Hiroshi Sato

The very first thing I learned about Hiroshi Sato is that he is voiced by Daniel Dae Kim, of whom I am a big fan - from his role in the Angel TV series to Lost and not to be forgotten Hawaii 5-0. While not a concrete reason that pushed me to apply, it is definitely one of the influences that made me even consider the character.

I think I am very different from Hiroshi Sato, perhaps even a complete opposite. But it turns out that I find myself in utter admiration of his character. He was born to a difficult place in the world, regardless of the leaders‘ ideals - that is the Avatar and the Fire Lord - and has had to work very hard in order to rise from this situation. Considering what he went through to get to the top, his personal family misfortunes, and the rift that has been made, he should be a very broken man. And yet he is able to bear with the lies, the agendas, the schemes, the kindness, and maybe even guilt. Which is what I admire and feel is a huge source of inspiration.

My only fear is that my writing style does not fit the character himself.

If there is one thing that can be said about Hiroshi, it‘s this one simple sentence: he can manage.

He has not had an easy life, it could be said that the world has done its best to push him down several times, but Hiroshi pushed back and pushed better. He is the kind of person who is able to acknowledge hardships and pain, but is wise and intelligent enough to turn them into challenges, to which he will find the proper response if he does not have it already. He possesses the mental strength to get over whatever blocks his way forward, to deal with things. In more basic words: to succeed.

There are, bluntly worded, two sides to Mr.Sato. He is a loving father to Asami, a kind and respectful - and tolerant to a degree - company head, a generous man with altruism ready to lend a hand if he can, as well as agreeable with most people. While none of it is an actual façade, the truth is that he harbors a deep hatred of benders and his long standing wish is that they disappear from Republic City. His smooth leadership of his Future Industries facilities turns into a firm hand and stern voice when it comes to his underground activities. And he is very talented at deception, being able to keep all his Equalist ties secret for so long. His manner of speech is also a very useful tool in this matter. His statements go straight to the point, he does not try to use confusing words. And if he needs to justify himself, he is able to do so convincingly. He acts like he has nothing to hide, confident that his secrets will stay just that… There is only one word that he can not pronounce without difficulty, as if it stung his mouth: bender.

Mr.Sato has one trait about him that does not change, regardless of whether he’s acting or being serious. He will always try to meet demands. While not a selflessly devoted person, he does make sure that everything is in order, and if it is not then he tries to rectify it. Hiroshi does things as best as they can be, thinking things through, a trait that comes with having become the most wealthy and influential person of this side of the continent.

Lastly, he loves Asami more than anything else in the world. He (almost) can‘t refuse his daughter anything, and he does his best to always keep her at his side - and on his side. But like all fathers he is afraid to drive her away, especially considering his anti-bending activities. Above all, he does not want anything to happen to her, which is why he keeps all work-related subjects from her.

Fifty years ago, Hiroshi was born within the Dragon Flats district in Republic City, to a poor family whose roots go back to the Fire Nation colonists, back when these parts of the Earth Kingdom continent first became Fire Nation land. His childhood was very tough, and he had to work at an early age in order to help support his family. Being a non-bender, it was even more difficult for him to make a good living in legality, but he was able to manage.

Besides, what he lacked in skill he made up for with intellect. Despite being a mere shoe-shiner, Hiroshi had a certain knack for observation and understanding how things worked. And the idea of self-powered vehicles, which had already existed for a long time, was interesting to him, however he was able to acknowledge that it couldn’t be developed past the train’s model without finding a solution to the engine’s powering system. This led him to the conception of a revolutionary transportation innovation… though only in idea. He had absolutely no means of putting it to practice, neither money nor material resources. Luckily, when he was eighteen years old, he had the chance of finding an influent banker willing to help with this problem.

And so, after getting a loan of many yuans, Hiroshi was able to acquire his first factory, and design his first gasoline-powered engine, effectively making the first step towards his ambition: creating and spreading automobiles for the common man‘s use. While it did start out as a sort of sign of wealth at first, the Satomobile‘s affordable cost eventually led to its lasting popularization, as well as the expansion of Hiroshi‘s business. By the time he turned twenty five, his Future Industries had earned their first million yuans, and his factories were hard at work everyday, making Satomobiles.

