THE APPLICATION
Appearance;
Kobato's age is unknown, but it's possibly 15-16. She's one of those girls - one look and you know. Those big, brown eyes, expressing the naivety and warm heart, glittering with honesty - there's nothing fake about them. Kobato's hair is as unusual; very long, but yet a bit shorter near the face, and with color somehow between brown and pink. She's very slim, but like a person who doesn't need to eat much rather than a girl on a constant diet.
Her clothes are as cute as she is - bright colors, nice dresses, fashionable accessories. There's one thing, however, that remains unchanged - she never takes a hat off her head when someone can see her, to the points she panics when it's even slightly slipping off. It's still unknown why she does it - but while she likes to change her hats often, she is never seen without one.
Personality;
Like many people, Kobato's much more than it may seem.
At the first glance, she's sweet, perky, but super naive girl who believes anything she hears - but that also mean she also believes that every person is honest. She doesn't understand anything evil, the whole concept seems to be unknown to her (or, at least, 'it only happens in the movies'). One could also say she's absolute dork - thinking that what happens in the manga is adequate to what may happen in real life, or instead of using common sense, she does what she sees in television - but that also made her capable of believing that Ioryogi, ignoring the fact that he seems to be only a talking stuffed animal, will make her wish come true. She's also such a klutz and rash with her decisions she always gets reprimanded by Ioryogi or Fujimoto - most of the things she do, she either screw up or does in such extraordinary way, it's a miracle they work out.
About her wish - there's apparently 'somewhere she wants to go'. She's never told anyone where that place is, exactly, or why does she want to go there - but it's clear that's she's very determined to do anything it takes to make this wish come true. Actually, the fact that she needs to heal wounds in people's hearts and fill the bottle with their happiness makes it only easier for her. Kobato, with her warm, very open heart, and extreme kindness simply loves to help people, even in the smallest tasks and is very happy whenever she has a chance to, even if it doesn't result with getting the bottle filled. The way she approaches people, however, is... unique, to say at the least. How many people would react to super-energetic girl shouting "Let me heal you!!" to the crowd nicely?
Kobato's not hard to understand. She's a simple, innocent girl, who loves simple things - having fun, getting and giving kindness to the world, not wanting much for herself - but that makes her the rare kind, sadly. She's also getting really sad when she has to deal with people who doesn't care about others, or hurt others; even when it doesn't affect her personally. Just a thought that someone may think only about himself makes her feel blue, and she can never fully understand it.
Kobato probably lost someone very dear to her - the way she reacts to the possibility of someone's dying, the tears she's shedding, and the way she helps even her enemies in the time of need hints it.
Because of her simple-minded personality, but also kindness and, perhaps, recklessness, Kobato's surprisingly courageous, a trait that isn't so obvious when you meet her. She can rashly jump to protect those weaker than her, even if she's not strong enough herself. She also hates being called 'Dobato' by Ioryogi; while her name means 'little dove', 'dobato' is 'stupid pigeon'.
Abilities/Strengths;
Kobato doesn't have any extraordinary abilities like magic. But you could say that her smile, which could light up the whole town even in the darkest times, is one of her strong points. Her invisible inner strength and determination, which shows in the time of need, is her best trait.
Kobato's also a very good singer - her voice is lovely, and like everything in her case, it heals those who are listening.
Weaknesses;
Her naivety, for sure. She can be told absolutely everything and she'll go by it without even questioning. She needs someone sensible to rely on, to tell her what to do - but she doesn't even realize it. Kobato's also a klutz, and pretty weak physically. She can run pretty fast, do many chores without rest, but in fighting - she's absolutely useless.
History;
Kobato's past is yet to be revealed - as of now, there is little to none known. Actually while she's currently in Japan, she might not even originate from Earth. She often acts like the Earth is something completely strange to her. Also, when she reads magazines, manga or watches TV, she calls it 'studying', as if she studied the customs of life on Earth. One thing for sure - her life changed when she met a talking, walking, fire-breathing stuffed animal named Ioryogi. He promised her that if she were to complete few tasks, her wish would be granted. Without asking any unnecessary questions, she agreed at the instant.
First, she was supposed to prove to Ioryogi she's able to live on Earth and use 'common sense' (whatever that is in Ioryogi's eyes). If she proves herself, she gets a magic bottle to fill with pieces of hearts that broke which Kobato was supposed to get by healing those hearts.
The first task wasn't easy for Kobato. It took her few months to show Ioryogi that she's worthy - we can see her dealing with many of the Japan's events - Christmas, New Years, Valentine's Day, Hanami, each time she earned some extra points from Ioryogi, until he finally decided to give her the flask, as he calls the bottle. The bottle itself, or course, as her goal was very important - but as important were all encounters she made during the time of Exam. Kind people, mean people, different kind of people... She even heard those puzzling words from kind old woman, a fortune teller: "I wish your dream will come true. But who knows, maybe your wish will change?"
Then, step by step, she was walking towards her goal. Of course, as Ioryogi pointed out right, it would be bad to start without any place to live, right? That's how Kobato met Chitose Mihara - a very kind landlady, who gladly offered Kobato a place in one of her apartments. Then, next? Look for people to heal!
That part was definitely harder. And screaming to random people "LET ME HEAL YOU!" didn't help even one bit. One man got suddenly interested - but unknowingly to Kobato, he was simply planning to take advantage of her and have sex. The one who rescued her - not really willingly - was a blunt young man named Fujimoto Kiyokazu. Oddly for both of them, their paths would cross from that point onwards.
Kobato, after meeting the teacher of Yomogi Nursery, Sayaka Okiura, who was one of the few kind people she met - she quickly decided to help Sayaka out at school. Realizing that Sayaka's hands were occupied with kids, and with Fujimoto's help only, had a real trouble maintaining the school, Kobato thought it was a great opportunity to heal Sayaka's heart. She didn't have a slightest idea how attached she'll become to both Sayaka and, in some way, Fujimoto, especially after learning about the trouble with debt collectors. The silent, but unstoppable Sayaka's resolve to keep the school, the sacrifices Fujimoto was making for Sayaka's sake not only inspired Kobato, but also made her open up towards Kiyokazu more and more. That man, who used to only annoy and stress her out, started to become more and more important to her - but Kobato didn't really understand her feelings yet.