Miyabi Nikuhitsu

Irie Sasaki (佐々木入江, Sasaki Irie) is a jonin-level shinobi of Konohagakure. As one of the last two surviving heirs of her clan alongside her brother, Ikuto Sasaki, Irie longs for nothing more than to see her clan thrive again as it once had. Thus, she has appointed herself her clan's Shield, and does everything in her power to protect Ikuto, much to his chagrin. Due to the Sasaki clan's obscure history, many of the village disregarded Ikuto and Irie as nobodies. This further prompted Irie to take matters into her own hands and work hard to garner the attention and respect she believes her clan deserves. Although her attempts at this during her childhood produced wayward results, her involvement in the Fourth Shinobi World War proved her to be a powerful asset to the village, which later dubbed her a Guardian of the Hidden Leaf, alongside her former teammates, Eisen Heike and Miki Ishii.

Irie is a Naruto original character who belongs to kanceir (Nea) on Deviantart. Current appearance previews were made using the Mega Anime Avatar Creator on Rinmarugames. They will be replaced with original art in time. (Page and story info under heavy construction and revision.)

Background
Through the simple fate of human nature, the Sasaki clan grew to be smaller and smaller throughout the generations. Although the clan played an important role during the Warring States Period, their significance faded as time went on and eventually their involvement was forgotten altogether, both to the village and to the clan. To put it briefly, the twins named Irie and Ikuto Sasaki were orphaned a mere year after birth due to the mysterious death of their widowed mother, Seri Moriyama.

Their isolated living was supported by bare village funds brought together to maintain their clan's barren compound, which Irie would later vehemently refuse the demolition of when she came of age to make the decision. Due to this simulation of solitary confinement, both twins grew into very reserved children who spoke very little to anyone but each other. This granted them a wary reputation amoung those who came into regular contact with them, such as the vendors at the marketplace, the social security workers who came to check up on them every so often, and the tutor sent to provide their basic education.

Until their enrollment in the Ninja Academy, Irie and Ikuto could rarely be differentiated, both in mannerisms as well as appearances. They'd taken to the same hobbies, the same interests, the same behaviours, et cetera. However, once introduced to the public youth at the academy, they seemed to split apart instantaneously. Irie became, as described by Ikuto, "harsh and overbearing" (a disposition that would earn her the nickname "Scary Face"), whereas Ikuto sought out any opportunity to separate himself from his sister. As Irie began to grow out her hair, Ikuto cut off all of his in spite. They gradually grew further apart from each other as they drifted into different social classifications. Ikuto was readily accepted by the other boys at the academy, while Irie made conscious efforts to remain detached, feeling spurned by her brother's rejection and his subsequent acceptance into the social clique. Irie would frequently pick fights with the older children to release her frustrations, although more often than not she sought excuses, such as sparing another student from bullying and the like. These outbursts never failed to land her in trouble with the instructors, of course, but their scorn only fueled her indignation.

Desperate to flee this suffocating environment, Irie demanded to take the graduation exam her first year of enrollment. Needless to say she failed, and she continued to fail until the time came that the rest of her class would take the exam on the scheduled date. At this point she considered flunking the test on purpose if only to solidify the rift between her and her brother. However, mere weeks before the exam, Irie was approached by Eisen Heike, a spunky ginger she had seldom taken note of until that day. She recognized him as one of the few boys in her class who hadn't taken to Ikuto right away, and that alone was enough to persuade her to hear him out on what he had to say.

He ate lunch with her that day, drawing an unnerving amount of attention to her normally lonesome table, and told her about his family. He told her how big it was—he had five older brothers and two younger sisters—and how close they all were despite the crowd. Irie came to realize that he was trying to convince her of how important family bonds were, no matter how many or how few. With that in mind, Eisen accompanied her home at the end of the day after she was congratulated by their instructor on not getting into any fights, and gave her the final (literal) nudge she needed to speak to Ikuto once they reached the compound.

Ikuto admitted tearfully that he had missed spending time with Irie over the couple of years they'd spent at the academy, and Irie apologized for acting out in her jealousy. From that point on, the three of them began to study and train together in determination to earn the highest scores possible on the graduation exams (Irie still ended up scoring in the lower percentile, but she did manage to pass this time).

Personality
As determined as she is hard-headed, Irie strives to finish what she starts no matter what. She's quick to humour and slower to wit, but she's a woman of action through and through. She operates on the mentality of "act now, ask questions later" and is thankfully counterbalanced by her teammate Miki's levelheaded calculations. Irie never lost her confrontational attitude from the academy, continuing to pick fights when they weren't necessary and dragging herself and her teammates into excessive trouble, but her willingness to speak out and act out has proved a fairly useful asset at certain times. She can be rather cheeky and sassy for the sole sake of getting a rise out of someone, but she is capable of being serious and sentimental when the situation calls for it, as exemplified by Eisen's initial approach as opposed to her attitude toward her brother during their years at the academy.

