Kaede Kayano

"Once I put my mind on something, I keep on rolling."

- Kayano's catchphrase

Kaede Kayano (real name Akari Yukimura) is a student in Class 3-E of Kunugigaoka Junior High School, taught by Korosensei. She is one of Nagisa Shiota's best friends and is, by her own admittance, currently in love with him.

Appearance
Kayano is a girl with a short stature. She has a little frame, hazel eyes, and light green hair which is always fashioned in unique, cat ear-styled pigtails. A running gag for her appearance is that she is "forever flat", referring to her not having noticeable breasts like the other female students in the class.

It was later revealed that her light green hair is dyed and her hair is actually black, long, and wavy. Her hazel eyes also became red due to her blood lust. After the events of the Kayano arc, she went back to her cat ear-styled pigtails and her eyes returned to hazel.

After seven years since graduating from middle school, she went back to her original hairstyle prior to joining Class 3-E. Noticeably, her chest had grown slightly.

Personality
Kayano is one of the most cheerful, kind, and passive members of the class. She frequently acts as support in assassination attempts with her ability to assess the situation and adapt herself to them.

Despite her apparent passive nature, Kayano is an empathic and strong-willed person who can be extremely determined to the things that interest her or cares about, such as her love for sweets, and more tragically, her sister's fate. She also experiences a severe complex when it comes to her sex appeal, loudly voicing her discomfort when being around large breasted women.

In Chapter 129, her passive and cheerful personality shown during the school year is revealed to be fake to protect her true identity and motives. Her only true attributes were her tenacity, adapting skill, and sex appeal complex, the rest being mere fabrications. However, after the incident that took place within the Kayano arc, the kind and cheerful personality she created became a true part of who she is.

History
Kayano's past is finally revealed in Chapter 129 and Chapter 130. She is revealed to be Akari Yukimura, the younger sister of the late Aguri Yukimura who prior to joining Kunugigaoka, she was a famed prodigal actress who went by the stage name of Haruna Mase. At some point during her career, her manager suggested that she take some time off, which she did. Eventually, people stopped recognizing her all together and she continued her time as a regular middle school student.

Akari's relationship with her elder sister was loving and positive, to the point that she would tease Aguri about who she was infatuated with as of late. She also advised Aguri to end her relationship with fiancee Kotarō Yanagisawa after deducing that he had a sinister personality underneath his charms, due to her experience with directors in her acting career. The two sisters agreed to catch up properly after Aguri mentioned getting some time off on the next day, though Akari had the last word requesting to know everything about the man that Aguri was into.

One day, Akari was wandering outside the research facility her sister helped out at and witnessed an explosion take place. Because of her small stature, she was able to navigate her way through the rubble to get to Aguri. When she finally reached her sister, she saw her bleeding with a tentacled creature that would later become Korosensei leaning over her body. The creature sped off soon after leaving a note addressed to Aguri's relative telling them where to find him. Akari hurried to her now dead sister and while mourning for her, she came across the tentacle cell liquid.

She took her sister's research home and began researching the tentacles, studied what they were for and simultaneously planned her revenge as well as her ultimate act. She even transferred to Kunugigaoka under the fake alias of Kaede Kayano, which was the name of a one-shot character she once played and got herself put into Class E by destroying some of Chairman Asano's valuable possessions. Soon after, she injected herself with the cells and dyed her black hair green.

At some point not long after, she met Nagisa and decided that he was the perfect candidate to conceal her and place her as one of the background characters. She commented on his long hair and styled them into his signature pigtails. She introduced herself to him and thus their "friendship" began.

As a 3-E Student
In the first chapter, Kayano was the one who asked the target teacher what name they should refer him as; he tells her that they can decide. After Terasaka's failed assassination attempt, she says the name she thought of for the teacher: Korosensei. In spite of her main character status, she tends to remain in the background, being geared mainly towards logistical support. During the Kyoto school trip, Kayano and Yukiko Kanzaki were kidnapped by rogue students. In that time, she learned about Kanzaki's secret before they were rescued by their group and Korosensei.

