Personality: Assassin is a "boy", and as a boy, he lacks the wisdom and maturity of a "man". This does not stop him from insisting he is a man, however. He strives to become a better warrior and prove he can handle himself, but often finds he has a soft-heartedness ill-fit for a warrior. Thus he claims his goal for the Holy Grail is “bragging rights”, but that’s probably not what it is. Similarly, Assassin can often be found trying to imitate the mannerisms of those he respects greatly, which is why he exhibits outward mannerisms like those of a blue dog. He possesses a fondness for cheese and cheese-flavored products except for cream cheese, and gets mad when people call him by his lame birth name (Diarmaid) and not his much cooler name of Furbaide Ferbend (approx. Cutting Horned Man).
Stats:
Strength: D
Endurance: E
Agility: A
Mana: C
Luck: A
Noble Phantasm: B
Class Skills:
Presence Concealment: B+ Hides one's presence as a Servant. Suitable for spying. It is possible to disappear and become extremely difficult to be detected. The rank of Presence Concealment drops considerably when preparing to attack... would be the normal case. Instead, Presence Concealment does not drop until Assassin's first attack has already commenced. This is because, in legend, Assassin was never detected by the target of his assassination, nor anyone else.
Personal Skills:
Rune Magic: C Possession of Runes - the Magic Crest of Northern Europe. As a member of the Knights of the Red Branch and protege of the greatest of their number, Assassin is versed in the use of the four runes passed among their order: Algiz, Nauthiz, Ansuz, and Ingwaz. Although not a magus by any means, Assassin is well-versed in the applications of what little he knows--especially when it comes to launching runestones from a sling.
Blinding Visage: B A skill similar to, but inherently different from, Rosy Cheeked Adonis. If that skill is denotes a youthful beauty that charms, this skill refers to a supernatural beauty that overwhelms. When employed against an individual, it functions as a stunning mental attack.
In life, Assassin employed this skill against the forces of the Erainn people, who would rather die than tarnish his cute little face, as well as against Cu Chulainn himself, whose Warp Spasm was abetted merely by the sight of Assassin's tears.
Horned One: EX The right granted to heroes identified with the archetypal horned god of the Celts. It is said that the three horns of horned god represent the branches of the trees, his animal nature, and his crown as "king" of the wilderness. Assassin was born into this world via caesarean section from his mother's waterlogged corpse. Born from death with three horns atop his head, Assassin has been identified with the god Cernunnos, and his legend has been considered one possibly representing a conflict between the old gods of agrarian and hunter communities.
This skill appends a status of "one with the wild" onto those who possess it. That is, in "wilderness" areas Assassin is granted extension of senses and detective capabilities across, and constant concealment of presence within, the limits of the appropriate area. At the same time, abilities and parameters receive a significant demerit in areas associated with civilization.
To fight Assassin is to fight the wilderness itself, but it is certainly unfortunate for Assassin that humanity has become very good at fighting the wilderness.
Noble Phantasm(s):
Name: Great Horned Hunt - Birthright of the Wild King
Rank: B (A)
Type: Unknown
Appearance: N/A
Effects: In broadest possible terms, a Noble Phantasm tied to the feat of "killing Queen Medb with a piece of sling-shot cheese". However that is only a byproduct of this Noble Phantasm. It is much more accurately represented as the embodiment of two things: “the nature of Assassin’s weapon” and “Assassin’s own nature”.
Assassin’s signature weapon, the sling, is one of the first weapons developed by humanity for the use of hunting and for war. This is because the sling is a weapon of the utmost simplicity: anything one can load into a sling, one can use as a weapon. Stones, small toys, fruit... even a piece of cheese all are valid bullets when combined with a sling. A sling then is not a complete “weapon” itself, but rather something that turns things that are not weapons into weapons.
Assassin himself is a face the divine hunter that both saves and slaughters those that dwell in his domain to perpetuate the cycle of rebirth. His legend, particularly the feat most associated with this Noble Phantasm, has been interpreted as being a euhemerized expression of a divine conflict between a maternal fertility figure associated with civilization and a phallically-horned figure associated with the wild.
As a Noble Phantasm is the ultimate expression of a hero’s legend, this Noble Phantasm draws on these two facets of his identity. Rather than a treasured sling, it is much more similar to a technique or a combat style that utilizes that sling. It receives a rank up in areas where Horned One is applicable.
When this Noble Phantasm is used, ammunition is granted the status of a Noble Phantasm weapon with equivalent rank to this Noble Phantasm (or retains its rank if somehow Assassin acquires another Noble Phantasm) and an anti-civilization attribute. When the ammunition is loosed, a “shot of selective slaughter” is exhibited, which becomes variably Anti-Unit or Anti-Army as the targets demand. Failure to hit results excess magical energy fostering the rapid development of flora in the area rather than an explosive impact; a shot that selects is only supposed to kill the people it chooses after all.
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Changes: N/A
Faction: Red
Master hypothetically up later but practically probably not.
OKAY. WITH THE MAGIC OF MICROSOFT EXCEL, I HAVE FIGURED OUT WHAT THE HELL THE STANDINGS ARE (for the most part).
Basically, only the Bersekers (on both teams) are left open. There are two odd situations, which are as follows:
Red Lancer/Assassin: There's a bit of debate at the moment, but basically whoever Vita does not take, Grey will. Unless, of course, Kyoka decides they want to swap with Vita for one of the two, in which case Vita will take Saber and the Kyoka will have first pick.
Black Archer: Is a mess. I'll update everyone on the full extent of the situation once it's been resolved. Edit: Well, Rain beat me to the punch. Yeah, that's basically what happened.
I have no idea what the situation is like right now but if there's a Red Servant Black Master slot laying around I'll see about grabbing it unless there was someone I missed and they laid claim first.
As one might expect of a pure-blooded Uchiha, Arata is possessed of the traits typically associated with his kin. He has short black hair with centre-parted bangs; he is lean, fair-skinned and dark-eyed; and he has a somewhat boyish, somewhat feminine facial structure. Indeed, from afar he is little more than an unremarkable example of the Uchiha Clan. Upon closer inspection however, there are a few key features that serve to distinguish him from the rest.
The most significant of these is assuredly his presence. Arata is a stereotype associated with the basic demeanor of an Uchiha. He is not imposing, he is not pompous, and he is certainly far from intense. His height is only an unremarkable 148cm tall, he carries himself like a low-born slacker, and his eyes lack the same glint of ambition that shows in his family's. Further differences tend to be more subtle, like waviness of his hair and the shape of his eyebrows.
