Chapter 4

Kamen Rider Gaim and HappinessCharge Pretty Cure!, and all associated characters are both owned by Toei.

"Absolutely not! You are not going with me!" Takatora Kureshima was quite surprised at the suggestion that his little brother had just run by him.

"I thought you would say that," Micchy responded, "So I've made a point to scratch that off the list of answers I'll take. I won't budge until you agree to let me go to Pikarigaoka with you and Ms. Sagara."

"What do you hope to accomplish while there?" Takatora demanded.

Micchy clenched his fist. "Listen," he began, "I saw it on the news last night. An Inves was there, brother! There's something going on in that city, and I may be the only one who can do something about it!"

Takatora paused for a moment. Finally he sighed, and looked as though he was already regretting what he was about to say. "Fine," he relented, "You may go with us. But if you disappoint me again, you will never see the light of day again!"

Micchy's fist clenched even tighter. Even he wasn't sure how he would fare against his brother's expectations. But there was no turning back now.

As Takatora turned around to leave, he said one last thing. "You know, Mitsuzane, I really hate it when you remind me of myself."

Sometime in the early afternoon, Seiji, Megumi, Hime, Yuko, Iona, and their fairy companions emerged from the hallway of mirrors at Hime's mansion. On the way, the group had found the stuff that they had initially brought for the journey, relatively unscathed. This, of course, meant that Seiji was back on oversized bag carrying duty.

"And she didn't even show the clothes to anyone, anyway!" Seiji muttered under his breath as they emerged.

The group all sat themselves down in Hime's living room, tired from the previous journey. After a few minutes of restful silence, Iona broke the ice.

"So, do any of you still have homework to finish?"

Megumi's face fell after hearing this. "Er… why don't we go to Yu-yu's place to get lunch?" she blurted out.

"Y-yes! I completely agree!" Hime immediately added. The two instantly got up out of their seats, their previous sluggishness nowhere to be seen. Both ran for the front door, only for Hime to be grabbed by the sleeve by Iona.

"You guys didn't start, did you?" Iona demanded, giving her usual death glare.

Hime gulped.

Megumi grabbed Hime's other arm, frantically shouting now. "We can do it tonight! With you and Seiji, it should be a breeze, right?"

After a pause, Iona let go of Hime's hand. "Fine, we can go out into town," she relented. Hime and Megumi breathed a sigh of relief.

"But be prepared to work extra hard tonight!" Iona said icily. Hime and Megumi gulped again.

"The problem is that no one really knows who these girls are," Hiroko started, "But I think that if we talk to the staff at Pretty Cure Weekly, they could announce your desire to meet them on television, and I'm sure they would respond."

"I see," Takatora mused, "And why do these girls bother with keeping their identities secret? Do they not trust the people of this town?" He briefly glared at Micchy as he said this. Micchy looked away, not saying a word.

"Well, the HappinessCharge Pretty Cure have to be pretty busy, just like anybody else," Hiroko replied, "They deserve to have personal lives too, don't they?"

"You can never be too sure exactly what kids people do in their spare time." Takatora once again motioned at Micchy.

All right, I get the point! Micchy thought to himself, as he continued to stare down.

Hiroko stared briefly at the two brothers before replying, "Oh, you can decide on their trustworthiness when you get down to meeting them! Oh, Seiji! You're here, too!"

Seiji, Megumi, and the rest of the girls had just entered Omori Lunches as well. PhanPhan was with them as well, in his red-haired human form.

"Hi, Mom!" Seiji greeted his frequently absent mother, "You're back already?"

"Yes, dear," Hiroko responded, "I'm discussing things with my clients right now."

She turned to the Kureshima brothers. "Let me introduce you to my son, Seiji! He's a bright kid; I think you'll like him!"

"Aw, Mom, you're embarrassing me!" Seiji smiled. Micchy and Takatora turned towards him, and politely nodded, otherwise not changing their blank expressions at all.

"What brings you here, Seiji?" Hiroko asked.

"Megumi didn't want to do her homework." Seiji felt a slight jab in his ribs from Megumi's elbow.

"I see," Hiroko said nonchalantly.

