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“At the end of the day, I was the hero, you know.”
At the end of the day, Daisuke was never meant to be the hero; Asano was, and technically Asano still was, for without his sacrifice—
“I smashed them all up, no issue whatsoever!”
The children listened in earnest as Daisuke described their adventure and how he was absolutely fearless, only once or maybe twice ever causing a problem for everyone else.
“Daisuke?”
Daisuke glanced up, looking at one of the others who traversed time and waved. “Oh! Hey, Gai!”
“Why are you always leaving out Asano?” Gai asked, the children looking at him in confusion as Daisuke looked as if—
“I’ll repeat, why are you leaving out Asano from all of the stories you tell people. Why do you leave out certain details?”
“I don’t know what you’re taking about.”
“Some fried you are.” Gai shook his head.
“I think I’m a great friend,” Daisuke said, putting his hands behind his back. “But mos importantly all but one of us all of us returned safe and sound.”
“You’re delusional,” Gai said, shaking his head.
Daisuke rolled his eye. “You’re just mad that I was right, that Milo declared me the future hero, and I did end up becoming one as she said I would, and I did end up saving the day. I mean…”
“At what cost, though? You act like Asano never existed, but you forget he was always putting up with your hero claims. Is it because he’s the real hero, because he sacrificed himself, that…”
“Come on. You don’t have to be such a downer, you know,” Daisuke said, shaking is head, deciding to head home, smiling as if everything returned to normal, ignoring the way Gai reacted as in his mind it was no different than before, just Gai being somewhat a bully before, and now jealous of the fact Daisuke had been right all along. He continued along, towards his home where his uncle waited for him.
“Oh, Daisuke. Welcome home.”
“Yes.”
“Spend time with your friends?”
“Nah. I told the neighborhood kids about our adventure.”
“Adventure?” his uncle asked. “More like a nightmare. Do you not remember at all that you lost your best friend, how many people didn’t come home, how many empty homes there are as well as property that’s destroyed because of those beings from the future?”
“Well, it was, wasn’t it?” Daisuke said, smiling.
“Yes, well, I’m thinking therapy wouldn’t be a bad idea,” his uncle said.
“You go and do that,” Daisuke said, removing his shoes as if nothing were out of the norm, the fact his uncle was suggesting therapy for him and not his uncle—
“I mean you.”
“Huh?” Daisuke paused in untying his shoes, then looked up. “I don’t need therapy.”
“You do.”
“I don’t, and you can’t…”
“You’re a minor thankfully until your twenty, but I’m glad they’ve not changed the law so that when you turn eighteen you age out, because I’m scared of what will happen if you can’t face reality.”
“What reality? We’re home.”
“Not everyone came home.”
“Not…” Daisuke added those words to the ones he struck into nonexistence.