Current mood:	accomplished
Entry tags:	ooc: application

ooc ♥ application


Character Bio

Age: 16-17 depending on exact timeframe

Origin: Canon

Physical description:

It’s certainly hard to forget Rock Lee. In an attempt to emulate his sensei, mentor, and all-purpose role-model, Maito Gai, Lee’s black hair is cut into a stylish and shiny bowl-cut. His brows are naturally that thick, thank you, and it only helps to cultivate Gai-like image. Those big, saucer-round eyes and odd lower lashes give him a perpetually youthful look and help when he has one of his many ‘in awe of Gai-sensei’ moments. His clothing consists of an attractive green spandex jumpsuit (though some, Neji and Sakura for example, have turned up their noses at the garment), orange legwarmers (usually serving the added purpose of covering heavy training weights), and standard blue ninja sandals. His red Konoha-emblem forehead protector is worn as a belt, and the bandages around his hands and forearms protect him during training and battle.

With the more recent addition of the Chunin vest (following his promotion) to his already absurd costume, Lee is one step closer to completing his replica-of-Gai-sensei fashion statement. Except…Lee’s vest is closed. Hm.


Personality/Behavioral description:

Lee is an extremely polite, good-natured, nice individual and tries to be on his best behavior, even when talking to an opponent in battle—this is a trait probably thoroughly ingrained in him by Gai, but also just a natural characteristic of Lee’s speech and behavior. He tends to speak in declarations punctuated with looks of such determination and fiery spirit it would be hard to deny his enthusiasm for…well, anything and everything, especially if such things have to do with Gai-sensei or one of Gai’s youthful philosophies. He is blindly ecstatic about anything related to Gai, and for good reason—Gai is not just his mentor and possibly greatest friend, but inspiration and helping hand and one of the first people to ever give him a chance. Lee is eternally grateful to him.

The kid is not the brightest crayon in the box—ignoring the color of his wardrobe—but Lee genuinely means well, tries hard, and is determined to help. Lee worries over his friends and team, doesn’t worry enough over himself, and has a tendency to put himself into enormously risky situations if he thinks it might save someone he cares about. He’s also very competitive in his own right, and likes a good physical challenge. Although he’s never beaten him, Neji is perhaps Lee’s favorite opponent.

He has no tolerance for even a lick of alcohol; drinking turns Lee into a hiccupping, tripping drunken-fist master who is hell-bent on proving himself to Gai (present or not) and eager to take on anyone in the room. Not only is he powerful and destructive in this form, but he’s nearly impossible to predict. It is generally advisable to not stand in his way, to not talk to him—not even look at him. He does not distinguish friend from foe then—everyone is a potential challenger. He recovers quickly enough, however, and returns to his pleasant self, confused over the chaos he has wrought.


Background:

Not much is known about Lee’s life before his days in the ninja academy. He has yet to mention his family, and some have speculated that, due to his inability to mould chakra, said family may have disowned him. Or perhaps he is an orphan of the wars. There is no direct evidence for any of this, and Lee’s past remains a blank page in the book of his life. What is known of his childhood, however, is defined by the role the academy and his classmates play in shaping his self-image.

At a young age, Lee is teased by his peers when it becomes apparent that he fails in two of the three categories of basic ninja skills, leaving only Taijutsu on which to hang his hopes of becoming a ninja. But he is determined to still be a splendid ninja in the eyes of Konoha and to prove himself, and he just barely graduates on the merits of his Taijutsu. Maito Gai, a jounin of Konoha and Taijutsu specialist, observes little Lee with admiration, and decides to take him under his wing. Gai’s rival, Hatake Kakashi, comments that Lee and Gai are not all that different…and it isn’t just the eyebrows. Perhaps Gai is just the man to teach the hot-blooded loser.

So, by luck or design or a little of both, Lee is placed on Gai’s genin squad along with the oppressed genius of the Hyuuga clan, Hyuuga Neji, and Tenten, a young girl who has shown much promise in weapons mastery. Each of Gai’s team demonstrates a strong drive to achieve something in their upcoming ninja career, but it is Lee who perhaps shows the most extreme initiative, training into the wee hours of the morning in order to surpass each new goal—if he cannot do one, he has a new and greater goal lined up to achieve in place of that. Gai eventually catches Lee in the midst of training and his words of encouragement, about hard work and dedication, are inspirational to the young genin.

