A/N: Stuff one does as they tried to cope... huh? But nah... I just want more KeiAce angst XD

"—I'm worried about Buffa."

"He's too ready to put his life on the line."

Keiwa bit his lips hard. He knew where all this talk will lead to. Because even as Ace speak, Michinaga was on his way to challenge his former supporter Beroba, in order to recover the tree of knowledge that Daichi had created. Which then would allow them to recover his sister, who had been absorbed into the tree.

"Could you see them still, from right here?"

"Umm," Ace nodded as Keiwa fell on his knees in front of him. Keiwa shakily reached a hand out to grasp Ace's arm.

"So what you're trying to say is... you want me to go to Michinaga, right?"

Ace nodded his head even more.

"You have to... there's no telling what'll happen during Buffa and Beroba's fight. I used to remember Ziin telling me that Beroba's Kamen Rider form was actually a giant. While I don't think that Buffa would be so weak against her, there's no guarantee that things wouldn't get awry later." Ace sighed. "Plus I doubted that she'd be alone. So even if Buffa was able to defeat her anyway—"

Keiwa sighed as he immediately shook his head.

"—he may not be able to stand by himself if Kekera was also there with Beroba. He'd be a sitting duck after getting worn out fighting Beroba."

He glanced up towards Ace. "But Ace! How could I leave you alone here? What if something happens when I'm not here?"

Ace gave him a pained look.

"But you still have to go and help Buffa, Tycoon! We can't afford to lose any of our allies in this war against Jitt and the management—"

Without warning, Keiwa lunged forward to hug Ace tightly.

Ace closed his eyes as he tried to take in the warmth from Keiwa's body for a moment. And with a heavy sigh, Ace spoke gently to him.

"Keiwa, please... can you listen to me?"

Keiwa pulled away from him as Ace finally noticed that Keiwa's eyes glistened with tears and his cheeks puffed.

"I hate you when you only said my name in these kinds of situations!" he exclaimed in annoyance. Even then, Keiwa placed a gentle kiss on Ace's lips before getting on his feet again.

"I'll come back as soon as I could. Please stay strong... while I'm not here with you."

Ace gave him a confident smile, even as he still remain tied up by the mysterious barbed wire.

"I'll be alright. Don't worry about me."

.

Keiwa immediately set off towards the location Ace had told him. Yet Keiwa still couldn't stop worrying.

But as long as he believed that things would be all right, it should be okay... right?

Isn't that so? Ace?

xxx

"He's striving to save Sara-san... even if it'll cost him his own happiness."

Keiwa glanced up worriedly as he looked at Michinaga's back. He thought again about the things Ace had told him about the man's tendency to be too ready to throw away his own life for other people's sakes. And even if it has been a very long time since... he suddenly recalled the time when Michinaga had first 'died' during one of the past DesiGra finales.

As if he could sense the scrutiny, Michinaga turned around to look at him. "What?"

Keiwa smiled weakly at him.

"Michinaga... you'll be all right now, won't you?"

The man frowned at him. "What're you talking about now, Tycoon?"

He shrugged.

"It should already be enough now, shouldn't it? There's no need for you to push yourself too hard anymore. You really need to take care of yourself better and not just worry about other people."

Michinaga snorted at him. "What're you on about now? This is nothing—" said the man as Michinaga gestured at his own injuries.

Keiwa sighed again.

"I'm just saying... because now that I could see things clearly, I wanted to make sure that everyone is all right." He shrugged. "Recklessness and courage are two different things after all."

The man immediately rolled his eyes at him.

"Why are you talking like Ace? Come on... Na-Go and Nadge should be waiting for us up there—" said the man as Keiwa shook his head silently...

.

"This serum helps suppress the Jamato corrosion..."

As soon as Sara was released from the tree, he was immediately overcome by emotions as he lunged forward and held his sister tightly. It's been so long... and he had felt so lost all these times; so afraid. After so many things that happened to him and everyone around him, Keiwa really craved some comforting presence by his side for just about now...

"Keiwa... it hurts..." Sara gasped softly as Keiwa couldn't still stop himself from shaking badly.

"Once again, you have granted someone's wish and given them their happiness..."

Keiwa felt his body stiffen slightly as he heard Neon's words behind him. Immediately he recalled his memory of when he saw the mysterious barbs restraining Ace's body once Ace was done reverting the world back to the way it used to be before. 'The Price for Changing the World' as Ace said it. Should that also mean... that there will also be a price that Ace has to pay now every time Ace succeeded in granting someone's wish?

A fresh wave of fear washed over Keiwa's heart as he continued to hug his sister tightly.

xxx

"I'll depend on you to watch over my sister, from now on... Neon-chan," he said before turning towards Michinaga and Win, "As well as dealing with any other disturbances."

Michinaga frowned at him. "What are you talking about, Tycoon? This matter regarding Jitt's Bad End game and stuff did not just involve you and Geats. Why would you and Geats be the only ones to take care of everything?"

Keiwa just shook his head at the man. "It's not like that. I'm just saying that while we'll be fighting Kekera and Jitt... we might not be able to help with anything else should something unexpected were to happen. It should be good if there are other people to take care of other things aside."

Perhaps it was something that he said, but even Neon started to become worried.

"Is there something you're hiding from us, Keiwa? That said... what happened to Ace? Where is he now? Is he all right?"

Now all four people in front of him were looking at him expectantly as Keiwa forced a smile in front of them. "Ace is fine at the moment. It's just... there's something that he needed to do so he couldn't be here at the moment. But that's all right because I'm here now. And you guys are also here together..."

Keiwa excused himself once he saw that Neon and Michinaga had stopped being concerned and started doing their own things.

"Please keep this a secret from the others. They didn't need to know about the things that happened to me over here."

Fine. It's enough if at least he alone would be aware of what happened to Ace. There shouldn't be a need for Michinaga and Neon to worry needlessly. Because right now they had a more important mission to accomplish. Because as much as Ace had already helped Neon find her own happiness, there's also Michinaga left to worry about.

Just as he was about to leave, Keiwa felt someone grab his hand and he was dragged away towards one of the private rooms...

.

Keiwa glanced up to see both Tsumuri and Win looking at him knowingly. He sighed. Of course, they'd notice... there's no way that they wouldn't realise that there was something more he's not telling. And he didn't plan to keep the knowledge away from them anyway.

"Come on, you can tell us... we'll keep it a secret from the others," said Win softly as Tsumuri nodded to him. To be honest, Keiwa was glad to see that Tsumuri could still remain calm even after finding out that Jitt had designed another copy of her for their own use.

"There's something about Ace-sama that you're not telling, right?"

"Yeah..." said Keiwa softly before taking hold of her hand and squeezing it gently. He took a very long breath before asking Tsumuri about everything she knows about the 'Goddesses' deitification process.