Kaishima

Kaishima is the slash ship between Kazumi Mishima and Kai Satou from the Your Turn to Die fandom.

Your Time to Shine: Mishima's Story
In Kai's first fondness event, Mishima overhears Kai lamenting how scarce food is on the island. Mishima states he shares an interest in cooking, piquing Kai's interest and prompting him to ask to look at Mishima's hands. Mishima obliges, and gets excited at what Kai might find. Kai jokingly reveals the results of his ‘analysis’, that Mishima’s lungs are severely damaged from smoking. Mishima is shocked at this, to which Kai assures him he was only joking, but sternly expresses concern for his health. Mishima then asks what the analysis revealed about his cooking skill, to which Kai teasingly promises to tell him later at the “same hand-analysis time, same hand-analysis channel”.

In a continuation of the previous event, the second fondness event starts with Mishima seeking out Kai for his cooking analysis, with Kai revealing Mishima’s full results as if they were stats in a video game. Mishima seems confused, and Kai explains that Mishima’s stats match those of a “seasoned veteran of life”, although Kai possesses greater cooking skills. Mishima says that he would be interested to try Kai’s cooking should they survive and return home safely, and Kai agrees to make him “the home cooking of a househusband that can make his wife groan with delight”. This leads Mishima to inquire if Kai has a wife; Kai vaguely answers, “Do I appear as such?” to Mishima’s bafflement. Kai assures him that he will reveal all next time, and Mishima pleads that Kai stop using his palm-reading results to “play mind games” with him.

In Kai's final fondness event, Kai notices Mishima looking over at him. Mishima tells Kai that since he's started talking to him, he's become interested in reading hands and asks to see Kai’s hands. Kai agrees, and Mishima comments his hands are “the hands of someone in the dark underbelly of society”. Kai is alarmed by this, and Mishima remarks that Kai has a “robust body for a homemaker”, and further explains that he was able to reach this conclusion by observing Kai’s behavior. He goes on to say that he also noticed Kai’s hands carried marks of someone who holds great affection toward another, such as cooking injuries. Kai, seemingly feeling exposed, asks Mishima to stop, and apologizes for having teased him, admitting that he only did so because of their common interest in cooking. He thanks Mishima, saying that his palm reading “saved him in some small part”. Mishima says not to mention it, and Kai replies that Mishima is “no ordinary individual himself”.

Your Time to Shine: Kai's Story
In Mishima's first fondness event, Mishima notices Kai's presence and asks him what he's doing, to which Kai responds he was feeling the breeze. Mishima expresses appreciation for the favorable weather, and nearly says "[it would be the] perfect time for a smoke" before catching himself. Kai inquistively echoes where he trailed off, but Mishima dodges the question. Kai pauses for a moment before pointing out a cigar near Mishima's feet; Mishima continues playing dumb, pretending as if he doesn't know where it came from. Kai asks if it is his, to which he replies it would be inappropriate for a teacher such as himself to smoke, and makes to discard it. Kai looks away briefly before asking suddenly if he can smoke it, much to Mishima's distress; Mishima says doing so would only harm him and that Kai isn't a smoker. Kai asks how he was able to tell this, and Mishima claims it was simply his intuition. Kai goes on to explain that he's "hardly experienced much...in the way of amusements", which leads Mishima to surmise Kai must have come from a strict household, disallowing such things as a way to demonstrate their care for him: "Treating wordly things as a poison to be excised..." Kai mutters that he "was practically raised among poison", alarming Mishima. Mishima acknowledges that suppressed children tend to want to reclaim their lives as adults, but suggests there are more responsible ways to have fun. He then makes a hasty retreat to 'dispose' of the cigar, to which Kai remarks, "How suspicious."

In the second, Mishima gleefully approaches Kai, saying he'd been looking for him. Kai inquires what he wants, and Mishima asks if Kai recalls what they spoke about before. Kai replies it was about Mishima's "favorite brand"; Mishima, panicked, assures Kai that he absolutely doesn't smoke. Kai points out he never mentioned cigarettes, although Mishima's response implies "it was on [his] mind". Mishima quickly changes the topic, saying he's prepared something more fun than a cigar; Kai, now curious, asks what he brought. Mishima presents a hand-made flute crafted from a seashell, saying he carefully sought out the perfect shell, referencing the homophononic pun between Kai's name and 貝 ('kai', seashell). Kai is unsure, saying it wouldn't have occured to him to "bore a hole into Mr. Shelly"; Mishima remarks he's never heard anyone refer to a seashell with a name like 'Mr. Shelly', but tells Kai to try the flute. He does so, and it emits an odd sound that echoes over the ocean. Kai is pleasantly surprised and begins to smile, but soon covers his face with his frying pan to hide it. He thanks Mishima, saying "it's made me feel glad", and asking if he may keep it. Mishima obliges, though he says since it's just a prototype its range of notes is limited, so it needs work. Kai disagrees, saying he likes it the way it is; "moreso than something perfect, even..." he is "somehow very fond of it". He goes on to say in the past, the sound of the flute may not have evoked any emotion from him, but now he takes comfort in it. Mishima replies that he understands, and Kai asks if he can keep playing it. Mishima assures him he can play it as much as he likes; Kai continues to play the flute, the strange melody emanating beyond the waves.

