Yo Utsurogi

"I said I won't, that means I'll never, ever eat it!"

- Yo Utsurogi

Yo Utsurogi is a primary ally featured in Gleanings of Paradise, a short story that is part of the Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan: Short Story Collection. She is the daughter of Toshiya Utsurogi and has a wheat allergy.

She accompanies her father and Rohan Kishibe to a village where her father's best friend from university cultivates a legendary wheat called the Gleanings of Paradise, which could apparently cure Yo's allergy.

Appearance
Yo is a young girl who Rohan thinks appears to be only five years old. She is extremely thin, and her head seems swollen due to her stubbornly curled, frizzy hair.

Rohan later gives her his neck gaiter for her to wear to shield her from the cold weather.

Personality
Yo is a shy, sweet girl who always accompanies her father to work and stays calm. She is a picky eater due to her allergy to wheat as she fears that something would happen to her. She analyzes her food even after her father claims it's safe to eat, takes only one bite, and then passes the rest off to him. Despite her thin constitution, she has the energy to dutifully keep up with Rohan when they are hiking up the mountain.

Yo demonstrates her love for her father through her actions. She tugs on Rohan's sleeve to get him to slow down when Utsurogi struggles to walk, and desperately tries to get him to turn back to normal after he transforms into a bull hybrid, even going as far as attempting to eat the wheat porridge he vomited out, before Utsurogi regains his free will and manages to stop her.

She is also clever, as she uses her small and slim body to her advantage. When she and Rohan are trying to leave the hut with guards standing nearby outside, Yo opens the door very lightly and slips her hand through to throw pieces of leftover bread made from the Gleanings of Paradise. This lures the villagers away from the hut, allowing her and Rohan to escape.

After starting an allergy treatment, Yo starts eating more meals, finding the thrill in eating just like her father.

Background
At some point, Yo develops a wheat allergy. Her parents get divorced because her mother is unable to handle the burden of managing Yo's allergy. Her father's best friend from university, Shozo Yaginuma, tries genetically altering wheat in hopes of creating a new type that would help Yo.

Subsequently, Yaginuma quit his job and founded a village where he became the chief to grow the Gleanings of Paradise, believing it could be the solution to Yo's problem. He later invites Utsurogi and Yo to his village to try the wheat he cultivated. Upon hearing about Rohan Kishibe from Utsurogi, Yaginuma decided to include him in their gathering.

Meeting Rohan
Utsurogi reserves a space at a newly-established French diner in Morioh, with Yo accompanying him. Curious, Rohan inquires about the young girl's identity, leading Utsurogi to introduce his daughter. He assures Rohan of her composed demeanor while they're discussing work. Utsurogi meticulously examines the served dishes before offering any to Yo. However, Yo would only take a small bite and hand the remainder to him. Observing this, Rohan comments on her peculiar eating habits, claiming she's ruining his appetite since it was as if she thought the food was poisoned. This prompts Utsurogi to reveal Yo's wheat allergy. Rohan feels a bit embarrassed about his reaction and silently finishes his meal.

The conversation then shifts to Yaginuma's village and the transformative properties of the Gleanings of Paradise, piquing Rohan's interest. Intrigued, Rohan decides to accompany the duo to the village.

Village Expedition
The trio of Rohan, Utsurogi, and Yo embark on a lengthy journey to the village, nestled atop a mountainous region in Kanto. The challenging terrain requires them to take multiple breaks, with Yo often sharing her scarcely touched food with her father. Whenever Utsurogi appeared exhausted, Yo would alert Rohan by tugging on his sleeve. Upon their evening arrival, a heartwarming reunion ensues between Yaginuma and Utsurogi, with Yo also happy to see him. Inside the village, Rohan's queries about the wheat are addressed by Yaginuma, who then offers them a sample of the freshly milled Gleanings of Paradise.

Father's Transformation
At Yaginuma's residence, the trio is presented with bread made from the freshly milled wheat. While Yo refrains, Utsurogi finds it irresistibly delicious. As he indulges, he begins exhibiting cow-like behaviors. Concerned for Yo's safety, Utsurogi seeks Yaginuma's assurance about the wheat's effects on her. Although Yaginuma previously assured Utsurogi that Yo could eat the wheat to cure her allergy, a tense moment arises when Yaginuma contradicts himself and doesn't allow her to consume the bread.

Yo's father and Yaginuma have a heated exchange, during which Yaginuma seems to momentarily lose himself. He is about to reveal something, but takes a loaf of bread from Utsurogi and eats it, coming back to his senses. He reassures Yo, promising her that she will indeed be safe eating the Gleanings of Paradise, which he plans to give her after the harvest on the following day.

