Reira Akaba

Reira Akaba (赤馬 零羅 Akaba Reira) also known as Layra is a character in the Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V anime. He is the adopted younger brother of Reiji Akaba and adopted son of Reo Akaba and Himika Akaba. He is a student at LDS and is known as its jewel. He is the only known Lancers from Junior Class. Despite his young age, Reira's Dueling skill is necessary to their fight with Academia.

Appearance
Reira Akaba is about the same age as Ayu Ayukawa, Futoshi Haranda, and Tatsuya Yamashiro. He wears a turquoise hooded sweatshirt and is often seen slouching. He has a black cap underneath the hood and a black collar necklace. He wears khakis and a yellow and blue zigzagged shirt with white sneakers and pale pink socks. He is also often seen hugging a purple and white teddy bear.

Personality
Reira is shown to be incredibly timid and shy, very quite and talking only when necessary. Unlike Reiji, Reira has no confidence to Duel his opponents and even reluctant to Duel, only doing so because he was intimidated by his mother or only if Reiji was watching. Despite all of these factors, he is actually a skilled Duelist like his brother and he appears to care for him a lot. Reira also doesn't appear to handle the pressure of being considered the "Jewel of LDS". When his mother bragged that he would beat Tatsuya Yamashiro, Reira was seen gripping his teddy bear tighter, a fact only Tatsuya noted. However, Reira looks up to Reiji as he duels seriously the moment he steps in to watch his duel, and when Tatsuya praised him for able to master the three summoning methods like his older brother, Reira looked happy.

Reira's attachment towards his adopted older brother is shown to be very strong as he goes into a state of panic when he doesn't know where Reiji is. When he, Shingo, Serena, and Yūya first appeared in the Synchro Dimension, Reira was more concerned about the location of his brother, rather than the upcoming Sector Security agents looking to arrest the four. Despite his best intentions, Yūya also couldn't get Reira to open up at all, since he was afraid of losing Reiji.

It is later revealed that Reira suffers PTSD for his experience as victim of war. This mental disorder is what makes him reluctant to Duel and constantly afraid whenever facing Duelist that reminds him of soldiers that hurt him back in his country. To protect himself, his survival instinct prompted him to shut down his own emotion, resulting him lacks a sense of self and he is thus is unable to decide anything, essentially leaving him with no identity whatsoever.

However, after spending time with Yūya and his friends, Reira's sense of self starts to bud. Interacting with the kids under Crow's care and telling Reiji he does not want to Duel Shinji in the Friendship Cup, even running to Yūya when he thought Reiji was mad at him. Advice from Jack Atlas later expands this, to the point that Reira not only overcomes his timid nature in order to apologize to Tsukikage for desiring his loss, but also shows a keen understanding of the Lancers' current situation and passes on advice to Yūya through Tsukikage. Reira also gains the desire to assist his brother, Tsukikage, and Yūya, all of whom he looks up to, in the fight against Academia. His change of attitude is furthered shown when he bravely challenged the three Securities that captured Serena into a Duel and defeated them all by himself.

Past
Reira came from a warring country, causing him to suffer a severe trauma of war and battle. To protect himself, Reira detached himself from his own emotions. Some time afterwards, he was adopted by Himika, who took advantage of his trauma, made him go through an experiment to create a strong Duelist suitable to fight the Academia. This experiment consequently resulted worsening Reira's condition, making him without any sense of self and only know how to obey orders.

Maiami Championship
Reira was first seen with Reiji and his mother in the LDS Balcony as participants of the Maiami Championship arrived at LDS. As he watched them file in, he hugged his bear tightly.

Round 1
It was later shown that Reira was a participant in the Junior League of the Maiami Championship when he was revealed to be Ayu Ayukawa's opponent. When they met, Ayu, Tatsuya, and Futoshi tried to greet and welcome him, but were ignored. Reira and Ayu then Dueled, and while Ayu showed her Entertainment Dueling with the reporters, Reira focused on the match and remained emotionless. He then continued to win using Fusion Summoning and claim praise from Reiji, who was spectating.

Round 2
In the second round, Reira Dueled Futoshi and this time won by using a Synchro Summon, shocking Yūya who suspected that he can also use multiple summoning methods like Reiji. He watched the Duel between Sora, Yūto, and Yūya, with Reiji and Shun. He looked nervous as he watched them Duel, but Reiji told him to watch closely.

