Mezase, Yuritopia!

By: Toitentsu

Amishima Matsuri & Inamoto Miyu

[Inamoto Miyu, 1]

Miyu-san didn’t have particularly strict criteria when deciding on what school to attend, with her only criteria being that it had a track team with a proven record of performing above mid-level and that she could attend it with Matsuri. She researched what schools to consider as she chastised Matsuri-san, whose only opinions were, “I don’t care where we go as long as I can run.”

[Inamoto Miyu, 2]

After touring a number of different schools, she decided to attend the final school she visited: Shirojo. It fulfilled all of her school criteria, of course, but the ultimate factor in her decision was that, if she attended there, she’d be able to spend the majority of her school commute alongside Matsuri. Miyu-san still keeps that part a secret though, even today.

[Inamoto Miyu, 3]

As Matsuri-san’s grades at the time risked not meeting Shirojo’s slightly high academic standards, the two began to organize frequent study sessions together. They began going over to each others’ houses during this time as well.

[Inamoto Miyu, 4]

The two would also hold sleepover-study sessions when Matsuri-san’s parents went on their frequent couples trips, and it’s said that the two girls studied a lot during them.

......About a lot of different things, very thoroughly.

[Amishima Matsuri, 1]

Before she met Miyu, Matsuri was the type of person that had little interest in anything outside of running, seeming to be bored all the time. There was such a stark difference between her lively attitude during sports events and her lethargic attitude everywhere else that it was said that it was almost like she was two different people.

[Amishima Matsuri, 2]

Matsuri began to take notice of Miyu during her third track meet. Matsuri had never known defeat in her district competitions so far, but Miyu had managed to come in second place while staying hot on her tail the whole time. After Matsuri confirmed Miyu’s name from the scoreboard, it’s said she thought to herself about how pretty it is.

[Amishima Matsuri, 3]

Miyu had been thoroughly examining the running style of Matsuri, the top runner in the district. She had been determining what parts of her own running she’d need to improve to catch up to her and then had been putting that analysis into practice. Matsuri would gradually be charmed by Miyu’s earnest attitude toward beating her and would come to confess to her at a certain track meet.

[Amishima Matsuri, 4]

Matsuri doesn’t talk much about the specifics of her confession, but according to her, when she saw the sight of the running track illuminated by the glow of the setting sun, she knew that this would be her only chance to confess her feelings.

After her confession, Matsuri would then begin to transform into the ever-happy and cheery girl we know today.

Koba Youka & Ariu Aki

[Koba Youka, 1]

If you asked Youka’s middle school classmates what she was like, they’d say that she was just plain normal. She talked with her friends about popular things, had grades that were just a bit on the good side, and although she didn’t really stand out, she wasn’t particularly forgettable either. She was just that sort of normal, yet hobbyless, girl.

[Koba Youka, 2]

Youka chose Shirojo because it was close to her house and she'd heard of it before. She’d heard people mention Kokonotsuboshi Girls’ ever since she was little, so she’d always been under the impression that she’d enroll there.

[Koba Youka, 3]

It was after Youka had been admitted to Shirojo, but before she graduated from middle school. Youka wanted to try her hand at something more mature, so she decided to listen to some music that was outside of her typical genre, and thus met her awakening. “Rock was what was missing from my life!” she’s said to have declared to her family.

[Koba Youka, 4]

Youka’s father was the one that said that he knew this would happen someday. With the help of her mom and younger sister, who got roped in half out of desperation, Youka was able to undergo a complete makeover over spring break. She worried the most about the placement of her hairband, and that fussiness about her hairband placement would later cause Youka to be late for school for the first time.

[Koba Youka, 5]

Youka’s middle school friend K, who had also moved on to Shirojo, was initially worried about whether Youka was pushing herself. After she got in the habit of just saying, “Well, it’s Youka after all,” it now seems as though she can’t even remember what Youka was like before at all.

