#samejima taiga

Starting off with Gabu, can I just say that when we did Conduct disorder in class, I couldn't help but think that Gabu might have this?? Now, I'm not diagnosing him, but a lot of his behaviour does fit the symptoms and tendencies seen in Conduct disorder, which include a disregard for rules, harming people, physical violence and violating others' rights.

Drawing from this, I also want to point out that Gabu also seems to have issues with authority. This is canonically implied with scenes where, when Taiga tells him they should just go back to their world, Gabu says "What's there to go back to? We'll go home and have to listen to our parents and go to school."

This scene is actually the basis for my major headcanon that is the Samejima family's situation. Although it is never addressed in the show, I deeply suspect that Gabu comes from a low ses family, and part of why I think so is because of this scene where they have come back from X Zone and Gabu's clothes look like this:

now, idk what the fashion was like in 2005, but maybe this is supposed to indicate something.

So basically my theory is that Taiga and Gabu's father died soon after Gabu was born, and their mom remarried because she couldn't raise them both by herself. Except their new step-father is abusive, and their mom has basically just given in to the whole situation where she as a victim cannot get out, and can't even protect her children like she is supposed to.

I think Taiga did have a fairly loving and stable childhood with their parents, but because he knows that Gabu is especially the target of their step-father (cause maybe Gabu looks like their dad, while Taiga looks like their mom) he tries to do whatever Gabu wants. He acquises to Gabu's demands in his own way to try and make him happy.

Gabu has been shown to be a mischievous kid since very young, and one reason for such attention-seeking and willful behaviour is when parents neglect their kids (re: his mom, who turns a blind eye to the abuse they both suffer from) but also, it's an act of defiance on his end because Gabu reacts to stressors with the "fight" response, rather than flight.

Acting out of order gives him a sense of freedom, and Gabu clearly has a desire to have control over everything. Such a strong desire from control is likely to emerge especially because someone doesn't have any control in their early life or other roles in life. I think that because Gabu cannot control his home situation, he displaces his anger, resentment and other feelings onto weaker people he can have control over. These include his friends, and the people of X Zone when he obtains Bloody Fang.

I also think that Gabu fundamentally has an Avoidant attachment style, which likely developed from the situation where his father died soon after his birth and his mother probably wasn't able to provide enough attention or love to build a secure relationship. This can be seen when he discards Taiga, and repeatedly insists that he doesn't want or need friends.

Gabu has said many times a statement that really made me think of this whole theory, which is the line "The strong ones have it all. The weak have no place here." I think it's very indicative of an abusive home he grew up in, where power (both in status and physically) decides who gets to have control. And because he is the weak one there, it doesn't fit his own self-image, because Gabu believes himself to be amazing.

This belief is what makes me think he has Conduct disorder, because his high self-esteem is probably rare in such an environment.

I also have a separate headcanon that Gabu is actually quite smart. Maybe he is not super good at book smart stuff, but I think he's actually pretty good at languages. I mean, he only speaks Japanese so I have no clue about English, but his handwriting is canonically quite legible (and in my personal opinion, fairly casual and pretty in style) and he is good with kanjis, because he pointed out to Taiga how Koei's name is written.

Moving onto Taiga, I love this guy so much. I cannot put it into words. So of course the backstory I designed for him will reflect my personal projections, lol.

So I think that Taiga had a fairly loving and normal childhood, which is why he grew up pretty okay compared to Gabu's defiance. But because he has lived both the good life and the bad one, I think he has a strong sense of doing things fairly and rightly. He is straightforward and respectful and I think all of this is because he was forced to grow up a little when his mom remarried and he had to protect her at times.

The reality is that he couldn't do much which is why I think Taiga harbours a lot of guilt. In the initial half, he seems to listen to Gabu a fair bit, which I think is his way of trying to make up for Gabu's shitty childhood by trying to be a kind brother for him to lean on. Unfortunately, Gabu has the habit of pushing away the people around him because of an inherent fear of relying on anyone since he has an Avoidant style.

