#ooops. )

This monologue was nicely written and well done by MikiShin

This whole scene was unnerving. Beginning to end.

And the part that goes from Kyo's direct POV? Nicely done.

"You stayed in my mind this whole time"

It's clear that killing Souji likely out of rage is something which haunts Kyo to this day versus everything else he did to other people. It's also crazy that he's actually had the last laugh. Imagine if someone who's supposed to be dead, just...reappeared. As far as Kyo is concerned at first I imagine, this is a corpse talking to him.

I also wonder if Kyo hates early mornings in his profile because he's haunted by that moment and is woken up by his nightmares? (the fact he went over early in the morning via a lift from Yoshimura speaks to a special exception maybe?)

I feel like Kyo was onto something though, mentioning how Souji seemed different from how he was in the past. I wonder in what sense though. Souji currently seems rather...out of it. But the past glimpses he seemed a little less so? At least with "more" energy it seems?

Though it may be the memory etched in Kyo's mind is Souji "final" moments before he drops into the river at the base of the waterfall. There, from the short glimpse we had in episode 38, he's unhinged and he's grinning all the way down as he falls. It could be because he's overwhelmed by the chills (well, pleasure.) he's feeling being in presence of Kyo and likely on the receiving end of his fury and rage.

The first family...

So I thought the girl was an older woman in the first flash we had in episode 38, but from the quick glimpse we get...she's in what appears to be a school uniform and her hand is bloodied. The man is very likely dead.

The next part of this story is going to be very sad.

I do think they may be Nirinsou 1.0. I'm curious (and dreading) what we'll learn about them in part 3.

Kyo Sawashiro? Yes, this is Nietzsche calling. How are you?

You know what else I loved? It was how ruthless Kyo was. (Or tried to be, in spite of everything)

Everything was so calculated, so precise; even in the face of new information where he learned he was a wanted man, along with confirmation of the facts.

This next bit may be silly observation, but if you observe Kyo's reaction during this scene with Reina, his eyes communicate so much more — and how that new information makes what he's about to do, significantly easier for him. He wordlessly processes it, without uttering a single "I see". And he knows it and cruelly uses that to his benefit.

Other series would've had the character express slight shock at the new information. Here Kyo is able to confirm what has happened during the time since his confrontation with Souji—as their meeting started the morning after Rose was Cold hearted—infer some answers as to why Lilamon was under Souji's control, and what the mastermind could be up to. He's likely not in complete control, but it does make everything he's about to do much easier, but also harder for him.

His eyes do betray him later on though, which I thought was a nice touch. He's committed to following through with this act (?), to give Reina, Makoto and Tomoro an alibi to protect them from the MCP by pushing them away....until the moment comes when he says he's no longer part of the family. His gaze averts and he just faltered a bit I felt?

I mention Nietzsche mainly because Kyo's actions only somewhat remind me of of a section from Beyond the Good and Evil which goes:

“battle not with monsters, lest you become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes into you”

I can only see him sink further before he is guided back, though. (disclaimer: I am not a philosopher but did study sociology and Nietzche albeit surface-level I felt )

Apologies to any philosophy grads who stumble on this and facepalm, but Kyo's actions reminded me of it, somewhat.

Morally Grey Kawarazaki gets annoyed the WU is basically interferring in his job, says screw it, and do this his own way

Hahaha! I'm glad one of my theories came to pass about Kawarazaki. He's not about to take down the system--far from it-- but I'm glad he's willing to work with the system to help the kids. I also have been wondering if for some time he's been intervening as a senior representative within the Ministry of Civil Protection to ensure his team gets custody as much as possible over the World Union itself. Maybe as some kind of insurance? Or to confirm something later?

(I also have a headcanon bit of dialogue that Yoshimura cashed in on a favour Kawarazaki owed him. Especially since this scene seems to imply that someone explained to Kawarazaki in the hours since the bounty went out that it was Kyo acting alone. It couldn't have been Kyo, for obvious reasons....but it could've been Yoshimura)

Terrible News! The person you hate is actually [probably] right [and the only one who can help]

Well, well, well. Klay will have a role this arc and I'm very intrigued to see how far he'll reveal things to the kids. My guess is that he will be the insider POV we'll hear from about Kyo during his time with the Five Stars.

