From Sailor Moon Flash!
| Sailor Chuu | |
|---|---|
 (Rah Cloutier) | |
| Profile | |
| Name: | Kazuno Noriko (和の 律子) |
| Birthday: | April 22 |
| Age: | 17 |
| Affiliation: | Galactics |
| Powers: | Service |
| Player: | Nithavela |
Contents |
The Basics
Name: Kazuno Noriko: Kazu means harmony, so Kazuno would mean “of harmony” if what little japanese grammar I posess doesn’t fail me. Noriko means “child of the law”, so her whole name would roughly translate to “child of the law of harmony”.
Position: Sailor Chuu, the Galactical Senshi of Service. More or less the glue that holds the galactics vaguely together (in theory) and the loyal servant of Galaxia and, to a slightly lesser extent, to Sailor Coronis. Noriko, on the other hand, is a third year pupil of Chuo, a practicioner of Tai Chi Chuan and the secretary of the school council.
Appearance: Build: The first word that springs to mind when looking at Noriko is “small”. With only 4’9’ she is small even by japanese standarts, and her proportions give her a somewhat childlike appearance. The second word would be “slight”. She doesn’t exactly look sickly, but rather thin and without any muscles or fat worth of notice.
Hair: Noriko has blonde hair that reaches down a few inches below her shoulders. She usually wears it just like this and only pulls it back into a ponytail during sport or science classes. During festivals, when she also wears one of her kimonos, she puts more effort into her hairdo and braids into the odango-like hair style that she also wears in her fuku.
Eyes: Her eyes are of a light grey color. Most of the time, even when she tries to appear as relaxed and calm as possible, her eyes betray her real feelings, althou it takes time to learn how to read them.
Facial details: Just like the rest of her body, her face is a little child like, with big round eyes and a rather big forehead. She tries to look more mature by covering her forehead with bangs, but fails. Her lips are rather thin and as pale as the rest of her, although she mitigates that with lipstick. Most of the time, her expression is one of caution, as if she feared someone might catch her with an inappropiate expression and take it as an insult. On the rare occasions she lets her guard down, she has a very warm and pretty smile.
Voice: Befitting her overall appearance, her voice is rather high pitched. It doesn’t quite border on annoying, but she still is concious of it and tries to play it down as best as she can. Especially her laugh is shrill, and there are very few people around whom she is comfortable enough to even consider letting herself go that much. The main reason she keeps herself in check like that is not to draw no attention, but rather not to hurt someone who might think she is laughing about him/her.
Clothing: Most of Norikos private clothing is more practical then fashionable. She favors modest clothes and unobstrusive colours. Although she owns some dresses which might look quite nice and even attractive on her, they stay in the closet for special occasions (which, in the case of nearly all of them, have not come yet.). For the same special occasions, she owns some jewelry. The only things that she wears from time to time are a silver necklace with a mirror amulet, a heirloom from her late grandmother, and matching ear rings. Other then that, the only expensive clothing she owns are kimonos, which she loves to wear at any opportunity where it wouldn’t seem like a complete anachronism.
Age/Birthday: Noriko is 17 years old (at the beginning of the season), and her birthday is April 22nd.
Mundane Life
Friends and Family: Kazuno Toshiro: Norikos father. He is a mid-tier worker in the managment of a quite successfull electronics company. He tends to spend most of his time during the day at work, and when he comes back home he tries his best to spend some quality time with his wife and only child. Although he tried hard for some time, working overtime and neglecting his family, this all changed a couple of years ago. Today, he is satisfied with providing his family with everything they need, including himself.
Kazuno Tsubame: Norikos mother. A rather typical housewife, she spends most of her days at home. She regulary leaves the house to spend some time with friends. Shopping sprees, in moderation of course, sports and the occasional visit to a public bath help her forget the routine she lives in. This doesn’t mean that she hates being a housewife, she likes it this way. She just needs time for herself now and then. Noriko loves to help her mother with any chore, and Tsubame relishes every second of those opportunities. It is one of Tsubames most important goals in life to help her daughter in one day becoming a happy and capable wife, if that is what she wants.
Youno Shinju (Pearl of the Ocean): Norikos best friend, if you want to label anyone this way. Youno is a student of Chuo in her second year, which makes Noriko her sempai. While she is not exactly fat, she clearly can be called a little overweight. Self conscious because of that and her tendency to be a little clumsy, she used to keep to herself during school. She became was pretty lonely and told herself that she didn’t need or even didn’t want to have a friend. Of course, she was lying to herself. Noriko met her one windy day during early autumn. She had tripped and the contents of her backpack spilled out of it. Before a breeze could pick up the sheets, though, Noriko quickly gathered them. From that day forward, the two of them quickly became close friends.
