Rane Nakahara

This article is rated G+ due to Light Violence and Moderate Depressive Themes.

Note: This article contains spoilers for Crimson Lightning, From Rane, and Illicit Vigil.

Under Rane's mask of shallow optimism lies a girl who holds many secrets: the fact that her father is a Halfblood Vampire, the fact that she's part of a secret organization that strives to protect her hometown, and several more. Playing with lies and secrecy since a young age, Rane never had to handle the consequences…but the day when she'll need to do so draws near.

Looks
Rane has waist-length, straight, black hair, light peach skin, and brown eyes. She can usually be seen wearing a knee-length black dress, translucent black stockings, and black Mary Janes, but occasionally dresses up more (which mostly means that she wears the same outfit but in different colors from her normal black ones). Rane is somewhat tall, measuring about 5'5", but has an otherwise average build.

Personality
Rane is generally cheerful, optimistic, and impulsive. The combination of these three traits, while often making her seem like a fun (if shallow) person, tend to get her into trouble every so often when she does something on a whim that turns out not to work out as well as her hasty assessment had predicted. Due to this, Rane tends to keep these failed escapades a secret from anyone except the few who already know. This secrecy then leads Rane to worry every so often about problems that these mishaps would cause, making her occasionally seem nervous for no discernable reason. Rane has recently started working on opening up more to people, but she still has a long way to go.

Despite Rane's tendencies to keep secrets and to make bad decisions, those who know her well may discover more endearing traits. Aside from her cheerfulness and optimism, Rane is extremely patient when she needs to be, is reasonably intelligent, and can be quite sympathetic to those who she cares about. She is also very devoted to protecting her hometown of Shroud, often to the detriment of other things in her life. However, some people may never get past Rane's darker traits to the point of liking her, and they may have good reason to do so.

Strengths and Weaknesses
Rane doesn't have any inherent superpowers except those inherited from being a Quarterblood Vampire: namely, an extended lifespan (approximately 1.5 times the average human lifespan) and the capacity to heal slowly in moonlight if in the presence of silver. However, this Quarterblood Vampire status also gives her inherited weaknesses: slow recovery from burns, a slight weakness to gold, and—most prominently—a tendency to feel faint if exposed to the light of the noonday sun. Most people will never see either the strengths or the weaknesses, but they may come out in unusual situations. Rane also has a couple of minor, non-powered strengths, including knowledge of tailoring and a proficiency with theft.

Curiosity
Rane Nakahara was born as the daughter of a Halfblood Vampire father and a human mother. The fact that her mother was diurnal and her daughter was expected to be the same (as her father's Vampiric status was hidden from most, including Rane), yet her father was perforce nocturnal, led Rane to have significantly different relationships with her two parents. While Rane was close to her mother and became familiar with her mother's activities and crafts as a tailor (making the family's only obvious source of income), there was always an air of mystery around Rane's father, making Rane want to know what her father was up to, disappearing after supper and reappearing for bed as Rane awoke.

At the age of 10 years old, Rane decided to finally find out what was going on with her father. Slipping outside after her mother went to bed, Rane decided to wait up for her father to return home. While outside, Rane discovered rumors of what her father was up to, including his affiliation with the secret peacekeeping organization Crimson Lightning and his status as a Halfblood Vampire. When her father returned home, Rane got him to reveal that these rumors were true. Out of a desire to get closer to him, Rane half-asked, half-tried to pressure her father into letting her join Crimson Lightning. Knowing what help his daughter could give from joining and what trouble she could cause by not joining, Rane's father eventually acquiesced.

Secrecy
Over the course of the next six years, due to this membership within Crimson Lightning, Rane's relationship with her father improved, and she became both more observant and more dedicated to helping people. However, her relationship with her mother declined as a result, as Rane began putting protection of the town over her relationship with her mother to the point where Rane would begin hiding things from her mother when she thought it necessary to do so. These secrets became more and more problematic, especially when Rane noticed that Crimson Lightning's supplies were running low and decided to quietly steal them from her mother as a result. This theft became a habitual and concealed practice, further estranging Rane from her mother as Rane tried to hide everything from her.

At around the age of 16, Rane entered into a relationship with another girl named Sara. Sara's tendency to think about all of the ways that things could go wrong led Rane to realize how her relationships with her mother and with other people in her life were declining due to these secrets. As a result, Rane started to try to open up some more, beginning by penning a letter to her mother divulging all of the secrets that Rane could recall (including the theft) and continuing to try to open up after that, although in less noticeable ways.

Monsters
A couple of months after this revealing, Rane was present when time was frozen for everyone by a Gargoyle, an animated statue that—in this case—had the power to halt time. When Rane awoke and discovered the Gargoyle chasing Sara, Rane realized what was going on and managed to get Sara out of harm's way, explaining what had happened and revealing her own ties to Crimson Lightning. Sara was able to use this information to help close the breach that had let the Gargoyle in while Rane was captured by the Gargoyle, after which Sara (who was promptly likewise captured) was able to kill the Gargoyle and free Rane with some minor assistance from Rane. This experience enforced Rane's necessity to open up, as well as reminding her of how useful her own ties to Crimson Lightning were.

No further ones of Rane's adventures—if such adventures exist—have yet been recorded.

Fun Facts

 * To date, Rane has had more stories with her in them than any of my other RMR characters have had. (A few of my Sonic fan characters have an equal number of stories, though.)