Arumaze Iwao

Uzumaki Yuya

Kazaki Shion

Kuroyuri Itsuki

Kishino Masaharu

> "*I was never meant to be anything special, my sister was the one they wanted. I'm nothing but a mistake to them. I'm just... a side character.*"
> ― Arumaze Iwao
>
>

## Appearance

Iwao has caramel brown hair and green eyes which strongly resemble the features those in his family carry. He's often mistaken for a little boy due to his height and size.

## Background

When I was a baby, I was separated at birth from my sister who was around one year old at the time. She never saw me, and I never saw her, we might as well have not been siblings. I was given to my grandmother because my parents couldn't afford to take care of two children. I didn't have much, but from what I can remember, life was normal living with her. At least, it was... Three years later I get a surprise visit from my father—Arumaze Yuuta— and my mother—Senju Chise. They came to my grandmother, crying about how their child was stolen. My grandmother responded to the couple and reassured them that I was safe. After briefly looking at me, they explained the situation to my grandmother. It was through them talking that I was also able to piece together that the couple in front of me were my parents. While watching them I could easily tell they were heartbroken. So, like any child, I tried to comfort them...

> "*Mom... Dad... don't be sad. We'll find wherever they took this girl! And even if you don't, at least you have me!*"
> ― Arumaze Iwao
>
>

A loathsome look came from both of them. Even at a young age, I could tell... I wasn't supposed to be part of this story, was I?

Some days after, both my parents got to work on creating missing person posters. In some weeks they'd be plastered all over moon country. It wouldn't take long for information to spread that a child was kidnapped.

A year passes and I'm now the age of four. My parents never left their tent. Whenever I walk by, it's always, "We need to find her". I felt like they were strangers and any effort I made to talk or play with them was futile. The only time I'd see my parents was breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Eventually, the isolation grew annoying to me, so I walked up to my parents and suggested that instead of wallowing in self-pity, we travel outside of Moon Country and look for my lost sister. Delighted at the idea, we left right away and thus began our ten-year journey.

## Prologue

### **Unwanted**

While I did suggest looking for my sister out of good faith, part of me didn't actually think my parents would go through with it. The first place we ventured to was the Land of Fire. At the time, a festival was going on and they needed medics on standby. My father decided this would be a good opportunity to work and gain money for future travels. He took me along with him and began teaching me first aid. It was surprisingly not too hard to pick up. I was ecstatic at the idea that I'd be able to spend some time with my father: any child would be... however, things went much differently than I thought they would. During the festival, I did my job and aided the medics on standby. All my father did was walk around with my mother asking random people if they've seen the girl on the poster they were carrying with them. My bonding time was lost, and they simply used me as a means to earn money. After noticing that I was a quick learner, my father began teaching me about basic medicine and herbs so that I could go and collect plants for them. Two years pass from us staying in the Land of Fire and I'm now six years old. I became more knowledgeable about herbs and basic medicine which lead me to start going on walks every day to gather herbs that would bring in money for the family. Even this wouldn't satisfy them though. As much as I did to help out, I never got so much as a thank you; just dirty looks from both of them. A few days after my sixth birthday, I went to my parents and asked for a birthday gift—something I had never done before. They tossed a random storybook towards me in response to my question and continued on about their day. While most children might have cried at this action. It was special to me; this was the first time they had given me anything aside from food and water, I was... **happy**. After saving enough money to travel to the next country, we departed for Herb Country.

Reading storybooks became a habit for me. My life up until then rinsed and repeat of trying to find my lost sister. When reading storybooks, I didn't have to think about all of that. I could simply escape to my own world. Through reading, I gained more knowledge about friendships the main character would have and the bonds between two or more characters. It began to make me wonder what my relationship was towards my parents so when looking for my lost sister one day, I asked them an important question...

> "*Mom, Dad, do you love me?*"
> ― Arumaze Iwao
>
>

They both glared at me as I asked this question. "How selfish of you", my mother said. She was very displeased with the question I had asked and punished me by feeding me less for the remaining time we'd stay in Herb Country. My father simply mentioned that he didn't have time to deal with my antics today. I was hurt. It seemed like I was just baggage they were carrying around and all they cared about was finding **her**.
From that day, my parents made minimal contact with me and we rarely spoke. I was always hungry due to my punishment taking away most of my food. My growth and weight ended up suffering. One could compare my appearance to a sickly coyote. But still, I pressed on and began to ask travelers that went through Herb Country for books they were no longer interested in. Surprisingly, I was given a good portion from these travelers: all of them being different genres. Not talking to my parents was painful. I craved attention; I was only six years old. One day I mustered up the courage to talk to them. I figured since they liked my sister so much, maybe they'd want to talk about her...

> "*M-mom, Dad, what was my sister's name? What did she look like? I never get to see the posters you guys always have in hand.*"
> ― Arumaze Iwao
>
>

Unfortunately, this was the worst day to ask that question. Little did I know, but it was my sister's seventh birthday. My mother began to cry after I asked this question and my father was enraged.

