Tōkiro Tolstikov

Tōkiro ~ His "official" name and the one he willingly chose upon immigrating to Konoha. Everyone except for his close and distant relatives refer to him by this name, and since he had no actual "record" prior to arriving in Konoha, this name is on every one of his official documents.
Tōki ~ A common and informal nickname rarely used and not preferred by Tōkiro. [Note: Translates literally to "Winter"]
Alexei ~ A child nickname only used by his close relatives. It is a butchering of his birth name, Aleksandr, and often used when speaking playfully or calmly with Tōkiro, and never used by anyone outside his immediate family. When upset, his birth name is usually screamed by his parents.
Ro-kun ~ Tōkiro's preferred nickname of choice. [Note: Translates literally to "Russia-kun"]
"The Foreigner" ~ A rude nickname used frequently by his less friendly acquaintances, strangers and people who generally dislike Tōkiro. Stems from his thick indistinguishable accent and odd demeanor.

18

Height: 193cm
Weight: 81.6kg
Bloodtype: O

Hailing as a not-so-distant ancestor of the legendary Yuki clan, Tōkiro uncoincidentally has many of the common features that are prominent in the clan members. The most obvious feature is his smooth, jet black hair which serves as one of the defining features of the Yuki clan. It's the first thing one notices when they lay eyes on him, followed closely by the odd violet glare. This feature is more unique to Tōkiro himself, and not one of the noticeable features of a Yuki member. It is however an unusual characteristic, that helps validate the "foreigner" archetype he's commonly placed in. Of course, if having odd iris' constituted being a foreigner, many protagonists would immediately fall into the category. So alongside those two obvious features are the less noticeable ones. For instance, his uncanny height which tends to surpass most of his peers and even his elders. Tōkiro is a solid six feet and four inches tall. Interestingly enough, many don't recognize this height at a distance or on first encounter because of his well cleaved build. He's neither thin and slanky nor thick and buff. Instead it's a very well balanced combination of the two, accomplished through several years of plowing soil and planting crops for a living. Unlike many of the spoiled townsfolk of Konoha, Tōkiro knows full well what a hard day's work feels, and as a result his muscles structure appears very different from others, as they were achieved through constant strenuous activity instead of mere weightlifting and jogging.

Besides looking like a ferocious giant, Tōkiro also has some more "feminine" features. Being part of the Yuki clan curses him with smooth, pale skin and a well rounded face. Not only that, but his face is almost completely free of scars or blemishes, which serves as a severe contrast to his large size and various scars across the rest of his body. Most of these scars are minor and achieved from horseplaying as a child. Though there are a few which are friendly reminders of how deadly a hoe can really be when swung around by his father. The final feminine feature of his is the hair. Having grown up in the mountains of Yuki has prepared him for tough winters. As a result, he always keeps his hair fairly long, at least enough to cover his ears and protect his forehead. It's not as long as many women have their hair, but it can still deceive someone if their only reference was a picture of Tōkiro's face.

Now, onto his outfits. As a regular member of society, Tōkiro has at least some sense of fashion. It's not as well developed as the spoiled occupants of the inaccurately named "village", but living in the mountains for three quarters of his life with nothing but wool rags tends to desaturate things for him. Outside of "work" Tōkiro will wear warm clothing, usually thick sweaters, scarves, jackets, snow pants… the list goes on. Tōkiro rarely, if ever, wears anything less than a long-sleeve shirt and a pair of jeans, never revealing his forearms to anyone. This habit comes, once again, from his lifetime in the freezing cold. All those years feeling his fingers go numb in his sleep have led him to wear warm clothes constantly; ironically in fear of the cold. His fashion sense in terms of color choices tends to be as gloomy as his past. Greys, blues, purples and occasionally greens tend to make up his attire. More often than not, he'll be wearing some bland colored sweater with bland colored trousers. Not very different from his work clothes.

