Sandbox / Slow Damage - Takuma Murase

Slow Damage Character Index
Main Characters (Towa, Takuma Murase) | Supporting Characters (The Takasato-gumi)

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Takuma Murase

Voiced by: Kanehira Yamamoto ^note  Credited as Jin Munakata

Age: 46
Birthday: September 22
Height: 177 cm
Blood Type: O

"I'm a doctor. I want to save as many lives as I can. But right now, dozens are dying out there while we're standing here. A human life can end so quickly... especially at the hands of another. Looking at it that way, it starts to feel like our deaths are predestined, and no amount of struggling can save us from it."

Nicknamed Taku by both Towa and Rei, he is Towa's long-time physician and friend, as well as current boss and guardian (of sorts). He currently works as a doctor who owns the private clinic, Murase Clinic, which is located in District E in Shinkoumi.

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A-F

• The Alcoholic: Formerly, at least. When Taku reached his lowest point while still in university due to certain personal issues, he often hit the bottle and it got to the point that he attended classes whilst inebriated and out of sorts.
• Anger Born of Worry: While he doesn't nag Towa as often as Rei does, Taku is still highly overprotective of him and often shows worry for his safety. He also becomes more outspoken about his concerns whenever the situation escalates to Towa getting badly hurt or nearly killed. Towa even recalls one time when Taku got infuriated upon seeing Towa halfway to death's door after a meeting with a potential art model went wrong.
• The Atoner:
  • It's all but explicitly stated that Taku is highly protective of Towa not just because of the trauma of losing a loved one once, but also out of guilt for not realizing sooner why and how Towa would always get hurt as a child until it was too late.
  • At the end of both his and Fujieda's routes, Taku turns himself in for manufacturing illegal drugs for the Takasato-gumi.
• Bad Liar: Zigzagged. He can keep a secret just fine as long as no one suspects him of anything. But if the part about him being a Secret-Keeper gets exposed or even hinted at, he's immediately backed into a corner and has trouble in either dodging the subject or talking his way out.
• Baritone of Strength: Downplayed. Taku speaks in a rough and husky voice, but he's not inclined to violence and is a Non-Action Guy. Though he's not afraid to fight back of he has to, and when he gets furious or his more sinister side manifests, his voice starts to sound much lower and raspier.
• Beneath Notice: In Fujieda's route, Taku unwittingly manages to stay out of Sakaki's radar even though he's actively trying to keep Towa's past hidden— something that directly goes against Sakaki's plans. Instead, it's Fujieda who ends up attracting the man's attention and subsequent ire.
• Benevolent Boss:
  • Besides the occasional exasperated remark about Towa not being on time for his shifts, Taku is nevertheless patient with Towa's tendencies to sleep late and even let him stay in the room in the third floor of the clinic in exchange for lower wages. Towa, who never was that attached to money, doesn't find it a bad deal. The narration points out that Towa would have already been fired from any other job for his habitual tardiness.
  • Even with his busy schedule and his own share of conflicts, he doesn't give his employees any trouble if their personal problems get in the way of their work and will even help them in any way he can. He also doesn't hesitate to treat their injuries if they get hurt, with his treatment completely free of charge.
• Beware the Nice Ones:
  • He's a trustworthy doctor who always looks out for the people he cares for. At the same time, his fears and insecurities have made way for an inner darkness that comes to the surface when he's provoked and frightened enough.
  • As a doctor, Taku is supposed to save lives, not take them. However, in the climax of his route, he implicitly makes it clear to Toono that the only reason the other man doesn't have a bullet in his skull is because Taku is tired of playing his games. In any other situation, Taku wouldn't have had any second thoughts about shooting Toono dead.
• Big Eater: While not as pronounced as Rei's case, Towa observes that Taku has quite the appetite as he can still make room in his stomach for someone else's meal after finishing his own.
• Brainy Brunette: Taku's hair color is a combination of dark red and brown and according to Toono, Taku was always at the top of his class even back in high school as well as the extras reveal Taku also got a high score on the university entrance examinations. While Taku confesses to having repeated a year in medical school, this is revealed to be a setback brought about by a personal tragedy affecting his behavior and consequently, his studies. This aside, Taku still managed to earn his degree and in time, his doctor's license as well.
