Name: Mayo Shimazu
Age: 16
Gender: Female
Village: Kirigakure
Rank: Genin
Title: N/A
Clan: N/A
Bloodline: N/A
Element(s): Fuuton
Skill(s): Kenjutsu, Ninjutsu
Stats
- Strength: D
- Constitution: D
- Stamina: D
- Speed: D
- Coordination: D
- Intelligence: D
- Perception: D
Unique Abilities:
- Wind Whisperer:
Wind Whisperer ー Wind Whisperer is a unique blade within Mayo's possession. Its appearance is that of an uchigatana with the blade length of 63cm. Its blade, rather than carrying a light or dark hue, has an odd coloration of a faint green, enough that its difference from normal swords is obvious. Going down, the uchigatana has a round tsuba to protect the wielder's hand; contrasting the hue of the blade, the tsuba has a dull black color with a slightly rounded seppa. The hilt of the uchigatana has a comfortable tsuka-ito snugly wrapped around it, opting for the comfort of grip to avoid chafing the wielder's hand a fair amount. It is in this rather comfortable tsuka-ito that a person can witness the care poured into the making of the blade, both for the weapon itself and the presumed wielder. The cloth has a faint green color as well, going along with the odd coloration of the blade. The sheath, in turn, is pitch black, coinciding with the color of the tsuba.
The blade's coloration denotes its composition, that of a different metal than simple steel. Made of a specialized chakra steel, Wind Whisperer stays true to its name in that it acts as a great conduit for Wind and a bad medium for any other element. Alongside the normal property of chakra steel, Wind Whisperer has the property of resonating with the natural wind around the area. As such, should the user flow their chakra along the blade, they gain the capacity of extending the range of their slashes by manipulating the wind along the trajectory of their blade to unleash sickles of winds, not unlike the usage of a Fan.
An odd effect of this ability is that the wind affected by the blade gains a faint green discoloration, making it easier to spot the movement of the razor-sharp currents of wind. The presence of this blade permits the user to circumvent the need for hand seals whenever using the blade as the medium for its execution, though this limits the variety of the techniques that can be used with it due to its innate shape (ergo, it cannot shoot attacks that the shape of the blade cannot naturally make, such as condensed circular bullets of wind, dragon-shaped wind attacks, etcetera.).
Alongside its property as a conduit for Fuuton, Wind Whisperer is a rather strong uchigatana in its own right. It has a sharp blade and a good amount of reach, permitting a skilled swordsman to utilize it fluidly. Slashes from this blade is sure to deal a good amount of damage, and its durability is nothing to laugh at either. Though beyond its abilities, one can call Wind Whisperer as simply an above-average uchigatana.
Wind Whisperer was made by Mayo's father as his life's work, one that he poured a large portion of his time, attention and life into, to the point of neglecting his own health and his relation with his family. Every single day, her father tirelessly worked into crafting something that'd normally be beyond his reach as an artisan. Though he successfully created the blade as an entirely unique uchigatana, it came with the harsh price of his life soon slipping from his grasp. This sword is his first and last gift to Mayo, being the awkward father that he was whom did not know how to interact with his own child.
- A glimpse!:
Mayo Shimazu is a healthy teenager girl from Kirigakure that stands at the height of five feet and seven inches (5'7"). With long legs, her strides are often longer than most females her height, and it is accentuated by the confidence that tends to accompany every step that she makes, as though the ground is assured to be where her foot is. When walking, she's the type of girl that tends to keep her gaze where she's headed, easily resulting in a prim atmosphere around her. As a shinobi, it is a complete given that her body has enough fitness for her to be considered healthy, her limbs, rather than muscular, are lean and geared towards agile movements rather than bursts of strength.
Jet-black tresses fall from the top of her head, easily reaching her derriere regardless of whether or not it's let down. She often ties it up in a neat ponytail, causing a rather picturesque trail flowing after her motion whenever she moves. Mayo has a pair of amber-hued eyes, easily narrowed into a sharp glare or a grimace whenever in the middle of a serious activity. She's the type of conversationalist to keep her eyes focused entirely on the eyes of the person that she's talking to, often to the point of seeming like she's attempting to peer into their soul. Though it is less due to any such profound attempts and more of due to her lack of social skills.
Her attire is often composed of a formal, white uniform-esque outfit, complete with black stockings and black loafers. Though as a teenager, she naturally has a wardrobe filled with casual clothing whenever 'the mood to dress up strikes', which is sadly rare due to her current lifestyle. Due to her focus on Kenjutsu, her palms are calloused and quite hard in some spots, easily making it the part of her body that she's mostly conscious of as a female. To that end, she tends to cover it up with a pair of smooth white gloves, a pair that she tends to remove before engaging in training or combat to avoid unfortunate mishaps. As for scars, presently speaking, she has none to speak of due to the recentness of her career as a full-fledged shinobi.