Shun Hayano (Speed of the falcon): A neighbour of Noriko, and at the same time someone she enjoys spending her time with and someone she loaths to meet. They lived next to each other for a couple of years, and from the first time Shun witnessed the physical abilities of Noriko, or rather the lack of them, she made it her goal in life to “help” Noriko, who would call it torture though. Shun is nearly 20, rather tall and an aspiring gymnast. For nearly a year, once per week, Shun has waited for Noriko and somehow persuaded her to exercise. Even when Noriko really wasn’t in the mood, a small, sad, guilt-inducing smile did the trick. After a while, Shun had to admit that it wasn’t doing much good, maybe because Norikos heart wasn’t into it. Still, they took a liking for each other, and Noriko enjoys Shuns company, at least as long as there are no sports involved. Shun hasn’t given up on Noriko, though, and there are still days Noriko ducks into a side street to evade a watchfull Shun with a determined look on her face and a pair of running shoes in her hand.
Usual Daily Routine: Norikos usual day begins at 6.45 am with the sound of the alarm clock. She never had much trouble to leave her bed and usually takes a little less then 45 minutes to go trough her morning routine. Then, she relaxes with Tai Chi, listening to quiet music from her old but trusty tape player for exactly 30 minutes. During good weather she goes outside for this, during bad weather there is enough space if her room for some of the more stationary forms. Following her Tai Chi, she calmly walks to Chou, which is about 20 minutes away, and arrives there ten minutes before classes start. If the school clock should ever stop overnight, you could set it to the right time by looking for Norikos arrival, with an error margin of a minute tops. During school day, she will spend most of her classes somewhere in the back rows. There, she will neatly copy the blackboard, do any assignments she is given and otherwise try to be as unnoticed as possible. She has a few friends with whom she socialices, but none of them are really close to her. That wouldn’t stop her from sharing her bento box with them if they forgot theirs though. She’d propably do this for most people she even remotely likes, though. She is the kind of friend that always seems to tag along, contribute something usefull but seems like the odd one out. Strangely, she is also the friend that is missed when she isn’t there for some reason. After classes, she helps with cleaning the school. Then, she might attend a meeting of the school council or help someone in her class with homework. She knows a few of her Kohai and has made it a habit to tutor them when she has time and thinks it might help them. When they offer her something in return, she politely accepts, and oftentimes enjoys the affection although she would never admit it. She wouldn’t ask them for anything though, except if it was really, really neccessary. Maybe not even then. After school, she often helps her mother as good as she can and gets her homework done. This might take her a few hours, as she does all her work very thorough. During her spare time, and especially during weekends, she likes to meet some of her few closer friends. Most of them are girls who, like her, tend to be more on the quieter side. She knows each of them from different occasions, one from a book club in high school, another from a Tai Chi course she visited a year ago, another one whom she met by chance in a library when they both wanted to lend the same book. Most of them don’t know each other and Noriko is happy about that. She feels more comfortable when she meets only one of them, as she doesn’t feel like she has to split her attention and affection then. The smaller the number of people she has to relate to, the easier it his for her to get over her initial shyness. On other days, she simply takes one of her well read, but also well cared-for books and sits down at a quite spot, often in a public garden or park. She is able to spend hours immersed into a book and oftentimes is suprised how much time has passed when she finally finishes reading. Things she doesn’t do include sports (except Tai Chi, Shuns lessons and the absolute minimum school requires from her). She knows that it might do her good to excercise once in a while, but there are always so many other important things to do that she never got around to it. That might change though after she learns that she is a Senshi, especially if she would believe that it might help her fullfill her duty better. She rarely watches TV, and although she owns an old and slow PC, it is only for school work, no exceptions.
