[Esper] Adachi Tetsuya

FULL NAME: Tetsuya Adachi (鉄夜　足立)
OTHER ALIAS:
CURRENT AGE: 16
GENDER: Male
OCCUPATION: Student
SCHOOL: A Certain High School
FACTION: Former member of Lost Party, a gang in District 19. Current Judgement applicant.


APPEARANCE: Tetsuya may no longer be on the bad side of the law, but he hasn't quite changed his looks to match. His hair remains slicked back into the style he sported during his days as the boss of a District 19 gang, and his nondescript clothing doesn't really do anything to counter that image. His eyes are burnt orange in color with a severe shape, but to his credit, he can at least usually be found with a smile.

HEIGHT: 5'8" / 175cm 
WEIGHT:  142 lb / 64.5 kg
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: His eye color is slightly unusual, and his hairstyle is distinctive.


PERSONALITY: 
Hot-Blooded
It would be a stereotype to say that fire-related espers tended to be this way. However, since there is a definite overlap between personality and Personal Reality, it's no surprise that Tetsuya ended up with the ability he did. He's the easily-excitable type, who can get invested in something at a moment's notice and go at it with all his strength until the next thing catches his attention - just like how a fire rapidly catches hold of many things in quick succession. He also tends to be rather aggressive and quick to jump to conclusions.
Brutal Efficiency  
Tetsuya has only recently begun to make a moral reformation. He still carries a good bit of his past as a gang leader, and one of the most prominent ways that shows in in his problem-solving skills. If the fastest way to fix something is by hitting it and he has a baseball bat, he'll hit it with a baseball bat, even when a sledgehammer might be better suited. For a more real-world example, he doesn't really get why Judgement has to pick up trash when he can just incinerate it on the spot. The idea of recycling doesn't matter - either way, there was trash and now there isn't.
Soft Spot 
Previously, one of the biggest checks on Tetsuya's behavior was being reminded of his sister. Would she be proud of what her older brother was doing right now? Currently, this spot has doubled in size with Shizuka's coming into his life. It's also more powerful than ever, because he sees Shizuka on a semi-regular basis. He's consciously trying to reform himself for her sake, so if he does slip back into his old ways, it's only a matter of time before he remembers he's supposed to be better than that.
Hard Worker 
Tetsuya Adachi doesn't do things by halves. If he's in something, he's in it to the end. If it's painful, if it leaves his wallet a dusty mess, if it'll take a month when it was supposed to take a day - Tetsuya sticks by his word and finishes the things he starts.
Honest 
He might have been a delinquent, but he was always straightforward about it. Part of the reason he hasn't changed his appearance now that he's on the proper side of the law is because he doesn't feel like it's necessary to hide his past. Sure, it may be embarrassing and work against him sometimes, but the decisions he made were his own and he wants to own that. Plus, his dad always raised him to never tell a lie. Why would he disappoint his dad?
Nevertheless, he still gets mad when people confuse him for still being a delinquent. He has a somewhat irrational expectation for people to see the reformation inside him even when he doesn't really reflect it outside.

LIKES: 
Baseball. Fried anything. Action movies. District 19. Shizuka Asami. Gekisho 9. Spicy ramen. Tokusatsu shows. Cicadas.
DISLIKES: 
Baggy clothing. Eggs. Wintertime. Textbooks. Not having a purpose. Wasting money. Being called a delinquent.
STRENGTHS: 
- Baseball Skills.
It's probably the biggest thing that'd make him stand out on a school roster. Being able to hit a ball well is the flashiest skill he has, though it's not something he really wants to pursue as a career.
- Physical Strength.
Growing up in a Child Error facility, followed by leading a gang, means cultivating this skill is almost a necessity. You have to fight for keeping many of your personal belongings safe.
- Leadership.
For better or for worse, Tetsuya has a simple way with words that tends to inspire trust. He also has results to back it up: Under him, hardly any of the kids sneaking out in elementary school got caught. And, of course, he was able to lead a street gang pretty effectively for a while.
WEAKNESSES: 
- Not exactly smart.
Tetsuya isn't gifted with natural intelligence, nor does he tend to have study skills worth bragging about. If you're counting on him to know something, chances are he probably doesn't. He falls solidly into the "brawn, not brains" category.
- One-Track Mind.
Tetsuya's train of thought is solidly set on a single line with no sidings and no switches. It's really hard for him to change plans, to change his focus, or to multitask. When fighting alone, he often gets so caught up with what's in front of him that he totally forgets his back exists. Reading and walking is likewise something foreign to him, he doesn't know how people do it.Really, the most he goes into multitasking is having a conversation while doing something else, and that's about it.


