after being orphaned, determined to get money for himself and his sister Hanako. His dream is to become either a good samurai or an aviator, since one of his first bosses in Japan was a dreamy inventor who wanted to fly. In England, he sneaks into the Dandelion Troupe's car and accidentally sets a whole disaster, but is forgiven and joins the company. On stage, he usually performs dance and/or fighting sequences with his bokken (wooden sword), and occasionally joins Nadja in her own dance acts. He has a crush on Nadja, usually portrayed as a running gag more than a serious issue; whatever the source of those feelings is, he always acts as her best friend. He is a very skilled mechanic who maintains the Dandelion Troupe's car. A very young Italian girl, who is a mute. She communicates with Nadja and Kennosuke quite easily, regardless. Rita was orphaned when her parents (lion tamers, who raised her in the circus life) died in a fire that consumed their circus two years before Nadja's arrival. That tragic incident robbed her of the ability to speak and left her with an absolute fear of fire. After the death of her parents, Rita was adopted by the Dandelion Troupe (who witnessed the tragedy), and performs on stage with the twin lions Creme (who is white) and Chocolat (who is white like his sibling, but is dyed black by George). Despite time passing, neither of the lions seems mature. With Nadja's help, Rita comes to terms with her trauma and gradually starts talking again. Applefield Orphanage A childhood friend of Nadja in the Applefield Orphanage. While Nadja is the type to always run around climbing trees with the boys, Rosemary is more dreamy and would rather watch from afar. Secretly, Rosemary is very unhappy about her status as an orphan, and always likes to fantasize that she is really a beautiful princess who was lost by her family, and who will be rescued any day now (in fact, she at times refers to herself as 'Princess Rosemary'). Nadja played along with Rosemary's dreams by calling Rosemary 'princess' and pretending to be her faithful knight. When Rosemary turns 13, she, like all Applefield children, has to leave the orphanage and get a job. She works first as the maid of a wealthy family in Spain, and later as a lady-in-waiting for the scheming Herman