Touko Aozaki

Touko Aozaki (蒼崎橙子) is the older sister of Aoko Aozaki. She is a principal character in Kara no Kyoukai and the main antagonist of the first part of Mahou Tsukai no Yoru. She is an acquaintance of Alice Kuonji.

Background
Aoko and Touko's grandfather, the third generation head, raised Touko in the way of the magus in his Workshop on the mountains in Misaki Town, while Aoko and her parents lived separately. When Eiri Fumizuka apprenticed under the Aozaki clan, he was Touko's first love.

Early years
She was a student at the Reien Girl's Academy, where she became an acquaintance with Mother Riesbyfe. Touko happily enjoyed her time as a high school student. She was a honour student and with her bright and cheerful personality, excellent grades, and ability to deftly handle both serious matters with her American jokes has earned her as one of the three shining stars of the dorm.

However, when she was 18, her grandfather suddenly changed the position of successor to Aoko, despite Aoko being a formally inferior magus (not counting her ability to "blow things up"). Shocked, Touko killed him right after he passed down the family heritage to her sister. Because of this Touko does not share a particularly good relationship with her sister.

Entering the Mage's Association
When Touko was a teenager, she entered the Clock Tower academy to get her revenge on her sister who stole the rights of the Family Head of Aozaki Clan. She was a student along with Souren Araya and Cornelius Alba, they were a part of the Department of Universal Research. She has a rivalry relationship with Souren, at first they took interest in each other as fellow countrymen and they started off exchanging views as two people with similar ideals. Cornelius wanted to be acknowledged by her so he was always popping in to Touko’s research laboratory just to gossip and brag about himself. She regretted cooking her special homemade food “Pizza Crackers” for Cornelius. Touko rose to the rank of Master when she was 20 years old.

In her graduation, Touko wanted to earn the title "Blue" but instead she was given title "Red", this caused Cornelius envy and hatred as he wanted the title "Red".

All three were on good terms until they left for their own research. She studied the human body while aiming to recreate the original human body, She stated in "Paradox Spiral" that she left the research under the belief that modern humans could no longer reach Akasha after becoming too diversified genetically.

Leaving the Mage's Association
Apparently, Touko is getting money from Mage's Association using her sister's name.

She bought Lugh Beowulf and gave him the name "Beowulf." They went on a number of exploits across Europe, and he remained undefeated throughout them. Some involved a train that collects mystic eyes, an ancient giant octopus living in the North Sea, the Bermuda triangle, which leads to another world, and an Elder Title Dead Apostle Ancestor.

Garan no Dou
In the 90's, she runs Garan no Dou (伽藍の堂), a contract-based production company. She engages in cases with supernatural or abnormal elements. The jobs she takes mainly involve puppet-making, but she will accept all kinds of jobs, including the production of anime, if she is interested.

It is not exactly known how she met Azaka Kokutou but Touko met Azaka before Shiki woke up from her coma. When Azaka was living with her adoptive parents, a series of strange incidents occurred and Touko was the one that was investigating the case. As the daughter of the house, Azaka got dragged cooperating with the investigation. Nasu hinted that Tobimaru Tsukiji might be involved in how they met. She later took Azaka as her apprentice around June or July of 1998 and developed the salamander glove to strengthen and better control her ability.

She is shown as a artistic puppet maker and as an occasional designer of buildings, she designed the Ogawa apartment spiral complex.

Appearance
Touko looks like a woman in her late twenties. Despite hating her name due to the association with the color red, she has a habit of always wearing one orange-coloured accessory. She is a heavy smoker, so she is stated to always have a cigarette between her lips. According to Aoko, Touko "looks like an educated mom with spectacles and a cigarette". She is shown as a school girl in Character material, where she has long black hair.

Personality
Touko was originally obsessed with reaching the Akasha which led her to hate her sister. She was competitive with Araya as they both were trying to reach the Akasha, but eventually she gave up on it. While giving up on it, she enjoys her daily life with people she cares about. She usually cut ties with people and she realized that she stayed too long with Mikiya, Shiki and Azaka.

