Ibara Takukeizou

**Ibara Takukeizou**(茨 磔刑像) is a Professional Hero operating mainly in Japan and Italy. He runs his own agency, with a branch in Tokyo, Japan that focuses on defeating an rehabilitating villains. His agency is also has a branch in Bari, Italy that focuses on helping the city. However in the background it works to destroy the criminal underground there, by any means necessary. He is a well known presence not just in Tokyo and Bari but the world. His hero name is **The Inquisitor** a name that inspires fear into the heart of villains all over the globe. His name comes from the leaders of those long ago inquisitions committed by the church. He chose this name due to his fluctuating opinions about his own religion. In the end vowing that when it reached points where it forbid him to carry out justice, he would not abide by its laws. He uses this name for another reason however. He led an inquisition through Italy, cleansing the entire country of crime for a period of two years. This gave him the epithet of **The Hero of Italy**.

## Appearance

Ibara is an imposing man by not just name alone. He towers over most with a natural height of eight feet and four inches. His body is also quite muscular while still being reasonably proportioned for his height. His blonde hair is quite natural and his blue eyes are comforting but the rest of him tells a different story. He has a scar reaching from his left eye to the left side of his neck from when he was younger. He also has a light beard. He also wears a pair of glasses that tend to reflect light, making his eyes invisible to onlookers. He also tends to stand in shadows to make himself more intimidating. The light reflecting from his glasses projecting an aura of unease over those he confronts. Ibara himself dresses quite nicely on usual occasions. He'll wear things such as a button down shirt and a pair of khaki shorts. Making himself look less imposing but still surprisingly he stays quite scary. When on active dude or on "an inquisition" Ibara changes to his standard hero outfit. This outfit consists of a large gray cassock, a special item he had custom made for himself. He also has a clergy collar and a black undershirt with a dark blue trim. He also wears grey pants and black boots. His hands are covered by monogrammed white gloves and he wears a silver cross around his neck. The cross itself was another item that Ibara had commissioned for himself.

## Personality

Ibara Takukeizou is a caring man. He cares about his fellow heroes, he cares about the civilians he protects, and he cares about the villains he faces. Like most heroes he has a strict no killing villains policy. This dates back to his younger days when he went on his first Inquisition through Italy. He put many in jail but was hell bent on killing those who turned his family to ruin. He killed them all in various ways but never felt pain or sadness, never empathized with them. It was only as he put the final nail in the coffin that he realized their deaths had done nothing for him. They had given him no peace and left him more confused than ever. He realized that those who he saved are what truly mattered and those that he could save. This is when he truly began to care. He cares so much that he even opened a villain rehabilitation center.

Ibara is also a religious man but has fluctuated quite regularly. As a child he was quite religious and believed heavily in god, however after he saw his family in constant peril he began to question the validity of his savior. He viewed his first Inquisition as god giving him a choice between letting his anger go or vengeance. In the end he chose vengeance and got it but it was a hollow victory for him. It was at this point that he looked back to god for a sign of some sort and realized that despite disobeying him and gaining nothing he carved a better path for others. It left Ibara at a point where he still believes but barely worships.

(Tbc)

## History

### Early Life

Ibara was born to a poor Japanese-Italian family in Bari, Italy. His father, a Japanese man, was a dock worker while his mother, an Italian woman, would peddle wares at local fish markets. He himself went to the public catholic school along with his younger sister. In the afternoons the two would help peddle wares with their mother and at night Ibara would sneak onto the dock to help his father with the dock work. As the only quirk user in his family he was often selected for the tougher tasks. However if his family wanted him to do harder work to help them he would have to take parts of their meal portions. This caused his first moral dilemma and prompted him to attempt to go about arduous tasks without the proper nutrition for it, not wanting his family to starve. He eventually resorted to using his quirk to steal food for himself so his family could eat their own food and stay alive. It was times like this that Ibara wondered if things like stealing could be just.

It was a sunny day in Bari and a 13 year old Ibara was perusing the market, scoping out his next target for food when he was grasped by a much older fisherman, recognizing him from his time on the docks at night. The man scolded him, having seen him steal from the market multiple times. As Ibara had stole from him on multiple occasions the man demanded compensation. When Ibara replied that he had no money the man marched him to his home and forced Ibara's father to fork over the money or else he'd report him to the authorities. Ibara's father did not speak to him for the rest of the day. That night Ibara went out with his father for their nightly fishing trip. They usually used his vines as replacements for fishing wire but his father stopped him before they sat down. He stated that he could not place the moral burden on him any longer and that from now on, Ibara was forbidden for using his quirk or even working on the docks with him. Ibara tried to protest his father but was met with a simple smile and a few words. "You shouldn't have to slave away like me, run, play, you don't get this chance forever." Ibara listened but in the coming days he could see the pure exhaustion in his father's body.

