Kaneko Yanagi

Age: 25

Birthday: Oct 21

Rank outside ANBU: Jounin

Affiliated with which ANBU branch: Intel field ops

Registration Number: 09667

Physical Appearance

Height:5'11

Weight: 175 lbs

Blood Type: AB negative

Hair: Light, almost honey-colored and quite sunstreaked, it's short, though the front tends to fall in his face. It tickles the edge of his collar in back, and it's a bit wavy.

Eyes: Brown, with lighter tan bits if you look closely.

Skin: Clear and pale, he sunburns easily.

Facial Features: Large brown eyes, straight, slightly broad nose, narrow jaw. One of his front teeth is chipped. He's just short of handsome, with a very angular face and high cheekbones, and can either play up his looks and be rakishly attractive, or play them down and be nondescript.

Other Physical Traits: He's long and slim, with graceful hands and long fingers. He keeps his nails trimmed. He's built like a swimmer, not as broad as many Hunters, but more muscular than any civilian. Get him into civvies and he could pass for a normally well-built man -- as opposed to an over-built ninja.

Handedness: Right

Voice: A light tenor, very friendly.

Identifying Marks: He has the usual assortment of scars, but nothing disfiguring or too terribly obvious. He does NOT have the ANBU tattoo on his shoulder. Since he went directly into undercover work, they figure it's unnecessarily risky to have it there. Instead, like all Intel field operatives, he has a tattoo of a lit match on the inside of their upper arm -- easy enough to hide for formal engagements, odd enough not to be replicated, but still there to remind Konoha's agents of where they belong, and identify them, if need be, in the field.

Usual Clothing: Very casual, often khakis and short-sleeved button down shirts. Unless he's heading out to play music, and then it's torn jeans and anything from mesh to Hawaiian shirts, depending on his mood. He has an ANBU uniform and jounin blues, and neither are worn very often. The quartermaster loves him.

ANBU Mask: Monkey, though it hasn't seen the light of day in a while.

Living Situation: ANBU HQ 314 (the long skinny one) when he's in town, unless he's detoxing after a particularly rough mission, in which case he stays with his dad.

Ninja Skills

Fighting Style: Because his best defense is his cover, he generally uses civilian fighting methods -- he can knife fight, cheat, brawl, and anything else you might find a civilian doing. Only he can do it better. In a true ninja fight, he uses a mix of mostly taijutsu and ninjutsu, but his fighting patterns tend to be oddly eclectic.

Preferred Weapons: Anything he can find on hand. He much prefers NOT to fight with ninja weapons, which could trace back to a ninja. And therefore him. He doesn't carry any ninja weapons while undercover, but has learned that a smashed guitar neck creates a handy spikey-ended club.

Special Jutsu: He's working on a remove-your-clothes jutsu, or maybe an invisible-clothes jutsu, but so far neither have panned out. As for the rest--well, he really doesn't see the point of creating new jutsu when there are so many to choose from already. It seems like an awful lot of effort to go to.

Service Record:

Genin 10

Chuunin 13

Jounin 16

ANBU: 19

Yanagi joined the war at 11, first lugging messages, then doing more and more advanced missions, eventually gathering intel. He gained a strong service record running high stakes missions, proving his ability to act independently, and was promoted to jounin at 16. At 18 he joined in with the normal Intel corps, and started officially training. He showed himself to be exceptional and was recruited into ANBU the next year.

Personality

General Personality Traits: Yanagi would be horrified to learn that he reads like a 'how-to' for his type of intellectual genius. He has little awe for authority figures, doesn't care if people approve of him -- he's usually smarter than they are, anyway -- gets bored easily, is highly independent, entertains himself in any way necessary, and doesn't try unless first challenged.


From an outsider's perspective he appears more like a beach bum or maybe a stoner than a high-ranking ninja. He comes across as pretty easy going, thanks to his general ennui, and he tends to hold his own counsel even when he doesn't like people, so most people think he likes everyone just fine. He's a terrible flirt. Total slut, actually. Gender doesn't matter! He spent a night with this drag queen once...


