Hello everyone! This story I've been planning and working on for quite a while so I hope you all like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, only my OC's

Enjoy~

CHAPTER 1

We live in a world that is full of hate, despair and loneliness. Full of bloodshed and greed. But the world isn't all that, there is loyalty and companionship, strength and light. That is the life a ninja lives, one that is filled with immense darkness but also contains a vast light, as there can be no darkness without the light.

However for the ANBU Black Ops, that's a different story. There is only darkness, they are the dark side, the unknown guardians and protectors of their villages.
Many civilians would think being a ninja is a fantasy, being able to protect and fight, run fast, jump on rooftops among so many other things….

But it's not all what it's cracked up to be.

You'd think that'd be obvious but in truth that's hardly the case, civilians even soon to be ninja don't fully realise the world we live in is a treacherous one.

A treacherous unforgiving world.

"I'm glad to hear the mission was a success. For now, my only order is that you all rest up before your next assignment." The Hokage's gruff voice sounded throughout his office.

"And when will that be Lord Hokage?" Their squad leader, Tadao replied.

"Soon, in the next few days or so. I suggest you all prepare for a long journey, the failure of this mission could affect the course of the war." The Hokage exclaimed before sitting back and closing his eyes in contemplation. That was their cue to leave.

Disappearing from sight the ANBU team split up and went their own ways intending to rest up after the nearly month long mission they had endured. One team member stopped and stood on one of the high rooftops surveying the village below.

From behind the fox mask she smiled "It's good to be back…" she whispered as she took off again, this time toward the training grounds, landing in a nearby tree she looked down to see her favourite team, she grinned and hopped down, announcing her presence, their sensei already knowing she was there merely smiled at her whilst the others looked up in surprise.

"Well, look whose back." Minato said with a soft smile.

"Welcome back Reiko!" Rin said happily, her hands folded in her lap with her medical kit by her side.

She nodded at the two of them "It's good to be back. So have any of you genin improved?" she chuckled with her hands on her hips.

"I for one am a chūnin! I have been for ages! Same with Rin!" Obito yelled in frustration after jumping up and waving his hands wildly.

She chuckled and ruffled his hair, of course she was only a little bit older than all of them being 15 but she was still the older one. Obito swatted her hand away in frustration.

"I'm gonna be Hokage someday ya know! So you gotta treat me with respect!" Obito said causing her to chuckle again and put her hand on his head again.

"But you aren't Hokage…yet. In the future when you do become Hokage? I'll treat you with all the respect in the world." She said in amusement as Obito's eyes started practically sparkling before filling up with determination.

"That's right! I'll be Hokage someday!" he cheered before going over to Rin enthusiastically.

Reiko turned to Kakashi next who merely stood there as per usual glaring at her for whatever reason, she deadpanned "You know, I was gonna ask you if you're still a chūnin and all….but I don't know if I wanna know anymore…"

'Not with that look you're giving me….' She thought

Kakashi looked away with a 'tch' as Minato stepped forward with his usual easy going smile "I think you may have forgotten…but Kakashi became a jōnin a while ago…" he said with an awkward laugh.

"Oh, whoops I should've gotten you a present." She paused and scratched her head "should've gotten all three of you a present actually."

Obito turned to Reiko "Oh yeah? What're you gonna get me?" he asked with barely contained excitement lacing his tone.

Poking him in the nose she grinned from behind her mask "That is a secret, you gotta wait till I get them! I should be able to tomorrow!" after that Obito visibly deflated causing her to tilt her head in confusion.

Minato laughed "You're only a year or so late, but in any case unfortunately we're heading out on an important mission tomorrow."

"Oooh do tell~" she replied as her interest piqued.

Minato rolled his eyes "The details aren't entirely clear yet, but it's a very important mission especially with the war going on." She nodded in agreement before sighing.

"Alright, well I'll give you all the presents when you get back okay?" she promised, Obito cheered whilst Rin thanked her, and of course, Kakashi glared.

"You three sure have gotten bigger since I last saw you all…" she muttered

"It's only been 3 months." Kakashi said shortly causing her to glare at him.

"Well excuse me but 3 months is a lot of time for growth to occur and honing your ninja skills." She shot back.

Rin looked at her in concern "You've been going on missions non-stop lately, and every time you get back it's always another one the next day…"

She smiled, Rin was always one to be concerned for others, an excellent medic too. "It's the reality of war Rin. But thankfully because my last mission alone was almost a month I get a few days rest if I'm lucky."

