The Matsuura Family History
Born into a loving family, the Matsuura brothers were only a year apart. Nobuyuki was the eldest, followed quickly by his brother Yukimura. The two were inseparable. They played, fought, got in trouble, ate, and slept together. Life was good for them, and their family. Their father worked as a lumberjack, and their mother sold baked goods out of their home when she wasn’t busy dealing with the chaos two boys usually incited.
They grew up quickly, with their mother teaching them basic skills at home, and learning the rest at the local school house. It was expected for the pair to grow up and be productive members of society. Naturally they still were each others best friends, and pretty much ruled their age group in school as a pair of tiny dictators. Unfortunately a perfect life in a small village wasn’t going to last forever. In the world where chakra was used freely, there was always the chance that they might be taken away by those from Kumogakure.
That was always a fear the Matsuura parents held, and a fear they rightly had to worry about. The father was a descendant of an ancient bloodline, though it had not surfaced in the family since his great grandfather, generations ago. Also, their mother happened to have been a runaway of the powerful clan who wanted to escape the life of servitude to a village. The two had found each other, fell in love, and only came to admit these secrets after conceiving their first child. Neither wanted their children taken by the government, and they were going to do whatever they could to protect their precious sons.
The day finally came when Nobuyuki began to show signs of chakra sensitivity. Being the more responsible of the two, he went to his parents with confused questions; accompanied by Yukimura. The two boys knew about shinobi and how legendary they were, but they never imagined that people in their family used to shinobi. As nervous as the parents were about the subject, they handled it well. They explained what life would be like for the boys if they decided to follow that path; including their own very biased opinions of ninja and the village kumogakure.
While Nobuyuki wanted to explore this new energy he had some control over, he was warned sternly by his father to do it strictly in secret. Consequently, the pair of boys were eager to run out into the forest surrounding their village and play with his new power. Granted, the eldest really wouldn’t be able to do anything without teaching, but they didn’t know that.
Despite their immaturity, the persuasive words of their parents seemed to be understood by the young boys and the family decided that when the recruiters from the village would come to town, that they would go stay with their aunt and uncle who had a farm up the road.
Time and time again, the brothers avoided detection. Eventually even Yukimura began to show some sensitivity, though not as prevalent as his brother. It appeared that the once though dormant bloodline of his father had surfaced in him, rather than his mother’s bloodline that had manifested in Nobuyuki.
As they grew older, their personalities began to diversify rather than continue down the same path, despite all the time they spent together. Nobuyuki took after his mother, being the more smart and patient. Yukimura became more like his father: tough, durable, and hard working. Though they became more different, the pair still ruled the world; or rather, their world that consisted of class and after school shenanigans.
However, fate had something else in store for them…
Their village was soon attacked by an infamous rogue shinobi accompanied by a powerful Oni. Night after night the terror ravaged the village and the countryside, killing, terrorizing, and doing whatever he liked. Those within the village had lost hope, until a single man stood against the foe. This savior was not a native to the village, else the problem would have been solved long ago.
The sounds of battle echoed through the alleys and across the countryside. The brothers decided it was their duty to head out and watch what was going on. What they found changed their lives forever.
A shinobi stood against a massive demon and rogue; every second that went by a new jutsu was used conjuring up some element. Metal, Earth, Fire, Light. They had never seen anything like this. One man stood against what seemed to be impossible odds, and he was winning. Eventually the rogue lay dead, and the demon appeared to have been sealed away.
Nobuyuki and Yukimura looked to each other with excited expressions. Their minds had been blown wide open. They had heard stories, but it had all seemed like exaggeration. But what they witnessed made it obvious that the stories were one hundred percent true.
The next day, the town was in joyous celebration. People offered this stranger whatever they could in thanks. They praised him as their savior. The Matsuura brothers saw this and realized that staying in town and hiding from the world wasn’t going to be enough anymore. Nobuyuki saw this man as a model for what he could become if he did go to the village, as the man was a ninja of Kumogakure. But Yukimura focused instead on the standing ovation the man was receiving. He wanted to be praised and glorified. He didn’t want to end up a lumberjack. The youngest wanted to be a famed fighter of the people.
