Megumi Aihara

Megumi Aihara is an avid fan of Japanese culture and a member of Interlunium. She is a part of the subunit Aurora✧Alice.

Megumi features in the songs Intergalactic Disco, Level Up! and Idol Road.

## Summary

Meet Megumi Aihara, an heiress to a historical Edo-period inn in Kyoto. The young woman is the personification of Japanese culture. But, to the surprise of many, she is only half-Japanese! Born to a British mother and a Japanese father, Megumi has learned all there is to know about the classical way and seeks to broaden her horizons by spending her high school years in Tokyo. Of course, her unique beauty and elegance was not without an audience. Scouted by I MY ME almost immediately, Megumi eagerly accepted the offer— a perfect opportunity both to experience the modern culture, and spread the forgotten allure of the past. Megumi Aihara aspires to cultivate her passion for the traditional Japanese way in the hearts of her generation, and she invites you to a new day, under the rising sun.

## Background

Megumi was born on September 2nd to her parents, Eiji and Esme “Mei” Aihara. Her father is a Japanese male with rather fair features when compared to the average Japanese person. He has very light brown hair, and eyes that seem to be a warm hazel color. His parents ran a traditional Japanese inn in Kyoto, which he inherited when they retired to live the life of hotspring hoppers. While running the inn, he had a customer who caught his attention. She was a beautiful British woman named Esme, who requested to be called Mei. She was in love with Japanese culture and stayed a very long time at the inn to really appreciate the atmosphere. They quickly became friends and stayed in contact even after her trip ended. She wasn’t gone for long though, because every time she came back to Japan, she would be sure to stay at his inn. Eventually, they fell in love and decided very quickly to get married. It could be because of the passion they had for each other, or quite possibly because of a certain steamy situation that happened one night.

You see, on that special day, Esme had been out drinking with her friends and when she got back to her room, she ordered some room service. Eiji was working that night so he came up to her room to deliver some food, but when he announced himself, there was no response. He noticed the door was already slightly open so he allowed himself in to make sure everything was okay. When he entered, he saw Esme asleep on her futon, her kimono starting to fall off. Slightly embarrassed by the situation, he quickly covered her up with a blanket to keep her warm. This action did not go unnoticed, as Emse suddenly woke up and pulled down on his hand, allowing herself to sit up. Eiji couldn’t stop blushing at the sexy figure in front of him. She slowly moved closer to Eiji and whispered into his ear, telling him how much she liked him. He was about to say the exact same words, but before he could, they shared an intense kiss. Soon after, Megumi was introduced to the world.

Megumi was the perfect child to Eiji and Mei. She could easily pass for full Japanese, had it not been for her sandy blonde hair and vibrant green eyes. Her parents loved her dearly and often doted on their adorable, perfect daughter. She learned to play the koto, helped at the inn, learned traditional Japanese dances, and even took up singing. She lived a normal life, even in high school. After classes she would help her parents at the inn and through that experience develop a deep connection to her Japanese culture. She was never really introduced to British culture,since Esme herself was not interested in it, but she was able to speak fluent English as a child.

Megumi explored the beautiful Kyoto, and fell in love with the city. She would always wear a kimono when she went out and even went on shopping sprees where she would buy many kanzashi and kimono. Overall, she lived a rather leisurely and happy life. She took exceptional care of her beautiful hair and though she had a typical hime cut, she wasn’t scared to put it up into beautiful, intricate hairstyles. If you asked anyone who had seen Megumi, they would tell you that she was the perfect Yamato Nadeshiko. Despite being a halfu she wasn’t really treated as one, to her parent's relief. They were concerned by the fact that she had a rather sheltered upbringing and worriedabout how it may affect her in the future.

Once she was older, she decided it was time to expand her horizons. She had applied for a school in Tokyo in hopes to see more of this beautiful country. Megumi was a smart girl, and had easily been accepted. When she had to leave, both of her parents cried a lot and hoped that she would have a good time on her new adventure. She couldn’t hold in her excitement and carried all of her bags and goodies onto the train. Once Megumi arrived in Tokyo, she was shocked. Her sheltered lifestyle did not allow her to realize that people did not wear Kimono as often as she thought. She expected to at least see some people with it, but almost everyone wore more contemporary clothing. While she was walking around, she received many stares from people passing by and heard many comments from foreigners about her exceptional beauty. When she replied in perfect English, they would be relieved and ask to takea picture with her. While she was enjoying her time here, she was still upset that this was a rarity to them and even more upset when everyone thought that she was also a foreigner dressing up.

This was also the first time that Megumi saw idols perform. She happened to pass by a store that was playing a music video and was captivated by the bright colors and outfits. When she listened to the music, she realized that there were hints of sounds that you would hear in traditional Japanese music, but reimagined to be more modern. She was amazed that the music she grew up listening to could be incorporated into something so beautiful. She looked at the other fans who were entranced by the music and thought that maybe she could do something similar through the same medium. She thought this was brilliant and immediately went to find out how she could become an idol. Luckily, there was a producer nearby the store she was at and pulled her over to talk. He introduced himself, telling her he was scouting for I MY ME and thought that she could become a great star. Delighted by the proposal, she accepted right away and soon after became an idol for the company.

## Other Data

Megumi attends Kikyo All-Girls School.

Her Blood Type is B+.

She placed seventh in the 2018 popularity poll  and seventh in the 2019 popularity poll

She was ranked seventh in the 2020 popularity poll  and ninth in the 2021 popularity poll.

She features in several issues of the 4koma: 4, 6, 12, 13, 19, and 27.

Her Fantasy Class is Priestess.

Her other Stats are: LVL: 80, ATK: 76, DEF: 115, AGI: 98, DEX: 101, INT: 250, LU: 60.

## Gallery

Debut lead-up art. Drawn by Swakoo.Discord promo. Drawn by Swakoo.Kofi promo. Drawn by Swakoo.Interlunium Xmas. Drawn by Swakoo.Megumi's concept art.Megumi and her vocal provider Jayn. Drawn by Swakoo for Jayn's birthday.Megumi's 2018 Birthday Art. Drawn by Swakoo.Megumi Aihara wearing the Kikyo All-Girls High School uniform.
## References

1. ↑ https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/interlunium/interluniums-second-single-campaign
2. ↑ https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yYmyWYPM02QjyrsZCjQBbqbgREhaotUlghWTGnpn41I/edit?usp=sharing
3. ↑ https://twitter.com/Interluniums/status/997967425785225218
4. ↑ https://twitter.com/Interluniums/status/1088169066928488449
5. ↑ https://twitter.com/Interluniums/status/1230186540715958273
6. ↑ https://twitter.com/Interluniums/status/1366070665271533571