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Kyouya Kirigaya (霧ヶ谷 京夜 Kirigaya Kyoya) is the captain of the 15th Test Platoon, formerly one of the top ranking platoons in the academy before all but two of its members were killed. He is the primary rival of Takeru Kusanagi, as well as being his acquaintance since middle school. He is contracted with Nero.
Appearance[]
Kyouya has spiky neck-length, light-brown hair that shows off his forehead and gold eyes.
His appearance consists of the usual Anti-Magic Academy uniform with the green jacket, pants, straps, and a white undershirt. Befitting his nature, he kept his shirt slightly unbuttoned and never wore a tie. He also had a number of ear ornaments. After his near-fatal encounter with Haunted, Kyouya gained 3 noticeable facials scars with one of them going past his left eye and tailored the five gold stars of his fallen comrades onto his own uniform to never allow himself to forget his failure.
Personality[]
Kyouya was born into a rough family whose rough upbringing molded his near-constant aggressive demeanor. This behavior had him grow close to Takeru during their antagonistic middle school days, but the latter's pacification strained Kyouya's view of him. Kyouya's belligerent attitude followed him through his academy days where he surprisingly proved himself to be a capable and supportive squad leader where he led his platoon to become the Top 3 ranking platoons in the academy. Ikaruga, who has known him since middle-school, surmises that Kyouya's aggression also stems from his determination to escape mediocrity. He; nevertheless, went out of his way to taunt Takeru if given the chance and these bouts were usually calmed down by his childhood friend Yoshimizu.
Kyouya's nature took a turn for the worse when his platoon was wiped out, where the only people he ever cared for was taken from him with him being unable to do anything. His contract with Nero, who fed off of his anger and desire to avenge his comrades, turned him even more aggressive and bloodthirsty than before. His mad quest for vengeance was compounded by his noble desire to sustain Yoshimizu's life, who was survived by a similar looking clone and he sacrificed Nero's healing capabilities in order to keep Yoshimizu alive and endlessly sought after assignments to help fuel Nero's abilities. This fact was constantly reminded to him by Nero who goaded him into anger whenever he started to doubt himself of the deeds he committed to save her. In these rare moments of vulnerability, Kyouya's guilt and loneliness is shown through his immense guilt toward not being able to help his squad members.
Biography[]
History[]
Born into a poor and violent family in a rough part of town, Kyouya was shaped into a natural combatant and joined the Inquisition's Anti-Magic Academy. During his earlier enrollment, he befriended Akira Yoshimizu, Takeru Kusanagi, and to an extent, Ikaruga Suginami. His violent nature had attracted both himself and Takeru to each other where they were acquainted for a while before he severed off his ties with the latter after he became more subdued.
Witches Struggle Arc[]
Kyouya, Yoshimizu, and other three members of the 15th platoon are encountered by Takeru after his own platoon's failure to cooperate in their mock-battle training. Kyouya's attitude was at an all-time low with one of his platoon members was killed in a previous assignment, later revealed to have been killed by Haunted during Mari's initial capture. Kyouya belittles Takeru and his platoon before Yoshimizu jumps in between the two to cease their arguments. Kyouya leads his platoon away, while informing Takeru that they'll see each other again in the 2nd round of the tournament. When the day of the tournament comes, Kyouya goads Takeru into fighting him alone and calls his squadmates to leave the two to their duel. However, silence on the other end of the line has Kyouya suspicious and Haunted's thorns pierce open his stomach, while the rest of the 15th platoon perish, with Yoshimizu in particular erupting with Haunted presenting himself. It is revealed that Yoshimizu was previously killed beforehand and a clone was created of her to allow Haunted to infiltrate the facility. Kyouya sustains more injuries when the coliseum debris crushes his legs. He along with the other survivors were taken to the Seelie Hospital.
Two Alchemists Arc[]
As the events of the Alchemists conflict took place, Kyouya was bound to a wheelchair and visited the only "surviving" member of his platoon, the comatose clone of Yoshimizu, everyday til sunset. With the other members Kitakami Heiji, Ishibashi Shinya, and Mizuhara Ai dead, Kyouya was the only "real" member of the 15th Platoon left and developed an immense sense of guilt and powerlessness for being unable to do anything. When the Alchemists conflict ended, he was visited one day by Sougetsu himself who empathized with the feeling of his losing comrades and offered to help him in seeking vengeance.
