Kazue Uzumaki

[sunshineapps]

Name: Kazue Uzumaki
Canon: Original
Character Journal: wind_and_whirl
Gender: Female
Age: 16
Birthday: October 25th
Village Affiliation: Sunagakure no Sato
Rank: Chuunin

Canon History: N/A
Canon Abilities/Powers: N/A

Appearance: At first glance, Kazue isn't exactly the most intimidating kunoichi. She stands at an unimpressive five feet, four inches and barely grew a centimeter in the past year and some change. She weighs roughly one hundred and fifteen pounds or thereabouts with an athletic build. Pale skin contrasts with bright red hair extending a little more than halfway down her back that is generally left down with the occasional side braid these day. Her bangs are uneven, the longer of which frame her face, and her hair is her most distinguishing feature next to her eyes, which are the color of the deep blue sea. Her apparel tends to vary; though, it isn't uncommon for her to wear her flak jacket for her pride and she's known to prefer the skirts of Suna's kunoichi to pants. She wears gloves, said gloves always, always being fingerless, and she favors desert colors, but has been known to throw the odd blue into the mix. Good luck catching her without her forehead protector, which she persists in wearing about her neck.

Personality: Kazue, Kazue, Kazue. Where to start? "At the beginning," of course, but where do you really begin to describe a person? Where does a person-ality really begin?

Let me begin by stating that Kazue is, in a word, complicated. At first glance, she's pleasant enough with a distinct, inherent energy that's near impossible to miss as it's suggestive of something or someone just waiting to blossom. That pleasantness has the potential to do just that and blossom into an admitted, seeming friendliness she's not particularly inclined to grudge most despite not wholly pleasant experiences from her childhood. This combined with the confidence with which she carries herself bodily and in speech, that not necessarily quiet pride that can easily gain volume suggests some level of charisma and strong leadership potential alongside high intelligence despite that said pride has the potential to jump the border to arrogance outright. She's supported by a cunning mind that is quite conscientious of the fact that loose ends of any sort can be manipulated, be it verbally or via action, which is exactly why most of her superiors learn very quickly to be more specific when addressing her and mindful of her movements for how headstrong and goal oriented she can be. Her high intelligence often reveals itself in this way as she herself is quick, keen-minded, and seldom idle in the head.

Strong, capable. That's the sort of air Kazue tends to give off initially. The noticeable energy beneath the surface, for all its steadily brewing intensity, is well harnessed and a contributor to her being of a rising type nature. That is, she's an incredibly tenacious person, the sort who, when faced with difficulty or hardship, will persist in fervently attacking obstacles and, or doing what is necessary to achieve her goals. More than that, she won't stay down if knocked off her feet, not unless disabled in her entirety. This is due in part to the aforementioned energy and in part to the fact that Kazue is ambitious to a 't,' the sort who, upon claiming a goal or making a decision, moves rapidly to achieve that goal or see that decision stand if challenged. She thrives under pressure and has a more difficult time relaxing than she does finding the motivation to pursue something, to the point that, in her youth, her mother and her sensei often had to order her to rest. At times, she still requires such an order and someone to check on her to ensure she's following it as she's a stubborn creature who won't be moved unless made to acknowledge reason, but especially where it concerns her person as logic dictates one knows oneself best. If pressed and blind to reason, she'll apply her apt intelligence to find loopholes and ways around the order and may require a fist-to-head in the figurative or literal sense to straighten up. A couple of handfuls? Why, yes. Yes, Kazue is and she's got a rather smart mouth on her that seldom sees her favor tact when she decides that something needs stating. Of course, that might just be the sand shinobi in her showing alongside the hot-blooded Uzumaki.

Now, to really understand Kazue, one must remember that of the things she was taught to value and respect from an early age, strength and power were distinct elements. She possesses the unusual talent of not only readily perceiving and understanding these concepts, but understanding through them, which, combined with various experiences in her early childhood that blossomed into lessons she adheres to, have made for a rather unique tint of glass through which she looks at everything. The biggest effect is this: Kazue tends to view everyone, everyone as tools before people initially and she measures those tools by their strength and power. She tends to objectify people and other sentient beings even in daily interactions, which is a testament to her ability to adopt extreme thought that follows a decided internal logic.

So, what's this mean? This means that, despite any perceived personability, Kazue usually doesn't make the human connection initially on the same level others do, which can be problematic in social situations and in building relationships. Once the human connection is established with an individual or group, her view of said individual or group shifts accordingly unless she needs to reapply it for the sake of a mission. Her views can still be confused for her lack of practice in humanization compared to others, but she's arguably better when she does humanize in that she's more available and open emotionally and mentally, which sees her make associations and connections that would, for example, see her act more kindly, if awkwardly, and take greater strains to see a teammate returned to the village not solely because the village would suffer for the numerical loss, but because they are teammates and so that their family wouldn't suffer for the loss. Her empathy kicks in with greater strength along with a definite degree of awkwardness for her lack of social experience that contributes to an added dimension of eccentricity, not that she needed the help insofar as being eccentric goes. She's that if nothing else by the reckoning of most Suna natives for her fascination with the One-Tail. Her regular 'plays' with her puppets are, at least amongst part of the population, debatable.

Now that you've got a handle on her oddly tinted vision, let's talk shop. Kazue honestly is not that much different from most people despite her tinted vision. There may be times when she herself forgets it on the most basic level, but she is human -- and a rather sensitive one, at that -- and she harbors a persisting human desire for acceptance tempered by a fear of rejection learned in early childhood. It's a combination of the aforementioned that sees her trapped in a rather nasty cycle, suffering a deep loneliness and experiencing feelings of anger and frustration that cause her no small amount of anguish and exacerbates that loneliness. Having deduced as a child that the key to acknowledgment and affirmation was to be had via recognition for strength and power, she typically redoubles her efforts toward said end by seeking to become stronger and more powerful only to find her symptoms temporarily relieved upon achieving said goal or worsened for perceived failure. Most of the energy that she would put into reaching out to others, forging, and maintaining bonds, which would theoretically solve the problem, is put instead into training to increase her strength and power, which does not. This isn't because she doesn't want to acknowledge people as people and have friends, but because her belief is rather flawed and her priorities are out of whack. It doesn't help that what friends she might make usually find themselves neglected in favor of her furthering herself as a kunoichi and the few that have stuck around have likely found themselves subject to a definite measure of not quite childish jealousy she's yet to be disabused of further rooted in something of a fear of abandonment courtesy of a poor decision made by her mother.

