Uzuhiko Seijin
NAME: Uzuhiko Seijin
AGE: Mid 30s
HEIGHT & WEIGHT: 5’10'’ | 165 lbs
HAIR, EYE & SKIN TONE : Brown | ??? | Brown
RACE: Human
OCCUPATION: Mercenary
LANGUAGES SPOKEN: Basic
Appearance Being of average build and height for a man of the shinobi profession, Seijin has the features of a person that one might consider forgettable when considering a former resident of The Holy Tenouzan Republic. Having lived much of his life in a prison crafted by the Tenouza, his general appearance is one befitting of a person that was malnourished during their early formative years. While he has grown past the initial sickly form that he was a child, his general look in his adult years is that of the skittish lone wolf. If his hair is kempt and not overgrown, then it must be a good day. If his eyes aren’t cold and hungry then he clearly must have recently had a warm meal. Outside of his former home he very much comes across as a drifting wanderer, but for those that have seen the horrors of that wretched place, they know a survivor when they see one.
| Personality For all the abuse that Seijin suffered at the hands of the Tenouzan, one can argue that he is well rounded and learned. Forced to attend the lessons of his captors, he learned to survive by retreating deep into the recesses of his own mind. It was there where he was able to escape to freedom and it was there where he truly dared to smile. On the outside, Seijin often presents as gruff and barely personable, often getting straight to the point and thinking twice as much as he cares to speak. To those that meet him, other than being quiet, Seijin is generally kind and is not one to repeat the abuses that he suffered despite having every excuse on the contrary. He does, however, leave the door open for retribution against those who were willing participants in the atrocities carried out by the Tenouza.
| History Like many children of his generation, Uzuhiko Seijin, or Sei, was born to two shinobi who were forced to the frontlines during the Bear/Marsh war, and just like too many families, his was one where the conflict itself split his family physically based on social ideologies. His father, native of Bear and his mother, a native of Marsh, had fallen in love years before the war and had settled in the southern part of the former Waterfall country, that of Hoshigakure. Unfortunately for them, the war disturbed any peace that they hoped to have. Quickly sweeping the land, the call for soldiers pulled both of them to the battlefield, and while they had had a good support system with loving family and friends in Hoshi, the sad reality of war soon found Seijin’s mother staring into the eyes of an enemy that could easily have been her brother, sister or cousin.
Trying to push through the madness of it all, the couple at first opted to take on roles that wouldn’t put them directly on the frontlines and in a position to have to kill or be killed. Unfortunately for them however, the war ravaged on and the frontlines soon began to be pushed back on both sides. Even worse, Sei’s mother fell pregnant with him during the war and gave birth to him after many pains. Like so many called to duty, Seijin’s father had only enough time to kiss his son goodbye before returning to the frontlines and it was while he was still barely weened that his father was declared missing in action, presumably dead. All goodwill and all the neighbors that had once celebrated the love between Seijin’s parents was erased due to no fault of their own. As if a switch had been flipped, the “woman from Marsh” and her “offspring” where no longer welcome in Hoshi and they were chased out by threat from those calling into question her loyalties. The story of Seijin’s life began in turmoil and sadly never got any better. Scared, alone, and unable to go back to either home that she had known, his mother took to the waters just beyond the shores of Shuzen. Bound for a new home in Kumogakure, the woman booked passage for herself and her son across the Lotus Sinus Bay. Affectionally called her “Star Child”, Seijin from an early age displayed abilities much like his father, abilities that were rumored to be highly coveted in Kaminari no Kuni to the north. With hope in her heart and her child wrapped in her arms, Seijin’s mother did everything that she could to give her son a better life away from the war, but unfortunately, she led him right into the heart of another. On that day, the two of them entered a boat bound for a better future, but only one of them would make it. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The crackle of lightning arching across the skies and the boom of thunder thereafter. The dream that Seijin dreamed always started the same. Though he found himself barely able to remember the face these days, there was that woman with a voice that always seemed to clam him when he dreamed. He assumed that it was his mother because she repeated his name in hushed whispers. So soothing, so sincere, seemingly energized by the storm above, the woman, his presumed mother, tried to calm him, but she didn’t sense what Seijin sensed, she didn’t see the face in the sky, she didn’t hear his father, telling them to turn around. The same dream, the same tug of war, the same confusion over why his mother couldn’t understand the warning, couldn’t hear his father. When at last the storm proved to powerful to weather, the cold embrace of the sea swallowed them whole and took them