Mikan Tsumiki

Mikan Tsumiki (罪木 蜜柑 Tsumiki Mikan) is one of the characters featured in Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair.

Mikan has the title of Ultimate Nurse (超高校級の「保健委員」chō kōkō kyū no “hoken iin”; lit. Super High School Level Health Committee Member).

After catching Despair Disease in Chapter 3 and regaining her school memory, Mikan set up a plan to murder Ibuki Mioda, who also contracted Despair Disease, but ended up murdering both Ibuki and Hiyoko Saionji after the latter witnessed her attempt to murder Ibuki. She had murdered for the sake of “her beloved”.

Appearance
Mikan is a fairly tall young woman, around the age of 20-22 (her virtual reality avatar appears about 17 years old).

She has long, choppy, dark purple hair and lighter, greyish-purple eyes. There is a beauty mark under her left eye's corner. She wears a nurse uniform which consists of a pale pink, collared short-sleeved shirt with puffed sleeves.

Mikan wears a white apron over this which is tied behind her neck with a ribbon. There are two red lines on the left side of the apron, one going down to her middle and another, short red line perpendicular to the vertical one. A short pale blue pleated skirt is visible under her apron. Mikan has bandages wrapped around most of her left leg and right arm. Additionally, she has a band-aid on her left knee cap and wears white socks and shoes.

Personality
Mikan suffers from extremely low self-esteem as a result of severe abuse and bullying. She is easily intimidated to the point of tears, apologizes a lot and when nervous or startled, she stutters over words. She constantly worries about bothering, boring, or offending others, even going as far to ask Hajime Hinata whether it would be alright to remember his name during her introduction. She is very skilled at reading people's faces, but she overanalyzes them and is quick to conclude that she is disliked by those around her. She frequently offers to allow others to beat, strip or do other bad things to her so that they won't hate her, as she believes it's better to be treated badly than ignored. She thinks people who don't bully her don't care about her existence at all. There is a strong possibility Mikan suffers from dependent personality disorder, seeing she fits nearly all of the symptoms. Her fragile personality makes her an easy target for Hiyoko Saionji's cruelty.

Mikan is also clumsy and often ends up in extremely embarrassing poses, all of which she apologizes repeatedly for (although it is heavily implied she exaggerates her clumsiness and gets into these poses on purpose so that others would be more fond of her).

As the Ultimate Nurse, Mikan's medical knowledge proves to be useful in murders: providing autopsy reports and information on the corpse's state, details on injuries, cause of death, and time of death. She also appears to be more confident while doing her job and she sometimes gives health advice to others.

During the Chapter 3, Mikan's personality alters dramatically as she recovers her memories and turns back to her Ultimate Despair self. She turns very angry, manipulative and dangerous. She is bitter and clearly aware of her maltreatment, partly blaming other people for turning her into the person she was. Unlike before, she calls the others out on it - even those who defended her, angrily asking why everyone always hates and bullies her. During the trial, she turns increasingly unstable and repeatedly asks to be forgiven, but also sinisterly denies her charges and angrily pulls her hair. She claims that her motive for murder was simply love and she doesn't care about anyone or anything but her beloved one, as she believes that her beloved one is the only one who loves and accepts her.

Mikan always displayed quick adaptation to her environment through altering aspects of her personality to suit what she had projected as their thoughts. However, before the memory recovery, Mikan was primarily self-effacing for the benefit of others and to reduce conflict; after the disease, she is cunning and deceptive in order to preserve herself at the potential cost of the others' lives.

Mikan's violent side is present in her non-despair state, as well, though it is much more hidden. During the second trial, she mentions that she finds a quick desire to kill quite understandable. In Island Mode, she mentions that she enjoys horror movies because of all the blood and helpless people. During Chapter 2, she has a short angry outburst out of nowhere, and she claims that she says "weird things" when nervous. She has a disturbing liking for syringes and shots, and repeatedly offers them to Hajime when she gains access to the Pharmacy, and even chases him around with a syringe in one of her Free-Time Events. She is also mentioned to creepily stare at Hajime and he sometimes had a feeling that she is forever watching him from somewhere.

The whole reason Mikan became a nurse is mostly so she could have power and control over sick and injured people. She also wants to feel useful. In her Island Mode ending, she openly contemplates rendering Hajime an invalid so she can take care of him forever.

History
[Warning: Several spoilers follow this section!]

Prior to the Tragedy
Mikan had a very harsh life since very young age. She was physically and emotionally (and possibly even sexually) abused by people in her family and in other places, like school. Among other things, she mentioned getting splashed with water, smeared with mud, and getting burned with cigarettes. The bullies would beat her up, cut her hair, drew on her, use her as the target for dart games, make her responsible for their debts, and told her to eat bugs and make interpretations of certain animals. She was even told to strip at times.

