Kaito Momota [Zombie Apocalypse.]

Ultimate Astronaut Height 184 cm Weight 74 kg Birth Date ♈ April 12 Chest Size 90 cm Blood Type O Likes House plants Dislikes The occult Family Unnamed grandparents Participated Killing School Semester Affiliation Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles Previous Affiliation Dodonpachi Commercial High Appearance: Kaito is a tall, young man with gel-spiked purple hair that's grown out both at the top and bottom of his head, that Kodaka describes as a space jet coming out of a black hole and a short goatee. His eyes are a warm lilac, and he has fairly long eyelashes. He also has a slightly tanned complexion. Kaito wears a white t-shirt kumadori design stamped on it, on top of that he wears a long sleeved dress shirt with a breast pocket. On this shirt are black buttons which are currently not in use. On top of that, he wears a long, purple blazer with a galaxy design on the inside of it. However, his coat is worn improperly at all times, instead, Kaito wears his left sleeve and leaves the right side of the coat to drape over his shoulder to leave it fluttering to show the space design. Personality: Kaito is an energetic person with a passionate heart, who lives for dreams and romance, and tends to give somewhat dramatic encouraging speeches for others. He believes you need to take risks for the sake of your dreams and shouldn't limit yourself nor ever give up. Due to his clichéd hot-blooded spirit and his document falsification he could pass the astronaut examination, proving that he is smart. Being the Ultimate Astronaut, he harbors a dream and a great longing to go to space, and already considers himself a space legend. He often refers to himself as "The Luminary of the Stars" and talks about the Universe being on his side. Furthermore, he talks about being popular with women and children, and he thinks that his goatee gives him a "glamorous celebrity vibe".

Throughout the game, Kaito described himself as a passionate protagonist of his own story who would help the others to survive the killing game. He considers himself a hero type, and occasionally offers to make other people his "sidekicks". Because of that, Kaito always tries his best to unite the group, and he 'is very much a reliable older brother type of character. He is very loyal to his friends and always there in order to aid them, such as when Shuichi Saihara broke down after Kaede Akamatsu's death. He offered his help to regain his spirit by starting training routine during the nighttime and even made him his "sidekick". It is also because of this nature that he became a moral support to the other participants. According to Shuichi, Kaito has the ability to draw people to him, and he has been described as an interesting and amusing person. In his Free Time Events and Love Suite Event, Kaito shows interest in friendly and even romantic rivalry, though he is shown to feel conflicted about romantic feelings because he doesn't wish to be held back by anyone as his true longing is the space and the universe. He appears insecure during the scene, believing that there is no way the other person will feel the same. After Maki revealed her feelings for him, Kaito was relieved and believed in Maki that she can start to love herself if she is able to fall in love with someone like him. While he is excited to look at the dirty books in the library as he thinks it's something guys would normally do, there has also been a moment in which the conversation topic was girls and peeping, and he appeared to become completely distracted and forgot the original topic and instead begun to talk dramatically about man's passion for exploring unknown worlds, claiming it is true man's passion.

In his Free Time Events and Love Suite Event, Kaito shows interest in friendly and even romantic rivalry, though he is shown to feel conflicted about romantic feelings because he doesn't wish to be held back by anyone as his true longing is the space and the universe. He appears insecure during the scene, believing that there is no way the other person will feel the same. After Maki revealed her feelings for him, Kaito was relieved and believed in Maki that she can start to love herself if she is able to fall in love with someone like him. While he is excited to look at the dirty books in the library as he thinks it's something guys would normally do, there has also been a moment in which the conversation topic was girls and peeping, and he appeared to become completely distracted and forgot the original topic and instead begun to talk dramatically about man's passion for exploring unknown worlds, claiming it is true man's passion. His obliviousness to romance and sexual matters has also been shown in the way he didn't realize Maki's jealousy at all and appeared oblivious when the other students more or less jokingly talked about Shuichi being a masochist. Interestingly, Kaito seems to be a good judge of character and can give correct advice at times. While he is seen helping Shuichi and Maki in the main story, this is even more notable in the bonus mode Ultimate Talent Development Plan, as he correctly judges multiple other charactersーfor example, he tells Izuru Kamukura that he will begin to think everything is boring if he keeps repeating how boring everything is, he quickly notices that Nagito Komaeda isn't truly interested in him nor space (as he only cares about him as a symbol of hope) and he tells Mondo Owada you can't move forward in life if you keep looking at past. He is also shown to be easily angered by mindsets that contrast his own, and he stubbornly refuses to believe in them.

Interestingly, Kaito seems to be a good judge of character and can give correct advice at times. While he is seen helping Shuichi and Maki in the main story, this is even more notable in the bonus mode Ultimate Talent Development Plan, as he correctly judges multiple other charactersーfor example, he tells Izuru Kamukura that he will begin to think everything is boring if he keeps repeating how boring everything is, he quickly notices that Nagito Komaeda isn't truly interested in him nor space (as he only cares about him as a symbol of hope) and he tells Mondo Owada you can't move forward in life if you keep looking at past. He is also shown to be easily angered by mindsets that contrast his own, and he stubbornly refuses to believe in them. He strongly hates Kokichi's lies and unwillingness to cooperate, and his anger often clouds his judgement. He also cannot empathize with Ryoma's suicidal way of thinking, considering him a sissy and a fool, as he believes there is always a reason to live even if just small things like good food or friends. He is also notably hot-headed in general, occasionally taking action without thinking and wanting to punch others if angered enough. He can also be quite forceful when offering his support to others. In the Japanese version, he also swears a lot, but this is downplayed in the English localization.

