Kazumi Kiba

Kazumi Kiba is the protagonist of Persona: Tsumi to Batsu.
==Appearances==
*Persona: Tsumi to Batsu: Protagonist
==Design==
Kazumi Kiba has brown hair with a parting that goes off to the left side, redish-brown eyes, and a varying complexion. He's shown to be wearing a Seven Sisters High School uniform, consisting of a black jacket and black pants adorned with white stripes along with a black belt that has a silver buckle. In addition, he wears a white shirt and a red necktie, which is similar to Tatsuya Suou's own white shirt and sky blue necktie combination.
==Profile==
===Persona: Tsumi to Batsu===
Kazumi Kiba, the protagonist, has a dream where he encounters Philemon. The next day, reminded of his dream, he suggests a masquerade ball for his class' contribution to the Seven Sisters High School school festival. Because of this, he and his long-time friend Rihito Shimizu are tasked with finding masks for the ball and, in searching for them, encounter Igor acting as the proprietor of a mask shop. However, as they return from the shop, Rihito suddenly vanishes.
After a few week with no word, Kazumi is led to a purportedly haunted abandoned factory where Rihito is said to have been seen. There he comes into contact with not only Rihito, but demons under his control as well. Rihito attacks him, claiming to have always hated him. Kazumi's Persona Yama appears at this time to protect him before he is knocked unconscious and needs to be saved by several others that live in the factory.
When he awakens he encounters the Persona-bearing Factory Family that supposedly haunts the abandoned factory and is introduced to the Velvet Room. From this point on, he is drawn into a conflict with Rihito and his companions from Nymphéa, a cosmetic company lead by Yakumo Kusaka who is the holder of the Black Book that seeks to use the Schwarz System to active his Book to rewrite history as Yakumo sees fit. 
Kazumi is a hot-blooded and friendly guy, with a compassionate side to those he views as friends, strangers, or even enemies. He's very patient with their quirks and is quite reluctant to give up on those he believes in. Kazumi is quite impulsive and emotional, being prone to rushing in to things without much of a plan, but his earnestness and emotional intelligence allows him to win the heart's of his allies. His journey in the story is coming to terms with the fact he didn't know his friend truly as well as he should, unknowingly hurting him in his presumptions. As he continues, he grows into a mature person that holds no fear for the future or fate that has grasped his foes. 
Initially, Kazumi is led by the desire to learn more about what's going on and getting Rihito out of Nymphea's clutches. But he opts to try to go at it alone, which requires one of the Family, Narui to not only teach him on to use his Persona wisely, but also bring up the possibility of him never really knowing Rihito at all (which gets him angry). Following Narui getting her Persona reaped by Rihito, he joins Keito in getting the group weapons from Alaya Shrine, working him to fight against a Reaper named Rago. Together, with intervention from Rinne using her Red Book, they are able to make Rago retreat.
With Narui saved thanks to Rinne, Narui uses her Persona to sense the locations of two of the Four Keys - items that will help them to defeat Nymphea. The Fire Key is the first to be won, with Narui earnining it from Philemon after confronting her true feelings about her past (with help from Kazumi to be true to herself) and using the Key to defeat another Reaper, Ujiya. The Wind Key is earned by Keito during his fight with his former friend Kain Junsa, a Reaper that slaughtered their police unit. However, from there, the group had no idea on how to get to last two Keys, which lead to Kazumi walking about for a bit until he ran into his classmate Ito.
It's been a month since he left school due to the Persona Hunt, and both catch up with each other at the park, up until they are attacked by Rihito. Rihito only relents when Kazumi requests both head to the Alaya Shrine where the two of them first met each other. In addition to befriending a third person, a girl named Mana Tsuchiya. 
They hung out ever since both Kazumi and Mana noticed Rihito standing by himself looking gloomy. All three played the Persona Game with each toher, which in turn would lead to them gaining Personas in the future. During these trips, Rihito had challenged himself to eventually climb up the tree that Mana always perched. When he finally achieved it, impressing his friends, Mana tried to join him. Unfortunately, the branch she climbed broke and she fell to her death. Rihito's suffered immense guilt and blamed himself for her death, believing he should have been punished for it. 
However, Kazumi told him not to mention their connection to Mana to anyone and pretend they were never friends. Something that ate away at Rihito for years since he felt Kazumi wasn't even considering his feelings. Yakumo noticed Rihito's pain and convinced him that, after awakening his Persona, unleashing the Black Book can correct his sins, Rihito gave in to his resentment of Kazumi and joined him. It was at that moment the test for the Black Book commenced and Rihito left, warning Kazumi that the Book will be unleashed and humanity can't be saved without it. Before he splits off from Ito, he promises her that he'll come back once things are done.
