Grayson Kobayashi

"But even the most brilliant lights eventually flicker and die... And when they're gone, darkness will return..."

- Unknown Historian

Appearance
He appears as a green-cloaked figure, complete with hood, with brown cargo pants and a green long-sleeved tunic to match the cloak, along with leather boots. A thick leather belt surrounds his waist for utility, including a small satchel at his side. The cloak itself is mottled for forest camouflage, with the exception of a symbol depicting a three pointed maple leaf on the back of the cloak. One unusual trait of him is his green eyes, which is not commonplace among his race. Other than that, he possesses the regular traits of Asians: short build, black hair, thin eyes, etc. He has a well-built face and good facial features to match.

History
Grayson was a lively child in his early days. He had the perfect life: caring parents, lots of friends, good fortune. He didn't need wealth or riches. His mother was a Huntress who used the power of light to smite her enemies, while his father was a humble farmer, growing and producing wheat for a living. Grayson also had a younger sister in his childhood, who had notable silver hair. He was a bit more intelligent than the other kids at his age, but more caring as well. It seemed like he was on his way to becoming a good man.

Then they appeared.

Out of nowhere the creatures struck Grayson's village when he was 9, ravaging their stores, devouring and goring the people. Blood was everywhere. Everybody was gone except Grayson. His family, his friends, his community... All were gone in one single swoop. Even his mother had fallen to the beasts, dying from a sudden snake ambush. Corpses littered the streets of the once-peaceful village, body parts everywhere. As Grayson fell to the ground, tears in his eyes, the creatures of night advanced on him, ready to eat their last meal.

At the last second, his mother, already poisoned by King Taijitu venom, used the last of her strength to buy her son enough time to escape. Even so, Grayson remained long enough to see his mother torn to pieces by the Grimm, and holds a long time grudge by this tragedy.

After that incident, a poor old couple found Grayson a few miles away from his home village, sick and tired. They nurtured him back to health and raised him as their own. Under their care, he trained himself to defend others from threats, in order to prevent a tragedy from happening like he experienced again. He also made a weapon of his own with help from a master blacksmith. When Grayson was 15, his adopted guardians suddenly grew ill with a mysterious sickness. They were gone in 10 days. For 2 years after their deaths, he worked as a village watchman, fending off those same creatures he encountered on that day.

During this time, he revisited the village he once called home and, using his Dust, erected a willow tree in the village plaza to honor the memory of those who died there. He goes back there every so often on his free days, thinking about what it's worth to live a life like this, living in a world where no one knows him.

One day, he defended the village from a particularily nasty attack by an army of Beowolves, using his self-made weapon Hope Primordial. During the battle, though, he lost his main objective, a young girl named Lucy who was the village elder's daughter, and lost the respect of the village as a result. However, a recruiter from Beacon Academy noticed his skill and offered to take him there for an education. At first, he was worried about the village he was protecting, but after promising they would station a Hunter there after he would arrive at Beacon, he finally accepted.

After arriving at Beacon, he would eventually meet 3 others who would make him feel not as alone anymore...

Combat
Grayson's weapon of choice, Hope Primordial, is a Multi-functional High Velocity Battleaxe (MHVB). The axe is bladed on both ends of the shaft and is stylized differently from conventional axes. The blades extend out in a 180 degree angle and tapers off at each end. The shaft of the MHVB is covered with scale-like plates for extra reinforcement and protection. Extensions on the heads of the axe eject close-ranged shotgun shells in combat at astonishing rates of fire, which the recoil can also double as propellant for more agility. The recoil of the shotgun mode is incredibly strong, enabling Grayson to change direction in almost an instant. To keep from getting blasted off, Grayson wears reinforced boots with cleats to secure his position. For longer-ranged combat, the MHVB can turn into a sniper rifle that shoots about 2 rounds per second. The shotgun ammunition condenses into sniper rifle bullets for this transformation. One of the blades also turns into a bayonet in case of sudden close-combat situations. Grayson is an exceptional crack shot at it. Hope Primordial collapses into a cylindrical object for portability and is unusually light, given its velocity needs.

