"If the world is to be a place where people can be happy, there's one thing that we must all do."
"Even if we hate the sins that people commit, we must not hate the people themselves..."
He couldn't stop thinking about the things that Ace said to him. Because it just made him look back and reconsider his thoughts and everything else that he had experienced from the very first time he met Ace and got involved with the Desire Grand Prix. He thought about the nature of the show; a so-called reality show where Kamen Riders risk their lives to protect the world and survive, to have their deepest wish granted. A wish that could be granted at the cost of many other people's unfulfilled wishes as well as suffering. A game that could fulfil one person's happiness at the cost of numerous others' sorrows.
He thought about Ace's mother, Mitsume. He thought about the other players he used to see, about Michinaga, Neon, Win... Daichi. He thought about the things he had done to get his own wish granted... and how his actions had impacted so many lives...
So Ace was telling him that he shouldn't hate even himself for wanting to become happy, even if he ended up committing things that he shouldn't have done? How could Ace just accept that kind of situation? How about his own happiness, doesn't Ace not think about that at all?
.
Just as he was about to leave, Keiwa could sense a presence behind him.
"Are you going to see him?" Keiwa turned around as he greeted Tsumuri gently. He nodded.
"Yeah..." he shrugged. "I wouldn't feel at ease being here, knowing that Ace was all by himself up there."
Tsumuri let out a soft sigh. "Was that why you wouldn't even spend a longer time with Sara-sama? Even when you finally got her back?"
Keiwa shrugged. "I've already seen her earlier... and Big Sis would understand. I just really—I don't want him to be alone..."
Tsumuri nodded her head. "I understand... but Keiwa-sama, what happened was not your fault. Ace-sama... and I as well, had chosen this path by our own choice."
Keiwa shook his head. "It still didn't make it any less bad. Tsumuri-san, I'm sorry about everything that happened before—"
"—it doesn't matter anymore. All I ever wished for, was for Keiwa-sama to be—"
"All you ever wanted, was for me to be happy... right?"
xxx
Keiwa took out his Bujin Sword buckle as he stared long at the black thing. He was able to get this powerful item on hand due to Tsumuri's prayers for wanting to help him. This buckle had come into existence because of Tsumuri's powers.
Yet...
He hadn't really noticed it before when he used the buckle to fight. Because back then his heart had been so full of darkness and anger and he was in no state to be able to think clearly. But now, he could sense it. There was a trace of Ace inside this buckle as well. There was a trace of Ace's anger in this buckle; of his anger at how cruelly Suel had abused his mother, of Ace's sorrow for having his mother taken away from him... as well as Ace's heartache for not being able to do anything for his mother.
He thought about how his, Ace's and Tsumuri's wishes had resonated together...
"The world has been changed again... because of our strong wishes..."
Keiwa took a very long breath. Would he be able to get himself back at that place, if he wished for it hard enough? Would that wish also take a toll on Ace as well—because then he wouldn't want it for him to cause more harm to come to Ace anymore!
But he really wanted to go back there, back to Ace's side. Or else he'd start feeling like he'll lose his mind all over again.
How pathetic... yet earlier, he was almost confident that he'd be able to come back to Ace once he was done saving Michinaga...
I really want to see you...
He barely sensed the change of surroundings, it barely felt anything either when he had used Bujin's ability to whisk him to any other locations he wanted to go. It really felt that he really had the ability of a ninja to just transport himself anywhere in a puff of smoke...
Keiwa opened his eyes to find himself back inside the Room of Creation.
It worked—!
.
Ace jerked himself awake as he could sense someone approaching. And then smiled as he looked up and saw who was it that had come to visit him.
"Keiwa! You... you came back!"
Keiwa let out a choked laugh as his eyes started to become teary.
"Don't talk like that as if you're an abandoned cage animal, Ace. This is not Beauty and the Beast."
Ace ended up chuckling despite himself as Keiwa knelt in front of him and placed a hand on his cheek. He leant his head over to seek the warmth of Keiwa's touch before he heard the other let out a pained gasp.
