Natsumi Kuzuryu

Natsumi Kuzuryu (九頭龍 菜摘) is the younger sister of Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu and a Hope's Peak Academy Reserve Course Student. She is a key subject in the Twilight Syndrome Murder Case featured in Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair and later featured in Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak High School.

Appearance
Natsumi has long blonde hair and grayish-olive eyes similar to her brother. She also has permanent blush marks on both cheeks. Her appearance is similar to Kaede Akamatsu's. She wore the Hope's Peak Academy uniform and also seems to be somewhat taller than her brother.

Personality
Natsumi had demonstrated extreme egotism and smugness upon her introduction to the rest of the Reserve Course students. In Twilight Syndrome Murder Case and according to Girl E, Natsumi was described as a mean and egotistical girl who would plant hatred towards someone she dislikes or envy. Natsumi is also said by her parents to be much more violent than her brother and more worthy of being the Yakuza heiress.

As described by Fuyuhiko, Natsumi was used to making a fool out of him everyday and always pissed him off, but Fuyuhiko always considered her as his cute sister. When she cooked fried noodles during the temple festival, a huge line would form outside the temple. She also got an insane number of contracts from hand towel companies. She is self-centered, selfish, and extremely arrogant. However, she had a subtle way of making people do what she wanted.

However, underneath all these traits, Natsumi was an insecure girl who did not want to be left behind by her brother, and was willing to strike up conversations with people that did not treat her harshly. While she could threaten people, it's implied she wasn't serious about it and as a yakuza, was simply used to talking that way. After Sato became protective of Mahiru and started to pester Natsumi about her intentions, she already appeared tired of the topic and wanted to be left alone.

Prior to The Tragedy
Natsumi was the younger sister of the Kuzuryu Clan's heir, Fuyuhiko, though she was considered by many to be more worthy of the role. The Clan even believed she was the reincarnation of her deceased uncle who was known as the strongest Kuzuryu in history. She was given the chance to take her brother's place, but she declined due to caring about her brother. She didn't wish to lead the Clan, believing she was so amazing because she was Fuyuhiko's sister.

Three years before attending Hope's Peak Academy, Yasuhiro Hagakure extorted money from a wealthy female client, but as a result he became a target of a mafia and had a debt of over 8 million. In Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc IF, it's heavily implied that the female client was Natsumi, mentioned as "that Kuzuryu girl". Yasuhiro had apparently abortively attempted to sell Makoto Naegi's organs to the clan.

After her brother attended Hope's Peak Academy, Natsumi felt she was left behind and began to call herself "Ultimate Little Sister", believing she was worthy of the title due to her brother being the Ultimate Yakuza.

Episode 02 - My Impurest Heart for You
Natsumi is transferred into Hajime Hinata's Reserve Course class, where she introduced herself and smugly stated she didn't have a clue why she was being paired up with the Reserve Course students, announcing that she thought they were on the level of trash.

Episode 03 - A Farewell to All Futures
Natsumi talked to Hajime during their lunch break. She wondered why he always stared at the Main Course building and she bet that he had no friends. However, it's the same for her because no one wanted to be friends with her since she dubbed herself as the Ultimate Little Sister. She told Hajime that she was a member of Kuzuryu Clan, the infamous organized crime group with over thirty thousand members. Natsumi was the younger sister of the current heir, Fuyuhiko. Even though she wasn't scouted to the Main Course, she believed that she did have a talent. She stated that she would do anything to get into the Main Course, for example bullying the Ultimate Photographer, Mahiru, until she quit so she could fill the open space.

Suddenly, Sato came to her and asked her not to plot anything bad to hurt Mahiru. Natsumi smiled slyly as she told Hajime that they knew each other since they attended the Photography Club in her former school. When their fight started to draw everyone's attention, Mahiru came inside and tried to arbitrate their fight. However, Natsumi heated the situation by taunting Mahiru and her classmates. Natsumi lost her patience when Sato insulted her efforts and being talentless. She was about to punch Sato until Mahiru stopped and took Sato out from the classroom.