HISTORY:  
Tetsuya was born in the Kanagawa prefecture, the first child of an industrial welder (Kosuke Adachi) and his wife (Chiemi Adachi, neé Hanazaki) in the city of Kawasaki. Two years later, a sister (Kinako Adachi) followed him. As a young child, his life was mostly uneventful - usually, he spent it playing with other kids his age in local parks while his parents were at work. He wasn't exactly aware of it himself, being as young as he was, but his father and mother had made a decision before his birth that they'd both start trying to earn more money in order to send their child to Academy City, that silver castle of learning and guaranteed success that they thought it was. When his sister was born, they doubled their efforts. Tetsuya was often left without supervision, and with the responsibility of taking care of his sister.  As such, he developed a rather independent attitude. He also developed a liking for baseball during this time, which stays with him to this day.

At the age of five, his parents finally began to take time off from their jobs more and spend it with him and his sister. This period, before he was actually sent to Academy City, is probably the time he remembers the most fondly. His father, Kosuke, was a down-to-earth and practical man who had experienced a childhood similar to the one his son did, growing up in an industrial area without much supervision. With a state-of-the-art educational facility almost at the family's doorstep, he was determined on giving Tetsuya better opportunities than he had enjoyed. During these two years, the pair did many typical father-son activities, and Tetsuya finally began to understand and appreciate the sacrifices his parents were making for him.

At seven, he entered elementary school in Academy City on his own, after a tearful sending-off from the other three members of his family. He still sent them letters, and they would visit him every couple of months. On their second visit, there was definitely cause for celebration: Tetsuya had advanced from being a Level 0, and had developed his Esper Ability. He was one of the first in his class to do so, which gave him a bit of extra status among his friends. During his elementary school years, he lived in District 13 in an all-boys dormitory, and was often the mastermind and organizer behind their sneaking out on occasion to see other things in the city. Again, one of the things that really brought them all together was baseball - where Tetsuya became known as a pretty good batter.

Two years later, his sister Kinako also entered the city, enrolling at the same elementary school. However, when Tetsuya had turned ten, he was forcibly moved from his dormitory and placed, alongside his sister, in a multi-age facility with a number of other children. The pair was moved from the higher-grade housing in District 13 into District 19, which housed the facility. It took the two younger Adachis a while to figure out what had happened. As it turned out, in order to enroll Kinako and pay her tuition, Tetsuya's father had borrowed money from a yakuza organization in an act of self-sacrifice. He had figured that as long as the pair were inside Academy City, they would be safe, and the consequences would only fall on him if he defaulted. Kosuke Adachi is missing, presumed dead. Their mother Chiemi is missing as well. From that point on, the pair of children were grouped in with the Child Errors. Tetsuya maintains a belief that the two are still alive somewhere outside the city, and that he'll either earn enough money to secure their release or get powerful enough to break them out by force.

Tetsuya began living as his sister's guardian again, protecting the both of them from the threats in their new district. Tetsuya took on a sort of job assisting some researchers in exchange for pocket money for the both of them (detailed later). His school grades suffered as he increased the amount of work he was doing, trying to better provide for the both of them. Finally, after two and a half years together in the Child Error facility, the two were split up. Kinako was adopted by a wealthy family, who wanted an heiress and was impressed by her appearance and Esper ability. Although Kinako tried to get them to adopt Tetsuya as well, they wouldn't - they weren't so fortunate as to be able to send two additional children through upper-class schools. Tetsuya, for his own part, mostly accepted it. As long as Kinako could get a better lot in life, he was fine where he was. The two kept in touch by letter for a while, but the connection dropped off as Tetsuya's address changed in his move into middle school. The two siblings haven't seen each other in three years.

