Characters / Sugar Plums

Team Five

In General

• Freudian Trio: Ume being the Id, Hiroshi being the Superego, and Kiriko being the Ego.
• Two Girls and a Guy: They break the normal shinobi pattern of two guys and a girl.

Ume

The narrator and protagonist. She's a reincarnated twenty something year old from our world who ended up in Kiri. She's not terribly happy about it.

• Animal Motifs: Ume is in character associated with rabbits and was originally given the nickname 'Red Rabbit' because of her red hair and high speed.

• The Big Guy: On her team she's this. It's why it annoys her that her teacher calls her Ume-chan.
• Boring, but Practical: Ume can't use most of the series fancy and spectacular jutsu, instead she focuses on learning more mundane methods of fighting including swordsmanship, pressure points, poison, sealing scrolls and wind jutsu (of which she's only capable of either pushing herself or other people since she has no idea how to use cutting winds). These tactics however combined with her natural speed and complete willingness to throw everything she has at a target immediately especially when they're talking makes her potent fighter.
• Combat Pragmatist: While ninja in general are this, Ume fights really dirty and is not above blackmail, intimidation, interrupting someone mid speech to get a hit in or aiming for tender locations.
• Clothing Combat: Eventually uses this in full force with khakri heavy cloth, particularly she can harden it like armor, use her bandages to capture and bind people as well as store things, and can freely manipulate several threads effectively using them as really thin ninja wire.
• Double Jump: Force Jumping, basically a normal jump with wind chakra is this for her, it's a fairly simple technique but increases her manueverability greatly on the battle field.
• Iaijutsu Practitioner
• In-Series Nickname: Ume has three, Suigetsu calls her Buyo (gnat) which was her nickname in their sword class (because she's small, fast and hard to hit), Zabuza calls her Mokuyobi (Thursday) which is part of his nicknames for all the orphans (whom he collectively calls Golden Week) who are all named after days of the week (she's Mokuyobi because when they met she played a timid girl who followed around Kiriko whom he named Suiyobi (Wednesday) and her last one is what civilians call her the Aka No Usagi (the Red Rabbit).
• Fatal Flaw: Ume's is her willingness to put others above herself, always. At best she's a bit of a mother hen, at her worst she's a full blown Martyr Without a Cause. This has led her to multiple impulsive actions that have nearly killed her, as well as lead her to hiding her using antidepressants to prevent people from worrying about her. She is called out a couple times for the hypocrisy of this especially since she is the defacto leader of their group and thus cannot be replaced.

• Foil: She can be considered one to multiple canon characters, but especially to characters in Dreaming of Sunshine since it is set to be in that universe.
  • Shikako: Both characters are reincarnated, both are reasonably intelligent and both act as Jack of All Trades characters for their group. The differences lie in their approaches and situations. While Shikako references her past life but completely accepts the new culture of the ninja world Ume injects knowledge of her past life freely and frequently and grates against shinobi culture as a whole. Shikako was raised in a well established well connected clan, Ume was raised in an orphanage where she was malnourished and ignored. Shikako almost didn't go to the academy because her parents were concerned for her, for Ume it was not actually a choice she was going to go their or be homeless so she opted to go early to protect her siblings. They both struggle though for different reasons and circumstances, but Ume's world is considerably darker by default.
  • Naruto: Both of them are orphans, wind nature, had at least one foreign parent. Though while Naruto has an abundance of chakra, a Healing Factor, is incredibly optimistic and doesn't focus at all on his natural affinity. Ume is actually deficient in chakra, has lots of scars, is very cynical, and relies heavily on her wind affinity.
  • Sasuke: Both of them lost most of their adoptive families in a single large tragedy leading both of them to being very driven and very cynical. While this led Sasuke to try and push people out of his life and focus entirely on bettering himself, Ume instead latched onto the few people she had left and started trying to work to better the people around her.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: With Kiriko, Minami, and Mitsuki, she's Choleric.
• Fragile Speedster: Ume is the fastest person in her class, she's also the most fragile and has the lowest amount of chakra.
• Functional Addict: It's mentioned in passing several times that Ume is addicted to a form of ninja sleeping pills as a way to deal with her constant nightmares. It's not treated as anything serious until she has to start taking antidepressants as well, which not only impede her use of jutsu while she's on them, but when she spends several days unconscious because of suffering from injuries in combat she starts having seizures from withdrawal because she didn't inform the people she was traveling in that [[What the Hell, Hero?? she was on them.]]
• Good Is Not Soft: Though a bit awkward Ume is a genuinely nice and incredibly empathic person especially to her friends, her siblings and to nonshinobi of whom which she is very popular. This of course doesn't change the fact that she is a very potent warrior and has a higher on screen body count than most of the main Naruto cast. If you threaten her or anybody she cares about she won't hesitate to kill you.

