Post by Akemi Izayoi on Jul 25, 2010 2:32:58 GMT -5
Name:
Akemi Izayoi
Age:
13
Gender:
Female
Village:
Kirigakure
Rank:
Genin
Nature Manipulation:
Unknown
Appearance:
Akemi might look skinny and/or malnourished upon first glance though this isn’t necessarily true. She is merely slim and petit in comparison to most girls her age. She has yet to hit a growth spurt and stands at around four feet six inches. Only seventy seven pounds in weight, she doesn‘t have a lot of muscle or fat on her. Instead she is wiry and flexible. Her face is soft and gentle, but her eyes practically shine with a fierce fire of will. Akemi isn’t one for hair styles so she tends to just cut her coal black hair short and leave it which is why it usually takes on a messy and unkept appearance.
More often than not, her attire takes the form of a simple kimono style dress with no sleeves over short shorts. Colors can vary, but she prefers a reddish hue over most colors so usually she wears a crimson colored dress with lighter wave like accents on it. Wrapped around her waist to hold the kimono closed and keep it closed is a tan colored obi, but she has a variety of them as well. Since her graduation, she has taken to wearing her forehead protector around her neck like a choker instead of the scarf she used to wear. She also never forgets to wear her treasured fox max on her person as well. The mask is a decorative type as oppose to the types ANBU wear and its thick strap can handle allow it to be worn in numerous ways, but she likes it to have it dangle from her back when she’s not actually wearing it. The mask is easier for her to grab and put on that way incase she does decide to wear it. On her feet are simple, yet durable sandals and she wears arm guards that stretch from her wrist to her elbows.
Since she is very much a weapon specialist she wraps her both her thighs and straps shuriken holsters to them. A medical pouch worn over her rear allows her easy access to weapons as well as items that are needed to apply basic first aid. Despite her small size, she still wears and wields a full sized ninjato that she keeps in position on her rear with the weapon resting in a horizontal position. Last, but not least are an assortment of scrolls that tied to her obi to decorate it as well as offer additional weapons and supplies.
Personality:
Akemi is energetic, loud, direct and confident, but at the same time she is also stubborn, short-tempered, rash, competitive and can sometimes let her emotions get the better of her. With her outgoing and excitable personality she is easy to like and greets the greater majority with a friendly attitude. But with her quick temper and rash persona she quickly takes offense to those that act rude or cold toward her for no reason and throws all ladylike manners out the window for a more sailor type language. Akemi isn’t above holding grudges either and finds it hard to just “let things go”. Should the opportunity present itself, she won’t hesitate to “remind” someone that she hasn’t forgotten a certain occurrence in the past. However, overtime, she can admit to her mistakes and realize that she didn’t handle the situation in the best manner. It should be noted that she’s still too thickheaded to act on the realization and apologize first.
While most would see her as merely a volatile spoiled brat, those who get past that will see she is kind and caring to her others once she begins to warm up to them and will not hesitate to do anything to help them. Although she also won't hesitate to do her best to put them in line if they do something inappropriate or perverted as well. This doesn’t make her perfect even as a friend though. She still has a bad habit of forgetting to take other people's feelings into consideration as she often acts before thinking things through. Her enthusiasm can also be taken too far and shift into an outright demanding behavior, expecting much more from others if she doesn’t think their trying their best. Lastly, she is still a stubborn hothead at heart and will outright ignore others if she desires something enough or if she thinks her way is the best, which usually leads to less than desirable results.
Although Akemi is usually confident in herself, she can be extremely sensitive when someone scorns her abilities, and she often lashes out violently in defense before falling into a depression and questions on how weak she is. This often leads to her falling further into self pity due to the fact that Akemi hates weakness. In fact, she utterly despises it in not only herself, but in others as well. When she does snap out of this it is followed by a period of her trying a bit too hard to meet unrealistic expectations for herself that more often than not fail simply because she tried that hard. More frustration often comes from this till she cracks under the pressure she puts herself under, resulting in her crying.
