Minami Yurina

is a major character in the Tensei Pandemic manga series and the romantic partner of Imamura Hinata.
==Appearance==
Yurina is a girl of average build. Throughout the series, she is always drawn with long, smooth hair styled in twin ponytails.
==Personality==
Yurina is portrayed as a kind and sincere girl. In elementary school, she formed her friendship with Hinata, appreciating his gentle demeanor, and later developing romantic feelings for him, who she knew at the time as a girl. However, since learning that Hinata was actually a boy, she has deeply struggled to understand her emotions. Her journey is filled with moments of hesitation and doubt, but she would persevere and show courage in the right moments. Though the revelation that Hinata has turned into a girl proved difficult to handle for her, with some outside help, she would eventually come to terms with it and display understanding and compassion. Caring deeply for Hinata, she expressed that the only thing that mattered to her was that Hinata stayed true to herself.
==Plot==
In elementary school, Yurina feels separated when her friends were placed in different classes, and she faced bullying from the mean boys. This changes when the person sitting next to her, Imamura Hinata, strikes up a conversation with her. She mistakenly believes that Hinata is a girl, despite his use of the "boku" pronoun and preference for the "-kun" suffix rather than "-chan." Over time, Yurina enjoys Hinata's company, thinking of him as a "girl" friend, unaware of his actual gender. In elementary school, she was a fan of a franchise called Man Rangers, displaying an attraction to masculine traits. This causes Hinata, who had developed a crush on Yurina, to feel inadequate and drives him to want to change himself. One day, Yurina's family has to move away, and only then does Yurina learn the truth about Hinata from her mother. Years later, as a middle schooler, Yurina finds herself turning down confessions from numerous boys, unable to move past her feelings for Hinata.
As a middle school student, Yurina's family moves back, and Yurina once again becomes classmates with Hinata, unaware that he is concealing a gender change that he has recently undergone. Yurina's interactions with Hinata are initially filled with nostalgia for their childhood friendship, but she also begins to show signs of romantic interest. When they walk home together and reminisce at a park they used to visit, Yurina confesses her affection for Hinata, revealing that he has occupied her thoughts for six years. Hinata, initially taken aback, soon discloses his mutual feelings.
When they are forced to hide in a nearby dome to hide from a patrolling officer, Yurina proposes a kiss. When awkward silence ensues, she admits that it was strange to suggest something so intimate given their years apart. Despite this, she is glad that Hinata hasn't changed. Yurina admits that her heart is racing, a feeling Hinata also shares. However, Hinata panics when Yurina tries to feel his heartbeat, fearing his transformation will be discovered. In a desperate move, he redirects her hand, inadvertently drawing her even closer. As the moment intensifies, Hinata is torn between his desire to kiss Yurina and the need to contain the virus. Ultimately, Hinata decides that he shouldn't involve Yurina in his complex circumstances, and pushes Yurina away, leading her to apologize again. A call from Yurina's home interrupts them, and she quickly leaves, leaving Hinata in emotional turmoil. In the following days, Yurina continues to behave as usual, acting as if nothing happened.
Some time later, Yurina unexpectedly runs into Hinata and Aki. Yurina fails to recognize Aki with her dressed as a girl, and Aki introduces herself as Akira's cousin. She invites them to join her and her brother at a karaoke lounge, which Hinata, unable to say no to Yurina, accepts. When she goes to the restroom, Aki uses a playful ambush on Yurina as a bizarre greeting from her supposed girls' school. Aki teases Yurina about her popularity and supposed affection for Hinata, leaving Yurina stunned before dismissing it as a joke, unknowing that Aki is secretly her rival. This interaction boosts Aki's confidence, realizing that as long as Hinata fears transmitting the virus to Yurina, their mutual affection poses no threat to her. During their time at the karaoke, Yuuri accidentally drinks from Hinata's glass, becoming infected with the Tensei Virus via the indirect kiss. Upon realizing this, Aki takes Yuuri outside, and Hinata attempts to prevents Yurina from drinking from the same glass and accidentally spills it on her. He is then pulled into an embrace by Yurina.
