Character: Honda Kyouko 25482n

Kyoko Honda is the late mother of Tohru Honda, appearing only in flashbacks and photographs treasured by Tohru. When she was young, Kyoko was the leader of an all-female bosozoku gang called The Red Butterfly Suicide Squad, the name coming from how motorcycle tail-lights supposedly look like a red butterfly at night. She told Kyo Sohma she was ignored and rejected by her parents, and fell in love with a student teacher named Katsuya Honda who stood up for her when her parents disowned her after a gang fight. Katsuya and Kyoko married after she left middle school and had a daughter, Tohru, and Kyoko learned how to work through difficulties together with Katsuya. She was devastated by her husband's death and nearly killed herself before ing her young daughter needed her. Because of her experiences, Kyoko raised Tohru to believe that everyone needs to feel needed, and helped Arisa Uotani leave her own gang. Tohru calls Kyoko the most important person in her life, and repeats bits of her mother's emotional wisdom throughout the series. Kyoko died a few months before the start of the series when she was struck by a car.