Kayo Sudou

"The more you sharpen them, the better they cut."

- Kayo Sudou

Kayo Sudou was a tailor living in Enbizaka, Jakoku and the daughter of the Demon of Envy. Losing her family in a great fire, the devastated young woman agreed to swap bodies with Ma to start a new life. After learning that the arsonist behind her family's deaths was alive, Kayo began killing his family in turn while feigning insanity.

Early Life
Kayo was born in Enbizaka, Jakoku in EC 822, the daughter of Nagare and the Demon of Envy in Kagura Octo's body. Living in the family tailor shop, Kayo eventually began helping out with the business in EC 832. Her father later passed away due to endemic disease.

Later on, her parents allowed Gakuga Octo to live with them and the man pursued a romance with Kayo. After her mother revealed their relation as cousins, Kayo insisted on continuing their relationship and married Gakuga in EC 838. Shortly after the wedding, Kagura disappeared. Presuming her to be dead, Kayo took over the tailoring business. Later that year, Kayo and Gakuga had a son, naming him Ren. At some point, Kayo became acquainted with her neighbor Oyuka as well as Mei Miroku, taking work orders from the latter.

Neighborhood Tragedy
Later that year, Kayo began working on Oyuka's request for a purple kimono. One day, Gakuga rushed into the house, telling her that there was a fire approaching from the trading house on the hill, and urging the family to escape. Kayo immediately prepared for their departure to the bridge on the other side of the hill.

Reaching the bridge, however, the tailor and her family attempted to cross, found themselves held back by the number of people evacuating. During the panic, after bantering with her husband, Kayo was separated from him when a burning house fell on top of her and Ren, and she lost consciousness consumed by flames. Kayo came to and found herself receiving medical treatment from Mei, who explained that although her own family had survived, Kayo's son had perished and her husband was presumed dead.

Later on, Kayo was taken in by magistrate Gato Octo and began living with the Octo Family, taken care of by the maid Bufuko. Over the years, Kayo was repeatedly interrogated about the location of the Twin Blades of Levianta by her cousin Anan and continuously replied that she didn't know what or where they were. By winter of EC 842, Kayo made a full physical recovery.

Later that year, Kayo heard Enbizaka's local doctor discuss her miraculous recovery with Bufuko, although she refused to believe him when he said her burns healed. Anan later asked Kayo his usual question, and she again gave her denial. Kayo later overheard her tailor shop was rebuilt and the news of her recovery, via Anan and Bufuko discussing the former's orders to search for the twin blades. Hearing that Gato had ordered her to leave, Kayo listened as Anan and Bufuko argued over her staying. After overhearing Anan explain his employment at the Freezis Foundation trading house, Kayo said her goodbyes to Bufuko and left for Enbizaka, receiving one last request from Bufuko to make a maid dress.

Return of the Tailor
"But it'd be inconvenient in a lot of ways since the inside of the house's completely empty." "That is true." "So without telling you, we asked the Freezis Foundation firm to prepare some household goods in advance for you."

- Miku and Kayo

Arriving at the rebuilt Enbizaka, Kayo saw Miku Miroku there to receive her at her tailor shop, and the girl showed her around the shop and explained how Mei had had it rebuilt to be exactly like it was. Following Miku's departure, Kayo broke down in tears. Later on, Kayo completed the maid outfit Bufuko requested and, weeks later, made her way to the trade house to deliver it. Upon arrival, she ran into Perrié Cutie Marlon leaving the trading house, learning about how the diminutive lady was really a respectable woman back home, and the two talked for a while until Bufuko also exited the trading house.

Kayo exchanged greetings with Bufuko and handed over the maid outfit, to Bufuko's delight. While Bufuko rushed back inside, Kayo then saw Anan exit with a pink-haired foreigner that Anan introduced as Elluka "Ma" Clockworker, and Kayo joined the two for conversation, mentioning her nonexistent "burns" as she joined the two in a drawing room. Anan brought up Elluka's reputation for saving minds in Evillious, which was why he introduced the two, and Kayo was impressed by Elluka's beauty and fluency in Jakokuese. Elluka and Kayo soon fell to gossiping about Perrié having distant ties to the Freezis family and how the Freezis Foundation, the biggest Evillious organization there, was beginning to face a rival in the Yarera-Zusco Firm.