Taiga knows that what Gabu is doing is not right but it takes him a while to get to the point where his sense of fairness and justice outweighs the guilt he feels towards Gabu, and then he asks Sho to help stop Gabu because he doesn't know what to do. I think because Taiga loves Gabu deeply and has always let him have his way, he cannot truly fight him beyond scolding. He also never resorts to physically stopping Gabu, most likely because he doesn't want to hurt Gabu like their step-father does.

Unlike him, Gabu has no problems hurting others and he is likely displacing his anger and hurt at the violence by hurting others. It gives him a sense of satisfaction, and possibly it is what he sees as "fair" because why must only he suffer?

I think this theory/headcanon makes a lot of sense because Gabu, as a 10 year old who lived in a whole different world, never once wanted to go home. Although Taiga did, he also never mentions their parents or home life. In fact, Gabu refuses to leave X Zone, and when he gets back, he immediately tries desperately to go to X Zone again.

All of this makes sense if we consider that X Zone is the one place where Gabu can truly be the strongest, where he is the one in control, and where he can do what he wants. He is free in X Zone, which is why he has no desire to go home to a neglectful mother and abusive step-father.

Also, biking is something Gabu excels in and racing probably is one of the things that makes him feel powerful and free. All of this blows up when they reach X Zone, a place where MTBs are the measure of strength and power, not your physical strength.

My lighter headcanons for Taiga include the idea that he is one of the types who look scary but rescues kittens by the roadside. I especially like to think there is a black cat that he once saved that sometimes follows him around. Idk man, he seems like the type to feed stray kitties and accidentally carry one home.

I also think he is pretty average at school, but wants to hurry up and finish so he can get a job and escape their family life with Gabu. He also wants to protect their mom, which is probably harder to do because victims of abuse become helpless and are affected mentally in self-defeating ways.

I like to think that towards the end of the show, where Team Sharktooth is with Sho's gang, Gabu actually starts learning to rely on others, builds friendships and actually build a solid social support system for himself.

That's all for this long post, folks! If you actually read the whole thing, colour me surprised, but I wrote this just because I had a lot of thoughts and ideas about the Samejima brothers and their family life. I have more to say on the Shidou siblings and their family life too, but that will be a separate long post on its own lol;;

NOTE: these are just my headcanons/theory, this is not canonically said!! although my idea is based on canon implications, it is just my personal opinion and I am not claiming this is reality in any way. I would love to read and hear other ppl's hcs on these characters!

"...amazing how he can control it that high up," you were going off about Aero Scissors.

Normally, outings were reserved for Taiga and you to talk about yourselves and your work but he hadn't realised that your work as a mechanic would include you talking about Koei. (His MTB, actually, but the green monster inside his chest was focusing more on the person who owned the bike.)

There was a shine in your eye as you spoke, chopsticks holding hands waving about over your bowl of noodles while you explained how the lighter frame of Aero Scissors made it easier for the wind to lift it or something along those lines. Taiga could never ignore what you were saying so he had to sit there and listen to you heap praise on the build of the bike and also its rider for how well he controlled and rode it.

"... different from Bloody Fang, of course," you paused when you noted how quiet Taiga was, unlike his usual self. He would always hum or nod when you were talking to show that he was listening, but today, all his attention was focused on his bowl in a weirdly intense manner. "Are you okay?"

"Hm?" Taiga looked up at you and blinked at your concern. "I'm alright."

"Am I talking too much?" You asked with an easy smile before taking your first bite after quite a while. Taiga smiled back and shook his head. "Then, something on your mind? Something you wanna say instead of listening to me yap about bikes?"

"No, you can continue," Taiga gestured, his own chopsticks just moving the noodles around in his bowl. "I'm listening."

You watched him quietly for a few seconds as you chewed thoughtfully then shrugged and decided to finish what you were saying. This time though, you paid closer attention to Taiga's microexpressions and noted the brief notes of anger and sadness whenever you mentioned Koei or praised Gabu's skills as a racer.

"It's all super interesting," you said mildly, looking down at your own bowl instead of Taiga. "I'm lucky I get to see them up close. It took me a while to get Koei to trust me enough to examine Aero Scissors but he's a pretty nice guy once you get to know him. I can't blame him for not trusting me after those four keep meddling with him, y'know? Since I'm also in Sharktooth…"

Taiga seemed to have frozen in the middle of what you had said. He couldn't help but wonder at your words. Was there a possibility that you might… like Koei? There was already something about the ninja that made him deeply uncomfortable but now, there was this inexplicable anger and feeling of inferiority that Taiga was feeling towards him. He didn't like feeling like that one bit.

