Haji



Haji (ハジ ,Haji?)(aka Hagi in the American version) is Saya's first, and currently only living, chevalier.

At the Zoo


Haji maintains the look of a man in his early twenties(25), when in reality he himself has been alive since the late 1800's. In the year 1870, Joel Goldschmidt I purchased a twelve-year-old boy from his parents at the price of a loaf of bread. The boy was brought to the "Zoo" and introduced to Saya in hopes that they would mate and create new specimens for Joel and his team to study.

When Hagi was first introduced to Saya, he was a young boy with dark eyes and braided black hair. He wore gray pants and a gray coat with a blue tie. His older appearance resembles that, only with black clothes and longer hair. His present-day clothing hasn't changed much, either. He does carry around a large cello case which contains his cello and Saya's sword.

Haji grew up in Joel's mansion, spending nearly every day with Saya. The fact that she never aged confused him. Haji asked Joel why she never aged, and about why she had to ingest blood every day, to which Joel responded that blood was necessary to her survival.

Becoming a Chevalier
Years later, in 1883 Haji falls from a cliff after attempting to pick a flower Saya wanted for Joel's birthday gift. He cracks his skull open on the hard ground below, causing Saya to panic. She remembers the conversation Haji had with Joel about blood and, misunderstanding the meaning of the old man's words, feeds, (gives him blood through a mouth-to-mouth transfer), Haji her blood in an attempt to save him. He begins to convulse, Which frightens Saya. He finally stops his painful seizure and is perfectly still on the ground. Saya places her head on his chest but can't feel his heart beating, then starts crying and runs back to the mansion to get help for Haji. Haji is last seen standing behind Saya as she watches Joel's mansion burn to the ground. Saya apparently felt guilty for her lack of knowledge over the years, and apologizes to Haji for turning him that day. He in turn assures her that he felt no resentment, and that becoming her chevalier allowed him to be by her side as she lived her dream of traveling the world with her sword.

Personality
Haji did not get along with Saya when they first met at the zoo. Although obediant he was often quiet and occassionally rude, partly because Saya herself was spoiled and selfish. It was only after revealing the cause of his anger was being taken away from his family that they gradually become friends. As an adult while Haji was still living with her in France, he was charming, kind, and chivalrous, even parental. This attitude increased after he became her chevalier - whilst travelling together in Russia he is more openly affectionate, which initially appears to surprise Saya.

For the majority of the series Haji has a rather calm, stoic personality, a result of Saya's attack on him in Vietnam. The fact that she attacked him so violently and without hesitation caused a dark, almost melancholic change in his personality. Shortly after the incident Haji left Red Shield and returned to France where he waited out the remaining days in Saya's hibernation. Although initially distancing himself from her following the attack, after the year-long absence from Red Shield he once again becomes more affection towards his queen.

Throughout his life (even before he became a chevalier) Haji has always been loyal, not only to Saya but to her friends and family. At one point Amshel even describes him as "A puppy following her around".

At the begining of the series when he found her again in Okinawa, Saya seemed happy and carefree. This appears to have secretly upset him because when he's at the Opera House in New York in the final episode, he speaks almost bitterly about how Kai,Riku, and George had brought back her smile, something that he couldn't do. Despite being hurt both physically and emotionally by Saya, Haji continues to follow her and obey her every whim, even sacrificing his own life so make sure Saya made it out of the collapsing Opera House safely.

Weapons
Haji plays the cello, a skill he learned from Saya when he was still a young boy. The case in which he carries it can be used as a blunt weapon or shield, but it also holds Saya's sword. His cello case looks like an old Victorian coffin. It has a hard metal coating of a odd design(some fans say it is the Chiropteran symbol) with black lacure finish. He not only can fight using a sword, or his chiropteran hand as a weapon, but also carries with him several small daggers.

Chriopteran


Haji most obvious chiropteran feature is his right hand, which remains permanently in its vampire form. When he is not using it he disguises it with a bandage. This is a result of fighing Saya in Vietnam - as he was about to change into a vampire in order to stop him, Saya cut off the lower half of his arm. Although chriopterans can heal themselves simply by sticking their severed limbs back on (as Solomon did) it seems as though Haji simply left it detached from his body for too long, leaving it unable to change.

The true extent of his chiropteran powers can be most noted in a pair of bat-like wings, which he uses to save Saya from falling off of a building in episode 43. He also uses the wings in the fight against Amshel.

Ending
Haji was assumed dead along with Amshel at the New York Opera House in New York, New York. Before he and Amshel begin to fight, Saya approaches Diva's babies, tearfully vowing to kill them because she didn't want to see another war fought because of their blood. Kai stops her while Haji watches from his place beside Saya. Infuriated by Hagi's calm attitude, Kai demands that Haji tell them what he wants, knowing that Haji loves Saya as much as Kai himself does. Hagi then takes the sword out of Saya's hands and says that only once in his lifetime will he disobey her. He confesses that he's loved Saya since he first saw her. Tearfully she admits that she wants to live and kisses him. On their way out, the group is confronted by an enraged Amshel in chiropteran form. Hagi stays to fend him off. Just before the building collapses, he tells Saya he loves her one more time, and is then buried beneath the ceiling. Years after Saya has gone back into her hibernation period, Kai takes Diva's daughters to her crypt. The three find a pink rose with the ribbon Haji used to tie back his hair around it. It seems that he is watching from afar, waiting patiently for his love to awaken after her thirty year sleep.