000 ♦ ataraxion app

[chowfanhero]

PLAYER INFORMATION
Your Name: Ai-chan
OOC Journal: infected_wound
Under 18? If yes, what is your age?: Over 18 :)
Email + IM: sakurai.no.yuuri@gmail.com | tatsumi owns you [ AIM ]
Characters Played at Ataraxion: none

CHARACTER INFORMATION
Name: Kotetsu T. Kaburagi
Canon: Tiger & Bunny
Original or Alternate Universe: Original
Canon Point: After the series
Number: 078

Setting: Wikipedia link.

History: Kotetsu T. Kaburagi is Hero with the title 'Wild Tiger' under Apollon Media's Hero Division. He possesses Hundred Power, the ability to multiply his abilities (strength, thickness of skin, hearing etc.) by a hundred. According to the Tiger & Bunny wikia, his NEXT powers awakened when he was ten years old, though I can't find the magazine interview the site claims that information is from so I'll go with it having awakened around that age. (In episode 2, he informs Barnaby that his powers awakened at around the same time the Puppeteer NEXT user kid's did, and he looks no older than 12. ) According to flashbacks in episode 2, he was initially apprehensive about having Hundred Power and hid it from his family at first. However, after being caught up in a bank robbery and then saved by Mr. Legend, Kotetsu began aspiring to become a Hero himself.

He later on married Tomoe, a high school classmate, and had a daughter named Kaede with her.

Kotetsu's debut on Hero TV comes ten years prior to the series' start. He originally debuts with TopMag's Hero Division. At the series' start, however, this division is scrapped and Kotetsu is turned over to Apollon Media to be a foil to Barnaby Brooks Jr. This change leads to his suit upgrade, going from the crapsuit his blue and tiger-themed spandex suit, to a mechanized, bullet-proof and green-themed suit. About five years prior to the series' start, his wife also passes away from an unspecified sickness. According to a flashback during Episode 17, his wife dies while he's out doing his Hero duties, or rather, after she tells him to go. She also makes him promise to be Hero 'no matter what'. It's safe to say then that one of Kotetsu's main driving force for continuing to be Hero despite the obstacles he encounters later on is this.

As a part of Apollon Media, Kotetsu becomes a part of the first Hero Team in Hero TV's history. His teammate is Barnaby Brooks who has the same powers as him. Their partnership is difficult at the get-go, but improves greatly after the Lunatic and Jake Martinez' incidents. During the "Let's Believe (in) Heroes" campaign, Kotetsu takes a hit for Barnaby and allows the younger Hero to open up to him more as a result. The Jake Martinez' incident almost destroys what little progress they make as partners from the Lunatic incident, but ultimately improves it when Kotetsu goes out of his way, still injured and all, to inform Barnaby of Jake's second NEXT ability. (Inform partially, that is. Ironically, this incident is also a display of how little Kotetsu actually relies on his partner. He had a valid reason for this incident, but definitely shows how Kotetsu will hide things from his friends if he believes this is for the best.)

After the series' time skip, Kotetsu's powers begin its decline when it goes haywire/significantly more powerful in a chase for Blue Rose' purse-thief. Later on, Ben, his old manager from TopMag, informs him that there are NEXT users out there who experience a great burst of energy at some point, followed by a gradual decline and eventual complete disappearance of their NEXT abilities. This is also something, Kotetsu finds out, Mr. Legend has experienced.

In episode 17, he goes back to his home town (Oriental Town) to mull over this revelation. It is here that he comes upon the decision to quit. At this point, his daughter's NEXT ability, the ability to copy other NEXT user's powers by touch, awaken as well.

Upon his return to Sternbild, he struggles to tell his partner that he's quitting, only to get caught up in Barnaby's problems. Despite his own matters to take into account, Kotetsu helps Barnaby confirm whether or not Jake Martinez is really responsible for his (Barnaby's) parents' death. This sets into motion the Maverick incident.