Few people tend to realize the majority of these issues or, if they do, the extent of them due to Kazue's tendency toward self-imposed isolation via training. Most people are privy to the image of the strong, intelligent, hard-working, and most definitely eccentric kunoichi ever eager to prove herself with a distinct aversion to slowing down and a tendency to be a little too smart for her own good, be it in crafting loopholes or in dispensing words. The passionately emotional aspect of her personality is typically harnessed and kept in check by the shrewdly mental, giving her the appearance of being relatively self-controlled and calm despite that still waters run quite deep and the water level is constantly rising. She feels and what she feels, she feels vividly, which is a wonderful thing provided the experience is a positive one. If she's moved in a negative way, however, and untempered, this can be disastrous for her potential destructive capacity in the verbal and action spheres. A sudden burst may see the water level drop or, more commonly, a partial drain via heavy physical activity may be enacted.

Generally speaking, it's best not to make Kazue angry. All that passion, all that energy tinted by anger tends to make for a highly destructive force that's best avoided until it's ebbed like the tide and settled into something potentially grudging, but arguably easier to handle and less likely to cause damage to your internal organs. Heaven help you if you're awarded an anger that sticks. Hot passion can be combined with shrewd mentality and cold precision to achieve devastating results and when you've an ambition like Kazue's behind this? It's something better avoided, especially given her tendency to grudge emotionally impacting events. For example, she remembers very well the negative and exclusionary attitudes and words directed at her about her mother when she was a child. Likewise, she remembers very well the pang she felt when her mother left her for a two year period with little more than a note and her next fuuinjutsu lessons and she carries these things with her. She possesses the capacity to forgive, but she's stubborn and unlikely to forget occurrences that imprint upon her emotionally on any immense or intense level.

Let it be said again. That strong, eager, eccentric kunoichi isn't all there is to this young woman, whose emotion and empathy can, at times, be described as confused for the oddity of her views and how confused they can become even in her own mind as she navigates herself. It isn't all that hard to see how she can be misunderstood by others as, when she speaks, she's often speaking with an altogether different view than the average person that may be tempered by the harsh, survivalist tint of a sand shinobi and many of the same views espoused by them or a conflicting warmth that drifts between so many layers that hints at a degree of sensitivity seldom realized these days. Outside of the professional sphere and, or when she humanizes, she can be a real social odd ball, being a capable leading personality one moment and surprisingly awkward, even shy the next should conditions be right, which can easily result in a passionate, but not honestly malicious backlash per her mother's teaching that can be comedic. She just doesn't have the level of social experience she should, which can see her flounder awkwardly and react accordingly.

Despite her complexities, the girl has a definite sense of humor, the ability to ease up, tease, and be playful, and a love for showmanship; though, these typically present most readily where her puppets are involved. The first and last points are easily seen via obseration of Takkun, the highly animated tanuki puppet she regularly keeps on her person. The others tend to present most readily when observing Kazue and any of her puppets together, but especially Takkun as he's often directed toward light-hearted antics to which she typically responds heartfully. Her sense of humor isn't always light; it can be as dry and cutting as any Suna shinobi's and just as edged and, or harsh and odd. Definitely odd given her general view and it's likely not helped by the artistic cast of mind that sees her consider much of the shinobi arts exactly that. Art that she takes a great deal of pride in. This applies doubly to her puppetry, her use of chakra threads and physical threads otherwise, and her fuuinjutsu. She considers herself a showman and she's not inclined to give poor performances; though, where it concerns Takkun, she may give more honest performances for her emotional connection to the puppet, of which she's very fond and proud.

Speaking of pride, Kazue has it. She prides herself on being strong, powerful, independent kunoichi of Sunagakure. She prides herself on being an Uzumaki. She prides herself on being a useful tool. She prides herself on being a formidable puppeteer. She has pride and her pride can be something of a problem not only in that she can tempted in over her head and make a questionable call it with regards to her own strength, but where her pride in one thing comes into conflict with another. A great example of this is the conflict born from encouraged pride regarding her heritage as an Uzumaki and the proud independence of a Suna native. Her pride can see her less inclined to request assistance or accept offered assistance, too. She's more inclined to listen to and accept assistance from those she deems stronger or equal to her and those she deems weaker than herself can gain a foothold for assertiveness; though, there's also the chance of comical backlash or some minor form of retribution, such as ear pulling with a reminder that she didn't ask for help, not to mention a lack of thanks and a curt reminder if pressed for it.

Summarily, Kazue is a great kunoichi with a potent grasp of the Shinobi Code. She could, however, use a great deal of work as a person and it is important to remember that, capable and mature though she may be in some respects, she's still a teenager, albeit a teenager who doesn't exactly have the best grasp on teenager things as she neglects them and a possible social life to further herself as a kunoichi. As a result, topics like boys, flirting, dating, and the hottest fashions are things she isn't entirely sure what to do with when they're put in front of her. Bear in mind this is the girl who asked an academy instructor how flower arrangements were supposed to make her a better kunoichi and whether that was or wasn't a trick assignment wherein she was supposed to weaponize them. This is the same girl who mistook the symptoms of a crush for being a grave illness or potential poisoning and thrust herself on Suna's medics with a simple declaration of, "Something's wrong. Fix it." She understands these things on some level given that she's older than she was at the time of the aforementioned occurrences, but she's not at all well-versed in them and tends to be focused on other things unless there's outside interference or she happens upon them accidentally, which can make for some rather comical occurrences. Suffice to say her experience, or rather her lack thereof, in the social sphere presents.

