Emi Natsuki

Emi Natsuki (夏木　咲, Natsuki Emi) is one of the protagonists of New Normal.

Emi Natsuki
日本語	夏木　咲
Rōmaji	Natsuki Emi
First Appearance	New Normal, Chapter 1

Background

Natsuki is a high school student, member of the Drone Racing Club, and classmate of Haruto Hata. She is aware and curious of pre-pandemic customs such as picnics due to sneaking off to watch her parents' old films, and is intensely curious as a result.

When Hata runs into Natsuki drinking from a faucet and sees her mouth, the two develop their relationship and meet each other without masks. They take this to a park after Natsuki has the idea to have a picnic, which she learned about and wanted to try. The pair end the picnic due to an Outbreak Prevention Ministry infection alert, as agents led by Masato Sagara show up to interrogate the two. Natsuki tells them that they saw no suspicious activity.

Erika Hinata catches the two maskless in the school rooftop gardens while improperly flying her drone. The drone crashes from Hinata's shock. Hata and Natsuki converse after the former's unwanted date with Hinata, and Hata finds out that Natsuki didn't consider their own outings to be romantic or dates, a fact that surprises Hata.

While cycling, Natsuki finds Sagara Cycles after her own bike becomes damaged. Here, she meets a wholly different Sagara, maskless and smoking tobacco. The two talk, and Sagara leaves briefly. After Natsuki takes a short nap, Sagara makes her coffee and finishes repairing her bike before a magnitude 4 earthquake shakes the building. She clings to Sagara, then afterwards leaves for home and comments on the stench of cigarettes stuck to her shirt.

Soon, Natsuki returns to Sagara Cycles to gift him a replacement cup after it was smashed in the earth tremor. As Sagara speaks to an agent through an earpiece, Natsuki makes the connection that Sagara is the same EPA agent from before. In a sudden attitude shift, he tackles Natsuki to the floor and offers to swap secrets, offering confidential knowledge of what's inside the Tokyo wall, chiding the "born-masker" for her generation's attitude to mouths. He attempts to pull her mask off, but not before Natsuki thinks of Hata and pushes him before fleeing, an act that doesn't seem to anger Sagara.

Hatsuki notices Hata's absence from school due to him contracting the V-21 strain. The two speak via wristphones and Hata lies that he caught the Flu from being in a draft.

While in the Drone Racing Club, Natsuki gets word that Hata had caught the Yakuto virus instead of the flu, and runs out of school, tripping down the stairs. She waits outside Sagara Cycles, baffling the agent due to his previous actions. After informing him, Hatsuki convinces Sagara to take her to the quarantine site even knowing she can't enter. She successfully speaks to Hata by standing on Sagara's pickup truck and calling for him. After the two assure eachother via wristphone, Natsuki and Sagara depart.

Appearance

Natsuki is of average build. Her hair is pitch-black and medium-length with a fringe. Her "usual" mask has a star placed in the upper right, and her drone club mask has one in the upper left.

Personality

Natsuki is a curious, yet incautious woman who enjoys the thrill of treading on societal norms. Even when threatened, she is hard to dissuade.

Relationships

Haruto Hata

Hata is Natsuki's classmate, sitting to her right in class. They began as a friendly relationship as Natsuki chose Hata to encourage for his next drone club race. This is enough to make his friends envious.

Sagara

Natsuki has an indifferent relationship with Sagara. Not discouraged by Sagara's brash attitude, stench and multiple times he shoved her, she sees him as someone helpful, repairing her bike and helping her connect with Hata while he was in quarantine.