History Characters / CatchYourBreath

!!Miyako [=Gekko/Tomoe=] Uesugi
Kei and Hayate's mother. A woman with a mysterious past, at least as far as her children are concerned. Retired special jonin.

* AscendedExtra: Has POV sections in chapters of ''The B-Plot'' that focus on her personal history. Becomes a main character in ''Dig Two Graves'', because her revenge drives her involvement in the plot.

* DarkAndTroubledPast: Miyako shows repeated signs being a RetiredBadass; combat skills that don't match anything in Konoha, a potent DeathGlare, and KillingIntent that is out of proportion to her power. The truth finally comes out after her death in the Commencement Arc. Turns out she's the SoleSurvivor of a clan massacre, and killed dozens of people for the sake of revenge in the Land of Iron. She then fled the country and changed her identity in the Land of Fire.

* TheApprentice: Hayate learns the tricks of the shinobi trade from three different teachers: his mother, Kei, and Kakashi. He also has a formal mentor in the form of Inoichi Yamanaka, his genin team's leader.
* BrandishmentBluff: Hayate clearly learned something from Kei's previous experiences with the Chunin Exams, and demonstrates this by faking out his first tournament opponent with essentially-harmless versions of deadly explosive tags, convincing her to surrender.
* BigSisterWorship: Early on, it's established that Kei can do little wrong in her brother's eyes.

* {{Protectorate}}: For Kei.
* TheRival: To Tenzo, out of sheer competitiveness.
* ShipperOnDeck: Seems to think that Kei and Obito are dating, despite their assertions to the contrary. The bubble gets busted in chapter 96, but he takes it in stride.
* ShockAndAwe: His chakra nature, though he hasn't done much with it.

* EndearinglyDorky: Has a tendency to immediately voice his passing thoughts, including a [[GibberishOfLove tangled love confession]] that resulted in him gushing over a katana. Other characters note he's mostly like this around [[IceQueen Tomoe/Miyako]]. When she's not around, he's still silly, but more grounded.

* SociallyAwkwardHero: Thanks to her turtle motif from Isobu, Kei is often compared to one even by people who don't realize she's a jinchuriki. Prone to spacing out (usually while talking to Isobu), an incorrigible tomboy, and frequently pressured into things by her friends, Kei doesn't exactly the self-assured personality some people expect from a jonin.

* ArrangedMarriage: To Tomoe not long after he turned fifteen. Both parties were reluctant at best, and it ended up being a ploy to KillEmAll, so the whole thing was moot.

* SoleSurvivor: As far as he knows, he's this for the Uzumaki clan. He's wrong. [[spoiler: In both ''Catch Your Breath'''s continuity, he never has a chance to meet any other survivors. In ''Dig Two Graves'', he goes missing during a battle shortly before Wataru would've been able to tell him about Kushina.]]

** SuperSpeed: He can move faster than even other KungFuWizard-types ([[{{Xianxia}} cultivators]] in this case) can follow.

* TactfulTranslation: Since he doesn't have the same trouble with the LanguageBarrier Tomoe does, he translates or intercedes for her when he can.

* GrewASpine: With regard to his morals and overcoming fear to defend them.

* SacrificialLamb: In Tomoe's first POV chapter.
* ShrinkingViolet: Is this in the chapter of ''The B-Plot'' where he appears. He retains some of these traits in ''Dig Two Graves'', being self-effacing and prone to downplaying his skills, but he's more willing to deal with people and stand up for himself. Since he doesn't have the same trouble with the LanguageBarrier Tomoe does, he also translates or intercedes for her when he can.

* SuddenPrincipledStand: Happens in his debut chapter, which results in his family deciding to simply kill him alongside the Uesugi they've already murdered.

* ArrangedMarriage: Back when the Uesugi clan still existed she was arranged to marry a member of a rival clan.

* FantasticallyIndifferent: Is this regarding ghosts and the fierce corpses in ''Dig Two Graves''. It helps that undirected undead mostly ignore her, for some reason. She also doesn't care that her katana, Yukishiro, is extremely haunted.

* HitmanWithAHeart: While she's devoted to her revenge, Tomoe is deeply protective of what TrueCompanions she has in ''Dig Two Graves''. As soon as Shinta gets himself into trouble with his GoodSamaritan tendencies, Tomoe leaps to his defense and throws her lot in with the side of the war he's automatically joined.

* VengeanceFeelsEmpty: Knows this is the end result of pursuing the deaths of those who killed her family, but [[HonorBeforeReason feels compelled to continue anyway]] in ''Dig Two Graves''. In ''Catch Your Breath'' proper, she abandons the Land of Iron entirely and takes up the {{Ronin}} lifestyle until meeting Wataru.

