Name: Saito Hachirou
Age: 19
Sex: m
Character's Physical Description: Reasonably attractive, but otherwise fairly plain looking, Hachirou puts as much effort into his appearance as is needed to present himself in a respectable manner, but is not the sort to really stand out in a crowd. Standing at 5'10", with medium length black hair, and more often than not dressing himself quite averagely, there is something about the man's appearance that, if someone were to be struck by it, might only be forced to the conclusion that a good deal of effort was put in simply to blend in. He is otherwise thin, not very muscular, usually stands with a calm or quietly concerned expression on his face, and is adamantly opposed to wearing overly casual clothes like shorts and sandals (formal ninja sandals obviously excluded).
History: Hachirou comes from a family of restaurant owners that had originally established themselves in Maruishi. Rising competition within the village had, however, made this business venture gradually unfeasible over several generations and Hachirou's father, Saito Genki, had used his distant relations within the Stone Village to gain permission to set up an establishment among it's cliff faces. Once there, Haichirou showed himself to be an enterprising young entrepreneur, soon realizing that the warrior's spirit of loyalty could be applied pretty well to brand loyalties when approached from the right angle. He would go out of his was to find any way he could to accommodate his patrons, and, acting on this intuition, he soon found it was really paying off. The small shop they had set up within the village was soon such a regular hang out for the shinobi within the village that the Saito's would have to start hiring staff outside of their family and seek new, bigger locations to house the bustling community drawn to it's steamy interior.
Acting boldly on his intuitions, finding success wherever he applied himself; it would be this sudden and consistent string of luck that Hachirou would later reflect on for that feeling of invulnerability that had, seemingly from nowhere, overtaken him over the course of two seasons in this new mountainside village. One of the new staff that his parents had hired on, Atsuko, had immediately caught Hachirou's attention, and he had made it his goal over the next two months to try and win her over. Down the side of the cliff, in an area of relatively stable footing, Hachirou would sometimes deliver some free snacks and left overs to one of the shinobi that sometimes patrolled the cliff late at night. It got to the point where the young man eventually became quite familiar with all of the little crevices and beautiful cavernous views that the discreet location had to offer. Atsuko, by this point, was beginning to slowly warm up and draw closer to the restaurant owner's son.
He would take her here every now and then. It would get to the point that Hayate, the shinobi that Hachirou had befriended, came to know the two as regular fixtures of the scenery, and stopped paying their visits much attention. Hachirou, for his part, was at least attentive to the schedule his friend kept that left them with relatively free access to the usually restricted areas along the Western face of the cliff.
He would wake up one night, when the stars were out, no bearing of the time. "Wait here." He whispered in the girl's ear. He could have sworn he saw her lift her head slightly to acknowledge what he had said, but the cave was nearly pitch black, even with the starlight from outside trickling in. He would step carefully along the narrow steps of the pass, whispering out for his friend, when he heard some shouts coming from behind him. They were too distant to have been for him. The new patrol had called for the girl to stop. She had listened, but not before they had thrown three kunai in front of her. Two had missed, one piercing her in her kidney from behind.
Hayate had been let go from his position. Atsuko had survived, but continues to face complications from recurring kidney infections, and stays regularly in the hospital, where she is visited by Hachirou. For his part, Hachirou has used this moment as a platform to change the direction that his life is moving in; joining the academy at the ripe old age of 19. He is now a man intent on change, both within himself and reform for the society that would so cautionlessly hurt or maim it's citizens. Hachirou, at the beginning of this story, is in a very vulnerable position, acting on impulses without fully formed philosophies surrounding his motives. His intentions are good, but they are fueled, at this point, by inner conflict, guilt, and resentment.
Character's Mental Description: Hayate is a man who is often overwhelmed by his emotions, without really being articulate enough to express them. He is also a man with many contradictory forces working against each other inside of himself; highly religiously motivated while also indulging in baser passions, he is compassionate and full of a nameless anger, hopeful and despondent. He wants to change the world around him, and help those who are close to him, but ultimately the biggest obstacle that seems consistently to mount itself against him is what he knows as the weakness of his very human spirit.
