Kotomaru Hitori

Tsuri - relative/cousin

Ishimaru - relative/cousin

Voice: Link

## Background

Before immigrating to Konohagakure, Kotomaru's family travelled the lands freely, meeting new companions along the way and taking mercenary work to sustain themselves. Their final mercenary mission involved a relatively large sum of money, with his father, Nodomaru, creating a poison for a well-to-do village to use to eliminate the leader of a smaller village, absorbing their resources and land.  The mission was a success, although the 3 were tracked down and Kotomaru's mother, Hikari, was killed protecting him.

Upon entering the Village Hidden in the Leaves, the surname "Hitori" was fabricated for the village census, likely referencing the loss of Nodomaru's wife.  His father pushed him to study at the ninja academy to help strengthen the village and to protect himself, should their assassins come for them again.  During Kotomaru's studies, his father sank into depression and eventually became known as the town drunk. This made Kotomaru an easy target of ridicule.

Kotomaru was a bright, although reserved student of about average size.  With little guidance from his father, he appeared to have little motivation and focus.  He was largely ignored and occasionally bullied, being used as a prime target for cheating due to his high marks.  He is unsure where he fits in with the rest of the village, but very much enjoys exploring the woodlands nearby.

## Personality

Kotomaru appears aloof and distant, not usually having much to say.  Although he desires friendship, he is usually standoffish, and commonly found walking the woods of the Konohagakure in search of plants and insects.  His lack of drive is offset by his perception, which helps him devise strategies and find ingredients to aid his limited medical knowledge.

Kotomaru tends to be soft hearted and easily embarrassed, but has learned to get along with new people well and has even developed an odd sense of humor.  Despite not being a self-proclaimed "fighter", Kotomaru is willing to make any sacrifices necessary for his friends.

Because he lives an awkward home life, Kotomaru takes on many short term hobbies and collections.

Kotomaru has become conflicted since his father's murder, more unsure of his purpose than ever. At a precarious point in his development as a young man, he is more vulnerable than he'd like to let on. He masks this both from others and from himself by forcibly adopting a wall to keep his emotions distant. As a result, his voice is a tad colder, his eyes a bit more dull. He has withdrawn into an odd obsession with scientific experiments, though what exactly these entail seems to be secret.  Despite these changes, he still expresses joy when around his close friends and get satisfaction from being useful to those around him.

Kotomaru has developed a dry, sarcastic sort of humor, which is frequently accompanied by a sigh of resignation or a deadpanned look.  Being a shinobi is too damn hard.

## Story Events

### Empty Roads

On a seemingly ordinary day, Kotomaru’s father, Nodomaru, was killed during breakfast by two assailants, one of which calling himself “Tsuruuchi”.

Nodomaru sacrificed himself with some sort of self detonation technique to protect Kotomaru and his friends; unfortunately, his efforts were in vain, and he, Kiaro Kamimoto, Shippo Inuzuka and Hastur Shimura were forced to fend off one of the assailants. The man was killed by his accomplice, who later escaped.

Some time after Nodomaru's funeral, Kotomaru made a journey with Benko Namiashi and Shippo Inuzuka to the Land of Hot Springs. They delivered the news of his father’s death to his family friends, who directed them to the homeland of Kotomaru’s lost relatives. There, they met Tsuri and Ishimaru who began following Kotomaru because of his special breath techniques. They later moved to Konoha to live and train with him as shinobi.

### Attack on Hidden Mist

Kotomaru was deployed with his teammate Juka Aburame and another genin, Hastur Shimura. The trio unearthed body, which took the form of Chujo Kizurashi, who had been killed during the battle at Konoha’s Festival of Founding, by unknown means.

In the battle between Hidden Leaf forces and what was later revealed to be Hidden Stone and Hidden Sand forces, the group encountered the dojutsu known as Shokogan. With help from shinobi Hisai Uzumaki, the group survived the attack long enough for the battle to end in a titanic explosion; an event that left a lasting impression on Kotomaru.

