Naoe Habakiri

* Full
* Color
* Thrilled
* Twin

Naoe Habakiri/Gallery

**Naoe Habakiri** (羽々斬 直愛) makes her first appearance in *Kakegurui Midari*. She is the Vice President of the Beautification Council; she has been in the Council for a long time and knows a lot about it. She was even President herself for a while, presumably succeeding Sakura Miharutaki.

## Appearance

Naoe has very short dark hair with bangs that are tucked away by a hairclip on her left side and two notable streaks. Midari Ikishima also describes her as tough looking.

Yuuichi Hiiragi, the mangaka of *Kakegurui Midari*, replied to a fan on Twitter, saying that while there are no official colored artworks yet, he draws Naoe imagining her hair as black and her eyes as blue.

For the release of Volume 4, a colored illustration of Naoe has been released.

## Personality

Naoe is a very serious and stoic girl who also comes across as cold, especially against Midari Ikishima. Beneath her very serious demeanor, she does have a soft side. Naoe absolutely despises Midari and wants nothing more than for her to leave the Beautification Council. She cares a lot about the Council and takes her job very seriously, unlike her direct superior.

    She can't stand her personality and thinks Midari simply degrades herself to an animal, a behavior unacceptable for someone in her position.

However, after seeing a different side of her, Naoe starts feeling a very different emotion she can't fully explain. Later she appears to be less cold toward Midari and gets closer to Ayame as well, seeing her as a friend. When Midari expresses her intention to work, Naoe is clearly happy. Although her feelings for her changed a little, she still feels nothing but disgust for her friends and firmly opposes Midari's idea to let them join the Beautification Council, even gambling against them for this reason. She shows to be confident and resolute.

## Profile

### *Kakegurui Twin*

Naoe makes a cameo when the former leader of the Beautification council, Sakura Miharutaki, is about to leave the Beautification Council. Sakura tells her she entrusts everything to her and swears to stop Full-Bloom. Naoe appears to be quite shocked.

### *Kakegurui Midari*

Naoe is surprised by the arrival of Midari Ikishima and Ayame Nureba. When Midari explains that Nureba should join the Beautification Council, Habakiri declines and says it's needless. When Midari asks why, she explains that she herself is the reason. Naoe goes on to state that Midari has done nothing since she became President - she rarely attended meetings, didn't fulfill her duties and practically neglected the Council. Naoe is so disgusted by Midari's attitude and firmly believes she doesn't deserve her title. Midari proposes to decide by gambling and offers to leave the Council upon losing. Intrigued by the chance to finally kick her out, Naoe accepts. It's decided that Ayame will be the one playing against Naoe in place of Midari.

Due to Naoe cheating, though, Ayame is initially unable to win and quickly runs out of money. She toughs up and suggests to make a last gamble, betting Midari's social status instead of money. Midari enthusiastically accepts her idea, saying she will become the housepet of the Beautification Council if they lose. She tells Naoe she will accept any treatment from her, even murder. Naoe is even more fed up with Midari and declares she will gladly take her life.

This time, though, Nureba is able to win, leaving Naoe speechless. The other members quickly become enraged: due to her loss, the Beautification Council won't have enough funds anymore and may even stop existing. Naoe is desperate, but Midari shuts them up and offers to pay the necessary fees herself. When Naoe asks her why, Midari answers, "because I'm the President of the Beautification Council." Although still furious, Naoe has to admit to herself that she feels smitten.

The next day, Naoe and Midari organize a party for the new member of the Council: Ayame. The girl is still not sure about this decision. Timidly, Naoe begs Ayame to join, as the Beautification Council lost every other member. When Ayame reluctantly accepts, she is very happy. Moreover, Naoe is pleased to see that Midari is willing to work. Later, she is there when Midari comes back to the Council room holding a gun. Midari ask Ayame if she would like to gamble to, "See if it is a real gun". Ayame declines but Naoe happily offers to play. Midari declines Naoe's offer simply saying, "You're no good...you're boring." Naoe looks offened by this and is seen with a sad expression.

Naoe is also present when Midari asks Yuriko Nishinotouin to come over and then witnesses the ensuing gamble between them, acting as a psuedo-dealer. She dutifully assists her superior when she asks her to bring a dustpan and broom.

When Midari wants Kururudo, Shagatake and Tooame to join the council, Naoe is strongly against it. As expected, Midari makes them gamble over it. Being clearly outnumbered, she asks Ayame to help her and join the game, but the other girl would rather leave. Naoe reacts with a disappointed expression, saying she thought she had become her friend, but was apparently mistaken. At that point, Ayame decides to play at her side and Naoe smiles with joy. During the game, she reveals to Ayame that she has a sure way to win, but she needs some time. However, it was a lie to make her keep playing, since she knew Ayame was scared of being injured. In the end, Naoe is able to avoid stabbing Tooame's finger and ends up being declared the winner by Midari. Although still skeptical, she acknowledges the other girls for being brave and says she will allow them to join on a trial basis.

## List of Gambles

* Naoe vs Ayame
* Naoe & Ayame vs Tooame, Shagatake & Kururudo

* Guess the Card
* Chicken Circle

## Etymology

* The name **Naoe** means "straight, direct" (直) (**nao**) and "love, affection" (愛) (**e**).
* Naoe's surname **Habakiri** means "feather" (羽) (**ha**) and "slash" (斬) (**kiri**).
	+ **Habakiri** seems to be a reference to the mythical sword of Japanese god Susanoo, ***Ame no Habakiri*** (天羽々斬) and it is said in the legend that Susanoo slew the giant eight-headed snake Yamata no Orochi with it .

## References

<references>

1. ↑ Hiiragi's Twitter
2. ↑ Totsuka-no-Tsurugi