Summary
Kyouko Honda is the mother of Tooru. In her youth, she was a troublemaker who cut classes and was ultimately disowned by her parents after a gang fight. She harbored deep resentment toward her family, viewing her father as believing she was unnecessary and her mother as obsessed with appearances. During this period, Kyouko led an all-female suicide gang under the moniker "The Red Butterfly," a name derived from the way the tail lights of her motorcycle resembled a bright red butterfly when she rode at night. Eventually, she left that life behind and secured employment. Her trajectory changed when she fell in love with a student teacher named Katsuya Honda, a relationship that motivated her to leave her gang. After being beaten by her gang members and rejected by her parents, Katsuya defended her and proposed. They married shortly thereafter and had a daughter, Tooru. Katsuya served as a positive influence, and the couple navigated their hardships together. However, his death from illness plunged Kyouko into a profound depression. She neglected Tooru and nearly committed suicide by jumping into the sea, hoping to reunite with Katsuya, whom she had visited once before. At the last moment, seeing a mother and daughter by the shore snapped her out of her trance. Returning home, she found Tooru waiting at the door in a manner reminiscent of how Katsuya used to greet her. This moment prompted a vow to never again disregard her daughter. Kyouko subsequently raised Tooru on her own, also providing care for Tooru’s best friends, Arisa Uotani and Saki Hanajima. When Tooru vanished as a young child, Kyouko was hysterical, even threatening the police if they failed to locate her. Her panic ended in joy when Tooru was found by Yuki Souma, who had listened to Kyouko’s description and guided the lost girl home.
