Keiichi Kobayashi

> I can guarantee that if you two don't learn to become one in battle, both of you will be doomed to die when the time for real fighting arrives.
>
> Keiichi Kobayashi to Edwin Cobalt and Tanner Ackerman.

## Media

### First Appearance

"Preludes"

Keiichi Kobayashi is a side character in Team OPRA's story. He is a hunter and a combat professor at Haven Academy as well as the former leader of Team KITE. His weapons are a straight-bladed katana and a shotgun-sheath wakizashi called Ōyamatsumi and Raijin.

He first appears in "Preludes" during the beginning assembly in the new year. He later is seen teaching a combat class and berates Tanner Ackerman and Edwin Cobalt for their lack of cooperation and synergy in combat. Because of this he puts them through relentless fights then makes them sort out their issues by talking which ends up working.

In Volume 2, he travels to Beacon to spectate the 40th Biannual Vytal Festival and meets the teachers of Beacon. He is seen instructing a sparring class where Tanner meets Mai Pembe.

Keiichi later appears in Volume 3 where he adjudicates the match between Beryl Alabaster & Russett Damon from Team BERL against Albert Regalien & Ophelia Demoiselle from Team OPRA. When Albert and Russett break each other's aura at the exact same time, he brings out a metal table to initiate the tie breaker through an arm wrestle. When Albert wins, Keiichi declares him the winner. During the battle of Beacon he joins with Team CRTN to defend Team OPRA and Rosi against the hacked AK-200s with Anna Atwood's help.

After the Fall, Keiichi returns to Haven Academy.

## Appearance

### Physical

Standing at 6’6 and weighing 200lbs, Keiichi is a muscular man with short, choppy hair and fair skin with brown eyes. As a symbol of the Kobayashi clan, he has two small triangular red marks painted under the corners of his eyes. Because of an accident during a mission, He has a mechanical left arm that measures from above the joint of his elbow.

### Attire

Keiichi's original attire at haven was a kombu green gi top with a dark grey collar that stretched down across his chest diagonally. This is then ticked into a pair of dark grey pants that are cuffed at the ends. He then tucks those into a pair of armoured green and grey boots. Over his gi, Keiichi wears a dark red chest plate with layered plating that has his emblem emblazoned onto it, and a layered pauldron on his right upper arm, as well as a gauntlet on his right arm that is armoured

## Personality

Keiichi, while rather stern and serious on the surface, is a very skilled and level-headed young man who uses logic and observation to find the solution to problems both in and out of combat. His fresh experience as a hunter brings a new style of teaching for the student of Haven Academy. While his fellow teacher Anna Atwood prefers a style of nurturing and Calista uses the application of knowledge in a practical setting, Keiichi is a trial-by-fire type of individual and one who pushes his students to reach their top abilities.

## Background

Keiichi is stated to be from the Kobayashi Clan, a family of hunters spanning generations from before the great war who served as the personal guard to the Emperor of Mistral until his abdication. Because of this, Keiichi was trained to become a hunter from a young age. He was accepted into Haven Academy and was chosen to be the leader of Team KITE.

After graduating from Haven Academy, Keiichi stays with Team KITE as a group and take on missions. During a mission, the team would be attacked by Grimm that caused one of the members to be killed and for Keiichi to lose his left arm. After this Team KITE disbands.

Keiichi later recovers and is fitted with a mechanical arm and continues his huntsman work. At 27 he is approached by Leonardo Lionheart to take over as the combat instructor of haven academy after Lincoln Washington retires.

## Abilities and Powers

Keiichi focuses on a short ranged melee style of fighting. As both a professional huntsman, a combat professor and from a family of proud fighters, Keiichi is an incredibly skilled opponent. With Ōyamatsumi he is able to strike down his enemies in swift and quick attacks and parry any with Raijin. Keiichi is also able to fight at longer distances with the firearm function of Raijin's sheath.

### Weakness

Keiichi is often limited by his short ranged fighting style and can be pinned down easily by long ranged combatants.

### Weapons

Keiichi's weapons are called Ōyamatsumi and Raijin. They are the *Straight Bladed Dust Katana (SBDK)* and the *Dual Firearm Sheath Wakizashi (DFSW).* Ōyamatsumi is a katana with a straight black blade that is Keiichi's main weapon he uses in combat. Keiichi can use Ōyamatsumi for precise and quick attacks. Ōyamatsumi also supports dust by loading single dust-powder cells through the grip of the sword. Keiichi commonly uses gravity, electricity and ice dust.

Raijin meanwhile is a similarly coloured wakizashi shortsword that Keiichi often uses for parrying and as a secondary weapon. While the sword itself is rather basic, the sheath it comes with doubles as a single shot shotgun that Keiichi uses for short to medium ranged attacks. Keiichi commonly uses basic shotgun ammo on top of a variety of dust-based shotgun shells, specifically fire and ice dust slugs.

### Semblance

Keiichi’s semblance is called *Triple Strike.* With his semblance Keiichi is able to create three copies of an attack he just performed by striking the air three times at an almost blinding speed. This allows Keiichi to do more attacks in rapid succession. When used, three copies of Keiichi’s arms holding Ōyamatsumi will appear as after images before slashing at the opponent.

## Relationships

### Anna Atwood

Keiichi and Anna are shown to have a healthy and positive working relationship as teachers. Despite her rather annoying habit of doting on him as if he was one of her kids, Keiichi respects Anna as a person and has worked with her long enough to know how she fights in battle, as evident in their fight against the AK-200s during the Battle of Beacon.

### Calista Arud

Similarly with Anna, Keiichi and Calista have a healthy working relationship. She will often scold him, sometimes physically, when he runs his mouth off, as example in how he criticises Ironwood bringing an entire Atlesian battalion to the 40th Biannual Vytal Festival.

## Trivia

### Allusion

* Following the musical inspirations of other characters in the Team OPRA Story, Keiichi is inspired by the character of *The Reciter* from the 1976 musical *Pacific Overtures* by Stephen Sondheim.

### Colour Naming Rule

* Keiichi is a male Japanese name that means ‘First Gem Son’, alluding to the colours of a gem stone.
* Kobayashi is a Japanese last name meaning ‘small forest’, which brings to mind colours like green.

### Miscellaneous

* His weapons, Ōyamatsumi and Raijin, are named after the two Japanese gods/deities for the mountains (Ōyamatsumi) and the clouds (Raijin).
* Keiichi's Birthday is on the same day as 'Boys Day', a holiday in Japan that celebrates good luck and health to young boys.
* Keiichi's zodiac sign is Taurus.