Through their natural differences, Neji becomes his rival—Lee needs someone to compete with in order to grow stronger, Neji feels a need to assert his greatness over someone, and because the two boys have such opposite philosophies on life. But the Hyuuga doesn’t take kindly to being the so-called rival to a loser, and he makes that more than clear every time be beats Lee down. Neji argues that Lee cannot rise above his current status, and Lee argues in return that hard work and effort will pay off someday and he will become a splendid ninja—one capable of besting Neji in battle. Lee is the antithesis of Neji’s argument, but the boys are one and the same—a lower status by someone else’s design and forced to rise above through their own will and desire…like the symbol of the Lotus blossom.

To help Lee become stronger, and to give him the edge he will need to survive as a ninja in a world where his opponents will not be forgiving for the areas his skills lack in, Gai teaches Lee the Front and Reverse Lotus techniques and instructs him in how to open the Celestial Gates. Lee learns to open five of the eight and is very excited with the trump card he holds. But the technique comes with a stipulation: Lee must promise not to use it except under extreme circumstances, such as to save his very precious person. Lee apparently agrees.

The little team known as Team Gai grows strong.

But Gai holds his team back for a year to further their abilities and prolong their childhood. The students are antsy, however, and then all too soon the next year rolls around and Lee, Neji, and Tenten are part of the Chuunin exams that will pit them against the now famed Rookie Nine, and the infamous siblings from Suna. Gai’s students are confident—perhaps, not unlike their sensei at times, a bit overconfident.

Leading up to the exam, Team Gai meets Kakashi’s Team Seven and Lee falls instantly for the little pink-haired girl. In an effort to both impress her and to get a chance to fight the genius Uchiha, Lee challenges Sasuke. His subsequent fights with Naruto and Sasuke prove that Kakashi’s rookies should not underestimate their opponents, no matter how silly they look, nor should Lee expose too many of his techniques unwisely. Sasuke, though shown a weakness to his Sharingan, manages to copy a couple of Lee’s Taijutsu. When Lee almost uses his initial Lotus, Gai and ninkame intervene, and Lee is reminded of his promise.

Gai’s squad passes the first part of the exam easily enough and without further incident, and in the Forest of Death sequence, Lee branches off from his teammates to assist Sakura against the Sound squad threatening her unconscious teammates. Lee suffers a blow from sound-waves to his inner ear and is knocked out. When he comes to, Team Ten has intervened and Sasuke has already finished off the fight. He is a little dismayed he did not get to shine for Sakura as well as he would have liked, and promises that the Lotus of the Hidden Leaf blooms twice. Lee promises to get stronger.

Too many teams pass the second round, and the Chunin exams go into individual-based eliminations before the final round. After watching Neji take down his cousin Hinata (and stepping in to stop Naruto from fighting Neji out of turn), the impatient Lee finally gets his turn to fight Gaara of the Desert in the nearly last bout of the exam. It is a fight few could really say they expected him to win. Most are ill-prepared to fight Gaara, and Lee’s speed only makes him little more than a feisty mouse skittering just past the claws of the perturbed and bloodthirsty cat. With Gai’s permission, however, Lee drops his heavy practice weights and increases his speed, opens five gates and unleashes both the Front and Reverse Lotuses on the Sand-nin. Still, Gaara appears relatively unharmed. Ultimately, before Gaara can deal the final blow of a sand coffin attack, Gai steps in and ends the fight. Lee struggles to his feet one last time, on willpower alone, broken and battered, and is assured he is a splendid ninja. But the fact that Lee comes out alive, suffering a broken arm and leg, multiple abrasions, apparently irreparable tissue damage from opening five of the Gates, and yet still manages to break into Gaara’s ultimate defenses says something not just for hard work, but for Lee’s undying determination to fight to survive.

In the time between this and the rest of the exam, it is clear something about Lee broke through to Gaara. Perhaps it was his ability to slip past the sand defense with his speed. Perhaps it was Gai stepping in, but whatever it was, Gaara seeks out Lee in the hospital. With sand crawling up the bed in preparation for a finishing move on the unconscious Lee, the Sand-nin very nearly would have killed him had it not been for Shikamaru and Naruto.

When the Chunin exams resume again, Lee arrives too late to see Naruto beat Neji and begin to turn around the Hyuuga’s outlook on life and Fate. During Sasuke’s performance against Gaara, Lee is impressed by the skill and speed the Uchiha has acquired since last they fought. Sasuke makes such advances, and Lee’s injuries quite possibly have permanently stagnated any attempts at becoming the kind of ninja he so longs to be. He doesn’t have long to contemplate this difference, however. When the exam is called short by an attack, Lee, like many of the spectators, is knocked out by a genjutsu.

He thus misses the fight between Naruto and Gaara but—just as with Naruto’s fight with Neji—Lee will experience firsthand the aftereffects of the battle: the transformations of Naruto’s opponents.

