Kagaya Ubuyashiki/Relationships

## Relationships

### Gyomei Himejima

When he was fourteen, Kagaya had heard of a monk who was imprisoned and sentenced to death for the murder of several children under his care. Realizing it was untrue and that a demon was the true culprit, he saved the man from his death sentence. That man, Gyomei Himejima, would later become the Stone Hashira, serving under his command and acting as his confidante. Kagaya knew him for the longest among the Hashira and was arguably the closest with Gyomei outside of his own family; as such, he entrusted only Gyomei with his plan to sacrifice himself in order to stall Muzan Kibutsuji long enough for them to attack, knowing the remaining Hashira would not agree to his plan. Despite his hesitation, Gyomei honored Kagaya's wishes and kept the plan secret until its activation.

### Sanemi Shinazugawa

During Sanemi Shinazugawa's first meeting as a member of the Hashira, he harshly criticized Kagaya for his calm demeanour in sending his fellow Demon Slayers to their deaths, and mistakenly believed he had placed himself above them, much to the ire of Gyomei and Tengen Uzui present. Kagaya apologized and explained that he was unable to fight because of his condition, which surprised the angry young man into silence, and he further explained that despite the respect people show him, he does not believe himself to be above them. Sensing his grief, Kagaya gave Sanemi his friend Masachika Kumeno's will, prompting the Wind Hashira to tear up at the remembering of his friend. Sanemi would later become an extremely loyal follower of Kagaya.

Sanemi was deeply affected by his leader's death, demanding Muzan Kibutsuji for answers upon seeing the demon and being unable to see Kagaya in the aftermath of his suicidal plan. When he fell into the Infinity Castle and was attacked by numerous demons, Sanemi chose to sit down and lament his inability to save Kagaya instead of caring about his own wellbeing, before rapidly slaughtering the demons all around him in a fit of rage.

### Kanae Kocho

Kanae Kocho was one of the first Hashira to be under Kagaya's command. She was present during Sanemi's first meeting and saw how the Wind Hashira became angry seemingly at Kagaya's lack of care in sending his troops to their deaths. Out of concern, Kanae attempted to speak up on his behalf, but Kagaya assuaged the situation and insisted that he is willing to listen to his words, putting Kanae at ease. Instead of being angry, Kanae told Sanemi that Kagaya was not the person he believed him to be and told him that their leader had memorized the names of every fallen Demon Slayer under his command as a show of gratitude to their cause.

### Shinobu Kocho

Like her older sister before taking her position as Hashira, Shinobu Kocho was extremely loyal to Kagaya. He entrusted her with overseeing the mission to Mount Natagumo upon hearing a report of mass casualties in the forests.

During a meeting with the Hashira, Sanemi once spoke of his concern for Kagaya's safety and believed that the Hashira should be guarding him. Gyomei explained that Kagaya had always believed them to be of greater importance and forgone his own wellbeing, which was corroborated by Shinobu's mention that the Ubuyashiki family had never once been watched by bodyguards of any sort.

It was under Kagaya's orders that Shinobu worked with the demon Tamayo to jointly create a drug that would be used to weaken Muzan Kibutsuji.

### Mitsuri Kanroji

Kagaya met a young Demon Slayer named Mitsuri Kanroji, who was troubled by her sense of identity over her abnormal physical strength and unique physical features. In her first meeting with him, he told her that she was a gift from the gods, and that anyone who spoke ill of her was simply jealous of her strength. Touched by the man's acceptance of who she was, the girl bowed down and cried in relief that someone could accept her for who she is. Mitsuri would go on to become the Love Hashira.

Mitsuri was extremely loyal to his cause; during the trial of Tanjiro Kamado by the Hashira, only she spoke out about their hasty treatment of the situation, believing it was important that Kagaya was present during the trial to oversee and give his word. When Kagaya revealed that he had sanctioned Tanjiro and his sister, Mitsuri was one of the first to instantly agree with him. In her battle against Upper Four Hantengu's most powerful manifestation Zohakuten, Mitsuri recalls Kagaya's acceptance of her within the Demon Slayer Corps, allowing her to push past mental blocks that held her back and attacking the Upper Rank demon with renewed vigour. Likewise, she was horrified by the explosion rocking the mountainside that killed Kagaya in his attempt to stall Muzan Kibutsuji for her to attack.

### Kyojuro Rengoku

Kyojuro was first summoned to a Hashira meeting as a Kinoe-ranked Demon Slayer, after his father refused to attend. An altercation occurred between him and Sanemi, who was offended that someone that wasn't a Hashira was in their presence, but before the situation could escalate, Kagaya arrived and chided the Wind Hashira, causing the angry Sanemi to quickly bow down and apologize, surprising Kyojuro that the man could order and command such a fierce and temperamental individual. Later on, after killing the Lower Rank Two, Hairo, Kyojuro was promoted as the new Flame Hashira under Kagaya's command.

As with the rest of the Hashira, Kyojuro was faultlessly loyal to the Oyakata; even during Tanjiro Kamado's trial for harbouring a demon, when Kyojuro had question Kagaya's decision to sanction the siblings, he acknowledged Kagaya's argument of his importance and accepted them. After his mission assigned on the Mugen Train unexpectedly ended with his death at the hands of Upper Rank Three, Kagaya acknowledged Kyojuro's heroics actions, calling him a "remarkable child" for his act of prevent not a single passenger of the 200 onboard from dying. He also was not saddened by the Hashira's demise, as he stated that he would join him shortly afterwards.

