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A girl locked in a cage, longing for the world outside and yet far too indulgent to take any measure of control over her life. She carries herself with immaculate grace and confidence. Each step is practiced and planned, yet each of them sink her deeper into a bottomless pool of discipline and expectation. There, she finds herself drowning — the ego fades away with every fruitless breath. Darkness clutches her again, a friend so old. Suguha lives in a paradoxical reminiscence of a story that, sadly, has yet to unfold.

Drops fall upon the surface, disrupting the stagnancy of her cage. The clock is ticking and time is a cruel mistress. Beyond the pool of toxic comfort, she watches on as they go about their lives. Hands held, laughter sweet like honey. How ironic it was that they granted her everything she wanted, but none of what she needed. Past her cage is a lake, so pristine it reflects a sky dotted with the many dreams she has had, that she has, and will have. Cherry blossom trees line the horizon and their petals dance in the nonexistent breeze. Though bitter towards it all, she also finds everything so beautiful. An immaculate cycle of which she thoroughly believes not to be a part of. It is not the sweet gold nor the cheerful giggling that she longs for.

It’s the shadows that lurk in the distance. Their passion burns like fire, their diligence flows like water, their devotion blows like the wind, their fortitude is stalwart like the earth and their fury strikes like lightning. Arising from ancient days past, they take upon their shoulders the mantle of protection. They protect the souls just outside of her cage and even have protected herself in the past, when her scarlet hues awakened for the first time. Amidst those shadows is where her greatest dream sleeps within. Yet, every time she wants to reach for them, the clear water below her rings. A warning, perhaps? All it would take are a few steps, yet she cannot cross the lake and escape her nonexistent enclosure. Indeed, it is a metaphorical binding — for the cage is nothing but herself.

“Suguha-sama, we’ve arrived.” The carriage stopped abruptly and a familiar voice pulled the brunette from within her slumber. Her chest tightened.
.⠀.⠀.
“Suguha-sama? Is everything fine?” Her guard insisted, expecting a reply.

“Yes, you oaf.” her silvery syllabes clashed with the harshness behind the meaning of her uttered words, “You need not call my name twice.”

About

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Born the bastard child between Kotonoha Uchiha and a member of a second-rate [clan], Suguha had a rather mixed start in life. On one side, she could enjoy the greatest luxuries life could provide, but on the other, she paid the steep cost of having her childhood neglected by her parents — a role the servants of her family had to take upon themselves instead. Though they tried their best to keep the brunette under their wings as daughter, it didn’t take a genius to figure out the difference in her obsidian locks and her father’s snow-white hair. To this day, it is only through a mix of beauty, genetics and her skills in diplomacy that she has the right to carry the name of the Utsunomiya, a clan of royal messengers and representatives that respond to daimyos across the land.

She wanders the world to deliver royal documents of utmost secrecy, yet her heart secretly loathes the activity. Suguha knows she is just a bargaining chip for her family, and that soon enough, she’ll be married to further their influence among the five nations. Known as Ink-black Fox 「 墨染の狐 — Sumizome no Kitsune 」in political circles for her cunning tactics, agressive negotiations and pitch black tresses, Suguha stands at five feet and eight inches tall. The woman often dons a dichromatic black and red kimono and two artificial ears rest atop her head, made by the greatest artisan money can buy. With the slightest expenditure of chakra, they move like the real thing — because she definitely doesn’t like the alias she was given.

Her visage carries an everlasting serenity, hiding away her persona beneath a mask expertly crafted. Suguha is often likened to the fragrance of the muhly grass (a saddening and ironic comparison, given the origin of her father’s lineage), which is known for its sweet and dusty scent akin to freshly mown hay.

Charismatic; Suguha’s skill at keeping it cool is near legendary. Living in a political world has forced her to develop her social skills to the point where she can assess and analyze individuals to create a positive and engaging persona to influence and excite them. Though rather blind to emotions of her own, Suguha is highly eloquent and attuned to the emotions of others and is capable of crafty manipulation to bring out their emotions. She feels at ease when engaging in social activities, has an impressive knack for communicating her vision and is a master at motivating, influencing, and inspiring others.

Poised; Though she still has many insecurities somewhere in her heart, Suguha still manages to present herself as an elegant individual. She speaks with confidence, her words and mannerisms are clear and she has no trouble dealing with situations that require nerves of steel such as speaking to large crowds.

Cooperative; Despite her dignified image and numerous skills under her belt, Suguha is aware she can’t do everything by herself. This is something she had to learn over the years along building her image through charismatic manipulation. That said, however, she is not submissive — cooperation requires mutual effort from two different parties and she is experienced enough to tell when someone is trying to sponge off of her effort.

Artistic; A natural trait of hers that proved itself rather useful while growing up in a royal landscape. The Ink-black fox is a creative woman capable of coming up with unusual solutions to her problems, and finds it easy to think outside of the box. Moreover, she’s highly skilled at visual, literate, musical, cookery and terpsichorean activities, though her favorite one is drawing.