In his teammate, Lee begins to see a change. Neji is coming to realize the prospect of hard work and where that can take him, and for that, Lee is thankful…not just to have his own beliefs reconfirmed, but because Neji finally realizes how to escape his own cage. Lee, however, is now confined to the hospital, injured and barely able to walk, training in moments when he can sneak out of bed and do one armed pushups in the hospital courtyard. His dreams of becoming a splendid ninja seem to be as broken as his body. Gai hopes that the great Tsunade-sama, sought out by Naruto and Jiraiya as the next Hokage, will be Lee’s saving grace.

At first, even for Tsunade, Lee’s condition seems hopeless. But the odds are fifty-fifty, and with Gai’s promise to die if he dies, Lee takes his chances for the sake of a dream. The gambit pays off this time. Lee survives, but when the squad led by Shikamaru sets out to retrieve Sasuke, he is told to wait behind. He follows anyway, and staves off Kimimaro so Naruto can continue after Sasuke. When Lee himself gets into dire straits, it is Gaara of the Desert who comes to his unexpected rescue, showing the first signs of that reforming bond between Sand and Leaf that Naruto was responsible for bringing about. Lee accepts the help, and forgives Gaara for the trouble he has caused him.

During the next three years in which Naruto is off to train with Jiraiya, Lee and Tenten become Chuunin and Neji a Jounin, but Team Gai remains intact. Their first mission of importance calls upon them to rescue Gaara, now Kazekage, and to back up Kakashi’s squad.


Shinobi Specifics

Ninja rank:

Chuunin.

Skills:

Exclusively Taijutsu. He possesses no ability to do Genjutsu and Ninjutsu. But due to his extreme training methods, he possesses amazing speed and strength, and uses these abilities to their maximum in the fighting arena.

Gouken Ryuu (Strong Fist) is the style of Taijutsu taught to Lee by Gai-sensei and, as the translated name suggests, it is a hand-to-hand combat style that focuses attention on strength, and on damaging the opponent with powerful attacks to bring them down with hard-hitting attritional damage.

Suiken Ryuu (Drunken Fist) based on a traditional style of Chinese martial arts that uses seemingly loose coordination, pratfalls, odd postures, and fluid movements to mimic the staggering stances of a drunken boxer. Lee, however, lapses into the style when actually intoxicated and is apparently quite masterful at it. Unfortunately, he is also equally unpredictable and will try and fight whoever is in the area. He used it once by accident against Neji and Gai when he mistook Gai’s sake for his own cup, and later during the fight against Kimimaro, due to a mix-up between his medicine and Tsunade-sama’s sake.

Dynamic Entry is Gai-sensei's patented entry technique that first deploys a kunai to distract and follows up with a swift kick coming in from the blind side. Possibly enough to debilitate the enemy before he knows what hit him, it is effective, if somewhat annoying to the opponent or ally who survives the attack with his wits about him; Gai may never live down the kicks he gave Jiraiya and Kisame. Lee uses it more often when making a heroic save, and has generally had better timing than his sensei…generally.

Leaf Whirlwind, and its stronger variation, delivers a set of powerful spinning roundhouse kicks to an opponent. Used with Lee airborne, it can knock several blows to the enemy's head, sometimes effectively knocking them off to the side or to the ground. A good combination could even KO a weakened opponent.

Konoha Kage Buyou (Leaf Shadow Dance) kicks an opponent in the air where they have less of a chance to launch a return assault. Used primarily in preparation for the Front Lotus technique (see below), Lee then shadows the airborne opponent, appearing behind them like, as the name implies, a shadow. It is one of the moves copied from him by Sasuke during their first encounter.

Konoha Reppuu is a kick designed to sweep low to the ground and knock an opponent off his feet. He uses it against Naruto to send the other boy spiraling into a wall. It is usually a good opening move as it breaks the concentration of the opponent and forces them to either trip, or sidestep, or jump, leaving them generally open for further attack by one of Lee’s quick follow-up techniques.

Konoha Shoufuu is a straight-legged upper-cut kick intended to disarm an opponent by striking their weapon-arm, or to strike under the chin and knock them backwards and upwards. A hard enough, well-placed kick to the jaw could possibly instantly knock out an opponent or even snap their neck.

Lee is also seen with nunchucks which he has seemingly not yet mastered.


Does your character have a bloodline limit or other special abilities?

No bloodline limit (a fact he is quite proud of in his own way, even if it is difficult to be without). Lee is a master—the “genius,” some say—of hard work. All of his skills have been learned through practice—failure after failure—and persistence. He does not know the meaning of the phrase “to give up,” although it is clear he has contemplated it from time to time. In place of a bloodline limit, he has the Celestial Gates, which enable him to break past his own physical limitations at great cost to his body.