Touko is an individual with dual personalities, allowing her to change her personality depending on how she views the situation. When she first spoke to Mikiya on the phone, she had a serious tone to appear important, whereas when she meets Mikiya in person, she seemed nice and friendly. She switches depending on her glasses. When wearing them, her facial expressions are calm and kind and she is objective and ruthless. After taking them off, her facial expressions are very cruel and she is subjective and emotional. It is unknown, even to her, which is the real Touko, but emotional or not, she is fundamentally a romanticist. It is uncertain what personality she has once she put on sunglasses.

Touko believes a certification isn’t really proof of anything, it’s just a scrap of paper. Likewise, as long as you’ve actually got the skills to back it up, things like licenses or certifications are completely unnecessary. She’s qualified in Medical Treatment, Construction, Business, and Information Gathering.

She loves new things, and she will tinker restlessly with things in which she is interested. She can also be called a speed demon. In her underground garage, she has four cars, two motorcycles, and an engine propeller plane. She is also very loose with money, as she buys items with magic properties from "Dark Amazon" on impulse which leads her to being broke months at a time. For example, she brought a because she thought it would look good in her office.

Sometimes she couldn't provide salary for her staff because of her spending. As compensation for Shiki's work, Touko will usually give her an upgrade to her artificial arm, or maybe a rare knife to stop her sulking.

She is easily roused and lacks patience, she hates being called "Dirty Red" as it reminds her about her sister's success. She made a personal rule that whomever calls her that nickname would end up with a death sentence.

Development
She had short blue hair in the original illustrations of the Kara no Kyoukai novels, but Takashi Takeuchi changed her character design during the production of the films. He thought of the correct design for her by harmonizing her more with a relatively ordinary living, beautiful big sister-type who's good at her work rather than a magi who gives the impression of separating herself from this transient world. The reason why her hair was so short in the original design stems from the shorter hairstyle she wears in Mahou Tsukai no Yoru due to her contract with Lugh Beowulf.

Mahou Tsukai no Yoru
Touko is an antagonist appearing before Aoko, Alice and Soujuurou Shizuki, she brings Lugh with her to fight against them.

After Soujuurou defeated Lugh, Touko killed Soujuurou in front of Aoko by ripping him apart.

Touko was eventually defeated by Aoko and her Fifth Magic.

Kara no Kyoukai
Touko is the guide in of Kara no Kyoukai, but she is an outsider at the same time. It would not be a story without her, but she does not constitute the body of the tale. At the events of “Murder Speculation (Part 1)”, Touko was traveling all over Japan looking for a comfortable hideout.

Chapter 4: The Hollow Shrine
In May 1998, Mikiya Kokutou saw her puppets in the museum and was drawn to them; he sought Touko's workshop and was able to find it, regardless of the bounded field. Because of that, she acknowledged his talent for "finding things" and became his employer.

In June 1998, Shiki Ryougi awakens from her coma, and Touko replaces Araya as the new counselor and introduces herself to Shiki as her speech therapist. Touko explains to Shiki that she is confused and frightened due to losing her other personality. She visits Shiki every day, and eventually Shiki realizes she is dependent on their conversations. Before leaving, Touko places a rune Bounded Field to protect Shiki from spirits.

When Shiki tries to destroy her own eyes during in the night, Touko stops her claiming it is a waste and explains her new abilities.

When a Wraith possesses a dead corpse and enters Shiki's room to claim her body, Touko tried using her rune spell to burn the dead corpse but it was ineffective. Touko suggested retreating but Shiki refused and successfully killed the Wraith.

Touko then offered to teach Shiki how to use her abilities in return for her services as she lost her familiar, to which Shiki agrees. As Shiki collapse, Touko was being sincere to her as she sensed Shiki’s unvoiced wish to live a normal life despite being endowed with a power that encroaches on the domain of God. Afterward, she took up molding Shiki as a hobby.

"To be hollow means you can be filled without limit, right?"

- Touko speaking to an unconscious Shiki

Chapter 1: Overlooking the Scenery
In September 1998, she and Mikiya were investigating the recent suicide at the Fujou apartment. She warns Mikiya not to go near the building but Mikiya didn't listen to her and was caught in a unconscious state by Kirie Fujou.

She explains to Shiki about the suicide cases and the abnormalities that led Mikiya's unconscious state.

After Shiki loses her artificial arm, Touko repaired and upgraded her Magical Prosthetic.

After Shiki defeats Kirie's spiritual body, Touko visits Kirie's physical body in the hospital. She asked a few questions on her incurable condition and the reason why she killed the other girls. Touko leaves the hospital after questioning her.

