Ōgai Mori/Relationships

Port Mafia=


 * -|Armed Detective Agency=


 * -|The Guild=


 * -|Rats in the House of the Dead=


 * -|Special Division for Unusual Powers=


 * -|Others=

Elise
As the manifestation of his ability, Mori is very fond of Elise and has kept her alongside him since the Great War. Following the war, Mori still had Elise in his underground clinic near him at all times, though he grows considerably fawning towards her over time. For instance, one of his typical requests for her was to have her try on some dresses, even repetitively pleading her to do so given her constant refusal. In general, Mori is ardently attached to Elise and remarks that he would never grow tired of her feisty temperament.

Over the duo's shared lengthy history, Mori and Elise usually banter with each other over various and typically petty topics given Elise's "angry and cranky" attitude, a feat Mori himself apparently set up himself as his ability. For example, Mori once asked her not to eat too much sweets, reasoning that it is unhealthy, though Elise in turn promised to wear the "frilly dress" he bought, making Mori yield and even offer her seconds for dessert. Amidst Elise's brief insults, Mori merely takes it moderately or even ignores some of them.

In public, Mori poses as an ordinary doctor with Elise as his companion, albeit sometimes posing as his daughter. He usually buys her several clothes on a single trip, once reaching at least 15 clothing stores to buy from. Mori also grew desperately concerned with Elise's apparent disappearance along the streets during the Guild's arrival in Yokohama, hence staying behind in Lucy Maud Montgomery's dimension with the thought that Elise might have been captured inside. Nevertheless, Mori retains his doting stubbornness towards Elise and her defiant attitude.

On another note, Mori apparently does not mind voicing out his thoughts and heading operations in Elise's midst, making her one of the few people in the Port Mafia privy to his Mafia-related endeavors and schemes. Moreover, Mori's primary defense and support can be considered to be Elise, being the individual always close to him. As such, Mori can activate her at will anytime and configure her into a combatant, either as his main or assistive fighter. In dire situations, he can also have her save him almost instantaneously and seemingly without any spoken instruction.

Kōyō Ozaki
"Kōyō-kun, you're strong enough…… If you wanted to leave the Mafia, no one could ever pursue you now, could they?"

- Mori appraises Kōyō's prowess

Kōyō and Mori appear to be in good terms as fellow Mafia echelons. They seem to be occasionally with each other's company, once amidst the falling cherry blossom petals overlooking a distant pavilion. Moreover, Mori considers Kōyō to be a powerful ability user and skillful individual, confident that she could have easily escaped from the Armed Detective Agency's captivity or even leave the Mafia without too much struggle given her powers, though Kōyō assures him that she holds a grudge towards his predecessor and now prefers helping him.

Mori's ideas sometimes clash with Kōyō's, particularly regarding Mafia executive Ace. Kōyō personally disdained the former gambler and did not completely trust him, which Mori considered, albeit proceeding with his own agenda of letting Ace handle Fyodor Dostoevsky rather than Kōyō's torture squad.

During Mori's virus affliction, he was saved by Kōyō from Jun'ichirō Tanizaki's assassination attempt, saying that she does not want the Mafia to return to its previous state without Mori's leadership.

Chūya Nakahara
"The leader of an organization is someone who acts as both its king and its servant. To protect the group, they gladly put themselves through all manner of filth and tribulation. They hone their subordinates and place them where they are best suited. Otherwise, if deemed necessary, they discard them. They must take on any act of barbarism without hesitation. That is a leader."

- Mori advises Chūya about leadership

Mori first met Chūya during the latter's time with the Sheep in the midst of the previous Mafia boss' seeming revival. Mori was unfazed towards Chūya's blackmails and knowledge of Mori's rumored assassination of the previous boss; he even admitted straightforwardly to Chūya that he indeed killed the boss himself. Nonetheless, Mori acknowledged Chūya's power and recognized that the latter knew about Arahabaki, hence partnering him with the young Osamu Dazai in their initial investigations.

