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Shushu

Masami Kugimiya (釘宮 正美 Kugimiya Masami?) is one of the minor characters in Ballroom e Youkoso. He is a male professional ballroom dancer partnered with Tamie Idogawa.

Appearance[]

Masami has a tall and lean frame with wide shoulders and narrow hips. He has long earlobes and a left foot slightly larger than the right. Because of the accident, he bears scars on his back and thigh from bolts used in the operation.

He styles his black mohawk hair the same way he used to as a child, similar to his brothers. He tends to pull it all backwards, or pull only one side of it depending on occasion. He appears to have a great sense of style as evidenced by the casual clothing he wears. Chinatsu Hiyama stated that Kugimiya's dancing suits are "imported from London or something", and his sharp and cool outfits suit his physique.

Personality[]

Masami is a strong and competitive leader though prone to short temper. He grew to be a pessimist due to various circumstances. Behind his calm and collected demeanor, he masks an insecure, anxious, sensitive, and over-analyzing character that he fights to overcome. Nevertheless, he is caring and dignified when interacting with friends and family. Kugimiya stated that since he was young, he danced better when things are "messy or tousled".

Background[]

Kugimiya Masami is one of Tatara Fujita's rival and occasional training partner. His style of dancing can be described as elegant, strict and traditional with "beauty" in it. His rigid style can be attributed to the teachings of his mentor, Kunieda Tadashi, who first introduced him to dancing. He trains under Marisa Hyoudou ever since his spine injury. Masami's dancing partner is Tamie Idogawa who was first introduced by Tadashi due to their heights.

Masami underwent an unpleasant childhood. His parents reprimanded him about his grades constantly, comparing him to his two talented and successful elder brothers. They often neglected and barely acknowledged him as their child. Because of his parents seeing him as useless failure, Masami grew up insecure, shy, and lonely. He developed a bad habit of not making eye contact with people, especially when they speak.

In terms of his relationship with his brothers, Masami felt oppressed and unaccepted, thus he avoided meeting them. During his childhood, he followed a black stray cat out of curiosity which led him to a dancing studio owned by an old man, Kunieda Tadashi, who changed Masami's life and saved him from drowning in negativity at home.

When Kunieda invited him in, Masami neither greeted nor talked to anyone. He even refused to go back home, which the old man thought troubling. Kunieda asked him to stand straight for he "hated to see kids with bad posture", and that was when Masami's eyes first met with the stranger. Kunieda patted his head, and with a gentle smile asked for his name. Masami's eyes brightened with happiness. It was the first time someone was so nice to him, interested in him, and pleased to meet him. Masami replied with a stutter, but gratefully. Masami asked him about a photo hanged on the wall that day, and when the man replied that it was the younger him in a dancing competition in England, Masami asked if he could also travel to England one day, and that was when he was first introduced to the realm of ballroom dancing.

Masami's family noticed the difference in him ever since. He was more cheerful. The moment they asked him why or what happened at lunch time, they cut him off claiming that it was "not important" and that he should "keep quiet". Unlike the Kunieda's care for him, his family found neither purpose and worth in his existence, something that he was deeply pained by.

In Masami's first year of dancing, he hesitated in his first competition, overwhelmed by anxiety and fear of the failure his family engrained in his head to believe. He could not pull his self together until he saw Kunieda there, encouraging him and smiling warmly. From that moment on, he will "make the scary things invisible". "Everything unpleasant was noise", that was Masami's own way to help him succeed. Kunieda believed him to be a very special and fast learner. His rivals and peers, who have been dancing their whole lives, were beaten by a first-year dancer. His parents never came to watch his performances, but Kunieda was enough support to Masami.

In his third year, the instructors at Kunieda's studio realized Masami's exceptional abilities had overtaken that of their own. And since they discovered his love for children, they decided that he would be a good fit to be an instructor himself. He performs well at this job and bonded well with his students in part due to his troubled experiences during childhood with negligent parents.

In his fourth year of dancing, he first encountered Sengoku Kaname. Masami overheard a conversation in the audience complimenting Masami's dancing but he had a hopeless coach, which he got upset about unknowingly but ignored. He thought the audience a bunch of ignorant people who knew nothing of dancing.

