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He let out a long sigh.
"Aren't you the stubborn one?"
Keiwa turned to glance at him and raised a single eyebrow. Even when they didn't say anything, it always felt to him as if he was being scolded...
Keiwa rolled their eyes at him.
"Are we still trying to argue about this?" Keiwa countered his words as their hands gestured at everything around them. "Ace, did you really expect me to accept the new world you created while everyone forgets about you?"
Ace glared back at the man. "Then... does this make any more sense to you?" he retorted back, mirroring Keiwa's earlier actions. "What are you going to do in a world where everyone but you not remembering the things that happened in the past year? Were you planning to carry on the weight of this (new) world all by yourself?"
×××
Keiwa blinked as he slowly processed what Ace had just said to him. To be honest, up to this point, he hadn't really thought about it. What should he do in a world where everyone but him ceases to remember the DGP as well as everything about Ace? As if he could continue living on as a kamen rider... in a world where everyone has forgotten that Kamen Rider Geats used to exist?
Yes, he was able to recover his core ID. But that was just it. He no longer has his Desire Driver so he couldn't even transform into Tycoon anymore if anything else happened in this world that required a Kamen Rider to keep it safe.
Even if the world comes into danger again after this, he wouldn't be able to do anything without a functional Desire Driver.
So what was the point of him retaining his memories anyway?
"A world where Kamen Rider Tycoon was the sole protector... that's the kind of world I wanted."
Before he realized it, Keiwa let out a bemused chuckle. These past few weeks after he regained his memories of everything he had wondered, how did he regained his memories of the DGP and Ace? In the past, unless he was able to touch his core ID... he would not be able to remember anything at all. So how did he regain his core ID?
Keiwa trained his eyes back towards Ace. Did Ace return his core ID somehow? To get him to remember? He frowned.
No. If that was the case, Ace wouldn't have made them all forget in the first place. And he wouldn't have to endure the pain of not being able to figure out why it hurt him so much... not being able to remember what he's forgotten.
He thought about Kekera. He thought about the time he stood his ground against the frog and how that led to him being forced to have to fight as a Kamen Rider... alone.
He thought about the time Kekera tried to use him to put an end to Ace and how he'd fought against it and prevailed.
And then he smiled.
Perhaps there was another reason why he should be thankful to that frog...
×××
Something he came to realize after a year of knowing Keiwa, he didn't like it when the man stopped being talkative and remained silent. He really hated those periods of time when Keiwa's eyes had stared at him in hatred and regarded him with distrust.
He hated it when he couldn't read the man like an open book, and instead be presented with a closed book under lock and key.
Keiwa was doing it again, the man suddenly became quiet and avoided answering his questions. Keiwa's eyes became unfocused, a sign that the man was thinking very deeply about something... and he could see some flashes of pain in their eyes as the man looked up to stare at him again.
He could almost detect a hint of anger and sorrow from the man's expression... and then all hints of emotion were drained out completely without explanation.
And then Keiwa suddenly chuckled.
"Was that really such a big deal?" Keiwa suddenly spoke. "Would me carrying the burden of remembering the memories that everyone else forget be such a bad thing?"
Keiwa shrugged. "I don't think so. I don't think that this situation was something that I couldn't handle. Besides... I think this suited me just fine." Keiwa looked up towards him defiantly.
"After all, this wasn't the first time I was put into these kinds of situations. 'A world where I am its sole protector', huh? I think I could deal with that..."
As soon as Keiwa was done talking, he immediately figured everything out. He recalled that time when Kekera made a wish that turned every remaining kamen rider besides Keiwa into inanimate objects, effectively making the man the sole kamen rider who could try to defeat them. Was Keiwa comparing this situation with the one from that time?
But that—!
"How could you say that this wasn't a bad thing? You being able to remember everything—don't you understand what I'm trying to do for you? Why... I made all of you forget about everything and me—" Ace cried out in frustration.
"—I wanted to give you a chance to find your happiness!'
"—What happiness could I find at the expense of your happiness?" Keiwa countered back as Ace frowned.
"What did you mean that I was not happy? As long as all of you can find your Good Ends, I would be—"
"—had you been able to experience actual moments of true happiness all these times, Ace?" Keiwa spoke again as Ace was caught speechless. "All those times when you were frantically searching for clues about your mother while taking part in the DGP over and over, have you actually been able to become happy?"
