Akiba Tanegashima

""The wind only speaks in whispers.""

Akiba Tanegashima is the eldest son of the Tanegashima family and heir to the company, the Tanegashima Foundation (Formerly Tanegashima Weapons Research and Development). He is a second year, strategist of Team SAAN and alluded to Oda Nobunaga.

Appearance
Akiba is a slim yet physically fit teen with long brown hair and red streaks, a color changing right eye, a gray left eye, and a horizontal scar running across his neck. Akiba usually ties his hair in a long ponytail that reaches his thighs, wears a long red scarf in a reverse drape and autumn-themed headphones. He also sometimes wears an eyepatch on his blind left eye.

Main Outfit
His main attire consists of a skin tight, long-sleeved jacket. Over the jacket are four-plated shoulder guards with an orange-red cloth attached to it. A large buckled belt wraps around his waist, which is where he puts his equipment.

For pants he wears a long, ballooning hakama, shinguards and modified boots.

Casual Outfit:
Akiba's indoor clothes and pajamas. He wears a brown long-sleeved sweater underneath an orange-red sweat jacket and white baggy pants with a red line that runs down to the bottom and fluffy red flip-flops.

Personality
To those who meet him for the first time he may seem aloof or even lethargic but behind this exterior is a gentleman who helps others without hesitation. He is polite and reserved thanks to his upbringing, but is also rather playful.

Akiba is the epitome of a nice guy. He helps others without question whenever they need it and doesn't want anything in return. He also has a soft spot for children and a deep respect for the faunus.

He is usually unwilling to fight against a person seriously for the fear of injuring them but when he is against a dangerous foe or if someone threatens his friends or family he will do everything necessary to prevent his friends from getting hurt, even if it means he has to kill to protect them.

Akiba has also become very vengeful, which stemmed from his time as a junior detective. This is more profound if he sees that person die or is someone he knows. This may cause him to act more rudely towards others, and show a more crueler side in battle. This feeling may only be alleviated by either catching/killing the person responsible, or by the help his friends or family.

Backstory
Akiba is the firstborn of the Oda Clan family branch the Tanegashima family in Zen, an island located in the middle of the 4 great continents, in the coastal capital town named Tōgan. He was a sheltered child, but he did not fear others. He disliked them. He was very disciplined and loved his family, but despises strangers due to the insults of businessmen and lower-class peons alike towards his family. During his first days in school he immediately avoided others. He acted cold to strangers keeping a stoic look to scares away others. Whenever someone did try to approach him he would threaten them to stay away or simply stare down the strangers in silence until they back off.

This attitude though changed when he lost his parents to an assassin and was almost killed himself when he was 9. The trauma from the attack caused Akiba to develop Anthropophobia or the fear of people, which forced himself out of school for the next two years of his life. Natsumochi Oda, Akiba's grandfather and current head of the Tanegashima Weapons Development And Research, now simply the Tanegashima Foundation ever since the attack, felt worried that Akiba will become a shut-in for the rest of his life if he didn't do anything, but also feared that this attacker or others may preform another assassination at him if he was let out again. So he let Akiba be secluded within his home, the Tanegashima Manor, until he is deemed ready.

After losing his parents Akiba feared everyone, even those he once trusted and loved, with the only people he still trusts being his sisters, Fuyuka and Tempera, and his grandfather. Wishing to cure this phobia, Natsumochi devised a plan, which is basically a homemade therapy for Akiba's phobia. He ordered his closest friend and bodyguard to have his daughter befriend Akiba.

At first it seemed useless but after a month of persistent requests from the little girl Akiba finally gave in and accepted. It started of slow but he slowly started to warm up to her and they quickly became close friends. After a few more weeks getting used to his new friend, Akiba started to open up more and began to befriend again, just as Natsumochi planned.

Two years afterward he was given the chance to go to school again by a special academy, whose headmaster strangely wanted him enrolled. Prior to this he was homeschooled and started gaining an interest in machinery after helping out the engineers who work within the many underground facilities, as well as reading all books available within the manor's library.

Also during this time he was given training by the many active and retired hunters living within the manor to become stronger and more prepared, starting with his grandfather. One of the things he learned that he was/became interested in was judo, firearms, and a sword style he witnessed during a special program on TV.

Akiba entered school again at the age of 11, but not alone. He was introduced to a girl a week prior named Sétanta Lily by her father, Cuhullin Lily, who is a good friend of his grandfather as well as an investor of the the now hidden company.

He was forced to get along with her since not only will they be going to the same school together, but she will be staying at the manor for the period of her enrollment.

