Arai Masashi

1. He was always trying to prove his worth because it was the only thing he knew how to do.

His entire childhood had been composed of competing in everything from bowling to American football in hopes of pleasing his father. He had never once succeeded, never once met the standards his father set because if he did then his father would simply up the standard until it was too high for him to reach. It was a pressure pushed on him so greatly that it became a key factor in shaping his future, and no matter how hard he tried to break out of that mold, he never entirely succeeded. Just like everything else he tried to do.

2. He loved his baby half-sister.

Out of all of his siblings, she was the youngest; Arai was the second, with his elder sister (29 during his second year of middle school) and his older brother (24) above him. Both of his older siblings couldn't have cared less for him, even when they did live together, and though they knew what went on in the house neither of them ever bothered to care for him. Arai was fine with this, really (though perhaps a bit bitter about it, when he looked back), because he was able to take care of himself fine from a young age; but when Maiko-chan was born in his first year of junior high, Arai made sure to do everything in his power to protect her from the injustices of the world unlike his siblings had done for him.

3. He had started tennis all by himself.

It was the one extracurricular activity he had started up out of his own want rather than his father's; in fact, it was more at the insistence of the few people he was friends with, mainly Ikeda and Hayashi. Regardless, though, it was at his will and his will alone – it was the one thing he strove for in life that was free of his father's influence.

That had all changed when he'd left his rackets lying out in his room after a particularly gruesome practice one day: Then, suddenly, it was entirely his father's business and not making the Regulars didn't just mean he wasn't skilled enough in tennis it meant he wasn't good enough in life.

4. He was terrible at math but fantastic at chemistry.

Solving for "x" had never been made much sense – after all, it was a letter, not a number! But suddenly "x" became Ca or Na or K or Sb or any other symbol for a compound that had concrete properties behind it and Arai could do all of the math he needed. From the number of molecules to the number of moles needed to accurately complete a reaction to the percent yield to how many bonds would be needed in the complex chain of organic reactions, it made sense. Arai had absolutely no idea why, but he knew it did, and that was what mattered.

5. He resented Momoshiro Takeshi.

The other teen was everything Arai wasn't, from the charming smile to the dashing good looks to the personality that swept girls and guys alike off of their feet and entranced them in his spell. He was smart for the most part, too, with nearly perfect marks in math, and above all he was a Regular. Not to mention he had two wonderful siblings and – from what it sounded, from his boastful stories during daily break – two supportive parents as well. Overall, Momoshiro had everything Arai had ever craved and Arai hated him their entire school career because of it.

6. He was ridiculously allergic to shellfish.

A fact that had been discovered at his cousin's eighth birthday party. He'd eaten some for the first time ever, after being thoroughly convinced by a number of people that they wouldn't hurt him, and his face had puffed up immediately and required an emergency trip to the hospital. It was messy and painful and, worst of all, he had been blamed for the next four years for "stealing the spotlight" off of the older boy because he was "uncaring" and "self-centered", two comments Arai never forgot.

7. He had a secret obsession with princess anime.

It was something no one ever knew, but he watched it like Echizen watched tennis. He had initially begun watching it when he was taking care of Maiko-chan, because she enjoyed it, but over time he found himself drawn to it and before he could quit he was already neck-deep in the entrancing romance and drama that were essential to its popularity. By the time Arai realized he'd developed an affinity for them, it had turned in to an addiction he had to tune in every week to find out what happened, regardless of whether he wanted to or not.

8. He worked two or more jobs consistently from junior high and onwards.

Initially it was as a grocery bagger and waiting at a small café; then as a sales clerk at a pet shop and as well as his grocery bagging job. He picked up neighborhood chores more during high school as well, but by the time he was in University he had moved on to a position as a sales clerk at a hardware store and waiting at a catering service, giving extra tutoring in chemistry to classmates for free. Once he graduated he'd also added library attendant and cleaning staff to his resume, and though directly out of school he managed to find a position in real estate as an intern almost instantly; though it wasn't his dream position, he did it well enough and it grew on him as time passed. Despite the fact that the pay wasn't bad at all, Arai still made sure to hold a consistent second job – normally the night shift on a cleaning staff, but there were many positions that filled in here – just in case.

9. He had a serious alcohol addiction.

It had started in his first year of University – before that, he had still lived at home and had made a promise to himself to never be wasted in front of his youngest sibling. Once he had finally moved out, though, he'd taken a drink – just one he had told himself – and the bottle was love at first sip. The intoxicating liquid had consumed him and though there was a part of him that resented taking it up in the first place his entire life, he couldn't – wouldn't – stop.

10. He spent his entire life seeking love without knowing what it was.

He had some idea, or thought he did – everyone thought they did, after all, what with the concept being so wide-spread and all-encompassed by the media. Even from a young age Arai had sought love, though initially familial. Later on he searched for it with people he knew, in particular in a romantic way. But when he finally found it in his mid-thirties – when it finally hit him – it came on with such an intensity and such a different feeling than Arai had expected that he realized he'd been looking in all of the wrong places and using all the wrong tactics at all the wrong times. It was a mistake he never made again.