Rumi Watai

RUMI WATAI

**Appearance**

Rumi Watai is a girl the same age as Akira, who befriends her in the third grade. Their friendship continues to grow through the third to the fifth grade, and beyond. Rumi is of average height and weight for a 10 - 11 year old girl. In fact, she is the same clothing size as Akira. Rumi dresses very feminine, at least compared to Akira. She has shiny, soft, supple, milk chocolate brown hair, with pinkish-brown highlights, that she wears in a short cut with jagged bangs across her forehead, and held in a bun on the back of her head. Rumi has big 'anime girl' eyes, medium brown in color, that only add to her overall cuteness and attractiveness. One can always tell what Rumi is like just by looking at her facial expressions. Rumi is somewhat fashion conscience, but is more interested in upgrading and doing a 'makeover' of Akira's fashion style. Akira has traditionally dressed boyish, but Rumi wants her to begin to adapt and dress as an cute, ultra feminine tween girl.

**Personality and Personal Circumstances**

Rumi-chan is Akira-chan's intimate shoujo ai / yuri female companion and personal, intimate friend. Rumi has an older sister named Michiru Watai. Rumi first approached Akira when Akira entered her new school for the third grade. Rumi was immediately socially and romantically attracted to Akira, however, the mangaka does not tell how or why. Rumi knows that Akira seems to have a tomboyish style and somewhat of a boy's personality, but she probably does not know that Akira was born a male, and lived their life as a boy until they were 7 years old. As time goes by, Rumi becomes more and more attached romantically to Akira. By the time that the both of them are about 11 years of age, the two of them attend Summer Camp together. One night, when Rumi had to go to the girl's restroom at night past curfew, she asks Akira to escort her across the campgrounds to the dilapidated building that housed the girl's toilets. While there, Akira discovers that her very first period had begun. Rumi finds a very distraught Akira in one of the toilet stalls, and comforts her by embracing her wet face, wet from crying. At that time, according to the DOUJIN version, Rumi does a Love Confession to Akira, indicating to her that Rumi is entering into a yuri relationship with Akira. Most of the other girls in school know that Rumi and Akira are a 'couple' who are on the same level as couples who are dating one another. The two are now bound together by mind, heart, and soul.

Rumi has three personality traits that are very prominent---being perceptive of others, empathy, and the showing of kindness. One sees this in her interactions with the boys and girls at school, but especially with her friendship and intimate relationship with Akira. Somehow, for someone so young, Rumi when she first met Akira, and got to know her a bit better, Rumi could detect that Akira had been socially and emotionally scarred in some fashion. Rumi probably does not know the full extent of Akira's personal secret of once being a boy, but Rumi wants to concentrate on helping Akira rebuild, rather than knowing exactly what happened to Akira. Such perception of Akira probably led to Rumi's offer of friendship. Rumi shows strong empathy, mostly towards Akira, but to others, too. She seems to understand how Akira feels from time to time, and how to go about addressing Akira's mood swings. Her empathy allows her to feel what Akira probably feels, and thus she can come to understand what she must do to address those concerns. Rumi shows extraordinary kindness to Akira, as well as to others, more or less. Akira even tells Rumi at Summer Camp that she, Akira, wants to be able to develop and display the same style of kindness that she, Akira sees in Rumi. Akira even goes so far as saying that she, Akira, does not deserve Rumi's generous kindness.

Rumi has a couple of traits that may or may not serve her well. As her friendship and shipping grows towards Akira, she becomes more and more jealous of anyone who shows a personal or intimate interest in Akira. Jokingly, she, from time to time, will grab Akira in her arms and said to everyone that "Akira is all mine! " ! At another time at home, Rumi rages with consternation when Akira consents to let Rumi's older sister, Michiru, braid her hair. In the sixth grade, a first grade girl begins to look up to Akira as a 'big sister' and role model. This triggers Rumi to become jealous, and cracks begin to appear in Rumi and Akira's relationship with one another. Such jealousy needs to kept in check for Rumi to function well socially, both with Akira and with others. Rumi seems to prefer to be around and to interact socially and emotionally with only girls. This can be seen when boys will talk or comment to her, or to Akira, and she rebuffs them with gusto. She is not ever seen interacting with a boy in an intimate social sense. Her intimacy is reserved only for girls, with the most personal and intimate interactions given only to Akira. Thus, a shoujo ai / light yuri relationship between Rumi and Akira continues, little by little, despite reoccurring problems, to grow and deepen. Rumi has a somewhat bold trait of influencing ones to do what she thinks is best for them. Most of this girl's peer pressure is reserved for Akira. She is relentless in trying to get Akira to change or readjust her fashion style from boyish, to that of a cute, attractive, mildly and covertly sexy fashion presentation and style. Akira is somewhat resistant, but Rumi's influence on her is constant and persistent. This trait of manipulation is surprising for someone who is seemingly a young and inexperienced girl. It is undetermined if Rumi will benefit or be seen as too overbearing because of her own use of her own very much effective peer pressure.

In the first year of Jr. High, Rumi and Akira have a mild 'falling out' with one another. It becomes a long time before their relationship is patched up enough to be called friends again. Even so, cracks in their friendship continue to trouble the two teen girls.

## Trivia

In the Japanese language, the first name 'Rumi' is feminine, and means one who is selected and detained, then infused with great beauty, then thereafter displays and imparts outstanding beauty in everything that she does.