Nōsei

Nōsei (濃精, Nousei) is introduced as a young shinobi and orphan within the Land of Wind. In Part I of his story he is shown to have attended the Sunagakure ninja academy and was later placed within team 14 under the leadership of the jonin Naomi Kyuuketsuki with Ozume Fuyutama and Nanase Sudachika. Nōsei would eventually become quite close to the members of his squad and consider them them family.

Background
Nōsei's known life began with a tragedy. When he was nearly seven he was apparently the only surviving citizen in a village that was completely destroyed. He was found in the wreckage of a downed building by Sunagakure shinobi with very little of his memories intact. While he can remember his given name and even the characters associated with it, he has no recollection of his surname or anything of his life before his village was destroyed. Even intense interrogation methods from Hidden Sand ANBU were unable to yield any answers of the past. It would appear that his first memory is in fact and a massive fire, most likely that one that resulted in the collapse of the building he was found in.

Upon his initial arrival into the Sand Village Nōsei was immediately made the beneficiary of a local merchant nobleman that had been previously suspected of treason against the village. Despite being named the beneficiary, he wasn't welcomed into the family or the estate and was instead purchased an apartment on the west side of the village. In addition to lodging he was provided just enough funds to feed and clothe himself. For some reason he is often visited by a unknown ANBU member in his apartment where Nōsei will discuss the events of his classes. This ANBU member also seems to have tested Nōsei for his elemental affinity and taught him how to develop it. It is currently uncertain why this ANBU member visits with Nōsei and who he has be ordered to do this by. As such it appears that the generally governing and educational bodies of Sunagakure do not know of these visits.

During his academy education, Nōsei was well liked by his teachers regardless of his quiet demeanor and excelled in nearly all training exercises. In fact, he only failed to succeed in team based work and was thus his education was extended to the standard age of 12. It is suspected that if he would have shown the same level of skill in team based operations while in the academy, Nōsei would have progressed much further in his career as a shinobi at this point.

While Nōsei's past is mostly straight forward, an awkward event occurred when he was ten where he was suspected of attempted suicide. While Nōsei officially stated that it was merely a training exercise gone array, it appears as if he tried to drown himself in one of the few waterways in Sunagakure. Despite an eyewitness report that stated Nōsei bound a large rock to his legs and hurled himself into the water, authorities were unable to prove anything. The rest of his time before graduating the academy was rather uneventful and didn't draw any unwarranted attention.

Appearance
Nōsei is introduced as a rather normal sized shinobi with and average height and weight for his age, though he appears quite thin to most people. He has medium length hair that he must frequently brush out of his grey eyes. His hair, silver in color, has an almost unnatural metallic shine. This appears to draw him unnecessary and unwanted attention. When on shinobi business he usually wears a baggy kimono-esque top, secured with a greyish sash, over a fishnet shirt. He also sports a pair of black, and equally baggy, long shorts. Recently he has been spotted wearing a pair of sunglasses, and is hardly seen without them. In the few occasions where he been without his glasses he seems unwilling to push his hair from his face. In addition to these sunglasses, Nōsei appears to have pierced both of his ears multiple times around the time of his graduation from the academy.

Even after he masters his kekkei genkai Nōsei still wears his sunglasses more often than necessary, but this seems to be more attributed to his personality at this point.

In part II of Nōsei's story his attire changes from the more traditional look, consisting of various kimonos and robes, to a modern appearance. As such he is commonly seen wearing a high collared black, short-sleeved, jacket which extend just beyond his waist. Despite this he has maintained usage of his black fishnet, which is usually hidden underneath the aforementioned jacket, and long baggy shorts. Nōsei seems to have removed several of the earrings that he wore around the time he was made a genin. In addition to the change in his apparel Nōsei has become noticeably taller over the years. Furthermore, his hair has become even more unkempt over the years. This change in appearance seems to mirror is developing, slightly rebellious, personality.

Personality
Simply put Nōsei is a quiet individual who always appears to be lost in thought. At times he even seems to have a cold and sad aura about him. This mysterious demeanor has lead many of his peers to avoid him all together. Along with his lack of a family, his behavior has resulted in Nōsei being rather socially reserved. As such he commonly opts out of commenting when given the opportunity and has yet to be witnessed speaking up in a crowd. As a result of his shyness he is often left with the responsibilities his peers dump on him and doesn't currently have any friends. It would seem that the only person he speaks to with any frequency is the ANBU member who Nōsei occasionally finds in his home. When speaking Nōsei uses a polite manner of speech that rarely elevates much, something that might be considered odd for someone his age.

