Yaku Saru

Yaku Saru

Background
Childhood: The clan house was a boring quiet place for Yaku, but "house" was a loose definition, as his clan slept within the trees of the area, making the local forest their home. There were no walls, no windows, no furniture. Just pure nature and wild freedom, symbolized by the constant chanting of monkey calls which sounded throughout the day. Being an only child and finding himself constantly bored, he tried to bond with the monkeys of his clan house, but while they began to accept him, it didn't change his boredom. He wasn't aware of what caused this feeling, and the monkeys and clan members of his house were not bad people, so he couldn't even name what made him feel this way. One day, strolling across the village with his father, the shinobi academy caught his eye. He watched in awe and wonder as the instructors taught students outside in the open yard. It seemed so...unique...so fascinating, yet he didn't know why. Asking his father, he told him that the career "ran in the blood." Promising to talk to him about it when he was older, the subject was not touched for another three years.

Within this time, Yaku spent more time with the monkeys of the clan, finding time to explore the surrounding forested areas with his primate friends, despite his parents urgings for him not to go so far from the village. Their bond growing through the years, him and the local monkeys actually became good friends. Through the course of time, his father also instructed him on clan basics that were "proper" for his age, including how to forage for food, how to find fresh drinking water, and which local herbs and plants were edible, as well as ones that were poisonous. These small plants absolutely left Yaku in awe, finding abit hard to comprehend. Such small plants, seemingly with no power, could be used not only to harm, but to heal others? Yaku found this concept amazing, and spent the a year and a half studying local fauna and plant types with his father before his "Academy days."

Academy days: Reaching the age of eight, Yaku's father decided it was a proper time to give him the option of joining the academy. By this time, Yaku had grown to be quite bright for his age, and he was eager to finally have a chance to test his ability. Finding the classes far harder than he expected, his limits were quickly tested in the academies teachings. After two years, he had somehow managed to retain a high grade average, despite his immense amount of slacking. So much so in fact that he was invited to a special course within the academy due to his high grades and experience in herbology.

The academy "Medic Corps" were a specialized class which would teach promising shinobi the very basics of medical ninjutsu, hoping that this would provide a large range of experienced medics in the future. After another three years of rigourous study, the boy became familiar with the ground work needed to become a "real" medical shinobi in the future. Passing the academy shortly after, Yaku's overall score for his years of study put him in the top twenty rookies list, putting him at number seventeen. A celebration was held for him, but Yaku's moment of glory only lasted for so long...

Moving on...: Shortly after Yaku's graduation, the "Saru event" happened. As the home of the Saru started to burn, Yaku, ironically still going against his parents wishes, was far out of the way and deeper in the woods. Coordinating with the rest of the clan, and the local monkey's, Yaku's father and mother found him simply killing time, unaware of the building smokecloud in the distance. Given little time, and reason, Yaku's parents rushed him out of the village boundries, telling him that the pack was simply "migrating," unwilling to compromise Yaku's innocent nature. Though, this was false, and for a time, Yaku and his parents wandered aimlessly for months. In time, they obtained word of a village forming on a distant island, near Kirigakure. Shortly after, they learned that afew of the other members of the Konoha pack had made their way to this very same island. After a further few months of travel, they arrived within the village, and Yaku was left waiting assignment for a squad. Yet...he now felt somewhat...alone. Here he was, in a new village, where he didn't know a single person, and none of them knew he either. Waiting to be assigned into a squad and to have his move finalized, Yaku took up smoking, partly out of depression but mostly due to just sheer boredom, wishing to find something to kill the time with until he was assigned an official squad. With this, the true story of Yaku begins.

