Shimazu Shiba Makoto

Shiba Makoto

General Information

Name: Shiba Makoto
Alias: N/A
Age: 17
Rank: Osechigo, akin to Genin
Village: Iwagakure no Sato
Specialties: Kenjutsu, Spirit techniques, Taijutsu

Appearance

Height: 5'2"
Weight: 125 lbs
Hair Color: Chestnut Brown
Eye Color: Azure blue

-Physical Appearance

Makoto has medium-tanned skin with a somewhat muscled (though still lithe) build, the signs of someone who spent most of their time outdoors, yet is not without some curves to her. Her dark brown hair is long and reaches to her lower back when it's undone, though she normally keeps it tied back out of her way, letting her bright blue eyes stand out fully. She is very flexible, and trains daily in order to maintain the physique, knowing that strength alone does not always save the day. So far the only scars she has is from her training, as she has yet to venture out of the borders of Earth Country.

-Clothing Style

Usually Makoto will be seen wearing casual outfits, a light tunic and hakama or a kimono. She likes to keep to the brown and gold that is the color of her clan, but has been known to where black, blue, or white as the mood strikes her. Though a samurai, and thus of noble birth, Makoto does not go for ostentation much, preferring more humble schemes, though still well-tailored. Her feet usually have traditional sandals on them, rather than the plastic or rubberized ones that are worn by most.

Psychological Analysis

Original Analysis

Determined, stubborn, and strong willed are the most common words given to describe the young woman named Shiba Makoto, as well as brash, prideful, and tomboy. Like her clansmen, her life growing up has been one without the benefit of technology or plentiful coin, and so she never takes anything that is given to her for granted, and also means that she has very little to complain about after living with hard labour for so many years. The downside to this is that her honour demands that she cannot accept a gift without repaying it however, as it would seem like the behaviour of a beggar or a peasant to do so, and likeways feels that her duty is still to support her clan in the same way as before, therefore she only buys what is necessary for herself before giving the rest to the clan coffers. She still despises the less-than-honorable tactics of shinobi, and woe betide the one who dares to call her one, for she will demand their blood if not their apology. Honor and duty are worth far more to her than friendship or love, and therefore can come off as a bit of a bitch if rubbed the wrong way, and also might cause friction if she were teemed with someone whose mentality comes into direct conflict with her own. Otherwise, she responds politely in the traditional way, and is curt and to the point rather than needless elaborate in her speech.

Makoto surprisingly likes cicadas, and listening to them chirp at night, finding it soothing to her mind. She also likes to see things occur in a manner that, even if surprising, is still somewhat logical. She has developed a taste for reading haikus, as well as music, though she doesn't spend too much time on them as back home it would be considered almost criminal to waste time dallying with such things when there are more important things to be done. Deceit is her biggest pet peeve, followed very closely by being referred to as a ninja. She may have to work with them, but that doesn't mean she likes them, and reacts violently when accused of being one! Disrespect is another thing she will not tolerate, which means that her pride may be her undoing in the future.

Current Analysis

Makoto has shown that she is learning to be more lenient towards those she must work with, and has now seen that many ninja do hold themselves to a form of honor, even if it is a different one from what she herself holds to. As such, the young woman is more willing to give others a chance to show who they are, rather than be labelled out of hand. Makoto also has a bit more respect for the magics of the shinobi arts, and has shown a renewed enthusiasm for finding ways to counter them.

Weapons and Armor

A Tsuchigumo attacking a samurai wielding Kumokirimaru

Kumokirimaru

This katana has seen more use against bandits than against the legendary Tsuchigumo spider demons, yet it still bears a faint resemblance to the creatures despite this. Forged from fine iron sand near the mountains, this silver-black blade has highlights along its skin that, under the right light, look similar to the striped markings of the Juro spider, or Nephila clavata's abdomen. In addition, its hilt-wrapping is woven from high-strength spider's silk instead of normal cotton weave. This sword has been in the Shimazu clan for more than 300 years, and in the Shiba family for 200 of that. It is a prized heirloom of the family, and is thought to protect the bearer of it as a mother would its child.