Anything else about this girl you're just going to have to wait and find out with me through play.

Strengths and Weaknesses: + Ambitious and driven. Check and check. Paired with a high intelligence, an aversion to laziness, and a hard working nature, this trait has seen Kazue become one of Sunagakure's promising young kunoichi, nevermind the reasons behind her ambition and drive which have been mentioned in the personality section. Recognize!
+ Shrewdly Mental. Kazue is highly intelligent, creative, and typically practical and these traits, combined with her ability and understanding as a puppeteer, make her an excellent, adaptable strategist and supports her ability to function admirably independently and to adopt the role of a strong leader when and where necessary or the opportunity presents itself. It is this same shrewd mentality that enables her to keep a good grasp on the passionately emotional aspect of her character and direct herself accordingly.
+ Tenacious. Explained a bit more in depth in the personality section. Try to keep this girl down and you'll more likely than not wind up being put down in her stead, but it goes beyond that for the point below.
+ Physical. Her stamina and chakra reserves are exactly what you'd expect of a descendant of the Uzumaki clan. Not only that, but they've been further bolstered for her having trained in water release in a desert environment where she had to create her own water to work with. Summarily, the girl's a monster. She's more of a monster for the fine chakra control learned via puppetry and you know what else? She's pretty fast, too.

+- Power/strength perception. Power and strength are two things this girl knows. She perceives and understands them and she understands through them. She respects them and she's exceptionally quick to recognize them. Unfortunately, this is something of a double-edged sword in that it supports her objectification with a system of measure that affects how she views the world and those around her, which would be good if she kept it to mission related things, but she doesn't. An off-hand side-effect, she doesn't respect those she perceives as powerless or weak without cause. On the plus, she has used this perception to unveil exceptionally well-hidden leadership amongst targets where seasoned jounin failed to recognize them and to achieve a better understanding of systems throughout the course of her life.

- Objectification. While this is an oddly equalizing item that extends even to jinchuuriki and bijuu, it is, simply put, a straight form of objectification that is both dangerous and damaging to Kazue's person for the extremes to which she takes it. She doesn't make the human connection with others initially, which creates distance. It sees her suffer socially and have a difficult time forging personal relationships. This is problematic in personal day to day matters, but it can also mean trouble in shinobi matters as Kazue views even her allies as fellow tools and would not be adverse to discarding them should she deem the situation called for it or seizing control of them should she deem it necessary to achieve the objective in the case of leadership she deems weak or incompetent or a vacuum. Fortunately, she tends to be reluctant to discard tools if there is a chance they may prove useful or be fixed and she seems to have taken to the idea that tools can be improved and should be well cared for as a result of observing her own experiences as a puppeteer, but the fact remains that this can be a very dangerous, damaging way of thinking that is at least partially responsible for the highly problematic loneliness she suffers. When there are more tools than people in the world and you put your usefulness as a tool over your human needs, you may be in a forest and not realize the trees and forget you yourself need water to live.
- Situational Insomnia. It's a strange thing, really, but Kazue has always had difficulty sleeping well outside of her native country. She sleeps exceptionally well within Suna itself and well enough within the country's borders, but should she be attempting to sleep outside of the Land of Wind, nights are restless and naps are the best option for her to get any type of rest. She hasn't been able to ascertain the cause to date.
- Lack of Social Experience.
- Just Relax! Yeah, no. Kazue has an infinitely more difficult time relaxing than she does motivating herself to do anything. It's bad enough that her superiors often have to order her to relax and, perhaps comically, send someone to make sure she's actually doing that instead of heading out to train on her lonesome in some way, shape, or form.
- Stubborn. Once Kazue's mind is made up about something, it's made up. She can be made to see reason, but it takes a strong appeal or a hard fist. Sometimes both. It'd probably help if the person attempting to disabuse her of whatever notion were kind of fast in case she tried to work around things, too. Also stronger than her.
- Genjutsu, genjutsu, genjutsu! Not to be confused with "Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!"
- Close Range Combat. Kazue prefers mid-to-long range combat first and foremost. She's a puppeteer at heart and when she isn't using puppets, she's using strings and chakra threads alongside fuuton and suiton under ideal circumstances in a more mobile manner, but she's still fighting and aiming to control the battle via mid-to-long range techniques for the most part. Her experience in close range combat therefore lies mostly in the realm of training and the simple fact is she typically shies away from close range combat to begin with. Sure, she does have a good handle on a taijutsu style that relies on kicks instead of punches, but there's still the chance that her hands could be damaged, which makes it an extremely undesirable course. She would most definitely be at a disadvantage against those more practiced in close range combat if forced to engage by way of taijutsu for these reasons.
- Jealous. If she happens to care about you as a person, Kazue may very well happen to be jealous where you're concerned and she's highly unlikely to sit back and stew about it if this jealousy is stirred. Don't tempt it. Please, for the love of sand dumplings, don't tempt it.
- Pride goeth before the... yeah. Even with her unusual way of thinking and perception, Kazue presents as being prideful, if not arrogant at times, and the fact of the matter is it can easily grate on the nerves of others and see her alienated. Whilst she's typically conscientious of power and strength within others and careful not to bite off more than she can chew for a quiet survivalist tint, that doesn't mean she can't be tempted in over her head or make a questionable call for her pride with regards to her own strength. It's seen her get into trouble over the course of her lifetime that she's handled well enough for her rising nature, but there are stronger, more powerful shinobi out there and she may not always be able to use her back teeth on that which she bites off, let alone be able to spit it out, and heaven forbid she suffer a truly shattering defeat. Her pride can also complicate matters of requesting and accepting assistance.
- Tick, tick, tock. This girl is carrying so many issues that it's really only a matter of time before there's a break, and said break will probably be unpleasant. Don't forget that this is the same girl who, as a child, charted locations within Sunagakure to sit and watch Gaara and Shukaku rampage on moonlight nights in the hopes of seeing them and maybe Yondaime Kazekage in action if he came out to restrain them, who endeavors to someday surpass a tailed beast in terms of strength and power. The additional strain placed on her by her feeling torn between her heritage as an Uzumaki and her pride as a Suna kunoichi is a stressor. She remembers very well how many Suna natives discriminated against her mother, which rubs her wrong on occasion and can complicate potential successes in reaching her. The accumulated anger, grief, frustration alongside the growing loneliness her perception causes her is a particularly worrying point for the vicious and increasingly worsening cycle she's been trapped in since early childhood. This is to say nothing of the unbroken pride she's accumulated throughout her lifetime. Indeed, a break may very well be on the horizon and again, it's probably not going to be pleasant for the sheer potential number of ways it might occur or what may come on the heels of it.
- Torn and Holding Back. Her continued silence with regards to her lineage and her lack of reconciliation about her identity as both an Uzumaki and a Suna kunoichi are at the root of this and they are notable stressors that contribute to the tick, tick, tock point. This limbo of thought is rather dangerous for any thought she may give to the matter for her perception, which could very well usher in dangerous and misguided thoughts along the lines of, "If I become the strongest shinobi in the village, they'll have no choice but to accept me." Fortunately, she hasn't thought too long or hard on this, but with each passing day, the possibility grows that she may.

