Sakuya Shiina

**Sakuya Shiina** (椎名 サクヤ, *Shiina Sakuya*) is the main protagonist of the *Twinkle Stars*.

## Appearance

Sakuya is a short teenage girl with short brown hair and hazel eyes.

She is usually depicted in her school uniform, though her everyday attire is very feminine, consisting of skirts, shorts, dungarees, cardigans and blouses.

## Personality

Sakuya is a kind and caring young girl with a fascination for the stars.

## History

### Early Life

During her childhood, whenever her feelings would change for the worse, Sakuya would throw up. Saturday afternoons were the worst for her as her parents were both home and would not talk, leaving the air heavy and stifling. As both her parents didn't like her throwing up and neither did Sakuya, she resorted to going outside and walking aimlessly until she spotted the first star, wondering if they were saying something to her, Sakuya found comfort in them and that's where her love of stars stems.

In middle school, Sakuya's parents got a divorce. Her parents fought over who was to take full custody of her, both not wanting to be responsible for her. They forced her to make a decision, which resulted in Sakuya staying with her father and his new girlfriend, who later became her step-mother. Sakuya's stepmother was very angry at the fact Sakuya had chosen to live with her father and was very hostile toward her, shutting down Sakuya's attempts at trying to get along with her.

To avoid becoming depressed, Sakuya tried her best to lessen the burden of her presence for her father and step-mother. She took initiative with helping out, doing housework and cooking meals for her parents. Although her many attempts at conversation went unappreciated.

When expressing her love for stars, Sakuya's step-mother cruelly implies that she is an alien and that she doesn't belong on planet earth. This pushes Sakuya further into isolation and she starts to eat less and become feverish, still she has hope that her parents will one day see her efforts and reciprocate them, turning to her with smiles.

Although this doesn't come to fruition as soon after, Sakuya's step-mother admits to Sakuya that both her and her father hate her and her 'good girl' attitude, one day while waiting for her father to come home. Sakuya's step-mother asks Sakuya why she still stays in their house and tells her to go back to her planet, further making Sakuya feel alien in her own home. When her father gets home, he immediately berates Sakuya, accusing her of not getting on with her step-mother and being difficult for her. He tells her that if she wants to be defiant she can do so elsewhere, and Sakuya, under the stress and shock throws up on the kitchen table. She then runs out of the house and cries into the night, letting out all her pent up misery from the emotional abuse her parents put her under.

Shortly after, she moves in with Kanade after her father no longer wants to be responsible for her.

## Story Overview

Sakuya, the main protagonaist, lives with her cousin, Kanade Miyako in a house next to the sea and works part-time at a shop run by the family of her childhood friend, Yuuri Murakami. She has a fascination for the stars and has loved them ever since she was a young child. With her friends, Yuuri and Hijiri Honjou, she has formed the Stars Admiration association or the Hoshizora Kanshou Association, where they weekly meet to star gaze. The first chapter begins on the day of her eighteenth birthday, where she first meets Chihiro Aoi, a mysterious boy who has no prior connection to her.

## Relationships

### Chihiro Aoi

At first, Sakuya is curious about Chihiro, adamant on finding out who he is after his mysterious appearance at her birthday party. However, upon meeting him she is met with a cold and rude response. Despite this, they grow closer as she tries to recruit him to the Stars admiration association club and after he saves her from public humiliation during her presentation speech. Eventually Sakuya develops feelings for him, to which he reciprocates despite his troubling past experience with love.

### Hijiri Honjou

Sakuya's best and longest known friend. They became friends some point during middle-school and have stayed close ever since. Hijiri is very protective of Sakuya, going to extreme lengths to dig up Chihiro's past to ensure he wouldn't hurt Sakuya. Despite her dual personality, Hijiri and Sakuya get along very well and are shown to have trust in each other, even when they don't always voice each other's thoughts and feelings.

## Etymology

* The name **Sakuya** is written in katakana (サクヤ), which has no special meaning. However, when written in kanji (咲也, 咲哉, 咲弥, 朔夜, 朔椰, 咲耶, 沙久椰, 作哉, 朔也, 朔哉, 朔弥, 朔矢, 佐玖哉, 開耶 or 佐久夜), it could possibly mean:
	+ 咲也 - "blossom" (咲) (**saku**) and "to be, also" (也) (**ya**).
	+ 咲哉 - "blossom" (咲) (**saku**) and "how, what, alas, question mark, ?" (哉) (**ya**).
	+ 咲弥 - "blossom" (咲) (**saku**) and "all the more, increasingly" (弥) (**ya**).
	+ 朔夜 - "conjunction (astronomy), first day of month" (朔) (**saku**) and "night, evening" (夜) (**ya**).
	+ 朔椰 - "conjunction (astronomy), first day of month" (**saku**) and "coconut" (椰) (**ya**).
	+ 咲耶 - "blossom" (咲) (**saku**) and "question mark" (耶) (**ya**).
	+ 沙久椰 - "sand" (沙) (**sa**), "long time" (久) (**ku**) and "coconut" (椰) (**ya**).
	+ 作哉 - "make, production, prepare, build, work, cultivation, tillage" (作) (**saku**) and "how, what, alas, question mark, ?" (哉) (**ya**).
	+ 朔也 - "conjunction (astronomy), first day of month" (**saku**) and "to be, also" (也) (**ya**).
	+ 朔哉 - "conjunction (astronomy), first day of month" (**saku**) and "how, what, alas, question mark, ?" (哉) (**ya**).
	+ 朔弥 - "conjunction (astronomy), first day of month" (**saku**) and "all the more, increasingly" (弥) (**ya**).
	+ 朔矢 - "conjunction (astronomy), first day of month" (**saku**) and "arrow" (矢) (**ya**).
	+ 佐玖哉 - "help, aid" (佐) (**sa**), "beautiful black jewel, nine" (玖) (**ku**) and "how, what, alas, question mark, ?" (哉) (**ya**).
	+ 開耶 - "open, unfold, unseal" (開) (**saku**) and "question mark" (耶) (**ya**).
	+ 佐久夜 - "help, aid" (佐) (**sa**), "long time" (久) (**ku**) and "night, evening" (夜) (**ya**).
* Sakuya's surname **Shiina** means "oak, mallet" (椎) (**shii**) and "name, noted, distinguished, reputation" (名) (**na**).

## Trivia

* Haruka Tomatsu (Sakuya's Drama CD voice actress) also voiced Aritamis Donpanina Taios from the 2019 version of the *Fruits Basket* anime series.