A/N: Gosh, I didn't realize that I overwrite Chapter 7 when I uploaded Chapter 8. Took me a long time to notice this until I finally saw the chapter count didn't really line up
Ace quickly pried the Core ID from Keiwa's grip as he turned to look at the white fox in absolute disbelief.
"A-Ace?" he gasped as every single memory of his time being part of the DesiGra (including the one that Ace had remade) returned to his mind. Well almost, he could still somehow sense that there was a 'hole'—that doesn't make any sense, that never happened before! You always regain all of the memories that have been taken—Keiwa felt an intense pain on the side of his head.
...a memory of being carried on someone's shoulders... of someone shouting for help... he was suddenly falling...
...Ace turning into a one-tailed fox right before his eyes...
"Ace?" Keiwa gasped again, as his head started to feel like a bunch of hammers were hitting his head at the same time! He dropped to the ground as Keiwa's eyes started to tear up.
"...A-Ace!" he kept saying as Ace limped over towards him as quickly as it could before gently nibbling on his ears to get his mind to thinking about something else.
"Stop that! Don't force yourself to try to remember!'
.
That shocked Keiwa without warning as he stared at Ace the albino red fox in surprise.
What did he just hear...?
xxx
He had run back towards the main shrine as fast as he could in his condition. What was going on? What has happened in the past—and why did Ace now become an actual fox?
Tsumuri should know—she should be able to answer his questions! She did look like she still remembered him earlier so Ace didn't—couldn't—erase her memories. The reason why everyone no longer remembered him; Neon, Michinaga, Win—Ace must have started his own Grand End, right? But that didn't explain why he could still somewhat remember the others.
Also his sister... did Ace bring her back? How does that connect to Ace taking him to the hospital? What happened to him in the past that his heart—!
Keiwa stopped for a moment as he started to feel pain in his chest again. No, he shouldn't—Sara would be extremely worried if something was to happen to him again.
Ace finally managed to catch up with him again—Keiwa couldn't even look at Ace right now—how long has Ace been in this fox form, oh wait, that should be obvious how long has it been. How had Ace been living with himself since then? Has Tsumuri-san lived at this Inari shrine all these times?
Oh, wait... that frog from earlier! Was that... Kekera?
.
"Tsumuri-san!"
Keiwa called her out as soon as he saw her.
"Keiwa-sama!" Tsumuri immediately responded, dropping all pretenses that she did not know who he really was nor his connection to the DesiGra. "How—you remembered everything?" she gasped as Keiwa grabbed her by the shoulders.
"What happened to this world before Ace reset everything? What did he do that he ended up reduced to a fox's appearance? What happened after my sister died?
Almost as he finished asking Tsumuri all of those questions, Ace caught up with them as he started barking at Tsumuri continuously.
And there were no mistaking it now... he could definitely hear Ace's voice loud and clear.
"No... don't tell him! Keiwa doesn't need to know about THAT!"
Keiwa immediately let go of Tsumuri before turning towards Ace.
"Shut up, Ace! What did you mean that I didn't need to know about WHAT? What did Tsumuri know that she shouldn't tell him what I wanted her to tell me?"
Almost at once, both Tsumuri and Ace the fox looked up at him in shock.
.
Keiwa started to back away from the two as they were behaving strangely.
"Keiwa—" Tsumuri gasped. "Can you understand what Ace was saying?"
Keiwa frowned at her. "What did you mean? I could understand him perfectly fine! Ace was talking normally to you just now instead of still pretending to be a normal fox."
Tsumuri blinked at him in confusion. "Keiwa... that's not—"
He started backing away from them again. What did Tsumuri mean by that? Was it only him who could hear Ace's true voice just now? What's happening to him? How could he hear Ace's voice when no one else could hear him speak? Why did—?
Keiwa grasped his chest as it started to hurt inside again.
"Keiwa-sama!" Tsumuri started to speak again. "I think you need to calm down first, you don't look too well right now..."
Ace also has started barking at him as well, though now it doesn't sound as aggressive compared to before.
"Listen to Big Sister! I didn't want you to become ill!"
Keiwa winced, as everything started to become too overwhelming; Tsumuri and Ace's voices, the throbbing pain in his chest, the whirlwind of old memories inside his head... as well as a different understanding as to why his other old friends had behaved the way they did earlier. Neon's reaction to him being ill, Michinaga's irritations at how he couldn't stop caring about him... Win's faraway looks when they happened to catch each other's eyes during Weather Hearts' stage performance not long ago.
"Keiwa!"
"Keiwa-sama!"
Both Tsumuri and Ace suddenly cry out to him... before everything around him suddenly turned black.
xxx
Keiwa slowly opened his eyes to find himself in unfamiliar yet familiar surroundings. It felt as if he was back in the room near the DesiGra lounge when he got hurt during his earlier participation... yet the sight before his eyes looked like some kind of old room inside a 'temple'. It was a strange feeling... where what he see and felt didn't quite align together. Plus, the room that he used to be in had a proper bed... and not a futon.
He slowly pushed himself into a sitting position as Keiwa tried to figure out where he was. Did this room exist inside the main Inari Shrine?
"Oh, you're awake!"
Keiwa turned his head towards the voice as Tsumuri walked into the room with Ace, carrying a small tray containing a cup and a pot of tea in it. She placed the tray beside him and started pouring the freshly brewed tea as Ace suddenly searched the inside of his jacket and pulled out the small bag where he kept his medicine whenever he goes out of the house. Ace placed the bag on his lap before nudging it with his nose at him.
"Your medicine. Take it first."
Keiwa immediately burst into laughter as he saw Ace's uncanny behaviour. "Now I get why Miichi was so alarmed after seeing you earlier. It must have been very weird for him to suddenly have to take in your demands for him to help me."
Ace somehow managed to give him a mischievous smile and for a sec Keiwa thought he could see Ace's old smile again when he used to still be human. Tsumuri passed him a small cup of tea as Keiwa took out the pills he needed from his bag and swallowed everything down. After a while, the stuffy feeling that he felt inside his chest started to go away.
Keiwa turned to look at Tsumuri... and then to Ace.
"I suppose... none of you would want to tell me anything that I wanted to know, then?" he said, as Ace started to walk closer to him to allow him to pet his head.
"That's not what's important right now, you're unwell. Should I call someone to come pick you up?" Tsumuri offered, as Ace reacted vigorously at her suggestion.
"Yes... yes! Let's call Sara-san! She'll be worried!"
"No. We're not calling my sister..." Keiwa snapped at Ace, right away. He sighed. "It's alright... after a bit more rest, we'll head home. I'm not so weak that I couldn't do just that."
Ace responded by burrowing his face against Keiwa's stomach, while softly gnawing on Keiwa's shirt.
"I'm sorry... for everything," Keiwa could hear what Ace was saying, though to others it might just sound like a mixture of yowls and whines. He stopped even being surprised anymore at his ability to still understand Ace's words.
"No. This... I must have done something wrong again," added Keiwa as Ace immediately jumped up and bumped their heads together and started gnawing and licking at Keiwa's ears.
"No! You did nothing wrong! I wanted this, this is not your fault!"
Keiwa let out another sigh before wrapping his arms around Ace's body.
"If you say so..."
