Appearance
Standing at 5’6” (~167.64cm) and with a lanky “straight” body type, Kenko has an overall thin, boyish silhouette. Contrary to her ghastly complexion, she weighs in at a moderately light 121 lbs (~54.88kg kg). A mop of dusty black hair falls over her face, parted over her left eye (a style that usually ends up with her right eye covered). Her short bob of hair is self-styled and is not professionally cut, giving it a homely and unkempt appearance no matter how it is styled (though other styles would just look terrible due to the cut). Her face took its shape from her American mother: heart-shaped and with a round forehead and angular jawline. Her eyebrows are thin and long, placed a little higher on her brow giving her a content and relaxed neutral expression. Her lazy, droopy eyes have a central heterochromia iris with the color going from brown to pale blue. She has unremarkable cheekbones, though her cheeks are always rosy due to her constant illness. Her nose is also bright red for the same reason, its shape having an upturned tip and relatively thin bridge. Her thin lips are usually pale, but its not often they stay shut for long as Kenko enjoys talking and flashing her pearly whites. Her ears are slightly large, but her hair does a fine enough job keeping them (mostly) concealed.
Her bodytype is endomorphic, meaning it is difficult to gain muscle or fat regardless of exercise or lack thereof. She also has quite the appetite. Her body lacks curves around her hips and thighs, and her behind is relatively subtle. Kenko doesn’t really have an opinion on her breast size, neither thankful nor disappointed for being a B-cup.
She smells of bittersweet medicine mostly. Suffering through that unpleasant odor, one would find the scent of exertion and struggle. In layman’s terms, she probably smells of sweat like a sick person would rather than a fragrant flower or cinnamon fantasy.
NameKenko Ikioi
Kenko written as “健康” (Health or Healthily) and Ikioi written as “勢” (Momentum, Vigor, or Energy)
Together meaning Healthy Vigor or Healthily Energetic, a far cry from the actual person.
She was actually named by her (ignorant and naive) American mother for the meaning alone.
Age19
Personality“To take everything in stride” is a phrase that describes Kenko very well. No matter how worse a turn her sickness takes or how terrible her luck for the day is, Kenko will always have her goofy, calm smile plastered under her red, stuffy nose. She is very carefree and relaxed, almost to a shameless and lazy extreme, and she is very optimistic. Her illness sets a high barrier to overcome for people wanting to be friends, but she is a very social and active person and easily accepts friends. She has a proud trait that can be considered fearless at best and rebellious at worst, “forgetting” honorifics and respect towards seniors. She takes pride in herself entirely, her flaws and illness included.
She is very active and athletic naturally, but her illness severely hinders her physical activities. Not that it stops her from trying. Kenko is an energetic person who will attempt anything regardless of whether she can accomplish it or not. To her, it’s not whether she “can or can’t do it,” but rather “how far she can go.” She also puts this mindset into her relationships, making her very confident if not a little rash in her dealings with others. However, she keeps a certain distance from everyone to prevent them from catching her illness (though they can usually overcome it after a day or two if they do happen to become sick, while Kenko’s is, mysteriously, eternal), though if they close the gap they may find Kenko to be more physical and a bit clingy.
HistoryKenko was bullied as a kid. Snot-girl, Barf-breath, Inioi-chan (Ikioi + Nioi (stinky)), and other colorful names all decorate Kenko’s preschool and grade-school history. She had friends to get through it, but it left quite a scar on the friendly, if anxious little Kenko. She decided to change her way of thinking and started imitating her self-confident and boisterous American mother. When High School came along, Kenko greeted it with her iconic sniffle and a new confident smile. Somehow, it all worked out. Despite the occasional bullying from more unsavory individuals, Kenko was relatively well-received (even if people avoided getting too close for fear of catching her illness). While she had a small number of true friends who hung around close with her despite the risks of getting sick involved, like other girls her age Kenko lamented about not having a “Dᴀʀʟɪɴɢ” by her side. Unfortunately for Kenko, she was able to witness first hand as her friends went through their trials and tribulations in the field of love. Kenko did indeed have a few crushes and one-sided loves, but she never gained the attention of any boy regardless of the many battle tactics or military strategies she employed. To her morbid chagrin, Kenko graduated high-school before she even graduated from her first kiss. It made some sense, however: a lovey-dovey relationship would definitely make any guy with Kenko become as sick as her, but Kenko remains optimistic. Her mother, who’s just as sick as Kenko if not more, found a husband and gave birth to Kenko. Her father fell in love with a sick woman and spent so much time with his her that he seemed to have become immune to whatever illness afflicted his daughter and wife.
Her father and mother had a deep discussion with Kenko about this. Although they were two separate conversations, they both agreed that it was up to “fate” and that Kenko will know when she sees him. So, putting her dreams of romance on hold, she turned to the next best thing: money. Kenko is no genius, but she could hold her own on a regional scale (that said, she was only rank 100 of the top 100 in her third year in High School). It’s not that she’s a prodigy or intelligent, she’s just an extremely fast learner and things stick easily in her head. When she wants them too, at least. So, of course, she challenged herself to get into the best university so that she can get the best job so that she can get a lot of money. The university?
Chiharu University.
OtherShe's has natural bilingualism, due to her environment teaching her Japanese while her household spoke English (her American mother constantly puts off properly learning Japanese so she makes far too many mistakes for anything longer than five word sentences). As such, like a typical American character in an anime, she'll have English interjections and curses, and when she's anxious/nervous/excited she may speak in English as well. She'll also have the typical anime tick where she replaces strange words with English, the most notable being Dᴀʀʟɪɴɢ.
To signify this, Kenko speaking in English will be represented by
Sᴍᴀʟʟ Cᴀᴘs.
