Name: Zeich Yajuu
Age: 17 Biologically / 57 Chronically
Birthdate: July 23
Gender: Male
Rank: Genin

Village: Niwaurushigakure
Clan: Yajuu
Element(s): Fuuton | Doton
Specialties: Kuchiyose | Ninjutsu
Special Characteristics:

Special Characteristics:

Height: 5'10”
Weight: 152 lbs
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Gold
General Description:
Standing a little below the average height of a human male, Zeich is anything but human. The result of an experiment involving the use of Fuuinjutsu to create a being to bridge the gap between human and summoned beast, Zeich's form has been altered drastically from the norm. Instead of skin and hair, one encounters fur upon looking at the former human, a thick pelt of dark gray that covers him from head to toe. Starting from under his chin and moving down his front, a slightly lighter color, more reminiscent of charcoal, is also visible. Kept brushed and clean to prevent tangles and snags, Zeich's fur seems to almost flow down his body, thick enough to keep him warm in cold climates but thin enough to allow heat to filter out as well, preventing overheating except in cases of exceptionally high heat, such as tropical areas or deserts.

The truth is, Zeich is a wolf, or at least the next closest thing to it. Golden eyes stare out at the world with an almost intense glare, though this is not the young man's conscious expression; rather, it's the way that his eyes work, reflecting light like metal. They stand out noticeably among the dark fur and the strands of black hair that hang down around them. Yes, despite the Fuuinjutsu that changed him on a physical and mental level, Zeich maintains a few human characteristics. One such characteristic is his hair, a long black mass that would hang down to his shoulders if it were not tied at the top of his head, like a samurai's. Another is his bipedal stance; despite being a wolf almost unquestionably on a physical level, Zeich is still able to easily stand upright, as his knees and legs are structured to bipedal walking, rather than a normal animal's limbs, which are curved backwards. Zeich's are curved forward in the manner of a human.

Besides his physical traits, Zeich's clothing is also modified to match his new form. Normally, he wears a thick gray t-shirt over his frame, unadorned and unmarked, with the arms left bared. A pair of dark black trousers hang down over his legs and down to his ankles, not quite loose enough to create a handhold but not tight enough to be uncomfortable. However, these articles are hidden away; when in public, Zeich hides himself behind a mask and cloak, unwilling to let others see his altered appearance. Shame towards his new self wars with fear that those who see him will harm him, so the young man keeps both articles around him if he goes out in public. The mask is shaped to fit his face, looking similar to an ANBU mask in its wolf-carved appearance, but Zeich has dealt with that by making the mask black to match his fur rather than white like most ANBU wear, and quickly dissuades anyone that he is part of the ANBU; he does not want to create a false impression.

Aside from the mask, Zeich also wears a pair of golden earrings in his left ear, thin bands that wrap around the outside of his ear near the top, close to the point of his triangular ear. These bands aren't like normal hoops that one expects of earrings, and instead are much smaller, pressed against the fur almost as if they were a part of the ear. He also wears a pair of long, fingerless black gloves, which are there for purely aesthetic purposes. They allow free movement of the fingers for hand seals or simple combat, but offer no actual protection to the hands. As stated, they are worn merely because they look good, and they blend well into Zeich's hand fur.





Personality:
Two words describe Zeich to the letter: shy, and introverted. Obviously, this personality has come about in regards to his changed appearance; many humans, at least as far as he knows, are rather skittish when it comes to unusual humanoid animals, and are likely to react poorly upon seeing his face. As a result, the young man has developed a small anxiety disorder, one that triggers around other humans. He tends to get quiet, and is constantly checking his cloak and mask to ensure they are in place, lest someone see his altered appearance and panic. The last thing Zeich wants to do is cause trouble with his appearance, especially if it encourages his village to drive him out, and so he hides himself within not only his physical cloak, but an emotional one, walling others out and keeping both his face and personality hidden. He wants no attention on himself.

In combat, he's a little less concerned with his appearance than he is outside of it; if his cloak or mask come loose in combat, he can claim that it's merely a transformative jutsu that he uses in order to augment his abilities in battle. Outside, however, reveals that it's a more permanent ability, a transformation that goes beyond a simple technique. That is what Zeich fears people discovering; if it's just a technique, that's one thing, but if he's that monster he imagines others seeing him as constantly, he believes that they will reject him, and perhaps react violently to a “monster” within their village. Who knows what people will do when they find out that he's not just a human with a transformative ability, but a walking wolf-man at all times? Certainly, in his mind, the reaction will never be positive.

