#hellhoppers

- Okaerinasai, aniki.

I think the biggest thing to remember when it comes to both Yaguruma and then subsequently Kageyama wearing the chains together is When It Happens, because it doesn’t happen for no reason, theres’s something specific that sets it off.

It happens not long after all of This:

it happens after Yaguruma is given the chance to take up TheBee again by Tadakoro, something that he adamently refuses to do, saying he’s found his purpose/enjoyment in living in the hell that he’s chosen for himself.

But Kageyama, who still hasn’t completely lost his faith in being heroic, in doing things on the side of Light, isn’t as keen on just giving up this chance like Yaguruma is, so he instead rushes towards it. He takes back TheBee, and it goes about as well as expected (read: he fails at it yet again.) And afterwards, when he’s laying on the ground defeated, he reaches out to Yaguruma again, the only person who still looks at him as an equal even in the aftermath of failure, and basically asks if he can fix things for him.

And the thing that kills me is in that moment, after Kageyama’s defeat with TheBee deciding he still isn’t worthy of it anymore, we see this happpen:

TheBee literally presents itself to Yaguruma again. The offer of "you can be the one to use me again, I find you worthy once more" is on the table. And he Still refuses it.

And I think what kills me with this is that TheBee here ends up saying two different things at once in this One scene, for both Kageyama and Yaguruma. To Yaguruma, watching Kageyama try out TheBee again, trying to play the hero on the side of Light, and once again failing so hard at it, it kinda ends up reaffirming what he was already believing, that the two of them are in hell and there’s no point to even Trying to play the hero, because it ends badly every time they try. They will always be failures, so why try to change it? They’ll never live up to Tendou and the others, so it’s better to stsy together in the darkness.

And yet, by the very nature of TheBee offering itself to Yaguruma again too, it’s also contradicting that entire notion. It’s basically saying to Yaguruma’s face "Are you really so set in those ideals? Are you sure you’ve really killed off that part of yourself that wants to do good?"

And it ends up being Right in that, because what does he do the very next scene??

He goes out on his own as Kickhopper not only to defend Kageyama for getting his ass beat, but also to help Kagami and Tendou to defeat a Worm together.

And it’s something he clearly doesn’t think super well of himself for doing, because while Kgaeyama is happy to see him after all is said and done, he’s clearly annoyed with both Kageyama and himself for the whole thing:

He’s starting to see that Maybe, Kageyama isn’t as wrong as he wants to think he is, and that having him around is actively challenging the ideals of darkness and hell that he was fine and comfortable being in all this time.

Which then leads us of course to The Chains:

Yeah, the chains are funny/weird as hell and quite a reaction to thinking "hm, I’m failing in my edgy ways, I need to reinforce my beliefs somehow so this drastic measure seems like it’ll help do just that." But when you actually take all the context into mind, it kinda Makes Sense why he does it (and why Kageyama then joins him, because he seeks approval and acceptance and he knows following Yaguruma’s example will get him that.)