Hanano Choubi

(real name unknown), also known as the Liaison or , is a mysterious figure that hands out and gives out orders to , making her the de facto leader of the organization, like the liaison is for , one of the controllers or liaisons of Academy City underworld organizations. She contacts them via either a phone for general reports or through Mugino Shizuri's telecommunication terminal for group debriefings.
==Appearance==
She is a short woman and without any of her removable disguise parts, her base face is smooth like an incomplete doll, without hair, eyebrows or eyelashes. Her original appearance, which can be reapplied through a premade set, is of a woman in her mid-20s with shoulder-length flaxen hair.
While in disguise as "Hanano Choubi", she appeared as a young girl of around 15, with a doglike vibe and an impression of a wet chihuahua. She had long black hair, split into three and only tied at the very ends. She also wore a short-sleeved black sailor uniform with white and green trimming.
==Personality==
She is coolheaded and analytical while going over her group's missions. Chapter 2 Part 5 She also seems to find enjoyment in the failures of her rival liaisons. She has the habit of using the phrase "It’s always like this with you." Epilogue
==Background==
==Chronology==
===Toaru Kagaku no Railgun===
====Sisters Arc====
 is briefed about their mission by their liaison, who chooses to communicate them only through voice. Here, she explains that the target is an esper who uses electricity, and adds that the client may have already determined the culprit behind the attacks behind research labs across Academy City. Kinuhata Saiai suggests going for a sneak but all-out attack on the target, but the informant prefers to attack the target only when it chooses to attack another facility. She then points out that she had to comply with certain circumstances that the client wants, so they cannot just do what they like on the target.
====Daihasei Festival Arc====
The liaison contacted Mugino Shizuri via phone regarding the ongoing negotiations to bring the seven Level 5s to the spotlight for the upcoming Daihaseisai. Mugino, who was enjoying a bath in 's private pool, was irritated by the idea that a person involved with the Dark Side would participate in an event to be broadcast all over the world and refused.
===Toaru Majutsu no Index===
====Battle Royale Arc====
On October 9th, as the liaison was walking down a street while holding five helium-filled balloons and a cell phone in the other, she chatted with her counterpart from . They talked on the subject of her hiding information on their whereabouts from him, making it impossible for him to bring them under control. She then informed him that they couldn’t cause any more trouble as had just taken out the last of in the juvenile hall. He then became nervous at his loss of position as well as the repercussions he would have to face for their actions under his watch. The liaison had lost interest by this time so she hung up and started walking through the crowd again while wondering about the status of 's controller. Between the Lines 3
====DRAGON Arc====
's backer realized that could not function with only Saiai left in fighting condition Chapter 1 Part 4 and decided to remake a team using the few surviving members from , , and . Chapter 2 Part 3 Though the first thing that Measure Heart does is restrain her new teammate Kinuhata Saiai while the former Hound Dogs proceeded to track down Shiage under the order of General Superintendent Aleister to eliminate him, as he was supposed to end up dead during the battle royale between the five organizations. Chapter 3 Part 12 It is unknown if she had any knowledge of the Superintendent's plans or not.
====World War III Arc====
The helmeted woman who confronted Mugino Shizuri, Hamazura Shiage, and Takitsubo Rikou in Russia near the end of World War III, appearing together with ten armed men in Russia with orders to eliminate Hamazura and bring Takitsubo back to Academy City, mentioned likely following the same chain-of-command as , saying the liaison's catchphrase to confirm.
===Toaru Anbu no Item===
====Enemy Item Arc====
One year prior to the main story, following the emergence of another group using the name , as part of the plan to pit the two groups against one another and eliminate the upstarts, the liaison personally infiltrated as a prospective new recruit, preparing a cover story and identity as "Hanano Choubi".
