Machi Kuragi

Machi is a fair-skinned girl of ordinary height and build whose face rarely shows any expression, set with grey eyes that tilt slightly inward. Her dark-grey hair drops straight down to her mid-back, generally tucked behind the ears, with two loose strands left resting on her shoulders; now and then she pins a small portion up into a short ponytail.

Long, faintly unkempt bangs cover her forehead, broken by a cowlick on the left. School most often finds her in the Kaibara uniform, while outside it she prefers long skirts and plain dresses.

Withdrawn and emotionally shuttered, Machi keeps to herself and puts effort only into what is strictly required of her, which makes others read her as a loner. She struggles to say what she feels or wants, so her brother Kakeru and classmate Kimi tend to steer her about. Yet she notices what everyone else misses, keeping both her observations and her secrets to herself, a habit that leaves people finding her odd or even unsettling.

Her defining quirk is an outright loathing of anything too perfect or tidy, which drives her to wreck the student council room, snap fresh chalk, or trudge circles through untouched snow, and her cluttered apartment reflects the same impulse. Underneath lies painfully low self-worth; she regards herself as hollow and unnecessary, unsure even of what she likes. With Yuki's encouragement she begins to discover herself and slowly turns into a warmer, more honest, and more open person, though around him she still flusters easily and hides her true feelings.

Machi was born to her father's lawful wife, while Kakeru, the elder, came from the father's mistress, and their mothers waged a bitter war over which child would inherit the wealthy family's fortune. From a young age Machi was drilled to be flawless in personality and in school, punished for any shortfall, and told her father would cast her aside otherwise, yet even perfection never earned her mother's approval. The feud collapsed once Kakeru's side bowed out and Machi's mother gave birth to a son, whom she happily named heir while dismissing Machi as dull and forgettable.

The final blow came when Machi tried to drape a blanket over her sleeping little brother and her mother accused her of attempting to kill him; her parents evicted her to a small apartment, insisting it was for her own good. The rejection left her mute, closed off, and hostile to all things perfect. At school she serves as student council treasurer under Yuki, who keeps reaching out to her, bringing her a red maple leaf she quietly treasures and later grasping that her favorite color is red. She breaks down a locked door to free him, defends him as lonely rather than princely, and confides her past, to which he responds by promising that the two of them will press footprints into the next snowfall together.

As the two grow closer through small gifts and shared understanding, Yuki realizes she is the one for him. When his curse suddenly breaks, he confesses, and they begin dating. In the sequel she has married Yuki and become mother to their son Mutsuki, carrying on a family ritual of tracing footprints through fresh snow.