Sōji Kuzuhara

**Sōji Kuzuhara** (葛原 宗司 *Kuzuhara Sōji, alt. Souji*) is the captain of the Volunteer Police Force in the Western District.

## Appearance

Sōji is a young man with black hair and brown-black eyes, tall with a muscular frame and sporting several scars on his face.

He is normally depicted in a black outfit, and when fighting often wears thick black bulletproof gloves.

## Chronology

*To be written in full*.

Sōji flees to the Artificial Island after a shootout goes wrong back on the mainland: as a young, idealistic cop he had managed to wound Ginga Kanashima during a gunfight, but in the process he accidentally killed a innocent girl with a stray bullet. As a result of the incident, he is plagued with nightmares and abhors guns more than anything.

In **2019**, Sōji is personally responsible for stopping a vicious gunfight between Seiichi Kugi and Hayato Inui, suffering severe injuries in the process. He gives Kelly Yatsufusa his phone number in the aftermath, and the two eventually become lovers.

He spends the next several months visiting the graves of his superior and the girl he killed, and upon his return to the island he is shocked to learn that the island has been victim to several explosions and murders, all of which are thanks to a vengeful Ginga. Stricken with the guilt that the chaos is his fault, he does not fight back when Lihuang Ei and his men assault him.

Kelly drives an injured Sōji to the heart of the island (a massive engine), where the Guard Team and the Chinese Mafia are facing off (with others on the scene) and Sōji leaps down to interfere in the confrontation between Lihuang and Jun Sahara. Pandemonium ensues when Ginga is revealed as present in the crowd (masquerading as Sherlock Liverpool).

Through the ensuing smokescreen, Sōji protects Gitarin from the Chinese Mafia executives, taking down various foes with the aid of his bulletproof clothing (which - while they stop the bullets, cannot protect him from damage to his ribs and organs).

Yakumo Amagiri and Nazuna Yukimura confront Ginga, and Nazuna severes Ginga's right arm. Sõji places himself between Yakumo and Ginga, protecting the others from Ginga.

In the aftermath of the battle, Sōji watches a video addressed to him from Ginga inside Kelly's van. In the video, Ginga tells Sōji that he believes that Sōji is bound for heaven. He wants Sōji to *suffer*, and tells him that as long that he loves Kelly he will never be able to commit suicide or escape the island – and so, he will have to live on with the dead girl's eyes burned into his memories. As he talks with Kelly, he thinks to himself that Ginga was wrong – he is bound for *hell*, not heaven, and when he arrives there he will find Ginga in hell and tell him *serves you right*. Sōji vows that he will always remain true to himself.

## Etymology

* The name **Sōji** means "religion, sect, denomination, main point, origin, essence" (宗) (**sō**) and "officer, boss" (司) (**ji**).
* Sōji's surname **Kuzuhara** means "arrowroot" (葛) (**kuzu**) and "field, plain" (原) (**hara**).

## Trivia

* Sōji is related to Kinnosuke Kuzuhara, a motorcycle cop who features in *Durarara!!*, one of Ryohgo Narita's other light novel series. He also a relative (possibly a brother) who is a classmate of Mikado Ryuugamine from *Durarara!!*, and a cousin called Shinju (who also appears in *Durarara!!*).
* Sōji always orders the omelet-soba combo at Mrs. Iizuka's restaurant.