Regretful; Time will never slow down, no matter how much she mulls over the past. Even so, she still finds herself sailing in a world where she had the audacity to speak up and change the course of her future, no matter the risks and consequences involved. Though she does not openly show this trait to most people, it tends to surface as a self-absorbed and inattentive disposition in her free time or when she has nothing to do.

Indolent; Despite the difficult relationship she maintains with her family, she is nonetheless of noble blood. Pampered to oblivion from a rather young age, Suguha often displays discontent when she finds herself having to undergo any physically straining activities. She has a bad habit of falling asleep on situations where she feels comfy or bored out of her mind.

Sharp-tongued; She may not be a kunoichi, but her tongue might as well be sharper than a kunai. Suguha’s words sting deep, and her serene and gentle smile as she delivers pain through words only makes it hurt more. She has no qualms with speaking her mind and won’t think twice about verbally tearing apart someone. A natural critic, her point of view does not bode well to anyone but those with plenty of patience to spare. The only exception to this, of course, are politics and dangerous situations.

Alcoholic; if she’s not working or travelling her life away, there is a high chance she is drowning herself in it. It is one of the few coping methods she has against the repressed feelings she keeps bubbling within, and she’s extremely ashamed of it — resorting to hiding away from the world to indulge in a variety of drinks.

Proficiencies

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⠀⠀Uchiha Heritage [Dormant]

As the child of a pure-blooded mother hailing from the Uchiha clan, Suguha was born with the genetic predisposition to awaken the clan’s infamous copy wheel eyes.



「秘伝・竹取飛翔」Hijutsu — Taketori Hishou [Rookie]
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⮡⠀⠀⠀Secret Art — Flight of the Bamboo Cutter

The secret art of the Taketori passed down to Kotonoha Uchiha by her childhood friend (and later, Suguha's father) who in turn shared its secrets to Suguha. The woman carries a few pouches of grass seeds, and using secret clan handseals she can weaponize them by increasing the growth rate of existing grass-type plants or forcing abnormal growth of the seeds that she carry with herself. The main type of grass she uses for her techniques is the ornamental muhly (though she can't use it as medium for genjutsu yet). At her current skill tier, Suguha can at best use grass on the ground as caltrops. She can also pop seeds in her mouth to mould chakra and spit them in a cone-shaped medium range attack of sharp pink grass capable of shallow cuts.

⮡⠀⠀Kusanagi no Mai — This technique is the reason why Suguha is likened to the scent of the muhly grass. On top of the seeds she has in small pouches, Suguha also has several seeds hidden on herself, be it on her body, clothes, or hair. By performing the required handseals, these seeds grow into pink grass leaves that are as sharp as senbon, piercing anything and anyone in one and a half meter radius around her. Once the technique is finished, the grass returns to its seed state, diappearing within her clothes.

「忍法・墨獣文章」Ninpou — Sumijuu Bunshou [Apprentice]
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⮡⠀⠀⠀Ninja Art — Ink Beast Composotion

A technique Suguha developed out of necessity more than anything. Similar in concept to the [Super Beast Imitating Drawing] technique, Suguha carries two small gourds fastened to her hips filled with chakra-infused ink. Using a brush or her fingers, she can then splatter ink in the environment or in the air after or before performing handseals. The ink then coalesces and expands, turning into a myriad of pitch-black beasts that follow her every command. They are physically capable creatures (currently, far more than she is) that fight to keep her safe and can wordlessly follow simple orders. Similar to shape manipulation, they arent' weak to any particular element, dealing mostly with physical force — the only exception is suiton, as Suguha hasn't found a way to stop them from melting when in contact with water.

Karasu — The multipurpose beast within her kit. Karasu is a flock of pitch black and red-eyed crows that can disorient foes. Their wings and beaks are sharp, and they tend to fly towards enemies like projectiles or gather nearby Suguha to protect her. They are by far the most flexible and combat-ready ink beast at her disposal. They aren't very tough, though attacking them one by one isn't a smart idea. They last for a few minutes under favorable conditions, and a few seconds under heavy pressure.

Nezumi — Small rat-like beasts that can scatter to find something or someone and fetch objects or materials for Suguha. They are sheepish and tend to run when faced with danger — they are fast on their feet, but one well-placed blow and they will become an ink splotch. They generally remain on the field for a couple hours fetching whatever she needs or tracking someone.

Hebi — Pitch black snakes that are also capable of scattering for tracking purposes, but can't fetch items like their rat counterparts can. They are usually agressive unless ordered not to and can restrain / capture targets to bring them back to Suguha. These snakes have the widest time-span utility depending on the occasion they are used for — from a few seconds at best when fighting, to minutes when trying to capture a target, and up to an hour if just tracking. It takes a few hits to destroy them, though a good hit to the head definitely does the trick.

Kokujuu — Currently the largest out of all her ink beasts, Kokujuu is a fox slightly smaller than a horse. Despite its intimidating size for a fox-like creature, it only has endurance and speed on its list of abilities. Currently, it's main purpose is being a mount for Suguha in long travels or to run away from danger. It can take hits for her in a pinch, often lasting longer than her crows — and upwards of several hours if used outside of combat.