Noriko Paku

Noriko Paku (朴 朔子) is a student of the True Cross Academy, as well as a former member of the True Cross Exorcist Cram School.

Appearance
Paku has short chin length brown hair and dark purplish eyes. She wears the standard school uniform during her classes. Paku's eyes are  small.

Personality
Paku is portrayed as fairly soft-spoken, considerate, and possesses a benevolent nature. Even as a child, she has shown prominent signs of her kindness by befriending Izumo despite what others might think of her. She does not seem to be at all confident in her capabilities as an Exorcist, which is why she admires Izumo for being such a skilled and talented student. Paku has a strong sense of justice when it comes to friendship and was disappointed when Izumo was making a fool out of Shiemi, as she only wanted to be their friend.

History
Paku appears to have met Izumo in elementary school. She saw Izumo carrying a stack of boxes and offered to help since they were on the same school committee. Despite Izumo's warning that offering assistance would only cause others to make fun of Paku, she shares Izumo's load and claims that she doesn't care what others think. Izumo even tries to warn Paku that she has a rotten personality, but Paku says that that doesn't matter either. This seems to have spawned a friendship between the two and they continue to be friends to this day.

Exorcist Cram School Enrollment arc
She is never seen demonstrating any Exorcist abilities and is always hanging out with Izumo. When Izumo made Shiemi her slave, Paku was actually concerned about this and told Shiemi that she has the option to refuse what Izumo tells her to do. To her surprise, Shiemi happily states that she wants to do these things because she likes helping her friends. When both Paku and Izumo went to take a bath, Paku confronts Izumo about how she's been badly treating Shiemi like a slave and tells her she's not a true friend. She also announces her resignation from the cram school classes because she cannot keep up with the classes any longer and she does not think she has the will to fight for her life if she were in danger.

They are afterwards attacked by a Ghoul, which severely burns Paku's arm. Izumo tries to defend her by summoning her familiars, but was unable to do so due to her conflicting feelings. Rin and Shiemi arrive just in time for Shiemi to treat Paku's Masho with an Aloe plant produced by Shiemi's Greenman. After all the events that had occurred, Paku genuinely thanks Shiemi for tending to her wounds. The next day, Rin, Izumo, and Yukio visit her to see how she's been doing, with Yukio telling her that she has to stay in bed for about two to three more days so that her fever will go down. When Izumo and Paku are left alone, Izumo apologizes to Paku for not being a better person and blames herself for Paku's leaving the school. Paku reassures her that she's quitting the cram school on her own volition and it does not change the fact that the two of them are friends. She also tells her that she should not change because she likes Izumo the way she already is.

Despite quitting the cram school, she continues to attend True Cross Academy with Izumo. She still remains firm friends with Izumo as the two have made up.

Academy Seven Wonders arc
Paku is seen with Izumo when Renzo asks if they want to eat with their friends.

Blue Night Investigation arc
Paku visits Yukio in the hospital with the others while he is recovering from his fight with Hachiro.

Powers & Abilities
Spectral Awareness: Having performed the Mashō Rite, Noriko has the ability to see Demons.

Trivia

 * Paku speaks very softly and moves at her own pace.
 * Sometimes when she's alone with Izumo, she'll do a strange dance.
 * Her pastimes and talents are reading classic novels, and looking for cafes and shops with nice atmospheres.
 * Her average bath time is 40 minutes.
 * Her favorite word is 'macaroni' just because she likes the way it sounds.
 * Her favorite genres of music are American/European and Jazz, as well as old Japanese popular music.
 * She spends her days off going back to bed and reading novels in her favorite cafes.
 * When asked what type of guy she prefers, Paku answered that she likes funny guys.
 * What she buys most often at the convenience store is yogurt and tea.
 * When she's unable to sleep at night, she likes looking up amateur performances on video websites.
 * Her favorite types of manga are comedy and love stories.
 * She is currently in class 1-B with Shiemi.