Hi 💕 we finally got the long-awaited Koko & Seishu reunion, even if very short-lived 💔 I sensed some conflicting emotions in Koko & his smile in the end gave me bittersweet yet (hopefully not) foreshadowing vibes because we have seen it before. How do you think Koko feels staying in Kanto? If he still feels he needs to earn income for a gang leader, why stay & follow Mikey if he feels Michi is on the right side of things? Is it bc he still wants to believe that only the strong win ultimately
Hi, Tina! 💕 I hope you're fine.
Now then, I will try to put my broken heart aside before answering. This might be a pretty controversial opinion, but personally I don't believe his words, what he said to Inupi, except for one thing: "you chose a good person", this is the only sincere thing he said. Let me explain better.
Does he still feel like he needs to earn money for a gang leader? I don't know, there is literally too little of his thoughts and feelings to tell whether this is the case or not. Let's say for a moment that he still feels like that. The immediate next question is: why following Mikey and not Takemichi if he thinks Michi is on the right side? That is the point, that is the reason why I don't believe his words. I don't think he was honest when he said that following Mikey is like betting on the winning horse. Koko showed very clearly in many occasions that he respects Takemichi. Entrusting a wounded Michi to Inupi, who is someone Koko deeply trusts, means that he actually cares for him. Moreover, reagarding Inupi, Koko has already made clear twice that he believes Takemichi is the safest option for Seishu (once, after tenjiku battle when he let go of Inupi and they parted ways, telling him not to follow the wrong path and implying that sticking with Toman was the right thing to do, and another now, telling him that he chose a good person).
Besides, I think it's very evident from his very much blatant reactions that Koko was and is uncomfortable with what Mikey did during the three deities war. His silences, his shocked faces... Those speak loudly.
What does this tell us? Why does he stay on Mikey's side then? Here comes my humble opinion. Koko is not doing it to be on the "winning" side. I actually think his obsession over money is still there, but... This is not the only reason. In my opinion, he doesn't join Takemichi and TW because:
I kind of believe that Koko must have become convinced that he is not a good person for Inupi, that he can only bring him pain and bad feelings. Joining TW also means being on Seishu's side, and sticking with Seishu means hurting him (or at least this is what Koko thinks, given how things ended previously). If only they faced reality and opened their hearts... They could solve all the misunderstandings and start it over. They care for each other, they are important to each other, but they need to speak the truth once and for all, they need to stop leaving everything open. Koko and Inupi need to stop letting the other fall deeper into fake convictions and assumptions.
I also think that, to a small extent, Koko does not want to leave Mikey alone. I think he respects and knows how much Mikey is suffering, hence maybe he doesn't have the guts to turn his back on him, even though it's for the better. But also this reason is connected to the previous one. Choosing the darkness sounds like a better option to Koko, especially if it means not hurting the person he loves and cherishes the most. It's all about protecting Inupi from himself (Koko), in my opinion.
