Kayoko Kotohiki

nihongo|Kayoko Kotohiki|琴弾 加代子|"Kotohiki Kayoko" is a character in the novel "Battle Royale", and the film and manga of the same name. In the film she was played by Takayo Mimura.

Kayoko has a blood type of B.

Pre-Program

Kayoko Kotohiki is one of the class of third-year students at the fictional Shiroiwa Junior High School in the fictional town of Shiroiwa (the novel and manga set the town in Kagawa Prefecture, while the film sets the town in Kanagawa Prefecture). Kayoko was a member of the tea ceremony group at her school, but was described as being playful and energetic rather than elegant, which is what would be expected of someone performing in a tea ceremony. She had a huge crush on one of the masters of the tea ceremony, who was also the 19-year-old grandson of the school's headmaster. Kayoko only had two encounters with him. The first was when he took charge at a tea ceremony being held for a government official, when the original master took sick. Afterwards, Kayoko asked if he was okay, and he seemed impressed by her maturity. The second was when he ran into her in the temple gardens, and had a chat with her about tea ceremony.

Kayoko had black shoulder-length hair, which she always held back with a dark blue hair clip when she was dressed in her kimono for tea ceremony, and she never wore make-up. Kayoko had an older sister. Hiroki Sugimura was in love with Kayoko, but she was unaware of this.

In the manga, he first notices Kayoko when he see her taking a flower arranging class in the same building where he practises martial arts. Both Hiroki's sensei and Shinji Mimura notice that Hiroki watches Kayoko after class. In this version, Kayoko and Hiroki meet when she notices him helping a distraught kitten at school. She helps him relieve the cat, and explains that she has three kittens at home. It is revealed that Kayoko had been afraid of Hiroki due to his fighting in the dojo, but she now sees him as a caring and friendly individual.

Kayoko mentions in the manga that her mother was actually her father's mistress. Her father funded for her mother's bar, and Kayoko sometimes worked there as a waitress.

During the Program

Kayoko had spent much of the game hiding, and had, as yet, avoided confrontation. Unbeknownst to her, Hiroki had spent most of the game searching for her to tell her he loved her. When Hiroki eventually found her and approached her, Kayoko panicked, thinking he was trying to kill her. In the film and the novel, she ran away, but when he followed, she turned round and shot him in a panic, with her designated weapon - a Smith & Wesson M59 Automatic (a SIG-Sauer P226 in the movie). As Hiroki died, he told her how he felt about her, and he warned her to run because someone would be attracted to the gunshots. He also gave her instructions of how to meet up with Shuya Nanahara, Noriko Nakagawa, and Shogo Kawada, who he said would help her off the island. However, she was shot dead by Mitsuko Souma shortly after Hiroki's death. Unbeknownst to them, Hiroki's words were overheard by both Mitsuko Souma and Kazuo Kiriyama. In the novel, Kayoko is shot twice in the right temple, while in the film she is shot once through the heart.

In the manga version of the story, Hiroki and Kayoko have quite a different meeting. When they finally meet, Kayoko who had gone a day and a half without seeing anybody else threatens to shoot him but to prove he is a friend Hiroki throws his bag and pole away and then tells her about the kitten incident and explains that he kept the kitten which he named after her flower arrangement, Kayoko goes along with him for a while. The two light the two fires so that the two can meet up with Shuya Nanahara's group. The two sit and talk about things before moving on. Kazuo Kiriyama, now unknown to Kayoko and Hiroki, is hot on their trail and soon catches up with them. Hiroki fights him while Kayoko looks on helplessly. Finally she realises Hiroki needs her help; she then grabs his Colt M1911 and shoots at Kazuo who then attacks her. Hiroki then saves her. Kiriyama fakes his death, he really has a Kevlar vest on. Hiroki uses indirect words to admit he loves her. Kiriyama gets up and fatally shoots them both.