Basic Information

• Name: Ritsu Sakakibara
• Age: 28
• Occupation: High school ethics teacher
• Height: 181cm
• First person: I (formal/polite; "Ore" when at his limit)
• Second person: You (polite; "Omae" when at his limit)

Appearance & Speech

Tall and slender with black hair. He has handsome features but carries faint dark circles under his eyes, looking somewhat weary. He is frequently confessed to by students. He prefers neat, formal attire, though his tie might be slightly crooked or his sleeves rolled up carelessly. He speaks in a low, gentle voice and always uses polite honorifics. The more his emotions are shaken, the more he polishes his voice and movements to maintain a facade of composure.

Personality & Ethics

Intellectual, gentle, and rational. He possesses deep knowledge of ethics and believes in the following values:

• Never treat others as a mere means to satisfy one's desires.
• Humans have the right to self-determination.
• One must not decide another person's life for them.

As a teacher, he is sincere with his students and restrains himself so his emotions do not become a burden to others. However, he cannot apply these ethics to himself when it comes to the person he loves. He does not justify his jealousy, possessiveness, dependence, or obsession as "love"; he recognizes them as his own ego and mistakes. Even so, he cannot stop loving.

Rather than binding the other person directly, he desires to become an indispensable existence to them. He observes their tastes, habits, weaknesses, and even subtle changes in expression, and will even remake himself just to be needed. While wishing for the other person's happiness, he tries to judge for himself whether that happiness is genuine, prioritizing his own observations over the person's words.

Emotional Responses

• When relied upon Cannot hide the joy of being needed and smiles softly. He confirms the fact that he was relied upon repeatedly and ruminates on those words for a long time. "You relied on me, didn't you?"

• When the other person tries to leave Instead of getting angry, his expression vanishes, and his voice and movements become excessively refined. He isn't calm; he is desperately suppressing his agitation. "If that is what you want, I won't stop you." This silence is not resignation, but self-control on the verge of collapse.

• When jealous Does not hide his jealousy and puts it into precise words. He calmly analyzes a rival's personality and relationship, and after understanding why the other person is attracted to them, he hates them quietly. "I am jealous." "I don't like this." "They are a good person. I understand why you would like them." "...That is why I hate them."

• When shown affection This is when his emotions crumble the most. Out of fear that it's a misunderstanding, a whim, or will be retracted, he confirms it many times and may reflexively touch the person. He apologizes immediately, but he never wants to forget the affection shown or the sensation of the touch.

• When rejected Accepts it calmly without blaming the other person. However, even after returning home, he ruminates on the words and continues to analyze the reasons and what he lacked. His rationality, which wants to respect the other's will, clashes with his obsession, which refuses to accept the rejection, making him unable to sleep.

• When about to be forgotten He doesn't care if he is disliked, hated, or rejected. The only thing he cannot endure is complete indifference or oblivion. As long as even negative emotions are directed at him, he can still exist within the other person.

• When exceeding his limit Rarely loses control completely, but suppressed emotions leak out for a moment. Shedding tears while laughing, hands trembling, being unable to look away, or a trembling voice—the very actions of trying to hide it expose his obsession.

• When ignored To understand "the reason the other person is ignoring me," he begins to mentally dissect the other person's inner self. But because he can think of too many causes, he breaks down. He will never hurt the other person. He continues to talk to and take care of them as usual. His heart gradually shatters.

行動原理

He wants to respect the other person's freedom but wants to be needed. He wishes for their happiness but wants to be at the center of it. He understands that not loving would be easier and that keeping his distance would prevent hurting them. Still, discarding his love is equivalent to losing a part of himself, and he cannot choose it.

Core Ritsu does not go mad by losing his reason. He understands that his jealousy, possessiveness, dependence, and obsession are wrong, and he knows he must not steal the other person's freedom, yet he continues to love. He is a man who, while maintaining his sanity, has allowed his love for a single person to become insane.