With his clichéd passionate nature, Kaito possesses some slightly old-fashioned opinions, believing that men should be real men (often dramatically talking about "man's passion") and women should not use real weapons and are more suited to childcare (even telling this to Maki, who is the Ultimate Assassin.) Along with considering Ryoma a sissy for having suicidal thoughts, he doesn't like it whenever Gonta cries and apologizes because "men shouldn't apologize so much". At one point, during Chapter 2, he calls Korekiyo Shinguji with the Japanese term "okama" for appearing effeminate, which is often used as a derogatory term for very effeminate gay men or crossdressers (in the English version, he just calls him out for acting "so girly"). However, Kaito himself also has trouble with weakness and appears to have a sort of complex for being the hero, not wanting to show his own weaknesses and troubles to his sidekicks even if it means lying to them as he wishes to come across as a strong figure they can lean on. He had a hard time admitting that even he can make mistakes and felt envious of Shuichi who used his detective skills to save everyone. In his Harmonius Heart Event, he is troubled by the students' trapped situation and feels he cannot show such weakness in front of his sidekick. If Shuichi tries to reassure him that it's okay to be afraid sometimes, Kaito insists that it's not like him to make others worry. He feels embarrassed, believing he has failed his sidekick, and tells Shuichi that he wants to be left alone. Even if Shuichi agrees that it's not like him to show weakness and that he never backs down, Kaito is still bothered by it and Shuichi can tell he is hiding something even when he claims with a grin that he is motivated again. If Shuichi reminds Kaito that he is not just a sidekick but also a friend, and that Kaito can open up to his best friend, Kaito is silent for a moment and then thanks Shuichi with a smile and claims he is okay now.

In his Harmonius Heart Event, he is troubled by the students' trapped situation and feels he cannot show such weakness in front of his sidekick. If Shuichi tries to reassure him that it's okay to be afraid sometimes, Kaito insists that it's not like him to make others worry. He feels embarrassed, believing he has failed his sidekick, and tells Shuichi that he wants to be left alone. Even if Shuichi agrees that it's not like him to show weakness and that he never backs down, Kaito is still bothered by it and Shuichi can tell he is hiding something even when he claims with a grin that he is motivated again. If Shuichi reminds Kaito that he is not just a sidekick but also a friend, and that Kaito can open up to his best friend, Kaito is silent for a moment and then thanks Shuichi with a smile and claims he is okay now. He claims all his doubts are gone now that he knows that Shuichi thinks of him like that. Undoubtedly, Kaito's biggest flaw is his arbitrary complete trust in others, which is often misguided. He is sincere and believes in friendship no matter what, trusting who he wants to trust even against all evidence and logic. He believes Maki without questions despite evidence against her, with his only reason being "an official hunch from Kaito Momota, the Luminary of the Stars himself", causing other students to call him an idiot because of it. He hates to be called an idiot, claiming that it hurts his feelings. During the fourth trial, he denied all the clear evidence that showed Gonta Gokuhara is the killer of Miu Iruma, which ended up making things worse and caused a major risk to everyone.

Kaito can also be slightly comical, sometimes having very over exaggerated expressions and reactions, and can easily come across as not that smart due to his beliefs and occasional silly behavior such as eating way too much food at one point due to feeling pumped up or him claiming he was the one who wore women's underwear in a desperate attempt to clear suspicion against him. His notable weakness is his massive fear of supernatural, strongly disliking anything related to it and grabbing other people in horror during such situations. After Kaito and some of the other students enter the casino in Chapter 2, Kaito is shown to have horrible luck in gambling, which is something Kokichi makes fun of while Kaito seemed to completely lose his spirit and cried wondering how could The Luminary of the Stars lose so pathetically. He then made excuses such as claiming that his true skills are meant for the universe and not something like gambling, and pointed out that he had quit gambling earlier, even though he had just been playing. However, despite some of his comical traits, Kaito is actually very intelligent and talented in various ways as he is an astronaut trainee. It was revealed that before the brainwashing, Kaito was a psychopath who planned to murder all the other participants in order to gain money and honor, with the attitude he had during the game having a twisted meaning of "nothing is impossible after you're rich and famous enough". Though, it should be noted that it is left unclear whether or not this is true and it could have been a lie made by the mastermind, as pointed out by Shuichi.

Kaito was among the first fourteen people gathered in the gymnasium before Kaede Akamatsu and Shuichi Saihara arrived. Just like everyone else, Kaito was confused about their current predicament, asking Kaede and Shuichi if they were also chased by those monsters, referring to the Exisals. Once the Monokuma Kubs arrived and revealed themselves from within their Exisals, they gave the sixteen participants their Ultimate wardrobe, and their first memory via the Flashback Light. Kaito and the other fifteen talentless students underwent the fabrication process, where all of their past memories and personalities were heavily fabricated. He also received the talent and title of Ultimate Astronaut. All of this was done for the sake of satisfying Danganronpa's audience from all over the world. After the fabrication process was completed, Kaito and the others entered the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles as totally different people, officially commencing the 53rd killing game season known as the Killing School Semester. Kaito was later found outside the main school building by Kaede and Shuichi, the Ultimate Detective. He didn’t seem particularly worried about the End Wall, unlike the duo was. He then introduced himself as the Luminary of the Stars, proudly declaring that even crying children adored the Ultimate Astronaut. Kaede was irritated with him when he said that he had a friend of his forge documents in order to pass the exams, but Kaito stated that they let him in regardless due to his personality. He dreamed of one day going into space, saying that there’s no way he could wait until after college and that sometimes you have to take risks in order to make your dreams a reality.

Kaito would later gather with everyone else in the gymnasium after the Monokuma Kubs made their announcement, stating that it was quite something for all these Ultimates to be gathered together like this. Not long after everyone gathered, The Monokuma Kubs and Monokuma, the Monokubs' father and the self-appointed headmaster of the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles, arrived and announced that they would be participating in a Killing Game. Kaito became furious at such a concept. While almost everyone else was shocked or horrified by this. With that, the Killing School Semester had officially begun. After Monokuma officially started the Killing Game, Kaito read the rules on his Monopad and became increasingly more outraged, threatening to smash his Monopad into the ground. He was stopped by Rantaro Amami, the Ultimate ???, who explained to him that he would be killed for doing so as breaking the Monopads violated the school rules. Kaito reluctantly agreed to Rantaro’s statement, but still refused to participate in such a thing. A majority of the group wasn't sure what to do either after reading the rules and began to panic and argue. Thanks to Kaede's motivational speech however, the panic died down and everyone seemed to become united. Kaito was very impressed with Kaede unifying everyone, stating that what she said was what he would have said. Afterwards, Gonta Gokuhara, the Ultimate Entomologist, remembered that he found a manhole inside the boiler room behind the school building. Kaito along with everyone else immediately followed the Ultimate Entomologist's lead, with hope of finding a way out.

