Noriko Yuki

Noriko Yuki is a citizen of Ousho and resident of Ousho City. She was born in 2394 to Mizutani and Otera Yuki in Ousho City. Both her father and mother are professors at University of Tokyo, Ousho City; the father teaching Math and the mother Literature. Her parents are divorced, and she lives with her mother full time. She is friends with both Neil Lee and Susumu Yoshiro, who she met through an inter-dojo meet two years ago. She is a good naginataka with a background in gymnastics.

Early Life
Noriko was born on 14 September 2394 to Mizutani and Otera Yuki. An only child, she was raised more by day care than her parents for the first eight years as her parents were very busy with their academic careers. The marriage was not sound, and soon after Noriko turned twelve her parents divorced quietly, citing irreconcilable differences. Noriko chose to stay with her mother, as she was the only parent with any time for her daughter. She was home schooled her whole life, first with a tutor and then for the last two years by her mother. She finished her education equivalence at 14.

She is bilingual well versed in both English and her native Japanese, much like her mother and her tutor.

Personal Life
Noriko likes to read and write a lot, and enjoys playing video games. In her free time, she often practices her naginata techniques down at the dojo or in the art parks, or reads - sometimes she even mixes the two. She likes spending time with Neil and Susumu, often being the first one to suggest a meet-up.

Appearance and Behavior
Noriko is very uplifted. Imaginative and friendly, she has a certain inexhaustible energy to her that comes across very well with others. She's a pretty girl, standing 5'5" with long dark hair, warm eyes and a seemingly ever present smile. She goes out of her way to treat others nicely, something she picked up from her mother early on. She's patient, never one to lose her temper or get cross with someone without a very good reason. She likes to be social, and works well with others.

When excited she gets energetic and high pitched, often making odd noises (Squee seems to be her stand-in for "all right!" or "awesome!". She also acts slightly air-headed when she gets very excited around others, but its an act and she quickly snaps back down when needed.

Hobbies and Interests
An only child who finished school pretty early, Noriko has picked up a few hobbies and interests.

Arts and Crafts
Noriko enjoys doing origami and other papercraft. She envy's Neil's bonsai, and has thought about getting into it herself but has not yet found the time.

Gaming
When hanging out with her friends Susumu and Neil, she plays a lot of video games. While she isn't into the board games her friends are, she can more than hold her own in a host of multi-player fighting games.

Gymnastics
When she was six years old, Noriko started doing gymnastics. It was used as something like a daycare by her parents; she'd be taken there in the afternoon by another girl's mother, train for a few hours and come home for dinner. This was more or less her life for many years, picking up a few friends along the way. With her natural grace, she was good at it. When her parents divorced, she felt less and less into it, as the girls had started picking on her for not fitting their social clique. She left at the age of 13, but still practices the basics of gymnastics regularly so she can stay limber.

Karate
In 2409, she began taking self-defense karate lessons at the same dojo that she studies naginatado at. While in no way an expert in the art, she's passed all her trials and even did well in the "surprise course". She has taken an interest in expanding her knowledge of the art as a whole, but it is secondary to her naginata studies. Much like her other martial studies, she finds it "empowering".

Literature
Noriko is a book worm. Her mother, the parent she was closest to, was a literature professor and thus she grew up with a collection of books both print and digital. She was able to read from an early age, as her mother stressed reading skills early on in her free time. She is well read, never focusing on one thing or another above anything else. She has considered putting it to use and becoming a literature teacher like her mother.

Manga and Anime
Like many citizens of Ousho City, Noriko loves to read Manga. Like Susumu, her favorite series is Hon'yaku-sha ga anata no yūjindesu. She is even a fan of Neil's series.

Naginatado
During the last few months of her education, she enrolled in Goku-ryu, a mixed weapons school that taught Naginatado. Her mother had read in a webpaper that they were known for their mostly female Naginatado courses and sought to introduce her daughter to what she hoped would be more friendly girls. Instead, she met guys - her now close friends Neil Lee and Susumu Yoshiro, kendoka from another school she visited at an inter-ryu "meet and greet". She thinks it is a great sport, and has a few "dojo friends" she occasionally meets up with, including one she thinks would be a cute match for Neil. She finds the whole experience "empowering".

Philosophy, Religion and the Occult
Like most people, Noriko was raised without any real concept of religion. However, her time with Neil has exposed her to neoShinto, which she has read a little about.

Street Samurai
Because Neil and Susumu talk about them so much, Noriko has taken a small interest in Street Samurai - or at least the version that she's been exposed to. They occasionally feature in some of her stories.

Swords
Exposure to Neil and Susumu has granted Noriko an interest in swords, but she appreciates them more as art objects, to which they are "pretty shinies!"

Teaching
Because it lets her work with others and talk about the things she enjoys, Norkio loves to teach. While she doesn't quite yet have her mother's unique skills with it (being as her mother is one of the highest rated professors at the University), she shows promise. She has considered becoming a Literature teacher, or perhaps going on and teaching Naginatado at her school.

Writing
In her free time, Noriko writes fiction. In particular, she writes fan fiction and slash fiction, often of a somewhat sexual nature. She shares this online, where she has found a sizable community in the city that shares her interests. She even has a big fan, who goes by the name "Sakka*Fikushon*Sutōkā".

Goals and Desires
Noriko has not dedicated herself to any particular goals yet, outside of a few short term "to read" lists. She has considered enrolling in higher education to become a certified Literature teacher, but the job market for that isn't so great. With some work she could become a certified general studies teacher for younger children, or a private tutor, but she's horrible at math and doesn't think she could pass the qualification exams.

Likes and Dislikes
Noriko likes reading and writing, spending time with friends and working with others. She's friendly and doesn't mind meeting new people, even if she doesn't form lasting friendships with them. She does not like arguments, and does her best to avoid them (reminds her of her parent's rocky marriage). She's recently started looking for a relationship, but none of the men she's met have been all that appealing; she recently has a bit of a "bad boy" streak going on.

Relationships with Others
Mizutani Yuki - Father, Professor of Maths at UTOC.

Otera Yuki - Mother, Professor of Literature at UTOC.

Neil Lee - Close friend and fellow "martial artist".

Susumu Yoshiro - Close friend and fellow "martial artist".

Taichi Yoshiro - Friend and fellow "martial artist".

Yumi Ashigaru - Friend at the dojo, her potential match for Neil.

Memiru Takanaku - Sensei.