Ace found himself unable to answer those questions.
Keiwa really caught him big time this time. Keiwa was right, all these times... he never got to truly be happy. As much as he did show off a cheerful personality, in all of his past lives and identity, most of the time that cheerfulness was just a fake mask he wore to fool everyone. Because every single moment in his many lives once he regained the memories of his original self, he never stopped yearning and thinking about finding his mum and how to save them from whatever had taken her away from him. Having to always be anxious about finding his mother, how dare he even consider finding a 'happiness' that wasn't about him reuniting with his mother?
All these times, he always believed that he could only have his happiness once he found his mum...
And how did that turn out?
Ace shook his head violently. "Aah, forget about me—what did you mean that this situation suited you just fine? Were you referring to the time when Kekera created a world where you're the only Kamen Rider?"
"But K-k—Tycoon, did you forget what happened back then? Kekera created those 'settings' because they wanted to destroy you completely!" Ace took a long breath. "Kekera wished for that world, not because they think your power was strong enough to become a great hero. They did it because they wanted to break you... to show that you're powerless by yourself without their support."
"And you say that it's fine for you to be in that kind of world? In this kind of situation?" Ace sighed. "Na-go, Buffa, PunkJack and the rest of the people who got involved with the DGP were just fine in accepting their current states. Why are you taking the harder path?"
×××
Keiwa rolled his eyes at Ace.
"Did you already forget about what happened back then?" he asked as Ace stared at him in disbelief. "Yes, Kekera did all of that to try to mock and degrade me for going against them. And he was right in saying that in a world where I am the sole kamen rider, I wouldn't be able to protect everyone by myself."
He thought about the time Kekera made that 'wish'. In front of his and his sister's eyes, Michinaga was turned into a plush doll (and he heard later on from Tsumuri that Neon and Win were turned into a manekineko and a pumpkin.) Back then he used to be so frantic while fighting that frog; since he also needed to keep Sara and other nearby civilians safe while also avoiding Kekera's assault on him. And then there was the situation with the hostages and Kekera's threat of wanting to let loose a mob of Jamato on them...
Keiwa glanced up towards Ace again. "Kekera was wrong about one thing... though. While it's true that I wouldn't be able to save everyone fighting alone by myself—" he smiled weakly.
"—I wasn't completely alone."
Back then, while it's true that he ended up being the only one who could transform and fight as a Kamen Rider... he wasn't fighting alone. Daichi was also there. While Daichi used to be a rival as well as his enemy, back then Daichi had become a very powerful ally to him. If it wasn't for Daichi... things could've gone really bad back then, with the Jamato and the hostages. In a world where he was supposed to be the sole existing Kamen Rider, rather than feeling despaired... he was glad that he still had allies.
And back then, Isuzu Daichi wasn't the only ally he had on his side. There was another. Back then and now, that one fact remained unchanging. In that case, why would he have to dread being in a world where he was the only Kamen Rider... or a world where he's the only one who still remembered everything about the DGP?
There was still someone whom he had on his side.
As long as he had that person on his side...
Keiwa cocked his head towards Ace.
"...I had you, didn't I? Back then and now, I had you by my side. As long as I have you—"
×××
"—I'll be able to overcome everything."
Ace couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could Keiwa go to this length, just to continue fighting by his side? Keiwa could've just pursued their own happiness with their sister, not needing to have to deal with the aftermath of his own choice of trying to break free of the DGP as well as taking up the responsibility of creating a world where everyone could be happy...
...yet why won't Keiwa pursue the easier path? There was no need for Keiwa to have to worry about other people's wellbeing nor do they have to risk their life to protect other people's dreams anymore... yet why would Keiwa want to put themself in a situation where they could face pain and suffering all over again?
"It's up to us to protect this world..."
Keiwa really meant to keep the promise the two of them made before. Even when he tried so much to make it so that Keiwa wouldn't need to take half the burden to keep their world safe, the guy was adamant about continuing to stay by his side.
Ace stared at Keiwa helplessly as the man smiled smugly back at him.
What was he supposed to do with this Tanuki who still wanted to stay by the Fox's side?