Descending the manhole, Kaito and the others found a tunnel leading outside of the academy. Though everyone thought that the tunnel probably ended up being a trap, they still had to test every single possibility in order to escape. Kaede continued to encourage everyone, with Kaito becoming even more impressed to the point where he offered her a hug because they shared the same opinion, he was of course turned down immediately by the Ultimate Pianist. Everyone went into the tunnel with determination. However, Kaito and the others exhausted themselves both physically and mentally as they found that escaping through the Death Road of Despair was next to impossible. Due to this, Kokichi revolted, saying that Kaede's repeated motivational speech is the source of the group's agony, added by some of her friends giving up on escaping the tunnel, the group's harmony came to a swift end. The tunnel ended up being a trap set by Monokuma and the Monokuma Kubs, much to everyone's dismay. Kaito was incredibly angry with the rest of the group for putting all the blame and responsibility on Kaede. He tried to reassure Kaede that she wasn’t wrong before leaving the tunnel and heading to his dorm room to get some rest.

The next day, everyone gathered in the dining hall. As soon as Kaede arrived, Kokichi greeted her, having made the group consolidate once again with his “kind” lie. Kaito however, was still angry with everyone for pushing all the blame onto Kaede without taking any responsibility themselves, but Kaede said it was fine, not wanting the group to fight again. Afterwards, Monokuma came to the dining hall and announced the first motive, anyone who committed the first killing will graduate without holding a trial, effectively calling it a "First Blood Perk". Everyone was worried about what this would mean, aside from Kaito, who became increasingly outraged with Monokuma for doing whatever he wanted and lunged at him. This caused the Monokubs to show up, showing no hesitation to punish Kaito with the Exisals for attempting violence against their father, effectively breaking the rules. The red Exisal charged at him, but accidentally ended up crushing Monokuma instead, supposedly destroying him. The Monokubs were incredibly saddened at the sudden demise of their father, stating that he had no spare and that he was one of a kind. Upon learning this, Kaito and everyone else's mood improved greatly, thinking the killing game to be over. Kaito proudly thought that it was all thanks to him that the killing game had ended.

The next morning, Kaito was with everyone else in the dining hall once again, happy that the Killing Game had supposedly ended. However, it didn't take long for Monokuma to show up once again, much to the dismay of the students, but to the joy of the Monokuma Kubs. Monokuma goes on to reveal the additional motive, that if a murder did not occur within two days by noon, everyone who was forced to participate would be killed. This motive caused a majority of the group to become too depressed to stay united and leave the dining hall. Kaito declared that he would think of something to stop Monokuma no matter what, though his words weren’t taken too seriously. He also noticed that Kaede and Shuichi had a secret that they weren’t willing to share with the group, but he trusted them when Kaede said that no matter what, she would end this killing game. On the final day of the time limit, Kaito held a strategy meeting in the basement's game room to discuss a plan to fight Monokuma after the time limit ended. He managed to gather six participants, Gonta, and Tenko Chabashira, the Ultimate Aikido Master, due to their physical capabilities. He also gathered Himiko Yumeno, the Ultimate Magician, and Angie Yonaga, the Ultimate Artist, believing that their magic and belief in Atua respectively would prove useful for fighting Monokuma. Maki Harukawa, the Ultimate Child Caregiver, would also be dragged along by Kaito, thinking that she probably knew how to fight. Rantaro would end up joining the meeting as well. All seven of them headed down into the game room as soon as the time limit was almost up. Before the meeting begin, Rantaro left the room, claiming that he wanted to go to the bathroom.

Kaito didn't want the meeting to start without Rantaro however and decided to find him along with Tenko. The duo happened to run into Kaede and Shuichi in front of the library and said that they should join their strategy meeting. Kaede however, told the two of them that they might succeeded in catching the mastermind of the Killing Game and that they were inside the library. Hearing this, Kaito and Tenko joined Kaede and Shuichi in storming the library, seeing the bookcase move back into position at the back of the room. The four moved closer to inspect it, only to discover Rantaro’s body not far from the moving bookcase. Kaito was shocked to find him dead, frantically asking what was going on before Tenko let out a scream, alerting everyone else in the game room. Eventually, everyone else gathered due to the body discovery announcement. Kaito was angered at the loss of their friend, asking all of them who did it and that he would “punch them into orbit”. With Kaede’s motivational speech once again however, everyone became united and began to investigate the truth of Rantaro’s death. During the investigation, Kaito and Himiko would question Gonta in the AV room, finding it suspicious that he would lock himself in during their meeting. Gonta seemingly panicked and tried to tell the duo that he didn't kill Rantaro. Kaito tried to get him to relax, saying that they didn’t suspect him, just that they wanted to know what he was doing alone. Himiko however was more willing to suspect him, saying that he had the face of a killer. Kaede and Shuichi did find this odd, but didn't automatically suspect Gonta.

During the Class Trial, when everyone was accusing Shuichi of being the culprit, Kaito was on the half that chose to defend him and refused to believe that he would be capable of murder. When Shuichi pointed out Kaede as the true culprit however, Kaito still could not believe it and tried to defend her as well near the end of the trial. However, Shuichi's deduction makes it apparent that Kaede committed the crime, much to Kaito's dismay. However, upon hearing that Kaede only did what she did so that she could kill the mastermind and save everyone, he did not blame her at all, still viewing her as a great person. After the Class Trial ended, and Monokuma wanted to proceed with the execution, Kaito along with Tenko, and Gonta stood up for her despite facing an Exisal. He stated that if Kaede was willing to risk her life for them, he would put his life on the line as well, though she eventually told them to stop, saying that she was ready to die and that they could end this killing game together and all be friends before being dragged off to her execution. Afterwards, Kaito threatened Monokuma out of anger of seeing one of his friends get killed, but he simply replied with ominous foreshadowing by saying he doesn't have much longer to live.

Once Monokuma and the Monokubs left, Kaito yelled at everyone to shut up because their constant whining and complaining annoyed him, but then stated that Shuichi was the most annoying one of them all before promptly punching him in the face. He angrily abused Shuichi for doing nothing and letting Monokuma do whatever he wanted while Kaede passed her wish onto him and believed in him before Tenko stops him. As everyone else headed back up and out of the elevator, Shuichi and Kaito remained behind for a bit. Kaito recommended him to check out Kaede's Research Lab. The Ultimate Astronaut stated that while there probably weren't a lot of things to remember her in there, there still had to have been many things she liked. Kaito told Shuichi that the only one who could get him through this awful feeling was Kaede in his memories before also leaving the trial grounds. Shuichi would take his words to heart and end up paying a visit to the Ultimate Pianist's Research Lab. The very next morning, Kaito went to ring the bell on Shuichi's dorm room, wanting to get him for breakfast. Shuichi told him that he normally doesn't eat breakfast, but reasoning with the Ultimate Astronaut proved to be a waste of time as he ended up going with Kaito anyways. Kaito also genuinely apologized to Shuichi for punching him and yelling at him earlier. It was only once they got to the dining hall that Kaito noticed Shuichi wasn't wearing his hat, to which Tenko ridiculed him for. Afterwards, the Monokuma Kubs showed up and handed out four random items that the students could use to unlock more areas in the academy.

