Its shortly after that, that Setsuna starts to find himself more in a position of leadership within the group. With the team having been fractured, his unwavering dedication provides a beacon for them, a way to find themselves and get their mission back on track. He's never given a formal position; he doesn't have a rank or title that puts him above anyone else, nor is he voted to any sort of position of power. He never hands out a ton of orders during battles (that's reserved for the team's tactical forecaster), but he does lay out his major goals in a very succinct and matter of fact way ("We'll break right through their ranks and recover Veda." "We'll defeat the Innovators." "Allelujah is our comrade, and we're going to save him.") and with such confidence that people around him tend to follow his lead. He provides the group with an overall direction, so that together they can accomplish their goals.
Despite his quiet, distant, and serious nature, he is a rather caring individual. He just shows it in very unusual ways. When he discovers that his teammate and mentor, Lockon, lost his family because of the actions of a terrorist group that Setsuna was a part of, he doesn't resist when Lockon points a gun at his head, and never says anything in defense of himself until after Lockon makes the decision not to kill him. In another instance, after killing Lyle's girlfriend (he had to, she was mind-controlled and going to kill Lyle), he allows Lyle to punch the crap out of him; its his way of allowing the other man to work through the grief, pain, and anger that he caused him. He even let Saji Crossroads deck him once, after Saji was upset by an encounter he had on the battlefield.
That said, he isn't a punching bag, and when others have tried to even so much as touch him without permission, he's reacted quiet angrily, and even violently in some cases (he punched Nena Trinity in the throat after she kissed him unexpectedly). ItÂ’s a thin line, but there are certain privileges that he allows friends and comrades that he wouldn't allow to strangers.
There are also other quiet ways in which he shows he cares. After Allelujah is rescued, and returns with a former enemy that is his long lost love, Setsuna doesn't question her presence. He also diverts from a mission so that Saji can try to reunite with his ex-girlfriend. Late in the series, when he sees Tieria's body and assumes that his comrade is dead, he quietly makes a promise to avenge him (he finds out immediately after that Tieria is very much alive).
His only major sore point, aside from strangers touching him, is religion. He firmly believes that there is no God, and that his parents died for nothing more than the amusement of a madman. That said, if others do believe in God, he's fine with that, so long as they aren't killing people in His name. For example, he tells the pacifist Marina to fight for the God that she believes in.
He does start to come out of his shell a little towards the end of the series, but only a little. He's still as serious as he's always been, but is also someone who wants a peaceful future, and is willing to fight for it.
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Despite his quiet, distant, and serious nature, he is a rather caring individual. He just shows it in very unusual ways. When he discovers that his teammate and mentor, Lockon, lost his family because of the actions of a terrorist group that Setsuna was a part of, he doesn't resist when Lockon points a gun at his head, and never says anything in defense of himself until after Lockon makes the decision not to kill him. In another instance, after killing Lyle's girlfriend (he had to, she was mind-controlled and going to kill Lyle), he allows Lyle to punch the crap out of him; its his way of allowing the other man to work through the grief, pain, and anger that he caused him. He even let Saji Crossroads deck him once, after Saji was upset by an encounter he had on the battlefield.
That said, he isn't a punching bag, and when others have tried to even so much as touch him without permission, he's reacted quiet angrily, and even violently in some cases (he punched Nena Trinity in the throat after she kissed him unexpectedly). ItÂ’s a thin line, but there are certain privileges that he allows friends and comrades that he wouldn't allow to strangers.
There are also other quiet ways in which he shows he cares. After Allelujah is rescued, and returns with a former enemy that is his long lost love, Setsuna doesn't question her presence. He also diverts from a mission so that Saji can try to reunite with his ex-girlfriend. Late in the series, when he sees Tieria's body and assumes that his comrade is dead, he quietly makes a promise to avenge him (he finds out immediately after that Tieria is very much alive).
His only major sore point, aside from strangers touching him, is religion. He firmly believes that there is no God, and that his parents died for nothing more than the amusement of a madman. That said, if others do believe in God, he's fine with that, so long as they aren't killing people in His name. For example, he tells the pacifist Marina to fight for the God that she believes in.
He does start to come out of his shell a little towards the end of the series, but only a little. He's still as serious as he's always been, but is also someone who wants a peaceful future, and is willing to fight for it.