He's a little more predictable at work, always wearing the same or similar attire. A thick grey vest over a blue sweater complimented by tightly-fit black snow pants. Unlike many others, even during the summer he refuses to wear sandals or anything lighter, always having thick clothing protecting him from the unpredictable conditions of the weather. His ninja kits and common weapons are holstered around his waist and attached to his belt for safekeeping. There are a few other locations where weapons are stored, such as on his trousers and vests. A few shuriken can be found in the rightmost pocket of his vest and a kunai attached to the right half of the vest. On the left leg of his trousers a kunai is slotted by his thick fur shoes. It's not visible at all, as the compartment is on the inside of the pants. It's more or less for emergency measures, in case he has to pretend to tie his shoes in order to assassinate someone unimportant. And of course, to keep Tōkiro extra warm, a pair of very flexible gloves are always wrapped around his hands and fingers. They don't inhibit his ability to form handseals or weaken his punches, but they do serve as an excellent method of keeping his fingers warm and comfortable. Beyond these peculiar armaments, Tōkiro doesn't wear anything special.

Its location tends to vary depending on the situation. When not doing any ninja related tasks he obviously refuses to wear the hideous headpiece. On more casual missions the forehead is loosely tied around his left arm to stay out of his way. During combat, he'll use it as a method of defense by tying it firmly around his forehead. Tōkiro frequently forgets to do this though, so expectations shouldn't be high.

Tōkiro grew up in an environment unknown to many of the hidden villages. His was that of a peasant living in the cloudy mountains of the Snow Country where he plowed the fields all day, helped take care of the livestock and spent many winters huddled against a wood stove with his relatives for heat. As a result to surviving in tough and unpleasant conditions, Tōkiro's personality has developed in a manner analogous to them. Cold, bitter and stern are but a few of the many characteristics assigned to him by his peers. And they're not far off either. Tōkiro rarely initiates conversations with strangers or even potential acquaintances. In fact, he's more likely to write and hand someone a note than to initiate verbal conversation with them. Due to his constant lack of facial expressions and slightly frightening appearance, many assume he is just a scary kid who acts mysterious and rude for the sake of it. Unfortunately the boy isn't that complicated. He's just shy. Well, shy would be the wrong word. "Ill-informed" is more accurate. For most of his life, he's only known a handful of people and made friends with no more than a couple dozen of his nearest neighbors, whom he had no choice but to become acquainted with. As a result his social skills are very underdeveloped; this leads to him speaking quickly and sternly, while also coming off as a little ego-bloated and confident. All of course, unintentional and reflexive.

Tōkiro's ignorance extends farther than just his people skills. His academic skills are fairly underdeveloped as well. His life in the mountains gave him little, if any, education on the outside world. The extent of his knowledge peaked at arithmetic and common handwriting. He didn't even read his first book until he moved to Konoha. Fortunately, over the course of a year and a half, the bright child managed to catch up in terms of science, math, english and even history; though not without some heavy scrutiny. After realizing that there was a vast amount of knowledge still ripe for the picking, Tōkiro began devoting all of his time and effort into reading and studying. In academy school, he was frequently teased by the significantly younger classmates for always sitting in the back corner of the room and reading various books throughout the class period. He learned his first jutsu, the map of the known world and how to write above a twelve year old level all from his local library in Konoha. Though it's been over a year now, Tōkiro has yet to achieve the same level of academic knowledge as peers of equal age, especially considering many around his age are at Chuunin level already. This craving for information has only proved to distinguish him as a "foreigner", even if it's a somewhat nice stereotype.

