Kawai Niko

TBA
== Personality ==
When one first sees Niko, they're likely going to see a pretty face and expect an even more pleasant demeanor. When they actually talk to her, they're likely to find out that they were dead wrong. Having experienced the realities of life, she has become vain and narcissistic. She doesn't hesitate to jump on one's weakness, even making her capable of ruining a person's day. Although she usually has no intention of verbally abusing someone of this order, she doesn't feel sorry doing it either. It simply has become her nature.
The blonde hadn't always been like this. In fact, she used to be a rather friendly individual. In the past, it hadn't been rare to see a smile on her face, and she would even care about a person's well being. Since birth, she had experienced the cruelty of the world. For a good portion of her life she grew up in poverty, and experienced the hardships that came with a dangerous neighborhood. Even with all the struggles through, she persevered, and came out alright. The experiences toughened her, a big contribution to her current firmness and resolve. What really seemed to change her was the death of a man who she looked up to like a sensei, the previous Hokage, Kouki. She had taken the man as a sort of elder brother, and seeing him leave her life with no warming whatsoever had sent her into a sort of depression. Not too long after that, the village had been attacked by rouges. After the attack the state of the village was poor, forcing everyone to increase their efforts. Even with the slow recovery from that time, Niko has kept her work-rate at the very least, the same, categorizing her as a very hard worker. At the same time, this trait makes her a hard person to befriend. Keeping up with her at times can be an arduous task because she isn't known to take many breaks, or knows when to let things lie. The people she works with on a daily basis often try and tell her to rest and slow down, but rarely does she ever heed their calls. If she is not doing something useful, she feels that she is loosing out.
The kunoichi is also rather creative had innovative. She has successfully managed to create a few working systems that the village works on since she has taken the position of assistant. Perhaps it had been because of a change in attitude or the changing scenario she had been put in, but Niko has become a much sharper and intelligent individual with a rather impressive IQ and a vast knowledge of village secrets.
As the woman gets older, her mother asks her more about her social life, in hopes that Niko will one day find a spouse and give her grandchildren. Despite Niko's age, she has never been in a romantic relationship, which makes her feel particularly uncomfortable when her mother speaks of such things. At the moment, she prefers focusing on the affairs of the village and returning it to its former glory.
== Appearance ==
==== Attire ====
Prior to the time she became the Hokage, Niko had worn many types of outfits, most of which had been centered around her professional setting. They ranged from sharp dress shirts and skirts, to her penchant for high-heels. Now, Niko tries to wear more 'regal' clothing such as kimonos and other loose clothing with pretty patterns. The kunoichi can also often be found wearing Konoha's standard ninja outfit consisting of a green vest which can hold the majority of her equipment when in shinobi business. Underneath the vest she has a simple blue long sleeved shirt. Unlike many of her predecessors, Niko still tries to be on the field often. She believes one can always stay in touch if they try to be more similar to the people they rule over. During less formal occasions, Niko wears more casual clothing such as cream colored sweatshirts and bright T-shirts. 
==== Physique ====
Niko is a slender and curvaceous woman who stands at 5'07 feet, which is considered to be of average height, but when she wears her heels she is a bit taller. Her eyes are an esoteric purple and her lips are a light pink that remain luscious and full. Being a shinobi, she has been able to easily maintain her feminine figure. She believes that keeping ones self healthy and fit is more important than anything else, after all, without one's health, there is no quality in life. Although she is a shinobi over anything else, this purple eyed blonde, has her lustrous hair descending beyond half way down her back when it's let down to its fullest. When combat arises or when she is on a mission, she puts her hair up for the sake of safety and maneuverability. Niko's skin is free from any blemishes or scars. The kunoichi isn't one who wears make-up often, but when she does it is usually applied lightly near her eyes. Adding onto her many positive traits, she's been gifted with an ample chest. Despite being a natural beauty, she has been told often that gives an almost menacing and serious look, which she thinks is only fitting of the Hokage.
