Erika Aiba

Erika Aiba (相葉 絵理花 Aiba Erika) is a character in 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim.

About
"Erika Aiba is a student in Class 1-D. She's a mysterious girl who has a unique point of view, despite her placid personality. As of lover of mystery novels, shes enjoys comparing Yuki Takamiya to Holmes and herself to Watson as she assists in Takamiya's search for Natsuno Minami." - Mystery Files

Story
SPOILERS BELOW

Before meeting Yuki, 426 (Erika Aiba's true identity) was in the Tomi Kisaragi android. He chased down Natsuno Minami with a gun in hand in order to have control of the Control Key, which she held at the time. Finding her in the girl's bathroom, he was about to complete his mission when suddenly the Tamao Kurabe android showed up. She had tracked 426 using No. 17's signal, which should have been offline. 426 questions why she has something against him despite not killing her one loop ago. Tamao states that even still, many people had died because of him, and engages in combat. As they fight, 426 remarks on how surprised he is to see her use violence, and how she had truly become a monster with a robotic heart. Despite him losing the fight, his words get to her and leaves an opportunity for them to switch bodies, effectively killing her. Once Natsuno walks out the bathroom stall, she is surprised to see what seems to be Tamao Kurabe. BJ warns Natsuno to stay back, as he can no longer identify the Tamao android. 426 turns BJ off and shoots Natsuno with the syringe gun. Completing his objective, he leaves them in the bathroom.

"Tamao" later appears seemingly tampering with BJ in the girl's locker room, to Natsuno's surprise (both Natsuno and BJ have forgotten the Exterminator event). The manager of the track team comes into the room, and thinks she is the sick student who signed up for the track team named Erika Aiba. Natsuno tries to correct her, but 426 goes along with the idea and leaves a confused Natsuno.

Takamiya meets Aiba while sleuthing for clues on Natsuno. She can't seem to shake Aiba off with intimidation, so she let Aiba follow her around and help her. Aiba is excited about the mysteries, comparing Takamiya and her to Holmes and Watson. Surprisingly to Takamiya, she's quite helpful, acting as a decoy so Takamiya can sneak into the girl's locker room and offers to lead her to Tokisaka Shrine.

Visiting Tokisaka Shrine didn't give them any leads. A day later, when they gain information about the North Building fire in the girl's locker room, they go to talk to Tomi Kisaragi. Aiba stays a bit further away as Takamiya interrogates Kisaragi and Sawatari. She runs off when Takamiya notices her a bit further off. Later on, Takamiya gets a tip from Onishi to visit Shikishima. On the train there she find Nenji Ogata, who asks where the girl who follows her is. Takamiya says her name is Erika Aiba, but that can't be right according to him, as the Erika Aiba he knows looks different and is absent from school.

When they run into Ms. Morimura, she slips Takamiya a note. She then talks to Aiba privately, asking "Tamao" where she has been and that she should check in with her more frequently. Following Ms. Morimura orders, Takamiya brings Aiba to Sumire Bridge as promised. Takamiya confronts her, telling "Aiba" she met Erika Aiba in the hospital, and that she overheard Morimura call her Tamao. She gives into being Tamao Kurabe pretty easily, but Takamiya doesn't stop there. She says she knows about the mass murderer Juro Izumi, and how he jumped from the Kisaragi android to another android. Nanomachines were also brought up, and she learned at Shikishima Industries that her own nanomachines have been altered several times by someone close to her, claiming it was Aiba herself. Takamiya knows she is neither Erika Aiba or Tamao Kurabe, but Juro Izumi himself. Now knowing the truth, Aiba would have had to erase Takamiya's memory more, but Morimura set up an ambush on Juro Izumi. Morimura called Izumi insane, dressing up as a schoolgirl to further his own plan. Izumi claims he's more sane than her at least, saying Morimura is trying to save both her and Izumi by denying any future to the 15 compatible. She shoots Izumi 3 times, but he doesn't die. Takamiya asked what Izumi was doing to her, to which he replies "...Getting you ready...ready for the game that will soon begin." He then proceeds to jump off Sumire Bridge while Morimura takes 2 more shots at him. Morimura then tries to search for him, to no avail.

Juro Kurabe was walking home from going to a movie rental store, when he finds Ei Sekigahara pointing a gun at the Tamao Kurabe android. The android told Sekigahara that Miura is well aware of Sekigahara's motives, and the reason he deleted his memories at school was to hide a log from him. Sekigahara shoots the android with a gun, and runs away claiming Morimura set him up to do this. Kurabe is surprised to see it is a android (which he thinks is a doll). The android was lucky to have Kurabe walk by, and enters Juro Kurabe's nanomachines. The body is then disposed off by Kyuta Shiba's suggestion in the trash.

(To continue the story of 426, go to Kyuta Shiba or Fluffy's page)

Etymology

 * Erika's surname Aiba means "phase, aspect, countenance" (相) (ai) and "leaf" (葉) (ha/ba).