Chapter 1

The shapely brunette stood perfectly still, wearing a placid expression as she stared ahead at the closed door. She was waiting in the hallway for a prompt to enter the Hokage's office.
She felt unease roil up from her stomach as she wondered why she had been asked to meet with him. Drawing a deep breath and releasing it slowly, she glanced over to her right side; moving only her green eyes to look out the window. It was a beautiful fall day with just enough sunshine to warm the stiff breeze. She breathed deeply to soothe her nerves. A cluster of colorful leaves whisked past the window in the wind.
After regaining a sense of calm, she shifted her gaze to the fore. No sooner did the door slide open and a Jounin uniformed man poked his head out.

"Uh..." He glanced at a clipboard and looked up at her again. "Katsurō Masami?"

She nodded.

"Hokage-Sama will see you now." He stepped back and allowed her to enter before shutting the door behind her.

Masami walked in and stood before the Hokage's desk. She bowed respectfully then gazed at him.

Smoke billowed from the pipe that rested on the old mans' lip. He sat with his hands folded on his lap; his old watery eyes surveyed an array of papers that were arranged on his desk.

"Masami." He looked up at the woman with a very slight smile, putting her at ease. "Your name has been mentioned quite frequently among the higher ranked shinobi of our village. I looked into your reports and documents because of this."

He paused to let the words sink in, forcing Masami to wonder what his thoughts were. "I am impressed by what I saw. I do remember watching you grow from a young Kunoichi to a Jounin level nin. I assumed you had potential but I did not expect this much progress. Observing first-hand your last mission, I now look at you in a new light. And these records..."

The aged man snorted and glanced down at one of the papers. He then looked at her with a pleasant smile. "Masami I think it's time you've put your great skill to it's full use. I need more strong Shinobi like you in the higher ranks." He chuckled. "I'm almost insulted you hadn't requested a position in the ANBU black Ops unit."

Masami held back the gasp she almost instinctively made, but she couldn't keep the excitement from being portrayed in her eyes. Her mouth formed a small "o" making her appear innocent and a bit dazed.

The old Hokage took the pipe from his mouth and smiled cheerfully. "Is there a reason you haven't requested that position?"

She glanced quickly from side to side. "I mean... being in those ranks is no doubt something I'd always wanted. I had never considered it as something I would personally attain, though. I suppose deep down I never felt I would ever be good enough."

The Hokage admired her mellow and honest attitude. But he felt she needed to develop more ambition. "Well I am telling you that you're good enough, and acceptable to me for this career. Although, it is still your decision."

Masami's heart raced, she was so pleased. ANBU? The Hokage is asking me to work as an ANBU for the village? I feel honored.

She leaned forward a bit. "Well if you think I am good enough then I will. I want to help you and protect the village in any way I can, to the best of my ability. Yes, I accept the position."

He stared at the smoke rising from the pipe in his hand. The will of fire... That will certainly move her to improvement.

"Alright, Masami. We will have to fill out some paperwork right now and register you as an ANBU agent. And then I will introduce you to the members of the squad I have assigned you to." He gestured for her to come to his desk and pulled out a small group of forms and documents.

Masami couldn't help but smile as she signed the last form. I would have never expected to reach a goal like this. It seemed so far above me before. Now I am beginning to believe that I really can make a big difference. I'm not just a talented kunoichi anymore, I am an extremely skilled shinobi hand selected by Lord Hokage to serve him directly. I'm going to do my best to fill that role.

The wise Hokage could almost see her very thoughts through her vibrant green eyes. "Good, Masami." He gestured to his personal assistant at the back of the room.

Masami heard the door slide open followed by the sound of footsteps. She judged by the sound that it was three average sized men.

"This is the squad D, which I have personally assigned you to. I assessed your abilities and found they would balance out nicely with these three. Although ANBU work alone typically I do have all ANBU members assigned to specialized squads. You will work with them on missions that require a full team, and you will also train and practice with them."

He smiled. "I would like to socialize with you but I have quite a bit to do. Your team mates will direct you on what to do next, since they have all been appointed already as ANBU. Good luck Masami."

Masami stood up and bowed. "Arigatou Hokage-Sama." She turned around and faced her new squad mates. She immediately took in what she saw:

The shortest one was a man with light blond hair worn in a ponytail, tied at the base of his skull. He wore a grungy brown bandanna and had a small goatee at the tip of his chin. He was just a but stocky, and very muscular.

