"Another new form… And yet he's still the dumb Kouta that I despise…" Mitsuzane pondered at the chain fence as he reeled over from his latest defeat. He took a moment or two to think back to before he became a part of Yggdrasil.
… He was always stupid, even back then… He thought back to when Kouta began to rejoin the team after he left them to work. For the most part, he was just a dumb idiot who discovered a new toy to play with. It was only after his brother knocked some sense into him that he became someone that he'd admire… Though he was still had his dumbass moments.
At least my brother did something right. Mitsuzane thought. He continued to reflect on his past… For a brief moment, he felt calm. He forgot about the world's impending doom, Project Ark, the Overlords, and especially Kouta, at least as he currently saw him. In that brief window of time, he recalled how happier he was. How happier everyone else was. In that past, Oren was just a small footnote in their otherwise normal lives. Jounochi was a bespectacled man who they'd just point at and laugh. Hase still had his Sengoku Driver and was alive. Takatora remained blissfully unaware of his double life. Kaito… Well, Kaito is still Kumon 'Massive Thorn On My Side' Kaito. But best of all, Kouta and Mai were unaware of Yuuya's fate. He was unaware of Yuuya's fate.
If that Forbidden Fruit contained the power to turn back time… I would betray everyone just to grab it and repeat the happy moments of our lives. Mitsuzane cracked a small smile before it formed back to a frown. Surely, all good things have to come to an end… He began to think of what caused his hatred for Kouta. Him being an idiot was a major contributor, but when he was friends with him, he didn't really mind it. So what actually caused it?
He doesn't do what he's told. Yes. This was it. Even before the Inves attacks increased, Kouta had his moments of defying him. He was thankful that the number of times Kouta almost put him in hot water could be counted with one hand with fingers remaining. Though, now that he thought about it, when had he ever become this much of a control freak? Had to be when the good times had to end. During the Inves attack where his quest to find out what Yggdrasil was planning led to him joining it… No. He had to go back further. Back to when he found out about his brother? Something was itching in the back of his mind, insisting it was another event.
He recalled a small event. A dance-off between all the Beat Riders that ended with a showdown between all the Armored Riders. Or rather, it would be small had it not been for a monster that came and abducted Mai… That's when Mitsuzane began to think further…
Was that the point where everything went wrong? Mitsuzane thought. He tried to remember as best as he could what happened in that other world. But all he remembered was that after Kouta and that other Rider took out Bujin Gaim…
A moment of realization flashed in Mitsuzane's eyes. He pulled out a Lockseed from his pocket. It was an exact replica of Kouta's Orange Lockseed, complete with the ID of "LS-07"… but this Lockseed was blood red with black markings. Mitsuzane cracked a smile. Was this it? Could holding onto this Lockseed cause something in him? After the battle with Bujin Gaim, the Christmas Games took place and the rest was history… After that point…
It was entirely possible that this one little Lockseed began to unravel his mind… But by the time he looked at the shimmer of the Lockseed, he barely thought of the possibility of the Lockseed corrupting his mind from day one and instead thought of something else.
How would this Lockseed factor in killing Kouta? Mitsuzane let out a fit of laughter at his own thoughts.