Yup, i don't see in ruka romantic feelings towards Maya too. More like strange possesivness...maybe towards Maya healthy body/ abilities/perspectives?
i think it's more on a possesive side... cos ruka having asthma limits most of his abilities, whereas he meets maya, healthy, focused, charismatic and goal-driven. it's like he sees everything he wanted himself to be in maya. that's why he sees nemu as a hindrance most of the time. the paths he 'guides' maya towards, are mostly aligned with his own, thus making himself inseparable to maya. he wants to be there beside him cos he wants to see what heights maya can reach.
all while being ignorant of the fact that maya is like this only because of nemu's influence on him, and that maya's goals are towards being with nemu in the long run lmao.
(spoiler) also why i think he was shocked at the latest update when he saw just how ruined and distracted maya became when he and nemu cooled off. he claimed he didn't recognize THIS maya.
which personally makes me laugh vos he probably wouldn't have given a fraction of his attention to, had he known maya in the earliest volume of this manga loool maya was such a slacker and had no goals in life. pft. and the person who made him buck up- ruka sees as a hindrance. i laugh at it all.
Ah... Thanks to both of you for replying! I felt like I was hitting a brick wall with Ruka's character because I've been empathizing with Nemu this whole time (thinking Ruka was trying to break them up so he could have Maya), but then, the context clues and visuals weren't adding up for me. I really appreciate your answers—I think I’m going to have to re-read some scenes with this mindset now.
And, bunonymous: Yes, it definitely makes Ruka's utterly disgusted face even funnier--perhaps he's become disillusioned with Maya now.
Contains spoilers!!
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I don't...quite understand Ruka's intentions toward Maya. He says something like 'This is my body' after the doctor tells him he had to slow down, but to me that has more 'make Maya my protege' vibes than anything romantic.
In fact, I don't get a romantic vibe from Ruka toward Maya at all--it's obvious that he's trying to drive a wedge between Nemu and Maya, but, like, WHY? What is his motivation for doing so?
Anyone else? Ideas, theories, agree, disagree?