144 | Peko Pekoyama

After Alter Ego Junko's defeat, Peko remained in a coma alongside her classmates, while the survivors waited for them to wake. An illusory version of Peko, created by the Neo World Program, appeared within Nagito's dream world shortly before Peko and Nagito were revived from their comatose state by Izuru Kamukura, who had by then merged with Hajime's personality and memories. Due to suffering a very traumatic death in the program, Nagito's mind created a strange, relatively peaceful world he lived in as a coping mechanism, which included this copy of Peko. In this world, Peko was the one who revealed to Fuyuhiko that Kazuichi hadn't died in an accident—he had been murdered. This revelation set Fuyuhiko on a path of vengeance for his fallen 'brother,' with Peko and Sonia joining him. However, when the three confronted The World Destroyer, both Fuyuhiko and Sonia were swiftly killed. In her final moments, a wounded Peko used Fuyuhiko's phone to call Nagito, pleading for him to avenge Fuyuhiko. After the call, Peko drew her sword and made one final stand against The World Destroyer—but she too was swiftly killed. It was later revealed that this was merely an illusion. In reality, Peko was alive and well, along with the now-reformed Remnants of Despair. After awakening from the Neo World Program, she boarded a boat with the rest of Class 77-B. Peko, Hajime, and Sonia were seen on the ship and appeared to be waiting for Nagito, Fuyuhiko, and Kazuichi. Together, they set a course for the Future Foundation headquarters to put an end to the Final Killing Game, which involved the organization's leaders. Peko and her classmates arrived at the island where the Future Foundation's off-shore facility was located, having left from Jabberwock Island. Having rescued Byakuya Togami and Yasuhiro Hagakure, two members of the Future Foundation and survivors of the Killing School Life, from beneath the rubble, the group set out to confront their one and only classmate, Ryota, who Junko had coerced into creating the brainwashing video that transformed Peko and the others into the Ultimate Despair. Unlike Peko and the rest, he avoided being turned into Ultimate Despair due to his contribution. Thus, the Class 77-B's fight with the brainwashed rescue squad troops, including the Former Super High School Level Elite Task Force, began. Peko was seen defeating the Super High School Level Discus Thrower with her bamboo sword. Fuyuhiko complimented her, saying that her bamboo sword truly suited her, and she agreed. Later, Peko helped convince Ryota to abandon his plan to brainwash the world. During the confrontation, Ryota expressed his belief that he and the other Remnants of Despair could never be forgiven for allowing Junko to plunge the world into despair. In response, Hajime offered Ryota the chance to join them in returning to Jabberwock Island to atone for their sins together. Ryota eventually broke down in tears and agreed, stopping the countdown mere seconds before the brainwashing was completed. Peko and the others later came to his side to comfort him. Shortly afterward, Peko and the other former Remnants of Despair shouldered the blame for the Final Killing Game in a broadcast to the Future Foundation. They presented themselves in their despair personas and preserved the Future Foundation's credibility and power to rebuild the world, an act of atonement for their sins as the Ultimate Despair. Having accomplished their atonement, Peko and her classmates boarded back to Jabberwock Island by boat. She was last seen bringing plates of food to Fuyuhiko.

