"Homeless Hearts" Character info

[Ghost-of-a-Chance]

Hi! Ghost, here. If you've read my oneshot "Homeless Hearts, Journey's End," you've read about my characters Tanaki, Riko, Shiracha, Mizuchi, and Suzaku. Originally, I had further information about them posted at the end of the oneshot, not realizing that doing so was against regulations. Sorry about that...apparently I need to brush up on the rules and regs. To correct the problem, I've removed them from the story, and reposted them here. So without further ado, allow me to introduce you to the non-canon cast of Homeless Hearts!

Nehashi Tanaki ['Tan,' 'Tani'] Native to Hidden Grass, she belongs to a clan specializing in taijutsu using wooden weapons, esp. bo and nunchaku. She and her younger sister Riko are among the last of their clan to follow the way of the ninja, and her name is loosely derived from their patron summoning animal, the Tanuki. Tanaki is very easily distracted, very hyperactive, very emotional and intense, tends to focus on making others happy more than keeping herself happy, and is a total clown. Due to her focusing problems, she was nearly illiterate when she left Hidden Grass; despite flunking out of academy, she received much hands-on tutoring from her father in the way of the ninja, and is very skilled at the bo staff. Not long after Riko entered the Academy, their father was attacked by a rogue ninja, but survived the poisoned senbon by the skin of his teeth; he spent the rest of his life fighting a weakened immune system, and Tanaki eventually dropped out to care for him, determined that her sister receive the education she deserved. After her father finally passed away, Tanaki attempted to rejoin the Academy, but was blocked due to her advanced age and poor track record. Their mother was furious and humiliated to find out her elder daughter was seeking work that wouldn't require an education, and issued an ultimatum: Tanaki left of her own accord, or she and Riko both would be kicked out. Tanaki hid this from her sister, and left without giving her a chance to argue. When she left Hidden Grass, she wandered the nations for three years searching for home, finally wound up in Hidden Leaf, and was swept off her feet by Rock Lee - LITERALLY. Ultimately, that one collision resulted in forever love. Tanaki has short, messy brown hair, warm brown eyes, a rather large nose and rear, and very little bust to speak of; her normal attire consists of cargo pants or shorts, narrow-necked tops that tie at the right shoulder, and her favorite green headband.

[Nehashi: "Root (of a tree or plant) + Bridge," possibly linked to her clan's affinity for wooden weapons.]

Nehashi Riko ['Bright Eyes'] Native to Hidden Grass, she was devastated by her sister's abrupt and unexplained departure, and along with their best friend, Shiracha, spent three years wandering the nations trying to find her...and failing the whole way. She is very gullible, very naive, and tends to worry far, far more than is healthy. Though she had just passed the Chunin exams before Tanaki left, she renounced the rank, argued her case to the village leader, and left to find her sister. Though she joined Gaara's staff intending to find her sister - whom she'd been told he was having tortured in his 'dungeon' - and aided a group of radicals intent on his death, she has since made up for her foolishness and still wonders why he forgave her. Despite their rocky history, she and Gaara are dating, and visit Hidden Leaf as often as possible. Riko has short, sleek blonde hair, deep blue eyes, and a petite, feminine figure; her weapons of choice are nunchaku and hanbō. [Riko: "Jasmine child," chosen because of her deep blue eyes.]

Sato Shiracha ['Shi'] A native of Tea country who specializes in dancing, dirty humor, and espionage, Shiracha was personally trained by the country's leading teams. The ruler was very fond of her and indulged her ill-manners, which led to his jealous wife assuming the worst and demanding her exile. Shiracha settled in Hidden Grass, offering up her best skills to their leaders: fleecing unsuspecting perverts for whatever information she could get from them. As before, though, she ended up being VERY unpopular with the local women, and no one was disappointed to see her leave with Riko. While Riko was screwing things up with Gaara, Shiracha ran into Sai, who had been dispatched to help ferret out the radicals intent on the Kage's death. Though she tried to kill Sai on sight when they first met, over a case of mistaken identity, she grew very fond of his quirky personality, and set her sights on him. As of this story, they are halfway between friends-with-benefits and dating. Her normal attire consists of fine, formal kimonos, or baggy trousers, loose, low-necked blouses, and a long, hanging sash at the waist; she usually wears her ivory white hair in a bun with decorative hairsticks, with her long bangs parted before her ears. Despite her girly-girl appearance and deceptively innocent bright purple eyes, Shiracha is a total pervert, has horrible, appalling manners, is completely uncouth, and has a vocabulary that could make sailors cringe; she is NOT ashamed. Her weapons of choice are metal tessen with hollow spokes; these hollow spokes hold senbon, and are easily thrown with the right wrist movements. [sato: "Village." Shiracha: "White tea."]

