it was so touching!" When it came to the emotional parts, Ai couldn't help but shed tears.
"Is this Ash not the person you described?"
"Rikka, you can't just say things like that about others."
"!"
Suddenly, the fairy Sharuru stood up and jumped onto the table, her ears perked up and her gaze became very serious.
"This is the dark feeling, Charl!"
As their fairy partners have the ability to sense darkness, this statement indicates the presence of a Jikochū somewhere, and it's time for the Precure to intervene.
The girls, accompanied by their fairies, hurriedly ran towards the location where the dark stirring was detected. However, when they arrived at the warehouse that felt like it was straight out of a movie, they found it empty, with no sign of Jikochū at all.
"There's nothing here. Could we have sensed it wrong?"
"That's impossible, Charl! Ah, over there!"
Sharuru pointed in a direction, and a black figure walked out slowly. It was none other than Ash, holding a ball of pitch-black aura in his hand.
"So, you all really came."
Crushing the ball in his hand, which was a sample obtained from Ira, a member of the Selfish Organization, Ash showed an expression that said, "Just as I expected."
[Absorbing dark echoes...]
Indeed, the dark energy in this world, the Dark Heartbeat, contained what he needed.
"Ash, you——" Ai, with a delighted expression on her face, was about to speak, but Makoto pulled her aside. She clearly saw that Ash had just held something that the Selfish Organization uses, the Dark Heartbeat.
"That's the Dark Heartbeat!" Whenever the Selfish Organization is mentioned, Makoto immediately becomes serious and focused.
"Why do you have that? Does that mean you're a new member of the Selfish Organization?!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the other girls were all surprised. They had never thought that this man in front of them could have any connection to the Selfish Organization.
"Is that true?"
"Hey, hey, don't just casually expel someone from humanity." Ash spread his hands, looking very innocent. "I am a genuine human."
Upon hearing Ash's words, the girls couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, but immediately after, he said something else.
"But if you think I'm just an ordinary human, you're mistaken."
He lifted the corner of his clothes, revealing a belt wrapped around his waist.
"Henshin."
In the reflection of the mirror on the ground, the figure of Masked Rider Ryuga appeared.
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