Here's a link for reference. I made this character last year but didn't get through the jutsu swaps. I vow to accomplish that arduous of tasks this time, not leaving you Cloudies hanging...
I'm not sure if the rules are still like they were last year, but I'm too lazy to look around and check, so I just posted what I did last year. Correct me if I'm wrong. :3 (Thanks in advance!)
Old Character Name: Aomori Hibiki
Old Village: Leaf
Old Character Class (if you have one):
Dark Strategist
HP: (45+Level) x Stamina
CP: (45+Level) x Chakra Control
Class Feature: Kinjutsu
High: Spell Accuracy
Average: Genjutsu DC, Melee Accuracy, Genjutsu Save, Evasion
Low: Ranged Accuracy
Old BL/CA (if you have one): Nara
Preferred New Username (check for availability first if you can): Kuro
New Character Name: Iwakajiya Kurogane
New Village: Cloud
New Character Class:
Rockstar (Veteran)
HP: (55+20) x stamina
CP: (45+20) x chakra control
Class Bonus: Kinjutsu
High: Melee Accuracy
Average: Spell Accuracy, Genjutsu Save, Evasion
Low: Ranged Accuracy, Genjutsu DC
New BL/CA: Kyoujouran
New Kinjutsu: Byakugan Implant
* * * * *
Reason that the new BL/CA matches your character:
Kurogane is a tough, bulky man who, when challenged, remains immovable like a mountain under the strongest of elements. He would rather concentrate on defense than offense, unless his duty forces him to do otherwise. He is a man who never changes, and remains stubborn in his ways, like an ancient boulder which keeps its shape throughout the ages. Tempered with many years of harsh training in his youth, his body has become a steel blade which cuts anything with ease. His parents were never easy on him, and scolded him often when ever he got into trouble. They were also the ones to force him to train under harsh conditions as a child, to assure he would become a strong warrior someday. The only soft spot he has ever had in his life is his younger sister, who has more or less kept him sane in such a harsh environment. She has always showed him the brighter and more beautiful side of life, though she was far from his opposite. Being a daughter never gave her an excuse to avoid the training regime their parents put them through, so she, too, became strong, and together, the two of them became good training partners throughout their lives.
ANBU/Med-Nin/AIT/MIT?: Main Branch
* * * * *
Age: 31
Gender: Male
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Light blue (Originally brown)
Quick Character Description:
Skin bronzed by the fire of the sun, and muscles shaped by the harsh training under water. Kurogane was never one to seem friendly or caring on the outside, although he has a soft spot in his heart for cute, cuddly things, thanks to years of hanging out with his sister, who sees the positive side of the world, despite the harsh training their parents put them both through. He is loyal to a fault, and sticks to someone he respects as long as they'll allow him. He tends to agree with his sister on most things due to this.
The one element he hates the most is water, due to the harsh training he was put through with his sister.
Character History:
The sky was a steel-colored blur, which caused Kuro to wonder if it was going to rain again. This climate was not one he particularly cared about, unlike his sensei. "Ooooi! Kurogane-kun! What are you doing so far behind? Come on champ! Pick up the pace a little." He shifted the weight of his pack and increased the frequency of his steps without saying a word. "That one's always seemed gloomier when the sky is cloudy. He'll likely only slow us down during the mission, Komon-san…" The gray-haired Jumonji Marihito fiddled with the zippers on his dark-blue shinobi suit.
"Just continue talking about me as if I'm not here, Jumonji-san. What help are you on this mission anyway?" Komon Daiki turned to his student with a serious face. "As I told you before, Kurogane-kun, Jumonji-san is here to advise me. His skills in stealth and espionage are top-notch…" After a short pause he continued in his usual cheery tone. "So quit fighting you two! We have to be on the same team if we're gonna beat this mission!"
The conversation quickly turned quiet after that, and stayed that way for the next few hours, until they arrived at their destination in the middle of the forest they've been going through almost since they left Konoha. Kuro made sure to scan the area closely for traps and guards. Marihito moved ahead with an air of confidence, as if he knew there would be no guards or security of any kind. The bronze Kyoujouran would have found it suspicious, but he was their espionage and stealth expert, as his sensei pointed out earlier. Most likely he knew where to go and where not to go. Even Daiki seemed to be following him, though he was the leader of the current team.