History:- はじまる。:
Born as the fruit of the matrimony between an artisan and a shinobi, Mayo Shimazu had a rather unremarkable family. Her childhood held little-to-no aspects of importance, mainly being her interaction with her mother and her vague aspirations of wanting to become a shinobi that'd make her mother proud. Ever since her birth, Mayo had sparse interactions with her father, almost to the point that he felt like a stranger to her. Her father had little idea of what constitutes a good parent, to that end, while he was there for their family, he wasn't there to be a father for her. Mostly keeping to his work, Mayo's father rarely interacted with her or bonded with her. This eventually led to a chasm forming between her and her father, with Mayo's thoughts being that 'he never cared for me' until her later years.
Though naturally, as a child, she was the type to try and garner her father's attention but to no avail. All of her familial interactions stemmed from her mother instead, causing her to become quite rebellious during her earlier years due to lack of a father's stern guidance. Often times, Mayo would ignore the usual regulations set by her mother. She'd ignore social cues, or proper manners; refusing to say thanks before eating and even eating with her own hands rather than the utensils given! This caused some form of social awkwardness to steadily develop within her, something that'd only fully impact her during her teenage years. Still, the young Mayo refused to give up on interacting with her father.
It wasn't until her ninth birthday when she attempted to aggressively steal her father's attention. The end result is quite expected: her father shouting at her and telling her to stay out of his work as he was busy trying to craft his life's work, a weapon that would soon be called Wind Whisperer. As a child, however, Mayo just had enough of it. Puerile in her development, and rebellious due to the lack of stern guidance, she shouted back at him-- essentially stating that he cared more about his work than his family. While usually stern, her father naturally experienced a great degree of emotional pain, enough that it showed on his face. Rather than shout back at Mayo, her father simply chose to work in silence.
Mayo -knew- at that point that what she did was wrong, but refusing to admit it due to childish pride, she simply opted to run out of his workshop. This is when he started to truly devote all of his time into finishing his work to gift it to Mayo as an apology. Regret is what fettered him to his workbench, as well as the desperation of fixing his relationship with his daughter. Though this came at the expense of widening the chasm further, the lack of communication caused Mayo to begin blaming herself for what their growing distance. While her mother was understanding and understood her husband's personality, Mayo didn't.
To that end, she sought to deepen her skill solely in Kenjutsu. Her father was an artisan mostly focused on the creation of swordsー a swordsmith, per se. And as a swordsmith, it'd be inevitable for the two of them to interact were she to become a swordsman. That was what she wanted to work on as her apology for hurting her father. Awkwardly enough, rather than converse with her father about what she did or smooth it out, she did the same thing as him: focus entirely on one thing. She focused on practicing her Kenjutsu, enough that it steadily paved the way into marking her as a prospective talent to look forward to. Though it wasn't a talent born from genes or any such fortunate blessings during her birth, nay, it was naught but her mindless dedication into training that made her a 'talented' individual.
Though naturally, her mother prevented her from harming herself from overworking, often times butting into her training session and forcing her to take a break. The same could not be said for her father, however. During the later parts of the creation of Wind Whisperer, his health began to undergo a sharp decline. Mayo, at this point, was within the range of her early teens. Even then, she was oblivious to her father's declining health, whereas her mother was starting to express concern for her husband. It was for naught, however, and as her father completed the creation of Wind Whisperer, his declining health caught up to him, eventually causing him to grow ill and be bedridden. Irrevocably so.
It was on his deathbed that he first opened up to Mayoー the first and last time, that is. He revealed the fact that he felt guilty for neglecting Mayo, he revealed the fact that he simply did not know how to interact with his daughter, that he was afraid of hurting her for she 'looked so frail and so gentle' that he couldn't bear the thought of hurting her. And in that fear, he did just that. He continued with such statements, with every revelation accompanied by heartfelt apologies, and regrets that he should have done better and attempted to do more rather than simply work tirelessly on his 'apology'. Before his final breath, he bequeathed upon her the Wind Whisperer, the blade that he worked so hard on. And as his final words, stated:
''Happy Birthday, Mayo.''
That was the last time she heard his voice, and similar to his regrets, Mayo had her own regrets; she never did get to apologize to her father. Stricken with regret and anger towards her own lack of understanding of her father's nature, Mayo mourned in grief for months on end. Though she did not accompany her mourning with simply indolence and inactivity; in a similar fashion to her father, she simply focused further on her training as her way of mourning, though thankfully, her mother remained by her side to prevent her from falling into the same pitfall as her father. During the next years, as she trained without a stop, Mayo had found out the true aspects of the blade that was given to her by her late father.
