Inkopolis, at least as a city, is most likely seen as a paradise by the Octolings and even by a number of its residents. But not by everyone. Since every city has its dark side. Because if there are rich people, there must be poor. If there are people who live comfortably, there will always be those who don't know if there will be food on the table the next day. It’s been repeated in history over and over since the Earth had humans.
And Sean's family was a part of the poor. His parents struggled for employment and when they did have it, it was a low paid, very temporary job. It was already hard when his older brother was born, so it was unsurprising that the parents reactions were all but positive when Sean was born 2 and a half years later. The parents could just about to afford the four of them, but it all fell apart when Sean's dad lost his job again when Sean was 4. His father was sick of barely being able to afford food, their tiny flat and pretending it was all alright. So he spent on himself, he started drinking. This drained their budget, now they truly couldn't afford to eat, the parents started arguing nonstop, plates and glasses were broken. His older brother at least got to go to school for half of it, but Sean heard all of it, all day, every day. Stuck in doors with his dad, hoping he would go out drinking so his dad wouldn't shout at him, yet felt guilty his mum would have to deal with it instead.
The only person keeping his head emotionally balanced was his older brother. He would always repeat it will all be okay when he was 18, as he'd be able to take him and they'd be able to escape. Sean felt comfortable around his sibling, and so he'd always be in his room, even though he always would be reading silently or doing his homework. To cure his boredom though he got his older brother to teach him the words, how to read and write, and actually do the homework. It turned out Sean was able to learn really quickly, whether this was because he was determined or gifted his brother didn't know. Strangely because Sean was doing this with his brother, he felt learning was fun, he enjoyed it more than playing or running around the house.
Though his mum would argue back, she wasn't strong enough to kick him out, since she was too scared to do it on her own, parenting and being solely responsible to pay for the kid’s survival. They were in debt, they needed to eat, but couldn't afford it. His mum was too weak to kick out their drunken father, but there were too many mouths to feed. So... One of the kids had to go. The mum didn't want to be seen as one who would leave her child, so an adoption home was off the list, and his older brother was already in school, so she would be suspected if he disappeared all of a sudden. But Sean... Sean hadn't gone to school yet, he hadn't even gone outside that many times since there was nothing for him to do. Therefore, his dad decided one night when he was under the influence, the best idea would be to pick the kid up in the night during his sleep, leave him on a street in the middle of the slum they lived in, and walk away.
By the time Sean woke up though, he was alone in a room with 10 futon type beds. He didn't know to react as a 4-year-old child who had just gained his legs, he didn't know what to do except sit in the bed just afraid. He was told he had been brought to their doorstep by someone who claimed to be his brother while he was asleep and under no circumstances could he return to their home, but in 7 days’ time he was to go the park at 6pm. During this Sean thought his sibling had thrown him out to keep himself fed.
He didn't get to find out at that moment though because it turned out the house he was lead to was for abandoned street kids who had to steal from the streets to pay for their shelter and food. They would do it in groups so they could carry more and it was harder for them to get caught. Within the first week despite being so young he picked up on it quickly, and was just as smart and mischievous as those around him.
At the end of the week Sean went to the park like his brother had asked, and there he met his 7-year-old brother standing by the swings with a sad smile on his face and a muffin in his hand with a candle sticking out the middle of it. "Happy birthday, Sean." With that Sean's 100% trust in his brother had been restored, he couldn't believe he could have thrown him out. After blowing out the candle, taking the cake and giving his brother a massive hug, his brother told him to listen. He told him the cold, hard truth. He told him that it was their dad that left him out, and his brother had managed to follow their dad too see him drop Sean on the path. He then carried him to a place he was told about in school that took in abandoned children.
Sean couldn't react, all the 5-year-old had inside of him was a seething hatred for their father. But his brother told him to calm, stay away from him and survive. They could get their revenge when they were 18, and decide on what to do then, when they could stand on their own two feet. Sean obliged.
He then lived a life dedicated to thievery for the next 4 years, it was hard, but he got to meet up with his brother every week in that park where his sibling would tutor him, and every now again his brother would sneak Sean some food from their last meal, which he would graciously gobble down with a small smile. The only time he smiled was with his brother though. He barely got on with any of the kids except for one or two, and even then he would only give them small talk. He was grateful enough to the people taking him in, they did feed and shelter him even if the conditions were pretty bad, but more importantly they told him about his brother wanting to meet up with him again. Sean realised later they could have just lied to him or not mentioned it to make sure he didn't have any outside relations, but they were honest with him, and that was greatly appreciated.
