Hotaru Kagura is first introduced as Hinata Kagura, the village headman’s granddaughter and a prominent, wealthy figure in the community. She holds the position of class council president and is widely regarded as kind and obliging, earning her popularity at school. Notably clumsy, she often stumbles and falls—once tumbling down a staircase, only to be caught by the protagonist, Takuma Hirose, whom she addresses with the formal honorific “Hirose-sama.” A significant secret underpins her identity: her true name is Hotaru Kagura, and she is in fact the younger sister of the original Hinata Kagura, who drowned in an accident. In the aftermath, their grandfather compelled Hotaru to assume her older sister’s identity, leading the village to believe that Hotaru had died instead. This made her a Replacement Goldfish for the deceased Hinata. The imposed identity and her grandfather’s domineering manner initially rendered her an Extreme Doormat, obediently conforming to his wishes and suppressing her own self. Despite this, she was among the few villagers who did not take part in bullying Hayami Kohinata; the two had once been best friends. That friendship ended under pressure from her grandfather following a village revolt against Hayami’s family, which resulted in the burning of their home. Her character evolves considerably over the course of the story. Through her friendship with Takuma and the renewal of her bond with Hayami, she finds the courage to resist her grandfather’s control. A turning point occurs when he attempts to murder Hayami with a hunting rifle: Hotaru openly defies him, calls the police, and declares her intent to expose the truth, proclaiming that the village does not belong to him. This marks her transformation into a more assertive person, cultivating an inner iron strength while preserving her kind and family-oriented nature—embodying the Yamato Nadeshiko archetype. She ultimately reclaims her true identity. After a period of confinement enforced by her grandfather, she returns to school and reveals her real name to her classmates, who accept the change and begin calling her Hotaru.