🦋 KOKONUI 🦋

Before I let you read, I want to remind you that this is only MY interpretation. It is written quite emotionally in some moments (mainly in the comments to chapter 159), because it really hurts me that most people do not even try to look at them differently and blame everything on Coco, deifying and pitying Inupi

A friendly reminder: other interpretations have the right to exist, no one imposes anything. Please do not forget: the beauty of the relationship of these two is that they allow different ways of understanding their history.

P. S English isn't my native language.

Enjoy!

• ────── ✾ ────── •

• Kokonoi Hajime — 10
• Seishu Inui — 10
• Akane Inui — 15
• 
  

The acquaintance with their childhood begins with chapter 158. Wakui gives the reader information that Koko and Inupi are not only best friends, but also childhood friends (i.e. people who spent a lot of time together and watched each other grow), and it is given for a reason. This suggests that these two have been strength and support for each other for a long time and have built a strong friendly relationship.

Also in their story there is a figure of Seishu's sister — Akane. We see Koko in love, who pays attention to her and spends his free time in her company. But is his love really so strong? Despite the fact that Coco says "I've always loved her", his feelings are hardly synonymous with" true love", which is fully realized and is not fleeting.

Koko was only ten years old, at this age, sexuality is just beginning to form. Children are direct. They are not afraid to look stupid or ridiculous in the eyes of other people, so they are extremely straightforward in expressing their feelings, but children's love is unstable and quickly fades. This is explained by the emotionality of children, which is just being formed, and interests and attachments change as they develop. So it would be absolutely not surprising if in a couple of months (at best years) Koko stops feeling this for Akane.

Akane just understands the essence of Koko's feelings well, but at the same time does not make "sudden movements": she accepts his feelings, but also does not allow them to fool his head. This shows her as a very kind and wise girl who does not want the first experience of falling in love to be painful, because the only and unrequited love from adolescence can make it difficult to "switch" to another person and subsequently limit the possibilities of creating a strong connection. It was for this reason that she did not allow Koko to do what he planned. (Kissed her)

She says that he cant do this and " kiss someone you really like". But Koko is very persistent and Akane asks the question "Even if I'm older than you?"

After this action of Akane, Koko thought that it was because of his age, so he gave her a promise that when they grow up, nothing will change (He will liked her as before and soon they will get married, he will protect her forever), But Akane meant something completely different — the fickleness of his feelings. She didn't mean that it was about age. But still, she treats his feelings and promises carefully, but does not take them seriously.

After Koko's promise to "protect her forever", the Inui family's house begins to burn. Too little time has passed for him to be able to forget so easily his own words that he said to the object of sympathy just five minutes ago. After he realizes that he could not keep his promise, he falls into a state of shock. This can be understood by the tachycardia and the expression on Koko's face.

I would like to add that such a reaction (shock and a desire to save Akane) is completely natural and NORMAL. A person who is bound by a promise to his love, the first thing he will think about is her, and not about his best friend, no matter how cynical it may be. Don't forget that he is only ten years old. The fact that he went to save his love, and not his best friend, does not mean that Koko did not care about Inupi and he did not appreciate him. Koko is not a person for whom the word "friendship" is an empty sound.

After the incident with the fire, we have a nearly burned (but still alive) Akane, the injured Inupi, and also Koko, who takes on responsibility that he should not have taken, because it is beyond the strength of a 10-year-old child.

Koko begins to intensively search for money, study ways of earning money and even descend to dirty things. This is where his "plunge into darkness" begins, but so far only with pure intentions — to raise enough money to pay medical bills. But after Akane's death, Koko loses not only all morality, but also his own self-value.

When Koko finds out that Akane has died, he again feels responsible, because he could not earn the necessary amount, although he swore to protect. The realization of the fact of his own uselessness at this moment will play a key role in his life.

• ────── ✾ ────── •

• Kokonoi Hajime — 14/15 years old
• Seishu Inui — 14/15 years old

After the death of Seishu's sister, about five years pass and Wakui shows us a scene with a kiss. Before proceeding to it, I want to remind you about the words Akane said shortly before the fire, and which made an impression on little Koko. I think that they can be considered as a "promise" or "principle" that he will be guided by in the future, because Koko agreed with her judgment, which means "I will only kiss those I like" and in fact gave his word.

