Akiba Tanegashima

Akiba Tanegashima is the eldest son of the Tanegashima Family and a second year in Beacon. He is part of Team SAAN and alludes to Oda Nobunaga.

Appearance
Akiba is a 5'6 tall with long brown hair with red higlights and a red right eye and a grey left eye. He has long bangs on front while on the back is flipped-up, with the rest of his hair tied in a ponytail that reaches his lower back. Around his neck is his trademark long red scarf while on his head are his autumn themed closed headphones.

He wears a tight orange and yellow, long-sleeved jacket. Attached to his shoulders are two four-layered shoulderguards attached with a cape that are fall into an edge at one side. Around his waist is a large, golden buckled belt. On the back of the belt is a harness for his weapon while running its sides are holsters for his grenades. For pants he wears a ballooning hakama reaching only to his shins thanks to his modified, armored boots.

Personality
Akiba at first glance may seem aloof or even lethargic at first since his facial expression is almost always stuck on poker-face; he is almost always unnoticed that it takes a really good eye to see him in a light crowd. He easily disappears into the background, and may separate from his teammates if he sees himself as a bother to them.

But underneath his cold and distant exterior however he is very caring and loyal. He always trusts his friends and will go to great lengths to protect them. Though he may go as far as sacrificing himself for them in some way, which angers his teammates a lot. He is also very kind and polite towards strangers and even more so to children, but there is nothing that he cares for the most than his two younger siblings.

He shows a great deal of respect and honor to anyone he faces, whether friend or foe. He is fair and will abide to fight even if the odds are stacked against him. Only those who do not have any sense of morality or against the Grimm will he drop these values and show a more ruthless side of him. He also doesn't like it when his family is insulted, and may take action against it.

He is quite the intellectual. He can memorize lessons quickly and has a habit of writing down what he hears in class. Because of this he is frequently asked by his friends to help them study. Yet despite being so smart he is somehow very dense. It takes a really direct approach for him to even notice another's affection.

In detective work he shows a more callous and calculating persona. He is very thorough with his investigations and will not leave until everything has been accounted for. He is more conscious of his surroundings and may stay tense even after investigation, but this can be alleviated through a good cup of tea.

Background
Akiba was born in a small country located nearby Mistral''. ''The oriental yet technological country is famous for its high regards towards tradition, have laws that allow duels anywhere at anytime and its annual war recreations and festivals. He was born in one of the four noble families, which is also the wealthiest of the four, the Tanegashima Family. He lived in a large castle-turned-manor alongside other families that serve alongside or under his family.

For most of his early childhood he was distant and unsocial, with only worsened when he started hearing insults coming from visitors towards his family. Now also hostile to almost anyone who approaches him, he spent most of his kindergarden years alone. This attitude though stopped after losing his parents, and was close to losing his own life as well, to a serial killer that invaded the resort his family vacationed in when he was eight years old. He survived by an unknown hunter forcing his aura out to keep him alive just long enough for ambulances to arrive.

After that not only was he traumatized from losing his parents, but he also gained Anthropophobia, or the fear of people. He began to fear everyone around him, including his own family members expect for his two sisters, Tempera and Fuyuki.

He was soon saved by his two siblings when they tried to have him befriend someone, a few months after the incident, who happens to be the daughter of his family's bodyguards, the Toyotomi Clan. After the constant urging of his two younger sisters he finally accepted her. This soon enough saved him since after this he soon started to open up more to others, of course with the help his two sisters and his new friend.

Another few months after this he started homeschooling, with his grandfather being his teacher. After just a few days of homeschooling though Natsu also began adding things like physical training and such. He used the homeschooling as an excuse to prepare him if he is ever targeted once again. Akiba never knew his grandfather even before losing his parents but he soon realized that it was by his word that made his two sisters help him with his phobia, which is slowly being cured thanks to the interaction with not only his new friend but with the other family's living in his home. Of course, in a tightly-knitted extended and merged family such secrecy was soon to be discovered, and when they did they also began teaching/training Akiba. During this time Akiba gained a hobby of reading books in his manor's library as well as learning mechanical and electronic engineering.

