Nursery Rhymes

Nursery Rhymes is the femslash ship between Kaede Akamatsu and Maki Harukawa in the Danganronpa fandom.

Canon
After Kaede and Maki introduced themselves as Ultimates, Kaede claims that the children could see Maki's true soul and that Maki is capable of deep love. Despite Kaede's kindness towards Maki, the latter has been shown to distrust her, openly showcasing dislike for her. She even blames Kaede for destroying the unity that she had tried to create between the students.

Ultimate Talent Development Plan
Maki seems to have a somewhat better relationship with Kaede in Ultimate Talent Development Plan. Kaede apparently made a promise Maki to play the piano for the kids at her orphanage. Kaede passed along a message to Kaito, saying she wanted to talk about the promise with Maki. This makes Kaito wonder when the two of them got so close. Maki says they're not close, rather they two of them simply made an arrangement where Kaede offered to play piano the orphanage. Maki is apprehensive about bringing Kaede there, though, because Maki isn't really the Ultimate Child Caregiver as Kaede believes her to be. Maki eventually agrees to schedule something with the orphanage after Kaito says he'll bring along himself and Shuichi for support.

In another event, Kaede is with Maki when they run into Chihiro crying. Chihiro is upset about a bird that died before they could get it to Gundham for help. Maki bluntly says that Chihiro doesn't really need to cry about it because it wasn't their fault, and Kaede tells Maki to watch what she says. Maki does give Chihiro some consolation, though, and Chihiro thanks both Maki and Kaede. Kaede tells Chihiro that even though Maki may seem edgy on the outside, she's actually very sincere. Maki and Kaede accompany Chihiro to take the dead bird to Gundham, even though Maki tells Kaede she doesn't need to come too.

Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp
Kaede chases after Maki, complaining that she's too fast and is going to leave her behind, but Maki says that Kaede's just gotten slower. Eventually, they come to a secret spot, and Kaede is glad to have found such a place, but Maki says it was her spot until Kaede decided to come along with her. When Kaede wonders if she should apologize, Maki says it's fine, and Kaede suggests that Maki thought deep down, it would be nice to bring Kaede to this spot. Maki doesn't care how Kaede interprets it, and so Kaede decides she could use some "fabled Maki affection". In response to Kaede's joking, Maki tries to joke by saying she's going to leave, and Kaede is surprised that Maki was teasing her. Maki says maybe it's Kaede's influence on her, which causes the two of them to get into a bit of a banter about how weird this situation is and how the other is mean. In the end, Maki laughs a little, showing her amusement of it all.

Fanon
The ship sailed as a result of both characters being the main heroines (although Kaede only temporarily) of New Danganronpa V3. A promotional picture (this page's infobox picture) showing them together in a rather suggestive pose also helped. They also are liked for the opposites attract duo, with Kaede being bright and optimistic, while Maki is secretive and more of a realist. Additionally, the visual charm of them is liked, with Maki wearing dark colours while Kaede wears lighter colours, while both are in the red/purple color range. Nursery Rhymes is one of the most written Danganronpa V3 ships on Archive of Our Own, and rivals only Saimatsu, Irumatsu, and Harukaito.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Harukawa/Akamatsu tag on FanFiction.net
 * Harukawa/Akamatsu tag on FanFiction.net

DEVIANTART

INSTAGRAM

TUMBLR

Trivia

 * Both are the main heroines of New Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony, with Kaede being the protagonist of the Prologue and Chapter 1 and Maki being the female with the most screentime and character development.
 * Both are also implied love interest of the main heroes of the game, Shuichi Saihara and Kaito Momota respectively.
 * Both were also playable characters at some point, with Kaede being the protagonist of the Prologue and Chapter 1 (until the switch during the Class Trial) and Maki being playable during one segment in the final Class Trial.

Variations

 * Double Date refers to the ship between the two, Kaito Momota, and Shuichi Saihara
 * Makiakameno refers to the ship between the two and Himiko Yumeno
 * Tenkaemaki refers to the ship between the two and Tenko Chabashira