Name: Minami Rio
Nickname: None
Gender: Female
Age: 16
Personality: Rio doesn’t consider herself a shy person, but her words always seem to come out soft and quiet. She doesn’t like to be put down, so she tries her hardest, and when offended or even bullied, she often won’t do anything. She can be a bit rash, not always thinking things through. She wouldn’t call herself dumb, but she struggles to keep her grades in a good range. When stressed or put on the spot, she tends to stutter, generally being unable to get so much as a word out. There are times where she gets more focused, however. When on the baseball field, she’s a decent batter and can generally keep her cool. When in the Barrier of a Witch or up against a Familiar, she can similarly keep her head, but she’s also only fought alone; fighting alongside others might go differently.
Bio: Rio was born in Korea to her parents, a her Japanese immigrant father who moved for work and her native mother. However, she never remembered it well, since she was moved back at a young age after an armed robbery left the both of them dead. She was briefly left to an orphanage while the question of where to put her came up: her mother’s extended family didn’t want her, and her father’s extended family felt it was a lot of trouble with Rio being overseas. Eventually, it was settled, and Rio was sent to live with her uncle’s family in Japan. Though she was young, she never quite felt like she was a part of their family, despite having been with them for most of her life. Her aunt never cared for her, her cousins ignored her more often than they harassed her, and her father was often too tired from his construction work to do anything about it.
In Elementary School, Rio often found herself being the odd one out, and friends only seemed to last a little while, as they often moved on before stronger bonds were formed. She eventually just secluded herself to studying and video games. In Middle School, she finally felt like something when she went for baseball, she got some friends, has something she could be proud of herself for. Even then, she was overshadowed by her teammates, though she felt like she could surpass them if she tried hard enough. Even as she practiced her hardest, by the time she got close, she started High School, were once again, she was behind the pack.
After one particular day of a nasty practice session followed by nothing but short, awkward conversations with her family at home, she lazed in bed playing on a handheld when a white animal was at her slipped into her room from the door. She didn’t even notice until it jumped on her bed and greeted her, causing her to cry out in surprise and drop her handheld on the ground, where the battery fell out and she lost her progress. As Kyubey introduced himself, explaining that he had to slip through the house because she wouldn’t answer him at the window, she couldn’t help but notice no one came to see what she was freaking out about. When asked, he also mentioned that the only one in the house who could see him was her.
With introductions out of the way, Rio wondered why she was able to calmly talk to the little fox/cat/thing before it began to explain its reason for being here: it wanted to form a Contract, one of the conditions being that she could make a single wish, making one of her desires reality. It didn’t take her long to think of a thing or two to wish for, but there had to be something; some kind of catch there. Of course, that was the whole point as Kyubey began to explain: she’d get her wish as long as she continued to fight monsters called Witches as a Puella Magi. Rolling over to think about it, she figured it was sort of like the Magical Girl shows she used to watch. If it was like those, how bad could it be? Facing Kyubey, she stated her desire. She was tired of being ignored, and effectively being a Magical Girl didn’t sound bad at all.
“I wish people would notice me more.”
With that, the Contract was sealed.
The next day, the effects of the wish were readily apparent; more people would talk to her even if it was just a morning greeting or random question. When Rio went home, she actually had some decent conversations with her aunt and cousins. She went to bed that night happier than she’d been since she started High School. Then, Kyubey showed up, reminding her that she had other duties. That night she went on her first Witch Hunt, Kyubey accompanying for advice, as a guide, to explain her powers and abilities that she wasn’t quite familiar with yet. With her gold Soul Gem guiding her, she encountered her first Witch in a barrier between two sides of a busy highway which passed over a river. Getting there was troubling enough with the traffic, and when she entered, she wasn’t quite sure what was going on with the bizarre scenery.
The fight itself went surprisingly well; Rio finished it in a few blows once she cleared the distance, making use of her weapon and her Sound Bursts, not messing with the other stuff yet. When the fight was over, she was in the middle of the highway once more. However, while trying to cross it once again, she heard a sudden warning from the Kyubey on her shoulder before he jumped away. Before she could react, Rio was hit by a vehicle, which tore her side and flung her into the railing, where she flipped, falling below, passing out from the pain for a few minutes. The fall alone should have been fatal, but when she came too, she noticed her wounds: her legs had been shattered; one of them twisting oddly, and her side was mangled a bit. Dizzy from panic, but not feeling nearly as much pain as she felt like she should, Kyubey’s appearance from above was hardly reassuring until he explained that she could magically heal herself. She patched herself up a bit, but she used enough magic that she felt the need to use the Grief Seed she’d just pilfered to regain it. Even then, she still used a lot of magic just so that she could walk, and she still had several surface wounds. As she escaped the scene, avoiding the people who went down to find the supposed corpse, she tried to ask Kyubey why she didn’t die. He calmly brushed it off, saying that Magi’s were quite durable, also briefly mentioning she should keep her source of magic safe, referring to her Soul Gem.
