Chapter 545

Fifty-Seventh Chapter: The Heart of a Girl and the Perilous Challenge

How tight, caught so tightly!

As their hands hung in mid-air, Akane’s sweaty palms clung to Ash’s hands, causing her considerable embarrassment when she was caught in the act.

Even though she had protested earlier, saying that his pranks were annoying, yet now, when she herself was caught in a prank, this… this was an awkward scene that could make one die of embarrassment!!!

“Um, actually!” Seeing that their hands were still tightly grasped, Akane’s cheeks flushed as she hurriedly explained, “It’s not like that! I didn’t mean to tease you! It’s just… you’ve been sleeping, so I wanted to wake you up! Yes, that’s it!”

In short, I was wrong! Don’t hold me so tight, let go quick!

*Slap!*

Amidst Akane’s inner turmoil, everything started to spin. Only after she lay on the sports mat did she open her eyes, and filling her entire vision was Ash’s cold, expressionless face and his pitch-black eyes close to her own.

“Woah, what—eh?”

“Eh?”

What is happening?

Akane hurriedly looked around and saw a man supporting himself beside her ear, holding both her hands down with his arm against the ground.

“What… What are you doing?”

Am I being pressed down by a man? And… it’s so close! Really close, getting closer!

The flustered girl instinctively struggled, but felt no response in the man’s hand, which held her as if with a vise grip.

“Y-You! We only talked a bit, what are you—”

“Hold on!”

Being pressed down by Ash, Akane choked back her words, her face turning red, the flush coloring her neck and upper skin a warm hue. The girl looked at the man in front of her with tearful eyes, revealing a tender, shy emotion she never displayed before, not even her tomboy tendencies were visible at this moment.

“No… No, we’re not that familiar, we’re not even friends, it’s too much!”

Seeing the man still approaching her, Akane’s basic logical thinking seemed to break, she screamed and shut her eyes.

I haven’t even dated once!

“Lift your head!”

“Huh?”

A tingling sensation shot through her neck; the man’s black hair with a grass scent tickled Akane’s neck. Ash buried his face in Akane’s shoulder, pressing her down. Before she could cry out, a distorted blast of wind passed before them!

*Swoosh!*

A card penetrated the cement next to Akane’s eye through the window above.

It seemed they were a moment late; the glass shattered above with a clattering sound, pelting the shards onto Ash.

“He…Heh…”

Akane, with flushed lips, took small breaths. She was no longer tense from the sudden attack, and seeing the card made her realize something.

If he hadn’t pinned me down, that card would have hit…

Did this man save me?

“Wh-What’s that?” Akane asked, still shaky.

“Isn’t obvious, it’s the enemy’s declaration of war.”

Ash narrowed his eyes, it seemed not everyone was beaten down. Things always get interesting, don’t they?

“Hold on, you—” The warm breath near her neck turned Akane’s face white then red. “Too close, can’t you let go? How much longer? Stop talking so close…”

“Hang on, aren’t you awake already!?” Akane pointed a trembling finger at Ash and stammered.

“W-When… When!?”

“When your teacher came and dragged you here,” Ash recounted, “I woke up. Seriously, dragging a man into a deserted space takes some guts.”

Ash’s teasing remarks instantly turned Akane’s face into a panicked expression, feeling humiliated.

“It’s not like that… Don’t put words in my mouth!”

“Just saying it’s a misunderstanding… Didn’t you give me a leg pillow and cover your whole body over me? Is it too late to talk about modesty between genders right now?”

I was scared when you suddenly grabbed me, but when you got close, well, I didn’t really feel anything… You know, I’ve seen and touched some guys before, so what’s the big deal?

Hinano Akane’s charm to Ash was tragic.

“You’ve said it before, you lost all your feminity the moment you said it.”

I fight till the end, I’m never weak-willed. Even if unreasonable, I won’t back down. That’s how strong-willed I am!

Under Ash’s relentless verbal assault, Akane’s face turned pig liver-colored, losing her previously fiery determination to stand up to Ash.

“That’s why—I didn’t think about it because I was helping you…”

Ah—Why did he bring all this up just to mock me?! Yet he saved me too. What’s going on with this guy!?

Walking past Akane, who was despondently sitting in the corner, Ash lifted his hand to lightly touch his sore cheek and picked up the card.

“[Mr. Wangjian, the girls of Pretty Cure, up above in the sky, we’ve prepared for you the stage of a tragic ending].”

In the sky?

Ash narrowed his eyes and looked up through the shattered window; aside from clear blue skies and clouds, there was no trace of a giant monster descending or an energy shield enveloping the city?

“Ah… whatever. Let’s face the trouble head-on. The battle continues. Pretty Cure and Kamen Rider aren’t just for looks… huh.”

Still, it seems a little depressed.

There’s no other way… If it involves responsibility, men must take it seriously, right?

“Yo,” Ash continued, facing the increasingly approaching Akane’s resentful gaze, “no matter what you’re thinking, I’ll hate it when you treat others as fools!”

No matter what, I won’t back out, I have to face you—

“Wait a bit?”

Akane, in the midst of speaking, saw the man extend his hand toward her unexpectedly.