Peko began to actively participate in the class trial once the group uncovered the truth behind the Twilight Syndrome Murder Case, leading others—especially Hiyoko—to suspect Fuyuhiko as the prime suspect, given his strong motive to kill Mahiru. She suggested that the true culprit had used the motive to learn the relationships between the characters and then used it to set up Fuyuhiko. From that point on, Peko began directing suspicion toward Hiyoko—her intended scapegoat—presenting one trap after another that she had set in advance to pin the crime on her. Her plan initially worked, as the planted evidence—including Hiyoko's footprints and the fake letters—plus Kazuichi's testimony about seeing Hiyoko fleeing the scene—all worked in Peko's favor, cornering Hiyoko as the prime suspect. However, she made a critical mistake by planting a lemon-flavored gummy—the one flavor Hiyoko never ate—as confirmed by Nagito, who inspected her cottage and found no trace of yellow gummies. This began to undo all of her hard work, as everyone started to realize that Hiyoko had been set up and framed by the true culprit. Eventually, Hajime and the others deduced that the culprit must have used the water bottles to wash Mahiru's blood off themselves, which led to Peko becoming the new prime suspect. While Peko remained calm as she listened to the others' reasoning for suspecting her, her young master became worked up and came to her defense without fail. He insisted that it was impossible to leave the beach house without leaving footprints, and that the small window in the shower room was too high for Peko to reach. However, this was debunked as the Ultimate Swordswoman could have simply used her bamboo sword as a stepstool to escape through the window. Once the truth of her crime came to light, Peko surrendered. However, when Chiaki questioned her motive, Peko was left with no choice but to carry out the final stage of her plan—assuming the identity of Sparkling Justice in a last-ditch effort to hasten the vote for her and protect the "true" culprit: Fuyuhiko. Everyone in the courtroom was bewildered by Peko's transformation as she donned the Sun Witch ♪ Esper Ito mask. She then launched into a long-winded rant, justifying her actions by claiming she murdered Mahiru to punish her, possibly referencing her past for protecting a murderer like Sato, and to deliver justice. Fuyuhiko pleaded with her to stop, but Peko persisted, ultimately leading the students to hastily vote her as the culprit. However, Sonia belatedly provided evidence showing why Peko couldn't possibly be Sparkling Justice, pointing out that the serial killer's nationality and native language was Spanish. When Peko was unable to prove she could speak the language, she took off the mask, declaring that the ruse had already served its purpose. Everyone could not accept the outcome of the vote, especially Peko's bizarre claim that she did not view herself as a human, but as a mere tool for Fuyuhiko, whom she revealed as her young master she had served since childhood. According to Peko, her role as a bodyguard meant that she was only a tool with no will of her own; she killed Mahiru on Fuyuhiko's orders, making him the true murderer in this trial, meaning that everyone but Fuyuhiko was to be executed. Noticing Fuyuhiko's hesitation in admitting that she was merely acting as a tool, Peko pressed on, continuing to persuade both him and Monokuma to acknowledge him as the true culprit. Nagito then pointed out the flaw in her plan: Fuyuhiko himself has never said what their relationship was. Despite Peko's pleas, Fuyuhiko refused to call her a mere tool, instead saying that he wanted her to stay as a true human being. Though somewhat disappointed, Peko admitted that she expected such a response from Fuyuhiko. She resigned herself to her fate, apologized to the class for betraying them, and urged them not to cause another senseless killing like Mahiru's. Before facing her execution, Peko declared that she would not give Monokuma the satisfaction of watching her break down, but her facade cracked when a grief-stricken Fuyuhiko begged her not to leave him.

Peko began to tamper with the crime scene, mainly to set up the perfect evidence and traps to frame the unconscious Hiyoko for her crime. First, she dragged Mahiru's body to block the door leading to the road, so that when Hiyoko woke up, she would have no choice but to flee through the sandy beach, leaving her footprints all over it. Next, she deliberately placed the Sun Witch ♪ Esper Ito mask at the crime scene—a calling card crucial to her plan during the upcoming Class Trial. Peko, considering the possibility of being found out, intended to don the mask and assume the identity of Sparkling Justice, who always wore a heroine mask, when that time came. She incorporated this into her murder plan, inspired by Sonia's knowledge of the serial killer that she had overheard. By acting out what Sparkling Justice would be like in the trial, she hoped to convince the others to quickly vote her as the blackened, ensuring Fuyuhiko's survival and eventual victory in the trial. With Mahiru's blood splattered on her, Peko used plastic water bottles from the beach house refrigerator to wash it off—presumably inside the shower room—knowing that the shower itself was out of order. However, she had no choice but to toss the empty bottles into the beach house trash can, as littering was against the rules and disposing of them elsewhere would have taken too much time. Afterward, Peko hid inside the surfboard case she had already emptied beforehand inside the closet. When the sleeping drug used on Hiyoko wore off, she panicked upon discovering Mahiru's body and fled through the door facing the beach, leaving footprints in the sand—just as Peko had planned. Peko then emerged from the surfboard case and placed a yellow gummy, which she had brought with her, to frame Hiyoko further, knowing her affinity for gummies. Peko's final trick was her method of exiting the crime scene without using either of the beach house doors. She climbed out through the small window in the shower room, which was positioned quite high. However, it was nothing that the Ultimate Swordswoman could not handle. Using her bamboo sword, she tied the bag to its handle and used the sword as a stepstool to reach the window, while holding the bag in her other hand. Once she was able to reach the window, all she had to do was pull the bag to retrieve the sword. Peko then went to the diner near the beach house, the meeting point for the girls-only beach party that Sonia hosted, and she attended as if nothing had happened. However, since the beach house had no towels, she couldn't dry off and arrived with wet hair and in her swimsuit. She claimed to have been swimming for a while before her arrival as an excuse. Soon after this, Kazuichi discovered Mahiru's body, prompting the investigation to commence right away before the party could even begin. During the investigation, Peko urged Sonia to explain further about Sparkling Justice, claiming it was a way for them to 'exercise caution.' From this encounter, Peko learned about the serial killer's catchphrase, which she would later use to enhance her performance.