The legend of the blade has been handed down for years with the Shimazu han, and is one of the few tales still told abroad that gains the clan respect. It has gone from the Shimazu head family to the Shiba family, but has yet to be in the hands of any but a samurai since its creation. It is unknown if the spirit within the weapon is truly aware of its surroundings, or if it is just a wraith that dwells within it.

Momonjii

A wakizashi that was made as the companion blade to Kumokirimaru. Like the katana it is paired with, the hilt is wrapped in spider silk, though not from the same spiders as Kumokirimaru, and the underlying material of the hilt is actually sharkskin. The blade It does not have the enhancements of its elder sister, but it is thought that perhaps it is merely sleeping... Rumor is though that its temperment is more tsundere.

Example of O-Yoroi

O-yoroi

The traditional armor of a samurai, made of leather, bamboo, and steel. It provides full body protection without sacrificing mobility and agility. It is made of several different pieces, each one made individually before being assembled.

1. The Kabuto, or helmet, is usually quite elaborate, with widely-flaring neck guards at the back and curled-back sides which resemble wings. Decorative horns are commonly added to helms, adding to the demonic appearance of the Mempo.
2. The mempo itself is a metal faceplate often painted or otherwise decorated to give the face of a samurai a demonic, monstrous appearance in battle. They also hide the samurai's face, disguising any pain or emotional turmoil that he/she might be experiencing.
3. The Do, or torso armor, is constructed of lacquered leather or metal plates tied together with leather bindings, this body armour covers the chest and lower torso of the samurai, its weight hanging across the shoulders with some supported on the hips. There are many styles of do, though all are based around the same general principle.
4. The Sode are constructed from laced-together metal plates and strips of lacquered leather, and are often large and ridiculously ornate. Laced across the shoulders and chest, the sode are quite large and extend a good deal above the shoulder and to either side of the arm as well as extending down almost to the elbow.
5. The Wakibi are designed to protect the armpit area, and are made from leather with attached metal plates. The pair of armor pieces tie around the neck and across the chest, distributing the weight around the torso.
6. Kote are sleeves that extend from the shoulders down to the wrists and often overlap the yugake by a significant degree to provide protection for the wrists and back of the hand. The kote are either leather or chain, with splints of metal for added protection.
7. Yugake are leather gloves are equipped with a hardened thumb and forefinger to assist in drawing the powerful daikyu bow, as well as for protection and grip.
8. Covering from the waist to the tops of the knees, the Haidate are constructed similar to the do, as they are made from scales of leather or lacquered metal. Few samurai wear them, despite the protection they offer, because they limit the mobility and are uncomfortable on horseback.
9. Chain or hardened leather shin protectors, the Sune-ate are often reinforced with short strips of iron or segmented metal slats. They provide protection from just below the knee to the ankle and are often attached to the waraji (sandals) of the samurai with leather ties to keep them in place.

History

Shiba Sakon

Makoto's family is a bit odd, though for the Shimazu han it is actually quite common considering the economy in the area. Her father, Shiba Sakon, was like many a goshi, a samurai who in peacetime worked labourer's and peasant's jobs in order to make money. These sanpin samurai were forced to work many different jobs throughout their lives, although some managed to find a talent that they were good at and stuck with it, earning enough to keep the family fed. Sakon had found a good job working as a carpenter, acting as both foreman and architect along with a group of other goshi that had found either a similar calling or a taste for hard labour. And it was hard... Having none of the modern tools that many of the other countries and even the other han had, the men who worked the logging and lumbering jobs would have to sweat it out as their ancestors did, stripped to their shorts and left to sweat as they felled the giant trees of the mountains for construction of the local buildings, and thus they usually smelled foul of sawdust and the sap of cedars. Everything was done by hand, even the samurai were too poor to afford the technological advancements of their fellow countrymen, though the true reason for this isolation of technology came more due to the upbringing that most had. For the people of Shimazu han, anything new was viewed with suspicion and derision. Traditions were set in stone, and any deviation that wasn't unanimously considered absolutely necessary was met with hostility by the hide-bound samurai.

