[attr="class","starrBodyScroll"]

Ain't no sleep when the wicked play. All we do is get laid.

CW: Drugs, gambling, unethical medical practices, human experimentation.
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Success. It had always sat comfortably into Masaharu's hands. Winning came natural to him the day he was born the eldest Himura. First born, and a son no less. There were high hopes for him. Even with various siblings born after him, he never held any concern. He'd always known he'd be the best - they were below him. He was a bright kid and he applied himself to his studies his entire life. Reading books for years above him, he was always ahead of any expectation held for him. Masaharu was never a disappointment, and he never would be. He would do anything to stay ahead of the game.
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He felt very lucky being born first, it gave him a head start. It made him the standard to meet. Masaharu had never really tried to stay the focus of attention in terms of achievements. But he remembers clearly the day he realised that he would have to start applying himself to stay ahead. Family dinner brought attention to one of his brother's test results, and Masaharu's final exam scores were pushed aside. He had to make a statement moving into university education. Masaharu moved out of home, to Sendai to attend Tohoku University. He studied for a double degree, majoring in both business marketing and health sciences. He wanted to portray this character that wished to help others. Someone so giving could never be so self-centred.
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However, Masaharu was more than self-centred. Constantly fighting amongst his brothers for recognition, for validation as they were raised to crave, it did not serve you well to be kind. Tensions were constantly high, there was very rarely peace amongst the brothers, no matter the facade of it. One thing they did have in common however was their standing over their youngest sibling and only sister, Mao. Making Mao the butt of the joke was a constant. She was just some woman, what was she going to accomplish? All these man felt comfortable in this fact, this toxic masculinity, knowing that she'd never amount to the same thing as them. It made Masaharu feel powerful, having power over the powerless. It meant he would always be better than someone.
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Then one day, there was a family dinner put together to celebrate a feat Mao had accomplished at school. Masaharu remembers the intense anger, crushing his chest, narrowing his eyes. For the first time it had been difficult to fake a smile. Cry baby Mao did something. She saved someone. If saving lives would gain recognition, it was time he put his foot to the pedal. Once he finished his double bachelor degrees, he announces his focus on medicine, continuing his studies to become a surgeon. He also works part time with a real estate agency to prove his ability to support himself, and make use of his business studies. Masaharu was going to reach every possible expectation, and break past them. He wanted the attention back on him. He craved validation so desperately. All he wants is recognition. In this search for validation, for praise, he turns to extra-curricular activities. It started with the gambling, playing with others in the underground. For a charismatic overachiever, it didn't take him long to receive praise. It got him attention. He started getting around, and messing with drugs. He gets further involved, finding the manipulative value in them, begins to deal. Juggling three seperate lives, Masaharu feels powerful. He plays with people for fun. He wins every little game he sets up. It may have once been escapism, but now it was who he was. He was a part of something bigger. This was a lifestyle. It didn't take him too long to consider himself associated with the Ajiwau. He fit right in.
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Masaharu spends his years of med school like this. He finds himself with fewer and fewer things he wasn't willing to do. He had little fear. So when someone he'd known for a while mentioned a family connection to a newly opening health clinic, Masaharu didn't hesitate to take his internship years there. There was a large segment dedicated to research, and Masaharu saw a good opportunity to make use of his studies there. Getting in, things were as interesting as Masaharu thought they would be. The research at the clinic was far from ethical. Painful, cruel. He remembers images of the chambers of the clinic, various abandoned people effectively locked away in solitude. The deprivation, the tests, experiments. Even he thought about some of it with a little bit of pain in his chest, but he never let his ambition get away from him. He pulled through, survived his intern years, and rose above in the expectations there as well. He did things others were unwilling to do, and in return he was gifted better teaching. Before he knows it he's comfortable with his life, working in surgery, conducting unethical, medical research.
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During these years his family catches up with him. Soon enough none of them are left in school, all out accomplishing things within their respective careers. It was a constant game of each of them showing up the other. While they all had their rivalries, Masaharu despised Mao the most. While he had rivalries with his brothers, Masaharu could respect them and what they do. His sister? He couldn't forgive her for being more than he had anticipated. Things with her had been quiet for a while, before she was constantly reporting major saves. It gave her so much recognition and it drove Masaharu insane. He was saving lives just as much as she was, but still it didn't seem enough despite the more delicate, academic nature of his work. Just because she was a woman, she gained more recognition for doing less. The standards for her were low, and he would push that upon her any chance he got. Masaharu hated Mao, so he couldn't be sure if her constant success was just a little too convenient to be true, or if he was just paranoid. He hoped that was the case, that her success was fake. In that case, he would be superior. He started out that way, and he intended to have it that way, no matter what he'd have to do to get there.