Masatsugu Kitō (鬼頭 正嗣, Kitou Masatsugu) is a major character in Alice in Borderland RETRY, who participates in the Nine of Hearts game, "Earth Invasion".
Appearance[]
Kitou is a middle-aged man with short black hair and a stern facial expression. He wears a gray suit and a black T-shirt underneath.
Personality[]
Kitou is a highly-intelligent, observant, and cunning individual, exceptionally talented at hiding his intentions. Due to his medical education, Kitou never gives in to panic and analyzes the situation calmly. But he also has a cynical view on the necessity to choose whose lives can be sacrificed for the greater good, which leads to conflicts with the other players.
His will to live remains unshaken throughout the events, and he is prepared to do what is necessary in order to survive. His approach is pragmatic in his eyes: he is a doctor, he can save more lives in the future, therefore he must keep going, even if it means letting the other participants die in the process. However, Kitou is not inherently cruel or indifferent towards human life; he is heartbroken when he realizes that his decisions have led to multiple unnecessary deaths that could have been prevented.
Story[]
Hall 1[]
Kitou examines the dead body
Kitou, addressed by Nanase Onoue as "sensei", arrives in the Borderland after a large billboard fell onto him, Onoue, and a few more strangers, including Arisu who attempted to warn them. They all end up on the verge of death with no recollection of the incident, and the "Earth Invasion" game begins. Shortly after Himari Horikawa tries to leave the venue due to seeing a corpse and gets stopped by Arisu, Kitou examines the body and confirms the likelihood of it being burnt by a laser. He also notices a phone in the person's hand.
After the game rules are explained, Round 1 begins, and the players decide to ignore the "DEATH" card for the time being, so they exchange "LIFE" cards with each other. Kitou underlines that this is a game where one of them will die, and then he silently pairs up with Onoue. Everyone enters their shelters, and the first alien invasion begins. After it is over, the players walk out and see that the replica of New York has been completely destroyed.
Having progressed to Round 2, Kitou realizes that the game is not about deciding who gets to live but about choosing who dies next, which is why he calls it a game of "musical chairs".
Hall 2[]
Kitou explaining the shelter capacity logic
Kitou suggests discussing the game once again to make sense of it. He briefly summarizes the details they have figured out: only one "LIFE" can be given per hall, which means there are six halls, and the number of shelters reduces in each of them. Other players start panicking, but Kitou continues his explanation and points out that even if they all give each other a "LIFE" card, there are not enough shelters for everyone to enter, therefore one person is going to be left out. Additionally, the necessity to use the "DEATH" card makes it impossible for everyone to survive at the end. Onoue calls him out and wonders whether anyone could actually use the "DEATH" card in the game, but he calmly shifts the topic towards the strategy they can use.
Kitou considering all the possible outcomes in case of cooperation
According to Kitou, teaming up is a bad idea due to the possibility of revenge, in case one player gets cast out and decides to use their "DEATH" card to cause more casualties. Realizing that teams do not guarantee safety, Kitou starts considering the idea to trick one of the team members and leave them without a "LIFE" card at the last moment. Since nobody owes anyone anything in this game, there is no fool-proof plan with a guaranteed "LIFE" card, because anyone can simply refuse to transfer one in return, which is something all the players quickly realize.
Taiga suggests drawing lots instead of standing and panicking, but Kitou insists on discussing whose life is worth saving, and whose can be sacrificed for the greater good. He and Onoue work in the medical field, where they often face impossible choices and have to decide on the order in which patients are treated, based on their likelihood of survival, which is called "Triage".
Kitou explaining the rules of Triage
"Abandon those severely injured and on the verge of death with no hope of recovering, and treat patients in order of those most likely to survive. We decide the priority of the patients."
— Kitou explaining his view
As a doctor, he knows that all lives as equal. However, he still insists on evaluating and comparing lives in order to make a decision on who gets to live, and Onoue's protests do not change his opinion, because he is not speaking from the point of view of a doctor but rather a human being.
