Hekiji Tengai

Hekiji Tengai (天蓋壁慈) is one of the Eight Bullets who works for Shie Hassaikai under Overhaul.

Appearance
Hekiji is a tall, slim man with short, spiky hair of a pale color. He has straight, dark eyebrows and thin eyes, their irises and pupils visibly light, but he is usually seen with his eyes closed.

He wears a traditional dark-colored yukata with a pair of get a on his feet, a long white piece of cloth acting as a belt around his waist. As with the other members of the Shie Hassaikai, Hekiji wears plague mask, his being a plain brown one worn strapped to his face with three belts, one down his forehead and one on each side of his face that also cover his ears, like mufflers.

Personality
Hekiji has a monk-like disposition, always showing calm and never losing his composure. However, he is capable of losing this mindset when found in a compromising position.

Hekiji seems to be against excessive violence, even expressing pity on his enemies and considers enjoyment in fighting to be a low, selfish desire and as such prefers to finish his missions as fast as possible.

While talking, Hekiji generally keeps his eyes closed and gives off a somewhat enlightened image, and he is often seen analyzing his situation and commenting on it.

History
Hekiji Tengai used to be a devout Buddhist. Due Kendo Rappa's tendency to challenge people to fights was getting obnoxious, Overhaul brought Hekiji into the Shie Hassaikai to serve as Kendo's babysitter of sorts. He's the newest member of the gang.

Shie Hassaikai Arc
During the raid of Shie Hassaikai's hideout, Hekiji is paired with Kendo Rappa. When Joi Irinaka launches Fat Gum and Eijiro Kirishima into another room with Mimicry, Hekiji and Kendo are already waiting for them. Using his ability to block Fat Gum's attacks, Hekiji introduces himself and Kendo as "Spear and Shield", while noting that Fat Gum's and Eijiro's Quirks make them "Shield and Shield", due to their defensive natures, although Hekiji points out that they can be hardly considered shields, since they cannot even defend against Kendo's punches.

Kendo tells Hekiji to stop using his Quirk to shield him, to which Hekiji reminds him that Overhaul paired the two up because their Quirks have great synergy together. Kendo replies by trying to attack Hekiji, which he blocks with his Quirk. A confused Hekiji asks Kendo what he is doing, to which the latter replies that he does not care about Overhaul's plans and that he only wants to kill. Hekiji decides to let him do as he pleases, while also reminding him to address Overhaul properly.

As Fat Gum prepares to fight back, Kendo orders Hekiji to not interfere, to which Hekiji assures him that he will not. Upon seeing Eijiro's fear, Hekiji notes that he has already given up and expresses pity for the young hero. After Kendo is done assaulting Fat Gum, Hekiji notices that Fat Gum is preparing for another counter-attack and tells Kendo to finish things quickly. As Kendo tries to finish Fat Gum off, Eijiro interferes, taking his attacks and attempts a counterattack; however, Hekiji blocks it with his Quirk. Hekiji simply notes how meaningless it was for Eijiro to take these attacks.

But soon he realizes that Eijiro's actions were not in vain, Fat Gum emerges from the dust and releases all the impact he stored from Kendo's punches with a single powerful blow; however, Hekiji creates a barrier with maximum defense that absorbs most of the impact, which prevents the two from being knocked out.

However, Kendo stands up again and claims that it is a fight to the death and he is not dead yet. He asks Fat Gum to take Eijiro to the next room with first-aid supplies. Hekiji questions the selfish attitude of Kendo and demands that he follow his orders, but is knocked out by Kendo and then tied up and taken to the first aid room.

After the defeat of Overhaul, Tengai is arrested along with the other members of Shie Hassaikai and sent to prison.

Abilities
Overall Abilities: Being an Eight Bullets member of the Shie Hassaikai, Hekiji is a very formidable individual. While he doesn't employ direct combat capabilities, has a good handle on his Quirk, Barrier, which he primarily uses to produce strong barriers to protect himself or his comrades, even from a good distance away, making Hekiji very proficient in terms of defense. Because of his defensive efficacy, Overhaul paired Hekiji with Kendo Rappa, an individual who excels in close-quarters combat. When the pair tag-teams in battle, Kendo assaults the opponents with powerful bullet punches that are augmented in terms of speed by his Strongarm Quirk, whereas Hekiji utilizes his fairly strong barriers to protect Kendo should the former meet his match, or if Hekiji wishes to protect himself from attacks.

