Ori Katō

Ori Kusatani (草谷オリ, Kusatani Ori, née Katō (加藤, Katō)) was a jōnin-level kunoichi of Konohagakure and the mother of Ichika Kusatani.

Background
Ori was born as the youngest sister of Dan Katō in Konohagakure. When she was very young, her sister was killed and her brother, Dan, was killed sometime later.

At some point, she graduated from the Academy and subsequently became a genin. When she was around twelve or thirteen, she took the Chūnin Exams, where she met Hideo Kusatani. At first, she disliked him and found him annoying because she thought he was too chatty with participants from other villages. Eventually, though, she warmed up to him and the two became friends afterwards. Years later, this friendship turned into love, and Hideo and Ori decided to get married. They went to Hideo's parents, Shōta and Azusa, to ask for their blessing. However, his parents refused, as marriage outside of their clan was forbidden. Hideo didn't care, and the two of them got married, with Hideo being disowned by his parents and said parents moving back to Tanigakure, where they originated from.

During the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha, Ori fought alongside her husband. Hideo used his Hidden Release to render them both invisible and to protect them while fighting the Nine-Tails. They both survived with minor injuries.

Months later, Hideo was sent on a mission to the border of Amegakure to investigate possible civil unrest. While he was there, however, he was captured and tortured for information on Konoha by a group of rogue ninja and eventually killed. Less than one week later, Ori found out that she was pregnant with his child.

In late October of that year, Ori prematurely gave birth to a baby girl named Ichika, a name that Hideo had chosen to use if the couple ever had children. She raised Ichika by herself, and the two of them would often visit Hideo's gravesite. She originally opposed the idea of Ichika entering the Academy as she did not want her to be put in danger like her husband was, but eventually relented after a large amount of begging on her daughter's part.

When Ichika became a genin, Ori returned to active duty and resumed taking missions. A little over a year later, she was sent on a mission to investigate past Akatsuki hideouts. However, before she and her team could even get close to their destination, they were attacked by a group of rogue ninja, similar to how Hideo was. They managed to kill all but one of them, who played being dead, fairly quickly. Thinking that they had killed them all, the team relaxed slightly. Out of the corner of her eye, Ori saw a sword coming for one of her teammates, Isamu, and jumped in front of him. She was stabbed through the stomach with it, and was instantly killed. Her teammates killed the man, sent a letter back to Konoha with Ori's summon who had come with them, and made their way back home with her body, abandoning the mission.

Personality
Ori was, at heart, a kind and gentle person, though she was commonly seen as cold and callous. She did not express affection towards others often and was not very outgoing, leading some to the conclusion that she was self-absorbed and even rude. Ichika noted that she was sometimes distant and absent-minded, presumably because of her ongoing grief at the loss of her husband, even thirteen years later. As a child, she was very arrogant, and did not think that inter-village relations were as important as they were portrayed, as seen when she disliked Hideo at first because he was chatting with people from other villages. However, as she grew, she matured and grew into a selfless woman who deeply cared for her loved ones. While she did not like conflict, Ori would fight to the death to protect her comrades and loved ones, a trait that she would pass on to her daughter.

Appearance
Ori had pale blue hair, fair skin, pink eyes, and a slim face, all traits that she inherited from her mother. From her father, she inherited her hair texture.

Her hair was straght and parted to the right, held back with two black hair clips. She almost always wore her hair down, though she would tie it up on missions. She also had an ahoge on the top of her head, something that she would pass to her granddaughter.

As an adolescent, Ori wore a dark blue zip-up jacket, orange mid-length shorts, and black shinobi sandals. She also wore a short black scarf and wore her forehead protector on a black cloth.

As a young adult and during her pregnancy, Ori wore a long, sleeveless, yellow shirt over a blue dress with mid-length sleeves. She also wore greyish sandals.

During the majority of the series, Ori wore a cream-coloured shirt with mid-length sleeves, a forest green tank top, and a light brown skirt along with greyish sandals. While on missions, she wore the standard Konoha uniform, consisting of a long-sleeved black shirt, black pants, a flak jacket, and standard shinobi sandals. She wore her forehead protector on a dark blue cloth.

Nature Transformation
Ori had the ability to use the Fire Release nature transformation. She was a specialist in the Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu, and would often combine it with Wind Release for even more devastating effects.

Taijutsu
Ori was shown to be lacking somewhat in the taijutsu department, relying heavily on ninjutsu and genjutsu, though she knew how to use basic kicks and punches very effectively.

Genjutsu
Ori was said to have a natural affinity for genjutsu, though she rarely used it because she disliked the idea of psychological torture, as it was found to have been used on her husband when he was captured. However, she would use it when necessary to protect others.

Chūnin Exams

 * Main article: Chūnin Exam Arc

Ori made her first appearance sitting alongside Ichika at the Chūnin Exam finals, chatting with Ichika's sensei, Botan. She later fell unconscious due to Kabuto's genjutsu.

Konoha Crush

 * Main article: Invasion of Konoha Arc

Ori could be seen next to Ichika at the Third Hokage's funeral, mourning his death.

Interlude
At some point during the time-skip, Ori was sent on a mission with several other jōnin for the purpose of investigating suspected past hideouts of the Akatsuki. However, they never made it farther than a day’s journey from Konoha as the group was suddenly attacked by a couple of rogue ninja. Ori was killed when she jumped in front of a sword that was meant for one of her comrades, while everyone else was able to get out of the attack with only minor injuries. One of the men on her team is able to send a note that night with Ori’s summon, Taka, who had accompanied them on the mission, to the Hokage’s office. They then abandoned the mission and returned to Konoha with Ori's body.

Video Games
Ori Katō is a playable character in the following video games:

Trivia

 * Ori means "woven" (織, Ori)​​​. 
 * Ori was shown to be a very good cook, and her home cooking was Hideo's favorite food.
 * Ori named her daughter after a single flower that she and Hideo saw in a burned field that had somehow survived the Nine-Tails' destruction, as the name Ichika can mean 'one flower' (一花).
 * When Ori was reincarnated, her sclerae were not originally black. This was changed in later appearances.
 * Ori did not seem to have dominant genes, as her daughter Ichika looks very similar to her father.
 * Ori was the last known person to carry the surname of Katō.
 * According to the databook(s):
 * Ori's hobbies were cooking and birdwatching.
 * Ori did not wish to fight anyone in particular, and in fact did not enjoy combat.
 * Ori's favourite food was any kind of soup, and her least favourite was raw onions.
 * Ori's favourite phrase was "Family is not an important thing. It is everything" (家族は大切なものなんかじゃない. 家族こそすべてだ, Kazoku wa taisetsuna mono nanka janai. Kazoku koso subete da.).

Quotes

 * (To Hideo) "I don't care what your parents say. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you!"
 * (To Ichika before her first mission) "Please...just be safe. Listen to your sensei. Promise me you'll stay out of trouble."
 * (Last words to Ichika before her death) "Don't worry about me. I'll be back before you know it."
 * (Last words to Hideo before his death) "Hideo...please don't go...I have a bad feeling about this!"

Reference
Ori Katō is an OC/RPC for the Narutoverse created by MonsieurCrouton. Naruto and Naruto Shippuden belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

This article/character is still in development!