Name: Inuzuka, Kenta
Age: 14
Gender: Male
Village: Konohagakure no Sato
Rank: Genin
Title: /
Clan: Inuzuka
Bloodline:
Element(s): Suiton
Skill(s): Ninjutsu | Taijutsu
Stats
- Strength: D
- Constitution: D
- Stamina: D
- Speed: C
- Coordination: D
- Intelligence: D
- Perception: C
Unique Abilities: /
Appearance: Frail in appearance only, the Inuzuka boy could still wrestle a bear and win. He'd need some pretty strong breathing treatments after, but he'd win. Natural skills in grappling and other such arts have him lean, lithe, and flexible; and his own preference for speed and adaptability have him focusing on keeping a build more akin to a distance runner then a brawler. He's more than capable of holding his own in that sense, but the angles and lines of his bones are far more apparent than any excessive musculature.
Tall, he's destined to be rather so. His limbs and such seem to still be out of proportion in that way only a growing teen could be; time will tell just how much gain he'll make on his father's impressive height.
Fair, in all ways. Shimmering gold-straw hair; pale skin, unblemished and unbroken save for several scars on his chest; emerald jade eyes that flashed with honey gold in the summer sunlight. Brilliant white teeth, rarely seen through dour expressions normally worn. Lightning quick, razor sharp; eyes that saw all and held more. Quickfire race of thoughts through his mind; growled and clipped retorts hiding the honey sweet smoothness of his cultured voice. Quirks abound, vocal eccentricities inherited from both parents; lazy drawl used around friends and family.
Dress, always casual unless absolutely needed. Fair skin, but always burning hot. Never one to wear excessively heavy or even really fashionable clothing; simple tunics or shirts, shorts, maybe sandals. Boots only on missions, vest more likely without a shirt or tunic below. His headband tied to his right arm, never on his head. Occasionally used as a belt, when the mood strikes.
History: Kenta was far from normal. The son of a Grass-nin, it was decided early on to give him his mother's surname; as it was virtually unknown at the time the true identity of his father. His mother had been engaged to another man; the marriage itself arranged for political reasons; not a soul knowing she had been seeing his father for years by that point. His mother Ayame Inuzuka had been serving as a liaison between Kusa and Konoha for years even before the marriage was arranged; and wasn't about to just dump the man she loved for some smuck that only wanted the lands she would inherit when her grandmother, the current leader of the Inuzuka, passed away. When she found herself with child; Ayame found any possible reason she could to stay in Kusa with Kenta's father, refusing to return for the fear her "fiance" would find out about her son and "take care" of him; the man had threatened her with physical violence on more then one occasion if she was to ever turn up pregnant by anyone but him, given the inheritance of the clan would go to the child, and not to him. When he did find out; several days after she returned to the village mind you, as he had been out in the Land of Iron negotiating his way onto the board of a major mining cooperation; he went into a rage the likes of which had not been seen in the village for decades. It wasn't until Kenta's father appeared; having illegally slipped out of Kusa and into Konoha to see his boy; was the tirade ended. With the head of the fiance on the floor and a sword stained with blood. Keinsuke Ookamizuka was not the type to take threats against his wife and son lightly; and when the raging male lunged at him, he did what any other self-respecting ninja would; fixed the problem.
With the real problem taken care of, he marched himself right up to the nearest police station, handed over his sword, weaponry, ID, and hitai-ate, allowed himself to be peacefully arrested, and asked for asylum. Explaining his unusual request; he revealed that because of the 'illicit' nature of his relationship with Ayame, as well as the birth of his 'illegitimate' son Kenta; he would be branded a traitor to his clan and therefore to his home village. If he was to return, he would be killed. As he had no intention of leaving his family; he was willing to risk the repercussions of defecting in order to protect them. Between the surveillance footage, eyewitness accounts, and the character witnesses against the murdered man; it was determined that Keinsuke had acted purely in self defense, and therefore was cleared of the murder charges that had been brought against him. He was still guilty of trespass, as he hadn't declared himself at the main gates, nor had declared any of his gear to the local security forces. After several weeks of imprisonment, his sentence was finished and he was free to go. Upon his release, the request for amnesty was again brought up, and after a lengthy debate over everything from the consequences of his return to his home village to the morality of depriving an innocent boy of his father; Keinsuke was allowed to stay, and after a time joined the ranks of the Konoha ninja; ad-bet stripped of his Jounin rank for the time. He was to work within the Tokubetsu Jounin ranks; staying in or near the village until such time as he was trusted enough; and the international outcry had settled enough; to have his full rank restored to him. As he had little reason to leave his new home, he agreed to these terms and settled into what he hoped would be along, quiet, life with his wife and infant son.