Embracing Hinata, Yurina pleads for just a moment longer, assuring Hinata that the privacy of their karaoke room shields them from being seen. She laughs off Hinata's excuse about a bug in the drink and inquires about his relationship with Aki, to which Hinata responds that they are just classmates.
Later, Hinata, Yurina, Mikoto, Kyousuke, and Akira go on a trip to the beach. There, she catches the attention of a persistent talent scout, who signs her up for a "become an idol in five seconds" event. Hinata, too, is scouted. Upon noticing Yurina, Hinata tries to run away, but in his panic, he trips over a clothes stand which falls on top of him. This attracts Yurina's attention, but as she rushes over to make sure no one was hurt, she fails to recognize Hinata, as a wig has fallen on top of his head. Hinata introduces himself as "Hinako," and despite noticing similarities to Hinata, she dismisses it as a coincidence.
Another girl suddenly calls Yurina's name and joins them. She says that she's seen Yurina a few times at school, and introduces herself as Suzugami Miya from third year, nicknamed "Myaako." As the show progresses, Yurina is questioned by the host whether she has a boyfriend. She hesitates, her cheeks reddening as she thinks of Hinata. Despite this, she would deny having anyone that she likes. Returning to the back of the stage, Myaako questions her answer, seeing right through her lie. Yurina confesses that she feels like even if she admits her feelings, it would only annoy the person she likes. Myaako reassures her that it's okay, as long as she has someone kind to trust and share her problems with.
Later that night, Yurina invites Hinata to a private conversation on the beach. Encouraged by Myaako's words, confesses to Hinata that she can only see him as a girl, and shares with him how she was mistaken about his gender in their elementary school times. She grapples with her feelings, realizing she fell for the Hinata she knew as a girl and is uncertain whether she could have the same affection for Hinata as a boy. Yurina apologizes, feeling guilty for not thinking him as a boy since the beginning. However, Hinata expresses his happiness and confesses that he also likes Yurina. Moved by Hinata's words, Yurina advances for a kiss, unaware of the potential consequences as their lips touch. However, despite Hinata's worries, Yurina would display no signs of change in the days that follow.
Later, Yurina attends a summer festival with Hinata, Kyousuke, and Mikoto. Hinata was made to wear a yukata, and was initially uncomfortable with his feminine appearance, but Yurina assures him that she finds him cute and doesn't mind. The group decide to enter a haunted house attraction, and Yurina is the first one to finish. Alone outside, she spots Aki amidst the crowds. After spending more time at the festival, Aki suddenly calls out to Hinata and leads him into the forest. In the forest, Aki attempts to make physical advances on Hinata, but is interrupted when Yurina, sensing something wrong, comes looking for Hinata. Entering the forest, Yurina only finds Aki alone, as Hinata has already left. She confronts Aki, demanding to know what he did with Hinata.
Aki tells Yurina to not get the wrong idea, saying that he merely helped Hinata retighten his yukata. As Yurina is about to head back, Aki suggests going together. She reveals to Yurina that she likes Hinata, and remarks sarcastically that it's unfortunate Yurina also likes Hinata, as he had hoped to have girls' talk with her. Yurina questions Aki why she is telling her this, and whether this is her reason for coming today. However, Aki then poses an unexpected question: "What would you do if Hinata turns into a girl? If he would never be able to turn back into a boy again, what would you do?" Yurina struggles to grasp the meaning behind Aki's question, but when pressed for an answer, Yurina admits that she likes Hinata regardless of his gender. Admitting that her motive was to gauge Yurina's readiness, Aki acknowledges Yurina's answer as profound if true. However, she then declares that if those feelings aren't genuine, she would never lose to such a half-hearted person.