Omoto Renge, the Front Lotus, is one of the great weapons in his arsenal, but also a brutal double-edged sword. Gai makes him promise to not use it unless for a precious person and, with his sensei’s permission, Lee unleashes it against an unsuspecting Gaara in the preliminaries of his first Chuunin exam. Opening the Initial Gate, he breaks past his own barriers and increases both speed and power to amazing rates. Launching the opponent in the air with a few swift kicks, he wraps them in his own bandages and brings both himself and the opponent crashing towards the ground, spinning like a corkscrew. At the last second, he jumps free, leaving the opponent to plummet head first into the ground. This near lethal technique strains Lee's own body, however, leaving him vulnerable in its aftermath, and leaving his body in disrepair.

Ura Renge, Reverse Lotus, opens the first five gates (though it seems it is only necessary to open the first three—but Lee opened five), releasing the barriers in his body that keep him body’s limitations in check. In exchange for the increase in speed and power and stamina, his muscles undergo heavy strain and breakage. The move primarily consists of a battery of attacks to put his opponent into the air and then while following their body down again. Because of the Gates and the Lotus, Lee is the first to come anywhere close to breaking past Gaara’s extreme defenses. It wasn’t enough, however, and since the injuries incurred in that battle, Lee hasn’t used the Lotus or the Gates to the same extreme again.


Statistics:

Total Ability: 3
Latent Ability: 4
Luck: 2

Ninjutsu: less than 1 (honestly, the chart looks like it credits him about 0.33-0.5 points worth but for arguement's sake, it's a null point)
Taijutsu: 5
Genjutsu: (same as Ninjutsu)
Intelligence: 2.5
Force: 4
Speed: 4.7
Stamina: 4
Seal Knowledge: (same as Ninjutsu)


Roleplay Examples



RP Sample:

Lee heard Neji’s instruction and paused just over the water, watching his own determinedly grinning reflection for a moment in the murky, sunlit pond before he snapped his attention back to the matter at hand. Neji would be very angry if he did not catch it this time! This would be the…oh, he had lost count in his excitement. But they had been at it a while! He wiggled a little, growing antsy as he felt something brush past his bare leg, and not hearing further instruction grew a little bored. Yet he waited. And waited. Surely, Neji’s smirk was not because he was making him wait longer than necessary…!

Tenten and Gai-sensei had to be wondering where they were by now. …What if they had gotten worried! How long had it been…? Twenty… minutes? Oh, twenty minutes was not so long. Besides, Neji would keep an eye on the time for him.

He heard Neji’s command, and Lee dove forward for the fish the Byakugan had sensed beneath the water’s surface, nearly falling face first into the water in his eagerness. His fingers closed over a slippery, scaled, wriggling thing, and he hauled it up, dripping, declaring loudly, “Look! Neji! I caught it!” He barely even looked at his prize as he jumped in excitement and, as he came down, Lee slipped backwards on an algae covered rock. With a loud splash, one that possibly caught Neji as well, he went down. The fish hit the water with a plop a split second later and swam away.

Feeling very sheepish, Lee had to admit his rival had possibly been right this time. Maybe, until he was much better at this (and he would be!), he should stick to practicing when they did not require food for a mission so badly. “Perhaps next time, Neji,” he admitted apologetically. “I will let Tenten handle the fishing.” It was as though only now realizing the logic behind the suggestion…and maybe it had taken that long to get through. But, after all, her chakra lines were much better suited at this than bare hands and buckets. Neji had a point. But he was still grateful his teammate had given him a chance to try.

Despite Neji’s grumble, Lee happily accepted the hand offered to help him up.

Journal Sample:

[[ooc: His writing is excitable, kind of childish, often large and scribbly, though it is clear he is trying to keep it neat and readable, even if his thoughts get too far ahead of him to do so (this is a personal journal, good old pen and paper, that he shoves under his pillow or into his knapsack). He writes in blue or black ink whenever possible (because it looks nice, or so someone told him once upon a time), but sometimes can’t resist a happy green pen (or appropriate other color depending on subject). Occasionally, there are doodles in the margins, like the kinds of things that one does when taking notes or talking on the phone (houses, smilies, clouds, wonky geometric shapes). He’s no artist and he wants his journal to look nice, so he tries to refrain, but, well, sometimes the pen has a mind of its own. He also uses the notebook for lists and notes to himself.]]

