KabaShiki

"Hang in there, Kabane!"

- Shiki to Kabane Chapter 31

KabaShiki is the slash ship between Kabane Kusaka and Shiki Tademaru from the Kemono Jihen fandom.

Canon
Kabane's first interaction with Shiki led him to act hostile towards the kemono, playing multiple pranks on him and acting in an overall aggressive manner. Shiki angrily asks Mr. Inugami why Kabane was wearing his clothes, but then refuses to take back the hoodie. The lilac-haired boy straight up states that he wasn't going to be Kabane's friend. He's extremely shocked when he learns that Kabane never had pizza before, and congratulates him when he takes his first bite. In the middle of laughing, he realizes he forgot to be "mean" and quickly reverts back to his cold manner. In his room, Shiki complains that he hates Kabane, so Akira suggests that he go ask Kabane why he was there.

Shiki sneaks some of his thread into Kabane's bath, which causes the water to harden up. The taunt doesn't work for long, and Kabane quickly gets out. Arriving back in the room, Kabane makes a deal with Shiki where they trade their stories. Although Shiki assumes that his parents are dead, Kabane insists that they are alive. Later, Mr. Inugami assigns Kabane and Shiki together to meet Inari the next day.

Akira and Shiki wait for Kabane, the latter complaining that he's taking too long. When "Kabane" finally arrives, they realize it's actually Kon disguised as the boy. Quickly, Shiki uses his webs to retrieve the suicase Kon is supposed to be transporting. Opening it, he is extremely surprised to find Kabane's dismembered head, but does what Kabane tells him to do anyways. With their teamwork, Kabane brings down Kon and then grows a new body. Shiki lends him his jacket beacuse the kemono is naked. Shiki offers him a fist bump, calling it "what friends do to celebrate when they win".

In the bar the next day, Mr. Inugami makes Shiki and Akira join Kabane on their first assignment together on "love". After learning about love, Kabane hands Mr. Inugami a pack of tissues for "love". He then adds that he would probably find something to give to Shiki and Akira.

Mihai sends the trio onto a dangerous mission for the fun of it. Shiki is cornered by one of the kemono mosquito sisters, and he spirals into a panic attack when he sees the face of the mosquito. He's snapped out of it by Kabane voice, yelling into the radio. Kabane says that he believes in Shiki's strength, giving the older boy the confidence to defeat the kemono. At night, Kabane can't sleep, and gets up from bed. He walks over to a sleeping Shiki, and listens to his heartbeat, checking if he's alive or not. Kabane does the same with Akira. After confirming that they're both okay, he finally falls into a deep sleep. When they wake up, Shiki is annoyed that Kabane keeps following him. Akira says that it's because Kabane was worried for him, but Shiki still thinks it irritating.

Shiki awkwardly invites Kabane and Akira to join him in searching for his family. He also talks to Mr. Inugami, calling them his friends. Nobimaru later tries to manipulate Kabane into hating Shiki, but he doesn't listen to the kitsune. Kabane follows Shiki into the old warehouse, and worries for him when the lilac-haired boy collapses from his flashbacks. The kemono stubbornly proclaims that he would help Shiki, even if it meant killing people. Kabane even goes as far to ask if he needs any help to kill Akio. Shiki refuses it, but thanks him anyways. After confronting Akio, the older man's kemono bodyguards appear. They don Shiki's mother's voice, and Shiki falls to the ground in torment. At this point, Nobimaru notices that Kabane is actually extremely mad. Kabane bends down and asks again, whether Shiki wants his help or not. Shiki, crying and helpless, begs him for his help. Kabane understands, and in his rage, he slaughters many of the kemono relentlessly, declaring Akio to be his final one to kill. When he finally defeats all the kemono, Shiki thanks him for his help, apologizing for being so weak.

Shiki decides to leave the Agency for a short while, and Mr. Inugami asks Kabane whether he feels lonely without Shiki, who then smiles and says that Shiki finding his parents was a happy thing. He's immediately called out on it, because Mr. Inugami had learned that Kabane smiles when he lies. Just as they finish talking, Shiki appears in the doorway. He reminds Kabane about their deal, and pledges to help him find his parents, even if it kills him.

Once Akira leaves for good, the two are both extremely bored. While Shiki attempts to create dinner, Kabane voices all the mistakes he made, and they quickly realize that Akira being gone wasn't a good thing for them. They set off together to find Akira. Together, they listen to Yui's explanation on where Kabane's Calculi might have come from, and Shiki is happy for him when Yui implys they might be able to find some hints about his parent sthrough the stone. Both Akira and Shiki find this information exciting, and high five each other in happiness.

