Angevine Pan

Pans appearance tells a lot about the boy to those with the will to take a good look. Standing a whopping 165cm tall and weighing an impressive 72kg, the boy towers above most of his peers, as well as being significantly heavier than them. And while Pan himself likes to blame his genes for his formidably tummy, his fondness of cuisine is at least partially to blame for it. Because of his size, most people will not find it too difficult to assume the boy focusses on physical combat. He makes a sluggish impression, but a sturdy one nonetheless.

Pans face has something very genuine and inviting over it, and makes him an easy person to approach. His face is slightly puffy and usually has a healthy blush over it. Considering the size of his head, Pans mouth is a small and thin one, but always curled into a generous smile. His eyes, in turn, are quite large and take a prominent place in his face. Deep green and crystal clear, they always have a jolly sparkle in them and just beam with a certain satisfaction. His hair is dark brown, spikey, and actually quite long. Though it reaches all the way to his shoulders, the brunt of it is usually hidden from sight by Pans hat, thus making it one of his less prominent features.

Pans attire is one quite standard for a ronin, which is what he hopes to become one day. He wears long, simple kaki trousers with a small pouch strapped to his right leg to keep ninja tools in. Above this, he wears a simple, black, short-sleeved kimono with white trims along the sides and a simple rope used as a belt. Note that he walks around bare chested underneath this garment and prefers to take it off during intense training sessions or battles. As mentioned before, he wears a large, straw hat the majority of the day. When he is inside, it is usually hung around his neck at a small cord. Pans wrists and parts of his arms are wrapped in bandages to prevent injuries during training as well as to be utilized in a limited number of techniques. His ankles receives the same treatment. As shoes, he wears a pair of traditional, brown, wooden sandals that, while they walk rather uncomfortably, are good for some rather painfull kicking.

Pan is a real good guy with the best intentions for everyone. Ever since a wandering sage saved his village from a group of bandits, he longs to master the ninja arts and roam the world just like his savoir did, helping people and gaining experience as he goes. In the larger scheme of things, his job as a shinobi for Iwagakure is a temporary one, performed only to gain knowledge and experience. Pan could be considered a bit naïve in his blind quest for harmony, often seeking a good, peaceful solution for everyone in a world where sometimes violence is the answer. He hates having to fight, but at the same time realises power is necessary to maintain peace.

An important hobby to the genin is cooking. Food and drinks play a prominent role in his life and he spends a lot of time cooking and figuring out new recipes. Pan makes a habit out of trying local ingrediënts and recipes wherever he goes, taking positive experiences with him. He hopes to one day master both the art of flavour as well as the art of ninjutsu.

Obviously, Pan is an open and friendly guy, receiving to everyone and everything untill they've given him a reason to dislike them. He's positive, quick with a joke and good with smalltalk, but seems to be quite bad at dealing with negativity. He doesn't perform well under stress and likes to avoid problems and fights rather than face them head-on. Pan has a hard time building rage and becoming angry, stowing his frustrations away till the point he has reached his very limit. This can cause him to snap at a, for outsiders, sudden moment, creating complicated situations.

Pan isn't that intelligent memory-wise and often makes a rather slow and dim-witted impression. He tends to be a little clumsy, a little bit forgetfull and ever so often acts on impulse rather than overthinking his actions - Something is gets scolded for quite often by his panda mentor. He is however quite resourceful and capable of devising very clever plans on the fly, which is where his true strength lies.

Pan makes for a reliable ally, always reaching out for his teammates and trying to work togather to the best of his abilities. He would never stab someone in the back or let him down, even if it is quite obvious that the other would do this. He is kind of a goody two shoes when it comes to this, believing he should so what he thinks is "right" regardless of the circumstances.

Pans story starts in a small village in the Earth country, where he was born to two farmers during wartime. Although he was raised by his parents with love and care, he grew up having few possessions and little guidance, learning the boy to appreciate the little things and fend for himself from a young age.

Like his parents, Pan was expected to grow up to be a simple farmer. Nothing more, nothing less. When he was 9 however, an event took place that changed his life. A group of bandits took advantage of the war being waged and the diminished presence of shinobi by raiding his hometown and robbing the inhabitants of what little they had. When hope was at its lowest, a shinobi, nay, a sage arrived out of nowhere, single-handedly defeating the bandits and sending them running off in the woods. Pan was most impressed by the sage, and the mans gracious fighting style sparked a certain passion in the boy. That night, as his parents offered the sage a meal to thank him for his timely arrival, he asked the wandering ninja everything about the ins and outs of being a shinobi and being a sage, his desire to follow the same path growing with every answer he received.

Eventually, the sage left again, but not before letting Pan sign the panda summoning contract he was carrying with him. Should he ever desire to persue this wild idea of becoming a ninja and a sage, the ronin told Pan, then the signing of that contract should allow him to call forth a panda mentor, much like the one that had teached the sage everything he knew. Having granted the youngster this gift, the sage took off to never be seen again.

Pans "wild idea of becoming a ninja" didn't fade away. In fact, it grew only stronger over the years. By the time he was 11, the boy took what little saving he had and headed for Iwagakure, figuring this was the best place to learn ninjutsu. Here, he rented a small room at an orphanage and attended to the academy, following the exact same curriculum as the regular shinobi children followed, albeit Pan being a bit older than them.

Now 14 years old and a fresh genin, Pan is ready to explore the world of shinobi and, more importantly, master the ninja arts required to become a sage. He sees his job as an Iwa shinobi as something temporary, but necessary to be able to live his dream. He has yet to learn the summoning technique and call forth a panda mentor. The beginning of his training as a panda sage is close at hand, however. And little does he know that a slumbering and long forgotten kekkai genkai, the bamboo release, is about to manifest itself in the young genin.