Ichiro

ICHIRO
Story: 515
Age: 16
11th grade







Ichiro's at-home life is far from wonderful. His single mother drinks and is verbally (and physically sometimes) abusive to him, and his little brother runs rampant and undisciplined through their tiny flat. Needless to say, he doesn't like it there. He also doesn't like people to ask about it, so he puts on a smile almost constantly. Lily, his best friend since childhood, is the only one of his peers that knows about his home life situation. He often has to stay overnight (or many nights on end) at Lily's house.
He puts up a happy and carefree front for everyone so they won't worry about him or ask him how he feels. He is sheepish and obedient and extremely fond of Lily, and wants to do everything he can to make her happy so he does everything she asks of him. However, what she asks for and what she needs are almost always completely different things, and it’s his lack of experience with people unlike Lily that keeps him from noticing this. He can be scatterbrained and forgetful, but he can usually offer some optimism even in the toughest situations.
He is frustrated at his uselessness when it comes to the Sissumi situation. He tries to become closer friends with Sissumi, but he doesn't know how to go about doing it because he is so used to dealing with people like Lily.
He reminds Lily very much of her father, who used the same smile tactic to hide his pain.