In Mishima's final fondness event, Mishima shows Kai a school textbook that drifted in, which is coincidentally the same as the one he uses for teaching. Kai says that it likely wouldn't be able to be read in the state it's in,  to which Mishima says it's irrelevant, since he has the book memorized. Kai seems impressed, but Mishima says doing so is "the bare minimum" to confidently teach his students. He seems doubtful of his teaching ability, fearing he doesn't measure up to the teachers of his youth. Kai comments that his looks are rather scary; Mishima, looking a bit hurt, says that's unrelated, and instead has to do with his lack of experience. Mishima dejectedly wishes he could assemble hundreds of duplicates of himself, all having lead distinct lives, so together, they could teach about any topic. Kai expresses his dislike of the idea, saying "[you'd] have too many cooks...and it [would] just become mild". He goes on to say "surely ... a single Mishima who has concentrated his efforts [would] be most exciting". Mishima seems encouraged by his insight, promising to strive to "offer 100% Mishima" to his students by being true to himself and "saying what only [he] can say". Kai is satisfied, and Mishima thanks him enthusiastically, calling him 'Professor Kai'. Kai replies that he's no teacher, but Mishima exclaims "humans are always learning and growing!!" Kai comments that Mishima really is "a bit scary".

Official 4-koma comics

 * 1) 19 "Home Cooking": Sara complains of being hungry, and Kai prepares to make them something to eat. Mishima then announces that he made far too many pancakes and invites them to join him and Nao. Kai compliments his cooking, saying the pancakes are "very delicious", with Mishima nervously thanking him.


 * 1) 45 "Listen to Me": Kai writes of Mishima: "There's no-one as individual as you."

Quotes
"Hm. I believe I'll return home, and protect that home as usual. Mishima... Let us someday cook for one another. I wish to treat you with my own hands."

- Kai to Mishima in the "Normality Regained" ending, if you viewed all his fondness events

"Perhaps with your deeply loving life now, you hope to blot out your dark past..."

- Mishima to Kai, third fondness event (Mishima's Story)

"Mishima... I feel your palm reading has saved me in some small part. Thank you... ever so much."

- Kai to Mishima, third fondness event (Mishima's Story)

"Surely, it's a single Mishima who has concentrated his efforts that can be most exciting."

- Kai to Mishima, third fondness event (Kai's Story)

Fanon
Having no interactions in the main story, the basis for the Kaishima ship, as with most ships involving Mishima, comes from Mishima and Kai's fondness events in the side game Your Time to Shine. Kaishima is a rarepair, having only a small amount of fan content. This is likely due in part to Keimishi and Qkai being the favored ships for Mishima and Kai respectively (although there are instances of polyshipping some or all of them together), the fact that some fans have not played Your Time to Shine, and both character's early deaths in the main story. However, fans appreciate their many similarities, such as their shared interest in cooking, as well as the fact that both are somewhat eccentric and give an off-putting first impression but are kind people at their cores. They can relate to one another, in that they both want to overcome a dark past, with Mishima having previously been a self-described ‘hoodlum’ and Kai having been trained as an assassin. Another reason the two could be a good match is that Mishima is able to see through Kai’s emotional barriers, and each views the other without judgment; which would be good for Mishima who often feels as though others are frightened by him. In the art book, Kai expresses that he prefers a relaxed lifestyle, which Mishima could likely provide having a rather laid-back personality, but that’s not to say the two couldn’t have fun together; Kai seems to enjoy teasing Mishima but is respectful of his boundaries. Kai seems to appreciate Mishima's individuality. Additionally, though they have much in common, they aren't completely alike; Mishima has a more exuberant personality compared with Kai's reservedness. All in all, the two seem to get along well and display potential for a healthy relationship.

Fandom
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Trivia

 * Mishima's surname contains the kanji for island (島; 'shima') and an alternate kanji for Kai (貝, 'kai') can mean seashell or shellfish.
 * Kai and Mishima are close in age, with Kai being in his late twenties and Mishima being 30.