"Just this way is our goal, Komon-san." After entering a nearby building and taking a few turns in the corridors within, he stopped in front of a door, looking to Daiki, who's been scanning the whole building with his Byakugan since they arrived in the area. Kuro sensed his sensei's tension, as if he saw something strange with his special eyes, but the words that followed did not show it. "The guards in this place seem to be everywhere we are not. I was right to choose you for this mission, Jumonji-san." As his white eyes locked onto the objects behind the closed door, Kurogane thought about those words. He was always suspicious of Jumonji Marihito, but he was never one to question his sensei's judgement. If Komon-san trusts him to do his job in this mission, then I should as well…
Daiki opened the door slowly, keeping his eyes moving in case there was a surprise attack or a sort of trap the Byakugan could not catch. No eye was perfect, after all, not even the Byakugan. Kurogane stayed close to him, keeping an eye on Marihito, who also entered the room behind Daiki. The Byakugan caught a moving figure entering the room fast from the other side, next to the box they came to search through. As quick as he could, Kuro's sensei called out what seemed to be a code of sorts. "Pink Rhino!" The brown-eyed student took in the code and translated it quickly in his head. 'Pull back! Danger!!'
Quickly, Kuro jumped back through the door they came in, while Marihito looked at them both in confusion. That code was something between student and sensei, in case they needed it. Soon after the door was automatically closed by some mechanism within the walls, and Kurogane was locked outside the room. Inside he could hear voices, but not only of his two teammates. There was another voice.
His first thought was to break down the door, but he soon realized it wasn't as easy as he thought. As strong as he was, the door appeared to be reinforced with some material he couldn't identify. He was only a Chuunin, and couldn't identify every rock and metal with his Kyoujouran abilities yet.
He heard footsteps and decided to look for another way into the room by going around the hallways. Before he could find another entrance, shinobi guards began to appear to capture him. Retreat, you fool! His sensei's voice continued to give him orders in his head even when he wasn't around. Kuro did his best to fight off the guards while making his way through randomly-chosen hallways and corridors. Eventually he found an exit from the maze of a building, and ran behind a tree to rest for a moment.
I have to go back for him…
It was then that he noticed a cut on his arm, probably from the weapons the guards used. He examined it while he tried to organize his thoughts. What do I do? I can't leave him behind… I can't go back the way I came… Sensei, are you alright?
His brown eyes looked towards the exit he just came from. Maybe there was another way in, but either way he would be lost inside. He needed the eyes of his sensei to find his way back to that room.
As if his thoughts were being eavesdropped, his sensei appeared from around a corner of the building. His Byakugan was activated, and he was limping, due to a major wound on his leg. The Kyoujouran student wanted nothing more than to rush over and help his sensei, but Daiki gave him a look that said 'stay where you are'.
The sensei finally came close enough to speak to his student. "Here, take this," he said in a low voice, and out of a pocket he procured the target item of the mission. "Take it back to Konoha…" Kuro looked at him for a moment of confusion, but it only took him a second to realize what his sensei was asking of him. "I'm not leaving you here, Komon-san…" His eyes glanced at the wound on Daiki's leg. It wasn't so bad. He could still make it, right?
"There's no way we will both make it out of here together, Kurogane-kun. While you're at it, kill me and take my eyes back to Konoha. These accursed things are the reason I'm in this situation at all. Jumonji-san and the enemy were only after me, but they did not plan on you being there to ruin their plans, heh *cough*" Blood dotted his lips. What was his sensei telling him? Jumonji Marihito was a traitor? Or was he always one of them? Now he was to kill his sensei and take his eyes? That wasn't something he was willing to do, so he looked around for a way to carry Daiki back to Konoha.
"Stop trying to save me, Iwakajiya Kurogane! *cough* Let me die here… I'd rather die by your hands than both of us die and our mission be over. That's an order…"
Memories came rushing to Kuro's head, and he decided to give up and follow his sensei's orders. If Daiki ordered him to kill his sensei, then he had no choice. "Yes, sensei. I'll make sure to have a monument made for you in Konoha. I- I'll honor your memory for the rest of my life…" A bloody laugh came out of Komon Daiki. "Polite and loyal as always, huh Kuro? Heh… Well, just make sure no dogs piss on my gravestone, and I'll be fine, heh… Good luck getting back to Konoha… Tell your parents I said hi… Don't… Forget your training…"
And then he fell silent. Not dead, but simply thinking of all the things he hasn't done yet in his life before his student sent him to the next. Kurogane made sure to hurry after a moment of silence, getting the deed behind him as quickly as he could, so he could make his way back before they were found.
