Rikako Mutou, a Tokyo-born high school student, relocates to Kochi after her parents’ divorce, settling independently with her mother and younger brother. Her academic brilliance and athletic talent draw admiration, yet classmates misinterpret her quiet reserve as arrogance, fueled by her discomfort with the Kochi dialect—reminiscent of samurai films—and her passive expectation for others to bridge social gaps. Lingering distrust, rooted in a fractured maternal relationship, extends even to peers like Yutaka Matsuno, Taku Morisaki, and Yumi Kohama, though rare moments of vulnerability surface, such as an impulsive embrace with Taku. Her financial deception becomes central: fabricating a story about losing funds on a school trip to Hawaii, she borrows money from Taku and Yutaka to secretly visit her father in Tokyo during Golden Week, masking the trip as a concert outing with Yumi. The journey ends in disillusionment upon discovering her father’s new partner, intensifying her bitterness. Socially ostracized for skipping group activities and envied for her aloofness, Rikako relies on Yumi as her sole confidante, straining their bond with manipulative tendencies. Tensions peak when Taku confronts her over her treatment of Yutaka, culminating in a mutual slap that deepens her isolation. Post-graduation reflection prompts her to acknowledge her selfishness, leading her to enlist Akiko Shimizu in apologizing to Taku and Yutaka. Though initially enrolling at Kochi University, she covertly secures admission to a Tokyo women’s college, relocating permanently. Years later, a chance reunion with Taku at Kichijoji Station hints at lingering emotional ties, leaving their reconciliation uncertain. Her arc traces a journey from guarded defensiveness to tentative self-awareness, shaped by familial rupture, cultural displacement, and the struggle to reconcile her fractured Tokyo roots with Kochi’s unfamiliarity. While her actions frequently isolate her, they emerge from a quest for stability amid upheaval, framing her complexity without absolving her choices.