Ryō Atsumi

* Anime
* Manga

**Ryō Atsumi** (渥美 綾, *Atsumi Ryō*) is one of the supporting characters of *Taisho Otome Fairy Tale* series.

## Personality

On the surface, Ryo is a brash, proud, and manipulative delinquent girl. She's unafraid to speak her mind, even if it creates trouble, and will resort to almost any means to get what she wants. She has a habit of teasing people, sometimes going overboard and seriously hurting them, but eases up if someone earns her respect.

Due to her life of poverty, Ryo is very reserved and hardened, rarely ever sharing anything about herself and always looking for ways to exploit others. Underneath her shell, she possesses a kind and thoughtful heart that she hides from anyone who is not her brothers, but she does have a soft spot for other children. As she befriends more people, Ryo starts to open up and shed her delinquent nature, becoming a more approachable young lady.

## Background

From a young age, Ryo became the breadwinner for herself and her three younger brothers. To that end, she locked herself in a balance of working odd jobs and picking pockets by day, and enduring her alcoholic father at night. When she was sixteen, her father brought a stranger home and asked Ryo to entertain him, realizing too late she was being prostituted. Though she wanted to maintain her chastity, Ryo gave in for her brothers' sake. Before she could be violated, though, one of her brothers fought the man off and begged her not to sell herself. Seeing Ryotaro choose her happiness over money to live on, Ryo promised herself she would always look out for him.

## Plot

### *Taisho Otome Fairy Tale*

Ryo hears about a member of the Shima family living in the village and she decides to steal money for her family. She sneaks into Tamahiko's room to steal his wallet but he finds her just before she escapes. She casually greets him and proceeds to embarrass him with his harem magazines. She jokingly asks him if he wants a go with her before saying she is joking. She then bids his farewell and makes her escape. He realizes after she is gone that she also stole the book Yuzuki gave him as a birthday present. In addition to his wallet, she accidentally stole the bookmark he received from Yuzuki as a birthday present. Tamahiko follows her to her house to get the bookmark back but witnesses her father slapping her when she refuses to give him the wallet as he will spend it on alcohol rather than feed her brothers. Despite seeing the abuse and feeling bad, Tamahiko doesn't intervene.

The next day he goes back to her house to retrieve the bookmark but accidentally sees her bathing, which angers her. The two nearly get into an argument when he demands the bookmark back before her brothers come in to ask for help with their lessons. Ryo blackmails Tamahiko into tutoring her brothers in exchange for the return of the bookmark. When her father returns home, she hastily sends Tamahiko away. She later goes to his villa and starts making snide remarks about Yuzuki. When Tamahiko defends Yuzuki, Ryo lies that she is having an illicit affair with him and shows off the bookmark to Yuzuki, and Tamahiko adamantly denies it. Yuzuki doesn't believe Ryo but she tears the bookmark to shreds and walks away, alarming Tamahiko. He then orders to leave, which she does. She also reveals her contempt for Yuzuki for living happily despite being sold for money.

Ryo unexpectedly arrives at his house to find that her brothers and other local children have dragged Tamahiko and Yuzuki into a tutoring session at his house. She forces Yuzuki to work in the kitchen with her for a talk. Ryo says she has taken a liking to both of them but apologizes for the incident earlier and asks why Yuzuki is happy despite being sold off. The two then bring out snacks for the others. Later that night, Ryo panics when her brother, Ryotaro, goes missing and is relieved when he is found hiding in the warehouse, as he was offered to be an apprentice in Tokyo but doesn't want to leave his family. With Tamahiko's encouragement, he changes his mind and Ryo sees him off the next day.

While Yuzuki visits her friend Midori in Tokyo, Ryo is asked by Yuzuki to help look after Tamahiko, much to his chargin. Ryo and her brothers continue tutoring lessons with Tamahiko at his house when the Great Kanto Earthquake occurs. Ryo rushes back to her house and finds it completely demolished. She accompanies Tamahiko to Tokyo to check on Yuzuki and Ryotaro. During their journey, the two discuss Yuzuki about how her influence had impacted them. Upon arriving at Tokyo, they meet with Tamako, who takes a dislike towards Ryo for being too close to Tamahiko. Ryo then goes to find Ryotaro in Asakusa while Tamahiko and Tamako search for Yuzuki.

