SusaHao

"Oh, Susato...you know you'll always be a gallant, dashing lawyer in my eyes now!"

- Rei to Susato after the latter asked Rei to find inside her heart to forgive her for failing as her lawyer during the brief recess.

SusaHao is the femslash ship between Rei Membami and Susato Mikotoba from the Ace Attorney fandom.

Canon
Susato and Rei's relationship is mentioned in the first episode of "The Adventure of The Blossoming Attorney", in which Susato is placed as an attorney to defend Rei, disguised as "Ryutaro", since women weren't allowed to represent in court, so Susato's father, Yujin Mikotoba, had disguised Susato as Naruhodou's "cousin", Ryutaro. Rei approaches to "Ryutaro" and "his" father while thanking "him" to represent her in the court while swearing that everything pinning on her was only a fabrication. Susato then introduces her as her greatest friend, who was born as the same year as her, and the one who worked in the same university research laboratory as Yujin, while she was helping him. Rei felt flushed on that time, and Susato asks about the reason of it. Rei, surprised by the sudden question, she answers nervously that "he" looked so gallant and dashing. Susato wonders if she had noticed about her at all. Nevertheless Yujin assures Susato that the disguise was working, and then Rei is seen very surprised about this, and pointed to Susato that she looked just like a male student from the Yumei University and then Susato felt relieved since all her work would be worthwhile knowing that. Still, while Susato revealed her true self, Rei points that Susato still looked dashing and finally Susato asks her not to look with flushed cheeks and doting eyes to her.

At first, Rei wonders if Susato really believes her, but Susato confirms this as she said she would believe her till the bitter end no matter what, and those words meant a lot to Rei, since she says this to Susato. As the bailiff calls for the defence, Susato asks her father if he had assured not telling Rei about how it had came to that situation, since no lawyer agreed on defending her because the victim was a serial murderer. Yujin though answers her back that law wasn't his field at all, but he would still support his student.

When the trial starts, Auchi calls "Ryutaro" a country boy, and then Rei intervenes saying that Susato was every bit as gallant and dashing as any of the attorneys of Tokyo, and she wouldn't let him making fun of her. Until Rei noticed her mistake, Susato warns Rei internally on being careful, and then Auchi doubts for a second wondering about the "her" Rei mentioned, but then he doesn't seem to notice since he was still describing about the "tomboyish" lawyer being able to defend Rei. Susato then notes internally how nervous she was since she could understand what Naruhodou was through being on his shoes in other trials.

During the brief recess, Rei apologizes to Susato as she couldn't tell her about the toxin that was used to poison the victim. Yujin tries to comfort her pointing that she had a strong sense of responsability, but Rei denies saying back she was afraid of her failure coming to light, so she hoped to retrive the poison from the victim before anyone else. Rei asks Susato what she said before the trial started, about her not having doubt about her innocence. Rei, feeling down, says she "betrayed" Susato by hiding crucial information from her, then Rei finally asks Susato to hit, throw, or drag her to the ground. But Susato denies that fact, since it was no better for Susato, as she doubted Rei for a moment about her commiting the crime, and then apologizes to her for the same reason as Rei, with the only difference that Susato thought she had failed as Rei's lawyer. Yujin tells both girls about how they learned a valuable lesson, about how trusting other people wasn't an easy task for them. Susato agrees, and asks Rei for finding forgiveness in her heart. Rei is seen sad for a moment, but a second later smiles while saying that Susato would be always a gallant, dashing lawyer in her own eyes. Susato is moved by her words. Rei still says she was scared, because everything happened right in front on her, and she couldn't bring herself to speak up about that before. Susato again reassures Rei as she assures her she would prove that everything she said was true on court.

After revealing the details of the true killer, Menimemo, he goes out mad, as he still denied being the one who killed the englishwoman (the victim), as he waved his camera through the air by its cord, Rei stops him by working along with Susato for then executing the "Susato's Takedown", but she corrects with it being the Ryutaro's one.

