AkiToya

"If it weren't for you, Akito, I wouldn't have been able to get this far. You were the one that lifted my spirits after that day we met on Vivid Street. Now, it's my turn. Let's keep performing and doing shows together until you get over this hurdle. If you still feel down after that, I'll be there to lift you back up. I'll make sure that you'll be able to sing."

- Touya in STRAY BAD DOG Chapter 7 - Revenge

AkiToya is the slash ship between Akito Shinonome and Touya Aoyagi from the Project SEKAI fandom.

Canon
Akito and Touya are members of the street music group Vivid BAD SQUAD. They are also members of their duo unit BAD DOGS which was formed two years prior to the Main Story when the two were in middle school. Both of them attend Kamiyama High School as first-year students, and the two are also best friends.

Akito had experience performing music as a solo street artist before meeting Touya. On the other hand, Touya had been trained since he was young to perform classical music before rebelling against his father and choosing to become a street performer instead. While he initially quit classical music solely for the purpose of running away, Akito taught him about his dream to surpass - RAD WEEKEND - which he felt so passionately about. This motivated Touya to whole-heartedly chase that dream with him, leading to the formation of BAD DOGS. According to the main story, Akito knew Touya had what it took to surpass RAD WEEKEND upon first seeing him perform which is why he took initially took an interest in him.

After seeing the passion and motivation An and Kohane have when it came to chasing their dream, Touya becomes disheartened and breaks off his partnership with Akito in hopes that he’ll move on to someone who is more worthy of standing by his side. However, rather than being honest about his reasoning for not wanting to sing with Akito anymore, he instead pretends to be leaving because he feels that their music means nothing, mirroring his fathers criticism of their chosen path. Despite taking what Touya said to heart, Akito is unable to grasp Touya’s reasoning for abandoning their dream, which the virtual singers, namely MEIKO, uses to help him see through Touya’s facade. With the added help of An’s father leaving Akito on the line so that Akito can hear his real reason for running away, Akito and Touya are given a chance to reconcile and be honest with their feelings for each other. Akito reassures Touya that he has no intention of teaming up with anyone other than him, calling him the best partner he could ask for.

Quotes
"(Akito's serious about his music, so he can't help but feel strongly when someone tries to belittle it. If I told him he really saved me when he got angry on my behalf that day, he'd probably say I was being dramatic...)"

- Touya in "Bristling Irritation" first side story

"(I'm just glad you finally found something that you yourself want to do.)"

- Akito thinking to himself in an Area Conversation at Kamiyama High School

Fanon
Thanks to their deep friendship, AkiToya is one of the most popular ships in fandom, helped by their informal "Those Two Guys" status. In particular, in English fandom, it is not uncommon to find people with the headcanon that the two are already in some form of romantic relationship, and many see them as semi-canon, as best friends with mutual romantic feelings. However at the same time, many who see them as semi-canon are angry at Colorful Palette, thinking that AkiToya is just queerbait and another instance of implying two characters have feelings for each other, but not actually confirming it. AkiToya is often shipped alongside Anhane, with them sometimes appearing as a side couple in their fics and vice versa.

On AO3, the pairing currently has the second highest amount of fics within the fandom, only second to RuiKasa. It is the most popular pairing involving Akito and is also the most popular pairing involving Touya, making it the most popular ship involving each of them.

In AkiToya fanfictions, angst is a common element, with stories featuring Akito comforting or helping Touya about his problems with his father.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

FAN ART

TUMBLR

TWITTER

Trivia

 * Their ship is referred to with the "🥞☕" emojis.
 * Their Kizuna Rank titles are: "BAD DOGS", "Trustworthy Partners" and "Want to Stand Next to You".
 * In an Area Conversation had with Kagamine Len, Touya explains that in the two years that he and Akito had known each other prior to the Main Story, they rarely ever fought.
 * Akito and Touya have covered 8 songs together (Fragile, Doctor=Funk Beat, Yobanashi Deceive, Ifuudoudou, Yuurei Tokyo, Garando, Ame to Petra and Aun no Beats). They also have an alt duet version for Touya's first focus song RAD DOGS and solo versions for Touya's second focus song Mirai.
 * In addition to this, they also covered Dramaturgy and Tokio Funka in the second and fifth Vivid BAD SQUAD Archives respectively.
 * Akito and Touya performed "Fragile" wearing Touya's wedding-themed tuxedo during the "An Ode for the Pure of Heart" event's After-Event Virtual Live. They later performed it again during the "The Sounds of a Summer Festival!" event's After-Event Virtual Live while wearing Akito's summer outfit from the event.
 * They also performed their "Ifuudoudou" cover dressed in Akito's knight outfit during the "The Gentleman Thief's Thrilling White Day?!" event's After-Event Virtual Live.
 * In the "Vivid Old Tale" event's cards, they are wearing matching rings.
 * Some fans also theorize that, in those cards, one of them gave the other sunflowers.

Variations

 * Akiantoya refers to the ship between the two and An Shiraishi
 * Akitoyaemunene refers to the ship between the two, Emu Ootori and Nene Kusanagi
 * Akitoyakoha refers to the ship between the two and Kohane Azusawa
 * Fantasista Squad refers to the ship between the two, Tsukasa Tenma and Rui Kamishiro
 * Kouhai Sandwich refers to the ship between the two and Tsukasa Tenma
 * Polysquad refers to the ship between the two, Kohane Azusawa and An Shiraishi
 * Ruiakitoya refers to the ship between the two and Rui Kamishiro