Kaoru Sakurayashiki/Relationships

### Kojiro Nanjo

Kojiro and Kaoru are childhood friends. Meeting when they were only in kindergarten. They spent their school years next to each other even traveling the world together in high school and beyond. They became "S" rivals and Kojiro likes to get under Kaoru's skin by referring to him as '**Kaoru**' at "S", since he goes strictly by Cherry Blossom there and by teasing him for his odd bond with his AI skateboard Carla. Kaoru does reciprocate this too, often teasing Kojiro back and calling him a gorilla, which usually ends up with the two bickering endless insults at each other. While they definitely have their differences and love to bug each other, they seem to enjoy each other's company and trust in each other despite their differences.

Kaoru is frequently seen at Kojiro's restaurant Sia la luce, sometimes even without his permission or prior knowledge. When the other skaters needed advice, Kaoru takes Reki Kyan, Langa Hasegawa, Miya Chinen and Hiromi Higa there to talk about facing Adam; showing that he does enjoy Kojiro's food and company and trusts him as another advisor for the younger skaters. Even outside the restaurant, they're often seen together such as when they arrived "S" at the same time and took a different route to everyone else during their lighthearted beef to the hot springs. The two have been shown to be very comfortable with the other's presence, even bathing together once they'd arrived at said hot springs.

It's of note that, after Kaoru was knocked down following his beef with Adam, Kojiro was the one person who immediately ran over to Kaoru to check he was alright. Kaoru later also snuck out of hospital just so he could visit Kojiro's restaurant, which shows that the two have a deep bond of trust and care for each other, and even see each other as the one person the other can rely on in times of need.

Kojiro and Kaoru have complete confidence in each other's abilities, knowing each other's every move. This can be seen in Episode 8 during the tournament qualifiers when Joe realizes that Cherry wanted to beat Adam's record and when Joe makes a move that would break any normal person's leg, but Cherry knows it'll work for him because of his build.

Their relationship with one another, while lightheartedly passive agressive, is incredibly deep, reaching quite far into their pasts as both friends and as the founding members of "S". Their troubling past connection to Adam is one of the most likely reason to why they're the way they are now.

### Ainosuke Shindo

The two of them seem to have a rough history where Kojiro Nanjo mentions that Ainosuke left them; showing that the three of them were friends or at least skated together in the past. Kaoru doesn't condone his violent actions and the blatant ignorance towards human life. He respects him as a skilled skater but nothing more than that. Ainosuke had a falling out with the other two when he began skating in a ruthless manner in search of an "Eve" after feeling betrayed by Tadashi Kikuchi with Joe and Cherry personally witnessing a young man get injured during a high speed race with Ainosuke. At some point, Ainosuke had to stop skating with them and leave for America.

Kaoru wants to face Ainosuke in the tournament to settle a 7 year grudge, regarding Ainosuke starting his dangerous skating and to determine what was really in Ainosuke's heart. Kaoru's only race in the tournament was against Ainosuke and he kept up pace with him, even overtaking him at times, right until the end when Ainosuke pulled ahead and then turned around to smack Kaoru in the head with his skateboard. Ainosuke told Kaoru that the reason he had rejected his challenges in the past was because he found Kaoru's style of skating to be boring and predictable because of his use of AI calculations. During Reki Kyan's race with Ainosuke, Kaoru burst into laughter when Ainosuke slipped in the mud and fell. During Ainosuke's final beef with Langa Hasegawa, Kaoru made goading remarks about Ainosuke in a fairly good-natured manner as the two raced neck and neck towards the finish.

### Langa Hasegawa

Kaoru was the first person to believe and see the skating potential in Langa prior to his first race against Shadow and he did not show any doubts during the race. Kaoru saw him skating with Reki Kyan outside of his building and showed interest in him ever since.

During Langa's race against Shadow, he noticed that Langa used the skateboard similar to a Snowboard. He is interested in his unique style of skateboarding and his ability to acquire new skills extremely quickly.

Kaoru showed concern for him when Reki begs him to teach Langa moves that they could use in the race against Adam, to which he agreed. After watching Langa race against Adam, Kaoru appears to use his abilities as a research tool on how to beat Adam.

### Reki Kyan

Reki and Kaoru have not yet been seen together much, but there is a mutual level of understanding between them and Reki turns to him when he needs advice.

Reki encountered Kaoru outside "S" once in Episode 5, calling him "**Cherry Blossom**" in plain sight and he reacted quickly by pushing Reki away so they could talk in private and then angrily scolding the boy for calling him **Cherry**. Reki pleads with him to teach Langa Hasegawa moves that they could use in the beef against Adam.

Episode 6 shows that Kaoru displays a parental figure towards Reki by slapping his hand away from reaching for the alcohol. They seem to coexist with Reki's wild personality and Kaoru's calmness that they seem to balance each other out.

### Miya Chinen

Miya finds some of Kaoru's habits strange like him using an umbrella on the way to the beach while on the group's trip to Miyakojima. Then while they were on the beach, he refers to Kaoru as 'Mom', playing with his slender form and attractive appearance to distract Kojiro Nanjo from the girls.

Despite that, Miya seems to show respect for Kaoru. When Cherry's race against Adam was going to start, Shadow said to make a bet on who would win and Miya immediately said Cherry with a straight face, despite knowing and interacting with Adam for the longest time, showing that Miya was confident that Cherry could defeat an opponent like Adam.

### Hiromi Higa

When Kaoru explains how cruel Adam is, he compares him to Shadow; that Shadow at least cares about the well-beings of the other riders. Kaoru acknowledges Hiromi's tricks and abilities and even though he doesn't like his methods and finds them vulgar, he feels comfortable enough with Hiromi to hang out with him inside and out of "S".

While they are in "S", Hiromi shows respect Kaoru, more than Kojiro. When Cherry's race against Adam was about to begin, Shadow and Miya Chinen were confident that Cherry could defeat an opponent like Adam. When Adam leaves Kaoru unconscious and injured, Shadow quickly appears with his car when he sees Kojiro Nanjo confronting Adam and tells him with concern that the most important thing is to get Kaoru to the hospital.

## References

*SK8 the Infinity* Anime: Episode 5.
*SK8 the Infinity* Anime: Episode 9.
*SK8 the Infinity* Anime: Episode 6.