"The reality is that the value of some lives are greater than others. This does not mean that those lives aren't valuable. We are making an unavoidable choice to provide the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people in society."
Kitou's examples of choosing between saving "an intellectual" over "a criminal", backed up by Yuzuru Horikawa's example from his own work field and approval of making such a choice, trigger Taiga's rage, since he is indeed a criminal who still does not wish to sacrifice himself.
Kitou suggesting to draw lots
Kitou cheating
Taiga threatens to kill everyone, Onoue grabs a replica of a tower and uses it as a sword against Taiga, so Kitou realizes that there is no way to resolve the conflict calmly. He addresses Taiga respectfully and offers to enact his previous suggestion, which is drawing lots. Coincidentally, Kitou has a stack of playing cards in his bag, since he uses them at work when his night shifts are tedious. While shuffling, he drops the cards on the floor, and Taiga criticizes his lack of skill, but Kitou picks them up and explains the process: the person who gets the weakest card will not receive a "LIFE" from anyone.
Since Taiga first suggested this approach, he is the first to draw a card, so Kitou asks him to stop the shuffling at any point. However, Arisu and Yuzuru notice Kitou's cheating technique: the top card is not moving despite the shuffling, because Kitou is purposely keeping an ace on top for Taiga to draw. Earlier, Kitou did not accidentally drop the cards, he meant to do it to make the others, including Taiga, let their guard down. Taiga's dismissive comment proved that Kitou had a chance to deceive him, just as Onoue suspected before.
After comparing the cards and realizing his loss, Taiga accuses Kitou of cheating but has no evidence, so Kitou nonchalantly disregards his complaints and urges him to accept the outcome. He instructs the Horikawa family to stay together and suggests exchanging "LIFE" cards with Onoue and Arisu as a trio.
Kitou remains an observer of Taiga's fate: another attempt to strike results in triggering an alien-looking lamp at the ceiling, which shoots down a laser as a warning against violence. The action makes sense to Kitou, since otherwise there would be a possibility of turning the game into a simple brawl to steal each other's phones. The laser cuts off Taiga's right hand, and the countdown starts beeping, so Kitou urges everyone to exchange "LIFE" cards quickly and enter the shelters. He, Onoue, and Arisu do it in a circle and then rush to the pods.
Kitou survives the second alien invasion.
Hall 3[]
The remaining players enter Hall 3, and the third round begins. The hall contains replicas of Egyptian landmarks, and the temperature inside is as hot as one would imagine Egypt to be. When Yuzuru falls down, Kitou removes his jacket and presses it to his chest in an attempt to stop the bleeding. However, the wound is very deep, and Yuzuru's lungs are damaged. Even if Kitou manages to stop the bleeding, Yuzuru does not have much time left. Himari accuses Kitou of purposely letting her father die, but Onoue supports Kitou's medical conclusion and reprimands Himari.
Kitou then watches Yuzuru's last moments, shocked by his request to receive all the "DEATH" cards.
Kitou's deception is revealed by Yuzuru
Kitou exchanges "LIFE" cards with Onoue and is about to enter his safe pod when Yuzuru's voice stops him. Yuzuru asks Kitou not to deceive the other players again, and Himari asks him for details, so he is forced to openly admit to having tricked Taiga. Himari realizes that her father's death is Kitou's fault, since Kitou provoked Taiga, so she promises never to forgive him.
The players enter their shelters, and the round ends. As they proceed to Hall 4, they end up in a cold room, covered in snow, with the replica of Russia inside. Kitou's phone instantly beeps, and he sees that he has received Himari's "DEATH" card. She shows her phone to him as proof of that, claiming that she only cares about making sure he dies.
