Uzumaki Kazue

[sunshineapps]

Name: Kazue Uzumaki
Canon: Original
Journal: wind_and_whirl
Gender: Female
Age: 15 | Birthday: October 25th
Canon History: N/A
Canon Abilities/Powers: N/A

Sunshineverse 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 fearsom 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.

Oh, but 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 Shukaku's innumerable rampages throughout his jinchuuriki's early life, but she thought a little differently about them because she saw Shukaku a little differently. When Kazue looked at the rampaging One-Tail, what she recognized was his 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 she came to respect Yondaime Kazekage's power, having seen him restrain the bijuu, and to question many other facets of relations between the strong and the weak for the village's regard of Shukaku, Gaara, and the Kazekage, 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 and did 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 an 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 perception, sure, and maybe a little shy, but bright with an inherent energy that was difficult to miss. 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. 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 decidedly 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, her strength, and her 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. After all, Shukaku, a being possessing great strength and power, rampaged alone and unchecked on those moonlit nights. Gaara, who she thought was to be considered a powerful tool by the kazekage for his own and increasingly so as he gained control over Shukaku, was alone, too, wasn't he? In observing the system the village employed, from the perspective of a child, the kazekage alone was above the other shinobi of the village. Thus, it made sense that the strong should be subject to singularity whilst being 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, as she learned more and more through her perception, creating something of a rift between her and others.

The attention she garnered allowed for her ability allowed her an inroad of sorts with potential teachers outside the home, however, 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 puppetmasters. 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 and an underlying artistic nature and would, under the direction of her teacher, craft her very first, a simple tanuki that would perch upon her shoulder ever after. She would craft several more puppets as she grew, but the most prominent of these would be 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 Kazue would find her world shaken. Naturally, her mother, Kiyoko, wished to return to her homeland to aid in her clan in rebuilding and relocation, 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 beloved homes. 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 her work in the future and the majority of clan members would remain unaware of the presence of their young relative in Suna.

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 Sunagakure no Sato 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 Kazue woke up to an empty apartment was a turning point. 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. In the two years Kiyoko had spent abroad assisting in the development of Uzushiogakure and the return of displaced clan members to the village, 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, but Kiyoko was confident that Kazue would figure it out for herself and concerned about the evident change in her daughter. She resumed teaching Kazue 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 thereafter, Kazue made chuunin and has continued to work to better herself, to increase her power, her strength. Now fifteen years of age, she is an ambitious young kunoichi in more of a strait than she herself realizes as she advances with increasing speed toward jounin rank. Torn between her heritage as a proud daughter of the Uzumaki clan and a proud kunoichi of Sunagakure and with a candy bag of issues she herself doesn't wholly realize, about the only thing she is sure of is her own strength, her own power, which she is constantly working to increase. Her heritage is a secret she keeps even now, uncertain whether or not she should reveal as much to the village despite a quiet awareness that, really, it's only a matter of time before it comes to light. Before that, she'll reveal herself and very likely parts of herself that have gone with little exposure, but for the moment, she's... ha. 'Content,' if by 'content' you mean 'anything but'.

Sunshineverse 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 and especially 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. In fact, she's become rather notorious for her application of this style in battle, 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. Not only that, but she has gone so far as to use both chakra threads and physical strings in conjunction with her puppets, which can easily create confusion as the physical threads can easily be made indistinguishable from chakra threads for her application of chakra, and also with wind and, more recently, 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, but not wholly alone and not necessarily first despite the edge this potentially more mobile style can allow.

You see, Kazue is a puppeteer and while she absolutely does have the ability to make use of chakra threads and physical strings 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 she's exhausted her puppets first. In fact, she's rather notorious for having acquired what most 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 and the precursor to the 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 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 with each having a primary, but switchable function in terms of offense, defense, and support. Even her first, the puppet regularly upon her person, has been modified to for a purpose -- namely, for observation. She typically carries her other puppets by way of seals upon her back.

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 has become 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 and continues to do so with practice. At this time, she's a capable suiton user within Sunagakure's borders, but hasn't realized how immense her ability with water release outside of Sunagakure will be with the desert 'weight' dropped. Regardless, 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 prefers to utilize to create a myriad of useful effects to accomplish her goals.