As mentioned previously, Tōkiro's lifetime of ignorance has acquired him an urge to learn; the result of which finds him staring into a book at every waking moment. When he eats lunch, a book is in his hands. When he's training or working out; his eyes are glued to a book. Even during missions he'll frequently read and walk instead of communicating with whatever comrades he was assigned to work with. With his face constantly between two folds of paper Tōkiro's reputation of being a cold asshole is only further reaffirmed. Despite reading so much, Tōkiro almost never lays a finger on newspapers or really anything that details the current events of the time. His reasons are a little unclear, but it mostly consists of the combination of incredibly boring writing, unnecessary exaggeration and just the feeling of cheap paper on his fingertips that turns him off. The only "news" he gets is those from eavesdropping on the occasional conversation or two. This strictly self-motivated and independent nature leads to his greatest character flaw:

His ambition. Usually this is considered a plus; having unrealistic desire to succeed and make something of himself. However, this also serves as a major setback. Many up top do not wish to see their jobs succeeded by an annoying brat. That's not the only roadblock it serves. Tōkiro's ambitious nature compels him to take on tougher missions for the same pricetag, often trying to "prove his worth" when he needs not. The result is overexertion on many of his assigned tasks and a grave inability to cooperate with teammates. He'll frequently take the lead when it's not needed, or try to outperform his peers in an attempt to impress. This further strengthens people's dislike for him, as he can occasionally be a little arrogant. Not so much as to gloat about how great and powerful he is, but more on the strategic level. When a plan is being conjured, he can't help but try to be the "anchor" of the team. He'll frequently oversell how useful a jutsu he knows is, which can be troublesome for the completion of a mission. More often than not though, this arrogant and ambitious side is rather tame. Unfortunately it also leaks into his everyday life from time to time.

Tōkiro is not only ambitious, but what one would call an "opportunist". That is, he'll do almost anything to come out on top. He'll clean his sensei's house, kill school children on command or even commit treason if it means achieving his goals. Whenever something attempts to slow him down or clashes with an opportunity, Tōkiro will quickly attempt to destroy it, whether it be through combat or sneaky conniving. This constantly gets him into physical fights with peers and even teachers. A noteable instance was when he struck his chuunin-sensei square in the jaw for giving him a B+ on an exam then proceeded to threaten him repeatedly. This obviously didn't end well for what was essentially a sixteen year old academy ninja, and he quickly had the shit beaten out of him almost literally. Regardless, when Tōkiro sets his mind to something, tunnel vision usually ensues. Rarely does he actually care if any innocent bystanders happen to get caught up in his ambition.

Despite these many flaws Tōkiro faces, he's a very tame child. The expression "Don't judge a book by its cover" couldn't be closer to the truth about him. While he may appear intimidating and cold, deep down he's actually a fairly nice guy. Those few who manage to enter his "circle of friends" will immediately notice him lighten up and even be "friendly". Whenever he can, he'll make jokes, or inform his friends about some new tidbit of information he's learned. In fact, he feels so comfortable around his close friends that one wouldn't be able to tell he was the same person. Talkative, annoying, completely "uncool", prankster, etc. Everything one would expect of a seventeen year old teenager. He even openly drools about girls with his friends like a teen would. This rather open nature still remains a well kept secret among his few friends, but as he spends more time in Konoha, he's slowly begun to open up a little more.

This friendliness stems from his childhood, like the rest of his personality. He was always open and friendly around family, relatives and neighbors; not necessarily the life of the party, but often a moderately exciting person to speak with or complain about the freezing cold about. Unfortunately he had a bit of a falling out with his relatives which prompted his voyage to Konoha. The falling out was all patched up upon return several months later, though the whole event reminded Tōkiro just how embarrassing his relatives could be. His stern posture and cold-hearted demeanor shatter into a Timid thirteen year old whenever around them, which has led him to never really speak of his relatives. Their humiliating and condescending ways of speaking sometimes plagues his nightmares. Either way, as much as he wishes to avoid them, Tōkiro can't help but love them deep down.