A school festival is coming up next, where Hinata's class plan to perform a gender-swapped version of Snow White. The roles are decided by a raffle, and Yurina is cast as the prince, while Akira is cast as Snow White. Originally wanting to perform the kiss scene with Hinata, Akira is unsatisfied with the results. He soon comes up with a new plan however: instead of focusing solely on removing Yurina from the equation to win over Hinata, he now plans to not only separate Hinata and Yurina but also win them both over for himself. The next morning, he makes an unexpected move on Yurina, boldly declaring that despite the assignment of the roles, Yurina is the princess in his heart. Over the following days, Akira continues with his efforts to win over Yurina. One day, they find themselves alone together in a storage room. Yurina remarks on Akira's recent kindness and shift in his behavior. Akira however, denies any change in himself. This leads Yurina to misunderstand his intentions, arriving at the conclusion that Akira is doing this to help her understand how to properly portray the role of the prince. Yurina, taking Akira's "lessons" to heart, suddenly pins him against the wall with a kabedon, surprising him completely. Akira, momentarily flustered, asks what she is trying to do. Yurina responds that she's merely applying what she believes Akira has been teaching her. Realizing that Yurina is a natural, Akira nearly falls for her charm. However, he quickly regains his composure and, while praising her for her performance, he tells her it's still not quite perfect. He promises to continue guiding her until the festival and boldly declares that he will make her fall for him one day.
The day of the play arrives, and although Hinata is suddenly missing, the play proceeds to the kiss scene thanks to Mikoto's improvisations. However, this is when Akira suddenly breaks character and confesses his feelings for Yurina, asking her to forget about Hinata and go out with him. Yurina asks him how he learned about her feelings for Hinata, which he answers that his "cousin," "Aki," had told him. Despite Akira's confidence in his move, Yurina would politely refuse, admitting that she doesn't have any feelings for him. She explains that when she shared her feelings with "Aki" at the summer festival, they were still half-hearted. However, after giving it more thought, she discovered that she genuinely likes Hinata — not just the Hinata that she thought was a girl, but the current Hinata too. Yurina then firmly tells Akira to inform "Aki" that playing with her defenseless heart was really cowardly. Just as the kiss scene is about to proceed, Hinata, who was dragged into a crossdressing contest, finally arrives backstage, which flusters Yurina, leading to an awkward pause in the play. Mikoto, as the witch, improvises a twist to the play by revealing that the princess is actually a doll created with magic, so the prince will become poisoned as well when he kisses it. Hinata then enters the stage, announcing himself as the real princess. The witch casts magic to put the real princess to sleep, but she too collapses from using too much magic. In order to break the spell, Yurina picks up Hinata and goes for the kiss. However, just as the play is about to end on a good note, Akira, unable to stand seeing the two kiss, interrupts, insisting that he is the real princess. As they argue over who is the real princess, a set piece suddenly falls. Yurina lunges to protect Hinata, which ends with her face planted between Hinata's breasts.
Perplexed, she asks Hinata what it was that her face came in contact with. Hinata comes up with the excuse that it's a special makeup that he got at the crossdressing contest, an excuse that Yurina easily buys into. After the play, Hinata and Yurina watch the campfire together in the upstairs classroom, where Yurina makes a request to see Hinata's chest again. Believing that Yurina has finally discovered his gender change, Hinata steels his resolve, and reveals his chest. However, Yurina then remarks that his breasts look "as if" they were real, still believing his excuse. Yurina then confesses that she has talked with Akira about whether she's certain of her feelings. She admits that seeing Hinata like this, looking entirely like a girl, has made her realize that Hinata's appearance doesn't matter to her. However, she then hesitates, saying that she wants to make sure of her feelings again, as she doesn't want to be dishonest with Hinata.
However, Yurina's understanding and feelings for Hinata would face a significant test when the class embarks on a school trip to Kyoto, when Hinata's secret finally becomes exposed to the class after a series of chaotic events. After learning the truth, Yurina initially feels hurt that Hinata didn't tell her sooner. She runs away in tears, upset by Hinata's lies.
