Ayato Kirishima

Ayato Kirishima (霧嶋 絢都, Kirishima Ayato) was Touka Kirishima's younger brother and goes by the alias Black Rabbit (黒ラビット, Kuro Rabitto).

He grew up with his sister in the 20th ward but at some point in time, he left the ward. According to Kazuichi Banjou, Ayato subsequently began to wander all the wards of Tokyo, bringing sheer wreckage and chaos upon them, until his unique powers and abilities caught Tatara’s eye. Ayato was therefore pulled into joining Aogiri Tree, where he served as an executive before its downfall.

Later, he joined the new organization Goat under the One-Eyed King.

Appearance
Ayato was a lean young man, with blue eyes and long, blue messy hair which swept down in front of his eyes. He bore a striking resemblance to his sister and had a rough-looking, rebellious image. He wore a hooded, long-sleeved black leather jacket, and black pants, along with knee-high black boots. Ayato also had a piercing on his left ear, and usually wore a ring on the pinky finger of his right hand.

In the anime, Ayato was mostly seen wearing a black mask with spires, as well as a black overcoat with a white fur collar.

After the timeskip, Ayato had grown noticeably taller, and was seen wearing shin-high black boots and a long, black coat over his clothes.

Ayato possessed multiple black masks. The first one had red eyes and a sharp-toothed grin, which he used during the Aogiri Arc. His most frequently-seen mask bore a rabbit design, earning him the moniker of "Black Rabbit." During the auction, he wore a very basic, vaguely conical mask which covered only the lower half of his face.

Personality
Ayato was an arrogant, brash teenager, with a similar hot-blooded attitude resembling his sister's, while he normally displayed either a scowl or menacing smirk on his face. Other than his physicalities, he shared many similarities with Touka, such as his tendency to use language that is often uncouth or inappropriate. He had a habit for kicking people over the simplest mistakes; such as when Kaneki failed to address him with the desired honorific, or when Banjou did not return his missed calls. However, he seemed to be more harsh compared to his sister, but admitted himself to be surprisingly "softer" than his Aogiri superiors. He was a firm believer in the notion that "the weak perish and the strong survive," which was triggered by the death of his mother and father. Ayato bore deep grudges against his father, Arata, for abandoning him and Touka when they were young. Ayato had even stated that the whole reason for hating Kaneki was his resemblance to Arata. It was also pointed out by Kaneki that Ayato cared deeply for Touka subconsciously, as shown when he beat her down first rather than allowing her to suffer a slow, torturous death from Yamori. Later on, he also took her alias, "Rabbit" so the CCG would hunt him instead of Touka. Ayato also seemed to have a soft spot for rabbits.

Three years later, there was a reduction in most of the mannerisms and habits which Ayato once portrayed when he was younger; as he became far less ill-tempered, obnoxious and arrogant, and even developed a rational, approachable way of speaking. Ayato also grew on having a sense of concern, as well as the instinct to protect his subordinates, shown when he refused to leave Hinami behind in the auction and by not following Tatara's orders and going to back up Naki when he was outnumbered by the Doves. However, he still retained a few of his old traits, such as relentlessly slaughtering ghoul investigators and engaging in violent brawls.

Background
Ayato resided in the 20th ward with his sister Touka, under the care of their father, Arata Kirishima. Arata lived his life like humans did; he usually took Ayato and Touka to the library to study, and even convinced them to eat food offered by humans; for he believed that ghouls should try to blend in with human society by adapting their behavioral patterns. Ayato however, supposed that it was solely a human’s world, and that ghouls were not “normal.” He and Touka also cared for a bird, where Ayato was shown to dislike earthworms and insects. One night before Arata set out on his regular scavenging routine, Ayato made a promise to him that he would protect Touka whenever she was in trouble. After Arata never returned, Ayato assumed that his father had died by ghoul investigators finding and killing him. Touka and Ayato visited a woman named Satou to tell her of their father’s disappearance. She offered them human food, but when they refused, Satou stuffed the food in Ayato’s mouth, and both siblings were sold out. They managed to escape as Touka used her kagune to kill the investigators.

