Chapter 2

Gwah, phew!

Oh man~ We just ran and ran! I always feel so much better after a good run!

I think I get why Mama was on the track team now! It really lit up my brain and gave me a bunch of inspiration!

……

Huh? What’s with the long face! You doin’ okay? C’mon, cheer up! You can vent to me if you want? Since you’re Mama’s precious kid!

……

You—Uhhh, what was your name again? Wait, wait! Don’t tell me! I’ll remember it myself! You’re Suo~’s kid brother, so you’ve got a similar name, um O~… O~… Orca!

That’s just another name for a killer whale. Well, I’ve heard they’re called the hitmen of the sea, so I guess they knew what they were doing and called it that on purpose.

Wait, you’re not Orca? Then how about Iruka, like the dolphin! I like dolphins! They have such pretty singing voices!

Can we move away from the sea critters? Speakin’ of, I don’t think I ever introduced myself. My name’s Oukawa Kohaku, ‘kay?

Kohaku K! I got it! Sounds super heroic and everything! I knew it~ ♪

……

Oh, wait! Don’t go! Don’t leave me here! Now that I pissed Sena off, you’re the only one I can rely on, Kohaku K!

And why’s that? Don’t go relyin’ on me. And there’s no “K” in that, I’m just Kohaku.

Oh! Right right, I remember now! Wahaha ☆

Y’know, it’s mighty rude to mess up someone’s name. And it’s even more rude to call them somethin’ dumb on purpose.

In the past you couldn’t even complain if you got cut off an’ kicked out ‘cause you’re causin’ all this unnecessary drama.

You’re free to go an’ make fun of people all ya want, but you better choose your target wisely or someone’ll end up hurt.

Even now there’s tons of stories about stuff like people gettin’ killed overseas for insultin’ the mafia.

In the lowest levels of society—a place you can’t even dream of—that kinda animalistic logic still slides. If you lose face, they’ll kill ya. If you set foot on their turf, they’ll kill ya.

Wahaha! I don’t even wanna know what you’re saying, but you really are just like Suo~!

He used to get so pissy when I forgot his name! You guys are brothers after all~ So similar~… ♪

I dunno where you got it mixed up, but that boy from the Suou house ain’t my brother. We’re just kin—He’s the head of the family, and I’m at the very end of the branch family.

We got different social standings. An’ what I mean by that is, we’re different creatures altogether.

It’s like lookin’ at a tiger and a cat and sayin’ they’re the same animal.

I like cats too~ ☆

……

Wait, wait! I said don’t go! There was something I wanna tell you! I just remembered!

…What is it? I got nothin’ to talk to you about.

Yeah, well I do! So let’s talk! Okay? It’s the ooonly thing I’ll ask you!

(This is the worst~… This guy don’t make any sense at all… It’s pretty rare to find someone so childish in ES, let alone an actual child.)

Wahaha. …Well anyway, I’ve been meaning to tell you.

Thanks for saving Mama, Kohaku.

…?

That guy’s like~ Well, I think of him like my friend, and I love him, but he looks like he has it harder than anybody else. And all he ever does is help out other people who have it hard.

It’s kinda been annoying me for a while.

It’s good to help people, and that’s probably what he wants to do anyway. But then, who’s gonna help him?

I’ve been frustrated about it for a while.

…By “that guy,” you’re talking about Madara-han, right?

Yep. My, our most beloved Mikejima Madara.

He saved all of us, so we all love him, and we want to repay him somehow… But he’ll never accept our feelings.

And that’s just so lonely, yanno? I get I’ve always been an idiot who never thinks things through, and ‘cause of that I’ve made plenty of mistakes—I had so much on my plate, I didn’t have time for anyone else.

So I could never do anything to help anyone ‘cause it’d just make me look so full of myself.

I wrote a lot of songs I thought he’d like, but they can’t touch the heart of someone who can’t hear them.

But that’s exactly why I’m glad you’re here.

…I didn’t even do anything.

I never thought I was really helpin’ him out. We were both out fightin’ in a back alley, so I just lent the guy a shoulder when he got all wobbly.

Yeah, and he needed someone like that.

That’s why I’m saying thank you. He’s not very honest so he won’t say it himself. Which means I gotta do it in his place.

There ain’t no need for thanks. If you think he’s been saved, it’s ‘cause he saved himself.

‘Cause all the hard work he threw himself into up to now has finally paid off.

Those fifty random people who rushed to his aid were just returning the gift he gave ‘em all tied up with a bow.

He saved his own life through his actions. I’m not so shameless that I’d take credit for that.

Fifty people? That sounds super cool! Tell me more! Wait no, don’t tell me! I’ll imagine it!

Ngh~… I guess it hasn’t been put on TV yet, huh. Well, it was just yesterday.

(…Crap, I slipped up. He’ll start to wonder why I know about it.)

(I can’t let anyone know I switched places with my sister and went to Shikoku and Kyushu.)