Umeko Wakahisa

Umeko Wakahisa is a character in High School Life of Hell. She holds the title of Super High School Level Astronomer. After seeing through a telescope for the first time, she made it her dream to become an astronomer herself, and pursued her title.

Appearance
Umeko is a flat-chested, slim young woman who usually dons pastel and simple dresses. Her normal outfit consists of a light blue and black polka dotted dress, along with a pair of light blue heeled dress shoes. Umeko also wears a black cardigan over the dress, and a small belt over her waist/ She has waist-length orange hair and olive green eyes, and wears a small, blue star-shaped barette in her bangs.

Personality
Umeko is a very sweet, considerate, and imaginative young woman. She is almost always seen smiling, and she has a way of bringing the good out in people. She is very for peace, and doesn’t like to see conflict at all. She never gets into fights or curses, and raises her voice only when she needs to, which is very seldom. Just being around her seems to have a soothing effect on others, and she loves to make friends and participate in group activities.

She is also very in-tune with nature and is a bit of an activist, even though her knowledge of things in nature is limited. She still knows she loves animals and plants, however, and treats them and everything else with as much respect as possible. Again, however, her knowledge is limited, so she tries to not give advice on how one should take care of them. She has the opposite of a green thumb, and all plants she's tried to raise have died, much to her displeasure.

Umeko has a very soft heart, and wouldn’t hesitate to try and comfort someone who was upset. Even if someone were to yell at her or do something bad, she would forgive them or give them the benefit of the doubt until the very end. She personally believes there is good in everything, and often compliments and encourages others in times of doubt. She finds it hard to hide her emotions, and is not a good liar because of this. She will try and act strong in moments of sadness or upset, but it hurts her inwardly when she does. She can be a bit of a cry baby because of her easily-touched nerves, and her tears fall before she can even notice them, most times.

As seen in later chapters of the story, her sense of justice is strong, but impaired. She doesn't want accuse or blame any of her classmates for their actions, even if they turn out to be guilty. Her motherly sense reigns strong over the others, and she wishes to keep them safe more than anything, even if it costs her her own life and humanity.

Pre-Imprisonment
Umeko was born and raised in Japan. She was always curious about nature and her surroundings, but her family, living within a huge city, did not allow for her to learn much about said passion. There was, however, a park nearby her home that she liked to visit. It had a huge lake in it, and the water often reflected the night sky. Her family would let her go to it, at least, but that was the limit of her connection to the outside world.

One night, upon visiting said park, she met a college professor who was stargazing. Umeko, being ever curious and kind, asked to join him. It was the first time she ever really got a good look at the night sky, and she fell in love with its beauty. He smiled and taught her more about the constellations and universe, and she started meeting him once a week there to learn more via private lessons. Her parents didn't know, and she was glad, because they would have stopped her from visiting again. They were very strict, and were already being lenient on letting her leave the home like she was.

From then on out, she became a nature lover and picked up stargazing as her main hobby. She learned as many constellations and facts about the sky as possible, and soon became almost an expert on the matter after renting book after book from her local library. She started an astronomy club at her middle school, and even discovered her own star, earning her claim to fame and title.

Upon being invited to attend Heaven’s Summit Academy, she was extremely pleased, having heard it was located in a country-like area with plenty of places to star gaze. She, hoping for a good view at her favorite constellation, opted to attend, post haste. She left to attend it at the age of 16.

High School Life of Hell
Umeko worked to keep the other positive when Monokuma broke the news of the mutual killing, adamant that no one would ever do anything like that. Her words helped strengthen everyone's resolve, and she began to become close to everyone thereafter. Her kind nature made her an easy to get along with person, and, before long, most trusted her.

When Daichi died, she was astonished. Umeko had never expected anyone to actually kill, and the sight brought her to tears. Her hate for conflict didn't help when the trial came and went, the astronomer wishing they could just let Neil live and forgive his mistake.

Seeing everyone so depressed over the whole ordeal, including herself, she backed Nobu's idea of a party whole-heartedly, knowing it was just what everyone needed to lift their spirits. She made flower wreaths for everyone in the art room, hoping to make the event even more memorable by doing so.

When the next murder happened, she was even more saddened than before, including when Tsubaki told them of her reason behind the killings. She also wished there was some way to save the nun, but there was not, and she tried to hide her tears as she was executed.

The next days were hard for her. She tried to stay confident and happy, in hopes of uplifting her fellow captives' moods, as well. However, it proved hard. Barry tried to comfort her, the archaeologist smiling and helping her through the day by exploring the third floor with her a bit. She later visited the garden with Hana and Katsuro, opening up to them and seeming to hint towards something in her past involving the professor who showed her the night sky all those years ago. What could it be?

When Hana was killed, she was mortified. She had grown closer to her just earlier, and had began to see the beauty she was hiding inside. She openly cried, but tried to help, comforting Anastasia and the others as best she could. Charline's guilt and outbursts shocked her, but she tried to stay strong as she watched yet another friend be killed, secretly hoping there was some way she could help uplifts everyone after the trial.

Umeko was very worried for Yoshi after he acted depressed, and wanted to try and find a way to comfort him. She and Barry made breakfast for everyone together that morning, but she felt sad that it didn't seem to go anyone's way. When Ichiro attacked Katsuro, she was very upset and intimidated, and wished they could all just be civil with one another. She helped support Katsuro, and kept a close eye on her for the rest of the day, just to make sure she was okay.

She seemed very upset at seeing her secret written down, and folded the paper up to try and hide it. Her secret is unknown at this time.

Hana Inoue
Umeko grew close to Hana when they visited the garden together with Katsuro. She had always trusted the idol, but truly found her to be nice and internally beautiful after their bonding during this. She even hinted at a few secrets in her and Katsuro's presence, and was very upset when the idol was killed. She openly cried after the event, more upset than she let on.

Barry Kingsley
Umeko and Barry have become two peas in a pod while staying in the school together. Barry is just as positive as she is, and their joint efforts have helped keep other's happy and cheerful, even with the despair they have all been through. They seem to enjoy being the motherly and fatherly figures of the group together, and both really enjoy each other's presence.

Katsuro Yukimura
Katsuro, like Hana, was someone Umeko didn't start getting close to until after Tsubaki's trial. She confided in her after visiting the greenhouse with her and Hana, and knew to trust her from the very beginning. Katsuro had always seen Umeko as a trustworthy person, and still does, but now sees just how human and caring she is. She appreciates her efforts to help the others, and wishes to protect her, along with everyone else.