In the Epilogue, Touko is walking near the Fujou building with Azaka, where Fujou's corpse has been found. Azaka couldn't understand why she committed suicide and Touko comments that she just probably could not fly today.

Chapter 5: Paradox Spiral
In November 1998, Touko was contacted by a police friend about a strange case involving with the Ogawa apartment complex. She knew something was odd as she was the original designer so she asked Mikiya to accompany her to the apartment. They found many abnormalities and Touko notice Alba spying on them.

She meets Alba in her exhibition. Alba revealed about the apartment plans and the kidnapping of Shiki. Touko took this as an offense towards her. Touko realized even she was involved in this, she wanted to solve this alone to save Shiki and protect her current lifestyle.

She went alone to the Ogawa apartment bringing along with her Projection machine. She meets Alba who challenges her. Touko suggested to bring out Araya as Alba wasn't capable of facing her. In the original novel she redirects Alba's thousand degree sea-of-flames spell, and nonchalantly uses it to light her cigarette. Alba was swallowed by the cat familiar and knocked out but Araya saved him. She faced and seemingly defeated Araya with her Projection Machine but Touko soon realized the Araya she defeated was a puppet. She was later incapacitated by the real Araya when he pulled out her heart from behind. However she did not die as Araya kept her in a frozen state, he decapitated her head by ripping her head from her body and stored it in a jar.

Araya handed the head to Alba. As Alba was about to leave, he saw Mikiya and, believing him to be her apprentice, attempted to torture him and cursed Touko's head.

The puppet who awakened after Cornelius killed Touko disobeyed her own rule of "begin activity after constructing a puppet" and went straight for Alba bringing along her familiar 'Sealed Box'. Cornelius was devoured by Touko's 'sealed box' after calling her by her nickname, "Dirty Red".

After Alba death, Touko provided first aid for Mikaya. Araya was peeking at Touko, asking if she wants to resume the fight but Touko claims its foolish to fight him again inside the building even if she has chance of winning with her Sealed Box. Touko laughs at Araya, for his mistake to imprison Shiki within a barrier isolated from space rather than locking her physically. She revealed to Araya that Shiki can cut down his barrier to escape which caused him to suffer pain from inside as the Ogawa Apartment is linked to his body.

As the Apartment crumbling down, Touko grabbed Mikiya and evacuated straight away. After Araya's defeat by the hands of Shiki, Touko and Araya had their last conversion together. Touko expresses that his downfall was caused by Enjou Tomoe's love for his family as well as his breaking out of the cycle created by Araya. Touko revealed that his name is the same thing he detest before he died.

In the epilogue, Mikiya revealed that Touko dispose of the corpsed found in the ruins in the Ogawa Apartment.

Chapter 6: Oblivion Recorder
In Januray 1999, Touko asked Azaka and Shiki to investigate the case involving with a magus controlling Fairies in the Reien Girl's Academy.

Shiki and Azaka found an old photo of her when she was a student, much to their amusement.

Chapter 7: Murder Speculation Part 2
In February 1999, Touko talks to Mikiya about the recent murders and their connection with Shiki. She allowed Mikiya to take some time off from work to learn the truth.

She called Daisuke Akimi about the recent homicide case; Touko went to investigate the crime scene and agrees with Daisuke that the recent murder and the case 4 years ago are related.

After Lio Shirazumi leaves Mikiya and warns him not to approach him again. Mikiya asked Touko if she'll be able to help Lio. She reveals details about origins and that it is impossible to help Lio in his current state. As Mikiya went to search for Shiki, Touko wishes him well and hopes fate allows them to meet again. Azaka barges in complaining about Mikiya's relationship with Shiki and wishes him to cut his ties with her. Touko realized that she stayed too long and she's planning on leaving.

Heaven's Feel
Touko is referenced in the epilogue of the Heaven's Feel route of Fate/stay night, but she goes unnamed. After Shirou Emiya's body was destroyed, they required a puppet body for him after he was partially restored by the Third Magic. They sold the books at the Matou house to obtain a body left by a famous puppet maker, but it has some problems because it was obtained used. It is still the best one out of all those they tried, so they wish to look for her to obtain one that matches him. They note that it will be hard to find the creator because she is marked with a Sealing Designation and on the run from the Mage's Association.