Yanagi would much rather make love, not war, can be a bit of a tease, and has a relaxed, wry sort of humor. He's really good at strategy, and will maneuver people into doing exactly as he pleases with little to no remorse -- especially if he thinks he's smarter than they are, or if he doesn't particularly care for them.


He's not really a team player. He's not good as a leader because he'd rather his team figure it out for themselves, and he doesn't like abstract rules, because things are fluid while orders are not. While he can lead a team, he'd rather not do it -- especially since in a high stake situation, he gets annoyed by people who can't keep up intellectually.


Sitting and philosophizing isn't his cup of tea; he'd rather spend that time flirting or playing. Both are things he considers easier. He'd really rather not think about great moral dilemmas or, actually, morality at all. His father once asked him if he didn't find it at odds to like people and yet kill them for money. In very typical style, he pretended to give it a moment's thought and said, eloquently, no. He loves his father dearly, but feels no need to answer to the man.


He's very good at forging quick allegiances with people, which is rather necessary in his line of work. He's quite self assured, highly independent; both of which are important when you're on your own. He's mentally stable--about as stable as you can get, which is why they send him off to be other people. Anyone less stable would fracture. Even Yanagi has problems.

Quirks: He tends to avoid confrontation, figuring everything will work itself out, and he's determinedly a slacker. It's almost a point of pride to him that people don't know how he can be so relaxed about things and yet have gotten as far as he has. He also writes terrible haiku--something one of his "uncles" got him into--and makes up rhymes and ditties absently.

Sexual Orientation: He's an equal opportunity slut!

Gifts/Talents: Aside from the aforementioned intelligence, Yanagi is a musical savant. He can create songs on the fly, or remember a song after hearing it once. It's not something he generally uses except in missions: he's able to remember details by incorporating them into songs, and has an almost perfect memory--when he's focusing or pairing what he needs to remember with music. As well, because lyrics are poetry put to music, his ability to create poetry is strengthened by this gift.


He doesn't really consider himself talented, per se. More like everyone else just has a lack of talent in that area. His brain assimilates music like nothing else. If there was music in the background while he was having a conversation, remembering that music can, for him, bring up the memory for the exact words said.


Flaws: He's disconnected from his own life. He's lived too many lives that weren't his, and ruined too many lives of people he's made his friends. Rather than driving him away from making friends, though, it's had the opposite effect: he'll tell anyone anything about himself. He'd rather enjoy people now, since he figures they'll be gone soon. If he keeps things with most people a little shallow, it's because of this sense of disconnectedness with his own life. Some part of him keeps expecting to have to leave at best, or kill them at worst.


If he hears music that he identified with a persona or a bad moment in a mission, it can trigger those memories, too. Not a flashback, but it can definitely adjust his mood--and if he identifies it strongly enough with a persona, he may have difficulty letting that go.


Yanagi really is too laid back. Getting him to take an interest in something serious that isn't a mission is almost impossible; he's a little bit bored with the world in general, and doesn't like disagreeing or arguing with people. Since he'd rather not get annoyed, he's more likely to distract them into something else or wander off on his own. He doesn't realize what he's doing, or even why he's doing it. Realizing all that would require effort, and he is lazy.


He's also a fair bit arrogant. He doesn't think of himself as a genius unless reminded by those around him -- usually because they aren't keeping up. If he's not careful, he starts to get disdainful.


Religion and Philosophy: While he has great respect for any life, he decided long ago that if there are any sort of deities they're probably more interested in watching us have fun. He plans to keep them entertained. His mother believed in Nirvana, but he thinks his dad had the right idea: Nirvana is most easily found under the influence of drugs.

Likes and Loves: Drugs, usually the home-grown, mentally (as opposed to physically) addictive type. Music. Rare nights with good friends, usually under the influence of something. Sex. He reeeaaaally likes sex. Anything that keeps his mind and hands both engaged--it's less likely to bore him.