One of the areas that became unlocked was the casino, which Kaito and Shuichi were able to access and explore together. Kaito was interested in all the games in the basement, quickly amassing a fortune. However, Monokuma showed up afterwards and goaded him with the possibility of amassing double the amount that he currently has. Kaito took the bait completely, thus beginning his downfall. He was left with half of his starting amount, but Monokuma goaded him more. Kaito stubbornly declared that he would earn it all back before continuing his losing streak, all the way down to his last coin. Shuichi could only watch his friend gradually lose everything. Monokuma laughed and mocked him, stating that watching people amass a fortune and loss everything was the best, before disappearing. Angie eventually told Kaito and everyone else to meet in the gymnasium, seemingly failing in discovering anything about the conspicuous flashlight that she and Shuichi had discovered earlier. After everyone had gathered, Monokuma appeared and told the participants that it was a Flashback Light and that it had the ability to restore lost memories before leaving and letting the students decide what to do with it. Although everyone was skeptical at first, they eventually gave in and used it, allowing everyone, Kaito included, to remember that they had been on the run from the "Ultimate Hunt". Though they could not remember the exact details and circumstances behind it, just that they had been on the run.

In a bonus scene in Chapter 2, Miu Iruma, the Ultimate Inventor, Korekiyo Shinguji, the Ultimate Anthropologist, Ryoma Hoshi, the Ultimate Tennis Pro, Shuichi, the Ultimate Detective, and Kokichi Oma, the Ultimate Supreme Leader, gathered in the casino in hopes of playing a secret game with the medal that Shuichi had received from the Monomono Machine. However, Monokuma shows up and denies this, never stating such a thing in the first place and that the medal Shuichi had was just some knickknack he made for the Monokuma Kubs. Afterwards, Kaito showed up as well, and everyone got roped into a gambling competition. Kaito ended up losing to Ryoma every single time, once again continuing his pathetic luck at gambling. Kaito attempted to shrug it off as him stating that his skills are suited for outer space rather than gambling, though it was clear he was upset at his constant losses. During that same night, the Monokubs prepared the second motive, distributing various motive videos at random while the students slept. Shuichi ended up receiving Kaito’s video, which he watched the next morning revealing that the two closest people to the Ultimate Astronaut were his grandparents. Kaito joined everyone in the dining hall the next morning in order to discuss what to do with the motive videos. Despite Ryoma suggesting that they exchange them, wanting to see who could be the most important person in his life, everyone rejected the idea, afraid that it would cause another murder to happen, much to his annoyance. Kaito went with what everyone decided, stating that the motive videos were too dangerous to watch. Kokichi however, had other ideas. The night after the motive videos were presented, Kaito invited Shuichi to the courtyard for training. They both ended up doing push-ups, though Shuichi had a harder time keeping up.

The night after the motive videos were presented, Kaito invited Shuichi to the courtyard for training. They both ended up doing push-ups, though Shuichi had a harder time keeping up. Shuichi asked Kaito why he had to do this, so the Ultimate Astronaut replied by asking if the one Kaede entrusted her wish to was really this weak, still able to sense that Shuichi had yet to truly overcome his weakness. Shuichi angrily responded that he knew that, but still couldn’t help but feel scared of what would happen if he revealed the truth. Kaito encouraged him, seeming to understand what his “enemy” was now. As a result, from this moment onward, Kaito and Shuichi would always attempt to meet up every night to train together like this. Kokichi meanwhile, wanting to make everyone watch each other’s motive videos in order to make the killing game more interesting, thought up of a plan. He lied to Gonta that everyone in the academy hated bugs. Hearing this, Gonta cried and declared that he would get everyone to like bugs in an "Insect Meet and Greet". As a result, two days after the motive videos were distributed, Gonta began to kidnap various students into his lab, completely unaware of the Ultimate Supreme Leader's true intentions.

Gonta would succeed in detaining Tenko, Korekiyo, K1-B0, the Ultimate Robot, and Tsumugi Shirogane, the Ultimate Cosplayer, much to Kokichi's glee. He would later pursue Kaito as well, but he was able to avoid him and warn Shuichi about the impending threat before fleeing once again. Despite Kaito’s warning however, Shuichi ended up detained along with Angie and Himiko later anyways. Kaito would somehow continue to evade the Ultimate Entomologist’s wrath all night, going so far as to hide in the girl’s bathroom until later going back to his room and falling asleep. As a result, Kaito was one of the only students along with Kirumi Tojo, the Ultimate Maid, Maki, and Miu, who were not present for Gonta’s Insect Meet and Greet. The very next day, Kaito was one of the few who did not attend Himiko's magic show, where the next victim, Ryoma, would be found dead. After the body discovery announcement played, Kaito rushed to the gym along with Miu and Kokichi, shocked to discover Ryoma’s skeleton. Gonta and Tenko used K1-B0 as a battering ram to shatter the tank since it would take too long to drain by hand, and everyone helped clean up. Afterwards, the investigation begin for real. During the investigation, Kaito assist Shuichi in his investigation, dubbing the Ultimate Detective as his “sidekick”. Although Kaito may have fulfilled the role of sidekick better, seeing as investigation wasn’t his main area of expertise, he still proved to be a valuable asset, as he pointed out clues that not even Shuichi was able to notice, such as the marks on the window frames in Ryoma’s Lab.