After all, they're the reason he's such a nice and considerate kid. At least to his superiors he is. He couldn't give a rat's ass about his peers, but when it comes to those above him in either rank, age or skill, he's as respectful as a soldier should be. From his time in the mountains he's learned that in order for things to get done, those on top must give irrefutable orders to those beneath them. Whether it be tilling the dirt during an early-spring blizzard to salvage crop or running in on a suicide mission to save the lives of a few captives: if someone respectable tells him to do something, he damn well will. Though this isn't the only example of his undignified respect for his elders. He treats them with the respect that they deserve, using honorifics and referring to them by their titles first. To Tōkiro, disrespecting a superior is a vile crime. That's not to say that he won't do it himself. Achieving his ambition is more important than anything else, even those he respects the most.

Yuki [雪一族]

"Winter is coming."

[C-Rank] Genin

{ Taijutsu | Ninjutsu }

For someone who has a cold personality, is part of the coldest clan in the ninja world, and even has a cold motto, one would assume his strategies are all about the cold. Unfortunately this couldn't be farther from the truth. While he is aware of his Hyouton element, he has yet to actually perfect a method of using it. See, Tōkiro wasn't born into the Yuki clan, he just happens to share a distant bloodline with them. Additionally, neither of his parents appear to have the gene necessary for manipulating Hyouton, nor his uncles and aunts. This resulted in Tōkiro having no knowledge of how fundamental ninjutsu, let alone advanced element manipulation, worked. It wasn't until he entered the ninja academy in Konoha that he began to perfect the art. Even then, they only taught him how to manipulate one or two elements. There were no teachers there that could explain how to best utilize his gift. So Tōkiro just did what he knew best, and used his physical strength to stand out.

And to this day, that's his main method of fighting. Using Taijutsu to beat the ever loving crap out of anyone who opposes him. His body was basically built for close range combat. He has a longer reach with both his punches and kicks due to his towering height. The height advantage itself provides a needed benefit in combat, able to give him a more distant view of the battle field and of course, intimidate his opponents when necessary. Even though he uses his fists and feet more than anything else, he has yet to develop or learn any unique or interesting Taijutsu. His close range style consists mostly of him rushing at the enemy and striking, or letting them come to him and then striking. There's no real art or strategic planning involved, just good old fashioned ass-kicking.

Fisticuffs however are not his only method of combat, though they are preferred. Tōkiro figures himself to be a little bit of an expert when it comes to Suiton Ninjutsu. Usually when facing a more formidable opponent, his tactics revolve around using Mid-range Suiton jutsu to keep the opponent at bay while he studies their maneuvers. Non-lethal and usually benign jutsu are used to simply push the enemy away with little effort and to keep a distance. When the enemy closes the distance though, he'll instead focus on keeping them within his range by manipulating Suiton, and even occasionally Fuuton, in an attempt to keep them from fleeing. After all, a fleeing opponent is only more tedious to fight. These restraints are only used when his fists aren't flying or trying to block an oncoming attack, as forming the needed hand seals tends to be difficult with a punch flying at his face. For the most part, his Ninjutsu are used as a supplement for his Taijutsu, only on occasion used offensively, and usually only at the beginning of battle to give his enemy false information about his fighting style.

The story of Tōkiro is neither a short nor simple one. Instead it is filled with many traumas and adventures comparable to that of a novel. But first, let us begin before his conception, long before it in fact.

73 years before the birth of Tōkiro

At approximately five o'clock on September sixteenth, a baby boy by the name of Anzen was born into the famous Yuki clan. He however was not what one would call a "legitimate child". His mother was a direct descendant of the famed Yuki bloodline, and the niece of the clan leader. The father of this child, was the clan leader himself. Their relationship was relatively one-sided, with the clan leader exerting his power to bed with the woman. This incestuous affair eventually lead to the illegitimate child that was Anzen.

