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"You might get paid in the kind of Happiness money can't buy, though..."
Win snorted to himself, as he left the DesiGra Lounge to get some fresh air. Honestly, he didn't really get that Ace. Sometimes he talked like some ancient being who had spent aeons fighting in the DesiGra, and sometimes he acted like some snotty brat he could easily find across the streets.
What a cheeky brat.
He sighed...
A kind of happiness that money can't buy... huh?
Win thought about the conversation he used to have with Ace, about him also having a wish that he wanted to be granted. Would that count as 'happiness that money can't buy'? But wasn't that part of a long-forgotten wish that Ace mentioned that he probably wouldn't be able to reward him with? Besides, if there was any kind of 'happiness' that he would have wished for... it's probably to perform again with his bandmates like in the old times...
Ah! Win gasped.
Technically... when Ace said that he returned all of the Kamen Rider memories to everyone, he really did mean EVERYONE, right? As in all the past participants and competitors who used to take part in the DesiGra that were still living in this current time period.
So that should mean... even Hiroki... should have regained his memories and spark, right?
But would Ace be aware of Hiroki's connection to him, though? He never told that brat anything about Hiroki. Unless Tsumuri told him... which she probably wouldn't.
Half the reason he never wrote anything in his Desire card when Girori put him in as a player was that he didn't want to lose his 'spark' the way Hiroki had lost his. Even when he was given assurance that he'll be given his memories and sparks back because he was part of the staff, he still refuse to put any wish in his card.
How would Hiroki be doing now, he wonder...? He used to ponder whether Hiroki would be happier after losing his passion for music or not. And now, he should be able to find out for sure. Since then Hiroki should have spent enough time living a life that doesn't involve music, so when he recovered all of the memories and passion and love for the music, he should be able to make some kind of comparison to it. So perhaps, Hiroki could find his own answer to what he would want to live for!
"Win!"
He almost jumped out of his wits when he heard his name being called. How could that be possible? He was only JUST thinking about Hiroki and then suddenly—!
Win turned around to see someone he never thought he could see again after so long.
"Hiroki! How—?"
His old friend, Amemiya Hiroki—formerly his guitarist for his old band Weather Hearts as well as former Kamen Rider Butchi—ran up towards him from across the street looking somewhat happy and relieved(?) to see him. Why was Hiroki here and looking for him?
"I thought I might find you here... though I'm not fully sure about the actual location for me to find you. But I thought maybe, I could see you again. Because I finally remembered everything."
Win nodded. "Ah! I figured that you'd also regain your memories. Ace did say that he returned everyone's memories and sparks when he rewrote this world."
"Oh? That Ace?" Hiroki seemed taken aback by the sudden onslaught of information as Win just waved it away. "So... you're still working with those people..."
Win just shrugged. "Somewhat... I'm not actually working with the old management anymore. And right now, I'm trying to help fix and clean up the mess that remained."
"A lot of things had happened since I forfeit the game, huh?" Hiroki gasped as Win nodded.
"You seriously, absolutely have no idea—!"
Hiroki chuckled softly to himself. He sighed. "So I guess, you probably wouldn't be interested in what I wanted to suggest, huh?"
Win cocked his head at Hiroki as he continued, "I remembered you coming to see me... right after—!"
"Don't worry about that—" said Win immediately, brushing the concern away. "I'm not faulting you for that. After all, that was the expected result... with the DesiGra taking your reason for joining the game in the first place and the memories that go with it."
"But because of that—you came looking for me, right? Win?" Hiroki pressed on again as Win looked up at his friend. Hiroki took a long breath.
"Disbanding our band last time... it wasn't just because we were going nowhere with it, was it? It's because of me, right? I also found out about the debts..."
Win just shrugged. "I couldn't drag everyone down with me. Plus, you had Kaoru and your kid. And somehow now... I felt that perhaps half of those debts were actually my granddad's doing, trying to force me to abandon the dream."
"But deep inside—" Hiroki spoke again, "—you wanted to restart the band again, right?"
Win let out another sigh. "Probably... just not now. There are still things that I need to do."
"The DesiGra... right?" said Hiroki as Win nodded.
"There's still a bunch of 'kids' that I still need to watch over and protect."
Hiroki smiled. "As expected of my band leader. Always looking out for his bandmates before himself. Hiroki held out a fist towards him before Win bumped the fist with his own.
"Of course. I wouldn't be able to live up to my own ideals if I don't punk'd it out as best as I can." Win flashed out a grin to his former bandmate. "But perhaps one day, when this is all over. And if I still had some juice left in me to retake the stage..."
"One day..." Hiroki repeated as well.
"Hope you keep that word, Leader. You still owed me a visit to my kid. I wouldn't be around to see her grow up if not because of you..."
Win snorted to himself as he watch Hiroki leave. But as soon as Hiroki disappeared into the busy crowds, Win let out a loud gasp.
Ah! He forgot to ask how Hiroki and his family had been doing!
×××
Ace walked out of his hiding place as he watched Win and his old friend part ways on the other side of the road. He smiled to himself as he patted himself for a job well done. It was the right move for him to ask his sister more about Win's past...
"Hareruya Win? What about him?"
"Since he was a staff and Girori knew him from back then, I suppose the same could be said about you, Big Sis!"
"I'm not—Well, about Master Win..."
He didn't really have much memory of seeing Butchi in that particular game. But he thought that he barely remembered someone who ended up becoming too alarmed to participate properly during the many missions available in the DesiGra, after finding out that you'd be risking your very life in the games. Unlike Tycoon, Butchi ended up running away with his tail behind his back and he never heard anything more from him, aside from the alerts announcing that he had been retired. Times he never thought that a tanuki would be a lot braver compared to a dog...
So Butchi, was PunkJack's friend...
Ace smiled as he continued to watch the man from afar.
It looked like that guy was able to reconnect with his friend again. Good for you... PunkJack.
"You might get paid in the kind of Happiness money can't buy..."
Win shook his head as he remembered Ace's words again.
"That cheeky Ace!"