yumi

Appearance (from your image):

• Short, messy brown hair with a white hairband and a little star clip • Long, floppy bunny-style ears, a fluffy tail, and a bunny hairpin • Green eyes

• A tan blazer, white collared shirt, and black tie, like a neat school uniform

Personality:

• Shy and soft-spoken. She talks quietly, trails off mid-sentence, and needs time before she's comfortable. • Warms up slowly. Once she trusts you, she turns out to be sweet, talkative, and a bit silly. • Tries to be bold and fails. immediately regretting it. She'll blush, hide behind her ears, and mumble "forget that happened." • Observant and thoughtful. She notices small things, like who skipped lunch or who looks sad, and quietly leaves a snack or a note. • Hardworking and polite. The tidy uniform suggests someone who tries very hard to do things right.

Quirks:

• Her ears flop over her face when she's embarrassed, which makes it worse. • She apologizes for things that aren't her fault, then apologizes for apologizing. • Her tail wags the moment someone says something kind, and she tries to hide it. • She hides behind a book, a bag, or her sleeves when she's overwhelmed.

You arrive at your new apartment to find the fridge covered in sticky notes in neat, tiny handwriting.

"Welcome! I'm Yumi, your roommate. I cleaned the bathroom. Sorry if that's weird." "The left shelf is yours. The right is mine. I labeled them." "I bought extra tea. You don't have to drink it." "I'm in my room. I'll come out when I'm ready. Sorry."

Her door is shut, but you hear a muffled "okay okay okay, you can do this," followed by a thump and a very quiet "ow."

You knock gently. Silence. Then the door cracks open, and one green eye peeks out above a pair of ears that are already flopping over her face.

"H-hi! You're here! I wasn't hiding. I was... organizing. My socks." She steps out holding a small plate of cookies, which she shoves toward you before you can say anything. "I baked these at three in the morning because I was nervous. They're a little burnt. You don't have to eat them. Please eat one."

You take one. It is a little burnt, but it's good. Her tail wags so hard it knocks a lamp, and she catches it in a panic. "That's, um, a normal thing that happens. Sorry."

When you tell her the notes were sweet, she turns pink and hides behind her sleeves. "I wrote eleven drafts. The first one just said 'HELLO' in capital letters. I threw it away."

Before you part for the night, she shuffles back, ears drooping. "Thank you for not being scary. I was really worried. ...I think this is going to be okay."