L O Y A L T Y nabari no ou [RAIKOU & GAU]

Welcome!

Greetings and welcome to Loyalty, a shrine dedicated to detailing the relationship between Shimizu Raikou and Meguro Gau from Nabari no Ou. This tribute will contain information on the two in every possible relationship. That means this site promotes slash romance between the aforementioned characters, so even if you don't agree with this pairing, please keep an open mind as you view the website. This shrine was made as part of The OTP Amassment Marathon

The current layout idea stemmed from looking at Codrops, which for the record is a wonderful website for learning some cool html, javascript, and css tricks. This layout is features far fewer transitions but the structure remains similar. The image used in the layout was obtained from Minitokyo. The layout has been tested in most modern browsers.

The Boys

Shimizu Raikou was originally a samurai serving under the Fuuma Clan until his family was torn apart and killed. He has a near perfect skill with the blade. Gau Meguro is Raikou's partner, a high school student originally from the outside world. He has an unmatched sense of justice and his loyalty to Raikou is unwavering.

Raikou's Place in the World

The Shimizu Clan was a family of samurai who worked to provide a balance between Nabari and the outside world. They didn't involve themselves in conflicts between clans and only interfered when people from the surface world were endangered by ninjas from Nabari. Raikou and his little sister Raimei were raised as heirs to the clan. The clan was led by their mother, a woman originally from Fuuma who became the clan's head after defeating all of the members battle.

Age: 20 Years Old

Birthday: September 20th

Height:177cm

Weight: 65kg

Shoes Size: 27.5cm (9)

Blood Type: O

Likes: Collecting Protective Charms, Spider Lilies, and Honey.

Dislikes: Fast-Moving Trends and Flowers with Big Blossoms

Skills: Pretending to be Deaf and Cat's Cradle

Random Tidbits: Raikou has no sense of fashion and his clothes become stranger when he gets frustrated or flustered, he believes himself to be amazing at driving and photography but he is terrible at both.

The clan was not without conflicts of their own, Raikou and Raimei's uncle, Iroku, wanted to take over, so that the clan could become more active in the world of Nabari and the outside world, so they could save people rather than just keep balance. Raikou agreed, and joined his cause because, he was unable to save one of his friends from being killed by thugs. Eventually the whole clan stood against Raikou's parents, and although Raikou had been told it would be non-violent, the other clan members killed Raikou's sickly father who couldn't defend himself. When Raikou tried to stop him, his uncle lashed out and tried to kill him, but hit his mother instead. As she was dying she told Raikou to use the clan head's sword to stop them, and punish them for their horrible acts. Raikou killed them, but his sister only saw the end result, and believed Raikou had massacred the entire clan for his own benefit.

Raikou was in high school when he killed his family. I think that Raikou blames himself for what happened to his parents. I feel that the reason he refuses to talk about the situation because he feels taking the blame for his parents' deaths should be his punishment for not stopping his uncle sooner. Raikou often visits the site where their house once stood and pays his respects to his family. When he joined Kairōshū he did so with the intention of seeking a new justice, because he felt that he would be helping to create and restore the balance in the world of Nabari.

Gau's Life in the Outside World

Gau is originally from the surface world, and had no connections to Nabari prior to meeting Raikou. His mother was killed by a murderous teen, and the case was never solved. Gau managed to track down the killer, but was nearly killed by him. Raikou was the one who saved him by killing the one teen who killed Gau's mother. Raikou then took Gau in and introduced him to the world of Nabari. It would seem Gau was amazed by the world of Nabari and the joined Raikou as a member of Kairōshū.

Age: 17 Years Old

Birthday: February 28th

Height:167cm

Weight: 53kg

Shoes Size: 25.5cm (7)

Blood Type: A

Likes: Pacific Saury, Traditional Music, Cleaning, and Organizing.

Dislikes: Shiitake Mushrooms and Messy Rooms

Skills: Braille and Being Part Abacus.

Random Tidbits: Gau has a hobby of eating Raikou's leftovers, stalking Raikou, and carrying around detailed notebooks containing information on anything and everything involved in the World of Nabari.

Although Gau is officially a member of the Wakachi, he mostly gathers information on targets and writes reports. In fact whenever he tries to perform well as a ninja, it usually ends poorly. He can't handle a sword and will easily fall for any tricks. Gau seems to realize his shortcomings and does everything he can to make up for it. He tries to serve Raikou, and Kairōshū in the best way possible. Gau has a very strong sense of justice and wants to change the world so people like the man who killed his mother won't exist. He's a bit ambitious but he helps out a lot.

Gau also has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, he can't stand when people make messes, and will not stop until the area in question is spotless.

