Kikyo Zoldyck

"What have you done to your brother? Killua! Will you not listen to your mother anymore?!"

- Kikyo Zoldyck

Kikyo Zoldyck (キキョウ＝ゾルディック, Kikyō Zorudikku) is the mother of the Zoldyck siblings and the wife of Silva Zoldyck.

Appearance
Kikyo is 170 centimeters tall and wears a and a broad-brimmed hat decorated with feathers and fur. She is 42 years old at the beginning of the series. Her face is covered in bandages due to Killua's attack, though later in the series, the bandages are gone. She has an electronic visor covering her eyes. The visor can be used as a communication device, although what other purposes it suits are unknown.

Personality
Kikyo is the maternal figure of the Zoldyck Family and is an assassin herself. She dotes on Killua to extremes and looks forward to see him excelling in assassination and carrying on the Zoldyck Family's business. She feels delighted every time Killua displays his coldness, even if it is directed towards her. Because of her excessive love and high hopes for him, she has become an overprotective, unbalanced parent and is suspicious of any stranger who wants to get close to him, fearing that they will mislead him.

Kikyo is also a cruel person, as she had no qualms about testing her fourth child's power on innocent people, which is likely to result in their deaths.

Background
Kikyo was once an inhabitant of Meteor City.

In Killua's flashback to when he was younger, she looked more normal, wearing a kimono and having her black hair pulled into a big bun updo, without a hat, and there were no bandages on her face. Her visor also lacked the microphone and did not cover her ears.

Prior to the start of the series, she was injured when attempting to prevent Killua from running away from home to take the 287th Hunter Exam. Despite being stabbed by her favorite son, she is proud of him for doing so.

Zoldyck Family arc


Kikyo made her first appearance with her youngest child Kalluto. Using a tiny projectile, she knocked out Canary for mouthing off about the Zoldyck family. She explains to Gon that Killua is in self-imposed solitary confinement. As Killua is released, Zeno contacts Kikyo and becomes very upset. She briefly introduces herself before telling Gon to leave and excusing herself. Later, Kikyo tells Killua that his friends are passing through their gardens, to patronize him during his torture.

When Silva gives Killua permission to travel with his friends, Kikyo arrives to block his way out. She lies to him, saying that his friends have already left and that it is time for him to go back to the torture chamber. Killua ignores her and tries to get past just as she reaches for him. He glares at her for a moment before she finally lets him go. Kikyo later confronts Silva about his decision, saying that Killua is becoming a rebellious child and needs to be disciplined, but Silva expresses his confidence that no matter where Killua goes, he will return because he is his son.

13th Hunter Chairman Election arc


In the past, Kikyo tested Alluka's ability by ordering Mitsuba to decline all requests from Alluka no matter how small they were. Due to that, Mitsuba and her lover Hasama, who was not around them at that time, were mysteriously crushed into minced meat simultaneously. Killua explained to her that this was the consequence of saying 'No' to Alluka's requests four times.



In the present, she, Silva, and Milluki, observe Killua and Alluka through a surveillance camera. She comments about Killua being a good older brother. When Killua decided to take Alluka out of the estate, Silva disagrees and orders them to stay there. Killua asks Alluka a wish: if they are not able to leave the mountain within 30 minutes, Kikyo will die, but if they succeed, Alluka will have to kiss Killua on the cheek. Kikyo slumps on the floor, saying how proud of Killua she is for saying something so cruel. With no other choice, Silva allows them to leave.

Later, Tsubone reveals that Kikyo and Milluki are watching the inner mission live through her visor.

Abilities & Powers
As an assassin from the Zoldyck family Kikyo probably possesses advanced assassination techniques; she once knocked down Canary by firing a tiny projectile at her forehead. She is also shown to have extreme speed, being able to run through the Zoldyck Estate within a few minutes. Kikyo is a Manipulator but her Nen abilities have never been shown.

Trivia



 * In the 1999 anime, when Kikyo cries, the visor shows static similar to a television; this however was not shown in the 2011 anime version.


 * In the 2011 series, during a flashback when Killua was a child, Kikyo was shown to be hiding behind one of the trees listening to Killua and Canary's conversation. Killua asked Canary to be his friend, but knowing they were under Kikyo's surveillance, she was forced to turn down the offer.


 * Kikyo's name was never mentioned in the manga nor the anime.
 * Her children call her "Mother" or "Mama"; the butlers call her "Madame", and she even referred to herself as simply Killua's mother.


 * During the 1999 version of the Greed Island arc, Kikyo appeared in a cameo with her son Kalluto.


 * In the 2011 version, when Kikyo knocked Canary out, the projectile came from the tip of the fan she was carrying.


 * Kikyo also calls Killua - "Kil", a shortening of his name and possibly linking it to 'Kill', reflecting their family business in assassination.


 * In the musical re-enactment of the Zoldyck Estate arc, Hunter × Hunter: The Nightmare of Zaoldyeck, Kikyo grows hysterical questioning whether she did the right thing "putting acid in the apple pies." This may be an indication that, much like Milluki's tortures, Kikyo participates in the "training" of her children.