It was at this point the brothers finally parted. Nobuyuki said goodbye to his family and travelled to Kumogakure with the shinobi, and Yukimura watched his brother walk with the proclaimed savior of the town. Needless to say, to have the one person who was always with you to just walk away had it’s effects on the young Yukimura. He vowed to become strong; to be stronger than his brother.
Nobuyuki left with the shinobi, whom he later learned was named Kioku Ishikawa. The trip was long winded, as this elder shinobi was on a quest to reunite his clan. He came to confide in the man, revealing his family's heritage and his own chakra sensitivity. Kioku reacted much the opposite of how Nobuyuki was lead to believe by his parents. He was calm and optimistic and spoke of a great future for the himself. He didn’t seem like the demon that his parents seemed to believe shinobi to be. This encouraged the young teen to pursue his chosen path with fervor and instilled a sense of great hope in him. He wanted to show the people of his town, especially his parents, that shinobi weren’t these evil people.
His travels with Kioku taught him about how small he really was in the scheme of things. They travelled to vast cities much larger than his home town, ports where you could see for miles across the ocean, and traversed through mountains which made the world below seem almost insignificant. All the while the man with golden hair taught him the basics of what being a shinobi meant. It wasn’t the cookie cutter answer that the academy would have given him either.
At the time Kioku was a young prospect for the main branch and a model soldier. He himself knew Hayata Shin as the Main Branch sennin before he was ever named the Raikage. It was that first meeting with Shin that gave him his goals as a shinobi. Kioku told Nobuyuki that the shinobi were not soldiers who were expendable. Each one was a valuable asset whose job was to do one thing: protect those whom they cared about. This brought about a somber reaction from young Nobuyuki. He had just left all whom he cared about to pursue this life. Kioku could sense this and placed an arm around him.
“Kumogakure stands to protect all of Kaminari no Kuni, not just what's within the walls. You’ll still be able to watch over them.” he assured. Nobuyuki put his forehead on his knees and took a deep breath. “It’s not an easy life, but it’s fulfilling.” concluded Kioku.
Eventually the trip came to an end, and with Kioku’s training, Nobuyuki passed the genin exam as soon as he arrived. However, the academy did more than just teach shinobi. It served to grow bonds between the young shinobi so that they could come to trust their fellow soldiers when battle inevitably came to Kumogakure. Nobuyuki didn’t have the chance to grow such bonds and ended up feeling somewhat alienated. While living in a spare room at the Ishikawa estate, he decided the best course of action was to pursue a career in the ANBU branch. Hidden behind the mask, no one knew who you were. He would be able to form trust between his fellows without them knowing he was an outsider.
It was as an AiT that he looked into the histories and techniques of the his clan’s bloodline. As he went on the menial missions that were given to the young and inexperienced, Nobuyuki spent the remainder of his time at the library or with Kioku learning new techniques. Over time Kioku learned that he was looking to learn the secrets of his families techniques and wanted help with it. Having been a shinobi long enough, he knew his fair share of those with the control over the various elements. A woman by the name of Kotaza was whom he was most familiar with. He went along with Nobuyuki to meet her, and to assist him in asking her permission to learn the clans secrets. The woman was hesitant, and required proof of his heritage before giving away the secrets of their Kekkai Genkai. With Kioku’s help, he proved his bloodline and Kotaza took him in personally to teach him the way of bending the darkness to his advantage. With patience, Nobuyuki mastered control of the shadows and was able to weave it all together just as any who had been born into a proper shinobi family.
The element served him greatly as a member of the ANBU. He could use the shadows for stealth and subterfuge, or use his techniques for offense by taking down enemies before they realized he was even there. A powerful bloodline allowed Nobuyuki to succeed where others would fail because they did not have an advantage given to them by their ancestors. But his birthright also gave him something else the others didn’t have. A knack for strategy.
Nobuyuki had always been the more reserved brother. He did the talk while he brother did the muscle work, usually. He was the mastermind behind all their pranks at school, or the revenge they would get when some fool would try to prank them. He often would be able to word excuses and explanations to their parents in ways that would get them in the least trouble. At least to their father. Their mother often saw through the rhetoric. But now those skills were coming in handy.