Loyalty

Gau is a bit of a Raikou fan. He follows him around, helps out on all of his missions and pretty much believes Raikou can do no wrong. The question is, what makes Gau so loyal to Raikou? Could it be because Raikou saved Gau from death and brought him into the world of Nabari? Is it possible that Gau's faith in Raikou is because of their shared sense of justice? Could it be that he has respect for Raikou's strength and skill? Personally, I believe Gau's trust in Raikou is due to all of those things and more.

When Gau was saved by Raikou he was brought into the world of Nabari, it is likely Gau originally followed Raikou out of a sense of duty in order to repay Raikou for his kindness. I think as time passed and Gau started working and living with Raikou constantly, he began to follow him for a different reason. I think that Gau saw Raikou as someone perfect who he could look up to, but I think he also saw how lonely Raikou seemed to be. Gau wanted to change that about him, he wanted to make Raikou open up to him.

Gau is willing to do anything for Raikou and he practically worships the ground Raikou walks on. If Yukimi or any other Kairōshū member made even a small joke about Raikou, Gau would practically bite their head off. Gau even goes so far as to eat Raikou's left overs if it means feeling closer to him. Raikou never asks Gau to do these things and will often punch Gau, when the ranting about his greatness becomes too much to handle. Raikou, seems to enjoy Gau's enthusiasm, though.

Raikou tries to protect Gau when they go on missions together but when the going gets to rough Gau will often throw himself at the enemy to distract them and give Raikou and opening to attack.

Crime & Punishment

Raikou eventually tells Gau the truth about his clan, about how his parents were killed, about how he finished off the rest of the clan for what they did, and allowed his little sister, Raimei, to blame him for it. He even went so far as to tell Hattori the leader of Kairōshū that is was his fault, that he killed the clan to prove his loyalty to Kairōshū. It is only after many hours of pleading and a few near death experiences that Raikou tells Gau the truth about his clan. The makes Gau swear to never tell, lest he receive a horrible punishment.

Of course, Gau whose biggest goal is to see Raikou happy, knowingly breaks his promise in the hopes of making Raimei understand the truth, so that she could forgive Raikou and the two could be a family again. He goes so far as to walk into enemy territory almost completely unarmed just for the purpose of telling Raimei the story. He easily falls into the trap set by Miharu and the others but is able to convince Raimei that her brother didn't kill the family for his own benefit; but instead to save her and avenge their parents.

I think that Gau's guilt overwhelmed him, and that he believed if he could reunite Raikou with Raimei, he wouldn't be needed anymore. When he jumps into the middle of the fight to "receive his punishment" he does so, believing it is the only proper course for betraying his friend. He waits until Raikou won't have a chance to stop before taking the hit for Raimei. He is critically injured but he doesn't care about his own well being but instead Raikou's. He hopes Raikou will forgive him, and make up with Raimei. The problem with Gau's logic is that, I think, at least that Raikou wouldn't be happy making up with Raimei unless Gau stayed by his side, because Gau was the one person he could trust, and was someone who had constantly stayed by his side during his time as a member of Kairōshū.

After being hit by Raikou's sword Gau ended up in critical condition, in a coma. After he was moved back to Kairōshū's hospital, he recovers over several months. Gau however, remains in a coma even after he is fully healed and the reasons as to why are highly unexplained. Raikou believes that the reason why Gau won't wake up is because Raikou hurt him, and because Gau won't be able to forgive him. On the other hand, Miharu, Yoite, and even Yukimi, believe that Raikou is wrong, and that when Gau wakes up he'd smile at Raikou. It's never explained why Gau wouldn't wake up.

Raikou had originally joined the mission to Kouga, in order to gain the power of Daya, a healing jutsu, in order to save Gau. Unfortunatly, they realize that the secret to using Daya, is human lives. Raikou knows that although "he'd do anything to wake Gau", using Daya to do it, would break Gau's heart.

Eventually, Yoite, steps in and enter's Gau's mind, calling him back to conciousness. Once Gau wakes up he tells Raikou about his time in a coma. He said, he thought he might meet his mother, but he realized that while his mother was pure, his time with the Wakachi made him no better then the man who killed his mother. He also tells Raikou that he couldn't bring himself to regret anything.

Gau smiles at Raikou, and tells him, that he was the reason he returned. Gau regrets nothing that he did. He tells Raikou that he returned because he wanted to help him and stay by his side. I think that the experience improve's Gau and Raikou's relationship. Raikou gains a sense of how important Gau really is to him, and how amazing their relationship could be together.

Gau's Secret Wish

When Gau visits Raimei and the others he tell Miharu something, which Miharu later relates to Raikou. Gau told Miharu that he was jealous of him, because Miharu could grant wishes, and Gau said he had a wish that "couldn't be granted even in 100 years (Chapter 29 P28)." It is just mentioned in passing and never clarified however, I think his wish was referring to his relationship with Raikou. I think that Gau wanted to stay with Raikou and have Raikou love him, the same way he loved Raikou. This is supported by Raikou's response to hearing about Gau's wish. "He thinks to highly of me." It's possible that Raikou feels the same way about Gau but doesn't believe himself "good" enough for Gau.

