ship_manifesto | Touya/Yukito (Card Captor Sakura/Tsubasa Resevoir Chronicles)

Title: His "Special Person"
Author:

aishuu
Fandom: Card Captor Sakura and Tsubasa Resevoir Chronicles
Pairing: Kinomoto Touya and Tsukishirou Yukito/Yue
Spoilers: All CCS, Tsubasa... around volume 5
E-mail: mbsilvana@yahoo.com
Note: This essay is about the relationship between Touya and Yukito, who appear in at least three different incarnations, thanks to CLAMP's wonderful ability to recycle. I'm covering them first as CCS characters, then from Tsubasa Chronicles. Please note that I consider Yue the same character as Yukito, so that is considered as well. I also use a mixture of manga and anime canon for CCS; Tsubasa, I've only read the manga.

Card Captor Sakura

Card Captor Sakura is a manga and anime created by CLAMP. The series is a basic magical girl show - Kinomoto Sakura accidently releases a bunch of magic cards which were created by master magician Clow Reed and then has to go around sealing them to bring them under her control. The cards are mainly mischievous, causing havoc everywhere - but there's a sad punishment in store if Sakura fails.

Touya is Sakura's older brother, while Yukito is her first crush. Both play important roles in the development of the series.

CCS features many nontraditional relationships. Part of the charm of the series is that anything is accepted. Two of the relationships which are "unconventional" involve Touya - both a homosexual relationship with Yukito, and as a much younger man with his teacher, Mizuki Kaho.

Kinomoto Touya: The first born son

Tall, dark and handsome, Kinomoto Touya is the cliche of an ideal lover. He's caring and playful, but also protective. He plays three important roles in CCS: one as the playful older brother, another as Sakura's protector. The final role, as Yuki's best friend/lover, is a complicated dynamic of unspoken trust.

The price, if Sakura fails to capture all of the escaped cards, is that everyone who's been involved with the Clow Cards will forget the person they love most. Touya, of course, forgets Yukito.

Touya is a hard worker, since he seems to be employed everywhere in town, usually in the perfect place to keep an eye on what his sister is up to. He must be employed at ten different places, since he's always popping up unexpectedly. Most of the time, Yukito isn't far behind.

This might be coincidence, but it's more likely it's Touya's unique ability coming into play. While his sister is destined to become the most powerful sorceress alive, Touya has the Sight. He's able to see spirits and seems to be a touch clairvoyant. This is his magic, and it's a powerful one. It gives him insight into everything that is going on, and he's wise enough not to interfere unless he has to. During the Final Judgement, he watches Sakura fight Yue, but hangs back.

Touya knows more about what's going on than he'll admit to his sister. He watches over her, and reognizes when things are going "weird" but is mature enough to let Sakura handle it on her own. That's not to say he's not above making her life a bit more difficult - he delights in teasing her, but when the cards are down, he's reliable.

Touya is hugely popular, and girls all adore him. Sakura claims that he's shy at one point, but he really seems more distant than anything. He doesn't seem to like crowds or attention, but draws it naturally since he's such a stellar person.

Touya is definitely bisexual. Before meeting Yuki, he has a serious relationship with his teacher, Mizuku Kaho. He's only fourteen at the time, but he's a very adult fourteen. It's questionable how far this relationship actually got, or how one-sided it was.

Tsukishirou Yukito: Rabbit of the Moon

Try to describe Yukito, and you'll have everyone's picture of a best friend and ideal first love for their child. There's simply not enough adjectives to put into words what is so charming about him. He's kind, a touch playful, endlessly patience, and cute.

Yukito is Touya's best friend who is introduced as Sakura's crush. He's always kind to her, offering her candy every day, and he listens to her - something which is rare for a twelve year old to experience. He is quite aware of what she feels about him. Luckily, he's the kind of guy who won't hurt her feelings by dismissing her out of hand; instead, he waits until she tries to confess, before letting her down gently. Sakura is in love with him because of how similar he is to Kinomoto Fujitaka, her father, he points out.