CURRENT RECORD:

797 push-ups

869 jumping jacks

1345 jump rope jumps

3576 log kicks

Today has been an EXCELLENT day! I went training with Neji for a while and we enjoyed it VERY MUCH. At least, I am almost certain he enjoyed it—he seemed rather pleased with his win and I do think I gave him a good fight, as always. I ALMOST BEAT HIM this time, I am sure of it! GAI-SENSEI, YOU WOULD BE SO PROUD IF YOU SAW!!! I MUST REMEMBER TO TELL GAI-SENSEI LATER!!! Neji was kind enough to point out a few flaws in my opening technique. I will examine those and work on them for when next we fight—because I will challenge him again and someday I will win! We ate ramen and Naruto-kun joined us for a while. It was good to talk to him! He has been very busy training and he still wants to be Hokage—I am sure he can do it! He is already VERY strong and VERY determined!!! As long as he keeps working hard, I KNOW he will make his goal! Goals—OH! I beat my goal of 750 push ups and was going for 800, even though Tenten wanted to go for lunch (I am sorry Tenten for delaying our lunch!), but I didn’t quite make it. ALMOST THOUGH! IT WAS VERY CLOSE! (I hope Tenten does not find out, or think ill of me if she does find out, but I think the water she dumped on me may have caused me to slip BUT I DO NOT BLAME HER!! I WILL ONLY HAVE TO BE MORE CAREFUL NEXT TIME SO I DO NOT SLIP!) I MUST REMEMBER TO NOT SLIP WHEN DOING PUSH-UPS—EVEN IF IT IS MUDDY FROM YOUTHFUL TENTEN-CHAN’S WATERBOTTLE!

I saw Kakashi-sensei—Gai-sensei’s Most Esteemed Rival—today when out with Neji and Naruto. He asked about Gai-sensei (It is very nice that he was asking about his Rival. VERY CONSIDERATE. I wonder I hope I know Neji will someday do the same for me!) I had to tell him Sensei was away on a mission. He seemed…relieved? I do not understand why Kakashi-sensei does not like their youthful contests. I THOUGHT THEIR RECENT SACK RACE WAS MOST COMPELLING!!!! Even if Kakashi-sensei did get distracted at the bookstore and disqualify himself. HE VERY NEARLY MADE IT! IT WAS A GOOD RACE, AND OF COURSE GAI-SENSEI WON! HE IS TWO POINTS UP NOW!

Anyway, it is bedtime. I have to be up early—earlier for my morning jog because Neji, Tenten-chan and I have a mission of our own—it is very exciting! (even if it is only C-rank…things have been rather slow). BUT I WILL WRITE ABOUT IT LATER.

So, good-night my youthful green journal!



What do you foresee as your character's role in Senjuu Legacy?

Lee is still working towards his ultimate goal of being the best he can possibly be, given his handicaps with ninjutsu and genjutsu. He’s eager to be a good teammate to anyone he is put with, to prove himself to Gai and to the village, and to be a good rival to Neji. Determined and driven as always, he is still attentive to his friends and teammates, perhaps annoyingly so sometimes (but he means well!). He refuses to be left behind, even as it seems everyone else his growing stronger and growing apart, and so training is still very much a daily routine and personal challenges are an ever-present part of life. But secretly, after a particularly trying mission or hard day, Lee sometimes does worry he is not quite up to snuff, and he vows to work harder—though Neji’s old attitude and hurtful words do still come back to gnaw at Lee’s often anxious heart. What if…? Gai’s encouragement is a counterbalance, however, and Lee’s attitude is quick to swing the other way, if for nothing else than for the sake of the others—because he would not let his friends down! Aside from that, Lee is also quite good at functioning as comic relief, whether he realizes people are laughing at him or not, and his happy youthful attitude, he hopes, is contagious enough to brighten even the dullest day. A smile, a promise, and a thumbs-up/nice-guy pose will fix anything…That’s what Gai-sensei told him.

I would love some interaction with Lee’s teammates—namely Gai-sensei and Neji, because their roles as mentor and rival, respectively, are so important to him, but also with Tenten, to see how she relates to Lee in and out of the team environment. I’d also like to explore how various relationships have changed through the years and events: see how he interacts with Naruto, Sakura, Gaara (should we ever add the sand siblings)…and perhaps even have the chance to put Lee into situations with characters he would otherwise not see much of, like Team Eight, Team Ten (oh, Shikamaru would be interesting…such a difference from Lee), or any of the other sensei (Kakashi and Lee interaction would be especially fascinating to me, should there ever be a Kakashi). And I suppose, on a purely fangirly level, I think it would be funny to have him talk to Jiraiya, because, well, GAI SENSEI DOES NOT APPROVE.