Personality:
Yaku's personality would be difficult to describe as a single spectrum due to it's intricate nature. Yaku tends to very friendly with people, and loves to socialize. Another trait, pointed out by other members of the village repeatly, is his over the top, excitable nature. With a habit of yelling, using extensive body language, and up beat nature, Yaku has been known to make a scene on multiple occasions. In fact, an opponent in the chunin exams of 94A.F, Daikirai, commented on Yaku's nature to "show off." Yaku in fact, seems quite aware of this trait. Yaku was enthralled with myths, legends, and "tales," partly in due to his father who always had the best stories to tell. These tales of myths and legends never quite left Yaku, and notably has left him with a love of "showmanship" as he calls it. Just like the tales he was told as a kid, Yaku dreams of becoming famous and well known for his skills as a shinobi. His hunger of fame in fact, is only outweighted by his disapproval of self failure. It could be theorized that his love of showmanship is what spawned his love of one of his favorite hobbies. Fighting. In fact, Yaku has repeatedly become disgruntled when denied the chance to fight a challenging opponent.

Despite these vain, even selfish qualities, Yaku is an exceptionally kind person behind it all. He has a tendency to act like a "big brother" type, and cares greatly for the people around him. Partly by nature, partly from his teachings as a medical shinobi, Yaku has a high respect for life of all forms. Yaku has additionally parted with rather large sums of money on an anonymous donations to the hospital on multiple occasions.Yaku's most notable quality, is his easy going, non judgemental nature. Even when pressured with insults or even disdain, he usually reacts without retaliation. This in turn, allowed Yaku to successfully form connections with people who may have seemed impossible for someone like him to befriend.

Despite his generous, compassionate nature, Yaku is also loud, childish, clumsy, and prone to spacing out. This repeatedly has led, much to his annoyance, for others to disregard him as an idiot. Regardless of this, Yaku has shown on rare occasions to hold a good deal of wisdom, and has proved a shrewd tactician on afew choice occasions, hinting at a far more complex thought process than what he tends to display externally. Despite his intellect, Yaku does not possess a talent for understanding social tact, only further adding to the qualities which make him appear dense much of the time.

Behind Yaku's smile however, lies great sadness hidden from sight. After his mentor passed, his relationship with his following squad deteriorated, leaving him to distance himself from his current mentor and squadmates. Combined with the falling out with his parents, lack of social acceptance, and no guiding figures, Yaku hides a great lonliness in his heart. Yaku's lonliness only grew as he learned of Konoha's betrayal to the Saru, realizing that there was no "old home" to begin with. While not apparent, Yaku internally battles with his failures and insecurities near constantly, and it wasn't until the intervention of Isane that he began to find true inner peace with himself.

Special Characteristics:
Eipu no Chikaku: Yaku possesses the "Ape Perception" mutation. However, it is completely dormant within him and bestows no abilities or changes other than his eye color, being a bright amethyst. It can however, be an option availible in further stages of his development.

Pearly Whites: Yaku's canine teeth are abnormally large for his age, being in turn to his heritage in the Saru clan. They are easily recognizable, as Yaku can usually be found with a childish grin spread across his face, showing off his teeth quite often.

Small Frame: As if to compliment the childish grin he bares most of the time, he is abnormally small for his age, not only being short in height, but surprisingly small framed. This in turn, can make him appear abit younger than he truly is.

Hachimaki: Yaku wears a bright red bandana under his bangs wrapped around his forehead. The color manages to compliment his charcoal black hair, but this is no village headband. This bandana is Yaku's "Hachimaki," a stylized headband worn to symbolize perseverance, effort, and courage.

KONO YAROU!: When angered, surprised, or generally annoyed, Yaku tends to utilize this phrase. Roughly translates to "You jerk" and is commonly used as an expression of anger between men, though, it can be stated to women as well. This phrase didn't see use until arc 6.

UTAGAUNAIYO!: One of Yaku's more complicated phrases. Utagau can roughly be translated as "Doubt" or "To doubt." Nai in itself, is usually used to negate something within the diction. Yo, is an informal prefix that can be added to words or phrases in japanese dialect, normally used to either put heavy emphasis on something, or to state it in a "matter of fact" manner. Depending on how it is said, and the context it is taken it, it can roughly be translated as "No doubt!" or "Don't doubt it!" This phrase didn't see use until arc 6.

