Kirio Kikuhara


 * This article contains major plot spoilers from the manga that have not been revealed in the anime. Proceed at your own risk.

Kirio Kikuhara (菊原 桐郎) is the commander of the CCC where he acts under the code name 02 (Zero Two (ゼロツー)). He is also a double agent who has infiltrated the MPD Public Safety Division 5, in which, he is the leader of A Squad.

Kikuhara presents a gentle face to others, but he is someone who wouldn't think twice about murder if it furthered his goals. He is someone who, despite the affections of others, is incapable of loving another person.

In everything he does, he appears to have an ulterior motive.

Early Life
Kikuhara grew up in a lonely environment deprived of proper parental attention. His mother, Yuzuru Kikuhara, hated children, and would therefore employ three housekeepers to look after Kirio. She did not care for him and neglected him as she employed herself with work and romantic affairs. This changed Kikuhara's sophomore year of high school, when Yuzuru praised him for the first time in fifteen years, claiming he was more handsome than any other man. She had begun to find him attractive.

Despite Yuzuru having no interest in Kikuhara for so many years, Kirio couldn't help feeling happy at her praise. However, this newfound joy soon led to guilt as he began to feel trapped by his mother's so-called "love".

Change occurred once again one morning after they had slept together. Kikuhara woke to view his mother standing on the veranda and proceeded to push her off, killing her outright. That was the moment he first felt alive, having finally freed himself of his mother's "curse".

Career
Kikuhara was completely unaffected by his mother's death, moving on to graduate from both high school and a university called East Bay University of the science department. He also joined the CCC at an unknown time and became its commander, being one of the CCC's earliest members. To gain intel from the police forces about devils, Kikuhara infiltrated the MPD Public Safety Division 5 and was assigned to the A Squad as a police and devil detective. After a while of being a police/detective, Kikuhara visited ONLO where he intentionally met a young Yuuki Anzai, due to Kikuhara being interested in the son of the mass-murdering devil, Tamaki Anzai. He saved the boy whilst he was stuck on a tree, which led them to become acquainted. Kikuhara told Yuuki about his neglectful mother and how he just wished that someone similar to him would become his friend. When Kikuhara asked Yuuki to be his friend and follow him to a place, he hesitantly accepted, which made Kikuhara happy. Kikuhara then lead him to the underground jail and to his father as he meanwhile told Yuuki about his own past and how he killed his mother. He explained that it was the same path as Tamaki, Yuuki's father, took, by killing 15 people. This made the little Yuuki pass out. In the aftermath, an outraged Midori Anzai who was watching the situation came and punched Kikuhara. In 2006 when Kikuhara was 34 years old, he met a teenage girl named Nanako Tenjo. She happened to be his former professor's, Kousuke Chizu's adoptive daughter, and they met at the study group Kousuke held in his house. They became acquainted one day while Kikuhara saw her mock exam results she intended to show her adoptive father, to which he understood she wasn't good at maths and offered to help her if she wanted to. Nanako accepted, and they grew close over their study sessions and Kikuhara constantly supported her in this matter. However, one day, Nanako happened to see Kikuhara on the streets and she realized he was a devil police officer/detective in the police department. This revelation made her depressed, as her trauma was caused by her mother's ex-boyfriend Kenichi Morisawa who was also a police officer. Kikuhara knew the what she was feeling, so he came to visit Nanako and explained the situation. He confirmed that he was a police officer and a devil detective, and convinced Nanako that unless people didn't do anything like isolating or exterminate devils, another devil like Morisawa would show up. While comforting her, Kikuhara said the words "Nanako, come here" which triggered Nanako's memories of Morisawa. However, Kikuhara explained that he couldn't love someone and didn't see Nanako as a woman nor sexually, and if she understood, she could come to his side (as in joining the CCC). For the following years, Kikuhara would recruit more members to the CCC.

Appearance
Kikuhara is a rather tall, middle-aged man who is noted to be handsome. He has short black hair which is slicked to the left side, which gives the impression that he's professional. He has sharp, light-colored eyes and is often seen dressing in a business suite. Later on, Kikuhara gets the left side of his face burned due to a bomb, where he has visible burn marks.