Jutsu
Bunshin no Jutsu [Clone Technique]
Kawarimi no Jutsu [Body Replacement Technique]
Shunshin no Jutsu [Body Flicker Technique]
Henge no Jutsu [Transformation Technique]
Generic Sealing Technique
Sōshuriken no Jutsu [Manipulated Shuriken Technique]
Kage Shuriken no Jutsu [Shadow Shuriken Technique]
Sōshūjin [Manipulating Attack Blades]
History:
Akemi was born to two former ninja who had retired early in their careers and became chefs. They settled in Kiri after the village began to take a turn from its brutal ways instead of braving the dangers that could come from defecting. As the third child of four children Akemi often fought tooth and nail for attention. The girl struggled with finding a way to differ herself from her other siblings in order to stand out. She couldn’t cook as well as her older sister, the oldest among them, despite her young age being a huge hindrance. Still, she struggled to push herself with unrealistic expectations. This would develop into a fierce competitive streak that wouldn’t be lost anytime soon. However, even with her determination, her older brother still overshadowed her in terms of book smarts.
When her younger brother was born it only split the attention between them more. Akemi found that even her youngest sibling seemed to get more attention than her simply because he was the youngest and a cry baby. This caused her to be loud, much louder than girls her age normally were. With it she developed a fierce temper and stubborn attitude that often caused less than desirable confrontations with her know it all brother. Oddly enough, the oldest sister seemed the most tolerable of Akemi’s rebellious behavior and the girl found herself in the company of her oldest sister the most. This was because their parents were often too busy running a local pub to deal with Akemi and their brother was a book worm. Even if her parents didn’t pay attention to her all the time, she was able to get their attention when she wanted it even if it did get her punished later on.
It would be a chance occurrence when Akemi was chosen to check up on two ninja because everyone else was busy at that moment. Since this was her first encounter with any type of this profession, the girl didn’t hide her curiosity on why they were dressed so funny or why they carried around what they did. The ninja humored her, partially because they were braggarts and partially because they were already drunk, but mostly because they knew any rudeness would get them kicked out in a heart beat. Akemi’s mother could inspire terror in most chunin with her ability to throw a kitchen knife with as much accuracy as any ninja with a kunai. She wasn’t a slouch with a hot ladle either.
Akemi was quick to get their order of more booze. And with wide eyes she listened with rapt attention as the alcohol loosened their lips. It would be a while before they left and even with their departure, exaggerated tales of were still rampant within the young girl’s mind. A sleepless night awaited her and the next day, still running on pure excitement inspired by the tales, she would trick her book worm brother into dishes duty while she scampered off. Considering that she hadn’t really wandered far from the restaurant her parents owned, she got lost rather quickly. But after kicking a creepy guy in the groin, learning quite a variety of vulgar words while he was in his pain induced fetal position, she managed to ask the right people where she could learn to be a ninja.
Charging in blindly and registering without a second thought, she would later pronounce proudly to her family what she did at the dinner table. Chopsticks were dropped, jaws made odd noises as they hit the table, and after that an odd silence stretched on seemingly forever before Akemi broke it with naïve and excited babbling. The shock wore off and her parents were torn on the possible outcome of losing their daughter to the way of the ninja. Akemi had finally found how to garter attention from her parents and separate herself from her siblings‘ shadows. Her parents would worry and check up on her from now on. And because she was fond of the attention, she simply refused to thing of quitting.
However, the ninja academy was a rude wake up call. Barging in on the first day and claiming that she was going to be one of the best ninja Kiri had ever seen wasn’t the best way to make friends. Getting into arguments with the teachers didn’t help either. Nor did the fact that she was still expected to help out her family make things easier on her. Attention came with a heavy price, but she refused to let go of it. Stubborn pride caused her to continue. Studying late as she fought with chakra control which would make her even more irritable with kids from the academy. There was no other outlet besides taking it out on her family and that would cause a swift punishment to crash on her. She shuddered in fear of the mere thought. Though she did confide in her older sister, whom she was probably to closest to in the family. Throwing kunai and shuriken at her wall when angry, studying, bored, restless, or otherwise became a habit.
Sleeping in classes she deemed dumb to regain sleep lost during studies dropped her grades and she had to study harder to understand which ended up turning into a cycle. Though she dropped into dead last at the academy, she most certainly was not a person to be trifled with. Any putting down of her abilities would cause her to lash out, but it also made her saddened. She only let her sister see the tears caused by the bullying. It didn’t help that she wasn’t able to figure out some basic nature manipulation. Taijutsu was a chore since she tired easily and wasn’t the strongest or fastest. Genjutsu was difficult, but she could pull off basics with good control. Not like it mattered due to some other kid being some genius in that field. She fell back on what she did best, and what she knew best, weapons. Fancy water blasts were forgotten and she trained as much as she could to hit a bull’s eye, moving or not. The need to be the best at something compelled her to focus more with weapons than any other.
