Ayatsuji Yukito

Biodata

Background / History

Confinement and Departure

Ayatsuji is a dangerous ability user kept under government surveillance. Nevertheless, he continues working as a detective because he loves uncovering the truth and pursuing the unknown. The narrative attributes his increasingly venomous manner to years of confinement 10 18.

In the parallel-world history shown during the screening, An Xinyi 143 encounters a caged Ayatsuji, takes his hand, and invites him to travel the world. Once outside surveillance, Ayatsuji is free to leave; he stays largely because An Xinyi presents a mystery he cannot immediately solve 17 18.

Journey with An Xinyi 143

Their journey begins without money or a lodging plan, nearly prompting Ayatsuji to abandon his unreliable companion. An Xinyi earns their expenses through street magic and carves him a lifelike doll. The mismatch between An Xinyi’s exceptional skills and his apparently untrained hands only deepens Ayatsuji’s curiosity 18.

At a summer festival, Ayatsuji relaxes enough to smile while watching fireworks, then denies having done so when An Xinyi notices. Their later conversations become more personal: he is displeased when An Xinyi cannot identify his own “rose” or “B612,” interpreting the answer as meaning that nobody—including Ayatsuji—matters most to him 19 20.

Their travels include surfing, climbing the highest mountain, visiting the Great Wall and pyramids, and watching auroras. Ayatsuji also solves major theft cases to help finance the trip. What begins as an investigation into his companion develops into an attachment that Mizuki Tsujimura recognizes as romantic 21.

An Xinyi eventually announces that their journey must end. Ayatsuji considers asking him to stay but cannot bring himself to cling to him. Having failed to solve the mystery before his self-imposed deadline, he calls An Xinyi a liar, then gives him a gentle, sorrowful smile. An Xinyi leaves to resume protecting humanity, and the journey’s record is ultimately overwritten 21.

Shiraishi Murder Investigation

The screening first shows Ayatsuji being deployed after President Shiraishi’s family, relatives, and friends are murdered. An Xinyi knows that the Special Division will execute Ayatsuji if he fails to identify the culprit, so he initiates a plan to make himself discoverable 5.

Disguised, An Xinyi approaches the detective, declares his guilt, and leaves evidence intended to trigger Another. Ayatsuji notices a tattoo beneath his cuff and asks about it; the number is 143. Before parting, An Xinyi urges him to smile 5.

An Xinyi subsequently dies beneath a falling billboard. The incident is presented as a death caused by Another, and later narration explicitly describes 143 as having been killed by Ayatsuji. An Xinyi bears no resentment, regarding the sacrifice as protection for the detective 5 22.

Reactions to the Screening

The Ayatsuji watching these events is distinct from the parallel-world detective depicted on-screen. He initially insists that the other man’s story has nothing to do with him, but his physical reactions undermine that detachment 21.

When Regret is revealed, he realizes that An Xinyi’s unexplained familiarity comes from having met them across countless repetitions. Learning the scale of those sacrifices makes him grip his treasured pipe hard enough to snap it 10 11.

He later acknowledges that An Xinyi’s resilience makes genuine indifference impossible, despite their belonging to different worlds. During the painful footage of An Xinyi’s first reset, Ayatsuji keeps watching even when Ranpo turns away 31 47.

Appearance

• Hair: Blond 5.
• Eyes: Reddish-brown, frequently concealed behind dark lenses 4 5.
• Clothing: British-style attire, including a cape and a wisteria-purple hat 5.
• Expression: Usually cold or unreadable; his rare, unguarded smile during the farewell contrasts with his customary mocking smiles 5 19 21.

Personality

Ayatsuji is proud, impatient, and exceptionally sharp-tongued. He readily insults Tsujimura’s intelligence and notices the thoughts she tries to conceal. His younger traveling counterpart is already impolite, but has not yet acquired the full bitterness associated with prolonged confinement 5 18.

His strongest motivation is investigative curiosity. He enjoys mysteries that resist easy explanation and treats An Xinyi’s contradictions as a challenge rather than a reason to withdraw. During their travels, he regards the journey’s end as his deadline for discovering the truth 18 20.

His reserve does not prevent deep attachment. He reacts with displeasure when he believes An Xinyi values nobody above anyone else, yet cannot openly ask him to stay. The viewing-space Ayatsuji similarly tries to dismiss another version’s heartbreak while nearly tearing his own doll’s clothes in distress 20 21.

Although he generally finds dolls more interesting than people, witnessing humanity’s struggle against disaster draws an unusually sympathetic response from him: he recognizes humanity as both ugly and beautiful 18 38.

Abilities & Skills

Another

Another causes a murderer whom Ayatsuji identifies to die an unnatural death 5.

• Identification requirement: An Xinyi deliberately supplies both a confession and evidence so Ayatsuji can confirm him as the culprit 5.
• Documented outcome: An Xinyi’s fatal billboard accident is attributed to the ability 5 22.
• Undisclosed conditions: Santoka Taneda explains its general effect but does not reveal its specific conditions 5.
• Government significance: Its lethality makes Ayatsuji a Special Division trump card and a special class-A threat subject to supervision 5 10.

Deduction and Observation

Ayatsuji’s investigative ability extends beyond homicide cases to close analysis of behavior, physical evidence, and unexplained skills 18 21.

• Detects that An Xinyi’s interest in ordinary town life is genuine despite his apparent familiarity with it 18.
• Examines An Xinyi’s hands for calluses and scars when assessing his expertise in magic and carving 18.
• Connects An Xinyi’s familiarity with the observers to the repeated encounters made possible by Regret 10.
• Questions whether “Zero” denotes the original An Xinyi, prompting clarification of the original’s continued existence 13.
• Solves major theft cases while traveling, earning money for their expenses 21.
• Cannot fully unravel An Xinyi’s identity before their journey ends 21.

Equipment / Items

• Pipe — A treasured possession that he frequently handles; broken when he learns the extent of An Xinyi’s repeated deaths 5 11.
• Dark-lensed glasses — Conceal his eyes and make his emotions harder to read 5.
• Mei Misaki — A short-haired girl doll carved by An Xinyi. Its lifelike face and clothing are gradually refined during their journey; Ayatsuji names it and holds it tightly at their farewell 18 20 21.
• Dolls — A favored interest. The viewing-space Ayatsuji also carries and handles a beloved doll, though it is not explicitly identified as Mei Misaki there 18 21 49.

Relationships

• An Xinyi / 143 — His parallel-world traveling companion and romantic attachment. An Xinyi’s love for him helps motivate a return to protecting humanity; the viewing-space Ayatsuji is deeply affected by their story despite never having shared that journey himself 18 21 31.
• Mizuki Tsujimura — A Special Division agent who addresses him as “Ayatsuji-sensei.” Their interactions feature his cutting insults, her frustrated protests, and her concern over his emotional reactions 5 11 21 43.
• Ranpo Edogawa — A fellow detective among the observers. They exchange barbs over their judgments and romantic misunderstandings, while Ayatsuji recognizes why Ranpo finds the later footage unbearable 20 25 47.
• Special Division for Unusual Powers — Both his deploying authority and his supervisor. In the Shiraishi case, failure to identify the culprit would result in his execution 5 10.

Notable Quotes

“You liar.” 21

“Quite clearly, this is humanity.”
“Utterly ugly, yet utterly beautiful humanity.” 38