Akio Kushida

"*I've overcome my past. I'm no longer the person I once was. I... I am Akio Kushida! A Hero!*"
— Akio Kushida.

**Akio Kushida** (*櫛田昭夫 Kushida Akio*), also known as **Spiritual Hero: Ethereal**(*スピリチュアルヒーロー：エーテル Supirichuaruhīrō Ēteru*), is a former Villain turned Pro Hero/Sidekick for Power United . He is the adoptive son to Pro Heroes Miku Kobayashi and Haruto Kushida , the younger adoptive brother to Rei Kushida , the older adoptive brother to Kenji  and Hiro Kushida , and the younger adoptive half-brother to Gaige Kennedy .

## Appearance

Akio is a short, young-looking man with pale skin and a thin build. He has wide, curious red eyes with noticeable bags and thin eyebrows. His hair is short and white, and in it he wears red hairpins to keep back his bangs. Akio's most striking feature are the red stitches applied to his upper neck, two below his eye shaped like an X, one on his bottom lip, and more along his hands. The reasoning for this is unknown, and Akio plainly dismisses anyone's curiosity towards them.

During his time as a villain, his hair was black and slightly spiky at the ends, but he changed it after being adopted by the Kushidas to better fit in with his family.

Akio's casual wear is rather eccentric. He wears a white dress shirt with sleeves rolled up at the elbow, with polka-dot suspenders holding up his black dress pants and red slippers. He occasionally wears a black dress suit over this.

In his villain attire, Akio wore a black full bodysuit, baggy pants of the same color and a tattered half cape at his waist, with black lace-up boots.

His updated hero costume shares the same look as the previous, except for the color changing from black to white.

## Personality

Akio is an energetic and lively person who loves making and spending time with friends. His sometimes suffocating kindness can overwhelm just about anyone, as Akio doesn't quite comprehend personal space, and more often than not invades it, as he regularly greets his family and sometimes friends with back-breaking hugs and numerous kisses. He can come across as direct at time without knowing. Akio has a tendency to find even the littlest things hilarious and becomes easily amazed at skills or Quirks from others.

Akio is optimistic, with an outlook on life that doesn't allow for negativity to settle. He wears his heart on his sleeve and isn't afraid to tell someone how he feels about them, even if the recipient doesn't reciprocate the same feelings. Because of his benevolence, Akio is often looked to for comfort and as an outlet for emotional turmoil. He is able to empathize with seemingly anyone and is well liked by most people.

Contrary to his cheerful and childish demeanor, Akio harbors an intimidating, somewhat demonic side of himself that he keeps hidden. To many, this switch in personality comes off as surprising and fear-inducing, and it happens the most when Akio finds the ones he cares for in danger. When Akio finds himself like this, he is susceptible to extreme violence and inhumane showcases of physical prowess, with no signs of self-control. The only time Akio is able to return to his normal self is when the threat he identifies has been eliminated, which could be one person or many.

Raised by villains, Akio

On his road to becoming a Hero, Akio excels being on the front lines and in the midst of the action, being heavily inspired by Miku Kobayashi, who he holds the utmost admiration and respect for. Akio knows he's not the biggest or the strongest, but his physical limitations don't stop him from challenging anyone who poses a threat. This fearlessness of his gave him a new feeling of purpose, and molded Akio into a Hero he's proud of being.

## Abilities

**High Pain Tolerance**:

**Enhanced Endurance**:

### Quirk

**Soul**(*魂 Tamashī*): Akio's Quirk allows him to produce 'ghosts' from the palms of his hands. When one of these ghosts make contact with a non-living object or energy, it merges and forms an automaton of that material. When Akio creates automatons, he must use his palms and point towards it in order to control them.

Aside from forming automatons, Akio can form simple shapes from the materials. His most common shapes include close-range weaponry, such as knives, scythes, and knuckles.

The ghosts themselves aren't actually ghosts, but projections of Akio's life force. With each ghost he creates, Akio's physical and mental capabilities weaken, raising his vulnerability. Though he has no limit as to how many ghosts he can produce, the more he has created, the less effectiveness they have on their own.

### Super Moves

* **Fusion** (*融合 Yūgō*): Akio's primary special move, he creates multiple ghosts and sends them towards the same target, causing them to merge together and form a more powerful version than if they were to merge as individuals.