Coming from a traditional clan, it might be natural to suppose he dresses traditionally, but Arata prefers modern styles to the wide-collared garments his clan members keep buying for him. He especially likes jackets, sweaters and related outerwear for their combination of functionality and style.
Personality
The identity of Uchiha Arata has largely been shaped by a lifelong struggle against the external forces trying to control him. With little opportunity to define himself independently growing up, he has instead chosen to define himself in relation to how others define him. As a result, his personality is fundamentally more emotionally and socially reactive than it is proactive. He is determined, capable of picking up on social cues others might miss and always willing to call out others on their shit; at the same time, he is passive-aggressive, incapable of carrying a conversation well, and generally lacking in a sense of ambition. He is very much type of person who can tell you everything he doesn't want, but will greatly struggle when trying to express what it is that he desires beyond that. Naturally he tends to internalize rather than externalize.
Though he is no longer afraid of his father and the clan elders, Arata's upbringing has lead to a disillusionment with the idea of the benevolence of tradition and deference to authority that old-blood shinobi clans often cite. That said, he is still a product of that system regardless of the fact that he chooses to defy it. Even if he often disdains those who uphold tradition as gospel, it's clear he doesn't really know how to fix it in a cohesive and comprehensive manner. He tends towards modernity not because it is the best way, but because it's the only clear other way as far as he's knows.
Much of Arata's reputation is built on the existing stereotypes regarding the Uchiha and the various misconceptions that arise from his status. He's regarded as very much an "Uchiha genius"-type of Uchiha. That is to say, he's skilled without working for it and generally unapproachable by nature. While it's not quite an accurate assessment, it isn't without its foundation in truth. His social life is practically nonexistent and he isn't a very outgoing person in the first place; it takes a certain persistence that many lack to maintain a friendship with him, and even then there's not really a sweet side to unearth. He spends most of his time in class slacking off despite being extremely good at the whole shinobi thing, and the way he talks can rub people the wrong way.
In that respect, it's easy to see how he fits the stereotype. However, Arata doesn't shun socialization and he certainly puts in the work behind the scenes to earn his power. The latter is something that's a source of endless frustration for Arata, and one he knows he can't push for correcting or subverting. But the thing that frustrates him the most is when people see him as a title more than a person. All his life his success has been treated as something to further someone else's ambitions, even many of his peers are not exempt from this in the way they see him as something to surpass. It's essentially killed his reverence for reputation and accolades, as well as his drive to achieve for the sake of achieving.
But even with all the reasons in the world not to, Arata still continues on the path of the shinobi. Whether he finds what he's looking for remains to be seen.
Personal History
Uchiha Arata is the fourth child to result from the political marriage between Uchiha Satoru, the Junidaime Hokage, and Uchiha Mio, the heiress apparent to the Uchiha Clan. Of his siblings, he is the only one to be considered a viable heir to the clan, the only one to receive personal training from their father, and the only one to be born with the necessary aptitude to unlock the marque dojutsu of the clan. These facts are not unrelated; Arata is not simply the fourth child, but also the fourth and final iteration of Uchiha Satoru's plan to groom a worthy successor.
From that statement alone, one can surmise that the type of family dynamic Arata grew up with was not a particularly idyllic one. Indeed, many of his traumas may have been mitigated or even eliminated if the family had developed a stronger sense of solidarity to challenge their patriarch’s malignant influence. Instead, Arata was surrounded by siblings that pitied him at best and resented him at worst, a battered mother consumed by self-loathing, and a father who saw his family only as a means to increase his own prestige. The clan elders were of no help either; like Satoru, they saw themselves as hard men making a hard decision for the sake of their clan’s prosperity, and so the family would be resigned to suffering in silence.
Much like his siblings, Arata would be prepared for the life of a shinobi at an inordinately young age. Unlike them, his regimen would be far more intensive because he was his father's last shot at a "useful" child. And considering the regimen his siblings grew up with was quite intensive in the first place, Arata did not have much in the way of respite. Receiving personal training from the Hokage is many a shinobi's dream, but it was more traumatic than it was enlightening for the young Uchiha--even if one cannot deny that it successfully achieved its intent. He would be pushed past his physical, mental, and spiritual limits on a daily basis; refusal to continue would be corrected by means of force, as tended to be the case with most things in the household.
Unused to being pushed so hard, it's no surprise that a younger Arata would quickly begin to crack under the pressure. Afraid of his father and unacknowledged by his siblings, he would turn to his mother for the emotional support he needed to carry him through. However she was as much a victim as he was, and eventually Arata was forced to face the reality that if she kept "making him soft-hearted" she would get hurt. Without anyone to go to, Arata would eventually be pushed to run from home in an attempt to escape his family. Many of these attempts ended up with him quickly being located by his ex-ANBU father, but during his seventeenth attempt, the routine changed slightly.
At some point, he had crossed into the hunting grounds of the Senju Clan, and midway into a well-deserved nap, he was woken up by the two daughters of the Senju Clan head. After a highly sanitized explanation of what exactly he was doing in their territory, Arata was brought to the main household and subjected to an awkward few hours of interaction with the family of Senju Ohtarama. Despite being clearly out of his element in such a classically domestic household, he wasn't treated as an unwelcome presence, and his clan's historic rivals were quite accommodating. Of course, he was found by his father and forced to return home, but it was during this brief time that Arata would lay the foundations of a friendship with the youngest of Ohtarama's daughters that would prove to last.
At the age of eight, Arata unlocked the Sharingan. Though he was praised as a genius for the feat, it was no (un)fortunate turn of fate or feat of personal genius that forced the awakening of his eyes. Rather, it the product of a designed emotional response years in the making. From the beginning, Uchiha Satoru had deemed the extended influence of his wife on his successor to be a danger to his plan, but even he was shrewd enough to see the potential benefit of it. Opting to kill two birds with one stone, Satoru would allow Arata to emotionally fetter himself to his mother before enacting his plot to irreparably damage her credibility. In theory, the resulting emotional trauma would activate his son's kekkei genkai, and as we know, it worked perfectly. Arata's training would ramp up from this point in an effort to acquire rapid mastery of his Sharingan.
