Why is it I like to torture my favorite characters so? I always toyed with the thought of Ankh being allowed on the Denliner again after what he did in that movie. Get ready for a bittersweet ending with the last chapter!

It wasn't hard to realize what day this was. The owner of the train had mentioned the date in passing after he had stared at him with a knowing look. Ankh knew why; the first and last time he had been on the Denliner, he had unintentionally caused the future to be changed. An annoyed sound escaped him as he remembered that although he honestly hadn't expected his actions to have changed the future, they managed to reset the timeline in the end.

A small breeze made the bird pause, tilting his head upwards to bathe in the coolness of it. Going into the past didn't feel different. It was like any other day. People were walking around the park, laughing, smiling, being with the ones they loved… The last part sent a dagger straight into his main core medal, flinching backwards despite himself and clutching where his core was in his chest. The one he loved, the one that had left him alone in a world that lost its color. Everything moved on, yet he hadn't… It was why he had almost begged to be allowed this one trip. Almost being the key word. Ankh didn't beg.

A sense of dejavu hit the Greeed as he focused once more on where he was. It was strange, but it looked like this was the park they frequented a lot when Eiji had been alive. Ankh took a few steps, breathing in the scent that screamed of overwhelming familiarity. No, this was definitely the park, yet… His feet began to wander of their own accord, slipping beneath the trees that covered the park, for once not wanting to dart into the trees and lounge there like the bird he was.

"You're eating too much ice candies. This will be the fourth time I'm going back for more." That sound of exasperation, the still telltale fondness hidden deep in the tone of the person speaking... If Ankh had a heart, it would have skipped a beat; his main core imitated the action in a sudden shudder. The King of Birds didn't dare to move a muscle, as if doing so would blow his cover, that Eiji, wherever he was nearby would instantly notice him. In an attempt to not move, the bird only clenched the tenth medal in his pocket tighter, its overwhelming burning sensation warming his skin soothingly, calming his fluttering medals. Ankh's eyes closed.

"So? I still want more. I have over a half year's supply left from our promise." How eerie was it to hear himself talking when it wasn't actually him? How did that kid, Den-O, deal with it? It was too strange… A sigh of defeat trailed towards him and Ankh tilted his head, listening as Eiji walked away from his other self. He couldn't help himself as he leaned past the tree trunk he was hiding behind, moving a tree branch aside to peer past them. There on a stone wall, rather than on the low bench, was himself, perching as he always was. His medals radiated an intense heat suddenly at being in close contact with his own identical cores. At this moment Ankh was glad that Greeed's could not sense their own cores, yet why did his medals react like this? He only knew that the tenth medal was special, able to have sensed it once it had been removed from the special box Kougami had made for it. His fingers tightened on it, as if to shield it from being sensed.

Eiji had walked off already, yet he couldn't tear his eyes off his other self. The same face, eyes that didn't look as if they had seen far too many years without the most important person by his side. It only took a second for the other Ankh to stiffen, sitting up straight from where he had been hunched over. Ankh cursed in his mind at dawdling too long, withdrawing into the cover of the trees, but not before their eyes met briefly. Before he lost sight of his past self, he could see them widen in confusion and shock.

After backpedaling to a safe point where the other no long could detect where he went – positive that he would not follow as this memory played back in his mind - Ankh disappeared into the trees, making sure no humans saw him. Sneaking after Eiji made him feel like that damn cat Kazari, a thought that he regretted even thinking about. For a moment, only a moment, he briefly entertained the notion of how easy it would have been to float after him as an arm… His lips drew back in a grimace just as quickly as it crossed his mind.

It would have been easier, yes, as the tree could hide his form – as much as green can hide a floating red, green, yellow, and black hand – because they were so close together in this section. However the idea of becoming a simple limb as opposed to having a body that had no limitations caused him to involuntarily shiver.

Too long had it been since he had felt the emptiness and incompletion of being a simple arm. Once revived by Eiji, he had retained his complete form – no more having to float around as a disembodied arm or having to possess the detective. He had relished the fact that he was whole again. There had only been a few instances he had returned to his Greeed form as well; there were the times with helping Eiji around the world as they traveled together, grudgingly of course, as well as help him train the future Kamen Riders when the Undead were unsealed prematurely.