Years passed like days it would seem; little Kenta growing up quickly. It seemed he was destined to physically resemble his father more so then his mother, hair like spun gold for much of his childhood; only darkening to it's current color as a teenager. He showed an early proficiency for ninja arts, always watching his parents and older cousins practice. He even managed to teach himself a few of the simplest jutsu before his parents took over. First task, find him a Ninken. He was to be trained as an Inuzuka, so the finding of his partner was key. This proved to be... Difficult, at best. The clan's dogs liked him well enough; he had many friends among them; but not once was he able to find a dog that would be his true partner. An Inuzuka's first Ninken was a special bond, not something that was to be arbitrarily decided by anyone. He was nearly 5 years old when it was decided that they needed to look elsewhere. Kenta was half Ookamizuka after all; maybe his match was in the wolf packs they raised. If true, it proved to be bit f a challenge; as Keinsuke was a traitor to the clan and village, and therefore his progeny was as well. Ayame had once been trusted, long ago; the Ookamizuka and Inuzuka where distantly related, branches from the same origin clan that had gone their separate ways centuries ago. Negotiations took months; long debates and demands by the Ookamizuka that Keinsuke return home for punishment met with outright refusal. Keinsuke was one of them now, and Kenta had been from birth as far as they where concerned; the only reason they even wished to go to the village was to find Kenta's Ninken, if it was among the wolf packs there. It took Ayame calling in ever favor she possibly could to get the Hokage to intervene; essentially threatening the ending of the peace treaty between them if they did not allow at the very least Ayame and Kenta into the village. With plenty of guards, of course. No point risking young Kenta or his mother any more then they had too, anyway. In the end, the effort was worth it; as they found a very young Yuki after only a day with the packs. Kenta had been sitting under a shade tree; the midday sun would do nothing but burn his still fair skin to ash if he hadn't taken shelter. His mother was near the covered kennels, arguing with his paternal grandfather while his guards where engaged in a heated staring contest with his other relatives. Little Yuki simply trotted right past them all, crawling up into his lap and promptly falling asleep. When his mother returned and saw them napping together, she told the elder Ookamizuka that they would be taking the pup; to which he actually outright agreed. "Yuki," he explained, "Is a half breed and useless to our packs. She carried no aptitude for the skills we need in our wolves, and would do nothing but contaminate the lines with the dirtied blood of a common mutt." Ayame was shocked by this, she'd known the Ookamizuka selectively bred their dogs much like the Inuzuka; but to outright toss aside an otherwise healthy puppy because she was not a 'pure-breed'? That was horrifying to her; and explained just why the clan had so much animosity towards young Kenta, even though he was turning out to be a fine young man; strong, smart, handsome, talented. They took young Yuki and left as quickly as they could; delaying only long enough to gather the genealogy records for her mother's side before departing.
Returning home; Kenta's training could finally begin. Keinsuke would take him in the mornings and train him in the ways of the Ookamizuka; Ayame in the afternoon for training as an Inuzuka. Evenings where for book work; Ninja arts and history, civilian subjects, anything they deemed as something he would need to know. A thirst for knowledge was ingrained early, a understanding of the benefits of hard work and effort just as quickly. Train the mind, train the body; always together, always equally. Strength was good, intelligence even better. Cunning, quick thinking, adaptability most of all. Training was always filled with puzzles and half truths; he would have to decipher them to find the real lessons. Much of Kenta's early training was nothing more then modified survival training; he would learn his clan skills while learning to survive in the wild; much as his cousins and clansmen had for generations. Life was good, and he progressed quickly. Even at the tender age of 5, he was showing signs of his chakra manifesting an elemental affinity; water, it would seem, just like his father. Simple exercises, easy jutsu; these where worked into his already vigorous training regiment; water walking doubled as water survival, learning to read the tides and currents of a river or lake would tie into learning to feel the water itself in order to maintain control of his jutsu while conserving chakra. Kenta had always loved water; his Inuzuka relatives affectionately called him the "clan's little fish." He even began to resemble one, in a way; he could hold his breath for longer then anyone he knew, longer then many Kiri nin 10 years his senior. Unfortunately, this affinity for water was nearly the death of him. One day he was at one of the many local lakes for a day of training with his father; when an accident almost caused him to drown. His father had caved and was showing him more advanced water jutsu; a demonstration of the Tsunami jutsu combined with the blistering gust of wind that day to created a wave that was out of control; and little Kenta's instinct to dive below the wave nearly cost him his life. The force of the wave carried him below the water until he struck a submerged rock formation; the force of which caused him to exhale the entirety of the air within his lungs. His swimming shirts he caught on a bit of the rock and in his panic he was unable to free himself before the urge to inhale caused him to begin drowning. His father found him half a minute later; unconscious and lungs filled with murky liquid. He was able to eventually revive the boy; but not until the debris in the water itself, combined with a bacterial infection he'd caught a few days before but hadn't yet shown symptoms of; had caused the boy to contract a nasty strain of pneumonia; one that would halt his training for years, and nearly cost him his life several times over.
