Rika and Terada-- the gentle love. Technically, these two aren't even a couple in the anime, but Terada blushes when Rika smiles at him, so we do have a hope. ^_^ And in manga, these two are unquestionably a couple, so... let's stick with the manga! (The anime tends to ignore detailed relationships, so....)
Rika is way mature than children of her own age. She acts more like an older sister to other children than a friend. She takes care of them and she is always there for them. When Sakura feels sad, Rika bakes her cookies and talks with her.... just what a mother would do. Her friends, including Sakura, respect and admire her very much. Even though she's their age group, she's someone to look up to and depend on. She's extremely faminine and mother-like, so she comforts others easily. And when she herself feels lonely and saddened, she can always get comforted by the one she loves the most.
Terada is a very caring and kind teacher. Like Fujitaka/Nadeshiko relationship, he loves her and he wants to protect her. Because of their huge age gap(well, it's not THAT huge...), Terada can not openly show his affection for Rika. This makes both of them sad, but they can wait as long as they need to, because they love each other....
Rika, hurry and grow up! ^_^ |