As has been noted in the weapons portion of this section, Kazue is a highly formidable puppeteer. As has not been noted in the weapons portion of this section, Kazue has been working from a young age to develop her own unique style she fashions the Blue Secret Technique, 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's not one to be taken lightly.

Taijutsu. Somewhat above average would be an accurate assessment of Kazue's taijutsu skill, but her combat experience is most definitely lacking. The girl has taken care to pay attention to the physical realm and train her body accordingly and she's received no small amount of help in keeping to this from her mother, who is arguably more fearsome than Kazue herself 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 definite 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. Her experience outside of training is minimal for these same reasons, which would most assuredly put her at a disadvantage against a taijutsu specialist or someone more experienced in the art.

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 instead 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 on top of that. If that wasn't enough, she doesn't have any particular natural inclination towards the art. Despite this, 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 she's a highly intelligent kunoichi besides with large chakra reserves that makes dispelling genjutsu in that manner arguably 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 this area; though, she is also somewhat limited in the sense that she has not had the opportunity to apply it in combat situations outside of sparring with her mother despite a growing desire to do so. She has an incredibly strong base in theory, however, 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.

It's this same art that she's interested in combining with her puppetry and overall style. She may or may not be quietly working toward doing so in private.

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 a good working knowledge of poisons as would be expected of any puppeteer. 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. After all, 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. High intelligence and a willingness to learn even in the midst of battle typically see Kazue gain infinitely more than she loses during an encounter; however, it is worth noting that despite being fifteen years of age, Kazue is still in the process of developing a style unique to herself. She's still experimenting, still learning, and is arguably held back by her continued silence with regards to the full extent of her abilities.

Of the various jutsu she has yet to explore, she has suggested an interest in acquiring mastery of all five nature transformations upon her mastery of suiton. She has also expressed an interest medical jutsu and keeps open eyes and ears with regards to new techniques in all areas to learn.

Appearance: At first glance, Kazue isn't exactly the most intimidating kunoichi. She stands at an unimpressive five feet, four inches and -- well, she weighs roughly one hundred and ten 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 sometimes, but not always left down. 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 typically 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; though, she typically wears it around her neck as many younger shinobi tend to.

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 friendliness she's not particularly inclined to grudge anyone despite not wholly pleasant experiences carried 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 charisma and strong leadership potential alongside high intelligence despite that said increasing pride may very well begin to border arrogance, if not jump that border outright. In that same vein, cunning would be a good adjective to describe Kazue; though, wily or sly would work, too, and, really, they're all very accurate. She is very conscientious of the fact that loose ends of any sort can be manipulated, be it verbally or through actions, and it is arguably for this reason that her jounin instructor learned to be more specific when addressing her and mindful of her movements. Her high intelligence often reveals itself in this way, and quickly as she herself is quick, keen minded, and seldom idle in the head, which lends to a degree of wariness befitting of a kunoichi in appropriate situations and a mind to manipulate where she deems it appropriate that shouldn't be surprising given that she is a puppeteer.

Strong, capable. That's the sort of air Kazue gives off. That noticeable energy beneath the surface, for all its steadily brewing intensity, is well harnessed and a visible 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 it is 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 jounin instructor 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 views everyone, everyone as tools first and strength and power as measures. The strong, the powerful are revered and respected whilst to be strong, powerful is to be a singularity, lonely. Thus, she tends to objectify people and other sentient beings even in daily interactions, identifying them as tools, and both measures and treats them accordingly by their strength and power, which is a testament to her ability to adopt extreme thought that follows a decided internal logic. This means she doesn't make the human connection initially on the same level that others do, which can be problematic in social situations and in building relationships. It can also see her quite callous, even cruel. Of course, once the human connection is established with an individual or group, her view of said individual or group is shifted accordingly unless she needs to reapply it for the sake of the 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 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.