== History ==
Kawai Niko had been born a bastard child to her mother, Saika Manami. At learning of his partner's pregnancy, the 
would be father disappeared. Now left all alone with an unborn baby, Saika, had to work almost twice as hard to feed two mouths. Her partner had been a wealthy man, and when she met him it had been like she was swept off her feet to join him and enjoy the luxuries he promised, but when he left, she was left all alone and put back in the same impoverished state she met him in. When it was time to finally give birth to her child she was on her own, given only the emotional support of the doctors who were aiding her. But in the end, when she got to see her newborn, Niko, she was filled with determination and hope. She even had the audacity to give Niko her father's last name in hopes that he would return one day to see them.
Raising a child on her own was no easy job. At times when there was a limited amount of food she would choose not to eat so Niko wouldn't be hungry. She would have to go thorough the urges of hunger and even chew for her daughter. Soothing a child who seemed to cry every night was also part of the job, but still the woman sucked it up, refusing to give up despite her increasing debts and bills. It hadn't been until Niko became four when life started to ease a bit on her mother. She now self aware and able to take care of herself somewhat. Her cute appearance even had the knack for charming those who were more well off out of their money, despite being barely able to mutter "Change please?"
Around the age of six, Niko's childish curiosity had sprung up. She had constantly asked her mother where her own father had been whenever she saw others with their own. Saika either had to distract Niko off the subject or give her an extremely vague answer that would at least keep her satisfied for a while. The little blonde girl was so curious that she even ventured out on her own on some days. Even though she lived in a very dangerous part of Hi no Kuni, she was oblivious to all the perils that she could have faced. The day her mother had found out her daughter had done such dangerous things, she became awfully worried and scared, beating Niko as a result to show her that she should never do it again, some may have disagreed, but to Saika, it was a show of genuine concern. Despite the punishments she received, they weren't enough to curve Niko's curiosity. She continued her little ventures, and on some of them, she would find how things really were outside the confines of her neighborhood. On one of the occasions, she even managed to see some gang fights from the distance.
After getting a bit settled to this lifestyle, Niko's mother had found a stable profession and managed to even pay half her debts. It was then that she decided it was time for her to give her child a better life. She didn't not want her to continue growing up in the brutal environment of this part of the country. Although Niko had already became accustomed to ruggedness of her community, there was still a large part of her childhood which could still be nurtured in the softer arms of Konohagakure no Sato. Saika had done the best she could, raising Niko with the best of morals and goals. One of them being that she should try to become a shinobi, so she would at least never be too poor. With lots of effort, she had shipped her daughter off to this distant city, knowing at the very least that she would be better of in Konoha than anywhere else.
Starting the academy was a bit of a challenge. The others found her a bit of a ruffian because she was mentally tougher than most of them and used to a much more competitive environment. She often thought of her fellow classmates as 'a bunch of pansies'.
As she slowly adjusted, she learned to accept new things such as delectable ramen. She also learned that people other than your mother could genuinely care for you. It was then that she became rather amiable.
Her street smarts had always been better than everyone she knew in the academy, so it wasn't too hard for her to get by. Graduating at the age of 12 with flying colors, she was pretty determined to do great things, mostly because of the motivational speeches her mother had given her years ago before she was shipped out to Konoha. Luckily for her, the shinobi council was nice enough to pay for her rent until she graduated, which had made focusing on her ninja studies a whole lot easier. When she was given her headband, she had been assigned to a genin team with a sensei. She did many missions with him and eventually started to take the man on as her father figure. On some occasions she would take on several missions at a time not just for extra dough but to get a larger count on her mission log. Before long she was overqualified for the Chuunin Exams with 30 D-rank missions and 12 C-rank mission. Now when the woman reminisces about how diligent she had been, she knows that it had been heavily supported by her friends and most of all Kouki, a classmate she had become good friends with. 
Entering the Chuunin Exams gave the young kunoichi mixed thoughts. While she thought it would be an interesting journey getting to face off against some of the best Genin in the shinobi world, she was also afraid for her life. She had recalled all the dangerous things their sensei had mentioned about the exams and remembered to incorporate it into her campaign. Through the first two rounds of the Exams, she never had to get her hands dirty much because she and her team lucked out, but it was in the third and final round that she discovered the realities of shinobi life. While putting down her opponent, she had received a cadaverous injury that had sent her into the hospital for quite a while and prevented her from participating in the next round. Despite this, she had an impressive run in the Chuunin Exams and she was promoted to the rank of Chuunin within six months of graduating from the academy.
