Yuuta and the Fuji Clan--- plus others
Note: This is just headcanon for me for the game
ROUTE 29 in livejournal. Hopefully I can organize this into something more comprehensive next time.
Outlined below is my own thoughts of Yuuta's relationship with different people in canon, particularly the members of the Fuji family, Hajime Mizuki and Saeki Koujirou. This is mostly headcanon and should not be considered as official in any way
and why would you even lmaoUNNAMED FATHER OF THE FUJI FAMILYYuuta doesn't remember much about his father. The man left to travel the world when he was still too young to even remember a lot, and all of the things he knows about him comes from what he's asked from his mother. His mom has always told him that he went abroad in order to work and thus left the family behind, and the way she describes him made Yuuta think of him as someone to admire. His impression of him is that he works hard, he doesn't let things hold him back when he wants something, and he is the type who knows that you need to make sacrifices in order to achieve things you need or want to do. In a way, the fact that his overly beautified image of his father is probably the reason he is as independent as he is, because he wants to be just like him, especially at a young age of five when everything just kind of impresses itself in his mind. Going off to St. Rudolph and living away from the family isn't so much a sign of rebellion as it is a sign of believing that if they can understand his father's reasoning, then they can also understand Yuuta's resolve. He doesn't do it out of spite, just out of what he believes is also best for himself, especially when it comes to beating Shuusuke in tennis.
In reality, however, his father had never had that kind of noble reasoning. He left simply because he wants to do what he wants regardless of whether the family approves or not, and he comes and goes as he pleases. His father leaving actually is pretty much a whole issue with the Fujis because breaking up the family like that screwed his older siblings big time. This causes a dislike from Shuusuke and Yumiko towards him because he's pretty irresponsible and can't be forced to stay and take care of his family, so they grew up dependent on their mother. As both of his siblings don't want to tell him anything about the man, he tends to believe only what his mother says about him. While he isn't going to say he has the best father in the world, the fact that his mother thinks so highly of him makes Yuuta think that his father isn't a bad man, and that stuck with him all the way until now.
This may cause him teenage issues down the road, but for now he's good.FUJI YOSHIKO (mother)A lot of Yuuta's values come from his mother. While he doesn't share several of her traits, his siblings having taken after her tendency for secretive smiles and unusual patience and tendency to troll sometimes, he does get a lot of his values from her. For all of his short temper and impatience, Yuuta can be very understanding and accepting of people despite their faults. This mostly stems from his mother, who tends to explain things to him a lot and tries to get him to always see both sides of an argument. As a child, whenever he had issues that Shuusuke couldn't save him from, he'd cry and grump to his mother. Sometimes these issues could be about his siblings or his friends, and she'd patiently explain why they do what they do and insist he tries to forgive them each other. In a way, it makes him think in a more open-minded manner, in which he doesn't judge people by current actions and intentions, which makes it easier for him to forgive people like Mizuki who, despite having taught him a move that could break his shoulder, really did see him for himself and trained him to be as good as he is, and that was still worth noting.
While Yuuta doesn't quite adore his mother to the point of being a mama's boy, he does respect her a lot and definitely takes her advice to heart. He also somehow takes a part of his hardworking nature from her, because he sees how she takes care of all of them everyday and knows how diligent she is with her own work. Also faithfulness is something he takes after her, especially since she never filed a divorce despite the flakiness of her husband, and even tries to convince her children he's not as bad as the picture they've painted of him. With age and his sudden sour relationship with Shuusuke however, the relationship between them gets strained because of how similar his family members are with each other, and there was a time he tries to avoid coming home as much as possible despite his mother's insistence. Though this isn't as bad anymore when Yuuta started reconciling with the problems he had with Shuusuke, he does have a tendency to feel awkward and embarrassed now in going home during the weekends.
He has a good relationship with her though, and the fact that she's really understanding and doesn't try to hold him back despite her disapproval is something he appreciates. This in turn makes him try his best in school to show that she doesn't need to baby him anymore, and the dependent little boy who always had to rely on her comfort can and will in fact make her proud by showing that he's grown in his own way.