Finals
In the final match of the Junior championship, Reira Dueled against Tatsuya and Xyz Summoned "CCC Rock Armor the Embodiment of Heavy Armor". By using its effects to gain ATK equal to the combined DEF of itself and Tatsuya's "Entermachine Gadget Giant" and then negating the latter monster's effects, Reira won the Duel and became the champion of the Junior class championship. Tatsuya congratulated Reira and compared him to his brother, and Reira thanked him with a timid smile.

Afterwards, he and his mother were going to meet Reiji, but Reiji was outside, challenging Yūya to a Duel.

Departure
After the Duel, the next day, Reira was chosen as one of the Lancers, much to Shun and Shingo's objections, but Reiji firmly stated that Reira's skill is powerful enough to fight Academia and he won't be a hindrance. Reira, along with his brother and the other Lancers, then went to the Synchro Dimension.

Duel Against Security
Upon arriving, the Lancers were split, and Reira ended up with Yūya, Shingo, and Serena. As soon as they arrived, Security arrived and tried to arrest Yūya and Serena, confusing them with Yūgo and Yuzu. Scared by their hostility, Reira tried to run away but was stopped by a barrier of "Gate Blocker"'s. Yūya grabbed Reira's hand and took him along as he Dueled a Security officer. Remembering his mother's words about spreading smiles, Yūya attempted to get the boy to open up to him, but failed because Reira was more concerned about where his brother was. When they were surrounded, Crow Hogan and his gang arrived and saved them from the Securities by taking Reira and the others riding the D-Wheel with them. Reira and the others were invited to stay at Crow's house and Reira remained by himself, refusing to socialize with the others despite Amanda's coaxing. When he overheard Shingo remind the group that they had to look for Reiji, Reira's attention was caught and he attempted to leave with Shingo and Serena, but Yūya held him back. Reira remained at Crow's place, still keeping to himself and worried without his brother, though Yūya reassured Reira that they would find Reiji. The next day, Shinji Weber showed up and dropped off some items for the kids. After he left, Crow was able to get Reira to eat with the kids. After Yūya and Crow were arguing over who could make him smile, they got into a Duel. When the Security officers showed up, Reira was rescued by Tsukikage while everyone else was captured.

Friendship Cup
Reira was reunited with Reiji and together with him and Tsukikage, confronted the Executive Council and explained about the dimensional war and the Lancers' purpose before reuniting with the other Lancers who were captured by Roger and taken to their place under the Council's order who fulfilled Reiji's request. At the first day of the Friendship Cup, Reiji requested for Reira to be allowed entry to the Friendship Cup like everyone else, which the Council permitted. When it was his turn to Duel, Reira became extremely scared and refused to go even when Reiji told him to. He ran away to Yūya's room and hugged him in fear, causing Yūya and Reiji to argue over Reira's participation in the tournament and the dimensional war. When Reiji asked him, Reira answered that the reason he refused to duel Shinji is because Shinji gave him candies back when they were hiding from the Security. Without any choice, Reiji ordered Tsukikage to take Reira's place.

Thinking that Reiji was angry, Reira quickly rushed back to him, apologizing and promised that he will do whatever he said. Reiji told him that instead of angry, he was pleased to know that Reira has started to develop his sense of self and both then returned together while holding hands.

Tsukikage vs. Shinji Weber
During the next Duel, Reira was worried that Reiji would like Tsukikage more than him. Fearing that Tsukikage could replace him if he won, he was displeased when Tsukikage dealt damage to Shinji repeatedly and desperately wanted him to lose. He was happy when Shinji won the Duel, even if this meant losing his guardian.

Damon Lopez vs. Sergey Volkov
During the Duel between Damon and Sergey, Reiji decided to not watch the Duel to meet Tsukikage and Reira followed him. After Tsukikage escaped the Underground facility to inform Reiji about the rumors surrounding Jean-Michel Roger, Reira apologized to the ninja as he admitted that he had wished Tsukikage would lose out of fear of being replaced. He then expressed his desire to stop running away and fight against the Academia so he can become a great Duelist like his older brother and Yūya. He then asked Tsukikage to deliver a message for Yūya, which was his wish for Yūya to win the Friendship Cup and Duel against Jack one more time, since this was the only way the City residents would acknowledge the Lancers and their mission in the Synchro Dimension.

