Momiji Hozuki

Momiji Hozuki ( もみじ, Hozuki Momiji) is a middle-school student at Yotsuba University Affiliated Junior High School, the younger sister of Kaede Hozuki, and the best friend of Mahiro Oyama. She is also very good friends with Asahi Ōka, Miyo Murosaki, and Nayuta Tenkawa, having known the former since elementary school. She is voiced by Minami Tsuda in the anime.

Appearance
Momiji is a short and athletic girl with brown hair and brown eyes, in the anime her hair contains light turquoise streaks. She typically keeps her hair tied up in a low-hanging topknot which makes her look like a samurai. When the weather gets colder, she lets her hair hang freely to keep herself warmer. She rarely dresses in a feminine style, preferring shorts and tee-shirts when not wearing her school uniform. She is also notably flat-chested as pointed about by herself and many other characters, and is subsequently able to go without a bra in most casual circumstances.

Personality
Momiji is a kind person who is also a severe tomboy.

Momiji is extremely athletic and competitive, and frequently participates in races against Asahi who shares her attitude. Both girls as a result also suck at tests, though Momiji doesn't let it get to her nearly as much as Asahi does.

She does not enjoy dressing in typical feminine garb such as skirts and dresses and only does so when she wears her middle school uniform or someone goes shopping with her for such an outfit. When dressing casually, Momiji tends to wear tee-shirts and shorts, and in her first appearance even wore a baseball cap. Since she hasn't developed as a woman yet, these outfits can make her come across as a boy, which led to both Mahiro and Asahi believing so when they first met her. Due to how different she looks in girl's clothing, a running gag leads to others not recognizing her at first when she puts on a new outfit.

Momiji prefers dashing outfits as opposed to cute ones, which is why she tends to dress in more masculine attire. When she wears something that she considers dashing, she undergoes a slight awakening and begins speaking in a lower voice while making hand signs. Such dashing things include a gothic lolita dress, a men's kimono, and an eyepatch.

Momiji is very self conscious about her flat chest, especially when compared to Mahiro, Miyo, and Kaede who have all started to develop. She does however find solace with Asahi, and later Nayuta, who also haven't sufficiently developed yet. Despite this, she loves all her friends and continues to hang out with them nonetheless. Some of her friends, like Mahiro, envy her for not needing to wear a bra all the time.

Due to an incident during a trip to a hot spring, Momiji began to (correctly) suspect that Mahiro was a guy. Her fears were eventually assuaged though when she looked at Mahiro's crotch (which went back to being smooth thanks to a new dosage of the feminization drug) and saw her acting extremely feminine.

Momiji is terrified of ghosts and ghost stories. Both things have led to a running gag of her wetting herself when overtly scared.

Early Life
During grade school, Momiji was in the same class as Asahi Ōka, Nemu Fujimi, Nodoka Fushimi, Akira Nakai, Aoi Tachikawa, Yuta Sakurada, and Minato Senkawa. On her first day, Asahi, who was eager to make new friends introduced herself to Momiji. Momiji was happy to meet her and introduced herself back. Asahi became immediately enamored by Momiji's topknot, thinking she was a samurai (and also a boy based on how she was dressed) gave her the nickname Momijiro. Momiji pointed out her real name, and Asahi appeared to get it, but accidently thought it was "Jiro", which caused Momiji to angrily correct her again.

Walking home with Momiji, Asahi called her topknot cool and wished that she had one. Seeing Asahi as a bit weird but also funny, Momiji decided to give Asahi two topknots by putting her hair into side pigtails. Asahi immediately fell in love with it, and the two became the best of friends.

From that point on, the two hung out together all the time. They looked at frogs on plants after rainstorms, they played in puddles, and at one point they played a game of soccer with Yuta and Minato (where Yuta was the goalie). In the latter, Asahi scored the winning goal, and the two slapped their hands together in triumph. Seeing how muddy they both were, Asahi said that her mother was going to kill her. Momiji then offered her a chance to take a bath a her apartment since it was nearby, and Asahi thought that it was a great idea.

