First Name: Kanata Family Name: Takamine Age: 15 Grade: Middle school 3rd year

Background: A fierce and intense teenager, member of her school's swimming club, and a trendy girl who is popular despite her intimidating aura. Kanata's life had a rough and unfortunate beginning when she, immediately after birth, was given up for adoption. The only thing Kanata knows about her origins is that her mother was an underage student who became pregnant and gave birth against her parents' wishes, signing off Kanata's parental rights before disappearing. Because of that, Kanata began her life in an 'infant home,' which is a euphemistic designation for a place that most people around the world would call an orphanage. She would spend a few years in that place before being adopted by her adoptive parents and current family, the Takamine, shortly before entering elementary school, at the age of 6. Kanata is very grateful to her parents and has led a very normal life since her adoption, but there are some aspects of her behavior that can be traced back all the way to the days when Kanata was an institutionalized child. Perhaps the most significant of all these traits is the way Kanata perceives social groups. Back on those days, the kids who were loners were always the ones who were picked, and because of that, young Kanata quickly came to associate groups with safety. Of course, now that Kanata is a slightly more grown-up lady, she knows that thinking and feeling this way is both childish and silly, but this behavior has become deeply ingrained in her. What it means in practice is that Kanata really doesn't like to be on her own. She wants someone at her side when she walks to school and on her way back as well. If she needs to go to the bathroom, she will ask another girl to accompany her. Eating lunch by herself is unthinkable. Furthermore, Kanata thinks and rationalizes things in a cooperative way that most people would find abnormal, but for her, it is entirely natural. It's not enough for Kanata that she is doing well on her own; her entire group must be doing well, too. All of her girlfriends must look pretty, and if one of them isn't looking her best, Kanata helps. All of her friends must be getting passing grades, and if one of them isn't, Kanata will offer to tutor them. If one of them is having relationship problems, Kanata will have useful advice to offer. This busybody personality has earned Kanata admiration and respect from her peers and is the reason why she's viewed as being the leader and center of her group. There is no strong particular motivation behind Kanata's choice to join the swimming club. She had to pick something, and some of her friends were going to sign up for swimming, so Kanata went along.

Personality: There is nothing particularly deep or even special about how Kanata thinks of social groups. She simply happens to be the kind of person who feels empowered when her group is 'strong,' not in the literal meaning of the word, but in the sense that they can achieve more. Kanata is fundamentally a good-natured girl, but with a rather pushy and overbearing manner of caring for others. Unlike many adopted children, Kanata is very open about her past. She has spoken of her experience to many of her classmates, and the fact that Kanata is adopted is widely known by her peers. Kanata has chosen to think of herself as being 'chosen by her adoptive parents' rather than 'discarded by her biological mother.' She would have some harsh things to tell her mom if given the chance, though. Kanata has been told several times that she comes off as being intimidating and unapproachable. This is not something she does deliberately but the result of a combination of factors. Being serious, confident, and pretty all at once makes for a very strong impression. Kanata is also the kind of girl who always responds in kind. Kindness is met with kindness, rudeness with rudeness, and if someone is ever mean to her… Kanata knows how to be very mean when she wants to. Kanata dresses and styles herself as a very trendy teenage girl, and her mannerisms are very feminine, but at the same time, Kanata isn't frail as her appearance would suggest. She brushes off small cuts and bruises that other girls would act dramatic over, grits her teeth through pain, and is more likely to throw a punch than to get into a catfight. In that sense, it could even be said that she's a bit of a tomboy despite looking like a gyaru.

Relationship with Kaede: A popular girl who's in the same class as Kanata, also a member of the swimming club, and one of a pair of identical twins, her sister being a girl named Suzu. Kaede is part of Kanata's inner circle, and because their styles and interests are much alike, she's Kanata's favorite kind of person, although Kanata sometimes has to remind her friend to stop being such a pick-me around the boys. Of course, it's not as if Kanata herself doesn't have an interest in the opposite gender, and she has indeed found herself behaving much in the same way before, but it's embarrassing when she sees her friend do it. Kaede has long orange hair, always tied with black ribbons halfway down the length, and green eyes. Kaede is very apt in dealing with people, whether it's negotiation, persuasion, or simply keeping a conversation going when things get awkward, a set of skills that Kanata can certainly appreciate.

Relationship with Suzu: Kaede's younger twin and the spitting image of her sister. The three girls are in the same class and are all members of the swimming club, although unlike the other two, Suzu is the fastest girl in the club, which sometimes gets her called 'ace.' Kaede has the rather annoying habit of wanting to include Suzu in most things, which is something Kanata dislikes but has learned to tolerate. It's very obvious for Kanata that Suzu only tags along for the sake of making her bossy older sister happy. The way Kanata sees it, Suzu is 'lacking that kirakira sparkle' that the rest of the group has. On the other hand, Kanata understands why Kaede would want to bring along and include her imouto, and since Suzu isn't bringing the group down, Kanata doesn't see a reason to put her foot down in the matter and risk losing Kaede's friendship over a non-issue. Suzu is basically identical to her sister except her orange hair is slightly darker, which she styles in pigtails and ties with white ribbons instead, making it easy to discern the two.

Appearance: Bubblegum pink hair, long enough to flow past her lower back, usually worn in a single long ponytail. Piercing red eyes and a very pretty face, with an imposing posture and medium breasts, at least compared to girls in her age group. Kanata often sports long, manicured nails, several bracelets in one arm, and many cute hairpins on her hair. She's also often seen wearing red eye shadow.

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.