Age: 19
Sex: m
Character's Physical Description: Reasonably attractive, but otherwise fairly plain looking, Hachirou puts as much effort into his appearance as is needed to present himself in a respectable manner, but is not the sort to really stand out in a crowd. Standing at 5'10", with medium length black hair, and more often than not dressing himself quite averagely, there is something about the man's appearance that, if someone were to be struck by it, might only be forced to the conclusion that a good deal of effort was put in simply to blend in. He is otherwise thin, not very muscular, usually stands with a calm or quietly concerned expression on his face, and is adamantly opposed to wearing overly casual clothes like shorts and sandals (formal ninja sandals obviously excluded).
History: Hachirou comes from a family of restaurant owners that had originally established themselves in Maruishi. Rising competition within the village had, however, made this business venture gradually unfeasible over several generations and Hachirou's father, Saito Genki, had used his distant relations within the Stone Village to gain permission to set up an establishment among it's cliff faces. Once there, Haichirou showed himself to be an enterprising young entrepreneur, soon realizing that the warrior's spirit of loyalty could be applied pretty well to brand loyalties when approached from the right angle. He would go out of his was to find any way he could to accommodate his patrons, and, acting on this intuition, he soon found it was really paying off. The small shop they had set up within the village was soon such a regular hang out for the shinobi within the village that the Saito's would have to start hiring staff outside of their family and seek new, bigger locations to house the bustling community drawn to it's steamy interior.
Acting boldly on his intuitions, finding success wherever he applied himself; it would be this sudden and consistent string of luck that Hachirou would later reflect on for that feeling of invulnerability that had, seemingly from nowhere, overtaken him over the course of two seasons in this new mountainside village. One of the new staff that his parents had hired on, Atsuko, had immediately caught Hachirou's attention, and he had made it his goal over the next two months to try and win her over. Down the side of the cliff, in an area of relatively stable footing, Hachirou would sometimes deliver some free snacks and left overs to one of the shinobi that sometimes patrolled the cliff late at night. It got to the point where the young man eventually became quite familiar with all of the little crevices and beautiful cavernous views that the discreet location had to offer. Atsuko, by this point, was beginning to slowly warm up and draw closer to the restaurant owner's son.
He would take her here every now and then. It would get to the point that Hayate, the shinobi that Hachirou had befriended, came to know the two as regular fixtures of the scenery, and stopped paying their visits much attention. Hachirou, for his part, was at least attentive to the schedule his friend kept that left them with relatively free access to the usually restricted areas along the Western face of the cliff.
He would wake up one night, when the stars were out, no bearing of the time. "Wait here." He whispered in the girl's ear. He could have sworn he saw her lift her head slightly to acknowledge what he had said, but the cave was nearly pitch black, even with the starlight from outside trickling in. He would step carefully along the narrow steps of the pass, whispering out for his friend, when he heard some shouts coming from behind him. They were too distant to have been for him. The new patrol had called for the girl to stop. She had listened, but not before they had thrown three kunai in front of her. Two had missed, one piercing her in her kidney from behind.
Hayate had been let go from his position. Atsuko had survived, but continues to face complications from recurring kidney infections, and stays regularly in the hospital, where she is visited by Hachirou. For his part, Hachirou has used this moment as a platform to change the direction that his life is moving in; joining the academy at the ripe old age of 19. He is now a man intent on change, both within himself and reform for the society that would so cautionlessly hurt or maim it's citizens. Hachirou, at the beginning of this story, is in a very vulnerable position, acting on impulses without fully formed philosophies surrounding his motives. His intentions are good, but they are fueled, at this point, by inner conflict, guilt, and resentment.
Character's Mental Description: Hayate is a man who is often overwhelmed by his emotions, without really being articulate enough to express them. He is also a man with many contradictory forces working against each other inside of himself; highly religiously motivated while also indulging in baser passions, he is compassionate and full of a nameless anger, hopeful and despondent. He wants to change the world around him, and help those who are close to him, but ultimately the biggest obstacle that seems consistently to mount itself against him is what he knows as the weakness of his very human spirit.
