Rōarku Puredetā | The Apex Predator

A man of very few words, Rōarku rarely speaks unless to give an unwavering confirmation of his own personal beliefs. Simple hand gestures and nods are usually what other's will get, but from time to time or if pressed for time he will grab the closest medium and applicable surface and spell things out for the people he communicates with. His IQ test scores have proven time after time his increased intelligence, some going as for as to say that within his young age his analytical & thinking skills are on par with that of the Kage of his village, but not being the show-off type he shows he has displayed the love for any type of competition and such usually initiates it among his comrades

As a means of channeling his unforeseen and bottled up anger, Rōarku uses the concept of the Thrill of the Hunt. To him this simply means advancing himself to the fullest potential, taking any route necessary to achieve these goals. Dead weight such as comrades and even siblings are simply interchangeable parts to him so that he can get the most well working machine, himself, to where it needs to be.

Until his dying breath Rōarku will refuse to completely lose. Even if beaten bloodied or battered he will do everything in his power within the limits of not cheating to stop himself from losing, or at least to go out with a bang. Due to abilities granted to him losing has became somewhat of a rarity to him, thus when an actual loss is taken or the failure to complete an assignment occurs a heavy emotional and physical toll is weighed on him. Typically, despite being under the age, this involves the upright position of a bottle to his lips, the numbing affects of alcohol help to ease the pain until he can fall asleep wherever his body will allow him to and start a new the next day.

Due in part to the many hours spent reading from cover to cover every book in his local library in addition to his natural abilities which help to improve his analytical skills, Rōarku's brain capacity is vast. Not too much of a lot of information is not known to him, but because of his silent persona he rarely expresses things to outsiders or even his comrades unless to advance them forward as whole. Otherwise, he'll take it upon himself to analyze the situation then adequately assess as needed.

Over the course of the eleven years that he has walked this earth everything that he has experienced has shaped him into what people see of him now. Some say that his silent days are nothing more than a phase, but to him he feels that enough speaking on his part has been done for a life time, thus words or even sound rarely escape  Rōarku.

Rōarku's story begins like most others, a Spring child born on the last day of April to a fairly new couple. His mother, a beautiful young kunoichi, his father much the same as his mother but with the substitution of the word handsome. Their identities along with any information about their country of origin had been lost in the wake of the most recent attack on Kumogakure no Sato occurring along the border of the Lightning Country, but the legacy, or should one say legacies, that the young parent's left behind would prove to fill any parent's heart. From the moment that Rōarku had taken his very first breath he was never alone, born as part of a set of twins, throughout every step of the way of his adolescent years was his younger brother by a mere three seconds, Rōtetsu.

Interlocking hands after birth during the incubation process showed just how deep the emotional connective ties that the boy's held for one another ran, as a result of this the concept of "I'm my brother's keeper" became the oldest lesson that their parent's instilled in them. Thus, the first three year's of their lives was spent as the dynamically destructive duo, with the addition of the parental units their family functioned more or less like a well balanced squad, everyone piggybacking off of the strength of another and covering up as much of any weakness possible. To the boy's, this marked the happiest year's of their lives,  there was no greater feeling than the love that they experienced from their family.

Unfortunately, like anything just too good to be true, the child's family's luck had seemingly begun to run out. Prior to the start of the invasion that had taken their parent's, the adult's had been assigned to the patrolling Sensory Unit meaning it was based upon the information that they gathered and transmitted back to their headquarters which would determine the course of the invasion. Arrangements had been made to house their kids with a neighboring couple while they partook in the invasion, broken promises mixed with false smiles were the last thing given to the boys' by their parents.

Weeks were spent staring out of the dusty window of a home that they couldn't even call their own just to get a glimpse of their mother and father walking hand in hand to come get them, but this false reality never came true. With the ever increasing days more and more of each boy's true identity stepped into light above the façade that was that of the twin persona that they shared, Rōarku's patterns of speech diminishing over the course of the next four years while Rōtetsu grew rebellious and stubborn. The mix of the two within a foreign household did not sit well with the owners, thus after year of harboring the children they had been placed into a foster home.  

To most children a foster home is something akin to a personal hell when they achieve ages above that of a toddler, the absence of that special kind of love given from a parent or parental figure typically playing a toll on the immature and developing psyche, but in the case of Rōarku and Rōtetsu each other's love & protection for the other was all that was needed and the foster home simply became a place of shelter and food. Any thought of being adopted had been lost by the boys, thus a plan to allow them to help themselves reach newly developing goals was put into affect. Their goal, to follow in the steps of their parents and become enlisted in any village's military force that were willing to take the boy's in.

