KazuXiao

KazuXiao is the slash ship between Kaedehara Kazuha and Xiao from the Genshin Impact fandom.

Canon
Xiao is from Liyue, while Kazuha is from Inazuma. Although Xiao may be elusive to many humans, Kazuha's role with the Crux and friendship with Venti gives him a greater chance of meeting the former. Furthermore, Xiao often patrols Guyun Stone Forest, as mentioned by Zhongli during the 2022 Lantern Rite Festival (Day 4 - Post-Quest Dialogue), where the Alcor is docked. Kazuha is found to be in that area as shown in his demo trailer and domain cutscene.

In terms of appearance, both of them similarly wear a wide sleeve on their left hand side and a short one on the other, and their costumes are designed with swirl patterns. Their color schemes are somewhat opposite; Kazuha's being dominated by warm colors, and Xiao's by cool ones. Xiao has an obvious back window, while Kazuha has a front window hidden by his scarf.

Both are playable 5-star Anemo characters available in limited-time banners. They both share the distinct ability to maneuver in mid-air and utilize plunge combat: Kazuha's elemental skill lifts himself up in the air before unleashing a powerful plunge attack, while Xiao's burst increases his jumping ability to deal more plunge damage.

They also complement each other in exploration. Kazuha's utility passive decreases running stamina consumption, while Xiao's passive reduces climbing stamina. Kazuha's elemental skill allows him to jump in mid-air to make climbing/ reaching platforms easier, while Xiao's skill allows him to dash across platforms. Having the Anemo Resonance further increases team movement speed.

Both characters are shown to have an indomitable will. Xiao used to suffer terrible abuse from his former master during his younger years. Following his rescue by Morax, he forged a contract with the latter to purge evil god remnants, and led him to accumulate painful and incurable karmic debt. Xiao could not save the minds and bodies of his Yaksha comrades who have succumbed to the debt and became the only survivor. Despite what he's been through, Xiao remained resilient and continues to perform his duties up to this day.

Kazuha, on the other hand, was not abused but rather cherished by his family. His father chose to sacrifice the family business to liberate Kazuha from hardship, but sadly passed on soon after, leaving Kazuha all by himself. Kazuha lost his home eventually and became a wandering samurai, at times having trouble to find shelter. He formed a close friendship with Tomo, who also lost his life later on, and went through many tribulations in hopes to awaken his friend's lost vision. In the end, the strength of his will allowed him to trigger both that vision and his own to parry Raiden Shogun's Musou no Hitotachi, a remarkable feat witnessed by many. This resulted in Kazuha gaining popularity, which is ironic in comparison to Xiao, an Adepti who fought tirelessly for humanity for for thousands of years, yet unknown by many.

In terms of differences, one factor would be the contrast of their perspective towards their Archons. Xiao, having been saved by Morax from his enslavement, developed an unwavering loyalty towards him and dedicated his life to protecting Liyue. As for Kazuha, he became a wanted criminal due to the Vision Hunt Decree and lost his dear friend in the process, causing him to hold resentment for Raiden Shogun and leave Inazuma.

Another factor is their personality. Even though both have introverted natures, their temperaments are different. On the surface, Xiao is intimidating and cold, whereas Kazuha is kind and soft spoken. However, deep inside Xiao is much more fragile and gentler than he seems to be. In contrast, Kazuha will not hesitate to become ruthless should anyone cross him, as he is seen to threaten Fei the Flyer with torture in order to trigger his friend's lost vision.

Fanon
KazuXiao is notably a rarepair within the Genshin fandom, however it is still a known one. There are currently over 380 works of the ship on ao3. Their main rival ships are XiaoVen and Xiaother, two of Xiao’s most popular ships. Others are KazuScara and TomoKazu, which are Kazuha’s most popular ships. KX ship has a fan base in Twitter, where most of the content is. The ship most likely gained its shippers due to their possible dynamic relationship; since Kazuha is so carefree, most fans think that it would be good for Xiao to have someone like Kazuha. Another reason could be the fact that Kazuha has the kindness and patience that Xiao values, and Xiao the feeling of security that Kazuha lacks. Both can also bond over the fact they've lost people in their lives. KazuXiao appears to have an amazing chemistry should horoscopes and personality types are taken into account.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

Trivia

 * The ship's signature emojis are 🍁👹. The maple leaf representing Kazuha and the oni representing Xiao's mask.
 * In an official interview with Kazuha's Japanese voice actor Nobunaga Shimazaki, he chose Xiao as one of his favorite characters. He commented how Kazuha's design seem to base on Beta Xiao's design. He also stated that he would be delighted to see players line up Kazuha and Xiao in the same party.
 * In the Japanese dub, Kazuha and Xiao uses the line “風よ/風は…” (The wind) with a similar voice tone. Xiao says the line when he uses the wind glider whereas Kazuha says the line when he performs his Elemental Skill.
 * Xiao and Kazuha's birthday art seem to revolve around Ginko and Maple leaves respectively.
 * Both are mentioned to be the last of their kind in the race / family.
 * Both have similar looking constellations (wing-shaped).
 * Both are indebted to someone for saving them; Xiao to Zhongli, Kazuha to Beidou and Gorou.
 * Both do not reside in their origin country (Xiao is speculated to be from Sumeru due to his dream eating capabilities).
 * Both are friends with Venti.
 * Both have lost a friend with an electric vision and failed to save them.
 * Both have appeared as one of the main characters in the collaboration art for Sweets Paradise (and in the same right spot).
 * Kazuha's TCG event card has the same pose as Xiao's TCG character card. Both cards are launched together in the 3.7 patch.
 * Kazuha is currently the only human outsider who has some ties with an Adepti.
 * Interestingly, Kazuha comes from a bladesmith family, and Xiao happens to have a voice line that says to view him as a weapon . Kazuha also enjoys playing music while Xiao wishes to dance.
 * In the Bilibili's Fan Art Birthday Party 2022, Kazuha and Xiao can be seen running a cat cafe together at timestamps 5:30, 6:18, 52:45 and 1:49:36.

Variations

 * 4NEMO refers to the ship between the two, Aether and Venti
 * 5WIRL refers to the ship between the two, Aether, Venti and Shikanoin Heizou
 * 6REEZE refers to the ship between two, Aether, Venti, Shikanoin Heizou and Scaramouche
 * KazuXiaoVen refers to the ship between the two and Venti