#cuz when am I ever not going to cry over YunaAki?

[lightaflametoburnmethrough]

A Study of Soulmates Analysis #3.5 - “My Only One”

Originally, this was supposed to be part of Analysis #3 but since that post was so long understatement and discussed multiple things at once, I decided to write this separately for better coherency. 

So...soulmates! 👏

Any CLAMP fan who calls themselves a true CLAMP fan knows this is a staple trait of all their works. TRC was pretty much the authors’ massive statement that “these connections between certain characters are immovable even across different realities”.

With the introduction of the phrase “私だけの人” (“The only person for me”) in chapter 60, it warrants a deeper study into that aspect of Akiho and Kaito’s relationship.

Because if there’s one thing CLAMP doesn’t joke around about, it’s the ships they bring to the table as the main courses.

Let’s start this off with Lilie.

Since more of her character was revealed in chapter 60, there was bound to be an increase in speculations about her significance to both Akiho and Kaito. Kaito in particular because so far, we’ve only seen Lilie interact with him (and Momo) while her relation with Akiho was just implied (though strongly so cuz of their similar appearances) until it was confirmed that they are indeed mother and daughter in chapter 61.

And while I don’t like to dwell on these thoughts (cuz I simply don’t like or care about fandom), I can’t lie that YunaAki is detested for all the wrong reasons among western (mostly American, eww) audiences while even a small portion of the people who aren’t as opposed towards YunaAki was tempted to jump onto the idea that there was something going on between Kaito and Lilie. 

In spite of the facts that Kaito was still just a kid and Lilie was a full-grown adult when they met (so they’re not even a part of the same generation), Lilie already had someone else she loved ever since she was a child herself (therefore, it couldn’t be Kaito since he wasn’t even born yet) and looked like she was about to get married, and Kaito was still in no mental state back then to properly develop a strong attachment to anything yet. Just to name a few things that run contrary to that notion.

My point is, if there are those who don’t like something or lean heavily towards doubt, they’ll tend to read everything in poor to bad faith. They’ll twist and disregard whatever they see in the narrative to suit their argument against the truth right in front of them. In this case, trying to invalidate Kaito’s feelings towards Akiho by saying “he’s only doing it for Lilie”.

Rule #1 of fandom: learn to think for yourself. Don’t rely on the superficial observances of others. Opinions are not facts no matter how vocal they are. Facts are established through canon and theories should be made to suit and follow those facts, not the other way around.

That’s what I’m going to do now.

If you read my YunaAki analysis post before this one or even if you didn’t, you should still already know Akiho and Lilie are two completely separate people.

It doesn’t matter how much they uncannily resemble each other or share a number of the same mannerisms and whatnot. They’re still different people with different identities because the lives they led are unique to themselves.

So it’s not just because one has magic and the other doesn’t that sets them apart either. It’s the experiences and their own feelings that shaped them into their own individuals that do.

Lilie was the most powerful magician in her clan and therefore, she was at least valued by its members. She grew up with confidence and optimism about the future because there was no abuse to constrain her.

That’s not what it was like for Akiho, who was subjected to horrible treatment and neglect by that very same clan just because she didn’t have any powers. The strength Akiho gained from that ordeal is marked by numerous emotional scars. It is a pain that her mother will never know and never have.

If anything, chapter 60 made it even clearer to me just how distinct Akiho and Lilie are from one another and gave further evidence why Akiho is meant to be the only one for Kaito.

Because the only thing Kaito and Lilie really had in common were being the strongest magicians of their respective groups. That’s all. 

Not to mention, going by what the manga showed us, they only interacted a handful of times, the majority of which was Lilie’s attempts to get Kaito to talk with her. Their lengthier conversations seemed to number around two or four before she exited his life, which is not enough time for two people to get to significantly know each other.

And no matter how gifted a person is at premonition, an actual relationship cannot be based on visions and dreams or even short-lived memories. It has to grow through a good amount of mutual time and effort spent in reality.