Monokuma presented his second motive, a game titled the Twilight Syndrome Murder Case, which Peko would later learn was a replica of the real-life event that directly involved her young master, Fuyuhiko, and the murder of his little sister, Natsumi. She learned and discussed this fact with Fuyuhiko, who became the first person to complete the "truth" route of the game. As his reward, he received an envelope filled with photos that seemingly confirmed the events of the game to be related to the murders of Sato and Natsumi. He sent the envelope to Mahiru, who appeared as a character in the game, whom Fuyuhiko assumed was Sato's accomplice in erasing evidence, in the hope of meeting her to confirm this. Instead, Mahiru began avoiding him, which agitated Fuyuhiko, who was already so consumed by rage for not remembering the details of his sister's murder. Overwhelmed by this fury, he sought to exact revenge on Mahiru, thinking 'an eye for an eye.' He wanted to club her to death with a metal bat, just as his character, Guy F, did to Sato's character, Girl E, and in the same way Sato had bludgeoned his sister to death. As her young master's tool, driven by his desire for revenge and her own wish to help him escape the killing game, Peko began doing his dirty work to fulfill both his goal and her own. The first thing Peko did was eavesdrop on Mahiru and Hiyoko in the morning, overhearing them agree to discuss the game more thoroughly at a later time, privately. With this knowledge, Peko sabotaged their plans by sending fake letters to both Mahiru and Hiyoko. Mahiru's letter instructed her to meet at the beach house at 2:30 p.m., while Hiyoko's letter told her to arrive at the same location at exactly 2:00 p.m. This was done to lure Mahiru into a one-on-one confrontation with Fuyuhiko before killing her. Hiyoko, who arrived earlier, was knocked unconscious and hid inside the closet by Peko. When Mahiru entered the beach house 30 minutes later, Peko lay in wait, closely observing as Fuyuhiko confronted her about the game. The conversation escalated until Fuyuhiko, despite his hesitation, reached for the metal bat hidden under the bench. Before he could go through with it, Peko intervened—grabbing the bat from him and, with a single swing, struck Mahiru from behind, killing her instantly. This shocked Fuyuhiko, as the original plan seemingly never involved Peko killing Mahiru herself. He warned her about the dangers of committing murder in this killing game, but Peko fully understood the risks. Her decision had been deliberate—she intended to act as a tool to carry out the murder, take the blame, and allow her young master to escape the island. Though Fuyuhiko pleaded with her to forget about the Kuzuryu Clan and abandon the plan, Peko refused to listen and continued to carry out her own plan after he fled the crime scene.