Deep down, Mori apparently wished to test whether Sōseki Natsume's maxim that "only a diamond can polish another diamond" applied to the two adolescents, similar to what was taught to him and Yukichi Fukuzawa. Furthermore, Mori advised Chūya on the complex essence of leadership from his perspective, which made Chūya realize what he lacked in leading the Sheep. Upon earning Chūya's loyalty, Mori shortly welcomed him to the Mafia, handing him Randō's hat as a tradition in the organization.

Eventually, upon Chūya's rise as a Mafia executive, Mori entrusts him with various responsibilities and once assigned him alone to be his personal envoy to deal with the Agency during the Guild war, asserting that he has "more than firepower to smash the Detective Agency". In other circumstances, Mori would occasionally be updated by Chūya on intimate Mafia details, such as their casualties or losses, and would visit them personally to pay their respects when possible.

Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
"He deserves praise, I'd say. Besides, Akutagawa-kun has always been that way. Going rogue, destroying everything in his path, and contributing the most in the end. One could say he has a knack for it. There's no need to punish him as long as he keeps succeeding."

- Mori praises Akutagawa among his Mafia executives

Despite having rare interactions, Mori as the boss recognizes the valuable efforts of Akutagawa within the Mafia, having acknowledged his talents and considerable violent streak that outclasses almost anyone in the organization. Knowing that Akutagawa often operates alone, Mori sometimes implicitly dispatches Akutagawa in solo operations, including possibly bombing a police station; engaging Nathaniel Hawthorne and Margaret Mitchell aboard S.S. Zelda, selecting him as the "kid who's aching the most to see some action"; and tracking down the masked assassin.

Moreover, as Mori firmly believes that efforts are comparably important than results, he dismisses the thoughts of his fellow Mafia higher-ups by the end of the Guild war regarding punishing Akutagawa for violating the erstwhile ceasefire agreement with the Agency, reasoning that he was able to succeed in the end anyway.

However, Akutagawa is not exempt from Mori's logical considerations, having once deemed him a liability in the face of a revenge plot on him by Karma Transit remnants' hired mercenaries. As such, Mori decidedly turned a blind eye on the then-incapacitated Akutagawa for the sake of preventing an all-out turf war, just as how Higuchi surmised.

Ryūrō Hirotsu
Mori has presumably known Hirotsu ever since the previous boss's time, considering him a veteran in the Mafia. The two seem to hold mutual respect towards each other, though Mori once briefly displayed a hint of ambiguous hostility towards Hirotsu's vague remarks pertaining to him killing his predecessor as Dazai exposed. Nonetheless, Hirotsu clearly expressed his thoughts to Mori, believing that Dazai back then also understood Mori's rationale for disposing the previous boss.

Arthur Rimbaud
"Believe it or not, he's a secondary executive and an excellent ability user."

- Mori introduces Randō to Chūya

In his early stages as Mafia boss, Mori regards Randō as an excellent ability user who was part of the Mafia's higher-ups. He occasionally asked about Randō's condition, once noticing how he looked "colder than usual", knowing that Randō was not physically sick or had no problems in his nervous system based on examinations and merely hated the cold. Nevertheless, despite after learning of his past operations as Arthur Rimbaud, Mori did not discard his belongings and kept some of his researches, investigations, and records, even handing out his hat to Chūya as customary of Mafia recruitments.

Sakunosuke Oda
Mori initially displayed subtle commendation towards Oda's infamous works as a low-ranking mafioso and claimed that the Mafia was full of people "only good at shooting, punching, and making threats", hence deeming him an asset to the Mafia. As such, he assigned Oda to find the missing Mafia informant Ango Sakaguchi, which Oda himself thought to fit him aptly as a mere "errand boy". He also showed knowledge of Oda's friendship with Dazai and curiosity towards Oda's no-kill policy, albeit never receiving the latter's reason behind it.