Appearance
Yaku wears a loose, black undershirt with a purple, martial artist gi over it, revealing a small portion of the black undershirt near the upper chest. Yaku additionally wears a loose, matching set of purple pants, made of the same fabric that his gi is made out of. The depth of the purple in this attire additionally helps to make the color of his amethyst eyes "pop," per say. Yaku's charcoal black hair has grown to reach the very bottom on his neck, with a somewhat wild, unkempt, spikey style to it. To finish off the attire, Yaku's Hikagakure headband is wrapped loosely around his neck as a guard, where his Hachimaki is firmly wrapped around Yaku's forehead, mostly hidden by his bangs and hair. Lastly, due to his heritage, his canine teeth are not only sharp, but rather large and elongated. While not a massive difference, it is a very defining character trait as these teeth can easily be seen when Yaku grins. Due to Yaku's naturally small build, he does not have a large amount of visible muscle. This is not to say he doesn't have any however, and certain areas are slightly refined with lean muscle tone. Lastly, as of recently, Yaku has begun to have his tail unsealed at all times. Aesthetically, his tail is a light, oaken brown with a white, "paintbrush" style tip.

Abilities
Despite being his most downplayed trait, Yaku possesses a sharp intelligence which allows him to learn relatively fast. While initially highly lazy and apathetic to training, Yaku's conditioning under his first mentor instilled upon him a deep respect for hard work and dedication. Effectively, this lead to Yaku learning a multitude of the shinboi arts with great fervor. On multiple occasions, he has displayed proficiency in Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Shurikenjutsu, and Bukijutsu. Between his diverse skillset, drive to win, and high energy personality, Yaku's fighting style is highly difficult, if not impossible to predict, arguably making improvising his largest strength.

Taijutsu
Yaku's most utilized method of combat, he has shown a high level of efficiency in close combat encounters. Yaku has taken up the practice of Muay Thai after being shown a small part of the art by his current mentor, Rin Nii'gata. Taking further influences from boxing, Yaku's shown repeatedly to be a capable Taijutsu combatant. Yaku's clan skills in fact, compliment his already existing Taijutsu skills, as his tail can be used to balance himself, or strike, grab, or even trip opponents. As a result of these factors, Yaku has repeatedly shown to be at his most dangerous when in close combat. By the end of the story, Yaku was capable of going hand to hand with chunin level combatants with ease when paired with his clone techniques.

Ninjutsu
While mostly used to support his skills in Taijutsu, Yaku has additionally developed a keen talent for Ninjutsu. Not only is he capable of preforming high level techniques such as the shadow clone technique, but he holds multiple techniques which are used to increase his natural abilities. This including techniques to increase his tail's strength and reach, and even techniques which increase the clarity of his hearing sharply.

Fuinjutsu
Fuinjutsu, while not Yaku's most pronounced, or proficient skill is something he has proved at the very least, to be competent at. Under Yaso's training, Yaku expanded his knowledge of fuinjutsu mechanics, the language itself, and his handwriting skills. In an effective two weeks, Yaku had managed to make great strides. Despite starting with abysmal penmanship, unable to even draw a straight line, Yaku applied a mental trick using his medical experience to get the results he needed, and ever since, has used this very same trick when writing became required.

Bukijutsu
Yaku has repeatedly utilized a wide variety of shinobi tools for different purposes. Yaku has shown on different occasions to use senbon, kunai, shuriken, and even spears. In one instance, he invented a deceptfully clever tool for live captures utilizing ninja wire to tie a shuriken and a kunai together by the ring, taking advantage of the "curved" trajectory that can be applied to shuriken to have his kunai stick it into place after pinning an opponent down. Further adding to his diversity in this field, Yaku has utilized brass knuckles in rare occasions, and one of his favorite "trademarks" is his use of smokebombs, which he describes as "his favorite."Yaku has also shown the ability to use explosive tags efficiently, working their way into his second favorite tool, with flashbombs as a close third.

Medical Training
Yaku initially, while only having basic knowledge in anatomy when he arrived in Hikagakure, mostly had medical knowledge lying in herbology. After further teachings with Tesla, Urameki, Yaku's anatomy knowledge grew to a more comprehensive level with time. As a result, Yaku knows various weakpoints in the human body, and is also more than capable of basic first aid treatment, when required.