> "*Why would you ask that?!! What do you gain from tormenting us?! Do we have to spell it out for you?! You were an a-c-c-i-d-e-n-t. We didn't want you. We should've left you with your grandmother.*"
> ― Arumaze Yuuta
>
>

 After saying those harsh words my father punched me, causing me to bleed. I left the room and ran to my tent. I was distraught. I immediately looked for a book to read to try and distract myself. However, it didn't work. Thirty minutes into reading I began to cry because my life wasn't like the story in the book...

> "*Why is she so important. It's not fair! Everything's about **her**. We never do anything but worry and look for **HER!** I don't get it... why does she get to be the main character."*
>
>

> *—Arumaze Iwao*
>
>

From this day, a mental illness developed within me—schizophrenia. Stories became a coping mechanism for me as my perception of reality slowly began to warp. I saw life much differently after that day and my Dad's words were engraved on my heart.

Three years later, it's my ninth birthday and we're leaving Herb Country. Our next destination was Balance Country. My parents were getting very desperate at this point. We made tents near the river and offered medical aid to any travelers that planned to cross the bridge. They would also use this as a way to gain information from the travelers asking if they've seen the young girl on the poster. Back then I noticed, my father always used certain tactics to manipulate people to answer his questions. I started using this practice myself eventually learning how to negotiate with merchants. They often took me lightly because I was a small boy. I used this to my advantage and persuaded them into making bad deals. When I wasn't able to negotiate, I'd wait for the merchants to fall asleep and steal from them. My Mother and Father didn't bother to teach me right from wrong, so I often stole for my own benefit. These stealings wouldn't stop until I was caught by a clanswoman. She was a bit old and seemed to be polite. "Ms. Sho! I'll dispose of him". She had an assistant that was with her. The man was angry with me. He grabbed my arm and twisted it, he seemed ready to break it. The woman, however, stepped in and told the man to back down...

> "*For some reason, I see my granddaughter in you. Little boy don't you know stealing is wrong?*"
> ― Ms. Sho
>
>

After correcting me, she asked me to introduce myself to her. So, I did. After I introduced myself, I asked for her name. She called herself, **Saiyuri Sho**. Just as we had introduced ourselves to each other, my mother and father came running towards me. For a second, I thought it was because they were worried about me; but of course, this wasn't the case. They pushed me to the side as they approached Saiyuri. My parents would inquire about the woman's knowledge of my lost sister and showed her the poster. Her eyes widened for a brief moment before she gave us directions. She told us that apparently the girl was seen on the western side of the world and that we'd have better luck searching Restaurant, Forest and Earth Country. When watching her, I could tell... her demeanor changed. Something told me there was more to her...

> "*Who's story is this woman apart of?*"
> ― Arumaze Iwao
>
>

 Following the woman's instructions, we make preparations to leave for Restaurant Country, coincidentally our one-year mark of staying in Balance has passed as well. By this time my parents suffered from severe depression. I thought keeping to myself would bring them less trouble but even seeing me caused them great discomfort. I was beaten anytime I made eye contact with them or stayed in their presence for too long. This occurrence happened a lot and resulted in me wanting to learn medical ninjutsu to heal my injuries. One day when my father and mother went for their daily outings to look for my sister, I went to their tent and found a book containing a few jutsu known to the Arumaze clan. From this day I started training myself to become proficient in the basics of medical ninjutsu.

Several months pass and the search is at a dead-end like always. At this point I'm hoping they'll just give up so we can return home—I wouldn't dare say this out loud though. One day I walked by my parent's tent and I heard my mother crying. Having learned, the mystic palm jutsu, I thought showing my new skill to mother might cheer her up.

However, when coming close to the tent I was yelled at to leave and go somewhere I wouldn't bother them. Before leaving, I overheard a few words my mother said from her tent.

> "*Why did The Mother have to take away an angel from us and leave us with this waste of space that we didn't even plan for? Why are we being punished?!*" —Senju Chise
>
>

I had never felt the warm embrace of a mother's hug, and I'll never know what her love feels like or even what love is. I went back to my tent and contemplated on what was wrong with me.

> "*Why do they hate me?... What's the writer's purpose for having me here? Why is the story so focused on **her**.Am I really just a side character? If she didn't exist.... I would be... **Happy**." —Arumaze Iwao*
>
>

   We depart from Restaurant Country and I'm now eleven years old. Three years go by and Forest country was also a dead end. I'm now fourteen years old and I've become proficient at medical ninjutsu. My parents, however, were still oblivious to this fact. Upon reaching Earth Country things remained the same. My mother and Father asked everyone they could if they've seen the little girl on the poster and everyone responded with "no". I was tired. We've searched for ten years. It was time to give up. I approached my mom and dad with these thoughts in mind. They were displeased, to say the least...