District 19 is notable for being one of the districts in decline. However, inside that urban decay, there's also a number of scientists putting their effort into researching outdated technologies, like vacuum tubes and the steam engine. Tetsuya found a way to make himself useful, before the siblings were separated, in assisting a team of researchers working on the latter of those two examples. His ability to regulate temperature precisely was an asset to the team, and the fact that his control of fire was limited to the surfaces of metal proved useful as well, keeping the fire contained inside the boiler. Even after his sister was adopted, he continued helping out the team while attending a middle school in the area. A number of other students in his class were doing a similar combination of working part-time in order to fund their tuition. Dissatisfaction with this state of affairs was starting to bloom, which was only fueled hotter by rumors that the city may have left District 19 to deteriorate on purpose. Things came to a head during summer break of his first year of high school, when Tetsuya and a number of other students were hanging out during some of their free time. Somebody mentioned Skill-Out, and how they were forming gangs in order to give Level 0 students a stronger position in the city. If a bunch of Level 0s could do that, why couldn't they do the same thing to increase their own status?

The idea was well-received among the disaffected boys (and some girls, too), and the well-meaning get-together turned into the first meeting of the Lost Party gang, formed of Esper students who felt like they'd been left behind by the rest of Academy City. Tetsuya was ultimately voted leader, as he argued that he had some of the most experience fending for himself and could fend for the others as well. A more concrete menu of demands was eventually formed: Academy City was too focused on cultivating power for power's sake, rather than appreciating the Esper abilities that could really be useful. A Level 2 Esper with friction reduction who uses it to help a turbine spin more efficiently and power more of the city ought to be ranked higher and receive a greater portion of city resources than a Level 4 Telekinetic who uses their power to float potato chips into their mouth. Under this manifesto and Tetsuya's leadership, the gang expanded their territory to cover about a third of District 19 within a year. Most of the researchers in the district were left alone, as were all Espers the gang decided were putting their abilities to good use. However, many visitors to the area began feeling the pressure, as increasing numbers of students ended up losing their wallets while passing through. After a series of incursions into neighboring districts, the city decided to take action against the gang.

The person leading the Judgement squad tasked with taking down the Lost Party was Shizuka Asami, an officer known for her skill in anti-Esper operations. The concentrated cleanup effort was brutally effective. Almost all members were successfully detained, and entered into rehabilitation. That was how Tetsuya ignobly ended up finishing out his middle school career, evaluating his place in society and how he ought to be interacting with it. However, something else had happened during the takedown of the group. He and Shizuka had been able to enjoy a good heart-to-heart conversation while he tried to hit her with a flaming metal stick and she blocked his strikes with her ability. And, while having his shit kicked in, he was able to gain a new appreciation for Judgement and what it did. There already was a place where Esper students could use their powers to help the city and be appreciated for it. He was getting beaten by them right at that moment.

Tetsuya has now emerged from rehabilitation with a new crush on the girl who defeated him, and a new goal: to join Judgement, make himself useful, and start walking a more legitimate route towards making sure kids like him can feel as if they have a place in Academy City. There's a sister waiting for him somewhere in the city as well who he hasn't seen in a while, and two parents whose survival he has to confirm. On the other hand, there are still remnants of the Lost Party operating and rebuilding in District 19, a yakuza organization that may be seeking compensation for his father's debts still, and the day-to-day challenges of trying to turn over a new leaf and succeed in high school.

RANK: Former Leader, Lost Party gang.
LEVEL: 3
Open Fire (広域炎作 kouiki ensaku, lit. Wide Area Fire Creation):

Tetsuya's ability is to cover the surface of a metal object in fire. Of course, that's a gross oversimplification. What he really does is spontaneously generate fire, using the metal as a guide for his ability. This is similar to how Kuroko's teleportation requires her to be touching the object she teleports while Musujime Awaki's Move Point has no restriction as to contact. The relationship between those two abilities is roughly how Tetsuya's Open Fire corresponds to the more general-use Pyrokinesis. It's more restricted, but has a few advantages due to that restriction.
Because the metal acts as a direct conduit for his Personal Reality, his range is larger than a standard pyrokinetic. His current range is 60 meters, about the size from the batters' area to the beginning of the outfield on a standard-sized baseball diamond. Obviously, however, he can't cover that entire area if he were theoretically standing on a piece of sheet metal that large. He could probably make fire 30cm high in a 60-degree cone extending about 15m in front of him. Higher, brighter, or hotter fire requires more energy, which means he can cover less area. His top temperature is about 1600 degrees Celsius, but he can only cover about 5 square centimeters with it. In other words, there's a hard limit to the energy he can put out at one time.