Rin smiled at her before Obito looked at her in confusion "Hold on, if you're on break then why are you still in ANBU uniform? I mean we already know what you look like."

She felt amusement edge its way into her tone "And you're all very lucky to know what I look like too, I'm still in uniform because I came straight here right after I reported the mission to the Hokage." At this Obito and Rin smiled, considering she went to visit them first before her own parents.

Parents.

She sighed heavily "Crap. I forgot to visit my parents..."

Minato chuckled "Don't worry there's still plenty of time, I was going to visit your father after training. If you're willing to stay for a while we could go together and catch up along the way?"

She nodded in agreement "Sounds good to me." She said before walking to one of the trees and taking a seat on the fresh grass, her back against the tree she watched the three of them train.

She frowned.

'They all train very separately, as if they aren't entirely a team…the main problem is Obito and Kakashi with poor Rin stuck in the middle…' she thought pensively.

She knew from experience that a lack of teamwork never ended well when on missions, especially important ones. After all, she did have a team before joining the ANBU.

How times have changed….

"You ready to go?" Minato's voice broke her from her thoughts, shaking her head to clear it she stood up with a nod.

Looking around she saw that the other three had already left leaving a deserted training ground with some of the surrounding trees having various slash marks and burn marks, Minato soon walked into her field of vision making her blink.

"Wow, the kids did a number on the place…." She muttered.

"You talk as if you're not a kid yourself." Minato remarked, amusement lacing his tone as they began to walk to her parents' house.

Reiko let out a mirthless laugh "After being in the ANBU for a while you won't ever feel like a kid again, all it takes is a few missions, a bit of death before and after and you're all set for adulthood."

This caused Minato to look down in concentration as they made their way along the dirt path, passing various stalls and houses with civilians walking by some ignoring their presence and others staring blatantly. Silence engulfed the two for a few minutes before Minato spoke up, his voice uncertain.

"How have you been coping lately? After all you've suffered major losses, both from former teammates and in the ANBU. Not to mention being in the ANBU itself can't be easy, especially when you're young. It rids you of the childhood you could've had."

Reiko sighed and glanced at him, Minato was in her eyes a good friend and somewhat of a guardian. He knew her as a child, he was often around when she was little merely because her brother Ryoichi used to be his teammate. She also had Jiraiya come around a few times as her brother's former sensei. Her violet orbs narrowed as she looked into his concerned cerulean eyes, she appreciated his concern but…she couldn't relive what had happened in the past, she wasn't ready.

Turning to face in front of her she glanced up at the quickly darkening sky "You know, you'd make a great father someday…"

Surprise overtook Minato's features before he smiled, getting the message that the previous topic wasn't one she wished to delve into. Minato moved his gaze forward as they neared her parents' house. "Kushina and I have spoken about it, it's definitely being considered." She could hear the underlying tone of doubt in his voice.

She raised a brow even though he couldn't see it "What're you talking about? You'd be a great father! And besides, you've got Kushina."

A bead of sweat rolled down Minato's face "That's what I'm worried about…" he sighed.

The two stopped in front of the door, Minato took a step forward before she placed a hand on his shoulder pausing his movements, Minato remained facing forward as she spoke. "Minato. I have a favour to ask…" She said solemnly causing Minato to turn around his eyes searching hers in mild confusion.

"I….have absolutely no idea what presents to get for your team." She deadpanned making Minato laugh good naturedly.

He put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze "Don't worry, I'll give you a few ideas but for now let's go inside and see your parents. I haven't seen Ryo and Mutsuko in forever."

She laughed and shook her head "Me neither." She said as he knocked on the door "After all the back to back missions and me living elsewhere I haven't seen them much."

Minato looked at her in surprise "You're only 15 and you're living on your own already?"

Reiko nodded with her hands in her pockets she shrugged "My salary as an ANBU officer is pretty good, I figured I might as well."

Minato sighed at this as the door opened revealing Mutsuko who looked at the two of them in surprise, her violet eyes so much like her own widening.

"Minato! And oh my…Reiko dear is that you?" Mutsuko uttered in disbelief.

She smiled from behind her mask, her mother hadn't changed one bit. The same shoulder length chestnut hair, same dark blue dress with a lavender apron. "It's been a while." She commented just as her mother threw her arms around her.

