could i get some Chihiro x Tenko please? it's not a very popular ship but i feel like it has a lot of potential.
i like the idea of her falling in love with him due to thinking he's a girl trying to get stronger, but when he reveals that he's a guy to everyone, her crush on him doesn't dissipate, which she did not expect, and now she has to deal with what that means for her.
I usually make Chihiro non-binary, trans, genuinely unsure, etc., but that's not too important a detail in the scheme of this ask, lol. More to the point:
Yes, I do think they would be cute as a ship.
Tenko has a lot of protective energy. In canon she directs it at Himiko, who doesn't want it (Or whatever interpretation is preferred by people who ship them; I don't feel strongly one way or the other.), but I think Chihiro would enjoy it...after a point. Like, I think Chihiro enjoys the idea of being protected but feels they aren't supposed to. Which is something that could lend itself to some fun dynamics, as their initial reservations subside and they permit themselves to enjoy the treatment.
I'm imagining this interaction takes place in the AU where the V3 cast is Class 79, which means that Chihiro will probably have had some time to confront their preconceptions about masculinity and also means that they can be embarrassed about being protected by Tenko on the basis of age more so than gender. Like, just as Chihiro is facing the idea that it's okay for girls to be stronger than them (and maybe hasn't even all-the-way overcome that), Tenko comes in as a kouhai protecting her senpai, and it's a whole other thing to be insecure about.
Tenko loves to be the person who intervenes for someone she perceives as being bullied or walked over (She's done so for male characters in canon, too.), and if she jumps in to assert herself on Chihiro's behalf, Chihiro will be blushing and thankful, but there might be some initial self-reproach about it.
Fortunately, Tenko's WHOLE other thing, besides being protective, is being the biggest hype-lady out there. She loves to talk up the good qualities of the people she cares about. So Chihiro's path to accepting that they like it when she stands up for them can be lined with compliments and affirmations that make them blush in a completely new way.
I also like the idea of Chihiro tutoring Tenko or showing her how to find things on school grounds (like a good senpai should). Chihiro doesn't see their own contributions the way Tenko does; while Chihiro internally laments that they can't fight for Tenko the way she fights for them, Tenko is head over heels for how knowledgeable Chihiro is and how glad they always are to help out.
