OC: Kaito Kobayashi
Hey everyone, here's my OC! It's for an MHA fic I'm writing that puts him through the canon timeline along with the rest of 1-A! If you enjoy him, please leave your thoughts! I'll leave a link to the fic at the end. It's still in progress, but I am still working on it. Chapter 8 should be up in the next week! It's at 48k words now, and by the end of the USJ, it'll be over 60k!
Anyways. OC below.
Name: Kaito Kobayashi
Quirk: Force Shift
Age: 15 (At start of canon timeline)
Birthday: September 17th
Blood Type: AB+
Biography: Born the second child of Kenji and Keiko Kobayashi. Kaito's childhood was marked by noticeable turmoil. At age 4, he began having screaming fits. Easily overstimulated, it became an almost nightly occurrence for him to cry himself to sleep. His mother, recently divorced, struggled between caring for Kaito, her daughter, and managing a sustainable job to support the household.
Initially diagnosed with anxiety and sleep disorders, two years later Kaito's diagnosis was changed to 'hypersensory disorder,' a catch all term for the older 'sensory processing disorder' diagnosis that lost a lot of its definition in a world of countless sensory quirks. Kaito's diagnosis, however, appeared to have nothing to do with his quirk, which would manifest unusually late at age 9.
In the ensuing years, Kaito was homeschooled and placed through rigorous therapy. Counseling, meditation, and exposure desensitization all helped, but it appeared movement had the most regulating effect. At six years old he began Aikido initially as a therapy regimen, and after an exceptionally positive response to it, his mother prioritized it. Kaito goes to Aikido five days a week after school, and finds the forms 'grounding.'
“That’s a lot for a kid to carry,” All Might’s tone was subdued. “Is it right for us to add to that?”
“Alone? It would have been unbearable. But he wasn’t alone.”
By age 11, Kaito stabilized. He was able to return to public schooling, albeit with underwhelming grades and only a vague sense of direction for the future. He began studying computer programs with the intent of becoming a video editor or designer. That was, until he was fourteen.
That year, Kana accidentally fell in the river. Well, if by 'accidentally falling' you mean, 'ignored a dozen keep out signs and blatantly trespassed in a dangerous waterway.' Her and her friends were rescued by pro hero Hawks.
A few weeks later, Kaito mentioned his desire to go to U.A. at the dinner table.
That year, rumors began that All Might was teaching at U.A. The story begins with Kaito taking the entrance exam, and his adventures with the greatest heroes in the world.
Quirk Mechanics: Kaito's quirk is Force Shift, allowing him to absorb and quickly release kinetic energy through his hands. If an object makes contact, its momentum is sapped instantly, momentarily freezing it in place until other external forces, such as gravity, act on it again. The absorbed force is then released out his other hand in the form of an invisible pressure wave--similar to Izuku's air force in concept.
Midoriya’s eyes flashed between the chopstick and Kaito’s hand, brimming with the manic glow of discovery.
“That’s amazing! You can literally put physics on hold!”
“Eh, not really,” Kaito said, taking a small bite. “I can just tell it to go somewhere else.”
He can shape the released force with precision into various forms. A wide cone spreads the force over a larger area but weaker impact, a narrower release focuses power in exchange for area of effect. Kaito often shapes the impact into wider forms to dilute its impact and avoid killing someone with too focused a blow.
Force Shift works through an internal energy field, what he calls his channel, that guides the force through his body. The amount of force the channel can manage is limited, and repeated use can cause it to fail. If his channel collapses, the energy he absorbed is released in every direction at once. This channel can get tougher through repeated use like other quirks, but catastrophic failure always has the same result.
"...that sounds like an explosion."
"Yeah, it feels like an explosion, too."
Kaito's quirk has limitations. It requires both his hands, preventing him from using it if he is holding onto something. It also means that he struggles when outnumbered.
He also cannot use his quirk on himself. If Kaito is falling or thrown, he cannot redirect his own energy to soften the landing.
Kaito's quirk is not a battery or an amplifier. It has a strict 100% in/100% out rule. He cannot make a force stronger or weaker, and he cannot store it for later either. The force usually has to be released within one or two seconds of being absorbed. Attempting to 'hold' it involves complicated manipulation of his channel, and will cause it to fail very quickly.
However, Kaito has not tested his quirk extensively before U.A., and that school's curriculum will reveal layers beneath his quirk he never knew.
FAMILY:
“Kaito’s parents. Kenji and Keiko Kobayashi.”
“Does…does his entire family have names that start with ‘K’?” Present Mic asked.
“His sister’s name is Kana,” Nezu beamed.
“It’s got a rhythm. I dig it.”
Mother: Keiko Kobayashi
Age: - 40 (at time of canon events)
Quirk: Cutting stare - Can divide soft, non-living materials along a plane of her choice by staring at them for several seconds, as if they were snipped with a pair of scissors. Largely used for simple office work when the scissors have gone AWOL.
Career: Works as a mid-level executive at a marketing firm that brokers partnerships between hero agencies, talent agencies, support firms, and raw material industries. Familiar with the hero world, but not truly a part of it.
“...hi, Mom,” Kaito mumbled, not quite sure if that fury was directed at him or not. “You look…like…my mom.”
“She didn’t earlier, she looked like Ryukyu on a mission…” Kana made a theatrical play at whispering as though her mother couldn't hear her.
“That bad, huh?”
“Oh, you have no idea,” she said with a slightly frightened grin. “She cornered one of the instructors in the hallway. Went like, FULL dragon lady.”
Father: Kenji Kobayashi
Age: 42 (at start of canon events)
Quirk: Rebound - Can make objects he throws or drops rebound with exaggerated elasticity, similar to a basketball.
Career: Previously incarcerated; now a taxi driver in Hokkaido.
“He’s been released,” Aizawa pointed out.
“Yes he has. However, since his release, he has made no attempts to re-establish contact with either Mrs. Kobayashi or his children. Current reports list him as working in a taxi service on the other side of the country.”
The room was silent, considering this new information.
Older sister: Kana Kobayashi
Age: 17 (at time of canon events)
Quirk: Bounce - When in a good mood, she can bounce like a rubber ball. Can get about twice her height in clearance if she really throws herself into it. Low utility, high chaos coefficient.
Career: Teenager; terminally online social media chaos mogul.
“Ah yes, I’m the insufferable one.” Kaito chuckled.
“You are.”
“You started an online flame war at least three times this week and called one of my future classmates, whom neither of us know, a ‘bipolar nepo baby.’”
“His quirk is hot and cold! That has to reflect an unstable personality.”
“And what does my quirk represent?” Kaito challenged.
“Crippling conflict avoidance.” No hesitation, maximum glee.
“You know what, that’s on me. I shouldn’t have asked.”
If you hung on this long and enjoyed hearing about this dear awkward boy, I hope you'll give the fic a read!