Aside from being always good natured, Yukito is talented at everything he tries. He's a good student, a good athlete, and while he doesn't belong to any clubs, he can always be counted on to help them out. We see him playing soccer and basketball, and he's an excellent archer.

Yukito also has a monstrous appetite - but he has a reason for that. In truth, Yukito is the shadow form of Yue the Judge. The relationship between Yue and Yukito is hard to define. Yue originally sees Yukito as something that is not quite real - his "shadow form." Later on it appears that he acknowledges Yukito has an existence of his own.

Either way, Yukito is not human.

It definitely brings up a lot of questions about Yuki's background, since he seems to appeared out of nowhere when he was around sixteen. Although he claims to live with his grandparents, it's obvious this is a false memory planted by Clow.

And Yue: Shadow of the Moon

No matter how you look at it, there is the issue of Yue to be addressed in this relationship.

Yue is the moon-guardian who protects the Clow Cards. For the first half of the series, he hides away in Yukito's body, and is only mentioned in ominous moments, usually by Kerberos, the Sun Guardian of the cards who fills the obligatory role of magical mascot for Sakura.

Yue's job is to judge the candidate who gathers all of the cards. Of course, Sakura has no clue this is going to happen, so it comes as something of a surprise when Yukito suddenly transforms into Yue and proceeds to kick the crap out of her to see if she's worthy of being his new master.

He seems to be deeply in love with his creator Clow Reed, and is unwilling to let go easily, even though the sorcerer has been dead for many years. He doesn't want Sakura to win, and he wins the round easily until Kaho interferes with a bell Clow Reed left behind for that expressed purpose. Defeated, he is forced to concede that Sakura is the new mistress of the cards.

Sakura doesn't want to be Yue's master, but his friend. She's a very different person from Clow, and Yue is completely taken aback - and transforms back to Yukito. It seems like Yukito ended up becoming more "real" than he had anticipated.

Yue is often referred to in fandom as an angel, since he has white wings. Everything about him is white; his clothes, his skin, his immensely long hair that trails on the ground after him. White is a pure color, but it also lends distance. Yukito is usually portrayed in warm earth browns.

His personality is a direct contrast to Yukito; where Yukito is friendly, Yue is aloof. Where Yukito is gentle, Yue is strict. Where Yukito knows mainly joy, Yue is suffering. Since Yue and Yukito share one body, it's inevitable that Yue is going to have some influence on the relationship.

Yue's exact nature has never been explained fully. Yukito is his shadow form, but Yukito also acts very differently. Yue is melancholy; Yukito is painfully cheerful... Yue is quiet and withdrawn, Yukito is extroverted and energetic.

Canon: Only the Inevitable

This is canon yaoi, and about as good as it gets. It's subtle, but the relationship is one the manga-ka have admitted. Since CCS is about Sakura, the signs of their relationship aren't obvious. The story is told mainly through her perceptions, but the few times it steps away to show Touya and Yukito, it's memorable.

The main points in canon are this: Yukito admits to Sakura that Touya is his most special person when he finally lets her down (gently). And Touya was supposed to fall in love with someone before he saw Kaho again - and he does. Touya's love for Yukito is shown when he speaks to Kaho, his former lover. She left him about two years before, but psychic that she is, told him that when they met again, they would both be in love with others. It's true - when she comes back, he's in love with Yuki.

Toward the end of the anime, when Yukito and Sakura share confessions, Yukito admits he doesn't know how Touya feels about him. Sakura assures Yukito that he's Touya's most special person (along with promising to kick Touya if he ever upsets Yukito). It gives a pretty good idea where the relationship is at that point.

We know that Yukito spends the night at Kinomoto's quite often, usually to study. Touya and Yuki spend a lot of time together, alone, in Touya's room. It's easy to imagine them fooling around a bit while keeping Sakura out of the loop.

