#misumi

[saezurubirds]

Unpopular opinion: Misumi is Yashiro's stepfather version 2.0

I know Misumi is a polarizing character in Saezuru, and I may get flack for posting this. However, I could not ignore the parallels he has with Yashiro's stepfather. Both men provided shelter for Yashiro, but at the cost of Yashiro's safety and freedom (his stepfather r**ing him; Misumi's favoritism putting Yashiro in harms way). Both men use Yashiro for their own purposes. Finally, they manipulate Yashiro into doing things he doesn't want by threatening to hurt someone Yashiro cares about (his stepfather threatening to tell Yashiro's mom about him being a "bad boy" if he tells her about the abuse; Misumi threatening to take away Kageyama's clinic if Yashiro doesn't join the Yakuza). It's so sad that Yashiro has been used and manipulated by the father figures in his life.

[barefeetwiki]

Ellie Misumi

[cosmicjoke]

What do you think of Misumi? I know people usually love him, and I know he helped Yashiro and cares about him, but he gives me the creeps. Maybe I’m the only one in saezuru fandom who feels like this.

That scene where he grabs Yashiro’s butt and think “what a bad son” or something like that, honestly, make my stomach turn. I don’t know why I find him so creepy.

I love your posts, thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.

Hi there, and thank you very much!

Believe me, you aren't alone in your dislike for Misumi. I actually wrote a whole post about how I think he has the potential to become the big bad of Saezuru, which you can read here: https://www.tumblr.com/cosmicjoke/673516859979644928/misumi-the-villain?source=share

But for a quicker answer, I agree with you that he's a creep. His "care" for Yashiro is very much rooted in possessiveness, and while a lot of people go on and on about how much he helped Yashiro, in my view, he pretty much ruined Yashiro's life beyond what it already was. He literally manipulated him and forced him into becoming a Yakuza, completely against his will. It was just another form of abuse, another adult and authority figure taking advantage of and using Yashiro. He constantly undermines Yashiro's agency, and reinforces Yashiro's negative view of himself by insisting to him that he can't survive out there in regular society as a regular citizen. He knows Yashiro wants to escape the Yakuza, and he routinely tries to undercut those attempts by purposefully playing on Yashiro's fear and insecurities about his own worth as a human being. How anyone could see Misumi as a positive figure or influence in Yashiro's life is beyond me. That's not even including the fact that he's raped Yashiro and sexually abused him, along with so many other members of the Yakuza. So, to anyone who tries to tell me that Misumi is just some lovable father figure to Yashiro and that he "saved him", I say later. It's ridiculous. He's just another abusive person in Yashiro's life, and his possessiveness and the way he treats and regards Yashiro as an object he owns, I think, might end up being a huge obstacle for Yashiro and Doumeki down the road.

Anyway, so yeah, as you can see, you aren't alone, haha. I don't like Misumi at all, to be honest.

[tonguetiedraven]

Birthday Wish

“You’re making a mess!” Yukio worried, and Nagatomo looked over at  Mimumi with a raised eyebrow. The older exorcist gave a knowing nod as Rin hissed back a, “Shut up! I’ve got it!”

“They’re making something.” He said sagely.

Nagatomo frowned. “They’re not using the stove, are they?”

“Does it matter? We’ll have to eat it either way.”

“Yeah, but… Rin.”

Misumi paled. “Surely Yukio will keep watch?”

Kyodo appeared around the corner. “What’s that smell?” He frowned at seeing the other two exorcists huddled together. “Guys?”

“They’re making something,” Misumi explained.

Kyodo’s entire face scrunched up. “To eat? Not eggs. Please tell me it’s not eggs.”

Nagatomo looked entirely unimpressed. “Why would they be making eggs today?”

Kyodo looked between them. “Today? What’s today?”

“Seriously?” Misumi asked before shaking his head and peering back around the door. He squeaked and pulled back, pressing himself back against the wall with a look like he’d seen a decaying Demon King in their kitchen.

“Misumi?” Nagatomo encouraged, shuffling a little closer like he wanted to peer around the door as well.