Tetsuya does not need to see the fire he's generating, he just needs to be in contact with the metal he's using to do so. Consider the example of a box. If he has a reasonable idea of how thick the walls are, he can generate it inside the box with a bit of trial-and-error. This was the ability that made him useful to the team in District 19 working on the steam engine.
However, consider the example of a locked room with a metal door. Tetsuya can generate it on that door, including the surface that he can't see, because he knows it has to be there. However, if there's something metal touching the door on the other side that he could potentially also generate it on, he can't, because he doesn't know it's there. As he trains and attempts to advance in level, it's possible that he may figure out how to do that, but not for a long time.

Figuring out where Tetsuya can actually generate the fire follows a similar principle to the conductivity of electricity. For example, if he's holding a metal stick and he touches a pipe with it, he can now generate fire along both of those things.
If he's holding a metal stick and he generates, at the end, a flame large enough to contact the end of the other pipe, he can also now generate fire along both of those things. The fire connection is akin to an arc through the air, if we're still thinking in that system.
If he wants to melt the pipe, he has to consciously exclude the pipe from his calculations while the fire is touching it. This takes approximately four times the effort of normally generating fire, depending on the surface area he's excluding.
[As a side note, this means that he does have the capability to select, very finely, which parts of a metal object can be melted by his fire and which can't. He hasn't figured this out yet, though, and he won't for a good while. He's not the brightest bulb in the lamp store.]
Now, imagine he connects himself to the second pipe, either by touching or by bridging the gap by fire, generates a flame at the end of that pipe, and then removes the connection. He can choose, if he wants, to maintain that flame, even though there is no longer a connection. This also takes approximately four times the effort per amount of energy used, and he has to keep consciously maintaining it at all times. If it slips his mind, or he moves away and it goes outside his range, it will die out. He also can't alter the flame in any way, like its position, temperature, luminosity, etc. He can only maintain it at its current status, or put it out. Line of sight is not necessary, but Tetsuya's still human, and so the odds of him remembering for, say, twenty whole minutes that he has a fire burning behind a closed door where he can't see it are pretty slim.
The amount of separate instances of fire he can generate - i.e., one at the top of a metal rood and one at the metal rod - is three. In other words, it's more effective for him to deal with one large instance of flame than several smaller ones. This includes instances that are disconnected, as mentioned above, so he could in theory be maintaining one instance disconnected from him while managing two others he's still connected to, or vice versa. All instances pull from the same pool of energy, so if he's already using all that then in order to make one more powerful he would need to make the other(s) less so. Finally, he doesn't really ever like using more than one anyway. It's a lot of stuff to keep track of, and annoying when you're in the middle of the fight. The only times he does it on a regular basis are for his Special Techniques, which he practices so they come naturally, and for the System Scan when the scientists are specifically asking him to generate as many as he can.

