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- That day, a samurai lit my helpless existence on fire.
- — Hakuri talking about Chihiro upon first seeing him in battle.
Hakuhiro is the slash ship between Chihiro Rokuhira and Hakuri Sazanami from the Kagurabachi fandom.
Canon[]
The Rakuzaichi Arc[]
Hakuri and Chihiro are described with "Aun" imagery as two people whose souls are in perfect, wordless harmony. They are also frequently shown to inspire, encourage, and help each other as equals in various ways despite their dramatically different personalities and circumstances.
Hakuri first sees Chihiro during his introduction in chapter 19, where we see his perspective on the events of Chapter 9 as one of the near-victims of Sojo's massacre attempt. Chihiro's strength and selfless bravery -his samurai spirit- inspire Hakuri to try and become more heroic himself, leading him to be captured and beat up by some Yakuza. He draws strength from the memory of Chihiro standing up to fight and tries to take them on himself, but he's unable to do so. Fortunately, Chihiro happens to raid the hideout and ends up unwittingly saving Hakuri for a second time.
Hakuri immediately approaches Chihiro by saying "What I need in my life is a samurai! That's you!!", introducing himself as Hakuri Sazanami, and saying it was fate that they met. Chihiro runs away from him at first due to his intensity, but stops to learn about his circumstances when he realizes that Hakuri could be a valuable resource to learn about the Rakuzaichi auction.
Chihiro decides to take him back to base so they can talk further since their goals align. Before they can leave the building, they are accosted by Hiyuki and Tafuku from the Kamunabi. Hiyuki presses Chihiro into fighting her, demanding he hand over Enten for the good of the nation. Then, as Chihiro wavers under Hiyuki's assault, Hakuri jumps in front of a blow to shield him and tells him:
- Your circumstances, who should wield the sacred blade... I don't really get it all, but is it really that complicated? You... saved... me.
This gives Chihiro the strength to fortify his resolve and fend Hiyuki off until they can escape.
Later on back at the base, Hakuri sobs over Chihiro's story before telling them what he knows so that Chihiro and Shiba can infiltrate the Sazanami estate. Hakuri is left behind while the other two confront his father and the Tou to retrieve the Shinuchi. While he's out to run errands, he meets his brother Soya. They scuffle until Shiba teleports to intervene and takes Soya back for a 5-on-2 fight with Chihiro. However, Kyora is able to deduce that Hakuri betrayed the family and summons him back to the estate via his storehouse sorcery. He holds a sabre to Hakuri's throat and uses him as a hostage to halt the fighting. Chihiro gives up his sword Enten to save Hakuri's life, saying:
- As far as I'm concerned, Hakuri is worth quite a lot. That guy saved me.
After that, while Hakuri is feeling down for forcing Chihiro to save his life again, Chihiro reassures him that he was the reason why he was able to have confidence in his plans in the first place.
Hakuri is noticeably cheerier when Chihiro says that they'll still be counting on him from there on. He's shown to be eagerly helping out with the planning process by providing information. During the raid itself he offers himself up as bait to distract Soya so that Shiba doesn't have to fight all four members of the Tou at once. However, he's unable to meet up with Chihiro due to interference from the Hishaku. Hakuri has an inner monologue where he expresses faith that Chihiro will come through and save him again, recalls Chihiro's kind bravery once more, then stands up to try and fight. He awakens to his potential as a sorcerer and holds Soya off just long enough so that Chihiro can deal with his own foe and come to his rescue once again.
After Hakuri awakens to his full potential and puts Soya down for good, he pulls Chihiro forward to continue on with ending the Rakuzaichi. He is able to register Chihiro into his personal storehouse and sends him into Kyora's to halt the Rakuzaichi for good. Chihiro calls Hakuri his equal "ally" (仲間 [nakama] in Japanese, partner/companion/comrade) verbally but privately acknowledges that Hakuri surpasses him when it comes to hardening his resolve to see things through.
