The closest translation of the name Fuku means 'Freedom' and in a sarcastic twist of fate- Fuku's birth was almost the complete opposite. Fuku was birthed with snide political intentions- a life that had already been somewhat dictated. It was already decided that Fuku would become a shinobi, and it had already been decided that he would have an arranged marriage to the daughter of a wealthy family that owned a range of businesses that worked in exporting goods. Fuku's mother and father while not nobles, they were originally working class citizens that had struck it golden with some business partners and elevated their status to upper middle class citizens.
Fuku's childhood was that of an esteemed one for most. It was what you would see in regular society- Fuku was the child while not extremely rich had the posh clothing, tucked in shirts and cardigans. This kind of treatment actually hindered some of his earliest memories with other children as it just seemed that nobody was good enough to have 'playtime' with Fuku. Instead, it had been decided that he would learn how the ninja arts. It was very quickly found that although from the young ripe age of three when Fuku's chakra coils could be properly looked at- that he had an incredibly intense potential for a large chakra basin. The basin was there, but with no chakra to fill it. That was something that Fuku's parents would definitely be looking into. As a child you could say he reached his milestones at each particular age and was able to read, write and speak quite fluently.
They found, however that Fuku was incapable of being able to properly mould chakra. At last, something that he could be picked out on. While Fuku wasn't exactly bullied, he wasn't the most popular either. Fuku found himself that innately, he would never be able to have any kind of fine chakra control. He could muster up larger quantities of chakra and move it around as a glob- but that was about it. So for about a year, there was zero progress into Fuku's early shinobi career and truthfully... there was nothing Fuku's parents could do about it. They were truly stuck, but one thing did appeal to them. It was an alternative and that was it- swords. So that was it- Fuku took up something entirely different.
At the ripe age of five they had Fuku gone from their own household to live in a monastery to 'develop' his mind. Each day he would wake early, wear a hakama and shave his own head- raking stone gardens. But that- Fuku loved. He loved the patterns it made and each day when he spent it in the Dojo and he could see out into the garden- he felt at bliss. But was even the point of joining a monastery? Fuku questioned this and until the age of six, he was confused. When Fuku became six years of age... it had begun the time for training and this was something that Fuku never forgot- on the eve of his sixth birthday even though so long ago he woke up at an early time; this he could deal with. But no more than an hour later he was marking the dojo with his blood.
For one solid year, it was eighteen hours of ridiculing work, seven days a week that would be spent studying, doing chores or in the dojo. The first part of the year Fuku was being covered in bruises from head to toe- but then he began to toughen and whenever he could face more pain- he was given even more and had to readjust. It was a process of refinement and in a way, Fuku hated that. Half way through the year he received one day off, and what was it spent done? Training in the dojo- Fuku had become so switched on to this lifestyle and become so used to it, it was an innate style off the back of his hand. He hadn't seen his parents in a year and a half... so later on in that day they came to visit and if anything Fuku just seemed... disinterested. Happy, yet couldn't really care for them being there. Just as a child would love their mother and father- Fuku seemed to just... get on with it.
They told him stories for the next couple of hours whilst he rested on his mother's lap, but they also let him in on news of his life- what they had in
store for him and how in another six months he would be leaving. And all in all- Fuku was fine with that. Another six months went on by without a hitch and it brought Fuku to leaving said monastery and joining back up with Kirigakure no Sato to enter as an Academy student. Fuku was the unknown person- long forgotten by the memories of children turning into men. The other people were somewhat apprehensive about how Fuku reacted, and how he always seemed to be in mostly formal wear.
Climbing through the academy and years passed- there wasn't very much to tell other than Fuku turned up, learned, went home and learned a little more- rinse and repeat. Of course there were some nice times, happy moments, sad and just outright dull moments. The children in his class quickly learned about his inability to control his own chakra and while didn't directly laugh at him- they did seem to have smirks or grins on their faces. When however, told the size of his basin at the young age of 10- that he had the chakra basin of a seasoned Chūnin... now that was something.
