"You seem out of it."

"Don't ask me questions."

"I didn't." The sounds of a picture being taken could be heard as Tsukasa looked at Ryu with a raised eyebrow, sitting down beside him. "It was a statement. An observation, if you will."

"He's right," Takeru agreed, picking at his own bandages while sighing. "Not that I don't get it, anyway. I do."

"Same," Kouta said as he leaned on the walls of the hallway they were in. He was definitely healing up faster than the rest, but right now, he looked as mortal as the rest of them. He wasn't meeting anyone's eyes, hugging himself quietly while looking away. "This Kougami guy is really messed up..."

"I thought no one could beat my stint as Dai Shocker's leader... boy was I wrong..." the one known as Decade admitted. "I... I would never do what he did to take people down. That's a low blow."

"Says the one who instigated a war to get us to fight and meet each other," Kouta said with a sigh.

"I didn't know how else to make you guys listen."

".... Fair."

"How are we going to fight off this threat though?" Takeru asked. "We have to fight, of course, everyone else is, but..."

"How to fight off people we care about? No clue... Even if they're still alive..."

"... Do you see those two as your family?" The guardian of Helheim inquired towards Tsukasa. "They were-"

"Kamen Rider Kivala and AR Kuuga, yeah," he answered. "And as for that... of course."

He looked out the window. The former Destroyer of Worlds, who had once been Dai Shocker's leader, looked so unlike his usual, confident self as he continued, "Natsumikan and Yuusuke are great friends, they wanted to fight to bring me back even when I didn't deserve it. Even after what I had done before, they continued to fight and brought me back against all odds. They, no, Hikari Studio are my family, alongside my sister, but..."

"I... heard from Boss that they didn't come," Surprisingly, Ryu spoke up. "There was only an old man there."

"He's Natsumikan's grandpa. I... I don't know where they are right now. Before Zi-O sought me out, they disappeared without a trace. That... got to me," he muttered, looking away. He wasn't good with emotions, oh, it was really something he couldn't handle. 

Least of all whatever he was feeling towards Akasei Jin. Kinship? Appreciation? What was this feeling?

A hand placed itself on his shoulder, and he turned to see Takeru with a soft smile. "Well, maybe it was an emergency. You might be used to them leaving you behind, but I doubt it was meant to hurt you or anything."

Ryu sighed. "Plus, Hidari mentioned that he trusted you, he knows that you're a good person despite how you act and so do Philip, Tokiwa, Myoukoin, Alpina and that weird book guy."

"Ah, the Iwae guy," he said with a snort. "He wouldn't stop doing it I actually had to shut him up by closing that book for him."

"You're a bit too mean to Woz, Tsukasa-senpai."

"Kid, he's BEGGING to be made fun of."

"Don't let Tokiwa hear you say that," Ryu chuckled. 

"Oh, Zi-O would take offense, for sure," Tsukasa corrected. "He wants to hear people say that to him." 

"He's not THAT self-centered," Kouta corrected back. "You're just as, if not more, De- I mean, Tsukasa." 

He snorted. "I expected that, I guess. Kinda deserved it."

"You shouldn't look down on yourself so easily," Takeru said softly. He knew that if he had been saying that about himself, his friends and family would have come after him and reminded him of how precious he was to them.

"Tenkuuji is right. Are you... okay?" Ryu looked over.

Tsukasa shook his head. "How can I be fine when there are paper copies of my closest friends running around like that?! I already had my regrets about making Yuusuke and Natsumikan kill me when they didn't want to. They're my family, for crying out loud!"

"Making people kill their loved ones... Truly, he is despicable," Kouta growled.

Takeru looked away at the thought, feeling nauseous. He didn't want to kill his dad... Even if it was a copy, even if he knew his dad wouldn't have said the things that Impull had...

How could he know for sure? How could he... How could he face him?

Ryu felt his grip tighten, and he barely held himself back from punching the wall. He couldn't.. He couldn't bring himself to hurt his parents and siblings.

Kouta knew for sure that he continued to wish Kaito had survived. As idealistic and stupid as that would make him, even as the Man of the Beginning, he still saw Kaito's death with a bittersweet lens. Sure, the war would have continued, but maybe they could have found a way around it. It felt unfair, and Mai shared the same feelings.

For Kougami to even deign himself worthy to use all of this for his own selfish needs... He wanted nothing more than to make him pay dearly for what he had done. Make HIM watch his hard work die away like a wilting weed, he darkly thought to himself.

"That sounds incredibly dark, even for you, Gaim," Tsukasa's words made him pause before he flushed slightly. Oh, he had actually said it aloud, hadn't he? Being with only Mai and the Inves on Helheim had affected him too much apparently!

The other three couldn't stop the snorts as they saw Kouta try to defend himself, give up, and accuse Tsukasa of bringing it out to the open in no particular order with a red blush on his face.

"K-Kouta-senpai, why?!" Takeru giggled, and Tsukasa smirked, unbothered by the accusation. "Not my fault you spilled like a leaking faucet."

"Oh yeah?! What about you and Healer!? We all saw how much you seemed to like him for knowing what magenta is!"

Like?!? Tsukasa's face was now the one to flare up while Ryu had to actually cover his mouth to hide his snorts. They had to stop! Otherwise he was pretty much done for! He had an image to uphold! (Only Shachou knew how he was with his family, and he would rather it stay that way.) "I do not!" 

