Saimatsu

Saimatsu is the het ship between Shuichi Saihara and Kaede Akamatsu from the Danganronpa fandom.

Canon
Shuichi seems to strongly believe in Kaede, reassuring her and telling her that "if it's her, she can do it". During the game, he is shown to admire her a lot because of her optimism and her habit of moving forward. Shuichi's presence appears to comfort Kaede, due to his status as a detective. Kaede is also the person who helped Shuichi to face the truth, and it is in her memory that he will face the truth in every trial, to honor the promise he made to her. They are the main duo of Chapter 1 and also the two protagonists of Danganronpa V3; Kaede is initially the main character and protagonist of the game with Shuichi as a supporting character, playable in Prologue and Chapter 1. After Chapter 1, Kaede will still be the protagonist through her final wish which will be from Chapter 2 carried by Shuichi, the new main playable character who will continue to move forward in honor of Kaede, continuing to spread her will and final wish among the group.

As Shuichi was often seen blushing when Kaede complimented him and being one of the only ones he really trusted, this strongly suggests that he had a crush on her. Because the two spent so much time together, many other students pointed this out and some more or less jokingly assumed they were dating, with Miu crudely assuming that they're having a sexual relationship. While talking to Ryoma at the courtyard, he points out that he “always” sees Shuichi and Kaede together all the time or one of them is always nearby the other. Kokichi Oma has noted that Kaede and Shuichi are “pretty buddy-buddy with each other” in chapter one's class trial. He also cheekily asked Kaede about how far she's gone with Shuichi, but then claims that he simply meant how far they've gone investigating the building. During the investigation of Rantaro's crime scene, he jokes at Kaede and Shuichi for investigating the scene together and points out how awfully chummy the two have gotten.

Prologue
Kaede and Shuichi are introduced as the main duo from the beginning of the game. They first meet in the prologue, where the protagonist, Kaede, wakes up in a locker without remembering how she ended up here. She gets out of her locker and notices that she is in a classroom, before trying to remember why she is here, which is impossible. Kaede then hears a noise that interrupts her thoughts; the locker next to the one she woke up in makes a noise, and the door to that locker opens, revealing a boy falling on the floor in front of her. The boy starts to panic, but Kaede grabs his shoulder to ask his name. He introduces himself as Shuichi Saihara, and Kaede introduces herself in return before yelling at Shuichi to shut up, because he is not the only one confused in this situation. As they inspect the classroom, Kaede apologizes to Shuichi for shouting at him, which Shuichi also does, apologizing for yelling at her. Finally, they both notice the classroom door and agree to run away to get help. As soon as they leave the classroom, they find themselves being chased by a giant robot, so they decide to run away, with Shuichi trying to guide Kaede so they can run as far as possible, before arriving at a door leading to a gym, where they meet 13 other high school students.