The few times Kaito has conversed Lilie, meaningful though they were, do not meet those criteria.

On the other hand, Kaito has been traveling with Akiho for years, throughout which he has really gotten to learn pretty much everything there is to know about her. What she likes and dislikes, how her personality is, what her insecurities are, where her weak and strong points lie. All of it.

And it shows in their close bond and how utterly devoted he is to her. How he’s always attentive in taking care of her needs and how he helps allay her worries and doubts. How he’s the most expressive around Akiho while everyone else just gets his trademark mask of a enigmatic smile.

Seriously, have you ever seen Kaito make a face that’s full of emotion when Akiho wasn’t concerned?

These. These faces were the ones he wore whenever Akiho was at the very center of his mind.

I had to leave out a few cuz some have angles that are a b*tch to crop

He doesn’t do this for anybody else. Not even Momo or Lilie, the only other two people who can be considered to hold any importance in his life.

And that’s because he doesn’t connect with anyone else as deeply as he does with Akiho.

Akiho, who is just like him. An orphan without parents or family, exploited by magicians as a tool. Children who only knew loneliness before they found each other.

What made Kaito decide to go with Akiho was guilt over that “blank book” comment he made...but what drives him to fight so hard for her are the feelings that were born out of their time together. The feelings she enabled him to feel.

He saw how pitiful her situation was and desperately wanted to change that. He related with her over the turmoil of self-worth and how they were both measured by whether they could do magic or not, how “useful” they could be for somebody else. He always becomes so angry just thinking about what the Squids made Akiho go through and is visibly saddened whenever she expresses shame in herself for not being able to meet their expectations.

He wants to make Akiho happy with his own power, no matter what it takes.

If he was doing this for anything else, anybody else, why would he need to go so far for Akiho then? To show this much concern if she’s not his most important one? That makes absolutely no sense just like it makes no sense to claim he’s doing this for Lilie. Because Lilie has already long passed away at this point so he can’t do anything for her.

But Akiho is still here and she’s the one who contributed to his growth as a person the most. Akiho is the one who inspired him to make the first decision for himself. To want to do something out of his own will and not because someone ordered him to.

The farthest Lilie ever got in “motivating” Kaito was getting him to eat some sweets she brought over. For the purpose of searching for something Kaito would “like” (好き).

Even that didn’t amount to more than a rather lifeless “I can eat this” before the meetings stopped. Because Lilie knew, from the future she saw in her dreams, that she didn’t have much time left and would have to leave this world soon (see ch 61, Akiho mentioning the “incident” that took her parents’ lives). 

Still, she left him with these words:

The “like/love” that belongs only to you is surely waiting for you out there, waiting for you to realize (them)

This not only confirms Lilie isn’t the “love” Kaito’s meant to find (because if she was, why would she need to say this to him in the first place?) but also shows how the nature of his relationship with Lilie is noticeably different from his relationship with Akiho.

In a similar vein as how mother and daughter are distinct from one another.

With Lilie, there’s a great sense of parent-child dynamics, especially the asking questions aspect.

The way Lilie tried to get Kaito to stay and chat with her is the same as how an older female figure (ex. a mommy or auntie or even an “Oneechan”) would try to engage with a child. By appealing to them.

“Hey, would you like some candy? Let’s do something you would enjoy.”

I have cousins more than a decade my junior along with several nieces and nephews and I figured out the key to getting and keeping their attention is to talk about or do something the kid has an interest in.

However, for Kaito back then, he didn’t have anything like that. All he knew was magic and it wasn’t even for himself but the Association that demanded it. He just hung around, waiting for orders day in and day out. Living a very dull, very bored existence. He had nothing to share, no desire to talk with anybody because nobody wanted to care for him. And that unfortunately reflected in his own perspective towards the world.

Which is why Lilie proposed that they go search for something he would “like” (好き) together and brought over all those chocomint snacks. Chocomint was something that she loved and she wanted to see if Kaito would as well.

