Hakuren Oak/Relationships

Hakuren Oak is a main character in the 07-Ghost anime and manga series. He is first introduced as Teito's roommate and partner at the Church and his self-proclaimed rival for the Bishop's Apprentice Exam. After a rough start, Hakuren later becomes a close friend of Teito. Hakuren is a member of the very wealthy Oak family in District 2, but he chose to become a bishop rather than follow the Oak family's tradition to go into politics or the military.

After passing the exam he worked under Bishop Castor, but received a letter from his father asking him to return home to serve as a tutor to the princess. After realising the things that were covered up by the military, he decided to be the princess's tutor in order to let the voices of the weak be heard by the royal family.

The Barsburg Church
Hakuren is relatively well-liked within the Church, and Wade is probably the only Church member he dislikes.

Frau
"Bishop Frau doesn't seem to remember me, but I want to be just like him."

- Hakuren

Hakuren idolises Frau as he was the Bishop that saved his mother from the Kor, and he has said that he wishes to become like him when he is older. He also admires Frau's skill with a Baculus, and was eager to impress him, offering him porn as a gift, though he does not share Frau's interest in porn. The two do not spend a lot of time with each other but get along well.

Castor
"I want to be a light to the people as a Bishop, just like you."

- Hakuren

After graduation, Hakuren begins to serve under Castor as his apprentice, and they have a good teacher-student relationship.

Hakuren idolises Castor and sees him as an example of what a Bishop should be. He greatly admires Castor's courage and compassion, and watching Castor inspires him to help others. Castor's actions reinforced his decision to become a Bishop, and he sought to emulate him. He also values Castor's opinion, as he undertook a job as the empress-to-be's tutor upon Castor's request.

Lance
As both Hakuren and Lance are members of the Oak family, they are related by blood, though Hakuren probably does not know that Lance is a member of his family. Lance oversaw the Bishop's Apprentice Exam in which Hakuren and Teito took part. When Hakuren encountered Lance in the Hohburg Fortress, he enlisted Lance's help, telling Lance about Teito's situation, which suggests that Hakuren trusts Lance.

In Kapitel 37, upon learning that Kyle, Lance's apprentice, would be going mountain climbing with Lance, Hakuren was shown thinking, 'Doesn't that mean a disaster?'. This suggests that Hakuren is aware of Lance's accident-prone nature.

Considering that Lance clearly has the typical features of a member of the Oak family, it can be seen as somewhat odd that Hakuren does not recognise Lance as a member of his family, though it is possible Hakuren does notice but doesn't feel a need to comment on Lance's resemblance to him.

Teito Klein
Hakuren and Teito do not begin on pleasant terms and the two trade insults within the first few minutes of meeting each other. Hakuren and Teito trade insult within the first few minutes of meeting each other. Teito's negative comments about Hakuren's family offended him and make Hakuren dislike Teito even more

Hakuren was appalled when he discovered Teito was his room-mate and partner for the exam and demanded a change. However, this appeal was rejected and forced contact meant that the pair got to know each other better. Hakuren's opinion of Teito changed when he discovered Teito was a sklave. He felt guilty for his earlier rudeness, (calling Teito an "elementary school kiddie" when as a sklave he would not have received an education) and apologized.

After Teito revealed his reason for taking the exam, Hakuren began to respect him more and returned the favour by explaining why he is in the Church. However, although their relationship improved, they still treated each other with formal indifference. It was only after the incident with Bastien that Hakuren began to consider Teito a comrade, ignoring Teito's reluctance to accept the offer of friendship, and risked his life to save him.

Their partnership in the exam brought them closer and Hakuren began to respect Teito's willingness to help others. His new-found trust was especially evident during the final act of part 1 of the Bishop's exam, when Hakuren offered to give up his place in the finals for Teito, and judged him more worthy of winning. When Teito was forced to flee the Church, the pair met for one last time and parted as equals.

Like Frau and Mikage, Hakuren seems to enjoy teasing Teito, though not as much or as often as the other two. Hakuren also sometimes takes on a motherly role towards Teito, with Frau commenting that he (Hakuren) sounds like a mother in his letter to Teito. Mikhail said that Hakuren's voice has the power of soothing Teito and Teito's heart cares about Hakuren. Mikhail also said that Hakuren Oak is someone who is very important to his master.

Later in the series, Hakuren does his best to help Teito recover his (Teito's) memories, and before the princess's birthday ball, Teito practiced dancing with him after the royal family's Head Attendant asks them to, to ensure that Teito would know how to dance at the ball.

Hakuren was one of the people who saw Teito off when Teito departed for the land of Seele.

Mikage Celestine
Burupya (Mikage's reincarnation) appears to like Hakuren, as he often goes to Hakuren and sits on either his head or his shoulder. Hakuren is gentle towards him too, and hugs him happily when he sees that Buryupya is safe (manga chapter 74).

Considering that Mikage's parents work for the Oak family, Hakuren and Mikage may have met in the past. However, Hakuren showed no signs of recognition when Teito told him Mikage's name. Although Hakuren and human Mikage have never been shown spending time with each other in the anime and manga, it's worth noting that they do talk to each other, and appear to be friends, in the side chapter Supreme Sugar 03.

Others
Ouida: At their first meeting, Ouida and Hakuren got along well, and their shared duties as apprentices of Labrador and Castor seemed to have further improved their relationship. Due to the closeness of their respective Bishop superiors, it is likely they spend a lot of time with each other.