Back in Konoha, Kurogane was rewarded with his sensei's eyes for his courage and loyalty, and for the mission's success.
-----
The loss of his sensei made him think about his life. His parents were proud of him, but scolded him for letting his sensei die. He should have stayed with his sensei, or attempted to carry him out of that mess, they told him. His father, together with most of Leaf, respected Komon Daiki very much, so it was no surprise that the village mourned for him, and most blamed Kurogane for not being able to rescue his sensei. Despite this, he continued his training as a shinobi of Leaf, keeping his sensei's eyes in a jar until the date of his operation at the Konoha Hospital to get them implanted. Eventually he became a Jounin on his 20th birthday, and soon after came his operation day. The man who operated on him was Komon Daiki's brother, who only acted friendly towards Kurogane before the operation, but dropped the act as soon as Kurogane was unconscious, awaiting his new eyes. Daiki's brother caused the operation to fail on purpose, causing Kurogane to lose his sight with his new eyes, or rather, not give him sight with his sensei's eyes. Kurogane rushed out of the hospital in a rage, destroying a large part of it with his earth-shaking abilities.
He made it home relatively unhurt. His parents were not pleased with his maiming, but there was no proof that Daiki's brother did it on purpose. They, instead, decided to give up on their son, who was no longer shinobi material without his eyes. They told him to simply retire, and live out the rest of his life as a civilian of Konoha. He was not fond of that idea, and he ended up having a heated argument with his parents, causing him to leave them, as well as Konoha. No one believed his story that Daiki's brother failed the operation on purpose, and so he decided to leave the village for a while. His sister was the only one on his side, and although she tried to convince him to stay, he left anyway, taking some time off from Leaf to go live on his own in the Fire Country.
-----
4 years later, he was on his way to a village he visited often to deliver ores he mined himself when he stopped in his tracks. Tremors of a group of horseshoes made their way from A to B, only it seemed to be in a rushing fashion, in Kurogane's opinion, as if the horses were running from something, or trying to get something done quickly. In the Kyoujouran's experience, hasty actions were usually either bad decisions or shameful ones, and almost never justified, so he needed to see a bigger picture than what he had. To zoom out from the metaphorical picture, he activated his quasi-Byakugan, allowing him to see beyond what normal shinobi could sense with their eyes. That's when he saw the large bundle of chakra moving rapidly away from a ravine, in the direction of Konoha. For a moment he was simply going to ignore it and keep going where he planned on getting to that day, but something else caught his pale eyes; Another small amount of chakra, barely lit, as if a candle was on the verge of going out. He did not let that candle go out.
Back at his cottage he carefully placed the extra weight in his arms on his bed, then lowered his pack, which still needed to be delivered. So he left some food openly on a nearby table and checked the wounds he tended one last time before going out with the pack once again to see if he could still hurry and make his deadline.
When he got back, the lifeless bundle had become a living one. The girl no longer appeared human, with many wounds still not fully closed up. She looked like a small monster, but that didn't stop him from trying his best to keep her alive. Looks were a thing of the past for him anyway. He did not fully understand how anyone could do this to a child, but as he did not exactly see the attackers in detail, he couldn't really do anything about it. He wouldn't anyway, since it would only create more problems, especially for the girl he went through extra trouble to keep alive.
As Kurogane slowly walked closer, as not to frighten the girl, she seemed like she wanted to speak through the bandages he put on her earlier. He simply shook his head and took the initiative of starting the conversation himself, scratching beneath the cloth over his eyes and readjusting it. "My name is Iwakajiya Kurogane. I found you dumped in a ravine with very little life left in you. Some group of most-likely rude people seemed to have dropped you in there and rushed back to Konohagakure..." He left it at that, since the girl could not answer any questions anyway in her condition. He had heard rumors that Konoha was in a bad state, and planned to go back to check up on his family, and now that this girl ended up in his cabin, he felt it was the perfect time to take her to Konoha to get professional medical attention, find out if the girl was from the shinobi village, and visit his own family.
He carried the girl to the village he used to fight for only to find it in ruins. Fresh fires were in the area, and he ran around the village with his sensei's eyes "open", looking for signs of life. Alas, it appeared there was only death and lifelessness in the village, very similar to the girl in his arms, which seemed equally saddened at the thought of the village being gone. Perhaps it was true that she was from here?
