Akiba Tanegashima

"People who smile brightest, lived the hardest, survived the worst." "Yes, it is a floating screen. No, These are not fox ears."

Akiha Tanegashima is the eldest son of the Tanegashima Weapons Developement and Science. He joined Beacon on a whim by his grandfather as training. He is a second year and the leader and strategist of Team AYTM.

Personality
Akiha is very shy, timid, and socially awkward, but kind-hearted and also a bit curious. He has lost the ability to speak when he was in junior high, so to converse with others he either writes what he says on a white board or by using sign language.

He treats everyone with respect. After the incident, his grandfather quickly taught him the value of respect and honor, with would drastically change his personality and attitude towards others. Although he does get mad at people at times, but he either tries to forget it or keep it in and let it out later. There are

When he was young he had Anthropophobia, or the fear of people. He was able to conquer the phobia thanks to his family and a few friends, who was either told by his grandfather to befriend him, or really wanted to be his friend. He is still afraid of people though, but not as much as before and becomes very cautious when without his friends.

This attitude though doesn't apply when he is around children, instead he is comfortable around them. He believes that kids should act like kids and live happily in innocence. This is due to the trauma he went through during his childhood, but because of this he has gained a sense of understanding, appreciation, and compassion for life.

He is rather caring to the faunus. His family accepts the faunus with open arms with two families living in his family's castle-like manor alongside his family. He is more friendlier and less scared towards the faunus than to human.

He doesn't want to be a burden to others, so he tries to be independent. He believes that he should be capable of caring for himself and shouldn't always need the help of his friends or family. This is also the reason why he learned housekeeping, like cooking and doing chores.

Backstory
Akiha was born in a very wealthy family in Zen, a island off the far east of Mistral, in a coastal town called Togan. Whatever he asked was served to him on a silver platter. He was very disciplined and loved his family. But during his first days in school he avoided others. He acted cold to strangers keeping a cold, stoic look which scares away others. Whenever someone did try to approach him he would threaten them to stay away.

This kind of attitude persisted until an incident happened during summer break at the age of 8. He along with his two sisters, Natsumi who was 6 at the time and FuyukI who was 3 years old, went to a resort to relax and have fun. Unknown to him or anyone in the resort was a perfect storm brewing. A group of terrorists aimed for the resort. Not only that, but a renowned serial killer has also entered the resort with plans to make another murder. When the terrorists attacked, he was with his parents inside the auditorium while his sisters were outside, playing in the swimming pool under his family's protectors (ninjas), The Toyotomi Clan. The terrorists stormed the the resort, quickly towards the auditorium.

He was soon discharged a month afterward. Although he was physically well, his mental health was nowhere near well. He has suffered deep emotional and physical trauma. He had developed Anthropophobia and due to this he stopped going to school. To help treat his phobia his grandfather, Natsumochi Oda asked his best friend and right hand man, Toyotomi Kazemaru to let his daughter befriend Akiha. At first he avoided her for obvious reasons, but she was persistent. He soon accepted her friendship and surprisingly became good friends after a few days. He was homeschooled for most of his life. His family soon discovered that he was a gifted stragetist and mechanic.

On his 11th birthday, an investor and Natsu's good friend from Vale, Tsar Niksolvai, visited with his daughter Anastesia. He was scared at her for her cold, stoic expression. Unfortunately when he entered junior high, she was enrolled at the same school he was. When he was in his second year, he formed an Student Investigation Club, or SIC, with Anastesia and his new friend Apollo Solarion, a lion faunus from the Menagerie who moved in during the time. He formed the club after an incident after school that a student was murdered. The club was also formed due to the many mysteries surrounding the town.

In their last year together, the Student Investigation Club had many new members, 4 schoolmates from all levels, a young tailor, a detective, and his sister Tempera. Since the school allows outsiders to join clubs, they quickly applied. Their biggest case was the serial killer, Fleece White. He, Apollo, and his other close friend Ace (Dubbed the AAA by Ace), accidentally stumbled onto him during school break. Fleece tried to escape but the trio gave chase, which was a big mistake. Fleece was able to kill Ace, severely damaged Akiha, by cutting his neck, and Apollo by a diagonal cut on his right torso. Akiha was able to shoot him, hitting his left lung. Apollo, using his newly discovered semblance Dragonblood, defeated Fleece but was able to escape. After the attack the killer was never seen again.

The dying trio was saved by a good samaritan and tea shop owner, Avanto Dalus. Ace died on arrival to the hospital. Akiha was able to survive long enough to be treated, but lost his left eye and the ability to speak. Apollo was the least hurt, thanks to his semblance, and quickly recovered. Akiha was in a coma for 2 weeks before awakening to the sight the SIC members and his family. Even though he lost a close friend and almost died himself, he continued his detective work alongside SIC.

After graduating his grandfather quickly applied him for Beacon, which was in Vale, which was on the other side of the world. Before he went of to Beacon, he said his final goodbye to his friends and family. He along with his best friend Apollo head to Beacon.

Appearance
Akiha is 4'8 tall and has a slim yet fit physique, has brown hair with light brown streaks. On his neck is a horizontal scar and his left eye is covered by an eyepatch. His eyes are unique, the right being a plethora of colors, changing depending on his emotional state, and his left being grayed out when semblance is off, neon green when on.

Main Outfit:
His main outfit is a modified kikko katabira with an autumn theme. The katabira' color is a gradient of orange to red, from top to bottom, with autumn leaves decorated at the bottom of the skirt. The katabira is closed by three metal plates colored blood red with golden accents. The katabira's sleeves are open, helping with movement and keeps Akiha cool, Sode covers the gap. A metal band is attached to the upper waist of the ''katabira. ''The metal band functions as a holster for his weapons and keep Akiha on the ground, lessening recoil. He also wears wears brown, ballooning hakama and ''suneates. ''His footwear are speciallized boots with an outsole surrounded by a metal rim with a specially made dust crystal on the soles of the boots.

Combat Prowess
Akiha's skills in combat can surprise many if met for the first time. Due to Akiha's weak aura, he makes up for it in by training his physical body and his mind. Akiha was trained by his uncle in Judo, and is very intelligible due to being homeschooled. He was also taught how to use a gun by his grandfather.