After all the students' Ultimate Talents and memories are returned to them, Kaede and Shuichi wake up once again in the same classroom with the same introductory sequence, this time as the Ultimate Pianist for Kaede and Ultimate Detective for Shuichi, without either of them remembering their previous meeting. Shuichi first yells at Kaede like the previous time, but this time Kaede shouts at him “''How rude! Don't freak out at me like I'm some sort of monster!”'' to which Shuichi apologizes. Kaede apologizes in return, telling Shuichi that she just wants to understand what's going on, and talks about Gymnopédie No.1, a quiet piece of music which should calm them down, but is interrupted by the Monokubs, Kaede now telling Shuichi that he can freak out about this. After the duo asks the Monokubs some questions, Kaede decides to ask Shuichi if he is also an Ultimate Students, to which he replies that his name is Shuichi Saihara and that “they” call him the Ultimate Detective. Kaede compliments Shuichi, telling him “''What? You're a detective? That's amazing!”'' When Shuichi says that he doesn't really think he deserves his talent and that he got it by “just happening to solve a case”, Kaede replies that not many people can “just happen” to solve a case, and that he should be more proud of that. Kaede then introduces herself as the Ultimate Pianist, and adds that her friends call her “Piano Freak” instead. She tells Shuichi that she has been playing the piano since she was a child, and that she sometimes played so much that she even forgot to eat and sleep - she then won competitions thanks to her talent. Shuichi, interested, tells Kaede that the way she got her Ultimate title is much more impressive than him. Kaede then tells Shuichi that this is the first time she has met another Ultimate Student. After that, like the first time, they try to remember something about their arrival here, without success. Once again, to calm herself and Shuichi, Kaede tells him to imagine “Maurice Ravel's Sonatine”, but Shuichi answers her “''Is that...music? I-I...don't really know much about music...”'' Kaede is understanding, and says that it's unfortunate but that she will share this song with Shuichi when they get out of here. They then agree to leave the classroom to find the other Ultimate Students that the Monokubs told them about. In a skippable dialogue, Shuichi tells Kaede that he is worried and hopes that someone here knows what is happening to them. Kaede tells him ''“We'll be fine, so don't look down so soon. Everything will make sense soon.”'' The duo stays together for the entirety of the prologue, investigating the school, the Academy for Gifted Juveniles. When they meet Tsumugi Shirogane, Kaede forced Shuichi to poke her cheek by taking his finger for Tsumugi to react. During Tsumugi's introduction, Shuichi noted of Kaede that “she sounds like a creepy old man”. Shuichi asks a little later what Tsumugi was thinking about, and Kaede tells him “Nice job, Shuichi!”. When the two of them met Miu Iruma, Shuichi told her that she “shouldn't talk to Kaede like this”. After Miu called Shuichi a pervert because of his hat, Kaede internally wondered if he didn't like talking about it, because he had been quiet since Miu mentioned it. There is also skippable dialogue between the two if Kaede goes to the gym during his exploration of the school with Shuichi; Kaede mentions that the gym door doesn't open, and Shuichi seems worried, thinking internally. Kaede asks him if there's a problem, and the detective replies that he feels weird, like a deja vu feeling, and that he feels like he's been to the gym before - which is actually true, but Shuichi isn't supposed to remember. He adds that they “might be caught up in something even stranger than they imagined”, to which Kaede answers that it is normal to feel unsettled, but remains optimistic by saying they will probably be fine, and that with 16 Ultimates Students, everything will be okay if they become friends and work together. When the two of them are about to go to the basement, Kaede tells him to go in front to proceed with caution. During their investigations, Kaede seems intrigued by Shuichi, often trying to guess what he is up to. She once assumed that he was a neat-freak - which he denied. There is also during Gonta's introduction where Kaede was worried about what would happen to Shuichi if he told Gonta that he didn't like insects, so she pretended that Shuichi liked them. She added she thought that he would kill him. She attempts to help raise Shuichi's confidence by giving him pep talks, for example when she told him “Geez... Not “suppose”, you *are* the Ultimate Detective, okay?” When Shuichi told Maki that he supposed he was the Ultimate Detective. Shuichi then blushed and said that maybe she was right. When they finally find a way out, Kaede becomes excited, unlike Shuichi who thinks it might be a trap. He finally gets convinced by Kaede to open the door. They find on the other side of the door a huge cage-like wall. Kaede tried to scream for help with all her force, but the Monokubs said it was useless. Shuichi then said ''“No one...can hear us? Wh-What do you mean? What do you mean no one can hear us? ...Say something! ...One of you, just...answer! ...Damn it...”'' Kaede also started to panic, desperately asking for answers about the Monokubs, this school, and their situation, but calmed down very quickly. She then tried to motivate Shuichi again, asking him to come with her so they could look for a way out. When she saw that he wasn't listening to her, she gave him a slap upside his head, just firm enough to get his attention. Shuichi is back to himself, yelling “Ow!”. Kaede then told Shuichi that they must have entered here from somewhere, so there is obviously a way out. They did not get discouraged and continued to investigate the area together, before the bell rings to signal the beginning of the Killing School Semester.

