Kyoko Kirigiri/Synopsis

The story of Kyoko Kirigiri from the Danganronpa franchise.
===Childhood===
Kyoko comes from a family of famous detectives. Her father, Jin Kirigiri, wasn't interested in being a detective, and he was kicked out of the family by his father Fuhito Kirigiri before Kyoko was even born.
Some time afterward, Jin married a woman from Uzuchi family and they had Kyoko. It appears that when she was very young, she and her father spent some time with Jin's close friend Koichi Kizakura. After learning about her existence, Fuhito invited Jin back to the family solely because he wanted to make the girl his heir. He began strict training to make Kyoko a true detective, though Jin still very much disliked his father. When Kyoko was only 7 years old, her mother turned ill and was hospitalized when Kyoko and Fuhito were doing detective work abroad. Jin tried to contact them, but Fuhito refused to aid his family and didn't even let Kyoko see her dying mother, because to Fuhito being a detective was more important than anything else. Kyoko's mother then died, with Kyoko's last memories of her being "a white face floating above a hospital bed". Absolutely furious with his father, Jin left the family, and Fuhito encouraged Kyoko to hate him by claiming that Jin only used her mother's death as an excuse to leave the family and pursue his own dreams.
Kyoko became very close to her grandfather, Fuhito, who raised her and taught her all she currently knows in the detective business, and he protected her from anything he deemed a threat. However, Fuhito was also shown to be extremely strict in his wish to make Kyoko a perfect heir and a detective, even causing the young girl some emotional issues as Fuhito wanted her to be a detective above everything else.
==Danganronpa Kirigiri==
===Volume 1===
===Sirius Astronomical Observatory Murder Case 1===
A young girl awakes on the ground with tears streaming down her face and her right arm handcuffed to a bed. She doesn't remember if she is crying because of a sad incident or because of 'that' dream. She tries to gather her thoughts and remembers that she arrived with 4 other detectives at Sirius Astronomical Observatory to meet a client. A sign that read “Welcome to Delightful Sirius Astronomical Observatory” is crossed out to read “Welcome to Despair Sirius Astronomical Observatory.”
She gradually remembers that her name is Yui, and that she and the other detectives must have been tricked as the client never showed up, but instead, they ended up in this situation. Yui frees herself by lifting the bed a little and releasing the chain and goes to examine her surroundings. She spots Kyoko lying unconscious on the ground next to blood-stained hedge clippers and hesitates to go near her.
Yui finds the other detectives lying on beds; decapitated with their bodies switched around. With a heavy snowstorm outside to prevent anyone from getting in or out, and the fact that only she and Kyoko are alive, Yui suspects the unconscious girl of killing them. Her suspicions deepen when she spots the key for Yui's handcuffs in Kyoko's grip.
Kyoko awakens at the sound of the handcuffs click, and after spotting the clippers, slowly reaches out for them. Yui quickly handcuffs Kyoko's left hand to a chair, afraid of what Kyoko would do with the clippers and confronts Kyoko on her suspicions of her being the murderer. Kyoko denies killing anyone and begins recalling of what she remembers from before the current situation: All five of them were alive and chatting in the hall when a white smoke fills the room. Everyone apart from Kyoko drops to the ground unconscious, and she quickly pretends to be knocked out to see how the events proceed. However, the murderer comes up behind Kyoko and places a cloth drenched in a chemical to make sure she was knocked out for sure. Kyoko recalls how she gripped the culprit's hand before blacking out, which was a mans hand, and concludes that Yui being the murderer was out of the question.
Yui then ties Kyoko's other hand to the chair with her hair ribbon and continues to investigate her surroundings to make sure no one else apart from her and Kyoko were in the room.
Yui thinks through the details of the murder and how they resemble a black letter which was delivered to her a few days ago. Kyoko asks to read it, which Yui complies with, and announces that this wasn't a normal murder scene, but instead, they were pawns in a game.
==Duel Noir 1==
This chapter is the only chapter written from the criminal’s point of view. The unnamed criminal is in the hospital waiting room, waiting to receive painkillers because his leg hurts. An old man sitting next to him strikes up a conversation, hinting that he knows more about Unnamed than he ought to. Unnamed thinks that the old man is part of some religious cult or the press, but the old man gives him his business card which reads “Victims Catharsis Committee — Tokichiro Endo.” Tokichiro wants Unnamed to think of the Committee as a non-profit organization that has no connections with the government. Unnamed scoffs, thinking they’re probably like a religious cult anyway — they get close to victims with promises then ask for a ton of money.
Just as Unnamed is about to leave, Tokichiro asks him, “Don’t you want revenge?”
It seems that five years ago, Unnamed was living an average proper life with a proper job, until everything was taken from him. Unnamed was living in a neighborhood where arson occurred continuously, with no one able to catch the arsonist. One day, Unnamed too got caught in the fire along with his wife and two-year-old son. While they all came out with heavy burns, he was the only one to survive. A detective eventually caught on that the arson was made in locations that formed a star on a map, and easily deducted that it was the work of an astrologist who lived in the center of that “star.” However, when the detective came down upon the astrologist’s residence, the astrologist had already burned to death and the case was wrapped up as an arson-ending-in-suicide.
Unnamed had let his hate grow since the time of his accident, because he wanted to take it out on the criminal, but with the astrologist dead, he didn't know where to vent his hatred at anymore. Because of his physical state, he lost his job and now spends his life on government funds. Here he was filled with hatred, disgust at how his life was like now, as well as a strong desire to start a new life. And here was an old man who said he would be able to give him the very things he wanted — revenge and a new life. Unnamed decides to hear Tokichiro out.
Tokichiro tells him that the real criminal is still at large. But before he is to tell Unnamed who that criminal is, Unnamed is to accept certain conditions first. Unnamed suspects money, but Tokichiro says that the condition is that he must exact his revenge on the real criminal and kill him. “Revenge” is what their Committee calls “Catharsis.” To achieve this catharsis, Unnamed must have “determination” to kill, the “money” to kill, and the “technique” to kill. But since many people, including Unnamed, are amateurs when it comes to technique, the Committee will formulate the perfect murder scenario for him for a fee. Unnamed scoffs and goes to leave again, thinking that this is some elaborate story to get money out of him, but Tokichiro says that the Committee will gather up funds for him and thus Tokichiro will not have to pay anything.
The reason for this, Tokichiro says, is because there are certain people in the world who love to gamble — not on horses, but on people with revenge in their hearts who strive to get away with the perfect crime. When the Committee recruits promising people like Unnamed, they get sponsors who provide for the funds for the “catharsis” process. For the Committee to formulate a plan for Unnamed, he would use his funds to buy “cards” from them that contain the various elements that become his murder plan. These “cards” are particularly pricey — for example, in a previous murder plan the Committee formed for someone else, the card for “metal bat” was worth 300,000 yen. Unnamed wonders who the heck would pay 300,000 yen for a metal bat that they could just buy in any sports store, but Tokichiro says that that is because this metal bat is worth that price. This metal bat would not have any lingering hints attached to it, such as the make or origin that it can be traced to, security cameras in the store that could catch you buying this bat, etc. All for the perfect crime.
However, with every gamble there must be a thrill. And so, after the Committee forms the “deck” of cards that make up the murder plan, they will also choose a detective to be assigned to this case whose rank is the equivalent to the total cost of that “deck.” By having a detective, the Committee believes that this will lead to a most pure form of “catharsis.” Unnamed is to send a letter of challenge to the detective who is assigned, exact his revenge, and then avoid being caught by the detective for 168 hours. If he succeeds, the total cost that made up his “deck” will be given to him to use freely. They would even erase his past history so that he can start a new life. However, he must not kill or even as much scratch the detective assigned to him (anyone else is fine), and if he loses, his connection with the Committee is severed for good. He will be treated as a common criminal and he must pay the funds that were provided for him. Since Unnamed obviously can’t pay them back, Tokichiro implies that he then best be prepared to kill himself.
Unnamed knows that Tokichiro is baiting him, because after all this explanation, Tokichiro will absolutely not tell Unnamed the real criminal’s name until he accepts. To add more incentive, Tokichiro says that so far the detectives have only achieved a 28% success. The plans that the Committee formulate are that perfect. Tokichiro can see that Unnamed is ready to make his decision, but suggests that Unnamed think about it for another night.
===Sirius Astronomical Observatory Murder Case 2===
Yui tells that she is a high school girl, who goes to an all-girls school. It’s a really well-known mission school for rich girls, except the religious part of the school has died down quite a lot. Although working part-time is forbidden in the school, she petitioned to be a detective which the headmaster Sister agreed to joyously because the Sister saw being a detective as “volunteer work.” Yui is the only detective in the school. She also lived in the school campus dormitory, ever since she entered this school. After some description, Yui mentions that she noticed the black envelope in her post box on the winter of her first year in high school, in December. So far Yui has received 2 love letters in her all-girls school, one of which she has turned down and the other she didn't know who was from.
The black envelope contains the black letter, along with another letter written by “Ooe Yoshizono ” who says that he is speaking on behalf of his client. He wants her to meet at Hatesaki station on December 22nd, 3pm to be picked up, so that she receive an interview with his client at Sirius A.O. and, upon his approval, become privy to details of his very important case. Yui looks up information on Sirius A.O. online but finds limited information.
Yui takes absence from school and arrives at Hatesaki station. At this point is when the snowstorm is slowly beginning to fall. Because the station is pretty empty, she learns quickly that the other people who gradually join her at the station are other detectives who have also been called to this case. They are Eigo, Shita and Kō.
Yui, judging from Kō’s looks, thinks that he is a poor drunk but changes her mind when Kō deducts her lifestyle simply by taking a look at her. Despite his love for drink, Kō is a keen detective.