By the opening of his clinic in 95A.F, Yaku's medical knowledge has advanced to become knowledgeable even in minor surgical processes, due to the book he had requested from Kei on the subject. Yaku's most impressive medical skill to date perhaps, is his noteworthy experience in herbology and medicine. Using highly basic, natural ingredients, Yaku has successfully managed to create an Anti-Bacterial Burn Gel. In fact, Yaku's knowledge goes so great that he had been able to effectively neutralize a case of food poisoning utilizing a basic mixture of activated carbon.

Intelligence
While not entirely apparent at a first glance, Yaku holds a high level of intelligence, even if it seems as if he does not apply it consistently. Not only has he been shown capable of coordinating advanced tactical manuevers with shadow clones, he has shown notable skill in deception and misdirection on multiple occasions. One of his most pronounced skills however, is his ability to improvise when pressured, which has repeatedly yielded positive results from the most uncommon of ideas.

Furthermore, it could be argued that he is not only a fast learner, but a capable one at that. Yaku has received formal instruction in Doton from Shiraishi Kazuma as well as receiving training from Rin Nii'gata in Taijutsu. On top of his medical training and experience, Yaku has taken further instruction in the arts of Fuinjutsu under Hikagakure's own Yaso Pon'biki. That said, while not well known to many, Yaku has shown himself capable of understanding, and applying a wide variety of shinobi arts despite his young age.

Other Skills
Due to his lifetime spent outdoors, Yaku has watched the sun and moon set countless times, which allows him to get rough estimates of the time based of the sun's or moon's position. Additionally, Yaku has shown great capability in climbing trees, as well as utilizing them to his advantage in combat. On a lesser degree, Yaku has also proved to be a capable swimmer, or at the very least, confident in his swimming abilities. While one of his less pronounced skills, Yaku possesses a very keen sense of taste which makes him a natural chef, despite any lack of formal training and the lack of experience in the field due to his family backround. Additionally, Yaku has shown on multiple occasions that he possesses an acute sense of hearing.

===Stats===

Accolades
Held the largest criminal record in Hikagakure. Placed 17th in the top twenty Konoha genin to pass in 93A.F

Chunin Exam Semi Finalist: 94A.F

5th highest stats by the end of the story.

4th most techniques by the end of the story. (Behind two jounin and a chunin.)

Largest mission record of Hikagakure, with 40 missions listed with a 97.5% success rate.

Despite these accomplishments, Yaku was never awarded the rank of chunin by the end of the story.

'''Despite only landing a single hit on his rival Kokoro in their first sparring match, by the end of the story, Yaku had come very close to closing the gap. By the time of their final sparring match both sides experienced gruelling exhaustion, showing the massive levels of improvement Yaku had made within the limited period of two years. '''

'''Together with Kokoro, Yaku created an opening which allowed the former to save three hostages from the S-ranked criminal, Haruka. Yaku however, never learned his importance in this, and continued to view himself as a burden in that mission for eternity.'''

Trivia

 * Yaku (ヤク) can be translated multiple ways, including but not limited to "Misfortune," "Duty," "Promise," and "Medicine." The meaning of his last name, Saru, is "Monkey."
 * Yaku had begun to develop a crush on Furuka, Isane by the end of the story.
 * Yaku had in fact, carved a wooden monkey statue for Isane, similar to the wooden rabbit charm she had given him. The wooden monkey's eyes were filled with small shards of purple abalone, making it's eyes appear to shine purple like Yaku's.
 * Yaku was the first one to commit a recorded crime after Hikagakure's official legislature was enstated.
 * Yaku begrudged that he was constantly treated like a second class medical shinobi, where Tsubaki was given all the credit. (Even though I was promised the first spot to work in the hospital.)
 * Yaku begrudged this fact further after Tsubaki's death, he was still ignored and all medical duties given to Nagaya, who wasn't even a medic.
 * Yaku was excluded from every event OOCly. He never landed a single hit on any event based character, while Nagaya got them like free shots every event.
 * According to the databook(s):
 * Yaku wishes to fight Kokoro Resu, as well as a rematch with Yori-Dono.
 * Yaku's favorite food is anything tasty.
 * Yaku is the only child of Satoshi Saru and Naomi Saru.
 * Yaku's favorite hobbies are chess, herbology, and visiting the onsen.
 * Yaku has completed 40 official missions in total. 20 D-rank, 18 C-rank, 2 B-rank, 0 A-rank, 0 S-rank.