* AbusiveParents: What little is known about his childhood suggest he was a victim of verbal and physical abuse.

* AscendedExtra: Has POV sections in ''The B-Plot'' chapters that focus on the time before Kei was born, and becomes a main character in ''Dig Two Graves''.
* BeneathNotice: How Wataru functions as a spy, as do most of the agents he works with. While he's taller than average for the time period (around 6'), he has a forgettable face, a not-particularly respected occupation, a subservient manner, and tends to describe his own appearance as "boring."
* DeadpanSnarker: With a few CloudCuckooLander tendencies. He doesn't like to let other characters' transgressions or mistakes go unremarked, and he enjoys mocking people.

** In ''Catch Your Breath'', they met in a roadside restaurant while he was returning from a mission. When she fought off Suna-nin alongside his team after the place was attacked, he was gone.

* NonActionGuy: Only the case in ''Dig Two Graves'', where the shinobi nations don't exist and he was never trained to fight. He explains that by the standards of the Iga-born training masters, he was too old to begin training when he arrived.

* TurtlePower: With the accompanying ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' jokes.

* SkunkStripe: Kaito's hair is green, with a long streak of white at his temple. Kei assumes that it was the result of a childhood scalp injury, because she doesn't think he'd dye it.

* CoveredWithScars: Like his canon counterpart, Obito has prominent scarring and discoloration along the right half of his body. He covers the majority of it with long-sleeved shirts

* BigSisterInstinct: This is Kei's starting motivation. While it's evolved over time and Kei's learned to extend her protective nature over more people as the story goes on, she's still prone to panic and rage if something happens to her brother.

* BoyishShortHair: Generally, Kei's kept her hair short since childhood. On one occasion, this actually led her and her brother being mistaken for each other, until he decided to grow his out.

* GameBreakingInjury: [[spoiler:As a result of having to make a SadisticChoice between hurting herself horribly or being a potential Orochimaru SoulJar.]]

* MakingASplash: Kei's chakra nature, though she doesn't learn any water techniques for a while. Eventually, this skill is boosted to inhuman levels by bonding with Isobu.

* StrongFamilyResemblance: Kei and Hayate resemble each other strongly throughout their lives, being generally bedraggled, dark-haired shinobi with prominent eyebags, similar builds, similar faces, and the same kenjutsu style. Strangers occasionally mix them up. However, Hayate lacks Kei's facial scar and mole, and as an adult his hair is longer.

* ParentalAbandonment: Kei mentions the apparent incongruity of Obito being an orphan while also being an openly acknowledged member of the Uchiha clan. See AllOfTheOtherReindeer above for details.
* PlayingWithFire: His chakra nature, and his clan's specialty.

* ThinkingUpPortals: His main, and mostly unique, power. Gained from the trauma of seeing [[spoiler:his foster mother]] killed in front of him.

* CombatMedic: Rin, while not being a student of the Tsunade school of combat, is an deft hand with chakra scalpels on the occasions she has to be. She later devotes herself to becoming a specialist in both poison treatments and Uchiha eye overuse, among others. And she later makes up the difference between her strength and Tsunade's by obtaining SuperStrength.

* TookALevelInBadass: Eventually, Rin becomes frustrated with her lack of combat prowess and elects to make up the difference by through training and obtaining a summoning contract. And eventually, she is the one to kill Sasori after fighting in tandem with Kei and her scorpion summon partners.

* CannotSpitItOut: Kakashi's attraction to Kei has reached EveryoneCanSeeIt levels of obvious to everyone but her, but he can't seem to make it plain to her. As of chapter 115, he's finally managed to get his feelings across to her...while high on pain meds, and just after she figured it out for herself.
* ChildProdigy: Kakashi graduated from the Academy at age five, was promoted at six, and became a jonin by thirteen. Even with LoweredRecruitingStandards, it's viewed in-universe as a sign of an insane amount of skill.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Heavier on the "jerk" part at first, to the point that Kei's initial impression of him can be summed up as "he's a pint-sized jackass."
* OfficialCouple: With Kei.
* ParentalAbandonment: His father was the White Fang of Konoha, who commits suicide as a result of a horribly botched mission. His mother died before then, on a mission outside of the village.
* PrettyBoy: When he ditches his mask, to Obito's great dismay.

* ShockAndAwe: Kakashi's chakra nature, which gives eventual rise to the Chidori and Raikiri. And a nonlethal stunning effect called the Stunning Flash, as well as a transportation jutsu referred to as the Arc Jump.