During the fight, Chihiro and Hakuri are in perfect sync- Hakuri intrinsically understands Chihiro's intentions and supports him with no words needing to be said. Meanwhile, Chihiro remonstrates Kyora for giving up on his son:
- Your best would have been believing in Hakuri.
When Kyora starts losing control to the Shinuchi, Chihiro is flung across the hall. But Hakuri understands Chihiro's intentions without anything needing to be said between them and sends him back into the crumbling storehouse. Both of them risk their lives to save the helpless captives before it crumbles into nothingness.
After the battle, Hakuri is feeling lost as he's truly cut adrift from his family. Chihiro reminds him that he saved people, and Hakuri requests to keep fighting at Chihiro's side to "keep proving the value that [Chihiro] saw in him" when he traded Enten for his life. They both pass out at the same time side-by-side.
They wake up the next morning in sync again. Chihiro explains his plan to work with the Kamunabi and acknowledges that it does seem risky, but everything will work out because he has Hakuri.
The Sword Bearer Assassination Arc[]
- You're right, Mr. Shiba. Maybe I am rushing things. But this isn't just a stab in the dark. Now... I've got Hakuri.
- —Chihiro, on why his plan to work with the Kamunabi and thwart the Hishaku will succeed (ch. 45)
They are assigned to rescue the Bearers when the Hishaku interrupt the council's interrogation of Chihiro, starting with Uruha. During the fight to protect him, Chihiro and Hakuri once again demonstrate their innate harmony when Chihiro improvises a new move on the fly and Hakuri perfectly adjusts to get Uruha out of the way. They are separated soon after but Chihiro trusts Hakuri to continue on with Uruha to seek safety at Senkutsuji. Neither fight the boys get embroiled in goes to plan as Chihiro is worn out and eventually caught off-guard by Hiruhiko, while Hakuri witnesses Samura's betrayal after the Hishaku are routed from Senkutsuji. With the last of his strength, Hakuri summons Chihiro to the temple just in time to see Uruha be killed by Samura before being killed himself.
After Chihiro is revived, he learns that Hakuri personally requested the Masumi -Samura's former bodyguards- to help him in his stead while he's in recovery. This moves Chihiro deeply, though he may be feeling some guilt over getting Hakuri involved.
This guilt is confirmed during the attempt to protect Iori from the Hishaku- Chihiro expresses his displeasure at his own weakness to Ro, saying Hakuri ended up in the hospital like that due to him not being strong enough. He then flashes back to meeting Hakuri for the first time and vows to "become that samurai" that Hakuri said he needed in his life. His resolve to become a better warrior for Hakuri's sake gives him the strength to execute the White Purity Style Iai move for the first time, thwarting the Hishaku and allowing Iori to escape safely with Sumi.
Quotes[]
- “I thought maybe I could be like him.”
- — Hakuri saying that to himself after getting beat up by a group of kidnappers after saving a little girl from them
- Hakuri – “Samurai!!”
- Chihiro – “! You okay? (an enemy? No... He looks more like a prisoner...)”
- Hakuri – “I... I see it now! What I need in my life is a Samurai! That's You!!”
- Hakuri – “Is saving people your thing?”
- Chihiro – “Not really... I'm just trying to learn more about the Rakuzaichi.”
- Hakuri – “What!? That's wild! I'm a Sazanami! What a crazy coincidence!”
- Chihiro – “Yeah I was pretty surprised.”
- Hakuri – “Oh, are you?”
- Hakuri – “But you believed things would end up like this, right, Chihiro? That's why you left me behind.”
- Chihiro – “That's part of it. I just thought if I were to put a damper on your determination, we wouldn't be able to become equal allies.”
- “Hakuri. We aren't equal. You defeated Soya. Despite being family, you were determined to do what was necessary in order to destroy evil, while my personal feelings led me to falter twice. I'm the only naive one here.”