Quotes
UTAGAUNAIYO!

KONO YAROU!

AIE, YA GOT EYES, DON'TCHA?! (To Yori-Dono)

What'ya mean little?!?! I'm compact, there's a difference! (To Noiro)

I like to think making someone smile is far more priceless.~ (About currency)

...I've only met one samurai before, and she mugged me. (When asked by Nagaya about his distrust of Samurai.)

Post Arrival
Arc 1: Having his move finalized, Yaku attempted to get a meeting with the village leader, [Pon'Biki.] Making small talk outside of the administration tower with a man known as Kazuma Shiraishi, Yaku was called in, and whether by circumstance, or chance, Kazuma Shiraishi was assigned as his squad leader. By irony alone, he had no idea until later that his fellow genin in the squad was Kokoro Resu, who he declared as his rival (Without Kokoro's consent) after a sparring match which lead to a crushing defeat.

By Yaku's second mission, an official C-rank, him and a squad consisting Maboroshi, Eien, Saotome, Asami, and himself were led deep into the forest of Mori, finding the pot of the fabled, and feared Yori-Dono. Combat ensued, but after a trialing struggle, the Hikagakure-Nin emerged victorious as Yori-Dono was forced to retreat back into his pot, sinking into the earth below.

Sometime after, Yaku was assigned on another mission with his Mentor, Kazuma Shirashi, along with two other genin. Keimaru, Ryukou and Resu, Kokoro. The job was a simple one, consisting of cutting lumber for raw supplies. Soon however, they were confronted by a man named Kazemaru who berated the Hika-Nin for their settlement on Joki. Claiming that Hikagakure was recklessly taking land which did not belong to them, and defiling the ground his mothers ashes were spread on. Confrontation followed and despite Yaku's desperate pleas and attempts, he could not restrain the man in order to save his life. Yet and still, in his final moments, the man smiled and thanked Yaku for his compassion, claiming that he left Joki in "capable hands." While a reletively small part of Yaku's career, it had a profound, and massive impact on him overall as an individual, and as a shinobi.

During the repeated attacks staged by Ryuuga The Mountain Crusher, Yaku was positioned to protect the western forest both times. While Yaku provided little to no assistance in his first bout, he had improved enough by the second time to land a single hit on the powerful adversary. Unfortunately, the area which he and his squad had been assigned to protect, had been attacked by nothing more than an earth clone, much to Yaku's chagrin. Elsewhere in the village however, in thanks to the noble sacrifice of Kobayashi, Hitake, the real Ryuuga was left decapitated, his reign of terror brought to an end.

Arc 2: (Note for later: Need to add fish mission.) Shortly after, the village leader, Yaso Pon'biki was called to the "Five Kage Summit," to dicuss the future place of Hikagakure in the world. During this time period, Yaku had been training hard in order to keep his word to Yosuke, after Yaso enlisted him, Yusuke, and Tsubaki to aid him in defeating his uncle, Kirotoka Iwasa as he intended to strike out towards Yosuke with lethal intent. However, Yaku, wishing to prove how much he had improved to keep his word, challenged Yosuke to a spar, only to have his arm broken in the very same day Kirotoka made his move. This in turn, left Yaku out of commision as Masakaki filled in on the dangerous mission. Trhough later inquery, Yaku had learned the mission had not exactly gone well, leaving him distraught and disgruntled. Forcing himself to train despite his injuries, he vowed to never let someone down like that again.

Near the end of the healing period, Hikagakure fell under attack by an organization known as "Hellhounds of Iwagakure," who had high jacked an Iwagakure ship. Striking at Hikagakure in retalition for Ryuuga's death, Hikagakure were dispersed on multiple fronts of the island. Yaku was tasked with guarding the tower with Kairi Helsa, and Asami Saotome, as Kairi had been willing to vouche for him, despite his broken arm. Confronted with a long range fighter, conflict ensued and while Yaku had not landed a single blow on the man, he did provide a sufficient distraction before being knocked unconscious, creating an opening for the others to finish him.

