Nakakubo Yousuke

## Igniter

NAKAKUBO Yousuke, code name Igniter, is a Ruby Eye with the power to manipulate oxygen particles. He occasionally goes by the fake name “Ayato Suka”.

## Background

Igniter had once been the owner of a large landscaping company with a wife and child. However, in the early fall of 2019, one of his employees by the name of Ayato Suka betrayed the company, leading to insolvency.

Faced with such failure, Igniter tried to commit suicide. One day, while he was driving with his wife and child, he turned towards the Ooi Pier. Ignoring the pleas of his wife and child, he drove the car into the sea.

In the end, however, he could not bear the thought of drowning and dying. Leaving his wife and child, who were already dead, behind at the bottom of the sea, he furiously swam to the surface.

At this moment, a Third Eye descended from the sky, and, touching Igniter’s outstretched hand, made him a Ruby Eye. Taking his terror of drowning as a template, it granted him the power to manipulate oxygen particles.

Returning to the world of the living, he sought out his former employee Ayato Suko, the man who had betrayed him and brought ruin to his company and killed him. Planning to burn the body when he became more powerful, Igniter flooded the basement of his home and stored the body within.

Taking the name of the man he had killed, he found a job at the Ariake Heaven’s Shore water park as cover. There, he began to plan the masterpiece he was to create with the powers the third eye had given him.

## Appearance

Igniter has very sharp features with a rectangular facial shape and numerous wrinkles. His hair is rather short, with the sides being slightly gray.

## Personality

Igniter had possessed a cruel personality and lacked empathy even before becoming a Ruby Eye. When deciding to commit suicide after his company crashed, he pulled his wife and son with him, ignoring their pleas as he rammed the car into the sea.

As a Ruby Eye, Igniter despised human-facilitated combustion, especially hating automobiles and smoking. This is incredibly ironic, considering that he had been a heavy smoker before being endowed with a third eye.

## Third Eye

### Abilities

Igniter has the ability to control oxygen particles. He uses this power in three ways:

* Fire — Igniter concentrates oxygen molecules from the surrounding air into a single spot, creating a pocket of incredibly oxygen-rich air that bursts into a raging inferno with the slightest spark. However, because this technique requires a spark to initiate, it is impractical to use in combat.
* Oxygen Deprivation — Igniter pulls oxygen molecules away from his target, creating a large pocket of oxygen-deprived air that essentially suffocates his victims.
* Hydrogen Knallgas / Oxyhydrogen — As his most powerful attack, Igniter separates water into hydrogen and oxygen. This creates a mixture of gas with a 2 : 1 hydrogen to oxygen ratio — a mixture called Hydrogen Knallgas or Oxyhydrogen — that immediately re-synthesizes into water with a heavily exothermic reaction. This creates a massive explosion that blows away everything in range without having to use a single spark.

### Detection Radius

Igniter’s detection radius has never been explicitly stated, but it should be immense given the large-scale atomic manipulation inherent in the power to manipulate oxygen particles.

### Affiliation

Igniter is unaffiliated with any organization. Although he has been invited to join the Syndicate by Liquidizer, he had declined the offer.

## Trivia

* Although Igniter despises smokers, he used to be a heavy smoker before becoming a Ruby Eye

## References

1. ↑ **Volume 2:** *“This man’s name is Yousuke Nakakubo, and he is fifty-nine years old . . . Three months ago his landscaping company was faced with insolvency, and he attempted a murder-suicide with his wife. He drove his car off Ooi Pier and into the sea.”*
2. ↑ **Volume 2:** *“This locked car, drifting on its way to the bottom of the water, was nothing short of a death chamber. Already, the two other passengers have stopped moving, just seconds ago . . . here I am, swimming desperately with both my arms and legs. I can see the gray surface of the water . . .”*
3. ↑ **Volume 2:** *“. . . at that moment, through the wavering surface of the water, I see a strange red light falling down toward me, and in my right hand, I grasp it. I feel a terrible, burning pain.”*