Maverick, the CEO of Apollon Media, upon failing to use his NEXT abilities on Kotetsu, decides to frame Kotetsu for the murder of Barnaby's old housekeeper in the following episodes. ( Mavericks' NEXT ability is the ability to rewrite/insert memories into an incapacitated person.) This results in Kotetsu being chased around Sternbild by the other Heroes who've had their memories altered. The situation is only partially fixed when Kaede (who ran away from Oriental Town to save her daddy after Hero TV starts broadcasting his civilian persona's criminal status) comes into the scene with the powers she'd unknowingly copied from Maverick. With the other Heroes, sans Barnaby, within close proximity of Kaede, she unleashes a burst of Maverick's powers to undo the mind-alteration done on them. Unfortunately for Kotetsu, Sky High touches Kaede before they can get her to return Barnaby's memories as well.

Fortunately for Kotetsu, the nickname he gives Barnaby ('Bunny') comes in handy later on. When crying and slapping Barnaby fails, it's ultimately calling Barnaby 'Bunny' that gets Barnaby to snap out of Maverick's memory alteration. (Maverick's memory alteration apparently fails at the smallest contradiction. In this case, Maverick hadn't known about the significance of the nickname Kotetsu had given to Barnaby.)

When Kaede and the other Heroes get kidnapped by H-01 (formerly known as android Wild Tiger), Kotetsu and Barnaby agree to meet with Maverick at the highest level of Justice Tower for the final showdown. It is there that Kotetsu, as a last resort, gets Barnaby to shoot H-01's own weapon while he holds H-01 in place. His armor gets destroyed by the blast, and almost dies from it. (He passes out from sheer pain, he claims later on.) Later on, and when Maverick tries to hold Kaede hostage, he disarms Maverick easily and saves his daughter.

After Maverick has been put into custody, Kotetsu finally retires and returns to Oriental Town to be with his daughter.

He returns a year later, to the Second League, with his Hundred Power's time limit gone from five minutes to a mere one minute. Still under Apollon Media, his new title is 'Wild Tiger 1minute'. He explains to Barnaby then that part of his reason for returning is because Kaede didn't like seeing him be a couch potato, and because he wants to keep being a Hero even if his powers disappear completely.

Personality:

When we're introduced to Kotetsu in the first episode of Tiger & Bunny, we see a person who's good-natured, but somewhat difficult to work with, impulsive, irresponsible, and unprofessional. Unlike the other Heroes, he doesn't stay after the King of Heroes' ceremony to greet the sponsors. He's also known as the Crusher of Justice, and as the name implies, has a tendency to cause structural damage during his Hero outings. He's messy, from the looks of his apartment, and a few episodes later, we find out that, because of his Hero obligations, he's not a very good father to his daughter as well. (In episode 2, he wasn't able to make it to his daughter's ice-skating recital, and it's implied that he's not been able to fulfill other promises he's made to Kaede for similar things.)

These traits really don't get better as the series progresses, but neither are these the only traits that make up Kotetsu. If anything, most of these are a result of his other positive traits, and his tendency of letting people take him at face value rather than explain himself.

At heart, Kotetsu is someone who believes in doing things because you want to, and not because you want other people's understanding, gratitude, respect, or rewards. He tells Blue Rose as much in episode four, and this is something that is consistent in Kotetsu's characterization. For example, in the fight with Jake Martinez, he lets Barnaby get all the recognition despite being instrumental in his defeat. In an extra oneshot, Kotetsu claims he'd been running late and that was why he used his abilities, when in truth he'd helped get a pregnant lady to the hospital. Barnaby, after episode 14, also notes that he's that kind of person who does things that might be irritating (in that case, it's Kotetsu deciding he's had enough practice), but is really his way of showing concern (in that same case, again, Barnaby explains that Kotetsu wants them to get some rest too). In that episode, Barnaby does all the explaining for Kotetsu's motives and though it's not entirely accurate for all the instances in that episode, it helps to show that Kotetsu is someone who rarely explains why he does things, even if it ends up making him look bad.