As a result, Mikan became extremely timid person who thought that it's better to be treated badly than completely ignored. She feared loneliness and lack of attention more than the abuse and let people do whatever they wanted with her.

Because there was no one to take care of her wounds, Mikan learned to take care of herself from a very young age. As she became more and more skilled in this area, she took an interest in nursing, realizing that she could have a feeling of control over sick and injured people - as the weaker people, they would have to depend on her completely and their lives would be in her hands.

As a teen, Mikan enrolled in Hope's Peak Academy as the Ultimate Nurse, either in 76th or 77th Class. Her life at least seemed to get better and she befriended Ibuki Mioda, Hiyoko Saionji, Mahiru Koizumi, and Sato. During their time together, they discovered a corpse in the music room. This was later revealed to be Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu's sister, who was murdered by Sato. A few days later, Sato was killed by Fuyuhiko. Hiyoko suggested that Mikan enter the classroom, where Mikan found Sato's corpse. This part of Mikan's life was revealed in "Twilight Syndrome Murder Case".

At some point, Mikan met Junko Enoshima, who manipulated her into joining the Ultimate Despair. It seems that Junko made her realize how wrong the abusive people were, but she also made Mikan think that she's the only one who loves and accepts her, and that the other people don't matter at all. Mikan was touched as she was finally treated with kindness and she believed that "her beloved" Junko truly loved her. Soon, only Junko mattered to her and she was willing to do terrible things for the sake of "love".

During the Tragedy
The members of Ultimate Despair did all kinds of horrible things during the Tragedy, causing despair all over the world.

After the death of Junko, the remnants of the Ultimate Despair attached some of her body parts into their own bodies in order to make her survive within them and feel closer to her. They then agreed to an insane plan to have AI Junko take over their bodies, so they could resurrect their leader.

The remnants of Despair are later found by Future Foundation. Makoto Naegi plans to undo Junko's influence by putting them into the Neo World Program, but the program is taken over by AI Junko, right according to the Ultimate Despair's plan.

Prologue - Welcome to Dangan Island! Panic at the Heart-Throbbing School Trip!?
When Mikan met Hajime for the first time, she became so nervous and confused about how to start the conversation with him that she ended up crying, revealing that she even prepared 5000 different ways to start the conversation only for her to fail.

Chapter 1 - Destination Despair
Mikan accidentally tripped when the students were gathering in the Restaurant, amusing Teruteru Hanamura and Ibuki verily. Later, she also tripped during the blackout in Byakuya Togami's party.

After the discovery of Byakuya's corpse, Mikan was initially terrified. However, she managed to gather up the courage and made use of her talent as the Ultimate Nurse by examining the body.

Mikan played a key role in the first trial by pointing out that Byakuya was stabbed by a sharp implement about five millimeters in diameter, ruling out the possibility of the glow-in-the-dark knife being the murder weapon, and therefore saving the students from voting for the wrong person as the culprit in the first trial.

When Teruteru was determined to be the culprit behind Byakuya's death, Hajime used the accident where Mikan accidentally tripped during the party as decisive evidence to prove Teruteru's guilt.

Chapter 2 - Sea and Punishment, Sin and Coconuts
Mikan agreed to attend Sonia Nevermind's girls only party along with the other girls, excluding Mahiru Koizumi and Hiyoko. She and Ibuki arrive at the diner, the original meeting point of the party, and there they meet with Kazuichi Soda and Hajime who later join the party as well. While she waits for the others at the diner, Akane Owari arrives, injured from her practice session with Nekomaru. Mikan immediately takes her into the bathroom to treat her.

Mikan played another major role by examining the body of Mahiru and verifying that her death by blunt force trauma was instantaneous, proving that her body was moved by somebody else to block the Beach House door. It was also revealed that she was the playable character, in fact, Girl A of the Twilight Syndrome Murder Case, implying that she was close friends with Hiyoko, Ibuki, Mahiru, and possibly Girl E during her time at Hope's Peak.

The culprit turned out as Peko Pekoyama, Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu's hitwoman. After Peko's execution, Mikan tried to save Fuyuhiko, who had interfered in the execution and injured during the process, but Monokuma ended up having to save him by taking him to the Hospital on the third island after being forced by Monomi.

Chapter 3 - Trapped by the Ocean Scent
In the next day during the groups investigation in the third island, Mikan found Fuyuhiko who was treated well and resting in the Hospital. Later, she joined Ibuki's Fuyuhiko welcome back party.

