Kudan (DRT)

For other similarly named things see Kudan (Disambiguation)

The **Kudan** is a central character in the Danganronpa: Togami trilogy. With an alias named after a Japanese human/cow hybrid yokai that could predict the future, the Kudan is the Secret to the Togami Family's Prosperity by allegedly holding the power of prophecy that the Togami Corporation utilized. During the World Domination Proclamation, the Kudan was saught after by the Ultimate Imposter and Despair High School by listing Kudan as the 'pitiful cattle' that needed to be found, or 'Byakuya' would conquer the world.

## History

### Mysterious Beginnings

See K2K System and The Truth for more about the true backstory of the Kudan. Below's Prior Life section recounts falsified events and memories:

## Prior Life

It is unknown when or how the Togami Corporation came into contact with the Kudan or how they managed to get the Kudan to join them. It is also unknown if their happened to be other 'Kudans' prior to this one. What is known, is that by befriending Kudan, the Togami Corporation was able to use the prophecies foretold to help keep their conglomerate at the top of power. Records of Kudan's existence were a closely veiled secret that only those at the top of the Togami Family, such as the family head, would have known about.

One of the winners of the Legacy Crown Championship, Tarō Togami, would be renamed by Kudan to Kijō Togami following his victory. She resides on Tōajō Castle - a castle built on the Togami Family's private island and would be the site of vacances amongst those that were to compete for the title of the next heir to the Togami Corporation. However, she would never show herself, opting to keep hiding somewhere in the castle given her existence is supposed to be secret.

## Volume Two

### Legacy Crown Championship

During the latest Championship, Kazuya Togami would be sent into the Togami Family's dungeon after the others were convinced he was the one behind the serial murders of their siblings. This raises the attention of a young woman who stands in front of him, having entered from a secret passage of the cell. She is Kudan the pitiable. However, she also notes such a title is merely a nickname and lists over several other bovine-related names that people call her (though she hates being called Ushionna). She then asks for Kazuya’s name, who said it's fitting for Kijō to give out, and, after asking why Kazuya refers to his father as ‘head of the family’ when questioned of her casualness with Kijō, she reveals that Kijō’s former name was Tarō.

When Kazuya asked if he changed the name, she reveals that she actually ‘changed’ it for him. For Kudan, stealing names is her specialty since the most important thing a human has is their name. However, Kazuya has no idea what she’s talking about. Kudan continues talking about how Kazuya grew up without love and how its pathetic that people like Kazuya would want to conquer the world because they grew up without it. Kazuya says that he was loved, but Kudan points out that he is currently in the dungeon. Kazuya, deciding that he can’t stay quiet, announces that he is the victor.

It was then, as Kazuya stares into the Kudan’s wet, black, eyes does he understand. Her eyes were like a herbivore or, to be specific, a cow’s. Kudan congratulates him for figuring it out and declares that he may be able to learn the Secret of the Togami Family. She then demands his most precious possession: his name. Going along with it, Kudan places a finger on his forehead and declares the deed done (which he feels is rather anti-climatic, but is keen not to say it out loud). From now on, Kazuya is hers and he can no longer call himself that or their deal is void (Kazuya being smitten by someone wanting him as theirs alone).

Now nameless, the boy formerly known as Kazuya asks what to call himself. Kudan lists off some names that she offered Kijō and the boy decides on one that he likes: Byakuya. From there, Kudan addresses Kudan with five predictions: Release is coming. Examine the wall. Be wary of repetition. Shall turn to dust. As a result, Byakuya will be victorious. She says predicting the future is her job, and that carrying them out is 'Byakuya'’s job, noting that it is obvious the boy wanted to rule the world. After that, she leaves the cell.

Later on, due to Takaya Togami's attempting to win by lighting the place on fire to kill his surviving siblings, the castle is destroyed. However, while not seen, Kudan does manage to get out and survive. Her prediction does come true in that Byakuya Togami would be declared winner of the Legacy Crown Championship. However, because 'Byakuya' would consider himself Kazuya during the fire, his deal with Kudan is rendered void and the actual Byakuya would win.

## Volume One

### World Domination Proclamation

The World Domination Proclamation was instigated by Despair High School, as a means of achieving its three objectives. One of these objectives getting rid of the Kudan since they feared it's prohpetic abilities would ruin their plans. Thus, one of the requirements for stopping the Proclamation was capturing the 'pitiful cattle' in the world.

During this Proclamation other rival factions, like the Hasegawa Research Institute, the Ketōin Conglomerate and later Kazuya Togami himself, had joined in the hunt to learn more about and even obtain the Kudan. Though given that all rivals lacked the knowledge of where Kudan was, they tried to go after Byakuya in order to get such information. Whether by befriending Byakuya or trying to force it out of him, the Ultimate Affluent Progeny refused to disclose Kudan's location. Byakuya's only information on that matter was that he sealed Kudan away, his motivation wanting him to resolve challenges through his own power.