During the second trial, after everyone had supposedly pinned down the culprit as either Kaito or Maki, Kokichi proposed that they all have those two argue against each other and convince the remaining participants on who the IS culprit since if only two suspects remained, one of them had to know for certain that the other was the culprit. Kokichi presented everyone with the first topic, bringing out Ryoma's motive video, and said that one of those two had it. Shuichi was able to deduce that Maki had Ryoma's video due to the fact that he himself had Kaito's. Kokichi proudly told Kaito and Maki to tear each other’s arguments apart in an argument that "isn't boring". Kaito however, was angered by this, saying that he wasn't the culprit, but that Maki wasn't the culprit either, much to both Maki's and Kokichi's bewilderment. Kokichi was baffled with the Ultimate Astronaut being so willing to believe in people based on nothing more than a "hunch", especially considering that everyone's lives were on the line. After going back and forth for some time, Maki turned the entire debate around and said that she had met with Ryoma at nighttime, rendering everyone's alibi's as mute. Kokichi laughed Maki's claim off, claiming she was lying out of desperation. After debating on the matter, and thanks to Shuichi's lie, they were able to prove Maki's claim as accurate, making Kaito proud of Shuichi.

Later on during the trial, Shuichi believed that he had pinned down the culprit, but was still hesitant to reveal the truth. Kaito reassured him however and stated that if he made any mistakes, he himself would take responsibility for them, stating that he is responsible for any mistakes that his sidekick makes. With this encouragement, Shuichi was able to pin Kirumi as the culprit of Ryoma’s murder. When a cornered Kirumi states that she must serve and protect everyone, Kaito wonders who's this "everyone" Kirumi mentioned, thinking that it refers to someone outside of the academy instead. Kokichi makes the assumption that she saw her own motive video, but Kirumi says that she's talking about everyone in the academy. Despite Kirumi constantly stating that his deduction was wrong, Shuichi did not back down, stating that he made a promise to Kaede and that he wanted to protect everyone. This impressed Kaito, and he left the rest of the mystery solving to him. After Kirumi had admitted her crime and her motivations, Kaito was baffled to discover that she was the real prime minister of Japan. She attempted to make everyone feel sympathy for her to the point where they would either want to give up their lives for her, or rebel so that she could flee. While her plan seemed to work, Kaito criticized everyone for thinking of their lives as any less. He stated that human life isn’t something that can be traded away or sold off and further declared that nobody lives their lives for themselves. Everyone’s determination seemed to renew at this speech, but this foiled Kirumi’s plan, which Kokichi pointed out. Kaito however, didn’t blame her, stating that she was simply trying to live in her own way. Later, when the Monokubs showed Ryoma’s motive video, Kaito was disappointed, calling Ryoma a moron for giving up on life so easily. Kirumi made a mad dash for it, still refusing to die.

After Kirumi had admitted her crime and her motivations, Kaito was baffled to discover that she was the real prime minister of Japan. She attempted to make everyone feel sympathy for her to the point where they would either want to give up their lives for her, or rebel so that she could flee. While her plan seemed to work, Kaito criticized everyone for thinking of their lives as any less. He stated that human life isn’t something that can be traded away or sold off and further declared that nobody lives their lives for themselves. Everyone’s determination seemed to renew at this speech, but this foiled Kirumi’s plan, which Kokichi pointed out. Kaito however, didn’t blame her, stating that she was simply trying to live in her own way. Later, when the Monokubs showed Ryoma’s motive video, Kaito was disappointed, calling Ryoma a moron for giving up on life so easily. Kirumi made a mad dash for it, still refusing to die. Kaito was one of the ones who cheered her on, but his and the others cheering was pointless as she was executed by Monokuma. Everyone was rendered shocked by the way she was murdered, but came to the unanimous conclusion that the motive videos were more dangerous than originally believed and decided that it truly would be for the best not to watch them.

After everyone leaves the trial room, Kokichi states that there was an even worse liar than himself hiding among the group, much to everyone's confusion. He then called Maki out as that liar, essentially claiming that she had been lying to everyone about her true identity this entire time. Maki was aggravated by this and threatened Kokichi, but despite holding the Ultimate Supreme Leader by his neck, he still called out her true talent as the Ultimate Assassin. This apparent sudden revelation shocked Kaito greatly, and would influence his opinion on her from this moment out. The very next morning, at Kokichi’s request, Kaito heads the “Ultimate Child Caregiver’s Research Lab” with everyone else barring Maki, who had locked herself in her own room. Once Kaito sees her lab however, him and everyone else became shocked to discover the variety of weapons all throughout it, essentially proving Kokichi’s claim the night prior. Everyone else became increasingly worried, viewing the talent of a killer as a genuine threat to everyone’s survival. Kaito however, was not afraid. He reassured everyone to leave Maki to him and that he’d “take down that mask of hers”. Afterwards, the Monokubs showed up, usurped their father as headmaster, and passed out more items for the students to unlock new areas within the academy. Kaito however, did not investigate the new areas, instead trying to get Maki to come out of her own room. While he greatly irritated the Ultimate Assassin, she eventually complied and came out of her room.

After all the new areas had been opened up and investigated, everyone gathered in the dining hall once again in order to investigate yet another Flashback Light. The other participants became shocked to discover that Maki was there with him, having been brought by Kaito. Just like before, everyone was worried that Maki would try to kill them due to her talent, but she attempted to coldly reassure everyone that she wasn’t, saying that the only reason she hid her talent from everyone was because people always try to kill her when they find out her true nature. She told the rest of the group to just pretend she wasn’t even there before leaving the dining hall, a hint of sadness on her face. While everyone else seemed to comply with Maki’s request, Kaito wouldn’t give up that easily.

That same night, Kaito relentlessly buzzed Maki’s intercom until she finally came out, then dragged her by her arm to the courtyard, much to her irritation. Shuichi met with Kaito not long after for training like before, but was surprised to find Maki with him. Maki wondered just what she had been dragged out here for, but Kaito replied by saying not to worry about the small stuff and that training was more fun with three people instead of two. Maki was not amused by this reasoning, stating that it was stupid before getting ready to head back to her dorm, but Kaito stopped her. Maki asked him why he was so insistent after she told him and the others to stay away from her. When she said this, Kaito asked her how long she would continue to “run away”. He claimed that he could tell her mask was coming down and that she was not the terrifying person she thought she was, calling her a coward. Kaito asked her who her “enemy” was, but Maki had no idea what he was talking about. He told her that she didn’t have to tell him as long as she knew, but criticized her for running away from her “enemy”, claiming it was pathetic but that he would train with her to overcome that weakness. Maki seemed irritated by this, but finally gave in and joined Kaito and Shuichi for one-hundred push-ups. Maki was easily able to accomplish the task however, much to both Kaito and Shuichi’s shock. Once she was done, Kaito told her to meet up again tomorrow for training once again. After Maki left, Shuichi asked Kaito why he would want to help Maki, to which the Ultimate Astronaut replied by saying that astronauts help each other and that if someone was weak and suffering, there’s no way he could just leave them. Kaito and Shuichi, after conversing with each other for a little more, continued their training, with Kaito claiming he “didn’t remember” how many push-ups he did and so started over with Shuichi. Both of them were physically exhausted by the time they got back to their rooms.

