Okiku Satō

Okiku Kusaki (くさき おきく, Kusaki Okiku), née Satō (佐藤), is a kunoichi from Konohagkure. She belongs to the Satō Clan and is a member of Team Riku.

Background
Okiku grew up together with both her parents, her little brother Akio and her uncle Yutaka, a former shinobi. When she was a young child, she always listened eagerly to her uncle's stories. Especially fascinated by one of them, a story about how he saved his friend from certain death, she became inspired to become a shinobi as well. However, when she learned one day that her uncle had to let the person he loved die in order to save that friend, she was shaken and, while feeling deep sympathy for her uncle, began to fear that she could be confronted with a similar situation one day as well.

Okiku attended the Academy where she befriended Keiro and Kaname. Sometime during their first week there, the three started conversation after recalling having seen each other before since they lived in the same neighbourhood. Spending time with them took her mind off things and made her relax in between studying.

Personality
At the start of the series, some of Okiku's most prominent characteristics were her tendency to be strict with others and herself as well as her cautious and matter-of-factly behaviour. She learned from her uncle at a young age that, although most likely worthwile in the end, her career as a shinobi had the potential to be filled with pain and regrets. As a result, upon entering the academy, she stopped idealizing the shinobi life like she used to, calling her younger self "impressionable and naïve". She became a determined and good, yet doubtful student. After graduation, she was usually extra careful on duty and worried for her teammates. She was determined not to make any mistakes, fearing that they could have fatal consequences, to the point were she would second-guess her actions and ideas in dire situations. However, over the course of the chūnin exams, getting through many difficult situations and learning from her peers and teammates, she began to gradually gain more trust in her abilities and judgements and grew more into her role as a shinobi while keeping her reflectiveness and rationality as the essence of her character.

A sensible and insightful individual since childhood, Okiku typically acts as the voice of reason when in a group of people and always wants to understand what's going on around her. Her patience and competence enable her to help her little brother Akio with his studies and training and, later, teach the children at the academy. Although thorough and hardworking, Okiku still enjoys making time for herself to wind down when off-duty. She is a well-meaning person and quick to try to help people when they open up to her about their problems, but she will distance herself from those she finds to be untrustworthy or unpleasant, unless the person in question is a student of hers.

Her character is homely, frugal and very mature, leading to her sometimes being jokingly refered to as an "old lady" by her friends and family. Okiku is not someone to be easily influenced by others and is generally confident, but can be swayed by those she has a close connection with. She is somewhat quiet and generally keeps her thoughts to herself. She will usually share her opinions when asked to do so or when she personally feels the need to speak out on something. When it comes to those she's close to, Okiku tends to think that she knows what is best for them. Often, she will try to convince them that she is right by analysing and pointing out the supposed faults in their lines of thinking, not realizing that her attempts at giving advice can come across as reproachful or guilt-inducing. Nonetheless, she has a very mild-mannered and compassionate side to her which often comes out in her interactions with her family, students and friends. This is seen for example when she, together with Kaname and Keiro, suggested a joint walk through the village to Ino and Chōji in an attempt to lift their spirits after Asuma's funeral.

Okiku shares a strong loyalty to Konoha with her peers and believes in the will of fire. She is concerned about the safety of her loved ones and is willing to go to great lengths to support them and protect them from harm.

Appearance
Okiku is a fair-skinned girl and the tallest out of the Konoha 11 females. She has light brown eyes and straight black hair, tucked behind her ears on both sides. She changes the length of her hair three times over the course of the series: during Part I and II, she keeps at chin-length, proceeding to let it grow out long enough to almost reach her shoulders during the blank period and finally wearing it at ear-length in the epilogue. Due to her eye and hair color, she has been mistaken for a member of the Nara Clan in one episode.

In her younger years and her time as a student at the academy, Okiku wore a short-sleeved black hoodie with a hood and pink designs together with black three-quarter length pants and blue shinobi sandals.

In Part I, Okiku sports a short-sleeved violet top with a zipper down the middle and a mesh shirt underneath. She combines it with dark blue pants which reached her mid-calves. Additionally, she wears regular blue shinobi sandals and ties her headband around her left thigh. Okiku also wears the usual shuriken-holster on her right thigh and a brown weapon pouch.