But as dark as his home life is, Arata's student life is about as relaxed as can be. Whether out of sympathy or indifference, the academy instructor for their class, his older brother, would allow him to slack off during lectures. Of course this hasn't helped his public image in the least, but snide remarks from his peers are nothing compared to the opportunity for a solid period of rest. With a poor reputation and even poorer charm, Arata is definitely lacking socially. Fortunately, he's mostly content to follow around his best friend. Although depending on who you ask, it's the other way around. Academically, his poor in class behavior has been far more than compensated for by the stringent training regimen he endures daily. While intentionally sabotaging his performance would be a good way to spite his father, Arata hasn't done so simply because certain people would get mad at him for it and that would be very inconvenient.
Character Development & Conceptualization
The original concept for Uchiha Arata was inspired by Uzumaki Boruto of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. This is not to be confused with Boruto of Boruto: Naruto the Movie, who is actually a good character. In the anime, they threw away the marvelous set-up in his backstory in favor of Naruto 2: Electric Boogaloo, so I decided to build a character around that framework. However, it quickly became apparent during initial writing that many key circumstances of Boruto's background couldn't seamlessly translate to Arata's as a consequence of how the relevant lore and NPCs of Kakumei were designed. So I just built a character around the details I was given about how Uchiha Satoru thinks and how he raises his kids, and the Uchiha Clan plot points Indra thought up. You can note a few legacy traits that draw similarities between the two, however.
The version of Arata I ended up was another "Classic Uchiha" archetype and I'm pretty sure most of you know what I mean by that. It's not a very exciting or innovative framework, but it's certainly one that I decided I could work with. For the most part I decided to play the stereotype straight, but with a singular modification that I feel adds depth and developmental potential that makes it less boring for me to play and hopefully for others to read. And that modification was the idea that an Uchiha genius of hard work can't get any credit because of the existing stereotype about Uchiha geniuses.
In terms of personality, Arata's didn't change excessively from the original draft. I never intended to play him as a loner that pretends to be superior as many Uchiha geniuses end up being; he was always going to be pretty lazy, pretty irreverent, and pretty sad-bitter which would let me have fun with the way he acts. Thankfully I was able to justify all that within the new background. So he's still lax and brusque and has daddy issues, but with different daddy issues from before plus a helping of domestic drama and social ineptitude.
While the lore bomb that got dropped on me changed quite a lot about the character, the ideas I had in my head for Arata's character arc fortunately didn't significantly change from original concept to final product. The main design philosophy behind his arc was less to plot out a path and more to determine a set of issues that are of approximately equal significance and synergize with each other without one overly influencing any of the others. The three I settled on are as follows:
The first issue is the question the roleplay seems to be about: "modernism vs traditionalism". At that start of the roleplay, he's definitely on the side of modernism with very little tolerance for the primacy of tradition; he's always denying where he comes from and defiant of the circumstances that made him who he is today. However the point of his character is to show that you can't really have one without the other, and even at the start, his hypocrisy is pretty evident: he rejects the Uchiha Clan and its main symbols, but he still practices their shinobi arts, reaps the benefits of their resources, and plays by their rules because it's the path of least resistance. That said, it's not really a matter of which side he takes, because he already has that figured out and there's really no way I see that changing. Rather, it's one of learning to reconcile the friction between what he is and what he thinks he is, and from that, learning the world isn't as rigid as it seems.
The second issue is his ideals, or rather his lack thereof. There's really no question that Arata is lacking in motivation and long term goals. As it stands, he's just a rebel without a cause or worse, and that's definitely a big flaw in a universe that revolves around protecting and realizing one's ninja way. Much of his arc is intended to be about figuring out for himself what exactly is worth being a shinobi for, or even if it's worth being a shinobi at all, which informs and is informed by how his point of view changes in regards to the world around him. Just as well, because much of his identity is other-centered, he'll have to learn to become independent before this realization can occur--another complication on the road to maturity.
The third issue concerns his relationships. This includes not only his family bonds, but also the bonds between himself and his teammates. Kakumei is, after all, a Naruto roleplay, so I would be remiss for not including something significant about that in his potential development path. His domestic situation needs resolution, he needs to learn to form bonds with people his age on his own, and he needs to learn to trust authority again. Of course, he's pretty unequipped to do that at the start of the roleplay, but to interact with others well, one must first interact with others poorly. The four man squad system does a very good job at facilitating this elegantly; his troublesome nature will challenge his peers and his mentor, and he'll have to live with the consequences instead of just dismissing them. Resolving his troubled home life is a more difficult issue, but certainly one that will come up considering his father's prominence and the various ends left loose as far as his relationship with his other family members go. Whether that resolution is good or bad will depend on where Arata is when it happens.
Uchiha Arata is a shinobi whose skillset is primarily oriented towards a short-mid range battlefield control role. His relative lack of defensive and support options serves his character by way of emphasizing his isolation, and his area of effect attacks combined with his genjutsu stun make him a dominating force on the battlefield as far as genin-grade combat goes. Altogether, he is definitely someone you orient a strategy around and not someone you use to have all the component parts synergize together nicely, a fact which very much befits his "lonely at the top" character concept.
The main shinobi disciplines he practices are bukijutsu and genjutsu. I don't really intend for him to go super far into pure ninjutsu aside from techniques that are "mandatory" as far as plot progression and lore go, like Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique. The meta objective of this choice is to differentiate his playstyle from the stealthy ninjutsu artillery build I'm currently developing in another Naruto roleplay, but in-character it's probably more like trying to get away from his dad who is a ninjutsu specialist.
Most people that know me know that I like to tie ability to character development and the keystone for this in Arata's sheet is the Uchiha Style, and not actually the Sharingan (though the Sharingan gets its own paragraph because it's significant). Namely the question of whether or not he'll continue down it and the method by which that happens. The big theme of the roleplay is "progression vs tradition" and its very much the traditional Uchiha fighting style both in what I based it off and what it is in the lore of Kakumei.
As someone who opposes the traditions of his clan, Arata's uses Uchiha Style mostly because its the only tool he can use. But as we know, he's still kind of a hypocrite for using it in the first place. However that's kind of the point; he's at a place where he can't divorce himself from his clan, but can't find himself appreciating it either. In other words, he's built foundation in all aspects of his potential growth before specializing, and there's three ways I see that that going that also tie into the ways his own relationship with tradition grow: the first is delving deeper into the Uchiha Style, the second is taking old techniques and innovating upon them, and the third is rejecting it entirely.
As an aside, the Uchiha Style Ninja Arts is not a completely original concept. And by that I mean that it "exists" in canon in the formofvarioustechniques, but Kishimoto doesn't do anything with it other than mention it exists once or twice across a thousand chapters and a dozen spin off works. I just decided to put them all together in a semi-cohesive manner.