Hall 4[]
Kitou preparing to give a "LIFE" card to Onoue
Having received the "DEATH" card from Himari, Kitou accepts his fate and does not protest. He admits that it is a reasonable result of his actions, but Onoue instantly transfers her "LIFE" card to him, nullifying the effect. It is not enough for him to enter a shelter, but Onoue still feels like helping him emotionally in his final moments. He is moved by her speech, so he proclaims his decision to give his "LIFE" card to her in return.
"Thank you. After hearing all that, there is nothing left to do but give you this "LIFE"."
— Kitou after receiving a "LIFE" card from Onoue
After Himari and Arisu exchange "LIFE" cards and enter their shelters, Kitou remains outside, seemingly preparing to die. Onoue decides to thank him for his guidance as a doctor and for giving her a "LIFE" card. Just as the countdown is about to reach zero, Kitou's phone makes a strange noise. Then the alien invasion begins, seemingly killing both Kitou and Onoue who are outside the shelters.
Hall 5 is available to all the surviving players. Arisu and Himari enter the room first, only to realize that Onoue is not with them. Suddenly, the doors open and Kitou walks in, revealing his survival.
Hall 5[]
Kitou's foolproof way to survive
Kitou confidently claims that he has found a foolproof way of surviving the game but refuses to disclose it to Arisu and Himari. A flashback follows, revealing his last conversation with Onoue: as she heard an unexpected sound, she saw two phones in his hands, and he explained that the second phone belonged to the corpse they found in the very beginning of the game. The corpse was fake, a well-made replica, so Kitou assumed it was done on purpose in order to give special advantage to whoever realized it and grabbed the phone. Throughout the game, Kitou had been exchanging "LIFE" cards not with Onoue directly but as a trio between her, himself, and the corpse, which allowed him to keep the second phone active while following the rules. Despite promising to transfer a "LIFE" card to Onoue, Kitou revealed his intention to give the card to the corpse instead in order to be able to bring the phone to the next room. Kitou was sure that only one person could survive the game, so he opened a shelter, walked in, and left Onoue to die.
Two ways the game can go from Hall 5
Since Arisu figures out Kitou's plan, Kitou gives his "DEATH" card to him, ensuring Arisu's demise. According to Kitou, Arisu has only two choices: either he accepts his death and allows Kitou and Himari to proceed without him, or he can rebel and condemn everyone to death.
"Arisu-kun, you no longer have any paths left to survive. To leave this hall alive, you need to receive at least two "LIFE" cards, but there is no chance that I will give you one. Will you use a "DEATH" card on me? If you do that, then I will immediately smash the dead body's phone. In that case, both of us will be left behind in this hall and Himari-kun will be alone in the final one with nobody to receive her "LIFE" card. The "DEATH" I gave you just then was from the dead body's phone. Even if you were to give a "DEATH" to the dead body, I would be the only one holding a "DEATH" card in the final hall. Simply put, the options you have are either for all three of us to die, or for you alone to die here."
Seeing Arisu's shock, Kitou asks whether Arisu wishes to annihilate everyone after all they have been through and urges him to accept the inevitable.
Kitou is on edge after giving Arisu a "DEATH" card, so the conversation about musical chairs at Himari's daycare prompts him to yell at Arisu. When Arisu lays out his theory that the phone on the fake body was meant to make everyone think killing was inevitable, Kitou angrily points out that at the start, when the replica was found, nobody had died yet. Arisu adds that the phone was there to collect all the "DEATH" cards, removing the need to kill one another, but Kitou screams that each shelter holds only one person, so people would have had to die in each room anyway. However, as he walks towards a pod to check, he notices that the capacity number is no longer readable, which means the pods can contain up to three people, according to Arisu's calculations.
Kitou refuses to listen to Arisu's explanation and give up his advantage. He chooses to survive alone instead of having to sacrifice himself for a potentially wrong solution to the game.
A flashback reveals Kitou being one of the doctors who took care of multiple victims of the Tokyo Meteorite Disaster eight years prior.