Sunshine Abilities/Powers: First and foremost, Kazue is a descendant of the Uzumaki clan and she shares in her clan's special traits. She possesses an exceptionally strong life force that lends itself not only to an immense stamina, but exceptional chakra reserves that easily make her a beast to contend with. It must also be noted that her stamina and reserves have increased significantly for her training to utilize water release techniques in a desert environment. On a less obvious note, she also possesses the potential for an immense longevity.

Now, let's get into everything else.

Weapon Use. While average in the use of basic ninja tools such as kunai and shuriken, it's with the tessen, chakra threads, and strings that Kazue typically excels, having decided as a child that she absolutely would not fall behind others in those areas about which Suna nin possess such pride. Hmm? Oh, yes, you read right! 'Strings.' While the use of puppets themselves was a tad slow to catch initially in her youth, the nature of the puppet technique itself intrigued her and she came up with an idea to utilize physical threads or 'strings' in conjunction with actual chakra threads in combat. She would become rather notorious for her application of this style during her Academy years, utilizing her chakra to not only alter and strength the consistency of the physical strings so as to prevent damage to them, but to transform them into something akin to and far more lethal than your average razor wire. While not something she readily reveals under normal circumstances, she is capable of utilizing physical strings in conjunction with her puppets, which can create confusion as the physical threads can easily be made indistinguishable from chakra threads for her application of chakra to them, and also with wind and water release techniques, not to mention in a variety of other manners for a variety of other things, including lifting, pulling, throwing, tripping, entrapment, for the purpose of creating distractions, as a means of tracking opponents, and as honing lines for kunai and shuriken, to name a few. Her signature weapon? Threads and strings might as well be alongside her puppets, but not wholly alone and not necessarily first despite the edge this can provide.

See, Kazue is a puppeteer and while she absolutely does have the ability to make use of chakra threads and physical strings with and without a puppet, it's more appropriate to do so if the situation either calls for it immediately and, or arguably more surprising if her opponent is unaware and, or she's exhausted her puppets first. She's rather notorious for having acquired what most, if not all Suna nin would agree is a bizarre fondness for tanuki after watching the One-Tail rampage that, in conjunction with her continued observation and a quietly growing appreciation for puppets in her youth, saw her acquire an interest in crafting a tanuki puppet. This puppet would be the first of a set of three that Kazue would craft on her own with instruction by one of Suna's puppet masters. While she has crafted and keeps some other puppets, the tanuki set is the one she favors, is constantly working to improve, and that she values perhaps more than she realizes. They vary in size and function and, with the exception of Takkun, she typically carries them by way of sealed scrolls upon her back.

TAKUMI: Also known as "Takkun," this puppet typically turns heads in Suna for his intentional resemblance to the One-Tail, which gains attention due to the fact that he's rarely absent from his puppeteer's company. The difference lies in his size and seal markings. As Kazue's first puppet, he's just large enough to perch atop her shoulder comfortably at her present age and is especially noteworthy for the animation afforded him by his continuously improved design, which tends to give him a dimension of life that can be entertaining and, or highly unsettling. Originally designed primarily for the purpose of reconnaissance, his arsenal is limited, but includes the following:
• Surveillance and Recording Devices. As reconnaissance was the puppet's original purpose, it houses sophisticated recording devices within its eyes and ears. The contents of these devices are secured by a specific seal attached to the puppet's body.
• Claws. A natural part of the puppet's design, the digits of each paw leads into claws in the form of curved blades while the digits themselves were designed to allow an additional safe, finger-like 'grip'. It took some practice and adjustment to perfect the latter so as to avoid unintentional injury. The former allow for excellent rending ability alongside gripping ability across all terrains.
• Thousand Needles. The puppet's tail houses an arsenal of agent-tipped needless less than half the length of your average senbon housed in layers beneath each ridge of the tail. They are catered to by a special firing mechanism that enables single layer or full burst trigger. Since the needles are small, several rounds are housed within. The agent applied to the needles may vary, but they typically include poison or a potent paralytic, sometimes alternating.
• Sealed Storage. Although Takkun isn't big enough to store people in the compartment of its belly, it's big enough to store scrolls and a variety of other items on the small to mid-size of things, which are safeguarded upon activating a specific seal currently on its body. How things get into the compartment is generally considered a mystery, but it's generally via the oral route, which can be a little unsettling if you happen to see Kazue 'feeding' the tanuki.