### Tengen Uzui

Kagaya learned that among his ranks was a former shinobi who decided to become a Demon Slayer to escape his past. During a personal meeting with the young man, Tengen Uzui and his kunoichi wives, he told the shinobi that he pities him for the difficult choice he had to make to leave everything he only knew behind to make a new future, praising him for his new path. Tengen was touched by Kagaya's sympathy and became a loyal subordinate under his command. It was during his battle against the dual holder of Upper Rank Six that Tengen reminisced on his meeting with Kagaya and recalled his words of encouragement, giving him the drive to fight back against Daki and Gyutaro together.

### Tanjiro Kamado

Upon learning that a Demon Slayer amongst his command had harbored a demon, Kagaya immediately chose to sanction the boy's actions. The Demon Slayer, Tanjiro Kamado, and his demon sister Nezuko, was about to be executed by the Hashira until Kagaya gave them his word about his status. Tanjiro himself was perplexed by the Oyakata's appearance, wondering if he truly was the Demon Slayer Corps' leader, though whenever he spoke, Tanjiro noted the floating, calming feeling in his voice. After seeing evidence that Nezuko can be trusted with humans, Kagaya officially recognized the siblings as Demon Slayers. A gracious Tanjiro then vowed to kill Muzan Kibutsuji on his behalf, though Kagaya calmly noted that he was still ill-equipped.

Like the Hashira, Tanjiro grew to be very loyal to Kagaya and cared for his wellbeing, as during Muzan's attack on the Oyakata, he detected the smell of Kagaya's burning blood in the explosion and immediately became horrified by the situation. His anger at Kagaya's demise, coupled with his own rage at Muzan, drove Tanjiro to attack the immensely powerful demon head-on with the Hashira.

### Muzan Kibutsuji

Over a millennia ago, a member of the Ubuyashiki family was transformed in an experimental treatment to cure his terminal illness. The man, Muzan Kibutsuji, would become the first demon to ever exist. Subsequently, males of the Ubuyashiki family would be cursed with a terrible condition that would deteriorate their bodies and lead to an untimely death at a young age. Since then, the Ubuyashikis had submitted themselves with the single goal of leading the Demon Slayer Corps in the hopes of finally killing Muzan.

Kagaya met Muzan for the first time when the demon secretly entered his household. Muzan insulted the man for his sickly appearance, comparing him to a corpse and laughing at the belief that all the murders he has committed have gone unpunished by the gods. Kagaya, who has since lost his vision, calmly spoke to the Demon King and asked for his desires, a question that surprised Muzan. Upon telling Kagaya that his dream is to be immortal and it can be achieved by devouring Nezuko Kamado, Kagaya uncharacteristically taunted the demon by claiming that his dream would never succeed, and that only human feelings can exist forever. Insulted, Muzan dissuaded his taunts, but Kagaya then spoke of Muzan's own continual prodding of the Demon Slayer Corps with numerous deaths, and the rage they all feel will kill him without fail. When Muzan threatened to kill him, Kagaya calmly stated that his death was meaningless in the grand scheme of the Demon Slayer Corps.

Kagaya then secretly triggered an explosion to destroy his entire house, killing himself, his wife, and two of his daughters, in the hopes of stunning Muzan for an attack by the Hashira. As he healed from the fireball, Muzan was enraged by his inability to see the obvious rage Kagaya had felt towards him on the inside, begrudgingly acknowledging his skill to hide his bloodlust with a smile until it was too late.

### Amane Ubuyashiki

Kagaya first met Amane when he was thirteen, having already taken his late father's position as Oyakata of the Demon Slayer Corps. Amane was selected to be his caretaker when his condition would deteriorate, but Kagaya only agreed to marry her under the condition that she cared for him under her own free will. Amane was loyal to Kagaya without a fault, caring for his every need as his illness worsened, and eventually taking over his position to speak at meetings with the Hashira when he was no longer able to do so. Later, when Kagaya decided to sacrifice himself to stall Muzan, Amane chose to stay with him until the very end and die by his side.

### Kiriya Ubuyashiki

Kiriya was Kagaya's only son, thus making him his successor in the event of his death. Like his father, Kiriya undertook important roles in the Demon Slayer Corps, such as overseeing Final Selection and attending to his medical needs.

In the aftermath of Kagaya's death, Kiriya immediately became the new Oyakata and undertook the immense task of coordinating the limited manpower of the Demon Slayers to combat specific Upper Ranks demons. Despite several setbacks and decisions that have led to several deaths, Kiriya had realized that his father and ancestors have all faced the same stress and pressure in the same position, valiantly continuing his mission. When Nezuko Kamado, who had been cared for as her human-conversion drug was administered, suddenly left the Corps headquarters on her own volition, Kiriya panicked and believed that Muzan has taken control of her. Before Kiriya could give an order, Kagaya's spirit touched his son on the shoulder and told him to let Nezuko do as she wants. His sisters were confused by his lack of action but Kiriya tearfully tells them that their father had spoken to him.