I love thinking about the intricacies of that period in time between Teikō and freshman year when Seijūrō's second personality was in control.
There's really not much of a difference between the two Seijūrōs. One is just far more... brutal, shall we say. And entitled. Not in a bratty, spoiled rich kid kind of way, but in a “I have a reputation to uphold and an undefeated streak of victories I've accrued in every aspect of my life; whether it's in academia, the sport of my choosing, or in musical artistry such as my mastery over both the piano and violin. Thus, I am naturally superior to my peers/contemporaries because no one has been able to best me. No one has been able to prove that they are better, smarter, or more skilled than I am. And I will do everything in my power to remain on this pedestal I am beholden to” kind of way.
And by everything, he means burning bridges or cutting ties with people who don't serve his ambitions, putting other people in their place when they dare to question him, and being unafraid to use force when someone belittles him or acts as though they are his equal (no one is).
And in line with this, I also love thinking about Akashi and Midorima's rivalry in almost everything that they do.
Shōgi, chess, gō, basketball, academics... The list goes on, and you can make a case that the rivalry is a bit one-sided because Midorima has always been the one trying to one-up or get ahead of Akashi, wanting to humble him for a change and be the one to introduce him to the concept of loss, while Akashi just welcomes all of his efforts and ready opposition with open arms and a calm smile.
And there's a niche intimacy in that particular dynamic. In Midorima disbelieving from the get-go that Akashi is as infallible as he makes himself appear to be and wanting to prove it to him. Not to humiliate or embarrass him, but maybe as a way to get closer to him. To coax him down from the pedestal he was Pavlov'ed to stay put on and make Akashi recognize his weaknesses—his humanity.
Midorima has always acknowledged Akashi for the exceptional individual he was, but he never viewed him as perfect like other people did. Maybe as close to perfection as a person could be capable of being, but not flawless. Like he could do no wrong. Because he could. And to deny him the space to commit errors or lapses in judgment was dehumanizing. As if perfection was the sole condition to his existence. As if he was no good otherwise.
He intuited before anyone else did the possible existence of a second personality within Akashi. When it finally surfaced, he probably felt vindicated more than the actual shock the rest of their teammates felt. And still, he never treated him any differently after the fact.
He still continues to oppose him. He still plainly states his aspirations of wanting to beat him and serve him his first loss, and it fascinates me how despite everything, Akashi's alter does not treat Midorima with the same level of hostility he reserves for those who openly challenge him.
Almost as if with Midorima, it's become a dance that they do, merely another game that he enjoys and indulgently prods Midorima to keep on playing with him, to keep on trying. He will still minimize and condescend Midorima's attempts all the while, but their rivalry is nothing short of a special and unique connection in Akashi's eyes. One he doesn't mind stoking instead of snuffing out completely.
Note/s: Did you guys know that red + green = brown? I learned it from that JP Tiktok trend about mixing colors and I thought it was neat cuz brown is actually my favorite 🤎 dividers by @/cafekitsune