He opened up his eyes to see Keiwa's eyes trained towards—oh!
"This is my fault... isn't it? Because I wanted my big sister—Sara—to come back to me again..."
Keiwa started to cry openly in front of him as Ace vainly pulled on the barbs holding him in place to try to comfort the person in front of him. Which was why it came as a relief that Keiwa did end up reaching for him and embracing him again. But it still frustrated him that he wasn't able to do more—to encircle Keiwa's body with his own arms, to run his hand to caress Keiwa's back... to feel Keiwa's soft hair between his fingers...
"It's not your fault, Keiwa... it's never your fault. After everything that you've suffered, everything that you've lost... I wanted to give back a bit of happiness back into your life. I wanted to at least atone—!"
The man in front of him suddenly pulled back as Ave was greeted with a very tearful Sakurai Keiwa.
"If I know that it would have turned out like this, I don't—You don't need to atone for anything at all even if it was for my sake or anyone else!"
Before he know it, Ace was hit with a soul-crushing kiss as Keiwa pressed his lips against his and forced it open with mouth and teeth and tongue, as if Keiwa had been desperate to pour in his own warmth into his body. It's strange how Keiwa could almost read his own mind just as he thought about needing to feel Keiwa's warmth and affection wash over his own existence. It felt as if Keiwa was giving him the answer to a question that had always haunted him...
"What was the purpose of my existence...?"
xxx
It suddenly crossed his mind—why Jitt had placed Tsumuri under restraints and chained, even before she had even regained her ability to be able to think... to speak out her thoughts; after she had partially completed her Goddess transformation. He used to think that it was because Jitt was such a sadist; to want to inflict some kind of pain and suffering onto Tsumuri who dared to defy the people who have designed her to come into existence in the first place. But seeing what happened to Ace right now, he wondered if Jitt had always known about it. But of course, they should. It was the price that Tsumuri have to pay for changing the world because of his wish. A wish that ended up causing even more pain than he could ever have anticipated.
He remembered what that person had once said. That he intended to wear Tsumuri out of what was left of her own free will so that Jitt could finally complete his task of creating the second Goddess. That same fate was probably in store as well for Ace in the future.
If possible, he wanted to stop that fate from ever coming close to claiming Ace completely!
Keiwa pulled Ace's body against his own... before letting Ace's head rest on his shoulder.
"Just lean on me... and have some rest." He forced himself to smile as Keiwa felt Ace's bleached-white hair tickle his nose. "You probably weren't able to have any decent sleep anyway, being bound in place over here like this. But now I'm here, so you should be able to take a nap at least. I'll support your body for a while—"
Immediately Ace tried to struggle free as Keiwa kept a firm grip on his body.
"N-no! You don't have to—! I'm just fine—"
Keiwa kissed Ace's neck before running his fingers over Ace's hair. "It's all right... I wasn't able to fall asleep either, anyway. But as long as you're here with me, it should be fine."
Ace dropped his right leg that he had used to keep himself upright before finally letting himself relax against Keiwa's body.
"I'm sorry... I'm really, really sorry—" Keiwa said again as he tried to convince Ace to put himself to sleep.
To which, he ended up receiving a reply for it.
"Silly Keiwa... what did I tell you about not hating the people who commit sins in order to have their wish granted?"
Keiwa let out a long sigh as he kept pressing his lips against any of Ace's exposed skin that he could reach in his current position.
"I know... but that doesn't make it hurt less for me."
And if this little bit of pain could ease the burden Ace was carrying, he wouldn't mind taking in the suffering by himself. Because of this wish... it was the very same wish that both of them wanted to make it true. And if Ace has to pay a price to make it happen, then he should also have his share of that same price for him to also pay.
A/N: I'll probably end up tweaking this even more later but I'll just make do for now. I'd probably end up making Keiwa and Ace keep alternating their Izanami/Izanagi roles and fate between each other for no reason at all.