| abstract | - At the end of the Second Great War, many children in Iwa were left parent-less. With so many orphans left behind, it was a struggle for the nation to take care of them all, and many were forgotten. Torayama Mayu was one of these— a girl with no relatives, no ties or relations to any of Iwa's clans or bloodlines, and at the time, no family name, either. The information on her family had died with them, and Mayu was simply too young to remember. Without family connections, none were willing to take the refugee girl in. She became a stray, surviving— and thriving— and the streets of Iwagakure. Despite the circumstances of her life, however, Mayu was not alone. Her companions were the cats, the strays and mongrels that roamed the back-alleys of the city. They taught her how to scavenge for food— be it in the dumpsters behind restaurants, or by stealing from the baker's store front when he wasn't looking. On cold nights, when she shivered in her sleep, they huddled against her and shared their warmth. They taught her how to protect herself, using claws and fangs. Not only herself, but the other things she had to protect— her territory, her meals, and most importantly, her family. To Mayu and her feline friends, Iwa's rooftops and back alleys were a playground. As fate would have it, the first one to successfully capture the thieving stray cat Mayu had become was one of Iwagakure's Jōnin— but not before the agile child had led him on a chase around the city. Her years of running with the city's strays had developed her agility and physical prowess to a level on par with full-fledged shinobi. She had cultivated reflexes and skills that took years to develop, even intuitively learning how to tap into her own chakra without instruction. Astounded by what such a young, wild girl was capable of, the Jōnin- Takegawa Keiichi— took it upon himself to raise her, and make her into a shinobi. It went without saying that raising Mayu was difficult. Having spent so much time with the cats, Mayu didn't care much for being taught human manners. Though a sharply intelligent girl, with keen observation skills, she had missed most of development children need in their earliest years. She hadn't been taught how to read or write, and struggled to catch up with other children her age. But with promises of food— mostly taiyaki cakes— Mayu was able to bring herself back up to society's standards. What Takegawa showed her of the ninja arts fascinated her, and made the girl eager to become a shinobi in her own right. To his astonishment, Mayu began developing her first elemental affinity almost immediately, simply by watching and copying his own movements. She had an incredible talent for Ninjutsu, and it was this, along with her advanced physical prowess, that gave Takegawa the idea to enroll Mayu into the academy a full year sooner than she really should have been. Given her younger age, some kids that the younger girl might make an easy target for bullying— a mistake they soon realized. Because she had spent so much of her time living with wild strays, Mayu already possessed a fighting prowess on par with full-fledged shinobi, and had no difficulty retaliating against her tormentors. Matter of fact, in the end, they were the ones who got beaten up. Rumors began about her wild up-bringing on the streets, and her classmates began keeping their distance. She was called the “stray cat”, and thought to be a violent delinquent, even by her teachers. Beginning as a genin forced that to change, for both Mayu and her classmates. Divided into teams, Mayu was placed with other gennin who were wary of the reputation she had received for all the fights she’d been involved in— whether she was the one who caused them or not. Mayu was perfectly content to maintain her solitary position, and stay with her cats and Takegawa. But the group’s sensei wasn’t so keen on the idea. Determined to have her students work as a unit, the group’s sensei took the time to study the three of them, and figure the best ways to bring them together— with a suggestion from Takegawa, the best path turned out to be through their stomachs. By having dinner together each night, the team slowly started speaking to each other. Upon seeing the fearful “Stray Cat” stuffing her face with abandon, Mayu’s teammates also began to realize they had the girl figured wrong. Little by little, they opened up to each other, Mayu turning into the little sister of the group, despite being the physically most powerful. And Mayu, for the first time not only had people to talk to, but also found that she had quite a bit to talk about. Mayu achieved the rank of Chūnin by the age of fourteen, and with little difficulty. Mastering her fist elemental affinity and developing her second at a rapid pace, quickly branching into the combination Iron-release techniques that would eventually become one of her signature skills. By this time, the Third Great Ninja War was already well under way, and the still-young Mayu and her teammates were now being called out to fight— and to kill. Forced on an assassination assignment before they were ready, their team began to crumble before the horrors of war, as many others had. In an attempt to salvage their team, their sensei accepted a mission requiring them to defend a distant outpost on the northernmost edges of the Land of Earth. It had been thought the remote location would not be in danger, and their team would be able to have the time they needed to steel themselves against the tragedies they'd seen. It was a poor judgment. Not only was the outpost attacked, but it turned out to be the point of infiltration for a large enemy force from Konoha. Their sensei was killed in front of them, and Mayu watched as her teammates were about to be murdered as well. Something snapped within the young shinobi at that moment— something feral and instinctive. It screamed at her to protect— her friends, her home, even the body of her dead sensei. By the time back-up arrived on the scene, the attacking force had been almost completely decimated. Mayu herself was covered in steel and blood, her eyes slit in fury. And despite her numerous cuts and broken bones, her first concern was for her injured— but still living— teammates. That day, Mayu ceased to be the "Stray Cat", and forever became the "Iron Tiger". Her achievements earned her the rank of jōnin. And while her team was disbanded after the disaster at the outpost, Mayu herself was only beginning her launch into notoriety. Throughout the course of the war, she was frequently placed on the front-lines not as part of any advance, but rather as a rear-guard protector. Defending fortified positions and retreating forces as a one-woman wall against enemy attacks, taking on powerful attackers or even whole units of skilled shinobi on her own. This isn’t to say she worked entirely alone. Of the many comrades she met in the war, few stand out as much as eventual Tsuchikage, Taiyō Hakkō, and her aids. Despite being younger, Mayu established a rather firm bond with the skilled elite— Taiyō providing the tactics, while Mayu provided the muscle. They became rather notorious drinking buddies, even years later when Taiyō became fourth Tsuchikage, Mayu caring little for their differences in rank. She also sparred infrequently with Taiyo’s younger sister, Sukai, finding the budding ANBU to be an enjoyable challenge— and her aide Izuka, though a terrible prude in her mind, was no end of fun to tease, especially when drunk. By war’s end, Mayu had established herself as one of Iwa’s more infamous shinobi. She is known for being one of the most approachable Jounin- so much so that many have a hard time associating "Torayama Mayu" and "The Iron Tiger" as the same individual. And while at most times, she may have the same demeanor as a mischievous cat— too curious for her own good— there are still many of Mayu’s colleagues who recall the ferocity of the tiger lurking just behind her kittenish smile.
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