KazuScara

KazuScara is the slash ship between Kaedehara Kazuha and Scaramouche from the Genshin Impact fandom.

Canon
Kazuha and Scaramouche have not yet met in canon. Still, their backstories are heavily intertwined, in large part due to Scaramouche’s past actions as both the Kabukimono and Kunikuzushi, and Scaramouche knows of Kazuha, as evidenced in his voiceline about him. They are also widely considered to be literary foils by shippers and non-shippers alike due to their contrasting yet simultaneously reflective narratives and personalities.

Additionally, at the end of, Scaramouche, now known as the Wanderer and no longer linked to his past identities by the rest of Teyvat, insists that the Traveler “tell [the descendants of the Raiden Gokaden] that [he] was the one responsible for the Raiden Gokaden’s downfall,” even at the risk of “them [stabbing] their blades into [his] chest if they so desire.” Since Kazuha is a descendant of the Raiden Gokaden and part of one of the clans that were directly affected by Scaramouche’s actions as Kunikuzushi, this appears to be foreshadowing that the two will meet in the future to settle the issue of Scaramouche’s past wrongdoings.

In the event, Kazuha learns a hidden truth about his family's past. The was once a renowned bladesmithing clan and the leader of the Isshin Art, one of the schools of the, but for seemingly unknown reasons, one of the former heads of the clan stopped the family business many years ago. In turn, the Kaedeharas lost both their status and properties, pushing Kazuha to lead the wanderer’s life that he now does in the present. During this event, Kazuha discovers that Scaramouche—then known as —was the indirect cause of this end-of-business decision.

In a written by his great-grandfather,, Kazuha finds out the exact happenings which lead to his clan’s downfall:

About a century ago, bladesmiths of the Isshin Art had repeatedly failed to create an important sword using the Raiden Shogun’s diagram, and so they fled, fearing punishment. With the then-head of the Kamisato Clan, Yoshinori investigated the matter, and soon, the two realized that the diagram had likely been tampered with. They were eventually able to track the bladesmiths down to a beach, but instead of the bladesmiths, they found “a single eccentric stranger” lying in wait for them. This stranger revealed that he had actually been behind the failed forgings, aiming to destroy the Raiden Gokaden. A fight ensues, and this stranger—“of able body, and in a blink of an eye”—defeated Yoshinori, the Kamisato commissioner, and the accompanying samurai the two had brought with them. However, when the stranger noticed Yoshinori’s appearance, instead of finishing them off, he asked whether Yoshinori had any connection with the name “Niwa.” After Yoshinori tells the stranger that it was his father’s surname and that he had been adopted by the Kaedehara family after his father disappeared, he spares him, giving him one final message before leaving: “Tell her this. My name is Kunikuzushi.”

Afterwards, the Kamisato commissioner ordered Yoshinori to conceal the truth about Kunikuzushi tampering with the Raiden Shogun’s blueprint in order to avoid being accused of conspiring with the saboteur. Likewise, Yoshinori remained fearful of Kunikuzushi’s promise to destroy the Raiden Gokaden, so in order to protect his family from harm, he stopped the family business and refused to pass down the Isshin Art’s techniques, thus leading to the ultimate decline of the Kaedehara Clan.

At the end of Yoshinori’s letter, he implores that any descendant reading it not seek revenge against Kunikuzushi, and Kazuha agrees with this sentiment overall, as he himself is satisfied with the answers he found and the current life he lives, although he adds that if Kunikuzushi is still around and stirring up trouble, he will not turn a blind eye towards it.

In the, the relationship between the “Niwa” name and Scaramouche is further explored. After the Traveler defeats Scaramouche and foils his plan to achieve godhood,, the Dendro Archon, brings him under her care, as and the rest of the Fatui have now discarded him. She makes a deal with him to investigate on her behalf since he as a Harbinger may see information that she wouldn’t have access to. Although Scaramouche expects them to kill him after he helps her, he complies anyways because he has no other real choice. The Traveler is tasked with escorting him to ensure that he doesn’t misuse his privileges, allowing them to get information on their twin in return. While Scaramouche is searching through Irminsul, Nahida reveals to the Traveler that she plans on allowing him to uncover the lies that have made him into who he is today because he deserves to know the truth.

It is not long after that Scaramouche does exactly that, in a flashback that he experiences within Irminsul. Here, it is revealed that the “Niwa” he knew was, the Armory Officer of over 400 years ago, who he and the rest of the world were led to believe had run away when the furnace began releasing  and killing workers as a result of a new smelting process introduced by a Fontaine mechanic calling himself “Escher” in a last-ditch effort to avoid punishment. As Niwa had been the one to help Scaramouche—then Kabukimono—integrate into human society after he was freed from, he felt especially betrayed by him.

However, that was not the truth of the matter, as Scaramouche soon finds: instead, Niwa had actually planned to be the sacrifice that the furnace needed in order to be cleaned of the curse. When he went to take the cleansing device from “Escher,” however, he confronted him, saying that he knew about his evil intentions and the dangers of Tatarigami. Unfortunately, as he began calling him out for his alternate identity, “Escher” stabbed him in the back, fatally wounding him. As Niwa bled out, “Escher” revealed that he was actually Dottore and that he planned on using the malevolent spirits in the furnace to corrupt the Kabukimono for the Fatui’s use. Niwa’s final request was that if Dottore planned on using his heart in the device, he needed to tell the Kabukimono that he always saw him as a human, regardless of whether or not he had a heart. That request was never fulfilled. Instead, Niwa’s heart was placed into the cleansing device, and the Kabukimono was sent into the furnace under the guise that Niwa had killed a servant, placed their heart into the device, and then fled and left him with the responsibility of saving the people of Tatarasuna.