Chapter 1
Chapter 1 focuses on Kaede and Shuichi's relationship. When they are not with the rest of the group, they are always together. It started because Kaede is the person Shuichi trusts the most, since they woke up at the same time. It is reciprocal on Kaede's side, she trusts Shuichi and his detective skills above all when it comes to reasoning. After everyone leaves the Death Road of Despair, Shuichi reassures Kaede, telling her that she shouldn't worry about what Kokichi said, and that he doesn't think Kaede was pressuring them. Kaede simply answers “Yeah...Thanks, Shuichi.” and says that they should return to their rooms, which they do. Once the next day's breakfast is over, Kaede returns to her room and starts crying uncontrollably, when Shuichi rings her doorbell. He enters the room and asks Kaede if she is alright, to which Kaede replies that she is not sad or anything. Shuichi answers her that it's not her fault, and that the underground passage was a trap anyway. He then tells Kaede that he believes in her, and would like her to follow him to the library to show her something (“There's something I have to tell you. Will you go to the library with me?”/“I-Id like to talk to you in the library. Will you come with me, please?”).Shuichi then tells Kaede about the hidden door inside the library, asking her to promise him that she will keep “what he wants to show her” secret. She then promises him, and Shuichi smiles before starting to “talk like a great detective” according to Kaede. After talking to Kaede about the possibility of someone cooperating with Monokuma is hiding among them, Shuichi adds that he doesn't expect Kaede to believe him, and says he just wanted to tell her, no matter what. The next day, after Monokuma announces the second motive, Kaede asks Shuichi what they should do, and Shuichi says they should move, before whispering to Kaede that there was dust on the floor in the library, coming from the card reader of the hidden door. Kaede then asked Shuichi if she could be of any help, and Shuichi said yes, of course, but they shouldn't talk about it in a public place like the cafeteria. When they go to the library for the second time, Shuichi confides to Kaede that he has a new hypothesis, and that he thinks that the mastermind of the killing game is hiding among them. The two of them agree to create together a trap to reveal the mastermind and stop the killing game, Kaede telling Shuichi that she will take this risk with him, and adds ''“You told me about this, so that must mean you trust me, right, Shuichi? Then...I'll trust you, too.”'' Shuichi then blushes and Kaede continues by telling Shuichi "let's expose the mastermind together, Shuichi." and Shuichi thanks her by telling her that she encouraged him a lot, showing that he is slowly gaining confidence thanks to her. Shuichi blushes once again after Kaede's words, ''“And when this all is behind us, we're gonna stay good friends! It's a promise, okay!?” answering “R-Right...”'' On the morning of the fourth day, Kaede thinks of Shuichi directly after waking up, then hears her doorbell, and decides to go to the door thinking that it is Shuichi, saying that he is in “perfect timing”. When she opens the door, she finds herself in front of Monokuma, who she immediately takes out, and realizes that he rings her doorbell again - so she decides to shout at him while opening the door, but realizes that this time it was Shuichi. Shuichi takes Kaede's remark personally, and says that he is sorry and that he can come back later if he bothers Kaede. Kaede tells Shuichi to ignore what she just said, and the two of them start to prepare the plan to trap the mastermind. Shuichi suggests making motion sensor cameras, and they agree to ask the Ultimate Inventor, Miu, to create the cameras for them. Miu refuses at first, saying that they should be ashamed to asking *her* for a favor. Without thinking, Kaede's body moved on its on and Kaede threw herself on the ground to beg Miu to help them. Seeing Kaede begging Miu, Shuichi did the same thing and got down on the floor to beg Miu alongside Kaede for the Inventor to agree, which she finally did.