Next to him stood a man with dark eyes and gray hair. But he definitely wasn't old. His face was covered with tight dark blue cloth and a hidden leaf village headband was worn crooked on his face, concealing his left eye. He was the tallest of the three, and presumably the oldest.

The third member was a brown haired man with dark almond-shaped eyes. He wore a metal guard around his face with the leaf village symbol on it. His face looked odd, almost scary but his physique and size were average. He seemed to be the youngest of the three.

Masami walked up to them and bowed briefly. "I am Katsurō Masami."

The Grey haired man spoke up, "Kakashi, Senior member of squad D."

The blond gave her a nod, "The name's Eiichi"

The brown haired one smiled politely, "I'm Tenzō"

The four shinobi exited the office and proceeded down the halls.

"I read over your records, Masami. It seems you are skilled. I look forward to seeing you at work." Kakashi spoke nonchalantly as he looked ahead.

The woman nodded. "I assume you are Hatake Kakashi, son of Konoha's white fang. You must be quite reputable yourself."

Tenzō chimed in, "That's true. But you haven't worked with a skilled ninja until you work with Kakashi Sempai. He's very competent!"

Masami smiled at Tenzō.

"I'm hungry." Eiichi said with his gruff voice.

Kakashi nodded. "Alright we'll go eat and discuss what we need to do to include Masami as an official member."

Three young men and one young woman kneeled around a table. Each of them enjoying their meal thoroughly. The paper lanterns hanging above them made for a friendly and cheerful setting in the dim restaurant.

Masami smiled after swallowing a mouthful of food. "Well tell me about yourselves. How long have you been working together?" Her green eyes glowed with excitement as she spoke.

"Eiichi and I have been working under Kakashi-sempai for eight months now. We were both new agents when we were installed in his squad." Tenzō lowered his eyes as delivered a piece of pork to his mouth and began chewing it.

Kakashi leaned back on one of his hands. "Our fourth member, Haruki was KIA just shortly before Hokage-sama assigned you to our squad."

Masami felt a sudden sense of gloom settle over everyone at the table. "I'm sorry to hear that." She looked down for a moment.

Eiichi, who was just about to take a bite of shrimp, paused and scowled. "Haruki was the best teammate we could ever ask for." He glared to his side with an expression of disgust. "I can't believe Lord Hokage replaced him with a woman."

Tenzō choked on a dumpling and gaped at his blond teammate in disbelief.

"Eiichi tends to be blunt with his words. I'm sure he didn't mean to insult you, Masami." Kakashi said casually and sighed.

Masami shifted uncomfortably. "It's alright. I know that it is hard to lose someone."

Eiichi remained silent and chomped down on his shrimp.

The woman stared blankly at the small pile of seasoned rice in her bowl for a moment before looking up with a more positive demeanor. "Kakashi-sama how long have you been a Black Op?"

"Three years."

Masami nodded enthusiastically. He must be powerful then, that goes without saying.

She looked over at her brown haired teammate. "Tenzō-san, what are your skills?"

Tenzou, shocked to receive attention from someone, looked at her sheepishly and gulped down a mouthful of food. "Me? Um, well I... I primarily use wood release jutsu's. Other than that I'm really nothing special."

She let out a small gasp and clasped her hands together in excitement. "Oh! I didn't know there were shinobi able to use that technique, I mean since the First. How intriguing!"

"Well, it's a blessing and a curse." The man cheeks turned to a rosy blush and scratched the back of his head bashfully.

The brunette turned to the other squad member. "How about you Eiichi-san?"

"Earth style and strong taijutsu. Use a lot of power but I lack a little in speed." He wiped his mouth with his wrist and leaned back to relax after his good meal.

"I thought up some new ideas for our squad. Because of his powerful but slow attacks, Eiichi-kun and I are going work as partners. I may not be as powerful as he is, but my attacks are quick. So putting to two of us together makes for a well-rounded assault on the enemy."
Kakashi was very calm and stoic as he spoke.
"I think Masami-kun and Tenzō-kun will balance each other out as well. But with the two of you, it has more to do with range. Tenzō has very stable long-range attacks, while Masami uses fierce close-range techniques. I have high expectations for our squad. I think we will be able to work very well together."
He paused and looked over at the female. She just seems too delicate and feminine to be a strong Shinobi. But she must be good, to have been placed in our squad. "Hopefully you are as good as Lord Hokage said you were, Masami."