He didn’t (he hated it) and that prompted her to switch over to chocolate pretzels but the point of this “quest” is that Lilie was trying to foster intrigue in a little boy’s mind. Because that’s what children are supposed to be like at that age. Because it’s not normal for someone that young to be so depressed.

Her efforts worked somewhat because Kaito did gradually get used to her popping up every so often. He warmed up enough to her that he was willing to at least try the food she offered and not mind having her in his company.

And this led to him becoming more comfortable to talk with her as well.

The things they discussed weren’t of the ordinary kind as they still mostly revolved around magic. But it’s notable that Kaito has begun to ask Lilie questions.

“Did you make these (pretzels)?”

“You seem happier than usual, did something good happen?”

(about Lilie’s special person) “Are you drawn to them because they have lots of magic like you do?”

“Did you know they’d be “the one” for you because you saw it in your dreams?”

For once, Kaito was actually curious, if just a little bit. But that only happened because there was someone who was willing to engage with him, to actually talk to him like a human being and stimulate his blank mind into having thoughts.

He didn’t understand what this “love” Lilie always spoke of was...so he asked. He wondered if there was any purpose for him to have all this magic...so he asked her if she knew from the future she saw in her dreams.

Like how a child would seek guidance from an adult. Like how a boy would go to his mother for help when something leaves him stumped and frustrated.

Which is very normal behavior to expect because every child wants a mother or parental figure to care for and look after them. And remember that Kaito grew up with no parents or family so he feels that void even more strongly despite the indifferent face he always wears.

It is not farfetched to think he may be slightly projecting his inner need for a mother onto the older Lilie, who actually cared enough to reach out out to him for him and not his magic.

Moving on, Lilie does respond to his inquiries but not in a way that really satisfies Kaito or puts him at ease. She can say with certainty about herself and the decisions she makes for herself. 

But for him, it’s all still very vague and confusing. She keeps telling him that he’s going to find his “love” (好き) eventually but he’s like “How? I don’t even know what that means” and is obviously bothered he doesn’t have everything figured out. He’s anxious that he doesn’t have dream seer powers like she does to provide him with the answers he seeks deep down.

For what reason am I alive? Why am I here? What am I living for?

But Lilie is ever nurturing and kind and supportive to the loss he feels.

She tells him, guides him, “It’ll be alright. I won’t be able to search with you...but the answer you’re looking for is surely out there, waiting for you. You will find it one day. When you finally decide for yourself, that’s when you’ll know. You’ll understand what you want to do, what you’re meant to do.”

Lilie purposely leaves him with all these questions, this tiny budding desire to know.

So that when the moment came for someone to accompany Akiho around the world, he would take that first step towards finding the answers to those questions. The first step towards understanding love.

Akiho is the answer. Akiho is the love he’s been searching for.

Where his interactions with Lilie were all about preparing Kaito for the journey ahead, the journey itself is where Kaito discovered what he wants.

And that is for Akiho to be happy.

Akiho who he learned to smile for. Akiho who he learned to do many things for, from taking care of the house and brewing tea and so on, just so he could bring a smile to her face.

Akiho whose suffering he empathizes with and understands only too well but also Akiho whom he watched with his own eyes try her very best to not let the magicians’ vicious criticism drag her down and discourage her from being a good person.

He admires her in a way he never did about Lilie or anyone else. Because unlike Lilie, who never showed signs of struggles with self-esteem and sense of worth, Akiho most certainly did.

Just like him.

He saw how strong Akiho really was, how she was so brave to want something better for herself. How she still had it in her to be so kind and compassionate despite being hurt so many times...even to a self-degrading person like him.

Kaito thought “even someone like me, who’s just a mere caretaker, whose only worth is my magic, can be treated with dignity by a wonderful person like her.”

Yes, Akiho may not have powers...but has so many great qualities about her that are so much more than that.