"Ah, yeah, your face when he stormed off totally didn't say anything of the sort." Kouta paused. "But... it's okay to love someone, even if they're not around right now or for good. I... I can't do anything about what happened with Kaito, but I can try my best to honor what he's done by getting rid of this fake." 

He couldn't do anything back then, but now, at least he could ensure Kaito's legacy was not sullied by the whims of a stupid and crazy psychopath. 

"That... that does make sense," Takeru admitted after some silence. "I know that my Dad would have never let this go on. He would have been horrified at what he had done." 

"... My family are definitely not those people..." Ryu's tone had grown softer, but his steeled conviction was hard to miss. "Haruko, Kaasan, Tousan... I will not let those Impulls pull me down again. The countdown to their despair has finally begun once more." 

"You... have a point. Natsumikan and Yuusuke are not those fakes. They're way too smart for it," Tsukasa scoffed with a smile while getting up. "But I wouldn't want them any other way. This time, I really will take them down!" 

The four soon shared a glance, and Kouta suggested, "Let's get the other Kamen Riders together. We need a battle plan if we want to take down Kougami."

"Sure. I'll go call them over," Tsukasa said, walking out of the room and closing it to the earnest plea to see Haruka's photos to Ryu, who was now adamantly against it. 

He chuckled, but his mind did circle back to the point they brought up. "Love, huh?"

Ring ring! Decadriver!

He snorted, but as he took his phone out, he paused, surprised. It was enough to have him search for a way out into the balcony of Seito Hospital before he finally picked up. "N-Natsumikan?" 

"Tsukasa, seriously! I wish I could pressure point you!" she complained. "You took so long to answer!"

He could hear Yuusuke trying to comfort her, but he shook his head with a chuckle, even when his throat was closing up. "I-I'm glad you called."

"Wait, were you crying?" Yuusuke asked softly. "Tsukasa, you... didn't think we abandoned you right?"

"M-Maybe, b-but I got over that," he answered with a smile even when a tear fell. "I... I don't tell you enough how much I appreciate you guys being in my life, do I?" 

There was silence on the other end. Were they surprised he actually admitted it? He knew he wasn't that good at admitting stuff. His pride was on the line, after all! But... maybe he should make it a thing to tell them more often. 

"Tsukasa... We really are grateful for you too," Natsumi said from the other end, and her tone conveyed her sincerity. "We've just been quite busy, but we should be able to meet up back in the photo studio once this is over. Plus, it's not you if you don't deny your soft side all the time."

"I-I do not!"

"You totally do!" There were giggles on their end, and Tsukasa himself chuckled, even when the tears fell. He wiped them off with his sleeve, but soon he admitted, "I-I would like that. To see you two again..."

His heart did yearn for his loved ones in the end, huh? Definitely meant he wasn't... the leader of Dai-Shocker anymore, and the thought made him smile in relief. Thank you, everyone, for supporting me through my journey... I really am grateful for you, and I'll honor you through ending those Impulls!

"We can't wait either, Tsukasa! Plus, we heard you had to meet some Kouhai! I know that you've never met the kouhai after Zi-O, so how was it?" Yuusuke asked excitedly. 

"Oh, they're all typical heroes, I guess. But the newest one is definitely something. He understood how amazing magenta is!"

"I feel like it's not as impressive as you make it sound, so your tone suggests romantic interest. Which is interesting, I didn't think you would find one, what with your ego and all that."

"OH QUIT IT ALREADY! I do not-"

"How sure are you?" Natsumikan challenged, and once again, he fell silent. She... had a point. 

She seemed to realize something, so her next words were a lot softer. "It's okay not to know how you feel, though. You can figure it out slowly but surely, Tsukasa. We're all here for you."

"Totally! That's what family's for!" Yuusuke agreed. 

And that... The former villain's heart just burst with that one word. 

"I... finally have family, huh?" He mused quietly. "It... feels amazing."

He wasn't alone anymore. He had lost his sister, sure, but he was finally home. He had finally found a place to settle in that felt warm and cozy and just right... In spite of his past mistakes, Tsukasa had managed to live and become a better person. 

Maybe... maybe someday, Jin can be part of that family too. Maybe, he could reach out to Jin and tell him that he was a handsome man who anyone would be lucky to get... that he wanted to be that lucky man. That he understood the pain and that he wanted to be there with Jin, fighting together against the bad guys.

(It was almost like he KNEW how the future would go, with Jin's true final fate.)

"Did you say something, Tsukasa?"  Natsumi asked. "I can't hear too well! It's too noisy over here!"

Tsukasa chuckled as he answered, "Nah. I'll see you after all this mayhem at the studio right?"

"Yeah, we will. And we'll celebrate with dinner and fun!"

"Sounds like a plan!" He grinned widely. "So you better stay safe, Natsumikan, Yuusuke! I hope I don't need to save you again~"

"I WILL PRESSURE POINT YOU THE MOMENT I SEE YOU!"

"AHH, NATSUMI! DON'T YELL!"

"KEEP IT DOWN!" Wait there was someone else there?

"Hmmm, is that-" Wait that voice was...

"AH, BYE TSUKASA!"

The phone call ended, making him blink as he stared at his phone, even when he smiled. He didn't really get what just happened, but he was still going to do his best right now! Time to go round up the Riders then!