Kazuki Akai

* Cerberus High 1
* Cerberus High 2
* Prototype Comic

> *“... Shut up! I don’t want to have to kill anyone else...!”*
>
> — **Kazuki Akai**

**Kazuki Akai** is the main protagonist of Cerberus High and a supporting character of Cerberus High II. A fifteen-year-old transfer student of Cerberus High with an obscure past, he becomes guarded by Sherbet Summers and gets caught in the middle of a conflict between Axel Amsel and The Brazen Youths. Kazuki is the leader of the Take-down Squad.

## Background

### Early Life

Fifteen years ago Kazuki was created by The Underworld god Hades to be the human vessel to harbor the soul of a Rouge Bellerose. She was granted a second chance at living the night her whole family was slain by the nefarious anarchist group called the Viscera Purgers. The reincarnation was botched, resulting in Rouge’s spirit trapped inside her heart for the next fifteen years and Kazuki⁠—who was birthed with the sole purpose of being just a body—becoming sentient.

Infant Kazuki spawned in the middle of the woods to be found by a hiker named Yuu Akai. The man assumed that the baby was abandoned since he was wrapped neatly in a white blanket. He knew he couldn’t just leave him alone so he took him in his arms and headed back to his home where he fostered three other young boys.

As a young boy, Kazuki was bullied by his foster brothers due to his loner tendencies. Kazuki’s only true friend at the time was a black cat that Yuu had found injured and nursed back to health just two weeks earlier. Every morning, the kitten would lick the young boy's face to wake him up but one morning Kazuki wakes up by himself with Cherish missing. Yuu entered the room to see Kazuki frantic and asked him what the matter was but Kazuki ran. Yuu followed him out of the home to find Kazuki cradling the battered body of his precious cat Cherish.

Kazuki's foster brothers appear and try to justify their crime by saying that there were enough “unluckies” here. Yuu became enraged at the utter cruelty of the boys as began to reprimand them while a black photosphere spawned in front of Kazuki. It started off as a mere marble until it grew exponentially the more the young boy's blood boiled and at the top of his lungs, Kazuki screamed for all of them to just disappear. Kazuki’s **Zipping Burst** killed them all with the lower half of Yuu’s body being the only remains that was able to be recovered.

Kazuki doesn’t remember much as he fell into a catatonic state when he was detained by the police. Alonzo was soon appointed to be Kazuki’s caretaker after he was released but treated the boy just as bad as his foster brothers did.

One day, Alonzo was instructed by his superiors that Kazuki had been enrolled at Cerberus High.

## Appearance

    Kazuki Akai is a fair-skinned young male of average build and height who has gray eyes and shoulder-length crimson hair that is worn in a low ponytail. Kazuki has the initials “E.O.B” engraved into his heart, serving as the root of his Eternal Onyx Blade and where the soul of his past life Rouge is stored.

### Cerberus High

Kazuki dons an orange pullover hoodie with various designs on it as well as a light blue t-shirt underneath. Both the sleeves of his hoodie are rolled up to his elbows, baring his slender forearms. He also wears black skinny jeans with a chain belt on his left hip and orange converses. He’s often seen carrying a black satchel for schoolwork. He keeps a pink ribbon tied on the handle as a tragic keepsake to remember his cat Cherish.

### Cerberus Form

Once channeling the Cerberus Beast, Kazuki Akai takes on a completely different appearance. His red hair has changed to dark brown and now reaches down to his waist and he has black facial markings along his jaw. Another noticeable change is that his nails become black and sharp. Kazuki also acquired 3 stones which adorn his head with the indigo-colored one on his right representing the soul of Axel Amsel whilst the fuchsia one being that of Sherbet Summers. The final one in the middle being crimson red embodies his own individuality and will. Kazuki’s eyes in this form are black with silver pupils, giving him a calming, serene look— befitting for the avatar of the merciful Underworld god’s prized pet. The Mark of the Beast brand that previously appeared on his neck is now enlarged on his chest.

In this form, Kazuki is shirtless and wears black baggy pants as well as white sandals. He dons a long grey loincloth with various gold, red, and white designs on it which is connected to a red belt with a large black jewel as a buckle. For accessories, Kazuki sports white arm warmers with gold wrist bands, two gold neck braces completed with red and gold knee guards.

### Epilogue

In the story's epilogue, Kazuki still maintains part of his Cerberus form with the only notable changes being the absence of the “soul stones” on his head as well as eyes which had reverted back to gray. He cuts his hair so it only reaches his chin which is a style that carries over to the book's sequel.