During the conversation, Elluka mentioned how Perrié had suspected the new firm was behind the fire before the idea was disproved. At mention of the fire, Kayo was disturbed. She asked instead about the foreign countries Elluka had visited. Elluka then sent Anan away; as Kayo insisted that her burns marred her beauty, Elluka offered to help her with her troubles. Revealing she wasn't really a missionary, she used hypnosis to convince Kayo to let her help her and Kayo agreed to meet her three days later at her tailor shop.

The next day, Kayo visited the Miroku shop to drop off her work for Mei and found Rin Miroku manning the shop on her own. While the two chatted, Kayo learned that Rin had a strange feeling that she was waiting for someone; when she asked if Kayo had the same feeling, the tailor became saddened to remember her dead family and soon after departed. As time passed in Enbizaka, Kayo was becoming more aware to her horror that she had murderous, envious feelings towards her neighbors, who were still happy with their own families.

A Fresh Start
Two days later, Elluka visited Kayo at her shop. While the tailor took a break, she was perplexed as Elluka told her the history of the Octo family, explaining that Kayo was a descendant of the tailor Lukana Octo, whose body she was currently inhabiting. She furthermore explained that she was really a witch, proving it with a series of spells, and that she intended to "return" Lukana's body to an Octo descendant by trading bodies with Kayo. Although Kayo was hesitant, Elluka convinced her by explaining she would keep anyone from questioning the change.

She also claimed that her changed appearance would grant her peace by allowing her to move on from the deaths of her family and her perception of being burned. Kayo tearfully confessed her envious feelings to the mage, and Elluka told her that she might be possessed by the Demon of Envy, claiming that the possession might go away when they traded bodies. Kayo finally agreed to the ritual and the two traded bodies. After Elluka left, she hypnotized everyone to believe Kayo had always appeared as she did and the tailor was able to start afresh with a new face.

Shortly after, Kayo went out strolling in the revitalized Enbizaka; while crossing the bridge that led to the central street, she was shocked to see Kai Miroku on the bridge. Spotting his burn scars, Kayo projected the visage of her husband onto him and began to believe that Gakuga was still alive, although Kai disappeared before she could speak with him.

Sometime later, Kayo finished the kimono that Oyuka had requested of her before the fire. As she visited Oyuka's hairpin shop to deliver it, Kayo got to chatting with her neighbor and was somber at the mention of the fire; after declining Oyuka's offer of dinner, she suddenly began to talk about her husband and son as though they were still alive, gripped by her mental illness regarding Kai and Bufuko. She soon left Oyuka and returned to work; over time, rumors spread about her strange behavior in regards to her family.

Enbizaka Murderer Scandal
"Although he has someone like me, he never comes home."

- Kayo musing about her "husband"

One night, due to having Lukana Octo's body, Kayo received a purple dream; in it, her obsession with Kai led to her killing his wife and children under the delusion that they were his mistresses; when she finally confronted Kai himself, she learned that rather than being her husband, he was the one who caused the fire of Enbizaka due to being part of the terrorist group the Crimson Robed Masses. In the dream, Kayo testified this at her trial, leading the magistrate to declare war on the Crimson Robed Masses directly and ending in Onigashima's destruction.

While Kayo slept, Oyuka visited her tailor shop and woke her from her dream. Distressed by her vision, she feverishly explained that she'd had a "purple" dream, although not able to explain further as Oyuka delivered some sweet buns to her. From that day on, Kayo continued to have intense dreams. She also, having learned the truth about Kai, became enraged at him for having caused the deaths of her family and hurt so many people, as well as envious of him for having his own family safe and sound.

From then on, Kayo dedicated herself to getting revenge on Kai, although deciding to make it look like her motive was deluded jealousy so as to prevent war with the Crimson Robed Masses. That spring, Kayo went out to make a delivery and came across Mei and Kai walking together; overwhelmed with jealousy and anger, she quickly fled the scene. That night, she separated the blades on her western scissors; wielding them like knives, Kayo approached Mei while she was walking home from the Freezis trading house and brutally murdered her, taking her red kimono off her dead body.

When the distraught Oyuka came to her shop the next day, telling her about the murder, Kayo feigned innocence of the dead and claimed to not even remember who Mei was. Once Oyuka was gone, she continued tailoring Mei's kimono and fixing the tears she'd made in it. Several months later, Kayo saw Miku at the bridge with Kai and overheard their argument over her pregnancy; that night, she met with Miku while the girl was staying out late avoiding her father and murdered her as well, stealing her obi.

