Kiro

“	"Simon says get down on your knees!"	”
	— Kiro to a target in Sift Heads Reborn

Kiro is the deuteragonist of the Sift Heads series. He first appears in Sift Renegade as the main protagonist, and reappears in Sift Heads 5, serving as the main antagonist and appearing as one of the two playable protagonists (alongside Kienji, who is only playable in Sift Renegade 3 and it's Defiance expansion) in the Sift Renegade series. Kiro was an elite Yakuza assassin, but left the organization after key members killed his brother Kienji to cover up a poly.

A real modern Samurai, Kiro was once known as the best killer of his clan, the Yakuzas. After the betrayal and the assassination of his brother, he has rebelled against the group, killing everyone who were responsible or anyone who got in his way. He is certainly the best in the team when it comes to persuasive tactics.

Biography[]

Early Life[]

Kiro was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1989 he is the son of a well-known family with direct ties to the Yakuza. He was one of the best assassins of his clan and with a portfolio garnished with so many assassinations, it’s no surprise that he quickly became one of the best killers in the Orient. His dexterity with all types of Samurai weapons would become essential and his expertise.

Sift Renegade 3[]

Kiro has a minor role in the canonically earliest game in his life. In this game he trains Kienji in the ways of the Yakuza, holding him to the code of the Yakuza. Kienji is made the player character for the most part of the rest of the game. Kiro is also playable in one more mission which contains no relevance to the story and simply is another chore for the Yakuza.

Sift Renegade[]

After learning of the death of his brother Kienji from Shawn, Kiro quickly seeks to find the perperators, originally investigating the Triads. The Triads do not take responsbility and says the house of the Yakuza are full of traitors. Kiro then summarilly kills the Triad Chief before seeking the Yakuza Chief who admits that the Yakuza command has ordered the hit on Kenji due to allegedly sparking dissent within their ranks. After defeating him in battle, but sparing him, Kiro finds the hitman who assassinated his brother, Vinnie.

Sift Heads 5[]

Kiro appears as the main antagonist of Sift Heads 5, serving as the final enemy of the game. After hunting the Yakuza who put a hit on him, Vinnie receives a note at his apartment. Kiro blames Vinnie for the death of his brother and had kidnapped Shorty to force a confrontation between him and Vinnie. Vinnie confronts Kiro, who dodges his gunfire, but is defeated when Vinnie destroys the chain suspending Shorty's chair, which falls onto Kiro. Vinnie, who has no personal grudges against Kiro, spares him, claiming his death offers no reward in itself.

Sift Renegade 2[]

Continuing the conversation with Kiro at gunpoint from Sift Heads 5, Vinnie voices his approval of Kiro's skills and suggests instead of killing him, the paid contractor, Kiro should instead kill the Yakuza Chief who hired him. Vinnie also warns Kiro to leave him alone and departs. Confronted by Yakuza thugs, Kiro escapes and learns of the plot to kill his brother's girlfriend, Jade. Kiro races to her house but fails to save her. Kiro, blinded with rage, heads straight to the Yakuza holdout the Chief is held in. After getting to the rooftop, Kiro is held at gunpoint by the Yakuza Chief and several minions. Kiro then deduces the Yakuza blamed his brother to cover up their own conspiracy. The Chief admits to so, but before anything else could happen, Vinnie comes to Kiro's aid and snipes the Chief. Kiro fights the remaining and escape, only to encounter Vinnie again. After a suggestion from Vinnie, Kiro agrees to partner with him, and they defeat some more assassins hunting both, starting the World Series.

Relationships[]

Vinnie[]

After Kiro had killed several members of the Triads, he found out that they hired Vinnie to kill his brother, Kienji. Kiro then kidnaps Shorty to lure Vinnie and try to kill him. When Kiro was defeated by Vinnie, the latter spared him and told him to find the one who hired him instead, since the incident's between Kiro and the Yakuza. Ultimately, Kiro decides to drop his vengeance and side with Vinnie.

Upon being a newcomer to the gang, Kiro and Vinnie appear to be on good terms, though they tend to be snarky with each other. When Kiro finds out that Vinnie likes to live in the past, he starts to make fun of him, even to a point where Vinnie threatened him to throw himself out of his car. Not only that, he often annoys Vinnie by teasing about his age. ("You even look like an old, retired bounty hunter..."; "At least your girl is young!"; "You're still listening to old forgotten rock? By the way, how old are you?"). Aside from that, Kiro still likes Vinnie since he likes his equipment and has interesting missions.

After they had killed Alonzo and Yumma, Kiro tried to help Vinnie from criminal organizations, but the leaders got away. Kiro wonders how Vinnie is notorious for crime syndicates. Kiro then started to guard the safehouse gates and told Vinnie that if he leaves his HQ unprotected it might get blown up again.

Shorty[]

In order to lure out Vinnie, Kiro kidnaps Shorty and takes her hostage during his renegade. But despite that, he had nothing against Shorty as he only wanted to take his revenge. After partnering up with Vinnie, Kiro and Shorty seem to grow friendly to each other. When Kiro fights Yakuza bikers, Shorty asks him if he needs any help.

Despite their friendly relationship, they usually tease each other during Sift Heads World: Act 3, Shorty tells Kiro that she and Vinnie will miss his enemies more than they will miss him, also when Kiro goes to the bathroom while Shorty is bathing, she will say "Trying to make Vinnie jealous?" Kiro then apologizes and says he is just at the wrong door and if Shorty talks to Kiro, while he is playing basketball, Kiro says "Don't worry, I will not scratch your Cooper!" this could mean that Shorty is aware that Kiro might accidentally break her things. She does not like it when Kiro acts rowdy, as shown in Sift Heads World Act 4 when Kiro jumps out of a helicopter without a parachute. Besides all that, Shorty sees Kiro as a good friend, and Kiro sometimes often flirts with Shorty, but never around Vinnie, who would probably confront him.

Trivia[]

Kiro is a fan of sports bikes, which is his signature means of transportation in the Sift Heads World series.
If Kiro stays idle during Sift Renegade and Sift Renegade 2, he will begin stretching and cracking his neck.
He always carries a katana on his back, despite that it can't be used in every game it appears. It is only a usable weapon in the Sift Renegade series, Sift Heads Cartels, and Sift Heads: Reborn
An outfit resembling Kiro's coat from Sift Heads 5 is available to be bought in Sift Heads World (excluding Act 7 and the Hidden Chapter). However, it is not present in Sift Heads Reborn.
If he is chosen during SHW-Act 3, he may accidentally walk into the safehouse's bathroom while Shorty is bathing. She will ask him, "Trying to make Vinnie jealous?" To which he will quickly respond, "Sorry, wrong door!"
The Kanji on his katana reads "Umeruto" (梅根 Blossom Stem), this could possibly be the katana's name.
He is the only playable character in Sift Heads World not to wear glasses.