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Umino Iruka for absolute_hold

Player Information
Name: Hane
Livejournal: hane
AIM: HaneShinohara


Character Information

Name: Umino Iruka
Age: 25
Series: Naruto
Timeine: Ch. 429

Wiki link: http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Iruka

History:
Iruka was born an ordinary ninja kid to ordinary ninja parents and lived an ordinary (but ninja) life in Konoha, training at the Academy, probably practicing under his parents' tutelage, running around with other ninja kids, etc etc. He was a child during the Third Great Shinobi World War, which no doubt impressed a number of harsh lessons, but the real tragedy of Iruka's life occurred when he was eleven and Konoha came under attack by the Kyuubi, a monstrously powerful fox demon. Iruka's parents were killed defending the village and the beast was finally defeated by the Yondaime (Fourth) Hokage, who sacrificed his life to seal the Kyuubi inside the body of his young son. The damage had been done, however, with many of the surviving villagers viewing a clear scapegoat and potential future menace in the child whose body housed the demon.

Iruka grew up an orphan like many others, playing the class clown prankster to gain attention, failing his classes, and trying to hide his misery under fake smiles and "tears of happiness" that his parents had died valiant heroes. One of his few sources of encouragement and comfort was the aging Sandaime (Third) Hokage, re-instated when the Yondaime died, and another was his friend Mizuki, who would later turn out to be a total douchebag. Noting the Hokage's interest in Iruka, Mizuki pretended to be Iruka's friend while discreetly finding little ways to keep him miserable, despising Iruka's emotional weakness and naivete. The two of them eventually became chunin (middle level ninja) and both took the exam for a teaching position at the Academy, which Iruka passed the first time and Mizuki had to take again, despite having better marks.

At 23 Iruka had in his classes most of the series young main cast, including the Kyuubi host Naruto. The Sandaime had instated a rule that Naruto (and the younger generation) were not to be told about his lineage or that the Kyuubi had been sealed inside him, but this didn't stop the hostility of the older villagers or their children from echoing it without understanding. Even Iruka, who knew exactly why a young orphan boy might rebel and pull pranks for attention, found it difficult not to lose his temper at a kid who failed every test and put more effort into pranks than the ninja skills he needed to graduate. Iruka tried his best to be fair, even taking Naruto out for ramen (which would later become a tradition), but when graduation rolled around Iruka still couldn't justify passing Naruto's pathetic skills and failed him.

Then Mizuki revealed his inner douchebag, manipulated Naruto, stabbed Iruka in the back with a giant damn shuriken, made both of them cry like little girls, spilled the big secret and shattered Naruto's universe FOREVERRRR and then tried to kill Iruka, which awoke Naruto's inner badass and turned him into a real shonen protagonist. Iruka and Naruto saved each other's lives, Mizuki went to prison (for a while), Naruto pretty much became Iruka's adopted son, and was given Iruka's own forehead protector to wear, proof of graduation and Naruto's new official status as a genin (cadet ninja).

As a non-superpowered crazy ordinary ninja, Iruka spends most of the series in the background, providing exposition, teaching classes, testing his former students with silly disguises before the chunin exam, protecting his current students and evacuating them to safety when the village is attacked, taking Naruto out for ramen and listening to his stories, working in the missions room and doing paperwork and making Disapproving Faces over the lateness of Kakashi's reports, etc etc. After Orochimaru's assault on Konoha there is a void in personnel and Iruka begins taking field missions again, some probably above his level, slowly re-acclimating to the kind of front line life he'd left behind when he passed the Academy's teaching exam. During Pain's attack Iruka is one of the city's defenders, coming face to face with Deva Pain and escaping to report his intentions to Tsunade. He is buried in rubble in the aftermath of Pain's Shinra Tensei, but alive.