FUJI YUMIKO (eldest sibling)Yuuta has a fairly good relationship with Yumiko. While his sister's predictions can creep him out with how accurate they are, he's never had any real issues with her except her tendency to do embarrassing things like Shuusuke does--- this includes clinging to his arm in public. However, despite that, he actually gets along with his sister more than Shuusuke. Yumiko is more understanding of things and tends to actually point out issues when they arise, even noticing things about Shuusuke that Yuuta doesn't. She's the most perceptive out of the three of them, probably because she's the eldest, and tends to play peacemaker when their mother isn't around. While he doesn't have that close a relationship with her, he does care about her a lot, enough to try his best to be thoughtful about the kind of gift to get her.
As Yumiko is closer to Shuusuke than to him, he doesn't really rely on her as much as thus their relationship is rather awkward on his side. He's not very open with her and he doesn't really tell her a lot of things, especially when most of the time she already seems to know them. However, he is more likely to tell her things that embarrass him than he is to Shuusuke, as he's certain that a.) She won't actually go through and embarrass him and b.) She's more secretive of the two.
He doesn't like that she dotes on him as much as everyone else does though.
FUJI SHUUSUKE (elder brother)Complicated as hell.
The relationship with Yuuta and Shuusuke is rockier than Mt. Everest--- mostly because of communication issues.
When they were younger, they were the closest siblings possible. Shuusuke would always defend him when others bullied him, and he in turn completely admired Shuusuke and wanted to grow up to be like him. They even played a lot as kids with Saeki, and they can spend hours hanging out before they have to go home. The thing is, as a child, Yuuta had all the hero worship for Shuusuke, admiring the fact that he is so good at everything he does. Though Shuusuke has moments where he's failed hard (like releasing their pet rabbits and having the neighbor's dog murder them), he has never taken it against him before. For Yuuta, because Shuusuke is so good at what he does no matter what it is, he started working really hard to be able to be just like him. In a way, Shuusuke's natural genius inspired even more of Yuuta's hardworking nature at that time, because he's aware of the differences and he wanted to show he can be just like him too. Sure, Shuusuke could be a horrible troll and sometimes Yuuta would cry to his mother about it when his jokes get too much, but he still admired him nonetheless like a gullible puppy.
It all goes downhill when tennis got involved.
Saeki was the first to admire it, and Yuuta--- seeing as he also admired Saeki a lot--- thought that the sport was cool, and Shuusuke joined along because both his best friend and his brother were playing. The start of it had no issues; tennis was
fun and they had fun and that was all that mattered. It turns rotten during a young people's tournament they decided to join in. Yuuta loses pretty fast and he sees almost immediately the difference in his skills compared to Shuusuke, who easily breezes his way through. However, because Yuuta loses early and Shuusuke was never as serious with tennis as he is, he dropped the game and said he would rather play computer games.
This turned out to be a horrible decision, because all that admiration he built up for his brother came crashing down when he realized this was a pity game. For him, Shuusuke dropping the game simply because Yuuta isn't playing anymore showed just how serious he
isn't about things, and their relationship turns sour almost immediately. What he admired Shuusuke for was his skill and ability to do anything he wanted and do it
well, but in turn it gives him no motivation and for a person like Yuuta who gives his all in everything he does, it was a big slap in the face to have that happen. it felt like his brother didn't respect
him and made a fool of his hard work by showing that as a genius, he can easily disregard things that for Yuuta, he had to earn his way through. This starts to fuel a rivalry and a bitterness due to the idea that no, genius doesn't cut it and he will show that hard work is definitely better than that.
It doesn't help that people refer to him as the brother to the genius Shuusuke, and in time he develops a complete dislike for being compared to him. Rather than wanting to be like him as he did before, Yuuta suddenly wants to be so different from him, to prove he's nothing like that, that he won't just belittle things others really care about--- and he really did care about tennis. For him, being compared is a sign that people are saying because Shuusuke's a genius, Yuuta is a genius and he won't need to work as hard to gain what he wants. There's also the underlying belief that his brother simply doesn't
care enough, which might involve overly dramatizing past mistakes and making them seem bigger than they are due to his bitterness, which doesn't help their relationship any. It turns sour enough that Shuusuke was quick to believe that as long as he doesn't prove he's nothing like Shuusuke, people will only see him as the little brother of a genius who doesn't need to work hard to be good, and thus he can't prove himself as himself--- a guy who has a lot of passion for tennis and actually works hard to prove it. He meets Mizuki, transfers to St. Rudolph, and focuses solely on the idea of beating his brother that everything else seemed irrelevant, including going home or making sure he's not destroying his arm or anything.
