Kihona Hideyoshi

> If we've learnt one thing being in this game, it's that we can't just grieve. We're forced to move on. And frankly, that's all we can do. Death is just another one of those things.
>
> Kihona Hideyoshi - Danganronpa: Until Proven Guilty

## Personality

Kihona is a calm, kind girl who is notorious for her formality, politeness and generally fabulous etiquette. She is determined to help those she loves with any problems they encounter, which is better aided by her remarkable ability to read others. She has a deep understanding of how people feel, why they feel as such, and why their actions may reflect this. Kihona is also good at making friends and has built a strong trust with the majority of her classmates.

Despite Kihona's best interest to help others, she tends to be very judgemental of others before she has gotten to know them. She recognises patterns in people she has known before, and is very quick to apply them to people if she sees fit. This often leads to breakdowns in communication, and she can come off as rude. As well as this, her upbringing has ingrained her with snobbishness, which she can apply to the people around her. Part of her is still convinced she is better than the 'common person', however she is ashamed of this side of herself.

## Appearance

Kihona has pale, peachy skin and a soft heart-shaped face. Her hair is a delicate strawberry blonde, which is tied in a loose, low ponytail that hangs just shy of her hips. She has straight bangs and thin side pieces that frame her face. She has bright green eyes and wears gentle makeup to enhance her complexion and eyelashes. She is of average height, and has a very slim body, with little weight developed in most areas.

Kihona's attire consists of a plain white dress shirt with a dusky green tie. She wears a snakeskin belt, and a knee length skirt of the same green colour. She wears black socks with her simple black Mary Jane shoes.

## History

Kihona was born into riches, and hasn't really known much of a world outside of her family's wealth. Her father is the CEO of a technology company, previously owned by her grandfather, which makes up the majority of their household income. Her two brothers are promised senior roles in the company once they are of an appropriate age. However, being the only daughter in the family, Kihona was not promised the same, and is expected to marry into a wealthier family. She deeply resents her family for this - particularly her father and older brother, as she also believes them to be pompous, arrogant men. Kihona often contemplates if her father loves his company more than his own children, and is desperate to escape the life she is forced to live. As a result, she applied for a place at Lorem University for the Gifted, much to the reluctance from her family.

Kihona has attended elite private schools throughout her life, thus she has not hadn't had much interaction with those less fortunate than her. Her ignorance was reflected in the way she treated her classmates. She was notorious for teasing, bullying, and excluding those who she saw as 'inferior' to her - such as those granted full scholarships who came from rougher backgrounds. She particularly picked on a young girl who Kihona was rather jealous of for her beautiful hair. The torment Kihona put her through was what brought her toxicity to light for the adults around her, and in 8th grade, Kihona was expelled from private school.

From this point on, Kihona began attending a public school in her area, which sparked a long period of growth for her. After seeing the impact of her previous actions, as well as having an insight into the lives of average people, she became greatly humbled. She now looks back on her old self with great shame, and vows to be as universally kind as possible, no matter what. Despite her best intentions, part of her still holds that tendency to prejudge, and the deeply rooted snobbishness still remains in her mind.

## Relationships

### Haruka Nico

Haruka is the first person who Kihona meets in the Prologue, and the two investigated the campus together. Due to Haruka's clingy, loving nature, she very quickly grows attached to Kihona and even goes so far as to give her the nickname 'Kiki', and labels her as her best friend. Kihona is comfortable spending time with Haruka, despite how overbearing she can be.

After the events of Minato's trial, Haruka is so shocked by the death of her peers, and immediately turns that anger against Kihona. She accuses her of directing the blame onto Jin, and that if she hadn't been there, he would be alive and well. Kihona reminds her that there was no other option in this scenario. The two eventually come to an agreement and they are able to continue being friends as normal.

At the beginning of Chapter Four, Haruka becomes noticeably jealous of Kihona and Mitsuharu's relationship, as it is implied she also has romantic feelings for Kihona. As a result, she becomes quite angry with Kihona. This situation is very quickly resolved, however, as Haruka seems to frantically apologise while the group are spending time at the bar.