Placing a hand on Mutsuko's back she gave her an awkward hug before she and Minato were invited inside, glancing around Reiko grinned as the place hadn't changed in the past few months, she guessed it wasn't really a surprise that this was the case but it felt like she'd been gone years.

"Ryo dear look who's come to visit!" Mutsuko called from the dining room, not a moment later her father Ryo peered around the corner, his black eyes scanning the two newcomers before his face lit up in recognition.

"Minato, Reiko. Haven't seen either of you in quite some time." He said warmly as he entered the room, still in his shinobi uniform with his ninja headband tied around his forehead in the form of a red bandana and his black hair was placed in a spiky ponytail. He grinned at them and gestured to the dining table to which they all sat down.

"Darling you can take off the mask you know, there's no danger here." Mutsuko reminded warmly.

"O-oh. I forgot…" she replied sheepishly before taking off her mask revealing her fringe framing the right side of her face, with the rest of her straight black hair tied in a high ponytail that went to her waist. She grinned at the three people in front of her, it was funny how a single mask could take off so much weight and tension.

"It's felt like it's been years since I last saw you two…" she admitted "I can't really fill any of you in much because of classified missions but anything you guys have to share?" she asked.

"OH! There was this one time your father-" her mother began, all the while Reiko couldn't stop smiling, she'd missed this. After all she did live alone, she wouldn't admit that she moved away out of fear that being close to them could mean their death. Now she wasn't so sure….she had been thinking about moving back in as there was no point having a home if you're never home in the first place.

"Minato do you remember the time Obito and Reiko tried to prank Kakashi? Or perhaps I should say numerous times." Ryo reminisced making Minato laugh and Reiko screech in embarrassment, pleading him to stop whilst her mother urged him to go on as they dug into the dinner she made.

"I remember one time they were in a tree above Kakashi planning to drop cans full of paint on him but Obito slipped and grabbed onto Reiko who fell with him and then Kakashi moved out the way just as they fell to the ground with the paint splattering all over them!" Her father roared with laughter as to this day he still found it one of the funniest things to have witnessed.

Minato chuckled "I remember the two of us and Rin quickly ran to the scene because of the shouts thinking there was some kind of danger only to find those two covered in paint." He exclaimed with a wide grin.

A blush overtook her cheeks as she tried to hide in embarrassment "Oh c'mon it wasn't that bad…." This caused all three adults to laugh even more as they continued to bring up her and Obito's various antics, generally involving trying to get back at Kakashi with Rin scolding them.

"How about the time Obito and Reiko promised Rin they would take a break from their efforts to get Kakashi and the very next day they 'accidentally' fell in the river. That was probably the one time they got Kakashi! Of course, all three had fallen in the river as a result. The scolding Rin gave them after it was nothing to sneeze at." Minato recounted.

She glared at Minato and puffed out her cheeks "It was an accident y'know! I didn't want to prank without Obito it was no fun, and after Rin scolded him he really decided to stop."

Mutsuko sighed "What is it with you all and Kakashi? Rin and Minato seem like the only level headed ones!"

"A prank would do him some good or at least taking him down a notch when it comes to shinobi techniques, he needs to loosen up and learn to smile for once, all he does is glare and make snarky remarks. He lacks the ability to use teamwork unless it's for his own gain. Of course he's talented in every other area but still." She replied with a sigh as she rubbed her eyes tiredly.

"Perhaps he's glaring all the time because you and Obito keep picking on him." Her father chuckled.

Minato smiled and nodded to the three of them "Well, it's certainly been a fun night but I should get back to Kushina. She won't be too happy that I skipped out on having dinner with her." He exclaimed before handing Reiko a note and giving her a wink "ideas on what to get the team, it should be useful."

She blinked and took the note with a smile "Thanks, I'll make sure to see you guys off before you leave tomorrow." Minato nodded with an easy going smile before bidding them goodbye leaving her and her parents alone.

Silence engulfed the three for a few minutes as Mutsuko grabbed the plates and began to clean the dishes in the kitchen, her father turned to her solemnly.

"Reiko…Are you sure you want to stay in the ANBU?" he questioned making her look at him in surprise as he continued on.

"You've been on so many back to back missions, all very dangerous and I'm afraid that one day you won't come back. Your mother and I were afraid something bad had happened when you were gone for almost a month. And I only know this because I have asked the Hokage to personally notify me when you get back even if you don't have time to visit."