A series of answers to key questions, such as "Why would a village take in one child with unknown origins, let alone two? What significance would they have to the village? Why would a village spend money to fund these children to live within its confines?", became focal points to these goals. Any and all recreational time turned into calisthenics and sparring sessions to build up their bodies to better suit that of one of a shinobi. It was in these moments of training did they discover the extent of the blood coursing through their veins, it's genetic contents allowing for the last gift ever to be passed from their parents on to them. Every hope and dream resided on the use of this gift, they were willing to bet it all on this ace in the hole, thus they honed their skills. The unique of what they were blessed with opened up to them an entirely new side of the world gained through a simple genetic fault, their Synesthesia.

By the time of their discovery of a kekkei genkai the two had already begun assessing each other's intellect with games like Shō and Chess to stimulate a war based mind set, through research and off time spent in their local library they were able freely expand on their knowledge. The invasion that had left the boys hung out to dry had turned into a full course war and with it came casualties, thus the orphanage's population had increased considerably. So much so that Rōarku and Rōtetsu felt it was time to fully pursue their goals, thus in the dead of night they broke free from the constraints of their foster home. With each other going to any length to protect his brother the two ventured into the open world, their first stop being the closest village, Kumogakure no Sato.

Traveling by night and day across barren war-torn lands with only each other for company and a pair of matching black traveling coats for concealment became routine for the boy's, they had no time to think about the negative side to their conditions, only their goal mattered. Their journey lead them across the path of their old home and even the psuedo-home that they were forced to live at with their so-called "neighbors" that their parents had entrusted them with. Fitting the attitude that had developed over the course of years Rōtetsu began an assault on the place the very moment a light flickered on within the home, if not for the intervention made by Rōarku those inhabiting the place would have met an untimely death and also branding the two as criminals. With this pointed out he included how this would negatively affect the goals which they pursued, thus with a better understanding of his options at hand Rōtetsu and Rōarku trekked on to the village.

As if no brake was able to be caught, the boys found themselves stopped at the entrance to the village, lack of proper identification and a mix of Rōtetsu's attitude landed them right where they wanted to be which was in the Raikage's office, but only for the wrong reasons. The topic at hand being the first degree burns one of the guards received, rather than risking his brother's temper flaring up again Rōarku took the lead in discussing with the leader of Kumogakure no Sato. His apologies on their behalf was in abundance no doubt, but when it came time to answer their plea of residence in the village they were shot down. Reason being that the Raikage did not wish for such a vindictive destructive person such as Rōtetsu to be a member of his village, but an open hand was offered toward Rōarku for his leadership and level-headedness. This of course was a trap at splitting the two up which was seen through all to well, thus a simple leaving from the village and even the land of Lightning indicated his answers. On many of nights this decision has kept Rōarku up a full days span, but the thought of the earliest teachings taught by their parents' assured him of an answer.

On a particular day traveling through the Land of Water the two boy's encountered certain scents that they knew to be that of a rotting body off in the distance, their curiosity led them to investigate, what they found becoming a changing point in both of their lives. Unbeknownst to them, their actions were being watched in full, the culprit's identity hidden in a nest of a certain clan's signature breed of insect. Laying on his back was a man covered from head to toe in blood whether his or another's could not be determined at the moment, along his bare chest were several long strikes presumably by a bladed weapon of some sort. The subject was very much still alive which became the most important fact to the boy's, it being so great that they did not offer any help out of fear of getting caught in the midst of things.

As they tried continuing back on their journey to the land's village they were stopped by a group of masked individuals, amongst the group was the person tailing them and even the very man that they had just chosen to neglect. Outnumbered, the boy's bound at the hands and were taken deeper into the Land of Water, a secret meeting place became their destination and the apparent leader of the group being the target. All but a single question was issued from the man shrouded in mystery upon the boy's being released from their restraints, "Show me what you can do?". Due to the lack of information being given and the secrecy behind the whole scene, the boy's were led to believe that the man in front of them was the Homage and had just issued the magic words that they had spent the last three words hoping for from some noble leader, thus they put on a display of their talents and even of their Kekkei Genkai, something to which the man seemed highly pleased with. An offer of residence and citizenship was offered to both of the boy's in exchange for loyalty to their village and the leader before them, upon accepting the offer a new chapter to the boy's life was about to unfold.

Unknowingly, the two war refugees had willingly accepted an invitation into a secret section of Kirigakure, established during the early stages of the village, the organization known as Ghost or The Foundation has taken a different approach to the way they do things in the name of Kirigakure no Sato. From the upbringing of their military forces to the more raunchy missions not assigned by the village's actual leader, the abilities blessed to Rōarku and Rōtetsu seemingly fit within the various ways and means that the organization operated under.

