Kaede Akiyama

5☆ A Midsummer Night's Dream (Unbloomed)

Early Years
Kaede was born in the US to her mother, Catherine. Not long after her birth, Catherine split from Kaede's birth father. After about two years, her mother married a man named Fumio Akiyama. Though the split was amicable, Kaede does not keep in close contact with her birth father.Kaede and her parents relocated to Japan when she was about four years old. Her dad picked out her Japanese name, which she currently goes by. She generally finds it easier, and likes her name a lot, as she views it as a gift from her dad and something that connects them.She grew up across the street from Wataru and his adoptive parents. Kaede took a quick liking to Wataru and favored spending time with him over other children they knew.Kaede eventually followed him to Yumenosaki, where she enrolled in the Theater Course to chase her dream of being a director.War Era
During the War Era, Kaede spent much of her time defending Wataru (and by extension, the other Eccentrics) from the student body's negative comments, with little success. She felt a lot of guilt over not being able to protect Wataru, but continued her efforts in changing the school's opinion of The Five Eccentrics.Prior to Wataru's "execution," they had a significant argument over whether he should go through with Eichi's plan. In the end, he managed to convince her and she helped Wataru with his final performance against fine.She contributed to the Theater Club on occasion, mostly through set design.Enstars! Era
Coming soon...Enstars!! Era
Kaede is currently in university, where she is enrolled in a theatre program. She also works with StarPro on music videos or Lives when asked. Typically, fine are the ones to recruit her for their performances, though her connections to Eichi and the other Yumenosaki students have given her the opportunity to work with several other units. She'd like to work with Valkyrie someday, though she is a bit nervous to ask Shu about working with them.

Wataru Hibiki

Kaede is Wataru's girlfriend. They grew up in the same neighborhood, living across the street from one another. Kaede was shy as a child, so she tended to cling to Wataru for comfort. She quickly dubbed Wataru her "best friend forever," and he returned the sentiment, much to her pleasure. On Wataru's 9th birthday, Kaede gifted him a promise ring that she found at a local antique shop (purchased with the help of her mother.) Loudly declaring that she would one day marry him, Kaede showed off her own ring. Wataru currently keeps his ring in his room, displayed in a box much nicer than the ring itself. Once the original rings were well past outgrown, the two went to a jeweler and picked out a set of matching promise rings. Wataru loves to wear his ring around ES, though for idol activities he keeps it on a chain beneath his unit outfit.Having known her since they were kids, he is very good at reading her moods. Kaede loves to tease Wataru, though he doesn't often get flustered.Kaede gave Wataru the nickname "Taru" (たる) when they were younger. The name is both a shortened version of "Wataru" and also a reference to the phrase "足る" which means "to be enough." This is her way of reminding Wataru that he is enough, just as he is.

Anzu

Anzu and Kaede are friends. They met in Kaede's third year at Yumenosaki, when Anzu transferred into the Producer Course. As one of the top students in the Theater Course, Kaede would occasionally help design or construct sets for Lives.

Family