### Tragedy in Bari

Around the age of 14 Ibara's father came home with exciting news, the family was moving to a nicer place downtown. Ibara was astonished to find that his father had a new job in a business office. His family was eating better and his schooling improved as well. Ibara however noticed that his father was looking weaker and weaker. His eyes were hollow and his breath ragged. When he came home he would simply retire to his room. Ibara wonder what had happened but kept away from the topic, hoping it might just be god testing his father for their improved life. His life continued on for another year without much disturbing him. However it was one sunny day that men came knocking on their door. They were dressed head to toe in expensive suits. The men asked for his father and Ibara hastily brought him to the door. Upon seeing the men his father froze up in fear and fell to his knees, begging. The leader of the men paid him no mind and calmly walked into the house. He looked at Ibara with consideration before shaking his head. "Flesh usually sells better than quirks." He laughed as they disappeared into the house. A short burst or screaming was heard followed by a thwacking sound. The men walked back to the door holding Ibara's sister, knocked out. His mind raced and without a word his vines erupted from him, flying towards the men. One of them dashed towards him, tanking a few vines to stomp on his head, knocking him unconscious.

When Ibara awoke he was in his bed, he could hear sobbing and yelling coming from the other room. He overheard his mother yelling. "A mob boss! You took a deal with a mob boss to get us this money and this new job. You promised one of our children if you couldn't pay him back? What the hell is wrong with you." She screamed. He couldn't hear his father's reply but he assumed it had something to do with thinking he could pay him back. The following months were filled with despair, his parents divorced, his mother leaving Bari for Tuscany. His new life was extremely grim, his father never talked anymore, just going about work and collapsing at the end of the day. Ibara prayed that god would help his father and his family but he wondered why they were being tested so. What was it all for?

It was later that year that his father lost his job and retired to the bedroom. Barely talking anymore and eating very little. About a year from the fateful day Ibara came home to fine his father had committed suicide, his blood stained to hardwood floors. Ibara clamored for the phone and called the police. When they arrived they contacted his mother and arranged to have him shipped out to Tuscany. In the following years he didn't talk much with her, the two did acknowledged that the other was alive and well though.

### The Climb From Hell

At the age of 18, Ibara graduated his catholic school and attended a university in Milan where he got his M.A. in Psychology and a minor in Theology. After graduation he took up a job as a psychologist in Milan at the age of 23. He practiced for around six months before a man came into his office on the run from the mob. He told Ibara he just needed to talk to someone. Ibara agreed to meet with him once a week in secret. However one rainy night during their meeting there was a knocking on the door. Before Ibara could even get up the door was kicked in and three mobsters walked in, one of them looking very familiar. It was then that Ibara realized, one of those men was there when his sister was taken. Feelings he had long since repressed welled up inside him, his faith a bit restored. "So this is your apology huh god or is this another of your tests?" He'd laughed confusing the mobsters who attempted to draw their guns on them but found their throats constricted by vines. He told his patient to run before choking out all three men. He made a hero of himself returning two of them to the police. This was the point his official hero career started. We worked under the Italian government with the promise to clean Milan of crime.

The mobster that he'd met with however he'd taken to the lake and interrogated for every bit of information he could. He found that that man had the entirely of Italy's mob united under his flag. It was at this point that Ibara drew his philosophy up. He needed to begin and inquisition to stomp out this man, Giovanni Savanco. He swore to himself that after Milan he would wipe Italy clean of the man's hold. With that decided he also developed his own creed. The only five to die in this crusade would be the five present at his sisters kidnapping. The five that ruined his family, God be dammed if he tired to stop him. He then snapped the man's neck and tied him to the anchor of his boat before cutting it loose.

### The Inquisition

Over the next couple months Ibara hunted down every criminal he could in Milan. using various connections, stealth tactics and his psychological reasoning he would hunt those that hid in the shadows. With every black market he disrupted or gambling ring he took down the presence of the mob in Milan grew weaker and weaker. The police station was receiving an influx of living criminals that it had never experienced before. The stations were busier than ever. All the while Ibara was beginning to be hailed as the top hero in Milan. He had soon taken down crime in Milan to almost a standstill. It was then that he began moving south towards Tuscany and the city of Florence. His inquisition in Florence was met with much more opposition as he moved through the city. The mob was well aware of his presence and wanted to snuff him out in whatever way they could. It was a struggle for ground but with every member he put in jail the forces weakened. The police that were once in the pocket of the mafia fought back with new hope as this monster of a man kept bringing them in. He learned that the four men with Giovanni that took his sister were his commanders across Italy. As he cleansed Florence of the mob he received a message asking him to meet the leader of the Florence branch of the mob,Alessandro Castodoli, within the Florence Cathedral.