### Team 11

Kotomaru was initially paired with Juka Aburame and Yukio Senju, the latter of whom retired from shinobi life as a genin. Under the tutelage of another Senju, Yoshimatsu, the pair learned about honor and loyalty while simultaneously embarrassing him on multiple occasions. Later, Gin Namikaze, who had history with Juka, was assigned to fill out their squad. Despite his strange behavior, Kotomaru came to appreciate him for his creative tactical ideas and solutions.

After the close of the Chuunin exams, Gin and Juka mysteriously disappeared, leaving Kotomaru the last remaining member of his squad. He suspects that perhaps they had run away together, headed off to a faraway frontier told of in Juka’s ero novels.

### Chuunin Exams

The Chuunin Exams were a trying time for the fledgling genin of the Leaf, and Kotomaru’s team was no exception. Despite impeccable luck, Team 11 was unable to acquire the required scroll to pass the section, though they did end up with a fake scroll, which was used as an attempt to bargain with Team 12. Ultimately the first section was cut short as a massive fire broke out in the Forest of Death, and all teams who had not been incapacitated were passed on to the next section.

The written portion of the exam proved challenging, likely more so for Kotomaru than many because he chose to rely on his own knowledge and instincts, rather than cheat, which seemed to be the purpose of the exam. Despite this, he managed to pass on to the final section.

The finals were designed to pare down the top 8 candidates via one on one combat. Kotomaru was pitted against Benko Namiashi in the very first round, but they were quickly interrupted by several creatures made of a dark, shadowy energy. After morphing into a titanic monster that wielded the Shokogan, Kotomaru, Benko and Shinzo Nara managed to defeat the beast, in no small part due to assistance from the Second Hokage himself.

During the battle, both Itame and Natsumi Uchiha were killed, their eyes appearing to be the goal of their killers. Kotomaru was deeply hurt by the loss of his peculiar friend, but works to maintain vigilance and steadfastness; he doesn’t believe Itame would want him to live his life any less fully because of him, but regrets he was unable to save him or even speak to him before his death.

### Gate Guard

After his promotion to chuunin, Kotomaru realized he could not continue to be a shut in, helping care for his cousins cost money, and he simply wasn't making enough money on missions alone.

He considered several positions, including the ANBU Black Ops and the Konoha hospital, but eventually decided that a career in security was his best option. Curious about the Gate Guard’s connection with KPD, he signed on and was partnered with longtime friend Kiaro Kamimoto.

Despite concerns about retaining interest in the position, his storied history and experience with breaches in village security helps him keep his nose to the grindstone. No one will sneak in on he and Kiaro’s watch!

## Looks

Kotomaru stands at average height with a light build.  He has a shock of messy, dark green hair framing his face.  His gold tinted eyes are accentuated by tired lines underneath that never seem to go away.  As a novice of his Kekkei Genkai, he commonly wore a mask over his mouth to protect others from his foul breath (a side effect of his Kekkei Genkai), but with extensive practice, the odor is much less noticeable.

## Combat Style

Prefers a reserved approach to combat, capitalizing on safety and observation to deal with foes.  Although he has passable taijutsu skills, his skill with his Kekkei Genkai ninjutsu is better developed and easier to implement in battle. Taking an early interest in genjutsu, he appreciates its ability to incapacitate or otherwise direct a foe without killing them.  His "breath style" techniques can give him the ability to bind his foes, and otherwise wield it as an extension of his own body.  As his Kekkei Genkai skills have progressed, Kotomaru is able to generate powerful explosions by focusing his breath into the toxic gas Hydrogen Sulfide.

Body Stats

## Items

Kunai: A standard ninja throwing tool. These replenish at the end of every battle

Shuriken: A standard ninja throwing tool. These replenish at the end of every battle

Explosive Tags (Who needs these anymore, anyways?)

100m of Ninja Wire (5)

Yandere Knife

Kotomaru's appearance as a new geninKotomaru Chuunin outfit