Alma

**Alma** is a young, red-haired man who acts as the leader of the Bad Apples. He's got a great poker face, making it hard to tell what he's thinking. Being a person of few words, he can sometimes come across as scary, but the Bad Apples truly believe in him, thanks to his strong will and charisma. His Soul Totem is a red thread.

## Appearance

Alma has red hair with white tips and grey eyes.

During the testing period, to break the unbreakable exam rule, Alma dyes his hair black and wears a Good Apple student outfit, the uniform of Nevaeh Academy.

In reality, his natural hair colour is black, but he dyed it red for his past beloved.

As an adult, his hair is back to its original colour. Alma wears a red shirt with a black tie and a white doctor's coat.

## Personality

Alma is taciturn and poker-faced, it is hard to know what he's thinking. Because of that, most people in their first meeting tend to think of him as a scary person. But he is a person with a strong purpose and charisma, which makes all the members trust deeply in him.

## Soul Totem

Alma carries a red thread, which he is able to manipulate at will. It can even transform into the shape of a knife.

## History

In his childhood, Alma used to play cat's cradle with his friend. After losing again, she, his friend, tells him the story of the invisible red thread that connects the pinky fingers of two people who are meant to be together. The red thread is a sign that their souls made a promise before they were born, and if you're connected by it, the two people will always meet again, no matter how far apart they are, even if they forget each other. Alma then teases her that an invisible thread who has colour doesn't make any sense. Angry, the little girl asks him why he's always like that. His friend suddenly feels anxious and wonders if she and he are connected too. To reassure her, Alma promises her they'll be together forever, even when they'll be old grandparents. She happily offers him her pinky finger to make a pinky promise which he does accept, and promise each other to be by each other's side forever.

Many years later, when Alma is in high school, his childhood friend, now his lover, has a decease. Alma then studied desperately to become a doctor as fast as possible, hoping to save her in time. Every time he would get a perfect score on an exam, people surrounding him would admire him. However, he doesn't care about that and thinks all of them obnoxious. During a visit to the hospital, his girlfriend worries about him for overworking himself and not sleeping enough. He assures her he's fine and promises her he will save her.

Sometime later, Alma decides to dye his hair red so it would be easier for his beloved to notice him on the roof of the school from her hospital room. Out of anger, his father yells at him to get rid of his red hair, and people with a bad attitude like him are called rotten apples. Disappointed at his son, he tells Alma he's no longer any son of him. Out of hatred for the world being ignorant, Alma has beating upperclassmen from another school as an outlet for his hate.

One day, Alma visits his girlfriend at the hospital. She then apologizes to him for not keeping their childhood promise. Then, he decides to make another promise to stay by her side until the very end. Thanking him, she then starts to cry, apologizing. Hoping to comfort her, he tells her he loves more than anyone, for all time. Instead of what he hoped for, she cries even harder, apologizing over and over again. Alma feels guilty for being weak and not being able to do anything to save her or stop her crying.

The day when his lover's condition has become critical, the upperclassmen who had been beaten by Alma stand in his way to take their revenge. Alma begs them to let him go, but they refuse and beat him. The next morning, Alma found himself at the same hospital as his beloved. Sadly, she has already grown cold.

After her death, Alma is in depression. Despise that, he decides to live on in despair. Alma then makes his final promise to live with the pain of loss, and his memories with her. However, as the first anniversary of his deceased lover approaches, he realizes his memories of her are beginning to fade away. Out of fear to completely forget about her, Alma commits suicide by jumping from the school roof, over the fence.

## Relationships

### Rinka

Both of them meet for the first time during the opening ceremony of Nevaeh Academy, in the gym. Alma asks her if she wants to live. He then tells her if she wants to live, she should come with them, the Bad Apples, and fight the school.

### Higa

Alma and Higa are close friends. Higa worships Alma and treats him as if he was his own big brother. Both of them trust each other deeply.

## Quotes

* (To the Bad Apples) *“… We've made countless mistakes and experienced innumerable failures. And every time, we're told what we are doing is useless, meaningless. To stop our foolish behavior. They said it over and over again. But I'm not going to stop. I'll keep on making mistakes. Because me? I'm a rotten apple. I– That is, we, can't be stopped by anyone. Let me announce this once more, for everyone in the academy. We will never, ever give up. This war won't be over 'til we win. I will not let it end. We will, without a doubt, find the forbidden apple. We'll eat it, get expelled, and return to our old lives.”*
* (To Rinka) *“Your hand is warm… Being like this… It's relaxing. I don't think I've ever felt so at ease since I came to NEVAEH. Thank you, Rinka.”*
* (To Rinka) *“Rinka, whatever that thing is, you WILL find it. I promise… I'll make sure you're brought back to life, so that you can.”*
* (To Rinka) *“Memories… Are the only thing that connect you with the people who aren't with you anymore. Memories are the only way…”*
* (To the Bad Apples) *“We're rotten apples! We might fail time and again, and keep repeating the same mistakes… But we'll show 'em! We'll show 'em that we Bad Apples will never, ever lose!”*
* (To Rinka) *“… Thank you, Rinka. …Thank you. I'm glad I met you here… Thank you for coming into my life… Is it all right…? Is it really all right for someone like me… To leave this place, to live in a world where she no longer exists… To want to see everyone… To see you, again…”*
* (To Rinka) *“I already promised to bring you back to life, but let me make you another promise. I'll come back to life, too. And then, I'll do what I need to do. After that, I'll find you. And I'll tell you everything that I couldn't tell you here. I promise.”*

## Trivia

* His dream is to become a doctor, which he accomplishes in his route.
	+ The knife form of his Soul Totem is revealed to resemble a scalpel. This may be foreshadowing his future career as a doctor.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Alma's route, Chapter 3: Vexam
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Alma's route, Chapter 4: Wall of Limit
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Alma's route, Love Ending
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Alma's route, Chapter 2: The Reaper Game
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Alma's route, Chapter 7
6. ↑ Alma's route, Chapter 6
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Alma's route, Chapter 9