Arriving on the dot of the appointed time at the station, last of all, is Kyoko. The other detectives are surprised that such a young girl is part of their team, with Yui being probably the most surprised because Kyoko is wearing her school’s uniform. Her school also has a middle school section, and Kyoko is wearing the uniform for 7th graders. Yui has never heard of a detective in their middle school. She talks a bit with Kyoko as they are driven to Sirius, learning that Kyoko is a new transfer student who just entered her school.
The driver drops them off a bit away from Sirius O.A., telling them that his orders were that he drop them off there and they are to walk the rest of the way. Along the way, Kyoko and Yui talk some more. Kyoko thinks something is wrong and suggests to Yui that they leave, but seeing the three men walking ahead in front of them, she whispers “can’t leave them to die” and decides to stay on board.
From here they reach Sirius and investigate the building and its furnishings. The detectives investigate the place while waiting for their client to come, who doesn't appear. Eigo thinks they should leave, but Kō thinks this is part of the interview and says they should wait it out. They all pick a room in the observatory to stay the night, with each person more or less with or without a change of clothes, when white smoke fills the hall and Yui falls to the floor unconscious, leading to the current situation.
==Duel Noir 2==
===Sirius Astronomical Observatory Murder Case 3===
This chapter is a continuation of chapter 1, with Yui still not believing that Kyoko isn’t the murderer. While Kyoko is tied to the chair, Yui investigates in Kyoko’s place, doing as she instructs until Yui is basically the “helper” reporting to the “all-mighty princess detective” sitting in her chair. Through her investigations, Yui learns that the corpses of the three bodies are actually cut into smaller pieces— the arms and legs are cut into three pieces, with all body parts rearranged.
In this chapter we first hear something about Hope's Peak Academy. There is a moment when Yui jumps up to the roof to investigate, showing off amazing jump power that even surprises Kyoko. Yui says that she set records with her perpendicular jumps, and if she had gone into a sport or competition of some kind, she could have been able to get into Hope's Peak Academy. However, since she chose to become a detective, which doesn’t involve that much jumping, she is not a Hope's Peak student.
Through Kyoko’s deductions, they get down to the conclusion that Yui is put up to play the role as detective, while Kyoko was set up to play the role of the murderer, by the real murderer. Therefore, if neither Yui or Kyoko are the murderer, the real murderer had to have been one of the three dead men. Yui says that isn’t possible, but with Kyoko’s thought process, they conclude that another man — someone who looked exactly like one of the three men they’d seen — was murdered beforehand and cut into smaller parts for easy transportation. Then when the murderer killed the other two men, he could use these smaller body parts he’d transported to succeed with the three-body crime.
However, there is no place in the building for the criminal to hide. Yui has searched everywhere, and even when the rest of the detectives were alive, they had searched the building thoroughly to find no place for a full-bodied man to hide in. So, Kyoko suggests, what if it isn’t a full-bodied man?
To prove her point, she asks Yui to trust her and untie the ribbon around her right hand. Yui does so, because a part of her can’t really believe that such a small child can be the murderer. Kyoko, still sitting with her left arm chained, takes a bottle of whisky from Kō’s bag and pours it over her legs. Then she takes a lighter from Eigo’s bag and holds it up, saying that she will light herself up in five seconds unless the murderer reveal himself. Yui thinks she’s gone nuts, but Kyoko tells her to be quiet and counts down. Just as she reaches to one, a man’s voice calls out “I’ve lost” and Kyoko, standing up, tells him to come out from there. A man, who looks very much like Shita, comes out from inside the small easy chair. Both of his legs are amputated from the thighs down because he lost them in a fire. But they still hurt.
==Duel Noir 3==
The real murderer’s name is Tadashi Asakura. He is holding a knife, which he kept at Kyoko’s back the whole time in case something went wrong and he had to kill her straightaway. Tadashi asks Kyoko when she first noticed that the chair she was sitting in was hiding him, and she says that it was part of her analysis from the very beginning. Since Tadashi’s lost the game now though, he’s pretty much given up on any hope and reveals to Yui and Kyoko what he knows about the Committee. It’s his way of getting back at them, with the hope that the two can end their game and stop other people like him from going down this path.
Tadashi had chosen Detective Shita through the Detective Library because they looked so much alike, calling him out with the same letter he’d given the other detectives but with an earlier time so that he could kill him before the other detectives arrived. Tadashi uses prosthetic legs to get around, which Kyoko noticed when they were walking to Sirius but made no connection with the murder at first. Tadashi killed Kō, who was the real criminal in the arson case — Kō was a detective who committed the very crimes that he later solved so he could increase his rank. This shocks Yui very much because she has the image that detectives should be honorable and defenders of justice. Eigo he killed to complete his murder scenario. He chose Kyoko as his scapegoat because he thought she would be the most useless one of the bunch, but it turns out that this was his fatal error.
Police sirens are heard, and the police arrive to collect Tadashi. However, when Yui and Kyoko turn around next, the police that they thought had surrounded the building are nowhere to be seen. One hour later, the real police arrive and Yui and Kyoko are driven back home. The police that had arrived first had been working for the Committee.
Later on that day, Yui hears on the news that a black car was found crashed from sliding down the side of the mountain road. The man inside died from severe injuries due to the crash, and the police wrapped it up as an accident. The man is identified as Tadashi Asakura.
===Normal Days===
Normality returns to Yui’s life despite such a severe murder case. Kyoko attends school like normal, and Yui corners Kyoko to set up a date at the Detective Library. From their talk with Tadashi, Yui is interested in finding out more secrets on the Committee and thinks looking up info at the library will be a good start.
Yui’s impression of Kyoko has greatly improved since the first time they met, and Yui thinks of Kyoko as really cute and admirable.
At the library, they learn that they have increased in rank, with Yui now rank 7 and Kyoko also rank 7. Kyoko states here that she aims to be zero-class, if she is to be acknowledged as a detective, and in order to raise in rank, she will have to solve four more cases similar to the Sirius one. But waiting around for these cases to fall into their laps isn’t going to happen, which means she will have to actively find these cases. To do this, she investigates detectives that are of triple-zero-class with not much case history, meaning that they must have solved Committee murders to achieve such rank, but doesn’t find much info she can use, so she moves on to the double-zero class. Even then, the two don’t find much info, so they write a note to the detectives, saying that they wish to know more about the “Victims Catharsis Committee, please contact Yui Samidare.”
While they wait for someone to contact them, Yui learns a little more about Kyoko. She was born into a family of detectives and is raised by her grandfather; according to Kyoko, she has no father or mother. Yui calls Kyoko’s residence to ask her to meet her at the school on Christmas at 7pm (Yui stays in the dorms for the winter holiday, saying she has a reason for not going back home).
Yui takes Kyoko to the school rooftop, showing her a brilliant sight of the campus. There, Yui reveals to Kyoko that she lost her younger sister when she was young. Her younger sister was kidnapped and killed, and it is still an unsolved murder case. This became Yui’s reason for wanting to become a detective. Yui feels that being a detective is her duty because Yui could have been the one who was kidnapped instead, since she and her sister looked so alike. Yui feels that she sometimes is unable to see her reason for continuing to be a detective, but seeing Kyoko and how she acts inspires her. Yui tells Kyoko that if, one day, Kyoko is also troubled like her over her reason for being a detective, then Yui wants Kyoko to stay her true, pure self.
Yui gives Kyoko a present, Rose In Vitro, which Kyoko is very pleased with. Kyoko asks Yui if she sees Kyoko as a replacement to her sister, which Yui denies. Kyoko is Kyoko, and no one can replace her dead sister, Yui says. While Yui is grateful to Kyoko, Kyoko also says that she is grateful to Yui for believing in her during that murder.
The two shake hands when Yui’s phone goes off. Yui answers it to hear Wagner’s Die Walküre playing on the other end, including a live trumpet. A helicopter arrives above them, where this song is being played. A man’s voice on the other end tells Yui “Merry Christmas,” and the owner of this voice jumps out of the helicopter onto the rooftop they are on. Yui recognizes him as Suisei Nanamura, whose ID number is 900. A double-zero class in 9 distinction is pretty rare.
Yui guesses that this has to do with the Committee, and Suisei agrees, taking out a black envelope from his inner suit pocket. Suisei invites them to join him, which the two agree.
The book ends with another black letter, this time addressed to Suisei Nanamura. Because this Duel Noir comes at such a high cost, Suisei says it is a sign from the murderer that they fully intend on winning.
==Volume 2==
===Daily Life===
Immediately after his arrival by helicopter, Suisei takes the girls to the top-floor restaurant of a really fancy hotel. The cost of being on that floor for one night is 74,450,000 yen. Suisei takes a look at Yui and estimates the value of her glasses, coat, and shoes, telling her that by knowing the value of what a person wears, they know that person’s true nature. He is able to determine that there is a tragedy in Yui’s back story from how she has good quality shoes that support her leg power but is a detective instead of an athlete. 
Suisei invites them to dinner while they discuss the case. He puts a Santa hat on Kyoko for no reason, which Yui lets slide because it’s cute. Plates and plates of food appear before Suisei, disappearing rather quickly. This is Suisei’s fifth Duel Noir, which he credits to bad luck. Normally, not many detectives know about Duel Noir or the Committee.
Suisei tells the girls that the Duel Noir is broadcasted to its viewers as a “closed circuit” event, where people watch the events unfold while drinking and eating. While he doesn’t know specifically who those people are, they are very rich people— to view the closed circuit, he says, one needs to pay a sum that’s enough to build 10,000 schools in a developing country.
Suisei asks them why they are chasing after the Committee. Yui says she can’t let evil run free, but Kyoko says she doesn’t really care because she is only interested in being recognized for her detective abilities… although she does admit to feeling frustrated about being used by the Committee. Yui indignantly asks Kyoko if she doesn’t have a will of her own, if she is a mere doll who doesn’t make a move unless she is requested to by a client. Kyoko appears angry at this, and tells Yui that a detective who acts without representing a client is only doing it out of ego.
Suisei breaks up their argument and says that while a detective is not to act on their own impulses, a detective without a policy cannot be trusted. In that way, the two girls balance each other out.