Finally! We get to see his eyes as a Five Star!!

And he looks so... handsomeandcoolcough...tired in that shot.

BONUS: Thank goodness for the Mushroom Gang

Yeah. That's it. Thank goodness. T_T)

Preview for Episode 40....Oh no.

Welp. I'm worried.

I do bet it'll be an amazing episode, but they won't let us leave this flashback without some immense suffering I don't think.

“argentina, though,” you say, leaning back in your chair. the coffee shop bustles around you -- autumn has always been a coffee-shop kind of season. it’s the aesthetic, maybe, scarves and coffee mugs really do just look good together. 

“i heard it’s beautiful there.” 

he nods, his eyes trained on his own coffee, poured into a pastel green cup. you almost smile at the coincidence -- it’d match his old highschool jersey. 

“yeah, i heard so too. and i’ll get to be with some of the best players in the world.” 

you nod along with his words, bring your cup to your lips, sip at the lukewarm drink. you’d ordered pastries, but they lay nearly untouched on the table between the pair of you, like some unbridgeable gap, the chocolate croissant a line of demarkation -- thou shalt not pass this line. 

do not go to the other side. 

“i think you’ll be great.” 

a flash of his signature smirk flickers across his lips, and his shoulders roll back, as if relaxing into the familiar posture gives him comfort. 

“i know i’ll be great.” 

ah, there he is, that old darling arrogance of his. 

but it’s a momentary thing. you blink and it’s gone. he sighs, working a hand through his hair with a soft frown. who’d ever have known that one oikawa tooru was so terrible at saying no when it mattered. you can see him hesitating, searching for the right words, the right moments. you know they won’t come -- there’s no such thing. 

not went it comes to breaking someone’s heart. 

“did they at least pay for business class for your flight there?” you ask, and he laughs, nodding, finally looking up at you. and his eyes are soft, almost pleading. 

thank you, they might be saying, for saving me. 

“that they did. no expense spared. i’m pretty sure i get to stay in a pretty swanky hotel till they find an apartment for me, too.” 

you grin, “wow, you must be really good or something.” 

his laughter is loud, round, full -- he presses a hand to his stomach, his shoulders shaking. he makes a show of pushing his hair back, leaning forward with a smirk -- you know the one, all quirked eyebrows and hitched lips -- you can feel your heartstrings catch on the edge of his mouth as it twists up. 

“yeah, i’m kind of a big deal.” 

you crinkle your nose, let the laughter roll through you even as you roll your eyes. 

“well, let me know when you get there. send me pictures of the swanky hotel.” 

the moment breaks, like a bubble bursting. one perfect moment, playing pretend -- as if all this were scripted, planned, as if the entire thing had been written out since day one (it wasn’t, it hasn’t been, he never said anything about leaving). 

“i -- i will.” 

it’s this more than anything that tells you he’s not getting out of this unscathed either. oikawa tooru does not stutter. he does not break. 

until he does. 

when he leaves that day, he leans down to kiss you, lets his lips linger. you fancy you can feel them shaking against yours, but he presses in tighter, and kisses you till you forget what it feels like to kiss anyone else but him. 

“it’s not like it’s forever,” he says, finally, when you break apart, his breath warm against your skin. 

you shake your head, no. it’s not like it’s forever. but it might be. 

he never says i love you. you never do either. 

but he does come back. he does -- and when he does, you’re no longer the person he left all those years ago, but you’re still you. 

“you’re... the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” he says, earnestly, daringly. hopefully, maybe. 

you smile, press your lips, sip at your coffee. outside, the spring is just blossoming from beneath the thick blankets of winter sleep, people just shedding their puffer coats for lighter jackets and thinner scarves. 

“and you left anyway,” you say. 

oikawa sighs, swallows, nods. 

and when he smiles, it’s full of a bittersweet nostalgia, a heartbroken kind of thing. and you realize that yours wasn’t the only heart he broke that day he left -- but maybe it had just taken him longer to realize.