• Made of Iron: Inverted and deconstructed with Ume. She often takes damage from falls, training and gets knocked unconcious from situations where normal ninja would just shrug it off. At first it was attributed to her being younger then her other classmates but it's later revealed to be because of her lower than average chakra pool when she runs out of active chakra she draws unconciously from her passive chakra which is what reinforces the body of normal ninja from harm. She's told that someone like her shouldn't be on the battle field at all because even facing normal shinobi she's much more likely to die the longer a fight goes on.
• Not Afraid to Die: Having done so before death isn't a big mystery to Ume, and she's almost blaise about that fact, which frustrates her siblings to no end.
• Pintsized Powerhouse: Ume is compared to everyone she works with absolutely tiny. At the age of twelve she is 4 foot 3, making her six inches shorter than Naruto (who is the shortest member of the Rookie Nine). Doesn't make her any less badass.

• Red Mage: Ume starts out as a straight up damage dealer with a focus on wind ninjutsu as her primary magic, but as time goes on she moves into more medical arts including diagonostic and healing ninjutsu along with being a decent swordsman.

• Shell-Shocked Veteran: Though not overt at first Ume has several symptoms of PTSD including frequent nightmares, increased paranoia, avoids thinking about or speaking out loud her tragedies and more recently suffered a flashback after seeing Kimimaro.
• Spider-Sense: Sort of, Ume can't sense danger as a whole, she can sense when someone attacks her with the intent to harm. This doesn't work against things like splash weapons, when she's sparing with someone who won't harm her, or weapons with additional add ons (like ninja wire).

• These Hands Have Killed: A running theme is though Ume can and will kill without hesitation when she needs to, she always has conflicting feelings about it after the fact because of how much it contradicts her upbringing in her previous life. She often has nightmares about it too.
• Weak, but Skilled: Ume has low chakra for a ninja. She can't participate in extended conflict without the use of combat drugs. She's also exceptionally skilled at targetting weak points, hitting really hard really fast, and has excellent chakra control.

Kiriko

One of the kids from the orphanage Ume was raised in. The closest person personally to Ume and later her teammate.

• Actual Pacifist: In story, Kiriko has never killed anyone and is almost always in a support position in combat. She can fight, but hates violence.
• Foil: To Sakura, both are orphans who mostly take noncombat roles (pre-timeskip), have high chakra control and train in medical jutsu. Kiriko is however more soft spoken and naturally gentle and adapt socially.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: With Ume, Minami and Mitsuki, she's Phlegmatic.
• In-Series Nickname: Zabuza calls her Suiyobi (Wednesday).

• Oneesama: She shows shades of being the first type. Ume refers to her as her sister, sibling or older sister most of the time. She's graceful and a lot of the time very concerned for Ume's wellbeing.

• Shell-Shocked Veteran: Is hinted at to having PTSD, mostly because Ume won't bring up the incident at the wall for fear of upsetting her.

• White Mage: Primarily she falls into support roles as well as the best at using healing ninjutsu.

Kishi Hiroshi

The heir to one of the seven families and later teammate to Ume.

• Badass Bureaucrat: Is the heir to a family of these. It's noted several times that while they're position is mostly in the background, the Kishi wield an incredibly large amount of power in Kirigakure.
• Black Mage: He's this full stop focusing almost entirely on ranged combat. He can use the most elements out of all the main characters.
• An Ice Person: Learns how to use freezing jutsu during the chunin exams which is known to be incredibly difficult (it's just a step down from ice release in that freezing jutsu requires there be a large amount of water on the target and ice jutsu can create ice from the humitidy in large amounts).

• Brainwashedand Crazy: After the chunin exams he is put in a position under the Mizukage. As it turns out not only Yagura, but everyone who works directly under him are under the control of Obito. This reveals itself when Ume tries to take him from the village with the new information she has and he promptly tries to kill her.
• Defeat Means Friendship: Somewhat of an aversion, but later played straight. Ume defeating him doesn't immediately make him want to be friendly to her but it does set him on a path to investigate the bad treatment lower people receive of which he had been somewhat ignorant. Only several months later as well as being forced to lead a task force for their graduation do the two actually become friends.
• Foil: His background as a well educated clan heir makes him one to most of the other characters who are orphans. He's also a foil to Sasuke, while they are both heirs and natural prodigies, Hiroshi's clan focus is mostly noncombat related and his skill lies in using elemental jutsu.