Suisei tells them what he knows. So far, there are an xx number of detectives (a double digit number) who have gone missing during their investigations of the Committee. He says that the Committee actually has an office in a building, where people can freely walk in and out. To the public eye, they are an open, non-profit volunteer organization. But no matter how deep you dig, none of the slime about them pops up. Suisei says that a detective investigating the Committee has told him that the Committee has a true purpose that isn’t just about putting on a murder show for rich people. However, that detective has been missing since, and Suisei does not know if the detective was gotten rid of because they came too close to the Committee’s secret.
Suisei asks Yui if she thinks the Committee is evil— the people that are targeted were murderers, and they run free without being punished, while those who’ve lost everything are forced to go back to living proper lives. To those wretched people, what the Committee offers is indeed catharsis because it fits their idea of getting back at their wrongdoers and fixing this unfair world. Yui wonders if that is the Committee’s true purpose, to be a necessary evil.
Yui upholds her sense of justice. She says borrowing the power of an evil organization to change one’s life is selfish. No matter what despair there is, it’s meaningless if it isn’t conquered on your own.
Yui asks Suisei if he considers the Duel Noir murderers as victims who are to be pitied and Suisei says that he doesn't care about that. He exists to solve the mystery that lays out in front of him, not to care about its people.
Suisei tells them that the Committee is led by one person, called the chairman. They could be male or female. The chairman founded the Committee 10 years ago and it has been active since. Kyoko asks if the chairman is possibly a former detective. The Duel Noirs involve unsolved cases, or cases that did not accuse the real criminal. The Committee finds the real criminal which the police wasn’t able to, and makes them the target of the game— this takes deductive skills that only a detective possesses. And it would have to be a rather high-ranking detective. Kyoko says that, among the four detectives of the 000 class, one had deleted his record from the DSC. That person is the most likely suspect of being the chairman. 
Suisei applauds Kyoko, thanking her for explaining that thought process so that he doesn’t have to. He thinks highly of Kyoko's fast deductive skills, saying they are as fast as his, and he’s glad that there's someone around who can keep up with his brain. He doesn’t know the identity of the detective who erased his file from the register, because when Suisei first registered for the DSC, that detective's file was there no longer. The only people who would know that person’s identity would be the three other detectives who share the 000 class, or the founders of the DSC— that person was also apparently involved in the founding of the DSC as well. Yui remembers that Kyoko’s grandfather was one of the founding members and wonders if he is the nefarious chairman.
Suisei says that despite knowing that much, there is nothing he can do against the Committee because it is all conjecture. Even making a protest against the 000 class cannot be done because the abilities of the 000 class are so vast that one cannot compensate for them with time, money, and talent. If any of the detectives of the 000 class were to “fall from grace” and become criminals, they would need a national level of security to confront them. Yui is awed because if a detective of Suisei's rank easily admits to his loss against the 000 class, they must be highly formidable. The closest the three can get to the Committee is by capturing the Duel Noir criminal and getting info from them.
Suisei puts on a rucksack that a waiter hands to him, and explains that he wants the girls to join him on his Duel Noir. Except this time, since they are not the detectives assigned to it, it's very possible that they will be killed. Yui agrees readily to help him, while Kyoko gives Yui a look but agrees as well. The Norman's Hotel where the Duel Noir will take place is a dilapidated hotel deep in the mountains and far from civilization. They will be setting out for it the day after tomorrow because Suisei has something to do tomorrow that he cannot get out of. He doesn't think letting a day pass by will be a handicap. Then he opens a window of that top-floor restaurant and jumps out, bidding them good luck. The rucksack he had on is a parachute.
Yui and Kyoko continue their dinner. Kyoko says she won't die easily, and Yui says of course she won't, silently adding to herself that Yui will protect her if that time comes. She doesn't say this out loud because she doesn't want Kyoko to think that Yui is seeing her dead sister in Kyoko. Also, Yui isn’t confident that the ghost of her sister doesn’t haunt her, because somewhere in her heart, she still feels a desperate need to atone and save the girl she couldn’t save.
A waiter goes to them with the check for the dinner— 62248 yen. Suisei hadn’t paid for them. Kyoko takes out her credit card and puts it all on the card, while Yui looks at her in awe.
Yui insists on walking Kyoko back home since it’s late, which Kyoko says she doesn’t need. She demonstrates this when Yui pretends to attack her from behind and Kyoko twists Yui’s left arm in a self-defense move. Yui says she wants to walk Kyoko home anyway because she wants to talk more with her. Kyoko wordlessly starts walking away at this, and Yui takes this as an invitation to walk beside her.
Yui asks Kyoko if it’s possible for the Committee chairman to be Kyoko’s grandfather, but Kyoko says that it isn’t because her grandfather has never registered in the DSC. If he’s never registered, then he’d never have an account to delete in the first place. Her grandfather is very proud of the Kirigiri name, and detests the idea of detectives raising their rank. He was the only one in his group against the establishment of the DSC. Also, since her grandfather mainly lives overseas and deals with people from various countries, Kyoko says that the Committee is probably a small-scale organization of one country in his eyes.
Yui thinks about how incredible the Kirigiri blood must be, judging from Kyoko. But since none of the detectives they’ve met reacted to the name Kirigiri, Yui thinks that the Kirigiri detectives must act behind the shadows, without bringing attention to themselves. She wonders to herself why Kyoko’s grandfather allowed Kyoko to register for the DSC if he himself was so against it.
They arrive at Kyoko’s residence, and Kyoko sighs that she is past her curfew because walking with Yui had slowed her pace. Yui offers to explain to Kyoko’s guardian, which Kyoko accepts, saying that would be a big help. They walk onto the mansion grounds. Kyoko lives here with only her grandfather and three housekeepers. She started living here the past 2 months; before that, she had been traveling overseas with her grandfather for the past 5 years. But since she had no choice out of attending Japan’s compulsory education, she came back alone.
Kyoko tells Yui to wait outside while she gets her grandfather. Yui tells Kyoko to take off the Santa hat first, which Kyoko had never noticed she was wearing. As Yui waits, it begins to snow. She thinks that Kyoko must be very close to her grandfather because she seemed really upset about breaking curfew. Meeting Kyoko has lightened the loneliness and nihilism that Yui feels as a detective, and she tries to imagine the two of them being together still next year. All she can imagine is pitch-black darkness.
A voice cries out from above her, “Are you the fiend trying to seduce my Kyoko!?” and she sees an old man wearing a haori. The old man jumps down behind her and hits her knees with his cane and pushes her shoulder down so that Yui ends up lying on the concrete. His cane is about to come down on her head when Kyoko cries out “No, grandfather, it’s not her! She’s female!” Kyoko’s grandfather pulls away the cane, peers into Yui’s face, and even gropes her chest to see for himself that Yui is indeed female. He got the wrong idea because he had heard that Kyoko was eating dinner with a man.
Kyoko’s grandfather is described as having glossy silver hair and appearing young. He does not have deep wrinkles, and his body isn’t bent, his back is straight. His eyes have a bright twinkle in them. While he held a cane in his right hand, it didn’t appear as if he had it because he needed support but rather because he used it as a weapon.
Yui explains to Kyoko’s grandfather that she came home late because they were discussing a case, and to please excuse her for breaking curfew. Kyoko’s grandfather says “Screw the curfew! If it involves detective work, I will allow Kyoko anything.” He tells Yui that being detective is the infallible thing one must do as a Kirigiri. Even if they’re faced with the death of a family member, a Kirigiri must prioritize their role as a detective.
While Yui still has Kyoko’s grandfather there, she asks his permission that Kyoko leave home for a few nights to deal with the Duel Noir, which he readily gives. Yui is rather surprised by this, since surely he must know that dealing with a Duel Noir means danger for his beloved granddaughter. She wonders if she should ask him questions about the Committee but he disappears back into the mansion before she can.
Before going inside herself, Kyoko asks Yui if what her grandfather said earlier is strange, if it is strange to prioritize detective work even if it involves the death of a family member. Yui says she considers it strict rather than strange, since it must show how much dedication the Kirigiri family has to being a detective. However, Kyoko says that isn’t what it really means. What it really means is that, for a Kirigiri, their work as a detective is far more important than the death of a family member. This is a doctrine that must be adhered to, as if like a religion. Kyoko asks Yui again if she thinks that is strange, and Yui says it’s not very normal, but she still thinks it’s amazing because it shows how much pride they have in their abilities. Kyoko keeps pressing Yui, asking if it isn’t normal, and Yui wonders if Kyoko is feeling doubts about what she’s been taught as a Kirigiri. Yui asks Kyoko what she thinks, and Kyoko says that she doesn’t think of it as strange at all… but that could only be because she’s convinced herself that it isn’t. Because if she doesn’t think that way, she would end up empty inside.
Yui hugs Kyoko, reassuring her that as long as Yui is around, she won’t let her feel that emptiness. She tells Kyoko that she’s fine just the way she is. They say goodbye, and Yui walks back to her dorm amid the falling snow, well past her own curfew.
===Castling (The Detectives Enter the Castle)===
Norman's Hotel is a gothic-styled hotel that was open for business 20 years ago. However, it only ran fruitfully for 5 years before it began to earn a bad reputation— for some reason, it became a place where people committed suicide. However, it wasn’t until a certain murder incident that the hotel was forced to close down completely. One night, a man staying at the hotel suddenly ran screaming from his room carrying a large hammer and broke into the other guests’ rooms, killing them in their sleep. He killed thirteen people in one night and was arrested the next day. When questioned by the police, the man said that someone was peering at him from inside the wall and had tried to strangle him when he screamed. So he fought back in self-defense. As he killed the thirteen people, he had apparently been imagining that it was “that someone inside the wall.” Because of this murder incident, the hotel shut down and it lay abandoned for the past 15 years.
