I'd like to meet:
Our friends are what make us who we are. By looking at how Tasuki interacts with others around him, we can learn a lot about his personality. There are a number of other characters that Tasuki interacts with and have made a large impact on Tasuki himself.
Hakurou
Tasuki idolises Hakurou, since the moment he first saw him when he was saved from ruthless bandits. Everything about Hakurou, Tasuki admires and Hakurou is everything that Tasuki wants to be. If it wasn't for Hakurou, we wouldn't have the Tasuki that we have today.Feeling that Tasuki had earned his own place in the Mt. Leikaku bandits, Hakurou took him under his wing and gave him the name Genrou, similar to his own. He was the father that Tasuki never had. Tasuki learned all of his skills from Hakurou and it was Hakurou who told Tasuki that he was one of the Suzaku no Shichiseishi. The bond between these two bandits is so close that Tasuki travelled to find medicine for Hakurou's illness and Hakurou decided to trust the leadership of the Mt. Leikaku bandits to Tasuki after he was gone.
Kouji
Kouji is Tasuki's best friend. When Tasuki became a member of the Mt. Leikaku bandits, Kouji was forced to share his room with the newcomer, which didn't please Kouji one little bit. This resulted in Kouji putting an extra hard work load on Tasuki, in hopes of dampening his spirits but as Tasuki took on all chores happily, Kouji started to warm up to him.Kouji and Tasuki were friendly rivals while Hakurou was still leader of the bandits. They competed against each other for position of leader among the bandits but soon learned that they functioned better as a team. Since Hakurou's passing, the two have become very close... so much so that Tasuki gave the position of leader to Kouji while he was away protecting Suzaku no Miko. Whenever these two bandits are together, you can be sure that their reunion will have comical results. XD
Yuuki Miaka
Miaka is the type of girl who touches the lives of everyone she meets, Tasuki being no exception. Miaka is the most important person in Tasuki's life and being the soft-hearted guy he is, he'll do anything to protect her. There's no doubt that he would protect her even if she wasn't Suzaku no Miko.Miaka's cheerful personality, the way she doesn't let situations get her down, really effects Tasuki. Her innocence and purity make her a very unique person and Tasuki will make sure that these two qualities aren't spoiled. Tasuki is in love with Miaka, no two ways about it. He may have not been in love with her the entire time he's known her but he obviously cares about her judging by his reactions towards Tamahome (when his personality was altered by Nakago). However, Tasuki fully understands that he can never have Miaka's heart and instead, treats her as a younger sister at best, looking out for her and protecting her with all of his power.
Tamahome
Despite their constant fighting, Tasuki and Tamahome are actually very close friends. Their relationship started off rocky but even if they met under better circumstances, they'd still be fighting anyway -- during Tasuki's quest to find medicine for Hakurou's illness, he stumbled upon Tamahome and the two faught. Some things never change.Tasuki views Tamahome as a friendly rival and appears to want to prove to Tamahome and the other warriors that he's just as powerful (and he is -- Nakago even noticed this). He bears a grudge against Tamahome for the fight they had when they first met and despite having forgiven him, Tasuki finds it convenient to not forget about the whole ordeal. Of course, Tasuki would never do something he knew Tamahome couldn't handle. In any case, as they say, good friends often fight a lot. ^^;
Nuriko
The relationship between Nuriko and Tasuki is a cute one, seeing as how the two of them get along so well with each other. Both of them share a love for gossip and because they both have strong personalities, they're constantly bickering, sharing the same exagerated reactions and comically evaluating the situation at hand.Like his relationship with Tamahome, Tasuki often enjoys teasing Nuriko about his femininity. These teasing sessions almost always end up with Tasuki plastered to the wall. Nuriko takes it upon himself to beat up Tasuki whenever he says something painfully stupid. It's clear that the two get along and aside from Chichiri, Nuriko is probably one of his closer friends. The two care about each other and Tasuki took Nuriko's death the hardest.
Hotohori
Hotohori and Tasuki don't share a very close relationship. After Tasuki found out that Hotohori was the emperor of Konan, he felt embarassed about acting so rude towards him and from that point on, seemed to have avoided going out of his way to interact with him. Perhaps Hotohori's royal position is a bit intimidating to Tasuki, even if he does view Hotohori as being an equal.Of course, not interacting with Hotohori very much doesn't stop Tasuki from acting stupid around him. What Hotohori thinks of this is unclear but it's certain that he does recognize that Tasuki's heart is always in the right place. Tasuki also recognizes Hotohori as being a caring man, as evident by his display of emotion when Hotohori passes away.
Chichiri
Chichiri, in my opinion, is Tasuki's closest friend. Chichiri is usually the one who calms Tasuki down and the two look out for each other in general. After Miaka and Tamahome begin living in the real world, Tasuki and Chichiri travelled together quite often, indicating that they knew each other very well.It appears that Tasuki and Chichiri share a close bond, where both can feel free to tease each other. Some of Tasuki's funniest moments are with Chichiri, whose odd sense of humor plays well off of Tasuki's temper. Their relationship goes beyond humor, however, as they are the last surviving Suzaku no Shichiseishi. Humor does play a big part in their relationship though, as Tasuki will go out of his way to visit the graves of his friends a few days earlier than Chichiri, just so he can avoid the monk's comments. After all, Tasuki doesn't like to be viewed as a softie.
Mitsukake
It's a rare occasion when Tasuki and Mitsukake interact with one another, perhaps because of Tasuki's energetic behaviour and Mitsukake's habit to stay in the background. In fact, the only time these two ever talk to each other is when Mitsukake is healing Tasuki's injuries!Tasuki never got close to Mitsukake. It might be for the reason that Mitsukake doesn't open up to others very easily but either way, their relationship was so distant that when Mitsukake dies, Tasuki doesn't cry at all (though, that isn't to say he isn't sad about Mitsukake's passing).
Chiriko
Chiriko looks up to Tasuki as a sort of idol and wishes that he too will be just as manly when he grows older. Tasuki, in turn, treats Chiriko like the younger brother he never had. In their spare time, Tasuki can be found playing with Chiriko.Tasuki's relationship with Chiriko gives us another reason to believe that Tasuki truly is a kind hearted individual. Their friendship is as close as it can get for a child and an adult and while Tasuki spends more time with the other warriors, Chiriko still holds a very important place in his heart. Like Nuriko's death, Tasuki displayed powerful emotions and it was very clear that he cared for the younger Suzaku no Shichiseishi very much.