On the same vein, Kotetsu seems to actively encourage everyone else's impression of him being an idiot and a klutz by not correcting their negative assumptions of him. He's not the brightest, definitely, and he can be a klutz (How do you explain his ability to drop a pen and have it be run over by a randomly passing car somehow?), but it's certainly not that bad. Case in point: In episode 13, he's the only one who figures out Jake Martinez' second NEXT ability, trumping over Barnaby who's supposed to be the brains of the two. Earlier on in the series, in episode 3, he also figures out

Kotetsu also cares for the people around him a bit too much, a trait that may come off annoying as he noses into a lot of his friends' matters. In episode 4, he tries to help Karina (Blue Rose) choose between her love of singing and being a Hero. In episode 5, he up and decides that Barnaby should get a surprise birthday event. In both cases, neither Barnaby nor Karina naturally asked for Kotetsu's help, but he did all those things anyway. In extension, he's shown to be someone who is willing to do quite a lot for friends, or people in general. In episode 2, he pretends his Hundred Power has run out just so he can show Tony ( a NEXT with the power to control objects) how his powers can be used for good too. In episode 8, he takes a hit of Lunatic's fire for Barnaby, while knowing how destructive Lunatic's fire can be. In episode 13, he forces himself out of bedrest and lies about having healed himself completely with the Hundred Power, just so he can tell Barnaby what Jake's second power is. In episode 19, he decides to postpone his retirement, even as his powers starts its decline, just so he can help Barnaby come to terms with the revelations regarding his parents' deaths. The list goes on on what Kotetsu is willing to do for his friends, and just people in general. If anything, it's almost a self-destructive trait of his, just because of how bad for him some of the things he does is.

In contrast to his strong desire to help others, Kotetsu himself is actually a rather private person. He doesn't seem to be comfortable with telling people about private things concerning him. In fact, he doesn't seem comfortable at all with the idea of having anyone help him. He doesn't want to be a burden to other people, and neither does he seem to want others to worry for him. He lies to them about healing himself completely just so they'd get off his case and he'd be able to go to Barnaby during the Jake Martinez' incident. He doesn't tell his fellow Heroes about his declining powers until that leads to a situation where it almost kills him. His older brother says, in episode 17, that Kotetsu even hid his NEXT powers awakening from family for a while. The only time he seems willing to let these private things slip is when it seems like it'll benefit the other party, rather than cause worry. In episode 2, Kotetsu claims he'd cried every day after finding out about his NEXT powers until he met Mr. Legend just to connect with Tony.

Kotetsu also has very strong principles when it comes to being a Hero. He doesn't believe anyone, even killers, should die as a result of their crimes. He only uses his powers for things related to his job as a Hero; ie. apprehending criminals, saving people. He, as mentioned earlier, believes Heroes should do their job not for the sponsors, or fame, but for the sake of the people. As a downside to this, he tends to complain when he's made to do un-Hero-like stuff. This is the very reason he refused to stay at the reception after the King of Heroes' ceremony, something I brought up earlier and can be seen as unprofessional given his line of work. He simply didn't think it was something a true Hero should do, and while it is certainly not good on one angle, it's not entirely bad either. In episode 4, he claims a Hero should never abandon a life while there's still hope.

Kotetsu is actually quite observant when it comes to thinks going on around him. This not only helps him as a Hero, but as a friend as well. He does, however, have the tendency to take his time when it comes to actually processing what it is he's noticed, and then when he does start processing it, he also tends to come to a conclusion that's off the mark. An early example of this is in episode 5, when, after Barnaby seems (to Kotetsu) 'sadder' than usual, Kotetsu comes to the conclusion that he's depressed about his birthday. (In fact, Barnaby had worn that look as he remembered how much of a failure Kotetsu can be.) In episode 20, while he notices the pin he'd given to Barnaby under Maverick's coffee table, he doesn't quite come to the conclusion that it is Barnaby's pin until much later, when he realizes his (Kotetsu's) pin hadn't dropped under the table after all like he'd initially thought. Despite being quite observant, however, there is one thing Kotetsu can't seem to get a clue about: Love. Throughout the series, the fact that Blue Rose has a crush on him doesn't quite register. In fact, when Blue Rose explicitly states how she'll treasure the towel he gave her for the rest of her life while blushing, Kotetsu doesn't think much of it and simply wonders what's going on with the younger hero.