Now that you've got a handle on Kazue's oddly tinted vision, let's talk some more shop. Kazue suffers a deep loneliness and experiences feelings of anger and frustration that cause her no small amount of anguish, that make her feel more and more distant from others, more and more alone, and because she perceives herself as strong and powerful, she perceives herself as a singularity. It honestly has created something of a nasty circle with Kazue coping by redoubling her efforts to be acknowledged and affirmed by recognition for her strength and power, which isn't exactly healthy. Her present views are arguably responsible for the loneliness that plagues her as much of the energy she put into reaching out to others in her early childhood and arguably would put toward the same now has been put instead into training to increase her strength and power as it's in this way she came to believe she was recognized and validated in early childhood. As a result, it isn't so much that she doesn't want to acknowledge people as people and have friends, but more that her priorities are a bit out of whack and those friends she might make may find themselves neglected in favor of her furthering herself as a kunoichi. The few that have stuck around have likely found themselves subject to a definite measure of not quite childish jealousy that burns hot as Kazue was a child raised in a single-parent home who, again, suffers a deep loneliness and felt a marked blow when her mother left her for two years starting at age twelve with a note. Sure, her mother came back, but the damage was done and her tendency towards jealousy about those she cared about was arguably made worse for it for the pang experienced from that major dissonant chord struck in her most solid relationship.

As a human being, Kazue is passionately emotional and shrewdly mental. The shrewdly mental aspect regularly sees the passionately emotional aspect of Kazue's being harnessed like that inherent energy just beneath the surface, giving her the appearance of being self-controlled and relatively calm, but still waters do run deep. The sea above an active volcano may appear calm, but said volcano could explode at any moment. This is Kazue. She feels and what she feels, she feels vividly, which is a wonderful thing provided the feeling 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. In the same vein as these aspects, she tends to meet things like, say, tragic life stories immediately with the question of, "What are you going to do about it," then offer a shoulder or an arm if and when moved. Her 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 such, 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's often accompanied by the harsh, survivalist tint of a sand shinobi and many of the same views espoused by them, but also a strangely conflicting warmth and openness inherited from her mother's nurturing. Socially, she can be an odd ball for all of the aforementioned reasons despite her ability to both take charge and lead well. Her mannerisms can be awkward and she herself subject to a potentially surprising shyness under the right conditions, but especially if you weren't entirely familiar with the shy, bright child she was early on. Of course, this can easily result in a passionate, but not honestly malicious backlash, which brings us to another point.

Put simply, don't make Kazue angry. All that passion, all that energy tinted by anger tends to make for a highly destructive, merciless 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, after all, and when you've an ambition like Kazue's behind this? Nope. She's a tendency to grudge emotionally impacting events, for that matter. For example, she remembers very well the negative and exclusionary attitudes and words directed at her and 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 quietly. She may possess the capacity to forgive, but she's unlikely to forget occurrences that imprint upon her emotionally on any immense or intense level.

Despite her hardships and oddities, Kazue has a definite sense of humor and a love for showmanship easily revealed first and foremost should you observe the tanuki puppet she keeps on her person. She typically directs it towards light-hearted antics that could easily make a person laugh. Light isn't always the word to apply to her sense of humor, though. 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. In an artistic sense, she may very well consider herself a performer and she's not inclined to give poor performances. With regards to the tanuki puppet kept upon her person, her regular performances can very well prove more honest than she intends; though, this isn't always the case as she is, again, conscientious of how things may be manipulated towards whatever end she desires.

If you haven't gotten the idea by now, Kazue has a definite sense of pride. She prides herself on being strong and powerful 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 and performer. She has pride about a lot of matters and her pride can be something of a problem in that she can tempted in over her head or make a questionable call it with regards to her own strength. Combined with her views regarding strength and weakness, it can see her less inclined to request assistance or accept offered assistance. She's more inclined to listen to those she deems stronger or equal to her, but even 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 reminder of the very same if pressed for it.

Finally, 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, 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 to further herself as a kunoichi and her social life isn't exactly the most vivid thing at this junction. As a result, topics like boys, flirting, dating, and the hottest fashions are things she isn't entirely sure what to do with. Bear in mind this is the girl who asked her 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, too. 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.

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 a nd 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. She's a difficult person to keep down, be it physically, emotionally, or mentally.
+ 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 also a surprisingly fast monster when given the opportunity to perform thus.

+- 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. An off hand side-effect, she doesn't respect those she perceives as powerless or weak without cause. On the plus side, she has used this perception to unveil exceptionally well hidden leadership amongst targets where much seasoned jounin failed to recognize them and to achieve a better understanding of systems throughout the course of her life. "A carnivore recognizes another carnivore, after all." This couldn't be truer.