There was no sign of his family, which could only mean they made it out, or were discarded somewhere else, like the girl. How could this happen? Why did it happen? Was Leaf really headed for destruction since he left? He should have been there to make sure it stayed intact, or at least get his family out of the village...
And the parting note of him arguing with his parents about retiring as a shinobi... That wasn't how he wanted to leave his parents for good. Especially since, essentially, he did more or less retire, and ended up mining for a living, though he never stopped training and relearning what he had retained from his time in Konoha. Not only did he miss his parents, but most of all his sister, who had always been the one to comfort him and assure him that the world was not as difficult and harsh as it seemed to be when he had functioning eyes. He probably saw the world much better now without his eyes...
Either way, he could not stay here. He took the girl back to his cottage to consider his next course of action.
He couldn't drop the girl off anywhere for someone else to take care of, and the nearest hospital was too far for the girl to travel safely in her condition. So he decided to keep her around, and did his best to strengthen what remained of her body with training and semi-hard work.
It took one year for her to fully recover, at least as much as could be done in her condition. He was always amazed by how her chakra worked. The only thing about her body that appeared more alive than ever. Sometimes he would activate his sensei's eyes to observe her chakra, especially when she trained. She wasn't as good at the tough training, which only made sense to Kurogane, but at least she managed to excell in mental training, making her better with jutsus that required the mind over body.
-----
After six years, the time had come for them to move on. An old friend of Kurogane's had a chat with him in a tavern of one of the villages he sold his ores to. The friend was from Kumogakure, and he requested that he go rejoin the shinobi world in Cloud now that he was no longer affiliated with Konohagakure. The brown-haired man told his friend he would think about it, and sure enough, as he got back to the cottage, he told Senka the news. She seemed to like the idea, but at the same time she had an aura of lament, possibly due to the disruption of their peaceful lifestyle selling rocks and generally surviving in the Fire Country.
Now they had adventures ahead of them, and headed to the Cloud village to sign up for whatever was in store for them.
* * * * *
Current Stats (state respective stat cap):
Maxed out.
Jutsu Swaps:
To be posted later...
* * * * *
Name of any Contract you currently own:
None
Name of any Cursed Seals you currently own:
None
Name of Kinjutsu you own:
Jashinism
I'm not sure if the rules are still like they were last year, but I'm too lazy to look around and check, so I just posted what I did last year. Correct me if I'm wrong. :3 (Thanks in advance!)
Old Character Name: Aomori Hibiki
Old Village: Leaf
Old Character Class (if you have one):
Dark Strategist
HP: (45+Level) x Stamina
CP: (45+Level) x Chakra Control
Class Feature: Kinjutsu
High: Spell Accuracy
Average: Genjutsu DC, Melee Accuracy, Genjutsu Save, Evasion
Low: Ranged Accuracy
Old BL/CA (if you have one): Nara
Preferred New Username (check for availability first if you can): Kuro
New Character Name: Iwakajiya Kurogane
New Village: Cloud
New Character Class:
Rockstar (Veteran)
HP: (55+20) x stamina
CP: (45+20) x chakra control
Class Bonus: Kinjutsu
High: Melee Accuracy
Average: Spell Accuracy, Genjutsu Save, Evasion
Low: Ranged Accuracy, Genjutsu DC
New BL/CA: Kyoujouran
New Kinjutsu: Byakugan Implant
* * * * *
Reason that the new BL/CA matches your character:
Kurogane is a tough, bulky man who, when challenged, remains immovable like a mountain under the strongest of elements. He would rather concentrate on defense than offense, unless his duty forces him to do otherwise. He is a man who never changes, and remains stubborn in his ways, like an ancient boulder which keeps its shape throughout the ages. Tempered with many years of harsh training in his youth, his body has become a steel blade which cuts anything with ease. His parents were never easy on him, and scolded him often when ever he got into trouble. They were also the ones to force him to train under harsh conditions as a child, to assure he would become a strong warrior someday. The only soft spot he has ever had in his life is his younger sister, who has more or less kept him sane in such a harsh environment. She has always showed him the brighter and more beautiful side of life, though she was far from his opposite. Being a daughter never gave her an excuse to avoid the training regime their parents put them through, so she, too, became strong, and together, the two of them became good training partners throughout their lives.