When Oyuka came to tell her about the murder, Kayo feigned innocence as before, discussing the details of the case as her friend described them to her. Several days later, she went to visit Oyuka's shop and hid when she saw her friend in a discussion with the constable Eikichi. Eavesdropping on their conversation, she overheard that a do-gooder named Kokutan-douji was on his way to Enbizaka, along with his friends Inukichi and Saruteito. Afterwards, she gave up waiting for Eikichi to leave and returned home.

Mother and Son
Some time later, Kokutan-douji visited Kayo while she was working, requesting that she repair a part of his clothes that had gotten torn. While she assessed the damage, the blond-haired and blue-eyed boy also asked her if she used to have a child; as Kayo confessed she had given birth to a son, the boy told her that he had received a revelation from a mermaid that his true mother was a pink-haired tailor in Enbizaka. Overwhelmed, Kayo chose to believe that the boy was Ren and she happily reunited with what appeared to be her long-lost son.

From then on, Kayo and "Ren" decided to live together as mother and child, in order to see if the mermaid's revelation could be true. Over time, Ren also began helping Kayo with her work, having a natural knack for sewing. As Kayo complimented him on his work with foreign clothes, the two received a visit from Inukichi, who had come with some foreign brioche. Kayo went into the other room to brew tea for their visitor; when she returned, she served the brioche and tea to Ren and Inukichi. Afterwards, she said her farewells and left to go on an errand to Oyuka's shop.

Arriving at the shop, Kayo found it already occupied and hid herself again; in the shadows, she observed Kai buying a hairpin for Rin Miroku and left when they'd finished. That night, Kayo left the shop and met with Rin at a secluded beach; after greeting her, Kayo learned that Rin had received a prophetic dream about her murder at Kayo's hand. Rin also revealed that, by obtaining a demon inside a hand mirror, she was able to regain her memories of a previous life she led and of who she was waiting for.

As Kayo attacked, Rin tried to use the demon's power to defeat her murderer, to no effect. After killing Rin and stealing her hairpin, Kayo left the beach. With Rin's body washed away by the tide, the the girl was declared missing and the town became uneasy with fear, with men from the Yarera-Zusco Firm investigating and beginning to suspect Kayo's involvement. Later, Kayo chatted about the town's unrest with Oyuka while they ate in a tea shop. She suddenly began to talk to Oyuka on how she felt about Enbizaka; thanking her for everything that she had done for her, Kayo left her friend and disappeared from Enbizaka the next day.

The Final Tailoring
"How is it? Aren't I beautiful?"

- Kayo

Knowing from her original dream that Kai would go up Mount Izasa, Kayo scaled the mountain and hid in an abandoned temple there. When Kai came to the temple, hoping to rest on his trip up, Kayo approached him while wearing Mei's kimono, Miku's obi, and Rin's hairpin. After she introduced herself, Kai noticed the clothes she wore and Kayo revealed how she had murdered his family, as well as the fact that she had seen the truth about him in a dream. Finally, Kayo murdered Kai and used her scissors to tear his body to to shreds, becoming completely covered in blood as she achieved her revenge.

Afterwards, Kayo went back down the mountain and greeted a group of men from the Yarera-Zusco firm, as well as Ren and his friends. She was quickly arrested as the murderer of the Miroku Family. A month later, Kayo stood trial for her crimes and testified before her grandfather, the magistrate Gato Octo. Questioned about her crimes, Kayo claimed that she had killed Mei, Miku, and Rin for being her "husband's" lovers, and that she had killed Kai for his "philandering".

Sentenced to beheading, Kayo was brought bound to the execution grounds three days later for a public execution. When the executioner brought down the katana on her neck, however, Kayo healed instantly; despite multiple attempts, the executioner couldn't separate the agonized Kayo's head from her body and her execution was postponed for four days later. When the day of her execution arrived again, Kayo was brought to the grounds once more, this time blindfolded.

As her executioner approached, Kayo guessed that it was Ren and spoke to him, expressing when asked how much she loved Enbizaka and how sorry she was upset its inhabitants. She then, as her final request, asked that Ren call her "mother" before cutting off her head. With Grim the End as her executioner's katana, Ren successfully cut off Kayo's head and killed her.

Afterlife
"I have to go on an errand after this. After this... I have to receive judgment."

- Kayo

Following her death, Kayo ended up in the Hellish Yard and remained there. In EC 999, she and the other souls returned to the Third Period as the ground world merged with the Hellish Yard. Returning to Enbizaka, Kayo recreated an illusion of her hometown from her memories and returned to her daily routine of tailoring while also awaiting her husband. Some time after, the tailor was given summons to go on trial for her crimes in life at the USE Dark Star Bureau courthouse that appeared in Enbizaka.

