Ienzo

Unreleased

Ienzo was originally one of six apprentices of the ruler of Radiant Garden, Ansem the Wise. Orphaned at a young age, his gradual descent into darkness thanks to Xehanort led to the creation of his Nobody, Zexion. While mentioned in Kingdom Hearts II, Ienzo's first physical appearance was in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep.

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep


Ienzo appears in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep as a minor character, completely mute. His parents passed away for an unknown reason. Disobeying the orders of his master to stay inside the castle, Ienzo was ultimately attacked and surrounded by Unversed until Ventus came to his rescue. Shortly after the battle, his escort Even arrived and gave Ventus both his and Ienzo's thanks, explained Ienzo's past and that he had been assigned to take care of him since the death of his parents, gave Ventus the directions to the Castle Garden where he would find Terra, and returned to the castle with Ienzo.

Ienzo was then seen in the secret ending of the game, sharing Sea-Salt Ice Cream with Ansem the Wise, the two holding hands as they ventured through the castle basement. Ienzo then stopped Ansem, the two of them looking behind them to see Braig and Xehanort walking off together in another hallway deep in conversation.

Dabbling in darkness
Ienzo was one of six apprentices of Ansem the Wise, the ruler and scientist of Radiant Garden, alongside Braig, Dilan, Even, Aeleus, and Xehanort. Worried the Darkness in people's hearts would eventually consume his world, Ansem began performing tests on Xehanort's heart. Eventually, at Ienzo's persuasion, he created a laboratory in his castle's basement for such experimentation. However, Ienzo and the other apprentices had their own intentions for the laboratory, and began conducting inhumane experiments on the human heart and the darkness within it. Such experimentation led to the creation of the Heartless. Ansem quickly discovered their secret experiments, and immediately ordered them to stop. One day, after being advised to review their research data by King Mickey, Ansem found that the effects of their experiments had become irreversible.

Eventually, Ienzo and the other five apprentices dabbled too deeply into darkness through their continued experiments. Ienzo, along with the others, was consumed by the darkness, producing a Heartless. However, the apprentices all had strong wills, and so Ienzo also became a human-formed Nobody, Zexion. The six Nobodies formed Organization XIII, and banished Ansem the Wise to the Realm of Nothingness.

Appearance
Like his fellow apprentice Even, Ienzo has a scientist-like appearance, wearing the same white coat that Even wears over a black, V-neck top. Oddly, Ienzo appears to be much younger than his Nobody, Zexion, perhaps even younger than Ventus. Otherwise, he completely resembles his Nobody, Zexion, with a few minor changes such as shorter, lighter hair. His eyes also appear to be a lighter shade of blue. Likely due to his size, Ienzo folds the sleeves of his lab coat back, and even then his hands are partially covered. He also wears blue pants and black shoes, as opposed to the other apprentices's black boots.

Trivia

 * According to Ansem's Secret Reports in Kingdom Hearts II, Ienzo persuased Ansem to create the laboratory that Xehanort and the other apprentices would later use to create the Heartless and Nobody, possibly implying that Ienzo had some influence that the other apprentices (not even Xehanort) had over Ansem.

Notes and References
Ienzo