Chapter Text
Neon had already left half an hour ago to join Tsumuri to practice cooking a meal for a few people. Because she figured she might as well start picking up on these skills considering she had just recently started living by herself. Keiwa could have offered to help them out, but—
He glanced down to see Ace curled up affectionately on his lap, finally asleep after a bit of struggle. As much as Neon and Michinaga had joked about it so much, it still baffled him as to why Ace continued to be so attached to him to this extent. Why did Ace like him so much, to the point the fox rider could only seek comfort in him? He still couldn't truly figure it out completely.
Why did Ace feel so much for him... that for every single pain he endured and suffered, Ace would want to take that pain away and bear the burden himself instead and suffer the consequences alone. What has he done to receive so much affection from Ace, to the point that it seemed that Ace had imprinted onto him like a baby duck that assume the first creature it set eyes on was its mother?
Keiwa gently ran a hand over Ace's head. Looking at Ace like this, it finally felt like Ace was really a year younger than he was—at least in this current life of his. And not someone who had gone through many cycles of life and death to finally reach this point. If not because of those memories of thousands of years, Ace could have just been your everyday average young man you'd see around town.
He didn't notice her presence at first until he caught the telltale hints of white from the corner of his eyes. Keiwa lifted his head up to acknowledge Mitsume's presence before looking away. He sighed.
"You could've spent more time with him when he was awake to appreciate your presence better, you know?"
Mitsume laughed softly, as Keiwa cocked his head slightly confused. Was it just him or for some strange reason, did Mitsume-san's voice just...echoed?
"How could I intrude between the two of you when my son seeks your presence as much as he yearned for me?"
Keiwa shook his head slightly to shake off the disoriented feelings he felt in his head every time he heard Mitsume speak. Had it always been like this before? He didn't remember feeling so disoriented like this when he had any kind of conversation with Mitsume before. What does this mean?
He bit his lips as he tried to will away the sudden blood rush that happened after Mitsume spoke just now. "That... didn't answer anything."
Another unearthly giggle. Keiwa might as well tune everything out aside.
"I hate you."
He didn't look at Mitsume when he said all that, but he was sure that the divine former Game Navigator heard what he said.
"Even though you're not fully at fault for the Jyamato killing my parents, even though you had no power to stop the DesiGra people from specifically designing the Jyamato to want to kill and cause destruction everywhere, I can't stop feeling angry at you."
He could sense that Mitsume had nodded her head in understanding—it's weird, but he couldn't quite explain how he knew that. It's not like he had been sneaking a glance at her—as Keiwa continued talking.
"I was angry at you for not trying to escape this fate—why would you allow Suel or anyone from the DesiGra to turn you into a tool for their own entertainment? Why wouldn't you break free from those people, and be with Ace?" Keiwa shook his head. "Because of you... Ace spent thousand of years being bound to the DesiGra, playing this wretched survival game over and over again just to see you and get you back."
Keiwa snorted bitterly to himself.
"I don't even want to talk about the other collateral damage that continued to accumulate because of you."
Mitsume crept closer to be able to caress Ace's body better and to trace her fingers over Ace's sleeping face.
"I know. I know how much I have sinned for my own selfish wish. All I ever wanted... was for Ace to live happily."
Keiwa finally looked up to see her properly as Mitsume continued to gaze at her son affectionately.
"You loved him. You loved Ace very much," said Keiwa without any malice.
Mitsume nodded. "Yes. As much... and even more as I had loved his father. His father was the kindest person I've ever met... passionate, selfless. As you are, Keiwa."
Keiwa let out a surprised yelp as he felt his whole face growing hot. He hastily shook his head over her claims that he was also such a kind and selfless person as she said. How could he even compare...
He smiled weakly as he glanced back to Ace, who by some kind of miracle was still able to sleep on his lap—uninterrupted—despite his unexpected emotional turmoil in the past few minutes of talking to Mitsume. Keiwa sighed.
"Well, it made sense. This guy didn't look like someone who was not loved by his parents. This cute face didn't look like the face of a child whose mother would not love deeply."
Mitsume laughed again, almost melodiously now that the two of them had let out the thoughts they had kept inside out into the open.
"Indeed," she said, before brushing aside the curtain of hair that cover half of Ace's sleeping face. "This is the face of the child most deserving of love."