Shizuya

"Silent as a leaf blowing in the wind..." -Omegaxis1

Shizuya is a wanderer that travels the the lands, seeking a purpose in life, after losing it from her village being destroyed, and her family killed.

Background

Shizuya was born in the Village of Rising Sun. Her father was a blacksmith and a master swordsman, and her mother was the daughter of a samurai. When Shizuya was a young, she trained with her father with a sword and learned his Kenjutsu style, Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū, as she had always shown skill with a blade and had desire to be stronger so that she could protect her family. She deeply loved her mother and father, and especially her soon to come baby brother. However, one tragic night, the village was attacked by a group rogue shinobi and everyone was slaughtered. She and her father attempted to drive the shinobi out, but they were too many of them. Despite the fact that her father was a master swordsman, his skills had grown dull during the time of peace, and wasn't as strong as he used to be, which resulted in him getting fatally wounded in battle at Shizuya's witness. Her father begged her with his last breath to take her mother and flee the village, and she complied, with tears in her eyes. However, when she returned home, she saw that her mother, and unborn brother, were killed by a shinobi. 

At that moment, something snapped inside her and she lost control of both her mind and her chakra. She went on a rampage and slaughtered every rogue shinobi in sight. A few begged her to spare them, but they fell into deaf ears as she killed them outright. Her chakra went so out of control that a lock of her hair turned white, because her chakra drained a bit of her life force in that battle. After all the shinobi were killed, and the new day began, Shizuya regained her senses and was horrified by what she had done, especially because the stench of blood filled her nostrils from the blood that covered her. She then worked the entire day to bury her villagers and her family and marked their graves. After that, rain began to fall as they attempted to wash away her tears and blood, but the tears kept coming, and Shizuya screamed to the air with all her might, trying to release her anguish to no avail. After that, she left the destroyed village and became a wanderer who never speaks, as she doesn't have the will to speak any longer. All she had left was her life and her sword. The trauma seems to also have caused her to forget certain parts of her memory, such as her family name. The only part of her name she recalls was her first name: Shizuya.

A few weeks after leaving her former home, she ran out of food and money, and began traveling aimlessly tired, hungry, and thirsty. Soon, she collapsed from it and was nearing death, until she was saved by a young ninja monk that was returning to his temple. He immediately took her back to the temple to recuperate her. After she had awoken, she was able to replenish her hunger and thirst by the meal the monks had provided, and was only able to express thanks from her gestures, since she would no longer speak. She stayed there for a few more days to recover and discovered that the monks also trained in battle as well. She attempted to train, but she was only good at using her blade and chakra, which was always by her side. The monks eventually decided to train her in utilizing her elemental affinity to help her grow stronger, when they saw her determination to become strong. They used a special paper that reacted to chakra and helped her discover her Wind affinity and trained her to master it.

During the training, she displayed incredible skill, as she was able to completely cut the leaf in half in a month's time, when it would normally take 6 months to accomplish such a feat. When she had to cut the waterfall, she was very determined to finish it just as quickly, but it was more difficult than that, as she was barely able to make a small cut on it. On the 3rd month, she began growing frustrated about unable to finish it and began losing sleep and skipping meals so that she could complete the training fast, when in reality that would only make training harder for her. The other monks pleaded with her to stop and rest, but she refused to concede. She pushed her chakra to the brink until she was completely out, and she collapsed and was feeling death once more. She silently began cursing her weakness as she felt her consciousness fading. This reawakened her memories of the night her village was destroyed and the same feeling she had before when she slaughtered the rogue shinobi began to awaken as well. She rose up once more and released the same out of control power as back then and tried to cut the waterfall again, this time succeeding, but she also destroyed it as well since she used more power than necessary, and a bit more of her hair turned white. She then fell off and was rescued by the monks.

Shizuya was then asleep for an entire week, as she pushed herself beyond her limits. The elder monk that had seen that state of power she released warned her after she had awoken and recuperated that whenever her emotions reached their peak, she used her life force to enhance her power. However, such a power was dangerous as it meant that she was slowly killing herself from that. Her lock white hair symbolized that she was losing her life force. However, from that power, she had finally mastered her Wind chakra. She then left the temple as she preferred to not stay any longer now that her training was done. The monks bid her goodbye and she responded by blowing on a leaf, and made a tune of her feelings to them: her joy about having met them, and her sadness of having to go. Afterwards, she left to wander around more, with some money the monks decided to give her.

Afterwards, she trained her chakra affinity with her skills with the blade. She hunts animals and gathers herbs to sell in any nearby town. Since she traveled for so long, around to many places, she is quite knowledgeable of several things and pick up on certain things as well, such as rumors, talk, or news.

Personality

Shizuya never speaks due to a trauma from her past, and prefers to be left alone. Because of that, she doesn't enjoy remaining in one place for very long, or she'll grow attached to it. She can communicate with others with motion gestures and such. However, on rare occasions, she would sometimes blows on a leaf to make a melody that express her feelings. She prefers to avoid fighting if it can be helped, but will fight to defend herself. If she battles anyone that she sees as an enemy, she will become merciless, and will kill the foe without a second thought. If she loses control over her emotions, she will seemingly lose herself and kill on sight anything or anyone in her way.