In his seventh year, when he met Hyoudo Kiyoharu, he, yet again, overheard some people in the audience - which he hated so much at this point - speaking about how Hyoudou was the "real deal". Annoyed, Masami mumbled hateful comments against them within himself, for they have judged Hyoudou based on his good looks alone. Masami's dark side was increasingly manifested because of it. Around that time, Masami was looking for a new partner, and he was introduced to Tamie Idogawa.

Masami's life at home was still the same as it was before, just a bit more dull and agonizing. His parents threatened to do something about his dancing before it's "too late" because his grades were hopeless. "If I stay here any longer, I'll go crazy", he stated. Masami felt so lonely that he called a cat his "only ally". In Vol.10 Chapter.44, he was shown being sad and depressed and forced himself to wear a friendly and cheerful mask in front of others.

In Masami's tenth year, training in a camp with the other top dancers and away from his coach and teammates, Masami appeared to be the shy, aloof and nervous around the other dancers including Sengoku, who were all loud and friendly towards one another.

In the Mikasa Cup Finals quickstep segment, Masami's vision of the "noise" excluded Sengoku while competing. Overwhelmed by the fear that overtook him, he felt vulnerable and broke down, throwing up at break time. Overhearing some people from his bathroom stall, he was on the edge of giving up and wondered why he was even there in the first place. He felt he was fooling himself with fake happiness from ballroom dancing ever since he met Kunieda.

When he went back to the dance studio, he started to show his indifference and slight spitefulness towards Kunieda. He lacked the energy and enthusiasm for both dancing and teaching all together, and told himself that he was being killed by his self-consciousness. He contemplated quitting dancing and also his pointless life as a whole. Masami seeked out his pet cat whom he cares for deeply, but he left disappointed after the sight of it mating with another cat, feeling betrayed and very much alone.

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On his way, he admitted that he lacked the courage to kill himself and wondered if there was anyone who would do it. On another note, he felt that perhaps deep down he truly wanted to live despite everything. Not too long after, he was struck by a truck while crossing the street, by which he smirked at and thought that God really did exist and granted his wish. However, he found himself alive when he opened his eyes later, feeling cursed by this fate and cried.

Days later, Kunieda paid him a visit at the hospital. Masami stated that he wished to quit dancing altogether because of the accident. However, Kunieda sternly replied that he knew that was not Masami's true reason for quitting, that he himself lied about being a true dancer, and Masami felt regretful and shamed to the point of weeping. Traumatized, Masami battered the bed several times, and started sobbing in disbelief. Later on, Tamie visited him to inform that the dance studio he cherished was now closed and Kunieda passed away.

A few weeks later, Masami's weight started to visibly fade. He looked withered and tired both physically and mentally. He was prone to anger and violent outbursts. Distressed by the long stay at the hospital and his hopeless life, he broke down and demanded to be let out from this misery and asked for rehabilitation. Gladly, his friends were there to stop him and support him that instant.

When Marisa Hyoudou visited him a few months later, Masami confronted his feelings for the first time to her and told her that he wished he never danced. He was sarcastic and expressed disdain talking about topics regarding dancing. Clearly unstable, he said that his current situation "felt like hell" as the tears caressed down his cheeks while grinning as though laughing at his plight. Nevertheless, he decided to return back to dancing after rehabilitation. He was able to walk with the crutch's help soon after.

Around this time, Tamie visited and took care of Masami, peeling apples and keeping him company. She asserted that she decided to wait for him to heal instead of finding a new partner, practising dancing by herself ever since his accident. She confessed that it would be more "troublesome to form a new bond with a stranger". Masami was very protective of his partner in return.

When Masami passed by Marisa's place, she invited him in when she saw him. He sat down to watch a live recording of a dance tournament on her TV, Marisa asked him whether losing in tournaments felt like hell to him or not. When he responded with the same gloomy reply, she cut him off following which he sincerely apologized to her. He admitted that he felt sick when people's eyes watch him dance and that his eyes go black. He loses hope when he thinks of for how long and far dancing would take him. He added that the world of results is so cruel, and that he felt envious of those dancers with a better fortune to get to the top. Marisa poked his forehead, and told him that those people he envied have "their own personal hell" too, which helped him to get up on his feet again. Marisa watched over Masami since his accident. They developed a close relationship, like a mother and son.