At the party, Peko volunteered to guard the duralumin case full of items confiscated by the Ultimate Imposter. Nagito then suggested her to guard the case in the office, as the circuit breaker was also located there. Unbeknownst to her, this was done to prevent Peko from entering the storage room and discovering the irons he had used to cause the blackout. Peko complied, bringing the case and a plate of food to the office, intending to remain there for the duration of the party. However, she was forced to leave the office to use the bathroom when she was struck by inexplicable stomach cramps before the party even started. She had locked herself inside the bathroom even during the blackout. She only left once the others discovered that the Ultimate Imposter had been murdered, much to her shock. With a blackout occurring shortly before the murder, Peko was acutely aware of how suspicious she appeared—having been assigned to guard the circuit breaker. However, she couldn't reveal the true reason she had left her post at the time and had rushed to the bathroom again, even during the investigation. At the class trial, Peko was suspected by Kazuichi due to this very reason. However, Nekomaru's testimony cleared her of suspicion, prompting her to confess that she had shut herself inside the bathroom and to apologize for abandoning her guard duty. Upon learning about the bathroom incident, Fuyuhiko began to question whether someone had laced Peko's food with laxatives. However, this theory was quickly dismissed, as Akane—who had eaten the same food prepared by Teruteru Hanamura, the Ultimate Cook—experienced no such symptoms. This allowed Peko's stomachache to be dismissed as a mere coincidence. Peko apologized when she learned that she could've reset the circuit breaker had she stayed in the office, to which Fuyuhiko reassured her not to blame herself. With the group's collective effort, Peko helped deduce that while Nagito had orchestrated the setup for a murder, the true culprit was actually Teruteru, who intended to kill Nagito but accidentally killed the Ultimate Imposter instead—who had intervened to stop Nagito's plan. Teruteru was ultimately found guilty and executed for his crime, allowing the rest of the class, including Peko, to survive the Class Trial. The day after the class trial, Peko attended the regular morning meeting and, along with everyone else, went to investigate the newly opened second island. While investigating the library, Peko overheard Sonia Nevermind, the Ultimate Princess, and Hajime discussing serial killers, particularly Sonia's favorite, Sparkling Justice, a serial killer who only targets criminals. Peko became concerned by how enthusiastic Sonia was while discussing it. After they investigated the second island, Peko attended the morning meeting, where she saw Fuyuhiko briefly joining. However, a verbal altercation quickly broke out between him and Kazuichi, prompting Peko to intervene, causing Fuyuhiko to leave immediately.

By the next morning, Peko continued to blend in with the group. She attended the meeting at the hotel restaurant and was later seen arriving to fetch Hajime and Kazuichi Soda, the Ultimate Mechanic, so that they could attend as well. She interacted with various students, such as Mahiru, who frequently took pictures of the girls and told Peko that, out of everyone, she was the only one who didn't smile in her photos. Mahiru also showed her photos of smiling faces, which Peko found very pleasant. This helped her realize that smiles give people power, becoming one of the motivations for her to want to be able to smile properly. She even learned a so-called "revolutionary technique" to smile from the mischievous Hiyoko Saionji, the Ultimate Traditional Dancer, who pranked her by saying she had to pull both sides of her mouth with her fingers and chant, "I was born on a pirate ship." Peko also offered her assistance to her classmates whenever she could. If Hajime had a replica sword and gave it to Kazuichi, Peko could later be seen walking to the First Island beach with Ibuki. Seeing them struggle to open coconuts, Peko borrowed the replica sword and helped by cutting the coconuts for them, which they then enjoyed together. After the first motive was first introduced, if Hajime handed Mahiru a certain magazine, she would invite Peko to a girls-only gathering bonus scene to break off the tension. She could be seen enjoying making desserts with the girls, commenting that this sort of activity wasn't so bad once in a while. Peko also agreed to attend the all-night party at the old building, hosted by the group's leader, the Ultimate Imposter, who at the time was secretly impersonating the real Byakuya Togami, the Ultimate Affluent Progeny. She didn't realize until the class trial that the party was thrown by the Imposter to save her and the others from someone who planned to kickstart the Killing Game, and that was no other than Nagito. At this stage of the killing game, Peko only communicated with her young master in secret. She would discreetly check on him each morning to reassure the others at the daily meeting that he was still alive and well, despite his refusal to participate in the meetings. When he threatened the group, claiming he had the potential to kill others, Peko's first instinct was to calm him down. If necessary, she was prepared to take matters into her own hands. She was also the one who passed along the party details to Fuyuhiko. He was initially not pleased with the idea but later tried to join, only to backtrack, possibly due to embarrassment.