According to him, and pulling from different parts of the series, his motivations for being Hero are as follows: to follow the footsteps of Mr. Legend (episode 2), to keep a promise to his dead wife (episode 17), so that Kaede will find call him cool (late 20s, I believe), and because he wants to save people (episode 4).

Abilities, Weaknesses and Power Limitations:

Kotetsu is a NEXT ( Noted Entities with eXtraordinary Talents ). His special ability is the Hundred Power, or simply the ability to become 100 times more powerful (and everything else, not smarter though...) within a certain time frame. At the start of the series, he could use the Hundred Power for five minutes, by the end of it however, this time limit has declined to a measly one minute (and seems to have stabilized then, if his new Hero title is to be believed). The exact reasons for this decline is currently unconfirmed, though a friend of Kotetsu's has surmised it could be because he's part of the small percentage of NEXT users whose abilities gradually dwindle before vanishing completely. The only other named NEXT whose abilities suffered the same fate is Mr. Legend. His Hundred Power seems to be able to affect his healing abilities too. In episode 13, the cuts on his body seem to heal and disappear when he activates his Hundred Power. Clearly, however, this ability has its limits: It can only heal so much within the time Hundred Power is activated. Later on in the same episode, it is shown that while the superficial wounds have been healed, he still retains some of the internal damage and was bluffing about having healed those too. (He gets blood on the flash grenade he hands off to Barnaby, which clearly means he hadn't quite healed everything, and is still badly injured.)

Without his NEXT abilities, however, Kotetsu is still quite skilled as a result of years of training and his occupation as Hero. In episode 21, he was able to hold up for a bit against an android Wild Tiger (who has his Hundred Power emulated) without his powers, and even give the android a throw down. Later on, this very same android was able to take down the combined efforts of all the other Heroes minus Barnaby. He was also able to evade Sky High, whose NEXT powers and suit allow him to fly at great speeds, by swinging around Stern Bild with the wire accessible from his watch, in the same episode. In episode 17, he was able to carry a whole tree trunk out of the way without his powers to save his daughter, a feat he obviously can't do normally, but leads one to wonder just what he can do even without his powers when push comes to shove. He tends to favor the use of his fists when he's fighting, and seems to know Judo.

He also must have some above-average endurance as well, if the abuse he takes on during the series (especially the latter half) is any indication. Nothing extreme, but it needs to be said when Kotetsu is thrown around and injured quite a lot without his abilities switched on.

As for weaknesses: As stated above, his powers are very, very limited by the end of the series. Obviously, he's trained a lot to compensate for his abilities' limitations even before it dwindles down to a minute, so he's definitely above-average, but at the end of the day he's still a normal human without Hundred Power.

Character-wise, he's someone who has problems relying on other people. This is, as his older brother says in Episode 17, a bad habit of his. Kotetsu doesn't like being a burden, and so he actively keeps problems to himself. This almost gets him killed at least once: In episode 24, he promises Barnaby he'll be able to dodge the blast from H-01's gun with his Hundred Power. What he fails to tell Barnaby is that his abilities no longer last as long as Barnaby's does, and subsequently gets caught up in the ensuing explosions.

This brings up another weakness of his: his tendency to use himself as a shield/be self-sacrificing for other people. In Episode 8, Kotetsu all but throws himself between Lunatic and Barnaby when the former shoots a NEXT-powered fiery arrow at Barnaby. This is no ordinary fire either. In the episode before that (episode 7), Lunatic's unnatural blue fire is introduced as the kind that doesn't extinguish until the victim is fully burnt. The fact that Kotetsu had his Hundred Power abilities switched on then was probably the only thing keeping Lunatic's fire from consuming him completely.

Kotetsu's firm belief that no one deserves to die as punishment for their crimes, no matter how heinous they might be, can be considered a weakness in a life and death situation as well.

