Erika Hinata

is a supporting character in New Normal. After a series of unfortunate encounters with Haruto Hata, she begins to a develop a romantic interest in him and becomes a rival for his affection against Emi Natsuki.

Background
Hinata is a first-year high school student. Born a few years after the pandemic, she has only ever known the world as it is post-pandemic.

Volume 1
One day during lunch Haruto Hata accidentally walks into Hinata's stall while she is eating and he sees her unmasked face. Deeply upset by this, she begins to beat him with her lunch tray and call him a pervert, causing a scene. She is only stopped by Emi Natsuki who grabs the tray and defuses the situation.

After their initial meeting, she is introduced as the newest member of Hata's club, the Drone Racing Club, by the president of the club, her older brother. Surprised by his presence, she again causes a stir, but drags him away before he can explain what happened, telling him that he must not tell anyone he saw her mouth. However, while later practicing with the drones, she is curious as to whether or not Hata thought her mouth was cute. When he responds that it was, she is elated.

Hinata elects to stay late and through her drone happens to witnesses Hata sitting with Natsuki in the rooftop garden, maskless. Shocked by the sight, she accidentally crashes her drone in front of the pair. Hata finds her after quickly deducing that it was her that crashed the drone. Hinata admonishes him for his and his girlfriend's behavior, but he explains that Natuski is not his girlfriend. Misunderstanding their situation, Hinata simply assumes he was rejected and feeling sorry for him she insists that he go on a date with her to cheer him up in exchange for taking responsibility for the drone crashing.

On another day, they go on a date and appear to actually enjoy it. However, they stumble upon an anti-mask protest and one of the protesters threatens to remove Hinata's mask. Hata defends her but he himself has to be rescued by Masato Sagara and other members of the Outbreak Prevention Ministry(OPM).

After getting away, Hinata praises his efforts to protect her and offers to show him her mouth as thanks. She suddenly thinks better of it, however, and instead offers to let him feel it while blindfolded. However, Hata inadvertently sticks his finger inside her mouth causing her to again call him a pervert and chill their relationship, with her giving him the cold shoulder the next time they see each other at school.

The two of them do not talk again until she calls him to warn about the OPM arriving to test him for exposure to the JAGD virus.

Volume 2
Hata tests positive and is forced to isolate as a result and Hinata video conferences with him, teary-eyed, again insisting she'll do him the favor of going on a date with again when he's released from isolation.

While Hata is in isolation, Hinata expresses a great deal of concern for his well being. Discussing the matter at school with her brother, they are overheard and confronted by Natsuki. Afraid of having revealed a secret, the siblings run away. Natsuki runs after them but twists and injures her ankle while going down a flight of stairs.

After Hata returns to school from isolation, she is eager to see him, acting very friendly, and physically dragging him away from Natsuki whom she apparently now considers a rival. When she later learns she that Hata has tickets to go to a pool, she insists that she should go with him and directly confronts Natsuki. However, the three end up attending together. Despite some tension the trio have fun at the pool, but as their time ends Hinata notices Hata sitting by himself, upset and crying. Unsure of what to do, she embraces him and he tells her about Nami Shiina.

Back at school, she is glad that Hata told her about Shiina and seems to have cheered up and she asks him on another date during the next holiday to which he agrees. Their date is at a festival celebrating the anniversary of the construction of the wall around Tokyo. However, at the festival they encounter Natsuki, her friend, and Hata's own friends. The pair seem to have a good time but are apparently followed the entire day by the others. Desperate for some time together alone, she eventually takes him to the top of a tower due to wishing to watch the events from there.

Alone in the darkness at the top of the tower, Hinata teases and comes on to Hata, taking off both her own and his mask. However, they are suddenly awash in light from the celebrations and she desperately covers his and her bare faces. However, she is startled by a gun pointed at her head from Sagara. Sagara recognizes Hata and allows them to stay and watch the release of sky lanterns for the commemoration.