Festival of Fools Arc[]
After Mephisto's defeat at the hands of the 35th Platoon, the previously spared Reima was given the order to be executed when Sougetsu returned from his trip to the Alchemists. Kyouya was sent to deal with Reima's crimes with his newly acquired Relic Eater. Reima begged for mercy, but he was eviscerated from point blank range from Nero's gunfire.
Hyakki Yakou Arc[]
Kyouya is briefly seen within the academy by Takeru after the latter exits from the Student Council room. Surprised at how he was unable to find him in the hospital room and how he seems to have regained his legs, Takeru asks what happened to him but is told off by Kyouya, who brands Takeru a "traitor".
Kiseki's escape and subsequent beautification by the 35th Platoon to have her go on a date with Takeru comes to a complete halt when the siblings notice Kyouya standing opposite to them in a busy street. Kyouya scoffs at the two and equips Nero without any hesitation. Takeru becomes confused when he thought he saw the image of Yoshimizu behind him, but met Kyouya in combat with Lapis equipped. The fight comes to an abrupt end when Kurogane Hayato orders for the two to stand down, and Takeru does so while Kyouya attempts to shoot Kiseki, only to have the shot redirected from Kurogane and getting promptly shot in the shoulder, sending him flying. Kyouya soon recovers and joins the EXE unit along with Kurogane to transport Kiseki into her new holding, with the two in particular guarding the van with Kiseki inside, among the numerous decoy transports.
Kanata Oonogi's aircraft comes under attack from "Diluted" while Kyouya and Kurogane's argument comes to an end with the appearance of the three enemy Einherjars. Kyouya was eager to face all three of them while Kurogane advised him to not get ahead of himself and deal with just one. When the fight comes to a close, Kyouya sustained notably more injury then normal, and the two prepared to set off again before Orochi introduced himself. Kurogane ordered for Kyouya to continue the operation while he fought Orochi, and Kyouya heeds his superior's order and drives the truck away.
In the middle of driving, Kyouya soon stops the van to rethink the situation and, but his anger gets the best of him. He enters the back of the truck, unlocks Kiseki's containment cell, and proceeds to shoot her multiple times. Takeru, who had previously just broken out of his prison cell, arrives to find Kiseki's mutilated body and finds Kyouya waiting for him. The two immediately enter combat, and Takeru has immense difficulty in closing in on Kyouya with Nero's shotgun spread hindering his approach. Takeru's multiple attempts in using Soumatou is countered by Kyouya's own bodily augmentations, and he is able to keep up with Takeru's accelerated speed, much to the latter's horror. The fight soon comes to a stalemate when Takeru's sustained injuries were surprisingly less grievous than Kyouya's own self inflicted injuries, with Nero's healing properties given to accelerate Yoshimizu's recovery instead. Kyouya prepared to fight again, but was subdued by Ouka and the rest of the 35th platoon catching up with them.
Crimson Lotus Arc[]
In the time the 35th Platoon was separated, Ouka, Usagi, and Ikaruga were "punished" by being sent to the front lines to recover the Grey City from an invading witch army. Kyouya was assigned to monitor the halved 35th platoon and jumped into combat during Ouka's short fight with a witch utilizing the Compression property. During a campfire that night, Kyouya barged into the platoon's conversation where they were revealing their backgrounds to one another and took particular interest in Ouka's intention to mete out revenge. Kyouya quickly falls into an argument that Ouka should seek out her revenge while the latter wishes to save her vengeance for later in favor of protecting her comrades. Kyouya angrily leaves and is taunted by Nero's human form.
Ouka; however, does eventually decide to confront her source of revenge and Kyouya carves out a path for her while she confronted Laugh Maker alone, where her blind vengeance gets the best of her, and Kyouya ends up saving her while Laugh Maker retreated. However, this costed her as many of her allies were slain when Laugh Maker had sacrificed her own troops to take down the Inquisition's. Ouka drains the blood of the fallen soldiers and Kyouya joins the charge against Laugh Maker and once again, offers to clean up the enemies in their front while they moved around ahead. Ouka extends yet another hand for Kyouya to join them to find a way to save Yoshimizu, but he refuses them, stating that he couldn't think of working together with them and betraying Sougetsu would mean death for not only himself but Yoshimizu as well. Kyouya moves on to face the bulk of enemies alone, while Ouka and the rest of the squadron followed her.
