Kure-nai is a Japanese light novel series by Kentar<#333; Katayama, with illustrations by Yamato Yamamoto. A manga adaptation started serialization in the first issue of Jump Square magazine. An anime adaptation by Brains Base aired in Japan from April 3, 2008 to June 19, 2008.

Plot

Sixteen-year-old Shinkur<#333; Kurenai, a specialist in settling squabbles between people, is one day approached by his employer with the daughter of a powerful plutocratic family asking him to be her bodyguard.

Shinkuro Kurenai
Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro
The main protagonist of the series. Despite his looks and easygoing personality, he is a capable and strong worker who works for Benika as a dispute mediator. When he was young, he lost his family in a terrorist attack. As a result, he became withdrawn from the world until he met Benika. He wished to be as strong as her so he could live on. Benika decided to leave him at the H<#333;zuki household. It was there that he trained his body extensively and learned H<#333;zuki-style martial arts.
His kind demeanor attracts considerable attention from the opposite gender, though he is completely oblivious. In emergencies, he is able to produce a large 'horn' out of his right elbow which classes him as "Type 1 Class 2 Fighting Demon". This special weapon was designed for the purpose of assassination. This lets him use his full strength in combat, but shortens his lifespan. When he is forced to fight, his personality changes to a more aggressive one.
Between the anime and the manga, there are differences in the way Shinkur<#333; is depicted. In the anime, Shinkur<#333; is not as confident and appears to have less control over the Hozuki horn.

Murasaki Kuhoin
Voiced by: Aoi Yuki
Murasaki is the daughter of Souju and Renjo Kuh<#333;in. The Kuhoin family maintains a tradition that their offspring must be of pure blood. As a result, women in the Kuh<#333;in family are in a completely submissive role and considered objects only for the purpose of breeding. They are confined in a remote area known as the Inner Sanctuary. As her dying wish, Souju pleaded to Benika to one day fulfill a wish for Murasaki. When Murasaki became seven years old, she wished to fall in love just as her mother did. She understood that her mother endured in the Inner Sanctuary because of her love for Renjo. Benika, to keep her promise to Souju, helped Murasaki escape from Inner Sanctuary and entrusted her to Shinkur<#333;.
Although she was stubborn and snobbish, Shinkur<#333; was quick to scold her if she did anything wrong. As a result, Murasaki quickly learned how to behave as a "commoner" and begins to trust Shinkur<#333;. She also makes friends with the other residents at May Rain. However, after a while, Murasaki is kidnapped and taken back to Inner Sanctuary. After hearing from Benika the truth behind Inner Sanctuary, Shinkur<#333; vows to meet Murasaki again to hear her true feelings. When confronted by Shinkur<#333;, Murasaki reveals that she does not wish to live in Inner Sanctuary and Shinkur<#333; proceeds to save Murasaki from her fate in the Kuh<#333;in family.
Murasaki grows very attached to Shinkur<#333;. Despite being only seven years old, she gets jealous when Shinkur<#333; gets close to other girls. She has expressed her desire to marry Shinkur<#333;. However, because she is still young, she wants to wait until she is older before she confesses her love for Shinkur<#333;.
In the anime, Murasaki remains in Kuhoin Mansion on the condition that the entire system changes and she be given the choice to choose her partner.

Benika Juzawa
Voiced by: Sawa Ishige
She is also a mediator and Shinkur<#333;'s employer that was responsible for helping Shinkur<#333; get back on his feet after he lost his family. For that, Shinkur<#333; respects and looks up to Benika. She is a calm and collected person who goes with her intuition. On behalf of Murasaki's mother last wish, she took Murasaki out of the Inner Sanctuary and placed her in the care of Shinkur<#333; who she believes is similar to her. Benika seems to look to Shinkur<#333; as an adopted son of sorts. Benika is very strong and is infamous because of her strength.
Benika is considerably weaker in the anime. She also used to work for the Kuh<#333;in family although this is unconfirmed in the manga. Another difference between the anime and manga is Benika's expressions. In the anime, Benika's expressions are noticeably kinder.

Yayoi Inuzuka
Voiced by: Aiko Okubo
She works for Benika as one of her subordinates and has a tendency to overstep her bounds with complaints about Shinkur<#333;. She believes that an important job like protecting Murasaki would better be left in more capable and experienced hands.

Ginko Murakami
Voiced by: Nozomi Masu
A girl with a taciturn personality who works as an information broker, following in her grandfather's footsteps. Her sources allow her to find information of all kinds, including new jobs for Shinkur<#333; to help his livelihood. She has been Shinkur<#333;'s friend since childhood. After he lost his family, she tried, without success, to cheer him up. When Shinkur<#333; was about to be killed, Ginko tried desperately to save him.
Because Shinkur<#333;'s job as a mediator leaves him covered in wounds, Ginko constantly offers him a job at her family's ramen shop where she works part-time. She hopes that Shinkur<#333; will quit his job as a mediator and come work (and live) with her. Ginko also likes Shinkur<#333;, but isn't as open with her feelings as other female characters. Even so, Ginko notably gets irritated whenever other girls, especially Y<#363;no, flock around Shinkuro.