Suisei timed their arrival at the hotel so that the Duel Noir has 120 hours remaining. He reminds the girls of his nickname “Allegro Agitato,” meaning “furious and swift.” He got the nickname because of how fast he is able to solve cases. Yui is honestly looking forward to seeing him work.
As they walk towards the hotel, they come upon a sign that says “Welcome to Norman's Hotel. We will cater to your every desire.” Someone had crossed out part of the word “desire” so that instead it read, “We will cater to your every despair.” The same thing happened in their last Duel Noir, and Kyoko wonders if it is meant to be a sign that the Committee’s game is taking place… or if it’s by someone just fooling around.
When the three reach the front door of the hotel, they open the thick double doors to find a small room inside with another set of double doors. They open this to enter the hotel lobby, which is as wide as a gymnasium. There is a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, red carpeted floors, and a sofa with table on one side of the lobby 15 meters away from them. For a hotel that looks run down on the outside, the lobby didn’t look pretty bad.
As they step into the lobby, an old man wearing a tuxedo and standing next to the sofa shouts at them. “Wait, wait, hold that door open!” They turn around to find the door closed… and locked. It doesn’t have a keyhole, instead having locked automatically. They are unable to open the door from inside the lobby.
There are seven people around the sofa, and they had been locked in this place since yesterday. The seven there begin to stir because the arrival of Yui and the others have brought the total number of people to ten, and after asking if there is a detective among Yui and co., they say “Finally, it’s about to begin!”
Yui is confused by their behavior until the old man in the tuxedo gives Yui a letter in blood-red ink that was addressed to the group, which says,
“To everyone participating in this auction, First of all, thank you for participating. What we have for auction are the likes of which you have and will never see again. But before this auction is to begin, two conditions must be fulfilled. One, that there are 10 people participating and, Two, one of those ten must be a detective. Once those conditions are met, the auction will begin on that day at 6pm. For those of you who have arrived early, please wait in the lobby in the meantime. Signed, Ercassam Auction.”
Yui is perplexed. Apparently the other seven were invited to this hotel to participate in a secret auction. The old man in the tuxedo pulls out a familiar black envelope containing his invitation, which Yui reads.
“Monsieur Mitsuru Toyano’oh, you are invited to attend the Ercassam Auction. We await your arrival at the appointed time and place.
Date: December 26th, 5PM Place: Norman's Hotel Dress code: Formal”
Because the auction is expected to prolong at most for 7 days, please bring necessities for your stay. Accommodations will be free. Signed, Ercassam Auction.”
Even Yui, who is bad at English, recognizes that Ercassam is Massacre spelled backwards. Mitsuru splutters, saying that Ercassam is the name of a famous auctioneer. Mitsuru says that he was invited to the auction by an Ercassam representative while he was attending a small-scale auction. The others began to realize it was a trick (some like Mitsuru are still in denial) when not only was the door locked on them, the windows were also covered shut by shutters. There are four doors in the lobby, but all are locked. They say they tried, since yesterday, every method they could think of to escape. Suisei thoughtfully lifts up the table, then slams it through the wall to see if they could escape that way, but the insides of the wall are made of concrete. Cell phones are also not in service because, they surmise, there is jamming equipment preventing them from getting signal. The group decides to go around with introductions in the meanwhile.
Yuzen Minase (age 25, freelancer) says his family was once nobles who owned lots of land, but now they’re landlords of a rundown condo. His noble blood urges him to make himself a name again, but for now he’s living on part-time work and allowance. He earns small change by selling stuff on net auction, which is where one of his dealings told him about this auction and invited him.
Mitsuru Toyano'oh (age 59, escape artist) introduces himself as Seiunsai (the name Mitsuru is his real name, while Seiunsai is his stage name), and as an escape magician whose skills rival that of Houdini.
Akio Chage (age 42, occult researcher) introduces himself as a man who knows “just a bit” on the conspiracies of the world. One night, he snapped photos of a UFO on the top of a building— he says it wasn’t his first time seeing a UFO, but it was his first time getting good pictures of it— and while he was wondering what publishing company to send them to, the Men In Black arrived, confiscated his camera, and instead gave him an invitation to this auction. Akio also wore a baseball outfit to the auction because that is his idea of formal wear.
Meruko Mifune (age 22, former psychic girl) came to this auction because her hobby is collecting vacuum tubes and she heard that she could get a special one at this auction. Akio reveals that he’s heard about Meruko; she was a famous psychic girl in the past, who as a child was able to bend spoons with her mind. She was famous for about half a year before the mass media brought her down as a faker. Yui asks her if she can still bend spoons, to which Meruko feels that, yes, she thinks she can. She takes out a spoon from her travel bag, but nothing happens to it.
Mikado Shinsen (30s? business employee) appears to Yui to be the most sane person of the lot so far. He speaks calmly, politely, in a way that shows both naivety and intelligence. However, the wrinkles on his forehead also appear to Yui as if he has the most secrets. While Mikado has no interest in auctions, he has the ability to sense impending death and death that had already occurred, and by feeling that from this hotel, he happened to step inside out of curiosity and got swept up into this whole affair. Yui is unable to brush him off because Kyoko is able to sense that as well; she calls it “hearing the reaper’s footsteps” while in Mikado’s case, he sees it like a dark, dark shadow. Yui also thinks his senses are correct because, while they don’t know it, they are involved in a Duel Noir.
Sae Yozuru (age 21, recently bereaved) is draped over the sofa, appearing to be asleep. She is wearing mourning attire. Mikado speaks to her, telling her it's her turn to introduce herself. Sae first says she wants to die, then explains that her husband passed away the other day and an invitation to this auction was one of the things he had left behind. Sae came to this auction because she wanted to know what her stoic husband was after. While Sae appears to drift back to sleep, Yui notices slash scars on Saes wrists peeking out from beneath her mourning suit and feels that they speak a lot about Sae's untold story.
Taehime Uozumi (age 20, maid) is the seventh and last of the unfamiliar group, dressed as a maid. She has a husky voice. Taehime says that she was employed by the auctioneer to serve the other guests food and clean their rooms, although she is also allowed to participate in the auction.
After first asking Suisei's permission, Yui introduces herself and tells the group that they are detectives who have come to capture a criminal, leaving out details about the Duel Noir and the Committee. Instead, she tells them that they received a notice that a murder was about to take place between the space of today and New Year's day.
When Kyoko is introduced, Yui insists to the doubting group that Kyoko is a prestigious detective but Kyoko reminds her that they are simply a middle schooler and high schooler in this case. If there is a detective the others can rely on, it would be Suisei Nanamura.
Suisei takes this opportunity to snap his fingers in the air and introduce himself grandly. No one questions Suisei's dependability, and Yuzen asks him what they should do. Suisei says they will wait until 6PM comes around and see what this auction is about.
Emergency rations of a week's worth are prepared for the group. Kyoko decides there is nothing else she can do and sits on the floor and waits, but Yui is restless and takes a look around the lobby. The locked doors are so sturdy, it would take an axe or a hammer to break them open. She sees a panel of the hotel layout at the front desk.
Norman's Hotel 5F — Observatory room 4F — Rooms 401-412 3F — Rooms 301-312 2F — Rooms 201-212 1F — Lobby, Front desk, Dining hall
Since they can’t leave the lobby though, she can’t explore them.
A small office room for staff is behind the front desk, containing nothing but a small office desk. There is another door inside, which Yui opens to find a bathroom. Yui is about to step back out when someone pushes her into the bathroom from behind, locking the door behind them. Warning Yui to keep her voice down, Taehime takes out a card from her apron pocket and shows it to Yui.
Turns out that Taehime is also a detective, although the rest don’t know that. She’s here on an undercover operation, and wearing the maid outfit because it was supplied here, not because she likes it. Yui asks her if she’s here about the Duel Noir but Taehime has never heard of such a thing. Taehime specializes in cases that deal with counterfeits, and she has been after Seiunsai for the past few months. Although Seiunsai appears to be an agreeable old man, he is a con artist who has tricked loads of money out of many people by selling counterfeits. When Taehime heard he would be in this auction, she contacted the auctioneer so that she could join undercover as a maid. But she didn't expect the auction itself to be a trap.
Yui tells Taehime about the Duel Noir, since they're fellow detectives, and Taehime thinks it's possible that Seiunsai is the culprit. In any event, she had grabbed Yui aside because she wanted her to know not to touch Seiunsai since he was her case. Yui promises, and they shake on it, promising to share relevant info with each other.
Yui returns to where Kyoko is sitting and doesn't tell her about Taehime, at least not yet, since she is undercover. They wait for 6PM to come.
===Paint It Black (The Black Death of the Detective)===
Yui spends the time reading a mystery novel she brought along. Suisei sits in quiet thought with his legs crossed, not moving a muscle. Seiunsai, Yuzen, Akio, and Meruko loudly play cards, while Mikado reads a complicated-looking book. Sae is still draped over the sofa, looking asleep and muttering to herself from time to time. Taehime moves about busily around the front desk, pretending to be her role as maid.
When 6PM comes around, a door clicks open. Suisei opens it. Inside they find what appears to be a dining hall. There is a long table with a white tablecloth at the center of the room, five chairs on each side. There are plates, forks, and knives set at each place on the table. The room has a high ceiling, with a balcony that circles all around the room so that people can walk up the stairs to it and view the dining hall below. All of the windows are locked down so they cannot see outside. There is no one inside the room.
Entering the dining hall, they notice two strange things. On the left side of the room is an electronic billboard counting down in red numbers. Currently, the numbers say 111:57:48, with the 48 counting down to 47… 46… Yui understands immediately that it's counting down the hours left of the Duel Noir. Next to the billboard is a booth the size of a telephone booth. There is a door in the front of it for people to enter it. Further along the wall, past the booth, is a fireplace. There is wood in it, and appears ready to light at any time.