After nine years, when he was finally able to dance, Masami's body was still stiff because of his long break from dancing. His muscles had already forgotten what and how dancing was. This was also noted in Chapter.45 when Gaju Akagi was helping Masami with his hamstring stretching, "You're like a teddy bear!" he exclaimed to him brightly which he hushed.

Masami and Tamie's comeback coincided around the same time Tatara Fujita began his journey with Chinatsu Hiyama. They both entered the Novice Tournament, which was the first time for them to compete one another, with Masami's pair getting first and Tatara second. Tatara's eyes scanned his new rival, Masami, thoroughly to show the new character's importance in the anime. Marisa happened to be there to cheer Masami and his partner (her students). She teased Tatara for being sly letting his follower, Chinatsu, dooes all the job for him while her students were busy performing their encore, by which Tatara was triggered and decided to visit her in her Hyoudou Social Dance Academy for consult later and found her busy coaching a couple, who he soon realised were his rivals Masami, and his partner Idogawa, Tango attentively. Tatara confessed to Kiyoharu (her son) that he was amazed by Masami's leading and moving his partner, how he had an good leading presence, and admitted that the couple's level seemed beyond Novice, high levelled, by which Kiyouharu answered him that Masami's pair have joined the Novice Tournament because the leader had a critical injury making them leave the scene for a year. Tatara was wowed by the pair's perfect breathing and synchronisation while dancing, and that their dancing was eye catching making it impossible for him to look away, especially from the leader.

When Tatara met with Marisa and asked her about Masami, she told him that Masami was an accomplished and recognised dancer since his juniors, and despite of his injury and the lower level of his partner, Idogawa, he was able to makeup and correct her low experience with him doing "straight great job" in leading and controlling her. When Tatara heard Masami scolding Idogawa to obey his leading and "stop being awful" and be an "idiot", it was first time he found out that Masami was comfortable to be rude and use vulgar language with Idogawa. Marisa then asked Kugimiya to come over to pair up with Tatara to see the boy's leading since Masami was good at following, too. Tatara was bewildered about the idea of two men dancing, but Marisa told him that it was normal, and that she insisted for Tatara to learn from Masami. Masami thoughtfully looked at his partner. then reached them fixing his shirt in his pants. He was obviously bothered since he has just finished his practising, eyeing Tatara as he crossed by. When Hyoudo asked Marisa whether he could d o it instead, Masami blinked at him thinking it unsual for Kiyouharu to offer dancing with someone beside his partner. He accepted after thoughtful seconds spinning his towel with his hand for being curious to see the leading of the dancer Kiyouharu recognised, with Tatara having the same interest in Kugimiya's leading. This was the first time they have met in person, but also danced together.

When Masami was fixing his shoes, preparing to dance Waltz with Tatara, Marisa advised him to be a good partner, by which he expressed a polite greeting to Tatara, who thought him way too tall for him to pair up with, but Marisa asked Masami to bend his knees to meet a good height for Tatara being short before he would bury him. Holding their hands together, Tatara mentioned how he needed to widen his steps because Masami had long legs. Tatara told Masami which steps they were to start with, but Masami cut him and told him to do whatever he wanted, which showed Masami's ability of following.

Starting their dancing, Masami grabbed Tatara's shoulder abruptly. Tatara thought Masami's action was a response to his leading, but it was Masami's need of leading Tatara's body that made him press on his shoulder. He told Tatara that he noticed he wasn't reading his own leading. Masami paused the dance bothered, stomping loudly on the ground making his shoe screech the floor, and told Tatara that it's hard to dance to such leading, aggressively, and asked him whether he was trying to follow rather than lead. When Tatara apologized, and mentioned that he didn't understand leading and all he knew was that dancing was something pairs should do together, Masami lost his patience, so he snickered and called him garbage, then asked Marisa to change roles.

