Arumaze Noriko

"Be kind, and be strong."

Headmaster of the Academy)

2 Paper Bombs

**Inazuma Noriko** is a kunoichi of *Sunagakure*, descendant of the Arumaze Clan and member of the Village Council.

## Appearance

Noriko's stare is distant and pensive, brows usually knit with the frown of thought. She's average in height and appears to be rather athletic in figure - fit, but not very muscular.

She has a gentle, sing-song voice and a warm smile when someone manages to draw it out.

When the skin of her arms is bared, a number of silvered lines can be seen, silvered lacerations from her days of overtraining.

Her chakra feels like a distant but comforting warmth, hinting at a gentle nature but a potential for distancing herself from it to reveal less desirable traits.

## Personality

Noriko is very perceptive and intuitive, particularly keyed in to other people's feelings. While she's able to quickly befriend others due to her compassionate and empathetic traits, her responsibilities to her village dampen much of the gentleness that she'd like to show to others.

Noriko's public face is particularly ruthless. In the pursuit of her goals, she's willing to lay down her life, be the goal to protect her loved ones or simply acquiring power. Her students are frequently subjected to making morally difficult choices that bring her motives into question.

In combat, she's surprisingly aggressive and violent. She channels the full extent of her knowledge of combat and anatomy to pursue the enemy to the ends of the world if need be.

When it comes to matters involving the Arumaze clan, Noriko is particularly driven. All she does, she does for her people.

## Abilities

Today, Noriko is recognized as a prodigy of the Arumaze clan by her peers, but it wasn't without effort and constant training. Her skills in ninjutsu, taijutsu, iryo-ninjutsu and tactical knowledge were all sharpened by a resolve to not be left behind by stronger members of her graduation class; Rintaro, Luwaru, Hakuto, Insyun, Kaito and Ryushi.

After being under Jaaku's tutelage, Noriko became strong enough to hold her ground against her former classmates who used to overpower her with ease.

### Physical Prowess

As a Goken adept and naturally talented individual in taijutsu, Noriko's skills in close quarters combat are exceptional. Her speed, endurance and strength are typically bolstered by a manifestation of her lightning natured chakra.

Like all Jounin, her physical strength is considerable. When her clan's techniques are applied, it's bolstered to a level of strength that can easily split boulders.

## Background

### Early life

Noriko is a daughter of the Inazuma family, a cadet branch of the Arumaze clan, born (but not raised) in Lightning Country.

From birth to the age of fifteen, she was raised by a pair of loving (and only occasionally dysfunctional) parents who supported her interests and encouraged her talents to grow.

The Inazuma family traveled across the world, maintaining the nomadic and highly religious lifestyle expected of traditionalist Arumaze. They traveled to major and minor settlements alike, tending to the sick, mending wounded and helping others come to terms with the brutality of the world.

Noriko was only nine years old when she made the acquaintance of a shinobi from the Village Hidden by Sand. While she helped change his bandages and relearn to walk, he taught her some of a shinobi's skills through various different games.

While her childhood was bright and full of love and hope for the future, she also witnessed death frequently. Rather than detach from others because of it, she became more attached to them, believing that the fleeting quality of life is what gives it value. Young Noriko was quick to smile, honest and gentle.

It was a surprise to everyone in her family when she decided to enroll in the Sunagakure Ninja academy.

As a student, Noriko excelled in general world history but fell short frequently when it came to knowing the village's own history, and in practical exercises and exams.

She looked up to her peers who set themselves apart through their excellence and began to idolize **Luwaru**, **Insyun**, **Kaito**, **Hakuto** and **Rintaro**. Determined not to be left behind by her heroes, Noriko eventually detached from her friends Irashi and Kimiko in favor of pursuing a friendship with Insyun who pushed her towards excellence.

As a team, Insyun and Noriko were singularly well matched. His combat skills were buffered by her supporting skills. The pair was impossible to separate throughout the entirety of their days as Genin.

Noriko also developed an attachment for her off and on again teacher **Jaaku** who helped her further grow her skills and confidence. For better or for worse, the Jounin started her down a harsh but rewarding path towards personal and physical strength. The exercises were grueling but the difficult training sharpened her into a weapon.

During this time, she made the acquaintance of a Konohagakure Genin named **'Gemini'**. The two met a few times, forming a friendship founded primarily on the lie that Noriko was actually a kodama monk in training named Yui.

Soon, her studies took large enough of a priority that she didn't travel to Amegakure anymore, and didn't see Gemini for quite some time.