> "*After everything we've done for you... You worthless piece of garbage.**You** should've been taken. Not H—. I knew we should've sold you for money, atleast then you might've been actually useful to us." —Senju Chise*
>
>

I believe this to be the only time my mother said my sister's name. However, my emotions clouded my hearing so unfortunately it never registered. After she said this to me, my parents began arguing and blaming each other for my sister's disappearance. In the midst of this argument, my mother's words had not left my mind. I went through a psychotic break; the reality of what she said was too much for me to handle. While going through my episode, I came to a realization: I'm not important.

> "*I see now. I should be grateful to be a side character. I wasn't even meant to be in this story. I'll... never be the protagonist. Is it because of **her**? Is this... really all I was written to be?..." —Arumaze Iwao*
>
>

Shortly after I had these thoughts, I fell unconscious. When I woke up, my parents were leaving in separate directions with most of their things. I realized that I've served my purpose to them. It was time to leave. I took the books I thought I'd need the most and money that I had saved up. Once I was ready, I departed from Earth Country. It was time to find new beginnings. Maybe I'll join someone else's story...

## Chapter 1

### **Finding a Protagonist**

It took me six months to gather enough resources to make it back to the Land of Fire. This was the place where I made the most money using my medical knowledge. I arrived there with nothing. Alone, with little to no social skills and only the iryo-ninjutsu that I've profited from. After spending a few days living in the woods, I asked one of the locals where I could earn money to support myself as a medic. He advised me to seek out Konoha and become a medical ninja there. From there I set off towards the village hidden in the leaves.

It took me three days to find it but I finally stumbled on the giant gates that led in to the village was like a maze. It was booming with life. So many people had gathered here. It was... **scary.** Why're they all smiling when they're nothing more than **background characters**  that could get written off at any second? I pondered over this thought for a while when familiarizing myself with the area. After a few hours of exploring, I found the academy and registered myself. After I registered myself, I saw a sign at a restaurant that they were hiring new people. I applied and was instructed that I'll start my new job the next day. From here... I began to attend the academy and work at the restaurant to support my bills for the time being.

The academy was much easier than I was expecting. For some reason, I saw other kids struggling with the tests and portions requiring knowledge. It all felt... basic. Chakra control also came very easily, probably because I had already studied it for my iryo-ninjutsu. After six months in the academy, I graduated and became a genin. I'm now fifteen years old and I still don't have a purpose. My genin salary now allows me to own a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment. By this time a war was going on between Konoha and Sunagakure and the hospital was in need of supplies. A request was put out for able shinobi to gather herbs for them. I decided to go gather some herbs and somehow slipped past border patrol ending up outside of the Land of Fire. I continued collecting herbs until an unknown individual came up to me and referred to me only as "Genin".

> "*You don't have a name. You're only Genin to me until you're worthy.*"
> ― Unknown
>
>

I wasn't really aware of the rules however this man seemed to be so adamant about me returning. I responded with a simple question "If you're spending this much time on me, do I have worth to you?". He laughed and left; I'd later know this man to be my first sensei.

After the exchange, I returned to Konoha and gave the herbs to the hospital and received about a month's worth of rent as my reward. A few days later, a skill test was held for the genin of Konoha. This was to assess all of our skill levels and strengths for the upcoming chuunin exams. I didn't realize it at the time, but this was where I first met... **her.** Our mission was to retrieve a hostage. Team A was to rescue the Hostage while Team B was to stop team A until the time ran out. The characters of relevance were **Uzumaki Yuya**, and to a much lesser extent, myself, on Team A. **Kazaki Shion** was on Team B. Our hostage was a councilwoman who volunteered to help in the exercise. The exercise had begun, and battles began, somewhere along the line in the exercise we started dividing into having one or two opponents. It was in the heat of battle that Yuya had told me to stop Team B from running with the councilwoman and to go rescue her and bring her to the checkpoint. He told me he would stay behind and stop Shion or sacrifice himself doing so. His words, they were... reminiscent. He was a candidate... a potential **Protagonist.**

I had done as instructed and ended up fighting against an Uchiha and a Hyuga by myself. Fighting them both at the same time while trying to keep the hostage safe proved to be somewhat difficult. In the end, I was able to prevail but... not without its costs. The councilwoman had several scratches on her and was injured, because of this, the training exercise ended abruptly, and I was put under a genjutsu by a tall man. I'd come to later know this man as **Uchiha Katsuo.** Team A had passed, and Team B had failed. The genin with the highest performances was noted to be me, Yuya, and Shion.

A couple of weeks after this exercise, the war in baron country had grown larger, the Hokage had decided it was time to end it. A large squad of shinobi was formed as the raid for baron commenced. I had mentioned that I was an Arumaze, because of this I had more of a support role and tended to the wounds of the injured shinobi. It was while I was tending to the injured that I saw a battle that might as well have been mythical. Konoha was fighting an ancient one, A large beast with monstrous chakra and powerful techniques. The Hokage and his council and other jounin fought the beast but... there was one person that stuck out from the rest of them. I was awestruck, I didn't think *it* existed, however it happened right in front of me. On that day... I witnessed the "birth" of **The Hero** who I would come to know later as **Kuroyuri Itsuki.**

After the battle had concluded, The Hero had received endless praise. It was no surprise, this *was* her archetype, her strength fit the role perfectly. A woman on the council came to see me and the people I've treated. She began to aid me and inquired about my rank and was shocked, nonetheless.