The moment Marisa consented, Masami switched his hands skillfully in such swift way that Tatara was forced to adjust his quickly. Leading Tatara's body to slip away briskly, Tatara thought he would lose his balance and grabbed firmly to his leader's arm, but Masami fixed their balance in plank time with a Left Whisk. When Masami forced his knee into Tatara's pelvis -the same way Chinatsu Hiyama did- creating the Left Whisk figure- Tatara thought that he utterly wasn't able to fight Masami's power of dragging his follower along. Going on sweating around with the dance, Masami paused by Kiyoharu and glanced thoughtfully at him for few seconds (leaders' way of showing off both their skills and their followers) stretching Tatara's spine at him with a Throwaway Over sway, creating an alluring frame and breaking out a sensual confident smirk at him. Bored, Masami dropped Tatara because the boy was "so heavy", which made Tatara blush, then asked Marisa for leave.

At the GrandPrix tournament, in the first elimination, Masami thought it strange to see the dance newbies Tatara and Chinatsu competing as his and Idogawa's rivals. He pressed his lips and pouted while dancing, asking in his head the troublesome couple, calling them smudges or pubes (moja moja), to go away, which helped him to regain and fix his spirit showing a smart abrupt routine the audience liked. They claimed the Heat was for Kugimiya to win in the first place, but when Tatara supported Chinatsu's fall later, taking Marisa-sensei's advice into account, the audience cheered the younger couple up, leaving Masami bewildered. He has got his concentration lapsed, thinking a weird thing has got into his eyes. He tried his best to writhe Tatara's frame again into smudge crunching his teeth. He succeeded to make the audience clap and call his name at the end of the heat, but he left the dance floor pouting and upset anyway. Masami won the second elimination with a sham grin as the audience howled his name.

When Marisa-sensei invited the two couples to visit her dancing studio for camping in her villa in Karuizawa, she went ahead in her car asking Masami to take care of driving Tatara and Chinatsu along with his partner. Masami didn't like the idea and rubbed the back of his neck thinking it bothersome, but he consented anyway out of compliance to the lady, Marisa-sensei. In the silent awkward ride, Masami appeared to be wearing glasses, and following a certain route using the GPS. Since he's short tempered, he appeared to be driving in such speed that the car's wheels were grinding the cobblestone. Bored and already exhausted from the long dull drive, he threatened  Tatara not to fall asleep like the girls behind their seats because he neither liked the idea of being awake by himself nor being active driving while the sluggish others were napping restfully. Tatara tried to find a topic to make a conversation with the silent driver; to kill the uncomfortable silence, but Masami was utterly indifferent and didn't care less. He answered the noisy boy pessimistically when he congratulated him for reaching the finals, stating that he couldn't get in the mood and the experience was horrible; a way to express his annoyance and ask Tatara to shut up. When Tatara changed the topic mentioning Idogawa, Masami's partner, thinking it might be the best and closest topic to Masami, the short-tempered man asked what was wrong with 'Banshee' (but it's 'Ochi Musha' as 'Fallen worrier' in Japanese) defensively (see trivia for 'Banshee' meaning), when Tatara laughed friendly and repeated her nickname Masami was protectively irate that Tatara called Idogawa with such name, pushing the brake making the car screech and stop amidst the high way and almost picking a fight like a yankee closing his face to the young boy's. When Tatara quickly praised Masami's partner to him in terror, "Is that so?" He calmed down instantly and altered his position back to his seat looking ahead where he was supposed to watch. Tatara caught his suffocation and anxiety while Masami was profound in his thought. His face was mournful as if he was downhearted. He cleared his throat then called Tatara faintly, he seemed to be lacking self esteem, Tatara answered delightfully. He told him that while dancing, dancers focus on their own performance, minding their own business, but he continued, hesitatingly, that he on the other hand was strained to see them, or they appeared to him, as 'pubes'. Tatara didn't get that random admission as submission of vulnerability, so he looked at the man with confusion. Masami, frowning, closed the subject with some kind of aversion, then pointed soundlessly to the camp they have finally reached, which Tatara was alerted to look where his index finger pointed.