She has hopes and dreams and is willing to work hard for them with her own strength. She’s so thoughtful and caring and wishes to study more so that she can be more helpful to others.

Just by being herself, Akiho brought warmth and joy to Kaito’s cold, desolate world. He was comforted by her presence and he experienced for the first time what having a (nearly) normal life was like. The smiles he practiced became more genuine over time, if only for Akiho. And though he still carries that guilt of unwittingly playing a part in turning her into a magical artifact, he acquired new reasons to fight even harder for her.

Kaito didn’t just want to save her. He didn’t just want to take her away from the magicians’ world where there was nothing for her but a fate worse than death.

He also wanted to give Akiho happiness. Not just any happiness but all the happiness she deserved.

Because that’s what she gave him. She treats him as a human being, gave him respect. She appreciates everything he does for her and never takes him for granted. She gave him a purpose, made his days meaningful. She brought peace to his troubled soul.

Unlike the Association who only sought his powers and were more than ready to dispose him when he was no longer useful to them, Akiho would never do anything to hurt him.

Akiho taught him to believe that there is some good in this shitty world and that good, the only “good” he’s ever truly come to understand in his whole life, is her.

So for him to reach the decision to do everything he can, to risk everything he has, for the sake of saving Akiho...it’s a given one after all those years spent by each other’s side.

By the time they reached Japan and Akiho met Sakura, she has already become the most important person in his life.

Even though Kaito doesn’t realize the extent of how deep his feelings run yet (because he’s still confused, still afraid to acknowledge he is capable of love), there can be no doubt he truly does love Akiho and places her above all.

There can be no argument that the answer, the very answer to the question Momo posed towards him in chapter 51 “For who are you doing this for?”, is Akiho.

Because nobody but Akiho has ever been able to move Kaito towards action. Nobody but Akiho has ever been able to make Kaito feel so much to want for anything.

And there are several instances that back that up as well. 

For one thing, it’s been shown a couple of times that Kaito displays a yearning to be close to Akiho. When they’re either alone by themselves or when time for everyone except him and Momo has stopped.

The first case has been occurring more often in recent chapters where Kaito reaches out a hand towards Akiho but retracts it at the last second. The nature of this action is rather ambiguous (platonic or romantic) but it’s so obvious all he wants to do is to comfort her when she’s upset.

He might be hesitating for a few of the following reasons:

1) It’s inappropriate to act in a way not befitting of his position as her caretaker (at least, how he defines that job in his head) so he doesn’t want to cross the line and do something that’s “unprofessional”.

2) He is also well aware that Akiho is a 13-year old girl, that they are not related and that there’s an age gap between them. Knowing how much Kaito cares for her, he is definitely a person who’d want to respect those important boundaries.

But probably more than either of those...

3) Kaito stops himself because he doesn’t believe he has the right to be close to her. Not after what he said that put her in this current mess where she’s in danger of losing her soul.

Kaito feels so guilty about his mistake that even something as simple and innocent as a pat on the head, something that can easily make Akiho feel better in an instant (especially if it’s from him, the person she loves most), isn’t allowed to come from him. Because that’s just how much he hates himself for that “blank book” comment.

Even though it wasn’t his intention, he still thinks “I did this to you. Because of that, I don’t deserve to be by your side.”

None of these thoughts or feelings has anything to do with Lilie or anybody else. He feels guilt because it concerns Akiho. He wants to make Akiho feel better when Akiho is down. Everything about his behavior and how he acts traces themselves back to Akiho as the source.

Then there’s the scene from way back in ch 28, when Kaito stopped time for the first time in the story (iirc). Everyone but him and Momo were frozen and couldn’t hear the conversation going on between him and his contractor.

But as Kaito delved more into Akiho’s past, how devoid it was of any happy memories (much like his own), he moved closer to Akiho as if wanting to embrace her and seemed to have forgotten for a second that Momo was still there.

