Maple

メイプル, *Meipuru*?

* Maple
* Maple 2.0

**Maple** (メイプル, *Meipuru*?) is an NPC in Chapter 3, Part One. She is the strongest Obstructor out of the many that stand in the protagonists' way.

## Appearance

Just like the Floor Masters, Maple's outfit is meant to resemble food. Her hat looks like a stack of pancakes, and part of her hair is golden and styled to look like syrup. Her outfit consists of a bow tie with a similar golden color, placed in the center of her maroon and white maid-like uniform. Her skirt looks similar to her hair, as it is golden and dripping like syrup. She wears white thigh-high socks, and sometimes maroon gloves. Her clothing makes her slightly resemble Mai Tsurugi.

Maple has a crevice on her back where an ID card can be inserted, along with three buttons, colored red, yellow, and blue, that are used to remove said card. She also has long, sharp, black appendages that extend from her back.

After Sara and Ranmaru's attempting to trick her into giving them Midori's ID card, her emotions go off the deep end, alternating between angry, crying, and laughing, with her eyes and mouth changing completely to accommodate these. Her eyes are normally green, but when she's angry, they're red, and when she's crying, they're blue.

As Maple 2.0., her body is altered to be more grotesque: her arms are replaced by thin wires, her left hand with a chainsaw, and her head with 4 screens containing artificial intelligences of herself, Professor Mishima, Shin Tsukimi and Rio Ranger.

## Personality

Maple is very welcoming to anyone who wanders into the Discussion Room. Despite her strength, she prefers to eschew violence for conversation, and acts as a counsellor of sorts.

Maple is interested in friendship, going out of her way to ask if Sara befriended Ranmaru. She expresses approval if Sara acknowledges Ranmaru as a friend. She also wishes to get along with everyone, and becomes bothered if she thinks that the others don't like her.

When the subject of Sou Hiyori comes up, she becomes blissful and aloof. Maple is normally kind and gentle, but she is sensitive to negative comments regarding her relationship with Midori, and becomes extremely angry when Ranmaru touches her letter from Midori. She enters a state where she rapidly switches between emotions of anger, sadness, and happiness, to the point where she loses control of herself. Her demeanor in this state is completely reliant on what emotion she is currently feeling.

When she's angry, she's hostile, unforgiving, and uncooperative. When she's sad, she's self-loathing and lonely. When she's happy, she's more agreeable and wants to have fun.

Maple shows deep regret for her harmful actions and tries to distance herself from the others after her rampage, for fear that she'll hurt them.

## History

As an Obstructor, Maple was created to kill everyone but the human survivors. Her particular target was Midori. However, Midori programmed Maple so that she would be in love with him, and thus not be able to kill him.

At some point, Maple visited Midori in the security office, yelling, crying, and laughing. She pleaded with him, wanting to be with him forever. Midori wrote Maple a letter, hoping it would make her leave, but she persisted, so she ended up receiving Midori's ID card.

Sara and Ranmaru first meet Maple once they enter the Discussion Room, which is where she resides. Ranmaru is initially cautious, and warns Sara that she's an Obstructor. She doesn't introduce herself by name, only that she's an Obstructor, and she doesn't like to fight. Maple leaves the two be while she goes to make tea. When she returns, she startles Sara, who was snooping in her drawers, but tells her she can keep the paints she found anyway. Her smiles pressure Ranmaru and Sara to drink the tea. She tells them how the Death Game will be ending soon, possibly within the day. She bids the two farewell and invites them to come back anytime.

Maple is briefly visited again when Sara and Ranmaru come to retrieve the red library book from the Discussion Room. She is disappointed that they are not there to stay longer. Sara and Ranmaru also find that the green library book from the Classroom contains information about Maple, that she is the strongest Obstructor, and her weakness is the crevice in her back.

The group later learns from Shin Tsukimi's AI that Maple has Midori's ID card, which they need in order to save Keiji. Sara and Ranmaru volunteer to talk it over with Maple since they've met before. Maple pours the two tea and gets a conversation going. Maple eventually introduces herself proper, and suspects the two want to talk ask about Hiyori. She confesses that she's in love with him, and proudly shows the letter she received from him.