Fuku passed out of the academy with little to no knowledge of ninjutsu or genjutsu. Instead, he had mainly passed due to political reasons- people being bribed, documents being forged and all that jazz that Fuku was unaware of. Fuku was overjoyed that he had passed the academy from just having Taijutsu. And at the ripe age of twelve is when entered into his life was the way of the sword. Kenjutsu. He could remember the day when a Katana was put in front of him. Like previously mentioned his parents had already set out this way for him... only he hadn't realized that for a long time. Only at his age, his parents felt it was still a little dangerous. So he was tasked with a bokken and nothing else until proven otherwise.
Fuku could remember the countless hours spent practising with the Bokken. The motto? It was an extension of his own arm- whenever he used it and had to go through boring katas, the sword could never touch the floor despite some of the swings having the tip mere millimetres from it. It was punishment, otherwise- something Fuku had wholeheartedly known about already. And then after that it was the refinement- polishing the fine wood, performing dojo etiquette and just all around refinement. His teachers were varied- from far and few. Many proclaimed to be good- well. This was Kirigakure no Sato of course, home to the Seven Shinobi Swordsman.
Finally, as a Genin allotted to his team- with his trusty Bokken by his side and taijutsu skills at hand he was placed into a nice evened team. A quiet boy and a tomboyish girl- everything seemed a little backward. That, combined with a wholly energetic teacher made them an incredibly fit rag-tag team. Some of Fuku's first missions were what he would expect- babysitting, gardening, transporting of goods (like a paper-round, essentially) and even more exotic things like fishing, zookeeping and some other opportunities that passed Fuku. One of the weirder things though is that in a way, Fuku wanted to be a civilian for the sheer diversity that they had- how they could be.. but either way, they lived under a small amount of tyranny. It was a Shinobi village and they were protected by Shinobi. This was their price to pay.
All the while Fuku grew a little more frustrated by the use of his wooden bokken- he couldn't exactly damage anybody with it. He hadn't been given the chance and believed well, it was made of wood- how could it be dangerous? On being given a C-rank mission for the first time inside Kirigakure no Sato, it was to find and apprehend a thief. Notably a civilian- after about a week of investigation and finding the route this Thief took, it turned out little Thief had a knife... and thus Fuku's first training began, lashing out his bokken and performing one of the first Kata's he had learned- and had done a little more damage to him than he had first thought. Breaking his forearm, hadn't been on Fuku's list of a C-rank mission. He soon learned there was the price to pay for performing crimes. This is where Fuku began developing that mission characteristics- allowing himself to begin doing what needed to be done.
Finally, one particular moment in Fuku's Genin life that he felt proud of was the bond with his team mates. They were sitting outside on a training field- their Jonin Sensei long gone and they just laid there and spoke to one another. They began revealing problems, secrets and frustrations to Fuku and he did the same. He spoke of his frustrations of having a Bokken, living under the pressure of his parents, the life that had been put out for him. Whiich reminded him- that he was due to meet his bride.
Meeting this older girl was unusual- Fuku being thirteen and the girl fifteen. She was far more mature than Fuku but simply seemed pretty absent in her feelings. Fuku thought her beautiful but any kind of emotion between the two of them was just... stale. Completely forced. But this kind of drew the two of them together. Forced from familiar situations and family backgrounds this girl who later became known as Kyoko-chan. Kyoko was a nice girl, but under horrible stress both as a Kunoichi and a girl. This was Fuku's stand against his parents, he outright denied them the right to marry him off to Kyoko. Although he was fond of her- it wasn't what she wanted and Fuku respected that. To his surprise, his parents seemed to agree with him- and instead of bringing relief, this brought about suspicion to Fuku as his parents had never exactly been the most compliant of people. Indeed, they would try again.