- — Chihiro, fortifying his resolve to slay Kyora in ch. 37
- “Chihiro, Will you let me keep fighting with you? I… want to keep proving the value you saw in me.”
- — Hakuri, after the fall of the Rakuzaichi (ch.44)
- “All this time, he saved me by sacrificing himself. I let him carry my burden. My weakness... led Hakuri to this state.”
- — Chihiro (ch. 64)
- Hakuri – “I need a samurai in my life!!”
- Chihiro – “I'll become that samurai.”
Moments[]
- Chihiro opens up to Hakuri in the elevator ride in chapter 20 -mere minutes after they met- expressing fears and insecurities that he hasn't shared with anyone else up to that point.
- While planning to raid the Rakuzaichi, there are two instances where Chihiro calls Hakuri's name and he stops what he's doing to run over like a dog.
- Chihiro gives up Enten in a hostage exchange for Hakuri. While his own father savages him for being useless and not even worth keeping alive, Chihiro refutes this and claims Hakuri is worth a lot to him, giving a Meaningful Echo to Hakuri's own speech earlier after taking a punch from Hiyuki for him. Hearing this visibly touches Hakuri.
- After the Rakuzaichi Arc, Chihiro has absolute trust in Hakuri, and makes no effort to hide his gambit to outplay the Hishaku relies entirely on him and the Storehouse.
- In Chapter 41, Hakuri threatens to leave Hiyuki in Kyora's storehouse until she dies if she hurts Chihiro
- During Chihiro's interrogation in chapter 46, when Hiyuki explains that Hakuri is following Chihiro, the term she uses in Japanese (舵取り) implies that Hakuri is Chihiro's dog and only listens to him.
- In the same chapter, Hakuri is prepared to risk his own well-being to transport Chihiro to safety. He's unable to use his sorcery without harming himself to the point of passing out but he still gets ready to do so for Chihiro's sake.
- In Chapter 47, Hakuri shares his snacks with Chihiro on the train while they're en route to Uruha. Food metaphors as connection/comfort are common in Kagurabachi but this was the first time Chihiro happily accepted food from someone else since his dad died.
Fanon[]
- The ship is one of the most popular in the fandom, and possibly the most popular in the Western fan spaces.
- Seiichi Samura's introduction has him remark that Hakuri smells like Chihiro, leading some to jokingly (or half-jokingly) suggest that they had sex or were making out on the way there. Some shippers and other fans even joked that Hokazono could be writing an Omegaverse story.
- It's common to see Chihiro using Enten's goldfish to covertly signal interest in/affection for Hakuri.
- Hakuri's storehouse ability is often put to "extracurricular" use.
The Acceptance of Shipping in General Kagurabachi Fan Spaces[]
Most fandoms, especially for Anime/Manga/LNs in the Shounen demographic, purposefully sideline and belittle the Fujoshi/Fudanshi and Himejoshi/Himedanshi side of the fanbase. With Kaguabachi, however, the fandom is actually more accepting of the shipping side than usual.
It's worth noting that this is the first time ever that a Shounen Manga/Anime fanbase was accepting & chill with shippers even giving them support back. This stemmed from when Bachibros (a self-made term fans adopted for themselves) were worried about the manga getting axed- Kagurabachi released to lukewarm reception in Japan and was often memed on in the Western fandom because of an specific image that was attached to the manga’s announcement. But when the chapters that showed Ikuto Hagiwara and Hajime Kugara interacting prompted some shippers to appear and show some interest in the series. From there a sort of alliance was made between general fans and Fujoshi/Fudanshi entering in the fandom, with many of the former expressing support with sentiments like "we're now a true fandom", "W pervert women", "Ngl, a fandom without fujo arts is a flop fandom." and etc. This event is often known as Fujo artists have found KGB. We’re gonna make it event in the fandom's history.