That was around the time he had been sent back to the past to help the Eiji of perhaps only a few years ago in this time. His lips tilted downwards. That had been too long ago. Eiji always had pestered him to help train them, although he had only showed up once or twice, always going off on his own. He only began to help after coming back from the past, after he knew about the boy who had once been afraid of water. Their three riders of 'elements' were a disorganized crew until they began working together, but Eiji was proud of them. Ankh huffed, that was the past; many of those riders were gone as well, and he had never bothered to see their successors. There was no point…

Once Eiji had been gone, there was no one who was around to use the OOO driver; Ankh didn't particularly like anyone else using the recovered cores or, especially, his own. It was hidden away, where no one could find it. Kamen Rider OOO would never see the light of day again.

"Ankh?"

Ankh couldn't help but jerk back at his name, nearly falling off the tree limb he had been perching on. His feathers ruffled as he regained his balance, eyes darting below him and then back to where Eiji had been. The young man was no longer at the ice cream cart buying his other self's treats. When had he dozed off into the memories that had begun to resurface? Usually his avian instincts prevented him from becoming so distracted but… His name was called again, a bit more concerned this time. His voice…

The fondness was still there, the softness of his tone and the way his eyes lit up at the sight of him. Ankh stared at him, eyes focused solely on him to the point where everything else faded to grey. To him, Eiji was the color in his life, the reason why he could have experienced all these senses to begin with, the reason why he lived. Despite the confusion that dwelled within those eyes, he looked all the same to him; no matter how old Eiji had grown, he never changed in his mind. His cores ached, feeling all too heavy in this human guise.

Below him, Eiji frowned slightly. It wasn't like Ankh to be so distracted like this. Not trusting himself to speak, the Greeed jumped down to land a few feet away from the OOO rider, lips tightly pressed in a neural line, nearly biting his tongue to keep from speaking.

"Ankh? I was bringing these back, you didn't need to follow…. Me….?" Eiji's voice trailed off as he noticed something peculiar about Ankh. The heat he normally could feel radiating from him when they were close, it was barely there. He looked defeated somewhat, his eyes losing their fierceness and… Ankh looked broken. Hesitantly, his eyes dropped to see what could have caused such a change; was he sick? Wait, Greeeds normally didn't get sick, but did something happen to the cores to cause a change in his avian partner!?

Eiji quietly began to panic; he couldn't let these long years of hard labor and research go to waste, he couldn't lose Ankh again! The Greeed was barely back for a few weeks, and there had been no indication that the medals they had restored were somehow deteriorating. The vagabond's thoughts crashed together in a halt when he spied what was wrapped loosely around the other's shoulders. Instantly Eiji's fingers trailed up to trace the same scarf that he was wearing. It was his favorite, the various orange colors clashing interestingly with Ankh's black and red outfit. But… how did he have it when he was wearing it himself?

The pieces began to fall into place as the Ankh before him clutched something in his pocket. Familiarity drowned anything Eiji could have said with that one small action. He had done that before when he had been searching for a way to restore Ankh's broken core medal, when Ankh had come from the future to help fight Poseidon. It was a guess, but was it correct?

Was Ankh…?

Eiji's fingers gripped his scarf tightly, steeling himself as he met Ankh's gaze again. It was a possible long-shot but considering the circumstances….

"You're… not my Ankh from this time, are you?" The way Ankh's eyes darted away slightly, the silent way he gulped down air to reorganize his thoughts told Eiji all he needed. But why was he here then? Did something happen to the future?

Ankh couldn't speak when Eiji figured it out. His stupid human, the useless idiot, could always be smart when needed, hell he always was smart. But it was only when he had realized that he had been clutching his tenth medal that he realized how obvious it had been he was from the future. Dryly, he inwardly chuckled at how similar it was to when he had noticed Eiji clutching his broken medal. All he could do was shake his head, gaze still unable to meet Eiji's. After all this time, all Ankh wanted to do was embrace him, to breathe in his scent and remember, yet he found himself frozen in place.

The mighty King of Bird wanted to hide away when confronted with the very thing he desired.

Ankh jerked his head back when Eiji's fingers hesitantly wiped at something on his cheek. Realization dawned on him, they were wet and his throat was unusually tight… He was crying? A shaky breath left his lips, throat heavy as emotions swirled through his eyes. Sharp hawk eyes locked onto Eiji's own, form trembling; since when was he shaking? The rider's gaze softened in concern as he tried to figure out what had happened to put this future Ankh into such a state. He never had a chance to ask when Ankh threw his arms around him, head burying into the gap between his shoulder and neck.