ANBU/Med-Nin/AIT/MIT?: Main Branch
* * * * *
Age: 31
Gender: Male
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Light blue (Originally brown)
Quick Character Description:
Skin bronzed by the fire of the sun, and muscles shaped by the harsh training under water. Kurogane was never one to seem friendly or caring on the outside, although he has a soft spot in his heart for cute, cuddly things, thanks to years of hanging out with his sister, who sees the positive side of the world, despite the harsh training their parents put them both through. He is loyal to a fault, and sticks to someone he respects as long as they'll allow him. He tends to agree with his sister on most things due to this.
The one element he hates the most is water, due to the harsh training he was put through with his sister.
Character History:
The sky was a steel-colored blur, which caused Kuro to wonder if it was going to rain again. This climate was not one he particularly cared about, unlike his sensei. "Ooooi! Kurogane-kun! What are you doing so far behind? Come on champ! Pick up the pace a little." He shifted the weight of his pack and increased the frequency of his steps without saying a word. "That one's always seemed gloomier when the sky is cloudy. He'll likely only slow us down during the mission, Komon-san…" The gray-haired Jumonji Marihito fiddled with the zippers on his dark-blue shinobi suit.
"Just continue talking about me as if I'm not here, Jumonji-san. What help are you on this mission anyway?" Komon Daiki turned to his student with a serious face. "As I told you before, Kurogane-kun, Jumonji-san is here to advise me. His skills in stealth and espionage are top-notch…" After a short pause he continued in his usual cheery tone. "So quit fighting you two! We have to be on the same team if we're gonna beat this mission!"
The conversation quickly turned quiet after that, and stayed that way for the next few hours, until they arrived at their destination in the middle of the forest they've been going through almost since they left Konoha. Kuro made sure to scan the area closely for traps and guards. Marihito moved ahead with an air of confidence, as if he knew there would be no guards or security of any kind. The bronze Kyoujouran would have found it suspicious, but he was their espionage and stealth expert, as his sensei pointed out earlier. Most likely he knew where to go and where not to go. Even Daiki seemed to be following him, though he was the leader of the current team.
"Just this way is our goal, Komon-san." After entering a nearby building and taking a few turns in the corridors within, he stopped in front of a door, looking to Daiki, who's been scanning the whole building with his Byakugan since they arrived in the area. Kuro sensed his sensei's tension, as if he saw something strange with his special eyes, but the words that followed did not show it. "The guards in this place seem to be everywhere we are not. I was right to choose you for this mission, Jumonji-san." As his white eyes locked onto the objects behind the closed door, Kurogane thought about those words. He was always suspicious of Jumonji Marihito, but he was never one to question his sensei's judgement. If Komon-san trusts him to do his job in this mission, then I should as well…
Daiki opened the door slowly, keeping his eyes moving in case there was a surprise attack or a sort of trap the Byakugan could not catch. No eye was perfect, after all, not even the Byakugan. Kurogane stayed close to him, keeping an eye on Marihito, who also entered the room behind Daiki. The Byakugan caught a moving figure entering the room fast from the other side, next to the box they came to search through. As quick as he could, Kuro's sensei called out what seemed to be a code of sorts. "Pink Rhino!" The brown-eyed student took in the code and translated it quickly in his head. 'Pull back! Danger!!'
Quickly, Kuro jumped back through the door they came in, while Marihito looked at them both in confusion. That code was something between student and sensei, in case they needed it. Soon after the door was automatically closed by some mechanism within the walls, and Kurogane was locked outside the room. Inside he could hear voices, but not only of his two teammates. There was another voice.
His first thought was to break down the door, but he soon realized it wasn't as easy as he thought. As strong as he was, the door appeared to be reinforced with some material he couldn't identify. He was only a Chuunin, and couldn't identify every rock and metal with his Kyoujouran abilities yet.
He heard footsteps and decided to look for another way into the room by going around the hallways. Before he could find another entrance, shinobi guards began to appear to capture him. Retreat, you fool! His sensei's voice continued to give him orders in his head even when he wasn't around. Kuro did his best to fight off the guards while making his way through randomly-chosen hallways and corridors. Eventually he found an exit from the maze of a building, and ran behind a tree to rest for a moment.
I have to go back for him…
It was then that he noticed a cut on his arm, probably from the weapons the guards used. He examined it while he tried to organize his thoughts. What do I do? I can't leave him behind… I can't go back the way I came… Sensei, are you alright?