After the school day ended, Sato once again came to her to ask her to refrain from plotting Mahiru down. Natsumi gave her a cold stare after Hajime came and promised to kill her.

Natsumi was gazing at the Main Course building when Hajime chased her. Hajime warned her if she continued to intimidate Mahiru or Sato, she would be kicked out from the Reserve Course and that she would never get a chance becoming a Main Course student. Natsumi started to cry, saying that no matter what and somehow she would get into the Main Course someday.

Natsumi confessed that if she didn't enter the Main Course, she would be left behind by her brother. If she was recognized as the Ultimate Little Sister, she could always stand by her brother's side.

On the next day, Natsumi's body was found inside the music room, already killed by Sato. Later, her body was transferred into a morgue of a hospital.

1st Day
Natsumi's corpse was found by Mikan Tsumiki, Hiyoko Saionji, Ibuki Mioda, and Mahiru Koizumi inside the music room after her killer, Sato, escaped and locked the door. Sato lied to them, saying that she heard something inside the room, where she murdered Natsumi. After Sato suggested that the group borrow the key in the staff room, Mahiru sneaks into the staff room and grabs the key for the group. However, something unexpected happens when they enter the room. They find Natsumi, lying dead on the floor.

The group quickly panics, but Hiyoko suggests they remain calm, as she finds out that the girl who was lying on the floor had recently been killed, and that the killer may still be around. Hiyoko decides that the culprit probably locked the music room's door from the inside and then, after murdering the girl, they broke the window and escaped through it. The group decided that the culprit panicked after clubbing the girl, so they accidentally broke the aquarium and made the gravel scatter all around. It was proven when Ibuki took the key, which had been in the staff room as usual, and showed that the only two ways to lock the music room are from the inside or with the key from the staff room. So the group reached the same conclusion: the culprit escaped through the window. Sato convinces the group that a pervert committed the murder, because her swimsuit had been stolen recently. In the end, the group decides not to get involved in the case and leaves the corpse one by one, the last being Mahiru, who still seemed confused about what happened that day.

3rd Day
The truth was revealed on the 3rd day. Sato was first shown approaching Mahiru who had been waiting for her arrival in the Academy's backyard. Mahiru wanted to show Sato a picture that she took just yesterday. It's a picture of a broken flower vase in the classroom next to the music room. Mahiru thought that the glass breaking noise yesterday was not the sound of a window breaking, the culprit didn't escape through the window and, finally, Mahiru knew that Sato was actually the culprit. Mahiru decided to clean up the evidence by erasing the picture she took yesterday.

Finally, Sato admits her crime and tells Mahiru that Natsumi, the girl that she murdered yesterday had been giving Mahiru trouble. Sato knows the girl was Mahiru's junior at the photography club in junior high. She couldn't stand the fact that the girl was using her parents' status to bully others. At first she tried to just talk to the girl, but then the girl said she was going to go after Sato too, so she got angry, and before she knew it, she was strangling the girl and she lost consciousness, so before the situation got even worse, Sato killed her. Sato becomes flustered and leaves Mahiru alone.

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair
In Fuyuhiko's Free Time Events, he stated that he wanted to visit Natsumi's grave after escaping and that he will hold a funeral for Peko Pekoyama and Mahiru Koizumi.

Alternate Fates
According to Fuyuhiko's Events in Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp, we learn a few new facts about her. During Fuyuhiko's interaction with Kaede Akamatsu, he mentions that his opinion on Natsumi's photography would make her exasperated. Kaede thinks this is her way of fawning of him, however Fuyuhiko rebukes saying that if she found out about the interaction he was having with Kaede, Natsumi would likely stab them out of jealously, as he was listening to Kaede's CD instead of her photographs.

Fuyuhiko, alongside Rantaro Amami and Korekiyo Shinguji would all later bring up the topic about their sisters together. Fuyuhiko mentions a time when Natsumi got him some candy and photo souveniers from a school trip and planned to bring her back one as well.

Mahiru and Fuyuhiko have a short chat, and mentions he probably shouldn't show her the pictures that Mahiru took, despite her wanting to come along.