The proximity between them is significantly more intimate here (in a very non-familial way) than it is when he reaches out to Akiho while she’s “awake” ...but it’s still within the lines of “safe” because frankly, there is nothing sexual or sensual about this panel.

All Kaito wanted was to be close to Akiho because he could see how lonely was. How tormented she still is by the past. 

He can feel her pain like it was his own.

Akiho’s pain is his pain as well. He learned the extent of that anguish because he finds bits of himself reflected in her.

This sort of connection did not exist between him and Lilie.

And Lilie likely also knew this as well because the only time she ever got physically close to him, she stopped short of touching his face.

She couldn’t promise him anything, after all. Not when she was going to leave soon. Not when she knew he was still very wary of people so showing him any form of affection before he’s ready to receive it might hurt him more than anything. 

Kaito has been abandoned before and look where that landed him. In the abusive hands of the Association where trust couldn’t exist.

He was already so damaged by life, she didn’t want to add more to it. He only barely just opened up to her and she was going to disappear.

This is why Kaito remembers Lilie well (because she left a strong impression on him) ...but never mourned the loss her. She never got close enough for him to truly miss her after she was gone.

But more than that, Lilie knew there was someone out there, someone in his future, who will give and offer Kaito so much more than she ever could. Who will never give up on him and never leave him alone to suffer.

Someone who can promise him what he needs and will give their everything to make him realize he is so loved and cared for.

Lilie saw the future. She told Kaito “the love that belongs only to you is waiting for you to realize it (them)”

Who else but Akiho is waiting for Kaito to realize her love for him? Who else is persistently trying to get their feelings across to Kaito if not Akiho?

This is not a coincidence. It’s the inevitability, the hitsuzen, that Lilie saw in her dreams.

With Lilie, Kaito was always so aloof and skeptical. He never smiled for her. He always avoided others because dealing with them was an annoying hassle. He does this with Momo, too, whenever she tries to make him face his own heart.

But with Akiho, it’s different. With Akiho, he always goes towards her on his own accord. He always smiles at her with sincerity. This shows he wants to be with her. Because he knows her. He knows she’ll never intentionally hurt him and finds solace in that. 

Even when he runs away, whether it’s because he wants to keep her safe from him or he’s afraid of accepting the truth about himself (that he loves her), if Akiho’s hurting, he always goes back to her because he cares for Akiho, loves Akiho, like he doesn’t for anybody else.

He will never forgive anything that makes Akiho cry, not even himself.

That too is inevitable because Kaito has never allowed anyone but Akiho to get close to his own heart, close enough to actually stay there.

Furthermore, the fact that Kaito never projected Lilie onto Akiho at any point in the story should be the strongest proof that he’s not chasing after a dead person through her daughter.

We never see him actively thinking about Lilie or mention her at all for the first 40 chapters of this arc (that’s two-thirds of the entire story so far, peeps). It wasn’t until ch 41, when Nadeshiko forced the memory out of him, did Lilie appear for the first time in canon.

And even then, his thoughts didn’t linger on Lilie or the past. They immediately went back to Akiho when Nadeshiko started talking about her own family. He tossed aside trying to understand Lilie’s words about love in favor of his mission to save Akiho.

In favor of thinking about Akiho foremost.

He said that Sakura had everything Akiho doesn’t: a warm home, kind family and friends, happy memories and a hopeful future.

He said all that with such bitterness in his expression that you can’t possibly misinterpret those feelings are for anyone but Akiho.

It’s not fair. Why does Akiho-san not have these things as well? She deserves it just as much, if not more, so why? Why did the world bless everyone but her?

This feels so wrong to Kaito that he can’t stand it. He seriously gets tunnel vision whenever he thinks of all the things Akiho was deprived of. Of all the times Akiho was lambasted, looked down upon, violated and abused by her own goddamn "family”.

He is angry enough to even break character from his servant façade to defend her.

You’re so much better than they’ll ever be. You’re capable of so much more than those fools can ever dream to accomplish. You’re fine just the way you are.

