Tatsuhiko Shibusawa

Tatsuhiko Shibusawa (澁澤 龍彦,) is the main antagonist in DEAD APPLE. Six years ago, he was involved in the Dragon's Head Conflict after being sent by the government supposedly to help conclude the strife, only for him to exacerbate it out of his own personal agenda.

Appearance
Shibusawa was a young, tall man with extremely pale skin and vacant red eyes. He had waist-length, snow-white hair that was wavy to the point of almost unruly. Small segments of his hair were tied into braids on the side of his head with a tubular black hair accessory. His bangs were the neatest part of his hair, split in the middle, with the right side curving with a larger portion of his bangs.

He wore a white, low-cut shirt with loose sleeves over a black turtleneck. On top, he wore an unfastened cape that can be secured by a gold button. The turtleneck's sleeves secured around his middle fingers. Below, he wore trousers and what appeared to be dress shoes. He also wore black nail polish.

In his draconic appearance after being revived, Shibusawa's skin was off-color and mostly covered by greenish-grey dragon scales. His muscles enlarged considerably, and the gem embedded in his skull turned into a horn. The three claw scars from Atsushi's attack reappeared over the right side of his face.

Personality
Bored of the world, Shibusawa claimed that nothing exceeded his expectations but he himself. The man seemed to exhibit excessive collecting hobbies, as, during the Dragon's Head Conflict, he claimed to steal gems out of sheer boredom. This earned him the nickname 'The Collector'.

A man of intellect, Shibusawa was calculative in every one of his moves, proven in his planning during the dispute where he used the tide of the conflict, turning it into how he saw fit and furthered his own goals.

Shibusawa's intellect and boredom led to not only arrogance but the belief that very few things can truly fulfill him, leaving him empty inside and yearning for something to fill in the blanks of his memory and heart. He believed no one is on par with him, and as such, no one can surprise him. After regaining his memories, Shibusawa stated that the rush of life he felt after Atsushi killed him was what he sought all along.

Ability
Draconia (ドラコニア,) seems to be a multi-formed ability with multiple variations. At its core, Shibusawa can create a mysterious mist, dubbed the 'Dragon's Breath', capable of separating abilities from their users. These abilities manifest as either its own unique form, or in a pitch-black, white-eyed mimic of its user, and are capable of communication. The separated abilities then attempt to kill their user. If the ability succeeds, it transforms into a gem, appearing in Draconia's collection room.

The abilities have a major weakness: the red gems on their bodies. If their powerless user can destroy the gem and accept the ability as theirs, they regain it. However, rejecting the ability will leave it dormant inside the user. Draconia's collection room is an ornate dome structured of pillars, stained glass, and countless shelves where the red gems appear.

Draconia has a peculiar effect on Shibusawa after his death, somehow manifesting as him sans memory, and is capable of 'revival' so long as his collection can maintain his existence. However, after Fyodor Dostoevsky killed Shibusawa again, he used a fragment of the ability-gathering gem, putting it to Shibusawa's separate skull, reuniting Shibusawa with his true body and form, memory intact. In this form, Shibusawa emerges as a dragon-hybrid, much like Atsushi's tiger-hybrid form. He's physically powerful and agile, making him a formidable foe. Fyodor claims that the combined chaos of all the abilities' true form is that of a dragon, hence why Shibusawa takes on this draconic appearance.

Background
Six years ago, Shibusawa met a Russian named Fyodor Dostoevsky who told him about the ability that "guided the envy of all ability users". This certain ability user turned out to be Atsushi Nakajima, a boy still in the orphanage. Shibusawa tried to extract the boy's ability, but he was unable to and surmised that it has not yet fully developed within Atsushi. He then resorted to using electrical torture to force it out. Ultimately, Atsushi was taken over by the tiger and killed Shibusawa.

However, Shibusawa's own ability separated from his corpse and inherited his collection of abilities. From then on, this ability—"Tatsuhiko Shibusawa"—believed he was still human and forgot about his death.

Appearances
DEAD APPLE =

Etymology

 * The name Tatsuhiko means "dragon" (龍) (ryū/tatsu) and "boy" (彦) (hiko).
 * The name Shibusawa means "rough" (澁) (shibu) and "swamp" (澤) (sawa).

Trivia

 * Tatsuhiko's author counterpart went by a pen name. His real name was Tatsuo Shibusawa (澁澤 龍雄).
 * Shibusawa's literature became famous for incorporating black magic, demonology, other occult elements, and eroticism. Eventually, he became somewhat of a specialist in medieval demonology. He also translated French literature, particularly that of Marquis de Sade.
 * Harukawa35 visited Shibusawa's living wife whilst creating the character's concept.
 * The symbol on his necklace represents the rune symbol,, or Othala, meaning "inheritance."

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Татсухико Шибусава