+- Naruto: The Hidden Curse -+ ---[Starts!]

[Arnen]

Slightly more belated than I would have liked, but here it is!

~Name: Kozue Haru
~Gender: Male
~Age: 13

~Appearance: People usually look at Haru and assume that he is much younger than he actually is. This may be because many boys his age have already started going through puberty; it may be because of the soft look to his face. Whatever the case, he is definitely several inches shorter than most of his male classmates, and much smaller of build. The slight paleness to his skin may also attribute to his feeble appearance, contrasted with the tousled black hair that falls to just below the nape of his neck, being slightly longer in the back. His eyes are brown, being the color of sun-baked mud toward the pupils and getting darker towards the edges of the irises. Usually, he is seen garbed in a white short-sleeved shirt with sky-blue collar and sleeve-cuffs. A round green tab adorns each cuff, which can be used to buckle on a pair of matched gloves, which have navy-blue fishnet at the knuckles and fingers, and straps at the top to connect to his shirtsleeves. His pants are olive-green capri-style cargos, leaving a few inches of his calves bare above his standard-issue blue sandals. His ninja band is worn tied around his neck, as it falls down onto his nose when he attempts to wear it on his forehead.

~Personality: Haru is a very timid boy. He prefers to play by himself instead of with his classmates, and tends to get nervous when approached. Because he speaks very little, his voice is very quiet, and he has a slight stutter and sometimes stumbles over his words. His fellow Genin peg him as stupid because of this, which makes it all the more difficult for him to connect with other kids his age. He also tends to get wrapped up in his story-writing, which often lulls him into a state of reverie in which his perception of reality becomes somewhat skewed for several minutes after he puts down his pen.

~Main Jutsu: He specializes in medical Jutsu (which I noticed wasn't on the list Oo), although he also handles Genjutsu fairly well (his special technique being of this variety).

~Special Abilities: Iki ta Monogatari no Jutsu - Living Story Jutsu
This Genjutsu enables him to use his words to create a fairly strong illusion. The person he uses it on will not hear the descriptions he works into the Jutsu, as he whispers, but will gradually see the scenery around him change as though he were a character in a story being told by Haru. (Example: Haru could activate the Jutsu and say something like, "A heavy fog rolled in, obscuring everything beyond a few feet in front of so-and-so," and whoever he was using it on would suddenly see fog all around them.) However, the person will not be able to touch or feel any of these effects (as in the last example, they would not have felt the damp of the fog).

~History: Haru's parents work at the hospital in Konoha, with his mother being a surgeon and his father being a pediatrician. It is through them that he learned much of his medi-nin abilities. Living in a house near the edge of Konoha proper, Haru never made many friends growing up, as he hardly ever left his parents' property. When he finally did start school, he had a tendency to stick to himself, choosing to sit in the grass and dream up fantastical stories instead of running and playing at recess.

~Hobbies: Haru likes to write stories. In classes, he's always seen scrawling away in one of his notebooks. He also enjoys helping his parents in the hospital.

~Relations: Friends with Kukai, who shares his love of stories.

~Other: Haru's a little older than the other kids in his class, despite his younger appearance. His birthday is right after the cut-off date, so he turned 13 before most of his classmates.



=°' Kozue Haru of Genin Team 14 '°=

Clap, clop, clap went the blue sandals over the pavement. At a glance, it would seem that Haru found his shoes extremely fascinating, as he stared straight down at them. Occasionally a pale hand would reach up and adjust the hitai-ate that struggled to remain perched atop his brow. The other hand firmly gripped the edge of a spiral notebook with a red leather cover, with his name written neatly on a white paper label adorning the front.

He looked up as the shadow of the academy fell across his feet. This building, so familiar, harbored so many memories and emotions - some good and some bad. And now, his time here was virtually up. He was a Genin now. The idea washed over him slowly but powerfully. Like a wave breaking upon a rocky shore, he mused.

Once again, the troublesome head adornment took the opportunity to slip forward and onto the bridge of the boy's nose. With an irritated sigh, he reached behind his head to untie the blasted thing. Pausing for a second, running his thumb over one of the bolts at the edge in contemplation, he decided to tie it around his neck. It would be much less cumbersome that way.

After the headband was securely fastened in its new location, Haru took a deep breath. Today was, after all, the day he was assigned to his Genin squad. He didn't know which way the scale would tip - would he end up with two new potential friends, or would his new teammates shun him as so many had before? Or worse - he could end up with that clown freak (shudder to think). It was all up to fate now. Straightening his back, he strode forward and into the academy proper, hoping he looked more confident than he felt.

Upon entering his old classroom (how odd to think of it that way!), Haru found himself glancing about, more sheepishly than he would have liked. Seeing Kukai seated by herself, he scurried over and sat down in the seat next to her.

"Hello, Haru!" she greeted him with a grin. "Might you by any chance have another new masterpiece at work? If I recall, you finished your last piece yesterday, did you not?"

Haru smiled back, almost apologetically. "W-well.. I don't really have anything on paper... 'S all in here." He tapped his head to indicate that he was still sorting out the ideas in his head.

Kukai's smile broadened. "Excellent! Well, I shall eagerly await it!"

This was why Haru liked Kukai. She didn't judge him because of his small stature, or his slight speech impediment. She was patient with him, knowing that he was much more articulated when his thoughts were written out on paper. Whenever he needed someone to look over one of his stories, he could always turn to her. While he would forge the words into being and weave the sentences together, it was Kukai who would go through and correct his minor errors in grammar and spelling.

And he always thought of his writing as an art. Just as a potter at the wheel or a weaver at the loom put so much effort to produce their respective art, he took care to select each word from his vast repertoire, to shape and form the malleable sentences into something absolute, something that only his sole friend in the world acknowledged as anything good.

Haru and Kukai continued to carry on a conversation (however one-sided) as students continued to steadily file into the classroom. It wasn't long, however, before Kukai became ensconced in a heated debate with a boy he didn't really know, one of the Inuzuka clan. Haru wasn't sure what about, nor did he think it really mattered. He took the opportunity to scribe a few lines in his notebook.

Before long, the squads were announced. Haru barely glanced up from his notebook, as he had not heard his name called quite yet. However, he began to listen more intently as four new sensei were introduced, to accommodate this year's abundance of new Genin.

A blessing! He was paired in a squad with Kukai! The Inuzuka she had just finished a debate with was also in their group, ironically enough. Their teacher seemed to be the most sane of the bunch as well. He finally set down his pen.

"I.. guess we got lucky," he muttered, half to himself and half to his friend.