While many Bachibros in the KGB fandom were happy with this and were welcoming Fujoshi/Fudanshi with open arms, some people outside & inside of the fandom were quick to speculate that this support might just be temporary. It was thought that as soon as Kagurabachi was safe from getting cancelled by Shonen Jump, the Bachibros would return to marginalizing Fujoshi and Fudanshi shippers.
But to some people's surprise that actually ended up not being the case. Even after Kagurabachi was safe from getting axed, the fandom still showed support, respect and gratitude towards Fujoshi/Fudanshi fans, as shown in this post here: i better not see any bachibro disrespecting our fellow fujoshi,along with many others on reddit. Even the main fan-run subreddit for Kagurabachi gives a special mention of appreciation in it's bio, saying: "Warm welcome to all Fujoshis".
This was further demonstrated by twitter user Kagurabachi Brasil (aka BrasilBro), a well-liked and respected member of the community. He made a post about Shipping Wars, saying how at the end of the day it only drives people apart and fans should instead unite as Bachibros who love the series. He even requested well-known Hakuhiro artist @Katsutacle_ and a well-known Chiyuki artist @Yunarissss2 to make fan art of each other's favorite ship, which they happily accepted. This gained a lot of support from fellow Bachibros within the community.
Sadly, the official reveal of Hakuri's age as 17 caused hostile sentiments to surface for a while. Tensions have calmed down but the fandom is in a precarious position. HakuHiro content can still be shared and appreciated in general spaces, but negative comments are more numerous than they were previously.
As of the 2025 winter break for the magazine, Katsutacle was harassed out of the fandom by two individuals, one of which tried to weaponize the HakuHiro ship as inappropriate due to Hakuri's age. It is no longer safe to share joy for the ship in general spaces.
Fandom[]
- FAN FICTION
- Chihiro/Hakuri tag on AO3
- Chihiro & Hakuri tag on AO3
- Hakuhiro hashtag on Twitter
- Hakuhiro posts on Twitter
- Chihaku hashtag on Twitter
- Chihaku posts on Twitter
- Chihiro Hakuri posts on Twitter
- Hakuri Chihiro posts on Twitter
- 🌸🐠 hashtag on Twitter
- 🌸🐠 posts on Twitter
- 🐠🌸 hashtag on Twitter
- 🐠🌸 posts on Twitter
- TUMBLR
- Hakuhiro tag on Tumblr
- Hakuhiro posts on Tumblr
- Chihiro x Hakuri tag on Tumblr
- Chihiro x Hakuri posts on Tumblr
- Hakuri x Chihro tag on Tumblr
- Hakuri x Chihiro posts on Tumblr
- Chihiro Hakuri tag on Tumblr
- Chihiro Hakuri posts on Tumblr
- Hakuri Chihro tag on Tumblr
- Hakuri Chihiro posts on Tumblr
- WIKI
- Pixiv Encyclopedia
Trivia[]
- Chihiro hesitated to kill Hakuri's family because of it being Hakuri's family specifically.
- At Senkutsuji, the blind bearer, Seiichi Samura mistakes Hakuri for Chihiro due to smelling just like him. This has a bit more innuendo in Japanese, as a specific term (まとっている) was used to imply that Hakuri is "wrapped up in/reeks of" Chihiro's scent like a lover or a pet instead of merely smelling like him (匂いがする).
- The ship name “Door Dash” & “Sushi Delivery” is a reference to Hakuri’s teleportation skill and Chihiro’s goldfish sword.
- Per the author, Chihiro and Hakuri would be in the same grade at school. They have a 7 month age gap between them with Chihiro being the older of the two.
Gallery[]
- Main article: Hakuhiro/Gallery
Variations[]
- Oreo — the ship between between the two with Hiyuki Kagari
- Double Oreo — the ship between between the two with Hiyuki Kagari and Tafuku Mihara
- Hakuri x Chihiro x Hiruhiko — the ship between between the two with Hiruhiko