Growing up, Anzen was not allowed to know the identity of his father, and his mother was all but banished from the clan itself. Her crime? Conceiving a child without a proper marriage. Yes, even though she was effectively raped, the clan isolated her and her bastard son to a measly peasant's home where the two were forced to live out their lives. As time went on, Anzen eventually learned about his mother's fate, and consequently his father's identity. Anzen even discovered that his blood was as pure as it could be. The Yuki could command ice so fluidly, that the clan leader eventually began to see him as a threat. Several times before the child turned twelve, assassins were hired to attempt to kill the child. Of all three attempts, none of them failed. Unfortunately, on the third attempt, Anzen's Hyouton abilities inadvertently impaled his mother, killing her within minutes.

Years later, the orphan grew up to be young and well respected Jounin in Kirigakure. His prowess with the water and ice element became renowned throughout the land of water, and his father couldn't have been more furious. It was many years before the two would meet once more, and when they did, battle ensued. The two fought valiantly and fiercely, but the clan leader was far more skilled with Hyouton than the young Jounin could hope to be. Anzen knew this though, and taking the man's ego into account, played the man for a fool. When the moment came, Anzen successfully sprung his trap and landed an ice needle straight through the man's throat. For several minutes he coughed up blood and bled out, until finally the young boy had succeeded in killing his own father.

Naturally, the death of a well respected clan leader didn't go too well with both the clan and the Kirigakure council. After spending a week in jail, the Mizukage remembered his past valiant deeds, and decided to release him on full pardon, but under one condition; he must retire his blade and leave Mizu no Kuni forever. And so he did.

Anzen found a quiet and remote town in the middle of mountains of the Snow Country. The village was peculiar to say the least. The townsfolk all appeared larger than any other group of people Anzen had come in contact with in the past. They also had interesting faces and hair, very different from the cultural melting pot that was Kirigakure. On top of these peculiar features were the thick accents present in every single inhabitant of the village. Not a single one knew "English" to be their native tongue.

Naturally, Anzen fit in like a sore thumb. However, the townspeople were very accepting of his presence. Even the elders and chief leaders of the village didn't mind Anzen's presence, and were happy to welcome him to their little haven of good fortune. They taught him about their religion, their customs, and even their alien language. About a year after arriving, Anzen earned the trust of the people and was permitted to build his own house and take his own plot of land. One would assume the other villagers would be furious that a stranger would come in and take their land, but instead they held no hard feelings at all. In fact, they welcomed the new fellow and even threw a small celebration. It was a tradition to celebrate a "child" becoming a "man" in their culture by building his own house.

After settling down for a few years, Anzen eventually married a local. As much as they tried, they were only able to produce a single offspring; one beautiful girl who would later become Tōkiro's grandmother. For the remainder of his life, Anzen adopted the beliefs of the village, and upon his death the very house he slaved to build was burnt to the ground; as per tradition.

The story of that quiet little village in the mountains.

Cherskiy, the town Anzen happened upon, was no ordinary town as one might guess. The people were different, their customs were different, and even their houses looked different. The cultural differences between Anzen's and theirs made the man homesick within days of arrival. Fortunately, he was a reasonable and considerate man. It took a while, but he began to understand their culture, and later their language. Upon learning about their unique culture, Anzen discovered something: These people were not from here.

At least in the geographic sense. Anzen theorized that many centuries in the past, nomads immigrated to what is currently known as the Snow Country, hoping to find a better life from whatever hellhole they came from. Naturally, they spoke a lick of "English", so the many of the intruders were probably disposed off quickly by the aggressive locals, Anzen's ancestors. Evidently a few settlements managed to survive. Those that did ended up isolating themselves in remote pockets of the world. In Cherskiy's case, it was in the mountains of the Snow Country, where no one bothered to look for them. As centuries passed and the nations began to form, a hot debate ensued about what to do with this isolated village.