> "*You healed all these people? This level of healing is far beyond that of a genin...*"
> ― Councilwoman
>
>

We conversed for a little bit and I came to find out that she was the Head surgeon of Konoha's hospital. After finding this out, I had asked her if I could join the hospital staff and help out as genin pay was starting to dwindle and if she would teach me so that I could efficiently work in the Hospital. She accepted my request and registered my name and information in the Hospital's records. Her name was **Heiri Sho.**
A week had passed from this event and the first part of the chuunin exams was going to begin. I heard ranking up gets you better pay so I figured life would be easier if I took the exams and became a higher rank. I was waiting by the testing area as I saw the man who had stopped me outside the Land of Fire a few weeks prior. He was apparently a member of the council. He walked towards me and spoke...

> "You're going to win genin?"
>
>

> "If I can, I need money."
>
>

> "Heh, better not lose. I bet on you... *Iwao*."
>
>

I was a bit surprised as this was the first time he had not referred to me as "Genin". It seemed as though he began to harbor respect for me. There was thirteen genin taking the test portion of the exam. Supposedly, this part is known as the "culling" of the exam. The test assesses our knowledge of the world and provides an estimate to how intelligent we are. After two hours of taking the test, everyone finished. I came out with a perfect score, which was also the highest out of everyone. Five people failed leaving only eight genin. Yuya and Shion were among these eight that I could recognize. Because of my score, many of the genin that had passed had begun to refer to me as a "bookworm" and the most intelligent of our generation. However, this was meant to be an insult as intelligence did not mean much to the genin around me, only strength did. After the test was over the councilman came to see me again and asked how I did. I told him of the news and he gave me his name as a reward, His name is **Uzumaki Hei.**
 The next day, I went to the hospital to work because we were given a day of rest before we were to head to the Forest of Death. I noticed Heiri was inside and injured. The man who had placed me under a genjutsu some weeks prior—Katsuo was by her side along with a third Jounin as they seemed very concerned.

> "*Did you hear? She was defeated by a mere genin. Uchiha Ryoichi*"
> ― Jounin
>
>

Katsuo was in disbelief until the jounin later clarified that Heiri was still recovering from a previous injury and agreed to the spar as a way of easing her back into combat. Still, a genin doing this much damage to a jounin on the council was shocking to the others. After grabbing a few materials, I left the hospital and it seemed that that genin's name would follow me. I went to grab food at the restaurant and two Chuunin were talking about it. There his name was again... **Uchiha Ryoichi.**

> "*His eyes... they're scary. It just feels like there's only evil lying within that Uchiha.*"
> ― Chuunin
>
>

I continued to hear his name throughout the day and later found out that he was among the eight that had passed the first test. The author seemed to be building up his reputation, so was it possible? He might be... an **Antagonist.**

 On the day of the Forest of Death, the bidding booth had received many bets from chuunin+ shinobi. The majority of them had gone towards Yuya and Ryoichi. It seemed they were the favorite to win, with some even hoping that they would fight within the forest. We were sent into the forest and the trial had begun. To my surprise, Yuya had found me and asked for my help. I agreed and we began to take out our competition. We had gotten our scrolls quite early and from there we waited for the time limit to end. While waiting we stumbled on... **Him.** It was Ryoichi. He came to us with Shion, asking for a truce and suggested we protect each other until we leave the forest. Both of us agreed and did so. We left the forest together and were promoted to chuunin along with Shion and another genin. I had only been a genin for two months, so I had progressed at a nice pace.

After my promotion, Hei had approached me and asked me to be in his assistant for his squad. I accepted his offer and thus started my chapter as a chuunin.

## Chapter 2

### **Remember Your Place**

Hei had formed a squad with three genin: Uzumaki Nozomi, **Senju Fuji**, and **Uchiha Raikuza.** In all three of them, I saw potential. Fuji... he reminded me of what I saw in Yuya. *He* was also a candidate to be... a protagonist. He even had someone that looked up to him, his brother, **Senju Hyugo.** They fought for each other, and had a nice brotherly bond. I liked the squad. They were very lively and it made me forget about the circumstances and baggage I had come to Konoha with. My seven months as a chuunin were full of bliss and no worries. I was beginning to think I could just blend in at Konoha and with my squad...help these young ninjas grow. However, it seems I forgot. My story wasn't meant to have a happy ending and The Author would soon remind me of that.

