First Name: Kaede Family Name: Amamiya Age: 14 Grade: Middle school 3rd year

Background: A capricious, outgoing, and social teenage girl and member of her school's swimming club. Kaede is one of a pair of monozygotic twins, the oldest by only a few seconds, followed by her sister, Suzu. Of the two sisters, Kaede is often perceived as being the 'dominant' one. More popular, more pretty, more social. When people call out to them, they say Kaede's name before Suzu's. Even among themselves, Kaede is the one who most often makes decisions, while Suzu is the one who nods her head in acceptance. Unlike Suzu, who's an introvert that struggles to even keep eye contact when speaking to strangers, Kaede is very skilled in conversation, no matter who the other person may be. Because of this, Kaede is quickly becoming very adept in a wide range of interpersonal skills: negotiation, bargaining, public speaking, persuasion, and more recently, her ripening feminine wiles. It's not that Kaede is trying hard to fit in or to be popular; it just happens that she is the kind of person who craves such environments and thrives in them. Kaede is a trendy teenage girl who's very attuned to current events and gossip among her friend groups and, outside of her particular grasp for social skills, is otherwise a very normal Japanese teenager. Neither one of the Amamiya sisters is particularly gifted or lacking in academics, although they do tend to be more on the athletic side, thanks to the fact that both are in the swimming club together. Speaking of which, the club was actually Suzu's idea, not Kaede's. The younger Amamiya sister making a choice was unusual enough, so Kaede was happy to go along with what her imouto wanted, even though she would have preferred an indoor activity instead. The younger sister made a very compelling argument about how they'd look good wearing swimsuits, after all. Recently, Kaede came to learn a new aspect of herself when she realized that she's become very interested in the opposite gender. She notices them and hopes that they will notice her as well. Of course, there is absolutely nothing abnormal about a teenage girl developing an interest in boys; it's an ordinary facet of growing up, after all. But it has slightly shifted Kaede's behavior, enough that she has noticed it on herself. Becoming more impulsive when boys are present, suddenly turning into a klutz, or dropping 20 IQ points when a particularly handsome one speaks to her, those are all things that have started to happen to Kaede, and she isn't particularly happy about this effect. An apt, if a little blunt, way to describe Kaede would be to say she's a total Pick Me girl. Moreover, all sorts of intrusive thoughts pop in her head now. "Wow. You clean up nicely", "Excuse me, why are you so pretty today?", "Well, aren't we handsome?", "You can stop showing off anytime." Kaede's thoughts are becoming very rude, and although she's not voicing such things out loud, it has gotten to the point where she's 'catcalling' her peers inside her head. "Hey handsome, where are you headed in such a hurry? You've got people trying to appreciate the view over here!", "Hey, you! Yes, you with the gorgeous smile! Don't pretend you didn't hear me. Come on, give me another one".

Personality: Outgoing, social, and extroverted. Sometimes bossy and selfish as well. Kaede wants people to like her and wants people to like her sister as well, which is part of the reason why Suzu gets pulled along for Kaede's whims. Because Kaede is so pushy and skilled at making other people see things her way, she's a natural leader and could even be said to have a dominant personality, although Kaede wouldn't think of herself in such a way. She doesn't explicitly think in terms of imposing her thoughts and will over others; it simply happens because of how she is.

Relationship with Suzu: Because Kaede is very assertive and Suzu is adverse to conflict, the dynamic between the two is such that Kaede leads and Suzu follows. Kaede believes that Suzu needs to 'get out of her shell' and talk to more people, so she often drags her imouto to social outings, despite knowing Suzu sometimes feels uncomfortable in them. Not because Kaede is mean or derives pleasure in bossing her sister, but because she thinks it's good for Suzu. The two Amamiya sisters love each other and have always done everything together throughout their whole lives. The current situation is merely a continuation of what their lives have always been, as if they were glued at the hips. Although Kaede doesn't consciously think of it that way, the truth is that she looks down on her sister a little bit. She thinks her sister is very cute but also thinks of herself as the cutest of the two, even if only slightly. Kaede wants to pull Suzu along with her in outings partly because Kaede thinks she knows what's better for Suzu better than Suzu herself.

Relationship with Riko: A sulky kouhai girl with a very skinny body, long white hair, blue eyes, and a sorry chest. She's in 2nd year class and in the swimming club, standing out in neither place. Riko has an aura that clearly says to leave her alone, so Kaede has only ever exchanged platitudes with that girl. Curiously, Suzu is actually friends with Riko, a rare example of someone who's close to Suzu but not Kaede.

Relationship with Kanata: A girl in the same class as the twins and the factual leader of the popular girls' group that Kaede belongs to. Kanata is a young lady with a very group-oriented personality who's known for meddling in the affairs of her friends, usually in a positive way. Very pretty and intense, arguably intimidating as well, but good-natured and respected by her peers. Kanata has rebuked Kaede a few times to stop being such a pick-me around boys, which Kaede finds hilarious because she's seen that girl bat her eyelashes for the opposite gender plenty of times before as well. Kanata has long bubblegum-pink hair tied in a fluffy ponytail, piercing red eyes, many bracelets and hairpins, and often uses red eyeshadow.

Appearance: Orange hair, slightly lighter than her younger sister's, long enough to reach her lower back. Green eyes and a cute face. Kaede is of average height for a girl her age and with developing breasts that aren't among the biggest or the smallest among her peers. She usually wears her hair mostly loose, tied halfway down or close to the end with black ribbons. Kaede also likes to wear colored bands and strings as accessories on both wrists. Because they are identical twins, since they were kids, there was always the matter of how to make themselves sufficiently distinguishable from one another. Of course, the Amamiya sisters do this by purposely styling themselves in different ways. For example, Kaede only uses black ribbons, while Suzu only wears white ones. However, because of the nature of their relationship, Kaede is the one who makes all the decisions in regard to their appearance. Kaede chooses the hairstyles, colors, and accessories she wants to wear, but her sister can't do the same. If Suzu wants to change her appearance, Kaede gets to approve or veto the change, based on whether they will remain 'sufficiently distinct' from one another. It's one of those weird things unique to twin relationships and the most important rule between them.

Outfits: This school's uniform is a black serafuku dress that reaches just above the knees and foregoes the need for a skirt. The sailor collar is white, the neckerchief is red, and the sleeves are short. The outfit for club activities is a blue one-piece competition swimsuit.

Character description