Afterwards, Kayo headed down the main street toward the courthouse when she saw Allen Avadonia. Recognizing him as Ren, the surprised tailor greeted and chatted with him for a while, before Kayo noted the errand she had to run, further explaining how she needed to receive judgment. Entering the courthouse right in front of her, she stood in the courtroom at the defendant's stand until until Chief Justice Gallerian Marlon arrived and began the trial.

During the proceedings, the tailor quietly listened to the prosecution and defense make their cases for the murder charges against her. Once Gallerian convicted Kayo to beheading by the guillotine, she was dragged to the execution tool that suddenly appeared. Fastened into the platform, Kayo remained calm as Allen intervened, which ended up causing himself to be trialed in her stead. She waited quietly in the hearing seats while Allen was trialed.

After the Master of the Hellish Yard arrived and transported Gallerian into the Hellish Yard, the masked woman prepared to collect Kayo as well. Although initially refusing, saying she hadn't received judgment, the woman reminded her that she already had and wasn't going to see her family again, causing Kayo to give up. The two later went back to the Hellish Yard.

Legacy
"The tailor Kayo Sudou was a beauty with lovely black hair, but, as it seemed she carried a complex about her appearance due to some curious circumstance, she conversely grew envious of Elluka’s looks."

- Ma

Following Kayo's death, the being inside of her scissors, the real Kagura Octo, told the story of her murders to the sorceress "Elluka". Kayo's disembodied head was also hung at the execution site atop Enbizaka as an example for three days. After seeing the head, the traveling monk Gakusha learned about the tailor's crimes; when he visited it the next day, he and Kokutan-douji performed funeral rites for the head together. During the rites, Gakusha regained all his memories and realized he was Gakuga Sudou, Kayo's husband. Not believing the head was Kayo's, he went back to find his long-lost wife in Enbizaka.

Long after Kayo's death, few accurate historical documents existed about her and the Eastern region she lived in, leaving the truth about her relatively unknown. Some accounts claimed she had dark hair while others stated it was peach-colored. The Eastern Magic Record, a collection of stories written by Ma, noted she caused an incident that shook her society.

Ma continued to utilize Kayo's original body and identity over a century later, passing on the family name to her daughter Nemesis. Ma and Gammon Octo later created a film of the incident Kayo perpetrated. While watching the film with an intruder to Evil's Theater, Ma commented that the tailor had been jealous of the Eternal Sorceress, Elluka Clockworker, prompting the sorceress to exchange Lukana's body with Kayo along with scissors to attempt to prevent Kayo's possession by the vessel of sin.

Personality and Traits
"Did you—like Enbizaka?" "...Yes, I loved it. It had such kind townspeople, it had Oyuka-san, and it had the husband and child that I loved so much. I unbearably love such an Enbizaka."

- Kokutan-douji and Kayo

Kayo was a strong but mentally unwell woman. From her early days, Kayo was dauntless in the face of adversity, such as in her marriage to Gakuga despite her family's disapproval, and she was similarly cool-headed even in the most dire of circumstances. This even carried on to being calm in the event of her execution and only afraid when she found herself unable to die. She was similarly extremely dedicated, whether it was in work or in carrying out her vengeance, and was capable of carrying out elaborate deceptions without faltering.

In normal circumstances, Kayo was notably good-natured, well-mannered, and cared deeply about her neighbors and friends in Enbizaka. Although she became envious of others' families after the fire, Kayo nonetheless resisted her own feelings and to the end was regretful of how her actions had frightened the rest of the town's inhabitants, completely accepting of her own execution. Similarly she kept the true reason she killed Kai a secret in order to save Enbizaka from retribution by the Crimson Robed Masses. Despite this, she was not above murder in the name of revenge or jealousy, although apologetic to her victims.

Kayo's strength was at odds with her mental illness and the envy magic within in her, however. Utterly traumatized by the fire that killed her beloved family, Kayo developed complexes towards it to escape reality, which at various points that caused her to have difficulty discerning reality from fantasy. This manifested in her shame over her "burns", a terror of fire, and projecting onto other people as being her husband and son. This difficulty with facing reality in one timeline led her to succumb completely to her envy and kill out of these delusions rather than out of vengeance. She continued to struggle with her delusions even while having times where she was forced to face the truth otherwise.

Skills and Abilities
"Good-natured, with definite skill, she was a popular girl in the neighborhood."