It was then she would just reflect on her life to this point and worry about how her mother was doing, which seemed to affect her mission performance. The young kunoichi was doing well, just like her mother wanted, but she wasn't there to see it herself. Niko wished that she could only have her mother see what she had become. The blonde decided that since that would not be the case for quite some time, it would be best that she continue her training, and when the opportunity presented itself she would surprise her mother. During her times of great contemplation, Niko had picked up an affinity for Ninjutsu.
With her skill set, the Chuunin was set to several different tasks in the village. While she was primarily a task force shinobi, she occasionally filled in as an academy teacher. It was at this time that Niko obtained a true sense of the word teamwork. The woman had close friends she could compete with in skill and share memories with. They helped her further improve her skills and the three friends had been close enough to make a few combos they eliminated their opponents with. At the same time, the kunoichi grew a fondness for little children when she filled in the academy.
However, on one fateful day tragedy struck. While the group was on a mission in lands beyond Hi no Kuni's borders, they were attacked by a group of high ranking criminals. One by one, it seemed her fellow comrades, whom she had known from when she graduated fell. Beaten and severely wounded, Niko barely managed to escape with her life. If it weren't for her intuitiveness in hiding, she would have been among the dead. From a hiden position, the kunoichi managed to strike one of the dastardly goons in a vital area, which killed him right on the spot before she scurried away to safety. On some days as she recuperated in her village, she had grown too dejected that she had snuck out in hopes that her pursuers would take her life. Being around the village had reminded her too much of the sadness that overcame her. If it weren't for a few helpful words from Kouki, who always seemed a step above their age, she would have lost hope.
With the death of her teammates she had been moved to by her superiors to become an ANBU Operative. She regained her momentum after a few months and learned the inns and outs of the Black Ops. Impressed by her hard work and determination, the Anbu Captian had promoted her to the rank of Jonin when she was 19. The reasoning being her excellence on a particular mission. The blonde had been tasked with eliminating certain Konohagakure missing ninja that were mercenaries of one of the interest groups in the civil war in Kirigakure. During the height thick of the war, she and another ANBU operatives were put on a boat to head for the war entrenched village. While they were commanded to do their best to lay low until they found their target, it seemed that the moment they had hit land, they were faced against suspicious loyalist forces of Kirigakure. Niko had led her comrades into retreating from these forces to avoid the unnecessary uses of chakra. The tracing division of the team had done their best to follow intel they were given in order to find the criminals while at the same time try to avoid any opposition. When they spotted the ninja they reported back to the group and told where they could be found. Much to the surprise of the group, things had been going rather easy and they were ready to take on the missing ninja. Niko however, was the only one to recognize that they was merely a set up induced by Genjutsu. When ambushed by the highly ranked criminals, the Konoha shinobi tried their best in thwarting the threat. While they truly were powerful, their numbers been enough to overwhelm the missing ninja. If it had not been for Niko's quick thinking and her ability to lead the team, it might have been a repeat of the death of her Operation Team comrades. With a quick retreat back to Konoha the ANBU had been praised for their hard work and Niko continued serving her village from behind the scenes. Not long after, word had spread among the higher officials that the once impoverished peasant had become quite a remarkable kunoichi. It had even reached word to the Yondaime Hokage, who had then personally requested that she become her assistant. Without any hesitance, Niko accepted and saw it simply as a new challenge.
Adapting to office life was difficult for Niko. When she saw her comrades on the battlefield, she couldn't help but feel envious. Knowing that simply doing office duties and being the village's aid would be no good for her, she pursued advancing her shinobi abilities in her free time. Occasionally, she would dwell in village secrets clandestinely in order to keep herself informed, but she found her access to forbidden jutsu the most delightful.