- Objectification. This has been mostly covered in the personality section, but deserves some reiteration. Kazue views people, including herself, as tools by default and, as mentioned above, measures them by their strength and power. We're not talking selectively or just in a mission setting where such a distancing, impersonal view could conceivably benefit her depending upon the circumstances. While this is an oddly equalizing view 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. She doesn't make the human connection with others initially, which creates distance between her and others. 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 is quite capable of viewing even her allies as 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. 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.
- 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 her native country, nights are restless and naps are the best option for her to get any type of rest. Strange, right?
- 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.
- Stubborn... and clever enough to work around things once her mind is set about something. 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 one. 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 in a way that mattered.
- 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 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 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, 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, trouble 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 Shukaku rampage on moonlight nights in the hopes of seeing him and maybe Yondaime Kazekage in action if he comes out to restrain him, 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 and their unkind words about both her mother and herself, which rubs her wrong on occasion. The accmulated 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. Simply put, Kazue is holding a great deal back. She would be that much stronger a person and kunoichi if she reconciled her identity, revealed the true extent of her abilities as a fuuinjutsu user, and applied them where she wishes, but she hasn't and likely due in no small part to a deep seated fear of rejection. She remembers very well the negative and exclusionary attitudes and words directed at her and her mother when she was a child and this fear is so great that it typically overrides any surges in pride or practicality that would see her move forward. 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.

Village Affiliation: Sunagakure no Sato
Rank: Chuunin

Prose sample: http://sunshine-ooc.dreamwidth.org/11772.html?thread=336636#cmt336636

OR

If Kazue were being perfectly honest with herself, there was something a little nostalgic about claiming a seat at the traveling noodle shop that occasionally came to rest a block or two from her apartment in Sunagakure. When she was a genin, her team had fallen into an odd little ritual where they would race to grab a bite at that place after missions, a ritual she had, on occasion, taken part in for certain people's persistent insistence that she "get out a little," and "come celebrate" despite that she had matters to attend to, training to resume. Funny how such a small thing as taking a seat there would bring such memories to fore, blue eyes flickering with a soft hum as the corners of her mouth tugged upward just slightly. A pleasant feeling for all that she'd been irritated at the time. Was that strange? Was that --

"Come to put another boy through the roof, Kaz-chan?"

-- Yuriko-san. Of course Yuriko would choose to grace her with her presence at this moment. The corners of her mouth tugged that much more slightly upward as the kunoichi opened close eyes and turned them to one side as she addressed the girl moving to claim a seat at her side.

"Still calling me 'chan,' hm? You're only a month older than me, you know," the red-haired kunoichi replied, lifting a hand to tuck a few stray strands behind her ear.

"Are you ordering or aren't you?" The older girl returned flatly with a roll of her eyes.

"I was just leaving, actually. If --"

"You're still at it, huh?"

"-- you're hungry, you'll be waiting another twenty minutes for the shopkeep to return. Didn't you know? He takes his break every day at three on the dot," Kazue returned, casually sliding off the seat and onto her own two feet. A two fingered salute was all she offered as she began to make her way back towards her apartment. At least, it would have been had Yuriko not called her attention back to her with an indignant --

"Hey. What's your deal?! I was trying to talk to you!"

What was her deal? That was... ah. So that was what it was. Tilting her head to one side, Kazue didn't bother to turn around as she spoke and resumed putting one foot in front of the other.

"You've reached your limit, haven't you?"

As though that was supposed to answer everything. For Kazue, who would return to an empty apartment for her unwitting rebuttal, it did. It really and truly did.

Bracket sample: Good morning! I hope the lot of you rested well last night because the next three days are going to be a little different from what you were expecting. For the next three days, I'll be overseeing your field mission.

[ There's a purposeful whir not unlike the sound of a kunai against some sharpening tool. It's quick, each movement audibly precise behind words tinged with a pleasant smile. ]

My name is Kazue. I get that this is probably a little unorthodox, but it can't be helped, right? Maki-senpai had business and he asked this favor of me. He said I might be interested in what I saw over the course of the next three days, too, but the three of you shouldn't worry so much about that right now. I'll be giving you back to him once we get back to the village, so try not to die before that, okay?

[ The sounds stop where her voice persists and shifting can be heard, not unlike someone moving to stand. ]

Oh, and don't disappoint me. You'll surely regret it if you do. [ Click. ]

Missive Sample: Now 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, yeah.

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.