Appearance

Shizuya is a fair-skinned girl at average height of 5' tall, with waist length red hair, a lock of it being pure white, and short bangs and chin-length strands framing her face. She has violet eyes. She wears a form-fitting kunoichi uniform at all times, despite not actually being a shinobi. Her uniform is grey-colored with a right shoulder-guard, has grey gloves, and an opening in her shirt which reveals some of her sizable cleavage. There's a sheath on attached to her back in which she carries her sword, but she usually places the sheath on her waist when she prepares to enter battle.

When she's not in battle, she wears a disguise as a merchant in a red garb with a floral pattern, a strawhat that hides her eyes, and basket bag that she stores her items for profit in. She wears the disguise over her uniform just in case.

Skill Stats

• Ninjutsu: 6/10 [She was born with a large amount of chakra, but she never learned any of the Ninjutsu that requires hand signs at the moment.]
• Taijutsu: 3/10 [She relies greatly on her sword, and therefore never trained in close hand-to-hand combat. She knows some form of taijutsu, but she can only use it to temporarily fend off foes until she retrieves her sword.]
• Genjutsu: 1/10 [She can dispel low-level Genjutsu.]
• Kyudo (Archery): 0/10
• Kenjutsu (Swordsmanship): 8/10 [She's trained by a sword her whole life, and after her tragedy, she spent the rest of her time honing her blade and skills. There are very few that could rival her in the skill of a blade. She's a skilled user of the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū, but hasn't completely mastered the style yet.]
• Fuinjutsu: 0/10

Physical Stats

• Offensive: 7/10 [With her blade and Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū style, her offensive skills are deadly, especially when added with her Wind chakra.]
• Defensive: 5/10
• Speed and Agility: 7/10 [She trained to become fast and swift with a blade, so that she could end battles quickly, especially from the fact that she can't see things from a distance. They are also needed for Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū Battōjutsu techniques.]
• Endurance: 3/10
• Reflex: 7/10 [From all her training by herself for years, she developed reflexes to avoid getting hit by attacks.]

Main Element/Specialty

• Wind Element
• Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū- A unique kenjutsu style that was designed to allow the user to defeat numerous foes single-handedly. The style holds great power and speed for the wielder She learned the techniques by training with her father and watching him practice it. However, there were certain techniques that she never learned as her father intended to pass them down to her when she turned 15. Although Shizuya's father is gone, the techniques are said to be in a scroll in the birthplace of the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu. However, the location is unknown to Shizuya. There is a major drawback to the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū. The immense force and energy required to perform many of the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū's moves take a cumulative toll on the body of the user. With sufficient physical strength training and limited combat, the effects can be staunched, but will inevitably render the user incapable of wielding the style's tremendous power. If the ultimate technique of this style, Amakakeru Ryū no Hirameki (Flash of the Heavenly Flying Dragon) is learned, then the toll will hasten much faster.
• Battōjutsu- A field of kenjutsu which deals specifically with the rapid drawing and sheathing of a sword. Shizuya uses this skill for Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū techniques that require it.

Equipment

• Long sword that is made of the same metal that absorbs chakra. The weapon was her father's last creation that her father made before his passing, and was given to her as a gift. She treasures it greatly.
• Herbal medicine

Techniques

• Danger Awareness- She developed this awareness of her surroundings after living outside for so long. She became paranoid with the thought of any dangerous animals, bandits, or shinobi that could kill her in her sleep. This made her brain become more aware so that even when she sleeps, Shizuya is aware of her surroundings and will instantly awaken and be ready to strike if danger approaches her. She can also tell just how powerful a foe can be with this, because her senses will sense how dangerous the foe is. This skill can also help in battle as it helps her sense the danger of the attack coming at her, helping her analyze the power of the technique and better dodge it..
• Berserker State- A state Shizuya enters when her emotions have reached their peak and her chakra and stamina are depleted. Her brain sends a signal to her body to accelerate the recovery of chakra from her cells and continuously distribute it to her body to enhance all her skills. In this state, she's at her most powerful. But she is also at her most vulnerable.

Ninjutsu:

• Wind Blade- Uses her Wind chakra to enhance her sword's attacks, as well as extend the range of the strikes.
• Wind Blade Wave- Shizuya activates it by summoning chakra in her blade, and then swipes a slicing chakra wave. She is also able to use the technique in a rapid-fire, successive motion.
• Scatter Blade Dance- By utilizing the Wind chakra into her blade as she swings, she can make blades of wind attack the opponent, and at a farther range, utilizing the Wind element's effectiveness as a close to mid range combat element.
• Speed Boost- With her great chakra control, she can focus the chakra to the soles of her feet to accelerate her speed. This allows her to reach her opponents faster and helps avoid her weakness of long range fighters.

