Isago Achikita

Isago Achikita [遥北 砂金] Achikita Isago) was a student in Kaeno Shinjomu's Class 2nd, and a participant of the Killing School Ride featured in Kaeno Shinjomu V3. Her title was Ultimate Mythologist (超高校級の「神話学者」 lit. Super High School Level Mythologist).

Early Life
Isago was born to an extremely wealthy family of businesspeople. As a child, she was incredibly naïve and eager to please. She spent most of her time yearning for her parents' praise, which she only got from her mother. Being a starry-eyed child, she believed her parents were infallible and looked up to them greatly. She saw all the money and riches they had, and believed they accomplished this through nobility and intellect. She aspired to be like them, and studied tirelessly in school, hoping to impress them. She never spent much of her time socializing, and was often seen staring longingly at other kids her age. Being an active person, she yearned to play just like everyone else, but decided that her parents' approval was more important. At that point, they were her entire world and all she knew.

When she was 10, Isago's nephew was born. The boy's mother decided she wanted nothing to do with the father, and abandoned the child with him. Isago grew close to the child and took an interest in caring for him, but didn't understand why his mother had run away. In her eyes, her brother was a smart, honest businessman, and there was no reason why anyone would leave him.

When she turned 12, however, she underwent a drastic change. Being curious about her parents' success, Isago decided to try and find out more about how they did it. What she discovered, however, was unpleasant. While she had previously believed her family's wealth was a result of honest and hard work, she now realized that her father was guilty of corruption and embezzlement. For a long time now, he had been getting away with scamming and extorting money from others, and many of his victims had lost everything as a result. Her brother had also been guilty of this, which turned out to be the reason why his wife had left him. Her mother, while she was not directly involved in any of this, had stayed silent the whole time to protect her husband and son. Isago was horrified when she discovered this, and did not take it well. She realized that everything she had believed and looked up to had been a lie, and she responded by shutting herself off from her family completely.

In an attempt to try and distract herself, Isago turned to the world of fiction, and soon found herself enamored by ancient myths and legends. This soon became her escape, and she chose to distract herself from reality by spending her time studying mythology. Believing that reality was nothing more than a web of lies, she chose to ignore it the best she could. At this time, she also discarded her more reserved, studious self, deciding that she no longer needed or wanted her parents' praise. Instead, she went toward the other extreme, adopting a boisterous, carefree and over the top attitude. She made three close friends during this time, all of whom shared her interest in mythology. Together, the four of them decided to hone their talent, and jokingly named themselves 'Supernova'.

When Isago was 13, her older brother, Itsuaki, died in a car accident, leaving his son orphaned. She decided to devote herself further to taking care of him, and spent significant portions of her free time with him. Despite being so young herself, she wanted to take on the responsibility of raising him. This was fueled by her determination not to let him follow in his father's or grandparent's footsteps. She also introduced the child to the rest of Supernova during this time, believing that he needed more than one positive influence in his life.

At the age of 16, Isago travelled to Okinawa with her friends for a few months, where they stayed at a family vacation home belonging to one of her friends. While she was there, she met a girl with a missing eye named Mariko, who would later become the Ultimate Martial Artist. The two met while Isago was out exploring the northern side of the island. They started talking, and it didn't take long for Isago to notice the girl was upset, and seemingly afraid. After learning that Mariko was training at a nearby dojo, she attempted to cheer her up by telling her myths and legends that revolved around ancient warriors and soldiers. The two continued to meet up for several weeks, becoming good friends during this time. Eventually, Mariko ended up confiding in Isago, telling her that she wanted to run away from her home. She revealed that it was her father who injured her eye, and that she was from a family of assassins, and was being coerced into following the same path. Realizing this, Isago decided she wanted to try and help her friend. She continued to try and inspire Mariko with her stories, and assured her that she could help her, and would give her a place to stay if she ran away.

After some convincing, Isago and Mariko formulated a plan. Late one night, Mariko fled from her dojo, and met Isago near a heavily forested area. From there, the two went back to the vacation home. Mariko continued to stay there for a while, welcomed by Isago and her friends. When she moved back to Hokkaido a month later, she invited Mariko to stay with her in her family's mansion. Although her father was not thrilled about it, her mother convinced him to allow her to stay, given how much space they had. The two stayed together for nearly two years, until Mariko was finally able to move to Tokyo, living in a small home of her own. After this, the rest of Isago's life went by rather uneventfully, until the killing game.

