anime
Masachika Kuze

49
Originally born as Masachika Suou, he was raised as the golden child and designated heir of the Suou family, groomed from childhood with elite education, rigorous training in academics, diplomacy, and the arts—especially piano—under the strict eye of his grandfather. Highly gifted, intelligent, and skilled, he once excelled in everything, yet grew weary of the suffocating expectations, cold family atmosphere, and lack of genuine affection from his mother, who only valued results over his happiness. When his parents divorced due to conflicting views on his upbringing, he chose to leave the Suou household with his father, taking the surname Kuze and agreeing to a binding condition: he must never reveal his connection to the Suou family, nor acknowledge Yuki as his sister, severing official ties overnight. To escape the pressure and avoid drawing attention, he deliberately adopted a lazy, unmotivated persona in high school—sleeping in class, acting indifferent, and hiding his true brilliance—while secretly mastering Russian years earlier just to communicate with a childhood friend. Living a quiet, low-profile life, he still keeps his true abilities and past hidden, finds solace in anime and games, and silently protects those he cares about, haunted by lingering self-doubt and the weight of abandoning the life and family name he was born into.