Kyouhaba

Kyouhaba
GENERAL
Haikyu!!
Character	Kyoutani Kentarou
Character	Yahaba Shigeru
Canonical?	Fanon
Status of Relationship	Teammates/Captain and Ace
IN FANDOM
Type (?)	Slash
Also Known As	KyouYaba, YahaKyou
Tropes	• Unresolved Sexual Tension • Everyone Can See It • Fire-Forged Friends • Like An Old Married Couple • Opposites Attract • Not So Different • You Are Not Alone

Kyouhaba is the slash ship between Kyoutani Kentarou and Yahaba Shigeru from the Haikyu!! fandom.

Canon

Kyoutani and Yahaba start off with a hostile relationship. Yahaba immediately yells at him when he walks into the gym. Yahaba does not like how disrespectful Kyoutani is to their upperclassman and scolds him multiple times for being disrespectful or not thinking before his actions. Later in season 2, actions taken by Yahaba and Kyoutani lead them to work better together as it can be seen in the Anime that Yahaba cheers for Kyoutani after they score a point together. After the third years leave Yahaba becomes captain of the Aoba Johsai volleyball team and Kyoutani is his ace.

Kyoutani walks into the gym, immediately yelled at by Yahaba at his long absence. From this scene and from backstory presented by later episodes it is presumed that Kyoutani left the team either in his first year or early second year of high school. It is obvious by Yahaba's hostile reaction that he is not pleased in Season 2, Episode 14. 

Kyoutani had just been subbed out after losing his temper during Aoba Johsai's second official match against Karasuno. Once subbed out for Kunimi Akira, he is confronted by Yahaba. Despite being told not to interfere by Matsukawa, Yahaba still proceeds to lecture Kyoutani over his actions. He slams him against the gymnasium wall and tells him the importance of this match and if they were to lose because of Kyoutani, Yahaba would never forgive him. This exchange helps Kyoutani get over the trouble he was facing trying to fit in with the team, and later proceeds to score his first point feeling welcomed by his fellow teammates in Season 2, Episode 23.

Eventually, Aoba Johsai does lose the match to Karasuno and it shows Yahaba and Kyoutani, accompanied by fellow second year Watari Shinji, looking over at the opposing team. Yahaba vows to take revenge next year as they watch the other side in spite. This is the moment the current second years become the foundation of Aoba Johsai with Yahaba as the captain and Kyoutani as his ace.

Fanon

These two are quite a rare pair, but do have a decently sized following. Both fanon versions of the characters do not stray far from the canon universe. Despite their appearances, most of the time Kyoutani is the quiet, innocent one whilst Yahaba is the foul-mouthed, sassy one. Kyoutani is also often nicknamed by Yahaba as 'Ken' which is a shortening of his first name, Kentarou, In fanfiction, they are often shown trying to mend their relationship for the sake of the team. This often leads to angst and mutual pining, but despite how dreary it seems, they are regarded as a healthy ship by fans. Once settling their differences they are quite a pair to beat and act as an extremely easy duo to ship.

Despite the small following, there are some common story lines shared between works. One is Yahaba having to deal with the stress of replacing his former captain Oikawa Tooru. This is often resolved by Kyoutani telling him that he does not need to be a new Oikawa and should lead the team in his own way. Another common story is people fearing Kyoutani because of his appearance, which in turn isolates him. This is often resolved with Yahaba inviting him into his friend group with Watari, and just helping him interact with the team in general.

The official Haikyuu light novel Volume 6 chapter "Mad Dog and Puppy" is also considered as supplemental canon since it expands on events and provides more information on Kyoutani and Yahaba's characterizations and dynamic not seen in the manga or anime. It is acknowledged as one of the holy grails in the KyouHaba fandom.

On AO3, KyouHaba is the most written pairing for both characters. They are often paired with other Aoba Johsai ships such as IwaOi, MatsuHana and KuniKin.

Fandom

FAN FICTION

Kyoutani/Yahaba tag on AO3

TUMBLR

Kyoutani Kentarou x Yahaba Shigeru posts on Tumblr

Trivia

• Kyoutani and Yahaba both attend Aoba Johsai High in Miyagi.
• Kyoutani and Yahaba are both in the same year.
• Yahaba was the only one who could get Kyoutani to work harder for their 3rd years.
• Yahaba means width of an arrow and Kyoutani means capital city.
• In the official Haikyuu Light Novel Volume 6, there is a chapter titled "Mad Dog and Puppy", and the entire content is dedicated to KyouHaba, with Kyoutani and Yahaba bonding and working together to save an abandoned puppy. This event occurs during their 2nd year in Aoba Johsai, not long after Kyoutani came back to the club.
• In the official Haikyuu Light Novel Volume 10 chapter "Viewing the Spring Interhigh from the City of Trees", which is an expansion of the manga scene where Seijoh 1st and 2nd years were watching the Karasuno vs. Inarizaki match in the AV room, it is mentioned that Kyoutani is now gradually becoming accustomed to the club, taking on the role of "tsukkomi" to Yahaba.
• In the official Haikyuu Light Novel Volume 13, all of the characters are their timeskip selves and in one of the chapters, it is mentioned that Kyoutani and Yahaba are still in close contact with each other. Kyoutani as a Sendai Frogs player asked Yahaba to reach out to their previous teammates in Aoba Johsai for an interview about Oikawa.