By Fuyuhiko's side, Peko had done many horrible things. She was seen attacking the leader of the Future Foundation, Kazuo Tengan, upon Fuyuhiko's orders. A branch leader, Kyosuke Munakata, came to Kazuo's defense, holding off Peko with his own katana. Despite being reinforced by Nekomaru Nidai, the Ultimate Team Manager, and Akane Owari, the Ultimate Gymnast on the frontline, Peko was eventually captured by the Future Foundation along with the other Remnants of Despair. The Future Foundation then secured the custody of Peko and the other fourteen - at first only aware that they were survivors from Hope's Peak Academy. When Makoto Naegi, Class 78th's Ultimate Lucky Student, by that time a member of the 14th Division of the Future Foundation, realized that the survivors were in fact, Remnants of Despair, he quickly directed them to Jabberwock Island in secret. Makoto had them enter the Neo World Program, where their memories were reset to a time before their enrollment at Hope's Peak Academy, prior to being brainwashed by Junko. As a result, they couldn't recognize each other, except for Peko and Fuyuhiko, who still recognized each other. The plan was to overwrite Peko and the others' memories of themselves as Ultimate Despair, replacing them with good ones to undo all the damage Junko had done to them. The scheme backfired when Izuru Kamukura, the Ultimate Hope and the final product of the Izuru Kamukura Project, uploaded Junko's malware AI just before they were to be programmed. Consequently, they were subjected to the identical brutal incident that befell Class 78th, although in a realistically simulated environment. The killing game became known as the Killing School Trip, an ordeal in which Peko and the other Remnants of Despair were coerced into participating. Peko participated in the Killing School Trip alongside fourteen other Remnants of Despair and one Future Foundation observer. It occurred in a virtual world, the Neo World Program, resembling Jabberwock Island. Due to her memories as the Ultimate Despair and life in Hope's Peak Academy being erased by the Future Foundation, she couldn't recognize any of her classmates, except for Fuyuhiko. Before interacting with anyone else on the island, Peko was ordered by Fuyuhiko to keep their professional relationship a secret and to treat each other like normal classmates, much like they did during their school years. She first introduced herself to Hajime Hinata in the lobby of Hotel Mirai. With an intense gaze that took Hajime aback, she immediately warned him—and everyone else on the island—not to do anything inappropriate, as she preferred not to kill anyone. Later, Peko and the others gathered at the first island's beach, assembled by Usami, the observer of the school trip, an AI programmed by the Future Foundation, who claimed to be the class's teacher. She reassured the students that there was no need to worry and provided Peko and the others with swimsuits, encouraging them to fully enjoy their "school trip". Behaving as she was told, Peko joined the rest of her classmates and could be seen swimming in the sea. The promising tropical school trip, however, turned into a nightmare immediately as Peko learned that the evil animatronic bear, Monokuma, the self-proclaimed headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy, had hijacked their trip and turned it into a killing game. Peko and the others initially refused to participate. However, they soon learned that they had no choice but to submit after Monokuma made an example of Usami (renamed into Monomi by Monokuma) by blowing her to pieces using Monobeasts.

Despite not wanting to get involved in the riots, Peko and her classmates became worried when Mikan went missing, prompting them to search for her on the school grounds. Before she could leave, Nagito asked Peko to keep Mukuro Ikusaba, the Ultimate Soldier from Class 78th, occupied. At the time, Peko was unaware that this was part of Nagito's murder attempt on Junko Enoshima, Mukuro's twin sister and the origin of what would become known as Ultimate Despair, the same person responsible for Mikan's disappearance. When the two eventually engaged in a heated duel, Peko revealed that the only reason she had been following Mukuro was because one of her classmates had asked her to. The duel ended with Peko's defeat, prompting her to urge Fuyuhiko and the others to run instead of intervening to help Chisa. However, Fuyuhiko refused to abandon her, unwilling to stand by while she was being beaten. Leaving her with no other choice, Peko forced herself back on her feet and joined her classmates in rushing to Chisa's aid. Led by Mikan—who, unbeknownst to them, had already been brainwashed into despair by Junko—they were led into what appeared to be the same room later used for the Class Trials. In this very room, Peko and the others were forced to watch their beloved class rep, Chiaki Nanami, executed in a brutal fashion. Peko, despite her desire to save Chiaki, couldn't move an inch. Bearing witness to Chiaki's death caused the brainwashing effect of the video to take hold of Peko and the others, plunging them into despair. Fully brainwashed into becoming the Ultimate Despair, Peko and her classmates received their final lesson before "graduation", the one final meeting to discuss their plan to overthrow the world with despair. Peko expressed that she would "never kill anyone again," while her young master declared that, together with Peko, he would "lead their people down the right path." Chisa then activated a bomb that faked the death of Class 77-B so they could be taken off the list of protected students. Peko and Fuyuhiko began helping Junko to spread despair by launching a massacre in the Japanese Diet, later seen standing back to back amidst a sea of corpses. As an Ultimate Despair, Peko, alongside her corrupted classmates, started The Tragedy and kept it ongoing even after Junko's death in the final stage of the Killing School Life. Those who did not commit suicide to follow their leader Junko soon became known as the Remnants of Despair, which included Peko and her classmates. They also hacked her body and grafted them onto themselves—though in Peko's case, the specific body parts she took remain unknown.

