| Shikamaru Nara | |
|---|---|
 One friendly-looking guy. | |
| Gender | Male |
| Age | Sixteen |
| Race | Human |
| Ship | The Victoria II |
| Position | Helmsman |
| Birthplace | Melior |
| Nationality | Ivonian |
| Faction | Ivonian Navy |
Shikamaru Nara is a Helmsman on the Victoria II. For some reason he holds the rank of Lieutenant despite his exceptional laziness and unenthusiastic attitude.
Personality[]
General
The self-proclaimed "number one at running away", Shikamaru is at-a-glance the most cowardly soldier of his generation. He absolutely hates confrontation and does his best to avoid any kind of trouble. And he has a rather broad definition of "trouble", frequently complaining about everyday activities such as having to go to the trouble of lifting a pencil to write a report. He lacks any sense of pride and is extremely unenthusiastic. Sometimes he goes so far as to mock energetic people who do show a lot of enthusiasm, usually through sarcasm, and he throws the word "idiot" around freely to describe the people around him. He's mostly interested in activities that others would call boring, like cloudgazing, napping, or playing slow strategic games like shogi or go.
Yet, despite all of that and his natural tendency towards flight rather than fight, Shikamaru has a strong sense of morality and will never abandon a comrade in need. No matter how much he complains about his duties, he will follow through for the sake of doing what he believes is right and good. His loyalty, intelligence, organizational skills, and ability to maintain an inner sense of calm in tense situations make him a surprisingly capable leader.
Strengths
Shikamaru's greatest strength is his genius. He has an IQ over 200 although he is usually far too lazy to show it. He learns so quickly that he grows easily bored with lessons, and his fast reaction time and analytical capabilities make him a brilliant strategist. He's also very familiar with the gathering, growing, and application of herbs and medicines. The Nara clan specializes in shadow techniques and Shikamaru himself is very skilled in ninjutsu as well as normal martial arts.
Kage Mane no Jutsu [Shadow Imitation Technique] • Shikamaru is able to manipulate his shadow along any surface. By using other nearby shadows he can further extend the reach of his shadow, but he is limited to the surface area of the original cast shadow. Once his shadow reaches the target shadow, it will attach itself. While attached the target will be frozen, only able to mirror Shikamaru's actions. If he is low on chakra, the Kage Mane will falter and the shadow will return to its normal form. His limit is usually around five minutes, but this might be even less if his opponent has huge stores of chakra or powerful magical abilities. Repeated uses shorten the time limit even further.
Kage Nui [Shadow Sewing] • After extending his shadow, Shikamaru can then force it to emerge from the ground in tendrils. The tendrils can extend and whip about and are strong enough to pierce and trap nearby targets.
Kage Kubi Shibari no Jutsu [Shadow Neck Bind Technique] • Once a target has been trapped by the Kage Mane, Shikamaru can then use his shadow to form a hand which will creep up the opponent's body to their neck. Once the hand reaches the neck, it will constrict in such a manner so as to strangle the opponent.
Weaknesses
Shikamaru is very easily intimidated by difficult situations and will usually back down from a personal fight, when no one else is relying on him. He absolutely hates confrontation and will do whatever it takes to weasel out of one. It isn't only boredom that causes him to procrastinate and slack off on his duties. His fear of failure is the real reason he downplays his strengths and intelligence. He doesn't want people to put too much faith in him because he's afraid he'll let them down. He also has a mild phobia of women, especially the forceful, overbearing kind.
Physically, Shikamaru isn't the strongest fighter, relying more on skill and strategy than muscle. If it comes down to brawn then he's easily overpowered. Even in a test of ninjutsu, using his shadow techniques drains his chakra very quickly. He has to act fast or he'll lose his hold on the enemy.
History[]
Shikamaru was born on the autumnal equinox to Shikaku and Yoshino Nara of Melior, former ninja of the "Leaf Village" who retired to become apothecaries. The Nara clan were traditionally the keepers of a forest on the outskirts of the city in which they raised deer and gathered medicinal supplies, notable for documenting generations' worth of medicine preparations and effects. Generally peace-loving (and lazy), their clan nevertheless developed secret ninjutsu techniques involved the manipulation of shadow. Still, Shikamaru's childhood was unremarkable, with his greatest concern being how to avoid his overbearing mother. He was never formally trained as a ninja, only taught martial arts and ninjutsu by his parents at home.
Although his father wanted him to feel free to make his own choices in life, his mother constantly pressured him to work harder and aim for prestige. She enrolled him at the military academy against his will, where he did very poorly and was constantly on the verge of failing out. One observant instructor realized that his constant tendency to fall asleep in class might be caused by boredom rather than delinquency, so Shikamaru was given an IQ test. As it happened, the instructor was correct, and Shikamaru's intelligence surpassed that of his peers and teachers alike. Once he was placed in a more interesting accelerated program designed to utilize his strength for strategy, his performance improved astronomically and he graduated at the age of twelve to become a Sub-Lieutenant.
Of course he lapsed back into his bad habits as soon as he was placed in a ship's crew. Very few people would take a twelve-year-old seriously, thus he was given little respect or responsibility. In a catch-22, his tendency to fall asleep on the job because he was so very bored made people respect him even less. However, when his ship was attacked and the helmsman killed, Shikamaru proved his worth by taking over to steer them to safety even while bullets flew around him.
For his bravery in battle and his remarkable maneuvering in dangerous skies, Shikamaru was promoted to Lieutenant, and when he turned sixteen he received an invitation to join the crew of the Victoria II to put that quick thinking to good use.
Relationships[]
coming soon
Logs[]
coming soon
Quotes/Trivia[]
Quotes
- "It's a pain."
- "How troublesome."
- "Sometimes I wish I was just a cloud, floating along."
Trivia
- His birthday is September 22.
- He is a Virgo.
- His blood type is AB.
- He is 5'7" (170.0 cm) tall and weighs 117 lbs (53.4 kg).
- His favorite food is mackerel steamed with miso and pickled kelp.
- His least favorite food is hard-boiled eggs.
- His favorite hobbies are napping and playing shogi.
Rumor Mill[]
PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE: "That lazy kid." He often falls asleep at the wheel. Made Lieutenant at 15, which surprises people because he definitely doesn't seem like the capable or hardworking type. Rumor has it that he saved his previous ship with some impressive maneuvering during battle, but he doesn't like to talk about it.
SPECIAL KNOWLEDGE: Academy records would reveal that he's actually a genius, among the most brilliant students of all time, and that he graduated at age 12 with top marks.
POP CULTURE PHENOMENON?: Not even slightly.