BasicsFull Name: Setsuna Hanamori
Nickname: none
Age, D.O.B.: 16; February 19
Gender: Female
Category: Persona User
Grade/Career: first year student at Mishiro High; no job
Ethnicity: Japanese
Family:• Kyosuke Hanamori (father; 39 years old; alive)
• Ayumi Hanamori (mother; 36 years old; alive)
• No other known relatives
AppearanceStanding at about 5'2", Setsuna is a bit on the short side; between this and her slender frame, one could be forgiven for mistaking her for a middle-schooler at first glance. Her hair is brown, and is long enough to reach down the middle of her back. Other than washing and brushing it, she rarely bothers to do much with it. Her eyes are also brown. Overall, her default expression is one of aloofness, though she'll warm up a bit if someone approaches her civilly. Despite her seemingly-aloof appearance, she tends to be fairly easy to read.
Her body, though a little on the slender side, has an athletic build that one would expect from someone who practices martial arts on a regular basis. Much to her chagrin, her chest is rather small, only able to fill an A-cup. Lastly, there are multiple small but noticeable scars that can be found along her body, mostly on her back, torso and shoulders. She does have some on her arms and legs, but they're relatively easy to cover up without it standing out too much. All in all, she tends to make them out to be a bigger deal than they actually are.
As for how she dresses, she prefers loose clothes that don't show much skin, as she's somewhat self-conscious about the aforementioned scars. As such, she prefers to avoid anything too revealing. She's also the type who will wear a t-shirt into a swimming pool. If worse comes to worse, she's gotten fairly good at using makeup to cover some of the more noticeable scars up, though this will still rule out any activities involving water, so she doesn't resort to it often. Beyond all of that, she'll wear just about anything so long as it's comfortable.
PersonalityLikes:• Pretty/beautiful women
• Weapon-based martial arts; kendo and sojutsu (bladed spears) are her favorites, but she enjoys watching matches of many different types and styles.
• Anime, manga, and video games
• Being useful to others
• Seafood
Dislikes:• Being reminded of her past
• Letting others get too close to her
• People who go on about their relationships
• Feeling left out or unwanted
• Not having anything to do
• Sour foods/drinks
Hobbies: • Collecting samurai-related items
• Practicing kendo and sojutsu
• Spending time at the arcade
• Watching/reading various anime and manga
Goals: Mostly, to separate herself from the past as much as humanly possible, though this has long since proven itself to be far easier said than done.
Setsuna is, emotionally, a bit of a mess, and it's all because of the betrayal of a single woman that she deeply loved. She is not only deeply terrified of other people finding out that she is a lesbian, but is also equally afraid of forming any sort of relationship, whether it be romantic or merely a close friendship. That said, she is friendly to anyone who should greet her, and she does actually enjoy making friends. However, she has extreme difficulty with opening up to others, and she has a habit of unconsciously pushing away anyone who might potentially become "too close" to her.
Overall, she has a somewhat cold and aloof appearance, which can make her somewhat difficult to approach at first. However, those who gather the courage to do so will generally find that she is surprisingly friendly. She likes to help others whenever possible, and she'll happily go out of her way to do so if it's something that's within her abilities. It's only when the subject of her past is brought up that she begins to withdraw. She also gets noticeably uncomfortable when others talk about relationships, past or present. She'll put up with it, but can only take so much.
As if that wasn't bad enough, there's the subject of romance. Setsuna is a wreck when it comes to romance. As much as she tries desperately to avoid it, she's prone to easily developing crushes on other girls. That said, should it becoming clear that nothing would ever happen, she gets over said crushes fairly easily, though it might not be immediate. Aside from some occasional blushing, she is fairly good at hiding her feelings, though there are occasions when her guard wavers and they begin to show; mostly when she is alone with whoever she happens to like.
Either way, as much as she pushes others away, she can't stand being alone. Of course, Setsuna is still trying to find the proper balance between letting someone get close and keeping them away. She often ends up going too far in one direction or the other, often making things awkward between herself and a potential partner. That said, should the unthinkable happen and she actually does end up in a relationship, she'd be a loving and trustworthy girlfriend, albeit clingy and often requiring reassuring. When it's all said and done, she'll do anything to please them.
HistorySetsuna was born to a fairly happy and successful couple in Tokyo. Her father was a well known and respected surgeon, while her mother was an equally-famous lawyer who was the head of her own law firm. For the most part, her childhood was a normal one, if not a bit boring. Over all, she was fairly happy, and her family, while far from rich, was still more than wealthy enough that they were able to live very comfortably, without having to worry very much about expenses. They were also very careful to avoid spoiling Setsuna too much, despite their wealth.
While growing up, Setsuna had always been a bit of a tomboy; always "one of the boys" within her groups of friends. At a young age, she had been fascinated by all things samurai-related, having gotten hooked on it after watching a random anime that was loosely based on Musashi Miyamoto. Unsurprisingly, when she went into middle school, she immediately joined the kendo club, where she quickly proved herself to have some natural talent. Initially, she was intimidated by how strict and rigorous it was, but she ended up getting absorbed into the training all the same.
About halfway through her first year of middle school, she had a fateful encounter. She was staying over at a friends house, and that was when she met her; Keiko Yashima. She was the older sister of Setsuna's friend, nineteen years old at the time, while Setsuna was only twelve. Almost immediately, Setsuna was smitten, and, as much as she tried to hide it, her quickly-developing crush was rather obvious to the older woman. Sensing that she could have a bit of fun with the girl, she seemingly returned her feelings (much to Setsuna's surprise), and their "relationship" began.