If that wasn't bad enough; it was during one of the flare-ups of the pneumonia that his family was taken from him. His uncle, Jyuushiro Ookamizuka, had been one of the loudest voices in the call to have Keinsuke and Kenta killed years before; and as it happened, he wasn't content to sit back and watch that 'blood traitor bother of mine and his bastard son' get away without paying the price for Keinsuke's sins. He orchestrated a raid on the Inuzuka compound, targeting anything and everything that could be tied to Kenta or his father; destroying pictures, school projects, weapon's caches; anything that was Kenta's or Keinsuke's. The damage was terrible; augmented by the fact that most of the clan was out of the village on missions that night. Ayame barely had time to call for help before she was overrun by half a dozen enemies; her Ninken's head tossed at her feet enough to cause her to pause, hesitate; all they needed to overwhelm and kill her. Keinsuke was unable to do anything; battling ten at once while holding his sick son in his arms, little Yuki running at their feet like a wild beast; nipping and barking as a distraction. That moment of distraction when Kenta yelled to Yuki after she had been kicked away; slamming painfully into a wall an collapsing into a little heap; that is what doomed him. Not many could survive a blast of Raiton point blank; even fewer could redirect the blast back at the attacker. Or enough to spare his son's life anyway. Keinsuke was forced to toss Kenta out one of the broken windows, into the midst of one of the clan packs that had been left behind. The pack had managed to escape the kennels when they realized the compound was under attack. Combined with the influx of ninja come to repel the attackers; they where able to kill or capture the majority of the raiding party. Jyuushiro was one of the one's killed; torn limb from limb by the packs as retribution for the death of Ayame's partner, one of their own. Keinsuke was found barely alive, body beaten and broken, burned from the Raiton blast that would prove fatal. With his dying breath he asked to see his son one more time, smiling when he saw the boy sleeping peacefully from the effects of a genjutsu one of the rescuers had used to calm him. "Stay safe... grow up to be strong... protect your family..." He uttered those words before the light left his eyes; and Kenta was orphaned.
When young Kenta awoke the next morning, it was to the face of his grieving aunt and the news that his parents where gone. His Ookamizuka blood went wild from the sheer emotion strain the news caused; sending him into a frenzy that forced the doctors to sedate him for weeks. During that time his health deteriorated further; the pneumonia returning with a vengeance and ravaging his body for years on end. The news of the trial and execution of his parent's murderers brought little comfort to him; his will was broken and his world darkened by the loss. "He has no reason to live," the psychologists would say, "Until the depression is broken, he'll never fight off pneumonia. If not for letting Yuki stay with him when we do, he would have faded away long ago." Eventually, even that small comfort would not be enough. Only day he went to sleep and refused to wake up. A voluntary coma, one specialist called it. The last throws of a boy that wanted nothing more then to die, said another. Yuki was no longer allowed to see him; even his own family was barred from his room, as they would smuggle her in whenever they could. He was wasting away before their eyes, and nothing anyone could do would stop it. Until, one day; one of this uncles came to visit. Keinsuke had been the eldest of 3 brothers, and always on excellent terms with the youngest; Gen. It was Gen, whom looked and sounded so much like Keinsuke they could have been twins, came to visit that something happened. Kenta, hearing a voice so much lie his beloved father's; woke up. First, it was only his eyes fluttering for a moment. A fluke, they said. When Gen returned the next day, his eyes truly opened, and he seemed to reach for his uncle for a moment before lapsing back into unconsciousness. Over the course of a week, the visits from Gen would cause him to remain conscious longer, and longer, until finally, he was able to remain awake and conscious long enough to attempt to speak. "You... Father...?" Gen could only shake his head sadly and response, "No Kenta. I am your uncle, Keinsuke's brother, Gen. I had heard about your illness, and defied my father's orders to come and see you. I felt... I owed your father to see you... See if I could help you. I did not do enough to prevent Jyuushiro from killing him... The least I could do is save my nephew." The visits with Gen became a regular part of his recovery; a few minutes everyday, working up to hours as Kenta slowly recovered. The black depression broke with his uncle around; Gen sharing tales of his and Keinsuke's youth to the ever attentive boy. Kenta drank the stories up, hanging on every word from Gen's mouth. When Ayame's sisters began to visit at the same times as Gen, they realized that by sharing the stories of his parents; they where enabling him to recover. So for months on end, every day was filled with the tale of his families; and slowly with a return to the ninja arts. When he was finally well enough to return home; the house now fully repaired and with much of the damaged property repaired; he was reunited with Yuki, whom from that day on never left his side. They'd been apart too long, and she intended to never allow that sort of separation again.
