Hayama Akito!
Akito, called Hayama even by his friends, is one of the main characters that Kodomo no Omocha revolves around. Akito is a very contemplative, quiet boy... but that doesn't stop him from making trouble ;p!
The Head Monkey
Yes, a strange nickname, but in a sense somehow correct. Akito has ruled the classroom for a long while, plain and simple. Because he's so calm, cool, and collected he has aquired many friends, or should I say, followers? His friends are often more like lackeys, hanging on his every word and doing everything he says (except for his best friend Tsuyoshi). Thus, those who abhor them think of them as no better than monkeys, with Akito as the leader, the boss monkey.
How does he rule the classroom? Well, it all goes back to two unfortunate teachers. They happen to be in love and involved with each other (though, I don't know if they're engaged or married or what) and in the teacher's lounge one day they were making out. How Akito came in on them or how he had a camara handy remains to be discovered, but he took shot after shot of them and later blackmailed them into submission. He's a wily one, eh?
Devil Child with Ice in His Veins
For a long time, this was how Akito was viewed, and by some people, still is. Akito has had many troubles in his life, most of them ocurring within the home. The first thing to understand about this boy is that his family is broken. When he was born, his mother died because she had been weakened by the child labor. In their anger and unresolve, his older sister and his father raised him in a reglected, shunned existence. They never came to terms with their mother's death and blatantly cursed Akito for it. His sister yelled and screamed at him, often referring to him as a "devil child" who had killed her mother and was no good. His father had recoiled and neglected him, hardly exchanging more than a few words with him every day other than necessary communication. Akito was living a life of solace by age 11. Needless to say, he was depressed and suicidal between hiding his hurt at school and tip-toeing on eggshells at home.
These are the reasons why he acts out in school and is so quiet. He believed he has nothing to lose, seeing as he wished to end his life anyway. However, there was a little light in his life that made a big difference...
Sana... His First Love?
Sana and Akito have a strange, but unbreakable chemistry with each other. It is defendable to say that Sana is Akito's first love, even though he had had a girlfriend before her (they were better off just as friends). Sana, deeply annoyed by Akito's and his friends' behavior, sought to find the root of the problem (unlike other her classmates who just complained about it without taking action). They didn't get along with each other in the least sense and for a while were thought of as arch enemies (often depicted in the anime as mongoose and cobra). However, when Sana looked a little deeper into Akito's life she felt she had to take action and help him and his family. Most people would just shake their head at it and walk away, but she didn't do this. Sana worked on a TV Special that focused on the same tragic situation that Akito had been put through and she demanded that they all watch it (even though they were already fans of hers anyway). She also talked to Akito alone, and they had deep conversations about his life; the two of them gradually bonded. As a result, Akito eventually told her that he "didn't hate her" which, according to his viewpoint, meant that he loved her. Although he confessed this they still had their immature quarrels; they were still children after all. However, they did care for each other: they confided in each other, cried together, shared ramen, and supported each other through many extremely tough times. Akito and Sana have to be the most unlikely but equally sweet and admirable couple in anime, they were willing to sacrifice time and energy for each other at such a young age.
So, Akito and his family got onto the road of recovery. Akito got involved, later on in the second season, with karate but remained just as cool and calm as ever =). His family apologized and worked together to heal. Sana and Akito remained friends, and he gained new ones as well. So, this ended up to be a happy story for everyone, even if it took a lot of work, effort, and tears to get there.
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