He was able to enroll back into school when he was 11 years old, thanks to the help of the headmaster of the national school in Zen, Sengoku Academy. Although she was mildly weird, she accepted Akiba into her school with open arms.

Unfortunately (or fortunately) for him he didn't go to his new school alone. A week before the start of the school year he was introduced to a young silver-haired girl named Setanta Lily, and her father Cuhullin Lily. It was then he and his grandfather explained that the two will be going to Sengoku together, with Setanta staying in his home for the duration of her stay in said school.

Akiba and Setanta soon enough gained a love-hate relationship with eachother which started just a day after meeting. Although starting off rough they soon enough became best friends after their first year together. They also made some new friends including a lion faunus named Azsfar Amon Al-Debraan and a photographer named Copper Ventuo.

During his second year Akiba helped out his town's local police in a murder case of a fellow classmate. This was when he met the Vale detective, Douglas Moore. He was sent there to help but soon enough became Akiba's mentor in being a detective. Akiba balanced this with part-time jobs, school, and training.

When he was in in last year the experiences he went through coupled with emotional pains and other personal matters have taken their toll on Akiba. But even though his attitude has changed throughout the four years in Sengoku, he was still able to keep most of his personality and ideals. He has protected his connection with his friends and family, albeit now in a more twisted, self-sacrificial manner.

Unfortunately the nightmare that took the lives of his parents and many other innocents returned to finish the job. The killer appeared before him when he was returning home one day, a month before graduation, on his last year in Sengoku. The killer introduced himself as Fleece White before attacking Akiba who was without a weapon.

Fleece easily defeated Akiba with a quick cutthroat that somehow didn't kill him. He noticed this and pulled a gun out to finish him off but was interrupted by his two close friends, Azsfar and Copper. The two had luckily brought their weapons due to getting in a fight earlier. Despite still being tired from this they were able to defeat Fleece at the cost of being heavily injured themselves.

Akiba was sent to the hospital without a moment's notice and survived. This was thanks to a miscalculated cut that wasn't deep enough to cut his arteries but did cut his esophagus open. The trauma from it was enough to make him mute. Fortunately he had a quick recovery, and was healthy enough to be present on graduation day. After that Setanta left the the Tanegashima Manor, then after that so did his two closest friends to train.

During his break he started special training with his grandfather. Even though he was trained in a combat school he was unable to discover his semblance, so the training he created was to help Akiba discover his semblance. During this his grandfather secretly sent a letter of enrollment to Beacon. It was only after he received a letter of acceptance into Beacon did Akiba discover his grandfather's doing, which made him both excited and anxious.

Weapon and Abilities
This is Akiba's main weapon. A sniper rifle based on his family heirloom's weapon of the same name, the Masamune sports a sleek and modern design with an unique detachable rectangular barrel that is sharpened at its bottom, covered only by two metal plates that combine in a V-shape on the bottom of the barrel. On the end of the barrel where it detaches from the body is a foldable handle for independent use as a sword, while its body is used as a pistol. The body's main handle can rotate 0 to 45 degrees down and has a detachable scope.
 * Masamune (Separable High-Powered Dust Sniper Katana)

When in sniper form (Merged form) the weapon exemplifies a great deal of firepower and has a range of approximately 1000 yards. Its recoil is strong enough to push him backwards. To add to this it uses solely dust, and can use a variety of it at any time. The size of the cartridges are comparable to that of a .50 cal, except shaped into a rectangle and filled with dust, with 5 being stored in a magazine clip at a time. He also has greater reach when in Odachi form (Combined sword form), which is the form he frequently uses in combat.

When split apart from its barrel into its pistol form (Detached form), the weapon loses its range to around 200 meters as well as half of its firepower. The recoil though is significantly less but still enough be sprain his wrist if used incorrectly.

Although the weapon is formidable, so is the amount of maintenance needed to keep the weapon efficient. The most taxing of these is the cleaning of the barrel which is done every now and then to keep the barrel clear of any obstruction. As well as making more ammunition since its cartridges are handmade.