Prior to the Second Tragedy
who knows

The Killing School Ride
Isago didn't appear bothered when she first arrived on the train. She took it in her stride and simply chose to explore the train. She missed her friends, but believed she would be home soon, and tried to get to know her classmates in the meantime. She spoke to her roommate, Piper, and the two spent a lot of time together. The mythologist took a liking to her roommate and began considering her a friend, finding her company to be rather amusing. When Monokuma made his appearance, however, Isago grew a little unsettled. Still, she kept up appearances and shrugged it off fairly easily. She refused to face the truth of what was happening, continuing to ignore reality. Instead, she simply told herself that murder was ludicrous and that nothing would happen. When Tenome died, she grew more disturbed, and was a little more calm than usual during the trial.

Afterwards, however, she went back to her normal self. Since she wasn't close to either Ryoushi or Tenome, she was able to push her thoughts to the back of her mind. She kept the 70 day deadline in mind, deciding that she would just wait it out. She believed they'd all be able to go home at the end of it, and that no one had a reason to kill when they knew they'd be able to escape in a matter of weeks. She behaved like her typical self, showing no worry or apprehension, and decided to enjoy herself as much as possible.

All of this changed once the motive video was presented. Unlike most of her classmates, she received her own video, which showed the other three members of Supernova in danger. When she heard the two-day deadline Monokuma had presented, Isago began to panic. She was overcome with the fear of losing her only friends, and was distraught by it. Her worries piled up the more she thought about it, and for once, Isago was forced to confront reality. She knew she could no longer use an escape, and she felt like she was being backed into a corner. Due to her history of distracting herself from the truth, she had no clue how to react or how to make a rational choice when forced to face it. Instead, she resorted to planning a murder.

One afternoon, she poured two glasses of almond milk and left them in the fridge. However, one of the glasses contained cyanide in it. Isago marked the poisoned glass with a piece of red tape, and waited until nighttime. Then, she invited Charles to hang out with her, and told him to sit in the dining car while she got something for him. She pulled the two glasses out of the fridge and peeled off the red tape, letting it fall to the floor. When she went back to the dining car, she fed him the poisoned glass, and Charles died some time afterwards. Isago was riddled with guilt and was in tears by the time this had happened, and hastily wrote a suicide note. The note was meant to be for Charles, but what she ended up with was meant for herself. She wrote in kanji that she would sacrifice herself in order to save her family, referring to her friends. After moving Charles' body to lie on the floor, she covered him with a large bedsheet, as a form of respect. When she was done, she noticed a gold smudge on the surface of the sheet, which came from the gold leaf that she usually carries with her. She contemplated cleaning the smudge, knowing that it would be a damning piece of evidence against her, but decided against it. She worried for Piper, knowing that she would be executed if Isago got away with her crime. She decided that she would rather be responsible for just one death rather than twenty.

During the trial, Isago only made feeble attempts to defend herself from suspicion. Despite having told herself that she'd accepted her fate, a part of her was still terrified to die, which prevented her from admitting her crime at the very start. She got angry at one point during the trial, scolding her classmates for derailing Charles' trial, which would be the first and last time they would see her that way. Her mind was preoccupied with her upcoming execution, and she was distracted most of the time. Even when Aemele revealed that she'd watched Isago and Nikki [redacted], she didn't have too much of a reaction. She felt incredibly guilty when Nikki became a target of suspicion because of her, but had no clue how to respond. What eventually pushed her over the edge was when Piper was mentioned as a possible suspect. Unable to handle the thought of her friend being accused, she admitted to killing Charles. Isago was terrified during the last minutes of her trial, overcome with guilt and fear. Still, she tried to speak with Piper one more time. Her dying words were to advice Piper, telling her to be herself and not to be ashamed of being scared, weak or childish.

Appearance
Isago is of average height and build, at about 5'5. She has unruly, shoulder length hair, which is never quite kept neat. Although it is naturally black, she dyes it a light pink, tinged with a deep purple at the ends. She has pale skin, and vibrant green eyes. Multiple tiny scars are scattered over her arms and her torso, all coming from her misadventures with her friends. However, these are almost always covered up by her clothes.

Isago typically wears a kimono, either blue or black, with gold floral patterns. She despises covered shoes, and is always seen wearing black sandals. Although this is not usually noticed by her classmates, she always carries gold lead tucked into the side of her kimono.

Personality
Isago is a loud, carefree girl. She tends to stick out because of her boisterous nature, and she's known to be very over the top. She's rarely ever seen frowning, and doesn't seem to be fazed by whatever goes on around her. This personality of hers only came to light when she was nearing her teen years. As a child, Isago forced herself to be much more reserved and rigid, refusing to socialize or play. She never really enjoyed it, but believed it was necessary to earn her parents' praise. She was incredibly naïve, and despite never actually winning her father's approval, she continued to yearn for it.

