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There are relationships that are so intoxicating, wrap you up so tight and unforgiving, that you cannot think clearly.
Until something snaps you out of it, that is.
That’s what happened to the thief as well.
In a moment, it was like his mind suddenly cleared up, suddenly feeling acutely aware of his situation.
He was in the castle of a man, who was capable of horrible things - a man who adored him, but felt like he owned him, and the thief loved being in his arms, being his, and he loved pushing the limits of how far this terrible man would let him push him.
It was exhilarating.
And now, he was sitting on the floor of the bathroom, looking in front of himself, and suddenly, things got clear in his mind.
But what options did he have?
Suddenly, staying was not an option.
But he was a thief. He became a thief when he had to leave his home, his world, and he would leave this place as a thief as well.
And he had his eyes on what to steal already.
So he ran, disappearing between worlds, not looking back.
In one of the worlds he stopped, when he couldn’t run anymore, and so he stayed for a few weeks.
He usually left with taking something in the worlds he visited. This time he left something behind.
He left that something behind with only a whispered name, a name of long way, because the thief knew he himself would never stop on his journey.
He’d probably stop running, though - thing is, he missed that man, and now that there was nothing to hide from him anymore, maybe it was time to turn around and meet him head on.
Let’s see who will catch the other first.
The thief ran from the man who he loved and hated, carrying two treasures, and leaving one behind along the way.
Treasures should never be lost, and yet, after a while, he couldn’t find it when he got back to that world to check on it.
So the thief after a while, stopped looking back.
—
Azuma Michinaga had only one thing to do at this point.
Well, he was always like this. Focus on a goal, reach it. No matter the cost.
Crush the Riders. Destroy the DGP.
And now—
He had to stop Beroba so they could get Tycoon’s sister back.
(If nothing else— if anything else— he could take this one thing back, he could make it right, so he had to.)
That was all.
And if he will never return from this Garden, from these ruins that remained of the Jyamato Garden - that would be fitting, wouldn’t it?
After all, maybe he should have became Jyamato fertilizer a long time ago.
Well.
He could still drag down Beroba with himself, even if he had to bite her throat out.
Of course Beroba accepted his challenge, with a laugh and a skip in her steps.
“You know, Micchy. You have fans out there. Maybe we should show you your most impressive Bad End.”
He wasn’t even surprised, when the eyes appeared around them in the air.
Because of course they did.
“I don’t care for what they get out of it.”
“You should~” Beroba smiled, and there was a familiar glint in her eyes. “They are holding their breaths no doubt. After all, I always deliver on some entertaining misery.”
He remembered.
Of course he remembered what happened when Beroba revealed Na-Go’s secrets, and Michinaga snorted.
“Is this where you reveal something about my parents?”
“Ooooh?” Beroba crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Curious?”
“Not terribly. I am not here to chat with you.”
It didn’t matter.
And Beroba just laughed, putting her hands on her hips.
“Really? You are here, playing the hero? All you were born to do is to destroy.”
“...is that supposed to be news to me?”
There was something in Beroba’s smile that felt like something crawling down on his spine.
“I’m talking about your father, Micchy.”
Michinaga rolled his eyes.
“Is this where you tell me my biological father is some kind of a monster like it’s supposed to make things worse for me?”
“Oh, he isn’t just a monster,” Beroba grinned slowly, like a shark baring its teeth. “It’s the Destroyer of Worlds.”
“What does that even mean?”
“It means what I said,” Beroba walked closer to him, eyes still glinting. “A monster whose entire existence is to destroy. Someone who lived in another world, but able to cross them at will, bending reality to his will and burning it in his steps, Someone who took a thief with him, and then that thief ran away and left you behind. Born from a destroyer and a thief - how could you even be a hero?”
Beroba’s words echoed in his ears, and Michinaga took a deep breath, closing his eyes.
Then opened them again.
“Who told you that I’m a hero?”
“You might claim you don’t want to be, and yet you are here.”
“I’m not here to be a hero,” Michinaga hissed, grabbing his Driver, and putting it on. “I’m here to crush you. And you just told me destruction is in my blood. Why would I stop?”
—
Beroba was gone, and then Tycoon was here, putting himself between Kekera and Michinaga, and he was breathing heavily, his entire body in pain.
Tycoon pulled him to his feet, and Michinaga looked up, and most of the eyes were gone.
Only one remained floating, and Michinaga looked around, his eyes settling on Beroba’s Lazer Raise Riser.
He pushed himself that way, and Tycoon followed him, helping propping him up, and Michinaga grabbed it, before aiming it at the eye.
“Go elsewhere to get your Bad End,” Michinaga hissed, pulling the trigger.
The camera broke, and crashed on the ground.
Michinaga took another deep breath, leaning on Tycoon’s shoulder.
“...are you okay?” Tycoon’s voice was soft. “About what Beroba said.”
“Don’t worry about it. Let’s go.”
They had to save his sister, after all.
—
They all went back to the lounge, and Tycoon helped his sister to rest in the bedroom. Punkjack and the real Tsumuri were looking after her, and Na-Go was cleaning Michinaga’s wounds.
“Are you really okay?” Na-Go whispered. “We also… heard what Beroba said.”
“It’s fine,” Michinaga shook his head. “That’s not something we should be concerned with either way. We need to stop Kekera, the other Tsumuri, and save Geats.”
Na-Go nodded slowly, putting down the disinfectant.
“...don’t run off alone anymore. We can help you, you know.”
Michinaga smiled to himself, leaning back without answering.
He took out his phone, looking at the screen, and the many, many missed calls.
Now there was no point in returning that call, because the world reset, and—
Michinaga sighed to himself.
(Of course, back then, they’d think about it. As kids, they’d sometimes talk about who their parents were.)
(A Destroyer of Worlds and a thief were not really something that occurred to him.)
He put away his phone again.
They had something else to focus on now, anyway.
They had to save Geats, and destroy the DGP.
And… well.
Apparently he was really good at destroying now.