Due to his illness, Kenta was a year late in starting his Academy training; and because of his lengthy bout with his illnesses left him venerable to rather nasty colds an flu for parts of the year. Because of this, he missed out several semesters of school; only actually graduating due to the extensive training he received as a young boy and his almost prodigal skills with his clan and blossoming elemental jutsu. He petitioned and was granted the chance to take the graduation exams early; surprising everyone when we outright aced the final paper exams and blew away the competition with his display of jutsu prowess during the practical exams.
Personality: Quiet, sometimes. Bastard, others. Gruff and short with people he didn't know, patience stretched thin by idiots be perceived around him. Patience both infinite and infinitesimal, icy cold stare made all the worse by the jade green of his eyes. Warm and soft and loving to those that make it past the battered tower walls protecting the last of his broken soul; forever willing to help anyone and anything around. A hatred of heat, but a love of the tropics he'd seen only once in his life. In another incarnation, he might have been a sailor, a love of the sea and open water, a knack for all things nautical. A love of deep forests and open plains; the warring duality of his soul. Wolf and dog, forest and plains. Water and fire; his parents inside of him. Always his father's twin, but his mother's fiery passion and temper. Distrust of the cold fire of lightning, understandable given his history; but still a love of the blistering fury icf the thunderstorm, even with the twinge of… something, at every thunderclap.
Roleplay Sample: It wasn't so unusual to find Kenta here, wandering the quiet paths between the graves of the cemetery He enjoyed the quiet you see, and had always been taught that reflection upon the past was a good thing. In the proper doses. "Don't forget, but never dwell," as his father had told him long ago. Although it was somewhat rare for a clan ninja like him to be in the main cemetery; most clans had smaller burial sites for their own within their compounds; the Inuzuka where no different. Only, his father hadn't wanted to be buried there, no. His beloved father had made sure to state clearly in his will that he wanted to be laid to rest among the civilians of his adopted village. Carve his name upon the Memorial Stone if they must, but leave him free to rest with the people he chose to protect. His mother as well, she refused to be separated from the man she loved; going against all arguments so she could stay with him even in the next life.
It was to their graves that the youth meandered to; slowly, he had no reason to rush. His Aunts and cousins had all but begged for him to leave his kids with them, and given his mate was on a mission out of town, he had little choice if he'd wished to visit alone. Oh, he could have brought them; for year old infants the three of them behaved remarkably well in places like this. Heck, now that they where almost walking, the loved to visit. The flowers and small animals that flocked to the space; Little Hiroyuki was always transfixed by them, and the girls loved to play sword fights with the small sticks, working to see who would get to keep the biggest wildflower they could find. They knew not to touch the offerings and tributes, he'd made sure of that when they where old enough to understand why they couldn't touch. In his own arms he carried only a simple wreath; woven of small tangle branches and laced with the first wildflowers of the season, a simple silken band wrapped around the mass to hold it together. A project made with love by himself and finished by his mate and kids while he was gone. A proper gift, in his mind; not some fancy show of money or power, simply a gift of love by the family left behind. The family his parents never knew, but who knew them intimately through Kenta, his Uncles and Aunts and everyone that knew them so long ago.