Background: Noriko was born in small town a few miles away from Tokyo, the first child of her parents. She was raised lovingly by her mother, as her father had to mind his career, and had a childhood relatively free of sorrows. When she was eight, her mother got pregnant again, this time with a little boy. The future seemed bright for her family, at least on a superficial level. This all changed though when Noriko was ten. When Noriko came home from elementary school one day, she way greeted by the sound of sirens. Thick smoke filled the air, and as she walked closer to watch, to her horror she discovered that it was her home which was burning. Her parents were gone, her father at work, her mother shopping, and only her small brother was still at home. Noriko, without thinking, tried to rush into the house to save him, but of course a firefighter snatched her and dragged her away before she could kill herself. The following months were very hard for the Kazuno family. Although the house was insured and money was no issue, the loss of their child struck grief into the hearts of the parents. Noriko, too, was torn between feelings of grief and guilt. What if she had been able to save her brother? Was there anything she could have done? It was during this time of self-doubt that she found her calling. If she couldn’t resurrect her brother, there were other people who needed her help, and there were people whom she could help. She did everything she could to help her parents get over the loss of their child. She took chores in the house, she tried to lighten them up when they couldn’t find the strength to continue on their own, she did her best to get good grades so her parents could be proud of here, summed up, she did her best. She knew she couldn’t replace her brother, but what she could do was support her mothers and fathers live trough the loss and the pain, until they could continue on their own. Maybe it was Norikos determination which did the trick, maybe it wasn’t, but half a year after the fire, life went back to normal. Toshiro had decided that there were more important things then his job and made an effort to spend as much time as possible with his family. Tsubame still lives as a housewife, but made quite a few friends and regularly spends evenings with them. And Noriko? She simply smiles because her parents are happy. She never asked for gratitued, but the knowledge that the little she could do was enough to accieve something fills her with joy. She regularly visits the grave of her little brother and tells him of her life, and she honestly believes that he listens and is happy too. While she did her best to make her parents proud, she started to help other people, often at random when an opportunity presented itself. Her reasoning was that if you could change someones life by lending them help, every opportunity to do so should be taken. It quickly became a compulsion, you might even say that Noriko is addicted to helping. She likes the feeling of happiness she instills in others, which gives her more satisfaction then any action she takes to make herself happy. After the fire, her family had to move Tokyo, mostly to leave the place their lifes were so violently changed. They had to safe money were they could. But Noriko never complained, as she always saved money where ever she could. After Noriko finished elementary school, she applied for Junior High, and then for Chou. She finished both entrance exams, although she had to study for them hard, like most japanese teenagers do. She never was a genius, but she made up for it by patience, tenacity and the wish to please her parents. She is now in her final year of Senior High School. She hasn’t made up her mind what she should do after it, though. On one hand, she would look forward to meet a nice man and get married. She would enjoy the warmth of a loving marriage and the opportunity to care for her husband and children with all of her power. On the other hand, there are so many people who might need her, so how should she know who she might love and care for the most? Being a Senshi certainly makes it even harder. How could she commit herself to someone if there might be a call to action at any given time? What if her husband was attacked or transformed into a monster or... Long story short, for the time being she thinks she has duties that are more important then worrying about her future to much.
A Little More Specific
Quirks:One of the greatest flaws Noriko posseses is a urge to help anyone who might need her help. If someone in her class seems to fail at a difficult assignment, she will feel obligated to help him or her. This is often to the embarassement of the one helped, and although Noriko usually is as tactfull and polite as one could possibly be, she still is notorious for it. She relishes the feeling of being needed, even if experienced at the expense of others. Another flaw would be her dislike of attention. She can enjoy conversation with one or two persons, especially when it revolves around topics she enjoys, like japanese traditions or an upcoming festival (and where some help might be needed there, if it wouldn’t be to much of a hindrance for everyone else if she was allowed to participate in the preperations, please). In a small crowd, she tends to hang back and be a little taciturn, except when she can contribute to the conversation. If she ever had to hold a speech before a school meeting... Well, lets just say that she has occasional nightmares that revolve around this scenario. Make her feel obligated to hold a speech by appealing to her sense of duty and you have created a sure-fire way for disaster.
Darkest Secret: She loves Led Zeppelin. Yes, the band. No one would suspect that from her, most people would expect her to favor Taiko drumming or other traditional japanese music, perhaps even western classic music. She can’t explain it herself. Maybe it is because she bought her tape player second hand and there was a tape with “Stairway to Heaven” inside. She listened to it out of curiosity and instantly fell in love it. Anyway, she usually tells herself that something good has to come out of the west after all, puts on her old circumaural headphones and quietly hums to “Ramble on”. But only in her room. With the door closed. And when she is sure that her parents won’t disturb her. You know, just to be sure.
Reactions to Sudden Hugs: Utter panic. After the first impulse to wriggle out of the hug and hide under the nearest rock has worn out, she will politely reprociate the hug, do anything to get out of there without hurting any feelings, and then she won’t stop watching her back for at least a month. She might react better to this if one of her closer friends was the hugging person, but this isn’t likely to happen because most of them aren’t “sudden hugs” persons themselves.