After picking up the cameras and bringing them to Miu, Kaede comments on Shuichi's incredible plan (“I was just thinking about how amazing you are coming up with this plan, Shuichi.”) To which Shuichi blushes once again, and Kaede adds that she did not think that Shuichi would be *that* reliable when she first met him. She even compares Shuichi to Sherlock Holmes, saying that she relies in him blindly. Shuichi blushes and the dialogue ends here. The next day, Kaede goes once again to see Shuichi as soon as she is awake; she goes to ring the doorbell of his room, and starts to worry when nobody answers after several rings. When Shuichi finally comes out of his room, Kaede tells him that she was worried with an upset expression. Shuichi apologizes and tells her that he was just in the bathroom, and the two of them start walking to Miu's lab to get their cameras - but are interrupted by Angie who lets them know that an fight is taking place in the cafeteria. Kaede then asks Shuichi to go and get the cameras alone, while Kaede goes to see what's happening, and Shuichi tells Kaede to meet him at the “classroom by the stairs to the basement” when she's done, before leaving. The duo meet a little later in the classroom suggested by Shuichi to continue preparing their plan. Shuichi decides to talk to Kaede about the classroom and why he decided to choose this one. After explaining the reason of his choice, Shuichi continues to explain his plan to Kaede. They then go to the library. Once in the library, the duo set to work; Kaede starts by climbing a ladder to try to see if the vent can be used to help someone get into the library. Kaede makes a comment about the height of the ladder, and Shuichi asks her if she wants to switch if she is too scared. Kaede denies, saying she is fine, but still asks Shuichi in an awkward tone if he can see her “delicates”. Shuichi apologizes, which makes Kaede understand that he has seen them. Kaede then thinks “W-Well, whatever... He can't unsee them.” and decides to focus on the vent for now. As they continue their preparations, Kaede says that this will definitely work, and that this plan might actually protect everyone. She then compares Shuichi's plan to Chopin's ballades (“This plan is perfectly composed, like Chopin's ballades!”)