KAITO: Also known as "Kai-kun," this mid-sized puppet stands roughly three feet in height. Its primary purpose is offense and its design is, unsurprisingly, reminiscent of Shukaku. It bears the distinction of being the second puppet Kazue crafted and has seen a lot of work put into it over the years.
• Surveillance and Recording Devices. A given as this puppet may see long distance use or situations where her sight or hearing may be compromised, the devices for these are housed in the eyes and ears.
• Claws. A natural part of the puppet's design, the digits of each paw leads into claws in the form of curved blades while the digits themselves were designed to allow an additional safe, finger-like 'grip'. It took some practice and adjustment to perfect the latter so as to avoid unintentional injury not to herself, but to puppets that may work in tandem with it. The former allow for excellent rending ability alongside gripping ability across all terrains.
• Hidden blades. Specifically in the middle of each paw, these blades may not have a very long reach, but they are sharp. While the forepaws possess serrated edges for unpleasant hugs, the hindpaws are curved to provide a grip that can be as helpful with difficult terrain as it can with rending things, like enemies. There are additional blades hidden within the torso.
• Gas Launcher. A small device hidden within the closed mouth of the puppet that may dispense a gaseous agent. Said agent is usually either smoke or a poisonous gas. If the puppet is visibly laughing, it's generally a good idea to put some distance between you and it.
• Thousand Needles. The puppet's tail houses an arsenal of agent-tipped needless less than half the length of your average senbon housed in layers beneath each ridge of the tail. They are catered to by a special firing mechanism that enables single layer or full burst trigger. Since the needles are small, several rounds are housed within. The agent applied to the needles may vary, but they typically include poison or a potent paralytic, sometimes alternating, and generally more than Takkun for the size of the tail. The take-away is it can take a while to reload off the field.
• Sealed Storage. Like Takkun, this puppet does contain a specially designed compartment in the stomach intended for storage, but it's typically at least partially occupied by a variety of handy items that include explosive tags, few spare smoke bombs, and a scroll or three that may contain a handy jutsu. A wire, several, kunai, and various other tools are held safely there. Any items held are safeguarded upon activating a specific seal currently on its body.

SORA: Also known as "Socchan," and rather unhappy with the nickname seeing how it's the largest of the set even if it is the youngest. A large puppet whose original and standing primary purpose is defense, it stands at five feet, eight inches and, like its smaller precedessors, bears a marked resemblance to the One-Tail. Due to its function, however, it is heavily armored and capable of taking a great deal of punishment.
• Claws. A natural part of the puppet's design, the digits of each paw leads into claws in the form of curved blades while the digits themselves were designed to allow an additional safe, finger-like 'grip'. It took some practice and adjustment to perfect the latter so as to avoid unintentional injury not to herself, but to puppets that may work in tandem with it. The former allow for excellent rending ability alongside gripping ability across all terrains.
• Detachable, Retractable Limbs. Detachable limbs are self-explanatory. The limbs of the puppet can also be rolled back into the body or rolled back out, and quickly to allow differing functions. Each arm conceals a lengthy senbon typically uses in Socchan's variation of the Thousand Needles technique.
• Defense: Fanning Tail Shield. A feature that differentiates it from its predecessors, this puppet possesses a stronger, slightly heftier tail the ridges of which are capable of lifting and fanning out to defend against attacks. This shield can be used on the puppet or made to guard a specific object or person. It lends itself to the following point.
• Defense: Curled Beast Ball. The body in its entirety is utilized as a shield in this technique, which sees the tail wrap tightly around the body with the tail fanned whilst the puppet curls in on itself. In cases where a person or object is meant to be protected, the protectee is often drawn close to the tanuki's torso, who assumes a protective 'curling' posture.
• Chakra Shields. A mechanism is installed in the base joints of each limb that is designed to yield a single chakra shield that covers a specific quadrant of the tanuki's body. They can be activated individually or simultaneously. When simultaneously activated, and by applying a specific minimum of chakra, the shields are made to curve and stretch into a closed sphere around the puppet in its entirety. The radius can be modified via control of the mechanism, but the wider the radius, the thinner the shield tends to be. Likewise, it can be concentrated to achieve a greater defensive effect.
• Armored Beast Ball. Upon detaching or retracting its limbs into the torso, the puppet assumes the shape of a ball that can be utilized for the purpose of a quick escape or as an often times unexpected offensive measure for the weight of the armor. Generally speaking, a five foot, eight inch armored ball moving at high speeds is probably something best avoided.
• Offense: Poison-tipped Tail. A feature often overlooked, the tip of this tanuki's tail terminates with a poisoned senbon that can be retracted or extended to great effect.
• Sealed Storage. While Takkun isn't big enough to store people, creatures, and items that tend to be on the larger side of things, this bad boy is more than up to the task for the specially designed compartment in its belly. While this may be a displeasure granted to enemies, it is also a priveledge that can be afforded to allies in the case that protection is a requirement and circumstances are less than ideal. Any cargo acquired is doubly safeguarded upon activating a specific seal currently on its body or, you know, trapped.
• Skillful Acupuncture. You know the sword box trick? Imagine Socchan doing that only the box is his belly and the sword is a giant, agent-tipped senbon that he uses to pierce the box at high speeds many times over. The enemy is in the box. Oh, and there's no magic.

Ninjutsu. While blessed with a natural affinity for suiton, Kazue has worked tirelessly to to refrain from allowing herself to fall behind other Suna natives in fuuton. As a result, she's a bit of an odd ball in that she has mastered her secondary, fuuton, first and is working hard to achieve mastery of her primary, suiton, which was arguably more difficult to practice in a desert environment when she was younger for the lack of accessible water and the difficulty she had in creating water to use from her own chakra. It's notably easier for her to practice suiton as she's aged for her Uzumaki-sized and still increasing chakra reserves, which has allowed her to create more and more water with which to work, not to mention the hard work she's put into doing so in the harsh desert environment that has essentially functioned as a training weight that has further expanded her stamina and chakra reserves. At this time, she's a capable suiton user within Sunagakure's borders and realizing her immense ability with water release outside of Sunagakure with the desert 'weight' dropped has sparked a definite desire to experiment further with it. She works very well with these nature transformations and is known for being highly creative in her use of them, channeling and combining them with the physical strings she utilizes to create a myriad of useful effects to accomplish her goals.