Virtues and Vices:The greatest virtue Noriko has is, as one would suspect, charity. As long as it is possible for her to help someone, she will do her best to do so. She knows that this isn’t always possible, and sometimes even a nuisance to some, but that won’t stop her from trying. If she sees someone who fights with sweeping leaves during a windy autumn day, she might just pick up a broom and help. Another virtue would be prudence. She might be ready to help someone in an instance, but when it comes to decisions concerning herself, or difficult decisions in general, she takes a long time to examine them from all angles. This, of course, can also be a fault if she is forced to make snap decisions about herself. As of vices, the first thing that springs to mind is her quite traditional mindset. Like many Japanese, she has the opinion that Japan is superior in nearly every aspect relevant to discussion, and that any evidence pointing in another direction is open to interpretation. Lots of interpretation, if needed. She accepts some changes as neccessary, like the use of modern technology, simply because it helps Japan stay on top where it belongs, but any unnecessary change, like, lets say, the modern western clothes instead of the traditional kimono, is at best accepted by her. If you wanted to sum this up in a cardinal sin of christianity, you could call it pride, if not pride for herself but rather for her country. She wouldn’t call this a vice, though, and she doesn’t know enough about christianity to begin with.
Badassery
Power Sphere: Service. Chuu’s powers allow her to amplify the abilities of the other galactics, and in theory those of the other senshi too, to a certain extent.
Asswhoopery: When comparing Chuu’s abilities as a single Senshi, she is one of the weakest, of not the weakest of all galactics. That still puts her far from pathetic, of course, but even in a one on one fight against a kinmoku or lunar, it would be pretty even, when you only look at the power. Her physical combat abilities aren’t too impressive either, as Tai Chi isn’t something that helps in real fights. She is quick enough to evade many attacks, though, something where her small stature actually helps. When attacked on her own, she will rely on evasion and stalling tactics until some other senshi arrive, or at least until an opportunity to strike back presents itself. Where she really shines, though, is when she is able to fight alongside other Senshi. She is able to to coordinate herself with others, and in such a situation an attack that would have proven a nuisance on its own might just be the critical diversion that decides the battle.
Special Abilities: “I know what you want.”: Noriko is able to feel what someone is desiring or looking for after listening to them for a short time, sometimes even simply from watching them from a distance. She might be able to glean additional information, like the reasons for this desire, but this is a lot harder for her to do and still requires a lot of practice. During battle and in Senshi form, this gives her a intuitive sense where she can be of the most help for her comrades. This isn’t usually the safest spot, though.
“Fade from notice”: Be it in a tram, in a classroom or during a battle for the fate of the world, Noriko/Chuu has a tendency to get overlooked, often in the literal sense. If she wants to, she can be all but invisible in a crowd or during a fight. An enemy will still know that she is there, but he will focus his attention on seemingly more threatening targets as long as Chuu does nothing to draw attention. Of course, this tactic tends to work only when used sparingly.
Greatest Weakness: Her greatest weakness is her inability to effectively fight on her own. If caught in a fight alone, she is not above fleeing or stalling as long as there isn’t someone who needs her help, which, sadly, is the case most of the time.
Attacks: “Sparkling Blade Shower”: Chuu crosses her arms in front of her, and with a flick of her wrist and the first word, a throwing knife appears in each hand. While she slowly fans out the daggers into the desired number of them, she wispers the second word and then, with each sillable of the third word, she throws them, first her left hand, then her right in rapid succesion. As impressive as this may look, the throwing knifes are just that, sharp, well-made throwing knifes. A few of them might be enough to take down a mook or two, but it’s not enough to seriously threaten a worthy opponent, in the best case it could be a distraction. The attack becomes more draining to Chuu for every additional knife she creates. She can create 4 without too much effort, but a dozen of them is quite taxing. Should she be forced to create a barrage of those knifes, she couldn’t hold out for more then half a minute before being completly drained. [The knifes can be used for other things besides throwing at enemies, like cutting a rope or building an impromptu ladder.] Chuu is able to make the knifes disappear at will, which gives her some of the energy she used up back, although not all of it.
