C'était trop rapide. C'est une grande surprise. Depuis son arrivée, Reiko avait l'impression que tout était plus rapide qu'elle. Mais ce n'était que le début. Ça n'a pas commencé à décrire ce qui se passait devant elle. Les vues. Les sons. Cette fille dont elle ne connaissait même pas le nom, s'étant arrachée la gorge et mourante d'une perte de sang. Yoshida, qui l'a fait pour commencer. Mlle "Keep Everyone Alive" venait de tuer cette personne, alors que c'était elle-même qui essayait de protéger tout le monde. Reiko ne connaissait même pas le nom de la fille. Entre hier et plus tôt aujourd'hui, Reiko avait vu de la merde. Mais ça? Mais ça? Si l'expression sur le visage de Reiko était n'importe quel indicateur, elle n'était pas sur le point de laisser cette diapositive. L'expression de Reiko ressemblait à ce qu'elle pouvait littéralement commencer à lancer des flammes à tout moment. Le coup rapide de ses bras ne l'a pas rendue plus calme.
"Non, non, non, non, non!"
Elle sentait son cœur battre. Claquant, plutôt. C'était comme s'il pouvait éclater de sa poitrine et s'autodétruire à tout moment. En regardant Yoshida vers le bas, Reiko n'a même pas pu comprendre ses mots. Elle ne pouvait même pas redresser ses pensées. Elle avait du mal à déterminer ce qu'elle ressentait en ce moment. Elle était en colère? Triste? Deuil? Tous les trois? Quoi qu'elle soit, Reiko et tous ceux qui auraient pu la voir sauront tout de suite que les sentiments qu'elle ressentait n'étaient pas bons. En baissant les mots comme s'ils étaient des flammes, Reiko a finalement crié "Vous l'avez tuée!" Maintenant, elle parlait. Maintenant, elle était au moins capable de reconnaître une partie de ce qu'elle ressentait. Cette ruée trop familiale d'adrénaline. Ça n'a fait qu'intensifier sa rage. Reiko a commencé à s'approcher de la fille et du cadavre, ce qui s'est avéré plus sûr qu'elle ne l'avait fait craquer chaque fois qu'elle avait.
"Vous feriez mieux de remercier vos stars chanceuses que Shinai n'est pas en fait un katana," Reiko a commencé. Chaque mot rempli d'intensité, chaque syllabe presque visiblement venimeux. "Si c'était le cas, j'aurais aimé mettre fin à votre misérable existence. Ce serait une punition juste, n'est-ce pas? Pour un meurtrier comme vous?" À ce stade, Reiko se tenait directement au-dessus de Yoshida. "Lève-toi. Sur tes pieds, ver. Vous venez d'arracher la gorge d'un être vivant, de respirer l'être humain, et de boire leur sang comme un monstre."
"Je ne voulais pas... Je voulais juste en avoir assez pour... non... je ne voulais pas..."
"Pas d'excuses!" Poignant les côtés de la porte pour couper la sortie de Yoshida assez serrée pour que ses doigts deviennent blancs, Reiko a poursuivi : « Tu n'iras nulle part tant que tu ne me diras pas tout ce que je voudrais savoir sur ce trou d'enfer. Et moi. Moyenne. Tout." Ne bougeant pas d'un pouce, Reiko a fini "Eh bien? Sors avec ça. Ou tu pourrais toujours me tuer aussi. Puisque pour quelqu'un qui s'occupe de nous protéger, vous prenez tellement de soin de ne pas nous arracher la gorge quand nous essayons de vous sauver. »
Name: "Nagatani Reiko. If you're spelling "Reiko" with kanji that read out as "beautiful child" or “Nagatani” with the kanji for “long valley” then you're spelling it wrong. Use the kanji for "zero" instead of "beautiful" and the kanji for “eternal” instead of “long” from now on."
永谷 零子
Age: 17
History: Born in Dōtonbori, Reiko’s parents both worked in the food business. Perhaps because of that, she got to try out a lot of the flavors Osaka had to offer, which added up to a pretty hefty palette. From a young age, it was Reiko’s dream to be a chef. Her father sold takoyaki for a living, her mother was a waitress, so why not? It was practically in her blood to work with food! The result of this ambition was young Reiko spending a lot of time in the kitchen, helping her parents and learning what did and didn’t work when preparing food. Things were looking good, with her mother becoming a restaurant general manager over time, and Reiko turning into a very fine young cook. And then her dreams were rocked to the foundation at age twelve. Not that they were shattered, just…changed.
The catalyst was a school friend of hers who had an unfortunate reputation as the class target for bullies. Whilst doing a mini-tour of the restaurants in her neighborhood, Reiko found her friend in a pretty nasty situation, backed into a corner by two of the burlier boys in class. So Reiko did what any sane, reasonable human being with absolutely no experience fighting would not do. She went ahead and started swinging her fists at the boys. Surprisingly, she won. This was where her dream changed. Even to this day, she vividly remembers the thrill that fight gave her. The rush of the fight was what gave her a change of heart, and she decided to instead become a national kendo champion. Cooking for a living was still her Plan B, though.