Yuno Hozuki
Voiced by: Ryoko Shintani
A girl who Shinkuro lived with when he was young and also his sparring partner. Her soft demeanor (albeit with yandere tendencies, triggered by other girls approaching Shinkur<#333;) hides the fact that she is a strong fighter, whom Shinkur<#333; acknowledges to be much stronger than himself, despite her being older by just one year. Y<#363;no is upset that Shinkur<#333; has not realized he was her first love. Even now, she still has feelings for Shinkur<#333;, always finding excuses to spend time with him, such as cooking meals for him. However, her advances tend to be very threatening (most likely because Shinkur<#333; always has another girl with him) and scare him into just letting her hear what she wants. Y<#363;no resents the decision Shinkur<#333; made in deciding to move out her household to live on his own and fears he will change into a hooligan. She has made it very clear that she wants him back in the H<#333;zuki household. Y<#363;no has a younger sister named Chizuru, who is five, who also has a crush on Shinkur<#333;. Even though the H<#333;zuki family are no longer assassins, their grandfather expects Y<#363;no and Chizuru to carry on the H<#333;zuki family martial arts.
In the anime, Y<#363;no is much more assertive in her advances towards Shinkur<#333; and does not appear to have the yandere tendencies.

Tamaki Muto
Voiced by: Asami Sanada
She is a university student who lives in the same building as Shinkur<#333;. She can be described as a very flirtatious person and her advances are noticeably more aggressive with Shinkur<#333;. She says she is very knowledgeable in the ways of love but doesn't include her own experiences as she has a hard time keeping a boyfriend. She has grown fond of Murasaki and teaches her all kinds of perverted terms, much to Shinkur<#333;'s objections. Tamaki is an instructor at a karate dojo, and is very formidable at fighting, with notable feats such as stopping a punch with just two fingers and standing on par with Y<#363;no at full strength.
In the anime, she is just a normal university student looking for love and does not possess fighting skills.

Yamie
Voiced by: Haruka Kimura
A mysterious woman, she is yet another tenant of the building Shinkuro lives in. She always wears black and calls herself a very sinful woman. She likes cats and usually keeps to herself except when it comes to Shinkur<#333; and Tamaki. Her attitude can be considered sarcastic most times.

Renjo Kuhoin
Voiced by: Takaya Kuroda
He is Murasaki's father who has a frightening appearance. He seems to have a history with Benika, as she calls him "General of the Kuh<#333;in". As expected of the head of the Kuh<#333;in family, Renj<#333; wields enormous power and his decisions are absolute. When Shinkur<#333; stood up to him along with Murasaki, who pleaded for permission to leave the Inner Sanctuary, he granted her wish because he was too busy to deal with such trivial matters.
In the anime, Renj<#333; is a different character. In order to protect the secrets of Inner Sanctuary, Renj<#333; marries an outsider named Kazuko. Kazuko pretended to be Murasaki's mother and Souju, Murasaki's birth mother, was given the duty of a caretaker. Despite being married to Kazuko, Renj<#333; was actually in love with Souju. Kazuko was well aware of this and took out her frustration by physically abusing Souju. Before long, Souju, disappointed that Renj<#333; would not protect her own daughter, committed suicide. At the end of the anime, Renj<#333; finally realizes that the Kuh<#333;in family system is wrong and vows to change it in order to protect everyone.

Kirihiko Kirishima
Voiced by: Mikako Takahashi
A fourteen year old girl with sleepy-looking eyes and a large scarf that Shinkur<#333; "saves". She is actually a reputable hitman from the Akuu Company known as "Guillotine". Though she is just fourteen, she unintentionally has perverted reactions to events, such as assuming Shinkur<#333; wanted a threesome in the back alley with her and Murasaki. As if pressing his hand against her chest wasn't proof enough that she was a girl, she even offered to show him below. She seems to be weak to the cold and heat. After encountering Shinkur<#333; a couple more times, she develops a crush on him and steals a kiss from him. Now, she is trying her best to understand the concept of friends as she slowly makes the effort to make other friends within their circle.
Even though she's an introvert, her personality dramatically changes whenever she wields any knife-type weapon in her hand. She appears to have supernatural strength, being able to carve pavement and metal railings into pieces with just one stroke using a butter knife. Much like Y<#363;no H<#333;zuki, her family, Kirishima, is also part of the thirteen Inner Families, descendants of assassins. Her male name indicates she is the direct descendant of the head family.
Kirihiko appears in the OVAs of the anime adaptation.

Lin Cheng-Shin
Voiced by: Kana Ueda
A female imperial guard of the Kuh<#333;in family, Lin is the newest bodyguard of Murasaki, replacing her former guard, Kiba, due to female convenience. Armed with a pair of katana, her fighting skills are formidable, though not at the level of Yayoi Inuzuka. Although she disapproves of Shinkur<#333;, nevertheless, she accepts him as Murasaki's companion, and frowns heavily on all the attention Shinkur<#333; receives from other girls (even if he is unaware of it). Lin takes Murasaki's wishes literally, including attempting to get Shinkur<#333; and Murasaki wedded to each other, despite not having permission from either party (or their families, for that matter). Under Murasaki's care, Lin is slowly learning about normal life, albeit with some difficulty.
Lin is a completely different character in the anime. She has no interest in the Kuh<#333;in family matters and only works for them because she desires strong opponents to defeat.
Lucy May
Voiced by: Akira Tomisaka
A woman who works as the middleman for the Akuu Company, a secret mercenary group of assassin and skilled individuals.
Zena Hoshigami
A woman working for the Akuu Company and who's family is also part of the thirteen Inner Families.

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