KazuGorou

"We meet again, old friend."

- Kazuha to Gorou, during a cutscene in the Archon Quest

KazuGorou is the slash ship between Kaedehara Kazuha and Gorou from the Genshin Impact fandom.

Before the Archon Quest
Before the event of the Archon Quest, Kazuha had fled to the Resistance Army in search of help after his friend was slain by the Raiden Shogun and he stole his deactivated Vision. Now a wanted man, Kazuha had to find a place to stay hidden to avoid capture, of which Gorou, the general of the Resistance Army, was able to provide.

Not much is known about Kazuha and Gorou's time together in the Resistance, but given that Kazuha addresses Gorou as an 'old friend' in the quote above, it is hinted that they formed a close and amicable bond during their short time together.

Archon Quest - Act II: Part 2
Kazuha and Gorou's first on-screen interaction took place in Act II: Part 2 of the Archon Quest. During the Resistance's battle with Kujou Sara and the Shogunate's Army, Kazuha, along with Beidou and Kokomi, soon arrive to aid Gorou, the Traveler and the Resistance. Upon seeing Kazuha on the battlefield, Gorou happily calls out to him, to which Kazuha responds with the quote above: "We meet again, old friend."

It is worth noting that the moniker 'old friend' is often used for someone that one has known for a long time, meaning that Kazuha must have felt close enough to Gorou to address him this way, despite the brief time they spent together before Kazuha left Inazuma.

After Kujou Sara takes her retreat, Gorou and Kazuha take part in a conversation with Beidou, Kokomi and the Traveler, however the two do not say anything to each other, and part ways once the conversation is over. Despite this, if the Traveler interacts with him, Gorou will talk about Kazuha's unexpected arrival, expressing his surprise at seeing him after so long, and remarks fondly of when they used to fight together side-by-side before Kazuha left. During the earlier conversation, Kokomi also notably mentions Kazuha in passing when relaying new instructions to Gorou, telling him that she will ask the mercenaries from the Crux Fleet (and singling out Kazuha in particular) to remain at camp to hopefully reduce the pressure that Gorou is under.

Archon Quest - Act II: Part 3
After the Traveler defeats Signora in a duel before the throne and Raiden Shogun in turn kills Signora, she allows the Traveler to 'leave Tenshukaku alive'. When the Traveler reaches the gates of Tenshukaku, Kazuha and Gorou along with a small troop of soldiers run up the stairs and express joy in seeing the Traveler alive. Gorou notably turns his head to glance at Kazuha for a brief moment during this reunion. However, the mood turns dark soon after when the Raiden Shogun suddenly appears behind the Traveler and is about to kill them with the Musou no Hitotachi, since they have technically 'left Tenshukaku alive'.

Fortunately, in that moment, the Vision of Kazuha's late friend temporarily awakens and allows Kazuha to jump between the Traveler and Raiden Shogun, blocking her blade. Though he manages to deflect the attack, Raiden Shogun still manages to charge at Kazuha and throw him off the steps of Tenshukaku, forcing him to drive his blade into the ground to steady himself as he falls back to the Resistance Fleet. Seeing Kazuha fall back, Gorou quickly runs to his side, crouching down and placing his hands on his shoulders to see if he is alright before the both of them watch the light of the Kazuha's friend's Vision fade away.

As the Resistance soldiers exchange determined looks between themselves, Gorou turns his head to Kazuha once more, likely to check on his condition, before rallying with his soldiers to charge at the Shogun. When Gorou commands the attack, Kazuha can be seen glancing at him worriedly and even leaning forward slightly and gritting his teeth as Gorou runs ahead, which may indicate that Kazuha did not want Gorou to charge into battle alone so recklessly.

Voicelines
Kazuha has a voiceline about Gorou, where he notes that the Resistance (and by proxy, Gorou) gave him a lot of help when he was a wanted man in Inazuma. Kazuha mentions that even though the time he spent with Gorou was brief, it left a deep impression on him. Seemingly knowing of Gorou's character, Kazuha explains that he is the kind of person whatever's on his mind, and that not only does he share the high lows of his subordinates, but he is also never afraid to draw his sword for the sake of a friend. At the end of the voiceline, Kazuha remarks that Gorou is the kind of person he can really get along with.

