Hasekura Reiri

Hasekura Reiri (支倉 冷理) is a student of Tokiwadai Middle who appears in Toaru Kagaku no Railgun. She was the leader of one of Tokiwadai's three great cliques, one year before the main story.

Appearance
Hasekura has blue eyes and long brown hair, worn loose in her third year at Tokiwadai and in twintails in her first year. She wears the Tokiwadai Middle uniform.

Background
At the start of Misaka Mikoto and Shokuhou Misaki's first year at Tokiwadai Middle, Hasekura was in her third year and leader of one of Tokiwadai's 'big three' cliques. Her clique was the oldest of the three, but was in third place, with the other two having overtaken it (supposedly without intending to). It was described by one of its members as a carnivorous clique, with members willing to throw others under the bus to succeed.

Unlike many of the normal students in Tokiwadai, Hasekura was seemingly aware of the Dark Side of Academy City.

First Year Arc
Hasekura first encountered Mikoto in early May, just after the Level 5 had first met Sha Danshan. As Mikoto was introducing herself to Sha, Mikagami and Mikagami Nagisa appeared from separate directions, with Mikoto between the three main clique leaders. After a brief exchange between the rivals, an annoyed Hasekura dragged Mikoto off for a contest.

Seeking to assess the Level 5 and her strength, Hasekura brought Mikoto to the rear garden and challenged her to a target shooting game, using her own ability to shoot a ball-bearing at the target. When Mikoto's turn came and she tried to shoot it through an application of Lorentz force, her first use of what would become her Railgun, the projectile instead shot to the side and nearly hit Hasekura, sending her flying. After Hasekura yelled at Mikoto, the two noticed that a sculpture had been broken and fled the scene. Reuniting with Asato Kisa and Mibuki Kazan, Hasekura remarked that she had won the game but lost the contest, before requesting that a subordinate in the art club fix the sculpture.

Around the time tensions arose between the Mikagami and Hasekura cliques due to the alleged attacks on their members by the other, Hasekura was away in Paris for a demonstration. While away, she gave her clique orders to avoid conflict, relayed by Asato, though Yasutoba Suika disobeyed the instructions and took action on her own. Her demonstration was apparently a success, though the clique did not receive as many new applicants as they had hoped due to the clique conflict and the debut of Mikoto's newly-completed Railgun.

After rushing back to Tokiwadai, Hasekura cheered up the defeated and sulking Yasutoba before going to tackle the problem of the clique conflict. While going over the details of the initial four cases with Asato and Mibuki Kazan while walking, Hasekura recognized that the details didn't add up, especially with her knowledge of Enjou and Kazanin. While thinking about who would benefit from setting this situation up, Hasekura considered that the Sha clique would appear to be an obvious answer but they didn't have an esper which could do it and they wouldn't want the harm to Tokiwadai's reputation that the scandal had caused.

On learning how Lily of the Sha clique had suspected Shokuhou and thinking about how she didn't know much about her, she happened to notice Shokuhou and Hokaze at a nearby table. While Mibuki Kazan was keeping Hokaze occupied, Hasekura started a conversation with Shokuhou and satisfied herself that she wasn't the culprit. As she left, Hasekura gave Shokuhou the suggestion to start a clique of her own, recognizing she had potential as one.

Hasekura subsequently asked Kessai Kiyoshi to arrange a meeting with Mikoto, seeking her aid in the investigation, along with Shin'enkouji Rurikakesu. With the electronic evidence Mikoto gathered suggesting that the alleged attackers were innocent, Hasekura arranged a truce with Mikagami, in light of a possible external culprit.

When the true culprit made no further moves after a week, Hasekura decided to provoke them into action by spreading a rumor that Shokuhou was cooperating with her, even assigning her aides Asato and Mibuki to guard her to make it more believable. A short while later, while walking with Kessai (assigned by Asato to protect her), Hasekura encountered Sha. While they were talking, they came under attack, but Hasekura noticed and intercepted the initial immaterial bullets. Having Kessai make a smokescreen, Hasekura sliced the next wave of solid projectiles, which she noticed were similar to those used by Sukezawa Sena of the Mikagami clique.

