Sae

Sae is manipulative and conscious of her social position. She can present herself as friendly toward Hiromi while participating in cruelty toward her when she is not present.

Her behavior relies partly on the imbalance surrounding her family. With influential parents behind her, Sae occupies a much safer position within the school's social hierarchy than the classmate she targets.

The contradiction between apparent affection and covert bullying makes her particularly damaging to Hiromi, who already has difficulty trusting the people around her.

Sae is an ordinary student with no established martial-arts training or specialist survival skills.

Before the outbreak, her principal advantage is social rather than physical: her parents' influence gives her substantial protection at school, while her position among the students allows her to shape how Hiromi is treated.

Those advantages rapidly lose their importance once the ZQN outbreak reaches the school trip.

Sae belongs to Hiromi's life immediately before Hiromi meets Hideo Suzuki. The bullying surrounding the school trip helps explain why Hiromi is separated from her classmates and wandering through Aokigahara.

The outbreak then destroys the ordinary social order governing the students. Sae and other members of the school group become caught in the infection, and the hostility that previously existed among the classmates persists in grotesquely distorted forms among the ZQN.

This experience contributes to Hiromi's growing suspicion that infected people retain fragments of memory, emotion and relationships from their human lives.

Hiromi Hayakari is Sae's classmate and bullying target. Sae behaves as though she likes Hiromi Hayakari while secretly playing a central role in her mistreatment.

Hideo Suzuki meets Hiromi Hayakari after the school bullying leaves her separated from classmates such as Sae.