Ayato’s perspective of humans changed immediately; as he came to the conclusion that none of what they went through would have happened if they had not gotten involved with humans. After running away from home, they found Anteiku, where they were taken care of by Yoshimura. As they grew up, the siblings got stronger, to the point where Ayato started displaying violent tendencies. When Touka started school and met Yoriko, Ayato told her that interacting with humans was foolish; for they could not be trusted under any circumstance. Believing they might end up just like Arata did, Ayato left Anteiku in search of more power. He then wandered the wards of Tokyo, such as the 14th ward; where he took away multiple feeding grounds from the ghouls there.

Aogiri Arc
Ayato was first seen at the Aogiri Hideout in the 11th ward, enraged by the fact that he sent Kazuichi Banjou on a mission to capture Rize Kamishiro, but Banjou did not answer his phone calls. Ayato, thinking Yakumo Oomori and Nico would capture Rize before him, visited the 20th ward, where he barged into Anteiku upon hearing Banjou telling Kaneki to tell Rize should run away from the incoming danger. He kicked Banjou in the arm, cracking his bones, and threatened to give him another beating. Ayato was suddenly faced with his elder sister Touka Kirishima, and when asked where he wandered off to after walking out of her life, Ayato said he had been "studying the world," for he would never proclaim himself to be a "peaceful idiot." Ayato became disappointed when he saw Yamori at Anteiku as well, but when Nico pointed out that Kaneki was indeed the one who smelled like Rize, Ayato cooperated with Yamori to capture Kaneki.

When Touka put up a resistance by not wanting them to take Kaneki, she countered Yamori but was confronted by Ayato. Ayato, punching her in the face, compared Touka to their dead parents, calling her a "weakling." Touka thrusted her kagune at him, but he blocked the attack with one of his wings. With his own kagune activated, Ayato pledged to show her ghouls were truly above humans. Ayato then beat her down effortlessly, subsequently ordered Banjou to stuff an unconscious Kaneki in a bag, and headed back to the 11th ward. When asked if they should take Touka as well, Ayato desisted, saying she would just weigh them down.

At the hideout, Ayato was the first person to approach Kaneki when he woke up. He ordered Kaneki to follow him, but when Kaneki showed concern for Touka’s well-being, Ayato kicked him, telling him he was not allowed to talk, and should be obedient of the slightest order he was given. Ayato then admitted himself to be a "softy," in comparison to his superiors. He then took Kaneki to a meeting to meet Tatara, but when Tatara refused Kaneki, Ayato was told to do what he wanted with him. So Ayato locked Kaneki away in a room. Later on, during the CCG’s raid on the Aogiri base, he was beside the Bin brothers, battling the ghoul investigators.

After some while, he encountered Touka, assuming she came to the Aogiri Hideout to save Kaneki. He told Touka that Kaneki was originally made into one of his subordinates, but was now with Yamori. Ayato pronounced Kaneki dead; due to Yamori's torture hobby and violent sadistic tendencies. Angry, Touka charged toward him, but he blocked her attack by clutching her foot in his palm. He then threw her to the ground, deciding to take her to the above platform once she fell unconscious. Once they arrived there, he bludgeoned Touka once more, subsequently feasting off of her kagune. Ayato pointed out that Touka, just like their father, was weak, and that the superiority or inferiority of any individual was solely dependent upon “power.”

When Kaneki rescued Touka, Ayato confronted him on the roof of the hideout. Ayato declared that Kaneki should die and started shooting bullets with his kagune, all of which Kaneki dodged. He became irritated as Kaneki vowed to "half-kill" him for his actions. The two battled, and Kaneki lectured him for being violent against his own sibling, and pierced Ayato’s thigh with his kagune afterwards. Ayato engaged Kaneki in close combat, but Kaneki effortlessly beat him down. He was agitated at the fact that Kaneki pointed out his "secret." Kaneki openly told him the person Ayato portrayed himself to be was the total opposite of what was in his heart. The reason why Ayato had even joined Aogiri Tree in the first place was to become strong enough to ensure Touka would not be killed, and hence he protected her. Ayato denied this, mentioning that he hated Kaneki since he first met him, for Kaneki reminded Ayato of his father, Arata Kirishima. Ayato was weakened when Kaneki gave him another beating, and was forced to endure as Kaneki calmly broke one hundred three of the two hundred six bones of his body.