Not too long after, he mended his relationship with Kokoro, who had become distant after Yaku's guilt on Kazemaru's death made him unrightfully bitter to Kokoro. Despite squad line ups being changed, Yaku expressed he still considered Kokoro and ally, gesturing for a "Fist Bump." Ironically, he was unaware this same gesture was utilized by Team Dosu, Kokoro's original squad. To Yaku's surprise, Kokoro returned the gesture, officially setting things back on track. Since then, Yaku had mostly dropped his notion of seeing Kokoro as a rival, (At least externally) in exchange for seeing him as a friend.

After a time, Yaku's arm healed, and he found himself on a mission concerning the after effects of Kazemaru's death. His wife, scorned by his death, had hired assassins to strike out against Hikagakure. They however, relocated long before the squad arrived, leaving the assigned squad to encounter a lone man. Presuming him to be the assassin, an analysis was made, an order to attack was given, and the man's achellis tendon was ripped open by Yaku to neutralize him non lethally. Missing his mark ever so slightly, Yaku had severed a major artery, and denied medical treatment by the squad leader due to the assumption that he was hostile, eventually died to his wounds. Upon the realization this man had a note on him, it detailed that he was on his way to meet a former lover, of which, had a child he had never even met. Traumatizing Yaku instantly, he fell unconscious from the shock, where a fellow squad member, Nora brought him back to the village and requested back up to quell the resulting chaos between the squad.

Time passed and Yaku felt guilt and remorse, caught in a deep depression as he had become exactly what he hated. A murderer. He had came close to resigning as a shinobi, only to be stopped by Nora and Nero's aid. After a time, Yaku returned to Kazemaru's grave and preyed, vowing to learn and use Taijutsu like Kazemaru had, so in the future, he could have better control over the lethality of his strikes. Shortly after, he was consulted by Masakaki, who had saw the scene from the distance. Though Masakaki's aid, Yaku had finally been able to get over his crippling guilt and doubts. Along with this, Masakaki gave him the ideal that he could atone by becoming a chunin, and thus, prevent such things from happening in the future.

Arc 3: After a time, Hikagakure was visited by Konohagakure officials, declaring that Hikagakure had earned the right to enter the chunin exams due to Yaso's meeting with the five Kage. However, this ended up becoming quite a harsh time for Yaku. Nora, who he had begun to consider a dear friend, went missing before she was executed for the transaction. Her lifeless corpse brought to Yaso during a mission breifing, Yaku had to witness not only the grevious wounds Nora had been inflicted, but the slow, brutal execution of her dear friend and pet. This in turn, prompted Yaku to request the night to "gather his thoughts," deeply effected by the events which transpired. It was not long after that his mentor, Kazuma Shiraishi, had his past from Iwagakure catch up with him. Confronted by Momoki, Juruzen, a Iwagakure ANBU, Kazuma nobly accepted his death and died an honored hero. In his will, he bestowed Yaku with possession of his home, much to the young Saru's surprise.

Yaku attended the funeral and said what he could, while vowing to quit cigarettes in honor of his mentor, who had done the very same before his death. These events had quite an impact on Yaku, and it was during this time he began to fully understand the depth of the duties a shinobi has. It was also at this time Yaku had begun to fall back into depression, doubting himself and his ability to pass the exams. Fearing he would let down all of those who had put their trust in him, he was brought back on track by the aid of Kokoro, who expressed a belief in him. At Kokoro's words, Yaku's resolution was resolved once again and he continued to prepare for the exams to come. It was also during this time he started his time as a member of squad two, under the instruction of Rin Ni'gaata, along with his two new squad mates, Yusuke and Masakaki.