Finally, it's worth mentioning that all the figures listed here are maximum values, meaning that's the absolute strongest he can get at this point in time. As such, those require more effort to bring about. His comfort zone is at pretty much ¼ his maximum, if that. You won't see him running around trying to weld things with a 1600 degree torch all the time, nor making large cones of fire in front of him (if he even finds an ideal sheet metal environment for that).
OTHER ABILITIES: Any other talents or non supernatural abilities or equipment used by your character.
Special Technique: Pitcher's Worst Nightmare 
Tetsuya lights a hollow aluminum ball on fire, then tosses it into the air. He then swings at it with whatever bat-shaped implement he has around him - usually he has an actual bat, but a pipe or stick works fine as well. By combining his baseball skills and his ability, he can send high-velocity balls of fire with decent accuracy.
Special Technique: Batting Box from Hell 
Many of the alleyways of Academy City have pipes and metal things running along their sides. One of Tetsuya's most useful tricks back in his delinquent days was to touch those and use them to generate what was more or less a wall of fire in front of or behind a fleeing target. He only rarely makes it hazardous, but the spectacle is usually more than enough to stop someone in their tracks and keep them where he wants them.
Special Technique: Umpire of Dust [NOT UNLOCKED YET] 
[Tetsuya hasn't actually realized he can do this yet. It's more of something that he'll learn to do after some training and developing as a character. After several threads, he may develop an idea about it.]
Tetsuya's ability remains constrained to whatever metal is around him, meaning that it's difficult for him to project fire into the middle of the air. However, the chaff that's often used to disrupt electronic communications is also made out of metal. By using a miniature firecracker to release a cloud of it, Tetsuya can create a number of fire bridges between the individual metal particles very quickly, creating a large fireball for a few seconds before the air currents blow them too far apart. The mechanics of a dust explosion are on his side for this as well, magnifying the destructive power somewhat. One thing to note is that with this technique, it's the equivalent of throwing out a wild punch in the middle of a fight and seeing where it goes. He has nowhere near the normal level of control over it.
Flame-Retardant Clothing 
For him, it's practically a must-have item. Nothing more to it than that.
Aluminum Rod 
Tetsuya's weapon of choice. During his delinquent days, he used an iron pipe, but now he favors lighter (and less harmful) metals. It's incredibly useful, as it extends his reach and allows him contact to metal fixtures he normally wouldn't be able to get to. Once he discovers the chaff ability, it'll also function as a fuse to allow him to keep his distance from the fireball.
.275 Batting Average and Counting
Tetsuya is pretty good at hitting things with sticks. He's a pretty accurate batter. Not pro-level good yet, of course, but he's never had pro-level training. At the very least, he's a good enough candidate to be considered for a District 20 school, so that says something. Where it applies in a fight is mainly that he's good at returning things sent flying at him, especially if they're at slower speeds than your usual baseball.

CHARACTER THEME: A selection of musical tracks to act as your character's motif or background music. Can include as many or as few tracks as you wish.

Theme Song
Theme II

Normal Life 1
Normal Life 2
Fight 1
Fight 2
District 19 Theme
Gotta Find My Sister


PLAYER'S NAME: Adachi Tetsuya
CHATANGO NAME: MTCicero
RATING: M
FACE CLAIM: Yoshida from Princess Resurrection
OTHER CHARACTERS:
MISC. INFORMATION: N/A

Tetsuya trudged back to his dormitory from the Anti-Skill rehabilitation center. He'd been essentially paroled, is what it was. Until the summer was over and he could actually attend school, he had to check in every three days with a member of Academy City's teacher-run military to confirm that he hadn't been slipping back into his old ways.

He swished around in his mouth and spat on the sidewalk in distaste. Couldn't they tell that he was serious about doing better from now on? Did they have to treat him like another common delinquent?

He fished around in his pocket for coins to feed into a nearby vending machine. Well, of course they did. He wasn't quite so obtuse that he didn't realize that if the city didn't do this for everyone, some people who didn't think quite like he did would take advantage of an early release and go back to their previous crimes.
Still, that didn't mean he had to like being on the other end of it.

The vending machine clunked, and his selection fell into the tray at the bottom. Shoot, he hadn't even been paying attention to which button he'd pressed. He cracked open the lid and took a sip, holding the liquid in his mouth for a second before swallowing. It wasn't terrible, but...
He held the can in front of his face, trying to read the label in the mid-evening light. Of course. Beetroot soda. As expected of Academy City.

He finished about half the can before he started walking again, as the sun continued to set lower and lower in the sky. The lights of the city were bright in the central districts, but here on the outskirts it was more of a backdrop than anything. Supposedly, he was going to be transferred to a certain high school located more centrally than he was now. They probably wanted him out of District 19 as soon as possible.

He was tired enough of everything - the re-education, the guilt, the walking - that he wasn't on his normal lookout, and the figure blocking his path from the alleyway caught him by almost total surprise. He stopped, holding the half-full can of soda. In the darkness between working streetlights, he couldn't make out a face. The person was wearing a hooded sweatshirt, but they didn't attack. Instead, a voice whispered forward.
"Psst, Tetsuya."

Startled to full awareness and gritting his teeth, the boy lit a fire on the top rim of his soda can to illuminate the two of them. So much for being able to enjoy a cold drink, even if it was beet-flavored.
"Muraku... You shouldn't be here."

Tonda Muraku. One of his fellow elites in the Lost Party. Much of their manifesto's first draft had been written in his handwriting, and he'd been one of the highest-ranked members to not have been captured in the gang cleanup.The boy's previously-brown hair was now bleached a bright yellow underneath the sweatshirt hood, a testament to how far he'd gone to try and avoid Judgement's eyes.

