Yanagi Akumu

**Yanagi Akumu (**悪夢 柳, *Akumu Yanagi*)  is a renowned Special Class Ghoul Investigator known as **The Ghost** (自縛霊, *jibakurei*, lit. "Earthbound Spirit") by both ghouls and fellow members of the CCG.

Due to the death of his son Kenji Akumu, Yanagi has retreated inside himself. Dedicating all his time to work, he doesn't allow himself to stop and consider if what he's doing is right. With no strong opinion on ghouls, he sets about their destruction methodically.

Yanagi is one of the few members of the CCG, and the only Special Class Investigator, who has a criminal past. Having been a former hit man for the Yakuza. However he tried to atone for his crimes by becoming a doctor, saving lives instead of taking them, before his clinic was destroyed. This, coupled with his results as an investigator, and his close relationship with Commissioner Mayu Takamori, have ensured his position as a valuable asset to the CCG.

## Background

In his youth, Yanagi was a hit man for the Yakuza. Incredibly analytical, he was able to take out his targets without ever being seen. This earned him a reputation amoung the Yakuza, and he was often hired by the organization to take out high profile targets. One day whilst discussing such a target, Yanagi met the waitress Misaki Kaguno. Misaki took a shining to Yanagi who she considered a regular. Unbeknownst to her, the true reason for his patronage was that the bar was the meeting point for assignments between Yanagi and his Yakuza informant.

One night, after an assignment gone sour, Yanagi, unsure where to go, stumbled in heavily wounded after hours. Misaki, worrying for the man's life, brought him home to care for him.

Misaki ended up baring Yanagi’s son Kenji, who she raised alone. Yanagi’s profession kept him distant from Misaki, for her own safety. However Yanagi would use the money from his assignments to care for them in what way he could. Beginning to grow soft, Yanagi botched a hit, and his target discovered his identity. They sent men to the bar to kill Yanagi, but their drive by was unsuccessful, and Misaki was killed in the process. Yanagi took it upon himself to raise Kenji, and after avenging Misaki’s death, he walked away from the business.

Looking to make an honest living for his son, Yanagi set about becoming a doctor. Hoping to write his wrongs by saving more lives than he had taken. Soon he was able to open a clinic in a poor part of town, out of the reach of the crime lords he’d made enemies of. He raised his son in this clinic for six years, often saving people's lives by performing surgeries too expensive for them to normally afford. He quickly became a respected member of the community, despite struggling with his past.

When the neighborhood became infested with ghouls Yanagi welcomed them to his clinic. He would often harbor ghouls and their families in hopes of finding a cure. This action incited anger from the local gang of ghouls, called Red Vein, who took it upon themselves to harass the inhabitants of the clinic. They were scared away by Yanagi on multiple occasions, but after an incident of violence, Red Vein sought to retaliate. They came to the clinic one night when Yanagi was out on a house call. After breaking in they released the contained ghouls, who were starved as part of their treatment. The released ghouls were set onto their own families, and then subsequently slaughtered. Red Vein then set their sights on Kenji, carving him out and using his ribs and intestines to make the boy look like an angel. A statement they hoped would force Yanagi to leave.

Yanagi arrived at the clinic later that night. Knowing upon sight of the building what had happened. He had seen this sight enough times in his experience to know there were no survivors, but out of grim optimism he went in. When he came to his son he did not react, no screaming, shouting, or tears. He did however feel something die inside of him. He stopped struggling to suppress who he really was, and instead embraced it. Lighting his first cigarette in six years, he left the room as silently as he had entered it.

Over the course of the next few months Yanagi set about abducting and torturing the members of Red Vein. Paranoia set in on the gang as they were haunted by this unknown assailant. More members disappeared, until finally all that was left was their leader, who in turn was abducted.

The leader awoke in the basement of the clinic, surrounded by deceased members of Red Vein. Yanagi tortured him by feeding him human food until he was weakened, and then dissecting him, carving him in the same grotesque manner that they had used on Kenji. He was forced to live this way for six months, sustained by the bodies of his dead Red Vein members until their bodies diminished, before being left to starve to death by Yanagi.

Single handedly eliminating the Red Vein gang grabbed the attention of the CCG. Who thought Yanagi’s talents could be harnessed for a more righteous cause. Soon he was approached by then Deputy Commissioner Mayu Takamori, who convinced him to enlist into the academy. His experience in the field, his skills as a tactician, and his familiarity with ghouls allowed him to be recruited out of the academy. His results in combat, his mastery over quinque, and his reliability as an investigator saw him take on cases that were previously deemed unsolvable. Soon he became a specialist in the CCG, gaining a reputation of single handedly taking out ghoul organizations.

He was promoted to Special Class after saving a platoon of 43 investigators from a particularly large and nasty organization of ghouls holding them hostage. There it is rumored that after leading the hostages to freedom, he stayed behind to fight the organization alone. No one knows the particulars of what happened during that time, but they know that after three straight days of commotion Yanagi emerged with two broken quinque and seven broken ribs. While the members of the organization did not emerge at all.