- Kayo's renown as a tailor

Kayo was a skilled and fast-working seamstress, known for her high quality tailoring and capable of handling twice her workload in helping out Mei Miroku. She similarly had a good head and was skilled in planning and deception, leading to her being able to commit her murders unnoticed. Kayo was also proficient with wielding even her tiny sewing scissors as weapons, murdering all the Miroku women with ease even when Rin tried to best her using the Demon of Pride.

Although it did not affect most of her cognitive skills, Kayo had difficulty discerning fact from fantasy as a result of her trauma, although she put aside her delusions at points when faced with strong, hard facts. Additionally, after receiving Lukana Octo's body Kayo was capable of having prophetic dreams and could use them to track others. Due to her lineage as the daughter of the Demon of Envy, Kayo also was unable to be killed except by the power of another demon of sin, healing quickly from all other wounds; it also made her skilled with blades despite having no form of training.

Character Connections
Kai Miroku: Kayo's victim. Initially projecting her dead husband onto Kai, Kayo was overjoyed to see her "loved one" alive again. After learning of Kai's role in her family's death, however, the tailor snapped out of her projection and desired to have revenge against him, taking his family members away as he had to her before finally killing the man.

Mei Miroku: Kayo's victim. On the surface the two had an amiable relationship, with Kayo often helping Mei with her work and receiving support from her in turn after her family's death. As Kai's wife, however, Kayo saw fit to kill Mei out of revenge towards Kai and murdered her brutally with no remorse.

Miku Miroku: Kayo's victim. As Kai's daughter, Kayo saw fit to kill Miku out of revenge towards Kai and murdered her brutally with no remorse, also killing the girl's unborn child as a result.

Rin Miroku: Kayo's victim. As Kai's daughter, Kayo saw fit to kill Rin out of revenge towards Kai and murdered her brutally with no remorse, despite having a harmless relationship with the girl otherwise.

Lukana Octo: A body Kayo swapped into. Kayo preferred Lukana's body to her own and saw it as a means to start a new life. After obtaining the body through Ma's body swap, Kayo was satisfied with her new appearance and used it to begin anew after the death of her family.

Ma: A missionary who traded bodies with Kayo. Knowing her as "Elluka Clockworker", Kayo was approached by the apparent Levin missionary in her time of despair and began to trust her with her feelings of envy and inability to move on from her family's death. Accepting her help, she agreed to swap bodies with the sorceress.

Kokutan-douji: A local boy. Believing him to be her long-lost son, Kayo treated "Ren" with motherly affection and befriended him. Although it was impossible for Kokutan to be her son, Kayo comforted herself by pretending he was her son even up to her death.

Gakuga Sudou: Kayo's real husband. Kayo and Gakuga had a deeply loving relationship as husband and wife, despite often trading sarcastic remarks with him about his constant boasting. Due to this love Kayo was bitterly saddened by his death and dealt with her grief by, initially, projecting Gakuga onto Kai Miroku.

Ren: Kayo's son. Kayo loved and deeply cared for her son, and was bitterly saddened by his death. To deal with her grief, the woman often projected her son onto other people with similar traits as the child.

Conceptualization and Origin

 * Kayo's name is written as 禍世 in Japanese kanji, using the kanji for "wickedness" or "calamity" and "world" or "society" respectively.
 * Her surname, Sudou, is written as 首藤 in Japanese kanji, using the kanji for "head" or "neck" and "wisteria" respectively.
 * Her name is also derived from the term ストーカーよ (sutookaayo) or "stalker"; when read in its eastern format, Kayo's name becomes "Sudou Kayo" (スドウ＝カヨ).
 * Kayo's name is partially inspired by the name of her representative Vocaloid, Luka, with Kayo's name beginning with "ka".
 * Kayo is inspired by the Kuchisake-onna, a popular Japanese urban legend of the ghost of a woman mutilated by her jealous husband asking her victims, "Am I beautiful?" before killing them with a pair of scissors; Jakoku, Kayo's native country, is inspired by Japan.
 * Her preference for tuna takoyaki is likely a reference to Tako Luka as well as the tuna fish, Luka's character item.

Curiosities

 * Lukana Octo, Kayo's eventual body, was also a tailor;  similarly, Elluka, who inhabited Lukana's body before Kayo, was also mentioned to have a sewing hobby.
 * When working on her song for the Seven Crimes and Punishments album, mothy commented that she was the Seven Deadly Sins character he'd least like to meet in real life.

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