Ayato Kirishima

**Ayato Kirishima** (霧嶋 絢都, *Kirishima Ayato*) is Touka Kirishima's younger brother and goes by the alias **Black Rabbit** (黒ラビット, *Kuro Rabitto*). He is the brother-in-law of Ken Kaneki and the uncle of Ichika Kaneki and the adoptive uncle Shouta Magatsuchi.

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 in *Tokyo Ghoul:re*, 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

In his early teens, 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. He tends to hide his softer side, by denying he wanted to visit his niece and older nephew.

## Relationships

### 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.

Later in *Dragon Quinx*, Ayato and Touka are no longer seen interacting each other again after she started raising a family. But it is still seen that Ayato will subsequently visit Touka after a while.

### Shouta Magatsuchi

Ayato really is very caring for his older nephew. He would often train him everyday to be the strongest ghoul ever known. After hearing Kaneki and Touka's death, Ayato was saddened by the news. He insisted in helping Shouta and eventually join forces with him and Tohru to help recover Shouta's stolen Conduit powers. Ayato then learns that Shouta and Tohru are siding with the CCG, Ayato knew that they were once enemies but he had no choice but to join forces with them in order to succeed their quest.

### Ken Kaneki

*See more of Ayato's relationship with Kaneki in Tokyo Ghoul:wiki*

### 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.

## 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.

## Quotes

### *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!"

### *Tokyo Ghoul: Dragon Quinx*

* About the ghouls: "Ghouls are now different from us, lots of things had changed after the war. We are not those ghouls, neither they are us."
* To Miyamizu and Ryuunosuke: "Don't you ever hurt my nephew!"
* To Shouta: "Whatever happens, anything that you couldn't handle, call me, I'll be there."
* To Elma: "How dare you hurt my nephew? ... Huh, you literally remind me of my sister. She was an idiot like you once, but now that she's gone, her death really pisses me off. ... And for my sister, I am going to avenge her death!"