• Can't Hold His Liquor: Played with. Taku isn't a lightweight and can handle a bottle of liquor just fine. But in one of the first Explorations, he makes an apprehensive remark about joining a friend for a drink since said friend is a heavy drinker. And in his After Story drama CD, Towa comments on how Taku started walking a bit funny after a few glasses of whiskey, though Taku does lampshade that it may have something to do with how he hadn't drunk any alcohol during the one year he spent in prison.
• Chick Magnet: Taku has quite the number of female admirers, and in his drama CD, one of his patients even attempts to set him up with another woman, unaware that Taku is already taken by then.
• Color Motifs: Taku's smoke color is Orange. Orange represents warmth and calmness, action and aggression and doubt and deceit, which all fit Taku as a character; He is more or less Towa's legal guardian who cares for and looks after him, he is a compassionate doctor who loves his patients, he has a dark side that shows when he doesn't want lose someone he loves, is shown to know about Towa's past but intentionally keep Towa in the dark for his sake and has a few Dark Secrets of his own.
• Cool Old Guy: Zigzagged. His Establishing Character Moment makes it obvious he's grounded, hard-working, practical, affable and also the kind of person who unconditionally looks out for his friends, workmates and patients. Though his route eventually reveals that not everything is what it seems. While what the player knows about Taku's personality since his introduction is genuine, it also turns out that Taku isn't as stable as he seems, as both his past and his history with the Takasato-gumi has worn him out both mentally and emotionally.
• Cosmic Plaything: Throughout the story, Taku isn't having the easiest time, not simply because of the stress that comes with his job as a doctor, but also because of his debt to Toono. But it's only in Madarame's route that Taku's luck, or what's left of it, takes a deep nosedive. On top of his situation with Toono, he gets held hostage by Madarame who then proceeds to kidnap Towa. When Towa returns home some days later, Madarame's vague words push Towa into confronting Taku about what he's been keeping from him. Even then, Taku doesn't get the chance to fully explain himself as Towa leaves and returns to Madarame out of a sense of isolation, to which Taku then loses Towa for good. While a quick mention of him in the Euphoria ending does confirm that he's alive, it's all but stated that Taku is still in a worse position at the end of the route than he was at the start.
• Covered with Scars: In his Madness ending, his back becomes marred with countless wounds from whenever Towa would claw and scratch at him during sex.
• Cowardly Lion: Played with. Taku is not necessarily someone that's easy to scare, but one of his worst flaws is his tendency to hesitate and remain unsure of himself. And when it comes to fighting, Taku never trained himself in self-defense, unlike Towa's other love interests. Despite this, if someone puts Towa in mortal danger, Taku won't think twice about standing up to them, even when he knows that he can't win. This trope is best exemplified in the final route, where even after being given a beating by Madarame, Taku is all too ready to lunge at him when Madarame's actions send Towa into a state of mental distress.
• Crazy Jealous Guy: After falling in love with Towa in his route, Taku later admits with gritted teeth that he cannot stand the thought of Towa with anyone else, even expressing that he's willing to kill Towa to make sure of that. Though he never really goes through with the threat, and the admission even amuses Towa, who comments that he would never expect someone like Taku to say such a thing.
• Creepy Shadowed Undereyes: In his Madness ending, his eyes are described to have become hollow and sunken, which reflects the deterioration of his emotional and mental state after he chooses to give up on his morals.
• Dark and Troubled Past: His mother became a drug addict after his father abandoned them. When they fell into poverty, Taku worked tirelessly to pay for his mother's hospitalization bills. Toono lent him a helping hand and paid his way through medical school, although his mother then got discharged and died in the streets when he wasn't paying attention, to which Taku became a delinquent for some time in his grief before getting his act together later on and becoming a doctor. However, as he had already incurred a huge debt to Toono by then, Taku is soon forced to [[spoiler: manufacture illegal drugs for the other man, with his life on the line.
• Deadly Doctor: Taku becomes one in his Madness ending, as he decides to throw aside his goal of helping others and to focus only on protecting Towa, albeit in a very twisted way. With this decision, he completes making the psychedelics that Toono requested. But even after that, it's implied that Taku is still making and distributing said drugs as he administers one to Towa later on.
• Deadpan Snarker: Taku can make a quippy remark every once in a while, usually out of exasperation towards Towa's behavior and antics.