"Ah! Yuko! Genzo! You're all back!" Takeo Omori, Yuko's father, called from the kitchen of Omori Lunches. Genzo was what PhanPhan was referred to as in his human form.

"Yes, Dad! We're here to treat our friends to lunch!" Yuko excitedly shouted.

"You're just in time; we were just about to start on our special for Mrs. Sagara and her clients! We could use your help." Yoko, Yuko's mother, sounded from the kitchen as well.

"Of course, mother," Yuko turned to PhanPhan, "So how about it, Genzo? Are you ready to prepare some Omori Specials?"

"Anything for you, Yuko," PhanPhan replied rather stoically.

As Yuko and PhanPhan sped off into the kitchen to prepare lunch, Megumi took a seat across from the Kureshima brothers.

"So what brings you here to Pikarigaoka?" she asked.

"We're here to see the HappinessCharge Pretty Cure to see if we can negotiate a possible public appearance in Zawame City as a morale booster," Takatora replied in his usual matter-of-fact tone.

"Oh! We wouldn't m…" Megumi caught herself just in time thanks to a return elbow jab from Seiji, "Er… I mean, I'm sure they, whoever they are, wouldn't mind making a public appearance if it will make people happy!"

"Really? It seems they'd rather be admired in public than stop monsters from harming he innocent," Micchy finally spoke up.

"Mitsuzane…" Takatora raised his eyebrows a little.

"Wh… what do you mean?" Megumi's smile started to falter.

"It was on the news last night. An attack by a green monster! And no one was there to help," Micchy started to sound more angry with every word.

"Th… that's…" Megumi's voice started to falter.

"That's enough, Mitsuzane!" Takatora rose from his chair.

Micchy sat back down, clearly trying with all his might to regain his composure.

"I apologize for that, girls," Takatora said, "My brother has been through quite an ordeal recently. We all have."

"Y… Yes, of course. I'm sorry…," Megumi stammered, still distraught.

"Don't be, Megumi. You don't have to apologize," Seiji stood walked over to where Micchy was.

"Apologize to her, now!" Seiji slammed his hand on the table while he said this.

"Seiji…" Megumi put her hands on her childhood friend's shoulders.

"Lunch is ready, everyone!" Yuko and PhanPhan emerged from the kitchen, both carrying boxes of food, "Why the long faces?"

Everyone just looked down, their day having just gotten considerably worse.

"Megumi, there was no way you could have known," Seiji tried to console Megumi, who was just picking at her food.

"Yeah! And besides, it's my fault that we even left to begin with!" Hime added.

"Alas, this is just one of those occurrences when coincidence didn't work out the way we would have liked," Yuko said, "That's no reason to get down! During times like these, a full meal will help you get back on your feet!"

Megumi stared some more, before finally taking a bite out of her chicken. "Delicious!" She exclaimed, smiling once more, "You guys are right! I can't let something like this deter me!"

Seiji, satisfied with Megumi's recovery, looked toward the other side of the room to where Micchy was sitting alone, also not eating, like Megumi a few moments earlier.

"I must apologize again for my brother's behavior," Takatora said, "He's not like you, Miss Aino; it takes him a while to recover from these sorts of things."

"We understand, Mr. Kureshima," Iona nodded at Takatora, who returned the gesture.

"I am glad that you, Miss Hikawa. Too many youths today don't have faith anymore," Takatora started, "Of them all, there was one I met whose resolve could overcome any obstacle. He was a truly remarkable young man."

Micchy finally got up after hearing this, and promptly walked out the door.

"Where are you going now, Mitsuzane?" Takatora demanded.

"I'm wasting my time here," Micchy answered bitterly as he left.

"He just had to hit a sore spot," Micchy mused as he walked into the town, looking at the happy citizens.

It's because of me that Zawame isn't like this. I couldn't protect it, Micchy thought to himself.

"Hello there, young man! I haven't seen you around here! Are you visiting?" A woman who looked remarkably like Megumi Aino was walking past Micchy, holding a bag of groceries.

"I'm here on a business trip with my brother," Micchy explained, "We are here with Hiroko Sagara. Do you know her?"