• The Smart Guy: Discusses and experiments with jutsu with Ume, very knowledgable in strategy and not afraid to call Ume out on her more dangerous or risky ideas.
• Squishy Wizard: Hiroshi is an incredibly talented ninjutsu user despite all else. He has the largest variety in ninjutsu he can use because he can use four of the five major elements. He also can't stand up to Ume, or any close range fighter at all if they close the distance on him.
• Summon Magic: Becomes the signer of the Owl Contract.

Kishi Kansen

Their jonin sensei, also a member of the Kishi family.

• Badass Teacher: The jonin sensei of Team Five, he is competent and skilled shinobi.
• Dead Man Writing: Leaves a message with the rabbit contract knowing it would be left to one of his students after he dies. It's gotten a little late because Ume isn't able to use the contract because of the chakra constraints, Kiriko is unwilling to touch it after he dies for some time out of grief and Hiroshi is indisposed.
• Energy Bow: The variety where the arrows are made of lightning elemental chakra.

• Last of His Kind: One of few remaining members of the Arashi clans, one of the clans who died off in the blood limit genocides.

• Summon Magic: A signer of the Rabbit Contract, before he dies.
• Yes-Man: He's this to the Kishi, it's a bit of a darker example when you realize that it's not out of ambition but out of geniune fear about what would happen to him and his family if he acted otherwise.

Team Three

In General

• Freudian Trio: Minami is Id, Mitsuki is Superego, and Chojuro is Ego.
• Fighter, Mage, Thief: Chojuro is the fighter, Mitsuki is the Mage, Minami is the thief.
• Two Guys and a Girl: Inverted.

Minami

• Four-Temperament Ensemble: With Ume, Kiriko and Mitsuki, she's Sanguine.
• Hammerspace: Minami (and later Ume) carries a lot of random miscellaneous on her person at all times, whenever they need something specific she's the person to ask for it.
• In-Series Nickname: Zabuza calls her Kayobi (Tuesday).
• Lovable Rogue: Steals things usually just because she can, she's also very funny overall and no one really thinks less of her. Especially when you realize that she originally stole things so she could give them to crippled refugees that lived at the walls of Kirigakure.
• Geometric Magic: Works more and more with seals as time goes on.
• Phenotype Stereotype: Her eyes are greenish blue, a clear sign of foreign heritage.

• Trap Master: Minami loves tricks, ninja wire and smoke bombs.

Mitsuki

• Boring Yet Practical: Mitsuki is capable of using more advanced jutsu but instead opts to use basic jutsu like water bullet because she can use it with increased speed and it uses less chakra.

• Four-Temperament Ensemble: With Ume, Kiriko and Minami, she's Melancholic.
• Good with Numbers: On various levels, even though they're only twelve (nine in Ume's case) all the orphans have to live in apartments and manage their own budgets and income which Mitsuki in particular does. She can also calculate the trajectory of projectiles, and with some training from Ume, card count and calculate pot odds for poker.
• In-Series Nickname: Zabuza calls her Getsuyobi (Monday).

• The Stoic: Mitsuki is never outwardly surprised nor does her tone ever raise over the same normal pitch. She does have a sharp tongue when adults aren't around though.
• Variable-Length Chain: Justified and explained, she wears a harness under her clothing that stores a long length of chain on the back like the wheel someone would use for a hose.

Chojuro

• Backto Back Badasses: In combat situations he'll sometimes be paired with a pure offensive fighter like Ume or Suigetsu and act as their shield while they fight through other enemies.

• In-Series Nickname: Zabuza calls him Kinyobi (Friday).
• Martial Pacifist: While he can, he really hates fighting and killing people.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: He suffers nightmares from his time on the wall.

• Stone Wall: Not in the normal sense but it's noted that he's an excellent bodyguard because he prefers using an entirely defensive sword style.

Gonbee

The jonin instructor to Team Three.

• Friend to All Children: He's the first adult they meet to actually treat the rest of the characters as children after they begin their ninja training and is honestly disgusted when he finds out that Ume was captured and beaten to be interrogated.

Other Characters

Gonmaru

• The Big Guy: Not at first, but by the age of fifteen he's as tall as most of the adults and still growing, he's also the most physically muscular.
• Bruiserwitha Soft Center: Gonmaru will specifically never aim to maim in nonlethal situations and in general has a very easy going. Though he is hinted at having a darker side in his POV.

