Tazuma Claire

**Tazuma Claire** (田妻暮亞（たづまくれあ）, *Tazuma Kurea*?), commonly known as **Claire** (暮亞（クレア）, *Kurea*?), is a Gemstone and a member of the Kamisato Faction.

## Appearance

Claire has long, tied back black hair and wears thick glasses. She also wears a white apron-like dress which leaves her back bare. She would look plain and inconspicuous, however she has giant tropical flowers blooming on either side of her head and even more colorful flower petals adorning her back.

## Personality

Claire is described as a 'teacher's pet' and presents herself politely, however behind this she is somewhat perverted, something she denies, sometimes forcefully. As with other members of the Kamisato Faction, Claire tends to respond negatively to those who harm or slight Kamisato Kakeru.

## Background

Claire was part of the same school that Kakeru attended and was a normal student like him. She was part of the gardening club. According to Kakeru, she only gave him quiet greetings whenever he entered the close room and he described their relationship as not being close enough to eat lunch together. Some event happened that involved Kakeru presumably saving her, apparently involving her running right into him on turning a corner while outside and nude, which caused her to fall in love with him and join the Kamisato Faction.

## Chronology

### World Rejecter Arc

*Main article: World Rejecter Arc*

Late on December 3rd, Claire and Elza arrived at the apartment which the Kamisato Faction were using as a safe-house, not long after Kakeru's encounter with Sample Shoggoth-infested Patricia Birdway. Learning of the situation from Ellen, they recognized the usual pattern that they were familiar with regarding Kakeru and girls. Despite the problems at hand, the trio of girls ended up doing their own thing and dragging Kakeru and Patricia along with them, going to a public bath and then eating out after botching dinner. However, later that night, when Kakeru managed to persuade Patricia to let him help her, the girls resolved to help as well, together with the assembled Kamisato Faction.

Claire and Elza were both present during the initial ambush and negotiations with Kamijou Touma, using her vines to ensnare Touma and drag him before them. As negotiations broke down, she launched an attack against Touma after he rejected Kakeru's reasoning and called him an idiot, but it was negated by Imagine Breaker. She was also present for the subsequent attack on the Kamijou Residence by the Kamisato Faction. When Touma came up with an alternative solution to Sample Shoggoth which involved using Claire's abilities to replace the fat Patricia had lost to the parasite and displace it, Claire reluctantly helped him. However as the injection was progressing, Sample Shoggoth started to lash out, forcing Touma to use Imagine Breaker to protect Claire, disrupting the surgery and eliminating the parasite prematurely. After Nephthys sacrificed herself to save Patricia, Claire and the rest of the Kamisato Faction stood back as Touma and Kakeru faced one another.

### Salome Arc

*Main article: Salome Arc*
On December 4th, Claire, Ellen and Elza were observing Kakeru from afar, after he transferred to the school which Touma and his classmates were going to after their school's destruction. While they were doing so, they received a message from Fran alerting them to Salome's arrival in Academy City. Later that night, she interrupted Salome's clash with Misaka Mikoto, entering into a confrontation with her.

Claire was subsequently bisected by Salome, surviving due to her ability, and spent most of December 5th recovering before trying to reconnect her upper and lower halves. After Kakeru lost his hand and World Rejecter to Kihara Yuiitsu, he intended to have Claire connect Yuiitsu's own severed hand to his arm to use as a temporary replacement.

### Element Arc

*Main article: Element Arc*
During the Element infestation and the subsequent heat wave in the city caused by Fran to slow them down, Claire and the rest of the Kamisato Faction set up base in the White Springs Shopping Center. She was wilting as a result of the heat, with Ellen having to water her. On the morning of December 9th, Claire participated in the faction's march to the Windowless Building, having assimilated several wrecked components to reproduce the silhouette of the Anti-Art Attachment as a bluff. She remained outside with Fran during the confrontation with Yuiitsu. When Touma emerged and explained what had happened to Kakeru and how the faction had been forced to side with Yuiitsu, Claire decided to do what she must to help Kakeru but was struck down by Fran's microwave attack before she could act.

### Kamisato Rescue Arc

*Main article: Kamisato Rescue Arc*
After being fried by Fran's microwave attack, Claire spent most of December 9th and 10th regenerating. During the Kamisato Faction's pursuit of Touma, Fran and Luca on the evening of December 10th, Claire joined the chase as their targets were being flown by Useful Spider to Heaven Canceller's Hospital. Flying with the fake A.A.A., Claire made several attacks on the helicopter, but was crushed when Touma disrupted the giant Maya's scent and caused her to collapse.

## Abilities

Claire's esper ability as a Gemstone is the manipulation of plant-based matter. According to Kamisato Kakeru, her body cells are closer to plant cells than animal cells. Claire can create and manipulate plants such as vines (which she can use to grab and restrain/throw an enemy or to quickly form nets) or a carnivorous plant large enough to swallow an elephant. She can also make her fingernails grow over a meter long and control algae and fungi. Claire can also absorb the traits of any kind of matter such as metal or plastic to use them on her plants. She can violently amplify the bonds of algae and fungi and can devour a modern weapon and construct a missile or chainsaw out of nothing but plants and flowers. It increases the risk of something going wrong, but she can also combine or rearrange them to create something brand new, like a remotely guided chainsaw.

She also has a regeneration ability that makes her a perfect shield. Her plant body also allows her to survive being bisected and, if given some time, reconnect herself. Other members of the Kamisato Faction think that she can probably survive as just a head. Claire can also use her powers on other people's bodies. For example, Claire could analyze Patricia's body by slipping thin root-like threads inside her pores. After the analysis. she created special plant fat that could replace the fat the Sample Shoggoth parasite had dissolved in Patricia's body and injected this fat through her extended fingernails. Similarly, Kakeru considered attaching a new hand to his stump after Kihara Yuiitsu stole his right hand within Claire's capabilities. Aside from plant manipulation, Claire's control over plant matter also covers plant fats. She can also volatize and detonate plant ethanol as a makeshift booster.

## Character Art Design

Haimura created the designs of Claire, Ellen and Elza using the concept of girls who are "twisted in a galge-ish way". Claire was initially designed to have only two large flowers dangling from thinner stems, but this detail was eventually changed to appear much larger than the previous design, which Haimura stated was intentional because the initial design was "too plain".

### Gallery

Claire, Ellen and Elza's character designs from *Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index* Volume 14, by Haimura Kiyotaka.