“Think they saw me. But… whatever they were pouring in the pan was lumpy. Lumpy and green.”

“Green?” Kyodo mouthed while Nagatomo looked towards the hall.

“You better not be spying on us!” Rin shouted, sounding furious while Yukio muttered about the temperature and time and rain.

“No one is spying!” Nagatomo called, giving Misumi an annoyed look for getting them caught. “We’re keeping watch.”

Rin appeared in the door way, covered in a thick green batter with a wild scowl and his hands on his hips. His apron was on backwards and tied in a messy knot and there was something sticky in his hair and on his arm, and his blue eyes were fierce.

“Well?” He demanded.

“Well what?” Kyodo asked.

“Where is he!”

Misumi spluttered and Nagatomo sighed. He didn’t know how any of them managed to keep any secrets with how shit they all were at lying and thinking up stories on the go.

“He’s going to be back in the next hour. He’s not here yet.”

Yukio yelped inside the kitchen and appeared around the corner with messed up glasses and a worriedly flushed face.

“What? But—“

“That’s enough time. It only takes forty minuets for the cake to bake.”

Nagatomo’s eyes turned to Misumi’s in worry. That was long for a cake, wasn’t it?

“But we’ve got to clean up!”

Rin rolled his eyes. “You worry too much. They’ll help.”

“We will?” Kyodo asked, looking like he regretted coming down the hall.

“’Course ya will!” Rin marched behind them and gave them a push into the kitchen with no idea he shouldn’t be able to push them anywhere.

Calling it a mess was underselling the sheer destruction the twins had caused. There was flour and sugar and egg and butter and milk and dye everywhere. On the counter and the fridge, on the cabinet and ceiling, on the stove and the sink. At least a metric ton of sugar had been dropped on the floor and was gritting under foot, and they would be blessed if they only got ants from this.

“Yukio’s right,” Nagatomo declared. “We’re in trouble.”

Rin huffed. “That’s quitter talk. I’ll get the ceiling.”

Misumi caught him around the middle and hauled him off the counter. “You’ll cover the floor. Kyodo will handle the ceiling.”

“I will?!”

“You will,” Nagatomo said, pressing a cloth into his hand. “Quickly.”

— — 🎂◝(ᵔᵕᵔ)◜🎂 — —

Shirou knew the minute he got home that something was happening. The hall was quiet, and this place was only ever quiet when something was up. There weren’t any report cards or tests due, and Shirou hadn’t been accosted by any complaining parents, so it wasn’t a fight, which meant it had to be something because of today.

It always baffled him a little how they all kept up with it so effortlessly when he could never get any of them (except Yukio) to keep track of anything else.

There was a strange scent in the air a little like burnt sugar that had him thinking Rin had left something in the microwave for too long again, and there was a distinct tension in the air that had him strolling a bit louder so they’d know he arrived.

There was a squeak, a hurried mumble of words he couldn’t distinguish, the scrape of feet, and the light in the kitchen went off, leaving that end of the hall dark.

Definitely a surprise then.

Shirou took a bit more time than he needed going those last few feet, and then he was pushing the door to the kitchen open and making a show of reaching for the light.

He flipped it on, and immediately found himself assaulted by bright light and happy shouts (and screams) of “Happy Birthday!”

The boys were standing in front of the table with a large platter held between them. It was something absolutely slathered in whipped cream with a few candles quickly falling into the creamy depths and disappearing from sight. It was strangely lopsided and Rin was wearing a fair bit of the cream on his arm and cheek.

They were both beaming up at him, and the others were behind them, looking torn between pride and exhaustion, and he couldn’t possibly help the size of the grin that spread over his face.

“A birthday cake?” He asked. “For me?”

“Yeah!” Rin declared, hurrying forward and dragging Yukio along. “A homemade one! Extra cream!”

Shirou looked over there head where the others looked worried.

“The boys made it,” Misumi explained. “All by themselves.”

Shirou looked back down at the cake. That explained the shape of it then.