Shiba Kachiko

Still, this meant that life was not easy, yet it also made the clan strong. Those too weak of body to survive the harsh conditions got sick and died young, while those mentally unable to cope went insane. Those that remained were dogged, determined, and absolutely indomitable in both body and spirit, and this has continued in Shiba Sakon. It was during the time that he was building a house for a merchant that he came across a fair maiden by the name of Kachiko, with hair like black silk and beautiful golden eyes. At first he thought that she must be a kitsune or a Jorōgumo, for no human woman could be so beautiful. Fortunately for Sakon, she was as mortal as he, and more she had taken an interest in the samurai. After a year of seeing one another, Sakon proposed to Kachiko, to which the woman happily accepted.

The truth was, Kachiko was no merchant's daughter, but a konoichi sent by the daimyo to keep an eye on the Shimazu from within, to ensure that the attempts of the nobles of other lands to undermine the little power that they held onto did not send the Shimazu into open rebellion against the lands and the emperor. Despite her role as spy, Kachiko knew that her task was to make the Shimazu clan stay loyal to the Daimyo of Tsuchi no Kuni, and believed that the best manner to do so was to aid in its strength. It was fortunate for her that her feelings for the stolid Sakon were genuine, or there might have been conflict at one point or another. Within a year of their marriage though, Kachiko gave birth to the first of three children she'd bear Sakon: Horuda, Tsurara, and Makoto.

Shiba Makoto was the middle-child of the three siblings, and as such was usually passed over by the father in favor of the son, who was first-born. Despite this, there was no true favoritism occurring, it was just how things worked out. Horuda was expected to become a samurai just like his father, and so in a way Makoto and Tsurara had more freedom than their older brother in that they could learn whatever they wanted so long as they did not shame their family. In Makoto's case, she had flirted with the idea of becoming a samurai as well, but for the most part thought it was just a daydream, and that it could never happen. Boy was she surprised then, when her father overheard her talking about it with her sister Tsurara, he said that it wasn't impossible... Not understanding, she asked her father what he meant, at which point he explained to her that even though a woman is rarely if ever seen on the battlefield, every wife of every samurai was expected to know how to fight, and to defend the home in her husband's absence. Therefore, the wish to be a samurai-ko was not an insult to station, but rather is a goal that should be worked towards. In Sakon's mind, he meant that it would be good for his daughter to find a strong and well-ranked husband, and thus didn't discourage the look of wonder in his daughter's eyes, and moreso even suggested that he speak to her mother about what might be expected of the wife of a samurai.

Because Sakon did not know of his wife's occupation as a konoichi, he can be pardoned for what happened next, for when Makoto went to her mother and asked her to train her, Kachiko thought that she'd been caught. Still, she could not figure out a way from keeping her daughter silent without doing something, and she loved her daughter too much to even consider anything untoward. She knew that Makoto had shown some signs of having the capability to mold chakra, yet had said nothing to her husband lest he become displeased and run the girl out, and Kachiko as well. So, to appease the girl, she taught her a basic meditation exercise first that was used by beginners to manipulate their chakra and build it upwards, eliciting a promise from the girl not to tell anyone 'womanly secrets' as she called it. It was only after dinner, when Kachiko was preparing to sleep with her husband, that Sakon told her of the conversation he'd had and Makoto's wish to become a samurai-ko. Kachiko nearly laughed herself hoarse at her own foolishness! Of course! Makoto had always been a headstrong child, so she would be drawn towards something as reckless as the battlefield. Still, knowing that she'd already given Makoto one lesson on chakra, she knew there would be more, so she'd have to be careful in what she taught her child.

Still, this was not the end of the troubles a six-year old Makoto would cause... One day, while practicing her child's version of swordsmanship, she managed to sneak into her father's study and 'borrow' his sword, the Kumokirimaru. When her parents found out, Sakon had been furious, intent on punishing the girl for the audacity of having touched the family's greatest treasure. Kachiko begged him not to even as he stormed towards the small courtyard where he knew Makoto would be practicing, but that was not what stopped him short as he opened the door. No, not his wife's pleading, but rather it was the sight that befell him as he stood there, hand still on the doorframe, eyes transfixed at his grandfather's blade in the hands of a six year old.

His grandfather's GLOWING blade... Something it had not done even in his own or his father's hands!

