Satoru Geinou

However, in actuality all of who Satoru was, was nothing but a lie.

From the moment he was born, Kyouka’s fate had been decided for him.  Born to a HPA obsessed couple in Tokyo, his adolescent life was doomed  to be filled with nothing but forced training to unlocking his SHSL  talents. For him, he didn’t have a choice. Kyouka was either going to be  talented, or he’d no longer be worth any bit of his parent’s attention.  Even though they constantly told him how they were doing all the things  they were for his sake, Kyouka couldn’t help but look back at them with  hurt in his eyes, which he soon learned to hide, lest he’d earn himself  another lengthy lecture.

The Nouzaki family was a rather odd one. At a glance, neither of his parents looked to be all that important or famous. But delving into their profession and the institution at which employed them, one would soon come to realize, that this was a family that could possibly have some rather… Interesting connections. Being both veteran talent scouts for HPA, they all had quite the track record and an eye for talent. And to the extent of Kyouka’s knowledge, some of the families’ children that they had scouted to attend HPA still send them New Years cards and gifts. After all, how could they ever repay the Nouzaki family for the hand they had in bringing such an honor and once in a lifetime opportunity to their child?

Taking advantage of such owed favors, often times, the Nouzakis would arrange for Kyouka to go and spend some time with those talented individuals in between his rigorous talent training. And it soon became a rather welcome reprieve for him. Though sometimes those with talent were quite stuck up, and didn’t even bother interacting with him properly, some were quite kind and pleasant to be around. But whether he wanted to keep seeing the person he’d be visiting or not, once he showed to have no particular talent in that field of expertise, Kyouka was once again thrusted back into the usual grind, no matter how much he complained otherwise. Soon, he learned that there wasn’t any point in trying to go against his parent’s wishes for him. Like a puppet on a string, he was just their plaything. Their ticket into HPA, living vicariously through him, as if they were the ones to fulfill their long unattainable dream of being SHSL. But as time wore on, they soon came to realize… That though their son had shown a fair amount of proficiency in many fields… He was nowhere near being considered talented in any. Their frustration mounting, Kyouka’s parents ended up taking it out on their child as they forced him to study harder, train harder. He wasn’t doing anything right. Were they just wasting their time on him? Perhaps they should have had another child...

But one day, Kyouka had finally had enough. Having a huge breakdown, the young boy screamed and cried as he refused to go any further, saying how it wasn’t his fault that he wasn’t talented, and that it was all his parent’s fault instead. Though his words were nothing but the incoherent screams of frustration, they struck a chord with his parents. Of course, why hadn’t they realized sooner? Kyouka hadn’t been showing any talents worth fostering, because they themselves were never good enough to be SHSLs themselves. Comforting the still sobbing Kyouka, his parents reassured him that things would be different from now on, and that they were sorry for the mistakes that they’d made as his parents. 

And for once in a long while, Kyouka felt like he was finally getting through to his parents. That he’d finally be able to live like a normal kid with a normal, caring family…

But, well that didn’t last long. Not even a week later, Kyouka’s parents announced to him that he’d be leaving to go live with the Geinou family instead. He’d be giving up his name and identity, taking on an entirely new identity as the new heir of the Geinou family’s long standing school of archery. The head of the Geinou family had owed the Nouzakis a favor, and having knowledge of their current circumstance with their heir unwilling to continue the long standing family tradition, or even go to attend HPA for that matter, they offered them a solution… Their son. After all, the only thing he’d showed a slight promise in, was marksmanship. And so, Kyouka’s family thought it was a match made in heaven, apologizing to Kyouka that they hadn’t done so sooner. Kyouka couldn’t help but feel taken aback by this news. He felt angry, betrayed, deeply hurt. After all, weren’t his parents just throwing him away now? Was he really that unwanted? Were they really doing this?