Arc 4: As the chunin exams came ever closer, Yaku was training as hard as always. Many visitors came to Hikagakure in this time, including further representatives from Konohagakure. It was during this time Yaku was told the fabled stories behind the exploits of Isao, Ni by a representative of the exams, as well as the impressive exploits of Hikagakure's own, Yamamoto, Daichi. Eventually, unknown to Yaku, a fight eventually started outside of his house between Yaso and one of Hikagakure's very own chunin, Helsa Kairi. Revealing herself as a spy from Otogakure, combat ensued, leaving Yaso the winner. The sounds of combat finally bringing Yaku from his home, and faced with the death of another he felt close to, was forced to look away at what he found, and retreated into his house for the night to collect his thoughts. At this point, with Nora, Kazuma, and Kairi's lives taken by the village system, Yaku quietly began to wonder if the current system of villages truly did protect the innocent. Further still, a tragedy would strike Hikagakure, leaving multiple members of the village deceased from poison. The lives which were claimed included Nero, Eien, Katsuo, and Ryukou, all of which, Yaku felt close to.

Arc 5: This was quite an interesting time in Yaku's life. As the chunin exams finally came around, where he and an abundance of other genin were taken to Konohagakure by boat. To Yaku's surprise, before the test had started, Furuka, Isane had given him a good luck charm, as she had done with many of the other genin, leaving Yaku abit surprised, but grateful at the unexpected gesture. Shortly after, the chunin exams first part ensued.

Yaku first took the written test, and still unknown to him, scored an astounding 95% on the written test.Things however, took a turn for the worse as the exams moved into the second stage. Yaku was first faced against Gintoki, which annoyed him greatly due to how he was not fighting a forgein shinobi. Gintoki forfeited shortly after the match had started, leaving Yaku to advance to the next round. The following round seemingly fated, Yaku was faced against Tsubaki, the one who had crushed his dream of defeating death itself. Yaku however, was inflicted a grevious wound early in the fight, which left his left arm mangled and of little use.

Despite the chances stacked against him, Yaku continued to push on and fight tooth and nail, pulling every trick in the book that he could think of in the process. The fight extended on for quite some time, as Tsubaki relocated to the ceiling to attempt and wear Yaku out. Executing a plan to force Tsubaki from the ceiling, Yaku attemped to "blow up the ceiling" of the examination room to force Tsubaki down. While his initial attempt was deflected, Yaku returned the projectiles which were sent back at him, successfully forcing Tsubaki to drop from the ceiling. Culminating with Yaku leaping high into the air to meet Tsubaki mid fall, a short exchange of blows was attempted only for Tsubaki to blind Yaku in midair. Chaining in a secondary strike, Yaku landed a rough, glancing blow before falling to the ground. His body and mind pushed completely past their limits, Yaku fell to the ground and collapsed immediately afterwards, his blinded state preventing him from even landing safely.

It was after this Yaku sank into a deep depression, only further increased when he was told he only lost because of a "computer mix up." The proctors placing him in another bracket, he fought with Yosuke in the next round. While it was touch and go for awhile, Yaku managed to pull a win, yet, he had not considered it one. Yet for the third time, he had to fight someone who he could have fought on any day, while everyone else in the exams was getting forgein and interesting opponents. Yaku's depression was momentarily broken however, on the news that he would fight a forgein combatant, known as "Daikirai." The following battle was intense, his foe highly talented in suiton techniques. The fight culminated with Yaku preparing to execute the "finishing move" of his plan, only for his opponent to forfeit on the grounds of "not wanting to kill his opponent." Denied of his chance to fight Daikirai, and humiliated, Yaku for the first time in his life, felt the urge to kill. Holding himself back however, Yaku dropped back into a deep depression. When the fight for the semi-finals came, Yaku was too disheartened to even try. While he could have utilized his tail in the ensuing fight, Yaku, devoid of hope, simply let his defeat happen without much resistance. Afterwards, Yaku spent the remainder of the exams hiding in his apartment room, while seperating himself from the others during the boat ride home.