[Ariu Aki, 1]

Ariu-san’s main focus when researching schools to attend was to find a school that “seemed like a place that would let her look back on how special of a time she was able to spend there.” As some of Ariu-san’s relatives had attended Shirojo in the past, Ariu-san had already had an interest in it for some time.

[Ariu Aki, 2]

The day of the joint school tour. After enjoying her day at Shirojo to the fullest, Ariu-san decided that it was the only school she wanted to attend. She’s the type to get deeply obsessed with the things she likes, so it’s said that she had set a photo of the school’s main gate as her phone wallpaper and formed a “hobby” of spending a minute admiring it after waking up in the morning.

This “hobby” of hers continues even today, but her wallpaper is now a photo she took with Youka.

[Ariu Aki, 3]

On the day of Ariu-san’s tour of Shirojo, her group was led by a rotation of members from each school committee. To make up for their lack of personnel, they had done things like distribute guidebooks relay-style, and Aki-san admired their dedication to not use their lack of staff as an excuse to cut corners with their work.

[Ariu Aki, 4]

As the disciplinary committee’s president and vice president led the group from the school’s main gate to its entrance, they gave a traditional Shirojo speech which concludes with the line, “Although we won’t be here by the time you enroll here...” It's said that that speech is what motivated Ariu-san to pursue committee work.

[Ariu Aki, 5]

During middle school, Aki-san had served on her school’s student council, and it’s said that when she told her fellow council members about her wish to join Shirojo’s disciplinary committee, everyone had joked about how it would suit her too much.

By the way, Aki-san seems to like serving in positions that allow her to perform practical work, such as vice-president or disciplinary committee president.

Tsurugimine Kiri and Sonou Tsukuyo

[Tsurugimine Kiri, 1]

Kiri-san had three reasons for coming to Shirojo. First, because it has math specialization classes. Second, because Kiri’s mother, who’s also into cute things (although not as much as Kiri), said that “It’d be nice if you went to an all-girls school~” Third, because a blog that Kiri loved that showcased all sorts of cute things was run by a Shirojo student.

That student—the founding president of the Shirocute Group—has already graduated from Shirojo, and Kiri is currently acting as the group’s vice president. It’s said that the former president regretted having to part ways with Tsukuyo-chan so much that she was moved to tears.

[Tsurugimine Kiri, 2]

The Shirojo Cute Things Group is a mysterious information-sharing group. Its members each have their own personal rankings, which is said to be a source of agony during their occasional meetings. They pride themselves on being an elite group of a select few, so admission to the group is invitation-only.

Kiri-san was supposed to meet up with the group’s president on the day of her entrance ceremony and join the group, but...

[Tsurugimine Kiri, 3]

The day of the entrance ceremony. When Kiri-san saw the sight of Sonou-sensei being introduced on stage, it’s said that she stood up twice on her own accord, firmly pulled out her student handbook, and wrote “Sonou Tsukuyo-chan!!!” in big letters on the handbook’s memo page.

[Tsurugimine Kiri, 4]

After bracing herself and somehow managing to get through the remaining half-day with a sound mind, Kiri absentmindedly headed back home. It was only after she went and hugged her favorite plushie that she realized, “I totally forgot to meet up with the president!” Luckily, as the group’s president had also gone home due to catching the Sonou Fever, Kiri was able to stay in the clear.

[Tsurugimine Kiri, 5]

The president would later catch an actual fever, causing Kiri-san’s admission to be delayed by three days.

That’s the full story of the incident known as the “Tsukuyo-chan Shock”, a tale passed down through Shirocute Group history.

And so, everyone lived happily ever after.

[Sonou Tsukuyo, 1]

Tsukuyo-chan moved into the teachers’ dorms—a set of three snugly lined-up individual housing units—before spring break. Her neighbors, the math teacher and the P.E. teacher, had been expecting her, and with their help, she was able to complete her move-in without any issues. She would come to become friends with those quirky coworkers.