In his younger days, he had less defined facial features. He also used to let his bangs fall freely in which it covered his forehead.

Personality
Kikuhara shows a gentle, calm, and kind personality to his peers in which he comes off as charismatic. He appears to care about his own and other squad members and worries about their well-being whenever something happens. When Kikuhara does something, he does it solely because he wants to, whether it may benefit people or not. He also appears to not be overly friendly and not having any ulterior motives, and he also seems cordial but is also aloof. This is why people can feel safe around him. However, Kikuhara has an odd aura around him as he is sometimes depicted in twisted faces and replying questions with inappropriate answers for being in the police department specifically for devil crimes.

Kikuhara's gentle personality is actually a cover-up for his true personality. He is very devoted to the CCC and the extermination of devils. Kikuhara believes that sacrificing lives of his subordinates will contribute to saving the world from devils. He also convinced some members of the CCC who joined, that devils had to be eradicated from society and therefore create a safe environment for humans. He also offered the members that he would give them money and a safe place to live in, the majority who had had traumatic/lonely pasts or a "worthless" way of living. He also convinced some to join by saying it was a normal job. Kikuhara's gentle lies made the CCC's members fail to realize that they actually were a terrorist group.

He has a twisted personality and sense of right and wrong. He makes his comrades believe in and trust him while Kikuhara has no problem in killing them if it means that it can further his goals. He also dislikes useless people which is why he wants to throw away people from the organization who are deemed to be useless. He shows no remorse or guilt by using violence, manipulation, threats, or murder to get what he wants. Rather, he becomes disappointed in himself if he can not manage his plans effectively and not properly hide as the culprit behind his crimes. He takes advantage of his comrades' trust in him which ceases them from being able to betray him, even if they wanted to. Kikuhara acknowledges his actions which is why he doesn't consider himself "human". Kikuhara also seems to be very intelligent, as he coordinated Plan B which got immensely amount of recognition and reaction from humans which increased anti-devil protest in society. Contrary to his cruel actions, Kikuhara always carries a level-headed and calm, sometimes intimidating and arrogant personality. When he gets excited, he lets out a twisted smile.

Kikuhara is, to some degree, apathetic. He does not have interest in people around him but meddles in their lives anyway. He also ends up doing many things that traumatizing other people. He constantly loses interest towards various matters which is why he tries to find himself some amusement. However, he does sometimes have interest in people, such as Yuuki and Tamaki. When he gets serious about something, he can become very absorbed in that matter. According to Zero One, Kikuhara is almost as composing tragedies from the vantage of a God.

Kikuhara has completely lost his trust in familial bonds and bonds in general because of the environment he grew up in. On the other hand, he does not feel lonely as he doesn't feel like he can love someone else. He also does not have an attraction towards others, as he has told Nanako that he didn't see her, or anyone else, sexually. However, he has his own sense of preference and "humor", as he claimed that the fact that Nanako had "zero sex-appeal" was boring. The only thing he has longed for was a friend, who could be just like him. However, Kikuahara's definition of a comrade is someone who walks separately from him, but in the same darkness. He doesn't want a comrade who he can spend time with and chat with, he only wants to feel a camaraderie in someone who is in tough circumstances and living alone without depending on anyone, like himself. This is something he supposedly found in Yuuki. Even though Kikuhara hasn't been interested in bonds for several years, Yuuki's kind words regarding their "friendship" and past have shaken Kikuhara. Although he claims that he doesn't like Yuuki, he has come to "help" him in times of trouble.

People killed

 * Yuzuru Kikuhara
 * Ren Murakami

Etymology

 * The name Kirio means "paulownia" (桐) (kiri) and "son" (郎) (o).
 * Kirio's surname Kikuhara means "chrysanthemum" (菊) (kiku) and "field, plain" (原) (hara).

Trivia

 * Kikuhara claims to be good at math.
 * Kikuhara likes the smell that hospitals have.
 * Although Kikuhara speaks standard Japanese, he can also speak with a little Aomori dialect due to the influence from his housekeeper, Mrs. Harada.