Goodbye, Old Friend

Goodbye, Old Friend is the fourth chapter of K -Count Down-.

Summary
Prior to the Mihashira Tower Incident, Yashiro Isana wakes up in a bed aboard the reconstructed Himmelreich, and is greeted by Daikaku Kokujōji. They greet one another after not having met face to face for seventy years, and Yashiro notes that Daikaku hasn't changed aside from getting older, still maintaining his straightforward personality paired with gentle eyes.

Yashiro takes a moment to acknowledge that he survived his encounter with Mikoto Suoh, and finds out that Daikaku saved him. Daikaku further explains that their reunion is short, and that he will soon die. For a moment, Yashiro stares at him in silence, but soon nods in understanding.

The scene skips forward post-Mihashira Tower Incident and Daikaku's death, now the ninth of November.

An Usagi Clansman tells YAshiro that Daikaku's funeral has been completed, and Yashiro closes a book he was reading and thanks him for the information. Although Yashiro wanted to attend Daikaku's funeral, he is aware that he must remain in hiding to avoid jungle's scrutiny. He invites the Clansman into the room he resides in, saying he feels like talking.

The room is cluttered with papers and books, all from Yashiro's intention of developing countermeasures against and revising abandoned research on the Dresden Slate. Yashiro explains that the room was prepared for him by Daikaku, along with transferring the room at Ashinaka High School to his name, and it operates as the headquarters for Neko and Kuroh Yatogami, his Clansmen. Yashiro asks how they're doing, and the Clansman says that they are in good health, something Yashiro is glad to hear.

Yashiro asks when Daikaku's death will be officially announced, but in light of Daikaku's large influence in Japan, they must be careful with announcing it, especially in order to avoid letting become confident in their plans.

He suddenly laughs, saying that he's once again experiencing the same feeling of greatness from Daikaku as he did in the past as Adolf K. Weismann, and says that, along with his older sister, Daikaku was his first friend.

In 1945 Dresden, Daikaku yells at a sleeping Adolf to wake up, and the latter apologises, saying he was in the research facility all night. Daikaku tells him not to push himself, but Adolf says he has to after the activation incident has given definite results and led to the research team's rushed experimentation. He trails off, and then loudly declares that that doesn't matter. He can't sit still knowing that they have gotten definite results on the Dresden Slate, and wants to learn more about it, to find every possiblity it has to offer.

Klaudia walks in, noting that Adolf acts like he's in love, and she tells him to take care of himself even while working as hard as he is. She further says that being stuck in the same room for so long can poison the body, and suggests that they head outside for a bit.

Outside, Daikaku compliments the city's beauty, and Klaudia says that it is because Dresden has yet to become a war site. Adolf argues that something like war wouldn't happen to a culture-rich city like Dresden, and Daikaku warns him that it wouldn't be a surprise if Dresden did become a war site. Adolf sighs, saying that war is stupid. Daikaku points out that if the Dresden Slate does illicit more results, it is compulsory to use it for war, however Adolf confidently states that if the Dresden Slate really can bring forth human Ex-α individuals, then it wouldn't be used as a war tool, and suggests that, instead, it can end the war. Klaudia admonishes him for saying such thoughtless things while working under the army.

Daikaku mutters about the supernatural property of a King, and Adolf confirms a King will bring forth many future possiblities, a person that brings about prosperity. Daikaku's notes Adolf's incredible optimism, and Adolf acknowledges that those powers could also bring about mayhem in the world, or on the contrary, press for order, but it could also protect important things, and change the world's current direction. Daikaku asks if a human- King really could lead humanity to new horizons, and Adolf exclaims that they would certainly bring forth “humanity's dawn”. Daikaku sighs heavily, saying that even though Adolf is a genius, he's an idiot, to which Klaudia agrees.

