Takeji Kiruma

**Takeji Kiruma** (桐生たける, *Kiruma Takeji*?) also known by hero name **Watchman** is a student in Class 1-A at U.A. High School where he got in through official recommendations and training to become a Pro Hero. He is one of the main protagonists of the series.

## Appearance

Takeji is a young man of average height, with a slim, muscular build and fair skin tone. He has Indigo color hair

## Personality

Takeru is brash and arrogant, openly hostile, and a rather snarky young man. He is mostly a lone-type and is uninterested in being friends with anyone; he is indifferent and cool about most things. He usually sports a stoic face or scowl and is unmoved by and uninterested in what others think or do, choosing instead to keep to himself.

Due to his complicated childhood and Quirk, Takeji exhibited sociopathic tendencies and was mentally unstable. This was due to the overwhelming power of his Quirk and his countless hardships and struggles. He had an extremely negative outlook on life and felt insecure about himself, leading to incredibly low self-esteem. These factors made him bitter and uncaring. He also had a tendency to be quite violent, as seen during the U.A. Sports Festival when he destroyed the areas surrounding him.

Takeru's outlook began to change during the U.A. Sports Festival when he faced Hiro and questioned his reasons for attending U.A. He also questioned whether Takeru had any desire to become a Hero. Takeru then recalled his past desire to become a hero like All Might. However, he lost control of himself and ended up destroying his own house, which led to him being sent to a mental facility. Takeru notes that the only reason he is attending U.A. now is because his therapist suggested it as a way to gain better control over his Quirk.

As noted by Sosei and Aizawa, Takeji would have likely become a Villain instead of a Hero. Takeji begins to resolve to change himself for the better. He reconnects with his uncle and aunt and realizes that he had surrendered to his difficult circumstances too easily. He decides to move forward with his life in order to become a hero without losing his way. He even refuses to join the League of Villains, declaring that he doesn't want to become something he would have become if he hadn't met Hiromitsu and been defeated by him at the U.A. Sports Festival.

Takeji begins to actively work on controlling his anger and violent tendencies, attending therapy sessions and participating in anger management programs. He embraces the guidance of his therapist as they help him explore healthier coping mechanisms and strategies to maintain emotional stability. Takeji realizes that his destructive behavior was a result of his inability to handle his overwhelming power and the pain from his past.

With time, Takeru's attitude towards others begins to soften, and he tries to be more understanding and empathetic while he still occasionally behave rather brash and aggressive at certain times. He starts to recognize that he was not the only one facing hardships and that everyone has their own battles to fight. Slowly but surely, he starts to open up to his classmates at U.A., treating them with respect and even offering a helping hand when someone needs it.

As Takeji's relationships with his peers improve, he begins to form genuine friendships. He surprises himself with how much he enjoys spending time with others and the feeling of camaraderie it brings. Through his interactions, Takeru learns to trust and rely on his friends, slowly letting go of his lone wolf mentality.

Despite the progress he has made, Takeru's journey is not without setbacks. He still struggles with bouts of insecurity and self-doubt, but he constantly reminds himself of his goal to become a hero. He understands that a true hero cannot go far with power and a strong quirk but also a strong resolved to face challenges ahead and desires to save and protect others. Takeru is determined to prove to himself and others that he can overcome his past and become the hero he always aspired to be.

Through his newfound determination and unwavering resolve, Takeru pushes himself to his limits during training, honing his abilities and learning how to channel his destructive Quirk in a controlled manner. He sets his sights on becoming a symbol of hope and inspiration, just like his idol, All Might.

## Abilities

**Overall Abilities:** Takeji has proven to be one of the strongest students in Class 1-A having entered U.A. High School through recommendation. Takeji is able to use his Quirk is various ways.

### Quirk

**Absorption:** Takeji's Quirk has the ability to absorb the energy and matter of anything (excluding certain materials) through his body at will and can utilize it in various ways. If he's not absorbing excessive amounts of matter or biology directly into his body, he becomes wrapped in a coating that leaves his clothes intact.

Takeji can absorb solid materials, coating himself in the substance, which allows him to take on its properties. He will proportionally increase in physical strength and durability to whatever he absorbed. Kiryu is able to absorb multiple materials at once. He also has the ability to apply a coating of whatever material he has absorbed at the time to other people, temporarily.

When absorbing energy, Takeru can channel it through his hands to manipulate technology, discharge it as energy blasts, or physically enhance his body to speed up cellular regeneration, increase his strength, or recover from injuries at an accelerated rate. However, the energy will dissipate over time or through excessive use, so he is required to recharge.

However, if Takeji absorbs too much energy, it will cause him to become mentally unstable. Storing a large amount of energy for long periods of time will worsen his instability. This mainly occurs when Takeru absorbs energy very often but has difficulty controlling it due to inexperience and lack of skill and can sometimes easily turn into an addiction, as noted by Sosei.

However, as he gains better control of his Quirk, he can store up energy he absorbed over a long period of time and improve his mental endurance. But he must not absorb too much energy in a short period of time or it will affect him mentally and cause him to lose control.

**Accumulation**: Takeru's second quirk forcefully given to him by Tomura Shigaraki during Arkadia City War that allows him to accumulated a raw amount power heighted his speed and senses. This quirk also empowered his Absorption which accumulated the energy he absorb with his given his quirk granted him more power.