A mechanized voice suddenly speaks up, as if broadcasted through the entire hotel. “Welcome, all who have gathered here.” Yuzen cries out, “Who are you?” and the voice replies, “I'm right here, look up!” They look up at the balcony, where there is a portrait of a young Caucasian male with brown hair. It's a portrait but the boy's mouth moves. In that mechanized voice, he says, “Hey there, I'm Norman. I'm a serial killer who died half a century ago.” Yui thinks that she must be dreaming, but Suisei had gone up the balcony at some point and was already investigating the portrait. He says that it isn’t a portrait at all, but an LCD screen put into a decorative frame. The screen is running an animation whose mouth movement goes along with the voice so that it appears to be talking.
Norman tells them that they must be anxious to start the auction and, ignoring their questions, tells them to take their seats at the table so that he can begin explaining. When everyone is seated, he first tells everyone to empty their pockets and put all the cash they have on the table. Any money they carry will not be eligible for the auction. Sae looks mournfully at the money, saying that if she doesn’t have money, she feels her desire to die grow greater. Norman tells them to body check their neighbors as well so that no one cheats and hides money on their person. He orders Taehime to collect all of the money on the table and throw it into the fireplace. She hesitates a bit, but does as she’s told. Then Norman, to cries of outrage, tells her to take the matches from the mantlepiece and light the fireplace. Norman tells them not to fret, and to stretch their legs under the table. There they find heavy knapsacks, which they pull out. Each knapsack contains 100,000,000 yen. Uozumi confirms that they are authentic.
Norman tells them that this money is a present from him, which they can use freely for the auction. Sae suddenly showers Norman with praise, and she wants to live again and remarry and have children. Mikado wonders what sort of auction it must be, for this large amount of money to be provided for them.
Norman tells them that until the timer on the electronic billboard reaches zero, they will be holding an auction every day at 6PM. Since the time limit of the Duel Noir is until January 1st at 10AM, that means the auction will be held five times at most. No one will be able to leave the auction house until the auction is over. Also, there will be only one item, the same item, put up for sale at each auction. That way, if they miss buying it at one auction, they would have the chance to get it next auction. That item is “the Right of Detective”— the right for whoever has it to be detective.
The group is confused, while Suisei and Kyoko immediately look at Norman suspiciously. Norman’s face changes into a hideous expression and he reveals that there is a serial killer hiding inside the auction house. By the way, it isn’t Norman. After all, he’s dead. When night comes, that serial killer will kill one person per night. However, that serial killer has a weakness, and that weakness is the detective. The serial killer cannot kill the detective and they cannot kill in front of the detective in order to keep their identity secret.
Yuzen and Meruko are still confused, but the rest seem to have got it. Whoever wins the Right of Detective in the auction gets to be safe from the serial killer for the night. Yui proposes to the group that whoever gets the Right that night can gather everyone and protect them all so they won’t be killed, but everyone is skeptical. Mikado says, apologetically, that they’ve only just met and he can’t be sure that Yui would protect him properly if, for instance, she was Detective for the night. She could double-cross him. Being Detective themselves would be the safest choice.
Norman recaps on the rules of the auction:
Rule 1 The “Right of Detective” will be put up for sale at every auction.
Rule 2 The serial killer will kill one person each night. However, they cannot kill whoever has the “Right of Detective.” Also, they cannot kill in front of the person that has “Right of Detective.”
Rule 3 The “Right of Detective” is only effective until the next auction.
Suisei speaks up at this point and asks Norman to guarantee to them that the rules will not be changed later on. Norman does not respond. Yuzen yells at Norman to answer them, but Suisei interjects and says he understood. Suisei says that he thinks this criminal will not go back on their rules since the preparations for all of this was done so meticulously. They would be wanting to enjoy this game and not do anything to ruin it.
Norman speaks again, telling them the schedule for each day.
7:00 AM Wake up 6:00 PM Auction 10:00 PM Sleep
He says that the dinner they will have tonight is the only one that will be prepared for them. Starting tomorrow, they are responsible for feeding themselves. While rooms are prepared for the guests, their rooms will be locked from 10PM to 7AM the next day. The 10PM time is a curfew, so they must be inside their rooms by then. If they do not follow this curfew, they will be penalized by no longer being able to participate in the auction. Their room doors can only be opened by whoever has the “Right of Detective”… and by the serial killer, who has a master key. The Detective must also follow the curfew and be in their room at 10, or else they will lose their privilege. However, having a curfew does not mean that they have to stay in their rooms until the next day. After 10PM, the Detective can leave their room and get the others out of their rooms.
The last thing Norman tells them is that whoever is still alive when the timer strikes zero can take home the money they have. So, if a person decides not to spend any money on the auction and is able to survive for the next 110 hours, they can take the entire knapsack with them. Norman recaps the rest of the rules:
Rule 4 Guest rooms are locked from 10PM to 4AM. Everyone must be in their rooms by 10PM.
Rule 5 The serial killer has a master key. Whoever earns “Right of Detective” will also possess a master key.
Rule 6 If you survive, all of the money that you have left is yours.
The auction will be processed by private bids inside the booth. No one will know how much each person bid until after everyone is done. Since the money they have comes in 1,000,000 bills, that would be the smallest amount they could bid. Once they make their bid, the money that they’ve bid will not return. When someone enters the booth, the next person has 10 minutes to enter the booth and make their bid, otherwise the auction will close automatically. Yui thinks that this rule is set in place so that if one person enters the booth, that leaves the others no choice but to also enter.
Having at last explained everything, Norman suggests that they have dinner first before beginning the auction. As he’d said before, this dinner will be prepared for them. He tells Taehime to step up in front of him. Warily, Taehime walks up the balcony to stand in front of the portrait. In a flash, Norman’s face changes into the evil look of a serial killer and a gunshot rings out. Taehime seems to falter, and there is another gunshot. Taehime stumbles backwards, over the balcony railing onto the table below. She lands on top of her own knapsack, as her seat was the one closest to the portrait. There are bloodstains over her apron where she was shot twice and her face is pale. Yui is about to reach for her when Taehime suddenly bursts into flame.
Suisei cries out for them to extinguish the flames but only he, Yui, and Kyoko do so with their coats. They’re too late to save Taehime, and Norman says “Tonight’s menu is a fully roasted maid.” Norman had sacrificed the maid to show the others that this auction wasn’t a joke. Also, her death does not count for the night because “she wasn’t killed, she was cooked.” Since the dead cannot participate in the auction, their money will also be confiscated and he orders one of them to throw her knapsack into the fireplace so there won’t be cheating— not that it would make any difference since she had landed on her knapsack when she’d burned so there was nothing left. With the participants suddenly reduced from 10 to 9, they begin the auction.
==Prior to the Tragedy==
Even though her family kept their talent out of the spotlight, Kyoko publicly touted her abilities so that the Hope's Peak recruiters would notice her. She attended Hope's Peak Academy's Class 78th as the Ultimate Detective.
==Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School - Despair Arc==
===Episode 01 - Hello Again, Hope's Peak Academy===
A picture of a young Kyoko and her father, Jin can be seen on his table in the Principal's Office.
===Episode 05 - The Beginning of the End===
Kyoko's picture can be briefly seen on the pile of student registration forms that her father places on his desk, along with Kiyotaka Ishimaru, Celestia Ludenberg, and Aoi Asahina.
===Episode 11 - Goodbye, Hope's Peak Academy===
Kyoko is seen briefly in the episode, picking out some tools with Aoi as the rest of the students of the Class 78th continue sealing the old school building, which is later used by Junko where the Killing School Life occurred.
==Danganronpa Zero==
===Volume 1===
====Chapters 13-15====
While attending Hope's Peak, Kyoko did investigations for her father and the Hope's Peak Academy Steering Committee. She tried to investigate Izuru Kamukura and The Tragedy of Hope's Peak Academy.
One night, a month after the incident, she plans on meeting one of the Steering Committee's members on the school's eastern quarter's courtyard to ask him questions directly. When she first contacted the man, he coldly refused to meet her, insisting that it wasn’t necessary. But once she'd procured documents concerning shady deals in his past, she found him much more open to the suggestion.
The man is late for a few minutes. As he is annoyingly about to ask why Kyoko called him, he is suddenly crushed and hit directly on the head by a falling school desk, killing him. Then, several more desks fall down, hiding the body. Kyoko notices a human figure standing atop the school building. It was Mukuro Ikusaba disguised as Junko, though Kyoko cannot tell. She tries to target Kyoko as well, but she avoids the attack and goes inside the building. She can't find the culprit and soon the body disappears as well. She decides to call her father and then goes to see him to tell him what happened. They talk about Izuru Kamukura and she tells her father to warn the Steering Committee. As Kyoko leaves, Jin tells her to be careful.
===Volume 2===
====Chapters 8-9====
Kyoko enters Yasuke Matsuda's Neuroscience Laboratory, looking for him. However, she only finds Ryoko Otonashi sleeping on the bed. She understands she is the amnesiac person of the rumors who have received treatment in the lab.
Kyoko investigates the room and finds a hidden storage space under the bed. She finds clothes that belonged to a deceased Steering Committee member, and she immediately understands that Yasuke is connected to the murders. She is also suspicious of him considering the murder of Sōshun Murasame.
Kyoko's investigation is interrupted when Ryoko wakes up on the bed above her. Ryoko hears the detective under the bed, assuming that she is Yasuke. Kyoko gets up and mentions that the rumors seem to be true. Ryoko doesn't understand what she means and Kyoko clarifies that Ryoko must be the amnesiac who has been having treatments. Kyoko introduces herself and when she mentions Yasuke, Ryoko asks her where he is, but she doesn't know.
Kyoko says she is looking for Yasuke as well, as she needs some information. Since Ryoko assumed Kyoko was Yasuke at first, the detective asks if he has a habit of being under the bed. Ryoko answers honestly that Yasuke told her it helps him concentrate when he is frustrated, but Kyoko says this is certainly a lie. She shows Ryoko that the bed is actually hiding a secret room. She tells Ryoko that she believes Yasuke is involved in the murder of the Steering Committee members. Ryoko tells her he would never kill anyone, but Kyoko answers she said he was involved, not that he has murdered. She then mentions the murder of Soshun Muramase, which was disguised as a suicide. Kyoko says that most likely Yasuke murdered Soshun. Hearing this makes Ryoko feel intense anxiety and she doesn't understand anything anymore. Ryoko starts to scream that it has nothing to do with her.