* AnimeHair: Spiky blond, same as his son, and he doesn't appear to use any product to keep it that way.
** DownplayedTrope in ''Dig Two Graves'', where his hair is a duller shade to fit in with the more realistic setting. He likewise has darker eyes.
* BadassTeacher: As the Yellow Flash and jonin-sensei to Team Minato, the man qualifies.

* BlowYouAway: His chakra nature.

* TheCavalry: Fulfils this role on the battlefield in general, being a OneManArmy with teleportation powers.

* AMinorKidroduction: Introduced as a child [[spoiler:in ''Dig Two Graves'', where he and Kushina are two of the junior shinobi Sakumo is trying to resettle to keep them away from the conflict in their homeland.]]
* OneManArmy: While Kei cites Minato as having killed two hundred enemy combatants in a single battle, canon cites the number as ''a thousand''. Either way, he's leagues above most other characters in terms of threat level.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Specifically, green with a white SkunkStripe in it. According to Kei's theorizing, Kaito suffered a scalp injury as a child and his hair just never grew back the same color.

* DarkAndTroubledPast: Miyako shows repeated signs of totally unexplained backstory, like combat skills that don't match anything in Konoha, a potent DeathGlare, and KillingIntent that is out of proportion to her power. The truth finally comes out after her death in the Commencement Arc.

** In ''Shell Game'', Hitoshi Shinso notices the resemblance immediately and finds it uncanny. He also calls them both "a pair of Eraserhead lookalikes" for

* ObliviousToLove: Utterly fails to recognize romantic interest from peers, at least when directed at her. She did notice Obito's attraction to Rin and Rin's interest in Kakashi, but it's likely as much a result of canon-influenced confirmation bias as anything.

* SoleSurvivor: Regarding his home village and birth family. His adoptive parents are also dead, and while his sister may have survived due to being a CanonCharacterAllAlong, Tayuya disappeared in the wake of the attack on Sorayama and left Roku alone to travel to Konoha.

* {{Bokukko}}: Turns out that Kei uses male personal pronouns, which exacerbate her problems with being mistaken for a boy.

* BlowYouAWay: Kei eventually learns this nature transformation, but it's definitely far weaker than her original one.

* FirstPersonSmartass: Kei specializes in making snappy remarks about the people and events around her as she goes through the story.

* MakingASplash: Kei's chakra nature, though she doesn't learn any water techniques for a while.

* TheMedic: Barely. Kei is IncompletelyTrained in both medicine and medical ninjutsu, though she served as Rin's study partner and guinea pig for a while. She is eventually forced to give it up entirely after [[SealedInsideAPersonShapedCan she becomes a jinchuriki]].
* NotInThisForYourRevolution: At the beginning of the story, Kei doesn't have any particular interest in fighting for the good of Konoha. Instead, she begins the process of becoming a ninja for the explicit purpose of protecting her younger brother and her friends. Notably, she never truly ''leaves'' this mindset, instead choosing to expand the ring of people she cares for one person at a time.

* RedBaron: Kei eventually earns the moniker "Tidal Blade" over the course of the story. Other jinchuriki in ''Ocean Stars Falling'' and its related side-stories make it clear that Kei's reputation is a fair bit more fearsome than she actually is.
* SmallStepsHero: Aside from derailing the October Tenth event, Kei tends to act only where she can to challenge the Plot. Regardless, these changes have massive consequences, for good or ill.

* SociallyAwkwardHero: Thanks to her turtle motif from Isobu, Kei is often compared to one even by people who don't realize she's a jinchuriki. Prone to spacing out (usually while talking to Isobu), an incorrigible tomboy, and frequently guilted or pressured into things by her friends, Kei isn't exactly the headstrong, confident hero some people expect from a jonin.

----

----

!Other Residents

* BadassTeacher: She becomes Aiko, Roku, and Kaito's jonin-sensei.

* TheSnarkKnight: Kei is prone to sarcastic asides to herelf and to Isobu, but always makes sure to acknowledge her own foibles.
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Isobu.

!Other Characters
[[folder:Ame]]
!!Nagato Uzumaki
Only known holder of the Rinnegan, a long-lost Uzumaki clan member re-adopted as Kushina's brother, and basically heading up the Uzumaki clan in Amegakure.

* GoodIsNotSoft: Deals with threats to Amegakure with the full extent of his Rinnegan powers.
* GravityMaster: Uses the Deva Path's push-pull ability to launch the dormant Ten-Tails into low earth orbit.
* PersonOfMassDestruction
* TriangRelations: Type 8 with Konan and Yahiko.