Around the eve of the Chūnin exams, Fuku's team were entered and to put short- they passed, barely. The three exams had definitely tested their wit, characters and the strength of their teamwork. Fuku still only had a bokken and despite the training- and growing chakra basin... Fuku needed a helping hand. He was frustrated that he couldn't manipulate his chakra- and could not perform ninjutsu to the standards that others could- if anything it was dissapointing that he could not be an 'all rounder' but alas, he was able to wear the Chūnin flak jacket with pride at the young age of fourteen. He was gifted with a Katana.
His life as a Chūnin was incredibly different- it seemed like while there was less to do it was so much harder work. He was capable of being an academy teacher now which all in all was the weirdest of them all. For a brief moment, he thought about it but decided against it. What good was an a Academy Teacher who couldn't perform Ninjutsu or Genjutsu? Fuku was severely held back because of this. He had to rely on other people to break him out of Genjutsu, and for others to use Ninjutsu. But his Taijutsu excelled because of that- his Jonin instructor while not his teacher was still helping him develop his own skills, he still met up with his ex-teammates just to get on with them and also developed his own skill with swords. Not just Katana's any more but using a variety of swords- like broadswords which was unbelievably harder than the normal, because of their weight that he had to get used to swinging them around. It was like learning all over again, but it was an art he wanted to pursue.
Some of the missions he began to take as a group were a lot harder. They involved death most of the time and unfortunately, while it hurt every time Fuku killed, he was sort of numbing himself to the pain. Fuku felt no pride or joy in doing it, but it had to be done. That, and Fuku began to collect trophies of his enemies. Swords, mainly. One notable B-rank mission left Fuku unable to take back many trophies so it was a case of blowing it up. This particular mission Fuku used nothing but a sword. At fifteen and a half years of age- his swordsmanship was beginning to be took notice of from around Kirigakure no Sato. Sure- he was no hotshot but he could still do some damage.
Kubikiribōchō was the name of the sword his blade next came against. This was a sword that belonged to none other than a Kirigakure shinobi. Fuku had been approached by the user and offered out a friendly challenge. Wholeheartedly- Fuku agreed. To put it bluntly, Fuku
lost. with one swipe, his Katana had broke in two and the sword was at his throat- Fuku was amazed by the strength and sheer speed of the user despite being such a large sword and an average looking build. This was when Fuku began to take notice of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū. Finally- he had something to work towards.
Fuku began to research them and who other to go to than the user of the Kubikiribōchō- who happily gave him information as if asking for a pamphlet. He was happy that Fuku was thinking about aiming for the top and let him know of some vital information, tips. Fuku later became his friend. He began to learn about the various swords in the group and who wielded them. It seemed that if you could defeat their user in combat- you were rightfully able to claim the position and their sword as the reward. One of the first people that Fuku went to was to the wielder of the leader of this group- the wielder of Samehada. The wielder was a woman, a woman with monstrous chakra amounts that even for Fuku, was still quite dwarfed.
Fuku wanted to become one of them, and she obliged. Fuku could remember her saying.
"Last fifteen seconds with me, Fuku-san, and I will show you how to beat one of us."
and last fifteen seconds Fuku did. Two seconds in, his Katana had been broken already, four seconds in, there was a jarring gash cutting across Fuku's arm- as if shaven, eight seconds in- Fuku went flying head-first into a wall, ten seconds in, he avoided a strike that would've concaved his head into a mush- eleven seconds, yet another dodge. Thirteen seconds, Fuku had managed to cut through some of her clothing by throwing the rest of his Katana, still in his hand. two seconds and Samehada rested about a meter above his head.
This
woman smiled at Fuku and placed the sword onto her back and as if nonchalantly offered her hand to Fuku. In short- Fuku was absolutely amazed. It made him feel... weak and insignificant compared to some of the people in Kirigakure no sato and even then, some of the people that were out there in the Elemental nations. It scared Fuku. But alas, he was going to train harder. The woman never directly trained Fuku. She only gave tips and things to do.