[Sonou Tsukuyo, 2]

The math teacher, who’s close to Tsukuyo-chan in age, is quite the observer, and is the type to not miss anything that seems interesting. She has no problems with being frank with her words, freely saying things like, “You’ve got a weak constitution, don’t you? Let me know whenever things are feeling tough.” The P.E. teacher, who’s a bit older than Tsukuyo-chan, is quiet and kind, with many hobbies.

[Sonou Tsukuyo, 3]

Upon heading to school to give her coworkers her introductory greetings, Tsukuyo-chan encountered a problem: her more elderly coworkers were doting on her, treating her as if she was their grandchild. She’d brought sweets to hand out to her coworkers as gifts, but she would end up coming home with more candy than she brought.

[Sonou Tsukuyo, 4]

Upon being consulted by a sulking Tsukuyo-chan, the math teacher remarked with a laugh, “Back when I was new, they treated me like I was their daughter,” and as the P.E. teacher poured her a good cup of tea, she added, “It’ll get better in a few days.” Just as they said, after a few days, Tsukuyo-chan’s grandchild-treatment suddenly stopped.

[Sonou Tsukuyo, 5]

Rumors say that what brought it to a halt was a furious lecture held in the staff room by Tsukuyo-chan’s supervisor, the elderly Japanese teacher, although the finer details aren’t known.

The calm Japanese teacher and Tsukuyo-chan have become such a close master-pupil pair that they even occasionally head out on trips together.

[Sonou Tsukuyo, 6]

During the entrance ceremony. Upon seeing Sonou-sensei staggering on her feet out of sheer nervousness for giving her inaugural greetings, her coworkers offered her a cup of tea, laughed off her worries, and gently encouraged her. It’s said that they sent her off with satisfied looks on their faces.

After this, as everyone knows, Sonou-sensei would come to meet many truly important people.

Ichiki, Futano, and Miyama

[Futano Sasa, 1]

The morning of the entrance ceremony. Sasa-san had drawn the tarot card of the Wheel of Fortune in its upright position. This was the third day in the row she’d drawn this card—an extremely rare occurrence—but her only response was, “Well, these kinds of things happen,” as she calmly left the house.

[Futano Sasa, 2]

Sasa-san would be picked up by Ichiki’s mom’s car at their meeting spot, only for her heart to skip a beat upon catching the sight of Umi dressed up in her uniform, sitting beside her. Umi had decided that she’d see through the day in a calm, reserved manner, so seeing Umi sitting up straight with a proper look on her face was a fresh sight for Sasa-san.

[Futano Sasa, 3]

Umi’s resolve would crumble after only two minutes, and the girls—Nena included—would soon return to their usual banter. As Sasa-san fended off Umi, who had started trying to get the three to all tie their hair up in twintails during the span of the opening ceremony, she thought back to the tarot card she drew this morning.

[Futano Sasa, 4]

Upon arriving at Shirojo, the three would immediately go take a commemorative photo together under the main gate’s watchtower. Occasionally, the breeze would make the cherry blossom petals dance in the air, and as Sasa-san was thinking to herself about how this flowery atmosphere really didn’t suit her, one of those petals would flit past into her field of view.

[Futano Sasa, 5]

That petal would land on Umi’s head, and while Umi was busy frolicking about in excitement, Sasa-san would call out to her to pluck the petal out of her hair. Umi would laugh and comment, “Ooh, that’s nice, isn’t it?!” with Sasa-san only nodding silently in return. It seems as though Sasa-san can remember how her legs were trembling as she did this.

[Futano Sasa, 6]

After the entrance ceremony, Umi, livelier than ever, would keep dragging the two around. As Umi would lead the three in joining the broadcasting club, helping out the astronomy club, etc., Sasa-san would start to notice that their leader, Umi, shone not just bright, but almost blindingly so. It wouldn’t be until the following spring that Sasa-san would realize the truth behind those feelings: her love for Umi.