“Well then we better cut into it.” Shirou said, dropping his hands on their heads and ruffling their hair. (Both of them sticky in different ways.) He motioned for Rin to set the monster of a cake on the table and walked to get a knife to join the plates and forks they’d set out already.

The floor was gritty and there was a bit of something green on the front of the drawer, but he got the knife and returned to them, ignoring the irritating grit under boot.

Rin insisted on cutting, so Shirou let him, watching closely and snickering a bit at Misumi’s palpable worry. He cut easily through the cream, a bit less easily through the cake, and reached the platter with a loud clatter of knife hitting ceramic.

He repeated the process again and pulled out a surprisingly neat slice, plopping it on the plate and giving Shirou a glimpse of shockingly green cake. (Which was absolutely a Rin idea and a Yukio save, because he had no doubts Rin forgot his favorite color and Yukio knew everyone’s.)

The cake was strangely flat and spongey and crusty on the edges and there were patches of something that looked like scrambled egg, and a scent that wasn’t quite pleasant, but it really couldn’t be worse than the eggs, and the wide-eyed and hopeful looks the twins were giving him was enough to have him grinning widely and bringing the fork to his mouth.

He bit down, found the texture every bit as strange as it had looked, and that it mostly tasted like food dye, which was probably the best thing it could have tasted like. The cream wasn’t at all sweet, but it was cool and not salty, so he nodded at them and grinned all the wider. Better than the eggs had been.

“Delicious!” He lied, and didn’t feel bad about it.

Rin beamed enough to show his missing teeth and grabbed the knife to cut another slice before Yukio made an upset noise.

“Your candles!”

Rin slapped his forehead, thankfully not with the hand holding the knife, “We forgot!”

“Just light ‘em now,” Kyodo offered.

“It’s not too late?” Rin asked. “The wish will still work?”

“Course it will,” Shirou hummed as he pulled out his lighter. He knew nothing about the finer points of birthday magic, but he didn’t see any reason it wouldn’t. (He couldn’t remember if he had ever actually blown out birthday candles. Was there a trick to it?)

Rin hauled the candles back out of their creamy prisons and scowled until Yukio helped him get them to stay upright while Shirou lit them. (With a bit of trouble. Cream didn’t want to ignite.)

“Alright,” Rin bossed, “now ya blow it out.”

“And make a wish,” Yukio added, adjusting his glasses and moving some cream coated hair out of his eyes. Shirou might just have to hose them off in the backyard before bath time.

They both gave him entirely determined expressions, implying the importance of this act and the wishmaking it was, and they had taken time to make a cake for him and color it green because he loved it, and they didn’t want him to miss his wish, and they’d remembered his birthday and spent one of their days off doing this when they could have been outside having fun, and they’d made a mess but cleaned it up, and the others had clearly helped and known, and…

“Blow ‘em out and make a wish.” Shirou nodded. He pulled in a breath, didn’t look at the other three who would probably realize this was something he’d never done (or might realize it later) and let out as big of a breath as he could, catching all the little flickering flames with his exhale.

“You did it!”

“Whaddya wish for?”

“Don’t tell! It’s against the rules!”

“Is not!”

“Is so!”

Shirou shook his head with a growing smile and picked his plate back up. Against the rules or not, he didn’t think he could verbalize his wish anyway.

[approximateknowledge]

love the sao progressive movie for making asuna incredibly lesbian-coded

im sure there's no further conclusions to be drawn from this

no sirree

[delaluna]

Gekokujou [misumi]

Please feel free to use these with due credit or to inform me of mistakes! The official lyrics will be linked once available.

Kanji, romaji, and notes (there are a lot!) under “Read More.”

Overthrow (1)

Don't categorize the life Of the cast outside of the white line so easily (2) Having misplaced my textbooks somewhere, With my knees scraped, I put my hands together (3)

Humans made out to a narrow average Maintain the status quo as a buffer (4) A life of convenience is equivalent to death I stretched my hands out into the backstreets

There's no way around it, how many times have I conceded? I want to have certainty, but I can't have certainty (5) Spit out that quivering voice of yours Can I break apart? Go and break me apart Will it be alright to let things change?

I Hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it, it’s awful! (6) Hate it, hate it, I mean it!  I'll crawl back up again and again Licking my wounds with a smile, so bring on the fight!

Hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it so much! Hate it, hate it, aren’t you convinced? Cross out and get rid of all those regretful days (7) With that vivid bad favor of yours! (8)

I'm not bowing my head, I'm not kneeling down, I'm not even dreaming of surrender The inside of my body is in your care, oh unknown past and future (9) This dog crouching on all fours doesn't know when to give up

Hey now, this is not how it's gotta go Don't just laugh and settle for failure I’m flipping the record over, my heart's burning up (10)

Hey, how many times did you lie throughout your life?  I want to have honesty, but I can't have honesty The unbelievable is coming to be Can I break apart? Go and break me apart It will be alright to let things change (11)

I Hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it, it’s awful!  Hate it, hate it, I mean it!  I'll crawl back up again and again Licking my wounds with a smile, so bring on the fight!

Hate it, hate it, hate it, it’s awful! Hate it, hate it, aren’t you convinced? Cross out and get rid of all those regretful days With that vivid bad favor of yours!

Inmmersed in stunning rich colors until the moment life scatters away,  The unstoppable BPM's light, that light is waiting!

簡単に分類しないで 白線から外れた溢れ者人生 教科書など置き忘れたままどっか にいるんだ膝小僧擦り切れて合掌 kantan ni bunrui shinaide hakusen kara hazureta aburemono jinsei kyoukasho nado okiwasureta mama dokka ni irunda hizakozou surikirete gasshou

安全圏現状維持 平均的人間仕立て上げ一丁 コンビニエンスな生は死と等価 手を伸ばした裏通りで anzenken genjou iji heikin teki ningen shitate age icchou konbiniensu na sei wa shi to tokka te o nobashita uradoori de

しょうがない何度妥協したか？ 正しくありたい正しくあれない 震える声吐き出して 壊していい？壊れていい 変わってしまってもいい？ shouganai nando dakyou shita ka? tadashiku aritai tadashiku arenai furueru koe hakidashite kowashite ii? kowarete ii kawatte shimatte mo ii?

��たし 嫌い嫌い嫌い嫌い嫌だ 嫌い嫌い冗談じゃない 何度だって這い上がって 傷を舐めて笑え喧嘩なら上等 atashi kirai kirai kirai kirai iya da kirai kirai joudan janai nando datte hai agatte kizu o namete warae kenka nara joutou

嫌い嫌い嫌い嫌い嫌だ 嫌い嫌い割り切れはしない 鮮明な悪さご愛敬で 悔やむ日々全てをバツで消して kirai kirai kirai kirai iya da kirai kirai warikire wa shinai senmei na warusa goaikyou de kuyamu hibi subete o batsu de keshite

頭垂れず膝も付かず降伏など夢思わず 五臓六府あぁよろしく後先知らず 諦めの悪��這いつくばる犬 tama tarezu hiza mo tsukazu koufuku nado yume omowazu gozou roppu aa yoroshiku ato saki shirazu akirame no warui hai tsukubaru inu

ねぇねこんなもんじゃないと 笑って空振らないでちゃんと 裏返す盤面熱帯びた心臓がある nee ne konna mon janai to waratte karaburanaide chanto uragaesu banmen netsu obita shinzou ga aru

ねぇ生涯何回嘘をついた 素直でありたい素直であれない 奇想天外巻き起こして 壊していい？壊れていい 変わってしまってもいい nee shougai nankai uso o tsuita sunao de aritai sunao de arenai kisoutengai maki okoshite kowashite ii? kowarete ii kawatte shimatte mo ii

あたし 嫌い嫌い嫌い嫌い嫌だ 嫌い嫌い冗談じゃない 何度だって這い上がって 傷を舐めて笑え喧嘩なら上等 atashi kirai kirai kirai kirai iya da kirai kirai joudan janai nando datte hai agatte kizu o namete warae kenka nara joutou