(Anime)
After Kaneki joined Aogiri, he and Ayato were partnered to do missions together. They were first sent to destroy a convoy containing a mass of CCG vehicles, one of which an arrested Naki was believed to be in. Ayato was puzzled when Nashiro and Kurona appeared. He ordered the Aogiri members to retrieve Naki from an ablaze car and seeing the latter’s childish behavior over Yamori’s death, caused Ayato to become irritated.

Whilst infiltrating Cochlea to find Shachi, Kaneki prevented a barrier from closing in, allowing Ayato to descend through the crevice and target the tactical guard members of the CCG. He later ran into Yukinori Shinohara and the two clashed. Ayato sensed a strange presence in the room, and after seeing Shinohara activate the kakuja armor, Arata, made from his father, Ayato finally reached the conclusion of his father’s whereabouts.

Ayato later succumbed to an overwhelming attack from Shinohara. Weakened, he tried to muster up the strength to strike against the Arata armor, but failed to do so when memories of his father resurfaced. He then collapsed, but before Shinohara could deal him the final blow, Ayato was saved by Kaneki.

During the CCG's ultimate operation of ghoul eradication, Ayato was tackling the SWAT members with his underlings.

Raid of Kanou's Lab
Ayato was shown to have undertaken the newly found alias “Black Rabbit,” and began wearing his second mask. This was done in order to have the CCG mistake Ayato for Touka, and therefore track him instead of his sister; thus covering up Touka’s actions and cleaning up after her bad reputation.

Post-Owl Suppression Operation
In the ending montage, Ayato was seen clutching his second mask to his chest, which confirmed his identity as the Black Rabbit.

Torso Investigation
Ayato briefly appeared in the opening montage, speaking to Hinami.

Auction
Later on, he appeared at Torso’s residence where it was reported he stole some unknown data belonging to the CCG. He also attacked and slaughtered all of Shimoguchi’s subordinates; leaving Shimoguchi as the only survivor, though severely injured. Ayato’s name is then mentioned in a discussion between Akira Mado and Haise Sasaki, whereby Akira noted that three years ago, Ayato murdered multiple ghoul investigators while invading the 20th ward, and also hunted down Associate Special Class investigators from the 7th ward. Akira mentioned Ayato’s existence and power had been increasingly outstanding every year, and so she was therefore led to think that it was Ayato and Hinami who had murdered her father, Kureo Mado.

Ayato later spoke to Torso at his home. Since his true identity was revealed, Torso requested Ayato to allow him to join Aogiri Tree, as this was his only choice. Noticing Torso was intimidated by him, Ayato instead warned Torso about the higher-ups of Aogiri Tree: he would be killed if he were to ever leave the organization, and should therefore carefully reconsider before joining. Ayato then asked if someone by the name of “Sasaki” was affiliated with the Quinx Squad.

Ayato was at the Aogiri Hideout, at a height where he was able to overlook Tokyo. Eto approached him, informing him that she had gotten a message from Tatara. Eto requested that Ayato be the guard and escort for Big Madam at the upcoming auction. He later approached Hinami and Torso, where Hinami listened and interpreted a discussion between two ghoul investigators, discovering the CCG was also interested in the "floppy," and would therefore be at the auction. Ayato mentioned he needed Hinami to be his "ears," where she would listen in on multiple conversations in order to gather information.

As they later overlook the auction, Ayato explained the exploitation of humans to Torso and was subsequently alarmed when Hinami informed him of something she had sensed.

Ayato was surprised to see Tooru Mutsuki was a one-eyed ghoul, but was later agitated when Torso threw a fit of excitement just to participate and get closer to Mutsuki. When Juuzou Suzuya intervened, Ayato quickly instructed Naki and Miza to take charge of their squads as he decided to guard Big Madam, therefore beginning his battle with Juuzou.

During the battle, Ayato lost track of Juuzou after the former gained the upper hand. Hinami then contacted Ayato, telling him Naki's group was outnumbered. Ayato decided to abandon his fight with Suzuya and left the main hall to back up Naki - showing concern over his comrade. After coming to Naki's rescue, Ayato berated him for taking too long. He continued to battle the ghoul investigators alongside Naki and demonstrated his ability to not only fight for long periods of time despite being an ukaku-type, but also the ability to use his kagune for close range combat which he used to behead two investigators.

He eventually regrouped with Naki and Miza on the roof of the auction house with Naki frantically telling Ayato that a large number of Doves were coming their way. Ayato, knew of the risks associated with the Doves then stated urgently they had to hurry.