Raised by the Kuzuryu Clan when she was just a child and given only one goal—to become the hitman of Fuyuhiko, the heir to the clan—Peko grew up to hold a strongly internalized conviction that she is not a person but rather a tool whose only purpose is to protect her young master, thus lacking any sense of independent agency or intrinsic value outside of her function. She insists she has no will, no emotions, and no identity beyond acting as Fuyuhiko's shield or sword. However, some of her actions contradict this belief. A prime example is her decision to kill Mahiru, which is motivated by her own initiative rather than a direct instruction from Fuyuhiko—an act she does to keep him from soiling his own hands and to facilitate his escape by taking the fall herself. Peko killing Mahiru on her own was never part of the plan, revealing she acted without Fuyuhiko's knowledge or consent. Even when he begs her to abort the plan, Peko refuses to listen and goes through with it to achieve her own personal desire of keeping her young master safe—or, as Nagito calls her out, her personal hope, a will of her own—one that contradicts the very idea of being a mere "tool." Even Monokuma disapproves her "tool" identity, noting that no mere instrument would meddle with a murder plan so much of its own accord. In the end, Fuyuhiko never considers her a mere tool and only wanted her to be herself, refusing to sacrifice everyone just to escape alone—something that Peko knows he would say, knowing he hates relying on his family's power. She concludes that he hates her for being the personification of that reliance, and that despite being a yakuza, his kind heart ironically only strengthens her loyalty to become his tool. Peko cares about Fuyuhiko on a personal level beyond their formal hitman-master relationship. Her fondness for him draws out her sentimental side, often reminiscing and reflecting on childhood memories. These memories, such as recalling her inability to ease his fear when he got lost in the mountains and remembering his handsome smile, are among the main reasons Peko desires to improve her own ability to smile. In her Island Mode, she also gets nostalgic about the times she would climb trees and explore, not because she particularly enjoyed it, but because she had the urge to protect her reckless young master, who often got himself in trouble, such as climbing to the very top and being unable to get down. As a newborn, Peko was abandoned by her own parents and taken in by the Kuzuryu Clan, the largest criminal syndicate in Japan, with a membership surpassing 30,000. From childhood, she was raised alongside the family's eldest child and eventual heir, Fuyuhiko, and trained to be his personal hitman and bodyguard. She became extremely loyal to him, eventually coming to see herself as a tool meant only to follow her young master's orders. This is exemplified whenever Fuyuhiko's parents fought—which happened frequently and at times nearly cost him his life—Peko was always by his side. Peko also frequently mentions a childhood friend—heavily implied to be Fuyuhiko —with whom she often shared intense experiences, and she was always ready to help him. One time, she and Fuyuhiko were kidnapped together, but Peko managed to find a way to escape, and they ended up lost in the mountains. When she tried to cheer him up, she unintentionally made him cry because he could sense that she was scared and worried. However, she eventually saved them both using her skills as a swordswoman and her determination to protect him as his loyal tool. She also joined the fray to protect him when Fuyuhiko challenged the king of the monkeys to a fight during a visit to the zoo, a moment when she thought he had "a handsome smile." Despite growing up together with a deep bond, Peko seemed to underestimate Fuyuhiko's attachment to her. Fuyuhiko never saw her as his tool, and simply wanted her to be "herself." Yet deep down, Peko was aware that he didn't share her self-perception, due to Fuyuhiko's kindness and sentiment towards her, despite being a yakuza, something she had observed since they were children. Peko grew up to become an extremely skilled swordsman and was said to be so strong that most adult men couldn't stand a chance against her. She excels at swordsmanship to such a degree that, unlike any kendo practitioner, she does not follow the typical ranking system of dojo trainees, which corresponds to their years of training. She