Natsume

"Am I useful? I feel like I'm just in the way of things..."

- Natsume

Natsume (なつめ, Natsume) is a young and naïve Twin Blade that joins Kite's party when he gives her the Spiral Edge she was searching for. Normally a shy and socially awkward girl, she started playing The World because she wanted to change.

Appearance
Natsume is a Twin Blade with green hair and a blue one-piece outfit. Her dress is adorned with triangular patterns; blue symbols (the same one that appear on Kite's hat) appear on her gloves and in the form of tattoos on her legs. According to the official .hack JP website, her chosen waves are Fire and Wood. She uses a character Model similar to that of A-20.

Personality
Although she is naive, she does make up for it with energy and a positive outlook. This is a great contrast to her rather pessimistic e-mails. Her e-mails show that she doesn't think much of her abilities; but regardless of what she thinks, she gives it her all when battling in The World. She is actually more skilled than she gives herself credit for; in her quest to become stronger, she followed a hoax and successfully traversed to the bottom of a high-level dungeon solo before she had to be rescued by Kite.

Basic Info
Natsume is a girl in the 9th grade, in her last year of middle school. She lacks self-confidence and dislikes athletic activities. She sometimes gets sick the day before she has to run track. She also works as a librarian and is a decent cook, especially when it comes to beef dishes. Her mother's name is Yayoi. She knows Kite's player in real life and invites him over for some beef stew in an email in Mutation.

Hobbies
Natsume is a fan of science fiction novels and popular book titles such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

.hack//Games
Natsume does not play a significant role in the Games. She has only two sidequests, one of which is her recruitment dungeon at Δ Raging Passionate Melody. After spending some time in Kite's party, Natsume follows a false rumor on the BBS and must be saved from the bottom of a high-level dungeon at Λ Bottomless Hopeless Footstep, believing that defeating the monster "Level 10 Vine" would be a quick way to level up. Aside from those two missions and her e-mails, Natsume does not seem to play any additional role. Natsume makes it quite clear that despite her best efforts to improve herself, she still relies on Kite for moral support. Like most of Kite's party she helped fight against Corbenik and was temporarily placed into a very short coma as a result of his Drain Heart attack.

.hack//Another Birth
Natsume appears in Another Birth after she is introduced to BlackRose by Kite. The three plan on investigating a field where Aura was spotted, but Elk interrupts and forces Kite to help him find Mia. Natsume and BlackRose wind up traveling to Θ Sinking Someone's Scaffold together. Natsume tells BlackRose about getting the Spiral Edge from Kite, and BlackRose realizes that Kite is actually a nice guy. Natsume later accompanies BlackRose and Sanjuro to Δ Hideous Someone's Giant where they fight against the powerful Parasite Dragon.

In the second volume, Natsume makes a minor appearance during her Level 10 Vine mission. She is rescued by Kite and BlackRose, both of whom she sent e-mails to about her plan to beat the Level 10 Vine. Embarrassed that she fell for a hoax, Natsume apologizes to both of them and gates out, promising to grow stronger in earnest.

Like in the Games, Natsume joins the other members of Kite's friend list in the final battle.

.hack//XXXX
Natsume meets BlackRose by chance in Mac Anu which causes BlackRose to introduce her to Kite later. Instantly taken with Kite, Natsume travels with the pair to adventure in a field. However she is separated from Kite after Lios uses his administrative powers to teleport both BlackRose and Natsume to a different field, allowing him to talk with Kite alone.

Natsume later rejoins BlackRose prior to Tarvos's assault on Mac Anu, complaining that the increase in Data Bugs has made it dangerous and difficult to level up. Natsume witnesses Aura's appearance there, and her subsequent defeating of Tarvos and restoration of the town. Natsume stays by Aura's side marveling at her power, not noticing that BlackRose has left to rescue Kite from Cubia. Natsume reunites with Kite in Net Slum after his bracelet is destroyed, but it is short-lived as she is the first one of the group to be Data Drained by Morganna; however, she, along with everyone else, is brought back when Kite uses Aura's power to defeat Morganna once and for all.

.hack//G.U. Games

 * ''For information about Natsume (G.U.), please see its respective article.

Trivia

 * Both Natsume's Japanese voice actress (Maaya Sakamoto) and English voice actress (Lia Sargent) also play the role of Aura
 * Natsume is the only female Twin Blade available in the first set of .hack//Games.
 * It is speculated that she has met Kite offline some time between Mutation and Outbreak. She says quite casually that she would invite Kite over to try her cooking if her beef stew comes out right; this implies that Kite already knows where she lives, or possibly that they even go to the same school.
 * According to .hack//Archives_03 LIGHT EDITION her character model stands at 160 CM, 5'2", the same as Rachel and Kite.
 * In the last mail she sends to Kite she very clearly states that she is in love with him.
 * It has been theorized, though disproven, that a line in Natsume's dialogue ("Oh, are you sure? But I can't give you anything in return. Well... except maybe myself.") is responsible for the "Mature Sexual Themes" in the ESRB rating.
 * Her starting weapon is Spiral Edge, a rare level 2 weapon that Kite gives her.
 * Her original weapon was the Kai, a level 1 Twin Blade which looks like a golden version of the Steel Blades.
 * Her starting level is 1 when she first joins the party.
 * Natsume's only BG Image for the ALTIMIT OS Desktop is Image 40: Yoshiyuki Sadamoto - Natsume Color
 * Natsume co-starred with Piros as the hosts of CyberConnect2's Q&A section on the JP .hack website.
 * Natsume has a minor, non-speaking cameo in a single 4koma strip, "Mr. Taboo."
 * At some point of the game, she accidentally sends a mail to Kite, wich was directed to BlackRose, saying that he prefers BlackRose over her.