Let it not be forgotten that Kazue is a highly formidable puppeteer. She's been working from a young age to develop her own unique style, which is a work in progress to date. She is, however, exceptionally skilled in the use of chakra threads to the point that she has been known to incorporate them both inside the realm of traditional puppetry and outside of it in combat situations to a variety of effects. In the past, she has shown a propensity for utilizing the puppet technique on an especially advanced level considering her age, specifically by making use of a weakened teammate for a short period and by guiding both of her teammates when they were exhausted during the chuunin exams when she was between the ages of twelve and thirteen. She has a lot of promise and has accumulated considerable skill. She's best not underestimated.

Taijutsu. While "somewhat above average" would have been an accurate assessment a year and some change ago, "average" would be the verdict today for focus placed elsewhere. The girl has taken care in paying attention to the physical realm and training her body accordingly with some help from her mother, who ranks more fearsomely than Kazue in this area. Fear of retribution by kick is something several of her peers have yet to forget; though, such retribution tends to be rare these days as most have learned to control their mouths. She keeps up a measure of training in this area, conscious of the fact that she may not always have or require a mid or long range in combat situations and versatility is the best way to go. If it is in her power to avoid close range combat, however, she does so absolutely and typically favors a style that relies on kicks as opposed to punches in order to protect her hands as the hands are even more vital tools to a puppeteer than ordinary shinobi.

Genjutsu. This is arguably the area in which Kazue is most lacking as the vast majority of the time she might have devoted to genjutsu was and remains spent furthering herself in fuuinjutsu and other arts. Her performance of genjutsu tends to be more than a little lackluster as a result; though, this really isn't surprising as she doesn't typically use it often. She doesn't have any particular natural inclination towards the art, but she's capable enough when it comes to the basics. She knows how to recognize genjutsu and she's great at Genjutsu Dissipation as it was fundamental for academy graduation and her large chakra reserves makes dispelling genjutsu easier. Don't expect her to shine in this area, though. You'll be disappointed.

Fuuinjutsu. A self-proclaimed art that Kazue holds close to her heart, it is a thread that connects her to her mother and her clan. With her natural talent in this area bolstered by such strong personal feelings, it's no surprise that this is arguably an, if not the area in which she possesses great raw potential. Having been taught the Uzumaki clan's fuuinjutsu from an early age and experimented with it as she grew, she is very formidable in the art and has somewhat rebelliously taken to applying it in her puppetry and increasingly in combat situations outside of sparring with her mother. She has a powerful base in theory and an equally powerful understanding with regards to the nature of seals and their composure, which enables her to come up with and perform them on the fly and figure how to undo them with greater speed than many fuuinjutsu users.

Miscellaneous. When it comes to basics such as transformation or clone techniques, chances are Kazue's got a good handle on it and strong survival skills are definitely a given with this kunoichi. She's got an increasing knowledge of poisons and paralytics as a puppeteer and a fair resistance to the former. She has a decent grasp of the cloth binding technique as well. While not necessarily a weapon, sand is a highly favored tool that she enjoys using and it is not at all unusual for her to make use of it within or outside of combat; a wind jutsu supplemented with coarse sand tends to be infinitely more damaging than a wind jutsu by itself and sand clones, while fragile and given to breaking upon impact, are highly useful. This resourcefulness, which extends beyond this particular point, is partially what makes her such a formidable opponent. That, and she's an excellent strategist with a keen reading mind regarding the field.

Sunshine History: Everything, everyone, every story begins sometime, somewhere. The beginning of Kazue Uzumaki is no different in this regard, but it is different in others. Her story begins with a formidable kunoichi of the fallen Uzushiogakure no Sato, a proud member of the Uzumaki clan by the name of Kiyoko who adopted the lifestyle of a nomad following the destruction of her beloved village as opposed to settling down and accepting the lifestyle of a simple refugee in hiding. For eighteen years she wandered from land to land, village to village, stopping occasionally, but rarely staying much longer than it took to complete jobs and make the funds necessary for living and traveling. More often than not, by the time she left, she would have made some friends or, at the very least, acquaintances who would make for invaluable contacts in the future as per matters of trade and diplomacy. It was toward the end of this period that she would meet and fall in love with a man with whom she would have a brief tryst. Circumstances would see them torn apart with a pregnant Kiyoko shortly thereafter finding herself first in the Land of Wind and eventually within the village of Suna. She soon fell in love with both the land and her people and made the necessary arrangements to remain in the village for the duration of her pregnancy and recovery.

It was in Sunagakure no Sato, under these conditions, that Kazue was born, and during a memorably fierce sandstorm Kiyoko would fondly claim whirled as much as any eddy. It was at that point that Kiyoko found in herself a desire to settle for the moment, what with a newborn to care for and a village for which she had found some greater love, and she made her case to the appropriate officials, careful to conceal their lineage for her continued caution with regards to potential hostilities or opportunists that might seek to extract information on her clan's arts in the wake of her village's destruction. Regardless, if Sunagakure was to be a residence for herself and her child, Kiyoko would not dream of doing any less than any native to support the village. She would work to see it provided for, to give more than what she and hers would take, all of which was well in her power for her experience. Kiyoko had much to bring to Sunagakure by way of her contacts in terms of trade and potential political alliances, nevermind the potential skills she brought as a well-traveled, well-learned kunoichi. Again, her lineage and that of her daughter was an extremely well-kept secret for their protection and only a fraction of her considerable knowledge of fuujinjutsu would be shared in her teaching and collaboration with Suna nin following her recovery from her pregnancy and her moving to work actively as a kunoichi for Suna.