But it only lasted 4 years. As his last attempt to steal for them was from street thugs, though what he didn't know was that this target was a gang boss. Sure the kids had escaped from ordinary gangsters, hardened as they were, but not someone of this level. Sean was the one to move in as he had started taking the lead in these operations. He knew the talking tactic where one would distract them and the other steal from their pocket didn't work often with gang members, since they'd usually knock out the kid talking to them. So instead he opted to just slip in for the steal while the others watched his back in case someone saw them or something went wrong. He kept his footsteps silent and his focus was honed, but as he tried to slide into the man's pocket, Sean saw a leg fly up. He knew it was a kick, and so instantly jumped back, but even that wasn't fast enough. It cracked into his side and knocked Sean to the floor. But as the man moved in to grab the kid, the only two children Sean had gotten close to jump into the man.
The gang boss grimaced at the weight, but hadn't lost his standing, he just grabbed the boy and the girl before throwing them on the floor beside Sean. Sean had tried to get up but the damaged had been weighty since the man didn't hold back. Before he knew it the man was over them, and he clutched Sean's neck before asking. "Who are you, kid?" Sean answered back the man with his life in his hands quickly with a cough.
"S... Sean... Matsuda." The man's eyes widened slowly, letting go of the child. He stared into Sean's eyes intensely. Once he realised he was speaking the truth, he sighed.
"Come with me, you and your friends. Your life is in my hands now... Nephew." All three of the kids stopped, Sean especially. Was he being serious, he was his Uncle? Did he have somewhere to go this whole time but his parents didn't tell him? Or was this man just lying to get them to go with him? All this questions spiralled through Sean's head. But he did know this man could kill all of them if they said no. So the three of them got up and followed him. Sean watched the man, his two friends watched Sean, all of them stayed silent.
It turned out the man truly was Sean's uncle. Although he was a gang boss, and a dangerously known one at that. All his men were rough criminals who had experience. But oddly they did have comradery, and they were really accepting of the three children. To the point where... they felt at home there. They were fed, slept well and weren't expected to do much since Sean's uncle paid for them. They sort of felt like... proper children. They did have to do consistent, intense combat training though and they were taught everything about the streets from territories to the drug trade. His two friends became proper gang members, although when Sean hit 14 his experience was different.
It was different because Sean still talked to his brother, just every other week since Sean was part of a known criminal group. His brother declined Sean's offer to become a part of their uncle's street gang since he was trying to protect their mother who may be undeserving, but he felt it right anyway. But what his brother did say though was about Turf Wars, or more specifically how much money Ranked Battles brought in. He told him that schools taught about this topic, and though only the skilled raked in, it was one way Sean could make money with all his combat and fighting experience, and one of these schools was Zapfish Academy.
Sean brought this up one day with his Uncle, who gave him the go ahead despite disagreement from the rest of his gang. They did like the prospect of the amount of money and funding Sean could put back into the group, but it was still risky for them to send him in, for his sake, theirs and his uncle. However, his uncle wouldn't shake from his position, so Sean was given fake ID and given a fake backstory to tell the authorities about why he hasn't gone to school until the age of 14.
For the next 2 years, Sean joined the Turf Wars and started and stayed at Zapfish Academy. He was good at both school and Turf Wars. With the latter, all the time on the streets and training from his uncle had made his ill experienced opponents who came just out of P.E. a cake walk. School wasn't too hard either thanks to his brother keeping him 2 years ahead of his age group thanks to his tutoring. It wasn't consistent, so it did take him longer to remember things than he was used to, but even then Sean still did learn fast. Everyone around him was older, even his two close friends who he now called cousins since his uncle 'adopted' them were older than him, so he was used to a higher level of thinking than his age at least. He managed to make into in Ranked and is currently A Rank, which means money is now no longer an issue for Sean, and the plan worked just liked everyone had hoped, for now.
But his past made his ability to speak absolutely abysmal, he didn't know how to talk to people other than his brother. Even with his cousins they usually spoke for him or came up with the conversation, Sean just listened. He smiled more than he used to, but still not too much of a level, since he's always lived his life in a dark environment. The gang was accepting, but they were still criminals at the end of the day. Therefore, Sean doesn't currently have any friends at school or in the Turf War scene. While he still held a hatred for his parents, since now he knew his mother had a part in his abandonment, both him and his brother had given up the revenge. The two of them were not worth it to Sean. To Sean, they were just a pathetic pair of people.
Though he is generally happy. At 16 he is happier than he's been prior to this time. Sean had been so lucky that the man he ran into was his uncle. Since if it wasn't, Sean knew he would not be among the living. He's got pretty fashionable clothes these days thanks to how important gear is in Turf Wars, but he still sticks to his hoodies, as it helps cover his face on the streets. Since he's not much of a talker, and he doesn't want to listen to people's 'problems' on the train to school and Turf Wars, he almost is always seen with the Noise Cancelling headphones. Sean lives his life vigilant, but much more casual. He doesn't have to wonder if the next day he'll get to eat, or if he'll get beaten to a pulp by a street thug. He finally got to live a life as a student.
A student with a really, really twisted backstory.
on his head or around his neck, a Baseball Jersey 
