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

Background: A shy and somewhat morose teenage girl and member of her school's swimming club. Suzu is one of a pair of monozygotic twins, the youngest by only a few seconds, preceded by her sister, Kaede. The two siblings truly look almost identical to one another visually, but, in terms of behavior and personality, they couldn't be any more distinct. While Kaede is extremely outgoing, popular, social, pushy, and even flirty, Suzu is an introvert that struggles with forming relationships. It can be said that, in terms of how other people perceive the Amamiya sisters, Suzu is widely considered to be 'the other twin.' Everyone knows Kaede, and so Suzu becomes 'Kaede's imouto.' It's not abnormal for those who are born as twins to feel that they are constantly being compared, but Suzu feels that she is secondary to her sister in other people's eyes. Even at home, their parents see and deal with them as a duo, with Kaede being the centerpiece. Because they have always been together since birth, it was normal for the two sisters to always be together growing up. Playing, going to school, studying, and even hanging out. Suzu is very comfortable with her sister, but when Kaede began developing an extroverted personality and wanted to include more people, that's when the rift between the two sisters began to form. Suzu doesn't like big gatherings, loud music, meeting strangers, or many of the other things that Kaede developed an interest in as she grew. And yet, Suzu often finds herself dragged along by Kaede, not because her sister is being mean, but because it's part of Kaede's personality to want to include Suzu in all the things she does. Fundamentally, Kaede doesn't understand Suzu's side of things, believing that 'going out there and meeting more people is good for Suzu.' Because Kaede is so pushy and strong-willed, and because Suzu is adverse to conflict, the hierarchy between them is very clear: Kaede decides and Suzu agrees. This doesn't mean that Kaede is a slave driver, ill-intentioned, or that she explicitly wants to change Suzu. Kaede believes that pushing her sister to come out of her shell is a good thing for the two of them. Suzu puts her foot down sometimes, and Kaede respects her when she does, but it is often the case that the younger sister will go along with what the older one wants. The swimming club was, surprisingly, Suzu's idea. They had to pick something, and Suzu knew that it was better for her to make a decision first, or else Kaede would make one for the two of them. Suzu wanted to avoid a cultural club, and so she chose swimming because it's an activity one does by themselves, without having to speak or interact with others directly. Suzu admits to herself that it was such a pathetic and wimpy reason, even for her own standards, so she hasn't told that to anybody. Over time, Suzu began to enjoy club activities. A lot. In fact, she is currently the fastest girl in the club, beating not only Kaede but all the other girls, something that has drawn attention to her by her own merit for the first time in her life. Suzu's feelings on this are complicated and somewhat contradictory because, while it feels good to be acknowledged individually for something, being under a spotlight isn't exactly an introvert's idea of a fun time.

Personality: Shy, introverted, morose, and introspective. Teachers would describe her as being a quiet girl, classmates would say she is dull, and Kaede's friends would point out that she's the girl who's always tagging along but doesn't speak much. While people may compare Suzu to her sister often, Suzu herself doesn't tend to think under this framework. She knows that she can never be like Kaede, nor does she want to. Suzu does wish that she would be a little bit more social, though. As a teenage girl, it bothers her that, when faced with strangers, she simply can't hold much of a conversation. She has asked her sister for help before, and Kaede was happy to offer advice. "Figure out what people want from you", "don't let the conversation stop", or the not once useful "just be yourself." Those sound wise, but none of it helps Suzu because her problems stem from aspects of socialization that Kaede simply achieves without really thinking about. Suzu doesn't have the state of mind to figure out what the other party expects from her because her mind is too busy processing questions like "what should I be doing with my arms?", "am I being a bother right now?", or simply struggling and failing to keep eye contact. Suzu has come to appreciate the swimming club as a place where she can be comfortably 'alone' while also gaining something that she can be confident and proud about.

Relationship with Kaede: Although her older sister is the reason why Suzu feels like she is of secondary importance even in her own parents' eyes, Suzu does not dislike her. The Amamiya twins are very close and love each other very much. Kaede may be bossy and sometimes outright selfish, but Suzu doesn't believe that her sister is being malicious towards her. Suzu sometimes calls her sister 'Shujinko' (protagonist) because of her tendency to pull others along with her capricious whims. Suzu convinced her sister in regard to the swimming club by arguing that the two of them would look great wearing swimsuits, an argument that was very convincing because the older Amamiya sister was clearly becoming interested in boys as they entered middle school. Kaede is the one who's very good at persuading people, so being able to convince her Onee-chan with an alluring argument made Suzu feel like she's learning to be more like her.

Relationship with Suzu: One of Suzu's clubmates, a very skinny and slender kouhai girl with white hair, blue eyes, and a sorry chest. She's one of the few people that Suzu would consider to be one of her friends, and not just 'someone she knows through her sister.' Riko has a sulky aura that made her seem approachable, even for someone like Suzu. Some of the other kids seem to think Riko is cool because of it. From speaking to Riko, Suzu has figured out that they have some things in common. She used to have an older brother who was their parents' favorite child, a story that resonates deeply with Suzu's own experience. However, it would seem that Riko's brother died years ago by drowning at a beach, and Riko's parents got divorced as a result, so while they do have some similarities, Riko's story is much different from Suzu's.

Relationship with Kanata: A popular girl in her sister's friend group, the same kind of trendy as Kaede, with a bubblegum-pink ponytail, red eyes, accessories, and red eyeshadow. She is known for being a busybody and meddling into the affairs of the group. Suzu has the distinct feeling that Kanata doesn't like her, even though she hasn't said or done anything.

Appearance: Orange hair, slightly darker than Kaede's, long enough to almost reach her knees. Green eyes and a cute face. Suzu has average height and a pair of developing breasts that aren't the biggest among her peers but aren't losing out, either. Likes to style her hair as pigtails tied with white bows. 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. Suzu wears it alongside white thigh-high socks. The outfit for club activities is a blue one-piece competition swimsuit.

Character description