also grew up to be fond of animals, mentioning how she wanted to touch the soft fur of the cat that visited the dojo, her childhood friend's dog, and the fluffy feathers of the finch she had as a pet. Due to her "menacing presence," however, she rarely got the chance as they got too scared and ran away from her. Peko attended Shiranui High School, before being scouted by Hope's Peak Academy for her exceptional skills as the Ultimate Swordswoman. She was enrolled in Class 77-B, alongside her young master, Fuyuhiko, who was accepted as the Ultimate Yakuza. During her school years, she followed Fuyuhiko's orders to keep their professional relationship a secret and treat each other like normal classmates. As such, Peko and Fuyuhiko were rarely seen talking to each other in front of their classmates, but she was often seen by his side. She kept her distance from her classmates as well, though she did trust them and offered her assistance whenever possible. In due course, Peko was surprised to learn that Fuyuhiko's little sister, Natsumi, had entered Hope's Peak Reserve Course Department. She offered to check up on her, but was prevented by Fuyuhiko, who reminded her that she was not his hitman at Hope's Peak. Unfortunately, Natsumi was soon murdered by a Reserve Course student named Sato for bullying her best friend, who happened to be Peko's classmate Mahiru Koizumi, the Ultimate Photographer. When she and Fuyuhiko visited the morgue to check Natsumi's body, Peko, who waited outside the room, felt immense regret for not being able to protect her young master's sister. In her frustration, she punched the wall until her knuckles bled. Peko's school life continued despite her ongoing grief for Natsumi. She remained by her young master as always, while also actively supporting her classmates in their endeavors when their homeroom teacher, Chisa Yukizome, was placed on probationary transfer to the Reserve Course for a semester, following a bombing incident involving her classmate Nagito Komaeda, the Ultimate Lucky Student. Moreover, Peko and Fuyuhiko's interactions began to be noticed by their fellow classmates, such as Ibuki Mioda, the Ultimate Musician, and Mikan Tsumiki, the Ultimate Nurse, with the latter commenting that it was nice to see the two becoming so close. Her school year became filled with turmoil when the Reserve Course students launched a massive protest against the main course, which Peko learned from the faculty was dubbed The Parade due to their belief that no one would go against the symbol of hope.

If there is one thing that has Peko in a chokehold and never fails to draw out her soft side, it's animals—especially the fluffy ones. Unfortunately, most animals can sense her menacing presence and run away every time she tries to touch them. When Hajime suggests that she ask Gundham Tanaka, the Ultimate Breeder, for help in touching his hamsters, Peko becomes visibly excited and hurries off to do so. Similarly, when Hajime brings up pandas in conversation, the thought of their fluffy fur makes her face soften a little. Her love for animals is explored further in her Island Mode. She reveals that she enjoys reading animal-related books, such as encyclopedias and children's books. Her ultimate favorite, however, is photo books filled with pictures of "fluffiness." She loves imagining the texture against her fingers and typically saves these books for last. She also enjoys watching movies about animals, and it is implied that she cries when watching the ones with sad stories. Her love for fluffy animals seems to extend to inanimate objects, as she hesitates to climb a statue of animals in Jabberwock Park, and thinking it'd be better if they were a union of fluffy creatures instead. Another soft side of Peko is her sense of wonder and willingness to experience new things, especially if these experiences can improve her skills. In her Island Mode, Peko wants to try dropping coconuts by slashing her sword upward to create wind pressure and resisting the urge to sleep while watching boring movies in theaters, seeing both as self-training methods. She also gets excited at the prospect of climbing the castle in the amusement park and eating popcorn, something she hasn't done in ages. She even wants to learn how to fish after hearing the rumor that it can "spawn friendship," and expresses interest in making sandcastles, inspired by children whom she believes must have the skill and knowledge to design them.

