Rachel Mason

Rachel Mason (レイチェル・メイソン) is one of the main heroines and protagonists of the light novel series Kindred Hearts. She is a member of the Azure Shields, a group of female students dedicated in protecting Sunshine City from danger, under the guise of Rurigaoka High School's student council and disciplinary committee.

Her title is "Azure Lightning of Justice" (正義の空色稲妻 *Seigi no Sorairo Inazuma*)

## Apperance

Rachel is a teenage Esper girl with a puffy and short dark blonde hair with a short cowlick and a white headband, a pair of slate blue eyes, mid-sized breasts and an athletic physique. Her casual outfit consists of a sailor hoodie and a pair of blue shorts, sometimes coupled with a pair of white kneesocks and blue sneakers. Whenever she uses her Sigil, Rachel's eyes turns from slate blue to light turquoise. During her childhood, Rachel had a short and shaggy blonde hair, which made her look like a young boy. In her elder days, Rachel dons a pair of glasses, blue Lazuline researcher vest with a white shirt underneath and a blue checkered skirt.

## Personality

Rachel is a rather friendly and cheerful girl. Rachel is pretty sociable and loves to make friends rather than making foes. Despite her cheerful personality and cute looks, Rachel has a strong sense of justice and heroism, and she won't hesitate to fight when she sees something wrong in her life. She can be tsundere sometimes, especially when she's attached to someone like Hiroki, though she doesn't like his accidental perverted antics. She usually calls him "baka" whenever it happens.

## Backstory

Rachel was born from a French mother and a British American father, who used to be a US Navy Lieutenant. She was the 3rd child of the family, born after her elder brothers. During her childhood, Rachel looked pretty boyish thanks to her spiky blonde hair, to the point her peers mistook her as a boy. However, she didn't get mad easily and decided to wear a headband and comb her hair down, though leaving a strand of hair popping from her bobbed hair. While she was studying in elementary school, her elder brothers studied at a police academy.

Rachel was known to be quite the saviour. She usually stands up for her friends who were bullied in school, and gained popularity thanks to her justice sensitivity and her heroism. Her friends hailed her as a hero, to the point they likened her to her ancestor, the famous Jeanne d'Arc. Years later, Rachel's father retired from his job as a lieutenant and decided to move from their rural home at Tampa, Florida to somewhere else. Daniel recommended his father to move to Japan, and he agreed. Around the year 2003, Rachel and her family moved to Japan, where she met new friends and foes alike.

On that day in 2004, the meteorite crashed at Aomori and sent its dust towards the Mason family. Rachel and her brothers mutated into Espers and was thrown in confusion upon finding their supernatural powers. Her father decided to keep it as a secret, since he doesn't want anyone to find out about this. In the year 2013, Rachel finally graduated from middle school and continued her studies in Rurigaoka High School, where she believes that it's the place where Espers could study and meet other Espers. At the same year, one of her brothers, Jake was murdered in cold blood by Yoshio Inukai, one of Blood Gear's elites for exposing their crimes to Lazuline and her father died of brain tumor. Aside from that, her elder sister Claire who used to be in the same school as Rachel has gone missing after her graduation. Her loss of her father and one of ther brothers made the flames of justice within her burn even brighter, as she and her friends went on a quest to stop Inukai and find her elder sister.

## Family and relatives

* Jeanne d'Arc (possible maternal ancestor)
* Richard Mason, né Bettencourt (father and former US Navy lieutenant, died of brain tumor during Azure Justice)
* Emma Mason (mother, owner of Maison Mason bakery and cafe)
* Daniel Mason (elder brother, former National Police Agency detective and officer)
* Jake Mason (elder brother and journalist, killed by Yoshio Inukai)
* Claire Mason (elder sister, Azure Shields 1st generation member. Missing in action)
* Emily Mason (younger sister, Azure Shields 3rd generation member)
* Alice Hoshizora-Bettencourt (cousin and heir to the owner of Primol Group, one of Lazuline's partner companies)
* Hiroki Fujimiya (fiancé)
* Marika Takahitsuji (elder sister-in-law via marriage with Daniel)
* Haruka Fujimiya (daughter)
* Andrew and Amanda Mason (twin children)
* Shouta Fujimiya (son)
* Rosemary Mason (daughter)