Having grown alongside no one but her brother, Irie tends toward somewhat vulgar and brash mannerisms. She can wing a formal appearance when it's necessary, but on the whole she would much rather relax with her friends and engage in a riveting belching contest than stand up straight and speak properly. She shows considerable detest for the latter, unable to mask her boredom and fidgeting discomfort when in formal situations. Much less while wearing a dress, as evidenced during the Masquerade Infiltration mission her team executed as genin. She displays an inability to stand still at any given moment, dress or not, often busying her hands with things better left untouched.

Her inherent curiosity is the leading cause of most of Irie's hardships. Unable to keep her nose out of everyone else's business, it isn't uncommon to find her being reprimanded for eavesdropping or chased down for peeking at things that don't concern her. And speaking of peeking, Irie has proven to be a shameless pervert. She doesn't care to treat matters of a mature nature with casual informality, and often makes jokes for the sake of amusement at watching those around her become embarrassed or discomforted. Because of this, Irie can almost come off as a tactless flirt, but in all reality she's more interested in watching someone squirm than having any supposed affections returned. In fact, she appears rather unnerved by attempts to flirt with her, as shown when she reunites with her old team in Shippuden and Miki tries (feebly) to make a move on her.

All things considered, Irie is still an introvert at heart. Social interaction exhausts her more quickly than she'd like to admit and she revels in the safety and comfort of her own home. Mellowing out from her immature tendencies over the years, she later takes on a more solemn approach to things after realizing that her childish antics would not serve to earn her the recognition she desires for her clan. As she grows older, she begins to speak out in order to express her sincere thoughts rather than for the simple sake of speaking, and she becomes less inclined toward aggressive confrontations and more inclined toward diplomatic ones. However, that isn't to say that she doesn't still have a temper. She is easily set off by things, more so as she ages, and continues to uphold her childhood nickname.

Appearance
Irie is a girl of small stature, a trait that earns her the nickname "Squirt" by her team leader, Keisuke Rikimaru. She is dark-skinned and has unruly black hair that she later begins to straighten for a time. Her eyes are a striking, pale blue that stand out from her dark complexion, and her left eye has two nicks in it. During her childhood, she is often seen with cuts and bruises accompanied by bandages as a result of her frequent fights. As a genin she wore a blue vest over a plain black tank top and baggy pants along with standard blue sandals. While training, she discards her vest.

In Part II, having graduated to chunin-level, Irie takes to straightening her hair in an attempt to keep it more manageable, and she adorns it with two pale blue feathers, a custom of the Sasaki clan that dignifies a woman's ascension to maturity. She also has a small briaded portion that she wears over her right shoulder. At this point Irie has pierced both ears with two sets of small loop rings. She wears a high-collared, sleeveless black shirt and black pants with a lop-sided blue belt hanging loosely around her hips, on which she attaches several water scrolls along with her ink kit. Her sandals are replaced by open-toed knee-high shoes. During a visit to the spa while on the Masquerade Infiltration mission, a tattoo is revealed in the center of her back, between her shoulder blades. The tattoo is the symbol हूं (in Hindi, "I am"), which reads as the "Hum" in the Sanskrit mantra "Oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ" (ॐ मणिपद्मे हूं). "Hum" represents the spirit of enlightenment. How or why Irie got this tattoo is yet to be revealed.

During the Fourth Shinobi World War, Irie sustains various severe injuries, amoung which is the loss of sight in her right eye due to a large gash. She retains the scar and a paling pigment in that eye.

In the Epilogue, Irie stops making such an effort to straighten her hair. It retains its natural curl, but is weighed down by the length which reaches her lower back, making it more wavy instead. Irie wears her hair up with elaborate braids to keep it in place. Her feathers are worn with more of an upward tilt, tucked into the tie of her hair. She wears a sleeved shirt beneath her sleeveless turtleneck, the fabric reaching her hands as extended fingerless gloves. She still wears the same belt, pants, and shoes as she did as a chunin.

Abilities
Although laughably inept at honing her skills at the academy, and lacking much progress by the time she graduated, Irie's determination and perseverance have allowed her to grow considerably as a shinobi as well as a person. Her development is gradual and without many noticeable spurts, but eventually she gains the necessary strength to stand up against the Akatsuki and later participate in the Fourth Shinobi World War.

Sensory Perception
wip.

Ninjutsu
wip.

Kekkei Genkai
wip.

Storm Release
wip.

Ink Release
wip.

Nature Transformation
wip.

Stats


Part I
wip.

Part II
wip.

Blank Period
wip.

Epilogue
wip.

Trivia

 * The name "Irie" means "blessing", while her family name "Sasaki" means "helping tree".
 * Her family name is a reference to her grandfather's founding of the Guardians of the Hidden Leaf, as well as the Sasaki clan's mercenary history. (Her grandfather's family name, "Moriyama", means "protecting mountain", which is another allusion to the aforementioned.)

Quotes

 * (To Miki) "I bit off a man's fingers once. Keep your hands to yourself."
 * (To Deidara) "I'll show you why hurricanes are named after women."