He came face to face with Alessandro Castodoli within the church and expressed his wish to make him talk. Alessadro just laughed as gunmen appeared from the upper level of the church. Ibara took no time in dashing towards Alessandro and took him by surprise. Sweeping his legs out with a kick and ripped the bayonet from the rifle he carried. He swung at the mobster but was forced to retreat as the man began breathing fire. Ibara quickly jumped to the wall and climbed it as fast as he could, quickly reaching the balcony overlooking the main church floor and began incapacitating the gunmen. Alessandro took shots at him with his rife but the fire thankfully could not reach him. As soon as Ibara had finished knocking out the gunmen he jumped from the balcony at Alessandro. He was met with a blast of flame that he shielded with his vines. As he touched down on the man, knocking them both to the ground. He impaled the man with his still burning vines and lifted him from the ground hoping to get some information, he instead took a rifle shot in his right arm. He roared in anger as he flung the bayonet he carried into the man's head.

He left Florence after cleaning up and repairing the church to the best of his ability within three days. He also left a hefty sum of money for the town to use for repair efforts. His next stop was Naples, a city that lay near Mount Vesuvius. This time however he utilized a new weapon in combat, bayonets. While not conventionally used for fighting and more of a last resort on guns, Ibara liked them. He particularly enjoyed the Austrian sword bayonet as it worked well as a stand alone blade and was quite easy for him to throw. He cleaned up Naples faster than Florence with his new weapons. The jails were filled and he once again received another request for a meeting, this time atop Mount Vesuvius. He met Ernesto Moretti atop the still active volcano. The heat was positively intense with the heat of the volcano beside them and the flaming sun above. Ibara charged the man only to be met with a a blast of superheated steam that he quickly retreated from. He sent his vines forward to do his bidding but they dried up in the intense heat of the steam Ernesto was producing. He drew one of his bayonets and threw it at Ernesto who easily dodged it. The two clashed for around ten minutes, neither drew close enough to hit the other. The floor was littered with around eight bayonets as Ibara sent his vines for Ernesto once again only for them to dry up in his steam. Ibara fell to one knee, half in prayer half in exhaustion and Ernesto took this opportunity to charge him. It was at this moment that the vines he send out, hidden by his cossack, emerged from the ground near the bayonets and threw them. Ernesto didn't even realize as his skull was pierced by the blade.

Ibara sighed as he tossed the body into the volcano, another one dead before interrogation. He planned to kill the five anyways but information was always helpful. He sighed as he continued on, now moving to the place it all started, Bari. This was his fastest clean up yet. His gained experience and knowledge of the city layout made it simple for him to take out the criminals there, even alerting the police to various hideouts and making multiple arrests in multiple places. This time he did not receive a meeting letter he instead received a call from the police about a swordsman on the beach who started killing people out of the blue. Ibara dashed there as fast as he could, landing on the sand to intercept a strike meant for a citizen with his bayonet. He glared at the boss of Bari, Carlo Salvi. Carlo didn't even speak as he clashed with Ibara, sword vs bayonet. The two clashed for a minute before Ibara grew impatient and tossed four bayonets to his vines while drawing another, making a total of six. Carlo intercepted the blades as best he could but was being overwhelmed. He knocked the sword away and surrounded Carlo with blades, but did not kill him. There were too many witnesses, so he instead asked him where Giovanni was hiding in Rome. He was met with a simple laugh as Carlo bit down on his false tooth, cyanide flowing into his mouth and killing him.

Ibara was thanked for saving the town and stayed within Bari for the funerals of the victims as well as donating some of his own money to each, in hopes it would encourage them to take a better path than his father did. Ibara soon arrived at his final destination, Rome. The home of Giovanni Savanco and where Ibara would put him to rest. It took him months to clean up Rome. The catacombs and underground tunnels made it a tireless effort. However he eventually succeed in causing crime to dwindle enough that he could correctly map out Giovanni's location. A twisting system of tunnels hidden under the Colosseum. It had been two years since the Inquisition started and he was ready to end it. As he marched through the tunnels he was met with many gunmen that simply dropped their weapons and walked past him through the tunnels. He hear wailing sirens above but did not recall calling the police. As he made his way downward one of the gunmen stopped him and simply pointed to a different tunnel, telling him that Giovanni was as close as you could get to the surface. Ibara stared the man down and found nothing but honesty in his eyes, so he followed the route and came face to face with Giovanni.