In the present, Yashiro says that less than a month after that day, the Dresden Bombings happened and his sister died saving his life, and he awoke as a King. After which, he left in the Himmelreich, living a reclusive lifestyle and leaving any following issues for Daikaku to take care of. He then switches gears, and, while aware of the Usagi's policy of separating themselves from their name and individuality, asks the Clansman if he was with Daikaku for a long time, considering his old age.

The Clansman surprises Yashiro by removing his mask and revealing himself, and requests being able to speak as a person who was with Daikaku for a long time, and not as an Usagi, and Yashiro happily accepts this., thanking him.

In the past, the Clansman was affiliated with the Kokujoji's family branch, and was made Daikaku's attendant after Daikaku returned from Dresden.

Daikaku tells him to ready himself to going to the research room, to which he enthusiastically agrees. He mentions being younger than fifteen at the time, but Daikaku had told him that it would be using someone young. In the research room, Daikaku tells him to wait outside and not let anyone inside. The Clansman then reveals that his ulterior duty, however, was to observe the Kokujoji family branch's head, ordered by elder family members to find out about the mission Daikaku had been sent on in Dresden, and uncover secrets about the Dresden Slate. The elders' plan was to manipulate the young King if at all possible, and the Clansman was under the pretense of being dispatched from a different family branch.

He peeks into the research room, and discovers Daikaku surrounded by a space-like environment, with the planets revolving around him while he stood on a platform in mid-air. He stutters about what he sees, and Daikaku says that it is a King's power, and further explains that his mighty power is to draw out talented companions and scatter them like matter. He says that talent blooms in everything and everywhere, and questions if this power really could bring prosperity to Japan. Due to his duty to bring about this prosperity, he has no time for the rivalry between the two family branches, and asks the Clansman if he feels the same way.

A few years later, the Himmelreich is seen hovering above in Japan, and Daikaku says that it is an old friend of his piloting it, and tells the Clansman that he is also a King, and despite being genius, had many idealistic and childish dreams during the Dresden Slate mission. Staring up at the Himmelreich, he asks if Adolf can see what is happening, pointing out that his goals aren't as idealistic as Adolf's, and not everyone with power pick out convenient dreams. With a determined face, he declares that he will become the ideal King, and Adolf should watch for that to happen.

The Clansman kneels in front of Daikaku, asking to become one of his Clansmen, and that he will throw away his name and individuality if that's what it takes. Daikaku accepts his resolution, and tells the Clansman to become the foundation of Japan alongside him.

The Clansman asks Yashiro if he was watching from the sky, and Yashiro confirms that Daikaku indeed brought his dream to reality, and did so for seventy years.

A tear falls onto Yashiro's hand, and he wipes it away, saying it's no good if he cries. The Clansman asks him that's no good, since it's only natural to cry when speaking about a dear friend who has passed on. He then says that he as stayed too long, and leaves Yashiro to himself.

Alone, Yashiro remembers a conversation between him and Daikaku, saying that, after seventy years of solitude, he had finally found a place and friends he wants to protect. Daikaku praises him, saying people with that to protect are strong. Yashiro further says that, after becoming the First and Silver King, gaining a body that never changes nor dies, he was glad to be alive, from the bottom of his heart.

Daikaku nods, and says he had a satisfying life, and tells Yashiro it's his turn, and that he must continue from the day time stopped for him, and move forward.

Yashiro nods to himself, and says that he will confront the power that comes from the Dresden Slate, and live in the world that Daikaku created, both as the Silver King, and as Yashiro Isana.

The scene changes to a series of recorded footage featuring Yashiro, Neko, and Kuroh, with Yukari Mishakuji sitting down and observing them. He notes that Kuroh never thought about the possiblity of him finding himself a new King back in the past, and smiles, saying that he looks forward to what will happen next.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * 1) Yashiro Isana
 * 2) Daikaku Kokujōji
 * 3) Unnamed Usagi Clansman
 * 4) Adolf K. Weismann
 * 5) Klaudia Weismann
 * 6) Kuroh Yatogami
 * 7) Neko