This is where Anzen's theories meet fact. Not long after the Snow Country had formed, a councilor had the great idea of culturally assimilating the village into the ninja world instead of the alternative: annihilating them through sheer force. Though they looked different from regular folk within, the man believed that through proper education they could assimilate. So for the next couple centuries or so, instructors were sent to the village to teach the locals about the ninja's culture. This began with first establishing communication by teaching every resident "English". Then eventually teaching them about the different customs and traditions Yuki no Kuni had. Unfortunately, teaching a medium sized village full of people required a lot of time and even more money; something the Snow Country didn't have a whole lot of. On top of that, the results of this cultural assimilation were pretty stagnant. Over the course of a few decades, the entire population could speak "English" in a horribly broken accent, but they still didn't accept the new cultures or religions proposed to them. With more stagnant results, the instructors merely became "English" teachers and the Snow Country eventually just forgot about them, as did most of the world.

Tōkiro's story begins about 3 years after the last 'instructor' left Cherskiy.

From rags to famine

On June 5th Aleksandr Tolstikov was born to Ivan and Sofiya Tolstikov. Aleksandr, later known as Tōkiro, was the third son and fifth child to this lovely couple. Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, he would also be their last child. The years surrounding Aleksandr's birth were those of good fortune. For the first three years of Aleksandr's life, the very three years he couldn't remember, were a miracle for his family. The winters were mild and short, and the harvests enormous. They had so much food to eat that they actually had to throw some out. Unfortunately, this trend didn't persist once Aleksandr acquired his memory. In fact, his first memory ever was that of his entire family, eight people in total including grand parents, huddled by a wood stove trying to keep warm. This wasn't necessarily a bad memory, but as his most distant one, it was far crummier than it could have been.

Following this one memory was the rest of that winter. It snowed several times that year, and the snow persisted up until mid-may, when the planting season was ending. This coupled with an early winter meant very little food for the four year old child and his relatives. Being the youngest though, he always got food priority. He had to grow big and strong after all, even if it meant his parents had to eat nothing for a few days. Nonetheless, these winters would eventually become the norm for the remainder of Aleksandr's life.

The next few years of his life were nothing special. He'd frequently mess around with his siblings, toy with the neighbors and have brawls with the bullies. The most prominent memory was June of his seventh year, shortly after Aleksandr turned six. That year he learned two things: his culture was weird, and cake was delicious. His eldest sister, only sixteen at the time and actually fairly "old", was to be wedded to a young man maybe a couple years older than her. The son of their neighbor. Aleksandr would never forget the ceremony and how splendid it was. Flowers, decorations, and cake! Best of all was the cake. Before then Aleksandr had never consumed something so delicious. Apples and peaches were great and all, but cake was a completely different story. It was absolutely heaven. The remainder of that summer was one of Aleksandr's favorites in memory. He met most of his childhood friends, and also many of his most annoying bullies. Fortunately Aleksandr had his eldest brother as protection whenever anyone tried to pick on him, which helped the little boy feel nothing short of invincible.

Though his seventh year had some of his best memories, it also shared his worst. That winter was the worst in recorded history. A huge cold front swept through Cherskiy that year, decimating houses, burying livestock and freezing the ground solid. In the end, close to a quarter of the population died of either starvation or hypothermia. Most families were lucky to lose only a few children or a spouse, while others were completely wiped out. Aleksandr's family was one of the luckier ones. Their house was built of solid stone and had a very steep roof. Though it leaked occasionally, it kept the two or three feet of snow from completely crushing them. Though they survived, they did so very uncomfortably. Food was scarce for one thing, and keeping warm was even harder.

The worst day in Aleksandr's life occurred one day that winter. His eldest brother and role model decided to venture outside the house to feed the livestock and return with some firewood. The boy, only fifteen, climbed through the window and into the five feet of snow. Those twenty minutes of waiting went by like hours. Upon his return, Aleksandr's eldest brother may as well have been a zombie. He returned with a few days worth of logs, shortly before collapsing in bed from exhaustion. He never awoke.