It was no simple blade, but one that harnessed the very power of the wind through its unique composition. Naming it Wind Whisperer, Mayo began to simultaneously delve into the arts of swordsmanship and Fuuton. The latter is something that she sought to tie into her swordsmanship, enough that it'd function as the identifying quality of her fighting style. Practicing her usage of Ninjutsu was something that did not come easy to her, yet her dedication eventually yielded results in terms of using Ninjutsu. Now a proud user of both Fuuton and Kenjutsu, Mayo took her first step as a Genin.
Mayo Shimazu is a teenager that most would consider to be socially inept. While she can strike up conversations and start them up, most of the time, her actions would cause her to seem eccentric or... odd. In social situations, she's likely to perform fallacies or faux pas simply from lacking the true knowledge of how social communication goes. During conversations, she's the type to peer -too long- into a person's eyes in hopes of eye contact. The presumption that it is rude to break eye contact is something that she adheres to to a staggering degree.
That isn't the worst of it, as Mayo may sometimes come off as stiff and rigid due to her mannerisms. This stems from her uncertainty at times, a concrete example would be not sitting down when eating out with a friend until told to take a sit as she believes it'd be impolite to not sit without permission. While that may simply be rigid in terms of mannerisms rather than uncertain, it is when she's told to sit down that her uncertainty would present itselfー in that she'd actually -freeze- partway into sitting down before asking: ''Here?''
Contrasting her lack of social experience leading to occasional bouts of awkwardness, Mayo carries herself with a rather confident and prim gait. Long strides, eyes ahead with her back straight; those function as the main aspects of her demeanor when walking, enough to cement her confidence and assurance behind every step that she makes. Not limited to her walking, Mayo carries her confidence to her chest, enough that she knows exactly what her limitations are and her strengths.
Conviction is something that she has in surplus, with her dedication to improving her craft to bring honor to her father's name being her utmost driving factor. When it comes to aspects outside of social communication and interaction, Mayo can actually seem quite cold yet determined. Though make no mistake, while she may be the type to plunge her blade into the heart of an opponent if it is for the sake of a mission, Mayo's heart is innately benevolent at times, to a fault even.
Killing only when absolutely necessary, or when ordered to do so, Mayo is the type to forgive people -easily-, harking back from when her father perished with his final words being his apology. Simultaneously, Mayo is the type to apologize -immediately- should she believe that she has done something wrong or hurt anyone, be it inadvertently or intentionally. It is partially due to the trauma of not being able to apologize to her father before he perished, leading to her habit of apologizing too much and potentially for the wrong things as well.
Honest to a fault, Mayo is the type to blame herself before blaming others for their mistakes. She's the type to meditate over the day's events before going to sleep, thinking sharply on her mistakes, on what she should improve on and what she did right. It is in this way that she keeps herself mentally and emotionally sound, enough that she can continue to improve on herself without hesitation. Her honesty is not to be mistaken for being gullible, however, and conversely, she is not socially inept enough that she'd simply state her honest thoughts even if they are harmful. She knows -enough- to avoid using harmful words even when describing others' shortcomings or mistakes, -if- ever she does such a thing anyway.
Contrary to the usual stereotype of such rigid females, Mayo isn't the type to be susceptible to mentions of romance and love. As a teenager, and a female one at that, she is interested in romance and occasionally spends the time reading love stories whenever she's taking a break from her training. Though it is simply an interest, and not a desire to pursue one, thus it is unlikely for it to happen.
Dedication is another of Mayo's strength, she's the type to dedicate herself fully to a goal or a task that she sets her mind on. Once she dedicates herself to something, she focuses on it completely, enough to the point that one would assume she's one-tracked mind. This is an aspect that she picked up from her father, being his daughter.
As for food, Mayo isn't the type to be a picky eater, though she naturally has some preferences. Being born within Kirigakure meant that her regular diet is composed of fish, thus, fish is something that she considers to be part of her staple food. Enough that she cannot consider it to be a full-fledged meal without rice -and- fish on the table. Miso soup, broiled fish, seaweed and rice is her usual breakfast; hearty and healthy enough that she can go on through the day. Occasionally, she'd treat herself to sweets, though she's not particularly gungho about them as she's the type to prefer mochi and dango. As a rather traditional Japanese in terms of taste, Mayo is partial towards tea, often times buying an exuberant amount of tea...
Roleplay Sample:- Mayo Shimazu's Reflection:
An unmistakable chill settled into the air as the scarlet-hued skies shifted into a panoramic display of a deep midnight velvet. The moon, sadly enough, wasn't visible through the faint mist obfuscating the vicinity as well as the thin yet long clouds dotting the skies. It was inconsequential, however, as Mayo was far more focused on the cup of tea nestled betwixt her hands. Long and slender fingers were wrapped around the cup, deriving warmth from the hot green tea resting within. Her hands weren't covered by their usual gloves, revealing their calloused entirety to those fortunate enough to be nearby, which thankfully was no one else but herself. Her mother had already gone to sleep due to her age requiring longer periods of rest from her.
