Kazane Kagari

Kazane Kagari (火々里 かざね) is the commander of Workshop Witches in Tougetsu City and the chairwoman of the school where Honoka Takamiya is studying. She is the mother of Ayaka Kagari and the best friend of Honoka Takamiya's mother. She has great belief in her daughter's strength, despite scolding Ayaka regularly due to her reckless fighting nature.

Appearance
Kazane has a very eccentric appearance. Her most obvious trait is her hair which is dyed red on the left side and light pink on the right, styled so that her right eye is constantly covered by her hair. She and her daughter don't look a lot alike, the only signs of their relation being having the same green eyes and their height (Kazane being even taller than the statuesque Ayaka).

When she is in a Battle Witch mood, her appearance changes drastically. A green horn grows out of her head, partially explaining why she hides more than half of her face. This indicates that (like Tanpopo), she is not entirely Human anymore, if she ever was. This begs an interesting question, concerning her offspring, Ayaka Kagari.

Kazane typically wears business suits and high heels of differing designs, sometimes with a suit jacket. She's rarely without a cigarette nearby.

Background
Kazane's background is something of a mystery. While she did attend high school with Komachi Takamiya, Chronoire Schwarz VI gives the somewhat contradictory statement of claiming she's known Kazane during the Crusades, and had not seen her in over 130 years. Kazane confirms them both in an omake, reminiscing about having taken part in the Crusades, the French Revolution, and of course having been the leader of a gang while attending high school with Komachi. Ayaka also says Kazane claims to have been a member of the Shinsengumi, though Ayaka is hesitant to believe her. This would make Kazane centuries old at the least.

Eventually Kazane had her only daughter Ayaka whom she trained in magic from a young age. She became the Chairwoman of Tougetsu Academy upon Ayaka's insistence several years before the series began. While she did do as Ayaka asked, she in turn ordered that Ayaka not get involved with Honoka, forbidding her to make contact with him or even speak to him.

Honoka has also seen glimpses of Kazane's past, seeing that he in fact did meet her when he was a child. According to his mother, Honoka was a very frail child and Kazane offered to help him overcome his weakness. Often she'd take him out on trips, some of them lasting a week, months, and one time that lasted half a year. For four years these trips occurred until during one Honoka was badly injured. He recovered, but oddly any memory he had of Kazane was gone.

The truth of the matter is that before Komachi Takamiya started a family she was fatally injured in an unknown accident. Kazane, desperate to save her friend, knew that even she took Komachi to the hospital she wouldn't last the night so she took her to the home of Shiori Mikage. When Shiori demanded to know why Kazane took Komachi to her home instead of the hospital Kazane proceeded to slit her own arm and giving Komachi her blood, boosting Komachi's natural healing capability.

However, doing so was a severe breach of one of the statutes placed upon Kazane as an End Witch: to never interfere with normal people using sorcery lest Kazane and all the people she has intervened for be banished from this world. However, then Kazane revealed the reason that she came to Shiori: because Shiori would erase the event from the memories of the city as its care taker. She had in fact manipulated Shiori's own affection towards Komachi as she knew she wouldn't refuse.

Kazane wouldn't see Komachi again for seven years as she believed it was best if she not get involved with her. In the interim Komachi and Shiori started families and Shiori contacted Kazane. It was then that Kazane realized that giving Komachi a transfusion had caused her children to acquire magical powers and that Honoka was the heir to her blood.

Personality
Kazane, in sharp contrast to her daughter, is very vocal. She has a very domineering personality, often being the first to criticize and does not tolerate incompetence or annoyance, she is shown to be pretty sadistic when she torchered Chronoire Schwarz VI and also wants to do the same to Weekend(in the anime) and Medusa. However, she and her daughter seem to share lethal hair trigger tempers, and when angered Kazane is terrifying to behold. In her youth (open to question since her friendship with Chronoire Shwartz VI places her in the middle ages, as an adult; while she appears as a teenager for her adventure in high-school with Komachi Takamiya) she was much the same, as well as being fiercely protective of Komachi Takamiya, even going so far as to beat up her entire class when seeing how they bullied Komachi. However, she can be polite and considerate, though one of the few people she shows that side to is Honoka.

Kazane is a chain smoker, rarely being without a cigarette or pipe. She also loves filling her tea with ridiculous amounts of sugar (another trait she and Ayaka share). During her incapacitation by Weekend she seems to have revealed being an amateur doll maker, creating a figure in Ayaka's likeness. Her office and house were also filled with dolls of the same design.