After completing the spring cleaning, Ryo joins the others at a hot spring. She later attends Tamahiko's birthday party. Ryo stays at Tamahiko's house while he studies for his entrance exam and he finds her singing while reading a letter late at night. She makes him some tea before he returns to studying, and she later wishes him luck when he goes to take his exam.

While Tamahiko attends his older brother's funeral, Ryo helps Yuzuki make futomaki. Ryo witnesses Tamayo unexpectedly visit and order Yuzuki to leave Tamahiko or her family will be harmed if she refuses. Yuzuki begs Ryo to keep this a secret from Tamahiko. Ryo goes to Asakusa to visit Ryotaro on New Years Day. When she returns to Chiba a couple of days later, she visits Tamahiko house to wish him a happy new year and bring him souvenirs but she learns Yuzuki has unexpectedly left him. She deduces it's because of Tamayo and he gets her to tell him about the reason for Yuzuki's absence.

When Tamahiko returns with Yuzuki after cutting all ties with his family, Ryo is staying with his uncle and entertaining patients. She talks with Tamahiko about his plans to get married to Yuzuki. She appears saddened. She reveals she has been courted by a man from Ryotaro's apprenticeship and he asked her to marry him in a letter. Ryo says he has good qualities and treats her well, and Tamahiko asks if she will accept the proposal but she isn't sure. She starts to say something but then she says she is glad to have him as a friend. She returns his wallet to him and shows him that she never took any of his money. She then decides to go to Tokyo to not only see her brother but to give her suitor a reply regarding his proposal, strongly hinting she will accept it.

A year later, she has married her suitor and becomes pregnant. Despite being heavily pregnant, she attends Tamahiko and Yuzuki's wedding ceremony.

## Relationships

### Tamahiko Shima

Ryo initially considered Tamahiko to be a gullible rich boy, which is why she had no problem robbing from him when they first met. However, after she blackmailed him into tutoring her brothers, she slowly warmed up to him. The two of them eventually move past their rocky start and Ryo comes to consider him a true friend. As she spent time with him and witnessed his growth as a person, Ryo found herself falling for him, but refused to confess her feelings since he and Yuzuki were devoted to each other.

### Yuzuki Tachibana

Initially, Ryo disliked Yuzuki, unable to fathom how a girl bought with money could be happy. Envious of that, she attempted to drive a wedge between her and Tamahiko, but had to acknowledge the young maiden's strength when her efforts failed. Ryo comes to accept her as only a friend, but when Yuzu entrusts Tamahiko to her care when she goes on a trip and calls her the older sister she wished she had growing up, she is moved to tears. Ryo eventually works up the nerve to apologize for her behavior, and once the air is cleared, she acknowledges Yuzuki as a sister.

### Unnamed Father

Ryo despises her father for neglecting his family and spending all their money on alcohol.

### Ryotaro Atsumi

The first of Ryo's younger brothers. Ryo loves all of her brother, dearly, but she is most attached to the oldest of her younger brothers. Ever since Ryotaro protected her when their father tried to prostitute her to a stranger, she vowed to always be there for him out of gratitude.

### Keita Atsumi

The second of Ryo's younger brothers. Like she is with Ryotaro, she loves them very much and is protective of them.

### Yamato

The youngest of Ryo's brothers. Like she is with Ryotaro, she loves them very much and is protective of them.

### Unnamed Husband

Ryo met her future husband following the Great Kanto Earthquake. He is Ryotaro’s employer in Tokyo. While she searched for Ryotaro, he found her in a panic and took her to see Ryotaro. Ryo notices how similar he is to Tamahiko and the two begin a correspondence, leading to him immediately proposing marriage. Initially unsure, she accepts his proposal and they get married.

## Etymology

* The name **Ryō** means "design" (綾).
* Ryō's surname **Atsumi** means "kindness, moisten" (渥) (**atsu**) and "beautiful" (美) (**mi**).

## Trivia

* She is shown to be skilled in cleaning, cooking, and sewing.