Rody Soul

Rody keeps his auburn hair pulled back into a spiky ponytail. His eyes are gray and usually half-lidded, set in sun-kissed skin. A red bandanna and sunglasses ride on his head, above a pale blue button-up covered in patches. An orange flower juts from the left chest pocket of his tan-beige jacket, and he adds a tie striped in blue and red plus thick gray gloves. His black pants stop above the ankle with patches at the knees, over dark brown shoes wrapped in gray cloth.

Going on the run with Izuku, he switches to a white short-sleeved hoodie banded with a red stripe, knee-length jeans, and black shoes laced in dark red. A trip to Japan earns him aviator goggles, a gift from Roro and Lala that replace the sunglasses, and eight years on he wears a short-sleeved pilot's uniform and peaked cap, with a matching one for Pino.

Rody drifts through life looking relaxed while always scanning for the next job that will keep his younger siblings fed. Confronted by a client or anyone else who might complicate his work, he talks fast, exaggerates freely, and slips out sideways. His father abandoned the family for Humarise and the neighborhood punished the children for it, which left Rody with his siblings as the fixed center of his world and a willingness to consider almost any demand, including an enemy's, if their safety hangs on it.

He holds no grudge against heroes, but he does not revere them either, since agencies see no profit in Otheon's shanty town and rarely bother with it. Absent heroes, rising crime, and his own history taught him that life is unfair by default, that people cheat to get what they want, and that stealing is simply a tool for getting by.

Beneath the cynicism runs a code. He was wary of Izuku at first and came close to selling him out, then trusted him once the two traded histories while fleeing together. Learning that Humarise was behind his father's disappearance and death hardened his refusal to get involved into a decision to fight, and he faced down Flect Turn at the risk of his life. He would prefer to keep his softer feelings private, which his Quirk makes impossible, so he finds the whole thing embarrassing and avoids discussing it. His real ambition is flying, a dream he pursues seriously and eventually reaches.

His Quirk, Soul, takes the form of a small bird-like creature called Pino. She is tied directly to his soul and her behavior mirrors whatever he actually feels, no matter how hard he buries it, which effectively makes lying impossible for him. She is not powerful, though she earns her keep: Rody can direct her, she can distract enemies, and she can carry out tasks while he is unable to.

Where he truly shines is movement. A skilled acrobat who reads his environment for anything usable, Rody tears through crowded streets fast enough to stay ahead of Deku across Otheon despite the hero's enhanced speed and agility. He also drives vehicles as large as a truck without trouble, and he can pilot a small plane and set it down safely, a skill that becomes a full license after the timeskip.

Talk is his other weapon. Even with Pino sabotaging any outright falsehood, he negotiates and misdirects cleverly. Questioned by Deku, he worked out that this hero had no jurisdiction in Otheon and turned that against him, threatening to report him for harassment. Much later he managed to lull Flect Turn into dropping his guard.