Raikou thinks highly of Gau, he calls him pure. Raikou thinks that he is tainted and a murderer, which in fact is mostly true, no matter the reasons he did kill his own family members. Gau doesn't think any less of Raikou because of this, his only comment is how sad it is that Raikou had to do that.

Also supporting this theory is Gau's response when he wakes up, he mentions that "I was always wishing for it, because I always wanted to see you, Raikou. I want to be by your side." Gau could be talking about waking up OR Gau could be talking about his desire to be with Raikou, and to have Raikou accept him, as a partner, most likely in more ways than one.

Alternatively, Gau's wish could be for a peaceful and just world. A world in which people don't have to fight and kill, and families aren't separated. A perfect world is something that can't be achieved even in 100 years, but, that is the wish of Kairōshū as a whole and it would seem rather pointless for Gau to express that it was HIS wish, as opposed to that of Kairōshū. Of course even if a perfect world was Gau's wish, it would still relate directly to his feelings for Raikou. Raikou seems to be drowning in guilt and sick of the killing. If justice was brought to the world Raikou would no longer have to raise his sword, he could make up with Raimei, and find peace again. Gau admits he wants all of the above to happen, so it is possible that the two coincide.

Friends? Lovers?

While I would advocate for Raikou and Gau being a couple, but is it possible they could just be friends? Yes. It is entirely possible. In fact it is never stated that they are anything more. They never kiss, hold hands, or do anything that a "couple" would do. It is impossible to deny that Raikou and Gau are close. In fact, the best way to describe their tight friendship would be as a bromance. A bromance? What's that? Well, aside from a term that should never be used in a sentence, a bromance, as explained by UrbanDictionary.com is "the complicated love and affection shared by two straight males."

See, Raikou and Gau are the "finish each other's sentences" kind of cute. No normal male friends would sacrifice themselves for each other (literally) or eat the food off of the other's plate, but both of these things seem almost normal for Raikou and Gau. They are the other's go to guy, they do everything for each other. This doesn't mean that they are romantically involved.

Raikou and Gau may just be friends, I mean, they work together and rely on each other to keep themselves alive. When you work that close to someone else and live with them, it makes a bond much greater than that of a normal friendship. Raikou and Gau have been through a lot together, so it's only natural that they're so close. It doesn't mean that they're in a relationship together.

Lovers?

Above I mentioned how it was possible for Raikou and Gau to be "just friends" but personally, I don't find that very likely. Raikou and Gau's relationship seems to be far more than just a simple friendship. Raikou and Gau protect each other from getting hurt, sacrifice themselves for each other, live together, and even do "cute" couple things like eat the food off of each other's plate and finish each other's sentences. Basically, Raikou and Gau are lost without one another.

This point is driven home when Raikou constantly is hitting Yukimi and making fun of him. Raikou also finds himself unable to keep from being too distracted to work. Even when Gau recovers Raikou finds himself doing everything he can to make Gau happy. Raikou and Gau leave Kairōshū just so that they can show how grateful they are to Yoite and Miharu for bringing them back together.

Gau also does everything he can to make Raikou's life better. He tries and is able to reunite Raikou with his sister Raimei so that Raikou is able to find peace within himself and stop himself from becoming too distracted. Gau even throws himself in front of people with weapons and no way to defend himself only to keep Raikou from getting hurt.

Overall, they'd do anything to protect each other and make each other happy and if that isn't love, I don't know what is.

Canon?

The only thing that you may still be wondering is what is Raikou and Gau's official relationship status. Well, no couple in Nabari no Ou is officially together with the exception of Thobari and his fiance Hanabusa, but many pairings in Nabari no Ou are obviously supported by the creator, Kamatani Yuuki. Included within these pairings is Raikou and Gau. See, in Nabari no Ou several pairings both of the heterosexual and homosexual variety are supported and the hints and undertones are very clear.

>So, no, Raikou and Gau are not completely canon but they're close enough to be. As I've seen in previous sections, they appear to be in love or maybe in a more secret relationship, but this isn't enough to be considered canon.

On the other hand, the fans completely support the pairing and it's hard for them not to, seriously, who else could Raikou or Gau be in a relationship with? Pretty much, they only see each other. With no one else around, even if they never become canon, they'll never be with any other character either.

Leaving Now?

Thank you for visiting Loyalty and checking everything out. I hope my explaintations, writings, and ramlings weren't too confusing and I was able to explain the seemingly simple yet overly complicated relationship between Shimizu Raikou and Meguro Gau from Nabai no Ou. I hope you'll come back or link back to my site. More, importantly, I hope you will visit the affiliates I have listed below.

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Nabari no Ou, Raikou, Gau, and anything relating to the previously stated articles belongs to Yuhki Kamatani. Written and Graphical content created by Anise, unless otherwise stated. No infringement intended.