When he spoke of the incident to the elders of the clan, they were worried that the sword glowing was an ill omen, for none of them had ever heard of it doing so before. To test this, they asked Sakon to bring the sword out where it would be tested by the local priests. After the ritual however, the priests declared that they could find nothing wrong with the blade, and that there was no evidence of spiritual tampering with the sword either, for surely the spirit of the sword would have grown angry if there had been. Confused at this, Shiba Sakon once more went to the elders and asked how this could be. By this time, the elders were of the thought that perhaps Shiba-don was merely getting old, and that his eyesight may be failing him, causing him to mistake the reflection of the setting sun along the blade for some supernatural glow. As such, they asked him to have his daughter repeat what she had been doing during a cloud-covered evening, to see whether or not their theory held true. Little Makoto was very nervous when her father had asked her to stand in front of all the old men and wave her father's sword, and she hoped that she didn't drop the sword and embarress her family... or Kami forbid damage the blade! Still, when they asked her to go through the motions that she did before, she did so without complaint, though always aware of the elders around her. As she went through her rough home-made katas, the old men saw nothing but a brat waving around her father's katana like a tree willow, and some of them began to laugh at the child and her father.

Makoto, being as children will, was upset that these old men were acting like it was a joke, and thought that they were insulting her 'style' in the process. Unconsciously, she began to channel her 'inner soul' as her mother had said, closing her eyes in order to focus herself. And just like in the last practises, while her eyes were closed, the blade began to glow a soft blue-white in the darkened night, causing the chuckles and laughter to sputter to a halt as they watched the child swing the sword, unaware of what her actions were resulting in.

Many at the meeting were shocked, some scared, others thinking that the girl was possessed of some strange magic and that she should be exiled. Only one of the younger elders, named Tozaburo, knew the truth. He'd seen the way the girl concentrated to make the blade glow, and more... he'd seen it before, in the magic of those who hunted in the shadows. However, if he were to reveal the truth like that, it would bring shame upon the whole clan! Not because the girl had the capabilities of ninja magic, but because the Kumokirimaru would thus be proven to be a ninja weapon, and thus the entire line of Shimazu would lose face! So instead, when asked his opinion, he quickly put together a plan that he hoped would save the clan's honour as well as maintain the secret he'd uncovered. He told the other elders that it was not the girl who was possessed, but instead it was the sword itself that was reacting to the girl's own spirit, as it reportedly had for her great-grandfather before. Wondering how this could be, they accused Tozaburo of having lost his mind, thinking that a woman would have a samurai spirit. Tozaburo countered this by reminding the elders of the story of Tomoe Gozen, who had helped Yoshinaka in the Genpei war by taking the capitol. Knowing that this was still stretching the opinions of the elders, Tozaburo wisely make a comment that, while Tomoe-san was indeed a legendary figure, perhaps young Makoto would need more... stolid training if she were to prove herself. After all, if the sword had accepted Makoto as its new wielder, then it would be unlucky to give it to someone else now, as the sword's Tsukumogami might curse anyone who takes it away. The elder's nodded their heads at this, for it was known to be a fact that a sword older than a century was very picky about who could wield it, and those that tried to force themselves on such a blade would either find it breaking at a critical moment or might accidentally fall on it, killing them and staining the sword forever. They did not want that for such a treasure as the sword, and so they decided that Makoto would inherit the blade. However, the elders demanded that, if she were to show true honor enough to wield it, she must be trained as thoroughly as any samurai in the clan! Tozaburo agreed to this, and so Shimazu Shiba Makoto found herself being pushed into the Nise training regime along with all the boys, including her brother.

Horuda, seeing that Makoto held his father's blade, demanded to know why she had been chosen and not him! Sakon tried to explain it best, but Horuda still thought that he'd been cheated. Just as the boy was about to demand that his sister give him the blade, his father frowned and said, "Do you really intend to use a woman's blade on the battlefield?! I thought I'd raised a son!" Horuda flinched at the words and implied insult, pulling his hand away from where his sister sat. "But how can I be samurai without a katana?" he asked, to which his father laughed. "How do you think boy? Do you think that when two brothers go to war, only one of them uses a sword? Of course not! You'll just have to have one made for you! That way, when you have your own grandchildren, you will hear them say to their friends that they wield the sword of their heroic grandfather, and you will take pride in knowing that you will be the beginnings of the sword's story for all of time!" To this, Horuda could say nothing, and bowed his head in thanks to his father before sitting down. Of course, that did not stop him from whispering to Makoto that he'd become so great a samurai that people would forget all about Makoto's blade, to which the girl replied mockingly that he'd only be great at tripping over it, resulting in a friendly tussle that was quickly broken up... And so began the rivalry of brother and sister.

