Shai

## ShaiShai Sato

**Shai Sato**, more commonly referred to as simply **Shai** is an Octoling, alike Kaori, which escaped the Octarian forces. He was a sanitised octo-solider who later become unsanitised and escaped to Inkopolis and met Driss, who he is now in a relationship with and lives with in Inkopolis.

He is a minor character in Divided, he has mid-toned skin and one big strand of purple hair which resembles that of a mohawk, swept to side and bright violet eyes. He is 18 years old and his preferred weapon of choice is a Firefin Splatterscope.

## History

### **Divided**

Not much is known about Shai apart from the fact that he is an Octoling that worked as a solider for the Octarian forces. He was sanitised and upon hearing Calamari Inkantation by the Squid Sisters, (Callie and Marie) it freed him from his sanitised state and he continued to accidentally have found the surface in which Inkopolis lies.

He lost all his previous memory of the Octarian forces in the process of being unsanitised. When he met Kaori, someone alike him, she suggested to him he may have had a similar past to her, which helped him recall some of his memories. Shai mentions that he doesn't know if the Octarian forces are after him upon his escape but he feels as though he sticks around his boyfriend, Driss, he will be safe.

He met Driss upon bumping into him at the Inkopolis train station. Driss was going home to go see his family in another city while Shai had just arrived at Inkopolis, not long free of the Octarians.

Driss and Shai apologised to each other but something about their interaction seemed so right.

Driss, being the friendly Inkling he is - struck up a conversation with him before he had to get on the train in 15 minutes. Shai had fun speaking to him and didn't feel as shy since his aura felt so welcoming. Driss suggested they meet up again and told Shai to come back to the train station in a week in the afternoon to see him again. Shai agreed and from then on, they agreed to meet at the train station every time, sitting on the benches there to talk to each other. Eventually they got each other's numbers and got coffee together quite frequently.

Shai realised later how he truly felt about Driss and took up the opportunity to confess to him as he felt like he couldn't hide it any longer. Driss was taken aback but he admitted Shai was the reason that he found out he was gay. He accepted Shai's confession and they continue to date in the storyline.

## **Trivia**

### Interesting facts

* Shai's name, which is Japanese, roughly translates literally to "shy" in English. This is to reflect on his shy, closed-off personality. His second name, Sato, is one of the most common surnames in Japan. It (supposedly) means "village"
* He is very shy and sensitive. He often only trusts people after being friends with them for a while and the littlest mistake in a friendship can break his trust. He tends to only keep a couple of people super close to him and will latch onto them very closely in attempt to not lose them. This can suggest terrible treatment by the Octarian forces made him feel as though to not trust anybody.
* Driss is the person he trusts the most.
* Shai is LGBTQ+, being gay.
* He prefers to dress femininely, as it is what he is more comfortable with.
* Shai is the one who confessed to Driss, offering him one of his favourite flowers, violets upon asking him.
* Upon arriving in Inkopolis, he grew to love the band, "Off The Hook" featuring Pearl and Marina.
* He copes with losing terribly and hates Turf War. Octolings are known canonically to take competition to heart so this may suggest why.
* Marsh really likes his character overall and hopes to add as much to him as she can.
* Driss' friends, while being supportive of his sexuality, particularly don't like Shai all that much because of his Octoling roots.

## **Family**

### Members

Partner:

Driss: *Living (As of Divided)*

**Mother**:

Unknown Octoling: Residence unknown