Torch (トーチ, Tōchi?), real name Himori Touchi (
In the second MILGRAM novel, he reappears as a prison guard, nicknamed Es (エス, Esu?).
Character Description[]
Appearance[]
Torch has sad grey hair which covers their face in an unkempt manner.
Personality[]
Torch sees himself as a shallow person, not valuing humans at all. This stems from both low self-esteem and abandonment issues, a coping mechanism adopted from witnessing his loved ones die to avoid getting hurt. He detaches himself from other people, preferring to be alone and not wanting to make the effort to make friends or get attached. He even consciously makes the decision to avoid others. In spite of viewing people as dispensable, he still believes that killing is worthless. Upon meeting Sumi however, Torch slowly unlocked his ability to care about others, to feel bad for someone when they're hurt and to consciously try to help people. He finds himself on the side of justice, and is against vigilantism due to the disorder it causes to society.
History[]
Touchi was never able to get attached to anyone without them dying. His parents, grandparents and close friend all died as soon as he got attached to them. Because of this, Touchi grew up with abandonment issues and a detachment from society. He believed humans were as worthless as old pottery or birds at the park, and couldn't understand how they were treated with such value. He isolated himself for the rest of his life to avoid the hurt of losing people.
In high school, Touchi spent his time on the rooftop away from the people. He spent his time alone up until meeting Kogami Sumi. He's annoyed that his space was invaded, but sympathises with her upon learning her story. The two begin to become close friends and even meet outside of school. Outside of school, Sumi seemed a lot less scared and was able to be herself. As Sumi's kindness began to rub off on Touchi, he slowly became able to see the value in not only human beings but also in everything else in life. For the first time in a long time, Touchi learned what it was like to care about another person and to love somebody.
But one day Touchi was running late to meet up with Sumi. When he got to the rooftop, he was horrified to see Sumi bleeding out on the concrete. Even in such a state, she still made a cheeky remark about him being in such a hurry. Touchi sees Sumi's classmates try to get on the rooftop and realise they were willing to harm her. He closed the door to the rooftop and leaned on it shut as Sumi succumbed to her wounds. At this point, the wound was fatal and Sumi would have died if he hadn't gotten medical attention. Touchi had two choices here: Keep the door closed and protect Sumi from her classmates, but let her die to her wound, or open the door and try to call for help but let the bullies get in. Sumi begs Touchi not to open the door and he complies, leaving Sumi to bleed out from her injury.
After Sumi died, Touchi wondered if he made the right decision. He blamed himself for Sumi's death.
Etymology[]
- Himori means "icicle, freeze" (
氷 , hi?) and "forest, woods" (森 , mori?). - Touchi means "overall, relationship, ruling" (
統 , tō?) and "knowledge, wisdom" (知 , chi?).
[]
| v • e Characters | |
|---|---|
| Project Characters | |
| Guards | Es • Jackalope |
| Prisoners | Sakurai Haruka • Kashiki Yuno • Kajiyama Fuuta • Kusunoki Muu • Kirisaki Shidou • Shiina Mahiru • Mukuhara Kazui • Momose Amane • Kayano Mikoto • Yuzuriha Kotoko |
| Others | John |
| Novel Characters | |
| First Novel | Es • Jackalope • Gentle • Nervous • Close • Two-Side • Torch |
| Second Novel | Es • Jackalope • Tatsumi • Rina • Mei • Tomonari • Mako |