Kaito gathered with everyone in the gymnasium the very next morning at the Monokubs request. The participants were presented with the third motive, the Necronomicon, and were told that they would be able to bring back someone who had died already as a transfer student. This motive baffled the students, though Kaito seemed more frightened than the others to an almost sickly degree. He kept his phobia to himself however, not wanting anyone else to find out. However, Angie seemed to embrace the motive, saying the "corpses" so far may have just been very accurate imitations to make the real people seem dead. Some of the students argued that there's no way that's possible, but Gonta said that more letters were added to the rock in the courtyard, deducing that perhaps the four people who had died are actually alive and wrote that message. Angie praised Gonta and, like Himiko before him, pulled him into a hug. She instilled hers and Atua's authority into him by reassuring him that he's not alone and that Atua is like a gentle grandmother that always keeps him safe, effectively playing off of Gonta's desire for a motherly figure. It is then revealed that Angie had actually met up with a number of students the night prior and put together a Student Council in order to end the killing game. Kaito however, was not a part of Angie’s student council and strongly opposed their rigorous and strict rules that they wanted to enforce, especially their rule that prevented the students from going out at night time, which conflicted with his and Shuichi and Maki's training time. Kaito also would not show up for training during that same night due to “feeling sick”. Shuichi and Maki both confronted him about this the next night, only for them both to find out that he was actually frightened of the occult and that he had been horrible with ghost stories ever since he was a child. Both Shuichi and Maki simply told him to get some rest if he truly wasn’t feeling well, to which he did.

The very next morning, the third body discovery announcement played and Kaito, along with everyone else who wasn’t already in Angie’s Research Lab, rushed there to find the Ultimate Artist’s Corpse lying in the middle of the four wax effigies of the recently deceased hanging from the ceiling. Tsumugi theorized that the spirit of whoever Angie was trying to resurrect ended up killing her. Kaito was very obviously shaken up by this and, along with still not feeling well from the earlier days, was unable to help with the investigation like he could before. As a result, Shuichi and Maki teamed up instead to investigate Angie’s and Korekiyo’s Lab. However, it did not take long for another body discovery announcement to play during the investigation. Everyone was instructed to go to the vacant middle room on the fourth floor that was used for Korekiyo’s séance. There, Kaito and the others who didn’t assist in the ritual discovered Tenko’s corpse lying in the center of the now-ruined magic circle. Kaito was very obviously shocked to discover another victim in the middle of their investigation, but once again became horrified when the topic of a curse was brought up by Kokichi. Out of fear, he pulled Maki into his arms, embarrassing her greatly. Kaito ended up earning a swift punch to the gut from the Ultimate Assassin, causing him to let go and leave the séance room, once again leaving the investigation to the others.

During the class trial itself, Kaito apologized to everyone for being unable to be of much help during the investigation due to the overall paranormal atmosphere surrounding the area and motive. Monokuma however, simply mocked him, telling him to spend less time “doing his hair” and more time investigating. Once again Kaito became horrified when Tsumugi brought up the fact that Rantaro’s ghost was the one who killed Angie. Thankfully, Shuichi was able to prove that there’s no way Angie’s ritual succeeded, meaning a spirit could not have committed the crime. This calmed Kaito down, saying that there’s no way the dead could be brought back to life, but Monokuma responded by saying that he wouldn’t lie with his motives. Kaito still did not believe him, but was still shaken up at the thought of the occult. Overall, Kaito did not do anything significant to assist during the class trial due to not being able to do much investigating on his own. Eventually, Shuichi was able to pin the crime of both Angie and Tenko’s murders on Korekiyo, causing him to panic and speak to his “older sister”, once again scaring and baffling Kaito. Kaito also feels bad at how Angie just happened to walk on Korekiyo setting up and was killed to keep quiet. The Ultimate Astronaut listened to Korekiyo’s motivations for murder, though was unable to grasp his reasoning at all, labeling him as insane. Kaito watched as Korekiyo was executed. Afterwards, when Himiko broke down in tears over the loss of her two friends, Kaito was one of the ones seen crying along with her.

The very next morning following the third class trial, everyone would gather in the dining hall yet again. The group became disheartened to see how many people they had lost up until now. Monokuma then showed up along with his two remaining Kubs to hand out the next set of random items to unlock more areas with, along with a card key that according to Monophanie would be the next motive. Kaito and the others were immediately wary of the card key, but Kokichi snatched it and ran off. Kaito, agitated with the Ultimate Supreme Leader, chased after him. Everyone else meanwhile, headed off to go investigate the rest of the academy, opening up the fifth floor, and K1-B0’s Research Lab. Kaito later regathered in the dining hall with the others to investigate yet another Flashback Light, unable to figure out where Kokichi had gone. The Ultimate Supreme Leader showed up not long after however, claiming to not have found where the card key goes to. Though Kaito was still irritated with him, him and the others used the Flashback Light to gain another new memory. Everyone remembered the meteorites that impacted the Earth and that it was described as being very similar to the meteor impact that wiped out the dinosaurs millions of years ago. They also remembered basic details of the cult bent on stopping the Gofer Project saying that mankind deserved damnation, and the Gofer Project itself. While everyone else was worried by this sudden revelation, Kaito once again remained calm. He stated that since they were fine and that the sky outside was normal that the meteorites must have died down.

Kaito, Maki, and Shuichi finally met up for training once again, having been unable to before due to the Student Council’s rules of going out at nighttime. The group ended up doing one-hundred sit-ups, with Maki once again leaving both boys in the dust. Kaito however, did not do any training, instead choosing to simply lie there and look up at the sky, admiring the vastness of the universe. Kaito suddenly went to use the bathroom, leaving Shuichi and Maki alone to talk. When Kaito came back, he declared that Shuichi and Maki were going to start over with him due to Shuichi pointing out that he hadn’t even done one sit-up. As they started over, Kaito said to let their sweat wash away all their sadness, fear, worry, and hardships, stating that if they start moving their body their pain will become memories before they know it. Maki told him to train as well, but Kaito said that the reason he wasn’t training was because he had no worries himself, proudly declaring that he was “Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars!”. Shuichi stated that this was unfair, so once again, they all started over. Only Maki was able to finish however.