Kyle: Hakuren initially disliked Kyle due to the argument they had prior to the exam, where Hakuren retaliated after Kyle taunted Teito by calling Kyle a 'failure face': an insult which Kyle took exception with. However, it seems that their relationship improved somewhat after the exam, as Hakuren was seen talking to Kyle as he prepared to leave the district, and wished him a safe return. As with Ouida, due to the closeness of their respective Bishop superiors, it is likely Hakuren and Kyle spend a lot of time with each other.

Wade: Hakuren and Wade disliked each other from the start, and despite his calm and diplomatic nature, Hakuren openly antagonised Wade. It is possible that Hakuren's dislike of Wade is also due to Wade's poor treatment of Kyle.

Family
Hakuren dislikes it when outsiders insult his family, but his own feelings towards his family are not very positive. He resents the rigid social expectations of his family and is determined not to be forced into an arranged marriage or a career in either politics or the military.

His mother
Hakuren has a good relationship with his mother. When he was a child and she fell ill, he sat by her bed and accompanied her, praying for her recovery. Hakuren's mother was shown to be supportive of his decision to become a bishop.

He once described her as 'a flower'.

His father
Hakuren and his father do not get along well, as Hakuren's father values the Oak Family name above his son's happiness. During a flashback, Hakuren's father was shown slapping a young Hakuren (who appeared to be around 10) across the face, which could suggest that his father was also physically abusive towards him if he does not follow his father's will.

"As my father is not ideal, I do not need to be my father's ideal."

- Hakuren

Hakuren thought very little of his father, saying he "does not have a heart", and holds a deep grudge against his father and has said that he will "never forgive him", and that he will "never follow in his footsteps". Hakuren believes his father does not love him for pursuing a career in the Church, and his words during the Bishop's exam suggest Hakuren has given up trying to please his father or conform to his standards, as he does not have enough respect for him to consider it worth it.

Nonetheless, even though Hakuren had run away from home to become a bishop, Hakuren's father still keeps track of his whereabouts to send him photos of noble women who can be his wife, ignoring the fact that Hakuren is unwilling, as he has said that Hakuren must choose a good wife if he wants to inherit the family- implying he will stop Hakuren from receiving any inheritance money unless he complies.

Despite Hakuren choosing to disconnect himself from the Oak clan (by not taking a career in the military or the government), his father still does not give up on persuading Hakuren to be orthodox. He arranges Hakuren to be the empress-to-be's tutor, which is a compromised way to get his son involved in politics and achieve his son's goal to help the powerless people at the same time. It can also get his son to meet noble women in person, as Hakuren refused to look at the candidates' photos.

Shuri Oak
Hakuren hasn't interacted with his younger cousin in the anime or manga so far, but there is evidence that their relationship is poor. Hakuren is familiar with Shuri, and they interact with each other in a childlike manner: calling each other names, fighting and arguing over silly things, including which one of them is the winner in an Oak-style rock-paper-scissors game they have just played, and laugh heartily when they mock the other party or see him look defeated. They speak with each other using the Japanese casual form. When Teito meets Hakuren for the first time and insults Shuri, Hakuren is offended, but this is more likely due to Hakuren's family pride than any genuine affection for his cousin.

Wakaba Oak and Shuri's Mother
Hakuren has not been seen interacting with his uncle and aunt. However, the mutual dislike between Shuri and Hakuren, and the fact that Hakuren has yet to be shown interacting with Wakaba and Shuri's mother, suggest that Hakuren is not close to them. Also, Hakuren did not attend Wakaba's funeral, though it is also possible that Hakuren's father did not allow him to attend. However, considering Hakuren's strong will and strained relationship with his father, it is highly unlikely that Hakuren would have given Wakaba's funeral a miss simply out of respect for his father, so Hakuren's absence from the funeral was probably due to his own disrespect for Wakaba.

Roseamanelle Ouka Barsburg (OR-0007)
Hakuren and Ouka get along well, and share a friendship with Teito. Hakuren serves as Ouka's tutor, and has been shown accompanying her on more than one occasion. Ouka has asked Hakuren about his friendship with Teito (Kapitel 64). Some fans theorize that Hakuren's father wants to make him Ouka's consort, but this is never confirmed or disproved.

Mikhail
Mikhail and Hakuren have only interacted a few times so far, but Mikhail has commented that Hakuren is someone who is very important to Teito, and that Hakuren's voice has the power to soothe Teito and Teito's heart cares about Hakuren.

Mikhail once thanked Hakuren (anime episode 19/manga Kapitel 18) and Hakuren has sung a lullaby for Teito at Mikhail's request. Mikhail has commented that Hakuren is someone who is dear to Teito, and has stated that he likes Hakuren's honesty.

Hakuren appeared unfazed the first time Mikhail spoke to him. However, it seems that Hakuren might be a little frightened, or at least wary, of Mikhail, as in a track on one of the drama CDs, he (Hakuren) served Mikhail desserts in an attempt to placate him, and was rather flustered while speaking to Mikhail, despite his (Hakuren's) usual calm and diplomatic nature. In the same drama CD track, Hakuren appeared to be afraid that Mikhail would kill him or destroy the world. Mikhail resents the fact that Hakuren once called Teito an elementary schooler, but forgave him for Teito's sake. Hakuren chided Mikhail after seeing him fall asleep during a conversation between them.

Razette
Razette once transformed her face to look like Hakuren's, causing him, with his narcissistic nature, to comment that the face is lovely. She is one of the only two women (the other being Hakuren's mother) that Hakuren doesn't feel ill around, and since she is a close friend of his Bishop superior, it is likely that they spend a fairly large amount of time together. He once curiously asked about how Castor and Razette had met, but got distracted before he could find out.