Kenjutsu: (Here are a list of the techniques of the Kenjutsu style, Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū. She sometimes uses these techniques in conjunction with her Wind Style)

• Ryūtsuisen (Dragon Hammer Flash) - From a position higher than one's opponent (usually initiated by a powerful jump), Shizuya uses the momentum of the fall to strengthen her sword swing that brings the blade down on the opponent's head or shoulder.
• Ryūkansen (Dragon Coiling Flash) - Most often used as a counterattack against a thrust or charge, Shizuya sidesteps a forward-moving opponent and moves past them. In doing so, she spins in a full circle, adding momentum and centrifugal force to the strength of the sword swing, which is then aimed at either the opponent's back or the back of the neck.
• Ryūkansen Tsumuji (Dragon Coiling Flash: Whirl) - One of the variations of Ryūkansen, Ryūkansen Tsumuji is a direct attack rather than a counter, and involves a more forward direction of spinning, such as in a drilling motion like a torpedo.
• Ryūkansen Kogarashi (Dragon Coiling Flash: Wintry Wind) - Shizuya does simple backhanded slash from a single turn to blast the foe away, with her blade powered by her Wind chakra.
• Ryūkansen Arashi (Dragon Coiling Flash: Storm) - A variation of the normal Ryūkansen, this technique places Shizuya in a full rolling somersault slash while attacking.
• Ryūshōsen (Dragon Flight Flash) - The opposite of Ryūtsuisen, Ryūshōsen is a rising attack meant to strike the jaw from below. For additional power, one uses one's free arm to apply force to the back of the blade and utilizes a powerful upward jump during the attack.
• Ryūsōsen (Dragon Nest Flash) - A massive flurry of strikes delivered to the opponent. The sheer speed of the slashes makes this technique difficult to counter.
• Doryūsen (Earth Dragon Flash) - A ranged attack that works well for Shizuya, Doryūsen strikes an opponent outside of the her range by striking the ground with her Wind-powered sword and sending earthen debris at said opponent with knockout force.

Battōjutsu: (Needed for other Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū techniques)

• Iaidō- Not a Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū technique, but a samurai skill that she taught herself. The technique is concerned with the smooth, controlled movements of drawing the sword from its scabbard, striking or cutting an opponent, removing blood from the blade, and then replacing the sword in the scabbard. The linear motion and force applied to draw the sword from its scabbard results in slashes that are faster and stronger than ones realized with the sword already drawn. The speed at which these techniques can be executed — the initial strike in particular — is such, that when performed by a skilled user, it can prevent enemy shinobi from forming hand seals (and thus ninjutsu), by exploiting the small opening that these movements create. This makes them highly effective against most shinobi.
• Sōryūsen (Twin Dragon Flash) - Seemingly a simple Battōjutsu strike, Sōryūsen is the first of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū's two-step Battōjutsu moves. After the first strike with the quickened sword, the user wields the empty sheath along the same path as a blunt weapon. After the sword strike lands, the sheath strike delivers a pulverizing blow capable of crushing bone and shattering wood, but if the sword strike misses, the sheath strike acts as powerful insurance, preventing an opponent's attack and delivering a crushing blow when it's least expected.
• Sōryūsen Ikazuchi (Twin Dragon Flash: Thunder) - An alternate form of Sōryūsen wherein the sword is wielded while still inside the sheath. The first strike is made with the sheathed sword and, once it makes contact, the sword is drawn using Battōjutsu for a second strike. While the original Sōryūsen is designed to make two strikes, Sōryūsen Ikazuchi was designed with the assumption that the first strike will be blocked.
• Hiryūsen (Flying Dragon Flash) After assuming a Battōjutsu stance, one rotates one's body rapidly and then stops, aiming the sheath at one's target. The force shoots the sword's grip out of the sheath like an arrow, allowing one to strike a target outside of one's zone. As a Battōjutsu move, it can be assumed that the sheath can then be used as a melee weapon in a second strike, but this is not seen. The techniques requires proper control, for applying too much may make the sword fly out of its sheath too far should it miss.

Weakness

1. Emotions- She keeps her emotions locked inside after her tragedy, and if they get unleashed, she loses control of herself completely. This is to keep her from entering her Berserker State.
2. Genjutsu- Shizuya has a fear of genjutsu at times, for they might force her to relive her past again, and that leaves her emotions open for attack.
3. Taijutsu- If she were to be disarmed of her sword, she would become vulnerable to Taijutsu as she is not very skilled in it.
4. Long Range- Since Shizuya is unable to see well from a distance, she is vulnerable to opponents that are specialists to long range attacks, unless she gets near them.
5. Disarmed- If she is to be disarmed of her sword, she won't be able to perform most, if not all, of her techniques.
6. Teamwork- Since Shizuya has been alone for so long, she relies on her skills only, meaning that she can't get in sync with others, and see them more as a liability.
7. Fire Techniques- Shizuya is skilled in Wind element techniques, which makes her vulnerable to Fire techniques, since Wind is weak to Fire.
8. Berserker State- Though she is at her most powerful, she is at her most vulnerable here. In this state, she no longer has any morality and sees anything and everything as an enemy which she will kill on sight. The use of this also accelerates her chakra recovery from her cells, which also causes her lifespan to shorted, symbolized by her hair turning white. The more hair that turns white, the closer she is to death.