So what’s the deal with the astronomy club, anyway? (and other references)

If you’ve read through Winter Recipes’ K★R section, you might remember that the astronomy club was also mentioned there, even though the club doesn’t make an appearance in-game or in any of the mangas/drama CDs (to my recollection, anyways). I’m guessing the idea of it is probably a holdover from the astronomy classes featured in Toitentsu’s previous Liar-soft yuri VN, Porthole of Sapphism, as quite a few concepts and character traits from there get reused in Kindred Spirits. For example, both games feature a short, athletic girl with short hair jumping from a significant height as a shortcut during a chase scene (the one in Sapphism’s Fan Soyoung route as well as the one with Kiri); an extremely shy girl that’s unable to talk to anyone, who ended up falling in love with a popular girl that treated her kindly, admiring her and wanting to be like her (Niki Baltretti and Enoki Sachi’s past self); a strong girl with violent tendencies who happens to have a father and older brother that work in construction/architecture (Chloe Witherspoon and Maki Seina); etc.

Other things introduced later in this segment bear some resemblance to things from Sapphism as well, such as Hina and her three underclassmen (Fan Soyoung and the visitor trio)

and the segment’s description of Ano’s cousin Yume (Tenkyoin Kanae) (although this one’s kind of a stretch).

Additionally, the Shirojo’s cafeteria’s head chef, Anzusato (mentioned in the next K☆R segment as well as the order bonus drama CDs bundled with Full Chorus), is also basically just Sapphism’s protagonist, Anri, sharing the same kanji (杏里) for her name but using a different reading. They're very similar in character, perviness included.

Anyways, The More You Know 🌈🌟

[Ichiki Umi, 1]

The reason the three chose to go to Shirojo was because Ichiki-san forced them to go together! ...Just kidding. It was actually something that’d happened later after the three had finished discussing things together. Umi-san wanted to stay together with the two, but since it was her friends’ futures at stake... And so she held herself back, not wanting to be pushy. In fact, it’s said that she was being so careful not to be pushy that the two called her annoying and scary because of it instead.

[Ichiki Umi, 2]

The day the three met up to announce which schools they were applying to. Upon learning that they’d all be going to the same school, it’s said that Umi-san was so relieved that she lost her strength and became unable to stand.

Afterwards, to help improve Umi’s and Sasa’s grades to improve their chances of admission, the three would undergo a hellish (for Nena) series of study sessions.

[Ichiki Umi, 3]

During their break before their enrollment at Shirojo, the three would head on a four-day graduation trip together. Their objective? “Let’s just go look at whatever we can!” It was Umi’s idea, of course. After only deciding on each night’s lodgings, the three headed off, charging headfirst into whatever interesting things they came across along the way.

[Ichiki Umi, 4]

The three recorded a trip report throughout their adventure. It featured Umi as the reporter, Sasa as the straight man, and Nena as the photographer. They reported on all sorts of things, like haphazard presentations of local history, reviews of cheap eateries, hot spring showcases, wake up pranks, and more. The trip packed their hearts—and memory cards—full of precious memories.

[Ichiki Umi, 5]

With Umi’s direction and Sasa’s narration, Nena edited their footage down to a completed work. It was screened at Umi’s house to great excitement, and the three exchanged vows to join the broadcasting club together. (The photos from that trip would later help save the broadcasting club from the brink of disaster...)

[Miyama Nena, 1]

Nena-san chose to go to Shirojo for two reasons. The first was because she thought both Umi and Sasa would choose Shirojo. Nena’s thinking was that, since they’re both fans of unusual locations, there's no way they’d pass up on being able to go to a school inside a castle.

[Miyama Nena, 2]

Her second reason was because she was a big fan of Shirojo’s tatami room. Nena and her friends had toured Shirojo during the winter, and the information session they’d been having while inside the kotatsus in the tatami room really knocked her out—literally, that is, from how cozy the kotatsus were to sleep in. She didn’t pay much attention to the session itself.