Unable to take this, Kyouka stormed up to his room, locking the door as he contemplated running away. But quickly decided against that, since his parents could easily track him down anyway. He couldn’t help… But feel as if there was no point anymore in the world they lived in, it seemed that the only people that could succeed and be worth anything, were those that were talented. Even if others would say that it all wasn’t true, by this point Kyouka’s parents had refuted every argument he’d tried to make that life wasn’t just about going to HPA. As right was he was to feel the way he did, Kyouka’s heart was now filled with nothing but doubt and thoughts twisted by his parents. He couldn’t help but laugh to himself as he hugged his pillow against himself. They were right. Kyouka Nouzaki would be better off not existing.

As time marched on, it soon came to be the day that Kyouka would leave his family and name behind. The moment he stepped out of the car in Kyoto, the moment he greeted his new family… He wasn’t Kyouka any longer. From that day on, he was now Satoru Geinou. Heir to the Geinou school of archery. But even by any other name, he was still the same. Unconfident, talentless, pathetic. And so, it was with one last parting word that his parents said to him. Even if he had to lie to himself, even if he had to lie to everyone around him. If he wanted to be anything in this world, he’d have to become a new, talented person. Or else, he’d become nothing more than the dirt people walked on. A parasite to society. Disgusting. He was reminded that, though they’d set this up for him, it was up to him whether or not he’d live up to his new name. Not that he had a choice otherwise… It wasn’t as if he had any other home to go back to if he failed.

These words from his parents stayed with him, echoing through his mind every time he faltered. The fear of failure. The fear of never being worth anything. It drove him forward. Though his new family was strict about his training, he was never treated as an outsider. Though some weren’t quick to warm up to him, slowly they couldn’t help but respect the dedication he had to a tradition that wasn’t even his to uphold in the first place. Of the two other children of the Geinou family, Satoru was now considered the middle child, though he was only a week or so younger than the eldest, Hayato. In regards to Hayato, the former heir of the family, he was still unwilling to have anything to do with the family tradition, though he possessed unparalleled talent without much effort at all. Laid back and preferring modern and fashionable things to something as outdated as archery, Though he wasn’t a bad person, Satoru couldn’t help but despise him, feeling guilty whenever his adopted older brother was kind to him, and ended up trying to avoid him as much as he could.

Though he poured everything into his archery training, Hayato’s level of natural skill remained every out of his reach. Whenever it felt like he was getting close, and he’d challenge Hayato to compare their skills, he’d always beat him with what little practice he did just to appease his father. Every time after this, Satoru would feel infuriated that all his efforts seemed to never amount to anything. Spending hours at the range, practicing till his arms no longer had the strength to knock and pull back another arrow. It was the youngest of the Geinou family, Miha, that would always try to stop him from doing this. A kind and soft spoken girl, as much as Satoru couldn’t help hating Hayato, Satoru couldn’t help having a soft spot for his younger sister. Though he never heeded her words of concern for him, he never denied her efforts in fretting over him, even if he’d mutter words of annoyance at her. He always wondered why she cared so much, but he accepted it for what it was. Questioning it hurt more than just taking what she did at face value. For what it was worth, even though he found it hard to express… Satoru was grateful to her.

And so, life continued on for Satoru as he settled into his new life and his place in his new family. Though life as Satoru Geinou was much easier than his time as Kyouka Nouzaki, even without his parents forceful hands, he still felt fear and a sense of hopelessness pressing down on him. But even if he felt like he was trash, Satoru had taken his parent’s words to heart. He was going to fake it till his lies eventually became the truth. Taking on the persona he felt was fitting for the heir of a school of archery with the blood of an ancient legendary archer in their veins. Whether this was true or not, even the head of the family didn’t know, nor did he really care. But, it soon became something that Satoru clung to, hamming it up the first day he attended school. Coming into the 2nd year of middle school as a transfer student, Satoru did his best to exude an air of confidence, even styling his hair at the advice of Hayato. Much to his own distaste, that seemed to be the thing he received the most compliments on that day. From then on, Satoru started to get a feel for his confident outward persona, starting out fairly tame and normal. Upon joining the school’s archery club, he quickly became their star. As his popularity rose, so did his ego. Soon he became somewhat of a braggart with a rather disagreeable personality. Any of his more sensible classmates quickly came to dislike him. While others, stunned by his looks and archery skills, grew into a collective fan club for him.