嫌い嫌い嫌い嫌い嫌だ 嫌い嫌い割り切れはしない 鮮明な悪さご愛敬で 悔やむ日々全てをバツで消して kirai kirai kirai kirai iya da kirai kirai warikire wa shinai senmei na warusa goaikyou de kuyamu hibi subete o batsu de keshite

半端ない極彩色無我夢中に散ってくたばるまで 止まらないBPM光光が待ってるんで hanpa nai gokusaishiki mugamuchuu ni chitte kutabaru made tomaranai BPM hikari hikari ga matterunde

Notes:

Lit. “the low overcomes the high.” A term that gained prevalence during the Warring States, where a precedent for vassals and peasants overthrowing the daimyou was established. Later on, used in regards to military officers engaging in principled disobedience towards their superiors based moral considerations.

“White line” can mean the anatomical term linea alba.

Lit. “pressed my hands together in prayer.” While the gesture is the same, the term is related to Hinduism, Buddhism, Shinto, and other East Asian religions, rather than Christianity.

This and above lines inverted for clarity.

The reason for translating 正しくありたい正しくあれない (and 素直でありたい素直であれない in section C) in this manner is twofold – firstly, while the person wishing for but unable to have certainty and honesty is the singer, whom it’s expected from is open to interpretation (any first, second, or third person subject works); secondly, to more easily allow for the parallel sentence structure used between both lines.

“It” replaceable by any first, second, or third person subject; deliberately kept neutral.

“Cross mark, cross out” (バツ) is homophonous with “punish, punishment” (罰). While the PV does not spell out either word, it’s depicted as a × mark instead. Using the meaning of punishment, could read “Punish me and get rid of all those regretful days.”

This and above lines inverted for clarity.

While “inside of one’s body” is a known and accepted translation, the term 五臓六府 is strictly anatomical and refers to the zang-fu organs (five viscera and six internal organs) of traditional Chinese medicine.

The term 心臓 refers strictly to the anatomical heart and is unrelated to personality, disposition, or emotions.

The meaning is changed between the first and second iteration due to the use of the question mark – first, lit. “Is it alright to let things change?”; second, lit. “It will be alright to let things change.”

A personal note - I felt this song was deliberately going for vagueness in many aspects, which makes sense in the context of the event it’s tied to. A lot of the choices to avoid establishing a subject are made on this basis.

[saezurufeels]

misumi has been incredibly possessive and selfish towards yashiro, but I (want to) believe that deep down he does care and love yashiro as a person. i don't have much evidence for this, besides his long-time bias and admiration for yashiro. people around misumi have compared his lenient treatment of yashiro to amou, and the previous kaichou knows how close misumi holds yashiro to his heart. i know the yashiro-amou comparison isn't perfect as misumi is a lot more controlling and manipulative towards yashiro, but i think at its core the similarity of their father-son relationships holds true. call it wishful thinking, but if the story is supposed to depict a father-son relationship in all its complexity and contradictions (and god knows how overbearing real asian parents can be), i want to believe that misumi is able to find true love and kindness in his heart for his yazuka-son and let him go. and i guess that's the mystery waiting for us at the end of the story!

True, it’s definitely a complicated relationship. Yashiro cares about Misumi but he doesn’t fuck with him, and Misumi is one of very few people that knows Yashiro’s true self. Misumi never used the opportunity to help Yashiro in any meaningful way, although on a surface-level he appears to support Yashiro. Yashiro recognizes that Misumi gives him special privileges, which I think he considers a blessing and a curse.

It’s definitely a contentious topic, and we are going to see how it unfolds, and whether Misumi will put his own self-interest aside for once in his life. If I had to take a guess, I could see Amou convincing M to let Yashiro go (which would be the type of ending that would have us debating whether Misumi really cared about Yashiro for eternity lmao)

[tarucchi]

the skrumklies doodle

i missed them

[vocaloid-song-of-the-day]

World's End by Misumi feat. Hatsune Miku

[utaitemusic]

With neither a zero or an end, the countless eyes in my head They blabber, going on and on and on. Oh just shut up.