down into the darkness. Waking with a start, Sei wiped the sweat from his brow as he jumped to attention. It was the same dream before, the oldest memory that he seemed to have before this place, the heart of The Holy Tenouzan Republic. Chiding the Holy part, Sei calmed his heart as he slowly grew reaccustomed to the bright white of the room that he was in. Simply called the “White Room”, every day began and ended in this same room, his prison. Like many who displayed coveted abilities, Sei was conscripted against his will and forced to do the whet work of the Tenouzan leadership, whatever it was. Always forced to wear a chakra dampening collar when outside of his room, he rubbed at the chaffed skin around his neck, a steady reminder of what could be if he ever stepped out of line. Day in and day out, the years seemed to blend together, the only sign of the passage of time seemed to be the new clothes that he was provided with or in one particular awkward part of his life, the tools to shave. Trusting that he would never take the easy way out, as he grew older, he was extended small freedoms here and there, extra apples for a job well done, and even sometimes a chance to watch a rolling storm coming in across the Tenouzan Sea. On such occasions not only was he always with a collar, but he was trailed by an order of knights. The storms called to him, and he could almost make out their message but with the collar around his neck, the voice only proved to be a whisper. He had no friends, only handlers, and the “missions” that he seemed to go on were usually just excuses to use his abilities to scare the masses into submission. It seemed that his captors were just as scared of him cutting loose on the lay people as they were themselves. For being their weapon, a secret extension of their might, they were still far too Pius to allow him to be a simpleton. He was taught, but only in their way, and never was he allowed any secular information other than what he picked up from his handler’s slipups. Deep into his mind he’d retreat, making up fanciful stories in between lessons. It was there that he enjoyed time with his parents in a world where he was free to be himself, free to be free. The Tenouza claimed that his mother had recklessly abandoned him, practically begged them to take in her son, but he knew better. He knew that she would never abandon him. The perfect version of her in his mind showed him nothing but love and affection. ~ ~ ~ “Gom.” The semi-affectionate name given to Seijin by the Tenouza. Part clue as to where Seijin was from and part twisted joke based on how he was treated, the day started like any other, with his handler for the day beckoning him to wake from his slumber. This day, deciding to show a bit of defiance, he didn’t move and instead kept his eyes closed. They didn’t know that he knew his real name. They didn’t know that when he earned enough free time that he conversed with his father in the sky above. Of course, the collar kept him from fully making out his father’s words from such a far distance, but if he strained his heightened senses just enough, he could make out the messages that were sent to him. Smirking at the irony, he was sure that some would have found such a notion inspiring, but he knew that it was simply a phenomenon that they could barely grasp. All those years ago, his father hadn’t died behind enemy lines, no, his father had escaped the war outright, taking to the skies and becoming free. A freedom that he desperately wanted for his son. “Gom.” The name echoed again within the prison and the lights grew brighter, bathing the already pristinely white room in a nearly blinding light. His smirk having already given him away as being awake, the next calling of his name wasn’t so gentle. “Gom! You are to get up and be ready for your next assignment in zero zero fifteen hours. Since you have delayed in waking, your meal will not be provided.” Sighing, Seijin rolled out of bed and began his routine. Fifteen minutes? Either something was terribly wrong, or they were incredible pressed for time and Seijin was holding things up. Trying to roll back the previous time that he had been let out, Seijin tried to parse more information but as he continued with his routine his mind settled into the mental lull that had allowed him to keep his sanity for so long. By the time that his handler was coming in with his collar, he was ready to see what task they had for him next. ~ ~ ~ Sensing a certain buzz in the air, Seijin noticed that something was very much wrong. Shackled from head to toe, he made his way down the familiar hallway to the room where he was to don whatever gear was needed for the mission. He was almost about to retreat into his mind when he noticed that they passed back the usual equipment room and instead went to the door at the far end of the hallway. Something was off. Pushed more than ushered into the room, Seijin found himself looking at the black armor that he only used for the direst of situations. When donning the black armor, it usually meant that the higher ups really wanted to make an impression. Like its special color implied, the armor was different in that it amplified his powers and stretched the limits of their control over him. When he wore the black armor, his powers were amplified tenfold and the only thing that held him in check was the fact that the armor caused him to burn through his energy in record time. Untrained as he was