During the many years following this sudden and well earned ascension, a lot of very lucrative opportunities were taken. For starters, he created and manufactured trucks in order to be able to transport large amounts of resources across distances. Then he was contracted by the Republic City police for the manufacture of all their transport equipment, starting with the police cars as well as their police trucks, and not to mention the airships - flying machines made of metal, large enough to house dozens of people and functioning with a system of hot air or other gas substance in order to float, while propellers work the flight paths. Many other such contracts were made, as Future Industries competed over the technological market with Cabbage Corp. His Satomobiles also began to be exported outside of Republic City, and spread around the whole world via cargo ships.

Hiroshi also gained interest in pushing his invention to further limits, designing race cars that would be able to reach top speed without sacrificing maneuverability. And on the other hand, realizing that not everyone was able to buy their own Satomobile but that the Tram system was not ubiquitous, he designed taxi cabs, a practical means of transportation for about anyone‘s use and able to go everywhere. He also developed the Moped, two-wheeled vehicles designed for personal use, and the motorbikes, same vehicle but with larger tires and greater speed. Last but not least, he moved out of the Dragon Flats district and into a grand mansion on the outer hills of Republic City - more than the main mansion, his estate actually includes several quarters for the domestic staff, as well as garages and a race track, and also his own workshop.

The success of his business life had nothing to overshadow that of his private life. Indeed, Hiroshi was married to a beautiful woman, the love of his life, and had a daughter with her when he was around thirty two years old. From then, he lived the greatest, happiest years of his life, he was now an accomplished man.

However, it all ended on an unfortunate and horrible night twelve years ago, when the Agni Kai Triad’s Firebenders raided his estate and robbed his mansion. His daughter Asami was unharmed, but his beloved wife was mortally wounded by one of the Firebenders. The grief from such a heartbreaking loss has never fully subsided, even today. From that moment, he made Asami take self-defense classes and ensured that she would be able to take care of herself even if, and when, he was not able to directly watch over her. And more than that, he kept their relationship as close as he could despite his obligations.

But something changed his life, around a year ago. He came into contact with a mysterious person named Amon, who was followed by a large number of loyal and skilled people, asking him to lend his intellect and ressources to further his cause: bringing an end to benders and their wicked ways. It was something he had secretly wished for but never thought possible, ever since his wife‘s demise. At first he was reluctant to help, for if they failed - and they didn‘t look like they could succeed so easily - he would lose absolutely everything he had. That was until Amon showed him his power, and told him of his plan. From that day onwards, Hiroshi Sato became the underground benefactor of all Equalist activities. He built a secret factory underneath the workshop in his estate, connected to the many tunnels under Republic City which had become the Equalists‘ main headquarters. From there, as well as in other points of the city, he oversaw the production of all Equalist weapons and machines to be used in the near future, starting with their modified motorcycles and trucks, their gear, and their ammunition. And for the sake of having everything under control, he had all his personal cars equipped with police radios. For the past month, he has been working on implementing the use of electricity in all of the chi-blockers‘ current gear, and he has just finished the blueprints to several new machines that are sure to overpower all resistance.

Hiroshi Sato‘s involvement with Equalist activity is motivated by a sense of justice that was born out of his wife‘s death. He truly believes what he is doing is just, because he feels that benders have ruined the world, and will ruin it again if not dealt with. He is an idealist who wants to make the world a truly better place, for his daughter to live in peacefully, and in which what happened to him can never happen again, among other things. And for that to happen, the death of his wife must be avenged.

The fact that his daughter is dating a Firebender is a real pain for him, but at the same time, he will not get in the way of Asami‘s desires, which is doubly torturing. He knows it would only drive her away from him.

Hiroshi’s dress style is composed mainly of suits and tuxedos, usually brown or grayish in color with matching pants and dress shoes, and a red tie. Most of the time, there are golden embroideries on his clothes. He has dark gray hair, brown eyes with glasses, and has a large build. Icons from Piandao.org

Since I invented a company specializing in construction that owns and trades a large amount of the material resources in the United Nations, I intend to make some tiny and rare mentions of the way he feels about a bender-led company risking delays in the execution of his plans, sort of as another means of emphasizing the oppression of benders side of things… That is unless I‘m told otherwise, of course.