Kitou doubting his decision in a flashback
Kitou determined to survive
In Kitou's flashback, a little girl was laying on a bed, covered in severe burns, and her mother asked when the doctors could take care of her. Kitou coldly explained that the girl had a black triage tag, meaning her chances of survival were slim, and the doctors had to prioritize other patients. The mother screamed in tears calling Kitou a murderer. Later, his co-worker praised his work but Kitou kept having second thoughts about his decision.
"Was that really okay? Was my decision for the triage truly correct? I may have been able to treat and save that girl, too..."
His colleague insisted that the doctors are not gods, so some lives simply cannot be saved. He claimed that it was Kitou's responsibility to accept the deaths of the people he was not able to save, and those who hesitated were doctors with no confidence.
Back in the game, Kitou reiterates that he is planning to save himself. He considers it traumatizing to think that everyone could have survived, and yet three lives have been lost.
"Can you carry the burden with you for the rest of your lives? Do you have the disposition or resolve to accept that? I do! From here on out, as a doctor, the lives of ten, a hundred, a thousand patients... I will save them, no, I must save them! Through that, I will be able to repay the lives I was not able to save here! Can either of you do that? I am the only one capable of that! For that reason, I must survive this game!"
He chooses not to hesitate and aim for the path where he will be the sole survivor. However, Arisu transfers his "DEATH" card to the corpse's phone and a "LIFE" card to Kitou. Himari picks up on the plan and gives a "LIFE" card to Arisu. Such actions confuse Kitou, who assumes that Arisu does not understand his predicament. But Arisu explains that even if the situation continues the way Kitou has planned, and only he and Himari reach Hall 6, there is a possibility that Himari will simply refuse to give him a "LIFE" card, making them both lose the game and die. With a smile, Arisu leaves the final decision to Kitou.
Kitou lets Arisu enter the shelter first
Seeing Arisu's smiling face, as he leaves the decision to Kitou, Kitou asks whether Arisu has no regrets. The speech moves Kitou and makes him realize that his pursuit of his own survival led to Taiga and Yuzuru dying in vain and to him betraying Onoue, who had always been his friend and respected him.
He starts crying and decides to follow the proposed plan, so he gives "LIFE" cards to both Himari and Arisu, using the corpse's phone, and then transfers his own "DEATH" card to it. Arisu cordially thanks him for it and asks why Kitou did not give him the "DEATH" card at the end of Hall 4, since it would have been a clear victory with no way out. Kitou admits that he hesitated to take another person's life despite the circumstances, because he is a doctor. He then wonders whether the shelter can truly open more than once, and Arisu suggests that he enters first, but Kitou insists on letting Arisu go first instead. After the shelter closes, Kitou moves his phone towards the entrance, and the door unlocks the second time, proving that it can contain more than one person. All the players hide, and an alien invasion begins.
Hall 6, the last room to clear, contains a replica of Tokyo. There are two shelters with a readable wording on the walls, "Capacity: 3 people".
Hall 6[]
Himari slaps Kitou
The players enter Hall 6, which contains a replica of Tokyo. Unlike the others, who are happy to see two shelters allowing them all to survive, Kitou is overcome with guilt. If he had told the others about an extra phone and had not focused on his own survival, he could have saved everyone else as well. He feels like these mistakes cannot be forgiven, but Himari slaps him across the face and pushes him to keep his promise and save a thousand patients. He transfers his "LIFE" card to Arisu, who then does the same to Himari, and everyone enters the last shelters.
Time is up, and the final alien invasion begins. However, instead of the lasers destroying the replica of Tokyo, the announcement voice congratulates the players on clearing the game, and fireworks appear behind the tiny buildings. The safe pods are transported back, and the trio wakes up without any memories of the game. Kitou jokingly complains about being a patient at his own workplace, and a nurse objects that his survival is what matters in this situation. He then asks about Onoue, and another nurse informs him that she passed away.