Since he has been living alone for as long as he can remember and is often left with the responsibilities of his peers Nōsei has become quite self-sufficient. In every way except for cost of living, which had been provided to him by his merchant benefactor before he graduated, Nōsei has completely raised himself after he lost his memory. Due to this it appears that he has become quite reserved and shied away from unnecessary contact with others. Despite his introverted behavior Nōsei frequently takes walks around the village and at times even visits the less than superb areas of the city. It is unknown why he does this, but it is nonetheless a staple in his behavior. In addition to his walks, he seems to have taken a genuine interest in his studies. This appears to correlate with his standings within the academy.

It would appear that in his free time Nōsei demonstrates what appears to be his perfectionist streak as he often practices the performance of his techniques to ensure that they are being used absolutely correctly. When it comes to responsibilities Nōsei performs them simply because he has been requested, without considering his own feelings on the subject. As such he has yet to discover any goals in life outside of ensuring his own proficiency in the ninja arts. In addition to his behavior norms, Nōsei seems to have a fear of fire and tenses up when around an open flame. This is nearly undoubtedly linked to the tragedy in his past.

Relationships
Due to living all of his known life nearly in seclusion Nōsei has had trouble developing many notable relationships. While he does speak with his merchant benefactor on occasion, these meetings hardly count as a valued relationship as Nōsei appears to be considered a tool in the merchant's goals. Despite this he seems to value the time with the ANBU that visits him under the command of the merchant. This is probably because this mysterious shinobi has served as his parental figure by questioning him about his days and teaching him how to perform wind natured ninjutsu.

Abilities
While Nōsei has shown promise in all of the skills that the Sunagakure academy teaches, except for teamwork, he has shown particular interest and skill in both ninjutsu and armed combat. Unfortunately, at his age his fighting style has yet to be completely explored and, like many genin, his abilities are not finalized. Despite this Nōsei appears to desire absolute perfection in the techniques that he performs and often spends countless hours of his own time training in solitude. Due to this dedication Nōsei's skills seem to be quite developed for his age and current rank.

Taijutsu
Due to his rather lightweight form Nōsei's physical strikes have never been incredibly forceful, and has instead learned to take advantage of his affinity for speed. As such he commonly employs evasive tactics to avoid attacks and has learned to take advantage of an opponent's weight and stance to keep them off balance. Along with his desire for perfection Nōsei attempts to quickly and accurately target his opponents in a way that will easily and effectively debilitate them. Furthermore he uses acrobatic feets and his skill with the Body Flicker Technique in an attempt to keep his opponents unable to respond effectively to his fighting style. In order to increase his abilities at close range even more Nōsei will commonly employs weapons to give himself an edge in such situations.

Intelligence
Nōsei is know to be exceptionally bright for his age and attempts to be in constant awareness of his surroundings. As such when engaged in combat he immediately will begin to take note of his surrounding and how they will correspond with his opponent's abilities. As such he will commonly readjust his distance and angle from his opponent in preparation for his next move. Despite his thoughtful planning of both his opponent's and his own moves he has a great deal of trouble incorporating the movement of allies in operations causing him to often slip up when working with other people. It is suspected that he may grow out of this trouble with team work after being forced to cooperate in team based activities.

Wind Release
While it is uncertain why Nōsei was given the opportunity to learn his affinity at such a young age, it appears to have paid off for the young shinobi. He currently employs several techniques and uses them as his primary approach in long range combat. Unique for his age, he appears to have mastered this element to a surprising degree allowing him to perform simple wind techniques without the use of hand seals, which allows him to wield a sword simultaneously. Furthermore, he appears to be able to dramatically increase the power of his wind based skills by choosing to perform the usually necessary hand seals.

Swordsmanship
While not evident during his academy years, Nōsei's preferred style of close range combat appears to be swordsmanship. While his taijutsu isn't shabby in the slightest, his melee combat seems to be at its greatest strength when he is utilizing a blade. Upon his graduation his merchant benefactor presented him with a Daitō. When utilizing a sword he appears to switch between several different stances depending on the situation, obviously showing that he has had a formal education when it comes kenjutsu. It has been noted that his flow of chakra appears to change when switches between these stances. In addition to his raw abilities in the sword arts Nōsei has the ability to channel wind natured chakra down the length of his sword for the purpose of increasing its cutting edge.

