Rearranging Fate | Tokyo Revengers x OC

61 • Baby Steps

"Inupi," Kokonoi called out as soon as Reina was out of sight, waiting for the blond to hum. "Akane-san...I never regretted saving you from that fire," he confessed, glaring at the asphalt even when he could feel Inui's eyes on him. "The only thing I regret is not being able to save Akane-san."

He wasn't lying, though he wasn't being fully honest either.

"Koko, I—"

"Rei was right," the money-making genius said. "Money is comforting. I've always thought that if I had money, if I had more and more and more, if I had enough to buy the world, I could do anything." If he had just enough, he could've changed something. "Akane-san died because I couldn't get enough money for her treatment. If I had more...but no amount of money can bring back the dead. I...I don't think I can ever accept that."

Inui honestly didn't know how to process his confession. He had always thought Kokonoi only stuck around because Inui Seishu looked like a carbon copy of Inui Akane, his older sister whom his friend loved so much. It wasn't a secret to him that to save Akane from the critical burns the house fire gave her, Kokonoi learned how to make a huge amount of money in a short time, morals and legality be damned. But Akane's life faded away before the money could be collected. Thus, Kokonoi's obsession with money grew.

"Does she...does Rei remind you of...?"

"God, no," denied the boy with a snort. "Akane-san was nothing like Rei. Akane-san was kind and beautiful and understanding and..." Gritting his teeth, Kokonoi palmed his face as he laughed bitterly. "And I fucking failed to keep my promise to her. I promised I'd protect her but...but I couldn't do shit. If only I had more money...I know it's impossible but I..." He scoffed. "A wallet, huh? What a fitting name."

Reina's breakdown affected them more than they'd like to admit. They just wanted to do their president a favor and give her a bike, for fuck's sake, not spiral down their personal hell. It wasn't like they were able to help Reina since she excused herself to get some fresh air, her words, not theirs. She practically left them with their own demons, and they had left her with hers.

"I've always thought you stayed because of your promise with Akane...because I look like her."

Gosh, they sure were off at a rough start. Inui didn't think the path of reviving Black Dragon would be easy, but he didn't expect so much emotional damage at the beginning. Then again, he supposed it was better to let everything loose at the beginning than have everything crushed when they were nearing the end.

Snorting, Kokonoi shook his head. "I thought you wanted me to stay so you could use me to rebuild Black Dragon." Sighing, he let his arm fall to his side, keeping his eyes on the road. "You're drowning because you refuse to swim to the surface? You chose to stay underwater because it's comforting? Because you can hide from the truth?" He sneered at himself. "Who the fuck do I think I am to say that to her?"

Biting his lips, Inui moved to stand in front of Kokonoi, forcing him to look him in the eyes. "Even if it was by mistake, you saved me. You saved my life and stuck by my side. I'm such a useless person, but you still supported me. You could've left me alone and lived differently, but you stayed by my side," he stated, conveying every ounce of emotion in his words. "Because of that, I don't mind dying for you. I've never once...I've never once thought of using you for my own goals, not even when we were under Taiju."

Staring at Inui with wide eyes, Kokonoi couldn't help but feel like his entire world had crashed down. Inui said he would die for him, but Kokonoi knew that if he could really turn back time, he would save Akane and let Inui die. "I can't accept it," he admitted. "I just can't bring myself to accept that Akane-san really died...that I failed to protect her...I don't want to accept it."