Suddenly, one of the Yosshiki Madarai breaks through the door.
====Chapter 10====
The fourth brother Yosshiki confronts Ryoko and Kyoko in Yasuke's lab. Ryoko is confused about how many times she's seen Madarai get beaten up, and Yosshiki claims once again that he, "Isshiki", is immortal. However, Kyoko calls out that Isshiki Madarai's "immortality" is apparently just a ruse, much to Yosshiki's surprise. The Brothers then choose to reveal their secret when the fifth Brother Sasshiki appears. Kyoko speaks of how the Madarai Brothers really look just like one, and the sixth Brother Rosshiki soon appears to outnumber and beat up Ryoko and Kyoko.
Ryoko is pushed out of the lab into the hallway and she is pursued by four of the Brothers, with Rosshiki remained behind in a fight with Kyoko. After Mukuro helps Ryoko, she goes to help Kyoko and kills the last brother.
==During the Tragedy==
Kyoko lived in the Academy for around one year until The Tragedy occurred. During The Tragedy, Jin planned to seal the school building and let the students live in the Academy forever in order to protect them from the destruction. Kyoko and the rest of the class agreed to his plan, and they sealed the building together and lived peacefully inside it for a year without knowing that the Ultimate Despair members were already in their midst.
The true Ultimate Despair took away the Class 78th's school memories so they could participate in the Killing School Life. Unlike the others, Kyoko forgot her talent.
==Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc==
===Prologue - Welcome to Despair===
When Makoto attempted to introduce himself to Kyoko and asked her name, she was very secretive. She didn't reveal her talent, questioning why she should tell him. After Makoto stated she didn't have to reveal anything about herself, she said she won't, thus ending the conversation. Later, when Mondo Owada threatened Monokuma in the gymnasium, Kyoko was the only one who realized that the robotic, plush teddy bear was about to explode and told him to throw it. The Ultimate Biker Gang Leader promptly agreed to Kyoko's suggestion and threw Monokuma, who self-destructed mere moments after. Kyoko had effectively saved Mondo's life.
===Chapter 1 - To Survive===
On her first day of being trapped inside the school with her fellow classmates, and during everyone's initial investigation, Kyoko did not join the others in the dining hall until later than usual, much to Kiyotaka Ishimaru's annoyance. However, everyone grew bewildered when she revealed to have found a map of the school. Kyoko stated that they were indeed locked up inside Hope's Peak Academy, but that it was different in terms of its construction and has had many odd renovations done to it. After Monokuma had presented the first motive to everyone, Kyoko asked him why he would do something like this and what his motive was. Monokuma simply replied with "Despair. That's all".
After Sayaka Maizono was murdered and everyone checked the Monokuma File, Kyoko was one of the few students who did not immediately suspect Makoto. Kyoko investigated the scene of the crime, Makoto's room, and made many important discoveries such as his room being completely free of any hair, as well as the bathroom doorknob hanging off its hinges. When Makoto asked Kyoko about Sayaka's dying message, she told him that if he wanted to be completely convinced about the truth of this case, then he needed to solve the mystery himself, implying that she had already solved the mystery before anyone else had.
During the class trial, Kyoko is the only student who defends Makoto despite all initial evidence of the crime pointing to him. With her assistance, Makoto was successfully able to prove his own innocence. Once everyone had gotten onto the topic of how the killer entered Makoto's room (which the killer believed to be Sayaka's room due to the nameplates being swapped), Kyoko confirmed that Sayaka had lied about being scared and was actually trying to lure someone into the room with every intent to kill them. Makoto was quick to deny this claim, but with a notepad that Kyoko had discovered, she revealed that Sayaka had left a note asking someone to come to the room. Makoto was incredibly saddened to have found out that Sayaka took advantage of his trust and kindheartedness, but Kyoko reassured him and said that it would be over for all of them if they didn't figure out who the real culprit was.
After Kyoko helped everyone deduce Sayaka's dying message, Makoto was able to hone in on Leon Kuwata as the true perpetrator. Despite all of the evidence presented, Leon continued to vehemently deny the claim until Makoto asked to see his toolkit. Kyoko strictly said to Leon that "I lost it" is not an excuse to prove his own innocence at this point. Leon was no longer able to refute and as such, was found guilty of killing The Ultimate Pop Sensation. When Makoto attempted to lunge at Monokuma for driving Sayaka and Leon to commit their crimes, Kyoko stopped him and said that if he wanted to make Sayaka's enemies pay for what they've done, then he should hold off for now. Makoto reluctantly complied and Leon was dragged off to his execution, Kyoko kept a composed face during it while everyone else watched in shock.
After the trial had concluded, Kyoko talked to Makoto and tried to reassure him that even though it is an undeniable fact that Sayaka had betrayed him, it was still possible that her final moments were spent thinking of him due to her leaving her dying message. Makoto replied by saying it's impossible to know for sure and that she may have just been trying to get back at Leon for killing her, but Kyoko believed that deep down, she was uncertain about committing a crime and betraying her friend, calling it ironic. Kyoko went on to state that she believes that Makoto is the kind of person to push past these events and move on, becoming slightly surprised when he stated that he would carry Sayaka and Leon's deaths with him forever. Kyoko looked forward to seeing how he would continue, but then asked how he knew that she wanted to ask him about Sayaka. Makoto jokingly replied with "I'm psychic", stunning her a bit, before going on to say that he just had good intuition.
===Chapter 2 - Boy's Life of Despair===
After the first trial, Monokuma allowed the groups to explore the second floor after he removed the shutters. Kyoko and the others discovered a letter regarding what happening before the Killing School Life began. She also discovered a broken laptop, which was later repaired by Chihiro.
Upon the trial, she was the second person who discovered that Chihiro is actually a male. Knowing this, Kyoko attempted to lure the killer, Mondo, to misspeak. Kyoko's plan succeeded, and finally, the students were able to deduce the killer.
===Chapter 3 - A Next Generation Legend!===
On the next day, after exploring the third floor, Aoi confessed that she discovered Chihiro's ghost- who was later revealed as Alter Ego. Kyoko was the person who told the students to keep Alter Ego's presence a secret since Alter Ego was left by his master, Chihiro, in the bath's locker room which has no surveillance cameras in it. She also forbade anyone to use Alter Ego for their personal gain.
The next morning after Monokuma revealed his third incentive, to give a 10 billion yen cash to whoever manages to graduate, only Sakura, Aoi, Makoto and Kyoko herself attended the usual breakfast in the cafeteria. Feeling strange due to Celestia Ludenberg and Yasuhiro Hagakure's absence, they decided to split up to search for the others to avoid something bad that might happen.
During their search, Kyoko suddenly disappeared when the groups manage to find all the students, including Kiyotaka Ishimaru and Hifumi Yamada's corpses. Later, Kyoko revealed that during her search, she found Hiro in 'Justice Robo' suit inside a locker in the pool, a costume that the students believed to be the culprit behind Kiyotaka and Hifumi's murder.
Much later after the third trial, Kyoko is the person who was trusted by the killer to keep the key for the locker that Alter Ego is in. After the trial ended and the culprit was executed, Makoto asked her where she disappeared to during the search of the missing students. And it's revealed that Kyoko found a secret room in the men's bathroom on the second floor which doesn't have any surveillance cameras inside it.
===Chapter 4 - All●Star●Apologies===
Kyoko, along with Makoto and Aoi didn't receive a letter from Sakura to meet with her. Later, she and Makoto found Aoi screaming and reporting that she saw Sakura sitting silently inside the locked rec room on the third floor. With Makoto's help, they were able to break into the rec room.
But it was too late, Kyoko confirmed that Sakura has already lost her life. Aoi, who was shocked by the fact that her best friend was murdered, decided to call up the others to come to the rec room, leaving Kyoko and Makoto, who already started their investigation. During the investigation, Kyoko found that the shattered Monokuma bottle behind Sakura's death site was heavier than a Monokuma bottle figure. Kyoko believed that Sakura was struck twice in the head based on her wounds, but strangely she and Makoto only found one Monokuma bottle figure.
During the trial, Kyoko and Makoto deduced that Sakura committed suicide to stop the others from fighting. Kyoko then used Sakura's payback and snuck inside the Headmaster's room and stole Monokuma's key that can unlock every room in Hope's Peak Academy. From there, she was the first of the survivors to know about Mukuro Ikusaba, the secret sixteenth student.
===Chapter 5 - 100 Mile Dash; Pain of a Junk Food Junkie===
Byakuya's suspicion regarding how Kyoko's Ultimate Talent was the only one left unknown had come to fruition to which she states 'she can't' answer because she had no memory at all of what she was. Byakuya didn't believe this was the truth and explained they should limit her options until she's willing to talk, by taking her room key. When he thought he had finally convinced her to talk, she handed him her room key with no hesitation, to Byakuya's shock. Kyoko realized that trying to explain her situation earlier would only lead to the same conclusion.
Kyoko later rang Makoto's doorbell during the night and told him to come to the dressing room before rushing off, to which Makoto followed in pursuit. She revealed to him that she has stolen something precious from Monokuma and made sure to state this in a room without surveillance cameras. She explained she used Makoto as a decoy to draw Monokuma to the data center so she could enter the headmaster's room undetected and retrieve the key giving her access to every part of the school that was locked, she also discovered a file revealing Mukuro's existence within the school and concluding her to be the possible mastermind rather than the Headmaster, Jin Kirigiri, who she stated she is sure isn't the mastermind. Her reason for calling on Makoto's help is so he can distract Monokuma yet again so she can find out which door will open with the key she retrieved, he successfully achieved this.