When Hekiji and Kendo were pitted against Fat Gum and Eijiro Kirishima, two highly formidable individuals who excel in defense and melee combat, the Yakuza duo's teamwork was enough to pressure Fat Gum, while Eijiro was already weakened from the one punch Kendo delivered to the hardened hero. In addition, Fat Gum knew that Hekiji would still produce a barrier if Kendo needed it, rendering the defeat of the Yakuza couplet near-impossible with Hekiji still standing. After Eijiro regained his resolve, and stepped in to endure Kendo's flurry of punches, Hekiji blocked the U.A. student's last attack. However, these interferences bought Fat Gum enough time to transfer all of the accumulated energy he absorbed from the impact of Kendo's attacks, into one final punch to ultimately defeat the Yakuza dyad.
 * Enhanced Durability: Hekiji has proven to be fairly durable, as he was able to rise to his feet after enduring Fat Gum's final, energy-stockpiled punch that was enough to penetrate the Yakuza member's Barrier Quirk.

Tactical Intellect: Hekiji's level-headedness grants him a strategic and tactical mind that aids him in battles. He is also very analytical, as he was cognizant of Fat Gum's abilities, and took notice of Eijiro's Hardening Quirk, concluding that both heroes have powers better suited for defense. While Kendo and Fat Gum were battling, Hekiji took notice of Eijiro despairing, and assumed that the Sturdy Hero was already defeated. When he saw that Fat Gum was preparing a powerful attack, Hekiji knew was planning something, and suggested that Kendo finish off the BMI Hero, quickly. Hekiji didn't expect Eijiro to regain his resolve and jump into the fray in order to better withstand Kendo's assault, allowing the red-headed hero to throw a punch that Hekiji believed would be enough to counter, if not damage Kendo, compelling the barrier-producing Yakuza member to create another shield.

Quirk
Barrier: Hekiji's Quirk allows him to manifest an extremely durable dome-shaped forcefield around himself.

Fat Gum equates punching it to being like punching a steel wall. This Quirk seems to be able to be projected around the radius of Hekiji's choosing, as he is able to cover both himself and Kendo at one point, and only himself at another, indicating he has a degree of control over the size of the barrier. However, Hekiji always appears to be at the center of the Quirk, meaning that he cannot protect anything that is not close to him. It is not known if the size affects the durability of the Quirk.

Despite being very sturdy, the barrier can be broken if an extreme amount of power is used against it. Also, if Hekiji becomes too weakened or injured, he becomes unable to summon more barriers.

Kai Chisaki
Hekiji is very loyal to Kai. He tries to follow his orders as closely and quickly as possible. Hekiji also does not like it when Kai is addressed improperly.

Kendo Rappa
Hekiji and Kendo do not get along very well, due to their opposite personalities. Hekiji does not approve of Kendo's selfish desire to fight and how he addresses Kai with made-up nicknames. Kendo even tries to attack him, at which point Hekiji quits trying to reason with him and just lets him do what he wants.

Trivia

 * The way Hekiji introduced himself and Kendo is a reference to the, which is famously illustrated with a Chinese anecdote where a man sells spears that he claims are so strong that they can pierce anything and shields that he claims are so strong that they can defend against any attack. When asked what happens when someone tries to attack the shield with the spear, the merchant could not respond. However, Hekiji’s Quirk easily defends against Kendo's attacks.
 * "Tengai" refers to a type of Buddhist canopy or dome. Hekiji's first name contains the kanji for "wall" (壁) and "mercy" (慈).
 * Hekiji seems to represent a corruption of the eighth tenet of the real eight precepts of Buddhism, which forbids taking shelter and resting under a luxurious canopy.
 * According to Volume 16, since Kendo's belligerent behaviour was getting obnoxious, Kai Chisaki brought Hekiji into the Hassaikai gang to serve as "Kendo's babysitter". He is also the newest member of the gang and he used to be a devout Buddhist.

Site Navigation
Hekiji Tengai