During the Despair Disease, Mikan treated Nagito Komaeda fervently to make sure he won't die, staying awake for days on end to keep watch over him. During her stay at the hospital while treating the sick, she contracted said disease and killed Ibuki by strangulation, to which Hiyoko accidentally became a witness of.

As a result, Mikan was forced to kill her as well by slitting Hiyoko's throat. During the third trial, Mikan's ability as a Ultimate Nurse backfires when Nagito reveals that Ibuki was not killed by hanging herself, but rather by being strangled according to the marks left on the rope. This reveals that Mikan lied when she did Ibuki's autopsy, as she told everyone that Ibuki died by hanging.

Hajime begrudgingly singles Mikan out as the murderer, to which many disagreed at first. Oddly, Nagito states that the culprit this time was someone he could not forgive, and the reason is later revealed to be because unlike the others, the culprit did not kill for hope of escape, but for despair.

Once she is voted guilty, Mikan stops struggling and accepts her fate. Before that, though, Mikan tells Nagito that she did not murder for despair, but rather for the sake of the person she loves because they were the only one who accepted her for who she was.

Mikan was affected by despair disease, which led her to regain all of her memories and remember everything. Her personality changes not due of despair disease, but just despair itself. She's also explained that the real name of 'World Ender' is 'Future Foundation' (although it wasn't). Besides it, she also know who's the traitor that hides among the groups, but she refuses to tell and believed that the others would eventually know when the countdown end.

Just before her execution begins Mikan asks that person to forgive her for dying with hope of meeting them again.

Execution

 * Main Article: Bye-Bye Ouchies

Hajime Hinata
Mikan seems to have formed a liking for Hajime as he is the first person (on the Island) to have gone up to her and spoke to her, not wishing to bully her but only to have a casual conversation. Though nervous and stuttering at first, she gradually lightens up, even asking him to come back and talk to her again.

Hajime is also the first person she admits to that she is glad that there is nobody to stomp on her and abuse her on the island. Mikan also chases Hajime around with a syringe a few times, wanting to give him an injection, and was found sleeping on him several times in Chapter 3. In the third trial, she uses him to give herself an alibi in the morning when they first discover the corpse.

In chapter 3, when Hajime accuses Mikan of killing Ibuki and Hiyoko, she becomes furious, and obviously denies this. This act upsets Hajime, who doesn't want to believe she's the culprit as much the others, who are in shock at his accusation. Despite this, Hajime reluctantly shows evidence that points to her being the murderer. He tells Mikan to give it up, so he can still believe in her in the end. But Mikan's personality has already changed, and she was executed, leaving nothing but her malice for Hajime and the others.

During the events of Island Mode however, Mikan is very happy to be Hajime's friend, even going so far as to cripple him in some way so that they would be close forever. However, Hajime proposes to her instead, causing her to declare that she would become his own private nurse and take care of him forever.

Hiyoko Saionji
Throughout the game, Mikan becomes a constant target for Hiyoko's bullying. Despite Hiyoko being over thirty centimeters shorter than Mikan, she is constantly pushed around and made into the butt of Hiyoko's jokes.

Hiyoko often refers to Mikan as a 'filthy pig' or 'ugly bitch', to which Mikan apologizes constantly for or asks why the other is so mean to her. It is revealed in Chapter 2's motive, Twilight Syndrome Murder Case that Mikan and Hiyoko, being Girl A and Girl B respectively, were in the same group of friends and knew each other very well during their time in Hope's Peak.

Even back then, Hiyoko was just as mean to Mikan, calling her a 'ugly filthy pig' and telling her to shut up. In the end, Hiyoko ended up being murdered by Mikan along with Ibuki, due to being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Junko Enoshima
While under the influence of the despair disease in Chapter 3, Mikan recovered her memories of school life. At the end of the trial that unveiled her identity as the culprit, she revealed that she did it for the sake of 'her beloved', claiming that they forgave and accepted her for who she was, in stark contrast to the maltreatment she had been exposed to her entire life, and that they would appreciate her actions if they were alive.

Mikan proceeds to ramble feverishly about how their love transcends the cruelty of her misdeeds, and how this person was a major factor in her drastic personality change. Due to her wording and the circumstances of her past, it is heavily implied that this person is Junko, who may have brainwashed her.

Mahiru, Ibuki, and Sato
Prior to The Tragedy, Mikan got along with Mahiru, Ibuki, and Sato (including Hiyoko) which was later revealed in Monokuma's second motive, "Twilight Syndrome Murder Case".