On July 1st, Hanano arrived at 's hideout, just as one of her decoys as the liaison was arguing with Mugino Shizuri over the phone, with the Enemy Item having preemptively caused 's bank account to be locked, preventing them from receiving payment for their previous job cleaning up the Dark May Project (where they also picked up Kinuhata Saiai as their fourth member). As was hired to deal with the Colosseum, Hanano accompanied the group during their subsequent abduction of the insurance company manager who had hired them but kept information from them, including a clash with Kouzaku Mitori. Chapter 1 Part 3 Chapter 1 Part 4 Chapter 1 Part 5 Chapter 1 Part 6 Chapter 1 Part 7 Chapter 1 Part 8 Between the Lines 2
On July 7th, having had a week to prepare, Hanano infiltrated the insurance company as the manager to access information on the company's server on 's behalf. Later that day, she accompanied them in their infiltration of the Colosseum and triggered their confrontation with the Enemy Item, getting captured in the process as part of her plan, while enemy team leader Ibotanokikouji Kaede intended to forcibly make her their replacement for Hanayama Kamitsu who had been killed by Mugino during the raid. Chapter 2 Part 2 Chapter 2 Part 3 Chapter 2 Part 4 Chapter 2 Part 5 Chapter 2 Part 6 Chapter 2 Part 8 Chapter 2 Part 11
On July 14th, having not been turned, with the window created by the dark side's corpse disposal infrastructure going down (due to Kouzaku's attack on the Windowless Building depriving it of necessary personnel) being closed, and with 's rescue attempt having been misdirected, Aiyose Hiyoko and Inoue Laspezia prepared to kill the captive Hanano. However, she turned the tables on her captors, killing them and faking her own death by using some explosives borrowed from Frenda to set off an explosion, intending for to take out the Enemy Item in vengeance. Chapter 3 Part 3 Chapter 3 Part 5 Chapter 3 Part 7 Chapter 3 Part 8 Chapter 3 Part 9 Between the Lines 3
On July 28th, a week after Ibotanokikouji Kaede's death, a funeral for Hanano was held, with a number of fake mourners in attendance. The same day, Mugino tracked down and killed one of the decoys acting in the liaison's place in revenge for orchestrating the circumstances leading to Hanano's death, only later discovering that Hanano's death was faked. On July 31st, "Hanano" returned to her hideout in School District 3 and resumed her role as a voice on the phone, making a report to Aleister Crowley. Epilogue
====Honey Queen Arc====
====Dark Justice Arc====
On August 29th, after being chewed out by her superiors, "Hanano" contacted Item (currently without a base after having two apartments provided by Criminal Real Estate blown up) after the mission against the Ark of the Electronic Sea, where they had had their target kill stolen from them by Sadistic Dolls. Denying that she had double-booked them, "Hanano" told them to wait while she found a new job that would allow them to redeem themselves and looked into Sadistic Doll's support infrastructure. Chapter 1 Part 1 She later called Mugino to inform her that Item need not bother with Sadistic Dolls and that another side of the city would eliminate them for their actions, but by then Item had wiped out Sadistic Dolls and the last survivor had just been killed by an unknown assailant. Chapter 1 Part 5
On the morning of August 30th, Mugino called her for information while investigating the murder and unknowingly having the culprits, the Frees, cooperate with them. Having been looking and listening in via their phones, she begrudgingly provided some information and insight to help with the case, until they identified and killed the culprits before them. Chapter 2 Part 4 Chapter 2 Part 5 Chapter 2 Part 6 Chapter 2 Part 10 Later at night, during the battle with Detective Shiratori Okibi, "Hanano" saved Takitsubo Rikou and Kinuhata Saiai while disguised as Mugino, surprising their opponent in the process and disrupting their plans, before making a swift exit obfuscated by the glare of a stun grenade, though Takitsubo recognized her as "Hanano". Chapter 3 Part 12
Early on August 31st, "Hanano" went to a corner of School District 23's airport to deal with the fellow voice on the phone who had manipulated the 'justice' side organizations that Item had been facing, encountering Kihara Noukan along the way. Finding their target dead, she learned from Noukan that the Number Six was on the move. She subsequently made a report to the Reading Thoth 78, with the AI telling her off for not doing it properly and subsequently diverting her from the insecure communication route to an official process through Spark Signal as the Windowless Building's security increased. Epilogue
==Abilities==
File:Hanano Choubi's Studio - Item Ch10.png|"Hanano" in her disguise studio
File:Hanano Choubi - Blank.png|"Hanano"'s blank appearance without any disguise
File:Hanano Choubi in disguise (Insurance Company Manager).png|"Hanano" disguised as the insurance company manager.
File:Hanano Choubi in disguise (Security).png|"Hanano" disguised as a security guard
She is an expert in disguise and infiltration, capable of a variety of highly convincing guises and impersonations through skill, equipment and technology.A studio which Hanano used for her disguises (located in an outdoor space in School District 7, among a variety of 3D-printed model rooms), contained a wall-sized mirrors, lightning, an industrial dryer and piles of plastic clothing cases. Among the numerous items for disguises were wigs, hair extensions, color contacts, false eyelashes, double eyelid gels, mouthpieces and foundation. They were also items which would need surgery to use, such as implants, artificial bones and silicone artificial breast bags. The back of the studio had a tanning machine and hyperbaric oxygen capsules to manipulate blood oxygen and alter skin swelling.
The quality of her impersonations depends on the amount of data she has on a subject. In the case of the insurance manager, having had a week to study him and gather information, she was confident she could replicate his fingerprints, teeth shape, eyes, blood type and scent, enough to fool his parents or a police dog. Factors she took into account included age, sex, the color and condition of the hair and skin, eyes, weight and body type, symptoms of physical conditions (e.g. dry eyes, neck and shoulder stiffness), posture, voice, language, behavioral traits and idiosyncrasies, and handwriting.
For some of her infiltrations, she has a secondary disguise which she can switch to in an emergency. As she can only prepare one change in advance, she usually goes with a security guard or firefighter depending on her infiltration target. In the case of the insurance company infiltration, she switched from the elderly general manager to a young security man in seconds, flipping the luxury suit inside out like a stage magician's handkerchief and rearranging her facial makeup by wiping her face with her hands.
At a non-extensive level, she can easily slip in color contacts to deal with eye scanners and spray special powder on her palm to bypass a palm reader. As part of the foundation of her disguises, she has removed much of her original appearance, and set things up so she can easily remove her hair, eyebrows and eyelashes in preparation for applying a new disguise. Besides changing her voice by herself, she also has voice changers which she uses in her position over the phone.
==Notes==
==References==
==Navigation==
es:Agente de 
Category:Characters
Category:Science Side Characters
Category:Academy City Faculty and Staff
Category:
Category:Voice on the Phone
Category:Unnamed Characters
Category:Unknown Status