Rena Amatsu (Uchiha) - Otogakure (finished)

Masaru Amatsu was known for his ability throughout Konoha as a talented young Uchiha, a nin whose skill with flame and fist paved his way into the ranks of an ANBU Jounin. He was a fiery, fierce, combative shinobi whose larger-than-life character ended up giving him more a reputation than the scorched holes left in his foes’ chests. Though a seemingly rough individual, he had a kind heart and was well-loved by many, especially his family. The only son of an Uchiha woman married to a non-clan man, Masaru showed innate aptitude for his mother’s skills from early on. His mother, immediately noticing her son’s ability, decided to oversee his training personally, keeping him home rather than sending him off to the academy at the same age the other children would.

The young prodigy was very close to his parents, and the only child they ever were able to have. He was growing into a strong, exceptional shinobi, and married a young woman and had a child of his own. He would never see his daughter’s face, however, as during the early stages of his wife’s pregnancy, Masaru was sent off on a dangerous mission for the Hokage. He and almost his entire squadron was slain, thought his remains were never found. The sole survivor of the mission recounted seeing Masaru take a fatal stab through his chest, and it is assumed his body was stolen or devoured by animals. He had only turned 21.

When the news reached his parents, they were devastated. Their only child had been taken while in his prime, with their only grandchild still yet to be born. Masaru’s parents, who by now were far too old to have any more children, found the sudden pain of loss almost unbearable as they realized in their loneliness that ties to most of their family had just been stolen from them. It was fate that they would discover a young Uchiha boy down by the river, with no family to be heard of and without any memory of who he was or how he got there. They graciously took him in and named him Qilin, for to them he was a gift from the gods.

Meanwhile, Masaru’s widow soon discovered her pregnancy. In the midst of her grief, some hope seemed to shine through. Their daughter was born several months later, a young, joyous girl even in infancy. She had several of her father’s features, and was named “Rena,” meaning “reborn,” as her mother and grandparents viewed the child as her father’s spirit reborn into this world.

Early Life

Tragedy was not finished with the Amatsu, though, even as two young promises of life were gifted to the family. It was around Rena’s second birthday when her mother suffered from a sudden and severe heart attack, killing her within minutes. Now orphaned, Rena’s grandparents decided to take the young girl in and raise her as Qilin’s younger sister. They refused to let death break apart their family, and so with a firm and loving hand they raised their two children, despite their deteriorating age.

Qilin, being the much older and more talented of the two for the shinobi life, was told early on that Rena was his responsibility. The young, curious little girl always felt an odd gravitation towards her older brother. She looked up to him as if he were some hero from a story, following him practically everywhere he went. Despite his cold exterior, something about him seemed to make the young girl love and respect him unconditionally. That being said, his opinion mattered more than anything in the world to her. Rena would always try her hardest to work up to her brother’s ridiculous standards, training daily as soon as she was able in an attempt to catch up to him.

There was something oddly affectionate in Qilin’s attitude towards his sister. While he would sometimes snap and was quick to anger, there was a sense of pride whenever she achieved a technique he had been teaching her. He would show off for her, relish in the wide-eyed look that would manifest on her face when he set a large tree ablaze. She strived to be perfect for him---intelligent, smart, strong---and he in turn didn’t seem to mind as much at the young girl always following at his heels.

Their adoptive parents were aging, so they weren’t able to spend the amount of time or energy on their “children” as they would have liked, and they had hoped that Qilin would become a good role model for the young girl that was all they had left of their son. As it happened, however, Qilin’s love for destruction seemed to be growing to an uncomfortable level. They began to notice his unnatural tendency for destruction as he would burn things for fun, as if just to pass the time, but more importantly they noticed how enthralled Rena was during his little burning sessions. As the situation began to grow out of their control, Rena’s grandmother formulated a plan: bring Qilin on a little ‘fishing trip,’ but leave him out there with no way of returning. They would tell their little granddaughter that her brother had drowned tragically, and raise her in the safety of their home. What they didn’t count on, however, was how devoted Rena was to her brother.

As her grandfather brought Qilin with him, she grew jealous and sneaked out after them, moving like Qilin had taught her so that she wouldn’t get in trouble. When his father eventually gave him the slip, he lost Rena as well. Luckily for her, she never lost track of her brother and managed to keep up with his pace. Even as he angrily stalked the woods, trying to find his way, she followed closely at his heels, sincerely scared for the first time in her life. She never saw her grandparents again after that fateful trip.

As fate would have it, the brother-sister pair stumbled upon a shinobi skirmish in the woods. Rena, very young at the time and already shaken from being in an unfamiliar area, immediately hid behind a tree from the fight….but her brother dealt with the encounter in a different way. Unfortunately for him he was struck by a stray kunai in what normally would be a fatal wound. Pain inflaming the rage inside him, he managed to summon a large-scale fire to ravage the shinobi fighting around him, killing them in a fiery blast. When the leaf village found the unconscious young boy, his sister was furiously trying to wake him.
While the two grew up independently within the leaf village, each attending the ninja academy at the appropriate age, they were never separated. When the time came that Qilin had to flee the village, she left with him and asked no questions, and thus the two ended up in Otagakure.

Genin

Rena follows her older brother everywhere, as he is all the family she has left in this world. While she cannot hope to excel at the rate he does, she constantly is trying to make him proud. She will be worthy of being called his sister, and will settle for nothing less. Qilin’s strict, cold nature rubs off on her from time to time, but it is his dedication to perfection that has left the deepest mark. Tough tutelage from Qilin in addition to her own hard work and dedication allowed the young girl to quickly ascend to the rank of genin at the top of her class. From the day she acquired her forehead protector, she began to prepare for the chuunin exams.

Rena truly has her father’s fighting spirit, and will stop at nothing to refine her skills to absolute perfection, no matter the cost.