People keep mentioning how her parents had so much power and how disappointing it was that their daughter didn’t possess an ounce of magic within her. But Kaito insists Akiho doesn’t need magic to have worth.

People have commented how Akiho and Sakura are so alike, to a disturbing degree partially due to the machinations of the synchro. But Kaito, with full knowledge of Sakura’s identity as a magician and of how Akiho adores her best friend, never suggests to Akiho to become more like her.

When he looks at Akiho, he only sees Akiho.

He only sees the girl doing her best with all her courage to move forward. He only sees the person who’s given him everything he ever needed. He only sees the greatest good he’s ever known.

And that’s love.

For Kaito, Akiho is love because she’s Akiho. She is not Lilie or Sakura or somebody else. Only Akiho can be Akiho and that is sacred to him. He’d sooner change the world than ever contemplate of ever turning Akiho into something she isn’t.

And the only time we ever see him actually place the image of another person (Lilie) next to Akiho isn’t even prompted by him but Akiho herself.

In ch 61, when Akiho mentioned suddenly wanting to see her mother’s photo (because the synchro is influencing her feelings to align with Sakura’s, who was looking at a picture of Nadeshiko at that moment), Kaito’s expression becomes quite alarmed.

This is a indication of how he thinks of Lilie in regards to Akiho:

1) Mentioning Akiho’s parents is not a common occurrence in their home. And since they both know Akiho’s parents died in an “incident” to protect Akiho from something, it isn’t a topic they can just casually bring up in conversation due to how sensitive a matter it is to her. 

Which is why Kaito is worried over what suddenly brought this on since he couldn’t have known Sakura was talking with Fujitaka about Nadeshiko right then.

2) This chapter also revealed that Akiho has always been aware of her magical lineage and that her parents were especially powerful magicians in her clan. Knowing how Akiho was scorned by her own kin for being born without magic and how her emotional wounds haven’t completely healed from that yet, Kaito would definitely not wish to provoke any thoughts about Lilie out of fear of Akiho possibly comparing herself as inferior (“defect”, “failure”, “useless”) to her mother.

In short, Kaito does not want Akiho to think of things that would make her sad. 

And that’s such a heartbreaking thought because of all the terrible memories she has with the Squids, her parents should be the one good thing she could take away from being born into that wretched clan. They gave their lives to protect their daughter, the ultimate act of a parent’s love.

Yet even that is marred by so many factors because they left Akiho before she even turned one year old. She was too young to remember what they looked like and she wasn’t even given a photo of them to keep.

What’s worse is that the other magicians constantly berated Akiho and the memory of her parents when she was still so little.

“If they were going to leave behind a child with no powers at all, we shouldn’t have let them meet in the first place!”

In essence, they see Akiho as a burden who shouldn’t have been born.

They had the audacity to say that to Akiho’s face with their backs turned as if she didn’t matter. Making her feel not only ashamed about herself for lacking magic but probably also sorry to the parents who died to protect her. The parents she will never know, the parents she probably thinks might’ve been disappointed in her too if they lived long enough to learn that she has “nothing”.

As Akiho’s attendant, it is not Kaito’s place to say anything that’s related to her family...but even so, with how Akiho was treated by them, would he have even wanted to? Would he want to talk about anything that reminds her of her clan, especially who her parents were? 

Unlikely.

It will only hurt Akiho to remember the past and make him even angrier than he already is...so there is no need for him to bring it up. There’s no need for him to talk about them, to talk about Lilie.

Right now, Kaito is absolutely determined to make sure Akiho is safe and happy so saying anything that could do the opposite of that is detrimental to his goal.

I won’t be like them. I refuse to be anything like them. Akiho-san is Akiho-san and I will never compare her to someone else. I can’t hurt Akiho-san like that.

If Kaito really didn’t have true feelings for Akiho, if he only saw her as a replacement for Lilie or just a means to fulfill this perceived view that some readers have of his “feelings” towards Lilie ...then Kaito wouldn’t have needed to be this careful around Akiho in the first place.