When CCG reinforcements arrived and Aogiri began their retreat, Ayato initially refused to leave without Hinami but was instead told that he did not stand a chance against the CCG's overwhelming numbers. Ayato gritted his teeth in frustration and departed with his comrades.

Rose Extermination
Months later, during an Aogiri meeting, Ayato yet again proposed a mission to Tatara to rescue Hinami from Cochlea. Tatara dismissed his demands, and Seidou Takizawa mocked him over the idea of ghouls showing affection for each other. Ayato was enraged and opted to attack him, but Tatara intervened and reprimanded him for having disobeyed his orders. Ayato questioned Aogiri's willingness to simply throw away and replace its members, then recalled the first time he met Hinami. He had been annoyed with her crying and confronted her, but she simply laughed and reminded him of the resemblance of his angered expression with that of his sister; concluding that she felt happy.

Post-Rose Extermination
Ayato was at the Aogiri hideout on Rushima where he asked Miza if she had seen Torso. When she denied knowing his whereabouts, their discussion moved towards the upcoming assembly held by Eto. Neither of them knew what the assembly was about, just that Eto had something to say and everyone had been asked to gather. That conversation also came up short, Miza then asked about Cochlea, however, the news was as bleak as ever. The place was far too secure and even information about guard shifts was null. Their conversation ended with Ayato informing Miza that Naki was already at the meeting hall, noting that it was odd for her to be on lookout duty, so he figured she was looking for him.

He later watched Sen Takatsuki's press conference with the other Aogiri executives.

Third Cochlea Raid
Ayato visited Banjou in the 6th ward as the latter was reading King Bileygr. His arrival put Banjou on guard, but Ayato assured him he was not there to fight. Ayato then relayed his plan to rescue Hinami from Cochlea and asked Banjou for his support, which Banjou agreed to do for Hinami's sake.

On the day of the operation, Ayato and Banjou gathered with ghouls led by Banjou, and planned to enter Cochlea through its roof gate. As they were about to infiltrate the compound, they are shocked by the sounds of alarms coming from inside. Despite that, they proceeded as planned, and Ayato opened the gate with a security keycard he had aquired beforehand. Realizing somebody was opening the cells inside, Ayato quickly decided to take advantage of the chaos. He quickly dispatched some Cochlea staff, then he left the floor to Banjou and his men to hold off the guards while he was descending further to find Hinami. However, he was intercepted by Kishou Arima, narrowly dodging a bolt from Narukami with help from the Gas Masks member "33". Landing on a platform, Ayato came face-to-face with the CCG's Reaper.

Ayato went on the offensive, darting around Arima while simultaneously firing at him with his kagune, but was left frustrated as the investigator easily blocked his attacks. As he was leaping away from him, Ayato was grazed by another bolt which destroyed his mask. With no time to react, Ayato was caught by surprise as Arima struck several blows to his leg. Rendered immobile, Ayato looked in horror as Arima prepared the final blow. To his surprise, the attack was blocked by a ghoul. "33" attacked and distracted Arima, and as the next Cochlea gate opened, they went further down Cochlea.

On Cochlea's SS floor, Ayato then confronted the two ghouls and told them to remove their masks, having realized his rescuers were his sister Touka Kirishima and Renji Yomo. He questioned them why they were there, and Touka explained Banjou had told them they wanted to rescue Hinami, too. Ayato was enraged for her putting herself in danger, but Touka calmed him down, saying that he did not need to worry about her. Having settled the argument, they went on the move again.

Descending further down, they engaged several members of Squad 0, but due to the sheer number of foes, they had to retreat towards the containment cell tower where they planned to find the cell Hinami was imprisoned in. However, they were unable to open the door, as the access authorization of Ayato's keycard had been revoked. The moment they decided to head towards the control room instead, Arima once again attacked them. Unable to help, he watched as Arima struck at Yomo.