Relationships

 * Family

Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu
Fuyuhiko is her older brother. She and Fuyuhiko both care about each other, as evident by Fuyuhiko taking revenge on her killer by killing them in the same fashion and when Natsumi was given the chance to take her brother's place as Yakuza Gang Leader, she declined knowing it would hurt her brother's feelings. Natsumi wished to attend Hope's Peak alongside her brother, and was eventually enrolled in the reserve course because of this. She still wanted to attend the main course to be with her brother, and fashioned herself as the "Ultimate Little Sister" to try and have a talent worthy of being moved to the main course.


 * Subordinates:

Peko Pekoyama
Natsumi's relationship with Peko is unknown, however, as Fuyuhiko's hitman, Peko seems to care about Natsumi's well-being as well. When Natsumi is murdered, Peko punches a wall in frustration, as she was unable to protect her. As for Natsumi, during a conversation with Hajime, she expresses her desire to stay by her brother's side. While doing so, she imagines Peko standing beside Fuyuhiko, hinting that she may be jealous of her brother's closeness to his hitman.


 * Middle School:

Mahiru Koizumi
Natsumi holds a grudge against Mahiru and bullied her frequently. Mahiru and Natsumi had photography together and the girl was apparently jealous of Mahiru, (Due to her photos being better than her own) and then Natsumi started picking on Mahiru. She called her goody two-shoes, which might imply that as a yakuza she also disliked Mahiru's highly different nature.

As revealed in Danganronpa 3, upon entering Hope's Peak's Reserve Course and learning that Mahiru has been scouted for the Main Course, Natsumi had the intention of continuing to harass (or do even worse) Mahiru to the point where she would leave the school, with herself being potentially scouted to fill the "vacant" student position thereafter. While this may have been just talk, this plan of Natsumi's was nevertheless terminated only by her own murder.

Sato
Natsumi and Sato have known each-other since middle school, and were both part of the photography club with Mahiru. The two have held a grudge since then, with Natsumi bullying Sato and Mahiru. The two frequently fought, with Natsumi even leaving a scar on Sato's arm from an incident after school. Sato swore to protect Mahiru at any costs, and eventually killed Natsumi to reach this end.


 * Reserve Course:

Natsumi shows a clear disdain for the students in the Reserve Course, as she thinks herself to be above them. Much like Hajime, she aspires to join Hope's Peak Academy as a Main Course student, believing talent to be everything. However, both her harsh attitude towards the students and her worship of talent are ultimately due to her insecurities, as her brother was accepted into Hope's Peak as a Main Course student, and she didn't want to feel left behind.

Hajime Hinata
Hajime and Natsumi were classmates in the Reserve Course. When she first spoke to Hajime, she comments that he has no friends, and tells him she doesn't have any either. She says she's the sister of the Ultimate Yakuza, Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu, and calls herself the "Ultimate Little Sister". Hajime points out that she doesn't have a talent, but Natsumi refuses to acknowledge that and says she'll do anything to get into the Main Course. Later, when Hajime meets her on the top of the Reserve Course Building, she tells him if she doesn't keep up with her brother, she'll get left behind. Hajime says he understands how it must feel lonely to get left behind. However, he also tells her there are other things just as important as talent, such as staying with her brother and making memories with him.

Quotes

 * -|DR3=

Trivia

 * Her last name, Kuzuryu (九頭龍), means "nine-headed dragon".
 * Her given name, Natsumi (菜摘), means "harvest".
 * Although it is written using different characters, the first two syllables in Natsumi's name make the Japanese word for "summer" (夏 natsu), corresponding to how her older brother's name begins with the character 冬 fuyu, meaning "winter".
 * Natsumi dislikes milk just like her brother does. However, she is not lactose intolerant and Fuyuhiko believes this is why she is taller than him.
 * Natsumi's English voice actress, Apphia Yu, is married to Micah Solusod, the voice double of Izuru Kamukura.

Navigation
Нацуми Кузурю Natsumi Kuzuryu Natsumi Kuzuryu Natsumi Kuzuryu