Dislikes and Hates: Celibacy. There aren't many things he dislikes--disliking is too hard--but he has quite a lot of dislike for celibacy. He also hates being laid up for any amount of time, and hates slow people. Or rather, he hates waiting for them to catch up mentally. He also hates rules. Too bad, too--he'd probably enjoy Shogi or something of the sort if he could get past saying, "But that rule makes no sense. We should change it."

Fears: Nothing, really. Certainly not coming home and learning that his very, very few close ones are dead. Never get too attached, that's what his father always said. So many people to love; if a few pass on, there are always others. If Yanagi starts checking on people first thing when he gets back, that's just coincidence.

Dreams and Ambitions: He'd like to someday move back to his dad's farmhouse and maybe grow some medicinal plants of his own. Maybe with some kids, a partner--male or female. Of course, he'd have to settle down and argue his father out of the lecture on tying himself to one person, so he figures that's a long way off. (And in his less wistful moments, he realizes that much inactivity would probably drive him quietly insane.)

Relationships

Family: Yanagi comes from ninja stock on both sides. His mom, a former jounin, is presumed dead, and her side of the family is pretty distant (they didn't approve of her lifestyle choices).


Yanagi's dad is still alive, a hippy living on the outskirts of the village. He grows plants that are generally known for their medicinal aspects, though that's not what he uses them for. That side of the family is still alive, too, but they were so displeased that Yanagi's father refused to be a ninja that they never met Yanagi's mother and only vaguely know Yanagi. His father's side of the family were well known for being able to alter the chakra structure of plants, creating dangerous substances. Yanagi's father uses the family jutsu to make his drugs even better, which is another reason that side of the family shuns him. Yanagi never learned it. He asked once, and was turned out of his grandmother's house. It doesn't bother Yanagi; he has a host of "uncles" who used to come visit, and they're as good as family. He sees them about as often as he'd see biological aunts and uncles, and knows he can rely on them.

Friends: Shuranui Genma is a good friend of his, couple years his junior but a really great guy. He has an ANBU Handler as well, Manako, that he gets along well with, though it's more of a working relationship. Manako's job is to give him missions in the field, send him info he needs, and see that he's sane when he gets back.


Many of the long-term faces in ANBU are recognizable to him. He has a friendly face in every town on his regular routes, even if they may not know his real name. He got along pretty well with his genin team, possibly because war left them little time to argue. Left them little time to talk, too, so he doesn't know them as well as he could; his sensei and one of his teammates are still alive. There's a few civilians he calls friend, though they know little about his ninja life. They just know that when he's in Konoha he plays at The Blue Falcon, and they stay up long past closing discussing politics and music and anything else that seems deep when you're three sheets to the wind.


Many of his friends have died, now. He knew a man named Masa that he was pretty close to, but even with all the deaths there's still another half dozen folks both in the ninja life and out of it who are still around, people he'd consider friends.


Lovers: Yes, please. As many as possible, as often as possible, as many at once as he can manage.

Hero: There was this great secretary in the teacher's office who used to bend way over to pick up his files for him when he dropped them on the way by. Every. Single. Time. She's totally his hero. He also liked what he saw of his genin sensei, before they were trundled off to war.

Enemies: Much too hard to have enemies, though he's more than willing to take up an enemy on a friend's behalf.

Personal History: Yanagi was raised on the outskirts of Konoha, on an almost-farm. His dad grew fruits and veggies and lots of drugs. They had their own animals--chickens and pigs--that they slaughtered, and his dad taught him all about medicinal herbs as well as how the clans and council were in on various conspiracies, especially his father's theories on the Fox.


His mom was in and out of his life as kid, which was fine with him and his dad. When she was around, she often had other men over to visit. Yanagi figured out what was going on in the bedroom as soon as he asked--his father didn't believe in keeping secrets. His father also didn't mind the "uncles," and sometimes all the adults would head to the back and enjoy themselves. That was fine with Yanagi; he was good at entertaining himself.


His dad felt that rules were for the weak-minded, and imposed little to no discipline on his young son. Becaue he felt there was nothing wrong with drugs, Yanagi was never told not to use them. He started on the most mellow ones before he started the academy, with his father laughingly breathing smoke in his face. As Yanagi got older and more inquisitive, his father taught him all he wanted to know. He started his drug career early.


