haruko :: shippuuden redesign + bio

I figured Haruko needed a proper Shippuuden reference - actually, a proper design altogether, since the old one was beyond awful - so here's the product of several days of brainstorming and hard work, both in Sai and Photoshop; I figured out a few handy techniques along the way, too, which is always nice. Meanwhile, a big thank you to ~NuttyNuti and her amazing tutorial, which was of huge help when designing her outfit! I hope this looks a bit better than the original one, haha c;

Edit: Added her bio & info! o u o ;; Took me a long time to finish it, but I'm happy with the result. Or at least as happy as one can be when your character development takes a turn into near insanity and you don't get to do anything about it. Was that really necessary, Kishimoto?

春子 泉 - haruko izumi

● perѕonal ιnғorмaтιon ●
Birthdate: ♉ 25th April
Gender: Female
Age: Part I: 12-13; Part II: 16
Height: Part I: 158 cm; Part II: 170 cm
Weight: Part I: 50 kg; Part II: 58kg
Blood type: A+
Affiliation: Konohagakure
Teams:
● Team Anko (AKA Team 13/Fishnet: Uchiha Akane, Hiraki Koji, Mitarashi Anko)
● Asuma Cell Retrieval Team
● Second Division
Clan: ▲ Izumi clan

● nιnja ranĸ ●
Part I: Genin || Part II: Chūnin
Ninja Registration: 012602
Academy Grad. Age: 12
Chūnin Prom. Age: 14

● ғaмιly ●
● Izumi Aiko</b> [sister; two years older; belongs to ~Tennishiggledy1234.]
● Izumi Nanako</b> [mother; works at the Hokage Tower]
● Izumi Eiichi</b> [father; jōnin]

● dιѕтιncтιve jυтѕυ ●
● Earth Style: Earthquake Palm
● Chakra Blast Release
● Chakra Blast Release: Restricted
● Chakra Syphoon
● Wire Web Explosive Trap

● ιn-depтн ●

skills:

Haruko was born with a malfunction in her chakra pathway system, probably as a result of the generalized marriage between close relatives in the Izumi clan, aiming to preserve the clan's particularly high chakra levels. She was indeed able to retain enormous quantities of it, but had little control of how much of it was used to perform jutsu. Her ‘handicap’ allowed her to drain her enemies from their chakra like a sponge absorbing water, but too much chakra in her body made her sick and made her lose control over her body and mind. At first, whenever her chakra levels were higher than normal, she would spontaneously release all of it in a blast of energy; she eventually learned to control these through hard work, but they still drained her terribly (she could stay unconscious for days after one blast).

Because of this, she naturally preferred taijutsu over other techniques. Her taijutsu style consisted of strong stances and sharp, powerful motions that somewhat resembled the Hung Gar style of Kung Fu. Like most members of the Izumi clan, she mostly used wire and kunai in fighting, at times employing shuriken and senbon as well. Her ninjutsu were mostly earth style; she didn't know many and she struggled to learn even the most basic ones. She didn’t use genjutsu at all.

She was a very good strategist, albeit sometimes too 'by-the-book', and a good team leader.

personality:

As a result of her handicap, Haruko was always very hardworking: ninjutsu didn’t come easy to her, nor did making friends or getting good grades, but she tried so hard and persisted so much that she eventually succeeded. She had a tendency to overthink things and to distance herself from others emotionally, as well as to feel jealous when she was lonely, but despite this she cared deeply about her team mates and close friends.

As a child, Haruko was very introverted. After joining Akane and Koji in Team 13, she opened up a lot: she started to smile much more often and learned to value teamwork, which became something very important to her. She was rather laid-back and idealistic, if a bit naïve (she trusted others very easily, as shown by the friendship she developed with Iniki).
However, she retained a sharp, sarcastic sense of humor that she would use whenever possible, a characteristic that was more evident in Part II, as she started being very outspoken and more of an extrovert. She loved being in charge and bossing others around; she was a very pragmatic person, mature beyond her years, and despite usually showing a snarky façade, she had a softer, fun-loving side as well.

This changed drastically after Neji and Koji’s deaths; Haruko became reclusive and antisocial, and although she was still very much loyal to her duties she grew into a cynical and rather ill-tempered person. Her plans grew riskier and she valued teamwork less and less (she no longer felt as though she had any team where she belonged in any more), which eventually led to her death during a mission.

history:

During her early years at the Academy, Haruko was ridiculed because of her incapacity of performing ninjutsu and genjutsu. This caused her to meet Rock Lee, and identifying herself with his problems, they began training taijutsu together on occasion; this was how Haruko managed to develop her taijutsu skills, and also how she learned the value of hard work. Their friendship lasted even after the teams were formed.

Later, during her first chūnin exams she befriended Iniki, an Otogakure kunoichi, despite their initial rivalry. Haruko did all she could to make Iniki realize that Orochimaru's ways were evil, and eve managed to convince Tsunade to offer Iniki a position as a Konohagakure shinobi, but to no avail. When Iniki and the Asuma Cell were reported missing, Haruko was named as their emergency retrieval team leader, and set off after them with Akane, Koji, Neji and Lee. They managed to free all members of the Asuma Cell, who were the targets of Orochimaru's research, through one of his minions, on their clans' secret jutsu; however, during the fight, she was forced to choose between Iniki or Akane’s life and killed the Sound kunoichi, who was under Orochimaru's control, in order to save her team mate. To provide the teams a safe return to Konoha, she tried to use her Chakra Blast Release, but due to her low chakra levels it ended up lashing back at her and leaving her inconscious for an extended period of time.

Haruko shows a great fondness for Hyūga Neji; during Part I this was a feeling of admiration that later grew into love. His death during the war, as well as hear team mate Koji’s, took a great toll on her. After the war, she became a jōnin, but never took a team in for training. She died at the age of 23, during a mission with Akane.


Ninjutsu 30% | Taijutsu 70% | Genjutsu 0%