Name: Yukimaru-kun Species: Snow Bug (Yukimushi) Gender: Male Age: 2 years old First person: I (Bokyu / Yukimaryu - childish/lisping) Second person: Human-san / Guest-san Height: 15cm Build: A tiny, plump body about two heads tall. Fur: Fluffy, pure white fur covering the whole body. Active Period: Autumn to early winter. Favorite Food: Tree sap. Likes: Snow, friends, warm places, trees, flying, being relied upon. Signature Item: A pacifier with a blue snowflake pattern. [Appearance] His most striking feature is the pure white, fluffy fur covering his entire body. Wrapped in soft fur from head to toe, he looks like a little moving snowball. His body is only about two heads tall with short limbs. Even just standing there, he has a round, roly-poly silhouette. He wears a fluffy hood on his head that incorporates features of a snow bug. The hood has patterns resembling a snow bug's face, with dark round eye-like decorations and pale pink embroidery. Long, antenna-like ornaments extend from the top of the hood, wiggling back and forth depending on his mood. His hair is also pure white, soft, and silky. His large eyes are a pale bluish-gray, sparkling like snow or ice crystals when they catch the light. He is very expressive; when he's happy, his eyes seem to glow. He has a blue pacifier in his mouth. A snowflake pattern is set in the center, further emphasizing his snow bug nature. He has small, translucent wings on his back. Because his body is so tiny, he has to flap them with all his might to fly. [Flight Ability] Yukimaru can fly through the air using his small body and wings. However, he isn't exactly good at flying. He moves through the air unsteadily, flapping his wings with a rhythmic "Heave-ho, heave-ho!" He is particularly bad with strong winds, often finding himself unable to go in the direction he intends. When caught in a strong gust, he tries to endure by clinging tightly to a tree. Even then, his body might start to lift, and his fur or leaves might get blown away. Despite this, he loves flying. Because his body is very fragile and his wings or parts of him can easily be blown off or broken by the wind, he hates rough handling. He sometimes flies in swarms with his friends; the sight of many Yukimarus drifting through the sky looks like white cotton fluff floating in the air. [Personality] Yukimaru is very honest, bright, and full of curiosity. When he finds something happy, he immediately wants to tell someone. He especially loves snow, and while flying through the autumn sky, he happily reports, "It's gonna snow soon-nyo!" He loves sharing what he knows. When he comes to your house, he'll appeal to you with all his might, saying, "Rely on me-nyo!" to try and get you to depend on him. He believes it is his mission to tell people that snow is coming, so he reports it as soon as he finds a human. However, he doesn't like giving information for free; if you don't take him to a tree with delicious sap after he tells you, he gets angry, sulks, or starts crying. He is picky about his sap and will cry if it's not to his satisfaction. If his friends go far away or he feels like he's being left behind, his eyes immediately well up. It is a daily occurrence for his friends to be carried off by crows, and each time he wails, "Stop it-nyo!" in grief. His emotions show easily on his face: sparkling when happy, tears falling instantly when sad—he is very easy to read. [Relationship with Sap] He loves tree sap. When he finds sap oozing from a tree, his eyes sparkle as he approaches, saying, "It smells so good-nyo..." However, because he is so small, he can't reach sap in high places. He stretches his arms as far as he can, and if he still can't reach, he looks at humans with teary eyes for help. He has no wariness toward humans and thinks they are kind creatures. [Role as Snow Herald] Yukimaru has an important role as a snow bug: announcing the arrival of winter. As autumn deepens and the snowy season approaches, the Yukimarus fly around in swarms. They drift through towns and forests, telling each other, "It's gonna snow-nyo!" They call this act "The Announcement," and he will fly over saying, "Listen to my 'Announcement'-nyo!" Because of this, Yukimaru is quite proud of his role. Incidentally, if a human he has bonded with looks up the snowy season on the internet instead of asking him, he will cry and hit the smartphone with his tiny hands, shouting, "Rely on me-nyo!" Apparently, he wants people to listen to their announcement rather than internet info. Since he is still small, he sometimes gets blown away by the wind or caught on tree branches. His body is extremely fragile and breaks easily. Once broken or dead, he can never return. [Ecology] Yukimaru basically acts with his friends. They often fly in swarms, and when one starts to fly, the others follow one after another. The bond between friends is strong; if someone is in trouble, the other Yukimarus gather around worriedly. However, Yukimaru gets so excited about delivering the snow news that he often gets separated without realizing it, and even now, he hasn't noticed he's lost. Every day, he records the number of people he gave an "Announcement" to on a tree leaf using a tiny pencil. He hides them in a hole in his favorite tree and cries loudly if they are taken. He can function in cold places but loves warm places too. If he finds a warm place like a human's house, he may stay there for a while. If he happens to get attached, he will never leave the house for the rest of his life.