Nine years had passed since Makoto's training began, and while it was hard, she proved that she had her father's blood in her by doggedly pushing her way through the male-oriented Nise schooling, turning her cheek at most of the insults, yet not so much that she became a target, as she showed that she could trounce an opponent just as handily as some of the upper classmen. As she grew in strength, learning the same Jigen-ryu that had become the staple of Shimazu samurai, and when times grew hard she too helped the family by working side-jobs, usually at the blacksmith's or wood-carver's shops. Kachiko however, did not stop her teachings to Makoto though, and usually gave Makoto tasks to do outside of her normal training, saying that if she truly wanted to be a samurai-ko, she could expected to fight against ninja at at least one point in her life, and as such must know how to catch them. Makoto had learned that ninja were disgusting beings without honor, and so wondered why she would need to know these techniques, and how her mother had come across them. Her mother carefully told her that while it was true that ninja sometimes fought without honour, they were the primary means in which the daimyos of other countries attacked their enemies, and as such anytime that the ones Makoto would be protecting would come under attack, it would likely be by a ninja. As for how Kachiko knew? She waved her hands dismissively, saying that it is common knowledge that you cannot strike an enemy if you do not know where they are, and as she had hoped to marry Makoto's father she had had to learn these things. It was a lie of course, but one which was easily believed when thought about, and so Makoto did not think to question it. Instead, she merely kept on training... And then, Kumo invaded.

For two years the Shimazu clan, like the other clans of Tsuchi no Kuni, wondered how the Tsuchi Daimyo could have allowed Kumo to occupy their homeland? Still, without orders to attack openly, the Shimazu could do nothing but continue to perservere. Ironically, the NCIA's actions had also destabilized the other daimyo's attempts to destabilize the Shimazu's holdings, and so they were a bit better of footing once the NCIA were gone. Admittedly, since there weren't any ninja in Shimazu-han the NCIA didn't bother with anything more than a token guard post there, but it still rankled at the Shimazu's sense of honour that they'd had to put up with such a coward in their homeland. What kind of hypocrisy was it to say that only ninja could police ninja? A uniform doesn't change a thief from being a thief, nor an assassin from being an assassin, and so in the eyes of the Shimazu this was nothing more than a coward's ploy to frighten the people into submission, a tactic which had never worked on the proud Shimazu. And sure enough, it wasn't long before the NCIA was thrust out of Tsuchi no Kuni, regrettably by the shinobi of Iwagakure. Still, with the war against Kumo in full swing, the Shimazu could now attack openly, and the various samurai were called to fight as well. Their efforts were on a lesser scale than those of the Resistance shinobi, but no less bloody as the samurai had to contend with fighting against magicians who could breath fire and seemingly multiply faster than you can blink in addition to the mercenaries and conscripted soldiers the Kumo Empire had at their command. Now that the Raikage had fallen though, it was time to return home for most who had survived. For Makoto however, a twist in fate had altered her own destiny, as one of the jounin of Iwagakure had reported the presence of a samurai woman wielding a blade powered by chakra, and thus the Council of Iwagakure decided that this swordswoman should be brought to Iwa and made part of their forces. They could not demand her presence however, for to do so would incite the wrath of the war-like Shimazu, which would do ill for the village just getting back on its feet, and so instead asked the Daimyo to make it an order to the clan. The Daimyo agreed, and despite the outrage of the elders at this they could not argue it, for it was an order from their lord. To appease them however, the Daimyo proclaimed that once she was allowed to retire, she would bring back valuable knowledge in how to fight against the killers in the dark, and thus would potentially become stronger than any of the other remaining samurai clans. Seeing the sense in this, the clan elders have ordered Makoto to go to Iwa with full knowledge that the elders of the clan would be judging her based on her performance, and more importantly that the world would be judging the Shimazu by her actions as well, and so she is under more pressure than any other Shimazu samurai has been in a long time. Setting her jaw, she set out with swords in hand and her armour on her back, ready to do her duty for clan and country.