I recently remembered something that made me reflect a lot. Toramaru and Yuuka.
Ok so I was like 13 when I found these fanarts and I tended to get easily carried away with ships, you know when you enter the world of fangirls…
Anyway, I was young and from my pov having "only" 4 years age gap didn't seem like a big deal. (17-21) To me it had to do NOTHING with these horrible stuff like Gouenji x Kyousuke (you know those people who kinda love paring child and adult or even siblings, and oh I hate this part of the fandom 💀)
I mean I thought Yuuka was finishing high school and Toramaru had only graduated not long before, but I didn’t take into account that one was over the age of majority and the other wasn’t. In my mind the fact she was old enough to be in high school and that he had been the youngest Raimon player back in elementary school made it seem okay- while actually it's bordeline - BUT I WAS 13.
However I’d still seen similar "not too big" age gaps in other works like Clueless (16-19) and Twenty Five Twenty One (17-21) So the old me didn't think it was perhaps weird-
Still, the reason why I thought they could be a great ship was the dynamic. Sure, we never saw them having any interaction and the only thing that could link them was Gouenji. BUT it was exactly this link that allowed me to build something interesting between them, and I'm saying that in a FRIENDLY WAY in a first place.
SO. I’d had plenty of time to come up with a bunch of fun scenarios for them. Toramaru used to be a huge Gouenji fanboy, but he stayed loyal to him by becoming his assistant and secretly helping him save soccer. So yeah, they definitely had time to talk and become somewhat close, yk ? Especially since she’s known him for like 10 years, going back to the FFI.
🌸Headcanon time !
Yuuka - we all know her as that super cute and lovable 7yo, a sugarcube. BUT I really think that as she grows up, she develops a really strong personality (while still being adorable, of course) The thing is Gouenji's constantly on her back, worse than a dad :D and he’s super overprotective. Bro's still traumatized from the coma, and with all the dark stuff going on with the 5th Sector it’s not great. So in the meantime, he hires Toramaru as basically a babysitter for his sister.
Needless to say, neither of them is happy about it- especially since they’ve been struggling to get along lately, for… certain reasons. Ever since she started high school, Toramaru can’t stand Yuuka anymore. He finds her bratty and annoying, and she has a talent for getting herself into trouble that always ends up falling on him. On her side, she does everything she can to drive him crazy (or maybe she also wants his attention). But before all this 5th Sector stuff, she used to see him as a good friend.
━☆
Basically, Yuuka had always been Raimon’s mascot. When she was younger, she loved coming with her brother when he hung out with his friends. Gouenji’s teammates knew her really well, and most of them grew attached to her like a little sister. But Yuuka especially grew close to Toramaru, since he was the youngest on the team, and they spent most of their time teasing each other.
It was when she got to middle school that she started developing feelings for him- and suddenly everything got complicated. Sure, Gouenji didn’t take long to notice and immediately threatened Toramaru, but he insisted it was one-sided and that she was way too young for him. When Yuuka found out it broke her heart, but she dealt with it and chose to avoid him instead. Their friendship became awkward, and they stopped seeing each other. They both went on with their lives separately until Toramaru graduated from high school.
A few years later, one random day as Yuuka was coming home, she found Toramaru there, at her place, talking with her brother (5th scetor stuff) It seemed serious. She was more than happy to see him again, but he was cold. Tora had changed. Maybe life had been too serious, maybe he had too much work, or maybe Gouenji still scared him- But Yuuka hated it.
So yeah, their situationship was really strange at this time. BUT NOW I'd like to tell you about how their friendship's going on after this "reunion"
━ 📷˙✧˖°
I genuinely think Yuuka takes advantage of the fact that Toramaru is her brother’s assistant and is kinda scared of him for her own benefit. Like, let’s say she’s 17 but doesn’t have her license yet, she’ll call him whenever she needs a ride anywhere or wants to go out with her friends. And Tora is fed up with it, but he can’t really say anything bc, yeah- she kind of blackmails him.
But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t care about his feelings. She does care about him and knows he works really hard for Gouenji and his job. So sometimes, when she gets out of the car, she reminds him that he’s not just her driver : he’s her friend. Those rare moments are when Tora softens a bit and sees again the funny little girl who used to follow him everywhere with her brother. And he misses being that close to her.
In his free time, he goes to Tobikata’s restaurent and vents about all the stress the 5th Sector and Yuuka put on him. Tobikata is kind of his confidant, but mostly his best friend, and it’s comforting to talk to him. And ofc he teases him a lot about Yuuka
Anyway, Gouenji is very busy with soccer and spends less and less time at home and needless to remind he feels extremely guilty about it, since he’s basically leaving his little sister alone. Actually, Yuuka misses him too. So Tora ends up spending most of his free time with her, not just to babysit but because she needs the company, even if she denies it. He stays in the evenings, cooks for her, talks to her about his mom, and then they play video games on the sofa or end up watching a movie. Basically, they become best friends again <3
💿 Conclusion ?
Idk if me and my friend were the only people who thought they could be a great couple, but today I need to admit that making this genre of pair is really confusing not because they have a "big" age gape but mostly cuz one is over the age of majority and the other's not. So I couldn't say I still ship them today. I'm not trying to "romantize" an age gape relation and I think it would probably be a one-sided crush, but their dynamic is really interesting.
Moreover I'm not excluding that Yuuchi exists, I actually think they're really good friends I mean he's such a green flag and we LOVE HIM. I believe that Yuuka was supposed to spy on Kyousuke but his brother found out, so they talked to each other and then she started visiting him at the hospital more often. So basically they became friends <3 And I understand why this ship makes sense for some people bc they're really cute, but I prefer to keep them as friends :p
credit : nk_NNK512