Finally, minor weaknesses include his tendency to rush forward into things without much thought, and his denseness. The latter isn't so bad, but it can keep him from coming to realizations until later. He does have a ridiculously good luck, however, so that probably helps keep it from being too bad...

Inventory: His normal clothes, hunting cap, Spiderman wrist watch that has in-built grappling wire thing, beads, Hero TV wristband/communicator, domino mask, cellphone, wedding ring, wallet, and, finally, (if possible) his crapsuit. It really does nothing but hide his identity and add another wire-grappling thing.

Appearance: Kotetsu doesn't look particularly striking: Good looking, yes, but he's the kind of person whose looks you don't really realize are good at first. He has light-brown skin, amber eyes, and dark brown hair; traits that don't really stand out. The only thing that really stands out about him is his kitties-shaped beard, though that must give the impression that he's quite dorky. He tends to dress conservatively; he's more often than not seen wearing long-sleeved shirts with sleeves that he rolls up to his elbows, a vest, suit pants, a neck tie, and his hunting cap. His choice of clothing hides the fact that he's really built from years of training, though knowing Kotetsu, that's probably his original intent.

With his NEXT powers activated, a blue glow envelopes his body, and his eyes give off a luminescent glow of the same color.

Age: To my knowledge, official sources haven't really provided a solid number for his age. For this app, I'll go with 36.

AU Clarification: n/a

SAMPLES
Log Sample:

Kotetsu wrapped his arms around himself, shivering as he continued to walk across the strange place barefooted. There were things that looked like single-beds, curtains separating some of those beds from the other, and cabinets all over. It looked like a hospital. At least, an abandoned one anyway. That was some improvement, right? At least now, he knew something about this place. It was certainly better than what he'd had earlier, anyway, after waking up half-naked, wet, and then being forced out into this room with freezing floors. "At least give me some slippers," Kotetsu muttered as he looked around for just those: slippers. "Damn, it's cold!" he repeated again, rubbing his shoulders all the more furiously.

That was when he noticed the number on his forearm: 078.

Kotetsu actually couldn't remember much beyond his name, something told him that wasn't there before. And why '078' anyway? Momentarily forgetting about the cold, he rubbed a thumb against it. It didn't seem like it'd just been drawn. In fact, it looked like it'd been tattooed onto his skin. He'd remember something as painful as that, wouldn't he?

He paused, and then thought about it. Hard. Nothing came, though, and he eventually gave up on it and returned to rubbing his arms. Eventually, he relented and grabbed one of the blankets on the beds. Stealing was bad, he knew, but it's not like there was anyone around to ask to borrow from, and he did plan on giving it back. Eventually.

When he found his clothes. The sooner he found his clothes, the better too!

Eventually, he came to a room with lockers all over the place. Each of those lockers had a number and remembering the number on his forearm, Kotetsu decided to check if it went as far as 78. It did, actually, and the moment he opened it, he realized it also contained his belongings. The first thing he noticed was his ring.

"...Tomoe." The name came to him right then: his wife. He put it on, and then reached for the cap beside it. He put that on too; it seemed like the right thing to do.

Underneath his cap, there was a device of some sort. It didn't look like his cellphone, or so he thought immediately. Curious, he picked it up and fumbled for the switch. Once it was switched on, a neutral voice began droning on:

"Please take the blue lift to the passenger quarters."

"Whaat....?" Kotetsu muttered then and began fumbling with the device, even going so far as to talk back to it for clarification. Nothing happened of his efforts though, and eventually, Kotetsu simply settled for grabbing whatever else was in that locker. He'll look for the passenger's quarters later...

Comms Sample:

[ This is a video transmission. Stern Bild telecommunications are video, anyway! Though, this is still confusing for Kotetsu. Really, this thing is supposed to connect to everyone else in the whoooole ship? ]

Helloooooo? Anyone?

Am I connecting? Hello? Hello?

Er. Anyway, anyone know how we got here? It's supposed to be a ship, right? And what's up with this place anyway? Where's everyone else? This better not be some kind of event for Hero TV...