[q9q-q9q]

Lion and Tiger - Misumi ft. Kaai Yuki

[barefeetwiki]

Ellie Misumi

[cosmicjoke]

It makes me cringe every time I see people praising Misumi. Makes me gag even.

They say he's ruthless because he cemented Hirata? Dont make me laugh. A man like Misumi who is deemed "ruthless" would have torn that pos Hirata minced meat ages ago. I dont even believe for a moment at his position then he couldn't investigate on his own of the death of Kurobane..... actually, I dont think he did care for Kurobane. The story just made us believe that, but by his lack of action says otherwise to me. It just infuriating Yashiro had to get hurt to get he "truth" out of him. Sure, Misumi didn't order that, but again Misumi could've than that himself. He was always suspicious how Kurobane died and Hirata had this lame fake acting he was shocked or whatever....

What do you think? Could Misumi had done something about that case long ago, or was the Yakuza politics really holding him back?

I think Misumi did care for Kurobane genuinely, but people constantly conflate that genuine care for Kurobane as translating to Yashiro, as if his ability to care for one person is proof that he cares for Yashiro, or that he's somehow incapable of loving one person while, at the same time, using another. But that's bullshit. Misumi treats Yashiro like a stand-in for Kurobane, which tells me that he doesn't see or regard Yashiro as his own, individual person. And that tracks too with how he also treats Yashiro like a piece of property, like a possession that he gets to decide what to do with, i.e., Yashiro's own, personal desires don't matter and don't count. Yashiro not wanting to become a head in the Yakuza, Yashiro not wanting to remain in the Yakuza, Yashiro wanting to become a regular citizen, etc... Misumi constantly undermines Yashiro's actual wishes and treats them like they don't matter at all, and does all he can to prevent Yashiro from pulling away from him and that life.

As for Misumi's failure to investigate Korubane's death and allowing Yashiro do do it for him, it's hard for me to really say just how much he could have accomplished on his own and how much his hands were actually tied. Like I said, I think Misumi really did care for Kurobane, but his failure to really look deeper into Hirata's involvement also smacks to me of someone putting his own self-preservation over his love for Kurobane. He might have risked his position if he looked deeper into it, but he wasn't willing to do that, which meant he did, in a sense, put himself over Kurobane in the end. Yashiro, on the other hand, is essentially the polar opposite, and we've seen many examples of this with him, where he'll put his own well being at risk to help those he cares for. He did it with Kage, he did it with Nanahara, he did it with Misumi, he did it with Ryuuzaki, he did it with Doumeki, etc, etc...

So this entire notion of Misumi being some benevolent, loving father figure to Yashiro is ridiculous, imo. And using his affection for Kurobane as some sort of proof of his love for Yashiro is ignorant at best, and excuses Misumi's abuse of Yashiro at worst.

[beauty-marked-beauties]

Today's Beauty-Marked Beauty is: Misumi Ikaruga from A3!

Submitted by: @birdyies

[paroleswerespoken]

