Battle Royale
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For the novel, please go to Hiroki Sugimura (Novel). For the film, please go to Hiroki Sugimura (Film).

Hiroki Sugimura (杉村 弘樹, Sugimura Hiroki) is a supporting character in Battle Royale.

Backstory[]

When Hiroki was a young boy, he was often bullied and on one incident, three boys had taken his action figure and broke it, leaving Hiroki to cry over his broken toy. Hiroki's friend, Takako Chigusa was nearby and ordered him to stop crying as he was a boy and boys do not cry. Takako still sensed he was upset, so offered to let him see the puppies her family's dog had given birth to and Hiroki then decided that he was going to practice martial arts (kung fu) so incidents like that will not happen anymore. He had a habit of tapping his nose when he didn't know what to say, which Takako named the "Sugi Tap".

Friends and Enemies[]

Hiroki's best friend was Takako whom he had known since they were young children. Takako would always call him a crybaby yet deep down she cared for him deeply, she just didn't like for people to mess around with him and wanted to help him become more confident.

Hiroki's other close friend was Shuya Nanahara whom he met while Hiroki was getting harassed by two karate students at the dojo they all attended. Shuya witnessed this and kicked one of the karate students in the face as he felt it was unfair for two of them to pick on a person who didn't want to fight them. Once they challenged him as well, Shuya was ready but failed to deliver another kick and was almost hit but Hiroki saved him and beat both students and the two would become friends from that day on.

Because of his friendship with Shuya, he also became friends with Shinji Mimura, Yutaka Seto, and Yoshitoki Kuninobu.

Hiroki had a crush on one of his classmates, Kayoko Kotohiki. Hiroki first noticed Kayoko in her flower arrangement class that was below his martial arts dojo, and found her beautiful. Shortly afterwards, he rescued a small kitten and took it to class. The kitten needed to pee but Hiroki didn't understand what was wrong until Kayoko helped him out and suggested he gets a book on kittens. She then told him that she used to be scared of him because of his practice of martials, but after seeing his caring side, she felt he wasn't scary at all. Hiroki then kept the kitten and named it Fugetsu in her honor.

In the Program[]

Goodbye Takako[]

After getting out of the school, he started searching around the island, looking for Takako. When he finally found her, she was on the verge of death, after fighting Kazushi Niida and getting shot by Mitsuko Souma. She told him that she was almost raped by Kazushi and told him to look out for Mitsuko. After telling him this, she whispered in his ear about how he was the closest friend she had ever had, and she died in his arms. Hiroki begged her to stay alive, but it was all in vain.

Reunited with Shuya[]

Following her advice, he went to look for Shuya, not knowing he was paired up with Noriko Nakagawa and Shogo Kawada. When he finally found them, he fought with Shogo until Shuya calmed him down. When he saw that Shuya and Noriko were with Shogo, he asked why and they told him they knew a way off the island. Since he was his best friend, Hiroki believed him. They began to cross off names and crossed off zones on the island, and they asked him if he wanted to join. He told them that he had to find someone first, his crush Kayoko Kotohiki. Shuya then gave him a gun, but he refused, promising that he would come when he found her. They agree when he finds her he will light two fires so that Shuya and the others can see the smoke and then Shogo will use a bird call device for Hiroki to find them again.

Saving Shuya[]

Shortly after leaving the group, Hiroki hears a gunfight. He finds out it was Kazuo Kiriyama shooting at Shuya, and jumps in to save his friend. After a quick fight, Hiroki and an injured Shuya flee by jumping into the sea. They survive the fall and land on a beach, where they are rescued by Yukie Utsumi and her group. Hiroki leaves Shuya in their hands and resumes his search.

Encounter with Mitsuko[]

While searching for Kayoko, Hiroki is ambushed by Mitsuko Souma. He rapidly manages to disarm her, and she starts begging for mercy, claiming she had not killed Takako intentionally. At first Hiroki considers avenging Takako's death, but he can't bring himself to kill Mitsuko. When she realizes that Hiroki has no intention to kill her, she berates him for being weak-willed and unable to kill, describing him as a "boy scout" and "the odd one out". Mitsuko explains her past to Hiroki and starts undressing but since Hiroki can't bring himself to look at her, she uses this opportunity to slash him with her sickle and flees.

Froggy[]

Later during his search, the pings on his tracker bring him to a well, where he discovers a corpse, praying that it was not Kayoko's. He then realizes it was Hirono Shimizu who had drowned in the well. He is ambushed there by Toshinori Oda, who had killed Hirono. Hiroki breaks Oda's index finger with a kick, ruining any chance he had of pursuing a career as a violinist. Toshinori pleads with Hiroki not to kill him, and while Hiroki isn't sure whether to trust Toshinori or not, he still spreads Shuya's message of hope of escape. Toshinori plays along, but before he can betray Hiroki and shoot him, Kazuo appears and fires at them. Hiroki manages to escape while Toshinori fakes death before being killed for real.