A gentle nudge to his elbow startled Taiga out of his own thoughts and he looked at you. You were sitting much closer to him than before, your empty bowl pushed aside so that your arm was bumping into his. Your head was turned to face him and the expression you had on was… unusual.

"What?" He swallowed, pushing down the snap in his voice that was about to automatically surface from even thinking about Koei. You smiled softly at him, the same smile that always made his heart skip a beat. Now, Taiga wondered if you smiled that way towards Koei too.

Koei was older, a good rider, a caring brother… There was no reason for you to choose Taiga over Koei. So to speak, Taiga himself had lost to both Yamato Shō and Arthur and if you were disappointed in him and thought Koei was better for winning against Arthur… Then there wasn't anything wrong in that. Taiga could understand that. But that didn't mean he had to like it.

The idea of Koei taking you out on dates, holding your hand, having dinner with you like he was doing right now– it made his chest feel too tight and suffocating. Like something was inserting a thousand needles into his heart.

"What are you thinking about?" You asked, eyes knowing. Taiga blinked and looked away, trying not to show his hurt on his face. He couldn't lie to you but…

"Nothing," he muttered instead. Lying by omission was still lying but he couldn't tell you what he felt. It was easier to just stay away and console his broken heart while you got together with Koei.

"I can tell you're not thinking about nothing," you said, poking him with your index finger. A sad smile crawled over your face and you tilted your head before asking, "Do you know what my dream is?"

Taiga looked at you in question, confused by the sudden change in topic. You smiled and looked away, giving your empty bowl back to the shopkeeper before you continued.

"C'mon, you gotta guess," you teased. Taiga hurriedly finished his own bowl while he thought over the whole time he has known you, every bit of information you had told him about yourself that he had carefully stored in the nooks of his heart for safe-keeping. You let him think, quietly humming to yourself as he did and Taiga only answered you after the two of you had left the shop.

"To build a bike by yourself." He wasn't super confident but he still said it firmly. If it wasn't this, then he had surely failed you. Your look of surprise answered him before you did.

"You really do pay attention to me," you said, a little in awe. "I never outright told you and you still figured it out. Ha... You're amazing, Taiga."

Was he? But he wasn't amazing enough for you to like him, right? Then what was the use of being so good at something like this? He couldn't even impress you more than some guy who was lower in rank than him. Right now, amazing doesn't feel enough.

"Well, you definitely don't know the answer to this question, though," you said confidently. The two of you were walking back home, footsteps slow and steady so that you could talk longer, taking the longer path though you both knew plenty of shortcuts. Taiga looked at you curiously and it only made you grin as you asked, "Who do I want to build that bike for?"

Taiga stopped in his tracks. You had someone in mind that you wanted to ride the ultimate bike you would make someday? He didn't have an answer for that. He hadn't thought that you would want someone specific to have that bike, but it made sense. Of course, you would want a really great rider to own your bike. There were so many around you, so if you had chosen someone, it wouldn't be that unbelievable.

"No," he admitted after resuming walking. You, who had stopped beside him, matched his speed. "I don't know the answer to this one."

"Ah," you tutted lowly, looking up at the night sky. "I guess you don't know all of me yet, Taiga."

"Guess not," he sneaked a peek at your profile, illuminated by the moonlight and the street lamps and the LED lights of shops around the two of you. Even in that weird clash, you seemed to glow like the beautiful person he knew you were. You could have anyone in the world. Someone like you deserved to choose the best for yourself.

"Do you wanna know the answer?" You finally looked at him again and Taiga felt his feet root to the spot at the gleam in your eye. The excitement to share something with him. He was curious, but it also felt like the answer had the ability to hurt him. If you said the name of Koei, or someone like Arthur even, he was not sure if his heart could take it. "Okay, how about I give you a hint? He is my favourite rider in the whole world."

Oh.

Taiga looked at you, wide eyed. Your hands were joined behind your back as you gave him a soft smile. Taiga had known you for months now, months spent learning the most random bits of information about you. But the one bit that was the most important to him was that…

Your favourite rider was Taiga.