The following day, as the group prepares a wheat porridge, Yo's apprehension becomes evident, as she denies wanting to eat the bread. Her father, seemingly influenced by the wheat, attempts to feed her forcibly. Rohan intervenes by tossing away the bowl from Yo's hand and wedging himself between Yo and Utsurogi to protect her, suspecting that the wheat might be altering the personalities of those who consume it. As Utsurogi's behavior becomes increasingly erratic such as licking porridge off the ground like a cow, Rohan shields Yo, who clings to him in fear. Rohan's attempt to decipher Yaginuma's intentions with Heaven's Door reveals no malice. Utsurogi continuously murmurs about the wheat's taste as he retreats with Yo back to the hut.

Rohan and Yo are awakened by a strong animal musk that fills their hut in the middle of the night. They notice villagers standing guard outside, so Yo uses her thin constitution to her advantage, slipping her arm through a narrow crack in the door and throwing pieces of bread into the faraway grass to lure the villagers away. She and Rohan manage to escape the hut thanks to her plan and they eventually find a hidden stable on the edge of the settlement. Inside, they discover Utsurogi, who has been transformed into a monstrous bull-like creature. They sneak inside after Yaginuma leaves the stable. Yo runs to her father, but the giant cow hybrid nearly crushes her with his weight. Rohan uses Heaven's Door to force Utsurogi to get away from Yo, but fails to transform him back to normal due to the wheat's power. Rohan realizes from this, and from how Yaginuma was acting earlier, that Yaginuma appears to be using the wheat to turn humans into livestock-like slaves to cultivate more of the crop. Suddenly, Yaginuma and all of the other villagers holding torches surround the stable, trapping Rohan and Yo.

Fleeing the Cursed Fields
Yaginuma orders the transformed Utsurogi to seize Rohan and Yo. He manages to grab Yo, and carries her toward Yaginuma. Yaginuma reveals that he wants Rohan to use his manga to extol the virtues of the Gleanings of Paradise wheat. Yaginuma believes that once Rohan consumes the wheat, he will be compelled to promote it willingly. Suddenly, Yaginuma slaps Utsurogi on his back, making him vomit out a porridge of the Gleanings of Paradise. Yaginuma demands that Rohan should eat it, so Utsurogi lets go of Yo to grab Rohan instead. Feeling nauseous that they were about to force him to eat such a thing, Rohan tries using Heaven's Door again even though he knows it wouldn't help. However, Yo comes between them and desperate to save her father from his transformed state, attempts to eat the wheat herself while crying. Utsurogi, in a fleeting moment of paternal instinct, stops her by scooping up the wheat and consuming it himself. He sends Yaginuma flying with one hit, then turns around and violently vomits all of the Gleanings of Paradise he ate. After expelling all the wheat from his body, he reverts to a slightly more human-like form, albeit with horns.

Rohan calls Utsurogi toward him and Yo, asking him to protect Yo while Rohan looks for a path. By using Heaven's Door on Yaginuma again, Rohan learns that it isn't Yaginuma who's controlling the village, but the wheat itself. The situation becomes increasingly dire as the villagers, under the malevolent influence of the wheat, start to converge on Rohan, Yo, and Utsurogi. Recognizing the immediate threat, Rohan determines that their best strategy is to retreat and devise a plan later. Utsurogi, with Yo safely in his arms, uses his formidable strength to bulldoze through the encircling villagers, creating a path for their escape. Rohan follows closely behind, and together, they dash into the safety of the night, evading the clutches of the wheat-controlled villagers.

Rohan, Yo, and Utsurogi find themselves at the edge of a cliff, surrounded by the wheat fields of the Gleanings of Paradise. As they stand amidst the wheat, Rohan reassures Yo that the wheat itself is harmless unless consumed. As they're surrounded by Yaginuma and the villagers again, Rohan uses Heaven's Door on them to force them into burning the fields of wheat with their torches. The villagers, torn between their duty to the wheat and Rohan's command, scramble to extinguish the flames. This diversion allows Rohan, Yo, and Utsurogi to slip past Yaginuma and the villagers, making a daring descent down the mountain.

Aftermath
Yo and her father are placed in a safe house arranged by Rohan, and Utsurogi makes a full recovery from his transformation after being provided treatment.

A month after the incident, Rohan meets with Yo and her father at the same French restaurant in Morioh. As they dine, Utsurogi indulges in a lavish meal, while Rohan and Yo discuss the events of the past month. Utsurogi's memory of the events was vague, but Yo, who hadn't consumed the wheat, remembers everything. Rohan smiles when seeing Yo eat her food happily, causing Utsurogi to wonder when Rohan got so close to his daughter. Utsurogi tells Rohan that he spoke with an allergy specialist and started a treatment where Yo eats food she's allergic to in small amounts in order to desensitize her body. The chef then presents them with a basket of freshly baked bread made from a new variety of wheat called the Gleanings of Paradise. Not understanding the situation, Yo reaches out to try the bread, but both men instinctively stop her, leading to a humorous back-and-forth about who should taste it first.