J.F. arrives to get Kazumi's help to aid Rinne, whose been fight Yakumo and Rea at Sumaru Television. Resolving to never forget his past and with a determination to grasp the future himself, Kazumi earns the Earth Key and chases off the enemies after warning them that he called the police. Alone with Rinne, he asked if she was possible Mana, but she doesn't answer. With that over, Kazumi heads to the Velvet Room to discuss the happenings with Igor, who reveal the truth of the Four Keys and the Books. In particular, the Keys can seal the Black Book's power. Wanting to no more about the enemy, Kazumi heads to Yakumo and Narui's old house, with J.F. tagging along. 
There, the inside is filled with demons that they have to defeat. He then falls into a portal which has him travel past the moment Yakumo was going to kill himself when he was a teenager, telling the CEO to stop. He is then transported to Nymphea's Schwarz System where he is confronted by BB. They fight, but the foe is stronger given his connection to the Black Book, but Kazumi is able to defeat him by using his Key to seal off his connection. Before BB is fused with the system, the Reaper reveals his past with Yakumo and request Kazumi to save the CEO from the cycle of Sin & Punishment.
Heading back to his friends, Kazumi makes their next plan of action is to use their Keys to seal off the Black Book and get into Nymphea via the Hino's old house. But they need Rinne to get her Water Key, though the girl looks uncomfortable and brushes aside Kazumi to go outside. Unfortunately, Rinne would later be kidnapped by Yakumo for her Red Book in an attempt to use both Books to rewrite history as he saw fit.
The remaining Family would take the path through Narui and Yakumo's old house which would lead to Nymphea to rescue her. However, instead, it lead to an alternate Sumaru City - the only thing left in a world that was destroyed. In it, they are attacked by demons and the remaining Reapers. While the Family is able to clear out the demons, The Reapers are much stronger thanks to their boosted abilities. 
Kazumi would then be taken by Rihito, who was ordered by Yakumo to bring Kazumi to the System since his Earth Key sealed off part of the Black Book needed for things to be completed. Between Rihito beating up Kazumi in anger and Yakumo's speech of humanity requiring the Black Book to be activated, Kazumi begins to doubt himself until J.F. intervenes to snap him out of it. J.F destroy the terminal that was holding Rinne, but the demon is killed by Schwarz. Still, Rinne is able to now make use of her powers to warp away her and Rihito. Thus, leaving Kazumi to fight Yakumo, backed up by Keito and Narui soon after.
Yakumo is a strong opponent given his ability to use multiple Personas at once, and is able to push back the remainders of the Factory Family. It's then that Rihito defects from Nymphea, having acquired the Water Key from Rinne (who was the last Key all along) and joins them to fight against Yakumo. By now, Yakumo is close to losing himself due to being unable to handle the Black Book's power and his Schwarz has mutated into a giant draconic monster. Keito even requested Kazumi to changes Personas to deal with him. However, Kazumi refused, noting that he spent so long not knowing about that aspect of himself which had harmed others. But now he can use it to properly cast judgement. Together, all four pull off the Quadra Termination fusion spell to destroy Schwarz and defeat Yakumo.
After the battle, Rinne appears before the team to say that the darkness has been banished back into the depths of the Sea of Souls. As a result, the Books can be entrusted to their new holders: Rihito and Kazumi. She says this is Philemon's final promise and departs, leaving humanity's fate once again in the hearts of the people. 
In the epilogue, Kazumi has returned back to his normal life, narrating the events of what transpired following Yakumo's defeat. Despite being gone for so long, his parents has noticed how much he matured, and weren't that mad at him. He's returned to school, though notes Rihito hasn't. As winter comes, with him taking a walk with Ito, he hears and sees J.F. whose been brought back to life from the cold. With a reassured smile, he goes about life firm in his belief that, even if the team can't go back to the way things were, there hearts were all still connected as one and that even sinners don't have to fear punishment with those beside them.
==Gallery==
File:Manga Kazumi.png|Kazumi
File:Yama Persona 2.png|Kazumi and Yama
File:Kazumi 20th Anniversary.png|Kazumi's PERSONA 20th Anniversary Artwork
Category:Persona: Tsumi to Batsu Characters
Category:Protagonists
Category:Persona users
Category:Hierophant Arcana