When I became a Special Jounin, everything started to spiral downwards. Beginning with the rampage of the ancient one residing in **Uzumaki Sen.** An assault was formed to control the tailed beast and stop its rampage. During this assault, many Special Jounin+ were heavily injured, including the Hokage **Kuroyuri Jin.**

I was working my shift in the hospital at the time of the assault's conclusion. I witnessed many jounin come in severely injured and exhausted. I began to work on them immediately as Heiri was not able to because she herself had participated in the fight. By this time my training with Heiri had progressed to the point where I was used to performing surgeries by myself. Heiri told me to operate on Shion first as she was one of the most injured. She told me If I could do it alone and be successful, she'd promote me to be the rank 2 in the hospital and so I began my operation on the girl. As I operated on Shion I heard rumors of the Hokage suffering a massive injury. It was supposed to be top secret. Oh, Fuji... **why...**

A week later I was a part of the medical staff that was to heal the wounded for a tournament Kuroyuri Itsuki had planned. Nobles, Lords, and the wealthy had gathered for this tournament. It seems The Hero had a strong reputation as this tournament was a large event talked about within the Land of Fire. In the stands of the tournament, the Hokage sat with his elite guard. Everything was pretty normal until Fuji had commented on the Hokage's health.

> "*I'm surprised you've recovered already Hokage!*"
> ― Senju Fuji
>
>

The Hokage's guard had given Fuji a deathly stare. Shortly after, Fuji was questioned by him. As the day was coming to a close, Raikuza had come to me with many concerns.

> "*Sensei's in danger... I haven't seen Fuji. Iwao-san please do something!*"
> ― Uchiha Raikuza
>
>

I ignored the obvious foreshadowing and omens of death because I was living in my own little bubble. I thought I had escaped to a place where the ramifications of my existence in the story wouldn't reach me. **I was wrong.**

That day was the last time I ever saw Fuji. And consequently... the last day I ever saw Hei.

I had noticed Hei was missing for a while and had begun to look into it. Every source I had searched led me to a dead end. Whatever happened to Hei was covered up very well. I would've been clueless as to what happened to my sensei if it wasn't for **Uzumaki Sen.** He had informed me that he used his status as Jinchuuriki to get into the Anbu base and it was there that he discovered Hei. The Uzumaki informed me that the day after the tournament, Hei was investigated and promptly captured. He wanted me to join his cause and free Hei. He wanted me to... make a **decision.** But... I couldn't. The Author was clearly teaching me a lesson, going against him now... I've already learned, it only makes things **worse.**

 I decided to be neutral in this whole matter and before I knew it news of my sensei's execution had traversed Konoha. He was painted to be a traitor and disgrace to the village. Fuji and Nozomu had both gone missing without a trace. I assumed the Anbu took them for knowing sensitive information about Jin's health. Raikuza was left in anguish with his path and his personality was severely altered. It was clear he was not going to become a protagonist as I had hoped. My squad was shattered, my blissful dream had ended, and my miserable story had... **resumed.**

## Chapter 3

### **The Girl Named Heiri**

3 months have passed since the situation with Hei and I'm now sixteen years old. After getting used to my duties as a special jounin I started working more hours at the hospital which resulted in me working more closely with Heiri. She was very talented; I could see why she was the Lead Medic of the hospital. Day in and day out I treated patients at the hospital and went back home immediately. Most of the time I didn't really speak unless she wanted my opinion on treating a patient or asked me to do something for her. Then one day...

> "*Hey, we never talk outside of work. You should come eat with me.*"
> ― Heiri Sho
>
>

Normally for requests like these, I say no. However, for some reason, on that day, I decided to say yes. We went to a restaurant and started talking. She asked me what I liked to do in my spare time and I replied with reading. I started mentioning a list of series that I had read in the past and ones that I was looking forward to reading in the future. By this part in the conversation, most people would've gotten annoyed by my rambling or excused themselves deciding that I had talked too much. It was something I was used to since I wasn't very educated on social cues to let me know if I was talking past the normal limit. *Thanks mom and dad.* As I waited for her to come up with some excuse or reason for her to leave the conversation, to my surprise she... didn't. She addressed each and every title I mentioned and even continued the conversation listing books she wanted to read and hobbies she loved doing. It was... *weird.* I was able to converse normally with her but that's not something I can easily do with most people. There are many times where I say things that people don't understand and I'm quickly labeled as odd or treated differently. But... she wasn't like that. Not once during our conversation did she question my speech pattern, conscious and unconscious references I made, or even if I saw reality clearly. I could tell there were times when she didn't understand me, but she made a conscious effort to adapt and try to understand. No one I had met before has done that... she was.different.

For four months, every day after our shifts at the hospital we got food at a restaurant and talked. I found out we were pretty close in age with her being a year and a few months older than me. Any time I went out with her, I noticed she was very popular. Many shinobi flocked to her Jounin and Genin alike. Because of this I became invested in ascertaining her archetype. However, it was a bit more difficult than I had thought. She was kindhearted like **The Innocent**, very experienced in teaching like **The Mentor**, and had the reputation to be **The Hero**. However, none of the archetypes that came to my mind, felt right for her. Eventually, I just left it alone.