with controlling his abilities, the Tenouza only ever wanted to use him as a big glass cannon, and it seemed like today would be no different. “Hurry up and get suited up, we’re in a hurry!” The barking command woke Seijin from his stupor and he rushed to get into the armor. Fitting his body like a second skin, when he put the helmet on, he knew immediately what had caused the alarm. So used to not fully embracing his abilities, the amplifying effect of the armor instantly affected him. Having been starved of the call of the sky, a crackle of electricity emanated from him. The order of knights in the room all snapped to attention, turning all eyes on Seijin. “Now Gom, don’t do anything stupid…” The fear in the man’s voice was clearly evident. Voice rushed with a flooding of adrenaline, Seijin couldn’t stop himself from being excited. “Why!” Another knight spoke up, probably misrecognizing Seijin’s exclaim as a question. “I knew we should have left him in his cell. We’re all going to die at the hands of this freak!” A freak? Was that how they viewed him? How was he the freak when they were the ones that acted inhumane? Inhumane… The word popped in his head from somewhere else. It almost seemed like the armor itself was putting words into his mind. Or rather, was it that he was being flooded with so much energy, so much chakra that his mind was moving at the speed of light? Hearing an explosion, followed by the room shaking and the walls starting to buckle, another knight screamed. “It’s too late, we’re trapped!” Trapped? No, Seijin could feel the sky above, in fact, he could reach out and touch it. Reaching his hand up, he looked up and watched as tiny particles of chakra began to coalesce around his arm and concentrate in his palm. With barely any further thought given he simply wished to grab hold of the sky and suddenly in the blink of an eye he was high above the prison. Still able to hear the pleas of the knights, he looked down in awe as he witnessed yet another strange phenomenon, that of the Holy See of Tenouza being literally folded by invisible hands. Finding himself somewhat inquisitive, Seijin started to approach the place below, but the sound of his father called to him loud and clear like never before. “Seijin! It’s time to come home.” ~ ~ ~ It had been some time since Seijin had broken free from the Tenouza and had been reunited with his parents. Now, middle aged, and enjoying a new life in Kumogakure, there had been many days of tearful apologies from both his mother and his father. They had blamed themselves for the life that he had been subjected to, but he could never blame them for what had happened. He learned that the ship he and his mother had traveled on had capsized just off Tenouzan territorial shores, separating them. She had been found by fishermen who eventually helped her on her way to Kumogakure, whereas he was found by an order of Tenouzan knights on patrol. His father, meanwhile, had been captured by Marsh forces but had escaped. Fearful of leading the enemy to his doorstep, he’d made his way to Kumogakure and was working with agents there to find his wife and child. In all, like so many things in life, happenstance had kept all three of them apart for far too long. On the stormy night that Seijin and his mother had been separated, it was his father’s distant control over the storm that had protected him. From that day onward, his father had been reaching out, trying to make the connection to his son, to find him from afar, but the chakra dampening tools that the Tenouza had in place had prevented him from truly pinpointing where he was. It was only when Seijin wore the black armor that his father could strongly sense him and it by all appearances it seemed as if the Tenouza had an idea that this might have been the case. It only made sense when Seijin considered that he was never able to wear the armor for long. ~ ~ ~ Somewhat acclimated to a normal life, Sei was only in the local town to get supplies. Having settled into the farming life. The life of a Tenouzan tool was long behind him. Even the call of the black armor was just a whisper. At his father’s insistence they had finally figured out that the reason that the black armor proved to be a beacon was because it was pure chakra in physical form. Apparently the Tenouza had stumbled upon something that they didn’t fully understand as the chakra seemed to actually be alive. Happening upon a certain stall, Sei was comparing the price of apples to oranges when a masked stranger bumped into him and slipped a card into his hand. Days later, he’d find himself going back to that dark corner of the family barn, back to that dark chest that held an even darker armor. Like an evanescent voice in the night, it continued to call for him daily through hushed whispers. The lure of such a power always came with price and even though the price could be steep, Seijin found it all too easy a debt to pay. Though he had sworn against working for any other military force, the meeting that followed provided every bit of the rush that he had been missing. Having a quiet life with his family was great, but apparently there were still Tenouzan agents scattered across the shinobi world, threatening to rise to power once more. His goals seemingly aligned with this… Sennin… and with his name not tying back to any Kumogakurian ledgers, he was just the sort of agent that they could use to weed out the Tenouza from the shadows. |