King's Gambit
After the Duel between Shun and Dennis, Security members were sent by Roger to take him, Reiji, and the Councils hostage until the end of the Friendship Cup. Throughout the third day Duel, Reira was watching the whole Duel under the watch from the Securities.

Reira vs. Securities
After the Duel between Serena and Yūgo ended, Reiji challenged the entire Securities that took them hostage and told Reira to go to where Serena was with Tsukikage's guidance while he hold them back. Reira went to the entrance of Underground Labor Facility and challenged the Securities who were about to take Serena away. Resolving to stop running away for his comrades and his own sake, Reira Duelled fiercely against the Securities and able to defeat all three of them by performing Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz summons in one turn. With the Securities defeated, he, along with Tsukikage who was carrying the paralysed Serena, escaped from the underground. During Yūya's Duel against Crow Hogan while they was on their way to underground Serena's bracelet glowed making them wonder what's happening. The trio eventually began to tire, and Serena urged them to abandon her, but Reira and Tsukikage refused to do so. As they moved into the sewers Serena's bracelet eventually stopped glowing with Reira noticing.

Reira vs. Obelisk Force
Reira was weakened with exhaustion and Serena did not fully recover from the nerve gas when the three realized the presence of the Obelisk Force. Reira and Tsukikage refused to abandon Serena, and Reira successfully persuaded a reluctant Tsukikage to leave him and Serena and gather the Lancerss from Underground for further assistance after defeating three Obelisk Force members first. By the time Tsukikage sent Sora to him and Serena, Reira defeated another group of Obelisk Force members, but at this point, he was so tired that he was unable to deal with Obelisk Force reinforcements. He started trembling in fear and recalled his traumatic memories of his childhood. Before they could Duel, Yūya arrived just in time and protected him and Serena, much to Reira's relief.

Yūya vs. Barrett
After the Obelisk Force was defeated, Reira, still traumatised and afraid, stance himself to Duel until Yūya hugged him, calming him. Both Serena and Yūya praised Reira for his efforts and momentarily felt relieved, but this was interrupted by another group of Obelisk Force with Barrett's arrival. While Yūya Dueling Barrett, Reira tried to convince himself to stand up and protect Serena, remembering his own determination to protect his friends, but he was eventually overwhelmed by his trauma. Before the Obelisk Force could do anything, Sora arrived and saved them, but this didn't last long as Yūri has followed him with another group of Obelisk Force, followed by Yūgo who challenged Yūri.

Yūgo and Yūri summoned their respective dragons, the sight of the latter's dragon terrified Reira as a dimensional hole opened up in the sky. Before it could proceed further, Yuzu arrived, transporting Yūri and Yūgo. Her arrival was soon followed by Sergey who proceeded to defeat Barrett and Tsukikage protected Yuzu, prompting the Obelisk Force to retreat. Freed from his bind, Sora intended to help, but Reira, who was still afraid, pleaded Sora not to go. Sergey eventually defeated Yūya and captured Yuzu.

Jack vs. Sergey
After their defeat, Reira and the others rest for a while to regain their strength, Reira clinging to Sora the whole time. Shingo, Gongenzaka, and Tokumatsu arrived. Shingo told Sora to get away from Reira, but the boy kept clinging to Sora, confusing Shingo until Yūya explained the situation. Sora and Tsukikage went to save Yuzu, and Yūya, despite their objection, decided to go as well. Reira immediately begged him not leave him behind, but Yūya still go with Gongenzaka, entrusting Reira's safety to Shingo and Tokumatsu, the latter able to convince Shingo and Reira to stay behind. Shingo then told Reira that he could call him "Big Brother" if he wanted, but this only scared Reira who refused to call him so.

Deck
Reira runs a "CC" Deck, which utilizes the "Persona Shutter" Magic and Trap Cards focused on copying the opponent monsters to use them as Materials. While his "CC" and "Persona Shutter" cards seem unrelated, they both share a camera motif.

Thematically, Reira's deck is similar to his brother Reiji's, in that he is able to perform multiple types of Extra Deck Summons. The names of his cards, "CC" and "CCC," are based on Reiji's "DD" and "DDD" archetypes in naming structure.