Shiki goes into Mihai's room for a favor, attempting to persuade the vampire to help him train. He wants to become stronger so that he won't fall behind Kabane and weigh him down. In Mihai's VR, Shiki meets Mayo, and tells him about his plan to get stronger and pay back Kabane. As he's falling asleep, he says that he would need to be able to return the favor if Kabane was ever in trouble.

Mr. Inugami assigns both Shiki and Kabane to go after the Stream Calculus in Shimane, so together, they gladly set off. Kabane accidentally insults Shiki by pointing out how he hadn't changed much. Shiki uses his fake ID to secure themselves a hotel room, and the two talk about the combined calculi. Shiki suggests Kabane try using the ice ability, but then harriedly tells Kabane to stop when he starts practicing. In the morning, they arrive at Amagafuchi. While they are eating lunch, a girl comes and stealtheir wallet. The two quickly catch up to her, and they realize that her kemono village was burned down due to Kaede and Akagi.

In the battle with Kaede, Shiki throws a street sign at the kitsune, who was about to eat Kabane. Even when Akagi merges with Kaede, Shiki stays there as support fo Kabane. The spider kemono attempts to turn invisible to help Kabane, but he is spotted by Akagi and attacked. As the battle progresses, Kabane is really about to be eaten by Kaede, and Shiki shouts out loudly. When Tamaki's flash flood appears, Kabane is granted an opening and with the help of Shiki, he punches Kaede's left eye in.

Moments

 * Kabane easily gets away from Shiki's first prank.
 * The two boys go together to buy soda.
 * Shiki protests when Mr. Inugami says that he'll hand over Kabane's head to Kon.
 * Akira and Shiki follow Kabane on his "date" with Kon.
 * Kabane is easily able to tell that Shiki wasn't ahppy about losing his parents.
 * Kabane suggests to help Shiki carry his mother, but Akira reminds him that Shiki needs to do that himself.
 * Shiki looks extremely embarassed when his friends see him being hugged by his mom.
 * They first bump when Shiki comes back, something that Kabane used to not be able to do.
 * Shiki faints when Kabane accepts Aya's proposal to date.
 * Shiki is the first person to realize that Kabane's awkward smile meant something was wrong, immediately undertaking action to hide the kemonos.
 * After making dinner, Kabane points out everything that Shiki did wrong.
 * Shiki flusteredly admits that he worries on whether he might've been too mean to Akira. Kabane looks at him with surprise
 * Kabane helps him up when they're attacked by a snowstorm,
 * Kabane is wearing Shiki's jacket after the fight with Yui, although it's extremely oversized on him.
 * Shiki pats Kabane's back upon hearing that they have a chance to find his parents.
 * Shiki even goes on his knees to beg Mihai for training experience.
 * While preparing to leave for Shimane, Shiki helps Kabane suit up his backpack.
 * Shiki stops Kabane before he tells his name to Akagi.

Fanon
Shiki acts a lot like a tsundere towards Kabane, constantly claiming that he. hates him, despite showing grudging affection towards him. They work well together through, and are extremely close in age. Kabane also borrows Shiki's clothing or has the older boy buy him clothes, which is a trope many fans are into. KabaShiki isn't a very popular ship in the general, sometimes rivaled by Konbane (the ship between Kabane and Kon), or AkiShiki (the ship between Shiki and Akira). The ship draws similarities to TodoBaku, especially because of how Shiki looks a lot like Bakugou, and how Kabane doesn't really react to things strongly, like Todoroki.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

Trivia

 * Shiki is 14, a year older than Kabane (13).
 * Their birthdays are 148 days apart, with Shiki's being on November 10th, and Kabane's being on June 15th.
 * Kabane's mother was a human while his father was a kemono; in contrast to how Shiki's mother was a kemono while his father was a human.
 * Shiki bought Kabane the same pair of clothes he lost once in Chapter 4.
 * Kabane experienced his first real emotion, "anger" when he saw Shiki break down in front of his siblings.
 * Kabane is a cat person, while animals don't like Shiki because he seems aggressive.
 * Shiki thinks it would be weird for his sister to start dating Kabane, because that would make them half-brothers.
 * Kabane is constantly borrowing Shiki's clothing, from his black hoodie to the purple jacket that Shiki occasionally lends him.