Karao Saeki

Karao Saeki (冴木 空男, Saeki Karao), also known as Torso (トルソー, Torusō), was a ghoul serial killer who is known for dismembering, then decapitating his victims by only taking their torso. He was investigated by the CCG's Mado and Shimoguchi Squads.

He was affiliated with Aogiri Tree, and used a taxi to move around Tokyo. After his identity was discovered, he became a minor errand runner for the organization.

Appearance
Karao was a lanky man with short hair, usually looking gaunt and underfed. He wore a dirty, long-sleeved shirt with buttons.

Personality
Torso is a deranged individual. He seems to have a twisted personality, committing acts of violence considered extreme even for a ghoul and speaking of his "lover" while cradling a headless corpse. His room is usually littered with various knives and scissors, as well as numerous polaroid photographs. The disarray surrounding him further suggests a lack of mental stability.

Despite his first impression, Torso seems to be quite careless and easily scared. This becomes evident when he finds himself chased by the CCG and police. Several times during the fight between the Quinx Squad and Serpent he is shown to be hiding but still watching on, evading possible danger. In his interactions with Ayato and Hinami, he shows a rather meek and polite personality. He also expresses strong feelings of loneliness, which he seems to deal with through his desire to collect human corpses as "lovers".

Writings in his diary also reveal that he suffers from an inability to relate to others, finding it difficult to even think of them as people. He feels that something is wrong with him, and seems desperate to fill this apparent void of emotions through the victims he seeks out. However, their "rejection" of him drives him to extreme violence to punish them. It is hinted that at some point in the past, a lover rejected him and this loneliness and anger drives him to seek out a replacement. He claims to have experienced a spark of emotion after meeting Mutsuki, and believes this will fix whatever is wrong with him.

Past
Karao Saeki grew up in the mountains surrounding a small village, living in a tent with his father. He was told that food was so scarce, that his father had been forced to cannibalize his mother to survive. Saeki was forbidden from leaving the mountain because he was "stupid", and would endanger his father by drawing the attention of the Doves. He spent his days searching for books in landfills, looking at the pictures because he was unable to read.

After his father abandoned him for over a month, he was forced to venture down from the mountain and saw a human village for the first time. He was too afraid to cross the road, and stood there until a human girl approached him. The girl, Minomi, took him to a shrine where the two played together until they had to go home. After that, his father returned and he continued to meet Minomi in secret.

Minomi taught him to read and write, and how to ride a bicycle. She also hinted at the source of the bruises that fascinated Saeki, stating that her family had a "strange way" of loving each other. He did not understand, but felt that her bruises allowed him to sense her very life force.

One day, his father confronted him about breaking the rules by going into the village. Saeki's cheeks were torn open as punishment, and his father threatened to abandon him before storming out. He chased after his father in desperation, but was unable to find him. Alone, he took shelter from the rain and waited there until a badly-bruised Minomi joined him. He took her back to his family's tent, where the two talked about going to the ocean together and slept beside each other.

In the morning, Saeki was awakened by strange sounds outside the tent. He discovered his father butchering Minomi, and killed him in a blind rage. Afterwards, he was left with only Minomi's intact torso and slowly developed into the killer known as "Torso".

Torso Investigation
Torso is first glimpsed sitting in his vehicle, observing Shimoguchi as his team investigates the latest crime scene. He is later seen cradling a headless corpse, while surrounded by disarray.

During this time, both the Quinx Squad and Shimoguchi's team have begun actively pursuing him. After several months of investigation, Shimoguchi has failed to produce any results and Akira Mado declares that her team will solve the case within a month's time.

Investigation eventually reveals him to be a taxi driver, using this to obtain his victims and move the bodies around the city. When Haise Sasaki and Donato Porpora discuss the details of the case, they theorize that he is someone deeply ingrained into human society, but mentally unstable and a "picky eater" that behaves unusually for a ghoul.

Hinami Fueguchi hails his taxi, and delivers a warning to him from "the Tree", presumably meaning Aogiri Tree. They exchange a flash drive, and discuss the rumors surrounding the Quinx that are pursuing him.