• Death Glare: Toono comments how Taku, when angered enough, can give quite the reproachful look that comes across as outright demonic. Likewise, in Fujieda's route, during a confrontation with Madarame, Taku is described to have been looking at the latter with eyes that make it clear he wants to bite the man's head off.
• Death Seeker:
  • While telling Towa about his past, Taku admits that after losing his mother just as he was about to start medical school, he fell into despair and at some point, felt the desire to end everything, which all but explicitly confirms that there was a time when he was suicidal.
  • In his route, Taku's reluctance to create a certain kind of drug for Toono forces the latter to take both him and Towa hostage. Despite this, Taku is still hesitant to finish the job. But after Towa gets terribly injured from overextending his reach in spite of being a prisoner, Taku resolves to cut the project short once he can find a way for Towa to escape, even though he knows that this will get him killed in the process.
• Declaration of Protection: Taku makes such statements twice in his route.
  • The first is halfway through the plot, where he tells Towa that while he can't blame the latter for suspecting what he's been up to, he had always looked out for him ever since he was a child, and he refuses to let anyone else harm Towa or take him away. Though the sudden shift in Taku's mood when he says it makes the moment come across more as disconcerting than anything else.
  • In his Euphoria ending, he makes a better and more heartwarming attempt at the trope when he tells Towa that no matter what happens, he always wants to stay by his side and watch over him.
• Dissonant Serenity: In Taku's more menacing moments, he becomes eerily calm and doesn't raise his voice even when he's saying unsettling things or is outright attacking someone. In his Madness ending, he never once loses his cool or show strong shifts of emotion, being completely at ease even as he discards his morality and embraces his inner demons.
• Distressed Dude: He gets taken hostage in every route except for Rei's, with the culprit being either [[spoiler:Toono (in his own route) or Madarame (in both his and Fujieda's routes).
• The Ditherer: Taku isn't indecisive... by default. But as soon as it involves his situation with Toono and his debt to the man, Taku is always left at a loss on what to do. He is undoubtedly against Toono's plan of creating harmful drugs and having them distributed. At the same time, however, he knows that if it weren't for the money Toono had provided him, he would have never graduated medical school and become a doctor. Both arguments leave Taku at an impasse that wears on him both mentally and emotionally.
• Does Not Like Spam: Besides the fact that he's not a fan of most sweet stuff, Taku also doesn't like the taste of fresh cream.
• Dressed to Heal: Taku is a doctor, after all, so it's only a given that he wears a lab coat and scrubs (the upper half at least), as well as a stethoscope and a surgical mask, during work hours. Though whenever he's off-duty, he wears casual clothing.
• The Dutiful Son: Taku made sure to study hard all while working part-time jobs in between to provide for him and his mother as well as get into medical school some day. But he does admit to Towa that he also used his studies as a distraction to not have to deal with taking care of his mother all the time.
• Everyone Has Standards:
  • Taku began seeing Asakura in a more negative light due to the rumors about Asakura being a pedophile, and anything involving such a topic immediately makes Taku uneasy.
  • At one point, Taku remarks how to a child, their parents is their whole world, and it's revealed in his own route that a lot of his issues stem from his relationship with his mother, who he cared for in spite of her drug abuse. But even he can only react with pure disdain when he sees first-hand how despicably selfish Rei's father is, and dismisses the man as completely beyond help as a parent.
  • The primary reason that Taku is highly reluctant to help Toono makes the drugs he needs for his business is because of the addictive properties that are required for that drug. Never mind the fact that it goes against everything he strives to do as a doctor, he even says that if he completes the drug, he may as well be perpetuating the very tragedy that claimed his mother's life.
• Feeling Their Age: Lampshaded. Rei quips in one route that Taku isn't getting any younger, though there's no scene in the game where the trope takes effect, and any time where Taku is in a situation of distress has nothing to do with his age catching up with him. In fact, after the events of his route, he has since taken to training his muscles while he was in prison to avoid this trope from happening too soon.
• First Guy Wins: Taku is the first love interest introduced in the story. Likewise, he's also the one who Towa has known since the latter's childhood. Therefore, this trope applies if he is the one Towa ends up with.
• Florence Nightingale Effect: Towa has been Taku's patient/charge for the longest time since he's the one who would always patch up Towa's wounds and also prescribes his medicine. In his route, his concern and worry for Towa starts to make way for certain other feelings that he hadn't felt for Towa before.