Ash walked up to Akane, gently pulling her up. She looked back at him with a pout and a very indignant face full of indignation.

“Really, such close encounters, the look of valiant and cool Pretty Cure are getting further and further, aren’t they?”

“None of your business! Who’s fault is it anyway!” Unlike Yayoi, who cried easily, Akane held back tears, making her eyes turn red. “Because you kept teasing us, there was no end to it!”

“Well, couldn’t help it, your Pretty Cure reactions were just too interesting.” Ash flicked off a speck of dust from her face, “So that’s why I love them the most!”

“Huh?”

“And you’re always a girl, right? Even if I dislike overly enthusiastic personas, girls need to embody grace themselves. You also like the more feminine side of yourself, right?”

His hand moved without stopping. He used his fingers to brush away the sweat-soaked hair plastered to her forehead, lifting a strand that had fallen onto her collar, pinning it behind her ear, revealing her reddened eyes again.

This transformation paired with Akane’s inherent passion, accentuated her cuteness more than usual.

“What’s that? Don’t you look better after the change?”

Savoring his handiwork, Ash nodded happily and headed towards the exit.

Looks like my taste remains excellent even in combat skills. I am indeed a genius!

“Ahh…”

Akane touched the hair Ash had combed behind her ear, briefly exposing her expression, then quickly covered it with both hands so Ash wouldn’t see.

“Annoying… Even if you saved me, I won’t thank you!”

Despite her intense and flustered words, Akane hurriedly followed Ash out toward the school warehouse.

Is this a challenge notice from the Kingdom of Tragedy?

Standing at the school entrance, everyone stared wide-eyed at the card Ash was holding, its backside depicted with a jester’s smiling face.

“Oh, impressive!” Especially with Yayoi folding her hands together, her eyes twinkling brightly, “To receive such a warning letter, it’s just like those on TV!”

“Don’t be ridiculous, you’ve watched too much.”

Lightly tapping Yayoi on the head, Ash turned his gaze back to the sky.

“Seriously, nothing,” Ash muttered. Or is it some kind of team unit monster that can affect an entire world or universe, changing rules? That’d be quite troublesome.

“But what does the enemy’s ‘above’ mean?” Rihua pondered, sharing similar worries about the enemy’s origin, “If talking about the sky, what kind of enemy might we face?”

“It’s a bird?” Miyuki raised her hand first.

“An aircraft?” Naoko thought aloud.

“It’s Superman!” Yayoi, her eyes sparkling, raised her hands high in excitement.

*Clap clap clap*

The three mischievous fellows received a merciless fist to the head from Ash, who retracted his smoke-spewing right hand from three foolish boys bowing in apology in front of everyone.

“If you can’t handle the serious stuff, you’re a master at the goofy bits; trying to lighten the mood with some clowning?”

It’s true, if Superman existed, wouldn’t we be obsolete?

Speaking of above, Akane, whose expression softened slightly but still dared not look directly at Ash, pointed upward where the sun was, the largest source of light and warmth.

“There’s a big sun up there, isn’t there?”

“Haha, Akane, that’s impossible.” Miyuki shook her head with a smile, “Are you saying the enemy is on the sun? Don’t joke like that.”

“Wait!”

Ash’s sudden interruption startled everyone. Placing his hand on his chin then staring intently, he pulled out a blue telescopic scope from his sleeve, stretched and folded it into binoculars, and directed it towards the sun.

“Wow, Mr. Ash, you can’t look at the sun with that! It’ll hurt your eyes!”

“Silence!” Ash held back Miyuki, who kept rushing over, adjusting the focus until he saw what he wanted.

Ash’s pupils constricted. He saw darkness, partially blocking the sunlight.

And it was growing larger, moving towards them.

“TMD!”

Unable to hold back a curse, Ash punched the nearby metal railing, dented from the impact, startling everyone nearby.

“What’s happening!?”

After setting down the telescope, the expression on Ash’s face tightened.

“Akane?” Her uncertain tone asked Ash, whose expression had drastically changed, “What happened? What did you see?”

“This is the worst-case scenario…” Ash pressed his hand to his forehead, appearing to undergo deep inner contemplation before finally revealing what he had witnessed, “The enemy is truly in the sky!”

“Not just that!” Ash pointed toward the glow casting from the sun, which perfectly condensed into a beam of light beneath his finger!

“That enemy is falling towards us with destructive power!”

Destroy everything?!

Even seeing just how rare it was for Akane to express clear distress so openly heightened the girls’ anxiety levels to a peak.

Moreover, even if Ash hadn’t explained thoroughly, the gravity of the situation alone made the girls’ faces pale.

“This is no longer a task for Pretty Cure or Kamen Rider alone to handle!”

“Now, let’s go to your secret base first!”

Seeing the girls immediately lead the way to the library outside, Ash placed his hand on his throbbing temple.

Damn, preparing such a grand gift to defeat us. Guess we’re quite significant…

Thinking this, Ash’s hand covered his temple concealing the dangerous gleam on his lips.

However, a challenge that powerful…

Is exactly what makes it excite us, doesn’t it?