To those few people who expose him and accept him, Zeich is surprisingly... well, normal. He has a few quirks, such as several terms he substitutes, such as “pack” for “family,” and his sense of humor is a bit dry at times due to how rarely it's exercised, but he's not much different from a normal human. He desires companionship, and it's visible once people get behind the mask and get to know him. Zeich latches onto people who accept him, treating them more like family than friends, and he is very protective of them. He worries easily about those who are sent off on distant missions, or those who are injured. He's no medical specialist, and so he feels helpless when he sees his companions hurt.

Even more than humans, Zeich is particularly protective about his wolves. The Summoning Contract is not only a means to summon allies for combat, but a direct link to a secondary family, in Zeich's eyes. The pack that he has formed his contract with is not for combat only, and indeed each member of it is very important to the Yajuu. Each wolf is known by name and by their quirks; they're like brothers and sisters to Zeich, with the pack alpha being almost like a father, albeit a very strict one. Accepted into the pack, his half-human nature of no concern to the wolves, Zeich feels more at home among his summoned beasts than among normal villagers, but only because of the fear and paranoia that he has, drawing a wall between himself and other humans.

Likes:
Despite his personal quirks, Zeich has a quite a few things he likes. The wilderness alone is one of his particular favorites, a place to get away from the village and the possibility of judgment. In the wild, Zeich often removes his mask and cloak, allowing himself to roam freely as nothing but himself. No disguises, no lies... he feels free in the wilderness, as if a weight is off his shoulders. He enjoys being away from everything, and takes any opportunity where he is not needed to wander just outside of the village limits, but not roam so far away as to be considered a runaway.

When it comes to foods, Zeich goes straight for meats over anything else. He'll eat vegetables and fruits to an extent as his body requires them, but his preference is always for meat. He also eats it slightly more raw than other people, going for rare when most go for medium, though he's not so uncultured as to eat it bloody off the bone. Breads are also high on his list, because they soak up the juices from meat and add to the flavor. Hamburgers and other sandwiches tend to get a big thumbs-up for tastes, as the two types of food work so well together. Sweets, surprisingly, do not agree with his stomach, though natural sweeteners like honey are fine.

Zeich is surprisingly inclined to listen to music, as well. He has no voice for singing—his voice is a bit deep with a hint of a growl to it given the shape of his muzzle—so he can't do anything like it himself, but he does like to sit and listen when someone is playing or singing nearby. Music soothes the savage beast, so the saying goes, and Zeich is not an exception to that saying; he particularly favors wind instruments, though again he cannot play them himself, and string ones are out of the question given his claws. Listening is really the best he can do.


Dislikes:
Zeich has a fair number of dislikes to go with his likes. He's particularly uncomfortable in crowds and highly-populated areas; given that his hearing is a bit more sensitive than normal, he tends to try and avoid places with too many people talking or yelling at once, as the sensory overload leaves him with headaches. He also dislikes crowds simply because of the chance he could get bumped and lose his mask or his cloak could slip, revealing his true self; that alone causes him to avoid busy areas unless he absolutely has to be there.

When it comes to people, Zeich is particularly unfavorable to bullies or those who show excessive discrimination; though he is different from normal people, he has always been of the mindset that people are equal regardless of status or strengths, at least where rights are concerned. No one should be treated poorly because they are less fortunate, or less wealthy; bearing the brunt of discrimination himself, Zeich is particularly sensitive to it.

Zeich's biggest dislike, to the point of hatred, is those who would harm his family, whether human or wolf. It's not just physical harm, either; threats, bullying, lying or scamming his family will all draw retaliation quickly. Zeich is closely bonded to both his wolf pack and the few humans that have accepted his full-animal form so readily, and as a result he will lash out at anyone who threatens those bonds.

Motivations:
Zeich is motivated, more than anything else, by his desire to be accepted and treated as though he were any other human. His fear of revealing himself works against this, but slowly he is working himself past that, trying to open himself up to others, to take the risk of being cast out for his appearance. More than anything else, he wants to be “normal;” not in appearance, for his form is part of his connection to his wolf clan. No, he wants to just be an everyday, normal person despite his appearance, barely worth a second glance, if that.