Dreams of becoming a weapon master or one of the seven swordsmen began to occupy her dreams. Her sister encouraged her development as did her parents to a lesser extent. Even her know it all brother helped her study, imparting basic medical knowledge since he was inspiring to become a doctor. She never could resist showing off for her youngest brother either. She couldn’t get enough of his praise. Even if the stupid teachers or other jerks in class didn’t think much of her skills at least her family did. The show off like skills also helped her put on shows at the pub. Even some ninja had a hard time beating her at dart throwing. Her mother had forbidden her from cutting the fruit off her younger brother’s head while blind folded…and hitting them with throwing weapons, but she still let her do stunts that didn’t involve the use of her younger brother’s health or her older brother’s books (she had to put the stuff she’d cut up on something!). She managed to win (technically they tied) a fox mask off a tipsy chunin by beating him in a contest of throws (skill, execution, and flashiness were all factors and the crowd voted her by majority.). To this day she still wears it as a trophy.
As a weapon enthusiast, she often bugs a couple of local blacksmiths. One in particular, named Muramasa, is her favorite shop owner simply because he is the coolest among them in her opinion. Though an old man, the guy knows his weapons. How they work, how they should be handled, strong points, weak points, he was a fountain of knowledge that Akemi felt was a kindred spirit. Akemi often escaped class to discuss weapons with him and browse his collections. He became one of the few people that she is able to talk to easily. She was also inspired by him because even in his old age, he wishes to forge a sword for one of the Seven Swordsmen as he considers it one of the greatest honors he could ever have. Akemi in turn promised that if she ever managed to become one of them, she’d personally ask him to make her sword.
Soon as the finals to choose who’d become genin hopefuls approached she began to skip lectures entirely in favor of practice. With the help of her brother tutoring her, she was able to pass. Though it was too little to late to drop the rank of “dead last” she was still happy that she passed and now has a chance to become a genin.
Notes:
[-] Though she belittles her abilities in comparison to her sister, her culinary skills are rather good.
[-] Her brother has provided her with sources of basic medical knowledge.
RP Sample:
The young girl groaned loudly from her seat at the wooden table. While she let out the sound akin to a dying or distressed animal she watched the old man carefully as he sharpened a sword across the room. No response. Again she groaned pitifully as if she had just gone a couple of rounds with a crazed taijutsu freak after some heavy training. The girl even slumped and went limp for additional dramatics, her head hitting the wooden table with a loud “thunk” sound. She dared not peek from her act of playing dead lest she reveal her intention. She waited patiently for it to happen. Finally, much to her glee, the sound of metal scraping against its sharpening stone ended and drifted into silence. Success!
Then after a brief moment the scraping continued. A vein throbbed in her forehead. Finally, unable to take it any longer, she shot out of her seat. Throwing over the chair and slamming her hands on the table she shouted, “Hey ya old coot, don’t you have something to say!” The girl fully expected something along the lines of gentle encouragement of a situation she had yet to explain yet. Either that or a open ear that would listen to her story…Her answer wasn’t quite what she wanted…
“Don’t break my table with that thick head of yours,” the man answered without a second thought. He only paused to take another careful look at the blade he was sharpening. The geezer didn’t even spare her a glance and it only increased her ire. The sound of the man resuming his sharpening drowned out the grinding sound that came from her teeth. Akemi was honestly at a loss for words. The sheer shock of being brushed off had to take its course and run through her system before she finally broke free from the stupor it caused.
“That’s it?! No stupid riddles with hidden meanings? No subtle answers? Nothing!?” The girl seethed. She slumped again, giving in to the unbearable weight that had settled in the pit of her stomach. It was disgusting, the feeling made her nauseous. She could have been sick right then and there. It felt as if the only thing that was anchoring her to hope had been cut. Broken words cut into the haze that had clouded her mind. “What?” The voice had lost its fire, it had nothing left to feed on. Akemi craned her head to look at the old man from the corner of her eyes, but didn’t raise her head. He stared at her intently as if gazing into her soul. The blade he had been preoccupied with rested next to him on a soft cloth.