He would’ve mentioned Lilie more often, given signs much earlier that his mind was occupied with someone else.

But it wasn’t. He never spoke of Lilie in front of Akiho.

His mind was only ever focused on Akiho. He only ever thought of what he could do to make Akiho happy.

That’s why this page of Akiho and Lilie together must not be misconstrued as Kaito “overlapping” Akiho with Lilie.

Because it really isn’t.

From a literary perspective, a comment about Lilie coming from Kaito can contain negative and mixed connotations. But if it’s coming from Akiho, it’s a different story.

Akiho was the one who wanted to talk about what little she knew about her parents...and that is they were chocomint fans just like her.

Remember that Akiho has no keepsake of them so whatever information she could get from her clan, that piece of knowledge will become very precious to her.

Akiho, who never knew what her parents were like, hopes that she can find some connection with them, even if it’s just the tiniest bit. Even if it’s something as mundane as liking the same candy flavor, it would be enough to make her happy because “Look, I have something in common with my parents, after all!”

And because Akiho is so happy about that, because Akiho can smile about taking after her parents that way, it allows Kaito to drop his guard down slightly and see for the first time how much Akiho really resembles her mother.

You can tell by his reaction that this isn’t something that happens often. He’s a little stunned, to say the least, but not in a bad way.

Because if Akiho doesn’t see it in a bad way, then he wouldn’t need to either.

If Akiho is okay with it, then he would be as well. He’d support her.

The reason he says this “I’m sure you take after your mother” to Akiho is to reinforce that positive feeling she has about her parents.

It’s not for his benefit since it does nothing for him. It’s for Akiho’s because it definitely brings her joy, which she had none of before she met Kaito.

It makes Akiho happy (look at the bottom panel, tell me that she isn’t). It tells her she came from somewhere, was born from someone...and Kaito wants her to know that someone loved her very much. Loved Akiho so much, she was willing to sacrifice her life to preserve her child’s future.

Kaito smiles at Akiho so gently like this, remembers Lilie and affirms the similarities they share...because it holds great meaning to Akiho, the one he treasures most.

Finally (yes, we’re nearing the end, rejoice), the phrase “ 私だけの人” 

“The only person for me.”

From what I heard, these are the arc words of Chobits and they carry the same narrative “weight” as the phrase “いちばん大切な人” (“the most important person”) does in CCS.

I haven’t had the chance to read Chobits yet but when I saw this line in ch 60, it reminded me of a particular scene in TRC (WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD):

Ch 178-179 where real!Syaoran/Tsubasa (let’s just call him Tsubasa-kun) cried out Sakura’s name after clone!Syaoran pierced through her with his sword.

clone!Sakura then turns towards him and sadly says “I am not your Sakura.”

It’s such a striking blow of a moment to the soul because not only are we given the shocking revelation that the SyaoSaku we started the story with are clones of another SyaoSaku...but it also confirms that appearances, no matter how alike they may be to each other, do not determine where a person’s heart points to.

In other words, the special feelings you have towards a specific person are not transferrable to someone else. Because those special feelings were brought about by the time you spent with that specific person. They exist within the memories you have with that one person and therefore, are unique to your relationship with that one person alone.

Keep in mind that (iirc) Tsubasa-kun had no idea that clone!SyaoSaku are his actual parents, which wasn’t revealed until later chapters. At this point in the story, he only knew they were copies created by Fei Wang Reed.

Even so, he never mistook clone!Sakura for his Sakura, who is Tsubasa-hime. He gave Syaoran one of his eyes in hopes that Syaoran will grow a heart of his own, develop feelings and create unique memories of his own (through his interactions with clone!Sakura), and become more than a pawn of the villain.

Sakura understood all this when she realized remembered what she was. She kept Tsubasa-kun at a distance once he joined their group and was always searching for her Syaoran, the one whom she started with this journey together. The Syaoran she spent time with and actually grew feelings for.

