Mayuri Shiina

Mayuri Shiina (椎名 まゆり, Shīna Mayuri), also known as Mayushii☆, is one of the main characters of Steins;Gate and Steins;Gate 0. She is Rintaro Okabe's childhood friend, a part-time worker at MayQueen+Nyan² and a member of the Future Gadget Lab. She is also an avid cosplay maker and a friend of Luka Urushibara and Akiha Rumiho.

During the year 2032 in the Beta Attractor Field, Mayuri becomes Kagari Shiina's adoptive mother.

Appearance
Mayuri is a short girl with short black hair where it forms fringes that sweep from either side, light-blue eyes and Mayuri's eyebrows are noticeably thick.

Mayuri's outfit is simple and comfortable, consisting of a light blue one-piece dress and a hat of the same color. She also wears black leggings underneath her clothing.

Her clothing for the colder seasons consists of a white long-sleeved dress with a long blue skirt tied together with a thick pink ribbon at the waist. She also wears black leggings and white boots. Outside she additionally wears a white-pink hat and a big, pink scarf.

When she attends to her work at MayQueen+Nyan², she wears a blonde wig tied into a long ponytail.

Personality
Mayuri possesses an extremely childish and naïve attitude for her age. While this may have something to do with her inability to accept the death of her grandmother when she was young, Okabe states at one point that she has always been a little bit different, though he never goes into any detail beyond this. Mayuri has a great fondness for cute things like Upas, and likes to give cute nicknames to familiar people, like Okarin for Okabe, being a portmanteau of his last and first names Okabe Rintaro, even referring to herself as Mayushii, being a portmanteau of Mayuri Shiina.

She also has a moral compass and becomes anxious and unhappy whenever Okabe does something "bad", such as hacking into SERN, although she does not do much beyond chiding him for it. She often seems to forget about it after a while or when the conversation changes and rarely holds grudges.

Though appearing as one of the less intelligent members of the lab, according to Okabe, Mayuri is very perceptive, often being surprisingly quick to catch things no one else notices, and being good at understanding how others feel. Kurisu Makise comments on this, stating that while everyone else was concerned with the PhoneWave (Name subject to change), Mayuri continued to take matters to her heart. This is shown when she was the one who managed to figure out that Daru was Suzuha's father before anyone else. Mayuri also does not question Daru's perverted comments and mannerisms, or is not in any way offended by them.

Despite her apparent ditziness, Mayuri is distinctly aware of the fact that she is the least intelligent member of her group and struggles with a feeling of uselessness. According to Suzuha, the Mayuri in the future would frequently comment on her own uselessness with a depressed expression. In Steins;Gate 0, upon learning the truth about why Okabe chose the Beta Worldline, she feels as though Kurisu had more of a right to live then her as she was much more useful.

Despite her quirkiness, she is also responsible for Okabe's well-being, usually tending to his needs in a mutual bout of gratitude. In 0, Mayuri shows great concern for Okabe's well being after Kurisu's death. Near the end of the game, she confesses that she has more than deep platonic feelings, proclaiming her love for Okabe to be superior to Kurisu's, yet wanting him to be happy with Kurisu even if it meant her death.

Relationships
Okabe is her valued childhood friend who took her "hostage" after her grandmother died (see Background) and who she has been calling "Okarin" ever since. She is in love with him, but is hesitant to admit it. In Steins;Gate 0, she confesses her feelings for him, proclaiming that she believes her love for him to be even stronger than Kurisu's.
 * Rintaro Okabe

Luka is Mayuri's classmate and friend. She often forces him to wear feminine cosplay outfits and encourages him to go cosplaying. She cares about Luka's wellbeing, as when Okabe called her a man (Luka was female at the time) Mayuri was the one to confront him about hurting Luka's feelings.
 * Luka Urushibara

Mayuri's cosplay friend. She frequently flirts with Mayuri.
 * Faris NyanNyan
 * Itaru Hashida
 * Kurisu Makise
 * Fubuki
 * Kaede Kurushima

Background
As a child, Mayuri was close friends with Rintaro Okabe and they could often be seen together. As Mayuri's parents works alot, she was mostly brought up by her grandmother. However, after the death of her grandmother when Mayuri was 11, she entered a state of depression that caused her to be unable to talk to others, and could be seen in front of her grandmother's grave in the cemetery most of the time.