Originally, Arata was going to be slated as an Uchiha weaponmaster. However, Genjutsu ended up becoming a late addition to the concept because people were talking shit about it in the Discord early on and Rhodus challenged me to make genjutsu great again when I tried to defend it. So here we are. While a largely unintended addition, it isn't an unwelcome one. Thematically, it fits very well. Genjutsu is the antipode to ninjutsu, which services the idea that Arata is trying to distance himself from his father; the Uchiha are known for their genjutsu prowess, which ties it into the same kind of conflict surrounding his bukijutsu capability without necessarily being beholden to it as a directly Uchiha practice; and genjutsu itself is about seizing control, a thing Arata lacks in his life. Developmentally, it's lacking the same kind of "oomph" as Uchiha Style Ninja Arts, but I suppose one could say that the form of illusions he uses are informed by his development.
As for his Sharingan, a lot of its base concept is expressed below in the Character Focus and Skillset section so I won't restate it here, and it should be clear I'm aiming to emphasize the hypnosis eye over the copy eye that everyone has beef with. Concerning Mangekyo Sharingan I've decided beforehand that he's not gonna pick up Susanoo or Amaterasu on account of how it doesn't fit his character thematically to develop the same ability as his predecessors. In my head, it's probably gonna end up between Tsukuyomi and Kamui, but I haven't really thought about it overmuch.
("What about Kotoamatsukami?" you might ask. To which I would answer: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )
Attributes
Character Focus & Skillset
Sharingan While it is no secret that Arata possesses the fully-matured manifestation of his clan's dojutsu, the number of people who have seen him use it can be counted on a single hand. Some consider his refusal a matter of egoism or secrecy, but it is not an honor reserved for worthy opponents or a trump card to fight for one's ninja way. Instead it's fundamentally about what he believes his eyes represent, namely everything wrong with the Uchiha Clan. Until he finally comes to terms with his family, his past and his place in this world, he might as well not have a Sharingan in the first place.
Uchiha Eugenics Refined to a razor edge by centuries of strictly-enforced intrafamilial breeding, the Uchiha have accrued infamy throughout the shinobi world for the genetic advantages of their bloodline. The Sharingan is by far the most iconic of these, but there are other, far more universal boons that their pedigree bestows. The blood grants them chakra of the utmost quality and bodies that boast power and coordination in equal parts. With such a compatibility with combat, there is no question that the members of the Uchiha Clan are born and bred for the life of a shinobi. Arata does not stray from this universal truth--in fact, his training has almost definitely enhanced these natural talents--but the prodigiousness he demonstrates is no product of bloodline alone. Not many care to make the distinction, however.
Uchiha Style Ninja Arts The Uchiha's infamy as the premier warrior clan of Konohagakure tends to center around their ability to coopt the techniques of others, but an oft forgotten fact is that they have developed and passed down techniques of their own. The vast majority of these techniques are founded in bukijutsu, but there exists a number of techniques that fall under purely chakra-based disciplines, such as Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique. As is the case with standard ninja arts, common practice is to develop a wide baseline and specialize from there; so it should come as very little surprise that Arata has developed a strong foundation in the many subsets of the style. Worth noting is that his tool specialties are swords and shuriken, and that he tends to use shuriken as the primary weapon rather than the sword, which serves as a sidearm.
Genjutsu Expertise Of the major shinobi disciplines, Arata exhibits the greatest compatibility with genjutsu. Despite it being the field he's been trained in the least as a result of his father’s skillset, the chakra control and intellectual capabilities Arata has cultivated through his training more than satisfy the necessary entry requirements, and more than any other skill, it is his proficiency in genjutsu that makes him a useful addition to any team. He prefers more immediately useful illusions that can be fired off the cuff over subtle, long-term ones meant to slowly drive others to insanity or subjugation, but this speaks more to his personality than his skill.
Combat Experience Uchiha Arata has about eight years' experience training under a man with very few scruples and quite frankly obscene firepower. Although undoubtedly traumatized by the experience, one can hardly deny that it's been beneficial in cultivating good habits for a shinobi to have--even if peacetime is slowly eroding the necessity for some of them. His base observational capacity and composure under all sorts of stress are considered top-notch by his teachers, and while some of his strategies could be better thought out, it's no question that he's good at thinking of them quickly. However as an unfortunate byproduct of solo training, he has very little experience working with a team. When taken into account with his social failings, Arata is rightfully considered to be a poor leadership candidate, even if he is an excellent shinobi otherwise.
Description A genjutsu technique that is prepared by imbuing shinobi tools with Yin Release chakra and triggered when the opponent perceives the incoming weapon attack.
The resulting illusion is one that alters the properties and parameters of the attack to reduce the enemy's ability to evade. This includes things like the trajectory of shuriken attacks, the target of a sword strike, the approach of a charge, and so on. Being struck by the illusion inflicts pain that is part of the illusion. The illusion automatically ends when the imbued chakra is exerted, or when the real attack inflicts pain.
At advanced levels, the illusion can fabricate the effect of secondary attributes, such as lightning or fire chakra flow.
Classification Fighting Style, Kenjutsu
Nature N/A
Rank D
Class Offensive, Defensive
Range Close-Mid Range
Hand Seals N/A
Description A sword style characterized by the use of defensive movements and unorthodox bladework to create openings for a decisive attack.
Common among techniques of this style are grip alternation, quick draws and rapid footwork, as well as the use of the sword as a tool to transition into other fighting styles and other maneuvers normal swordsmen would balk at. As such, it shouldn't be called a swordsman's style so much as an assassin's.
At advanced levels, the use of the Sharingan is required to execute techniques with complete efficacy.
[Here is where I would put techniques but I'd need to think of chuuni names for all of them]
So I decided to post the WIP because I realized if I didn't post the WIP I'd never work on the last bit I need to finish.
Anyway this WIP was brought to you by DJ Khaled:
“You need to chill out.”
Personal Dossier
Name
Uchiha Arata
Age
13
Rank
Academy Student
Origin
Konohagakure
Chakra Nature
Fire
Characterization
Physical Description
As one might expect of a pure-blooded Uchiha, Arata is possessed of the traits typically associated with his kin. He has short black hair with centre-parted bangs; he is lean, fair-skinned and dark-eyed; and he has a somewhat boyish, somewhat feminine facial structure. Indeed, from afar he is little more than an unremarkable example of the Uchiha Clan. Upon closer inspection however, there are a few key features that serve to distinguish him from the rest.