Maple then asks if Sara and Ranmaru think they can win. She explains that if there are only two people left, a majority vote can't be done, so instead one person becomes a doll, and one person becomes a human. Maple wishes that Sara would win, because she wants Midori to live. Maple then senses the other participants outside, and starts to clean up. Only then, while her back is turned, the ID card is noticed, sticking out of her back. The pair tries to remove it, but Maple turns around too soon. Ranmaru desperately holds up the letter to barter with for the ID card, which just causes Maple to explode with anger.

Ranmaru acts as a decoy so Sara can knock on the door for help. Then, she's able to get behind Maple while she's not angry and pull out the ID card. Maple gets angry again, and something black and sharp extends out of Maple's back and pierces the door. This lets the others come in, where they help in the effort to calm Maple down. Even after reconciling with her, Maple loses control of herself. Kurumada grabs her head into a hold, trying to stop her, but she blows a giant hole through his torso.

The group flees from the room, as Maple has become too dangerous to interact with. Her black appendages slice up the Discussion Room and pierce through the wall as everyone but Q-taro and Mai run away.

On the fifth floor, Sara closes the shutter in the cemetery so that Maple can't hurt Keiji.

On the fourth floor, Keiji, Mai, and Q-taro find Maple passed out from exhaustion in the Art Gallery. Keiji props her up on a chair, and she tells them the truth about her purpose. She also tells them to check a certain locker in the locker room. The three eventually return to her with a lantern and Midori's doll head. Maple tells them about the banquet, which is a "last resort", the only way the Dummies can still be saved. Maple goes unconscious. She holds Midori's head, although Keiji ends up taking it back from her.

Midori later carries Maple to the operating room, where he starts "fixing" her by replacing her left arm with a chainsaw, and her head with four monitors, each hosting a different AI. Midori then leaves her to run wild until her battery runs out. The group works together to drain Maple's battery, while she attacks them, unable to fight her programming. Eventually it comes to a point where Midori thinks it's time to scrap Maple, who he calls a "piece of junk". Maple starts attacking Midori, asking if he wants to die together. In an attempt to get her to stop, Midori says he loves her, but Maple isn't daunted. She explodes on Anzu's coffin, though she fails to injure Midori.

## Relationships

### Sou Hiyori

Though Maple was supposed to kill him because of Midori's configuration she fell in love with him. Her love seems to be obsessive to the point where it somewhat hinders Midori because she will not leave him alone. However after overcoming some of her programing she attempts to kill both to "die together" and to protect the others.

### Sara Chidouin and Ranmaru Kageyama

Maple was initially kind to both Sara and Ranmaru, giving them tea and engaging them in polite conversation. Maple would often ask the two about their relationship, and if they were growing closing together. Although they didn't fully trust her, Sara and Ranmaru would indulge Maple in hopes of gaining information from her. Maple's kind demeanor towards the two would come to an end when Ranmaru stole the letter that was given to Maple by Midori, causing her to attack him and Sara in a blind rage.

### Mai Tsurugi

Mai showed immense sympathy for Maple after learning about how Midori had manipulated and used her for his own benefit. She feels guilt in taking Midori's head away from Maple, even after her body had run out of power, and she encouraged her to stay strong during the fight against Maple 2.0. If Mai is not killed by Maple during the fight, she expresses disgust in Midori after he insults Maple by calling her a useless piece of junk. Before the Banquet, Mai can be seen sitting down next to Maple's burnt remains.

## Appellations

* Participants A
* Participants B
* Organization members

 Sou | • Maple

## Trivia

* Her weakness, as hinted by the green book meant to be returned to the library on the fifth floor that Sara finds, is the crevice in her back.
* It is possible for Maple to eventually kill Naomichi Kurumada and instantly kill Mai Tsurugi if the participants do not defeat her within a certain amount of turns during both confrontations against her.
* Unlike most character sprites, Maple's consist of separate face and body pieces - as is the case for all Obstructors.