Head Nurse

The Head Nurse, a character in the manga D.Gray-Man by Katsura Hoshino, is a member of the European Branch of the Black Order and is the most prominent member of the medical ward in the series.

Appearance
The Head Nurse is always seen in a darkly colored, long dress with a high, stiff collar, a white pinafore apron, a nurse's cap, and a pair of high-top flats that button up the side. Her hair is pulled back into a tight, braided bun, which only acts to add to her usually severe expression.

Personality
Though the Head Nurse has been shown to care deeply for her patients, her concern for their well-being takes precedence before what they want and she tends to become easily angered when patients go against her orders. She also puts her patients health above her own, as shown when she took off her own shoes and put them on Lenalee's feet to keep her from cutting herself on broken glass. She even scares Komui, who is typically unflappable when it comes to others' disapproving attitudes towards his slacking.

While she respects authority and refers to others by their titles if they rank above her, she is not afraid to stand up to those who outrank her by far, as shown when she stood up to Inspector Leverier when he attempted to goad Lenalee Lee with psychological attacks into fighting the Akuma that had invaded Headquarters.

When she is seen, she is often either dragging patients who have escaped the ward back to their beds, or dragging visitors who have overstayed their welcome out.

History
The Head Nurse's name is never actually given, though it can be assumed that, as head nurse, she ranks equally with the other doctors, and is usually the one who deals with doctor-to-patient relations.

Headquarters Invasion arc
After the return of the Exorcists to the European Branch from Edo, and after Lenalee Lee and Miranda Lotto have been admitted to their own room in the medical ward, the Head Nurse is seen asking Komui Lee (who is lamenting over the loss of Lenalee's hair) to leave if he is going to continue crying on Lenalee's bed sheets. When Komui attempts to leave a lullaby-singing dakimakura of himself, the Head Nurse becomes quite insistent that he leave.

Shortly after, she is seen, very briefly in a flash away during the meeting between two representatives from Central (Malcolm C. Leverier and Howard Link), the heads of the various branches of the Black Order and the four remaining Generals, dragging Allen Walker and Yu Kanda along by their ears, presumably back to their hospital beds.

When European Branch Headquarters is invaded by Lulu Bell and her hoard of Level Three Akuma, the Head Nurse and the other medical staff take refuge in Arystar Krory's room, and shortly after Komui forces Lenalee and Lavi to hide there, as well.

Later on, when the battle is well underway, Generals Cross, Nine, and Sokalo unleash powerful attacks in order to destroy the Akuma Egg, and the aftershock from these attacks results the rest of the building being shaken badly, and in Krory's room this results in medical equipment being broken. When the head Matron goes to check on Lenalee and Lavi and notices this damage, she takes off her shoes and places them on Lenalee's feet (though not before reprimanding Lenalee and Lavi both for attempting to deny help). As Lenalee starts crying, the Head Nurse attempts to soothe her, but Lenalee declares that she hates the Innocence.

Leverier soon comes to take Lenalee to force her to synchronize with her Innocence, and when Lenalee initially refuses the Head Nurse is prompted to remind Leverier that members of the European Branch Headquarters answer to Komui's orders, alone, and that they plan on following Komui's orders and evacuating the building. Leverier, though, says that the Black Order is the Pope's army, and that Exorcist's belong to the Pope, inferring that since he is there on the Pope's orders that what he says takes precedence. The Head Nurse then angrily asks him to leave.

Lenalee, though, decides to go and fight, and when Lenalee tells the Head Nurse she is an Exorcist, the Head Nurse finds herself powerless to protect Lenalee any further and collapses in grief.

After the battle, the Head Nurse seems to be back to normal, as she is, once again, seen arriving to drag the escaped Exorcists and Johnny back to the medical ward.

Destruction of the Black Order mini-arc
During the move from the old Headquarters to the new, the Head Nurse is seen once again, this time as one of the first victims of Komui's Komuvitamin D (a substance that was supposed to decrease fatigue but had the unfortunate side-effect of turning those who took it into mindless zombies). The first person she bites is Allen. She then bites Miranda, who, in turn, bites Noise Marie. She, along with the rest of the building (including Komui, the creator of the virus), is later saved when Bak Chan creates a vaccine.

Trivia

 * Despite appearing several times in the manga, she is never actually given (or used) by her name. Characters typically call her "Head Nurse".