The most significant of these is assuredly his presence. Arata is a stereotype associated with the basic demeanor of an Uchiha. He is not imposing, he is not pompous, and he is certainly far from intense. His height is only an unremarkable 148cm tall, he carries himself like a low-born slacker, and his eyes lack the same glint of ambition that shows in his family's. Further differences tend to be more subtle, like waviness of his hair and the shape of his eyebrows.
Coming from a traditional clan, it might be natural to suppose he dresses traditionally, but Arata prefers modern styles to the wide-collared garments his clan members keep buying for him. He especially likes jackets, sweaters and related outerwear for their combination of functionality and style.
Personality
The identity of Uchiha Arata has largely been shaped by a lifelong struggle against the external forces trying to control him. With little opportunity to define himself independently growing up, he has instead chosen to define himself in relation to how others define him. As a result, his personality is fundamentally more emotionally and socially reactive than it is proactive. He is determined, capable of picking up on social cues others might miss and always willing to call out others on their shit; at the same time, he is passive-aggressive, incapable of carrying a conversation well, and generally lacking in a sense of ambition. He is very much type of person who can tell you everything he doesn't want, but will greatly struggle when trying to express what it is that he desires beyond that. Naturally he tends to internalize rather than externalize.
Though he is no longer afraid of his father and the clan elders, Arata's upbringing has lead to a disillusionment with the idea of the benevolence of tradition and deference to authority that old-blood shinobi clans often cite. That said, he is still a product of that system regardless of the fact that he chooses to defy it. Even if he often disdains those who uphold tradition as gospel, it's clear he doesn't really know how to fix it in a cohesive and comprehensive manner. He tends towards modernity not because it is the best way, but because it's the only clear other way as far as he's knows.
Much of Arata's reputation is built on the existing stereotypes regarding the Uchiha and the various misconceptions that arise from his status. He's regarded as very much an "Uchiha genius"-type of Uchiha. That is to say, he's skilled without working for it and generally unapproachable by nature. While it's not quite an accurate assessment, it isn't without its foundation in truth. His social life is practically nonexistent and he isn't a very outgoing person in the first place; it takes a certain persistence that many lack to maintain a friendship with him, and even then there's not really a sweet side to unearth. He spends most of his time in class slacking off despite being extremely good at the whole shinobi thing, and the way he talks can rub people the wrong way.
In that respect, it's easy to see how he fits the stereotype. However, Arata doesn't shun socialization and he certainly puts in the work behind the scenes to earn his power. The latter is something that's a source of endless frustration for Arata, and one he knows he can't push for correcting or subverting. But the thing that frustrates him the most is when people see him as a title more than a person. All his life his success has been treated as something to further someone else's ambitions, even many of his peers are not exempt from this in the way they see him as something to surpass. It's essentially killed his reverence for reputation and accolades, as well as his drive to achieve for the sake of achieving.
But even with all the reasons in the world not to, Arata still continues on the path of the shinobi. Whether he finds what he's looking for remains to be seen.
Personal History
Uchiha Arata is the fourth child to result from the political marriage between Uchiha Satoru, the Junidaime Hokage, and Uchiha Mio, the heiress apparent to the Uchiha Clan. Of his siblings, he is the only one to be considered a viable heir to the clan, the only one to receive personal training from their father, and the only one to be born with the necessary aptitude to unlock the marque dojutsu of the clan. These facts are not unrelated; Arata is not simply the fourth child, but also the fourth and final iteration of Uchiha Satoru's plan to groom a worthy successor.
From that statement alone, one can surmise that the type of family dynamic Arata grew up with was not a particularly idyllic one. Indeed, many of his traumas may have been mitigated or even eliminated if the family had developed a stronger sense of solidarity to challenge their patriarch’s malignant influence. Instead, Arata was surrounded by siblings that pitied him at best and resented him at worst, a battered mother consumed by self-loathing, and a father who saw his family only as a means to increase his own prestige. The clan elders were of no help either; like Satoru, they saw themselves as hard men making a hard decision for the sake of their clan’s prosperity, and so the family would be resigned to suffering in silence.
Much like his siblings, Arata would be prepared for the life of a shinobi at an inordinately young age. Unlike them, his regimen would be far more intensive because he was his father's last shot at a "useful" child. And considering the regimen his siblings grew up with was quite intensive in the first place, Arata did not have much in the way of respite. Receiving personal training from the Hokage is many a shinobi's dream, but it was more traumatic than it was enlightening for the young Uchiha--even if one cannot deny that it successfully achieved its intent. He would be pushed past his physical, mental, and spiritual limits on a daily basis; refusal to continue would be corrected by means of force, as tended to be the case with most things in the household.
Unused to being pushed so hard, it's no surprise that a younger Arata would quickly begin to crack under the pressure. Afraid of his father and unacknowledged by his siblings, he would turn to his mother for the emotional support he needed to carry him through. However she was as much a victim as he was, and eventually Arata was forced to face the reality that if she kept "making him soft-hearted" she would get hurt. Without anyone to go to, Arata would eventually be pushed to run from home in an attempt to escape his family. Many of these attempts ended up with him quickly being located by his ex-ANBU father, but during his seventeenth attempt, the routine changed slightly.
At some point, he had crossed into the hunting grounds of the Senju Clan, and midway into a well-deserved nap, he was woken up by the two daughters of the Senju Clan head. After a highly sanitized explanation of what exactly he was doing in their territory, Arata was brought to the main household and subjected to an awkward few hours of interaction with the family of Senju Ohtarama. Despite being clearly out of his element in such a classically domestic household, he wasn't treated as an unwelcome presence, and his clan's historic rivals were quite accommodating. Of course, he was found by his father and forced to return home, but it was during this brief time that Arata would lay the foundations of a friendship with the youngest of Ohtarama's daughters that would prove to last.
At the age of eight, Arata unlocked the Sharingan. Though he was praised as a genius for the feat, it was no (un)fortunate turn of fate or feat of personal genius that forced the awakening of his eyes. Rather, it the product of a designed emotional response years in the making. From the beginning, Uchiha Satoru had deemed the extended influence of his wife on his successor to be a danger to his plan, but even he was shrewd enough to see the potential benefit of it. Opting to kill two birds with one stone, Satoru would allow Arata to emotionally fetter himself to his mother before enacting his plot to irreparably damage her credibility. In theory, the resulting emotional trauma would activate his son's kekkei genkai, and as we know, it worked perfectly. Arata's training would ramp up from this point in an effort to acquire rapid mastery of his Sharingan.