“Calm Reflection Mirage”: While yelling these words, Chuu streches her arms to her sides, slightly in front of her. At her fingertips, a barrier forms in a split second. From the front, it looks like a mirror, although it is possible to look trough it from the back. The “mirror” is just that, a plane hanging at Chuus fingertips, hardly real enough to have a third dimension. Any energy which hits the mirror will be reflected off it. It is possible to change the direction of the attack by tilting the mirror, but in the heat of battle this isn’t always an option. This power comes with two flaws though. First, if Chuu can’t finish the mirror before the attack hits, she will most likely get hit. Second, there is a limit to the energy she can reflect. Anything exceeding this limit will create a backlash which drains or hurts Chuu, depending on the attack. Physical attacks will go right through this barrier, but because the enemy can’t see where exactly Chuu is, it is relatively easy for her to dodge.
“Binding Chains of Obligation”: Chuus ultimate attack might seem anything but ultimate when on her own. While shouting these words, she raises her hands above her head, wrist by wrist, palms raised to the sky. For a few seconds, white energy cracles around her palms, which she then releases while shouting the final words and pointing the palms at an ally. This attack can have a number of effects, depending on the actual target. If she targets an attack of an ally, this attack is infused with her power and becomes much more powerfull. Alternatively, she might channel her energy directly into a fellow Senshi, who can then use it as she sees fit. It is also possible to strengthen a weapon like Galaxias Sword. On anything else, though, this attack has no effect at all. This attack is an all-or-nothing-attack. Chuu keeps little energy for herself, just enough that she can stay in her Senshi form. The increase is significant, if she hasn’t used up too much of her energy.
Fuku: From bottom to top: Black engineer boots with three buckles and a gold star. Stockings which reach up to the middle of her upper thighs. The standard sailor skirt with a gold trimming. From underneath the skirt hangs a long, white mouse tail. This tail is able to move, sometimes under Chuus will, sometimes with a mind of its own, which unnerves her without end. It is also sensible to the touch, and Chuu never had the nerve to look where exactly it is “attached”. Above the skirt, she wears a plain white shirt with a buttons, which make it look like a rather regular shirt. There is a black bow with a gold brooch in front of her breast, and a rather big golden bow at her back. Her hands are covered in white cloves. Wrapped around her neck is collar with another golden star, and yet another one is held at her forehead by a chain of pearls. Her hair is pulled up into a odango-like tie and also held in place by golden stars.
Connections
Chikara: Obviously, Chuu will do anything for her princess, up to and including suffering, dying and refurnishing. Chikara is the person Noriko lives to serve, charismatic, powerfull and confident. Even when Chikara was nothing more then a teacher for her, Noriko sought every opportunity to be of some use. The fact that as a Senshi, she is actually able to help, is breathtaking. On the other hand though, Galaxia is no easy princess to serve, and even if Chuu would never say it, often she is also too headstrong. Chuu wouldn’t dare to oppose her, but, to use a metaphore, if she isn’t able to steer Galaxia away from hitting a concrete wall head on, she would at least try to slightly guide her towards the softest spot of it. She would love to spend time with Chikara during their spare time as well, but the fact that Chikara is a teacher and that she has such a no-nonsense attitude could make that hard.
Rin: Although Noriko likes Rins love of order and tradition, she isn’t sure if she likes her attitude towards them. She thinks that living by example and softly convincing someone are more effective then lecturing and yelling. Because of this, she might try to serve as a mediator, should the necessity arise. Other then that, they would certainly get along in class, if only because they both are fond of tradition and because Noriko is thankfull for any hint she gets to make her a little better at sports.
Arumi: Although Arumis careless and rebelious nature greatly confuses Noriko, she still is the galactic she likes the best on a purely personal basis. Arumis ability to reach her personal goals without being aggressive or impolite, but also without being swerved from them appears to Noriko as an indication for a strong and focused spirit, even if it is trapped in one head with an irritating personality. She also is endeared by Arumis willingness to help others, even if it isn’t such an important part of her life. She might even ask Arumi for help in certain things, if only to please Arumis love for helping others. And Arumi might help Noriko even while knowing that Noriko only accepts it because she thinks that Arumi enjoys helping her... You get the picture. Hilarity might ensue.
Bijiko: With her being the Senshi of luck, it wouldn’t be a suprise if they met in battle, perhaps with Norikos awakening as the reinforcement Bijiko needs to survive. Noriko believes in hard work more then in luck though, and she will express the opinion that one should rely on his own skills and not on chance. She isn’t a gambler, too, and would only play games for money if the odds of winning were good. A lot of the tension in their relationship might stem from those different views of luck and Bijikos attempts to prove Noriko wrong.