It may be possible, however, that Mori set up such events for Oda since the beginning, more so given the fact that Mori was instrumental in helping Mimic enter the country illegally all in pursuit of obtaining a Skilled Business Permit in his elaborate plot. In the middle of the war against them, Mori was shown to have utilized Oda and his ability as his trump card in defeating Mimic, even noting to Dazai that Oda risking his life to eliminate Mimic was a "win-win situation" for the Mafia alongside successfully acquiring a Skilled Business Permit from the Special Division for Unusual Powers, showcasing Mori's logic at play that sacrificed Oda and many others along the process for the sake of the Mafia.

Port Mafia's Previous Boss
"The boss has died a pitiful death due to illness. And in his will, he named me the next boss."

- Mori sets his story straight on how his predecessor died

Following the Great War, Mori rose in the Mafia's ranks as the Mafia boss's, during which the Mafia boss had waged violence and chaos throughout Yokohama. About three years later, as the boss's health gradually declined and his orders grew unsettled, rudderless, and reckless, the boss asked Mori to relay his orders to kill anyone who disobeys the Mafia. Accepting his order, Mori then slashed the boss's neck and killed him. Choosing Dazai as his witness, Mori set the story straight that the boss died of illness and named him as the next boss.

In his unstable position as the new Mafia leader, Mori was threatened by the late boss's alleged revival, wary that the conspiracy of assassination would be exposed and that a third of the Mafia, which included the previous boss' supports, would turn against him. In either case, Mori feared that the Mafia would be finished despite whatever outcome would occur, hence sending in Dazai and Chūya to get to the bottom of the case as soon as possible.

Yukichi Fukuzawa
"Such a divine quickdraw… I couldn't even see the exposed blade! That's the 'Silver Wolf' for you. Once the government's greatest swordsman assassin…"

- Mori praises Fukuzawa's combat prowess

Mori first met Fukuzawa shortly following the Great War about 12 years ago, particularly when he ran an underground clinic. With Fukuzawa assigned by Natsume on bodyguard duty, Mori assured Fukuzawa that the clinic was a neutral zone. Upon being targeted as an underground data broker who attracted foreign outlaws, Mori soon disposed of his captors and indicated knowledge towards Fukuzawa's aptitude for combat, similar to himself. After he mentioned the idea of the Tripartite Framework to Fukuzawa, Mori and the latter stormed the outlaws' base to retaliate. In the years they rarely fought together, Mori and Fukuzawa always emerged victorious.

Because of this partnership, Mori became aware and familiar with Fukuzawa's capabilities and habits, including his skillful swordsmanship and fondness towards cats, similar to how Fukuzawa grew to know Mori's preferred use of his scalpels in battle and inclination to young girls. Mori also knew that Fukuzawa is more adept physical-wise compared to him, a trait his tactical mind would later use to his advantage in battle to prematurely defeat Fukuzawa.

By the time Mori became the then Mafia boss' retainer physician after the war, he and Fukuzawa fought over custody of the young Akiko Yosano, whose healing ability Mori exploited for his "Immortal Regiment" scheme primarily during the war that spiraled Yosano into psychological trauma. While Fukuzawa deemed his strategy to be heartless, Mori refuted his claims for the sake of logic in overthrowing the Mafia boss—who had been spreading violence and chaos throughout Yokohama—with another "Immortal Regiment", all for the purpose of upholding the Tripartite Framework. This disagreement then marked the end of Mori's and Fukuzawa's alliance.

As Mori and Fukuzawa parted ways, the two eventually became leaders of their respective organizations, which emerged in rivalry due to their opposing natures of operations. However, despite their distinct and clashing manners of protecting Yokohama, Mori and Fukuzawa would occasionally strike alliances when utterly necessary, notably during the Guild war, to continue preserving the peace and order of the city.

Another instance is fending off against their respective ability phantoms that separated from them per Tatsuhiko Shibusawa's fog; as they each could not defeat their own ability, the two instinctively switched opponents to win over each other's abilities, with both of them deeming it as the only optimal solution to their conundrum.