[Miyama Nena, 3]

During the winter of her first year at Shirojo, Nena-san lived her kotatsu life to the fullest. She’d head off to the tatami room’s kotatsus nearly every day after school, eventually coming to dub the tatami room the “second broadcasting room.” When Nena said, “I came here just so I could sleep in these kotatsus,” Umi and Sasa just responded, “We know.”

[Miyama Nena, 4]

After beginning her enrollment at Shirojo, Nena would face some gradual changes in her surroundings. First, Sasa would begin to act kinda weird. Second, she’d encounter an even greater force to be reckoned with than Umi: the president of the broadcasting club. Lastly, she’d become friends with the Queen of Forgetfulness, Ano Fuji.

[Miyama Nena, 5]

It’s said that Nena-san finally realized that Sasa’s weirdness stemmed from her love of Umi while she was in the middle of playing a gal game she’d borrowed from Ano. Nena-san wasn’t greatly shocked by that realization, more just coming to the conclusion of, “Well, if it’s Umi, I get how you’d fall in love with her.”

Aihara Miki and Maki Seina

[Aihara Miki, 1]

Aihara-san’s first run-in with Shirojo was during a horticultural exhibit she had gone to with her grandmother while she was in elementary school. Miss Aihara was fascinated by the gardening club’s exhibit of Mino-giku chrysanthemums, and upon reading the exhibit’s placard and learning of Kokonotsuboshi Girls’, she developed a strong adoration of the school.

[Aihara Miki, 2]

Time would pass, and Aihara-san would soon be deciding on the school she’d attend in the future. During the consultation she had about her future path, Aihara-san would declare her desire to go to Shirojo without hesitation, surprising her counselor who thought of her as hard-working but indecisive. She may be the type to be stubborn and singleminded when it comes to those feelings she keeps to herself.

[Aihara Miki, 3]

Upon her enrollment at Shirojo, Aihara-san would head to the gardening club, only to discover that, due to a shortage of members, the club had merged with the beautification committee and become a lower branch of it. As Aihara-san stood there, frozen in shock, its club president-cum-chairman Kakisaki smiled and invited her to both groups with open arms.

[Aihara Miki, 4]

Aihara-san quickly adapted to the role of beautification committee-cum-gardening club member that was thrust upon her.

Before the summer even began, she would become so famous among the teachers that they would all know of the “Aihara from the beautification committee,” and she would earn a reputation of being the best person to ask if you needed help looking for reference materials.

[Aihara Miki, 5]

The meticulous Aihara-san would take notes whenever she got work and would organize that information together to use in committee bulletins. These so-called “Aihara Essays” would be treated as the bible for doing committee work, and the newspaper club at the time would spread those essays—alongside the story of her dedication—throughout the school.

[Aihara Miki, 6]

After the publication of that newspaper, Aihara would be bestowed the title of “Saint,” and her work during the summer camp and school festival would further cement that title. It seems that Aihara herself found her new title embarrassing, though.

[Aihara Miki, 7]

Around the time of Chairman Kakisaki’s graduation, the chairman would expand the committee’s flowerbed and gift it to Aihara.

Kakisaki wished for Aihara’s diligence to someday bear great fruit, but it would take some time for that wish to be granted.

(Aihara still keeps in touch with Kakisaki-san to this day.)

[Maki Seina, 1]

Seina’s mother, father, and two older brothers all work for her family’s building construction firm.

As she was raised in a household of blue-collar workers, Maki-san wished to go to an all-girls school, and she decided on Shirojo after falling deeply in love with the school’s main gate after touring the school. Although Maki-san’s grades were just barely good enough to get into the school, her parents would express their disapproval about her choice.

