Breakdown of Kiyoyuki Irino, Part 4
This should be the final part! I’m glad if you guys all read and enjoyed this.
The first thing he does is check on Miya. He’s awkward and flustered by her every word but he’s sincere and that may end up being the most important thing. He’s trying to be kind without being seen as flirty because he really doesn’t have the confidence to even be flirty. Even saying someone is pretty (outside of his idol persona which has been destroyed anyway) would be enough to make his whole face go red, each word spluttered. He’s actually bad with teenagers and even worse with teenage girls. Without his persona he feels helpless and that’s why his interactions with Miya are often so awkward. But they’re good. And key. Miya brings out some of Kiyoyuki’s better qualities. He is honest to a fault, even, with her. By this point, most of his disguises and mimicry has stopped. That’s why he can tell Miya that he doesn’t feel his crying and sensitive qualities are so bad anymore. Because if he can express them well it means others won’t have to. Or that he can do it on their behalf.
Jiang-li and Kiyoyuki reminisce about the dead and Kiyoyuki again comes to terms with the fact that they were all kids. Just fearful kids. No one here is really evil or bad.
Though... Kiyoyuki is kind but he can’t quite forgive Nana for her actions. Part of it is him taking out frustration on her because he blindly trusted in Kaitaro, Sumiko AND Aiko. He doesn’t want to be naive again so he remains harsh... but Kiyoyuki isn’t very good at being harsh. The words he says are meaner than his intentions. He even says it himself:
“Tell me it’s not stupid to trust you. Swear you’ll never do something like this again or– or– I don’t know… but please help make me believe that we can still do this as a team.”
He really just wants to believe in her. He wants this to hurry up and go away so they can work together. At his heart, he is naive, like it or not. He is a creature made to believe. This isn’t something that goes away with development.
That’s why when the motive rolls out and the video he sees pictures the Gingerbread Man acting shady, Kiyoyuki seeks him out and talks it over. HE doesn’t want to jump to conclusions. And when Gingie calls him out on perhaps favouring Jiang over him Kiyoyuki thinks it over and apologises properly. Because he’s learned to see past appearances, even his own, he tries his best to respect people... and not just respect them, but equally. For a while he’d been hero-worshipping Kyo in the same vein as Tetsuo. It helped that they didn’t talk much so Kiyoyuki could keep the ideal in his head. To Kyo, he acts a bit rigid, again, like with Tetsuo. But it melts away. All of it does.
Since the one that dies is Gingie, Kiyoyuki feels all the more determined to find out who did it. He doesn’t want to have been the one to spread panic and Gingie deserves peace of mind. It’s not just for Gingie; it’s because it’s the right thing to do. At Chapter 4, Kiyoyuki is pretty much fully developed and changed. He searches for the murderer not out of fear, of duty, of some dedication to someone dead or guilt... it is because he is compassionate and he is driven to do the right thing. After Jiang-li is revealed to be the killer, we see Kiyoyuki go through all of his development and thoughts at once. He wonders why he wasn’t the hero he was supposed to be, why the haircut didn’t magically make him capable, why so many people died and why he couldn’t save them. Jiang-li was a good person, more than any other killer he understood Jiang. The lack of self-worth, the fear, the deep sadness... he could never hate her. Again, it wasn’t her fault, but, why, when he had the same problems, was he unable to save her?
In the end, he comes to his own terms. He still doesn’t see himself all that positively. His deep self-loathing and shame have a ways to go even if he’s come a long way. He can’t consider himself a hero or anything good when so many have died... but he also can’t allow himself to wallow in sadness when others are hurting. And he definitely can’t let Monobear get away with this. His assets shine bright once again; Kiyoyuk is kind and he believes in better. Even if it isn’t good now it should be better. And because it should be better, he works to make it so. He will keep the memories of others forever in his heart. By keeping their memories, mimicking their voices and continuing on... Kiyoyuki is in fact, what he always wanted to be. Strong. He doesn’t see it himself but it’s clear.
The interaction with Akihito is riddled with apologies and awkwardness but it shows just how far the two of them have come. In chapter three, there was still a strange distance as they investigated and in four, as Kiyoyuki thinks on his relationships with people and who they really are, he comes to terms with the fact that Akihito is no more evil than anyone else. In fact, they’re pretty similar. They hang out after apologies and Kiyoyuki even demonstrates his Kyo voice. They have finally become friends.
In the final trial we get to see the new and real Kiyoyuki in his full glory. Goofy at times, awkward, but kind. He is determined to get the cure with or without Sumiko. Even as she dies, he can’t find himself quite able to just write her off as a bad person, a villain. He can’t bring himself to believe everything she said and did... that they were all lies. She cared deep down. She wasn’t quite the victim the rest of them were but she was still a person. Still, he’s not going to take her up on some deal, not when he promised the others he’d end this. And there’s no way he’s going to let anyone else die or get hurt. If there’s a cure out there, they’ll surely find it. Because that’s the way things should be, even if they aren’t. And if he believes in something strong enough... it should come true. He wants it to. Maybe that’s illogical but this has become his strong point. Maybe he’s not the smartest, the smoothest or strongest but his heart will always believe. And that’s a powerful thing.
For wrap-up details I’d say Kiyoyuki had the good fortune to be in RRR because most of his interactions were really awesome. The cast bounced off each other so well and it was such a pleasure honestly. The most important interactions I had were with Kaitaro, Miya, Tetsuo, Akihito and Jiang-li. But everyone really helped me with the development and all the characters were so good. It was great for me to see Kiyoyuki go from a shining idol persona to despair to a faked bravery to a real bravery in the end. He’s not perfect even now but he’s so much better than he was and he’ll get even better in the future. It’s likely that after everything that happened in RRR he has a very close bond with all the survivors but I think he would learn to think of Akihito as a best friend, Harper as a friendly rival, Nana as a good friend and Miya as his closest friend and probably crush. Miya provided the first of many things for Kiyoyuki and she actually helped him become brave. I doubt he’d ever do anything big with his feelings since he has no confidence in himself and would botch anything if he even tried. In his mind, despite everything, he is still below Tetsuhiro and more desirable guys in the world even if he has come to terms with some of his negative traits. Still, you never know right?
Also, for Kiyoyuki... he really never would forget those that died. Tetsuo, Jiang-li, Antoinette, Kaitaro and, of course Sumiko, in particular will always be remembered. He may pick up several habits or hobbies thanks to them. And he would always be on the lookout for their friends and family, to see if they’re okay or let them know what happened. Kiyoyuki is a person who doesn’t forget!
If you read all of this, thank you so much, it was fun to write up and Kiyoyuki is probably one of my favourite characters so it really was a pleasure. If you have any questions I’d be happy to answer them and forgive any possibly grammar mistakes or typos, I ended up getting so excited finishing this that I just totally rushed it. I could honestly probably write about Kiyoyuki forever, this was already pretty in-depth but I can always think of other things to say. Once again, thanks to everyone in RRR and anyone who had an interest in this OC!