Moving something in Yashiro

Part 1: Kageyama

I think there have been only two people in Yashiro’s life that kind of know a bit more about Yashiro than the average person surrounding him (maybe even three if we count Nanahara but I'll leave that for another time.)  There's Kageyama and Misumi. Both are very important in Yashiro’s life whether they did any good to him or not, they are both people that were able to somehow move something in Yashiro. Kageyama represented the concept of love even if unrequired, Yashiro first discovered the feeling of truly longing for someone through Kageyama. For as Misumi he presented Yashiro with an opportunity of purpose, he introduced Yashiro to the yakuza and gave him direction, a bad one? Yes, but for someone who was seeking death in a way, he found direction from Misumi. For those reasons, Yashiro, to some extent harbors appreciation for both of them. In Kageyama’s case, I don’t see him as a bad person and I do think he cares about Yashiro but like Misumi he only sees the flaws in Yashiro and the good that is convenient for him. For example, when Doumeki said at the hospital that he respects and thinks of Yashiro as beautiful Kageyama was surprised because I don’t think he ever thought of Yashiro that way. Even on chapter 7 when Doumeki asks him what he thought Yashiro, he says he thinks of him as “weird and frivolous,” (Even said to Yashiro himself that he was pitiful) which we know is not true, I mean if only he knew what Yashiro did for him maybe he wouldn’t exactly think he’s frivoulous. Yashiro has a wall and acts like he’s carefree, but in reality, I believe he thinks vulnerability puts him at a disadvantage I mean think about last time he was vulnerable? It was when he was a kid and got abused by someone who had an advantage over him so it’s only natural, he acts the way he does. Yashiro is a very loyal and caring person (in his own unique way) and even if Doumeki dismisses a lot of things about Yashiro, he recognizes that quality about him. Like Kageyama said, him and Yashiro have an “undesirable bond” and that’s why he can’t seem to push Yashiro away even though the relationship they have now does not benefit him in anyway. In high school they were both two out casts that found comfort in each other, Kageyama didn't feel any judgement from Yashiro even after exposing his peculiar tastes and that’s what he liked about him. In the end Kageyama has always pitied Yashiro and thinks of him as unfortunate; in the past that’s what drew him to Yashiro. In a way it helped him feel less pathetic about what ever situation he had going on back then. Kageyama only saw the good in Yahiro when it was convenient for him, he brushed off a lot of Yashiro's feelings, even in the present I think he was fully aware of Yashiro’s feelings for him but acted as if he knew nothing. Doumeki on the contrary is able to see Yashiro’s nature even when his actions hurt him, he doesn’t harbor any prejudice towards Yashiro even when Yashiro shows him his bad side. Though Doumeki accepts him and is able to see him for him, he does tend to over idealize Yashiro and that as we saw created a lot of problems for them (I would like to talk about this another time.) I don’t think Kageyama comes from a bad place he even said he considers Yashiro family, but what concept does he has about family? He wasn’t able to give Yashiro what he needed or wanted from him but still he was an important person in his life.

[saezurufeels]

Is Yashiro working the Sakura family to spend time with Doumeki? I have seen people say that it is to protect Doumeki but I think in this case Yashiro can’t really protect him. I am a little confused on that. I thought it was to both keep an eye on Doumeki and to able to spend time with him.

That's an interesting question! I'll try my best to outline what I know about all the different players in the yakuza plot, how Yashiro got involved, and whether his motive has changed. Feel free to correct me if I missed something!

Here's a quick overview of the three yakuza syndicates involved in this plot, and their subgroups/affiliates (which I had to type up and screenshot from a different program, because Tumblr's post editor sucks so much ass)

Thanks to Doumeki’s memory, the Sakura Group discovered that the survivors responsible for Niki’s kidnapping are linked to Okuyama. Those survivors, formerly part of Kyouseikai, are now part of a violent and reckless non-yakuza group called Ryuuzu, who work under the Okuyama Group. The Okuyama group is an independent organization under the bigger Kyokuseikai (not to be confused with the former Kyouseikai a.k.a. Niki's kidnappers).

One of Ryuuzu’s leaders is a man named Kai, who's likely a former member of Sakura Group that left with Okuyama. He is arrogant, disrespectful, and dishonest, even to his own bosses. Kai appears to be acting on his own accord, and letting his underlings run wild and create conflict with other yakuza groups without consideration. Besides the Sakura Group, Ryuuzu has also come into conflict with a subgroup of the Doushinkai— according to Muraji that subgroup was gunned down by Ryuuzu. Misumi informed Yashiro of this incident before Kido kidnapped Yamakawa. In other words, Ryuuzu already messed with Doushinkai before starting drama with Sakura Group.

As we know, Muraji is aware of Doushinkai’s interest in Okyuama, because of what Ryuuzu did to their subgroup. Muraji believes Yashiro is working to help Misumi find the link between Ryuuzu and Okuyama. Remember, the Doushinkai has close ties with Okuyama’s parent group, the Kyokuseikai. If Kyokuseikai’s subgroups are attacking Doushinkai’s subgroups, it’s bad news— the yakuza is all about respect and honour, so if anyone undermines you, they must be punished, honour must be restored. In all likelihood, Misumi wants to have concrete proof before officially accusing Okuyama of any wrongdoing.