Arc 6: Yaku sentenced himself to seclusion, training every day without rest in the forests of Mori after his failures in the chunin exams. He took further training under Yaso to learn the art of Fuinjutsu, all while taking measures to train his chakra reserves, and physical capabilities. Within this time, Tsubaki Bayushi had untimely passed away, leaving Yaku to question many things that had happened between the two of them. By the time of her funeral, he held no malice, and said parting words for the deceased before returning to what had become a daily regime of intensive training. In his freetime, Yaku spent much of his time playing games of chess alone. After his defeat, Yaku had become completely hollow on the inside, and everything he worked for daily, was based on a promise to his deceased mentor, with no real direction or hope, all while hiding his true pain through his smile. During this same time period, Yaku ended up conversing with a fellow clan member, Oken Saru. Oken informed Yaku of how the Saru had been forced out of leaf, a fact, he had not known priorly due to how his parents had lied to him on the events that transpired, which made Yaku further question his beliefs. Yaku eventually had an intervention made by Nagaya, and Zaijuro, who got him to realize that perhaps all he needed was time.

These events prompted Yaku to re-evalulate his thoughts, with a simple question. Who was he? Yaku's home in Konoha was a lie. His parents, who were supposed to protect and care for him, had lied to him. No one acknoledged him as a medic, and his clan never paid any mind to him. He had failed to keep his promise to his deceased mentor, and as a medic, he had taken multiple innocent lives. Everything he did, everything he knew, it was wrong. How could he know himself, when everything he knew was false? Time passed, and in what seemed to be a fated match with his rival, Yaku sparred with Kokoro in the "usual spot" over an intensive thunderstorm. Yaku's training was shown not to be in vein, however as he had come closer than ever to beating his eternal rival. Though, in the end, it was still a clear cut victory for Kokoro. Despite this, Yaku, satisfied with his progress, finally began to find some feeling of peace, as little as it was.

This series of events culiminated during another one of Yaku's solo chess games, where he was confronted by Isane, who asked if he would be competing in the upcoming chunin exams. Yaku, had initially thought he had been over such insecurities, but as Isane brought the topic up, his mask had faltered, for just a brief moment. After Yaku attempted to shrug the topic off, Isane had eventually coaxed Yaku into revealing his past with his mentor, and why the rank of chunin had such an importance to him. Afterwards, Isane offered words to attempt and show a different viewpoint. Isane, had hit the preverbial nail on the head. She had spoken seemingly the exact words Yaku needed to hear to understand that the direction he was going, wasn't the right one, and not the one his mentor would have wanted. As if sealing the deal, Yaku had found himself subject to an unexpected hug as Isane had attempted to comfort the dejected Saru. In that one moment, Yaku realized it. He wasn't alone anymore. He had comrades like Kokoro, Isane, Zaijuro, and Nagaya, who had stood with him even in his darkest hour. In that one moment, Yaku's inner fire reignited, and it was burning brighter than ever before.

Not long after, Hikagakure came under attack by Otagakure once again, who were now using a powerful new weapon against Hikagakure. Storm Release. Yaku was assigned to a squad consisting of Nagaya, Kitahachi, Amber, and Tomodachi. Upon finding one of the technique's operators, combat ensued. In a heated battle, the squad eventually had managed to take down the man, but not before he yelled one final ominous warning. As seals erupted across his body, Yaku, who had been badly injured had been clear in the blast zone. Though Nagaya had attempted to push Yaku to the ground, Yaku, unwilling to risk his dear friends safety for his own blunder punched Nagaya clear out of the way of the blast zone, taking the brunt of the damage and fracturing his left elbow as a result. Luckily, Kitahachi had stepped in using his earth clones as a blast shield, which in turn, prevented what could have been a potentially fatal explosion for the young Saru.

Sometime after, Yaku had treated his own injuries and was left at a hindered capacity. Yaku, while certainly annoyed however, shrugged the loss off after afew days, making one wonder if Isane's words had truly reached him. More notably however, Nagaya had sustained a cracked rib in Yaku's attempt to protect him, prompting him to sharply remark on the subject in Yaku's presence, causing him a feeling of guilt. Regardless, Yaku, resolved to set things right when he got the chance, if possible.

-The remaining chapters seem to have been burned to ashes. All but one chapter remains...-

(Might write a chapter for closure, probably not as I have college to attend but my perfectionist qualities may force me to create a decent ending one day.)