Naoya Ushio


 * This article contains major plot spoilers from the manga that have not been revealed in the anime. Proceed at your own risk.

Naoya Ushio (牛尾 直也) was a member of C Squad in the MPD Public Safety Division 5. He is also a double agent working for the CCC, in which he goes under the code name 05 (Zero Five (ゼロゴ)).

He joined the organization because he sympathized with the devils he interacted with at work. He saw how they suffered from their bloodlust, and, feeling sorry for them, wished to release them from their cursed fate.

History
During his school days, Ushio was the subject of bullying from his classmates, a group dubbed as the "Ishikura clique" because he had defended another bullied boy named Toru Takahashi. Bullying was, as Ushio saw it, a mundane vicious circle that should and can be broken. However, since the bullying they had to withstand wasn't physical, Ushio had his own plans on how to break the cycle.

One day, Ushio stole an iron and burned his face, since he wanted to frame his bullies for his injuries. Thereafter, he tried to burn Takahashi face too, but with the boy resisting, Ushio ended up burning him around the eyes. At that time, Ishikura's clique witnessed the whole ordeal, and although Ushio couldn't pin the crime on them, they were creeped out by the whole thing and the bullying stopped. Since then, people around Ushio grew disgusted and scared of him, and Takahashi, as well, grew to despise Ushio. However, since the bullying stopped, Ushio thought he had succeeded in breaking the cycle of hatred in his head.

Appearance
Ushio is a young man of average build and below average height, noted by others to be handsome. His most distinctive feature is a huge burn mark on his left cheek, which is pinkish in color. He has short, wavy dark brown hair with bangs framing his face, and particularly slanted light brown eyes.

Personality
Ushio was initially seen to be considerate and helpful to others. When first meeting Tsukasa after she was rescued from a hostage situation, he was calm and compassionate toward her, casually offering her something to drink in order to make her feel more comfortable. However, this turns sour, as his charming tactics were a form of manipulation, a ruse to lure her into a trap. Ushio is also the type to focus on the superficial; he assesses the people around him and then picks the ones he wants to get close with.

He is revealed to be both blunt and aggressive when attempting to gather useful information, only using kindness if it furthers his own goals. He isn't one to beat around the bush when doing his job, and he prefers to face things head-on. This allows him to handle situations in a serious, level-headed manner as both a police officer and a spy for the CCC. When working directly for the CCC, he is shown to be incredibly devoted to the organization, and committed to doing whatever is necessary in order to keep it as discreet as possible. To this end, he is often cruel, and he has no qualms against killing people who stand in his way.

Ushio is a complex individual with strong prejudices and his sense of justice is not as bright as it appears to himself. He hates the idea of excluding people and groups, describing it as a vicious cycle that must be broken. Although he has good intentions behind his actions, he is not above using violence and hatred to achieve his goals. This applies with regard to devils, as although Ushio likes and sympathizes with them, he views the co-existence between humans and devils as impossible. For this reason, he joined the CCC with the hope of exterminating devils from existence, thus releasing them from the pain and suffering they face from not being human. Additionally, when he burned his own face and his friend Takahashi's face and therefore freed them both from the bullying, but in turn broke his friendship with Takashi and destroyed his reputations, he saw this as a win-win situation.

Story
Naoya Ushio was one of the earliest CCC members and was listed as a director of a company with no activity, most likely only created to help cover for the CCC.

When Nanako Tenjo had run away, being a criminal since openly leaving the CCC and holding Tsukasa hostage, she thought that it was suspicious that they hadn't heard anything over the police radios. She warns Tsukasa about Public Safety Officer Naoya Ushio as he's another member of the CCC, Zero Five. Then, Nanako and Kenichi Yoshii tie her up on the bed to make it look like she was kept hostage instead of involved with them. A few officers arrived at the Mino Hotel where Tsukasa was held hostage. Ushio texts Zero Six the location and by a stroke of luck it is the hotel opposite from his room. Ushio immediately tried to separate from his partner with Tsukasa. He then suggested going back to the lobby separately and proceeded to take Tsukasa to the elevator alone. Ushio could easily tell by Tsukasa's expression that she knew who he was, a CCC spy who had infiltrated the police department. Unable to say anything, Tsukasa used the opportunity when the elevator stopped at a floor to sneak her hand into her pocket and grab the stun gun, where she tazed him in the inner thigh.