For her mother's efforts, Kazue would have something like the peaceful childhood Kiyoko herself had wanted, but never been able to grasp. Even so, her mother didn't hesitate to balance that ideal childhood with training and instruction not only in the ninja arts, but with regards to lessons she considered invaluable. Kiyoko, being the proud Uzu kunoichi that she was, started her child on the path to becoming a kunoichi no sooner than the girl could walk. Some shinobi might have considered this a bit Spartan considering the peaceful times, but many more proud shinobi hadn't seen their village reduced to ruin and their people, their clan scattered and forced to hide in foreign lands. Many more didn't feel or, considering the proud independence of Sunagakure nin, understand the weight of the possibility of one's clan and arts fading into sad memory, not that Kazue was wholly aware of the weight or the entirety of the reasons behind her mother pushing her so hard at that early age. What the girl knew was what she was taught and she was taught a great deal with no small amount of tough love dictating the approach. Some children might have cried and stayed down for it, not that doing so would have helped them with such a fearsome instructor. That wasn't so much an issue, however, as Kazue wasn't 'some children'; she was her mother's daughter and she learned very quickly that tears, while somewhat cathartic, didn't do anything besides fall somewhere, taste kinda salty, and wet something a bit. They didn't change anything. No, she had to do that herself, for herself, a hard lesson for the way Kiyoko taught it and one that proved the precursor to the woman beginning to instruct her daughter in the revered fuuinjutsu of the Uzumaki clan in secret.

Kiyoko would teach Kazue a lot from early childhood unto the present. Thus, there was bound to be a schism born at some point with the different and sometimes conflicting values the girl would learn from both her mother and the people of Suna; though, who can really say the exact moment that schism would be born. From an early age, she was taught about her clan, their then destroyed village, and the Land of Whirlpools. Such lessons and stories saw a strong curiosity, an equally strong sense of wonder, and a sort of quiet attachment born in the girl that never quite faded. Whilst taught to value her heritage as a daughter of the Uzumaki clan, Kazue would simultaneously be taught to value independence in a village that shirked the use of surnames, not that she could be open about hers or the clan from which she hailed to begin with. This and similar points of contradiction and conflict would strike a quiet chord of dissonance for the pride Kazue learned as she grew, and grew she did with each lesson taught and learned.

Of the things Kazue was taught to respect and value from an early age, strength and power were distinct elements and she didn't require much prompting with regards to them. She exhibited an unusual talent with regards to not only perceiving and understanding these concepts, but understanding through them. In a sense, it colored her sight to the point that she observed the nature of strength and power and applied them to all things, even social interactions, which colored her own with others as she grew older, more ambitious. As a child growing up in Suna, she bore witness to Gaara and Shukaku's innumerable rampages throughout their early life, but she thought a little differently about them because she saw them a little differently. When Kazue looked at them, and especially Shukaku on nights where he rampaged, what she recognized was pure, unadulterated power, a power she soon decided she wished to surpass with her own. Suna's fear filled moonlit nights thus became nights of promise to young Kazue, who took it upon herself to figure out the best spots to watch Shukaku should he appear. She often sneaked out of bed to do so, earning her mother's ire on more than one occasion and her increasing concern for responses like, "Don't worry, Mother. Even I know I'm not strong enough to challenge him yet."

It was in this same way that Kazue came to respect Yondaime Kazekage's power, having seen him restrain both Shukaku, and to question many other facets of relations between the strong and the weak for the village's regard of the aforementioned individuals, eventually developing the idea that everyone, everyone is equal in the respect that they are tools. The strength and power of a tool determined its value and how it would be viewed and used.

Suffice to say her views would develop into a rather unusual manner of thinking for a young child. Even without her unusual perception and the training she was subject to in her youth, Kazue was something of an odd ball amongst the children of Suna. Her pale skin would see her move seamlessly through Sunagakure's population without anyone batting a lash about it, but her red hair often drew both positive and negative attention for the brightness of it in comparison to that of Suna natives. In her early years especially, she was treated to a particularly strong mixed reception not only for her hair, but for the mixed perceptions of many adult Suna natives with regards to her mother's status as a technical outsider within the village despite her attempts to live as any native and further the village for her love of it. It happened more often than not that these perceptions trickled down from these adults to their children and out of young, often times unkind mouths. Needless to say, that's where some unkind trouble easily began.

Now, Kazue wasn't any more a cruel child than any other in her youth. Odd for both her intelligence and developing perception, sure, and a little shy, but bright. While somewhat dismayed by negative looks and words, she bore the weight of those aimed at herself and got back up every time someone tried to put her down. While, if asked, she might have proudly professed different reasons for her persistence, her strength the first among them, one half of the core reason for her persistence was loneliness born from a desire for acceptance and recognition. Her mother, while a loving parent and a diligent teacher, divided her time between Kazue and the village as shinobi parents tend to do. Without a father and taking into account both the special status her mother suggested they held through their Uzumaki blood and the unkind regard to which she was often treated by her peers, she often found herself feeling lonely. That loneliness, alongside her rising nature, would prompt her to reach out to others, to persist, but it was not these attempts that were rewarded with the positive attention she desired. It was her proofs of strength, in her gaining a reputation for being swift to put down anyone who spoke ill of her mother especially by way of the training she received, that garnered that attention because those displays established her advanced skills, strength, and power.

These affirmations came with poor timing. Kazue subsequently deduced that to be strong was to be lonely, a line of thinking that might have made others tilt their heads, but that made perfect sense to her. Gaara, whom she identified as being strong and powerful and increasingly so, was alone. Shukaku, who possessed great strength and power, rampaged alone and unchecked on those moonlit nights. In observing the system the village employed, from the perspective of a child with a limited understanding of politics, the kazekage alone was above the other shinobi of the village; he was the only one who could restrain Shukaku, for that matter. Thus, it made sense that the strong should be subject to singularity whilst being acknowledged and respected for their power and strength and Kazue immediately began to embrace this view not because she was tired of attempting to reach out, but because it made sense and was confirmed by her receiving positive attention and validation for displaying her own power and strength and through her observation of others. To be strong was to become a respected singularity. To be strong was to be lonely and Kazue would find herself feeling increasingly so as she grew older and learned more and more through her perception.

The attention she garnered with her displays allowed her an inroad with potential teachers outside the home and, at the age of five, her interest in the use of chakra threads as seen via the puppet technique and subsequent, persisting pleas saw her adopted as a student by one of Suna's puppet masters. While it was initially the use of chakra threads that interested her, the young girl soon found in herself a fondness for puppets that ignited some spark in her for her loneliness alongside an underlying artistic nature. Under the direction of her teacher, she crafted her very first puppet, a simple tanuki she named "Takumi". She would craft several more puppets as she grew, but the most prominent of these would be the aforementioned alongside a set of three tanuki crafted with a few years in between each one even as she trained in other arts and developed herself further as a kunoichi in a variety of the shinobi arts.