Rio got home, knowing she’d need to fight more Witches to get more Greif Seeds to heal fully, but that was a problem in itself with her wounds. She’d already begun regretting her choice, taking a school day off to slip into a hospital, get some aid, and then slip out as soon as she could. When she returned the next day, she’d found out a nasty side effect from her wish. A story got out that a student from the school had gotten hit by a vehicle, and was presumed dead, but missing. For some reason, a rumor spread that she’d been the one to have been hit and killed, which was why so many were surprised to see her, especially after having been gone a day. Thinking on it later, she wasn’t sure why, but she felt it might have been her wish that caused people to think of her. It probably would have been different it she hadn’t been wearing her uniform.
Already having further doubts, she knew she’d have to continue fighting Witches to heal her wounds, but if she was wounded again...it’d be a horrible cycle of pain and restoration. Although, she wasn’t sure if she’d ever get to stop fighting Witches or not, Kyubey didn’t mention those specifics. She also wasn’t sure what unexpected effects her wish would continue to have on her life either. However, she resolved to do her best no matter what.
Appearance: Average height for her age and neither particularly thin or chubby, Rio would normally have little in the way of presence. Her hair is short and brown, her wide eyes also plain brown, and her skin is slightly tanned beyond her sleeves. When not wearing her school uniform, she typically wears a blouse and skirt, with other weather appropriate gear if necessary. She usually carries around her bag, with both her school things and anything else she needs, a small brown mouse plush dangling from a strap. On her finger is a silver ring, display three odd runes and set with a gold gemstone. Despite her plain appearance, others still pay more attention to her than would be normal, due to her Contract.
Puella Magi Form: Almost in direct contrast with her normal, plain appearance, her Puella Magi costume is beyond flamboyant. Aside from a few elements, the shiny fabric of her outfit shifts between pale shades of colors, except when her emotions peak, in which case it more rapidly shifts towards a fitting color. She wears a round cap with a gold tassel hanging of the side. On her torso is a long coat, always buttoned up, the top star-shaped button shining gold, and the others cycling through the shades of the rainbow, with the last being orange. Silver frills coming out of the hem and sleeves. She wears fitting pants underneath, and her white boots go above her ankles
Soul Gem Symbol + Location: The top button of her outfit is her shining golden Soul Gem, shaped like a star.
Finisher: Using more of her magical power, Rio creates a larger Sound Burst and throws it up before striking it with her Burst Rod like a baseball. The Shockwave from her Rod propels it at a force she can’t match otherwise, dealing even more damage.
Spells:
- Weapon Spell – Burst Rod: Resembling a thin, but long club, this bat-like weapon is silver in color with the handle striped with the shades of a rainbow, dark, curved lines making up a pattern around the rest. It is a bit large for a normal person her size, but since it’s a magical weapon, it’s not cumbersome. When it strikes something, it lets out a shockwave with a loud, accompanying burst of sound.
- Spell 2 – Obscure: A form of sensory control, Rio can make something within sight harder for others to notice. It doesn’t change the object physically; it is just more likely that others will overlook it. Unless someone is actively searching for the Obscured object, there is a high chance it will go unnoticed, however so conditions, such as the object being in the middle of an otherwise empty room, making a noise, or otherwise being hard to miss, the magic will fail. Rio can use it on anyone or anything of reasonable size except for herself, though there are some limitations, such as that she can only keep one thing Obscured at a time.
- Spell 3 – Illuminate: The opposite of Obscuring something, an Illuminated object or person is hard to miss. Observers tend to notice it as soon as they can, and can then choose to ignore or examine what was Illuminated based on the circumstances. If the Illuminated object is well hidden, it can never be noticed, so the magic won’t take effect. As a result of her wish, Rio is effectively Illuminated permanently, and can do nothing about it. Only one thing (other than herself) can be Illuminated at a time.
- Spell 4 – Magical Sound Burst: An offensive spell, Rio can create small shining orb, which creates a burst of force and sound when it impacts something. She can propel it magically to give it distance she otherwise wouldn’t manage on her own, but she can’t change the direction much once she tosses it. It is essential a ranged version of the effect her Burst Rod creates.
Wish: Always being something of a wallflower and often feeling ignored, Rio simply wished that others would notice her.