What relationship did Rafael personally have with Ortega during his Sidestep era? What about professionally? Did those two standings ever clash with each other?
Ok, so...During his Sidestep days Rafael and Julia became friends. Best friends. Julia managed to convince Rafael to come out of his shell and Rafael was simply too interesting for Julia to simply let go compared to her other haunts, given his naive idealism by that time. Professionally speaking, Rafael was a sidekick to Julia during all this time. He trusted Julia and followed her lead. This is probably one of the reasons why Julia idolizes Sidestep so much during the games for Rafael. Being trusted and relied on by someone who sees the best in you drives one to try and live up to it. These two clashed more than both wanted to admit. The truth is, Rafael had untapped leadership potential, but he never had the will to impose it over Julia or Chen. Moreover, while he knew he WAS a sidekick to Julia, he disliked being called one, especially as he was hiding from the Special Directive, since it was like treated with kid gloves or not taken seriously despite all that he's done. Other heroes will question what Rafael was for Julia exactly, considering their relationship suspiciously close for a mentor/sidekick dynamic. It made him bristle at the comments often, or undertake dangerous tasks(Like the Heartbreak Incident), trying to earn respect through more action since he's good at that.