She gulped. I hope so too.

Kakashi stood up and stretched. "Well I have a few things I need to do, so I can't stay around. I trust the two of you will help Masami-kun out a bit tonight since I am a very busy man. Remember we meet by the Hokage monument tomorrow morning for some training runs. Thanks for the dinner." The grey-headed man waved, turned on his heel, and left.

Masami smiled and waved to him. "Goodbye Kakashi-sama!"

Eiichi nodded to confirm all that Kakashi said.

Tenzō slumped as a bill was set on the table by the hostess. "Who is paying for this..?"

The blond shook his head. "Not me. You know I did the last two times we all ate together."

"Then... Kakashi-senpaiii!" Tenzō slapped his face and began to reach in his back pocket with a scowl. "Sneaky little..."

Masami reached over and grabbed his wrist. "Why don't you let me take care of it. It's the least I can do, since you have made me feel welcome as part of the team." She released her grip from him and smiled warmly.

Tenzou waved his palms back and fourth. "No, no, no. That's not necessary Masami-san. I would feel bad." The man cordially smiled and continued pulling out his wallet.

"I will, I want to." She picked up the bill and began sorting out the money from her wallet.

The two men watched her quietly as she did this.

A haughty chuckle came form the other side of the table. "Nice one, Tenzō." Eiichi glared smugly at him.

He directed his gaze from the woman to Eiichi. "What do you mean?"

"You had the woman pay. You're not much of a gentleman, are you?" He stood up and crossed his arms.

Tenzou cringed. "Well... it's not like I had a choice. I mean, she insisted and everything..." He stood up as well, feeling quite embarrassed.

Masami giggled and raised to her feet. "Don't feel bad, Tenzō-san. I wasn't offended in the least." She smiled pleasantly at him.

"Let's get going, guys. I don't want this to take up what's left of my day." Eiichi began walking toward the exit.

The other two ninja followed. Masami silently wondered what it was that they were to do next.

Masami watched the tattoo needle draw in closer to her right arm as Eiichi stared intently from the side, Tenzō fidgeting as he watched as well. The needle made contact with her skin and the tattoo artist bit his lip while he worked. She patiently looked around as he worked. Her only struggle was to try and not choke and gag from the cigarette smoke that immersed the room.

Time passed and it was finished. Masami looked at her arm and smiled. She felt like an official ANBU agent now.

Eiichi glared over at Tenzō and cracked a smile. He looked even more harsh through the cloud of smoke.

"What is it, Eiichi?"

"Don't tell me you don't remember, Tenzō."

"Remember what?" Tenzō raised an eyebrow at him.

Masami tilted her head as she listened to the conversation.

"The way you whimpered like a baby when you got yours because of your fear of needles." Eiichi gave him an evil grin.

Tenzō pursed his lips. "Don't start with that again. I've had traumatic experiences with needles, they make me feel uneasy."

"Uneasy doesn't describe your whining and trembling when you were tattooed. You were pathetic."

"You... You just stop that. You know you'll regret making fun of me like that." The brown-haired man crossed his arms and glared at him.

"Heh, well either way I have more respect for this woman than I had for you at that point." Eiichi chortled to himself and shook his head.

Masami giggled. "Oh, you two. You are both part of the same squad, and you argue like little children." She walked over to them and they stood up.

"I'm leaving now. I have to get some work done." Eiichi turned around and walked away.

Masami watched him in confusion. "He is very strange. His mood changes a lot." She and Tenzou walked out of the tattoo parlor.

"It's true. But you'll get used to it quickly." Tenzō sighed. "Shall I escort you home?"

Escort? I'm ANBU now, do you think I really need and escort...?

Tenzou smiled at her warmly.

Oh I see, he's trying to compensate for the dinner situation. "You may if you'd like." She calmly replied.

He nodded, "Yes I would."

She smiled. Eiichi-san accuses Tenzō-san of not being a gentleman. And although he seems a little awkward at times, he really is quite the gentleman. Especially in comparison to the aloof Kakashi and frank and almost rude Eiichi. She chuckled lightly at this thought.

