Shirai Hinako

* Uniform
* Reflector

**Shirai Hinako**, also known as **Hina** (ひな) by some of her friends, is the main character of *Blue Reflection* and a playable character in Blue Reflection Tie. A year before the beginning of the main story, Hinako made it to the finals of a prestigious international ballet competition, and it seemed that the door to success stood wide open for her...Until she injured her knee and was forced to withdraw.

She did not fully recover. Weighed down by the sadness of being unable to dance, she became quiet and introverted, withdrawing from school entirely for a number of months. But she never forgot the ballet lessons she took every day for ten years, and clings to hope that one day she will dance again.

## Profile

### Appearance

Hinako is a teenage girl of average height with dark brown eyes and short black hair that fully covers one ear. She wears the standard Hoshinomiya Girls' School Uniform, meaning a white sailor fuku blouse and navy blue plaid skirt. The top features a sky blue chest ribbon. She also wears dark, knee length socks and brown penny loafers.

As a Reflector, her physical appearance is slightly altered, with her hair changing to light brown/blonde and her eyes becoming heterochromatic -- her right eye turning blue and her left remaining brown.

She wears a ballerina-inspired ensemble, featuring a white leotard and above-the-knee skirt, with a bit of the pink petticoat showing. The short, white sleeves are of the same material as the skirt, and feature the same petticoat material underneath. Only a few elements of the original school uniform remain, the most noticeable being the white-on-blue pinstripes.

Her main accessories are the pink and teal chest and hair ribbons, a pink, star-shaped pendant, and thin, transparent scarves of the same hue. Interestingly, her blue ballet flats feature heels, indicating the kind of mobility her Reflector form has granted her.

Hinako fights with a translucent blue straight sword. It is a versatile weapon, capable of thrusts, slashes and batting magical projectiles towards enemies. She can also turn the sword into a spear, which she flings at her opponent from the sky.

### Personality

Hinako used to be full of spirit and was passionate for ballet. After receiving a leg injury that ends her young career, she feels like giving up in life, and doesn't want to go to school or meet anyone.

A chance encounter with Shijō Yuzuki (Yuzu) and Shijō Raimu (Lime) changes her life forever. By becoming a Reflector, she has newfound hope that her leg can be healed once she defeats all the Sephira. Along the way, Hinako also regains the confidence necessary to help her schoolmates with their personal issues.

Hinako is something of a 'straight woman'; the more excitable personalities at Hoshinomiya Girls High School frequently clash or bounce off of her, and she can only respond to their antics with a sense of astoundment or incredulousness.

## Story

### Blue Reflection

The story begins with Hinako's first day at Hoshinomiya Girls High School after a semester-long hiatus from school. She has been demoted to the regular program from the special program after her career-ending injury as a ballet dancer, and does not yet know anyone at the high school.

Hinako quickly runs into Nishida Sanae whom she attended middle school with. Although Hinako does not recognize Sanae, Sanae remembers Hinako as the child prodigy ballet dancer, and is very happy to see her. She agrees to keep Hinako's past a secret, as Hinako is embarrassed about her injury and the fact that she is no longer in the special program.

As the conversation ends, Sanae acts strangely and appears to go berserk. Hinako is transported, alone, to a pasture in a special world she does not recognize. She realizes upon looking into a body of water that her appearance has changed drastically, and she is able to move freely again, regardless of her injury.

Hinako is almost immediately assaulted by a mysterious figure. She hears the voices of two mysterious girls who instruct her to pick up her new weapon and fight. After dispatching the monster, Hinako is transported back to the real world, and discovers that Sanae's emotions have stabilized.

The next day in class, Hinako meets fellow students and Reflectors Yuzu and Lime, whom she discovers have been guiding her in the mysterious world which they have coined The Common. Yuzu and Lime explain the background of the Reflector's role, and how Hinako may activate her powers using her new Reflector Ring. Later on, as Hinako's conviction wavers, Yuzu and Lime explain that if she is able to defeat all the Sephirot threatening the high school and the world at large, she will be granted one wish. Hinako would of course like to use this wish to restore her leg and ability to perform ballet again, and her determination is restored.

Hinako, Yuzu and Lime meet various classmates who are suffering from various personal issues. They go into the Common to search for the girls' Fragments, at which point the history of the issue is revealed. Hinako is now able to understand and empathize with the girl, and stabilize her Fragment. By collecting these stabilized Fragments, the Reflectors grow in strength and are able to take on the Sephirot. A select handful of the treated girls are issued Reflector rings, and they support Hinako, Yuzu and Lime in their fight against the Sephirot.

