Suzuha

Suzuha (, Suzuha) is Yukine's friend and one of Bishamonten's shinki.

Appearance
Suzuha is a young-looking Shinki who looked around Yukine's age. He has short messy dark brown hair and vibrant green eyes. He is often shown with a smile on his face. He wears a black jacket over a grey sweater hoodie and a black shirt underneath. He also wewars brown jeans and red tennis shoes. During the summers he spent with Tomoko, he was often seen wearing a white shirt (or sometimes blue or purple shirt), a white and blue baseball cap or a straw hat, brown jeans or brown shorts, and sandals. After Bishamonten saved him, he wore a green yukata.

Personality
He is a kind, cheery, and outgoing person, often shown with a smile on his face and is able to quickly make friends with a stranger. He has extensive knowledge of plants and is very attentive in giving them care, which is testament to his gentle and patient nature. Although it seems he usually hides this with a cheerful demeanor, deep down he is lonely.

History
At least thirty years ago, Suzuha was found and taken in by Bishamonten as one of her many shinki. He was happy because of her kindness and loved the other Shinki like family. He also loved taking care of trees and flowers and was taught by Kugaha. However, Bishamon never once called his name. Over time, he felt neglected by her but kept his feelings to himself out of fear of blighting her, and he still cared for and respected her.

Thirty years ago, he met a young girl named Tomoko who also loved flowers. The two would meet every summer since Tomoko would be in the area to visit her grandmother who lived nearby. Each summer she came, she would remember the flowers but not Suzuha. Suzuha may have developed romantic feelings for her, and became saddened that she would not remember him. One summer, the two of them made a promise to watch the cherry blossom tree in full bloom the next year; they commemorate this promise by carving their names and the date (August 27, 1982) into the tree trunk. However, this was the last time Tomoko returned, having forgotten about both Suzuha and the tree. The tree is later damaged by a typhoon, and Suzuha continued to take care of it in order to honor their promise.

Volume 4 (14 - 15)
Chapter 14: In his first appearance, Suzuha befriends Yukine who, like him, is a fellow Shinki. Yukine states he is Yato's Shinki and Suzuha introduces himself as Bishamonten's Shinki. Out of fear, Yukine tries to run but Suzuha catches him, unaware who Yato even is. Yukine is happy that he is able to make a new friend. Suzuha tells Yukine about his past with his friend, Tomoko, and how she came to visit every year but forgot about him each time, as well as their unfulfilled promise to see the cherry blossoms bloom together. He continues to take care of the tree in the hopes she would come back to see the cherry blossoms someday.

Later, Kugaha goes to see him and tells him how he is a loner who is forgotten by both Tomoko and Bishamonten. Suzuha is crushed by this statement, making him vulnerable for Kugaha to send phantoms to attack and kill him. Kugaha uses his death as the catalyst for disorder and chaos among the Ha-clan shinki, causing them to blight Bishamonten.

Chapter 15: When Yukine tells Yato about Suzuha, Yato says that it's okay to meet with him so long as he's careful. Yukine does so the next day with Hiyori, but they doesn't see Suzuha there. On the same day, Fumiha and two other Ha-clan shinki are shown worrying about Suzuha, since he had not come home the night before. Yato has a confrontation with Kugaha at Suzuha's sakura tree.

Volume 5 (16)
Chapter 16: Yato tells Yukine to stay away from Suzuha and the sakura tree. However, Yato still follows Yukine around just in case. Yukine has to distract him with a snack stick in order to go see Suzuha in secret. However, when Yukine sees Kazuma placing flowers in front of Suzuha's tree, he realizes something is wrong. He chases after Kazuma, inadvertently ending up at Bishamonten's temple and being transported with Kazuma to the Ha-clan estate in Takamagahara. There, Bishamonten is ready to shoot Yukine down, but Yukine implores her to tell him what happened to Suzuha. Kazuma admits that Suzuha was killed by phantoms, causing Yukine to call her a failure of a god since she couldn't protect her own shinki. He also lashes out at her over how much Suzuha suffered because of how she neglected him.

Volume 7 (24)
Chapter 24: Yukine mentions Suzuha while Yukine, Hiyori, and Yato go on a picnic. Hiyori invited Tenjin, Bishamonten, Kofuku, and all of their Shinki. Yato and Bishamonten look like they are about to get into a fight, and Yukine say not to fight because the tree was important to Suzuha and he wants to respect his friend's wishes.