After Yomo had taken the hit from Narukami, Ayato and Touka tried to attack Arima, but they were quickly defeated. After Sasaki had rescued Yomo from Arima's strike, he ordered Ayato to lead the others along the escape route. While Sasaki held off Arima, they reunited with Hinami. He apologized for taking so long to rescue her, and suggested they should continue heading to the waste compactor. After they disabled the compactor, Ayato's group reunited with Banjou and they continued their escape from Cochlea. However, while proceeding through the press, Furuta activated the machine, killing many ghouls who attempted to escape. While the rest who survived closed in on the exit of the Cochlea, they encountered Kiyoko Aura and Mougan Tanakamaru, who Ayato engaged in a fight immediately. Mougan was aided by his colleague, who overpowered Ayato with her quinque Zebizu and grievously injured him. While they prepared to finish Ayato, Touka protected her brother with her kagune. Ayato succumbed to his wounds, laying on the floor motionless. Touka quickly ran to her brother, asking Banjou to heal his wounds immediately.

Post-Third Cochlea Raid
Ayato survived, and participated in Goat's gathering, discussing the future plans of the group. He also tried to stop Naki from attacking Kaneki. As the Clowns attacked the CCG, Ayato discussed them alongside Kaneki, Tsukiyama, Miza, and Fuka. Ayato was then confused when Kaneki ordered Tsukiyama to prepare a large host of white suits.

CCG Lab Infiltration
Ayato is next seen trying on a white suit, and is teased by his sister. Kaneki then assigns Ayato, along with himself, Takizawa, and Kurona to a team tasked with infiltrating the CCG Laboratory for Rc suppressants to treat Akira Mado.

Nearby the CCG lab, Ayato looked at the time, telling Kaneki to make haste. Kaneki eventually joined them and they infiltrated the facility disguised as CCG employees. They arrived outside the lab with the Rc suppressants and Ayato used his sensing abilities to determine the number of researchers inside before the four restrained them all. However, a researcher they overlooked tried to escape but was stopped by Takizawa. She then pressed a button that released a berserk Koutarou Amon from his chamber. Kaneki, feeling the urge to help Amon, engaged in combat with him. Ayato got the Rc suppressants and told Kaneki to go as they have gotten what they came for. When Kaneki hesitated, Ayato grabbed him by the collar, telling him that every member of Goat was counting on him, including himself. Ayato then asked Kaneki to make his choice, either dealing with what was important or throwing them away for other matters. Before Kaneki could respond, Takizawa and Kurona offered taking on Amon themselves, while Ayato and Kaneki headed back with the suppressants. Ayato then departed with a reluctant Kaneki.

Post-CCG Lab Infiltration
At the ruins of 19th Ward Base, Ayato conversated with Hinami about Akira's health returning to her. When Ayato questioned if Hinami hated Akira, she stated she didn't know how she felt while starting to cry. Ayato embraced and comforted Hinami.

Ayato ventured into the depths of 24th Ward with a squad of ghouls from Goat. As they were exhausted and about to run out of food, they stumbled upon a hidden underground city. Ayato stared at the remnants of the destroyed underground city in awe.

The squad began to explore the underground city, finding skeletons of abandoned skyscrapers. Ayato began to search for the remnants of the first One-Eyed King, delving further into the city. Soon, Ayato was ambushed by a ghoul child who released a kagune upon him. Ayato effortlessly avoided the attack while unleashing his wings and blasting drone-like projectiles at the child, conversing the maximum abilities of his kagune in order to remain agile. When a second child came striking at him with a blade, Ayato used his his leg to block it, before kicking her away. Easily winning the fight, Ayato then proceeded to sit the kids down and question them. The children proved to be illiterate and seemingly believed themselves to be humans. When Ayato questioned what happened to the city, the children said that the 'Naaga' broke everything.

Post-Goat Wipeout Operation
On the aftermath of Dragon's birth, Ayato and his squad, alongside the children from the underground city joined with the rest of Goat.

While the remains of the Goat members were discussing what to do next, Ayato agreed that the missive should be to get close to Kaneki. As they were planning digging him from the body of Dragon, Ayato heard a noise, warning the members. Touka went to take a look, only to stumble upon Amon, Akira and Hideyoshi. Later, the ghouls of Goat made an appearance infront of the CCG Headquarters, standing amongst Amon and Akira in Hideyoshi's leadership. When Hide stated that the ghouls wanted to make a truce with the investigators, every ghoul threw off their marks, Ayato standing among them. An alliance was then formed, and ghouls and investigators began working together to free Kaneki from the body of Dragon.

Dragon Arc
While the investigators and ghouls of Goat began discussing the situation, Ayato was thanked by Kimi Nishino for digging out the children from the underground city and bringing them, which Ayato reluctantly accepted.