## Abilities

* Azure Jolt: An electrokinetic Sigil which gives her the ability to discharge and control electricity. She also has an electromagnetic power which gives her the ability to lift heavy metallic objects telekinetically, from cars to steel beams. With her Sigil, she can use powerful skills known as EX Skills, but some of them costs some of her physical and mental energy, and it can cause exhaustion and loss of consciousness when used too much.
* Dual pistols: Rachel is armed with a pair of electric pistols known as Twin Cerberus, which runs on her Sigil. It was originally Marika's dual pistols, but remodeled for her.
* Athletic prowess: Rachel is pretty skilled when it comes to gymnastics and athletics.She used to be part of her school's volleyball and cheerleader team, and she helped her team won in various tournaments. As a result, Rachel often improvises her speed and her physical powers with her Sigil.
* Equipment: Rachel is armed by Lazuline with a pair of dual wield pistols called Twin Cerberus that runs on her electrokinetic powers, apparently modified from Marika's Twin Fenrir. Her pistols also works as a tazer when she needs to take down her enemies non-lethally. Her headband also functions as a weapon, and its conductivity can turn her Justice Burst into a deathtrap for her enemies.
* Azure Maiden: Rachel's final form, attained from her Sigil's full potential and her robotic companion Nemesis. Her Twin Cerberus became a pair of railguns, apparently named Eclair Seraph (lit. Lightning Angel), which enables Rachel to fire an even stronger version of Justice Burst as her ultimate finisher. Aside from that, her new Azure Maiden form also grants her higher speed and durability.

## EX Skills

* Volt Cutter: Using her headband, Rachel is able to create blades of electricity to slice her enemies in half.
* Justice Burst: A powerful electric beam shot from Rachel's fingers. When used in conjunction with her headband, it will turn into a spark that electrocutes her enemies to death. When charged properly, it can be used to counter an oncoming beam attack, but it will cost Rachel's energy and may cause exhaustion.
* Amp Charge: Using her Sigil, Rachel unleashes a field of electricity that paralyzes anything within her radius.
* Blitz Kick: An electric roundhouse kick that can paralyze Rachel's enemies, or even kill them by cracking their necks.
* Shooting Star Fist: A powerful electric punch. When charged, it can be used to pierce through armors or to kill larger enemies such as wrestlers and mercenaries.
* Azure Storm: A barrage of explosive electric sparks shot out from Rachel's dual-wield pistols. It can be used to take out huge groups of enemies.
* Magna Strings: A series of electromagnetic rays that can be used to pick up metallic objects. It can be used to smash enemies.
* Tractor Sphere: An electromagnetic sphere that sucks metallic objects and mechanical enemies in, crushing them in the process.
* Galvanic Shield: An electromagnetic forcefield that also serves as Rachel's means of defense.

## Etymology

Her name means "ewe" or "one with purity", being someone with a kind heart and a resolve for justice, while her last name is a gender-neutral name of British roots, meaning "stone worker".

## Trivia

* Rachel was inspired by Alice Margatroid from Touhou Project, Chris Yukine from Symphogear, Yuuki Konno from Sword Art Online, Mikoto Misaka from To aru Kagaku no Railgun, Haruka Amami from The Idolmaster, Aigis from Persona 3, Arcueid Brunestud from Tsukihime, Sakura Igarashi from Kamen Rider Revice, Yoko Usami from Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters, Cao Zhang and Ma Chao from Dynasty Warriors series, Miiko from Darwin's Game, Jeanne d'Arc from Fate/Grand Order, Ciel from Mega Man Zero and Gunvolt from Azure Striker Gunvolt. She was based of typical female protagonists in seinen mangas/animes and early 2000-era games. Her appearance resembles Belinda Northman from the AFW/LAW-verse, taking some inspirations from her (special thanks to LunarWolf/Devastated).
* Her name is derived from the word rain. She was going to be named Reina/Reyna at one point. Concepts for Rachel were already made back in 2015, as a girl named Pluie Brise. Unfortunately, they never came to fruition until 2019. In 2016, a predecessor to Rachel named Serina Himekawa was made, but her only appearance was cancelled since Youkai Gakuen was canned due to time constraints and mental pressures.
* Rachel is the first non-Japanese female OC to become the main protagonist of a Rebooted era novel, and the first OC created on the beginning of the Reiwa era. She was made using V-Katsu, a free to use software for creating VTubers and the all-ages version of Koikatsu.
* Rachel was born in Tampa, Florida. She was born from a British father and a French mother, who moved to Japan somewhere prior to the events of Kindred Hearts.
* Rachel's image animal is a wolf, like all of the Mason family members.
* Her favorite activities are blogging, practicing her singing and guitar skills, visiting aquariums, beachcombing for seashells, collecting plushies and enjoying rainy days. Because of her Sigil, Rachel is unable to swim. Her Sigil might recoil and kill her when used underwater, and it can harm aquatic lifeforms. Rachel is a good singer, and she often performs at a cafe with the local band during Saturday nights.
* Rachel's most treasured possessions are her aluminum headband and a giant teddy bear that she had from her childhood.
* Rachel has a huge appetite and she loves seafood, Salisbury steak, cookies-and-cream milkshake, and Japanese-style cheesecake. Despite having a huge appetite, she claimed herself that she never gained weight.