In the time I spent with her, I started getting a lot more comfortable. I didn't know how to feel. For a while now, I felt that I shouldn't relax or spend time with other people outside of my duties because of what happened with Hei. But it was like she had some magical influence that caused me to gravitate towards her. I wasn't sure what it was... but when around her it was like hope was being given to someone that had already lost it.

One day after working in the hospital Heiri invited me to her house for dinner. She had a very nice home: the inside was full of firepits and posters full of positivity, it felt very welcoming. We both got situated and started talking as I watched her make dinner. During our conversation, she mentioned someone getting mad at her for a rather trivial reason. I was surprised and told her that she didn't seem like the type for people to get mad at. She then said that she used to be looked at as a gem that made people mad when she disappeared. After hearing her analogy, I was curious. She didn't seem like the type of character to have a tragic backstory, so I asked her about her past.

> "*From a young age I was always raised to be... perfect.*"
> ― Heiri Sho
>
>

Heiri was raised to be the heiress of the Sho bloodline. To be prim priss and proper was all she was taught from a very young age. The family apparently placed her on a high pedestal because they themselves had no kekkei genkai, however she did. Their infatuation with her often caused discord amongst her and her siblings. This special attention she received bothered her. Later in life, she found out that the man she knew as her father was actually just a stranger who had kidnapped her when she was young. She was like the princesses locked in a castle from the stories I've read. After finding out she was kidnapped, she went back to her birthplace Moon Country and found out she was labeled as a missing person for thirteen years... **Thirteen years.** She tried searching for her parents, but the trail had stopped at Earth Country. She had decided to let go and move on with her life, this was the past of Heiri Sho.

**Let go...** *Why couldn't my parents do this? As much as I understand why they wanted to find my sister. Why didn't they just let go? It drove them insane and separated us. I had to leave them. It's not like anyone was begging me to stay... I was just a reminder of what they lost.* These were thoughts that were circulating through my head and eventually were said out loud towards Heiri. She agreed with me but said that she couldn't imagine what it was like to go through what I went through. Our upbringings were completely opposite. She finished making the food as the room went silent after the previous conversation finished. She played with her food and mentioned a very familiar name—she seemed to be reminiscing. "Senju Chise..."

As I was eating I looked up at her and mentioned that my mother shares the same name as the woman she and that her saying that name made me remember that I actually had never learned the name of my lost sister. Heiri looked up at me as I talked.

> "What did you just say?"
>
>

> "Hm? Oh, I never learned because anytime I asked they beat me or started crying. It seemed like her name was only pain to them. It felt like I didn't matter to them and their only priority was finding her. She was... 'their gem' in a sense kind of like you to the Shos. Maybe I was just conceited, they often said that to me."
>
>

> "Wait... say that again!"
>
>

> " 'She was their gem?' Oh, I don't think you're like her at all, my sister's probably a person I wouldn't even want to meet. I'm not even sure if I still harbor animosity towards her but it's been a while since I've thought of her."
>
>

> "N-no, before that. But I understand your feelings, I felt the same way with my supposed cousin, **Tatsumi**."
>
>

> I nodded at her as she spoke of her cousin. After finding out her past, I was surprised perfection could even relate to me.
>
>

> "Oh, you must mean about my search for her. My parents came to get me when I was three years old from my grandmother. They were already struggling to take care of my sister so that's why I lived with my grandmother since practically birth. Little did I know that leaving her would mean going on a lifelong journey."
>
>

> "Damn... it must've been a hard time. But- before that! You said your mother shared the same name I mentioned. Is it true?"
>
>

Once again, I nodded at her and then told her my father's name, Arumaze Yuuta. But the response I got from her wasn't what I was expecting...

> "*That's.... father's name...*"
> ― Heiri Sho
>
>

Even by my standards, that was a weird statement. "Yes, that's my father's name." I said to her. She shook her head giving me a serious look. She told me those were her parent's exact names...

> "*Iwao, I think... I might be your sister.*"
> ― Heiri Sho
>
>

I looked at her in disbelief. Calling someone my sister would be an insult. My sister had so much control over my life without even being present in it. She was indirectly the reason for most of my hardships. This is just a coincidence... right?

*But... **no.** Wait...*

It was too difficult not to see the parallels within our story. I started hyperventilating as the truth began to hit me. She was kidnapped and was missing for **Thirteen years** I would've been three at the time, lining her disappearance up perfectly from when my parents came to get me. Her trail ended in **Earth Country**. The same place my family had broken apart and went their separate ways. This... this can't be real. A sibling shouldn't cause you so much pain so it couldn't be her. Right?... This is just another reminder that I'm overstepping my bounds. The Author loves to remind us that no one is above him. I remained irrelevant and stayed invisible after your first reminder. Mom and dad already told me I'm not special. So why... **why** do you continue to torture me?