You had said it teasingly a few times. Every time, he took it as a joke, not letting himself hope, but the way you were looking at him right now, he could tell that you were serious. Your eyes flitted away nervously.

"He's…," you sounded shy, "a bit of an idiot, but he's really so cool. He's such an amazing rider and I want to make a bike for him that lets his skills shine through, you know? Something that can shine with him, so that everyone gets to know how talented he is. I want to study all these Idaten bikes and other interesting MTBs so that I can take all that knowledge and make him a masterpiece that he will love."

Taiga didn't really know what to say. The thoughts from half an hour back that were scared that you might like Koei had floated away. Your dream was to make a bike for him. Koei was not the one getting a bike made by you. Taiga was. If that didn't show who you clearly favoured then… What did?

"Are you…" he hesitated, "Are you sure you want to give it to him? There might be better riders out there that would–"

"No one is a better fit than him," you said confidently. "After all, I'm making it for him. Because I want him to have it. How can something made specifically for you suit someone else better?"

You started walking again and for a few seconds, Taiga just stared at your back, watching the distance between you grow until you stopped and turned your head back to give him a lovely smile. The smile that always made his heart beat faster because it meant that you were truly happy.

"He is an idiot," you paused and winked at him, "but he's my favourite for a reason, y'know?"

"Sit."

Taiga flinched at the sharpness in your voice but did as you told him to. It was obvious from how you were glaring that you were upset. You crouched in front of him, the first aid kit propped open next to you.

Silently, you gestured to him to remove the elbow guards and his shirt. Left in just a tank top, Taiga flushed as you unblinkingly started cleaning his bruises.

"Are you mad at me?" He asked after a few minutes of stony silence. You always talked to him all the time. There was never any uncomfortable silence between the two of you and now… for the first time, you were so upset with him that you refused to talk. Your eyes flicked up to meet his before you looked back at the wounds you were now applying some ointment to. Taiga swallowed the lump in his throat. "Is it because I lost a gold emblem?"

You paused in your ministrations to cast him an incredulous look. "What? Hey, did you hit your head too? Did those bats attack your brains?"

"No!" He was embarrassed at your snappish remark. He didn't need to be reminded of the bats. Honestly, he didn't want to mention it to anyone else but, it had naturally come out when you had demanded an explanation the moment he was back. He could never hide anything from you.

"Do you think I care more about the stupid emblems than you?" You didn't sound upset so much as disappointed in him. Having put on the band-aids on some of the cuts, you closed the box. "If I'm upset, it's because you're hurt."

Taiga didn't know what to say. An apology didn't feel right because it would not be an apology for what you wanted. You probably didn't even expect him to apologise for it, which is why you were upset enough with him in the first place to be silent.

Having tended to Taiga's wounds, you turned your attention to the emblem-less MTB. With a sigh, you started checking all the parts. Taiga shrugged on his shirt as he watched you.

"I'm not mad at you," you said quietly as you worked. "You know I could never stay mad at you."

He knew. You only got angry because you cared. In the first place, Taiga didn't think that Team Sharktooth suited you. You didn't agree to Gabu's demands a lot of the time and yet you always stuck around. He was always afraid that one day you would just up and leave but that hadn't happened yet.

"I think," you paused, turning around slightly to look at him with a bashful look, "if I ever really got upset with you, I would end up leaving."

Oh.

Taiga silently swore to himself to never upset you. Maybe it was a little selfish of him to ask you to stay in Team Sharktooth but, he had had a crush on you for so long now. Nearly two whole years. Everything was just so easy with you. Talking, spending time, or even sitting in silence. You just understood him like no one else did. You were the one person he really wanted to always stay by his side but… He couldn't say it to you.

You probably didn't feel that way for him and admitting his feelings would only push you further away. No. It was better to maintain the friendship you two had built up over the past two years.

"It seems okay for the most part," you said, patting his MTB as you stood up. Taiga nodded to acknowledge your work; you had scolded him way too many times when he kept thanking you every time you worked on it. "I'll set it for you the next time you have a battle but… you should take it easy for a while. You're still hurt."

