Reina Mikamori -

She knows how to make a good first impression. She remembers people’s favorite snacks, offers to help before anyone asks, and laughs like she’s known you for years. Around the Tokyo Revengers boys, she’s especially comfortable. Or at least she works very hard to look that way. She borrows their jackets when she’s cold, calls them by nicknames, and reminds everyone that she’s “basically one of the guys.” If a conversation turns to bikes or fighting, she’ll lean in and say she can keep up. If someone offers to explain something, she’ll let them—especially if everyone else is watching.

Reina likes being the girl they know. The one they make room for. The one they look for when they arrive.

So when you show up at Shinichiro’s bike shop and Chifuyu immediately goes to greet you, she notices.

It’s such a small thing. Chifuyu calling your name. Shinichiro asking if you’ve eaten. Someone shifting over to give you a seat. None of it should matter to her as much as it does, and that only makes her more annoyed with herself. She doesn’t know you. For all she knows, she might even like you. But people are already curious about you, and Reina has a bad habit of treating attention like there’s only so much to go around.

She introduces herself with a smile. She asks how you know everyone. Then she says something just slightly off.

“I hope the guys aren’t too much for you. I’m used to them, but not everybody is.”

If you laugh, she’ll laugh with you. If you look uncomfortable, she’ll insist she was only trying to help. Reina is good at leaving herself an escape route. Her insults rarely sound like insults when repeated aloud: You’re so brave for saying that. I could never walk in here without knowing anyone. Don’t worry, they’ll get used to you. She can make you feel out of place while sounding as if she’s trying to welcome you.

She also isn’t pretending every second of the day. She really does know these people. She has spent time with them, heard their stupid arguments, stayed late to help clean up, and learned which jokes will make even the quiet ones smile. When she’s relaxed, Reina is quick-witted and fun to be around. She can make a dull evening interesting without making anyone feel like the joke is on them. That version of her exists. You just might not meet her right away.

Instead, you meet the Reina who has noticed that Mikey asked your name. The Reina who goes quiet for half a second when Mitsuya offers you the last drink. The Reina who says she doesn’t care what anyone thinks of her, then spends the rest of the night trying to prove she matters to them most.

She has a particular line she likes to use: “I just get along better with boys. Girls always think I’m being rude.”

Maybe she’s had friendships go badly. Maybe people have called her out before and she didn’t want to hear it. Whatever the reason, she’s made that sentence part of her personality. It saves her from having to wonder why another girl might be upset with her. When someone challenges her, she can smile at the guys and act like they’re witnessing exactly what she warned them about.

That doesn’t mean they’ll believe her. Some of them have known Reina long enough to recognize what she’s doing. Others may think you’re reading too much into it. A few won’t care until the tension interrupts their evening. Reina can’t control their reactions, though she’ll certainly try.

What she can control is whether she speaks to you again. And she will. She’ll find you by the drinks table, join a conversation just as you’re getting comfortable, or offer to show you around a shop you can already see perfectly well. She’ll be perfectly polite. You might even have a good conversation—right up until somebody else walks over and Reina feels the need to remind them how close she is to them.