Sakura: They surely have extremly different personalities. Strangely though, this wouldn’t prevent Noriko from having a genuine interest in Sakura. As Noriko likes to figure people out, Sakura could prove as the equivalent of a rubics cube, with everchanging paterns to analyze and observe. She also thinks that beneath all the “not knowing what she wants”, the one thing she truly needs is someone who takes a genuine interest in her life, more then the shallow curiosity the other pupils are expressing. If Sakura even notices this... We’ll see.
Kyouri: She is everything Noriko might possibly hope to meet in another person. Kya is sweet, caring, deeply emotional, thoughtfull and devoted to her friends. They had to endure a tragic loss of a family member in their pasts, and a fire changed both of their lifes. All in all, one would assume that they should get along quite well, especially with Kias ability to make friends easily. Curiously, though, this isn’t the case. Maybe Noriko thinks that Kia is a little to good to be true, or that there has to be some sort of catch behind the perfectness. She is also worried by Galaxias loyality to Sailor Moon. Shouldn’t everyone follow the strongest of the princesses, or shouldn’t they at least be on equal terms? The level of devotion Chikara expresses just seems to be over the top. On a more personal basis, the superficial similarities aren’t so similiar. While Noriko helps others with the ultimate goal of improving them, Kyouri does so simply out of kindness and to make them feel better. That, at least, is what Chuu is telling herself. If she would be able to let her guard down and look at Kya with unbiased eyes, she might discover a lot of things to learn. Until then, though, she only cares for her because Galaxia does, and even then she is reluctant.
Atarimae: If they have met before, they most propably did because Noriko follows the shinto religion and she might have searched for advice during difficult times, be it fortune telling or simple advice. Or they might have gotten into a conversation in a shrine. They should like each other well, as they tend to be on the more traditional and quiet side. If they would meet, they’d definetly be able to find some common ground, although Noriko isn’t into jewelry.
Yuriko: Saturn is very quiet, even for Norikos standarts. I just don’t think they will notice each other. Most propably they would meet in battle, and because of the similiar role they play in their respective teams, a role of support and distraction, they might figure out that they could work together quite effectively. After a meeting, they would propably spend some time together, with Noriko in the akward and unusual position of the more extroverted of the two. She might even try to get Yuriko on a date to show her that there are some nice men, and most propably, she would fail miserably.
Hanako: Noriko sure could use the guidance Hanako has to offer, both concerning her own matters and the connections she shares with other people. But, while they sure have the potential to discuss things, from mundane affairs to deeply philosophical concepts, I can’t see them out shopping together. They both have a keen interest in helping others and are propably more interested in relationships with people who need this help. They might cooperate, though, if it was neccessary. I can see their relationship paralelling the relation between a master and his pupil, with roles switching depending on the situation.
Daichi: Most propably, Noriko is one of the targets of his teasing. There many things about her that could invite that behavious, like her dislike of disorder, her attitude of helping others or her small stature. As she will most propably be able to feel that it is all in “good humour”, she might just return the favor, even if her teasing is such that you only realise it on your way home, hidden under veneer of politeness and friendlyness. I don’t think she’ll like his favoring of words though, especially when actions are required, like in a fight. She would strongly advise Daichi that instead of throwing one rose and giving an inspirational speach, throwing ten roses and shutting up could prove more effective.
Kenrou: As clear as the sky / the glacier might move to slow / to reach it in time. Noriko greatly respects Kenrou, both as a “honorary member” of the galactics and as the traditional and level-headed person he is. She greatly enjoys his puns and, when she knows about his realationship with Chikara, would love to use some subtle influence to bring them together even closer. On the other hand though, she might think that Kenrou might be a little to level-headed, cool and inflexible to properly react to changes or surprises. And because of the rather huge age difference, I don’t think they would do much together.
Binshou: If anyone might need Norikos help, it would surely be Binshou. I can see them talk get along quite good, maybe because Noriko is definetly able to sit quietly trough a tea ceremony or just across the table from him. She might want to urge him into a little more confident behaviour, but wont push it. They could definately become friends and share a lot of their time, if it wasn’t for the fact that, well, Noriko is a girl.
Taeki: Noriko is a girl, and rather cute too. Taeki likes cute girls. Noriko doesn’t like to be liked as a cute girl. If Taeki would think of Noriko as a challenge to hone his charm, he might discover that Noriko would be quite a challenge indeed, because this is one of the needs she won’t try to satisfy. If that doesn’t stop Taeki from trying, it would open up a lot of story opportunities.