Reiko’s family didn’t hesitate to sign her up for classes when she expressed that she wanted to try kendo out. While she’d learned cooking well from her parents, even her kendo teacher remarked that she was a natural at this new pursuit of hers. She was eventually given her own personal shinai to keep and practice with…and this is where the problem began. Give a young girl with dreams of being a national kendo champ her own shinai, and what’s she going to do? Pick fights. At first, she only targeted kids in her class who were known to be bullies or otherwise just not good people, but she eventually saw no challenge from them whatsoever. Then she started targeting older kids, mainly high-schoolers who were in kendo clubs. She actually had a pretty good winning streak, all things considered, and won three matches in a row. Then she lost the fourth one, against the club president who was sick of her crap. Trying to explain her face when she got home that day was another memory that has stayed perfectly clear to this day, albeit a much less pleasant one.
Then her mother got a job opportunity, but not in Osaka. The Nagatani family moved just before high school started for Reiko, and soon after she began at Hideki High School. Needless to say, she wasted no time joining the kendo club and proving her skill time and again. And then club members stopped accepting her challenges, and it was her middle school problems all over again. Eventually, she was kicked out of the kendo club for her “aggressive” behavior and told to take a couple months to take a nice long breather. She didn’t.
What Reiko did instead was begin looking for challengers online. These guys were better than her club. Reiko realized that when she lost her first battle in seconds. And then she did take a months-long breather. With the constant adrenaline flow of hers gone, Reiko was calmed down and not as fast or strong as she previously was. The kendo club welcomed her back with open arms when she proved it by turning down a challenge from the club president. Their president graduated that year, and appointed president was none other than Reiko, for her skill in and love for kendo. It’s been rare that she takes up her shinai these last couple of years, so she’s a bit rusty as a result. However, she can still cook very well.
Personality: Reiko can be seen as a girl of two very different faces. Primarily, she’s a calm sort who thinks before she does anything, and always keeps an eye on details. She also sees a sort of bond when it comes to food. Not that she feels a bond with the food itself, but rather, the people she eats it with. Sit down with her for a meal, and Reiko can go from a stranger to a friend in mere minutes. She also loves to cook, and hearing somebody say they enjoyed her cooking remains her number-one bliss in life.
Her love for food doesn’t stay limited to just the flavors she grew up with in Osaka, either. No matter its origin or culture, Reiko will always try out a dish she hasn’t tasted before, and learn how it’s made if she likes it. She’s also the sort to put her own spin on the foods she makes. Most notably, every sushi dish she makes has a paste she claims is made from blended takoyaki on the side. She’ll also try to make her own thing from time to time, grabbing seemingly random ingredients from around her, and seeing what she can do with them.
Then she gets into a kendo match. She’s not quite sure what it is, but something about fighting – be it kendo or not – is just exhilarating to Reiko. To her, the adrenaline rush is like a drug. Once she gets some, she wants more and more. The first fight is always a catalyst to a huge violent streak of hers, in which she’ll approach anybody she thinks could be a challenge and begin to pick a fight. This “other side” of Reiko is what gets her in trouble more often than not. Her sleeping habits – especially in class – are another trouble factor of hers.
Quirks: ~Absolutely refuses to go anywhere without her shinai, despite having only had ten kendo matches in the last two years.
~Puts a “mystery sauce” she makes on everything she cooks. It’s unknown what goes in the sauce, but some people who’ve tried a variety of her dishes think she actually makes the sauce differently depending on the food.
~Won’t read unless her head and the book are upside-down. This has resulted in her sitting in the back row in class.
~Insists on going everywhere on foot unless going to another town.
Likes: +Food: Cooking food, eating food, or hearing from others about food is never something Reiko will turn down if offered. Her backup dream of being a chef is still strong.
+Kendo: It goes without saying, Reiko loves kendo. While she’s learned that it’s not a great idea to constantly fight these last couple of years, she’s always glad to spar with somebody or even get into a couple of outright fights if the circumstances are right.
+Sleeping: Reiko sees sleep as a way of shooting ahead to the very near future. If she has nothing to do, is angry or sad, or even just bored, you can bet Reiko’s mind is set on finding a place to sleep.
Dislikes: –Italian food: Despite her broad tastes, Reiko could never get the hang of Italian food. This extends to pizza as well.
-Quiet people: People were given lungs and vocal cords to speak, or so Reiko would put it. People who don’t use these things just irritate her. Exceptions are the deaf and the mute.
-Bullying: While she admits she was guilty of this until becoming kendo club president, Reiko hates, HATES bullies, or any mistreatment of one person toward another person. This is part of why she keeps her shinai near her at all times; when she sees this kind of thing happen, she feels it’s her job to step in and put a stop to it.