After learning the truth about her family, however, she started to act more like herself. Still, she went above and beyond, as an attempt to compensate for missing out on her childhood. She was always bitter about this and feels resentment toward her parents for it. Isago tends to be rather flighty, and would much rather turn a blind eye to reality than to face it. She has been doing this for a long time with her family, and her tendencies toward escapism are what got her into her talent to begin with. This further shows during most of the killing game, where she continually behaves as though she is unbothered by the situation. She tends to be hotheaded, impulsive and doesn't really trust herself to make good decisions. When the motive videos were presented, Isago was forced to truly accept reality for once in her life, and she could not run away from it this time. She felt backed into a corner, and saw no way out besides murder.

She considers family to be the most important thing in the world, but also believes that one's family is a matter of choice. She considers family to be the people you're closest to and most comfortable confiding in, not necessarily who you're related to. She is extremely devoted to this view, and considers Supernova, along with Ichiro, to be her only family. This intense devotion and the fear of losing the people she holds dear is what eventually drove her to kill.

Although Isago loves to socialize and mingle with others, she is still a generally distrustful person, especially after learning about her parents' secrets. She hates lying and does not like people who are cryptic. Although she is friendly and open with most people, she does not let herself develop any sort of personal attachment to them, due to an underlying fear of betrayal, or of finding out that a loved one is guilty of horrific things.

When it comes to the people she's attached to, she is extremely protective and loving. She would go to great lengths to keep them happy and safe, and is very affectionate. She adores giving people nicknames, and sometimes shows a more subdued, calm version of herself around them. She only truly lowers her guard around these people, and is willing to give them advice when they need it, or even without being asked to.

Ultimate Mythologist
Isago first began studying mythology as an escape. She did not want to face the reality of what her family truly was, and decided to occupy her time by spending time studying and reading mythology. Over time, she met her three friends and formed Supernova. After this, her hobby turned into her passion, and she devoted herself to studying mythology full-time. She loved studying it, and also believed that it gave her insight into how people behaved and thought back then.

Itone Achikita
Isago was very close to her mother, and looked up to her a lot. She always tried to replicate her mother and saw her as the symbol of perfection, eager to obtain her praise. Unlike her husband, Itone was much more liberal with giving compliments and praising her children, which Isago appreciated greatly. She only stuck with Hotaru out of devotion and a blind hope that he will mend his ways, and does not truly approve of his dishonest behavior and corruption. She noticed early on that Isago was simply putting on an act so she could feel loved, and tried to get her to be more open. This was only a partial success, as Isago became more open only around her mother, but still kept up appearances at all other times in a bid to impress her father.

When Isago found out the truth about her family's wealth, she was utterly devastated. She felt betrayed by her mother, unable to believe that she would simply allow Hotaru to carry on with such behavior. She shut herself off completely, but sorely missed her mother's company. This only pushed her further to find an escape, which led her to her talent in mythology. Itone was equally upset by this change, and tried to explain herself to her daughter, but Isago was unwilling to listen. Now that she had learned that she had been lied to, she didn't want to believe anything her parents told her. Despite her anger, Isago remained conflicted about her mother, and often recalled the love she'd received as a child, wishing that things could be the same as before.

Itone truly cares for her children, and hopes that she can make amends with Isago eventually. She is worried for her, knowing that her boisterous nature and lack of a filter could easily get her into trouble. Her fear was only worsened by Itsuaki's death, leaving Isago as her only living child. Isago, on the other hand, refuses to consider her mother to be her family, but feels torn deep down.

Itone's fate during the second tragedy is currently unknown, and she is not aware of her daughter's death.

Hotaru Achikita
Isago was never close to Hotaru, though she still did everything to try and win his approval. She looked up to him the same way she looked up to her mother, and constantly studied to impress him. Unfortunately for her, she never got any compliments from him, and Hotaru never paid much attention to her at all. Although he cares somewhat about his children, he still values his business first and foremost, and often neglected his kids. Isago made up excuses for this as a child, telling herself that he was busy working hard.

However, everything fell apart when she discovered the truth. She began resenting and despising her father, turning away from him and refusing to speak to him. Although she was still somewhat conflicted about her mother, this was not the case with Hotaru. Isago flat out hated him for what he had done, and she had no good memories of him to latch onto like she did with Itone. Hotaru never really cared what his daughter thought about him, and his opinion of her shifted from indifference to dislike after this. He had a strong distaste for her pursuit in mythology, seeing it as a distraction from doing 'proper work'. He also grew to find her extremely irritating when she dropped her façade and began acting like herself. He eventually stopped caring to talk to her, and the two ignore each other.