"Don't leave." The whisper was so soft that Eiji thought he had imagined it, shivering when hot breath spilled onto his skin. Eiji's heart shattered at the sadness, the pain, the heartbreak in that voice. Already he could feel the telltale pricks of tears threatening to fall from his own eyes. Ankh leaned heavily on the other rider, chest heaving silently as the tears fell nonstop. He hated this part of the human emotions he had learned. No matter how he tried, he couldn't get a grip on these tears, teeth clenched to prevent his voice from shaking. But the sight of Eiji was what had caused him to begin breaking down. He was before him, and god did he smell just as he remembered.

An earthy scent, with a dash of cinnamon…

He remembered… Ankh nearly began to laugh; his memory had become so similar to the humans he surrounded himself with. Funny how his time spent possessing that detective rubbed off on him. Undistorted senses hadn't been the only things he had retained from that time. Emotions were one of the things he both despised and cherished.

"Ankh…what happened?" Eiji began, only to frown and reword it when he recalled that whisper, "I mean, if you are from the future then I guess you can't tell me but… I would never leave you."

"You humans, you stupid insignificant humans…" The words would have sounded harsher if not for the fact that his tone was thick with all that pain, yet from all the time spent with the Greeed, the rider had learned how to correctly interpret his tone of voice. Ankh didn't sound angry just… frustrated, broken, and lost. Eiji nearly lost his balance as Ankh's knees buckled and carefully lowered both of them to the ground, arms gently wrapped around the avian.

"You age and die, yet medals cannot die unless broken in half." A lump formed in the rider's throat, and no amount of swallowing could relieve it. The future was safe, but that meant… He had nearly forgotten that while Greeed would never change, would never grow old, he and the rest of the humans would. How cruel was it to leave him like that?

"Why did you bring me back, just to be alone when you are gone? You idiot… " A tear slipped down Eiji's cheek before he realized it had even formed. The words were breaking him down, but he never once thought of it. It wasn't something that had ever crossed his mind. He had been so focused on knowing there was a chance to bring Ankh back that he had forgotten that once he died, there was no way to do the same. How long had Ankh suffered alone? Another tear joined the first one before a watery smile twisted his lips up.

"You know, you always called me an idiot… That was the first thing you had said when you woke up. But to hear you, to see you again…" A laugh bubbled forth from Eiji's throat, a sound that Ankh had been dying to hear again, but he couldn't bare to raise his head, not yet. He snorted though, his human nails digging into Eiji's shirt.

"You're my idiot…"

"I'm your idiot." The bird Greeed froze in Eiji's arms, eyes slowly opening as he registered that he had just said. So this was where Eiji had gotten that comeback from, from Ankh himself letting that slip out at this moment. His trembling muscles slowly began to relax. It wasn't like him saying that would have changed anything. Only now, thinking back, he could remember Eiji using that phrase suddenly starting a bit after this.

Ankh pushed himself away with reluctance, feeling how Eiji's fingers tense as if to not let him go before they drifted away. He had to go before he did something stupid, before he, as that stupid train owner said 'messed with the flow of time'. Ankh stood up and turned away, feeling how Eiji's eyes were boring into his back as he walked away a few feet.

"I will only warn you once, and once only." The old man sat perfectly still in front of his rice plate, spoon held posed to carve into it. His eyes flickered up at Ankh for a split second.

"You see this rice? Perfect, unmarred even though the train moves to and fro. However with every action taken, every word spoken… Slowly, eventually, time will take a sudden turn and will be unable to return to how it once was. In other cases like what happened before, the action taken can cause a sudden change before your eyes, leading to another timeline permanently." As Owner had spoken, he had taken a spoonful of rice away from the base of the rice platter, eating each portion until the flag fell when the spoon landed too close to it. A surprised gasp echoed throughout the cart before Owner drew back up, eyes landing back on the Greeed.

"Let us hope you've learned your lesson from before. It was only through the memories of everyone that we were able to correct the past and future." Ankh flinched slightly in his seat, lips drawing back in a grimace. What a reminder… They – no, he – had caused the future to be changed just because of one lousy cell medal… Owner had officially barred the two from ever riding the Denliner again… Until Ankh had made his request. When explaining the situation and he wanted to do, a small visit, he had been surprised that his request was allowed.