But as dark as his home life is, Arata's student life is about as relaxed as can be. Whether out of sympathy or indifference, the academy instructor for their class, his older brother, would allow him to slack off during lectures. Of course this hasn't helped his public image in the least, but snide remarks from his peers are nothing compared to the opportunity for a solid period of rest. With a poor reputation and even poorer charm, Arata is definitely lacking socially. Fortunately, he's mostly content to follow around his best friend. Although depending on who you ask, it's the other way around. Academically, his poor in class behavior has been far more than compensated for by the stringent training regimen he endures daily. While intentionally sabotaging his performance would be a good way to spite his father, Arata hasn't done so simply because certain people would get mad at him for it and that would be very inconvenient.
Character Development & Conceptualization
The original concept for Uchiha Arata was inspired by Uzumaki Boruto of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. This is not to be confused with Boruto of Boruto: Naruto the Movie, who is actually a good character. In the anime, they threw away the marvelous set-up in his backstory in favor of Naruto 2: Electric Boogaloo, so I decided to build a character around that framework. However, it quickly became apparent during initial writing that many key circumstances of Boruto's background couldn't seamlessly translate to Arata's as a consequence of how the relevant lore and NPCs of Kakumei were designed. So I just built a character around the details I was given about how Uchiha Satoru thinks and how he raises his kids, and the Uchiha Clan plot points Indra thought up. You can note a few legacy traits that draw similarities between the two, however.
The version of Arata I ended up was another "Classic Uchiha" archetype and I'm pretty sure most of you know what I mean by that. It's not a very exciting or innovative framework, but it's certainly one that I decided I could work with. For the most part I decided to play the stereotype straight, but with a singular modification that I feel adds depth and developmental potential that makes it less boring for me to play and hopefully for others to read. And that modification was the idea that an Uchiha genius of hard work can't get any credit because of the existing stereotype about Uchiha geniuses.
In terms of personality, Arata's didn't change excessively from the original draft. I never intended to play him as a loner that pretends to be superior as many Uchiha geniuses end up being; he was always going to be pretty lazy, pretty irreverent, and pretty sad-bitter which would let me have fun with the way he acts. Thankfully I was able to justify all that within the new background. So he's still lax and brusque and has daddy issues, but with different daddy issues from before plus a helping of domestic drama and social ineptitude.
While the lore bomb that got dropped on me changed quite a lot about the character, the ideas I had in my head for Arata's character arc fortunately didn't significantly change from original concept to final product. The main design philosophy behind his arc was less to plot out a path and more to determine a set of issues that are of approximately equal significance and synergize with each other without one overly influencing any of the others. The three I settled on are as follows:
The first issue is the question the roleplay seems to be about: "modernism vs traditionalism". At that start of the roleplay, he's definitely on the side of modernism with very little tolerance for the primacy of tradition; he's always denying where he comes from and defiant of the circumstances that made him who he is today. However the point of his character is to show that you can't really have one without the other, and even at the start, his hypocrisy is pretty evident: he rejects the Uchiha Clan and its main symbols, but he still practices their shinobi arts, reaps the benefits of their resources, and plays by their rules because it's the path of least resistance. That said, it's not really a matter of which side he takes, because he already has that figured out and there's really no way I see that changing. Rather, it's one of learning to reconcile the friction between what he is and what he thinks he is, and from that, learning the world isn't as rigid as it seems.
The second issue is his ideals, or rather his lack thereof. There's really no question that Arata is lacking in motivation and long term goals. As it stands, he's just a rebel without a cause or worse, and that's definitely a big flaw in a universe that revolves around protecting and realizing one's ninja way. Much of his arc is intended to be about figuring out for himself what exactly is worth being a shinobi for, or even if it's worth being a shinobi at all, which informs and is informed by how his point of view changes in regards to the world around him. Just as well, because much of his identity is other-centered, he'll have to learn to become independent before this realization can occur--another complication on the road to maturity.
The third issue concerns his relationships. This includes not only his family bonds, but also the bonds between himself and his teammates. Kakumei is, after all, a Naruto roleplay, so I would be remiss for not including something significant about that in his potential development path. His domestic situation needs resolution, he needs to learn to form bonds with people his age on his own, and he needs to learn to trust authority again. Of course, he's pretty unequipped to do that at the start of the roleplay, but to interact with others well, one must first interact with others poorly. The four man squad system does a very good job at facilitating this elegantly; his troublesome nature will challenge his peers and his mentor, and he'll have to live with the consequences instead of just dismissing them. Resolving his troubled home life is a more difficult issue, but certainly one that will come up considering his father's prominence and the various ends left loose as far as his relationship with his other family members go. Whether that resolution is good or bad will depend on where Arata is when it happens.
Uchiha Arata is a shinobi whose skillset is primarily oriented towards a short-mid range battlefield control role. His relative lack of defensive and support options serves his character by way of emphasizing his isolation, and his area of effect attacks combined with his genjutsu stun make him a dominating force on the battlefield as far as genin-grade combat goes. Altogether, he is definitely someone you orient a strategy around and not someone you use to have all the component parts synergize together nicely, a fact which very much befits his "lonely at the top" character concept.
The main shinobi disciplines he practices are bukijutsu and genjutsu. I don't really intend for him to go super far into pure ninjutsu aside from techniques that are "mandatory" as far as plot progression and lore go, like Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique. The meta objective of this choice is to differentiate his playstyle from the stealthy ninjutsu artillery build I'm currently developing in another Naruto roleplay, but in-character it's probably more like trying to get away from his dad who is a ninjutsu specialist.
Most people that know me know that I like to tie ability to character development and the keystone for this in Arata's sheet is the Uchiha Style, and not actually the Sharingan (though the Sharingan gets its own paragraph because it's significant). Namely the question of whether or not he'll continue down it and the method by which that happens. The big theme of the roleplay is "progression vs tradition" and its very much the traditional Uchiha fighting style both in what I based it off and what it is in the lore of Kakumei.
As someone who opposes the traditions of his clan, Arata's uses Uchiha Style mostly because its the only tool he can use. But as we know, he's still kind of a hypocrite for using it in the first place. However that's kind of the point; he's at a place where he can't divorce himself from his clan, but can't find himself appreciating it either. In other words, he's built foundation in all aspects of his potential growth before specializing, and there's three ways I see that that going that also tie into the ways his own relationship with tradition grow: the first is delving deeper into the Uchiha Style, the second is taking old techniques and innovating upon them, and the third is rejecting it entirely.