Koizumi Mizuchi ['Chi,' 'Chia'] Native to Hidden Waterfalls village, Mizuchi is very sweet and friendly, loves cooking for her friends, and is a low-level medic-nin undergoing further training at the Hospital. Mizuchi was orphaned at a young age, and raised by her uncle; when her captain discovered that she had great skill with chakra control and evasion, but little else, he encouraged her to enlist in medical training. Due to excessive bullying and harassment, she was unable to move forward, and eventually dropped out. When Tanaki arrived in her village, she witnessed Mizuchi being repeatedly nearly drowned by a group of Genin who stood by jeering and throwing rocks. Once she was freed from the water-trap, Tanaki beat the spit out of her bullies, and Mizuchi decided to join her in her wanderings. Their wanderings took them to Hot Water country, where they narrowly saved Suzaku's life during an attack by rogue ninja. Mizuchi patched her up to the best of her ability, and the three of them moved onward. Because of the near-drowning, she has spent three years deathly afraid of drowning and deep water, to the point of panic attacks. Though it was some time before Choji was ready to trust her with his heart, they are now happily engaged. Mizuchi has long, sleek, dark green hair, which she usually wears in a high tail, and bright sea green eyes; she is very near-sighted, and can't see a thing without glasses. She is shorter than Tanaki, Suzaku, Shiracha, and even Riko, but has a lovely curvy figure. Her normal attire consists of capri cut trousers or shorts, and simple but feminine blouses.

[Koizumi: "Little Spring." Mizuchi: Reportedly, the Mizuchi was a violent, malevolent water dragon. Her late parents chose this name in hopes it would empower her; they were sadly mistaken, and the result is ironic.]

Suzaku ['Su'] Suzaku's young mother Akane had been sister to the Kazekage, but fell for pretty words from a visiting ninja from Hot Water country, wound up pregnant, and fled to escape her brother's certain wrath. Akane raised Su alone in a small village frequented for its hot springs, leaving her only a single pair of jade earrings that she treasures above all else. When Akane died, Suzaku hunted down her father, who had gone rogue; as he was all she had left, he convinced her to join him in his repeated thefts. Once she came of age, she announced her intention to leave; fearful that she'd turn him in, her father robbed a local nobleman while disguised as his daughter, framing her for his crimes. When Tanaki and Mizuchi passed through, she was tied to a post in the square for her punishment, but quickly targeted by a group of rogue ninjas who had come to terrorize the town. Tanaki freed her, and the two helped her prove her innocence by turning in her father. Su is very loyal to her two friends, but is very rough around the edges; she enjoys shoji, though she's not very good, curses a lot, and is prone to using 'made-up' phrases like 'suck-tastic' and 'barf-aloney.' As it was her overly-developed breasts that drew her attackers the day she met the others, she is very over-sensitive about her body, paranoid about people looking at her breasts, and has a bad habit of going ballistic if she catches them. Though he's shown her nothing but good manners, this paranoia affects Neji most of all because she's attracted to him; for some odd reason, he still thinks she's beautiful no matter how many times she slugs him. Suzaku has long crimson hair with spiky bangs, bright jade green eyes, and naturally dark skin; she keeps her breasts bound to minimize their size, wears loose, shapeless shirts, and either baggy shorts or baggy jeans. Her weapons of choice are her fists and feet, although she learned many wind-based attacks from her mother before her death. [suzaku: named for a sacred beast known as the 'vermillion bird.' Akane chose this name because of Su's vibrant crimson hair.]