After many years and serving three different Hokages, Niko had become an integral ninja to the village. In her hands lie not only crucial information, but she usually filters what goes to and from the Hokage's office for the betterment of Konohagakure. While she had always been a fine fit for the 'assistant' position, her opinion had heavy sway on the decisions the Hokage made.
Her days an Assistant however quickly came to an end. Upon the long planned visit of the Lady of Kusagakure, the assassination of Hayashi Ayame took place. While the Kusa Lady was quickly secured and sent back to her village for the sake of safety, the village was sent into a mass upheaval because of the death of their second leader within a year. Niko had tried her best to bring calm to the village as Ayame's right hand woman. Despite the pain she felt from the death from someone she had worked so closely with, she had worked efficiently through it and prevent the village from almost splitting apart. As a result, a majority of the Shinobi Council had suggested she be the person the succeed the previous leader. Upon hearing this, Niko was very shocked and she definitely would never have thought she ever become a Hokage. Having seen where three previous Kages had risen and fallen, she gratefully took the position and tries to bring the village into a greater position than it ever was in before and at the same time, bring justice to the culprits of Ayame's death. The blonde only wished that villagers pray for her in the endeavors to come.
Niko was given ample support from the start. During discussions with Councilors , and  the new Hokage was given advise she would use to formulate her agenda. It was in these times her resolve in the Will of Fire grew and it became her overarching motto and ideology. She would soon authorize missions aimed at boosting village commerce and defense in hopes of forming unity. Top secret investigative missions were conducted to find who had taken out her predecessor.
She also decided to give an ally, Sunagakure, a loan to improve their village. This was an issue of contention between she and another councilor, . They would argue day and night, but simply could not comprehend each other's point of view. However with Niko the one in the mantle of power she pushed on without the Hyuga, and it seemed to prove beneficial. Ties with Sunagakure were strengthened substantially.
It wasn't long before Niko was informed that Iwagakure were the perpetrators to Ayame's death. She had been told the assassination was ordered by Tsuchikage, . Historically the two villages had always been at odds, but with Ayame's death an act of war had been committed. Their relations plummeted and tension had now reached an all time high as a result. Over much of Niko's shinobi career, she had been told how vile Iwa shinobi could be. She had never experienced war like her elders so she only had a passive disdain for them. But it was at this moment Niko's anger cultivated into a deep-seated hatred for all things Iwagakure.
Niko sought out her allies in hopes of forming a united front against Iwagakure. She spoke to Kusa Lady , but was appalled by how willing she was to befriend Ayame's assassins. She tried several times to reason with the pinkette, but nothing she said seemed to convince her. Niko originally thought it was simply a difference between their ideologies in this area. Niko being more of a pragmatist, and Raimaa more of an idealist in search for world peace. But she subsequently came to the conclusion that she was just a madwoman.
In the meanwhile, the young Hokage dealt with her personal life. Years ago she had tracked down her selfish father and discovered he had another child: Her half-sister . After observing how well she had managed to deal with becoming the Jinchuuriki, she decided it was time to train Sada herself. Niko's aim was to make the teenager a village weapon, while perhaps getting to know the girl as a sibling. However their contrasting personas has only seemed to keep them from really bonding.
She had also rejected her very first confession from her childhood friend, . Niko never had the slightest suspicion Amai liked her in the romantic sense and she had thought of the Sarutobi in a sisterly way. The two had shared a decades long record of teamwork from their Genin days and Niko did not want this to change. However, it seemed to put a strain on their work relationship. On occasion it was awkward for Niko to confront Amai in the office setting.
She was especially disappointed to discover that Amai had told her some untruths. Their mutual friend,  had returned from a grave injury, but Niko was never informed. It was especially critical because the Uchiha was Niko's second in command. Instead, she was told the lie that she went on leave without reason. It is an issue Niko hopes to address at a later point in time because for the time being, her focus is on a hopefully speedy recovery for her Hanchou.
== Abilities ==
Niko is the type of kunoichi that prefers to observe her opponent. She tries her best to avoid exerting anything substantial about her own fighting patterns until she discovers how and what makes her opponents tick. Once she has prodded enough, she relies heavily on her prowess at ninjutsu. Niko may use a combination of the different elements she can manipulate to eliminate her opponents. Should a battle come down to a deadlock, she is not afraid to brawl and fight dirty. After all, the only thing that matters is a victory.