The mission that got him promoted to full fledged ANBU was a tricky one. Hostages, a couple marsh soldiers, and one mercenary shinobi that the soldiers had hired. They wanted a nice juicy payout from the lightning government and to make them look like fools. Unfortunately, the Kumo ANBU were called in and Nobuyuki was apart of the squad who was sent in. By this point, he had many regular missions under his belt, along with several ANBU missions. Himself, another trainee, and a standard ANBU were sent in. They were also testing an experimental technology that allowed those back in the village to see what was happening while they were there. The leader of the mission wanted to make it a very flashy ordeal that would be captured on these new camera things. Whereas Nobuyuki reminded his superior that they did not know the strength of the shinobi and could not go for a forced entry and retrieval. The arrogant man ignored his subordinate and rushed in, only to be smote in a fireball as quick as he entered.
Their foe began to gloat and rejoice with the marsh soldiers and began to strip their hostage to blow off some steam and stress. Nobuyuki knew he needed to act quickly. The woman was the person they were there to rescue and if she got raped then what was the point. He quickly began to expand his shadows until on tendril latched onto the rogue shinobi. He grew rigid. Nobuyuki went through hand seals and used the own man’s power over chakra to betray the soldiers who intended to violate the woman. Two were dead, and the other had a crossbow aimed at the shinobi. Shouts and accusations reverberated through the room, and thats when Nobuyuki sent his fellow trainee to strike. The soldier fatally shot the shinobi, the nameless trainee swooped in to slit the soldiers throat and Nobuyuki was at the side of the woman helped her pick up what clothes she had left.
His arrival back in the village came with several adorations and pats on his back. But his mind remained on the woman he saved. Her smile and thanks were all he needed to let him know he had picked the right path. He was promoted that day at the young age of fifteen, though the journey from simple ANBU to the rank of Captain would be long and arduous.
Shortly after making rank, Nobuyuki’s was requested to accompany other ANBU on missions much more often than before. And while he was grateful for the attention, he didn’t like the pressure that came along with it. A few missions later, he decided to take a short vacation to go out and visit his family. He hadn’t seen them since he left, and it had been three long years.
For the most part, it was as he expected. A quiet dinner where the clinking of silverware echoed throughout the room. Long hard scowls coming from his brother. His mother trying to start up a conversation, to which Nobuyuki would happily respond; but they were usually interrupted by his father with some backhanded comment. To say it was awkward was an understatement. While he wanted to spend more time at home, he could sense that maybe his departure had cause a larger rift than he previously believed. With a goodbye kiss to his mom, and just a handshake to his father, he left once again. His brother wasn’t there to say goodbye.
The trip was what he needed to motivate himself to do better. If his old family wouldn’t even give him the time of day, then he was going to try his hardest for his new family: Kumo. Back in action, he once again took his place amongst those requesting his help with their missions.
He quickly looked towards his future, aiming for the title of Captain. This was going to be different than achieving a simple ANBU rank however. A captain needed the respect of his peers, needed to be able to make decisions without a moments hesitation, and most of all, needed to be able to instill loyalty and bravery in troops under him.
But life doesn’t stop moving simply because you focus on one goal. Her continued to grow strong as a person and a shinobi. Eventually he did move out of the Ishikawa estate and bought his own little apartment and began to start saving so that he might have a family of his own one day.
Years later…
He was standing on a hill above a battlefield. Bear and Marsh on either side ready to fight once again. Behind him were two ANBU and a member of the Sentou Henkan. This was one of his first tests in leading a squad on his own. Their directive was simple but important: take down the marsh general present at the battle, while also keeping the bear general safe. The tricky part was that no one could know that they were present. That was the challenge of the ANBU. To remain hidden and yet partake in some of the most crucial missions the village had to offer. Nobuyuki had been offered this chance because of his talent for strategy and planning.