[Maki Seina, 2]

Maki’s mother, Aya, who handles the family finances, would suggest she consider different, lower-cost all-girls schools in the area. Her father, Koichi, on the other hand, was less worried about tuition and more worried about Seina’s potential commute, as Shirojo was located somewhat far away from home.

It would be her brothers that would save the stumped Seina-san from her dilemma.

[Maki Seina, 3]

Despite teasing her by saying how an all-girls school wouldn’t suit her, Seina-san’s eldest brother and carpenter-in-training, Akira, would offer to put down the money he had saved for a new car to pay for Seina-san’s tuition. As he got into one of his usual spats with his father—this time about daring to steal a father’s responsibility for his daughter away from him—Akira would entrust his bankbook to his mother.

[Maki Seina, 4]

Seina’s younger brother and budding registered architect, Takashi, would gently state how he thought Seina would be able to handle the commute, and would put forth the idea of having Seina agree to some stipulations in order for her to attend, such as having her promise to contact them if she was running late.

[Maki Seina, 5]

If we summarized all the stipulations they agreed to, it’d basically boil down to “do things properly,” but the one they emphasized the most was “don’t get in petty fights.”

As Seina-san’s the type to charge into anything she’s facing head-first, it seems as though she tended to get into trouble fairly regularly.

[Maki Seina, 6]

Although most of that trouble was driven by Seina-san’s sense of chivalry, given she’s a strong girl that was raised in a household where she’d handle hand tools like they were playthings, many of those incidents would become quite the scene. Seina-san reflected on those actions of hers, and swore that, if she made it into Shirojo, she’d curb that kind of behavior in the future.

(Although she promised not to get into petty fights, that one time was about serious business, so it doesn’t count!)

Toomi, Komano, and Ano

[Komano Hina, 1]

Hina announced her plans to go to Shirojo during a joint dinner between the Toomi and Komano families. The Komano family (primarily Hina’s mother) had been keeping the fact that they had already submitted their school application a secret, so the announcement really caught Yuna by surprise.

[Komano Hina, 2]

Hina had some subjects she wasn’t good at, but with the help of Yuna’s tutoring, she was able to make up for those weaknesses.

As Hina was able to concentrate on her studies more after she exercised, it’s said that Yuna tagged along with her on her runs during this time, ending up getting quite fit in the process.

[Komano Hina, 3]

There were times where Ano helped out with Hina’s studies as well.

Ano was in charge of tutoring the topic she was relatively good at: English. The “The Meat-Based Guide to English Grammar” textbook Ano wrote was very well received by Hina, and although it had the downside of making Hina very hungry, it proved to be very useful in her studies.

[Komano Hina, 4]

Hina was idolized by her athletic club underclassmen, who referred to her as “Hina-chan-senpai.”

During her graduation ceremony, three of her underclassmen that she was particularly close with clung onto her while in tears, saying, “We’ll be going to Shirojo, no matter what!” It seems that Hina couldn’t get the three to let her go until she promised that they’d absolutely meet again.

(Two of those athletic club underclassmen began their studies at Shirojo this spring.)

[Komano Hina, 5]

Although Hina was successful in pulling off her drastic maneuver of submitting an application to join the track team on the very day of the entrance ceremony, she wasn’t permitted to partake in club activities until the start of the new member admission period.

[Komano Hina, 6]

Due to Hina’s abundance of free time before she could start club activities, it seems as though she decided to spend those days exploring the school.

Her path of exploration was quite wild, to the point where it could be said that it couldn’t even qualify as a path in the first place. This adventure of hers would later serve to kick off her friendship with Seina.

[Toomi Yuna, 1]

As Yuna-san needed to help out with household chores, she originally chose her school candidates based on how far they were from home. One day, she suddenly switched Shirojo from her third-choice school to her first-choice school, which was said to have caught everyone around her by surprise.

[Toomi Yuna, 2]

The cooking club’s pre-graduation send-off party was apparently quite the exciting time, having activities such as a recipe exchange with the underclassmen.