• Foil:
  • To Sakaki. Both personally knew Maya and both treat Towa as if he was their own son. Toono also hints early on that both of them are keeping Towa's past a secret from the younger man. However, they have completely different reasons for doing so. Taku keeps quiet about the truth as he wishes to protect Towa from suffering a complete breakdown and doesn't want him to be chained down by the horrors of his past. On the other hand, Sakaki's reasons are more sinister: he wants Towa to recover his memories, but he will only do so under certain circumstances that would successfully groom Towa into becoming Maya's successor. Their motives, in turn, show how they truly regard Towa. Whether he's the chosen love interest or not, Taku always shows genuine concern for Towa's well-being, and while he does commit several questionable actions, they're done with good intentions. Meanwhile, Sakaki seems to have nothing but altruistic intentions in watching out for Towa; however, he only sees the younger man as a vessel of sorts for Maya and it's strongly implied that deep down, he resents Towa for killing her.
  • In contrast to Towa, Rei and Fujieda, Taku is the only member of the main cast who had something close to a positive (albeit troubled) relationship with the parent he lived with, in spite of his mother's complicated history with her drug addiction. Most of Taku's issues even stem from what he feels are his failures in doing more for her, in contrast to how the other three's respective problems originate from what their parents did to them.
• Forced into Evil: Taku's status as a debtor has him commit plenty of shady deeds for the Takasato-gumi, and this is before Toono invokes the large debt that Taku owes him to browbeat him into making deadly hallucinogens.
• Former Teen Rebel: Asakura claims to Towa that when Taku was still in medical school, he acted out and would often skip classes, drink, smoke, and possibly even do drugs, none of which one can imagine when looking at Taku now. This is no lie, and is revealed to be the result of him struggling with his grief after his mother's untimely death.
• Friend to All Children: He's mentioned to get along with patients of all ages, and in Asakura's story, Taku often expresses worry about Hayato, the child that Asakura is looking after.

G-O

• Greater Need Than Mine: Towa describes Taku as the sort of person who shoulders everything on his own, and can opt to make the problems of the people he cares for most deeply (like Towa) his own problems. He's also generally more proactive in helping others with their issues, but visibly struggles when it comes to taking the actions needed to resolve his own issues, what with being crippled by both guilt and self-doubt.
• Grew a Spine: The core of Taku's Character Development has him realizing that he's only causing more problems for both him and everyone around him by vacillating and remaining unsure of himself. In his good ending, Taku gets over this issue enough to finally settle his conflict with Toono, but it takes until the After Story drama CD for him to fully overcome his flaw after some further prodding from Towa.
• He Knows Too Much: Subverted. Taku doesn't know everything about Maya and her business the same way Hasegawa did. The simple fact that he knows about it, and Mei by extension, should have motivated Sakaki to use that as extra leverage against Taku, with the already-existing leverage being the man's debt to the Takasato-gumi. However, it's implied that Taku managed to find out what he knew without Sakaki ever catching wind of it, allowing Taku's problems with the organization to be restricted solely to his debt to Toono.
• Hidden Depths: It's mentioned in the artbook that Taku plays billiards as a hobby.
• His Own Worst Enemy: The After Story drama CD shows that even after he had already atoned for his crimes by serving time in prison, Taku still has yet to get over his insecurities and his indecisiveness. However, when he's forced by Towa to confront himself over what he truly wants, he makes his resolve, and for good this time.
• Horrible Judge of Character: Downplayed. While he's wary towards the Takasato-gumi as a whole and would prefer to not get involved with them as much as possible, the amount of mistrust Taku has towards Sakaki is nothing compared to that towards Toono. While Sakaki doesn't bother either Taku or Towa in his route, what's revealed about the man in Fujieda's route proves that Taku should have suspected him at least a bit more; though this is mostly because while Taku knows the general details about what Towa had gone through thanks to his mother, he didn't know enough specific details which would give him an inkling that Sakaki was also complicit in Maya's plans.
• Hospital Hottie: He is a doctor and a good-looking one at that, even when he's already nearing his fifties. He's also well-regarded by patients of all ages and genders for his friendly personality.
• Humble Goal: Taku is sincere when he says that he became a doctor to save others, not because of the prestige that comes with the occupation.
