Aiko Tokoshima

> *"I'm good at creating games, but playing them's a different story."
> —Aiko*
>
>

**Aiko Tokoshima** is the creator of CyberWorld, the world’s most successful VRMMORPG. On the surface, she appears the “perfect girl”, an amicable and often flirtatious woman, which has led some to believe it is the reason for the high percentage of male players (though this has been unconfirmed). However, this is a false persona and in reality, Aiko is a sociopathic workaholic who has long lost interest in video games and is constantly stressed out about ensuring CyberWorld remains the No. 1 game in the world. This unhealthy behaviour is further escalated when CyberWorld is taken over by Enoch and the Apostles on Resonance Day. After Enoch strips Aiko of her admin capabilities, she resorts to excessive partying and alcohol consumption until Michael lectures her about hiding in her own creation. Aiko eventually activates the log-out feature after Monochrome defeats Enoch in battle, saving everyone trapped in the game.

In *CyberWorld II*, Aiko is mostly absent from the story albeit a few mentions here and there, but is said to be recovering and in therapy after ignoring Suki’s advice to provide free visors instead of headsets for the youth, inadvertently resulting in millions of deaths.

In *CyberWorld III*, Aiko is shown to have adopted a more serious attitude and no longer puts on the perfect girl persona. In fact, she has given up her hedonistic lifestyle entirely, becoming a workaholic dedicated to ensuring CyberWorld remains safe and a repeat of the CyberWorld Incident never happens again. She has also become a full fledged Game Master, a player who has mastered all components of the game, without usage of her admin skills.

In *CyberWorld IV*, Aiko’s leadership skills and proficiency are finally seen in action, with her now commanding her own guild. She has now become competent enough to fight alongside Michael in the Final Battle.

## Biography

### Early life

Aiko Tokoshima was born on June 10, 2008 to a wealthy American businessman and a Japanese restaurant chain owner. Although home life was comfortable and often extravagant, Aiko received little attention from her parents as a result of their busy schedules. This resulted in a strained relationship with them as she grew up.

### School life

Aiko would join her junior high's coding club, where she created a rough draft of *Zombie Hunt* at fourteen, her first attempt at making a working game. After Aiko gathered the courage to share it with her fellow club members, it was an instant success. Although Aiko requested for *Zombie Hunt* not to be spread outside the club, it eventually found its way into the hands of other schoolmates. When Aiko was revealed to be the creator of *Zombie Hunt*, she was praised for its intuitive gameplay and impressive graphics. Although she felt uneasy at first, she would quickly warm up to it and grew to enjoy being the centre of attention in her school.

With her newfound fame, *Zombie Hunt* would catch the eye of Suki Hachiyo, a lone student who enjoyed writing poems during breaks. One day, Suki would approach Aiko and tell her that while her game was engaging, its narrative about a zombie apocalypse was uninspired. Not being open to Suki's criticism, Aiko claimed that games only needed quality mechanics to be successful. However, Suki argued that both were integral for an experience and proposed reworking *Zombie Hunt's* campaign together.

Despite a rocky start to their friendship, Aiko grew to respect Suki for her storytelling capabilities and value the advice she gave, although this was limited to work-related matters.

## Strengths

Aiko has been described to be one of the greatest video game developers of all-time, possessing a highly intelligent mind that comes up with games that feel familiar yet fresh. As such, Aiko's games usually feature a gimmick that distinguishes it from her previous ones.

Suki Hachiyo has described Aiko's mind to be like a "well-oiled machine" and Aiko's thinking process to be like "clockwork, but never repetitive".

## Weaknesses

Although Aiko is good at carrying conversations that remain surface-level, she is weak at talking about deeper and more sensitive topics, even when she desires to become closer with the people she loves.

Aiko has histrionic personality disorder due to her lonely childhood.

## Appearances

* *CyberWorld*
	+ *Chapter One: Fracture* (first appearance)
	+ Chapter Two: *Yunon (Interlude)*
	+ Chapter Four: *The Base*
	+ Chapter Five: *Kendo Kid*
	+ Chapter Six: *Actuation*

## Trivia

* Although Aiko is good at creating gameplay, she is weak at creating narratives to come with them, which is why she often tasks Suki with coming up with them instead.
* Aiko used to write fanfiction, which Suki still has some of the original manuscripts of.