Chie Hori is revealed to have considerable knowledge about him, having photographed his hunting grounds and obtained several polaroids he left behind. She provides this information to Kuki Urie, advising him that the ghoul is someone that uses a foreign brand that can only be ordered from specialty stores. Based on this and the location of his hunting grounds, she states she has a suspect in mind.

Weeks later, Tooru Mutsuki spots him watching a woman, and rushes to get into the taxi before her. Once inside, the two briefly make conversation about how long he has been a driver. However, he quickly turns on the young Investigator and attacks, tearing open his passenger's shirt.

Seeing Mutsuki's scars, he starts getting excited and is surprised when his victim starts fighting back. He realizes his passenger is an Investigator, and responds with a brutal beating. But before he can do more, he notices a motorcycle coming towards them and panics. He speeds away in his taxi, with Urie and Shirazu in pursuit.

Realizing his identity as Karao Saeki has been found out, he starts panicking and worries about not having his mask. When a police car tries to pull him over, he uses his kagune to kill them but ends up trapped in a blockade. Karao uses his shirt as an improvised mask, and jumps out to face the police and Investigators waiting for him. He quickly kills the police, but realizes the Investigators are the rumored Quinx.

The battle is interrupted by Serpent appearing on the scene. Karao reacts in shock, seeming to recognize the other ghoul's kagune. During the ensuing battle, he cowers behind several wrecked vehicles and eventually makes his escape.

Auction
His home is later raided by Shimoguchi and his team, who discover he has been hoarding the bodies of his victims all over the apartment. The Investigators also discover that he had been recording the conversations that took place in his taxi cab, and turning them over to Aogiri for some unknown reason. Ayato Kirishima ambushed and slaughtered the team, and later meets with Karao to discuss what he will do next. Though frightened of joining Aogiri as one of their soldiers, he realizes that he might be able to use them, while thinking about that kid.

Saeki next appears watching Hinami analyze the sounds from various recordings, commenting to Ayato about how amazing she is. He is surprised when Ayato tells him he will be taking part in the mission to guard Big Madam, in order to get used to his new role as a member of Aogiri. Saeki thinks about how lonely he has been, without "that cold body temperature" and again thinks about Mutsuki. On the day of the Auction, Saeki joins Ayato and Hinami on guard duty. He expresses amazement at the events, discovering that humans can be purchased and shocked at the prices some fetch. The sale of a famous actor makes him realize the vast wealth of some ghouls, compared to what he made driving a taxi in the city.

The sight of Mutsuki on stage sends him into hysterics, shaking Ayato and begging to find out how he could participate. He doesn't even seem to consider the record bidding prices, and spirals further into panic as the bidding war continues. When the auction comes under attack, he initially starts to flee the building alongside Hinami.....but catches a glimpse of Nutcracker dragging Mutsuki away through a neighboring hallway. He slips away in the chaos, arriving in time to witness Kanae von Rosewald strike in order to taste his blood. Saeki tackles the other ghoul, beating him savagely until he is completely out of breath. He expresses relief at having saved Mutsuki, but is surprised when he attempts to run away -- calling out his name, and apologizing for their previous encounter.

Rose Extermination
Saeki is among the Aogiri hitmen hired by Kanae. He confronts Mutsuki but is quickly countered back as Mutsuki inflicts injuries on him with his quinque. He notes that Mutsuki has grown stronger and relishes the fact. As he is quickly losing, Grave Robber intervenes. He later escapes with the rest of the Aogiri hitmen.

Post-Rose Extermination
When the Hackikawa Squad sails to Rushima for their investigation, Saeki senses Mutsuki and longingly calls out to him. He later appears in a cave where Mutsuki and Ayumu Hogi had taken refuge, ambushing the two. Torso then grabs Ayumu's hair, bashes her against the walls of the cave and tosses her aside as Mutsuki looks on in horror. He then grabs Mutsuki by the throat and asks if he came to see him. Saeki kidnaps Mutsuki and holds him in a pit he claims in their secret home. He tells Mutsuki that they're going to get married and speaks cryptically about how they have the same eyes and being strangely drawn to him. While Mutsuki struggles, Saeki reveals that he severed his limbs while he was unconscious.