As he got older, Yanagi threatened to be a ninja, a Buddhist monk, a councilmember, and vegetarian in a bid to get his dad's attention. None of them worked. When he got old enough he decided he wanted to be a ninja like his mom. His dad didn't argue, feeling that children should be independent. With his unusual background, and his -- until then unrealized -- genius, Yanagi never quite figured out how to relate to the other kids, but that was all right. They liked him for his drugs, and he liked them for their entertainment value.


Yanagi didn't have any siblings, and no neighbors his own age out on the fringes, but he had pretty much all the leeway a boy could possibly want. More, even, because his dad spent most of his time farming or stoned. Yanagi probably could have graduated years earlier, but he was busy learning about the world and music and anything else he could find, and school was too boring to bother trying hard for. The only thing in school he did work at was the various jutsu: while he understood the theory better than the other kids, they were all equal when it came to the physical aspect of jutsu. This was a challenge, and one he kept up with. It's probably the only reason he didn't fail.

Any hour he wasn't studying and practicing jutsu (something his occasional mom encouraged, and his dad looked on with vast amusement), he ran wild or learned how to play musical instruments (in case being a ninja fell through). He got good at the guitar, and made his own band. The pigs were his loyal fans.


At ten, he realized his father was never going to give him the attention he wanted, and he settled in to being a genin -- newly graduated. When he was 11, he was thrown into the war. He found himself and his team mostly split, himself running messages. He quickly learned he was good at getting lost in a crowd while never getting lost on his path.


He took and passed the chuunin exams as soon as the war gave him time to do so--when he was 13. His mother missed them. That was the first time they thought there might be something wrong; though she was often absent, she had a knack for appearing at the really important moments.


His mother never came home. They didn't find a body, but after seven months they put her name on the memorial stone, and gave her family--only Yanagi, since she was never married--her death benefits.


He found things to spend the money on. Mostly girls and more musical instruments (now stored variously at his apartment in HQ and his father's house). It was during the war that he learned he was fairly good at getting in and out of areas unnoticed, and as he got older he got better at gleaning information from pretty girls. And then pretty boys. He made jounin during the last years of the war, as he began to prove himself adept at sneaking past enemy lines and getting needed intel.


By the time the war ended he was 17, and besides being a horrible flirt he knew he much preferred undercover assassinations and information gathering than out and out battles. He angled toward the intel section when he hit 18, learning the tricks of the trade he hadn't already figured out on his own, and being groomed by the men and women there. At 19, he ended up on a mission-gone-wrong with his sempai. He managed to squirrel his way out of it with both of them alive and their cover just barely intact. A few weeks later, he was approached to join ANBU. Because the missions seemed interesting -- and let's be honest, he felt ego-stroked -- he said yes.


He's been in ANBU since, and so far he hasn't gotten bored. He created one of Konoha's many information networks by simply picking up his guitar and traveling. He has a few key songs for each persona, and it roots him more firmly in his new identity. He knows a face in every town, and they know him--or a version of him. They wouldn't recognize him cleaned up and formal, but see him as a small time drug-user, a dirt-poor musician, and the bearer of news from village to village. He trades in information; gives them what doesn't matter, and neatly takes anything they might know, winding it all together to get a big picture of what's going on in the world, and even village specifics he might need. It helps to broaden Konoha's knowledge of the political situation around them, and gives them information they might need when trying to infiltrate another village. No one notices when he vanishes for months at a time, because he doesn't have a steady schedule -- good thing, too, because he has other missions to complete.


When he's not traveling -- which is actually most of the time -- he runs short to medium term missions (weeks to months, instead of the deep undercover that takes years). The contacts he makes as a musician don't recognize him outside that social circle even if they see him -- he's learned that it's not what you see, but what you expect that matters. He's careful to use as little chakra as possible, so as not to alert anyone's suspicions, and is very good at passing as a civilian.