In addition, Mori would accept Fukuzawa's requests, particularly during the Agency's frameup by the Decay of the Angel as terrorists, albeit without seeking a valid reciprocation. Mori thus asked Fukuzawa to have one of his agents transfer to the Mafia, subtly targeting Yosano for the exchange. This further extends to the point of the vampire infection outbreak, in which Mori now entrusts matters in the Agency's hands, knowing that their strategy would be the most vital against their shared enemy.

Osamu Dazai
"Till next time, Dazai-kun… Your invite back to Mafia leadership remains on the table."

- Mori keeps Dazai's executive position vacant

Mori and Dazai met under vague circumstances, though they would eventually become "collaborators" following Mori's murder of the previous Mafia boss and Dazai being selected by Mori as witness to the boss's "death". Mori had then chosen Dazai as his witness as the optimal solution, until the young man told him of his error: deviating from Mori's initial strategy that the suicidal Dazai would die early on, Dazai has not died since then, hence not yet completing Mori's plan. As a result, Dazai reminded Mori of the latter himself.

Nonetheless, Mori utilized the miscalculation of choosing Dazai as his accomplice to another purpose, forming an ambiguous relationship with Dazai. Despite Dazai not being affiliated with or part of the Mafia, Mori ordered him to investigate the alleged reappearance of the previous Mafia boss he killed, to the extent of handing him a Silver Oracle for the matter. Along the process, Dazai accepted Mafia membership, much to Mori's delight; he then gave Dazai an entire unit and a job.

For his entrance in the Mafia, Mori gave Dazai a black coat and believed that Dazai would eventually rise up to the rank of executive in no time. Mori also presumably taught Dazai various theories such as the raw meat theory and strategies from the likes of Schelling, Nash, and Kissinger.

With their rapport was far from amicable, their relationship further plummeted following Mori's elaborate scheme of obtaining a Skilled Business Permit that ultimately led to the sacrificial demise of Sakunosuke Oda, Dazai's friend. Mori firmly tried to persuade Dazai that his actions were all for the sake of the Mafia, though these fell to deaf ears and Dazai's eventual defection from the Mafia. With the loss of a competent member, Mori asserted that things would turn boring.

Whenever he could, Mori would consistently invite Dazai back to the Mafia as executive, despite most likely being turned down. Mori once even thought that, had Dazai been his right-hand man during the Guild war, they would have long concluded the incident and likely defeated their enemy swiftly. Since then, Mori has always left Dazai's spot in the executive position vacant.

Akiko Yosano
"And now, special abilities are changing the face of war. Your role is to make the military understand that change. So do it. If you don't, our country will be destroyed."

- Mori forces Yosano to continue using her healing ability in the war

Mori drafted the 11-year-old Yosano towards the end of the Great War for his intention of creating an "Immortal Regiment", which would use her ability to indefinitely heal the soldiers to battle. Though initially successful, the soldiers gradually developed trauma due to near-death experiences only to be returned to the front lines repeatedly, an event that drove Yosano to refuse Mori's orders from further healing soldiers upon grasping the horrors of the situation.

Mori explained how Yosano's ability was pivotal to changing the tides of the war to their advantage, but Yosano remained in her refusal to follow his orders. Hence, Mori shot Yosano's acquainted soldier to force her to heal him, from then on making things traumatic for and getting Yosano blamed by the soldiers for prolonging the war.

At some point after the war, Mori found Yosano in an isolation facility and attempted to take her under his custody once more to revive a new "Immortal Regiment" in overthrowing the erstwhile violence-mongering Mafia boss. However, Fukuzawa and newly-recruited Ranpo Edogawa of the Armed Detective Agency intercepted his plan, ultimately losing his opportunity to take in Yosano. His goals in taking Yosano into the Mafia, however, remained, as he admitted having arranged to have her potentially transfer to the Mafia as part of a deal with Fukuzawa, albeit falsifying statements to gain the upper hand.

Nevertheless, Mori recognizes how Yosano and the Agency members are willing to proceed with a deal to help save the Agency despite its likelihood of being a trap and against his own instructions, hence ordering the Black Lizard to perform the necessary arrangements and actions to protect her and the Agency at all costs.