That spring wasn't one for celebration. The family, hell the entire village, was so traumatized that they could only do what they knew best: till soil and farm. With two hands missing in the household, Aleksandr was required for the first time to actually pull his own weight. Summer had soon lost a lot of its fun and flare.

Over the course of the next few years the winters were milder than before, but still nothing to enjoy. When Aleksandr turned nine, his other sister, fourteen at the time, was also arranged to marry a local boy. He was much older than her but at least six or seven years, which in Aleksandr's culture was nothing shy of normal. The ceremony however had lost some of its wonder and amusement now that he had grown up a little more. Cake was still ungodly delicious, but for some reason it just wasn't very "fun". He was still a little traumatized watching his brother, his best friend, get buried.

The next year was nothing special all in all. Rough winter, plentiful harvest... until something peculiar happened.

It's him! He's the snow devil!

The winter four years prior was still on everyone's mind. How could it not be? People lost their children, their neighbors, their parents.. Every winter from then on, the entire community lived in fear that an even bigger storm would come. Just mentioning snow in common conversation could kill the mood of the room in an instant. That said, when Aleksandr ran to his mother screaming "Mom, mom! Look what I can do!", it was almost as if their child was the bearer of a grave omen.

By simply touching a small cup of water, the contents froze over into a solid block of ice. Wetting his hands and shaking them around created a small flurry of snowflakes. The kid could summon up their worst enemy with his bare hands. To everyone, his parents, his siblings, his neighbors, this was worse than being a devil. He was marked as the harbinger of despair and suffering. Their worst nightmares incarnated.

Now it might seem peculiar that he'd be looked at as such a horrible beast, but Aleksandr was the only one in his immediate family--nay, in his entire family, that displayed this peculiar behavior. His grandmother was the only other person in the village who even knew that they carried the blood of the Yuki, and she managed to keep it a secret for as long as she could. Ninjutsu and chakra had no use to common farm folk, and the majority of them completely lacked any skill with chakra control whatsoever. The inhabitants of Cherskiy were so oblivious to the outside world that most of them didn't even know that chakra was.. well, a thing that existed. Therefore, everything Aleksandr managed to do from then on was nothing short of pure magic. And magic meant one thing: devil worship. Or just the devil himself, either worked in their eyes.

His friends were a little understanding of his predicament, but soon they began to succumb to peer pressure, and eventually even they stopped approaching Aleksandr. The black sheep of the family had just become a demon hellspawn sheep sent to bring upon a new ice age. Needless to say, life was very.. un-fun for the next couple years...

Between the ages of ten and twelve, Aleksandr received special and private training from his grandmother. Without her help, the poor boy would have probably ended up causing another blizzard to destroy the town. The training was referred to as an "exorcism", or at least that's what his grandmother and him agreed on. She managed to convince the elders that he was merely possessed with the spirit that caused the great snowstorm a few years prior. Through this "exorcism", his grandmother taught him how to control his temper and repress his powers. After a couple years, everyone bought the story of exorcism, and soon Aleksandr was lead to live a normal life. Unfortunately, Aleksandr had very little time to appreciate his return to society, because that year... The Lightning Nation declared war.

"What the hell is a 'daimyo' anyway?"

Aleksandr was twelve, turning thirteen when news of the war spread. Usually Cherskiy was the last place on Earth to hear about current events, but when diplomats from Yukigakure came running and screaming about a declaration of war, it was hard to ignore it. After all, "war" was a concept Aleksandr was completely unfamiliar with. Before that day, fighting was merely something men did to alleviate stress or have some fun. It was never meant to.. kill... people....

Either way, being a 12 year old almost-teen sparked a very rebellious spirit in Aleksandr. He had strange powers, and he wanted to feel useful. Maybe he could show his fellow villagers that he wasn't really cursed, but rather blessed! That was the idea anyway. As much as he planned and plotted and begged and pleaded... his parents never approved of him going to war. Especially not to fight for a country that they were barely even a part of.

