Name: Dememaru Inuzuka
Age: 12
Gender: Male
General Description:
As offensive as it is, some of the more blunt villagers in Konoha have stated that Dememaru appears to be a feral child. Of course he wasn’t intellectually or physically neglected like actual feral children, nor was he raised by animals like in folklore. To simply put, Dememaru is by all means an Inuzuka. By nature his canine teeth were more sharp, his nails more similar to claws, and his eyes just wild like. At the start of joining the Academy Dememaru sported a buzz cut, one that revealed that even his hairline was naturally wild. Drawing near the end of his academy days now, his hair has grown out in a messy unkempt fashion that he refuses to truly groom. Eventually they’ll probably lock and settle into dreads towards his later years in life.
Of course, like the true Inuzuka he is, Dememaru wakes up every morning to paint the notable red markings of his clan on his face. Regarding his clothing, Dememaru changes with the season. He usually wears boy shorts in the warmer months with a basic tee shirt. And in the colder months, he usually wears shinobi slacks with a hoodie. As for footwear, he roams around in the common shinobi sandals that everyone seems to have a pair of. Unlike most Inuzuka’s however, Dememaru is mixed. His father being a tan Inuzuka gentleman of Konoha and his mother being a dark skinned ebony kunoichi of Kumo. His skin complexion falls into a blend between his mother and father which makes him darker than most of his clansmen. Physically, his build is that of your typical 12 year old. He’s fit for his age, but has little to no muscle for he’s still just a wee lad. Dememaru stands at exactly 5 foot even (153 cm) and weighs in at 100 lb (45 kg).
Personality:
Empathetic, yet oblivious, all at the same time, sums this Inuzuka up. Dememaru, more like a feline than a canine in this sense, is very curious. He enjoys asking questions and grasping the answers of whatever he’s trying to understand. The emotions of others and himself being no different. Though at times, he can easily grow fixated on comprehending one thing and neglect another, becoming the opposite of empathetic like an oblivious or insensitive oaf. Overall, he is very emotionally driven, partially do to his animal instinct we can suppose. Following his gut, he believes he can overcome any wall if his heart says he can. Even going as far as to launching head first into combat without any sort of strategy or abandoning the pre established plan to just wing something his gut said he could accomplish. It’ll probably be the death of him.
With the aforementioned, teamwork isn’t Dememaru’s strongest trait. At times even his ninken, Berumura, and him fail to cooperate together effectively. Which says a lot due to how close all Inuzuka’s are with their ninken from a very early age. Although as obnoxious as his lack of teamwork may be, he can easily be seen as a loyal companion once an individual gets to know him. He is a man of his word, sure he may not go about his promise the exact way one would like him to, he always follows through. No matter the pain and hardship it causes him, he will fulfil his promise or die trying. Ultimately, Dememaru wants to bring glory to his clan, proving that the Inuzuka are the strongest clan in Konoha and are the best taijutsu practitioners in the world. Due to his mother usually being his father and sister's veterinarian and or doctor, early on Dememaru took an interest in medical ninjutsu. His interest stems simply from his drive to protect and heal those he care about like his mother.
History:
Since birth Dememaru has been surrounded by ninken. He was an Inuzuka, a clan that used canine companions to fight alongside them since before the start of Konohagakure no Sato. Without a ninken, Dememaru wouldn’t know what to do with himself. Up until the age of eight when he was enrolled into the academy, he lived those youthful days admiring all the ninken his fellow clansmen partnered with. That was all he could do considering he wasn't old enough to be granted a pup of his own. One ninken he especially admired was his father’s. The canine was practically like an uncle to the boy. Whenever his father scolded him, his ninken would sneak away and comfort young Dememaru afterwards. Then there were the times when in order to prevent the Inuzuka lad from facing his father’s wrath, the ninken would take punishment into his own hands, biting the hell out of Dememaru’s hand, nipping his misbehavior right then and there.
Likewise, another ninken Dememaru saw as apart of his family was his older sister’s mutt. He was like an older sibling, teasing and hounding Dememaru alongside his sister. There was even times where the ninken didn’t feel the need to include his sister in his pranks, acting all on his own. Sometimes it was a pain, but overall the ninken in his family were so tightly intertwined within their daily lives that Dememaru longed for the day that he too could have a twin at his side. Luckily his Mother, originating from Kumogakure no Sato lacked a ninken as well, which made him felt a little better to a small degree.
