Masaki Osoto

* Re:newal
* Tasokare Hotel
* Regular Clothing
* Pansy Head

**Masaki Osoto** is the first guest that Neko personally takes care of, as well as the main antagonist of Tasokare Hotel. He is a medical student, serial rapist, and serial killer who arrived at the hotel after slipping on a wet metal board and getting impaled on a pointed fence post.

## Appearance

Osoto is a tall young man with neat, dark green hair and yellow-green eyes. He is regarded to be fairly attractive, and is often seen with a kind and pleasant expression.

### Hotel Attire

In the Tasokare Hotel, his attire consists of plaid wool clothing reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes's style with a beige-white-green color scheme. He wears a plain white dress shirt paired with a green tie that has a red diagonal stripe near the end. His plaid blazer is draped over his shoulders while black suspenders pull up his plaid trousers, paired with black two-buckled formal shoes. Before remembering his name, his head took the form of a purple pansy.

### Real World

In the real world, Osoto wears casual clothing that is vastly different from his style in the hotel. The outfit consists of a light brown, blue-hooded jacket and a beige cashmere sweater with a light blue button-up shirt underneath. He sports dark grey plaid trousers and the same formal two-buckled shoes he wore in the hotel.

### Behind the Scenes

*"His private fashion was easily decided. He looks very casual even if he is a killer, but he doesn't look like wearing black either. So he looks like a normal university student."*

- Artist's comments on Osoto's real world outfit
## Personality

Osoto is an intelligent, sophisticated, and mild-mannered young man. He is good at solving mysteries and has an eloquent way of speaking. After Neko deduces his true nature, he momentarily drops his facade in order to be threatening and condescending to her and the other staff members. However, he quickly reverts back to being primarily laid-back and courteous after realizing he cannot kill anyone.

While Osoto spends much of the game working alongside Neko and the other hotel staff, this too was an act in order to lower their guards around him so he could carry out his true desire. Despite this, he also seemed to genuinely enjoy some aspects of his hotel life, namely in regards to Neko, who he believed was the only one to truly understand him.

As a serial killer in the real world, Osoto avoided detection and suspicion all throughout the span of his criminal history, which proved that he was an excellent and meticulous planner who knew how to get around. However, Osoto was also slightly depressive, which was the driving cause of his psychopathic acts. He felt inferior largely because of the pressure of having successful and well-renowned parents and their borderline-unachievable expectations of him.

### Behind the Scenes

*"He is an enemy character in this story. For me, this is the story of 'Tsukahara and Osoto.' Osoto thinks that his destiny is Atori, but actually, Tsukahara is his real destiny."*

- Benoma Ray
## History

### Background

Despite seeming like it, Osoto was not born as smart as his parents. Both geniuses, his parents wanted him to match and surpass their accomplishments, so they were naturally disappointed when he did not meet their expectations. As a kid, Osoto was not praised by them, despite working as hard as he could and studying as much as possible to earn their respect.

In his diary, young Osoto mentions that he lost all self-esteem and felt as if he was "not good enough" due to this. In an attempt to gain his confidence back, Osoto killed his pet bird, Pi-chan. The feeling of being in control of his pet's life gave him confidence and satisfaction, so he began harming and killing other animals to chase this feeling. When that was not enough, he upped the stakes by killing a person -- a homeless man. Then, he killed another person. And then another. He also began manipulating women, obtaining multiple girlfriends at a time, as well as assaulting and raping them. He kept records of all of his victims, rating them on a five-star scale based on how much satisfaction he got out of killing them.

After high school, Osoto became a medical student, following in his parents' footsteps. Despite his perfect grades, they still were not impressed. It was around this time that they stayed at the Hamilton Hotel for a business trip. There, they fell in love with their concierge, Atori, fully neglecting Osoto and wishing that Atori was their son instead. After finding out about this, Osoto began stalking Atori, extremely jealous of him yet simultaneously admiring and wishing to be him. Eventually, Osoto pushed Atori in front of a moving train, immediately killing him.

After killing Atori, Osoto was unable to gain satisfaction from committing any more crimes. However, he still continued with them, desperate to feel something. On his way to assault one of his girlfriends during a rainy day, he slipped on a manhole cover and impaled his side on a pointed metal fence post, nearly dying and getting sent to the Tasokare Hotel.

### Tasokare Hotel

Upon his arrival to the hotel, Osoto has lost all memories of who he is. His head is initially hidden from the other staff members, instead replaced by a Purple Pansy, and Neko is appointed to tend to him and help him search for clues. His face is revealed when Neko finds his victim records and he quickly remembers his identity as a criminal. However, he covers it up by claiming to be a detective, and manages to convince her with his quick thinking. The two then decide to take a break to eat, where Osoto reunites with an unknowing Atori. Thinking that fate brought them together at the hotel, Osoto deems Atori to be his destiny.