Now knowing the truth of the matter that would come to dictate the rest of his life, Scaramouche becomes enraged, but after a few moments, he manages to calm down long enough to find the information that he was supposed to get for the Traveler. Before he and the Traveler return back to Nahida, however, he erects a shield to stop her interference and asks the Traveler whether or not there was any way to change the past of Teyvat. When the Traveler hesitates to respond, Scaramouche receives his answer and heads into the heart of Irminsul to remove himself from existence so that Niwa and the people of Tatarasuna could have a second chance at life.

Scaramouche’s attempt to change the past later proves to be useless, however, as only the history that Teyvat remembered could be changed and not the actual events of the past. Niwa and the people of Tatarasuna still died due to the Fatui’s interference and the furnace malfunctioning, only now his actions as Kabukimono and Kunikuzushi are attributed to a falsified history involving a nameless bladesmith who died in the furnace alongside Niwa and the bladesmith’s angered descendants, respectively. Because of this, Scaramouche—now known as the Wanderer—vows to correct what he did in Irminsul and let the descendants of the Raiden Gokaden know the truth about what really led to their clans’ downfalls.

Scaramouche’s past relationship with Niwa seems to have partially influenced his thoughts about Kazuha. Though the two have not met, Scaramouche has a voiceline about him, and he appears interested in the fact that he is one of Niwa’s descendants and impressed that he also possesses an Anemo vision and managed to block the Raiden Shogun’s.

As of now, Kazuha is unaware of Scaramouche's identity as Kunikuzushi, both because the Traveler never revealed the true identity of Kunikuzushi to him and because Scaramouche rewrote history within Irminsul. However, this may soon change, as Scaramouche has requested that the Traveler tell any of the descendants of the Raiden Gokaden that he might see about his true role in the Raiden Gokaden’s downfall.

Quotes
"My great-grandfather and the head of the Kamisato Clan escaped from death and learned that the forging diagram had been tampered with by Kunikuzushi."

- Kazuha, after learning of Scaramouche's manipulations in Hues of Violet Garden

"Therefore, knowing the truth behind what happened is enough for me. I will live on just as my great-grandfather had hoped. That being said, if the enemy from all those years ago is still lurking and plotting to stir up more trouble, then I definitely won't turn a blind eye."

- Kazuha in Hues of Violet Garden "You speak of the descendant of the Kaedehara clan? Then isn't he... Wait, he also possesses an Anemo Vision? ...And even managed to take on the Raiden Shogun's Muson no Hitotachi? Hehe... Ahahahaha!"

- Scaramouche's voiceline about Kazuha

Fanon
Kazuscara originated from Kazuha leaks. Because Kazuha is from Inazuma, fans immediately speculated that he knew Scaramouche. They initially became popular due to being an aesthetically pleasing duo. They also were the first two male Inazuma characters to be leaked. Because there was no information on Kazuha's personality at the time, he was interpreted as having a gentle personality to contrast Scaramouche, which later turned out to be true.

The ship grew in popularity as more people discovered the theory that they were old friends. With Kazuha being described as a kind soul while Scaramouche is said to be difficult to get along with, they were shipped romantically by fans of the trope. A lot of fanart portrayed Scaramouche being uncharacteristically caring towards Kazuha. There is also a good amount of platonic fanart.

Much fan content prior to Kazuha's release consisted of them wanting to reunite after being separated somehow. This included theories that Kazuha left Inazuma to search for Scaramouche. One theory that gained some traction was that the drifting bottles in Dragonspine were from Kazuha and Scaramouche to each other. The theory about the drifting bottles in dragonspine was later proved to be false, as an NPC in Inazuma talks about sending those letters to another person. Although this theory is false, fans still enjoy using this as a prompt or inspiration for fan content.

Though it could be considered a rarepair, there is a lot of content of the ship. Since people see them as old friends, there is a lot of potential for fanworks. There are currently 1488+ works on AO3.

Kazuha's release essentially disproved all theories, as there is no mention of Scaramouche or anyone who could be him in Kazuha's stories and voicelines. Though it's possible they could have met in passing at some point, there is no substantial relationship to speak of. Despite this, KazuScara has remained a common ship. Fans still enjoy their potential together and create canon divergence scenarios in which Kazuha and Scaramouche meet. Though with Scaramouche/Wanderer's character change, the fandom has created completely new scenarios involving the truth being told to Kazuha.

After the Hues of the Violet Garden event, fans have found interest in the trope. This stems from Scaramouche previously manipulating the Kaedehara family's Isshin Art which basically led to Kazuha's clan's downfall. While Scaramouche is unaware of Kazuha's existence, the latter swore he would not turn a blind eye to Scaramouche's plotting.

Family
Due to how Scaramouche dubbed Kazuha’s Grandfather Niwa ‘his family’ in his own Teaser Trailer some fans began to see them as possible siblings/family instead of romantic partners. Canon divergent and Alternate Universe Portrayals are popular, mainly of the two being childhood friends or even surrogate siblings, sometimes even under Niwa’s care acting as a mentor/father figure to them both.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

TUMBLR

Trivia

 * They both originate from Inazuma.
 * Common symbols used by fans to represent this ship include: 🍁☂
 * Kazuha is unaware that Kunikuzushi is Scaramouche
 * In Scaramouche's voice line about Kazuha, he appears to be impressed that Kazuha shares the same vision as him and took on the Musou no Hitotachi

Variations

 * ScaraKazuXiaoVen refers to the ship between the two, Xiao and Venti
 * TomoKazuScara refers to the ship between the two and Kazuha's Friend