Other appearances
Touko has an alternate counterpart in Fate/Extra who appears with an alternate version of Aoko in the Moon Cell. She has brief cameos in Carnival Phantasm.

Abilities
Touko is a powerful magus, and while she does not compare in terms of skill as a magus to someone like Cornelius Alba, she is a genius with talents that are independent of her lineage. Touko has twenty Magic Circuits, and while not an extremely large number, it was a surprise to the Aozaki clan due to the number of Magic Circuits in their line having been dwindling. In terms of quality, her Magic Circuits are among the best in the world. Due to her formidable power, Mage's Association dubbed her with the color Red (橙), which is one of the three primary colors. She wished to get the color Blue, but that title was taken by her sister Aoko. Although powerful by modern standards, she is still incapable of facing a serious Caster. By the time of Kara no Kyoukai, she is weaker than Azaka.

While she jokes half-seriously about only being able to fly with a broom, she actually patented a new type of flight most commonly called "Touko Travel."

She is an expert on Mystic Eyes and she created glasses that can suppress their effects. The glasses Shiki Tohno wears were originally made by Touko. Her sister Aoko stole them from Touko and made them indestructible. She also crafted a pair of Mystic Eyes of Binding for herself which are capable of trapping her victims in powerful illusions.

She has a contract with Lugh Beowulf, which she formed by "offering" her hair. Twenty-years worth of hair is significant to a female magus, and needed to form a contract with a beast of his rank. Hair is a female magus' best possible weapon, ingredient, or item, as it can amplify spells and the like. Its worth is best emphasized in Aoko's fight with the Flat Snark, and as one of the reasons Touko lost to Aoko, as there is no way she can plan a comeback against Aoko because she has exhausted her resources, hair and money alike, already. It should have been worth it due to her contract with Lugh securing her complete success, which allowed them to go up against a Dead Apostle Ancestor, among other escapades, without being defeated once. This changes after his defeat at the hands of Soujuurou Shizuki. Touko says he is not as useful after learning defeat because he is no longer perfect. While more valuable than a novice, he will likely lose sight of what makes him special when faced with magic.

Runes
Touko smokes Dragon Smoke (煙龍) cigarettes very frequently. They were made in Taiwan, and they are of poor quality. The maker has since disappeared, and only one cardbox-full was ever made by a curious craftsman. They are the second most valuable item in Garan no Dou. She often uses them to write her runes in the air.

She is able to create a “Runic Protection” that creates a Bounded Field around Shiki's hospital room with the help of a rune stone, which prevents the entry of spirits. One Wraith manages to find his way inside of it by possessing a dead corpse. She is also proficient in using rune-based thaumaturgy. One of her rune spells, Ansuz can kill a human easily by burning the heart but it's ineffective against dead people. Her use of runes is not that powerful, instead being secondary to her skills in puppet-crafting and body modification.

Puppets
As a doll-maker, she received a Sealing Designation for creating a doll (body) that was an exact replica of her own body. She's able to reproduce parts of a body that can be used instead of the lost part. While this would be nothing special, she can reproduce the part in such a perfect way that it is indistinguishable from the real one.

Touko's puppets are stored all over the world. After one dies, the active, next-in-line Touko (puppet) will awaken. Touko (puppet) will first construct a puppet of herself, and then go outside to start her hunt for pretty girls. However, whether she inherits the will and goals of the original will depend on her location. The closer the puppet is to the original, the more likely she will inherit the original's will. If the puppet is activated from a site that is too distant, a blank in her memory proportional to the distance will form.

She crafted Ryougi Shiki's arm and Shirou Emiya's body in Heaven's Feel.

Aoko Puppet
This puppet appeared in Mahou Tsukai no Yoru. Touko crafted it to resemble her little sister, it has 4 arms with a crow mode and a spider mode. It can self-destruct.

Projection Machine
Created by Touko Aozaki to replace the familiar that was destroyed by her sister.

It appeared in Kara no Kyoukai: Paradox Spiral. A suitcase with a projector installed inside. It shapes Ether Clump in the form of a monstrous cat that cannot be destroyed unless the suitcase is destroyed. It also has the ability to heal Touko by enveloping her.

Sealed Box
Another of Touko Aozaki familiars, a black monster with a thousand mouths and thorn-like tentacles stuck inside a box. It drags its victims to inside the box so it can eat them.