Though they rejected his plea for freedom, he still managed to learn "English" in secret from his grandmother. In fact, the two of them had formed a rather close bond by then. She was more reliable than his actual mother, though Aleksandr was a little blind to the fact that his mother was too busy trying to keep chickens from getting devoured by wolves to pay attention to him in the same way his grandmother did. Needless to say, all of his "English" was learned from his grandmother. Every last bit. Which to be honest, wasn't a lot. He could communicate at a first grade level, and knew enough to make somewhat decent conversation with the various diplomats and soldiers that passed through. He also couldn't do a good job of hiding his putrid accent; then again he wasn't exactly aware that he had one anyway.

The war came and went just as the soldiers did. Evidently the Snow Country won, but Aleksandr was never really informed how they won. Rumors came and went about what caused the war to end, but the most prominent rumor was that "The Hokage killed the Raikage and ended the war." Whether this was the full truth or not, Aleksandr didn't care one bit. His ambitious and rebellious spirit turned speculation into fact, and soon the boy had a dream. To fight and protect the Hokage at all costs. Whatever Konoha did, it must have been for the right reasons. They were the "Good guys" after all, and Kumo were the "bad guys."

By the time he was thirteen, most of Aleksandr's enthusiasm had vanished. Sure he wanted to join the army and fight, but for now, all he could do was plow dirt and plant crops. over the course of the next three years, that's all Aleksandr did... until his grandmother passed away.

"You have ambition.. something these people lack.... Don't live a life of regret.."

Those were the last words of his grandmother, and they resonated within him like a perfect melody. He remembered the stories of his great, great, grandfather as told by his grandmother. How he was abandoned at birth and eventually, through sheer talent and hard work, accomplished his dream of getting back at the man who abandoned him. If he could do that in only ten years, then surely Alekasndr, the distant relative of this great man could do the same? And so, on his sixteenth birthday, instead of finding a wife, he left his parent's house and headed off to Konoha.

They weren't too pleased about his decision, and they even got into a heated argument. His father came close to disowning him, but Aleksandr could hardly care. He was stubborn, full of pride, and ready to take on the world. The words of a single man weren't going to hold him back.

The land of opportunity.... Konohagakure.

Upon arriving, Aleksandr was overwhelmed. He had never seen a civilization so large and prosperous. There weren't even wheat fields or potato farms anywhere in sight. To say he was 'astonished' would be a grave understatement. He was completely enthralled by Konoha. He spent an entire week just sight seeing and sleeping on park benches before even looking for an apartment.

Once he did get situated, he immediately enlisted in the army. Everyone tried to tell him it was hopeless. Training for such a thing usually began when one was only ten years old. He was six years too late they said, but Aleksandr, or rather, Tōkiro as he had now changed his name to, didn't care what others thought. His persistence landed him in a beginner's course. Hoping to become a ninja as soon as possible, he spent the entirety of his military paycheck on books to study with. For almost a year he ate cup noodles exclusively, and frequently had to change apartments after being kicked out due to lack of rent. But this strong ambition eventually lead him to pass his first official exam, and every single exam after it. Before long, he was already on his final course.

He didn't make many friends in school. After all he was a strange foreigner who was six years too old to be taking a ninja training course. The younger ones tried to pick on him, but the humble teen's lack of reaction to their taunts eventually bored them and the hoodlums moved on. Most of his time for the next 14 months was spent reading. He spent entire days in libraries, and borrowed books until the librarians grew sick of seeing him, and then continued to borrow them after that.

Needless to say, he eventually passed his Genin exam and was officially recognized as a full fledged ninja... at the age of seventeen. He still has a long road ahead of him before he can even think of being the right hand man of the Hokage, but the boy shows no signs of slowing down. His persistence and ambition are still present even today, as he frequently takes more and more difficult missions, hoping to become as strong as he can.

Hibari Kyoya

Katekyō Hitman Reborn