"Accept the situation. Perceive the truth. Escaping reality is meaningless. Instead of being depressed, use your head."
- — Samatoki Hitsuuchi
Samatoki Hitsuuchi (
Personality[]
Samatoki almost always shows a calm and collected, occasionally cold demeanor to those around him, the one exception being his younger sister, Yorutsuki, with whom he has a very close bond with, and is more intimate and open to. He can come off as distant to his acquaintances, and he has stated that he has a rule where he can only call someone a friend if he's known them for more than a year. Additionally, his readiness to distance himself from Ririsu Kotohara at his sister's request further encapsulates this[1].
Samatoki prides himself on never acting without thinking and always considering every option available to him, an ideal reflected in his commonly repeated motto. He believes it's useless to have regrets, and instead focuses on finding a way to achieve the best possible result[1]. Even in his more intimate moments with his sister, he still admits to calculating what kind of remark would please her most; as such, he can be characterized as dishonest and manipulative. Even so, this premeditating nature is shown to be a way to guard himself, as he finds it embarrassing to showcase his true emotions, something which becomes clear after his outburst to Kuroneko during her suicide attempt, when he was caught off-guard and had no time to devise any plans[2]. His manipulative nature also hides a self-sacrificial devotion; he fakes his own feelings for Kotohara in order to lessen her immense burden of guilt, and is in the end left to wonder why he feels like the worst, having continuously ignored his own feelings and desires, always lying for the sake of other people, all to achieve the best possible result[3].
Samatoki is shown to be interested in books containing depictions of violence and the grotesque, an interest acquired from reading Ranpo Edogawa. In the past, he was also shown to be disposed to violence, even breaking Yorutsuki's legs and physically harming her in order to deal with her bullying situation, also attacking the bullies themselves in a similar manner, though he would come to regret his actions later. While in his mind, he feels his means to be totally rational, he is also seen as rash and hotheaded by Kuroneko when he physically intimidates Rokunin Kazusawa in order to dissuade him from picking on his sister[1]. Kuroneko also views him as a very simple and easy to understand person, which is why she values him as a friend. A facet of his simplicity is how he treats the trip to London very casually, bringing with him very little luggage and seeming unimpressed by his first experience abroad[4].
Relationships[]
Yorutsuki Hitsuuchi[]
Yorutsuki is Samatoki's younger sister by one year. The two are very close, even abnormally so, showing both physical and emotional intimacy, and she is the one person whom he shows a more caring and warm attitude to, compared to his typically aloof demeanor. While generally a reasonable and rational person, he often appears obsessive and overprotective of Yorutsuki to his friends, especially Hakohiko and Kuroneko, who often try to advise him to take some distance from his sister, accusing him of being a siscon, which he at first tries to deny. He does not hesitate to attempt to cut ties with Kotohara when Yorutsuki feels jealous of her, another instance of his abnormal level of loyalty to his sister. Protecting Yorutsuki from any possible harm is one of his main motivations, and the times that he is seen as acting rashly or brazenly usually stem from her, such as threatening Kazusawa with physical violence in order to stop him from exerting his influence on her, and he declarees without hesitation that he would be willing to kill anyone for her sake[1].
His overprotective nature may have been born as a result of the incident of heavy bullying that Yorutsuki suffered, which led to her closing her heart; while Samatoki himself defused the situation, he felt as if he was too late, and also came to regret his means. The trauma of the event led Yorutsuki to develop a dependency on her brother, creating a very unstable relationship between the two, one which Samatoki himself takes a long time to notice, and when he does, he decides to eschew ethics entirely and advance their relationship, even suggesting that they should move in together, also advancing on their physical intimacy, though still making sure not to cross a certain line while they're still minors[1].
Kuroneko Byouinzaka[]
Kuroneko is a fellow student at Outouin Academy in the same year as Samatoki, and a close friend of his. Though the way their relationship started is unknown, Samatoki eventually ended up becoming one of the reclusive girl's few conversation partners, often visiting her in the infirmary and chatting with her, and in turn, Kuroneko often leaves him messages written on his textbooks early in the morning before his arrival to school, usually to preemptively call him over to her while avoiding crowds. Around her, he typically adopts his more rational and logical persona, often serving as a straight-man to Kuroneko's more eccentric outbursts, and he is often a target of her long-winded and often sarcastic teasing, not being able to keep up with her strange behavior[1].
Despite their close friendship, he initially doesn't know much about Kuroneko's background or the way her mind truly works, and he is first charmed upon hearing her plans for the future to get over her chronic fear of people. He shows her a lot of consideration when she becomes sick due to her phobia, doing his best to nurse her back to health. Although she typically can easily see through him, Samatoki still finds it embarrassing to bare his true feelings to her, only really opening up when she's on the brink of committing suicide, at which point he is able to sway her into going on living[2]. Kuroneko is the only one who is able to truly understand him and see through his deception, acting as a crutch for him to go on even as he bears everyone's weight on his shoulders, the same way that he supports her. When he realizes this, he finally admits to himself that he is in love with Kuroneko[3].