As the legendary president of the cooking club that brought the club from its founding to its first major competition win, Yuna-san was expectedly immensely popular among her club members. It’s said that it took her two hours just to calm her crying underclassmen down.

[Toomi Yuna, 3]

During the party, the cooking club’s vice-president and club members asked her why she suddenly decided to switch to Shirojo, with her answer being, “If I go to Shirojo, I can stop by the supermarket on the way back.” Her friend, the vice-president, thought, “Well, that’s a very Yuna-like reason, at least,” but it seems as though she wasn’t quite satisfied with that explanation.

[Toomi Yuna, 4]

The cooking club’s vice president enrolled at a different school from Yuna and entered the cooking club there as well. She still contacts Yuna on occasion. She’s currently serving as the president of the cooking club. It may perhaps be because she previously shared roles with Yuna to enact a carrot-and-stick approach to club management, but it seems as though she’s currently struggling to keep a handle on her club members. Due to this, most of her communications with Yuna are requests for advice.

[Toomi Yuna, 5]

During the break before her enrollment at Shirojo, Yuna would head to the local marathon to support Hina, who was competing in it. Because of this event, Yuna would begin to take notice of the considerations needed when making meals for athletes, and the experience she gained here would prove useful when she started preparing lunches for Hina after Hina’s enrollment at Shirojo, among other things.

[Toomi Yuna, 6]

When Yuna began her studies at Shirojo, Ano, who had roped Yuna into a friendship through her forgetfulness, helped in small part to keep Yuna—who had sealed away the meddlesome side of herself—stable. But during periods like breaks between classes or high-traffic periods like lunch break, Yuna would catch sight of that meddlesome side of hers stirring up inside her once again. This would cause her to seek out quiet areas without people, eventually leading her to spend time on the roof.

[Ano Fuji, 1]

Ano moved to Shirojo’s surrounding area right when she graduated elementary school. On arriving at her new home, she would begin to debut a new laid-back persona. She would put on an elusive air of friendliness to allow her to more smoothly navigate through social interactions.

[Ano Fuji, 2]

Ano would use the protagonist of one of her favorite manga as the base for her new persona. This persona would turn out to be far more successful than she could even imagine, causing her unbelievable transformation from a girl who could only manage to blush and avert her eyes in embarrassment to the new Ano Fuji with many friends we know today. Ano’s cousin, Ano Yume-san, would assist Fuji in crafting her new personality.

[Ano Fuji, 3]

Yume currently lives by herself in Tokyo. She has sharp eyes and isn’t the type to smile much. As she’s the type to forget about everything else when she gets lost in her work, Fuji and her other family members have to take turns to check up on her. When Yuna and Hina would later meet Yume, their first impression of her would be that she’s a black-haired Ano Fuji.

[Ano Fuji, 4]

Ano’s criteria for her future school was, one, that it was an all-girls school, and two, that it took place at an unusual location. Her reason for choosing an all-girls school was to avoid potential confessions. She received a fair number of confessions during her middle school years, but because she was completely clueless about romance, it seems as though she worried quite a lot about how to reject her suitors.

[Ano Fuji, 5]

Her reason for seeking a school set at an unusual location was in hopes that it would help draw attention away from her, as her physical appearance and special ability were prone to attracting undue attention. Even though her persona was a front, being the center of attention still wore her out. Therefore, it seems as though she thought she’d have an easier time if she could go to a weird school and blend in with weird people.

[Ano Fuji, 6]

Despite Yume remarking, “You really think you can just shop around for a school like that?!” Ano collected about a dozen or so school pamphlets. Ano was originally looking for a school with a dorm because of a series she was hooked on at the time, but as she would have trouble finding a school that fit all her criteria, she would struggle to reach a decision.

