| “ | I don't care how many obstacles have to die. I'll do anything to become the ideal me. To escape this reality, I will do anything. | ” |
–Hayato to Takeshishi Kanjurō, Bow Wow! - Two Dog Night | ||
Hayato Inui (戌井 隼人, Inui Hayato) is a former pirate-cum-bandit who migrated to the Artificial Island in 2014. He seeks to become a hero like those found in fiction.
Appearance[]
Hayato is commonly described as "Rainbow-Head" since he dyes his naturally black hair in the seven colors of the rainbow. This effect has led many to compare his colors like the warning colors of poisonous animals. Official art depicts him with white hair, the tips of which are various colors of the rainbow.
He has multiple safety pins pierced through his ears, and he is usually drawn wearing a tracksuit with red-orange and white stripes lining the shoulders and hems.
He also wears blue and red colored contact lenses, giving the illusion of having heterochromia.
Personality[]
Not much is known about his personality before the series - he does mention that he has always loved movies and mentions he would have became a NEET if his life had gone differently; he hints at having a lazy personality as a child.
Hayato usually gives the first impression of an idiot, what with his constant movie references (and especially if one takes his appearance into account). Most people do not take him seriously at first, especially with his constant prattling on.
It doesn't take long for him to show his true colors when pressed. He does not hesitate to fire his gun when cornered, and he rarely feels remorse over his actions.
Hayato desperately wants to become just like a movie hero -- despite knowing how fake the films are and how reality is unlike fiction -- but this knowledge does not stop him from striving towards this ideal. He obsessively wants to reach his goal, and genuinely puts a lot of effort and practice into it since he wants to appear as an actual movie star, with all the stunts and the sideways-shooting (see Abilities).
Hayato is an absolute wild card; he rarely seems to take things seriously, and often just messes around for the fun of it. Even though he is formally in league with the Eastern District, everyone considers him too much of a risk to rely upon.
While he is often uncaring towards or prone to teasing other people, Hayato ends up developing a soft spot for Yua Kirino: first he saves her in the Pits; when he later thinks she was kidnapped, he immediately rushes to help her. He is also a little obsessed with Seiichi: mostly because of their similar pasts and how they were both affected by their respective traumas in their childhood (both of them rejected reality and tried to become heroes).
Hayato, if nothing else, is dramatic. The dramatics are clearly part of his desired movie-style persona; he often acts in a rash way (without thinking his actions through) just because he thinks certain actions look cool. He is stubborn and does not back down even when rejected continually by Takeshishi Kanjurō or Seiichi. The constant rejections don't really affect his mood, though he is sincerely disappointed that Seiichi keeps rejecting his idea of going on a shared pirate adventure.
He often refers to his life like a movie, and makes disappointed comments when he thinks that the narrative isn't going the way he expects it to go or if he doesn't end up being the "star" of the present narrative. He loves being the center of attention, and he has the talent to escape if people get fed up with his antics and try to kill him.
Hayato is also more intelligent than most people think. For instance, he was able to figure out the plans of Seiichi and the Chinese Mafia in 2019, and as the executives come to realize he is also working on keeping the balance of the island up on his own way.
History[]
(Note: Will eventually be further detailed)
Born sometime around 1994 AD in Japan, Hayato moved with his parents to a small village near the border of a South American country around 2009. He was not particularly affected by the move despite the different language and culture, not having left many friends behind in Japan to miss. Hayato did not bother to forge meaningful relationships with others in South America either, instead continuing to lose himself in movies and video games.
Hayato's life was changed when a group of men in unmarked military uniforms burst into their one-story home and restrained his parents against their dining table. The men forced him to shoot his parents to save his own life, which was the normal method of making child soldiers. Normally a fifteen-year-old like Hayato would have been killed, but the men likely assumed Hayato was younger due to his "tiny bean-sprout" appearance.
Moments after Hayato kills his parents, the men scatter at the arrival of the country's military and abandon him. Had the military arrived a mere ten seconds earlier, Hayato's entire life would have been different: his parents, alive, would have gone back to Japan and he'd probably be a hopeless NEET without a care in the world.
Hayato later joins a group of South American guerrilla fighters and is subsequently treated as a pirate and bandit. During this civil war period, he successfully works to destroy the branch of the enemy who were responsible for his parents deaths.
After five years of banditry he arrives on the Artificial Island on August 18, 2014 whereupon he kills and injures a number of people who try to attack him. He was disappointed at their poor show of dying, considering all the work he put into learning how to make a good show of killing. He then takes all their guns as bounty. Later, he joins a group of thugs in The Pits and spies upon Seiichi Kugi being questioned by Yili Ei of the Chinese Mafia. Hayato observes that Seiichi's empty eyes are just like the way his eyes looked in the war, and hopes that Seiichi does not end up like him. He then kills the thugs after they turn on him.
Five more years pass, and by the Winter of 2019 twenty-five year old Hayato has assumed control over the Pits. When suspicion falls on him over a recent rash of murders (including those of the executives from the Northern and Southern Districts) the innocent Hayato decides to claim responsibility for them rather than deny his involvement. The move leads to him clashing with the captain of the volunteer police corps Sōji Kuzuhara.
Eventually he runs into and confronts the real killer, Seiichi. They have a confrontation wherein Hayato reveals he knows Seiichi's secret – that he was the one who killed his girlfriend years ago – and tells Seiichi of his own history, ultimately announcing that they are mirror images. He assumes the role of 'hero' and the two engage in a dramatic shootout only stopped by Kuzahara's intervention. In the aftermath, Hayato leaves the island and resumes pirating for several months in Thailand. There, he converses with a "Japanese tourist" who warns him to stay away from the artificial island in the upcoming winter. The comment backfires, and Hayato makes his way back to the island in anticipation of whatever is to come.
On the island, Hayato has a dangerous reunion with Seiichi, who tricks Hayato into shooting him in the chest. Hayato takes Seiichi to the Western District, saving his life. Two months later or so, the two meet again during the explosive events shattering the island, and Seiichi shoots Hayato, grazing him in the side. Hayato gives Seiichi a matching wound.
In the aftermath, Hayato is seen haunting his preferred ramen place in the Eastern District, having recovered from his gunshot wound.
Abilities[]
Hayato is a capable fighter, who takes on his opponents in a decidedly hollywood manner. He has spent hours upon months upon years practicing in order to successfully and effectively pull off the flashy and 'cool' moves that are often seen on television or in movies. This includes the ability to shoot with his gun parallel to the ground (sideways). After countless injured wrists and sore muscles incurred via training, he is now able to accurately 'shoot sideways' with nary a miscalculation.
That being said, Hayato knows when something is completely out of his league and values his life enough that he will stay out of said danger. He is highly wary of Yakumo Amagiri, the mere presence of whom is enough to make him scramble.
Etymology[]
Like Seiichi Kugi, Hayato's name contains a character meaning 'dog.' Around the island Hayato is known as the "mad dog" or "wild dog" for this reason.
- The name Hayato means "falcon" (隼) (haya) and "person" (人) (to).
- Hayato's surname Inui means "dog" (戌) (inu) and "well, mine shaft, pit" (井) (i).
Trivia[]
- Hayato makes a voiced appearance in a fifty-eight second advertisement for Etsusa Bridge as featured on the first Baccano! audio drama. The track is the twentieth track of Disc 01.