The cartridges of Hope Primordial contain special rounds consisting of powdered Dust, the more potent of the two forms, encased in special metal alloy bullets. This results in both the shotgun and the sniper rounds to pack quite a punch when they hit. Each cartridge contains 30 rounds for the sniper mode, and extends to about 120 rounds for the shotgun mode to adapt for the high rate of fire, before having to reload. The reload time itself is usually around 1 second or more. Grayson will retreat to a safe distance depending on the enemy when he reloads.

In combat, Grayson combines martial arts with twirls of Hope Primordial to create a deadly efficiency: stunning, then slicing enemies left and right. Twirls have been recorded to go at 120 mph. Grayson's max speed when using the shotgun propellant was recorded at a stunning 200 mph. Twirling the MHVB at high speeds enables Grayson to deflect all rounds from standard firearms.

Grayson always notes the weaknesses and strengths of foes while he himself is fighting. He usually surveys his opponents first for any possible weak spots before charging into battle, usually attacking first with the sniper form of Hope Primordial. If that proves to be ineffective, he will then charge with caution to the enemy. Grayson is also extremely resourceful, using terrain and various objects to his advantage.

Grayson is usually averse against using Dust, but if needed, he usually utilizes it to animate any plant matter he chooses, even seeds. When using this technique, Grayson often employs massive force with huge vines to dispatch his enemies. He can also heal most wounds with a green aura surrounding the area.

Grayson is also capable of using his Aura, awakened by his mother. He will sometimes employ this with his martial arts techniques to give more force and deal more damage.

Grayson's semblance allows him to enhance selective muscles on his body to react to certain situations. To clarify, the semblance doesn't take strength from other muscles to enhance the selected muscles; rather, the semblance just enhances the selected muscles. Grayson can enhance only one set of muscles at a time (i.e. the triceps of both his arms), but only takes a split second to switch between sets of muscles. The semblance can enable Grayson to exert 2000 pounds of force in total. This can also enable Grayson to rush at the opponent at surprising speeds, if deemed necessary by him.

Minor detail: Hope Primordial can also turn into a violin for recreational purposes.

Personality
"But perhaps victory is in the simpler things that we've long forgotten, things that require a smaller, more honest soul..."

- Professor Ozpin

Before that day, Grayson was energetic, thoughtful and caring of others. He was willing to make friends easily.

That single incident changed his personality forever.

Nowadays, he's a bit less friendly towards others, but still mildly sociable. He still contains some of his old self in him. He's quite intelligent and ruthless in battle, yet still moralistic and caring for others. Despite his skill in battle, he hates the thrill of combat. Grayson still tolerates the battle, though. He prefers to be pacifist in most cases, except when combat is necessary.

His relationship with his other teammates could be best described as mild. He often does what's necessary, cracking only a few clever jokes. He's a great person to just release your emotions to, though. If one talks to him about their troubles, Grayson can give surprisingly good advice on what exactly to do. He has a comforting air about him in those moments.

Grayson's philosophy is a complicated matter. He is kind, but logical at the same time. He likes his freedom, but understands that control is necessary in some situations. He has seen things most other people would have nightmares about in that incident, yet he somehow manages to live by. To put it simply, Grayson considers all the sides of all elements fairly, both cruel and beautiful. There is one thing he absolutely despises, however, and that is the Grimm. He sees the Grimm as mindless killing machines, created only to kill. However, Grayson stays true to his style when dealing with those creatures.

Grayson holds on to hope, as it's the only thing he has left from that horrible attack. He carries a relic of his past with him, a mysterious piece of uncut white Dust. He says it's the type of Dust his mother used to use around the household. However, Grayson is still haunted by those corpses on that day, those lifeless, mangled bodies.

Grayson is an expert instrumentalist at the violin, playing deep, soft melodies with subtle intensity. He often plays only for the pure enjoyment of expression and tends to perform in private. He is quite shy about playing in public, and numerous attempts to record his music have failed.

An interesting part of his personality is his tendency to stay alone. He believes himself to be cursed because of his tragic past, and stays away from the other students, and even his teammates, to protect them. He knows the risk of being a Hunter: that your closest friends can die at any moment, and distances himself in order to lessen the mental pain.

Efficiency and ruthlessness combine with kindness and morals to create an interesting blend in character that this beautiful, yet cruel world may need...

Trivia

 * Grayson is mainly based off of Halt from the Ranger's Apprentice series.