Owl

## Description

Ward, also known as the ANBU member "Owl", is the second in command of the entire branch and Kroenen's right-hand man. After Kroenen's coup and his subsequent ascend to Emperor, Ward took over command of the specific unit he was second of before, the Wind Squad. He is the only member of the ANBU of the Tremollion species, as it is quite rare for them to take up arms. He is the second tallest of the ANBU and also considered to be one of the strongest, both mentally and physically. Because of his general appearance being shrouded in the uniform the ANBU wear, Ward looks different from the rest. He is more bulky, and his head looks malformed with the clothing on.

## Character

Ward is, without a doubt, the least kind of the entire branch. One would call him ruthless, but he only follows his orders. However, when promoted to leader himself he did not hesitate to form the unit to his will: the textbook, 'pure' ANBU. Being a natural sociopath from birth, his lack of kindness of any sort perfectly suits his position. He is also narcissistic to a degree, believing himself to be a 'textbook operative with no flaws to speak of, aside from his physical limitations'. He is very by-the-book and does not stray from his ideals easily. For some reason, he does not like anyone not affiliated to the ANBU, and even then the opposite gender preturbs him for no significant reason. However, he is not dumb by any means. Aside from Kroenen, he is actually the most literate of the ANBU and has experience in geology, herbology, anatomy, mathematics and philosophy.

## Origin

### Birth and start of career

Little to nothing is known about Ward before the age of 14, when he joined the branch. Stories suggest that he was left to rot by his parents and raised himself, but others say that he lived a happy life and simply joined because the recruitment program found him. Regardless of how he joined, once he did he proved to, despite only being a Tremollion, be a very capable soldier. He succeeded in the entry tests with excellent results and proved to be far more efficient at supressing his emotions than his fellow peers. This did lead to others shunning him though, and Ward was nearly suspended despite his talents simply because of his inability to work together. He often clashed with his peers, especially the female ones. This continued until the age of 17.

#### Advancement of career and promotion to second

At the age of 17, his suspension was considered. But Hitake, father of Kroenen and the leader of the Wind Squad at the time, thought he was perfectly fit and took him under his wing. At this time, Kroenen was nowhere near an ANBU, and Hitake used many of his techniques to train Ward to train his own son as well. But despite them working well with Ward, they worked less than ideal with his own son. After Kroenen dissapeared, Hitake fell into a downward emotional spiral for a while. He became more agressive, more distant and less reliable. Ward, who thought of him as a mentor and a father figure, saw this happen. He then swore to never let his emotions get the better of him, and acted the part. This increased his reputation and teamwork capability tremendously, as he opted to avoid causing distress amongst his teammates and instead guide them to his ideal along with Hitake. Considering his instructor role, he was promoted to second at age 22. Two years later, Kroenen resurfaced, albeit under a different name and character. Ward took a liking to him. He was less restrained from his time in the wild. Had potential. But most importantly, he was like Ward. He and Hitake took him under their wings when Madéra was assigned to her own unit with his mentor.

#### Remainder of career to now

Hitake retired, which was a heavy hit for Ward. He had very much come to love this man as his own father, and Hitake regarded him as the son he should have had. Kroenen had worked his way up, meanwhile, and was the one to follow up in the position of squad leader. Ward was fine with this. His position was better in terms of authority and responsibility, and he had practically help train Kroenen. His relationship with the rest of the unit as it formed over the years were troubled by his antisocial behaviour, but his effectiveness meant expulsion was off the table. He didn't really interact with the others that much, unless it was to train them. This went on for years, until Kroenen became Emperor. Afterwards he was promoted to squad leader. Ward would not have been happy with this, but in his eyes the unit had become a circus, with many of the new additions proving to not do with his standard of training. This immediately changed, and Ward once again turned the squad into a 'worthy' force.

#### After disbandal

Following Kroenen's concessions made to the nobility and clergy, the ISOU was disbanded. This led to Ward simply leaving the Imperium, where he was never seen again for the remainder of his life.