• If I Can't Have You…: When Taku admits to Towa that he's fallen for him, he also confesses that he'd rather kill Towa than give him the chance to sleep with anyone else. Towa even lampshades the trope when he remarks that he didn't expect Taku to be the possessive type.
• If It's You, It's Okay: It's strongly implied that Taku fooled around on top of indulging in cigarettes and alcohol when he had an emotional breakdown while still attending medical school. Despite this, he tells Towa that he has no experience with men, specifically. Although if he's the chosen love interest, Towa is the only man he makes an exception for.
• Important Haircut: He cuts his hair into a buzzcut in his good ending. This gives him a more mature look, showing how he's grown as a person and how everything that happened until then weathered him for both the worse and the better.
• Insecure Love Interest: One of Taku's biggest flaws is that he almost always has second thoughts. Even though he resolves to look after Towa and keep him safe, he always hesitates in how he should go about it and wavers at the thought of whether he's doing the right thing or not. In the After Story drama CD, Taku proves that he hasn't yet completely overcome said weakness, as he's still left with doubts about whether he should resume his job as a doctor and if he's still worthy of being Towa's partner after everything that had happened.
• In-Series Nickname: Both Towa and Rei call him "Taku", which is a shortened version of his full name, Takuma. Even the narration makes use of his nickname instead of his full name.
• It's All My Fault: He believes that his mother died because he wasn't there for her. This is also the reason for his overprotectiveness towards Towa, as he always fears what could happen to Towa if he's not there to look after him.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Some dialogue from his route hints that while Taku has been assigned as Towa's doctor since the latter's childhood, he had no idea about what was really going with his charge and why Towa would always get wounded or sick. One offhand remark hints that he did harbor some suspicions, but it didn't take until after the accident that resulted in Maya's death and Towa's subsequent amnesia for Taku to finally know (some of) the gory details.
  Taku: When you were a kid, you were always getting hurt. And your immune system wasn't great, so you had a fever half the time. [...] So back then, I wondered if you had some family problems. There was a lot that happened after that... Not that you don't seem to remember any of it, though...
  Towa: Was it really that terrible?
  Taku: (grimly) Well... it was.
• Loved by All: Taku is well-liked by all of his patients. Even after the events of his route, where he's imprisoned after his connection to the Takasato-gumi is revealed, his reputation among his patients remains untarnished and they still look forward to him reopening his clinic, which is the opposite of what both Towa and Taku had expected.
• Love Father, Love Son: According to Toono, Taku was in love with Maya, but decided to settle for Towa because he's all that's left of her. However, Taku denies this and says that he had no feelings for her whatsoever.
• Love Makes You Crazy: In his Madness ending, Taku is overcome with despair over the fear that if he keeps worrying about how everyone around him will get hurt, then Towa will never be safe. Therefore, he decides to give up on his goal on saving lives and focus on protecting only Towa and ensuring that no one else will ever be able to harm him. This means isolating Towa from the outside world, which he now allows to be turned into a den of drug addicts and even aids Toono in doing so.
• Married to the Job: The events in the After Story drama CD imply that ever since Taku got his doctor's license, he's been so preoccupied with his work — alongside other matters — that he had never considered seeing someone for years... until he got together with Towa, and even that only happened due to unique circumstances that gave him the opportunity to tell Towa how he truly felt. Though the fact no one ever mentioned at him ever having dated anyone in Shinkoumi, plus his relationship with Towa still not being made public, reaches the point that a patient of his suggests setting him up with someone. Even the clinic staff (aside from Towa) can't help but express curiosity about the possibility of him having a secret love life.
• Meaningful Name:
  • Breaking down the kanji in his complete first name, Takuma (巧真), taku (巧) means "skillful", and ma (真) translates to "true" or "genuine". The former kanji can refer to how he's widely regarded for being a capable and reliable doctor, whereas the latter refers to his earnest and straightforward attitude. But the latter also serves as an Ironic Name when it's later revealed that besides keeping his debt to the Takasato-gumi a secret from others, he also knows the ugly truth about Towa's childhood but refuses to divulge it no matter what.
