There is no telling whether or not the young street performing "Manouches" (French for Romani people/European Gypsy) was actually born Jean Luc or if it was simply a name he afforded himself later in life. Having been abandoned on the then, poorly maintained steps of the Mas-Jambot orphanage, the young mutant was briefly raised by state sanctioned guidelines that often times only required the bare minimum of adequate ministration. Sub-par background checks accompanied by a short supply of dedicated properly trained and monitored staff would come to cause an unprecedented number of unexplained and suspicious fatalities. But even then as a small child barely able to read and write, Jean Luc had an uncanny ability for not only survival, but an almost supernatural expertise in the art of escapism. His unbreakable spirit and at times, ostentatious displays of cinematic liberation, would someday become the foundation of his legendary exploits serving as a source of wide eyed inspiration for future generations.
By the age of eight on the sleepy streets of Evry, one of several satellite suburbs of Paris, the free spirited run away had been taken in by a small tight nit group of mutant cast offs, unwanted, and socially discarded youths known as The Arashikage. Traveling from small town to small town this unorthodox group of gypsy like nomads employed a plethora of cleverly camouflaged grifts proficiently swindling anything they could in order to survive. Slight of hand, falsified card games, and a gambit of cat and mouse distractions allowed the unlikely group to endure the harshest of times. Their true talents however, rested in the innovation of an already crystallized influence originally created by a military specialist, Georges Hebert. The primary architect of what is today known as the Obstacle Course. Stripping away years of preconceived notions of isolated muscle movements and returning to an innate state of effortless free flowing movement, or, the elusive "flow state", the Arashikage cultivated a new methodology of unshackled limitations. Transforming the basic principle of moving through ones environment into a fundamental art form of refined acrobatics built from a simple platform of rolls, flips, dives, vaults, and leaps allowing them to navigate their urban environment in ways never before seen with unparallelled authentication and theatricality. Elevated by genetic superiority through mutated genes, the Arashikage grew bolder in their efforts for survival. Some of the more seasoned members who had originally been looked upon as the providers, the ring of leadership, had become alarmingly unstable pushing the group deeper and deeper into the murky waters of the criminal underworld. And soon what had originated as a means to survive had become a never ending string of orchestrated violence predicated not by need, but by greed. Wanted by not only the police, but by organized crime affiliates forcing Jean's hand and causing him to turn his back on those he had considered his family.
During his self-imposed exile, Jean Luc locked down a part time job as a butcher at a small deli shop in Sarcelles, France. The proprietor, a large portly Irish immigrant named Cian MacTaggart, who also happened to oversee a very lucrative underground bare-knuckle boxing association, soon presented his strong willed employee with an opportunity to make some extra money. With no official training or technique the former free running Arashikage was brutal beaten nearly to death. Impressed by the lads unbreakable determination Cian took it upon himself to train Jean in the fine art of street boxing. Utilizing his cold storage unit and endless supply of pig carcasses to educate Jean on organ placement and what would, and wouldnt, constitute a debilitating blow. Molding the previously inexperienced gypsy into a steel carved fighter who's raw style made him a formidable combatant. Nicknamed the Arashikage Naja for his piercing almost hypnotic gaze and fluently seductive movements, Jean quickly established himself among the elite level bare knuckle champions, picking up various submission and grappling techniques along the way. By the time Jean had matured into a young adult he had transformed himself into a diehard scrapper who's limited overall combat skills were greatly supplemented by his determination and mutant speed and agility. Crafting a unique variation of parkour, boxing, and street jiu jitsu, into a style all his own.
As of this time the whereabouts of the Arashikage Naja are unknown.
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