## Volume Three

### K2K System and The Truth

 *Main article: Blue Ink*
In truth, following the recent Legacy Crown Championship, the Togami Corporation would come into contact by a man that went by the alias of 'K'. They claimed it was for the creation of a dictionary (but in reality they wanted to learn more about Hope's Peak Bible Plan). K, seeking to hide his new K2K System Story AI from Hope's Peak Academy, agreed to collaborate with the Togami Corporation in the creation of an artificial eye that the system would operate. This eye, later to be called Borges, was inserted into the one named by the K2K System as "Kudan", as a means of erasing her memories and overwriting her personality with that of the 'late' Shinobu Togami (a 'casualty' of the incident during the Championship). Due to the Borges ability to create interference, it fabricated her meeting with Kazuya as apart of larger false memory.
Thus, Kudan was no more and the new life of Byakuya's secretary - Blue Ink - began. By the end of the Proclamation, Blue Ink was captured by Despair High School, with their stated intentions of erasing her memories again in place of a new identity. However, following making her ingest knockout drugs, the fate of the girl known as both Kudan and Blue Ink is left unknown.

## Skills & Abilities

### Prophecy

Kudan holds the ability to see prophesize future events with those who are deemed her 'companion'. In order to become her companion, she first takes the most valuable thing they have: their name. This is done by pressing her fingers against their forehead. Following their name removal, Kudan declares that they have to pick a new name and they can't refer to themselves under their old identity again, lest their deal becomes void.

Kudan's prophecies are given in short, vague, sentences. Following that it's left up to her companion to figure out what they mean. Because of how strong this ability was, Kudan was saught after by rivals of the Togami Corporation. Byakuya Togami resorted to sealing away Kudan via the K2K System as a means of both protecting the world and beating the Togami Corporation's challenge without relying on knowledge of the future.

## Appearance

Kudan is a described as a pale girl with long, black hair and a white dress. Her eyes are described by Kazuya as being wet and black, akin to a cow's.

## Personality

From what is shown with her interaction with Kazuya, Kudan is a reasonably approachable person, willingly going forward to talk with Kazuya even after the latter was sentenced to the dungeon. She's chatty and has a rather informal attitude when addressing people who are supposed to be of high standing, mostly likely due to limited contact with others given her position. Kudan has shown to be rather skilled at reading people, easily able to deduce Kazuya was someone with plans for world domination. She is also rather rude, calling Kazuya pathetic and insulting him by claiming his ignorance was attributed to being unloved. She believes that by taking someone's name, even reality can be replaced by fiction. Once Kazuya figures out she was the Secret to the Togami Family's success, Kudan agrees to make Kazuya her companion. In regards to these companions she considers them 'hers and hers alone', relating them to being her possessions, and they aren't even to take another step without her, showcasing a possessive side. When it comes to her predictions, she's confident that whoever has them can make anything possible.

### Kijō Togami

Kudan, being the secret to the Togami Family's prosperity, was made known to Kijō during his championship stint. She was the one to rename him and gives him prophecies in order to better steer the Corporation. Kudan appears to have a friendly relationship with him and speaks about him with a casual attitude.

### Kazuya Togami aka Orvin Elevator

Kazuya met Kudan when he was sent to the castle's dungeon and was initially skeptical of the strange girl he met. However, upon earning her favor and knowing she was the Secret to the Togami's prosperity, Kudan was more than willing to make Kazuya her companion in return for his name. With the deed done, Kudan notes that Kazuya was now hers alone, and warned him of not breaking his vow, lest their deal becomes void. Upon being 'reborn' as 'Byakuya, it allows Kazuya to face the remainder of the championship with confidence and assurance in his victory (which, ironically, did go to a Byakuya, just not Kazuya). During the Proclamation, Kazuya wished to reunite with Kudan in order to gain back her prophecies. He rationalizes, even if future is bad, Kazuya can still use the predictions to minimize the damage.

### Byakuya Togami

As the next heir to the Togami Corporation, Byakuya is, technically, the current holder of Kudan. However, he had sealed Kudan away upon not wanting others to get to her power and just wanting to face life's challenges by his own means. Even during the World Domination Proclamation, he is adamant about not getting helping from Kudan and considers those that rely on prohpecies to be nothing more than defeatists.

**Pursuers**

### Despair High School

Given the danger Kudan's prophecies held for their plans, the Mastermind behind Despair High School ordered her minions to get rid of Kudan. Thus, this being one of the reasons why they held a World Domination Proclamation. Once in their clutches, the plan was to erase Kudan's memories once more in order to be assigned a new identity, with those that knew of their existence having their memories wiped.

### Hasegawa Research Institute

Given that they are an organization that desired knowledge, the Hasegawa faction joined in the Proclamation in an attempt to acquire the Secret Behind the Togami Family's Prosperity. While they do initially managed to kidnap Byakuya, he refuses to give them anything of note about Kudan's location and the Institute taskforce sent to achieve the organziation's goals would become causalties during the event.

### Hiroyuki Ketōin & Yuika Ketōin

Both Ketōins are apart of an underworld conglomerate that wanted to learn what was Togami Family's secret. In order to do so, they instead aligned under Byakuya, becoming his first allies during the event. However, Byakuya refused to tell them anything about the Kudan.

## Trivia

* Kudan's alias of Subject 938 is a reference to the SCP Foundation.
* Ushionna, the name Kudan takes offense with, comes from a legend post World War 2. This legend states after an air raid a cow woman's body was found in some wreckage. Allegedly, she was spawned from a daughter of a butcher that was only found following the air raid.