RyuDate

RyuDate is the slash ship between Kaname Date and Kuruto Ryuki from the AI: The Somnium Files fandom.

Canon
Both Ryuki and Date are both police officers in ABIS (The Advanced Brain Investigation Squad), being the first two known Psyncers. Date acts as Ryuki’s superior, with Ryuki frequently being shown to try to prove himself to him.

The two could be seen as opposites in some areas, with Date being very outwardly perverted while Ryuki is more polite, professional and generally off put by sexual comments from characters like Tama and Ota. They do though both appear to share certain interests, with both making comments about liking being tied up and Ryuki still occasionally making sexual and silly comments.

It is unknown when Ryuki began to like Date romantically, however with Tama possibly being modelled after Date, sharing many personality traits and design elements with him, its possible that he has been attracted to him for a while, although this is purely speculation. Throughout Nirvana Initiative, Ryuki frequently shows an interest in him, including moments of him mishearing things as Date’s name (with one instance resulting in Tama asking if he is “in love with him or something”), asking Mizuki (Date’s adoptive daughter) what Date thinks of him (where he is called reliable and a “valuable part of the team”) and frequent mentions of Date being his motivator.

There are also instances where Ryuki gets excited about a possible fact about Date, like assuming Mizuki’s bench-press is Date’s. He appears to hone in on certain elements about him, ignoring others, particularly in Iris’ somnium where Date says he must protect the public and what his type of woman is, but Ryuki only comments on the protecting the public line and how he will help. Further, in the fight proceeding the initial confrontation with Tearer, Ryuki is shown to focus a lot on Date’s well-being, getting mad when Date isn’t focusing well enough, and being grateful to see Date helped him specifically.

In his somnium, where important memories and thoughts are replayed, memories of their relationship are shown. These mainly include moments where Date gave Ryuki advice about how making mistakes is important (which is shown to cheer him up) and Date telling Ryuki that he is skilled despite what people may say. Later on, Date does this again when they reunite, being the one to encourage Ryuki to keep fighting and help them defeat Tearer/Naix.

On Date’s side, in one route, Date is shown to have cancelled his mandated vacation to assist his “precious subordinate” according to Date, and tells Ryuki that, as long as he is alive, he doesn’t need to repay him. This stays the case, even after Date knows Ryuki is the reason he went missing for another 6 years, saying “You know I’ve already forgiven you!”

Nearing the end of the first half of Nirvana Initiative, the underground cathedral collapses and Date is presumed dead. At this moment, Ryuki says he "loved him" but that he betrayed him. His 'death' has a great toll on Ryuki’s already shaky mental health, likely both due to his feelings for him as well as a feeling of guilt as the one who brought Date to Tearer. When Date is later revealed to be alive, Ryuki still risks his life as a way to earn Date’s forgiveness (despite Date not holding any ill will) by getting in the way of a bullet that would have hit Date, hospitalising Ryuki.

Fanon
RyuDate is a very popular ship in the fandom with Ryuki being one of the few confirmed LGBT characters in the franchise. The status of the relationship does change based on the fans, some writing it as one-sided as seen in canon and others writing it as a reciprocated feeling. These works also sometimes include mentions of Datomi (the canon ship between Kaname Date and Hitomi Sagan) or vise versa. Many works often portray Ryuki with a "school girl" type crush and Date either unknowingly or purposefully playing into it. Other more angst focused works are also popular too, usually surrounding Ryuki's emotions around Date's supposed death and his role in it.

There are currently over 160 works for this pairing on AO3, being the most written for ship of the fandom.

Fandom

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