After finishing preparing their plan, Kaede and Shuichi quickly run out of the library, then decide to go straight up to the classroom they had prepared. When they enter the classroom, Shuichi asks Kaede to hold on the security sensor because he feels that Kaede is more suited for this task but Kaede refuses, saying that the best person to hold it is Shuichi, adding that he is the one who came up with this plan, and that she trusts him. To pass the time, Kaede starts to ask Shuichi some questions, saying that he should be a little more confident and tries to comfort him by telling him the Ultimate Initiative has chosen him as the Ultimate Detective, so he shouldn't doubt his skills. Shuichi answers, head down, that he does not deserve his title and that he is not even a real detective, adding that he never really wanted to be a detective in the first place. He continues by telling Kaede about his past in details, and that the case he solved to become the Ultimate Detective was just chance; he solved the crime before the police, and people started calling him the “boy detective”. Kaede encourages him by saying that it's still amazing that he was able to solve a murder case and that most people can't do that. Shuichi opens up to Kaede, wondering if it was really a good thing he solved that case: ''“The look on his face when we caught him.... I can still see it, even now. He stared at me...like he hated me more than anything else in the world. Later, I heard that...he murdered the victim to get revenge for his family. The victim was abusive...They droves the culprit's relative to suicide. People told me...the culprit was right to do what he did. The victim deserved it. But I led the police right to him... Of course he hated me.”'' Kaede listened carefully before answering that it was not as if he took sides, and that he uncovered the truth, because that is what detectives do. Shuichi, still head down under his hat, answers that yes, it was his fault because he uncovered the truth, and he still suffers the consequences. He ends up saying that since “that one stupid case”, he has been so afraid to uncovering the truth, and says he will never forget those eyes, “the hatred, the way they stared into him.” He confesses that this is why he sometimes have trouble looking people in the eyes. Kaede understands this is why he wears that hat, and makes a remark on how she noticed Shuichi's hands were trembling at that moment. She kindly reached out and held his hand. After letting go of his hand, Kaede compliments Shuichi, telling him that he would look way cooler if he wasn't wearing that hat. Shuichi blushes while asking her what she was talking about, and Kaede assures him that she was serious, and she would like Shuichi to show her what he looks like without his cap when they leave this place. Shuichi doesn't answer, but blushes as he looks down.After discovering Rantaro's dead body in the library, the panic begins to grow. As a result, Shuichi starts a motivating speech about why they should stick together and investigate this murder because they can show Monokuma that everyone trusts each other. Nobody answers, and Shuichi asks if he said something wrong, to which Kaede tells him that he was just so direct and assertive. This is a parallel to a speech that Kaede gave the first day of their arrival to motivate everyone to stick together, to which no one responded because they had nothing more to say. Kaede had said that she just said what was in her mind, which happens to be the same answer as Shuichi at that moment. Kaede and Shuichi decide to investigate together as usual. Shuichi then proposes to Kaede, ''“If it's alright with you...could we keep working together during the trial? Like we're doing now?”'' blushing. Kaede is surprised, and Shuichi continues by saying he knows he is just an apprentice, but thinks he can help Kaede as a detective, then corrects himself and says he *wants* to help her. Kaede agrees, saying ''“Of course! With you at my side, it'll be like having 100 people helping me!”.'' Shuichi thanks her while blushing. The two decide to investigate together, until the class trial. During their investigations, Shuichi tells Kaede that he will do his best to offer its support, because he is “sort of a detective” after all. Kaede answers that he *is* a detective, and Shuichi blushes once again. He asks Kaede several times if she is okay while they investigate Rantaro's body, to which Kaede replies positively each time. After she collapsed on the floor, Shuichi helped her up and reassured her. Kaede then told him that she feels like she can rely on him even more. While inspecting the A/V Room, a skippable dialogue exists between them, in which Kaede grabs a movie at random, and discover the case is covered with pictures of naked man and women. Shuichi gets curious and asks Kaede what movie she has found, and when Kaede tells him that they should go elsewhere, Shuichi thinks that she has found an important clue, and grabs the case. The next few minutes will be spent by Kaede and Shuichi looking down at the floor with beet-red faces. Before entering the Shrine of Judgment, Shuichi asks Kaede if she really thinks that someone among them is the culprit and the mastermind as well. Kaede answers he is the one who made this hypothesis, and that he must not stray from the truth. When everyone enters the elevator to go down to the first class trial, Kaede uses the opportunity to whisper some words to Shuichi about “that talk from before”. During the class trial, Shuichi refused to speak in the first place. During the first few minutes, he was shown trying to cooperate with the others, but soon became silent, internally thinking. When Kaede points this out, Shuichi often replies things like ''“What? Ah, um... yeah.”'' Even until the trial, Kaede has been shown to care deeply for Shuichi, like when she attempted to desperately steer suspicion away from him after the other students begin to accuse him. After a long time of silence where Shuichi didn't speak anymore, Kaede understood that he had discovered everything, but was afraid to uncover the truth. Somehow, the two share a moment apart from the others that will serve as a transition to swith the main character, who will now “be” Shuichi. He later shouted at Kaede, asking her why she was smiling like that and trying to give him courage, saying that if she had been more selfless, she wouldn't had to kill Rantaro. When Kaede accuses him of not wanting to find out the truth, Shuichi screams at her that he will find out the truth about her actions, so that everyone can finally believe in her. With Kaede's help opening the way for him, Shuichi managed to uncover “her truth”. He proved to everyone that Kaede is the culprit, while making them understand that she did all this to kill the mastermind, and that her target was never Rantaro. Kaede will ask Shuichi a last favor, “end all of this”. She wants Shuichi to convince everyone with his detective skills, so that everyone can finally get out of this trial. In order to honor his will, Shuichi will resume the entirety of Kaede's case. Although hurt by Kaede's supposed betrayal, Shuichi still cried over her demise. The two shared a tearful moment, and both were driven to tears while Shuichi angrily asked Kaede why she had murdered Rantaro, although he stopped immediately when he was reminded that she would be executed. Shuichi tries to stand up to Monokuma but Kaede tells him not to worry and that she is ready to be punished. Shuichi then asks why she is giving up now after saying that she will get out of here with everyone, to which Kaede replies ''“I'm not giving up. Because I have you.”'' and says she knows that as long as Shuichi is with them, her wish will remain among the group. When Kaede apologized to their fellow students, her apology seemed to be mainly at Shuichi. After Kaede made everyone promise that they would not give up in honor of her and Rantaro, her punishment began. Shuichi is seen trying to rescue her in the beginning of her execution, in which he was shown trying to reach Kaede's hand but his attempt failed, and Shuichi had to watch Kaede's punishment for 8 hours with the remaining students. She is now remained dead.