Presents
Obtained from the MonoMono Machine.
 * Gag Ball
 * Kokeshi Dynamo
 * Queen's Straitjacket
 * Mr. Stapler
 * Bandage Wrap

Choices
During free time conversations, the player will occasionally be given a choice on how to respond to something that is said. These are the 'right' choices.
 * Favorite bandage type
 * I don't know

Skills
These will aid you, usually during Class Trials.
 * Silent Massage - The Focus Gauge recovers at a faster rate. Effective during the Nonstop Debate, the Hangman's Gambit, and the Panic Talk Action.

Quotes

 * “M-My name is Mikan Tsumiki. Um... From the bottom of my heart, I hope we can get along.”
 * “It's too much for me... If I'm alone...I'll go crazy...”
 * “U-Um... Other than dying, I can pretty much do anything! Please order me around whenever you want!”
 * “Wh-What should I do? Um...would it make you happier if I took my clothes off?”
 * “Today is such a beautiful day! ...”
 * “If it's not too much trouble for you, I would like to...talk to you again.” (to Hajime Hinata)
 * “Uuu... why must we investigate a friend's death? Th-this is horrible... B-but! I'm the only one here who's a medical worker! S-so... I have to do somethin..! S-Something..”
 * “Uhhhh...my mind is drawing a blank...from nervousness...”
 * “The future.. do we even have one..?”
 * “Uyu...I just get so very very happy when people start talking to me... Until now... everyone always either thought I was gross or simply hated me...”
 * “Hee hee... when you are not feeling well, come to me, okay? I'll give you lots of shots... Lots and lots and loooooots of shots!”
 * “Drugstores are amazing... Just looking around gets me excited...!”
 * “If it makes everyone not hate me and smile at me, then it's much better...”
 * “Doodling is very fun. Please draw on me wherever you like!”
 * “U-Um... Also...I'm good at pretending to be a pig.”
 * “Just please don't look at me like that...!”
 * “Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-You didn't do anything wrong. It was my fault. That's definitely it...!”
 * “I loved them with all my heart and they returned it in full. This is...my 'reciprocation'”
 * “And...I went through all the trouble of preparing 5000 different topics to discuss after introductions!” (to Hajime)
 * “Try to avoid consuming any stimulants before you sleep, take deep breaths, and do some light stretching. Little things like that should help with the quality of your sleep.”
 * “If you don't get enough sleep, it can weaken your immune system and lead to various illnesses.”
 * “Ah... I-I forgot to get ahold of myself again... I-I'm terribly sorry! I'm terribily sorry...!”
 * “Sick people and injured people...are weaker than me.”
 * “They'll need me. They'll depend on me completely! That's why...I can't leave the sick and the injured alone. Because...they always listen to what I say...”
 * “This...is my first time feeling things like “fun”... I felt that for the first time after I met you all.”
 * “We're all working together and focusing on the same goal... For the first time, I learn that that...is very fun.”
 * “Hajime, I...I'm glad I came to this island. Because we're in this situation, everyone is finally acknowledging me... And I finally feel useful.”
 * “Hajime... This is the first time I've ever talked about my feelings like this with someone, so... Please don’t hate me...”
 * “Friend...? Me...and everyone else...? ... I-Is that... even possible?”
 * “I... want to believe in you. Because you...are the person who has forgiven me.” (to Hajime)
 * “Wh-Why am I in a video game? Th-That's an infringement of my right to privacy!”
 * “She probably...made her unconscious by accident... A-And from there, she couldn't go back... I-I...I somewhat understand that feeling.” (talking about Girl E, the killer of Boy F's little sister in Twilight Syndrome Murder Case)
 * “Awww... What unimaginable speed for a slowpoke like me...!” (Mikan, foreshadowing her murder actions)
 * “A clumsy, slowpoke like me killing someone...? Th-That's completely out of the question!”
 * “In a tournament for social punching bags, I'd easily win first place with my soft reputation...”
 * “Hehe...I'm such a clumsy mess and I got sooooo careless...!”
 * “Ah, so in the end...you're all just a bunch of bullies, huh?”
 * “Justifying your actions with fancy words... M-Making excuses for why it's not really your fault... E-Everyone treats me like that... Always...”
 * “"It's all her fault..." "Sh-She's the one with the problem..." I...I'm done with that! You hear me!? I'm doooooooooone!”
 * “It's not fair...It's not fair not fair notfair notfair notfair notfairnotfairnotfairnotfairnotfair...”
 * “Why won't you forgive me!? If you did something wrong...you'd forgive yourself right away...!”
 * “What did I do!? Why won't anybody forgive me!?”
 * “Why does everybody always hate me!? Please, just forgive me already!”
 * “Huh? Huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh huh?”
 * “Then you're gonna forgive me? I won't stop until you forgive me!”
 * “Will you forgive me? You'll forgive me, right? Isn't that right? You're obviously gonna forgive me, right?”
 * “Why does everybody always hate me!? You should just forgive me already!”
 * “...Heh...heh...heh... Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha...!”
 * “Haaa...it's been suuuuuuuch a long time... This feeling...I know it well... Like the floor is collapsing...Like the sky is falling down upon you... This feeling of despair!”
 * “What I did...was for the sake of my beloved.”
 * “My beloved...was the only one... That's right, the only one who... never hated me. They forgave my existence. They forgave me and accepted me. They gave me value. They loved me. I loved them with all my heart and they returned it in full. This is...my reciprocation.”
 * “I understand that I've done something unforgivable. But you know, but you know! To transcend all that is truly... what love is all about!”
 * “Love is a wonderful thing!”
 * “Ahhh, this feeling of freedom where you no longer care about anything!”
 * “My beloved and I are the only ones within that thin veil, and I’m just looking out through it... That's why...as long as I'm on the inside, no matter how much they tease me, splash me with water, kick me... It's like nothing matters! I could just die, that's how little it matters!”
 * “Who cares about hope or despair! It's love, only love!”
 * “You don't understand? Is it because you don't have anyone to love? Is it because you're also someone who isn't accepted by anyone?...What a pity. I feel sorry for you.” (to Nagito Komaeda)
 * “The reason I became like this wasn't my fault. It was all your fault, you know?”
 * “I'm the person I am today because of many human relationships.”
 * “I'm drowning in so much love... From the bottom of my heart, I just don't care about anyone or anything.”
 * “You guys accepted my past self, but not my present self...”
 * “Memories of people...memories of events... Whatever memory it is, losing memories are... like losing your personal identity.”
 * “Memory is the most important component in building a person... Don't you think?”
 * “Losing our memories...makes us shadows of the past. Don't you think?”
 * “So it's over... It's really... Now I can go to my beloved who always forgives me...! I can finally see them.”
 * “Please forgive me, the one who’s going to die with the hope of finally seeing you!”
 * “haha@?@@”haha!”:hahahahahaforgivemeloveme forgivemeloveforgivemeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee” (Mikan's cottage post-fifth trial)
 * “I-I'm starting to feel nauseous from the thrills, the chills, the kills...”