In Part II, Okiku wears the regular Konoha flak jacket over a short-sleeved white jacket which peeks out enough under the flak jacket to reveal a narrow pocket on each side of the jacket. She also sports the same undershirt along with dark purple pants the same length and style as those she wore as a genin. She continues to wear her headband around her left thigh while changing its colour and that of her sandals from blue to black. Okiku has started to carry two cream coloured weapon pouches instead of the previous single brown one. Additionally, she has started to wear a silver bangle on her right wrist, a gift she received from her little brother during the time-skip.

During the Fourth Shinobi World War, she shifts her clothes, replacing them with the standard uniform of the Alliance. She ties the new headband, as before, around her left thigh.

In The Last, Okiku wears a white top with short, uniquely shaped sleeves, kept closed by three square metal buttons running down the middle. She also sports a pair of dark blue three-quarter length pants and brown sandals with a slight heel. She has stopped wearing her forehead protector at this point.

As a guest at Naruto and Hinata's wedding, she wears a short-sleeved light blue button-up blouse and a knee-length black pencil skirt together with black low-heeled shoes.

In the Epilogue, Okiku sports the regular Konoha flak jacket over a black sleeveless shirt, black three-quarter length pants and black shoes.

Abilities
Okiku is a fairly talented kunoichi who generally utilizes ninjutsu. Like the other members of her clan, Okiku has specialized in the use of Barrier Ninjutsu. As a result, she usually has a supportive role in fighting, protecting her comerades from attacks and detecting or restraining enemies. When engaging in combat, Okiku is very capable of using taijutsu to fend off her opponents but will usually stick to attacking with kunai and shuriken, preferring to keep some distance between herself and her enemies. She has proven to possess talent for shurikenjutsu, something that has also been noted in the series, able to handle and throw weapons with great skill and accuracy. She also makes use of smoke bombs on numerous occasions to obscure her opponents' view before or while attacking and has been shown to use explosive tags to blow up opponents trapped inside her barriers during the war.

Ninjutsu
Out of the three main kinds of jutsu, Okiku is most talented and proficient in ninjutsu. Along with Ino, Okiku was among the female students with the best ninjutsu skills in her academy class.

Barrier Ninjutsu
Okiku has focused on learning Barrier Ninjutsu over the years, following her clan's tradition. Depending on the situation, she creates different types of barriers to support her fellow fighters. She can trap enemies inside of smaller barriers ("Caging Technique"), the exact amount of time depending on her chakra reserves and the enemy's abilities, and can even prevent the enemy's jutsu from exiting the barrier with enough chakra and concentration. Starting from Part II, Okiku is able to perform a jutsu called "Omniscient Dome Technique", creating a big dome-shaped barrier which, as the jutsus name suggests, enables her to detect all people who enter, leave or are inside of it, given that the enemy doesn't surpress their chakra immensely well. As of the Fourth Shinobi World War, Okiku was able to expand this barrier to a range of fifteen kilometres for a long period of time, showing her endurance.

Nature Transformation
Okiku's chakra affinity is Earth Release. She appears to have mastered two techniques specifically for defensive purposes; Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall and Earth Release: Rock Shelter. She has shown to be proficient in Fire Release as well in the Fourth Shinobi World War, at one point eliminating several enemies with Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique.

Relationships
In her years at the Academy, she befriended Keiro and Kaname. The three frequently spent the breaks together playing and chatting and ended up becoming best friends over time. It made Okiku visibly happy to be placed in a team with them at the beginning of the series. Due to their friendship, their teamwork is above average and they are quick to notice when something is off with one of them. While she stays close friends with Keiro throughout the whole series, the relationship between her and Kaname develops into love over time, the two of them being moved by their respective dedication and care for the other and admiring the other's personality. They are married and have a child at the end of the series, with Keiro taking on the role of the godfather.