For her deduction as to the nature of people and validation, Kazue would turn the vast majority of time and energy she would have put into attempting to reach out to others and socialize to furthering herself as a kunoichi, which would see her foster and hold few friendships as she grew, but bloom in terms of skill many deemed prodigal. Time passed as it is wont to do and a proud Kazue would achieve the rank of genin upon graduation from Sunagakure's academy at the mere age of ten, further supporting such supposition about the nature of her skill. In the same year, word spread far, wide, and fast of the re-establishment of Uzushiogakure and the youth would find her world shaken.

Naturally, her mother, Kiyoko, wished to return to her homeland to aid her clan, so the woman spoke to the kazekage directly and privately. She revealed her lineage, expressed her interest in returning to Uzushiogakure to assist in rebuilding and relocating lost clan members, and also expressed a strong desire in building and developing ties between Suna and Uzu as she held both villages as home. The kazekage granted her permission to do so and also acquiesced to Kiyoko's request to keep Kazue's lineage quiet for the moment not because the young kunoichi would leave for it, but because it was a matter Kazue had to reconcile on her own and Kiyoko didn't wish to see her daughter pressured by a public revelation and any potential pressure that might be born from it. Thus, while the kazekage and Uzushiogakure's leadership would be aware of the political and diplomatic nature of Kiyoko's work and her daughter's lineage, Suna's population wouldn't have too much ground to guess upon for the quietness of Kiyoko's work. The majority of clan members would remain unaware of the presence of their young relative in Suna, too.

Unfortunately, the revelation of the reestablishment of Uzushiogakure and Kazue's knowledge that her mother would want to leave Suna alongside her own thoughts and feelings about both villages and her clan saw the young kunoichi feeling strongly torn between her heritage as a proud daughter of the Uzumaki clan and a proud kunoichi of Sunagakure. This was further complicated when Kiyoko up and left her in Suna with a note, several sealed and furthermore encoded scrolls containing her next lessons in the clan's arts, and a glass of her favorite cactus milk, telling her that she was going away on diplomatic business for a while and that she would be back. It was quite possibly the dumbest thing Kiyoko could have done as Kazue felt a powerful pang, like that of loss and not unlike that of abandonment. While the views she obtained in her youth applied to most others, her mother had been an exception, the person she absolutely didn't feel lonely around and to 'lose' her suddenly, abruptly was a blow.

It can safely be said that the morning a ten-year old Kazue woke up to an empty apartment was a turning point. She would, with help from the puppet master she trained under and her meddlesome sensei, eventually adjust to living alone in the apartment and, for all intents and purposes, adopt the life of a proper shinobi, supporting herself with money made from missions in addition to the allowance her mother would send her. Her mother did return to Suna, but two years had passed by that point and she found Kazue on the verge of becoming a chuunin and different than she'd left her. The girl smiled no less than she always had, but there was an added dimension of distance about her that became exceedingly obvious if you knew what to look for. It worried Kiyoko to the point that she didn't push her daughter with regards to reconciliation of her identity or visiting Uzushiogakure as she had intended as she had learned that there were others who had had children abroad, children who found themselves torn between the clan and the only homes they had ever really known. Despite this, Kiyoko was confident that Kazue would figure things out for herself whilst concerned about the evident change in her daughter. She resumed teaching her in between diplomatic trips between Suna and Uzu, careful not to press her or reveal her daughter's lineage. She was, however, impressed as to the extent to which Kazue had advanced with regards to her fuuinjutsu and concerned about the pace at which her daughter was progressing as a kunoichi and, seemingly, in little else.

Shortly after turning twelve, Kazue made chuunin and continued to work to better herself with every intention of achieving jounin rank. With some prodding by her ever meddlesome sensei, who ranks among the few to continuously attempt to assert himself in her life and often times annoyingly so in Kazue's opinion for his insistence she do things like rest or dally in foreign territory perceivably pointlessly, she submitted herself to work more actively with the puppeteer brigades. The exposure provided for her change in rank and more group oriented activity would see her eyes begin to open a little wider. This resulted in the slow development of questions about people, the village, world, and, subsequently, her views, not that she was very sure who to put them to for her continued grudging of her mother for her perceived abandonment. Most went answered as a result and would continue to be turned over in the face of curiosity and confusion as those she usually put to her teacher in the puppetry arts were often answered with more questions that made her think and think and think.

And then, she met Gaara. It was last August that she threw her hand up and literally wiggled at the edge of her seat when a volunteer was requested to accompany the jounin for a high priority escort mission concerning some wind country officials. Jumping at the opportunity to meet and work with single greatest expression of power within Suna, she was wholly unaware that the encounter would see several more follow and slowly but surely, more and more questions, some of which began to lean toward being somewhat world shaking.

Now sixteen, Kazue stands an ambitious kunoichi in more of a strait than she herself realizes for a candy bag of unwitting issues. Her heritage remains something she doesn't exactly flaunt despite a determination to attain enough power that the revelation of such a thing wouldn't matter. For the increasing number of questions with which she finds herself faced and a lack of resolution, about the only thing she's sure of anymore is her own strength and power, which she's constantly training to increase with the goal of making jounin in the next few months.

Prose sample: A thing and a test drive thread!

Missive Sample: This brings back memories. The last time I wrote the two of you a note like this I got to watch you read it with the sourest looks on your faces. They were almost as funny as you were disgraceful. Why was that again?

Oh, I remember now.

I wonder what sort of mess the two of you have gotten into this time for me to be sent to assist and retrieve you like this. I don't mind if I'm used a little bit, but if it's the two of you, there's no excuse for it.

Well, I'm strong, so you can rely on me. Don't reply. I'll see you soon enough.