When their investigation continues, Neko deduces out that Osoto was sent to the hotel after slipping off a wet manhole cover onto a pointed fence. As if to reaffirm her deduction, Osoto's side suddenly begins bleeding, so she calls Atori and Ruri for help. Once Osoto recovers, Neko asserts her suspicions that he is not a detective, but a criminal, prompting an interrogation. Eventually, Osoto concedes to her sound logic, but not before holding Ruri hostage with a knife he had hidden under his pillow. He decides to kill everyone in the room now that they know his true identity, starting with Ruri. However, before he can kill her, Neko flashes light in his eyes to temporarily blind him, and Atori punches him so Ruri can escape. Shortly afterward, the Manager arrives and reveals that if he kills someone, he will be sent to Hell, even if he is still alive in the real world. Subsequently, he says that only one in 50,000 people remember their stay at the hotel, so they likely won't be able to turn him in upon their return to the real world anyway. Defeated, Osoto surrenders and says he will check out.

Although he realizes that he is alive in the real world, Osoto pretends not to know so he can check back in and stay near Atori. While the staff members are uneasy with this, the Manager allows Osoto to stay because nothing else can ethically be done about the situation. Osoto claims that he will remain passive and work together with the staff members for the remainder of his stay since they are at a stalemate.

To his dismay, Neko continues tending to him after convincing Atori that she can handle it. However, Osoto takes a certain interest in her, impressed by her detective skills and intuition. They develop a relationship almost akin to a friendship and are often seen conversing and bickering with each other when they have nothing else to do.

After the masked couple arrive at the hotel, Osoto meets Neko in the dining room and tells her of the importance of one's diet. Later on, he helps Neko solve a rubix cube puzzle before joining her in interrogating the couple about their identities. Once it is revealed that Kyoko is not Tohru's wife, Osoto encourages her to act violently, resulting in him getting stabbed in the shoulder when Tohru hides behind him for cover. After their lover's squabble, Osoto instructs Atori on how to tend to his injury.

When Kanekono arrives at the hotel, Neko asks Osoto to play the piano for a live performance of Meitei Inebriety. When he refuses, they play a game of speed where the winner gets to ask the loser to do anything. He promptly loses all three games, so he agrees to play in the performance. A few hours afterwards, Neko calls him and asks him to help Kaneko, who just passed out in her room from eating too much. Despite getting nothing out of it, he complies, even staying to have tea with Neko while they wait for Kaneko to wake up.

After Kaneko checks out, Osoto begins preparing to assimilate Atori. He finds an entrance to a secret basement in his room, which is where he plans to carry out the procedure. He steals Ruri's shift roster to figure out the staff schedule, and then calls Atori to clean his room when everyone else will be preoccupied. However, it is Neko who shows up instead, having previously switched shifts with Atori just to spite Osoto. Hiding, he watches Neko unlock the entrance to his basement and find out that he is planning to do something to Atori. He leaves the room before she can find him, and so begins their game of life and death.

Fascinated with how Neko will resolve this situation, Osoto decides to wait and see what she does before confronting her. When she approaches him in the bar to tell him to give her some more time to get ready, he compares their likeness to Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty, where she is Sherlock, and he Moriarty. When she is ready, the two head outside the hotel to settle everything without prying eyes.

Outside, Osoto challenges Neko to figure out his plans and motive with the evidence she had collected from the basement. She correctly deduces that everything he did as a criminal in the real world stemmed from his parents' neglect, and that he is targeting Atori out of jealousy and a wish to be him. She almost jokingly asserts that he plans to eat Atori in order to assimilate him, and after he affirms this, she pulls out a gun but hesitates to shoot him. Osoto takes advantage of this and beats her nearly unconscious. Suddenly, Atori shows up, having seen everything from the window. Desperate to save Neko, he grabs the gun and accidentally shoots Osoto, killing him. As a result, the gate of Hell opens, and the two are pulled in.

### True Ending

The next day, Neko goes back in time to save Atori from ever being killed by Osoto. At the train station platform on the way to kill Atori, Osoto is confronted by her, who he does not recognize due to not yet going to the hotel in this timeline. Equipped with the key to the gate of Hell, Neko opens the gate and Osoto is dragged in. However, he is able to grab her and take her with him. The two fall, but Neko is able to jam her umbrella between a wedge of a cliff to keep from going all the way down. Osoto, suddenly remembering everything due to his traumatic experiences in Hell before, grabs onto her torso, desperate to not go back.

In a struggle reminiscent of the Reichenbach Falls battle between Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty, Osoto climbs up Neko and grabs onto the umbrella, then pulls out his knife to stab her. However, she jams a metal rod into his hand before he can do so, causing him to lose his grip and fall into the depths of Hell. As he falls, he screams out pleas of help for his parents, as well as an anguished cry wondering why it had to be him.

### Another Ending

The next day, Neko goes back in time to save Atori from ever being killed by Osoto. At the train station platform on the way to kill Atori, Osoto is confronted by her, who he does not recognize due to not going to the hotel in this timeline. Although she is equipped with the key to the gate of Hell, Neko does not use it, instead held back by her close relationship with Osoto at the hotel.