Atsushi Nakajima
"Boy, no matter what the stakes are, there's always a logical best solution. The more you feel yourself falling into a confused panic, the more important it is not to forget that."

- Mori advises Atsushi, unaware of his status as Mafia boss

Mori ordered the bounty capture on Atsushi, the rumored man-tiger, as initially negotiated with the Guild, the Order of the Clock Tower, and the Rats in the House of the Dead. Their first physical encounter, however, would only be in Lucy's onslaught in her dimension, where Mori occasionally advised Atsushi on how to defeat her using strategy and advice. Mori also later imparted a parting advice to Atsushi after they successfully forced Lucy to deactivate her ability, specifically that an optimal solution is always at bay no matter what.

Ango Sakaguchi
"Personally, I'm actually extremely grateful to you, Ango. You're talented, and you supported me a great deal with my work, regardless of the fact that it was part of your job as an undercover agent. Additionally, thanks to your mediation, I was able to have this meeting with the Special Division for Unusual Powers. I almost want to embrace you and send you a bouquet of flowers."

- Mori thanks and commends Ango

At some point leading to the Dragon's Head Conflict, Mori was aware of Ango collecting and recording data of Mafia casualties, initially being annoyed though later growing to realize the "valuable source of information" that he soon came to enjoy reading. Prior or after these events, Mori apparently gained knowledge of Ango's undercover job as a Special Division agent who infiltrated the Mafia, though he used this to further his goals in acquiring a Skilled Business Permit.

As such, Mori arranged for Ango to infiltrate Mimic, whose illegal entry to Japan Mori helped facilitate, and essentially act as a triple agent for his three affiliations. Eventually, upon Ango's abduction, Mori displayed "concern" over Ango's well-being as Mafia informant, thereby assigning Oda to do the job. As Ango admitted and confirmed to Oda later on, Mori practically knew "almost everything" about his Mimic infiltration.

Subsequently, Mori was able to secure a clandestine and crucial meeting with Special Division chief Santōka Taneda, which he owed to Ango's connection. Mori then thanked Ango for his help leading to the event that would ultimately get him to obtain the Skilled Business Permit, jesting that he even wished to "embrace Ango and send him a bouquet of flowers".

Santōka Taneda
"Feigning concern for the higher-ups at the Home Affairs Ministry to boost your reputation? Government officials always seem to have something to worry about, don't they, Chief Taneda?"

- Mori meets with Taneda

Naturally, Mori and Taneda exchanged hostile pleasantries with each other during their secret meeting during the Mimic incident in Yokohama. At first asking the chief where to buy some good ice cream for Elise, Mori soon quipped how Taneda had been displaying feigned concern for the Home Affairs Ministry higher-ups to "boost his reputation", to which Taneda replied with identically sardonic aversion.

Sōseki Natsume
"'Only a diamond can polish another diamond', huh? Master Natsume, those words that you imparted to both me and Fukuzawa—I'm going to find out for certain if you were right or not."

- Mori recalls Natsume's teaching

At least 12 years ago prior the events of the Cannibalism operation, Mori was presumably under the tutelage of Natsume, who later assigned Fukuzawa to be Mori's bodyguard at one point after the war. During such time, Mori seemingly operated under Natsume's orders and, for instance, figured out the hideout of an illegal outlaw group in the city to retaliate against with Fukuzawa. Mori also supported Natsume's Tripartite Framework, which Fukuzawa would eventually learn from Mori.

At some point, Mori and Fukuzawa were told by Natsume that "Only a diamond can polish another diamond", an aphorism Mori came to remember in his adulthood and whose certainty he apparently wished to test with Dazai and Chūya in the Mafia.

Natsume would later resurface during his two disciples' virus affliction to reassure his faith in their organizations, confident that Mori and Fukuzawa would flush out their common enemy rather than fight each other to the death. Like Fukuzawa, Mori was initially surprised with their mentor's sudden arrival, though he soon accepted Natsume's challenge to launch a collaborative counterattack on their mutual opponent.