Okiku also shares a close relationship with her little brother, Akio, and holds a lot of respect and admiration for her uncle, Yutaka, who served as her rolemodel during her childhood and inspired her to follow in his footsteps as a shinobi. She also loves her mother and father and, although stating to be annoyed by it, is secretly a bit happy about the fact that her parents are so concerned for her well-being. Despite this, she tries her best to not give them a reason to worry for her.

Prologue — Land of Waves
Okiku was first seen sitting in the academy classroom after having graduated successfully. She was announced to be in Team 6 alongside Keiro and Kaname and smiled widely as a result, turning her head to look over to them.

Chūnin Exams
Okiku and her teammates took part in the Chūnin Exams together with the rest of the Konoha 11. In the first phase, she and Kaname had to rely on Keiro to get the correct answers for all the questions. When the tenth question came around, she started feeling uneasy and considered giving up, however she snapped out of her negative thoughts after hearing Naruto's short speech and observing the impact it had on the other candidates. Like the others who decided to stay, she passed the written test and Team 6 proceeded onto the second phase.

In the Forest of Death, Okiku and her teammates were in search of a heaven scroll. They were seen after a while having successfully fought against another team, though they were unlucky and shown dissapointed at the sight of yet another earth scroll. As they wanted to rest, Okiku noticed two people drawing closer to them who turned out to be Tenten and Neji, searching for Lee who had run off to rescue Sakura from Dosu, Zaku and Kin. Considering themselves having an advantage over the two since Lee was missing, the team debated attacking them but was interrupted by a cry coming from afar. After convincing an uneasy Okiku to do so, they rushed toward its source and looked on in horror as Sasuke beat up the Oto-nin. Later, Team 6 was seen at the preliminaries, indicating that they had managed to get a heaven scroll in time.

In the one-on-one matches, Okiku was pitted against a genin from a Kusagakure team called Nori who used a shuriken launcher for attacking. Immediately as the fight started, Okiku created a shield around herself to defend herself from the shuriken, which Nori soon started to fire at a piercing speed. He showed no signs of stopping, so Okiku, going through her options, decided to attempt to trap him with her Caging Technique. However, she proved too slow to do so successfully, even with trying to lead him to specific spots in the room with the help of smoke bombs as well as kunai and shuriken of her own. Eventually, Okiku was caught off-guard and hit by a special shuriken which paralyzed her. Left in a position where she was unable to continue, Nori was declared the winner. Okiku was disappointed in herself and angry about her loss and, not able to move, was taken away and supervised by the medics until the exam was over. Later, she talked with her teammates about their respective fights and, with their help, regained some of her confidence.

About a month later, Okiku and Keiro arrived together in the arena with Kiba and Hinata to watch Kaname's match and the other remaining fights. Though concerned about Hinata's bad condition, they let Kiba and the disguised Kabuto take care of her alone and remained seated. Much like everyone else, Okiku watched Neji's and Naruto's battle in disbelief, showing sympathy for the former and respect for the latter. She followed Shikamaru and Temari's match in amazement, wondering whether her barriers would be able to withstand Temari's jutsu.

As Sunagakure started to take action, Okiku was caught by Kabuto's genjutsu with Keiro unable to release her from it.

Konoha Crush
Okiku attended the Third Hokage's funeral together with the rest of the village, observing the other attendees in deep thought. She walked home together with Keiro and Kaname after the event and they shared their thoughts, concerns and hopes about the future.

During the time-skip
After Naruto left the village, Okiku became motivated to train as well. Through continuous training, she reached her goal of improving both her speed and stamina and, due to practice with her uncle, her Barrier Ninjutsu also got better. She frequently helped her brother Akio with his studies at the academy.

Some time during the time skip, Okiku is shown practicing ninjutsu with her brother. When they finish and Okiku suggests heading home for dinner, Akio stops her and surprises her with a bangle as a thank-you gift to her for helping him all the time. Okiku is reluctant to accept it at first, feeling guilty and concerned that it must have cost him at least two months worth of pocket money, but he insists. Moved by his action, Okiku can't help but tear up a bit, hugging and thanking him with a smile.

Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance Mission
In search of a third team member for his mission to meet Sasori's spy, Naruto eventually ran arcoss Team Riku resting at Konoha's dango shop. They were suprised but very happy to see him again after such a long time. They had a short chat before he asked them if one of them could accompany him and Sakura, however all of them had to decline, having just returned from a long mission themselves. They apologized and wished him luck as he ran off again.

