Ichika Hoshino

* CollarXMalice
* CollarXMaliceUnlimited

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**Ichika Hoshino** (星野 市香, *Hoshino Ichika*) is the main heroine in Collar x Malice. She is a 21-year-old rookie cop working in the Special Regions Crime Prevention Office in Shinjuku, having only been part of the team for six months.

## Appearance

Ichika is a young woman of an average height with brown hair and hazel green eyes.

Whilst working, she wears a white blouse, with a black pencil-skirt, tights and black shoes. At her waist, there is a walkie-talkie, and at her right, she wears a holster with her registered gun, that she is required by law have as both a police officer and an individual over the age of twenty. On her tie, there are two accessories; an infinity pin, and the SRCPO standard police pin. Her hair is let out, contrary to her casual wear, save for the navy blue ribbon that is tied into the shorter part of her hair, accompanied with a white blossom accessory.

Outside of work, she typically wears a red jacket, with a what seems to be a floral-print dress. She hides her collar with a white scarf, that is typically worn across all casual outfits. In casual settings, her hair is a mixture of up and down; half of the longer hair and put into something similar to a braid at the base of her head, whereas half of it is still left out.

## Personality

Ichika is a strong-willed woman who tries to protect the citizens around her, and will always put the needs of others before her own. She is extremely sympathetic to all those around her and tries to see the good in all people. As is typical of otome heroines, depending on which route and choices the player takes, she can be extremely hesitant and dishonest in her actions or be hardworking and selfless, often to the extreme benefit of others.

She is actively aware of her lack of experience and talent in what she considers crucial fields, such as critical decision-making and physical strength, however she does not let her own flaws stop her from achieving her goals and ideals.

An integral part of her personality is her idea of justice and her want to protect not only the people around her, but also the people of Shinjuku who are being quarantined. In her conversations with Yuzuru Saeki, her co-worker and friend from the Police Academy, she mentions that an incident with returning a lost wallet ignited her desire to make people happy and to help them without want of reward or recognition. Whilst she displays her compassion for everyone, she does recognize that this meant that she struggles to have pure hatred for an individual regardless of their crimes.

## History

When she was a child growing up in Niigata, Ichika’s parents did not place many expectations on her. She was average at most things she did, in contrast to her brother, Kazuki, who excelled. Ichika did not know what she wanted to do with her life, until she returned a lost item to a police box. When she saw the happiness on the face of the person who lost their item, she resolved to become a police officer.

In her route with Aiji Yanagi, it is revealed that she was kidnapped as a child while visiting her relatives in Tokyo. Her kidnapper was making arrangements to have her sold for a ransom, and chained her up in order to prevent her escape. She remembers parts of her rescue, although the memory is mostly buried, as it only shows itself as a reoccurring nightmare.

## Plot

While investigating an urgent call, Ichika is briefly kidnapped and fitted with a collar that is able to inject poison directly into her bloodstream. Due to the situation she finds herself in, she is forced into investigating the X-Day incidents and the terrorist group behind them, Adonis, who have told her to do so, or to die from the poison in her collar.

## Etymology

* The name **Ichika** means "city, market, town, municipality, fair" (市) (**ichi**) and "fragrance, fragrant" (香) (**ka**).
* Ichika's surname **Hoshino** means "star" (星) (**hoshi**) and "field, wilderness" (野) (**no**).