Now we can move on. I want to draw your attention to the fact that in the kiss scene, Koko pronounces the name "Inupi" and moves directly towards him. He KNEW who he was kissing and this COULD NOT be a projection of a failed kiss with Akane, because he was fully aware of who was in front of him.

(I have several interpretations of this scene, which I will write about in a separate post, but now I will take the most likely one in my opinion).

Koko kissed Seishu because he realized that he needed to move forward and he could finally let go of Akane, realizing his feelings for Inupi. The nervous breakdown that occurred immediately after the kiss scene happened just because of a sharp understanding of the fact of fading feelings for Akane, to whom he swore love to the grave, as well as the repeated realization that he could not keep the promises he made to her, except for the "third promise\principle" (see above).

The reasons why Inupi was convinced that Koko sees Akane in him

1)He knew that Koko had confused him with Akane when he took him out of the house;

2)he believed that Koko needed the money only to save his sister. In his opinion, when Akane died, the mission should be closed. But Koko continued to earn money, as if "obsessed by the spirit of a dead sister" who can no longer be saved, so he "did not believe" and "did not accept" her death;

3)most likely, he heard Koko say Akane's name after the kiss, which further strengthened his opinion about Koko's obsession;

4)"survivor's syndrome" and their own lack of confidence in their value.

For Inupi, this list was sufficient. Perhaps that's why he became more feminine, because he thought that by "playing along" with Koko, he would compensate for the price for staying alive instead of Akane. In his case, it was disastrous not to see other options, because it brought them both a lot of pain that could have been avoided. Because the fact that Koko stayed with Inupi, just because he is Seishu, and not anyone else, remains a fact that Wakui poked us an infinite number of times.

Why Koko never saw Akane in Inui from the very beginning.

When Akane died, he REALIZED that she was dead, because he literally tells her "You can rest easy now, you know?". This kid is fully aware and understands the situation! Koko was never obsessed with Akane, he was obsessed with money.

In this chapter (159) someone saw how his sad " akaneakaneakane"? no?Me too. Because all the time Koko's thoughts is moneymoneymoney and Koko couldn't stop himself anymore.

His only light was Inupi, which did not allow him to completely go to the "dark side".

In chapter 92, Inui wonders why Koko is still with him. Is it because of the promise? (Koko made a promise to always protect Akane, and since Inui believes that Koko sees Akane in him, he thinks that Koko is therefore always with him. He thinks that Koko sees him as Akane whom he promised to protect)

But Koko says that he "forgot about the promise." This means that he follows Seishu not because he looks like his sister, not because he wants to stay close to him because his sister's promise to Inupi. This promise does not apply in any way and has long been broken. Koko had already moved on, releasing her.

Probably because of the "survivor's syndrome" and his own insecurity, Inupi wants to remind himself that Koko is still with him and he is safe, and therefore in chapter 107 he repeats his question, but Koko's answer remains unchanged. He stays with Inui because he cares about him and wants to protect him, because Koko has already lost his first love, he does not want to lose his best friend as well.

This is too obviously confirmed when Koko, even despite the absurdity of Inupi's decision, still began to support and help him in realizing his dream with Black Dragons. And not just in words, but in actions. Coco was not sorry to sacrifice his life for the happiness of Inupi (not Akane). Taiju agreed to deal with Black Dragons, only because of the fact that Koko will be under his power, and not just because it is wonderful and cool for him to be the head of a gang.

Taiju didn't care about such "children's games" at all, he was cared about Koko, who could make money out of thin air and Hajime was aware of this.

And even Tenjuki where everything is solved.

Koko went to Tenjuki not because he needed money, as many people mistakenly believe for some reason, but because Mucho threatened Inupi's safety, literally exposing his face to be beaten in front of Koko. Hajime wanted to keep Inupi safe no matter what. A little later, Wakui confirms this through the words of Takemichi:

" Coco-kun sacrificed himself for us".

Mucho also returns to Coco the idea that he has no other option to live this life, except to be a financial genius in criminal gangs. And Koko understands that Inupi will be in danger from time to time if he stays close to him, because it is Seishu that is his weak point, which such people as Mucho do not hesitate to hit.

Wakui showed us Inui's and Koko's loyal and kind attitude to each other, how close and devoted they have become, as well as how much each of them values the other. The most beautiful thing about this part is that Seishu felt that Koko needed this help; He felt that right now is the very turning point when it needs to be "bucked up"; he felt that Takemichi is able to "guide" Koko.