Hidan and Kakuzu Arc
Okiku, Keiro and Kaname learned of Asuma's death from their sensei and were shocked by the news. They were seen mourning his loss at his funeral together with the other shinobi. After the funeral, the team wanted to cheer up Chōji and Ino by taking a walk and talking to them for a bit, but they both declined the offer. Feeling heavy-hearted after the event and after seeing the members of Team 10 in their grieving state, Team Riku headed home together with their sensei.

Invasion of Pain
At the beginning of the arc, Okiku was seen leaving her house for a mission, telling her worried parents not to panic over her safety everytime she left Konoha. As she met up with her sensei and Kaname in the village centre, they witnessed the explosions caused by Pain. Once Keiro arrived as well, Riku told them to quickly check on their families and then help evacuate the villagers while he would go and inform the authorities.

Okiku, arriving at her house again, brought her parents and her uncle to the shelters and eventually took Akio with her to search for villagers buried under the destroyed buildings. When Akio moved a rock aside to free an old man, the two siblings almost got crushed by loosened debris from above but were ultimately safe thanks to Okiku's rock shelter. Kaname, who had witnessed the incident from a distance, jogged towards them to check if they were injured. Afterwards, he offered to take the old man to the shelters in their place so that Okiku and Akio could go and find their uncle Yutaka whom he had previously spotted on the battlefield. Shocked to learn that their uncle had escaped the shelters and intended to fight in his unfit condition, they ran off, but not before Okiku was reaffirmed by Kaname that he would be alright on his own.

Later, the two found their uncle but were unable to persuade him to go back to the shelters. Okiku lost her composure, angrily questioning him whether he hadn't learned anything about the importance of good judgement in his time as a shinobi. This led to her uncle responding that she couldn't understand his desire to not lose someone important to him once again, hinting at the incident in his past where he indirectly allowed the person he loved to die. After hearing his reasons and after some reassuring words from Akio, Okiku eventually, albeit reluctantly, gave in as they stood together with numerous other members of the Satō clan in an attempt to shield the village from the attacks, with Okiku constantly watching over her family members.

After the attack was over and all the dead were revived, Okiku was seen celebrating Naruto alongside the other villagers together with her teammates, brother, uncle and clansmen.

Five Kage Summit
Okiku and her teammates were present as the Konoha 11 met up to talk about Sasuke, eventually coming to the conclusion that it would be best for them to kill him personally before the situation could escalate into a war. Okiku was silent the whole time and wore a troubled expression throughout the discussion, taking in what the others were saying and, in the end, agreeing to their desicion.

Fourth Shinobi World War
Sometime during the preperation phase prior to the war, Okiku approached her uncle to ask him about his plans for the upcoming battle, prepared to talk him out of getting involved in it. Contrary to what she expected, her uncle declared that he wouldn't take part in the war. He explained to her that, after being talked to by his brother and sister-in-law and after reminiscing about his past, he had planned on not getting involved in fighting affairs of any sort ever again, claiming that he is of a fading generation and just wasn't made to protect others. Even after he admitted to always having been secretly displeased with his niece's choice of career due to his own bad experiences as a shinobi, he expressed his pride in her and apologized for giving her insecurities when she was younger without noticing. Okiku, on the other hand, attributed her former hesitancy to her own weak will and revealed her hope to come back from the war as an even stronger person, for his sake as well.

Once the Fourth Shinobi World War began, Okiku was placed in the Fifth Division alongside Kiba, Hana, Shino and Ino. She was part of the team sent to provide back up for the Second Division. By using Fire Release and her Caging Technique in combination with explosive tags, she was able to help efficiently in the fight against the White Zetsu Army.

Final Arc
Ultimately, Okiku woke up once the Infinite Tsukuyomi was dispelled by Sasuke and Naruto after they ended the war.

She later attended Neji's funeral along with the rest of the Konohagakure shinobi.

Blank Period
After the war, Okiku continued to practice ninjutsu together with Akio, who was now preparing for his first Chūnin Exams.