Once the two got there, Momiji asked if it was okay if they bathed togther. Asahi was surprised by the suggestion, and Momiji noticed this saying that they didn't have to. Asahi was unfazed though, saying that she bathed with her older brother all the time. When Momiji undressed, Asahi became shocked at seeing Momiji's smooth front. When they were in the bath, Asahi asked Momiji if "her's" was going to grow in later, but Momiji had no idea what she was talking about.

Eventually, the two were able to get into Yotsuba University Affliliated Junior High School together. At some point after starting, they met Miyo Murosaki and the three became a tight knit group of friends.

Etymology

 * The name Momiji means "leaves changing color" or "maple" (もみじ)
 * The name Hozuki means "ears" (穂) (ho) and "moon" (zuki) (月).

Trivia

 * In the original Japanese version, Momiji refers to herself as わたし (watashi), a common feminine (also gender-neutral) first-person pronoun.

Manga

 * Mahiro the Own-Home Security Guard
 * Mahiro Falls in Love
 * Mahiro's Wholesome Playdate
 * Mahiro Attends a Party
 * Mahiro's Panic! At the Hot Spring (Part 1)
 * Mahiro's Panic! At the Hot Spring (Part 2)
 * Mahiro's Perm
 * Mahiro and the Middle Schoolers
 * Mahiro's First Day
 * Miyo's Refusal
 * Momiji's Nickname
 * Kaede's Concern
 * Mahiro's Difficult Class
 * Mahiro's Exciting Weekend
 * Mahiro and Conversation
 * Mahiro's Lunch
 * Mihari's Lunch
 * Mahiro's Final Exams
 * Mahiro's Touch
 * Asahi's Innocence
 * Mahiro the Patissier
 * Mahiro's Sleepover (Part 1)
 * Mahiro's Sleepover (Part 2)
 * Mahiro's Double Date
 * Mahiro Rings in the New Year
 * Mahiro and the Spicy Kiss
 * Asahi and Momiji
 * Mahiro and the Allure of Bare Legs
 * Mahiro and the Unexpected Guests
 * Mahiro and the Mystery Brew
 * Mahiro on Valentine's Day
 * Mahiro and the Homemade Chocolate
 * Mahiro and the Adult's Only Section
 * Asahi's Crepe
 * Mahiro and the Guidance of the Stars
 * Mahiro's Surprise Party
 * Mahiro's Final Present
 * Mahiro Pretties Up
 * Mahiro's Relaxing Day Off
 * Momiji's Massage
 * Mahiro's Big Secret (Part 1)
 * Mahiro's Big Secret (Part 2)
 * Mahiro's Bare Feet
 * Mahiro and the School Physical
 * Mahiro and the Gifted Experience
 * Mahiro and the Perfume
 * Mahiro and the Barbecue Secret
 * Mahiro and the Seasonal Attire
 * Mahiro and the Sticker Collection
 * Mahiro and Visitation Day
 * Mahiro and Swim Class (Part 1)
 * Mahiro and Swim Class (Part 2)
 * Nayuta's Recent Past
 * Mahiro's Colorful Life
 * Mahiro and the Rainy Season
 * Mahiro and the Little Garden
 * Mahiro, the Sun, and the Northern Wind
 * Girls and Boys
 * Mahiro and the After-School Fright
 * Mahiro's Cool Head
 * Mahiro and the Midsummer Romance
 * Mahiro and the Strategy Meeting
 * Kaede and the Junior High Girls
 * Mahiro's Beach Fun (Part 1)
 * Mahiro's Beach Fun (Part 2)
 * Mahiro and the Squishy Thingie
 * Mahiro's Summer Homework
 * Doujinshi Volume 20 Commemorative Manga
 * Mahiro's Anime Time
 * Mahiro and the Summer Festival
 * Mahiro's Second Semester Debut
 * Mahiro Shelters From the Storm
 * Momiji's Panty Problem
 * Mahiro and the Charming School Festival (Part 1)
 * Mahiro and the Charming School Festival (Part 2)
 * Mahiro's Masculine Ego
 * 2020 Summer Special Brochure
 * Mahiro and the Fan World
 * Mahiro's Field Day
 * Mahiro's Cheer Wear
 * Mahiro's Autumn Outing
 * Mahiro's Cosplay Round-Table
 * Miyo and the Enchanted Night
 * Perfect Onee-chan