Nanako Amaranth

* "Hellion"
* Arc 2

**Nanako Amaranth**is a student from Haven Academy and a member of Team NPIR. Her weapons of choice are Mazāryu, Imōtoryū and Sofuryu, a longsword, short sword and shotgun.

She made her first appearance in the "Homeward Bound" Arc, following Nyssa Noirette meeting Jin-Shi Pan for the first time since the Fall of Beacon.

She originally studied at Sanctum Academy, then graduated to Haven Academy where she became a member of Team NPIR alongside Jin-Shi Pan, Isambard Nihtholt and Petra Redwood. Though she is the formal leader of the team, she acknowledges that Jin is a better leader.

Nanako's lack of confidence in her ability as a leader comes from a history of emotional abuse by her mother - who abused many of the Amaranth daughters, but apparently took the greatest dislike to Nanako. Nanako eventually finds the courage to stand up to her mother, asserting her motivation to protect those who need her help, and becomes a more confident leader out of it.

## Appearance

Nanako is a slightly shorter-than-average girl with pale skin, pink eyes and hair dyed green that has grown out to the point where its natural dark grey-red tone is visible. Unlike her elder sister who has very straight hair, Nanako's hair is wavy and somewhat messy.

### Current

Nanako's "Hellion" outfit is a more refined version of her Arc 2 outfit. She wears a similar green tunic with pink-red piping with a long left sleeve and a short right sleeve. On her right arm she wears a black, above-the-elbow fingerless glove which is secured with pink-red string. On her left hand she wears a black bracer under a black glove. She also wears light green trousers and over-the-knee black boots with pink-red soles.

She has a pink-red scarf, sash and fabric belt, as well as a piece of fabric of the same colour tied around her left thigh.

Since the Fall of Beacon her green hair dye has completely worn off, leaving her hair a pale dark red.

### Original

Nanako wears a green off-the-shoulder tunic with pink-red piping, lighter green trousers, tall black boots and black gloves. The look is completed with a scarf.

## Personality

Unlike her older sister, Akane, Nanako is much more unruly and hyperactive - very likely the source of Akane's disdain for Robin Lincoln. Nanako is often upbeat, playful and informal - the polar opposite of her sister, and tends not to think things through. She is not an exceptional strategist and has issues balancing all of her team members' inputs.

Nanako does not tend to filter her opinions; despite being assigned as the leader of Team NPIR, Nanako outright admits she is 'crap at it' and gladly allowed Jin-Shi Pan to be democratically elected as the team leader. She also insults Elysium Academy, claiming that it is for suckers - likely showing some loyalty to her primary academy of choice, Sanctum.

During the "From Ashes" Arc, it is revealed that Nanako was emotionally abused by her mother Yukiko, to the point where she loses all enthusiasm whilst visiting the Amaranth Estate and is actively glad her mother is pretending she is a stranger - despite Akane's and Wil's attempted encouragement.

Nanako succeeds in overcoming her fear of her mother, standing up to the woman when she is about to strike Natsuki Amaranth. In doing so, she leads her siblings into running Yukiko out of the household and family, discovering that she does in fact possess leadership qualities.

## Abilities and Powers

Nanako is mainly proficient in close quarters combat, having two swords and a shotgun which lack range. She can alternate quickly through these weapons, seemingly preferring to use only one of her swords at a time.

### Semblance

*Main article: Burst*
Nanako's semblance, "Burst", allows her to move at breakneck speeds for a brief moment at certain intervals. Her semblance takes up to ten seconds to recharge, meaning she has to time her movements well to make sure it is used to her advantage.

### Weaknesses

Nanako's weaknesses lie in her lack of skill as a first year, as well as her lack of foresight. This is seen when she jumps into a fight with Sterling Braith without assessing the situation and allows him to quickly predict her actions and trip her over (in spite of this, she reacts quickly and manages to shoot him in the face while he is distracted with the other members of her team).

Nanako is also extremely self sacrificing, throwing herself in front of potentially fatal blows meant for others. She does this once when her mother is about to strike her sister Natsuki Amaranth, and again when Donovan Lundie fires an explosive dust round at Akane.

## Battles

 Team NPIR, Team AL, Irving and Nyssa vs. Grimm
 Akane & Nanako Amaranth vs. Zelena Braith
 Team RAIN, Jin-Shi Pan & Nanako Amaranth vs. Mountain Feilong

## Trivia

### Allusion

* Nanako alludes to legendary figure Saint Patrick.
	+ Her sister Akane alludes to a different patron saint, Saint George.
	+ At the end of Arc 3, Akane and Nanako slay a Mountain Feilong, which is reflective of the dragon in the St. George story and the snakes in the St. Patrick story.

### Colour Naming Rule

* Nanako's forename derives from the Japanese *菜 (na)* meaning "vegetables, greens" duplicated and *子 (ko)* meaning "child".
* Her surname is a pink-red toned plant.

### Miscellaneous

* Nanako's zodiac sign is Cancer.
* Nanako is one of two characters to have appeared in more than one connected story on the wiki, the other being Helia Vines.
	+ Nanako has appeared in both RAIN and LLAC.