Heretic Alliance Arc[]
Since the 35th Platoon's departure, Yoshimizu's condition worsened, and her body was eventually moved to the Alchemist's First Laboratory after the formal alliance between them and the Inquisition. Suzaku greets his arrival to the facility while he brushed her off and felt anger toward Takeru for sparing Kiseki's life as the latter was currently kept in stasis with a simulated dream to keep her pacified. Kyouya exclusively guarded the room Yoshimizu was in and grieved at his circumstances as his consciousness began to catch up with him. Kyouya's time to think shortens when a homonculus with Hyakki Yakou cells embedded in it lurches into the room, and Kyouya surmises that Kiseki has been awakened. Activating Witch Hunter form, Kyouya shoots down more berserk homonculus outside of the room while the walls begin to be covered by flesh.
Kyouya encounters Takeru in the halls of the laboratory where Takeru deduces that Kyouya was guarding the room Yoshimizu was in. Kyouya once again gets angry and tells him to mind his own business while also insulting Takeru for continuing to think that he could save his sister. Takeru; however, yells that he has a way to save her by transferring her soul into another body and Kyouya begins to deduce the particular Charm required for a soul transfer. Takeru sees a suspicious glint in Kyouya's eyes ad he demands the charm, so he could use it save Yoshimizu, much to his fear. However, Takeru refuses as the two start their rematch. While Takeru was able to hone his skills after training for a brief time with Orochi, Kyouya's experience in combat allowed him to stay in near equal speed, with Kyouya's strength being slightly higher. Kyouya utilized a pair of tonfas to match Takeru in close-combat, and the two prepared to finish each other off on their next hit. Takeru's Soumatou was the deciding factor in reading Kyouya's movements and striking at him first. Kyouya survives the blow and bids Takeru to finish him off, but the situation worsens when Kiseki appears between them and Yoshimizu's holding tank is damaged.
Takeru's fight with Kiseki goes awry as the latter refused to be saved and after the team escape from the First Laboratory, Takeru hands the charm to Kyouya for it to be used on Yoshimizu.
Witch Hunt War Arc[]
To repay his gratitude, Kyouya offers to assist the 35th Platoon in their future endeavors, but stops himself from entering their newly-reconstructed platoon room to tell them after hearings things become too intimate. Kyouya decides to tell them the next day, but the restored Yoshimizu chastises him for not being up front about it. Kyouya brushes the comment off, but Yoshimizu begins to question her condition as a clone and not being the real Yoshimizu that he cherished. Kyouya once again brushes off her identity crisis and assures her that he would protect her without any doubt in his mind. Whether if she was the real one or not, even if there were two of them, he wouldn't hesitate in protecting both.
The next day, Kyouya confronts the 35th Platoon about to head out to retrieve an important document regarding Sougetsu and offers his help. He and Takeru move somewhere else to talk about his change of heart, and Takeru happily agrees to have Kyouya join them. However, in exchange, Takeru requested if he could punch him. Kyouya braces himself for a punch, but still gets flung back a considerable distance. Takeru walks over to him and offers him a hand, and the two agree to help each other. To gain access to a restricted area, Kyouya was given a charm to remodel his facial structure and drove a truck disguised as a baked goods truck to gain admittance. While the soldiers were suspicious, the team is able to safely make it past the blockade and enter their destination. Kyouya offers to stay back and watch the entrance while the rest of the team entered. The situation escalates as Kyouya fends off a large amount of Guillotines by the entrance while the team evade capture from the EXE who were chasing down Kurogane, who was also after the confidential document.
The team is separated from the EXE and became entangled in fighting them off. When Takeru faced off against Kurogane, Kyouya jumps in to assist, and the two attempt to get a clean hit on him while he was unable to shoot his Caligula. Kurogane uses his Maximilian to negate Takeru's attack and strikes Kyouya away. As Kurogane reveals Maximilian's abilities, Kyouya shoots Takeru away from the counterattack and takes the explosion head on. Kyouya survives the explosion, but Takeru continues the fight against Kurogane and is manages to "win" after striking at Kurogane once in a speed not even he could keep up with.
The Heretic Alliance are not given time to rest as Valhalla immediately appear near the Inquisition headquarters and they move out to end the war once and for all. With the path to Mother Goose and Orochi littered with enemies, the team break up into smaller squads to open a path for the 35th Platoon to confront the two. Kyouya himself moves to fight off a horde of Einherjars on his own.
