GureMahi

"You’ve grown up. You’ve become strong and beautiful."

- Guren to Mahiru, upon reuniting with her

GureMahi is the het ship between Ichinose Guren and Hiiragi Mahiru from the Seraph of The End fandom.

Canon
Guren first met Mahiru at a mountain on a summer night, after Guren had finished his daily training. On this day, Mahiru approached him and asked him who he was. At this, he turned around. Mahiru then began to ask Guren multiple questions, varying between many different topics.

One day, she requested that Guren bring her cake. Guren stated that he did not have the money to be able to afford ingredients or the cake itself; apologizing because he couldn't fulfill her needs. Mahiru reassured him, stating that it was alright and that it was fine as long as they were together. Later, he went to his father, Ichinose Sakae, and asked for pocket money. When Sakae asked why, Guren stated that it was to buy cake for himself. When Sakae said he could not allow it because he wanted Guren to maintain a good diet, Guren then said that it was not for himself. Sakae gave Guren one thousand yen, and commented that it was good for him to be popular, as one day Guren would marry.

Guren brought the cake to their next meeting. Mahiru was happy to see that he brought cake. She asked him if he bought it to make her happy, to which he responded with silence. Then, she made the statement, "I love most." Guren asked if she meant that she loved the cake, and she responded with "I love Guren." His narration describes how, when he was with her, his heart rate would accelerate, and it would become harder for him to speak.

They split the cake in half and ate it together. Mahiru took a bite out of a strawberry and ate some of it, before feeding it to Guren. However, they were eventually found by the people of Mikado no Oni. (note that Guren belongs to Mikado no Tsuki). Guren was interrogated by these men, who asked him who he had been meeting with. Guren refused to answer their questions and sell out Mahiru, which caused the people of Mikado no Oni to beat him up. Guren's narration states that he didn't feel pain, but anger at the unfairness of the situation.

Guren re-visited their usual meeting spot, and stayed there for two hours. He realized Mahiru did not come that night. A few days later, Mahiru would appear. She told Guren how she was initially speaking to him, because she assumed her father would be angered at the idea of her talking to someone on the lowest end of the social hierarchy. She paused before later adding that she fell in love with Guren because he was too cute. Mahiru asked him that, when they grow up, if they could get married and be together forever. Guren shut this down by stating that the way things were made it impossible even if he liked her. However, they were caught again. Guren was then beat up for "luring" Mahiru out, despite her being the one who went to him herself. They were separated, as they cried for each other. They did not see each other for a decade afterwards.

At sixteen, Guren finally reunites with Mahiru, who has now grown into a beautiful young woman, at First Shibuya High School. He first sees her give the freshman address, and later visits him in the nurses' ward. He bitterly congratulates her on her engagement to Shinya, causing her to leave in tears. Unbeknownst to Guren, she only loves him and no one else.

During the attack on First Shibuya by the Brotherhood of A Thousand Nights, Mahiru engages in combat with Guren and tells him about her betrayal of the Hiiragis, and invites him to join her. However, halfway through speaking, Mahiru is overcome with pain and warns Guren to stay away, revealing that she has been possessed. Angrily, Guren demands Saito tell him what the Brotherhood did to her, but he doesn't say anything. Before leaving, Mahiru hugs Guren, telling him "I love you."

Fanon
In the earlier days of the fandom, GureMahi was pretty popular among shippers. However, in recent years, it's been overshadowed by its main rival ship, GureShin, though it still has a few dedicated fans. Denouncers of GureMahi often argue that it's problematic due to Mahiru hurting Guren, but as some shippers have pointed out, she wasn't in control of herself and felt remorse for doing so, and that Mahiru-no-yo is not Mahiru. Another common argument is that Mahiru is a minor, and that it would be weird if they ended up being fully canon. However, other shippers have pointed out that if that was true MikaYuu would have the same issue. This is due to the fact that Mikaela was a child as a demon before changing his age to that of the one before his death as a vampire. As Mahiru appears, she has aged physically. Having longer hair, features closer to her chronological age, being taller, having a longer skirt, etc.

While there is still a lot of hate towards GureMahi, there are still quite a few dedicated shippers.

Fandom

 * FAN FICTION


 * TUMBLR

Trivia

 * According to the Manga 8.5 Fanbook and TV Anime 10 Fanbook:
 * Guren's interests: Yuichiro/Mahiru
 * When asked what he looks for in the opposite sex, he states: "Mahiru Hiiragi.". (In this situation, they are speaking about personality AND physical appearance.)
 * Mahiru's interests: Guren's future, ambition, lust, the "Seraph of The End" experiment
 * Mahiru's crush is listed as "Guren."
 * Guren's greatest desire would be reliving the day he met Mahiru in his hometown, training in swordsmanship, having a cook out with his friends. As well as his father being alive throughout the course of this.

Variations

 * GureMahiShin refers to the poly ship between the two and Shinya Hiiragi