However, as Daiki's trial ends, and the group purposefully indicate Kaso as the culprit, Haruka is furious with Kihona. She entirely blames the outcome of the trial on her, and tells Kihona she was wrong for implicating Kaso, as he did not deserve to die in that moment. Despite Kihona's numerous attempts to explain her viewpoint, Haruka ignores her, and refuses to speak to Kihona at all

### Jin Toku

Jin is also one of the first people Kihona encounters as she awakes in Lorem University. He initially comes off as very sleezy, making numerous sexual remarks that make Kihona feel extremely uncomfortable. She's generally unnerved by his disposition, but comments on how she thinks he could be much more than he is, and that he would be an objectively attractive man if he cleaned up a little.

After the group investigation of Lorem campus, Jin pulls Kihona aside and apologises to her for all of his crude remarks. Kihona is taken off guard by this, but seemingly accepts the apology in order to see better in him.

Kihona is heartbroken upon finding out Jin is the Blackened in Minato's trial, as she is astounded that someone she spoke with so regularly could end up being a murderer. She's also disappointed that he never got to demonstrate a more careful man who didn't make so many sexual comments.

### Mitsuharu Tadaka

Mitsuharu and Kihona tend to butt heads at first. Kihona sees him as rude, blunt and overly sarcastic, and disapproves of him not sharing information vital to the trials. Mitsuharu looks down upon her for her overly positive attitude, and thinks she isn't being realistic enough about the situation. In an audio recording she receives as part of the Additional Motive in Chapter Four, Mitsuharu states that she gets on his nerves the most, and thinks she's being dramatic about him withholding evidence.

However, after Minato's trial, Mitsuharu stops Kihona and thanks her for her efforts during the trial. The two take an interest in each other's intelligence, and they agree to cooperate more. After Tory's trial, Kihona confronts Mitsuharu about his constant withholding of evidence. He agrees to trust her more, if only for the sake of the trials.

During The Game in Chapter Three, Kihona and Mitsuharu are allotted time together. She seems to be acting more friendly with him, as they jokingly make fun of each other, and seem to enjoy each other's company more. Over the course of their time together, Kihona becomes more and more flustered, being more eager to sit near him and speak to him. The two have a heart to heart, where Mitsuharu points out Kihona is too determined to impress him, and that he already admires her for her intelligence and care for the other participants. Kihona, at this point, realises she may have feelings for him.

In Chapter Four, Mitsuharu shows Kihona his bedroom, and how it appears to lack the customisation that the other dorms have. The two appear to be tense around each other, and seemingly don't want to part ways.

After Daiki's trial, Mitsuharu comforts Kihona following her fight with Haruka. He reassures her that Kaso's death was not her fault, and brings her into an embrace to comfort her. He vows that the two will leave the killing game together, and that they can live the rest of their lives and forget about everything that happened. The two almost kiss, but are interrupted by sudden neck pain. Kihona then spends the night in Mitsuharu's dorm due to exhaustion.

### Kaso Sukeo

Kihona immediately dislikes Kaso from the moment they meet. She is very disapproving of his sexist comments towards Ayana, and dislikes his intimidating act that he puts on. While Kaso sees sexual appeal in Kihona, he finds her incredibly annoying and makes both crude comments about her body, and remarks about her bitchy personality. Throughout the story, Kihona often proclaims how much she hates him, including his smirk and his cocky attitude.

Kihona briefly encounters Kaso face to face in Chapter Four, where he appears to be storming away from an argument with Ayana and Kohi. She criticises him, and tells him that everyone is sick of his antics.

## Trivia

* In an old beta design, Kihona appears to be wearing trousers. She has also worn shorter pencil skirts as well as a short sleeved shirt and a feathered headpiece in another old design.
* Kihona's birthday is December 22nd, which is the same day as the Chinese Winter Solstice festival (also known as Dongzhi Festival), however this is also celebrated in Japan.
* Kihona has six pomeranian dogs, which is a very expensive and pure breed of dog. They are notorious for puppy farming and are often associated as being 'wealthy' dogs.