Personality:

Iruka is kind-hearted, pragmatic, compassionate, and by the book; a strict but fair teacher possessed of a notoriously deadly temper, mostly brought out by Naruto's brain-breaking stunts (and sometimes Kakashi's). As someone who deals daily with young children who are also disturbed genius overpowered ninjas with crazy backgrounds and are being trained in the arts of throwing sharp objects and stabbing each other with sharp objects and other general violence, Iruka can be both gentle and infinitely patient but also iron-willed and stern. He can handle himself fairly well in emergency situations and does his level best to prepare these little monsters for the hard future they face. He's well aware of how many are likely to get killed or ruined psychologically (and how many will come to him already broken), and still shoulders the duty of smiling for them when they need to be complimented, yelling when they need to be pushed, and supporting them unconditionally when he finds them sobbing. In the layout of Naruto's unofficial family Iruka is the comforting and anxious figure, worrying about him when he's gone and reassuring him when he's home, exemplifying one of the "average people" that comes to mind when Naruto thinks of Konoha. Though he keeps it quiet, it still bothers Iruka that physically protecting Naruto is a job best left to other people like Kakashi and Jiraiya and Tsunade. He has to to remind himself that they all care for Naruto the same as he does, and that the best way to support him is to be that dependable pillar that welcomes him home and looks after the village kids in his absence.

That isn't to say that he wouldn't/hasn't argued with these authorities about Naruto, and will probably keep doing so. Loudly. With fists or flung tables, if he has to, even if they all outrank him by several lifetimes. Iruka is normally respectful of or even flustered by the higher ranks, but when his patience finally snaps all bets are off. The parallels between Team 7 and a number of other tragedies (including the lives on the Sannin) aren't lost on him, yet Iruka still has faith that somehow Naruto might make it through where all these others have given in to despair. In some ways he was probably the first person, aside from the Yondaime, to believe that Naruto was something special. He doesn't dwell on the worst case scenarios the way some of the other adults do, partly because he probably doesn't know just how bad the situation is, but also because Iruka is not a perfectly emotionless ninja. He's too compassionate and knows it and chooses to stay that way, preferring to care too much and accept that he'll be hurt because of it rather than withdraw as a coping mechanism. While Tsunade and Jiraiya wrestle with the grim possibility that Naruto might have to be put down someday to keep the Kyuubi from taking over, Iruka chooses to believe in Naruto's strength of will.

Iruka cares a great deal about all his former students and believes firmly, just as Naruto does, in the will of fire that makes Konoha a home and all of its inhabitants a family. His stubborn refusal to accept Mizuki's total betrayal echoes Naruto's refusal over Sasuke, and even though Mizuki proved to be irredeemable Iruka still wishes for Sasuke to be brought home for his own sake as well as Sakura and Naruto's. He hopes that there's still a chance for Sasuke to learn, like the rest of Konoha's orphan generations, how to create new family of friends and comrades and go on with life instead of living in the past. Given his presumably low security clearance but also his close relationship with Naruto, it's uncertain how much Iruka knows about the secrets and complications behind events in the series, but he's fairly well informed about Orochimaru and aware of Akatsuki's threat, and too well aware of Naruto's determined quest to get Sasuke back. It makes him unbearably proud to see Naruto's enduring faith in other people and breaks his heart at the same time.

Itachi probably scares the crap out of him, as Iruka would've been about sixteen during the Uchiha clan massacre and you don't forget about things like that.

As for combat ability, Iruka has no Bloodline Limit and ranks far below someone like Kakashi, but he's quite capable of taking on skilled opponents with only common, non-mountain-exploding-or-giant-animal-summoning techniques and ordinary blades. He can dispel lower grade illusions, sense chakra when given enough time to concentrate (though not as accurately or easily as someone like Karin can), and presumably is a much more efficient fighter when he's not facing his psycho ex-bff-turned-furry.


What are they bringing to Nuadoria?:
Standard chunin equipment (uniform, flak jacket, kunai, shuriken, trap/exploding tags, very basic medical supplies), someone else's katana, and a pounding headache.

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