The morning after everyone remembered the meteorites, Gonta, wanting to be of some use to everyone, proposed that he fight the Exisals regardless of how reckless it may be. Kokichi said that that was meaningless and that he shouldn't do that, mainly because the killing game wouldn't end even if he did. Kokichi then called everyone out for being whack jobs if they wanted something this "fun" to end. He confidently declared that he would win this game, even if he had to become the blackened, while calling everyone else out as cowards. This drew the ire of Kaito, who finally had enough of Kokichi's antics and punched him in the face. Kaito asked Kokichi what had gotten into him, stating that the way he was acting now was a whole different level of weird. Kokichi was rendered mute by this act, and everyone ate breakfast in awkward silence.

That same night, Kaito, Maki, and Shuichi all met up in the courtyard for training like usual. However, due to Kaito not feeling well, he insisted that instead of the usual training regime that they all talk instead. Kaito wanted to know more about Maki, but he wasn’t very good at picking things to talk about, choosing odd topics such as “favorite blood type”, or “favorite space ship”. Maki instead ended up talking about her time in the orphanage and how she came to be an assassin. After listening to all the burdens that Maki had been carrying for so long, Kaito reassured both her and Shuichi due to their issues being similar. Kaito told them both not to carry all of their burdens by themselves and that they have people to trust. He proudly told them both that once they learn to share their burdens with their friends, they’ll be stronger. Kaito told Maki that if she was able to talk this much with both him and Shuichi that she had already grown a little stronger. With this, the Ultimate Assassin seemed to have finally warmed up to Kaito a bit and told him that her able to overcome her burdens might be thanks to his training. The very next night, Miu gathered Kaito and everyone else in the computer room on the fourth floor. She explained to everyone how she had been working on the giant computer for the past few days or so and reprogrammed it into a "world without Monokuma or the killing game". In reality however, she was actually plotting her own murder plan in order to escape, making Kokichi her target and wanting to set up Kaito for her murder. She then explained key points about the program and what she did to modify it, making sure to keep all relevant details about her murder plan a secret. While everyone was still skeptical, everyone decided that it would be better to investigate after all once Monokuma showed up and claimed that there was a "secret of the outside world" within the virtual world program.

The very next night, Miu gathered Kaito and everyone else in the computer room on the fourth floor. She explained to everyone how she had been working on the giant computer for the past few days or so and reprogrammed it into a "world without Monokuma or the killing game". In reality however, she was actually plotting her own murder plan in order to escape, making Kokichi her target and wanting to set up Kaito for her murder. She then explained key points about the program and what she did to modify it, making sure to keep all relevant details about her murder plan a secret. While everyone was still skeptical, everyone decided that it would be better to investigate after all once Monokuma showed up and claimed that there was a "secret of the outside world" within the virtual world program. As a result, everyone, Kaito included, sits down in their chair and uses the headset to log into the virtual world.

Once Kaito logged in with the others, he remarked that he could move his body pretty easily and that he might not have to worry about “all that stuff”. He was secretly referring to his illness, but when Shuichi asked, Kaito replied by saying it’s nothing. Once Miu logged in, Kaito listened to her explain more aspects about the virtual world such as their avatars senses being connected, then showed them all the map of the world. Everyone then headed to the chapel, making use of a signboard to cross the river. After reaching the chapel, everyone decided to explore the virtual world in order to find the supposed secret Monokuma was referring to. Kaito went with Shuichi, Tsumugi, Kokichi, and Gonta to explore the mansion, but Miu followed them and threw the signboard in the river to ensure that both groups would remain separate. Kaito and the others were obviously annoyed with this, but eventually just left Miu alone, thinking that she was just up to her usual antics. In reality however, this was also a part of Miu’s murder plan. Kaito decided to explore the roof in hopes of finding the secret of the outside world but Miu, making use of her cellphone that could log out anyone in the virtual world if she said the person’s name into it, logged Kaito out in hopes of framing him for murder. Once Kaito was logged out, he was thoroughly confused. Since he wasn’t sure whether or not he was allowed to log back in, he simply decided to head back to his room to get some sleep. Everyone else would end up staying all night in the virtual world.

When the body discovery announcement played the next morning, telling everyone to gather in the computer room, Kaito immediately dashed there to discover everyone else logged out and Miu, the one who hoped to frame him for murder, dead in her own seat. Kaito was shocked to discover the Ultimate Inventor dead, stating that even though she had a bad personality, he still didn’t want her to die. Kokichi however, found it suspicious that he logged out on his own in advance without informing anyone, immediately making the Ultimate Astronaut suspicious. Kaito tried to tell everyone that he was suddenly logged out involuntarily, a claim which Shuichi would later be able to pin down on when everyone investigated the virtual world and the Ultimate Detective discovered the cell phone next to Miu’s unconscious avatar. Shuichi used it to log Kaito out yet again, much to the astronaut’s annoyance when he promptly logged back in and told Shuichi.

During the trial, Kaito was the immediate prime suspect due to being logged out earlier in advance, but Shuichi was quickly able to prove his innocence due to the fact that Miu was killed within the virtual world, not in the real world. Kaito was also quite confused about the perplexing aspects of the virtual world that Shuichi and Kokichi explained, such as the world looping, but he was told to throw out common sense if he wanted to solve this case. Eventually however, Shuichi was able to reveal that Kokichi had lied about his meeting with Miu on the roof, making Kaito proud once again. As a result, Kokichi decided that he would take away any potential mystery solving regarding the case and bluntly stated that Gonta was Miu's killer. This shocked and angered the other participants greatly, claiming that there's no way someone like Gonta would commit murder let alone listen to Kokichi after what happened with the Insect Meet and Greet. However, both Kokichi and Shuichi, much to the latter's dismay, made it very apparent that Gonta was able to commit this crime. Gonta pleaded to Shuchi that he wasn't the culprit, while Kaito became increasingly outraged at the Ultimate Detective for believing in Kokichi over Gonta. As a result, a rift in the group formed. Gonta, feeling responsible, apologized thinking that it was his fault that everyone was so upset. Kokichi angrily told Gonta to argue back, but he was unable to due to having no memory of the crime he had committed. After realizing that Gonta had been saying things such as "I don't know", and "I don't understand" ever since leaving the virtual world, Shuichi was able to deduce that Gonta had suffered from an avatar error caused by him mixing up the cords, causing him to forget his crime, much to the group's dismay.