  • For his family name, mura (村) means "village", and se (瀬) can translate to either "shallows" or "rapids". When put together, it means "village of shallows" or "village of rapids", depending on the interpretation of the latter kanji. The former meaning can describe how Taku is down-to-earth and serves as the responsible and sensible adult who often makes sure that Towa doesn't go too far with his destructive habits. On the other hand, the latter meaning can allude to how he has a lot more on his plate than anyone realizes, evoking the image of one trapped in strong currents from all directions. And to further support this imagery, depending on the situation, Taku's ordeals can potentially stress him out to the point that he's one condemnation away from going completely insane.
• The Medic: He's a doctor and has worked in Shinkoumi Hospital for some time before opening his own clinic seven years prior to the starting events of the visual novel.
• Men Can't Keep House: Towa, Rei and Arimura observe that Taku's desk is always a bit of a mess, and Rei lampshades that Taku can't seem to keep his own things organized despite diligently cleaning up Towa's studio on a set schedule. When Towa gets to visit Taku's apartment for the first time, he notices some cluttered books and messy dishes. This serves as a reflection of Taku's state of mind: he's far better at fixing other's messes than his own.
• Mirror Character: Although their circumstances aren't exactly the same, Taku's backstory still shares a few similarities with Rei's. Both were abandoned by one of their parents when they were still in their teenage years, and their conflicts are a result of their relationship with the other parent. However, Taku deeply cared for his mother and felt guilty that he failed to protect her and prevent her death, whereas Rei is completely at odds with his father, who disapproved of his sexuality, and the two kept their distance for years.
• Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: Not by his choice, but due to his debt with the Takasato-gumi, Taku is tasked not only with treating their injured, but also with falsifying medical documents and implanting webtags in debtors. It gets worse when Toono starts forcing him to manufacture illegal drugs and have them tested on unfortunate victims.
• My God, What Have I Done?: In his route, while patching up Towa's wounds from the latter's "session" with Asakura, Taku is overcome with the fear of not being able to save Towa the next time he gets into another life-threatening situation, causing him to impulsively place a webtag inside Towa while stitching up his wounds. However, he's immediately horrified with himself immediately after. When he tells Towa about it, he doesn't hesitate to admit that regardless of his fears, there's no excuses for what he did and that he shouldn't be forgiven for his actions.
• My Greatest Failure: His mother's death has haunted him for a long time, as he believed that had he looked after her more closely, she would have still been alive.
• Mysterious Past: Downplayed. Unlike with Rei and Fujieda's parents, it's never really explained exactly why Taku's parents divorced. All the player knows is what happened after the divorce.
• Non-Action Guy: Taku is the only one in the main cast who's not much of a fighter, but he won't hesitate to get physical if he's pushed too far and he knows that fighting back is the only option he's left with.
• Office Romance: Besides the fact that he's been Towa's physician as well as (unofficial) guardian for years, yet another personal boundary is broken should he become Towa's love interest, since he's also Towa's superior during work hours at the clinic.
• Older Than He Looks: Taku is already in his late forties, though it would be easy for anyone who didn't know any better to assume that he's only in his thirties. This is even lampshaded during an Interrogation, where Towa comments that Taku doesn't look his age.
• Only Sane Man: Taku is assigned this role in Rei's route, especially after the events involving Mizuno/Kirihara. He serves as the mediator in case a situation is about to blow up, gives Rei advice on the rare occasion that he can, and is the one who urges Towa to check on Rei and see how he's doing.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
  • Rei starts to suspect that something is seriously wrong with Taku when he catches the latter snapping at a patient out of the blue, since Taku isn't known for having poor bedside manners.
  • When Taku has to help relieve Towa's drug-induced libido, he's so frazzled by what just happened that he asks Towa for a cigarette afterwards, only to remember that he had already kicked the habit when Towa reminds him about it.
  • Although Towa suspects that Taku has his own demons to battle with, he gets to see first-hand how said demons are taking a toll on the older man's mind when Taku, after realizing that Towa knows what he's been doing in secret, voices his concerns on what could happen next... then his focus drifts off and he starts muttering in a chillingly quiet voice that he won't let anyone lay a hand on Towa before suddenly holding his shoulders in a deathly tight grip. Recalling the event moments later is even unnerving enough to literally send chills up Towa's spine.