The other thing that motivates Zeich is the build-up and promotion of his clan as a bridge between humans and summoned beasts. Though normal humans cannot learn to summon or create bonds as easily as Yajuu clan members, Zeich wants his growing clan to spread and branch out, providing aid in creating trust between various summoned beast clans and ninja of varying villages, creating a degree of faith and respect between the two. Almost as much as his desire to be accepted, Zeich wants to bridge the two worlds, and draw them closer together.

Fears:
Zeich has many fears, but the strongest is rejection, as has been mentioned previously. He is always afraid of what may happen if others see what lies behind the mask, see the bestial muzzle, fur in place of flesh; will they reject him, cast him out? Would he be attacked for his inhuman appearance? So many possibilities exist that Zeich has developed quite the paranoia, one that only eases in combat; outside of it, he is particularly careful with his cloak and mask, ensuring that they do not come close. Even his home has is windows shuttered and sealed off so that no one can look inside, where he removes both items to let himself be free of disguises for a little while.

History:
Zeich's history begins more than forty years ago. At the time, experiments were taking place in Makkuragakure to create a bridge between human and animal, to create a human that had the ability to communicate and bond with the summoned beast clans with far more ease. The original experiment was intended as a weapon; by forming these bonds and creating stronger Kuchiyose users, the village would not only be able to bolster its ranks with the summoned creatures, but also summon larger and more powerful beasts, such as clan heads. By having these beasts on their side, Makkura would be able to increase their combat capabilities to an extraordinary level.

Zeich was an orphan child at the time, a boy who was simply taken from the streets. With no power to resist them and not much purpose to his life, he gave little resistance, and was taken in for experimentation. At the time, he was simply given a number, no name. He was subject number fifty-eight. He was a body, materials for testing. Fifty seven came before him, each tested through various methods to create a proper bridge character between humans and summoned beast. Many different techniques were tried, from grafts to sociological approaches, but none of them succeeded. Fifty seven came before him, and fifty-seven failed. Many of them died. More went mad. Others were lost to mindlessness. Fifty seven failures, and then it was his turn.

For Zeich, they experimented with the use of a Fuuinjutsu, much similar to that used to seal Bijuu or Chakra Beasts into a host. They took a wild wolf, and bound it with a seal into the boy's body. The process was... strange, to say the least. It wasn't painful, but at the same time, his body rejected a foreign influence at first. It fought against the unusual sensations, the instincts and thoughts that were not its own, and until sedatives were applied to settle the body, Zeich thrashed around almost mindlessly, struggling against himself until the medicine kicked in, leaving him unconscious and giving his body time to adjust to the strange influences within it. During this time he was monitored and studied to make sure that there were no further side effects of the seal.

However, upon waking, the changes became obvious. Zeich's eyes, once originally a dark blue color, were now bright gold, almost metallic in nature. However, it was shown right away that he had a heightened affinity to summoned beasts, just as they had expected, though it was limited only to wolves rather than animals in general. Still encouraged by their progress, the scientists continued to work with the young man, discovering that he was particularly apt in his summoning arts, at least when it came to wolves. For some reason, he wasn't nearly as compatible with other animals. Deemed a partial success, however, he was studied and the Fuuinjutsu used in the creation of his affinity was reformatted, put back into development to be advanced towards one that would apply to all species rather than just one.

As they took the time to develop the new Fuuinjutsu, they continued to examine Zeich and test his abilities. As they did so, however, they noticed further biological changes occurring. His nails had lengthened, sharper, as had his teeth. His hands and feet were rougher along the palms and soles, almost like a wolf's pads, and his hair had lengthened at an accelerated rate. Over time, fur began to develop, and his bones shifted, until he had truly become something that bridged the gap between animal and human. More wolf than human, Zeich retained his mind and some of his humanoid traits, but his body had been transformed; after about three months, his body had shifted enough to no longer be recognized as human. At that point deemed a failure due to the physical mutation, but successful enough as a starting template, the scientists took Zeich and put him into cold storage; through technology, they were able to literally freeze him in a state of suspended animation, to be pulled out of storage as needed for study.