Finally, when Rei was declared innocent from the charges, she thanks Susato by saying that she was moved by all Susato did, saying she would start crying. Susato points that it wasn't easy for both, but they still managed it together, and adds that she was at the verge of tears at the end too. Rei thanks Susato again saying she was still there because of Susato, but Susato denies it, as she was the one who did wonderfully and she had to be the one to be congratulated at. Rei gets a bit angry at this, because she then asks Susato on leaving the formal, super humility nonsense, as both were friends, and equals. Rei reminds Susato about how they "knocked the wind out of [Menimemo]", and it felt good to her, and Susato also agrees, saying that it was something satisfactory to do. Rei then wonders if there was someone else to throw together, as she looked at Yuujin. He notices her gaze at him, as he hoped that he wasn't being looked by Rei, and then she apologizes about it. Susato then feels pleased to see Rei's smile, as she pointed it out internally, and then Susato says it was time to bid farewell to Ryutaro (since he has done defending Rei), but she would still miss him. Rei comments sadly that it was a shame since she wouldn't see him again.

Moments

 * Their shadows are seen in The Adventure of The Blossoming Attorney's cardboard at the beginning facing each other (with Susato dressed as Ryutaro.)
 * At the end credits of The Great Ace Attorney, Ryuunosuke is seen passing by Susato (disguised as Ryutaro) and Rei, which girls were standing next to each other.

Fanon
Due to The Great Ace Attorney being recently released, it's a rarepair in the fandom, but at the same time, the most popular femslash ship for both characters and the game, and in general, the most written for Rei and the second most for Susato. Rei is oftenly considered as a lesbian due to her behavior when she saw Susato (as Ryutaro), and even calling "him" someone dashing and gallant. Even so, after Susato reveals herself to Rei, the last mentioned still mentioned that Susato was someone "gallant and dashing", making Rei headcanoned as a "raging lesbian" to people, but there were others denying the fact.

It tends to be rivaled by RyuuSusa, which is Susato's most popular ship, and has a bit more following that SusaHao, due of Haori having limited appearances in the game. But their interactions are significant to the people who ship SusaHao, so it's rather popular for those who enjoy it. It can be shipped along with AsoRyuu. In arts, Rei and Susato are oftenly together along with Asougi and Ryuunosuke, but only in few times, as both tend to be drawn only the two together. Susato is oftenly drawn as Ryutaro, and Haori is always keeping physical contact with her, like dancing together, intertwining fingers, holding hands, etc., just like with any other ship fan art.

Despite the popularity itself, most think it comes from the fact that "Ryuutaro" had been the "radiant and gallant" lawyer who had saved Rei, but there are others who actually say that the radiant and gallant lawyer whom Rei mentioned was none other than Susato herself. She had mentioned it herself, about how Susato would always be her gallant and radiant lawyer in her eyes. On AO3, it has 30+ results. Since SusaHao, HaoSusa, or/and Susaori names are more used than "ReiSusa", there are limited results for ReiSusa in Tumblr but still there are few for it.

Quotes
The Adventure of The Blossoming Attorney "(...Rei Membami. Born the same year as I, and my greatest friend. Though unusual for a woman in our time, she works at the university research laboratory, helping my father. And sadly...she's the defendant in today's trial. Accused of committing a truly awful murder.)"

- Rei's introduction made by Susato as Ryutaro.

"(Rei... You're managing to put on a brave face in all this, but I can see through it. I've noticed how your shoulders are slumped and how you're trembling ever so slightly.)"

- Susato, internally worrying about Rei.


 * Yuujin – "I think this situation has taught both of you a valuable lesson. Placing your unbridled faith in another is no easy task."
 * Susato – "...Yes, Father. That fact has certainly struck home. Which is why I can see more clearly now. So...Rei..."
 * Rei – "Yes?"
 * Susato – "Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?"
 * Rei – "......... Oh, Susato...you know you'll always be a gallant, dashing lawyer in my eyes now!"
 * Susato – "(Oh Rei...)"
 * — Rei reassuring Susato during the brief recess.