She remained silent for a few moments as she looked down at the fox mask in her lap, a beautiful porcelain white mask with red around the eyes, a black nose, a black mouth with red lines swirling out into a crude smile and small red swirls decorating the rest of it. "I don't know what I'd do if I wasn't in the ANBU, and you need to understand that we're at war, even if I wasn't in the ANBU I'd have dangerous missions regardless. " She replied with a heavy sigh.

"I just want you to stay safe." He said after a few moments.

She stared at him gravely "I'm sorry but that is the one thing I cannot guarantee. I am a ninja after all." Was all she replied with before getting up and placing her mask back on.

"I'll be going back to my own apartment for now but perhaps in the near future I could move back in? For convenience is all." She asked

"We're your parents, you're always welcome to come home anytime you like." Her mother said as she appeared in the doorway, a sad smile on her face.

She nodded to them both and bid them a goodnight before leaving, jumping from rooftop to rooftop she finally landed on her own, hopping down in front of the door she grabbed the key from under the mat and walked into the small dark apartment. Flicking on the lights with a sigh she went to shower and get ready for bed, one thing she hadn't properly experienced for weeks.

"You're all far too weak!" a shinobi from Iwagakure growled as he slit her sensei's throat.

Reiko stared in horror as her whole body shook in terror, this wasn't supposed to happen…it was only a C rank mission! Why were they here? Why? WHY?

"NOBOYUKI-SENSEI!" her teammate Mikuni cried out in agitation, clenching his fists he shook just as much as her.

"How dare you! You'll pay for this!" her other teammate Shōma cried as he pulled out his kunai alongside Mikuni.

She stood behind them as three Iwagakure shinobi stood opposite them with pure malice and utter hatred shining in their eyes.

"Let's take em' out."

Red.

Red everywhere.

Holding back a gasp she grabbed for her kunai under her pillow and sat up quickly, surveying the room and searching for chakra.

Empty.

She sighed and placed the kunai down on her bedside table before rubbing her eyes tiredly and pulling the covers back, she stumbled out of bed and made her way to the kitchen and grabbed some instant ramen, glancing out the window she saw the sun hadn't risen yet.

"At least I'll be able to see Minato's team off…" she mumbled as she slurped at her ramen.

Gulping the rest down she threw it in the trash before dressing in a black tank top, a short sleeve dark red jacket with black baggy pants and black ninja sandals. Leaving her hair down she exited her apartment and strolled toward the front gate, up ahead she saw Minato and his team along with Kushina seeing them off. Walking toward them she grinned with her hands in her pockets, she looked at each of them.

"Ah…you've all grown up so fast…" she said wistfully, Obito huffed at this as Kakashi spoke up.

"We're basically the same age."

She shook her finger at him "No I'm 15, you're 13. Sweetie there's a difference."

"Say that when you're as old as granny here!" Obito shot back as he pointed at Kushina, Reiko held a hand over her mouth to stop the laughter as Kushina punched him on the head making him cry out in pain.

A grin overtook her features as she stared at all of them, now with her hands on her hips "Alright team, it's time you all went off on your mission however-" she winked and waggled her finger "Don't forget when you three return I'll have a present for each of you!" Obito fist pumped, Rin cheered and Kakashi looked at her in boredom.

Kushina looked at her in excitement "Oh~ Minato told me all about it, mind if I tag along?"

She grinned "Don't mind at all!"

"Reiko's right. It's time for us to head out now." Minato announced sending them one last smile before turning around along with his team, Reiko and Kushina watched them go both waving enthusiastically before walking back to the market.

She glanced all around her at the shops feeling slightly overwhelmed, she might've known Minato's team for a while but getting presents was a whole other thing…

Rummaging through her pocket she pulled out the note Minato gave her "Okay, so Minato gave me this which has some ideas on what to get- HAH?!"

At her response Kushina took the note from a violently twitching Reiko she read aloud " 'Rin would likely want a new medical kit or something to do with medical ninjutsu. Obito would want something cool and Kakashi….i'm sure there's something he'll like.' " Kushina's eyebrow twitched slightly but she otherwise appeared calm as she handed back the note.

"Don't worry Reiko, I'll make sure to have a talk with Minato when he gets back." She growled as she cracked her knuckles making Reiko sweat as she held up her hands in a calming gesture.

"Ah Kushina there's really n-no need…" she mumbled and let out a sigh of relief as Kushina gradually calmed down. Kushina placed her hands on her hips determinedly and jerked her thumb at the various stalls.