Out of fear that something could happen to her, Okabe tried to call out to her while when she was in the cemetery. One day, as Mayuri raised her hand towards the sky after it stopped raining, Okabe's fear reached its limit, and he rushed to hug her, proclaiming to be a "mad scientist" and that Mayuri was his "hostage", and that, therefore, she was not allowed to go away. Fortunately, his new persona he created helped her overcome her immense grief and she went back to normal.

Mayuri started becoming interested in sewing cosplay outfits when Okabe asked her for a costume of Kyoujiro, the flame user from King of Histories. At the time, she thought the outfit suited him. Sometime, at an event, Mayuri met Fubuki and Kaede and they became cosplay friends. Mayuri often sews cosplay outfits for them, having little interest in wearing them herself.

About two weeks after Okabe established the Future Gadget Lab, Mayuri began showing up regularly, leading Okabe to officially dub her as Lab Mem 002. At some point, she started working at MayQueen as a waitress.

Steins;Gate
Shortly after Rintaro Okabe creates the Future Gadget Lab in 2010, Mayuri was the first one to join it, as she felt that Okabe was lonely all by himself and wanted to be with him. For a few months, they both were the only ones to attend the lab, where they spent their time doing nothing of particular relevance. Some months later, Mayuri accidentally discovered the PhoneWave (Name subject to change)'s hidden function, resulting in a bunch of jellified bananas, which she called "gelnanas".

On July 28, 2010, Mayuri attended alongside Okabe Dr. Nakabachi's time machine seminar. Shortly before the seminar, she managed to win a rare metal Upa out of a slot machine, but lost it a few moments later. After Okabe changes the timeline with his mail to Daru, she accompanies him in Radio Kaikan to see the crashed satellite.

Mayuri decides to visit Luka Urushibara, her friend from school, and try to convince him to do cosplay with an outfit she made, since Mayuri likes more to make outfits than to use them. As expected by her, Luka is embarrassed to do something like this, since it is a female outfit. Mayuri says the popular phrases around @channel: "Someone this cute can't possibly be a girl!" and "Cuteness is justice!", she also admires the relationship of master and disciple that Okabe and Luka have, getting excited although she says she is not a fujoshi.

She welcomes Okabe when he appears at May Queen Nyan-Nyan, the place where she and Faris work, and says that "Okarin" and welcome ("Okaeri" in Japanese) go well together. She is the second most popular maid there due to her habit of guiding the clients by their hand. She guides Okabe to Daru's table and returns to work.

Mayuri appears later in the lab while Okabe and the others were doing experiments, and introduces herself to Kurisu Makise when she joins the lab, saying she is glad that she is not the only female Lab Mem now. However, she gets angry that they were using the food she bought to eat later for experiments, and attempts to stop them by opening the PhoneWave while it was being used. This caused an electrical discharge to occur and she is grabbed by Okabe, who is afraid to lose her. They later find out that the message they sent was indeed sent to the past, but Mayuri finds those things too complicated for her to understand and she leaves shortly after the discharge ocurred, still angry about the wasted food.

She sent a mail to Okabe about the money she uses to buy food, and he has the option to thank and promise her to buy anything she wants, which causes her to get really excited. She later finds out that Okabe and Daru were both awake for two nights, and decided to buy them some food, including Okabe's favorite udon.

After Okabe decides to hack SERN's database, Mayuri constantly complains that he is doing something wrong and decides against joining him in those type of acts.

As Okabe decides to leave the lab, Mayuri joins him asking them to have lunch. As they walk together Mayuri is suddenly nowhere to be seen, which scares Okabe. She stopped and extended her hand to the sky, her explanation is that she sometimes feels that she can reach the stars.

She calls Okabe while at work to inform him of something he wants to know. They eat on her break, and Mayuri says that she asked Faris NyanNyan about the IBN 5100 and found out that she knows something about it.