Skills & Abilities

 * Knowledge of plants: Suzuha has shown himself to be very knowledgeable of plants and how to take care of them. Yukine even referred to him as a tree doctor.

Yukine
The two quickly became friends when Suzuha noticed Yukine all alone. Because Suzuha didn't know Yato, they could become good friends. Suzuha told Yukine about his past with Tomoko and how people are more likely to forget them because they are dead, showing he trusted Yukine to tell him such a story. Yukine also enjoyed spending time with him since they were around the same age and Suzuha seemed to return this. Yukine even helped take care of the tree even after his death. When he learned of Suzuha's death, Yukine locked himself in his room crying in bed, causing Yato to get blighted. When Yukine goes on a picnic with Hiyori and Yato and learns Hiyori invited Bishamon, he tells Bishamon to leave if she is going to fight with Yato since the tree was important to Suzuha and he doesn't want it to get hurt.

Tomoko
A young girl that Suzuha first met thirty years ago. She had a grandmother who lived around the area so she would come and visit every summer. She was fairly young when she first met Suzuha and the two talked about flowers that Tomoko was very knowledgeable about. Every year she would come and visit and while she remembered the flowers she could never retain the memory of Suzuha, much to his sadness. It seemed as she grew up he grew to fall in love with her, especially as they got closer in age. The two even made a promise one summer to see the cherry blossoms together and carved their names on the tree. Unfortunately, that would be the last summer they spent together. Suzuha still took care of the cherry tree despite Tomoko never visiting because he believed that even if she forgot about him she wouldn't forget about the tree. Kugaha manipulates this information and tells Suzuha how no matter how long he waits Tomoko had already forgotten about him, crushing Suzuha immensely.

Bishamon
He greatly loved and admired Bishamonten like a parental figure and master. He bragged about her frequently to Yukine and how great and kind she was and how because she took in so many Shinki they were like family. However, he was saddened by the fact that she never called his name or talked to him. This is proven further by the fact that Suzuha didn't even know that Yato was her greatest enemy as shown when Yukine said he was Yato's Shinki and he didn't know who Yato was. The loneliness of being forgotten by not only Tomoko but also his master broke his spirits to the point he did not resist being brutally beaten and murdered by the phantoms. Bishamon was saddened to learn of his death and knew it was him since she knew how much he loved taking care of plants and noticed how the plants in her house, which were attended by Suzuha were dying, showing she did care for him.

Kugaha
Kugaha taught Suzuha how to take care of trees and plants. Suzuha trusted Kugaha a great deal, especially since Kugaha was the main doctor for all the Shinki. However, Kugaha, while pretending to be kind, actually never once cared for Suzuha. He took advantage of Suzuha's vulnerability by cruelly telling him that he was a loner who would never be remembered by Tomoko and wasn't needed by his master. He called Suzuha's life meaningless, as he was ultimately forgotten by both of them. This statement affected Suzuha to the point that he was in tears, and even offered little resistance when attacked by Kugaha's ayakashi. Kugaha merely watched from the background smiling, demonstrating how little he thought of Suzuha.

Ha-clan Shinki
He seemed to get along with his fellow Ha-clan Shinki and regarded them as his family. He may have been particularly close to Fumiha, as she and other shinki were very worried when they had not seen him for a while.

Adaptation Notes

 * Chapter 14 is spread across episodes 1 and 2 of Noragami Aragoto.
 * In the manga, Yukine and Suzuha meet during the daytime and talk until they part shortly before sunset. They also introduce themselves (and the gods they serve) and talk about their experiences as shinki before Suzuha shows him the sakura tree and tells him the story of Tomoko. When they part, Kugaha's presence nearby is hinted at through a depiction of the bells he wears in his hair, but he himself is not shown. This all occurs on the same day.
 * In the anime, they meet during sunset nearby the tree, and they introduce the gods they serve while walking away from it. Instead of running away when Suzuha says he works for Bishamon, Yukine stands with a shocked expression and asks, "Seriously?" which Suzuha confirms. Kugaha is then shown hiding behind the sakura tree, smirking while he holds a mask. After Yukine tells Yato about Suzuha, they meet on another day in the same place. This time, Suzuha shows him the sakura tree and explains his history with Tomoko.

Trivia

 * The kanji used for his name, suzu, means "bell". The On reading of this kanji suggests that his vessel name would be Reiki or Rinki.