## Personality

Yanagi is a very calm, almost emotionless person. After the death of his son he lost both his hope for the future and will to survive. Being a damaged man he fell back onto what he knew best, killing, and as such views killing ghouls as simply going through the motions. He has resolved not to take enough time to formulate any strong opinion on ghouls, as he clings to survival only by doing what he knows best, and as such doesn’t wish to damage his way of life.

Choosing to become a shell of a man, there is very little that can incite a reaction out of him, appearing disenfranchised even in the face of high rated ghouls.

With a constant look of disinterest, Yanagi unknowingly gives off a feeling of boredom or even laziness. This is emphasized by the fact that Yanagi is notoriously hard to reach. Never being at his desk, and rarely even being in the office. His lack of attendance and punctuality being so bad that Commissioner Takamori sees to it that he is always equipped with at least three burner phones at all times, due to his habit of either breaking or misplacing them.

Yanagi, despite not feeling much, has shown himself to be kind. His caring selfless nature shining through on multiple occasions. He has often placed others in front of himself in times of danger, and is always the first to volunteer for dangerous missions. This selfless however could be attributed to the death wish he seemingly possess. Expressed both by his constant smoking and past actions. As he has stated in the past that he has nothing to live for, he’ll simply keep killing goals until they kill him, and he won’t make it easy either.

Yanagi has a special interest in food. As he is often shown ordering or eating food. Though it is only ever to go, as he is always walking or working while he eats. It is rumored that he uses this to both distract, annoy, and even combat ghouls. In truth however, Yanagi eats so much because he has seen how goals are affected by not being able to eat human food, and has chosen not to take food for granted. Viewing every meal as his last meal.

## Appearance

Yanagi is a middle aged man with white hair and blue eyes. He has quite an athletic build, despite excessively eating and smoking, due to consistently being out in the field. He carries a constant expression of indifference and is rarely seen in his office.

He wears an untucked loose white collared shirt, dress pants, and dress shoes. Despite this he is considered relatively informal for an investigator, and is characteristically seen smoking. He is usually seen wearing a trench coat, and is rarely seen without his wooden containment crate.

Yanagi wearing his trench coat.Yanagi's typical outfit.
## Arsenal

Yanagi possesses a very passive style of fighting which centers on strategy.  He focuses on analyzing his opponent, often playing defensive until the opportune moment to strike. He’ll also focus on turning the battlefield over to his favor, using his location to his advantage. Being only human he knows he can’t overpower, outrun, or outlast, an opponent ghoul, but he can outsmart them. Cheap tricks and trump cards fuel his arsenal, paired with a deadly history of martial arts and weapons expertise, along with an unusually high amount of Quinque. Yanagi makes sure to have a wide array of tools for his trade, and they are always sharp.

Mitsukai: An Ukaku type Quinque that takes the form of a rapier. This Quinque is capable of firing off metallic feathers from its guard, which can then be controlled in mid-air. It also has the ability to spread across its user’s back, creating a metallic feathered wing, whilst covering it’s user's arm in a knight-like armor.  While in this form Mitsukai can grant its wielder heightened speed and the ability to fly, offering increased mobility and the advantages of an Ukaku Kagune.

Archimedes: A powerful Koukaku type Quinque, which takes the form of a sword with it’s blade twisted into a drill. This drill like blade is able to extend and change dimensions at will, allowing it to serve as a tendril or shield when necessary, though it will always maintain its screw-like shape.  When activated the blade will rotate, serving the function of a drill. The primary advantage of this quinque is it’s ability to pierce SS~ rated kagune. This is due to its ability to absorb Rc. When the blade drills through Kagune it will essentially mine for Rc, filling the spiral that lines it. Once the quinque has absorbed enough Rc, it is capable of emitting a highly concentrated blast of pure Rc cells, which disintegrates most anything in its path.

Kusari: A Rinkaku type Quinque taken from an SS rated ghoul. Considered the ultimate Quinque for capture and defense, it takes the form of a black sword, with a chain wrapping around the guard. This form is capable of sprouting chain-like tendrils from its hilt, which follow their prey with near sentience. The chains themselves are made of rinkaku fibers so dense that they take on the properties of metal. These chains are capable of increasing their size at the expense of their wielder, and are capable of latching onto, binding, and cannibalizing a target upon coming into physical contact with them.

Rc suppressants: A drug used to suppress the activity of the Kakuhou. They are primarily used by the Commission of Counter Ghoul on Ghoul prisoners, for the purpose of keeping them weakened or for interrogation. It slows regeneration, impairs the Kagune, and makes their bodies vulnerable to mundane items such as knives or needles.

Q Bullets: Are bullets with a melted down thin kagune coating. There is a bullet type for each respected kagune. They are adequate when used against a ghoul who's kagune type adversely corresponds with that of the bullets'. Yanagi is fond of using Q bullets as a go to in place of his Quinque, which he considers tools to be used as last resorts. He primarily deploys them from pistols concealed in his sleeves, but has been known to use them in sniper rifles as well, depending on the circumstance.