Having finished the latest chapter (which is chapter 158) I and my friend came up with some theories regarding Rika and Yuri's background. I would love to see your view on them:
1. Yuri is very well-mannered.
She took off her shoes before entering the Japanese style room. Also mind her gestures when she open the door, or when she bow. I do not have excellent knowledge of their culture but I could tell her gestures are beautiful and of high-standard. Yuri and Rika mostly sit with their back straight. Yuri can tell the tea set is good (they would look the same too me since I know nothing about tea-making), she can make traditional tea. => They are rich, and maybe come from traditional household.
2. They might have had mental training.
I'm obsessed with character's depth & development, and through observance I found that this brother and sister duo have great mental ability. They had obviously gone through mental training, or at the very least Rika had. They think fast, have good calculation, and they can make fast decisions in dangerous situations. Their ability to stay calm is not one that can be easily possessed, or just pops out after some incidents. Others might go insane, not the Honjo's bro&sis.
3. They might be faced with the threat of being kidnap before coming to this world.
Ever since the first chapter we have seen that Rika's thought is not that of a normal big brother in a normal household. In stead of just protecting his sister from the evil of the world, he teaches her everything he knows of: guns, leading arts, understanding people's gestures,...
He must had known his sister is exposed to great threats and chances are he might not be there to help her. I don't think most households would be exposed to this situation, let alone getting ready for it. => They have enemies/ Their parents, grandparents, or ancestors hold high social status/ They are very rich.
4. Taking their ages into consideration, they are young. Rika still wears his uniform, which means he is 18 at most (as a 22-y-o I am ashamed). Rika therefore did not take any special schooling for his leading skills. We all know he learned about guns from Makoto (the Sniper, I prefer to call him Yu-chan or Makoto, tho) but what about his mental ability and all? I though and came to this:
- If he learned them from his parents: what kind of parents that can teach a child such high level abilities of leading and mind reading? Even if they're good, who would teach their child such things as such a young age? I can understand Japanese parent teach their kid survival skills, house works and stuffs but leading skills,... He even taught Yuri long enough so that those skills became some sort of instinct to her and pops out when she needs them most. He therefore must had learned them at a pretty young age to be able to teach his sister. => Their household is not normal.
- If he learned them from Makoto along with the knowledge about guns: His relationship with Makoto is a myth in itself. They're together since childhood (judging from the images, maybe 5 or 6). They are closed. Makoto revealed his occupation to Rika (Rika'd obviously known about Makoto's rifle before they went to this world). Using rifle might mean that Makoto's identity has to be kept a secret, regardless he is an assassin or in a special unit of the army - because he mostly pulls long-distance attack and if his actions are not secret the attack might fail. => The Honjo's household may be his coworker, however, seeing how Rika does not went through training (his age gap with Makoto is maybe around 1 or 2, so if they have the same occupation then their training time must be close, but we all know Rika learned almost everything from Makoto), I came down with the conclusion that maybe Makoto works for them.
I am positive that Makoto being with Rika when they were young is to make him close and loyal to Rika, than protect him as an adult. That also explains Yuri's ignorance of Makoto - maybe when she was old enough to remember anyone, Makoto had already been sent off to training.
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My thought is that their home might hold high social status. They can either be yazukas, nobles or politicians. Well they might be a household of police but all the manners, mental abilities, kidnapping threats make me thinks of those 3 possibilities.
Very easy to read, thanks for sharing your speculations!
My friend is going to Japan for a trip so I asked her to buy it for me, but I'm wondering how many chapters on this site are from the original and how many of them are extra chapters only available on mags. Thank you in advance!