She gets the spotlight in Chapter 80, in which she devised an assassination attempt purely based on her love of pudding. Although the attempt was unsuccessful, her classmates were impressed on how straightforward and well thought out the plan was.

During the following arcs, she remains occupied on logistical and supportive roles, being Team A's only non-combat member during the God of Death incident, and helping the class during the School Festival and the Play.

Time for a Storm - Kayano's Time
Kayano returns to the spotlight in Chapter 128. Along with Nagisa, she's tasked with storing away the props from the play Class E had recently made, with Korosensei quickly offering to help them. In the shack, after reminiscing her time spent with the class, she reveals she possesses two black tentacles sprouting from the nape of her neck. She suddenly attacks Korosensei, stunning him. She promptly states her love for him, along with her desire to kill him.

In Chapter 129, she attempts to kill Koroensei with a pitfall trap, filled with anti-sensei material at the bottom of it, forcing him down with her tentacles. Her attempt is thwarted once he uses his energy beam to blow up a part of the wall to escape, Kayano being unable to stop him after instinctively recoiling in defense. The sound from the explosion alerts the class, who arrive and are shocked at the revelation of Kayano having tentacles (Itona in particular). She informs Korosensei of her current name being fake and gives him an obvious hint of her true identity and connection to him. After promising to kill him tomorrow, she exits the school ground, completely indifferent to her classmates and their reactions.

She arranges for Korosensei to duel her at Kunigigaoka Park at night to fulfil her promise in Chapters 130-133, dressed in a skirt and ankle boots despite the cold weather. She reminisces how she managed to blend herself in with ease, using Nagisa as a cover to hide her bloodlust while he stands out more, and accuses Korosensei of murdering her sister. Kayano also explained how she discovered the research her sister was involved in and implanted herself with tentacles as part of her ultimate plan to kill him. Kayano also claimed that the persona she also had for most of the school year was a fabrication, the only real thing about her was her tenacity and sex appeal complex. She then starts fighting Korosensei, who was barely able to keep up with her speed.

As Kayano was quickly being consumed by her tentacles feeding off her blood-lust, Korosensei used what little energy he had to spare to inform the class to distract Kayano long enough for him to remove her tentacles. To do this, he would expose his ultimate weak spot (his heart hidden behind his crescent moon tie) while someone tries to stop her. Kayano's tentacles do manage to strike him in the heart though he survived the attempt. Simultaneously Nagisa intervenes and approaches his friend. Using Irina's seductive kissing technique as well as his own bloodlust, Nagisa negates Kayano's own bloodlust and kisses her in the mouth. The bloodlust from her eyes change to an expression of shock and surprise, and Kayano is knocked unconscious after 15 "hits". Korosensei then removes her tentacles. She soon wakes up returning to her normal self, explaining that as she got to know her teacher and fellow classmates more, her initial will to kill him gradually dropped and began thinking that there was perhaps more to the story than she knew. The students forgive her and she cries that she no longer needs to put up the acting charade.

Realizing that the situation has changed and that Shiro was watching the fight the whole time, Korosensei began telling the true story of how he became to be what he is now, with the whole class including Kayano listening on. After hearing his side of the story, Kayano and the whole class realized that hearing his past plus the nine months they spent with him made the act of killing him all the more harder and frightening. Throughout the winter break, Kayano (with her hair grown back to its original length) spent her time recovering from her tentacle experiences in the hospital. On the day before the start of the final semester, she was visited by Nagisa, Sugino, Okuda and Kanzaki, who updated her on the inactivity since hearing their teacher's past. Kayano brushes off Nagisa's apology for kissing her as simply that she was grateful to him for saving her life. However, when they leave, Kayano flails about at the thought of Nagisa kissing her and bemoans the fact that she has to continue acting as a friend.