“How do you expect for me to hammer wisdom into that hard head of yours when you don’t tell me what you’re angry about?” He stressed the word wisdom. Apparently, he preferred it to describe the dumb riddles that he came up with in a few seconds. No, he could give a ’yes’ or ’no’, the straight answers like anyone else. She grumbled to herself about wisdom and old coots while glaring at him half-heartedly. He seemed to take this as an answer and moved to resume his work.
“If you still insist on being-” “They didn’t care!” He was abruptly cut off by Akemi’s distressed voice. The words held so much emotion her voice cracked. He turned back to her with a raised eyebrow of question. No further prompting was need as Akemi began to ramble. “I graduated, dead last, but I still graduated. I’m a genin! But they didn’t care when I told them!” Akemi’s voice trembled and her throat tightened uncomfortably as she bore the forehead protector as proof, drawing attention to its place around her neck. However, she forced herself to keep her wits. The deep sense of betrayal and neglectence stung fiercely. Her mother and father had only offered a half hearted congratulation of her achievement. The bookworm brother of hers was too busy studying to even humor her. Her sister smiled, but otherwise remained strangely stoic. Even the youngest seemingly avoided her as he made up reasons to separate himself from her presence. She sniffed, but her pride didn’t allow her to cry so she stubbornly blinked them back. “What’s the point of achieving something if no one cares?”
Her focus went back to the old man as he started to talk. She didn’t know what it was; whether his voice, the words, her need to be put at ease, or simply because it was the old man talking. Still, whatever it was compelled her to listen. “When I forge a sword, there is always a deep sense of pride. As I mold it with my hands and tools, shaping it into a work of art a deep sense of accomplishment fills me.” As he spoke he resumed sharpening the weapon. Not a movement wasted in his efforts as the already shining sword’s edge was further perfected. “However, the sword is still a slab of metal until I make it a sword. So I sharpen it. I watch the shape change, the beauty bloom, and then…I let it go. It falls into the hands of another. Even so the sword remains close, each and every one of them. The men they cut down or the people they save, each act reflect upon me and I experience pride or remorse knowing I am the cause. Even so, despite what path they create are used for I am still proud I created the sword.” He finished, wiping the sword after deeming it fit in his eyes.
When nothing more came, Akemi couldn’t help but blurt out. “What does that have to do with anything!?” She didn’t expect an answer, but much to her surprise she got one. The old man looked her straight in the eyes and said bluntly, “Your family will always care, you stubborn knucklehead.” Akemi tried to grasp for something else to say, but couldn’t think of anything. The old man took his time getting up and sheathing his new masterpiece carefully with an audible click. Akemi was still at a loss for words when he walked over and presented the blade to her. “You didn’t think I’d wouldn‘t have anything for your graduation did you?” She took the sword wordlessly as the man put his hands on her shoulders. “Now, go home Akemi. Eat a good meal, get some rest, but before that talk to your family. I’m sure that you’ll be able to see that they do care.”
As her mind finally caught up, she tightened her grip on the sword and held it close. ‘Thanks, old man.” She made her way to the door but stopped for a moment when Muramasa called out to her. “Oh, and knuckled head.” She turned to see him give her a light smile. “Take pride in your own achievements.” Then with a start Akemi found herself in front of the door to her home. The walk there was a blur. The grip on her present had made her knuckles white and she pried one away to hesitantly move to the open the door. Mustering up her courage and steeling her resolve, she pulled the door open. Darkness…but what had she expected?
“You…were wrong ya damn geezer,” she mumbled as she stepped in. The lights suddenly blinded her and the cry of “Surprise” was called out. So shocked was she that her ninja training didn’t even cause her to lash out. The smiling faces of her family under a large banner congratulating her success greeted her eyes as they adjusted. Words and sentences became jumbled. Then after a while silence. They must have been waiting for her to say something. Faces that were expectant to hear some joyous cry or pride filled out burst became clouded with worry.
“Akemi? Are you okay honey?”
The hot tears leaked from her eyes, much to her shame and embarrassment. Her throat was tight, her eyes stung, and it was hard to breath. “I‘m just…so happy.” The girl spoke, as she cried her worries and doubts from her mind.