### Promotions

When the first set of field promotions was decided, it was established that Noriko, recently elevated to the rank of **Chūnin** would help with a field hospital based in Baron Country. The field hospital, along with her work at the hospital in Sunagakure, absorbed most of her time. When she wasn't training or working, she taught the occasional class at the shinobi academy.

At that time, Noriko's smile started to fade. The brutality and hopelessness of the war chipped away at her usual good humor and the sense of animosity exhibited by some of her old heroes, particularly **Luwaru**, began to change her. The exhaustion caused by a sizeable workload only quickened the change.

Her close friend (and jokingly called her brother) **Kaito** was the one that kept her gentleness intact during difficult times while **Hakuto's** brotherly teasing reminded her of the things that don't change.

Within a few weeks of her initial Chuunin promotion, **Insyun** and Noriko were called away on an extremely difficult operation; a chain of increasingly difficult missions held over the course of a few weeks. At the conclusion of the events, Insyun's father was seriously injured in combat and had to be carried back to Sunagakure.
His father's condition only sharpened Insyun's already strong sense of righteousness towards the war. His relationship with Noriko grew somewhat strained as a result, as the kunoichi wasn't raised in Sunagakure and lacked any strong feelings towards the war at that time.

For their exploits, Insyun was elevated to the rank of **Special Jounin** and Noriko, to **Jounin**.

### Jounin Career

Time passes in bloodshed. Noriko's lifetime of training to be an iryo-nin seemed wasted on the surface; the kunoichi had become quite a skilled killer and rarely made use of her clan's famed technique of the mystic palm.

In the quiet den of her study, she started to research the secrets of kekkai genkai, with no genuine progress being made, save for mounting confusion and frustrations.

In truth, her studies and the missions of consecutive slaughter that came and went were a dodge to distract her from her missing mentor, **Jaaku**. During the initial weeks following his disappearance, Noriko was willing to do anything to save him. As time passed and her relationship with some others in the village deepened, she began to reluctantly let him go but continues to cling to the hope that Jaaku will come home safely one day.

Shortly after that, **Luwaru** disappeared too. Months passed, and Noriko stopped waiting by the gates of the village for her loved ones to come home.

Her relationship with Rintaro developed and the fulcrum was tipped in the direction of everlasting loyalty because of his dedication towards the village. Though his patriotism still made her uncomfortable, she became gradually accustomed to it. In time, Noriko began to echo it.

### Kazekage Tournament

In the wave of the announcement that Lord Second had been assassinated, the Kazekage Tournament was declared. She signed up, hoping to best the others and claim the title of Sandaime Kazekage for herself so to protect her fiance by making herself the target for would-be assassins instead of him.

In the first round of eliminations, Noriko had four wins and one loss. In the quarter finals, she fought against Hakuto Kaguya and triumphed in a flurry of lightning and excessive brutality. She showcased a single-minded fury for combat that deserted her in the final match against her fiance.

Injured and limping from her fight with Hakuto, Noriko was outmaneuvered by Rintaro and forced to submit in the finals.

Furious at having lost and worried about the implications of it, Noriko reluctantly accepted that she would sit on the Village Council. She started by reforming the Sunagakure Shinobi Academy curriculum in a more formal fashion, most notably by making murder a graduation requirement.

## Relationships

### Cherished

* Insyun Uchiha, best friends, sparring partner and confidant.
* Jaaku Matsuoka, mentor.
* Luwaru Inuzuka, the one who never came home.
* Kaito Arumaze, practically a brother.
* Rintaro Uzumaki, who she'd happily die for.
* Hakuto Kaguya, constantly arguing like siblings, great friends.

### Trusted

* Tyrino Senju, a friend with good advice, very dependable.
* Itsuki Senju, great friends, under different circumstances.
* Kimiko Yuki, the first friend that she ever made in Suna.

### Friendly

* Fuuyumi Uchiha, "one day, it'll be okay. But that day seems far off."
* Yamasuda Hyuuga, "he has potential but an uncanny inclination for tracking me".
* Tenson Uchiha, a decent sort.
* Michiya Nara, "he's in desperate need of light, and purpose."
* Levi, strong, level-headed and determined.
* Jin Senju, "you're a good man, I hope that I don't run into you on the battlefield".
* Nara Shi, a relationship complicated by one notable instance of disrespect, but still friendly.
* Arumaze Karasu, "like a petulant little brother, but in a nice way".
* Hyuuga Aomine, protege.

### Antipathy

* Hyuuga Osamu, weak-willed and lacking in both strength and ferocity.

## Trivia

* The kanji used in Noriko's name are 徳子, meaning "benevolence child". The name Inazuma means "lightning".
* The Noriko character was aged up several times to accomodate for knowledge and skill level.