"Right. We'll address that later, for now let's find Rin and the others a present!" Reiko nodded in agreement as the two walked side by side chatting idly about various things, mostly the presents though.

"Oh look over there!" Kushina said as she pointed at a shiny new medical kit, the two walked over to it with identical grins on their faces as the owner of the shop approached them.

"Welcome! Did you both know there's deal going on that if you buy the medical ninjutsu book you get the kit for half price!" the owner said from behind them. They both looked at each other for a moment before grinning.

"We'll take it." They both said.

After a few more minutes of searching Reiko looked to her right and spotted a tooth necklace, approaching it curiously she saw it was the only one available.

"Ah, that is our one and only onbaa tooth necklace!" the shop keeper said from beside her as Kushina now joined her.

"Onbaa tooth?" Kushina looked at him quizzically.

The shop keeper nodded "Yes, you do both know of the ferocious creatures right? They reside near Konoha. They aren't rare creatures themselves but obtaining something like a tooth is very rare indeed! They are very powerful creatures, it is said this tooth gives luck and strength as well."

Holding a hand to her chin she thought for a few moments before grinning "Sounds like a good present for Obito." She announced, the shop keeper nodded in approval and went to grab a bag for her to place it in.

"You know a necklace doesn't seem all that manly, you sure Obito's gonna like that?" Kushina questioned dubiously.

Reiko nodded "Obito would want something cool, he'd want something meaningful from a friend and comrade. I think it's just the thing!" she said excitedly, Kushina nodded in approval as they purchased the necklace before heading off again.

She sighed heavily "Now we gotta get Kakashi something….urgh…" this made Kushina laugh as they began searching again.

"Hmm I think Kakashi would want something practical…." Reiko trailed off in thought before getting a gleam in her eye.

"A recipe book!" she cried as Kushina gave her a deadpan look "a recipe book?" she repeated

Reiko huffed "Well do you have a better idea? Come on he lives alone! He can't keep buying take away food! He'll get fat that way!" at this Kushina began laughing.

Shrugging off Kushina's response she marched off in search of a recipe book, soon enough she managed to find a general one for all kinds of foods both healthy and unhealthy. Her eyes sparkled as it came with a free keyring that had a ninken on it.

"Awww Kushina look, look I got a little ninken keyring for him too~" she cooed at the keyring whilst Kushina sweatdropped.

"Well that's everything! Now we just have to wrap them and it'll be all ready! Let's go back to my house. I should have something there." Kushina concluded as they made their way back to her house.

Kushina and Reiko were wrapping the presents up and placing them each in the basket Kushina normally took to deliver Minato's group some lunch.

"You're quite fond of Kakashi aren't you?" Kushina said out of the blue making Reiko blush and stutter.

"W-what? I uh- huh?" she fumbled for words in her confusion making Kushina laugh lightly as she finished wrapping Rin's present and placed it gently in the basket.

"I know you're quite close with Obito and Rin and you make it appear like you don't like Kakashi at all, but you do care for him just as much don't you?" Kushina continued.

"I could say the same for you and Obito…" she muttered before Kushina gave her a look "ah- well…I mean I guess that's true…Kakashi…he's an arrogant ass in my opinion. He's a prodigy, he doesn't understand what teamwork is and always gets on my last nerve, so much so that I wanna whack him on the head ya know? But at the same time….he's experienced a lot of loss too…it must've been difficult. I want to help him, I want to be his comrade and help teach him what teamwork is. He means as much to me as Rin and Obito there's no doubt about it. Although I'd never say it to his face." She admitted as she looked down at the key ring in her hands.

Kushina smiled at her "I understand, those two boys are complete brats but they'll learn. Now, why don't we have some food I'm starving! Want to help me cook?"

A grin lit up her face as she jumped up to follow Kushina into the kitchen, overall today was just one of those rare peaceful days where you forget that there's a war going on and there's tranquillity. It could've just been Kushina and Minato's house, or Kushina's presence. They always made her feel better, it was such a welcoming aura that they both emitted and it surrounded her and comforted her. Made her forget about the darkness in her mind, the nightmares filled with death and battle that haunted her night after night.

There was just peace in her mind, and she could've never asked for a better thing.

Alright! Chapter 1 ^^ I hope you all liked it, more will be uploaded soon.

Also in regards to Team Minato's age, it's honestly such a headache so I put it at 13 and I won't be changing it, I researched it extensively ages ago but I can't even remember half of what I concluded haha…anyways.

As always, Follow, Favourite and of course Review!