“The Syaoran-kun I love is right in front of me, right here. He is the only Syaoran for me. I can never mistake him for anyone else.”

“The Sakura you love is waiting for you. She is the only Sakura for you. You will never mistake her for anyone else either.”

And what does that “waiting for you” on the right page-panel sound so similar to?

Lilie’s words to Kaito in ch 60:

The “like/love” that belongs only to you is surely waiting for you out there, waiting for you to realize (them)

“The only person for you is waiting out there, waiting for you to find them.”

She sent him off to go find this very person...and that person cannot be anyone other than Akiho.

Because the time he spent, the precious memories he created and the special feelings born from those moments up till now are all with Akiho.

Again, if you’re a longtime CLAMP fan, you’d know that the themes they carve for stories tend to migrate back and forth across their works and also that later series often pay homage to older ones as well.

YunaAki in particular share a lot of parallels with TRC!SyaoSaku:

- SyaoSaku journey together throughout different "countries” with the purpose of collecting Sakura’s memories/feathers (source of a magical power); YunaAki travel the world together with the purpose of Akiho storing taboos from books (source of magical power) into the artifact

- The circumstances surrounding clone!Sakura were orchestrated by Fei Wang Reed, the big bad of TRC; the circumstances that turned Akiho into an artifact were carried out by her clan and the Magic Association, the true villain of Clear Card 

(hell, even the designs of their signature plox dresses are similar)

- clone!Syaoran gained a heart by spending time and falling in love with clone!Sakura; Kaito learned how to love by spending time with Akiho.

- Both boys are willing to do anything, anything, to save the life of the ones they hold most dear. Even at the cost of themselves (which makes their girls worry themselves out of their minds for them, dumbies).

With these consistent patterns, it is not hard for me to believe that the likeness Akiho has with Sakura, the strong resemblance with Lilie and the constant mentioning/allusion to both throughout the story are there to illustrate a point and not (just) to throw us off.

That Akiho is her own individual with traits unique to her. That she isn’t someone without (i.e. a Lilie without magic, a Sakura without magic) and how grievously incorrect it is to think of her as “less” that way.

She is Akiho and deserves to be loved for who she is...

And Akiho already has a person who does that better than anyone else can.

This is a reiteration of what was shown in TRC...just like how “the only person for me” is another, different way of saying “my most important person”.

It means “the one I love most is like no other in the world.”

“Only this person can give me this kind of happiness. Only this person can make me feel this way. This special way I do not feel for anybody else.”

Hence, soulmates.

So far in the manga, we’ve only seen two people use this phrase:

- Lilie about the person she loves. The one who doesn’t like chocomint, is the second most powerful in her clan after her and presumably Akiho’s father.

- Nadeshiko about Fujitaka as he recalls his wife’s words to him to Sakura in ch 61.

...by all means, isn’t this CLAMP’s way of hard-lining these phrases (that THEY coined) as being romantic in nature? Cuz I certainly think so.

And that these words (“the only person for me”) were discussed with Kaito and Sakura specifically (who as a matter of fact are paralleling each other atm) ...it just foretells that at least one of them is going to end up saying this line after some kind of grand epiphany that may or may not happen somewhere during the climax.

Which we are heading towards now cuz that’s what Ohkawa confirmed on Twitter at the beginning of the year.

If it does indeed happen, 99% believe of me believes Kaito will be the one to say it because his personal story arc is the most properly built up for that kind of moment to play out. And of course 100% of me knows he’s going to declare Akiho as the only one for him.

For all the reasons above and what was discussed in Analysis #3.

And for sure, Akiho will reciprocate. Hell, she already is reciprocating because there really is no one like Kaito who would move mountains, fight monsters, challenge the world, threaten to tear it apart and rebuild it...all to express to her that he loves her more than anything else.

It can only be Kaito for her.

Just like it can only be Akiho for Kaito.