The fact that he openly distances himself from Shuusuke also strains their relationship further, and his own pigheadedness makes it impossible for him to understand Shuusuke's whimsical ways. What used to be things that were normal seemed to make no sense, and he considered any sign of whimsy as a sign of not taking things seriously enough. It's even possible that he looks for reasons
not to like Shuusuke to strengthen his resolve, especially given that they got along so well when they were kids. It even comes to a point where Shuusuke's kindness and sincere wishing of luck for him is also being treated like an attack, because the idea of brotherhood just doesn't work well when he's too busy resenting him.
When he gets a match with Echizen however, all the resentment comes crashing down faster than even he expected. Echizen provoked him, tested him, yet at the same time told him that Shuusuke wasn't the only good player in Seigaku. This rattles Yuuta because he's been so focused on beating Shuusuke, genius Shuusuke who was good at tennis without having to try so hard, that somehow he completely sidelined everyone else who
does play tennis aside from him. In a way, playing tennis with the thought of only beating Shuusuke closed his mind off his original reason for playing it--- because it was fun and he liked the challenge, and he wanted to beat strong players like the ones he saw when he was a kid. It didn't matter if Shuusuke was a genius and he was better than him, he'll still beat him one day, but it slowly melted through his defenses anyway. Echizen was a strong player, stronger than Yuuta even, and he was making him see just how fun tennis is, and by the end of the match he was happy and content even if he lost. If that wasn't enough, hearing Shuusuke wanting to crush Mizuki because he was aware that one of the moves Mizuki had taught him (Twist Spin Shot) could destroy his shoulder kind of slapped him in the face.
Here was Shuusuke, being serious and
not looking down on something he held dear, and he was doing something he had kind of set aside about Shuusuke in the spirit of the word: Being his elder brother. He was taking something seriously, protecting Yuuta, and in a way it just melts away the last of the childish resentment he harbored from having to be compared to a person who never seemed to be serious about anything. Somehow that was enough for Yuuta, who probably just wanted to see him serious for once because he didn't want to be related to someone who doesn't have any passion, to start admiring him again.
Him beating Mizuki the way he did also strengthened that admiration.
However, possibly due to having had their issues as long as they have, and because they're teenagers and boys and just about every ridiculous reason at that age, Yuuta doesn't know how to openly admire his brother outside the courts as before. He ends up saying things he doesn't mean and trying to pretend he doesn't want things he secretly does, or to put it in easier terms--- he turns into a 'tsundere'. He tells his brother he'd rather have a match with Tezuka when Shuusuke tells him they should have a match next time, even if he really does want a match with Shuusuke instead. He tells him he doesn't want to go home, but is easily tempted by promises of his sister's cooking and dessert. The lack of communication from the past makes him easier to fluster and less ready for teasing, because he doesn't get that as much in St. Rudolph, and more often than not he answers him in retaliation rather than heat. Also, because he's been as angry as long as he has, he does throw his temper around more often then before, even if he doesn't mean it.
Still, despite the rockiness, Yuuta does admire Shuusuke a lot and believes him to be the best currently at tennis, and the thought of him getting beaten again flabbergasts him. Once all the actual anger was gone and all that was left was the awkwardness from their still-rebuilding relationship, Yuuta ends up being really supportive of him and watches his games often, possibly also under the guise of scouting him for when they have a rematch, this time out of pure competitive spirit rather than malice or proving something. Their current relationship is a lot healthier than before too, at least, and Yuuta sort of reverts back to his more child-like days when it comes to the courts. Even in the U-17 training camp, he openly admires Shuusuke for giving his all in the match and even asks him to confirm that yes, he is totally better than Tezuka or Atobe or Shiraishi in tennis. While he's awkward with him with normal, everyday things now, the admiration shines through there and in a way they retain a bit of their old and new interactions.
