Natsu Harada (原田 奈津, Harada Natsu) is the crush/classmate of Kei Kurono and the girlfriend of Ryou Ikegami.
Appearance[]
Natsu is a short haired girl with a mole on her lower left chin.
Personality[]
Natsu seems to be a considerate individual as she politely greeted her classmate Kei Kurono while he was out with his girlfriend. She is nowhere near as horrible as Ryou Ikegami and even tried to stop him from harassing Kei during their date. The girl is also very self-conscious on her appearance as shown during her experience when she was captured by aliens. After being stripped of her clothes and dignity, despite others around her being in the same predicament she tried to maintain her modesty either by covering her chest with her hands or hiding behind Ryou for comfort. She seems to genuinely care about Ryou as she refused to escape without him beside her and hugged him close when death was close. Though there are instances where Natsu can be quite manipulative and somewhat self-ish, as when she tried to offer herself to Kei after he saved her and Ryou. When Kei wanted to leave her and the others behind, she feared for her safety and tried to guilt trip him to protect them.
Background[]
Natsu is a girl that Kei Kurono used to have a crush on in Middle School, but she ends up dating his former bully Ryou Ikegami.
Plot[]
In issue 282, Natsu reveals she was in the class next to Kei Kurono, but they never spoke. He dropped his student ID one day, and when she tried to give it back to him, he ran off as though he was afraid of her.
In issue 325 like many humans abducted she and Ryou Ikegami were stripped of their clothes, but unlike some of their unfortunate abductees, that were sent to slaughterhouses as food, were instead taken to be exhibited at an alien zoo. In the midst of the other naked captives, Natsu stayed close to her boyfriend for comfort and safety.
Kurono meets the couple of them again, inside the alien zoo while leading a horde of humans he freed from the slaughterhouses. Natsu seeing him and his liberated group is surprised like the other zoo captives. She approaches the glass enclosure but stays close to Ryou to hide her nudity. Her presence along with Ryou's causes Kurono to turn his back to them despite the captives pleas. The giants looming on the other side of the enclosure, laughing at the humans, Natsu could only bow her head in shame.
Resigned to their fate, she and Ryou sit on the floor of the enclosure without privacy as the giants leer at them. Ryou attempts to comfort her but she is concentrated on what is transpiring on the other side of their prison.
Although Kurono initially decides not to save them, hating Ryou, he then thinks better of it and shoots the transparent barrier to let them out.
In issue 326, whilst many of the zoo captives of making their escape, Natsu tries to get Ryou out of his shock to come and hurry and run. The couple finally get out of the enclosure and are nearly killed by a special ops warrior but are saved by Kurono.
After being escorted out of the alien ship by Kurono, she expresses her wish to stay with Kurono, asking him whether he still likes her and hinting that she may be developing feelings for the emerging hero. However Kurono leaves her on Earth with Ikegami to continue his search for Tae Kojima on the space craft.
In issue 374, Natsu and Harda now clothed, were seen walking in the streets of Tokyo, and spotted Kurono with Tae watching his comrades slaughter the last remnants of the alien invasion.
Etymology[]
- The name Natsu means "apple tree" (奈) (na) and "haven, port, harbor, ferry" (津) (tsu).
- Natsu's surname Harada means "field, plain" (原) (hara) and "field, rice paddy" (田) (ta/da).