As an aside, the Uchiha Style Ninja Arts is not a completely original concept. And by that I mean that it "exists" in canon in the formofvarioustechniques, but Kishimoto doesn't do anything with it other than mention it exists once or twice across a thousand chapters and a dozen spin off works. I just decided to put them all together in a semi-cohesive manner.
Originally, Arata was going to be slated as an Uchiha weaponmaster. However, Genjutsu ended up becoming a late addition to the concept because people were talking shit about it in the Discord early on and Rhodus challenged me to make genjutsu great again when I tried to defend it. So here we are. While a largely unintended addition, it isn't an unwelcome one. Thematically, it fits very well. Genjutsu is the antipode to ninjutsu, which services the idea that Arata is trying to distance himself from his father; the Uchiha are known for their genjutsu prowess, which ties it into the same kind of conflict surrounding his bukijutsu capability without necessarily being beholden to it as a directly Uchiha practice; and genjutsu itself is about seizing control, a thing Arata lacks in his life. Developmentally, it's lacking the same kind of "oomph" as Uchiha Style Ninja Arts, but I suppose one could say that the form of illusions he uses are informed by his development.
As for his Sharingan, a lot of its base concept is expressed below in the Character Focus and Skillset section so I won't restate it here, and it should be clear I'm aiming to emphasize the hypnosis eye over the copy eye that everyone has beef with. Concerning Mangekyo Sharingan I've decided beforehand that he's not gonna pick up Susanoo or Amaterasu on account of how it doesn't fit his character thematically to develop the same ability as his predecessors. In my head, it's probably gonna end up between Tsukuyomi and Kamui, but I haven't really thought about it overmuch.
("What about Kotoamatsukami?" you might ask. To which I would answer: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )
Attributes
Character Focus & Skillset
Sharingan While it is no secret that Arata possesses the fully-matured manifestation of his clan's dojutsu, the number of people who have seen him use it can be counted on a single hand. Some consider his refusal a matter of egoism or secrecy, but it is not an honor reserved for worthy opponents or a trump card to fight for one's ninja way. Instead it's fundamentally about what he believes his eyes represent, namely everything wrong with the Uchiha Clan. Until he finally comes to terms with his family, his past and his place in this world, he might as well not have a Sharingan in the first place.
Uchiha Eugenics Refined to a razor edge by centuries of strictly-enforced intrafamilial breeding, the Uchiha have accrued infamy throughout the shinobi world for the genetic advantages of their bloodline. The Sharingan is by far the most iconic of these, but there are other, far more universal boons that their pedigree bestows. The blood grants them chakra of the utmost quality and bodies that boast power and coordination in equal parts. With such a compatibility with combat, there is no question that the members of the Uchiha Clan are born and bred for the life of a shinobi. Arata does not stray from this universal truth--in fact, his training has almost definitely enhanced these natural talents--but the prodigiousness he demonstrates is no product of bloodline alone. Not many care to make the distinction, however.
Uchiha Style Ninja Arts The Uchiha's infamy as the premier warrior clan of Konohagakure tends to center around their ability to coopt the techniques of others, but an oft forgotten fact is that they have developed and passed down techniques of their own. The vast majority of these techniques are founded in bukijutsu, but there exists a number of techniques that fall under purely chakra-based disciplines, such as Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique. As is the case with standard ninja arts, common practice is to develop a wide baseline and specialize from there; so it should come as very little surprise that Arata has developed a strong foundation in the many subsets of the style. Worth noting is that his tool specialties are swords and shuriken, and that he tends to use shuriken as the primary weapon rather than the sword, which serves as a sidearm.
Genjutsu Expertise Of the major shinobi disciplines, Arata exhibits the greatest compatibility with genjutsu. Despite it being the field he's been trained in the least as a result of his father’s skillset, the chakra control and intellectual capabilities Arata has cultivated through his training more than satisfy the necessary entry requirements, and more than any other skill, it is his proficiency in genjutsu that makes him a useful addition to any team. He prefers more immediately useful illusions that can be fired off the cuff over subtle, long-term ones meant to slowly drive others to insanity or subjugation, but this speaks more to his personality than his skill.
Combat Experience Uchiha Arata has about eight years' experience training under a man with very few scruples and quite frankly obscene firepower. Although undoubtedly traumatized by the experience, one can hardly deny that it's been beneficial in cultivating good habits for a shinobi to have--even if peacetime is slowly eroding the necessity for some of them. His base observational capacity and composure under all sorts of stress are considered top-notch by his teachers, and while some of his strategies could be better thought out, it's no question that he's good at thinking of them quickly. However as an unfortunate byproduct of solo training, he has very little experience working with a team. When taken into account with his social failings, Arata is rightfully considered to be a poor leadership candidate, even if he is an excellent shinobi otherwise.
Description A genjutsu technique that is prepared by imbuing shinobi tools with Yin Release chakra and triggered when the opponent perceives the incoming weapon attack.
The resulting illusion is one that alters the properties and parameters of the attack to reduce the enemy's ability to evade. This includes things like the trajectory of shuriken attacks, the target of a sword strike, the approach of a charge, and so on. Being struck by the illusion inflicts pain that is part of the illusion. The illusion automatically ends when the imbued chakra is exerted, or when the real attack inflicts pain.
At advanced levels, the illusion can fabricate the effect of secondary attributes, such as lightning or fire chakra flow.
Classification Fighting Style, Kenjutsu
Nature N/A
Rank D
Class Offensive, Defensive
Range Close-Mid Range
Hand Seals N/A
Description A sword style characterized by the use of defensive movements and unorthodox bladework to create openings for a decisive attack.
Common among techniques of this style are grip alternation, quick draws and rapid footwork, as well as the use of the sword as a tool to transition into other fighting styles and other maneuvers normal swordsmen would balk at. As such, it shouldn't be called a swordsman's style so much as an assassin's.
At advanced levels, the use of the Sharingan is required to execute techniques with complete efficacy.
[Here is where I would put techniques but I'd need to think of chuuni names for all of them]
There were many things Tsugumi had thought would happen during this meeting. There were also many things that Tsugumi thought could happen during this meeting, but were far too unlikely to actually happen. Saber immediately identifying their side's Archer did not fall into either of those categories. It was so out of left-field that all Tsugumi did was stand there while it played out, wearing a reddened expression that fell somewhere between a smile and a grimace.
Tsugumi really wanted to intervene, but what could she say? "Stop that, Saber"? "Back off, Archer"? Too many things could go wrong, and she didn't have the force of personality to play off the consequences. All she could do now was endure the flustered shame settling in her stomach, and watch as Mrs. Tohsaka did her best to deescalate the situation by abruptly starting their strategy meeting.