After Kaede's execution, Shuichi broke down on the floor in tears, thinking that everything had just ended, repeating to himself that he felt like he was in a fiction. But ''“real or not, Kaede was gone. Kaede Akamatsu no longer existed in their world.”'' according to him. After a while, Kaito punched Shuichi in the face, telling him that he pisses him off the most, shouting at him that Kaede believed in him and passed her wish on to him, and yet he did not say anything to face Monokuma. He then recommends Shuichi to try to go to Kaede's lab, because he will surely find a lot of things that Kaede liked. When Shuichi arrives in Kaede's lab, he compliments the beauty of her piano and says that he would have loved to see her play, if only just once. He then remembers the title of the song that Kaede talked about in the classroom, Clair de Lune by Debussy. He started looking for the CD of this song, and placed it in the player in the speakers. He comments on how the classroom soon filled with a soft melody. Lost in his thoughts, he felt his body relax. He began to close his eyes and have flashbacks of Kaede and what she had previously said to him in the classroom. Without him realizing it, a figure that appears to be Kaede's spirit began to play the piano for him, and answered to Shuichi's promises. The figure that looks like Kaede is not named “Kaede”, but “???” most certainly because of how Shuichi mentioned “Kaede Akamatsu no longer existed in our world.”

Other Chapters
Kaede's death is an important event that devastated Shuichi, and is the main reason for his character development. After Chapter 1, he took off his hat in Kaede's honor, and was suddenly motivated to keep moving and get out of the school for her. In Chapter 2, Shuichi will have different reactions if the player interacts with elements related to Kaede:


 * Monokuma Statue - Temple of Judgment: “...Kaede... When we all came to the trial grounds, what burden were carrying with you? If I had known, I... I might have...”
 * Kaede's dorm room: “Kaede... I wanted to hear you play the piano... even just one time... But... I'll never be able to...”
 * Shot Put Ball - Warehouse: “... If I had only realized it at the time...”
 * Air Vent - Classrom A: “... Kaede...”
 * Video Rack - A/V Room: “... The movie that Kaede said she wanted to watch... The Legend of 1900. I'll watch it one day... It's just... Too hard right now...”
 * Air Vent/Cluttered Books - Library: “If only I realized that Kaede was acting strangely... Maybe things wouldn't... have ended up this way...”
 * Moving Ladder - Library: “I wonder when Kaede came up with her plan. How long was she carrying that burden?”
 * Lockers - Classroom B: “... These are the lockers Kaede and I were in. Meeting Kaede... made me so...”
 * Piano - Ultimate Pianist Lab: “... I wish I could have heard her play. Just once... I wanted to hear it.”
 * CD Rack - Ultimate Pianist Lab: “Kaede... I'm going to... keep the promise I made to you.”
 * Speakers - Ultimate Pianist Lab: “I... can do this... I'll believe in myself and prove I can do this!”