Ririsu Kotohara[]
Kotohara is one of Samatoki's classmates, whom he became acquainted with through his bond with Hakohiko. Though the two act friendly around each other, often exchanging quips and teasing remarks due to their contrasting personalities, Samatoki is more reserved around her than Hakohiko, not having spent enough time with her to truly consider her a friend. His lack of interest in her is pronounced when he attempts to end their relationship purely because of his sister Yorutsuki's expressed jealousy, leading to Kotohara being temporarily upset at him and not speaking to him. When Kotohara later confesses her true feelings of love for him, he only seriously contemplates the offer for a small amount of time, being more troubled by her feelings than anything else[1]. Even so, after uncovering her crime, he agrees to go out with her as her boyfriend, only pretending to love her in order to keep her guilt in check, so as to avoid her turning herself in[3].
Hakohiko Mukaezuki[]
Hakohiko is one of Samatoki's few friends, whom he's spent enough time with to trust. The two are often seen together at school, and Samatoki is often on the receiving end of Hakohiko's friendly advice, often advising him against acting rashly, as well as futilely trying to get him to distance himself a little from his sister, though the well-intentioned advice often ends up being ignored[1].
Appearance[]
Samatoki is a young man with medium length, slightly wavy brown hair and thin black eyes. He is usually shown wearing the Outouin Academy uniform, consisting of gray pants and a gray gakuran over a white shirt. He is also seen wearing the summer uniform, which doesn't feature the gakuran, but instead a simple short-sleeved white shirt over an undershirt. During his trip to London, he can also be seen sporting a long purple coat over his school uniform.
Background[]
During his second year of elementary school, Samatoki began reading the works of Ranpo Edogawa at the recommendation of his teacher; because of this, he became engrossed in books containing depictions of violence and the grotesque, which would also kickstart his obsession with reading in general. A year later, upon belatedly noticing that his sister Yorutsuki was going through some intense bullying, Samatoki decided to try solving the problem by himself. He broke her leg in order to forcibly hospitalize her, and extracted the names of the ones for the harassment from her (violently, as she was at first reluctant to speak; he would later come to regret his cruel means). After carefully planning the deed, he "punished" the five bullies who targeted her, along with a few other unrelated targets in order to camouflage his intentions. His actions were quickly discovered, however, and since a parent of one of the five was an executive of the PTA, the problem was exacerbated. In the end, while there was no police involvement, the Hitsuuchi family had to move far away thanks to the incident[1].
The siblings were enrolled in public schools until middle school, but Samatoki's parents, noticing Yorutsuki's intellect, decided the better course of action would be to have her study at a private school, an idea which Samatoki also agreed with; Yorutsuki herself, however, protested, as she didn't want to be separated from her brother. Thus, Samatoki changed his school of choice to Outouin and worked to raise his standard score by five points in order to get in. After entering high school, oppositely to his sister, Samatoki's passion for reading subsided, and he sold his entire collection of books in order to buy a punching bag and a motorcycle. However, at times, he still felt the desire to read, so he often borrowed books from his sister's collection[1].
Appellations[]
| Appellation | Japanese | By |
|---|---|---|
| I (Boku) | 僕 | Self |
| Samatoki-kun | 様刻くん | Kuroneko Byouinzaka |
| Big Brother (Onii-chan) | お兄ちゃん | Yorutsuki Hitsuuchi |
| Hitsuuchi-sama | 櫃内サマ | Ririsu Kotohara |
| Hitsuuchi-san | 櫃内さん | Choushi Kushinaka |
| Appellation | Japanese | For |
|---|---|---|
| I (Boku) | 僕 | Self |
| Byouinzaka | 病院坂 | Kuroneko Byouinzaka |
| Yorutsuki | 夜月 | Yorutsuki Hitsuuchi |
| Hakohiko | 箱彦 | Hakohiko Mukaezuki |
| Kotohara | 琴原 | Ririsu Kotohara |
| Kazusawa-kun | 数沢くん | Rokunin Kazusawa |
| Choushi-kun | 弔士くん | Choushi Kushinaka |
Quotes[]
| Quotes |
|---|
Trivia[]
- Samatoki's last name, Hitsuuchi, means "within the chest".
- Samatoki's first name is written with the polite prefix "sama" and the character for "time".
References[]
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Sekai Navigation
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Works
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| Novels | 1. Our Broken World • 2. Eerie and Artless Enclosed World • 3. The World We Broke • 4. Our Eerie and Artless Enclosed Broken World | |
Characters & World
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| Outouin Private Academy | Students: Kuroneko Byouinzaka • Samatoki Hitsuuchi • Yorutsuki Hitsuuchi • Ririsu Kotohara • Hakohiko Mukaezuki • Rokunin Kazusawa • Umiko Hamasaki Faculty: Kouda • Mokusaka • Murakami • Ikezaki | |
| Kazusaen Private Academy | Ufology Club: Kogushi Kushinaka • Kurori Douno • Rouya Gakemura Others: Choushi Kushinaka • Meiro Byouinzaka • Fuyako Togishima | |
| Senzai Girls' Private Academy | Choushi Kushinaka • Meiro Byouinzaka (Backup) • Hanami Kigi • Ryouchi Sonezaki • Kimomo Tsuugami • Shouki Higabe • Kyouzou Jinno • Ikari Samehata | |
| Others | Usui Byouinzaka • Girdle Lyas • Arusato Togishima | |