### Cerberus High II

In this iteration which takes 20 years into the future, Kazuki wears a dark short-sleeved jacket with designs similar to his old hoodie. Worn under this is a long-sleeved beige shirt with red suspenders hanging down loose. Kazuki's jeans are light blue with the pants leg tucked under his dark boots.

## Personality

### Cerberus High

Kazuki is shown to have a bad habit of dwelling on matters which frequently cause him to be lost in his own thoughts. While Sherbet and Axel are bickering with each other, Kazuki is constantly at odds with his inner demons. Despite Rouge constantly fending off the darkness that inflicts his heart, Kazuki still believes her to be the blame for his loss of normalcy and is hostile towards her.

Though Kazuki is a timid and reclusive person by nature, there are some instances where he sheds this timidity and his hidden hot-bloodedness shines through. After his first encounter with Axel, Kazuki becomes extremely hellbent on uncovering the inner workings of the school and rooting out the evil that plagues it.

Kazuki’s terribly squeamish of blood which could be tied to the incident at his foster home. Just the mere sight of it is enough to set off a panic attack. In addition, Kazuki is known to faint with his eyes open as shown after he killed Yuu and at the end of his fight with Axel.

He is also extremely weak to Sherbet’s bad humor; his inability to mask his emotions makes him extremely easy to read.

## Abilities and Powers

* **Onyx Bladed Tonfas:** Kazuki's Eternal Onyx Blade he wields from being given Rouge's heart. He is revealed to have lost this ability in Cerberus High II ever since both of his tonfas were shattered by Neo.

* **Energy Detection:** His senses heightened exceptionally ever since he awakened his powers. With Rouge as his guardian, Kazuki would be alerted whenever a strong presence is in his vicinity.

* **Healing Factor:** Acquiring his Mark of the Beast, compiled with the shattering of the seal on his heart, caused him to develop this. Kazuki's body is able to heal any wound it sustains but at the cost of a lot of his physical strength. Like Axel, the only attack he can ultimately die from is one that takes damage to his heart or brain.
* **Cerberus:** A transformation he acquires from absorbing the fleeting life energy of his fallen friends in his fight with Neo.
* **Flight:** Kazuki is shown to be able to fly in his Cerberus form.
* **Poison Immunity:** Once it reaches its boiling point, the demonic essence in Kazuki's blood is able to cancel out all poisons in his body.

### **Raging Burst**

A power he possesses due to Hades supplying him with his own blood when he created him. It is an ability that allows his blood to be turned into a lethal weapon if it reaches its boiling point.

* **Zipping Burst:** The burst that was responsible for Yuu's death. This is Kazuki's most unavoidable attack as it actively pursues its target until it they are ripped to shreds.
* **Numbing Burst:** This burst is used to numb any part of his target’s body.
* **Hades Blood Burst:** When he awakens as Cerberus, Kazuki's Raging Burst is much slower and has a rainbow tint to it. However it is showed to be just as lethal when it reaches its target, causing the body to disintegrate and experience hell in their own Forever-still Space for all eternity.

## Trivia

* Kazuki has no soul of his own other than Rouge's which he later loses.
* Kazuki's surname "Akai" means "red" (赤) in Japanese. This is a reference to his past life Rouge with her name being the French word for red.
* The author likes to refer to Cerberus Kazuki as "Cerbuki" for short.

## Quotes

### Cerberus High

* (to Axel Amsel) *“Cut the crap, Axel. Back there you were talking about some ‘hierarchy’, right? Please tell me what you know!”*
* (to Sherbet Summers) *“It’s just this burning feeling I have in my chest that’s telling me that Axel isn’t our real enemy here!”*
* (to Rouge Bellerose)
* (to Blanc Isolde after using his **Numbing Burst** on him) *“All I did was paralyze both of your hands. Don’t worry, it’ll wear off in 24 hours.”*
* (to Xiomara Amsel) *“You’re a snake who preys on those who’ve lost everything. Lost souls seeking solace and belonging!”*
* (to Ember Hertz)
* (to Neo D. Fowler) *“How foolish of you Neo. You think something like this would bother me? I have long accepted that I have no parents.”*

### Cerberus High II

* (to Elliot) *“Just what the hell are you planning, Elliot!?”*
* (to Ember Hertz over the phone) *“Hello, Ember. Elliot is back and I don’t know what he's planning but it’s something big— like, the end of the world big.”*