[NPC] [CIVILIAN] AKIRA TAKAHASHI

THE BASICS

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Akira has had the time and the experience to learn to be calm and patient, no matter the situation that arises. He has adopted every personality under the sun while alive - hot-blooded passion, deep-seated regret and sadness, and what seemed to be unending listlessness. Now, however, he has found some measure of peace and contentment in passing along his knowledge to future generations, even if a part of him still yearns to be back out there in the field.

BACKGROUND HISTORY

At first, Takahashi didn’t think he even had a Quirk. Not that it was out of the ordinary when he was young, of course - back then, Quirks were still a relatively rare occurrence, or were at least kept hidden from the general public. Villains were, of course, the exception to that. Leveraging the powers they had to take what they wanted, law enforcement was forced to adapt without warning. Superpowered criminals seemed to be coming out of the woodwork, and police - where Takahashi lived, anyway - couldn’t keep up with the tools and training afforded to them.

Despite the panic that such a situation inevitably caused, Takahashi and his family attempted to live their lives in peace. Society shifted and changed around them, radically altering in as little as weeks sometimes, but life went on. They tried to keep things from affecting their daily lives as best they could - alas, it was not meant to be.

It was winter when Takahashi's parents took him to go shopping for some extended family's Christmas presents, having been too busy to do it earlier in the year. Unfortunately for them, it happened to be the day that a villain decided to take some hostages - and a vigilante decided to do something about it. Clad in a crudely-assembled ensemble of body armour, the man clashed against the criminal, the two of them trading blows with each other, and leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. The villain was eventually apprehended, but the cost was far more than just monetary.

Some were trapped beneath rubble, crying out desperately for help. Funnily enough, once the 'exciting' part of the job was done, the vigilante was nowhere to be seen. Some were injured, whether it was just scrapes and bruises from being shunted around in the panic, to broken bones and burns that would leave scars for the rest of their lives. And then, the fatalities. Just two. Takahashi's parents.

The media was relentless in hounding the child for his perspective on things. It didn't matter that he was in too much shock to give an answer, being old enough to understand the permanence of death, but too young to know how to process it when forced to confront it. It didn't matter that the sight of their bodies, charred and mangled from the fight that they'd not even been a part of, had left him traumatised to the point where he could barely even verbalise for weeks, let alone speak. They only considered their ratings as they scoured the city for him, though their searches were in vain.

He had been shipped off to his grandparents' house, far away from his home town, before the vultures had a chance to get to him. He was, of course, given whatever therapy and treatments were needed. Progress was slow, with the healing process taking years to show any marked improvement, but persistence, patience, and kindness helped him recover from that horrific day. He knew he would never fully heal from the damage the two supers had caused him that day, and he wasn't entirely certain he could trust people that were so brazen with their quirks, but he had - for the most part - recovered.

Its impact on him was not to be underestimated, however, even with all the treatment he had received. Whether it was through hatred of villains, a need to bring vigilantes to justice as well, or a simple desire to not let another child go through what he did, Takahashi became a police officer. He quickly became recognised as a rising star in his local department, working tirelessly to bring people to justice, often working himself almost to the point of collapse to make certain that the law was upheld. Despite being often seen as severe and humourless, he was nevertheless respected by his peers for his dedication to the cause.

More years passed, and it became clearer with each that - despite his apparent lack of Quirk - he would be a thorn in the side of any lawbreaker, powers or not. Smart, dogged, and with a talent for both firearms and unarmed combat that few his age could match, Takahashi was time and again recognised for his efforts and accomplishments. Every time, however, he would make it clear that he never did it for rewards or recognition. Knowing that those who threatened society's stability - or whatever was left of it - were being locked up was enough for him, whether it was out of a desire to see justice done or because he sought revenge.

Unfortunately, the ravages of time were not an enemy that could be cuffed and sealed away. His colleagues began to take less active roles, or outright retire, knowing that their bodies simply weren't going to keep up with what the job demanded. Takahashi, however, belonged in the field, and remained sprightly into his old age. Uncannily so. Where most would start showing grey hair (or would start losing it altogether), Takahashi's colour never waned. His body was that of a young man's - something his doctor could attest to during yearly exams. No matter how much time passed, it never seemed to affect him any.