SAEKI KOUJIROUBack when he was a wee little boy, Yuuta probably met Saeki through Shuusuke. He was a kid from Chiba just like the two of them, and he was a nice enough person and so much of a big brother figure that Yuuta probably spent a lot of his days tailing him like a duckling when Shuusuke wasn't around. Saeki was really friendly and popular and pretty much made Yuuta think he was the coolest guy in the world next to Shuusuke, so there's also a lot of admiration laced there from childhood. They played by the sea often and even because of Saeki, he started liking tennis too.
Then they moved away from Chiba.
Yuuta and Saeki's relationship becomes really strained after that. As a kid, Yuuta admired him a lot as a big brother, but having lived as far away as he had for a few years, alongside all of the issues brought about with Shuusuke worsened their relationship by association. He was more of Shuusuke's friend than Yuuta's, and while he was more persistent with sending Saeki mail after mail of their new life, the messages started slowing to a halt when he moved to St. Rudolph. It doesn't help that with his resolve to beat Shuusuke came along the resolve to beat everyone related to him, including Saeki.
By the time they meet again for a practice match between Rokkaku and St. Rudolph, most likely brought about because of the association between the Kisazaru twins, Yuuta was already stewing in anger and resentment and probably looked nothing like the wide-eyed little kid who admired Saeki years ago. In fact, it's safe to assume he wasn't very forgiving either when it came to their match. However, Saeki actually lost that match on purpose, something Yuuta may have noticed given his perceptiveness when it comes to how his opponents treat him (most likely stemmed from the whole idea of being compared to Shuusuke), but never questions this.
After the whole match with Seigaku, his relationship with Saeki was still rather rocky. There's never any real resolution between them, though it's easy enough to assume that Saeki probably never took Yuuta's harshness to heart. There's still a strong admiration for him, but because he doesn't openly resolve it with Saeki as he does with Shuusuke, he tends to be quiet around him instead and is most comfortable with him when it comes to talk about tennis. He cares for him but isn't good at showing it, and puberty causes him to be easily flustered when he does embarrassing things like actually checking up on him, causing him to react violently and well... 'tsun', for the lack of better term. Saeki being so nice to him after he was a jerk to him doesn't help, because it flusters and embarrasses him more and in turn makes him react like that.
Also there is a bit of jealousy going on there because he's the cooler brother figure, and thus he wants to be able to show off to him too, but then he's Shuusuke's best friend so he feels that Saeki probably is more obligated to his brother than to him.
HAJIME MIZUKIDespite his shortcomings, Mizuki is someone Yuuta does respect and look at with high regards and he really appreciates him. Mizuki was the first person since his issues with Shuusuke who made him feel like he's his own person and not just the brother of the genius Shuuuke, and pretty much his biggest reason for switching from Seigaku to St. Rudolph. Though Mizuki later shows that he did in fact not care for Yuuta's well-being as much as he should have by teaching him the Twist Spin Shot, a move that could destroy his shoulder if he used it too often, Yuuta still decided to stick with Mizuki. After all, while his intentions weren't pure by any means, Mizuki did in fact help him improve, and Yuuta can't deny that Mizuki isn't a bad manager at all. He does believe in his skills and thinks that Mizuki is a really good player, even enough to really think he could beat Shuusuke.
That doesn't mean, however, that he thinks Mizuki is a completely good person. He's aware that Mizuki could and would use others to his benefit if he has to, and he isn't exactly the best role model. Mizuki often drags him out to scout other teams, and there have been times when he'd do ridiculous things that Yuuta doesn't approve of. However, he also doesn't believe he's a bad person. He draws the line on trying to use him as a guinea pig again and will more likely than not protest to anything that sounds vaguely illegal, but he'll also listen to him when he's certain that what Mizuki is telling is for his own good. He's not the type of guy to shun someone completely for wronging him, but he also knows well enough to take care of himself, which is also probably why he still sticks to him.
Yuuta sees Mizuki as someone to respect and admire on the court and his mentor, and he's probably the only one willing to push him to his limit to bring out his potential. He definitely admires that part about him even if he questions other things.