A New Purpose
At the start of the third and final semester, Nagisa called the class together and proposed that instead of killing Korosensei, they try to find a way to save him. Kayano and several others agree with this, though Karma, Nakamura and Terasaka were against this. Korosensei intervened following a fight between Nagisa and Karma and proposed the class to play a paintball match to settle the dispute. Kayano joins the blue team (the team wanting to save Korosensei, and to Nagisa's relief), stating that she wants to honor her sister's wish to save him, and privately thought to herself that falling for assassins seems to run in the family. Sometime after the match begins, Kayano witnesses Hinata Okano take out Hinano Kurahashi and pursues her. Her speed and ability to keep up with her quarry surprises Okano, which Kayano attributes to her physical training as part of her acting career. But Kayano is shot from behind by Kimura just before she could eliminate Okano. Okano helps the defeated Kayano up and part on good terms. When the war boiled down to between Nagisa and Karma, Kayano believed that for Nagisa to truly win and unite the class, he needed to meet Karma's melee challenge head on. She and the class eventually witnessed Karma surrendering and Nagisa winning the battle.

After painstaking research, the class discover that there was a solution to save Korosensei, namely that Okuda's poison in the first semester would reduce the already small chances of their target blowing up by March.

Valentines' Time
Kayano makes her return to the spotlight in Chapter 159. She is discovered by Karma and Rio Nakamura hiding a piece of chocolate under her desk. Her attempt to pass it off as an obligation chocolate fails when Karma shows her a picture of her and Nagisa kissing, totally embarrassing her. Karma and Nakamura decide to help Kayano out and begin spying on other classmates. To prevent Korosensei on spying on Kayano and Nagisa alone, she gives Karma a picture of Aguri Yukimura in a swimsuit and chocolate on her behalf (which works well enough to be used for an actual assassination). Kayano manages to get Nagisa alone but her nervousness makes her ask him what career path he might pursue. While Nagisa was evasive, she deduces him becoming a teacher based on his admiration of Korosensei as a school teacher. When he sees Korosensei perched from afar, his straightforward focus reminded Kayano of why she fell in love with him, and why she did not feel empty and hollow after the loss of her sister and pursuit for vengeance. With this, she presents Nagisa her bar of chocolate, thanking him for always being by her side ever since she joined Class E, and walks away vowing to support him.

Assassination Time, 2nd Hour
One week before the March deadline arrived, Korosensei is trapped in the mountain classroom by the government's Earth Shield and would be destroyed by their satellite weapon on the final day. Kayano and the class were kidnapped by an elite mercenary group and held in confinement by the government for their "safety". On the final day, the students were able to escape with Irina's help, though the manner in which she did it made Kayano furious when she seemingly kissed Nagisa. Penetrating the army perimeter at the base of the mountain, the class efficiently took out the mercenaries that kidnapped them, whom severely underestimated the students' abilities.

The class' reunion with Korosensei is interrupted by the arrival of Shiro and the second God of Death, the latter becoming a tentacled monster. Unlike Kayano and Itona as former tentacle users, No. 2 was completely compatible as he started attacking Korosensei in a ferocious matter. Shiro himself joins the fight, injecting himself with a tentacle seed after Kayano calls him out on always letting his pawns do the dirty work for him. Korosensei is then forced to protect the students after No. 2 is ordered to attack them. With their teacher unable to heal himself and counterattack, Kayano fires a shot at No. 2 and damaged one of No. 2's tentacles thanks to the kinetic vision she retained after losing her tentacles. Despite Korosensei's objections, she regrets having the class learn the truth and deny them the fun times they enjoyed. Her attempt to strike however is interrupted as she is impaled through the chest in the same manner as her deceased sister. Seeing this, Korosensei turns pitch black and re-engages his former apprentice, while Kayano is carried off by Nagisa.