And then the day finally came, it was the same day Dememaru started the academy, the young Inuzuka was granted a puppy named Berumura. The small ninken was a female that resembled a Beagle. She was everything Dememaru had asked for. Within no time they were inseparable. During class there was an arrogant Hyuuga who often proclaimed to be the best in class but failed to beat an Uchiha student every time. Growing tired of the loud mouth, Dememaru began to pick fights with the Hyuuga. Backing him up was always Berumura, barking like his hypeman. Unfortunately, no matter how hard Dememaru tried, he was never able to defeat the Hyuuga. In fact, Dememaru was quite middle of the pack, while the Uchiha and Hyuuga respectively were first and second in all subjects. Regularly becoming depressed over his lack of ability to keep up, Berumura stuck by his side to cheer him up, encouraging him to move forward.
Word Count: 430
Traumatic Event
Inhale… exhale… There it was. His breath. Young academy student Dememaru could see it due to the cold. But why he wondered as he road in the back of a loaded caravan aside his older sister. She was a genin, with a ninken their clan provided for her. He couldn’t wait to be like her, he couldn’t wait to choose an Inuzuka pup to be his partner and graduate the academy. His sister simply sat on top of one of the many crates that took up most of the space in the cramped caravan. In her arms was her pup. Dememaru laid on his back, his palms acting like a pillow for his head as he looked up to watch his breath whenever he exhaled.
“Hey sis,” softly whispered Dememaru. “Why can you see your breath when it’s cold?”
She turned her head to look down upon Dememaru, annoyance was written all over her face.
“Shut up.”
Dememaru sighed, realising more of his breath to be condensated. Ultimately, he shrugged his shoulders, the ten year old figured he’d just never know.
Shoonk, sounded the back of the caravan as it began to open suddenly yet sluggishly. As light slowly chimed in, Dememaru sat up covering his eyes with the shadow of his hands as they adjusted from the dark. His sister on the other hand hopped in front of him with a kunai on hand and a pup on head.
“Huh?” Dememaru uttered, confused by how tense and defensive his sister been all trip.
“Mom! Dad!” They both called out simultaneously as the bright light died down revealing it was their parents who opened the back of the caravan.
The children both went in for a hug, Dememaru for their mother, and his sister for their father. Dememaru was quite sure why it felt so appropriate to hug them right then and there, but his sister hopped up to hug their father first, so he followed the leader.
“I didn’t know who you guys were,” exclaimed his sister, as she looked up to their father, then turned to look up at their mother. Her eyes were flooded with tears. It looked like in mere moments they were about to leak, but she kept it together. “The caravan stopped, then I don’t know... it was quiet, and I tried to keep it quiet… and then you open the caravan… I-I thought we were under attack…”
“Attack?” Reiterated Dememaru under questioning, he looked up at his mother puzzled, then over to his father. This whole time the lad was oblivious to everything. He was just playing with his breath in the cold. Dememaru didn’t even realized the caravan stopped until his sister said something.
The parents looked at each other, quite unsure what to say before turn back to them and speaking on the situation.
“Everythings going to be alright,” their mother said.
“You did everything just right,” their father said to the daughter. “I need you to stay here and protect your brother. Bandits are nearby, your mother and I will do our best to stop them from getting any closer but you too are a young Inuzuka Kunoichi. If anyone get’s past us, I want you to hit them with everything you got.”
“Yeah,” his sister nodded hesitantly before nodding again with a newfound stern determination.
“Atta girl,” he responded.
“Deme,” his mom began to say. “Your sister is in charge, okay? But we need you to be our little man, you support her in any way possible.”
“Yeah,” agreed their father. “Try not to get in her way, but if she needs your help, step up to the plate, we’re counting on you, both of you.”
“Right!” His sister replied confidently.
“Arf,” replied his sisters ninken just as confidently
“R-Right,” replied Dememaru not so confidently.
With a nod, both parents bounced away through the tree tops of the forest the caravan was broken down in. Dememaru looked over to his sister for guidance, he was scared and unsure what to do.
“Here,” she said, unstrapping and then tossing her tool pouch at Dememaru. “These aren’t the wooden kunai and shuriken now. So if you cut yourself at least make sure the bandits got it worse than you, alright bro.”
“Y-yeah!” Dememaru stammered as he opened the pouch and grabbed a kunai why pricking himself on a shuriken. He winced, but didn’t cried out in pain. He had to be strong like his sister, their parents were counting on him. If she didn’t cry, he couldn’t either.
His sister hopped out of the caravan, Dememaru following immediately after. In her hand she still held a kunai, and on her head was still her pup, only now, the ninken too had a kunai in his mouth.
“Take a stance behind me, this’ll be how we defend the caravan,” she explained.
“O-k-kay!” Dememaru agreed.
Luckily, they held up their guard only for no action to take place. Their parents were chuunin after all, they were able to handles everything until repairs were made. Although lackluster, that was how Dememaru helped defend a broken down caravan. An event that was traumatic, at least for an 8 year old with no combat experience. Within that situation he at least got to see how a true Inuzuka, his sister, held there ground. Something he would never forget and hold dear to his heart forever as an example in the face of danger.
Word Count: 853
