rubestie

Season: Winter

Writer: Akira

Characters: Madara, Kohaku

Madara: How about you? Will you be able to continue acting as J’s parent forever?

You have your job with Crazy:B. You have a family who loves you.

Could you throw all of that away and give up your entire life for a child whom you aren’t even connected to by blood?

That is what it means to raise a child.

Though that’s not something for me to state so arrogantly, since I’ve never gotten married or started a family, or even been in love.

But there are people who came to love me despite all that. I want to use my life for those people.

Kohaku: Yer exaggeratin’ with all this talk ‘bout lives and such.

Madara: This whole plot was always exaggeratedly grandiose. You know that, Kohaku-san.

People will keep targeting J from now on. That kid is in possession of a treasure worthy of that level of pursuit - GFK's inheritance.

J will keep acting as a lamp to which moths will flock endlessly.

At the very least until that kid grows up to become a strong adult.

Until he is grown enough to fight off all the evils of the world on his own, someone needs to stay by his side and protect him.

And who should protect him? Should we leave it to the police or the military? Do you think there are no evil people mixed into such organizations that speak of justice?

My dad is the head of the police, and yet he colludes with evil people. I can say for sure that even these organizations have evil in them.

I’m the only one who can protect this child.

Kohaku: Yer wrong. I’m here as well.

No. Isn’t that fact what got us this far together in the first place?

Madara: You heard what your sister said, didn’t you? You and me together is a recipe for disaster.

I had forgotten about that fact until our relatives showed up in front of us like that. No, maybe I was forcing myself to not think about it.

About the blood running through our veins. And the fate that blood has bestowed upon us.

While I was enjoying being an idol with you, I had forgotten about the fate I have been carrying ever since I was born.

Because the time we spent together was so fun and made me so happy, I had stopped thinking about those things that had been making my head hurt for so long.

madara+kohaku

Kohaku: …

Madara: For Mikejima and Oukawa to team up, gain GFK’s fortune from J, and use that to strengthen our influences and conquer the underworld.

The moment we let those shallow-minded people think of that possibility, we had already lost.

And those people who are anxious about the future will definitely one day let their anxieties take control and they’ll come for J without inhibition.

To prepare for those future threats, we need to eliminate that “seed of anxiety” - meaning us - today.

Kohaku: An’ yer solution is ta cut me off?

Madara: Yup. Rather than Double Face protecting J, MaM will do it alone.

That way, those evil warmongers will target me alone.

By cutting your ties with us, you can escape this.

You can wash your hands clean of it all. You can get out of this swamp.

You’ve worked a lot more than expected, more than you needed to. Enough that you could sue us for overtime pay if you wanted.

You’ve done more than enough. You’ve protected J.

You’ve fulfilled your duty and your obligations.

So this is enough. Any more and you’ll be overworking yourself, so take a leave.

Kohaku: …I guess I’ll just be a nuisance to Madara-han and J if I stay behind.

Madara: Yup. The plan for me and you to protect J only created anxiety among the villains. To soothe those worries, I want you to make your leave here.

Kohaku: You’re firin’ me? This is like a repeat of what went down durin’ the summer.

Madara: You’ve got that wrong. You’ve grown a lot since the summer. What you’re doing now is simply throwing away one of the things burdening you, the dirty costume called Double Face.

You are leaving the abominable “criminal organization” known as Double Face, and from now on you will be able to live your life underneath the sun’s rays.

You’ve earned this, and I want this for you. Because you’re so dear to me, because I admire you so much, I want you to be able to live where the light can shine on you.

I want to protect you so you can stay clean.

You’re important to me.

This is all just my own selfishness, but those are my true feelings.

Kohaku: What ‘bout how I feel?

Ya always, always decide everythin’ on yer own, only say what ya want ta say, force me ta go along with it, and then expect me ta accept the results. Can’t ya see how annoyin’ that is fer me?

I’m not the kind of guy you can just control like that.

I really hate that part of you.

Madara: I see.

I surprisingly came to love you a lot.