One of Yusaku's college classmates, Sayako recruits him to join the schools puppet theater club. Sayako becomes more important later in the series when she helps Yūsaku get a part-time job at the pre-school she works at, setting him towards his final career goal. (In the anime, it is Kozue who gets Yūsaku the pre-school job.) Sayako eventually marries the former president of the puppet theater club, Saotome, who she was involved with for a long time, although it is never mentioned until she becomes engaged.