Her mother's aging self wasn't what occupied Mayo's thoughts. Instead, her mind was preoccupied with thoughts of both the past and the future; the steps that she took to get to the present, and what steps she needed to take to get to her desired future. It was a conundrum, as she knew that while she may be better now than she was in the past, there was still a long and rigorous path ahead of her. Pebbles, walls and even mountains were sure to bar her path. There was no questioning her motive of surmounting any challenge, but doing so was far easier said than done, she knew that. Thus, she couldn't help but to think about it. Even then, she did not neglect her tea; as her thoughts persisted within her mind, practiced motion unconsciously brought the rim of her cup towards her lips.
The hardened glass felt warm to the touch, enough that her lips curled into a faint smile as the heat tickled her cheeks and graced her nose with the relaxing scent of eucalyptus. A silent sip transpired with enough tea entering her mouth to warm her up from the chilly weather that settled into the area; she was sitting on top of a purple cushion just outside their front porch. Quite odd, as most of the time, people would simply be relaxing within their household rather than on the front porch. It was a rather chilly night too, but the cold simply accentuated the taste of her tea more. This was part of the reason why Mayo chose to stay out, as... oddly obsessive towards tea as it may be.
''Father,'' A faint voice, deep yet simultaneously soft enough that it seemed liable to shatter with the vibrations being produced, parted her lips. ''Am I making you proud?''
It was a question without an answer, for the person that she asked was no longer with her. She was alone in searching for the answer to that question, as she knew that only she, herself, would be capable of deriving the answer. First, she needed achievements, accomplishments and merits. To do that, she needed to become stronger. But the question still remained, even though she knew what she needed to do to truly make him proud. A part of her knew-- believed that her father would be proud of her already. A part of her wanted to be assured in that fact, all so that the familial warmth such a thought incited would keep her going. Mayo couldn't help but smile at her own thoughts, a wry smile.
''Even now I...'' Her words stopped themselves as she took another mouthful of her tea before setting it aside. A hand reached out to the object next to her, her blade: the Wind Whisperer. It was sheathed, naturally, so the very first thing her fingertips felt was the cold yet smooth material of the sheath. Her fingers traced the contours of the sheath, as though endearingly touching the skin of a baby rather than the hardened material that comprised her sword's sheath. Eventually, her hand gripped the sheath firmly and brought it in front of her face. Her other hand glided towards the hilt and tugged it sharply, permitting the blade to sing softly as it slid against the sheath's interior.
From there, the lightly green blade of her katana poked out from inside the sheath. It reflected her amber irises as they burned not with sadness, but with determination. Her lips curled into yet another smile at that sight; she found it comforting to realize that even without her consciously thinking of such things, she was driven. At the very least, she knew that she could have faith in herself, in her own heart and her own drive. Driven by her own reflection, Mayo rose from her relaxed position and took a couple of steps away from the front porch of their house. It was a homely house, nothing too big but nothing too small. As she gripped the hilt of her now unsheathed blade, her feet parted and her body lowered itself into a stance that she was most comfortable in.
Owing to the length of her blade, she opted for a two-handed grip on her uchigatana. Her arms were raised to the side of her head, with the blade pointed forward, whereas her body was slightly lowered to balance her weight. A foot stepped forward, followed by a sudden kick against the ground to dash forth. Accompanying her dash was the graceful twirling of her upper body. An arc was traced by her blade, leading to the faint shifting of the wind as it elegantly sliced through the nearby currents. Thankfully, her chakra wasn't being focused onto her sword, thus no extraneous effects transpired. But Mayo did not cease in her practiced motions. At the end of the spinning slash, she performs another.
This time, her blade came from below, performing an upward curve that'd likely aim to slice into an opponent's body from below and up towards their face. Not limiting herself to simply the swings of her blade, the motion was followed by a swift yet relatively weak kick from her left leg. Adaptation in combat was something to consider imperative, after all, thus limiting herself to her sword would no doubt spell her demise at some point. Needless to say, she did not focus too much on the Taijutsu aspect of combat, evident by how after the kick, she focused on slashes and the rare thrusts with her uchigatana.
A fourfold slash composed of two diagonal slashes, one vertical slash and a horizontal slash; a pantomime of a parry followed by a riposte in the form of a retaliatory swing at a would-be enemy's upper body. Mayo performed a myriad of practiced slashes, eager to simply ease herself into 'relaxation' through training. Soon enough, her stamina ran low, and beads of sweat rolled down from the side of her head. Due to the fact that it was night time, and just before her bed time, she opted to end it then and there. A soft and gentle sound resonated in the vicinity yet again, this time from her sheathing of her blade. With a faint sigh, she approached her lukewarm tea, downed it in one gulp before entering the comfortable interior of her house.