His fate during the second tragedy is unknown, and he is not aware of his daughter's death.

Itsuaki Achikita
Itsuaki was never close to his younger sister. The two have a sizeable age difference, and he saw her as a nuisance and a pest. Whenever she tried to gain her parents' approval, he would turn a blind eye and refuse to say anything. The two did not have the best relationship growing up, though Isago still saw him as a successful and hard working man. He was often secretive and would turn her down whenever she asked to play with him as a child. She never got to know him well, but was extremely fond of his son. When Isago discovered the truth about her family, her opinion of her brother shifted drastically, and she stopped trying to speak to him. When she dropped her studious façade, he found her extroverted and bold personality to be even more of a nuisance, though she didn't care in the slightest. Despite their strained relationship, Isago was still upset when he died, and was more disappointed than anything.

Ichiro Achikita
Isago dotes on her nephew a lot. Despite the two not having that big of an age difference, she adopted an almost motherly role in looking after him. She's determined to let him grow up into an honest, kind individual, and did her best to minimize the influence his grandparents and father have on him. After Itsuaki's death, she grew even more protective of him, and spent nearly all of her time taking care of him. She even introduced him to the other three members of Supernova, wanting him to have as many positive influences in his life as possible. As a result, the child grew close to Isago's friends as well. She does her best to care for him, and is something of a mother, aunt, older sister and friend all mixed into one. She missed him tremendously when she ended up on the train, but believed that her friends would look after him. When she received the motive video, however, she was incredibly worried. Her friends were in danger, and she feared for her nephew along with them. His fate during the tragedy is currently unknown, and he is not aware of what happened to his aunt.

Piper McCullough
Isago first met Piper when she explored her room, on the first day the group arrived on the train. At first, she was worried she'd be rooming with someone too strict, but her worries quickly dissipated when she met Piper. Isago quickly took a liking to her, enjoying her company. She was a little surprised whenever Piper went back on her words by claiming she wasn't a child, and tried to encourage her to be more open. The two spent the day together, getting to know each other and talking about their talents for a while. She thoroughly enjoyed making chicken pizza with her, despite burning her tongue on a very hot pizza. She felt comfortable around her and was glad that Piper had no issues with her loud, carefree self.

Over time, Isago started getting attached to Piper. Although she didn't show it, she felt a desire to protect her and keep her safe. When the killing game first began, she worried for Piper's safety, but quickly brushed it aside by telling herself nothing would happen, choosing to ignore the situation. When they spent time together, Isago continually attempted to assure her that it was okay to be childish, and to embrace it. Even after the first trial, she hoped to continue talking to Piper and be there for her as much as possible.

When the motive video was presented, however, she instantly began to panic. For a very brief moment, Isago considered choosing Piper as her victim, knowing that her roommate had no reason to suspect her. This thought was quickly abandoned, however, as Isago knew she could not bring herself to harm her. After killing Charles, when Isago noticed the gold smudge that would later be used to condemn her, she chose to leave it there instead of cleaning it. She was thinking of Piper, and knew that she could not allow her to be executed, and instead chose to sacrifice herself during the trial. In the last moments before her execution, Isago tried to focus her thoughts on Piper to distract herself from her own death. She advised her to be herself and not to be ashamed of expressing herself, before being dragged toward her execution.

Over the course of the killing game, Isago grew to see Piper as a close friend, and considered her to be a younger sister. She cares about her a lot, but still feels somewhat sorry for her, and wants to encourage her to be more open. She found Piper's company to be enjoyable, and was grateful to have her as a roommate. In her last moments, she continued to wish her well, and sorely regrets disappointing her by becoming a murderer. She wishes she was able to make amends somehow, and doesn't truly want to leave her behind.

Aemele Dejre
Isago was startled by Aemele when the two first met, though she got accustomed to her quickly. She had no issue with her talent being the Ultimate Stalker, and was instead curious about it. She also did not care that Aemele could be watching her at any moment, believing that she had nothing to hide. She was truly more curious than anything else, seeing Aemele as rather unique compared to her other classmates. She was more than willing to talk about herself when asked, seeing no point in keeping secrets from anyone. She willingly gave Aemele her kimono, ignoring just how creepy anyone else would have found it.

During her trial, Isago was mostly preoccupied with thinking about her own death. Still, when Aemele revealed that she had been watching while Isago and Nikki smashed, she was admittedly a little confused. She wasn't particularly surprised nor did she mind that she was being watched, but due to her other worries during the trial, she didn't know how to respond.