After both Shiro and the second God of Death are defeated by Korosensei, it is revealed that he caught and preserved the majority of Kayano's spilt blood and damaged cells. He commences operating on her at a microscopic level, replacing the cells to their original position. He also gets blood donations from the class E students with AB blood type to help with blood transfusions, notably Karma and Itona. After this, he defibrillates her, successfully restarting her heart and bringing her back to life. Although upset that her ripped clothes had not been mended first, she was still grateful to Korosensei saving her life. In his final moments before the execution, Kayano positioned Korosensei's head on her lap before Koro-sensei called for a final attendance and finally assassinated one minute before midnight. The whole class wailed in grief as their beloved teacher and target departed them forever.

Aftermath - Time After Time
After the graduation and assassination of Koro-sensei, Kayano returns to the acting profession as Haruna Mase. Her parkour skills gained from her time in Class 3-E have enabled her to perform her own stunts during filming and become popular from starring in morning dramas in her own right. Seven years have passed until she paid a visit by sneaking out at the break of shooting session to the old Class E building to pray for Koro-sensei and her elder sister, where she was found by some of her former classmates. Kayano joins them to repair the class back to its former glory but as they wonder how they will be able to look after the premises when jobs and life, in general, begin to interfere, Kayano privately thinks to herself that she has one person in mind who can put the building to good use in the near future.

When Sumire Hara asks Kayano whether she has kept in contact with Nagisa, Kayano (although blushing) merely replied that he is probably more focused on his career path at the present time.

Nagisa Shiota
Kaede and Nagisa are regularly seen together and appear to be good friends. During the Assassination Test of Courage, Korosensei paired Nagisa with Kaede. In Chapter 128, it's revealed that her reason for being around Nagisa is to merely disguise her massive bloodlust. This is confirmed in Chapter 130 however in Chapter 133, it was revealed that as she continued on throughout the school year, she developed genuine concern for him. It's also revealed that she gave him his current hairstyle, albeit with the intention of making him stand out more so she could blend into the background with ease. It has been implied that Kaede may have developed some degree of feelings for him during the year and according to the official character book, she was upset when Bitch-sensei kissed him.

In Chapter 142, Kayano seemingly acted normally when her friends visited her in the hospital room where she was resting. However, once Nagisa and the others left, she lost control of herself and flailed in a fashion much like that of a stereotypical teenage girl at the recollection of Nagisa kissing her. It is heavily implied that her own feelings for Nagisa are more than just platonic, for she thought to herself about the fact that she'd have to continue acting as his friend. In Chapter 144 it is revealed that she has developed romantic feelings for Nagisa because he filled her heart with warmth due to his focused, head-on gaze. At one point she stated/joked that it must be because she and Aguri are sisters that they both fell for assassins. Another statement is she admits Nagisa as the most talented Assassin and the best killer amongst the Class 3-E. On The Graduation Album Time, it is implied they could be dating.

Aguri Yukimura

 * Main article: Aguri Yukimura

Kayano shared a close relationship with her sister and they love each other. Despite each other's busy schedule with Kayano being an actress, and Aguri being a teacher in the day and a lab assistant in the night, they were still able to have their family time together. Her sister was very proud of Kayano and sought to watch over her gently from the shadows as she made her way to adulthood.

Their relationship was so close that she would playfully tease her elder sister and also advised her to end the relationship with Yanagisawa. Aguri's death had a great impact on Kayano, to the point that she swore vengeance against Korosensei when she believed that Korosensei had killed her elder sister.

Korosensei
Korosensei is her target, and like most of the Class E students she quickly "warmed up" to him. She was the one who gave him his current name, something he was truly grateful for. In Chapter 80, it was revealed they share the same passion for sweets, prompting her to devise her own assassination attempt, which was based completely on their mutual interest in pudding. In Chapter 128, she stated that she "loved" him, however, this could've most likely been the influence of the tentacles or meant to throw him off.