Ankh could only look away from the old man, purposely ignoring the four Imagins that crowded around the table, more so the purple dragon sitting across from him with a large pink hammer. He never spoke, not even to the woman who had offered him strangely colored coffee. He felt that if he did, it would cause him to lose custody of the temporary pass he now held onto, the ticket showing the date they were heading to.

"I cannot imagine my life without you Ankh. I hope that you felt the same way." Ankh froze and turned his head to the side to observe him. Eiji's radiant smile was so bright and happy that he had to turn so he could see it better. Those words… his cores pulsed in happiness. That idiot, of course he felt the same.

The vagabond continued, hesitantly looking down as if to gather his courage before he began walking closer with newfound confidence. "Although the you I know right now might be unaware of my feelings nor understand how to respond, I never regretted spending many years of my life to bring you back. I always pictured that you were still there with me somehow, watching over me." Ankh affirmed it hesitantly with a huff, yet his eyes, which had darted away, quickly locked onto the man he loved again. Those memories were never clear, but he could always feel himself floating through an assortment of locations full of colors and shapes that never made sense even now.

"I… don't remember much of that time." Ankh admitted. "Perhaps I was trying to make sure you didn't do something stupid; you never thought about yourself. Too busy trying to reach your hand out to save others when you never cared about what happened to you." A huff exhaled out from his lips, yet the glare that had entered his eyes was fond instead of annoyed. Laughter bubbled from Eiji, the tips of his eyes crinkling upwards in a heart-warming way. So even after death the Greeed had worried about him. His present Ankh wouldn't have admitted that, yet even in the small glances he had seen when something happened and he was forced to henshin, he could tell the other had been worried. Eiji had never called it out, yet it had warmed him that the other cared.

Silence stretched forth as the laughter died down, Eiji teasing a loose thread on his scarf between two fingers. There was a question he wanted to ask, something to soothe his thoughts.

"What… Ankh what will you do now?"

The avian's eyes drifted up towards the sky and a half-formed smirk played on his lips. Slowly he held up something clutched in his right hand, a red glow emitting from it. Eiji's eyes widened, recognizing what it was. Ankh's tenth medal, the very thing that would make him disappear from this world and soar once more, invisible to the humans, as the King of the Birds. Words were useless to explain. Eiji would understand. After all, the man had created the tenth medal not too long after Ankh had been revived.

If he was correct in knowing which day this was, he had only created the medal a week or so ago before. The journal, Eiji's journal… He had re-read it so many times once he had finally gotten the courage to do so. In there had been everything, including Eiji's reluctance and hesitance in giving Ankh the medal, afraid just slightly at the small chance his avian partner would take it and fly away. The way the words conveyed how terrified Eiji was at losing him, that he didn't mean anything in Ankh's eyes had been the turning point for his past self. His foolish past self who didn't understand love, who questioned the strange feelings and urges that were happening to him yet didn't want to ask anyone about it.

He never saw how Eiji jerked back slightly as the medal continued to glow, something it only did on occasion when Ankh was nearby. It was calling to him, yearning to be reunited with the remaining nine cores at long last. Ankh always felt the haunting call, the pull to take the core and absorb it, but he resisted. Not yet, he always told it, not yet…

"That's…. You never used it? Ankh please…. At least tell me how long you've been alone." Eiji's heart was in his throat, a lump that couldn't, wouldn't, go away. Just seeing that shining medal brought back the fears that still plagued him. He had given the medal to Kougami for safekeeping, he hadn't told Ankh about it. Eventually he knew he would offer it to Ankh, but now seeing how Ankh still hadn't absorbed it…

"I've seen everyone's great-grandchildren grow into adults. Tch, they still act like fledglings, afraid of moving away and trying out their wings." It was the only answer he could come up with. To say that and hold Eiji's gaze without wanting to look away… It was difficult. It was even more so when he saw the other's face begin to fall, heavy with guilt and regret. Immediately Ankh wanted to take back the words, realizing only now why in his past Eiji would be staring off in the distance with that strange melancholic look. It was because of him. Silence once again settled down around them, leaving both to their thoughts.