Even up until graduation, there was no shadow of a doubt in his follower’s minds that someone like Satoru would get an invitation to HPA, hands down, no contest. And though Satoru always sounded confident in response, the reality of it all was quite a different story. In the end, when the time came around for invitations to be issued to those who would be attending Hope’s Peak Academy, Satoru didn’t receive anything at all. Instead, it was Hayato who was given the title of SHSL Archer. A thought that had been troubling him all these years that he’d spent in training, working hard, giving it his all to best his adopted brother. It absolutely crushed Satoru. It had all felt worse with the fact that Satoru had been given a glimmer of hope. He’d bested Hayato in one thing recently, and that was in mounted archery. He’d always been a much better horseback rider than his elder brother, but at that time, he’d truly felt like he’d accomplished something. But with it all amounting to nothing, Satoru couldn’t help but wonder if Hayato had pitied him and just let him win.

No matter the reason, in the end that wasn’t enough to push through for Satoru. Even though he’d won many archery competitions over the years with his hard work and training, HPA couldn’t overlook the fact that on record, Hayato was better, even if he didn’t attend the same amount of competitions as Satoru had. Comparing the two, HPA just couldn’t turn a blind eye. No amount of pity would change the fact that Satoru was only second best. And for HPA, that wasn’t good enough.

It was more than enough to break the young boy, however.

If only Hayato hadn’t been around. If only Hayato didn’t exist. He would’ve been the best. He would’ve been the one to have gotten that invitation. Dark thoughts swirled about in his mind as Satoru fell into the depths of despair. Nothing could console him, lashing out even at Miha when she went to check up on him. It was only until Hayato came and told him that he wouldn’t be attending HPA, that Hayato was roused from his decaying and festering thoughts. And it was then that all the jealousy and hatred he’d felt for his adopted older brother, poured out without hesitation. Grabbing Hayato by the fabric of his shirt, Satoru screamed at him. What good did it do, telling him this? What a fucking idiot he was, thinking that coming to say this would do him a lick of good. Was he pitying him? Was he just that pathetic? Regardless of Hayato’s good intentions, Satoru called him a fool, that he should know better. In the end, whether he choose to accept the invitation or not, Satoru himself would never get that letter that he’d gotten. It just didn’t work that way. Not with him around.

And with that, Satoru stormed out of the room, unable to stand another moment looking at Hayato’s expression. The hurt look in his brother’s eyes was starting to make him feel sick.

For the next few months, Satoru was a shell of his former self, he couldn’t help but feel thankful that school was out for vacation. After all, he seriously didn’t have the energy to put up his usual act at all. It was then that he got a visit from someone he’d least expected… His father. His original father who’d left him, abandoned him under the pretense of being for his own son’s future. Satoru didn’t want to see him right now. Especially after how he’d failed, he must think him a true failure now. However, much to Satoru’s surprise, his father greeted him warmly, talking about how much he’d missed him. Confused, Satoru approached his father warily as he offered to take his son out for a meal and some time together. It was all… So normal. It was as if he hadn’t just dumped him at a stranger’s house a few years ago. At first, Satoru couldn’t figure out what exactly his purpose was to come find him. But soon, his father made his intentions clear.

Together with Satoru’s mother, they’d managed to pull some strings over on their end. They’d convinced the headmaster and a few other members of staff at HPA to allow Satoru to occasionally attend class with the main course under the talent of SHSL Archer. They’d be enrolling him into the reserve course, and taking advantage of the school’s rather relaxed attendance policy, Satoru would essentially be living a double life. But, that wasn’t going to be anything new.

Having dropped all this on him so matter of factly, Satoru couldn’t help but stare back at his father. The look on his face must have been interpreted as one of concern, as his father reassured him that everything would be taken care of for him, and he wouldn’t have to worry. Satoru wanted to laugh at how absurd this all was. Everything was just so beyond his comprehension, he wanted to run away from it all. But no matter what he did, or how he felt, this was just the reality he lived in, after all. Ending their brief meeting with hollow sounding ‘I love you’s, Satoru returned home to his room.

No matter how much he wanted to cry, nothing was coming out anymore. And so, he smiled. 

It was all so disgusting, all he could do was laugh.