Kazuki Kurusu

"I always figured guys like us didn't get a chance at normal happiness. But we made a family. A family I want to protect!"

- Kazuki in Cherry Pick Episode

Kazuki Kurusu (来栖 一騎) is one of the main protagonists of the anime series, Buddy Daddies. Working as an assassin with Rei, he obtains intelligence and is in charge of organizing and carrying out assassinations. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking, cleaning, gambling, and the ladies.

Overview
Kazuki lives with his colleague and buddy Rei, who also looks after his personal needs. Contracting, gathering information in advance, and making execution plans are the main areas of work with Rei. He likes women and gambling and he has good communication skills. He is skilled at cooking and cleaning, and he occasionally chastises Rei for his indulgent lifestyle.

He had previously been married and had a wife who was pregnant with his child, but he had lost her due to his underworld business. He is regretful and decides to give some of his earnings to his wife's sister, but she refuses to accept any of them.

Appearance
Kazuki is a young man in his late twenties with mid-length blonde and unkempt hair. He has tanned skin and a slim face. He stands at an average height of 6ft (184cm) or less, with slim and well-built physical features.

He would wear an off-white shirt underneath, a red hoodie on top, and a knee-length dark green coat to work. He pairs it with navy blue pants, brown sneakers that serve as his footwear, and a brown belt.

On casual days, he'd wear the same outfit but without his long dark green coat. He usually wears his casual outfit with a blue apron that reaches a little above knee-length that features a blue shark print on the front.

Personality
Kazuki is a man easily swayed by temptation. He loves gambling and women, and he makes irresponsible choices. However, he cares for those who are close to him.

Whenever his strategy doesn't go as planned, he has a more difficult time adapting and lying. Rei discreetly calls him a "lousy actor" as he tells Rei that returning Miri to her mother would benefit them all.

Background
Kazuki had a legal family; his wife, Yuzuko Kurusu, was pregnant and appeared to be on the verge of giving birth. However, she died as a result of an accident that occurred in the midst of his work. She happened to be in the same area as Kazuki, who was trying to chase a man down a dark alleyway who was fleeing from him. As the man flees, Ryo Ogino's intervention in shooting the tire of the man's stolen vehicle causes it to crash and collide with a nearby gas tanker, resulting in a massive explosion in which Yuzuko was caught in.

Starting from that point, to move on from the incident, he would wire money to Yuzuko's younger sister, Karin Izumi, but she would never accept it and would almost always return it to Kyutaro on Yadorigi café. She has been by herself for nearly 5 years since her sister died, and she plans to move to France to pursue a dream. She had reached out to her brother-in-law, Kazuki, who is still struggling to accept her sister's death and is hiding from her, by trying to console him and delivering him words that could help him move forward.

Kazuki has also stated that he was raised as an orphan and has no idea who his parents are. He admitted that he hasn't seen or recognized them since, which is why he believes he is unfit to adopt and raise Miri.

Rei Suwa
He presently lives at Rei's house and handles most of the household chores by himself. They are also partners in their work. He would chastise Rei for being messy and simply playing games all day as he is the one who cleans the house the most. He'd also tell him that their line of work precludes them from bringing something into their life that they can't take care of.

Miri Unasaka
Introducing himself as Miri's putative father, he stands by it and treats Miri as if she were his kid. Considering he presumably has a soft place for children given his previous life, he lets Miri enjoy the cake he baked just for their mission at their first encounter.

Kyutaro Kugi
Kyutaro is also a part of their contract job team. He is primarily in charge of gathering information and relaying missions to the two initiators. He additionally trusts Kyutaro to send money to his previous partner, who never accepts it.

Yuzuko Kurusu
Yuzuko was Kazuki's late wife who died in an accident. Her death is somehow linked to Ryo Ogino, but the precise details are unknown.

Karin Izumi
Izumi is Yuzuko's younger sister and Kazuki's sister-in-law.

Etymology
The name Kazuki is broken up into three syllables “KA-ZU-KI,” but only two kanji 一 (KAZU) and 騎 (KI).
 * — (KAZU): One, First, Solely
 * Sentiment: Wanting your child to aim for the top. A precious and irreplaceable child.


 * 騎 (KI): Riding a horse. To straddle (sit astride, mount)
 * Comparison to the series: We see in the series that Kazuki is in charge of the two's job; he does a lot of the decision-making, and they did seem to be top assassins before Miri entered their life and makes that aspect of their lifestyles a little more complicated and challenging. Also, based on what we've seen thus far, Kazuki appears to be the main driver, so the "riding a horse" significance of his name fits in perfectly.