It should be noted that it is unclear who taught Nōsei kenjutsu as it is not currently part of the curriculum of Sunagakure, nor does he belong to a family that he could have learned it from.

Shard Techniques
While Nōsei has been informed by the ANBU that visits him that he is supposed to keeps these techniques absolutely secret, it appears it is centered around the condensing ones chakra so that it behaves more like matter than energy. Non-elemental chakra appears to behave similarly to glass with these techniques, possibly the reason for name of this Hiden Jutsu. Nōsei appears to have a decent understanding of these skills and can use them in a variety of ways.

Dōjutsu
Similar to Shard Techniques, Nōsei's dōjutsu has only been hinted at. This occurred when someone on the street asked Nōsei if something was wrong with his eyes to which he replied that he was fine. It appears both the abilities of his eyes and the fact that he wields a Dōjutsu is unknown to everyone in Suna. This is due to the fact that Nōsei has closely guarded this secret due to the fear of persecution.

Part I
Upon Nōsei's graduation the young shinobi escaped the commotion of newly promoted genin and their parents celebrating as he returned to his lonely apartment made out of a storeroom. After cleaning himself up and consuming what little food he had left he collapses upon his bed and stares at the ceiling for some time. At some point he appears to notice the sun setting on and turns his attention to his small window. Watching the sun's descent through the sky he is distracted by the voice of an unnamed ANBU member who had silently made it into his apartment. After a quick conversation in which Nōsei explains the details of his day and informs the mysterious shinobi which team he was placed on, he is reminded of his instructions to report to the Merchant's residence later that night. Nōsei reassures the ANBU that he hadn't forgotten his duty and that he promises to be on time. The unnamed visitor them instructs Nōsei that the Shard Arts are to be kept absolutely secret from the public and that he isn't to use them around anyone, especially his team. Nōsei complies with this as the visitor disappears as quickly and silently as he appeared before the young genin had a chance to bid him farewell. Nōsei then suddenly turns back towards the window to see that the sun has already set. Sadly falling back onto his mattress the newly graduated shinobi is enveloped by the darkness of the encroaching night.

Sometime later that evening Nōsei makes his way towards his benefactor's compound where he is stopped at a large gate. After being recognized by the drunkard minding the door he is granted access into the large multiple building complex that the merchant had acquired. Quickly being hurried into a large room where his benefactor is finishing a large meal he is led into what appears to be a cross between a crypt and a prison underneath the merchant's complex. It is here that Nōsei is surprisingly pitted against multiple prisoners that have been promised freedom if they are to kill him. The merchant then watches on with a sick pleasure as his beneficiary is forced to defend himself against multiple enraged attackers. While initially Nōsei appears to have the upper hand his unwillingness to deliver fatal blows backfires upon him as he is caught by the throat by one of the prisoners. From there the last thing he hears is his benefactor voice telling them to stop holding back before passing out.

He then wakes up, seemingly several hours later, in the darkness of his apartment. He notices something leaning on the wall and discovers a sword with a note attached. Unable to read the note he brings it into the moonlight and discerns the words, "For a job well done." Confused by this Nōsei suddenly collapses on the floor appearing quite upset. As his hands are illuminated the crimson color of blood can be seen in the moonlight. Distraught at his apparent murder of others Nōsei is both completely exhausted and unable to sleep. The words on the note seemingly echo through his head along with a single word of his own, "Why?"

Meeting Team 14

 * Main Article: New Beginnings Under the Summer Sun


 * Main Article: Life on the Dunes

Trivia

 * Nōsei is Japanese for "dark soul" (濃精). This appears to do with his rather reserved and introverted demeanor appearing dark to others.
 * Nōsei's birthday is officially labeled as April 28, though in reality this is the day he was discovered by Sunagakure shinobi. As such his real birthday is currently unknown.
 * According to his databook entry:
 * Nousei's hobbies are practicing Ninjutsu and watching sunsets.
 * Nōsei idolizes both his mother and Kakashi Hatake, both of which he inherited a blade (Myaku-giri and Chidori respectively).
 * Nousei doesn't wish to fight anyone in particular.
 * Nousei's theme song is Inside the Fire by Disturbed.