Shuichi still thinks of Kaede from time to time In Chapter 3, when Korekiyo Shinguji asks him if he wants to try speaking to the dead, Shuichi is interested in the idea for a second, thinking that there is only “one girl” that he wants to talk to once again. There is no doubt that he was referring to Kaede; however, he quickly disregards the idea because he thinks speaking to the dead is impossible. There is also a moment during the investigation when Shuichi is hurt by the katana stuck in the heart of the wax statue of Kaede. Maki mentions that he can turn his head when she puts the katana in it again, which Shuichi does. When he discovered these wax statues for the first time, Shuichi screamed, thinking that it was really Kaede. In Chapter 4, after Kaito went to the bathroom during the training, Maki asks Shuichi if he liked Kaede. Shuichi is surprised by the question, and Maki continues by saying that she assumed he didn't, because that would be weird. She says she doesn't understand how you can like someone you just met, especially in a situation like this. Shuichi doesn't respond, but he has a flashback of Kaede holding his hand. He then asks Maki, “Then tell me... under what circumstances is liking someone *not* weird?” After Maki tells him to forget about it, he tells her that she is being cruel for asking him “a personal question” then act like she don't care. When things ended badly, Shuichi often wondered “what was the point of Kaede sacrificing herself?” for the group's survival. During Chapter 6 trial, Shuichi mentions many times that the pain he felt after losing Kaede was real and that “the sadness he feels when he loses the people he loves is real”. He uncovered the identity of the mastermind, and shouted several times that he will never forgive them for breaking the rules and killing Kaede, promising to avenge her.

Love Hotel Event
During the non-canon love hotel fantasy event, Shuichi had the role of Kaede's boyfriend and they celebrated their first anniversary. Kaede seemed upset because he didn't call her by her first name and tried to make him call her 'Kaede' (or "sweetheart" in the English version instead of Kaede) instead of 'Akamatsu-san'. However, after Shuichi tried to call her 'Kaede' ("sweetheart") for the first time, they both find it hard to regain their composure. After that, Kaede confessed to Shuichi, which caused the latter to become too shocked to say anything. Out of the blue, Kaede hugged Shuichi and they fell down on the bed. Shuichi began to panic, but Kaede asked him to hug her even tighter. Kaede admits that she likes hearing Shuichi's heartbeat and that it's her favorite melody and if Shuichi encourages her, she can do anything. Finally, Kaede asks if Shuichi will "do what she wants to do with him right now" and he pulls her closer to him. It's heavily implied that Kaede and Shuichi had sex afterwards. It should be noted that Shuichi does not seem to be another person than himself in Kaede's fantasy, implying that Kaede's ideal partner is Shuichi.

Ultimate Talent Development Plan
In the Talent Development Plan, Kaede and Shuichi have several interactions that exhibits their school-life together and the close relationship between the two of them. Kaede volunteers to assist Shuichi's pursuit of Monokuma by gathering students to stop his mischief. In addition to their moments, Kaede gives Shuichi a ticket, inviting him to her piano recital and winsomely misinterprets Shuichi's words for him "wanting to see her" and not her performance. He thanks her for for the invitation and Kaede says she has a lot of songs for Shuichi to hear. In the sports festival, Kaede stops by the table tennis event to cheer for Shuichi only to miss out on his victory, but getting thanked regardless. In her last winter at the academy, Kaede decides to talk to Shuichi to calm her nerves before her concert with Sayaka and expresses worry that fans will dislike her music. Shuichi cheers her up and claims he is nervous too since this is his first pop concert, but is looking forward to it with Maki and Kaito Momota. Though the latter two decide to go home afterwards, Kaede asks Shuichi if they would like to go somewhere with just the two of them, which he agrees to; giving her newfound courage for the concert.

In other character perspectives, Kaito Momota arrives to Kaede's piano recital and mentions Shuichi is on his way to the show, much to Kaede's embarrassment to his statement. During his conversation with Maki about her and Kaede helping at the former's old orphanage, Kaito suggests inviting him and Shuichi to assist them and that bringing Shuichi will get Kaede "all psyched up".

Chapter 1
"Ah? For me? Kaede... you're amazing! How did you know I wanted this?"

- Shuichi's reaction if he loves the gift Kaede gave him. "Kaede...Thank you. I've never received something like this before. I'm so happy I... I don't know what to say!"

- Shuichi's reaction if he loves the gift Kaede gave him.