Osoto follows Neko to a nearby cafe to talk, where she explains everything that happened at the Tasokare Hotel. Even though it sounds like a tall tale, he believes her because there's no other way she would be able to know everything about him. She then proposes a deal: he stays away from Atori, and in return, she will become his accomplice. Although he has his reservations, he agrees, and so the two begin their unlikely partnership.

### Special Stories

Following a successful assault, Osoto and Neko go to a cafe as they normally do after committing a crime together. On the way there, he thinks about how much easier crimes are with her by his side. At the cafe, Osoto tutors Neko in math to help her prepare for her university exams. While they work, he ponders their relationship, hoping to continue indulging himself with keeping her as his closest friend and ally despite knowing that it likely will not last.

## Relationships

### Mr. and Mrs. Osoto

Osoto is the only child of two renowned doctors in Kanagawa Prefecture. His parents pressured him to be a perfect student and had unrealistic expectations of him, which made him feel inferior. Osoto felt deep admiration for his parents, and studied hard to meet their expectations. Despite getting good grades, however, Osoto was never praised by his parents, and so he poured out his frustrations through murder.

When he saw the relationship between his parents and Atori, who was impeccable and well-praised, Osoto felt betrayed as they blatantly favored Atori over him. His mother loved Atori so much that she often gave Atori priceless gifts, including a watch that cost millions of yen. His family also sent Atori to represent them in meetings instead of Osoto, using the excuse that he was unable to attend due to "reasons". Despite all of this, he still continues to respect them and desperately wishes to be a son that they are proud of.

### Tsukahara Neko

Osoto and Neko have a cat-and-dog relationship. After she exposed Osoto's real identity, Osoto attempted to get rid of her and this sparked a somewhat friendly rivalry between them. He had even once implied that she was the Sherlock Holmes to his Moriarty. However, he does end up helping her a few times in the game and often has humorous banters with her. She only ends up truly fearing and despising him after searching his basement and learning about his secrets.

Although he sees her as his enemy, Osoto is intrigued by her deduction skills and intuitiveness. Under different circumstances, they very likely could have been best friends. He fails to realize that she is his destiny, instead being too blinded by his belief that Atori is his destiny.

In the True Ending, Neko will prevent him from killing Atori in the real world by fighting and dragging him to hell, which ends their rivalry. In Osoto's special alternate ending, Neko chooses to become his friend as long as he does not lay a hand on Atori. In this ending, it was shown that they truly enjoyed each other's company despite their despicable setup. He truly trusts her, even enough to fall asleep on the same bed as her with no ulterior motives. Although he notes that Neko always keeps the key of Hell on her person just in case she has to kill him, he has no desire to steal it because he enjoys and indulges himself in their current relationship.

Overall, in a way, Osoto respected her as the only person who could truly understand him.

### Haruto Atori

In the Tasokare Hotel, Osoto was initially shown to respect Atori and often thought highly of him in conversations with Neko. Although Atori was wary of Osoto after learning about his criminal background, Osoto valued Atori for being an excellent worker. However, Osoto was also jealous of Atori in the real world for being favored by his own parents over him. Since Atori managed to gain respect from Osoto's parents, Osoto also began admiring him, even though his feelings of jealousy remained. He soon became more and more obsessed with Atori to the point of stalking him. After a series of uncanny coincidences, Osoto made the impulsive decision to murder him, which was the reason Atori was sent to Tasokare Hotel. There, Osoto continued his obsession with Atori by attempting to eat him, believing that this way he could "become" Atori. Osoto considered Atori to be his destiny.

### Kiriko

Osoto and Kiriko got along well due to similar interests and their shared fascination with Neko. They were regular customers of Menow's bar where they often conversed.

## Trivia

### General

* Osoto's first name contains the kanji for "holy" (聖 *masa*) and "life" (生 *ki*), an ironic contradiction to his true nature.
* Pansy flowers are mainly symbolic of different forms of love. In the case of Osoto's pansy head, this could be referring to his love for his parents and his twisted admiration of Atori. It could also be ironically referring to his "love" for his girlfriend, which directly led to him nearly dying next to a bed of pansies.
	+ Aside from love, pansies also symbolize thoughtfulness, compassion, remembrance, and free-thinking
* Osoto is the last character to officially be dead in the True Ending after being sent straight to hell by Neko.
* In one alternate ending, Osoto is alive and Neko agrees to become friends with him, even offering to help him with his crimes, so long as he doesn't lay a hand on Atori.
* Osoto believes that whatever he ingests will soon become part of his identity and blood, which ultimately drives him to kidnap and attempt to cannibalize Atori in Chapter 6.
* In a chapter 6 bad ending, Osoto checks out of the hotel and is one of the rare 1 in 50,000 people to remember his time there.
* In a chapter 7 bad ending, it is implied that Osoto planned to cut off and eat Atori's limbs, as he decides to test the limbless procedure on Neko first.
* In all but one of the late-game bad endings, Osoto "wins" his rivalry with Neko in some way, either by killing her, torturing her, or vanishing along with Atori.