P-Y

• Papa Wolf: Even in the routes where Taku isn't the selected love interest, Taku never fails to express his concern for Towa. Besides the events of his own route, another good example that shows his protective side is a scene in Fujieda's route, where even though he's already horribly bruised and beaten, he still can summon the energy to show a fiercer side when Madarame threatens Towa. But more often than not, Taku ends up getting a bit too overprotective of Towa, to the point that Towa can get annoyed by it even though he understands that Taku's vigilance is from a place of concern.
• Parental Abandonment: Taku's parents divorced when he was still in high school. Based on what he tells Towa in his route, it can be easily inferred that Taku and his father never got in touch even once after that.
• Parental Substitute: While Taku never explicitly states that he sees Towa as a son or anything of the sort, their relationship is still quasi-familial in nature, especially since he knew Towa since he was a child and helped watch over him after Towa's mother died. But if Taku is the chosen love interest, their relationship goes beyond platonic, which leaves Taku conflicted for some time.
• Perma-Stubble: One of Taku's defining features is the stubble on his face. Instead of making him seem like a disheveled mess, however, it only adds to his "rugged but handsome" appeal that makes him popular with the ladies.
• Pining After Protagonist's Parent: Toono claims that Taku held a candle for Maya— a claim that Taku fiercely denies, though he's unable to say any more on the matter. While he's telling the truth and never held a torch for Maya, he does carry a torch for Towa. Then after the two sort out their feelings, Towa asks Taku if he really had feelings for Maya, but Taku denies it again, only saying that he used to admire her at most and he couldn't deny that she was beautiful, but besides that, he harbored no affections for her.
• Properly Paranoid:
  • Even though he tends to get overbearing about the topic, in his route, Taku has good reason to warn Towa to not go out at night, especially with the Takasato-gumi tailing him all around the city. When Towa refuses to listen to him, he ends up getting restrained and drugged by Toono as a threat to Taku.
  • Though both Towa and Eiji are surprised that Taku would do something as extreme as put a webtag in Towa to monitor his movements, Eiji surmises that Taku did it so that he'd know where to go in case Towa suddenly disappears or gets in danger— which Taku also confirms later on, although he's not proud of what he did. Either way, it does help them both on one occasion where Taku manages to arrive just in time to save Towa from a fatal gunshot from Toono, even though both of them end up getting abducted afterwards.
  • Taku believes that Towa is better off not knowing the truth about his past because he fears that Towa will not be able to handle it well, something that he knows is still putting it mildly. His worries do not come without reason, since Towa indeed suffers a massive Freak Out and subsequently breaks down after he remembers everything and would have killed himself if it weren't for Fujieda. Although Taku later admits that regardless of his intentions, it was wrong of him to keep Towa's past a secret.
  • Zigzagged in one case. When Fujieda finds information about a nurse from Shinkoumi Hospital who may be able to give them more information about Maya, Taku is visibly reluctant to get in touch with said nurse, given what happened to Hasegawa after she told the main cast everything she knew about Maya and Euphoria. Even Fujieda acknowledges that Taku's concern is understandable, but after a moment, Taku concedes and offers to approach the nurse anyway. Thankfully, the nurse didn't know anything too damning that would get her in any trouble with the Takasato-gumi, but Taku still sternly advises Fujieda to keep quiet about the exchange so as to not risk getting the nurse in danger.
• Real Men Hate Sugar: According to the character book, Taku dislikes candy and most other sweets, although he likes the honey toast served at Yanagawa Café, and isn't opposed to enjoying some traditional Japanese desserts such as amazake and mochi.
• Real Men Wear Pink: Despite his otherwise gruff demeanor and serious personality, he has a feminine side and is prone to showing vulnerability in certain emotional moments. He's very good at housework as he's the one who takes care of Towa's laundry even regularly cleaning Towa's studio and he can also cook his own meals if need be.
• Recovered Addict: Taku used to smoke but had quit for some time, and is so accustomed to Towa smoking around him that he is no longer tempted to pick up the habit of taking a drag himself.
• Riches to Rags: In his route, Taku mentions that he and his mother encountered several money troubles after his parents divorced, and Toono confirmed that prior to said divorce, Taku was fairly well-off. While Taku seems to be more or less financially stable at present, he actually owes a huge amount of money to the Takasato-gumi.