Takamiya-kun and the Witches' Introductions
Kazane Kagari first appears in a meeting with Chronoire Schwarz VI. She later appears when Ayaka and Honoka comes to get the permission to take Honoka as apprentice of Ayaka. She scolds Ayaka for her continuous reckless fighting, but gives her permission for the apprenticeship.

Takamiya-kun and Medusa and Evermillion Arc
Kazane was heavily featured in this arc, as Kazane has a great problem with Medusa. Kazane first appeared during her (supposed) peaceful days with her usual snack, before the peace destroyed by Evermillion along with the super-huge Babel.

Few days later, Kazane had to fight Ayaka because of hiding Medusa and KMM Gang, but Ayaka lose as she lose her invincibility, and then Kazane separated Medusa and Ayaka, captures Medusa and then bring her to be investigated, just before the workshop witches of Rothenburg take Medusa back to her prison. In the night after the events, Kazane plays chess while chatting over Medusa's case with Chronoire, and soon she found Ayaka broke the magic-nullifying prison she put Ayaka and Honoka in by overdrive mode, and when Ayaka challenged her, she ignored since she had no reason to fight Ayaka.

Days later, after Ayaka tried to break Kyoichiro's alternate dimension, Kazane get a hold on the puppet that Ayaka shot and soon the Student Council President called her to get into the gymnasium since the princess called all the students to be there, then she saw Ayaka managed to displace the members of student council and make Honoka the new president of student council, and so Kazane cried that she thought her daughter has made one of the best decisions, ignoring the now former president who is against Ayaka.

Powers and Abilities
Being Ayaka's mother, Kazane is a powerful witch. Rather than using her powers, Kazane usually uses her right as the boss of the Tougetsu City's Workshop Witches to summon her subordinates. This is probably to conserve her energy for the city-wide barrier she maintains that keeps the city from being permanently damaged. She is also mentioned as the only one who could re-seal Evermillion inside Honoka, proving that she is more powerful than the invincible Ayaka. However, if pressed she has proven to be an incredibly powerful combatant, During her battle with Chronoire Schwarz VI(in the anime), she is shown to smash walls and solid ground with ease. Using a set of iron knuckles to engage at melee range. She is as equally strong as her own daughter, Ayaka. Unlike the other witches (besides Ayaka), She oddly seems to prefer physical means and prefers togo head on into bare fistfights rather than magic.

If the conversations in both the anime and manga are to be believed; it is eminently clear that Kazane Kagari has the ability to become more youthful than her true age would reflect, whenever she pleases. That explains a 750 year old non-human female (that normally appears more or less human) going to school as a teenager, at the end of the 20th century. And also explains how she had a teenage friendship with Komachi Takamiya.

Kazane also has a familiar named Ofuku (meaning "good luck") which is often around her to perform various tasks such as giving her tea or to summon the Workshop Witches.

Though not seen, in an omake Ayaka claims Kazane is a master swordswoman, having taught Ayaka herself. She specifically practices Tennen-Rishin Ryu, the sword style of the famous Shinsengumi.

Weaknesses
Despite being powerful enough to protect the whole Tougetsu City, if the city were damaged so badly that all non-witch Humans were threatened, she will be rendered powerless.

Ayaka Kagari
Ayaka and Kazane don't seem to have a very typical relationship. They are quite distant to each other.

Kazane is a perfectionist who takes a very stern attitude towards her daughter. This has caused no shortage of grief due to Kazane's opinion of Ayaka's often (apparently) reckless actions. These opinions are often taken, without knowledge of the actual event. Ayaka is often outnumbered, in many battles, and unfortunately only the strongest response is appropriate.

In point of fact, Ayaka takes Honoka's opinion over her mother's and won't hesitate to stand against her. However, Kazane does take pride in calling her daughter her greatest student and masterpiece.

Komachi Takamiya
As revealed by Komachi, Kazane and Komachi attended the same high school. They first met after Kazane went through a long suspension. Sickened upon seeing Komachi being bullied, Kazane proceeded to beat up her entire class. They become close friends afterward, Komachi even admitting that their relationship turned romantic. Despite breaking up they're still best friends, Komachi affectionately calling her "Kazane-chan" and agreed to arrange a marriage between Honoka and Ayaka.

Chronoire Schwarz VI
Despite being technical enemies, Kazane and Chronoire are old buddies for at least 700+ years, and that relationship is re-awakened after 130-years, when Chronoire Schwarz Vi returns to the City to "join the fun". Later, Chronoire was promoted as the vice-headmistress of Tougetsu Academy and defeated right after Weekend arc.

Gallery
See Kazane Kagari/Image Gallery