"Oh! You and your brother are Hiroko's clients?!" the woman excitedly asked, "Hiroko is my best friend! Our children, Megumi, Seiji, and Mao are very close, too! Have you met them?"

Micchy nodded. He decided in that moment not to tell Megumi's mother about what had just transpired.

"I'm Kaori, by the way Kaori Aino. It's so nice to meet you!" the woman introduced herself.

"Mitsuzane Kureshima," Micchy replied.

"What brings you out here, Mitsuzane?" Kaori asked, "Are you and your brother done with your business?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

"You seem troubled, Mitsuzane. Is everything okay?" Kaori's smile suddenly changed from one of innocent bliss to one of motherly concern.

Micchy was surprised at the question.

"Yes," he said.

"Don't lie to me, now! I may not look it, but I know when someone is having a rough time," Kaori insisted.

"I… feel like I have failed someone," Micchy finally confessed.

"Let me guess, your brother?"

"Actually, I have failed several people. In fact, more than that. I don't even know who I am anymore!" Tears started forming in Micchy's eyes, a decidedly rare event.

"I know how you feel," Kaori wiped her hand across Micchy's eyes, "When I first got sick shortly after my daughter was born, it felt like the end of the world to me."

"You're sick!?" Micchy was quite startled by this revelation.

"Yes. I couldn't get out of bed for months when it first happened! My husband and Hiroko had to put their work on hold because of me! I felt so guilty I just wanted to be sent to a nursing home or something! But my husband and best friend never gave up on me, and gradually I got better, in time to raise Megumi into a fine young lady," Kaori finished her story, "Your friends and family are always there for you when you need them most, Mitsuzane. I'm sure whatever problems you are having with your brother, he is only concerned for you."

"…Yeah…" Micchy pondered Kaori's words. He then forced a weak smile at her.

"By the way, my friends always thought 'Mitsuzane' was too inconvenient to pronounce, so I'm known to them as 'Micchy'."

"Well then, Micchy, I hope you and your brother make up soon. Remember that there is nothing you could have done that is worse than giving up."

"I think Mr. Kureshima was a really nice man," Iona said as they walked of Omori Lunches.

"Oh?" Hime's mischievous grin surfaced again, "I didn't know you liked older men, Iona!"

"What?!" Iona's face started turning red.

"Hime…" Seiji was cut off by the voice of a screaming woman in the distance.

"What?" Seiji said.

"Is that…" Megumi followed up.

The four girls looked at each other, nodded, and held up their PreChan Mirrors, before transforming once again into Japan's young heroines, the HappinessCharge Pretty Cure.

Somewhere within a busy district of Pikarigaoka, the green monster seen on television the previous night was walking out in the open again.

The woman who was just screaming got back up on her feet and scurried away, just as the four magical girl warriors flew in between the monster and the civilians.

"All right, girls! Let's show this monster that we're back in business!" Cure Lovely declared loudly.

However, just as the Pretty Cure were about to start up their initial kick, another familiar figure stepped up between them.

"Wait!" Micchy stretched out his arms, shielding the monster from the oncoming onslaught.

"Mitsuzane?!" Hime exclaimed in surprise.

"Mitsuzane, what are you doing?!" Takatora asked as he ran up to the scene, with Seiji not far behind.

"Whatever happens, I won't let any of you attack this monster!" Micchy shouted.

"Do you hear what you're saying?!" Seiji shouted back.

"If you won't listen to me, then I'll have to resort to this!" Micchy pulled out his Sengoku Driver and Grape Lockseed. Within seconds, the figure of Armored Rider Ryugen had replaced the teenager that was protecting the monster terrorizing the populace.

"Mitsuzane…" Takatora's face changed for the first time, to one of shock and terror.

Seiji walked up to the armored figure. "If that's the way you want it, then so be it," he promptly transformed using his recently-acquired Passion Lockseed.

"Sagara too?" Iona gasped.

"Let me handle Mitsuzane! You girls take the monster!" Seiji commanded.

"I don't want this any more than you do!" Ryugen held up his gun, "But a dear friend of mine is in danger. And I am not giving up on him!"