| “ | I am a single bullet... | ” |
–Reki | ||
Reki (レキ; 蕾姫?) is a S-rank Butei Snipe department. Her real name is unknown and is shown to be habitually taciturn, constantly impassive, indifferent in fashion, and almost always found wearing her headphones. Reki at start of the series was shown to be emotionless earning the nickname "Robot Reki." However, throughout the course of the series from her interactions with Kinji Tohyama, she starts to develop emotions, which she shows Kinji by smiling at him and falling in love with him as well.
Background
Reki is descended from Gengis Khan (in actuality, the Khan was Minamoto no Yoshitsune as explained by Shirayuki), and hails from a tribe in Mongolia, referred to several times as the Ulus. She lived with 46 other females in seclusion. Why she is allowed to leave her homeland while the others remain is unknown.
Reki is part of a family that appears to have an interesting flaw. Her tribe apparently has a genetic problem that takes effect on the pregnant women of the civilization. As such, only women will be born to the tribe. As such a result, Reki's tribe is constantly on the lookout for strong males to introduce into the Ulus, in the hopes to make their descendants stronger. This becomes clarified in the Epilogue of Light Novel Volume 6.
Prior to joining the Butei academy, Reki was known as Rimiko and performed duties similar to a Japanese miko like Shirayuki Hotogi.[1] She had intended to excuse herself from that role until, but the "Wind" put her intentions on hold. Also, Reki regularly took "unrecorded" contracts from countries such as China and Russia in the past. Jeanne claims Reki used to work as a "sweeper," a Butei Assassin.
Reki would meet Kinji Tohyama for the first time at the Futoukita platform at Academy Island for the entrance exam. Also, during their first year, they apparently worked together quite a bit, where they were known as the "Golden Duo."
Appearance
Reki's hair is a bob cut with a very light shade of blue-green, similar to aquamarine, having been affected by long years of exposure to Ririirokane. She is very petite, being only a few inches taller than Aria. Her skin is somewhat pale, and her eyes are a bright yellow (green in the anime). It is somewhat unknown what her diet is. As quoted by Kinji, Reki was "not as flat as Aria, but not as well endowed as Shirayuki.” During Volume 12, when Reki was pressed up against Kinji chest, he noted that her breasts had grown slightly. Also, according to Kinji and his grandfather, Magane Tohyama, she smells like mint.
She constantly keeps headphones around, and Misaki Nakasorachi identified the brand as a Sennheiser PMX990 which is known for "it's high clarity and can accentuate the higher pitches". She constantly wears them on her head during a mission to "keep her soul intact."
Personality
True to her nickname, "Robot Reki", Reki is usually shown to be practically emotionless to where she can be in front of someone completely naked without feeling embarrassed as shown in Volume 6 with Kinji. She is very quiet and reserved, rarely speaking unless necessary, and even then she says the bare minimum. However, this is not due to her lack of emotions, but rather she does not really know what emotions are, or how to truly express them. This nature, combined with her borderline supernatural sniping abilities, makes Kinji wonder if she's even human, though she insists that she is. Kinji has pointed out that she seems to be "delusional" due to her taking orders from her supposed master, the "Wind."
Of all the girls who have feelings for Kinji, Reki is the one who has the most in common with him. They are quite similar in the aspect of social standing, in that they are both very anti-social. She can be referred to as even more socially introverted than Kinji. Their similarities are most likely how she and Kinji were able to work so well together in their days as the "Golden Duo" (and still can up to the present day).
Despite her cold nature, Reki has a soft spot for animals; this is shown when she shoots at a wolf to simply graze its spine instead of putting it down, and later takes it in and makes it her Butei dog, naming it Haimaki. She is also able to tame the wolf extremely quickly, something that greatly surprises and impresses Kinji. Afterwards, she can frequently be seen taking care of Haimaki.
Reki is very stubborn or steadfast when it comes to specific things. Examples of this are when she believes her rifle will not misfire. Her attitude is obsessive to the point where her constant maintenance reduces the possibility of a misfire even lower than it already is. As well as being stubborn, Reki has also shown extreme loyalty, going so far as to transfer out of Butei High along with Kinji, and follow him back shortly afterwards when Kinji realizes how unfulfilling civilian life really is.[2]
After the events of Volume 6, where Kinji was able get Reki to smile, Reki has been showing more emotions such as anger when Kinji appeared to have sided against Team Baskerville in Volume 10; jealousy towards Kinji's relationship with Moe Mochizuki in Volume 12 and any other girl; embarrassment when Kinji was staring at her on the plane to Hong Kong in Volume 13. Kinji even mentioned that Reki was showing more emotions while she was staying at his grandparents house in Volume 12.
Quotes
- "I am a single bullet. It has no heart. Therefore, it does not think. It just flies straight towards its target."
- "In the midst of this darkness. A path of light exists--outside of the light, nothing can be seen, nothing exists. I am one who runs in the midst of that light."
- (To Kinji): "Kinji as I have said before, I am yours. The loyalty of the Ulus is eternal. I will be with you wherever you go and be the person who will live and die with you." (Volume 12, Chapter 1)
- (To Kinji about his relationship with Moe Mochizuki): "The Ulus have a saying: A wolf cannot become a dog...And a dog can never become a wolf...Wolves and dogs can cross. They can even have offspring. But...A wolf is always a wolf, but a dog can never go back to being a dog. If it follows a wolf away from the safety of human habitation and migrates to the cruel forest, the dog, carrying its innate weakness, will exhaust its life...So a wolf should only spend time with another wolf." (Volume 12, Chapter 3)
Trivia
- Reki has a massive appetite despite her appearance
- She is able to stay so still when sniping that birds tend to land on her head.
- Reki is able to handle very cold temperatures from growing up in Mongolia during the extended frost periods.
- Reki shares similar traits to Tabitha/Charlotte de Orleans from Zero no Tsukaima, Koneko Toujou from High School DxD series, and Kanzashi Sarashiki from Infinite Stratos (IS).
- They are introduced in the series as quiet, reserved, and emotionless people prior to their interaction with the male protagonist in each story.
- Gradually begin to open up and display emotions after spending time with the male protagonist.
- Fall in love with the male protagonist.
- They get jealous when their love interest shows affection towards someone other than them.
- She has been called "Bird-shooting Beidi" by Cao Caos. While"Beidi" is a mocking name for nomads which Reki came from, the title is a reference to Legend of the Condor Heroes by Hong Kong writer Louis Cha.
References
- ↑ Volume 12, Chapter 5
- ↑ Volume 12 - Fall Oblige