The Last: Naruto the Movie
Okiku makes an appearance in this film together with her team. She is seen at Naruto's and Hinata's wedding, being part of a photo alongside the other girls (Hinata, Tenten, Ino and Sakura).

Konoha Hiden: The Perfect Day for a Wedding
After thinking about what present to give to Hinata and Naruto, Okiku decides to go to the library to search for ideas in a book about weddings. Flipping through the pages, she starts to think that she should probably come up with an idea herself instead of relying on some book. After asking Kaname for some guidance, she manages to make two matching bracelets for the two, but voices concern over whether they'll actually like them or not. When Kaname hints at the possibility of her having subconciously gotten the idea for the present from the bracelet she got from Akio, she smiles and becomes more confident in her self-made gift.

Epilogue
Years later, Okiku eventually became an instructor at the Academy along with Shino. In the last chapter, she was seen coming to his classroom to ask for some papers. She looked on when some of his pupils - most notably Boruto Uzumaki - caused a ruckus, not paying attention to their teacher. Watching the students with a smile, she told Shino not to worry, saying it's no wonder they behaved that way if he thought about their parents.

When she later came home, she was greeted by her parents and uncle sitting together and seen smiling warmly at the sight of them with their little son, Tasuku. After giving the two a kiss on the cheek, Okiku goes off to the kitchen to prepare some lunch while asking her family about their morning and inquiring whether Kaname was still on a mission.

Naruto Shippūden the Movie: The Will of Fire
Okiku appears in this film together with her team.

Naruto the Movie: Blood Prison
Okiku, along with the other members of the Konoha 11 and Guy, Tsunade, Shizune, Kakashi and Yamato, came to Naruto's rescue and helped out in the fight against Satori.

Road to Ninja
Okiku appears in this movie together with her teammates. In the alternate world, Okiku is lax and much less quick on the uptake than usual, shown when she is the last one to notice Lee in the girl's changing room at the hot springs.

Hidden Leaf Village Grand Sports Festival
Team Riku participates in the sports festival to win the prize. They congratulate Naruto together with everyone else after he wins.

Naruto, The Genie, and the Three Wishes
Team Riku looks on as the other genin try to snatch the genie's bottle. Like the others, they are shocked when the last wish is wasted on Kakashi.

Rock Lee's Springtime Of Youth
Okiku mostly appears in the spin-off together with Keiro and Kaname. She usually prefers to stay out of everyone's antics, only joining in if something piques her interest or if it seems inevitable. She occasionally comments on the situations in her head and sometimes aloud, providing some funny moments.

Trivia

 * "Kiku",when written as 菊, means "chrysanthemum", which her mother once noted to be her favourite flower.
 * Okiku hates spring because she suffers from hay fever.
 * According to the databooks:
 * Okiku's personality is described as mindful and thorough.
 * Okiku's hobbies include reading, taking baths and taking walks.
 * Okiku would like to fight Temari.
 * Okiku enjoys rice dishes and doesn't dislike any food in particular.
 * Okiku has completed 40 official missions in total: 10 D-Rank, 17 C-Rank, 9 B-Rank, 4 A-Rank, 0 S-Rank.
 * Okiku's favourite phrase is "Guardians never surrender".

Quotes

 * (To herself after Naruto's speech at the written exam) "Just now...there was a complete change of atmosphere in the room..."
 * (To herself during her fight with Nori) "He's not holding back...I hope I can keep this up!"
 * (To herself about Kiba) "I wonder how Akamaru can put up with your crazy personality."
 * (To Akio after his graduation) "Congratulations! I have no doubt that you'll become an amazing shinobi."
 * (To Kaname about her parents worrying for her) "I guess...it makes me happy. Saying "take care" to someone is like a declaration of love."
 * (To Shino about Boruto and Shikadai) "Don't let it get to you, Shino. After all, remember who their parents are."

Reference
Okiku Satō is an OC for the Narutoverse created by The SatoGirl.

Edit: I'm an idiot. I only realized just now that Read Books was kind enough to write about me on her OC's page. So now: a big thank you to you as well!