Kaoru Sagano

Kaoru Sagano is the older sister of Kota Sagano. Due to the two's mother having died when Kota was young and their father being busy at work, Kaoru has been in charge of raising Kota for the most of his childhood.

## Appearance

Kaoru is a relaitvely tall woman with short hair. She is often seen dressed in somewhat tomboyish and practical clothing, like non-figure-hugging t-shirts and trousers, flannel shirts, etcetera. She is also usually shown wearing her hair in a ponytail, away from her face. Despite the difference in hair colour, Kako notes in her thoughts that Kota and Kaoru "look exactly alike", seemingly referring to their unapproachable looking demeanours, and the fact that both have, for the lack of a better term, resting bitch faces.

## Personality

Kaoru is a very outgoing and outspoken woman, with a tendecy for being a worrywart, a trait that she shares with her brother, and has probably developed due to having been forced into a caretaker role at a very young age. Her caring nature shines through in other aspects of her life as well, such as her career choice (she works as a nurse), the fact that she has decided to live alone and care for the Sagano residence despite it being quite large for one person, and the fact that she still keeps tabs on Kota, despite him being an adult and well capable of taking care of himself.

She is also good with kids, as showcased when she was with young Kota, and later on when she was helping Kota watch over Tsuu-chan.

Kaoru is also shown to be very perceptive, like when she immediately took notice upon Kako's disappointment regarding her and Kota's wedding ceremony (or more so the lack of one), or when she realised how bad Kota's depressive state had become after he met Tee-sensei. Kaoru also seems like the type to act immediately once she notices something is wrong, as seen with how she went about resolving both of the previously mentioned examples: She dragged Kako and Kota to the Oto Wedding Salon to show Kota how eager Kako was to have a ceremony, and did her everything to support Kota when he needed her.

Despite Kaoru's nurturing traits, she is also very easily angered and harsh, especially with Kota. She is shown making quick, negative assumptions on Kota and Kako's relationship (such as when she first assumed Kako was a high school prostitute before finding out that she and Kota are married, or when she assumed that Kota was cheating on Kako with Aya). Her reactions in these instances are often quite violent, as she attempts to punch or kick Kota.
 These instances also expose her being a woman who ultimately follows her morals, and is not afraid to accuse those she assumes are breaking against said morals- Kota being family has little to no meaning to her when she assumes he has hired Kako for sex and when she assumes he is cheating on her. Furthermore, the latter of these two instances exposes how protective of Kako she can be, and she is immediately ready to take her side. This is another trait she shares with Kota, who is also very protective of Kako.

She also seems to have a somewhat vulgar way of speaking.

## Background

Not much has been revealed about Kaoru's background, which has not been in direct relation to Kota's background. Their mother died when Kota was only five years old, leaving Kaoru to be the most active caretaker in his life, as the two's father was rarely home due to his career. Unlike Kota, who felt a betrayal and disappointment in his father's constant abstence, Kaoru did not hold this against him, as she seemed rather understanding of the situation that the family had been thrust in due to her mother's death. This showed a maturity beyond her years already when she was a pre-teen.

Kaoru attended all of Kota's karate competitions, and often filmed them for their father. As a matter of fact, she often taped many other significant and insignificant parts of her and Kota's lives for him, so that he could experience them even without being physically with them. She also forced Kota into taking a selfie with her, which she later sent to Junta so he could have it on the lockscreen of his phone. Like this, she acted as a sort of mediator between the estranged father and son, understanding both of their feelings and trying her best to help the two become close once more.

At some point when Kota was a teenager, he and Kaoru were separatad, as she had gotten a job and Junta had gotten transferred to a different office.This separation did not last long however, as whilst Kota was still in high school, their father died protecting him from getting stabbed. After this incident, Kaoru inherited the Sagano residence from Junta (who, in turn, had inhertied the house from his own late father), and lived there together with Kota. Once he moved away to study she kept living alone in the house.

## Relationships

An in-depth overview of all Kaoru's relationships can be found here.

As Kota's older sister, Kaoru is shown to be very caring, but also blunt and sometimes harsh, especially when she is lecturing him. The two siblings share a close, loving bond and are very supportive of one another.

Kaoru also had a very good relationship with Junta, despite all the complications which his career caused for the family unit after the death of Mrs. Sagano. She was very understanding of the situation her family was in, and did not judge her father for seemingly choosing his work over his children, for Kaoru was aware he had no other choice.

Kaoru is also shown to have a great relationship with Kako, despite the awkward way the two met. She instantly takes a liking to the young girl and how in love she is with Kota, seemingly thinking that her little brother is in good hands despite the couple's large age gap. She is often shown spoiling Kako with old pictures and videos of Kota, and loves watching Kako's reactions to these. Kako sometimes calls her "sister".

## Quotes

(To Kako about Kota) **"[...]I know he can be a pain in the ass, but... ...Take care of Kota, all right? Honestly, he's not that much of a grown up."**

## References

1. ↑ Volume 3, Case. 8, Page 21
2. ↑ Volume 3, Case. 8, Pages 41-42