33. Oboro Torioi
Parts and Parcel (23, 34)
Age: 24
Birthplace: Doma
A shinobi of Doma, Oboro is among the contingent sent by the Eastern alliance to aid in the battle against the IVth Legion. Though his homeland was already under the imperial yoke at the time of his birth, Oboro was raised in a secluded village where he was instructed in the art of ninjutsu by his master Gekkai. Blessed with equal measures of innate talent and dogged determination, he quickly rose through the ranks and was awarded the title of jonin, given only to the most skilled shinobi.
When Lord Kaien led his rebellion, Oboro proudly fought at his side. After a hard-fought battle, they succeeded in taking back Doma Castle, and it seemed for a fleeting moment that Doma's liberation had been won. Victory, however, proved as ephemeral as bubbles in the sea—owing in part to the machinations of a fellow shinobi who had already defected to the Empire, providing them with vital intelligence from the shadows.
Before long, Zenos's XIIth Legion was upon them, and Lord Kaien's revolt mercilessly crushed.
Oboro survived the battle, and upon returning home, was tasked with a new mission by the village elders—he was to make for Eorzea, and pursue the traitor who had betrayed his homeland.
So it was that Oboro came to practice the art of the shinobi in a new land, ready to return at a moment's notice should his homeland require his skills. And return he did when Hien, son of Kaien, led his own revolt, playing a vital role in the infiltration of the Dairyu Moon Gates.
This time, Oboro has been summoned by Lord Hien once more, to provide invaluable support to the Bozjan Resistance as a key member of the Eastern alliance.
Oboro is a serious-minded youth with a strong sense of justice—so serious, in fact, that he often comes off as rigid and inflexible. At the same time, he is passionate about defending others, and would sooner throw his own life away than put another's in danger—an almost reckless courage that has won him no small number of admirers among his fellow shinobi.
This all-consuming devotion to his duty, however, has left Oboro less adept at dealing with interpersonal relationships and everyday affairs. Though he is of more-than-marriageable age, he appears completely at a loss as to what steps might be required to go about finding a woman to take as his bride.
The following is the sworn testimony of a shinobi who insists on anonymity, but has accompanied Oboro on multiple forays to Eorzea:
“The elders have often suggested that it would be easiest if Oboro simply allowed a matchmaker to set him up with a suitable bride. As a jonin, needless to say, tradition dictates that he is bound by duty to father children and raise them to be great shinobi in their own right—a duty which Oboro has no intention of neglecting. And yet, it would seem that his exposure to Eorzean customs and lifestyles has colored his thinking somewhat, and recently he has expressed feeling a certain yearning to experience romantic love. You did not hear this from me, of course, but I have even seen him toting around a book on how to woo the fairer sex—whether he acquired it of his own devices or received it as a gift from a certain roguish acquaintance of his, I cannot say with certainty...”