Due to her harsh exterior, Peko may come off as cold, though that is never her intention. It is her difficulty in smiling naturally that has contributed to her intimidating aura since childhood, which frequently made her childhood friend cry due to her 'scary face'. Even her 'first love' coldly told her the same thing. Even so, she believed that she never really needed to smile, and therefore eventually forgot how to. Hajime speculates that this may have caused by her extreme amount of harsh training, as he finds it abnormal for someone to forget how to smile. After learning from Mahiru that "smiling can give people power," Peko reflects on how, when she was younger, she wished she could have at least faked a smile to ease her childhood friend's fear, particularly when they got lost in the mountains. Considering the possibility of never escaping the island, she longs to improve her ability to smile so that she can ask out a certain someone among the group on a date and wants to finally show them her smiling face when it happens. She is determined to do whatever it takes—even if it means falling for Hiyoko's prank or asking Hajime to tell jokes to make her laugh, though both attempts ultimately fail. In her Island Mode, Peko expresses excitement about visiting the amusement park, watching comedy movies at the theater, and reading technical books about smiling—all in an effort to improve her ability to smile. In her final Free Time Event, it is revealed that Peko can indeed smile, smiling sincerely as she recalls her childhood friend's handsome smile. She realizes that smiling doesn't need to be forced; when her heart feels warm, it comes naturally. Peko reflects that she had forgotten this, having been "too desperate to protect something," revealing that she is sensitive at heart. However, due to the nature of her work and identity, she often has to push these feelings to the backburner and rarely shows them.

Personality: Peko has a serious demeanor, showing little emotion. Because of this, her stoic and composed nature often comes across as intimidating. Her presence is made more severe by her willingness to use force to maintain order and prevent unnecessary fighting. This is combined with her awareness that her swordsman instincts might cause her to attack reflexively at anything she senses as a threat, and thanks to her talent, even a misaimed attack could turn deadly. While capable of violence, Peko herself states that she prefers to avoid senseless killing, though there are times when swords must be drawn—whether she wants it or not. Being a woman of few words, Peko often ends up in awkward social situations without realizing it—frequently scaring her conversation partners with her intense stares. In contrast, she easily gets flustered when complimented or when hearing mentions of her own embarrassing moments. However, she is neither impolite nor antisocial. In contrast, she actively makes an effort to interact with the group—likely out of loyalty to Fuyuhiko's order to blend with their classmates. However, it is also shown that, beyond simply following orders, Peko goes out of her way to genuinely care for her classmates, humbly offering help whenever she can. When Hajime, Kazuichi, and Teruteru struggle with coconuts, Peko splits them open without being asked and feels glad to see others enjoying themselves. Whenever a fight or quarrel breaks out, or when Hiyoko makes insulting remarks and harsh judgments, Peko isn't afraid to step in and demand that they stop. She has no qualms about attending the party hosted by the Ultimate Imposter and volunteers to guard the duralumin case, though she explains that it's because she's not comfortable in situations where a large crowd surrounds her. She feels remorse over the Ultimate Imposter's death and apologizes, believing she could have reset the circuit breaker to prevent it from happening, seeing it as a failure on her part. Despite killing Mahiru, Peko holds no ill will toward her, having acted solely out of duty as her young master's tool. She sincerely apologizes to everyone, begging them not to let her actions lead to further senseless killings. During her school years, Peko actively supported all her classmates, even complying with Nagito's troubling request to fend off Mukuro Ikusaba, simply because he was a classmate.

Ultimate Despair (Former) Ultimate Swordswoman Gender Female Height 172 cm Weight 51 kg Birth Date ♋ June 30 Chest Size 85 cm Blood Type O Likes Black Dislikes Candy Family Unnamed parents Affiliation Kuzuryu Clan Class 77-B Previous Affiliation Shiranui High School Hope's Peak Academy Ultimate Despair Appearance: Peko is a tall, young woman with fair skin and a cool demeanor. She has long silver hair tied up into two braids on each side of her head, secured by white ribbons at the bases and dark red hair ties at the ends. She has side-swept bangs with two shoulder-length locks of hair that curl outwards, left down to frame her face. Her eyes are a vivid red, and she wears thin-framed rectangular glasses. She wears a long sleeved, turquoise-black seifuku uniform with a dark, gray-teal sailor collar and sleeve cuffs, each striped with two thin white lines at the edges, a red ascot tied at her neck. A red strip of cloth is wrapped around her left upper arm. Below this, she wears a somewhat paler turquoise pleated skirt, striped with an even paler line at the hem. Her legwear consists of turquoise-black tights and cream-colored loafers. Peko is constantly seen carrying her shinai (bamboo sword) around with her in a dark turquoise sheath/wrap with a thin white dragon design printed on the back. The shinai has a metal katana blade hidden at the center of its bamboo wrappings.