NAME: Mugen Kei | AGE: Thirteen | RANK: Student
APPEARANCE | PERSONALITY |
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Taking after his mother's side of the family, Kei has fiery red hair and big, amber-colored eyes. These distinctive traits of the Akasofu clan are shared by his younger siblings as well, making it obvious whenever they visited their cousins in Sunagakure . Standing at 5'4" (162cm) and weighing in at 110lbs (50kg) his build is fairly average for a shinobi academy student, though not necessarily because of any strenuous training but perhaps due to a high metabolism and penchant for outdoor activity. This time in the sun has left his skin more resistant to its harsh gaze, but the boy generally prefers to cover in layers to protect from not only those rays but also the deceptively freezing temperatures of the desert nights. This usually consists of trainers, long pants and a hoodie to pull up to protect his face from dust kick ups, often accented with bandages and scrapes from either training or one of his more active hobbies. Additionally, he wears a generic headband on his forehead where his shinobi branding would have gone… if had he graduated on time. | The eldest child and only son of his parents, Kei embodies both the traits of the protective and loving older-brother as well as the annoying, clownish fool that siblings tend to be. Though he desires to be a pillar of strength for his family to be able to depend on, it's probably hard to picture past his goofy, carefree persona. In truth, it's likely that his desire to be shinobi stems from these two competing ideals: his desire to have fun while also providing value to his family. And to Kei, who was raised amongst mostly non-chakra users, nothing seemed more fun than the nature-defying feats that shinobi were able to accomplish. The son of a traveling merchant, his outgoing and extroverted personality has been exercised to make Kei a sociable and socially aware teen. He is fiercely loyal, bold enough to speak his mind, and unashamed of the things he enjoys. However, his normal self confidence has recently been shaken, and despite the act the young student puts on to cover his insecurity, he is at more of a cross-roads than he realizes - one that will have profound implications on the type of man he'll become. |
EARLY LIFE |
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| Mugen Seiji was born in Sunagakure, the twin brother of Mugen Sanbi. The only life they knew was a shinobi one. Fukui Reiko was the daughter of a travelling merchant family based in Soons Haven. Her family's history with shinobi is, well, complicated. This is not their story, but theirs would lay the ground work for that of the young man we are to follow. Mugen Kei was Seiji and Reiko's first child, born the same year the two married (240PP). Seiji had retired at the rank of Chuunin as a condition Reiko had placed on their engagement, and so Kei was raised in a small town just outside of Soons Haven near his mother's family, beyond the reach of shinobi life. This branch of the Mugen-Fukui family led a quiet life, with both parents taking turns running the trade routes to allow the other to stay home with their growing brood. Though they promised young and curious Kei that they'd take him along when he was old enough, the civil war that erupted on his fourth birthday would add a new layer of tension and uncertainty to their profession and keep the boy stuck in his little village. As he grew older he would make the most of it, learning to surf on the coast and sandboard on the dunes to satiate his wanderlust, but he couldn't help but feel there had to be more than making money and passing time. Despite the current events, the family-centered Seiji would insist on regular visits to Sunagakure to visit his brother Sanbi and his family. It was here visiting his cousins that Kei discovered what he believed to be his calling. This bustling shinobi village provided no shortage of wonders, and the seemingly miraculous things that chakra-users were capable of set the redhead's heart aflame. His cousin Muu was the closest to his age, and the two would often play ninja together as children and discuss their plans to join the academy as they got older. Reiko made clear her disdain for the idea as well as for Muu's antics that often got Kei mixed into his trouble, but it didn't stop Kei from dreaming. He was seven when construction of the railway began, and this promise of safer travel inclined his parents to start bringing him along on their work trips - an effort on his mother's part to introduce him to an alternative career. While this seemed effective as it introduced Kei to the world of engineering and fascination with the construction of the train line, his annual family visits to Sunagakure kept his first love alive. Writing on the wall for dramatic changes for the Mugen-Fukui family began when Kei was nine. The disappearance of chakra users around the country had morphed from rumor to routine, leaving Seiji's standing with the Fukui family business in question. While the danger he faced was undoubted, the father was more concerned for his children, especially Kei given his earnest interest in the life he himself had left behind. While Reiko resisted initially, by the time Kei turned ten they were left with little option but to accept Sunagakure's invitation to take refuge within their walls. Kei and his sisters went first, moving in with their Uncle Sanbi and his family while their parents tied up loose business ends. The children were more than happy for the change, being young and ignorant to the risks that led to it, but none more so than Kei. With the move and support from his aunt and uncle, and with less disapproval from her side of the family able to reach her ears, Reiko finally submitted to her son's wish to enroll in the Suna Academy. Though he was older than most of his classmates by the time he entered at eleven, Kei was living his dream… For a time. Now, at the age of thirteen, Kei faces the possibility of aging out of the academy system. In two years of study and training, he has shown little to no natural ability for the life he is pursuing. He has watched his friends and now his younger cousin graduate before him, planting seeds of insecurity and fears of being left behind. Though he maintains his usual outgoing, goofy persona to hide his dispiritedness, he may learn the harsh lessons of reality sooner than he thinks. It's all riding on this year. |
*Not applying for BL/CA at this time.
**Have Muu and Ringo's approval for Kei to be their cousin (see relationship table).