At the same time, she is also well versed in Taijutsu. While the kunoichi would admit that she is no where near being one of the best at hand to hand combat, she has proven able to hit very hard, especially when it matters. The woman is a bit of a brawler, and when it comes down to it, she isn't afraid to pull hair, or aim for joints. She finds it more honorable for one to try and end a fight as soon as possible, than to put a person through excruciating pain.
With the development of her newest jutsu the Hiraishin, her style of fighting has broadened a bit. She is much more capable of fighting close ranged fighters with less fear because she can easily 'bail out' towards safety. As she fights, she tries her best to secretly place the Hiraishin seal in various parts of the battlefield so that her options are varied. While these can be helpful for dodging, she prefers to use them to overwhelm her opponents and attack them on all sides before a fight becomes a lengthy one.
Hiraishin also grants Niko instant access to anywhere in the village once it has been tagged with the appropriate formula. Having been almost everywhere there is to be, this technique has allowed the woman to know the ins and outs of her village as if it were the back of her hand. During the time when she was an assistant, this proved to be very useful for doing errands for the Hokage, and delivering essential documents. Now she uses it more for checking on certain parts of the village and ensuring things are running smoothly. It would be foolish to fight Niko within her own village.
=== Blazing Chakra Pool ===
From as early as Niko can remember, she always had natural talent for utilizing her chakra. In her academy days, she had impressed both her teachers and fellow academy students with the sheer amount of chakra she possessed. Although her natural talent took her far, she knew that it could have been much better when accompanied with skill. When the kunoichi had graduated, her sensei had noticed this trait and advised she train it so that her potential would blossom. After many years of pushing her limits, she has learned to conserve her energy also so that this gift of hers would be considered legendary. Despite having an only average chakra control, she can use her control to make it last for an impressive amount of time that even allows her to perfect what many ninja would consider chakra-costly techniques.
=== Genius Tactician ===
Her tenure as an ANBU Operative had done the most to teach Niko the importance of strategical proficiency. She has learned that simply going at an opponent with more force or speed does not necessarily equate to better results. Having a specific approach and playing to ones strengths will take one much farther. Through mere observations, she can begin to formulate a plan and develop back-ups should they not go as she predicted and analyze their likelihood of success in mere seconds. The blonde kunoichi is the type of fighter who would not mind testing the waters by angering her opponent so she could get a taste of their psyche. Her knowledge, the combination of reading and shinobi experience, is a quite vast and so are her deductive reasoning skills. 
=== Enduring Intrepidity ===
Growing up on the streets had taught Niko a lot of life lessons, and one of those was sheer determination. The kunochi just doesn't quite know when to give up, making her only want to strive and try harder. Against her more logical reasoning, she can take quite a beating and still have the will to fight on, especially if she believes its for a just cause. This will not only makes her a very durable individual, but allows her to fight for a long period of time. If loved ones or her village are at stake, it's expected that Niko would fight thrice as hard. The Will of Fire essentially runs through her veins.
=== Ninjutsu Prowess ===
Niko has trained so diligently in the art of Ninjutsu, to the point that she is able to use a variety of skills to take on her opponents. With help of different elements on her side, she can conjure up a myriad of combos that would due double the damage ordinary attacks would do. Along with this, she has proven able to perform the handseals for many of her techniques with a single hand, allowing her to have her other hand free to do other maneuvers.
=== Child of Darkness ===
The crux of Niko's shinobi career was her time among Konoha's ANBU Operatives. In this organization she had learned the most dark, brutal, underhanded, and efficient ninja tactics employed to date. When she resorts to her ANBU training the kunoichi is able to easily adapt to the darkness. Under any kind of obscurity or veil Niko is to be feared because she thrives via Silent Killing and can easily use her stealth to end lives. She is neigh impossible to detect via sound and moves with considerable speed and efficiency. When used in tandem with her jutsu, she can quite literally make her opponent go mad from apprehension. That is, if she hadn't already decided to end them.