"Only you will find your style. A true swordsman will find their own style, and that is what makes someone great."
Skipping forward a few years when he hit eighteen years of age, over these past couple of years the intensity of pressure from his parents forced him to become ostracised from his own family. While he would be left alone, he would never be truly at one with his own. They had been too pushy for far too long. Fuku's swordsmanship had exceeded and gone through the roof and it was at this age that Fuku took ownership of Nuibari. This was the sword that fit his style for the moment, and it was an incredibly easy battle. Why? Because Fuku had honed himself- he had nothing to bring to the table in Ninjutsu or Genjutsu to he had no reason to devote himself to it- forcing himself to become stronger, faster and just all around the physical peak of the human body.
Being the user of Nuibari, Fuku began to attract attention from other shinobi nations- people seemed to fight only for the sword, or because of his renown as a swordsman. But there was something that he wanted. It was Samehada- he felt drawn to it- and the rest of them knew it. It seemed through of Fuku's young age, he was still an incredibly strong swordsman. Fuku was promoted to Jōnin rank. He may had not possessed Ninjutsu or genjutsu but he was still a force to be reckoned with. On many occasions even Genjutsu users sought out Fuku- although they were unaware of his inability of Genjutsu, it was hard for Fuku to get out of it- long story short, it required his intelligence to be on par and perception to see through it with a little pinch of common sense.
As a Jōnin he didn't take on a Genin team. He didn't feel exactly qualified- since even those Jōnin who weren't all that had their basic Shinobi skills. It was something that Fuku simply didn't have. So he did what he did best. Fighting and killing- unfortunately, that was true. By now, Fuku was numb to killing and it was as easy as flicking a switch and by no means was it something he took pride in, but it was a part of the job and being a Shinobi. But this was the time over the next couple of years Fuku took to build his reknown hailing from Kirigakure no Sato.
Kyoko-chan came back into his life. While Fuku was twenty two- she was twenty-four. Only she was a lot more... womanly. More aptly described as a beautiful entity- Fuku began dating the girl on his own terms and Kyoko-chan's suffix became a different kind of -Chan. Fuku became engaged to her even though due to their lifestyle. After all, it wasn't like a) she was ugly or b) Fuku could chose from many women. There wasn't much else to it, as Shinobi were also known for dying young. It was unfortunate, but Kyoko-chan was now apart of his life in a different way. He had his own place with her and for once...
Fuku was happy. He could be himself around her, and emotional which was never really capable of happening. But that time had long passed- Fuku had something to strive for. Bringing himself back to the battlefield, with his fiancé in mind, he took on this woman.
"Back where we started, Fuku-san, except you stand before me now a man. Unfortunately, this time, I will cut you down. My name, Fuku-san is Iku Hinata."
Rumours say, that the battle lasted for three days and three nights. That, was far from the truth. In truth, the battle lasted no more than three minutes. But the devastation during that time had desolated their battlefield. They had been deprived of their weapons, and resorted to pure Taijutsu- before Fuku managed to reach Samehada and strike Hinata down with her own sword.
His sword.
Samehada accepted Fuku as the new wielder- but not immediately. After striking Hinata down, spikes protruded into Fuku's hand and for a brief moment, seemed to pulsate. Fuku couldn't let go, not without tearing off his dominant hand- and that would be the end of his career as a swordsman- he had too much pride to use his left hand for sword arts. But the spikes went back into place, and after a few extra minutes- Samehada calmed. Samehada had accepted Fuku as it's owner.
Fuku very quickly found that the blade was sentient- a secret kept by many and that it drained his chakra as sustenance. The bond between Samehada and Fuku was so incredibly strong even for their short time together- but only past a year, his skill with Samehada was becoming stronger than that of Hinata's. He was capable of reading the sword like a brother, fuse with it like a Fuuinjutsu and so many more things. With each day even, their bond grows stronger.
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