Hana Somei

"I study on my own and I've learned that the world radically changes its makeup every few years or decades. Even if I follow my parents' instructions, that may not be how things work by the time I grow up. That's why I'm working on my own so I won't get panicked when things go that way. Just in case it turns out my parents were wrong in the future, I won't have to blame them."

- Hana Somei to Yōko Katori

Hana Somei is the Operator of Katori Squad.

Appearance
Somei is a pale, bespectacled young woman with short brown hair styled in a choppy bowlcut, alongside slate grey eyes. She wears gloves to hide the scars sustained in the First Large-Scale Invasion. Before she joined Border, she had shoulder-length hair. In her trion body she wears the standard Operator uniform, a pair of gloves, an earpiece, and pink-framed glasses.

Personality
Somei is quietly confident and impassive in all situations. Even as a young girl she did not betray emotion when her father forbade her from seeing her best friend, or following the collapse of her house. Neither did she falter when rescueing her best friend from the rubble instead of her own family, which she framed as a decision dictated entirely by logic as Katori's roof 'was easier to lift'. Early in her life she developed the conviction that the world changes radically every few years and that studying would help her navigate the new times, a belief which allowed her to find her own source of motivation to meet the academic expectations her parents had of her. After the invasion she resolved to climb up Border's ranking. Even while being bluntly crude when she deems it useful, she does not intervene in her teammates' arguments unless they detract from the task at hand, despite the deterioration of morale; nor does she demand Katori make a stronger effort, presumably due to to the certainty that she will not change just because others insist.

Quotes

 * (To her teammates) "All three of you... We are supposed to be working. So take it seriously."
 * (To Yōko Katori) "Yōko... I'm sorry. My analysis wasn't good enough."
 * (To Katori's mother) "It's hard to change someone who doesn't wish for change. Not looking for change means they are, to an extent, satisfied with what they have already. You could say that is desirable, in a way."
 * (To Katori) "I study on my own and I've learned that the world radically changes its makeup every few years or decades. Even if I follow my parents' instructions, that may not be how things work by the time I grow up. That's why I'm working on my own so I won't get panicked when things go that way. Just in case it turns out my parents were wrong in the future, I won't have to blame them."
 * (To Katori) "Don't worry. It'll be all right."
 * (To Katori) "I only chose who was more likely to survive. Don't worry about it."
 * (To Katori) "If that's what you want to do, then go ahead and quit. You should do what you want, Yōko. That is the type of person you are."
 * (To Katori) "If you can feel the sting of defeat, then there's still room for you to become stronger."

Trivia

 * Somei likes working through problems, hot chocolate, and friends. She also enjoys her life at Border.
 * According to the author, prior to her past being revealed, there were rumors among fans surrounding Somei's gloves which ranged from her being a germaphobe, to having prosthetic hands, to being a poison-using assassin.
 * In the English version of Volume 16 her birthday is incorrectly transcribed as being on July 1st.