Too many thoughts were flowing through my head to fully comprehend my surroundings. I started losing my ability to move and everything was going blurry. At this point, I was seeing reality much different than my usual skewed perception. Heiri tried to calm me down but... I was already so far gone.

> "This is a trap. They're trying to kill me. Protagonist?! When will he save me?... N-no?... he's not coming?... It's 'cause of **her** isn't it. Sister... she's the one. WHY IS SHE THE FOCUS? Mom... don't leave me. **Please.** I just wanted you to want me... *" Arumaze Iwao*
>
>

I fainted after saying all of this. Heiri was above me yelling my name yet her voice felt so distant. She picked up my unconscious body and started heading up the stairs. My breathing calmed down to a normal pace as she carried me. It was just like... grandma. She laid me on her bed placing blankets over me and started to walk away. I gently gripped her hand with both of my hands. The action was similar to the way a baby would grip its mother. A single tear fell from my eyes before my hands fell to the bedside and I fell into a deep sleep. Heiri left a note by the bed and left to somewhere else in the house. I woke up the next morning and I read her note. She wanted to talk about last night... My memories came flooding back as everything became clear.

It all makes sense... this whole time I struggled to discover what type of character you were, but it was in front of me all along. Of course, I couldn't place you into any of the archetypes I had thought of, because I didn't think of the most important one. The **only** one that matters. It was **you** this entire time, wasn't it...?

You're the main character of this story.

## Chapter 4

### **My Purpose**

After some hours, we ended up talking about last night's event. She told me I had schizophrenia but, I already knew. I was still in shock from what had happened the previous night. Her mannerisms, tone of voice, the way she speaks... It's like she didn't have to try to be likable. We talked about the situation however, I let her do most of the talking. I think she could tell that I was still not fully recovered, so she decided to tell me something close to her heart that I'm assuming she thought this would put me at ease.

> "*Iwao do you have a goal?! One day I want to find the ocean of our ancestors and find out what happened to our clan!*"
> ― Heiri Sho
>
>

A goal?...

I had never thought of that before. Why would I need one? I'm only here to make money survive and blend in with the others around me. I've already seen what happens when I try to be too involved in the story. All these thoughts came to mind when she had asked me this question. I simply shook my head indicating that I did not have such a thing. Heiri smiled and assured me that eventually, I would find one and that even for her she's still finding new things that she wants to do for herself.

After the conversation, I left her house around noon and received a summoning three hours later, to come to the Hokage's office. I went to the Hokage building as the door was already opened. I stepped inside as Jin and I made eye contact. The door closed right behind me as he started to pace around the room.

> "*Iwao... I've been watching you.*"
> ― Kuroyuri Jin
>
>

I had a look of confusion on my face as he said this. Jin continued,

> "I don't trust you. But it's because I don't trust you that I'm going to promote you."
>
>

The man seemed like he was talking in riddles. All I could do was watch him. He had a bit of a hostile presence surrounding him.

"I'm going to be forced from my seat as Hokage soon. I'm making you a jounin because you're smart. Maybe too smart. A bit of a warning. Be careful, things can be taken from you at the drop of a hat. And now some encouragement. I hope you plan to be of use after becoming this rank. Don't disappoint me."

**Be careful?** Why is his speech clouded in mystery?This is the first time I've ever spoken with him, yet he analyzed me as we talked and spoke as if he knew everything about me.

Riddles? A warning? No... Jin. These weren't your words, were they? You're a Messenger aren't you? You're telling me I need to do more than just try to exist in peace. Fine. If I have to have a goal. I'll just make her goal, my goal. I might as well help the main character if I don't have anything I want for myself.

I left his office with my new rank and a new goal in mind, finding the ocean became one of my top priorities.

The following week I began researching and compiling a huge amount of papers that contained all the information that's publicly available regarding Hotsprings Country. I quickly realized that there were some parts of the story that felt a bit odd and misplaced. While researching, I hit a wall. I couldn't find out any more information regarding the island, and when checking other public libraries, it seemed that the information they contained all stopped at the same place.

After hitting a wall, I decided to take a break from researching, and for a few weeks, I took on missions by myself. It was during one of my missions in Forest Country that I met a strange man. He told me of two legends.

> "*Somewhere in the world there lives an Arumaze who's lived over 200 years. They say when it rains it's because she's crying about her home country Hotsprings.*"
> ― ???
>
>

I wasn't really sure how to take this. It seemed more like a far-fetched myth than a reality. However, I guess anything's possible. His second legend described someone all too familiar...

