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Misumi Ikaruga had always, always liked triangles.
In fact, he clearly still does. He's always felt that triangles are more than just triangles, exactly the same way Misumi is more than just Misumi. He's also all of the things he's ever been called, all of the little concepts he represents in the minds of all the people he's crossed paths with in his life.
He knows he's Misumi, and that he's also a ditz, an earthquake, a gofer, a monkey, a (not so good, he thinks, but Muku said Madoka does still consider him his) brother, a lifesaver for the neighborhood grannies (they now give him thank you triangles for helping them, even though Misumi does it because it's right to do so!), a grandson, an actor, a collector, an animal talker and many, many more. He also knows he probably is a lot of stuff he doesn't know about, impressions he's left on people who he hasn't actually interacted with.
And just as he is a lot of things, triangles are a lot of things! Almost anything Misumi can think of can be a triangle.
And a part of "Misumi" is triangle, and Misumi Ikaruga is "Misumi", so obviously triangles are a part of him. He really doesn't understand how everyone else does not understand that. Triangles started being pretty and nice because they were part of "Misumi", and then it was because they were part of Misumi. And then it was because Gramps had told him about why the triangle in "Misumi" was important, and Gramps was really important.
And then it also was because, after Gramps had died, Misumi could only keep his protractor. And a protractor is a triangle.
So triangles were a part of him. They felt right, each and every one of them telling its own story. Sometimes they were new triangles, baby triangles, which meant their story hadn't happened yet. But they still had a story to tell, the one that happened while they were his, and that would happen after they weren't.
Most of Misumi's triangles weren't his forever. Some were ephemeral to start with – triangle clouds, onigiri, the spots in the neighborhood's cats fur. Those were never meant to be his for long, but he still cherished them while they lasted.
But even the triangles that could be his forever, like the cushions or the little flags or the pendants or his mascot's drawings or his wallpaper or almost all of the triangles he had that didn't disappear, weren't his forever, because Misumi was always gifting them to others. He considered that to be the perfect way to say thanks: giving a part of himself, however small, after someone had given him help or time or both or something else felt just right, even if the recipient didn't get it. But a few triangles are his forever, because he can't possibly ever let them go.
Misumi knows he plays favorites, and he's okay with it. Some triangles are more valuable for him than others, and even though that's subjective, it's not something he decides. Some triangles are just really important, so important he can't give them to anyone permanently to say thanks.
The protractor Gramps gave him is his most important material triangle, and he only lends it and only to people he truly trusts and only when they really, really need it. It's a very, very, very special triangle, but anyone who is important enough for Misumi to have the protractor lent knows that sooner or later, so it's ok.
Misumi knows perfectly well that every person is completely unique, completely different, completely special. He has been told he's one of a kind, and it feels redundant, but he knows people mean it as saying he is extra special, even if it doesn't make sense, the same way as some triangles are more special than others.
Misumi Ikaruga knows not all of his triangles are material, sometimes they are just perfect moments, perfect memories, perfect thoughts made of three things just like normal triangles are made of three corners and three sides. For example his own existence is a triangle made of three treasures, and the fireworks party they had at the end of the first camp he ever went to is also a very important triangle — made of pretty lights, of laughter and of sweet summer warmth. Some of his triangles aren't even truly his, like his room — made of his triangle collection, a soft place to sleep and of all the chatter that always fills the dorm —, but they're his in its own way. They're also part of what triangles are for him, part of what "Misumi" is and part of what Misumi is.
Gramps himself is a triangle — his teachings, his love (even behind his scolding!) and his very own quirks, like not having photos taken. He's another triangle Misumi would never give up, to anyone, someone truly special.
Among the things that make Misumi Ikaruga more than just himself, there's one that has only been around since a little while ago. Among being an airhead, a kitty savior, an acrobat, a part-timer and a danger for traffic, and many, many more, he's now also a friend.
The word still makes his heart fizz, like one of those sodas Taichi likes so much. It tickles his fingers and makes his smile, which he almost never takes off, wider. When Tenma, who is a little bit like Madoka and a little bit unlike Madoka, told him he considered him his friend, it felt like something he didn't even know was broken had healed. That moment is also a triangle — the tension of closing night, the awkwardness of summer's troupe's leader, the bubbles in his heart.
The first time in his life he was called a friend, the first time Kazunari called him his friend, he felt really confused and a little worried, because it was the first time he had been called a friend and that meant he had never felt his heart fizzing before. But nowadays he knows it's something healthy and nice and soft (a triangle)!
Actually, Misumi thinks Kazunari is a lot like Gramps, even though he knows Yuzo (who has also met both) would disagree. Gramps was the only one in his family who didn't give up on him, so he was the first person to accept him, to accept Misumi Ikaruga for all of what he is. Kazunari was the first person in his new family to accept him, to accept Misumi Ikaruga for all of who he is, and just like Gramps did, he looks at Misumi with fond eyes and a sweet expression.
Kazunari smiles a lot, wide grins and awkward laughs and loud cackles, and just like Gramps did, he encourages Misumi to do the things that only Misumi Ikaruga can do, the stuff that makes him who he is no matter what the little parts of himself that other people's views are look like, the stuff that is his core. And just like Gramps did, he discourages Misumi when he's going to do something he didn't know was dangerous, or something he shouldn't do, and actually explains it to him! He explains and looks for different words or examples if Misumi looks confused and Misumi is so, so glad he's found someone so triangular for the second time in his life.
He's found so many triangles since he got into his triangle room, which is in the building with the biggest triangle roof in the neighborhood. And he's so happy that that building ended up being the Mankai dorm, the same place Gramps used to be in (he really chose a nice roofed place! Well done, Gramps!) and that now Kazunari is in.
And Kazunari makes Misumi smile, he praises Misumi when he achieves something and draws triangles, really cool ones, when Misumi is down, and he always takes care of him — Kazunari helps him a lot of times when making onigiri and he sometimes even prepares them as a treat for Misumi as a surprise. And he was the first person in his new family to accept him, and the first person to call him his friend, and sometimes does stuff on a whim and Misumi's share is always triangle shaped and Misumi can't choose which three things make Kazunari a triangle, because there's just so much.
But Kazunari is a triangle, and if he is a triangle that means he should have three special things that make him who he is, but instead he is three kinds of special, and Misumi decides he's going to make an exception and still call him a triangle, because he's also a really important person Misumi can't give up.
Kazunari is definitely a truly special person for Misumi, a caretaker, just as Gramps was.
But he's also a very special friend, shining like the sun and basking Misumi with warmth and making him smile a lot in a different way from how Gramps did. He's the first person who accepted him even if he didn't have to and someone who makes his heart bubble a lot and his face always lits up when he spots Misumi, which in turn makes Misumi feel like he is home.
And he's also one of a kind like everyone else.
So he's not one of a kind like everybody is, and he's not two of a kind like Gramps was.
So, clearly, he's three of a kind.