In the manga, Yukito and Touya share a bike every morning for a bike ride to school. There's also a lot of intimacy implied by hanging out in a tree, many scenes where they're invading each other's personal space. They are also exceptional cute together, giving each other pet names (To-ya, which sounds more breathy, and Yuki) which they use without honorifics, signifying great closeness.

The existence of Yue might be a problem if Yukito wasn't with Touya, but Touya goes into his friendship knowing full well that Yukito isn't human. He also knows that Yukito isn't aware of his other self, and doesn't make that an issue until he has to.

Yue seems to like Touya, which is probably because Touya is the son of Kinomoto Fujitaka, who is half of Clow Reed's reincarnation.

During the second arc, after Yue has appeared, Yukito begins to disappear because Sakura doesn't have enough magical power to maintain Yue. Touya makes the largest sacrifice possible to save Yuki's life. He gives up his magic - and thus his ability to see his mother - to save Yukito and Yue's lives. He admits that saving Yuki is more important than his ability to see his mother.

Actions often speak louder than words, and no where is that more apparent than Touya's offering to give up his power for Yuki. He loves his mother, Nadeshiko, very much, but when he gives up his power, he declares that nothing is more important than keeping Yukito by his side.

Fandom's Pull: A Soft, Sweet Something

Touya/Yukito is an interesting pairing in that many fans are willing to accept it - even those who usually despise yaoi. Recently, I watched a friend (a rabid het shipper) post the 100 words meme, adding she didn't do yaoi - except for Touya/Yukito.

Thinking on this, I realized part of the pull was "it's canon!" The other part? Mainly because they fit so well that it's impossible to imagine them apart.

I can't remember when I fell in love with this ship. It's always been my love of CCS - I am I huge fan of Ogata Megumi (Yukito's seiyuu in CCS) and I love most of her roles. Yukito is so sweet that it's impossible to dislike him. As for Touya, well, while he seems playful and a bit devilish towards his sister, he's really very mature and reliable. There's a sense of deep calm around him, like he's the last line of defense.

As an adult fan, while I find the relationship between Sakura and Syaoran cute, I am drawn to the mature characters. I can see Touya knows exactly what he is getting into with Yukito, and that makes it even more special for me. Touya isn't going to abandon Yukito because of his issues; he's going to be the support he needs.

The pairing is more sweet than sexual, since CCS is a fairly clean series. There's no kissing between the two, but in some ways, the casual touches they share are more intimate. There is so much trust between the two that it seems inevitable.

Many people have mentioned that it's surprising that the fandom isn't all over these two. Earlier fics, written before the series was licensed, tend to be stronger on their relationship than the current fandom. Sadly, the Card Captors dub was very poorly done, and the fandom is inundated with poor writers (or just young ones, to be more accurate). What this means is most of the really good Touya/Yukito is older, and some has vanished from the net with the inevitable death of the older fansites.

Remnants remain, but most of the sites have become static. That said, there are few good fics dealing with Touya and Yuki. It's sad - the relationship is rife with potential.

One thing that is frequently done is "splitting" Yue and Yukito apart in fanfiction, usually by Sakura. I don't see this as feasible, since Yukito exists to serve as a mundane identity for Clow. More feasible, to me, is where Yukito and Yue eventually integrate.

Tsubasa Chronicles: Across worlds, Across Lives

Tsubasa RESERVoir Chonicles is one of CLAMP's most recent works. In it, CLAMP recycles almost all its characters as it tells a tale of traveling worlds. The main characters come primarily from CCS - Sakura and Syaoran star as the couple traveling to restore Sakura's memories.

In Tsubasa, Touya and Yukito have appeared in two different places so far - first as a king and his high priest in the Country of Clow, and again in the Hanshin Republic as two waiters. Both times, they are introduced together. Between worlds, the person may be different on the surface, but they always share the same heart. Interestingly, Touya and Yukito are never far from each other.