!!Yahiko
Leader of Akatsuki and Amegakure, though he doesn't make as many appearances as his compatriots do.

* HeroesPreferSwords: Uses a katana in combat, which he may have taken off the ROOT agents originally ordered to kill him and the rest of Akatsuki.
* TheHeart: Explicitly identified as such by Kei, who's seen one version of Akatsuki go downhill as a result of his death, though he may not be aware of it.
* MakingASplash: Uses Water nature transformation ninjutsu.
* SparedByTheAdaptation: Jiraiya and Tsunade's intervention saved him from his canonical fate.
* SummonMagic: He got his hands on Hanzo's salamander contract and uses it for security purposes.
* TriangRelations: Type 8 with Konan and Nagato.

!!Konan
Third member of the Akatsuki trio, and their public face to other countries more often than not.

* ActionMom: She has four children with Nagato and Yahiko by the time Naruto graduates from the Academy.
* EvenTheGirlsWantHer: The first thing Kei thinks when she sees Konan in person is that she's extremely attractive.
* {{Flight}}: One of the very, very few people in-setting who can fly under her own power.
* PaperMaster
* TheSpymaster: Explicitly called Amegakure's head of intelligence.
* StuffBlowingUp: As a direct consequence of her control over explosive seals. She is also the one who tried to destroy the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path with sheer explosives alone.
* TriangRelations: Type 8 with Nagato and Yahiko.

[[folder:Suna]]
!!Gaara
The Fourth Kazekage's youngest child and Shukaku's host.

* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Still gets this treatment from Sunagakure, but has Kei and Naruto to soften the blow within canonical CYB. In ''Ocean Stars Falling,'' joins the Straw Hat Pirates and finds TrueCompanions too.
* IJustWantToHaveFriends
* RedBaron: In ''Ocean Stars Falling'', he joins the Straw Hat pirates and is known as "Red Sand" Gaara.
* RedOniBlueOni: Far more taciturn than Naruto or the Straw Hat Pirates, he has this dynamic in particular with Fu and Luffy.
* TrueCompanions: As a member of the Straw Hat Pirates, he's already included.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Kiri]]
!!Mei Terumi
The Fourth Mizukage and current leader of Kirigakure.

* LadyOfWar: Helped organize the coup that put her in the Mizukage's robes.
* {{Pun}}: When Utakata refers to Mei being "hot," he's referring to both her bloodline limits and her attractiveness.

!!Utakata
The Third Mizukage's nephew and Saiken's host. In ''Ocean Stars Falling'', he joins the Crimson Carnation Pirates and later earns the nickname "Carnation Prince" Utakata after the destruction of Impel Down.

* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Ostracized for both being a jinchuriki and being the Third Mizukage's nephew in the wake of the chaos in Kiri after the [[WhamEpisode Rashomon Arc]].
* ArrangedMarriage: To [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Mei Terumi]].
* BrokenPedestal: Has two in the form of his childhood mentor Harusame and his uncle Renge, the Third Mizukage.
* DefrostingIceKing: Over the course of ''Ocean Stars Falling'', the other characters (especially [[MagneticHero Naruto]]) manage to gently wear him down and get him to participate in their games. The first sign of this is his brief flash of sympathy when he realizes Naruto is one of the [[SealedInAPersonShapedCan jinchuriki]]. Later, he even speaks civilly to Kei and willingly joins the mission to take on Impel Down.
* MakingASplash: Water nature transformations are his bag.
* RedBaron: "Carnation Prince."
** FluffyTheTerrible: "Carnation Prince" doesn't sound very menacing, but he's a PersonOfMassDestruction who killed [[PoisonousPerson Magellan]] in single combat.
* UsedToBeASweetKid: When he was very young, he was an eager-to-please child absolutely devoted to his only remaining family, few friends, and mentor. That changed as he got older, due mainly to betrayals, deaths, and trauma.

[[folder:Kumo]]
!!Killer B
Gyuki's host and the Fourth Raikage's younger brother. In ''Ocean Stars Falling'', he joins the Red Hair Pirates on a lark.

* BunnyEarsLawyer: Incredibly competent shinobi, and probably the quirkiest of the native ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' cast.
* OddFriendship: With Kushina, given Kumogakure's history of attempted bloodline theft.

!!Yugito Nii
Matatabi's host and C's cousin. In ''Ocean Stars Falling'', she becomes known as "Cobalt Lioness" Yugito.

* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: A victim of this treatment, much like the other jinchuriki.
* ArrogantKungFuGuy: A bit, when her shinobi skills are questioned. She and Kei butt heads early on as a result.
* EnemyMine: In OSF, she only joins Kei and Ace to get off the island and regain her strength. Fighting Blackbeard and rescuing Ace from Impel Down turns them into FireForgedFriends.
* FireForgedFriends: With Kei, Ace, and Utakata (as a very distant third).
* InSeriesNickname: In addition to her title, Yugito's name is routinely shorted to "Yugi" by Naruto.
* NotSoAboveItAll: In OSF, she plays Rock-Paper-Scissors with Luffy and Zorro to decide who gets to fight Minotaurus. And wins!
* PlayingWithFire: Her primary nature transformation.
* ShipTease: With Ace and occasionally Thatch.
* ShockAndAwe: Her secondary nature transformation. Her word on the subject is, "I am not from the Land of Lightning for nothing."
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Sorayama]]
Home to group of merchants known as the Chinatsugumi, who live in the shadow of Mount Soragami.

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Most of them, when Sorayama is attacked by Otogakure.
* DangerousDeserter: Rikuto, who faked his death in order to escape a seemingly endless conflict between Iwagakure and Sunagakure decades before the start of the story.
%%* DoNotGoGentle
* SuperpowerfulGenetics: Sort of a running theme with them, and why they're targeted by Orochimaru.
** BarrierMaiden: Chinatsu, whose family seals make her a living stopper on Mount Soragami. She transferred the seals to her niece, Aiko, shortly before her death.
** ElementalShapeshifter: Nanami, as a runaway from the Hozuki clan.
** AnIcePerson: Shirozora, as a runaway member of the Yuki clan.
** MagmaMan: Rikuto's kekkei genkai ability.

[[folder: Land of Iron]]
The samurai-dominanted snowscape in the north, where shinobi are foreign influence. Prominently featured in Miyako Gekko's backstory chapters of ''The B-Plot'' and later chapters of ''Catch Your Breath''.

!!Isshinta [=Asakura/Shinta=] Uzumaki
A teenager adopted by the Asakura clan in [=Miyako/Tomoe=]'s Land of Iron side-story, ordered to marry Tomoe by his new family. He's actually a survivor of the destruction of Uzushiogakure.

* MismatchedEyes: And by using her chakra, Yugito can get them too.
* {{Nekomata}}

* {{Asexuality}}: Confirmed by WordOfGod to be the case.

** In ''Dig Two Graves'', she has the comparatively milder nicknames "Wuya-[[CoolBigSis jie]]" and "Wu Xue." The former is given by [[BunnyEarsLawyer Wei]] [[TheNecromancer Wuxian]], who thinks of her figuratively as another of the CreepyCrows that follow him around. The latter is her name while living in a foreign country.

* StrongFamilyResemblance: Looks like a smaller version of her mother, but with her father's personality and wilder hair.

* BigDamnHeroes: Manages to pull this off ''four'' times in a single arc. [[spoiler:And in doing so, he takes out Ganryu, breaks Yagura's back, kills two Oto-nin while rescuing Genma, and nearly manages to put a dent into Manda before he needs a rescue of his own.]]

* BigBrotherMentor: To Gai early on, though the younger shinobi has long since outstripped him in terms of power.

* FatalFlaw: He tends not to take things seriously. Which nearly gets him killed when he runs into Orochimaru during the Memory Arc.

An ANBU agent with a kenjutsu specialty and a lot of field experience, who tries his best to take the events of the story in stride.

* OnlySaneMan: Feels like this rather often, particularly with regard to what [[WeirdnessMagnet the members of Team Minato]] get up to.
* RelationshipReveal: [[spoiler:With Genma.]]

* EndearinglyDorky: Has a tendency to immediately voice his passing thoughts, including a [[GibberishOfLove tangled love confession]] that resulted in him gushing over a katana. Other characters note he's mostly like this around [[IceQueen Tomoe/Miyako]].

* LoveAtFirstSight: He fell for Miyako the moment he saw her. In ''Dig Two Graves'', Hatake Sakumo effectively calls him a FoolForLove because he goes as far as avoiding his [[TheHandler work]] to hare off and support her vengeance.
* NonActionGuy: Only the case in ''Dig Two Graves'', where the shinobi nations don't exist and he was never trained to fight. He met Tomoe offscreen when she saved him from bandits.
* RescueIntroduction: From Wataru's point of view in ''Dig Two Graves'', who views it as a SamaritanRelationshipStarter.