Kohaku 'Ko' Ume (Kingdom Hearts)

"'Let me clarify one thing, 'Master'... do whatever you want involving the Guardians of Light - but my friends (those that I am close to) aren't going to be puppets for you to manipulate! Mess with them and I'll skewer you... MYSELF.' - Kohaku, warning Yen Sid and his apprentice Mickey about dragging the rest of her friends during the 'Linked into One' crisis."

Kohaku is one of the main protagonists of the 'Linked into One' storyline. The daughter of Radiant Garden Guard Amea Rigen and Scientist Koryu Ume, young Kohaku was thrust into the life of a Keyblade Wielder from a young age. Having trained under professionals, she eventually came to own her very own Keyblade after the original wielder perished in the darkness.

She is also a childhood friend of Mina whom she visited many years ago in Serenity Ville - though she later leaves without saying a word. Years later, the two reunite and join forces to combat Luxu and his Foreteller allies. Unfortunately, Kohaku also has her own evils to confront and defeat - the form of her dark half and her replica: Excorsene and Repliko.

Appearance
During the three books, Kohaku has a variety of outfits that she often wears for certain occasions (mainly for seasons and relaxing).

Regular/default clothes: Her default/adventure outfit consists of a dark grey top with a white-colored keyhole belt-like attachment underneath a sleeveless dark blue vest with a hoodie along with a pair of dark blue shorts that were held by a black belt - a short blue-colored half skirt with blackish-white accents were held by a white belt with a key-hole attachment, five vials of unknown potions and a wallet-like case attached at the back. Her footwear consists of light blue-whitish boots with black soles - belts are also attached to them. Lastly, she wears a pair of light blue fingerless gloves with a black end and a white belt attached to them - for both hands.

Her accessories consists of a choker with a heart-like symbol around her neck, two long black belts that covered both her legs along with a short one covering the small half of her right hand. Lastly, her entire hair is held by a silver-colored headband.

Interestingly, there seems to be a heart-like mark on the lower left on her backside - it is either a birthmark or a tattoo though Kohaku is the only one who knows the truth about it.

Summer/Spring clothes:



During the summer/spring days, Kohaku wears a much warmer outfit that is appropriate for the season: a simple blue-colored tanktop along with a pair of light blue shorts while light blue sandals with light-dark blue soles adorn her feet.

Dress/Formal Looks - Battle Dress:



For formal occasions, Kohaku wears a shoulder-less white dress that sports two pairs of shoes depending on the situation: white boots or high-heeled sandals.

Kohaku herself has admitted that she doesn't wear dresses a lot since she doesn't get invited to many parties - yet she wore one once during a small practice date for Sora.

Another dress that she owns is the so-called 'dress for battle' - it consists of a short-sleeved blue shirt that is held by a shoulderless black-colored dress with a waist cincher and a white ribbon with blue lines to keep everything in check. Two sets of ribbons adorn the right leg with one being tied into a ribbon while white boots with black soles consists of her footwear. Lastly, she wears a pair of blue-colored fingerless gloves.

Personality
Described by her creator as a 'stubborn tomboy', Kohaku has quite the personality - although she often does whatever is set in her mind (even though its disastrous), she is willing to take responsibility for her actions - whether they are good or bad. Unlike Mina, she often jumps into actions without thinking yet doesn't dare shift the blame to another since most of the things that happened are sometimes her fault and not others.

An interesting aspect is that although she follows the rules at times, she is willing to ignore some mainly due to them being described as 'dumb' and '100 percent - pure disaster'. She clearly has a better understanding of the world and how it works along with its situations - this shows that she is very intelligent though she hides it since she doesn't like being classified as a 'show-off'.

Early on from childhood, Kohaku has learned that evil and betrayals can come in all forms and are very easy to experience - a prime example is her father Koryu and her dark-half Excorsene. When her mother Amea was presumed to have perished, Koryu became abusive and negligent towards Kohaku - his only focus was the experiments that Xehanort performed along with his own. As a result, Excorsene was the only one whom showed immediate care to Kohaku and took care of her as a sister-like figure - yet, it all fell apart due to Excorsene killing their father, the darkness proving too much for her and the constant mayhem that she was causing. The two sisters drifted apart and were now considered enemies. In present times, Kohaku's hate towards her father and Excorsene is fulling understanding.