Rushima Landing Operation
Some time later, Saeki returns to the cave carrying a handmade flower crown. He gifts it to Mutsuki while offering praise, having read that giving girls compliments is important. But when Mutsuki only silently glares at him, he becomes enraged and beats his prisoner as punishment. That evening, he lies down with Mutsuki on a makeshift futon and explains that the beating was out of love. He asks if Mutsuki is happy with him, and talks about a field of flowers he wants them go to together.

On another day, he silently watches Mutsuki having a nightmare and asks about it when the other is startled awake. He hurries to make a meal when asked, and feeds Mutsuki while they discuss memories of the past. Mutsuki asks him about his own past, hoping to keep him distracted. Saeki relates the story of his childhood, how he made his very first friend and how his father eventually killed her. He cries while admitting that he wanted to bring Minomi to the ocean, the last thing they promised before her death. Some time after relating this story to Mutsuki, he picks up his captive from behind.

As he carried Mutsuki to another location, his captive panicked and began to fight back. He threw Mutsuki to the ground, stating he could not explain where they were going, and knocked his captive unconscious. Some time later, the pair arrived at a field of flowers that Saeki intended as a surprise. As he smiled at Mutsuki, the other decapitated him with a single strike and later mutilated his body. The gruesome remains were later discovered by Kuki Urie in the cave where Mutsuki had been held prisoner.

Tooru Mutsuki
After their initial encounter, Saeki has become obsessed with Mutsuki. He fantasizes about the Quinx member, and experiences loneliness as well as frustration at being unable to fulfill his "desire". This obsession has led him to react in extreme ways, flying into a panic when seeing Mutsuki up for auction and later brutally attacking Kanae for harming him. Saeki is seen almost psychotic at times with the obsession, evident by his joy of being stabbed repetitively by Mutsuki, gaily expressing their connection through the knives. His diary entry reveals he feels that Mutsuki and himself are connected by fate. Saeki's "love" for Mutsuki, however, is aberrant, as he goes to extreme lengths to keep the latter from leaving him. Mutsuki later decapitates Karao and mutiliates his remains in a psychological breakdown.

Hinami Fueguchi
The two have worked together for some time, with Hinami coming to pick up the recordings that Saeki took in his taxi. Their interactions are comfortable regardless of his brutality towards women, with her giving him advice about the strong scent in his vehicle. After he joins Aogiri, he views Hinami as an amazing person and admires her unique abilities.

Ayato Kirishima
Ayato is the one to rescue Saeki from CCG and officially recruit him into Aogiri. Saeki is initially afraid of him, but Ayato's reassurances and kind attitude quickly win him over. As a subordinate, he seems to look up to Ayato and looks to him for guidance.

Nishiki Nishio
For some unknown reason, Nishiki has been pursuing Torso. Saeki seems to recognize him on sight, and is terrified of the stronger ghoul.

Minomi
Minomi is the first Human girl Saeki has ever met. During there time together, Minomi had taught him how to read and write. He seemed to have cared for her deeply, even promising to take her to the beach.

His father
Despite being verbally and physically abused by his father, Saeki still followed and had affection for him. This is before Saeki discovered that his father had killed his first human friend. After he blackouts, he later finds that he has murdered his father in a fit of rage.

Powers and Abilities
Karao is a moderately powerful ghoul, assigned an "A" ranking by the CCG.


 * Rinkaku Kagune: He possesses a kagune with several tentacles, allowing him to attack from a distance. He also possesses a strong healing ability, allowing him to recover almost instantly from his injuries.

Trivia

 * He favors the instant camera brand Immortal, a foreign brand that is difficult to obtain. It is noted for its faded colors.
 * All his victims are women with scars.
 * His obsession with Tooru Mutsuki heavily mirrors Shuu Tsukiyama's obsession towards Ken Kaneki in the original series.
 * Hooguro calls Saeki Torutoru (トルトル, Torutoru).
 * In Tokyo Ghoul Trump, he is featured as the "Two of Hearts".

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