Ibara had no words for him as he drew his blade and charged. Giovanni didn't even move as Ibara's bayonet clashed with some invisible force before him. He focused and saw a purple glimmer highlighting a shield that floated in from of the man. Ibara grimaced as he withdrew his blade and stared the man down. "I know all about your little quirk Giovanni, you can only hold on for so long." Ibara roared as he drew another bayonet and continued to strike over and over. Giovanni just smiled as his shield spit into two, pushing both of Ibara's hands aside as he aimed a fist for his kidney. Ibara quickly created vines that anchored his blade in place as his right arm ripped through its sleeve, grasping the man's hand. His eyes narrowed as he tightened his grip, slowly hearing as the bones began to crack. Giovanni grinned as he dashed forwards and drew one of Ibara's own bayonets. He slashed as him once, cutting him across the arm. He slashed again and cut him down the right side of his face but Ibara still refused to give in. He finally stabbed the blade through his stomach but Ibara stared him down as he finally crushed his hand, smiling as he heard it snap apart. He then threw Giovanni against the wall before grinning as he dashed over to him and began to beat him into the wall. The purple shield blocked some of the attacks but it could not longer stop him once his vines began attacking from all angles. However he took the blows and slipped out ramming his elbow into Ibara's face as he stuck him with multiple blows across his body. Ibara quickly sidestepped one of the latter blows and snapped the blade embedded in him in half with his bare hands, his body fueled by adrenaline as he rushed Giovanni down slicing him various times but nothing was deep enough. However once again that shield appeared and blocked his arms as Giovanni moved in for a killing blow, laughing all the way. However Giovanni's laughter was cut short as the end of the bayonet once imbedded in Ibara was now within his throat, courtesy of the vines that resided in him.

Ibara stood over the body as he panted heavily, he was cut up and bleeding but he had done it, he had finished his inquisition. Yet inside he felt nothing, his family was avenged but his body was still hollow or maybe it was all the blood loss. He collapsed to the ground as the police arrived. They saw both bodies but said nothing, transporting Ibara to a hospital and Giovanni to a morgue. Based on his condition, to them it looked like he killed him to save himself. When he awoke in his hospital bed he was greeted by many letters from fans all over Italy, thanking him for all he had done. In two years he had wiped out all major criminal organizations within the country. The mob was no more, the police no longer crooked, the shopkeepers no longer in debt. The world was a bright place for Italy. In the following days he was invited to the Vatican and knighted as a pope for his service, a great honor that he accepted but felt nothing for. His body was still hollow from the events. As he looked over the crowd though and saw the people cheering he realized that while he may not have been satisfied with his personal Inquisition, he'd satisfied others. He'd saved countless lives and that was what should fill the hole in him, not some petty revenge. He was hailed as **The Hero of Italy**, an epithet that stuck with him for a long time. Ibara stayed in Italy, helping with whatever he could for four more years, opening a hero agency in Italy with Bari as the headquarters. It also gained various sub agencies in multiple cities throughout Italy. The agencies helped to keep the cities free of both crime and poverty, outsourcing heroes to help with various jobs that ranged from simply adding muscle on manual labor jobs to helping with police investigation. At the age of 29 the hero association asked him to relocate to Japan and open another agency to quell villains there.

### Big in Japan

Ibara moved to Japan with a simple goal, create a hero agency branch there. He instead created the V.G.R.C. better known as the Villain and Goon Rehabilitation Center. It was an alternate form of prison that staffed strong heroes simply for security while it took heroes with more empathetic or helpful quirks and made them primary staff. The rooms were nicer than most prisons, having real mattresses and better food. It was a place where villains that were caught and deemed safe enough to contain were brought. The agency focused on rehabilitating the villains with Ibara putting his phycology degree to good use. He would meet regularly with patients and simply talk with them, trying to learn why they did what they did. He did his best to attempt to get them off the path of villainy and into a respectable job or even the hero industry. Ibara was successful in adding many new heroes and respectable citizens over the years as his agency blossomed. He recruited and taught handpicked psychologists to help with the work there and visited often to personally talk with every prisoner there.