Kohaku is also shown to be easily angered and upset - though she does her best to hide it since she wants to be portrayed as a mature person and not a crybaby - although there have been moments where she will lose it and express her true feelings in front of people though its rare. Interestingly, she also has a penance for lying and keeping secrets - though for good and bad reasons.

Another flaw in her character is that she doesn't realize the consequences until it is too late - prime examples are: the besting and defeat of Excorsene without realizing that Gunin will become an orphan once again, not trying to search and save her sister-like figure from becoming the person that she is in the present, accepting Excorsene's spirit without knowing what might happen (the result was that her right eye became golden completely). Although she realizes them too late with much regret she realizes that there's nothing she could do but move and learn from her mistakes.

Despite all the negative traits that she has, Kohaku is indeed a good person at heart - she has gained the respect of friendship with Kris, Mina, Millie, Chelly, Liddy (her loyal pet), X-22, Dov and many others. She is also very considered and often works with her fellow friends from the Quadruplet Watchdogs to protect the Realm of Light from the forces of darkness.

In addition, she admits to Mina how much she misses her mother and wishes that she would return one day to her if possible - secretly, Kohaku prays and hopes that Amea is still alive. When reunited with her mother after so many years, she breaks down in tears and embraces her long lost parent showing that Amea is the only one whom Kohaku loves and adores the most besides her friends. She didn't even bother to hide her tears from her fellow acquaintances and friends - to her, it was something that she waited to happen for a long time since childhood.

Kohaku doesn't classify herself as the romantic type even though she is supportive of some people and their loved ones - for example: Mina and Sonya. Though she fully states that she doesn't want to be in relationship since she considers the stuff of romance to be a waste of time, this was revealed to be a lie - she later reveals that she does indeed want to find someone whom she can give her love and joy freely. Unfortunately, her ideal attempts at searching for the perfect person in her life have hit a big snag and often end in complete failure - Kohaku went as far to admit that she was 'cursed' to be a virgin forever though she was being sarcastic.

Another important aspect is her friendships with other people in the 'Linked into One' storyline - during her childhood, she met and befriended local Serenity Ville children Mina and Chelly Marley along with Millicent 'Millie' Willis. The four would often play together and daydream whilst watching the stars - though their friendship was interrupted when Kohaku left Serenity Ville after a year of living there by herself (it wouldn't be until many years later when they would reunite and resume their friendship). As her childhood rolled by, she made many friends including Kris, X-22, Dov, Cloud, etc. - Like with her mother, she sees her friends as her 'family' and will often go to great lengths to protect them from harm and danger.

The most important and caring friend that came into her life was Sora - having met him during his adventure against the Organization, she offered to help him out as best she can - assisting him during the 1000 Heartless battle and the MCP inside Ansem's computer. After the 'Nobody' crisis had ended along with Sora returning to his home with his childhood friend Kairi by his side, both individuals ran into each other on several different occasions - whenever help was needed or a vacation was available. Time passed and Kohaku grew to view Sora as more than just a single friend - as a result, she began to feel extremely flustered around him and would sometimes daydream about the spiky-haired hero though Kohaku dismissed these thoughts as just hallucinations. She tried her best to forget about them and keep a strong friendship with Sora yet the more she thought about him, the more she began to see him than just an 'ordinary friend' - it took Kohaku a long time to finally realize the truth: she had fallen in love with Sora.

Unfortunately, she couldn't accept that at first and tried to only see the boy as an ordinary and caring friend yet her heart told her otherwise no matter how much she denied it. In the end, she broke down crying during a conversation with Mina and admitted the truth: her feelings for Sora were genuine and real. Her friend offered advice for Kohaku to admit how she felt towards Sora yet it was denied due to the fears of being rejected and humiliated which the black-haired girl saw as unacceptable due to being the tough and mature person since childhood. As a result, she has kept her feelings for Sora a secret and never revealed them to anyone except for Mina.

Like with Mina, Kohaku is also familiar with the term 'respect' yet not all people she meets are deserving of it: clear examples are Yen Sid, King Mickey, Ansem, Koryu and Excorsene. She cannot stand manipulations, deceit and treachery - to her, it reminds Kohaku of her childhood and how naive she was in the beginning. The only people that she shows care, loyalty and respect are Kris, Amea, Mina, Sora, X-22, Dov, Kairi (at times) and many more.