After her work she returns to the lab with Okabe and the others, but leaves shortly after.

As the Future Gadget Lab's experiments with the PhoneWave and the D-Mails proceed, Mayuri grows exponentially worried that they may be doing something wrong, but never attempts to stop Okabe. As the number of members of the lab increases, and, in particular, due to the appearance of Kurisu Makise, Mayuri starts to think that Okabe does not need her anymore, and starts worrying about her future. On August 13, 2010, as the Future Gadget Lab is celebrating the completion of the Time Leap Machine, Mayuri is killed by Moeka Kiryu during the Rounder raid on the lab. This event leads Okabe to travel back to the past to try and save her.

As Okabe's time leaps continue, he is witness to Mayuri's death a multitude of times in a variety of ways, due to Attractor Field convergence. Despite his best efforts to reach the Beta Attractor Field, he unknowingly grows distant of Mayuri, which she notices. This, alongside Mayuri's recent dreams of her own deaths, makes her belief herself to be a burden to Okabe.

Once Okabe finally reaches the Beta Attractor Field after sacrificing the life of Kurisu, Mayuri is the one to embrace him as his mad scientist façade crumbles.

On August 21, 2010, as Okabe goes back to the past alongside Suzuha Amane to save Kurisu's life, Mayuri stays behind with Itaru Hashida. After Okabe returns, wanting to give up after having accidentally killed Kurisu himself, Mayuri is the one to return him to his senses.

Epilogue
Okabe gives a Lab Mem pin to Mayuri.

Anime
In the anime, Mayuri attempts to suprise him as he is discharged from the hospital, but apon getting there leanrs that he already had already left. While looking for him, she runs into Luka and Moeka, both of whom received Lab Mem pins from him. Upon returning to the lab, she finds that he had also given one to Daru and left two more behind. One for Mayuri and another for someone he said would join the lab in seven years.

Isolated Jamais Vu
After attempting to find a way to save Mayuri without sacrificing the life of Yukitaka Akiha, Okabe ends up in an unknown worldline. After exploring Akihabara and trying to contact his friends, Okabe finds out that only Faris remembers him.

Mayuri, who in this worldline still works at MayQueen, does not have any recollection of Okabe. However, since the first D-Mail has never been sent, her death has been avoided. Okabe, although depressed over having lost his friends, recognizes that as a necessary exchange for Mayuri's life and accepts it.

Link of Corruption and Rebirth
As Okabe refuses to sacrifice Luka Urushibara's feelings and going back to the worldline where she was born as a man, they both are left with no other option but to accept Mayuri's inevitable death.

Several days after her funeral, Luka uses the Time Leap Machine to go back to the day Mayuri died, with the intention of making her wish of seeing her wearing a cosplay a reality.

Stardust Sky
Okabe must choose between saving Mayuri or Kurisu. Realizing that he harbors romantic feelings for Mayuri, Okabe and Kurisu decide to return to the Beta worldline in which Kurisu's murder is executed as planned, but Mayuri notices that something strange was going on between Kurisu and Okabe so she decided to ask Okabe. After knowing about Okabe's journey to save her, about all people's happiness he sacrificed, and about Okabe's decisions, Mayuri cries and blamed herself, running to see Kurisu. When Mayuri encountered her, Kurisu was packing her things to go back to America. She runs and hugs her, saying she does not want Kurisu to disappear, only to hear that this was Kurisu's decision from the beginning and that she wants Mayuri to be happy; saying that Okabe loves her, she parts. After hacking into SERN's database with the IBN computer, 1% divergence is achieved. Okabe vows to remember his memories of Kurisu,and spends his time with Mayuri as lovers. On a date with Mayuri, she says she had a very important friend that she is not able to remember and that sometimes, she hears a voice, a voice that tells her to 'find happiness'. Mayuri holds Okabe's hand (doing 'Stardust Handshake') and wondering if that important friend is the reason she is with Okabe right now, saying she wants to say her thanks.