Tsubasa's "main" Yukito and Touya (the ones we see in the Kingdom of Clow) appears to be a bit different than the versions in CCS. In Clow, it is Yukito that has the power to see spirits, while Touya is a ruler, since his father (who seems to have been Clow Reed himself, instead of Fujitaka) has passed away.

Both maintain some key traits - Touya's protectiveness of his sister, his slightly sardonic personality, and his dislike of Syaoran, who is Sakura's love interest. Yukito is still fond of teasing Touya, and one of the page intros has Sakura sleeping on his lap, obviously a strong connection.

In the Hanshin Republic, their brief appearance does display the familiar teasing that is part of the relationship. Yukito refuses to stop calling Touya "your majesty" after Syaoran accidently does.

The fact that Touya and Yukito appear so frequently has to be because of hitsuzen, the concept that everything is inevitable, and the two souls are linked. It's curious, because Clow Reed (CCS manga-version), created Yukito for Sakura, but he ends up with Touya. Even the greatest magician had no clue what the fate would really hold.

Of course, if you try to reconcile CCS and Tsubasa too hard, you'll only end up with a killer headache.

Fangirling Tsubasa

Tsubasa is fun to fangirl because it's tied to CCS. The characters aren't really around enough to explore them, but they seem to be the same.

CLAMP is very big into soulmates (Subaru and Seishirou from Tokyo Babylon and Shuichirou and Kohaku from Wish immediately spring to mind). Touya and Yuki fall into these roles - no matter what world they're on, they're together. Seeing them again is more of a treat for old fans than something leading to the creation of new ones.

Sites:

Clampesque: A fanfiction posting board for anything CLAMP, most is of high quality.

Clamp Fanfic Archive: Static, but holds many of the older fanfics - the quality is much higher than found at ff.net. No Tsubasa.

The Sweetest Thing: A Touya/Yukito fansite, CCS. It also contains an official fanlisting which is still active.

TouyaxYukito.com: Seems to be static, but there's still some fics here, fanart, profiles and essays. CCS.

Tsuki: A small C2 community devoted to the pairing. CCS.

Fleeting Fancies: The Touya and Yuki section of the best anime recs site on the web.

Specific Fanfic Recs (CCS):

First off, I'm going to rec TamChronin, who has a substancial body of Touya/Yukito work.

Clow no Tenshi: A fanfic series written by Morgan D, this explores the Yukito/Yue dynamics and Touya's role in their life. It heavily favors Yue, but there's a nice characterization of Touya, and Yukito and Yue start to blend.

Shadows of the Moon by Leareth: Probably the definitive Yue/Yukito fic.

Scattered Blossoms by Peacewish: A rather unusual fic that gives the backstory of Touya. It's technically Kaho/Touya (and yes, she IS the seme of the relationship), but it sets the stage for Yukito's entrance in Touya's life wonderfully. Anything Peacewish writes is worth reading, and most of her CCS work has Touya/Yukito.

Nothing Special by Sophia Prestor: A short fanfic that beautifully displays how the dynamics might work when Yuki and Touya approach intimacy.

The Boy Who Cried Clow by Elihice: A rather fun Yamazaki tale from Touya's perspective.

Territory by Hth. A get-together fic, well-written.

Undeniable by Hth. Yue/Yukito dynamics... and Touya.

From Tsubasa:

To Those Left Behind by TamChronin: A rare Yukito fic from Tsubasa.

Thread Bound by Hana no Ouji: A conversation between Yuki and Touya, gen, but well-written.

The Gift by Askani Blue: How Yue fits into the Tsubasa world.

Domesticity by Katharos: The Hanshin version of Touya and Yukito, with a really cool idea for Yue.

Thanks to

sophiap,

sailormac and

silvermuse89 for their input.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

baka-mazoku.livejournal.com

I thought the lost of memories is only tied to the one who fails judgement (sakura) as opposed to everyone involved... >_>

But I could be wrong, having only access to the dubbed tv show and translated manga...

From:

Touya/Yukito (Card Captor Sakura/Tsubasa Resevoir Chronicles)

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