To increase Akiba's effectiveness against groups of enemies, he made special dust bombs. Akiba is able to keep as much as six at maximum, three on each side of his belt. The types of Dust can use almost any kind of dust which include: Red Dust, Blue Dust, Yellow Dust, White Dust, etc. and any combination of dust.
 * Dust Grenades

Physical Prowess
Akiba has has a slim but toned build thanks to the training he went through. One may expect that his strength is nothing less than above average which is true, but its how he brings out this strength that surprises many of his foes. His muscles are trained to bring out a great amount of energy in a split second, making him able to do feats thought to be difficult for someone of his build. To add to this he is quite acrobatic, flexible, and coupled with his quick-thinking skills makes him a formidable opponent to fight against.

Precognition
Thanks to the constant battles he has gone through Akiba started to read his enemy's movements more clearly, and is even able to sense danger around him. This enables him to anticipate and plan his next move effectively. This even applies to the creatures of Grimm, making him able to handle a small group of Beowulves by himself (of course fully prepared). Though this is lessen if he is unable to see his opponent, he can still "feel" where the attack is coming from. He counts upon this in close-quarters combat, especially if against a group.

Fighting Style
Akiba's fighting style is a combination of multiple martial arts like Aikido, Judo, Kenjutsu and Iaidjutsu. Akiba is a passive fighter and a great sniper. In fights he holds himself back by focusing on using counter-attacks and grapples to quickly take down his opponent(s). He doesn't use his weapon's gun form and his sword form is used mostly to defend himself. When serious however he is more aggressive and calculating. He maintains his advances and retreats to keep his opponent(s) on its toes. He is more willing to use his sword and even his gun or both to increase his effectiveness in taking his opponent(s) down.

Weaknesses
Akiba's body may be trained to bring out great amounts of energy in one single strike, this makes him prone to tiring easily in a fight, which is why he uses his defensive stance most of the time. Akiba isn't a long lasting fighter so he may be beaten by simply tiring him out. His body is also rather frail. He can only survive a few direct hits and this is with his aura shielding him. Due to this he can only dodge attacks or redirect them away from him.

His greatest weakness is his aura control. Ever since he was attacked when he was young his aura was weakened greatly. Though it has fully recovered when he enters Beacon he hasn't used his aura other than to heal wounds. Due to this he has little knowledge on how to use it. His teammates did help him in learning how to use it later on, he is still only able to use it to protect himself.

Another weakness that most people don't realize is his own honor and loyalty. He is loyal to his teammates and is willing to sacrifice himself to secure their safety. On the other hand, if he is challenged into a duel, he will accept it no matter what, even if it is a trap. He is also taught to never run away from his allies or anyone in need. Though these may be seen as heroic and honorable, this makes him more likely to die protecting someone than fighting for his own life.

Another weakness is his experience against Grimm. His country is so well-maintained that Grimm attacks are uncommon. His school did have Grimm studies like any other combat school but again, due to how the country is maintained it made looking for Grimm difficult. Akiba only has the basic knowledge of Grimm, and is limited to that knowledge. Though Beacon focuses more on battling the Grimm, he has only fought against them as a support shooting from afar. He has gotten used to fighting against them later on, but he is still leagues away from his more experienced teammates.

Etymology
Akiba (アキバ) is derived from Akibagahara (秋葉が原) meaning "autumn leaf field". The word Aki (秋) means autumn.

Tanegashima (種子島) is the name for an island that is part of the Ōsumi Islands. It also refers to the japanese matchlock of the same name. The matchlock are colored maroon or red-orange, which is also where I based his colors off.

Masamune is the name of a famous japanese swordsmith who is renowned all around japan as the greatest swordsmith of japanese history.

Trivia

 * Akiba's character and fighting style is loosely based on the character Hakumen from the Blazblue series.
 * Akiba's weapon on the other hands is inspired from the Beam Bazooka used by Gundam Vitrue in the series Gundam 00.
 * Akiba has never danced before.
 * Akiba smiles wryly when frightened.