Upon meeting in the dining hall the next morning, they find Kyoko missing and Monokuma was unaware of her whereabouts either. Later that day, Makoto started feeling the effects of a fever and had a strange dream in his sleep but woke up to find a masked stranger, who we later find to be Junko trying to murder him however too heavy to move, he was powerless until Kyoko saved him from danger by fighting back and stood over him before he passed out again, he woke up believing it to be a dream.
A body at the indoor garden on the 5th floor is discovered, and upon Toko triggering the explosion and making the body unrecognizable, with Kyoko missing during the investigation, it is presumed she may be the one dead. She later shows up just before the Class Trial begins and tells Makoto that she was searching the second-floor dorms where there were no surveillance cameras and that she took a brief look at the body before making her way to the elevator.
During the Class Trial, the murder of Mukuro is pinned on Kyoko following evidence of a locker key that was hidden in her room is found, the exact key to a locker which contained blood-stained arrows bunched together used as a weapon to kill Mukuro. But Kyoko made a convincing lie that she couldn't enter her room with her room key because Byakuya had confiscated it. Makoto knew this was a lie because she told him about the key she had found which could open any door in the whole school but he chose not to say anything in order to protect Kyoko and took the blame when they accused him of planting the locker key during the investigation while he and Byakuya searched Kyoko's room.
In a twist of fate Makoto ended up being the one to receive an execution when it was destined for Kyoko, she was choked up, for the first time revealing her frustration and sadness for letting Makoto down.
After dealing with the upset, Kyoko stated to Byakuya that it was the mastermind who was on the back foot, not themselves. She later helped Makoto escape the garbage disposal room, providing him food and water and saying she was atoning for her mistakes for not helping him in the trial when she should've protected him. She then explained why she had to survive the Class Trial since she was the only one to lose her memories of her Ultimate Ability and purpose, the mastermind clearly removed them otherwise she'd interfere with their plan. She expresses how much she trusts Makoto but isn't used to seeking help from others, she then explains her Ultimate Talent and purpose which she's finally remembered, that she's the Ultimate Detective and she came to the school to find the headmaster, Jin, her father. She also explained that the mastermind had to use the trial to kill her because they had to follow their own school rules yet unconventionally tried to kill Makoto, but she states she can hear the God of Death and felt a sense of dread, noticed Makoto's attacker and gave pursuit, before hindering the attackers' actions. She then explains the Mastermind is the 'Other Ultimate Despair' and that that is their 'True enemy' at this point in time.
===Chapter 6 - Ultimate Pain, Ultimate Suffering, Ultimate Despair, Ultimate Execution, Ultimate Death===
Prior to Makoto's miraculous survival and return, Kyoko would begin her retaliation by demanding that Monokuma reopen the trial, to which he gave up and reluctantly agreed. She is then reunited with the other students (who still think that Makoto was responsible for killing Mukuro) while explaining on his behalf that the trial was restarted due to some circumstances (basically thanks to Kyoko's sharp retaliation over Monokuma's taunts).
Throughout the course of the investigation, Kyoko learned that her father is no longer alive in the academy: his remains were put in a gift box by Monokuma in the secret room of the principal's bedroom. Even though she looked unaffected by this revelation, she was clearly shocked by the fact that her father, in fact, never forgot about her and that she was really dear to him, to the point that the password to access the secret room was Kyoko's name and that in that room there was a photo of a smiling Kyoko as a child with her father. Even though she is still upset with her father, she was shocked to the point where she asked Makoto to leave the room, since she needed to be alone for a while to 'collect' her feelings.
As the true perpetrator was revealed as the real Junko Enoshima, Kyoko is shocked by her father's primary reason to cut his ties with her big family and his true motive to build the academy which made her remain silent for the first time.
As Kyoko was motivated by Makoto's words that hope is still alive, Kyoko would rethink about the case which seemingly involved her late father's meaning, indicating that even though their hearts disconnected, she added that if she knew her father well, he would never allow her to sacrifice Makoto just to stay in the school. With her support to Makoto and Byakuya Togami, the students forced Junko onto her knees, executing herself in a special punishment (The Ultimate Punishment); which resulted in her 'death' and the survivors were finally free from the strings of the sadistic game.
===Epilogue - Goodbye Despair Academy===
Considering their torments are finally over, Kyoko wonders if Makoto's faith about hope would maintain pure after the gruesome journey. Before she bid her friends farewell, Kyoko wonders if leaving the school, which she wouldn't miss, would be for better or worst. With that, Kyoko is among the 6 survivors who survived the incident.
==Joining the Future Foundation==
Kyoko and the others survived together in the apocalyptic world until they were found by the Future Foundation. They decided to join the Future Foundation to fight against despair and Future Foundation helped them to recover their school memories. Kyoko was made the head of the 14th division and her duty as the 14th division leader is the protection of victims and to spread the news of the Future Foundation’s activities to the public.
==Danganronpa Gaiden: Killer Killer==
===Chapter 3 - Bessatsu Shounen Zetsubou Magazine===
Kyoko was seen in the explanation of the Tragedy, along with the survivors of the Killing School Life as one of the people integral in stopping the Tragedy's mastermind, Junko Enoshima.
===Chapter 6 - Possibility of Despair===
Kyoko stepped into the room where Misaki and Takumi admitted in the hospital and directly asked Takumi whether he knew about his former middle-school classmate, Shūji Fujigawa. Kyoko left the room and told him to report anything he knew about Shūji after Takumi replied that he didn't know Shūji very well.
==Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair==
===Chapter 6 - This is the End Goodbye Academy of Despair===
Kyoko, Makoto, and Byakuya arrived in the Neo World Program to save the remaining students by activating the Forced Shutdown.
===Epilogue - The Day Before the Future===
After defeating Alter Ego Junko and exiting the Neo World, Kyoko leaves Jabberwock Island with Makoto and Byakuya while Hajime Hinata watches from the island.
==Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School - Future Arc==
Kyoko appears in Danganronpa 3 - Future Arc, along with Makoto, Aoi, and Yasuhiro. Kyoko is the 14th Division's leader and is one of the few people allowed to attend Makoto's trial, thus she gets roped into the "Final Killing Game."
===Episode 01 - Third Time's the Charm===
Kyoko, Aoi, and Yasuhiro were waiting for Makoto's arrival on the Future Foundation's off-shore facility's rooftop. She took Makoto inside the boarding room to attend his trial. However, Kyosuke Munakata immediately ordered Juzo Sakakura to handcuff Makoto without any discussion first. Kyoko began to patronize Juzo as he wounded Makoto and requested to Kyosuke to suspend his trial as he was not in a suitable state for questioning, which Kyosuke agreed to.
Later, Kyoko and Aoi were in the bathroom together. Aoi was upset that they weren't permitted to visit Makoto, and Kyoko simply explained to her that the Future Foundation still suspected them as allies to protect and hide the Remnants of Despair. Kyoko told Aoi to stay away from her Division's problem, but Aoi insisted that she would help her friends in need, making Kyoko smile at her.
As she got out of the bathroom, she encountered Ryota Mitarai in the corridor who was hesitating to enter the boardroom since he was very late. Kyoko and Ryota returned to the boardroom. Soon after, the building was attacked by an unknown enemy. She asked Makoto about the situation and concluded that they had been locked up inside the facility.
Kyoko and the others were unaware that a sleeping gas had been thrown inside the boarding room and rendered them to sleep for some time. When she awoke, she and the others found Monokuma bracelets already set up on their wrist.
Monokuma, who has been resurrected, appeared on the monitor, announcing that he would make the Future Foundation's leaders kill each other. He began the Final Killing Game with Chisa Yukizome's dead body falling from the ceiling.
===Episode 02 - Hang the Witch===
After Monokuma announced the Final Killing Game rules, Kyoko checked her NG Code and was quietly surprised by what was written there. When Usami appeared on Miaya Gekkogahara's computer screen, she explained to Aoi that Miaya was one of the developers of the Neo World Program.
Kyoko examined the boardroom’s door and found that the kunai that Sonosuke Izayoi threw to the door earlier was missing after they drugged to sleep. She was the first person who noticed Daisaku Bandai dying from the lethal poison injection from the bangle. To avoid the NG Code violation, Miaya suggested everyone reveal theirs but Kyoko told her that there might be some people that were prohibited to tell their own NG Code.
When the situation heated up, Kyoko created a diversion using the fire extinguisher so that Makoto could escape from the room. Following her successful attempt, Kyoko went to hide with Kazuo Tengan and Ryota somewhere inside the building.
===Episode 03 - Cruel Violence and Hollow Words===
Kyoko awakened after the sleeping drug's effect wore off. She was a bit skeptical and suspicious of Kazuo's calmness despite the situation hanging around the facility. Kyoko pointed out that the fewer the participants, the higher chance to find the attacker as if they had no intention of winning. The rules are totally disadvantaging the attacker.
Kyoko intended to investigate alone before Ryota wondered why Kyosuke wanted to kill Makoto. He wanted everyone to believe in each other to fight back Monokuma, but when Kyoko asked her to show him his NG Code he refused to show it. She also didn't want anyone to discover her NG Code, saying that it was difficult to trust each other in that situation. Kyoko speculated that the attacker probably incorporated their NG Codes into the rules in order to make everyone realize that. Kyoko was cut off by Makoto via the intercom. She smiled when Makoto revealed his NG Code to everyone.
However, despite knowing Makoto's softness to his Future Foundation allies, Kyoko still worried about him. When Kyosuke went to finish off Makoto, his subordinate Juzo came to attack Kyoko and almost hit her with a chair but she managed to dodge it.
===Episode 04 - Who is a Liar===
Kazuo and Ryota stood up for Kyoko and tried to protect her from Juzo's attack. Juzo knocked Kazuo away by kicking him in the back of the head and went to attack Kyoko with the chair he had previously thrown. Ryota tried to stop him, but Juzo kicked Ryota into Kyoko, and he accidentally injured her ankle when he fell on her. After Kazuo managed to beat Juzo, the three of them tied him to the wall with two loose wires. Soon, she reunited with Aoi and Miaya. The two of them comforted Ryota who blamed himself for hurting Kyoko's legs a while ago.