• Secret-Keeper: It's revealed in his, Madarame and Fujieda's routes that Taku knows a lot more about the grimmer details of Towa's past than initially assumed, but he makes sure to never give even a hint to Towa about anything involving what his childhood was really like. However, Taku has sympathetic reasons for keeping Towa's past in the dark, given just how much trauma Towa had suffered because of his mother.
• Shipper on Deck: Implied in Rei's route. Some time after Rei's final Moneymatch, Taku leaves Towa and Rei alone in the medical ward, remarking in a playful tone that they have much to talk about— hinting that Taku had taken notice of their Relationship Upgrade and is implicitly showing his support.
• Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: Taku has dark reddish-brown hair and hazel green eyes, and is one of the main characters of Slow Damage.
• Spanner in the Works: By seeing to it that Towa doesn't remember what his past was really like, Taku ended up impeding Maya's plans for her son for years, even though neither he nor Towa ever realize it. And if Fujieda's route isn't taken, Taku's interference eventually culminates in her plans ultimately going nowhere.
• Stalker with a Crush: Played with. After Towa's "euphoric session" with Asakura, Taku puts a webtag in Towa to keep track of his whereabouts just in case he gets thrown into danger again. That being said, the act was done out of fear and paranoia, not of obsession.
• Stronger Than They Look: Taku's not physically frail by any means, but he's not inclined to engaging in combat either, unlike Rei, Madarame or even Fujieda. But near the climax of his route, in spite of a bad gunshot injury on his chest, Towa is surprised at how much strength Taku shows when the older man pins him down in an attempt to kill him. Then in his Euphoria ending, even after getting yet another shot on his shoulder, Taku still manages to tackle Toono during a confrontation.
• Super Doc: A justified case; Taku has a doctor's license, specializes in four different medical fields (internal medicine, surgery, gastroenterology and dermatology), and also has a masters' degree in pharmaceutical science. All of these is what allows him to be more than qualified as Towa's sole physician in spite of the latter's many ailments, which would normally get him recommended to multiple doctors.
• Team Dad: He tries to keep Towa's behavior in check, helps in cleaning the latter's room as well as doing his laundry, is very overprotective and caring, and disapproves of Towa's more questionable hobbies.
• Technologically Blind Elders: Played with. Taku can use a phone just fine and occasionally engages in a group chat with both Towa and Rei, albeit mainly to inform them if there's any emergency, which indicates that he's the type of person who uses technology only when necessary and not as a pastime. It's also revealed that his experience with implanting webtags in debtors eventually had him learn how to track one himself, causing this trope to be fully subverted.
• Trademark Favorite Food: The artbook reveals that Taku likes horsemeat sushi and boiled food.
• Tragic Dropout: Almost. While Taku managed to graduate and earn his doctor's license, his mother's death took a huge toll on his emotional well-being, causing him to act out in all kinds of ways when he was still studying in university. This resulted in him having to repeat one year in medical school.
• Violently Protective Girlfriend: Gender-inverted. Among the main cast, Taku takes the cake when it comes to the trope. He's already protective of Towa by default, often worrying about the latter's health and telling the younger man to watch himself. But in certain circumstances and with specific provocations, said protectiveness can make Taku resort to perturbing extremes to ensure Towa's safety, as shown best in his Madness ending.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Taku is willing to cross a line or two to prevent Towa from recovering his memories, such as burning any mail that contains relics of Towa's past. Towa is not happy when he finds out about this, but after he unveils enough truths about his childhood and learns that Taku is struggling with secrets of his own, Towa begins to understand that even if what Taku did wasn't right, he genuinely did what he thought was in Towa's best interests.
• Workaholic: Taku is a doctor, so working long hours throughout the week is only to be expected. He also remarks often about how busy he can be, and this is even without taking the extra work he does for the Takasato-gumi into account.
• Yandere: Between all of Towa's love interests, Taku is the only one who openly shows a jealous streak that sometimes manifests in disturbing ways if he gets distressed enough. In his route, there's an unnerving moment where he mutters to himself about keeping Towa somewhere where no one else can get to him, and later on, he attacks Towa with a scalpel in a misguided attempt to spare Towa from any further torment Toono may inflict on him. In his Madness ending, the trope is taken to its logical conclusion when Taku confines Towa in a basement and keeps him locked up out of the belief that it's the only way Towa will ever be safe.
  Taku: I'll never let anyone kill you... I'll never let anyone take you away. I won't let them take you from me... Never...

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