They entered Zen's national school, Sengoku Academy. They formed a love-hate relationship together that lasted even after graduation. They also made other friends like Azsfar Al-Debraan, lion faunus and Copper Ventuo, an aspiring photographer.

Also during his time in school that he took up being a junior detective after assisting the local police in capturing a murderer. He became a local hero after capturing a notorious killer who murdered and raped women.

He unfortunately became a victim again in his last week in school by an assassin who revealed himself to be the killer of his parents. He tried to avenge his parents by defeating the assassin but ultimately failed.

The assassin slit Akiba's neck, knowing that it was the fastest way of killing anyone but Akiba survived thanks to his friends intervening. They were successful at defeating the assassin but were heavily injured in the process.

The cut the assassin made wasn't deep enough to cut the major arteries in his neck which resulted in Akiba's survival, but the trauma made Akiba mute. Once again though he persevered through his life-threatening injury and made a full recovery, and just two days before graduation.

During the first month of his break he began training again with his grandfather to further increase his abilities. Out of all of his friends, he has yet to discover his semblance, so his grandfather thought that through training that he can discover it. After a month his grandfather confessed that he enrolled Akiba into Beacon Academy without his consent 2 weeks prior, and will be expecting a letter soon. The news made Akiba more anxious than excited, but he was nonetheless.

A few days later he finally received the letter from Beacon, and was saddened when he read that he was rejected. Akiba got depressed at this, believing it was because of his muteness, as well as his lack of knowledge on fighting Grimm.

Unknown to Akiba is that the headmaster of Beacon, Professor Ozpin, was heading over to the Tanegashima Manor to meet him face-to-face.

Akiba has never seen the headmaster of Beacon before so when his grandfather brought him to him, he simply greeted him like any other visitor. After Ozpin properly greeted himself to him he asked if he wishes to enter Beacon, and if he was he needed to pass a special test. Confused but excited, Akiba accepted was given a mission to hunt a specific Grimm in Mistral.

He was tasked to kill an Arakumo Major, a large human-faced spider Grimm discovered within the deep forests of Mistral. The location was an abandoned village hidden within a sickly forest. The moment he dropped off he was attacked by the Grimm. The creature was quick and erratic which made it difficult to hit but despite this Akiba was able to kill the creature. Unfortunately it was not the target so he ventured within the ruined remains of the village until he reached the capital building. Entering, he was confronted by a larger Arakumo which was laying in a large web inside the building. Ironically, the creature's size led to its downfall as Akiba killed it with ease.

Upon returning to the airship he was congratulated by Ozpin who then informed him that he will be enrolled into Beacon.

Combat Prowess
Akiba is a nimblee fighter with great agility and flexibility. He doesn't use brute force but instead the skills he hardened through training and his wits.

In CQC he is a counterattack-oriented fighter who usually waits for his enemies to make the first move. His weapon of choice are longswords like a nodachi. He mostly uses it defensively or to catch another's weapon.

His true specialty though is long-ranged combat. Akiba is adept with using most sniper rifles and semi-automatic firearms but has difficulty handling automatic weapons. He complains that the recoil of automatic firearms make his muscles ache and wishes for a more far reaching firearm, hence why he prefers sniper rifles.

Akiba is very skilled in shooting from afar. He has a good spacial awareness and even better accuracy. He also tries to be as efficient and precise as possible, making every shot count and looking for the easiest way to do so (i.e. shooting a car's tires instead of shooting the driver.), He may even attempt to hit multiple targets with one shot so that he can save ammo.

His decisions in battle are defined by, a.) is the target a Grimm or human/faunus. b.) The target's level of danger. Akiba is more reserved against humans since he wishes not to kill them, so he aims for either their weapons or to simply incapacitate them. Whenever its Grimm though he is more calculating and will use any means necessary to eliminate them, as long as others aren't in danger.

Masamune [Experimental Dust-Powered Beam Katana Railgun]
Is an experimental sniper railgun created by the Tanegashima Foundation based out of Akiba's leftover sketches. It has a sleek, black and gray body which houses the firing mechanism, ammunition and a battery. Instead of a long barrel, the Masamune is outfitted with an upper extendable electromagnetic rail, with a long retractable thin plate on the bottom which can fold in, then flip out to create a hilt when in sword form.

The weapon doesn't use physical rounds but instead dust that is accumulated into a semi-physical ball of energy or, coined by Akiba, "dust beam". The dust beam is then accelerated by an electromagnetic rail to mach speeds. The weapon can also change the property of the dust beam, making it hot enough to cut through almost anything, or dense enough to become solid.