Kugimiya called Tatar's name playfully when they arrived, which showed his ease with the boy he slightly talked to now. In spite of him being gloomy and introverted, Masami was pretty open with the people he trusted. Perhaps because people failed him and betrayed him throughout his life. Masami asked Tatara to do something for him, by which Tatara had a bad feeling about; "weed the yard."

Inquisitive and curious as he is, Masami overheard Tatara's discussion with Marisa-sensei who mentioned that the boy should win next time after his either practice or shower -he had a towel around his shoulder- when he walked through the hall. He entered the room like an upset kid reminding the lady that he was also entering the A-rank advancement, notifying her that he'll have a better chance to win, "Isn't it already impossible for Fujita-kun?" He asked eagerly, making Tatara fret. Marisa-sensei used Masami's comment to tease the boy to encourage him. When Tatara insisted that he, too, will enter the Grandprix, she mentioned that with Masami being his opponent it'll be near impossible, with that, Masami was aspired, unknowing what was going on but was overjoyed anyway by her remark, he apologised to Tatara laughing exquisitely in disdain with an unusual big satisfactory kind of grin. In the manga, Volume.7 Chapter 32, Hyoudo asked Tatara to share a room with Masami, which Tatara thought it a nightmare, but Masami delightfully welcomed him in.

Next day when they all decided to have a barbecue in the fresh air, Marisa-sensei instructed Masami to "Get some meat on those bones" of him, which rendered her care and watch over him. He was shown eating aloof beside his partner, who was also introverted, at the back. When Tatara and Chinatsu were practising later, Masami was sitting on the sofa at the back, watching crossing his arms, captivated by Marisa's coaching to the younger couple. He and his partner isolated themselves again the next time they had barbecue, undetermined what the two were talking about in the background.

Masami appeared to see Tatara as his younger self, which annoyed him the most. In Chapter.44 of the tenth volume, he grabbed Tatara's head fiercely out of the blue, "If it becomes tough, it's okay to stop. Dance makes your life crazy" he told the clueless boy as if he was advising his younger self before cracking an insane chuckle to cover his awkwardness.

Trivia[]

  • Masami is 66 kg.
  • His name, Masami meaning "Righteous Beauty".
  • Masami's accident scarred his left thigh, right knee, and feet, too, aside from his lower back.
    Ghgh-1
  • His favourite food is sashimi.
  • He was born in Kamakura, Kanagawa.
  • He started dancing at 10 years old.
  • Despite being an athlete, Masami smokes occasionally, especially when anxious or stressed.
  • Masami has two twin brothers, called Maosa and Kazusa. The twins are of the same height, each distinguished by his bangs dropped to either left or right. 
  • It seems from the manga that Masami has red blemish of some sort on his nose.
  • Masami calls his partner "Banshee", which is, in an Irish legend, a female spirit whose wailing/howling warns of a death in a house. In Japanese however, she's "Ochi Musha" meaning "Fallen Warrior".
  • Masami's age, in order: 5th Grade (10-11), 1st year (11-12), 3rd year (13-14), 4th year (14-15), 7th year (16-17), 10th year (19-20), 12th year (21-22), current age 23 years old.
  • Gaju noticed that Masami looked not only like a noble but also like a teacher while dancing a Tango song by Piazzolla, which has a sexual tension.
  • Masami's audience assumed that Masami has a "matchstick body".
  • Masami appeared to be uninterested in technology and social media, taking a blurry picture of Chinatsu and Tatara.
  • The two cats Masami encountered when they were mating appear to have formed a family in future when he has become a dancing coach. Four black and white cats appeared hanging around the studio.
  • Masami stated, "In my best moments, I see others as pubes." (moja moja: shaggy hair in Japanese), which was an honest explanation to the blackish clumps he sees people as when dancing on stage, making other dancers invisible.
  • Masami nicknames Gaju Akagi and Sengoku as "Gorilla".
  • According to Hyoudo, Masami captured his attention as a beautiful dancer.
  • Masami has a thing for cleanness and style.
  • Masami likes cats.
    IMG 5204
  • He choose Tamie's dress for the tournament frequently.
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