In the third book, she agrees with Mina's comment that they shouldn't give up no matter the odds and continue to fight in order to save the Realm of Light from Luxu and the Foretellers - it shows Kohaku for what she truly is: selfless and loyal to her ideals, principals and friends.

All-in-all, Kohaku will always be ready for the battles that lie no matter how many flaws she possess - with her friends/family by her side, she will do her best to succeed and win. Even if she relies on either the light or darkness, Kohaku will always take a step forward and do what is right - for everyone.

Abilities and Tools
Serenic Angel (Keyblade):

Kohaku's main weapon of choice is the Serenic Angel: a Keyblade that was passed down by a close friend named Ash who received it from the original owner Serene Eternite when she passed away. Although not confirmed yet by Reseliee, it is hinted that Serenic Angel is a in-the-between weapon (light/darkness). Its blade is completely silver with white angelic wings acting as the guard - its teeth being blue spikes and a heart. The handle is colored in a blackish-white checked color while the pommel is a heart symbol. Lastly, the silver chain connects to its token: a silver-colored winged heart that is blue on the inside. Interestingly, there seems to be a Hearted Wayfinder at the lower end of the checkered handle.

The max stats of Serenic Angel are an incredible boost in Strength and Speed - it is also possible that Serene blessed the thing when she was still alive yet it has not been confirmed by her creator.

Kohaku relies on Serenic Angel most of the time since she is often involved in fights that are sometimes considered too easy for her tastes - yet she doesn't go overboard with her Keyblade and treasures it deeply since it was a gift from her friend Ash.

Magic (Via Serenic Angel/Weaponless):

Despite her skills with a Keyblade, Kohaku is not taught in the arts of Magic since she already has two weapons at her disposal - Serenic Angel and her guns.

Though she has attempted to learn the art, she soon discovered that this was impossible - any spells that she casted ended up in complete failure and ever since Kohaku has not learned the art of Magic.

Other tools/weapons:

Although she relies on Serenic Angel most of the times, Kohaku is also trained in the use of a sword by Cloud or hand-to-hand combat by Tifa (it is unknown if Reseliee has touched the involvement of Tifa in Kohaku's story but given the events of Cloud's appearance and his training courses in the expanding tale, it is possibly considered canon). In addition to her Keyblade, Kohaku also carries a pair of guns that are inspired by Serenic Angel's style - depending on the battle, she uses either one or both of them. She also has a mix-up style of using one firearm and her Keyblade at her disposal but this is rarely seen in the three books.

It has been hinted that Kohaku's guns are modified into transforming into much more unique and impressive weaponry but this has not yet been confirmed by Reseliee - though hinted to be a upcoming concept in the expanding story of Kohaku.

Trivia

 * Kohaku has gone through several designs during the expanding of her storyline: from Version 1 to Version 7 - this is primarily because Reseliee wishes to add new additions and traits to her character (along with the ability to practice her skills in fixing mistakes and glitches).
 * The very first Kohaku model that Reseliee had made was considered to be cringe - she even admitted that she didn't like the model before deciding on reediting it a couple of years later. The new and improved version can be viewed on her main gallery: http://fav.me/dby63me
 * Kohaku's English Voice Actress is Nicole Balick (most commonly known as Morgan (Female) in the Fire Emblem series). According to Reseliee, she found Balick's voice to be the perfect one for Kohaku since she is classified as a tomboy/fighter.
 * Like with Sora's abilities, Kohaku also has a full copy of his Drive Forms - yet it is unknown if they will be shown more in the future (hints by Reseliee reveal that she has plans to make her own style of Drive Forms at an unknown date in the future).
 * Although Reseliee has classified Kohaku as a tomboy, she is sometimes shown to wear feminine-like clothes such as dresses or school-girl uniforms (though this is rare).
 * Interestingly, both creators ship Mina and Kohaku together at times - mainly in the form of a crack shipping yet have agreed that they find them cute as a couple (it is also hinted that this ship strengthens the siblingship/friendship between Zadornov151 and Reseliee).
 * Though Kohaku has developed feelings for Sora in the 'Linked into One' storyline, Reseliee has shown that she has a boyfriend in mind for Kohaku who is revealed to be Kre - though it is unknown if this can be considered canon.
 * The relationship between Mina and Kohaku is based on the real-life siblingship/friendship between Zadornov151 and Reseliee. Like their OCs, the two have a close yet somewhat-challenging relationship (which is often in mix between good-and-bad).