In Kokomi's voiceline about Kazuha, Gorou is briefly mentioned. She notes that Kazuha got along very well with Gorou during his time in the resistance and that they would often fight side-by-side in battle.

Gorou has a voiceline about Kazuha, where he regards the latter as a different breed of samurai than the ones he has seen. He describes Kazuha as a gust of wind that sweeps through the land and that he always contributes something to those who are around him, even though he does not stay for long. Gorou seems to think positively of Kazuha, saying that when they fought alongside each other, he learned what it means to be truly carefree and without constraints. At the end of the voiceline, Gorou proudly declares that he and Kazuha make a great team together.

Other Notable Mentions
In Gorou's Character Card, Kazuha is the one introducing Gorou. He remarks that kindness and loyalty are the representation of virtue, and that without a doubt, his friend Gorou is a virtuous General. This statement can be taken as Kazuha complimenting Gorou's kindness and loyalty.

In Gorou's Hangout event, Gorou mentions Kazuha in passing when the former and the Traveler hear about a Watatsumi soldier who wishes to part from the army to visit his family and his homeland on Narukami Island. He tells the Traveler that Kazuha once told him that the bonds between people whose paths have crossed can never be broken, even after they part ways. It is worthy to note that Gorou explicitly expresses his worry of Kazuha being wrong in his advice, given that people can change fairly quickly, and that he worries if there will be some distance between him and his soldier (and maybe between him and Kazuha as well) after some time apart.

Fanon
KazuGorou is a fairly popular ship within the Genshin Impact fandom that immediately gained a good amount of attention when the two fought side-by-side during the battle against Kujou Sara. Even before Gorou was introduced in the Archon Quest's, the ship already gained some attention, due to the theory that Gorou was the friend who helped Kazuha to escape from Inazuma. It gained notable traction after the 2.1 update, where the archon quest cutscene featured the both of them charging into Tenshukaku after the Traveler defeats Signora. It gained even more traction after the 2.3 update, when Gorou was released as a playable character and both his hangout and voice lines hint a closer relationship between the two.

KazuGorou currently rivals BeiKazu, KazuScara, TomoKazu and sometimes Kazuha's ship with the Traveler. IttoGorou and Kokorou also tend to be popular rival ships on Gorou's side.

On Twitter, a Kazuha x Gorou week took place from October 25th to 31st. Participants were given prompts for each day of the week where they made fan content based on those prompts. The hashtag for this event was #KazuGorouWeek21.

A popular headcanon amongst fans is that Gorou was the one who found a way for Kazuha to escape Inazuma through Beidou and the Crux Fleet's ship. This is somewhat supported by how both Kazuha and Gorou have a voiceline for Beidou, suggesting that like Kazuha, Gorou also has a friendly bond with Beidou.

Both Kazuha and Gorou also have voicelines that mention about lying in the sun and relaxing, which has led to the headcanon that they take naps under the sun together.

Given that Kazuha has astute hearing capabilities like Gorou would (since the latter is part-dog), another popular headcanon is that Gorou and Kazuha are exceptionally alert and stealthy, since they both can hear enemies approaching them from far away and they know how to sneak up on their foes without being noticed. It is also played around with each other in the form of them trying to playfully jump-scare one another whenever they meet.

Kazuha also has a voiceline about him favoring frank people that speak their mind about whatever they are thinking. This coincides with his voiceline for Gorou, where he comments that the latter is the type of person who says whatever is on his mind. This connection is further cemented by the end of Kazuha's voiceline for Gorou, where he comments that Gorou is the kind of person that Kazuha can really get along with.

One unique similarity between Kazuha and Gorou lies in their voicelines about their favorite food and their birthday lines for the Traveler's (i.e. the player's) birthday. In their voicelines about their favorite food, Kazuha says that his favorite food is fish whereas Gorou says that his favorite food is cake and tricolor dango. Surprisingly, in their voicelines for the Traveler's birthday, Kazuha talks about getting some cake for them whereas Gorou talks about catching some fresh fish and crabs and cooking a meal for them that would 'make even the highest-ranking generals jealous'. In simpler terms, both Kazuha and Gorou thought of getting each other's favorite food for the Traveler's birthday, which could mean that they know each other's favorite food as well.