However, Yashiro denied working for Misumi (ch. 48), claiming he is only after the money that Kido swindled from him, which is now in Yamakawa’s hands. But in chapter 50, Nanahara and Yashiro told Doumeki that they would be in trouble with Misumi if they didn't investigate Okuyama. Because of those remarks, Doumeki relented and brought them to their affiliate club to investigate a theft they suspect was committed by former members of Sakura Group a.k.a., current members of Okuyama Group. I assume it doesn't matter which they find first, Ryuuzu members, or Okuyama members. If there is a link between them, interrogating either group will bring out information.

So what’s the truth, is Yashiro investigating Okuyama and Ryuuzu, or is he after the money in Yamakawa’s possession, or is he secretly protecting Doumeki? Personally, I think his initial intent was the investigation into Okuyama, but as time went on, he probably sensed that trouble was coming. In fact, Yashiro sensed trouble when Inami called him to inform him of Kido’s hit-and-run incident. But now Yashiro knows just how much is on the line...

Let’s summarize what Yashiro knows: 1) Ryuuzu's connection to Niki's kidnapping, 2) Tsunakawa’s reaction to the news of Kyouseikai survivors/Ryuuzu working under Okuyama (obviously it means war), 3) Doumeki is a key player in this war, because he is Sakura Group’s best chance at identifying former Kyouseikai members. He's also extremely reliable not just as an investigator, but also as a muscle for the group. That being said, it’s in Yashiro’s nature to prevent bloodshed, minimize damage, and protect those he holds dear. It wouldn’t at all surprise me if Yashiro intends to see this investigation till the end, if it'll allow him to keep a close eye on Doumeki.

In any case, I don’t think Yashiro joined this investigation for the money. He’s never been the type of person to get himself and his subordinates into danger, especially not for money. Plus, Yashiro was already cashing checks, so he has no reason to act desperate. Yashiro knew Kido was scamming other people also— why get involved in a complicated situation? Why visit Ryuuzaki in jail to get info? It all just seems like too much effort and too much trouble. I can’t picture Yashiro doing any of this voluntarily for just some cash.

In other words, Yashiro was made to do this, and there is only one person that can make Yashiro do something he doesn’t want to. This was Misumi’s request. Yashiro was looking for Kido, because he knew that Kido was backed by Ryuuzu (Inami's intel), and Ryuuzu is responsible for gunning down the Doushinkai subgroup. He wanted to find Kido, not for the money, but for information about Okuyama and Ryuuzu.

Now, I know that in ch. 48 Yashiro told Doumeki that he only heard about Kido's involvement with Ryuuzu AFTER he started the chase, but I think that was a bit of an overstatement. Yashiro may have asked Inami about Kido's whereabouts because he wanted to collect his debt, but I don't think Y started chasing Kido until Inami confirmed Kido's involvement with Ryuuzu. Why? The flashback of Inami in ch. 48 is the exact same image of him when he called Yashiro after Kido's hit-and-run, which occurred before Y began physically searching for Kido. So, contrary to what he told Doumeki, Yashiro actually was aware of Kido's involvement with Ryuuzu from the start. I'm not surprised Doumeki was suspicious though, given that Yashiro brought up the possibility of another yakuza group's involvement with Kido back when they captured his brother. Doumeki correctly deduced Yashiro's knowledge and Muraji was also on point with his assessment based on what he knew about the Doushinkai and Yashiro's relationship with Misumi. Yashiro can't easily deceive the Sakura Group, well, except for Kamiya lol

But ofc, Yashiro still kept his true aim a secret, as always, because mystery has always worked in his favour. That’s his M.O. Nothing new. He gave the same debt-collection narrative to Muraji that he gave to Ryuuzaki. But, the fact that Yashiro told Doumeki the truth about Misumi’s request in ch. 50 makes me think that Y’s primary motive has changed. Yashiro wouldn't give up information that easily unless he is trying to mislead and/or there is a level of trust with the person he's working with. Anyway, I hope that answers some questions about Yashiro's collaboration with the Sakura Group