After the unknown attackers withdrew before the smokescreen cleared, Hasekura listened as Sha analyzed a projectile and learned that it likely wasn't produced by an esper power. During the attack, Hasekura had also detected some unnatural waves. The Hasekura clique's subsequent investigation led them to the Montgolfier company, which likely instigated the conflict to gain data for its research. Despite the potential risks, the clique were fully willing to support Hasekura in tackling the culprit.

On the same day, she met with Sha and Mikagami, revealing her intention to raid the company pulling the strings. Sha suggested that their cliques should join forces, though Mikagami was reluctant to do so, given the lack of definite proof and the danger to her girls. After Hasekura said she'd send her clique in first and the others waiting outside would only join in if their suspicions proved correct and a fight broke out, Mikagami said she'd present it to them but wouldn't force them to do something this dangerous and the choice would be theirs.

While her clique were fighting at Montgolfier's headquarters the next day, while Mibuki was disguised as her at the scene, Hasekura was lurking a few blocks away in a hoodie, with her liquid balls deployed. When Antikythera, Montgolfier's benefactor and manipulator, transmitted orders via Mitarai Ayane's ability, Hasekura picked up the ultrasonic vibrations, and traced them to their source, gathering information en route.

On arrival at Antikythera's HQ, Hasekura cut her way into the building before processing to fight and overwhelm Mitarai and the suit-wearing combatants utilizing the Attachment Dark Matter prototypes. With the suits frozen and the combatants close to surrendering, when one of the guards reported they had found another Tokiwadai student sneaking in and the higher-up ordering for her to be brought in as a hostage, Hasekura wondered who it was - given that she had ordered her clique not to follow her, briefly considering the other two cliques, only for it to turn out to be Mikoto, who had followed her. Hasekura spoke with Mikoto as the oblivious guard attempted a hostage coercion and ultimately got shocked, allowing the higher-up and several others to escape while her attention was diverted. Afterwards, Hasekura thanked representatives of the other cliques, but had a nagging feeling that the incident and the matter of the culprit wasn't fully resolved.

Later in the year, after talking with two of her girls who were looking at the beautified figures of two members of the former Mikagami Clique, Hasekura was approached by Ruri who reported that while the Antikythera CEO was still missing (the two unaware that the true mastermind Sha Danshan had killed him), she uncovered something curious involving esper development corporations with sketchy rumors going under one after another over the past year. While both agreed that the companies likely deep in the dark side were better off gone, Ruri told Hasekura that the first one was Tanrei Chemicals and at Ruri's request, Hasekura told her about what she knew and could speculate about the past scandal which involved former Majesty candidate Takebayashi Yayoi, as well as the Takebayashi Family.

Abilities
Hasekura's Level 4 esper ability allows her to control water, enabling her to manipulate its movement as well as processes connected to it such as vaporization and freezing.

When manipulating it in bulk, Hasekura often surrounds herself with multiple floating water balls. These water balls can act as a barrier against certain immaterial attacks, such as the immaterial bullets used in Montgolfier's ambush and Mitarai Ayane's sonic attack, and are capable of detecting and tracing ultrasonic waves. Using it offensively, Hasekura can have the water surround a foe's head to smother them or drench them for further action.

Utilizing handheld tubes, possibly test tubes, Hasekura can focus and use her manipulated water for cutting or projectile-launching purposes, possibly through steam produced by rapid vaporization or products of another water-based chemical reaction. During her game with Misaka Mikoto, shooting a ball-bearing against a target from a distance, she caused a liquid to swirl through the air around the tube she was holding and gather at the tip, causing a steam-like burst to shoot the ball-bearing on the tip forward. During the ambush and the attack on Antikythera, she used bursts from her tube like a blade to slice physical projectiles and cut through a wall. Manipulating the water from her tubes to below her feet allows for Hasekura to perform a degree of aerial evasive action.

Hasekura's ability to control water allows her to freely utilize and the, and she is capable of selectively freezing her water, apparently to -273 degrees Celsius, close to.

During their initial encounter, Shokuhou Misaki believed her to be capable of resisting her ability, with comments from Hasekura afterwards supporting the notion.