Found Her[]

At the 12 pm announcements, Hiroki learns that Yukie and her friends all died, as well as Mizuho Inada. Hiroki briefly wonders what happened to Shuya since his name wasn't announced but knows he must continue his search. He decides to head towards D-7 as it will soon become a forbidden area and once he arrives, he finally finds Kayoko. He is relieved and it shows, however, Kayoko doesn't trust him and points her gun at him. She tells him that if he won't leave, she will kill him and it won't be her first kill. He realizes she is lying and tries to calm her, so he tosses away his bag and mentions that he named the cat Fugetsu and how he named her that in honor of Kayoko as he goes on to remind her of that day when they first spoke to each other.

Hiroki finds Kayoko

The reunion

He tells her that he would never hurt her and Kayoko finally lowers her gun and reveals that she was lying and doesn't know what to do. Hiroki tells her that he had been worried about her and is glad she is fine. Seeing Hiroki like this makes her laugh as she is used to him looking tough and thanks him for making her feel happy for a bit but apologizes for that. She then asks if he will stay with her and knows she can be brave if he is around, which he is more than happy to stay. He tells her Shogo's plan to get off the island and the choice is hers if she wants to join up with them, but either way, he will stay with her.

The two build two fires and quickly leave as staying will only get them in danger. As they wait for Shogo's birdcall, the two take a break and discuss what has happened while they were on the island. Kayoko mentions how lucky Takako was to have someone like Hiroki in her life and then wonders why Hiroki didn't stay with Shuya as she feels like there is something he isn't telling her. Hiroki simply tells her that he had to find a friend, although he doesn't mention it was her, who now feels bad as she feels like she is asking too many questions. Hiroki tells her that it's okay and then mentions the incident with Kazuo and Keiichiro Sakaguchi. He decides not to mention all of the story to spare her and once he is done, the two decide to keep on moving as he vows to himself to not let Mitsuko or Kazuo get to them.

Later on, Kayoko questions him on how he can trust her not to kill him. He tells her that deep down she is a beautiful person, although she laughs it off as she thinks he was just joking around with her.

Kazuo arrives

Found by Kazuo

She then stops Hiroki to tell him about Ki, as she was reminded of it when Hiroki talked about being within. After she is done, they find a kitten which runs away from Kayoko. She gets upset but Hiroki tells her that she is special. Hearing this, Kayoko explains her story and tells him that she likes him, but she is embarrassed by her confession and decides to walk on. She then stops herself as she tells him that she is glad they found each other and she will do whatever Hiroki wants. She starts to run off as Hiroki follows, trying to catch up as he decides now is the time to confess his feelings. However, before he can finish his sentence, Kayoko's face turns pale as she realizes Kazuo found them.

Kazuo and Confessions[]

Before Kazuo can fire at the two, Hiroki throws his wooden stick at Kazuo, managing to his hand and making him drop the gun. Hiroki rushes in to jump behind him so he couldn't get out another gun and uses the pole to knock the second one out of his hand. The two engage in a fight which results in Kazuo breaking Hiroki's fingernails off. Hiroki starts to question himself if he even has the skill in order to kill someone as Kazuo walks towards him. Kazuo manages to get Hiroki to bleed from his eyes as Hiroki tries to dodge the attacks. He eventually manages to get a punch in but he misses. Hiroki keeps trying to land a move but Kazuo is just too fast for him and soon Kazuo finds a way to cut some of his fingers off. As Hiroki looks at his lost fingers, Kazuo slams the wooden weapon into Hiroki's eye, partially blinding him. He starts to wonder if he can even beat someone like Kazuo as he is clearly losing the battle.

Hiroki starts to fall back as Kazuo follows. Feeling the pain of their battle, Hiroki starts throwing up, which leads Kazuo to ask him how long he has been afraid. Suddenly a bullet is fired at Kazuo but it misses. Kayoko falls back to the ground after shooting as Hiroki wonders why she hasn't left yet. Kayoko aims at Kazuo, threatening to shoot again if he tries to hurt Hiroki anymore. Kazuo simply walks towards her as she continues to aim at him and shoots again. This time she drops the gun and as Kazuo starts to dash for it, Hiroki grabs the pole and tries to attack Kazuo again but misses and breaks. Hiroki then realizes that Kazuo is behind him with a piece of the pole, ready to stab him in the head. He quickly dodges the weapon and begins to adapt just like Kazuo does. He and Kayoko believe that they will win the battle, but only a few minutes in, he copies Hiroki's ki blast, severely injuring him.

He then picks up a gun and turns his attention to a scared Kayoko. Before he can fire at her, Hiroki saves Kayoko by shooting him in the arm. He then shoots him again, believing they had finally won the battle and killed him. Hiroki starts confessing his love to Kayoko, not realizing that Kiriyama had survived by wearing Oda's bulletproof vest. Kazuo gets up and shoots Hiroki in the stomach. Hiroki begs Kayoko to run away, but she decides to stay by his side as Kazuo walks towards her. He regrets telling her his feelings as he realizes she will suffer the same fate as Takako. Powerless, he watches Kiriyama shoot a bullet into Kayoko's temple. Soon, Hiroki joins her in death, as Kiriyama shoots him in the cheeks. Hiroki's last thoughts were that he was no longer afraid and did all he could for Kayoko.

Appearances[]

Notes and Trivia[]

  • Of all the main characters, Hiroki is the only one whose family wasn't shown or mentioned in the story.
  • This version of Hiroki is the only version where he doesn't get killed by Kayoko. 
    • Likewise, this is the only version where he spends time with Kayoko before they die.
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