Dark Night's Passing - Oukawa Kohaku's Dealings in the Dark 1

[bakemonoremy]

Location: Concert Hall

- Several days later. The evening of a day off, at the composer Tsukinaga Leo’s solo concert, “Ave Maria” -

Kohaku: ( — Tsukinaga Leo.)

(A genius, world-renowned composer, and the former leader of one of ES’s Big Three: Knights.)

(Back ‘round spring, they carried out a ceremony t’hand down his title — the “Coronation”. Since then, he turned over his full authority to his successor Bon — Suou Tsukasa — and went into semi-retirement.)

(Or at least, that’s what the guy put out as an official announcement in interviews.)

(But that fella ain’t lookin’ the least bit retired to me right now.)

Leo: “♪ ~ ♪ ~ ♪”

Kohaku: (Goin’ by records of him, Tsukinaga Leo’s actually been mighty active since that “Coronation”. In fact, it looks as if he’s been movin’ around way more freely than ever, with vim an’ vigor.)

(But that’s not as a member of Knights, but as the composer Tsukinaga Leo. Reckon he’s skippin’ out on idol activities an’ just doin’ what he likes best: composin’ music.)

(Based on the online rumors Rabu-han told me about, Tsukinaga Leo seems t’be quite the whimsical fella, an’ a chronic slacker to boot.)

(Apparently there were times when he didn’t show up to performances he was scheduled t’appear in, an’ once he even took a pretty long hiatus from idol activities entirely.)

(Some people criticize ‘im, sayin’ he’s “an egoist with only the temperament of a prodigy, whose conduct and words are often erratic and unhinged”. In that case, I reckon he’s the kinda person the uptight an’ pigheaded Bon would hate viscerally.)

(...Nah, somethin’s off. The rumors about Tsukinaga Leo don’t match up with his track record. Or rather, based on these documents, it’s not like he’s actually skippin’ out on his idol activities.)

(He’s been appearin’ in practically all of Knights’ numerous performances since the beginning of this year.)

(So the rumors about ‘im bein’ a chronic slacker are outdated...)

(Maybe the gossip about this other guy, Sena Izumi, who’s focusin’ on his career as a model overseas, is gettin’ muddled up in ‘em.)

(Feels like all the ill repute ‘bout not bein’ active enough as an idol, an’ all other kinda bad things, are made out to be Tsukinaga Leo’s fault, or rather —)

(It’s like he himself keeps doin’ outlandish stuff arbitrarily, perhaps in order to induce people to believe this.)

(Whenever they’ve got a fierce live battle goin' on against someone else, Tsukinaga Leo always stands in the frontline an’ incites the enemy.)

(Whether he’s doin’ it ‘cause he’s a violent, belligerent kinda guy, or if that’s just the pose he chooses ta strike in order to direct all o' the criticism to himself — )

(In other words, whether he’s doin’ it just ta protect his comrades ain’t somethin’ I can conclude just from these here documents.)

(“Knights are a buncha barbarians who do nothin’ but fight others, an’ Tsukinaga Leo’s the dictator who rules over ‘em all” — those are the kinda unfavorable rumors that’re heapin’ up.)

(Reckon that’s the most evocative kinda scene ta people, which is why it’s the one they show in photographs an’ put on articles ta get everyone riled up.)

(Even though Knights was s’pposed t’have undergone a change o’ generations, it’s still Tsukinaga Leo an’ not Bon who’s at the center of the conversation.)

(“Tsukinaga Leo is fattenin’ his own pockets by usin’ Suou Tsukasa like a puppet an’ suckin’ his vast fortune dry”, “He’s doin’ whatever he likes, usin’ his own comrade’s money”)

(— Those are the kinda completely unfounded rumors that are bein’ passed around as gospel.)

(But they’re the kinda accusations you’d scoff at the moment ya got ta know either of ‘em fellas.)

(As if Bon, who’s got nothin’ but his overblown pride an’ fastidiousness an’ not a sliver of endurance, would ever put up with bein’ made into someone else’s puppet.)

(‘Sides, if Bon was misusin’ the Suou fortune, us Oukawas would catch wind of it, beyond a shadow of a doubt.)

(That’s our rightful duty anyhow. Generation after generation, we’ve been the Sword of Damocles* hangin’ over the throne of the "immaculate" Suou family.)

(Throughout our long history, our status an’ disposition changed bit by bit, though.)

(Thanks ta the head house havin’ been in decline since around the Meiji Restoration**, eventually bein' reduced ta poverty-stricken aristocrats, we reached a point where we couldn’t just keep butterin’ ‘em up anymore.)

(...Anyway, this ain’t about us.)

(The issue’s Tsukinaga Leo. The public doesn’t know 'bout this yet, but that guy’s been involved in wrongdoings. Ya might even call ‘em criminal acts.)

(I’ve yet ta find any evidence for it, but seein’ as our vice prez said so, it can’t just be baseless, idle talk.)

(As the vice prez himself keeps insistin’, he’s a businessman at heart, so he wouldn’t invest in a prospect he doesn’t expect ta profit from.)

(Or maybe he’s just meddlin’ with me t’get his revenge for the hell my unit mate Rinne-han put ‘im through back durin’ MDM...?)

(Nah, he wouldn’t do such a childish tit-for-tat kinda thing.)

(An’ either way, I don’t gotta choice but ta do what the vice prez is askin’ of me this time — no matter how lil I trust the fella an’ how much he rubs me the wrong way.)

(Crazy:B can’t afford ta keep bein’ stopped in our tracks; we’re goin’ to the dogs without a lick o’ jobs.)

(We overcame hardship an’ gained freedom over our own lives. I don’t wanna believe we’re helplessly stuck at a dead end street now.)

(‘Sides… The guy in question, Tsukinaga Leo — bein’ Knights’ ex-leader in some way or another — still’s got a mighty influential voice even now.)

(His popularity among fans is through the roof, an’ he’s already renowned for his compositions even overseas.)

(Despite no longer holdin’ the title of “Ousama”, Tsukinaga Leo’s apparently still the heart of Knights — much to Bon’s displeasure, I reckon.)

(Ya can’t remove that heart entirely, but if it’s been afflicted by some disease, then ya gotta at least deal with it before it gets exacerbated.)

(An’ if Bon’s unable to do that from the inside, then I’ll put the scalpel to it from the outside instead.)

(By doin’ that, I’ll be able to indirectly protect Bon.)

(I’m not exactly the cream o’ the Oukawa crop...)

(But even if just by a lil bit, I feel ready ta fulfill the duty I’ve been assigned long before my birth… Bon.)

—————

* The Sword of Damocles is an anecdote about Damocles, who pandered to the king Dionysus by saying that he was truly fortunate to have all that power, upon which Dionysus offered the throne to him. Damocles accepted eagerly, but Dionysus hung a sword over the throne by a single horse’s tailhair to signify the danger that comes along with the power and authority of being king. Soon, Damocles begged to be allowed to leave the throne again, unable to bear the constant fear.

** Meiji Restoration