But it was too late to decide something, because Koko had already made his choice to follow the "wrong path" to the very end. (Chapter 142)

In chapter 159, we see how Koko calls Inupi to go with him to the Tenjuki. He offers him this option, because he has not yet realized that Inui has found those people who can ensure his safety, except for him. Therefore, he is still trying to protect Inupi, only in a different place. Up to this point, Inupi had only protected Koko, and there were no such shots as Takemichi Hanagaki in his field of vision. But the train started moving when Koko saw the determination in Inupi's eyes when he mentioned Takemichi, and even in such a loud context: "I've entrusted my life to Takemichi "

In the next scene, we see how Koko got angry at Inupi when he said: " when did you start getting obsessive over 'Akane' " but this happened not because "the truth hit". Its just because Inupi behaves as if he knows what is in Koko's head, but in fact is wrong. Akane has long since left his head, but Inupi thinks otherwise.

Koko says that the only obsessed person here is Inupi, thereby completely denying his words about Akane. There is absolutely no reason not to believe the words of Coco, given all the information presented above. You may think that he is lying or that the reason for his anger is completely different — your choise. My interpretation remains the same, because in my understanding of the personality of Kokonoi Hajime is the most likely option.

They beat each other's asses and Inui screams for Koko to wake up and realize that Akane is dead.

He's been awake for a long time. He knows she's dead. Koko does not earn money for this, but because he no longer knows what his value is. He was noticed by authoritative figures and used, so he continued to earn money. Koko has become obsessed with them and he admits it, not because Hajime still wanted to save the dead Akane. He is obsessed with money, because in the process of searching for those 40 million, Koko absolutely lost his value (yes, forgive me for repeating). I mentioned that the realization of the fact of its uselessness will be a key event in the formation of Coco. This is true, because Koko, earning money, believes that he was "useful to other people" ( That's why we saw panels with Izana and Taiju with his dialogue about money)

After that, Inupi still stubbornly continues to say that he should stop seeing Akane, but in fact this is such a cruel farce, because even the title of the chapter says that Akane has long since left Koko's head and he KNOWS that she is dead. ( 159 — I know in my head) He resigned himself and accepted her death. He even said himself " Akane San died..I know that very well".

Many people have questions about the page where Koko touches Inui's face and Wakui shows a panel where Akane is in Inui's place. Many have mistaken this for what Koko sees in Inui Akane. Which is really fucking bullshit. He just said right now that he knows she's dead, what else do you people need?

It is only at this moment that Koko clearly realizes that there is no way back and he has steadily embarked on the "wrong way". That's why he asks the question "Would she get angry with the same expression on her face?". Because Akane's opinion, when she was still alive, was definitely very important to him. If the closest person now looks at him like this, then how would she look at him?

Their paths with Inupi diverge already in this chapter, because Coco understands that they are on different sides that do not intersect: they are those who fight with different ideals and with different goals. and so he says " I can't go back anymore. You are an enemy now "

The main reason for the separation of Seishu and Koko was the determination of Inupi and Takemichi in the battle against the Tenjiku. In Takemichi and Toman. Koko saw those who could make Inupi happy and ensure his safety. With the Toman, Inupi is finally fighting for what he believes in and for what he has wanted for so long (the spirit of the first generation of Black Dragons in Takemichi), and Koko is putting him in danger, so the best solution was to just leave. It was certainly difficult for both of them, but they understand that they will not be able to move on if they are together, because they are at different poles. Koko finally says that he will go his own way, literally plunging further "into darkness", because after the timeskip we see Koko in the most dangerous group in Japan. This suggests that it was Inupi who was the very factor that stopped Koko from taking the "last step". But now Inui has his own road and Coco wants him not to turn off it. They thank each other: Koko for the purpose in life, Inupi for everything that he had and has, trying to convey to Koko that he did not use him for money, as the others did.

The chapter of Inupi and Coco's parting is called "It's been real". Their feelings for each other were real, but they can't move together yet. But I believe that they will definitely be fine..

Thanks for reading it.

The article was processed by the group " All of my life I have been suffering."

Manual translation - me.

you guys make sure to check this out!!! literally one of my favorite articles in this fandom. was gonna translate it myself but someone beat me to it - and im glad they did! a fresh view of the kokonui relationship warms my heart. i love them <3