Asahina Mafuyu

"How nice it must be, for you to have music to call your own…"

―Asahina Mafuyu

Asahina Mafuyu (朝比奈 まふゆ) is a second-year student at Miyamasuzaka Girls Academy. She's the lyricist of the underground music circle 25-ji, Night Code de.

Mafuyu goes by the alias Yuki (雪, lit. snow) online.

Background

Mafuyu is an honor student, and the only one who in her group who regularly attends school. However, not all is what it seems with her...

Appearance

Mafuyu is seen in the game to have 2 different appearances. A bright girl as seen in her introduction video, and another with empty eyes and somewhat dark aspect. She has empty blue eyes and long purple hair worn in a ponytail.

Personality

[This contains spoilers for the 25-ji, Night Code de. story! Please proceed with caution.]

Mafuyu is admired for her smarts, athleticism, and the humble sincerity she shows that keeps any praise for these talents out of her own mouth. She is known to be kind, generous, and considerate, her words always polite and her voice soft and warm. She is difficult, arguably impossible, to anger, for any hesitation she shows that might betray disagreement or displeasure is immediately covered with a gentle smile. She is someone whom others are not afraid to rely on, and someone whom others often put high hopes on, knowing that she has met expectations before and will continue to do so.

To everyone else, Mafuyu is a “good girl.” However, to herself and behind the mask, she is emotionless and apathetic: abandoned by her true self a long time ago, and desperately searching to find it once again. Mafuyu’s “true personality”—or, at the very least, the person she is when there is no one else watching—is considerably more cold and blunt. Her voice is dull and her face is flat, both holding no feeling for she has none to show. She speaks few words, and the words she does speak tend to be no more than what is needed. The polite consideration she is expected to have, that colors the sentences she crafts for others, is nowhere to be heard. While she is not pleasant or “good,” she is honest—as honest as she has the capacity for. It’s only within her cold honesty are her true feelings, her true self, given the slightest chance to show themselves, and the other members of 25-ji, Night Code de. recognise this in their willingness to offer a space where she can be “rehabilitated.”

After the incident in “Dare mo Inai Sekai,” as well as the doll exhibit, Mafuyu is encouraged to say what she is truly feeling--or, at least, to try--as long as she is talking to the Night Code members. To be whoever she feels she is in that very moment, to the best of her ability, and this allows Mafuyu the opportunity to see what it’s like to exist in a space without pressures of what she should and should not do. She no longer assumes the expectation of her warm, gentle voice from the outside world, and instead forgoes pleasant smalltalk for short, flat responses when she is spoken to, seldom speaking herself. She rarely states her opinions, as she doesn’t have many to give, rarely making any decisions of her own, instead saying that she “doesn’t know” or “doesn’t mind.” However, the coldness or the disinterest of her words are not an act to push others away or be cruel, but an honest admission of the fact that Mafuyu genuinely does not know. During the last chapter of the marionette event, Mafuyu’s voice is flat and dull as she questions Ena about her drawings, but her interest is genuine as she accepts the information, and her following questions indicate that she has honestly cared enough to actually listen and learn.

Relationships

Yoisaki Kanade: Fellow circle member. Mafuyu is amazed Kanade was able to make that one song.

Shinonome Ena: Fellow circle member. Ena is jealous that Kanade trusts her so much.

Akiyama Mizuki: Fellow circle member. Mafuyu thinks they're overly obsessed with cuteness.

Ootori Emu: An underclassman she got paired with for the 3-legged race during the sports festival. Emu is scared of her, though Mafuyu doesn't seem to realize this or understand why.

Trivia

• Although Mafuyu's name is spelt using only hiragana, an alternate spelling of Mafuyu is "真冬", which includes the kanji 冬 (fuyu) for "winter." In an area conversation with Ena, this is revealed to be the reason why she chose the username Yuki.