A/N: About time for my little princess to wake up... or would he?
He wasn't even sure whether he was still dreaming or awake when he opened his eyes slowly. Because sometimes his dreams can really be very realistic whenever a fleeting thought made him wish to return home. Whatever 'home' was supposed to mean anyway.
But this time, his 'dreams' hadn't appeared to be so flashy. In fact, it looked quite average. He was inside a simple room that was furnished simply. The walls were not even decorated with anything; not even one poster or picture frame.
Whoever had a hand in furnishing this room had no taste. So boring. But well, at least it's better than imageries of stars and the vast universe replacing the sky overlooking a vast landscape that he used to find himself 'trapped' within. Because at times finding himself alone in such a generated world sent a spark of anxiety inside of him. It might sound very out of character for him to admit it, but it was the truth.
.
He missed his mother. Yet the knowledge that she no longer had to suffer alone made him happy, But he still missed his mother.
He also missed his friends. While he also remembered those who came before, the ones he met afterwards were engraved a lot more strongly inside of his heart that it hurts him a lot when he had to distance himself from them. He missed them a lot. Not just the one whose dishonesty amused him a lot or the one who wished for her true happiness so much that it vexed him to see anyone trample on that simple wish. But he also missed the one who made him feel at home, accepted and reassured. The person who easily made him smile, just over his earnest personality.
How much has it hurt inside him to even have to pretend that their paths had diverged too much to the point of no return? Yet a brief moment of reconciliation has brought him joy beyond any words that can be conveyed.
.
Strangely enough, the fog inside of his mind had somehow been cleared away. To the point that he could cling to these many lines of thought without getting lost in a haze of unconsciousness. Yet, he still couldn't tell whether the things he perceive right now were just mere fantasies or reality.
But at least now he remembered who he was finally. Ukiyo Ace.
xxx
"Ace, wake up!"
He struggled to open his eyes before raising his head and finding a very familiar green tanuki standing in front of him. The helmet had cracked and chipped slightly to reveal the face behind it, but he still could recognise the face no matter how long he last saw it.
Ace slowly tried to crack a smile despite the slight shot of pain he felt when he tried to do it. "K-Kei... wa?"
"Good... you're awake. I thought we could've arrived too late to save you—" His vision suddenly blacked out before being made awake again after a sudden shake on his shoulder. Ace glanced up again to find Keiwa somehow had forcefully pulled out his broken helmet during the time he supposedly had passed out.
Keiwa really looked so worried about him.
"Hang on a bit longer there, Ace..." gasped Keiwa before frantically trying to cut through the barbed wire that had bound him in place so tightly. And it might just be his imagination, but it felt as if the wires were tightening around him even worse as if it was alive, to the point that the sharp thorns started digging into his flesh. He couldn't even tell which parts of his body were hurting more than the others...
Keiwa cursed out so suddenly that Ace could've chuckled at it had his airways weren't constricted so tightly.
"No, this won't do—" said the Tanuki rider before turning around to holler towards their other friend. "Michinaga! Let's switch out our buckles for a moment! I need that chainsaw of yours to cut through this stubborn thing!"
Buffa made a disgruntled grunt from afar before disengaging his Zombie buckle and throwing it towards Keiwa; almost at the same time Keiwa removed his Ninja buckle and threw it back at the Buffalo rider. The exchange happened so quickly that Ace barely registered it before finding himself slumped forward onto Keiwa's waiting arms...
xxx
Was all that just a fever dream of his? While he didn't really think that anyone would really go so far to save him, he'd like to think that someone had considered him important enough to do so. Yet, was that too much for him to hope for?
Because he'd lied so much to others about his true motivations he doubted anyone would still consider him to be worth salvaging...
Ace tried to move his body to see if the things he was seeing right now were actually real but found that he couldn't even move a muscle. So what does this mean? Was he saved from the DGP people... or was he not?
Was everything around him real... or was it merely an illusion?
Wouldn't the latter just be too cruel for him at this point?
.
A soft touch over his temple roused him back to wakefulness as Ace opened his eyes again to see movements near him. A swish of black and white flowy skirt... was that Tsumuri? It's been a very long time since he last saw his sister so this shouldn't be an illusion. He tried again to move his head and called out to his sister so that she could turn to see him. He somehow was able to move slightly this time yet he couldn't muster any sounds from his throat.
And his sister was about to leave the room! Also, from the other side of the door... was that... Keiwa?
Ace struggled again to move his arms, legs—heck, his whole body if he could get himself get off this useless bed! His body felt heavy as if filled with lead... but he still needed to get those people to turn around and pay attention to him—
Without warning, Ace found himself falling abruptly onto the cold floor below him and immense pain shot out from all over his body. He barely could crawl away an inch before darkness enveloped him again.
Which was a shame, because seconds afterwards several cries of voice had burst out as Tsumuri and Keiwa rushed back into the room to find Ace's broken body lying sprawled on the floor unmoving.