Isago was always intrigued by Aemele, and was interested in getting to know more about her. Although she understood why her fellow classmates were creeped out by her, she herself had no problem with being watched, and some of it even served as an ego boost. Although she didn't get attached to her, Isago does believe that Aemele could have made a good friend eventually. Unfortunately, she died before she got the chance.

Charles Miller
Isago considered Charles a friend. She spoke to him shortly after ending up on the train, realizing that he was unable to speak Japanese. She decided to try and help him, figuring that he might be lonely on a train where he can't understand what the others were saying. She was curious about his Ultimate Milkman talent, and decided to spend time with him wherever possible.

When the motive was presented, Isago selected Charles as her victim. Although she considered him a friend, she was not particularly close to him like she was with Piper. She knew that he had no reason to suspect her, but also knew that she wouldn't back out of the plan due to her own emotions. Still, she was struggling to maintain her composure when she gave him the poisoned milk, and repeatedly apologized to him in the few minutes before his death. She was in tears by the time he died, and, overcome with guilt, decided to cover his body with a sheet as a mark of respect.

Isago did care for Charles, even though they were not the closest of friends. She believed him to be a good person and wanted to spend more time with him, until the motive videos were distributed. She was distraught when she killed him, and truly regrets what she did.

Mariko Murakami
The two first met in Okinawa, while Isago was exploring. Mariko immediately piqued her interest, as Isago instantly took notice of her missing eye. She was interested in learning more about her. When the two met up regularly over the course of a few months, Isago realized early on that her new friend wasn't exactly happy, and that something was bothering her. Knowing that Mariko was a martial artist, she attempted to cheer her up and inspire her by telling her myths revolving around ancient soldiers and fighters. These attempts were mostly successful. The two grew to trust each other, and Isago started considering Mariko to be a genuine friend. Eventually, Mariko confided in her about her past, and that she wanted to escape her home. Isago, feeling concerned for her friend, decided to help her.

The two formulated a plan, and Mariko fled from her dojo late one night. Isago met up with her near a heavily forested area, and they took a detour back to the vacation home she was staying at. Isago and her three friends all welcomed the new addition, and allowed her to stay. Once their travel was over, Isago invited Mariko to stay with her at her own mansion. After learning about her family's corruption, she saw this as a means to use their wealth for something noble rather than for selfish reasons. During the two years they lived together, Isago attempted to get Mariko to socialize more, allowing her to come out of her shell. Seeing that she had been isolated from most of the world, she also attempted to introduce her to some 'customs'. This included celebrating Mariko's birthday for the first time, and also introducing her to the idea of sightseeing.

This went on until Mariko was able to move out, when the two were 18 years old. They still regularly kept in contact, however, and would continue to meet up frequently.

Once the killing game started, Mariko approached Isago and told her not to tell anyone that the two knew each other prior to arriving on the train. Knowing that Mariko was requesting this out of fear of her secret being known, Isago agreed. Despite not liking to have to lie to the others, she promised not to tell a soul about their friendship. This continued all the way till the end of Isago's life. Right before her execution, she wanted desperately to reach out to her or to at least say goodbye, but refrained from doing so out of respect for her promise.

Total Drama

 * "You're welcome to try and defeat the Hot Pizza of Doom!"
 * "I like mythology because.. well, it's just like any other work of fiction! I like stories, but with myths and old folktales you also get to see what kind of beliefs people had back then, its a good way to study them."
 * "It's okay if you're upset, Piper. You're free to show it, just don't beat yourself up over it."
 * "It's okay. You're not alone, right? You've got me, we're in this together. You don't have to make sense of a nonsensical killing game."
 * "Whatever you hear from me is the truth. That's why.. I have no issue with your talent whatsoever."
 * "I had all the gold in the world, but my friends were the only family I knew."
 * "You don't have to be afraid to show your emotions. It's fine if you're scared or weak or if you enjoy being childish. If you aren't yourself, then.. it's just not worth it."

Trivia

 * Isago always carries gold leaf on her person, and has a stash of it in her room. Carrying gold leaf is a habit she got from her mother. Despite their strained relationship, Isago still wants to remember her this way.
 * Despite her incredibly outgoing and somewhat romantic/flirtatious personality, she does not have much interest in a relationship.
 * Due to growing up in a large house with many servants, Isago does not have much knowledge on domestic skills. She only tried to learn as a teenager, and is still unskilled at them.
 * She does not really like modern fiction and is disinterested in it. She thinks it's boring and shallow.
 * Isago likes to joke that she's only four years old, because of her birthday being the 29th of February.
 * The name Supernova started off as a joke, and the four never intended for their group to have an official name. Once they came up with the name, however, it just stuck.