The few people also paying respects to lost loved ones where background noise at best; he'd walked this path a thousand times before and had little reason to pay attention. Oh, he would stop at random; leaning down to a knee to offer a prayer as he would clean the older headstones; there where some truly ancient burial sites here, it was no wonder some had become overgrown and dirty. These too, deserved respect; all life was sacred, even in death these people had lived, dreamed, loved; they deserved more then grasses and weeds. It was this ritual; the cleaning and respect paid to the strangers gone long before him that ate his time, stretched a short visit into an all day affair. He didn't mind, the peace did him good, especially fresh off missions or long training sessions.
After a time; he didn't know how long really, only that the sun had been high in the sky when he arrived and was now nearly to the tree line; Kenta arrived at the modest headstone that marked his parent's grave. Golden eyes shined softly in the bright light, sun warming his back and shoulders through the light, airy white cotton shirt he wore, adorned only with a Leaf Village symbol emblazoned in red. One of his usual day off outfits, the simple shirt and khaki cargo-type short that ended below his knees, shirt untucked and hiding the long sash he used as a belt most days, headband typed habitually over his right bicep even off duty. Knee's hit the soft grass harder then was outright necessary; his kneel more of a fall in more ways then one. "Father... Mother..."
Hands used to brace him now, he hovered on hand and knee over the stone, eyes unable to leave the names carved upon it; memories flashing in an almost crazed manner between his happy childhood and his current life, always with the flashes of horror from the night his childhood ended. Even now, a decade and some odd later, he was still haunted by it, by the loss of them. For the barest of moments he felt with his entire being that helplessness; the weakness he'd worked so hard to concur; the paralysis it caused. In his mind, he heard The Bastard; his own Uncle, why did you do it!? ; those horrible words of betrayal. Tears, hot and salty; more weakness, threatening to consume him again; falling free to the grass. Only when the tirade in his mind began to repeat did he fight back; this battle was test, always a test. Listen to the pain, embrace it, find your strength and make it stronger! More voices, loving voices now; Father, Mother, Gen, Michizuka.... the ones whom he loved and loved him in return; the babbles of his children echoing loud over the hateful words, overwhelming him and bringing the light back to his mind as they always did. His new strength, his perfect light. Love once lost, found again anew, in this new form; his love for and of them.
A hand was raised soon, moving to wipe across his eyes as the Inuzuka sniffled quietly; shifting to sit back on his heels and raising his head to look upon the clear, azure blue of the open skies; a glance to heaven, as it where, imagining his parents watching him. Childish, but comforting. The wreath, carried all this time in a medium sized backpack, was carefully removed and placed upon the ground for a moment. For long minutes he adjusted and tweaked the petals of the flowers, tucked in loose branches, made sure it was perfect once more. That was to say, messy and wild looking, just like the loving son that placed the wreath and said his simple prayers; always asking for the guidance he missed, protection for his family. After that, he just sat there talking; stories of his days since he'd last visited; too long ago, he'd been so busy and that was never an excuse but merely an inconvenient truth; he preened like the proud parent he was, telling them about the grandchildren he knew without a shadow of a doubt they would have loved unconditionally, soiled rotten with every chance they got; just like normal grandparents. Kenta's voice floated on the winds, carrying his tone of absolute love around the cemetery; lifting some of the gloom and giving an almost music to the place that served to lift spirits of the living, not weigh heavy and cold.
He talked and talked, until there was nothing more to say and his heart felt light as a feather dancing in the breeze; never moving from his spot even when silenced. There he sat, bathing in the slowly dying light as the sun sank below to trees, seeming in a trance until Yuki; whom he'd left behind with the kids; appeared to fetch him; a small flower tucked into her collar and her current favorite toy clutched in her maw. The flower, a final offering from the kids, the toy Yuki's own. Once a year she would leave her favorite toy, nuzzle the stone to shine it properly, then be on her way. And she did, Kenta rising to his feet slowly, stiffly, brushing the dirt and grass from his knees and palms as she worked; a scratch to her ears when she moved to sit beside him as he stared at the cleaned, adorned memorial to his parents. "Goodbye... for now..." He left a final gift, a small, roughly carved wooden kunai; turned, and walked away; back to the world of the living and the present, the promise of the future held by his own children waiting for him to return, the shadows of the past enhancing the brightness of the path he walked; and he knew his parents approved. He knew, he knew with all he was, that they where proud.