Both of them have also dealt with thieves alongside the Traveler on different occasions; Kazuha had to deal with the thief who stole his late friend's Vision during the Archon Quest in Act II - Prologue, while Gorou had to confront the thieves who stole many items from Komore Teahouse during on of his hangout event storylines. This highlights their similar senses of justice.

Archon Quest
"( … ) But I will ask the mercenaries to remain stationed here, and Kazuha is here too. Hopefully, this will serve to reduce the pressure you are under."

- Kokomi, to Gorou after the battle on Nazuchi Beach (Act II Part 2) "I must say, I was certainly surprised to look out and see Kazuha joining the fray. It's been quite some time since we last fought side-by-side… At that time, his friend was defeated in a duel before the throne... and executed by the Raiden Shogun. Kazuha came to visit the resistance as he was fleeing Inazuma with his friend's Vision… Hard to believe it's been so long."

- Gorou, after the battle on Nazuchi Beach (Act II Part 2)

Character Voicelines
"When I was a wanted man, the resistance gave me a lot of help. The time I spent with Gorou was brief, but he left a deep impression on me. He's the type of person who says whatever's on his mind. He shares the highs and lows of his subordinates, and is never afraid to draw his sword for the sake of a friend. That's the kind of person I can really get along with."

- Kazuha's voiceline: 'About Gorou"

"Kazuha once came and bunked with the resistance for a time. If I'm not mistaken, he got along very well with Gorou — they would often fight side-by-side in battle. ( … )"

- Kokomi's voiceline: "About Kaedehara Kazuha" "I've seen all kinds of wandering samurai before, and Kazuha is categorically a different breed from the others. He's like a gust of wind that sweeps through the land. Though he never stays for long, he is always able to contribute something to those who are around him. When I fought alongside him, I learned more about what it means to be truly carefree and without constraints. In any case, I think that Kazuha and I make a great team together!"

- Gorou's voiceline: "About Kaedehara Kazuha"

Other Voicelines
"I like frank people, because we can freely speak our minds to one another. There is no need to hide anything that you wish to say. I hear the voices of all things in nature, and that includes yours."

- Kazuha's voiceline, "About Us: Frank Speech" "I have a very keen sense of hearing. My ears pick up all sorts of sounds: the wind through the mountain passes, the parting clouds, the sound of foxes chewing on apples in the forest, the sound of crabs blowing bubbles... This is nature's favor, it allows me to sense danger long before it draws near."

- Kazuha's voiceline, "About Kaedehara Kazuha: II"

Other Quests/Events
"I want to find that soldier. Not to persuade him to stay, I just... I don't want him to leave without saying goodbye. Kazuha once told me that the bonds between people whose paths have crossed can never be broken, even after they part ways. But... maybe I'm scared he might be wrong. People can change quickly, and I worry that the next time I meet my comrade who fought so bravely alongside me, there will already be some distance between us."

- Gorou, during his Hangout Event Quest: A Friend's Path

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Variations

 * TomoKazuGorou refers to the ship between Kazuha's friend, Kaedehara and Gorou

Trivia

 * Kazuha and Gorou both have similar white puffball charms pinned on their outfits, on their left pectorals across the chest.
 * They also have matching red tassels on their Visions.
 * Both of their Japanese VAs, Shimazaki Nobunaga (Kazuha) & Hatanaka Tasuku (Gorou), have expressed their interests in Kazuha and Gorou's bond in the game.
 * During their official interviews conducted by Hoyoverse, when asked the following question, "Besides your character, is there any character that you’re interested in?", they responded with:
 * Shimazaki: ( … ) As a character related to Kazuha, there’s a character named Gorou in Inazuma. ( … ) Well, like Beidou, he is someone Kazuha is also indebted to. ( … ) He was saved by Gorou and is tied to him by a deep bond. ( … ) Friendship, bond, connection, those parts are really… emotional. So if you keep your eye on Gorou and Kazuha, I would be really happy.
 * Hatanaka: Well… Personally… I think, Kazuha! I wonder how they fought alongside each other up until now! ( … ) I wonder what kind of past Gorou shares with Kazuha, and I’m thinking of looking out for it even more!
 * In Gorou's Collected Miscellany video posted on the Official Genshin Impact YouTube Channel, he is seen collecting Sea Ganoderma when his passive talent, Seeker of Shinies, is explained. At the time of the video's release, there was only one character who used Sea Ganoderma as his ascension material: Kaedehara Kazuha.

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