I love pretty things

When I saw Ichiya for first time I laughed a bit, because Senya looks so smol near him, even if Ichi isn't much older.

lil eepy beam

Ichiya looks better – healthier, neater. And we see how strong he is for his age and how good his fighting technique is.

So I thought, if his family were some kind of inspired by this ideology of Honki Persons and teach him about it?

His father could have been a warrior, and would have trained little Ichiya in fighting techniques, warrior morale.

It often happens in the media that friendship and love (platonic or not) between men in fights, rivalry. Anyone who can equal you or try to surpass you forces you to become better. The stronger your friend, the stronger you are, and vice versa.

And also, it seems to me that his father said, that it is better to die at the hands of a strong opponent than the miserable death of a coward. Years in war take their toll on a man's morality.

Not that this is very good, but for men of that time, who were always in wars, it might make sense.

But why was Ichiya on the street? I think, his family was killed. The same people who killed Ichiya and Senya in the future. But little Ichiya did not understand the reasons for the murder of his family.

Ichiya was the only one left alive, and, frightened, he decided to become stronger so as not to be killed/die so dishonorably. And since childhood, he tried to become stronger by fighting stronger people - we see this in the episode where he defeats that huge man.

So when Senya wanted to be like Ichiya and start becoming better in fight, Ichiya counted it. It was good – becoming stronger, and he liked to be someone, who is «stronger» now.

But when Senya didn't fight harder against him? He considered this an insult. So he doesn't think Ichiya is strong enough. It made him angry because what was the point? So he acted harder, fought more aggressively, to bring back the heat of battle with his friend. Allegory of anxious-preoccupied attachment, kekekeke. Because how can he become Honki Person if even his close friend and best rival doesn't consider him worthy of a good fight?

And when Ichiya fell ill, the thought that his father taught him arose in his head - a miserable death. And it is much better to die at the hands of a strong opponent. Who was Ichiya's strong opponent? Right!

So, unable to recover, he chose another path, which he considered better than a death from illness. But was it really better?

The fact that his friend didn't want to actually fight to the death hurt him. Again, for the same reason - Ichiya considered it a deep disrespect from Senya.