With slow and heavy steps, Tsugumi made her way towards the rest of the Masters. She paused near Team Archer, poised to speak before ultimately deciding against it. Instead, she ended up taking the seat furthest from them. No doubt they--and probably everyone else here--thought she was a sham of a Master; she'd even said something like "let's all work well together" when her Servant was the one starting trouble!
'Mordred,' Tsugumi thought as she poured herself a tea. Her dainty spoon stirred idle circles as she cast her message across her mental link with Saber. 'Didn't look like a good first impression from where I was. Think everything's gonna work out with your... coworker, I guess?'
With the base of the cup in her palm and her fingers looped through the handle, Tsugumi quietly nursed her tea while listening intently. There was nothing said so far that she couldn't agree with, and when Caster's Master suggested they prioritize information gathering, she raised her hand.
"I've got worms to spare," Tsugumi offered. She didn't elaborate. Then again, she didn't need to; the Matou family predilection for familiars was no great secret. "Speaking of, there any clues to ID the Einzbern Servants? Paper trail from their excavations or weird news or...?"
“Of course I’m scared, but you can’t protect anything by running away.”
Personal Dossier
Name
Hatake Shunpei
Age
11
Rank
Genin
Origin
Konohagakure
Chakra Nature
Lightning
Characterization
Physical Description
Standing at 153cm tall, Shunpei is one of tallest people in his class, if not the tallest. However his build hardly compliments his size, being well-trained but largely unexceptional by the shinobi standards. Combined, they make the Hatake boy’s prepubescent form appear more lanky and awkward than his contemporaries.
Other notable features of Shunpei’s include his distinctive hair, which incessantly "fluffs" outwards at the ends and leaves an untidy spiral at the top of his head; and his light amber eyes, notable for being distinct from the blues and dark browns typical of his clan. But apart from his eye color, his features are generally similar to the other members of his clan and their silver hair, fair (though sometimes sun-kissed) skin and droopy eyes.
He's often seen wearing simple but functional outerwear, often including a leather waist-cape, and usually has an easygoing expression on his face.
Personality
Text.
Personal History
Text.
Attributes
Special Traits
Chakra Potency Though Shunpei's body is unexceptional, his spirit is not. With both breadth and depth far surpassing his contemporaries, the boy's chakra is undoubtedly very powerful in being. Though his current jutsu repertoire fails to take full advantage of his vast and potent reserves, his chakra enables his jutsu to reach efficiency matching those with superb chakra control through sheer degree of quantity, and increases technical efficacy by a not-insignificant degree. While an older Shunpei might be able to release a veritable deluge of combat-grade ninjutsu with skill and impunity, at the time of the Genin examinations he still has trouble keeping control over his own power.
Chakra Transformation As a late bloomer in the truest sense, the slowest start in the entire graduating class of 112 belies the capacity for meteoric growth as a ninjutsu specialist, so long as he acquires the appropriate mindset and mentor for its cultivation. Indeed, while the potency of his chakra is ostensibly Academy-aged Shunpei's only boon when it comes to spiritual matters, it is definitely not the only one. Beyond quantitative and qualitative improvements to his already notable chakra, the true potential Shunpei carries lies in the art of chakra transformation. Different from chakra control, which dictates regulation of use, the two types of chakra transformation – shape and nature – form the foundation for advanced ninjutsu use and development, being responsible for dictating the property and form of techniques. It is said the vast majority of shinobi can only use one at a time, but the Hatake boy is among the rare number that can use both simultaneously, allowing him to personalize his jutsu on the fly and more effectively research and develop jutsu or natures. However, Academy students aren’t mandated to learn a vast array of jutsu or directly encouraged to delve into their specialties; so this is essentially a non-factor as far as far as post-graduate Shunpei is concerned.
Matou Tsugumi crossed into the boundary of the Tohsaka workshop in the mid-afternoon, arriving neither a second sooner nor later than the appointed time. She remembered clearly the last time she and Zouken had visited the Tohsaka home for a social call. How could she not when she had been informed quite thoroughly of her impropriety regarding English table procedure? This time, of course, Tsugumi knew.
Tsugumi knew that she didn’t learn a single thing last time, and thus endeavoured not to arrive until absolutely necessary—which was now.
Of course, it came as no surprise that most of the other members of the alliance had already appeared by the time she showed up at the meeting space; what came as a surprise was the silence that she’d arrived to.
Tohsaka Shion had managed to fit approximately a dozen people in a single room for teatime, including a knight in full armor and a girl with a wingspan. But somehow, it seemed most everyone in the crowded space was in their own corner, busying themselves with terse introductions or by casting timid glances across at the other members of the alliance. It was like a bunch of singles in a classroom weeks before a festival. The other Masters were certainly the around right age for it, not that she was any different.
And that itself was worrisome. Even if it was on short notice, was this really the best all the Tohsaka’s contacts had to offer? Tsugumi had expected to be the youngest and weakest of the bunch, not among the oldest and most experienced. Perhaps she should have been more vocal in offering to help organize the anti-Einzbern faction.
Still, Tsugumi had to give them credit where it was due. With her Master’s clairvoyance she could assess the abilities of encountered Servants, including the ones gathered here now, and what she saw certainly wasn't displeasing. For their youth, the alliance had good taste in catalysts.
Hers was an artifact her grandfather had excavated from Britain seven years ago. He’d called it “the perfect catalyst” but she didn’t know what it was or who it summoned. It was only a day ago when Tsugumi finally opened that aged, velvet-lined box that she understood what he meant.
The strongest class, a powerful legend, and optimum compatibility. Rare was the catalyst that satisfied two of these properties; the Round Table splinter satisfied all three.
Though that begged a question: of all the Knights, why did she summon Sir Mordred Pendragon?
It was clear that their personalities were very different. Not quite opposed, but definitely opposite. Based on first impression, Saber certainly was louder and rowdier than Tsugumi was comfortable acting herself. Her vivacity was definitely a change of pace for Tsugumi’s monotonous lifestyle, but her Servant hadn’t done anything questionable yet, so she was content to keep the knight on a loose leash.
Tsugumi rapped her bony knuckles against the wooden doorframe, drawing attention to herself and her companion.
“‘Afternoon all,” the girl with scruffy twintails and a dowdy coat greeted. “I’m Matou Tsugumi. This is Saber. I guess we oughta...erm...let’s all, uh, work well together?”