 * Rei – "At any rate, we really knocked the wind out of that horrid man! [Menimemo] And it felt so good!"
 * Susato – "Yes! It was satisfying."
 * Rei – "It really was! Isn't there anybody else we could throw together?" (gazing at Yuujin)
 * Yuujin – "I hope you're not looking at me, Rei."
 * Rei – "Oh! My! Goodness! No, of course not! OF COURSE not!"
 * Susato – "(Ah, there is it at last. Rei's lovely smile...)"
 * — Susato about how Rei was finally smiling as she joked on throwing Yuujin together.

4koma


 * Auchi – "My, my. What a sad state of affairs..."
 * Susato – "It is sad!"
 * Rei – "Susato-chan is a splendid defence attorney!"
 * Susato – "I'm Susato-chan!"
 * Rei – "If you dare mock her, I won't—"
 * Susato – "Won't forgive you!"
 * Yuujin – "Ryuutarou! Calm down! Please calm down!"
 * — 4koma — Response. The 4koma is a parodied version about the game which centers about Auchi feeling pitiful about "Ryuutarou" (Susato in disguise) but then Rei defends her along with Susato herself, for then finally Yuujin intervene for calming "Ryuutarou" down.

Behind the Scenes

 * Nuri – "The character of Haori wasn’t originally in Mr. Takumi’s scenario."
 * Interviewer – "No?"
 * Nuri – "At first, the story featured Mr. Mamemomi as the only original character, but the story just seemed a bit plain compared to the first game. I mean, you had Professor Mikotoba, Sōseki and Auchi… only middle-aged men! (laugh) "
 * Takumi – "Originally, Professor Mikotoba was the defendant, and the story would be about Susato defending her father. So I had never thought about just having middle-aged men."
 * Nuri – "Still, I had to voice my opinion on that. It wasn’t just about having middle-aged men, but if Susato were to stand at the defense’s bench, I figured you could have a girl in the role Susato usually had, and bonds between Ryūnosuke and Asōgi shown in the first game, could then be changed into the bonds between Susato and Haori. And the friendship between those two could also help flesh out a new side to Susato. So I proposed adding a new character."
 * — Interview about Murasame Haori (Rei Membami)'s character, and Susato's bond with her.

Fandom
FAN FICTION



ART



TUMBLR


 * hellshakeyuno. User dedicated to SusaHao's artworks.
 * hellshakeyuno. User dedicated to SusaHao's artworks.
 * hellshakeyuno. User dedicated to SusaHao's artworks.
 * hellshakeyuno. User dedicated to SusaHao's artworks.
 * hellshakeyuno. User dedicated to SusaHao's artworks.
 * hellshakeyuno. User dedicated to SusaHao's artworks.
 * hellshakeyuno. User dedicated to SusaHao's artworks.

TWITTER


 * , an account for the ship week in 2021.
 * , an account for the ship week in 2021.
 * , an account for the ship week in 2021.

Trivia

 * Rei's full name in japanese is "Haori Murasame", while in English is "Rei Membami". However, the japanese ship name tends to be used a bit more, forming "SusaHao" or "HaoSusa" instead of "SusaRei" or "ReiSusa".
 * Both share the same skills in martial arts.
 * Whenever Rei appears in official artworks, Susato is usually with her.
 * According to Kazuya Nuri (art director of The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures), Rei initially didn't exist in Shu Takumi's planned scenario for The Adventure of the Blossoming Attorney. The defendant of the case was in fact, originally going to be Yujin (Susato's father), with the story centered around Susato defending him. However, Kazuya pointed out that if Susato and Membami were friends, it would parallels the relationship between Ryunosuke Naruhodo and Kazuma Asogi, and so providing more character depth to Susato.
 * Also, Nuri mentions that Rei was designed to be someone who admired and adored Susato.
 * According to the Ace Attorney Wiki, in Rei Membami's personality section, it mentions that Rei has a soft spot for gallant men, which is why she was attracted to "Ryutaro Naruhodou" (Susato in disguise), who was the "gallant" young defense attorney who came to her aid, even after Susato revealed that it was her in disguise, which somewhat disturbed Susato.