His brown eyes looked towards the exit he just came from. Maybe there was another way in, but either way he would be lost inside. He needed the eyes of his sensei to find his way back to that room.
As if his thoughts were being eavesdropped, his sensei appeared from around a corner of the building. His Byakugan was activated, and he was limping, due to a major wound on his leg. The Kyoujouran student wanted nothing more than to rush over and help his sensei, but Daiki gave him a look that said 'stay where you are'.
The sensei finally came close enough to speak to his student. "Here, take this," he said in a low voice, and out of a pocket he procured the target item of the mission. "Take it back to Konoha…" Kuro looked at him for a moment of confusion, but it only took him a second to realize what his sensei was asking of him. "I'm not leaving you here, Komon-san…" His eyes glanced at the wound on Daiki's leg. It wasn't so bad. He could still make it, right?
"There's no way we will both make it out of here together, Kurogane-kun. While you're at it, kill me and take my eyes back to Konoha. These accursed things are the reason I'm in this situation at all. Jumonji-san and the enemy were only after me, but they did not plan on you being there to ruin their plans, heh *cough*" Blood dotted his lips. What was his sensei telling him? Jumonji Marihito was a traitor? Or was he always one of them? Now he was to kill his sensei and take his eyes? That wasn't something he was willing to do, so he looked around for a way to carry Daiki back to Konoha.
"Stop trying to save me, Iwakajiya Kurogane! *cough* Let me die here… I'd rather die by your hands than both of us die and our mission be over. That's an order…"
Memories came rushing to Kuro's head, and he decided to give up and follow his sensei's orders. If Daiki ordered him to kill his sensei, then he had no choice. "Yes, sensei. I'll make sure to have a monument made for you in Konoha. I- I'll honor your memory for the rest of my life…" A bloody laugh came out of Komon Daiki. "Polite and loyal as always, huh Kuro? Heh… Well, just make sure no dogs piss on my gravestone, and I'll be fine, heh… Good luck getting back to Konoha… Tell your parents I said hi… Don't… Forget your training…"
And then he fell silent. Not dead, but simply thinking of all the things he hasn't done yet in his life before his student sent him to the next. Kurogane made sure to hurry after a moment of silence, getting the deed behind him as quickly as he could, so he could make his way back before they were found.
Back in Konoha, Kurogane was rewarded with his sensei's eyes for his courage and loyalty, and for the mission's success.
-----
The loss of his sensei made him think about his life. His parents were proud of him, but scolded him for letting his sensei die. He should have stayed with his sensei, or attempted to carry him out of that mess, they told him. His father, together with most of Leaf, respected Komon Daiki very much, so it was no surprise that the village mourned for him, and most blamed Kurogane for not being able to rescue his sensei. Despite this, he continued his training as a shinobi of Leaf, keeping his sensei's eyes in a jar until the date of his operation at the Konoha Hospital to get them implanted. Eventually he became a Jounin on his 20th birthday, and soon after came his operation day. The man who operated on him was Komon Daiki's brother, who only acted friendly towards Kurogane before the operation, but dropped the act as soon as Kurogane was unconscious, awaiting his new eyes. Daiki's brother caused the operation to fail on purpose, causing Kurogane to lose his sight with his new eyes, or rather, not give him sight with his sensei's eyes. Kurogane rushed out of the hospital in a rage, destroying a large part of it with his earth-shaking abilities.
He made it home relatively unhurt. His parents were not pleased with his maiming, but there was no proof that Daiki's brother did it on purpose. They, instead, decided to give up on their son, who was no longer shinobi material without his eyes. They told him to simply retire, and live out the rest of his life as a civilian of Konoha. He was not fond of that idea, and he ended up having a heated argument with his parents, causing him to leave them, as well as Konoha. No one believed his story that Daiki's brother failed the operation on purpose, and so he decided to leave the village for a while. His sister was the only one on his side, and although she tried to convince him to stay, he left anyway, taking some time off from Leaf to go live on his own in the Fire Country.
-----
4 years later, he was on his way to a village he visited often to deliver ores he mined himself when he stopped in his tracks. Tremors of a group of horseshoes made their way from A to B, only it seemed to be in a rushing fashion, in Kurogane's opinion, as if the horses were running from something, or trying to get something done quickly. In the Kyoujouran's experience, hasty actions were usually either bad decisions or shameful ones, and almost never justified, so he needed to see a bigger picture than what he had. To zoom out from the metaphorical picture, he activated his quasi-Byakugan, allowing him to see beyond what normal shinobi could sense with their eyes. That's when he saw the large bundle of chakra moving rapidly away from a ravine, in the direction of Konoha. For a moment he was simply going to ignore it and keep going where he planned on getting to that day, but something else caught his pale eyes; Another small amount of chakra, barely lit, as if a candle was on the verge of going out. He did not let that candle go out.