"It's just some bruises," he shrugged. They didn't even hurt all that much. The wounds to his heart, mind and pride were much more painful, in his opinion. Taiga prided himself in his abilities as a rider. Of all the things, he never wanted to show you his defeated side. And yet, you didn't look like your view of him had changed even after hearing he had lost. "They don't hurt me, really."

"They might not be hurting you, but they're hurting me," you sniped back, giving him a small glare as you packed up your toolbox. "Seriously. I get that you love to race but please be more careful."

Taiga didn't argue. He just smiled fondly at your worries and agreed, "Alright. I'm sorry for making you upset like this."

"Shut up," you weakly swatted his shoulder. "C'mon. Rooftop?"

"Let's go," Taiga smiled.

The rooftop was your secret place. In one of the buildings close to the X Tower, you and Taiga would go to the rooftops to just talk and look at the stars. You liked it because it was peaceful, but also because so far above, you could pretend that you were in your original world.

The rooftop was empty as usual when the two of you set down the blanket and lied down on it to stare at the sky. You could feel the chill of the night in contrast to the warmth emanating from Taiga's body to your left.

"Hey, Taiga?" You suddenly felt brave. You didn't know what took over you in the moment but it just felt like the right time.

"Yeah?"

"I…," you swallowed down the nervousness, "I really like you."

You could see him freeze from the corners of your eyes but, it was already too late. Deciding to just say the whole thing, you ploughed on.

"I know you probably don't feel the same way and that's okay. I am not saying this because I'm expecting anything. I… don't know why I'm saying this, to be honest. I was so sure I was going to take this secret to the grave."

You laughed to yourself but abruptly stopped when you felt a familiar hand slip into your own and give it a squeeze.

"I really like you," you smiled warmly, cheeks pink at the silent support he was offering you. A quiet assurance that he liked you too. "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't even be here."

"That's right," Taiga sounded heavy hearted. "If you hadn't been with us that day… You wouldn't be here in X Zone."

"That too," you turned your head to look at his side profile, "but I meant here, in X City. In Team Sharktooth. I don't listen to Gabu and Gabu doesn't listen to me and we end up fighting all the time but, you never let him kick me out of your group. Honestly, if it wasn't for you, I would have gladly gone away already but…"

Taiga closed his eyes shut, feeling worse with every word you said. He would do anything for you but your one true wish was something he couldn't fulfil.

"This is not our world," you whispered, squeezing his hand a little in fear. "Going off by myself is harder than staying with you guys. I miss home, Taiga. I miss my parents. We've been here so long and, if Gabu stays the same, I'm afraid we're going to be stuck here for the rest of our lives. And I thought… if I had to be stuck here, then I would rather stay where you are."

You trusted him too much, Taiga thought. Or maybe you liked him too much. He couldn't tell, but he felt that you were being stupid. You were brilliant. You would definitely thrive in X Zone even without Team Sharktooth. Even if you decided to leave, Taiga would never let Gabu lay a hand on you. You could live a peaceful life somewhere else but you instead chose to live here because of him?

"You won't be stuck here," Taiga answered after letting the silence stagnate. Briefly, he thought about what he had said to Yamato Shō after their battle. "I… I don't know how, but I have a feeling. Something is going to change in the coming few weeks. And maybe, then we'd be able to go home."

Not that he wanted to. Home was not a place Taiga wanted to go to. He would much rather stay by your side but just because his family was dysfunctional didn't mean that yours had to be too. You had a loving family and a beautiful home– of course you would miss it. Unlike Gabu and he, you actually missed your parents.

"Okay," you smiled at him, squeezing his hand. Taiga let his head turn to face you too. Even under the moonlight of this other world, you looked the same as you had back when the two of you had accidentally got stuck in the mountains in your own world until midnight. That was the day he had started crushing on you but right now, he felt like this was the moment he was starting to fall into something deeper. "Taiga?"

"Yeah?" He stared at you, drinking in the sight of you with an unnecessary urgency, like you would fade in front of his eyes. You did nothing like that. Instead, your body fully turned to face him and capture him in an embrace. You were warm and comforting and Taiga felt his tension crumble into nothing as you held on tight.

"Let's go home together when that happens."