The truth, eventually, became apparent. It wasn't affecting him because he did indeed have a Quirk. Constant training and a healthy lifestyle could only do so much to stave off the effects of age, after all. He had the power of Longevity, his ageing process slowed to a crawl, his body seemingly ageless for decades to come. Some would see it as a blessing, others a curse in disguise. Takahashi paid it no mind, beyond the scrapping of his retirement plans. He would continue his work, no matter what year it was.

Until he was shot.

It was inevitable, some would say, that someone with as many decades of service as he had would eventually take one. They might have said that the fact that it wasn't fatal was a miracle in and of itself. Indeed, while the firefight had claimed his eye and left his leg in no state to take on criminals with, Takahashi would recover. He was bitter, of course. His crusade had been brought to an abrupt end, and while his friends assured him that they were hot on the tail of the ones that had given him those injuries, he doubted they'd be brought to justice any time soon.

As hard as it was, he took some small solace in the knowledge that he'd done good. He'd put many a villain behind bars, and had vigilantes aplenty fall at his heel. The day he finally handed in his badge was a sad one for the force - one that saw a great many officers, serving and retired alike, come to see him off. However, satisfied as he was with the job he'd done, his exiting the force posed a rather prominent question - what next? Despite knowing that taking a career-ending injury was inevitable, he hadn't planned for what would happen after he left, and it left him feeling empty.

It wasn't until an old friend of his invited him to help with a new gym that he found any sort of purpose. Though Takahashi had never held a particularly high opinion of heroes in general, his friend had stood out among them as a man of great dedication and discipline, unwilling to let his Quirk be his sole means of attack, and wishing to train his body to its peak as well. So when Takahashi was asked to help teach prospective students alongside that retired hero - despite the injuries he'd sustained - the retired officer could only say yes. It was hardly as if he had much else to do with his life, after all.

As fulfilling as the position was, however, Takahashi grew weary of his position there. He was still friendly with the man he worked with, but the two of them butted heads too often for him to work there effectively. Unwilling to risk their friendship, he confessed that he could not work there any longer - to which the old man said that he felt the same, but hadn't been sure about how to bring it up. They laughed at the situation, seeing the humour in it, before resolving to sort the matter out over drinks that night.

After many hours - and far more drink than men of their age should have been having - it was decided that Takahashi would take up teaching martial arts in Musutafu. The way he saw it, it'd be the best shot he had at making certain heroes of the next generation would graduate with more skills than just how to use their Quirks. He'd never be accepted as a teacher - not with his injuries and lack of any kind of teaching-related degree or license - but nothing stopped him from setting up shop in the area.

With a few phone calls to old friends and contacts, he eventually managed to found the "Takahashi Combat Training Centre." There, along with a few acquaintances he'd roped into things with him, he sought to pass down his knowledge of fighting techniques, whether it was hand-to-hand combat, how best to wield weapons - normal or improvised - or even how to wield a firearm. One loaded with nonlethal rounds, of course, but a useful tool in a hero's arsenal nonetheless. Though he missed his days out in the field, the importance of passing on his skills is not lost on him - even if it is for a fee.

THE ARMORY

Stun Baton: An electrified baton. Easy to wield, and hurts like hell when it hits.
Pellet Gun: A handgun specially designed to only be able to fire rubber bullets. Constructed in such a way that it feels and operates almost exactly like its more lethal variant.
Riot Shotgun: A shotgun designed to only be capable of firing nonlethal rounds. Feels and operates almost exactly like the ones used by police when Takahashi was with them.

QUIRK & SKILLS

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LONGEVITY

TYPE: Mutant
RANK/LEVEL: B
SUMMARY: Longevity slows the user's ageing process down, allowing them to stave off the effects of old age for an indeterminate amount of time. It should not be confused for immortality, however. While the user may be able to live for centuries, they will still age, albeit at a far slower rate than normal humans. At present, doctors theorise that Takahashi ages around five times slower than the average man, but this is subject to change as they collect more data on the subject.

NAME: Martial Arts Proficiency
RANK/LEVEL: B
SUMMARY: Takahashi's decades of experience have allowed him to become extremely proficient in a great many martial arts, both unarmed and armed. Though he is not a master of any of them, the breadth of his experience and ability to weave techniques together makes him an incredibly adaptable and deadly opponent.

NAME: Marksmanship
RANK/LEVEL: B
SUMMARY: Throughout his time on the force, Takahashi has spent many hours practising wielding firearms. While he has a working knowledge of arms that the police may typically use when the situation requires, he is notably more proficient with handguns.

MRGUY

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