First Name: Riko Family Name: Mizuno Age: 14 Grade: Middle school 2nd year

Background: A reticent young girl and member of her school's swimming club. Riko is a somewhat gloomy teenager that is actually quite silently determined on the inside. Riko's personal life is marked by a family tragedy. She used to be the youngest of a family with two children, her older sibling being a boy five years older named Daiki. Riko's older brother died tragically during a leisure summer trip with his friends when he drowned at sea. That was four years ago, when Riko was 10. Daiki's death was a big hit to Riko's peace and spirit at the time, but it paled in comparison to the effect it had on her parents. Her mother and father, rather than seeking strength and comfort in one another, instead exchanged blame for the boy's death. Allowing Daiki, who was 15 at the time, to go on a beach trip with friends without adult supervision, not reminding the boy to be careful, and being an absent parent overall, such accusations were thrown by both of Riko's parents at the time, all in front of her eyes. It didn't take long for separation and divorce to follow, and now half of Riko's family was gone from her life. It was just her and her mother now. The split of Riko's family caused by her older brother's death was not the end of it. Riko's mother was clearly never the same woman after that, something that even Riko could see and realize on her own despite her tender age. She switches jobs often, tends to work late most days, and neglects the home and her remaining daughter. Riko's house, which was once a bright and warm family household, is now a gloomy environment full of clutter, undisposed trash bags, take-out containers, and dirty laundry. Naturally, Riko doesn't want people to know that her private life looks like that, so she never allows her friends and classmates to visit her place. Riko loved her brother and looked up to him, as any little sister would, and was personally devastated by his death, but she doesn't think either of her parents is particularly responsible for it. After all, even she, who was only 10 at the time, knew and understood the danger of swimming too far out, so why couldn't Daiki have been more careful? It didn't take long for Riko to come to the conclusion that what happened to Daiki was his own fault. And as the years went by, Riko has come to blame a great deal of other things on her brother as well. It's Daiki's fault that mom and dad were angry at each other. It's Daiki's fault that Riko's family was no longer whole. It was Daiki's fault that mom lives her life as if she didn't care about anything anymore. It's Daiki's fault that dad has another family now. It wasn't clear for Riko back when her older brother was still alive but is clear to her now, the fact that between the two of them, Daiki was clearly the favorite child. Would her family have been torn apart if she had been the one to die and not Daiki? Riko doesn't think so, because her parents probably wouldn't have lost their reason over her, as they did for the precious golden boy. Part of the reason why Riko joined the swimming club when she first entered middle school is, unsuprisingly, also because of Daiki. Riko had always been afraid of water, even before her older brother died because of it, so now she wanted to 'conquer' water. Whether it's because Riko wanted to have a one-up over her brother's memory, or if was afraid she'd face the same fate as him, the result is that now Riko is an excellent swimmer.

Personality: Most people would describe Riko as being gloomy and glum. Considering what she's been through and the life she's facing at home even today, it's not unreasonable for her to act in such a way, either. And it's not as if Riko were ever a cheerful girl even before all things in her life started to go wrong. Of course, it's not as if Riko feels sad and depressed all day every day. In fact, she doesn't particularly think of herself as being particularly troubled at all. Riko is not introverted and has no problem making friends; she just happens to have that aura that makes her seem sulky much of the time. Riko doesn't see much in herself that she likes but feels very confident in her ability to improve by her own effort and merit. There was a time when Riko couldn't even float in water, and now she's an excellent swimmer, all because of her own efforts. The girl that stares back at her in the mirror might be gloomy and have an underdeveloped body, but she can also do things when she puts her mind to it. Even if her mom doesn't love her a whole lot and her dad replaced her with a daughter he loves more, Riko feels that she is in control of her life. Despite not being particularly social, Riko is considered by most of her peers as being a cool type of girl, probably because she appears to be calm and mature, unlike most of the girls her age. Being in a sports club certainly contributes in that regard as well. Riko usually does not tell people at school about her personal life and history, and so most people are unaware of it.