At this point, the army’s were simply skirmishing. Throwing jabs and cheers towards the others in hopes of weakening each others morals, giving the young ANBU time to think. He had options. To split them up and go after both objectives at once, to stay and protect just the Bear general, or to go after the enemies general and cut the head off the snake. His companions grew impatient waiting for a directive, but Nobuyuki simply waited. The best option was not always the most obvious, and he had a card up his sleeve. “You three, go protect the general. I will deal with our enemy.”
“But sir! We can’t let you go alone. If you are discovered their numbers will overwhelm you.” complained one of his masked subordinates.
Nobuyuki hissed. “One can infiltrate much easier than four can, and if I am discovered then I do not deserve to serve the Kumogakurian people. This will be over before it begins.” he concluded and ushered them off. His headset rang loud with disapproving voices, some remembering the very mission that made him ANBU. They claimed he was doing what his old leader had been doing. Nobuyuki shut them out. This plan would work.
He took on a disguise of the Marsh soldiers. They were busy hyping themselves up to notice one private moving amongst the ranks. His eyes were trained on the general's tent. The heavily adorned man stood out in front of his tent along with his advisors with a confident grin. Nobuyuki would smile like the general given the situation. From his position on the hill, he believed Marsh would win this battle by morale alone. But that was what he was here to change.
Next to the general stood the second in command. A man with brooding eyes and a ceremonial sword at his side; as Nobuyuki predicted. With everyone focused on the army across the field, he took up position and prepared his hand seals. A slender tendril of shadow reached out to take control of the second in command. In a slight commotion, and an even quicker instant, the ceremonial sword was sticking through the generals neck. Shout and screams would follow, the second in command being taken down and rammed through with swords and lances. All the while Nobuyuki walked out of the camp without a grin on his face.
Hours later, the bear army succeeded in battle and his squad didn’t have to break cover once. They returned home victorious, not a single person knowing that the ANBU had been present that day. Thus, was the first true sign of Nobuyuki’s ability for leadership.
A couple more years later…
It was a mission that was supposed to go off without a hitch. But nearly everything that could go wrong, had gone wrong. The main branch had called a green light on a mission based on the intel of an informant. An informant who had double crossed the village and instead backed the enemy who, for this mission, happened to be a notorious cartel based out of bear country.
Something changed or was left out of the intelligence on purpose, and now Nobuyuki was heading in with an elite force of men and women he had worked with time and time again. The mission objective was no longer to put a stop to any of the trafficing or to take any of them alive. This was to be a massacre. The current ANBU sennin had met with Nobuyuki before the squad left and given him this new objective. Having been in the branch for such a long time, Nobuyuki had no issues with such an order. But it still wasn’t easy just annihilating smugglers and arrogant fools.
However, the main branch who had been sent before them were all dead, which meant there had to be someone of worth inside the compound. Not that Nobuyuki was the type to seek the honorable fight, but if they could at least fight back he would feel less like a murderer and more like a soldier.
It was a silent trip with few questions. Once Nobuyuki relayed the sennin’s orders to the group, they all grew far more serious. Faces hidden behind their masks, the approached in the shadows, Nobuyuki’s ability over the element allowing him to make it darker and harder to see into. When they finally got into position, Nobuyuki gave them one final nod and said a few words to put the group at ease with what they were about to do. “Karera ni meiyo o ataeru.”
Like a ghost, they were over the wall, not a sound made. The three other ANBU swiftly moved through the compound. Bodies hit the floor, seconds went by before anyone knew what was happening. The bell rang. One of his men had been too hasty and wasn’t sure of his kill. The alarm was sounded and chaos erupted. Nobuyuki sent a shadow tendril across the walkway and through the throat of the man who sounded the bell. Other than that, he waited. He waited for someone who was capable of taking down shinobi of the village Kumogakure.
The glow of red and yellow was seen a split second before the cacophonous sounds of explosion reverberated in his ears. The body of one of his ANBU flew out of a hallway and collided with a wall. If they weren’t dead by that point, they were when their body erupted in another small explosion. A shout scream of agony could be heard before silence from the now deceased shinobi.
Nobuyuki had found his target and needed to isolate them before they could wreak anymore havoc. He quickly performed one of his clan’s unique jutsu and sealed himself and this other person within a realm of shadows. Quickly enough, the person revealed themselves as one of the Toujigikou bloodline. However, in the realm of shadow, the Nara was at an advantage. The clay creations were quickly swallowed up by shadows and displaced somewhere else with big booms.