Kayano accuses him of causing the death of her older sister and since obtaining tentacles, she considers him her nemesis. In Chapter 133, it was revealed that her initial will to kill him gradually dropped as she got to know him and she began thinking that there might be more to his side of the story than she knew. After hearing Korosensei's past, and learning that he did not kill her older sister, Kayano no longer blames him but the assignment that was given to the class became much more frightening. Kayano will later regret trying to kill Korosensei and opted instead to try to save him.

Karma Akabane
Oddly enough, Kayano was unaware of Karma's reputation for violence when he joined Class E and thus was slightly wary of him at first. The reason for her unawareness of his violent fame was because she joined the school directly for the third year. However, as time went on they are shown to have a friendly relationship, as they are seen together regularly along with Nagisa, being a very close friend from both of them, so she eventually got plenty of information from him about Karma. Karma even calls her with the honorific "-chan" as opposed to the "-san" he refers to the other females of the class with, and during Valentines' Day, he decided to help Kayano pluck the courage to give Nagisa chocolate by observing other students with her and Nakamura beforehand.

Okuda Manami

 * Main article: Okuda Manami

Kayano and Okuda are shown to get along very well and are seen together at several points of the series. According to the official character booklet, Kayano is one of Okuda's closest friends.

Abilities
Perseverance: By far her greatest talent, as she was able to withstand the hellish pain from the tentacles, without any kind of treatment, for over a year. The average person wouldn't be able to function normally and would expire out of pure pain in three days without help. In spite of that, she keeps a completely normal front and is able to go through her entire school year without showing any kind of discomfort.

Assassination: Although hidden during most of the manga, Kayano clearly excels in the skills required for a talented assassin, being able to blend into the background very easily, keeping her true objectives and intentions hidden from friends and foes alike, regardless of their skill at discernment, and being able to strike without being noticed. Shiro states that, out of all of the Class E students, she is the most qualified one to be an assassin but Kayano herself states that Nagisa was the best assassin in the Classroom after she was defeated by Nagisa through French Kiss.

Acting: As a professional and prodigal actress, Kayano is renowned for her skill to play any type of role flawlessly, due to her remarkable adaption skills and empathy. Due to this, she was able to fool Class E's students and staff during the school year, and after the graduation, she started to professionally act again in her own way. All of them believed the fake identity she created. However, her acting abilities become unaffected or dulled to Karma, Nakamura and Nagisa after her failed assassination attempt on Korosensei at the field.

Intelligence: Kayano is revealed to have a very high level of intelligence, as she was noted for being the first one to pass the Kunugigaoka transfer student exam on her first try, and even could implant the tentacle cells into herself in order to control them in a very short time. Unlike Itona, and despite not receiving any kind of treatment, her intellect isn't impaired in the slightest by the tentacles. Perhaps her true level of intelligence was first hinted at during her first attempt to kill Korosensei, devising a plan based on her love of pudding, and although the plan failed, the simplicity and how well thought out the plan was immensely impressed her classmates. In the environment of Class 3-E, Kayano has great logistical skills to support planning of assassinations.

Mobility: For most of the series Kayano was shown to be among the least physically capable of the girl, though this was due to the tentacles secretly implanted in her which made her body dull. Unlike Itona, the tentacles did give her the ability to move and strike extremely fast. Once the tentacles were removed and no longer subduing the accompanying pain, Kayano was able to focus and move quickly to different spots, thanks to the physical training she had done as an actress before she implant the tentacle seed into her, to the point that her speed allowed her to easily kept track of Okano's movements and match them despite having to keep this a secret for most of the year.