Seventeen hours a day were spent training each day under a plethora of conditions. Endurance trainings started the morning which was followed by shurikenjutsu practice after the sun had risen, special ability & kekkei genkai trainings went well past noon, then personal practice was set until dusk when the last part of their training was initiated, Duo Duels. Admittedly both boy's favorite part, this trainings design was similar to the Forest of Death stage of the Chūnin Exams, but rather than collecting scrolls the Duo's had to race to a pre-designated location, any detection of a duo by another resulted in a spar for rights to continue onward. The first duo to arrive at the spot then was allowed to go out and defeat the other Duo's, the prevention of other's resulted in extra earnings depending on the amount of present company. The bond that Rōarku and Rōtetsu shared mixed with their prior trains and their kekkei genkai allowed for them to excel at this part of the training, their reputation increasing with the passing day for they were simply best suited for Tracking.

After so much time had past many of the other children began to question out of jealousy and overall losing day after day to newcomers why the brother's weren't subjected to kill off the other like all of them had done, but the organization's leader simply dismissed the subject with the explanation that they were single-handedly chosen. Sympathizing with much of the other's in not partaking in the rituals of the organization, yet either brother could not fathom killing the last remaining family member that they had, thus they kept to themselves. Trainings and assigned missions were ran through with a full head of steam from then on, accepting as many as they could fit into a full days tome, no remorse for their comrades or subjects was given anymore because despite all they had they truly only had each other.

After attaining a "rank" equivalent to Kiri's Genin Rōarku and Rōtetsu were assigned to more dangerous missions, assassinating heads of low-level criminal organizations were particularly their favorite, but regardless of it's type it was accepted without question. That is until they were assigned to demolish the house of their previous neighbors and kill them and only them, the reasoning behind it was to kill off the emotions that they had without forcing them upon each other, something of a compromise. Rōtetsu, even more eager than he was as a child, accepted the mission without a second thought. As for Roark, he had grown past what had happened to them as a child, although he had forgiven them he refused to let the memories fade and what their decisions had led them to. Alas, Rōarku agreed and no sooner were they gone to prep for their mission.

Two weeks time was the projected time period for a stealth & assassination based mission as such, but due to the abilities granted to the twins they were able to reach their destination in six days allotting for the mission to occur on the seventh and they would seemingly follow their trail back allowing them to return within ten days. That was the set up of things, but upon returning into the familiar country that was their previous home Rōarku began to feel a mass of butterflies fluttering in his stomach of the likes he had never experienced. Through the use of his abilities, Rōtetsu could even tell by the subtle shakes that his brother's body gave off, questioning his brother if he had the right mindset for the mission only received a lie, but it was one well enough to get the bloodthirsty Rōtetsu from his back.

In the dead of night they executed their strike, their previous home they entered with ease. Things fell together simply to well in the Rōarku's mind, them things didn't smell right. Literally, the smells given off from the other room didn't match what he used to experience, but before he could alert his brother blood spilled across the room. Things were too late at this point, after examining the bodies the boys found that these were not their intended targets and acting out of fear rushed back to their home. Disappointment overcame their leader, but not for the reason that they expected, he explained that the organization had assassinated the couple they once knew shortly after the twins admittance, the couple that was killed were simply residence of that country.

The boy's had failed their assignment and had killed foreign shinobi in their own land, repayment was to be made, thus their leader asked that they meet him in their usual training spot at dawn. Not knowing what to make of things the boy's did as told and reported in, after meeting with their leader they were notified that from that moment forward they were no longer squad mates, each was given the new assignment of eliminating the other in order to stay within the organization's ranks.

Rōtetsu was outraged and complained that he wouldn't take the life of his brother, their leader simply stood their idle for what seemed like hours in the span of a couple of seconds before explaining that the victor new were to meet him, then with a swish of his cloak they were left alone. Rōarku had not looked up from the floor from the very moment they were disbanded from one another, for the finer points in his life his brother had set him back and at this very moment he had the chance to excel beyond the dead weight that he faced. The only thing holding him back was the very love that he had for his brother, everything that they had experienced together it was just the two of them. He knew his decision, he couldn't or more so wouldn't kill his brother, before he was able to usher out a word he found himself dodging a strike from his very flesh and blood, Rōtetsu.

The lack of support and silence ushered after he had spoken seemingly assured Rōtetsu of what he perceived to be his brother's response, thus with tears streaming from his eyes   Rōtetsu attacked Rōarku bent on killing him in what appeared to be a possessed state, words had long become absent and their assignment was taken in all its seriousness. For hours their battle went on, their skills simply to close in nature that when the final blow was dealt it was because of recklessness and the power of the mind prevailed. Standing over his brother with his arm plunged into the left lung of his brother, Rōarku spoke his last words to his brother that what he did was out of love and in the name of the mission

Not long after taking the life of his brother, Rōarku retreated to the location of the winning duo in times of their training and as expected their leader was their waiting. Though to his surprise, in the arms of the winning boy was his brother. A simple smile was given before taking both boys into his embrace, the goal of eliminating their emotions was a success. With being the victor Rōarku had become a full fledged member of the organization known as Ghost, three months break was given as time for remorse before he was given his newest assignment.

Kirigakure's military forces would be infiltrated, he would be going under the guise of himself only operating as a Genin on a squad..