Lime's behavior eventually begins to bother Hinako, as she seems to be less interested in the school girls' issues than she is in obtaining their Fragments. She cares very much for Hinako however; all her actions are to help her succeed.

Eventually, it is revealed that Yuzu and Lime lied to Hinako about receiving a wish for defeating the Sephirot. It was merely an enticement to receive her co-operation. Not only that, upon their eventual victory, the Timeline will reset and Hinako will retain no memories of Yuzu and Lime. This deception does not change the fact, however, that they loved Hinako very much, and she is able to forgive them.

Yuzu and Lime had actually passed away some time ago in a tragic accident. While in the hospital, they had seen Hinako perform in an international ballet competition on TV. So enamored were they with Hinako's graceful movements, that they decided then and there they wanted to be her friend and work alongside her. This is how Hinako came to be a Reflector.

The story culminates in the appearance of Daath, a god who seeks to assimilate all of humanity into a singular being in order to preserve his strength. Daath opposes the Sephirot, and knows that the power of human bonds is required to overcome them. However, over the course of the generations-long battle with the Sephirot, Daath feels that the bonds of humanity are weakening, and that drastic action is necessary to continue the struggle.

Hinako is abhorred at the thought of people losing their emotions, and steels her resolve. Determined to find another way, she and her friends challenge Daath in a final bid to save humanity.

Hinako emerges victorious, but the euphoria is short-lived. Yuzu and Lime, having completed their duties, must return to the afterlife. In the end, Daath keeps his promise and grants Hinako one wish. She uses it to keep the memory of her cherished friends with her, for now and always.

### Blue Reflection Tie/Second Light

Hinako is one of the Reflectors summoned to the world of Oasis by Yuzu and Lime. As with the other girls, she has lost her memory upon arrival. In order to find a way out of Oasis, Hinako must explore her Heartscape to reclaim her memories.

As the group explores her Heartscape, Hinako regains the memories of her ballet friends Morikawa Sarasa and Kasuga Shiho. She eventually remembers what happened during the conclusion of Blue Reflection, and wonders if her bid to defeat Daath was the right course of action for the world. She becomes wracked with guilt at the realization that this ostensibly caused the loss of her friends Yuzu and Lime, but the memories of these cherished friends speak with her, and reassure Hinako that she did the right thing.

Hinako continues to support the new Reflector leader Hoshizaki Ao and the others as they uncover new Heartscapes and look for a way off of Oasis. After the final showdown at the Heart of the World System, Hinako bids farewell to the group and returns to her own world.

### Blue Reflection Sun

Hinako is the opening character in the Blue Reflection Sun prologue cut scene which is played upon opening the game for the first time whilst the assets are downloaded. The scene is designed to act as a bridge between Hinako, Yuzu & Lime successfully reflecting Daath followed by the implied need that Hinako needs *our* help in Sun. With this in mind, this is the only confirmed appearance of Hinako in relation to Sun, as she does not appear in any of the cases (story) through out the rest of the game.

In the prologue cut scene, Hinako says the following:

## Etymology

* **Shirai** means "white" (白) (**shira**) and "well, mine shaft, pit" (井) (**i**), which literally means "white well (water source)" altogether.
* **Hinako** means "sun, day" (日) (**hi**), "vegetables, greens" (菜) (**na**) and "child" (子) (**ko**), which literally means "child of the sun apple tree" altogether.
	+ Her nickname **Hina** is written in hiragana (ひな), which has no special meaning. However, when written in kanji (陽菜 or 日菜), it could possibly mean :
		- 陽菜 - "light, sun, male" (陽) (**hi**) and "vegetables, greens" (菜) (**na**).
		- 日菜 - "sun, day" (日) (**hi**) and "vegetables, greens" (菜) (**na**).

## Trivia

* Hinako has an Aunt named Yoshiko who is a famous fashion designer working out of Italy. Yoshiko started a famous designer brand called *"Draw Hearts"*. Yoshiko is a friend of Sugamoto Shihori's Mother, and because of this, Hinako owns a matching dress with Shihori. These dresses are the only two copies of the design ever produced.
* Hinako's house is probably located near a train station.

## Gallery

1. ↑ https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hina