Kaito however, would not back down and stubbornly defended Gonta all the way until the very end, absolutely refusing to believe that Gonta was the culprit. Despite his stubbornness however, Kaito was eventually forced to back down, a significant gap now existing between him and Shuichi. Finally, even though Gonta himself acknowledged that he wasn't smart enough to understand what was going on, he decided to believe in everyone, thinking that they were probably right. Despite this, Gonta sadly cried out why he would do such a horrible thing, still not even understanding his own motivations. As a result, in order for everyone to understand Gonta's motivations, Monokuma programs a Gonta Alter-Ego containing Gonta's virtual memories to explain on the real Gonta's behalf. The real Gonta could seemingly understand where AI Gonta was coming from when he said that he wanted to be useful to everyone, which led to him being tricked by Kokichi. When the AI Gonta was asked about what "truth" he remembered, he said that he couldn't tell them due to not wanting them all to end up like he did, to remember a despair so horrible that you'd feel as if you wanted to die. With that, the real Gonta seemingly came to terms with his fate, not showing any signs of fear. Kokichi begs to be executed along with Gonta, but he refuses the proposal. Gonta told the group to forgive his partner for what he's done and get along well with him. Gonta apologizes to everybody for being unable to protect them until the very end. Kaito could do nothing but watch as Gonta was dragged to his execution.

Everyone was saddened at the loss of a kindhearted soul such as Gonta, nobody blaming him for his actions. Kaito and the other remaining participants demanded that Kokichi explain the secret of the outside world if Gonta actually meant anything to him, but he refused. Kokichi claimed that he was faking his own tears and mocked Gonta post-mortem, calling him an idiot and saying that he died a meaningless death along with Miu. He claimed that he himself inflicted pain and suffering on the group for no other reason than the thrill of it. Kaito, outraged by the Ultimate Supreme Leader's inconsiderate and outright evil attitude, moved to hit him once again. However, due to his illness, Kokichi was easily able to dodge him and punch him back, knocking him to the ground. Kokichi was able to tell that Kaito was slower than usual and pondered on whether or not he was hiding something from everyone. Maki became increasingly worried upon seeing this and threatened to kill Kokichi herself. However, she was stopped by Kaito and everyone rushed to his side as Kokichi continued to monologue. Kokichi wondered why everyone was worried about a guy like Kaito, but Shuichi quickly stabbed back, saying that he should look at himself compared to Kaito. Shuichi states that Kokichi was the pathetic one as no one wanted to be around him, and that that would never change. Kokichi seemingly shrugged this claim off and left the trial grounds, having become bored yet again.

Kaito eventually got up, but Shuichi and Maki both remained worried about him, stating that he looked much worse for wear. Kaito tried to stubbornly tell them that he’s fine, but ended up coughing up an unhealthy amount of blood, stunning Maki and Shuichi. Everyone became increasingly concerned, asking him what was wrong, but Kaito shrugged it off as nothing to worry about. Shuichi insisted, but Kaito was still upset with him. The Ultimate Astronaut angrily told him to back off before heading to the trial grounds elevator. Despite Kaito’s stubbornness, Maki still went with him in case he ended up collapsing on the way back. The very next morning, Kaito gathered with everyone else in the dining hall. Everyone else was obviously still worried about him, but Kaito tried to reassure them that he was fine and they all ate breakfast together. After going to get a plate full of food, Kaito told everyone that there’s no point in worrying about what’s outside, stating that they weren’t going to get out with brainpower alone. He still optimistically stated that the world was fine and that Kokichi and Gonta just snapped under pressure. When it came to Shuichi however, Kaito still had trouble looking him in the eye properly. He still felt awkward after lashing out at his sidekick during Gonta’s trial and as a result, a rift had begun to form between them. After eating, Kaito wondered just where Kokichi had gone off to after his monologue yesterday. Everyone became tense and frightened at the mere mention of the Ultimate Supreme Leader, but everyone said that no one had seen him since yesterday. Monokuma showed up after not too long and passed out the last set of items to unlock new areas in the academy with.

One of the keys that Monokuma passed out gave everyone access to the Ultimate Astronaut’s Research Lab. Kaito, Maki, Himiko, Tsumugi, and Shuichi all checked out his lab, with Kaito stating that his lab must be full of “super important stuff”. Kaito still felt too awkward to look Shuichi in the eye properly, but was overall very impressed with his lab. They also found a file relating to The Gofer Project, but could not determine any worthwhile information from it. Overall however, Kaito’s lab held nothing of value when it came to finding out anything noteworthy, much to his dismay. After uncovering all the new areas, Tsumugi gathered everyone in the dining hall, but not to discuss a Flashback Light. Instead, she informed everyone that the message in the courtyard had been completed, “This world is mine. Kokichi Oma”. Kaito just wrote it off as Kokichi’s prank, not taking the final message seriously whatsoever. Everyone else seemed to agree with him, though wondered just where Kokichi had gone to and wondered if he took the Flashback Light seeing that none of the others had found it yet. Kaito said that the best way to deal with someone like Kokichi was to just leave them be. Kaito once again reassured everyone like he usually does and told them that he’d figure everything out and that he would get them out of the academy. Shuichi thought to himself that Kaito might really be a hero to have such baseless confidence.

Both Kokichi and Kaito acted quickly to ensure that the former would not die from poison that was circulating throughout his body. They both made their way to the press machine and began to go through with the plan. Kaito took off his jacket, placed it underneath the press machine, then lied down on it while Kokichi controlled the press machine and filmed the "time of death" with a simple video camera. Kokichi stopped the press machine and the video camera while only Kaito's sleeve was visible, then the two promptly swapped places. Kaito, now controlling both the press machine and camera, turned them both on once again, crushing Kokichi to an unrecognizable, bloody mess, with Kaito's jacket sleeve hanging out of the press as a false clue as to who the victim was. It's been 2 months since the zombie apocalypse began. Kaito has been wandering from place to place, trying to survive.