Zero (ACOA)

Yuusuke Hayashi, better known by his codename "Zero", is a silver-gray stick figure with archaic zeroes embedded into his chest and the palms of his hands. He works for the Kobayashi Robotics company; he is Professor Matt's number two, and the strongest member of the Kobayashi Roots.
== Quick Overview ==
(aka the TLDR)
* Fighting Style: Close, restrained baguazhang.
* Tools and Magic: Zero Powers
* Strategy: Flexible Response
== Personality ==
"There is no need to use 172 words when two or three will do."
- Yuusuke, on Solaris Stormcrusher's reckless attitude
Yuusuke is normally calm and reserved in public. He tries to keep a cool head at all times, and refrains from taunting or jeering at opponents. He is quite aware of his reputation as the most powerful Root, and is usually very careful about what he says in order to maintain the Roots' own reputation.
Yuusuke appears to be dedicated to Matt and will spring to defend him at all costs. He is willing to abandon anything and everything to protect Matt from harm, which unfortunately is easily exploitable by opponents. However, he is respectful of Matt and will step down if the professor decides to fight for himself.
Yuusuke emits a "thoughtful" energy type. He has a slight affinity to Void-element magic, which leaves a noticeably unique energy signature. As such, if he uses a Zero Power, he will practically be giving his location away to any sensory types nearby.
== In Slush Arena ==
After being encouraged by Matt, Yuusuke decided to sign up for the Slush Arena tournament. He was shoved into a team with a bunch of other random fighters. Yuusuke recognized Scarstick since he often went to his coffee joint in the past, but was unfamiliar with the two Artists.
As it turns out, Matt had decided to attend the Slush Arena and watch his right-hand man fight. Before the match, Yuusuke noticed this, along with the presence of Solaris and Yutaka by his side. Despite the other bodyguards' presence, he decided to keep an eye on the professor throughout the fights, in the case of an ambush or attack. After he explained this to the others, Scarstick commented that his mindset could lead to an opponent purposefully attacking Matt to distract him, and jokingly made sure to consider him "unreliable" in the upcoming match should he get in trouble.
== Powers and Abilities ==
Like the other Roots, Yuusuke possesses a unique skillset and abnormal abilities on top of conventional combat skills.
=== Close Combat Prowess ===
As Yuusuke once worked as Matt's professional bodyguard, he is adept at close hand-to-hand combat. He is specifically skilled in the martial arts style of baguazhang. Being a baguazhang user, Yuusuke is adept at fighting multiple opponents simultaneously and can easily flow around the battlefield, remaining mobile and dodging opponents' blows with ease. Additionally, he can easily counter and block opponents' strikes with ease.
By default, his close combat is completely normal; it is completely unrelated to his magical abilities. However, the archaic zeroes on his palms and chest are the three "outlets" of his Zero Power; as such, if he hits an opponent too hard with a baguazhang palm strike, he might accidentally rupture the outlet and release a bit of Zero Energy. Ruptured, unstable Zero Energy acts almost like an acid or a parasite; it sucks portions of life out of whatever it touches.
=== Zero Powers ===
Yuusuke's main form of magic is the Zero Power, a mysterious force embedded inside his body. Using this ability, Yuusuke can destroy the physical and magical energies around him, allowing him to nullify magical attacks or swipe an opponent's stamina away from them.
Yuusuke's Zero Powers tap directly into his magical energy system; as with all humans, if he runs out of usable energy, he can always tap into an "emergency" energy system that is connected to his life force. If this emergency energy is expended, he will die.
==== Zero Energy ====
Yuusuke can summon Zero Energy to his body, creating a void-like aura around him. This enhances his close-combat hits, allowing him to slowly but surely chip away at the opponent's physical energy and stamina as they fight. This is the most basic form of the Zero Power, and it costs the least energy to maintain.
==== Zero Barrier ====
Summoning power to the zeroes on his hands, Yuusuke creates one or two miniature barriers with the Zero Power's energy. Any magic attack that hits these barriers dissipates as if it was nothing. If an opponent gets too close, the Zero Barrier might sap their stamina as well.
==== Zero Palm ====
Yuusuke concentrates a large amount of Zero Energy into one hand, making the archaic zero on that hand glow with a void-like light. His next attack with that hand will unleash his Zero Energy onto the opponent, which will eat away at a chunk of their magical and physical stamina.
==== Zero Ripple ====
Yuusuke's body begins to radiate Zero Energy. These miniature shockwaves of magic will erode the physical and magical stamina of nearby enemies and disrupt and maybe temporarily disable any physical enhancements such as super-human strength.
==== Dark Matter ====
Yuusuke creates an octahedron of Zero Energy around his entire body, protecting him from all sides. Any opponent who enters the Dark Matter barrier will immediately have their magical and physical stamina sapped. Additionally, if they have any magical powers, they will likely lose control of their abilities due to the Void energy disrupting their own magical systems.
In addition, the entire octahedron is filled with Void energies that Yuusuke can control remotely. By altering the area around him with his Void energies, Yuusuke can manipulate time and space within this particular zone, effectively gaining complete control over the area he stands over.
This is one of the most powerful Zero Powers, and it is also the most draining on Yuusuke's physical and magical energies. It has a high threat of imbalancing his energy systems, which would lead to him losing control of his powers and possibly dying from expending too much energy.
==== Last Lamento ====
This Zero Power has not been activated yet; Matt forbade Yuusuke from using it unless as a last resort. Yuusuke knows that it will expend the entirity of his life force, so if he uses this Zero Power he will die. However, he is unsure exactly of how it works and what happens.
=== Strategy ===
"You're already tired out, but I haven't even activated my Zero yet. Consider being more conservative with your effort in the field."
- Yuusuke, while fighting a practice duel with Bobby Rick
Yuusuke is a very analytical and strategic person. He is very logical and cautious, preferring to analyze the situation before acting rashly.
His preferred strategy is "flexible response", where he fights with a level of effort similar or equal to the perceived threat of his opponent. This allows Yuusuke to fight much more efficiently, allowing him to battle for a longer period of time and reserve his more powerful Zero abilities for tougher enemies.
== Relationships ==
Professor Matt: Matt is an old friend of Zero's, and the professor considers him his right-hand man. Zero is often the first informed when Matt issues an order to Root, and he also has full knowledge of Matt's goals and plans for Kobayashi.
Solaris Stormcrusher ("One"): At first, Zero didn't see what was so impressive about him, mainly since the Zero Powers were immune to Solaris' Chain Lightning abilities. However, his impression changed after he saw Solaris in the field.
Yutaka Ozawa ("Two"):
"Three":
"Four":
"Five":
"Six":
Chisa Nakagawa ("Seven"): 
Ricky Bob ("Eight"):
Bobby Rick ("Nine"): Thanks to the "numbers and zeroes" motif combined with Zero's superior skills, Bobby looks up to Zero and sees him as a mentor figure of sorts.
== Trivia ==
* Yuusuke is currently the only known person with a slight affinity to Void-elemental magic. The Zero Powers are actually reflective of his affinity to Void. 
** Interestingly enough, Yuusuke is completely unaware of this.
** Thanks to its affinity with Void, the Zero Power requires the user to have a Void affinity to control it. If copied, there is an almost-unavoidable likelihood that the copier will lose control of the power.
* Yuusuke's birthday is on June 12.
Category:DF's Fan Works
Category:Characters