Panic Talk Action Remarks

 * “You still haven't forgiven me!?”
 * “Can you forgive me already!?”
 * “Forgive me! Forgive me!”
 * “Please draw on me!”
 * “Shall I let you punch me!?”
 * “You're done for!”
 * “Do you understand...?”
 * “Why only me!?”
 * “I'll do anything you want!”
 * “There's only one bag! It's impossible to use it in two places at the same time!” (Final Argument)

Trivia

 * Mikan's report card states that:
 * She likes bathroom smells and the smell of isopropanol (rubbing alcohol) and dislikes oversized things,
 * Her bloodtype is A,
 * Her chest is 35 in.
 * Her first name (蜜柑) means “mandarin”, as in the type of orange, while her last name (罪木) means "sin tree".
 * Her last name could reference how she killed out of the despair Junko had planted inside her.
 * It is also somewhat possible that her last name is meant to reflect her similarity to the biblical Eve, who has committed a sin (the "original") related to a tree (the Tree of Knowledge) due to an innate "human" desire to try and do what is forbidden. Similarly, Mikan has committed double murder due to a desire - her presumably romantic attraction to Junko and wish to please her. She is also similar to Eve through the concept of "not being forgiven" for her actions.
 * While her title in the official English translation is “Ultimate Nurse”, Mikan's original title is “Ultimate Health Committee Member”. The “health committee” or “health and hygiene committee” (since 保健 hoken means both “health preservation” and “hygiene”), is a common student committee in Japanese high schools with the duty of preparing and administering first aid during school events, monitoring the school's state of sanitation and promoting health-preserving behavior.
 * One of Mikan's Free-Time Events implies that she is qualified to administer vaccines (like a nurse and unlike a health committee member) - meaning that her circumstances as a health committee member are special.
 * Mikan's Birthday (May 12th) coincides with International Nurses' Day.
 * It is revealed in the official concept art that Mikan's hair was cut in chunks by bullies.
 * Mikan makes a cameo appearance in Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls on a poster in the hospital in Chapter 1.
 * Mikan's death poster in the trial room is crossed out with a nurse's cross, in reference to her Ultimate talent.
 * Mikan is one of the known LGBTQIA+ individuals in the Danganronpa series. She is shown to be attracted to boys and girls. She developed feelings for Hajime Hinata and Junko Enoshima, because they were very kind to her.