He looked at her and raised his eyebrows. "What's so funny?"

Masami shook her head. "Oh, nothing. I was just thinking." She looked over at him. "You and I are partners now, huh?"

"Yes. Kakashi-sempai and I were partners before. I must say I'd really gotten used to it after a while. It really makes sense how he has it organized now. I believe that our unit will now excel greatly in strength, agility and range." He paused for a moment.

"What do you think about this? Becoming an ANBU and being assigned to Squad D?"

"I-I still don't believe Hokage-Sama selected me for this. Actually I'm in denial." She wore a solemn expression. "And I really like Squad D as a whole. I'm feeling optimistic about it, overall."

They continued up a small trail at the edge of the village where many small houses sat. The warm light from the setting sun enhanced the orange fall colors. The constant slight fall breeze continued it's course.

Tenzō looked at Masami. The sun cast its' light through her eyes as she stared ahead, making their deep green color glow brilliantly. The warm sun gleaming on her soft skin reflected her friendliness. He couldn't help but smile as he thought of how much he liked her already. Never had he been drawn to someone the way he was to her. How tranquil she made him feel. It made him want to be around her all the time. She was beautiful too...

She glanced over at him. After a moment she titled her head forward and knitted her brow while still looking at him. "Um, are you okay..? You're staring."

"Oh." He snapped out of his daze and quickly looked ahead. "Eh, sorry. I didn't realize..."

The woman let a silent puff of air escape from her lips as she looked forward again as well. I certainly hope his battle performance is alright. He seems to be a bit disconcerting at times...

She stopped at the stone sidewalk that led to one of the quaint little homes, it was surrounded by healthy cherry trees. Tenzou thought they must have looked very beautiful in the spring.

Masami turned and smiled at him. "Thank you for walking me home, Tenzō-san." She bowed. "I will see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight Masami-san." He watched her turn around and disappear into her home.

Tenzō walked slowly through the large village. The sun had set over the horizon and the cool night air carried in. The streets were donned with glowing artificial light.

"Oi. Tenzō." Kakashi approached from behind and walked alongside his kohai.

"Kakashi-sempai, good evening." He smiled at him. "What brings you here?"

"Well... I'd like to talk to you about something. It's a bit of a reminder, actually." The gray-haired man cleared his throat, he seemed to be having a difficult time getting to the point.

"You know that shinobi are supposed to eliminate their emotions. That rule was made for our own protection. It's to shield you from the devastation that comes with loss." He sighed gravely. "I had to learn that the hard way.

Bonding with your teammates is vital. But keep in mind: the closer the attachment, the harder it is to cope with loss."

Tenzou looked blankly at Kakashi. "You were following Masami and I, weren't you?"

"Not following. I just happened to be nearby. I noticed the way you were looking at her and could see you have strong feelings for her already. And for two shinobi that means distraction and it will likely end up with a broken heart.."

He nodded. "I understand Kakashi-sempai. I was not thinking like a shinobi, I need to focus. Thank you for bringing this to my attention." He seemed almost ashamed of himself as he looked down at the ground in front of him.

Kakashi saw this and patted him on the back of the shoulder. "Don't worry about it too much. Ultimately, it's your decision. I'm just reminding you of what this could lead to. I'm not disgusted with you or anything. We had a relaxing day off, so we were all thinking less like shinobi. I'm sure I'll be impressed with your performance tomorrow, as usual. Now if you'll excuse me I have to get going again." He gave Tenzō a stiff wave and dashed away.

"Kakashi-sempai..."

The house was peaceful and quiet as the brunette walked to her bedroom. Only the moon lit the room as she undressed and wrapped a robe around her. She squinted and focused on a pile of items that sat on her bed. She didn't remember putting it there earlier. With curiosity she walked over and picked up the item that sat on top. It was a mask with round holes for eyes and small round ears. She held it in the moonlight that shone through her opened window and observed it.

"A rat..."

Masami bit her lip in puzzlement. She was unsure of how or who selected the ANBU masks for the agents, and even less sure why a rat mask was chosen for her. She looked down at the rest of the items and moved them with her empty hand. It was all ANBU armor and gear. She scowled as she wondered how and when it got into her house.

She shrugged, "Oh well. I need tea." She set the mask down on her bed and exited the bedroom.