• Darkand Troubled Past: It's noted unlike most the orphans, Gonmaru knew and remembers his parents. It's revealed in his POV that they were both murdered.
• Dishing Out Dirt: Earth nature and about the only jutsu type he does use.
• Mighty Glacier: Gonmaru is the slowest character in the group, he's also physically the strongest and the toughest.

Benjiro

• Jack of All Trades: In story he's said to be so average that he ranks average skill in almost all ninja arts with the only tilting being that he's water natured. It's noted that in of itself is downright bizarre and contrasting considering all of the other characters are all incredibly specialized in one or two fields.
• The Nondescript: His actual appearance is described as this which is noted to have to have been a mix of several different regions to look so universal. This among with his generic guy qualities actually makes him the perfect person to send on infiltration missions, in fact if he hadn't graduated with the rest of the class he would have likely been sent straight into infiltration corps.
• What the Hell, Hero?: He gives this out twice, both to Ume.

Hozuki Suigetsu

• The Ace: Suigetsu's natural talent combined with his family jutsu makes him a force to be reckoned with in a fight. Every time it's been an option Ume's perfectly fine throwing Suigetsu at a problem while the others devote time to other things.
• Blob Monster: Turns into water whenever attacked.
• Blood Knight: Much less brutal than his canon counterpart, but still very much enjoys fighting and combat.
• Bizarre Human Biology: Mentioned several times that because of his clan's secret technique that his biology is downright strange when being examined under jutsu. He also losses stamina the more water he loses from his form and thus has to constantly hydrate himself.
• Distressed Dude: Just like in canon he get's captured by Orochimaru. There's an entire arc devoted to finding and freeing him.
• Last of His Kind: At the end of the civil war all the other Hozuki have been wiped out.
• Making a Splash
• More Teeththanthe Osmond Family: Like canon he has pointy filed teeth, it's apparently a tradition of the Seven Swordsman.
• Sweet Tooth: Like Ume, loves sweet things.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Like in canon he prefers foods he can drink which means he is absolutely delighted when Ume introduces him to smoothies. In fact almost every scene he has a speaking role in after she does so he either mentions a smoothie or is drinking one.

Momochi Zabuza

• Cynical Mentor: Zabuza is this to anyone he teaches, especially Ume. Which is saying something because of how cynical Ume is.
• Death Seeker: He outright states if he had succeeded in killing Yagura he himself would have gone off to die as he would have lost his purpose.
• Knight in Sour Armor: Zabuza is a jerk, but he's a jerk who worked hard for the rebellion and put himself at considerable risk trying to save Kirigakure despite it's flaws.
• Living Emotional Crutch: He is noted in story to be this for Haku, as Haku won't go on missions without Zabuza making it clear he's codependent on him.
• More Teeththanthe Osmond Family: Like canon, it's noted when he's dealing with civilians he generally covers his mouth with wraps, probably because they unnerve people.
• Parental Substitute: To Haku
• Rude Hero, Nice Sidekick: He and Haku heavily have this dynamic, especially in the courts where he says he basically let's Haku deal with all the courtly affairs because he doesn't want to put up with the formal bull.

• Snarkto Snark Combat: A lot of his conversations with Ume are this, mostly because they are both incredibly cynical and have no qualms tearing into each other.

Haku

• Dude Looks Like a Lady: Like in canon Haku occasionally wears feminine clothing, though most of the characters know he's a boy, Suigetsu misgenders him and ends up hitting on him.
• Clueless Chick-Magnet: Pretty low key example, but both Mitsuki and Minami have a crush on him, which he doesn't notice until they both give him a Nowor Never Kiss before the battle for Kirigakure.
• Good Cop/Bad Cop: Plays the good cop to Zabuza's bad when the two of them first meet with the group.
• Nice Guy: Of course Haku like his canon counterpart is one of the most reasonable and easy to get along with characters. He also acts as a foil to Zabuza's jerkass tendancies.

Danny

A black and white cat given to Ume by Yagato.

• Cats Are Magic: It becomes very clear over time Danny is not a normal cat and Ume notes this on occasion but it's yet to be revealed exactly what he is.
• Cats Are Mean: Averted, he's actually incredibly relaxed and friendly, so much so that he'll willingly go with people who are actively hunting the rest of the party, if they scratch him behind the ears.

• Fuzz Therapy: Danny will act as something of a stress reliever/service animal to Ume if he's around while she's having a breakdown.