After hearing Kyosuke's announcement from the intercom to execute Makoto, Kyoko confirmed it as bait for their group. She wanted to negotiate with Kyosuke, but Kazuo offered to do the job. Kyoko decided to return to the boardroom to investigate Chisa and Daisaku's bodies and met with Koichi Kizakura who was already waiting for her. Hearing that he felt safe when he stayed around her, Kyoko slapped Koichi's hands and didn't let him intervene with her job. When Ryota asked her about her opinion of the attacker, Kyoko revealed that she hadn't gathered enough information and guessed that Ryota had already thought about his own opinion.
===Episode 05 - Dreams of Distant Days===
Kyoko finished inspecting Chisa's body and learned a lot of things regarding the attacker. She said to Koichi that she would go to inspect Great Gozu's body to reveal the attacker's method.
===Episode 06 - No Man is an Island===
Kyoko appeared in Makoto's nightmare and apparently died from a stab on her chest with the attacker's signature knife. She came back to alive and scared Makoto until he woke up from his nightmare.
Later, Kyoko alongside Ryota and Koichi woke up inside the room where Great Gozu's body located. She inspected his body for a while and decided to search for the third body. In the hallway, she was annoyed with Koichi's ramble about his hatred towards detectives. Eventually, Kyoko learned that Koichi only joking with her and took his advice to express her feelings more.
Kyoko and Ryota found Sonosuke's dead body with the attacker's signature knife stabbed in his chest. Kyoko confirmed that he was the third victim but Koichi objected him. It turned out that Seiko Kimura's body also found pushed to the wall with blood coming out from her left abdomen. Kyoko took notes before Ruruka called for them from inside the lounge room.
Kyoko and the others moved Sonosuke's body inside the lounge room and did some autopsy on his body. She found a strange white powder on his face and noticed a small amount of blood spotted on his left eye. To support her deduction, she asked Ruruka to stay with her to help her investigation.
===Episode 07 - Ultra Despair Girls===
Kyoko makes a small appearance during the ending scenes after Monaca explains that one of the people who survived 'Big-Sis Junko's Killing Game' will not survive thanks to Makoto's actions. With that being said, Kyosuke is seen walking down a blue-lit hallway, katana in hand and automatically the scene is transported to the library with Kyoko looking up in potential shock at what might be coming her way.
===Episode 08 - Who Killed Cock Robin===
Kyoko continued to investigate Sonosuke's body while Ruruka continuously sought to hinder her findings. Kyoko was surprised to find Koichi is more resourceful than he seems by knowing Sonosuke's trap layout within the library.
Juzo entered a little later and beat everyone in the library down and then focused entirely on Kyoko, seeking to finish off the job he tried to complete earlier. However, Koichi is able to protect her by leading Juzo away, but Ruruka has a plan of her own and blows up the floor using one of Sonosuke's explosives to make sure nobody else finds out the truth about how she murdered Sonosuke and her true intentions.
As Kyoko was falling, Koichi set off his NG code in order to pull her up and used his last amount of strength to push her on to steady ground. Kyoko expressed muted shock as Koichi fell away from her, as she tried to reach out her hand to him, he falls too quickly and she missed her grip.
After these events took place, Ruruka took control of Juzo to try and remove Kyoko and Ryota, but her plan fails and Kyoko, snapping out of shock, explained how Sonosuke's murder took place and the secret door's involvement in the matter. With Juzo and Ruruka occupied the secret doorway, Kyoko and Ryota escape the library in a hurry.
In the ending scene, Ryota asks why Koichi decided to save her. Kyoko explains that she had her suspicions but no solid evidence. She then removes her jacket and states that she is a detective, implying that she still muted her emotions as she always has done.
===Episode 09 - You are My Reason to Die===
Kyoko and Ryota come to halt after escaping the library where Juzo and Ruruka were situated. After catching their breath, Ryota inquires as to whether leaving the exit behind was a good idea, Kyoko admits to him that it was indeed a fraud. She did understand that it led outside the facility but not in the way they would've wanted, beginning to reveal that the building they're in is, in fact, an underwater facility. She explains it would be an easy job to remove them from the room after the first sleep timer and make it look as convincing as possible that they hadn't ever been moved, she reveals her suspicions when Sonosuke's knife that damaged the conference room door is no longer there and the door is left undamaged, leading to the conclusion that if they were underwater, the chances of someone intervening would be slimmer and points towards Kyosuke as the culprit of the Final Killing Game as he was involved in the facility's construction from the very beginning. She concludes that the whole game they've been playing has favored only Kyosuke.
She requests her and Ryota go look for Makoto and the others, to Ryota's displeasure, Kyoko explains Makoto is more than he seems, that he is stronger than anyone, optimistic and cares about his friends. She admits to being worried about him, with the way he puts everyone else's needs over his own, but that she believes in him because of this. As she gets to the climax of her speech, she is cut off as Aoi and Makoto show up behind her, the latter blushing and Kyoko begins to feel flustered herself, coughing as she tries to gain her composure once again.
Kyoko, Makoto, Aoi, and Ryota found themselves later in an unknown room, discussing with each other as they eat and drink. Kyoko begins to inquire if Byakuya is on his way, but Makoto is still worried about the idea that someone may die because of him, explaining that Munakata believes his words have no power. Kyoko removes the glove from her left hand, something of which she has never done in front of anyone before unless it was 'someone close', she places her hand upon Makoto's. She tells him the power of his words has become everyone's hope, including her own. Kyoko further explains that they will all be behind him along the way. Kyoko and the rest of them, are later seen examining Kazuo's message of hope left behind after his death.
Before the timer goes off for the fourth time, Makoto, Aoi, and Ryota make sure to barricade the room as Kyoko begins examining her NG code once more. Kyoko tells Makoto to never give up on hope and that whatever happens, she will always be there for him. The sleeping gas kicks in and they all collapse unconscious. Kyoko, the last one to go down, stares at Makoto and smiles before also losing her consciousness.
When they begin to awake, Makoto is confident everyone has survived, until he, Aoi, and Ryota notice that Kyoko is motionless. They quickly approached her and checked her bracelet, specifically her NG Code: 'Passing the Fourth Time Limit With Makoto Naegi Alive'. They conclude that Kyoko is dead and break down into tears. Then Munakata speaks through the intercom in the Monitoring Room, inquiring whether Makoto has learned Kyoko's forbidden action and explaining that this proves further that his platitudes are useless.
===Episode 10 - Death, Destruction, Despair===
Makoto has a flashback of the time Kyoko saved him during the Killing School Life, she dropped down the trash shoot to save him from the trash disposal room and offered him food and drink. She inquired as to whether Makoto ever gave up, to which he replied his optimism is all he has going for him. Kyoko expressed that it was a wonderful thing he has going for him and then smiled in his direction to which he blushed, smiling in return.
The scene was revisited to the point where Kyoko is dead and Makoto, Aoi, and Ryota are gathered around her, tearfully. After Kyosuke explains that Kyoko's NG code proved that Makoto's platitudes are useless, Makoto gathered his composure by remembering Kyoko's words, that she will always be 'by his side'. He wiped the blood of her left eye on his left-hand palm and went to meet with Kyosuke. Makoto explained to Ryota that he has no choice but to meet with Kyosuke and leave Kyoko, because she entrusted her hope to him by letting him live, and he has to fulfill what she believed in.
Later Makoto is able to relate to Kyosuke in their battle by expressing to him that if Kyoko had turned to despair and tried to kill him or he had no choice but to kill her in order to stop her, that he would still be glad to have met her nonetheless.
While Aoi watches over Kyoko's corpse, she finds her notebook, which contains the truth behind the Final Killing Game.
===Episode 11 - All Good Things===
A flashback is shown, revealing the point in time when the Future Foundation observes the end of the Killing School Life. The vault door of Hope's Peak Academy is opened, Kyoko and the remainder of the 78th class survey the despair laying around them, with Kyoko having a muted expression of shock.
After Aoi finds Kyoko's notebook, she shares it with Makoto, Kyosuke, and Ryota. In it, Kyoko explains that the victims committed suicide, and the monitors in the building were somehow related, indicating that the victims watched some type of video. Makoto requested Kyosuke tie him up facing the monitor so he can test Kyoko's theory out himself. When Makoto forced himself to watch the brainwashing video, Kyoko appeared first, alongside Sayaka. She proceeded to taunt Makoto with the former, asking why he is still alive and placed the blame for their deaths on him.
As their deceased classmates appear behind Kyoko and Sayaka, blood starts to flow out of Kyoko's eye, which was how Makoto and the others found her corpse. Makoto picked up a knife to kill himself as Kyoko instructed. She and Sayaka urged him to continue until Juzo quashes their efforts by knocking the knife out of Makoto's hand, effectively wearing off the brainwashing effect.
==Side: Hope - The Academy of Hope and Students of Despair==
Makoto began to reminisce about Kyoko, staring at her blood upon his hand.
On the boat ride home, Mikan Tsumiki held up a drug vial labeled Antagonist, which Nagito Komaeda realized Seiko had made during the killing game. Mikan explained that she had found someone who used the drug to save themselves from the NG Code Poisoning of the bracelets of the Final Killing Game, so she was able to revive them from a near-death state. This is shown to be Kyoko, who left the building alive and unharmed, meeting with Makoto who turned around in surprise.
Several months after the event of the Final Killing Game, the Future Foundation rebuild Hope's Peak Academy. At the end of the scene, Kyoko entered a classroom where Makoto was located, telling him that everyone was waiting for him, the new headmaster of the Academy. It is implied that she helps run Hope's Peak Academy alongside Makoto as a vice principal.
Category:Synopsis