Nakaede

Nakaede  is the het ship between Makoto Naegi and Kaede Akamatsu from the Danganronpa fandom.

Canon
In the Danganronpa V3 demo, Makoto is there when Kaede wakes up, and is her partner through the exploration, investigation and trial.

Before the class trial, Kaede is kinda worried because she doesn't know anything. Then Makoto tells her she can't give up and that he believes in her, which calms Kaede a bit. Then, in the class trial, when Kokichi blames Makoto for "killing" Hagakure, Kaede lies to save Makoto.

Naegi and Kaede are both two of the protagonists of the franchise, and both have an ahoge. They're trying to be rather optimistic characters, strongly believing in hope and cooperation. Throughout the game they encourage other killing game participants to not giving up and finding out the complete truth. Makoto and Kaede both believe in good in people and the possibility of ending the game thanks to the mutual trust. They both also had an idea to end the game by escaping all together.

Quotes
"Kaede – Hold up! I didn't do it! Miu – Hah! Look at her shake like a fuckin' rabbit! Just relax! This'll all be over once we reach the climax! Kokichi – Sooo... tell us Kaede. You're the culprit, aren't you? Makoto – No, that's wrong!"

Fanon
Nakaede is a rarepair within the Danganronpa fandom due to their limited interactions shown only in non-canon material. The ship probably sailed because of Kaede's attempt to lie in order to save Makoto, and Makoto defended her when she was being accused. As well, due to both being protagonists of the franchise and popular characters.

People think it would be a good pairing as the two seem to have similar personalities, mindsets and values, meaning they'd get along very well. As they are both kindhearted people, they are usually depicted as caring a lot about each other, and outwardly expressing it. Both can be very determined, but Makoto is susceptible to being pushed around by others, while Kaede is almost always incredibly strong-willed. It is thought about that Kaede would help Makoto to further bring himself up and work on his leadership skills and the like.

As it is an uncommon ship, there are lots of ships more popular than it. Especially since the two are popular characters and protagonists, meaning they interact with a lot of people, making for many potential ships. The most notable rival ships are Kaede's and Makoto's most popular ships, such as Saimatsu and Naegiri.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Makoto/Kaede on Fanfiction.net
 * Makoto/Kaede on Fanfiction.net

Variations

 * Protag Gang refers to the polyship between the two, Hajime Hinata, Komaru Naegi and Shuichi Saihara.