About Date

Does it really matter where we grow up? For Date, the answer is yes and no.

He's the kind of guy who could've been born anywhere. Ever since he was a kid, it was all about the inner beast: the need to fight, claw, bleed and shout. Date was and is a child of pure instinct and hunger, always on the prowl for a good fight. Ever since he was a child, it's always been about the worthy fight, the worthy opponent, and becoming a ninja was just a means to that end.

While Date could've been born anywhere, being born and raised in Kirigakure was certainly an element of his upbringing. The borderline lawlessness of the village and the constant fights between both Kirigakure and Kumogakure really only helped Date develop his fight-hungry personality. Date is in love with those too-close moments: the landing of a single punch that ends an opponent and the fights he comes out of victorious, but covered in bruises and blood.

To Date, fighting means a lot of things. Whether he wants to admit it or not he really wants to impress people with his hand to hand combat, thus why his style is so wild and theatrical. But, more than that, fighting is a method of self-improvement, which is why he loves these close fights so much-- it means he's becoming a better man and a better fighter.

While he loves fights that challenge him, there's a big reason for that. Date's goal is ultimately to learn how to be a stronger fighter, to ultimately become the strongest in all of the world. He could give a crap about titles like Kage or Jonin or promotions like that, all that matters is that HE knows that he's the strongest.

Since Date became an adult, though, while the goal to be the Strongest is still important to him, some other things have hit his radar. When he was younger, he couldn't give a damn what other people thought about him, but now he's hungry to fight alongside comrades he considers... at least SOMEWHAT equal. If you couldn't tell, Date's got something of an ego that can... impede relationships, but foster RIVALRIES which he equally covets.

What's also important to Date is mentoring and teaching. He wants to pass down the things he's learned from his close calls and years of training, and this is the best way to do it. He's kind of an unfriendly and... aggressive teacher, but he has his students' best interests in mind.

In terms of other interests, he has a few. He's become obsessed with his own form of aggressive cooking, usually charring the hell out of some meat. He also loves alcohol, specifically bourbon, and his morning coffee.

Proficiencies

Taijutsu [Journeyman]

Date has been punching, kicking, headbutting and physically destroying people for years. He's not the kind of guy who will hold back on anyone and he's got a wild, beastial style of hand-to-hand combat. Part of it's wildness is just a bluff to make his opponents think he has these massive openings in his fighting style, but even he has to admit some of those "fake" openings are not-so fake. He's recently gotten more into judo-style submissions and wrestling moves to add to the spectacle and versatility of his fighting style. He's a good fighter, but he's nowhere near being a master... YET.

Shurikenjutsu [Apprentice]

Who needs weaponry? Not Date-- at least that's what he used to think. Even though Date is a human hand to hand fightbeast, even he understands the purpose of other tactics and techniques. As a young ninja at the academy, Shuriken techniques were drilled into his head through plenty of practice, and he's kept up his skills since then and even developed them further. He carries a few shurikens and kunai on him, but he's not really one to prep that much-- a lot of his ability in Shurkenjutsu is makeshift and improvised. Date's pretty good at looking at the environment and seeing what he can use or what he can make with a few adjustments. A few twists and breaks later, he can turn a bamboo shoot into a projectile weapon.

Stealth [Apprentice]

For Date, stealth was always his weak point growing up, and it still kind of is now. It's the thing he's least likely to do at his own volition, and he's grown largely thanks to experience as opposed to actual training. Stealth is kind of a "done when ordered to" or "last resort" thing for Date, and even though he's not terrible at it he's rarely interested in doing it of his own accord. However, he does have his own strengths when it comes to stealth, as he's specifically very aware of how color and light affect his ability to go unseen and knows how to manipulate himself and his environment to go unseen or blend in. He's much better at blending into a crowd than going completely invisible to his enemies, but he's proficient in both styles of stealth.

Fire Release [Apprentice]

Date doesn't have that much interest in spitting out fireballs like other Fire Release users, as all jutsu are really just a means to an end for him. To Date, his abilities in ninjutsu have always been limited. So, fire release ninjutsu are a way to add to his kicks and punches, thus he mainly has jutsu that surround his body like his Kanetsu-Ken (加熱拳 or "Heated Fist"). These techniques, much to Date's dismay, tend to require a fair amount of hand sign usage and memorization of specific hand sign patterns. Date still doesn't have the best control over his chakra, so he can come out of fights with some self-induced burns, but he's hungry for more control and more opportunities with his Ninjutsu ability.

[attr="class","APP3"]