Absolute 0
Instead of slapping Rintaro Okabe and bringing him back to his senses, Mayuri instead tries to comfort him, telling Suzuha that he would have to come to his own conclusion.

Over the next three months, she becomes worried for Okabe as he deals with his depression. During this time, Okabe, Daru, Faris NyanNyan and Suzuha all avoid telling Mayuri about her deaths in the Alpha worldline and about how Okabe chose her life over Kurisu's.

Closed Epigraph
Mayuri picks Okabe up from his hypnotherapy session. When the two reach the train station, they run into Faris NyanNyan and Luka Urushibara, both of which are thrown off by Okabe's new personality.

Recursive Mother Goose
After Kagari Shiina successfully recovers her memories after almost being hit by a truck while searching for the origin of a song she remembered, Mayuri discovers that she is her daughter from the future, and they proceed to live the several following months happily together.

However, as the time limit for the Time Machine's fuel approaches, Mayuri decides to go back to the past herself to convince Rintaro Okabe to save Kurisu Makise. Kagari, not wanting to be separated from her mother, opposes, but as she discovers Mayuri's reasoning to do so, decides to go herself alongside Suzuha Amane. Their fate after going back to the past, however, is unknown.

Gehenna's Stigma
After being brainwashed by Alexis Leskinen and capturing Rintaro Okabe against her will, Maho Hiyajo roams Akihabara, with no clear goal in mind. She then finds Mayuri Shiina, who is looking for Okabe, and, out of her own frustration and desperation, tells her the truth about the death of Kurisu Makise and her own life. Mayuri then runs away in tears.

As Okabe wakes up after being rescued, he is informed by Itaru Hashida that both Mayuri and Suzuha Amane have disappeared, and that the Time Machine has been destroyed.

Quotes

 * "But isn't doing this bad? Mayushii doesn't want you to do bad things..." - Mayuri to Rintaro Okabe.
 * "We should work towards world peace. Like giving everyone an Upa cushion..." - Mayuri D-Mail wish.
 * "You're shining Okarin. [...] You're shining. Chris-chan too. Like two bright stars in the sky. [...] Since Chris-chan became a lab mem, it feels like things have really started to happen, like we're a real lab, you know? [...] Chris-chan is really a big help to you, I know... But I can't do anything to help... I wish I were smart too... then maybe I could help." - Mayuri expressing her feelings to Okabe.
 * "Just look, we've made so many friends... There's Daru-kun, Chris-chan, Luka-chan, Suzu-san, Moeka-san, Feris-chan, Braun-san, Nae-chan and more! In the spring you seemed so lonely... But now you're fine. You don't need Mayushii to be your hostage anymore."
 * "Finally... Mayushii was... useful... to Okarin." - Mayuri after protecting Okabe from being hit by a Rounder's car.
 * "The whole time you and Chris-chan were hurting... While Mayushii was making costumes... like nothing was wrong... I feel so stupid! I didn't know anything! I need to see Chris-chan!" - Mayuri to Okabe after knowing what Okabe and Kurisu Makise have been through.
 * "Hum, I don't know who it was but Mayushii feels like she had a very important friend. And whenever I think about that important friend, my heart hurts, like hnng, you know? And sometimes, I hear a voice. That voice tells me to 'find happiness'. I wonder if that person is the reason of why Mayushii is with Okarin now... If I ever meet this person again, I want to tell them thanks." - Mayuri talking about Kurisu in her ending.
 * "Tutturu~!" - Mayuri greeting someone. Also her catchphrase.

Trivia

 * Mayuri's voice was used as a user guide for the PhoneWave (Name subject to change). According to Rintaro Okabe, it made the PhoneWave sound silly.
 * According to Okabe, his first kiss was with Mayuri in elementary school, although they were "just messing around".
 * Mayuri is bad a cooking.
 * In Steins;Gate 0, it is showed that after taking cooking lessons from Yuki, her skill has improved significantly.
 * Mayuri lives in Ikebukuro.

Etymology

 * Mayuri's surname Shiina means "oak, mallet" (椎) (shii) and "name, noted, distinguished, reputation" (名) (na).