’’Believe me. This product is going to be a success.’’ The middle aged industrialist said.

The handful of men looking at him had confused faces, having heard his words. They were all staring at the board that he had just presented them, on which there was a brand new design of his. A two-wheeled vehicle with increased maneuverability and lower gasoline consumption. He was just done explaining how they were theoretically supposed to work, having tried to make it clear how safe for the user they were supposed to be… But as usual, most of his senior advisors were having a hard time understanding his intricate ideas. They were seeing his inventions as mere objects that they were going to produce and then sell. As if there would be no real industrial revolution ever since the Satomobile. To him, however, they were the result of an ideal, they would be practical for some people, make life easier for them. He was providing something good for the city.

And although those thoughts were always what inspired the designs he made for Future Industries, and despite not being understood that way by everyone, Hiroshi always managed to convince. This time was no different, they all nodded in agreement to his proposal. Now all that was needed was to distribute the plans to all the facilities, and his Mopeds would soon start invading the streets of Republic City… Technically, he would also have to handle schedules coordination, press announcements, sale organizations and so on, but it wouldn‘t really be business if he didn‘t feel swamped at some point. Striving to meet demands, even those he fixed himself, was his pleasure, rather than burden.

He let out a sigh, as everyone left the room to issue the orders. That one step, their agreement, was making him feel very proud of himself and of his operation. Proud, and thankful to his entourage of competent and helpful persons. Not only his advisors, but every person that had been there, and participated in the creation and development of this… industrial organism. That banker, to him he was most thankful of all. There wasn‘t any one time he‘d forgotten to mention him when telling the story behind the Satomobile. He owed him so much - although that man had now become his personal banker. Sometimes, at rare times, when he was literally at the top of his game and unable to get any better groundbreaking idea, Hiroshi wondered what would have happened if he hadn‘t gotten that loan, as if in an effort to recollect the path that had led him to this.

And every time he thought about it, the answer that covered all scenarios was the same: he wouldn‘t have found love. He would have never met the love of his life, he would have never got to live so many beautiful years with her, he would have never had Asami. And, he thought that with much guilt, maybe his wife wouldn’t have died. His eyes were now closed, his mind only feeding him pictures from his memories as a happy family man. The two most important ladies of his life by his side, just like in his favorite picture… His wife, who had been so supportive of him during the expansion of Future Industries‘ activities, despite not getting the amount of time and love she would have deserved in exchange. His daughter, who had been a great source of his inspiration for the designs of the future. Thinking about how she would come to live as a grown up had been the spark to so many of his creations… Such as the Moped. The reflection of the blueprint in his brown eyes was sparkling, there were no words to explain what he felt.

He already had one freshly made. This model, designed by himself personally, was going to be a gift to his daughter. That was what her mother would have wanted, he was certain of it. If only she wasn’t growing up so fast, always on the move and unstoppable. Then again, why would he ever try to stop her ? She was his greatest pride… And hopefully one day she’d be at the same pace as him, sharing his goals and carrying on. One step at a time though. He would first give her this present. But before that, there was something else he needed to attend to. One more, or rather one last presentation. To make everything go smoothly, he needed to provide necessary time. Sitting back down at his desk, he picked up the phone. ‘’…Yes, it‘s Mr.Sato speaking. I want you to inform all our employees that they may take the next couple of days off. I wish everyone to be in best shape, we have a new line of vehicles that will require extra effort… Yes, exactly. Thank you, have a nice day.’’ And then he hung up the phone.

A couple of hours later, he was sitting in another room, deep underground and right underneath the Sato mansion. This time, someone else was talking to him, reviewing the blueprints he had just displayed and making plans… But he was not listening. All the words that were being spoken had already been foreseen by the wealthy designer. These Equalist motorbikes were going to be perfect, he knew it because that was also one thing his wife would have wanted. The best tools, for the best people capable of avenging her death, of making things right again. His eyes had another look in them, now. He was no longer thinking about the good of the past, but about a future he wished to make come true. One free of benders… ‘’Proceed as planned !’’