Right after that, the project was canceled. No one was sure why; was it the unethical treatment of the test subjects? Was funding cut? No matter the reason, the project was abandoned. Zeich was forgotten in cold storage for forty years. Forty years of sleep, not aging a single moment within his slumber, unaware of the passing of time around him; that was the former human's history. Time passed quickly, in an instant for the young man, and when he awoke, he had found that his whole world had left him behind. Forty years found him awakening to a world that was not his own; even in just forty years, things had changed dramatically.

Zeich's storage unit had been found up during a review of inventory, and thinking that the subject inside was dead after an unknown period of cold storage, they opened the capsule. This led to his awakening, much to their surprise, but before the stock-takers could call for help from the village's shinobi, Zeich had bolted awake. Surprised by his sudden change of scenery, especially since he hadn't been restrained upon waking this time, the former human bolted reflexively, scrambling to get away from the unfamiliar men in front of him. Something seemed off; it was more instinct than rational thought that had him running when new people seemed to practically blink in front of him, replacing black-clad individuals that had been placing him in the capsule. Atop that, time blinked from night to midday, another strange oddity that caused Zeich's animal instincts to urge him to flee.

Oddly enough, pursuit was not sent out right away. Whether the report was incredulous that a “wolf man” had escaped from a hidden cold storage capsule or there was a communication delay, no one could really tell. But regardless, pursuit was not sent after Zeich until he was well past the Makkuragakure borders. From there, he managed to remain elusive, more through chance than design, until he managed to stumble his way into the borders of Niwaurushigakure. Upon entering, he was immediately captured and taken prisoner by shinobi once more. He didn't go easily, to his credit, though his efforts amounted to a lot of kicking, flailing, and biting; there was little more he had access to once his hands were bound, preventing him from making the seals to summon his allies.

From there, Zeich was dragged before the Hakage himself, the man in charge of the entire village. Brought up on charges of being a spy from another village, despite fervent denials on the young man's part, Zeich feared that he would be arrested or worse under such suspicions. He was fortunate that he was brought to the Hakage, however; the man's ability to detect lies proved invaluable in proving the young man's story. What made it more interesting was that, despite being the half-human being he was, Zeich was invited to remain within the village, and join its ranks as a shinobi. Whether it was a result of his unique story or his uncanny ability in the Kuchiyose arts, he couldn't be certain, but Zeich elected to at least remain, and think over the decision before he made it. He was welcome to remain as long as he liked, and so he took up a small residence on the outskirts of town.

From then on, Zeich could be seen going through the village at times, thoroughly veiled in cloak and mask to prevent others from knowing about him. A few of the higher-ups and the Hakage himself knew about the half-human's secret, but the majority of the village was left uninformed to prevent any issues from rising up. Zeich spent a full year in the village, thinking over his decision, observing its shinobi and their role in the village, living as normal of a life as he could. After a year, however, he finally made up his mind: he had been given a unique gift in his summoning arts, and would make use of it to protect the village that had taken him in despite his strangeness. With the decision made, he approached the Hakage, and informed him that day that he wanted to be a shinobi.


RP Sample:
...What's that?

Pointed ears perked up as Zeich paused, his step faltering. His sharp hearing had picked up a sound, minute but present. What was it? He had heard it only briefly, and only halfway; without his attention on it, he had all but missed it. Still frozen in place, the half-wolf shinobi closed his eyes, focusing on the sounds of the forest around him, trying to detect the noise that had been out of place. The usual sounds were there; the rustle of the wind brushing the leaves, the sounds of birds in the trees, and the occasional sound of a wild animal slipping through the brush. None of it was out of place or unusual, sounds that were normal in the wilderness.

Opening his eyes again, Zeich turned slowly, his bare feet barely making a sound as they slipped across a light layer of leaf mulch. Golden irises scanned every opening between the trees, jumped upwards towards the branches in an attempt to make out an observer or intruder that didn't belong. Nothing stood out. A frown creasing his lupine muzzle, Zeich quickly slipped his mask back on, feeling exposed and uncomfortable, even out in the wilderness. He was adverse to people seeing his form, after all; if there was a hidden observer out there, he didn't want them to get more than the brief glance they had already gotten of him. He decided it would be best to head home for the day as he slipped his cloak back over his shoulders, raising the hood to hide his pointed ears. He'd return to the wilderness another day. For now, it was time to hide in his den once more.



Faceclaim:
A character commission found on DeviantArt done by the artist Hyptosis. Art is not mine, is not owned by me, etc. No credit to me. Original work can be found at this link here.