Back at his cottage he carefully placed the extra weight in his arms on his bed, then lowered his pack, which still needed to be delivered. So he left some food openly on a nearby table and checked the wounds he tended one last time before going out with the pack once again to see if he could still hurry and make his deadline.
When he got back, the lifeless bundle had become a living one. The girl no longer appeared human, with many wounds still not fully closed up. She looked like a small monster, but that didn't stop him from trying his best to keep her alive. Looks were a thing of the past for him anyway. He did not fully understand how anyone could do this to a child, but as he did not exactly see the attackers in detail, he couldn't really do anything about it. He wouldn't anyway, since it would only create more problems, especially for the girl he went through extra trouble to keep alive.
As Kurogane slowly walked closer, as not to frighten the girl, she seemed like she wanted to speak through the bandages he put on her earlier. He simply shook his head and took the initiative of starting the conversation himself, scratching beneath the cloth over his eyes and readjusting it. "My name is Iwakajiya Kurogane. I found you dumped in a ravine with very little life left in you. Some group of most-likely rude people seemed to have dropped you in there and rushed back to Konohagakure..." He left it at that, since the girl could not answer any questions anyway in her condition. He had heard rumors that Konoha was in a bad state, and planned to go back to check up on his family, and now that this girl ended up in his cabin, he felt it was the perfect time to take her to Konoha to get professional medical attention, find out if the girl was from the shinobi village, and visit his own family.
He carried the girl to the village he used to fight for only to find it in ruins. Fresh fires were in the area, and he ran around the village with his sensei's eyes "open", looking for signs of life. Alas, it appeared there was only death and lifelessness in the village, very similar to the girl in his arms, which seemed equally saddened at the thought of the village being gone. Perhaps it was true that she was from here?
There was no sign of his family, which could only mean they made it out, or were discarded somewhere else, like the girl. How could this happen? Why did it happen? Was Leaf really headed for destruction since he left? He should have been there to make sure it stayed intact, or at least get his family out of the village...
And the parting note of him arguing with his parents about retiring as a shinobi... That wasn't how he wanted to leave his parents for good. Especially since, essentially, he did more or less retire, and ended up mining for a living, though he never stopped training and relearning what he had retained from his time in Konoha. Not only did he miss his parents, but most of all his sister, who had always been the one to comfort him and assure him that the world was not as difficult and harsh as it seemed to be when he had functioning eyes. He probably saw the world much better now without his eyes...
Either way, he could not stay here. He took the girl back to his cottage to consider his next course of action.
He couldn't drop the girl off anywhere for someone else to take care of, and the nearest hospital was too far for the girl to travel safely in her condition. So he decided to keep her around, and did his best to strengthen what remained of her body with training and semi-hard work.
It took one year for her to fully recover, at least as much as could be done in her condition. He was always amazed by how her chakra worked. The only thing about her body that appeared more alive than ever. Sometimes he would activate his sensei's eyes to observe her chakra, especially when she trained. She wasn't as good at the tough training, which only made sense to Kurogane, but at least she managed to excell in mental training, making her better with jutsus that required the mind over body.
-----
After six years, the time had come for them to move on. An old friend of Kurogane's had a chat with him in a tavern of one of the villages he sold his ores to. The friend was from Kumogakure, and he requested that he go rejoin the shinobi world in Cloud now that he was no longer affiliated with Konohagakure. The brown-haired man told his friend he would think about it, and sure enough, as he got back to the cottage, he told Senka the news. She seemed to like the idea, but at the same time she had an aura of lament, possibly due to the disruption of their peaceful lifestyle selling rocks and generally surviving in the Fire Country.
Now they had adventures ahead of them, and headed to the Cloud village to sign up for whatever was in store for them.
* * * * *
Current Stats (state respective stat cap):
Maxed out.
Jutsu Swaps:
To be posted later...
* * * * *
Name of any Contract you currently own:
None
Name of any Cursed Seals you currently own:
None
Name of Kinjutsu you own:
Jashinism