Call of Twilight Arc[]
After fending off the Einherjars, Kyouya tries to navigate the ruined city to regroup with the 35th Platoon and the rest of the alliance. He happens by an occupied shelter filled with civilians and ends up defending it from a large amount of Kiseki's spawns. While exhausting himself, he is reunited with Sage and Yuzuho, with the former creating a barrier that gives Kyouya time to rest. Kyouya mutters that the situation right now wouldn't have happened with Takeru had finished off his sister sooner, but Sage sees it that only Takeru can solve this problem now. Kyouya gets irritated with Sage's positive outlook while the latter gets annoyed with his negativity, but Yuzuho brings both back to face the situation as it is. She bids them to defend her while she constructs a stronger barrier and Kyouya angrily decides to bring out Nero's intrinsic magic that he intended to unveil against Haunted. Kyouya unleashes Nero's ability that assaults the oncoming flesh mass and spawns with infectious poison, halting their advance and canceling their healing growths. Soon after, the exhausted trio continue to hold their position until they witness an entire wave of Kiseki's spawns being annihilated, and Kyouya recognizes the figure that approaches them as Kurogane. Kyouya is commended by the latter for persevering and is asked of Takeru's location.
Promise of Dawn Arc[]
Kyouya appears behind Haunted who was too busy gloating over his victory over Kurogane to notice and prepares Nero to let loose all the anger he has coalesced for his true moment of vengeance. Haunted turns around and fails to recognize who he is while Kurogane gets clear as Nero splits her single-barrel into countless unshapely muzzles. Kyouya lets loose Nero's ability with all of his anguish and vengeance, and reduces Haunted to only a dismembered head who he finishes off with one final volley. His vengeance complete, Kyouya feels an immense burden relieved from his shoulders and looks up to the sky and addresses his fallen comrades that he'd like to join them, but wishes to remain a bit longer since she still has someone to look after. Soon after, Kyouya joins Kurogane on a helicopter where they rejoin the combined allies of the remnants of Valhalla, the Inquisition, and the Heretic Alliance.
Epilogue[]
In the aftermath of the war, both Kyouya and Yoshimizu decide to quit the Inquisition's services and soon get married to each other. Whereas Takeru and his platoon members continued their work in the restored Inquisition, Kyouya finds a profession in baking that stemmed from Yoshimizu's insistent suggestion after hearing how he disguised as a baker on one occasion. After obtaining their license, the two open up a bakery that Ouka frequently visits. Kyouya and Yoshimizu are also frequently visited by Nero, now separated with Kyouya as their contract's specifications were terminated. Yoshimizu asks Ouka if she wanted to see her husband, but Ouka politely declines as Kyouya's nature has only slightly tempered over the years.
Abilities[]
Academy Training- Platoon Leader: Kyouya's rough upbringing molded him into an an effective fighter that led his platoon to become the top 3 ranking platoons in the academy. While not inherently talented, his effort to better himself led to his great growth as a fighter. Although his attitude remained fierce and brutish, he apparently carried some weight as an effective leader that inspired his platoon to follow his lead. This loyalty and responsibility to his team would become his greatest weapon after their deaths and this passion devolved into obsession that kept him alive through the many battles he went through after he was conscripted to the EXE.
- Firearm Training: Like most other students of the academy, Kyouya's main method of combat involved firearms, and Kyouya has been shown using pistols, rifles, and shotguns.
- Close Combat: Before his rematch with Takeru, Kyouya trained himself in close combat to match Takeru's proficiency in close ranged fighting. Utilizing Nero's ability to change her shape, he decided to utilize a pair of tonfas to keep up against Takeru's offensive abilities.
Relic Eater- Nero: Fueled by his burning desire for vengeance, Nero empowers all of Kyouya's faculties when armored by her Witch Hunter armor. This, however, came at the cost of his own well-being as Nero's medium in which she granted Kyouya his augmentations was poison. While originally used to target a witch's mana reserve and forcibly remove it from them, Kyouya mainly utilized the poison on himself to increase his strength and heighten his reflexes, even if it meant severely harming himself. Constant usage of the poison; however, had him eventually develop a slight immunity to it, allowing him to utilize its immense effects for a longer duration. Nero's healing properties were said to be one of the best among the Relic Eaters, but Kyouya had instead wanted it to be used on the comatose Yoshimizu during her treatment. Nero took the shape of a deformed gun barrel merged to the armor's right arm and could change the length and shape of its barrel as well as change its ammunition type for any situation.
Etymology[]
- The name Kyouya means "capital city" (京) (kyou) and "night, evening" (夜) (ya).
- Kyouya's surname Kirigaya means "fog, mist, haze" (霧) (kiri) and "valley" (谷) (ya).