When Tsukasa escaped, Ushio later caught that a guest as he was leaving and asked for his room key, suspecting that Tsukasa snuck into the room. Bursting the door open and finding Tsukasa there, Ushio pointed his gun at Tsukasa. He explained that he needed to kill her because she found out that he's a CCC - Chosen Civil Community spy. He didn't want to risk his job as a police officer or his identity as a member of a terrorist group. Ushio then explained that he joined the group because he pities devils like his devil squad-mates who get looked at like they're monsters by the people they save, such as Yusuke Kaga. He sees their suffering and he wants to put them out of it and be free. Tsukasa proceeded to tell Ushio that he had no right to choose the fates of devils for them. This just made Ushio lose his patience and he shot her in the side. However, the stun gun blocked the bullet and she was falling from the window, Tsukasa was saved by Yuuki Anzai. Yuuki attempted to go after Ushio, but Zero Six took over from Ushio and took a shot at Yuuki and Tsukasa. Before any serious damage, Zero Seven came to their aid and they all escaped.

Kirio Kikuhara later informed Ushio that no one had informed the police that Ushio is a spy, but that he has to stay safe and should monitor Yuuki. Everyone involved with the incident at the Mino Hotel (the F Squad) all know that Ushio is Zero Five, but they decided not to report it until they can secure him because they would have to report it to Kikuhara, also a police officer. Ushio was thereafter able to continue with his duties as a police officer, but the F Squad planned to secure him who is still active on C Squad so that he doesn't interfere with the raid on the CCC hideout. With the CCC attempting to kill Ushio, the police decide to put him into hiding. After being in confinement for two months, constantly being monitored and forbidden to go outside, Ushio grew depressed. One of the security guards explained that Ushio has been trying to get a rise out of them by masturbating often.

Ushio was able to escape and he, therefore, went to Queen's hideout to get treatment for his wounds. However, he was soon after forced to leave, and for six months, he began staying at different women's houses, but he was eventually kicked out by them too. Being homeless, he was attacked by a man and decided to take shelter in his former boss', Masakazu Takimoto's, house. However, since he couldn't hide him in his house due to having a wife and kids and since his former squad partner, Yuu, didn't want to take him in either, Ushio was forced to live with a man named Keiji Tanaka, who acted as his guard.

During the time in his new house, Ushio reminisced about his time with Yuu and his words that he hated him, which haunted Ushio some nights. After a brief confrontation with Yuu where he calls him out on his twisted mindset, it culminates in Ushio's decision to contact his mother as well as Takahashi, his old classmate whose face Ushio burned. He, as well, calls Ushio out on his past mistakes and that he could've prevented burning both of their faces. After another confrontation with Yuu where he tells Ushio to stop rejecting people, for instance, gay people, Ushio decides to change as he understands that he will be freer if he does stop rejecting people, as hurting people is a vicious cycle. Afterward, Ushio gets permission to live alone despite his low budget to keep him guarded. Immediately, he decides to visit Yuu since he wanted to meet his most trusted partner after he began feeling freer. However, on his way there, a gun is put to Ushio's head.

Yuu Kagasaki
During the days they worked together, Yuu and Ushio were very close friends which went above a simple relationship as squad partners. While Ushio's ideal included having Yuu killed to "free him from his cursed fate", he cared for him deeply and had deep faith in his abilities. They came to know each other very well and always aided each other, as demonstrated by the fact that Ushio was always ready to help Yuu with his tranquilizers and comfort him. Yuu was also in love with him but never voiced his feelings. After Ushio was put into hiding and Yuu occasionally monitored him, Ushio mocked him for watching him masturbate and for possibly being gay. However, when Yuu said that he had only been doing his job and claimed that he hated him, it visibly shook Ushio and would this would haunt him for a long time. Ushio then realizes that he really never knew him and had grown quite scared of him. After a confrontation with Yuu, Ushio learns some important life-lessons about himself from him and decides to not reject people, gay people included, anymore. After this, Ushio mentions that he can become more "free" and realizes that Yuu is his one and only partner. The first thing he does when he comes to this conclusion is visiting Yuu, to show him his change in mindset.

Etymology

 * The name Naoya means "straight" (直) (nao) and "to be, also" (也) (ya).
 * Naoya's surname Ushio means "cattle, cow" (牛) (ushi) and "tail, ridge" (尾) (o).