rival

Tomite and Uruki don't exactly get along very well. They're around the same age and they're teammates, so you would think that they'd be fast friends, but this is far from how things actually played out. Tomite basically took Tamahome's place as the resident money-grubber because of how poor his village was and was after Rimudo because of the large bounty on his head. Of course, this was before Tomite knew that the two of them were both celestial warriors, so it was a rather rude awakening for poor Tomite when he found out. By then, however, his goals had changed and he was helping Takiko to summon Genbu.

Rimudo's nonchalance about their destiny and unwillingness to help Takiko angered Tomite, who frequently yelled at Rimudo, asking him why he wouldn't stand by her, why he wouldn't protect her. When the latter didn't answer, Tomite asserted that he would protect Takiko. As evidenced by the scene where he tried to steal a kiss from her while she was asleep, Tomite had at least a small crush on his priestess, which is probably also part of the reason why he resented Rimudo, whom Takiko was obviously smitten with from the beginning.

When Rimudo finally accepted his fate as Uruki and joined them, he and Tomite still had their spats. Their personalities clashed because Tomite was hot and Rimudo was cold, basically. But there was definitely a lot more trust between them and Tomite even accepted Uruki and Takiko's relationship. When Uruki tried to drive Takiko off after learning that she would be devoured by Genbu, Tomite asked him if he would really be alright with never seeing her again, which of course pained Uruki greatly, though they both knew there was no other choice.

While the two of them are still not exactly best friends, they have a friendly rivalry going that seems like it will someday evolve into true friendship. After all, they've been through a lot together and nothing brings friends together better than adversity, even when the two are so different.

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