"You shouldn't be in there. That Judgement jungle." The hooded boy whispered in a sharp tone. He moved to grab Tetsuya's arm, but Tetsuya moved the flaming can to block him. Muraku's hand retreated.
"Don't tell me you believe in all the junk they're pushing you to take." He continued, unfazed. A pause stretched for several seconds, the sound of the fire sputtering the only noise between the two.

"I'm not the only one who got out, you know." Muraku tried a different angle. "There's a few of us. Sasaki and Kushida, and some others. The Lost Party is still alive, you know. We could use your help."

Finally, Tetsuya responded. "I'm not coming back, Muraku. The Lost Party is-"

"Others are coming back!" Muraku exclaimed, a bit more loudly than his whisper would allow. He lessened his tone again as he continued. "I've talked to some others. They don't buy the stuff Judgement's been feeding them. They're coming back, once the parole's up. Why can't you?" Clouds of vapor began condensing around the hooded boy. Tetsuya had seen this before. If he wanted to cut off a potential scene, he had to do it while Muraku was still only threatening a fight.

"I ain't gonna fight you." He declared with a steely voice. "Fighting won't fix our stuff for us." A brief pause ensued while he thought of what to say next. "All those kids, all those wallets... It'd take a million years to change things that way. I don't have that kind of time." He shoved his hand in his pocket - the one not holding a flaming soda can - and started to walk off. Muraku glared.
"I ain't gonna report you, either." Tetsuya waved behind him. "We never talked here, that's it."

The boy in the hoddie stamped his foot, and called after the departing figure. He didn't want to leave the shadow and get picked up on a security camera, but this would be the last convenient chance to reconvert their former leader before he was relocated half the city away.

"Sure, we made mistakes! And we paid for it! But now..." Muraku's voice left its low tone, and became more of a full-throated cry for help. "If we can just get the old gang back together... We'd do better this time! We'd make a difference!"

Tetsuya stopped, and looked over his shoulder. "Muraku... If that's your goal, then you don't need me for it. I'd make the same mistakes as last time." Why couldn't he just put his past behind him? Why did it have to chase after him wherever he went?
"You follow your ideas. I'll do what I think is right. I've got some people from before the Lost Party even began, ones that I don't want to disappoint." And a few new people expecting things from him, as well. And some he still had to find and get expectations from.

The light on the aluminum can faded out as he entered the cone of the streetlight. He paused, and took another sip of soda. Blech, warm.

Let’s see how much I have changed since 2015. Can’t say I’m not thrilled about figuring this out. Let’s go, shall we?


II. The Ability – Simple Question

Admittedly I had a hard time finding anything that is even remotely wrong with this profile outside of the following question, that is: Am I right in the assumption that he can only create a flame at a single spot and keep it up at the same time? Or could he potentially have more than one going?


This was a pretty good read I had. You really did well. Feel praised.

First of all, thanks for the praise! I'll do my best to not let it go to my head, and keep getting better!

Second of all the ability! He could potentially create several different instances, provided he has the proper connections to make them work. Like taking the situation in the test post, for example: If he had wanted to, he could have had one spot of fire on top of the can and one on the bottom. Since both spots are connected to him via the metal, it's pretty much no problem. They both draw from the same reserve of total energy he can output, so if he has to run two different spots he can't concentrate power as well as he could if he were only working with one.
That being said, he doesn't often do things like that. Most of the time fights are fast-paced enough that keeping track of multiple patches would be difficult for him to pay attention to, and so the only times he really ends up doing anything similar would be in his Special Techniques (which he's practiced with, so that he can use them readily). Running several spots of fire that are linked to him doesn't incur a significant computational difficulty in his power like sustaining an unlinked spot does, but Tetsuya as a person is just not mindful enough to reliably manage two at once.
In other words: it's possible considering the ability, but considering the man the ability's attached to, it doesn't happen often.
(If you have a recommendation for how many his max cap should be, I'm open to suggestions - right now I think an appropriate amount would be three to four, though again he's basically got to be maintaining a lot of focus on keeping them all up and making sure he's not forgetting about any of them at any moment.)

Another rodeo is coming to a well-deserved end. Even after reading it multiple times I didn't find anything worthwhile to pick on. Very good job.


Now go have the time of your life.