Nobuyuki looked at the man. Something wasn’t right about him. He reeked of power. “No one as strong as you just signs up with a cartel. You would be the one running it. So you must be someone they hired to protect their investments when they heard shinobi were coming for them. Take your money and leave. The other two who came with me are killing the rest of your employers and we aren’t here for the money, so it’s all yours. Otherwise, you will be outnumbered and I can keep you frozen and all my guys have to do is slit your throat.”
The man said nothing, and instead threw more explosives towards Nobuyuki. From behind the assailant came seven threads of shadow and impaled the man’s body. Blood seemed slowly from the wounds. The tendrils dissipated into dark mist. The holes they left quickly began to heal. Nobuyuki’s brow rose. With healing like that, his only option was to expend the man’s chakra reserves. But keeping him imprisoned in the shadow realm was just as taxing on Nobuyuki. It was going to end up a stalemate.
“We can keep this up until we both fall. Take your leave now.” he ordered. His headset chimed in with success of the genocide. An audible sigh escaped his lips. The shadow world fell around them and his allies were at his side ready for battle.
The assailant turned and began to walk away. Nobuyuki’s hand rose to stop his comrades from pursuing. “He’s not our problem. Secure the location until we are cleared to leave.” he ordered, turning to make sure the gate was secure to any reinforcements sent by the cartel.
It was a bittersweet mission. He got a shiny commendation from the sennin for his good work, but it was for a deed that he didn’t want a good note on his record for. But that was the life he signed up for, the future that he chose long long ago when he left his family and came to Kumogakure. Once again, people congratulated him, ignorant of what he did.
What finally got him recognized wasn’t what you might think. It wasn’t a successful mission, but rather a failure. Sure, he had quite a long list of successful missions and more than one commendation. There was a point in his life where he realized it wasn’t just the captain position he wanted, but the senninship. He wanted to hold the ANBU branch accountable for the actions they were actively choosing to do. He had seen corruption, bloodlust, and downright disregard for protocol. They were to be the elite. The upper echelon of skill and tact. Things needed to change.
That being said, Nobuyuki began to work for ANBU’s internal affairs. A dusty old department where the head was nearly as old as the dust itself. It was through his conversations with this old man that Nobuyuki discovered that there was a reason internal affairs was so small. The village thought it best to remove the oversight so that ANBU could be more ‘free’ to do missions of their liking. Nobuyuki naturally assume it really was just deception for letting the branch pursues objectives that normally would not be so savory.
In his investigations he discovered that the cartel he had taken down so very long ago was competition of the sennin’s dirty dealings in human trafficking and illicit substances. Whereas Nobuyuki had been lead to believe it was just simple revenge for them killing the main branch shinobi. In fact, the more he dug into it, the more he learned that the main branch wasn’t even involved there. Without someone watching the branch, the sennin was free to do anything he wanted without interruption by the Raikage or others.
Nobuyuki brought this information forward to the Raikage, and she said she would look into it. But to his dismay, no action was taken against the man. Nobuyuki assumed that either the man was good at deception, or the Raikage was apart of it all; when in reality things were being done, he just wasn't seeing them. Nobuyuki’s world that he grew up in was slowly crumbling around him. He had joined the shinobi corp to help against the evil in the world, not be apart of it. But since the highest power in the village had been notified as to what was going on and nothing was done, Nobuyuki kept his mouth shut… until Shin came into power.
A much more benevolent and kind ruler, with plans for peace and prosperity, Nobuyuki found the leader he had wanted to follow for a long time. When he came to Shin with what was going on, it’s what was needed to give Shin the confidence to put a new sennin in place rather than keep the old one. Along with the changes, the Raikage himself promoted Nobuyuki to the rank of captain: an honor that Nobuyuki came to appreciate much more greatly because of the type of person who had bestowed it to him.
Now he serves as Captain with a smile on his face. A watchful eye over the ANBU branch, serving and protecting the citizens of Kumogakure.