At first, it was nice. Despite her naivety and overall awkwardness, Setsuna enjoyed being with Keiko. However, little by little, Keiko's real personality began to show itself. Underneath her beautiful and gentle exterior was a sadistic woman who found pleasure in abusing the poor girl. It started out light at first, but she became progressively more abusive toward the girl as time went on. Worst of all, there were times when Keiko forced herself on Setsuna, fully aware that the girl was too immature to know (or enjoy) what was happening, both physically and emotionally.
Eventually, Keiko grew bored of Setsuna. Having run out of new ways to have her "fun" with the girl, she decided to just end it right there. The only problem was that Setsuna, in spite of everything Keiko did to her, had grown to be dependent on the older woman. She was miserable, sure, but Keiko had managed to embed herself deep into the girl's heart and soul. As much as Setsuna hated the things she did to her, she was too scared of being alone to do anything other than desperately cling to their twisted "love". Ultimately, Keiko didn't give care one bit.
One day, she showed up at Setsuna's school under the pretense of picking up her sister, only to make a huge scene when Setsuna ultimately stumbled upon the two of them having a seemingly normal chat. In front of everyone, Keiko not only outed Setsuna as a lesbian, but accused the girl of stalking her and acting in a perverted manner towards her. Keiko also "confessed" to her sister that she had caught Setsuna looking at
her with lewd intentions, but was too scared of what might happen if she said anything. All of it was a blatant lie, but almost everyone believed it.
All of Setsuna's friends proceeded to completely shun her, she was kicked out of the Kendo club for blatantly made-up reasons, and she was later subjected to rather harsh bullying. Even those who didn't believe the lies joined in, all in the name of simple homophobia. It soon reached the point where Setsuna was terrified of leaving her room on school days. Even the teachers put barely any effort into stopping it, in spite of her parents' pleas for them to do something about it. It got worse every day, culminating into an incident that no one saw coming.
With a dull and miserable look in her eyes, Setsuna walked into the path of an oncoming truck; the only reason she survived is because a random passerby pulled her out of the street at the last second. Understandably, many people were shocked when they heard about the attempted suicide. And there was no mistaking that that's what it was. Almost immediately after being rescued, she broke down in a hysterical sob, openly wishing she hadn't been saved. After that, the bullying finally stopped, though it was painfully obvious that it was too little, too late.
For the next several months, the girl underwent some much-needed therapy, which was the start of a slow-but-steady recovery. She was never quite time same, but every little improvement helped. Eventually, she was able to return to a semi-normal life. The following years in middle school were mostly uneventful. Because she missed too many days after her attempted suicide, she had to repeat her first year of middle school. For the most part, everyone still ignored Setsuna, and they certainly didn't dare antagonize her in any way. Honestly, she was fine with that.
Near the end of her final year of middle school, her father had some big news for the family; he had been offered a much higher-paying job. The only catch was that it would require them to move to a city she had never heard of. Which was kind of exactly what she needed; a clean slate in a place where no one knew who she was or what she had done. Needless to say, Setsuna couldn't leave this city or the school she went behind fast enough. Not just that, but it was nice for her parents to finally see her happy again, even if her reasons were a little heartbreaking.
It took some time, but everyone was able to adjust to their new home in relatively short order. Setsuna, in particular, was happy to be able to go to school again without fear of being bullied or ignored, and actually made some friends. She's a lot more withdrawn than she used to be, and she rarely opens up to anyone, but it's still a vast improvement from before. She's considered joining the Kendo Club, but lacks the courage to approach its members. For now, she's just practicing on her own, and, in general, taking everything one day at a time.
The only thing that can be said for sure is that she'd happier now than she has been in years.
One can only hope things stay that way.
EquipmentMain weapon: Bokuto - a simple and surprisingly sturdy weapon in the shape of a katana that's been carved out of a high-quality wood. Hits a lot harder than one would expect. Inflicts Strike damage.
Secondary weapon: Imitation yari - a replica of a yari with a
sasaho-style blade; not as sharp as the real thing and lacks the raw power of the bokuto, but its reach can be quite useful. Inflicts Slash damage.
Armor: Padded training gear - simple and well-worn kendo gear; doesn't offer much protection, but it's better than not have any armor at all.
Notes• She has a rather huge collection of samurai-related items, ranging from anime and video games to action figures and miniature statues. She even has what are advertised as extremely realistic replicas of famous weapons used throughout ancient Japan. Examples include the sword that Musashi Miyamoto carved out of a boat oar before his duel with Kojiro Sasaki, and one of the powerful but highly impractical
tanegashima firearms that Nobunaga Oda was incredibly fond of. Don't worry, the gun isn't actually functional.
• As mentioned above, she enjoys seafood quite a bit. If she were forced to pick a favorite, it would be grilled eel, especially when it's used in sushi. On the opposite end of the spectrum, she while she doesn't hate the taste of sour food like lemons or limes, it's the sourness itself that she can't handle. As long as it's not too sour, she's fine with things lemon-flavored treats.
• Whenever she needs to vent her frustrations about something, she usually heads over to the nearest arcade and dumps about 2500 yen into various fighting and/or shooting games. Since her family is pretty well off, they can afford to let her do this so long as she limits this habit to once or twice a week. Any more than that, and she'll be paying out of her own pocket.
• As also mentioned above, she, aside from kendo, also practices sojutsu. Sojutsu is a Japanese combat style that uses yari, which are bladed spears. She also dabbled in Japanese archery for a bit, but she couldn't get the hang of it, so she's more or less given up on it.
• When fighting against Shadows, Setsuna takes on a role akin to a
Red Mage. In other words, her Persona's skills are divided mostly evenly between physical attacks, offensive magic and healing/support skills. With this setup, she can easily shift between roles in combat. Much like the aforementioned Red Mage, however, she'll never completely excel in any one role due to her focusing on several of them at once.