[Ano Fuji, 7]

At this time, Ano had an opportunity to talk with her relatives that ran a tea store back in her hometown, so she asked them if they knew of any strange schools. They immediately mentioned a school set at the site of an old castle that was said to hold many women of strong character: Kokonotsuboshi Girls’ Academy of Commerce, aka Shirojo.

[Ano Fuji, 8]

After taking another look through the pamphlets she’d collected, Fuji would become enamoured with Shirojo. If I went here, I definitely wouldn’t stand out as much! ...Probably, I think.

Upon hearing the news from Fuji, Yume would plead with her, saying, “Fuji, you have to get in no matter what and report back to me (with material I can use).”

[Ano Fuji, 9]

During the break before her admission to Shirojo, Ano would bring Yume—who was visiting back home—along to Shirojo to do some reconnaissance. Upon seeing the main gate lit up by the glow of the sunset, Yume-san would comment, “Ooh, that’s nice...” and freeze in place. As this was a normal occurrence for her cousin, Ano would give up on getting her to budge, and while that was happening, a girl in a white face mask would come up to them and strike up a conversation.

[Ano Fuji, 10]

The tall girl in the face mask would turn out to be a third-year Shirojo student. After commenting about how many people come to the school to take photos of the gate, the girl would offer to take a commemorative photo of the two. It wouldn’t be until after Ano began her studies at Shirojo, during an information session about the school’s clubs, that she would learn that that girl was actually the president of the manga club that wears a face mask year-round.

[Ano Fuji, 11]

After her admission to Shirojo, Ano would be troubled by rumors about how there was a princess-like girl among the first-years. Upperclassmen would come to peep at her every break, and her classmates would pester her to let them take a photo of her for good luck. Ano’s amicable persona would only serve to backfire on her, and her amount of visitors wouldn’t decrease in the slightest.

[Ano Fuji, 12]

This “Princess Ano Festival” would come to an end sometime during the middle of May. This would be in some part due to Yuna’s continued effort of politely turning away any visitors, but it’s said that it was primarily halted due to a successful self-restraint campaign put out by the culture clubs. (It’s also rumored that that Shirocute Group had also called for her protection)

[Ano Fuji, 13]

The manga club was apparently the first club to start appealing for people to exercise self-restraint. As Ano had always wanted to join a manga club, upon learning of Shirojo’s during the school club information session, she would join it immediately. There, she would meet once again with the club’s masked president, Suwa-senpai, who would comment, “So it must be fate.” The two would hit it off together, and Ano would come to greatly respect Suwa-senpai, who would take Yume’s place as her mentor.

[Ano Fuji, 14]

Ano and Yuna would become even closer friends during this time, and their classmates would come to see the cheery Ano and the levelheaded Yuna as two parts of a pair.

Although Ano had heard rumors of Yuna’s activities before her enrollment at Shirojo, it seems as though she never brought the topic up herself.

[Ano Fuji, 15]

During the test of courage during the outdoor school camp. The teachers had gotten a bit too far into their roles as scarers, causing students to drop out of the test left and right, but Ano and Yuna were able to take the cup of water they were given to the finish line without spilling a single drop. As they figured they’d stand out too much if they crossed the finish line just like that, they decided to dump out half the water in their cup before heading to the finish line. That’s a secret they’ve kept between the two of them.

[Ano Fuji, 16]

Ano would continue to regularly report to Yume to provide material for her work, and a story written based upon those reports would mark Ano’s debut in the doujin sphere.

That work would be published on a different day in secret from the manga club, but apparently, their first customer would turn out to be president Suwa dressed up in cosplay.

[Ano Fuji, 17]

As Ano was caught by surprise, Suwa would explain that she was actually a famous cosplayer; she wore a face mask all the time to help protect her identity. She would reveal that she was actually a massive fan of Yume’s work, and from that point onwards, Suwa would join Yume-san’s doujin circle as a member.

Ano believes Suwa to be “the most two-faced person at Shirojo,” and fears her because of it.