 * "Shuichi, you better not lose. You can't lose to this killing game! I know you can beat it! I believe in you guys! So please, believe in yourself! ...Okay? It's a promise."

- Kaede to Shuichi after she was found guilty


 * "Kaede...why? Why are you smiling like that...? Why are you still trying to get me to be brave? Why, Kaede!? Why are you thinking about everyone except yourself!? If you had just been less selfless, you wouldn't have had to murder... Why...? Why do you do that?"

- Shuichi after he realized Kaede tried to smile before her execution

Chapter 2

 * "It sounds like everyone has taken Kaede's final wish to heart. Even if Kaede is no longer with us... Kaede's wish will never vanish!"

- Shuichi and everyone else supporting Kaede’s will


 * "I...made a promise. As the Ultimate Detective, I made a promise to seek the truth. I made a promise to Kaede! So I'm not turning back now!"

- Shuichi thinking about the promise he made to Kaede


 * "In the end...I'm just like them. I'm scared of revealing the truth. Because it means that someone has to be sacrificed. But Kaede was scared, too... She didn't let that stop her. She thoughts thing through to the end. I faced the truth, and doubted it, and kept thinking, and kept going... This is where it led me. And I won't turn away from it."

- Shuichi thinking about Kaede

Chapter 3
"My goal is the same as Kaede's. Get out of here, with everyone. And that means... I need to do something."

- Shuichi thinking again about Kaede

Bonus Modes
"I really like these kinds of things. Do you enjoy them too, Shuichi? It would make me a bit happier to know we like the same things. Oh, god... I think I said something embarrassing just now."

- Kaede's reaction if she likes the gift Shuichi gave her. "Shuichi...I'm just so ecstatic! I thought I had been the only one looking at you, but I guess you've noticed me, too. I think that, because...you gave me such a pretty gift."

- Kaede's reaction if she loves the gift Shuichi gave her.

Fanon
The ship has sailed as a result of their plot and many interactions. This being one of the most prominent and tragic interactions of the season also helped fuel the ship even more. The ship is also enjoyed for their role as the initial main duo, as well as their dynamics of a cheerful girl and an insecure boy.

As such, it is one of the most popular ship choices for both characters included. It is one of the most written Danganronpa ships on Archive of Our Own. As well as Kaede's most written and Shuichi's second. Saimatsu is mostly rivaled by Saiouma, but can sometimes be rivaled by Irumatsu, Nursery Rhymes or Saimota.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Saihara/Akamatsu tag on FanFiction.Net
 * Saihara/Akamatsu tag on FanFiction.Net
 * Saihara/Akamatsu tag on FanFiction.Net

FAN ART

TUMBLR

WIKI
 * on
 * on

Trivia

 * They share the fate of the main protagonist losing his implied love interest with Naezono, Hinanami (AI), Naegiri (albeit temporarily) and Hinanami.
 * They're together on one of Danganronpa V3's Steam Cards, the one titled "Moonlight." This is a reference to the piano piece "Clair de Lune" by Debussy, which means moonlight in French. It is also the song that Shuichi listened to in Kaede's lab after her death to remember her.
 * Their promotional sprites were made to match each other, with Shuichi facing right, and Kaede facing left.
 * On the official "To-Witter" account of Ota Matsushita, a character from AI: The Somnium Files, it's been confirmed that he ships the two.

Variations

 * Ahoge Trio refers to the ship between the two and K1-B0
 * Akasaimota refers to the ship between the two and Kaito Momota
 * Amasaimatsu refers to the ship between the two and Rantaro Amami
 * Amasaioumatsu refers to the ship between the two, Kokichi Oma, and Rantaro Amami
 * Double Date refers to the ship between the two, Kaito Momota, and Maki Harukawa
 * Protag Gang refers to the ship between the two, Hajime Hinata, Komaru Naegi, and Makoto Naegi
 * Saioumatsu refers to the ship between the two and Kokichi Oma