"I better get back to the present you before you get too irritated about me taking so long." Even as Eiji spoke he could tell from both his body language and tone how reluctant he was. Although he still had his Ankh from the present, Eiji couldn't think of leaving this future Ankh without doing something… anything… Ankh's lips twisted upwards before he finally gave into the crooked smile; Eiji never did like leaving Ankh's side since his revival, it had been irritating at first, but eventually Ankh had grown to cherish it.

"I may get irritated, but I would never leave you. Even though I may be a bird of prey who longs to soar forever in the sky, I'm quite attached to both my nest … and those who are close to me." Hawks normally mated for life, and as the King of Birds, Ankh was no exception, it was why he had lost his way after losing Eiji, why seeing him not want to leave meant everything to him. He watched patiently as Eiji stared at him, briefly puzzled at what he meant before his eyes widened first with realization and then warmth. The avian had been referring to Eiji's fear, once again solidifying the fact that he wouldn't leave him.

"I… never knew you could be poetic." Ankh scoffed and rolled his eyes, yet his expression remained affectionate.

"Chiyoko and Hina never left me alone when they wrote poetry after you…" He halted mid-sentence, feeling as if his chest had been stabbed. Shit. Ankh's eyes widened as his lips thinned. The soft smile that had been growing on Eiji's lips died, realizing immediately what the bird had been referring to. Ankh couldn't bare to keep eye contact with the rider, eyes darting back and forth between his face and the trees behind him. Swallowing the thick lump in his throat was difficult, hating the fact that yet another tidbit from the future slipped out. He wouldn't have cared if not for the fact it was about just who had died first.

After a moment of fighting back tears, Eiji approached him, closing the gap ever so slowly. The way those eyes looked deep into his own, emotions boiling forth without the need to speak. The warmth, the sadness, the love that dwelled within him. Ankh's core twinged in pain, swallowing a painful cry at the feeling. As he stopped before him, the bird could still see the dried tear stains on his skin. With no hesitation, the vagabond cupped Ankh's cheeks gently, unable to look away from the Greeed he loved.

"Ankh…" The whisper trailed off, Eiji cursing himself for not knowing what to say, what to do to apologize for leaving him. Ankh let out a silent sigh, melting from the warmth that radiated from Eiji – when did they switch roles, how did Eiji feel so warm when his own heat was gone? – and leaned against one hand.

Movement caught his sharp eyes and he never had a chance to properly react when the rider closed the gap between their lips. Warm, so warm, heat that began to reignite his cores, burning. It was a simple kiss, gentle and soft, eerily similar to the last kiss Eiji had given him before he passed away.

A goodbye kiss.

Before his core could shudder at the memory, he pressed back against Eiji, his arm shifting into his familiar Greed one, talons wrapping around the other's hair. His eyes slid shut, almost able to remember the feeling from so long ago. It seemed like an eternity, nearly losing himself into a foolish scenario that he hadn't died, that this Eiji was his, that everything was fine like the old days. Ankh had to pull away before this kiss became more, before he messed something up, before he could decide to say screw the rules of time and just stay.

The flushed cheeks and sad expression on Eiji's face wasn't overlooked, Ankh biting the inside of his cheek hard to keep from leaning back in. Human skin replaced his Greeed hand, so used to wearing this fleshy form instead of his true one. Already memories were coming back of this day, of how he froze above the bench, hand clutching his chest with an expression that was a mix between confusion, shock, and panic. The temptation to pull Eiji close was threatening to overwhelm him but he ignored it, inclining his head in the direction of his past self.

"Go ahead. I know I'm waiting." The vagabond's lips twitched upwards, gaze drifting over to stare in that direction before he remembered the almost forgotten ice candies he had in the tiny plastic bag.

"Ankh, did you want one of these to go?" Eiji held up one of the three ice candies. The Greeed simply smirked, pulling out the – surprisingly unmelted – ice candy that Chiyo had made him, the deep red color matching the brief flash of red in his eyes that soon faded away. A short chuckle slipped through his lips as he turned away.

"Good bye Eiji."

"I love you Ankh." The Greeed's shoulders hitched slightly, eyes widening at the confession. It meant a lot to hear that before leaving, before he would go forward in time and visit his grave. Before he would leave the physical world behind and reclaim his kingdom's throne, a throne that had been forcibly abandoned for almost a millennia. A smile bloomed on Ankh's lips, one that radiated like the sun. He tilted his head ever so slightly, so Eiji could see it, his cores burning within his chest.

He felt alive again.

"Tch, I love you too, idiot."