At the end of the upper rail is a folding flap that works as the weapon's gun form's safety lock. When folded down the railgun cannot fire its load but instead, the dust plasma circulates around as a dense beam of light that can cut through almost anything. The beam is physical enough to be intervened by other weapons and its properties can absorb dust to increase and even augment its power.

The weapon has many pros like little to no recoil, less weight, more range and firepower, and simpler mechanisms. But exhibits its own unique set of cons like dust-only ammunition, a limited power supply, and a clean rail for firing, as well as other hidden weakness that the weapon may have later on in its use.

Equipment
To increase his effectiveness as the team's support shooter, Akiba is armed with a variety of gadgets to widen his team's chances of victory and/or survivability.

Dust Bombs/Grenades
explosive grenades that are infused with different types and combinations of dust. To differenciate each is a color band around the body of the grenade. Akiba can hold a maximun of 6 grenades, 3 on each side of his belt, and may be any combination of the ff.
 * Red - Incendiary; highly explosive, causes fire around blast radius.
 * Blue - Freeze; immobilizes, forms ice crystals around blast radius.
 * Yellow - Static; incapacitates, useful in crowd control.
 * Gray - Air pressure; least harming, creates shockwaves.
 * Light Blue - Smoke; creates a cloud of smoke, inhibits sight.
 * Light Red - Heatwave; Similar to Red; powerful explosive, can cause lethal shockwaves.
 * Light Yellow - Flashbang; creates a flash of light, blinds.

Tsubame
Specially-made boots made for Akiba. The boots have a metal outsole and insole that houses a gray dust crystal inside. The dust crystal, when activated, creates a cushion of air underneath. The amount of air used can be regulated by how much Aura is being sent into them. Akiba can use these boots to enhance his movements. The boots can make make him glide on the battlefield, create bursts of wind to propel him in any direction, or to soften landings.

Sakura Units
Another weapon created out of Akiba's notebook. The Sakura Units are basically five flying, multi-purpose drones that are controlled via Akiba's headphones and his semblance. The units are hexagonal with visible joints, and are colored pink with a floral design and a number. Their default form is basically a flat panel that can attach to others to form shields, while their attack form is more complex. The units transform into origami crane drones. In this form the drones activate an independent A.I. program that can be ordered by Akiba through his headphones.

The drones read his mind via his headphones and will seek out anything that threatens his wellbeing. Akiba cannot directly control the drones in this form so it's risky to use around others since the drones will attack anything that is a threat, including his own teammates.

The weapon is rarely used by Akiba due to the amount of mental ability needed to command just one unit, let alone five, as well as weighing him down when inactive.

Headphones
One of Akiba's most notable accessory, these large closed-headphones sport not only a autumn-themed design but also a special piece of tech. The headphones are modified to read Akiba's brainwaves, which translates then displays them via an extendable glass projector widely used in Scrolls. This is Akiba's main method of communication

Pathfinder
Pathfinder is a unique semblance that, when activated, creates a HUD in his left eye that can zoom in and out, act as a crosshair for shooting, and even display, pinpoint, or mark targets and/or locations. The semblance can also display things like, but not limited to, angles measurements, degree of slope, height, and area of a square, etc., and displays these in a graphical representation in real-time. The semblance helps Akiba shoot down targets accurately, mark enemies of interest to tell his teammates, calculate possible outcomes, and is needed to operate the Sakura Units effectively.

Side-Effects
 * Akiba's right eye changes color depending on his current emotion, while hues pertain to the intensity of the current emotion.
 * The semblance only works on his left eye, which is blind when inactive.
 * Prolonged use of the semblance will cause headaches, a throbbing pain in the left eye, and the inability to reactivate for a definite amount of time depending on how long it was used (Recommended length of use is around an hour or less).

Etymology
Akiba (秋葉) is an abbreviation of the kanji 秋の葉 (aki no ha) meaning autumn leaf.

Tanegashima (種子島) is the name of the an island comprising the Osumi Islands as well as the japanese musket which was also produced within the island as well as its namesake.

Masamune (正宗) is derived from the japanese swordsmith, Masamune, who is renowned for being the most legendary swordsmith of japan's history who lived during the 13th to 14th century.

Tsubame (ツバメ) means "swallow".

Trivia

 * Akiba's sword style is based on the character Hakumen from the Blazblue series, while his weapon Masamune is based on Gundam Virtue's GN Bazooka from Gundam 00.
 * When frightened, he smiles wryly instead of having a shocked expression.
 * Akiba has never danced before.
 * Akiba sketches blueprints of weapons and mechas as a hobby.
 * He can also play the trumpet, violin, and the piano.