After Kaneki was retrieved from the body of Dragon and taken into the CCG laboratories for inspection, Ayato visited to see Kaneki alongside Hinami and the other Goat members. When Kaneki soon woke up, he found all his friends and followers sleeping around him, waiting for him.

During another meeting, Kimi deduced that the ghoulification of Tokyo was sourcing from somewhere deep underground where a ghoul toxin was being released, a toxin to which only Kaneki appeared to be immune. Ayato put himself forward as a candidate to go with Kaneki to explore the underground and find the source of the toxin.

Kaneki and Ayato soon arrived at the location of the toxins root, donning their gas masks. Ayato noted that the smell in the air was gross and expressed his desire to leave as soon as possible. They soon stumbled upon a mass of kagune creations, though as they were not what was responsible for the toxin, Kaneki and Ayato had to go deeper. While they were climbing down the mass wall of kagune, Kaneki felt Rize's presence. As they continued, Ayato began to feel gradually worse, nearly passing out. Soon, the creations inside the kagune wall began to wake up and separate from it.

Ayato and Kaneki took a dive down and began running away from the kagune monsters, though soon had to engage them in combat as the monsters caught up to them. Ayato stayed behind and began fighting them off and holding them back for Kaneki, who continued on his search. During these moments, Ayato internally acknowledged Kaneki as his brother-in-law.

When Kaneki returned to rescue Ayato after his battle with Furuta and Dragon Rize, he was swallowed whole by a mass of kagune flood, unable to reach him. Ayato's situation is currently unknown.

Touka Kirishima
Before their separation, the two were often together, Ayato would follow her much of everywhere she would go. Together, they would kill anyone who got in their way or disrespected them, and had each others' backs when it came to decisions. However, as he got older, Ayato spent less and less time at her side, and with that, he became often irritated with her and her constant worry. When Touka began to attend school, he hated hearing about her time with humans and so he left. Ayato is very apprehensive about his true feelings towards Touka. He often insults her and refers to her as a "weak" person, just like their father was, and even goes as far as beating her up to the point of unconsciousness and ripping off her kagune. However, Kaneki sees these mannerisms as a mere shell; since Ayato had beat down Touka before Yamori could take the pleasure of torturing and killing her and expressed disgust at Nico when he comments about her appearance. Ayato cares for Touka and wishes to protect her whenever she is in trouble, given that this is what he wanted to accomplish by joining Aogiri Tree and becoming stronger. As his presence became prominent each year, he undertook the alias, "Rabbit" in order to cover up for Touka’s actions, clearing her name, which lead the CCG to think that it was Ayato who had murdered investigators such as Kureo Mado, and therefore suspend their hunt for Touka. Ayato and Touka eventually reunite when the latter rescues him from Arima. They reconcile after she tells him he does not have to look out for her anymore.

Ken Kaneki
Ayato expresses indifference and agitation towards Kaneki, seeing him as just another useless weakling; for he is constantly reminded of his father through Kaneki’s attitude and way of talking. However, when Kaneki confronted him about his false pretense and true motives for joining Aogiri Tree, Ayato became offended by this, but was in denial, despite the fact that Kaneki was telling the truth.

In Tokyo Ghoul (anime), Ayato is usually seen partnered with Kaneki, and though he has shown little signs of aggression towards him, he does seem to consider Kaneki a comrade, trusting him during their mission to retrieve Shachi in Cochlea.

In re, Ayato held an interest in Kaneki's current self, Sasaki, asking Karao Saeki if he met Sasaki in his encounter with the Quinx Squad. His attitude towards Kaneki vastly changed, as during the Third Cochlea Raid he accepted Kaneki's aid in rescuing Hinami and deferred to his authority as the One-Eyed King without question. Ayato is also the maternal uncle of Kaneki's child with Touka. The two became brothers-in-law after Kaneki married Touka.

Arata Kirishima
Ayato despises his father for not being able to stand up against ghoul investigators, and leaving him and his sister alone to fend for themselves when they were younger. Ayato often tends to deride his father’s way of living whenever he talks to Touka about their family or comparing his father to Kaneki; saying that he could not even bear the thought of remembering him. It is implied that despite loving his father, Ayato grew to resent him for his kind nature as it was that very element which had gotten him killed, leading to the siblings growing up in a violent world orphaned. Although he holds this irrational hatred for Arata, Ayato still managed to secretly protect his elder sister, just as he promised Arata as a child.

