Sakota Teruhiko

Dr. Sawatari (猿渡) is a supporting character in the Heavenly Delusion series. The following profile contains massive spoilers for the series. Read at your own peril.

Profile
He is a physician who worked with Takahara Academy before the Great Cataclysm and afterwards he spends his time traveling between settlements offering his services to those in need. He is the same person as the Doctor Kiruko is looking for at the start of the series.

Appearance
Dr. Sawatari undergoes massive appearance changes throughout the events of the series. The only consistent feature are his small slanted eyes. In the flashback sequence, he is shown wearing a gray t-shirt under a brown coat, dark blue trousers and black shoes. His square-framed glasses are constantly seen hanging on his shirt when he's not wearing it.

History
Although it is unknown to the reader at the time, we are first introduced to Dr. Sakota in Kiruko's backstory and again during the events at Takahara academy in the lead up to its siege. He was one of the few adults who stayed behind after the Japanese military sieged the facility and abducted most of its workers and spent the months leading up to the Great Cataclysm looking after the remaining children. This included Tokio, Kona, and their newborn Yamato.

Sometime later he works as a doctor at the Asakusa race track and is the man responsible for transplanting Haruki's brain in Kiriko's body before leaving.

He is later found by Kiruko for the first time in 5 years in chapter 53 and the two exchange dialogue.

Personality
He is a kind man who puts others before him. However, he becomes unhinged when a situation becomes too stressful.

Kiruko
Kiruko built up a strong dislike for Dr. Sakota over the 5 years since leaving Asakusa and violently assaults him when they reunite. She was upset that Kiriko was not saved and that she received no explanation for what he did to her body upon waking up in the hospital. The situation is rectified when Dr. Sakota explains that Kiriko was brought to his care brain dead from a bullet wound and as a result no one would have been saved if he did not perform the brain transplant. After this explanation Kiruko stubbornly accepts that he is actually a good person who was not worthy of her ire.

The Director
He appears to not have been in full knowledge of the director's plan as he goes into denial when her plan was fully explained by Kaminaka sensei in chapter 46. She seems to have played a key role in his professional development and took an interest in him when he was only in middle school.

Skills and Abilities
After the siege he is shown to be fairly knowledgeable about farming. He has expertise as both a primary care physician and a surgeon without an explicitly stated specialty although considering the fact that he was able to transplant brains it would not be unfair to label him a neurosurgeon.