this series kind of left me conflicted. i feel like author wanted to throw in some kind of symbolism in the end to tie the whole "u summoned me" plot, even though it's confusing T-T but it does add layer to how they first met.
as much as i feel bittersweet, kou's choice on going back to the past is because of his "sense of guilt." kiku may still have lingered deep in kou's heart but it's true that he DOES love shirou, but he also feels responsible for his family situation where he's quite literally all alone because of their family's upbringing starting from the granddad, because him and kou couldn't have a closure.
kou's love for shirou is indeed present and it's the main reason why he returned to the past too. he felt guilty because he knew that shirou deserved better, starting by giving everything a closure. by this way, they may never met again, everything might have changed, maybe shirou's environment would also be more forgiving, maybe he won't even exist. but a child wouldn't be born in a lonesome circumstances. it's kou's profession and act of love.
other possibilities might be that kou died bc of the war—never got to return or have proper closure, so the receiving end, shirou, might just continue the family "sense of guilt" right? he would spend the rest of his life longing or he would move on, who knows.
for my peace of mind: i hope in a world where their eras aligned, i hope they met again, and there isn't anything binding them. starting over everything again and getting to know each other :(
this series kind of left me conflicted. i feel like author wanted to throw in some kind of symbolism in the end to tie the whole "u summoned me" plot, even though it's confusing T-T but it does add layer to how they first met.
as much as i feel bittersweet, kou's choice on going back to the past is because of his "sense of guilt." kiku may still have lingered deep in kou's heart but it's true that he DOES love shirou, but he also feels responsible for his family situation where he's quite literally all alone because of their family's upbringing starting from the granddad, because him and kou couldn't have a closure.
kou's love for shirou is indeed present and it's the main reason why he returned to the past too. he felt guilty because he knew that shirou deserved better, starting by giving everything a closure. by this way, they may never met again, everything might have changed, maybe shirou's environment would also be more forgiving, maybe he won't even exist. but a child wouldn't be born in a lonesome circumstances. it's kou's profession and act of love.
other possibilities might be that kou died bc of the war—never got to return or have proper closure, so the receiving end, shirou, might just continue the family "sense of guilt" right? he would spend the rest of his life longing or he would move on, who knows.
for my peace of mind: i hope in a world where their eras aligned, i hope they met again, and there isn't anything binding them. starting over everything again and getting to know each other :(