## Abilities and Powers

### Superhuman Physical Capabilities

Ibara has exhibited many superhuman feats over his years as a hero and even before. He is an extremely strong man, fitting of his imposing demeanor. He has exhibited feats such as throwing his bayonets with such force that they shattered windows as they flew by. He also fought and killed multiple mobsters in Italy with relative ease. Crushing the hand of a mob boss with his strength alone at only the age of 25. He has also shown on multiple occasions to be able to snap blades with his hands. On occasion he will snap his own bayonets in half to create more blades if need be. When augmented with his vines he can literally lift and throw cars and buses. He is also extremely fast, being capable of dodging bullets on occasion and running after moving vehicles with relative ease. Finally he is an extremely durable man, being able to tank bullets, sword wounds, and things such as electrification and burning in stride. Granted it does hurt him but his mentality allows him to ignore the pain and keep going until his inquisition ends. On one occasion he was cut across the arm, slashed across the face, and stabbed through the stomach without paying much mind to it. He also uses his cossack to mitigate some of the damage. Ibara's strength comes from constant trial and error during his inquisition through Italy. Whenever he failed in some aspect he would improve upon it. Muscles would heal stronger, his body would become hardier, his thinking would become more tactical. He was doing things such as scaling buildings with his bare hands, attempting to take on 20 armed men in one room, and getting struck by many quirks. It was through constant near death situations that his body built itself up to such a degree. Ibara considers his inquisition through Italy the equivalent of many years of formal training, stating that nothing beats field work.

### Swordsmanship

Ibara is a master swordsman when specifically using bayonets. He can still handle other swords but bayonets are his bread and butter. He specifically uses modified Austrian sword bayonets. In combat Ibara is quite diligent, attacking when he can and attempting to overwhelm his opponent. He can use his bayonets in combination with his quirk to wield more of them and attack from multiple angles or simply use two and put his monstrous strength behind them. Ibara has shown that he can cleave through high class metal armor when putting his strength behind the his bayonets. Ibara has also shown superior skill in throwing bayonets with great accuracy on multiple occasion. He has shown he is capable of throwing them with enough force to pierce a skull when he was younger. In his older age his skill has only improved. Ibara has demonstrated that he can throw his bayonets with enough force to shatter windows they pass by and cause the wind around them to ripple.

### Garden Body

Ibara possesses a quirk known as garden body. This transformation type quirk allows him to grow vines from his body using his own nutrients to feed them. These vines are capable of skewering opponents or trapping them within their thorny grasp. In numbers the vines can lift an throw heavy objects such as cars or break through walls. The vines are draining on Ibara however and he is required to eat a high nutrient diet to maintain use of them as the vines drain his body's nutrients while in use. As a child Ibara used them to simply help with dock work and as makeshift reels for his father and him to go fishing. As a child he had a problem with using his quirk as it meant his family would eat much less that day. After his initial encounter with the mob he began practicing with his quirk more and more. If he needed something across the room or a third and fourth hand, he would bring out some vines. He attempted to naturally incorporate them into his life making them an extension of himself rather than a separate entity. Even as he started his inquisition, though he had made great progress, the vines were still not quite a full extension of his body. While he cannot heal with his body he is capable of removing foreign objects such as bullets by growing vines around them that push them out.

## Equipment and Weapons

### Custom Made Bayonets

Bayonets became Ibara's weapon of choice during his Inquisition. He used Austrian sword bayonets specifically, liking their grip, durability, and the fact that he could throw them quite easily. He broke many of his copies during his first Inquisition so upon moving to Japan he commissioned new ones to be built for him. It was only two this time but they were extremely well crafted, being able to deflect bullets and slice through even metal with enough force put behind them. He usually keeps the two originals on his person or within the pockets of his cassock.

### Cassock of the Provider

The Cassock of the Provider is one of two items that Ibara commissioned from master smith Tekkou Shokunin. It is a cloak that can create copies of items placed within the large inside pockets on either side. He primarily uses it to create copies of his bayonets to utilize many in battle. The cassock as has a secondary feature of being made of extremely durable materials despite its lightweight look. It can block things such as bullets and blades. However due to it not covering his entire body Ibara will usually whip the tail ends in front of attacks with expert timing.

### Blessed Cross

The Blessed Cross is an item modeled after the quirk of Giovanni Savanco. It was created by Tekkou Shokunin for Ibara along with another item. The blessed cross creates a barrier around Ibara when grasped. There are two types of barriers it can create. A smaller one that covers only one direction and can many strong blows, however it will eventually fall. Alternatively he can create one wrapping around all of himself that can block almost any attack.

## Trivia

* He is the first Hero in Italy to be knighted by the Pope.
* His theme is Black and Blue by Long Hawke

The Inquisitor's stats, according to the Official Character Book