Leaving the "I like turtles" kid aside...
@cor3zone - Yeah, I can see how you may think that. I'm not entirely sure I'd agree, but there's some truth to it, for sure. Makes me wanna do a re-read.
I agree about Chiquita. There's no doubt Karma will always be her highest priority. Like you said, she still cares for him, but it's also partly for self-serving reasons. It's quite literally a matter of survival for the world. Whether Karma has yet to realize or not, one day Ryuuji's gonna die; he's only human afterall. So Chiquita's in a weird position of getting her to incrementally accept separation long before that inevitability. I kind of wish we'd get to see what happens... Still, I'd like to think there's also a small part of her that helps Ryuuji because she helped raise and tutor him for a bit -- even if it was her mission.
I'm really enjoying Sheila, too. Which is why this chapter was particularly frustrating. Like I said, it's a dick move to put her in danger for his own ego. It's been pretty cool to see how she's grown, but when juxtaposed with Ryuuji... Ugh. At this point she's just going to be another crutch for him to lean on as he does whatever he wants. I genuinely don't know where he's gonna find a person that'll help him grow. It can only be someone else we've yet to meet really. Sheila's someone who's great support, but she can only offer so much, and he tends to do what he wants. He needs someone who's strict and will discipline him. A father figure, maybe?
Can anyone
really help him with Karma around, though? I mean, Chiquita gave him a golden opportunity to go out and experience things, which can be a type of support, but then he royally messed it up. I don't see how he wouldn't think to be a bit more cautious given his circumstances. He need to get the pernicious ideas of what an adventurer is out of his head first, so he doesn't make himself into another obstacle.
Chances are we're back to square one with the shit he pulled here.