Shinra Kusakabe

is a Third Generation Fire Officer at the 8th Special Fire Brigade of Tokyo.

Appearance
Shinra is a young boy of average height with short and spiky dark brown hair, and glowing red eyes. He's first seen wearing a black suit over a white shirt, a pair of black trousers and black boots which burnt like many others when he ignited them to save Iris. He was later given a bunker gear, which consists of a tank top buckled at the waist with a belt, which presses a middle part that's strapped to his shoulders, and dark colored shorts. Those are later topped by protective outer jacket and trousers, and finished with a helmet. The trousers he wears with his bunker gear was specifically tailored by Maki to be three-quarter in length instead of reaching down to his feet, being advantageous so that Shinra could freely use his Third Generation ability without having to worry about burning his trousers. He was also seen wearing a grey jumpsuit.

Personality
Shinra is energetic and confident, not hesitating to act immediately when the time calls for it and is very proud of his ambition of becoming a hero, something which he had promised his mother. However, Shinra suffers from nervous laughter, which is a real life condition where animals naturally grin or show their teeth when nervous, stressed, angered or uncomfortable. Such things as running into a schoolgirl even made him nervous and when he saved Iris from a falling object. He was quite easily made shaky by Akitaru staring him in the face, and is naturally nervous around girls since he's been in training with males only for an extended period of time. Aside from this, he isn't easily agitated by other people's words and opinions on his ambitions, as demonstrated when Takehisa asked if he wanted to become a hero just for his reputation. Shinra also bickers often with Arthur on who are superior: heroes or knights.

Abilities
Shinra is a Third Generation, able to kindle, control and utilise flames he generates to his own will. So far, he has only shown the ability to ignite fire on his feet, allowing him to run longer distances with much greater speed, and multiply his kicking power drastically. The ashes he leaves on the floor in image of his footprints were noted to be called the. After his first official mission, Shinra was given a Seven-Style Fire Fighting Battleaxe to wield, by Takehisa, which was said to be capable of firing sacred spikes from the front, when the trigger is pulled. Shinra has shown the ability to fly using his Ignition Ability on multiple occasions, which has helped him reach places that are higher up or more difficult to get to than usual. He has also used this ability defensively to dodge Maki's attacks. Shinra is very skilled when it comes to kicking and can keep his opponents on their toes.

Background
In Year 186, Shinra woke up to his house on fire and according to him, something he described as a "black shadow" was present in the house, which lead to his mother being incinerated along with their house. Afterwards, Shinra was rescued by the 1st Special Fire Brigade and because no remains were found of his baby brother, he believed he was dead. Shinra was labelled as the perpetrator of the fire after others discovered he was a Third Generation. After the ordeal, Haishima Heavy Industries fitted him with liquid nitrogen boots to suppress his flames, and when he attempted to move in with his grandmother, she thought of him as a monster for not realizing what he had done. During his time in the training academy, he often bickered with Arthur about which were superior: heroes or knights.

Introduction arc
Shinra tries to catch up to a train, but bumps into a girl in the process and scares her away with his grin. Later, he hears an alarm in the train station and notices a Flame Human coming out from a carriage. Shinra readies himself to fight, but the 8th Special Fire Brigade arrives to deal with the threat, with Akitaru impaling the being's core with low difficulty. After the fight, he rescues Iris when a light starts falling straight at her, but burns through his shoes in the process. Shinra then introduces himself to the brigade. He later arrives at the headquarters, where he meets the others. Akitaru teases Shinra when he learns of the boy's nervous laughter, and follows up with asking why he joined the brigade, to which he replies that his ambition is to be a hero. Shinra is present when Akitaru delivers a speech about the Human Body Ignition Phenomenon. While in bed, the boy recollects his past, but his train of thought gets cut short when Maki informs him about an accident in a factory. Shinra departs to the scene, encouraged by Akitaru to do his best.

At the scene, Shinra contemplates the act of destroying the Flame Human and starts shaking in fear, which forces Akitaru to remind him the purpose of the blue lines. Distracted by Maki's ability, Shinra gets caught off guard by the Flame Human, who knocks him out. While unconscious, Shinra recalls his past, before being awaken by Takehisa, who confirms that the boy has only been out for 5 seconds. Indifferent about the issue in hand, Shinra aggregates his thoughts to finally decide to fight. With the squad cooperating in order to deal with the Flame Human, Shinra launches himself towards the opponent, igniting his feet in the process. Overcoming his fears, the boy delivers a fatal kick to the core of the Flame Human's heart, sending her to the afterlife in peace. He overhears the spectators chanting for him while the rest of the crew praises him, saying that he has finally become the hero he longed to be. Elated, Shinra shows off a delighted smile.

Akitaru informs Shinra that he will be participating in an upcoming tournament, alongside a new recruit, which makes Shinra excited, as he sees it as a chance to meet the brigade officer who saved him in his childhood. In the corridor, he bumps into Arthur, realising that he's the new recruit, and instantly gets into a fight with him, which leads the two to the top of the roof, where they intervene between Maki and Iris. The two start squabbling again, until Takehisa arrives, who orders Maki to fight the two Fire Officers. Unable to use his ignition ability against her, Shinra is easily defeated and falls off the roof, but manages to land safely. When Arthur insults Maki, she creates a fireball creature out of Arthur's sword and Shinra's flames, ending the fight in her victory. Afterwards, Shinra is baffled and thinks to himself that he needs to get stronger.

Later, Akitaru treats Shinra and Arthur to some food at Ippudo Ramen, where the three strengthen their friendship. Back at the church's armory, Shinra is given a battleaxe to use by Takehisa. When the brigade is notified of a Flame Human, they depart to the scene and Akitaru instructs the new recruits to conceal their weapons in public. Upon arrival, Akitaru pulls the two aside for disobeying orders and explains his reasoning. Their conversation is cut short when flames emerge from the apartment, leading the brigade to storm in, where they are welcomed by the Flame Human. Arthur volunteers himself to kill the harmless threat, much to Shinra's confusion. After completing their objective, the building's ceiling begins to collapse while Shinra watches as Akitaru risks his life to save a family photograph for Mikako. Afterwards, he apologises to the man for not being of any help during the mission.

Shinra participates in the Fire Officer Newcomer Tournament, where he meets Tamaki. Later, Shinra meets the man, who saved him in the past, and approaches him. After introducing himself, the officer ignores him and leaves. Shinra attempts to catch up to him, but is interrupted by Tamaki, whom Shinra accidentally gropes. He pleads for the man to listen, but to no avail. The announcer informs the contestants to gather up, which leads the man to tell Shinra that he doesn't remember anything and that he should just go, which makes Shinra wonder if the man is hiding something. During the competition, Shinra uses his ability to jump onto the building. He then ventures inside, where he sees fallen men and a stranger inside, who appears to know about Shinra's past. As the stranger readies to kill the fallen officers, Shinra attacks him, starting their confrontation, which the man manages to dominate effortlessly, leaving Shinra injured. The stranger steps up to him and takes a glance at Shinra's facial expression, which leads him to give the boy a reward in the form of information that his little brother Sho is alive.

Trivia

 * is derived from the Japanese word, which, when translated, can mean either "all creation" or "all things in nature".