Relationship with her mother: When Riko comes home from school, the house will often be cluttered with trash bags that her mother forgot to put out on the correct day. If there is dinner, it will be cold and not particularly good or bad. If there is no food, Riko herself has to figure out dinner, sometimes for the two of them. And, sometimes, her mother won't be home at all. Riko lives with a parent that seems to have given up on life altogether. Their family isn't poor or lacking in means, but it still puts an extra load onto Riko's shoulders to do things her mother should be doing instead. But more than anything, Riko feels that her mother doesn't just not care about her own life but also doesn't care for Riko's, either. Her mother asks if she went to school but doesn't go out of her way to confirm it. Her mother asks if she did well on her exams but never asks to see her actual test results. When Riko first joined the swimming club, she expected her mother to be against it. Rather, Riko actually wanted for mom to find an issue with her daughter spending all day in the water, but she never said anything.

Relationship with her father: When Riko's family split, her dad was the one to initiate the divorce, and he has since found another family and even had another daughter, who is Riko's half-sister. Years later, once Riko got older, she learned from her mother that her half-sister was older than the time since Daiki's death, meaning that he was seeing the woman who would become his second wife while he was still married and Daiki was still alive. Of both her parents, her father was the one Riko was the closest to before the divorce. Riko wants to contact her father, to ask him questions, and to simply have a relationship with him, but her mother forbids it, having erased all means for her to reach him. Her mother has gone as far as having once struck Riko in the face for simply asking to reach out to her dad. Riko knows that her dad pays child support and that her mother doesn't think it's enough for 'all the damage he has caused them.'

Thoughts about Daiki: Despite 'blaming' him for most of her life's woes, Riko doesn't hate or resent her dead older sibling. She thinks that what happened to him was terrible and misses him dearly, while simultaneously acknowledging that his own death and everything that followed was his fault. Riko often 'speaks' to Daiki in her inner thoughts, as if the boy could somehow listen and acknowledge her from the afterlife. "Did you see that, Daiki Onii-chan? If you could swim fast like me, you wouldn't have been stuck in a stupid rip current." "Dear Daiki Onii-chan, today mama was no good once again." "Are you seeing this, Onii-chan? A boy at school gave me a dirty look today. If you weren't such a lousy swimmer, you'd be here to get angry for my sake. Baka baka~"

Relationship with Kaede and Suzu: The Amamiya sisters, Kaede and Suzu, are identical twins with wildly different personalities. Kaede is popular, social, outgoing, and flirty, while Suzu is introverted, morose, and quiet. Riko doesn't get along with Kaede but is close friends with Suzu, since their personalities are much alike. The two girls have previously bonded over the fact that they are the 'least favorite' children of their parents, which has given them even more common ground. Both sisters are in the swimming club, with Suzu being the fastest swimmer among all girls. They have green eyes and orange hair, although Suzu's is a bit darker than her sister's. Suzu styles herself with long pigtails and white ribbons, while Kaede has low-tied long hair with black ribbons. It would be difficult to discern them from one another if they didn't purposely make themselves distinct as such. Suzu is one of the few people to whom Riko has told about her brother's death and how it caused her parents to be divorced, although she withheld the nastier details, such as the way it changed her mother.

Appearance: White hair, long enough to reach her lower back, usually worn with X-shaped hairpins and a pronounced ahoge on top of her head. A very skinny and slender body, enough for the shape of her ribs to be visible, with very small breasts, making her seem younger than her actual age. Riko is actually quite complexed about her figure, often comparing herself to her peers and wondering when puberty would start taking her seriously. She has blue eyes.

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. Riko wears it alongside black thigh-highs. She also wears a black scrunchie on her wrist for when she needs to tie up her long hair, though Riko prefers how she looks with her hair loose. The outfit for club activities is a blue one-piece competition swimsuit.

Character description