Quotes

 * (To Nagisa Shiota) "The school trip was fun, we got to see different sides of everyone."
 * (To Karma Akabane) "Once I decide something, I move straight towards it. That's how I am."
 * (To Korosensei) "I love you, Korosensei. Now die."
 * (About Nagisa Shiota) "There were times where I was worried about him, but he was always by my side all while setting aside an earnest bloodlust."
 * (To Korosensei) "I'm the younger sister of Aguri Yukimura. Get it yet, murderer?."
 * (To Class E) "At first... my bloodlust was pure. But the more time I spent with Korosensei, the more I started to lose confidence in it. Like, 'What if there's another story behind his actions that I don't know about?' and 'Should I make sure I'm right before I kill him?' And at that time, the bloodlust in my tentacles started to swell up. They wouldn't let me give up the assassination."
 * (To her tentacles on what she wanted to be) "I want to be a killer."
 * (Her true feelings about love in real life) "But... But... When it comes to romance on camera, I've acted it out plenty of times and I've studied it quite a bit... But actually falling in love with a classmate in real life? I've got no experience at all!"
 * (Admittance of defeat) "I thought I was the best in the class, a simple human that doesn't stand out who can use the explosive power of tentacles in an instant... I thought I would not be second to anyone as an assassin and yet my own heart.... was easily pierced... This is my total defeat, there is no better assassin than Nagisa in our class"

Trivia

 * Kayano was called "Forever 0" during class 3-E training using code names. The one who wrote her code name was Muramatsu. It was also listed on Koro-Sensei's list of female Students' cup size.
 * She also is the shortest student in class E.
 * Kayano is rarely represented by a Bunny.
 * In the "Girls you're interested in" ranking made by the boys in Chapter 19, Kayano was ranked 4th, with style listed as her best point. The comment next to her vote tally says "Small; cheers you up".
 * In the popularity poll of Volume 12, Kayano was the lowest ranked of the main trio, at 9th place.
 * In the art rankings of Volume 5, Kayano was placed 3rd among the female students.
 * Her best subject is Japanese, while her worst is P.E. In Volume 15, her best subjects prior to joining E Class were Japanese, Social Studies, Science, and P.E. and her worst was Math.
 * Her dream is "to become a capable woman." Volume 15 reveals that prior to joining Class E her dream was to be star actress or an office lady.
 * Her hobby is karaoke-scoring.
 * Her favorite food is pudding, and as shown she has extensive knowledge on it.
 * When the tentacles asked her what she wanted, Kayano answered, "To be a killer."
 * Her inability to swim, her fixation on breasts, and her love of sweets, are traits she shares with Korosensei and to a lesser extent, Itona, though she had her breast fixation even before the implantation. Her strong will, almost bordering on obsession, and drive once she decides to do something, however, is another key trait they share.
 * She dislikes people that are big-breasted, except Tōka Yada, her sister Aguri Yukimura, and later Irina Jelavić. However it is revealed she used to adore her sister's breast, and the tentacles she implanted turned her adoration into disliking.
 * It is revealed in Chapter 159 that despite being good at acting of falling in love with someone, Kayano didn't have any experience in falling in love in real life until she met Nagisa.
 * Kayano is the one who gave Koro-sensei his current name, which he has used ever since.
 * During the Civil War, Kayano was eliminated by Kimura from behind before she could shoot Hinata Okano.
 * Nagisa came to the conclusion that her pudding plan was just a dummy attempt to further avoid arousing suspicion of Kayano not actively participating in the class's numerous attempts.
 * While Nagisa is the main narrator of the series, Kayano acts as the narrator in Chapter 179.
 * In the tankobon extras, her statistics were listed as:
 * Physical strength: 2
 * Mobility: 2
 * Close-range assassination: 2
 * Long-range assassination: 3.5
 * Academic ability: 3
 * Characteristic skill: 4 (Sweets chef)


 * Her statistics prior to joining Class E as revealed in Volume 15's extras:
 * Physical strength: 4
 * Mobility: 4.5
 * Close-range assassination: 0
 * Long-range assassination: 0
 * Academic ability: 4.5
 * Characteristic skill: 5 (Acting)


 * Along with her statistics with the tentacles at full power:
 * Physical strength: 1
 * Mobility: 5
 * Close-range assassination: 5
 * Long-range assassination: 5
 * Academic ability: 1.75
 * Characteristic skill: 5 (Acting)