The next morning, Yurina is still missing from the hotel. Alone, she is sitting alone on a bench near Fushimi Inari Taisha. She realizes how selfish and hypocritical her actions are, having said many big words about how her feelings for Hinata won't change no matter what. However, she now struggles to see the same way now that he's turned into a girl. As she talks to herself, Youka happens to walk by and overhears her mentioning Hinata's name. Noticing her tears and recognizing her uniform, Youka approaches with a towel and offers her a chance to talk. Youka shares that she knows someone who also attends Yurina's school — someone she loves deeply, even if they are no longer together. Yurina tells Youka that she is amazing, compared to herself who cannot even handle a single lie. She admits that everything happened too quickly, and she's lost in her emotions. Youka asks if the person she's talking about is Hinata. Though slightly surprised, Yurina nods in confirmation.
Youka realizes that Yurina must have found out about Hinata's sex change. She points at one of the fox statues at the shrine, asking Yurina if she knows "the legend of the fox." In the tale, a fox falls in love with a princess. To be near her, the fox wishes to become human but realizes that men are not allowed near the princess. So, the fox transforms into a girl and serves as the princess's attendant. Youka explains that even though the fox "lied" in its actions, it was all done to be with the one it loved, suggesting that if Hinata lied, it must also mean he truly likes Yurina. She assures Yurina that she still has time and it's too early to give up, and she is simply searching for an answer.
Just then, they hear Hinata calling out, having come in search of Yurina. Youka stands up and leaves, without looking back. Hinata, now dressed in a sailor suit and no longer hiding her transformation, asks Yurina to turn around and look at her properly, fully as she is now.
They are then shown sitting side by side on the light rail, holding hands. Yurina, who earlier by chance had an impactful conversation with Youka, admits that she still likes Hinata, relieved that her feelings haven't actually changed. However, Hinata is still unable to answer many of Yurina's questions, obligated to keep them a secret. She expresses her frustration at having to continue lying to Yurina despite wholeheartedly wanting to tell her everything. Hinata brings up the promise she made during their trip to the sea — that she would become more masculine — and admits that she's begun accepting herself as she is now. She admits feeling lost, unsure of what the right thing to do is. Reflecting on Youka's words, Yurina shares her dream of marrying the person she loves and having a child with them. She tells Hinata that person is her, but acknowledges that this dream makes it difficult for her to accept the changes in Hinata. She then emphasizes that while it's one thing for Hinata to lie to her, she wouldn't allow it if Hinata lied to herself. Going in for an embrace, Yurina reassures Hinata that she understands how hard it must have been and that she will support Hinata in making the choices that feel right for her, even if it means being lied to. The next day, as requested by Yurina, Hinata comes to school in a girl's uniform, having decided to try living as a girl to help Yurina better understand her feelings.
Some time after, Yurina would become one of the people witnessing the start of the Tensei Pandemic first-hand, as the identity of the culprit is discovered by her friends. When Miya releases the airborne version of the virus, Yurina is one of the people that remains unaffected. The reason for this, as well as for why she did not change genders after her kiss with Hinata, is now known — the Tensei Virus only reacts to one's deepest desires to live as the opposite gender, and Yurina is one of the people who never had such a thought.
After a three-year time skip, society has adapted to the new reality where people can freely change their gender, and Yurina's relationship with Hinata has only strengthened. After going on a shopping trip with Hinata, Yurina brings up the government's gender ratio report, which surprisingly remains balanced despite the virus. Yurina wonders if what Miya and his father did might have ultimately been the right thing, but both she and Hinata admit they can't be sure. Yurina asks Hinata what he would do if she wanted to have a child with her, admittings that she's anxious at times, because the growing number of "possibilities" brought about by the Tensei Virus makes her sometimes uncertain about where their relationship might go in the future. Hinata answers that if it's what Yurina wants, she will definitely consider the "possibility" of bearing a child. She swears that whether this world stays as is or returns to the way it was, and no matter what choices they will make in the future, she will protect Yurina all the way. Yurina, in turn, expresses her desire to support Hinata as well.
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