Ran

**Ran** (蘭, *Ran*, lit. *Orchid*) is a human male and one of the two division leaders of the Inquisitors.

## Appearance

Ran has soft blue eyes with long, feminine lashes and white hair that flows outward in the back. He sometimes wears a partial gas mask over his lower face.

He wears a grayish cloak with white lining and a high collar outfolded near the chest. Beneath that is an undershirt of a lighter tone and black pants with military grade boots.

In more casual situations, he can be found wearing a black high-collared jersey with dark jeans and boots, similar to Shidu.

## Personality

Ran is a quiet individual who speaks in a flat tone and bears polite mannerisms. He nearly always has a neutral expression on his face, only smiling once during the *Maid Cafe Social*, and is portrayed as a composed and stoic individual. He has been shown to remain unflustered even while being choked. For the most part, he is kind towards those lower in the ladder, making jobs easier for staff at Yuureien even if he is discreet in his methods.

He is fairly uncaring and to the point, often lightly teasing Shidu when she becomes flustered. He is also highly perceptive and quick to point out her moments of mercy. Aside from this, he appears to submit to her, allowing her to take the lead and remaining in the background during meetings.

## Plot

### Background

Ran was raised in the countryside and lived with his family consisting of his father, mother, younger brother, and himself. His father possessed the same stoic disposition as him, while his younger brother two years younger took after their soft-hearted mother. When he was around nine years old, his father was killed in an accident by a collapsed shed, and news of the tragedy spread around their small community.

The news caught the interest of a provider for the ghoul restaurants who had been passing through town in the middle of a casual daytrip. Feigning sympathy and a desire to aid the family who had lost their main provider, she approached their home and left a basket of gifts, only to return later that same night with assistance to kidnap all three of the remaining family members. The three of them were then brought to Tokyo, where they were split up to be consumed at different restaurants.

During the show where he was set to be eaten, Ran survived for a while against his attacker until the administered paralyzing drug kicked in and he could no longer move. An intelligent and influentual ghoul known as the **Gardener** (園丁, *Entei*) then intervened and rescued him from his fate as a meal, accepting him into her team of aids who served as both the servants at her manor and the scrappers she used to put on shows at the ghoul restaurants in order to maintain her influence despite frequently interrupting shows.

Unlike Marune, Ran was old enough to keep the memories of his past life and understand his situation, the dire circumstances further accelerating his maturation. Although the servants at the manor were a mix of human and ghoul, neither party seemed to have any issue with the other, leading Ran to discover that harmony between the two species was possible. In addition to this, he became interested in the notion that the Gardener was raising a human child known as **Lotus** (蓮, *Hasu*) to be her heir.

## Powers and Abilities

The full extent of Ran's abilities are currently unknown.

### General Attributes

* **Agility:** In the oneshot *The Orchid,* Ran is shown to possess immense speed and grace in combat. It is enough to even overwhelm a great number of ghouls, though it is unknown whether or not these ghouls were mere low-rated fodder.

### Weapons

*Quinques:*

* **Proteus:** Ran's primary weapon is a dark-colored sword quinque named **Proteus** (プロテウス, *Puroteusu*), produced from one of the servants who worked alongside him in the past. It bears a second form as a layered shield created from the wing-like protrusions on the side of the hilt.