Takeru Kusuhara

was a member of Scepter 4 and the main protagonist of K: SIDE BLUE novel.

Appearance
Takeru has brown eyes and short, messy black hair. He is short and looks somewhat young and boyish.

He wears the typical Blue Clansmen uniform. It consists of a white shirt tucked underneath a closed, blue overcoat with prominent black and gold-coloured lining. Below the waist, he wears dark blue pants and knee-high, low-heeled black boots with metallic plates attached.

Personality
Takeru is the type to try something over and over again until he has it down perfectly, even though he thinks himself a bit of a klutz. He likes to please other people, is kind, caring, and is a hard worker. He feels inferior to others he thinks are stronger. He is a normal member in SCEPTER 4 that doesn't know what's going on as he is the most inexperienced member, remarked by Akira as being like a "puppy", or charming.

History
Takeru was part of the Riot Squad, under the supervision of Tamura Atsushi, of the Metropolitan Police Department where he first met Reisi Munakata, the Blue King and leader of SCEPTER 4. When he deflected invisible strikes from a Strain robbing a store, Reisi complimented him and later invited him to join SCEPTER 4 to further develop and make use of his ability.

Plot
Takeru accepted the invitation and joined Scepter 4, getting along well with his new coworkers and training hard to understand his new powers. Seeing his potential, Reisi put him under the direct tutelage of Gōki Zenjō. Over the course of his training, he is warned that he will be dismissed if he cannot master his technique and strike Seri Awashima by next week. That night, Gōki Zenjō guided him continuously and injured one of his foot since he cannot balance his feet during his training with Awashima Seri. That next week, he was able to strike Awashima's left breast. Takeru became an official member of SCEPTER 4.

During their mission on capturing Strains, a Beta Strain resisted being caught and took one of his guns trying to assassinate Reisi, Takeru sensed a bullet coming for the Captain and stepped in front of it. He was fatally wounded.

Before Kusuhara's death, he met with 18-Year-Old Fushimi Saruhiko, where Fushimi looked down on him but felt a weird sensation about his personality.

Powers & Abilities
Blue Aura: Takeru possesses Blue Aura and is able to form his own 'sanctum' with it.

Equipment
Saber: Befitting a member of Scepter 4, Takeru possesses a saber, which he uses for combat. The saber's name is Ruseimaru (Shooting Star).

Etymology

 * The name Takeru means "sturdy, strength" (剛).
 * Takeru's surname Kusuhara means "camphor tree" (楠) (kusu) and "field, plain" (原) (hara).
 * Camphor tree is a species of evergreen tree.