Maru Kagei

> *"Honestly, you're such a dummy.."*
>
>

**Maru Kagei** (影居 丸, *Kagei Maru*) is an assertive, temperamental, and perceptive individual. She puts on a serious and unwelcoming front while pretending to not show interest in people, even though her liking is very obvious. Generally, Maru comes off as an aggressive tsundere who is also easy to fluster.

Many people acknowledge Maru as prim, proper, and quite bossy. With extreme pride in her abilities, Maru sees herself as a king and everyone else around her as a subordinate under her rule. She puts on this act of royalty as if she comes from a legitimate place of power or lineage, but ultimately, she does not have a good reason for her ego.

Maru's way of speaking comes off as dismissive and intimidating, but in reality, she is an extremely cautious and caring person who constantly worries for her friends. However, Maru will resort to any means of denying her true feelings for others, sometimes bullying her way out of a situation or making cheap excuses.

Maru is extremely inexperienced when it comes to basic technology and electronics, such as television and smart devices.

## Powers & Abilities

### Powers

* **Restrict** - An inherited Kagei Clan secret technique that adjusts the output of kinetic energy by removing the brain's limitations on the human body, allowing its users to fight at an inhumane capacity. Users can create quick or repeated bursts of raw power subconsciously or at will. The circulation of kinetic energy throughout Maru's body (or a specific part of it) causes her strength to be autonomously enhanced to befit the situation. The output of this technique ranges between 1% and 100%; the higher the output, the more power can be exerted. This ensures that Maru can instantly surpass and neutralize enemies that are even far stronger than her.
* **Martial Arts (Taekwondo)** - Maru is an expert practitioner of taekwondo, a style defined by its wide variety of strong, accurate kicks using the rotation of the body as a source of power. Maru had been teaching herself this fighting style ever since her childhood, granting herself many years of repeated practice. Additionally, she developed a unique form of taekwondo that implements football techniques with her fighting style. This includes a wider range of unpredictable kicks and agile movements reminiscent of strikers in football. Though this makes her taekwondo much more hyper-offensive, the fundamentals of the art remain the same.
* **Augmented Strength** - While refining her fighting style, Maru gradually developed enhanced levels of raw strength behind her attacks, most noticeably, her legs. Her kicks alone can easily subdue the most troublesome opponents no matter where she aims. The shock waves generated from her kicks and stomps can fracture the terrain beneath her or send opponents flying back incredibly fast. Maru can still utilize her hands for combat, but they are merely used to briefly set up attacks.
* **Augmented Endurance** - Maru's body is inhumanly durable. In order to withstand the effects of her clan's secret technique, she has developed a body that can handle the strains of many opposing kinetic forces. Maru can take numerous hits at varying strengths and speeds while she continues to fight, so as long as she gets right back up to respond.
* **Augmented Speed & Reflexes** - Maru has grown in her base movement and attack speed as well. She is capable of making tremendous bursts of speed that can kick up dust in her wake and set up for destructive attacks. The sounds she creates while breaking the sound barrier are no different to a fighter jet rapidly approaching. As her output grows, Maru will inevitably be able to keep up with her current opponent, altering her reaction time to level the playing field.

### Techniques

* **Triple Kick** - A set of kicks aimed at one side of the head, the opposite side, and then the back of the head. The execution of this attack is so fast that it looks like Maru is teleporting three times in a row.
* **Endgame** - Either on its own or as a counter attack, Maru instantly leaps into the air. In the style of a bicycle kick, she spins with her body and drops her foot down onto the opponent, which also slams them into the ground below.
* **Gatekeeper** The act of hooking the opponent's arms or head in with one foot and shoving them into an oncoming kick, which is bound to catapult them back.
* **Rounding Vortex** - Maru continuously rotates her body while launching consecutive kicks at varying levels: The legs, torso, or head. Once the opponents formation is completely broken, the rotating kicks accelerate, strengthening the later half of this technique. Unlike her previous techniques, this one can be used on multiple targets instead of one.

## Etymology

* Her given name, **Maru** (丸), means "circle, completely".
* Her surname, **Kagei** (影居), means "shadow residence".
	+ **Kage** (影) means "shadow".
	+ **I** (居) means "exist, reside, dwell".