Tsutsui Kikuko

Sex: Female
Occupation: Ama Diver
Age: 28 years old

A woman born and raised on Kameshima. Unmarried. She is known for her friendly, sociable nature and almost sisterly tendency to look after others, both of which make her a familiar face to many on the island.
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Ever since her school days, Kikuko harbored a strong desire to leave Kameshima and make a life for herself elsewhere. While most of her classmates began working as ama divers following graduation from middle school, she decided to enroll in a boarding school as a first step towards fulfilling this goal, going on to graduate from a junior college in Aichi Prefecture and then finding a job in general administration at a company in Ise City.
However, because her assigned work consisted only of unfulfilling, menial tasks like pouring tea and answering calls, she left after only one year. She changed jobs repeatedly over the following years, but found no further luck in subsequent workplaces. Eventually, recognizing that success as an ama diver is determined solely by the extent of one's physical prowess and ingenuity, she came to find the idea of such work appealing, and moved back to Kameshima four years ago.
Despite her late start as an ama diver compared to her peers, she leveraged her high athletic ability —a talent which even saw her star in the National Athletic Meet during her school days— and her innate knack for analytical thinking and research to consistently turn out good results, and she has since earned the respect of even the veteran ama divers of the island. Her estimated Diver Rank is 41.
* * *
Kikuko has had scant luck with men, having been introduced to several potential partners only to be turned down by all of them. Her parents, anxious for her future, worry that the large birthmark on her face is to blame, but Kikuko herself remains unfazed, citing her lack of interest in marriage as the primary cause — something which has caused them no end of concern. Although she endeavored to hide her birthmark with makeup while at school and during her time as an office worker, she has since embraced it, proudly proclaiming it to be her symbol.

Spoiler

* * *
While aimlessly drifting from job to job unable to find something she wanted to do, Kikuko happened to meet Kippei Ikoma, who was the president of one of the companies she ended up working for. It was then that Kippei revealed a surprising secret to her: Kikuko was in fact the illegitimate child of a wealthy tycoon, one Yoshiatsu Yamashina, and had been entrusted to a childless couple to raise as their own. Kikuko had always believed herself special in some way, and learning that she was originally of high birth only served to validate that belief, leading to her developing a strong sense of pride.
Upon learning of Kikuko's background and taking note of her dissatisfaction with her current lot in life, Kippei opted to try and make her his pawn by skillfully manipulating her sense of self-importance. His endeavors paid off: tired of what she perceived as a stifling, monotonous life and driven by both her admiration for Kippei and desire to be recognized by Yoshiatsu so she could live the life she believed she deserved, Kikuko agreed to return to Kameshima and act as his agent there.
Fueled by her ambition and exhilarated by the sense that she had become the star of one of the spy movies that had been so popular in her childhood, Kikuko's mind was set — she no longer cared if people died or her hometown was destroyed as long as it meant she could fulfill her goals.

Spoiler

She is one of the curse bearers of The Curse of the Heike, bearing the curse stone given to her by Kippei.