> "*Long ago there was a powerful creature that lived in the ocean. One day this creature got tired of dwelling in the ocean, so it grew legs and walked on to land. They say this ancient beast lives in Konoha and has taken a human form now.*"
> ― ???
>
>

It took me a while, but I later realized he was describing The Hero: **Kuroyuri Itsuki**.
After listening to the tales that he told me, I completed the rest of my mission and headed back to Konoha. Once there, I grabbed the huge stack of papers on Hotsprings and brought it with me to the Hospital since my shift was going to start soon. I was hoping to be able to multitask if the hospital wasn't very busy. When walking inside I bumped into heiri and we made brief eye contact. Things were still a bit awkward since that day however we were slowly getting back to normal. She inquired about the stack of papers I was holding. I told her that all of the papers I was holding was research on Hotsprings to help her with her goal. Then I mentioned my theories of where the island could potentially be and an analysis of what I think happened the last night of the island. After I told her all of this, she stared at me with a bit of surprise.

> "*You... did all of that for me? But... I thought you...*"
> ― Heiri Sho
>
>

I looked at her with confusion. Did I do something wrong? A smile grew on her face as she turned around headed towards the exit. Before she left, she told me something.

> "*I'll see you later. Love you.*"
> ― Heiri Sho
>
>

She left and I stood staring at the door.

Love... you...

Wait... **what does that mean again?**

That word must've been magic because after that day it was like the disastrous night at her house never happened. For the next five months, we researched Hotsprings, went on missions together, and ended up spending a lot more time developing our sibling relationship. I always thought she'd be a despicable person because she stole everything from me. But... I was wrong. Everywhere she went, positivity filled the air. People crowded her and she was always so radiant. She really is the protagonist. **She** deserves this.

Five months have passed and it's my seventeenth birthday. Heiri and I are talking by a riverside and she seems to have a lot on her mind. I mentioned that I found someone who would help her with her goal of finding the ocean and attributed it to "protagonist's luck". Her expression changed as I said this, she had a face of concern.

> "Why do you always belittle yourself? Doesn't it make you sad that you don't try to carve your own path in the world?"
>
>

It wasn't until then that I realized my purpose. I was helping you initially because I thought what better to do than help the protagonist with their end goal. Even the Author hinted towards me that I should find a goal. But... it was at that moment that I realized; I'm not helping you to kill time. This is what I was meant to do. Heiri... I **want** to help you.
After I came across these thoughts in my head. I looked at Heiri as a smile formed across my face. I don't know why it felt so strange but... I felt happy I finally realized what my purpose was. It didn't matter what I wanted to be.

> "*With a sister like you as the main character... I don't need to be the center of the story.*"
> ― Arumaze Iwao
>
>

## Personality

Iwao is very passive when talking to most people. It's a rarity to ever see him angry or showing an abundance of emotion. The boy tends to ramble about stories he's read and often confuses real life with the fantasy settings of literature due to his schizophrenia. Because of this, he has a hard time communicating with people through "normal" words and generally does so through characterizing them under an archetype such as "Hero" or "Protagonist".

He uses phrases like these to compliment or convey his thoughts about how he perceives a person. Iwao also tends to fall back on this terminology when he's feeling stressed or overly excited at something. In essence, comparing real life to a story is his coping mechanism.

Many of his decisions are driven through this process of thinking, which can help and hurt the people around him.

Iwao is very undeveloped in many areas of life as he was never taught the basics of how to be a good human being. Because of this, he finds himself not knowing right from wrong in certain aspects of life and generally doesn't have much of a moral compass.

## Trivia

* Iwao carries a small, but thick notebook with him during his career as a Shinobi. He writes down character archetypes on the individuals he meets and generally tracks their growth out of self-interest. Should they remain irrelevant in the story for too long, he removes their name from the book.
* When Iwao compares someone to a character archetype (e.g. "You're like an outlaw) he is still seeing reality clearly. However when he directly refers to someone as an archetype (e.g. You're the protagonist). His perception of what's real and fictional is skewed.

## Archetypes

1. ↑ Background Character: A character in a story that is meant to literally just exist. Often labeled as "extras", these people live normal boring lives that are never expanded upon and thus they exist just for the development and enhancement of a scene-setting.
2. ↑ Protagonist: The leading character in a story whose goals tend to be plot-driven and coincide with the theme of the story. This character makes important decisions that advance the plot and they or their supporting cast will often reap the benefits or suffer the consequences of those decisions.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 The Hero: A character who predominantly exhibits goodness, and struggles against evil in order to restore harmony and justice to society. These types of characters tend to have a large amount of reputation in their homeland and around the world. Their mere presence erases fear and establishes hope in the hearts of many.
4. ↑ Antagonist: A character who actively opposes or is hostile to the main character of the story. These characters serve as an obstacle to the protagonist and generally tend to challenge their ideologies and beliefs.
5. ↑ The Innocent: This character is generally an optimist who can only see the good in people and life. They are pure at heart and in action, so are slow to judge and quick to forgive. Free of corruption, The Innocent seeks harmony in the world.
6. ↑ The mentor: An experienced, trusted, and wise individual who imparts advice, usually to a younger person. They usually serve to provide guidance to the protagonist, having a key role in shaping their character development and self-realization.
7. ↑ Messenger: A character that is used to convey the author's feelings towards another character in the story. These characters are often used as a premonition that danger is to come.