Name: Yamado Kazuya (山土 和也)
Birthday: November 4th
Zodiac: Scorpio
Height: 181cm
Weight: 90kg
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Condition: Narcolepsy
Theme: Sleepytime Blues (not the actual name of the track in the link)
A giant of a young man; though only slightly overweight for his height, Kazuya always seemed to dwarf his peers no matter where he was. In spite of fears by the faculty of his previous schools that he would bully the other children, he turned out to be relatively peaceful by nature. As such, since none of his classmates were willing to put his good nature to the test (for fear of accidentally discovering what the limits of his tolerance would be), he got along with the majority of people, even if he was rarely one to start a conversation. He enjoyed singing more than anything, and was a bass in his previous school's choir.
He was one of a rare few to develop narcolepsy as a result of a slight internal mutation following an innoculation for the last great health scare (which his parents insisted that he avail of at the time). Upon learning of his condition and its origin, his once amiable nature degraded over time, rendering him much quicker to anger than he used to be (though losing his temper outright is one of the triggers that would send him to sleep), further souring his increasingly haggard appearance (coming about as a result of irregular sleeping patterns) with a near-perpetual scowl.
He finished out the remainder of his first year of high school (which, mercifully, was drawing to a close at the time of the emergence of his condition), and was sent to Yamaku for the remainder of his continued education by his guilt-ridden parents. Kazuya came to resent them for his predicament, as he was not overly enthusiastic about the notion of getting the innoculation in the first place (but knows that they couldn't have predicted this outcome, and so hates himself for feeling that way). He now lives on the same floor as Kenji, and, until Hisao arrives, acts reluctantly as Kenji's sole confidant, attributing anytime he nods off during Kenji's inane rants to his condition (though sometimes he isn't lying; even if he doesn't fall outright asleep, his condition has an effect on his short-term memory, as well). He often engages a form of 'auto pilot mode,' as well, in which he will continue as he was, but not really paying much attention to anything, and forgetting anything he might have done while in this mode.
As he looks around at his new classmates, he becomes more and more embittered (though rarely, if ever, outright hostile) about the fact that, as an ailment, narcolepsy is widely seen as the punchline of a joke, and, as such, he believes that he would never again be taken seriously. He is also plagued with doubt regarding his own ability to contribute to society, or to find a girl who would ever accept him for him, in light of his narcolepsy. He acts less friendly than he used to, though only as a sort of defense mechanism; get past it, and you'll have a loyal, if not overly sociable, friend. Kazuya sees the similarities between his new upperclassman Hisao's condition and his own (in that they're both mobile and with all their senses, but run the risk of their bodies shutting down if they try to exert themselves), and thus regards him with a little more respect than he would others.
Should the player wind up on Act 1's bad end this time, Kazuya joins the two on the roof, and drinks about half the bottle in total, though still only getting slightly more drunk than the other two (thanks to his large stature). Kazuya raves for a short while about how his condition practically turned him into a comedy sketch, and admits that he hates himself for how poorly he's handling everything before passing out. Neither Hisao nor Kenji are as drunk as they would otherwise have gotten, and so Hisao gets Kenji to help bring Kazuya back to his room, thus
preventing Hisao's death. The story still ends, however, as nothing ends up changing in Hisao's life, anyway; he graduates unfulfilled, with only passing friendships with the girls before they inevitably fall out of touch with one another.
Additionally, as Hisao interacts with him throughout the first act, Kazuya implies that he has a crush on a female upperclassman that Hisao has already met, with her identity turning out to be the girl of whichever route the player ends up following, for differing reasons (some more rational than others) and with differing reactions to the revelation that Hisao has something going with them.
Emi - he feels inspired by her determination and upbeat nature in the face of adversity, and wants to become more like her. He acts much more coldly to Hisao when the latter starts going out with her, but, once he tries taking up a little light running himself (on his own time, and not with the pair), begins to cheer up a little.
Hanako - he sees an allure in her hidden scars, and finds himself wanting to know more about this enigmatic girl. Seeing that Hisao is the only person that she seems to allow into her life in Lilly's absence doesn't surprise Kazuya, but hurts him nevertheless, and he dejectedly laments his own apprehension to action for the rest of the story.
Lilly - he admires her calm nature, seeing in her something of what he used to be like before becoming narcoleptic. Upon learning that Hisao is going out with her, he's initially hurt, but gradually comes to realise that he was more into the
idea of Lilly than Lilly herself, and so wishes them well.
Rin - he finds himself drawn to her quirky nature and unusual trains of thought, his eye caught by her sheer uniqueness. Seeing that he can never get close to her between the time she spends painting and the time she spends with Hisao, Kazuya finds his intrigue waning as time goes on, and eventually gives up on her, especially after it appears she's prematurely dropping out to pursue a career in art.
Shizune - he admires her work ethic, and finds her dominance in particular to be a rather attractive feature. When she and Hisao couple up, Kazuya falls into a slightly deeper depression, but tries to keep up appearances (though his friendship with Hisao suffers for it).
In each case, he drops in and out of the view of the player like Kenji, his behaviour depending on the route taken.
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