In, before his battle with Yukinori Shinohara, upon seeing the latter activate an armor in the form of a kakuja that once belonged to Arata, Ayato becomes immensely infuriated. This suggests that Ayato still holds some degree of grief over his father’s death.

Hikari Kirishima
Hikari loved and cherished her son. According to Renji Yomo, Ayato alongside his sister took after her personality.

Renji Yomo
Yomo is the maternal uncle of Ayato. The two were not very close, but Yomo looked out for Ayato when he was younger, including clearing the evidence of Ayato and Touka's kills to keep away the CCG's attention from the two. He helps Ayato and Touka in breaking into Cochlea to rescue Hinami. Yomo intervenes to shield Touka and Ayato from Arima's onslaught showing his affection for the two of them.

Hinami Fueguchi
Ayato sees Hinami as his partner and subordinate. He treats her with respect and seems to get along nicely with her, always speaking to her with kindness. According to his instructions, she executes both the auditory and scent detection of ghouls and humans. She is mostly seen alongside him, whereby they cooperate during missions. Ayato secretly covers for Hinami when she is forced to do tasks she is unsuited for, such as killing. Ayato is also shown to possess a deep concern over Hinami's well-being, as seen when he was hesitant about leaving her behind at the auction, and continuously demanded Tatara prepare a rescue of her from Cochlea. When Tatara refused, Ayato requested Banjou's aid in order to save Hinami.

Eto Yoshimura
As fellow members of Aogiri Tree, Ayato obeys Eto and doesn't question her. Eto personally brings Ayato a message from Tatara and entrusts him in being a bodyguard at the auction. Eto also tells Ayato to finish "Floppy" should it make an appearance, to which Ayato heeds.

Tatara
As a member of Aogiri under Tatara who recruited him into the organization, Ayato had been obeying all his orders without question, but in later years showed him less respect when he realized that Tatara had no concern for lower rank underlings in Aogiri. In an omake, Tatara was more and more unsettled by Ayato's growth spurt before finally claiming that Ayato had become extremely cheeky.

Kazuichi Banjou
Ayato knew Banjou long before he joined Aogiri Tree. Despite this, Banjou is frequently aggravated at the fact that Ayato constantly pushes him around. In :re, their relationship is less hostile as they have a common goal: to save Hinami.

Yakumo Oomori
As superiors of Aogiri, Ayato and Yamori were seen cooperating to achieve Aogiri’s goals. However, Yamori greatly disliked him, but did not challenge him since he respected Ayato’s power.

Nico
While Nico finds Ayato "cute and attractive", Ayato dislikes Nico and appears to find him repulsive, even calling him a "fag".

Naki
While both are members of Aogiri Tree, the two don't seem to get along fairly well. Ayato appears to be irritated by Naki's childish and shallow-minded behavior. Ayato does express concern for Naki though, even going as far as disobeying his orders and rushing to Naki's aid when Naki was overwhelmed by the doves. When Naki attempts to attack Kaneki, Ayato tries to stop him though Naki doesn't listen to him.

Matasaka Kamishiro
While the two were never shown interacting in the main series, an omake features Ayato asking Shachi how he got so strong. Tatara implies that Shachi may have become a mentor to the younger ghoul at some point, criticizing his influence on Ayato.

Miza Kusakari
He and Miza seem to share a professional and friendly relationship. Miza backs up his decision to rescue Hinami from Cochlea and keeps up to date with his intel.

Seidou Takizawa
Their relationship was antagonistic, as seen when Takizawa made a mockery off of Ayato for proposing to save Hinami. Ayato had lost his temper, but was restrained by Tatara before he could attack Takizawa. The two seem to have dropped the hatchet as both work together during their infiltration of a CCG research facility.

Karao Saeki
Torso was rescued by Ayato, who recruited him officially into Aogiri. Unlike his behavior in the past, Ayato was kind to him and offered honest advise or reassurance. He treated his new subordinate well, encouraging him to learn and showing considerably more patience with him than he ever would have in the past.

Rio
In the game Tokyo Ghoul: Jail, Ayato meets and fights Rio. However, despite fighting, Ayato takes a liking to Rio and invites him to join Aogiri Tree so they can change the "rotten world" together.

