Sudden Death - Epilogue 5

[shivalries]

CW: mass murder mention, mafia mention

Season: Winter

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Location: Sudden Death Stage



Kohaku: Aw, geez... Rinne-han's just doin' what he feels like. Not that he ever doesn’t.

Tsukasa: Oukawa.

Er... I just want to confirm, but at the ryokan, did you—

Kohaku: ......♪

Tsukasa: Wah— ...Wh-Why are you hugging me? People can see us!

Kohaku: Shhh... This ain't for anybody to hear but you, so I'm gonna whisper it right in your ear.

Well, guess I don't have to worry too much with Rinne-han and the others singin' away.

Niki: ♪~♪~♪

HiMERU: ~...♪

Tsukasa: Eheh, it appears your companions have gone ahead and done exactly what you wanted. You've gotten some very good friends for yourself, Oukawa.

Kohaku: Ain't no friends o' mine. More like colleagues... Though I guess when we die, it'll all be together.

Tsukasa: A unitmate is such a curious thing, is it not? They are like family, but also like friends, but at times like rivals to compete with—

I never learned of such a relationship growing up—not from my parents, nor my school teachers, nor my home tutors.

I still have trouble grasping the correct way to go about it, and it worries me constantly.

Kohaku: What's wrong with a few worries? That's just life.

Tsukasa: You're rather impertinent for someone my junior, Oukawa.

Kohaku: You're always actin' so high an' mighty just 'cause you're a year older. This is payback.

...So, about Rinne-han... he never did tell nobody what his secret order was.

So I shook it outta him. Didn't like how he ran wild this time an' left me outta the loop.

Tsukasa: ......

Kohaku: I'm sure ya remember, but this time Rinne-han and—nah, we in Crazy:B teamed up with Gatekeeper.

Tsukasa: Yes. I understand you all asked him to reveal our orders to you and set up things to your favor.

Kohaku: Yeah, but that don't mean there's any actual camaraderie between us, y'hear. Ain't like that at all—we just happened to have similar goals.

Because of that, Gatekeeper shackled Rinne-han with a secret order so we wouldn't turn the tables on 'im at the last second.

And that order was: "At the moment the SS qualifiers end, do not have less SSL$ than Knights"—

Basically, we had to win against ya.

The plan was to take down Knights, ES's favorite for this round, and put a stopper on ES's schemes.

Would be real bad for Gatekeeper if only the most convenient units for ES moved on to the finals.

Course, he wanted to keep NewDi from movin' up too quick, too.

Tsukasa: ...You certainly saw that secret order through. We were—I was—thoroughly deceived.

Kohaku: Ya sure were. Our boss plays real dirty, don't he? Once he decides he wants to win, he'll do whatever it takes.

Speakin' of which, your seniors goin' away mid-prelims? That was thanks to Gatekeeper pullin' some strings.

Rinne-han pushed him real hard for it to happen.

...All to make Knights lose.

Tsukasa: ......

Kohaku: 'Course, just 'cause we had the secret order tyin' our hands doesn't mean it excuses or erases what we did to ya.

Ain't gonna try to claim it was just inevitable.

It was our own will, our own choice to knock ya down. We knew it would benefit us.

So I don't mind a bit if you're gonna hold a grudge. We really put ya to shame.

Still, if you're gonna resent anybody, at least keep it to me, sonny.

Tsukasa: You? But... you've done nothing wrong in this situation.

Everything happened without your knowledge. Your companions in Crazy:B told you nothing... Or am I mistaken?

Kohaku: Yeah, but see, they got their hands dirty for my sake. In the end, it's all on me.

Tsukasa: What do you mean...?

Kohaku: ...If Rinne-han ever went against his secret order, then the whole Oukawa bloodline woulda been slaughtered.

Tsukasa: S-Slaughtered? Is that some sort of metaphor?

Kohaku: It means what it means, word for word. I don't expect ya to know this, sonny, but there's a little problem goin' on in the underground right now.

Some kinda foreign mafia organization's started to intrude on Japanese ground.

And they see the Oukawas, denizens of the underground, as an obstacle.

If you're settin' up a new business somewhere, ya wouldn't look kindly on the old shop that's got its roots dug deep in the region already, right? You'd wanna get rid of it if ya could.

But if Rinne-san followed his secret order—in other words, went along with Gatekeeper's plans—

Then Gatekeeper would overlook the Oukawas, or so I hear. Meaning he wouldn't lay a hand on my family.

That's why Rinne-han obeyed. If his own situation was at stake, he woulda just dealt with it—like he coulda ignored it even if his own hometown woulda got burnt to a crisp or somethin'.

But he couldn't ignore it if my dear family was gonna be put in danger.

Dumbass... How's that make any sense? Ain't even been half a year since we met.

I'm guessin' he already sees me as part of his family...

Just like the little brother he loves so much, I'm important to him—so he tried to protect me.

Tsukasa: Family...

Kohaku: Yeah. Family. Just like you an' me.

I'm sure ya'd understand where he's comin' from too. Your secret order punishment was kinda similar.

Tsukasa: Indeed... My secret order forbade me from participating in head-to-head battles.

And if I were to violate that order... I would have to abolish the Oukawa bloodline and sever any connection to them.

I would have to cut you all away—become strangers with you.

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