Powers and Abilities
Ghoul Physiology: Having been born as a full ghoul, Ayato possessed an ukaku kagune with the ability to harden for close range combat.


 * Ukaku Kagune: Like his sister, Ayato's kagune were vermilion in color. He was able to form a single wing on both of his shoulders. Like many ukaku ghouls, he was agile and able to shoot bullets from both wings when in the crystallized mode. However he also suffered from a low Rc supply and therefore tired if a battle was dragged out for too long and was ill suited for close range, however, he has managed to evade both weaknesses of an ukaku through utilizing his kagune in a koukaku-like manner, making close range his specialty rather than his weakness. He was able to hide within his kagune mid-air, with the two wings revolving around him to shield him from projectiles such as bullets. In :re, his kagune appeared to be much larger in size, as he also possesed the ability to generate one wing of his kagune, and has better control over it. His crystallized kagune wings could transform into sharp blades sprouting from his shoulders.
 * Superhuman Durability: Ayato survived being smashed through several floors of a building by Kaneki, as well as having half of his bones broken by the latter.
 * Superhuman Regeneration: After a period of time, Ayato was able to recuperate from critical wounds inflicted onto him by Kaneki.
 * Superhuman Senses: Although inferior to the sensing abilities of Hinami Fueguchi, Ayato was capable of discerning an environment through hearing such as assuming how many people are inside a room.

Trivia

 * Deriving from the kanji 文 (aya) "art" and 人 (to) "person," the name "Ayato" has several various trivial meanings including: "ambition," "power," "progress," "confident," "restless," "independent," "determined," and "courageous."
 * In the first character popularity poll, Ayato was ranked tenth. In the latest, he came in as nineteenth.
 * Ayato liked brawls, tropical fish, and rabbits.
 * Ayato hated ghoul investigators, humans, and weaklings.
 * Ayato was frequently shown to be fixated with heights, one instance being his entry in the poetry omake suggesting he is deeply insecure about his height.
 * Ayato once asked Shachi about the training required to reach the SS-rate, and coincidentally so, at present day, Ayato was an SS-rated ghoul.
 * In Tokyo Ghoul Trump, he was featured as the "Two of Clubs."

Tokyo Ghoul

 * To Touka: "Do you suddenly forget that you're a monster, and become happy when around those humans?"
 * To Touka: "The one who doesn't know anything is you, Touka. Our mother and father both died because they were weak. What can a weak person protect? Who can they save? Without power the weak can only be snatched away."
 * To Touka: "You’re the little kid. Face reality, you callous."
 * To Touka (about his defection from the 20th ward): “I was studying the world. I’m different from a peaceful idiot like you. I’m not a human, I’m a ghoul.”
 * To Touka: "Your ‘wing’ isn’t able to fly anywhere, but I’m different… I’m going to make all the trash see that ghouls are ‘above’ humans."
 * To Touka (after her defeat): "The world is power. Everything is decided by the superiority or inferiority of one's power. Get that through your thick head, dumbass. You are weak. That's why you are going to lose. Just like father."
 * To Kaneki: "Your expression, attitude, and way of talking. They make me remember my father and it’s too disgusting to bear!"
 * To himself (after seeing Arata's kakuja on Shinohara): "I see, so that's where you are, my lousy father!"

Tokyo Ghoul:re

 * To Torso (on the exploitation of humans during the Auction): "Deep down... they must think that they have no value."
 * To Tatara (about rescuing Hinami): "Yamori, Bin... all those that died... is everyone in Aogiri just replaceable pieces to you?"
 * To Hinami: "There really isn't any reason for you to be in Aogiri Tree, is there? You're not cut out for this. Eventually, the day will come that you have to soil your hands. As long as you are in Aogiri, there's no escaping that."
 * To Kaneki: "Tsk... You half-assed idiot! There are still things you have left to do... Things that only you can do! Tsukiyama, and those investigators... Those guys from Cochlea... and even Naki and his men, they're all giving it their all. And back in the base, Banjou. And... I hate to admit, but, even I've ended up having to rely on you. There are countless ghouls out there that have no choice but to rely on you. And all of them... for your sake... they're all holding on because they have you to rely on. Even my sister... is waiting for you. And you're ready to throw it all away for your emotions?! If that's true, then you really are a half-assed bastard. Letting go is another one of your duties! And, yeah, other things might be important, but you've got to choose!"

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